PT-LawMom

You asked for pics, I give you pics. I will say that after wearing these for a day, I realized that they aren’t the best shoes for someone who often can’t feel her feet and usually sticks to flats. So I’ll probably put them away for special occasions or for wearing a few hours at a time. But they were worth every penny for the confidence they gave me to bid my job adieu! Definitely Schweet and Sassy, as LRH said!!

Right before Christmas, I received a package of Dawn Direct Foam in the mail to try in place of my normal dish soap. Lazy girl that I am, I don’t really handwash dishes very often. But this box arrived the night I was doing my big cookie bake and needed to wash dishes between batches. I have to say that I was really impressed with it! You put one pump of foam onto a sponge and they claim it cleans a whole sink of dishes. I found that to be almost true. I probably used 2-3 pumps to get a huge bowl, some cookie trays, beaters, etc., clean. I liked the smell and was impressed with how quickly/easily the soap rinsed off. I usually use Palmolive and have to rinse a lot to clean all of the soap off. This was a lot quicker and I think I will probably purchase it when this trial bottle runs out (in about three months because, as I said, I RARELY wash dishes by hand).

Law school has definitely made me a Starbucks junkie. My favorite is a Grande, Nonfat, Sugar-Free Cinnamon Dolce Latte, followed closely by a Nonfat Chai. Both of these are almost $5! Exam time pushed me into a daily habit, which is just crazy.

On Christmas Eve we had our annual extended family party at my Mom’s cousin’s house. His wife made me probably the best latte I’ve ever tasted (VERY close second to Starbucks) and I had to find out her secret. I raced over to my Dad and made him taste it and he agreed that it totally rocked. My Mom’s the Starbucks freak but she’d left early for church. Turns out she had just purchased the Braun Tassimo. My Dad took pictures of the machine for her and, espresso junkies that we are, we ordered TWO machines from Amazon on Christmas Day! They were supposed to arrive tomorrow, but they arrived today instead. I had just enough money from textbook sales to cover mine.

Then we realized that Amazon’s running a sale through December 31 on the T-Discs ($15 off a $50 purchase). We got a bunch of Latte and Cappuccino discs as well as some of the new Starbucks regular coffee discs. Unfortunately, even though the machines arrived a day early, the discs won’t arrive tomorrow. However, before I knew the machines were here, I purchased some Hot Chocolate discs for Pumpkinhead so we tried one of those tonight (yum!). Can’t wait to start having my morning lattes on the way to work and avoid the Starbucks drive-through lines. If only I could take the machine to work to deal with the 4 p.m. cravings!!

Our Christmas was great. We played and played and played! We shopped until we dropped, crowds be damned. We drank hot cocoa by the tree and enjoyed all SIX of the board games Pumpkinhead received. Unlike Butterflyfish’s well-mannered son, mine lost every game and threw a wicked tantrum each time. I know this is a learning process he needs to go through, but I definitely agree with B-fish — as much as a Mommy is supposed to enjoy playing games with her child, I really don’t. Books are much more my thing and fortunately he’s into book variety (i.e., he asks for a different one each night so nothing gets too old).

Speaking of books, I purchased Pumpkinhead a bunch of Magic School Bus books for Christmas and he loves them! If you’re not familiar with the Magic School Bus, it’s a really fun PBS series about a cool teacher, Ms. Frizzle, who takes her class on field trips to places like inside the human body or into the world of a frog. When I was about 15, I babysat for an autistic child who was hooked on it and I was pleased to see that the series is still around on DVD and in books (not sure about TV).

Besides the board games and books, Pumpkinhead received a bike and the LeapFrog Clickstart My First Computer. He’s loving the bike nd I was very pleased at the ease of use of the Leapfrog toy. We’ve only played the Nemo game so far, but I think it will be a fun activity for us to do together.

Anyhoo, this week has been kind of sucky work-wise and I spent THREE HOURS at the damn doctor’s office today because she was “running late” but somehow they thought putting me in a room would make me not notice). Fortunately tomorrow is my birthday so my boss is not allowed to yell at me (at least I hope not!) and then I leave first thing Saturday for a week’s vacation in a hot, sunny, beautiful foreign country with my parents, Chapin and Pumpkinhead. I haven’t packed a thing because I’ve been so busy so right now I’m planning to fly by the seat of my pants tomorrow night and thank my lucky stars that WalMart is open 24/7. Just writing this reminds me that I don’t have any sunglasses! Argh.

I’m going in early to work tomorrow, planning to stay late, and hopefully that will help me accomplish what I need to get done work-wise so that I can leave without feeling bad. It’s hard to get into the vacation spirit when people make you feel guilty for taking the time. I bet the guilt will lift when I step onto the plane.

My vacation spot is Internet-free so I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

After several hours of (more!) baking and cookie decorating with Pumpkinhead, I am finally relaxing on the couch. Why do I <3 Saramel? Of course it’s partially because she started the MILS Roundup that I love so much. But my eternal devotion is due to her sending me an Adagio Tea coupon about six months ago. I used to make trips to Teavana at my local mall but who has time for that? So, with my $5 Adagio coupon in hand, I visited the Adagio site from the comfort of the law library. In six months, I’ve gone from the sampler size Rooibos Tropica and Rooibos Mango to the medium size to two HUGE cannisters! Then I decided to order my Mom the IngenuiTea and a sampler for her to use at work (I have one from Teavana and it’s awesome!). As I was checking out, I realized I am almost out of my Teavana Earl Grey, so I decided to add a mid-size cannister of Adagio’s Earl Grey Bravo to my cart. It arrived today and I’m trying it now. YUM!!!! It has a citrus note that totally enhances the rest of the flavors. I’m in love. Have I mentioned that I may have a tiny little tea addiction? It’s only one full cabinet of mugs, tea and accessories…

P.S. In the spirit of passing on the favor, I have a $5 off “friends and family” coupon I can e-mail anyone who is interested. Just e-mail me at ptlawmom at gmail dot com.

We have been going flat out ever since the weekend. Went caroling Friday night with a church group (so much fun!), then got up early Saturday to meet my mother for shopping. We left Pumpkinhead with his Granddad and had a lovely breakfast at La Madeleine. Then we headed off to Macy’s to search for formal wear for the cruise we’re taking in two weeks. My mother bought me a gorgeous royal blue silky wrap top and a long black/silver formal skirt. After that, I met my cousin for lunch (she cried when I gave her the portrait, then I cried and we were both wailing in the middle of Olive Garden!)

After lunch, I headed to the Apple Store to pick up my MacBook. The case had cracked again so they replaced it for free (third time). Apparently if you put your MacBook in a squished situation, the little feet above the screen will push into the case and eventually it cracks. I bought a little leather pad that sticks on the handrest areas and helps with that. It’s $34.99 on the retailer’s site, but I only paid $19.99 at the Apple Store.

After our Apple trip, we went to the movies hoping to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks, but ended up watching Fred Clause. Funny! Then Pumpkinhead said he wanted to play Checkers, which we don’t have, so we dashed off to WalMart to search for it. Unfortunately they were out so we settled for Chutes and Ladders and spent a good two hours playing it with Chapin.

On Sunday, Pumpkinhead went to church while Chapin and I went hunting for a bicycle and other Santa Claus gifts. We left the mall with lingerie and Nikes. Obviously Chapin wasn’t in Pumpkinhead-mode. Good thing I buy everything on Amazon. Then we went to Sam’s Club for eggs and yogurt and, finally, to WalMart to find a bike.

Unfortunately Chapin doesn’t believe in Santa Claus so he decided to give Pumpkinhead the bike that same day. On the plus side, we had a great time biking up and down the street. Pumpkinhead was so proud of himself!!

Then we realized that this was, for all intents and purposes, the last weekend before Christmas (unless you count next weekend which will be INSANE at the mall!!!) So we trotted back to the mall and spent 30 minutes searching for parking so that we could purchase suits for Pumpkinhead and Chapin (again for the cruise). Then we dragged Chapin to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. This time I thought ahead and bought the tickets on Fandango beforehand. Chapin and Pumpkinhead loved it… I fell asleep! I have NEVER fallen asleep in a movie! I was just beat.

Monday was Pumpkinhead’s school skip day. He had a blast at the backup daycare and I took him for a fun lunch at some nearby shops. We hit the bookstore on the way back so he was totally psyched. Then we were up until 10 making Christmas cookies last night (to send to school with him and to Chapin’s work).

All this is to say that I need a break from my break! I’m having tons of quality time with Pumpkinhead, but I still haven’t finished even one book and I MUST write our Christmas letter and get these cards mailed off today!!! Hopefully I can do that at lunch today. And I have not wrapped a single thing!! That’s tonight’s task, I think. Hopefully all of you are having similarly fun (but less crazy!) time off from school.

I told you I couldn’t resist my own blog. Just bought the Gold Box deal on the Gaiam balance ball chair for my home office ($59 as I type, but full-price is $99 and normal sale price is $79)!

Anyway, my point is that as I was returning to Amazon’s main page, I saw this neat tote bag. You purchase the sack and feed schoolchildren in developing nations for a whole year. Not only do you get a really sturdy bag to tote your heavy casebooks in, but you are also encouraging others to contribute every time you walk around with it.

“The FEED bag is a sturdy, reversible bag made out of natural burlap and cotton materials. The design of the bag was inspired by the big bags of food that I have seen being distributed to schools around the world. Besides being a cool bag, it is a tangible way to make a difference in the fight against child hunger. Every FEED bag sold will feed a child for a whole year in school!
Thank you for your support of the FEED project! With your help we will be making a big difference in children’s lives around the world, one child at a time. So wear your bag with pride!”

And, if you’re looking for something to put in those bags, check out the great used study aids available through Amazon Marketplace!

Stealing a post from Ana and reviewing 30 days of search history to see how people find my blog:

For the person searching my blog for a “Wife of a Law Student” shirt, try this

I want this one for me and this one for my little monkey, Pumpkinhead.

For the person searching my blog for what to get his legal secretary for Christmas, cash is always good. Or a gift card (Amazon? See sidebar) if you think cash is gauche. If you want to get her a “serious” gift, Kelly at Lawyer’s Right Hand recommends an investment in her professional development. I would suggest paying for a NALS certification. It will make her feel more confident and ultimately benefits you and your firm as well. Don’t buy her gels, lotions, perfumes or bath products. Don’t buy her clothes. If you don’t want to give money, how about a gift certificate for a nice restaurant near her house so that she and her significant other can go out to eat? You could also go with a spa certificate, although there are some (crazy!) women who aren’t into that. Hope this helps. In my personal experience over the past six years, I’ve always received cash or gift cards. If you need any more ideas, please click on my Amazon links at left.

For the person searching my blog for the cost of raising a child, BabyCenter actually has a calculator for this. That said, I’d say better not to look!

For the person who wants to know if it’s easier to get into law school part-time, the answer is NO! We’re smart enough, we’re good enough, and gosh darn it, our professors actually prefer us over the baby daytime students! That said, this article about the disadvantages is fairly accurate.

For the people searching for broke law student, you found me. Ditto for the people searching for law school diaries.

I really want to know what a “law school attack outline” is! Sounds vicious.

For the person searching for how to evaluate their legal secretary, do it nicely. Nothing in a review should be a surprise. Talk to your secretary before filling it out, if need be, and remember that your evaluation affects her compensation so please be as generous as you can be.

For the person searching my blog for the “negative impact of immigrants on America”, boy did you pick the wrong blog, buddy!

For the TWENTY people collectively searching for “Thanksgiving MILF”, “In-Law MILF” or “Lawyer MILF”, what the fuck?!?! Same for the FORTY-FIVE searches for “Aquadots Recipe.” On a similar note, I don’t know how you got to my blog searching for how to stuff THOSE up THERE! Ew!!!!

Finally, you can and SHOULD visit Ruben Navarette here.

I think Ana’s blog searches are much more interesting!

Lately I’m getting a lot of hits to my blog from people looking for gifts for law students. I have a few ideas. First of all, I’d suggest steering away from the traditional pens/leather goods route, at least until graduation. You’d be surprised how much stuff like this law students get for free from firms or at events.

Books
I have bought pretty much all of my books so far from Amazon (either new or, more frequently, through Amazon Marketplace). Most of us don’t have time to read for pleasure right now, but an Amazon gift certificate to help us purchase our books would be great!

Pampering
One thing I use a lot to ease the pain in my shoulders from hunching over my laptops and books is this microwaveable neck wrap from the Happy Company. They have a bunch of other cool pampering products as well, such as foot massagers, a tingly head massager (easier to use if someone else does it to you) and warm booties. Okay, now I want the whole page of products!! Ack!
Yoga DVD — I’m buying this one for myself in the hopes that if I get into it over the holiday season, I’ll actually keep it up during the year. This particular DVD has been highly rated by Yoga Journal for two years now.
Chocolate — how about some chocolate for the studying student? Or healther mixed nuts packets?

Useful Items
Book Holder — this book holder is not only sturdy enough to hold large textbooks, it also folds flat so we can carry one in our backpack for use in class or at the library!
Power inverter — for charging our laptop in the car
Rolling backpack — take the stress off our backs with a rolling backpack
Staple-free Stapler — environmentally friendly and definitely useful!
Delivery! — if you want to buy something truly helpful to a busy law student, how about subscribing them to regular delivery of paper towels, laundry detergent, etc., through Amazon’s Grocery service. I do this all the time because I save 15% if I order regularly and it all arrives with free shipping on my doorstep! Such a timesaver!
Great pens
iTunes Gift Card or, even better, an iPod. It’s so much easier to listen to review CDs on an iPod than stuck next to a CD player!

Finally, if you want a goofy gift, how about a marshmallow shooter? It’s the deal of the day at Drugstore.com. This boggles my mind but I can see how some people might think it’s cool. drugstore.com deal of the the day

Hopefully this list is helpful to those of you who have been searching my blog for ideas. There’s always the funny CafePress or Threadless t-shirt route as well. For law students with kids, definitely check out Redhead, Esq’s cute baby apparel.

There’s an article in today’s New York Times today about the increasing demand for technology for the pre-school set. This post might get me a lot of backlash, but I am so on board with the tech toys. In fact, this toy (shown on the front page of the article) is the one my son is getting for Christmas (thank you LeapFrog for the great sale and free shipping!) (P.S. Unlike many, MANY of my friends with kids Pumpkinhead’s age who have had them since two, this will be Pumpkinhead’s first video game-type machine.)

Okay, sure, the pediatricians know what they’re talking about and increased screen time is DEFINITELY a contributor to obesity and other issues. That said, we need some more pediatricians of my generation to get into practice. The reality is that we grew up on computers and other technology advances. The generation behind us is even more entrenched. Texting? Don’t even try to text me because I am SUCH a moron when it comes to that. IM’ing — time-sucker. But my peers would disagree and I think that is well-illustrated by some of the comments in this article, such as the mother who said she had to return the fake cell because her preschooler wasn’t easily fooled — she knew what a real cell looked like and wanted one (no, I wouldn’t get a cell for a child that young, but I thought it was an interesting observation). What do you all think about this tech trend? Is it damaging to kids or just realistic to purchase them technological toys?