Keeping Me Sane

Here is a current list of my favorite sanity-inspiring things:

On TV or DVD:

• The Wire (DVDs)
• True Blood (HBO OnDemand, which we get for free this month)
• Ricky Gervais' Comedian stand-up show (also on HBO--I could watch Ricky Gervais scratch his ear for half an hour and still be at least somewhat amused)
• 30 Rock (I actually catch a new episode now and then!)
• One Tree Hill on SoapNet (Don't judge me, it's on from 1-3 p.m., which happens to be prime Will's Awake But Doesn't Know What to Do With Himself As He's Only 8 Weeks Old time in our house.)

For the Baby:

• The wipe warmer--most moms say it's useless, but the difference between a cold and a warm wipe in this house is the difference between angry-bordering-on-hysterical yodel-like shrieks and daffy, cooing smiles. I choose B.
• "Sleep and play" outfits--basically the onesies with long sleeves and long arms--especially the ones with a zip-up front and coverings for the hands and feet. The zipper makes things so much easier for the incessant diaper leak crises.
• The Snap 'n' Go stroller. Thanks to my sister and sisters-in-law for making me register for this and then giving it to me! Our regular stroller is great for off-roading, but it's both heavy and cumbersome; the Snap 'n' Go gets stowed in the trunk of my car and is transportation mode of choice for getting William from the car to the pediatrician's office, to the mall, to Target, and anywhere else I go to spend too much mon--I mean, maintain my child's health and well-being.
• Speaking of Target, the Mommy Hook. This is just a giant-sized carabiner that clips onto your stroller handle and allows you to let the stroller carry the weight of your purse and any shopping bags you may pick up along the way. This gadget is vital when you no longer have lip gloss and your cell phone rattling around in a cute bag and instead are carrying (one of your many gorgeous) diaper bags stuffed to the brim with god-knows-what.
• The Swaddle Me and the Miracle Blanket. Dave's brother tried to teach us how to swaddle back when I was pregnant, but I still have a hard time with it, and sometimes (read: at two in the morning) we are just too lazy to make it perfect. Plus, you ideally need a square blanket, something stretchy but not too stretchy...who has the time, honestly? Will sleeps best when swaddled, and the Swaddle Me literally takes three hand motions to get the Velcro tabs in place and William looking like a little fleece burrito. In the Miracle Blanket, which is a bit more complicated to wrap but still less so than starting from scratch with a regular blanket, the result is more of a Mummy Baby. (Preserved in organic cotton, no less.)

In the Name of Efficiency

• The Charles River walking path just outside my door
• Amy's frozen burritos for lunch...I can manage the microwave one-handed.
• 12-cup coffeemaker with the stainless carafe that keeps its contents piping hot throughout the long day, assuming you remember to twist the cap fully after pouring a cup (and assuming you don't, um, leave the carafe in the refrigerator after you pour the milk, ahem).
• Peapod grocery delivery from Stop 'n' Shop: Don't laugh, I do realize that there is a Stop 'n' Shop located a convenient half-mile from our doorstep, but Peapod pays for its delivery fee in other ways. We don't impulse-buy anymore (cough, Family Size bag of Twizzlers, cough, Dave) and I don't have to nervously wheel a newborn around a grocery store wondering when he's going to wake up hungry. Everybody wins! (Except Dave. He loves Twizzlers.)
• The drive-through McDonald's on our street, where I can get a coffee and interaction with another adult (gasp!) without ever leaving my car/moving my baby/interrupting infant REM...fabulous!
• Awesome friends who bring dinner and breakfast and Scene It and all-around good company to our home and understand when we don't want to (or really, really want to but can't) go out instead. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Lauren and Kerry and Christian and Jay and Ryan and Ashley and Scott and whoever else I'm forgetting.
• Awesome family members who either come from New Jersey bearing economy boxes of diapers and wipes or come from another pocket of Newton or Brookline bearing Starbucks and Tales from the Outside World. Thanks--you are indispensable.

Miscellaneous

• Us Weeklies, hand-delivered by Kerry, complete with mini Post-It notes describing her outrage at the many pictures of Rosario Dawson in the magazine
• Cheery red holiday cups at Starbucks
• Dave, especially when he comes home rejuvenated after a day without babies at the exact moment I am crashing from a day without non-babies

I know many of you haven't figured out how to comment here yet, but I'd love to hear about the things keeping you afloat these days!