Five Baby Favorites for the First Six Weeks

1. Homemade Wipes

I do not use cloth diapers.  I toyed with the idea when I was expecting Jill, but a near and dear friend told me "Jessica, I just don't see you doing it."  Thank you, Kathy, for saving me from my wanna-be crunchy inner hippie with your honesty.

I DO make my own disposable wipes with my very favorite Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Angel Baby Shampoo & Body Wash.  I used these wipes on Jill for the first several months, and have already talked Patrick into sawing rolls of paper towels in half for me.

For one half roll of paper towels, I use this recipe.  If I'm using Kirkland paper towels (and you know I am), I have to multiply everything by 1.5 because Costco is like Texas.  Everything is bigger.  If I went to a Costco in Texas....I can't even...

I find these wipes to be softer, drier, and gentler on baby skin than any store bought wipes.  They are also cheaper and smell delicious.  Not that I would eat them.  I keep the half roll in a gallon size ziploc.

If you follow Earth Mama Angel Baby on IG, they post discount codes every Friday!

2. Baby K'tan Baby Carrier

I posted this out of focus picture on Instagram yesterday.  I have been petitioning St. Anthony to help me find my misplaced Baby K'tan Baby Carrier for weeks now, and the moment I committed to buying a new baby carrier yesterday, the K'Tan turned up.  (Thanks, St. Anthony!)  In the front hall closet of course.  Under the pool bag and the library books, naturally.

I love my ERGO, but it's not practical for anewborn.  I even invested in the infant insert which is like wearing a baby carrier inside a baby carrier, no good for me or the baby here in No Central A/C July.

Truthfully though, our window units are off and the windows are open as we experience yet again the only gorgeous season in Chicago, summer, high of 75.

3. Starbucks Refreshers

I picked these up before Polly was born, knowing some excruciatingly exhausting days were in my future.  I loathe coffee, and under normal circumstances, I loathe the soul-sucking corporation of Starbucks.  I much prefer locally owned Funky Java if I have to partake of the bitter coffee bean.

Starbucks Refreshers are made with green coffee.  I won't say they taste good, but they don't taste like coffee either, so that's something.  They help me power through when Jill and Polly double-team me with bouts of sleeplessness.

I might re-invest in the Zipfizz too.  It's expensive, but it works.

4.  Fiber One Bars

In the first six weeks of newborn life, I need food I can throw in my mouth.  Hopefully, food that is not always jalapeno kettle chips or handfuls of chocolate chips.

Enter the Fiber One bar.  It tastes like a chewy chocolate chip granola bar, and it's not half bad for you either.  Takes the hangry away for a few hours.

5.  Lily Jade Baby Bag

I used my Vera Bradley birthday coupon to pick up this sweet bag. (40% off - KaChing)

 Did you know VB sells bags that aren't fabric?  My mother didn't.

It's a nice size tote, big enough to hold all the things a mother of many needs on her person.  However, it does not zip, and it only has one teensy interior pocket - also non-zipping.

So I started looking for a diaper bag insert thing.  You know, like the guts of a bag with good organization, but sold separately.

I checked out Etsy, but those organizers cost more than my tote, so I ended up ordering from Lily Jade.

I got the red baby bag in medium.  It ZIPS!  And has lots of pocketses! And it's washable!

Hey Mr. Postman, please bring it soon, because every time someone needs my keys or a tissue, I stick my arm in my tote up to my elbow and swirl it around like James Herriot turning a breech calf.

You didn't need that image.  My apologies.

Linking up with Heather (eventually) for Five Favorites.

7QT: Still Pregnant.

1.  Forget Anna and Elsa.  Jill is only interested in Leonor and Sofia.  She's been asking repeatedly who the Real princesses are, and I was finally able to deliver some names and images besides Princess Kate.

They are lovely little girls, and they have silver shoes just like Jill's.

Also, they are Catholic.

2.  Father's Day was super lame around here.  I thought I'd have somethingone for Patrick for the big day, but it he/she has not arrived as of yet.  

I keep checking my email for tracking info, checking those baby apps hoping to see "Today you will have your baby." but nope.  Nada.

Patrick spent most of Fathers' Day re-creating our Korean Barbecue experience. Food is his recreation and his love language. 

These are Korean dumplings and the traditional 12 side dishes at the authentic restaurant we went to when our kids were out-of-town.  We don't know what most of those dishes are, and neither did our server.

His Father's Day gift to himself.  Omelet thingies here ^.

He made the Galbi beef short ribs, sauteed bok choy, pickled kimchi cabbage, Asian cucumber slaw, and those little omelet roll ups with the green onions served room temp.  Those omelet bites are incredible with a little soy/chili sauce mixture drizzled on them.  Everything was scrumptious.  Even Jill cleaned her plate, eating mostly omelet bites and beef.

Korean beers and water.  I'm pretty sure the water is Gangnam Style.

Some of the credit for that feast goes to Micaela for inspiring me to seek out the mysterious flavors of Korean cuisine.  Go check out her series of interviews with homeschoolers, including one with yours truly.

3.  Run out of summer fun yet?  Multiple rainy days in your part of the world?  

Enter the giveaway for hundreds of pages of Childrens' Activities here.  Also, check out some of the links for free downloads of dot-to-dots, coloring pages, mazes, and more!

4.  

Yesterday, I got a package from my sweet sister-in-law, Adaire.  A care package! With chocolate, and lip balm, and hair ties, and jewelry, and the cutest mug you ever saw!  The hair ties and lip balm are going straight in my birth center go bag, should I ever need to actually go there and birth someone.  The chocolate might not be with us very much longer.

The whole kit and kaboodle was adorably packaged.  You really made my day, Adaire. The package and the prayers.  Thank you!

Go check out Ruthiebox, and send someone some love in a care package.

5.  Speaking of surprises and prayers, sometimes you find things where you least expect them.

My kids know their phones are subject to random checks.  Technically, their phones are our phones, since we pay for them.  

Earlier this week I found someone's phone surreptitiously peeking out from under a sofa cushion and decided to take a peek at what she's been up to.

She had been texting a male acquaintance the usual, "hey"  "what's up" stuff.  He asked if she was going on the upcoming group trip to a theme park this weekend. She replied, "Idk.  My mom is due any day."

His response, "Oh, that's right. I've been praying for her."

Some kid who likes my daughter is praying for me?  

Sigh.  

Tears.  

6 & 7.   How to Cope with Being 40 weeks Pregnant at the End of June when Temps are in the 90s and You Don't Have Central Air Conditioning

Aside from window units, box fans, ceiling fans, and plenty of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea (iced), I rely on two very important products.

This is Culver's Lemon Ice.  Culver's Lemon Ice is my very best friend.  One scoop is 100 calories and zero fat.  For $1.99, I can face another day.  Cue One Day More theme music...

This is Dr. Teal's Lavender Epsom Salt Soaking Solution.  I put about a cup or more in my bath before bedtime and I not only watch my cankles disappear, but I can sleep comfortably until the birds start chirping at the buttcrack of dawn. The 4 to 40 bathroom trips don't even phase me.  Grace told me about this magic brew, but my midwives recommend it too.

That wraps up another whiny week with Jessica.  Go see Kathryn for people with better quick takes and better attitudes.  Do I dare to hope that I'll be in a better mood next week with better news?

7 Quickish Takes - Second Friday in Lent

1.

In an effort to wean Jill off asking for chocolate every time she goes number two in the toilet, I got these Sunmaid mini-snacks.  Teeny tiny boxes of raisins.

She got so angry when Edmund tried to tell her that raisins come from grapes (and are not chocolate), that I plummed a vintage Sesame Street clip from my own upbringing to explain it to her. She's watched it ten times at least.



2. I'm sharing this Meatless Meal Stand-by (Old Faithful) again, so I can hop on the Lenten Meal Plan Link-Up.

Lemon-Pepper Pappardelle with Tuna and Capers

All the three ingredients are non-perishable items, unless you want to get fancy with freshly chopped Italian parsley.

one 8 oz. package of lemon pepper pappardelle, cooked according to package directions
two 7 oz. can of tuna in olive oil, undrained  
lots of capers

Mix all ingredients.
The end.

All you have to do is boil pasta.  Open one can (The olive oil gets dumped in too.) and one jar and you're done! 

It only serves 4 or 3 of my pasta-loving people, so I have to triple it.  You can only get lemon-pepper pappardelle at Trader Joe's, as far as I know.  The Chef has made it with regular pappardelle, a drained can of diced tomatoes, capers, olive oil and garlic and no tuna, because he's my pickiest eater.  He likes to complicate things.  

I think it's fine served all by it's lonesome, or it's nice with a Caprese Salad and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  I recommend the Kim Crawford.

3. 

I finished knitting this lace shawl last night!   Technically, I have to complete the last row and cast off, but we are nearly there.  There are only one to three mistakes on average in each row of the lacy part.

I learned the hard way that I can knit tired in front of the tv if it's Once Upon a Time,

but not if I'm trying to watch/listen to Endeavour or Foyle's War.  Those Masterpiece programs are too engrossing.

I'm on Ravelry, an idea exchange site for knitters, crocheters, and other textile/fiber arts peoples.  Only recently did I realize that I am supposed to CONTRIBUTE my projects, patterns, etc. to Ravelry.  I have only been using it for my own selfish purposes, such as getting the pattern for my Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter inspired shawl.  Imma try to change my wicked ways.

My next project is this baby cardigan in this yarn.

I love Debbie Bliss yarns.  They are so cumpy.

Cumpy is a word coined by Peter when he was wee small.  It means snuggly-comfortable.

I think we should incorporate cumpy into the English language.  We say it all the time around here.

4.  Don't miss my giveaway of ALBACFC aka A Little Book about Confession for Children by Kendra Tierney.  Rafflecopter away right here. And don't forget to check out the other literature-loving bloggers' book reviews!

5.  Did you read Dwija's fashion piece this week?  I politely disagree with #3.  Crisp woven tops keep me from feeling like a stuffed sausage casing.  However, I heartily concur with #1, long cardigans.  Not too long though.

I just got this jacket from Destination (The Only Bricks and Mortar Store in the US that is Dedicated to) Maternity.  It's sort of like a cardigan, but more of a super-trendy-classier-than-a-hoodie jacket.  I may or may not have worn it every day this week.  It matches every single one of my solid long sleeve uniform tees from Old Navy.  Unzipped, it hangs just right and looks tres chic.  I never zip it, mostly because they only had a size small in the store and it's a bit snug zipped.  It makes me feel verry fancy.

If you order online, don't forget to go through Ebates for free cash money!

6. I spent 75% of my grocery budget last week at Ulta.  I'm an expert at rationalizing things like $75 for four Clarisonic brushes is way better than spending $25 for one Clarisonic brush. Plus Ulta has those reward points, so every time I shop there, it's like I'm printing money.

I needed mascara.  I have long blonde eyelashes, and I love Bare Minerals Flawless Definition mascara. Flawless Definiton doesn't gum up my eyelashes like thickening mascaras do.

Also, I can wear the NOT waterproof formula and I don't get raccoon eyes by the end of the day.  Not waterproof mascara is important so I can easily remove those rows of tiny dots on my upper lid after I put it on.  #longeyelashproblems

It makes total sense that if I'm going to spend $20 on mascara, I might as well spend $39 and get this whole One Hot Mama kit.  Money well spent, because I love everything in it:  the blush, the gloss, the under-eye-brightener, my mascara, and now Jill has a new bag for her princess dolls.

For meals, I cleaned out my deep freeze and served that turkey I bought way back when, a frozen lasagna, grilled chicken breasts on a bed of Friday's leftover quinoa, peanut butter crackers.  This week I did the right thing and spent the money at food stores like I'm supposed to.

7.

Before I went grocery shopping, I de-gunked my entire refrigerator.  I magic erased all those weird red and blue skid marks off the walls and I scrubbed the dried olive juice off the door pockets.  It wasn't too difficult since it was nearly empty anyway.  Oh! And I threw away everything that expired in 2013.

No one can consume this much feta before the exp date.

Why do I buy industrial size containers of feta?  Why?

I'm counting this as part of my 40 Bags in 40 Days, even though the only "donations" were to the garbage man and the recycle bin.

Hopalong to Jen and Conversion Diary Rodeo and check out the ladies behind the Lenten Meal Plan Posse too.

Five Favorites

1.

YOU GUYS!  You have to try this.  It's Stiegl Radler Grapefruit Beer, and it is the BombDotCom!  

It's crisp and citrusy and refreshing and light and it makes me very happy.  I am certain that they are serving this in Paradise.  Stiegl Radler has a very low alcohol content.  At 2% for cans and 2.5% draft, I could sip this all day.  I really could, but it's a little pricey.  

You can read about Stiegl Radler here, but in case you don't bother to click on the link, I want to direct your attention to this quote:

In fact, the German translation of “Radler” is “cyclist,” and the beer is often referred to as a “bicycle beer” because bicyclists prefer this style of beer as they bike the Alps.

Imagine biking through the Alps with me as we sip our grapefruit beer and yodel!

2.  Or maybe instead of yodeling, you and I could do this:

3.  Family Reunion is coming up.  You know what that means?  It means lots of the above with plenty of this:

Seriously.  Several people in the Fam have their unique goat scream.

And we're proud of it.

We are like the Von Trapps of goat noises.  It's a gift.

4.  Since this post has quickly devolved from high class beer connoisseur to silly youtube videos, I'm going to throw in some children's toys now.

These are about 2 inches.  Precious.

Schleich Animals are well-crafted, lifelike renditions of most species of animal your child wants to play, including dozens of dinosaurs and the occasional pegasus or unicorn.  They are really quite beautiful.

Plus, the "Mixed Breed Dog"  looks exactly like our Mickey dog.

Since Wal Mart started carrying them, Jill has amassed quite the collection of farm beasts and family units.  Wal Mart has a limited selection, but you can find practically any creature you want at reallygreattoys.com.  I highly recommend the Really Great Toys online store. You can't get the Mickey dog at Wal Mart anyway.

Jill identifies this group as "Daddy, Mommy, Jill, and Edmund."  The "Daddy" has a real silver back.

Our plastic animal collection began when Peter was a wee tot.  The Schleich figures have lasted the longest and survived the most abuse while retaining their limbs and their color, with the occasional gnawed on ear or antler.

My mother-in-law has a basket of horses, a basket of dogs, and a basket of farm critters for the grandkids to play with and sort.  Jill loves those baskets.

5.  At least eight years ago or more, Edmund received the Melissa and Doug Barn as a gift.

These animals haven't endured the stress over the years as well as the Schleich animals, but the barn is still in business.  (The goat and the sheep never stood up straight, ever.)

Missing only one handle, Jill uses this barn for farm animals, African animals, the My Pretty Pony that came in a Happy Meal, and Disney princesses.

Speaking of Disney princesses, shouldn't someone be making a glamorized version of our Catholic princesses?  I'd really appreciate it if Jill was kissing Princess Margaret of Scotland or Princess Kateri Tekakwitha at bedtime rather than Belle or Pocahontas.   Any designers of plastic figures out there who want to collaborate with me on this idea?

Linking up with Hallie and the girls for

*I think I can avoid housework long enough to finish my book and post a #WWRW today.  Time will tell.  Tiiiiiiiiiiime is on my side, yes it is.....

7QuickTakes + 5Favorites

1.  My sweet and thoughtful friend, Texas Rose, gave me a gift subscription to Birchbox for my birthday!

Birchbox is like a "cosmetic sample of the month" club.  Once a month, I get a lovely little package with trial size beauty products chosen just for me.  I had to fill out a preference page, so the folks at Birchbox have an idea of what I like.

I liked everything that came in this first box.  Some of the items I loved, so I went back to the Birchbox website to order some full-size versions.

If you order something that was in your monthly Birchbox, you don't pay any shipping.

Birchbox makes a lovely birthday or shower gift.  If you'd like to order one for yourself or a friend, use this link, and I get points toward my next potion purchases.

2.  This is my full size order that came today.

I received the Whish Shave Cream in blueberry in my sample box.  The product was wonderful, but the blueberry fragrance was not my favorite flavor.  Undeterred, I ordered the full-size version in pomegranate.

3.  I also ordered the Color Club four pack of pastel neon nail polishes.  The green color, "London Calling" had come in my box.  Lucy loves it, as do I.  Susan is absolutely addicted to neon nail polishes lately, so I cannot wait to share these with her when she comes home on Wednesday.  *Happy Dance*

The operative word is "share."

Cut me some slack.  It's very hard to paint one's own right hand.

This orange color is called "The Reign in Spain."

You may have noticed I also ordered Miss Jessie's Jelly Soft Curls.  Well, that wasn't in my box, but I'm desperate for some kind of frizz control.  If this doesn't work, I may have to take Anne's advice and get the Keratin Treatment.

4.  Why are razor blades the single most expensive toiletry item for men?  Why do they break the bank at $50 a multi-pack at Costco?

The girls and I are perfectly content with Bic Soleil, which are about $2 each, but the Chef likes his Gillette 3000 or other comparably posh brand.

Enter Dollar Shave Club.

Like Birchbox for men (Birchbox does have a box for men feature, by the way), the Dollar Shave Club sends razors and refills to your door on a monthly basis.

Patrick got his first delivery this week.

For $6 a month, he gets one razor and four blades.  I don't think he goes through blades that quickly, so once we amass a stockpile, I'll probably cancel the subscription for awhile.

You can choose between $1 a month (plus shipping with this option only), the $6 plan, or the deluxe $9 version.

I don't know what Patrick thinks about the product, but I haven't heard any complaints.  I am especially pleased with the price.

Also, the commercial for Dollar Shave Club is hilarious.

If you subscribe to Dollar Shave Club though this link, I get $5 credit towards Patrick's beardbusters.

5.

The Cadillac of charcoal grills

We eat grilled food at least once a week all year round.  Yes, even in the dead of winter, you can find Patrick grilling rink-side.

During the summer months, we probably grill five to seven times a week.  Four of my five children know how to light the coals.  We use a propane starter, but it's still a good 30-45 minutes before the coals are ready.

Lately, I've been wondering if there isn't a way to make the process speedier and more cost effective.

I've been thinking about going over to the dark side, the gas grill side, even though my husband, aka Archbishop LeGrille wrote an encyclical called Grillitatis Splendor, in which using a gas grill is the cooking equivalent of using artificial contraception.

Then someone I know and trust linked to this article on charcoal grilling on Wired.com.

Guaiacol is an aroma compound produced when you use heat to break down lignin, the resin responsible for holding strands of cellulose together to form wood. “It has a smoky, spicy, baconyaroma,” says Sacks. “In fact, the flavor that most people associate with bacon is largely degraded lignin.”
Translation: Cooking over charcoal makes your food taste like bacon. Let me repeat that: blah blah charcoal blah blah BACON.

Did you read that?  blah blah charcoal blah blah BACON.

I can't argue with that.

6.  Until I read this article, also from Wired.com.

 Fourth of July is hobby grilling.  But what about the 22nd of June, or the 12th of August — when temps are in the 80s and all you want is to be in your backyard with a beer and a hunk of meat to cook? Instead, it’s 6 p.m., you’re at the office, the kids need to eat by 7, and you still have to go to the store.
This, my friend, is why a gas grill rules.

This quote clinches it for me:

I can walk in my door with a bag of groceries at 6:30, and have grilled chicken on the table at 7, a happy family praising a delicious dinner. The most precious commodity in the world, the one resource that none of us has enough of, that’s constantly dwindling until we die, is time.A gas grill claws back time for you every time you use it. Grill three times a week over the course of a summer, and you’ll have saved yourself a full day. A day! Think of what you can do with an extra day, provided to you by your gas grill.

So basically, if you want your food to taste like bacon (which I do, believe me, I do) you should fire up the Weber Kettle.  But if you need a time machine, the microwave of grills, if you will, you need a propane grill.

What about cost?

I know that gas grills cost a lot more up front, but I'm hauling home 20lb. sacks of coals to the tune of $15-$20 a week.  Googled it.  Yup.  Just as I suspected.  I'm bleeding money.

Gas grills typically cost more than charcoal grills, but they cost less to use. Assuming that it costs $15USD to fill a 20 pound propane bottle that gives you 25 cookouts and that 20 pounds of charcoal runs around $10USD and gives you three cookouts you will spend about $.60USD per every time you fire up the gas grill and around $3.50 on the charcoal grill. If you grilled every week you would spend $31.20USD in propane or $182USD on charcoal. Of course there is more to the Gas versus Charcoal debate than cost, but if you grill a lot gas is far more economical.

Wait a minute.  This line, from the very same page, can't be true.

Fuel Efficiency
You can greatly reduce your fuel expense for your grill by avoiding excessive preheating. Most gas grills are ready to cook in 5 to 10 minutes, and most charcoal is ready in about 15 minutes. If you are ready to cook the second your grill is, and you turn your grill off as soon as you are done you can reduce your fuel consumption greatly. When using charcoal, only use as much as you absolutely need. Most grills will cook great on about 5 pounds of charcoal. It also helps if you have a charcoal grill that can be shut down (see the next item). Conserve fuel and grill more.

Most charcoal is ready in about 15 minutes?  What am I doing wrong?

According to Mr. K. C. Masterpiece,

How to Tell When Coals Are Ready

• Good quality charcoal briquets – like new Kingsford® Sure Fire Charcoal – should be ready in about 15 minutes. They should be at least 70 percent covered with ash and have a slight red glow.
• To estimate the temperature of the coals, hold your hand, palm side down, about six inches above the coals. Count "one thousand one, one thousand two, etc.," until the heat is uncomfortable and you have to pull your hand away. If you can keep your hand in place for:
• 2 seconds – it's hot, about 375 degrees or more
• 3 seconds – it's medium-hot, about 350 to 375 degrees
• 4 seconds – it's medium, about 300 to 350 degrees
• 5 seconds – it's low, about 200 to 300 degrees

I'll have to check this out.  We usually wait until the coals are completely white/grey with ash.  As I said, that can take 45 minutes.  

But FIFTEEN!  minutes?  I highly doubt it.  

Mr. K. C. Masterpiece is probably drinking buddies with Mr. Christopher Kimball over at the America's Test Kitchen conglomerate.  

Mr. Kimball frequently tells me things like, "simmer until reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes."  

My food tastes damn good, but the times are always off.

Mr. Kimball is a pathological liar.

I cook on a bares bones Frigidaire gas stovetop that sags a wee bit in the middle (because some child stood on it to access verboten treats).  What takes Mr. Kimball an easy 5 to 7, takes me 30 to 40 ev.er.y.time.  I'm pretty sure the fancy-pants-blowtorch-with-burners that he's using has a lot more firepower than my home stove.

For example, Mr. Kimball's magazine states that the Alabama Chicken (June/July 2006) will be ready to eat after 45 minutes on the grill.  I don't know what went wrong on Independence Day this year, but those bird parts took at least twice that long, more like four times that long.  

We are picky about chicken though.  We like it well-done but still juicy.  No pink.  Hopefully, that's the way Chris likes it too.

Call me a skeptic, but I sincerely doubt my coals will be covered with 70% ash after 15 minutes. Maybe if I lit like 10 coals.  The man I married likes his fires BIG and indirect.  Always indirect.  That's a technical term for banked up against the side of your Weber Kettle.

Methinks I need a gas grill.

7.

I'm a teacher, but I'm still totally boss.

If you didn't see this NPR piece on a teacher who wore the same outfit to Picture Day every year for forty years, here you go.  This man puts hipsters to shame.

Linking up with Hallie for Five Favorites and Jen for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Five Favorites

1.  Charlotte introduced me to the concept of an Ikea Hack, which led me to the Ikeahackers website, which led me to this.  A solid wood dresser for $99 painted to look even better than the real thing.  I have the desire, but do I have the skill?  Time will tell.

But I won't be doing the numbers.  KISS:  Keep It Simple Stupid.

2.  Tasha picked this week's Mystery Ingredient for Mystery Ingredient Monday.  Imma not gonna tell you what it is.  Clicky your own self over there.  Hint:  It's an herb known for it's medicinal properties, and it's legal.

3.  I inherited a lot of my sister Mary's toiletry and personal items including a huge cache of OPI polishes, a 1 -inch hair straightener, and this.  

This is a Beautique pencil sharpener.  It's made of metal and made in Germany.  Like everything you'd expect from a German company, this pencil sharpener marries form and function.  It has two blades.  Need to sharpen an eyebrow pencil, lip pencil, or regular No. 2 pencil?  You're set.  Need to sharpen a Clinique Chubby Stick or my next favorite-a thick eyeliner pencil?  Flip over your Beautique metal sharpener and there is another blade with a wide opening for thicker pencils. 

It is so nifty, I'm thinking of stocking stuffer for my teens, or Easter basket goodies, or tiny tokens of friendship for my girlfriends, or next year's teacher gifts.  That's how nifty it is.  Maybe that's how Mary got it in the first place, as a tiny teacher gift.

4.  

Like my mother and grandmother before me, I have deep set eyes.  That means no dark eye shadows, or I look like Skeletor.  It also means that a lot of eye pencils rub off on my eyelids.  Weird, I know.  Enter Bare Minerals Round the Clock Waterproof Eyeliner.  

Yes, it got terrible reviews.  It is a very soft pencil that takes a certain skill level.  Like using a Cray Pas on your eyelids.  I think that's why I like it.  I can make the line thinner or thicker by controlling the pressure.  Also, it does NOT rub off on my eyelids.  It stays just where I put it all day long.

5.

I will not pay the $25 to become a Barnes & Noble preferred member or whatever it is, but the Barnes & Noble Kids' Club requires no sign-up fee!  You just sign up!

Just for signing up, I got a 30% of one item coupon which I used on these Boikido blocks.

Jill loves them.  She sorts them by color.  She sorts them by shape.  She makes little towers for her Disney Princess, Littlest Pet Shop, and Polly Pocket hand-me-downs.  Bonus:  They come with their own drawstring storage bag.

Linking up with Hallie and the goyles.