Really.

I get these emails from Baby Center every week. They tell me every week what the Little Man should be doing, or is probably doing, or very seldom, is not doing. It's kind of interesting, and especially early on, I read them in depth.

Here's this weeks:

Chances are good that your baby's grown attached to a certain blanket or toy. Transitional objects may help your baby weather potentially stressful experiences -- such as a doctor's visit or an overnight trip -- more easily. You may want to buy a duplicate of that "lovey" (or cut the original in half, if it's something like a blanket), in case you need to replace a lost one or take it away to clean it.

The Little Man never wanted his thumb. After the first few weeks he didn't want anything to do with a binky (and believe me, we tried EVERY single one). But, he LOVES his elephant.

I've talked about this before. It's a must-have when he sleeps, travels, or isn't feeling well. I found a few online that seem to work just as well as this guy, and my mom found a dog that actually does the trick too. And this week, I ordered 4 more. Yes, that's right. When we receive the next shipment, we will have a total of 9. Plus several more that we've been given or bought that he will have nothing to do with. I think I'll actually toss out a couple of the more stinky ones when we get the new ones.

Public Health

This is not a commentary on the political agenda that is sweeping the country right now. Well, not really.

After much research and contemplation (not to mention changing my mind at least two dozen times) I decided that the Little Man and I were going to get the H1N1 vaccine.

(Don't judge me, and I won't judge you for your decision on the matter)

In order for both of us to get it we had to go out of Salt Lake County (I'll spare you the details) and went to Davis county since my sister-in-law works for them and it was easy to get information.

I knew there would be a line, but this was incredible! Since it was a weekday and raining I was hoping that would deter some people. It may have deterred a few, but not many. According to a few of the employee's there were people there as early as 5 am (it was scheduled to start at 10). We got there around 9:15 and my brother, Big Matt, showed up a few minutes later. We were out of there a little after 11 am, so it could have been a lot worse. They were quite efficient and tried their best to move the line as fast as possible -good job Jessica!

Here's just a couple of my observations about those in line.

*It rained last night. Up in Davis county I heard it rained ALL night. It's cold and windy. I know for a fact that it was cold, windy, rainy, and dreary when everyone left their houses that morning. So explain to me how and why people showed up in t-shirts without jackets or umbrella's. And worse than that, their children were also wearing light jackets at best -no blankets or anything else to keep them warm and dry. It won't do you a whole lot if you give your kids a cold or worse while waiting in line for a vaccine.

*Please don't argue with those trying to help you. I saw a few parents yelling at the county professionals trying to get an accurate count of those in line that were eligible for the vaccine. Wouldn't you LIKE to know if all of your waiting is going to result in actually getting a vaccine?

*Please keep an eye on your children! I'm trying to not judge here. I know that I am going to be the mother of an EXTREMELY hyper toddler. I'm worried that in large groups and crowded places I may be forced to put a leash on my child. (Don't judge me, and I won't judge you for your decision on the matter) However, if you've lost your child 3 or 4 times already, maybe it's time that your force said child to hold your hand.

That's all really. I feel okay that we've been vaccinated and all in all it wasn't too bad of an experience.

Things that must go

I did not make up this title. Not even close, I stole it word for word from the morning show I'm addicted to (X96). Regardless of who made up the title, these are things that I've been noticing that really annoy me and you need to stop doing it (if you are- which, I'm sure none of YOU are, but maybe you could help spread the word).

*Making your own parking space at the gym. At the gym I go to, it never fails that there are one to four cars (usually those fancy expensive ones) that are parked at the end of the row, close to the doors. For some reason it really angers me. You're at the gym -PARK and WALK to the front doors so you can start running. Idiots.

*Stores that put stickers on items that you can't get off. Thank you Target for letting me know the book I just purchased is 30% off, but why must you put the sticker on the front of the book so when I try to take it off it leaves the residue on the cover. I appreciate that Ross has price stickers on their frames, but do you have to put the $3.99 tag on the glass? So again, when I try to take it off I have to scrape the front with a razor and every other chemical I can find to get the sticky off. Seriously, it's not that hard - but it on the back!

*Waiting room and smaller waiting rooms at the doctor's office. I didn't make this one up, I've heard Seinfeld describe it much better than I can. I went in today for the Little Man and had been warned that the front desk printers weren't working so I should arrive early and expect a little longer than usual wait. A little sidenote, I really like my doctors' office. We usually don't wait long, I like almost all of the doc's and PA's I've seen and they have after hours care. But today? The receptionist warned me the dr was running late (not our usual one), and I said I expected that. We went in the back to wait, where the Little Man had his run of the play area and lots of room to safely crawl and stand up. To my surprise we were called back 60 seconds later. Great!? Not so great. We only got called back to wait in the itty bitty room with tons of stuff he can't play with for more than 40 minutes. Yay. You couldn't let us play in the waiting area for 10 or 15 minutes? He's 11 months old. He likes his space! (I won't even go to the actual doctors visit, sometimes doctors can be very insensitive and dismissive).

That's all for now. I have a feeling this may be a recurring post!

Long overdue

*New and improved* (I added the photo's)

I've started to write a few posts -that were never published- in the last 2 weeks. Mostly because it was about this little bug.

Literally.

I had Scabies (click there -it's not as gross as it sounds) when I was in New Zealand 6 or 7 years ago. And, I guess that means I am lucky enough to get it again! I won't even try to tell you how horrific it is (itchy and painful beyond belief), but the good thing is, it's gone and I've washed EVERYTHING in my house. Twice. Well, more like three times. Stupid Scabies.

In other (less contagious) news...

We went on our annual Jackson Hole trip with my dad's family. We usually stay in Teton Village and the main attraction is to wake up super early and go and listen to the Elk Bugle. We missed the Elk (The Little Man was asleep and after the night he had I wasn't going to wake him up early for it) but we did go on a hike which he liked (most of). Our little (growing) family nearly fit into this years condo, Matt gets stuck on the couch every year it seems.

And, as always, the Little Man was spoiled by all.

Speaking of growing family, Matt and Jen got engaged on our hike. Most of our family knew about it (and most of us had tried on the ring), but I guess Jenny was totally surprised.

Our other family added one to our numbers as well this week. Baby Meef (the name his older sister gave her new little 'brudder' before they had decided on a name was born September 30th. Baby is doing great, mom had a few minor complications (but were somewhat expected because it happened last time) and is doing okay now. We saw him for a few minutes on Wednesday, but because of new visitor restrictions and giving Shondel time to rest, we haven't been back over, so no pictures for now.

Speaking of no pictures, I just realized pictures of our other adventures will come shortly (sorry mom). Justin has my card reader in the car, and he's actually 'at work' today. But, I had better post before this one sits unpublished as well.