25 random facts about me

1. I am an extreme introvert.
2. I like to read really old books.  Some of them are considered children's books.
3. I am a huge geek and prefer tech over diamonds.
4. My favorite color is green.
5. I used to be a cheerleader, but I wasn't one for very long.  I hated it.
6. I've always liked to write.
7. As a teenager I had a teacher make me promise to never stop writing.  This is my attempt to keep that promise.
8. I originally wanted to have at least 4 children.
9. I hate carrying my purse around and wouldn't own one if it weren't for the fact I have to take so much stuff with me when I leave the house now.
10. When it comes down to it my all time favorite actor is Tom Hanks.
11. After I had my son I didn't want any daughters.  After the birth of my first daughter I wanted the rest of my children to be daughters.
12. My goal is to try as many kinds of cloth diapers as I possibly can.
13. I want to tell you how I feel about the diapers I try.
14. I want to start designing and sewing clothing for children.
15. I want to concentrate on girl clothing because some of this stuff is just way too complicated/frilly.
16. My daughter is my inspiration when it comes to my ideas for children's clothing.
17. I am clumsy.
18. I have asthma.
19. I'm absolutely terrified of celebrities.
20. I have more patience for children than I do adults.
21. I love gravy way more than I probably should.
22. I feel the same way about butter.
23. The best way to serve ribs is covered in BBQ sauce.  You might want to look away while I eat.  It's not going to be pretty.
24. I love to cook.
25. I love football.  My favorite team is the Baltimore Ravens.

Wordless Wednesday - Sisterly love

Planning my escape.

I am planning a break.  I'm making time for myself next year and I'm going to make a list of things that need to get done between now and then.  I'm taking a friend up on an offer to stay at her apartment for a week.  I already spoke with Greg about it and he's not only okay with it.  He thinks it's something I need to do for myself.

I'm super excited.  I haven't been away from the children for that long in years...or ever.  I'll be updating my progress toward the goal.  I want to save up at least $800 because I want to have some spending money when I get there.  I hope to be there during restaurant week.  I promise to make updates as much as possible.

When we first started planning this I got so excited that I started shaking.  I've not had a legitimate break in years.  I've spent years being aggravated with Greg because at least 9 days out of the year he gets a break.  He's trying to get deer for us to eat, but he loves to hunt.  Not only that, but I know he spends time talking to his family before he comes home.  Normally by the time he gets home he's so tired from all the walking he's done that all he wants to do is sleep.  Which is probably why some women call themselves Rifle Season Widows.  It's also why during Rifle Season one of the jewelry stores in this area has ads just to guilt men into buying jewelry for their wives to make up for it.

Either way here is the list of things that must be done.

Teach Greg which inserts go in which diaper
Teach Greg diaper washing routine
Help him figure out easy meals for him to cook that week
Possibly freeze some casseroles for him
Get a contact list
Figure out ticket prices
Plan for spending money budget
Put my guilt to bed because I need this
Get Greg a list of emergency contact numbers

I honestly can't think of anything else because I've never gone very far without Greg or the kids.  So, if you can think of anything else I should add to the list please let me know.

Asthma is no fun

I speak from personal experience when I say that asthma is no fun.  It's something I wouldn't wish on anyone.  I actually have multiple triggers and that makes it even more annoying.

This is not about me though, it's about my son.  He has asthma and I kind of knew right away that he did because as active as he is if he ran or got really excited he would cough.  He's a very active child and he was not at all lazy growing up.  He would just get winded very easily.  He also catches colds like I did as a child.  They just won't diagnose a child under a certain age with asthma just because he's wheezing.  They'll give you the Albuterol he needs, but they won't call it asthma.

He eventually had an actual asthma attack and I cried.  I felt bad for being right.

As of late he's been having more asthma attacks because one of his major triggers is weather.  He doesn't want to stand out in a state where people try to act tough in the winter.  Dedrick can't be the tough guy or he suffers for it.  The issue is explaining to a 7 year old who just wants to fit in with his friends.  I feel for the kid I really do.  I understand wanting to fit in, but I also don't want him to risk his health trying to do it.  So, we're going to sit down and talk about it.  Hopefully, I can get this through to him.

Do you have any experience with chronic illness?  How do you handle it if your child has it?

Sleep...what's that?

I've been dealing with sleep issues with the youngest.  We only have so many rooms and because of that she's been sharing her room with her older sister.  This causes me to worry about letting her cry even a little.  I worry that she'll wake up Lily.

I need to let her cry sometimes.  She went from a baby that slept through the night to a baby that I can't even put down at night.  She wants to sleep with me and half the time she wants to sleep on me.  I need my sleep back because with three children I can't sleep during the day.

I still feel bad for letting her cry, but she's safe in her crib.  There is nothing in her crib to hurt her.  I will check on her if she were to cry for too long.  I need to get her back to sleeping longer.  I can't keep waking up every two hours like this.  It's driving me crazy.

The amazing part to all of this is honestly Lily can sleep through most things.  It takes a lot to wake her up.  I can let Ella cry and Lily will be fine.

What issues do you have with your sleeping children?  How do you deal with them?

Wordless Wednesday with an old picture

Looking for the silver lining

Today was a long day.  Today there were fights and naps didn't get taken when they should have.

However, today we also had moments where my girls got along just like this.  It was definitely one of those, "You have to take the good with the bad." kind of days.

I know there will be more, but I hope 10 years from now I'll remember the good in the bad day rather than just the bad.

Only child kind time

Today was Ella's day to be an only child.  I try to have days where each of my children can pretend they're an only child.  The only child that gets my attention.  The one that decides what we eat, where we go, and what we do when we get there.  I have three children and two hands.  I don't always have enough time in the day to give them individual love and attention like I would like to.

So, today was Ella's day.  Greg took the older two out to a corn maze and a hay ride while Ella stayed home with me.  We played on the floor, I sang to her, and we cuddled as long as she wanted to.

I started doing this after I had my first daughter.  Dedrick had a very hard time making the transition from being an only child to being a big brother.  Our special days made the transition a little easier for him.  Even Greg has gotten into the act and will take time to do special trips for just one child.  He took Dedrick on a just him and Grandpa fishing trip recently.  They had a lot of fun and it was really needed because Greg has been working a lot of hours lately.

When Ella gets older I'll be able to do this more often, but until then I'll do what I can.  I just think it's important for me to spend one on one time with my children as often as I can.

Do you make time for special one on one days for your children?

On the floor, in the trash

One of Greg's biggest pet peeves is one of my habit.  If my food lands on the floor or the ground it goes in the trash.  I do not believe in the 5 second rule.  I don't care how clean your floor looks.  If my food lands on your floor I'm going to throw it away.

I gag a little on the inside when I see people eat food off the floor.  I do it even more if that person has a pet.  I have pets and know exactly how dirty their cute little paws are.  My cat has a litter box and the dog will walk through shit.  Your floor is dirty and disgusting the instant they touch it.

I honestly don't plan to change.  I just try to be sneaky about it now.  Since he has such an issue with me throwing away food I drop sometimes food I drop gets transferred from my plate to his.  I'll probably get flack for it, but I wouldn't do it if he didn't make such a big deal about it every time I do it.

Either way.  What's your stance on the 5 second rule?  Do you follow it or is it an on the floor, in the trash policy for you as well?

Oh and because I love Mythbusters.  Have fun watching this little educational video.

I can't seem to upload this because it's not on youtube, but it'd definitely worth watching.

BumGenius - Aplix vs Snaps

I meant to do this yesterday, but I'm sure you'll forgive me.  I'm trying to get back into the swing of things where I actually update this thing on a daily basis.

I love my BumGenius diapers.  I really do.  I love the ease, the colors, and the fact they are so easy to get.  Just about every seller I know carries them.  They're not hard to find and very often they're on sale.  Who can beat a combination like that.

I love their snaps.  Their snap diapers are awesome.  I love the double rows of snaps because my daughter has chunky thighs and a skinnier belly.  It requires a custom fit.  So, very often I use up my Snap BGs before my Aplix BGs.  I'll tell you why.

I hate the aplix BG uses.  I hate it with a burning passion.  It is the worst crap I've ever encountered.  The tabs are small and and they wear out fairly quickly.  I'm very not happy about that part.  I don't like how the aplix is a separate part of the diaper.  I much prefer my Happy Heinys for Aplix because it's part of the tab.  The Aplix is not exposed at all and the tabs are much larger. 

So, BumGenius is an awesome brand.  It's a great brand for if you're just starting out, but please save yourself some annoyance and skip the Aplix.  The snaps are so much nicer.

Do you have BGs in your stash?  Have you run across the same problem I have?

I don't like snaps at 1 AM

I love my snap diapers.  I love washing my snap diapers.  I have a love/hate relationship with my hook and loop diapers.  They're easy for my midgets to take off by themselves and they're a pain in the ass to wash.

However at 1 AM I am all about the hook & loop.  Actually I save them in case I have to do a late night changing.

Snaps are great and snaps are more durable.  However, trying to snap a diaper on a wiggly, crying child at 1 AM while half asleep is not my idea of a good time.  I want to slap on a diaper and be back to soothing this child to sleep.

So, while part of me would like to 100% convert to snaps.  For the sake of my SO and for the sake of my sanity, I'm always going to have at least a few hook and look diapers.  1 AM changes happen and I'd like to be prepared for them.

Do you prefer snaps, do you prefer Hook and Look diapers, or do you keep a blend of the two?

Enough is enough

After an incident at a family birthday party I'm saying enough is enough.  I'm sick of moms trying to make other moms feel guilty about their choices.  I already feel enough guilt on my own, thank you.  Why is it instead of being supportive we feel the need to belittle each other because of our choices?

I can't judge you for your choices because I don't live your life.  It's not my place to make you parent the way I do.  It's not my place to tell you whether you should go to work, stay home with your children, homeschool, or send your kids off to school.  These are all personal choices.  I can't tell you whether to vaccinate, what foods you should feed your children, or what foods you should avoid.  Every life situation is different and I try not to judge.  I try to mind my own business because honestly you never know.

I circumcised my son.  Yes, I did it willingly even.  Did I regret the choice later?  Somewhat.  Did I make that choice without having thought about it first?  No.  I thought about it a lot.  Out of the three relatives that I know of that didn't get circumcised as an infant, all three had to be circumcised later in life.  All of them were closely related to me even.  I didn't want this to be something Dedrick would have to go through later on in life.  I'm also glad that my last two children were girls because it's something I would never want to have to decide ever again.  It's a hard decision and I still feel guilty about it sometimes.  I don't need someone else telling me that I should feel bad about it.  I'm plenty good at doing that for myself.

I wish I could afford Daycare because I think my children could use the social interaction.  I live in a rather rural area and getting to play dates is not easy.  I wish I could live closer to town sometimes, but at the same time I like that I have plenty of land for them to play on.

All I'm saying is being a mother comes with enough guilt as it is.  We don't need to compound that situation by criticizing each other just because the other mom isn't doing what you think is right for your children.