I’ve been ruminating on this gift list for some time, considering the gifts that have been tremendous blessings to Jeremy, Livia and me. Today I was spurred on to compose the list by an exciting announcement on Moot Thoughts and Musings (congrats, again!).

Pottery Barn Kids Chamois Blanket
Thanks to my friend Kara for giving this fabulous blanket to Livia. It’s incredibly soft, nice and warm, and has her name embroidered on it so no one in the Zion Church nursery can claim it. Hee hee.

Baby Spoons and Disposable Bowls with Lids
A church friend gave us a sweet gift bag with three disposable baby food bowls with lids, and an entire set of baby spoons—all of which came in handy during Livia’s fifth month. I recently purchased a set of miniature round Gladware containers, perfectly sized for a one-two ounce portion of baby food.

Baby Food
If you want to go even further with the baby food idea, fill a basket with a few jars of stage 1 or 2 Gerber foods, little spoons, disposable containers and a copy of Mommy-Made by Martha Kimmel. If you really want to go the extra mile, toss in an ice cube tray for a new mom who wants to puree and freeze her own baby foods.

Diapers and Wipes
Another church friend gave us a large package of disposable diapers and a huge box of baby wipes at Livia’s shower. This was perhaps the smartest gift we received. Even moms who use cloth diapers will benefit from this gift and thank you for saving them time and money in diaper expenses!

Standard Socks of All Sizes
For some reason I think Livia should still be able to fit into her teeny newborn socks, but the telltale rubber band marks on her ankles after she wears them make me think differently. I’m all the time digging for new socks and hoping I don’t have to buy more. Socks are good.

Onesies for Future Days
Babies grow SO FAST. Before you know it, a 7lb, 8oz babe is 14lb, 9oz and can no longer fit the 0–3 month onesies. And onesies are so stinkin’ practical… Livia lived in them all summer long and now they add an extra layer of warmth to her winter dress. We couldn’t get along without the ol’ onesies. A fun gift would be onesies of the same color for an entire year.

Books
My best girlfriends threw us a book shower last July and it was a wonderful idea. We got this book and this one, this one and someday (when Charity remembers to give it to Liv) this one, which is lots of fun. I want to encourage my kid to be a reader so books are a must-have!

Baby Einstein Play Gym
Auntie Bean gave this play gym to Livia and it has fascinated her since day one. Another great play gym we enjoy is on loan from Mr. Calvin Baker. I’m not sure which kind it is, but it fold up really nicely and can be seen in this blog post.

Before she was convicted, Martha Stewart received my sympathies. Though I’m all for justice, I felt weird about this domestic diva serving a prison sentence—and today it seems even weirder that she’s actually in jail. Don’t get me wrong, I believe she was guilty of a crime and is rightfully paying the due penalty. I can’t help, though, but be impressed by her straightforward approach to serving her time and regaining her freedom. I actually think she’ll be just as popular and successful as ever once her incarceration is over.

Green beans? Check.
Cranberries? Check.
Sweetened condensed milk? Check.
Canned pumpkin? Check.
Sweet potatoes? Check.
Butter? Sugar? Flour? Check. Check. Check.

I’m in the holiday spirit! Christmas lists are ready to go. I’m picking up my tree tomorrow. Livia and I sang along to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas after we finished grocery shopping this morning.

I love this time of year.

“If I were a buoy, where would I be?” Uttered upon arrival at a “Detour” task by one, now eliminated, teammate.

“It’s so cold my implants are frozen!” I think the Hollywood chicky said this. And yes, I was surprised she said that on national television.

“I’d rather put that in a martini.” Endearingly said after Grandpa of the grandma/grandpa team climbed an ice wall with pick axes and ice shoes.

Though I’m glad the father/daugher combo stayed in the race, I was sad to see the guys from Brooklyn eliminated on the first leg. They were funny and kinda sweet—and goodness knows funniness and sweetness is needed in this game because we’re stuck with the asinine behaviors of Jonathan (how Victoria remains married to him, I do not know) and Lori the Professional Wrestler. Sigh. Boo hiss to Rebecca’s lack of knowledge of T.A.R. history—you ALWAYS check to see if your car takes diesel or regular gasoline! Hello?! She and Hellboy are lucky to still be in the game. And whichever guy that was that waved the college roommates in the wrong direction (some of the guys look alike at this stage in the race), you’re a jerk who should’ve kept his hand in the car… Poor college roommate girls. Thumbs up to the grandparents who climbed the ice wall and kept up with their competition and a bigger thumbs up to all the teams who maintained positive outlooks and enjoyed the natural beauty all around while still racing. I think T.A.R. teaches a lot of “life lessons”. But that’s another post for another day.

When you find an ice cream store that you really love and when you find ice cream that you just can’t live without, you’ll eat ice cream in the DEAD OF WINTER when all other normal, sane people won’t. After craving Ivanna Cone for days upon days, I finally coaxed Jeremy into getting some last night. Dutch chocolate and pumpkin for him. Dutch chocolate and mint M&M for me.

In the shop, waiting for the ice cream dude to scoop the ice cream, thus granting me wholeness again, I noticed something quite nice. He added more M&M’s to the mint ice cream. How lovely, I remember thinking, that he’s granting me more M&M’s. How very delightful. He then packed up both servings in a take-home bag, I paid him with our hard-earned money, and Jeremy and I drove home.

Horror of horrors, what do I discover once cozily situated on my sofa with aforementioned ice cream on my lap? Dutch chocolate and KEY LIME with M&M’s. Ew. Ice cream dude either made a mistake or he has one sick sense of humor.

…against spam.

Note to Lindsay, Andrew and future comment-leavers: The comment feature works a little differently now. After writing your comment, you have to press “preview”. After previewing, you may post your comment. I have questioned the webmaster about this new arrangement and he states it is a necessary tool in our War Against Spam. Stand strong, stand united. We shall overcome.

There’s nothing like a screaming baby to break a woman of any desire to blog.

Inspiration, where art thou? Are you in the sink with the dirty dishes that I wanted to wash this morning? Are you in the basement, with the beautiful Sears washer and dryer that should have been running all day, but aren’t? Are you in the Sam’s Club box of 80 tulips that I wanted to plant yesterday because winter is coming and soon it’ll be too late for gardening?

Inspiration has not shown his pretty little head as I’ve been caring for my poor teething babe. Livia is now sixth months old (a birthday letter will be coming soon, once Inspiration returns) and she is working on perfecting her fussy attitude. Yes, yes, I know that I’m the luckiest woman in the world because Livia is usually the most laidback child ever. Nonetheless, I am being poured out for her and there’s not much energy left for my blog.

I’ve always wondered who reads my site, though I’ve never asked (until today!) who all is out there. So let’s have a little fun…

If you voted today, leave a comment with the name of your city/state/country. If you don’t want to leave your real name, fine! Just create a fake one or leave it anonymous.

Let the games begin…

Andrew’s got a blog. Agree or disagree with what he writes, and comment at will. Just don’t be mean or I’ll kick your butt. Afterall, he is my little brother. ; )

You can learn a lot from one morning at the DMV’s office—besides the fact that you should check and double-check that you have your registration, proof of insurance and the little postcard in hand, that is. (I drove 15 minutes to the DMV only to realize my insurance card was sitting on the kitchen counter still… Argh!) Today I learned two very important truths on etiquette that I feel should be duly shared with the general public.

Number One. Both men and women ought to develop particular observation skills in order to be considerate to others. What I really mean is: HOLD THE STINKIN’ DOOR OPEN FOR ME, PEOPLE! Can’t you see I’ve got a 20 lb. baby/carseat combo on my arm? I have never in my life been more grateful for gentlemanly behavior than I am now as a mother, especially as a mother with a connective tissue disorder. My heart overflows with gratitude when a man pauses a few seconds to hold a door open for Livia and me. On the flip side, I cannot tell you how frustrated I am by the lack of manners displayed in recent days. When I was leaving Arby’s a few weeks ago with baby in tow, *I* actually held the door open for a big grizzly blue-collar dude. Uh hello?

Number Two. Both men and women ought to develop mentalities of kindness in order to be considerate to other drivers. After driving to the DMV twice, then waiting in the drive-thru line only to find it was much quicker to get out and go inside, and then having the DMV doors shut in my face by the inconsiderate fellows in front of me, I was a bit of a testy driver. Thus when a cute young blond driving dangerously fast cut in front of me in the parking lot, not even looking at me because she was so consumed by her cell phone conversation, I was ticked. And the strangest thing happened—I thought the driver was my dear friend, sweet Jenny Nelson (though it wasn’t afterall). I instantly chilled out. ‘Cuz, you know? it was Jenny! Lessoned learned: Put a face on the drivers around you. Pretend the person who is tailing you is your friend who is late for taking an exam. Or the guy who cut in front of you is your pastor and he just wasn’t paying attention. Trust me—it really helps you become kinder!

**For other “Manners for a Better World”, check out the rules of etiquette for attending the theater.