Baby Meets Google

Older "boomer" types (and beyond) often comment to me that they can't believe all the baby gear that we have nowadays. Usually, they speak wistfully of these items, wishing they could have had some of our modern conveniences when their babies were young. I'm talking Bumbo chairs, pack-n-plays, removable infant car seats, Baby Bjorns, ...you know, all the gadgets and whatchamacallits. So then I was thinking, What one parenting tool could I not live without?

In .02 seconds, my mind returned this result: the Internet!

It's true. Take my Snugli, take my Bumbo, take my light-up, sing-out toys (yes, please do take those!)...but please, please don't take the Internet away -- and especially Google! I love having so much information at my fingertips, and when you're constantly treading into new phases of toddlerdom and babyhood, it's nice to know that you can find out what's normal and even find support from other parents who have been there.

Now of course, I use the Internet for non-parenting stuff like email and such, but I honestly do use it a lot as a mom. Take for example some of my recent Google searches:

• infant, fever


• robeez crib shoes


• 2-year-old, napping [This is a blog in itself, Dear Reader.]


• average formula feeding, 9-month-old


• Nuby sippy cup replacement spouts


• digital scrapbooking [Laney is baby book-less...poor thing!]


• family bowling, middle tennessee

So that made me wonder, if AOL can flub up and release personal search information, what might my Google searches say about me if they were ever to reach the light of day? I think I would be easy to track down based on my frequent use of Google. So what would your Google searches say about you?

P.S. As a side note, I worked for about a year with the author of this article. It was weird to see his name pop up in...you guessed it, Google. :-)

The iBrain Ain't as Smart as She Used to Be!

Just wanted to update the story of my poor little iBrain. Well, she's back...and she has new insides, but it turns out that she's not quite as smart as she used to be. See, she lost my calendar, address book, and iBank files. My once know-it-all computer has been reduced to little more than an email checker and Internet browser. It's really quite sad to see her in this state. However, I'm working to re-create and update all three of my main info soucres. And I'm happy to say that my real noggin has been performing quite nicely in the absence of my iBrain. Perhaps I have a few more good years left on this one. :-)

And here's my plea, dear readers -- Back up your computers! Consistently, completely, frequently!!! Take it from me, it will save you stress and wasted hours.

Ah-ha -- I just realized why I have a pounding headache...my brain has been working overtime!

Night-night, everyone. I'm putting this tired head to sleep.

Organizing without My iBrain

I've been reminded again this week just how much I rely on technology for my everyday life. Unfortunately, my reminder came at the temporary loss of my iBook. On Saturday, my cute little laptop started slowing down, hicupping in between clicks, and eventually just died completely.

Thankfully, my always-thinking hubby told me I should store my important files on his iPod in case my puter was dying. He was right! And while I forgot to copy over my calendar, I was able to save my current work files and a bunch of other important things. My calendar is replaceable, although of course it will take precious time to get organized again. Special thanks to Josh for making several trips to the Apple store to coordinate the iBook recovery effort.

So while Apple is replacing my hard drive, I am calendar-less, iBank-less, Address-Book-less, and Mail-less. I have to say, it kind of stinks. But I'm trying to think of the positives...I'm getting new insides for my 1.5-year-old computer! I've been spending a lot of time over the last few days racking my brain for info that used to be on my computer. As you may have guessed, my noggin doesn't have quite the memory, quickness, or functionality that my iBrain has. But fortunately (knock on wood!), I haven't missed any events yet, and I can monitor my checking account balance and email on the web. But still...kind of a pain.

So I've been relatively technology free since my last post. Not much new to report, but if I forget something I'm supposed to be at with you or something I'm supposed to do, please show mercy. I'm trying to stay organized without my iBrain--and sometimes the one I have left is about as reliable as a crashed hard drive!

RSS Feed

I made it simpler to subscribe to my RSS feed. Simply click on the button to the right that says "subscribe" and bookmark the page that comes up. Then (if your browser has a feedreader) when I post a new blog, you should see a 1 in parentheses next to the bookmark, indicating that there's a blog to read. Of course if this is all techno-mumbo-jumbo and you'd like to just check back whenever you want to, that's cool, too. :-)

Isn't technology neat-o?

Making the Switch

Well, I've decided to switch to Blogger. The main reason is that I wasn't fond of people having to create a new account with Xanga just to leave a comment on my blog. Maybe I still won't get that many comments (nothing against my current commenters!), but hey -- I thought I'd give it a try. There are a few other considerations, but the main takeaway here is that I'm switching!

So subscribe, bookmark my RSS feed, or just check back at your leisure. You can expect more of the same -- a sometimes humorous, always honest view of life from a Christian wife and mom's perspective. Enjoy peeking into my journey!

Hmmm...should I switch?

I'm debating...should I switch to Blogger? I sorta like it better. ;-)