That's How I Roll...

When I was in college at Ohio University, one of my favorite professors, Dr. David Chappell, told a story about a toilet paper case study that he had reviewed. I don't know if it was a Harvard Business Review or what, but to this day, every time I use the restroom, I think about it. And if the bathroom I'm using has the toilet paper facing the wrong direction, it irritates me. I'll go as far as correcting it when I'm at someones house...but not when I'm in a public restroom. When I'm at work, I often think that if our cleaning people were educated on the matter, we might just save $1,000's each year in toilet paper.

How you put your toilet paper on the roll determines just how much you'll use. Last night I decided it was time to pay it forward and share the knowledge, so I tried to Google the case study. I couldn't find the one that Dr. Chappell shared, but this link will give you the jist of the study.

Toilet Paper Study

You have officially been educated on the correct toilet paper installation method. Now go and fix your bathroom!

Some additional images have been provided for your viewing pleasure.

What I know so far.

I know the following...and these are not ordered by priority and may not have any relevance.

1. My pinky nail is the best booger scraper. Better then any squeegee. And when it breaks, well that just sucks because Danny always has "clouds in his sky".

2. Danny is expressing his temper a little bit more. Don't get in the way of his biter biscuits, or he'll squeal like a pig and bat your hand away. I worry about public temper tantrums.

3. I don't get to chat with my friends on the cell as much as I would like to. And I like to talk. Playing phone tag with friends like Dawn and Amy sucks.

4. I cut my hair (5"-7"). And it is not a "Mom" cut. And I'll grow it back. It just needed "cut".

5. Many lunch hours consist of running errands and not exercising. Sometimes that's ok. Sometimes it's not.

6. I buy Enfamil formula checks on eBay. And right now I'm irritated because most of the kind I need expire April 30th. Annoying.

7. We're doing a good job. I'm not bashful about feeling that way. My son is fat and happy and smiles everyday. So I know we're doing something right. And when everything else feels like it's going to shit, I remind myself that at least we have that going for us.

8. After 3-days of pinning Danny down to give him his antibiotic (sinus infection), we figured out a way to trick him. Give him a bit of warm bottle then slip in a little medicine thing that resembles a pacifier...Before he knows he's tasting crap, it's time to swap the bottle back in. Works like a charm.

9. My version of doing my hair is going to bed with a wet head and using a flat iron in the morning. That's about as good as it gets lately.

10. When Danny doesn't feel good, and it's the middle of the day or the middle of the night...he somehow knows the difference when you are holding him and standing up or holding him and sitting down. He does not accept the sitting down. This usually occurs around 3:30 in the morning as I pace the basement carrying what feels like a 20-pound sack of potatoes. (see #8)

11. My son has sausage feet. Because of this, socks that should fit him, cut off his circulation. To the point that he actually has scars from when he had socks on that were too snug and they rug burned marks into his legs (Mom of the year award). Because of this, my piglet is wearing size 2T-4T.

12. I've taken to wearing my pants even if they're a bit snug. It's the suttle reminder that I have some work to do and not to eat crap. I'll get there.

13. Danny goes into a trance if you trace your fingers along the side of his face. He eats it up. It's fantastic and the highlight of my days.

14. Baby Einstein = Baby Crack

15. Last but not least, even at 6+months into this, I still get the "Mommy, Danny has a surprise for you" which translates into "he shit and he needs a diaper change". Never mind if this is during my 5-minutes to get ready in the morning or when Dave is up with him and I'm sleeping in after pulling multi-hour potato sack tour of the basement. As trying as this, Danny is always so proud of himself and his big smile makes it worth it. Gags included.

Lucky Number 5

The number is 5 is my favorite number. Always has been. I was #5 when I played soccer. Maybe that's why? I don't know, but it's the best.

Why I am talking about my favorite number? Because right now, FIVE very special people in my life are due to have babies. I love celebrating pregnancies. And while I'll keep their names under wraps, this is a big deal. At the end of this year, I will be loving and squeezing five more little people.

I found out #5 yesterday. Hearing this news moved me to tears. And again this morning on my way to work talking about it with Dave. To understand how special the news from #5 was, I saw tears in my husbands eyes when he said to make sure I told her congratulations for him.

It would take me a novel to share how special each of these friends are. For some, these are babies #2, and #3. For others, these are babies #1. But for all of them, these pregnancies are so welcome and celebrated, and the journey has not always been smooth and clear of bumps. Something I am familiar with.

So, I ask, anyone that might be reading this, even though you might not know my friends, please say a prayer for them and their babies. My heart is overwhelmed with love and hope that all five friends enjoy an uneventful and healthy pregnancy with the rich reward of a happy and healthy bundle of joy.

This year, Christmas is going to be a celebration of babies...the best gift of all.

My New Favorite Song

I love music. I think it is the soundtrack of life. The first time I heard this song I thought of David and what an amazing life we have together. Especially now that our home has Danny. Yeah, I'm a sap. But I love it!


Lucky Ft. Colbie Caillat - Jason Mraz Music Code

Danny is 6-months!

I can hardly believe it! Yesterday we celebrated Danny's 1/2 birthday with his 6-month wellcheck and four shots. He is such a champion. I am convinced the shots hurt Dave and I more then him. He cries for all of 60-seconds, if that, and then he is quiet and content as soon as I can hold him. He's such a good boy. I am really hoping this response lasts, but I'm not too proud to resort to bribery when necessary.

He weighed in at 18.4 lbs and is 27.5" long. We have to switch him out of his infant seat to his convertible seat per the doctors suggestion. His seat actually goes up to 28.5", but the doc said if he we had the seats, just to make the switch now. So we have. He hasn't gone for a ride in the new version yet, but I'm sure he will sometime today.

He had a pretty good night last night after the shots. We were up a few times, and he had a light fever, but he was a snuggle bunny with me, and it was the best birthday present that I could ask for.

I've taken some new video of him, and I'll try to post it today. He's definitely found his voice and seems to love to roll his R's at the top of his lungs. Pure enjoyment. He's still hit or miss with eating his food. The doctor advised to keep forcing the issue and that by looking at Danny, you can tell he won't starve. That's my little Michelin Man.

He's also rolling around a bit. We need to do more tummy time with him, he just gets so bored quickly and prefers his jumperoo...but, he needs to practice the whole crawling thing :) We'll get there. I have a feeling he's going to skip crawling and move right to walking. He's much more interested in standing on our laps and bouncing or just standing.

I plan to post some pics today.

Making Progress

We made a lot of progress this weekend with the move. Our POD came on Friday...and we spent Saturday filling it up. Thankfully, I was not one of the "puzzle masters". Definition of Puzzle Master: Individual(s) responsible for making the best use of POD space by sliding boxes into available slots. How this was accomplished by three men without a lot of expletives is beyond me. I'm glad I was responsible for bringing the 8,000 boxes to the Puzzle Masters. The house was spilling over with helpers, and because of that, we were able to accomplish far more then we had anticipated.

Today. Well, today was good, but not as great. What's left to pack is miscellaneous crap. Our box labeling had started out beautifully. Color Coded and detailed (Kitchen: Everyday glasses). Now, some of the labels look like this: "Dave's mystery box of shit that he was supposed to clean out but didn't and should probably go in the garbage". Seriously. That's how I labeled a box today :) All of the big areas have been done (minus one bathroom) and now it's just a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. Stuff that we don't want to party with, but can't be boxed up nice and pretty with an easy label. Sigh....

Danny has been the super trooper. He's been pretty good for everyone that has been responsible for him. Yesterday he enjoyed some time with his cousins and today he enjoyed a long walk with Grandma. This kid is pretty spoiled with love. Must be a rough life. Today, he woke up at 5:30 ready to play. We ended up going downstairs so he good play in his exersaucer and watch one of his videos...while Mom went back to sleep on the couch. This went on until about 8:00 AM.

We are a little bit closer to the final plans for the house and the builder selection process. Hopefully final meetings will take place this week and we will have a plan by next week. Yippeeee!

Off to make Danny's bottles for the week and then relax on the couch...before it's packed up....

Michelin Man Part II