My Review of Wobbles Water Teether

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Wobbles Water Teether

Great Toy

By dazed81 from Illinois on 9/22/2009

4out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Crinkly, Bright colors, Teething Surface, Soft, Large enough to grasp

we purchased this because it was bright, crinkly, and had lots of surfaces to grasp and chew. the teething ring portion is filled with water but I find that because of the teething ring's location below the top "rattle knob", my son doesn't get the teething ring into his mouth. It's in an awkward position. I don't know that cooling it is worth the hassle since that part doesn't make it into his mouth. He does like it, and we keep it in the car for him to play with and chew on while we travel. The round loop makes it easy to hold and it is soft. I like the many ribbons. This toy is made by Manhattan Toy, and you may be familiar with the excellent quality and durability of their items, and the fun designs. We love their toys. I would recommend this item but I am just not sure it's functional as a chilled teething ring so much as a cool toy.

(legalese)

My Review of Sip-A-Bowl 6-Pack

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Enjoy every drop (without spills). No slurping, tipping, or spilling! These ingenious 22 oz. bowls have a built-in straw, so kids can neatly drink up every last bit of cereal milk, soup, and even ice cream. Sturdy, dishwasher safe, and fun! Assorted colors. See our matching divided dishes (#11420).

Sip-A-Bowl 6-Pack

My two year old (and I) love these!

By dazed81 from Illinois on 9/21/2009

5out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Doesn't Stain, Attractive Design, Dishwasher Safe, High Quality

Best Uses: Daily Use, Soup, Ice Cream, cereal

Describe Yourself: Practical, Mom of Two, Stylish, Bargain Hunter

My daughter is now two. Several months ago, I made the mistake of letting her see me drink from my cereal bowl. And, she started to try to copy me. And it was a disaster! SO Messy! I saw these and bought some, and she did WONDERFULLY with them. We now use them for anything liquid, and we have no messes! Great for cereal, Ice cream, soup, etc. I wash them in the dishwasher every single time and they are always clean and don't have any issues whatsoever. We have had these for months and been very happy!

(legalese)

My Review of First Meals

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Written by a Cordon Bleu chef and mom, our best-selling kids' cookbook is even better than ever. Newly expanded, it features more than 200 easy, healthy recipes for children, including 75 yummy new ones. Find tasty first purees, quick lunchbox combos, and fast, fabulous dinners for kids 6 month...

First Meals

Was a HUGE help! I love it!

By dazed81 from Illinois on 9/21/2009

5out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Durable, Easy To Use

Best Uses: Meals, Snacks, Infants, Healthy, Money Saving, Toddlers

Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children

I LOVED This book. from directions on making, storing, and using basic purees, to making 2 and 3 step foods and snacks all the way up to toddlers and young children. This was the ONLY book that I owned or needed when I made food for my daughter, and now I am starting to use it again with my son. I LOVED this book. it was an excellent reference and I loved the recipes. I had people commenting all the time that my daughter would eat ANYTHING and that her food smelled wonderful, and better than any babyfood they had ever seen. I loved making delicious and fresh meals for her, and we really saved money. It is amazing how much puree you can get from a $1 bunch of carrots and other veggies as well! Great for allowing you to control your own ingredients and your own textures and thicknesses. I love this book! Many colorful and inspiring photos!

(legalese)

My Review of Travel Potty

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Our portable potty is so compact, a child can carry it! This potty-in-a-briefcase is very easy to set up and fold down. Perfect for takin' care of business on the road. No cleaning required: just secure a one-gallon zipper bag to the seat for fast, neat disposal. With carry handle, support hand...

Travel Potty

The BEST! We use it EVERY TIME WE LEAVE!

By dazed81 from Illinois on 9/21/2009

5out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Lightweight, Easy Setup, Comfortable, Convenient, Easy Use, Portable, Durable

Best Uses: Camping, Daily Use, Kids, Toddlers, Travel, Keeping in the Van

Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children

This is THE BEST potty training item I have bought. It is PERFECT! I love that it can use gallon ziploc bags (available EVERYWHERE) and that it allows you to zip up a mess and dispose of it easily, or if there is nowhere to dispose, you can keep it with you in your vehicle until you get somewhere to dispose. We initially bought this for camping. We kept it in the tent so that she could go overnight and go easily without walking to the nearest restroom... because we knew that she wouldn't make it. It was WONDERFUL.
We discovered that it is great for in the van, and we never go anywhere without it. It allows us to stop if she needs to go, and to go whenever we get somewhere (immediately if necessary!) It also is great to use in the great outdoors. Because we live in a very rural area, we can use it in the grass without a bag and it's quite convenient.

It's simple to setup. When we recently went to a hayride, I just set it up each time she needed to go, alongside the corn field. It was excellent! Without this, we would most certainly have more accidents. I attribute it to our luck with early potty training. my daughter just turned two only a couple of weeks ago, and has already been potty trained for over a week! Yay!

I would recommend this to EVERYONE!

(legalese)

My Review of Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Finally: a truly comfortable (and flattering) nursing bra! This seamless, butter-soft Bravado nursing bra molds to your body for a perfect fit, and the stretchy fabric grows and contracts to support your changing shape. The cups unclip with one hand and may be fully lowered when nursing, as recomme...

Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra

THE BEST NURSING BRA! I own five!

By dazed81 from Illinois on 9/21/2009

5out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Nice Pattern, Good Size And Fit, Soft, Easy To Wash

Cons: Stains Easily

Best Uses: Newborn, Toddlers, Preemies, Nursing Moms, Infants

Describe Yourself: Breastfed two children, Parent of Two or More Children

I have five of these bras. I purchased them at a local bra specialty shop and was professionally measured as a 40G. because this bra is microfiber and adds LOTS of stretch, it was recommended and was the most comfortable bra I have ever tried, and I have tried A LOT of nursing bras, alot of different styles, brands, etc.
I was advised that it is not a good idea to wear the same bra two days in a row, because it is hard on the elastic and doesn't allow it time to regain it's shape. I purchased two and went back to buy three more because I loved it so much.

The ONLY downside that I see is that after a long day, the bottom band (which is Really nice and soft, but still wide) can be curled up a bit from all the weight.

These wash nicely. I use the handwash cycle on my washer and some unscented specialty lingerie soap. I hang them dry.

I love that these look so smooth and seamless and are very nice under all types of clothing. The only thing I can't wear them under is a lower cut blouse, or something with a really wide neck, because the straps and front of the bra may show.

I actually can release these straps with one hand, and re-hook them with one hand.

The bra has built in "pockets" and removable "padding" that can be used to help conceal nursing pads. I used these initially, but once my milk supply is regulated I don't need nursing pads anymore, and it was nice that I could just remove the bra's padding. Very nice quality.

Very pleased. I have had the same five bras for 6 months now with not a single issue.

(legalese)

She's Pregnant!!!!

Finally catching up on my TIVO and seeing that Michelle Dugger is PREGGO AGAIN! Whoo!

Tonight I am pleased because I have the cleanest van ever. The van was overwhelming me. everything had a place before Marek was born, and suddenly the whole thing had gone horribly wrong. I personally believe that it has lots to do with other people not putting things BACK and also with Ardyn dragging more things INTO the van. I hate that. I just don't have enough arms to carry both kids, a diaper bag, and whatever else (purse, purchases, other things) out of the van each time. It takes me an average of 5-8 trips for me to unload the van when I get home, and this is WITHOUT any groceries. Ack. So. I emptied the whole thing. Completely. And then I took out the carseats. And EVERYTHING out of the lower stow and go bins. Even the change compartment, the drawer under the passenger seat, and the glove compartment. Whew! I started this project at 4pm with both kids and Ended it at 10pm. Well, it's not completely done because there is still stuff that needs to come into the house, and stuff that came in the house that needs a home.

But. I was trying to think of ways too make things more organized, and also a way to make it easier for someone ELSE (Evan) to find things. Whenever he says "I'll go get it for you" I just want to groan because I know that no matter HOW well I tell him where it is, by the time he gets out there he will have forgotten what I said, and he will never find it. So. My first idea was that I needed to get some of those collapsible canvas type organizers that they sell in Target and Wal-Mart automotive. You know, the ones that they always show with two brown paper grocery bags standing up in them? Well, I don't really need to spend money on that, and I didn't really feel like putting kids car seats back in, loading up kids, and going to the store when I was already completely unloaded from the van. So then I remembered that "somewhere" in this house I should have my old Pampered Chef Collapsible Crate and two other collapsible crates that I owned around that time. I recalled that I hadn't seen those crates in a LONG time. Before Ardyn was born? Where had I seen them? I hadn't seen them, which meant they must be in the attic. And they were. Filled with CRAP. And I mean crap. If I had a dumpster out the attic dormer windows I would have just thrown it OUT of the window. LOL.

So anyway, one of the collapsible crates fits perfectly into the one reat stow and go compartment that I always have "open." I generally keep the single rear seat up in case we need to give someone a ride, and keep the Double rear seat folded (stowed) so that I can transport groceries, stroller, etc. I also made better utilization of the front two compartments, as I finally figured out that there are locking mechanisms on each stow compartment lid that were preventing me from accessing them without moving the front seats. That had me annoyed, and I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to be happy with the front storage space if I couldn't even access it quickly. Well, now we know. I also used Gallon ziplocs to keep categorized items in, and place THOSE in the crate. So instead of a big disaster of crap and supplies in the crate, it's several organized bags. I used labeled ziplocs for some things, and then the tidy mesh drawstring bags for larger things like my Babyhawk carrier, shopping cart cover, etc. Then I designated one drawstring bag for each kid, and attached them alongside their car seats. Marek's has some of his toys and things, and Ardyn's has her fleece jacket and earflap hat that I found on eBay for her for this fall (Lavender LLBean, with animal ears on the hat. It's SOOOO Cute!) I think I will add Marek's falll jacket to his drawstring bag too, that way we will have it for these cool evenings that we have been running into. While I was in the attic, I also found an old purple mesh carrier from Old Navy, that i used to have in my car like TWO Cars ago, and I can't remember who, but someone (Carrie? Angela? Carrie?) gave it to me years ago. It works great behind my headrest as a toy caddy for Ardyn's stuff. the only downside is that it reminded me of the Portable DVD player that we bought LONG ago, that won't mount anywhere in the van. it's the neatest little DVD player, but when we bought it, we didn't realize that it wouldn't mount ANYWHERE and wouldn't stay in any travel bag. How annoying. So it really has barely been used at all. And that is disappointing. Let's see, in my ziplocs I have such categories as "meals out" which contains adhesive coloring placemats, crayons, wipes, two bib clips (I love these things, except that not many places that we eat have cloth napkins!) and some plastic IKEA Silverware (thanks Sarah A!) that we can use on our MANY random picnics and things. I also have one that contains garbage bags and different types of wipes, and another that has all spare pants, underwear, and socks for Ardyn (newly potty trained!) Another contains a roll of toilet paper and kandoo wipes. My very favorite "in the van" item is the briefcase potty. We initially bought it for camping but we use it EVERY TIME we leave the house. It uses regular gallon ziplocs so that you can just zip it up and toss it, or keep it in the van safely until you get home to toss. I love how it folds, and the little handles for Ardyn to steady herself. I also love that if we are in the grass and she just needs to pee, I don't have to use a bag at all, and I can just park it and let her go au naturale! I also keep a juice box juice pal, a popsicle holder, and the cushie potty seat.

I think this would be cool to have, but hey, I think I can make it myself!

Marek's halloween costume came today. I hope it isn't tooooo big! Ardyn also got most of her playdresses. I need to get them all together and take a picture. They are soooooo cute!

Oh well. Time for me to go to bed. Or at least get off the computer!

Concrete, Mulch, Playdresses, and Hayrides

Okay, here is the continuation of the previous post, which I promised, and (so far, distractions pending) am actually going to DO. I will start with the past week and see what I can get typed out here. The major project happening here was... CONCRETE! We have been waiting ALL SUMMER for our new patio to be poured. It's too bad that it wasn't done earlier so that we could ENJOY it all summer, but at least it's done, and we still have fall.... right? So anyway, after putting the fence up, we spend SO much time in the front yard that it was evident that a patio area would be awesome. Particularly because our chairs and fire pit and tables were just one more thing that had to be moved when Evan mows. And if you have seen our yard, you know that we have lots of kids' play stuff out there! So. We had an area near the driveway where the grass wasn't growing well, and then adjacent to it was a place where there was an empty flowerbed, and also where all the old bushes had been on that side of the house (which we pulled out this spring before the fence got put up.) So we decided that it was the perfect location for a patio. Behind the patio is a square between the foundation (east of the porch) and the fence, which we decided to keep dirt, because it was up against the foundation and we didn't see ourselves using that as patio area.... especially because you can't see the yard back there, and we needed to be able to see the kids from where we sat. We decided that we would move her sandbox/picnic table combo back to that corner, so that the kids could play near us, and it would be sheltered from afternoon sun, and also because the picnic table would allow them to eat near us on the patio. So. It all started with Digging. Evan spent several DAYS digging out the hard and compacted dirt where the patio would go. By hand. It was fun to watch. then he tilled some of the "extra" dirt in to that back area, and sloped it so that there was a chance for the water to run away from the house (which was NOT what was happening once we pulled the bushes out.) Then, we waited. The patio was supposed to be poured before Ardyn's Birthday party. I was promised that. It didn't happen and so we had a big hole there. Oh well. Nothing's perfect. So then this past week the forms went in, and the rebar and wire and pea gravel. Then this Wednesday, the truck arrived and concrete was poured. There are pics in my facebook September album that showcase the process. We put the kids' handprints and the year in the concrete, right next to the front steps, which I just ADORE. The concrete is beautiful, and we were so excited to have it! On Friday, Evan lay plastic down over the dirt that we had graded (behind the patio.) We were doing this both to block weeds, and keep the mulch in place, and also so that the dirt would hopefully stay in place and graded as we wanted it too, instead of washing forward over the patio and sideways all into the driveway. Although with a torrential downpour, we may still have an issue. Only time will tell. So Friday night when Ardyn and I went to the MOPS hayride, Evan took Marek and got mulch. We had looked at cocoa bean mulch early in the season and picked it as a soft yet attractive groundcover for that area. We needed something soft because the sandbox was going to be back there. So Evan went and got the mulch (which made his entire vehicle smell like it was filled with cocoa) and brought it home. I also asked him to search for some tiki torches on clearance, because I had two brackets that I bought earlier in the season that we needed torches for, and also we needed more fuel, which would also be clearanced out by this time of the season.

So on Saturday, Evan spread mulch in that entire area. We had previously (Friday) emptied three 5 gallon buckets of sand out of the sandbox so we could move it, and carried it over to it's new location and refilled it. So the mulch was spread, and it was BEAUTIFUL. Of course since Ardyn was outside, she was sitting in it and rolling in it and was a MESS from head to toe. she had cocoa beans in her underwear, in her hair, it was insane. And then she tried to EAT them, and I believe that she discovered that although it SMELLED delicious, it was NOT Delicious. So her mouth was ringed with dirty coca mulch. Eeeewww. I was inside so I told Evan to read the label and make sure it wasn't like deathly poisonous (guess we should have checked that BEFORE spreading it, right?) and he started to laugh and said "check this out... Don't use over landscape plastic (oops) Don't use in a child's play area (double oops). But we decided that we would be that one exception where this would all work out and be perfect and that the label did not apply to our situation. We may regret it, but it looks pretty and works for now. Evan wet it all down and hosed off the sandbox and picnic table. SUpposedly when the mulch is wet, it will activate some special superhero-like property and the cocoa beans will mat together to form a groundcover that doesn't wash away. Well, we will see about that.

So that was mostly our yesterday, and the concrete and mulch saga.

Besides the concrete, last week was the day that Hadley found his new home. for those of you who don't know, Hadley is a coonhound that we adopted from the local shelter when i volunteered there. Ever since having the kids, we just can't provide the right kind of home to TWO Dogs. They weren't getting attention. They were no longer allowed in the house (too much hair for me to keep up with) and they were not getting walked (I can't walk two dogs and two kids at the same time. Just can't do it.) and so the search for a new home began. Evan asked everyone he could think of. Then i put information on Facebook, Craigslist, and TWO ads in local papers.... and we had a TON of calls then. The first call we had was amazingly from a mom friend of mine, who I have known for a while, and who also breastfeeds and cloth diapers. I was so relieved to hear from her. They live on a farm with many animals and have two girls and two boys. The two girls are young teenagers and love animals, so Hadley was sure to get lots of attention. They were going to come over on Wednesday and meet Hadley, which, coincidentally ended up being the same day as concrete and made it a bit difficult. But they loved him and took him home for a test, and then he decided to stay! Yay! I still need to dig up his paperwork and get it to them.

Also this past week was very busy with activities! Ardyn went to school a day early this week, and Marek and I ran to peru and returned two baby gates that we were unhappy with. MIL bought them, so the money went back to her. Marek and I were going to meet with a friend in Princeton and teach her how to fold cloth diapers (prefolds) and when we arrived at her house, no one was home, which we knew meant that she had gone into labor and had her baby! yay! So we went on to Nicole Isaacson's new studio, which is ADORABLE and we were so surprised to see a giant picture of Ardyn in the front window, from her 1 year photo shoot. If you go to Nicole's website, you can watch the top banner as it changes through photos that she has taken, and there are TWO pictures of Ardyn there, one of her in her tutu, and another right next to it of her in fairy wings and a lavender cloth diaper! Sweet! So, anyway, I had borrowed a lens from her while mine was being repaired under warranty, and so I returned it and made an appointment for us to have our FIRST Family photos taken, this October. I am SO excited about that. After we returned the baby gates, Marek and I spent HOURS finding something for me to WEAR when we get our pictures taken, and now I am finding coordinating outfits for the kids. And then, Evan. LOL. For the kids, I am going with (i think) used Gymboree outfits, in fall colors. I think Marek is going to get something from the Treehouse Line (which has orange foxes on it) and Ardyn something from the Autumn Highlands Line (also with fall colors and some foxes.) or the Fall Leaves Line (which we already have a dress for) We will see how that goes and if (when I actually GET THEM) they match and coordinate. We are going to take pics in the fall leaves, so my shirt is burnt orange with a dark brown sweater that goes over it, and jeans. I picked very solid colors for myself, and hope to do the same for Evan, and the kids have a bit of fun and pattern to their outfits... and hopefully we won't clash!

So, also in the past week we have been very busy with MOPS Activities. Because Ardyn went to school a day early, she was able to attend a MOPS Playdate at the home of our co-coordinator. We had a great time, except that Ardyn is getting WORSE about sharing. ugh. Sarah has a pond and the kids loved when she caught them a frog.

That night we had a MOPS family activity, a hayride and marshmallow roast. It was BEAUTIFUL outside, and the kids enjoyed the hayride. I think the parents enjoyed smores most of all ;) because as is usually the case with kids that young, they don't appreciate the beauty ooey-gooey mushy melty chocolate-y goodness. I learned a trick from Elizabeth, which I will forever cherish. She uses my very favorite Reeses Peanut Butter cups instead of Hershey Bars, and I did the same and was forever altered by the experience. Yum!

As I type this, Ardyn is in like round 15 of a Dora-thon. She isn't really even watching, she ate breakfast and also has been playing quite a bit, but as soon as I turn it off I know that she will start getting into things, and I want to finish this, so for now , Dora reigns.

One week from tomorrow we will be hosting the MOPS playdate at our house, and while this is exciting, I am also nervous about how Ardyn will react with so many kids coming into her territory and touching her things. She always does well if there is like, just one little girl playing, but if there are girls and boys and everyone is touching what is normally just hers, I can see a meltdown in the future. We need to do this often enough that she hopefully gets over that! It's tough being the only grandchild (besides Marek) because she's always top dog. She will probably be the school bully all by herself. At the hayride, she would run across the grass and jump right on top of a group of four boys playing football. No worries. She's too big for her britches.

I am excited because for Christmas I wanted to get her Hooked on Phonics, and the Spanish Hooked on Phonics as well. I saw them on clearance at Waldenbooks, and told Grandma Deb, who swooped in and bought them up for her. I can't wait! Hopefully when teaching her, Marek can pick up on some things early too. Right now I am so busy just trying to keep my head above water that I miss doing educational and crafty things with her. I am thinking that we will be making cookies or play doh this week perhaps. I need some crafty relief myself. I am thinking fall leaves sugar cookies. Now that Ardyn's dairy allergy is a bit more tolerant, she can actually eat a few if she chooses, with a minimal reaction.

I am seeing rashes in both her AND Marek now, and so we are abstaining from Cereal for Marek for a week to see if the rash goes away and then when we re-introduce cereal, if it comes back. I hope he doesn't have a wheat allergy. Ick! I think I just may start him on some veggies and see how that goes. he differes from Ardyn in that he is dying to hold the spoon and feed himself (more pics of that also on Facebook.) I am so behind uploading pics to Flickr it's unbelievable. I am just overwhelmed with the amount of information it takes to categorize them and put them into albums and label them all. But I NEED to do that before it gets too far away from me!

So, let's talk about Ardyn's 2nd Birthday. It was very nice. Unfortunately, I felt really nauseous that afternoon. I had the house all ready and the cake all made with bunch of help from my mom (whew! Thank god for her) and my sister (who provided comic relief and sifted 4 pounds of confectioners sugar for my buttercream frostings) and Lisa (who helped in every way possible, washing bowls and spoons and icing tips and things and running between the kitchen and dining room with whatever I needed while frosting the cake.) Having people who came together to help me was amazing. It's something that I really wish happened more often. It made me feel loved and supported! I love the fellowship feeling that you get from an activity like that. I love spending time with my family and friends and sometimes (all to often) that goes by the wayside for other activities. This is the reason that I find religious groups like the Amish so fascinating. It's the network of support that they have built that I believe our culture is completely lacking. And it's the same thing with the Duggar Family. That is something that I really wish to have. maybe without the 18 kids and with electricity :)

So, the cake turned out well, and I also made a double layer chocolate fudge cake that was round, and mom decorated it with a giant number 2. We had Ice Cream, and I made 10 pounds of BBQ. everyone brought salads and casseroles and things to share and we just sat around and had a nice time. Ardyn loved opening her presents, but she would get distracted by the new fabulous thing she just opened and then it was hard to get her to open another one. The Viewmaster was a HUGE hit, and she also really enjoyed her Doll Care Center, which has a bathtub and high chair and doll bed, with a mobile and cabinets beneath for storage (yay!)

She also got some great mermaid Dolls, which she LOVES in the bathtub with her. Now when she plays in the tub, I use that time to pick up the bathroom and put away towels and things. She got a Little People Airplane that she ADORES (she's all about airplanes) and Aunt Liz brought her a bunch of awesome Usborne books. Her favorite is the Flip Flap Airplane Book, and Mom's Favorite is the Spanish picture book. She got lots of neat clothes and undershirts, which we needed. She got a stuffed Shaun the Sheep and a Shaun the Sheep Purse from us, and also the newest Shaun the Sheep DVD, Little Sheep of Horrors. After her birthday, I actually cleaned and rearranged her bedroom. I went through toys and got everything reorganized, and packed up some things to go to the resale shop too. The week after her birthday, I FINALLY Scored a little tykes basketball hoop at a garage sale. It was $5 and it was the BIG one that goes all the way up, and it retails for $45! Sweet! I also found a little miniature Radio Flyer Tricycle for her dolls, new in the box, for $6, and some beanie Baby Dolls for 25 cents each. After posting pics of the Beanie Dolls, my friend Randa (who I went to school with, and now lives in Washington) emailed me to say that she had an entire TOTE of beanie Dolls that she needed to donate that her daughter no longer played with. And so she sent them to us! That was an exciting day when Fed Ex pulled up with a big box for Ardyn. She squealed louder than I have ever heard her squeal when she opened the box and saw what was inside!

Another thing going on here lately.... the acquisition of a fall/winter wardrobe. We had several items that we had received as hand-me-downs or from garage sales, but once I started to see how much of her closet was actually short sleeved and shorts, I was a little panicky. But my mom had gotten her a bunch of pants and matching long sleeved shirts, which was awesome, and my aunt got her a sweatsuit. Then I started on ebay. Oy. Ardyn is BIG into wearing dresses. She asks to wear a dress everyday. So I started to look for Hanna Andersson Playdress/Daydress and legging combos. They are awesome, but because they are highly sought after and also expensive to buy, they resell for extremely high amounts. Usually between $20-$40 for one dress and leggings. I have spent weeks and have gotten MANY playdresses and legging combos, as well as playdress and tight combos for this fall/winter. The other thing we needed was SHOES, because she has nothing in the stash beyond a size 6, and she is outgrowing several of what she has. Now she has Mary Janes in every color (a bit excessive, but when I get on a roll, I can't stop, and they were all bought used) and tennis shoes for play and for good. She has Mary janes in Navy, brown, Black, Orange, Hot Pink, Red, and glitter-y purple. She has two pair of brown boots to wear with tights and dresses, and also a pair of new tennis shoes from Target, and a pair of used dora tennis shoes in a 8 and used NB shoes in a size 7. I found a LL Bean Fleece Jacket with a matching hat in lavender on eBay, so she has a jacket for fall as well. I also really like the LLBean or Gymboree Playdressses.... and so we have many of those for play as well as those that are more dressy. I figure she's going to destroy clothes no matter what she wears, so she might as well look good doing it. Buying used is the way to go! I also have been slowly adding to her 3T stash, and to the size 4T tote as well. If I buy something from a seller on eBay and they have cool stuff in larger sizes that's going for cheap, then I will buy that too to combine shipping. One mom that I bought a dress from also had a bunch of tights in size 5/6 and Two whole lots of embroidered name brand jeans. I bought the tights and also 5 pair of embroidered jeans in size 4 for less than $10. Then I just included them in my other shipping and saved, and stash them in the size 4 tote in the attic. I've also found some fleece sets from old Navy and The Children's Place, for really cheap at garage sales or on ebay, mostly in size 3, and so I have grabbed those up and put them away. I love fleece pants. They are soft and comfy and warm, and they wear and wash REALLLY well. They also work excellently as diaper covers, but, as you may or may not know, Ardyn is "Potty trained!!!"

Yep. Today is day seven in Big Girl Underwear. until yesterday, she had only had two accidents for the first 5 days! She wears a pullup during nap and overnight, but during the day she is wearing underwear. i worried that as soon as we went somewhere it would go out the window, but she went to daycare for a full day and stayed dry, and stayed dry during our playdate and at the MOPS hayride. For quite a while, I thought that really I was the one potty trained and not her, and so I feel guilty telling anyone that she is potty trained. I mentioned this to our MOPS mentor at the hayride, because being potty trained mostly consists of her holding it until I tell her that we need to take a potty break, and as long as I continue to serve as that reminder that it's time to stop playing and go potty, it works. If I forget, there is the potential for accidents. We use a timer at home and I set it at 30 minute intervals, or occasionally 45 minutes. Debbie (the MOPS mentor) made me feel so much better by saying that potty training IS about reminding them, and that I will be reminding them until they are about 3 or 4 in order to have no accidents. This made me feel like more of a success than a failure. Ardyn is an easily distracted child, and gets very involved in whatever imaginary world she is in at the moment, and then, she comes running to me telling me that she has to go potty, and it's usually too late. So. for now, I am tentatively calling it potty trained. And at least I don't have diapers to rinse from a toddler OR pull ups to buy, with the exception of nights and naps.

I wonder if this is yet the longest blog posting I have ever written? LOL. I just put Marek down for his nap and am avoiding any work. Maybe Ardyn and I will make something or do something fun instead. I probably will think of something I forgot, but the internet will always be here, so for now, goodbye and thanks if you are still reading these ramblings!

They might be trying to take me down....

It's interesting how blogging is much like therapy. When I start to feel overwhelmed, or even when I am extremely happy, I always want to blog. Lately I have been trying to get here for what seems like WEEKS. I think of so many crazy things that I need to blog and I just can't GET here. I feel that I should be folding the pile of laundry on the loveseat, and the pile of diapers beneath that, but at the same time I know all the things I accomplished today should allow me to at least do this before I hit the pillow. But, I digress.

One thing that I have noticed lately is a wide wide range of emotions on my part. Maybe it's hormones. maybe it's the nature of having two small kids that can fill your heart with such joy and overwhelming love one second, and make you want to pull your hair out literally the very next second. It truly is a roller coaster ride. I think that lately I have been very sensitive to the huge ranges of highs and lows that are happening around here. The first thing that I will comment on is the Mirena. Boys, just go away now. This here is girl talk and it's about to get personal. Yep. And I am going to post it on the internet. And I don't give a shit who reads it. I just have to spit it all out.

The mirena is a wonderful thing. But I think it's still jacking with me. When you first have it "installed" you get the crazy 6 weeks (or longer, 6 months) of spotting. I had pretty consistent spotting for probably 4 months. And I mean just about every day. And then, I had a real period. Now, let's just say, for the record, that post-birth control, pre-mirena, my periods were light, happy occasions that lasted EXACTLY three days. And the Mirena touts that it may make your periods less heavy and even SHORTER and I think to myself "this is gonna be amazing!" and then.... No. Not me. I have Twelve day periods. Like three days of spotting, and then 5 days of bleeding, and then 4 more days of spotting. Seriously? No wonder I might get a little cranky. Then this month, I started to feel some cramps. I was like "Hmmm, must be my period coming" and I check the calendar and sure enough it's time again, and since Marek is consistently sleeping like 12 hours, It's a normal thing for me when I am breastfeeding to have a regular period once that has been going on for a while. So, sure enough the spotting starts, and I think "well, here we go again" and I have this insanely hormonal day where I am just getting all teary eyed one moment and then the next I want to choke the life out of someone, and then.... just that one day of spotting. And now, it's been a week, and no more spotting or sign of a period in any way, except that I am feeling so cranky and overwhelmed yet incredibly emotional and happy and I just don't GET it. I think that perhaps the Mirena is trying to kill me slowly. Or maybe that's just my overly hormonal self being slightly paranoid.

But another good example of a roller coaster would be this past week. Let's just start with today and work backwards, because I can remember today, and I am not sure about before that. (seriously, I am getting bad about that! How am I going to keep track of their childhood's if I can't even remember what happened YESTERDAY?!) Today was officially day "6" of Ardyn being in big girl underwear. She had two accidents. One when she was with daddy outside. Another, right before lunch. Oh and then there was the accident tonight, but wait a minute for that story. The kids slept late today. LATE Being 8am. Yes, they are trying to kill me. My morning wake-up has been coming between 7-7:30 each day. Blame Ardyn, because Marek would literally wake up and eat and go back to bed until 10am or 11, which was extremely evident when Ardyn was gone for two Saturday's in a row to spend the night at the outlaws' house. Because we DID sleep till 11am. Marek and I were in BLISS without the terror of the house waking us at the crack of dawn.

So, They slept "late" - although I went to sleep at 1:30am and was awakened at 4:30 (you know, that time in your sleep cycle when you might as well be drugged because you are sleeping so hard that you are drooling and you wonder "How long HAS that baby been crying" and you still can't make any part of your body move because you can't physically wake up? Yep, that's when he was waking me up.) by Marek, who was for some reason NOT putting himself back to sleep, and so I crept in to get him, feed him, and then he cuddled up with me and slept till Ardyn barged in. So, started out with the morning potty routine where we change her from Pull up to panties, and go potty, and decided that she could use a bath. While she was bathing I picked up in the bathroom, and vacuumed the bathroom, and then after bathtime I got both kids dressed. Then I vacuumed her bedroom and then the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Then Evan made us breakfast (which by now was more like brunch) and Marek was exhausted (because he would have still been sleeping if he was in charge) and so he took a nice long nap in his room while I did laundry and stripped out bed and washed everything. Then I sent Ardyn outside to play in the yard while Evan spread mulch. (more on the yard story in a bit) So I intended to mop the floors while she was outside, but I kept getting called OUTSIDE to look at this, or give my opinion on that, or "look what Ardyn's is doing" and that's how I got a good insight into why Ardyn was COVERED with dirt, was ROLLING in the freshly spread mulch, had EATEN the mulch, and also why I went out and stripped her down naked on the new patio while Daddy hosed her with the garden hose and I used a washcloth to wipe her down and then wrapped her in a towel before letting her back into my freshly mopped house with fresh bed linens. Oy. Why did I give her a bath this morning? Jeez.

So anyway, I got the floors mopped. And then I was SO EXHAUSTED. It started to hit me about 12:30, and I couldn't figure out who was goinng to pass out first, Ardyn or Me. Problem being, Marek had JUST taken like a two hour nap from 10am till noon, so no WAY was he going to sleep. But I had a feeling that if I could JUST make it till about 2:30, he would be ready. Of course Ardyn was rubbing her eyes and all that, so I was hoping I could keep her awake for 2.5 hours, because if she napped and Marek didn't, that meant no nap for ME! Ahhhhh!

So I did laundry, and put the sheets back on our bed, and had packaged up a couple of my eBay sales and paid for online postage and put them in the mailbox, and then FINALLY, I could see Marek getting tired. It was 1:45 and We all three climbed into my bed. Ardyn was reading the "Birds of Illinois Field Guide" and pointing out different birds to me. Finally I told her "we have to put the book down" and she fought. I took it away and didn't even get turned around and she was passed out. But Marek, on the other hand, has this whole new "I'm so tired but I won't just sleep" thing that he does, which is IDENTICAL to the way Ardyn has been from day 1. I have to put him on his side in my arms, with the pacifier and the blankie, and shush and sway and pace and hold his arms away from his face.... and so while Ardyn slept in my bed through ALL of his screaming, and I just wanted to collapse, this is what I did. Finally he fell asleep and I lay him between Ardyn and I, and we slept for TWO HOURS. Thank God. But then I woke up with a headache. Ugh.

So Evan came home from Menard's (he took back the mulch we hadn't used) and we all got ready to go to supper at Kelly's Place. We were going to have family style.

I fed Marek right before we walked out the door, and when we got there, all was well. Ardyn had been having a few issues with listening today (okay, alot of issues) and had several time outs and about 5 bazillion instances of "counting to three" before a potential time out, and so we were a little wary of how supper would be. Well, it was not good. Evan got his salad bar and Ardyn's salad bar. Then I went to get mine and when I got back, I find that Ardyn had tried to shove a whole baby carrot in her mouth and swallow it whole, and proceeded to choke, gag, and puke all down the front of her dress, her tights, and her boots (suede. Yep) and then all over and BETWEEN the two tables that were pushed together in front of her. Well, needless to say she lost her appetite. And I had to go outside to get baby wipes and clean her all up. Then Evan took her outside because she wouldn't SIT in her chair, and it was a combination time-out/attitude adjustment and distraction while we waited for our food. Then Marek proceeded to scream until I had to hold him AND walk with him, because he was hitting that tired point again but wouldn't just let GO and sleep. That was about the time that Evan came in and told me that Ardyn had just peed all over him and herself. Yeah. So out he goes with her and changes her entire outfit, which has now been puked on and peed in. And his shirt is soaked. And so he comes back in with her, and she is all dramatic about everything from the position of her plate to the buckle in the high chair. Poor Marek won't calm down and my food is in front of me but I can't EAT it. So I ended up knowing that he was just exhausted and his teeth are really bugging him, so he wanted to eat and I knew it would resolve all his issues, so while Evan and Ardyn ate, I ended up breastfeeding him into oblivion. Then Evan took him and Marek was passed out cold on daddy's shoulder while I ate and Ardyn screamed about wanting to get DOWN and how she was DONE. Ugh. After loading us all up, we headed home and I put the kids to bed. Talk about a crazy ass day.

It amazes me that there are now so many moments when I feel like things are really falling into place and getting easier, and as soon as I almost say that out loud to someone, it all goes to shit in about 20 minutes and I think "WHAT was I THINKING?!" and then it starts that same cycle all over again. At least now that there is a "break" in the band, I have Evan here and he is being much more helpful and we are able to tackle things as a team. I think THAT is what makes it easier. And also the fact that Marek is on a very predictable schedule (his own doing I believe) and that I am supremely in-tuned to what he needs at every moment, and perhaps even before he actually starts to show me what he needs. It's amazing really.

Right now I have about a bazillion projects in my mind, that i desperately need a break in order to accomplish. I want to clean out the linen closet. and it hasn't been done since right before Ardyn was born and I NEED to do it. So I need someone to hold my kids and take them away for like 3 hours so I can do that. I need to clean out both freezers and pitch expired and old stuff. Another 2 hours. I need to pack up all Marek's 3-6 month clothes, and pull out all the new size and wash and put them all away. Another 2-3 hours. I need to put away his old pacifiers and bring out the new ones. I need to wipe down baseboards and the ledges on my paneled doors. I need to wash windows. I need to clean and dust under my bed. I need to rotate our mattress and put the bedskirt back on. I need to clean the back porch. These are things that just can NOT be done without someone watching my kids for a while.

Another strange roller-coaster thing lately, is that I am even more spacey when it comes to projects. It seems like maybe I get bored easily? But I can't really say I feel bored. One week I am a sewing madwoman, and then.... nope. Don't care. And then i am needlefelting and loving it and then. Nope. Don't care. And then I am crocheting and it's insanity and then.... You guessed it. Nope. Don't care. Last week was organizing. This week its been cleaning. Ugh. What makes me that way?

Well, I have a ton more to say, but I am fastly fading and I know it's almost midnight and my wakeup call will be coming sooner than later, so I hope to get back here tomorrow and finish this up. Hope this finds everyone well and that I make it through the stress of potty training and cleaning and all that jazz.

Happy 2nd Birthday Big Girl!

Busy week~! Preparing for Sunday's big birthday party for Ardyn. Today was her birthday and It's so hard to believe she is two, but at the same time, she is learning and changing and growing so fast, it isn't so hard to believe. I think I would be more upset about it if I didn't have Marek, but having a baby right here helps me to not have that anxiety that I will never have another "baby" and that my baby is growing so fast.

Today we went to town and picked up Ardyn's cupcakes from School, from Sweetie's Candy and Confection shop. I really wanted (badly) to make her rainbow cupcakes, but school's now have that policy where everything has to be purchased and sealed. I understand and I don't blame them, but at the same time, I long for a time where you could trust people and where you got to make cool treats like Rice Krispy Treats and Caramel Corn balls for Halloween, and take cupcakes to school on your birthday. Nothing was more awesome than the cool treats that my mom made for me to take to school. So after much searching, I found a bakery that would actually BAKE the cupcakes, instead of just decorating pre-baked ones.... and that would do Rainbow cupcakes, although they had never seen then before. And they were delicious smelling. I dropped them at daycare today so they will be there when we arrive in the morning for her Party. She will spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow night, so that I can work Friday and Saturday on her cake, and the decorations, and just doing some picking up and mopping the floors and cleaning the bathroom before the party.

Tonight I packed her school bag and her bag for Grandma's, and the outlaws came over for a quick visit and to pick up her stuff for tomorrow. Evan spent the day digging out the rest of the dirt in the front yard for the patio. We were really aiming to have the concrete poured before the party, but Redi-Mix is putting up foundations for new grain bins at FS, so they are too busy to bring it till next week. But at least it's all dug out and the dirt has been hauled away. The forms will get put in next week, and the pea gravel put down to prep for the concrete. I can not wait, as we have been waiting since early spring to get that done. It will be so nice to have a permanent place to put the little fire pit and my rocking chair, and the Adirondacks... where we don't have to move them to mow around. It will be nice!

After supper tonight and putting the kids to bed, I started washing diapers, and have two loads almost finished now. I have discovered that with so many diapers, it's better to split them into two loads so that the water can really get into them, because if the washer is loaded, they don't come clean enough. So I have been in the habit of splitting them into two loads. Ardyn is doing better with Potty training, and as long as she is stark ass naked, she doesn't have accidents. So during the day, I let her run around with a dress and no underwear/pull-up/diapers, or with a tank top and completely bottomless, because she doesn't have accidents. With a pull-up or training pants on, she just goes whenever she feels like it. Pull-ups are the worst. I hate their expense, they are hard for her to get up and down (more so than training pants) and she knows they are like a diaper and doesn't even worry about it. Two days ago she was running around naked and came flying into the living room from the front porch "I hhhaaaaaave to go POTTY!" and ran right for the bathroom. It was so funny. She had been distracted and then had two little trickle/drops on the floor and panicked and ran right for the potty. LOL. She cracks me up. I feel like we need to be home and naked long enough that she really gets the hang of this, and then we try around home with training pants some more. We have to get this somehow! I have seen improvement in her knowing ahead of time. But she is also stubborn enough to sometimes think that she can sit on the potty and tell me she doesn't have to go, and if I press her to sit a while and give her an incentive, she will just pee and pee and pee and it's like "how could you even THINK that you didn't have to go?!" Stinker.

Well, for the party, we have 19 "yes" attendees and 11 "maybe." This is pretty good because a good portion of Evan's family will not be able to attend. Tomorrow I have to make 10 pounds of BBQ. And Bake the cake. And pickup the house. The goal is to decorate the cake on Saturday, and vacuum and mop floors. Because I will just have Marek, it's entirely possible, especially with my mom coming over to help. We will have all the food inside, and eat outside. The weather is calling for 77 degrees the day of the party, so I am excited. Sunday morning we will blow up all the balloons and decorate outside. I also need to clean the fridge out, not because it really needs it so badly, but because we will need to fit food in the fridge until it's time to eat, as we are doing gifts in the afternoon and then supper and then dessert. Mom is going to work on molding some rice dream Ice Cream into a sandcastle form, and we are going to (hopefully) cover it with crumbled graham crackers to look like sand. Tonight I made my own ocean version of Chex Mix, with pretzel goldfish for the pretzels, and added colored cheese goldfish too. It is BY FAR the most awesome chex mix I have made. I love Chex Mix!

Today we saw the BIGGEST Onions I have ever seen at the grocery store. Ardyn was super excited. We needed an onion for the BBQ, so I bought it. She held it in her lap all the way to the checkout. I took a picture of her holding it (It's on Facebook in my mobile uploads folder) and it weighed TWO POUNDS! Wow! There is also a picture of her heloing dig out the patio today, and some of Marek outside... and a picture of the cupcakes before I took them to the school today. Well, that's all I've got. I have lots on my list so I need to go to sleep so that I am ready for tomorrow. Both kids were up at 6:30 today and I had a killer headache all day. I was able to take a short nap with Marek this morning after we all had our baths, which made my headache go away for a while... but it came back. I need to go to the chiro and get adjusted.

I have had such back and neck issues since having each kid. I think it's just all the lifting and such. There just has to be a better way to deal with it then repeatedly going to the chiro. I did physical therapy after Ardyn, and that really helped. But it's expensive. Not that the Chiro isn't... but I think another of my issues is that I stopped taking Fish Oil when I switched to OTC prenatals after having Marek, and I see that my arthritis in my back (resulting from the double-whiplash rear ending that I got in 2001) is really bothering me too.... and I know that the fish oil really helps with that. So I need to get to Nordic Naturals and order some OMEGA-D so that I am better off.

Well, to bed with me. Everyone have a great Labor Day weekend! I was just telling Evan a bit ago that this time two years ago we were just calling our families and announcing Ardyn's birth (she was born at 11:36pm) and she was getting her bath and I was getting cleaned up and moved to our room, 15.5 hours after my water was broken at 8am on Labor Day. How time flies when you're having kids. I will try to update after the party, and show you some pics!

There's a certain irony in the fact that Glass Repair Guys drive panel vans.....

a MOST EXCELLENT Day!

Today was a very busy, and WONDERFUL Day. This afternoon we had Marek's 4 month appointment. My MIL was supposed to take Ardyn so that I could concentrate on Marek at the appointment, but FIL called first thing in the morning and said that she wasn't feeling well, so Evan stayed home and took her. Whew!

Marek and I headed to the pediatrician after lunch. Even though we had the second appointment after lunch, we waited quite a while both before getting into the exam room, and for the doctor to arrive. This is typical, and I don't mind when it's a well baby visit, and when I only have one child with me. To give you an idea, our appt was at 1:20 and we left the Dr office at 3pm. But that's what you get when you have such a great pediatrician who is in high demand. And they have never once acted even the least bit inconvenienced when you need to fit a sick child in. And I like knowing that when it's my turn to take a sick child to the doctor, I will get in without problems. SO while waiting, I was reading an article in Cookie magazine (which I stopped subscribing to because it was RIDICULOUS for the average mom.) about Jenny McCarthy and her stance on Autism and vaccines. It was interesting. And her position is one that is much different than I thought it was. She is not anti-vaccine.

So Marek's visit went well, he grew from 23 to 26 inches long, and from 13lbs to 15lbs. He was weighed a month or so ago at WIC and they told me he was 16 ounces, and I weighed him Tuesday night (clothed) and got 15lbs 9oz.... but all scales are different!

He got two shots in the left thigh and one in the right, and did fairly well. He cried of course, but not as much as I ever remember Ardyn crying. he did cry afterwards for a while, but it was more of a dramatic demonstration for my benefit than anything. Once we LEFT the office, he was fine. He took a nap and then we met Evan and Ardyn for a LATE lunch at the Chinese Buffet, where the waitresses ADORE kids. Ardyn got pony rides on the giant bronze horses and they were so excited to give her a sucker. They just loved hearing her talk, and her blonde curly hair enthralled them. They loved Marek too. Ardyn ate like a champ, devouring sweet and sour chicken, lo mein noodles, shrimp, bananas in jello, hard boiled eggs, garlic bread, white rice, and pigs in a blanket. She was in heaven. She was using the lo mein noodles like "jump ropes" which cracked me up.

After eating, we changed diapers in the parking lot and then went our seperate ways. Evan and Ardyn had been to the Canal parkway earlier in the day, and she had already napped, so they went to another park to play and then out to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's. Marek and I spent 2 hours roaming Hobby Lobby and choosing just WHAT to use our 40% off coupon on. That is always a tough decision! I have decided to make a stocking cap and scarf for Ardyn this winter to match her snowsuit, and a hat and mittens (I hope) for Marek. I can crochet. I tried to knit but I just did everything so tight that the yarn broke. I was frustrated and it felt so awkward that I quit. So as I was standing there soaking in all the FABULOUS yarn, I decided that I have one craft goal this winter. I WILL learn to knit and I WILL Learn to crochet after a pattern and knit after a pattern. I am a little worried about how I will do that, because I couldn't concentrate well enough BEFORE I had kids to follow a pattern and count, but I figure that I will have to learn, and be patient, and spend time without the kids screaming at me to figure it all out. While I was there, I saw the book "Knit and Crochet for Dummies" that talks about how to do each with plain english instead of all the codes for each stitch. They ease you into it, and start with some simple patterns, including a crochet stocking cap, which I intend to start with. So I used my 40% off coupon to buy that book, and then I got enough yarn to make Ardyn and Marek each something. I have this perfect vision of myself curled up on the couch with snow falling and wind howling outside, and children playing ~*quietly*~ on the floor, and a mug of tea or hot cocoa on the side table, yarn in my lap, fluffy socks on my feet, nice music on the iPod.... ahhhh.... Yes, I know it's a fantasy. Leave me alone.

Marek and I also went to the "new" Goodwill store in our area. I was most impressed. There was a nice selection of adult clothes, even better than the one in Peoria. I got a couple of pair of athletic (read:stretchy) pants, both were (oddly) green. LOL. Marek got a pair of 99 cent old navy tennis shoes and Ardyn got a really funky woven hat that she can wear in the sun or for dress-up. I would wear it but it's too small. It's kinda hippy-ish... all rainbow and woven and floppy. I also got a REALLY nice shopping cart cover for $6. It's freaking adorable. I have a pink floral one from Ardyn, but haven't used it for Marek. This one "appears" to have better support for smaller infants, but I need to get online and figure it all out, because I don't know how to work it, there are so many pieces. I get the feeling that it also converts to a high chair cover (for eating out) and also to a changing mat.... but I need to google the brand and see what I can discover. I have been searching for a little wooden "coat rack/hat tree" that is free-standing, so that I can put it into Ardyn's room to hang all these fabulous purses, hats, scarves, tu-tu's, etc. on for easy access and storage. Something she can reach and hang things up herself. No dice yet.

After Goodwill and Hobby Lobby, we meandered through Target for another 2 hours. While there, I finalized the sale of my Rainforest Swing, Stroller, Car Seat, 3 Bases, and Diaper Genie, all via cell phone. Marek and I tested out the newest model of the McClaren Volo with the intention of picking one up, but of course they were out of stock. SO I decided to just see how much more they were online and if I could just order it at amazon and get free shipping... and that's when I discovered the UPPAbabu G-Luxe. And Started reading reviews, and decided it has MORE features, with almost NO more weight, and that it would have a cupholder, reclining seat, and bigger wheels.... all for just a little more. Hmmm. Now I have to decide over green or black? Oy. LOL.

At Target I also got a few shirts for Marek for this fall, long sleeved t's for $4 each, and a pair of slippers that are super cute and practical as they are like socks with slipper bottoms (much like my beloved Hanna Mocs, but for only $5) I also got the infant life-jacket that we had been eyeballing, for SEVEN DOLLARS! It was like $25 to start with and it kept going down in price, and it goes up to 30 pounds, so at this point BOTH kids could wear it. We want to take Ardyn on the paddle boats at a local park, and $7 is SUPER cheap and I thought she could even wear it in the pool if we wanted her to get the feel of floating on her own. So. Great day. Came home and put both kids in bed after reading them a bunch of books I grabbed at Goodwill. The books there are 49 cents for paperbacks and 99 cents for hardbacks! I got some Caldecot's, and some Dora books, and a few other REALLY cute kids books. Ardyn loved them all, and Marek giggled hysterically alongside her in the toddler bed as I read to them. Now it's after midnight and I need to go to bed because tomorrow is a BUSY day and I have to take Ardyn to school, then go to the resale shop, the cleaners (to pick up and drop off rugs since we picked them all up off the floor when Ardyn started potty training and leaked all over them) and then to load up and deliver the baby gear that I just sold. Whew!

Hope you are all having a great end to your week. I am looking forward to a nice weekend, it was BEAUTIFUL here today! Marek appears to be having no issues with his shots (AGAIN!) and no fever or pain at the injection sites.... what a good baby! Good night!

Hangin In there!

Things are pretty crazy around here. To say the least.The past weekend was really nice and QUIET. Ardyn went to school on Friday, and when I picked her up from school, she went to Grandma Deb's, and was gone for over 24 hours. It was marvelous! Soooooo quiet here, and peaceful, and I could actually HEAR MYSELF THINK! My brain DOES Still work under there! Unbelievable. Friday Marek and I had to run to Peru, because I needed some boning (sewing notion, not sex) and a few fasteners to make a nursing cover. We wandered around JoAnn's pretty heavily, choosing what to spend the few dollars that we had... and the 40% off coupon, on. I got two books, one about organizing your life, that actually has a PLAN OF ACTION for each week. I also got a book about Wool Animals (needlefelting) and I am excited to have some money again soon so that I can buy a few supplies. I figure I can get started for about $20-$30. I have. Then I ate lunch at Jimmy John's and I went home and we napped in the afternoon, and then packed up Ardyn's bag for grandma's house before we picked her up from school.

Saturday I spent the day cleaning and organizing. All I really got accomplished was picking up the living room, working on the dining room table, and completely cleaning the Computer Desk, which took the majority of the day. But instead of just making piles of things I needed to do, I actually DID those things. I found my Christmas Cards from 2008 and wrote down who sent them in my Christmas Card Book. Then I was able to throw them out (whew!) I filed. I purged, I filled an entire garbage can just off the desk! (yeah.) Then I organized all the electronics that we owned, pairing them with their chargers, cables, books, and software, and putting them in labeled ziploc bags. I cleaned out the ONLY drawer on the desk, and put all those electronics in there. Accesible, organized, but OUT of my sight (and Ardyn's!)

I have a stack of CD's (in their cases, out of their cases mostly, and some that I don't know if they are blank or used) that is literally a foot tall. I haven't synched my iPod since right after Ardyn was born, so nearly two years.... and so I installed iTunes on the home computer, and set everything up, and linked it to the music library on my portable hard drive. Then I started checking all the CD's and throwing out old ones. I moved all the pictures on the computer and on the CD's into organized folders by month and year on the portable hard drive. Then I started importing music CD's from the stack into iTunes. I synched my iPod! Yay!

Pardon me, I just had to take a break and feed and rock Marek for his nap, during which time Ardyn was supposed to be pottying with daddy and ended up pooping ON her bedroom floor, stepping in it, tracking it all over her shaggy rug, and all over the bedroom floor, bathroom floor, and bathroom rug. All of which floors and rugs ,are WERE all freshly vacuumed, mopped, and/or laundred. UGH!

Okay, where was I? Oh yes, peace, quiet, and actual accomplished thinking. A thing of the past. To sum it all up, I bascially feel like I am living in a house with fifty untrained animals. Sticky food, dirty floors, spilled juice, and animal waste.... everywhere. It boggles my mind how others can live in the same house as I do and NOT EVEN NOTICE how disgusting their habits are. Like, how can you BE 29 years old and not put your gum or your garbage IN the garbage? Seriously? How can you be 29 years old and think it's cool to put a BANANA PEEL in the living room garbage, which doesn't get regularly emptied and doesn't even have a BAG inside it, because we usually just use it for waste paper. Seriously? Oh. Boy.

So, I also got my new cell phone setup to sync to the computer also. Yay! I was able to lookup my Nikon Lens online (it's in the shop for repair under warranty and I can check the status online) and I was also able to check EVERY pen and marker in our three pen cups and throw out every single one that doesn't work. That was an accomplishment in itself. Evan picked up Ardyn's room at my request, and vacuumed it on his own (yay!) and thgen he offered to clean the bathroom and mop it also. That was wonderful. I am keeping my mouth shut (to him at least) about the fact that the icky spot behind the toilet seat brackets never got cleaned, and about the fact that the toilet bowl itself is not respectable. But I think I will just do those myself and be happy that there was something nicely accomplished that I didn't have to do.

Ardyn came home late Saturday night after lots of fun with grandma and grandpa. She enjoyed her time there, and we SERIOUSLY enjoyed a bit of quiet time while she was gone. Evan, Marek, and I also met the outlaws and great great grandma at the Mexican restraunt for supper on Friday night, which was really nice, and we ran into lots of people that we know, including Ryan, Emy, and Presleigh... Amy Jo and Jackson... Uncle Sean and Jimmy... and Rich. Then I went to the County Fair Queen pageant for a tiny bit with Marek, and we watched Susan Brummel compete for a while, until he got tired and I realized that I needed to get ice cream before DQ closed up shop. I think I need to make my own ice cream. I love ice cream. On a daily basis. And I think I would be happy if I could just make it on a whim. I guess I should put that on my list of things to research! It sucks that I have to make a list!

Right now I can't even FIND the notebook where I have all my lists... and I am trying not to stress about that.

Another thing that I have learned, is that surivival of the fittest has taken over here. If I keep taking care of everyone else and ignoring myself, I am going to go bat-shit crazy. So I have been ignoring things as best I can, and trying to consider my own needs and sanity as best I can. It's working a little bit. But just when I am feeling good, and things are going well, I get a call from Evan that says "look out the window" and I see that someone came and mowed all the prairie grass and wildflowers in our ditch. Without permission. And they are all gone. It took years of establishment and the seed was very expensive, and before it was planted we were given clearance by the county (who owns the ditch) and we turned it into an established native prairie. and then this morning someone took it upon themselves (at about 6:30 or 7am) to mow it all off, which likely has done some serious damage and won't allow it to reseed. People piss me off. I could just cry looking at it. But it has now been relayed to me that we will be putting up prairie signs now and that we will work harder to see that it is protected next year.

Well, it's afternoon now, lunch has been had (chicken breasts, sweet corn on the cob, italian pasta salad) and both kids have been napping for a bit. I unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded it, cleaned up in the kitchen.... putting things in the garbage, recycle, and also washing all the stoneware and such. I have a new deal now, I operate by the mentality that if it doesn't make it through the dishwasher, it wasn't welcome in this house to begin with. I have only TWO Exceptions to this rule. 1. The Pampered Chef Ice Cream Scoop 2. Wooden Cutting boards. I don't use wooden cutting boards to cut food on, but there is NOTHING better to knead and rise bread dough on. I adore my wooden cutting board and antique wooden peel just for those reasons. I have a bamboo cutting board that someone gave me as a wedding gift, and it is beautiful, but I have only used it a couple of times because it is SO pretty It's like I am afraid of it. LOL.

I have a dozen freshly hard-boiled eggs cooling on the counter, and if i can get this done I assure myself that the next steps are to prepare and start the squash. I have a bunch of Zucchini that Mrs. Wiggim brought me today, and also 6 Yellow Crook-Neck Squash that I picked at the Timber Garden yesterday. I will have to beg Kyle to plant Butternut Squash next year. I love butternut Squash and so do babies! It makes a fabulous puree to hide in food, and Ardyn loved it as baby food. I think that and sweet potatoes were here favorites, hands down. I found a cool glossary for Squash online, which I really like. I wish that in addition to naming each type of squash and giving it's charachteristics and photo, it also discussed the best way to prepare and serve each one. These crooknecks have me confused, because while they are a soft squash, which I can use the skin on if I choose, I really don't think I WANT to, and so I am not sure how you could possibly peel a crookneck squash. I think I am going to have to halve them, bake them, and scoop out the insides to puree. With any other smooth skinned summer squash, I would peel them, chunk them, put them through the big-mouth food processor and slice them, and then steam them in my food steamer and puree them in the processor again. Sounds like a lot of work, but not once you get going. It all happens quickly. But with these bumpy ones, I am going to have to bake and scoop, I fear. Mom says you can leave the skin on the zukes and shred them as is for bars and cakes, but I don't think I can bring myself to do it that way. I think I will have to peel them. It just makes me feel better and I can't explain that.

Oh here's the webpage that I adored with squash identification info.... I even facebooked the lovely thing I was so pleased with it.

Speaking of which, if you haven't connected with me on facebook, now's the time. Just remind me who you are and where you came from, and if I determine that you are not a stalker and aren't after my children or my sexy body (ha!) then I will add you as a friend. I do much better with quick updates over there these days. I feel like I have betrayed bloggers everywhere, but I can't HELP it because I find myself either braindead or weighed down by two tinies every time I want to blog.

Right now I am really working on what I can do for ME. Evan says that he thinks it's a good idea if he watches the kids for a night a week so that I can get out and get some ME time. I agree wholeheartedly, but I also need a night a week where they all just GO AWAY and I can work in the house to get things done. When this place overwhelms me, it's all I can do to not have a nervous breakdown. And the answer to that (temporarily) is to get away from it, but it's always there when you come back... therefore you never can get away.

My "ultimate goal" for this fall is to register myself for classes at the local community college. And I don't mean "I'm not happy/unemployable/having a mid-life crisis/want to make more money and need to go back to school" classes. I mean "I'm going to go crazy if I don't get some me time and so I am going to take some FUN and creative classes." I researched and there are several that I am looking forward to, one on RAW Bead weaving, Peyote Cuffs, Silver Clay-Making Jewelry, A cooking class on Sauces, a SOAPMAKING CLASS (which I could just pee my pants over I am so excited) and there are a few more jewelry classes, but I have them written in the notebook that I can't find right now (the one that I am TRYING not to panic about) and so I can't recall them all. They basically boil down to a $25 class that is one session long. So I would get to go about once a week and each week I will take a class that will teach me a new technique, and bring home a new piece of jewelry, or loaf of soap, etc. I think it will be fun. I am also thinking I will take more time to scrapbook, which I haven't done in about a month. It's been hard, because I just can't scrapbook and watch both kids (especially Ardyn) while I am doing it. Its too much. I am ALMOST done with her invitations for her mermaid birthday party...

Oh shit the loud one is awake, that means that Marek is not far behind!

But the issue is that I have just a few things left to do, and haven't had time to go finish the invites. Now I am behind schedule (I wanted to have them out by the 1st of August) and so I am kinda cranky about that. Then I heard that a good portion of Evan's family is planning to be out of state that weekend.... which makes me a little cranky, but at the same time, I'm like, aw, she's two, who cares. If they come, they come, if they can't, they can't! I considered pushing it back, but I don't think at this point that is the best decision to make. They all know when her birthday is. If they think that there is something else they would rather be doing, then that is their decision and I am fine with that.

Oh now Marek is up. Geez!

So I cut the stupid bumpy yellow crooked neck squash. Those damn things were hard as a rock and the insides were mostly seeds. Now I am baking them. And they stink. They smelled kinda like pumpkins, but as soon as they started to bake.... ack. This had better be worth it. I am gonna bake three, and if they are crap, I will just give the last three away. LOL. I will definitely have to recommend (ask nicely) that next year there is Butternut Squash. Or I can probably plant them there myself? Then later friends on facebook told me that once they get bumpy, they are past their prime and way too woody and hard. Ha. All that work for nothing.

Wow, if THIS Isn't the blog post that took all day? The clock is telling me it's 7:45pm and I started this at 1pm. Holy CRAP. I guess that in order to blog nowadays I will have to start a post in the AM and just keep adding to it. But I am afraid that nothing I am saying makes sense, because I keep getting interrupted! ha.

Well, I am almost through the 1 foot stack of CD's. There's literally a few inches left. This is good. I have imported all of them into iTunes, and only have a few more to go. I found an old CD that wasn't labeled, and when I played it, it had Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw songs on it, mostly from the early 90's that I didn't have on any other CD. Not sure if someone had made it for me or what, so I searched out all the information and entered it in, and imported it. I probably won't ever listen to them, but they just reminded me of things, and I knew every word.... except to Set This Circus Down.... I forgot about that song! Sweet. What good is having a husband who plays guitar and writes songs if he never writes a song for his wife. Ack. I must have gave it up too quickly. LOL.

Okay, well... now it's 10:15 and I have things to do now, since Ardyn is asleep and Marek needs to get woke up, changed, in PJ's, and into HIS bed. Take Care.

Stain Me

Okay, seriously? How is it possible that I have spent 2 years getting poo stains out of cloth diapers but I CAN NOT get dirt stains off the butt of a toddler's pants? Or food stains off her shirt? What am I doing WRONG!? Stain stick, Shout, Oxyboost, Oxycxlean, Tide, Liquid Color-Safe Bleach, Different water temps. Presoaks. Double washes. Soaking overnight. Sunning. Grandma's Spot Remover. Vinegar and Water. Straight Vinegar. Seriously? What am I missing here?

Spam me. I want your secrets.

Driftwood Photo Shoot

I took pictures of my husband's band tonight, and here is a slideshow of the turnout! Enjoy!

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Wednesday Craft of the Day: Make your Own Steam Mop Replacement Pads!

Okay, so let me start out by saying that I love my steam mop. I did a full review of the Monster Steam Mop on my blog previously.... but one of the things that I do find annoying is that the replacement pads aren't cheap. They run about $24 for two, from Amazon or Ginny's. The mop came with two, and I THOUGHT that would be plenty Forever and ever, but at the same time, I didn't realize how STICKY two kids would make my floors, and I didn't realize that they would wear out a bit with time. Not so much seams and construction, but the microfiber itself seems to be a little icky. I wash them in cold water and line dry as they recommend, but that just leaves them looking dingy, and they STILL aren't very fluffy. I had considered buying a nother set but I was disappointed in the price tag. I searched Amazon and found that a second company sold replacement pads for $24 for about 4-6 of them, which is better.... but I thought to myself "They are only microfiber and velcro, and what's.....so.....hard.... (wait a minute) about.... (sewing?) that?

Um, Hello? Dummy. Make your own? I have a whole BIN of microfiber towels that I keep around for absorbency in diapers and trainers. I bought a HUGE PACK at Wal-Mart for like $10-12... or something (it's been a while, check the automotive department)

So since they are supposed to be washed all alone and all special-like (which I long ago gave up on, who has TIME For that with two kids and cloth diapers?) I always find that it's time to mop (like YESTERDAY) and the pads are both dirty. Argh. So today, faced with that exact situation, I decided was THE DAY to sew one. Why not? Let's see what happens. And this time I actually took pictures as I went along. Now, these could be made many ways. I am far from perfect, and I could already see millions of ways to get more fancy with them. But seriously, I'm going to drag it across a filthy floor. I just want it to work. It doens't have to be PERFECT. This took me less than 10 minutes to make, and I used things that I already had around, the thread that was already on my sewing machine and serger (don't be afraid, you don't need a serger, but it makes it much quicker.) and there I have it. A microfiber pad that probably cost me less than $1.

Here goes.
Take two microfiber towels and lay them on top of each other. Serge one end. I purposely made a blue and a white together, with the plan of putting the velcro on the white side and putting the blue side down to the floor.... because the pack comes with both blue and white and I thought it made more sense to have the blue side filthy. Whatever....

Trace around your current microfiber pad and make yourself a template. I use tracing paper, scrap paper, brown grocery bags, recycled cardboard, whatever you have around. I gave it an extra 1/2" on all sides, because they tend to shrink with more washings and because I wanted seam allowances. Okay, so you have two towels serged together on one side, like so. (it's hard to see in the pic, but mine are serged together on the left)


Then lay your template over the top of the pads, and use your straight edge and rotary cutter, or your scissors, and trim the towel down to match the template.



The serged edge that you have already sewn will be the "top" or the longer edge of the microfiber pad.



Roughly, there you have it. Do not discard the piece of microfiber that was cut off, because we are going to use it as extra absorbency in the core of the pad (ohhhhh yeah!)



Now Serge each angled side of the pad, like so. Then take the "extra pieces" and cut them so that they are angled on the sides, just a tad bit shorter in width than the pad itself. The goal here is to put the smaller pieces INSIDE the pad itself, and "quilt" it for extra absorbency. Once you have those two small pieces trimmed so that they will fit inside, serge or sew each angled edge together so that they won't shift. No need to do the longer sides.

Here are the pieces before I trimmed them:


Here they are serged:


At this point in time I decided to Turn the original pad so the serging was inside. Not sure why. Not sure if I would do that again or just leave it, but, whatever. So I inserted the smaller absorbent pads into the bigger pad and centered them. Then I used my sewing machine and just straight stitched the length of the oad, catching the outer edges of the extra absorbency, and once down the center of those two stitches, much like quilting. Then I serged the open end of the pad shut. Now you could also topstitch the whole thing, but that's kinda a waste of time and resources, if I could have just left the serged edges out. So now I just took a couple pieces of Diaper velcro (I had 1" on hand) and sewed two strips of velcro on the white side. And, I have, microfiber steam mop pad. Voila!



Eat your heart out Monster!