Sunday, May 30, 2010
Conversation with Ardyn at McDonald's: "mom, can I have a bite of your cheeseburger?" Sure Ardyn. She chews... "mom that burger tastes kinda slimy!" I said "yeah? Good slimy or bad slimy?" Ardyn looks up in the air and taps her finger on her chin "let me think about it." A couple of seconds later... "work with me Mommy!" I laugh and she whispers "I think bad slimy!" *pause* "Can I have another bite??"
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Today.... and a Review: Family Tools PEGS system
I love typing when a 1 year old is trying to jam the tines of a fork into the keyboard on my laptop. Fun times. It's kinda like our own version of 5-finger fillet (where you stab the knife on the table between your fingers. Ick.)
It's a little dreary outside, but not really. Basically it's nice, but not sunny. It's only 10:30 though, so that could still change. Yesterday was SUCH a busy day. It was fun, but today I am sore and tired and did I mention SORE?!
We headed to Princeton for lunch at Pizza Hut with my friend Dorene. We used to run the Princeton Computer User group together. But now we both have other interests and commitments and it seems that the group itself is slowing and potentially disbanding. But I still love Dorene and was happy to see her and eat with her. We talked horses and all sorts of other things.
Then we met my friend Stacey to take pics of her tutus and hair clips and dresses, which she sells at Guys and Gals Salon. I had just recently created a Facebook page for Guys and Gals, and Stacey wanted one for Bows by Stacey, so last night I set to work on that. It turned out GREAT (check it out and see what you think!) The fun part about this is that instead of being paid to do things like this, my friends and I swap services. So I get things like free tans, free haircuts, and free bows for doing a little work for my friends to help them out. I don't have any problems promoting their little businesses, because they both do AWESOME work and they re so nice.
Everything Stacey makes is so durable and she has impeccable taste and an eye for color. Kelly is the most awesome hairdresser! She is the only person on the planet that I trust to say "do whatever you want" and it always turns out FABULOUS. I have never been disappointed in a color or cut she has given me.
So after working on Stacey's Facebook photos, the kids and I came home and started working in the yard. Elizabeth and Kelsea and Jadeyn stopped over for a while and the kids played while EK and I chatted. I started dumping all the bags of my square foot garden "soil-less" mixture into the bed. Evan recently started the garden for me, after what seemed like FOREVER of planning and waiting for it. The soil-less mixture consists of 1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite, and 1/3 compost. Then the compost itself is made up of three "thirds" of different types of compost. I have Mushroom Compost, Manure, and Compost. So that was alot of work to carry, open, pour, and mix 10 cubic feet of planting medium. Ardyn helped by watering it down for me and then I would stir, then she would mist, and I would stir. It went surprisingly well. I did a few things differently than the SFG book recommends, but I wasn't about to mix it on a tarp and drag it over to it's location. Duh. So I just dumped and mixed it in the box, and it turned out great. I would say the consistency is very similar to Jiffy Mix, with compost added :)
Then we watered all our containers and our steppables that we have planted, and Ardyn helped me to plant two windowboxes. I had planned on hanging them under the kitchen windows, and I would be able to see them and enjoy them from the kitchen sink, as well as open the windows and just water them with the sink sprayer.... but I realized late last night that the Pussy Willow Tree is covering half of one of the windows. Doh! So I am not sure what to do about that. It gets trimmed each year, and it hasn't been trimmed this season yet, but I am not sure we can trim it back THAT much without it looking ridiculous, and the last thing I want to do is draw attention to it with a gorgeous flower box!
It's funny, but I feel like we have a sort of "compound" inside our fence. The front yard has everything inside the fence, because then I can work on things with the kids in close proximity, and safe. Inside the fence is the patio furniture, the sandbox, and all their toys, and also the clothesline, the SFGarden, and my composter. It's a little silly to most people I suppose. But it has to be close or I would never be able to get any of these things done with kids around. I have tried to make naptime be the time in which I work on flower beds OUTSIDE of the fence, and it worked well so far, except that the past week and a half I have had so much sinus and allergy stuff going on that all I have wanted to do is nap with them. So I have a ton to do on the east and west sides of the house but haven't gotten to it. I did get all the dead stuff out of the back side and the northwest corner, and filled all that with new mulch, before the sinus crap really started in. That's good. I also got landscape barrier laid on the west side, and Evan mulched it, but there is nothing planted there. I don't even want to think about the status of the pond and the east side of the house.
I do have a good handle on laundry these days, because I got rid of my mesh laundry sorters (I have always hated those stupid things, they fall apart and don't hold enough for this family) and replaced them with white hampers. I saw that they now make "sorting hampers" but they are only $1 less than a regular hamper, and they are much smaller, too small for us. So a couple of weeks ago I bought EIGHT hampers, all rectangular, and labeled each one (sharpie marker on colored index cards, adhered with clear packing tape) and they are working AWESOME. They work great for sorting, and when the load is clean, I can carry it up in it's designated sorting hamper, fold it, and put it away. Of course as I say this I have a hamper of diapers to sort and fold, a hamper of towels and rags to fold, and two baskets of kid clothes to put away. But I do have a good handle on laundry these days. :)
Another thing we have been doing is called P.E.G.S. When at the Hearts at Home Conference, we saw a booth for the Family Tools PEGS system and I was instantly intrigued. For some reason I couldn't get them to give me a PRICE on anything, and a friend said later that perhaps the people working the booth at the time didn't KNOW the price. Well, I found out later that my friend Sarah had purchased one, and she recently started using hers and raved about it. I decided to check it out and we got one too, and I also got the Choose a Chore and the Pick a Privlege Jars also. PEGS stands for Practical Encouragement and Guidance System. Basically you get several sheets of round circular "chips" that have holes in the top, and hang on the pegboard. (which is included in the kit)
There are circles for various chores, including basic things like making beds, brushing teeth and hair, and getting dressed. Because we bought the two-child system, we received duplicates of all these chips. There are then blank chips to make your own chores/responsibilities. You receive "clock" chips which you can customize to have things done by specific times. For example, I have made a "naptime" and a "bedtime" chip, and really no matter what time nap and bedtimes turn out to be, the chips will continue to work for me.
There are also jobs that are considered "household" jobs, and you get one of each of those chips, so that the jobs can be assigned and rotated between siblings as necessary. Things like getting the mail, taking out the trash, recycling, taking care of pets, shaking rugs, setting the table, etc.
Then there are "A B and C" chips. A is for Attitude. B is for Behavior. C is fo Communication. There are Red "NO" chips that are circles with a slash through them, and then there are green "Good" chips. I can use these chips to show how their ABC's have been throughout the day.
Now, let me start by saying that I haven't read the manual yet. Typical me. Start the process however I damn well feel like it. Basically I haven't had the moment's peace to sit down and read it. It's in my "to read" stack. (ugh.) So there are many ways to approach this, some probably better than mine.
For us, I use it to show Ardyn that there are things we are expected to do on a daily basis, WITHOUT ARGUING and WHINING. It's working. She does not cry when I brush her hair. Because she knows that it has to be done. It's routine. The chip is on the board. I had been trying to discuss this with her for MONTHS and it never got through to her that you just have to brush your hair every day. When the board went up.... it was instant. She has learned and added lots of new chores. She sets the table. She picks up her toys. She puts her own shoes away and hangs her coat on the hook designated with her initial. She makes her bed. She puts all her dirty clothes in the hamper. Many of these things happen without prompting. Putting dirty clothes in the hamper and putting shoes in her closet shoe-holder are becoming natural to her, and she automatically does them, most of the time without even being asked or reminded. Sometimes she reminds ME!
It has also made "naptime" or quiet time much nicer, because she knows that she has to first go potty, then climb into her bed. She flips the chips and there are NO arguments. Bedtime is great too.
Now, about the ABC's. Basically if she gets into behavior that starts to head towards a time out, we warn with "do you want a red X?" and she does NOT want one on her pegboard. If she gets a time out, she gets a red X first, in the appropriate ABC category, and then she sits in time out. When she is done with time out, she is very very upset and generally wants to "get that red X off the board" as soon as possible. This is where the "choose a chore" jar comes into play. She picks a chore disk from the jar, and we hang it next to the Red X. (it's not really an X, but that's what we call it.) If the chore can be completed immediately, she usually does. If not, we leave it up there with the Red X until the chore is completed. When the chore is done, we replace the red X with a green circle to show that she has corrected her bad behavior with a chore. These are "additional chores" and she has recently done chores like "disinfect all the doorknobs" and "clean the fronts and tops of the washer and dryer." Another one that was my favorite was "check and fill all hand soap dispensers" which came at just the right time as ours were all empty! She of course feels very important and enjoys it. You should have seen the grin on her face while we filled the soap pumps and she returned them to their designated sink spots. Thrilled. (and mom was thrilled too!)
It helps me to instill responsibility in her. It helps her to realize that she has things that she needs to do in order to be a part of this family and help things run smoothly at home. And it really does take a load off me when I don't have to run around gathering up shoes and coats and toys all day long. She is a big help.
The pick a privlege jar is important, and I feel badly that we haven't used it enough yet. It's got things like "go for ice cream" or "watch a movie" or "paint or color" or "get out the playdoh." These are things that we might do now and then, and it's easy to use them as rewards because she enjoys them so much. There are things like "go for a walk" or "ride your bike" and these are all things she loves to do.
So, the Family Tools system is pretty cool. :) I am loving it. Ardyn calls it the "Keep Mommy Happy Game." And I NEVER said that to her. That's entirely her name for it. LOL.
That's all for now friends. I am sore from all that lifting and squatting and mixing of dirt yesterday. Oy. Off to get a few things done today I guess!
It's a little dreary outside, but not really. Basically it's nice, but not sunny. It's only 10:30 though, so that could still change. Yesterday was SUCH a busy day. It was fun, but today I am sore and tired and did I mention SORE?!
We headed to Princeton for lunch at Pizza Hut with my friend Dorene. We used to run the Princeton Computer User group together. But now we both have other interests and commitments and it seems that the group itself is slowing and potentially disbanding. But I still love Dorene and was happy to see her and eat with her. We talked horses and all sorts of other things.
Then we met my friend Stacey to take pics of her tutus and hair clips and dresses, which she sells at Guys and Gals Salon. I had just recently created a Facebook page for Guys and Gals, and Stacey wanted one for Bows by Stacey, so last night I set to work on that. It turned out GREAT (check it out and see what you think!) The fun part about this is that instead of being paid to do things like this, my friends and I swap services. So I get things like free tans, free haircuts, and free bows for doing a little work for my friends to help them out. I don't have any problems promoting their little businesses, because they both do AWESOME work and they re so nice.
Everything Stacey makes is so durable and she has impeccable taste and an eye for color. Kelly is the most awesome hairdresser! She is the only person on the planet that I trust to say "do whatever you want" and it always turns out FABULOUS. I have never been disappointed in a color or cut she has given me.
So after working on Stacey's Facebook photos, the kids and I came home and started working in the yard. Elizabeth and Kelsea and Jadeyn stopped over for a while and the kids played while EK and I chatted. I started dumping all the bags of my square foot garden "soil-less" mixture into the bed. Evan recently started the garden for me, after what seemed like FOREVER of planning and waiting for it. The soil-less mixture consists of 1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite, and 1/3 compost. Then the compost itself is made up of three "thirds" of different types of compost. I have Mushroom Compost, Manure, and Compost. So that was alot of work to carry, open, pour, and mix 10 cubic feet of planting medium. Ardyn helped by watering it down for me and then I would stir, then she would mist, and I would stir. It went surprisingly well. I did a few things differently than the SFG book recommends, but I wasn't about to mix it on a tarp and drag it over to it's location. Duh. So I just dumped and mixed it in the box, and it turned out great. I would say the consistency is very similar to Jiffy Mix, with compost added :)
Then we watered all our containers and our steppables that we have planted, and Ardyn helped me to plant two windowboxes. I had planned on hanging them under the kitchen windows, and I would be able to see them and enjoy them from the kitchen sink, as well as open the windows and just water them with the sink sprayer.... but I realized late last night that the Pussy Willow Tree is covering half of one of the windows. Doh! So I am not sure what to do about that. It gets trimmed each year, and it hasn't been trimmed this season yet, but I am not sure we can trim it back THAT much without it looking ridiculous, and the last thing I want to do is draw attention to it with a gorgeous flower box!
It's funny, but I feel like we have a sort of "compound" inside our fence. The front yard has everything inside the fence, because then I can work on things with the kids in close proximity, and safe. Inside the fence is the patio furniture, the sandbox, and all their toys, and also the clothesline, the SFGarden, and my composter. It's a little silly to most people I suppose. But it has to be close or I would never be able to get any of these things done with kids around. I have tried to make naptime be the time in which I work on flower beds OUTSIDE of the fence, and it worked well so far, except that the past week and a half I have had so much sinus and allergy stuff going on that all I have wanted to do is nap with them. So I have a ton to do on the east and west sides of the house but haven't gotten to it. I did get all the dead stuff out of the back side and the northwest corner, and filled all that with new mulch, before the sinus crap really started in. That's good. I also got landscape barrier laid on the west side, and Evan mulched it, but there is nothing planted there. I don't even want to think about the status of the pond and the east side of the house.I do have a good handle on laundry these days, because I got rid of my mesh laundry sorters (I have always hated those stupid things, they fall apart and don't hold enough for this family) and replaced them with white hampers. I saw that they now make "sorting hampers" but they are only $1 less than a regular hamper, and they are much smaller, too small for us. So a couple of weeks ago I bought EIGHT hampers, all rectangular, and labeled each one (sharpie marker on colored index cards, adhered with clear packing tape) and they are working AWESOME. They work great for sorting, and when the load is clean, I can carry it up in it's designated sorting hamper, fold it, and put it away. Of course as I say this I have a hamper of diapers to sort and fold, a hamper of towels and rags to fold, and two baskets of kid clothes to put away. But I do have a good handle on laundry these days. :)
Another thing we have been doing is called P.E.G.S. When at the Hearts at Home Conference, we saw a booth for the Family Tools PEGS system and I was instantly intrigued. For some reason I couldn't get them to give me a PRICE on anything, and a friend said later that perhaps the people working the booth at the time didn't KNOW the price. Well, I found out later that my friend Sarah had purchased one, and she recently started using hers and raved about it. I decided to check it out and we got one too, and I also got the Choose a Chore and the Pick a Privlege Jars also. PEGS stands for Practical Encouragement and Guidance System. Basically you get several sheets of round circular "chips" that have holes in the top, and hang on the pegboard. (which is included in the kit)
There are circles for various chores, including basic things like making beds, brushing teeth and hair, and getting dressed. Because we bought the two-child system, we received duplicates of all these chips. There are then blank chips to make your own chores/responsibilities. You receive "clock" chips which you can customize to have things done by specific times. For example, I have made a "naptime" and a "bedtime" chip, and really no matter what time nap and bedtimes turn out to be, the chips will continue to work for me.There are also jobs that are considered "household" jobs, and you get one of each of those chips, so that the jobs can be assigned and rotated between siblings as necessary. Things like getting the mail, taking out the trash, recycling, taking care of pets, shaking rugs, setting the table, etc.
Then there are "A B and C" chips. A is for Attitude. B is for Behavior. C is fo Communication. There are Red "NO" chips that are circles with a slash through them, and then there are green "Good" chips. I can use these chips to show how their ABC's have been throughout the day.
Now, let me start by saying that I haven't read the manual yet. Typical me. Start the process however I damn well feel like it. Basically I haven't had the moment's peace to sit down and read it. It's in my "to read" stack. (ugh.) So there are many ways to approach this, some probably better than mine.
For us, I use it to show Ardyn that there are things we are expected to do on a daily basis, WITHOUT ARGUING and WHINING. It's working. She does not cry when I brush her hair. Because she knows that it has to be done. It's routine. The chip is on the board. I had been trying to discuss this with her for MONTHS and it never got through to her that you just have to brush your hair every day. When the board went up.... it was instant. She has learned and added lots of new chores. She sets the table. She picks up her toys. She puts her own shoes away and hangs her coat on the hook designated with her initial. She makes her bed. She puts all her dirty clothes in the hamper. Many of these things happen without prompting. Putting dirty clothes in the hamper and putting shoes in her closet shoe-holder are becoming natural to her, and she automatically does them, most of the time without even being asked or reminded. Sometimes she reminds ME!
It has also made "naptime" or quiet time much nicer, because she knows that she has to first go potty, then climb into her bed. She flips the chips and there are NO arguments. Bedtime is great too.Now, about the ABC's. Basically if she gets into behavior that starts to head towards a time out, we warn with "do you want a red X?" and she does NOT want one on her pegboard. If she gets a time out, she gets a red X first, in the appropriate ABC category, and then she sits in time out. When she is done with time out, she is very very upset and generally wants to "get that red X off the board" as soon as possible. This is where the "choose a chore" jar comes into play. She picks a chore disk from the jar, and we hang it next to the Red X. (it's not really an X, but that's what we call it.) If the chore can be completed immediately, she usually does. If not, we leave it up there with the Red X until the chore is completed. When the chore is done, we replace the red X with a green circle to show that she has corrected her bad behavior with a chore. These are "additional chores" and she has recently done chores like "disinfect all the doorknobs" and "clean the fronts and tops of the washer and dryer." Another one that was my favorite was "check and fill all hand soap dispensers" which came at just the right time as ours were all empty! She of course feels very important and enjoys it. You should have seen the grin on her face while we filled the soap pumps and she returned them to their designated sink spots. Thrilled. (and mom was thrilled too!)
It helps me to instill responsibility in her. It helps her to realize that she has things that she needs to do in order to be a part of this family and help things run smoothly at home. And it really does take a load off me when I don't have to run around gathering up shoes and coats and toys all day long. She is a big help.
The pick a privlege jar is important, and I feel badly that we haven't used it enough yet. It's got things like "go for ice cream" or "watch a movie" or "paint or color" or "get out the playdoh." These are things that we might do now and then, and it's easy to use them as rewards because she enjoys them so much. There are things like "go for a walk" or "ride your bike" and these are all things she loves to do.
So, the Family Tools system is pretty cool. :) I am loving it. Ardyn calls it the "Keep Mommy Happy Game." And I NEVER said that to her. That's entirely her name for it. LOL.
That's all for now friends. I am sore from all that lifting and squatting and mixing of dirt yesterday. Oy. Off to get a few things done today I guess!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Ready to Ride!
We are working on family bike riding. Our first problem was that no one but Ardyn has a bike. The second problem is that my dad received a hand-me-down bike trailer for us, but we have never been able to use it, because we don't have bikes to pull it.
I have been doing bike research, and was just going to buy the cheapest cruiser that I could find locally, but after reading reviews, I discovered that most of them didn't last a year, several of them had manufacturing defects very consistently, and pretty much all of them around here that were cheap had the problem that we have with Ardyn's Tricycle, the Schwinn "we don't make them like we used to" issues - like immediate rusting and fake chrome that is like foil and bubbles out of the box. (I recently added a review and photos of the Schwinn Roadster Trike on Amazon)
So anyway, after doing all the research, I decided that it was silly to think I was going to get a decent bike at a price that cheap. I would have to make a slightly bigger investment. So I started searching more online, because if I am going to spend money on a bike that is going to last me, I want it to be reliable, be purchased from a place I can rely on for service and support, and to be stylish and reflect MY personality. Is this impossible? nope. I finally found one, and I have a bicycle dealer near me trying to acquire it right now. Keep your fingers crossed!
It might be hard to tell, but it is a black/copper brown color with leopard print seat, handlebars, fender and other details. The tire tread is flames!! Whoot!
Then I found bike helmets for the kids.... :) They both have Mohawks, Marek's helmet is black and Ardyn's is white. Aren't they cute?!?!
Now I just have to hope that I can PULL the bike trailer, or that Ardyn starts to pedal soon so that I can use a front bike seat with Marek and let her ride her own bike!
I have been doing bike research, and was just going to buy the cheapest cruiser that I could find locally, but after reading reviews, I discovered that most of them didn't last a year, several of them had manufacturing defects very consistently, and pretty much all of them around here that were cheap had the problem that we have with Ardyn's Tricycle, the Schwinn "we don't make them like we used to" issues - like immediate rusting and fake chrome that is like foil and bubbles out of the box. (I recently added a review and photos of the Schwinn Roadster Trike on Amazon)
So anyway, after doing all the research, I decided that it was silly to think I was going to get a decent bike at a price that cheap. I would have to make a slightly bigger investment. So I started searching more online, because if I am going to spend money on a bike that is going to last me, I want it to be reliable, be purchased from a place I can rely on for service and support, and to be stylish and reflect MY personality. Is this impossible? nope. I finally found one, and I have a bicycle dealer near me trying to acquire it right now. Keep your fingers crossed!
It might be hard to tell, but it is a black/copper brown color with leopard print seat, handlebars, fender and other details. The tire tread is flames!! Whoot!Then I found bike helmets for the kids.... :) They both have Mohawks, Marek's helmet is black and Ardyn's is white. Aren't they cute?!?!
Now I just have to hope that I can PULL the bike trailer, or that Ardyn starts to pedal soon so that I can use a front bike seat with Marek and let her ride her own bike!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
A FREE Internet Scavenger Hunt? Count me in!!
Sign up for FREE to be a seeker in the Internet's GREEN Scavenger Hunt. Great Green Prizes, including items like cloth diapers and mamma cloth. Check out the website at www.GreenQuizQuest.com
And also find them on Facebook- just search for Green Quiz Quest.
You know you want to!
And also find them on Facebook- just search for Green Quiz Quest.
You know you want to!
Review: Little Beetles "Little-To-Big" OS Organic Wool Cover (snapping)
Well, long long ago, in the land of diapers (that's my house, dontcha know?) I was looking for some wool that was gender neutral and would work for both kids, but was unaware that such a fabulous thing existed. I came across the news that Little Beetles had JUST released a new cover, the Little Beetles OS Wool Cover.... and that it was available in snap or aplix! How cool!!! I was so excited! Marek was still a newborn (ish) and Ardyn was just starting to do some potty training, so I was wary about dumping a chunk of change into anything, and this really was a chunk of change at near $40 for one cover. But in the name of research, and of finding what might be the perfect solution, I bought one, back when I also bought two pair of little beetle learners- training pants for Ardyn.
When it arrived it was SUPER cute. I promptly hand washed and lanolized it (according to directions, don't fear, this isn't my first pony ride.) Then I decided to start trying on the babies!
First I started with Ardyn, because Marek was sleeping, and he was still not quite 2 months old...
It was a really good fit for her. She was wearing 24 months or 2T size and this picture was taken when she was 20 months old and just beginning potty training. I liked the fit overall, and it was trim and I could see wearing it under clothing. These pics are over a Goodmama fitted, so it adds some bulk of course.
I love how nice and trim it looks from the back. Fast Forward two weeks and Marek was almost 2 months old, and I decided to try it on him. I had used it about 2 times on Ardyn, because she was PLing it really wasn't necessary because I had her in trainers almost full time.... but she did wear it overnight once just to test, and there was no leaking whatsoever. Very nice.
Well, per most OS covers, well, really most OS diapers in general, it fit Marek, but was WAYYYYY Bulky (he was after all, still young- not quite 2 months old in fact, it was May 2009.) I knew that he wouldn't be wearing it under ANYTHING and my main goal was to also find a wool diaper cover that was smooth and thin enough to wear under clothes. This was a no-go for someone still so small, but honestly I was not surprised. Here is a pic of him in the cover- Basically it was a try-on session and we took it right back off. :)
One thing that I really did NOT like was the way the snap configuration was on the front to allow for wing overlap. It didn't seem to lay right no matter how I tried, and I am a wing professional, especially since we've been using Goodmamas for 2+ years. I don't quite know why the wing overlap is wonky, but it added unnecessary bulk that was not only unattractive, but confusing.
Overall, I knew that when Marek got bigger, I would like the cover. So we used it about 4 times, had only washed and lanolized it that one initial time.... and then a few months later I pulled it out when Marek was wearing Goodmamas consistently and I felt he would fit the OS cover nicely. And he DID! So we tried it on, and it was great! I was so excited, and then the next time I went to put it on..... What's this? SERIOUSLY?!?! The fury. The sadness. The regret. The LEG ELASTIC!!! OMG you are kidding me. The leg elastic in one leg had completely given out. I was SO upset. How does a $40 cover get washed by hand once and worn a max of 5 times, and then have no leg elastic left? By this point in time, my 30 day "one wash" warranty was over by about 5 months. What a horrible experience!
I don't know what caused this, perhaps I purchased a lemon? It was when the covers were first released. I kept meaning to call the company, but it was one of those things that got put on the back burner, and so now I have this EEEEEUC like new, barely touched, beautiful, soft, bulletproof, organic, one-size, snapping, LOVELY wool cover.... with elastic in one leg. Well. So much for good ideas on my part.
I look forward to hearing experiences from others with this cover. I am unsure if the leg elastic issue is isolated to me, or if it happened to anyone else, but it made me very sad. I keep telling myself that I will just rip the seam open and peek inside, to see what type of elastic is in there and try to determine what happened..... if I ever get to that I will try to repair and let you know what I find by updating this post!
So, I really wish I could provide a better review on the quality and longevity of what I initially thought was a great product, but I just can't give this one the stars that I so desperately wanted to.
When it arrived it was SUPER cute. I promptly hand washed and lanolized it (according to directions, don't fear, this isn't my first pony ride.) Then I decided to start trying on the babies!
First I started with Ardyn, because Marek was sleeping, and he was still not quite 2 months old...
It was a really good fit for her. She was wearing 24 months or 2T size and this picture was taken when she was 20 months old and just beginning potty training. I liked the fit overall, and it was trim and I could see wearing it under clothing. These pics are over a Goodmama fitted, so it adds some bulk of course.
I love how nice and trim it looks from the back. Fast Forward two weeks and Marek was almost 2 months old, and I decided to try it on him. I had used it about 2 times on Ardyn, because she was PLing it really wasn't necessary because I had her in trainers almost full time.... but she did wear it overnight once just to test, and there was no leaking whatsoever. Very nice.
Well, per most OS covers, well, really most OS diapers in general, it fit Marek, but was WAYYYYY Bulky (he was after all, still young- not quite 2 months old in fact, it was May 2009.) I knew that he wouldn't be wearing it under ANYTHING and my main goal was to also find a wool diaper cover that was smooth and thin enough to wear under clothes. This was a no-go for someone still so small, but honestly I was not surprised. Here is a pic of him in the cover- Basically it was a try-on session and we took it right back off. :)
One thing that I really did NOT like was the way the snap configuration was on the front to allow for wing overlap. It didn't seem to lay right no matter how I tried, and I am a wing professional, especially since we've been using Goodmamas for 2+ years. I don't quite know why the wing overlap is wonky, but it added unnecessary bulk that was not only unattractive, but confusing.
Overall, I knew that when Marek got bigger, I would like the cover. So we used it about 4 times, had only washed and lanolized it that one initial time.... and then a few months later I pulled it out when Marek was wearing Goodmamas consistently and I felt he would fit the OS cover nicely. And he DID! So we tried it on, and it was great! I was so excited, and then the next time I went to put it on..... What's this? SERIOUSLY?!?! The fury. The sadness. The regret. The LEG ELASTIC!!! OMG you are kidding me. The leg elastic in one leg had completely given out. I was SO upset. How does a $40 cover get washed by hand once and worn a max of 5 times, and then have no leg elastic left? By this point in time, my 30 day "one wash" warranty was over by about 5 months. What a horrible experience!
I don't know what caused this, perhaps I purchased a lemon? It was when the covers were first released. I kept meaning to call the company, but it was one of those things that got put on the back burner, and so now I have this EEEEEUC like new, barely touched, beautiful, soft, bulletproof, organic, one-size, snapping, LOVELY wool cover.... with elastic in one leg. Well. So much for good ideas on my part.
I look forward to hearing experiences from others with this cover. I am unsure if the leg elastic issue is isolated to me, or if it happened to anyone else, but it made me very sad. I keep telling myself that I will just rip the seam open and peek inside, to see what type of elastic is in there and try to determine what happened..... if I ever get to that I will try to repair and let you know what I find by updating this post!
So, I really wish I could provide a better review on the quality and longevity of what I initially thought was a great product, but I just can't give this one the stars that I so desperately wanted to.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Day at Niabi Zoo
I really need to get to sleep, it's already 1am and I have just two days to start and finish my dress for the Mother's Day Tea, and also to get my hat ready! Whew! It's been a busy two weeks and I can't wait for what's next!
Here is a collage of some of my favorite pics from the ZOO Today! It was so cold (we could see our breath!) and it was rainy and windy... but we made it through the whole thing, including our train ride, before it started to rain. That was a bonus!
Hope everyone is well and hope to post more later!
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Overnight Soak with OxyBoost does Wonders!
Well, I recently decided to try out an overnight soak with Oxyboost on some clothes. I have always had a tough time with stains on kid clothes, and I have posted several times before about that. One of my favorite products was Shout Advance, but you really have to let the stain fighter SIT on the clothes for a long time, and that doesn't always mesh with my laundry groove. I LOVE the natures source stain treatment, but I already went through my first bottle, and I just thought that I should explore more options with the OxyBoost that I already use for cloth diapers. I hadn't really had time to read up on the other recommended uses, and so I was thinking there must be a way to make a stain fighting paste or something with it. In the past I have done overnight soaks on diapers (especially when Ardyn had real poo issues when she was having the dairy allergy problems) and they had done wonders. So I read the bucket (novel idea, eh?) and they recommend a soak with 4oz to every 2 gallons of water (I think that's the ratio, anyway, what do you care? LOL. Read YOUR Bucket!) and I put in four shirts of Marek's. Three of the four were brand new ones that he destroyed on the first wearing, one was WHITE with spaghetti sauce all over it, one was striped with chocolate ice cream, and the third was orange with mashed banana ground into it. I had washed all of them on warm with color safe bleach, two of them had been washed TWICE and none of the stains had come out. One of them (the striped one) had actually been washed AND dried at least twice since it got stained. I grabbed a 2 gallon bucket that I used to buy OxyBoost in (when I wasn't buying in as MUCH bulk as I do now) and that little bucket was the perfect little handy size. I added hot water and my oxyboost and used my little whisk that I keep in the laundry room (for tie dyeing, mixing, and tasks such as this.) and stirred it well. Then I dunked and soaked the shirts, and put the lid on the bucket (for some reason the shirts keep bubbling up OUT of the water otherwise) and I literally came back in two days (I was sick so it wasn't overnight as I had planned) and washed them with a regular load of my clothes, and EVERY SINGLE STAIN was completely gone. Completely! Even the chocolate ice cream stain that had been set by the dryer a couple of times! Miracle? I believe so. So from now on, no more wasting money on additional stain fighters... I will just stick with the oxyboost for an overnight soak! For those of you who have been asking, OxyBoost and OxyPrime, and many other green cleansers and home products, can be purchased via http://www.ecogeeks.com/greenstore/ The large quantities that I buy need to be purchased via telephone.... and if you want that information I would be happy to provide it :)
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Busy week Ahead!
I should be doing SO many other things right now. I AM working on laundry, thank god, because we are all out of clean clothes, towels, diapers... pretty much everything is dirty. I did two loads of diapers already tonight, and have a load of wetbags to do yet, and I am on load #2 of kid clothes.
Basically, we were without laundry detergent for a week and a half, which seems like an ETERNITY (it was, really!) and so now it's time to play catchup. The laundry room is so full of laundry that I actually can NOT put all the dirty clothes in it. When washing and drying I am literally standing ON dirty clothes down there. Not pretty. So I went ahead and sorted two hampers out in our room instead, and am taking them down by the load. Icky.
What happened you ask, that we would just "not" have laundry detergent? Well, I buy detergent once a year. My detergent is environmentally safe and safe for cloth diapers. About 2.5 years ago, I did the math and determined that by purchasing detergent in a 5 gallon bucket, I could save around $80 a year over purchasing All Free and Clear at Wal-Mart, which is what I had been doing for as long as I could remember. I started out buying Charlie's Soap, and loved it. With the Charlie's I used a product called OxyBoost, which is made by Natural Choices. It worked better than OxyClean, is environmentally safe, and cost me less money because I could buy it in bulk. I started buying it in 5 gallon buckets also, because it is better for the environment when it comes to packaging and it's overall carbon footprint :)
For some reason, Charlie's suddenly became taboo in the Cloth Diaper industry. I am not sure why, because I never had a single rash, buildup, or stink issue and I used it for over a year straight on all types of diapers and on all of our clothing as well. I still believe that if you are using the proper amount of soap, and if you are doing your double rinses, you shouldn't have an issue with the soaps. But after the place that I used to purchase Charlie's dropped it, and recommended OxyPrime (made by the same manufacturer as OxyBoost) I decided why not give it a try. So I started to use both OxyPrime and OxyBoost and haven't looked back since.
So anyway, I order a 5 gallon bucket of each, usually the soap comes due once a year, and sometimes the Oxy Boost is closer to twice a year. Well, this time for some reason they were both empty at EXACTLY the same time. Convenient, except that means $260 of laundry detergent. At one time. So I waited until I had the cash and I ordered it. And was told that it would ship that same day (per usual) and since I am close to the company, it should be here in 1-2 days (per usual... it has ALWAYS arrived in 24 hours!) And I waited. For 5 days. And never saw the soap. Never saw an email confirmation. So I called, and they found out that the entire order was on hold because they were waiting for the OxyBoost. She assured me it would ship that same day. Whew. So I waited 2 more days. And called again. And "whoops!" they are still waiting on OxyBoost. At this time I have to say I was getting a bit cranky. You just do NOT go without laundry soap for a week with 4 people, two of them being miniature disasters, and one of them wearing cloth diapers. it is not advisable. I stressed to her that I NEEEEEEDED that soap LAST WEEK and that I didn't understand why they were holding the whole order for the OxyBoost, because they could have shipped at least the detergent, especially because I have to pay shipping for each bucket separately because they can't package them together for UPS shipments anyway.
I was again assured that the soap was coming and they found out that the OxyBoost 45 pounds were being made that very moment. And the next day, Voila! Soap on my steps. A whole LOT of soap. I drug it inside and had Evan carry it to the basement to the laundry room for me, and today I cut it out of the boxes, tore open the buckets, and scooped it into my stainless steel canisters and started some laundry. All this drama over soap. Seriously.
So, despite the fact that I have all this LAUNDRY to do, I also have all this YARD WORK to do, and so yesterday and today I have been working in the yard as much as I can, and naptime has become "work outside the fence" time where I bust my ass to get as much done as I can without two little people to manage. Yesterday Evan and I worked in the space between the garage and house, and along the west side of the house, pulling out dead leaves, hosta leaves, and the old clematis growth. We had a trellis that got destroyed by a storm last year, and we had to take it down and unwind all the old vines, and put up and secure a the new trellis that we had purchased last fall and never got to. There are SO many things that we never got to last fall. Ugh. So after cleaning all that up, we trimmed suckers off the dwarf flowering crabapples. I adore those little trees but the fact that they are grafted onto other tree's rootstock is rather annoying because they get so many suckers so quickly. Ick. Then we trimmed a bit of the old fashioned lilac bush, and pulled a bunch of creeping Charlie. Our old landscape lights along the sidewalk are almost 1o years old, they don't work, and the plastic is cracked, so we pulled those out. I cleaned out all the weeds starting on the west side of the house and lay down some landscape fabric along that side. I planted two containers and the hanging basket on the front gate, and added a flowering perennial (viola) to the bare space inside the planting around the stop sign in the front yard. I also measured and staked out the 4x8 area where Evan is going to build my raised bed garden, and then cut and lay weed block down in that area to prepare it for the bed. Once it got dark last night I put out 6 new solar landscape lights along the back sidewalk, which makes it much less treacherous.
Today I started by pinning down the weed block fabric with landscape staples, and then I lay 10 stepping stones (wetcast flagstone) over in the area by the raised bed. The stepping stones give me a pathway into the far northwest corner of the fenced in yard, and lead in several directions. Now I can "step" my way to the clothesline, the back side of the raised bed, the water spigot on that side of the house, and to my composter. It makes me happy. I am hoping that VERY soon, the 10 "steppables" that I planted in that area will start to spread and hopefully (Rapidly!) start to cover the ground around all the stones. I did choose steppables that are suited for the highest traffic allowed, and that are the rapid spreaders.... but that old dirt is so dry and crumbly, that I don't see them getting too excited to go ANYWHERE yet. I tell myself they have barely been in the ground for two weeks, and they look perfectly healthy and are flowering too, but I really am so impatient!
This afternoon I also lay 6 BIG bags of cypress mulch in the back where we trimmed bushes and pulled up old leaves and things.... and we really could have used 7 bags but I made it work. Tomorrow I am hoping that it doesn't rain (although I think it's still supposed to) because I have a whole BUNCH of salvia, lilies, and grasses that I want to plant on the east side of the house (in the area that I freshly weed-blocked last summer but never got planted) and a whole other side of the house that needs the weed block stapled down yet, and then planted and composted. And this doesn't even TOUCH the cleaning and filling of the pond. Ugh. I know I have the whole summer ahead of me, but I HATE working when it gets so unbearably hot outside. This is the time of year to get as much done as possible, and this includes weed block in my book because I HATE to pull weeds and I have much better things to do.
We also have the native prairie signs to get into the ditch before some jackass comes along and sprays or mows it. Once Evan gets that raised bed built, I can plan and start the Square Foot Garden. I also need to read my Worm book because I am considering adding worms to my composter this year.
This is going to be a REALLY busy week! We have playdate, park playdate, and then MOPS to start off the week, and I am taking the kids to Wisconsin with friends (other moms and kids) to stay at a lake house for a couple of days. Very excited to have this opportunity and REALLY hoping that Ardyn's 2 year old attitude improves and she starts listening better. I also have a 31 party to attend this week, and a massage, AND a scrapbooking night! I also think that there is a chance my Pampered Chef Show will be coming in sometime towards the beginning of next week! I had a show that was OVER $1200! I am so super excited, I am gettting SO MUCH STUFF and I am really thrilled! Remind me to take pics of it all once it gets here. I counted the other day, and I have 26 pieces of stoneware already, and two more on the way. I got a second pizza stone and the Covered Rectangular baker that makes all those microwave dishes and weekday dinners. I also got the whole knife block and professional knife set, and the double burner griddle!
Next week I MUST cut and sew my tea party dress for the Mom's Tea the following weekend. My Brother-In-Law is letting me borrow Grandpa Warren's Mustang Convertible to take to the tea. No minivan for this mamma! Whooo! I also have to finish attaching all my fabulous feathers and flowers to my tea party hat! So much to do, so little time! I do have to say that I love this time of year! The days and months just seem to be flying by already! Once the hot days of summer hit, I think we will be a little more laid back and get into our "by the pool" mode... although I hate the heat and pretty much have to be IN the pool to tolerate it!
Well, it's time for me to switch laundry again. If I could find the remote I would be watching the Nanny on Nick and Nite.
Everyone have a great Monday (if that's possible!) and Enjoy this nice weather before it gets too hot!
Basically, we were without laundry detergent for a week and a half, which seems like an ETERNITY (it was, really!) and so now it's time to play catchup. The laundry room is so full of laundry that I actually can NOT put all the dirty clothes in it. When washing and drying I am literally standing ON dirty clothes down there. Not pretty. So I went ahead and sorted two hampers out in our room instead, and am taking them down by the load. Icky.
What happened you ask, that we would just "not" have laundry detergent? Well, I buy detergent once a year. My detergent is environmentally safe and safe for cloth diapers. About 2.5 years ago, I did the math and determined that by purchasing detergent in a 5 gallon bucket, I could save around $80 a year over purchasing All Free and Clear at Wal-Mart, which is what I had been doing for as long as I could remember. I started out buying Charlie's Soap, and loved it. With the Charlie's I used a product called OxyBoost, which is made by Natural Choices. It worked better than OxyClean, is environmentally safe, and cost me less money because I could buy it in bulk. I started buying it in 5 gallon buckets also, because it is better for the environment when it comes to packaging and it's overall carbon footprint :)
For some reason, Charlie's suddenly became taboo in the Cloth Diaper industry. I am not sure why, because I never had a single rash, buildup, or stink issue and I used it for over a year straight on all types of diapers and on all of our clothing as well. I still believe that if you are using the proper amount of soap, and if you are doing your double rinses, you shouldn't have an issue with the soaps. But after the place that I used to purchase Charlie's dropped it, and recommended OxyPrime (made by the same manufacturer as OxyBoost) I decided why not give it a try. So I started to use both OxyPrime and OxyBoost and haven't looked back since.
So anyway, I order a 5 gallon bucket of each, usually the soap comes due once a year, and sometimes the Oxy Boost is closer to twice a year. Well, this time for some reason they were both empty at EXACTLY the same time. Convenient, except that means $260 of laundry detergent. At one time. So I waited until I had the cash and I ordered it. And was told that it would ship that same day (per usual) and since I am close to the company, it should be here in 1-2 days (per usual... it has ALWAYS arrived in 24 hours!) And I waited. For 5 days. And never saw the soap. Never saw an email confirmation. So I called, and they found out that the entire order was on hold because they were waiting for the OxyBoost. She assured me it would ship that same day. Whew. So I waited 2 more days. And called again. And "whoops!" they are still waiting on OxyBoost. At this time I have to say I was getting a bit cranky. You just do NOT go without laundry soap for a week with 4 people, two of them being miniature disasters, and one of them wearing cloth diapers. it is not advisable. I stressed to her that I NEEEEEEDED that soap LAST WEEK and that I didn't understand why they were holding the whole order for the OxyBoost, because they could have shipped at least the detergent, especially because I have to pay shipping for each bucket separately because they can't package them together for UPS shipments anyway.
I was again assured that the soap was coming and they found out that the OxyBoost 45 pounds were being made that very moment. And the next day, Voila! Soap on my steps. A whole LOT of soap. I drug it inside and had Evan carry it to the basement to the laundry room for me, and today I cut it out of the boxes, tore open the buckets, and scooped it into my stainless steel canisters and started some laundry. All this drama over soap. Seriously.
So, despite the fact that I have all this LAUNDRY to do, I also have all this YARD WORK to do, and so yesterday and today I have been working in the yard as much as I can, and naptime has become "work outside the fence" time where I bust my ass to get as much done as I can without two little people to manage. Yesterday Evan and I worked in the space between the garage and house, and along the west side of the house, pulling out dead leaves, hosta leaves, and the old clematis growth. We had a trellis that got destroyed by a storm last year, and we had to take it down and unwind all the old vines, and put up and secure a the new trellis that we had purchased last fall and never got to. There are SO many things that we never got to last fall. Ugh. So after cleaning all that up, we trimmed suckers off the dwarf flowering crabapples. I adore those little trees but the fact that they are grafted onto other tree's rootstock is rather annoying because they get so many suckers so quickly. Ick. Then we trimmed a bit of the old fashioned lilac bush, and pulled a bunch of creeping Charlie. Our old landscape lights along the sidewalk are almost 1o years old, they don't work, and the plastic is cracked, so we pulled those out. I cleaned out all the weeds starting on the west side of the house and lay down some landscape fabric along that side. I planted two containers and the hanging basket on the front gate, and added a flowering perennial (viola) to the bare space inside the planting around the stop sign in the front yard. I also measured and staked out the 4x8 area where Evan is going to build my raised bed garden, and then cut and lay weed block down in that area to prepare it for the bed. Once it got dark last night I put out 6 new solar landscape lights along the back sidewalk, which makes it much less treacherous.
Today I started by pinning down the weed block fabric with landscape staples, and then I lay 10 stepping stones (wetcast flagstone) over in the area by the raised bed. The stepping stones give me a pathway into the far northwest corner of the fenced in yard, and lead in several directions. Now I can "step" my way to the clothesline, the back side of the raised bed, the water spigot on that side of the house, and to my composter. It makes me happy. I am hoping that VERY soon, the 10 "steppables" that I planted in that area will start to spread and hopefully (Rapidly!) start to cover the ground around all the stones. I did choose steppables that are suited for the highest traffic allowed, and that are the rapid spreaders.... but that old dirt is so dry and crumbly, that I don't see them getting too excited to go ANYWHERE yet. I tell myself they have barely been in the ground for two weeks, and they look perfectly healthy and are flowering too, but I really am so impatient!
This afternoon I also lay 6 BIG bags of cypress mulch in the back where we trimmed bushes and pulled up old leaves and things.... and we really could have used 7 bags but I made it work. Tomorrow I am hoping that it doesn't rain (although I think it's still supposed to) because I have a whole BUNCH of salvia, lilies, and grasses that I want to plant on the east side of the house (in the area that I freshly weed-blocked last summer but never got planted) and a whole other side of the house that needs the weed block stapled down yet, and then planted and composted. And this doesn't even TOUCH the cleaning and filling of the pond. Ugh. I know I have the whole summer ahead of me, but I HATE working when it gets so unbearably hot outside. This is the time of year to get as much done as possible, and this includes weed block in my book because I HATE to pull weeds and I have much better things to do.
We also have the native prairie signs to get into the ditch before some jackass comes along and sprays or mows it. Once Evan gets that raised bed built, I can plan and start the Square Foot Garden. I also need to read my Worm book because I am considering adding worms to my composter this year.
This is going to be a REALLY busy week! We have playdate, park playdate, and then MOPS to start off the week, and I am taking the kids to Wisconsin with friends (other moms and kids) to stay at a lake house for a couple of days. Very excited to have this opportunity and REALLY hoping that Ardyn's 2 year old attitude improves and she starts listening better. I also have a 31 party to attend this week, and a massage, AND a scrapbooking night! I also think that there is a chance my Pampered Chef Show will be coming in sometime towards the beginning of next week! I had a show that was OVER $1200! I am so super excited, I am gettting SO MUCH STUFF and I am really thrilled! Remind me to take pics of it all once it gets here. I counted the other day, and I have 26 pieces of stoneware already, and two more on the way. I got a second pizza stone and the Covered Rectangular baker that makes all those microwave dishes and weekday dinners. I also got the whole knife block and professional knife set, and the double burner griddle!
Next week I MUST cut and sew my tea party dress for the Mom's Tea the following weekend. My Brother-In-Law is letting me borrow Grandpa Warren's Mustang Convertible to take to the tea. No minivan for this mamma! Whooo! I also have to finish attaching all my fabulous feathers and flowers to my tea party hat! So much to do, so little time! I do have to say that I love this time of year! The days and months just seem to be flying by already! Once the hot days of summer hit, I think we will be a little more laid back and get into our "by the pool" mode... although I hate the heat and pretty much have to be IN the pool to tolerate it!
Well, it's time for me to switch laundry again. If I could find the remote I would be watching the Nanny on Nick and Nite.
Everyone have a great Monday (if that's possible!) and Enjoy this nice weather before it gets too hot!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
First Night in the "BIG Girl Bed!"
Well, tonight is Ardyn's first night in the twin bed! YAY! She is pretty cool with it. She's been in a toddler bed since she was somewhere around 15-16 months old, so really I am not worried much about this, except that it's a longer fall. We didn't get bed rails because I am cheap most of the mom's I talked too said that by the age of 2.5-3, their kids didn't fall out of twin beds. We will see. I took EK's advice and put the toddler mattress on the floor alongside the twin, so that it would pad her fall if she hit the hardwood. It will be an interesting night. She'd better not break an arm or I will feel like CRAP.
Today was really a fairly productive day. Last night I went to one of my monthly scrapbook nights with friends (I attend two a month, each at different local churches) and I started Marek's "birth" scrapbook. I did an 8x8 for Ardyn's Birth, and am doing the same for Marek now. He's 1, it's time I started scrapbooking him, right? Poor guy! I was a littlepissed perturbed that I picked up $65 of Photos from Wal-Mart (that's what happens when you procrastinate and forget to order your pics in time to scrap them, you have to pay 1 hour prices! Eeek!) and for some reason the black and whites were just "off" in color, and the edges were often torn or smudged. If I had the patience or time to deal with them and wait for reprints, I might have done something about it. Maybe someday.
Today I took all the scrapbook supplies back to mom's (where my old bedroom is now my scrapbook room!) and put them away. Marek and I got up and snuck away. Because I had Ardyn's seat out of the van and three of the stow and go's folded, I was able to also get my twin bed from mom's and load it up to bring home for Ardyn. But I realized that the protector I had for the mattress was NOT waterproof (uh-oh) and luckily I texted MIL and she was in town and could pick me up one, which she wonderfully did for me and drove it to my house so it was here when I got home. That was awesome of her.
While at my parent's house, my dad was going to take a look at my front brakes, because the dealership had told me during my oil change last week that I needed new brake pads and rotors, and quoted me $340 for the front. Holy Crap. This from the girl whose dad has always done her mechanic work and oil changes, and I just provide the $20 brake pads. Jeez!
So I had already bought 2 Brake pads and Rotors just in case we needed them, and when Dad looked at them he decided that he was just going to change them all out today. Thanks Dad. You are so awesome. You saved me like $250 bucks. I love you!
So Marek and I tried to make ourselves useful, and eat up leftovers and cookies at Grandma's. Then I stripped both spare beds upstairs and washed the sheets, and ran the vacuum in the upstairs hall and the bedrooms for her. I wanted to feel useful, and since I wasn't accomplishing anything at home, I get that itch to be DOING something. I had only brought one diaper (since we were just supposed to be running out there to put away scrapbook stuff, and ALL the diapers were in the washing machine at home) and I luckily had two spare sposies in the van.... because we were there for SEVEN hours, and Marek pooped THREE times. Jeez.
*speaking of that, let me go put those dipes in the dryer or he will be naked tomorrow!*
Okay, first load in the dryer, PUL Covers hang drying, and Second load of diapers doing their first cold rinse. I don't want to forget that I need to go back down in about 10 minutes and add soap and start their hot wash. Ah yes, Soap. Where in the HELL is my soap? Seriously? on Thursday I ordered $287 of laundry soap. I know, you are having a heart attack. I nearly did. But I was out of OxyPrime and OxyBoost, which I use for all our laundry. Never in the past have I had to purchase BOTH at the same time. Some of you may have been here a while and know that I buy laundry detergent in bulk, which saves us upwards of $100 per year, and is HUGELY awesome for our carbon footprint.... no millions of plastic bottles! We use ONE bucket of laundry soap per year, and ONE bucket of Oxyboost per year. Their weight is around 43-50 pounds per bucket (each has a different density) but they are essentially 5 gallon buckets. I originally started using Charlie's Soap and Oxyboost, but about a year and a half after using Charlie's, cloth diaper vendors started dropping it and discussing issues with buildup, rashes, and pretty much it became no longer recommended in the cloth diaper industry. I had always been perfectly happy, but because I was also wonderfully in love with Oxyboost as my stain fighter, deodorizer, and sanitizing agent for diapers, I thought I would try Oxyprime. And by "try" I mean that I jumped in with both feet and bought a whole 5 gallon bucket (that's how much I trusted their company (Natural Choices) and therefore, I made the switch instantly and have never looked back since.
So by buying the detergent in Bulk, I save over $100 a year (that's just the savings for detergent, I have never done the math for the savings I get for buying Oxyboost in bulk instead of buying OxyClean or OxyClean Baby {ca-ching!} but I know that is a HUGE price difference.)
The only downside (and I mean ONLY) of buying in bulk, is the staggering cost of the gigantic bucket once a year. It's something like $115 plus $17 UPS shipping for the detergent, and a bit more for the oxyprime. But I know I am saving money in the long run, doing awesome things for the planet (eco-safe products, one container a year, bazillions of bottles that I am not consuming from the grocery store that had to be packaged, labeled, trucked, stocked, etc.) and awesome things for my babies and their little cloth diapered butts. Not to mention that neither I (or the kids) have had any type of allergic or eczema reaction to the products like I used to have prior to switching. I had been happy with All Free and Clear, but I knew nothing else, and as soon as I started using it on my clothes, I was so happy to have no unwanted residues and chemicals on my clothes! Ahhhh. So we choked out the $287 for detergent. It never comes at a "good" time, but it has to be done. It's just one of those necessity things that we have to have.
*Down to add soap to the diapers*
Oh, and the reason I started on soap in the first place?? It's not HERE yet. Seriously. I am freaking out. I must check the back porch like 500000 times a day looking for my UPS Man. It's bad news. Almost EVERY time I have ordered the soap, it has arrived in 24 hours. ONCE it took two days. It has been 4 days. I ordered it on Wednesday. It's Saturday night. No Soap. I am freaking. We have NO Soap and laundry to do and I literally just used the last two scoops of soap on the last two loads of diapers. As I was coming back upstairs, I started to worry more about the whereabouts of my soap, and I remembered that they told me they would send an order confirmation to my email.... I checked both my email addresses.... NOTHING. Uh-oh. So, I can't check my order status online, because when you purchase that large of a quantity, you have to place the order via phone because they don't have that large of quantity on their website. So I think "I will check the bank account balance!" and then when I go look at the bank, I see that it was never charged. Hmmmmm...... something is not right here?!?! So I am a little upset and I am thinking that it's only fair that when I can finally call them on Monday, they pay to have it OVERNIGHTED to me because it apparently hasn't been charged, shipped, etc. Let's hope they agree.
I wish I would have followed my gut and called them on Friday when it didn't arrive. Now I have to wait till Monday and I have no laundry soap. Grand.
I wish I knew where the remote was for "my" TV, because I think I am missing my nightly Nanny Marathon on Nick and Nite. That's not right. Oh! I found it, it was under the bed. Ahhhh, Fran, I missed you!
So I put the twin bed in Ardyn's room when we got home from our family "Easter" dinner (evan's side had a meal tonight :) And I was super excited to get out the sheets and comforter that I bought like, hmmmm, a year and a half ago, for her big girl room. Soooo fun. She has three sheet sets (one I already had and two I bought on sale, they match her comforter) and a reversible comforter that's super cute from Target. Now I can't wait to put some underbed boxes in her room to store her spare bedding and free up some space in our linen closet! Yay! I also upgraded our towels and re-did our bathroom recently. I had such a problem, we had so many towels that I felt people were using them carelessly. I would use the same two towels for over a week, yet when I needed to do laundry, there were like THREE LOADS of towels. It's just that if there are clean towels everywhere, *some people* who live here seem to think they need to use them constantly. It bugs me.
So, I sold the shower curtain, valance, 4 rugs, and about 15 "newer" JC Penney Home Towels to a friend of mine on Facebook. I'd had the same bathroom theme for 10 years, so I figure I got my use out of it. Then I downgraded the towels we have had for 12 years to "rags" and gave them to Evan for washing cars, etc. I replaced all those towels with 10 new towels from Target, four new handtowels, a valance, and a shower curtain. It wasn't very expensive at all, especially since I picked two striped towels and two striped hand towels, and then just got the rest of them solid colored.... and bath sheets now cost $3.76, when the previous JC Penney towels were like $10-12 each just 5 years ago. I love that now they don't really sell bath "towels" in that stupid small size that won't even wrap around your body.... and all towels seem to be "bath sheet" size. It makes me happy. So anyway, By selling all the old things to a friend, I made a big dent in the cost or replacing them. And by having about 1/3 as many towels, I have less laundry, and there isn't the temptation to use towels just because they are clean. (I hope! LOL.)
Well, I still have a ton I could talk about, it's quiet here, but I should be reading, or I should watch the nanny and do some crocheting. I haven't crocheted since winter, and I have lots of things I could be doing, lots of yarn to use, a new book that I received as a Christmas gift.... so maybe I will do a bit of that before bed. :)
Next week is Marek's 1 year appointment, which I am excited about because he missed his 9 month appointment because the physician's office forgot to make one? The next night is my Pampered Chef show, the first one that I have hosted since I retired from being a consultant back in 2005. I am excited about it! The rest of the week is pretty uneventful, and I would really LOVE to do some bread baking, some pizza dough making, some sewing, and some yardwork gardening. I am *patiently* (okay, not at all) waiting for my husband to build my square foot raised bed garden. The plans are drawn up and laying here next to me on the bed, along with Mel Bartholomew's book "All New Square Foot Gardening." The recycled lumber is in the driveway, the tools are on the porch, and the site is measured and marked out in the front yard. We are putting it right inside the fence so I can be with the kids and garden at the same time, and right by the composter, and right next to what will *hopefully* be the site of a rain barrel someday soon. Can you believe it's almost May! yay!
Today was really a fairly productive day. Last night I went to one of my monthly scrapbook nights with friends (I attend two a month, each at different local churches) and I started Marek's "birth" scrapbook. I did an 8x8 for Ardyn's Birth, and am doing the same for Marek now. He's 1, it's time I started scrapbooking him, right? Poor guy! I was a little
Today I took all the scrapbook supplies back to mom's (where my old bedroom is now my scrapbook room!) and put them away. Marek and I got up and snuck away. Because I had Ardyn's seat out of the van and three of the stow and go's folded, I was able to also get my twin bed from mom's and load it up to bring home for Ardyn. But I realized that the protector I had for the mattress was NOT waterproof (uh-oh) and luckily I texted MIL and she was in town and could pick me up one, which she wonderfully did for me and drove it to my house so it was here when I got home. That was awesome of her.
While at my parent's house, my dad was going to take a look at my front brakes, because the dealership had told me during my oil change last week that I needed new brake pads and rotors, and quoted me $340 for the front. Holy Crap. This from the girl whose dad has always done her mechanic work and oil changes, and I just provide the $20 brake pads. Jeez!
So I had already bought 2 Brake pads and Rotors just in case we needed them, and when Dad looked at them he decided that he was just going to change them all out today. Thanks Dad. You are so awesome. You saved me like $250 bucks. I love you!
So Marek and I tried to make ourselves useful, and eat up leftovers and cookies at Grandma's. Then I stripped both spare beds upstairs and washed the sheets, and ran the vacuum in the upstairs hall and the bedrooms for her. I wanted to feel useful, and since I wasn't accomplishing anything at home, I get that itch to be DOING something. I had only brought one diaper (since we were just supposed to be running out there to put away scrapbook stuff, and ALL the diapers were in the washing machine at home) and I luckily had two spare sposies in the van.... because we were there for SEVEN hours, and Marek pooped THREE times. Jeez.
*speaking of that, let me go put those dipes in the dryer or he will be naked tomorrow!*
Okay, first load in the dryer, PUL Covers hang drying, and Second load of diapers doing their first cold rinse. I don't want to forget that I need to go back down in about 10 minutes and add soap and start their hot wash. Ah yes, Soap. Where in the HELL is my soap? Seriously? on Thursday I ordered $287 of laundry soap. I know, you are having a heart attack. I nearly did. But I was out of OxyPrime and OxyBoost, which I use for all our laundry. Never in the past have I had to purchase BOTH at the same time. Some of you may have been here a while and know that I buy laundry detergent in bulk, which saves us upwards of $100 per year, and is HUGELY awesome for our carbon footprint.... no millions of plastic bottles! We use ONE bucket of laundry soap per year, and ONE bucket of Oxyboost per year. Their weight is around 43-50 pounds per bucket (each has a different density) but they are essentially 5 gallon buckets. I originally started using Charlie's Soap and Oxyboost, but about a year and a half after using Charlie's, cloth diaper vendors started dropping it and discussing issues with buildup, rashes, and pretty much it became no longer recommended in the cloth diaper industry. I had always been perfectly happy, but because I was also wonderfully in love with Oxyboost as my stain fighter, deodorizer, and sanitizing agent for diapers, I thought I would try Oxyprime. And by "try" I mean that I jumped in with both feet and bought a whole 5 gallon bucket (that's how much I trusted their company (Natural Choices) and therefore, I made the switch instantly and have never looked back since.
So by buying the detergent in Bulk, I save over $100 a year (that's just the savings for detergent, I have never done the math for the savings I get for buying Oxyboost in bulk instead of buying OxyClean or OxyClean Baby {ca-ching!} but I know that is a HUGE price difference.)
The only downside (and I mean ONLY) of buying in bulk, is the staggering cost of the gigantic bucket once a year. It's something like $115 plus $17 UPS shipping for the detergent, and a bit more for the oxyprime. But I know I am saving money in the long run, doing awesome things for the planet (eco-safe products, one container a year, bazillions of bottles that I am not consuming from the grocery store that had to be packaged, labeled, trucked, stocked, etc.) and awesome things for my babies and their little cloth diapered butts. Not to mention that neither I (or the kids) have had any type of allergic or eczema reaction to the products like I used to have prior to switching. I had been happy with All Free and Clear, but I knew nothing else, and as soon as I started using it on my clothes, I was so happy to have no unwanted residues and chemicals on my clothes! Ahhhh. So we choked out the $287 for detergent. It never comes at a "good" time, but it has to be done. It's just one of those necessity things that we have to have.
*Down to add soap to the diapers*
Oh, and the reason I started on soap in the first place?? It's not HERE yet. Seriously. I am freaking out. I must check the back porch like 500000 times a day looking for my UPS Man. It's bad news. Almost EVERY time I have ordered the soap, it has arrived in 24 hours. ONCE it took two days. It has been 4 days. I ordered it on Wednesday. It's Saturday night. No Soap. I am freaking. We have NO Soap and laundry to do and I literally just used the last two scoops of soap on the last two loads of diapers. As I was coming back upstairs, I started to worry more about the whereabouts of my soap, and I remembered that they told me they would send an order confirmation to my email.... I checked both my email addresses.... NOTHING. Uh-oh. So, I can't check my order status online, because when you purchase that large of a quantity, you have to place the order via phone because they don't have that large of quantity on their website. So I think "I will check the bank account balance!" and then when I go look at the bank, I see that it was never charged. Hmmmmm...... something is not right here?!?! So I am a little upset and I am thinking that it's only fair that when I can finally call them on Monday, they pay to have it OVERNIGHTED to me because it apparently hasn't been charged, shipped, etc. Let's hope they agree.
I wish I would have followed my gut and called them on Friday when it didn't arrive. Now I have to wait till Monday and I have no laundry soap. Grand.
I wish I knew where the remote was for "my" TV, because I think I am missing my nightly Nanny Marathon on Nick and Nite. That's not right. Oh! I found it, it was under the bed. Ahhhh, Fran, I missed you!
So I put the twin bed in Ardyn's room when we got home from our family "Easter" dinner (evan's side had a meal tonight :) And I was super excited to get out the sheets and comforter that I bought like, hmmmm, a year and a half ago, for her big girl room. Soooo fun. She has three sheet sets (one I already had and two I bought on sale, they match her comforter) and a reversible comforter that's super cute from Target. Now I can't wait to put some underbed boxes in her room to store her spare bedding and free up some space in our linen closet! Yay! I also upgraded our towels and re-did our bathroom recently. I had such a problem, we had so many towels that I felt people were using them carelessly. I would use the same two towels for over a week, yet when I needed to do laundry, there were like THREE LOADS of towels. It's just that if there are clean towels everywhere, *some people* who live here seem to think they need to use them constantly. It bugs me.
So, I sold the shower curtain, valance, 4 rugs, and about 15 "newer" JC Penney Home Towels to a friend of mine on Facebook. I'd had the same bathroom theme for 10 years, so I figure I got my use out of it. Then I downgraded the towels we have had for 12 years to "rags" and gave them to Evan for washing cars, etc. I replaced all those towels with 10 new towels from Target, four new handtowels, a valance, and a shower curtain. It wasn't very expensive at all, especially since I picked two striped towels and two striped hand towels, and then just got the rest of them solid colored.... and bath sheets now cost $3.76, when the previous JC Penney towels were like $10-12 each just 5 years ago. I love that now they don't really sell bath "towels" in that stupid small size that won't even wrap around your body.... and all towels seem to be "bath sheet" size. It makes me happy. So anyway, By selling all the old things to a friend, I made a big dent in the cost or replacing them. And by having about 1/3 as many towels, I have less laundry, and there isn't the temptation to use towels just because they are clean. (I hope! LOL.)
Well, I still have a ton I could talk about, it's quiet here, but I should be reading, or I should watch the nanny and do some crocheting. I haven't crocheted since winter, and I have lots of things I could be doing, lots of yarn to use, a new book that I received as a Christmas gift.... so maybe I will do a bit of that before bed. :)
Next week is Marek's 1 year appointment, which I am excited about because he missed his 9 month appointment because the physician's office forgot to make one? The next night is my Pampered Chef show, the first one that I have hosted since I retired from being a consultant back in 2005. I am excited about it! The rest of the week is pretty uneventful, and I would really LOVE to do some bread baking, some pizza dough making, some sewing, and some yardwork gardening. I am *patiently* (okay, not at all) waiting for my husband to build my square foot raised bed garden. The plans are drawn up and laying here next to me on the bed, along with Mel Bartholomew's book "All New Square Foot Gardening." The recycled lumber is in the driveway, the tools are on the porch, and the site is measured and marked out in the front yard. We are putting it right inside the fence so I can be with the kids and garden at the same time, and right by the composter, and right next to what will *hopefully* be the site of a rain barrel someday soon. Can you believe it's almost May! yay!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Earth Day Terrarium Project
I saw a cool magazine article about terrariums, and making them with kids, and the first thing that caught my eye was the use of an apothecary jar just like the one that I have. I have used it for a couple of years in the nursery to hold medicine. It worked great and was so cute and functional, but now that Ardyn and Marek are "into" things, I have put the medicine up and been using the jar for non-dangerous items, but it had become more of a catchall than anything and I wasn't sure what it's next purpose was going to be. Until I saw the awesome magazine article!
We started off with our soil mixture, some pea gravel, my plants (I chose mostly succulents that are small and like warm climates) and a couple of decorations. The article calls for charcoal chips to be used in the gravel, but I didn't have any, didn't want to search forever for them, and really didn't want this project to cost a ton (I already had enough money in plants!) I washed and dried the jar, rinsed the pea gravel, and had Ardyn help me scoop it all into the jar. She experimented with different scoops, shovels, and spoons to see how much she could scoop each time. Then we added our potting soil and planted our little succulents. Ardyn added a special rock, and I added the mushroom. We put the lid on and Ardyn was THRILLED. Ardyn helped add some water, and voila! Earth Day Terrarium. Click the pics to view larger, and then click on them again to zoom to full size :)
We started off with our soil mixture, some pea gravel, my plants (I chose mostly succulents that are small and like warm climates) and a couple of decorations. The article calls for charcoal chips to be used in the gravel, but I didn't have any, didn't want to search forever for them, and really didn't want this project to cost a ton (I already had enough money in plants!) I washed and dried the jar, rinsed the pea gravel, and had Ardyn help me scoop it all into the jar. She experimented with different scoops, shovels, and spoons to see how much she could scoop each time. Then we added our potting soil and planted our little succulents. Ardyn added a special rock, and I added the mushroom. We put the lid on and Ardyn was THRILLED. Ardyn helped add some water, and voila! Earth Day Terrarium. Click the pics to view larger, and then click on them again to zoom to full size :)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Review: Del Monte Ready-to-Blend Fruit Smoothies
Today we tried something new. When getting groceries, we saw the Del Monte Ready-to-Blend Fruit Smoothies. There were several flavors (they make four: Mango Pineapple, Pomegranate Peach Pear, Lite Strawberry Peach, and Strawberry Peach.) We bought three of the four to try (not the lite strawberry peach) and the price really wasn't TOO bad. My friend Sarah A. had told me before that she LOVES the ones that you can buy in the frozen section (can't remember the brand... ocean spray perhaps?) and when I looked at them, I couldn't bring myself to buy them (almost $4 each) but these Del Monte cups are like $2.90 (and that was at Sullivan's) and I thought that they looked delicious. Problem was, I got them home, and then realized that I gave away my blender to a friend who's spouse had lap band surgery... And I had really NOT wanted that blender to begin with. I NEVER need a blender, and I hate how much space it takes up to store it. Well, next time I was out, I checked out the Personal Blenders that Hamilton Beach makes, which have a travel lid on top of the blender cup, so you can drink right from the cup. $15- and so I grabbed one with my babysitting money. Good news is, both purchases were worth it and I didn't have to have a giant blender. LOL.
Today when Marek lay down for nap, Ardyn and I switched the laundry, and decided to go back outside to our blanket in the grass. She was thirsty and I was in the mood for something cool and refreshing, so I whipped out the Mango Pineapple Smoothie. It's really simple. You remove the plastic wrapper (which is perforated) and then you have two separate cups... The lower one is larger, and contains your chunk fruit with syrup/juice. The top is smaller, like a fruit cup, and reminds me exactly of the fruit chillers that you can buy in the applesauce aisle, and then freeze. Ardyn loves those, and especially did before she could have ice cream (because of her dairy allergy) You dump both cups into the blender, then you fill the larger bottom cup with ice and add that to the blender. Pulse, an d VOILA! Really neat! It actually makes TWO eight ounce servings.... so what's great is that for the $3.00, you are getting two servings. I thought to myself "this is going to be one of those things where it says two servings but I would normally drink 2-3 servings as one...." but it was really generous. Ardyn and I shared and there was still some leftover. I think that the $3 would easily make enough for Ardyn, Marek, and myself. That's a great price, In my opinion.
Could I buy fruit and make my own perhaps? Sure. Will I? Nope. No time. Better things to do. Fruit might be bad before I get around to it, or I would make one and then not the rest.
So, bottom line, try them out. I have two more flavors in the fridge to test out, and I am sure they are delicious! Visit their website http://www.blendandenjoy.com/ and click "Get Coupons" in the upper right corner.... to get printable coupon that will make it even LESS Expensive to try them out!
Thursday, April 08, 2010
I promise I'm trying!
WHY is it so HARD to complete a thought these days? WHY can't anyone take both of my children at once, get them OUT of my house, and allow me to find some sort of order in all this chaos? And even better, why do I have to flee the premises to get any sort of relaxation? What I wouldn't give for an empty, quiet house (with my children and husband safely somewhere else, of course... this isn't a morbid dream!) and to have it be clean so that I could crochet, embroider, read, sew, watch a movie? Any of the above. Even paint my toenails. Seriously? Whew. It's hectic in this place.
I don't understand why no one believes me when I say that my house is a mess. Apparently they have never dropped by (thank god!) and lay eyes upon the horror and clutter that surrounds me everyday. I have recently been locking myself in my bedroom. I have gates on both the doors and I can see the living room, front porch, bathroom, and Ardyn's room all from my perch on the bed. I take my laptop, my calendar, my cell phone, and my house phone and climb up high above it all and watch. I can see the kids play. I can fold laundry. I can watch the weather channel. I make phone calls and appointments, I update my calendar. I edit all the photos I take and put them online and categorize and save them to my hard drive.
The kidsbeat each other play together and I try to play referee supervisor and loving mother, while still accomplishing a few tasks. I feel insanely guilty, but it's the only way I can get anything DONE. Right now they are playing in the living room, in a "tent" that we made with a large tablecloth and four dining room chairs. I would have just done something over he dining room table, but it's piled so high with crap that I don't even know where to begin! cluttered. It was cute that Marek kept pulling the tablecloth down, except that every time I tried to sit on the bed and accomplish something, I was summoned and pleaded to put the tent back up again. Eventually they gave up on the tent idea and alternately hit each other with a wooden spoon (you think I am joking, but I am not) and so I am off the hook for tent assembly for now.
So, a while back I joined Mary Jane's Farmgirl Group. I am super excited about it, because they award merit badges for the kind of things that I get a kick out of. And these are NOT easy merit badges to earn. I don't mean they would be difficult for someone who doesn't do these types of crafty things on a daily basis... I mean they are so difficult for ME to complete (especially with a huge lack of "alone" time) that I am a little overwhelmed with the thought of it, and in some ways, a little nervous that I will never complete any! For example, they send you your membership badge and (just like all other badges you earn) you need to embroider the design (by hand of course) before you display/wear it. I have been telling myself for over a month that I need to get that started, but first I have to find the darn thing! LOL.
I have been seriously considering submitting some entries for the county fair. I have NEVER done this before in my life. I have considered photography, sewing, embroidery, and other crafts. But I don't even know what the categories are, and where to begin. What does seem to be exciting, is that they have FINALLY put the entry forms online for the categories. Except I don't know what belongs in what category, or what the judging is based on. I am such a novice. I wonder if Ardyn's halloween costume would qualify in Textiles? Would the toddler sized mei-tai fit into textiles? How about the dress and hat that I am going to make for the upcoming MOPS Tea Party? Embroidery is a textile or a hobby? Whew. Lots to learn.
The more I research and read about the fair categories, the more I realize I could enter. Like breads and rolls and pies and cakes. Oh My. But, will I find the time to prepare everything? Stay Tuned! haha!
The kids have moved on from the tent to a large empty cardboard box that they alternately climb in and out of excitedly.
I have been away from blogging so long, I can't even remember where I left off, or what I should say. Marek had his first Birthday. That was so much fun. I can't believe it's been a year already! Just in the last week he has started to consistently (every day) walk without assistance or holding on to anything. He has also started saying more words, instead of just Mamma and Daddy, he said shoe, sad, hat, honk honk, and his own version of "What's that?"
He is almost 20 pounds and his hair is starting to redden up. Tuesday I witnessed him take Ardyn to the ground when she took a toy from her. He wrapped his arms around her neck and took her down, and then she couldn't get away because he had her hair. I, of courselaughed frowned from afar, and let them resolve it themselves. It was quite eye opening for Ardyn.
We had his party at a local community center, and it went really well. The next week was his birthday, and I took pics of him, and also did a cake smash with him. Then came Easter. We had already visited the bunny at the mall and had our fabulous photo op, and so the kids were ready. Ardyn and I started the weekend by attending the Community Easter Egg Hunt, where Ardyn was chosen to have her picture taken for the newspaper. Marek stayed at our house with Grandma Susan, because he was still battling croup and it was breezy and cool outside. They watched Grandpa Bob and Evan wrestle our old fridge into the basement.
Sunday morning Ardyn and I went to church. We decided on a church to try out, the Open Prairie United Church of Christ. I was absolutely thrilled with the people there. They were so outgoing and welcoming! As soon as we arrived people began to introduce themselves. It was so refreshing and unlike my past church. The environment was very open and relaxed, and worship itself was very laid back and fun. Ardyn had a hard time (a VERY hard time) sitting still, but for the most part, people were more entertained by her than upset. She went down the rows and asked people to stand up and follow her, this in the middle of the sermon. Eventually she had to leave and go to the Sunday school room, and another parishioner who is a retired schoolteacher offered to stay with her so that I could attend the sermon. That was great, except I missed the first 10 minutes or so, which left me a little confused and unable to really drive home the point of the sermon. Maybe Next Time? I am thinking that at the next service I will take Marek instead and just see what happens. I just know that I can't keep them both in church by myself... I am not into punishing myself. LOL.
I signed up to bring Chili for their upcoming Potato Bar. Theirs seems to be a community that I would like to be a bigger part of. Time will tell. The main worry that I have is the lack of programs and activities for children as young as mine. It's not a huge deal, but many other churches in the same community are larger, and able to provide a nursery environment for the kids while their parents are attending the service. We never had that at the church I grew up in, but there was a windowed narthex where the sermon and service were piped overhead via speakers.... so the parents that had to leave could at least still see and hear what was going on. With kids so young, I worry that I won't be able to enjoy the service much because I will always be chasing or hushing them. Although, I think that Ardyn could handle almost every part of the service with the exception of the sermon. The children's sermon was a favorite of hers because they brought in LIVE chicks that had just hatched the prior day, and she got to hold them. She was SO excited about that! That's about as "new life" of a message as you can give a 2 year old!
Our MOPS group has been in full swing. I am sad that when summer comes we won't have meetings anymore, but in their place will be weekly playdates at the park, which to me signify my one year mark with MOPS, as that is how I first became part of the group. That is also hard to believe! I do love our park playdates! This reminds me that I need to turn in my remaining Casey's Pizza Cards to Katie. I really wish I could have sold more!
I just ran into the kitchen to mix up a batch of brownies and put them in the oven. Once the kids saw me emerge it's like they REMEMBERED that I am here. Now they NEED me. Poor children. Poor poor neglected children. Time to call Evan and see about supper plans, we have porkchops that need grilled :)
I don't understand why no one believes me when I say that my house is a mess. Apparently they have never dropped by (thank god!) and lay eyes upon the horror and clutter that surrounds me everyday. I have recently been locking myself in my bedroom. I have gates on both the doors and I can see the living room, front porch, bathroom, and Ardyn's room all from my perch on the bed. I take my laptop, my calendar, my cell phone, and my house phone and climb up high above it all and watch. I can see the kids play. I can fold laundry. I can watch the weather channel. I make phone calls and appointments, I update my calendar. I edit all the photos I take and put them online and categorize and save them to my hard drive.
The kids
So, a while back I joined Mary Jane's Farmgirl Group. I am super excited about it, because they award merit badges for the kind of things that I get a kick out of. And these are NOT easy merit badges to earn. I don't mean they would be difficult for someone who doesn't do these types of crafty things on a daily basis... I mean they are so difficult for ME to complete (especially with a huge lack of "alone" time) that I am a little overwhelmed with the thought of it, and in some ways, a little nervous that I will never complete any! For example, they send you your membership badge and (just like all other badges you earn) you need to embroider the design (by hand of course) before you display/wear it. I have been telling myself for over a month that I need to get that started, but first I have to find the darn thing! LOL.
I have been seriously considering submitting some entries for the county fair. I have NEVER done this before in my life. I have considered photography, sewing, embroidery, and other crafts. But I don't even know what the categories are, and where to begin. What does seem to be exciting, is that they have FINALLY put the entry forms online for the categories. Except I don't know what belongs in what category, or what the judging is based on. I am such a novice. I wonder if Ardyn's halloween costume would qualify in Textiles? Would the toddler sized mei-tai fit into textiles? How about the dress and hat that I am going to make for the upcoming MOPS Tea Party? Embroidery is a textile or a hobby? Whew. Lots to learn.
The more I research and read about the fair categories, the more I realize I could enter. Like breads and rolls and pies and cakes. Oh My. But, will I find the time to prepare everything? Stay Tuned! haha!
The kids have moved on from the tent to a large empty cardboard box that they alternately climb in and out of excitedly.
I have been away from blogging so long, I can't even remember where I left off, or what I should say. Marek had his first Birthday. That was so much fun. I can't believe it's been a year already! Just in the last week he has started to consistently (every day) walk without assistance or holding on to anything. He has also started saying more words, instead of just Mamma and Daddy, he said shoe, sad, hat, honk honk, and his own version of "What's that?"
He is almost 20 pounds and his hair is starting to redden up. Tuesday I witnessed him take Ardyn to the ground when she took a toy from her. He wrapped his arms around her neck and took her down, and then she couldn't get away because he had her hair. I, of course
We had his party at a local community center, and it went really well. The next week was his birthday, and I took pics of him, and also did a cake smash with him. Then came Easter. We had already visited the bunny at the mall and had our fabulous photo op, and so the kids were ready. Ardyn and I started the weekend by attending the Community Easter Egg Hunt, where Ardyn was chosen to have her picture taken for the newspaper. Marek stayed at our house with Grandma Susan, because he was still battling croup and it was breezy and cool outside. They watched Grandpa Bob and Evan wrestle our old fridge into the basement.
Sunday morning Ardyn and I went to church. We decided on a church to try out, the Open Prairie United Church of Christ. I was absolutely thrilled with the people there. They were so outgoing and welcoming! As soon as we arrived people began to introduce themselves. It was so refreshing and unlike my past church. The environment was very open and relaxed, and worship itself was very laid back and fun. Ardyn had a hard time (a VERY hard time) sitting still, but for the most part, people were more entertained by her than upset. She went down the rows and asked people to stand up and follow her, this in the middle of the sermon. Eventually she had to leave and go to the Sunday school room, and another parishioner who is a retired schoolteacher offered to stay with her so that I could attend the sermon. That was great, except I missed the first 10 minutes or so, which left me a little confused and unable to really drive home the point of the sermon. Maybe Next Time? I am thinking that at the next service I will take Marek instead and just see what happens. I just know that I can't keep them both in church by myself... I am not into punishing myself. LOL.
I signed up to bring Chili for their upcoming Potato Bar. Theirs seems to be a community that I would like to be a bigger part of. Time will tell. The main worry that I have is the lack of programs and activities for children as young as mine. It's not a huge deal, but many other churches in the same community are larger, and able to provide a nursery environment for the kids while their parents are attending the service. We never had that at the church I grew up in, but there was a windowed narthex where the sermon and service were piped overhead via speakers.... so the parents that had to leave could at least still see and hear what was going on. With kids so young, I worry that I won't be able to enjoy the service much because I will always be chasing or hushing them. Although, I think that Ardyn could handle almost every part of the service with the exception of the sermon. The children's sermon was a favorite of hers because they brought in LIVE chicks that had just hatched the prior day, and she got to hold them. She was SO excited about that! That's about as "new life" of a message as you can give a 2 year old!
Our MOPS group has been in full swing. I am sad that when summer comes we won't have meetings anymore, but in their place will be weekly playdates at the park, which to me signify my one year mark with MOPS, as that is how I first became part of the group. That is also hard to believe! I do love our park playdates! This reminds me that I need to turn in my remaining Casey's Pizza Cards to Katie. I really wish I could have sold more!
I just ran into the kitchen to mix up a batch of brownies and put them in the oven. Once the kids saw me emerge it's like they REMEMBERED that I am here. Now they NEED me. Poor children. Poor poor neglected children. Time to call Evan and see about supper plans, we have porkchops that need grilled :)
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Long Lost Love
Dearest Blog,
I miss you. I promise we will be together again, someday soon. Wait for me!
Love,
Meagan
P.S. It's not you, it's me. Ardyn had croup and then walking pneumonia with a blistering ear infection, which we cleared up just in time for Marek's Birthday party. Then the day after Marek's birthday, he came down with Croup and I have been sleeping upright while holding him for the past two nights, and napping with him at brief intervals each day. Tonight we finally went to the ER for what we hoped would be a steroid shot and a breathing treatment, but instead were given an antibiotic. So now he is on oral steroids, ibuprofen, and amoxicillan. Hopefully he does better tonight because I could really use some uninterrupted sleep, or at least more than 6 hours of sleep ;) That is why I must go to bed instead of blogging now, because It's already nearing 1:30 am and I stayed up late to wash diapers because I am so far behind that we can't walk through the house without tripping, we have used every diaper in the house, and there is not an inch of counterspace or clean towels in the place. Forgive me, dear Blog....
I miss you. I promise we will be together again, someday soon. Wait for me!
Love,
Meagan
P.S. It's not you, it's me. Ardyn had croup and then walking pneumonia with a blistering ear infection, which we cleared up just in time for Marek's Birthday party. Then the day after Marek's birthday, he came down with Croup and I have been sleeping upright while holding him for the past two nights, and napping with him at brief intervals each day. Tonight we finally went to the ER for what we hoped would be a steroid shot and a breathing treatment, but instead were given an antibiotic. So now he is on oral steroids, ibuprofen, and amoxicillan. Hopefully he does better tonight because I could really use some uninterrupted sleep, or at least more than 6 hours of sleep ;) That is why I must go to bed instead of blogging now, because It's already nearing 1:30 am and I stayed up late to wash diapers because I am so far behind that we can't walk through the house without tripping, we have used every diaper in the house, and there is not an inch of counterspace or clean towels in the place. Forgive me, dear Blog....
Sunday, March 28, 2010
My Review of Vigoss ® Low Rise Jeans
Originally submitted at Maurices
An exciting and relaxed pair of jeans. This low rise pair by Vigoss ® features some great fading around the knees and thighs that contrast nicely with the dark wash. And, of course, check out the great embossing detail on the back pockets. You won't be able to see it when they're on, but ot...
I get SO MANY compliments on these jeans
By dazed from Illinois on 3/28/2010
Waist: Feels true to size
Inseam: Feels true to length
Pros: Stylish, Slimming, Comfortable, Holds Shape, Flattering Fit
Best Uses: Night Out, Casual Wear
Describe Yourself: Eclectic, Casual, Bargain Shopper
These jeans are AWESOME. They are my favorite pair by far, even over all my silver jeans. I can't believe how awesome they fit, how comfy they are, AND how many compliments I get! I have people always asking me where I got them, what brand they are, etc. I am a Stay at home Mom to two toddlers (1 and 2.5 years old) and my clothes have to LAST and be comfy. I really want something that is fashionable though! When I took the kids to the pediatrician in these jeans the NURSES said they were checking me out and they wanted to know where I got them. Would buy again. Wish this pocket style was available in more color choices!
(legalese)
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Random Thoughts
I fully intended my next blog post (this one!) to include pics of the dresser project, and pics of what else I have been sewing, and pics of organizing toys, but here I sit with my laptop not attached to my hard drive, (external hard drive where I store all my files/pics) and so I really really REALLY don't want to leave this cushy spot and blog from that hard chair at the desk.... so those things might have to wait.
The kids are down for a little "quiet time" - which is code for "If I don't say the word nap you won't have a hysterical meltdown and if I let you snuggle in your freshly made pajamas in your warm bed while watching some little Einstiens, you might just happen to fall asleep on your own and I can have a few moments of peace to gather my thoughts and make supper." So far, so good. Of course Marek just nursed and went right to sleep. I normally wouldn't be to thrilled with this late of a nap (it's almost 5:30pm and my kids usually nap anywhere from 2:30-3:30pm) but we have had a busy day and I know that they are both just so sleepy, and would be evil children by bedtime... so a little snooze won't hurt them (or me.)
We got up and got dressed and ate our breakfast (our current favorite is multigrain cheerios with sliced bananas and milk) and then we met our neighbors Elizabeth, Kelsea, and Jadeyn for a nice long walk (2.5 miles we believe) around town, and some time at the thawed out playground (slides and swings and merry-go-rounds! yay!) which was really awesome and it felt so good to breathe in all that fresh air. I can feel some activity has done me good mentally and my arms and legs too! The kids played well and we had a minimal amount of meltdowns and we only had to make yellow snow once (why oh why couldn't the park bathrooms be unlocked?!) so it was a pretty successful morning. We came home to lunch (soup for mom, spaghettios with meatballs for kids, which was a treat!) and then we played. And played. And played. And I made Ardyn another pajama dress (pics later, I promise. I have three more that I have made that you haven't seen yet :) and then Grandma Deb stopped by for a nice little visit between haircut and chiro. appointments.
The kids wanted a snack so we had apple slices and milk, and Ardyn requested cheetos so I gave her a little handful of those too. She was on cloud 9. Now they are resting peacefully, the dog is on the couch, and I have snuggled in my own bed to blog and perhaps watch some TV. I could be folding diapers, but the house is all picked up and the dishes are all done, so really it's not rocket science that mommy deserves a break. right?
Last night was a great MOPS meeting (aren't they ALL!?) where we had Breakfast for supper. We also had some really cute craft ideas and kids' songs and poems from Joyce, who provides us with a little monthly "newsletter" of preschool ideas (she is the teacher for the church's preschool, which we just registered Ardyn for next year. I am SUPER excited about it!)
Our group is a rapidly growing group of awesome women, and it is crazy because sometimes we don't get a chance to talk to everyone, and it can be like "Oh man, I saw you, but we didn't get time to talk!" After the meeting, I ran to Wal-mart because I had some pajamas that I needed to exchange. For years (and I mean years) if I see something I like and it's the end of the season, I buy the item to ensure that I get the size I want for the next year, and then keep the receipt and keep the tags/packaging on, and if they go on clearance, you can go back and present the receipt and the items and get the price difference. Most people don't even know you can do that apparently (I thought that was common knowledge) but it turns out that this year they have started to change their policies. You CAN return them, but the only way you can get the actual price difference is if the price is put on ROLLBACK and not on CLEARANCE. However if your items are in the correct time frame (which of course mine are) with receipt, you CAN return them and then use the money to buy the clearance items (it's really the same thing) EXCEPT some people won't let you buy the ones that you just returned. Although, last night, that turned out to work in my favor.
Because they wouldn't give me the price difference, they told me that I could return them and then go into the store and buy the ones that WERE on clearance... no problem. What I had were kids' pajamas. Ever since having kids, I have bought Gerber 2-packs of sleepers. They were $9.50 this year, but at the end of the season, they go on clearance pretty cheap. So I have never bought them at the beginning of the year... I always but the kids' clothes on clearance for the next year. While this can be a bit difficult when they are smaller, once they hit toddler sizes, they don't grow as quickly, and so it can be a great great great way to save money. It really is helpful, but Evan hates all the totes of kids clothes that we have in the attic. And now not only do we have girl clothes, but we have BOY clothes, so double what we have packed up there. I generally have Marek clothed until 2T, and have some things for 3T-5T for him as well. I have Ardyn clothed to 4T, with some bigger things here and there. Especially like finding snowpants and coats for like $2 at garage sales, I buy those in advance and just have a list that I keep of what I have and need for future sizes. I am also getting fairly good at estimating shoe sizes for the next year, although that can bite you in the ass here and there as some shoes are pretty seasonal :) But you can't go wrong with cheap tennis shoes, because we always have a good pair and at least one or two "play" tennis shoes in case they get dirty or are in the wash. And you can always use staples like black mary janes.
Anyway, I digress. When I went to go through the clearance PJ's on the shelves, there were a TON. One of the employees mentioned to me that they were going on clearance even more (they were marked at $5 for a two pack) and that they were supposed to be $3, but they had so many price markdowns to do that they hadn't gotten to them yet. So they marked down all the ones that I had in the cart to $3 a two pack. So I had purchased (previously) 4 pair of pj's for each kid for the next winter. That was 4- two packs at $9.50 each, totaling $40 and some odd change after tax. When I returned them, they put $40 on a gift card, so I was able to get 24 pair of pajamas for the same price! Whoot! I got enough for both kids to wear from now until they are in 5T. Gerber jammies run a bit small (especially over cloth diapers stuffed for overnights) so my kids are always sized up. So you should have SEEN my excitement to walk up to the checkout with a whole cart full of PJ's! Yay!
I am also happy because I know that they are starting to change the way they accept returns and they won't refund you easily, so I don't have to do this with PJ's anymore, since I have them covered up to 5T.
But, for example, this spring I will bring down Ardyn's 3T tote from the attic and there will be all sorts of clothes ready to wear, some from garage sales, and some from clearance aisles.... and I will go through and take off the tags and wash them and fill her closet. Right now I am getting ready to pull each kids' tote down and see what type of staples I might still be needing. I am guessing a few pair of short PJ sets for Marek and maybe some solid color T's for each kid. Otherwise, I should be good. I already got them each 4 pair of CROCS on eBay, Marek's were dirt cheap.... I got 4 pair for 99 cents plus shipping. Ardyn's cost a bit more because they were authentic crocs, but they are lightweight and I love crocs in the summer. LOVE them. So really we are just ready to get this time changed and the weather nice!
Last night when I got home I worked on my calendar for the upcoming month. Things are getting busy! We are getting a couple of estimates for a new furnace, EVERYONE in the family has a Doctor's appointment this month, We have the Hearts at Home Conference, we are taking Ardyn to the children's Museum, We are hosting a St Patty's Day Playdate, we are attending two other playdates, I have MOPS again, a MOPS Game night, my monthly Bunco group, The MOPS Pottery Night for moms, Two scrapbooking nights, and we need to go see the Easter Bunny and bake a cake and decorate for Marek's birthday party this month too! We have a birthday party for a friend to attend... and so the calendar is filling up FAST.
I can't believe that Marek is almost 1. It's unbelievable. It's heart wrenching in a lot of ways, this year has gone SO fast, and although I want to have more kids, I often think that there are sometimes circumstances that prevent that, and what IF this is my last baby? That just breaks my heart and I just want to hug him and squeeze him and keep him little forever. Especially when I see that he's gonna just keep getting older and bigger like Ardyn. *tear*
I bought him a few pair of shorts and t-shirts that I will wrap up for his birthday, otherwise I am hoping that people will know that we are already blessed with a zillion toys, and hopefully will get him something inexpensive to open (like an outside toy... bubbles, sandbox or pool toys perhaps) and then maybe some cash or Wal-Mart gift cards so we can get his Graco Nautilus car seat, which will carry him through many years! He might perhaps need some tennis shoes, like size 4's.... since he is just now starting to wear his size 3 New Balance shoes... otherwise he really does have all the clothes he needs for the summer! We bought him a swim trunk/flip flop/rash guard shirt on clearance at Old Navy last year, and I have a ton of clothes.... so should be good to go!
I do wonder if we will have a cozy coupe fight all summer, since we have one cozy coupe and one "other" car... and Ardyn is so attached to the cozy coupe as HER car.... It might be war! We would like to get a pool (like the turtle) with a cover over it, so that we can just leave it filled and keep the water warm and bug free. Those inflatable pools really annoy me, you can't cover them (bugs! leaves!) and you have to blow them up and deflate them, and it drives me bonkers. I just want one that we can fill and leave covered, and dump every once in a while. Seriously, I think it's probably good practice to dump it after use, and then fill it right back up and cover it so that the next time you want to use it, the water is warm. I just feel horrible sticking a baby into a freezing cold pool with water from the hose.
I can't wait for the kids to play in the sandbox, and I wonder how much sand Marek is going to eat? It will be interesting!
The kids are down for a little "quiet time" - which is code for "If I don't say the word nap you won't have a hysterical meltdown and if I let you snuggle in your freshly made pajamas in your warm bed while watching some little Einstiens, you might just happen to fall asleep on your own and I can have a few moments of peace to gather my thoughts and make supper." So far, so good. Of course Marek just nursed and went right to sleep. I normally wouldn't be to thrilled with this late of a nap (it's almost 5:30pm and my kids usually nap anywhere from 2:30-3:30pm) but we have had a busy day and I know that they are both just so sleepy, and would be evil children by bedtime... so a little snooze won't hurt them (or me.)
We got up and got dressed and ate our breakfast (our current favorite is multigrain cheerios with sliced bananas and milk) and then we met our neighbors Elizabeth, Kelsea, and Jadeyn for a nice long walk (2.5 miles we believe) around town, and some time at the thawed out playground (slides and swings and merry-go-rounds! yay!) which was really awesome and it felt so good to breathe in all that fresh air. I can feel some activity has done me good mentally and my arms and legs too! The kids played well and we had a minimal amount of meltdowns and we only had to make yellow snow once (why oh why couldn't the park bathrooms be unlocked?!) so it was a pretty successful morning. We came home to lunch (soup for mom, spaghettios with meatballs for kids, which was a treat!) and then we played. And played. And played. And I made Ardyn another pajama dress (pics later, I promise. I have three more that I have made that you haven't seen yet :) and then Grandma Deb stopped by for a nice little visit between haircut and chiro. appointments.
The kids wanted a snack so we had apple slices and milk, and Ardyn requested cheetos so I gave her a little handful of those too. She was on cloud 9. Now they are resting peacefully, the dog is on the couch, and I have snuggled in my own bed to blog and perhaps watch some TV. I could be folding diapers, but the house is all picked up and the dishes are all done, so really it's not rocket science that mommy deserves a break. right?
Last night was a great MOPS meeting (aren't they ALL!?) where we had Breakfast for supper. We also had some really cute craft ideas and kids' songs and poems from Joyce, who provides us with a little monthly "newsletter" of preschool ideas (she is the teacher for the church's preschool, which we just registered Ardyn for next year. I am SUPER excited about it!)
Our group is a rapidly growing group of awesome women, and it is crazy because sometimes we don't get a chance to talk to everyone, and it can be like "Oh man, I saw you, but we didn't get time to talk!" After the meeting, I ran to Wal-mart because I had some pajamas that I needed to exchange. For years (and I mean years) if I see something I like and it's the end of the season, I buy the item to ensure that I get the size I want for the next year, and then keep the receipt and keep the tags/packaging on, and if they go on clearance, you can go back and present the receipt and the items and get the price difference. Most people don't even know you can do that apparently (I thought that was common knowledge) but it turns out that this year they have started to change their policies. You CAN return them, but the only way you can get the actual price difference is if the price is put on ROLLBACK and not on CLEARANCE. However if your items are in the correct time frame (which of course mine are) with receipt, you CAN return them and then use the money to buy the clearance items (it's really the same thing) EXCEPT some people won't let you buy the ones that you just returned. Although, last night, that turned out to work in my favor.
Because they wouldn't give me the price difference, they told me that I could return them and then go into the store and buy the ones that WERE on clearance... no problem. What I had were kids' pajamas. Ever since having kids, I have bought Gerber 2-packs of sleepers. They were $9.50 this year, but at the end of the season, they go on clearance pretty cheap. So I have never bought them at the beginning of the year... I always but the kids' clothes on clearance for the next year. While this can be a bit difficult when they are smaller, once they hit toddler sizes, they don't grow as quickly, and so it can be a great great great way to save money. It really is helpful, but Evan hates all the totes of kids clothes that we have in the attic. And now not only do we have girl clothes, but we have BOY clothes, so double what we have packed up there. I generally have Marek clothed until 2T, and have some things for 3T-5T for him as well. I have Ardyn clothed to 4T, with some bigger things here and there. Especially like finding snowpants and coats for like $2 at garage sales, I buy those in advance and just have a list that I keep of what I have and need for future sizes. I am also getting fairly good at estimating shoe sizes for the next year, although that can bite you in the ass here and there as some shoes are pretty seasonal :) But you can't go wrong with cheap tennis shoes, because we always have a good pair and at least one or two "play" tennis shoes in case they get dirty or are in the wash. And you can always use staples like black mary janes.
Anyway, I digress. When I went to go through the clearance PJ's on the shelves, there were a TON. One of the employees mentioned to me that they were going on clearance even more (they were marked at $5 for a two pack) and that they were supposed to be $3, but they had so many price markdowns to do that they hadn't gotten to them yet. So they marked down all the ones that I had in the cart to $3 a two pack. So I had purchased (previously) 4 pair of pj's for each kid for the next winter. That was 4- two packs at $9.50 each, totaling $40 and some odd change after tax. When I returned them, they put $40 on a gift card, so I was able to get 24 pair of pajamas for the same price! Whoot! I got enough for both kids to wear from now until they are in 5T. Gerber jammies run a bit small (especially over cloth diapers stuffed for overnights) so my kids are always sized up. So you should have SEEN my excitement to walk up to the checkout with a whole cart full of PJ's! Yay!
I am also happy because I know that they are starting to change the way they accept returns and they won't refund you easily, so I don't have to do this with PJ's anymore, since I have them covered up to 5T.
But, for example, this spring I will bring down Ardyn's 3T tote from the attic and there will be all sorts of clothes ready to wear, some from garage sales, and some from clearance aisles.... and I will go through and take off the tags and wash them and fill her closet. Right now I am getting ready to pull each kids' tote down and see what type of staples I might still be needing. I am guessing a few pair of short PJ sets for Marek and maybe some solid color T's for each kid. Otherwise, I should be good. I already got them each 4 pair of CROCS on eBay, Marek's were dirt cheap.... I got 4 pair for 99 cents plus shipping. Ardyn's cost a bit more because they were authentic crocs, but they are lightweight and I love crocs in the summer. LOVE them. So really we are just ready to get this time changed and the weather nice!
Last night when I got home I worked on my calendar for the upcoming month. Things are getting busy! We are getting a couple of estimates for a new furnace, EVERYONE in the family has a Doctor's appointment this month, We have the Hearts at Home Conference, we are taking Ardyn to the children's Museum, We are hosting a St Patty's Day Playdate, we are attending two other playdates, I have MOPS again, a MOPS Game night, my monthly Bunco group, The MOPS Pottery Night for moms, Two scrapbooking nights, and we need to go see the Easter Bunny and bake a cake and decorate for Marek's birthday party this month too! We have a birthday party for a friend to attend... and so the calendar is filling up FAST.
I can't believe that Marek is almost 1. It's unbelievable. It's heart wrenching in a lot of ways, this year has gone SO fast, and although I want to have more kids, I often think that there are sometimes circumstances that prevent that, and what IF this is my last baby? That just breaks my heart and I just want to hug him and squeeze him and keep him little forever. Especially when I see that he's gonna just keep getting older and bigger like Ardyn. *tear*
I bought him a few pair of shorts and t-shirts that I will wrap up for his birthday, otherwise I am hoping that people will know that we are already blessed with a zillion toys, and hopefully will get him something inexpensive to open (like an outside toy... bubbles, sandbox or pool toys perhaps) and then maybe some cash or Wal-Mart gift cards so we can get his Graco Nautilus car seat, which will carry him through many years! He might perhaps need some tennis shoes, like size 4's.... since he is just now starting to wear his size 3 New Balance shoes... otherwise he really does have all the clothes he needs for the summer! We bought him a swim trunk/flip flop/rash guard shirt on clearance at Old Navy last year, and I have a ton of clothes.... so should be good to go!
I do wonder if we will have a cozy coupe fight all summer, since we have one cozy coupe and one "other" car... and Ardyn is so attached to the cozy coupe as HER car.... It might be war! We would like to get a pool (like the turtle) with a cover over it, so that we can just leave it filled and keep the water warm and bug free. Those inflatable pools really annoy me, you can't cover them (bugs! leaves!) and you have to blow them up and deflate them, and it drives me bonkers. I just want one that we can fill and leave covered, and dump every once in a while. Seriously, I think it's probably good practice to dump it after use, and then fill it right back up and cover it so that the next time you want to use it, the water is warm. I just feel horrible sticking a baby into a freezing cold pool with water from the hose.
I can't wait for the kids to play in the sandbox, and I wonder how much sand Marek is going to eat? It will be interesting!
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