A Graduation!

Piper slept last night in her crib instead of her bassinet!!! Sorry the picture quality is so horrible...I shot it on my Blackberry because I have temporarily misplaced the battery charger for my digital camera!

Things I didn't know I didn't have...

My dad used to (perhaps still does) describe the Lillian Vernon catalog as "solutions to problems you didn't know you had." I have a new variation on that...baby gear! I posted my top ten must have list not long ago. I have been thinking about it some more and I have more to say. I realize that this doesn't exactly go to Professor Papa's theorem...because the items I will describe actually address real "problems" that I really face.

When it comes to baby gear - toys - clothes and such there are several schools of thought.

Some people, it would seem, want to have to do as little as possible themselves to amuse, educate and soothe their babies - there are videos (for home, car, iPod), toys that make noise, things that buzz and sing and light up, colors, swirls, patterns, vibrations, jiggles, Wiggles, whirls, its madness...the toys do all the work.

Other people are very minimalist - cloth diapers, wooden pull toys, organic fibers, no binkies, no formula, no TV...there are even people who have adopted a diaper-free attitude towards child rearing (I am looking for a comment from Don't Trust Snakes...I know there is one lurking in there!).

Most people I am sure fall well in the middle...and I don't want to offend any of my readers so I will leave it at that...but where I am headed with this topic is a very short list of things that I had NO IDEA about prior to pregnancy, childbirth and early child-rearing but that actually DO solve problems I didn't know I had.

(1) Voice Activated Crib Lights - these go onto the crib and play soothing music and lights when the baby wakes up and cries...this one even can play your own voice.

(2) Gripe Water - herbal "cure" for colic and upset tummy, appropriately named...and quite tasty (had to check it out for myself).

(3)Oh, and speaking of binkies...because we were, sort of...here is the greatest invention...if you have a sick kid who takes a binkie!

Juggling - Gymnastics - Running - Walking

Juggling - me, scheduling school, work, baby classes, baby care, wedding planning and client projects
Gymnastics - P2, signed up for baby gymnastics classes
Running - me, errands, ideas past my friends, around like a chicken......
Walking - Moo and Me, once a day but striving for twice....

Blogging, Baby!

(please read aloud title with Austin Powers intonation)

No, no, P2 is not blogging. I am. I had my first class last night at UCLA, it's called Introduction to New Media Public Relations Generating Public Awareness with Blogs, Podcasts, RSS, and Websites.

Now you all, kind readers, will be my guinea pigs as I begin to apply the things I am learning to this blog!

So begins a new adventure...

Organizing everyone's schedule and P2's meds and food wasn't terribly difficult. Driving to UCLA at rush hour was no more difficult and no less frustrating than one would expect. Finding the correct parking structure - easy, finding the correct building in the pitch dark on campus - not so easy. Locating lecture hall within said building, no sweat. Returning to parking structure after class - very easy, locating car within the structure...took a whole 30 minutes...NOT SO EASY!

Listening to lectures for THREE hours, in the late evening with no baby to attend to...well, very interesting speakers and topics - lots of relevant information for Mama's career development but...also, dark, quiet room with no baby....challenging to stay fully awake.

Things have sure changed since I was in college. Now there is an online interface program for each class. Quizzes and homework are done via that application. Grade information is available at anytime by visiting the site. The required books can be purchased online through the student bookstore and shipped to the house prior to class beginning. The suggested reading materials can be ordered through Amazon or other online booksellers and the groovy interface thing sends you right to those sites when you click on the title.

I remember in the OLD days, going to the Student Union and buying xeroxed notes from classes which I had missed (revisionist history writes..."missed" not "skipped")- planning group projects for class used to mean exchanging phone numbers and trying to plan meeting times that jivved with everyone's schedules (academic and social)...now we have our own Yahoo! Group page and instant messaging and probably won't physically meet prior to the actual presentation day.

I also, remember going to the computer lab to write papers - now everyone not only has a laptop they are "strongly encouraged" to bring them to class. Honestly, I am not THAT old but boy have things changed. Its fun.

On the homefront, the new breastpump I bought (come on, you wanted to know this!)is fantastic and I was able to double my usual output so P2 was well stocked before I left...however, she didn't feel like eating so the great reserves went unused.

And...the dog was content to hang out with whomever was holding the baby.

Phew, thanks for staying with me on that long entry...I am going to go make a grocery list and wait for P2 to wake up...then its off to our favorite store!!