and I thought buying a bra with my mother in my teens was bad

Ok, is it just me or am I the only one that doesn't like having their Mother in the dressing room with them?

Personally, I really, really do not want my mother in there. She make comments on my butt, my stomach and even my chest.

Today, she topped herself while bra shopping.

AHHHHHH!

While I was trying on bras, my mother waited outside the dressing room (where she should be!). This was the one time, I should of insisted she come into the dressing room with me .
I heard her say to one of the sales ladies
"My daughter needs help, can you go in her dressing room and help her out please?" .
What! did I ever say I needed help! I already carefully sized myself at home and used
this program to make sure I was accurate... and I was!

So the sales lady knocked on the door.
"Your mother says you need help."
"No, I don't"
"I can make sure you are finding the right size bra"
"No, I am fine"
Just as I finished my last statement, Little Bean opens the door and said,
"Come on in"
Oh no she didn't!

At this point, I was furious with my mother and I tried hard not to take it out on the sales lady who was standing in front of me with a measuring tape.

I just stood there while my head spun inside... trying to find a coping mechanism, like screaming, or fainting or better yet going to a tropical island to make this whole scene disappear.
...please, please be a dream.

Nothing worked, so, I let her measure me and confirm I was in the right size, but maybe not quite the right style. So, she picked up a few different bras for me and I tried them on.

In the end, she did an awesome job of finding me great fitting bras, but that doesn't excuse my mother nor Little Bean's hospitality.

As I thanked the sales lady, I let her know,
"Ten years ago, you wouldn't of gotten through that door" (who am I kidding... 2 yrs ago, there would of been no little hands opening that door.... 10 yrs ago, #1 daughter probably would of shown the same hospitality as Little Bean did today). Thats with the assumption that my mother wasn't in the dressing room with me, pushing the button for help.



Side note: ladies try out the bra sizer it worked out well for me :).

Crafts with Little Bean (22 months)

I love doing craft projects! Last week, I figured out a new way to keep Little Bean busy while I'm cutting and gluing ( I guess my recreation therapy degree is kind of handy). I found these Kumon books at Target, in the activity book section (looks like they are a $1 cheaper online). She loves them. They are simple activities that help build fine motor skills.

If you decide to use them:

• Check the front of the book to see what other resources you need(glue, kid scissors..etc).
• Read the material and try them out with your child 1:1.
• Make sure you cut out enough pages to keep your toddler busy before starting your own project. I recommend the sticker and paste books, the cutting books needs 1:1 attention.
  

Other activities that have worked in the past:

• Paper and crayons (click here to see our favorite. Twistables are impossible for Little Bean to break and are erasable.-- Another option check-out Does Mommy Loves It)
  
• Paper and stickers (her favorite) or sticker/color books
  
• A variety of empty containers with lids. Little Bean spends a lot of time trying to twist off/pop off lids and trying to placing them back on. She also like putting things in them.
  
• If all else fails, try finger painting with baby food ;)
  

Please note - all these activities , as you know, still need your supervision. Some of above objects are choking hazard. Since, you know you child, use your best judgment and modify as needed. I put Little Bean in her highchair at arms length away, so I can reach her for any reason.

Caulking Guns....Now thats a tool!

Alert! Alert! Boring Blog Ahead!

I couple of months ago I bought a caulking gun to re-caulk around the bathtub. Since, I have never used a caulking gun or caulked before, this didn't seem all that interesting. So, all the supplies stayed in its home depot bag until yesterday. Yesterday happened to be the day I decided it needed to be done once and for all. So, I read the directions....blah,blah, blah....cut the spout, and pierce the seal...blah,blah,blah (that's all the info we need for this post). So, after preparing and taping the area, my husband and I begin to prepare the caulking gun. After a lot of effort trying to get the lid off the caulking tube, I just cut of the tip with scissors. Husband however, worked on it a minute longer and discovered you just pull it off, instead of unscrewing the lid. Duh! (side note: this says nothing about our personalities)
Next, once more using the scissors, I clipped off the tip of the tube. Now it was time to poke a hole in the seal. As we were searching for something small and sharp enough to accomplish this job, husband found on the caulking gun a "spout cutter". Oops! This caulking gun had its own tip cutter! Neat! At this point, I realized if this caulking gun has a tip cutter, it should also have a small tool to piece the seal ...and sure enough it did. This caulking gun was loaded! To me the perfect tool for the job! After all was said and done, it took a whole 2 minutes to caulk around the tub. 20-30 minutes to prepare.

Is that it?! (Well, minus the preparation)

Is it possible that home improvement and maintenance seem very intimidating until we jump into a project. I have to keep saying that as we plan our demolition and renovating of our other bathroom. We have done a few small projects in the past and it has been true so far, I just hope it continues.

By the way, the caulking gun was around $10 at Home Depot; caulk around - $3; doing it yourself - priceless.

Jenn VS Oprah

I love Oprah when I have time to watch. Her favorites of the season were on recently,

but I have to be realistic.

Oprah’s Favorites	Jenn Favorites
Samsung Progressive HD Camcorder SC-HMX10C Approximate value: $799.99 800-SAMSUNG; www.samsung.com Available at major retailers including Amazon.com, Circuit City, Sears, CompUSA	3.99 family photo coupons from JCPenney We usually forget to bring our cameras(digital/camcorder) and rarely download or make dvds. So why upgrade? For less than 800 bucks you can take your picture each week and convince your child's soccer team to sit for a photo at JCPenney's. Or for regular store coupons: http://www.jcpportraits.com/coupons/index.shtml www.jcpportraits.com/coupons/index.shtml Or for regular store coupons: http://www.jcpportraits.com/coupons/index.shtml
Perfect Endings Cupcakes from Williams-Sonoma Approximate value: $59 (Set of 9) 800-541-2233; www.williams-sonoma.com	Imperfect Cupcakes made from a Duncan Hines Cake mix Approximate value: $2 http://www.duncanhines.com/
CLARISONIC Skin Care System Approximate value: $195/system 888-5-CLARISonic (888-525-2747); www.clarisonic.com	Aveeno skin care products Clear complexion foaming cleanser --helps with those hormonal break-outs. ***A most have, especially if you barely have time to shower in the morning. Really nice on the skin. http://www.aveeno.com/
HDTV Refrigerator with Weather and Info Center from LG Electronics Model LSC27991 Approximate value: $3,799 www.LGUSA.com	…hmmm, I wouldn’t mind having this. Ok, that’s about 9-10 months of grocery money. You think my family will notice if I serve beans and rice everyday?
O’s Guide to Life Approximate value: $29.95 Available wherever books are sold or online at www.oxmoorhouse.com	The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Potty Training Problems (The Pocket Idiot's Guides) by Alison D. Schonwald and George G. Sheldon Approximate value: $10

However, here some more of my favorites:

1. My family

2. Wonder time Magazine (check out amazon.com for magazines deals)

3. G-diapers (now only if they had pull ups. I think I’ll write to them.)

4. Stokke high chair (we don’t own one yet, just love to check them out at friends’ houses)

5. Mega blocks – Little Bean can play for hours.