Registry part 1, to the cacaphony of my neighbor girls

Warning: This is a looooong post in which I chat a lot about baby products. You have been warned.

As much as I am proud of the strict budget that David and I put ourselves on, it sure is nice to have internet access at home. It's even nicer that we're not paying for it, but still... a little luxury now and again never hurt anyone.

We were quite the the grand champion shoppers today. The Best Buy reward dollars that we got for buying our sexy, fabulous washer and dryer expired today, so we headed out to buy a chest freezer. We had originally selected the super gigantic chest freezer and had it delivered the same day as the sexy, fabulous washer/dryer pair, but because our house was built in the early 1900's, our stairs are just not built for that kind of girth. The deliverymen just couldn't get it down the stairs. It all worked out well, because we still got 20% off on the laundry machines because Best Buy price-matched Sears', buy 3 major appliances, get 20% off, but didn't make us give back the 10% when we returned the ginormous freezer. I couldn't have planned it better myself. But we do still need a chest freezer, especially knowing I will soon be responsible for filling said freezer with breast milk. Our upstairs freezer is packed enough, and breast milk keeps for weeks longer if it's in a deep freezer instead of a conventional one. So, we are the proud owners of a baby chest freezer for the baby milk. $100 well spent.

Speaking of babies, David and I finally made our first trip to the baby store to register. It was REALLY fun. We did most of the store, but left out the "Infant Care" department, where the bottles, bibs, bathtubs and breastpumps live. We'll tackle that monster next time. For today, we did our furniture, bedding, baby "gear" like high chair and pack 'n play, and a few misc. things like a mobile and this cutie Sassy-brand toy set. You'll notice that there is a red stroller on our list. I just let Dave have his say on that one. I don't like red, but that shouldn't mean that Baby Cute can't love it, boy or girl. See? I'm not totally stubborn!

David surprised me today. I thought I would have to drag him through the store and just point to what he should shoot with the registry gun. Instead, he was downright engaged. He asked good questions and got downright indignant about our crib choice. I had picked a lower-end Jardine crib because it was the only white one that I like in the store. I'm not THAT committed to the baby store that I don't realize there are other cribs out there, but the white ones that I would want are in the $600 range and/or are only available online. Right--that's insane. So I showed Dave my favorite crib, the Babi Italia PineHurst, but it doesn't come in white (link only shows the lifetime version, the one we registered for is a traditional drop-side crib). Well, Dave fell in love. It had hidden hardware, which means that instead of the mechanism for the sliding side being exposed, it's all sleek and beautifully hidden inside the sliding rail. It's made of better wood. It's sturdier. Baby Bargains gives the manufacturer an 'A' instead of Jardine's 'B-.' It will last for many Baby Cutes to come. So, we just hit the trigger.

Then, another magical "glider-rocker-like" moment happened. My favorite Simmons dresser was on clearance. Today was a special 10% off clearance furniture sale. AND I had a 10% off your total purchase coupon in ADDITION to my employee discount. We pulled out the drawer and held it next to Baby Cute's future crib and it matched PERFECTLY. So my vision for white furniture is out the door, and we are the proud owners of a Simmons dresser/changing table for LESS than 50% of the original price. There are perks, ladies and gentlemen, to working at the baby store. I am VERY excited, Baby Cute's room is going to be so beautiful.

Dave noticed today that my belly grew again. Sure, it grows a little bit every day, but my belly button is coming up to meet my lower belly fat faster and faster. Today, I can definitely tell. Baby Cute is being pretty quiet overall--but then again, I have sat down very little today. I am, however, keeping my tennis shoes ON my feet to prevent swelling. So far, so good.

My neighbor is a single mom with two girls. They are easily my favorite neighbors, and tomorrow is Bailey's birthday pool party. They are busily cleaning and organizing and yelling at each other in that typical, high-pitched girl voice, complete with "MooooOOOOm" thrown in for good measure. They are doing all of this in their swimsuits, which only makes it funnier. It will be fun to be a fly in the window tomorrow during the party. I fully expect that someday Bailey or her big sister Shelby will babysit for Baby Cute, so it's fun to watch them "fight" in the same way I so fondly remember growing up with my sisters.

Perhaps this makes me a bad person, but I sat in my dining room (where my windows look right onto their house and into their open windows) and laughed SO hard when Shelby hit Bailey in the face with a jumprope earlier this week. Bailey was FINE, but Shelby disappeared and Bailey sat on the front porch crying LOUDLY and dramatically. Having been the younger sister, I understood that she wanted her Mom to come out and make sure she was ok. Margaret was NOT coming out. She cried on and on (stopping every once in a while so I knew she was fine) until she gave up and went inside to cry there and tell on Shelby. I was that little girl many, many times and just couldn't stop laughing. Funny how time flies.

My laundry is done and my Ikea table is half-sanded. It was an absolutely perfect day today, and my roses are starting to bloom. It's quite fun, having a yard (and a husband who mows it regularly). I am going to finish sanding and do some cleaning before I tuck myself in for the night.

/babbling

Thanks for listening. :)