Five Things on Friday Night

1) My adventures with natural deodorant continue.  Adidas Cotton Tech is still the clear winner, but it's freaking expensive, so I keep looking for another one that's just as effective but cheap.  I ordered a deodorant cream from Etsy that was highly recommended in a magazine.  It's made from all natural materials and essential oils, but evidently my armpits are sensitive to one of those ingredients because I ended up with red, itchy, irritated pits.  Totally uncomfortable!  I didn't notice it until I went to bed, and then thought, "Oh, that's weird."  By morning, it was worse.  I couldn't believe how irritated my poor little armpits were.  So then I couldn't put any deodorant on the next day because my pits were inflamed!

I created my own remedy out of Caroline's Butt Paste (I figured if it worked on diaper rash, it would work on armpit rash) and some baby powder, and that helped with the itching/burning and smelled pretty nice, too.  But I still spent a lot of time whining to David, "My pitters itch and hurt and stink!"

The pits have since recovered, and I'm sticking with the overpriced Adidas deodorant that has to be special-ordered from Amazon since it's evidently not sold in stores.  Because my armpits are totally high-maintenance.

2) Caroline had her first trip to Target today.  David went with us (at my request) and I quickly realized that of the two of them, Caro is a far better shopping companion.  She never asks how much things cost or whether we really "need" a particular item.  And if she's tired, she just falls peacefully asleep.  David, on the other hand, gets cranky at Target and has to be told to take a nap when we get home.  Next time it will just be a girls' trip and I might even buy a new shirt or something.

3) My friend Jamie and I met up yesterday to go to a nursing moms' group together and then out to lunch.  After lunch, she gave me an early birthday present, which included this book:

image from here

It made me cry in the best way.  So many people have celebrated Baby Caroline with us, but the best gift of all are those who let us know that they are remembering Eliza, too.  I don't want Caro to ever feel overshadowed by her sister, but I don't want Eliza to be forgotten either.  I want Caroline to grow up knowing that she has a sister we love and miss.  This book is perfect because it's another sweet way to talk about Eliza.

4) Speaking of lovely gifts, Caroline receive a mystery package in the mail the other day.  It was from an Etsy shop called Trafalger Square, which is where I ordered this print for Eliza's nursery:

A Jolly Read (available here)

The package included two more beautiful prints.  This one:

bunny and duck available here

and this one:

bunny catching falling stars available here

Aren't they darling?  


I absolutely love them and can't wait to find a spot for them in Caro's nursery (we're setting it up next week!), but the mysterious part was that there as no note or receipt included in the package, so I don't know who sent them!  I don't know if I should assume they were sent by the artist herself, or if they were a gift purchased by someone else.  I'd love to know whom to thank for them.  Whomever you are, THANK YOU!  The prints are beautiful and they make me smile.


5) I have tired of daytime television.  It's so inane.  And the local news is SO depressing.  I've started watching Veronica Mars again.  Best show EVER.  I'm watching Season 3 right now.  I still have a mad crush on Logan Echolls (he's just so moody and intense and so cute!) and I still want to be just like Veronica.  It's such a smart and interesting show.  I can't believe it got canceled after three seasons.  If you haven't watched it, do yourself a favor.  It's available on Netflix, but totally worth the purchase on DVD.