Blast Off!

Advertising got the best of us this week. Here at casa de Phillips we sold out to "the man." I was shopping at the mall on Tuesday with my mom when we happened across the Disney store. Wanting to see if they had any Little Einstein items, I quickly peeked inside. Not only do they have Little Einstein paraphernalia, they also have a whole line of Playhouse Disney merchandise. I just could not resist so we came home with Playhouse Disney puzzles, a Higglytown Heros bowl and cup set, and of course Little Einstein PJS (for $4, people! What a bargain!). I am such a sell-out! However, Isaac loves the pajamas and instantly looked down at them the moment, "We are going on a trip on our favorite rocket ship...." begin to play Wednesday morning.

Also on my shopping trip, I came across these adorable matching sweaters from The Childrens Place. I paid less than $4 a sweater (actually I paid nothing because I had a gift card). Won't my children die of embarrassment one day when I pull out the pictures of them in matching brother/sister snowman sweaters and show them to future spouses? I love it! (Yes, the snowman girl sweater is pink....I caved!) Isaac officially turns 18 months old next week which means a trip to the photography studio. As you might recall, Christmas pictures were a disaster and he cried during the whole thing. I thought things would go better this time because I had my mom there as back-up. Nope. The instant Isaac's feet hit the ground in the studio he immediately began crying. The only difference this time is that he can walk really well now and can head for the nearest exit at a brisk pace. Despite the tears, we were able to get some okay shots. I had brought Giraffe along in case we had some spells of weeping (Giraffe usually never leaves the crib and is for sleeping purposes only). This did ease some anxiety, however Isaac felt the need to cram his beloved friend in his mouth and not smile. Priceless. Someone please email me before Easter and remind me that my child currently detests the cheap photo studio before I dress him in knee socks and rompers for a Springtime portrait!



(I was not supposed to be in the pictures--that is why I am sporting a red track suit. The photographer snapped some pictures while I tried to convince Isaac that photography studios were fun and exciting. Obviously, that didn't work)

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Some new things in Isaac's world include vocabulary that is exploding daily. I was keeping track of what he could say for awhile, but the list has grown significantly just in the past week. My new favorites are that he can recognize the "oval" shape ("o-bal") in a variety of places. All numbers are "nines" and all colors are "purple" ("bur-ple"). Where did he pick up these random things? He has been able to count things for a while by pointing at them and talking jibberish, but now whenever he sees a number he says "nine." My mom thought he was a genius because Isaac held up the number nine from his numbers puzzle and said, "Nine." She then realized that this was the universal word for "number" for him when he held up a three and a two and also said, "nine." We are not quite sure how these random associations have been made, but they crack us up nonetheless.

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The bedding for the nursery was purchased yesterday. Before you call me a hypocrite, I will warn you that it is pink and I love it! I love the simplicity and I also love how the crib bumper is made. I wanted a tall, firm bumper (tall-so I could peer in at the baby without being spotted and firm to ease my anxieties about the baby getting wedged under the folds of the bumper pad)--which is slightly hard to find anymore.

(Disclaimer: I took this picture off the Pottery Barn website. The nursery is still a study at this point. Anyone care to come unload and paint a room?)

I would also like to say that Oprah had two good episodes this week, which is nice considering she has been showing reruns lately. On Tuesday she discussed the Mommy Wars, opening the show with Elizabeth Vargas. Elizabeth Vargas was slated to co-anchor the ABC evening news with Bob Woodruff. As you know, Bob Woodruff was seriously injured in Iraq and had to temporarily give up his position. Elizabeth Vargass became pregnant at the same time with her second child. She eventually decided to step down from the evening news position so she could spend more time with her children (yet still works 12 hour days at 20/20). I have to say that I was not terribly impressed with her nor did I give a standing ovation to what she deems a gracious gift to her children by being more "present." I am not objecting her desire or need to work as well as parent, I just found her thoughts a bit offsetting when she acted like she made this huge decision to give up her parts of her career, yet is still working until 8 or 9pm every night.

Oprah did close with my exact feelings regarding the Mommy Wars by saying that yes women can have it all, but not all at the same time. Thank you! No man can have everything all at the same time either, so why do women even try to come close to this ideal?

Yesterday's Oprah was about 30 something women in America. I have only watched half of this episode so far and have the other half recorded waiting to be finished when I get a spare second. It was an interesting topic and showed a variety of women in different situations despite being in the same age category. The segment that I think was excellently done was the stay-at-home mom of 8 children. Normally when shows do a piece on a SAHM of lots of kids the mom has long hair,mall bangs and is nursing a baby, the little girls are wearing plaid rompers and appear sad and repressed, and the boys are in old clothes. However this mom was dressed nicely, her kids looked great, and everyone came across as normal. Not once did you think this family was breeding children to form their own army as a way to overthrow the government nor did you think they were religious fanatics. They were just regular people with lots of kids and it was obviously working for them. It was an interesting peek into their lives without sensationalizing the details.

Happy Friday!