Summers Here! Time for some swimsuit DRAMA!

We recently moved to Alaska, I know what you are thinking, "who the heck needs a swim suit in Alaska!?!?" I'm with you, but... The sun came out and warmed us right up!

 

See?!? Look how warm it got! So we threw on our swimsuits and headed to the indoor pool. Score! And by swimsuits I mean my kids threw on their swimsuits from last year and I threw on a sports bra and spandex shorts. Stylin' I know. 

So we enjoyed a few hours of floating, splashing and some good old fashioned water phobia. It. Was. Awesome. Naturally our next stop was a clothing store to get a better fitting swimsuit for my oldest. After minimal discussion with my husband we agreed she will not be rocking the two piece for modesty reasons. I'm her mom, she's five, I can do that. 

But then it got me thinking. And I took to Facebook. 

Of course a few friends and family weighed in, and argued their opinions...I am not posting all of that here but I added a few of them.

Lots of good points were made, but I couldn't justify "two pieces are for adults, one pieces are for little girls" because WHY??? Why are two pieces for adults? Why do we get to flaunt our bodies?

Some said to give her appropriate choices, sure, I like that, but it still begs my question, WHAT ABOUT ME? Tank tops and swim shorts is a good idea for bathroom breaks, but she wasn't exactly interested in any of those anyway. Maybe next year. 

I wish I could've posted more of the comments but was having trouble protecting certain identities. 

Bottom line, what I liked the most was the very first comment I got LEAD BY EXAMPLE. I personally can feel good and honest about telling my daughter NO to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, tattoos and other LEGALLY subjected things. But I do my best not to say NO because I said so. I like to have a reason for my yes's and my no's.

So, I bought a one piece, actually, my husband bought me one!! My husband once told me one piece swimsuits for adult women were ugly and unflattering so to have him buy me one after I told him my conclusion from all this was to wear a one piece you can imagine the level of swooning I reached over his understanding and support. 

Isn't it beautiful?? 

(It's not the best lighting and it's wrinkled but I still love it!)

Ok so that really wasn't DRAMA...But I am curious, what type of suit do you and your little ones wear and what are your opinions on the matter?

Caution Heartbreak Ahead-Preparing for Charlie's imminent Surgery

Today my niece had to have emergency surgery to reattach the tip of her finger. I can not imagine the pain and emotions her parents endured in just those few hours of the initial trauma and surgery. I can't even imagine how they are coping now after so much has happened. I can however, find happiness in the fact that they rely so well on God and his power and grace.  My niece is a month older than Charlie.

When I was pregnant with Charlie we learned about a condition she had that "could be no big deal and could be serious". Gee, thanks for the peace of mind. Charlie has a kidney disfunction and deformity that grants her routine trips to see a Pediatric Urologist and all the invasive tests her doctor wants, so far we at about 3 different ones. Isn't life grand. At first her visits were few and far between and it was made to seem that we were in the "no big deal" category. We were pending a move, thanks to my job, and now looking back it seems the medical personnel there just didn't want to deal with us and get us out the door. Once at our new home, the great state of Alaska, we quickly learned that we were more in the "could be serious" category than the other. Charlie got a really bad UTI and we learned that the previous medical facility failed to mention a UTI in December that had gone untreated. Since the second UTI Charlie has been on a prophylactic dose of an antibiotic with ridiculous side affects! But, she needs it, so she gets it.

Around Charlie's first birthday we will see the doctor again, not before undergoing another round of invasive tests that she's done before but doesn't mean it's easier. The doctor said at that appointment we will discuss the intricacies of her surgery, what exactly he'll have to remove or "fix", where it will be, WHEN it will be. He said the older the better but not too old as one of her kidneys function isn't the best.

After learning about my niece this morning and praying and crying and praying some more I started to wonder. What is easier? Or is it ever easier? To have the long wait and build to the surgery or to rush in to surgery and with in hours be emotionally drained? Every time we talk to the doctor about the surgery or Charlie's failing organ I want to cry (sometimes I do). How could my baby, my perfect, adorable baby really have something wrong with her? She LOOKS normal. She ACTS normal.

So, I wonder, if you've been through a surgery on your child, what were the conditions and how did you handle the wait or the rush?

I don't feed my baby

Ok, so I lied, I do feed my baby. But this whole who feeds what to their baby is just getting out of hand. 

That phrase "breastmilk is love turned into food..." Is irritating. Milk is food, nutrition, period. I've talked to so many moms who feel less than because of the way they feed their baby. If you make milk and want to give it your baby, great, that's what it's there for. If you don't make milk or choose to give your baby formula, great, that's what it's there for. IF you decide not to feed your baby, shame on you. That's the ONLY reason moms and dads should be made to feel less than.  

A night in my sleepless-ish life

I need sleep. It's true, I need sleep, as much sleep as I can get. Which happens to not be much. 

My two older kids both slept through the night at 3 months old. They both slept from 8 pm until 4-5 am which was right at the time I had to get up to get ready for work. It was awesome! So, naturally, I assumed the same from Miss Charlie girl. No can do, says Charlie. Here we are at 7 months still waking and fussing all night. I've given in to the pacifier. Which has worked WONDERS. But she still wakes and needs a helping hand putting it back in her mouth. And then there's Mr. Ben...Ohhh Mr. Ben, you are loved for sure. Ben has been waking up between 2 and 4 am to sleep with me. This normally would not be a problem, however, at this point he has already gone pee and not in the toilet. So, sometimes, I get up, change him, change the blankets and sit next to him until I think he is asleep. Then he continues to come back toward my room and we repeat the sit and wait a couple times. Some may be wondering where my husband is. Well,eventually my husband gets up sends him to his room and Ben is never heard from again. But poor Ben I think, then I quickly remember I'm tired so I try to close my eyes, just in time for my alarm to go off. Ugh! I need sleep!

Oh and just to add to the fun, I'll be on a 24 hour duty on Thursday. 

They definitely don't want you sleeping there. 

This is my unamused, still needing sleep look. 

Always the hardest part...The Title

Writing is an outlet for me. It's an opportunity to form my words and change my words without "saying" something that could leave someone upset at something misspoken. I love to write. I've written in multiple fashions but it seems the title is always where I find myself stuck. WHAT?!?! I have to name my words? Ha! Not likely. These words can not be tamed or summarized.

In any case. Now that we've learned that my titles will not be sufficient and solely added for the purpose of publishing a post, let's move on. If you've looked around you'll find my posting is sporadic at best, I've decided to attempt to write a bit more frequently because I have a lot going on right now and, as we've already covered, writing is an outlet for me.

Not much has changed in my life. I've added a kid, so that's cool. We live in Alaska now, per my awesome job. My husband had to settle for his Associate of Arts degree in Graphic Design also per my job. Yay, him. On a related note, anyone need a freelancing graphic designer? He's all kinds of awesome. The kids are a chip off the old block, awesome. Ady, Ben and Charlie light up my world. Which, if you are familiar with the Anchorage, Alaska area you already know, will come in handy in the winter months.

We'll move on with specifics later, but until then, whats going on in your life? Let's get interactive.

Life gets tough

It's been pretty crazy around here lately but this song has really been helping me through a lot. 

Now this is where you really gotta belt it out...

Just say JESUS!!! He knows your heart and everything that concerns you. He wants wants to love you and pick up all your pieces. Just call out His name. 

A Stunningly Shallow Woman

All my life I've wanted and longed to be stunning. I wanted to be the girl or woman that caught every eye as she walked into the room. I prayed God would just immensely bless me and make me physically irresistible. How shallow, right? Yep, that's probably why I'm not. And it sucks. Not that I'm not pretty. I admire the body and beauty my God has blessed me with. I even catch a glimpse of that shallow, stunningly gorgeous woman from time to time. God has a sense of humor. What sucks is that I want it so bad that it is ruining my life. Chasing my loved ones away and eatin away at my soul. The devil knows this is a weak spot for me so he nags and belittles and reminds me of my mediocre beauty. Even as my husband, the one person who should think the world of me, compliments me, I counter with degrading thoughts. 

I am not enough of a beautiful woman, right? I am not pretty enough. I am not tall enough. Not short enough. I do not have enough curves. I do not have skin that is smooth enough. You catch my drift. 

Ady Just Said...

"Don't you know you have to go McDonalds to get a toy?!?!"

This was said after getting Jack in the Box for dinner and discovering...gasp...only food in her children's meal.

Guess it's time to step up your game Jack in the Box...

We found it...The perfect diaper

My husband and I, oh who am I kidding, *I* have been buying cloth diapers since 2010. It doesn't seem that long but I probably averaged 5 diapers a month if not more. My husband hated this. He wanted to buy a bunch of one kind of diaper and stick with it.

Well ladies and gents, it seems we have found it...THE PERFECT DIAPER.

We are both in agreement that the TotsBots EasyFit diaper is by far the most perfect diaper on the market. It is so much easier than a disposable too! I love the velcro version. I bought one in a small boutique in North Carolina in 2010 and that is probably the only diaper that has not given my any trouble to date. The manufacturing of it is superb. I only wish it was manufactured in the US because, of course, I am, as you know, American! But other than that flaw it has none! I love that you can stuff the diaper with more cloth if you need a more absorbant diaper and when you wash it the insert doesn't go flying away.

Best diaper ever! Any questions?

I can't remember the last time I...

I can't remember the last time I took a shower with out being watched by a 2 year old.
Showering today my 2 year old stood in between the clear plastic curtain and the show-off fabric curtain watching me, trying to convince me to let her get in with me.
It was my own fault, I told her she could come upstairs. But it got me thinking, I couldn't remember the last time I showered with out her beautiful eyes taking me in. She is so curious and intent on not letting me out of her sight.
Then again, my husband gives her baths every night, essentially watching her as she "bathes" so maybe she thinks it is common practice to ensure a bather is being watched while they get clean.

Mother's Day Essay Contest (A little late, but wanted to share)

I have been a mother for almost 2 years now. My daughter was born on May 9th, the day before Mother's Day in 2009. She was late, all I could say was she better not be born on my anniversary, May 8th, selfish me. I recently entered another contest asking when motherhood begins. For me it was the moment I finally let go of myself and accepted everything I didn't want to accept about my beautiful little baby. A little back story, I wanted a boy, they said I was having a girl, I wanted her to come early, she came a week late, I wanted to be gushed over, the midwives dutifully took my vitals, asked if I had questions and sent me on my way. Then she was born, we had a name, I had a baby, but it wasn't real yet. I didn't feel like I really wanted her. My mom looked happier than me, but it's my baby. Then it hits me, a wave of emotions that still make me cry to this day. Years ago, after giving birth to a healthy boy and years before my time, my mom got pregnant again. She knew she was going to have a girl. She named her girl. She was already a mom from her first son, but this girl was the icing so to speak. Then, weeks later, on a toilet, on Mothers Day she miscarries. Unable to flush, unable to let go of her little girl for a good while. For years she resented Mother's Day. She would smile politely as the five of us brought her breakfast in bed, eat some and then usher us out so she could mourn her first lost, her first girl. Now, here at the hospital, my mom's oldest living daughter, has given her back joy for Mother's Day. I have joined the ranks of motherhood. I am grateful and appreciative of the gift that God has blessed my entire family with and that is the birth of my daughter. I am her mother. I was her mother the second my husbands little swimmer made it to my egg. But I didn't really accept it until I realized the victory that I had attained by carrying this beautiful baby girl for 41 weeks and presenting her to my mom. My first mothers day was less than 48 hours after giving birth. And it was the best Mother's Day ever, because this was the weekend that I became a mom and finally knew what my mom felt in her attachment to her first baby girl. And now my baby girl has forever changed Mother's Day back to a day of gratitude for my mom. Atleast I like to think so.
All that to say this, Motherhood for me really began in the realization that a woman is a woman until she accepts everything that comes with the child that she is carrying or bears. Accepting possible loss, accepting gender, accepting due date and birth date differences and accepting the nasty goopiness of fresh newborn. Motherhood, has changed me in ways that I could never have imagined years ago. I am less self centered. I am more, patient. I am independent, but happily tied down. I watch passers by more carefully than I did on my first deployment to Iraq. Motherhood has made me and continues to make me. My husband deployed 3 months after our daughter was born and I continued to work and care for her. I couldn't tell you how many times I cried. Or how many hardships we had through out that year. But every time I considered breaking down or giving up, I knew I couldn't, I was in the middle of the most important 24/7 job of my life, Motherhood.

Impromptu Review: Simple Wishes Pumping Bra

Recently I won a Simple Wishes Hands Free Pumping Bra from a facebook giveaway. I was so thrilled because I pump EVERYDAY and have been pining for a handsfree pumping bra for months! I work full time and pump a minimum of 3 times a day, if not 4-7 times. Sometimes I have 24 hour duty so I am away from my baby the whole time and need to pump every feeding. I also pump extra milk every morning just in case I ever have to leave my little man for an extended period of time. When I had to leave my daughter for 2 weeks I left a FULL deep freezers worth of milk and returned to about 20 bags...when I left there were well over 100 bags. It was crazy to see an empty freezer.
Anyway, back to this phenomenal pumping bra. When the box came I was in the middle of making dinner and was so thrilled to open it. I was tempted to pump a little bit after I put my little man to bed just to try it out :) But I refrained. Inside the box was the bra (I chose a SM/M black) with an extender panel and straps. I love this about this bra. I found that my most comfortable fit includes the extender panel. It is a 2" wide strip that zips into the front of the bra for those boobs that are a little more spaced out than others. The bra itself is essentially 3 pieces, but dont let this put you off. The back is an adjustable velcro closure to get the perfect fit. So each side can be moved on the back panel if you are a bit fuller or a bit smaller than usual. I have adjusted mine a few times to find that perfect fit. Practice makes perfect! It was so easy to use this bra. For a reference I have a Medela Freestyle Pump with the SoftFit breast shields.
 I literally took it out of the package, adjusted it to my size, zipped it up, inserted my pump cups and proceeded to fold clothes...while pumping! I was so liberated! Thank you Simple Wishes! I was so afraid that a hands free pumping bra would take as long to put on than it would to pump. Boy, was I wrong. This was so easy, I use it every time I pump now. This morning, I ate breakfast...while pumping. This afternoon, I typed...while pumping. So amazing!
One thing I did not do, after my 3rd time using my wonder bra I found that I was supposed to wash it before the first use. Whoops!
Washing it didn't affect the fit or comfortability of the bra. Also, I have found that the bra leaves small black fibers on my breastshields. This doesn't bother me because it doesn't seem to be getting on the inside and it could be because I use the Medela SoftFit breastshield. But it really is not a big deal and had I gotten a white bra I likely never would have noticed. I have included a few pictures to show how it fits and how easy it is to use.  Well, happy pumping and if you require hands free pumping, I would definitely suggest the Simple Wishes Hands Free Pumping Bra.
You can find them on Facebook and Twitter

I was trying to add a couple pictures but it doesn't seem to be working right now, so I will try again later.

Oh and P.S. I was not paid by Simple Wishes to write this, I just wanted to write about it, like I said, I won it on a Facebook giveaway contest they were having. Good products deserve good words said about them.

Jiffy Lube should do the world a favor and go out of business

I can not remember the last time I have been so frustrated with and appalled by a business' services. On a Monday I went to Jiffy Lube to get a routine oil change. It was great, I was in and out very quickly and while it did cost me 40 dollars I received a military discount, which not all businesses offer. I was pleased, until I was driving home in a hurry the next day trying to get my textbook for my class and get to school on time after leaving work later than I should have. On my way home I hear a rattling under the hood, so I returned to the last place my car was serviced, Jiffy Lube. On my way there my husband calls and says there is oil all over the garage and our daughter almost walked through and slipped in the oil. Thank goodness he stopped her before she did.
Furious and late I go to Jiffy Lube and explain the situation, they take my car, and minutes later are done. When I asked what in the world happened, it was explained that my 2007 Camry has an updated filter system. For those of you who don't know, when you change the oil, traditionally you would unscrew the oil cap and canister and replace the canister after draining all the oil and then refill the oil after you put the cap back on people, stay with me here. Well with my car it uses a filter that has a paper insert and the canister is reused, in my opinion this is a way of being more eco friendly, I LIKE :)
So I said how ridiculous that was and another representative starts saying how because it is new it was an honest mistake more or less. I cut him off, and went of on him/them. You have got to be freaking kidding me. First of all, it's a 2007, not a 2012 or some craziness. Second, you are an oil changing company! Learn the ropes before you try to change oil. I wish I had the time and energy to contact the franchise owner and let him know what kind of ridiculousness was going on.
So then I ask about the mess in my garage because my pregnant butt was not going to be cleaning up oil especially since it wasn't my fault. They handed me a can of stuff and I was on my way...really!?!?! Thanks Jiffy Lube, I hope to never deal with you again. My love called the store and told them they better send someone out because he wasn't doing it and I wasn't doing it so that left them :) I love when he fights back! So they sent some kid out and he cleaned it up. The only real satisfaction I got from the whole ordeal.
Bottom line, JIFFY LUBE CAN DIE A SLOW DEATH.

We had a baby, It's a boy (My 2nd delivery story)

     Do you remember that commercial years ago when a phone company was advertising unlimited minutes so you didn't have to keep your phone calls to 59 seconds or less. The man was making calls and as soon as the recipient picked up he quickly said, "we had a baby, it's a boy". My husband was calling people with that line when we found out we were going to have a boy.
     Now, on May 20th, we had our boy! Benjamin Bryce joined our family a week early, completely unexpected since his sister was a week late! On the 19th we picked my father in law up from the airport. We flew him in to help with the chaos that was sure to ensue after Ben's birth. We ate lunch, went to my 39 week baby check up, where I had them sweep my membranes, ate dinner, went to see a movie, got Dad settled in. Nothing unusual, we didn't even go for a walk or have sex!! I remember getting into bed around 10 that night telling my husband thanks for nothing, now we wont have the baby anytime soon because he didn't do his part. Then around 11:45 pm I woke up with contractions, still not unusual, took some tylenol and tried to get comfortable. I remember getting up and down going to the bathroom and trying to squat and relax the pains away. I thought, if they are still bothersome or worse around 3:00 am I will go ahead and go in. I hate thinking about going to the hospital too early.
     Finally around 12:30 am I woke my husband up, told him I was going to shower and then I would probably want to go to the hospital if the contractions didn't stop. I don't think I finished my sentence before he was up and fumbling around to "get ready". You would have thought this was his first kid the way he freaked out.
     We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 am, I would normally refuse a wheelchair, I despise appearing incapable, but tonight, I sat in it and pressured my poor husband to practically run to get me to Labor and Delivery. When they checked me I was an 8. Same as when I came up with my daughter 2 years ago. The male nurse was beyond annoying. If I had time I would have requested he be fired and I be assigned another nurse. But they assigned me a room (and with that a new nurse) and refused to break my water because I am GBS positive and they wanted to get some medicine into me first.
     Although no sooner did I get to the room that I felt the urge to poop. Yep, about 10 minutes after I was an 8 I was a ready to go 10. My husband hardly had time to get some ice chips and set up my ipod while I was pushing. The pain was much worse than with my daughter. I remember begging for the sweet relief of my water breaking. With my daughter when they broke my water bag alot of my pain moved from the back to the front and became much more manageable for me. Unfortunately, after breaking my water bag this time the pain intensified and I regretted coming to the hospital so late and having a natural delivery. I would have jumped at the chance to have an epidural at this point but don't think I would be able to sit still long enough to get it anyway.
     I pushed for what seemed like an eternity. This young boy felt as though he would never come out. I did however remember to request a mirror so I could seem him toying with my emotions. Why do they have to come out a few inches and then retreat? So unfair. I was so hot and tired from pushing but finally, a little more than an hour after arriving at the hospital, at 2:43 am, my son, Benjamin Bryce was born. After he was out I learned why it was so much more painful, he was being nosey and come out looking up instead of the widely accepted (and I'm sure appreciated), down. The midwife stroked my ego saying I had a very good pelvis and that most mothers would not be able to push out a baby his size and in his position. He was 8 lbs and 4 oz, 5 oz less than his sister, but then again he was born a week early.
     They put him on me immediately and my husband was able to cut the cord (with our daughter they cut it, took her to the warmer and asked him if he wanted to cut it...doesn't make sense, I know). He even impressed me when they took Ben to the warmer to clean him up and put a diaper on him and my husband stopped them and dug a lil Joey cloth diaper out to put on him. For the first 24 hours Ben was strictly cloth diapered, then they were all dirty and needed to be cleaned. Note to self, buy more newborn cloth diapers for the next baby.
    

Is there such a thing as working house wife?

I GOT A SEWING/EMBROIDERY MACHINE!!!! I can't believe how many arts and crafts and hobbies I want to take on. Currently I am pregnant (hobby), an Active Duty NCO in the Army (art), Cloth Diaper my 21 m/o (art), bake cakes (hobby), make little chocolate candies (craft), going to college, 2 courses (art), and NOW I have all this fabric and some patterns to really dive into sewing and embroidery (hobby)!!!

I am very excited about my new machine, it is a Brother and is sponsored by Disney and Pixar so I can embroider various different characters preprogrammed into the machine! :) I bought a ton of fabric to make cloth diapers with and to make some outfits for my little girl :). In March I am making a cake for my little nephew who is turning one...in California!! (Pictures should be attached) So I get to figure out how I am going to get that cake from Washington to California. My unit had 3 people sent to a class and choose me...yes just me...to take over for all 3 of them! Eek! And I need to read 3 chapters for one of my classes by ummm....next week!!! Ay yi yi! And the crazy part is, I seem to live for this! I can not just sit still!

So if anyone has any advice or helpful hints for all my arts and crafts and hobbies I am ears wide open!! And when I start finishing things I will post them here to see what viewers might think.

Afraid to Pee

So as it turns out our eager little achiever wants to sit on the toilet, wipe herself and flush...the empty toilet, but is far too scared to allow herself to pee in the toilet. The poor thing will sit on the toilet and move side to side, cross her legs, tighten her tummy and do anything so as not to pee on the toilet. We've tried distracting her with games and books and songs while she sits, but she is still refusing to let herself go.
I thought all the signs pointed to "I'm ready" but as it turns out, all she wants to do is point to her diaper. I am not sure why she is afraid but seeing as how she is only 20 months I am in no rush to resort to drastic measures. I just never thought she was going to be this child. And honestly I never even imagined this was a problem for some parents. I've heard of being afraid to poop, but never have I heard of being afraid to pee. Oh well some day she will pee in the toilet and my husband and I will let her know how proud of her we are.  

Happy New Year!

My first post of the new year. A lot has happened in 2010 and now it is time to look forward to 2011! I can not believe it is already 2011! Time really does fly even when it can feel slow at times. So this year, not unlike every other year I have come up with some goals (resolutions to some).
     1) Read my bible every day! Years ago my Grandpa and his wife gave me this daily bible (it separates the bible into sections so you can go through it all in a year), possibly for my high school graduation but I've had it so long I couldn't tell you when I got it. All I know is it was from him and never got read until last year...when I had this same goal. I was doing pretty good too, until my Grandpa died, my husband came home from his deployment, and we prepared to move. Oh and we got pregnant again. Busy few months it was :). So this year I plan to read it all the way through, I think last year I got to about August. But this year I will make it all the way to DECEMBER!!! Off to a bad start though, here we are on day 3 of the year and I haven't even started.
     2) Be more helpful around the house. My husband does so much for me and our family and household and I think I am so lazy sometimes because I feel that I did it all for a whole year while he was off gallivanting. OK, OK he was deployed, in a desert, with a 24/7 job and no real releases but I'm just expressing how it felt for me at times. Here I was caring for a newborn, working full time (my choice), taking care of a house and all in a state where I felt alone. But enough about me. I need to get over this attitude that I did everything and help out more. "Did" is past tense and now I need to "do" for my family and my husband. To show him more appreciation in the little things.
     3) SAVE MORE MONEY. This is a big one. We had a very expensive holiday season and in doing so took allot from our savings account. We are still in a much better position than most of our peers as I understand it but I would like to have a much larger nest egg before this baby comes. IN SIX MONTHS!!! Ay yi yi! On top of that one of us will be leaving our job when this new one comes and we need to be very prepared for a financial shock. Going from two very comfortable paychecks to one will be quite the experience I am sure.
     4) Complete a minimum of 12 semester hours towards the entrepreneurship certificate that I am working towards.
     5) See as much of family as possible. Since we've moved we live minutes away from some of Scott's family and about a half day trip from mine in California. I would love to see more of all of them this year.

Well i think that will do it. Be sure to check back in to see how my endeavors are coming along.

A New Adventure

Yesterday after talking with the Daycare Center about some issues my husband and I have been having the director and I came to the conclusion that Adysen will move up into the the Toddler 2 class. Most of the children are 2 or older in that classroom and are potty training. The other classroom does not have a toilet thus doesn't even address the issue. After asking the teacher if she thought Ady was ready I felt better about moving her up, she said if she had to move a kid up it would be her, she is a great listener, works well with the other kids and is big enough to not allow herself to get knocked around. (Although I suppose that does not include getting bit, which is what happened yesterday.)
So our newest adventure will be POTTY TRAINING. She is very good at knowing when she has wet and pooped in her diaper and now wants it gone as soon as possible. We are working with her on pulling her pants up and down and are showing her where to go potty and what we do with our excrement. I am very happy we switched to cloth because it gives her a better idea of when she is wet (although some do not because they are just really good at wicking the moisture away) and bonus(!) allows us to dump her poop in the toilet and explain that this is where we should really put our poop and then we wave goodbye as we flush it away!
Now my mom, who is the most qualified person to go to for early childhood situations in my opinion, is not too thrilled about our potty training endeavors. So you know that mom is not just a mom, the following are her credentials. She is a mother of five, got into the home daycare business when she was on child number 2, began schooling and working for a preschool, earned more than enough credits to have a masters in Early Childhood Development, but avoided the basics (math, science, history) and as a result is now working towards her degrees. She has directed (ran) multiple child development centers and has taught Early Childhood Development classes at the college level. So when my mom says something about children, I perk up and listen.
Now studies have shown that if you potty train too early or too late or in the wrong way for the specific child you could leave them with a lot of unaddressed stress that will manifest in their older childhood years, ages 5-9-ish. Mom has seen this happen many times so she is worried that I am going to stress poor Ady waddy out.
So I guess we will have to see. Lord willing we do right by Ady and let her start using the toilet on her own time. But for now I have to do all the research I can to make sure I am knowledgeable on the different situations that may arise over or next adventure.
Oh and if you want some interesting good for cloth facts try getantsy.com, right there on the front page is some great information on cloth and potty training. And they sell a pull up cloth trainer. (If you decided to venture out on this road with us)

Cloth BABY!

My cloth history is as follows. When I was pregnant with my first child I was going to breast feed and cloth diaper because no matter how uncomfortable or disgusting either might be I am all about saving money, and I was not about to pour money down a drain that was already clogged with profit. So I bought a boppy and about 20 or so prefolds and a pack or two of the flats. I also bought some of the little plastic pants in various sizes up to a year old. All of which were likely purchased at babies r us and the Gerber brand. Not that anything is wrong with either, but I most certainly did not do my research. After about a day of having my baby girl at home I decided to try the cloth diapers. I was so afraid of sticking her, or myself for that matter, with a clothes pin that I think I only attempted 5 or less cloth diapers. I had no experience, couldn't get it to fit right or stay on for that matter that I decided huggies weren't that expensive for our dual income. But on a happy note, she never once drank an ounce of formula, not even when I had to leave for 17 days. But that's a whole other story.
So she was in huggies, disposables, and the cloth diaper supply was banished to a cabinet. Then, shortly after her 1st birthday a mom at her home daycare and I began talking about her beautiful cloth diapered baby. She had the neatest little designs and colors. I was amazed that these were cloth diapers. Purples, and oranges, and greens, and designs, and characters! And the best part, no pins! They were all fastened with plastic snaps or velcro. So one day a little while later she told me about a sale on babyhalfoff.com (a great place to get great deals). Once a day they have a new product and on this particular day they had Dreameze diapers by GroBaby (now known as GroVia). So I bought 3 for about $10 each. Green, orange and Cream, sadly they were out of the purples and are now discontinued (replaced with a more friendly design, which I have and love). So after buying these diapers I realized there was no point in cloth diapering part time, 1) I will never have a full load of diapers, 2) I don't like to do anything halfway, and 3) I wanted more kids so why not start stocking up now.
So I got on craigslist and began searching, I bought a good amount of used diapers of the next few weeks and months and got some Charlie's Soap for the laundry. Since I've begun cloth diapers I have travelled by plane and in the car with them, and have never really run into a problem that could not be remedied.
Now as you know I work full time, so my routine in the beginning when I only had enough diapers for one day was to come home get her in the bath, start the diapers put her to bed around 7p (which is still her bed time and I LOVE that and hope it never changes) put the diapers in the dryer on low do some cleaning or reading or whatever (at this point my husband was still deployed so I really had NOTHING to do) and then before bed start the dryer again on either low or medium and be ready for the morning.
When I first started out I realized how simple the designs were so I borrowed a sewing machine from a friend, got some supplies and made my own wet bag, a wet bag is a water proof bag that is used for transport those dirty stinky diapers from one place to the washer. I also have attempted making my own diapers a few times but still have not had too much success, still working on it, but since I moved I'm working on getting a sewing machine first :)
So that is the basic history of my cloth diapering experience thus far.

My First Comment!!!

Alright!! So yesterday I put up my very first blog AND I got my very first comment! So quickly and briefly I would like to explain ERF (Extended Rear Facing, in case you missed it) and how it works for me and my family.

When my daughter was still in the traditional car seat for newborns-1 yr/20 lbs I had a couple of great friends who were able to shed some light on the damage that could be done to a young child whose fragile body is not strong enough to withstand a car accident/crash. If you think about it our adult bodies still get pretty banged up from any sort of crash, imagine your baby, toddler, child in that same crash. Your whiplash becomes their spinal cord realignment surgery. Or something horrifically unimaginable. Go to youtube.com and look up a few crash test that are done comparing rear facing and forward facing. 

I have also talked to a friend whose friend was in an accident with her 2 kids, the mother didn't survive, the forward facing 4 year old got pretty banged up and the rear facing 1 year old, slept through the whole thing. Now that is what I want for my baby girl, just sleep though it.
To address my curious commenters questions about how it works with my family, my daughter has never known it any other way. Except for on a plane sitting in my lap. Everywhere I go she has her Radian XTSL with us. She even has one in her dadda's car, I will post some pictures tomorrow, it is too cute seeing her in the front seat (it's an '86 and doesn't have airbags) facing the back window in his car, that is really the only reason I am jealous of his car :) 

As for her legs, her car seat has a low side clearance so she can just swing them over, and she loves pushing them up against the back seat and "bouncing" to the music. She gets so excited! Sometimes she wants to see whats going on in the front seat and will fight momentarily but this never lasts long and she still has her mirror. She can also see out both side windows and the back window, and with her reclined position I think she gets a better view of trees and the sky rather than buildings and cars zooming by, and if she wants to see them, she can just look out one of the side windows.
Lastly i should give the car seat we use some credit because with out them we wouldn't be able to rear-face as long. The Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL is our car seat of choice. It will rear face up to 45 lbs and then will go on to forward face up to 90 lbs, all with the 5-point harness.
I tried to upload a few pictures of my girl in her car seat but am not able to just yet. SO I will add them as comments or post to a blog at a later date. Please let me know if anyone has found this information helpful. I know that car accidents are unlikely, but they are also dangerous. And I don't want my babies caught up with out the right and best protection in one.