I don’t want this blog to turn into a linkapalooza, but from time to time I will share some links that are either fun or informative.

If your children have any toys by Magnetix you will definitely want to know about this piece on ABC News. It’s pretty scary. I’ve seen their toys and thought they looked fun and educational, but they are definitely more fitting for an older child. I try to be very careful about not letting Amelia near Caitlin’s “big-girl” toys with tiny pieces that could pose a choking hazard. And Caitlin has been known to stick rocks up her nose, so any toy that poses any remote temptation for her to shove up her nostril is quickly marked off my list.

Here’s another link to a national registry of sex offenders that I think is worth sharing. The site is supported by Julie Clark, founder of the Baby Einstein Company, and John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted.

St. Patrick’s Day Weekend 1998

Originally uploaded by jamiemom.

We’re getting together with my college buddies next weekend and I thought I’d post this fun photo of all of us eight years ago in Savannah, Georgia. That’s me and the hubby on the left. We were visiting my friend Noelle, who now lives in South Carolina. Kaye is missing, but she is behind the camera. This was such a great trip. We went to Tybee Island and ate huge platters of seafood. Kaye and I also participated in the “shoot the chair” weirdness at a local bar. It’s hard to believe we’ve been friends since the late 80’s in college. We were all journalism nerds together and now we’re all playing adults in this thing called life.

Updated to add: We have been having the most hilarious e-mail exchanges getting ready for next weekend. There has been much talk of packing fiber tablets, Pepto Bismol, Alka Seltzer, Bugles and Diet Sugar Free Mr. Pibb, but mostly talk of antacids because we’re all getting so old. Oh and we’re taking the chilluns, too, so there will be four children under the age of 6 hanging out with us. God help us.

Just what I need, another reason to play on the computer. But I’m in love with the Pandora site, which is the result of The Music Genome Project, and I thought I would share the love. The hubby told me about it last night after reading about it on CNET. I signed up for a free account, which means I have to deal with some ads, but you can subscribe to it and bypass the ads. I typed in Dixie Chicks, INXS, and Jimmy Buffett, and Pandora made three custom radio stations for me to listen to based on my music selections. Here’s the scoop from the site, “On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.” The result is a very neat site.

The hubby likes to send me links, so I have a few more to share. These are good kid rainy day art links (and they’re kind of fun for adults, too):

Artpad
Jackson Pollock.Org
Lite-Brite

So there, kids. Go play. Hopefully you can play outside today, but if you can’t, these are some fun links to explore. Now I’m going to go have a bowl of cereal and watch Dora in my jammies.

Things I’ve done this week that I would have never dreamed of doing 10 years ago (when I was 26, single, and had no kids).

* Worried about getting home by 8 p.m. on a girls night out (well, dinner with two friends).
* Signed up to bring donuts to Teacher Appreciation Day today at daycare, but made no plans to drink green beer for St. Patrick’s Day. Erin Go Blah!
* Looked at a size 10 swimsuit and thought it looked more like a size 6 (surely that tag was wrong!)
* Watched “The Breakfast Club” on the AMC channel.
* Rejoiced that the baby is now on whole milk (no longer beholden to The Man, aka formula manufacturer, or The Boob, aka mommy.)
* Registered to participate in a children’s consignment sale (seems much easier than a yard sale, could be wrong when I start to fill out 50 index card tags).
*Read about Kenny Chesney coming to our downtown coliseum and thought for a split-second that sounded fun (yep, I sometimes listen to country music) until I realized the concert was in July. Sweaty, drunk fans in long lines anyone?
* Weighed the merits of infant Motrin versus Tylenol.
* Bypassed the women’s clothing area at TJ Maxx and headed straight to the kids’ department.
* Blogged.

I probably gave the false impression last week that I am an organized mother who diligently scrapbooks, archives, and organizes every precious memento for her children, from the lock of hair snipped at their first haircut to their favorite sippy cup dipped in 14 karat gold and displayed on the mantel. In reality, however, I would get a big fat F from Martha for my organizational skills. Now don’t get me wrong. I LOVE organization. I start to glow as I fondle the basket liners at Target and I nearly drool on the glossy color photos of color coordinated baskets and liners in the latest Pottery Barn catalog stashed beneath my mattress. Most days, however, my organizational technique involves cramming as much as I can into drawers, closets, and the utility room and praying no one notices.

Last week I ran into a woman I used to work with at the hubby’s office. When she asked to see pictures of the girls I realized the latest photo I had of Caitlin in my wallet was my favorite picture of her taken by the hubby when she was 12 months old (Caitlin is going to be 4 in June). I do own a photo album “brag book” (also in need of updating but not as superbly lame as the wallet photo collection), but I’m not sure where it is. I resorted to showing her digital photos of the girls on the husband’s computer. I didn’t even have a photo of the baby in my wallet. Again, repeat with me…LAME.

While I have tried to keep their baby books updated in my one attempt to redeem myself from mommy organization purgatory, I haven’t organized any photos in an actual album since Caitlin turned 18 months old. I love digital photography and now that I can take a million pictures, download them, and share them online with the click of a mouse, why bother with actually printing them and putting them in a photo album! Pffft.

Beyond photographs, what about all the STUFF your kids accumulate (we won’t even go into all the artwork they bring home from daycare or preschool) that you feel compelled to hang on to…you know, the birthday cards, etc. Caitlin’s memory box from pregnancy and newborn days is sitting in a closet. Girl child #2 Amelia doesn’t even have a memory box. She has a small Baby GAP shopping bag filled with random items from the hospital.

Luckily we’re stopping at two children or the third child’s memory “box” would be a plastic baggie containing their Social Security card.

More proof that blogging moms are taking over the world came in the form of an e-mail I received today from ClubMom and I thought it might be of interest to the moms who read my blog. The featured blogging moms at ClubMom will be compensated with cold hard cash as well as ClubMom Points, which sounds very enticing, especially since they mentioned the word SPA. Heck, pay me to do something I love and reward me with spa perks –sounds like a nice deal. I might even blog about things I don’t know jack about for spa perks. Now if they really wanted to sweeten the pot they could offer free childcare and margaritas…but I digress. Also, of note, if you read Melissa Summer’s blog of Suburban Bliss fame, the crying jag she had in front of former Melrose Place actor Andrew Shue was related to some West Coast meeting of the mom minds for ClubMom. So I repeat, dollars for blogging, spa perks, and somehow Andrew Shue is involved in this. And seeing as I haven’t heard anything about him since Melrose Place, I’m thinking this might be a wise investment.
(Read on …)

Mmmmmmm….Cake

Originally uploaded by jamiemom.

(To be read with a thick British accent.)

Her royal highness Princess Amelia Grace celebrated the anniversary of her birth yesterday with a familial gathering at her family domicile. Many gaily wrapped presents were opened under the tutelage of her big sister, aka Princess Caitlin, or she who appointed the Care Bears theme cake. Their royal cousin, Sir Garrett, entertained the jovial subjects with his newly acquired talent—walking. Much cake and ice cream, purchased at the village grocer, was devoured and goblets (uh…plastic cups) of Ginger Ale were hoisted in merriment. Kings JT and CG, otherwise known as Papa and Pee Paw, were so exhausted by the royal revelry that they fell asleep in the den while Princess Amelia, exhausted from eating her first birthday cake, napped and the merry band of partiers enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Caitlin the Shaggy Dog

Originally uploaded by jamiemom.

I’m not sure why I think this is so hilarious, but it definitely kept Caitlin entertained the other night and it had the hubby and I laughing almost to the point of tears. I now have a rendition of the hubby as a French Bulldog that might come in handy some day. Go here to Shaggify yourself or if you need to entertain a 3-year-old. They have a gallery of dogs to choose from, too, not just Shaggy. We didn’t have plans to see the movie, but we may have to now. That Disney marketing machine never stops churning!

Caitlin spent the night with my mom last night and Mimi (my mother-in-law) watched the baby while the hubby and I went out to a real bonafide sit-down restaurant (no kiddie menus here) with another couple. Watching the nearby gaggle of intoxicated ladies having a girls’ night out at the bar while we ate was entertainment for the evening. We should have wagered on which one would pass out first. It was a lot of fun to get out and have rare adult time, but I’ll admit I’m missing Caitlin this morning.

UPDATED: Wanted to add that my mother called at 9. Caitlin has had her hair trimmed, washed, and curled and has had homemade French Toast. My mother slathered her with lotion and much attention (and pretend applied makeup as Caitlin is fascinated with my mother’s makeup drawer and huge bathroom). Caitlin is in grandmother spa bliss right now.