Baby Industry Soap Box

**WARNING** This post is likely to offend you if you are now, or have ever been, pregnant. I love all of my friends with kids, and most of this blog post is driven by the industry not you. However, please read with caution.

If any of you have had a friend or TEN go through the pregnancy/registry/shower/baby process, you will know what I'm talking about. With new technology that allows us the opportunity to discover the sex of babies before they are born, the baby industry has gone over the deep end. I call it the baby industry*, because that's what it is.

*It's very similar to the wedding industry, making brides feel like they HAVE to have this and that for their wedding. It is exactly the reason that the average wedding in the US now costs between $21,000 and $24, 000!

But I digress. Admittedly, I do not have children, and have never been through the pregnancy/registry/shower/baby process. I do have some sort of idea that babies need a lot of stuff. However, I don't think they need as much stuff as some people are convinced that they need!

Like I was saying before, the baby industry has gone nuts with gender specific baby gear. I can understand wanting to know the sex of a baby before it is born. You are able to buy gender specific clothes and decorate a nursery. I get that part. What I don't get is the compulsion to get everything you "need" for a baby in gender specific colors.

I have a family member who is expecting their first child, a girl. Everything on their registry is pink, DOWN TO THE BABY BATHTUB! What will they do with the bouncy seat, highchair, bathtub etc that they could have used with their next baby if it happens to be a boy? I've seen people out in public with a pink stroller and car seat (and it was obviously a first child)! REALLY?!!?!! Those are big ticket baby items that could be reused with a second baby if the parents hadn't lost every sense of practicality that they previously possessed before being handed a scan gun in the baby store!!

Of course, there are always exceptions. If you are having multiples of the same sex and your hubby is going in for the snip-snip the week after you deliver, fine. Buy/register for all the pink or blue crap that you want. But I just don't understand not wanting to, or having some understanding that you could, reuse some things from one child to the next. It's more crap you have to buy (which I guess is why all that stuff comes in pink or blue). I understand that some things wear out and can't be reused, and I get being excited about your baby. But I really don't understand wanting everything in your house to be pink/purple or blue! I'm sure even if your gear is gender-neutral, that people will know what sex your baby is by the pink/purple or blue clothes they are wearing!

Although I have heard from many moms that this is not always the case and people are totally oblivious when saying how cute "he" is when "he" is wearing a pink shirt with purple flowers all over it!

Clothes are a whole different matter all together. I've heard from the older generation that baby and children's clothes were much cuter 15-20 years ago. Baby clothes were all in soft colors of yellow, green or white with baby type designs. That may or may not be your taste. But apparently the older kids' clothes were much more diverse in color, not just pink/purple or blue. Because parents get so used to buying pink or blue for their infants now, clothes makers aren't even trying anymore. I know parents who get excited if they can find clothes in any other color (and I'm sure I'll be one of them some day)!

So there you have it. I've finally owned up to my #1 baby industry pet peeve. Maybe it's the hippy in me not wanting to over-consume or be wasteful. Maybe it's the frugal wife who sees all the other things that can be done with money that is spent replacing every piece of baby gear between children. I don't know. But it is my absolute NUMERO UNO pet peeve about the baby industry.

If I've offended any of you, I am sorry. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, or piss anyone off. If you bought a pink car seat, that's your prerogative. It's just something I don't understand.

Waiting...

I'm tired of waiting. For this house

to sell. So that we can get on with our lives.

Speaking of getting on with our lives, Matt has 2 more days of grad school left.

FINITO!!!

Which is making both of us a bit more antsy about the ONE THING that's holding us back.

And we keep trying... and praying

Look at those beautiful azaleas in bloom!!!

The Open House on Sunday did NOT go well. We had one couple, one single lady (who wasn't sure if she wanted to move or not) and 2 ladies from the neighborhood come. No real potential buyers. The ladies from the neighborhood were nice and complimentary. They said now that they had seen the property, they would refer anyone they knew to us.

So after lots of crying (me), and prayer (both), we've decided to pay more $$ and upgrade our online listing to include an MLS (Multiple Listing Service) listing. By doing this, all property searches that use MLS will now return our property in their searches, for hopefully more exposure. We are also offering a 3% finders fee to the buyers agent, so that agents will show our property to their clients without fear that we may not pay them.

For those of you out there that are praying folks, please pray that we find our buyer soon. It's not about the money, but the emotional burden. I've blogged about not being able to sleep, chronic exhaustion, sadness, feeling overwhelmed, etc. It's all STRESS from this HOUSE. Stress can do nasty, nasty things to a person, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Luckily, since God and I had a heart-to-heart on Sunday evening, I've felt much better. Add in my exercise accountability and walking buddy helping me MOVE and work out some of that stress, I feel like a new lady. But it seems cyclical. I'll do well for a while, then get overwhelmed or sad. It's the WAITING and NOT KNOWING and being POWERLESS to do anything that is so BURDENSOME. So those who are so inclined, please send up a prayer for Matt and me while we wait!

Seriously Cool DIY find of the Day!

Confession: I'm addicted to the DIY Network. All of it. Sweat Equity, 10 Grand in Your Hand, and Yard Crashers (more for the host than anything, WHEW Ahmed is hot!) top the list. Because I'm constantly watching DIY, I'm constantly coming up with crap to do to our house(s) UGH!

Our NEW home has a fantabulous bathroom,

with original 2" black and white tile floor

expertly made classic cafe curtain in a lovely damask print

we'll overlook the little sewing accident while making said curtains

and some kickin' artwork (if I do say so myself) courtesy of the LOVELY Melody Hood

One of our projects on the list is to ditch the ugly CREAM (no idea the thought there when the tile was "aged" white) tub and shower surround, replace (if needed) underlying tub, and tile the shower in such a way that pays homage to the rest of the fabulousness in the bathroom. I'm thinking white subway tile with a banded inset of 2" black and white checkered mosaic tile that matches the floor! Ugly tub and shower surround not pictured, because no more people than HAVE to look at it while showering should suffer.

That's a longterm project goal that may never get accomplished if we don't sell THIS house!

However, something that I'm considering doing fairly soon was inspired by the Seriously Cool DIY find of the Day. Obviously being over 70 years old, the original tile and grout on the floor need some TLC.

The era of the home dictated that the tiles were UNsealed, which means that they are stained in some areas. I'm going to try this cleaning technique and pray it works on MOST of the stains.

Then I'm going to PAINT AND SEAL the grout in one step with this product in the Natural Gray color, because that's the main color (other than the stains that are present) that the grout has aged to over time. And with this house, we are doing everything we can to keep the integrity of the Craftsman Style and period in which it was built. It will be labor intensive considering the floor is 2" TILE (think tiny art brush and hands and knees), but will give us pretty, clean grout that is stain-resistant!

The LAST step is to go ahead and seal the tile to prevent further stains. I know this will take away a little from the authenticity of the floor. But it will prevent further staining of the tiles over time, and make the floor a bit more slip-resistant (which is important for a bathroom!). Hopefully by choosing the "Natural Look" Penetrating Sealer they won't look too glossy for the period.

So there you have it! For all you DIYers out there with old, dirty, unsealed (or OLD-sealed) grout, I wanted to share this project. This also may be good for those of you out there trying to breathe life into your grout in order to sell a home! I totally wish I had found this project a month ago or I would have done it in our old house before the Open House tomorrow. OH WELL!