Those bags

I finally got some of those reusable grocery bags. My sister found some at one of their other stores, so she picked up a couple for me, and then today my store finally had some again, so I picked up a couple more, just to cover my bases. I may have too many now, but they were only a buck, so… Aren’t they beautiful?

Also, just a friendly reminder that May 11 (that’s Saturday, that’s tomorrow) is the Stamp Out Hunger food drive.  So dig through your cupboards or make a quick run to the store for some canned goods and non-perishables.  Leave them by your mailbox tomorrow and your letter carrier will collect them and take them to a local food bank.  Take a minute to help out those less fortunate.

Rocky

We had a bad day yesterday.  One of those days where a lot of little stuff went wrong.  Like I went to Joann’s to get some yarn to finish that afghan and some fabric for my apron exchange apron (which, by the way, I am completely stoked about.  I found some cool fabric.  Well, I think its cool.) and some other odds and ends to finish up some projects.  I left my 40% off coupon at home.  Poo. 

And Missy was a nightmare in the store.  I even had her in the back of the cart, but she would not listen and was messing around and was all in all a total embarrassment while we were there. 

Sigh.  Life with a three year old. 

Then, when I got home, there was a gift card to Joann in the mailbox.  Which I knew was coming, but I wasn’t expecting it until next week.  Murphy’s law.

Lunch was a messy disaster, I kind of burned dinner, and, to top it all off…  We had an accident.

 That’s my dare devil son, with his first shiner.  Nice one, eh?  He thought it would be a good idea to let go of my fingers while we were walking around the living room.  He fell face first into the computer desk chair.  Don’t worry, he’s fine.  He just has a nice shiner.  Just like Rocky.   

Purple people eater

Blueberry pancakes = DEEE-LISH!

 

Living room picnic

Today is a rainy and dreary day.  I would have liked to just stay home in my pajamas today, but we had to go out and get Sir to his nine month well check.  Yes, to the doctor again.  I’ve been feeling like I practically live there the past few months.  But at least this time it wasn’t for his ears.

He is growing like a weed.  18 pounds, 7 ounces.  I’m actually not all that surprised.  He really packs it in, some days I can’t believe how much that kid eats.  Oh, and we’ve been in that office every couple of weeks for the last 3 months, so I’ve been kinda watching the scale tip a little heavier every time we are in there.  So it wasn’t really that big a surprise.  And he’s 28 inches long.  Far cry from the 18 he was at birth.  He’s 25th percentile for both height and weight, right on track for what he has been since he was born.  He’s growing so good.

Regular readers know that I’ve been a bit concerned about some of his development (I’m too lazy today to link the posts).  But the doctor said that everything I described to her and everything she saw and heard today was exactly on track for his age.  She put my worries about that to rest (at least for the next month or so).  We also discussed his ears and the possibility of seeing a specialist for tubes.  And I expected her to send us.  But you know what?  She doesn’t think it is necessary at this point, and she said if we go to see them, they will do the tubes.  So we are gonna wait and see how he does over the summer.  I’m actually glad about that, I don’t want to do the tubes if he really doesn’t need them, so I’m glad she isn’t jumping into it.  I heart her. 

Oh, and she thought the diapers were pretty cool too.  While I’m thinking about it, here’s an interesting tidbit about the cloth dipes.  They are fluffy.  They make Sir’s bottom a little more round.  He has a tendency to get excited while playing and kick his feet in the air.  In a sposie he can usually catch his balance, but in the cloth?  He tips himself over.  Quite frequently.  Darn extra fluff (the fluff is cute though!).  Makes him mmaaaaaaddd. 

When we left the office though, it was pouring rain.  So to brighten up the dreary rainy day for Missy a bit, I plugged in a movie for her, and set to work on making a living room picnic for lunch.  We had sandwiches and fruit, and I spread out a blanket on the living room floor and we ate like it was a picnic.  Even Sir.  I made him a plate of yummies and stripped him down to his onesie and socks (in retrospect I should have stripped the socks as well).  And he ate on the floor with us.  It was fun!  Sir only tipped his plate over 3 times, and only stuck his foot in it twice.  Missy thought it was a ball. 

Its all about the memories folks.

And the photos.  Only the camera battery was dead.  Drat.

Toot

Its Tuesday.  Time to toot my horn again.  (I remembered, can you believe it?)

So first, I have saved the landfills from 18 disposable diapers so far.  That feels good.  And I sewed up some flannel wipes too, so I’m on my way to saving the landfill from wipes as well.

I finished up that blog design for my friend JC.  Proud of that one, it took some figuring and playing and creative thinking on my part, but I got it to look the way I wanted it to.

I really got some awesome shots of my kids this week.  That can be quite a challenge, to get them to cooperate.  Well, Sir cooperates pretty well, but he’s not mobile yet, so that makes it easier.  Missy is another story though. 

And I’m getting close to finishing up some projects.  Sock monkey #2 is just about done.  Baby afghan is getting there, but I ran out of yarn (who would’ve guessed that a pound of yarn wasn’t gonna be enough?).  Will post pics when everything is completely finished.  Course as I’m finishing things up I’m adding on more, but that’s ok.  Gives me stuff to do, right? 

And on a whim I advertised some of my photoshop creations on the for sale thread on a photography board, and I actually made a sale.  So now I’ve got enough “fun money” to get myself a new color of background paper.  Happy Mother’s Day to me!

Happy Tuesday!

Two bucks for a dozen

I was on my way to the store this morning.  To get yet another antibiotic for Sir’s ears.  Poor kid.  We just finished the last round yesterday.  But he was up all night again.  And it has been a wrestling match to get him to drink a bottle, even just a couple ounces.  So off we trekked to the doctor first thing this morning, and, sure enough, the infection hadn’t cleared.  Fabulous.

So on the way to the store I was driving through “town” and there on the side of the road was a handwritten sign.  I couldn’t read it until I got close, but it said “Night crawlers… $2 for a dozen.”  And it was pointing to the little strip of stores right there alongside the road. 

Huh.  You know, in that little strip there isn’t really a hardware store, or a bait and tackle store or a gas station or a little mom-and-pop-we-carry-everything type of store.  So as I drove past I took a closer look at the store windows to see if I could figure out which place had the night crawlers. 

In one of the windows I saw a bright yellow sign.  Advertising night crawlers, $2 for a dozen.  It was the beauty salon. 

Yep, night crawlers, $2 a dozen.

At the beauty salon. 

Awesome.

 

Cloth 101

We had our first adventures in cloth diapering yesterday and today.  I have enough dipers to last me about a day and a half.  Longer if Sir would wear one for more than five minutes before he pooped in it.  I bought three of these diapers and I also got this package.  So all in all, 9 dipers and some odds and ends and accessories.  I was gonna do just the old school kind, becuase they are cheaper more economical, but then I worried that with all the extra bulk all the new pants and shorts that I bought for Sir wouldn’t fit him.  And o boy, would I ever hear about that from Donuts.  So I bought a few of the pocket diapers too, since they aren’t as bulky, and I knew that Sir’s pants would fit over them. 

So yesterday I decided to go all cloth for the day.  Only when I got Sir dressed in the morning, I got scared.  So instead of going all crunchy with the old school prefolds, I put him in a pocket.  And it actually worked really nice!  A nice way to get my feet wet.  Then…  he pooped in it.  I still had some cold feet about try the old school dipes, so I put him in another pocket.  Awesome.  He wore it several hours and through a long nap and everything.  No leaks of any kind.  It probably could have held even more, but I thought I should be a smart momma and change it before he got a rash or the diaper got overloaded and leaked.  ‘Cuz that would have been a setback for me.

Dilemma.  I had only one pocket diaper left.  We were going out to dinner with my family that evening.  It was too long to go without another diaper change before dinner.  But my feet?  Still a little cold about those old school prefolds.  So what’s a girl to do?  I jumped in with both feet, and went with the prefold, saving the other pocket for dinner.  And you know what?  It took a little playing around to get it on good, but I did it.  And it worked.  And it also didn’t leak.  And his pants fit on just fine over it. 

And five minutes later?  He pooped in it.  Little stinker.  So I got to practice with another one.  And that one went a little smoother than the first.  And still no leaking.  Changed him into the other pocket for dinner.  And we went with sposies for night time. 

And today we woke up and used up the other 4 prefolds before throwing the whole mess in the wash.  I think I’m getting the hang of those prefolds now.  And all in all my first real attempt at cloth was, I’d say, a raging success.  Not a single leak.  And actually easier than I expected it to be.  In fact, I’ve got them all in the dryer right now and I can’t wait to use them again tomorrow.  

Now I know you all are gonna wanna know about the poo.  Well, for the most part it just rolls right off, right into the toilet and I flushed it away.  We had some squishier poo today (I know how important these little details are) that I had to scrape off with a bit of toilet paper.  No worse than wiping a poopy butt.  But it did leave kind of a mess in the diaper.  I wasn’t sure it’d all come out.  But I followed the wash instructions.  One wash on cold, one on hot with an extra rinse.  And they look good as new.  No stains at all. 

And for wipes I’m still using the old Huggies ones.  I haven’t had a chance to stitch up my leftover flannel into cloth wipes yet.  Hey, I got a million things going on right now.  Cut me some slack. 

I gotta say, I’m pretty impressed with them overall.  When I get a little more cash I’m gonna stock up on some more.  And I can’t wait to get me some super cute bum covers. 

Ok, so its not really a lesson about any kind of cloth.  Its not really any kind of lesson at all.  But it makes a catchy title, don’t you think?  I thought so.  So I went with it.  Even though it really doesn’t make any sense.

Birthdays all around

So today is Donut’s birthday.  Poor guy had to get up early to drive halfway across state for some training for work.  He won’t be home until late either.  What a fun way to spend your birthday.  He’s 29 today.  His last year of his twenties.  How did we get so old?  Ok, not that 30 is really that old, but sheesh, it sounds old!  I know that I don’t feel almost 30, and I’m sure he doesn’t either.  Happy birthday Donuts.  I can’t imagine my life without you. 

Today also happens to be Sir’s birthday.  9 months old today. As long out as in.  These last 9 months have been quite the roller coaster ride.  And I’m sure it isn’t over yet.  I can’t truthfully say that I’ve enjoyed everyminute of it so far.  I’ve had several days where I’ve just wanted to crawl in a hole to get away.  But I can’t imagine my life without him.  He’s been a challenge for me, but I’ve also grown so much as a mother and as a person and in my faith along the way.  I wouldn’t want it any other way.  It surely hasn’t been an easy nine months, but I’m thankful for every second, for the joy he brings, all his happiness despite being uncomfortable, and for all the things he has taught me, taught us, as a family. 

And, believe it or not, I’ve actually got a birthday hat picture for you, on time!  Go me!

And not only that, Missy was jealous that Sir was getting all the face time, so she cooperated with me too for once (yesterday was a good day for me I guess!).

 

Pink Deliciousness

 

We are celebrating a birthday here tomorrow.  Missy helped me make these scrumptious looking birthday cupcakes.  She picked the frosting color and the sprinkles out herself.  She’s so proud.  Let’s just hope that Donuts doesn’t mind that his birthday cupcakes are this manly shade of pink.

Tuesday Toot

Time for Tuesday Toot again.  I swear, I’ve been trying to remember to do this for weeks now, and I always forget.  Oops.  But today, I remembered!  Toot toot!

What else?  Oh, I’m really proud of myself and my efforts to be a little more earth friendly, be a little more green.  My goal is to kind of keep adding stuff on, and changing my habits, so if any readers out there have any more tips for me, let me know!

I worked out today!  Go me!  That’s another one of those things that I’m always trying to remember to do, but I don’t usually end up doing it.  It felt good.  Tomorrow though, it probably won’t feel so good.

I sat down to work on that baby blanket for my new niece, I’m about halfway done with it.  And I finally went through Missy’s old baby clothes and sorted out some stuff that I think they might be able to use.  I also finished up one sock monkey for the twin big sisters, and got a start on the second.  I’ve been a crafty maniac the last few days. 

We finally are getting on Missy too, about sucking her thumb.  We are taping them up at night with athletic to prevent her from sucking on them, and she’s gone two nights without taking the tape off!  I’m gonna be strong and keep up with it until the habit is broken.  (And thank goodness that Sir is a paci baby, not a thumb baby.  I do not want to fight this battle again).

I attempted to get in contact with an old friend.  I’ve been thinking about her and kind of missing her friendship lately, even though it has been probably 5 years since we really connected.  I found her brother on Facebook and sent him a message that I hope he will pass along to her.

I finished a blog design for a friend and I’m getting close to finishing another.

I’ve been a mean mommy and I’m making Sir spend more time on his belly.  He’s nine months and I don’t think he can roll.  He has before, but he doesn’t.  And I’m ready for him to be a bit more mobile too, and start crawling so I don’t have to carry him everywhere.  So, tummy time it is.  We are gonna build up those muscles!

So, lots to toot about this week.  Its been a good week. 

Maybe I’ll remember again next week.

But don’t count on it.