The Roaming Rosie Blog

I’m excited to announce that I’ve just completely reorganized my original Zazzle store: Roaming Rosie Designs!

Roaming Rosie Designs is my first Zazzle store (I now have three) and so it’s been with me for awhile. Since March of 2009, anyway. That marks a year, though, so it seemed like time for an upgrade.

I’ve reorganized all the products that were there and created brand new banners for the storefront, which should make everything easier to find. I had noticed that some very nice designs seemed hidden in obscure categories and I’ve tried to help fix that, partially by creating the banners which give shoppers an idea of the products they’ll find in that category when they click on those banners.

I’ve also added over 150 new products to the store in the last week. One reason for this was because I had some designs that were not on many products; for example, the design might be featured on a t-shirt, but now it’s also on a mug, mouse pad and keychain, too.

I’ve put many, many (many, many, many!) hours of labor and love into the store over the past year, and taught myself a great deal about html and Photoshop in the process, but it’s been an amazing journey and a great creative outlet for me. And, hopefully, all the time I’ve put into reorganizing it will make it a great resource for others!

Click on the banner below to visit the shop, and please feel free to leave comments!

The last few days have been a little rough – the tissue supply around here has certainly been hit hard. Just as I’m starting to recover from a nagging sinus infection, and just as all that nasty sinus pressure starts to fade and the headaches lessen, that’s when I suddenly realize that I now have a cold as well.

I think the sinus infection is completely gone, as far as I can tell, but now my head is just full of snot that’s in a constant state of drainage. Not cool. Of all the things that had crossed my mind about how labor might progress, I have to admit that it never, ever occurred to me that I might be sick when delivering the baby and, consequently, when bringing home and caring for our newborn.

It makes me a little nervous because I don’t want to give her my cold, but it also makes me a little frustrated because I’d like to enjoy these last few days of pregnancy and I instead find myself curled up in bed or zoned out on the couch, unable to concentrate on anything and completely out of energy.

But I suppose these days wouldn’t be exactly “blissful” anyway, what with the swollen extremities and the back pain which contributes to me never being comfortable anymore. Plus, she’s feeling so tight and heavy now that every one of her twists and turns feels sharp and overly strong, which has become another unexpected discomfort, as I usually enjoy feeling her move. I actually suspect that the cold may be the only reason I’ve been sleeping at all the last few days.

I’ve had a few short bursts of energy here and there (nesting instinct?) but mostly I feel like I’m going through life in a daze right now and I just hope it clears up soon, because I know that now matter how I feel, she gonna come when she’s ready!

I had always planned on getting a bassinet to make it easier for the baby to sleep in our room for the first few months, but now that we know we’ll still be living with relatives when she’s born (and, thus, there’s no nursery yet) the bassinet just made sense.

We registered for The First Years Carry-Me-Near 5-in-1 Bassinet (pictured at left). I chose it not only because it’s beautiful in a soothing and elegant way, but also for the functionality. The top basket is removable and can be carried around anywhere, or the handle and canopy can be lowered when sleeping. Under the basket there’s a changing table, though I don’t foresee us using that much. A detachable contraption is supposed to secure the bassinet to the side of the bed, which I haven’t tried yet. There’s a basket underneath that I’ve already filled with toys and blankets and my Boppy pillow, and there’s foldaway wheels that allow you to either roll the bassinet from room to room or rock it in place.

On the handle there’s a light, five different sounds from white noise to music, and vibration controls. I like the audio selections, which seem to be at a good volume. There are three cute toys hanging from the canopy. The photo online shows some color in the toys but the ones I got are monotone – though I like that. She’ll have plenty of other colorful toys to stimulate her anyway.

My husband put the bassinet together, and the finished product is really nice. However, after opening the box and pouring out a million pieces onto the ground, he cursed his way through the construction, labeling the instructions “evil” at one point. And the one thing that really bothered me was that the handles of the basket come with large stickers on each side of the handle. Why do I need stickers on the product advertising the product? I already know what I bought.

These stickers were, well, a bit disagreeable. It took a couple broken nails (as I was afraid tools would scratch the plastic), a lot of Goo Gone, an insane amount of patience, and over half and hour to remove one sticker. I was livid – which forced me to put off removing the other sticker for a few days. I just couldn’t see any reason to cement giant stickers on the bassinet, but once they were off, I was really satisfied with how it looked.

Even with the negative review of the instructions and stickers, I still would recommend this product to others. It’s gorgeous and functions just the way I need (as far as I can tell thus far). I’m really excited about using it, and I hope the baby loves it, too!

It seems I’ve completely lost track of time!  I’ve been writing, but I’ve just noticed that I haven’t updated my blog much at all this month.  I guess my mind’s been busy with baby stuff!  :)

My doctor visits have all been normal and the baby still has a strong heartbeat and I’m gaining the right amount of weight – although every person who finds out how far along I am still feels the need to tell me how “tiny” I look.  It’s getting a little tiring feeling like I have to apologize for appearing small when both the baby and I are actually right on track.  I’m at 36 and a half weeks, but when most people find out my due date they give me a look like they don’t believe me.  It’s exhausting and my forced smile is wearing a little thin; I shouldn’t have to defend myself for being healthy.

Anyway, our (okay, mostly “my”) days have been filled with nesting, which is the main reason I’ve spent less time on the computer lately.  I’ve rearranged closets and dressers to make room for baby in our temporary abode (as it is now quite certain that we won’t get into our own home until after her birth) and we’ve been putting together furniture and I’ve done countless loads of laundry to wash 0-3 month clothes, receiving blankets, burp cloths, towels, washcloths and blankets.  There’s a changing table and bassinet along one wall of the bedroom now, which is, honestly, a little strange to see.  The stroller/travel system has been put together, the car seat base strapped in, and the bouncer assembled just this afternoon.

There’s not much left to do except pack the hospital bag.  Of course, just today the doctor told me I haven’t begun to dilate, so really, I’m not in a huge hurry, but I’ll probably do it soon just so it’s done.  And I have to catch up on my blog – so you should see a few reviews of some of those assembled baby contraptions, among other things.

Where we used to live there’s snow piled up to the thigh (or, for someone short like me, probably the waist), but here it’s still mostly sunny with just a bit of wind and sprinkling rain and in mid-afternoon it’s still in the mid-60s.

So, excursions are still an option, even at 35 weeks pregnant.  If snow were piled up outside, I’d be on the couch curled up in a blanket (hopefully with power), but since it’s relatively nice here, I’m trying to stay active.

Thus, last Saturday we joined friends at the Florida Aquarium.  We were only there a couple hours, but my feet were swollen anyway, so a couple hours was long enough for me.

My camera decided to be a pain and died halfway through, but I managed to get a few photos, so check out my Travelblog to see them all!

I recently joined the Publix Baby Club.  This isn’t something everyone can do since, unfortunately, Publix Supermarkets are only located in a few southeastern states.  But if you live in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama or Tennessee, then you have the opportunity to get involved in this free club.

So, just after moving down from Maryland, I went to the Publix website and gave them my name and address to sign up for the Baby Club.  This is offered to parents who are expecting and with children up to two years old.  But after that, there’s also a Preschool Pals club for older children and even a Family Style magazine that you can sign up for, and it’s all free.

Within days of signing up, I received a package from Publix in the mail.  Inside was a complimentary copy of The American Academy of Pediatrics book, The Complete and Authoritative Guide:  Caring For Your Baby and Young Child, which covers from birth until age five.  A free, 752-page book with useful information from a respected organization – how cool is that?

There was also the first issue of their free newsletter and a whole bunch of coupons.  And even though I signed up for the club back in November, almost all of the coupons are good until May 15 – two months after my due date.  This is great for me because the coupons are for a whole range of products for both mom and baby, ranging from free hand sanitizer and cocoa butter to buy one get one free NUK pacifiers to a dollar off Playtex drop-in bottles or liners, plus deals on diapers and wipes and formula.

I’ve always liked Publix and this is a great benefit that they offer, so I wanted to share it.  If no one had mentioned it to me, I may not have ever realized this club existed and then I’d be missing out on all the great deals.  So if you live in the southeast, I think it’s worth checking out.

When I was making breakfast this morning and reaching in the fridge for my orange juice, I happened to notice the expiration date on the half & half:  03/15/2010.  March fifteenth?  But – that’s my due date!  Did I lose track of time?  Did I sleep away a couple dozen days?

No, nothing so drastic.  It’s just that the half & half is good for quite awhile.  Fifty-three more days to be exact (if left unopened).

But that split second was enough to scare me.  Am I ready for all this?  Is the baby really coming soon?  Why hasn’t the realtor had any new news about the house we’ve put a bid on?  Do short sales always take this long?  Will we be bringing this baby into the world while living out of one bedroom of my parent’s house?  Do I still have time to get all the stuff I really need to have for the baby – somewhere to sleep and a car seat and diapers and Lord-only-know-what-else-because-I-sure-as-hell-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing?

And this afternoon a package arrives bearing a baby gift.  It’s exciting and sweet and I’m flattered that an out-of-state friend would take the time to send something, though it somehow feels awkward to be accepting gifts for a little person who’s still mostly a mystery to me.  I’m thrilled about all the cute baby stuff, but there’s still a little voice way back in my brain asking, “Why are people giving us all these presents?”

I know the answer, of course, but that doesn’t make it any less surreal.

Everything seems to be moving so fast that I’m glad to announce that at least my weight gain has stabilized to a more traditional expectation.  Two weeks ago I had been feeling really heavy and huge and quite a few people had been commenting that I had suddenly “popped” and gotten much bigger, but I was still surprised to hear the OBGYN techs tell me that I had gained nine pounds in four weeks.  Nine pounds?  In four weeks?  No wonder I felt bloated and uncomfortable.  That’s quite a growth spurt.

But after another two weeks, the tech reported a weight-gain of only two pounds.  Two pounds I can handle – that’s a pound a week, which is what the doctors had told me to expect.  But that still leaves me with another seven weeks and potential seven more pounds to look forward to when I’m already growing out of some of my smaller maternity tops and walking into doorframes and countertops because I keep forgetting how much of me (and her) there now is.

It’s scary enough that we’re bringing a new little child into this world, but it’s even scarier that before she’s even arrived, everything else has already changed.

I was in the mood for cookies tonight, and an easy way to get some soft and great-tasting cookies that taste like homemade but are much quicker is to make are these Moist Cake Cookies.

I don’t know exactly where this recipe came from.  I think I copied it off the back of a cake box, but it’s been typed into my recipe book for so many years that I’m not really sure.

I usually use Devil’s Food cake mix to make them, but you can use just about any flavor.  This time I used Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix in Triple Chocolate Fudge because that’s what was in the pantry.  They have tiny chocolate chips in the batter, which aren’t overly noticeable in the finished cookie, except for the occasional burst of extra chocolate.  Tasted pretty darn good.

But why go to the trouble of using cake mix when they now sell boxes of cookie mix?  Well, these are a little different.  They’re always soft and chewy – which I love – and have an entirely different taste to them then straight cookie batter, making them a unique treat.  They’re like little, sweetened, condensed cakes.

Also, I like to dip the tops of the cookies in a little sugar before baking, which gives them a nice sweetness.  And, like any chocolate cookie (if you’re using chocolate), be careful not to overcook them.

Moist Cake Cookies

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 box cake mix

Plus about 1/8 cup sugar for decoration (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Scoop out teaspoonfuls and shape into balls.  Dip tops of balls into a dish of sugar (optional) and place onto a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.  Cook on wire racks.  Makes about 30 cookies.

The cookies are still moist and chewy the next day – if they last that long!

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, but there’s still time to order gifts online. Sure, there are plenty of years that we just go out for a nice dinner instead of exchanging gifts, but this year I wanted to get a little something for my husband and I thought I’d share some of the great gift ideas I found to maybe inspire someone else. Now, since my husband reads my blog, I can’t tell you what I’m getting him, but here are a few visual examples of unique gifts that work for men.

Some guys may be happier with a gift certificate for a day at the golf course or a new set of BBQ tools, but if that’s not their style – or you just got them that for Christmas last month – here are a few ideas that may work for your man:

(just click on the item to see a larger photo and description!)

One of the oddest benefits of being pregnant has been that I really enjoy wearing stretchy pants.  At first I was incredibly hesitant to wear maternity pants, like there was some strange stigma attached to them that I just couldn’t get past.  Plus, (I guess since this is my first pregnancy) it took a really long time for the belly to show.  Even when I first started wearing maternity pants in public, when I was at 18 weeks, I was still amazing small compared to how I am now – at 31 weeks.  Of course, the reason I started wearing the maternity clothing was because my non-maternity pants were uncomfortably tight, so whether the belly was obvious or not, if was definitely there.

I found the rubber-band-around-the-button method of extending the wear of my regular pants to be annoying, even though it did extend the life of my regular wardrobe a little.  But since I was planning on having at least two kids, I figured investing in a few pairs of wearable pants would be a good idea.  Of course, I’m nothing if not frugal, so I did check out local thrift stores first.  That was a complete dead end.  The maternity pants I found were all very, very used.  The elastic was overstretched and twisted, the fabric panels were faded and pilling, and the styles appeared to be as old as me.  I barely wanted to touch them, let alone purchase and wear them.

In the end I wound up purchasing five pairs of maternity pants from four different stores.  First I went to a Motherhood Maternity store and bought a pair of Secret Fit Belly Boot Cut Jeans that were regularly $25 but on sale for $22.  I also got a similar pair of Crop Jeans (capris) that were, I think, the same price.  I bought a size small for the regular jeans and medium for the crops, but for some reason the latter always fit better and the former were a little loose for many weeks.  I find the adjustable belly panel to be frustrating.  When it’s pulled all the way up, I tend to get warm, or itchy, and after a few washes the fabric of my shirts was getting stuck on the full panel.  Plus it’s a dark color and visible though many shirts.  I prefer to wear the pants with the panel folded over, but I find myself often pulling up the pants every time I stand up from a sitting position and constantly adjusting the folded-over panel.  Overall, they’re both comfortable, but I don’t wear them unless my favorite jeans are dirty.  Oh, and because it’s winter, otherwise I’d wear the crop jeans more often – even with adjusting the band, they’re still comfy.

I also purchased a pair of khaki pants, probably boot cut, with an under-the-belly elastic band that are Motherhood Maternity brand retailing for $30, but I got them at Burlington Coat Factory for $12.99.  I’m short and they’re a little long, so when I started wearing them I folded up the bottom cuff, but as my belly’s grown, I can just barely get by without folding them up.  They’re comfortable, but the elastic band usually twists a little when I sit, and so I adjust them every time I stand.  It’s an easy adjustment, though, easier than the aforementioned jeans, and quick.  And they look very nice.  I’ve worn them for just about every formal occasion lately, from Christmas dinner to church services, but they’re still casual and comfortable enough for everyday use or office attire.

I bought a pair of black slacks with under-belly elastic and a matching shirt from the New Recruit brand, which is sold at the Army and Air Force Exchange.  It cost $30 for both, but I haven’t worn the shirt yet as it’s polyester and a little warm.  The pants, though, I’ve been wearing.  I haven’t been wearing them in public much, even though I bought them to have something dressy, but they’re so incredibly comfortable that I often wear them around the house.  They’re mostly polyester with just a touch of spandex and they’re loose and flowing and light and I almost never have to adjust them.  And they look much nicer than sweatpants, so I don’t feel like a bum even if I’m just hanging around the house in them.  I really like wearing them.

Surprisingly, my favorite maternity jeans are the Old Navy Low-Rise Boot-Cut Jeans that cost $36.50 but that I bought for sale on their website for $25.  Actually, I was pretty mad at Old Navy because I had to order these pants online instead of buying them in the store.  I know that Old Navy used to have maternity clothes in their stores, but once I got pregnant, I could no longer find a store that still had a maternity section.  I hate buying normal clothes online since they often don’t fit as well as I’d hoped, and so I was extra wary about ordering pregnancy pants.  I measured myself twice and checked it against the online size chart three times and read all the reviews before placing the order.  When the pants arrived I was happy with how they looked, except that they sent me the wrong size.  I ordered the size I wanted, but they sent the wrong one.  This was days before we moved and now I had to go out of my way to FedEx the pants back to them after hours of struggling with the utterly uncooperative return label I had to print off the internet, which only successfully happened after some inventive finagling – and then they shipped the new pants to the wrong address!  I was in hysterical tears twice (Thank you, pregnancy hormones) before the whole mess was worked out.

So, many weeks after ordering them, I finally had the correct pants and was able to start wearing them.  Because they’re low-rise, they have an under-belly elastic band sown into the jeans instead of a full belly panel and this had made them much more comfortable then the first pairs of jeans I had purchased.  I wear these Old Navy jeans all the time.  They’re a little tight just after they’re washed, but they’re still as comfortable at 31 weeks as they were at 25 weeks.  I do have to pull them up sometimes when I stand, but that’s about all the adjusting required.  So even though I swore up and down that I wouldn’t order clothes again from Old Navy after all the frustration they caused me, and because I’m still upset that I can’t buy maternity clothes in their stores, I know it’s not true.  I have some shirts from them, too, and their maternity line is comfortable and more than stylish enough for a jeans-and-t-shirt kind of gal like me.  I’m a casual person; their clothes are casual.  We work well together, whether I like it or not.

Incidentally, I would also like to mention that for around-the-house attire, I really, really like wearing Target pajama pants.  In a size larger than I would normally wear, there’s more than enough stretch to the elastic to fit comfortably, and they’re lighter than sweatpants, which is good for Florida weather.  I wouldn’t wear them out in public (I’m not that casual) but I love wearing them all day.

I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about going back to regular pants.  I’ve gotten incredibly accustomed to wearing sweatpants-like attire and I’m not sure I’m going to like going back to normal jeans and pants and letting go of all my stretchy, elastic bands.  I know I’ll need the maternity pants for a little while after the baby arrives (during the infamous “fourth trimester”) and I’m certainly looking forward to losing the baby weight and getting back into my old wardrobe, but – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – I think I’m going to actually miss the maternity pants.  Well, maybe that’s not true, but I’m certainly going to miss having an excuse to walk around in pajama pants all day and jeans that expand with me.