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How to Find Kentucky on the Map

When I was in 3rd grade, I became the first person in my class to memorize all the states and their capitals in alphabetical order. I was also the first to correctly identify each state on a map of the United States. Sadly, that was the peak of my geographical knowledge. I can now only correctly identify perhaps half of the states on a U.S. map. (I imagine I will have a lot of catching-up to do before my kids start school. After all, we can't have a mommy who knows less than her grade-school aged children, can we? ;-)) And it is always those pesky middle states that give me the most trouble...

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So This is What They Look Like on the Inside…

Yesterday, we discovered 2 new teeth in Claire's mouth — one on either side of her top front teeth — making for a grand total of 6 teeth at the age of 12 months. (So far, all of her teeth have come in pairs. Is this normal?) The best part? She did not exhibit any signs of teething prior to our discovering these new pearly whites. If you can recall, the first four were hellish: waking up 5-6x per night, constant whining and crying, extreme clinginess, and so forth. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this will be the norm for the rest of her teeth! And, to celebrate, I will share with you a picture of a child's skull before losing their baby...

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ONA’s Roma Camera Insert Bag Review and Giveaway!

Sorry, this giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announced here shortly! Late last year, the web was abuzz with the introduction of a laptop + DSLR bag that was not only functional and well-made, but beautiful as well: the ONA Union Street Bag. I knew it would be perfect for my fashion-conscious husband, who commutes to work with a laptop and likes to bring along his DSLR wherever he can. I immediately placed myself on the waiting list — the bag had became sold out as soon as the blogosphere began to buzz about it — and gifted it to J as his birthday present earlier this year. We both love the Union Street bag. J gets compliments on it all the time, and...

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Defying the Halloween Birthday

How much does psychology come into play when it comes to the day a woman gives birth? As it turns out, more than what you might expect. Using 11-years' worth of U.S. birth certificate data provided by the National Center for Health Statistics, Yale researchers have found that there are higher instances of birth on Valentine's Day, a holiday traditionally linked with positive symbolism, while Halloween — a holiday which traditionally conveys negative symbolism — has lowered birth rates. Take a look at the following graphs, provided by Try Nerdy:       While the overall increased likelihood of giving birth on Valentine's Day jumps by 5%, a whopping 11.3% decrease in births was seen on Halloween across these years! Although I know quite a few women who say that...

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Music Typewriter

I love typewriters. I have studied music since the age of 5. So how can I not fall in love with this Keaton Music Typewriter, which allows the user to type musical notes on blank sheet music? According to musicprintinghistory.org: The Keaton Music Typewriter was first patented in 1936 (14 keys) by Robert H. Keaton from San Francisco, California. Another patent was taken out in 1953 (33 keys) which included improvements to the machine. The machine types on a sheet of paper lying flat under the typing mechanism. There are several Keaton music typewriters thought to be in existence in museums and private collections. It was marketed in the 1950s and sold for around $225. The typewriter made it easier for publishers, educators, and other musicians...

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