Two tips for an easy blood test

My fear of needles is legendary, so when I was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder last year that requires careful management during pregnancy, one of the most difficult things for me to handle was the frequent blood tests.

Now that I'm expecting again, I'm back to being a regular at my hematologist's office. After about a zillion trips to the lab for bloodwork, I've discovered two key tips that make all the difference in the world -- in fact, it no longer really bothers me to have my blood taken.

The two key things to do are:

• Drink lots of water before you go. Since blood largely consists of water, it makes a huge difference to drink plenty of fluids before you have a blood test. It makes the vein easier to find and it seems like the blood flows a little better as well.
  
  
• Ask for a butterfly needle. This is a big one. Butterfly needles are smaller than regular needles and, in my experience, far less painful. A nurse told me recently that the only reason most places don't use them standard is because they're not cost effective -- but they almost always have them available and don't mind if patients request that they're used.
  

Hope that helps any fellow needle-phobics out there!

Mom my Ride

Turning a regular old minivan into a true mom minivan. Hilarious.

Daylight Savings Time

Well, I think I'm finally adjusted after changing the clocks. It wasn't easy, but with some hard work and dedication I've managed to come to terms with setting our clocks back an hour in October of last year.

And now they tell me that there was some sick plan hatched to make Daylight Savings Time begin earlier in the year, and that we have actually already had to set our clocks forward again. Whoever came up with this bizarre plan clearly did not have young children.

I don't generally think of myself as an idiot, but for some reason Daylight Savings Time is rocket science to me. To gradually shift the kids' carefully planned routines, to figure out when to start dinner now that the baby goes to sleep an hour later, to plan playdates when the kids and I get up at a different time than we used to, is just too much for my chronically sleep-deprived brain to handle.

To make matters worse, we're traveling to a family event in Atlanta this weekend. Atlanta is an hour ahead of us. Just know that it's me if you see footage on the news of a woman in a straight jacket being led away from the ledge of a tall building, twitching and muttering, "Naptime is at one-thirty...It's four o'clock here...but the kids aren't adjusted to the time change yet so it's three o'clock...but at home it's two o'clock...wait...is that before or after Daylight Savings Time?"

Great Amazon discounts (a.k.a. more ways to waste time and be poor)

I was so excited to have found Lifehacker's post about bargain hunting on Amazon. In it they link to this great chart where you can click on any of the links to find all the Amazon products in that category at that discount level. I'm in the market for a new watch, and with one click on that chart I found one for $80 that was originally priced at $375!

Personally, I'm thrilled to have discovered this little trick. But perhaps a good friend of mine was onto something when she replied to my emailing her with the link. She wrote dryly, "Thanks for giving me more ways to waste time and be poor."

Indeed.

Random thought of the day

As I sat staring at Elmo in a sleep-deprivation stupor the other morning, a thought occurred to me: if he's wearing a shirt, should he not also be wearing pants?

Perhaps I've just been ill so long that I'm now delirious, but ever since that thought occurred to me I now find the kids' Elmo doll to be vaguely disturbing.

Four great Photoshop tips

I came across this wonderful post called Four Easy Photoshop Techniques to Make Your Pictures Pop! (via Lifehacker), and it's already taken my family photo shoot results from so-so to beautiful. Below is an example of one of their tips in action using a photo I took on a recent trip to Luckenbach, TX:

Before:

After:

The results on people photos are even better!

I'm back!

Morning sickness (here comes baby #3!) followed by the flu followed by a massive sinus infection have kept me offline for quite a few weeks, but I should be able to resume semi-regular posting now. Not that I'm better, I think I'm just getting used to being sick.