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.

Ella Rose

I've been putting off my post about Ella.  She's very young and how I felt about her was complicated.  I resented her for a bit.  I resented the fact she made my plans more complicated.  I resented the fact she caused us to need a bigger vehicle.

She's here now though and these things aren't her fault.  I find the more time I spend with her the more I appreciate her uniqueness.  The more I realize she completes our family.  She's a bundle of energy and giggles.  I love how observant she is.  She loves to try and attack my keyboard/cellphone/whatever electronic is within her reach.  She especially loves my cellphone because it's a touch screen phone.  She's realized that if she touches the screen that it does stuff.

Watching her learn and grow has become the upturn to my day.  I regretted Ella, but I'm accepting of her now.  Being a parent isn't easy.  Being a mother isn't easy and as much as people don't want to admit it sometimes you don't love your children right away.  Sometimes it takes time to love them.  You're only human and this is okay.

Don't tell her that...

It seems the older my son gets the more he feels the need to pigeon hole Lily.  He tells her not to "talk like a man" or tries to tell her what she should like.  I don't know where he gets this.  I know it isn't from me and I know it isn't from Greg.  Greg lets Lily wear and do what she wants within reason.  She goes fishing, helps him when he's fixing things, and likes to sing.  She is her own child and he treats her like that.

Lily of course doesn't stand for it.  She is not going to let her brother try and dictate how she should behave and she lets him know that.

The question is how do I confront Dedrick about this?  At one point he asked me why I don't work.  He's also commented on whether I'm going to learn how to cook because I'm "just a mom".  I know he's not being sexist on purpose, but I'd really like to nip this in the bud.  I just don't know how to.