I made this for Ardyn a few days ago.... just for her dolls. It's pretty messy, but still a neat way to use scraps!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
This afternoo i stopped at both cemetaries where I have family buried. I parked the van, rolled down the windows opened the doors, and walked to the plots nearby. Ardyn yelled for me and when I walked back, she said "Mom, i'm done, let's go! Ardyn's eyes are scared." hmmmm... Suppose she's communicating with the other side?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Long Time!
Oy. people, I tell ya! it's been a busy time around these parts! We have been running around all over, having a great time. Sometimes I wish I were just at home all day, but then when we ARE At home all day, all we want is to get out. LOL. I did have a nice day when it rained all day and was so cool outside. I loved it. The windows came open and I got laundry done, and got things picked up.... it was great. I was feeling very at ease and like I was accomplishing. Fall is by far my favorite season and it just felt like fall for me. And then it was beautiful outside. Nice and breezy, 70's, no humidity.... we loved it. We have seen more outside time, more days at the park, and errand running.... and then it got hot again.
We have had a couple of playdates since I posted last, both at the park in town, and both wonderful. The kids all played with each other and then I was able to have MOMMY CONVERSATION. Thank god. It's a saving grace. I don't realize how important it is, and how much I miss it, until I get little tastes of it here and there. It makes me dread winter a bit though, because I see us being cooped up alot, and I am not sure how I will do with that.
I've been to see lots of movies lately, which has also been nice. I am not sure when I posted last and if I mentioned any of them. Tonight I saw "The Ugly Truth" with Katherine Heigl... it was good. Last weekend I saw "Hangover" and the weekend before that I saw "The Proposal" and "Public Enemies." We also did some renting of movies, including Role Models (eh....) and Grand Torino (awesome) and Pineapple Express (horrible!) and also we have The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and something else that i can't think off of-hand, which we need to watch tomorrow.
I have so much more to say, but it's after 1:30am and I need to feed Marek and go to BED!
Goodnight!
We have had a couple of playdates since I posted last, both at the park in town, and both wonderful. The kids all played with each other and then I was able to have MOMMY CONVERSATION. Thank god. It's a saving grace. I don't realize how important it is, and how much I miss it, until I get little tastes of it here and there. It makes me dread winter a bit though, because I see us being cooped up alot, and I am not sure how I will do with that.
I've been to see lots of movies lately, which has also been nice. I am not sure when I posted last and if I mentioned any of them. Tonight I saw "The Ugly Truth" with Katherine Heigl... it was good. Last weekend I saw "Hangover" and the weekend before that I saw "The Proposal" and "Public Enemies." We also did some renting of movies, including Role Models (eh....) and Grand Torino (awesome) and Pineapple Express (horrible!) and also we have The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and something else that i can't think off of-hand, which we need to watch tomorrow.
I have so much more to say, but it's after 1:30am and I need to feed Marek and go to BED!
Goodnight!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thermos Funtainers subject to breaking and choking hazards occur.....
Ardyn has a Thermos Funtainer (Dora) that has a cracked hinge. AND the bottom plastic cap has suddenly come off in the top rack dishwasher? I called Thermos, and there is no warranty on the plastic pieces. Although the whole thing costs about $13. So I told them I wanted to order a new lid. $2. Okay, cool. order it up! Then she says "with shipping it comes to $5." Um. that's half the cost of a new cup. Seriously? That's insane. they need to ship the damn thing flat rate USPS for like $1.50.... and then it would be worth it perhaps. But not $5. So now I am cranky about the cups. I have been trying to buy things gender neutral since finding out Marek was a boy, but now it's like, what's the point of making Ardyn drink out of Batman, Superman, and Spiderman cups if they will all be destroyed before Marek gets to them? Ugh. I have three of them now and was planning on getting a couple more. But now I am not sure.
So then I started looking online, and found blog posts and articles like
THIS ONE
And THIS ONE
And THIS ONE which is the response from Thermos (finally) which frustrated me because this is not what I was told when i called them! I have now sent them a letter requesting replacement of the Thermos Funtainer I have that is broken.
-------------------------------
It's so good to be home. I've been on facebook, and trying to keep up with like 300 emails a day, and haven't had time to blog. I have been getting lots more me time, but have been going to movies and connecting with friends, which is AWESOME. I have seen more movies in the past two weeks than I have seen in the past two YEARS. (seriously.)
Last Friday night my sister and i went to see "The Proposal" With Sandra Bullock and it was by far THE BEST movie I have seen in a long time. HILARIOUS. Saturday night Evan and I went to see Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. It was good, but more of a factual movie than an entertaining one. I enjoyed it, but could probably have been more happy if I had waited till I could see it in my own house. It was really long (feeling) and slow at times. We have watched Gran Torino (loved it) and Role Models (okay) this week, and I have four more new releases to get through by Saturday.
All kinds of stuff has happened that I could blog about, but I face the issue that I don't have all night, and that I can't remember everything.
I will try to get in as much as I can. This past week I went to my second MOPS Playdate at the park. I really enjoyed it. Whenever I think of this, I think about how I want to write a whole seperate post about religion and raising children (God help me?) but I don't have time to get into that just yet. (sometime I hope.) I enjoyed the playdate, but because Elizabeth and Sarah wasn't there, and Elizabeth A left early, that meant that I really didn't hardly know anyone. I had a few people smile and talk to me, but I was seeing more of a clique type situation at this playdate. I told myself that it was because I was someone they didn't know, but I also know that if Sara had been there, I would have felt much more welcome. She's awesome that way. I do hope to become involved in MOPS. I need to be involved in something but at this point it needs to be something that benefits myself and the kids the most, and this I believe is it. I want to help Elizabeth make her newsletter more readily available online, and also help with the chapter's website. I would also like to be able to attend all the meetings, and I am a little concerned about HOW I will do that, because I have been working with the Princeton Computer User Group since sometime back in like 2000 or 2001, and The meetings have ALWAYS been the first Tuesday of the month, and this is exactly conflicting for me. In a way, I feel like I need to make a decision between them, and I am frustrated about that. I have considered doing every other week, but I know that would frustrate me also.
After our MOPS park date this week, we went to eat lunch with Cari, which was awesome per usual. Ahhh.
I had a big list of things I wanted to get done at home this week, but since we have been doing lots of running, yesterday I didn't do much at all. I feel a little badly about that, but oh well. There will be plenty of stuck inside time this winter. Ack.
I have done something unthinkable. I have reverted back to a PAPER PLANNER. *gasp* I too am shocked. But my cell phone is almost 3 years old, and it's started to get flaky. For example, about a year ago it started to change times on my appointments and meetings. NOT COOL. This is all due to a time zone conflict between my phone and my outlook which I CAN NOT Correct. Or I get it corrected and it reverts back and screws up my whole schedule. Plus I have all these lists. And they are everywhere, and I can't remember where they are. So I decided that they needed to just be on paper for now. I have been using Cozi, but I just haven't been keeping up with it like I should, and I believe this is because it's yet ANOTHER place that I have to enter things, and I want it to sync with my outlook, but then there's the time issue, and I just had to do some paper for a while. My phone also started randomly deleting people's contact details. This really pisses me off. And NOW it won't hold a charge for even an entire day. SO tomorrow I am going to get a new cell phone. Thank GOD!
I desperately want an iPhone, but Evan and I both agree (kinda) that the cost of $24.95 for a REQUIRED monthly data plan that isn't a necessity, isn't something that is necessary on one income. I can totally see the point of that, but I am still frustrated. So I have decided on the upgraded Nokia, much like my current phone. I hope that I like it. I believe it's the E71x, and I currently have the E62. After doing some research, I have found that the e71x does have wifi, which means I will be able to get online without using a data plan, if I have wifi available.
I am starting a new book for my sept mom's bookclub. It came via the inter-library loan system, but I haven't cracked the cover yet. Maybe over the weekend?
I have also started using my planner for adding tasks to complete each day/week. I am also writing coupon expirations on the calendar so I don't forget to use them, and WIC coupon expirations, because with 3 people on WIC, that means three DIFFERENT expiration dates each month, and it's hard for me to not get confused.
Last week the lens on my Nikon D40 jammed, and rendered the whole camera completely useless. my friend Nicole Issacson owns a photography business, and had a nokia lens that she let me borrow. Thank GOD. Being without my camera was earth shattering and terrible! I can't get her lens to auto-focus, but I am getting the hang of it, and it does zoom much better than my standard default lens. I had to contact people at Sears to get copies of my receipt, to turn the lens into Nokia via warranty. I need to now package the lens and ship it to Nokia in New York and then wait for it to be repaired and returned to me. Ack. I have asked for a newer, better lens for the "birthday and christmas combo gift" and hope to have one that will zoom much better... but until then I need to get this one fixed.
Also, the hinge on my Rival Crock-Pot broke. I have a $100 Rival electronic crock pot, with a hinged lid and a temperature probe. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this crock pot, and have had it for about a year and a half. The plastic pieces in the hinge cracked, and I wonder if it's from the heat of the dishwasher. But anyway, it only had a one year warranty, and wouldn't you know that you CAN NOT BUY ANY REPLACEMENT PARTS for this particular crock pot model? Yeah. So I have to deal with it or buy a whole new one. How wasteful is that? Evan thinks he can fix it, but that just tells me that there will be another thing that needs to be fixed, sitting around this house staring at me for the next several years. Ack.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Web Links for Kid's Crafts
artprojectsforkids.org
kidscraftweekly.com
belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow
artfulparent.wordpress.com
kidscraftweekly.com
belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow
artfulparent.wordpress.com
Monday, July 13, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Naptime Catch Up!
Ahhhh.... Tuesday..... afternoon.....
Both kids are on the VERGE of napping. I once again can't remember my last blog post.... so hang on a minute while I go back and see where I left off.
Okay, let's start with the weekend. Saturday. The big 4th of July. Yeah, it was lame. I woke up and the kids were up and I was like "what are we going to do today!?" and Evan kinda groaned and rolled over and I couldn't get an answer out of him. Ardyn was her usual charming self but I knew that I needed a break. So I decided to get in the shower and hoped that once I got cleaned up, Evan would be in a better mood. While I was in the shower I can hear the TV come on, and Marek SCREAMING and it just went on and on (peaceful shower) and then when I came out I see that both kids are abandoned and Evan is in the restroom. That made me pretty cranky. Seriously. Can't wait for 10 minutes so I can shower in peace? So I get Marek and get myself all dressed, then nurse him, get him all dressed, pack a diaper bag, and get Ardyn a drink. I packed up all my scrapbook stuff, load everything in the van, load Marek and his diaper bag in the van, and Evan is STILL in the bathroom. So I shout down the stairs to Evan that Marek and I are leaving, going scrapbooking for the day, and that I hope he and Ardyn have a wonderful day. Silence. "What made you decide that?" Um, probably you not giving me a straight answer and acting like we were going to AGAIN sit at home on our butts because it's raining and we didn't want to take the kids to the parade in the rain, etc etc.
So Marek and I ran away. Got a full tank of gas.... and went to Grandma Deb's where my scrapbooking supplies are. It was a fabulous day then. I scrapbooked from about 2pm-12am and got 12 pages done, and most of them fully embellished and journaled. FABULOUS. I totally need to do that more often. I don't mind taking Marek with me, because I would either have to stop and FEED him, or stop and pump for him, so not a whole lot of difference there. But Ardyn just does not do well sitting still or entertaining herself while I scrapbook.... unless we are on home turf and there isn't much she can hurt, and has all her own toys.
Sunday we were pretty relaxed around home, just anticipating that night. We went to Walnut for a cookout at my cousin Jessica and her husband Jim's house, and then watched the fireworks on the front deck, which is up really high and right across from the park where they set them off. The party was great, and the food was good. We took the kids for a wagon ride over through the park, though there wasn't much to do. There were rides this year (just like 4 or 5) but they weren't really age appropriate for Ardyn... so we just walked around a bit. Change of scenery does wonders for a toddler. Ardyn was all dressed up in fabulous red, white, and blue attire, and I actually felt a little bad because she was like the ONLY kid in red white and blue? Seriously? That's part of the fun of the holiday, especially for kids! You can't pass up an excuse to dress fabulously?! She had on the Gymboree Grass Skirt Sandals, and a stars and stripes dress, and fireworks hair ties, and a tiara with red white and blue, and a favulous matching wand, and red white and blue beaded bracelets. She was loving it, and we got lots of looks and stares at the park, but it was kinda making me feel uncomfortable, like there was a pedophile watching her or something. A little to Jon Benet for my tastes.... but for the family party it was great....
We really had a nice time, but there was one girl there (who hopefully doesn't read my blog, or MAYBE Hopefully does) who was drinking and smoking and had Two kids (one about Ardyn's age) and was not paying ANY attention to them. In fact, she spent the whole night either OUTSIDE while they were INSIDE, or vice versa.... or on the complete opposite side of the deck from her kids. It was making us really nervous, both for their safety, and for Ardyn's. Jim and Jessica have an AWESOME front deck, that has lots of stairs leading up to it, and I would have to venture a guess that the deck is at least 10 feet from the ground. I normally wouldn't worry, but the deck is a little dangerous for small bodies, because the rails are much farther apart than a "standard" deck, I'd guess about a foot apart. The same is true for the spindles on the stair railings. And it was a real worry issue for me, because Ardyn would want to go look over the edge, and would lean, and I was terrified she would fall and break her neck. But the other mom wasn't paying a damn bit of attention to her kids, and the younger one was easily able to fit through those rails, and was always walking dangerously close to the stairs, and it was just too much. At one point, I saw this girl's daughter (who was WAY old enough to know better) push another child and that child's parent had to step up and tell her to knock it off, because the girl's mother was nowhere to be found, and when she was she was either indifferent or not paying a bit of attention.
Someone told me that they SAW her drink 8 drinks, and that was just what they SAW. And then she left with those two kids.... Ugh. Of course when Ardyn started getting antsy while waiting for the fireworks, I went to the van and got her something to do, her Dora backpack with some crayons, and paper from Jim and Jess's printer, and Dr. Seuss books and some Dora figures, and a Magna Doodle. I also brought her a snack. Of course, as soon as I broke out those toys, the other kids came to sit down and play. Which was fine, but at the same time, I was supervising them, if at all. Then the little boy started putting all of Ardyn's toys in his mouth, and chewing on them. But he was like two, again, old enough to know better, had he been taught. And Evan was really upset by that, to the point of asking me to just pick up the toys and take them away from Ardyn. I had to tell the little boy to please stop putting toys in his mouth. As a parent, nothing is worse than another mother who doesn't care about or pay any attention to what her kid is doing. Especially when the child is too young to be unsupervised. The boy's grandma was there, but she was as uninterested as the mom (now we know where she got her supervision skills, right?) I felt badly for Jim and Jessica, because it wasn't their responsibility to watch the kids either, and I could tell it was rubbing several people the wrong way. At one point in time the boy had Evan's keys and cell phone and we had to get it back, and another time his mother sat him all by himself in a chair next to MY mom, as if my mom was supposed to watch him. He sat there for the longest time, just sitting there, and we all felt so bad for him! So the cookout was fun, the fireworks were great, but we were a little uncomfortable about the whole situation. We discussed that maybe next year we will go to the cookout and visit for a while and then take a blanket down in the grass to wait for and watch the fireworks.... which might be a good bet because Ardyn really needed to run off some energy and have a change of scenery, and the front deck was not a place to run and play. And if Marek is big enough to be running next year (should be!) it will be alot harder to keep up with TWO toddlers! So we may have to re-evaluate how we handle that next year.
Fireworks were good, I was afraid of how Marek would handle them, being young and that being his bedtime. He did great. No crying. He sat on my lap with his pacifier and watched contentedly for a while with wide eyes, and then fell asleep. Ardyn was a little scared at first, and covered her eyes and ears, but then she got used to them and was really enjoying herself, especially dancing to the music. I had gotten her a 6-pack of glow bracelets for $1 at Wal-Mart, and they were red, white, and blue, so she was loving it.
Both kids were passed out before we even got out of Walnut. When we got home, I sat in the van and ate Ben and Jerry's chocolate ice cream while the kids slept in the back. Yesterday was Monday. I was very busy. The dryer repair man came to fix the dryer door, and the window that Sears gave us was "8am-5pm" which REALLY had me peeved. At least I didn't have to take a day OFF work. I decided that I was going to stay home and clean while waiting. It took me almost ALL DAY to clean the living room. I picked up toys on the porch, in the living room, and dining room. Then I put Ardyn in her bedroom with all her toys, and shut the gate across her doorway, so that I could vacuum and mop. She was so Irate with me, and kept screaming "OPEN GATE!" but I knew that I couldn't get anything done with the toddler tornado stringing things across the rooms. I vacuumed and mopped. I pulled out ALL the furniture (not sure how long that had been!) and vacuumed and mopped UNDER everything. Then I cleaned off all the tables, and the baskets under the tables, and then I washed the leather couch and loveseat, all over (even the backsides) and then I put on leather conditioner, and leather protector. I hadn't been able to do that since I was pregnant with Ardyn, and I used to do it once every 6 months like they recommend. Then I decided to re-arrange the living room entirely. That was pretty cool, it's different. I like it. I like things to change now and then. Because out house is laid out a certain way, with lots of closets, doors, windows, doorways.... it is difficult to do very many layouts in each room.
All the work was totally worth it, especially when I saw the look on Evan's face when he came inside at the end of the day. He had been working in the yard. It was REALLY hot, but he mowed, and then he shoveled and hauled mulch over from the farm for our flower beds, and shoveled it all into place for me! Wow! When I got done with all the cleaning, I was exhausted and filthy. I washed my feet and brushed my hair and teeth, and when Ardyn woke up from her nap we went to McDonald's for supper. No way I was cooking! Then the kids and I came home and played in the front yard. I put everything back where it went after Evan mowed, and lit the tiki torches, citronella candles, and started a fire in the fire pit. We sat outside until after dark, when Ardyn started to get cranky, and then I put her to bed. Then I did a BUNCH of laundry folding and hanging, and put Marek to bed IN HIS OWN CRIB for the very first time.
It's strange how I feel about Marek. I can't tell you how much I adore Ardyn, and how much I adored her from the start. But because I was a first time mom, I just couldn't appreciate how quick she was going to grow, and how much she would make me happy, and so I think that although I enjoyed her and loved her to my fullest, I just didn't know how quickly she was going to become a toddler. And now with Marek, I feel so attached to him. Double the attachment almost. With Ardyn my attachment was more one of fear and anxiety. I was terrified that something would go wrong. I was terrified that if I left her for a second, someone would slip her some formula, or something would happen to me and I would never return to her. With Marek it's a more relaxed attachment, and I think that allows me to focus on quality time with him, and on laughing and cuddling, and being really appreciative of every silent moment that I get to spend with him, because having 2 kids, they are few and far between and I know that he too will grow WAY too fast. He already is! (*tears! oh my!*)
Ardyn slept in the cosleeper in the beginning, but while I loved having her there, it was almost more anxiety producing, because every single sound she made, I had to turn the little light on and check her. Was she breathing? Was she okay? I was so paranoid that I couldn't sleep sometimes. Every little sound she made woke me and I was not sleeping well, even when she was. But she did make a TON of sounds in her sleep also. She slept throught the night for like 10-12 hours when she was TEN DAYS OLD. Her time in the cosleeper was fairly short, maybe 2 months.... and she went to her crib. She was sleeping through the night, but then it got to the point where if she woke, she smelled me, and she would want to nurse, even if she didn't NEED to nurse. It was also getting exhausting to wake up with every little sniffle she made. She went into her crib one night and never went back to the cosleeper. Now with Marek, keeping him next to me has been a mixture of necessity and attachment. I am purely and totally attached to him. It's a little embarassing to admit, because we are supposed to be the ones who want them in their own room, but seriously, there are often times that I think I could let him sleep there forever and we would both be perfectly happy. There's just something about that boy, that makes the two of us attached pretty strongly. So last night was emotionally hard on me, because it was like "Oh god, he's growing up, he's moving to his own room!" where with Ardyn it was another exciting milestone for the first baby, with Marek it's something that I dread, his growing up so fast! So right after I put him down, I got myself ready for sleep. I was in bed by 11:30, but couldn't sleep without him there. It was the strangest thing. I know lots of people who say they can't sleep if their husband isn't home, or isn't in bed with them, and I have always thought that was the Strangest thing.... and here is me, not being able to sleep because the baby is not next to me. But I finally did fall asleep, after watching his chest rise and fall on the video monitor. Ahhh. My big boy. And he slept till about 4am, and then I went in and fed him in the rocker in the nursery. That also brought back so many memories of mid-morning feedings with Ardyn. The rocker hadn't even been IN the nursery as it moved into her room when she did. I just put it in there last night. And then Marek went right back to sleep in the crib and stayed there till he woke at about 8:30 this morning. (*More tears!*) he's growing up already and he's only 3 months old!
So. Then I showered and got myself ready, and got both kids dressed, and we went to the MOPS playdate. This was the first MOPS anything that I had attended, and it was really nice to see other ADULTS and moms. I felt bad because Ardyn did really well (as expected) until she saw that Kelsea had "her" Dora Thermos cup. You can try till you are blue in the face, but Ardyn has a one track mind and you can't explain to her that Wal-Mart sells them and that there is more than ONE Dora cup on the planet. Oh boy was she determined to get HER cup from Kelsea. That's when I knew it was time to go! We went to Wal-Mart for some errands and to pick up a prescription. We found plates, cups, and flatware, all turquoise, on clearance for $1 a pack, and I bought enough for her Birthday Party. Then I found some mermaid napkins online that I like. Expensive but not really much more than ones you find in a store. If I use all solid stuff that I got on clearance, and just the mermaid napkins, I can justify ordering them online. It should run less than $10 for all the napkins I need.
I am *hoping* that the weather is nice, because we can then put helium balloons on the fence out front, and she can have a nice outside party. I did get the cake pan yesterdayday (bought used on eBay) and also got the Cricut Cartridge "Life's a Beach" to make her invitations. It has an ADORABLE Mermaid! I can hardly wait to get the invites made, so hopefully I can do that instead of scrapbooking on Thursday at moms. I am "considering" trying to cut out the Mermaid body, and the using Ardyn's head (a photo) as the Mermaid's head/face. But, we will have to see about that. Depends on what I can come up with! A birthday party at home, yet another reason to get every room in this house organized and cleaned! LOL.
Well, I have more to say (shocking, I know) but I am out of time as we are supposed to be attending an open house tonight and Ardyn is still napping and we aren't packed yet. LOL. Baby steps. So, stay tuned, more to come, perhaps this evening if I am lucky.
Both kids are on the VERGE of napping. I once again can't remember my last blog post.... so hang on a minute while I go back and see where I left off.
Okay, let's start with the weekend. Saturday. The big 4th of July. Yeah, it was lame. I woke up and the kids were up and I was like "what are we going to do today!?" and Evan kinda groaned and rolled over and I couldn't get an answer out of him. Ardyn was her usual charming self but I knew that I needed a break. So I decided to get in the shower and hoped that once I got cleaned up, Evan would be in a better mood. While I was in the shower I can hear the TV come on, and Marek SCREAMING and it just went on and on (peaceful shower) and then when I came out I see that both kids are abandoned and Evan is in the restroom. That made me pretty cranky. Seriously. Can't wait for 10 minutes so I can shower in peace? So I get Marek and get myself all dressed, then nurse him, get him all dressed, pack a diaper bag, and get Ardyn a drink. I packed up all my scrapbook stuff, load everything in the van, load Marek and his diaper bag in the van, and Evan is STILL in the bathroom. So I shout down the stairs to Evan that Marek and I are leaving, going scrapbooking for the day, and that I hope he and Ardyn have a wonderful day. Silence. "What made you decide that?" Um, probably you not giving me a straight answer and acting like we were going to AGAIN sit at home on our butts because it's raining and we didn't want to take the kids to the parade in the rain, etc etc.
So Marek and I ran away. Got a full tank of gas.... and went to Grandma Deb's where my scrapbooking supplies are. It was a fabulous day then. I scrapbooked from about 2pm-12am and got 12 pages done, and most of them fully embellished and journaled. FABULOUS. I totally need to do that more often. I don't mind taking Marek with me, because I would either have to stop and FEED him, or stop and pump for him, so not a whole lot of difference there. But Ardyn just does not do well sitting still or entertaining herself while I scrapbook.... unless we are on home turf and there isn't much she can hurt, and has all her own toys.
Sunday we were pretty relaxed around home, just anticipating that night. We went to Walnut for a cookout at my cousin Jessica and her husband Jim's house, and then watched the fireworks on the front deck, which is up really high and right across from the park where they set them off. The party was great, and the food was good. We took the kids for a wagon ride over through the park, though there wasn't much to do. There were rides this year (just like 4 or 5) but they weren't really age appropriate for Ardyn... so we just walked around a bit. Change of scenery does wonders for a toddler. Ardyn was all dressed up in fabulous red, white, and blue attire, and I actually felt a little bad because she was like the ONLY kid in red white and blue? Seriously? That's part of the fun of the holiday, especially for kids! You can't pass up an excuse to dress fabulously?! She had on the Gymboree Grass Skirt Sandals, and a stars and stripes dress, and fireworks hair ties, and a tiara with red white and blue, and a favulous matching wand, and red white and blue beaded bracelets. She was loving it, and we got lots of looks and stares at the park, but it was kinda making me feel uncomfortable, like there was a pedophile watching her or something. A little to Jon Benet for my tastes.... but for the family party it was great....
We really had a nice time, but there was one girl there (who hopefully doesn't read my blog, or MAYBE Hopefully does) who was drinking and smoking and had Two kids (one about Ardyn's age) and was not paying ANY attention to them. In fact, she spent the whole night either OUTSIDE while they were INSIDE, or vice versa.... or on the complete opposite side of the deck from her kids. It was making us really nervous, both for their safety, and for Ardyn's. Jim and Jessica have an AWESOME front deck, that has lots of stairs leading up to it, and I would have to venture a guess that the deck is at least 10 feet from the ground. I normally wouldn't worry, but the deck is a little dangerous for small bodies, because the rails are much farther apart than a "standard" deck, I'd guess about a foot apart. The same is true for the spindles on the stair railings. And it was a real worry issue for me, because Ardyn would want to go look over the edge, and would lean, and I was terrified she would fall and break her neck. But the other mom wasn't paying a damn bit of attention to her kids, and the younger one was easily able to fit through those rails, and was always walking dangerously close to the stairs, and it was just too much. At one point, I saw this girl's daughter (who was WAY old enough to know better) push another child and that child's parent had to step up and tell her to knock it off, because the girl's mother was nowhere to be found, and when she was she was either indifferent or not paying a bit of attention.
Someone told me that they SAW her drink 8 drinks, and that was just what they SAW. And then she left with those two kids.... Ugh. Of course when Ardyn started getting antsy while waiting for the fireworks, I went to the van and got her something to do, her Dora backpack with some crayons, and paper from Jim and Jess's printer, and Dr. Seuss books and some Dora figures, and a Magna Doodle. I also brought her a snack. Of course, as soon as I broke out those toys, the other kids came to sit down and play. Which was fine, but at the same time, I was supervising them, if at all. Then the little boy started putting all of Ardyn's toys in his mouth, and chewing on them. But he was like two, again, old enough to know better, had he been taught. And Evan was really upset by that, to the point of asking me to just pick up the toys and take them away from Ardyn. I had to tell the little boy to please stop putting toys in his mouth. As a parent, nothing is worse than another mother who doesn't care about or pay any attention to what her kid is doing. Especially when the child is too young to be unsupervised. The boy's grandma was there, but she was as uninterested as the mom (now we know where she got her supervision skills, right?) I felt badly for Jim and Jessica, because it wasn't their responsibility to watch the kids either, and I could tell it was rubbing several people the wrong way. At one point in time the boy had Evan's keys and cell phone and we had to get it back, and another time his mother sat him all by himself in a chair next to MY mom, as if my mom was supposed to watch him. He sat there for the longest time, just sitting there, and we all felt so bad for him! So the cookout was fun, the fireworks were great, but we were a little uncomfortable about the whole situation. We discussed that maybe next year we will go to the cookout and visit for a while and then take a blanket down in the grass to wait for and watch the fireworks.... which might be a good bet because Ardyn really needed to run off some energy and have a change of scenery, and the front deck was not a place to run and play. And if Marek is big enough to be running next year (should be!) it will be alot harder to keep up with TWO toddlers! So we may have to re-evaluate how we handle that next year.
Fireworks were good, I was afraid of how Marek would handle them, being young and that being his bedtime. He did great. No crying. He sat on my lap with his pacifier and watched contentedly for a while with wide eyes, and then fell asleep. Ardyn was a little scared at first, and covered her eyes and ears, but then she got used to them and was really enjoying herself, especially dancing to the music. I had gotten her a 6-pack of glow bracelets for $1 at Wal-Mart, and they were red, white, and blue, so she was loving it.
Both kids were passed out before we even got out of Walnut. When we got home, I sat in the van and ate Ben and Jerry's chocolate ice cream while the kids slept in the back. Yesterday was Monday. I was very busy. The dryer repair man came to fix the dryer door, and the window that Sears gave us was "8am-5pm" which REALLY had me peeved. At least I didn't have to take a day OFF work. I decided that I was going to stay home and clean while waiting. It took me almost ALL DAY to clean the living room. I picked up toys on the porch, in the living room, and dining room. Then I put Ardyn in her bedroom with all her toys, and shut the gate across her doorway, so that I could vacuum and mop. She was so Irate with me, and kept screaming "OPEN GATE!" but I knew that I couldn't get anything done with the toddler tornado stringing things across the rooms. I vacuumed and mopped. I pulled out ALL the furniture (not sure how long that had been!) and vacuumed and mopped UNDER everything. Then I cleaned off all the tables, and the baskets under the tables, and then I washed the leather couch and loveseat, all over (even the backsides) and then I put on leather conditioner, and leather protector. I hadn't been able to do that since I was pregnant with Ardyn, and I used to do it once every 6 months like they recommend. Then I decided to re-arrange the living room entirely. That was pretty cool, it's different. I like it. I like things to change now and then. Because out house is laid out a certain way, with lots of closets, doors, windows, doorways.... it is difficult to do very many layouts in each room.
All the work was totally worth it, especially when I saw the look on Evan's face when he came inside at the end of the day. He had been working in the yard. It was REALLY hot, but he mowed, and then he shoveled and hauled mulch over from the farm for our flower beds, and shoveled it all into place for me! Wow! When I got done with all the cleaning, I was exhausted and filthy. I washed my feet and brushed my hair and teeth, and when Ardyn woke up from her nap we went to McDonald's for supper. No way I was cooking! Then the kids and I came home and played in the front yard. I put everything back where it went after Evan mowed, and lit the tiki torches, citronella candles, and started a fire in the fire pit. We sat outside until after dark, when Ardyn started to get cranky, and then I put her to bed. Then I did a BUNCH of laundry folding and hanging, and put Marek to bed IN HIS OWN CRIB for the very first time.
It's strange how I feel about Marek. I can't tell you how much I adore Ardyn, and how much I adored her from the start. But because I was a first time mom, I just couldn't appreciate how quick she was going to grow, and how much she would make me happy, and so I think that although I enjoyed her and loved her to my fullest, I just didn't know how quickly she was going to become a toddler. And now with Marek, I feel so attached to him. Double the attachment almost. With Ardyn my attachment was more one of fear and anxiety. I was terrified that something would go wrong. I was terrified that if I left her for a second, someone would slip her some formula, or something would happen to me and I would never return to her. With Marek it's a more relaxed attachment, and I think that allows me to focus on quality time with him, and on laughing and cuddling, and being really appreciative of every silent moment that I get to spend with him, because having 2 kids, they are few and far between and I know that he too will grow WAY too fast. He already is! (*tears! oh my!*)
Ardyn slept in the cosleeper in the beginning, but while I loved having her there, it was almost more anxiety producing, because every single sound she made, I had to turn the little light on and check her. Was she breathing? Was she okay? I was so paranoid that I couldn't sleep sometimes. Every little sound she made woke me and I was not sleeping well, even when she was. But she did make a TON of sounds in her sleep also. She slept throught the night for like 10-12 hours when she was TEN DAYS OLD. Her time in the cosleeper was fairly short, maybe 2 months.... and she went to her crib. She was sleeping through the night, but then it got to the point where if she woke, she smelled me, and she would want to nurse, even if she didn't NEED to nurse. It was also getting exhausting to wake up with every little sniffle she made. She went into her crib one night and never went back to the cosleeper. Now with Marek, keeping him next to me has been a mixture of necessity and attachment. I am purely and totally attached to him. It's a little embarassing to admit, because we are supposed to be the ones who want them in their own room, but seriously, there are often times that I think I could let him sleep there forever and we would both be perfectly happy. There's just something about that boy, that makes the two of us attached pretty strongly. So last night was emotionally hard on me, because it was like "Oh god, he's growing up, he's moving to his own room!" where with Ardyn it was another exciting milestone for the first baby, with Marek it's something that I dread, his growing up so fast! So right after I put him down, I got myself ready for sleep. I was in bed by 11:30, but couldn't sleep without him there. It was the strangest thing. I know lots of people who say they can't sleep if their husband isn't home, or isn't in bed with them, and I have always thought that was the Strangest thing.... and here is me, not being able to sleep because the baby is not next to me. But I finally did fall asleep, after watching his chest rise and fall on the video monitor. Ahhh. My big boy. And he slept till about 4am, and then I went in and fed him in the rocker in the nursery. That also brought back so many memories of mid-morning feedings with Ardyn. The rocker hadn't even been IN the nursery as it moved into her room when she did. I just put it in there last night. And then Marek went right back to sleep in the crib and stayed there till he woke at about 8:30 this morning. (*More tears!*) he's growing up already and he's only 3 months old!
So. Then I showered and got myself ready, and got both kids dressed, and we went to the MOPS playdate. This was the first MOPS anything that I had attended, and it was really nice to see other ADULTS and moms. I felt bad because Ardyn did really well (as expected) until she saw that Kelsea had "her" Dora Thermos cup. You can try till you are blue in the face, but Ardyn has a one track mind and you can't explain to her that Wal-Mart sells them and that there is more than ONE Dora cup on the planet. Oh boy was she determined to get HER cup from Kelsea. That's when I knew it was time to go! We went to Wal-Mart for some errands and to pick up a prescription. We found plates, cups, and flatware, all turquoise, on clearance for $1 a pack, and I bought enough for her Birthday Party. Then I found some mermaid napkins online that I like. Expensive but not really much more than ones you find in a store. If I use all solid stuff that I got on clearance, and just the mermaid napkins, I can justify ordering them online. It should run less than $10 for all the napkins I need.
I am *hoping* that the weather is nice, because we can then put helium balloons on the fence out front, and she can have a nice outside party. I did get the cake pan yesterdayday (bought used on eBay) and also got the Cricut Cartridge "Life's a Beach" to make her invitations. It has an ADORABLE Mermaid! I can hardly wait to get the invites made, so hopefully I can do that instead of scrapbooking on Thursday at moms. I am "considering" trying to cut out the Mermaid body, and the using Ardyn's head (a photo) as the Mermaid's head/face. But, we will have to see about that. Depends on what I can come up with! A birthday party at home, yet another reason to get every room in this house organized and cleaned! LOL.
Well, I have more to say (shocking, I know) but I am out of time as we are supposed to be attending an open house tonight and Ardyn is still napping and we aren't packed yet. LOL. Baby steps. So, stay tuned, more to come, perhaps this evening if I am lucky.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
My Review of Dripstik
No more messy, drippy, dropped ice cream cones! Mom-invented Dripstik not only catches melting ice cream before it starts dribbling, it makes treats easier to hold. Self-standing, too, so kids can rest it upright on a table. One end holds assorted-size ice cream cones; the other holds frozen treats...
Great Product. Very overpriced!
dazed81 Illinois 7/5/2009
Gift: No
Pros: Portable, Easy To Use, Durable
Cons: Hard to clean
Best Uses: Toddlers, Snacks
Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children
We have two of these. We keep them one in the van for summer trips and one at home. They work well, although if you have a curious todder, it's likely that they may just take the popsicle or ice cream cone OUT of the holder, and that defeats the purpose. LOL. But ours likes to stay clean, so it works for us.
They wash nicely in the dishwasher. They are a little large. I am astounded at the price here for two, because we purchased two at our "local superstore" for less than HALF the price of them here. I have seen them in three separate locations near me.... all for less money.
My Review of Sun Activity Toy
What a versatile travel toy! It loops to almost anything — stroller, highchair, crib — and the toys are tethered so they can't get lost. Packed with textures and activities, and babies love fishing the toys out of their peek-a-boo pockets. For ages 9 months and up. Imported. Excl...
cute!
dazed81 Illinois 7/5/2009
Gift: Yes
Pros: Easy to Set Up, Durable, Lightweight
Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children
This is a nice toy that we received as a gift. We have had it for almost 2 years, and with two children. It is sturdy, it is cute. We have attached it to our swing and to the crib. I think it might be a little large to have it attached to the carseat bar.... but I have attached it to the back of the van seat for the kids to look at while rear facing. They like to look at all the dangling things, and pretty colors, but by the time they got old enough to actually do the part of removing the items from the pouches/pockets, they were on the better things and lost interest in it. So it's neat, but it isn't the most awesome toy in the world. Hope this helps someone!
My Review of Hands-Free Gate
No hands needed! Simply step on the foot pedal to open this sturdy gate in either direction. Ideal for containing pets and kids — it's made of strong, tubular steel with a non-toxic finish. Once you're through, an audible click lets you know the gate is safely locked behind you. 32 ...
The best gate we have found! (out of 5)
dazed81 Illinois 7/5/2009
Gift: No
Pros: Easy To Use, Lightweight, Strong Construction, Sturdy
Best Uses: Crawlers, Toddlers, Play Area
Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children
This is THE BEST Gate of any we have tried (We have had 5 types). We also have a metal Dream Baby swing gate, a Summer infant swing gate, all in use at this time.
This is the only truly handsfree latching gate that we have. EVERY OTHER GATE STOPS LATCHING ON IT'S OWN after a month or so. We have had this for a year or so now, and it is the best. I love that I can step down to open the gate, it is so easy and convenient. I have a 22 month old and a 3 month old, so my hands are always full. I can walk through this gate with laundry, babies, diapers, anything....
It does not swing open and shut on it's own, which I initially thought would be an issue, but I actually prefer it to all the gates that do swing shut automatically, because I have a hard time getting through them as they are always trying to shut on me. This one is great because all I have to do is press down with one foot to open it, and then when I am done walking through, I just bump it with my knee or foot to close it, and it auto latches. The other gates may swing shut, but they have to be latched manually. This is SO frustrating because you can bump a gate shut with your knee or foot, but you CAN NOT lift and latch the gate with your knee, and when your hands are full, it's a mess.
This is sturdy. The only time it EVER came out of the doorway was when we were first using it, and we needed to learn that we had to step down and not press TOWARDS the gate with the lever, because this eventually (like once a month) would work the gate loose. My toddler is a very intelligent little girl, and at almost 30 pounds she still can NOT open this gate. I often ask her to shut it for me and she just swings it shut and it latches itself. This is not the case with other gates, as she can't shut them because they won't latch.
The ONLY downsides to this gate are that 1. the wrench is plastic. It would be much sturdier and nicer if it were metal like other gates. 2. The foot pedal is wide enough that if you put this in a doorway with a door, you won't be able to shut the door completely. We are able to shut the door, but it won't latch. And we have very deep doorways in an old house. This is something I was warned about befoe purchasing (by another friend) and it's the only downside that I wish would change. But it's a small sacrifice for the superb quality of this gate, as we have tried MANY others and been disappointed.
UPDATE: We now own SIX of these gates (June 2010) and I am about to purchase an extension set to use with one of them. We use them throughout the house and they have held up wonderfully. ONE Gate had an issue where eventually the step became VERY difficult for even adults to manipulate, and I called ONE STEP AHEAD and they replaced it with a new gate immediately, and sent me a shipping label to return the original. Great Company, Great Product.
My Review of Hands-Free Gate
No hands needed! Simply step on the foot pedal to open this sturdy gate in either direction. Ideal for containing pets and kids — it's made of strong, tubular steel with a non-toxic finish. Once you're through, an audible click lets you know the gate is safely locked behind you. 32...
The best gate we have found! (out of 5)
dazed81 Illinois 7/5/2009
Gift: No
Pros: Easy To Use, Lightweight, Strong Construction, Sturdy
Best Uses: Crawlers, Toddlers, Play Area
Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children
This is THE BEST Gate of any we have tried (We have had 5 types). We also have a metal Dream Baby swing gate, a Summer infant swing gate, all in use at this time.
This is the only truly handsfree latching gate that we have. EVERY OTHER GATE STOPS LATCHING ON IT'S OWN after a month or so. We have had this for a year or so now, and it is the best. I love that I can step down to open the gate, it is so easy and convenient. I have a 22 month old and a 3 month old, so my hands are always full. I can walk through this gate with laundry, babies, diapers, anything....
It does not swing open and shut on it's own, which I initially thought would be an issue, but I actually prefer it to all the gates that do swing shut automatically, because I have a hard time getting through them as they are always trying to shut on me. This one is great because all I have to do is press down with one foot to open it, and then when I am done walking through, I just bump it with my knee or foot to close it, and it auto latches. The other gates may swing shut, but they have to be latched manually. This is SO frustrating because you can bump a gate shut with your knee or foot, but you CAN NOT lift and latch the gate with your knee, and when your hands are full, it's a mess.
This is sturdy. The only time it EVER came out of the doorway was when we were first using it, and we needed to learn that we had to step down and not press TOWARDS the gate with the lever, because this eventually (like once a month) would work the gate loose. My toddler is a very intelligent little girl, and at almost 30 pounds she still can NOT open this gate. I often ask her to shut it for me and she just swings it shut and it latches itself. This is not the case with other gates, as she can't shut them because they won't latch.
The ONLY downsides to this gate are that 1. the wrench is plastic. It would be much sturdier and nicer if it were metal like other gates. 2. The foot pedal is wide enough that if you put this in a doorway with a door, you won't be able to shut the door completely. We are able to shut the door, but it won't latch. And we have very deep doorways in an old house. This is something I was warned about befoe purchasing (by another friend) and it's the only downside that I wish would change. But it's a small sacrifice for the superb quality of this gate, as we have tried MANY others and been disappointed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
