Paris!

I REALLY want to go to Paris….so I’ve entered a contest and am sharing it with you. However, if you choose to not enter, I won’t be offended

 

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

 

If you do win….can I go with you? I don’t snore!

 

~Kelley

She’s Here!

Another little monkey to add to our family. Kira Emmalin

She was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long. Already she’s a great sleeper and Paige has been fantastic. But my Mom has been here for a week and she just left, so now we’ll really see how it all goes. Welcome to my new baby girl!

Prayers

I’m one who likes things out in the open. I know tons of people that keep things close, but if I’m stewing about a situation, I want others to know about it.

But all the same, I don’t think I’m quite ready to go all-out on the current problem. At least, not on this very public blog.

I do need prayers though. Prayers for my family…which is going through a bit of a crisis right now. Prayers than a 10-month old child isn’t continuously used as a pawn by her parents and that she be allowed to see her family for the holidays. Prayers that I can stop my mouth from shouting out the truth because it’s doing more harm than good. Prayers that we, as a family, can stand our ground and prove that we can’t be walked over anymore by a pain in the tush teenager. Prayers that my brother FINALLY grows up and acts like the man he’s supposed to be.

Things could be worse, as always, but we’re struggling and it’s making the joyful holidays a nightmare that just won’t stop. I just want to be able to NOT cry on Christmas day…I’ve already had my 2-year old attempt to calm me down and I don’t really want to have to repeat that in front of her. She doesn’t need it.

I wish there was an easy way to make two very immature people grow up. But I also wish there was an easy way for me to not speak my mind with such crassness. I blame that on the fact that I spent 20+ years holding my tongue and I’ve lost that filter. Still, the truth (as truthful as it is), doesn’t always make a situation better. And while things need to be said and the enabling needs to be stopped, a child is being used as a pawn because her parents don’t like the truth. They are punishing the ONLY people that have put up with their crap and shoving them out of their lives, in turn, hurting a baby girl that I (and my parents) care deeply for.

So prayers. Please. I need them for peace, sanity, and anything else that would help this absolutely AWFUL situation.

Thanks.

~k~

Holy fall and winter chaos people….I’m so sorry that it’s been 2 months since I’ve updated!

First an foremost – we have a baby girl on the way. Kira Emmalin F. should be here within 6 to 9 weeks, since I’m already at 30 weeks and 4 days. For the record, Paige came 1 day short of 37 weeks, so we’ll see if Kira decides to start coming on her own or if she’ll be evicted. Yes, c-section #2, will be happening – which is why I know she’ll be here within 9 weeks. Makes it nice to count down, but we still have that unknown if she decides to come on her own.

I’m starting to home school Paige. At 2 years and  3 months, she’s a little young, but she picks up so much. She knows her numbers and can recognize up to 11 (in both English and Spanish), she knows all of her letters (both upper and lower case), colors, most shapes, she can follow directions, mimics rhythms, loves to read…and more I’m not remembering. Her vocabulary is exploding, so it’s just a waiting game until she can re-tell us stories. She is definitely NOT ready for potty training though…which is fine. I have no intentions of rushing that. I think too many people rush it and I’m sure she’ll do it when she’s ready.

Cloth diapering is going great and I seem to have a system down. I still have disposables on hand for days when we go out all day (especially when I know it’s pooping time and that we won’t be home until long after it usually happens) or short weekends when I don’t want to drag the laundry around. I have come to find that I really don’t like disposables though…there is ALWAYS a leak with them and I rarely have a leak in cloth (and that’s usually when I leave it for far too long).

I joined the local MOPS group and can’t believe I didn’t do this before now. It’s GREAT to get out of the house for a few hours and really talk about things with other moms. Helps that they have great people to watch the kids, so Paige likes going to play. It will be better when she’s old enough to move rooms so she has more structure (she’s probably the oldest in her room). I really like the ladies that I’m grouped with and actually ended up in the group with one of the pastor’s wives from the church we joined. I didn’t even realize that until this morning, but it’s nice to be able to see her in a “human” factor.

I do believe that is my catch up for the past few months. We’ve been traveling like crazy, but I’m happy that we’re finally in the final stretch with this pregnancy, with Mom’s thyroid treatments, and with the holidays. It’s just been a busy and crazy couple of months

 

~k~

Tomorrow, Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we find out if the little peanut (who is STILL insisting on making me ill) is a Ryker or a Kira. I’m excited and don’t really care either way, even though I keep telling Dave that it’s going to be another girl.

So you – what’s your guess? Team hotdog (lol)?

I’m ready to find out. See, I’m a planner. I’m ready to start working on the nursery again, ready to pick up a few new cute outfits (though we’re going to be huge on hand-me-downs!), ready to start calling the child by their name. I’m also ready to start having a few chit-chats a day about how they shouldn’t be making mommy so stinking sick all of the time.

Paige will be going with us and I’m hoping that helps her understand a little more. She knows that she’s going to be a big sister, but she’s still a little young to fully grasp the situation. However, she is SO incredibly smart that I wouldn’t really put anything past her.

I’ll update and let you know what we’re having tomorrow evening

 

~Kelley~

Too Quickly

How does this:

Become this:

So stinkin’ quickly? Dude…where’s my pause button!

~Kelley

48 Hours In…

Well, we’re now 48 hours into cloth diapering and I couldn’t be happier. Granted, the dealing with poop has almost triggered the gag reflex a few times (the diaper today smelled SO BAD), but at least it’s all been easily cleaned up. I’ve got the first load of dirty diapers in the wash, so hopefully it will all wash out and we’ll be good.

I ended up having way more than I need for a 2 year old, so we might not have to buy too much for the new baby. I did find that I now LOVE flats. I like the idea of just having the diapers with the pads you change out, but by putting a flat on her (folded to catch poop) when I know she’s going to poop (yes, I usually know which diaper will be a poopy one), I make it so much easier to clean up and I don’t stain the pads. I’d rather replace flats (that I can get at Target for cheap), instead of the pads for my Flip diapers.

I was able to purchase a huge bag of stuff from a lady on craigslist which included about 8 covers (mostly Thirsties), almost 24 prefolds, a couple snappies, and a wet bag for $60. Granted, not everything is in great condition, but I can always replace as we go and I’m sure they still have lots of life in them. I still really like the Flip and Thirsties systems…just so easy to use. I’m sure an AIO would be fantastic, but not knowing better, I like the system I have going.

So all in all, I’ve spent a total of $270 ($60 on the Flip; $120 at Amazon for Thirsties, trash can, and reusable diaper pail liner; $60 off of craigslist; $30 at Target) to get us going. And like I said, we really don’t have much to buy for baby #2. I probably will try to get about 6 newborn/small diaper covers, but we’ve got enough prefolds and flats. Of course, I can see buying 1 or 2 more packs of flats….so we’ll say I may spend about $100 more. So $370 on two/three kids for diapers/training pants.

I love that I can use Melaleuca products since they are all natural. I’m really hoping that they work out completely and I don’t have to purchase extra detergent. I did have to buy (which was added into the Target amount) a different  diaper rash medicine. I ended up just getting California Baby spray stuff that also helps you clean after diaper changes. I’m not comfortable getting an ointment, so we might end up having to put the babies into disposables when they have a rash…don’t really want to risk getting something on the diapers that won’t allow them to soak up fluids anymore.

After changing a couple of poopy diapers, I’ve also decided to just do cloth wipes as well. It just makes sense, you know? I can just throw the wipe in with the diaper to get washed instead of having just two little things to throw away. And it’s not like cloth wipes are anything special…you can pretty much just use a baby wash cloth with water (or the CB spray I purchase). We don’t wipe Paige after every diaper change (it actually helps keep the diaper rashes at bay), so it’s not like I’m adding tons of laundry.

Okay…enough on diapering. Can you tell this is the focus of my every day life right now? Well, when I’m not concentrating on not puking. The meds work, but I can’t just pop a pill, especially if I’m out and about. They kind of take me out of commission for 20 minutes, so I don’t take them as often as I probably should. It is nice to be able to get out and about every now and then…but I can’t be in a store for more than 30 minutes. Apparently, it’s a trigger for me and I start feeling just absolutely horrible. I have thrown up on the meds, so they aren’t a perfect remedy.

And speaking of nausea, it’s time for me to end this because it’s been a bad evening for it and staring at the computer screen doesn’t exactly help.

~Kelley~

Adventures in Cloth Diapering

Our foray into cloth diapering will be starting in the next week. Granted, I’m not starting with much (2 covers, 10 inserts {though I have TONS of prefolds that we used as spit rags that I might be able to make work}), but I told Dave that I didn’t want to jump in with both feet right away. We still have almost 2 boxes of diapers left (though I MIGHT work through the one I have opened and take back the other. Hey, it’s $30! That’s 2 more covers and 4 more inserts!).

I’m starting with these: http://www.bananapeelsdiapers.com/catalog.php?item=1534

It’s pretty much an all-in-one system, but supposedly isn’t good for babies under 8 or 9 pounds, so we might end up starting the new baby in Pampers (unless it’s bigger than Paige) and moving to cloth after a couple weeks. No biggie…I can deal with one or two packs of diapers. And it’s not like Paige can’t use them. I LOVE that I won’t have to worry about who gets what diaper!

If I were to completely outfit us using the Flip diapers, I would need to spend around $350. That’s about 11 boxes of diapers and with 2 (and possibly, 3) going through diapers, it will be well worth it.

So now I just have to make sure that we can do this and the laundry doesn’t kill me. That was Dave’s biggest concern. The nice thing about the Flip system is that they do offer a disposable insert that’s considerably cheaper and very convenient for the times that you would need disposables…although I don’t know many times that I would need it. My family won’t have any problems with us washing diapers in their machines, I’d just have to bring my own detergent (since you can’t use a commercial brand…the Melaleuca I use would work though since it’s all natural, so I won’t even have to switch that!).

I’m a little nervous that I’m going to absolutely HATE it and will have wasted money. But I’ve only invested $60 so far…and hopefully, this will be a good change.

I’ll let you know how it all works out. But if you have any tips for me, let me know. I’m doing my internet research, but I’m still slightly freaked out that I’m going to mess things up!

PS. still sick, but I felt the baby kick today. It will all be worth it in the end

~Kelley~

Car Seat Soapbox

Well, I’m not back just yet . I know everyone is just awaiting an update with bated breath, but I’ll have to do that later. Instead, this will be my “preachy” entry full of videos.

Less than a year ago, I didn’t know anything. Paige was approaching her 1st birthday and while I knew we weren’t going to flip her around the day of, I had thoughts of flipping her from rear to forward facing by 18 months. And then I did my research.

It’s bad news people. Did you know that some European countries require, REQUIRE rear facing to 4 years and 45 pounds?! This is not them being over-protective, this is them KNOWING what could happen.

***edit for some laws***

Most states are moving toward an 8 and 80 rule (8 years and 80 pounds), but that’s ONLY for a booster. And putting your child in a booster with the adult belts isn’t ideal until they are at an adult height/weight. From what I’ve read, most states follow a 1 and 20 and 4 and 40 rule for the actual car seats. Meaning children MUST rear-face for their first year and be 20 pounds and then forward face in a 5 point harness. In Ohio though, the only ruling for 4 and 40 is that they “must ride in a car seat or booster that is appropriate for the child’s age and weight.”. Meaning you could put your child in a booster at 3. I would like to see the laws change to at least 3 and 35; 6 and 65; and 10 and 100. I doubt that will ever happen here though.

And what I would REALLY like to see? A US made rear-facing seat that will hold the child up to 55 pounds. I’m not 100% sure, but I think it’s illegal to use a car seat imported from somewhere else, which is a shame. But I think car seat manufacturers are waking up and we might see some movement that way.

***end edit***

The car seat we have for Paige only goes up to 35 pounds and I’m actually considering purchasing a super-expensive Sunshine Kids seat so she can rear-face to 45 pounds. Yes, it’s that important to me.

Also, while I have your attention….CHECK THE DATES ON YOUR CAR SEATS! Most car seats expire no later than 10 years from the manufacture date. I know my cousin got used seats (which is a no-no unless you KNOW the person and know for an absolute FACT that they weren’t in any sort of crash) that she used for the twins that were 14 years old (and then they wanted me to use them for Paige!)! Plastic breaks down over time and some seats even require you to not use them after 7 or 8 years (or even less…). Yes, it sucks to have to buy new seats, but I would rather spend the money than to put my babies in harm’s way.

And you don’t have to buy top-of-the-line expensive seats, just do your research. It will pay off, I promise.

So…for what I came for….videos.

Why I rear-face:

Why I plan to keep Paige in the harness up to the limit of 65 pounds on her seat (or longer if I get a new seat)

July 21st

I’ve been lacking in updates lately and it’s only going to get worse. My apologies and I hope that most of you still read me when the fall finally hits.

So first off….the bank will give us our money back, but we have to dispute the charges ourselves. Which stinks, but hopefully we can do that soon and get this behind us. As of 2 days ago, the larger charges hadn’t hard hit our account and we have to wait until then. The good news is that we may not even have to worry about over-draft charges since Dave’s paycheck got put into the account the day after this happened. Thank GOD it happened when it did or we’d be out 3-4 THOUSAND dollars. It’s actually rare that our account only has $500 in it, so the fact that that was all they got away with was a blessing. And my new card showed up within 2 days, instead of the 7-10 business days I was quoted. It’s nice when things work out like that.

We have been trying to not concentrate on Mom’s cancer, mainly because it’s easier to scare yourself than it is to have hope when you’re searching Dr. Google. But here’s what I know: Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common and most treatable cancer. Usually, they can just take the thyroid and the cancer is gone. However, the best cases are when the patient is under 40 (Mom is 49), it’s only in 1 or two lesions (it’s in all 4), and the lesions are all under 1.5 cm (the smallest is 1.1×1.1x.0.8 and the largest is 2.2×2.2x?). At this point we have to just wait and see what the surgeon has to say. The best worse case scenario is that it’s only spread to the lymph nodes, which they can take out as well. The worst would be if it spread to other areas of the throat or even to the lungs. She’ll most likely have to go through Radioactive Iodine (RAI) treatments to make sure all of the cancer cells are killed. It’s much less intensive than chemo or even radiation therapy, but she’ll have to be in seclusion for over a week. From what we’ve read, she’ll have one treatment at 6-8 weeks out from the surgery and then another at 6-8 months. But that’s dependent on what the surgeon thinks is needed. Thankfully, Mom has about 16 weeks of sick leave saved up and also has disability insurance that kicks in at 2 months (and I think back-pays…) so she won’t have to use all of her sick leave. She’ll probably still end up taking a good chunk out of it, but this is why she’s saved it for so long.

Me? I’m okay…this pregnancy is making me incredibly sick and tired. Lisa passed along some ginger chews that help, but nothing has worked more than an hour or two. The good news is, I’m not actually throwing up. But the level of nausea I have almost makes me wish I would just throw up and get it over with for the day! Paige has been great, but I think she’s moving to get rid of her naps. That, I’m not happy about. Even when she gives up sleeping, we’re still going to have “quiet time” in the afternoon. I think it’s a good practice for all involved. When she gets older, that can be her reading time.

My aunt is driving down today from Wisconsin. I need to give her a call to see how they are doing and get an approximate arrival time. I’m thinking it will be around 9 tonight, but it would be nice if they could get here earlier. Not only because I know the drive is seriously long (especially with 2 toddlers and 1 adult), but also since Paige goes to be at 9:30. Won’t be the end of the world if she’s up until 10 or so, she’ll just sleep in tomorrow. Child’s schedule is already messed up, so I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle anyway .

Okay…I’ve been upright too long. Maybe laying down will help with the sickness. How much longer?!

~Kelley