My Favorite Things

Yup, just like Oprah. I interrupt these posts about Lylah, to bring you my current favorite things. Well, they are about Lylah because I use them with her.

1. ItzBeen

A friend recommended this, and I love it! You can put in what time you started feeding, and it helps you keep track. You can also track how long baby has been sleeping and how long since the last diaper change. I use the feeding one the most. When we first got home from the hospital we used the star button for my pain medication. Great invention!

2. My Breast Friend

I first saw this on TV. Bethany Frankel was using it on Bethany Getting Married. (love!) I googled it, and thought it looked interesting. At our Breastfeeding class at the Hospital, the lactation specialist recommended it. She said that many women had told her it made the difference for them being successful with nursing. And I have to say, I love it. It stays on your waist if you need to stand up while nursing (holding baby of course). It has a little pocket on the side to hold your ItzBeen, and snacks. I usually have some candy stashed there. I love it. If you are planning to breastfeed, you need it and it is worth the price.

more info



3. My Babywise Book

Yes, I'm one of those. I love Babywise. Ryan got the book when I was pregnant and made me read it. It's awesome! It has helped Lylah be able to sleep 7 hours a night, which is beyond amazing. You can read more about Babywise here: www.babywisemom.com

4. Little Einstein Piano toy 

A church friend gave us this toy at a shower and it is Lylah's favorite. She has even started pressing the keys! So cute. I need to video it. Absolutely love this toy, love the music and Lylah loves the flashing lights and colors.

5.  Woombie

Uh, this is not Lylah, btw.

Lylah sleeps in a woombie allllll the time. We started out swaddling her, but she always broke out, no matter what we did. Remember this? My friend Susan had used this with her daughter, so I went and bought one at the Nappy Shoppe. Then I bought another. It's great because she can move her arms around because it is stretchy, but she can't wake herself up with her arms. And saying "woombie" is just plain fun.


So there you go. No one asked, but these are my current favorite baby things.

Jimi Ruth Bowen Kelly Smith

Yeah, that's a lot of names. You don't meet someone with that many names everyday. But that's who she was....one of a kind. My Grandmother passed away on Friday, May 13th. She had battled illness and Alzheimer's disease for years, so in many ways, this was a sweet release from her pain. But that doesn't make the loss any easier.

She was such a unique lady. Widowed at 36, she was strong and brave. You didn't mess with Jimi. And you didn't want to be on her bad side. But while she was tough and firm, she was also hilariously funny, sweet and very generous. I'd like to think I'm like her in a lot of ways. I want to be more like her. Not afraid to say what I think, but at the same time very genuine and loving.

I think of her when I smell coffee, and Clinique lipstick. She was always dressed to the nines, and she loved gold jewelry. I hear her in my head when I teach my students, because she was an awesome teacher. She loved to teach, called her kids her "Little Toots" and taught them how to speak correctly. I think of her when I smell bacon, as she always made us bacon at her house. And I think about her when I am crafty, as I know I got that from her.

We buried her in Mangum, OK on Wednesday, after a service in Edmond. I sang "Amazing Grace" at the funeral, and I was worried my voice would crack. But as I sat next to Ryan, he asked me if I was going to be able to sing without crying. I told him if she were here, she would tell me to "Get it together, it's just a song." And I really believe that. She would have loved it, and it wasn't even that good.

I will miss her terribly. I will miss who she was before Alzheimer's set in. I will miss her laugh and her catch phrases. "Ta de ta de ta de." That was a common one. I will miss hearing her call Denise "BD" which stands for Baby Doll.  I will miss hearing her stories about my Dad, and how she'd embarrass him in front of his friends. I will miss her big smile and her generous spirit. She never came to see us without a gift. I will miss playing Spinner with her and I will miss watching her win without even trying. I will miss the abundance of Christmas ornaments we received from her, most of them Texas themed, much to my Dad's chagrin. I will miss everything.

Here she is on our Wedding day. Beautiful, as always! And in yellow, her favorite color.

We will miss you, Grandpa.

Early last Thursday morning, Ryan's Grandpa, Lyle Harms, passed away. He was such a wonderful man, and a great example to his children and grandchildren. We will miss him so much. 

Grandpa was a great fishing buddy.

Grandpa, I will miss you so much. Who else will eat dessert right away with me? You were such a great man, and a great example for the kind of person I want to be. If I am half the Christian, leader, and person you were, I will be incredible. Thank you for being you. We will all miss you, but we know we will see you again. Enjoy your reward in Heaven. You have earned it. 

Tribute to Patrick Swayze

Great tribute to Patrick Swayze from last night's DWTS.

I love the second couple because they are a married couple in real life.

Much love,

Allison

Ode to IKEA...and banana bread.

We love IKEA!

Now, growing up, I never knew the glory that is IKEA. We didn't have an IKEA in Edmond. Also, even if we did, I don't think we would have bought furniture to assemble. It takes a LOT of patience. But that was then, and this is now....

Okay, so my husband and I love IKEA. We like their hotdogs, too. Okay, we LOVE their hotdogs. Now I love a trip to IKEA, and Ryan tolerates it. We have a good time. 

So we picked out this dresser and end tables that we liked a couple months ago on one of our many trips. After several trips, measuring them, researching them, etc....we decided we wanted them. But we knew that if we bought them, we had to put them together. How hard can it be, right? 

I should also mention that as we were loading the 2 huge boxes onto our cart, a nice couple stopped and said they have the dresser and that they love it. Which is always nice to hear when you are about to make a big purchase. How long did it take you to put it together? We ask. Oh about an hour, they say. THEY LIED. 

Note: I am kicking myself right now for not taking a picture of all the screws, boards, panels, etc. that we had to go through last night to assemble this. Our entire living room was covered in tools and parts. 

3 and a half hours later.... 

Are you ready? Here it is.....

Isn't she pretty? 

Now all we have left is the end tables. Those should be a piece of cake after the dresser! Right...??

Much love, 

Allison

In other news, I made banana bread! I used to make it all the time, but I haven't in several months. But for some reason, this loaf was extra great. Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder....or I just did it right this time....

A tribute to Taylor Swift!

Ok, before you skip past this post and say "Taylor  Swift, ugh!", hear me out. I do love her. But let me reassure you that it is not a teeny-bopper-dated-a-Jonas-brother type of love. My reasons for my love of Taylor Swift comes solely from her music. Sure, she is quite beautiful. She has the appeal, but I personally just enjoy her music. 

Now, I do have a Taylor Swift ringtone. This can make for embarrassing moments when I forget to turn it off. Love it when "Our song is a slammin' screen door..." interrupts a meeting or something.....it's a little embarassing. 

Now back to my Taylor Swift adoration. I just think she is impressive. Not fantastic live, but I love her music! On her CD "Fearless" she wrote ALL of the songs. Wow! 

Here are some of my favorite lyrics: 

From "Fifteen": 

In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football tea/but I didn't know that at fifteen/ When all you wanted was to be wanted/wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now.

From "Change"

It was the night things changed/do you see it now?/ These walls that they put up to hold us back fell down/It's a revolution, throw your hands up/cause we never gave in/and we'll sing Hallelujah/we sang Hallelujah/Hallelujah.

From "Breathe"

Music starts playin' like the end of a sad movie/it's the kinda ending that you don't really want to see/cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down/now I don't know what to be without you around..

*Note: me typing the lyrics out from memory is not nearly as good as hearing them. :)

Now you may scoff at my Taylor Swift love. You may think it is weird. That is okay. But I am not ashamed that I love her music and it is what I listen to when I walk the dog or go to the gym. So you rock on, Taylor Swift. You have a fan in me. 

Much love, 

Allison

P.S. I was going to post a picture of Taylor Swift in this post, but all of them seemed creepy. Google Images Taylor Swift and you will see what I mean. But still, I like her. 

P.P.S. Her CD comes with a Taylor Swift poster. I thought about hanging it in my closet, but I decided that I had to draw the line somewhere. 

A tribute to Kali Elizabeth.

Back at the OC, I had a fantastic roomate. I had many roomates, but I lived with Kali the most. And I love her. Here are a few reasons I love Kali!

1. She will make faces like this.

2. No matter what Friends reference I made/make, she knows the season, episode and who said it.

3. She loves RENT as much as I do. Except for that one scene.

If we were in RENT we might wear costumes like this.

4. She is amazing at Mini golf. "About that..."

5. She will eat a milkshake with a straw like this.
Love you, Kal Pal!