The Supermom

I am not a supermom. I am not a slacker mom by any means, but everyone knows a supermom that they someday aspire to be. Or hope never to become. You see, there is this fine line between being a really great mom (easily called a supermom in my book) and a neurotic helicopter mom who constantly flutters around her kids, worrying about every scratch and scuffed shoe. I have it within me to be the neurotic mom. And before having kids, I probably was one. Anyone ever see that book 'I was a really great mom until I had kids"

Because actually having the little boogers...err joys...radically changes your outlook on everything. Take driving. Before I had Cadence, my driving habits were very much the same as before I had Bishop. The reason being that his carseat was safely in the middle of the back seat. A pain to get him in and out of; but very safe in the case of an accident. Now that there are two of them sharing the back seat, there is one on each side...which means there is exactly 3 safe places that my car can be hit in a collision without directly contacting either of them or me. And lets be real honest here, if I got in a car accident with my kids in the car, I would be a mess. Anyways, the fact that I have charted out the 'safe to be hit' zones of my car should be a clue in the neurotic side.

But back to the really great supermoms out there- I think we all know one. You know who I am talking about. The woman who is able to get every one of her several children out of bed, clothed, fed a home cooked breakfast (we are talking eggs here, not cereal), to school, house cleaned, laundry done, errands ran, children home, homework complete, dinner on the table, limited tv time, "quality family time" together, baths/showers, and everyone in bed at a reasonable hour.

I take my proverbial hat off to you. One woman of my acquaintance comes to mind, and really, the reason for this whole blog happened this last weekend at a Christmas party I attended. Her name is Deb Hegman. This woman never fails to amaze me. From my perspective (as neither her child/husband/someone really close to the family) this woman is able to get all of her kids going in the right directions AND she teaches Sunday school to the preschool class. Which, I don't care who you are, takes a very special, patient person. She home-schooled all of her very intelligent, well mannered children. They have a family dinner every night. And she never has a hair out of place.

So, at the aforementioned Christmas party, I was somehow not at all surprised when she and one of her daughters got up and preformed a duet on the piano. My first thought was, "Well of course she plays the piano. What doesn't she do!?" And this was in no way sarcastic. This is the woman who can pull a craft out of the lint of her purse to entertain a toddler at the dentist office. This woman amazes me. And exhausts me. And all around makes me wish I was a better mom to my kids, while still understanding that I am the best mom I can be.

I just will never be a Deb Hegman. Which is ok. At the end of the day, my kids need me to be me, not try to be her.

But Deb Hegman, I salute you!

A house of secrets

As I have told a few of you, Cadence is an expert at hiding things. And often, I will later find a pile of random toys that she snuck into the bathroom, her bedroom, under her crib, behind my bedroom door and so on. Usually I find the pile by tripping over it, or by not being able to open the bathroom door. At that point, I find a pile of random stuffed animals, dinosaurs, horses, guns, and cars. Basically anything that Bishop likes that she can sneak out of his room or the play area without him noticing.

It has recently come to our attention that Bishop is also big into hiding things. Under the dining room table. Usually he sneaks things under there to eat them in secret. He found a bag of candy once, and he took it under the table, and as I was looking around for him, I found him huddled with the bag of chocolate. Yesterday he took the box of fruit snacks off the kitchen counter, and was eating them under the table. The part that I don't understand is that he can have most anything he wants if he eats his lunch/dinner. The only time I really tell him no is if he hasn't had dinner yet, or only ate a little bit. So really, no reason to sneak the food.

And then, the best time was today. Zach was packing for his trip and asked Bishop if he knew where his hacky-sack is. Bishop said, "Oh, yeah." Then promptly went out to the dinning room table, and pulled out the hacky-sack from underneath one of the overhangs. We were shocked that 1. He is for real stashing things under there and 2. that he actually remembers where he put it.

It's like his secret fort that he is taking things to. So bizarre.

He also adores playing Star Wars Battle Station on Playstation. He came and got in bed with us at 6:30 this morning and wanted to play "The game" as he calls it. He doesn't like watching movies, he just wants to play the game. And the best part is? He is actually pretty good. And he actually wins sometimes. It is pretty incredible.

A whole new experience

So I went to the dentist today. Which is never my favorite thing, especially when they are actually doing something to my teeth other than cleaning them, and even then, sheesh. So anyways, I had an appointment to have some work done today after work. This is the 2nd time I have gone to this dentist, the other being a cleaning a while ago. I wasn't super happy with our previous dentist's work, and with Zach's teeth, we really get to know the dentist pretty well.

Anyways, so I get there early for my appointment, they take me right back (ah, prompt service), the dentist comes in, gives me the best shot I have ever had (meaning, I didn't feel it at all), so I am sitting there, thinking that I have a few minutes to wait, when the nurse (dental assistant?) comes in to ask if I would like a magazine or newspaper, which I decline. Then she asks if I would like a heated neck pillow and a paraffin dip.

Uh....what? Am I not in the dentist office? What just happened here?

Apparently the dental office has decided that in order to relax patients, they make it more like a spa day then a dental checkup. I was expecting someone to jump out and give me a pedicure at any time.

So of course I said yes. And did the paraffin dip (SUPER NICE, but really weird looking on your hands), and accepted the neck pillow. And while the dentist was working on my tooth, I thought to myself, this whole neck pillow/paraffin dip thing is nice, but not THAT distracting.

However, though my mouth still feels sore, my hands are so nice and soft, and my neck was pretty warm and relaxed while in the office. My only thought was this-

The paraffin was nice, the neck pillow was super nice and warm, but uh...maybe you could hang a picture to look at while your mouth is super open and head is back. It seems like you are awkwardly staring at the dentist, or averting your eyes to a blank wall.

So my only addition to this spa like atmosphere would be a picture...possibly a TV? Anything to look at so you don't feel like you are looking up the dentists nose, or into those weird glasses/magnifiers that they wear.

Thankful, Day 6

November 6th

I fully intended to be thankful for an extra hour of sleep today. Last night, when I was writing the post for yesterday, I discovered it was the night to set your clocks back (thanks everyone on facebook for posting, otherwise, we would have forgotten :/ ), and I thought to myself, YAY! Tomorrow I can be thankful for extra sleep.

That was the plan until Bishop cheerfully banged on Cadence's crib at 5:20 this morning telling her, "Cadence!! Wake up!! It's time to get up, baby!!" So that thankfulness jumped right out the window with my rest. So.

Today, I am thankful for coffee.

Dear coffee...you are one of my favorite things. I think the best coffee is just a regular brewed kind with the perfect ratio of cream to sugar. There is no measurement, you have to taste test it. AH coffee. I promptly made a pot of coffee this morning. AH. The smell itself makes me happy. When I had my gallbladder taken out, I got choked up when I realized I could still have coffee. Literally, in the Walmart aisle crying tears of joy. That is the depth of my love for coffee. And today was no different.

Thankful, Week 1

WOW! This week just flashed by! I did have every good intention of writing something every day, but, to be honest, between work, kids, home and everything they all require...WHEW! One tired momma by the end of the day. SO! I am going to give my list of things I am thankful for this last week, and HOPEFULLY (no promises) I will try to post once a day this following week.

Ok, so 1st-

I am thankful for my husband. This may seem like a gimme, but this man has been the biggest blessing I have ever been given. He is a fantastic partner in life, he evens out all my craziness, and I can not stay upset with him. I think God knew I could never live with someone like myself, so He gave me Zach, who is my opposite is almost every way. It is actually pretty amazing, as the years go by, I seem to become more and more like him. Which means I am basically a nicer, more graceful person. So my number 1 thing to be thankful for is my wonderful husband of almost 7 years, Zach.

Nov. 2 (Wednesday)

I am thankful for my son, Bishop. Once upon a time, I asked God to give me patience, and I got Bishop, who teaches me everyday to be more patient then I ever thought possible. But past that, Bishop is the sweetest little boy who has learned to charm his way out of trouble, just like his father...And beyond that, he is just so darn cute ALL the time. I love my little boy, who I gave up on ever having, and was blessed to be given.

Nov. 3 (Thursday)

I am thankful for my daughter, Cadence. Ok...yeah, I get that I am just listing off my family here, but I am SO thankful to have them that I feel like they should get their own days. So today I am thankful to have my beautiful, perfect little girl. And yes, she is the easiest, best little baby I have ever had, which is something in itself to be thankful for. She is so happy, and is such a funny little thing. It makes me so sad that she is growing up so fast, and I often feel like this last year has just disappeared with her. I was worried that I could never love another baby as much as I do Bishop, but as a mommy, it's like your heart just gets bigger to hold more. Ah...so sappy.

Nov. 4 (Friday)

Today, I am thankful for heat. Yes, that's right, heat. It is DARN cold outside, AND windy, and it sure makes me glad that we have a furnace that keeps our house nice and warm. So nice, in fact, that Bishop loves to sit in front of one of the places the air blows out of by the dining room table. He thinks the air coming out is just so cool. Ahem. So warm.

Nov. 5 (TODAY!)

I am thankful for days off with family. Today we just hung out, got some housework and laundry done. Bishop and I took a nap together (LOVE), Bishop and Zach hung out together outside, doing that mysterious thing that boys do together. Cadence chased a balloon around the living. I read. I think you get the wonder of the day. We went to Home Depot, and the kids got to ride in the 'car' cart together, which is just hilarious, especially when Bishop get's upset if Cadence isn't steering right. Love my little family. We had a lady in the parking lot, as we were going out to the car, say, "Oh, a boy and a girl...how perfect!" And I thought...well...it just happened that way. I think 2 boys would be just as perfect. Or 2 girls...I am just really happy that Bishop loves his little sister so much. And she thinks he's the greatest ever. And days like today make most everything we do worth it.

A long time gone...

Wow, I haven't actually written anything here or anywhere in a LONG time! There is far too much to really catch up, so let's just say life has been crazy, and leave it at that. So, hm where to start...where to start....

I think Cadence is going to be a pretty easy kiddo. Ok, she has always been the easy one. Bishop didn't sleep though the night until....well, actually, he still wakes up occasionally, so that would be never. Cadence, she is out for the night as I type this. Bishop is strong willed just for the fun of it, and often is contrary just to be contrary. Does he want a cookie? NO!!!! Then he cries and whines when he doesn't get a cookie...But if you offer a cookie, he will still say he doesn't want one. You get the point.

Tonight, Cadence went to grab something she wasn't supposed to, I told her very calmly "No, no sweetie" and she pulled her hand back, dropped her head down, and started crying with the saddest little face I have ever seen. She was so upset that she cried for a few minutes. So she is either very savvy to the ways of parents (mom's specifically) or she is just a sweet tempered little baby. Which...she is.

And thus, the easiest kiddo.

I have decided that in the spirit of Thanksgiving, and because it is closing in on the holidays, and actually, because it is just a good exercise, I am going to write a post a day starting in November about what I am thankful for. If you post or journal, I would encourage you to do something similar.

Also...I am just really excited for the holiday season. I LOVE this time of year, it's the best part of the year for sure. I wandered the toy aisles today to start getting Christmas ideas :D

Love it. Are you working on your Christmas list already? Close to being done? Haven't started yet (*cough*cough*)?

Regardless, we are days away from Halloween (which,I am also excited for, as the kids are both going to be cows, which is honestly adorable), and right around the corner from Thanksgiving.

Holidays!!!

I am off to go to bed early, possibly do a little reading. Sounds amazing to me.

The Dog's Strike Again

With the crazy amount of money that we have put into fortifying our fences with concrete and boards, you would think that there would be no way that our dogs could break out. But just to laugh in the face of our investments (and just our faces), they found a way. Again.

Thus started the dog drama of 08.29.2011. We found out this evening that they got out around 3am...apparently our neighbor girl was sleeping on her trampoline, and they broke out through her yard. She didn't think she should come tell us, since it was 3am. The hours between 3am and 7am are still unaccounted for, so we can only guess what kind of shenanigans they got into. And yes, that word applies perfectly here.

I got a call from Zach at just before 7am (I was already at work) letting me know they were gone. Great. I missed a call from an unknown number at about 8:15am. The dogs were loitering in a parking lot about a mile from our house. I happen to work across town, and thus do not have the freedom to just come and go whenever I want to. So I called Zach, who was going to call them back and see if one of his buddies could pick up the dogs for us. When I called him back (I missed yet another call), he told me the dogs had been returned by someone from the business they were soliciting..er...loitering at. He asked if I could drive home on my lunch to check on them. Which I did, even though I only have a 30 minute lunch. The dogs were very guiltily hanging out in the backyard, refusing to make eye contact. I covered the hole they had made in such a way so that they could no get out- a la putting something large in front of it.

I found a note on the door that read, "I brought back your babies. They were at Labor Ready" with a name and a phone number listed at the bottom. Not sure if I was supposed to pay this person in blood, I mean, coke like last time, I decided to not call them.

The story to my knowledge was over there. At least, until I get home from grocery shopping with the kids. Zach tells me he had just gotten home, and some guy was hanging out by our fence, watching our dogs. Apparently he was the dog-saver. He had just been stopping by to check on the dogs. Again. According to him, he had come by on all of his breaks to make sure they were still ok. Since no one had called him back. *cough*

He made a point of letting us know what nice, sweet dogs they are (yep. we know.) and how glad he is that they are okay. Zach, having been burned before, offered him a Mountain Dew (the closest thing to Coke on hand). The guy accepted it, then said, "Actually, I will get it from you next time."

Which begs the questions....Next Time? We get the feeling that he plans to check up on them daily. Just like our mailman. I was always under the assumption that mailmen and dogs didn't really get along. Apparently, our mailman adores Spartan. He would make a point of knocking on my door when Spartan was missing for a month to check on how the search was going. Daily.

Looks like our dogs have picked up another stalker. Clearly we raised them well.

What has happened to my children?

It has been a long time since I wrote anything here...at least since the tongue clamp incident. Whew. Let me tell ya, some stuff has gone down. Cadence is now an official crawler. Like, officially down the hall, around the corner, and chewing on a shoe before you realize she is gone. Actually, that happened yesterday.

She went from doing the 'rocking' thing, to the 'worm', to the up on her hands and feet...then falling over. And then this weekend she got the whole thing all together. And now she is chasing Bishop around. Which is actually really cute. He was pulling this little dog on wheels around this afternoon as she followed him. They are also amusing each other more. Like yesterday, she followed him into his room, then back into the hall, where he was donkey kicking and she was rolling on the floor laughing at him. I love that they love each other. BUT 2 mobile kids is a whole new ball game. Like having 2 itself wasn't hard enough, but for both of them to disappear while I am doing the dishes? Not a safe feeling.

Which is why I strapped Cadence into her highchair while doing the dishes this afternoon. Purely safety reasons...plus, who doesn't like trying to feed themselves a cut up banana? She happily ate, Bishop played on his own, and the kitchen got cleaned. All is well in the Ivey house. At least until I no longer had a reason to keep her strapped in. Then all bets were off. It was soon after that when Bishop came in the house, with a mouth full. Of dog food. I made him spit it out into my hand (a handful), so, thinking I got it all, I turn and throw it in the trash. Only to turn back to find him chewing what's left in his mouth.

Dog food. Clearly he gets his taste from his father, who happily eats things out of the trash all the time.

No one would ever...

As a logical adult (well, most of the time), I often trip myself up as a parent because it won't occur to me that a kid would do certain things. A perfect example of this happened on my last grocery shopping trip with Bishop and Cadence. The shopping itself was uneventful. We get everything loaded up and head out to the car. Bishop has this thing were I let him 'help' me unload the groceries into the back of my Blazer while he is in there. So I toss him in, put Cadence in her car seat, and then go to transfer groceries from cart to car. I get the first couple of bags in, when I hear a high pitched scream from the back. I turn, and there is Bishop, with a battery cable clamp stuck on his tongue. And honestly, my first response was to laugh. I did jump in to save him (and his tongue) but I was laughing the whole time.

I am sure anyone watching would think I am a terrible mother for not being more concerned. I mean, Bishop just clamped a very large alligator-like clamp on his tongue. And my response is to laugh?

The problem is that I know the child. And he has a propensity to clamp things on his tongue. Which makes absolutely no sense after doing it once. It never ends well, so I am not sure what the motivation here is. I mean, he screams and cries every time, whether its a cloths pin, bobby pin, hair clip, hair claw, and now, a battery cable clamp. What does he expect to happen here?

Clamp + tongue/lips= pain. Every. Single. Time.

Which is where the logic trips me up. I knew the battery cables were in there. We had to jump my car because a certain toddler had turned on my headlights while pretending to drive it earlier that day. I just never imagined he would attempt to clamp his tongue. Clamp on face=bad. But apparently it is all uncharted territory for a 3 year old. There is a disconnect somewhere in his brain. Maybe I need to stop saving him and just let him live with something stuck to his face for a while (a smaller clamp, clearly. The battery cable one could do some real damage, as it is about the size of his face itself).

I will be surprised if he makes it to 10 without a couple broken bones. Or a possible lip/tongue surgery.

The Casey Anthony Problem

So this is mainly a rant about the case, but you should understand a few things going into this. The first is that I support our judicial system. Yes, it may have it's problems, and yes, it does make mistakes, but it is operated by people, who inherently are flawed. The second is that I don't blame the jurors for not convicting her. That being said...

WHAT THE HECK! I know many people are outraged by the ruling, and while I can't say I am in that category, there are some things that happened that I don't agree with. Did she kill her daughter? I don't know. And that seems to be the problem that the jury had as well. The evidence is pretty circumstantial when all put together. Yes, it's fishy, but honestly, if I had been a juror, I probably couldn't have found her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The fact that the media decided she was guilty before and during the trial has made a huge impact on people; primarily because we all have watched it through the eyes of her being guilty for sure. Understanding that the jury wasn't allowed to watch any media reporting on it, and only had what the judge deemed to be allowable evidence does make a difference in their outlook. To condemn someone to death without being 100% positive that they are guilty...yeah, I can see their problem.

That being said, I think the fact that they found her innocent of the other charges is silly. I think it is clear through her actions that she is guilty of aggravated child abuse. Lets suspend reality for a moment, and say that she had nothing to do with her daughters murder. Why would you wait 31 days to report her disappearance? As a mom, the idea that my child is missing and that I wouldn't automatically report it to the police is beyond my comprehension. If she had nothing to do with it, why would she hide it? Another scenario- if I left my child anywhere for 31 days and lied about it repeatedly to my parents/friends/everyone wouldn't that be considered abusive? Like if I went for a vacation, and left Bishop at home by himself at 3 for a month, how is that not child abuse? IF she had nothing to do with her daughters death, then why would she wait for so long to tell anyone. And her 'looking into it herself' story? Yeah, right. I am sure she scheduled that in after her partying. She wrote in her journal 5 days after Caylee went missing that she is 'happier now than she has been in years.' How is that possible for a mom who is hiding the fact that her daughter is gone? There was no nanny, she wasn't staying with friends. Casey knew Caylee was missing, and did or said nothing about it. She wouldn't even have reported it if it wasn't for her mom, who called 911 and handed her the phone. Just because she had never been abusive previously, doesn't mean the act of not reporting it is not abuse in itself.

As for the aggrivated manslaughter, ^^see above. She knew that Caylee was missing and didn't report it. I think at the very least, she should be in jail for aiding in the murder of her daughter, even if she didn't do it herself. It's like letting your child be kidnapped while you stand there and then not say anything to anyone about it. You might as well have kidnapped them yourself for having allowed it to happen.

The fact that she is going to be charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in reparations to the court for the trial and to the company who searched for 5 months for her daughter does make me feel a little better. Add that to the fact that she is basically unemployable and it makes you wonder what her plans are. I can't see her going on talk shows, as she is almost universally hated, and what if someone asked her outright if she did it? She wasn't willing to take the stand for the same reason. Or maybe she will go on a bunch of shows and lie some more? Hopefully, she spends the rest of her life trying to pay off this bill for all the damage she did. Even if she didn't kill her daughter, the amount of neglect she showed in not reporting her missing and lying makes me hope that she has to flee the country.

Another question- where does she plan to live? She was residing with her parents before going to jail. But she burned that bridge...so? Should be interesting. I wouldn't rent to her. And I wouldn't hire her. I am pretty sure most of the country shares those sentiments.

Diaper Brushing

You read that right. I am talking about brushing out a cloth diaper today.

Seems weird, and I would never have thought of doing it before, but I read a blog about brushing fleece diapers a few weeks ago, and it has been in the back of my mind to try it out.

So after selling a couple of diapers yesterday, and wanting them to look nice, I decided to give it a try. For those who don't know tons about cloth diapers, most cloth diapers are lined with fleece or a suede cloth. This is just for fleece diapers, which, after washing several times, become 'pilly' inside, like this-

This is a Perfect Size FuzziBunz. It is one of the first pocket diapers I got, and so it is one of the oldest. The pilling makes the diaper less soft than when it is brand new. I never really thought there was anything I could do to get rid of it until I read that blog. So, I tried a baby brush that I got yesterday at Walmart. It worked, but it took a LONG time to get the diaper to be brushed out. So today, I was washing dishes, when I realized I had a hard bristled dish brush that I have never used. So I grabbed it, and my FuzziBunz diaper, and got to brushing.

This is the brush I used. I believe it's a Clorox brush, but any brush with a stiff bristle will work

And I got to brushing. The brush didn't have anything on it (like water or soap) and I just laid the diaper over my leg, held it taut with one hand, and brushed with the other. Consistently brushing in one direction seemed to work the best. I also pulled the elastic of the leg and the back out so I could get to all of the fleece. Like this-

The brushing took much less time with a stiffer bristle than it did last night.

This is the after shot. MUCH softer, very little pilling. And it took about 5 minutes this time around.

Now I just need to grab my other 20 or so pocket diapers and do the same. Then again...maybe not.

Is that a P or a B?

Interestingly enough, I spend a good part of talking with Bishop correcting the letter he is using to say a work. For example, when he says chip, he often will use an s sound, which is normal for little kiddos, but I always say something to the point of, "Chips, that's right. CH-ips." So most of our conversations include me repronouncing what he has just said to me.

This morning was no different. He was standing on my bed, talking to me, wearing just his pj pants while I was changing. He was chatting away, and said what I heard as "Mommy's poops". To which I automatically chimed in with, "Mommy's poops? What do you mean? There's no poop in Mommy's bedroom" (I was slightly concerned that he was admitting to something that I had yet to discover). Bishop answered, slightly annoyed that I was questioning him when he had already moved on to another subject, "No, Mommy's poops. See?" At this point, he walked over to where I was standing and started patting my chest.

"Poops? See mommy? Poops."

In my mind I am thinking...poops? Poops...poops...wait? Boobs? Is he talking about my boobs?

So I ask him, "Bishop, do you mean Mommy's boobs?"

Bishop- "Yeah, mommy's poops."

"No, buddy, it's a B, like B-ishop. B-oo-bs" (it hadn't really occured to me what I was explaining at this point, or helping him learn to say).

Bishop- "Bishop? OHhhhhhhh, Bishop's Boobs."

Then he started patting his own stomach. "See Mommy? Bishop's Boobs!! Bishop Boobs!"

Oh lord. Where did I go wrong. We always put things into perspective of who is going to have to explain to his Sunday school teacher why he is saying what he is saying. This one is definitely on me.

Give me the milk, or the dog gets it.

At the age of 3, Bishop has a slight addiction. Well, actually, in addition to his others, he has recently decided that he needs chocolate milk. Daily. This isn't such a big deal, but the kid just won't leave me alone until I get his chocolate milk. He usually starts pestering me at the most inconvient moments. Like while I am outside mowing the lawn. Or taking a shower. Or going to the bathroom. I think he can tell when I am otherwise occupied, and likes to come up with reasons to be the center of attention again. So I will be up to my elbows in baby poop or doing dishes and he starts in.

"Mommy, I want chocolate milk."

"Ok, Bishop, hang on one sec"

"Mommy, I chocolate milk, please" (which actually sounds like 'peas')

"Ok Bishop, hang on"

"Please Mommy!! Chocolate milk, please!!"

"Ok, just let me..."

"PLEASE MOMMY! Chocolate milk PLEASE?! Please, Mommy!!!"

(Clearly the kid thinks I am waiting for him to ask 'nicely' so he keeps adding more 'please's)

"OK! Bishop! Mommy needs to finish this, and then I will get your chocolate milk"

"CHOCOLATE MILK, MOMMY!!! Please, please, please?"

There is just no reasoning with him at this point. He is usually pulling on whatever appendage he can get a hold of (arm, leg, clothing...hair. Ok, he has never pulled my hair, but if it came between him and his chocolate milk, I wouldn't put it past him) to get me to go get him some chocolate milk.

I am not a huge fan of juice. It is just a bunch of sugar, and the boy does NOT need the extra energy. So he more often than not has water, with the occasional chocolate milk tossed in. Thus the begging. This same situation happens if he knows we have Capri Suns in the fridge. Strangely enough, I noticed that on his chocolate milk packaging, it says it has 25% less sugar. Which makes me wonder, less than what?

The normal chocolate milk? A competitors chocolate milk? A bag of sugar?

Daydreaming at...Fred Meyers?

That's right. It happened. And I am not ashamed to admit it on a public forum (clearly). I have been watching a couple kids in my house this week, and I needed a break. From being home, as well as from kids and, well, everything really. The problem with retail therapy, at least at a grocery store, is that most of it is off limits to me at this point in my gallbladder-less life.

If you don't want to hear me complain, now would be the time to check out.

I MISS FOOD!!!

It's not that I don't eat, but I just eat basically the same things all the time. Because I know they are safe. So I haven't done a ton of branching out, and I am soooo bored with food. I want a big hamburger. With hamburger. Or....hmmmmm I could go on a tangent. Like cake. And ice cream. And cheese. Lots of cheese. And real milk. Yum.

So anyways, needing a break, and being fresh out of the crackers that I can eat, I decided to head on down to Freddy's to get a new box. That's right. All the way to the store for a box of crackers.

Understand, though, that they are some of the only 'snacks' that are ok. They have 2 grams of fat per serving. I can recite the amount of fat in all the food I eat. And the serving size. It's a sad life.

So, I get to Freddys, get my crackers, and then I decide to wander a bit. You know, bask in the large amount of food there, and daydream. I wandered the candy/cookie aisles for...20 minutes? Trying to decide if I wanted to risk it. I stared at the cookie section, because I REALLY wanted some cookies. Like...shortbread cookies with chocolate. Or Milanos. Or...geez, really, any cookie that is big and good and had chocolate of some kind.

How sad is that? Pretty sad, in retrospect. I basically stood, imagining what they would taste like, as people walked by, grabbed what they wanted, and bought it. No doubt going home and eating as many as they wanted, not thinking anything of it. *sigh* So I stood and daydreamed.

Then I would wander to the candy aisle, though I didn't spend as much time there, since I am really not craving candy. Just cookies.

I spent about an hour in the store. And I bought? Crackers. I realized as I stood there that I hadn't really eaten today. Not a real meal, just like pieces of things as I fed the kiddos. All day. So I was really hungry, and I decided to just eat at home. So I made a sandwich. And had some of my crackers. So I going to drink some water and go to bed.

Ok. It's not ALL bad. For example, I am alive. That's a pretty big deal. Even if it means I have to be careful about what I eat and constantly feel slightly sick. I am usually pretty optimistic about the whole deal. But every now and then I need to complain. So that's my complaint. I just miss eating whatever and not feeling bad (but literally...bad=sick).

OCD

I have lots of theories about life in general and people in specific. I have never really thought of myself as an obsessive person; though I have had some moments with my children. Eventually I realized that it really doesn't make that big of a difference if things don't happen in the exact right order for them to be happy and well adjusted. Cadence is going to have a much easier go of it than Bishop (clearly the first child, and therefore, everything was done by the book with him). A small example? She get's her diaper changed wherever. I think Bishop had his diaper changed a solid 4 times off the changing table in his diapering years. I was a purist like that.

At this point, I am happy to get us all out of the house on time, and clothed weather appropriately. Even if Bishop is not wearing the 'outfit' that came all together from the store. That was a revelation for me. How silly, right? That I always put him in the exact same outfits and didn't really 'mix' it up till well after his 1st birthday. And that was only because they don't make the whole outfit thing for older toddlers. This is not at all how I dress, so I am not sure why I thought that was how kids need to dress. Whatever.

There are specific orders to how I do things, but I like to think I am flexible...while knowing that I am, in fact, not. Last week Bishop was helping me make his PB&J sandwich, and he started putting the jam on first. Which is not how I do it. And the jam was on the left piece of bread.

You may not know this, but the proper way is to put peanut butter on the left slice of bread, then wipe off the knife, then jam on the right side. And you don't mix up the order or the bread slices. EVER.

I also never wash my face before I am done washing my hair in the shower. This one seems pretty logical to me. If I wash my face, then wash the conditioner out of my hair, and it gets on my face...it is dirty again. Because conditioner feels slimy which = dirty. Anyways, I always wash my hair first, then start at the top of my head (face) and wash down. It's the shower 'trickle down' theory.

So I had to catch myself last week before I lectured Bishop about why the peanut butter needed to go first, and on the left piece of bread. You will be happy to know I let him finish his sandwich without even switching the bread slice sides.

SO what are your compulsive things? We all have them. It is either just the way we were taught to do things, or it is an order we have taught ourselves. How do you make a PB&J sandwich? Do you lick the knife? Not wipe if off at all?

Gah. I am just going to pretend everyone does it the right way.

The nudist colony

I realize that I blog about my children (particularly my son) far more than I do anything else. I was trying to decide what else I should talk about, and I realized...as a stay at home mom, my kids tend to be my day. So I guess it is okay for me to mention them so much. With that in mind-

How did I end up with 2 wanna be nudists? I say wanna be because they aren't allowed to be. At least, not in public. It is rough when I go to check the mail, and Bishop runs out in his underwear. Or in a shirt...and no underwear. <--- That was worse than the just underwear one. It's funny because he starts the day off dressed, and it seems to be a natural process that by lunch, he is down to just underwear, or the underwear has gone missing. After nap, we start out clothed again, and when Zach gets home, he is usually down to a tshirt and underwear.

Cadence has started complaining about her clothes. I am hoping she doesn't learn to undress for a LONG time. Does that make me a bad parent? I don't think so. When Bishop was in diapers, I NEVER let him see how I took them off, mainly by distracting him. So I never really had issues with him taking his diapers off. Pants are just too easy. The second we get home from somewhere, his socks and shoes get taken off (he has figured out how to 'toe' off his shoes, no hands needed!!), then, he goes potty and usually puts his pants in an obscure place, so I can't find them. Then his shirt magically disappears while he is playing, and the next thing I know, he comes out naked.

He also fakes injuries to get out of trouble. Primarily to his pinky finger. I have a hard time believing his pinky gets hurt that often. Now I am off to put his clothes back on him for nap time. Just another day in the nudist colony...I mean, Ivey house.

Kiss?

It is incredible to me what a kiss will do for a toddler. Really, any owie is suddenly better when it has been kissed by mom. I feel like there could be some really deep theological discussion inserted here about how faith in what we are told/know/God caring for us...things along those lines. But I am not in a theological mood at the moment.

Because my son has recently been asking for us to kiss him...in inappropriate places. Not for any reason, other than he had been hurt there. Yesterday, during one of his birthday parties, he followed me around for several minutes, trying to take off his pants so I could kiss his owie on his bottom better. I had to tell him several times that mommy wasn't going to kiss it. It didn't make sense in his 3 year old mind that mommy wouldn't make something better when it was clearly in her power to do so. The best incident happened about a month ago.

Zach was playing with Bishop in the living room, and Bishop somehow injured himself...so he went up to Zach, pulled his pants down, and said "Kiss?" and he didn't want a kiss on the bottom, if you get what I am saying.

Yet another incident of us falling over laughing while Bishop stands off to the side wondering what the heck is going on.

We have also had to start limiting what movies exactly that he is watching. We knew the day would eventually come, as he mimics what he hears, and we don't really want to be called to the toddler Sunday school because he told someone to F off or something like that. So clearly, most action type movies were out. Recently, we have discovered romantic comedy is off limits too. As he doesn't get that there is an appropriate way to kiss, and an inappropriate way. So he sees people on a movie kissing...and wrestling... and he promptly comes over, sits on my lap, and tries to kiss me. Ahem, really kiss me.

So. Movies limited-check.

There are many things that I expected when we decided to have kids. But trying to explain the difference between kissing and the inappropriateness of kissing your mom with tongue to my toddler was no actually on the list. I think Cadence is going to be super easy because we will already be savvy to all the strange things kids pull.

French kissing attempts included.

So, I made my first foray into homemade baby food. Which...is surprisingly easy...

Actually, my mom has told me for years that she always made all of our baby food, that is was no big deal, that sort of thing. But the little jars are darn easy, if ridiculously overpriced. And here's why. So babies usually start eating around 6 months of age. And this is good to get them used to eating. But all the eating that they do until they are one is just complimentary eating...meaning that their diet really should be breast milk/formula and then toss in a food for them to try. However, they shouldn't be substituting a nursing time for a feeding time until they are older. Much older than 6 months. So the idea that I need to pay for those little jars of baby food...which are nasty as can be, seems pretty silly. Though, to be honest, I jumped right on board with Bishop.

This time around...I decided to try out the homemade version. I feel like I have become this uber-crunchy momma who uses cloth diapers and only feeds her baby homemade organic food. Don't get me wrong, I love the earth; but I love to save money more. Call me cheap, but I can spend a dollar on sweet potatoes and feed my child for over a week instead of 2 days. Seems like a no-brainer to this thrifty mom. So when considering making homemade baby food, I went to my always there when I need it guide-

The internet. Bet you thought I would say my mom. Not that I think she did it wrong or anything, but I like reading lots of how-to's before I just hop into something. So after some extensive study, I found a pretty awesome baby food making site. So I jumped in.

Well, actually, I went to WalMart first, but THEN I jumped right in. This is what I needed-

Ice cube trays

Ziplock freezer bags

sweet potatoes

tin foil

food processor

And thats it, actually. I washed the potatoes, put some fork holes in them, ran them under the water again, then wrapped them in tin foil. I baked them at 410 for about 45 minutes. Let them cool a tad, unwrapped them, cut them out of their skins like I do an avocado, tossed them in the food processor (which my mother in law bought me when Bishop was born for just this purpose...it's a mini version). I thinned mine down a tad. You can use breast milk, formula, or water. I didn't make mine very thin, knowing that I will probably thin it more when it comes time for Cadence to eat it.

Out of the food processor and into the ice cube trays. Each ice cube portion is about a tablespoon. Anyways, popped them into the freezer after wrapping the trays in saran wrap. Let them freeze nice and hard, popped them out and into a ziplock bag. Labeled the bag (frozen baby food is good for about a month) and tossed it back in the freezer.

And just like that, I got a big Crafty-Crunchy Momma star. You are welcome, Earth.

When gallbladders attack...

So, I had a pretty crazy day last Friday. This blog may get a little into detail...so just advanced notice if you want to check out now, I would understand. It's not all that bad, just body functions. It's odd to talk about what your pee has been like recently with friends, so that's your only warning. What's a little pee between friends...that's always been my thought. I mean, if you got stung by a jelly fish, I would pee on you. But I am nice like that. Ok. Refocus...back to the attack.

I have been not well for a few weeks. It all started with what we thought was my back. I went to the chiropractor, who adjusted me a couple of times. I did feel better...not 100% better, but you know...back pain takes time, and all that. So. About a week later, I was pretty sure I had the flu. I was throwing up, running a fever...all that fun junk. That was on Monday night. By Wednesday morning, I was feeling better, still not 100%, but at least I wasn't throwing up, and my back wasn't KILLING me, and I could sleep about an hour at a time at night. So...doing better. Then I got itchy. I thought it was because I had taken several baths the night before (back pain), and my skin was dry (?). So, I lathered up on lotion. But then my pee was orange. And not just like, dark, need to hydrate a bit, dark yellow. Like, the toilet paper was orange, too. So, that's not normal. I drank more water on Thursday, hoping it was a UTI, and I could flush it out a bit. Funny thing, I was in a meeting on Thursday morning for Rejoice, and Chantel commented that I looked tan. I am not tan by any length of the imagination, so we were just commenting on how the lighting must be making me yellow. Weird lights. So, Friday morning, after sleeping a little better on the couch, my pee was still super funky, and I am still itchy. I decided to pop into a quick care type place because I am sure that I have a kidney infection, and just need some antibiotics. So I go in, give a sample. The doctor comes into my room and tells me that I do not have a kidney infection, I have jaundice.

My first response to this is...I don't drink!! What could be wrong with my liver? I barely take pain medicine when I am dying of pain... so the doctor tells me that there is nothing wrong with my liver, that it is my gallbladder. That I probably have a gallstone obstructing my common bile duct, which would cause the jaundice. He told me that he would get me an appointment with an internal medicine doctor for that day, and that I HAD to go. He said if I couldn't get in to see someone that day, that I need to just go to the ER.

So I had an appointment, went home, Zach called my mother in law so she could come watch the kiddos for us. We went into the doctor, who was a PA. Now, there is nothing wrong with PA's, except this was was pretty...uninformed? Uninterested? I think he may have just been used to dealing with the elderly. So, he went and got a doctor who worked with him, the doctor came in, did the exam (OWWWWW) again, looked at my eyes (jaundice) and told him I needed to have an abdominal ultrasound and some blood work. Stat. (what do you think stat means, by the way? Zach and I were talking about this...)

So off we go to get the ultrasound. Across town, of course. Wait FOREVER...in an empty waiting room. Which is so frustrating, because I kept thinking...it's not like they are so super busy...

Anyways, we finally (about 45 minutes and several Royal Wedding Insider episodes later) back, the lady does the exam (OWWWWW) and tells us it is positive. Which to me, means good...but in medicine, it means bad, apparently. She told us that my gallbladder's sides were inflamed, there were things in it, the common bile duct was dilated (bad?), and I have upper right quadrant pain (duh). She said to stay by the phone because we were probably going to be going into the hospital that night.

So. I go and have blood drawn, and head home. The moment we walk in the door, my mother in law tells us that the radiologist had called and we need to go to the hospital. Then the doctor calls and tells us the same thing. So. Off to the hospital we had to go. I went to get diapers and formula for Cadence, since I clearly couldn't feed her, and wouldn't have time to explain how my cloth diapers work to my mother in law. So.

We get to the hospital...and wait...and wait...and tell the same story about 23 times...and wait some more. It really wasn't that bad. We got there around 5:30ish, and I went into surgery around 7. It was pretty interesting...

I no longer have a lip ring. We had to take it out for the oxygen mask...and I was too out of it afterwards to be concerned about putting it back in. We did have a hold up before I could go into the OR to see if I am pregnant...I am not (whew). So, they took me in, put me on the table, and as they are strapping me onto the table (they strap your arms out to the sides) the anesthesiologist comments on how this is a funny pose for me to be in on Good Friday. It is funnier when you consider that they then cut into my side (ahem). Anyways. I laughed about that, breathed in the oxygen like they told me to, and then I was waking up in recovery.

The surgery took about 4 hours, which is apparently a really long time. My gallbladder was all kinds of messed up. And they had to do a separate procedure where they sent a scope down my throat, through my stomach, into my large intestine, then into my common bile duct. They had to make a little cut in it in order to take out the stone. So my throat is all kinds of sore between the breathing tube and the scope being put down it. Ouch.

I have 4 little incision points on my abdomen, which a pretty sore and hurt to stretch. My right shoulder hurts, because apparently they put gas in your abdomen when they do this type of surgery. The air then travels to a high point (my shoulder). And it is actually more painful than the incisions are.

So I am doing and feeling better, am on the mend from the surgery, and am minus a gallbladder. I am currently eating a super low fat diet, as I no long have a gallbladder to help break down the fat in foods. By low fat, I mean that I have eaten oatmeal for breakfast, and homemade chicken soup for lunch and dinner the last several days. And before that, it was just broth and saltines. Someday, I should be able to eat fairly normally again...until then, sounds like soup for dinner!

The Prodigal Return

As many of you know, and those who don't, our dogs, Amon and Spartan, got out and went on an adventure. Actually, after much work in fortifying our fence, and over $100 later, they simply moved what we had done, and dug under anyways. I may have mentioned that the cost of a chain v. the cost of pouring concrete, but we got the concrete instead. And out they went. Anyways, they got out on either Sunday night or Monday morning before 8:30. Either way, Amon was rescued the following Wednesday. Still no sign of Spartan, though we did continue to search for him.

So you can imagine my surprise, when, over a month later, I get a call at 9pm saying that this family has our dog. Actually, they have had him the whole time, and as luck would have it, just found his collar.

Ahem. It gets better.

So while talking to this guy on the phone, getting directions to his house, he asks me to please come up the ally, and that his white truck with a camper and a flat tire will be parked out there. Oh, and while I was out, could I please pick him up a 6-pack of soda. Coke or Pepsi would work.

...uh...wait...did you just ask me to buy you soda? At least he wasn't too particular, I suppose. He did explain that his previously mentioned truck did have a flat, and he had just run out of Coke... cocaine?

Right. So. I am supposed to stop at a store, buy him some snacks, then try to find his house from the ALLY at 10pm at night, where we would make the coke/dog trade off. Ok, then. Spartan was actually at a house a block up from where Amon was found, which is not at all surprising, as I couldn't see them splitting up. So, I got in my car, drove over there, stopping at a Mavrick and buying a liter of Coke, just in case the guy really won't fork over my dog without it.

I get to the street, which is in a SUPER shady part of town, and realize...there are allys on both sides. So I drive up one...no white truck with camper and flat. Drive up the other one, and there it is! There is a girl waiting by the truck with Spartan. I called and he ran right over (thank goodness), and I said, "Here's your Coke...?" The girl apologized for that and said that her mom wanted to talk to me before I take the dog. Then she leads me through a dark backyard, all the while, I am imagining that I am about to be mugged.

The mom just wanted to let me know what a good dog he is (I know) and how sad they are that he is leaving (too bad) and that the boys have become so attached to him. She the proceeded to have the two little boys say good bye, which is making me feel bad, but, uh, he is still my dog. I have a theory that one of the boys purposefully took off his collar so they could keep him and then decided to put it back on. At least, that is how the mom made it sound. So the boys are crying, I am standing in mud...and yeah. Awkward. I said something to the effect of, "Well, thanks for taking care of him...we appreciate it" and left. Spartan, being the good dog that his is, followed right along, jumped in the car, and we got out of there.

Shady. That's all I am sayin.

Semi-Pro

Have you ever gotten your hair done then after washing it yourself NEVER been able to style it as well as your hairstylist? I have considered many reasons this may be so. Perhaps they style better because they see the whole 'picture' so to speak? They know all the tricks? They went to school for this?

The last is true, but I have recently discovered a secret. Or maybe it wasn't a real secret, but something that just hit me in the head recently. Here's what happened. My curling iron went on the fritz. This is unacceptable behavior from a curling iron in my house. So I set out to buy a new one. Actually, Bishop and I set out together, leaving Zach home with a napping Cadence. So. First stop? Walmart. My favorite brand of curling irons are the Conair ones with the super round barrel. So. They, of course, have 2 rows of the size I always buy. 2 empty rows. So, after Bishop chased Jemme and Josh around Walmart for a while, we headed on to Target.

Same story, take two. We get there, and they are out of that sized barrel. Really, stores...really?! At this point, I am thinking, "This is a sign that I am supposed to let my natural wave shine through." Luckily, level-heads prevailed on that decision.

So, I decided to poke my head into Sally's Beauty Supply, to check prices on professional curling irons. And yeah, they are more expensive. But I was pretty desperate, and didn't feel like trying out Fred Meyers...or *shudder* Kmart.

So I bought one. Of the cheaper variety...sort of. It did come with a 2 year warranty (?!), so hopefully I don't lose that paper when this curling iron decides to take a little vacation. I paid more for it than I ever have paid for a styling thing before...and here is what I found out.

High quality styling product= high quality styling ease! OH. MY. GOODNESS. Curling my hair is faster, the curls are better formed, and last longer. And yes, I am blaming all this on a curling iron. Your hair looks better after the salon because the tools they use are better. Didn't think it actually made a difference, but uh, wow. It really, really does.

So, yes, they are more expensive. But they style better, last longer (with a warranty!?), and heat up faster. Do I love my new curling iron? Yes. My hair curls faster and stays curled.

And for an on the go mommy, quick and easy is the way to go.

Cloth Diapering...The What

One of the hardest questions I had when I started cloth diapering was what cloth diapers I actually wanted to use. The more you look into it, the more kinds you find. Did I want prefolds and covers? Pockets? All in ones? (AIO) All in twos(AI2), a hybrid? After reading lots...and lots...I came to the conclusion that the chances were better that the easier the diaper was to use, the more likely I was to use them. So I decided to do a hybrid diaper, the Flip, made by CottonBabies, initially.

A Flip basically works like this- It is made of waterproof cover that is a one-size (OS), so it has different snap settings for the rise. It should fit babies from birth to potty training. It then has an Stay-Dry insert. You keep the rise snapped to the size you want, take the insert, lay it inside, put diaper on baby, and that's it. When it is dirty, you can just pop it out of the cover (it there is no poo on the cover), and reuse the cover again. I do a quick wash of the cover, but they dry really quickly, so it has never been an issue. I have 4 of these diapers, and they run about $17-18 each with an insert. I have 9 inserts to use with them.

The next diaper I decided to try was a pocket diaper. There are some big differences between pockets and the hybrid I used.

This diaper is called a Sunbaby, and though most pocket diapers tend to be about the same. It has a water proof cover, this particular diaper is OS, with snaps on the rise, and it has a pocket inside to put an insert. You can double these diapers (actually, any diaper) to make it more absorbent for overnight use, or long naps, depending on how heavy your baby wets. A nice thing about Sunbaby diapers is that they come in FUN prints, and are pretty inexpensive. I have 4 of these diapers, and they were about $5 each, so significantly cheaper than the Flips. I also have a Mama's Little Helper pocket and a Kawaii pocket.

I then decided to try my hand at a wrap, which is basically a cover than you can put an insert or prefold in. I planned on trying the prefold (which I have used...twice, and I always go back to inserts in them because they are just...easier.) I bought a couple Thirsties Duo Wraps

The main difference between this diaper and my Flips is that it is not OS. I know it has the snaps in the rise, but it has size 1 and 2. We have size 2's, which fit from 18-40lbs. So you can adjust the rise within the weight range. Otherwise, this is a cover that works the same as my Flip covers do. A Thirsties cover will run you about $12 each, and you need to buy an additional prefold or insert to use with them.

The cheapest way to diaper your baby is with covers and prefolds, typically. Primarily because you can buy several covers, lots of prefolds, and just reuse the covers, so you need less. Certain pocket diapers are pretty cheap, and very nicely made. I happen to really like my Sunbaby diapers, which are super cheap, but I have never had them leak or any issues with them.

Once I had been cloth diapering for a month or so, I came across some different websites that I really wish I had known about previously. The first is called Fluff Swappers on facebook. I love this website because you can post what you are looking for, or just see what other mommies are trying to get rid of. I bought lots of my diapers off of there, and have yet to actually buy a used diaper, though you can get those off Fluff Swappers. I usually just glance through to see if there is a good deal that I am interested in, and if not, no biggie. I hate paying full price, so I am slightly disappointed in myself for buying my Flips like I did, but they continue to be my go-to workhorse diaper. They last the longest, and hold up the best.

There are lots of variations on the same thing, and it takes trying them out to see what really fits your baby and lifestyle well. Sunbaby diapers have a leg snap as well as a waist snap, which happens to be good for my little chunky thighed baby. I can choose how it fits her leg, and go tighter on her small waist. That's whats so great about Fluff Swappers. You can get one diaper, try it out, if the fit is weird or won't work for you, resell it, and find one that will before you buy hundreds of dollars only to find that the diaper won't fit your baby right.

I didn't talk about AIO or AI2 because I have 1 AIO, and I have only used it twice. Not my favorite by any means, though I know lots of momma's really like them. I really love my covers and inserts, and am happy using my pockets.

Cloth diaper adventures

So, since I first decided to cloth diaper, I have gotten tons of questions. The primary one being "Why would you do that?!" There are many answers to this question, and depending on where you are coming from, different angles to it. I made the choice to cloth diaper for several reasons, in the following order:

Economics-

It is just plain cheaper to cloth diaper a baby than it is to buy disposables. Knowing myself, and my children, I tend to buy more expensive brands of diapers because of sensitive skin issues. Until Bishop was potty training, he wore Huggies. When he was a size 3, I bought him the costco brand for a while...only to realize it is actually cheaper to buy Huggies...and went back to them. So I have never bought the store brand diapers, and I know that I wouldn't this time around either...even though I know better.

Cadence is a couple days shy of 4 months old. Depending on your baby's age, they go through diapers at different frequency's. Cadence is changed every 2 hours usually, unless she is sleeping. So, around 8-10 diapers a day...there abouts. Anyways, the point is, I bought the cloth diapers that we use for the price of about 2 months worth of disposables, and theortically, we would never need to buy diapers again...until she is potty trained. Think about that. Bishop is almost 3 and not fully-all-night-all-nap potty trained. So he uses 2 diapers a day. At 3!! So Cadence has years of diapers in her future. Diapers that are already bought and paid for.

So the economics behind it was the real selling factor for me, especially since I am staying home full time now. There are tons more things I can spend that extra $80 or so a month on.

The second thing, and this may seem silly, is cuteness...I think cloth diapers are so much cuter than disposables. How many disposables do you come across with Hello Kitty, music prints, or flowers on them? I mean, yeah, Mickey is cute...but we are all tired of the baby mickey prints on diapers. Been there, done that...bought the book, got the cd.

So they are all around cheaper and cuter...and third? Better for baby.

This actually might be more important than the cute thing, but that was the order they came to mind. So.

This might seem silly, but having a girl makes me...nervous. I have done the boy stuff. But baby girls...well...they have all different parts. What if I wipe wrong? (That was a big worry from the start) I am a girl. I know how to take care of...things. But its different when it's your baby! What if she gets a yeast infection!! What if....

Anyways, 4 months, and Cadence hasn't even had a diaper rash yet. By this point, Bishop had had thrush (which is a yeast infection for babies) and several diaper rashes, poor little guy. I do use cloth wipes, and make my own wipe solution that uses tea tree oil, which is good for bottoms, and protect against all that fun stuff.

CLOTH WIPES! you say. Indeed. Actually, I like them better than disposable ones. We actually still have disposable wipes around the house, because, well, they are so darn handy to wipe hands, faces...just about whatever. But when I am wiping a cloth diapered bottom, we use cloth wipes. Mainly, they are just so much easier. I take off diaper, wipe bottom, tuck wipe into diaper, toss diaper in pail. On wash day, I make sure all the inserts are out as they go in the wash...and thats it.

Sorry, but handling wipes just used to wipe up poop isn't really high on my favorite things list. And that's basically what was happening, because I would have to put them in a pile next to the diaper to go in the trash. Yuck. Anyways, I will post again about what kind of diapers we are actually using...since there are so many different kinds of cloth :)

The family jam session and crying

Have you ever had the crying hiccups? You know what I mean, the ones where you have sobbed so hard for so long that you can't help it? I am not the one crying here. I have this daughter who believes it is her duty as the female to let us know when she has been slighted. It has only happened twice in her life so far, and tonight was the second time. I was getting her swaddled, and some how scratched her chin with my thumb nail. No big deal, didn't even leave a mark. You would think I attempted to cut her face off with a dull knife by the way she was squealing. I say squealing because initially, she wasn't even crying, just screaming. Which then turning into inconsolable crying...and eventually the hiccups. I got her to sleep, finally, and she is still hiccuping now and then. Hard to call it really cute when she has over reacted...and at such a young age. Makes me wonder what it will be like when she is older and actually, you know, get's hurt. Drama. Queen.

*Sigh* I am often happy we had a boy first. He is so emotionally laid back in comparison. He has taken to fake crying to get attention recently, but that is a whole different issue, and kind of funny. The family jam session was back in full force tonight. Zach, Bishop, and I all had guitars, and were playing. Bishop, as lead, was...uh leading. And singing/growling/fake throwing up. Not sure when that last one started to get cool, but watch out world. You don't know what's coming next. He was singing an improv song, which are always the hardest. It went along these lines

"Daddy...Mommy (while pointing to us)...

play guitar...guitar (pointing to our guitars)

and...(looks around)

Horses....doggie...dinosaur...dinosaur...dinosaur...dinosaur...."

At this point he started jumping up and down while staggering in a few fake throwing up noises. Zach is laying on the floor laughing, and I am trying to look the other way while laughing. So as not to throw off his groove. Pretty responsible parent behavior, actually.

Makes you wish to hang out at the Ivey house nightly doesn't it? That wasn't sarcasm, because, actually, this is where I like to be, too.

Now, off to force him to give me his family photo album and actually go to sleep, not try to army crawl his way back into the living room.

Love my family.

You see everything

As of yesterday, I have been married for 6 years. This anniversary has made me contemplate many things in my life. And, yeah, it's going to get all emotional and gushy momentarily, so now is the time to check out if you aren't interested.

6 years seems to be a pretty long time. According to Zach, we have a lot of catching up to do...in comparison to people who have been married for 50 years. I may have pointed out that we aren't even 50 years old, but apparently that is inconsequential. So 6 years. I try to put it into perspective. For example, I have been married longer than I was in high school. Or...when Bishop turns 3 this year, he will have been here for half our marriage. Things like that. It still doesn't seem possible that I could have been married this long, let alone in a relationship this long. Here is where it gets all kinds of gushy, which is pretty uncommon for me. I truly love my life. I can not imagine being married to someone else. I just can't. I've tried. Or I have considered what I might do if something ever happened to Zach. And I just can't ever see myself getting married again. He is truly a compliment to my personality.

I believe that when you put a couple together, they should make a solid whole. That they each have traits that, when united, make a wonderful unit. Zach has all the things I never thought that my spouse would be. Not in a bad way, clearly, but in a way that I wasn't smart enough to put together on my own. And thank God for that. Because in myself, I wouldn't have been smart enough to marry this wonderful man who has made me a 100% better person.

So, for some reason, this anniversary, I have been more introspective than in past ones to my memory. I just keep coming back to the point that I am so happy to be married to this incredible man that I have been given. We have had some really hard times. Some really happy times. And all the day-in, day-out times in between. And I am still so happy to be married to him.

I really like Alanis Morissette. She has this fairly awesome song that I have listened to several times recently, and it seems even more fitting as I am contemplating loving the same person for the rest of my life. All the in's and out's that go with it. The chorus goes like this:

You see everything, you see every part.

You see all my light, and you love my dark.

You dig everything of which I'm ashamed.

There's not anything to which you can't relate.

And you're still here.

I have this magnet on my fridge somewhere that says "Love is seeing through someone and still enjoying the view" After 6 years, we have seen lots of things in each other that we never knew before we were married for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years. And now, here we are in the 6th year of our marriage. To be honest, I am so excited for this new year together. What it will bring. The new things we will learn together, do together, be together. The hard times, the joyful times. The sheer silly times (which, if you know Zach, are the majority of the times that happen :D ) that make up our life together. What awaits us this year? I look forward to another year with Zach. Here we go!

Missed Connections

It has been a long time since I have really blogged on here. I do occasionally write notes on facebook...but I am not sure that they actually count as a blog. Anyways, I don't have anything profound to talk about today (do I ever?) but something I find interesting. I don't know how craigslist savvy you are, but there is a section of craigslist called Missed Connections.

I reacquainted myself with it last night, while showing it to Zach for the first time. I find this section to be both funny and incredibly sad. It is basically people posting looking for a person that they felt they had connected with for a short moment, and are looking to get to know that person. The one I read last night went something along the lines of a man who was pumping gas and saw a woman (also pumping gas) who he thought was driving a Toyota, and basically to the point that he felt like there was something there...and to contact him to grab a drink.

Now here is my thought on this type of thing. So this guy is searching a some girl who got gas at a Chevron on whatever date. Really, what is the likelihood of someone reading one of these posts and thinking, "Hey, that was me! I remember that guy!!!" Slim. Or the chance that the girl/guy that is being talked about actually realized that there was a 'connection' made? I have (more times than I like to admit) had experiences where I will be at a store or somewhere and later, someone will ask me what I was up to there, and why I didn't say 'Hi' when I saw them. I honestly don't remember seeing that person, even though, according to them, I made eye contact.

It makes me wonder how often people read more into something than what is really there. So you are pumping gas, and let the other person go ahead of you, or hold open a door for someone, something to that point of just being polite- how often is more read into that? I would be willing to bet that a majority of these 'missed connections' are very one sided. How sad is that? Very sad.

And actually, how many posts where there before craigslist decided that this topic needed its own niche? I mean, really? I didn't have any idea this even existed until I was playing on craigslist a while ago and stumbled onto it. Do real people actually read this section, hoping to find someone? I think there might be.

And some of them are slightly funny...or gross, depending on how you look at it. If you have time, go take a look at some of them...they might be about you. How strange would that be?