Thursday, August 19, 2010

Hello again

So, it's been a while. In the past three months since my last post, I've become another year closer to the big 3-0, I believe I was battling some sort of depression, we adopted a dog, and my little girl turned 1. Wow, all that in just a few weeks. Crazy.

So turning 29 isn't a huge deal to me. The only thing I even noticed about it was that I had always hoped to be done having kids before 30. Guess that won't be happening since we hope to have at least one more.

As for the depression. I'm not exactly sure what that was about or even if it was that. I just know that for months I hated everything about my life, except my daughter. I couldn't bring myself to see anything good in any other part of every day life. I'm not sure what happened, but about a month ago I finally was able to kick the feeling and see the good things again.

Around the time I was getting out of that feeling, we went out looking for the perfect dog. We knew what would work for us and knew we wanted to adopt rather than go to a breeder. After searching 5 places in one day, we found the perfect dog at the last place on our list. He's a beagle mix named Sam. He's about 1-2 years old and was a local stray. He's well mannered and great with kids. He has been such a great addition to the family.

Earlier this month, the infant became a toddler. Crazy! She's such a big girl, walking around for about 2 months now, starting to figure out words and just a complete joy, even when she's a crank. We had a great Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed party and it was a fantastic time. I'm so happy it's over though.

Hopefully I'll keep more current with this from now on. We'll see.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Excuse me. I'm bathing here.

Ah, the joys of owning an older home. When we bought our house, we saw there was damage to the walls in the shower. It's an old house, and the shower walls are made of laminated particle board. We figured it was a little rot, a problem, but we still loved the house. The home inspector also didn't mention any issue with this, just that there was damage to the walls. Ok, no biggie. We patched it up for the time being and went about other projects.

About a month ago we were shown exactly how wrong our assumptions were. My mother was watching AJ that day, and gave her a bath. AJ was just splashing around, having a grand ol' time. After the bath was over, my mother took her out and brought her to her room to get dressed without draining the tub. She gets AJ situated and goes back to drain the tub. It's now full of bugs. Little winged black bugs. She gets the Raid, sprays the bejeezus out of the tub and washes away the mess.

I get home from work and she tells me of the new situation. I look in the shower at the bugs, because by now more have appeared after her initial bug massacre. I then go to my handy laptop, look up the bugs to find out what they are. We have termites. Fantastic. After doing the heeby jeeby dance I make an appointment with Terminix.

Terminix comes and lets me know that the damage "could be worse". Not exactly reassuring when there are little black winged creatures coming out of the walls in my shower. Apparently we have at least five years worth of damage and it will take close to 2 years to kill the colony. Blech! Ok, that's fine. The Terminix man does it's thing, puts out bait sticks, wet treats the basement wood and after giving me one heck of a bill, is on his way.

We still have bugs in the shower. Lots of them at times, usually right after Alex's bath. I call Terminix. They say just wait it out, there's nothing that can be done, and they're doing no harm. No harm! I'm getting whiplash from watching all corners of the shower to make sure no invasion happens during bathtime.

So, after a month, we're still getting occasional "swarmers" making appearances in the tub. I now have Raid on the counter next to the toothpaste. I can't wait until the stars allign allowing us to tear out the old and put in the new. I'm going with actual tile this time. Something the buggies can't eat through!

Monday, April 26, 2010

No going back

We're on Day 5 of cloth diapers. We've had ups and downs, but neither M or I have broken out the disposables yet. My first pre-fold took about 10 minutes to put on. I had M and my mother laughing in the background, so that didn't help much, but I finally got it on without gaps. I even had trouble with the cover. It was a rough start. The next change was another pre-fold. This time I was better, it probably only took 5 minutes. The cover went right on, no problems. I've tried different folds since then and am finally getting into a groove and figuring out what works best for AJ.

Saturday I went out all day shopping with AJ and my mother. We were out for 7 hours, and it went pretty well. We used our BumGenius diapers this time. One change in the back of a car and one in the Walmart restroom. Unfortunately we did have leaking issues on the second change though. AJ fell asleep half an hour before I needed to do another change, and I let her sleep. (The thing about AJ is she doesn't fall asleep easily, so when she finally does go down, no one wants to wake her up again). I figured we'd have a wetness issue, but I was willing to risk it for just a short time. So the Walmart change was a full outfit change, but even that wasn't bad. The BG were so easy, there was no difference between those and the disposables.

Sunday was another story. Since we were close to home all day, we went back to the pre-folds. First diaper, poop. Then bathtime, another poop. Second diaper, poop. We had to go to church, so we put a BG on, with an extra insert insure we'd have no leaks. As soon as I sat down I smelled more poop (Yeah, I know, AJ is full of it). I waited until the readings to leave to change her. I also realized we had forgotten to pack the wetbag. I stand up for the reading and notice my pants are now wet. So are AJ's of course. Along with forgetting the wetbag I also forgot an extra outfit. I mean we live 20 yards from church, I really didn't think we'd need it. So a quick run home, change both our outfits and her bum of course, then back to church for communion.

After all this poopy drama, we notice AJ's bum is really red and she's squirming away from the wipe. Fantastic. M tries to let her air out, but she can crawl, roll, pull herself up on things, so just hanging free isn't really an option since our floors are untreated wood. So we go with a little A&D and a no cover pre-fold. M attempts to feed AJ a bottle. I advise to put a chuch between her and him, but he didn't think he needed to. So now there's another outfit change for him, and a new diaper for her. That is pretty much all the excitement Sunday could hold.

I figured after all that, if we were still using cloth, we meant to keep it up. How could it get worse than that? NEVER ASK THAT QUESTION!!!

Alex had Shepherd's pie for dinner last night. I know this because some form of that is what came out today, in a truly disgusting mess. We don't have the toilet sprayer, so it's dunk, dunk, dunk. Now I know for certain, since she's still in cloth, that we won't be going back to disposables. I know that mess, and before cloth, that mess would have been from her hair to her toes. We've seen it before, and I hope to never see that again.

Now if I could just find a clothesline.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Easily Excited

Yesterday morning I couldn't sleep. I was awake at 5:00AM. I had the day off work, AJ and M were still sleeping. I, however, felt like a kid at Christmas. Yesterday was delivery day. Our new couch was set to be delivered. After 11 years, there finally would be no more futons being used in my home. That should have been what was keeping me awake with excited anticipation. However, it was not. I was also waiting on two other deliveries, in the form of Fluff. I took the plunge and ordered cloth diapers for AJ. After discussing it with Matt, we came to the conclusion that this was worth an attempt.

I had never seen any of the items being delivered. Hence my excitement. It was the fear and excitement of the unknown. I had nervous knots in my belly all morning. I was stalking the tracking websites, waiting for my deliveries. Finally, the first box came. 12 prefolds and 2 Snappis. How exciting? It wasn't much, but I ripped that box open with a gusto I haven't shown since the days of Santa. Once I saw the first part of my new plan, I was even more nervous. It was real. I was actually going to do this. Eeek!

Less than 20 minutes later, the second box of fluff came. This was amazing. I was oohing and aahing over everything in the bag. The covers, the one-size, fitteds. Everything was amazing, soft and so darn cute. All the nervous-ness was gone. I now couldn't get these puppies in the wash and prepped quick enough. I didn't want to wait to see AJ with a fluffy bum.

After going through the stash, I packed up AJ and we got the remaining items we'd need to make the switch official. AJ was in her first cloth diaper in time for bed. I took so many pictures, and was extremely excited about the whole thing. I spent the rest of my TV viewing time stuffing one-sizes and trying to figure out where to put everything.

Oh, and the couch is nice too.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Bum Debate

Recently I've been toying with the idea of switching AJ to cloth diapers. I don't know anyone in real life who does this anymore. Most people who I've mentioned it to shudder at the mere thought of attempting something so archaic when disposables are so available and easy. Parents, grandparents, and basically anyone who has ever pinned a cloth diaper or attempted to get the foul remains of a toddler with an upset stomach into the toilet then the washing machine looks at me like I've suddenly grown a second or even third head. "Why would you even consider this?!?!"

In my online life however I know many people who cloth diaper. They are forever extolling on the wonders that are cloth diapers. They are great for the baby, the environment, the wallet, and make you feel like a better person for having done something so wonderous. Maybe I'm easily persuaded. Ok, there's no maybe about it, but I feel like I'm a worse person for going so willingly to disposables.

I have at least one year left before the words "potty training" will even enter our home, and that's being very hopeful on my part. So make that closer to two years of purchasing and tossing those oh so convenient bum covers. Then there's the idea of adding one, or more, baby to the mix in the coming years. It makes a person think.

How does a mother make the switch mid-game? After months of change the baby, toss the diaper I'm actually thinking of having to spray, wash, dry, sun-bleach, fold. Then there's the thought of trying to salvage a diaper after a particularly bad BM. I've seen some blowouts where I've seriously considered whether the onsie was worth trying to save, or just toss it with the diaper as a total loss. My stomach is turning just contemplating going through this as par for the course.

I think it would have been an easier decision if I didn't know the alternative. I know how easy life is now. Sure the CD Mamas, as they are known, will say how cloth is no more difficult than disposables. I can't imagine how this is true though. I don't have to worry about doing laundry every other day for fear the house will smell like a men's room at a concert in July. I don't have a hose attached to my toilet, so I can spray those poopies right off. Seriously, some of the vileness I've seen come from my beautiful little girl took so many wipes I lost count. I have wanted to take her outside and spray her down with a garden hose and the best part was wrapping the diaper up in it's neat little triangle shape and throwing it in the trash, wiping my hands of the whole mess. Had she been in cloth... [shudder]

So, the jury is still out. I'll have to price out the diapers we're using now and see what the best option would be for us. Actually, that's just to make me feel like I'm a well thought out person. The real reason holding me back is the though that AJ (and any future baby) won't be able to wear jeans. For some reason, that's what I'm still holding on to. I'm going to go hang my materialistic head in shame.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

It's Spring!

Ok, so not quite, but it sure feels like it. We're in the middle of a beautiful weather weekend. Sunny and warm. Well, 50s which is warm for March. I took AJ on a long walk with her grandmother yesterday. We went along the local bike path. It's paved and scenic, great combination for walks using a stroller. It seems like everyday I find another reason to be happy to start a family in our little town.

I've had the windows open during the day the past two days, and am just waiting on the sun to come around a bit more before doing it again today. I don't think there's anything quite as wonderful as opening the windows after a long, cold winter. Even if it means putting on a sweatshirt to be comfy, it's in the mind. It makes me feel so happy and excited. As a bonus, I saw our tulips comming up. I'm not a huge fan of tulips, the previous owner planted them, but it's new growth, and that's enough for now.

Today will probably bring my first real attempt at yardwork. Last year I was too pregnant to do much around the outside and we still had too many projects to deal with on the inside. Oh the joys of buying an older house. I am looking forward to exploring the outdoors in a whole new way this year. I'll be able to see it through the eyes of AJ, exploring and learning about this new play area. I loved being outside as a child, and hope AJ loves it too. So far, she does. I've never seen a smile on her face as big as when she's getting a face full of wind. It makes me smile, and I thank God for her everyday.

Happy "Spring"!

Monday, March 1, 2010

99 Things

I saw this on a blog I follow called Heather Drive. It looks like a great list of things to try to accomplish in life. The things I have done should be bolded, with explanations as needed. Sort of like a pre-made Bucket List. Lets see where I stack up.

1. Started your own blog


2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (I played drums in Elementary School)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland (Just Disneyworld)

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch  (I would love to learn photography)

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (I call them Mental Health Days)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie (I'm counting this one because I was at the concert Aerosmith taped for the movie Be Cool, they panned the crowd, and I'm there somewhere)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Got a tattoo

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee (so many times I'm now allergic)
 
31 out of 99, not great. I need to do some traveling.