COINSTAR

Adrian and I keep our loose change in a quart-size Ziploc bag on our desk and recently we realized it was time to take it to a Coinstar machine and redeem it for some cash or a giftcard. We headed out today to the Duane Reade that has an easily accessible machine - one that I could stand next to with the stroller and watch, but unfortunately that one was out of order. We knew our local Food Emporium had a machine too, but that one was our last resort since it's downstairs in a store with no elevator and I wouldn't be able to join in the fun. Instead, we went to a few more Duane Reades without success and ultimately ended up at the Food Emporium one. Before Adrian headed downstairs, we made bets on how much we had in the bag and we said the person who guessed closest got to pick the place from which the giftcard would come. After much back and forth (since I'm the one who puts the change away, I figured I had the advantage, so then Adrian would always change his answer to something closer to mine), we ended up with the following: Amanda - $12.80 and Adrian - $14.10. When Adrian came back up the escalator, he simply said, "I won, but we were both WAY off. I'm going to give you three guesses as to what the total really was." My first guess: $31.85. Nope. My second guess: $42.60. Nope. My third guess: $63.20. Nope. I shook my head in disbelief. Adrian then handed me the receipt and I couldn't believe my eyes. A whopping $93.87! In one quart-size Ziploc! (The final breakdown was 25 dollar coins, 178 quarters, 161 dimes, 95 nickels, and 352 pennies.) Since Adrian won, he chose to get credit at Amazon, while he said if I had won, he would have gotten me credit at Old Navy. But when we got home, he said he wanted me to spend it on something fun for myself, but I had fun just redeeming the coins themselves.

4 MONTHS (OR 18 WEEKS)

Though most people calculate Jack's age by the calendar (i.e. he turned 4 months on March 7 since he was born on November 7), any mother will tell you that they calculate their baby's age in weeks. To me, Jack will turn 18 weeks this coming Tuesday, and so I will say that he is 4 1/2 months old if anyone asks me. Potato - potahto, right? Well, maybe not. Yesterday (his so-called "4 month birthday") was a super day for him. He not only slept through the night for the first time ever (minus one quick feed, he was out for close to 11 hours), but he also rolled over from his tummy to his back unassisted. We thought he'd go from his back to his front first even though most babies don't. It's just that he never shows much interest when on his tummy of going anywhere. He hasn't rolled over again, but the day is young and he's too busy practicing sitting up by himself right now to want to roll anywhere.