The Vast Methods of Moving

Yes, that's right! We are moving! Out of New Mexico and up the road into Colorado. We are very excited and, truth be told, a little daunted. I don't think I realized how much easier it was to pack things 1) without a child in tow, and 2) when you've moved every year. I know it may sound crazy, but when you've gotten used to moving every summer the packing just happens automatically. The boxes get packed up and stacked away, the floors get cleaned, the apartment gets cleaned and inspected for last minute items, the trucks get there... everything starts to move like clockwork. We haven't moved in two years...so boxes have gotten thrown away, things aren't nearly as organized to begin with; and we have a kid. Oh yeah, our daughter DEFINITELY throws a wrench into packing sometimes. She likes to 'help', as in she takes items out of a box after I've put them in the box. She does the same thing with laundry. I fold it and put it on the stack, she takes the whole stack and throws/drags them on the floor. Great fun. At least she is amused and entertained, and really, in the grand scheme of life folding clothes two or three times really doesn't harm you. (Although at the time it really makes you want to pull your hair out) I've started giving her her own basket and her own box to put things into and take things out of. It doesn't distract her forever from my pile, but it does help.

Speaking of my daughter she is, FINALLY, sleeping in her crib most of the night and during nap times. We still have to fight her occasionally. For all the advice of "Gentle Sleep Solution" my daughter just didn't want to go to sleep. She spent 2 to 3 weeks not even wanting to sleep with us, she just didn't want to go to sleep at all. So, we figured if she's fighting it regardless we might as well make it into the crib and some independent sleeping. Thank goodness for my husband's infinite patience with her. Perhaps it's because I have her all day and I play and entertain her most of the day, but by the time night comes my patience for screaming is about 20 minutes max. Then I give in and pick her up for a while. My husband is much much better at the getting to sleep, by herself, in the crib part. His pioneering efforts with her have paid off; it still has a ways to go, but it's getting much better.

To segue into 'getting better' my mother has finished radiation treatments and is done with her first round of chemotherapy; and has at least 3 more to go. She was really not happy with the nausea/vomiting side effects; can't blame her. I'd rather be in pain than N/V(nausea/vomiting).

I think this might be my first post for April. It might, as far as time constraints go, be my only post for April. We'll see. There's a play next week, I have costumes to make still (yes I know I'm insane), we need to get some moving plans finalized...May is around the corner with a 1st Birthday Party (Jungle Theme), a year checkup with lots of shots (ew), and a trip to Toronto for a wedding. Next it will be June....OMG it's going to be upon us much much too fast! ACK!

New Products

I like to be somewhat environmentally savvy and while we were living in Oregon, where there's a recycling bin every two feet, it was fairly easy to recycle. We now live in New Mexico, where it is a bit harder since I'd have to bring all of my recycling to the center; with an 8 month old that's taking over the house inch by inch there isn't a lot of room to spare with things like recycling storage. So, we haven't been recycling (grimace). When I first had my daughter my husband and I looked into doing cloth diapers because it's more environmentally friendly and slightly more cost efficient after the initial spending...of course that initial spending can cost you somewhere between $200 and $500. We got a ton of disposable diapers for gifts and so, until today, we've been sticking with those. I have a small problem with disposable diapers; for some bizarre reason someone decided that they should be scented. So, if you want to try to save some money by buying in bulk you almost always end up with scented diapers. I have sensitive skin, my daughter has sensitive skin...scents don't go well with sensitive skin. There is my dilemma. I have recently purchased a semi disposable semi cloth diaper. "Little Gpants" have a cotton stretch diaper and a liner that are completely washable and you can fill them with either biodegradable (and FLUSHABLE!!!) pads, or with washable cloth absorbers. So, I'm trying them. The cost for the diaper and liner portion wasn't bad at all and the cost for the biodegradable pads wasn't terrible either. I think in all we pay the same amount of money for 10 less pads, which is something I'm willing to do since it will ease my environmental guilt.

Another new thing we've been trying is Yogurt. I initially went with the Gerbers Yogurt packs that you don't need to refrigerate initially. They are more custard like and my daughter hated them. They weren't organic either and had extra sugar. I tried YoBaby recently and we now have it as part of our morning routine. And YoBaby recently came up with a freeze dried version that is similar to the Gerber Yogurt drops, but it is all organic as well without extra sugar. Guess what? My daughter loves them! Hooray for new things we like!