Eat.Sleep.Play.Potty.

New Baby

2010-06-03T10:12:00.000-05:00

Here I have neglected my blog (and life) for a bit due to new developments around here. So I'll try to fill in with a quick update about all that I've been up to as of late.

First off, the new baby I'm referring to is my new blog! I'm keeping this blog dedicated to family life and mommy topics. My new blog Health Nut For Life (www.healthnutforlife.org) will contain some mommy things, but also has topics related to my profession in a former life such as fitness, nutrition, general health, vegan recipes, weekly menus, etc. It's been keeping me busy as I'd really like to see it take off and become my business.

I also started teaching Pilates classes on Sunday mornings, not that it takes up a lot of time, it's just one more thing I'm doing. Also, my accounting class (part II) began two days ago, and it's going to be a fast pace since it's a summer course. I really am going to try to cram it in and get done early - it's an online course so I can go at my own pace as long as I get things done on time, meaning, I can go ahead as much as life allows.

I got really fired up to go to a continuing education course in NYC the end of July. However, third trimester has hit me really hard. Within the last week I've started not feeling the greatest. Maybe it's a bug, but I'm thinking it's just that I've crossed over into the final weeks of this pregnancy. My energy level has plummeted and my joints are all over the place. Can't even roll over in bed without my hips, back, and/or SI joints popping. For these reasons, I decided that even though it will be hard to get to the course after Cash arrives, it won't stress me out that I might go into labor in New York.

Also I've been looking for gently used baby items. Not planning on getting a lot of stuff for Cash because a lot of what I got for Charlette was totally unnecessary and some unused. Therefore, I'm taking the minimalist approach this time. I am going to change up the sleeping arrangements and get an Arm's Reach co-sleeper with an organic mattress, which I found on Craigslist. Have been having a hard time making connections with the seller but am planning on picking it up tomorrow. It's really a great deal, even though it isn't a color I would have picked out. Doesn't matter if it matches our bedroom or not. Frivolity is overrated. :)

All in all, I'm really enjoying most of the things I've taken on. Would rather not be doing accounting right now, but it made sense to get it done while I already have the books and online codes paid for. Just going to get it over with.

Hope all is well with everyone else! Have a great summer!!!

Mother's Day Extravaganza

2010-05-11T10:17:00.000-05:00

Due to the recent flooding in the Middle Tennessee area, Chris had an entire week off from work (downtown flooded and without electricity). It was a wonderfully productive week at our house! I have been wishing for a week's vacation in which we don't have to go anywhere, just able to stay home and get some things done. I got my wish! Although the circumstances were not ideal obviously.

The week consisted of lots and LOTS of yardwork. Something I love! I trimmed the bushes, rearranged a lot of plants that were overcrowded and for the grand finale and my mother's day present: I planted an herb garden! Yes, I did the planting...so how was this my gift? Well, after looking everywhere for an attractive, but economical planter for my little garden (since we don't really have yard space) and coming up short, Chris offered to build me a little raised garden box!

Since we'll be eating what is grown in the garden, we needed some non-toxic materials for building. We decided on cedar since it is naturally weatherproof and not treated with chemicals. Couldn't find a good base made of natural wood, so we got some pegboard and then lined it with cardboard.

Char and Daddy measuring the cardboard

Ready to plant!

Char and Mommy watering our garden (yes we're in our PJ's)

All done!

So there you have it! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries! We also have quite a variety of fresh herbs including lavender, basil, cilantro, mint, oregano, chives, stevia, parsley, and rosemary. My very first herb garden! Hooray! And a big THANK YOU to my sweet husband for making it possible!!!

How to Dress Up a Kitchen Shelf

2010-05-01T18:10:00.000-05:00

Here's a peek inside my home and a few simple ways to change up the decor without spending a lot of money. My favorite way to be creative!

Okay, so since our house is on the market, I'm constantly looking for ways to spruce things up and make it more visually appealing. Today's post is about dressing up my kitchen shelf.

A few years ago, Chris mounted some simple white shelves above our kitchen window. Since then, I've had various decorative plates on display. It started out with basic store-bought travel art plates. Simple, sort of boring, but hey, at least it wasn't an empty shelf anymore.

At Christmas, I got a little creative and used my white snowflake plates with green ribbon (borrowed from my stampin' supplies) and a snowflake ornament taped to the fronts and pine cones proudly standing in front. Also had an old homemade mini Christmas tree (from Pathfinders) as the center. Pretty cute end result, but all things must come to an end and the holidays are no exception.

Enter my latest inspiration. I had this picture in my mind's eye of having potted decorative grass across the shelf. I found this really cute and quirky fiber optic grass at Bates Nursery (~$4/pot). Also, used my everyday dinnerware as my backdrop as it matches the rest of my living room/kitchen decor. Now, to find something to pot the grass in besides the ugly grass green plastic pots they came in. It couldn't be any bigger though because there wasn't much clearance to the ceiling. Dilemma. After looking at various potting ideas, I had an epiphany! Had just bought some black and white polka dot gift wrap for a friend's bridal shower gift. I had a LOT left, including a narrow scrap. We wrapped the planters with the gift wrap, taped it on and....voila!...a cheap way to add a little excitement to a kitchen shelf.

Operation Simplify

2010-04-22T16:21:00.002-05:00

In hopes of selling our house and having a little "breathing room" when it comes to finances, I find myself daydreaming and plotting of what we'll be able to do with a little extra cash. New car for Chris, cuter cloth diapers for our soon-arriving little boy, repaint, remodel, new decor....oh, and save up to build our dream home! However, due to my online research addiction, I stumbled upon a few blogs (see blogroll) that talk about simplification and learning to live below your means, even-and maybe especially- if your means increase.

It got me re-thinking my hopes and dreams. After all, it's all temporary-since when do earthly possessions increase happiness anyway?

Coincidentally, it's Earth Day, and so, I find myself making a few Earth Day resolutions to protect the health of my family, decrease financial strain, and, you guessed it, SIMPLIFY my life! Without further adieu, here's my list (so far):

Go paperless in the kitchen (paperless towels, cloth napkins)-I just bought recycled paper towels, napkins, and TP yesterday....should have just gone with cloth (with exception of the TP). Also just read a blurb about how receipts contain BPA. May be opting out of those too!
Go "poo-less"! Found some recipes for a shampoo-less hair cleaning solution (not starting this one until AFTER being a bridesmaid in a week...just in case). Hoping this will save money, time, and give me fabulous hair (something that one bad haircut after another has made hard to come by)! Have had a hard time finding organic, truly healthy shampoos for a reasonable price. Enter baking soda wash, apple cider vinegar rinse. Here goes nothin'!
Quit using commercial facewash and moisturizer. I've always had temperamental skin anyway and am constantly switching to find something that I like. Found a blog with a post about simply using a castor oil and olive oil mixture for cleansing...no extra moisturizer required! Can also use coconut oil for eye makeup removal. These moms are so smart! http://simplemom.net/oil-cleansing-method/
Clean out closets, get rid of non-necessities, invest in some bins/baskets for organization. Seems like I have done this a lot lately mainly due to showing our house to sell. Was at a loss for what to do with my linen closets which are always stuffed. Saw a cute idea for using wicker baskets/bins to separate sheets, towels, etc. and have them labeled for ease of finding what you need. http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/08/tag-youre-it/ Not sure about the tags, but I love the basket!
Get more house plants! Okay, while this one will cost some money, I think it will be worth it to have better quality air to breathe and add some green to our house. I've been doing this already, but after reading an article about how house plants can help to detox your home, I'm ready to green it up! http://simpleorganic.net/using-houseplants-to-reduce-toxins-and-grow-fresh-air/
Exercise more. Always a struggle. I grew up doing a lot of yardwork (manual labor :) and that was my greatest form of exercise (plus I was a kid...kids get to play for exercise!)...and I miss it! Being in my little house in a subdivision (trying to be thankful), it's hard for me to get outside and work like I used to. I hate exercising just to exercise. Would much rather accomplish something along the way. I've now committed to teaching a Pilates class for our church women, so that's a start. Once summer hits, I will be living in the swimming pool for my aerobic exercise (and to stay cool as a large, pregnant person)!
Plant a vegetable and herb garden and can/freeze my own food. While I don't really have a good space to do that here, I have a little space that I could at least get a tomato plant and have some herbs. If we move, there will be a full-fledged garden! Sigh.
Focus on my relationship with God. When I lose focus, I start to see all the things I don't have instead of counting my blessings. Time to regroup and re-God! After all, He's the reason we are to take care of our planet, our bodies, and strive for heavenly instead of earthly possessions.

Life as Usual

2010-04-15T11:22:00.000-05:00

Things have been relatively normal around here. Something for which I'm very grateful! Enjoying the warm weather. Getting ready for one of my dear friend's wedding, which has been a little stressful since I didn't get my dress in until 2 days ago (the wedding's in a couple of weeks), and since I'm quickly expanding, it was a risky order. It fits though (barely). I could barely get it zipped, mainly due to rib cage expansion. Hopefully I can hold my size up top for a couple more weeks so I can breathe during the wedding. :)

Charlette is growing up so quickly. She will be 2 yrs old in 3 weeks! Time just keeps rolling faster and faster. Especially with this new pregnancy. I'm over halfway through already and have hardly put any thought into it. Unlike my first pregnancy that I seemed to dwell on constantly.

We are having a little boy this time though, so things will be different all around. We're very VERY excited about it and happy that Charlette will soon have a little brother to show the ropes to.

Our house is on the market again (has been for a month). It started out slow, then we had a slew of showings, and now it's slow again. I'd rather the slowness so I don't have to constantly pick things up. I tend to stress about the place being perfect which leads me to having Braxton-Hicks contractions and all that good stuff. So it's really better to just get through our 3 month obligation for listing it and just give it up after that I think. Already brainstorming on how to use our tiny space for a 4-person family. Where I will put all the things out of the guest room closet (which will be the baby's room) I do not know. I have a feeling there will be a lot of cleaning out, giving away, and selling of things that are not absolute necessities.

Finally, I'm all motivated to share some of my P.T. and exercise knowledge with the church women, namely the pregnant and postpartum women. I'm trying to find a place to offer pre/post-natal exercise classes, but am not having much luck so far. Currently waiting on the elementary school to present it to the board and see if they can accommodate. If it all works, I will probably focus on prenatal exercises but open the class up to all women as it will address all issues of women's health....my latest research endeavor.

We'll see how it all goes. Still trying to get some cloth diaper parties together, but my main passion is education, not sales, so would rather use a different avenue if I can and still add a little bit to our income. Always a challenge.

With all the women's health research I've been doing, I've convinced myself that a home birth would be my preference. Others are not so convinced, but I know how much I've researched and doubt they have done the same. Not to mention, I've become such a naturalist since becoming a mother, that a hospital birth will not be able to meet all my birth plan expectations. However, since insurance would not cover it, that's a huge problem. We really don't have the money to spend, even though the charge is not as much as a hospital birth, but our out-of-pocket expense is 10x more (or at least in theory. Our insurance keeps trying to charge us more than the plan's outlined costs).

Okay, I said things were normal around here, but re-reading all that, it sounds busy! Guess that's good though.

Cloth Diaper Party Success

2010-03-25T11:25:00.001-05:00

Had a great turnout for my first cloth diaper party. Thanks so much to those who attended. Nice to have such support. Will do some things differently for the next one. Live and learn. But overall I think it went well. Had too much to say and too little time. I'll make it more concise next round though....I tend to ramble when I get excited (and I'll just blame a little of it on the pregnancy brain too).

A big thanks also to my 2 sponsors:
Cloth Diaper Superstore
Abby's Lane (please comment that Angela Aitken referred you from the cloth diaper party in the Order Notes)

Both stores have a great selection and made it possible for me to have brand-new items to demo at my party. Will re-stock my inventory and have more new stuff to show and/or sell next time. And a small P.S....Cloth Diaper Superstore will custom make wet bags in any fabric she has shown OR fabric you have that you want made into a bag. Let me know if you want to do this and I can get more information and/or place your order.

A new development...I will now be taking orders at the party (and for a short time after) and deliver the products to you! I will offer a small discount for orders placed at the party or within a few days of the party if you go through me. If there is enough interest I can do this on a regular basis (every month or every few months), even if you haven't been to a recent party. This will cut down on shipping costs which will help keep suppliers' prices low. Think this will be less confusing than having a million links for you to check out.

If you haven't already, you're welcome to check out my other (and neglected) blog: Cloth Diaper Diaries. I started it as an adjunct to this blog but then decided to just put it all in one place. There are some old posts (about a year old) about my cloth diapering/EC at that time. Was interesting to re-read and see how far we've come.

Thanks again to my guests and looking forward to the next party already...coming soon for those of you who missed the first one or those who just want to see some new items...will keep rotating my stock so should have slightly different things at each party.

Cloth Diaper Party coming!

2010-03-03T11:02:00.004-06:00

I've scheduled my first official cloth diaper party for March 21 at 10 a.m.

It should be a great time! I will be talking about my experiences with cloth, types, caring for cloth, infant potty training (a.k.a. elimination communication), and answer any and all questions there may be (or find the answer if I don't know it). There will be many diapers on display, some from my personal stash, some brand new. I will include the most popular and highly rated brands for day and nighttime diapering. Some will be available for purchase at the party, but to get a good stash, simply contact me to place an order.

Here are my affiliated cloth diaper sites to check out:

Cloth Diaper Superstore
Banana Peels Diapers
Abby's Lane (please comment that Angela Aitken referred you from the cloth diaper party in the Order Notes)
Kelly's Closet

I'm excited if you can't tell! The best part is, I get to feed my cloth diaper addiction and buy all the latest and greatest in the cloth diaper world for educational purposes! Can't wait!

Latest WAHM endeavors...

2010-02-22T10:20:00.001-06:00

Since "retiring" at the end of January from my P.T. job, life has somehow gotten much busier, but a good busy!

I am currently exploring a lot of work-at-home-mom (WAHM) avenues. I am working for my dad, marketing for his company Aviation Enterprises-Skymaster Mods and Parts. It's a totally new realm of information for me to learn and I'm really enjoying the challenge. Have been working on the website as well as promoting through online advertising.

My most recent endeavor is promoting cloth diapers. I have cloth-diapered Charlette full-time since she was about 3 mos old. She was potty trained by about 17 mos, so we haven't cloth diapered since then. However, I'm still a big believer and plan to use what I've got on the next little addition. That's one of the great things about cloth....reusable resource!

Meanwhile, several friends have been asking about recommendations for cloth so have been doing some informal demos for them. Basically my interest was renewed in promoting cloth as a business-type venture. So I'm currently in the process of affiliating with several cloth diaper online stores.

I believe in getting to see a product before you buy it. I didn't have this luxury, so I had a lot of trial-and-error purchases, but I now know what I like and don't. Of course, everyone's different.

Well, I found the solution I think! Abby's Lane is an online cloth diaper/natural parenting store that sponsors "Team Cloth." Basically I will get to choose whatever products I want and have them on hand to show people. I will be doing cloth diaper parties to promote the products, tell about cloth benefits, how to care for cloth, and will probably throw in my two-cents about how we did elimination communication, a.k.a. infant potty training.

I will get a small commission within 7 days of having a party if someone places an order. Otherwise, if anyone orders, they need to mention my name as the referral source for me to get any credit please.

I actually ordered most of my cloth diaper covers from Abby's Lane. They have an impressive selection of brands/types and free shipping on any U.S. order! You can't beat that.

And since I'm all about finding the best deals, I'm also affiliated with other diaper stores online. Kelly's Closet (see link on right bar) is a great store that I've purchased from also. They have free shipping on orders over $49 (which is not hard to meet if you're just starting out) and also a good selection. My advice is to shop around until you find the brand and colors you want at the best price including shipping deals. That's what we did, which is how I know which companies I like and which not-so-much.

More to come.....

0 to 60 in 5?

2010-01-25T09:40:00.001-06:00

In other words....things have really sped up around here. While we did take our house off the market and therefore haven't been remodeling the would-be new home, we have plenty on our plates at the moment. Plus, we're preparing to re-list our house probably in the next month or so, so just a small reprieve.

Meanwhile, I haven't been working for the past 3 months and have enjoyed that other than stressing about finances. I'm SO trying to have faith but I'm SO human and have a difficult time with having peace that everything will work out.

Sounds like I shouldn't be too busy right? Guess that's why I took on some new things this month. As of about 2 wks ago, I started an online Accounting class, a web design class, and have joined a women's Bible study. Of course, all of these things require homework and study, so I'm using every spare moment for that. Did I mention Charlette is not napping regularly again? Fun times.

And maybe I should share the BIG news....we're expecting our second little one. Due August 28, 2010. Mixed emotions. Mostly worried about how Charlette will do with my attention split-she's such a mommy's girl! Of course worried about how we'll make ends meet. But yes, it was planned, and we are excited about getting to know our next little entertainer, and yet it's so hard to imagine loving another as much as we love our little Charlette.

So, I'm putting on hold my ultimate plans of going back to school for my MBA. I know, I'm a school junkie.

Overall, we're happy and healthy. Charlette has 16 teeth and 4 to go. She loves Sabbath School and we sing the songs every day. I'm feeling a little yuckier this round than last. Food has little appeal to me, but I'm starving all the time! I feel worse in the evenings than the mornings. Makes it hard to fix supper for the fam.

Charlette has been good about making me do "cises" (exercises). I have a Pilates during Pregnancy DVD which she likes to help me do by hanging on my legs. Seems a lot more difficult than I remember. We try to do it in the evenings before fixing supper.

I could ramble on and on, but I guess I should get going this morning. We're a little sluggish these days.

In closing, let me share a memory verse from my Bible study:
"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

Going Green(er)

2009-12-08T22:03:00.001-06:00

Yes, I've been going green for awhile, but there's always something else to improve upon it seems. So I recently undertook the challenge of upgrading my cleaning products to nothin' but green. Of course, I couldn't do it "the easy way" (Back to the Future, anyone? No? Okay). While GreenWorks, Method, and all those "natural" products are decent and great for doing a quick spruce up vs. traditional cleaning products, do any of us actually know what all those chemicals are? That's great that it's better for the environment, but if I can't pronounce it, I wonder if I should be breathing it. I guess I'm just an all or nothing sort of gal.

To the punchline....I made my own stuff! Yeah, and it's quite fun. I've been cleaning more than ever because it smells so yummy and if Charlette gets a hold of one of the bottles and wants to "kirt,kirt" (squirt,squirt), then that's okay with me cause guess what, I know what's in there isn't toxic.

I got my brew recipes (heh,heh) from this handy book I found on Amazon: Green Up Your Cleanup by Jill Schoff. It's super easy and super cheap to make your own cleaning products. Hint: most of them involve vinegar or baking soda and water. Yeah, like I said, easy. There are some that include some things that are a little tougher to find such as citric acid, washing soda, and borax. But, with the exception of the citric acid, I've been able to find everything at Walmart, Target, or Kroger.

So without further adieu, here's my new cleaning arsenal

DRAW! (It's past my bedtime, sorry)

And as a bonus, here's a quick little recipe I LOVE! This is my new "Lysol."

Mildew and Germ Killer
1 c. water
12 drops of lavender essential oil
12 drops of tea tree essential oil

This makes a small batch (I only had a small 8 oz? bottle available at the time) but it's lasted for weeks.
Very fresh-smelling and doesn't make you feel like you need to hold your breath while disinfecting. Love that! Would have been much easier to clean while pregnant if I'd known this one.

Happy cleaning!!!

Enough

2009-12-03T12:06:00.000-06:00

I keep meaning to sit down and write...I have several things to blog about but it just hasn't happened until now. Need to catch up on the kitchen cabinets (mostly done, just touch-ups left, but they look a LOT better), my vegan cooking adventures (mostly good), and Char's latest developments. Yes, there will be pictures, but not taking the time to put them on at the moment. Forgive me.

So to begin, let me just explain the subject title, "Enough." Due to recent decline in volume where I work, I have temporarily, but indefinitely, not been working. Was off for the month of November and am not currently scheduled to work through February. Therefore, this holiday season has been a lesson in learning to live with enough. I often find myself online "window" shopping and looking for one more thing that will make life easier and better. But with that attitude, there will always be something else that will make things "perfect."

Well, I sat down and did the obvious - created a budget. And let me just say that it will be very, very tight, but we can survive on one income if we learn to live with enough. That means no more impulse buying, which is a tough thing to give up with a quickly-growing toddler. I also have to stick to a grocery budget. Food buying is something I've never limited myself on. I considered all of it necessity and that was that. Not so anymore. Instead of buying everything we had run out of in the pantry, this week I only bought things that I planned on using THIS WEEK. We did pretty well. I did go over a little this week so that means there will be cutting back over the next 3 wks.

But, even with the financial stress and feeling guilt over not being able to gift like I want to, November was quite possibly the happiest I've been in a long time. I mean, blissfully happy. My focus was on the present, not the past, not the future. And it was pure joy!

I quit worrying about our house not selling and how that would solve a lot of the issues. Quit worrying about work. Quit worrying about clothes. Etc,etc.

And I also was able to take time for things that bring me joy like Pilates, playing the piano, listening to Christmas music. I started a new hobby too...finding free things online, looking for coupons and deals, and most of that is done through others' blogs. Very dedicated people out there. Which brings me to this free e-book I happened upon called "Thriving on Less." It was just what I was looking for and something I'd recommend to all of you who like free stuff and need tips and encouragement in these tough times.

The kicker is, I think I could have eeked more joy into this post much better while still in the euphoria. However, I had a meeting at work yesterday (about not working), and now I'm back in my worrying rut and thinking about changing things that are out of my control. I just can't seem to let things go. My psyche is both my greatest advantage and my greatest adversary.

And yet, through it all, I know lessons have been learned. I've gotten closer with God again. I know that is the answer to everything.

Faux Finish Fabulous!

2009-10-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

Trying to get this in while Charlette is napping and my cabinets are drying...and need to clean the house for yet another showing in about 3 hrs. Was going to relax and blog whilst watching "Practical Magic" for some design inspiration, but alas, there is no such thing as true relaxation anymore. A mama can dream....

So, I HAVE been working in most of my spare time on the kitchen cabinets which have become my nemesis! I have all the doors finished now. Most of them are black but one small section in front of my sink I aspired to faux finish in an antique teal with brown glaze. Wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I just put the finishing glaze on a few minutes ago and it is cool! Check it out!!!

Freshly painted teal:

Slathered with glaze (maybe a bit much):

The finished product:

Anyway, still much to do and still no offers on our house so I'm slowing down a little with lack of motivation. Hoping something will happen in the next 9 days. Will be posting pics of more projects as they finish off...including the big kitchen reveal!

Poolish Focaccia pics

2009-10-01T09:02:00.003-05:00

As promised, here are the pics of my Poolish focaccia 1st attempt and it is GOOD! The recipe (and much prettier pics) can be found at VeganYumYum.

The Poolish (made the night before)

Charlette stirring her own dough

One of several fold and rise steps

Just before going into the oven

Just after coming out of the oven....smell the yumminess!!!

Enjoy!

And the award goes to....

2009-09-28T21:44:00.001-05:00

Be warned, a little mama-bragging is about to go on. But I think it's called for. Charlette, my little crazy grown-up 16-month-old, has gone 36 hrs (and counting) without a miss. We're talking she has been wearing big-girl pants all day long and using the potty and sleeping 11 hrs and waking up dry. Then doing it again all day today. Not holding my breath for tonight, but I'm just a really proud mama right now! I ♥ EC!

Busy day today. Took my kitchen cabinet doors/drawers to my parents' for a little space and equipment to work on them properly. Lots and lots of sanding time later, still not sure what my method of operation is going to be. Was prepared to stick them in the paint booth and just spray the stinkin' things and be done with it. However, due to the last person's not-so-perfect painting (as in brush strokes and drips), I either need to sand even more to get them completely smooth or ignore it and have stuff show through my new paint job or brush/roll it myself and let my own imperfections disguise the old ones. Leaning toward the last option at the moment. Although it all depends on if I can get my oil-based primer to go on right. My first attempt was not so good. Went on too thick, left a lot of brush strokes, had to sand it back down. Bought some new rollers/brushes on my way home so will try again later....

Baked some Poolish focaccia bread from scratch yesterday. Turned out great! Took about 4-5 hrs to do I think. But it was a fun adventure. Lots of folding and finger-poking and drizzling yummy infused herb oil....ummmm. Took some pics so will have to put them on here when I get a sec.

Ready for another busy DIY day tomorrow. Supposed to go to Char's swim lesson but I'm thinking we are going to be done with that business for awhile. Mind you, she's a little fish when we go to the pool anywhere but there. When we go for lessons, she's SO scared that she just cries and cries, which is heart-breaking, but I can deal with that. Last week, although I didn't think it could possibly get much worse, it actually DID. Lots of going under water that day and Char was pretty mad. Well, she was doing great floating on her back, the best she's ever done and not even crying about it! Then for our very last back float (as in we were floating toward the steps to get out of the pool), she threw up! Yeah, there went breakfast. Not good. And trying to clean up Charlette (who wouldn't let go of me), dry myself off, change her out of her bathing suit, and not touch anything in the yucky public restroom, was just a little too much drama for my liking. Not to mention, I think it sort of defeats the purpose of the swim lesson if Char is that stressed out everytime we go. Maybe next year.

Hmmm, just discovered I sanded my thumbnail....

Need to go to bed. Night.

Life as we know it

2009-09-27T07:26:00.005-05:00

Was just reading my last post and hmmm, still trying to figure out colors. What a process. I used to be able to just pick out my colors and go with it. Then I accidentally picked out a horrible neon green (it didn't look neon till I got it up in my whole living room...and until it was night and we had a light on). All I can say is "wow." And it's not a good "wow." Needless to say, I've been a little overly cautious since then and refuse to paint anything on my walls until I'm for sure it's the exact right shade. Think I've got swatches from EVERY paint store in the area as well as wet samples, my own paint sample boards, etc, etc. Then I found out Porter paint was having a 30% off sale and it ended in 9 days. So I had 9 days to decide all my colors. Talk about lighting a fire under you! Still couldn't decide. Thought I found my "perfect" off-white but then got it up and it looked pure white. Ugh!

I FINALLY found this awesome blog. My new favorite website of all time. Thinking of making it my homepage! It's http://www.younghouselove.com/ and it's a young couple who's redoing their whole house. Very cool and inspiring and I love their clean, neutral colors. It's exactly what I was going for. Almost all of their colors are from Glidden, which happens to be what I used for my current beautiful green/blue/gray living room color. The paint is from Home Depot, which I usually am not a huge fan of, but I have to say, I thought the Glidden paint went on great!

So, off to Home Depot Charlette and I went for yet another slew of paint chips and samples...and the happy news is....WE FOUND IT!!! The perfect off-white (Navajo Sand)! And it doesn't dull our also off-white couch, which was what was giving me so much trouble. It's really more of a very pale gray/taupe I think. Really cool! And the coolest part is that Home Depot sells 8 oz paint samples of all their colors for $3. Awesome!

Got one color figured out! Going to use it through most of my main floor, so that will knock out a lot. But, the main project I'm working on is repainting the kitchen cabinets. Yeah, I just wrote that much about the wall color and I've got about 20 cabinet doors and drawers in my garage that are partly stripped, sanded, and primed. Got all the hardware/fixtures painted though, so that's cool. Gotta love spray paint!

Going to paint the cabinets distressed black and do one section in a light teal with brown glaze over it (saw it in a magazine). Whew! Think I take on too much at once. Fun though. Very sick of all the prep work and ready to get to painting. Having issues getting the nasty oil-based primer on smoothly, so need to experiment with other brushes/rollers. Any suggestions????

What else is going on? Oh, our house is STILL for sale. Just reduced the price and really hoping to get out of here by the end of the month...assuming I have the other house painted by then. Really hard to get much done when I have about an hour and a half during Char's naptime everyday to work.

And the really awesome news is that Charlette is on the home stretch with pottying. Now in big girl underpants almost exclusively. Still put on some training pants while going out and diaper at night, but now that we're doing so well during the day, going to tackle the nighttime thing. What a big girl at 16 months old! Very proud!

Other changes...we've gone vegan, so all sorts of food experiments are going on around here. Read "The China Study" and that did it. Crazy to eat the food we Americans are eating and think somehow our outcome will be different than others. Even the veggie foods are loaded with unhealthy chemicals which I don't feel comfortable giving to my little one, so why should I be eating it?

And finally, at work we were basically required to get a flu shot this year. Something I try to avoid. Well, I asked for the preservative-free one and went ahead and did it Friday morning at 8:30. Exactly 12 hours later I started chilling really badly and aching all over. My teeth were killing me. Went to bed and couldn't sleep cause I was freezing. Anyway, ran a fever all night and was drained the next day. Coincidence? I think not. I hate those flu shots. And I'm planning on refusing to ever have another one. Might as well just put me in a room with a bunch of people with the flu coughing on me. At least that way my arm wouldn't be so sore.

Okay, one more thing. Char is talking up a storm. My little parrot. Exit the word "crap" from my vocabulary stage left. She's so smart, if I do say so myself. Learning her colors now!

So, for anyone who's out there, I'm planning on revamping this blog during all my infinite spare time. Really want to start putting more pics on. Look for: pics of vegan food experiments, before and afters of the house we're remodeling, any updates of Char, and of course whatever else I feel like. :)

Was planning on starting a Pilates class at our church, but they shot me down. Not allowed to charge for classes at the church due to insurance. So that really stinks. I think it would have benefitted a lot of people...including me for the social aspect. May try to see if I can do it at one of our schools for the church members, but I've sort of lost my drive for it at the moment. We'll see.

And that's the update. Plenty busy, but still lots left to do. Should be a fun ride!

Colors

2009-08-04T11:21:00.003-05:00

In the midst of trying to sell our house and move. Have had a few lookers but no offers yet. Really hoping things get rolling with that soon. It's exhausting trying to keep things picked up when I have a little saboteur who follows me around and takes out the exact things I have just put away. And, of course, I always come back after someone has looked at the house and find something that wasn't "just perfect" that I missed. Hmmm.

But, the house we will be moving into needs a lot of decor help. So I'm trying to decide on colors (or lack of) for pretty much every room. Plus, we'll need to get more furniture sometime, so not sure what pieces I'll have and can't picture what I want each room to look like yet. May just have to take our time with the painting, although it would be really nice to get it painted before we move in.

Anyway, I'm in my final week of craziness work-wise. This is my only day off this week, so it's going to be a busy one. Next week I'm totally off work and am really looking forward to it! And Chris is taking Monday off so we'll actually get to spend some time together vs. one of us watching Char while the other one goes to work.

Welp, back to my leisure while Char is napping....

P.S. The Soap nuts I ordered got here in record time and are awesome! Now I don't want to finish my old detergent.

Too busy

2009-07-20T11:45:00.002-05:00

Been awhile...again. Seems like I never get a chance to sit down and write anymore. Usually when I do have a moment to myself, it's not spent relaxing. So here I go. Time to breathe.

To catch up on my summer...I've been working 2-4 days/wk (usually 3) instead of my typical 1 day/wk. Miss my baby, and hard to get everything done I need to. Plus, we put our house on the market, so I'm constantly having to clean and pick things up. I've been having a lot of deja vu though. I swear I keep picking the same things up over and over again. Weird.

This week I only work 2 days, so it feels like a break. I've been online shopping this morning and found some new laundry detergent I'm excited about. Haven't tried it yet, just ordered it. But it's completely natural Soap Nuts from NaturOli. Sounds pretty cool, and all the reviews I've read are excellent, so we'll see. I'll have to update when I get them.

And nap time is over I see. So this will be kept short and sweet.

Exhaustion

2009-06-30T09:56:00.002-05:00

Before having a baby, I thought I had experienced exhaustion. I now know that my definition was flawed, as what I am experiencing now takes on a whole new level of what it means to be utterly and completely past the limit of human tiredness.

So we thought we needed a vacation. Sounded like a great idea. Not so much. Went to Gatlinburg for 4 days,3 nights. Char got the flu, so I was up with her for 2 of the 3 nights. Came home, put our house up for sale, clean, clean, clean, organize, throw out. Had to work the next day. I got the flu the day after that. Still cleaning. Missed work the next day. Ugh. Had Pilates Instructor Training class over the weekend (missed a whole day of it Saturday so was 7 hrs behind everyone else Sunday). FINALLY got a day off from pretty much life yesterday, and am off again today (which is incidentally Chris' and my 7 yr anniversary).

We're still recovering from this weird flu-ness. Started out with a really high fever, and I mean HIGH. I got up to 103.2 deg. Then a really sore throat. Now, almost a week later I got the sinus business. Char's nose has pretty much been runny for an entire week.

Have to work for the next 3 days...still so tired. Work is crazy right now...I'm working a lot more hours due to vacations, maternity leaves, staff leaving, etc. I'm counting down until the second week in August when things are supposed to calm back down. Will this summer never end?

My new favorite fun baby stuff website!

2009-06-12T17:32:00.002-05:00

Real quick...I just wanted to share a website I recently found (while participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt) which has the most A-DOR-A-BLE things for little ones!!! Wish I'd known about it earlier as I would have loved to have had some flower headbands for Char when she was itty bitty! There is so much fun stuff that I've spent way too much time just browsing and can't get enough. A great resource for gifts too--seems like there are an awful lot of little ones being born lately.

Enjoy-Mini Me BabyGear (see banner to the right).

Food Trials

2009-06-01T11:02:00.008-05:00

Decided to go back a ways and talk about our struggles with starting solid foods. Back when we were struggling, I searched high and low for advice and finally stumbled upon "Baby-led Weaning" which really isn't geared toward how to wean your baby, but more toward how to get them to enjoy eating solids.

First of all, we started with the traditional approach of waiting until 6 mos to introduce solids... start with rice cereal very thin and then gradually thicken. Problem was, we never quite got past that rice cereal thing. She absolutely refused to take a spoon from me (or Chris). So we thought maybe we'd skip the rice mess and move onto something maybe a little yummier. No dice. As soon as the spoon ventured in the direction of Charlette's mouth, she'd turn away. Now, all the sources say to NEVER force-feed, so we didn't....at first. But we thought, maybe she just needs to taste it and then it will be okay. So that progressed the head-turning refusal to an all out head-turning-wailing-crying-are you crazy??? refusal.

Decided we'd take some days/weeks off from solids. She obviously wasn't ready. Well, in all honesty, she HAD eaten some solids and enjoyed it, like when we would be eating an apple or pear and she'd grab it and slurp/gnaw some off the core like she saw us doing. But you're not supposed to let them do this, so we kept that one under wraps.

Meanwhile, weeks and months after several starts and stops with solids, she was now 8 mos old and still not taking anything we offered her unless it was her idea (whole apples and pears, etc). So I decided that's just how it was going to be. If that's what she wanted to eat, then by all means, how could we refuse her what we were eating? Supposed to lead by example right?

Can't remember the exact order of events and when I FINALLY found what I had been looking for, but sometime in all the solid food attempts, I came across this "baby-led weaning" (BLW)technique. It sounded a lot like what we were bumbling around trying to do. Basically, it's an approach to starting solids in which you just allow the baby to eat whatever he/she wants from your plate or selection of food you're having that meal (as long as it's healthy and safe), and let them eat it however they see fit. Translation: the baby has control over how much food they eat, the only thing the parent controls is what types of food the baby can choose from. And also you're there to show them how to eat and offer help if they want it without forcing it on them.

Seems to me that this might be a great way to prevent childhood and adult obesity...if we are allowed, at a young and impressionable age, to determine how much to eat of a healthy selection of foods versus being fed an amount someone else thinks is appropriate, shouldn't we be more likely, as a child/adult, to be aware of our appetites and know when to stop eating when satisfied instead of gorging ourselves??? Makes sense to me.

So I printed off a list of solids that were age-appropriate for our little Char and off we went. Really made me stop and look at what we were eating each meal since I wanted to be able to offer her everything we had (as if I wasn't health-conscious enough!). Another interesting tidbit about this approach is what size and shape of foods to offer. Traditionally (as in with other approaches) you start with little pieces of food or cube-shaped stuff, but that's REALLY hard for that age baby to pick up so they get frustrated. This book talked about how it's important to make chips/french-fry shaped sticks or offer things with "handles" (like broccoli) that the baby could use their full-fisted grasp and effectively get the food to their mouth. Great idea!

Something else to note...we all have a gag reflex to protect from aspirating and choking on our foods. Well, for babies, that reflex is located farther forward on the tongue, so in the beginning they appear to be choking on their food, which is why they are started on liquidy-solids. However, since that reflex is so far forward, they really have less chance of choking on food than an adult does. A pretty cool protective quality God instilled I'd say. So when you teach them to slurp "solids" off of a spoon, you're tricking that reflex and really have more chance of them actually choking than if they are allowed to explore the shapes and textures of the food, put the food in their mouths themselves, and take however much they want, when they want.

Check out this link for a better and more inclusive explanation of what we did and why we liked this approach.

http://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blw_guidelines.pdf

And this link has a really helpful table that I used to give me ideas of what to feed Char:

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/schema/engels.html

I loved this table! Printed it off and highlighted what we were going to try. Her first thing was baked mini-bagels. She loved those! Another epiphany was when we were at my mom's and Char reached for a whole tomato and took a bite out of it! Pretty amazing!

To sum up (because someone's about to wake up from her nap), that was the beginning of the end of our food struggles. We now have a very good 1-yr-old eater who is not picky when it comes to food. However, if she's not in the mood for a food we're having, that's okay. She doesn't have to eat it. It's pretty cool to watch her eat her guacamole and beans though (her favorite meal). She also really like fresh-steamed broccoli, couscous, most casseroles, veggie foods, and most of all Mexican food! (which is what I ate a LOT of while pregnant with her).

I'd highly recommend this approach and will definitely be using it again with the next one in a few years....

Long time, no write

2009-05-21T12:35:00.002-05:00

So here we are almost to another weekend. Lots has happened since last I wrote. Lots of non-napping days lately, which partially explains my silence. But it's all for a good cause as our little 1-yr-old-wonder is now walking....and can't get enough of it!

Charlette's b-day went well. Had her party with the fam on the Saturday before and she got lots of cute little presents of course. We spent the day before her b-day at the zoo (since it was supposed to rain the day of). She just LOVES animals....don't know where she gets that from. Okay, maybe.

Have also been wasting all my free online time doing the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt (see www.diaperdecisions.com). A really fun little game in which you search for the cloth diaper emblem on a list of sponsor sites-many of which are WAHM websites. So of course I've also been online shopping more than usual too. Finding lots of fun natural products like laundry detergent (www.crunchyclean.com), soaps and shampoos (www.bluehousesoaps.com), and of course, cloth diapers!!! There is some really cool and innovative stuff out there. If only I were crafty....or maybe had extra time.

Speaking of time, don't have much. Need to get busy with grocery shopping. Not much food to be found in the house at the moment. And, as always, many loads of laundry to do. But it's a little more exciting with my new laundry detergent that smells like peppermint (or clover, or coconut--hard to choose my scent of the day). Hey, it's the little things.

Would love to hear what some of you think of my blog. Don't be bashful. It gets lonely being a mostly stay-at-home-mom (sounds of little baby swing tinkling lullabies in the background). Sigh.

Are we there yet? (to the weekend that is)

2009-04-29T16:25:00.004-05:00

So I've been planning Charlette's 1st birthday party for this Saturday. Her b-day is May 6 (next Wednesday). Hard to believe.

Anyway, I usually work Fridays but was called off this week. Then I was asked to pick up Monday at another hospital. So it was perfect for me to have Friday to get everything done right? Not so much. I've now been asked to work Friday too, but already had a prior obligation in place Friday morning, so will just be working the afternoon.

Meanwhile I've been cleaning and trying to prepare as much as I can ahead of time. Somehow it doesn't work too well with an almost 1 yr old in the house. Been cleaning over and over again. Deja vu. Can't really do the cooking until Friday evening, so I'm just waiting for the craziness to really hit.

And did anyone know how hard it is to throw a kitty-cat party??? Can't find anything but Hello Kitty out there, except online, and even that is limited. So yeah, we've been hitting all the craft stores trying to find all things kitty-cat to decorate for the party. It's going to be sparse.

Grumble, grumble. I'm just tired and hungry.

Been looking for houses with more land. Am very VERY tired of subdivision life. Especially since we have this neighbor across the street who sits and paces out on his front porch all day everyday and weirds me out, so I don't get outside much.

Also am in a bit of a sticky situation with work as an affiliate hospital has asked me to be shared with them as another PRN therapist. Thought it was all cool with my boss so went ahead and did it. From the sound of it, it's not really cool. Going to be a power struggle. I gave one person some dates I could work and then the other one got upset about it cause she might need me on those dates. Thinking I may just have to bow out of the affiliate and hang on to the job I've got.

Okay, I hear the cat yowling and Charlette saying "Bow, bow" (meow, meow). Time for us all to have a snack.

Nintendo Wii: A Love-Hate Relationship

2009-04-22T08:08:00.006-05:00

Well, we finally saved our pennies (with some help from Chris' b-day money) and bought a Wii and Wii Fit--okay, that one was for me. :) And let me tell you, it's just way too much fun! The first day we got it (Sunday), I played an hour and a half and was still wanting to play more. Two things: 1) When I start working out I can't stop, 2) When I start playing FUN video games I can't stop. And that adds up to...A WII FIT ADDICT!

It's a good thing right? I'm working out after all. And it's much-needed after only doing activities that involve Charlette for the past year or so. I wasn't even sore the next day (pat on back)....but I paid for it dearly the day after that. Sore all over yesterday, so decided not to play. Until Chris got home and Charlette went to bed, then my resolve was over. Stayed up until 11:30...not cool when sleep is so precious these days.

And then.....the hate relationship.

Back up. Charlette got her first-ever illness about 4 wks ago (I think) and it was a doozy! Stomach bug involving things coming out both ends...lasted 10 days for everything to be completely over. I got it a couple days after she did and Chris got it about 8 hrs after I did. That was quite the night, let me tell you. It was also a night that tornadoes were rolling through our area and the night before my 1 day/wk workday. Called in sick. It's pretty sad to have to call in sick when you only work 1 day/wk. Anyway...

So she got over that and then last week her face broke out in weird blister things. Chickenpox??? Great. Took her to the Dr. and it was Impetigo. So she was prescribed 10 days of antibiotics, which I was not thrilled about.

Well, we haven't had good sleep since. I think these drugs are giving her nightmares and/or really bad tummy pain cause she'll go to sleep only to wake up wailing a few minutes to a few hours later.

I'm ticked at the Wii (well, really myself for playing the blasted thing) today cause last night after I had played until 11:30, went to bed. Couldn't sleep cause I was all wound up. 12:45...WAILS from Charlette. Comforted, fed, pottied. Repeat. 2:30??? Finally down again. 2:32...WAILS. 2:45. 3:00. 3:12. 3:30??? Think I quit looking at the clock at that point. Back to sleep shortly there after.

3 1/2 hrs later. We're up for the day. What a night. Just when you think those days-well nights- are long gone, they come back in full swing.

Another day in progress. And I gotta go. Maybe my blog title should just be eat. cry. play. potty. And by "cry," I mean me.

In the beginning...

2009-04-18T12:42:00.006-05:00

To start from the top-had a baby, named her Charlette. When Charlette was about 2 wks old, she started having crying bouts every evening lasting 3-6 hrs (and sometimes more). To sum it up, she had "colic"-the catch-all term which basically meant that my baby was hurting and there wasn't really anything to do about it. Yeah, I'm a doer, and that didn't sit well with me.

So I got on the trusty internet and began researching what to do for my little wailer. Tummy massage, warm bath, home remedies like GripeWater,Colic Calm,etc. Didn't work. Was also trying to sort of watch what I was eating, but still eating mostly what I wanted. After maybe 2 wks (which felt like eternity) of the same thing every night and intense sleep deprivation, I'd had it! Those sources that said it would go away when they're about 3 mos old were nuts!!! There was no way we'd even make it that far.

I then went to drastic measures and followed the "Elimination Diet" in which I basically only ate one food from each food group (and lots of it to keep from starving). It's also affectionately been called the Thanksgiving diet because you eat lots of turkey,potatoes,rice,pears-bland foods. Was a change for me too since I'd been raised vegetarian, though I'd recently been eating some turkey and fish anyway, so at least I liked it. :) Ironically, I've always said that I could live purely on potatoes-I actually got to test that theory. HA!

I'll admit, it was difficult to do. Breastfeeding burns TONS of calories, so I had to eat constantly to keep from feeling completely empty. Thankfully, within a week or so, we could see the change in Charlette...no more incessant crying in the evenings. I was able to start adding foods back into my diet pretty quickly. I logged everything I ate and what Charlette's reactions were, if any. Discovered she couldn't handle me eating tomato sauce, onions, and I think Frichik.

And that's our colic story. Thankfully it was over fairly quickly even though it didn't feel like it at the time. And the other big plus was that I got rid of my baby weight super quick!

Cloth Diaper Diaries

2009-04-16T18:56:00.000-05:00

I'm planning on using my other blogsite "Cloth Diaper Diaries" (see link to the right) to talk in more generalities about types of diapers, what we like, what we don't, and the whole infant pottying thing. Will go into more specifics about our life on this blog, for those who are interested.

Am also getting ready to host my first ever Cloth Diaper Party!!!! Further details coming soon. Hope to see some of you here....

Today

2009-04-16T18:54:00.001-05:00

We've had a good day today. Any day is great when the little one takes a 3 hr nap!!! Have been working on putting together my WAHM (work-at-home-mom) plans, which involved getting things together to renew my ACE Personal Trainer certification I had recently let expire --foolishly thinking I wouldn't use it. And maybe I still won't, but at least it's there if I need it. Other than that, the title of my blog says it all....Eat.Sleep.Play.Potty. Nuff said.