Toothfairy

Back in September Miss L lost her first tooth.  Miss L was playing with some plastic bracelet and put it in her mouth like a dog.  She got up to go do something in the bathroom when she tasted something, looked in the mirror, and blurted out her tooth was gone.  But she didn't know where the tooth was!  She was SO excited and SO scared all at the same time.  It was not what she thought losing a tooth would feel like.  Apparently Mom and Dad forgot to mention that there might be some blood.  Whoops!  Anyway, I retraced some footsteps and found her tooth in the living room where she had been playing.  YAY, Mom!  While we don't play the Santa "game" we have decided to play the Tooth Fairy game -- still not sure how I feel about it but whatever. She got $5 for the first lost tooth.

A week later, to the day, she lost her second tooth.

Not such a great story.  We had just finished swim lessons for the evening and as per tradition for this particular summer of lessons we head to Chick-fil-a for dinner as a family... grandparents, too.  Miss L traded in her toy from the kids meal for an ice cream cone.  She had been working on it for a bit and decided to share with Daddy.  I suddenly pulled the cone away from Husband because something looked funny.  Sure enough once I got the cone closer for inspection and then looked at Miss L she had lost the tooth!  Unfortunately, it was no where to be found. (I think she swallowed it) Even our favorite CFA employee pulled out a flashlight (on his smartphone) and helped us look all around under the table and booth. Nothing.  Miss L was devastated.  She wondered how the tooth fairy would find her.  We told her that Daddy had a special number to call.  Also, we had just read a Curious George book that talked about how lights would light up on firefighters maps (back in the day) from where the call came from or where the fire was. I told her that when a child loses a tooth the tooth fairy gets a message about a tooth being gone, etc.  The tooth fairy made her appearance and left her two gold dollar coins.  A little extra for the trauma.

Later we found out that Miss L had to have two teeth removed to help with the crowding issue in her mouth.  While it won't fix her orthodontic issues by any means it did help it a little.  Miss L received two 50-cent pieces for her teeth.

All of this reminds be of the great lengths in which my own dad did the tooth fairy (and Santa). While we don't want to go to such extremes with our kids it did bring me some happy memories.  My dad would have the ladies in the office at his work pen well thought out letters from the tooth fairy as I left her questions about her age and other such things that young minds inquire about.  But I also remember that I was usually left random denomination of money.  Things like the $2 bill, one dollar coins, 50-cent pieces.  I think that also helped me save the money, too.  They were so unique that I didn't want to spend them.  So, while the extravagant stories will not continue on with our children I think that the rare denominations of money will.  Although, we know that the $5 is not rare we just wanted the first to be fun and special.

Jesus on the cross..

On Wednesday, I started to read Miss L her Bible lesson for the day.  The title was something like, "The Sun Goes Dark."  Basically, it was the set up for Jesus going to Calvary, his crucifixion, and death.

She says, "Oh, I love this part!" in almost a giddy fashion.

A little disturbed by her excitement I ask, "Why do you like this part?  He is in so much pain and he dies."

"Oh, I know.  But it's the part where He takes our sins away!  That's the best part!"

Perspective.

I learn a lot from my children.

First Day of School

With the advent of Pinterest there are more than enough ideas on how to capture a child's first day of school no matter the grade.  I think I had grand imaginations of doing something sweet and memorable...but it didn't quite happen.  You see we started school the day after we returned from a short family vacation to Colorado.  I hesitated in putting the start of school there but I did it just the same.  I'll probably not do that again.  While the day went off without a hitch I was kind of stressed the night before.  The stress was in vain but there was more I needed wanted to do but did not.  I made a super simple sign on our white board  that said "First day of 1st" grade and set out all of her books and supplies in front of it.

But what happened next erased all thoughts of "it's just not enough"...

I had mostly forgotten that I had the sign on the table as I proceeded with the morning responsibilities of breakfast when all of a sudden I found myself wrapped up tightly in Miss L's arms.  I asked her what that was for and she pulled me to the table and excitedly giggled that it was the first day of 1st grade!  She was just excited to start school again.  Apparently our six week break was more than enough for her.

While we took pictures for the sake of prosperity they were not fancy.  It's not what she'll remember.  She'll remember the adventure of learning with her mom.  I hope she's that excited every year for school.  But more than anything I hope that she's that excited about learning for the rest of her life.

Cherished Conversation | Women & Work

During our stay in California we have had the opportunity to interact with a large variety of people.  My girls make different observations which are never prompted by us.  Although, most observations require some explaining and redirection.  Here is one of those social observations:

The honest truth is if you look at the people that are staying here the majority are men.  There have been a few females, fewer couples are here during the week.  And if there are more we don't see them in the public areas much for the meals that are provided by our hotel.  Granted, this changes on the weekend when we see more families.  But for extended stay there a couple of families, a few couples, a few (travelling single) women, and a bunch of (travelling single) men... of all different nationalities.

One morning Miss L asks, "Why do some women go to work?"

"Because some women need to do that to help their families, or they don't have children to stay home with.  That's the decision some women want or need to make," I replied.

"So, what happens to their children when they go to work?"

I do my best to explain a day care center and the option of a babysitter (which she understands a bit more fully) and that some children are old enough to go to a public school.

Her eyes teared up.  She told me that she was sad that some children didn't get to spend the whole day with their mom or dad.

"I always want you to be my teacher, Mama."

My eyes fought back tears and I was overwhelmed by her love.

I grew up in a single parent home.  My dad did the best he could but that had to include a mix of private day care, "regular" day care, and baby sitters.  I didn't know anything different.  I thought it was a natural part of everyone's childhood.  It wasn't until we moved from Albuquerque to Los Lunas that I met other kids who had a mom that stayed home.  It was AWESOME.  I was jealous for a time but understood that was not at all how it could work in our house.  I understand that for some it just isn't an option.  However, now that my husband has blessed me and our children with the opportunity for me to stay home I do thin kit is the best option.  Many people have made great sacrifices to be at home with their children... while it may indeed be a great sacrifice in some areas it has the best return on the investment by far.   

Cherished Conversations

I never know what will set off a certain line of questioning from my children.  Especially with Miss L.  She is so inquisitive and soaking things up like a sponge.  I am alway so surprised by what she remembers and in what detail.  Here is a conversation we had today right after finishing our school work for the day.

"Mama, can you show me a picture of YOUR grandma and grandpa?"

"Sure, when we get back to Phoenix I will show you a picture of my grandma and grandpa."

"Are they old or young?"

"Well, they were kind of old when they died.  They are gone now like Grandpa Tash is gone."

"Oh.  When did they die?"

"My grandpa died a long time before you were born.  Even before your daddy and I got married.  But my grandma, you got to meet her when you were really little.  And then when she died you went with me to her funeral.  Although, you wouldn't remember that."

"Oh, I remember."

"You do?!"

"Yep, I remember in my heart."

So, there I was choking back tears and off she went to the next thing.  Ugh.  These kids are hard on the heart sometimes... in the best possible way.

Hotel Memories

Obviously things happen for a reason and in just the right season.  My husband has been assigned to work in California for some undetermined amount of time and we are fortunate enough to be here together as a family.  As my husband had been working out here prior to all of us joining him he found a hotel just across the street from his work site.  He told me later that he was pretty sure it was the place we had stayed with my dad when we all went to California in 2009.  Our minds stretched for that trip... we have had two more babies since then... enough said.  The mind and its memories blur.

However, as soon as we pulled off the highway onto our street the memories came flooding back.  There stood the Olive Garden that we had managed a meal with a nine-month-old Miss L.  She made a mess and I am sure she had a fit.  Maybe she had done okay.  I just remember the mess.  The hotel itself was hard to remember... that is until I stepped out back to see Matt and the two older girls swimming.  I had to steady myself and keep composure.  Memories flooded back.  We had taken Miss L swimming a couple of times in the pool here after botched attempts at the beach with a baby.  My dad never got in but he watched, took pictures, and wrapped Baby L up in a towel and kept her warm.  I could see the picture in my minds eye... and I found it... the picture above.

We came out here Labor Day weekend of 2009.  My dad had just moved from New Mexico to Arizona and was living with us for a time until he found his own place.  We persuaded him out come to California with us.  An adventure because California was never on his list of top places to vacation.  We had fun... and we learned a lot about travelling on Labor Day Weekend or just travelling with a little one in general.

It's hard to think that then we only had three more years left with him.  But they were good years.  I am thankful that the Lord brought us here at this time to let me remember these things.  And today I swam in that same pool with Miss L who can now basically swim on her own... and her two sisters.  I could almost see my dad standing in the same spot laughing and shaking his head at the antics of my girls.

Thank you, Jesus, for this time right now.

Miss L's Birth Story

I think that several people have asked for my birth stories and I never got them fully written down.  However, the Lord has really preserved that part of my memory with them through the last couple of years.  Husband fills in some details that I don't remember which makes for a more interesting story.  So, with Baby #3 on the way I wanted to get Miss L and Miss A's story down and then be sure to get #3's down, too.  Sorry, she doesn't have a name yet so she is just #3 for now.

Miss L was born on a Thursday.  Her story really starts the weekend before.  My dad had just left to go back to New Mexico (he wasn't living here when Miss L was born) and Husband's parents had gone to Denver to celebrate an early Christmas with his grandparents.  We stopped by their house to check on something and as we were leaving I quipped, "You know, now that ALL the grandparents are gone something will happen."  It was a joke.  When I said those words I was only 35 weeks and some change.  That Monday I had an appointment with my OB.  They checked me -- "Soft but closed."  Miss L was breech which we had only recently confirmed through one of those fun family ultrasounds.  Turned out that the tech that ran this other business was also the tech at my doctor.  The doctors had been convinced that they were feeling her head when they felt my tummy.  I told them what I had discovered at this "other" ultrasound without giving away that their tech was moonlighting.  They sent me over to ultrasound to confirm for themselves that she was breech.  Sure enough... same tech found the SAME thing.  So, I made an appointment for Friday to talk about my options for turning this baby girl around.

Wednesday night I went to bed without a care in the world.  We were anticipating a friend's Christmas party that weekend and in the middle of lovely Advent celebrations.  Of course the night held the usual trip to the bathroom that began several months before.  Around 4:00 AM I bolted out of bed and to the bathroom.  Thankfully, they are not very far from each other.  I was wet.  What was all this?  I thought, "I have heard of incontinence in pregnancy but this is ridiculous!"  Husband had heard me gasp when I jumped out of bed but didn't think too much of it until I started calling his name.  He came to see me and I was laughing.

"Um...I'm pretty sure that my water just broke."

Not fully awake Husband made a comment about making it stop.  No, once he fully was awake he realized we can't put the water back.  You can make contractions stop but if that water breaks that baby is a comin'!  So, we tried to get ready as we wrapped our minds around the fact that our baby would be coming that very day and NOT in four weeks like we had anticipated.

I decided to take a shower and despite what I knew was coming (surgery) I still had a granola bar before we left because I was that hungry when we left around 5:00 AM.  We had no bag packed (on the list of things to do for the weekend) and just threw some things together.  Of course, we laughed as we called our parents at the crack of dawn.  Husbands parents were in Colorado and were going to try arrange flights to get back ASAP.  My dad prepared to head out from New Mexico and be there the next day.

Just before we left the house I felt a bit of pressure in my low back.  I didn't realize that it was the first of many contractions.  We laughed in the vehicle as I sat on a stack of towels and hurried to the hospital.  Once we got there I was taken into triage only to have them confirm that my water had indeed broke, I was in labor, and an ultrasound confirmed that Miss L was still breech.  With that, they started prepping me for the operating room.  I guess Miss L's heart tones wavered just enough for them to call it an "emergency c-section" but it was nothing like some of the emergencies that others have endured leading up to a c-section.  At this point, my contractions were starting to come more frequently and with more intensity.  I was not a happy girl.  The doctors still wanted to check how far dilated I was -- 5 cm.  Of course at this time they make the comment. "Gosh, if she wasn't breech we think you would have had a great natural labor!"  Thanks.  Not exactly what I wanted to hear right now when that is what I had planned and wanted!  However, I had prepared myself for a c-section until I knew she was turned.  She wasn't and this was the best thing for us.

Husband gets ready for the operating room, too.  They roll me away and tell him to wait in a particular area and inform him that they will come get him when they are ready.  I was not a huge fan of being separated at this point but I understood.  It was kind of funny in the OR and I appreciated the lightheartedness of it all!  The anesthesiologist did a great job.  We laughed that they had to extend the table a bit because I was too tall.  He felt my pain as he was well over six feet tall.  The epidural was painless and took effect fast.  I remember at one point my leg fell off the table -- the surgical assistant was there and caught me.  I laughed because I couldn't help him.  They laughed, too.  One thing I also remember is how incredibly cold I was in that room.  The only time that I was cold while being pregnant!  HA!  They piled on the warmed blankets.

Soon, the procedure started.  Husband was watching over the curtain.  One time he asked me, "You didn't feel that?"  I said, "No."  "Good," he replied.  I again laughed.  Soon I had to just concentrate with my eyes somewhere else because the tugging and pressure were a lot.  The next thing I know Miss L was out!  She arrived at 7:59 AM, 7lbs 6 oz (at 36 weeks to the day), and 20 3/4 inches long.  She was perfectly healthy!  APGAR scores were as high as they can possibly be without being perfect (we learned that no baby is ever given a perfect score).  Husband's eyes were filled with tears of joy -- so much had happened in the last few hours!  He went with Miss L to the nursery while they closed me up.  I was coming down from my adrenaline rush.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  So, I did.  I realized I could see all that the doctors were doing on the other side of the curtain by the reflection in the surgery light.  The best thing to do was close my eyes.  I got a bit of rest for which I was thankful.

Soon I found myself in a makeshift room just off of triage.  The maternity ward was full and they hoped to have me in a room by evening.  Until then we would just have to wait it out there.  Pastor N was the first person to come see us.  Then family friend KW surprised us but it was really fun to see familiar faces for awhile.  Honestly, it was hard to know what to do with this new baby in this closed off room.  I had leg compression machines on my legs to help prevent blood clots.  I think the lactation consultant visited us.  We mostly just cuddled with our new little girl.  By evening they did have a room for us.  Elder K and his wife came to visit and soon after Husband's parents arrived fresh from Colorado to see their granddaughter.

We were tired and I was thankful that Husband would be staying with me for the night.  We learned quickly that we were not so very good at swaddling and Miss L was squirming out from time to time.  I think I finally just held her on my chest to get some sleep.

The next day (Friday) is spent trying to figure out nursing and healing.  I am hooked up to all sorts of things to help with the process.  What I really want is to be able to go to the bathroom without some big production.  It's a relatively average day.  My dad arrives from New Mexico to meet his first grandchild.

At different points in the night Miss L was taken for routine tests.  I think some of it had to do with how many hours old she was and it happened to fall in the middle of the night.  The nurse was supposed to bring her back at a particular time (early Saturday morning about 1:30) to nurse.  The nurse walked in... no baby.  The first thing out of her mouth, "Everything is fine... but..."  A million things run through my head.  I like this nurse so her concern for me and Miss L are genuine.  She told me how she had been watching Miss L and how she had looked a little "off" and jittery.  She checked her blood sugar and it had tanked... significantly.  She knew that I did not want to give Miss L formula but she was in such a bad place that she gave her just enough to balance Miss L out and then the nurse came to talk to me about next steps.  And thus began a long and difficult road of nursing of which I will not recount here.  I was thankful, however, to figure out the problem then rather than later.  I was also thankful that things had not been worse for Miss L.  And, no, it was not a nurse trying to push formula on me either. 

At that point, on top of everything, Miss L had jaundice.  So much so that they decided she needed to be under therapy lights for 24 hours before they would even think about letting us go.  UGH.  I had a very hard time with this.  She was only allowed "out" for 30 minutes to nurse.  It seemed like 15 of those minutes were used to just get her latched on.  Stress me out.  It was hard for me to want to go see her as there was nothing I could do to help her.  I felt like it was my fault and I had not done all that I could to care for her properly.  I cried.  A lot.  Foolish, now, I know.  But in the midst of crazy postpartum hormones that is where I was.  So, this was the icing on the cake after a fairly stressful night.  Lovely.

After all was said and done we were in the hospital 4 full days (Thursday AM - Sunday PM) and I have never been so excited to go home.  Miss L was healthy and doing well.

Now we had to figure some things out on our own....  ha ha ha!!

Mayoral (Hopeful) Meeting

On Saturday, we all headed out to cast our vote for our city's next mayor.  Yes, some early voting places were open on a weekend.  Yes, they should just combine it with other elections to improve voter turn out and lower overall cost -- but obviously the country's fifth largest city hasn't clued into this common sense.  However, the candidate that we voted for has clued into this.  YES!

We heard good things from our candidate on the radio and then watched the debate.  While he didn't start out as the most poised speaker I thought that he came into his own by the end of the debate.  We were still confident that he was the man for the job.  While anything would be better than current administration this man would be MUCH better for our city.

Anyway... that was a bit of a tangent.

When we were approaching our voting place we encountered a man.  Husband recognized him right away and called him by name.  I had never met a political candidate before.  It was more exciting that it happened to be the person that we were voting for in this election.  Husband shook his hand and introduced me.  At that point W.G. looked at Miss L and asked her name.  She went right up to him and shook his hand.  (Proud mama moment!)  He asked he how old she was -- at this point she has never been really consistent in answering this questions -- she promptly said two and held up the appropriate number of fingers. (Proud mama moment!)  So, W.G. chatted with us some and with Miss L until she pointed out that he had blue eyes as did her sister.  It was a humorous conclusion to say the least.

We walked in and did our civic duty.  Miss L all of a sudden wanted to see the "baby" which meant trying to expose my tummy.  Ummmm... thanks!  HA!  She put my envelope in the box and all was good to go.

As we were leaving Miss L caught sight of W.G. and pulled Daddy along with her to talk to him again.  I appreciated that he found her so entertaining and worth talking to.  He got down on her level and they had their own little conversation again.  At the end of the conversation W.G. gave Miss L his sticker off his shirt.  She was SO excited.  Why?  Because it was a BIG sticker... at least in her world.  She took off her "small" sticker and gave it to Daddy.  She was a pretty happy girl.

Funny.

Needless to say she spoke about the encounter all day.  She mentioned it a few times Sunday.  She cannot say his last name very well but I can generally figure out the "g" and "t" sounds and put it all together when she randomly references W.G.

We hope W.G. makes it to the run off and is ultimately elected to office.  However, beyond his political stance we found him to be a very kind man.  Someone that we would most likely be friends with in every day life and would love to have as a neighbor.

Yes, so that was our brush with political fun.

Potty Training - Days 2 through 6

I think that days two and three are a bit of a blur.  In a nutshell, I really wanted to quit and go back to diapers.  However, everything in me was telling me that Miss L was indeed ready to learn how to use the potty.  It was very hard to keep up the super-positive attitude when my child was yelling at me and just not happy.  However, we were seeing small victories in her staying dry overnight, during nap (except once), and generally making it to the potty about every other time.

The perk to the method that we are using is that there is a help desk where you can ask as many questions as you like and you always have access to the questions and answers in your thread.  So, you can access them if you need them for future children, etc.  We used this once.  If anything, it was just the encouragement we needed to keep going.  We needed to do something to get her to go more.  I had not done a good job in figuring this out with Miss L.  Husband, on the other hand, found a way on Day 3 and at the time we didn't really care what it entailed.  Miss L loves certain chips and will do just about anything to get them.  For each chip she had to take three sips of beverage.  It worked!  Granted, it basically ruined dinner but we didn't care at that point either.  We were starting to see small glimmers of hope as Miss L was a little less dramatic about sitting on the potty.

Day 4 I stayed home from church with the girls.  I bribed her once again with certain things that she liked to get her to drink so as to afford us more learning opportunities.  It was a hit and miss again as to if we made it to the potty.  But we were getting there.  Still she has amazing bladder control and would just hold it in forever.  In the evening I read an e-mail from a dear friend detailing how she does a trial run to see if her kiddos are ready.  I capitalized on a moment that evening to add a part in to what we were doing.  I took "Mama Moose" through the whole rigormarole and asked if she could do the same thing.  "Yes, Mama!"  Well, she took the moose through it rather than doing it herself.  Quick, think fast!  "Can you show Baby Moose how you do it?"  After talking through it all she finally did it with very little drama.   We were a bit more hopeful by the end of this day.

Day 5 was amazing!  No accidents!  We began the day again with the moose as a reminder which was fine.   I finally had to reel in my little girl and some of her tantrums and let her  know that I was the Mama and she just needed to do as I asked.  That seemed to click with her (most of the time.)  No drama sitting on the potty and she would just go once she sat down.  Since then she is quick to tell me if she needs to go and she knows that even though she may not have to go if we are heading out of the house or just waking up we need to at least try.  Surprise, surprise (not really) she generally needs to go.

Day 6 (today) was the big test as far as I was concerned as we had a standing appointment to make.  <big deep breath>  I asked her to go before we went but nothing.  Okay, no big deal.  At the end of our appointment Miss L was asked if she needed to use the potty to which she responded yes.  Okay!  Now I was wondering how this was going to fly without the potty seat we had at home.  After a bit of drama I got her on the potty facing backward, told her to just put her pee-pee in the potty and voila... she went!  I was SO.PROUD.  I almost cried in the bathroom because I was so proud of Miss L.  No.  For real.

BM's have been another story and we had our first small success this afternoon which was awesome.  She totally gets being dirty and tells us if she has the accident even if it happens at night.  But we made it to the potty this afternoon so I am hoping this leads to good things in the coming days.

All this to say is that I did and do appreciate the model we chose to use.  I like that it's pretty short term instead of unforeseeable long term stuff.  I am not sure that Miss L would have been ready at 22 months as this method claims.  However, we may give it a go with Miss A this time next year.  We'll see.  It's an intense time but it has been worth it all.  I would recommend the method to others with the caveat that something may need to be added or changed for your particular child or household.  However, I do think that it is a good method in general.

Potty Training - Day 1

It's a big week around here.  Miss L is learning to use the big girl potty!

If you didn't know there are about as many methods and philosophies on how to potty train your child as there are on parenting.  Oh my.  Thankfully, awhile back a friend of mine inquired of her Facebook friends about potty training methods.  I just watched the conversation unfold.  There was one particular method that caught my attention.  The Official 3 Day Potty Training by Lora Jensen. I read through the website and waited until we were a little more ready to take the plunge.  Then on Mother's Day this year she offered a discount on her e-book and I bought it.  It was almost half off! It was a really refreshing take on things.  Plus, I am a such a method girl that she just broke it down in "here's what you do next" type of terms.  Jensen also offers personal support once you have purchased the book for trouble shooting.  It's intense but we are hoping to be done so we can make it to church on Sunday.  But there is grace if it takes a fourth day.

So, we had one accident so far and thankfully it was on the tile.  HA!  My dad is here to help with Miss A so I can pay full attention to Miss L.  Which means I probably need to be done with this post, too.  Lunch needs to be made and liquids to be consumed!  We'll see how the next couple of days go.

Has anyone else used this method?  Or do you have a favorite method?

Toad Frog

Yes, I know that it's actually Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel but this is what sweet Miss L calls it these days and it is by far her favorite book.  Well, let me clarify, she likes Frog and Toad in general but loves one particular story titled, Cookies.


OH. MY.

When she is getting ready to go take a nap or go to bed she always asks for "Toad Frog."  Then if you ask her which story she wants to read (it's better to just pick one really) she always says, "Cookie."

What's funny about the whole thing is that she knows where certain words belong in the story.  If I pause to let her fill in the blank, she does.  But seriously, what 2 1/2 year old knows the phrase "will power?"  She's all over it and thankfully the story does an okay job in explaining what it means.  It's pretty funny to hear her say the phrase and then be seriously disappointed when they give all the cookies to the birds -- you know, in order to have LOTS of will power of course.  It's one of those slap your hand on the head type deals and she looks like, "They did what?!?!"  So, funny.  However, all seems to be redeemed when Toad decides to make a cake.  I guess in her world cake trumps cookies.  Let me assure you though, she won't turn down a cookie.  Although, recently she just likes saying the word "pie" so I am guessing she just like dessert.  ha!

I'm doomed.  I hate pie (unless it's chocolate, pumpkin, or a small slice of pecan) and it seems as though my family loves it.  Husband keeps egging me on to make one and now he's turning the young ones on me.

Doomed, I tell ya, doomed!

Ahhhh....

While the rest of the country is enjoying the onset of autumn and bracing for winter -- those of us here in Phoenix are still dealing very much with summer.  As I write this, it is 99 degrees.  They say it feels like 94 -- but what does that mean really?  It's still just hot.  We are supposed to get back up in the triple digits this weekend.  Sigh.  Then maybe a cooling trend?  Low 90's and finally down into the 70's over night.  That sounds like bliss right now.

Anyway.  I digress...

No doubt about it, it gets hot here.  When one is taking a "little" along for the ride not only does mama get a bit hotter in the process but the baby has no fun being placed in a usually warm car seat/carrier.  Poor Little Flower will go from a nice cool building to a HOT car where her seat has been as well.  When I look back at her, shock (and worry) fills me.  Her face is flush and when I pull her out of the seat she's all sweaty.  Yes, the AC is on full blast.  Those rear facing seats don't allow the air to flow that's for sure.

I have been eyeing this Cold Seat for quite some time.  I have friends that have made their own versions of it.  However, I am not quite that talented at the sewing machine.  I tried just tossing some ice packs in the seat and it was just messy and cumbersome.  So, when GoGo Natural offered 40% off of the Cold Seat I couldn't resist.  Yes, I do realize the hottest temperatures are behind us and we are using a different car seat now.  However, it was delightful to put Little Flower in her seat and not have it be super hot or worry about the buckles burning her.  I feel like it was well worth the buy.  Plus, there is always next summer and we hope more kiddos to come. 

Who knows, we may have to buy another?  I'd be okay with that.  :)

Generations

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We recently went to Nebraska to visit my grandmother.  We wanted her to be able to meet Miss L.  My grandmother recently turned 100.  She didn't fully comprehend that we were there or that Miss L was her great-granddaughter but there were some sweet moments.  My grandmother cannot see much at all but she was able to recognize that there was a baby in the room and was willing to try and hold her.  She felt for Miss L's features and Miss L thought it was pretty fun.  Our little girl laughed and smiled and found her great-grandmother to be quite fun.  Even the nurses were surprised at how well Baby Girl did in her lap.

It was fun to see and heartbreaking all at the same time.  It was sweet to see Little Flower love on her great-grandmother, smile, laugh, and feel safe with her.  I wished that my mom was alive to see this and there would be four generations.  I think this was the last time that I will see my grandmother.  So, there is the sweet and the bitterness of the time spent with my grandmother.

More on our trip to Nebraska in the next few days.

Shades of Green

I am sure that Husband will give that "look" and sigh when he reads this.  Then I will laugh.  You see, he didn't realize that he married a green girl.  Well, that's what he would say.  I would just tell him that I am not but he doesn't agree.  Let me first state that I probably wouldn't recycle if we didn't have a recycle day.  I am thinking about making my own laundry soap only because I think that it would be fun.  I opt to do cloth diapers because I was tired of the "blowouts" and THEN it became fun because there are so many options out there.  I try to get Husband back about being green because we have a bi-fuel car.  Really, in the end it was about saving money... not the environment.  Once a friend legitimately used the phrase "sustainable living" in a conversation with me and I laughed.  Thankfully, it was via e-mail.  I probably should have refrained from laughing but I could hardly stifle the giggles.

I will say that I don't agree (obviously) with the global warming mumbo jumbo.  Is the climate changing?  Sure.  I am sure that the climate has continued to change at some level since the Lord created the heavens and the earth.  Is it caused by Man?  I doubt it.  Do I think that we should try to be good stewards of the earth?  Sure.  However, what that means to different households can run the gammut of things.  I will try to respect your prespective if it goes a little further down the road than mine... as long as you respect the fact that I am not that far down the road.

Well, now you had a look into a not really green, but people might think we are green, household.  With that said, I love my cloth diapers and if you want to chat about them it won't take much to get me started.  :)

Thoughts on Easter

I have been thinking about Easter a lot lately.  Not just because we should as Christians but because of its weighty significance it should hold in the lives of Christians.  The events of Resurrection Day are what our faith hinges on, what makes it so very different than any other religion in the world.

Why is it that we spend almost a month (or for some more) planning, anticipating, and celebrating Christmas?  I thought about this awhile and talked with Husband about it.  I realize that preparing for a birth is quite celebratory and exciting.  However, do we celebrate someones impending death and funeral the same?  No, I would say not.  So, how do we celebrate (or festivate as many here like to say) Easter in such a way that our children see a striking difference in between it and Christmas?  How do we make it always a point in the year that they, and we, look to in great hope and excitement?

I read on a website that they celebrate all week long with a variety of fun things especially at meal time.  They toast in grand celebration at each dinner meal.  I need to think on things that they do during the week to celebrate new life that extends from that empty tomb.

I want to strive for this kind of celebration... not only for me, but for Little Flower and her siblings to come.

Do you out there in blog land have thoughts or ideas?

Rump Bumps

In yet another discovery of random things that help put a baby to sleep we have found that patting her little rump works wonders.

Not sure what it is but it works.

Gypsy Mama

Okay, so that is NOT my new nick name as most of you know it totally wouldn't fit.  However, it IS the name of the new wrap that I purchased to carry Little Flower around.  Can we say, "OH SO COMFY?!"

I have a Maya Wrap padded ring sling.  It works pretty well but I think that it will be better when Little Flower is a bit bigger.  However the Gypsy Mama is super versatile at a variety of stages.  Mine is a stretch which is basically made of a super light weight t-shirt material which is ideal for the hot weather.  There is a model called the "breeze" made of  a gauze material which is more breathable.  I chose the stretch one because as a new "wrapper" it is more forgiving if I mess up.

I love this wrap and so does Little Flower.  She falls asleep pretty fast and it is great when I am going through the grocery stores.  I can get quite a bit done with her in it as well.  It will also be handy when she gets sick and needs to be held and walking the hall is the only thing that soothes.  Thankfully, we have avoided sickness altogether so far.  I have other friends that have some wraps that they may let me try some different types as she gets bigger.  Fun times.  Wraps and slings tend to be a bit better ergonomically for babies than the traditional carrier.  Nothing wrong with it and we actually have one, too.  I will say that the wraps are much more comfortable for me and for Little Flower, too.

Baby Burrito

Well, it's a funny thing.  Even little babies change their minds.  ha ha ha!!

Not too long after my post stating that Little Flower no longer wanted to be swaddled we discovered she really did.  The culprit at the time was most likely temperature.  We had a bit of a warm spell and the swaddle we had was a micro-fleece.  Which meant she was probably a little steamy!  When the weather cooled down she was much more comfy in it.  Also, she was outgrowing the one we had.  She's just too tall and a bit broad in the shoulders for the small.  We moved up a size and it helped that I could get it tight enough where she wouldn't break out.  We have also since found some t-shirt material swaddles now that we are reaching up into the 80's.  Makes for a happier baby who is now sleeping through the night.

Just so you know, neither I or my sweet husband were never especially talented at the swaddle (oh to be like the pros in the hospital -- I think they have swaddle machine.  ha ha!) so we had the cheater swaddle.  You know, the ones with a pouch and some Velcro.  However, Little Flower is pretty darn strong.  I am not sure anyone would be able to do a traditional swaddle on her and not have her break out.  Goodness, sometime she breaks out of the Velcro ones!

Swaddle

It's true that the swaddle soothes a baby.  Especially if you can master it with a regular blanket.

We were not ones to master it well at all.  With the value of sleep on the rise we bought one of those blankets with the Velcro that swaddles the baby with ease.  It worked wonders for our Little Flower.

I wondered one day, "When do we stop swaddling our baby?"

Little Flower let us know the answer sooner than we anticipated.

Now.

So, what do you do with a baby who really would rather not be swaddled and continues to break out of the swaddle, yet still flails her arms about (making it difficult for her to fall asleep and to stay asleep)?  Oh the dilemma.

Well, I did some looking around on the Internet and in our clothing drawer and found a semi-helpful solution.  I put a sleeping gown or sack on the wee one and then pin or rubber-band the arms off --with her little arms inside.  You see, it still acts like a swaddle in that it keeps her arms from going all over the place but not so confining as the swaddle.  It works well enough.  However, I have noticed that the gowns that snap up work much better than ones that go over the head.  Little Flower stretches the neck even further and sometimes breaks out.  The snaps are much stronger. 

 I think I need more snappy sacks.

Batteries Not Included

For a time in life if we had batteries, fine... if not, fine.  We didn't have many things that required batteries.

That is, until Little Flower arrived.

We realized that many of her things require batteries (swings, bouncy chairs, sound soothers, etc).  Our family laughed as we entered a phase in life where we should probably have a supply of a variety of batteries on hand.  More than just double A's - we are talking multiples of C and D.

Then it was all topped off by my Papa giving us a fun family game that also required batteries that we did not have.  We accidentally left it on after we first played it only to have to replace them again.

Fun times.

We are looking into rechargeable batteries.  :)