Why the Jumperoo made me cry

An important milestone occurred in our house a few weeks ago. No, Sid isn't walking yet (though he probably will be soon) or sporting any teeth. I did something I had been dreading and resisting forever.

I got rid of a piece of baby gear.

This was a dramatic moment for me, as it was a tangible acknowledgement that we will likely not have any more kids. Granted it was just the Jumperoo, which neither kid used that much anyway, but still... I've only given away some baby clothes to little Isaac because I know they'll stay in the family should we ever need them again. But the Jumperoo now lives with the Rauchers in North Carolina. Judah was happily bouncing away in it at our house a few weeks ago and Tamar asked me about buying one. I told her not to spend the money because they were more expensive than they were worth (but of course, I had some crazy coupon discount for mine getting it for less than half the regular price). Then she offered to buy mine since their moving van was coming the next day.

I froze. I seriously did not want to give it away, even for a little bit of money. I turned down the offer at first, actually, thinking "What if we have a third kid? It won't have a Jumperoo!" After stewing on it over dinner, I came to the conclusion that if we can ever afford to have a third we will also be able to afford to buy a new Jumperoo, or not get one at all (again, Silverstein babies aren't too into them...this logic may or may not be inspiring me to also get rid of the swing, which currently resides in my parents garage). So off it went into the Rauchers' moving van and Judah is currently jumping away happily in North Carolina. I miss them...

As hard as this was to do, it helped ground me in the reality that we will likely be a 2-kid family. Nothing wrong with that at ALL. I am so grateful for Ivy and Sidney who are the most amazing gifts and if for whatever reason I can't or choose to not have more, I don't feel that I am at all missing anything. BUT. Mike and I always talked about wanting three...of course, before we even had 1 and realized now that having 3 would make us certifiably insane. However, everyone says going from 1 to 2 is more difficult than 2 to 3, and we also know families gracefully managing 4, but that's just crazy talk.

And the reality is we are barely even equipped to handle 2, and a hypothetical number 3 would be in a LONG time anyway, IF we can afford it and IF we want to jump back into starting over with another baby. Every time I see a squishy little newborn (as I do often since many of my friends are all reproducing at the moment) I want another one. It's also a really selfish desire because I want a do-over from my pregnancy with Sid. I want an easy, uncomplicated pregnancy and an easy birth (my doctor is totally supportive of VBACs). Again, I acknowledge that this is selfish, and even out of my control, but I want to officially close off the uterus happily and on my ideal terms. I just can't bear the thought of saying definitively, at 32, that I am done. Time will tell, my friends, but don't expect any announcements soon. And I'm not getting rid of anything else for the time being either.

In other news, things are busy and hectic around here and we're geared up for summer. I am now officially a Schlepping Mom, as I take Ivy to not one but 2 "extracurricular" classes each week - dancing (birthday present from Mike's parents) and swimming (from mine). Both are quite amusing. Dance class is a HUGE hit. She's been waiting for this for almost a year. She loves the leotards and the tights and the shoes, and she practices her poses and positions around the house all the time. As Mike commented, Black Swan she aint (crappy movie, by the way) but she's enthusiastic. More like a clumsy chicken, but whatever. It's adorable. And she's enjoying swimming too. We have her signed up for semi-private lessons but she's the only kid at her time slot so it's private at a fraction of the cost. Score! Hopefully by summer's end she'll be more comfortable and confident in the water so we can enjoy crashing the neighbor's pool on Shabbat afternoons and at my parents' community pool.

So, have I mentioned that I'm really into daily deal sites? My friend Rebecca is really into Extreme Couponing on TLC (as impressive as it is to get 47268494 boxes of Cheerios for $1, where the hell would I put them?), and this makes think I need to pitch my own show to TLC - Extreme Grouponing. I seriously need Groupon therapy…I’m totally addicted. I get probably 25 emails a day with deals. It’s nuts. But as I’ve mentioned before it’s been a great way to buy or do stuff we otherwise wouldn’t really be able to afford. And, I’m so Extreme that when I refer other people to the deals, I usually get credit and then end up getting deals for FREE! Brilliant! I love free! Spread the love peeps – buy through me, then repost yourself and you too can get free stuff!

Speaking of free stuff, I’m also on an email list that sends you consumer surveys. They’re usually pretty quick and I like to share my opinion as a consumer, so I’ve racked up money that way too…cash them in for Amazon gift cards, and that’s MORE free stuff! Madness, I tell you! This is now living in my home, that I got free:How have I lived this long without an ice cream maker?! It’s divine. Not exactly helpful for keeping the weight off, but it’s summer so nightly ice cream is practically mandated. Oh who am I kidding? Ice cream is non-seasonal in my book.

And finally, I am so relieved to report that after 3 months of sleep training, Sid is finally sleeping through the night. I realize as I type this I am probably jinxing it, but who cares - I'm more rested than I've been in almost a year. Almost enough to forget how exhausting it is to have a baby and want another one...just kidding.

Road Trip Success, and Ivy turned 3

Forgive my super lameness - I just can't get my act together to update this thing. I am SO friggin' tired (more on that in a minute), and I'm quite busy doing some part time consulting while I look for a full time job. And I'm raising 2 kids, and cooking dinner, and...and...and. You know the drill.

Anyway, it's been a busy month+ since I last updated. The first exciting piece of news is the arrival of one Isaac William Black, born to Erica and Adam on May 20! We were beyond thrilled to hear the news, and were on pins and needles all day waiting for details. The timing was perfect because we were able to load up the Silverstein family truckster and drive up to Mountain View for the bris the following week.

We had heard various pieces of advice as to how we should tackle the drive. Due to a work conflict the night before the bris, we had no choice but to get up before dawn and hit the road at 5am. It was perfect. Both kids were super mellow as the sun was rising, and there was no traffic in sight (especially awesome for the Friday of Memorial Day weekend). We cruised up the Grapevine, making one stop for potty and one stop for a late breakfast, bringing us to Mountain View before noon. We hustled over to meet little Isaac, and then prepared for the bris. It was a beautiful ceremony and we so happy to have been there.

I'm an Aunt!

Little Cousin, Big Cousin!

The rest of the weekend was awesome - lots of parks, good food, and quality family time. We hit the road late Sunday afternoon, and the trip back was slightly more challenging the drive up. Crankiness was escalated, it was harder to fall asleep, we had to detour through San Bernardino, etc. But we made it home safe and sound in time to start gearing up for Ivy's 3rd birthday.

Yes, my baby turned 3. I'm still sort of in shock. The first year was all about milestones and getting to that one year mark. The second year was a blur, largely due to my pregnancy with Sid. But the third year was eye-opening. She went from being a baby to a person. A person who speaks in full sentences and sings songs in Hebrew and tells jokes. It's astounding. We were so blessed to have a week-long birthday celebration, starting with a huge party co-hosted by 2 of Ivy's friends with the same birthday. There were bubbles and bagels galore, and we had a blast. We also went to Disneyland, where Ivy was obsessed with finding Snow White (no other characters would do) and both she and Sid got to enjoy some rides. It was a magical day...just the way those folks at Disney intended it to be!

Count 'em - three!

Now that the various celebrations are over, we're back to normal...whatever that is. We've been working on Sid's sleeping, and he's made some minor improvements but we're still tired. He's also crawling like a maniac, and here's how it's different from Ivy: I remember her crawling around with no particular destination in mind, but maybe that's because we lived in a small apartment and she didn't have far to go. Sid, on the other hand, goes straight for cords, outlets, and anything potentially dangerous. He can spot something chokeable a mile away and get there in a flash. This is going to be crazy. We never had to babyproof for Ivy because it would never occur to get into things she shouldn't. Heck, I could leave an open bottle of Tylenol out on the floor, and she wouldn't even notice. But not this guy - we're going to have buckle down and keep him alive!

I'm really happy that summer is here - as soon as this June gloom clears up, we'll be in business! We have so much that we want to do that we had to start a spreadsheet to keep track. And I hope to be back on here more, lest I disappoint my handful of faithful followers. See ya on the flip side!

Cancun it was not - spring break recap

The last few weeks have been exhausting. As if the whole ordeal of Passover (nonstop cleaning and cooking for 8 days) isn’t enough, throw in preschool spring break AND a visit from Mike’s parents and you’ve got yourself a whirlwind week! Actually, it was a lot of fun. And having Mike’s mom around was an enormous help while I tended to my job hunting and other work projects...she kept Ivy quite entertained. I swear, a new toy or book or sticker appeared every hour on the hour! Sidney also had a lot of fun hanging out with Grandma. We had a great field trip to Underwood Farms where many strawberries were picked. Mike’s dad joined us for the latter half of the holiday, and we had even more outings - Red Sox game, MOCA, to name a few.

After all was said and done and everyone was back in their respective homes, preschools, and day cares by the end of last week, I damn near fell apart. I was beyond tired - and of course my back and neck were acting up again. Add to that Sidney’s sleep training (going decently well, save a failed attempt at a dream feed) and Ivy waking up with the roosters every morning.

Oh, and there’s emotional exhaustion too...trying to find a job sucks. It really does. And I’ve had some decent leads and prospects, but nothing has bitten yet. Granted it’s only been a month, but I’m getting antsy, despite my mile-long to-do list of other projects. When I’m too beat to accomplish anything, I get down on myself and then feel guilty that at least if I’m not getting anything done I should be spending more time with the kids. It’s a never-ending cycle of second-guessing and regret, follow by bursts of inspiration and motivation, and back again.

And I’m getting worried. Paying for preschool was hard enough when we were both employed... Fortunately, Mike recently got a small raise at work, but that doesn’t exactly cover the gap of my missing income. There has GOT to be something out there for me. We still dream of taking a vacation, or at least a weekend getaway, if we were able to be out of the woods for more than 5 minutes.

What was I saying about being exhausted?

Anyway, life is good otherwise. We are enjoying the impending commencement of summer. Yesterday we went to the beach and enjoyed yummy sunny weather (albeit quite windy which did not bode well for our umbrellas). And in the evening, after the kids were in bed, I went out for a run in the last minutes of daylight which lasted til almost 8pm. Bliss.

We are also on pins and needles waiting for the arrival of Baby Black, who could be making his debut any day now. We’re so excited!

Here are a few photo highlights of what we’ve been up to - an attempt to make up for my recent extended absence from the blogosphere. Oh, and I’m still working on that special project I mentioned last time. I’ll get to it...one of these days!

Ivy and her fellow migrant workers, er...friends

Onion picking fail!

April 23 - 7 months!

Gooooo Sox!

Where are YOUR matching monkey jammies?

Ivy channels her inner artist at MOCA

Santa Monica pier for the last day of break

I'm still here, I swear

My bad. I cannot believe it's been a month since my last entry...well I can, sort of. The short version is that I got laid off from my job (we all did - sadly, the organization had to suspend all operations) and I swear I have never been busier. When did I have time to work? Not only am I job hunting and meeting with people about jobs and doing odd jobs, but I am also trying to keep the house running. I have done oodles of loads of laundry and dishes, and only some cooking. I have not been bored or without something to do for the last 2 weeks, not even blog!

BUT - don't worry friends, I'll be back soon. And in fact, I've been doing a lot of work on some stuff that I'm excited to share along with a big, and timely, announcement. No, I'm not pregnant again. Get your mind out of that place. Now.

Until then - hopefully before Pesach - I have to give a shout out to Bill and Carin on the arrival of their beautiful baby boy. Mini Folman came into the world last Friday, and I had the privilege of meeting him yesterday. Fun times are in store for him and Sidney.

See you soon!

"Spring cleaning" my brain - coming out of blog hibernation

I've been slacking on the blog front recently, but for good reasons...I'm a full-time working mom of 2, remember? I've also been intentionally stepping away from the laptop in the evenings, when I'm not doing work (which I do have to do a bit each night) or editing photos, with the goals of a) trying to earn a little bit of extra money by doing some grantwriting (and other projects - I'm pimping myself out people, so send stuff my way, rates negotiable!) and b) trying to read more. I'm in a book club now, so I gotta get my reading on, know what I'm saying? Right now I'm reading Cutting for Stone, and it's excellent. It's also about 800 pages long and I have to finish it before our meeting in 4 days. I also have been getting terrible headaches by day's end, since I stare at a computer screen all day. And if I'm going to stare at a screen when I get home, it better be something funny like THE OFFICE or mindnumbing like JERSEY SHORE. So this is just a quick update to let you know that all is still well.

Mike and I finally settled on a weeknight schedule and rhythm for getting done what needs to be done (big shout out to the ECC hot lunches that started this week, meaning 2 fewer nights that we have to make Ivy a lunch!), and it even includes going to the gym. My nights are Tuesdays (spinning) and Wednesdays (pilates). This has been critical to ensuring that I'm doing exercise at all, though with my favorite day of the year coming up this weekend (duh, Daylight Savings!) I will be able to do some evening running as well. It's high time I start working on that new year's resolution...

I had a successful get away with my sister-in-law Erica on the infamous Cruise to Nowhere. I missed being with the littles, but it was nice to be free for a night. I drank fruity cocktails, sat in the jacuzzi, and got dressed up for dinner...a far cry from what I wear to dinner most nights. Erica and I had lots and lots of laughs...you would not believe some of the rubes that were on this ship, and we weren't even going anywhere! That and the awful rock and roll tribute show...though to call it a tribute it really quite generous. I brought my pump, and had the ship staff a bit confused as to why I needed to periodically get into my fridge bag over the course of the evening. I slept 8 hours, uninterrupted, and overall felt quite refreshed. Then it seemed that the moment I walked in the door at home, my back started hurting again and it was chaos trying to wrangle the kids. So much for feeling refreshed!

Don't try this at home...

Speaking of my back, I've been complaining about it long enough, so back to the doctor I went. She quickly deduced that a lot of the upper back tension and pain I'm feeling is likely from stress...big shock there. So I've been working on managing my stress, and lo and behold I'm feeling a lot better. That and my weekly pilates. I never had ballerina posture to begin with, but improving that is also helping. Slow and steady...

A couple weekends ago, we had a "blind" play date with a friend from my mommy message board. She was someone that I knew lived in LA, and we've "known" each other for a couple years now. She has 2 sweet little girls, one of whom is exactly Ivy's age and the other who just turned 1. We finally decided it was time to meet in person, so I bit the bullet and gave out my address to a complete stranger on the internet. My instincts were good on this one, and we had a very nice afternoon with our new friends. Ivy and Lu jumped around laughing and made muffins. It was super cute and really nice to meet some new people.

Then this past weekend, Ivy came down with a 24-hour bug of some sort. She woke up and was a little off, but we figured she was just a little tired. She got to gym class and as we sat down for circle time, I realized she was burning up. I whisked her off the floor and into the car, where I settled her on the couch with a sippy cup of apple juice and a Dora marathon (Who's brilliant idea was it to DVR episodes? Yup, mine!) while we waited for the Tylenol to work its magic reducing her 102 fever. Poor thing. She got to stay home from school on Monday, even though she was mostly fine by then and we had a fun, relaxing day together. I'm so glad that so far Sidney has managed to stay healthy...but believe me, Ivy was NOT happy about not being allowed to touch or kiss him while she was sick. She cried...a lot. "I WANNA HUG MY SINNY-BOY!" Love.

Purim is coming up, and once again Mike and I find ourselves at a loss for costume ideas. We really set the bar way too high 3 years ago. My only idea is to dress up as pregnant. (What, too soon?!) But while we try to figure it out, Ivy announced that she would not be going as a cupcake (at least she wore it once on Halloween so it wasn't a complete waste) and wanted to be a flamingo. I thought this was hilarious:

but I'm not about to drop that much money so off to the craft store we go! I see lots of pink feather boas in my future. I never knew I would attempt to be so crafty!

That's about it for now. Mike goes out of town next week for work, so it's Nana to the rescue! We may attempt some light sleep training, but this little boy has got me wrapped around his finger so I'm pretty sure it won't happen and he'll be in my bed every night as usual. How can you say no to this face?

Hey ladies!

I swear I don't work for any of these companies

With a new little nephew on the way, god willing, I've been talking a lot to my sister-in-law Erica about baby stuff. I've given her rundowns of all the gear we have and recommend, and have given her tips for finding good deals and ways to save money. It was our email conversation yesterday that led her to suggest, "This would be a great topic for your blog!" So here it is - How Kim Dominates Internet Shopping! Haha.

First things first, please vote for Ivy! How is it that this gorgeous little sparkler is doing so bad in the rankings? Vote early and vote often...seriously, every day through Sunday (and multiple times a day from different browsers and computers). Tell yo' friends too. Ivy rules!

Parents Magazine Kid of the Year - click here!

(You have to vote, not just Facebook like it!)

Anyway, I often joke about my internet shopping addiction...okay, so it's not always a joke but I should clarify the "addiction" part. Sure I lust after fancy shoes and handbags, or browse designer clothes for my kids, but that's not what I actually buy. Please. Here's my situation - I don't really have time to shop for much more than food, so I rely on the interwebz for many of my purchases. And when you're on a super-tight budget like we are, you have to be careful about where your money is going. Fortunately we've been blessed with lots of gifts when both kids were born, and 2 grandmothers who love to buy them clothes (and books and toys), not to mention lots of hand-me-downs from friends, so the truth is we don't often need a ton of new stuff for them. However, needs do arise - Ivy becoming potty trained and needing underpants, for example, and the birth of Sidney requiring a double stroller for our weekend walks to IKAR - so a-shopping we must go.

I can't even begin to tell you about how many things I've gotten practically or totally free due to my dilligence at finding the best deals and knowing places to shave off a few dollars here and a few dollars there. So I've decided to let you in on my secrets because we all like saving money, right? Here are my tips and rules:

1. My number one rule is never pay for shipping! If I can't get free shipping, I usually don't shop on the site. EVERYONE offers free shipping these days, so don't settle for less! If there's no free shipping code, I see how much more I need to buy to get free shipping and see if it's worth it to throw something else in the cart. For places like Target, I will ALWAYS make my purchase at least $50, because I know I can return the thing I don't really need in the store, thus saving me from having to pay to ship it back either and then I basically get the item I do need without having to pay for shipping. I will only pay for it if it's unavoidable, and I'm able to save at least the amount of shipping in other ways (see #3).

2. Ebates- this should be #1 because it's the first place you should start. This site actually sounds too good to be true - you get cash back for shopping through their site? What's the catch? Nothing...well except maybe you're a help to advertisers, but you actually get checks in the mail! (I just got a nice one last week.) You click through to the site you want to buy starting from Ebates, and it tracks your purchase, giving you a certain percentage back. And they offer incentives with daily double cash back on certain retailers. Deal of the century, I tell you. When I told my dad about this he was mad that I didn't tell him sooner! "Think of all the cash back I could have gotten when I bought our new TV or from all of the soccer jerseys I'm always buying!" Go there now, through my referral code.

3. Retailmenot - this site should be everyone's second stop, after Ebates. There are others out there, like Coupon Cabin, but I like this the best. You can search any retailer out there, and they will tell you what coupon codes exist...users submit them so they're not always accurate, but it's a great way to find codes that aren't publicized. And the best part is when you can stack the codes to get free shipping AND $5 off AND another 20% off! (Listen to me - I'm like an anti-Semite's dream!)

4. Be a loyal customer - get on the email list of places you frequent. You'll hear about sales and secret discounts, and sometimes you earn points by referring people. What, too many emails? Do what I do and use a secondary email account so you don't clog your main inbox. All of my purchases and related emails go to my Yahoo account, so I can keep Gmail for real communication.

Some of my favorite shopping sites and recommendations:

Diapers.com - kinda my best e-friend. Not a week goes by where we don't need baby bath soap or wipes or whatever. Sure you have to spend $25 to get free shipping (if you also buy something from the sister site Soap.com), but that's not really hard considering there are 4 people in our house and someone always needs something. And believe me, it's much more economical to tack on one or 2 items that I don't really need, but are cheap, than to go to Target when I know I can get them for a little bit less and end up impulse buying, thus negating the savings. Plus it's great for birthday gifts since they have EVERYTHING - books, toys, clothes, you name it. The best part is NEXT DAY SHIPPING! If you order by 6pm, it arrives on your door the very next day! Recently I was sorting through Sidney's jammies and realized about half of them didn't fit. With only 3 good pairs, and two of them in the laundry (with no time to wash them), I was going to be stuck the next night. Nope! Found a pair on clearance at diapers.com, added a couple other things we needed and BAM a box was waiting at the door when I got home from work. Sidney did not have to sleep naked after all.

use code:KIMB6119

Not valid for existing Diapers.com, Soap.com or BeautyBar.com customers. Some restrictions apply.

Groupon/Living Social/Every other website like this - now this is really where I have an addiction because I get Daily Deal emails from at least 10 places a day so its a good thing I dont need or want most of whats on there - teeth whitening, Brazilian blow outs (okay, i'm tempted) personal pilates lessons, botox. But there will occasionally be some great ones, like for Amazon or GAP or Shutterfly (hello, super helpful for all my pictures!), and occasionally we spring for restaurant ones since we never really go out and this gives us an excuse to do so on the cheap.

Mamapedia and Plum District - like Groupon, but specifically for moms and families and customizable by city.

Amazon Mom - if you don't use Amazon, you're probably living under a rock. Their Mom site directs you to deals on all baby essentials, and you can sign up for Subscribe and Save for things like diapers. It can save you tons!

Baby Steals - I don't remember to check this every day, but someone posted a link on my mom's forum and I was so glad I checked it out - 50% off Ergos! I already have one, but we promised Erica and Adam that that would be our baby gift to them so can you imagine how excited I was? Score! This is extra amazing because Ergos are NEVER on sale (okay, rarely because I got mine on sale, natch).

Baby Half Off - pretty much the same as Baby Steals, but their stuff sells out super quick.

Of course the best way to save money is not to shop at all. But what fun is that?!

I'm going no where and I'm SO excited!

Life continues to chug along at our house. Every week is a slight improvement over the previous one, in terms of nailing down the routine and making the trains run on time. And Sidney doesn't seem to interested in figuring out how to not wake up every 3 hours, but we're working on that. The advice from the pediatrician and the Pump Station was to make sure we're not taking him out of the room when he wakes up...um, yeah that means I have to get up out of bed to go in there and feed him in order to get him back in the crib. Right. I'm so dead to the world that feeding him in our bed is all I have the energy for. Must work on this. Will be good for everyone.

BUT - guess what? Remember how I talked about needing a night away so badly? Well the Gods of the Interwebz were listening (well, actually my sister in law) and I get to go away next Saturday night! My sister in law, Erica, is a "cruise critic" ;-) and she is going to be touring and reporting on a new ship in Long Beach. She's invited to stay over night with dinner and entertainment, AND she gets to bring a guest! ME ME ME!!! I'm so excited - my first cruise to nowhere! We literally don't even leave the port, but it will be magical nonetheless...except for the part where I have to schlep my pump and store milk for the 18ish hours that I'm gone. But I get to go away and put on a nice dress and drink free cocktails and eat a yummy dinner and see a show and maybe even hit the gym and/or jacuzzi AND sleep in my very own bed with no interruptions! WOO HOO! And Mike is a true saint for granting me this opportunity and for staying home with the little ones (if you're around next Saturday evening and feel like helping him out give him a call!). A well-rested and refreshed mama is good for everyone. Trust me.

Enough about me. Ivy makes me so proud. She has just been an amazing kid over the last couple weeks...not that she isn't usually awesome, but she's on fire these days. Last week her preschool teacher told us that she was a really great friend to the new girl in the class, taking her under her wing and showing her the ropes. My heart melted to hear this.

"This is our shopping cart..."

She's using Hebrew a lot for almost any word that she knows, and she started calling me Ima! She loves her play kitchen and pretend food and her little dishes and mixer, and will often make Mike and I "birthday dinners" complete with cupcakes. She is also now totally self-relient in the mornings. She stumbles out of bed and heads straight to the kitchen, bleary eyed and hair a mess, where she gets her yogurt from the fridge and sits at the table to eat. It's pretty hilarious for some reason. We're also kick ass with potty training. She only has maybe 1 accident a week, and is probably ready to ditch the nighttime Pull-Ups soon. I could not be happier to only have one set of diapers...especially since her little tush looks so much cuter now! She's just all around awesome, and I had to brag. Besides this is the closest thing we're going to have to a baby book, so deal with it.

Sidney is super smiley and chatty and loves to wake me up by talking my ear off...now if only he would wait to wake up until say 7am, I'd be so much happier! He enjoys hanging out in his pink bumbo while Ivy reads him Dora books. And apparently he rolled over for the first time last weekend. I say apparently because I actually did not witness it. Poor Sid - I think I have Ivy's first roll on video. Anyway, we were with my parents at Nordstrom in Irvine, home to many half-way point meetups with them, and while Ivy, my mom and I were dutifully shopping for shoes in the kids' shoe department, my dad put Sid on a blanket on the floor to take some pictures. He was chillin' on his tummy and all of sudden just rolled to his back, or so I hear. And of course he has not done it again since, at least not for me. I tell you, that shoe department is magical. In honor of the occasion, Ivy got a new pair of purple sneakers - Twinkle Toes, to be exact. When she kicked the back of my seat on the drive home in the dark, I kept thinking there was a cop following me.

They're all the rage. Don't you wish you had a pair? Maybe if you're good, Nana will take you shoe shopping too!