All I can think about lately is what cleaning products I need to get to clean the bathroom and what neat-o things we need at the Container Store to organize, not only Peanut’s room, but the rest of the house. You know I’m serious about this when I bought shelf and drawer liners!
So, in my quest for a spic-and-span home, I started to collect and (somewhat) organize the books we’ve accumulated. I can proudly say we are a frickin’ pregnancy / baby book repository! Here’s a list of books, how we acquired them and a quick commentary (if I’ve read them):
Babies by the Bay, a gift – great resource book for pregnancy / baby related things, covers everything from prenatal health to education to clothing stores.
Consumer Reports Guide to Baby Products, purchased – a must have, especially if your husband is into “investigating” items before purchasing them
What to Expect When You’re Expecting, a loaner – okay book, good info, but may make you paranoid if you read into too much
There’s A Baby in the House, Preparing Your Dog for the Arrival of Your Child, purchased – good primer to prep your pup, glad to know that Lucie knows some of the commands that they recommend: sit-stay at her bowl before chowing down, sit-wait at the front door before heading out. Need to work on the begging, though.
Happiest Baby on the Block, purchased – was recommended by everyone and their mother, after reading the first chapter, I was sold. We also have the DVD on loaner from my mom, she already claims to be baby swaddler extraordinaire.
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn, free from Childbirth class at DayOne – only skimmed through the childbirth section, quite informative.
The Nursing Mother’s Companion, free from Breastfeeding class at DayOne – another highly recommended book, will definitely be taking this to the hospital with me, includes quick reference sections by baby’s age.
Baby & Child Question & Answer Book, free from Newborn Parenting class at DayOne – published by the publishers that do those pictorial travel guides I love, like that it covers both baby and child.
The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy, gift – hilarious! a must have for every pregnant woman, not quite the physiological book you’ll get with What to Expect… or the Mother of all…, but real answers to what you may be going through and what you need.
The Mother of all Pregnancy Books, recommended purchase – a good, easy read
The Birth That’s Right for You, gift – didn’t really look into it yet since I know that I’m going for the epidural and know that my ObGyn practice doesn’t work with doulas. But will give it a read for post-partum stuff.
We’ve also got some name books (3 total, 2 are from France) and “daddy” books (2 total, 1 from France) – that I think S has given up on reading.
Buh-bye yard…
First the sad news…turns out our property line may not include the ginormous side yard. S had paid a visit to the Assessor’s office and they said that a lot of homeowners assume (and remember what happens when you assume?!) that side yards like that are part of their property. They’re not. It’s city property – yet it’s understood that the homeowner should maintain that property and sidewalk (remember weeding the sidewalk?). So, our plans of revamping the back and side yard have changed drastically. No, we can’t send the partial bill to the City.
The good news is that they starting with cleaning up the current jungle Tuesday and already it looks better! We estimated that everything would be complete in 6-8 weeks. Of course, when we revamp the yard, the agapanthus’ that I planted in the front are starting bloom!