I Really Like The...

Evenflo Whisper Connect 900Mhz 2-Way Nursery Monitor

(P.S. - Pre-script - if there is such a thing. There's more in this post than just about the baby monitor, so read on if you're not into baby stuff :-)

Okay, actually I just posted my very first review on Amazon.com about it because I love it that much. This is what I say in my review:

I'm using this monitor so that I can hear what's going on with my 2 1/2 and 5 1/2 year old girls while I'm outside helping to build our house. I was concerned that it wouldn't work well with that much distance, but it's been great, with no static and I can hear everything that's going on. The 2-way feature is really handy to clear up minor disputes and appease kids that want me to come in for things that they can wait for. I'm not sure if the 2-way feature is as necessary with babies. This is what the Amazon.com Hands-On Review says about that: "The two-way walkie-talkie feature allows parents to talk to their fussy children if they can't get to them immediately. Sometimes this connection is all baby needs to get back to sleep!" So we will see about that, because I will be having another baby this fall. We haven't had a need for a baby monitor with the first two because our current place is too small and we can hear everything from any room. But the house that we are in the process of building will be quite large and I will definitely need one for this coming baby, and I believe it will also continue to come in handy with the older children as well. This monitor will surely get a lot of use from this family in the coming years!


......I just started a new label for products like this that I really love. I had one other item I'd mentioned awhile ago...the Leapfrog DVDs. Just so you all know, I love them as much as I love this baby monitor! so check them out if you haven't already (click on the label on this post to get to get to the post about the DVDs).

I shouldn't need to use the monitor all the time while building, because the girls would usually come out and play while I work, but today it was raining. It will also be handy for when the progress with the house gets far enough along that I can't hear them well even when they're outside too (if I'm on the top floor and they're playing in the basement - that will be the designated safe place for them to play in once we get done working down there). Speaking of progress with the house...Last I mentioned it, the foundation had been poured. Since then it was back-filled, we had the basement slab poured, the framing for the necessary support walls in the basement are finished, and the beams and floor joists for the first floor are now in the process of being secured. That's what I did today...nailed the floor joists into the brackets that connected them to the beams. My first actual construction-like job. Up until now I've just helped with clean up. I used to hate doing this stuff when I worked for my parents in the summers (from 12-16 or 17), but it's much more fulfilling when it's for yourself, and also I feel good about doing the menial tasks so that I can free up the time for my dad and Mike to be doing more important things. That two hours spent doing simple nailing (I used a palm-nailer and it was a breeze) is two hours that my dad didn't have to spend doing it! (I asked how long I thought it would take him compared to me, and he said about the same time)

So anyway, I'm really excited about this house stuff, and I'm finally getting to where the regular cleaning - laundry, dishes, and tidying - only take about 15 minutes each a day, because I have been feeling awesome now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, so it's pretty much maintenance with those tasks, rather than "catching-up". That's that part of my life anyway, I have a lot of other miscellaneous things I still need to catch up on before I feel like I've got things together. I need to get a schedule figured out for myself and that will help with that too, because then I can just plan some period of time toward doing those random things. Plus I need to start cooking more. I hadn't been cooking at all because I would get sick, but I feel better now and I can cook eggs, but haven't tried handling raw meat yet.

Still need to look at that draft I've been working on...by now I'll probably cut stuff out because it's all just getting to be such old news.

Boy...I think I just hit the wall as I'm writing this. I've been up since 3:00 a.m. (1:30 p.m. now). Mike is working a 13-hr shift today, so had to leave here at 5:30. Since I had paper route and it takes me about 5-6 hours, I wanted to leave a little earlier so that Mike's dad who kindly agreed to come over here (on short notice - I just asked him last night) wouldn't have to stay too long. So I got up 2 hours earlier and got back from route at 8:00 a.m. It was faster because of going earlier because there was less traffic. But boy did my allergies kick my butt! I kept praying for rain. I took some Zyrtec before I left, but I forgot to do the worst route in the grass department last and did it first! (Stupid, stupid!) So I was sneezing like crazy and went through half a box of tissue and about 10 Ricola by the time I was done! I took a shower as soon as I got home and that helped, and I feel excellent now after working outside for 2 hours in the rain! It wasn't raining too hard, so it actually felt kind of nice. So, like I said, I'm feeling pretty beat all of a sudden. Luckily Colette is due for a nap in a half hour, so I can take a nap then.

Oh...just thought of this. If anyone is interested, I'm going to the Forest Theater with Adrienne next weekend to see "Robin Hood". (Click on above link for more info) It's become a tradition I suppose...I took her to see "Peter Pan" 2 years ago when she was 3 1/2 and she loved it. Then last year I took her to "Anne of Green Gables" at 4 1/2 and worried that wouldn't interest her, but the whole experience of being in the forest for the theater ups the excitement level and she was fine. Last summer I also took her to see Ovation of Bainbridge's "Beauty and the Beast" and she REALLY loved that! I'm sure she'll like Robin Hood. Next year when Colette's 3 1/2 she'll get to join in on the tradition. So...leave a comment if you think you'll be there next weekend (only people I know), and I'll look out for you!

Have a great weekend all!