Christine's Contemplations

Mommy and me Monday ... Brownies

2012-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Our dessert of the weekend was brownies. These awesome amazing fantastic ooey-gooey brownies.

Audrey wanted to help, so it was a girls project in the kitchen.

Step 1. Mix the cookies

Step 2. Put oreos on top of cookie batter

Step 3. Mix the brownies

After it's all done .... like the spoon.

Funny ... I didn't even have to teach her to lick the spoon. She just dug right in after I poured the batter into the pan.

Go check out Krystyn for more Mommy and Me Monday posts.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Pop Culture Reflection ...

2012-01-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

So I saw this somewhat funny/satirical article posted and read it and was annoyed. But couldn't put a finger on why. Then my annoyance went to insulted and offended, but still couldn't put it into words. It took me a little bit, but I finally figured it out:

Who’s to say that God didn’t intervene in the tornado, or otherthings that were listed. We don’t know how God chose to act in eachsituation – maybe a single baby was saved; someone stayed late at work tofinish something up and didn’t get in the tornado’s path; a family had justenough time to get to shelter; etc.

Look at Job. Job couldn’t hear the conversations that Godand Satan were having. He just knew that his family was gone, he wassick, his possessions were gone, etc. But God was there the entiretime. God was protecting Job by talking with Satan first. By givingSatan boundaries.

Tebow is praising God and thanking God and recognizing that hisathletic ability isn’t his own. And while God may not have a part in awin or a touchdown, God did give Tebow the talent and he’s giving credit wherecredit is due. Tebow is one man doing what God commanded His people to do, to go forth and multiply, baptizing nations. To spread the word. To not be ashamed of the gospel. Tebow has done nothing wrong in his outspoken faith, and I'm constantly offended at the display the media has made of him.

Hats off to you, Tim Tebow, for being more graceful and gracious and forgiving than I could be in your shoes. Thank you for being the example of praising God for your gifts and turning the other cheek.

Mom ... an entry from the official Christine's Contemplations Dictionary

2011-12-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

Mom: female adult "skilled" in the art and science of raising a child

Synonyms: mommy, mother, mama, Madre (esp), handholder, couch cushion, cuddle partner, owie-kisser, lovie finder, cupholder, tv turner-onner, tissue/napkin/paper towel, jungle gym, trampoline, ladder, merry-go-round, cook, discipliner, bedtime tucker-inner, goodnight kisser, maid, chauffeur, cheerleader, mediator, hairdresser, organizer, prayer partner, accountability partner, teacher, book reader, ATM, safety marshal, fashion coordinator, shoulder to cry on, safety net, confidante, unconditional friend.

Best job in the world.

Curse you, Marching Band....

2011-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Curse you, Marching Band!
You've ruined me for running.

Forcing me to walk heel first, raising my toes. Rolling my feet. You have forever ruined my running form, which is best achieved with a toe first gait.

Bless you, Marching Band!
You've prepped me for yoga.

Forcing me to stand up straight and take deep, full breaths. Stretching my spine. You have forever created balanced, focused and rhythmic nature.

Annie's First Birthday

2011-12-06T10:59:00.001-08:00

Me and Annie opening a present

Mmmmmm ..... Cake!!!

Is it naptime yet????

Annie turned 1 on Saturday. We had a small family gathering and watched her try to open presents and eat her cake. She was enjoying being the center of attention.

Both girls went without a nap; consequently, Audrey fell asleep just before dinner. That girls slays me ... she'll go all day long trying not to fall asleep, only to fall asleep in the most awkward and uncomfortable position.

I'm linking up here for Mommy and Me Monday ... even though it's Tuesday. Go say hello to Krystyn and the other mommies.
Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Inattentional Deafness

2011-12-05T13:18:00.001-08:00

Just read this today:

We’ve all had the experience of being so engrossed in something (a book, an e-mail, an episode of “Dexter”) that we simply don’t hear our partner trying to remind us that the trash needs to go out. But when our children do the same, who else secretly believes they’re doing it on purpose?
They’re not (and neither are you). Researchers in the Department of Developmental Psychology at Oxford set study participants to focusing on a task while wearing headphones playing white noise. Part way through the task, the researchers interrupted the white noise with an audible tone. When performing a more-difficult task (distinguishing which of two arms of a cross was longer), nearly 80 percent of the study participants said they never heard a thing.
This “inattentional deafness disorder” actually had nothing to do with the pleasure involved in the distracting activity. It was the “high visual lode condition” of taking a lot in through a different channel that rendered the research subjects temporarily deaf. It’s not Harry Potter that’s the problem; it’s the intense visual and mental interaction necessary to read the words on the page.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/inattentional-deafness-disorder/

I think we've all experienced it. Every time we try to ask our husbands their opinion on something while engrossed in a football/baseball/soccer/nascar/golf game on TV. I especially encounter it when the teenager daughter is watching her shows. She literally has no idea anything else in the world is going on.

I've always believed that it wasn't intentional ignoring, now I'm happy to know that it's truly not. I always make a point to wait for a commercial or page turn or some sort of break in activity. Then ask for undivided attention; pause the game/movie/etc, put the book down and look at me. Then repeat what I've said. This ensures that it was indeed heard and there are no excuses to not do it.

With the toddler I often have to pause it myself to get her attention, but the process is the same.

Happy Birthday Annie Noelle

2011-12-03T07:40:00.001-08:00

Annie Noelle Roosa ..... My second baby. You are more special to me than you know. Your tenacity and stubbornness are much like mine. You refuse to do things the way the world says you should.

You have kept me guessing about you since the day you were born.

I love watching you explore and learn. You try so hard to keep up with your older sister, but when you realize you can't, you are content watching her and learning from her.

I know God has special plans for you and I'm excited for all the things we will do together in the next year. Happy Birthday Baby girl.

Recycled Parental Statements

2011-12-01T07:21:00.001-08:00

We all have horror stories of saying things our parents said that we swore we would never say. Cliche lines such as,

"Clean your plate or no dessert."

"Because I said so, that's why"

"Don't make me get the belt"

I had that moment last night.Audrey was asking me if she could go play at a friend's house. Experience has taught me that she can't go to friends' houses during the week because she comes home grumpy, won't eat dinner, won't go to bed, etc. So I've nixed it altogether. At 2 1/2, she doesn't understand. So last night when she asked me I said no. She asked why and I said because it's a school night, Summer had homework, it's almost dinner time ... a whole host of reasons that were true and she should have comprehended. But none of them satisfied her. So finally, at my wits end, with nothing left to say and wanting to be done with the conversation, I spouted out without even thinking, "Because I'm mean and cruel and heartless. But I love you very much." She said, "Don't say your heartless mommy." But she was satisfied with my answer finally and she didn't ask again.

My mom used that phrase all the time. I don't know if she came up with it or if it's something she picked up from her parents. But it was a staple in my house when we weren't satisfied with a reasoning. We'd roll our eyes, accept that mom wasn't going to change her mind, and usually continue on in disappointment.

Last night it just rolled off my tongue. I didn't have to think of a witty reply or something that would satisfy her. I didn't wonder what my mom would say. It just came out. And when I was done I thought to myself, "Oh dear ... my mother used to say that."

What parental lines have you recycled on your kids that surprised you?

Black Friday

2011-11-25T07:19:00.001-08:00

I did something this year that I've never officially done before. I went Black Friday shopping. I have mixed feelings about Black Friday shopping, but thought I'd give it a shot at least once before poo-pooing it for life. The stores opening at midnight was what pushed me over the edge to go this year. I'm not one for getting up at 3 am to shop, but I'll stay up a little later.

We opted for Target. And we had a strategy. And we were in and out of there in just about an hour. Which is pretty good for a normal shopping trip. We did so good at Target, we just had to go to Old Navy too. Yeah. That was a mistake. Old Navy isn't designed the handle the number of customers that Target gets regularly. And I bet there were almost as many people at Old Navy as there was at Target. Old Navy was so full that they were literally at capacity and could only let people in as others left.

It was really odd going into Target and seeing dozens of TVs out on the floor. 40"+ LCD TVs for less than $500. And SLR cameras. And game systems. It was an interesting sight.

Target was brilliant. They had all their "2-Day Sale" items in big specially marked cardboard displays all over the store. They handed out maps to where things were located (because I don't normally shop for DVDs in the girls clothes). The line to check out was insanely long. You know, the people you stand in line with outside the store the same people you have to stand in line with inside the store when you want to pay. They taped off a makeshift queue line that weaved in and out of cosmetics and toiletries.

It was BRILLIANT! You finish getting all the must have deals of the day and wait in line for 20 minutes and see all the household items that you need to have ... soap, lotion, medicines, etc. And while you're at it, why not pick up that toy that someone before you left behind. We had a short conversation with our cashier. I say short not because we didn't have things to talk about, but because she was so super speedy that we didn't have time for a lengthy one. As expected, the most experienced cashiers were staffed starting at midnight.

Old Navy. Imagine shopping at Old Navy on a normal busy Saturday. You have to wait in line about 20 minutes, and maybe wait 5-10 minutes to try on clothes. The clothes are messed up and you have a hard time finding your size. It's crowded. But you make due. Now take that same speed and sense of urgency and mentality and multiply it by 1000. That was the Old Navy experience. They just aren't equipped to handle the number of customers that come out for an event like this and I won't do that again. We were in line to check out for over an hour. And I didn't get anything that I could not have purchased later today or this weekend. And since everyone went shopping at midnight (thank you Wal-Mart for starting this new trend last year), the Friday day shopping should be a dream ... unless you like the mall. Yeah ... I'm not going there.

And here's what I learned ........ the Door Buster deals of the 90s and even early 00s are no more. You remember, you get to K-Mart at 5 am and you get that extra 20% off the TV or movies you wanted. Or there's a limited number of that "must have" toy and if you don't get in line at 3 am you won't get the toy. Now, at least at Target and Old Navy, the sales last all weekend or the coupons are good all month.

We did not encounter anyone mean and vicious. We didn't have to fight over any one item. There were plenty stocked of everything. It's a bit odd to see 46" TVs sitting in the makeup aisle at Target.

I spent only the money I was given to spend and I got some great things. I got some things I've been meaning to get for awhile. I got some things I would not have purchased otherwise. I got some things for me and I got some things as gifts.

I did not get anything that I could not live without.
And there were no sales that were so good they were worth losing that much sleep over.
I did have fun.

I wonder how many Black Friday shoppers are really shopping for Christmas presents and how many are shopping for themselves, or for the rush of getting a good deal.

I'd love to go as a photographer and just get shots of the chaos. Organized chaos in some places, but chaos nonetheless.

Crafting: Pipe Cleaner Colander

2011-11-23T15:29:00.001-08:00

DSC_5151, a photo by Christsstar on Flickr.

My friend Katie at Texas Tigers has a son the same age as Audrey. She keeps giving me ideas of fun things to do with the kids.

She posted this great one of playing with pipe cleaners and the holes and a colander. I picked up some pipe cleaners for all of $0.99 at Michael's and let Audrey play with them.

She wasn't super interested, but it gave her something fun to do for about 15 minutes.

Crafting: Crayons

2011-11-23T15:11:00.001-08:00

Audrey seems to be at the age where she can do simple crafts by herself. She does them regularly at daycare, and I think it's time to start implementing them at home too, especially on days that I'm home with her.

Our first craft was more of a Mommy craft, but she was excited at the idea of it.

Repurposing broken down crayons as new crayons.

Start with broken crayons:

Place into a muffin tin or something that's oven-proof. I chose a silicon ice cube tray shaped like stars.

Melt crayons in oven at 250*. They don't take long to melt, so keep an eye on them.

Remove from oven and let cool until solid.

Pop out of container and color. Unfortunately, mine broke when I popped them out. The star shape is just too fragile, even for thicker crayons. But they are still cool and fun to use.

A new role for me

2011-10-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

My best friend in the whole world told me to call her on Thursday to ask me a question. It was odd, because we don't have the relationship where we talk on the phone. We can hang out and talk for hours, we can txt and email and tweet, we exchange gifts and holiday cards, but we just don't talk on the phone. So I was quite intrigued when I got her txt.

I called her as soon as my break arrived. She wanted to know what my plans were on some random Friday next summer. Well ... I hadn't made any yet; nobody plans THAT far ahead. Then she asked me the most crucial question ..... "Will you be my matron of honor?"

AAAHHH!!!! Of course!!! She was my maid of honor for my first wedding and she did a fantastic job.

I hope I can be the matron of honor for her that she was to me!!!

It's going to be a small wedding.
Western themed. But knowing her, it will be a classy and very well done. No cheeseballness for her.

So I have a mission to find a nice classy western outfit inspired by one she emailed me.

I've never been a maid or matron of honor. Especially by long distance (she's in Montana, I'm in Cali). What tips do you have? What have you done that's worked or not worked?

Mommy and Me Monday - Urgent Care

2011-10-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

Poor Annie got really sick this weekend. Sudden fever of 101.3+, which didn't go down with Tylenol. Super deep, chest cough that sounded like she belonged at Pier 39 with the Sea Lions. With our Pediatrician's office closed, we hiked it up over to Urgent Care.

They did a chest x-ray to check for infection and a breathing treatment and just had us sit there with a cool mist humidifier going.

Diagnosis was Bronchiolitis, caused by a virus. No meds but Tylenol and Motrin to keep the fever down. Tylenol wasn't cutting it, so we stuck with Motrin.

She's home with Daddy today.

Here are a couple shots from Urgent Care on Saturday.

The contraption she was in to stabilize her during the chest xray. Of her short 11 months, she's had 2 separate sets of X-rays. Poor girl.

Laying on the bed with the humidifier tube.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Mommy and Me Monday ... Onion Rings

2011-10-23T19:36:00.001-07:00

Here are Annie and I at Red Robin enjoying a yummy scrumptious burger and onion rings.
Go see more Mommy and Me Monday on Krystyn's blog.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Frozen Lunches - Part 2

2011-10-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of making and taking frozen lunches is going well.

Week 1 I got up nice and early on Saturday and started cooking. I had it bagged and ready to go in less than 2 hours (all the while doing other mom things). I decided on chicken penne pasta that week. It turned out well. My portions were perfect for a lunch portion. And I remembered to take extra cheese and sauce (cause the sauce always dries up a bit in the microwave) and it was yummy. One thing to improve upon ... I made enough pasta to feed 4 people dinner, but only enough chicken for 1. So I should increase the chicken and decrease the pasta to get a more even mixture in my meals. More protein, less carbs. I also need to remove it from the water a bit sooner. I made it al dente, but not al dente enough ... it was still a little extra mushy. I give myself a B+.

I had leftover lasagna I also froze. That's been a leftover staple of mine for years and years, so that went off without a hitch. A+ of course.

Week two I opted to make homemade frozen pizza. I love homemade pizza, but I struggle to make it frequently because I can't find a dough recipe that I love and the dough takes so long, it's too much of a process for me with the babies around. But Sprouts had pre-made frozen raw dough (not like Boboli or Pillsbury ... this stuff is good). And it was only $1.99. It made 3 frozen pizzas. I place the raw pizzas on a cookie sheet and covered with plastic and froze. I then removed the frozen raw pizzas and freezer saved them. Brought it to work and put back in the freezer. The plan was to cook in the toaster oven from frozen. There is no tray in our toaster oven, just the rack, so I used a piece of foil for stability. I cooked at 450* until it looked done. The top cooked nicely. Cheese was melted and the crust a golden brown. The edges of the underneath crust looked good too. I moved it to a cutting board and cut it open and the middle was still totally raw. Like not even partially cooked. To fix this, I think I need to partially pre-cook the dough and then top it and freeze. In the meantime, I have 2 more left that I'll have to eat. I'm thinking I'll cook at a lower temperature for longer, and maybe just right on the rack. I fear the dough will fall through though. I give myself a solid C. Good effort, good plan, but it just didn't work right. We'll see if I can raise this to a B next time.

This weekend time is going to be short so I want to do something quick that I know pretty well. I'm thinking maybe enchiladas or chili.

Awww.......

2011-10-15T10:51:00.001-07:00

This was last night at Open Mic Night at church. She's such a diva!
Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Why you might not want a baby carrier.....

2011-10-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

The house is a mess and it's naptime for Audrey. My work is done for the day. I have nothing truly pressing to do. I should clean. But I have a fussy baby in my lap. I could take this excuse and say, "Josh, I'm sorry, but I just can't clean the house this afternoon because Annie is fussy and won't lay down."

But he won't accept that as an excuse. And it's not because he's mean. He doesn't act like a slave driver. He's not unsympathetic to the needs of a crying baby. He just knows that Annie likes to be worn in a baby carrier like my Mobywrap. And he'd say to me, if I tried to give him this excuse, "Christine, just wear Annie while you do dishes and put things away. She'll go to sleep and you'll get stuff done. AND you'll get some exercise. win-win-win."

So folks, if you want that excuse to not have to clean your house because the baby is fussy, don't get a baby carrier. Now that I have one I have no excuses to not clean.

Should Children Be Allowed on Facebook? - NYTimes.com

2011-10-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Should Children Be Allowed on Facebook?
By KJ DELLANTONIA
Facebook really is after your kids.

Right now, the site doesn’t officially allow children under 13 to sign up. But in this Sunday’s Times Magazine, Emily Bazelon reports that Facebook isn’t happy about it. It has tripled its spending on lobbying and formed a political action committee in anticipation of “a fight we take on at some point” — in the words of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder — over the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Act.

Summed up, Facebook’s argument is that millions of children (7.5 million 12 and under, according to the May issue of Consumer Reports) are already on Facebook. Letting them sign up legally (under their real ages, which now they have to hide) would allow Facebook to develop stricter privacy controls for that age group. But, Ms. Bazelon writes, stricter privacy controls aren’t in Facebook’s economic interest.

I want to comment on this article so bad, but I can't remember my login to NYTimes to comment. So I'm going to do it here.

NO!!!!!!

Let me start with this: parents who let their kids on FB before the age of 13 are breaking the rules and are foolish. It sets an example that it's OK to break the rules (and the law) when the rule is inconvenient to you.

Now ... if FB gets their way and allows children under the age of 13 (which requires a change in the privacy act) and kids can use their real age on there, it opens to door wider to predators. Even with parents watching their account, who's to say that a kids page will be private and only friends with their IRL friends? Who's to say that the kids won't post stuff and then HIDE it from mom/dad. Kids are ruthless and know how to get around things, and the tween age is the primary age they figure it out and push their boundaries. Once 14 or 15 hit, the kid is either satisfied being who they are or is an all out rebel (or somewhere in between). By protecting the children in the tween range we can help prevent them from going down a path we all know is wrong.

I've seen too many dateline stories to trust the internet with kids.

Even at 13 I don't think a child is ready to have a FB account. As I think back to my child hood and what I found important and where I put my time/efforts/energy ... if I had FB it could have been really scary. And a lot of kids put so much stalk into what is posted on FB. What's important isn't being at the party or at the dance or at the game, but what you put on FB about it. What pictures/videos you post. What comments are said. Who tags you and who you tag. Our teenagers' identities are wrapped up in their FB accounts and it's a very scary thought to allow children under 13 into that world.

Furthermore, FB isn't doing it because they're already there and so they figure they can make it safer. That's just what they're saying to moms/dads who are a little concerned. No. FB is doing it to reach another ad demographic; a more gullible and easily swayed group of people. We already have issues with kids wanting everything they see on TV and wanting/needing to play every game they hear about and having the best fashions. What if they have the world at their fingertips and the world is "talking directly to them?" That's a super scary thought.

Should Children Be Allowed on Facebook? - NYTimes.com:

'via Blog this'

Mommy and Me Monday - Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

I probably used this last year too .......

Audrey and me at the pumpkin patch (and big sister too).

4 inches in one year. Not bad. Not accurate, but not bad.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Trying something new with my lunches

2011-10-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

I am notorious for waiting until the last second to scramble to put something together for my lunch. It usually makes us a couple minutes late and I often am disappointed with what I bring to work and am dissatisfied overall with my lunch.

I've allowed myself one luxury of one frozen meal a week so that I don't have to think about lunch one day. And I can often get leftovers one time. So then I only have to think about it 2 days. But the frozen meals can be cost prohibitive, small and/or not very good or healthy.

In an attempt to make life easier, I'm trying something new. I should really make and bring my lunch every day. I should use fresh and healthy ingredients. Avoid deep fried foods and lots of carbs. So I'm going to pre-make several frozen lunches for myself. I often hear of families making frozen dinners in preparation of a baby being born or surgery or mom being out of town. But those are entire meals for the whole family to eat. I want to try this with single portion lunches.

So here's my plan.

Have a menu of 5-6 entrees that I make and rotate through.

Each week I make one entree and freeze single portions. To freeze the best, use the food saver freezer system. I should get at least 4 portions from one entree.

It will take about a month to 6 weeks to really get a good supply built up, but it will be worth it. In the mean time I stick with sandwiches for the days I don't have a frozen option. After I get my initial stash built up, I have plenty of variety in the freezer and am not stuck eating the same thing every day.

Entree Ideas I have:

Chicken Pasta
Tacos (cook and freeze the meat and veggies; take the other fixings fresh)
Lasagna
Homemade Pizza (I rock a homemade pizza and keep wanting to try it frozen)
Sweet and Sour _______________ (insert meat here)
Chicken Pot Pie

Any other entree ideas I could add?

How do you do your work or other take and go lunches?

Mommy and Me Monday - Laundry

2011-09-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's Monday again. Sigh........ One of the few bright spots of Mondays are Mommy and Me blog posts. I love seeing how other moms spent their weekend and posting my own little photo.

This week's entry is brought to you by the letters "L" and "H." L is for Laundry and H is for Helpers. Yep. I had me 2 little helpers as I tried to fold a couple loads of laundry yesterday afternoon.

Audrey actually WAS helpful. She could fold the small towels and napkins. And I didn't even re-fold them (which takes great restraint for a control freak like myself). Annie, on the other had, had her own ideas of helping.

Audrey is very diligently folding a napkin. And the striped towel at my feet? She folded that one.

Pardon the "dear in the headlights" look I have. Sheesh!!!

See more Mommy and Me Monday posts over on Krystyn's blog.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Part of something bigger than you...

2011-09-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to be a part of something bigger than you? Have you been a part of something bigger than you and want to again? Want to take just a small part in something?

Now's your chance! (OK ... corny infomercial over.)

But seriously. Remember this post on the Kingdom Assignment my church was doing?

Despite the warning against, I have been given the opportunity to help 2 of the participants with their projects. Not just help, because they didn't get started, so do a lot of it from the beginning. I didn't want to see the $200 go back to the pastor and have to say, "Sorry. I couldn't do it." So I'm taking over. They will help and be a part of it, but it won't be done on time.

All that to say ...........

I need YOUR help. Seriously. I have $200 that I want to grow and then bless someone with. Who do I want to bless? I don't know. I'm praying that God gives me someone to bless. How do I want to bless this person? I want to buy an entire supply of cloth diapers and accessories for a new mom in need. I have $200. I need probably closet o $500 to get everything I think she'll need. I could do it for $300, but $500 gets everything.

So what am I asking for?

I'm asking you to buy a picture. I'm going to sell my photographs and all profit will be put into this project.

I have a few photos that I'm selling. I am selling them electronically, printed and unframed, or printed and framed. Printed will be sized to 8x10 or 5x7. Electronically will be at a resolution to print at 8x10 or smaller.

Prices:

Electronic - $15
Printed and unframed - $10
Framed 5x7 - $20
Framed 8x10 - $25

I believe these to be VERY reasonable prices, especially when a frame is included. Please consider helping out to grow this money and help a new mom.

Chimp

Footprints

Pacific Star

Redwoods

Stone

Sunset 1

Sunset 2

Sunset 3

Mommy and Me Monday .... FEET!

2011-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hanging out at church this afternoon, the three of us girls sat in the grass together. Audrey on my lap, Annie on Audrey's lap. Stuck out our feet and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

For more Mommy and Me Monday ... head on over to Krystyn's blog.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Cloth Diapers without a Washing Machine

2011-09-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

A big reason many people don't want to use cloth diapers is because they don't have a way to wash them. Going to the laundromat is OK once a week for your clothes, but diapers need to be washed more frequently and it's difficult to find the time to get to the laundromat that often. Or perhaps the laundromat just doesn't get the diapers clean enough.

Today I bring you a guest post by an acquaintance of mine who washes her diapers (for 2 babies) by hand. Here is what she has to say.
___________________
My name is Jessica and I cloth diaper to save money, my babies bums, and the planet!

“Hand” Washing Cloth Diapers with a WonderWash and Electric Spinner

I collect soiled diapers throughout the day in a plastic storage bin without any water, detergent and without rinsing first…I just pile them up in the bin.I wash diapers every morning - we normally end up with 6-10 diapers and 6-10 cloth wipes per day.

I wash using a WonderWash in our bathroom, using the toilet, bathroom sink, and bathtub.

The "WonderWash"

I use Kawaii pocket diapers and BumGenius All-In-Ones, with some hemp inserts here and there. I also use cloth wipes which are cheap baby washcloths.

Don heavy duty rubber cleaning gloves
Remove all inserts from pocket diapers, and place pee only diapers in sink
Rinse poopy diapers with the diaper sprayer into the toilet, set in the sink with pee diapers
Run super-hot over all diapers, swishing, and rinsing…adding them to WonderWash (my WW is setting on top of a shower chair for height in our bath tub)
Fill WonderWash with hot water (I use a hand held shower head), pouring a bit of detergent (1-2 Tablespoons?) into water stream (I use Sun Burst Free and Clear)
Lock on lid
Turn for 60 seconds
Drain water. I find it so much easier and faster to just dump the WW upside down, rather than use the drain pipe
Repeat steps 4-8 (minus detergent) 2 more times for 30 seconds to continue to rinse
Place clothes in spinner for 3 minutes
Hang diapers and inserts outside on clothes line to dry (wipes go directly back into wipes warmer without drying

Indoor Diaper Chandelier and Special Helper

Mommy and Me Monday - leftover vacation photos

2011-08-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Posting a week late, but here are a few Mommy and Me Monday photos from our vacation.

Me and Annie in the Moby

Me and Audrey at Pacific Star Winery

Go link up on Krystyn's blog for more Mommy and Me Monday

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Fort Fun

2011-08-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon. Josh is resting. Audrey is restless. What to do ... what to do ...

I know. Let's build a fort!!! So we moved some furniture around and built a fort. The fun lasted all of 10 minutes until she decided Annie wasn't fun inside her fort and instead wanted to play with the neighbors.

Someday maybe the girls will create forts as a getaway from mom/dad and to plot against us or use a fort to hide from each other and read their books. Or maybe they'll make forts and have slumber parties in them. The possibilities are endless. I've just ignited what may be a fantastic fire to Audrey's imagination.

Gramma Molly

2011-08-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

1998 - HS Graduation

Ten years ago today, my grandmother passed away. Gramma Molly was an amazing woman. She was an amazing grandmother. She was an amazing mom. She was amazing. Period. In every aspect of her life. She lived out the scripture, “In all you do, do to the glory of God.”

She listened with an open heart and mind when people talked to her. She loved with the love of God. She was faithful to her word. She was an example to be followed and a woman easy to love.

I remember thinking when I was growing up how cool and down to earth she was. That she listened to me, a kid, on my level. She didn't discount what I had to say because I was a kid. And as I grew up she continued to do the same. When I was in high school, I took her to my end of the year band banquet. I was embarrassed for her, because of the trendy and secular music and dancing and activities. Nothing bad, mind you, but I figured she was too old to be around some of the music and dancing. I figured it would offend her. She was having a blast and wanted to stay and was disappointed when I mentioned wanting to leave early. She encouraged me to stay and enjoy the end of the banquet. She was a fantastic “date.”

A couple years later I greatly disappointed my mom when I opted to get my belly button pierced. She was appalled at me, but I was 19 or 20, so there wasn't anything she could do. She thought she would impart the fiercest of all punishments and make me tell my grandmother, who came to town a couple weeks later. She figured my grandmother would scold me and tell me “what for.” But Gramma just laughed when I showed her my piercing. She didn't disapprove, not sure she approved, but she didn't give me the lecture my mother secretly hoped.

Gramma Molly started a tradition with us that I would like to continue (but I haven't fully convinced Josh yet that we should). On a birthday, she would get a small gift for the non-birthday girl. It was an un-birthday present. It wasn't much, usually a simpler version of the birthday girl's gift. But it was special. It was fun. It probably helped the jealousy that would no doubt reside in the other sibling.

In the summer of 2001, she had a trip planned to visit. But she had to have knee surgery and was unable to visit when originally planned. But we had a surprise visit from her a month later when she had an unexpected overnight layover in Denver. We had a great time with a quick breakfast in the morning and then off to the airport. When she returned home she mailed me a quick note that said she loved me and was sorry she couldn't stay longer, but would make sure she got out soon. Not 3 months later she got very ill and passed away. That note was tucked away in my drawer for awhile, unbeknownst to me that it would be my last communication with her. For several years I would find it spontaneously and start crying, tuck it away and move on. Finally I got tired of finding it and hid it away where I wouldn't come across it randomly anymore. Now I have no idea where that note resides. I think I'll look for it tonight after the girls go to bed.

I miss you Gramma Molly. You have touched me in ways that you never knew. You inspired me to be a woman of prayer. You taught me how to laugh and accept what was there before me. You were very special.

*I wish I had a better photo of the two of us, but they were all taken before digital cameras and therefore are scanned in and of lower quality. I believe this is the most recent photo of the two of us. This was 3 years before her passing.

Vacation...

2011-08-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

We were LONG overdue for a vacation. Aside from my maternity leave, it had been a year since our last extended time off of work. And with the addition of a new baby, we were desperately in need of one.

Josh's sister came to town, so we took the opportunity to go up north and visit his mom and sister. We took the week off work, rented a house on the coast and just had a great time. We checked out a couple new touristy sites and went back to our old favorite spots.

Some of my favorite photos are below. The rest can be found on my flickr page.

Cloth Diapering at Daycare

2011-08-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've seen so many posts lately that discuss cloth diapering at daycare. Everyone says how simple it is and then I read a long post with a million steps to using cloth diapers at daycare. If reading these posts is as daunting to you as it is to me, well, let me see if I can help.

We are a family on a budget. We switched to cloth diapers because we don't have a lot of money to buy disposables. With 2 in diapers, it's even more expensive. When I was researching cloth diapers I looked at the price of a standard pocket diaper and said, "ummm ..... NO!" That was just too much money for our little budget. I needed a system that would get me through 4 days for under $150. At the time I worked from home Monday and Friday, so those were my laundry days and my husband gave me $150 to spend on cloth. (Didn't want to make a big investment if we weren't going to like them, ya know?)

I knew I needed something easy. Not just for daycare, but for my husband. I got 2 day-packs of the Flip diaper system. There were 12 diapers. Enough for 3 days of daycare. My husband could do them. I still had $50 left. I grabbed an Econobum Full Kit. Perfect. The Flip for daycare and my husband, the Econobum for me. Since Audrey was on solids at the time and her poops had transitioned from the peanut butter stage to plopable lumps, I didn't need to worry about how to deal with poops.

I sent Audrey over in an Econobum, put 4 Flip inserts and 2 covers in a diaper bag. She came home in a Flip and all the soiled diapers/covers were in a plastic bag. I didn't even bother to send over a diaper bag. I left all the changing materials with daycare and just sent the diapers over in a pillow case. It helped that daycare was across the street and our friend. There was no spraying when I got home. No stuffing. No quickly doing laundry. No unstuffing. Just plop in the diaper pail and be on with my day.

Enter Annie's birth. OK. Two in diapers. I must have more. Actually, with Audrey potty training and having a small stash of some homemade fitted diapers, I didn't really need any more diapers. Just needed covers. I increased my cover stash (thank you baby registry) and was good to go. I now only work from home on Fridays, but still do laundry on Mondays and Fridays. Audrey wears a cloth trainer to daycare (with an extra in the diaper bag) and now Annie is the proud wearer of the Flip diapers. My routine is the same. Send over with 4 diapers and 2 covers (maybe 3, because breastmilk poo gets on the covers). Come home and plop in the diaper pail, restock diaper bag. Wash on Monday night and Friday day.

When Annie started solids and her poo started to transition to that peanut butter stage, I put flannel liners (literally ... a cut up receiving blanket) in the diaper bag. Instructed daycare to put a liner on the diaper and put it in a separate bag from the wet diapers if she poops. Then I spray just the liner when I get home. I could use flushable liners, but my frugal self is OK with spraying some flannel if it saves me money in the long run. Annie's poop is almost done with the transition from soft and gooey to hard and ploppy. So our spraying days may be over.

So to sum up my routine:

Every evening (Sunday through Wednesday): put 4 Flip diapers and 3 diaper covers in the diaper bag.

Every morning: Put Annie in an econobum or homemade fitted diaper and put Audrey in a cloth trainer; send girls to daycare.

When I get home from work (Monday through Thursday): put wet diapers in the diaper pail, spray dirty liners if any

Monday night: do load of diapers

Friday during the day (my work from home day): do a load of diapers.

I will fold and put away as time permits. If time doesn't permit, they sit in a laundry basket and that's just where my diapers stay. By not having to stuff diapers for daycare, I don't have to fold my diapers right away. It's easy enough to leave them in the laundry basket and grab what I need when I need it. If I have time to put them away - great, it makes my husband smile.

Rules for using Speaker Phone

2011-08-02T10:13:00.001-07:00

If your office is anything like mine, a lot of people use speaker phone. Whether its to be hands free to also type, or just easier for them or whatever, speaker phone is used a lot. But what speaker phone users don't understand is that using speaker phone alienates many other coworkers. I propose the following set of rules for speaker phone users.

You must be in an office, not out in cubicle land. If you don't have an office and must use speaker phone, go find a conference room. Or look into getting a handsfree headset.
Close the office door
If the person you are speaking with is close enough to hear you without the phone, go to his/her office and have an inperson conversation.
Do not yell. The microphone is plenty sensitive.
Turn the volume down low enough that the rest of the office cannot hear your conversation.
If you don't want the whole office to hear you, take it off speaker.

As a reminder ... using speaker phone does NOT make you appear smarter, cooler, or more powerful. Even chimps at the zoo can press a button to activate speaker phone.

Sad day for Audrey

2011-08-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

Remember this post - Sunday Fun?

Audrey LOVES this house. Anytime anyone is in the garage or driveway, she escapes to her house. It was her little private space. And a place for her and her friends to play without having to go in OUR house.

Well yesterday we had to say good-bye to the house. I'm surprised it lasted this long. Almost 4 months. Spiders were beginning to take residence, Audrey's older brother took a screwdriver to it and damaged one side, and we needed to get a car into the garage.

We told Audrey that because spiders were living there that we needed to throw it away. She said "yeah." But as we took it out to the driveway she started to freak out. Not throw a "I want my way" temper tantrum, but she was really sad. She sad on the floor and cried. She was genuinely distraught. So we changed our minds and tried to figure out a way to keep the house and put a car in the garage.

We couldn't.

So when Audrey went inside, we quickly tore it apart and put it in the recycle bin.

Of course she noticed. Right away.

"Daddy threw away my house," she exclaimed. The poor thing was so sad. We distracted her the rest of the evening. Then this morning, on our way to work, we drove by said recycle bin with cardboard sticking out the top. She said, "Daddy, where's my house?" Poor little girl.

I feel awful, having to take away something so special. I'm sure she doesn't remember playing all day with him building the house, but she knows it was her special place to play. And now it's gone.

So Josh will build her a new one in the back yard. With wood. And a real door. And that one will be REALLY special.

Gramma Janet

2011-07-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lots of family was in town this last weekend (more about that later). One person who was in town was Gramma Janet. Of all the grandparents, Audrey probably knows Gramma Janet best, and only because she was here more recently.

So Audrey was very excited to see Gramma Janet this last weekend. Gramma went home on Tuesday. And when she called to tell me she got home safely, Audrey wanted desperately to talk. But I didn't realize it until after I'd hung up the phone.

So Audrey took it upon herself to pick up my cell phone and play with it. She got to it before the screen locked up and she managed to redial my mom. She was so excited to see Gramma Janet's picture on the screen. She put the phone up to her ear and had a short conversation with Gramma. I have no idea what they talked about, but Audrey listened intently. Then they said good-bye and Audrey was thrilled to have talked to Gramma Janet before her shower.

Mommy and Me Monday - Up on the Mountain

2011-07-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

We went up to Mount Diablo for a bit on Sunday afternoon and played on some climbing rocks. We found short rocks that Audrey could easily climb. Josh snagged the camera from me and made sure to get a few photos of me with my baby girl. (The other one was enjoying the ride in the Jeep stroller.)

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

I have vowed, that no matter how bad I think I look in a photo, if my girl is cute or it shows our true relationship, I will post the photo. That takes a hit to the vanity, that's for sure.

You Version Bible App

2011-07-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

I am a poor reader. I am slow, have really low comprehension, stumble over my words, am easily distracted, etc.

I want to be a reader, though. So I go through periods of time where I pick up a book or two and try to read. Given the right circumstances (the right book, the right family activity level, etc), I might read 2 or 3 books in a row. But more often than not my laziness prevails and I just go back to my TV watching or my hobbies on my computer. I desperately want Audrey and Annie to be readers, so I encourage reading whenever possible. I'm a horrible example, though, as I don't sit down and read very often.

One book I'm determined to read over and over and over again, however, is the bible. Actually, I've never read it all the way through (9 more chapters and I will say that I have). I am a huge proponent of daily bible reading and time with God. Again, something I want to pass on to my children, and again, I'm not a great example.

Many things get in the way of my daily bible reading. But primarily it's that I just can't sit down and focus; especially in the deep books with lots of big words and boring content. I've tried reading at different times of the day; different versions (NIV, NKJV, NASB, Living, etc); reading outloud; shortening my time. I just can't find something that really helps me stay committed.

I think I've found a solution. I sit down and read during my forced breaks in a secluded room at work (these are also known as pumping breaks). This is good for me. Quiet. Alone. But I still can't focus.

Enter the YouVersion bible app. In and of itself it's pretty cool. Several translations available, you can highlight, make notes, add bookmarks, etc. And it's GREAT in church when I'm wearing a baby and can't hold and thumb through a bible in my lap. But it has even one more feature that has solidified my use of it. Audio bible. In multiple versions. So I sit down, open up my paper bible and then hit play on the audio bible in the YouVersion App. I follow along as the reader reads. I can pause and make notes (on paper, in my journal, in my bible, or in the app itself). I can rewind. I can re-read myself. It reads at a steady pace, so I'm not reading faster than I can comprehend. It doesn't stumble over the words.

I've been doing this for about 2 weeks now and I'm really enjoying it. I am finding myself not dreading over how much I have to read, but rather just sitting back and taking it in.

If you have a smart phone or other handheld mobile device, check it out. It's awesome. Well worth it. Oh ... and it's FREE. Its available for iphone, android, blackberry, palm, and windows. And your account is available both mobile and on the computer, so you can go back and re-read your notes if you want. You can email a passage. Or tweet it. Or FB it. It's an awesome way to share what you're reading with a friend ... perhaps a mentor or accountability partner.

Why I'm Thankful for Daycare

2011-07-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

I've spent a great deal of time over the last 2 years complaining that I can't be a stay-at-home-mom and that I'm missing so much time with my girls. I dislike my job and really enjoy being at home. But many things have come to be that give me cause to be thankful for daycare. And since James cause us to count everything joy and Paul tells us to give thanks in all things, I thought that I would post some things daycare has done for us that I'm not sure would've happened otherwise.

1. Annie is doing really well with eating purees. I forget to give them to her and was lazy in the beginning with them. Daycare is pretty regimented about that sort of thing, so she's figured them out and is doing well. Although I'm thinking we'll skip purees at home and just move on to stick foods and other finger foods. (do a Google search on "Baby-led Weaning" to understand where I'm coming from.....)

2. Audrey is learning how to play with others and share. She is still a little selfish at home and insists that all the toys are hers, but she is better understanding the concept.

3. Audrey gets a lot of play time and attention with the other kids that I'm not sure she'd get at home. At least not as much.

4. When Audrey insists on walking (as opposed to being in the shopping cart or stroller), she holds on to the frame when we walk. This is a daycare thing; they walk to the park as a group and all hold on the stroller (or hands) so no one runs off or gets lost.

5. relief from the heat. While daycare lady doesn't have a/c either, she lives near the bay as opposed to inland and it's significantly cooler than at home. So Audrey and Annie have relief from the intense heat we've been experiencing. (And I have a/c at work, which is a welcome relief as well)

6. Audrey gets naptime every day and is doing good with it at home as well.

7. Audrey gave up her binky by age 2. Being around a bunch of older kids who don't use them helped her realize she didn't need one either and helped me just not give it to her knowing she'd do OK without.

8. Audrey eats better when around other kids. At home we struggle to get her to eat a meal. She just wants to snack and snack and not sit down and eat a full meal, despite being hungry. When she's around all the other kids, she eats it all. So I know that she's getting the nutrition that she needs and is getting a full belly.

9. Related to eating full meals, I know she's eating healthy. Since daycare food is monitored by the state, she is required to serve rounded diets. And I've seen first hand the fruit and veggies they eat. Consequently, now Audrey likes oranges and apples. Two things that I struggle with eating and keeping in the house.

10. Friends. Audrey is making friends. And we all need good friends. Annie also has a friend her age; daycare lady's granddaughter is one month younger than Annie and comes to visit every couple weeks.

At the Car Wash......

2011-07-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

It was super hot again this past weekend. Desperate for an activity to keep us busy and yet not make us melt, I decided we should wash the cars. Annie was conked out in her high chair following an intense hour of playing with her food bowl, so it was the perfect time to go outside and do something as a family.

We put on grubbies or swimsuits, whatever was most comfortable, pulled the cars into the grass, and went to town. Audrey was desperate to help, so she grabbed a sponge-mitt thing and went to town.

Yard Work ... ugh........

2011-07-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hello three-day weekend. The first weekend in awhile with no real plans. My Diaper Party got canceled and Josh only had his drum lessons. We had the teenagers so we were looking forward to a great relaxing weekend at home.

6:30 Saturday morning Josh wakes up and hits "go" on the coffee. He went outside to feed the dog. Where's the dog? Umm ... she's not in her kennel. She's not on the side yard. She's not in the corner. Sheila? Hello!?!?! He heard her. Oh ... there she is. UNDER THE DECK!!! Keep in mind last summer the deck was redone and constructed in such a way that she wouldn't be able to dig under the deck again,

She used to crawl under the deck regularly, but was able to get herself out pretty easily because of the nature of the deck. But this new deck was built lower, had better cement anchors, and was put together with construction adhesive and nails and was not coming apart easily.

We were not happy. We figured she'd come out when she was hungry and let her be. A couple hours had passed and she didn't come out. She was truly stuck. We dug out a little bit and managed to get her near the hole, but she still wasn't able to get out. THREE hours later, lots of mud, deeper holes and some serious frustration, she was removed from the deck.

We found ourselves needing to fix things so she wouldn't do this again, because we can't spend 3 hours every other day getting her out. We made our way to Home Depot and picked up some paving stones, 12"x12", so make an edge around the deck. We hoped this would deter digging just enough.

And as long as we were dirty and at Home Depot, might as well have our annual yard work day. This is our 4th summer in this house. Each summer we've taken on one or more massive yard work project(s) in an attempt to make the yard prettier. It's not working too well. One summer we added pretty bark to the back corner that didn't grow anything. The next summer we took the bark out and planted grass seed (the weeds were growing and it was impossible to keep clean). One summer we took out the previous year's annuals from the front planter box and replaced the bark. Last summer we removed a bunch of dumb bushes that just killed the grass. This summer our project was to get rid of the weeds in the front planter box, replace the bark (again) and plant something. We decided to do it right and lay down the fabric weed block stuff.

Rip out the weeds (and let the neighbor lady play with the toddler)

Trim back the rose bush

Lay down the weed-block and figure out placement for the new plants

Lay down the new bark

Let the toddler pick up what spills

yes, she's wearing knitted mittens

Whack the weeds that are growing in the sidewalk (and mow the grass)

And then stand back and bask in the satisfaction of a job well done.

The stones are vacation souvenirs from Pike's Peak (the big one on the left) and Crazy Horse Memorial

My favorite Audrey-isms

2011-06-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Audrey Grace is a very smart 2 year-old. I know, I know. Every mother says that. And I suspect most mothers are right. Audrey has an exceptional vocabulary. She remembers nearly every word we teach her right away. She gets so excited when she sees things. She points them out on the road (dump truck, airplane, red car, etc). And most things she says correctly. It's actually quite sad to me, as her mom, to hear her mispronunciations get corrected so quickly.

So my favorite Audrey-isms, past and current.

*wa-wa --> water; about 15 months she said this
*peas --> please; yeah, about the same as everyone else
*day-doo --> thank you - usually accompanied with the sign
*nulkies --> milkies
*she had a really funny one for frog, but I'll let you use your imagination. let's just say we all cracked up over and over again
*motorbikle --> motorcycle; this one is phasing out
*chloclate --> chocolate; this one is gone. lasted a couple months. She just started saying it correctly.

That's all I can remember right now. I wish I would've written them down as she had them. I didn't realize she'd grow out of them so quickly.

Get this ... she only said pasketti ONE time. She actually says spaghetti. And she says lasagna.

Where are the cute words toddlers are supposed to say!?!?!?!?

Her vocabulary is big. Her understanding is big. Her memory is big. Her pronunciations are accurate. And she is easily understood by most people. It's amazing. I wish I could fully capture the amazingness that is my daughter in this blog, but I just don't have the words.

2011-06-26T14:13:00.001-07:00

We have two kids. Both are in diapers at least part time. Money was tight when we had just one baby. And 9 months ago my husband got a severe paycut (10% of our combined salary, not just his). We had some work to do with saving money.

We made the necessary adjustments and things are super tight.

This pay period in particular things are very tight. Not sure why, but they're tight and we have extra driving to do this week.

In figuring out how to makes ends meet this week and what car to drive and what to eat I sighed a sigh of relief when I realized things could be worse. We could have to buy diapers for both kids. And pull ups. And wipes. And diaper genie refills.

We bought our initial stash of cloth diapers 14 months ago for $150. Since then we've added to it some, but probably no more than $200 worth. I've also made quite a few diapers.

We have enough diapers to not do laundry for a week ... for both girls.

I estimate that it would cost us roughly $80-$100/month to diaper both girls. I smile super big when I realize that with every diaper change I'm saving money. Money that we can now use for gas, daycare, ponytail holders, and other such things you need with babies.

Some days just suck.............

2011-06-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

I must've become an old fuddy duddy sometime in the last 10 years, because I really don't like the word suck in this context. But sometimes it's the only word that is strong enough to really express the severity of a situation.

Yesterday and this morning is an example.

It was 91* in our house when was got home from work last night. Annie needed to be placed somewhere cool where she could be comfortable for the 10 minutes it was going to take me to go to the bathroom and unload my work stuff and put things away. I put her on the bed in front of the fan. I've put her on the bed hundreds of times. She's not a roller. She's never just rolled from point A to point B. She arches her back to reach for a toy, and might roll over in the process, but she doesn't just roll around. I guess she arched and scooted enough and, while I was outside turning the grill on, scooted herself right off the bed. Josh ran to the rescue. Picked her up, examined her, hugged her, examined her, held her tightly, examined her. After she had calmed down we did another exam and saw no discoloration or deformities. She didn't wince or cry in pain when we moved her joints. She seemed OK. I fed her and she seemed happy. But then Josh noticed something. She wasn't kicking and moving her left leg as much as her right. He stood her up and she wasn't putting any weight on her left leg. When leaned to the left she started screaming. She was obviously in pain.

We err'd on the side of caution and took her to the ER. It was busy. The heat wave the last couple days had brought in a lot of patients. We were finally triaged and given a bed (after probably an hour in the waiting room) in the hallway.

The whole time Annie was happy and content. She was playing with me. She was smiling. She was cute. She smiled at all the nurses and doctors as they walked by. She giggled when someone played with her. She was a perfect little angel.

The doctor examined her and agreed that yes, she was in pain. But we couldn't figure out where because she didn't react at all when her leg was manipulated. We got a set of x-rays** (on both legs because pediatric bones are so abnormal, you need a good leg and bad leg to compare). Dr. didn't see anything on the x-rays. It is probably soft tissue and we got some Motrin and were told to just keep an eye on it. Give Motrin every 6 hours and if things don't improve in a couple days to go see her pediatrician.

OK. So she's fine. And I didn't get any dirty looks or lectures or anything when I explained how she fell.

We went home and went to bed. She slept great (thanks to Motrin). This morning she still can't put weight on her leg, but she is kicking it and moving it more. So maybe she's improving.

Twenty minutes later, as I'm doing Audrey's hair, she whined that she wanted the white comb. The white comb was on the other side of the room. I told her to go get it and on her way over there she slipped and fell, smacking her face on the floor. She has been falling a lot lately. I know it's normal, but sheesh. I think she's either going faster than her legs can really take her, or she's tripping over her feet because they're growing. Or both. I dunno. But I just can't take falling anymore. She recovered quickly enough. Mommy kissed her nose and she was all better.

Fast forward another 10 minutes. I told her we needed to put her shoes on. We went into her bedroom to grab her shoes and socks. She got one look at her slippers and said she wanted to wear them instead. I told her she had to wear shoes at Miss Gayl's and the slippers needed to stay home. She screamed, "I don't wanna. I don't like you." and ran off. My heart just broke. My poor little girl is emotionally and physically spent and couldn't contain it. I caved and let her wear her slippers, but I put her shoes in the diaper bag.

I wonder, if I am struggling this much at age 2 (not because of terrible twos at all), how am I going to survive another 18 years of this?

So yeah ... last night into this morning truly sucked. There is no other word in my vocabulary that can describe it. If you know of one, please share, because I can't think of one right now.

I pray that I'll get over my emotional low and be able to be a good mommy to Audrey and Annie. And that Annie will get better. And that we can go a day without a fall. And that Josh and I can be the best parents we can be to our kids. All 4 of them.

**I wish that there were 2 of us there last night because I would just love some pictures of Annie being x-rayed. It's one of those moments that is so innocent and sweet and heartbreaking, I could see come awesome photos coming out of it. But with just me, I had to hold her down instead of take pictures.

Father's Day

2011-06-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

As a surprise Father's Day Present for Josh, I did a photoshoot with all 4 kids. I had a lot of fun. We went to the park and did some posed stuff all together, then just let them play on the playground. You would think 2 teenagers on the playground with a toddler would be awkward, but they were having fun and were totally in their element (what does that say about teenagers?). It really is very natural for them to play with their baby sisters and it brings so much joy to me to watch them all interact.

Here are some of my favorite photos ... beware ... there are a lot.

Baby its HOT outside...........

2011-06-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

When it's 95* outside it's well over 100* inside our house. We have no A/C (not even a window unit), and not enough fans for our gigantic uninsulated room. So after dinner the other night we went outside in the shade to play with a ball. What started as a simple game of catch between a father and his two daughters turned into a great summer memory.

It started out sweet and simple. Audrey came up to her daddy and then would get sprayed. See how curious she is? Then the water starts moving toward her and she runs away.

Just when she was catching on, her loving big sister would drag her up to the sprinkler to get sprayed again, and then stand back and cheer her on.

Kingdom Assignment

2011-06-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

I have the privilege of being a part of a great project our church is doing. Following the lead of a church down in So Cal (and many others throughout the nation), we have 25 people participating in the Kingdom Assignment.

Kingdom Assignment is a phenomena of a new way of giving of your Talent, Treasure and Time that has now become a movement around the globe.... you are welcome to jump on this exciting fast moving train.

I am acting as a coach, but at times so far I've wished I was doing my own.

25 people, without knowing anything about what was going to happen, felt a nudge from God and stood up and volunteered for a project that would change their lives. They were then handed a $100 bill. Standing there in front of the church they were told

1. The money isn't yours, but God's.
2. Do something outside the walls of the church to further His kingdom and
3. Report back in 90 days what you did.

The 25 people are of various ages. Youth, college-aged, young adult, old adult, older adult .... And a variety of professional backgrounds and experiences. Male and female alike. Some own their own business, one is an executive of a large company. One is a stay-at-home-mom. It'll be very exciting to see what God is going to do in and through these 25 individuals.

When I was first told that by being a coach I was not available to help with a project or do one myself I was relieved. Then I started to do some work putting the fliers together and preparing for launch day and a flood of ideas came to me. Inspired by a couple different families at church I had some ideas; then I was inspired by a news story; then my own hobbies started inspiring me. Now I'm actually a little bummed that I can't participate and do a project.

I don't want to forget what my ideas are, because I hope to pass them on and have someone execute them (and probably much better than I would) or do them myself at a later date.

Just a few that have popped into my head:

find people physically disabled, whether permanantly or short-term, and bless them by doing household repairs, chores, yard work, cooking meals, etc.
pay for parking for random cars leaving the Children's hospital
buy interview outfits for the unemployed; and further assist them as needed by updating resume, help get online to apply for jobs, etc.
Contribute to Habitat for Humanity in a massive way (get one family in need into a home, etc)
I have one big project that has continued to develop in my head that I plan on executing, but I don't want to share yet because I want to get it into action first.

I hope to come back and re-blog about what work our church has done and the projects in our community.

Guest Writer Submission - WELL, THEY'RE AT IT AGAIN

2011-06-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

Thus begins the first of what I hope to be many guest submissions to Christine's Contemplations.

This one is written by Bodhi Malik from Bodhi's Harangeout.

I've personally read quite a bit of his blog and it has me chuckling and laughing and just thinking and contemplating (something I like to do a lot). From his Blogger Profile:

80 year old male. Married, two grown children. BA in Math, grad work in Clinical Psychology, retired (USAF) tech sergeant, math tutor, est graduate, grocery manager, banker, stand-up comedian, radio disk jockey, published author, policeman, bootlegger, bowling alley pin setter, mattress spring formulator, Comic book writer/artist, Potential puzzle table crafter, Roustabout for Barnum and Bailey Circus, Blog writer. Movie credits include "Leave Yesterday Behind" co-starring John Ritter and Carrie Fisher. Now living in Casa Grande, Arizona, USA. Truth in advertising.

And now for his submission, "Well, They're At It Again."

In the April 18th issue of Time, it is announced that there is going to be an exhumation of a Florentine woman suspected of sitting for the Mona Lisa. Archaeologists hope to prove whether she was the model.

This is really exciting! At last we are going to find out whether or not at least one person is or isn't the model for the Mona Lisa. Oh joy!

I imagine they might be going to use the DNA method. We didn't have that procedure to do in years past, but now with modern science we can get the DNA of the corpse and match it with the DNA of the painting. Brilliant!

Or maybe fingerprints! Yeah! We dig up that five hundred year old body and look behind the painting and get the fingerprints off old Mona and if we get a match, Viola! And if we don't get a match, Viola! again, 'cause we will have eliminated one out of the millions it could have been, and that's good, yes? One step closer?

Or maybe - just maybe, we can get the old woman to talk - to tell us whether or not she sat for old da Vinci. That would be interesting.

Whichever way it goes, I'll sure be glad when we get this puzzle solved. It's been keeping me and a lot of folks up at night worrying over it. And once we get that solved, maybe we can start work on finding out who the models were for those boys on that sailing boat with the old man in that Homer Winslow painting.
And kudos to Time Magazine in its unfailing efforts to keep us up to dately informed of the important work being done in the world of pure science. Kudos, I say.

Why shouldn't I buy cheap cloth diapers?

2011-06-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

The following was posted on the Cotton Babies blog today. I liked it so much I had to share it and repost it.

Why shouldn't I buy cheap cloth diapers?:

A retailer wrote me an email today asking why our cloth diaper brands weren't selling for $10, like the Chinese-made knock-offs sold on eBay. I drafted a response to her question, but after I re-read what I'd written, I decided to go ahead and share my answer with you here on our blog because it contains valuable information that you, as the consumer, deserve to know. Keep in mind that this was written to a retailer with my 'manufacturer hat' solidly in place. Onward....

Dear Retailer:

Thank you for your question. While most companies move to off-shore manufacturing to increase profitability, our goal in opening an international facility was to bring our brands to the rest of the world (like Europe, India, China and Africa) in an affordable way. Due to the high cost of domestic labor, duty and international shipping, this is nearly impossible to do this using domestic manufacturing. Knowing that our customers valued products made in the United States and wanting to preserve all of our U.S. based jobs, we took the step into limited off-shore manufacturing while also maintaining a full-time manufacturing facility in North America that still produces most of the products we sell in the United States. This resulted in overall higher costs as compared to brands made exclusively off-shore.

The factory is clean, large, well-lit, safe, equipped with plenty of restrooms, safe drinking water, a cafe, and a place away from the sewing floor where workers can take their breaks. They are provided with positive leadership, on-the-job training and transportation to and from work. The management cares about each individual and ensures that they are trained with their future in mind. The factory operates based on 5-day, 40 hour work-weeks and workers are paid over-time if it becomes necessary. We meet or exceed all of the requirements of international law. I have been in other garment factories all over the world and can honestly say that our factory is the only place that I have ever seen like it. It is a place that I would like to work.

In spite of higher costs, we maintain very fair price points relative to competing brands while also being recognized by consumers as offering the best customer service in the industry. Our products are tested heavily and made with quality materials primarily sourced in the United States. Each brand is backed by a one-year warranty and maintains it's value nicely, supporting eventual resale by the purchaser. We spend a great deal on advertising and promoting the concept of cloth diapers - a project we're in the process of expanding with the goal of increasing the visibility of the product category. We invest heavily in product development and industry growth. We care about the less-fortunate and are deeply involved in giving-oriented projects to help low-income families cloth diaper their babies. We make decisions knowing that we are affecting people and businesses all over the world... while the bottom-line plays a role in our business decisions, it isn't the most important consideration.

We've reflected our values as we've grown our brand portfolio. Knowing that bumGenius was an option that wasn't reachable for many low-income families, we also created Flip & Econobum two years ago with the goal of bringing more affordable, quality diapering solutions to the marketplace. We felt like low and middle-income families deserved options that were consistently well-made, backed by a recognizable company, a warranty and good customer service. I wasn't willing to accomplish that goal by compromising quality or customer service.... so we created a concept and a product set to meet that consumer segment's needs while being consistent in our commitments to all consumers. We were successful in our efforts. Using data from a recent LCA study conducted in Europe, we recently made some interesting calculations. If a family has a stash of 24 total bumGenius Stay-Dry one-size diapers and assuming use from birth, each cloth diaper is likely to be used approximately 138 times putting the cost per use before laundry at approximately $0.12. With a stash of 24 Flip Stay-Dry Cloth Diapers, the cost per use before laundry is approximately $0.06. With a stash of 24 Econobum Cloth Diapers, the cost per use before laundry is approximately $0.03.

As frustrating as off-brands can be to retailers, it is important to recognize that, they do serve a purpose within the expanding cloth diaper market. Unlike other product categories where off-brands are typically consumed and disposed of, consumers are investing in cloth diapers as a way of saving money and because they want to provide better care for their baby. Unlike most other garments, cloth diapers are subjected to rigorous, continual use and cleaning practices. Off-brands are usually poor quality and can fail quickly with little follow-up support available from the retailer or the importer of record (IOR). Even though U.S. law requires the IOR to have proof of component testing at the batch level, these diapers are being imported and sold primarily by very small, home-based businesses who may be unaware of or simply unable to complete the required testing. The IOR is likely to have a very limited understanding of component ingredients and manufacturing practices. While this may seem of little initial relevance, it can become extremely important when a child develops a latex allergy and the consumer discovers that their off-brand diapers were made using elastomeric components containing natural rubber (our products are latex-free) or when low-volume consolidated international shipments are fumigated during import (we only ship full containers to avoid fumigation). Additionally, off-brand cloth diapers are unlikely to have a resale value beyond 'free for shipping'. We've repeatedly seen that consumers who learn this the 'hard way' are more likely to make a second investment later in a good quality cloth diapering product with maintainable resale value knowing that this will save their family additional money. Additionally, parents have expressed their desire to purchase good quality, safe, baby-care products that meet the requirements of US and international product safety laws.

As the economy has taken steps towards improvement over the last six months, we've seen an overall corresponding trend up both in sales growth and consumer reports of satisfaction with their purchases. Our customers are clearly demonstrating their commitment to their baby's overall well-being and a clear understanding of how their investment in cloth diapers will affect their family's bottom line, both now and when their baby potty trains.

I hope this information is informative and helps you educate your customers towards better product choices.

Kindest regards,

Jenn

clothdiapers.blogspot.com - by Cotton Babies, Inc.

6 Months Old

2011-06-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that my baby girl is 6 months old already. I'm in awe at how much she's grown right before my eyes.

She can roll over from tummy to back and back to tummy, but usually chooses not to. She likes her back, but doesn't want to put forth the effort to get off her tummy.
She can grab at things and put them in her mouth. Doing this with her binky for the first time yesterday.
She turns toward noises and voices, and smiles/laughs when she hears her name
She constantly laughs at her big sister (both of them).
She likes to hold things to help her go to sleep. This little piglet is one things she likes, but she'll hold anything - blanket, burp cloth, sheet, pillow, mommy ...
We just started solids, She's shown little interest so far, but is able to move the food around in her mouth and swallow. She's cried when we stopped feeding it to her last night, but wasn't quite opening her mouth when the spoon was brought up to her.
She can push herself backwards in the walker
She is often playing with hands/feet; gagging herself with her hands and sucking on her toes
Still no signs of teeth, although she's gumming everything she can find and drooling like mad

Since I've been singing in the choir at church, she has been going to the nursery for the first service. She does well, usually sleeping while Audrey plays. More often than not they are the only 2 girls in the nursery for the first service.

She's still nursing like a champ. She takes a bottle, but only from daycare lady.

And the topic all mother's hate, but most people ask: sleep. Her sleep is OK. Not great, but not terrible either. She'll usually nap for an hour at a shot. When she goes to sleep at night she'll sleep for about 3-4 hours in her crib, then wake up and need mom. Usually she's OK for a bit longer before needing to eat. She wakes up to eat around 4:30 or 5. Audrey did the same thing, which at the time I attributed to the cold winter. But now I think it's a combination of teething/growing and missing mom during the day. I know we'll get through this and it will get better, so it just is taking some patience for now. I long for the days I don't have to get up at 5 am to feed her or pump, but for now I know it's best for her.

And so as not to slight Audrey, at 24 1/2 months she amazes me every day. Her vocabulary and verbal concepts are astounding. She engages in conversation. What colors she's wearing and what she likes. What she wants to do. What she is doing. What mommy is doing. She is super duper polite (unless it's naptime and grumpy). She acts very much like a big kid. She is really starting to grasp concepts like waiting for something (dinner, to watch TV, to go out and play). She can negotiate (like when she wanted to help pick things up off the shelves at the store, she understood when I told her she couldn't, but she could carry the things I picked out). She has friends she likes to see and is always asking to play with them. She especially likes to play with her sisters, big and baby. I wish you could all see her every day and get the joy that I get every time I see her.

Do you contemplate?

2011-05-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Do you have ramblings, musings, contemplations and other such thoughts that you want to share with the world? Do you blog an want to reach a different group of readers that might be interested in what you have to say? Do you not blog but want to share something with the world anyway?

I'm looking for guest bloggers who want to post on (natural or conventional) parenting, diapering, breastfeeding, cute children stories, or even controversial topics such as religion and politics (or both). Yes, I said controversial topics. I'll even accept entries of controversial children topics, like vaccinations and circumcisions.

Rules: your posts must be well thought out and grammatically correct. You must not be offensive or rude or mean. You can be cute and funny or you can be serious.

Interested? Leave me a comment or email me (christiner (at) diaperparties (dot) com).

Shopping

2011-05-31T09:25:00.001-07:00

DSC_1326, a photo by Christsstar on Flickr.

Audrey loves to go shopping. I'm not sure why, because she's usually stuck in the stroller or cart and is bored, but she loves the excitement of going out. When we go to the mall I wear Annie in one of my many baby carriers and Audrey gets pushed by Daddy in her umbrella stroller.

We then hang the shopping bags from the handles of the stroller. It has a tendency to get heavy, but as long as Audrey remains IN the stroller, it stays upright. Well, usually. One day it was particularly heavy and she did fall backwards, but all the bags cushioned her fall. The look on her face was priceless .... I totally wish I had my camera with me.

At any rate, among other things, she's learned about shopping from us. So when she got a doll stroller from her Aunt Becky for her birthday, she was all to excited to push around her doll and hang her new Dora shopping bag from the handles and go shopping around the house.

Carnival of Breastfeeding - Nursing Styles Between Siblings

2011-05-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to June's Carnival of Breastfeeding. Inspired by Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog again, I'm writing about nursing styles. Specifically how the two girls compare (and contrast) to each other.

I thought on this topic for awhile before deciding to write on it. I'm not sure that I remember Audrey's nursing style well, or that Annie has had much time to develop one. Laying in bed feeding Annie last night I reflected on how Audrey and I nursed in the middle of the night and how I've had to learn different techniques for this one.

I have never taken any breastfeeding class. When pregnant with Audrey, we couldn't afford more than one class, and we decided that a birthing class was more important that a breastfeeding one. I was praying that Audrey and I would take to it naturally. And we did. We had minor issues with a latch in the beginning. Josh and I worked very hard at establishing a good latch in the hospital, and he continued that help when we got home.

When my milk came in I was so engorged after several hours (Audrey started sleeping through the night really early) that all Audrey had to do was stick out her tongue and it would drip into her mouth. After a little bit of that, she was able to fully latch on and get some good hind milk. When she started eating overnight again, I started to nurse her in the side-lying position. Overnight, Audrey was very much a eat until I fall asleep kind of nurser. Then she'd wake up in 20 minutes and be hungry. She had many battles of, "I'm tired and hungry and I don't know which is more important." Heck, now as a toddler she has the same battles.

She was rarely a comfort nurser. Only when she had injuries, and that was rare. She wouldn't nurse because she was teething. She was a cuddler, though. And she nursed to go to sleep. Falling asleep nursing was the only way I could get her to sleep.

Annie (who will be 6 months on 6/3) has some similar styles and some different style. Annie figured out how to latch on really quickly. We never had latch issues. However I think some of that is me, and having had more experience. The two hospital experiences were completely different, but so were my deliveries. I think that the drugs I was given with Annie had a direct correlation to her eating in the hospital.

When we got home we had a hard time getting any sleep. She would wake up and need to eat almost instantly. For about 4 weeks I slept on my back with her attached to me eating. She would lay like that all night. She couldn't figure out side-lying yet. That was our FAVORITE nighttime nursing position. If we were lucky and could sleep detached, I would physically sit up and nurse her in a cross cradle position. But that was difficult while recovering from a c-section.

As time went on she got better at sleeping and no longer needed to nurse all night long. One big distinction between the two girls is bedtime. I could easily get Audrey to sleep by nursing her. Annie very rarely falls asleep nursing. Now when she wakes up in the middle of the night we can do a side-lying position to nurse, but she doesn't like it much. I don't know if it's because she can't see my face or can't find the nipple, but she really struggles with it. She still prefers to lay on my chest with me on my back. But she's just getting too big for that.

Like Audrey, Annie is not a comfort nurser. She hasn't had any major accidents to speak of yet, so I can't address that aspect, but she doesn't nurse when she's teething. She is also a big cuddler. It's hard to tell when she's hungry because cuddling usually will calm her down significantly.

On a slightly different but related topic, the girls use different pacifiers and bottles too. We got lucky with Audrey that she took the first bottle we gave her. She took any bottle we gave her. She liked any pacifier too. But Annie was tougher. She wouldn't use the same type Audrey used, either bottle or pacifier. We went through the different style pacifiers the hospital sent us to find one that she liked. With bottles I had to go to Babies R Us the week before I went back to work to find a bottle that she tolerated. We found a couple that she likes. But what's even more curious than the bottle is who is feeding her. She won't take a bottle from anyone accept me and daycare lady. She won't take one from Josh or Kymi or a friend from church. It's odd that she lets me give her a bottle though. I suppose it does help save the frozen milk if she is willing to hold out until I get home to feed her.

I look forward to seeing how the two girls vary their nursing style as Annie gets older. I wonder if she'll be easily distracted by noises as she pays more attention to her surroundings. Will she care about solids or will she just want the breastmilk?

Please go check out the other Carnival of Breastfeeding Posts by following the links below.

Breastfeeding the Second Time Around
Second Time's The Charm
Seven reasons why breastfeeding is usually easier the second time around
Lessons Learned
Carnival of Breastfeeding the Second Time Around
Totally different and completely the same
Tandem Nursing
Once More With Feeling

Smells

2011-05-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Smells never cease to amaze me. Specifically the way in which they bring back faint memories. One tiny whiff of something can rush an old memory to the forefront of your thoughts.

*Fresh cut grass reminds me of marching band.
*Vaseline intensive care lotion reminds me of an ex-boyfriend's house.
*Talcom powder reminds me of my car accident.
*The smell of spit up (and believe it or not breastmilk poop) remind me of my baby girls --- and I so LOVE those smells.
*The smell of some petroleum-based oils reminds me of valve oil and therefore all my band experiences.

What smells bring back memories for you?

Lunch Run by roosachristine at Garmin Connect - Details

2011-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

This is a test of sharing my Garmin activity on Blogger.

Lunch Run by roosachristine at Garmin Connect - Details

A little funny.....

2011-05-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Josh and I watch(ed) a show on A&E called Intervention. It's a really interesting show about real-life interventions. I learned a lot about addiction and treatment and such. During the actual intervention, family members read letters that they write to the addict explaining that they need help and why and so on.

Audrey's pacifier usage was driving me crazy one day and I just had enough. So I wrote this little funny for her.

My dearest Audrey Grace,

I am your mother and I want nothing but good things for your life. I can't help but sit back and watch you constantly hurt those who love you most.

I have seen your biky usage affect your life negatively in the following ways:
1. We can't understand you when you talkyoull
2. You are always out looking for the binky, whining until you find it
3. When it falls on the ground, you put it back in your mouth with no regard to germs ro cleanliness
4. At some point your teeth will be misshaped and you'll need braces.

Will you please get treatment today?

3 months later I am pleased to report that Audrey Grace is pacifier free. She doesn't use it for sleeping, she doesn't walk around with it, she can entertain herself just fine without it. She doesn't steal Annie's anymore.

I'm so happy and proud of my little girl. She has learned that we won't give it to her, she doesn't try to sneak one, and she's OK with Annie having one and not her.

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl

2011-05-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

My first born. My drama queen. My beautiful baby girl. Today you are two years old. You make me laugh every day. You make me cry, every day. You don't know how much I love being your mom.

I love watching you try to play with the big kids. I love watching you figure something out and seeing the smile on your face when you realize you can do it. You are so proud of yourself.

You have a huge heart that loves to love.

You love to interact with the world around you.

You love to cuddle with your momma.

You love your baby sister and I know some day you'll be able to show her all about this world and tell her all the mean things that mom and dad do.

You love your big sister and love that she plays with you on your level.

You love to watch your big brother play his drums and his guitar. You are so proud of him.

You love to sing and dance to your daddy's drumming in church.

And that singing and dancing is going right up to God. You truly make a joyful noise to the Lord. Especially with your voice. I love to hear your 2 y/o song medley when we drive home from work. From "Jesus Loves Me" to "Circle Song" to "Twinkle Song" to "Rejoice," with an occasional "God's Army," "Noah Song," and "Crazy The Lord," tossed in. It warms my heart and soul to see my baby girl praising God at such a young age.

Thank you, Audrey Grace, for being my daughter. Happy Birthday!

Cloth Diapering in a Pinch

2011-05-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

As moms we use anything we can find that will work if we don't have the exact item we need. We use blankets and shirt sleeves for burp cloths. We use burp cloths for blankets. magazines become books. Napkins become hats. You get the idea. Whatever it takes to get the job done. This is even more true for diapering, and cloth diapering mamas are very creative.

Last night Josh, the girls and I went to the church for a quick surprise birthday gathering for a friend. We were only going to be gone an hour, maybe 90 minutes. I put both girls in clean diapers before we left. I even contemplated not doing a diaper for Audrey, but she had had a bad accident day apparently. I didn't take the diaper bag with me. Not 10 minutes after we got to the church, just before the birthday boy arrived, Audrey pooped. And it was obvious. Everyone was making jokes about it. We stuck around long enough to yell surprise and eat a piece of cake, then I whisked Audrey off to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet and went potty and I cleaned her poopy diaper up. But we had no spare diapers. Normally I wouldn't even bother putting a diaper on her and just let her wear her pants loosely since she just went potty and we were going home. But she wasn't wearing pants. She was wearing a skirt. And I couldn't bring myself to let her wear no diaper in a skirt sitting in a carseat. Can we say OUCH? and AWKWARD?

So I did what any CDing mommy would do. I took off my top t-shirt (YAY for my foresight to wear layers yesterday), folded in fourths, and laid it in her diaper cover.

Josh was very confused as to what Audrey could possibly be wearing since we brought no spare diapers. He smiled at me when he realized what I had done.

When we got home and undressed to take a bath, my shirt was dry and no worse for the wear.

Marriage book of Evidence

2011-05-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

So I read a blog the other day that really just rubbed me the wrong way. I fully believe that it was in tongue-and-cheek style and was not meant as seriously as I am going to present it.

The writer said that she wanted a marriage book of evidence to use as proof. When she and her husband were frantically looking for something and it turned out he had lost it, she wanted to record this and both sign it as evidence in the future that he was the one who lost it, not her.

And while this was meant as a light hearted comment, and I normally hold this writer in very high regard when it comes to certain topics, I just couldn't accept this as a healthy thing.

1 Corinthians tells us that marriage keeps no record of wrongs. OK, not marriage directly, but love. And since marriage is founded on love, marriage keeps no record of wrongs.

1 Corinthians 13:5 "...it keeps no record of wrongs."

So even a lighthearted book of evidence to laugh at is a record of wrongs. Who knows when remembering a silly thing that was lost will come back to cause pain, anguish and sorrow at a later date.

I don't want a book of evidence, except the one with our family photos. A book of evidence of our love and our success as a family. Evidence of God's work in our lives.

Happy Birthday Jenni

2011-05-10T17:37:00.001-07:00

Today is our friend Jenni's birthday.

We love you Jenni! Thank you so much for being a part of our family. You have blessed us beyond belief and we are so grateful for you!

Mommy and Me Monday - Mother's Day

2011-05-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Mother's Day in our house. After church we got to go home and the girls both napped. Audrey napped for THREE hours. We watched some TV, I enjoyed an episode of Blues Clues with Audrey. And we had a nice dinner.

Audrey colored a craft in Sunday School for me, and on Thursday last week she brought home a beaded bracelet that she helped make in daycare. I was very blessed with these gifts, even knowing that she had help making them. I hope I remember this year forever, as the first year I received gifts from my daughter.

She and Josh also came home with some beautiful pink roses on Saturday morning. I am told that she picked them out from all the red roses that were at the florists.

Audrey even wished me a Happy Mother's Day several times; she also wished a Happy Mother's Day to Josh, Andrew, Kymberly and Annie. And tried to give her Sunday School craft to a man at church. She brings me so much joy!

Me and My girls

Sleeping Baby ... don't move, she might wake up.

My Mother's Day Loot

Sunday School Craft

Bracelet from Daycare - yes, Audrey played with it and broke it. It's still special.

April's Winner

2011-05-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

And the lucky winner of April's Giveaway for a Swimmi Swim Diaper is ......................

SARAH!!!

Email me with your size and print options.

Congratulations. And thank you to everyone who participated.

I am taking May off from a giveaway. I will resume in June.

http://www.everythingbirth.com/Bummis-Swimmi-Cloth-Swim-Diapers-BMS0060-p-Cloth-Swim-Diapers.html

Audrey has a new word

2011-04-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Audrey has a new word. “Ummm”

Me: Audrey, how old are you?
Audrey: Umm … 2

Me: Audrey, do you want some water?
Audrey: Ummm …. Yes.

Me: What would you like for a snack?
Audrey: Ummm … cheez-its

Slides, Sidewalk chalk, Snuggles and silliness

2011-04-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

A few decent photo ops made their appearance this weekend and I attempted to capitalize on them.

Slide with friend Josh

Silliness with Katie

Snuggles with Cap'n

Stretches on the floor

Sidewalk Chalk

More Snuggles with Cap'n and Mama Sherri

Worthless Teenagers and the Parents who Make Them

2011-04-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

Worthless Teenagers and the Parents who Make Them

Control.

The father who thrives on power, works to control everything (whether he can or not) in his child’s life. He works to make sure that his child will always do and be what he thinks is best. He works to make sure that his child rises to some predetermined and idealistic life-station, and simultaneously he also works to make sure that his child never finds the ability to rise above that station. He works to guarantee that his child will be successful in whatever way he believes success is achieved. He works to force respect. He works to force love. He works to force some sense of a relationship.

The mother who thrives on power, works just as dutifully to control everything (whether she can or not) in her child’s life. She works to make sure her child always believes exactly what she believes. She works to make sure her child always learns the lessons that she believes need to be learned. She works to mold her child into the person she believes her child should be molded into. And, just like the power-craving father, she also works to force respect, love, and the non-existent relationship but forced relationship.

If you're anything like me, you are constantly questioning your abilities as a parent. Second-guessing your punishment or wondering if you should've been less strict. Maybe instead you wonder if you are too easy going and you should be more strict.

If you are anything like me, a good hard look at your parenting skills is, well, hard. I hate criticism and I hate conviction. I hate hearing how I might improve. Or worse, I hate thinking about what kinds of scars I could be leaving on my children (or step-children in this case) by my actions. So why would I dare read a blog that is shedding light on the dangers of control and what causes emotional scars? Because I desperately want to be a better parent and I want the kids to know that they are loved; they are loved by not only their parents, but by God. I truly hope they know and believe that.

After Josh and I both read the "worthless teenager" blog, we sat down and talked. We were both convicted. I, and I'm sure Josh as well, replayed all the fights, arguments, discussions, yelling, etc that has happened recently and wondered:

"Was I too strict?"

"Did I overreact?"

"Did I say something I shouldn't have just to get a reaction?"

"Did I namecall?"

"Am I just trying to prove that I'm in charge?"

"Am I unable to relinquish control of the house?"

"Do our kids have the same self esteem problems that he talks about?"

So we did the unthinkable. We talked to the kids! Yes, we did. We asked for the opinions of teenagers.

We did a little exercise at dinner last night.

We asked each of them what was one thing they believed about themselves. We then asked them what they believed each parent (there are 4 of us in their lives) believed about them.

I hope they were being honest when talking about what Josh and I believe about them. I hope they weren't afraid of hurting our feelings or making us mad. I hope they were forthright in what they believe.

It was interesting. And enlightening. And encouraging. And thought-provoking. And educational.

If you want to better connect with your kids, I suggest this sort of activity. Even if you believe you are the best parent in the world and you have the most well adjusted children possible, I guarantee you will learn something.

I am making a VERY concerted effort to be a little more relaxed in my parenting. To not sweat the small stuff. To be less controlling. (If you ever wonder how controlling you really are - live with another family and see how they do things different from you.) To recognize the human-ness in all of us, including the teenagers. To realize that I didn't get to where I am without being a fumbling teenager. To understand that life is hard enough with school and peer pressure and changing bodies and zits, then you throw in step-parents and step-siblings and 2 houses and 2 baby sisters ........ I NEVER went through that. I have no concept of what it's like to live at 2 houses and have 2 blended families.

I desperately want to be a good parent and will do whatever it takes to be the parent my kids NEED! Do you?

Rachel Held Evans | Jesus, God in Sandals

2011-04-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Rachel Held Evans | Jesus, God in Sandals

I started following this blog about a month ago when a friend posted a link to her. I read the link, and subscribed so that I could get the follow-up post. Now I don't even remember what it is I read that I liked so much or if I've read the follow-up.

But every week I read something that makes me think. Hmmm ........

This week it was this:

It occurred to me that if my faith managed to survive all of these doubts then this radical rabbi, this God in sandals, would require more from me than ever before. This radical Jesus wanted to live not only in my heart and in my head but also in my hands, as I fed the hungry, reached out to my enemies, healed the sick, and comforted the lonely. Being a Christian, it seemed, isn’t about agreeing to a certain way; it is about embodying a certain way. It is about living as an incarnation of Jesus, as Jesus lived as an incarnation of God. It is about being Jesus…in tennis shoes.

I am feeling challenged to go be Jesus in my tennis shoes ... well, skater shoes anyway.

Birthday Party

2011-04-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Audrey went to her very first birthday party on Saturday. A co-worker's son just turned 4 and had a big party at a local little kid amusement park called Pixieland. Audrey had fun riding the rides and seeing the sites and all the kids. Then she got to eat pizza and cake with all the kids. The best part was the theme of the party was "Go, Diego, Go!" her favorite TV show. She was ecstatic to see all the Diego things and get a Diego goodie bag to bring home.

Train

Carousel

Car Ride

Car ride

Sitting very well for a caricature.

Walking with daddy and her new butterfly balloon.

Eating pizza with the big kids.

Watching the ducks and turtles in the pond.

Church Egg Hunt

2011-04-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the Mommy and Me Post, today was the annual Egg hunt at church. Here are some photos Josh captured while she ran around trying to collect the eggs.

Mommy and Me Monday - Palm Sunday

2011-04-17T15:53:00.001-07:00

DSC_1032, a photo by Christsstar on Flickr.

Today at church was the annual kid Egg hunt. Audrey ran around trying to catch all the eggs while Josh chased her with the camera. Meanwhile, I kept Annie occupied and out of harm's way. Josh paused from Audrey's photo shoot to capture one of me. Thanks Josh!

Head on over to Krystyn's blog for more Mommy and Me moments.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

I can't believe...

2011-04-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

...that I'm going to be the mother of a 2-year old next month. WOW!!!!

I mean, she already has the attitude of a 2-year old, but next month it's going to be official.

Cloth Diaper FAQ

2011-04-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have been asked a lot of questions about the practicality of using cloth diapers. I will attempt to answer those here.

Q: Is it harder than disposable diapers?
A: Not at all! I don't have to run to the store late at night to get a diaper because my daughter got diarrhea suddenly. I don't have to look for coupons or go to the cheapest store.

Q: Do you use cloth when you go out?
A: you bet! Since we started using cloth over a year ago, we've only used disposables a handful of times, and mostly that was because they were free. I carry a wetbag with me and put my dirty diapers in there in the diaper bag. No, my diaper bag doesn't stink. In fact, when I used disposables I would carry my dirty diapers around in that too until I got home. I never felt right throwing away pee and poop-filled diapers in somebody else's trash.

Q: Do you need special things in your diaper bag?
Nope. Just the diapers and the wet bag. I used to carry around plastic bags for my disposable diapers; that just was substituted with a cloth bag for my cloth diapers. I still take a change of clothes and wipes (although cloth wipes now) and a binky or two and hand sanitizer and a sippy cup and sometimes teething rings or toys. Depends on where we're going and how long we'll be out.

Q: What about daycare?
A: I'm lucky in that in the state of California, all daycare centers, whether in a home or commercial facility, are required to use whatever diapers I want. So ... my daycare provider uses cloth. And since my girls are the only two not fully potty trained, they're is no confusion in whose diapers belong to whom. I have a bunch of a single type ... Flip ... and that's all I send her with. That way changing is easy and not at all confusing. She gets a wet bag and my wipes.

Q: What about poops?
A: the super solid poops get dumped in the toilet. The breastmilk poops just go straight in the diaper pail. The in between, sticky poops get rinsed with the diaper sprayer.

Q: Is there a special washing technique?
A: YES. This is the most important thing to know about cloth. How to properly wash and care for your diapers. The goal of cloth diapers is to absorb liquid, so it is very important to not use a product that could cause the diapers to get what is called build-up and thus repel the urine. The diapers are also going to be against a very sensitive part of the baby's body and the cleaner the diapers, the better. Is is important to have a detergent that is free of whiteners, brighteners, softeners, enzymes, etc. Nothing oily or greasy. Just cleaner. There are many diaper-friendly detergents on the market, and depending on your particular water supply, it is often a trial and error method to finding what works best for you. For drying ... the best way to dry is in the sun. But that's not possible for everyone. So dry on medium in the dryer. To decrease drying time and to help with some of the stiffness, Wool Dryer Balls are AWESOME!

Q: How do you store the dirty diapers? Do you need a wetpail?
A: I use a simple trash can with a lid. I have it lined with an AWESOME Planet Wise Pail liner. I have two liners, that way I can put a clean one in the trash can when one is washing. I store the can in the garage, but have stored it in the bedroom too. No wet pail is needed. If you want to prevent staining on the diapers, rinse immediately and completely with previously mentioned diaper sprayer.

Do you have any questions that I have not addressed here? If so ... leave them in the comments section or shoot me an email. I LOVE talking about cloth diapers. It's one of my favorite topics.

And don't forget to head on over to my facebook page and "like" me to get updated information on sales and new products and whatnot.

Bubbles

2011-04-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

I cannot say that word without thinking of Finding Nemo. That is by far my favorite Pixar movie ever!

BUT .... this isn't about Finding Nemo. This is Audrey's adventure for the day. She got to play with bubbles for about an hour today. She played with them at church awhile back and loved them so much that I had to get some when I saw them at the Dollar Store.

So today, our sick day, I decided it was a perfect day to stay home and play with bubbles.

Sunday Fun

2011-04-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

What do you do with the boxes after you put the new bed together???

Make a clubhouse of course!

April Giveaway - Diaper Parties by Everything Birth Bay Area

2011-04-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Spring! It's lovely to see you!

In honor of spring and in preparation for summer, I am thrilled to give away a Swimmi cloth swim diaper. Swim diapers are a must for any cloth diapering family in the hot summer months.

Entering the giveaway is easy. Just the giveaway over at the Everything Birth blog and then hop on over here and leave a comment and you'll be automatically entered to win. I will randomly choose a winner (via a random number generator) on April 30th.

The grooviest swimsuit in the universe - baby fashion will never be the same!

From the Riviera to the neighbourhood kiddie pool, your baby will have the cutest bum around. And rest assured - nobody will ever have to empty the pool because of your little darling! Fashion and peace of mind - what better combination can there be in a baby swimsuit ....

Engineered with painstaking attention to detail and functionality:

A trim and attractive design that has a terrific fit on any baby

Interior polyester mesh for easy clean ups

Coated nylon layer sandwiched inside that will hold in the messiest stuff a baby can throw at you!

Fun, unisex cotton prints on the outside

Adjustable hook and loop closures for a snug and comfortable fit

Stretchy soft lycra bindings to protect baby’s tender skin

Want to keep up to date on what's going on with Diaper Parties in the bay area? Head on over to my Facebook page and "like" me.

Want to host a party? email me at christiner@diaperparties.com and let me know.

Mommy and Me Monday - April 4

2011-04-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was a little more prepared for Mommy and Me Monday this week. Seeing as it's Sunday and I'm already uploading my post.

After dinner last night, the four of us went out to the back yard to play with the dog. In an attempt to get some really cool camera angles I laid on the ground. Audrey then took it upon herself to get on my back. I couldn't pass up this prime opportunity to take some self portraits. Self portraits with an SLR are not easy. But we got a couple where you can actually see our faces. We had great fun in the backyard and hope to do it again tonight.

For more Mommy and Me fun, head on over to Krystyn's blog.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

March's Giveaway Winner is .....

2011-04-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

And March's giveaway winner of an Imse Vimse Cloth Trainer is ................

KIM!

email me at christiner@diaperparties.com to claim your prize.

Mommy and Me Monday

2011-03-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

My Happy Birthday Crown

Mommy and Me Monday this week was impromptu. I didn't plan to take any photos with my girls, we just haven't had time since I went back to work. But Saturday evening I got to play with Audrey some. It was very sweet and special. Audrey just LOVES playing blocks, but doesn't like to play alone, so I sat on the floor and played with her.

I built a structure, had no real purpose for it. Just building away. I was being silly and put it on Audrey's head. Then she thought it was great and put it on my head. I kept trying to put it on her head but she kept putting it back on mine. I guess it was my little crown to wear.

Then, after she put it on my head, she sang Happy Birthday. Not really sure where that's coming from, but OK.

So here we are, playing with blocks and singing Happy Birthday. (Couldn't get her whole face in the photo and capture the crown........)

Head on over to Kryssyn's blog to see more Mommy and Me Monday

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

One week in daycare

2011-03-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

photo has no connection to post content; I just thought it was cute

So today makes it a week since Audrey and Annie have been with the new daycare.

Annie, of course, didn't need an adjustment period. She was just fine. Took a bottle great for Gayl and Gayl's had no issues with her.

Our week went something like this:

Monday - excited to play at Gayl's house. Drop off was easy. When we picked her up she was happy to see us, but not running to meet us at the door. Ate great, no potty accidents.

Tuesday - Dropped them off and Audrey wouldn't walk up to the front door. I had to carry her inside. She started freaking out when we left and Gayl had to hold her back. I forgot the extra breast milk, so I had to take some after I pumped. Picked the girls up on their way home from the park. Both were very happy to see us, but not running to get in the car. Annie didn't need the extra milk afterall. Go figure. No potty accidents.

Wednesday - Audrey was carried into the house again, but didn't cry nearly as much when we started to leave. We picked them up and again she was happy to see us, but not running to greet us. No potty accidents, but she did poop in her trainer. I forgot an extra trainer, so she was put in a pull-up. I should tell Gayl to just use a diaper if that happens since the diapers fit both girls. Anyway ....

Thursday - only day this week she woke with a dry diaper. I suspect that she's drinking more water at daycare and therefore is peeing more. She walked to the front door and didn't cry at all when we left. I remembered extra trainers in the diaper bag today.

Audrey's bed time has been pushed up by 30 minutes since we are getting up earlier. She's not sleeping in the car, which is surprising to me.

Audrey is napping great - 2 hour naps in the afternoon. And she gives Gayl her binky when she gets there. Which is AWESOME. Gonna work with Gayl on taking it away during naptime and then we'll take it away for car rides and then bed time.

We've heard from both Gayl and her husband Mike that both girls are a joy and a pleasure and a real treat to have over.

We've been told that Audrey eats great - more than the 3 y/o.

I'm loving that she provides all the food for Audrey (and eventually Annie). One less thing to think about. She is playing with great kids. The oldest one reads to all the younger kids. And they all play well together. My girls are the youngest. Audrey will probably learn some more advanced skills from them a little sooner. I'm really hoping this will instill a good sense of sharing and playing nice together; up until now, Audrey hasn't had to share much or play nice with other kids her age. She's been the doll and been able to do whatever she wanted with whatever toys she could find.

As much as I hate leaving them and desperately miss them during the day and wish I could stay home, I think we found a great place for them to be.

On having two kids...

2011-03-22T19:32:00.001-07:00

I've heard some women say that they didn't want to have babies too close together because it would be unfair to the older kid that mom has to devote so much time to the newborn so early. Or that they don't want to miss out on the growth and experiences that the older one is having at a certain development stage.
And I understand that. Fully and completely. I really enjoyed watching Audrey learn and grow and could devote all of my time and energy to her.
But now that I have two, and very close in age, I will say that I'm ecstatic. I LOVE watching Audrey grow and develop and learn new skills. But she can do that with a little sister too. And I would venture to say that its more fun watching her interact with her baby sister than play alone.
She has such a loving personality and it is so obvious with a baby around. She's so sensitive to people around her and is very aware of emotions and feelings.
She's a huge helper and wants very much to help her baby sister with things. She is very curious about what makes Annie tick. And has started playing with her dolls the same way I "play with" Annie. She potty trains her cabbage patch doll. She puts diapers on her monkey. And a binky in her Elmo. She rocks them to sleep. She gives them water. No, she hasn't tried nursing any of them yet, but she has pretended to make "baby milkies."

Conversation with Audrey

2011-03-22T19:31:00.001-07:00

Audrey: I'm sad.
Me: why?
Audrey: I want my binky.

Dollar Tree Love

2011-03-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Against everything I've been pre-programmed to believe, I have fallen in love with the dollar store. I always believed it was dirty, cheap and overall a waist of time and money. But with Josh's paycut last fall and a new baby and just trying to cut costs wherever possible, we've started shopping at the Dollar Tree.

Yes, there are some really cheap items there. And we know those and stay away from those. But some things are just as good as at the grocery store. Candy, soda, etc. Those are awesome at the dollar store. We've also started to get dumb toys and trinkets for Audrey there. The best find of all, though, has to be Dishwasher detergent. We started getting it there when we were desperate and low on funds. And we love it. The dollar store Sun Sations dishwasher detergent actually works BETTER than the Safeway generic Cascade stuff. Maybe even better than Cascade.

We've found that most things are of the same quality, just lower volume/smaller packages. So if we don't need a whole bunch at once, it's a great place to get something. For instance, oxy clean. WE don't use much, so getting it at the Dollar store really does save us money when we need to buy it. In fact, it's even cheaper per oz than the name brand at Safeway. Frozen fruit. $1/bag. I get 3 bags. It lasts me 2 weeks usually for smoothies. Same quality fruit as at Safeway and like 1/3 the price.

I often will get ziplock bags and lunch bags at the Dollar store. Buy shopping for these items at Dollar Tree, we've probably cut $20/week out of our grocery budget. (We don't buy those items every week, but a combination of all our items probably is that much.)

However, not all things are as good at the Dollar store. I bought a couple oven mitts there. I figured a cheap oven mitt was better than our holey mitts we had at home. I brought them home and pulled dinner out of the oven and burned my hand. Ok. Lesson learned. I'll buy those at Target next time.

Yoga - good for the soul, body, and lost items

2011-03-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

We all know the benefits of yoga on stress. We know it's benefits on weight loss. And we all agree that yoga is great for toning and stretching the muscles.

But today I discovered a new benefit of yoga. Finding things that the toddler lost. Today, while doing my yoga, and lying on the floor, I glanced under the bookcase and found Josh's Road ID dogtag that Audrey lost.

My husband loves me

2011-03-04T07:51:00.001-08:00

I know that my husband loves me. I see proof of that every day.

One example.....

I have a horrible sense of direction, but I think I know where I'm going. My husband freely admits he doesn't always know, so he asks me. I tell him where to go and he faithfully follows my directions, almost always resulting in us going the wrong way.

He never yells at me for being wrong, just irritated. Every time he says, "why do I listen to you?" But will inevitably listen the next time.

When I asked him why he still listens he responded, "because you might be right." He has faith that I will be right the next time and trusts me every time. I don't trust myself anymore, but he still does. :)

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Diaper Parties By Christine (Bay Area) March Giveaway

2011-03-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Facebook does not allow giveaways without their consent, so instead of going through the red tape to host the giveaway on my facebook page, I'm doing it here on my blog.

The month of March, I will be giving away a pair of Imse Vimse Organic Training Pants. Entering into the giveaway is easy. All you have to do is enter into the Everything Birth weekly giveaways and then comment here in my blog with a link to your entry. That's it. Super easy. No spamming your friends, no facebook pages to like, no tweets to send.

There are 5 Everything Birth giveaways in the month of March, so that means you have 5 possible entries into my giveaway. I will draw a random winner on April 2 (no April Fool's drawings here ....).

I will say, however, that I would love more followers on my FB page, so feel free to follow and get updates on brands or Everything Birth changes and giveaways and coupons and whatnot.

http://www.facebook.com/BayAreaDiaperParties

Curse You Diego...

2011-02-28T07:42:00.001-08:00

I go around the house doing random cleaning or I sit at my desk playing on the computer and out of the blue Audrey asks for a banana. I give her one. Then I realize she wants a banana because Diego or Dora are eating one. This happens with almost every episode. If not a banana than ice cream or an apple or something.

And I don't mind her eating a banana as a snack. They're healthy. But I don't buy enough of them for her to eat one every time she watches TV. There aren't enough left for me and my smoothies. And if I buy extras then she'll go on a banana strike.

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i heart faces - camera phone

2011-02-22T10:16:00.001-08:00

at the park @PhotoWonder
Originally uploaded by Christsstar

This weeks challenge at iheartfaces was all about the camera phone. I have an LG Ally, running Android OS 2.2. It's an OK camera, I think. GREAT at outdoor photos, OK at indoor photos. It has a really low response time, though, so I never get the shot I want when it comes to my daughters.

Yesterday Audrey and I went to the park and she enjoyed some time on the slides while I snapped some photos with her. I did a little mild editing with the photowonder app, but thought this one was pretty good SOTC.

For more camera phone photos, head on over to iheartfaces.

Audrey's first prayer

2011-02-17T18:48:00.001-08:00

Dear God,

Thank you (for) Mommy.
Thank you (for) Daddy.

Amen.

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Runners Up ...

2011-02-08T15:23:00.000-08:00

Other photos I liked, but not my favorite, for the iheartfaces challenge this week.

I heart faces - hearts

2011-02-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've entered an iheartfaces challenge.

I had lots of ideas, but just not enough time this week. This week's theme is hearts.

This is a photo of my older daughter giving her baby sister a kiss. They just love each other.

See more hearts over at <center><a href="http://www.iheartfaces.com" mce_href="http://www.iheartfaces.com"><img src="http://www.iheartfaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/I_Heart_Faces_noborder_125x100.jpg" mce_src="http://www.iheartfaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/I_Heart_Faces_noborder_125x100.jpg"/></a></center>

Two different girls...

2011-02-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

I could tell that my girls would be different when I was pregnant with Annie.

Audrey always reacted to music, Annie rarely did. Conversely Annie reacted to food all the time and Audrey rareoy did.

Now that Annie is 2 months old, I'm seeing other differences. Audrey would sleep anywhere and anytime. She could sleep sitting up or lying down. Belly, back or side.

Annie will only sleep on her back and usually only in her crib.

Audrey would crash and we could move and transfer her easily to a bed. If we get lucky enough to rock Annie to sleep, its hard to transfer her.

Audrey could sleep through any amount of noise.
Annie has a hard time with noises, especially sudden ones.

They both were spit uppy babies, but Annie's seems more predictable and under control.

Audrey almost always had to be rocked to sleep, Annie seems to do better at going to sleep on her own.

It's fascinating to me how different they are even at this young age. I am excited to see who they will become as they both grow older.

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Mommy and Me Monday - 2/7/11

2011-02-06T21:13:00.001-08:00

Audrey was way overtired and very much needed to go down for a nap, but wasnt giving in to the tired. So we sat on the couch and cuddled while reading stories. She just LOVES to look at books, and occassionally will let me read the words.

My mom was in townthis weekend and took lots of fun pictures of me and the girls. <3 <3 For more Mommy and Me Monday pictures and stories, head on over to Krystyn's blog.
Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

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37 years ago...

2011-02-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

God saw fit that this man be born. And I'm so happy he was.

Happy birthday Joshua. I love you.

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Ever tried to do yoga with a toddler around???

2011-02-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

.....She's less than helpful

We sit down in our thinking chair and

2011-01-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

THINK....

THINK.....

THIIIIINNNNKKKK!!!!!

Mommy and Me Monday

2011-01-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Me Monday

Hosted by Krystyn every Monday at Really are you Serious?.....

These photos just tell the story of our life right now. Always have an infant in one had and a toddler pulling on me somehow.

I am VERY blessed. :)

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Head on over to Krystyn's blog to see more.

I just have to post it because she's so darn cute.....

2011-01-11T15:45:00.001-08:00

I can't help it. She's so cute I have to post this video. Enjoy.....

3 Ladies

2011-01-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

I'm so in love with both of my daughters, I can't stop taking pictures of the three of us, or any combination thereof.

Taking photos of the two girls together is the best!!!

Mommy and Me Monday (Tuesday)

2011-01-11T11:15:00.001-08:00

I keep forgetting to blog on Mondays, so here I am, a day late and hopefully not a dollar short.

This is me and Audrey wearing our Christmas outfits on Christmas day. :)

Merry Christmas ... A little late.

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Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Audrey funny of the morning

2011-01-06T12:17:00.001-08:00

There is a pile of clean laundry in the front room, I'm at the computer. She started bringing me clothes, one piece at a time, and telling me who owned that piece. She was right almost every time. Then she'd take it back and bring me something else. About 5 minutes later, she got bored with that. She just started bringing me all the laundry and dropping it on the stair.

After she had emptied the basket, I asked her to put the clothes back in the basket. I get up to get some coffee and see her walking back and forth carrying laundry and I hear, "Clean up clean up...."

A quick entry

2011-01-05T20:33:00.001-08:00

I miss blogging and wish I had time to blog more. But alas, I'm very busy with both kids.

Here is a quick photo and update....

Annie is a month old now and getting bigger every day. I feel like her first month was a blur because we were so busy with school and church and Christmas and ...

On New Year's Day Josh, Kymberly, Audrey, Annie and I went out to breakfast. Here is Kym, Audrey and Josh together.

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Merry Christmas...

2010-12-25T11:54:00.001-08:00

So here it is, December 25. I did no Christmas letter, no Christmas cards, no family photo, I didn't even put gift tags on Andrew's gifts this year.

It has been an insanely busy few months for us. When school started up for the kids in August, our lives exploded and we were travelling at warp speed.

So, to sum up our year, here is a quick, down and dirty Christmas newsletter.

February ... Josh had a birthday. Yay! Andrew got his learner's permit.
March ... Kids had spring break. Yay!
April ... Easter weekend and learning of a new addition to the family. That was NOT an elaborate April Fool's joke.
May ... Audrey's first birthday. Super Yay!
June ... Kymi graduated 8th grade and turned 14.
July ... Andrew turned 16. We spent independence day in Tucson with my family.
August ... Kids went back to school. Kymi started marching bad (and thus lost her free time).
September ... Josh went to a musician's seminar weekend and learned lots.
October ... Kymi's marching band season in full swing. Her school competed with a field show for the first time in 10 years and did quite well.
November ... I started my new venture of selling cloth diapers through diaperparties.com. Started maternity leave on Thanksgiving day. Andrew got his driver's license.
December 3 ... Our newest addition, Annie Noelle, joined our family. Josh's mom stayed with us for a week to help with the transition. Kymi had a few band concerts.
And that brings us to today.

Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year.
God Bless.

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A note to random commenters.....

2010-12-18T13:37:00.001-08:00

I love to get comments on my blog and I dont care if I know who you are or not, but if you just give me a link and don't provide any actual comment or feedback onto my blog posts, you WILL be marked as spam and I will not read your blog.

Thank You!

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