It has been a long 4 days. My MIL was in town and oh the stress that was in this house. Not fun, but it's over and that's all I'm going to say though I could blog on, and on for hours.
Some good news is that Mr. Man and I went to see a movie for the first time in who knows how long. We went to see Pirates 3 and it was really good!! I give it 2 thumbs up. Much better than the second movie. Does anyone know if they're making a 4th? I thought I heard they were. We need to look more often to see if there are regular 8pm showings at the main movie theater in town because it's the perfect time to go to a movie. Ari's already sleeping (in theory) and a few hours watching Eli is no hard task yet. Maybe we can do that more often. Ahhh, the dream world I live in.
Diaper news: Most of the stuff I put up for sale has sold!! Even the gDiaper covers that I didn't think would sell have. Now there's just a Swaddlebees and 2 XS covers left to go. All proceeds will be going to buying a pattern and fabric to make some of my own. I hope that process works out once I get everything. I wish I could use the serger better, but at least I should be able to make some inserts with it. I lucked out and got some pretty red serger thread and some wooly nylon at Hancock's the other day. Now I just need to practice adjusting the tension and making curves then I might be willing to try a diaper.
I also need to practice zig zagging on my Singer. Sewing diaper elastic it tricky on its own but with this machine it's even trickier. I can't seem to sew slowly when using the zig zagger. It always goes super-fast and I have no real control. Practice, and getting some tips from where I bought it, will help a lot.
Right now it's time for some cheesecake with raspberries, and some knitting while everyone is sleeping. That's the plan at least who knows if it will happen.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Stink'n Hilarious
So I somehow stumbled across this website yesterday.It's a parenting website made by dads. This video is on breast pumps. You have to watch it made me laugh so hard. I think it's really that funny, or it's because I don't sleep and everything is funny.
A little update...check out the whole site it's great. These guys are informational and funny as can be.
A little update...check out the whole site it's great. These guys are informational and funny as can be.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
I've Been Tagged-7 Random Things Meme
This is my first Meme tag and we'll see how it goes.
1. I am addicted to using cloth on bums. I am a cloth diaper fanatic and have recently made a few cloth pads for myself. I figure if I'm putting time/money/effort for the kids to have cloth on their bums why can't I? Anyway, cloth diapers rock!
2. I cannot bring myself to buy premade cookie or pie dough. I grew up with my grandparents taking care of me and my grandma taught me how to bake. Because of this I just can't buy these things it just seems wrong to me. This only applies to me though I have no ill feelings for the millions of people who use these premade goods. I'm just odd.
3. I love winter!
4. I can't wait to buy the kids their first pair of light-up shoes. I never had them and they're so cute these days in a dorky sort of way.
5. I cannot handle having straight hair. It must have some form of curl to it.
6. I am a wonderful project starter and a terrible project finisher. I get this from my dad. For as long as I can remember he would start various projects and slowly each one would get done. I am the same way. I probably have at least 10 different craft projects in the works around the house. If only I could get them all done. One day it will happen, but on that day 10 more will be waiting in the wings.
7. If I could have any job right now I would want to be a barista. I worked at a coffee bar at Hope College and it was the best job ever! I love coffee and love to give people the coffee they love. So, if I could switch my employment to the early bird shift at Starbucks I would. One day it would be cool to start my own coffee place. Maybe one day.
Ok, anyone who reads my blog should do this and add a comment when you do. This means...
Anyone from COGTS...if you are getting married you can do it as a couple
FRIEND!! I know you read this and if you don't have some sort of blog use this to start one so I can keep up with your life.
Anyone else who happens to read
Ok, for some random photos of Eli
Have you seen Zoolander?
Real men wear pink!
1. I am addicted to using cloth on bums. I am a cloth diaper fanatic and have recently made a few cloth pads for myself. I figure if I'm putting time/money/effort for the kids to have cloth on their bums why can't I? Anyway, cloth diapers rock!
2. I cannot bring myself to buy premade cookie or pie dough. I grew up with my grandparents taking care of me and my grandma taught me how to bake. Because of this I just can't buy these things it just seems wrong to me. This only applies to me though I have no ill feelings for the millions of people who use these premade goods. I'm just odd.
3. I love winter!
4. I can't wait to buy the kids their first pair of light-up shoes. I never had them and they're so cute these days in a dorky sort of way.
5. I cannot handle having straight hair. It must have some form of curl to it.
6. I am a wonderful project starter and a terrible project finisher. I get this from my dad. For as long as I can remember he would start various projects and slowly each one would get done. I am the same way. I probably have at least 10 different craft projects in the works around the house. If only I could get them all done. One day it will happen, but on that day 10 more will be waiting in the wings.
7. If I could have any job right now I would want to be a barista. I worked at a coffee bar at Hope College and it was the best job ever! I love coffee and love to give people the coffee they love. So, if I could switch my employment to the early bird shift at Starbucks I would. One day it would be cool to start my own coffee place. Maybe one day.
Ok, anyone who reads my blog should do this and add a comment when you do. This means...
Anyone from COGTS...if you are getting married you can do it as a couple
FRIEND!! I know you read this and if you don't have some sort of blog use this to start one so I can keep up with your life.
Anyone else who happens to read
Ok, for some random photos of Eli
Have you seen Zoolander?
Real men wear pink!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Sleep...What's That?
There's both good news and no news when it comes to sleep at our place. Ari is getting used to having no pacis at night!! Tonight it only took her about 5-10 minutes to go to bed. Eli on the other hand is having some sleeping issues. He wants to have "awake time" around 10pm until around 1 or 2am. This is not fun at all. It makes sense since he sleeps almost all day long. We just can't keep him awake during the day yet. Plus we're using our pack-n-play in our room for him to sleep in and I think he has a hard time sleeping in that.
Mr. Man's mom gets here tomorrow for a few days. With someone else here I have a chance at getting some sleep. Maybe things will go my way for a couple days. One can only hope.
Amazingly enough I was able to do some sewing today! This is amazing on so many levels. First, the kids...enough said. Second, my foot has some good-sized holes in it from the surgery and thank God it only really hurts when I'm changing the bandages. Thanks to my crocs and a bit of naptime I was able to make two sets of nursing pads for at night. I never understand why some companies think that 3 inches of fabric makes a good nursing pad especially at night. If I were better at sewing I would create a nighttime nursing bra with built in soakers so you don't have to worry about pads shifting around at night and then waking up wet in the morning. I bet I could make some money with that idea.
Please keep Mr. Man in your prayers this week. He has a major interview this Thursday and we are really hoping that the job works out, and even if it doesn't that something else will open up soon. He's ready for a change from Outback and I'm ready to have him working real hours. Plus if he gets a "real" job I might not have to go back to work!!
I really don't want to go back to work anymore. I thought I would but I don't. I think I'm ready to work as mom for a while and relax. I know that contradicts itself but you know what I mean.
Here's a picture of Eli almost one month old already in the longies I made him. Sadly they won't fit much longer and he's hardly worn them.
Mr. Man's mom gets here tomorrow for a few days. With someone else here I have a chance at getting some sleep. Maybe things will go my way for a couple days. One can only hope.
Amazingly enough I was able to do some sewing today! This is amazing on so many levels. First, the kids...enough said. Second, my foot has some good-sized holes in it from the surgery and thank God it only really hurts when I'm changing the bandages. Thanks to my crocs and a bit of naptime I was able to make two sets of nursing pads for at night. I never understand why some companies think that 3 inches of fabric makes a good nursing pad especially at night. If I were better at sewing I would create a nighttime nursing bra with built in soakers so you don't have to worry about pads shifting around at night and then waking up wet in the morning. I bet I could make some money with that idea.
Please keep Mr. Man in your prayers this week. He has a major interview this Thursday and we are really hoping that the job works out, and even if it doesn't that something else will open up soon. He's ready for a change from Outback and I'm ready to have him working real hours. Plus if he gets a "real" job I might not have to go back to work!!
I really don't want to go back to work anymore. I thought I would but I don't. I think I'm ready to work as mom for a while and relax. I know that contradicts itself but you know what I mean.
Here's a picture of Eli almost one month old already in the longies I made him. Sadly they won't fit much longer and he's hardly worn them.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Adjusting
We are currently on night number 3 without pacis!! Each night is getting better. Once Ari falls asleep she stays that way almost all night now. There have been times she's gotten up but she's gone back to sleep without us going in there. I just hope this trend sticks.
My foot surgery went well...again. I took to the sedation meds really well and don't remember a thing. It wasn't the plan to have me knocked out so well, but I got some really good sleep while I was there. All of the nurses were saying that I should stay all day to recover just so I can get some rest. No such luck. They gave me this really pretty shoe to wear this time and it's making life a whole lot easier. So far I'm not having any pain and the pain I've had is because my doctor wrapped my foot so tight my little toes are all smushed together. I'll take it if that's the most pain I'm going to be in.
Eli's new diaper got here today and it's adorable! I just can't wait for him to wear it. I definitely want to make some of these for both the kids. Today I took advantage of the southern heat by drying a load of diapers outside. They got a little stiff but I'm sure after a quick round in the dryer they will be nice and soft again. Some of them got really bleached out from the sun, which was wonderful. Next time a smaller load and better positioning will have most of them looking like new.
Other than that no news here.
My foot surgery went well...again. I took to the sedation meds really well and don't remember a thing. It wasn't the plan to have me knocked out so well, but I got some really good sleep while I was there. All of the nurses were saying that I should stay all day to recover just so I can get some rest. No such luck. They gave me this really pretty shoe to wear this time and it's making life a whole lot easier. So far I'm not having any pain and the pain I've had is because my doctor wrapped my foot so tight my little toes are all smushed together. I'll take it if that's the most pain I'm going to be in.
Eli's new diaper got here today and it's adorable! I just can't wait for him to wear it. I definitely want to make some of these for both the kids. Today I took advantage of the southern heat by drying a load of diapers outside. They got a little stiff but I'm sure after a quick round in the dryer they will be nice and soft again. Some of them got really bleached out from the sun, which was wonderful. Next time a smaller load and better positioning will have most of them looking like new.
Other than that no news here.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
It's So Hard Being Little
So there are some new things about to happen at our place.
1. Ari is going to be paci free
2. Eli is going to learn how to fall asleep on his own and not just by nursing.
3. I'm going to start using cloth diapers when out of the house...well, once I get a wet bag that is.
4. I need to stop eating fast food.
5. No eating past 7:30pm
Why these changes you ask? Well, Ari's teeth are starting to get crooked and we're sick of finding her paci in the middle of the night when she wakes up.
Eli has got in this wonderful habit of falling asleep when nursing and that's how he goes to bed and that's not good. Last night we tried giving him formula so I can start storing up some milk for foot surgery tomorrow and he was wide awake for at least 2 hours and couldn't get to sleep. Finally he slept, but it was in our bed. I'm not against co-sleeping, but I prefer the kids to be in their own beds. So, today starts the changing of sleep habits in our house. It's not going to be pretty but I think the results will be worth it.
I ordered my first Very Baby diaper yesterday! It was kind-of on sale here and I've been wanting to try them to see if I want to make them. They are so cute and I'd love to customize their diapers without paying a ton of money. I hope it works well for him. I've got some diapers up for sale and the money I make will be going towards diaper making supplies if everything works out. I am getting the hang of using prefolds on Eli, but having AIOs for when we're out and for night time would be nice. Any suggestions for a good wipe solution? I've tried just water and that's ok but not great. I've tired baby soap, oil, and water which is better but still not wonderful. If you've got a good recipe let me know.
When my mom was here she gave me some good motivation to get healthy. My mom's goal is to be in the best shape of her life in 2 years when she turns 50. She brought her workout DVDs with her and did them almost every day. For various reasons she needs to eat small meals all day and then stops eating early evening. It works for her and since we share some DNA I thought maybe it will help me too. So, the goal is to stop eating at 7:30 on a regular basis. This, in theory, will give me a chance to grab a snack if I need one after getting Ari to bed. I hope in 2 years I can be closer to borrowing my mom's clothes. We'll see what happens.
The #1 goal today is to not spend the whole afternoon at the Department of Human Services seeing if we qualify for food stamps. Wish me luck on everything!
One last thing...If you're looking for a yummy, healthy cereal try this one it's my new favorite.
1. Ari is going to be paci free
2. Eli is going to learn how to fall asleep on his own and not just by nursing.
3. I'm going to start using cloth diapers when out of the house...well, once I get a wet bag that is.
4. I need to stop eating fast food.
5. No eating past 7:30pm
Why these changes you ask? Well, Ari's teeth are starting to get crooked and we're sick of finding her paci in the middle of the night when she wakes up.
Eli has got in this wonderful habit of falling asleep when nursing and that's how he goes to bed and that's not good. Last night we tried giving him formula so I can start storing up some milk for foot surgery tomorrow and he was wide awake for at least 2 hours and couldn't get to sleep. Finally he slept, but it was in our bed. I'm not against co-sleeping, but I prefer the kids to be in their own beds. So, today starts the changing of sleep habits in our house. It's not going to be pretty but I think the results will be worth it.
I ordered my first Very Baby diaper yesterday! It was kind-of on sale here and I've been wanting to try them to see if I want to make them. They are so cute and I'd love to customize their diapers without paying a ton of money. I hope it works well for him. I've got some diapers up for sale and the money I make will be going towards diaper making supplies if everything works out. I am getting the hang of using prefolds on Eli, but having AIOs for when we're out and for night time would be nice. Any suggestions for a good wipe solution? I've tried just water and that's ok but not great. I've tired baby soap, oil, and water which is better but still not wonderful. If you've got a good recipe let me know.
When my mom was here she gave me some good motivation to get healthy. My mom's goal is to be in the best shape of her life in 2 years when she turns 50. She brought her workout DVDs with her and did them almost every day. For various reasons she needs to eat small meals all day and then stops eating early evening. It works for her and since we share some DNA I thought maybe it will help me too. So, the goal is to stop eating at 7:30 on a regular basis. This, in theory, will give me a chance to grab a snack if I need one after getting Ari to bed. I hope in 2 years I can be closer to borrowing my mom's clothes. We'll see what happens.
The #1 goal today is to not spend the whole afternoon at the Department of Human Services seeing if we qualify for food stamps. Wish me luck on everything!
One last thing...If you're looking for a yummy, healthy cereal try this one it's my new favorite.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Finally Some Time to Write
Be warned this could be a long one.
Visit With Mom
Everything went really well when my mom was here. We didn't do anything too exciting but it was nice to have her around. We got to do some shopping, errands, and spent lots of time looking/playing with the kids. It will be nice to relax for a bit before Mr. Man's mom gets here.
Mother's Day
Nothing really happened. We all went to church and that's about it. Mr. Man wasn't feeling well and slept until he had to work. My mom let me take a nice nap and then we just took care of the kids before bed. It was a nice relaxing day.
Bad Hair Cut
So I got my hair cut the other day and things didn't go so well. I love the length, but she butchered my bangs. Before I had them layered and going off to the side. I realized how she was cutting them too late this time. I put them off to the side in the picture but they look like a shorter version of Ari's...not good on me. I'm glad that hair grows and after this the bangs are going bye bye. Until then I will be trying to be finding solutions to hide my super-short bangs.
Little Eli
Our little man has been having some troubles lately. I think he might have mild colic. Every night he just starts screaming, sleeps a bit, screams, and this repeats for at least an hour or more. I've tried Mylacon and that's not doing anything. He has a hard time burping and I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. I welcome any suggestions.
Slowly I'm getting better at putting prefolds on this little guy. I might be changing him all day long, but it's better than feeling like I'm spending 50 cents with each regular diaper. I know this will all get easier once he grows a bit more. Now I just need to make some more cloth wipes and we'll be all set for a while.
Sleep still isn't happening here. Right now things go 10:30ish bedtime, 2am eat, 5 am eat and stays in bed with us, up for the day around 8. I would be happy if he would just sleep until 3 and I got to bed when he did. Oh well, I'll be a walking zombie for a few more weeks/months/years.
My Foot
This Friday I get to have foot surgery again:( The darn things grew back. My doctor has never seen this happen before. I'm so glad I can be a medical mystery. Thankfully this time they can give me some sedation which will be nice, and the surgery is later in the morning. I just hope it works this time. Then it's onto the adventure of taking care of 2 kids with a big hole in my toe. I'm glad more help will be here on the 22nd.
Life Overall
I'm doing ok. Still waiting to hear the final status of our house purchase. Things are looking good, but still not final. As soon as they are pictures will be posted.
I'm starting to have some post-baby funk. So far it doesn't seem as bad as with Ari which is nice. I just hope things don't get worse and that it passes soon. If not something will need to be done. I'm not opposed to taking meds, but I want to keep breastfeeding (well sometimes I do). Time will tell what happens. If I could get on a schedule and pump a bottle to be used at night getting more sleep might help, or just trying formula for night feeding might help. What do you think Mr. Man?
I'm just waiting for 6 weeks to be up so I can get the ok to start exercising. I'm feeling quite icky in that area. I need some new clothes but don't want to buy much. My mom got me the dress I'm wearing above for mothers day which is wonderful. I only found it thanks to a friend who has the same one...it looks much better on you dear! I want summer things, but I don't want to buy nice things that won't fit soon. Though I love maternity clothes I don't want to wear them forever. Oh the joys of having babies. It's ok though. They're both worth the extra pounds and stretch marks.
Visit With Mom
Everything went really well when my mom was here. We didn't do anything too exciting but it was nice to have her around. We got to do some shopping, errands, and spent lots of time looking/playing with the kids. It will be nice to relax for a bit before Mr. Man's mom gets here.
Mother's Day
Nothing really happened. We all went to church and that's about it. Mr. Man wasn't feeling well and slept until he had to work. My mom let me take a nice nap and then we just took care of the kids before bed. It was a nice relaxing day.
Bad Hair Cut
So I got my hair cut the other day and things didn't go so well. I love the length, but she butchered my bangs. Before I had them layered and going off to the side. I realized how she was cutting them too late this time. I put them off to the side in the picture but they look like a shorter version of Ari's...not good on me. I'm glad that hair grows and after this the bangs are going bye bye. Until then I will be trying to be finding solutions to hide my super-short bangs.
Little Eli
Our little man has been having some troubles lately. I think he might have mild colic. Every night he just starts screaming, sleeps a bit, screams, and this repeats for at least an hour or more. I've tried Mylacon and that's not doing anything. He has a hard time burping and I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. I welcome any suggestions.
Slowly I'm getting better at putting prefolds on this little guy. I might be changing him all day long, but it's better than feeling like I'm spending 50 cents with each regular diaper. I know this will all get easier once he grows a bit more. Now I just need to make some more cloth wipes and we'll be all set for a while.
Sleep still isn't happening here. Right now things go 10:30ish bedtime, 2am eat, 5 am eat and stays in bed with us, up for the day around 8. I would be happy if he would just sleep until 3 and I got to bed when he did. Oh well, I'll be a walking zombie for a few more weeks/months/years.
My Foot
This Friday I get to have foot surgery again:( The darn things grew back. My doctor has never seen this happen before. I'm so glad I can be a medical mystery. Thankfully this time they can give me some sedation which will be nice, and the surgery is later in the morning. I just hope it works this time. Then it's onto the adventure of taking care of 2 kids with a big hole in my toe. I'm glad more help will be here on the 22nd.
Life Overall
I'm doing ok. Still waiting to hear the final status of our house purchase. Things are looking good, but still not final. As soon as they are pictures will be posted.
I'm starting to have some post-baby funk. So far it doesn't seem as bad as with Ari which is nice. I just hope things don't get worse and that it passes soon. If not something will need to be done. I'm not opposed to taking meds, but I want to keep breastfeeding (well sometimes I do). Time will tell what happens. If I could get on a schedule and pump a bottle to be used at night getting more sleep might help, or just trying formula for night feeding might help. What do you think Mr. Man?
I'm just waiting for 6 weeks to be up so I can get the ok to start exercising. I'm feeling quite icky in that area. I need some new clothes but don't want to buy much. My mom got me the dress I'm wearing above for mothers day which is wonderful. I only found it thanks to a friend who has the same one...it looks much better on you dear! I want summer things, but I don't want to buy nice things that won't fit soon. Though I love maternity clothes I don't want to wear them forever. Oh the joys of having babies. It's ok though. They're both worth the extra pounds and stretch marks.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Quick Update
Here's a really quick update to show we're all still alive.
It's been a busy week with my mom in town. We've got a bunch of stuff done and spent good time together which is why there's been no updates from me.
Good news-Ethan's almost done with the semester!! One final to go!
Bad news-Our car needs major work and is costing lotsa money...darn those cars
Diaper news...
Eli has been in cloth quite a bit this past week. He is a supersoaker like his sister. Even after gaining 2 pounds in 2 weeks (almost unheard of...they say I have super milk) he's still tiny and things don't fit quite right. He can soak through a prefold in less than an hour, and a hemp fitted with microterry in 2 hours. I guess lots of eating=lots of peeing. I'm not sure what I want to do for this little guy. I'm really wanting to save some money and make some diapers but I'm still not sure of my sewing skills yet. Especially the elastic part. I'm not good at that. His soakers are on the back burner too until I get some real wool wash to help soften them up better.
Over all life is good. He's such a calm, happy baby. Ari's slowly adjusting to him being around. We're tired as can be, but such is life right now.
That's it for now. Here's a picture of Eli last week at church in his safari outfit.
It's been a busy week with my mom in town. We've got a bunch of stuff done and spent good time together which is why there's been no updates from me.
Good news-Ethan's almost done with the semester!! One final to go!
Bad news-Our car needs major work and is costing lotsa money...darn those cars
Diaper news...
Eli has been in cloth quite a bit this past week. He is a supersoaker like his sister. Even after gaining 2 pounds in 2 weeks (almost unheard of...they say I have super milk) he's still tiny and things don't fit quite right. He can soak through a prefold in less than an hour, and a hemp fitted with microterry in 2 hours. I guess lots of eating=lots of peeing. I'm not sure what I want to do for this little guy. I'm really wanting to save some money and make some diapers but I'm still not sure of my sewing skills yet. Especially the elastic part. I'm not good at that. His soakers are on the back burner too until I get some real wool wash to help soften them up better.
Over all life is good. He's such a calm, happy baby. Ari's slowly adjusting to him being around. We're tired as can be, but such is life right now.
That's it for now. Here's a picture of Eli last week at church in his safari outfit.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
A Semi-Update
I'm still working on getting Eli's birth story up, one of these days it will happen. In the meantime things have been going well here. We're all tired as can be expected with a newborn around, but overall we can't complain. Eli has been going for 5 hours between feedings once each night which is amazing! Now if I could just get to sleep right when he's done life would be good. Ari is slowly adjusting to having a baby around. She's having some attention issues but how much can you expect from someone who's 18 months old? This little lady has learned how to climb on the couch and whenever I start to feed Eli that's where she goes if dad's not around. Today she was not listening, like usual, and wouldn't get down or stop jumping. This lead to falling off the couch, hitting her head on the coffee table, and falling on the floor. She's fine but is going to have a black eye tomorrow. Did she learn from this...no, but I'll keep trying to keep her off the couch. It's really hard to move fast when you've got someone attached trying to eat.
My mom will be here on Monday for a week! I'm excited to have extra hands for a while. Plus on Monday I can drive again!!! I can't wait. Going to get her from the airport will be a trip, but somehow I'll manage.
Eli's umbilical stump fell off today and tomorrow he starts his first days in cloth diapers!! He's grown a bit so I don't think there will be any problems getting the diapers to fit. The little things that excite me.
So far things are still looking good for the house! Please keep praying that it works out.
And here's a picture of the kids
My mom will be here on Monday for a week! I'm excited to have extra hands for a while. Plus on Monday I can drive again!!! I can't wait. Going to get her from the airport will be a trip, but somehow I'll manage.
Eli's umbilical stump fell off today and tomorrow he starts his first days in cloth diapers!! He's grown a bit so I don't think there will be any problems getting the diapers to fit. The little things that excite me.
So far things are still looking good for the house! Please keep praying that it works out.
And here's a picture of the kids
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