"Come out to the coast, we'll have a few laughs..."

I've posted previously about the best Christmas movies out there...

I neglected two of themanfolk's favorites:

Die Hard

Die Hard 2

They really are Chrismas movies.  We went and saw Die Hard on the big screen the week after Thanksgiving and it was an excellent way to kick off the season!  So if you are looking for something a little different, give them a shot.

Or there is always Gremlins.

What is wrong with people?

What kind of asshole tells his kids that there is no Santa in the middle of a nasty divorce a week and a half before Christmas?

My brother in law.

Drops the bomb on them (they are 8 and 6) while christmas tree shopping and then leaves them at his mother's for the night to be handed off to their mother the next day.

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Two kids, who have been through a whole lot this year and obviously need to have something good to believe in, completely crushed.

I want to kick him in the nuts.

He says his soon-to-be-ex is no good at being a mother, but this is world class shit parenting on his part.  At least she (who is dealing with the immediate fall out) has been trying to help them and has reached out to me and my husband's mom to help repair what she can.  In my opionin, she has done the best possible things she can for the kiddos (the young one is having a REALLY hard time with it) in the aftermath.

Seriously. Kick. In. Nuts.

The Angel Tree

I used to be a big proponent of the Salvation Army Angel Tree program.

Used to.

My office building is about a quarter of a mile away from the local SALVATION ARMY CHRISTMAS/DISASTER CENTER (doesn't that say something that those two are paired). Anyway, we get involved as a company in both donating and volunteering to help. 

While volunteering a few years ago during family pick-up I was dismayed at what I saw... more than 50% of the people coming to pick up gifts for their "children in need" had cars that were either 1. worth more than mine or 2. the wheels they had on them were worth more than my car.  When a mom with three "needy" kids gets out of her Escalade with her iPhone stuck to her ear and sparkly gold grille - you loose some faith.

The parents aren't needy... they fulfill their own needs first and then expect charity to take care of their kids.  As a mom I just don't get it.

Or maybe the system is broken and it's too simple to get labeled as "needy"?

I dunno.  I've stopped supporting the program until I figure it out.  I'm not a Grinch, I'm just disappointed.

Knock it off!!

No one wants to have a Monday morning meeting at 9am... SO QUIT PUTTING THEM ON MY CALENDAR AND THEN CANCELLING THEM!

Idiots.

Overpaid internal consultants who are assisting the unions in driving this place into the ground.

More tiny tot advice

A continuation of an earlier post... 

· OshKosh clothes run small

· Baby spit up can stain anything

· A chair that rocks is a good thing to have in the house. We didn’t get a glider, but our hand-me-down recliners happen to rock

· We have found that the changing pads (usually come with a diaper bag or sold as a ‘changing station’) are nearly useless (slippery and too small and take up a lot of space in your bag), you are better off to have a receiving blanket in your diaper bag that you can throw down wherever and rotate out frequently.

· It is rare that a men’s room has a changing table in public places

· When baby comes keep the following on hand: baby first aid/grooming kit (red cross makes a couple), Vick’s Baby Rub (must have for congestion, you put it on their feet under socks and it works like a champ), baby Tylenol (we haven’t had to use this one yet)

Top 15 Babies Things (0-3 months)

A couple of my friends are pregnant and have asked for registering advice.  They seemed to like this so I thought I'd share it with the world. 

Some of this we got new, some of it was hand-me-down – these are my top 15 things for the first three months:

• An extra infant car seat base for the second vehicle
• Pack and play with changing table on top
• Multiple diaper bags with lots of pockets (and room for your stuff so you don’t have to walk around looking like a bag lady when you take the baby out)
• We use 4 or 6 ply cloth diapers as burp cloths. (The stuff at some of the baby stores labeled as burp cloths are kind of useless – the diapers work like a champ)
• Philips Avent Soothie Pacifiers (http://www.amazon.com/Avent-Free-Soothie-Pacifier-Pack/dp/B0053KKPZ2/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1352233976&sr=1-2&keywords=avent+soothie)
• Fisher-Price Cruisin' Motion Soother Bouncer (bouncer imitates car movement and our little man loves it – some babies prefer swings or regular bouncers)
• Beaudraux’s Buttpaste
• A cheap microwave bottle steamer and BIG drying rack (we got the Dr. Brown one because it fit the bottles, they are like $25-30 each)
• Angelcare Monitor (has a sensor pad underneath the little one’s mattress that alerts if she stops breathing – great peace of mind) and/or a video monitor (we got a great one on a woot kids deal)  Summer Infant Baby Touch Video Monitor (Google Affiliate Ad)
•  Diaper genie (we got the Arm & Hammer one, so far so good)
• An arterial thermometer that you swipe across their head
• Sheets/quilted covers for the pack and play (2-4 of them)
•  Bassinet (we got a hand-me-down and it worked beautifully – some people we know went straight to a pack and play or crib but I liked having the bassinet right there next to the bed when he wasn’t sleeping through the night)
• You can never have too many receiving blankets (we have some from Carter’s that we got hand-me-down that are a little heavier that we use along with the regular receiving blankets and they are awesome)
•  Diaper caddy for organization. Then you can change a baby in a hurry anywhere in the house (we have this onehttp://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12326945 

    We are partial to Dr. Brown’s bottles – every baby is different though so don’t buy a bunch of anything in advance