Kitchen helper

My friends have a marvelous device that is basically a glorified stool. It allows their toddler daughter to reach the kitchen counter and help with meal prep, but keeps her safe from falling by being enclosed. Of course,  I wanted one. There are a few different brands of them, and they're all about $200 brand new. Yikes.

I don't want one $200 worth of badly.  So I've been checking Craigslist randomly for the last few months. And yesterday one was finally listed. So I jumped on it and now I have one.

I got it home and put Linus on it. It's the perfect height,  and the platform adjusts so he's even allowed to grow.  

Of course,  within 5 minutes of being on it, he realized it's the perfect construct for him to climb atop the kitchen counter. The shapes on its sides are perfect footholds. Nooooo!

A productive day

This is how we cook dinner when we have to. Sometimes, little boys just need to be held,  even when their mom's hands are busy.

In other news,  today was a very productive day. It's as if I were channeling my own mom! I had a breakfast date with a friend, got Linus down for a long nap where I got some valuable "me" time (yes, I caught up on old TV shows), I went to Costco and Safeway.  I followed that up by taking myself and the dog for a run, with a stop at the kid park to exercise the toddler. I even took a shower this morning, did a load of laundry, and washed most of our dirty dishes. Huzzah!

Now, I've started dinner and am waiting for the hubs to come join us. Then it's baby bedtime, and hopefully some time watching TV with the hubs.

Things I find in my washer #3

Found inside my washer: one sippy cup. Perhaps the washer is confused for the kitchen sink.

Things I find in my washer #2

Yesterday,  I found my cell phone. Luckily I discovered it before I started the laundry.

Today, I found one wooden block. Just one. And I didn't find it until I heard clunking in the dryer.

Viva la Revolucion

Jon and I have been talking about getting a running stroller off and on since Linus was born.  When Linus was first born, it didn't even make sense to have a stroller at all because I always had Linus in my Ergo Carrier.  The only times that Linus went in his stroller (which I had gotten as a hand-me-down from a girl at work) when he was an itty bitty baby were when my mom was in town and would stroller him on over to daycare in the morning.

When Linus turned about 6 months old and was still in the 90th percentile for weight, I started occasionally pushing him in the stroller.  This became more common as he got older, and especially after we moved to California.  The stroller is a fantastic way to travel because Linus can really look around and check out the world.

Somewhere in April or early May, Jon convinced me to start running with him.  Running means that I get the dog and Jon pushes Linus in the stroller and the whole family, sans cats, goes out for 3 or 4 miles around Foster City.  This was fine.  Our old, trusty stroller made the journey, but it certainly wasn't the best device for running.

So, I saw a woman in the Foster City Parents Club had her Bob Stroller for sale and I jumped on it.  I had wanted a Bob, in particular, because the reviews I've read and heard from friends have been fantastic.  These strollers start around $400 new, so grabbing a pre-loved stroller was perfect, especially since Linus is already 1 and isn't going to want to be riding in strollers forever.

We got the Bob a couple of weeks ago and, man, it is AMAZING.  I highly recommend every parent of young'uns to hop on the Bob train.  Having a stroller that has wheels that are actually filled with air to provide a nice, stable ride is great for anyone taking long walks or runs.  It goes over dirt, rocks, etc. just fine, whereas our other stroller provided a bumpy ride.  Plus, the larger tires make everything easier, and it's definitely more lightweight than our other stroller.  It even folds up really easily.

I occasionally use my other big stroller still, but the Bob is quickly becoming my stroller of choice.  Linus even falls asleep comfortably in the Bob, as he's exhibited on a few occasions.

The only issue I've found so far with the Bob is that, because the tires inflate, you can pop them!  I had to replace a tube in one of my wheels because I drove over something the other day.  But, it's a $10 part and takes 20 minutes worth of work to replace, and it shouldn't happen very often.

Things my son doesn't need to know when he's older

Linus has entered the period of time when he things drinking from a cup is so cool. If he finds a cup around the house,  he'll try to drink from it,  even if there's nothing in it.

He has cups he likes to play with in the bathtub. So, of course,  sometimes he drinks the bath water.

Not a big deal, except he still sometimes pees in the bathtub......