I have a confession to make...I have become addicted to eBay. It would be one thing to have become obsessed with selling things (and potentially seeing some cash inflow as a result), but instead of I have become hooked on buying things on eBay. It started innocently enough -- I logged on to the site to see how much used strollers cost (for the record, surprisingly close to new strollers), and while I was there I started to surf around the other baby items just to see what they had. Someone at work had told me how much they liked their Petit Bateau receiving blanket, and low-and-behold there was one on the site, still new with tags, and at a great discount! Pretty soon I was "watching" a number of things in "My eBay," which then conveniently starting sending me reminders of when auctions on items I was interested in were ending soon. It was just a matter of time before the bidding began, and it was all downhill from there.
In my defense, I have found some pretty great stuff, including a new in-box (or "NIB" for eBay regulars) breast pump at $70 off of Babies R Us pricing, a Barefoot Dreams hooded towel set, the baby book I wanted at 40% off of its price at Union Street Papery, and a Tea Collection newborn gift set at half-off retail (which I justified to Sameer as her "coming home outfit, so it will be photographed a lot"). And, it's like Christmas at our house, with a new package arriving most days.
Speaking of Christmas, I wonder if they have any "baby's first Christmas" outfits...hmmm, better go check.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Labor Day weekend at Chez Dholakia
Labor Day weekend was pretty uneventful at our house...Sameer decided to celebrate by getting sick (pretty much his standard MO for every vacation), so he spent most of the time quarantined in the guest room, asleep for ~18 hours per day. He did manage to rally for a few events, which is probably the reason that unfortunately this morning he is still sick (at least this time he had the good sense to be sick on a work day).
On Saturday morning we attended an Infant CPR course (the only class our doctor actually recommended we attend...of course, being a student is something we know how to do, so we are signed up for a bunch more). It was a very good course, albeit sort of terrifying to realize that you really had no clue what you would do prior to taking the class, and are only somewhat better prepared after 2 hours of practice rescue breathing with the baby dummy. We are already starting to see the same people at each of these events (two couples from the hospital orientation were at this class as well). I guess it's a surprise to no one that there is a whole group of Type-A parents-to-be in Palo Alto who make themselves feel more prepared by attending every class possible. Sameer and I take secret pride in being (surprisingly) one of the youngest couples in this emerging clique.
Saturday afternoon we drove around with a realtor in our quest to get to know the neighborhoods better so we can actually get serious about buying a house (this weekend was Menlo Park, last weekend was Palo Alto). I kept waiting for her to turn into one of the neighborhoods and say something like, "This is a great neighborhood with fantastic schools that you can absolutely afford." Instead, her comments were more along the lines of, "You could probably find something on this street, just try to stay at this end because at the other end of the street is Hwy 101." We have also learned a new realtor vocab word: "mixed," as in, "This neighborhood is a bit more mixed than the last one we saw." Apparently "mixed" is a euphimism meaning, "Some of the houses in this neighborhood are really crappy, and as a result you can probably afford to live here."
After a grueling day of sitting around, Sameer decided that sitting was too taxing and spent all of Saturday night and the majority of Sunday lying down. He did rally for us to go to Tracy Sunday night for homecooked dinner with the whole family, after which he proceeded to come home and sleep for another 12+ hours. In a heroic effort, Sameer managed to find the energy to go on an intense outing of baby-related shopping, after which we were poorer, but more prepared. At least now they would legally let us bring home a baby from the hospital since we are the proud owners of a new baby car seat (not installed, mind you, but at least we have it). Before the mockery begins, I will get ahead of it by admitting that yes, we bought items that strictly speaking we do not need, and yes, I am okay with it. I believe Sameer's favorite over-the-top purchase was the wipe warmer, with the microwavable bottle sterilizer being a close second. Thankfully, he was too weak with illness to fight me on any of them. ("If we buy this can we go home now? Yes? Great, get it.")
Now all we need is to find the secret storage room in our apartment to put all of this stuff in...
On Saturday morning we attended an Infant CPR course (the only class our doctor actually recommended we attend...of course, being a student is something we know how to do, so we are signed up for a bunch more). It was a very good course, albeit sort of terrifying to realize that you really had no clue what you would do prior to taking the class, and are only somewhat better prepared after 2 hours of practice rescue breathing with the baby dummy. We are already starting to see the same people at each of these events (two couples from the hospital orientation were at this class as well). I guess it's a surprise to no one that there is a whole group of Type-A parents-to-be in Palo Alto who make themselves feel more prepared by attending every class possible. Sameer and I take secret pride in being (surprisingly) one of the youngest couples in this emerging clique.
Saturday afternoon we drove around with a realtor in our quest to get to know the neighborhoods better so we can actually get serious about buying a house (this weekend was Menlo Park, last weekend was Palo Alto). I kept waiting for her to turn into one of the neighborhoods and say something like, "This is a great neighborhood with fantastic schools that you can absolutely afford." Instead, her comments were more along the lines of, "You could probably find something on this street, just try to stay at this end because at the other end of the street is Hwy 101." We have also learned a new realtor vocab word: "mixed," as in, "This neighborhood is a bit more mixed than the last one we saw." Apparently "mixed" is a euphimism meaning, "Some of the houses in this neighborhood are really crappy, and as a result you can probably afford to live here."
After a grueling day of sitting around, Sameer decided that sitting was too taxing and spent all of Saturday night and the majority of Sunday lying down. He did rally for us to go to Tracy Sunday night for homecooked dinner with the whole family, after which he proceeded to come home and sleep for another 12+ hours. In a heroic effort, Sameer managed to find the energy to go on an intense outing of baby-related shopping, after which we were poorer, but more prepared. At least now they would legally let us bring home a baby from the hospital since we are the proud owners of a new baby car seat (not installed, mind you, but at least we have it). Before the mockery begins, I will get ahead of it by admitting that yes, we bought items that strictly speaking we do not need, and yes, I am okay with it. I believe Sameer's favorite over-the-top purchase was the wipe warmer, with the microwavable bottle sterilizer being a close second. Thankfully, he was too weak with illness to fight me on any of them. ("If we buy this can we go home now? Yes? Great, get it.")
Now all we need is to find the secret storage room in our apartment to put all of this stuff in...
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