5 Favorites, Vol. 14

Glad to have a reason to look on the bright side today, since it started off super-duper auspiciously with:

• A tired husband who seemed less than super-eager to leave this morning.
• A baby who was up and at 'em at 5:15, and then cranky at 7.
• A sinus headache
• Clare ripping yet another page out of Brown Bear
• Slamming my finger hard in a drawer -- ouch!

Alone, none of those things are the end of the world, but they can put you in a funk. Enter . . . Hallie's sunshiney link-up! Yay!

1. Board Books - The obvious antidote to pages ripped out of real books is board books. I *heart* them as a mom in a way I never did before. The board book edition of Brown Bear is going to be making its way to our house this week. Yeah, yeah, duplicating books is lame, but so is not letting Clare enjoy her favorite book. Keeping a book away from my daughter goes against every instinct in my body, but I can only stand so many page repairs. Board book = win.

Via

2. Flavored Seltzer Water - I started drinking seltzer water splashed with juice when I was pregnant with Clare and needed a fun zip besides more water by dinner time. I'd been turned off by the bottles of flavored seltzer that seemed full of aspartame and sucralose, since I try to avoid creepy artificial sweeteners. I recently found some that only contain carbonated water and "natural flavors" which are still a bit creepy, but much, much less so.

Via

 3. Ebrary Books - When I got my first e-reader a few years ago, I was really disappointed to learn that the local library's selection of downloadable media left more than a little to be desired. Since then, I've wrestled between dragging myself to the actual library (particularly difficult with a fussy infant), wasting money on books that I'm going to tear through in a couple of days, reading books I'm not particularly interested in, or (what ended up happening) not reading nearly as much as I would like in what time I did have to read. So imagine my delight a few weeks ago to learn that my library now subscribes to a couple of ebrary partners. As a result, I can download and race through all the lame recent fiction I want! Bonus: I can still access it away from home, so my options are not further limited by our journeys.

Via

4. Technology - Seriously. Thanks to my phone and my computer and advances in technology, I can feel connected in spite of distance. I can have an hour-long conversation with my sister, shoot off mad-texts to Andi, read blogs that help to stop feeling like the only person in the world with an early bird morning-person baby (or various other baby terrorism plots), keep connected with my husband when he is away, etc. It makes all the difference.

Repeat; from AT&T website.

5. Big Kitchen Plans - Luckily, I had already planned to fill my afternoon making my two favorite things: stew and bread. The only thing better than chopping veggies and a simmering pot of delish is knowing that you have a rising blob of dough to go with. And no, I am freakishly not put off of these plans by the fact that it is the middle of summer. Heating up the kitchen is good for the soul, darn it.

Via

Happy bright-siding it!