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March 3, 2007
Endorsements
I keep saying this parenting stuff is such hard work we should get paid for it: just in case there are some sponsors out there looking for some bleary-eyed, barely-coherent parents here are some things I'd be happy to endorse.
Honda Odyssey
It's easy to love a minivan when you're toting kids around, but then again I drove a station wagon when I was single and loved it. This car has so many great features it's ridiculous, from the secret compartment in the floor with a lazy susan to third-row seating you can stow or setup with a baby on one arm. It drives like a sedan, and you can plug a PS2 in the back for the drop-down tv screen. Come on, what's not to love.
Baby Carriers
Before Josie was born we searched frantically high and low for a double stroller, and then somewhat ironically barely used the one we finally decided on (the Combi, which is really a good stroller): living out in the country we don't have nice paved paths to go for a stroll on. So instead we've relied on our trusty Baby Bjorn (from baking with Brandie to walks on the beach to hikes in the frozen woods, man has that thing gotten a lot of use!) and the REI Tagalong.
Mylar Balloons
This is a pretty broad endorsement, and sometimes difficult to backup since mylar balloons are about 5x as expensive as regular latex balloons. However the cost isn't relative to how long the balloons last: latex balloons will be drooping within a day and useless the next, while a mylar balloon will keep floating for weeks.
Tivo
Before we got Tivo we always said we didn't watch enough tv to justify the investment: now that we have two kids we watch even less, but the ability to limit Sophie's viewing to half-hour or twenty-minute segments (when you cut out the penguin intro Peep is a pretty short show) is invaluable.
Clark's Boots
When we first moved back to snow-country we didn't have any footwear fit for the weather; on my step-mother's advice we visited Rascoe's (an excellent shoestore in downtown Binghamton that has since regrettably gone out of business), and had the problem remedied. Over one year later, my Clark's boots are still my favorite shoes and may go down in history as the best pair I've ever owned.
Trader Joe's
Please oh please won't someone put a Trader Joe's near here!! We drive three to four hours for our Trader Joe's runs now (in Amherst, MA or Mendham, NJ), but it's still worth it. Sophie loves the tomato soup and cheese puffs especially, while to me cereal just isn't right without their toasted slivered almonds and some dried cranberries.
Alphabet Tot Tower
The thing about blocks is, kids love to knock them down: however bringing a 2' tower of wooden edges down onto a 9-month-old just isn't going to end well. The Tot Tower blocks are made of durable but light cardboard and nest inside each other so storing them is pretty easy.
Playhut Megaland
I still love to build forts, but having a lightweight and storable one with tunnels, balls and a basketball hoop is hard to top. Josie is crawling in and out of ours now and loves it, we've gotten a lot of use out of it.
Posted by Jacob at March 3, 2007 10:32 PM
Comments
You guys should get a double BOB Stroller - we love ours! I think it's called a BOB Dualie Revolution - but check with Mark the gadget guru! It handles the trails around our house and it seems like it holds up well!
Miss you much :-) Julie
Posted by: Julie Everson at March 7, 2007 7:07 PM
maybe you guys should come visit so you can go on ur trader joe's run hahaha
Posted by: dan at March 8, 2007 11:41 AM
It's true, Dan has replaced Lauren as our Trader Joe's "dealer" for the past year. The poor guy can't even plan a visit home without getting bombarded with shopping lists from five different people.
Posted by: Jake at March 8, 2007 11:50 AM