When my husband and I went searching for high chairs we weren't thrilled with the cost; especially since our daughter was breast fed, and still is, and wouldn't be needing the chair for a few months. So, we ended up getting a really inexpensive, but FANTASTICALLY versatile high chair that just attaches to our dining chairs. It's from "The First Years," I have to say I love their products, and it's awesome because it goes from infant with a bottle, all the way to a toddler booster seat. The best part, at the time, was that it was only $20. Whoopee! Now, I have another reason to appreciate this chair. My daughter has started throwing her head back and trying to 'rock' in the chair. Not sure why she's doing it, but there it is. If she were in a regular high chair the thing would have tipped over and been on the ground with her in it. Because it's attached to our regular dining room chairs (which are heavier) she hasn't been able to make it move. I'm still going to be watching her like a hawk while she's in it, but at least I know that there is yet another reason to love the chair I have.
I made a dent in the mess today. There are actually things on the shelves right now. Of course, there are other things on the floor that weren't on the floor yesterday, like my daughter's set of measuring cups and her measuring spoons. At least those are bright red, plastic, and easy to pick up. She loves them. She especially loves smashing her yogurt drops on her high chair tray with them and then throwing them off for mommy to fetch. Ah well, dinner time!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The encroaching mess...
And the never ending battle with it. My daughter is slowly taking over the house inch by inch. She started off just taking over our bedroom. We only have a two bedroom right now and in the beginning we felt more comfortable having her in our room rather than in the second bedroom. So, our bedroom has a crib, a changing table, her dresser (ours is now in our closet), and various blankets lying about. Now that she's crawling around we can add toys on the floor in our living room. They start out each day up on shelves and in fabric bins; and we end the day with them spread from one end to the other. She's learning to walk too. I can only imagine that the mess is going to get worse before it gets better. She can't quite walk yet; she's pulling herself up on EVERYTHING and everyone she can get her hands on and she's starting to transfer from one object to another. Nothing is safe or sacred. Eek!
I finally broke down today and get another diaper bag; third one's a charm! I had one that was really comfortable to wear but didn't really have the right amount of space. So, I got a second one that had a ton of space. Unfortunately, it isn't the most comfortable or easy to carry around. Since we are still traveling all over the place I really wanted one that would be easy to get around with. So, I got a back-pack one. I used it today on a walk and I've already decided that I should have gotten a backpack one the first time and forgotten about all the 'bags'. My advice to new parents: get a backpack diaper bag. Especially if you are planning on traveling with your little one. It's also Dad friendly. I should have listened to my friends in Alaska when I was thinking of getting the second one. Oh well, live and learn! I also picked up a "PeaPod" packable baby bed. It folds up into a small enough package to pack in a suit case, has an air mattress and sleeping pad (that also pack into the same container), and has a side open zipper. I really like the side zipper since my daughter is the queen of waking up the second she senses a downward motion. It is also supposed to be good for taking to the beach or spending some time outdoors as it has a UV shield. Whoohoo! I'm taking it for a test run in the near future and I will get back to how well it works later. And...onto cleaning up the mess for the evening...
I finally broke down today and get another diaper bag; third one's a charm! I had one that was really comfortable to wear but didn't really have the right amount of space. So, I got a second one that had a ton of space. Unfortunately, it isn't the most comfortable or easy to carry around. Since we are still traveling all over the place I really wanted one that would be easy to get around with. So, I got a back-pack one. I used it today on a walk and I've already decided that I should have gotten a backpack one the first time and forgotten about all the 'bags'. My advice to new parents: get a backpack diaper bag. Especially if you are planning on traveling with your little one. It's also Dad friendly. I should have listened to my friends in Alaska when I was thinking of getting the second one. Oh well, live and learn! I also picked up a "PeaPod" packable baby bed. It folds up into a small enough package to pack in a suit case, has an air mattress and sleeping pad (that also pack into the same container), and has a side open zipper. I really like the side zipper since my daughter is the queen of waking up the second she senses a downward motion. It is also supposed to be good for taking to the beach or spending some time outdoors as it has a UV shield. Whoohoo! I'm taking it for a test run in the near future and I will get back to how well it works later. And...onto cleaning up the mess for the evening...
Friday, January 22, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Adventures with a Belly!
No, I'm not pregnant again! I'll just say that upfront right now! I am not pregnant again and we are not trying to get pregnant again for a few more years. So there! However, I have 1,2,3...7? I think 7 friends who are either: pregnant, just had a baby, or are trying to get pregnant. So, this makes me think back to being pregnant and some of my experiences. This is for my friends, who are pregnant, recently became moms, and who are trying to get pregnant.
Pregnancy bellies are so cute, and round, and touchable right? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! They are cute, and round, and so NOT for everyone to touch! That's something that just happens as soon as you have a cute round belly. Everyone wants to rub it, touch it, pat it...etc. They all want to touch. Some people wait for an invitation or ask. THANK YOU to all those wonderfully polite people who ask or wait for an invitation, implied or spoken, before touching. It's just very rude otherwise! I used to work for an insurance company and all of the people I worked with were very nice and it was never uncomfortable for them to come and say hello to me and say hi to the baby by way of a small rub or a "hello" directed at my stomach. There were some other people who worked in the building who didn't get the 'no touch' memo. I once had a lady come up to me right after she came out of the bathroom, stick her hands on my massively large baby bump, and then say hello to me. I'd never met her before in my life! I still don't know her name.
I now have a way to deal with the uninvited tummy touchers, and I think I'll share. I don't remember what book I got this advice from, but the advice was to stick your hand on their stomach and talk to them as soon as they do it to you. That way they get the same intrusion that you do. I wish I had had the chance to use it! It would have been so gratifying.
I gained a lot of weight while I was pregnant. Mind you, I had an almost 9 lbs baby, but I still gained darn near 70 lbs. I'm 5'3" and wasn't thin as a rail when I got pregnant. So, 70 lbs was pretty awful and I had a huge, massive, pregnant belly. I looked like you could stick me with a pin and the baby would just pop right out. I have the pictures, and the stretch marks, to prove it. However, just because a pregnant woman has a rather large belly does not give anyone the right to come up and say: "Are you SURE you're not having twins?", "Wow! You've gained a ton of weight!", "You've just...um...expanded haven't you?", and my personal favorite "OMG! You're HUGE!" ..... yeah...don't ever say that. Ever. I always wanted to say, "Yeah, I'm pregnant and I've gained weight. What's your excuse?" But I never did.
I want to send a huge, huge, thank you out to one of my coworkers who never failed to say, "Oh, you look So beautiful!" every single time I saw her. She always made me feel beautiful and very proud of my baby belly. So, if you know someone who is pregnant, who just had a baby, or who wants to get pregnant tell them they are beautiful. Because they are, inside and out.
Pregnancy bellies are so cute, and round, and touchable right? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! They are cute, and round, and so NOT for everyone to touch! That's something that just happens as soon as you have a cute round belly. Everyone wants to rub it, touch it, pat it...etc. They all want to touch. Some people wait for an invitation or ask. THANK YOU to all those wonderfully polite people who ask or wait for an invitation, implied or spoken, before touching. It's just very rude otherwise! I used to work for an insurance company and all of the people I worked with were very nice and it was never uncomfortable for them to come and say hello to me and say hi to the baby by way of a small rub or a "hello" directed at my stomach. There were some other people who worked in the building who didn't get the 'no touch' memo. I once had a lady come up to me right after she came out of the bathroom, stick her hands on my massively large baby bump, and then say hello to me. I'd never met her before in my life! I still don't know her name.
I now have a way to deal with the uninvited tummy touchers, and I think I'll share. I don't remember what book I got this advice from, but the advice was to stick your hand on their stomach and talk to them as soon as they do it to you. That way they get the same intrusion that you do. I wish I had had the chance to use it! It would have been so gratifying.
I gained a lot of weight while I was pregnant. Mind you, I had an almost 9 lbs baby, but I still gained darn near 70 lbs. I'm 5'3" and wasn't thin as a rail when I got pregnant. So, 70 lbs was pretty awful and I had a huge, massive, pregnant belly. I looked like you could stick me with a pin and the baby would just pop right out. I have the pictures, and the stretch marks, to prove it. However, just because a pregnant woman has a rather large belly does not give anyone the right to come up and say: "Are you SURE you're not having twins?", "Wow! You've gained a ton of weight!", "You've just...um...expanded haven't you?", and my personal favorite "OMG! You're HUGE!" ..... yeah...don't ever say that. Ever. I always wanted to say, "Yeah, I'm pregnant and I've gained weight. What's your excuse?" But I never did.
I want to send a huge, huge, thank you out to one of my coworkers who never failed to say, "Oh, you look So beautiful!" every single time I saw her. She always made me feel beautiful and very proud of my baby belly. So, if you know someone who is pregnant, who just had a baby, or who wants to get pregnant tell them they are beautiful. Because they are, inside and out.
Clutter and Sleeping
I'm sitting here while my daughter is napping, I love nap time, and I'm wondering about all of these people I have on Facebook. Some of them I talk to fairly regularly and I use Facebook to keep in touch with them. Others I know fairly well and was friends with at some point in time, and I suppose I'm still friends with them now. However, they don't talk to me, haven't made any effort to do so in ages, and I haven't made much of an effort either. Is it bad to want to 'clean house' and remove some of the people that haven't made much of an effort to stay friends with me? I know that there are some people who are more 'lurkers,' who use Facebook infrequently and check on pictures of friends, maybe say hi once in a while...etc. I'm just not into the clutter of it all. I know it's lame and totally weird, but I really don't know why I bother to have so many people on there that I never talk to, never hear from, and frankly don't really know anymore. Ah well, there's my thoughts on that anyway.
My daughter has been insisting on crying herself to sleep, or rather she's been fighting going to sleep every night to the point of tears. Nothing helps, but she does finally settle down and sleep if you hold her so she can't squirm away. I don't know why all of a sudden she's decided that sleep is not a good thing, but there it is! We are all suffering from some sleep deprivation and aggravation these days. I hope she grows out of it soon. I was really looking forward to getting her to sleep in her crib all night long, or at least the majority of the night, and getting woken up less. I guess I'll have to keep reading "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and see if there are some more ideas that we can use to help her get to sleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up happier!
My daughter has been insisting on crying herself to sleep, or rather she's been fighting going to sleep every night to the point of tears. Nothing helps, but she does finally settle down and sleep if you hold her so she can't squirm away. I don't know why all of a sudden she's decided that sleep is not a good thing, but there it is! We are all suffering from some sleep deprivation and aggravation these days. I hope she grows out of it soon. I was really looking forward to getting her to sleep in her crib all night long, or at least the majority of the night, and getting woken up less. I guess I'll have to keep reading "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and see if there are some more ideas that we can use to help her get to sleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up happier!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Projects
I'm a project hoarder. I truly am. I have so many projects in my 'to be finished' stash I can't even count them all. At least 10!! My goal is to get at least half of them done before we move again; despite what my inner voice is saying to the contrary. That's the goal. I want to lesson my project load by half by the time we move again in July. We're moving regardless of whether or not my husband finds a new job. If he finds a new one then, "YEAH! We're moving out of state!" If he doesn't then, "YEAH! We're moving out of this frigging apartment...to another frigging apartment." Either way though, we're moving. So of course this means that I've started packing already.
No, you didn't read that last part wrong. I've started packing already. I think I have 10 or 11 boxes packed and stacked in the second bedroom. I'm really anal retentive this way. As soon as winter is over I'll probably pack all of our winter gear in a box too. When we search for new jobs if we find one the first thing I do is to go on Rent.com and search out prices on apartments. Then I go and find out about the city, where the best places to live are, where the apartments are in comparison to the high school, what the mean income of the state is, if there's a state income tax and how much it is...etc. I have checklists. I have checklists of places to search for jobs once a week. I am totally nuts; but my husband just says I'm "driven." Isn't he such a good guy?
Back to the topic: projects! I think, for my own curiosity I will try to list what I have to do in categories...
Cross Stitch - 3 stockings (one is in the finishing stages), 3 wall art ones, 1 from my great grandmother that she never finished. Total: 7 (YIKES)
Sewing - 2 jackets that need sleeves, 1 skirt, 1 pair of pants, 1 jacket to put together entirely, 3 Halloween costumes for next year (not sure how much that counts since I just got patterns today), 2 quilts that need quilting, 2 quilts that need to have more blocks put together, 1 angel wall hanging, 4 pants that need hemming or buttons or pockets fixed. Total: 17 (Oh. My. Goodness. What was I thinking?!!?)
Craft - 1 beaded necklace, 1 set of letters to string up for my daughter, 2 picture frames to paint. Total: 4 (Much better than the last two!)
Grand Total: 28 So, I need to bring that number closer to 14 by the time we move. Okay, so that's...5 months so if I do 2 to 3 a month I might achieve my goal of finishing half. We'll see. Maybe. Is this possible with an 8 month old?!?
No, you didn't read that last part wrong. I've started packing already. I think I have 10 or 11 boxes packed and stacked in the second bedroom. I'm really anal retentive this way. As soon as winter is over I'll probably pack all of our winter gear in a box too. When we search for new jobs if we find one the first thing I do is to go on Rent.com and search out prices on apartments. Then I go and find out about the city, where the best places to live are, where the apartments are in comparison to the high school, what the mean income of the state is, if there's a state income tax and how much it is...etc. I have checklists. I have checklists of places to search for jobs once a week. I am totally nuts; but my husband just says I'm "driven." Isn't he such a good guy?
Back to the topic: projects! I think, for my own curiosity I will try to list what I have to do in categories...
Cross Stitch - 3 stockings (one is in the finishing stages), 3 wall art ones, 1 from my great grandmother that she never finished. Total: 7 (YIKES)
Sewing - 2 jackets that need sleeves, 1 skirt, 1 pair of pants, 1 jacket to put together entirely, 3 Halloween costumes for next year (not sure how much that counts since I just got patterns today), 2 quilts that need quilting, 2 quilts that need to have more blocks put together, 1 angel wall hanging, 4 pants that need hemming or buttons or pockets fixed. Total: 17 (Oh. My. Goodness. What was I thinking?!!?)
Craft - 1 beaded necklace, 1 set of letters to string up for my daughter, 2 picture frames to paint. Total: 4 (Much better than the last two!)
Grand Total: 28 So, I need to bring that number closer to 14 by the time we move. Okay, so that's...5 months so if I do 2 to 3 a month I might achieve my goal of finishing half. We'll see. Maybe. Is this possible with an 8 month old?!?
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Moms Don't Get Weekends
The title is pretty self explanatory and very true. Moms don't get weekends; especially stay at home moms. Since I'm at home my 'job' so to speak is taking care of my daughter and doing many (not all) of the chores that need to be done day to day around our apartment. So, the weekend is pretty much like the rest of the week, except that my husband is generally home and sometimes underfoot. See, everyone who goes to work looks forward to the weekend to spend time with their families, to recharge their batteries, and get ready for the week ahead. Stay at home moms have to make time to recharge their batteries because they are, essentially, 'on call' 24/7. I have to say it's the one drawback to being at home because the weekend doesn't really exist. "Free Time" and "Spare Time" don't really apply, and people who try to ask me what I'm going to do with my "free time" at home with my daughter make me want to strangle them. My 'free time' is spent jogging (with my daughter), cooking, doing laundry, taking a shower, and checking the occasional e-mail. So, it's not really 'free time' to do whatever I want with. I need to start MAKING myself have 'free time' that is actually doing what I want to do: like catching up on a sewing project or getting my nails done, or sitting reading a book for an hour without getting interrupted by diaper changes, entertaining my daughter with different activities, cooking dinner, or any number of other casual interruptions. They add up. So, I say to all the people out there who think stay at home moms have it 'so easy' and with lots of 'free time': Moms DON'T get weekends!
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