is this wrong???

DUELING IPHONES...

*please note...this post may contain language unsuitable for children ;)

ok...i'll admit it...i became "that mom" during our recent trip to florida. i reached a point (toward the end of the trip at least) where i said...fuck it...let these kids do whatever will keep them quiet! hey...at that point, i was just looking for a little peace and quiet on vacation :)

prior to heading to FL, i had ONE kid's game on my phone....during the course of the week, i added FIVE more...ALL for jacob! one of the games is an animal memory/matching game. i figured things had reached a high point, when he started asking "i play animal game now?" upon waking up in the morning! seriously kid...what'd you dream about playing the animal game, making that the first words out of your mouth in the morning?!?! not only that, but jacob had started demanding to play on the iphone! he would SCREAM for the iphone! OMG...what kind of fucking monster had i created! i decided i couldn't cut him off cold turkey before our flight home. after all, that iphone could be the only thing keeping him quiet on the LONG 2.5 hour journey! so...i gave in...and fed the addiction. i know....i'm an enabler!

and let me tell ya something....it's a good thing....because that stupid animal game (along with others) kept him quite content on the way home...and i'm sure it kept everyone else around us happy too :)

you'll be proud (maybe?) to know that upon returning home, i slowly weaned jacob from the iphone! now...if i could just get him addicted to the concept of toilet training!?!?

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iLost

ok...so i know if i'm going to be blogging right now, it should be about our trip to st louis...as that post is WAY overdue. but...i'm too tired to do all that...it's 9:25pm and i promised myself i'd be in bed by 10 tonight. i had to post tonight though to let you know that i am lost! today, while shopping at target i realized i didn't have my iphone...i figured i left it in the car, but when i returned to the car and it wasn't there...i quickly became sick to my stomach. i came home and searched...called it...texted, etc! NO PHONE!!!

i have decided the following must have happened...in a rush to run my errands, i did not place the phone in my purse, but rather just held it. i placed it on my lap in the car. when i got to target, i forgot it was on my lap and it fell out of my lap when i got out of the car. someone picked it up and is now trying to sell it as "new" on craigslist!

i have no idea whether or not this is actually what happened, but it makes me feel better to have a story!
so...i am phoneless!

btw...derek just searched posts on craigslist and is now heading to target...yes, it's after 9pm and they're closed...but hey, maybe he'll get lucky and find it in the parking lot!

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iPhone...just do it

It would be an understatement to say that I love my iPhone (sad, I know!). Everyday, I must tell Derek at least 5 ways my iPhone came in handy that day...for example...

* using the GPS
* checking email while I'm out, to see if someone from Craig's List emailed me back about picking up our new stroller :)
* taking pics of the kids WHENEVER and WHEREVER I want
* checking my calendar to make sure Derek isn't in a meeting before calling him at work
* we don't even have to go to Cracker Barrel to play PegJump!
While all of these things are AWESOME, I have had one complaint since buying the phone. As you know, I'm a list maker. Typically, I rely on good ol' pen and paper for this, but have tried to transition to the "notes" application on the iPhone. It was ok, but not great. It allowed me to type a list, but not to put dates, priorities, etc on my tasks...it was just a list.

Last night, my iPhone love came full circle, when I found an application called "my To-Dos." I quickly downloaded it and began my list of just that...To Do's. So, here's why this app is so super cool...
1 - I can date my tasks
2 - I can prioritize my tasks (high, medium, low)
3 - I can categorize my tasks (personal, work, volunteer)
4 - I can EMAIL a task right from my list to anyone!
5 - IT'S FREE TO DOWNLOAD!!!
#4 will be quite handy when one of my To-Dos becomes a Honey-Do!

So for those of you who have an iPhone, I highly recommend adding this app. For those of you who still haven't been convinced to buy an iPhone, keep reading my blog...I'm sure to convince you one of these days! Afterall, it's a phone, it's an iPod, it's a camera, it's GPS, it's the internet, it's a calendar, it tells me the weather, it has games...and now...it carries a simple organized list of my to-do's!


Oh yeah...apparently 3 year olds think it's super cool too! Just wait until he finds out I can download episodes of Sesame Street!

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Size me up

I'm a list maker...a task oriented person. Yes, I'm one of those people, who after completing a task, gets a certain high from marking it off my list. Side note - this is another feature I LOVE about my new iphone...it has a notes application! I'm so anal about this notes thing, that when I do something that's not on my list...let's say, I decide to clean the kitchen (ha!)...I will then add "clean kitchen" to my list and quickly delete it or cross it off! It feels SO good to mark things off my list! I am constantly adding to my list at all hours of the day and even during the night.
Some of the things on my list right now are; upload pictures, order pictures and finish Jacob's thank you notes (I'm still waiting for him to write them himself!). Just about every day, I think to myself, "Oh, I'll do that tonight." Well, once again those things are NOT being marked off my list, because instead, I'm sitting here typing.
Anyway...on to the point of this story...
One thing that does not even earn a place on my list, but is secretly always there, is to return to my pre-pregnancy weight and be able to comfortably fit into my clothes. While I have only squeezed myself back in to one pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans and nothing else (I'd like to think it's because maybe I was just too skinny then!), I did buy a pair of shorts at AT Loft and another at NY & Co...both in a single digit size!!! Some people say that stores like these actually "downsize" their clothing to make women feel better about themselves (ie...a size 8 is really a 10 or 12). To that, I say KUDOS...you are brilliant...and you just made me a shopper for life!

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iBlog

it's a phone...it's an ipod...it's a gps...it's a camera...it's everything a woman could want...well, at least one who just had a baby 6 weeks ago...god knows i'm not wanting much else these days :)

yes, i'm talking about the coveted iphone!

as many of you know, i mocked my husband for months, as he checked the mac rumors website several times a day (yes, such a website does exist!) and teased him as he counted down the days until the new 3g iphone became available. well, call me a sellout, but as the day approached, i jumped right on the bandwagon. i even got a little giddy and i must admit, a little nervous thinking they might run out and we may not get one. so, you'll understand my astonishment, when on the eve of the iphone's arrival, derek told me he wasn't planning on waiting in line early in the morning. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!?!?! deep down in the core of my heart, i knew that his desire to own the iphone would get the best of him overnight, and he'd rethink his plan in the morning...of course, i was right! derek convinced andrew that they were going to dunkin donuts, which is next to the at&t store here, and they headed out around 7am (fyi - the store wouldn't open until 9am). well, they were back home with donuts and coffee in tow, about 20 minutes later. derek said the line at at&t was around the corner, probably 150-200 deep! keep in mind, this was a friday, and derek had to go to work...whatever?!?!? so, as derek set off to work, my panic began to set in again...would they run out of iphones? they couldn't...they must be prepared...they have to plan for this sort of madness, right? NOPE...the iphone sold out! at this point, i came to terms with the fact that we would not be one of the first owners of the iphone, but i remained determined to own one before the weekend ended. on saturday night, we checked the iphone in-store status online and decided we'd head to the apple store at tysons corner in the morning. the store would open at 11, so we wanted to get there by 9am. keep in mind, the mall itself opens at 6am, so realistically, people could start lining up at the apple store then. upon arrival, we were 45th in line...not bad.

"PEOPLE IN FRONT OF US"

"PEOPLE BEHIND US"

to pass the time, derek waited in line while i walked the mall with the boys. we hit the play area, starbucks and the family rest area (to nurse jacob). the funniest thing we saw, had to be the verizon salesman walking up and down the line, offering "apples...yours now...free!" along with a flyer for verizon's wanna-be iphone. checkc out his picture below...

after 4 hours, most of which jacob slept through, we became owners of apple iphones.

ANDREW DOING AN IPHONE DANCE

so, you may be wondering how we convinced our wild 3 1/2 year old boy to stand in this line for over 4 hours. well, bribery, of course! we told andrew that after mommy and daddy got their toys, we'd head to the lego store and get him some toys...

BUILDING HIS NEW LEGOS

it's been a couple weeks, and i have to say, i'm thoroughly enjoying my new gadget! guess that's a good thing, since we spent a pretty penny (or two!) on them. it has come in handy several times and now i think to myself, "what did i do before the iphone?"...just kidding, i haven't really thought that yet...but i'm sure the words will come out of my mouth sometime soon! ok, i gotta go...my iphone's ringing...

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upcoming blog and other news to note...

as many of you know, derek and i are proud owners of the newest tech gadget....the iphone! it was quite an adventure to get our hands on them, and i look forward to sharing the story and pics with you in a future blog.

for those of you who receive my blog updates via email, be sure to visit the actual blog website (banocyfamily.blogspot.com) soon. i've made some changes and additions.

exciting news...in the not too distant future, yours truly should be blogging weekly on JMommies.com. details are still being hashed out, so i'll keep you posted! thanks to those of you who have given me such positive feedback about my writing and the courage to pursue this new adventure...i'm really excited!!!

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40 weeks

Today would have been the 40 week mark for my pregnancy, but instead we are getting ready to celebrate 2 weeks of life with Jacob Ellis :) I must say, the past 2 weeks have been much better than I ever could've anticipated. I believe I have been out of the house more in the first 2 weeks of Jacob's life, than I was in the first 2 months of Andrew's life! So, I'll take that as either a sign that things are easier the second time around...or...that it's just necessary to get out of the house when you have a 3 1/2 year old at home!

Since starting this blog, I have received so much positive feedback from friends and family. Well, we owe it all to my friend Courtney, who got me blogging in the first place. You may have noticed a new section on my blog..."snippits." For this, I also owe a thank you to Courtney, for introducing me to the new world of Twitter. If I thought I was addicted to blogging and facebook, I can't imagine what it's going to be like now. Twitter enables me to post what I call "snippits" to my blog without even sitting at my computer! I can actually text message snippits to my blog. I am really excited about this, because it means I can post funny things that come out of Andrew's mouth while we are on the go! Just wait until I get my iPhone next month...I'll be taking the blog to a whole new level. Yes Derek, I admit, I am now excited about the prospect of owning an iPhone! How many days until our ties are cut with T-Mobile???

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