Our Love Story

Stuff & Things

2009-11-22T11:52:00.007-06:00

No patience to re-organize the pics! This is at a family restaurant and Evelyn ordered her own food with the waitress - chocolate milk and chicken dumpling soup!

Princess Ariel for "Trick or Treat" day!

Evelyn's Dora cake! I couldn't believe we had enough people that this cake was GONE after serving!

Baby Boy at 20 weeks.

WOW - unintended blogging sabbatical. I blame it on a) first trimester exhaustion/sickness b) keeping up with a 2-year-old c) facebook d) busyness/working e) feeling like there is too much to "catch up" on...

So, rather than filling in all the details from the last uhm...4 1/2 months, a few important details instead.

Our family is growing! Baby Boy is due April 5, 2010. We are having a home birth and are super excited about it! The pregnancy is going well so far and once again I am enjoying being pregnant. Goals before baby comes: potty train Evelyn (huge regression occurred with her but now she is getting back on track so to speak with plenty of bribery) and get Evelyn to sleep in her own bed (at least part of the time). Help/advice welcome! :-)

Evelyn turned two on August 29th. She is a great talker and singer! She says things like "I want a really good sandwich." And, "I really don't like that." "Hmmmm..." before she answers a question and many other adorable things that my pregnant brain can't recall! We are amazed by how many songs she knows! Every night before she falls asleep I have to sing "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. She loves her mermaids! She knows the whole song too, although some of the words are a little hard to make out! But, "Jesus Loves Me," "Whole World in His Hands," and other kid standards are as clear as a bell. She is really into helping me cook lately, loves to play outside, "read" herself books, play with her new Discovery Toys marble toy, tell us about Dora episodes, and watch movies of herself on the computer. She is a great joy!

Punkerdoops Diapers is growing every week! I had a couple of slower months, but my selection is growing and new customers are continuing to come out of the woodwork. I feel good that I am spreading the cloth diapering and baby carrying love across our local area! Jason keeps making my store/shoppe room look better and better! He just turned the closet in the shoppe room into more display shelves and added a light. It looks great and allows for way more products to be displayed - thanks, Babe!

I have also neglected reading blogs...so I apologize that I don't know much of what is going on in my bloggy friends' lives!

I will try to be better at posting!!!

My Rainy Day Saturday Beer Sample Story

2009-06-11T02:55:00.004-05:00

So, this is WAY funnier in person I am sure. But, here goes some of the highlights!

Saturday was a rainy day and we didn't have plans. My dear friend Meghan called to say she was in town! Woo hoo! Hadn't seen her in almost 2 years! We decided to meet her and her hubby at a local brewery for a tour.

Tour was fine, didn't hear much as I was running after the toddler. After the tour you get 2 tickets for sample beers. I never drink. Seriously, like never. I love to feel IN CONTROL of things, and drinking makes me feel out of control and anxious. And, I'd rather spend the calories on chocolate of some sort.

So, there is me drinking my tiny sample beer. It was good. Tasty. I liked it. My empty stomach however didn't. I immediately felt totally buzzed! I felt like I was even slurring my speech for crying out loud! Jason and our friends were totally laughing at me as no normal person gets buzzed off of like 5 ounces of beer!

Simultaneously Evelyn was chugging down two sample glasses of rootbeer and so she proceeded to run around on a sugar high only stopping to poop. I realized I had the diaper and wet bag with me, but only a half of a wipe and a restaurant wet-nap. Nice. Her um, blueberry habit has made poopy diapers really fun lately... So, I knew I was in for some fun. Imagine me, buzzed with 1/2 a wipe and a wet nap changing that diaper. It was fun. Luckily Meg escorted me to the bathroom and supplied me with wet paper towels. Poor Evelyn. I am sure she was wondering why I was giving her the slowest diaper change and why I giggled the whole time!

Famished and buzzed we headed to a Mexican restaurant to treat ourselves. I made quite the entrance wrestling with my broken umbrella (half of the fabric had come off the metal plus is had blown inside out and I couldn't collapse it). I got a few laughs from customers. I mowed down chips and Jason orders, guess what? ANOTHER rootbeer to share with Evelyn! She was literally jumping on the booth seat like a trampoline while I sat there wishing I had never drank my one sample beer. The food was horrid, but the memories are priceless.

Maybe you had to be there! :-)

The only pics that got downloaded to this computer...

2009-06-11T02:44:00.003-05:00

The cousins. Evelyn was stuffing tons of popcorn in Sophia's mouth - it was hilarious because she just kept taking it!

My little goofball in the tub!

We started our first garden! Memorial day we went to a local nursery and bought some starter plants and seeds to grow our own vegetables. In retrospect, for the money we invested we could have bought an awful lot of veggies from the farmer's market. But, those don't come with all the fun and memories, right?!? Jason built the planter box in the back and it has: tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, onions, radishes, carrots, lettuce, and cilantro. I didn't calculate correctly and we bought WAY too many plants. So, I planted more peppers (we have peppers of every variety coming out of our ears :-), tomatoes, and the italian parsley up front. We'll have to post pictures - things are growing well! Of course it is the most fun to see the things we planted as seeds sprouting!!! I am probably most excited about the raspberry bush we planted in the front. I hope it survives the crummy soil up there... Notice the gloves! I don't like dirty fingernails! :-)

At the nursery telling us that the flowers are "pur-pul." Oh, and she is sporting her first ponytail!

Evelyn is totally into it! She was FILTHY by the end of the day!

Stuff and Things

2009-05-20T23:47:00.006-05:00

A little of what we've been up to - Out of order...too lazy and too late to care! :-) Trinity and Summer at the end of their tap dance last weekend. I love to see them get better every year. Great job, girls! Autumn did some great lyrical too, but the camera was out of memory. Go figure!

Auntie Hannah and a very tired Evelyn after Hannah's recital. Two recitals down, one to go. I love dance recital season! Hannah's legs on pointe - holy moley - she is gorgeous!

Evelyn got mama's love of the stage. She couldn't get enough of being up there during intermission!

Evelyn's new hero and obsession - DORA! She saw it once on TV and was enamoured. She knows all the characters already and it is so sweet when she says "D-d-d-da-Dora." Melts me every time! I have almost bought her a backpack twice now but resisted the temptation. Our free cable upgrade disappeared this week so no more Dora on tv. Good thing Family Video and the library will keep us busy for a while with new episodes on DVD. She gets one movie a day. She would watch at least 5 if we let her!!! I was happy to find a little Dora figurine set at a garage sale for $2.50 - score! It is a little pool and greenhouse and she loves them! This pic is at the Mall of America. We took an impromptu trip there last Saturday as it was so cold and windy that I chose not to participate in an outdoor kid's fair for the business. We were on the border and figured why not make a date out of it. If Evelyn wasn't quite so tired it would have been even more fun.

Evelyn's other current interest - stairs. This ramp at the 2nd dance recital led to a set of them. She has "stair detection" and can sense them whenever we walk into a new place. She gives me a mild heart attack every time she approaches them as with everything these days, stairs are in her "self" category. She's going a little unconventional on me and instead of "me" she tells me all day "SELF! SELF!"

Summer and Trinity dancin' it up!

Evelyn is into wearing these boots now. She is still a shoe fanatic. My shoes are still her favorites followed by a close second of her dress shoes that are a size too big (for "tapping") and these boots now. I think the boots tie in with the Dora obsession.

First toenail painting! So adorable!!! She picked pink - just like in the book "Pinkalicious." You should hear her say "Pinkalicious" - it is so precious!

Chillin' before Auntie Hannah's recital. Some big girls were sitting on this ledge so of course she had to too!

Evelyn's first set of wheels. She told me she was driving to the park today when I asked her where she was going.

Let's see, what else? I want to post Easter pics still but I am not on the computer that they are on. We got a laptop!!! Wow, I had no idea how cool it would be to have one! I look forward to doing Punkerdoops Diapers transactions through my website so that I won't have to hand write tickets anymore and take out the inventory from the online store. Just need to do a few more "tweaks" to the cart system to handle the in-store purchases.

We'll leave it at that for now!

Earth Day

2009-05-20T23:39:00.005-05:00

Auntie Sarah came for two visits in the last couple of weeks. We had a ton of fun with her! It was fun to hang out on a "non-holiday" and just do some life together. Thanks for coming, Sarah! She posted a video of one of the visits on her blog. But, here are some of the pics she took while she was here the first time on Earth Day.

Yep, Evelyn is working on her computer skills already!

I was stuck in a tent all day talking about diapers. :-)

She must have felt the Earth Day "love" in the air! No one told her to do this I hear!!!

We're Still Alive

2009-04-26T22:48:00.005-05:00

I am going to just keep it short rather than try to post 2+ months of happenings into one post!

I have kind of run out of steam it seems! My business, Punkerdoops Diapers, is flourishing. This is a great thing for the business, but kind of puts a damper on "other" things. The little computer time I do get, I end up doing all "work." I keep telling myself that once I get my website totally where I want it and I have all of the products and inventory I want, that things will be less busy. But, I am guessing that business will just keep getting more and more of my time... Just what have I gotten myself into!?! It is nice to have something to put my brain power into - the business has reawakened my brain I think! I also enjoy meeting all sorts of new moms and encouraging them to not only cloth diaper, but also breastfeed, babywear, and attachment parent. I try to shine the love of the Lord too and sure hope that people see something "different" in me.

Jason and I also admit that with joining facebook and the popularity of it, we have tended to check that out versus blogs...

But, I want to get back on the blog bandwagon and even start a Punkerdoops Diapers blog, too! One of the many, many things on the to-do list.

My lack of blogging also enduces guilt as it was kind of my way of documenting Evelyn and what she is up to! Kind of my baby book as you will!

Evelyn lately:

Singing: she does very well with singing. Her favorite is to scrunch up her nose and close her eyes and sing loudly "Ah-WAYYYYYYY!!!!" I am not sure what song that it, but it sure is cute! She also likes to chime in on lots of songs like "Jesus Loves Me" and "Twinkle, Twinkle."
Talking A TON!: She is talking in a lot of short sentences and especially likes to announce what she does - "I sit." "I dance." "I jump!" It is awesome and amazing to see her blossom! My mom watched her the other day while I went to a conference and she said that she could understand almost everything she said - nice that it is not just me and Jason that can understand her!
Jumping: Evelyn loves to jump with 2 feet off the ground. On the bed. In the grass. On the carpet. While she holds our hands. On hopscotch sqaures. In the baby Johnny Jump Up even!

Bubbles: We must blow them at least 4 times per day. She insists on holding the bubble wand now too. Messy. At least it us just bubbles!

The alphabet: About 2 months ago it started with her repeating each letter after I said it. Then, it was her saying the next letter after I said one. Now, it is her saying almost the whole thing without prompts. She can also tell you almost every letter when you show her one. Jason is convinced it is all of the Wheel of Fortune she watched as a baby. :-)

Repetition: We do everything a billion times. Ring around the rosie. Songs. Finger plays. Puzzles. Practice makes perfect, right? We also talk about the same stories over and over. Our trip to see lambs and chicks is sure a favorite.

Dancing: Especially "tapping." She has dress shoes that have a little heel that are too big that she wears around the house and "taps" with on the floor. A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

Climbing: She loves to be outside (I am learning to like being out there more too) and loves to climb up the playset in the back (It is at least 6 feet up - gives me a heart attack) and go down the slide. Another thing that is repeated over and over.

Going potty: She goes pretty consistently in the morning and after nap. I need to discipline myself to get her trained all the way before she is no longer "eager to please" and lured by pee pee treats (aka marshmallows and jelly beans).
Being just so darn cute: I didn't know she could get cuter, but she does with age!

Well, I think I will head to bed! I will try to post more often so that it is not so overwhelming!

Oh, and as I bet many of your curious minds want to know, I am not pregnant yet. I know you all are wondering. I know I always wonder as soon as my friends' kids turn one. The wondering begins. We'll announce it. I promise. Hopefully soon! :-)

I realize that I also need to a)take more pictures b)download the millions that must be on the camera c)it is still hard to get decent pics of my busy toddler!

Randomosity and a Talking Toddler

2009-02-16T23:45:00.004-06:00

Hammin it up! I need to take more pictures..pretty dismal selection from the past two weeks!

It finally warmed up enough to let Evelyn play in the snow. She liked it a lot. She doesn't have snow boots and I can't get myself to cough up $15 for a pair to wear a few times. She got really dirty and I had a hard time with it but kept telling myself that everything is washable!

I have been CRAZY BUSY with Punkerdoops Diapers. A really great thing for the business, a not so great thing for blogging! I need to catch up on 2 weeks of all of my dear blogging friends' blogs!

Punkerdoops received an awesome article in the local paper - a feature story in the Lifestyles section. It brought in a lot of customers and I am truly, truly thankful. If only I could get free advertising like that every week! :-) I have a few other marketing things coming up and I am hoping that word of mouth about how great cloth diapering is starts to get around in the community!

Evelyn is talking like crazy but is also in some weird funk where she cannot settle down to get to sleep at night and whines and says "NO" a lot... She is more determined than ever to get her way, but unfortunately Jason and I only understand about 27% of the words that come out of her mouth. The rest is in Evelyn-ish...far from English. She did manage to repeat "Gosh" over and over just like Daddy after he exclaimed it tonight in frustration. Our little repeater! Another favorite word is "strawberry" which sounds a lot like "strawberry" now - a few days ago we thought she had an imaginary friend named "Debby" that she talked a lot about while in her highchair. It all makes sense now.

Evelyn prefers to mostly eat various forms of "dips" lately instead of any real food. This consists of a lot of ranch and sour cream with some spatterings of ketchup, mustard, honey, and even Louisiana hot sauce. We found she eats best and the most when we go to Sam's Club for Sunday afternoon samples. She won't eat at home, but she'll chow down there. Her favorites are rotissere chicken and Cup-o-Noodles. Nice...

Another blog-worthy laughable moment was last week when we decided to be all spontaneous and leave the house ON A WEEKNIGHT. Yep, we never go anywhere on weeknights. Anyhow, we wanted a popcorn maker where it is a metal pan that has a turn crank handle that moves around the seeds. We heard that they sold them at a local store called "Farm and Fleet." Well, we had a gift card for $25 to a store called "Fleet Farm" where the closest store is a 30 minute drive away. (I am not making this up. The stores have different names but are like exactly the same store minus the name. Apparently it is due to some brothers fighting as they started a chain of stores!) So, rather than getting our stuff from a store 15 minutes away, we drove to the location that would take our gift card. We got up to pay and found out that the gift card was only for 38 cents. We must have used the rest of it a long time ago and had forgotten about it... So, we drove a half an hour to spend a 38 cent gift card. It was a nice memory though. Evelyn loves to run around in stores and she liked sitting on the big lawn mowers. Oh, and to top it off, we got gas at the attached gas station to the store before we did our shopping and when we checked out we were given a 4 cents off per gallon coupon! :-)

So, there you go, some randomosity and Evelyn cute-ness!

Target Redeems Themselves

2009-02-03T00:35:00.002-06:00

This story over at Adventures in Babywearing totally redeems Target's horrible return policy. I know that I have complained about them, but taking back USED PREGNANCY TESTS shows that they are indeed worthy of my patronage! Steph is a great writer and has adorable kiddos - another great post from her!

Pretender

2009-01-26T17:06:00.003-06:00

I was just doing dishes and Evelyn came up and grabbed the drawstrings on my lounge pants. She was happy and seemed to be dancing to the music from the kitchen radio while holding onto the strings. I looked down to get a better glimpse and saw she had the ends of each draw string in her ears and was singing and dancing. My girl was pretending she had an iPod! She knows what an iPod is from her daddy and her auntie who let her listen to their iPods. Proud mama to a good pretender!

Randomosity

2009-01-25T23:25:00.004-06:00

Whoops, I haven't blogged for 3 weeks! Jason did the last post with the videos - some goodies for the grandmas! So, here I am, full of randomosity to throw your way!

I have been keeping nice and busy with a myriad of things; thus, I have neglected both blogging and reading blogs. I have been attempting over the weekend to catch up on y'all's archives, but I have been naughty and have not commented to anyone! Sorry - still love all of you! Part of it was that Jason has the Google account and he changed the password and I didn't feel like looking for it...so, I didn't log in and didn't comment!

A random assortment of information that is either swirling in my head or something we've done lately that I want to share!:

-I could cry at how big Evelyn is getting! What a joy it is to watch her grow and learn! She is working on shaking her head correctly to "yes" and "no" this weekend and she has mastered pretty much every body part including cheeks, knees, and elbows (which apparently my little brother didn't know his elbows until preschool...hmmm :-) I was looking at pictures on our computer and she just looks SO big in them. My baby is growing up too fast!

-Jason painted the living room while I was in MN. It turned out great and I am so appreciative for the hard work that he put in every night while we were gone. I have been working on finding curtains for the past two weeks and finally settled on some. The bonus is that they were on clearance! Woo hoo! I intended on getting these to kind of throw a funky twist in the room, but they were sold out because they had gone on clearance too. I think it is odd that online they are still full price. Oh well, the swirls of polka dots are felt-y and give a nice texture and some modern appeal (and can I say it again - clearance). After I have pictures printed for two frames and hang them, the room will be officially done and maybe we'll even post some pics!

-Speaking of curtains and painting, I found some curtains on clearance for our room too. I have always wanted silver curtains for our room to go with the silver hardware on our furniture and the shades on our lamps. I found some silver-ish gray ones that will work. I know I have complained about Target, but 50% clearances make up for their horrid return policy! :-) We hung them this weekend and I must say, curtains really make a room and complete it. We are going to paint at least two of the walls a rich orange color. Can't wait! Next weekend Jason is painting the entry way a mocha color and our room is up after that. Painting each room just makes the house "ours" even more. I love that feeling.

-I just got a good laugh going through our pics - without realizing it, I wore the same shirt every time I had my picture taken in November and December! Thanksgiving, Advent reading at church followed by an attempt to take a family picture, and Christmas. It is kind of hilarious as you go through the pic archives. I must really like that shirt! I have found myself with a closet full of work attire that is collecting dust, a bunch of zip-up sweatshirts and fleeces for everyday, and about 3 shirts that I wear to get more dressed up. That will just have to do for now! Good thing I was with different people at all three of those occasions, right? :-)

-I am really cold right now. The utility company estimated our bill WAY too low last month. So, we should've known something was up and budgeted accordingly, but instead are stuck with a bill 4 times the amount of last month because they read our meter finally and realized they undercharged us. Jason turned the heat down to 65 starting at 10:30 now instead of 12:30 a.m. Late night blogging and emailing will be cold events! I am not sure if I can feel my feet anymore...hopefully my fingers won't freeze to the keyboard. My hands, toes, and nose are always cold already.

-Punkerdoops Diapers is getting some awesome free promotion in a week! I contacted the local paper again a couple of weeks ago and this time they were takers for a story on cloth diapering! A reporter and photographer were out last week for a good hour interviewing me and getting some great shots. The story is going to be the cover of the Lifestyles section in next Sunday's paper. I am thrilled and hope this will be the start of a bunch of new business! I also wrote an article on Modern Cloth Diapering 101 that will be in another local publication and a local woman's paper/magazine is doing a story on me/Punkerdoops in their April "green" issue. I am so thrilled that the word is going to get out there! Thanks again to all of you for your support and prayers as I try to get this business going!

-Tax time...I am trying to decide what to do about taxes this year. I did my own Excel spreadsheet accounting thing for Punkerdoops this year and so I sure hope it will work for filing taxes. Between starting a business where expenses grossly outweighed revenues, selling a house and buying another, and Jason commuting for 5 months (which I hear is a tax deduction...), I am not sure how to go about taxes. We can't afford an accountant and I am trying to decide if going with a tax prep service like H&R is any better than what I have been doing the last several years at taxact.com. Any feedback? I am kind of avoiding this but know I need to make decisions soon. I also should look into QuickBooks too probably. Just another expense I don't want to incur.

-We bought a potty chair today! I am not getting it out for another month or so. Myself and several of my sisters were potty-trained around 18 months and Evelyn will be 17 months in a few days. I plan to take the next month to research the whole thing a bit before we jump into things. I know I need to be home all week the week I do it and that's about it as far as my knowledge goes!

I think I will leave you with that! Happy Monday, all!

Yep, she already can walk in heels!

One of my favorite recent pics!

Look at those curls! She is eating frozen peas - cutting tooth #8!

We play a lot of dress-up! Jason thinks she looks like a gnome in her cone princess hat.

I find she is in pj's when I take a lot of photos...anywho, notice the shoes again! My little girlie girl!

Evelyn is our little dancer!

2009-01-11T22:33:00.001-06:00

Since Evelyn has a mommy who loves dance as well as 2 grandmas who teach it...it only makes sense that she starts learning at such a young age!

2009-01-11T22:13:00.002-06:00

We bought Evelyn a new toy and she loves it! Hopefully this doesn't mean she'll want a real one eventually...(Sorry for the poor video quality)

To Evelyn's Grandmother's House We Go

2009-01-05T00:07:00.003-06:00

Opening a gift at Gma and Gpa B's house Christmas morning. She loved her cousins!

Family pic after the Christmas Eve service. None of them turned out. Evelyn looks like she is about to fall asleep!

Before we saw Santa the week before Christmas. Evelyn was not a fan of his!

About the best pic I have of her lately...she is so hard to photograph as she is constantly on the go!

Evelyn and I are leaving for the week to stay at my mom and step-dad's house while they are in Aruba. I will be helping my next eldest sister (I am the oldest of 8 kids if you didn't know) cook, clean, shuttle to school, dance, scouts, etc, and generally keep the peace in the house. This task is overwhelming and even though there are two of us, we have some big shoes to fill. I am kind of an orderly gal who likes her peace and quiet and hour of TV at night...needless to say, I will be thrust out of my comfortable home environment.

But, I will try to check in on y'all through the week.

On another note, we are all feeling quite well - praise the Lord! I really do think it was all of your prayers for health that finally did it! And, all of the lounging that we did over the past week helped too I am sure! I am second-guessing my diagnosis of Thrush for Evelyn. I am still treating both of us with acidopholus, but I think that she maybe just has a nasty buildup of milk on her tongue. She had some cheddar Chex mix the other day and the patch of white at the back of her tongue turned orange...that, combined with the fact that no new spots have appeared, leads me to believe that we might just have some gross old milk on our hands. Nice, huh? She will not let me brush it either that little stinker!

I wish that we had a plethora of great photos to share from Christmas. I will leave you with just a few. We shared our Christmas Eve and Day with Jason's family. We then celebrated last Sunday with a day trip to my mom's house. Both were very nice time and Evelyn was blessed with an abundance of new toys. When I upload more pictures off of our camera I can share a few. My dad and step-mom gave us our gifts at Thanksgiving and we opened them at home as my step-mom and sister were dancing in the Outback Bowl and were not around! They had a nice time!

Enough of the rambling - I am off to bed! Take care, all!

Crud & Thrush

2008-12-29T23:03:00.003-06:00

We have all been under-the-weather for a while. Evelyn started us off with an ear infection in early December and then Jason and I have had progressive random virus things that are spiraling into other things. We have had massive sore throats, swollen glands, goop coming out of eyes, and phlegm up the wazoo. I was really in pain from my glands being so swollen and was annoyed that swallowing was so painful so I went to the doctor on Friday assuming that if I didn't, I would end up in urgent care over the weekend because my sinuses would be totally infected or I had Strep somehow despite my 6th grade tonsillectomy.

Mrs. Doctor was "on the fence" about giving me an antibiotic, but since I had been sick for so long, she gave me an Rx for 5-day Zithromax. I know I have taken WAY too many prescriptions in my lifetime already and probably should not have gone in to get this one because lo and behold, I have taken 4 days and even though I think it took the edge off of my sickness, I am coughing now (yay), my throat still hurts, and now I think Evelyn has Thrush in her mouth from the antibiotic. Nice. And, since she's been sick the whole month I have been letting her nurse more and it has become a favorite pastime of hers to just want to sit and nurse. So, since Thrush sounds like a doozy to get rid of, I am wondering when I will get it on my ni**les (don't want my blog coming up on naughty Google searches!)

So, instead of a lovely Christmas wrap-up, I am asking my faithful bloggy friends to let me know any secrets you have to:
1) Dealing with Thrush (we both had some chewable acidopholus tonight and I am considering getting powder to make into a paste for E's mouth. Anyone tried the dr prescribed cure? I might get that soon is the acidopholus doesn't do the trick right away).

2) How to keep kids healthy and off of antibiotics? Evelyn has been on them three times already in her 16 months for ear infections (too much already in my opinion.) And, I am the queen of hand sanitizer already! :-)

4 Years of Wedded Bliss

2008-12-18T23:51:00.004-06:00

Happy Anniversary, my Love!

You are already in bed, but for 10 minutes it is still our anniversary and I wanted to shout out at the top of the bloggy world how much I love you and am so blessed to be your wife! I will save the rest of the mushy stuff just for us - I said a lot of it in your card! But, I truly adore being your wife and I am so proud to call you my husband. I do hope and pray that I can always make you happy and that I enrich your life and fulfill my role as a help-mate to you.

I would say we had a great anniversary, wouldn't you?

Brittany was gracious and watched Evelyn last night so that we could go on a date (our whopping 3rd since she was born! :) Evelyn did great away from us and we enjoyed a HOT and a bit fancy-shmancy meal simultaneously and engaged in great conversation. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights on our way home - just like we did on the way to our wedding reception. Such great memories!

I loved your card to me and will always treasure exchanging cards as it is a time when we both sit and write a love note to each other - those words are always so tender and great reminders of how much we love each other and what we appreciate in the other person. I loved sharing bowls of Kemp's Candy Cane ice cream as we watched parts of our wedding DVD (oh-so-glad we have that) and talked about how great that day was, but about how the adventure of doing life together is even better than that one day in our past.

I love you SO much, Jason! Happy Anniversary!

Love your wifey who adores you,
Amber
p.s. Don't be surprised if I break out my wedding day tiara sometime soon - seeing myself in it makes me feel like getting my "princess on" someday soon!

BFF's

2008-12-14T00:12:00.004-06:00

My sister Brittany and her daughter Sophia have been staying with us for a little while. It has been fun to have the company during the day and the girls LOVE having each other to play with! Sophia is almost 1 - the girls are one day shy of exactly 4 months apart. But, Sophia is already a great little walker, so they keep up with each other just fine. It is simply hilarious and so sweet to see them play - they'll talk baby talk to each other and will chase each other around the house. They do everything together now including snacking, bathing, and walking into dark rooms together on little adventures. Evelyn calls Sophia "Baby" and her favorite things are gently stroking the top of Sophia's head and trying to pick her up while saying "Up! Up!" They are also feeling comfortable enough with each other to play tug-of-war with toys or snatch things out of each other's hands...Jason said he's gotten a few glimpses of what it will be like some day when we have more than one child!

It has been so precious to watch these two playing and growing in their friendship! I just know they'll be Best Friends Forever! (And, I am hoping that also elevates me to Sophia's favorite Auntie too since I'll be her BFF's Mommy!)

She Takes Her Oral Hygiene Seriously

2008-12-09T23:46:00.004-06:00

Apparently Evelyn hadn't flossed recently enough because on Sunday she was sitting on my lap when I felt a "plop" and realized it was the button off of my sweater. Evelyn had pulled the string all the way off and was flossing her teeth with it. This is me pretending to have a "stern" face while she continued to floss away!

Meme

2008-11-26T13:59:00.003-06:00

I should be packing for our trip, but I am holding sleeping Evelyn, so I will do Madeline's meme instead! Tag - anyone who reads is welcome to do this too - you're it! Let me know if join in!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My mom liked some movie called Forever Amber. Still have yet to see it! Her middle name is Elizabeth, so is mine and Evelyn's!
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Hmmm..I am surprised to say that I can't remember. Oh, now I do. Sunday at church listening to a man with Parkinson's talk about how much he loves the Lord and he cried and then I did.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not really. I wish mine was like my sister Brittany's instead.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd like to think so!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Less than I used to. Evelyn doesn't get sarcasm yet!
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope. Out in 5th grade after lots of Strep and Mono too. Not fun!
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Maybe...
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Quaker Toasted Oat Squares
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Sometimes.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? After pushing out a backwards baby with no drugs, yes. :-) I guess I'd like to think so.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Dairy Queen softserve.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? If they are friendly or not.
15. RED OR PINK? Both - my fav colors.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My insecurities. (copied Madeline's answer!)
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Grandma Jan
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? It would be fun, so sure!
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? None. No shoes allowed in the house.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Yogurt and banana bread. My typical morning breakfast.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Evelyn breathing and keys typing.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Hot pink?
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Pumpkin spice, baby's heads, Jason's cologne, chocolate, and the list goes on.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? A lady at the ospital denying me to promote Punkerdoops at the maternity classes.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes - a new bloggy friend!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Dance.
27. HAIR COLOR? Brown highlighted with blonde (way overdue for a highlight job might I add).
28. EYE COLOR? Brown.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yeppers.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings for sure.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Kit Kittredge, An American Girl.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Neither - spring and fall.
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both.
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Anything with chocolate or ice cream or bars or brownies or soft cookies...
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably no one! I rarely do these things myself!
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? See above.
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Sunrise I think - Karen Kingsbury's first book in the most recent series. It takes me forever to read books these days.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? The word "Dell."
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Ace of Cakes
42. FAVORITE SOUND. Anything that comes out of Evelyn's mouth!
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? England.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Depends who you ask! Evelyn thinks I am a good milk maker!
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Minnesota

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Alphabet Soup

2008-11-23T15:32:00.004-06:00

I have a fondness for language - especially things like onomatopoeia, homonyms, and the like.

Evelyn has the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnets and she loves them! One day, we tried to make the longest word that we could without repeating a letter. I came up with "flamingos." Not bad, but of course I had to look up the real longest letter with no repetition. This is what I found on a language web community forums:

"I found 38,000+ words with no letter repetition; the longest were.. dermatoglyphics (15), uncopyrightable (15) This was from an indexed dictionary of 'normal / regular' words.

Here's the top lot! 15,"dermatoglyphics" 15,"uncopyrightable" 14,"troublemakings" 14,"dermatoglyphic" 14,"ambidextrously" 13,"documentarily" 13,"consumptively" 13,"copyrightable" 13,"endolymphatic" 13,"flowchartings" 13,"hydromagnetic" 13,"lycanthropies" 13,"troublemaking" 13,"unpredictably" 13,"unproblematic" 13,"subordinately" 13,"metalworkings" 13,"multibranched"

Pretty fun, huh?!?

This and That

2008-11-21T15:53:00.003-06:00

It's cold and it's beginning to look and feel like Christmas! Christmas always has been my favorite time of year! I look forward to putting the tree up next weekend. I know it will be one more thing to keep Evelyn testing us, but I just love sitting in the glow of Christmas tree lights.

I did some Christmas shopping on Wednesday - Macy's had a great sale. We have a lot of people in our family to buy for - we have 21 IMMEDIATE family members - that is just parents, siblings, and the 4 nieces/nephews (no grandparents included - there are 11 grandparents.) Personally, I would rather skip presents and do just birthday presents throughout the year. Less pressure. Hard to focus on the meaning of Christmas when you're trying to buy gifts on a budget that aren't junk for people who complain they have too much stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love to give and totally understand the joy of giving. But, we all promise to scale back every Christmas and I feel like we do, but then everyone else doesn't, and then I just feel guilty when I realize people spent WAY more than we did. Hope I am not offending too many people with that paragraph... And, who do you buy for? Where do you draw the line? Do you reciprocate with a gift for everyone who gets you something? I have generous aunts and uncles that give to me - do I need to give back?
-------------------------
Punkerdoops Diapers is going well thanks to supportive family and friends. I have yet to drum up any business outside of family and friends, but hopeful that day will be sooner than later. I went to a business networking breakfast yesterday. I know that I need to have word-of-mouth advertising, but the dues are more than I can afford right now. I will have to stick to my current marketing plan which includes distributing fliers at local natural businesses and clinics, and handing out cards to pregnant women and people with babies. Evelyn is a cute little buffer and I think she helps from too many strangers being freaked out when I approach them in stores or at the library to hand them a card.

I also want to try to get the chance to talk at the hospital's Lamaze/birthing classes and fliers at a local birthing center. I also hope to contact the local paper and check out advertising in some local publications. I contacted the local farmer's market about having a booth, but have not heard back yet. The marketing budget is low. And when I say low, I mean really low! I want to drum up business, but I also need to buy stock so people have choices. Advertise to attract customers with my resources, or buy stock to give customers more choices? Decisions, decisions... Did I mention lately that I take forever to make decisions?

I am thankful for the business I have received and for how supportive Jason has been. He sat and cut and adhered tiny stickers with the web address onto 100 business cards in prep for the networking breakfast. What a guy! And, he built me a beautiful shelf and table with storage to display items in my "shop" room. I just sewed up the curtains that hide the storage area - I'll have to post a pic - it turned nicely. I am also proud of how much I have accomplished since starting the business in less than two months. God is great and He has blessed me abundantly. I keep going to Him for wisdom regarding all of the decisions and He is faithful to answer. The Word says He freely gives the gift of wisdom to those who ask! Thank goodness, because I sure ask for wisdom a lot!
----------------------------------
Speaking of the Word. I have never loved a Bible study as much as I love Beth Moore's study on Daniel that I am doing! I am sad to only have one week left. The study is on Friday mornings and is full of many neat women - two my age, the rest older mentoring age. Here comes another decision - should I stay in this study group? I love the women, but have issues with the childcare. Evelyn has never liked the nursery much, but has become so frightened of it that she screams and clings for dear life at me setting foot in the door, let alone setting her down. The ladies love her, but I know she is distracting to the other ladies when she fusses. She likes to run around the room - basically run out of the room, which I don't let her, and then the crying begins. I like to think that the ladies are just glad that I am there and that my desire to learn the Word outweighs Evelyn as a distraction. This is how they make me feel. But, I still worry that they are all secretly annoyed! The same issue is affecting our couple's study that we are in on Sunday nights. We want to be in Bible studies, but we also don't want Evelyn to scream for an hour - I can hear the screaming and I can't concentrate on anything else.

I know some of you think I need to just let her get used to it and deal with that she'll be fine. I just can't do it. She doesn't cry on and off or just whimper. She screams bloody murder. Non-stop. Barely breathes. Face turns purple. All-out rage, horror, and terror in her face. I have gone 15 minutes. That is my limit. It is just not worth it. Anyhow, I am thinking about doing a night study, but that cuts into family time. Also considering a study at my house, but I do like the women I am getting to know and will miss dialogues with them. We'll see...maybe Evelyn will have grown out of her separation anxiety issues by January when it starts again?... Lately, Daddy can't even keep her happy for long. Not even long enough for me to run and get the take-out pizza on a Friday night long. She wanders around the house from room to room looking for me saying "Mama! Mama?" Breaks my heart just thinking about it. Her little bottom-lip-pout melts me.

All of this paired with the whole phenomena of "how many things/studies/choirs/committees can I join before I no longer am helpful in any of the roles because I am spread too thin" has me at a point of making lots of decisions.
-------------------------------------------
In attempts to stop the rambling, I leave with two of my favorite Mommy tips. I have been meaning to do them as "Works For Me Wednesday," but who knows when I will do it. But, the tips are worthy - here I go!

1) Baby hair washing. My friend Tessa showed me how she dumped a bucket of water over her daughter's head to rinse her hair in the tub. She told me to brace myself before she did it as some people think it is cruel. I kind of thought it was until I really thought about it and saw her do it. Her daughter totally didn't care and Tessa explained how nice it was that there were no tears at bath time due to getting water in her daughter's eyes. As soon as Evelyn could sit up, dumping water over her head with a cup to rinse tear-free shampoo was implemented. She does great with it! She sometimes gets a little in her mouth and it takes her breath away, but she kind of likes it I think! She has never cried at hair washing time. I was inspired to share this after another bloggy mom showed an adorable pic of her son cuddling after getting his hair washed. He did not like it!

2) What to do with baby while you do your make-up? Put her in the bathroom sink! I set Evelyn on a towel in the sink while I do my make-up. She likes looking in the mirror and playing with the make-up - great practice taking on and off little caps and the like. And, I can totally watch her while I am getting ready.
--------------------------
Have a phenomenal weekend everybody and stay warm! Do lots of cuddling with your favorite people! Mine are playing in the other room!

The Wonderful World of the redbox

2008-11-15T00:34:00.004-06:00

Tonight we rented our first movie from redbox located at our local grocery store. It was nice to get eggs and lettuce and the movie at the same time. And, a new release for only $1 - unheard of!

I had seen redbox kiosks in bigger cities before and then saw one when we moved here. Sarah is also a huge redbox lover and says she gets emails for free movies on weekdays a lot too! Nice bonus!

I also followed a link on their site before I went that gave me a code for a free rental (of course I forgot to enter the code, but oh well! :-) You can reserve movies online to make sure you get what you want and movies aren't due back until the next day by 9 p.m. We can totally swing that.

So, we enjoyed Ben Stein's "Expelled" documentary tonight courtesy of redbox. Good movie. I am personally a huge Ben Stein fan and have been since high school when I used to stay up way too late to watch "Win Ben Stein's Money." I miss that show. If Ben Stein ran for president, he'd sure get my vote! He is just a really rational, uber-intelligent, and thoughtful man.

Check out "Expelled" and check out redbox! And, of course, have a super-de-duper weekend!!!! (Yep, super-de-duper, a Barney-exclusive word, is in my vocab now. Evelyn has been wanting to watch Barney at least once a day for the last 10 days ever since we watched him on a long car trip midweek last week. She even threw a Barney DVD case into the shower when after showing the case to me and pointing and saying "ah, ah" I didn't immediately jump out of the shower to put it on for her. And I always said my kids would never watch Barney....)

Shoe Fetish

2008-11-11T11:08:00.001-06:00

She's the only one allowed to wear shoes in the house! :-)

International Babywearing Week!

2008-11-10T23:12:00.006-06:00

Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing is having a special blogging week to celebrate babywearing. In celebration with International Babywearing week she has teamed up with Nonny & Boo for a contest to win a free sling!

Steph wants us to share a babywearing picture and our favorite things about babywearing.

So, here I go!

Evelyn was a baby who never wanted to be put down (well, I never really wanted to put her down either!) So, I had to come up with a way to still get things done (like eat and do laundry). So, I started babywearing! I started by using a sling from Target. Not so good... I moved onto the Baby Bjorn which was truly a lifesaver. I wore that thing at least once a day for months and would not go anywhere without it. I loved how close I could hold Evelyn but still get things done. I loved how she would fall asleep every time I would blowdry my hair while she was in there.

The problem came when she got a little older and heavier. The Baby Bjorn was really hard on my back and shoulders. I bought a Peanut Shell sling off of eBay but never really got the hang of it. I hope I can use it more when we have another baby - it is super cute! :-) This was actually about the time when I started reading Steph's blog - when I officially declared I was a Babywearer too!

The best thing that ever happened to me in terms of my babywearing was being introduced to the ERGObaby Carrier! I could not have survived life without mine! It is an investment (a $105 one to be exact), but I am still using it almost every day! I can wear the carrier as a front carrier, back carrier, or a side "hip" carrier. I always keep mine on the hip carry setting as I find it is the best for keeping her able to see what is going on and participate in life with me. I admit, now that she is walking she doesn't like to be in it as much, but she still likes it a lot!

I love babywearing and really advocate it now! I found a ring-sling by Nojo (horribly ugly, but oh well) at a garage sale this summer. Brand new and only $2 - what a steal! I know I will get tons of use out of it when we have another baby.

But, I would recommend an ERGObaby Carrier to any and every parent! It distributes the weight of the child on your hips through the waist belt and so it is not hard at all on your back or shoulders. Shameless promotion...I also sell them on my website, Punkerdoops Diapers!

When I decided to sell cloth diapers, I knew I also HAD to carry the ERGObaby carrier because it is probably the first thing I would blurt out if someone asked me what every mom needs.

I realized I do not have many photos of me wearing Evelyn because I am mostly wearing her doing things that aren't frequently photographed (grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, laundry). But, I did dig out a few pics from the archives!...

Don't mind how dreadful I look...this was the morning after we moved into our house. It was an across the entire state move that had lots of drama at the closing and this mama was T-I-R-E-D. So was Evelyn, as you can see! I wore her on my back during the moving in/UHaul unloading, and wore her on my hip for the box unpacking.

My friend Tia and me at a country music festival this summer. She had to have a carrier just like mine after seeing me use mine every time we got together! We both loved wearing our babies and they loved enjoying the concert right next to us. (Yes, Evelyn is not in my carrier! She was playing with Daddy at the time!)

Happy babywearing everyone!!! Who cares what kind of carrier pr sling you have - use what you've got and just wear that baby!!!

Check out my new business!!!!

2008-11-08T12:59:00.002-06:00

I have officially "launched" the Punkerdoops Diapers website!!!

It is located at www.punkerdoopsdiapers.com. Please check it out!

As most of you know, I use cloth diapers on Evelyn and have really fallen in love with cloth diapering! There are so many great products that make modern cloth diapering easy and convenient. The cloth diapers of today are not what they used to be! Cloth Diapers now fasten with durable snaps or velcro and some versions are all-in-one - modeled exactly like a disposable diaper - just velcro on and go! Modern cloth diapers are washed in your own home washing machine every other day - no need for pails filled with water or a diaper service for laundering.

We have noticed such a benefit to our family from using cloth diapers! Evelyn no longer deals with diaper rashes, we save a TON of money, she looks so cute with a cloth booty :-), and of course the HUGE environmental benefit - we are contributing to saving the earth by keeping more diapers out of landfills and eliminating the use of natural resources used to make disposables. I am putting a few statistics from the Real Diaper Association at the bottom of this post for your review. You can also find more info on the economic, environmental, and benefits to baby of cloth diapers here.

Punkerdoops Diapers is both a small "shop" in our home as well as a full e-commerce website (www.punkerdoopsdiapers.com) where customers can purchase and have items shipped to them. We are carrying products for all aspects of cloth diapering - prefolds and covers, pocket diapers, all-in-ones, wet bags, pail liners, Snappis, wipes, wipe sprays, flushable liners, diaper sprayers, and more! We also are carrying ERGObaby carriers and organic teething oil. I am hoping to carry more brands of slings and baby carriers as well as more brands of diapering supplies as the business grows. Please let me know if you have any product suggestions!

I know many of you do not have anyone in diapers right now, but please consider taking a look at the site and letting friends and family know about cloth diapering and Punkerdoops Diapers. We all know that it takes word of mouth for a business to grow! Those of you with babies, I encourage you to take a look at the website "Why Choose Cloth Diapers?" and "Cloth Diapering 101/Basic Info" sections of the website to learn how truly easy and convenient it is to switch to cloth. I will be adding more information to the website weekly as I find the time to do so!

Thank you in advance for your support and for passing the word on about cloth diapering and Punkerdoops Diapers!!!

A Few Cloth Diaper Facts from the Real Diaper Association:

National Costs:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were about 19 million children under four in 2000. We could probably assume that there are about 9.5 million children under two and therefore in diapers at any one time. Based on previous studies, we estimate that 5-10% of babies wear cloth diapers at least part time. We will average these figures to 7.5% of babies in cloth diapers and 92.5% in disposables. This means that about 8.8 million babies in the U.S. are using 27.4 billion disposable diapers every year.

Based on these calculations, if we multiply the 8.8 million babies in disposable diapers by an average cost of $800 a year, we find that Americans spend about 7 billion dollars on disposable diapers every year. If every one of those families switched to home-laundered cloth prefold diapers, they would save more than $6 billion14, enough to feed about 2.5 million American children for an entire year15. Coincidentally, the 2002 U.S. Census reveals that 2.3 million children under 6 live in poverty.

Environmental Costs:

Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste.

The manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth.

Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR.

Mommy Lessons Learned

2008-11-07T00:25:00.004-06:00

I learn lessons in mommy-hood every day.

The three mommy lessons that I can remember learning yesterday:

1) When you get the new idea to put your toddler in the playpen to keep her from getting into trouble while you clean, don't think you are so clever. As soon as she realizes you are not going to get into the playpen with her, she will be mad at you, very very mad. The time spent to haul out the thing and assemble far outlasts the time she will spend in it. Don't bother with this "great idea" again!

2) Vacuuming the stairs with a toddler on your back is probably a huge safety "no-no." The toddler swinging her legs back and forth really throws off the balance. I credit the many years of ballet for my ability to keep balance and not fall off of the stairs. Next time I vacuum the stairs I think I will do it when Jason is home to watch her.

3) If you don't get totally upset when the toddler knocks a huge glass of water off of the counter, she won't get upset either. She will just help you clean it up with you. You both might get wet socks though. I am really proud of this one - been known to overreact a little in times like these. See, I really am learning!

One Vote Will Make a Difference

2008-11-03T23:01:00.001-06:00

Our lil' Punkin' went trick-or-treating!

2008-11-01T08:28:00.004-05:00

Our little Evelyn isn't so little anymore! =( She was a big girl all dressed up in her poodle costume. We went downtown to do some business trick or treating and then came back to the neighborhood for some more. It was a beautiful fall day and perfect weather for being outside. We had some of our friends over with their cute daughter and Amber made Chili for all of us. Great chili love! I think Evelyn loved her first Trick or treating day...now mommy and daddy get to eat it!

Worth the Read

2008-10-28T14:35:00.002-05:00

This is a Party Platform Comparison Resource and is highly informative as to the direction that each party wants to take our nation. It is an unbiased resource that merely "cuts and pastes" statements from each party's platform and gives links to the full platforms of each party.

Check it out!

Expired?...

2008-10-18T23:53:00.003-05:00

I used some deodorant that I had in a bin. I used to have a bad habit of stocking up on toiletry items that are on sale and then forgetting I have them... I also seemed to go through a stage when I received tons of bottles of smelly lotions as gifts. I am a plain lotion plus perfume kind of gal. Not a scented lotion kind of gal. That is beside the point. But, what I was trying to get to was that I found of stash of Secret deodorant tubes that were living amongst an assortment of smelly lotions in a random bin when we moved.

I used a brand new tube of the deodorant one day and found myself with stinky armpits by lunchtime. So, I gave that tube away to one of my teenage sisters thinking that it maybe my mom pits had outgrown Secret or something. (Sorry to Moriah...I think she was the unfortunate sister that inherited said deodorant...if you haven't done it yet - THROW IT AWAY! Or, you might find yourself alone at the lunchroom table :-)

You see, I found more of those deodorants from that lotion bin and inspected them more carefully to see that they had all expired in April 2006. Who knew deodorant expired?!? My brief experiment with the old deodorant would make me a firm believer that deodorant does indeed expire and should not be used if more than two years has passed since its expiration.

Now go and inspect your deodorant stashes for expiration dates! :-) Wow, I really used the word deodorant a lot in this post!

There's Nothing Quite So Dangerous As The Average American Voter

2008-10-17T23:51:00.003-05:00

My oh my! I borrowed this clever title from Jennie - one of my favorite bloggy friends! Take a listen...

Learning to "Meow"

2008-10-15T20:13:00.001-05:00

This is a time of great learning - she understands and attempts more language every day. Babies are great!

She walks!

2008-10-15T18:17:00.002-05:00

Not the best quality, but it is something to start with! We noticed her arms have already lowered considerably as she walks - she used to walk with them straight up in the air!

She...

2008-10-14T00:43:00.005-05:00

...Makes messes! This was while I was trying to make dinner.
..,Plays "peeks" with us!
...Walks - very well! With her arms up in the air, I might add! She is already FAST, too! Sorry - the camera was full and the action shots are hard to get. Video and pics coming soon!
...Pats her babies - aw!
...Climbs! And, subsequently, gives Mommy mini heart attacks!

...Gets bigger every day. Sigh! :-)

Happy Autumn!

2008-10-14T00:37:00.005-05:00

Jason has been busy raking lately, too. Evelyn loves to be outside more and more every day. She begs to go on the swing by going "ah! ah!" as she points out the window!

The apple orchard a few weekends ago was great fun! Evelyn had her first jump in a "bouncy house." Good times! They had my favorite, Haralson apples. And, the best part was we bought "seconds" which are just too small to be "premium" apples and so we got 5 lb bags for $2 each - what a steal! Crunchy and tart - yum!

Invasion

2008-10-11T12:50:00.003-05:00

Our political yard sign was stolen two nights ago. I am SO angry about it! How DARE someone come on our private property and steal. Do you really think that action is going to make me think any more highly of your political party?!? Absolutely not.

As Jason put it, the vandal would get so much more accomplished campaigning during his/her time than going around stealing. This morning we noticed the identical sign missing out of our neighbor's yard. The vandal was apparently back!

Apparently many signs have been stolen in our area as well as burned right on the metal stake. Break-in's have also occurred. Nice. We live in a very nice area and I never thought this would have happened around here.

Frustrated and angry? Yes. Deterred to vote for what I believe in because of some immature person's action? Heck no!

Now I just have to decide if I want to play a game with this vandal and go get another sign for him/her to steal. Or, save the campaign headquarters' money by not putting more bait out on the lawn.

***Updated: Jennie had a good point in her comment that I forgot to include - we did report it to the police as soon as we noticed. The good people who gave it to us at the headquarters gave us an instruction sheet that told us to report stolen signs! :-)

Fireproof Your Marriage

2008-10-07T23:57:00.002-05:00

Jason and I went to see this movie tonight and it was really wonderful and such a blessing. I encourage anyone to go see it - especially people who are married. It touched me in many ways and moved me to tears many times - be sure to bring the tissues! My mom asked Jason if it was a "chick flick," and he replied with a strong "no." So, wives, you can tell husbands that it at least has Jason's vote. They also have a great website for the film here.

This movie is worth the splurge of going to the theaters and is really worth not waiting for the DVD to come out in January!!!

Step By Step

2008-10-07T00:44:00.002-05:00

Evelyn has been standing well for at least a month - getting steadier by the day. She LOVES to push her toys around - Mr. Hippo, Pony - the favorite, and the $0.75 garage sale push cart. She can really whip and maneuver her toys around. She pushes them from room to room and stops to exchange one for the other. She rarely crawls anymore, just pushes something to her next destination instead. We really need to get more of the action on video and pictures - this pic is a month old but was the only one I had of her standing.

Tonight, after we all put our shoes on to go for a walk, Evelyn totally shocked us by taking 3 steps!!!! She did her 3 steps twice, then refused to repeat it for the rest of the night. But, it was a big deal for us - we are so proud of her and enjoy watching her grow and change each day. Today was also the first day she blew kisses! A big day for the baby book!

Win a Free Custom Blog!

2008-09-28T23:44:00.001-05:00

Good luck (eventhough I want to win, of course!)

Trick or treat?

2008-09-28T07:46:00.003-05:00

For us it is definitely a TREAT! Isn't she SO cute!

So Amber bought 2 costumes for Evelyn. Even though Halloween is a month away, a lot of the good costumes were gone. So she first bought the lady bug costume because it was all that was left that was "cute". This week she also found this puppy costume. Evelyn LOVES puppies. Every time she sees one on TV or in the street or as we're out and about she points to them and says "wuuff, wufff". We're not sure yet about how she feels when she actually gets to pet them.

On another note, fall is making itself known a little more and more these days. The colors here are just starting to show themselves. It's pretty cool how God threw that detail into His creation. He could have made everything turn brown, but instead we get the deep reds, yellows, oranges, and so on. And to all who commented on Amber's previous post on fall....I too LOVE fall. I love the cool air, the changing colors and the idea that winter is just around the corner.

Another crown?

2008-09-25T23:18:00.003-05:00

You have got to be kidding me!?! I am pretty sure I need another dang crown! I owe it all to my chocolate obsession...

You see, tonight I was eating a good ole Heath bar (which I was so excited about since I love Heath bars and I found mini ones at Target and I let myself indulge in mini candy bars.) Anyhow, I was chewing the last bite and felt like I was chewing an awfully hard and gritty piece of toffee. As I continued to try and figure out what was so gritty whilst simultaneously clean the toffee out of my teeth I realized that a chunk of my tooth was missing. I also realized that I never found that gritty bit of Heath bar. Not only was I missing a big chunk of tooth, I also ate a big chunk of tooth. Yum. Hope I didn't make any of you lose your breakfast!

I checked it out in the mirror at the next commercial break during "The Office" (I couldn't miss part of the season premiere even for missing teeth chunks - that just wouldn't be right!) Yep - part of my top 5th from the front tooth on the right is gone. Now, you can just see the filling in the middle. A beautiful, old, amalgam filling. Funny, I never even realized I had a filling in that tooth.

So, here I am, giving myself a migraine (literally) over the stress of knowing I more than likely need another crown. I just had my first one put on in May and it was kind of stressful because I grind my teeth at night and I ground my temporary crown into a peak that made my tongue bleed. Not to mention, it forced me to go to the dentist a billion (actually just 4) times and need to leave Evelyn each time to do it, I have a small jaw that really hurts when I have to keep it open for more than .5 seconds, I hate that numb mouth feeling, dentist drill noises are scary... Need I go on? Argh...

And, of course, there is the ridiculous cost of all dental work, especially things like crowns. We do not have dental insurance. Jason's company is nice enough to reimburse us some, but because I just had a crown put on, our money for the year is completely gone. Do I wait 3 months with a jagged tooth and exposed silver filling to have it done? Can I just pay the nice dentist man for this year's crown next year? Would Jason's company fall for that? Why are my teeth so brittle (other than the night grinding of course!)? Why didn't they see my tooth had a crack in it when I had panoramic x-rays last at my last visit? Hopefully my call to the dentist tomorrow will give insight into a few of those questions.

Sorry to be a downer. Oh yeah, Jason just went to the dentist two weeks ago and they recommended a crown on one of his fillings sometime soon. Nice.

Well, at least it will be Friday when I wake up! Have a great weekend y'all and please, pretty please, stay away from the Heath bars. (Do you think I can at least have a few more if I chew them on the other side of my mouth? They are so good! :-)

In Our Neck of the Woods

2008-09-22T23:28:00.004-05:00

Things are good - just busy!

Last week flew by...I can't even remember the highlights.

The weekend was fun. Friday started off with a bang - I started a new Bible study at a local church. It is a Beth Moore study for women on the book of Daniel. Great study! I am learning a lot and love how the study forces me to become a scholar again - she really focuses on LEARNING the material and synthesizing the information she presents and that we read in the Word. The ladies were very welcoming and I felt like it was a great choice of study. I met another mom with a baby daughter as well as other women in their 30's through probably 70's. It is great to be in the company of wise women who can mentor a young mama. The only thing that wasn't that great was the childcare. There are two young girls and one woman doing the childcare. None of them seemed very enthusiastic... Evelyn was in the study with me after a half hour in the nursery when she had checked out all the toys and kids and decided she was done! :-)

My mom came to visit on Friday and gave us our FIRST DATE IN OVER A YEAR! I was very nervous to leave Evelyn, but I knew she was in good hands with a woman who has raised 8 kids and taught me all my mothering tricks. Evelyn was in her own home with someone who looks like Mommy and plays all the same games Mommy does. Jason and I left the first restaurant we tried (way too expensive...even with our coupon) and opted for Mexican food. My milk came in several times as I thought of Evelyn and worried. The cell phone sat on the table and I checked it often. We rushed out as soon as we paid for our over-priced dinner (note: ask how much non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiris are before you order or you may pay $7 like I did...argh!) As we pulled up I saw Evelyn in my mom's arms in the kitchen. She was feeding her a few small bites of ice cream (apparently Evelyn indicated she wanted some as they were playing with the fridge magnets). It was so strange to see her on someone else's hip. I rushed in before Jason even parked the car in the garage and Evelyn hardly cared. My mom reported that she never once even whimpered and she is pretty positive she didn't miss either one of us. They played with the neighbor girls, collected leaves, went on a walk, and made and ate all "p" foods for dinner. I was glad, yet a bit disappointed that she didn't miss me! The date was nice, yet we felt so strange without Evelyn. It just didn't seem right.

My mom and Evelyn's fun times have made me think about how I need to play even more with Evelyn every day. I know I too often get caught up in household chores and other tasks and only take minutes here and there to play and teach. I know I could be better at incorporating more teaching and more playing into the day. My mom says she now knows what people mean by the whole grandparenting joy - you just get to focus on the fun of being with the child and don't have to worry about the discipline and daily care like parents do. I am so glad she likes being a Grandma! Thanks Mom for watching her! Most of all, thanks for teaching me how to be a Mommy and for letting me feel so safe and secure leaving Evelyn with you! I love you!

Saturday gave us a lazy morning and fun afternoon at the International Fall Festival in our historic downtown. Evelyn got to have two firsts: a parade and cheese curds! The parade was fun and we were thrilled to see that they don't have any city ordinances about throwing candy at the parade. Our last town was such a downer - no throwing of candy! Evelyn had a third first, I guess - a taste of Smarties! Ah, parade candy! She also scored a hot pink pom-pon and some literature on the local theatre performances coming up. We are due for a theatre performance!

Sunday was church - Evelyn lasted a half hour again in the nursery. We heard an uplifting sermon from a missionary the church sponsors in Chad, Africa. Wow - what a reminder that we need to pray more diligently for the unsaved and for the missionaries and their families who are serving in cultures that are so different than our own.

Sunday night we started a young married couples Bible study at the same church that I am doing my Bible study at (we have been looking for a church since we moved here and haven't officially decided where we are going to attend/join). This was a great experience and the childcare girls we GREAT! Evelyn was in there for an hour and was just starting to get sad at the end, but the middle school girl was so smart and just decided to start walking her around and showing her things to keep her distracted. Way to go babysitter! She reminded me of all of my sisters and their innate abilities to play with babies and kids so well.

Typing all of this sure makes me realize what great strides I am making in entrusting other people to watch Evelyn. I just cover her in prayer and give very specific instructions to call/page/come and get me AS SOON as she cries! I can't let my baby cry!

And, last but not least, I have been extremely preoccupied with something I am calling "Punkerdoops Diapers." Yep, I caught the entrepreneurial bug. I am planning to distribute quality diapers from several manufacturers. I want to take a teaching spirit with this - guiding moms in my area through their choices in cloth diapering through "Cloth Diapering 101" sessions and one-on-one walk-throughs of their options. Things will initially be in the basement with the hopes of one day branching into an online store. This is a HUGE endeavor and there is so much work to be done. I am just in the initial steps of getting my business registered with the state and so on. I am stuck right now - should I be a sole proprietorship or an LLC? Do I need a lawyer? An accountant? Overwhelming to say the least. Most of the manufacturers/wholesalers will not even communicate with you until you have an issued state business ID and in some cases a full and running website. I have so many websites bookmarked about getting this thing launched - I am up to my eyeballs in to-do lists.

That's about it! Hope all of you are well! Maybe I will catch up to reading blogs by the end of the week! :-)

In Denial of Fall

2008-09-05T15:32:00.002-05:00

The windows are shut at night. I had to wear a jacket yesterday. Today's forecast brought wearing jeans. Evelyn has donned socks for the past few days (which completely drives her batty!) Fall is here!

I always was excited for fall. Up until just a few years ago, I was always starting school in the fall - I went straight from high school to college, then to grad school. I had the excitement of buying new school supplies, getting books, and taking great classes. The last two years I was at least working at a university and so I was surrounded by that certain energy that comes with the beginning of the school year.

This year has been completely void of that feeling and thus my denial that it is fall already! But, the cooler temperatures and earlier sunsets are reminding me of what is looming around the corner. Winter. Yuck.

By the end of summer the past winter is so far back in the remnants of your mind that you forget about the cold temperatures, shoveling, scraping of car windows, and isolation that winter brings. It is so much easier to jump in the van and go during the summer - no jackets, hats, boots, and warming up of the van to bother with.

So, I am determined to get out and enjoy the freedom that good weather brings while this lasts!

I miss not being around school, but I do still love the crisp fall air and the turning of the leaves that fall brings.

Happy Fall everyone!

Recovering

2008-09-05T15:27:00.002-05:00

I am - from a bad haircut. This "curly" hair I have now is a pain. If it was all curly it would be fine. But, it is just the back of my hair. The initial haircut she gave me was a "modern shag." I felt more like an 80's rocker.

I went back and she fixed it the best that she could after I told her how much it was not "me" and that I was much more "glam" than "rocker." I think when I told her that I wanted a trendy cut she misinterpreted me.

I know that it will grow out, but it is so frustrating to have a bad haircut. I feel like my hair looks bad as soon as I am finished styling it. Argh. Oh well. Just venting into cyberspace and maybe making someone else in bad hair recovery feel a little bit better knowing that I feel their pain.

The Birthday Princess Had a Party

2008-09-05T14:40:00.001-05:00

Any decent party has streamers, right? Trisha keeps reminding me that I have neglected to post pics of the house. I keep waiting until it is all painted - like a "reveal" for each completed room. But, here is one project completed - the new yellow kitchen and window treatments.
Daddy had the backyard looking great - complete with signage for the coolers, garbage, and recylcling containers. My sister accused me of being way too organized with signs. I was proud to tell her it was Jason who made them! Evelyn is doomed with two detail-oriented perfectionistic parents. I know we gave ouselves way to much stress over a family party! But, the family is big - we had 33 people here! I tried to keep the menu simple, but still ended up spending many hours in the kitchen.

Evelyn enjoyed opening gifts with all the uncles, aunts, and cousins around her.

Mommy baked strawberry cake because strawberries are Evelyn's favorite food.

"Hmmm....this is good!"
"Yeah, I'm about done now - can't find anymore strawberries in there."
Cake clean-up!

Trying on the new fairy costume from Auntie Hannah.
She just couldn't stay awake any more, so the peanut caught a quick nap towards the end of the party. Don't worry - she woke up after the traditional I-only-sleep-half-hour-Evelyn nap length to say goodbye to all the guests.

Thanks to all the family that joined us and for blessing Evelyn with so many gifts. She is enjoying having new play things. It was a great party!

Evelyn's Birth Story, Part 4 Happy Birthday!

2008-08-29T00:22:00.002-05:00

My midwife decided to let me push through the lip on my cervix, which I was able to accomplish in one push and get her quite far into the birth canal. I was so pumped, thinking she would be out in another push or two. This is when things got frustrating – with every push I would get her down, and then she would retreat back up. We figured out later that it was because she was “sunny side up” (posterior) and so her head was getting caught and was pushing her chin to her chest instead of allowing her to extend her little neck and kind of “dive” out like a normal position would allow. This also explained the tremendous back labor and tailbone pressure that I was experiencing. Pushing was HARD work. I somehow had this impression in my head that pushing was “nice” and provided “relief” and “rest.” It was hard, hot, sweaty work. Labor, just like it is called.

Evelyn’s head sat way down into the birth canal and the poor thing had her head rammed down over and over again, push after push, until my midwife finally resorted to an episiotomy. At 11:16 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 our adorable little “punkin” Evelyn Elizabeth was born! She was put onto my bare chest immediately and I got to keep her there and cherish her for a good five minutes while I warmed her skin-to-skin and helped her regulate her breathing with my own breathing. It was the most beautiful and incredible thing that I have ever experienced. There really are not words to describe the joy and awe of these moments.

Jason cut her cord and they did a few quick things to her before they brought her back to me to nurse for the first time. That was incredible as well – to watch this tiny little being that I grew inside of me, now being nourished by me. Nursing is such a special bond between a mother and baby. I love when Evelyn nurses now and looks up at me and smiles so big that she can’t even keep sucking! Ahhh…I get so emotional thinking about all of this! At first, she was having a hard time latching on because she would not open up her bottom lip. But, I was obsessed with practicing over and over and making nursing happen.

Evelyn was a healthy, yet tiny peanut weighing in at 6lbs, 8 oz and 18 inches long (although I think she was longer than that). I could not take my eyes off of her and would not allow her to be out of my sight. I watched with my eyes wide open as Daddy and the nurse gave her a bath at 3:30 in the morning and just kept praising God for my healthy little girl. I just couldn’t wait for them to be done and for her to be back in my arms.

We really never slept until the next night as we had the midwife, baby doctor, nurses, phlebotomists, lactation consultant and food deliveries interrupting us every time we tried to sleep. And, I was obsessed with nursing. I think I pretty much nursed non-stop (maybe that is why she still loves to nurse in her sleepJ)! I was wary for weeks to let anyone even hold her – my “mama bear” protective instincts were so intense. I also was having a lot of “flashbacks” to the pain and images of labor when I would try to close my eyes…I was a little traumatized. So, I opted to just constantly hold Evelyn and stare at her rather than sleep!

Recovery went quite well. I did have a lot of pain from her posterior presentation making so much swelling and internal bruising. Ice packs and the inflated doughnut ring were my friends for a good week afterwards. Then, there was the giant incision and the raging postpartum emotions – typical recovery hurdles. But, Jason was so great and our church family was so supportive in bringing us meals when we got home that the recovery went quite well.

I am so thankful that God gave me the blessing of and strength to endure a completely natural and non-medicated birth just like I had hoped for. I was never hooked up to any IV’s and rarely to any monitors. It was such a beautiful and wonderful birth. I knew that I could do it and still feel empowered that I did it! Giving birth is a spiritual thing too, as you get to have a first-hand account of God’s perfect design in a woman’s body and in His creation and nourishment of babies. You get to be a part of a miracle.

To my precious miracle, Evelyn:
You have brought so much joy to my life! I smile more in a day now because of you than I think I used to do in a week. I love to watch you explore the world around you and learn new things. It breaks my heart every time you get an owie or I upset you when I direct you away from something dangerous. You’ve got me wrapped around all of your chubby little fingers! You keep me on my toes, too! You are very inquisitive and I often see the “wheels” turning in your head as you examine something. You take after mommy and notice and pick up the smallest crumb or piece of lint.

Your little voice and babbling makes me grin, your silly faces make me laugh, and your sweet personality makes me melt. I have tried every day to “take you all in” and burn memories and images into my mind. But, sadly, you are growing and changing so fast every day that my finite brain cannot keep up!

I still love to watch you sleep and I still let you sleep in my arms, for I know that you’ll outgrow my arms one day soon and that someday a sibling will come along for you and my arms will have to make room for them. But, you’ll always be my first baby, and that is something so special and a place in my heart that you will always exclusively hold. You are actually in my arms right now, and even though you barely fit, my arm is tired, and one-handed typing is challenging, you’ll stay right here until you wake up, because we both like it that way.

I am so excited for you to turn one and to watch you continue to grow and blossom into a toddler. But, I’ll hold onto every last day of your babyhood, too. We’ll have another year of milestones and I will rejoice and celebrate each one of them (I am already storing up tears of pride and joy for your first steps as I know they are quickly approaching). You are already starting to leave me in a room to go play in another independently. My big girla!

I love you little punkerdoops. Happy Birthday to the best, sweetest, smartest, and cutest daughter in the whole world! I love you “so much, so big.” and I am so honored that God chose me to be your mama.

Love forever,
Mommy

Evelyn's Birth Story, Part 3

2008-08-28T12:26:00.001-05:00

After finishing my shower I called the clinic and asked if I could come in to get checked so that I knew what was going on with my body and if I was in labor or not. My midwife had Wednesdays off, so a Physician’s Assistant checked me and monitored my contractions on a machine. She concluded that I was now dilated to 1 ½ and 90% effaced – those contractions were doing something! She assured me that within the next three days I would have a baby - I was thrilled and motivated!

In the clinic parking lot I called work to inform them that I would indeed not be coming in that day. I also called the hair salon – I had an appointment on Saturday and it looked like I would be missing that. My stylist was able to squeeze me in that afternoon for a cut, but no style. I knew that it might be a while before I would be able to get a trim, so I took the time slot. I made one last trip to Target to exchange a defective diaper pail (funny, since it was a junk contraption that we returned again) and buy some other baby supplies, another nursing bra, and Daddy treats for the hospital – Gatorade and Power Bars.

I made it to the hair salon in time and was still contracting quite hard. I had to stop talking during a few contractions, which totally freaked out the stylist! I took my wet head of hair home and microwaved myself some lunch – leftover mashed potatoes and chipped beef gravy. Then, I was going to pack my bag, but decided instead to take a nap, as I was quite tired. I lied down on the couch and the contractions really picked up. I could not get comfortable enough to sleep and then around 3:20, I felt a “pop” during a contraction. I thought it was weird, but I just kept laying there, the Dr. Phil show in the background. A few minutes later my phone rang. It was Jason checking in on me. As I stood up to reach my phone, there was a small “gush”. I did not answer the phone with “hello,” instead it was a semi-panicked, “I think my water broke! I am hanging up and calling the clinic!”

Rushing to the bathroom, I sat down on the toilet for another “gush” and I called the clinic. The nice nurse told me that my water had indeed broke and to get to the hospital. I remember my legs were just shaking – this was really happening – I was about to deliver my baby! So much for “in the next three days” – she was coming that day! I called Jason back right away and told him to come home. He describes that drive as the slowest drive of his life. He said he got behind every old guy driving five under the speed limit and hit every red light on his ten-minute drive home, making it feel like an hour!

I rushed around the house gathering things for my bag. The contractions had grown in their intensity, and with every one, I needed to stop and breathe through them. They were not only stronger, but were also coming about every 4 minutes. Jason arrived home and we headed to the hospital, carseat in the back and me sitting on a trash bag and a towel. I had so many butterflies – I have them again just remembering the anticipation of that car ride.

We were at the hospital checked-in and in the room by shortly after 4:00. I had my gown on and we started to walk the halls. The contractions were quite intense and at one point I found myself crying in the hallway as I clung to Jason after a contraction. The tears were somewhat out of fear of the unknown, and somewhat out of joy as the moment I had been waiting for was finally here.

I started to get quite uncomfortable and we headed back into the room so that I could get in the tub. It seemed like the contractions were right on top of one another. I was disappointed that I was only dilated to 3, as I thought for sure I would have been a 5 already! I labored hard in the tub, with my awesome coach Jason at the side of the tub keeping me focused as I did deep breathing through each contraction. My midwife was nice enough to come in on her day off to deliver me. She would occasionally pop in and her calming presence at the edge of the tub was also so wonderful.

The contractions became so intense at transition that the pain made me lose my lunch and I also became cold and wanted to get out of the tub. I got out and she checked me – I was dilated to 7. I tried to labor on the birthing ball at this point and standing, but I felt quite weak. I think it was after about an hour that my midwife felt I was not progressing quickly enough and wanted me to have Pitocin. Getting out of the tub must have made me tense up and stall labor a bit. I did not want Pitocin, and I begged my midwife not to make me have it. She told me to lie on my left side and we could wait a few contractions before an IV was hooked up. I lied there staring at that IV and prayed the God would pick up my contractions so that I did not need it. He answered my prayer immediately! Something about my left side kicked those contractions back into high gear and a few contractions later I was feeling tremendous pressure. Sure enough, I was dilated to 9 ½ and just had a small lip on my cervix. It was pushing time - about 9:30 p.m.!

Evelyn's Birth Story, Part 2

2008-08-26T10:25:00.006-05:00

On August 26, 2007, Evelyn started giving me signs that she was coming! It was a Sunday and as we sat in church I started contracting every 12 minutes. I sat there in disbelief as I timed them and quietly prayed for my baby, too distracted to listen to a sermon.

We went straight home from church and the laundry brigade began. I think I did six or seven loads of baby laundry that day – washing every item of clothing, blanket, sheet, burp cloth – you name it! I had been waiting to do it so that it was nice and fresh for her. My due date was not until September 9th or so, so I figured I could wait another week. But, the fact that the contractions were still quite regular was great motivation to get that laundry done.

I remember folding little baby clothes while I sat on my big red birthing ball and was filled with so much excitement and anticipation as I daydreamed about my little baby in those clothes. How I yearned to know what she would look like and how it would feel to have her in my arms, at my breast, and with her little hand wrapped around my finger.

I went to work on Monday still contracting quite frequently, yet without a good pattern. I had not begun to clean out my office yet and so that whirlwind began as I realized how many personal things I had gathered over two years and how much it would take to get my affairs in order to leave my programs in someone else’s hands.

I furiously worked all day and managed to get everything packed up and into my car in time to leave for my 5:30 appointment with the midwife. I was only dilated to 1 and was about 50% effaced. I thought for sure those contractions had done more! My midwife said that it was probably just false labor. I was worried that my uterus would tire out since it had been contracting for 30+ hours pretty regularly, but without much progress.

Tuesday everyone was surprised to see me back at work. It was a rainy day and I had to park very far from my office since I slept in a little that morning to gain some much-needed rest. I remember being frustrated that I was back there and was carrying back in items I had hoped would remain home from now on (my important paperwork, my foot stool , daily planner, etc). But, my excitement picked up again later that afternoon when I lost my mucous plug. Yeah…that was pretty weird and gross! I ran back to my office from the bathroom, slammed the door, and dialed my mom as quick as I could to make sure it was indeed my mucous plug. After her reassurance and looking it up on at least 5 websites, I was excited to be having more signs of labor.

I went to Jason’s softball game after work and told my friends what was happening. One friend, Alicia, just about screamed and told me I was going to have the baby soon – she just knew it! I wasn’t convinced though and figured it would be at least another week before Baby Girl made her debut.

Wednesday morning I woke up after night filled with contractions – some that even woke me up. I was also still losing a ton of mucous. I’ll never forget talking to Jason while I was in the shower that morning explaining all of my contracting and mucous. Jason made the determination that the baby was coming and that I would be staying home from work that day! You see, I was a 50-minute commute from home and our hospital. Jason’s “feeling” led him to run around the house that morning and pack his bag. The guy was seriously convinced! I decided to make a call to the clinic to get checked that morning before I would drive into work. I am so grateful that Jason made me stay home that day (and that he made his demand to me while in the shower, thus prompting me to shave my legs just in case he was right!)

Evelyn's Birth Story, Part 1

2008-08-23T23:15:00.001-05:00

The Birth of Evelyn Elizabeth
Written 8/22/08, in honor of Evelyn’s approaching 1st (whimper) birthday.

I loved being pregnant! I walked around since the day I found out I was pregnant (Dec 29, 2006 in case you wanted to know) feeling just special. I felt like royalty, for I was carrying, GROWING, a little person inside of me. I felt so privileged to be in the baby-growing business.

The first trimester was hard. I felt very nauseous most of the day and the only things that really seemed to taste good were potatoes – especially fried ones, and simplex sugary white carbohydrates like animal cookies. Then, there was the exhaustion. Me, Miss Night Owl was ready to turn in each night around 7:30. Poor Jason. I had no energy to cook, clean, or do much else other than whine about how icky I felt.

Yay for week 12 when I did seriously begin to feel much better! I think it was about week 14 when I was convinced that my clothes no longer fit (it was probably from all the fried potatoes and animal cookies though, not the baby). I couldn’t wait to be showing and wearing maternity clothes. I was ready for people to gawk and marvel and acknowledge how I had the pleasure of growing Evelyn inside of me.

Every day I spent considerable time gazing at my beautiful growing belly and daydreaming about the day that I would get to meet that little baby that I had been falling more in love with every day.

I kept growing and growing, and despite the usual discomforts of pregnancy, I never was “sick of being pregnant” as many women complain about. I was however, SO ready to meet my precious little girl.

Free Entertainment

2008-08-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

I can't fall asleep. Weird, since I always feel tired.

Anywho, Jason told me to get out of bed and blog. Here I am!

I think of fun things to blog about all day, but forget them about five seconds later. One of the things that I was thinking about today is Evelyn's new obsession with dogs.

She first realized dogs existed in May when we were at my dad and step-mom's house. A dog barked when we came in and she clenched onto me with her tiny hands and screamed in horror. Even though she had seen a lot of dogs before, she realized then that they were alive and might very well want to interact with her on this particular trip. She spent that whole weekend trying to climb up my chest while clinging on for dear life every time she saw a dog. Poor girl.

The next time we visited those doggies, she started doing a weird noise and arm waving thing when she saw the dogs which confused us as to whether she was excited or terrified to see them.

After a few more trips there and some sights of puppies at outdoor concerts and in the neighborhood, she has progressed to a little joy-filled doggie lover. Whenever she sees one, she makes this adorable little "woof" noise that makes her little breath blow out. Adorable. It really, really is.

This leads me to my title. Evelyn has brought so much free entertainment - from sticking out limbs in my belly, to now her adorable "woof-ing." I have been providing her with much-loved free entertainment in return with lots of looking at her "babies and puppies" calendar, books about puppies, Animal Planet shows, pretending all stuffed animals are puppies, and our newest favorite - watching clips of puppies on YouTube. Good times. Great entertainment.

Oh, and by the way. We will NEVER have a dog! Sorry, punkin! Mommy only will clean up your poop!

Curly???

2008-08-20T23:57:00.004-05:00

I had my hair cut tonight. If you didn't already notice, in late April I had my long locks chopped to just longer than collarbone length for a change and a reason not to wear a ponytail every single day like I was since Evelyn was born.

I needed a trim and was surprised when the new stylist I went to here told me that MY HAIR IS CURLY. No way! I have always WANTED curly hair - I don't HAVE curly hair! She told me that the myth about women going curly from pregnancy is true and often occurs to the hair on the back of the head - exactly where my hair has been considerably wavy. I was chalking it up to the haircut + the product I was using + the humidity + the new water + who knows what else.

But, I guess I have curly hair in the back of my head. It's like a new kind of post-pregnancy mullet - a curly party in the back and some straight business in the front.

A Month of New Tricks

2008-08-12T09:22:00.002-05:00

Evelyn has had a month filled with new "tricks" including waving "hi" and "bye" on command, clapping on command and during "patty cake," listening to directions (i.e. "give mommy the washcloth"), and raising her hands for "so big." It has been fun to see her grow in this area of understanding language versus just immitating behaviors. And, the best part is watching her little face and excitement while she practices her new tricks!

This is Evelyn a few weeks ago showing off her clapping skills.

Sandwiched

2008-08-11T15:47:00.003-05:00

Last night I was lying (I think it's lying...I always get confused by that one!) in bed and realized that I was in the best "sandwich" one can be in. We were all lying on our backs. Evelyn was to my left and had her right arm over mine. Jason was on my right and I had my right arm over his. I thanked God for the great life I have as I listened to them both breathe heavily (neither one was snoring, but they sure do both breathe heavily some nights in their sleep!:-) I lied there in the light of the nightlight, smiling and thinking about how I was sandwiched between my two favorite people in the world. Pure bliss!

Funny Faces

2008-08-11T15:18:00.004-05:00

For a change of pace, some silly pics! I call this one the "turtle face." She does it mostly after eating yogurt or ice cream.
Everyone loves a good "eyes half-shut" picture for a laugh, yes?
Uncle Dawson is a HAM! A chocolate-loving ham that is!
Doesn't she look like she's going to swallow that straw like the sword-eating circus people?

And this is titled, "MOM - you are SO mean - I WANT to eat the window opener!!!!"

Happy Monday!

Mr. Hippo...the new friend!

2008-08-06T20:37:00.001-05:00

So as if crawling wasn't too much to handle, now she's starting to walk! My little girl is growing up too fast! We never gave her permission to get big.

What We've Been Up To

2008-07-25T10:06:00.006-05:00

Attending an outdoor country music festival with Jesse, Tia, and Jessie Marie. Jesse is a Marine and got us the tickets. Thank you Jesse for the tickets and for serving our country! We had a blast seeing Rascal Flatts and were sorry we missed Carrie Underwood due to the rain. We also enjoyed watching Jesse ride the mechanical bull until they forced him off!
Eating very messy pizza - she loves red sauce! And, mastering the sippy cup.

Playing with our new giraffe tunnel we got on clearance! Climbing on anything and everything!

Driving the van while we were stuck in a thunderstorm at the park. We went there to attend an outdoor concert, but it started storming and it was cancelled. We enjoyed our picnic dinner in the van instead!
Celebrating Auntie Hannah's golden 14th birthday.
Watching Auntie Trinity and Auntie Summer in "Oklahoma!"
And, Grandma Dawn who did a phenomenal job as "Gertie" - great annoying laugh, Mom!

Splishin' and splashin'.
Having a cute bum! And, plain old being cute!

Warning

2008-07-16T15:27:00.002-05:00

Do not let your 10-month old daughter play with one of your favorite eye shadow compacts while you hold her and get ready because she might play her new favorite game called "I throw everything" with it and shatter it into a billion pieces rendering it pretty much useless. Run-on sentence? Yes. Sad for Mommy? Yes. Mad at little Evelyn? Of course not! She's too darn cute!

One Earring

2008-07-15T10:42:00.000-05:00

All over my house you'll find one earring. Where is the other one? Usually in my right ear.

You see, Miss Evelyn is an earring grabber. I often hold her on my left hip, and thus I am often missing my left earring.When I am out and about, said left earring gets put into my right jeans pocket. At home, I tend to set in on a counter, a desktop or a coffee table.

People have commented on my nice "quick release" I call them, earrings. I have two pairs of hoops that have a hinged clasp that flips up to secure a traditional straight post. I have found both pairs to be great for my little earring grabber. The problem comes on the occasional day when I don't wear one of these pairs!

Evelyn Around the House

2008-07-10T12:52:00.004-05:00

Banging with her new Ikea pots and pans.
Helping me unpack the suitcase!

Grooming her to help with dishes! ;-) She's a great helper!
Yep, she learned how to climb quickly after learning how to crawl!
And pull herself up on anything!
Posing so pretty!
She likes ice!!!

Evelyn is also a great eater these days - she begs for strawberries, watermelon, and of all things, black beans! She loves to "draw" - any pen or other long object she puts onto a surface and doodles. She is doing this right now at my feet with the towel bar that we took off for painting. You can also see her tendency for drawing in the YouTube clip below. She has always LOVED that toy. She used to just eat the pen, but about 1-2 weeks ago, realized she can produce a drawing. She takes after Daddy!

Sketchin' It Up!!!

2008-07-10T12:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Independence Day!!!

2008-07-10T12:19:00.003-05:00

We spent our 4th at an amusement park with my dad, step-mom, and sis Hannah. I LOVE rides and wanted to sure and do some before I am preggers again! We had a great time and Evelyn was a trooper! E hanging out with Grandpa Bart while we all went on a ride.
Jason and Hannah.
Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Bart.
E's first ride on the merry-go-round! Don't worry - we were on a stationary horse!
Fireworks at the park. E really could care less about them - she was more interested in the potato chunks I was feeding her while we watched!

27 and Holding

2008-07-10T12:09:00.005-05:00

I turned 27 on June 29th. I used to start saying I was or almost was a year older in about November of each year. I always wanted to seem older and more mature. But, I have decided that 27 is good enough and has become a milestone of when I will stay the age that I am until the next June 29th!

Last year I made a fuss that I did not blow out any candles. So, this year, I blew them out 3 separate times! Including in my special birthday chocolate chip pancakes that Jason made me. I did not make him spell out my name in batter like my mom always did. But, it was sweet that he still made me feel like the birthday princess!

My mom and sibs came by last week to celebrate - chinese food and my favorite - Dairy Queen cake!

Congrats to the Graduate!

2008-07-10T11:49:00.005-05:00

My sister Brittany (top left above) graduated from high school and had a wonderful party to celebrate. I caught a nasty cold the day before the party which was a bummer since I was in charge of making 20 pounds of pasta salad. Brittany os worth it though - she is a wonderful young woman and we are very proud of her! A small sampling of party shots: Evelyn crawling on Auntie Moriah's bed.
Auntie Moriah (Auntie Ya-Ya I call her!)
Grandma Dawn (who was so busy with the food prep and entertaining that I had to force her to hold E and take their pic before we left!)
The sisters! Brit is the tallest (only by a bit over me - it looks like more since I was crouching...or at least that's what I tell myself!) I didn't get a pic of Brit alone...whoops!
E checking out her 3rd cousin Josh!

Frame by Frame Action of the Cousins

2008-07-10T11:42:00.004-05:00

Movin' On Up

2008-07-10T11:29:00.004-05:00

I wish I had pictures of our moving truck! My sister-in-law does - so I need to get some copies. As I mentioned before, the truck was quite the sight! Our camera was buried somewhere for most of the moving chaos, but here are a few shots!
Yeah, I look a little haggard here...I think this was day 2 of unpacking. We were all tired as you can see.
Jason's creativity while marking boxes. You see, I like every box labeled with contents. I guess he was tired of describing the many pots we own.
Evelyn was such a great helper!
Her reason to learn how to crawl on moving day - explore the contraband that was sprawled all over!!!!

Win Free Cloth Diapers!

2008-07-10T11:21:00.003-05:00

Enter to win a free set of cloth diapers on this blog at Nature's Child! If you don't want them, enter and you can give them to me!!!!

Tree Limbs Crashing Down

2008-07-10T11:01:00.004-05:00

Quick pre-moving story. Five days before closing, a wind storm came through our old 'hood and caused this tree limb to fall on our garage roof. Not good. Long story short, we took care of it and were REALLY glad to just get out of there before the whole house fell down!!!! :-
)

Story Time

2008-06-30T15:08:00.002-05:00

I do have many stories to tell! The computer was in the basement for the first couple of weeks we were here and I never wanted to go down there to be on it because the floors are hard tile and Evelyn was quite accident-prone with her new crawling abilities. But, Jason moved it up the spare room, and alas, here I am to blog!

The first story was of the drive here. It was B.A.D. I have blocked most of it out of my memory because it was really that bad. I planned to leave for the four-hour drive by 2:00. I think it was after 5:00 by the time we left. We ended up having the truck early, so Jason also came with on Thursday night unlike the original plan for just Evelyn and I to go. So, I followed Jason who was driving the 26-foot cab U-Haul pulling our Taurus behind it. We still don't know how he made some of the turns as it was seriously longer than a semi! To backtrack a bit, we were really blessed to have Mike and Tessa help and stay until we shut the door of the old house one last time and get every last thing cleared out (we BARELY got everything with us - the guys had to unpack and repack the truck, van, and car again and again to make it all fit. Crazy!!!). We ate the last Popsicles out the freezer and hurried off. It was a surreal feeling leaving that empty house behind, not even knowing for sure if we would ever be back in that town even.

Poor little Evelyn was kind of freaked out I think about all of the commotion of the previous days and she was in the back seat of the van surrounded by stuff packed all the way almost to the ceiling! She was such a trooper for the drive, but despite no naps really that day, SHE NEVER SLEPT A WINK during the drive! I pulled over more times than I kept track of. My saving grace was the plate of peanut butter cookies that Tessa made for us as they kept my blood sugar high and appeased Evelyn as I Gumby-twisted my arm back to give her crumbs. I also had to give her water bottles, pop cans, pens, and other forbidden objects for 30-second intervals of her happiness!

But, we did make it eventually, and around 10:30 had left the U-Haul on the new street for the night. We fought off the June bugs (yuck, they are plentiful here) and made our way to Burger King for an 11:00 nutritious dinner! :-) We slept at Jason and Christy's that night - it was so nice of them to have us. Evelyn was so glad to be out of a car seat and chaos that she had an adrenalin rush that had her bouncing off the walls until 1 a.m. (this is when her schedule was officially ruined and is still being repaired!)

We were thrown another curve ball the next day at closing. They were holding the key until the money was wired. We were told there should not be any problems, but, we did not get the key until 4 hours after closing and we were so blessed that the previous owners were still in town as the glitch involved a paper that they had to sign. Me and Jason's stomachs were both in knots as we sat and waited homeless in our van. There was a time when it was looking pretty dim that we would leave with the key and that having to wait until the following week for the banks to re-open and straighten things out. But, God totally worked everything out and with about 5 minutes to spare before the end of the banking day, we had our key!

As Jason mentioned, family and friends have been so generous and welcoming to us! We had so much help and tons of delicious goodies from friends! We really do love it here and are getting quite settled in.

We have already enjoyed the closeness to family as well - we have done the trip to my home state the past two weekends for a dance recital and my sister Brittany's graduation party. For both events we loved being able to attend, but loved even more the fact that we did not have to pack suitcases and were able to come home and sleep in our own bed!

More stories to come and more "normal" posts about our little crawler (who is attacking the printer under my feet as I type!)

Update

2008-06-20T09:42:00.002-05:00

Ok, sorry to everyone who reads our blog, but needless to say we have been very busy trying to get settled in to our new home, neighborhood, and every other change coming our way.

We are loving our new home and the neighborhood! Lots of kids in the neighborhood which is nice for Evelyn.
We have a lot of stories, so hopefully Amber can fill you in on some of them.

A few shout outs though to some people who made all of this happen for us:
From our old neighborhood:
Steve and Mary Jo-HUGE help...couldn't have done it without your help. Jim M.-the same to you. Mike & Tessa- HUGE blessing as well. Great to have Godly friends who will help when in need!
From the new neighborhood:
Mark & Hannah-Very big help, Mike & Shannon-we really didn't even know you guys, but you were willing to help us move in? HUGE blessing from God...very nice people! Jason & Christy-provided lodging the night before the big move-in. Again, huge help.
Family:
Dad & Mom B.-You rock!! because you guys are like rocks! I can count on you no matter what! Sarah B.-Huge help, Andrea S.-huge help. Dawn A.-oh my gosh, you shampooed all or our carpets!! Hardest mom worker I know! The rest of the A. family....you're like busy bees...except all with rag and cleaner in hand!

And to who ever else I may have missed. We thank you SO MUCH, and we pray God will bless you richly for your self sacrifice and willingness to help us out.

Other than that, life is kind of back to normal. Evelyn learned to crawl the day we moved in the new house. She's loving the carpeted, open floors! She basically crawls to the nearest vertical structure she can find to pull herself up to stand, so we have to watch her! She has also developed a very convenient bedtime of midnight to 1am which is awesome! (joke)

Hopefully we can post some pictures of our new home shortly, but I wanted to at least let you all know we are alive.

No time for captions!

2008-05-27T17:59:00.004-05:00

Pics from dance recital extravaganza weekend, Mother's Day (I had a great first one - thanks, Honey!) and from around the house lately. The order is quite messed up! Sorry!

Note: my Dad was in a father/daughter hip-hop dance...he does not normally dress like that! :-)

Quick Run-down

2008-05-19T19:16:00.002-05:00

It has been a CRAZY last couple of weeks! Hence, no posts and very little reading of anyone else's blogs.

Here is a quick run-down of what has been going on at the Our Love Story house:

We sold our house in late April. There were a few bumps in the road regarding the inspection. We had to take money off of the price to compensate for the aging roof. We also had to pay $950 to mitigate the radon level in the basement. Never knew what radon was before... It is pretty nasty stuff. The buyers paid for the radon test, but we legally had to pay for it. All in all, we are trying not to think about all of the money that we lost and just be thankful that we have sold the house as many are still for sale in the neighborhood. Being together (all week :-) again as a family is priceless.
We found a house in the new city about a week after we had the offer on our house. Just like we were suspecting, God knew that our new house wasn't ready yet so that is why it took so long to sell this house. It is a nice 3-bedroom ranch built in 1976. I am most looking forward to the larger kitchen and windows and patio doors that face the backyard and playset. I can already imagine our kids playing on that playset and me watching them out the kitchen window! Praise the Lord we got the house - we acted fast and beat out several other buyers. Unlike the housing market here, the market in the new city is hopping!
Dance Recital Extravaganza Weekend was last weekend. My mom had her recital on Friday night and my step-mom's studio had their's all weekend - we attended the Saturday night show. I always love to see my siblings (yes, even my brothers dance adorably) dance! It does make me miss dancing SO much. I don't dance, sing or act anymore - I miss that chance at creative outlet. I hope I can take a dance class, join a choir, or sing on a worship team after we move and are settled in. I am very proud of my mom and step-mom for their great choreography. The shows were both great, and as always, get better every year.
Due to our situation, I caught a ride with Jason and stayed with my Anderson family for the week before the recitals. This way, I avoided a 5 1/2 hour car trip alone with Evelyn. The week went by fast and was filled with costume and hairpiece making and other recital preparations. My mom makes most of her costumes! We also got to stay with the Johnson fam after my stepmom's recital for a night. Great Grandma Jane was also in town from Phoenix. We saw lots of other relatives at both recitals, too. It is great to see (aka show Evelyn off to) them! :-)
After the weekend, Evelyn and I took the Amtrak train home. This was a nice way to travel. Evelyn thoroughly enjoyed being out of a carseat for travel! We were blessed with double seats the whole time and I was able to watch most of my mother's day gift from the Johnson's, "27 Dresses," on our portable DVD player. The train was delayed by almost 2 hours due to track work. And, my porr friend Tessa got lost coming to get us at the train station. So, it was a much longer journey than expected, but still better than a van ride alone with an infant (yeah, I get to do the 4 hour ride alone on moving day. Start praying now as Evelyn usually gets the "mommy entertainment show" during long rides while daddy drives...)
I am crowned! The crown on my back molar is on. I managed to totally grind my temporary crown to a sharp peak. My cheek is glad to have that thing gone! This confirms my suspicion that I do indeed grind my teeth. I have a constantly sore and clicking jaw. So, I pretty much already knew that I grind my teeth and need a mouth guard. I tried an over-the-counter version once that failed miserably as I could not close my lips over it... A story for another post.
Evelyn is a little Cheerio lover!!! She also likes fruit puffs and these rice wafers that I found. I gave up on baby food a long time ago as she never liked it. But, my little babe loves to gum these new treats that I have been feeding her. I even managed to pass one back to her at a stop light today - great new distraction!
Evelyn is also in love with trying to kneel or stand, but can only do so with assistance. She knows all of the ways her body moves and she is screaming for freedom (sometimes even literally!) Diaper changes and putting her into the carseat have sometimes been challenging lately as she tries to roll away from me. She might be one of those kids who skips crawling...we'll see! I really want her to learn everything in her own time and not be forced to move to a milestone. And, I really don't mind any days she give me of being immobile - I know life will get even crazier when she is mobile!
We had a rockstar weekend of garage sale-ing. I hope to post about all of my great deals!
Packing is coming along slowly but surely. Jason is much better at staying on top of it and that motivates me - I am the procrastinator. The big move day is June 6th. We plan to have the 26 foot U-Haul packed up Thursday night and then Jason will drive it over on Friday morning. Both home closings are on Friday. I am planning to be at a friend's house on Thursday night so that I don't have to sleep on a floor and then try to drive alone with a baby under a very important time crunch.
I can't remember everything else that I wanted to say. It is getting late. Oh, one thing - don't expect too many posts from me as we are in the midst of craziness. And, I am not sure if we will have internet at our new house. Still crunching the budget numbers. We shouldn't get it, but I/we really desire it... The only reason we have it now is because I had gotten it for work and then kept it to stay in better touch with Jason and not be so lonely while we are apart. We would like a home phone too and possibly basic cable (not sure what will happen when the whole digital TV thing changes as we don't have digital TV's and have not done a lot of research about the converter boxes). Ooh - that reminds me - So You Think You Can Dance - my all-time FAVORITE show starts this week! I am SO excited!

Take care everyone! We'll keep you posted!

One Earring

2008-04-28T17:44:00.002-05:00

All over my house you'll find one earring. Where is the other one? Usually in my right ear. You see, Miss Evelyn is an earring grabber. I often hold her on my left hip, and thus I am often missing my left earring.

When I am out and about, said left earring gets put into my right jeans pocket. At home, I tend to set in on a counter, a desktop or a coffee table.

People have commented on my nice "quick release" I call them, earrings. I have two pairs of hoops that have a hinged clasp that flips up to secure a traditional straight post. I have found both pairs to be great for my little earring grabber. The problem comes on the occasional day when I don't wear one of these pairs!

Bread Addiction

2008-04-28T17:40:00.002-05:00

I have one.

Usually banana bread is what I bake. It was apple bread yesterday. I just finished my second piece for the day. I turned out well despite being out of walnuts to put in it. I try to limit my bread intake to two slices per day. I try to load it with lots of good things including: real butter (I assume it is better than oil...), walnuts (Omega 3), oatmeal (good for the heart, right?), and flax seed (Omega 3 powerhouse). I tend to add chocolate chips to my banana bread though. So, do you think that the chocolate chips cancel out all the good stuff? I tell myself "no!" I think that I like this bread because it is a clever way of getting to eat dessert for breakfast.

Goodbye tiny baby stage

2008-04-24T08:55:00.005-05:00

Last week was bittersweet - I packed up some of the baby gear for younger babies - bouncy seat, Boppy pillow, and some tummy time floor mats. I can't believe that Evelyn is getting so big. I have so many fond memories of her in that seat and nursing her with that Boppy. It was also crazy to think that some day we'll be taking that stuff out again when we have another child. That whole concept is crazy!

And, since she was trying to sit up in her reclining type infant carrier seat, we got this for Evelyn!
(Hmmm...we have the bad habit of keeping the tv on a lot and not even knowing what is on because we are not watching it. That was occurring in this pic...it looks like our show had a guy with a nice mullet! :-)
Buying another seat brought more decisions that I hate making. Spend $80 on a Graco seat, or $270 on a Britax??? We opted for el cheapo Graco. I think it should be fine. What is so great about Britax anyway?

She seems to like the new seat. She did have her head slightly cocked when she fell asleep in it; but, I have seen kids in much more uncomfortable sleeping positions!

Try an alternative to Paypal

2008-04-23T23:07:00.002-05:00

So, there is a new way to buy things online other than Paypal. It is called Revolution Money Exchange. And, if you sign up by May 15th, you get $25 in your account!!! And, if you would be so kind, sign up (it only takes 2 minutes,) you will get me $10 in my account. I would really appreciate the $10! :-) And, if you don't want your $25, you could just give it to me! I certainly wouldn't mind having some free money to shop online with!

I promise, this is totally legit and secure - it is great! Watch out, Paypal, a Revolution has begun!

I'm cracked - again!

2008-04-23T11:15:00.003-05:00

I had been to the dentist I believe December to have a crown due to the first time I was cracked. The great news then was that the dentist I saw said that I did not need a crown - that I could just keep the filling I had and see if I had problems. Great news - a savings of eight-hundred dollars!

I went to the dentist on Friday for a regular exam and cleaning. They said everything looked great - no cavities and no wisdom teeth removal for now (great news as I really do not want to have my wisdom teeth out. Our checking account cannot handle it, either)! Same conclusion by the dentist - wait it out on the tooth that possibly needed a crown. The filling might last quite a while. Once again, yessss - save some money!

Coincidentally the next night after a few bites of my Papa Murphy's pizza, I had a chunk of tooth in my mouth, too! The tooth decided it needed a crown after all!

I just came home from the dentist. They fixed it and I made the two appointments needed for the crown. At least I don't need a root canal, right? And, as an added bonus, today's drilling was free since I need to come back for the big guns in a week!

Today was also a milestone as my trip to the dentist warranted Evelyn's very first time not being with me or Jason. Yes, she is almost 8 months old and has never left a parent's company until now... What can I say, I love her! :-) If the grandmas lived closer, we probably would have done it before.

Evelyn did great! My awesome friend Katie so graciously volunteered to come to our house and watch her. Katie has an adorable little two-year-old, Kylie and is expecting number two! They took excellent care of Evelyn and I was so relieved to be leaving Evelyn in great care. I was gone for just under an hour and it sounds like Evelyn didn't notice I was gone until I got home - that is when she whimpered a bit and wanted me! I can't say it didn't feel a little sweet that she wanted me! Thanks again, Katie! I owe you one!

Now I am just numb-mouthed and hungry. I can eat around 1:00, so one hour to go! Kissing Evelyn feels quite weird with half of a numb mouth!

Home Sale Update #2

2008-04-23T11:07:00.002-05:00

We accepted the counter offer on Monday night. It was not quite "our bottom line" price, but we didn't want to lose the deal. We are losing money on this house as we are selling only two years after buying it in a better market and we put quite a bit of cash into renovating it. But, we are trying to look at it like a break even if you calculate the amount we would have been paying in rent the last two years. We are just thankful that we have an offer and that we have a light at the end of the tunnel!

The closing date was June 1st on the offer, but we've since realized that is a Sunday. So, we are in the midst of figuring out a new closing date that is around the 1st. We don't know where we are moving! Jason has been looking at houses in the new city and nothing has really stood out to us. The hard part is that the market there is SO much better than it is here - we have been interested in houses but never were even able to see them because they sold within three days of listing!

Jason is looking at two potential houses tonight, so we'll see how that goes. We keep saying that God was keeping us from selling our home because our new house was not ready yet!

The inspector is dropping off the radon test on Friday afternoon and the inspection is on Sunday. So, we'll be even more calm next week when the results of the inspection come through. We just had an inspection two years ago, so we feel pretty good about things. Like I mentioned before, it is just the roof - we knew we would probably have to replace it within five years of our purchase and this past winter had record snowfalls and was really rough on roofs in the area. But, God is in control!

We'll keep you posted! Thanks for all the prayers, good vibes, and crossed fingers!

Home Sale Update!

2008-04-21T11:16:00.004-05:00

We received an offer last night on our house!!! The offer was lower than we wanted, but we countered the offer and should hear back today.

So, please pray for us! Hopefully we can negotiate a price that works for us and then all we have to do is get through the inspection - which should be fine other than the buyer finding out that our roof is on the older side.

We will keep you posted! Thanks in advance for your prayers!

Love,
Jason, Amber, & Evelyn

Is that you?

2008-04-14T15:53:00.004-05:00

In order to save money, we are working on a limited contract with our real estate agent. She listed us in the MLS, and we basically do everything else. One of our main "duties" has been hosting our own Open Houses every Sunday afternoon.

Pretty much every weekend we laugh as we receive the question, "Is that you?" You see, when you walk in our front door you see this:

I stand behind that small shelf area and greet people. Shortly after I reveal myself as the homeowner, this question is popped. People we know have asked us too, which makes sense as the guy in the picture does have curly hair and the woman has long brown hair like we do. But, it is so funny that strangers ask even when they don't have a clue as to what Jason looks like. I would seriously say that about 40% of strangers ask if it is us!

If I was more daring and not as afraid of awkward situations, I would just say "yes" to be silly! Our first date was at a coffee shop...but we didn't get as close as this couple! :-) We wish there was more of a significance to the painting. We just picked it out because it was affordable and it incorporated many of our colors.

Maybe some day we will be like royalty and have a painting of ourselves commissioned. For now, this one will just have to do!

The Church of Oprah

2008-04-09T13:07:00.003-05:00

Please, please, please go see this great post that Sarah did last week. I sent her the YouTube clip that she posted on her blog - it is very interesting. Sarah made a great commentary about the clip and made some excellent points. So, rather than writing my own post, go see Sarah's and just know that I completely agree!

Someone Thinks She is BIG!

2008-04-08T21:08:00.003-05:00

Riding a trike! "Please Mommy, Can I have one?"
Drinking like the big people!
Wearing "big girl" jammies - no built-in feet! My baby is growing too fast

Works for me...Sunday version

2008-04-06T08:07:00.002-05:00

Hey all, this is Jason...haven't posted on here for awhile so I thought I'd add a little something of my own flavor that isn't about cloth diapers, or baby poop, or baby things.

With all this driving I've had to do over the last few months I've found myself with a lot of time on my hands to think and reflect and to pray. I've also found this time to be the perfect time to listen to podcasts of some really awesome messages that encourage and challenge me as a Christian.

Since a lot of you readers probably have some sort of computer sense, I would recommend using the many great devices that are out there that can help you with your walk with God.

A lot of churches these days post their sermons online as mp3s or podcasts and are great ways to listen to sermons you may have missed, or would want to hear again. You also can listen to other great authors, pastors, and worship music from all over the world. itunes is a free download to your computer, so even if you don't have an ipod, you can listen to podcasts from your computer.

Another cool thing I've found is a website called "YouVersion" which is basically an online Bible that allows you to read and tag verses and journalize about how God has spoken to you. You can even share video, comments and more with other people.

There are also numerous devotional websites that allow you to have daily devotionals sent to your homepage everymorning for quick reminders of God's Word.

A couple of podcasts that I've been listening to lately that have really challenged me are:

The Village, Matt Chandler (my favorite)
Life Church.tv, Craig Groeschel
The Mill, Aaron Stern

So, technology isn't all that bad...and can be used for good!

WFMW: FREE Movie Rentals

2008-04-02T13:29:00.004-05:00

We watch/rent a lot of movies in the Our Love Story house. And, there is nothing better than viewing a FREE movie in my opinion!!!

Here are my 2 tips for getting FREE movie rentals:

1) My Coke Rewards Points turned in for FREE Blockbuster rentals

All you have to do is save and enter the codes from Coke products. The codes are found on the rip off part of 12-packs and on the tops of 20-ounce and PowerAde bottles. I stock up on 12-packs when they are on sale and I believe that a free rental coupon (which does include new releases) it is less than the points on four 12-packs. If you are going to buy the soda anyway, why not get free movie rentals for doing so! See the official site here. You can also get other things like magazine subscriptions for very low point values. If you/spouse work somewhere that buys soda, take their Coke codes too and the points will add up quickly!

2) Checking out movies from the library

Many of you might already do this, but I always seem to forget I can! I go through streaks of checking out movies and then months of just renting. There are a lot of video/DVD treasures at the local library. They carry all the current titles and lots of older movies. If you want a brand-new title, just request it with hold through the library's online catalog system and when it is your turn you'll be notified to come and pick it up. Our library lets you keep DVD's for 7 days. This comes in handy when you have a baby and need to sit down an average of 4 to 5 times to finish a movie!

I also was noticing yesterday at the library a myriad of documentaries and "non-fiction" DVD titles. I even saw a series that helps you prepare for childbirth and some that were titled something along the lines of a "magazine on your tv" or something like that. Anywho, even if you are not an avid reader, you might find some of the library's DVD resources helpful and informational and not just entertaining.

And lastly, a plug to check out other more "unusual" library items - try checking out some new music/CD's for yourself or your kids. This is a great way to expose yourself and kids to new artists and genres. The local public library has so many treasures! In college I would actually check out ARTWORK at the local public library. (I am totally serious about this!) I had a nail above my couch in my crummy 1 bedroom apartment where I would hang my library paintings. The had a catalog of cards that contained a picture and dimensions of their paintings. You would take the card to the library checkout desk and they would bring back for you the painting you chose! You could check out the painting for 90 days. It was a fun way to don my walls for free!

Have fun watching your free movies and don't forget to check out other great tips at Rocks in My Dryer!

Cloth Diapering Update

2008-03-31T17:01:00.005-05:00

I have already been cloth diapering for nearly a month! These pictures are from March 5th and are documentation of the very first cloth diaper Evelyn wore!

It is going very well! Thanks again to everyone for their encouragement and help.

I am using Cloth-Eez prefolds - she is still fitting into the yellow "infant" size. They are nice and wide and so they fit her well. Two weeks ago she was 15 lbs 5 oz - had lost some weight after being sick. So, she is around 16ish pounds and these still fit well. I bought some of the brown-edged ones too for when she gets bigger. These are a bit bulky-fitting right now.

I am using Thirsties covers. I bought 3 smalls and 5 mediums. The smalls fit best right now, but the mediums work, too! I am happy with this cover and am also happy to report that our "blowouts" have decreased dramatically! Poopie has only been on her clothes once when she was in a cloth diaper - not sure how this happened...a bit of the diaper must have been sticking out in the back. The leg gussets and back elastic to these covers hold in her multiple daily explosions!

I use my Snappi (the purple contraption) with every diaper. It helps me keep it in place while I put on the cover. It is easy to use and keeps the prefold in its place, so I just have always used it!

I have taken into consideration a ton of people's advice and a lot of website reading in terms of deciding how to launder the diapers. I came up with this method for now: I wash them every 2 1/2 -3 days with Purex Free and Clear. I do a cold rinse, followed by my longest hot wash with the Purex and 1/2 cup of OxyClean. I follow this with another cold rinse with 1/2 cup of vinegar in the wash. My diapers are coming out smelling clean - actually smelling like really nothing at all. The only gripe I have is that they are staining. I know they are clean, but I don't care for the stains. I am considering trying another detergent after my current bottle is gone. I found this helpful for picking detergents. I have not stopped using other detergents for my other laundry. I had a ton of detergent that I just could not see wasting. I don't use much detergent as it is - we keep our water very soft. So, I am just going to "assume" that there is not residue from my other detergents lurking in my washing machine. Plus, I am also hoping that the vinegar in my extra rinse is helping rid the diapers and covers of any leftover detergent. And yes, out of ease, I am washing my covers with my diapers. This I know is not recommended, but 1) I don't wash other clothes enough to put covers in with regular clothes 2) Just covers makes a pitiful load 3) I did not feel that hand-washing them was getting them clean enough. Who knew I could write such a long paragraph about washing diapers!?! :-)

I am using my own "made-up" solution on washcloths as my wipes. I put a drop of pHisoderm baby wash (what we were given in the hospital to bathe her with), a bit of olive oil, two drops of tea tree oil, and water. This seems to be working well, too. She has gotten a bit of diaper rash still. There is still poo in almost every one of her diapers. And, when she does go, I have a hard time smelling it through her diaper now. So, I am guessing that the rashes were possibly coming from the poo in her diaper. I am trying to change her at least every 2 hours so that she has a nice bottom in case this was/is the problem!

I have used cloth out and about - I just use a ziplock bag for the soiled prefold. We have not started using cloth at night yet... We have sleep "issues" - I'll just leave it at that. Anyhow, Evelyn does not need any extra rousing in the middle of the night, so I don't want to change her diaper. I will need to do more research about what a good nighttime diaper would be for us.

Thanks again to all of you that helped and encouraged me thus far!

On Customer Service

2008-03-30T13:12:00.005-05:00

I think that I can no longer shop at Target. Why? Because they irritate me SO much. (Unfortunately I am sure that this is an empty threat and that I will be back there...they do carry some things that Walmart does not). Target has such poor customer service! I think I have even posted about this before because it has bugged me for so long.

Two recent incidents at Target: I had something to return with a gift receipt. The gift receipt was "expired." Too bad for me - they were not going to take it back! Finally, they told me that I could give them my driver's license to return the item - you can return two items per year without a receipt by showing your driver's license. Okay, I guess - annoying since I had a receipt - but okay, whatever. Then, this past week I tried to return another gift without a gift receipt. They tried to tell me that they did not carry the item. I knew they did, so I carried Evelyn to the back of the store to get the item off of the shelf and haul it back to the customer service area. It was packaged in slightly new packaging, so I am guessing that is why my item did not show up in the system. The girl was like, "okay, I guess we do carry the item." I was excited, as I had my one more return for the year without a receipt left! She then proceeds to tell me that I cannot return the item because they do not accept returns for items over $20. The item was $24.99. I said "just give me a gift card for $20 then." "Sorry, we can't do that." Arghhh!!! I proceeded to find out that the store manager could do nothing to help me and that all I could do was call a number and complain - I was assured that calling and complaining still would not allow me to return the item. Yes, this is why I also registered at Walmart when we were expecting and why I wish everyone would have shopped there! Sometimes you don't realize until your baby is older what you will not need, and you'll want to return it later - maybe even with a gift receipt! But oh no, you won't be able to return it!

Target returns have also burned me in the past. My mom gave us a pan for Christmas a couple of years ago that I needed to return. We took it back with the gift receipt. When talking to my mom about the pan we bought as a replacement, I told her how much we got back for the returned one. She just about threw a fit as Target didn't give me back nearly as much as she paid! She marched down there with the original receipt and lo and behold, their records did indicate I was given an amount less than she paid. She got her difference back! So, beware - even if you give someone a gift receipt there, they might now get back what you paid. To me this illustrates ghastly customer service.

Lastly, Target employees always seem to ball up any clothes that I buy and shove them into the bag. This has been at every Target - across at least two states. I know they are not going to fold the item in tissue paper or anything, but at least have the decency to not shove it into the bag. Seriously, pay attention next time you buy an item of clothing there...

In contrast, Walmart takes my stuff back all the time. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. I know some people do not like Walmart. But, it is what we have in town and there is really no alternative for me to buy household necessities. Plus, they also give me the local grocery store's sale price on items if I show their weekly ad. This saves me time and gas as I am not going from store to store to buy sale items each week. To me, Walmart clearly wins the "customer service award."

Speaking of great customer service, I also received some from another company this week. We took out our Evenflo highchair this week. As Jason was assembling it I freaked out when there was no tray insert/liner. I specifically wanted that feature on a high chair and I was positive that the display model had a tray liner when we picked it out that the store. When I emailed Evenflo, they told me that our model did not come with a tray liner, but they sent me one free of charge as good customer service. Yay for Evenflo! We had a similar good experience with Graco as their was a minor flaw in our stroller's fabric. Graco also sent us an entire new seat free of charge - no questions asked. Apparently Evenflo and Graco know that moms talk and that good customer service is essential!

WFMW: Chilling Soda Cans

2008-03-25T22:46:00.004-05:00

Easter Sunday (after a very un-fun event-filled week...I am sparing you all the details) we opened the freezer after church and Jason found a rootbeer that he forgot he wanted the night before.

This was not a fun one for me to clean up!

It reminded me however of a great tip - a fast way (other than the freezer) to chill a can of soda. All you need to do is fill a bowl up with a few ice cubes and some cold water. Submerge your can into the water and in just a few minutes you'll have yourself a nice cold soda to drink! The water is the essential part - just ice doesn't seem to chill as quickly. I am guessing it is because the cold is not coming into contact with enough of the surface area of the can. I am not one for creating more dishes - hence, I would normally not want to "dirty" a bowl to do this. But, I promise, washing one bowl is a lot faster than cleaning your freezer!

For more great tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer!

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-24T21:07:00.003-05:00

He is Risen - Risen Indeed!
We hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Evelyn was fashionable for her first Easter! Dress courtesy of Grandma Sharon, bonnet courtesy of Grandma Dawn, and sweater worn over the dress to church and tights courtesy of Grandma Jeanne. Our little Easter princess she was!

Cute-ness

2008-03-20T22:52:00.003-05:00

She just looks TOO big sitting up! :-)
Yep - she rolls until she just can't roll anymore! She hasn't figured out that furniture just won't move no matter how hard she tries rolling into it.

"You're proud of me? Really, Mommy?"
Cousins! It is like having twins...kind of :-) These poor girls will be getting matching outfits for life!

And, just one that is cute to remind Daddy who is away at work and our family basking in the Mexican sun to come home already!

Works-for-me Wednesday: Butter Wrappers

2008-03-18T22:40:00.004-05:00

My tip for today is a frugal and healthy tip. I question the health of using non-stick sprays for cooking/baking. Plus, I personally think you can taste their nasty flavor, too - especially on things like rice crispy bars. So, why not use something that you normally toss to eliminate - the wrapper to your stick of butter.

My Mom taught me this trick. Just save your butter wrapper from whatever you are making and use the bits of butter that are stuck to it to butter your pan. I find that the small amount of butter left on the wrapper is actually plenty to grease a whole loaf pan and sometimes a cake pan, too. I don't go quite as far as my mom does with this - she leaves folded butter wrappers on her counter or in the fridge to "save for later." But, if I just opened a stick for baking, I do save that wrapper. This is also an excellent tool for pushing down rice crispy and s'more bars into pans.

Works for me - and my Mom! :-)

Don't forget to visit Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW tips!!!

Why I love having a girl

2008-03-18T22:30:00.004-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I like finding deals? Well, I do. It is in my blood. Anyhow, since I am about the girliest girly-girl there is, I have had it in my mind that Evelyn would one day have a canopy-esque something or another draped over her bed. Well, a few weeks ago I went to the mall and found THIS! Not only was it beautiful, it was so affordable. Originally $50 at the Disney store, clearanced out to $7.50!!! I could not buy all of the fabric and materials to make it for that price. Since we are moving I am not allowed to take anything new out or hang anything up. But, you better believe, this is SO going above the crib as soon as we move! The girl on it is from the new Disney movie Enchanted. I rented it today - very cute. Maybe someone will get it for Evelyn's first birthday or something... (hint, hint:-)

And, who doesn't love little lacy anklets on a girl?!? I bought tons of socks at a garage sale this summer and took the next size out about a month ago. There are a bunch of frilly ones in this size. I hope they still fit once our weather is nice enough to show them off! For now, I just admire them at diaper changes! Cute thighs, huh? I feel terribly that she did lose some weight from this sickness. It is probably in my head, but her little thighs seem smaller now... I love those little chubs!

I love having a girl!

Bloggy Friends in "Real Life"

2008-03-18T22:16:00.006-05:00

So, I have now talked with three bloggy friends in real life! :-)

First came Cjoy, who was great and talked with me about natural labor, nursing, co-sleeping, etc. on the phone for at least an hour in the month before Evelyn was born. She gave tons of helpful advice! She made me feel so comfortable talking with her - she is so easygoing, sweet, and down-to-earth.

Then, there was a couple of weeks ago when I GOT TO MEET Sarah Cool! So fun! She was in our area for work and we met up for lunch. We talked as if we were old friends that went way back! Can't you tell how much fun we had?

Today I talked on the phone with Jennie for the first time. I call Jennie my "online mentor" as I have been going to her via email with mothering questions since about the day I found out I was pregnant! :-) We had a nice conversation about an assortment of things. Jennie has a great voice as you can hear her smiling over the phone!

I wish that all of my bloggy friends lived closer so that we could get together more in "real life." What a neat blessing it has been to be able to interact with three Godly women whom I never would have encountered if it weren't for blogging! So neat!

We're still here!

2008-03-18T21:10:00.002-05:00

I realized it has been two weeks since a post...

Evelyn and I stayed with the Andersons (my mom and family)last week, so that is my reason for not posting then. But, now, we are busy recovering from Evelyn having a double ear infection. She started to act sick starting on Friday morning, but after consulting the good old Dr. Sears's "The Baby Book," we chalked it up to teething. She is teething the doc said - teeth within the next few weeks he thinks.

At midnight with a fever of almost 103 degrees, we knew otherwise. I spent the night trying to get her fever down and comfort her. Neither Evelyn nor I got any sleep as she was so uncomfortable and I don't sleep sitting up well which is how I had to remain to keep her calm. We went to urgent care as soon as they opened and found out about the double ear infection. She is on the 4th day of Amoxicillan and I can tell is getting better. But, her drainage is still very bad and neither of us have slept well since Thursday night. She wakes with so much drainage that she cries, rubs her nose, tugs on her ears, and is so sad that she is awake and can't breathe! This is anywhere from 1 minute to 1 hour after she falls asleep. We are up A LOT. I use the nose "aspirator" (aka booger sucker) on her and only get something out about 1/3 of the time. You can hear all of that drainage when she breathes - so sad - it must really be up in her sinuses and draining right into her throat. I sure hope that I did not give her my terribly draining sinuses...

So, we are here, just a little under the weather! I have plenty of my own drainage, too. Yuck and a half!

Evelyn is busy growing and learning new things. She has perfected rolling across the whole room in a split second. She is working on sitting up - in about 2-3 minute spurts, and she is vocal, vocal, vocal!!! Her new trick is having us put a finger horizontally across her mouth and she starts to "sing" as we move out finger up and down - she loves the vibration-like sound it makes.

The Andersons left for Mexico yesterday. I can only assume they arrived safely. If you did not see my update to the vacation post, we have decided not to go. My Johnson (dad, step-mom, sister) family just got back from Mexico last week. See why I wanted to go? Everyone is doing it! :-)

Cloth diapering is going well! Evelyn has a cute (slightly bigger) cloth-diapered bottom to show for it!

Still haven't sold the house. Annoying! God is obviously teaching us about patience. We are trying to graciously accept the lesson. I was particularily annoyed today when a showing was cancelled only 15 minutes beforehand. I had spent over an hour preparing the house for the showing. At least they re-scheduled for Thursday.

I plan to post more soon with more details and pictures about some of these tidbits!

After the Carrots

2008-03-05T09:05:00.001-06:00

"Scootchin' Down"

2008-03-05T08:20:00.002-06:00

This was just last night. I had her in the bathroom with me while I did my neti pot (people that have sinus problems - get one!) And, she did her famous scootch down in the bouncer trick, so I was inspired to catch it on video. She knows what the camera is, and as soon as I get it out she tends to stop talking and smiling. Silly girl!

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Backwards Edition

2008-03-04T22:02:00.004-06:00

Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a "backwards edition" of WFMW this week. So, we are supposed to pose our "toughest questions" for those in the blogosphere to answer rather than leaving actual tips.

My latest news is that I am officially switching to cloth diapers!!! The diapers are currently on their 5th wash in the machine as we speak (they need to be washed and dried 5-8 times before use). Wow, have I learned a lot about the intricacies of cloth diapering! And, whew - there is a lot to learn - including the above pre-washing that is necessary! Jennie, Alix, and Tara have graciously helped me and have already answered a zillion questions. I have also been all over the internet plus have read a manual that came with the diaper order.

The thing about the diapering that is stressing me out the most is the laundering and detergent issue. So many different options are out there! I of course do not want to wreck or wear out my diapers or covers, but I also am not sure about buying a special detergent online that I have to start washing all of my other clothes in too... I feel it would be wasteful to throw out all of the detergent sitting in my basement! (Many places that sell diapers explain that the build-up of other detergents in your machine can wreck your diapers).

The other thing that scares me is the poo factor... Some say rinse, others say no. Liners, special sprays, wipes, rinsing hoses - agh!

So, for my backwards WFMW I am asking all of the bloggers out there: What is your best cloth diapering tip - inexpensive supplies, folding technique, laundering/detergent, nighttime and out-and-about solutions, websites, etc.? And, I wouldn't mind any encouragement anyone is willing to give!

Jennie has been great in reminding me what a blessing the diapers will be to both Evelyn and Jason's paycheck! :-)

Don't forget to check out the other WFMW submissions and have a splendid day!!!

Stuck in My Head

2008-03-03T22:07:00.003-06:00

I get songs stuck in my head A LOT! Do any of you? Unfortunately, sometimes this phenomena makes me dislike songs that I truly like! The worst is when I have the song stuck in my head and it keeps me from falling asleep at night or keeps me up if I wake up in the middle of the night.

Anyhow, I have lately had "Journey to the Past" from Anastasia stuck in my head constantly. Since Jason is gone, Evelyn and I rented some girly movies last week from the $1 section - A Cinderella Story and Anastasia. I knew a lot of the music from Anastasia, but had never actually seen the movie in its entirety. It was a cute movie. There are a lot of celebrity voices - Meg Ryan, Angela Lansbury, and Kelsey Grammar to name a few. The music is very fun and catchy! Evelyn and I enjoyed singing and dancing to the "sing-along" feature on the DVD - she had her first waltz! Good times!

To vacation, or not?

2008-02-28T23:13:00.004-06:00

My mom, step-dad and their clan (7 kids and baby granddaughter Sophia) are going on a vacation to Mexico. Exciting, right? They will be leaving before Easter and will be gone for three weeks. (What am I going to do without having my husband at home AND without being able to call my Mom? I am not sure...)

Anyhow, my mom recently suggested that Evelyn and I join them for part of their trip. At first, I was all for it. Then, the reality of what that entails hit me. Travel alone with a baby. Rush to renew my passport and get her one. Not be able to communicate with Jason as much. Keep both of us out of the sun (we are as white as they come!) And a myriad of other things.

I emailed Jason with the "proposal" of us going, assuming he would be hesitant to say the least. But, he was all for it! Due to our situation, we as a family won't probably be financially ready to vacation for a while - like years. He knows I love to travel and that we'd have a great time. Don't I have a great and supportive hubby!?!

So, here I am. Stuck with a really big decision that I need to act quickly on. I think I could make it all work. Apparently my local congressman is great with helping people expedite passports. I would have very little expenses, too, which of course is a plus.

I am THE most indecisive person. I sit and contemplate every little purchase and decision. A dollar is a lot to me, so I don't go making quick decisions,especially when it is regarding money.

So, what should I do? Seize the moment and opportunity and just "do it?" Or, lay low and just drool at the photos when they get back?

The warm sunny beaches of Mexico...so tempting!

UPDATE: I have decided not to go to Mexico. It is just too fast of a decision and we really CANNOT afford to go. But, thanks for the encouragement of those who said to "just do it!" It is fun to have people backing your whimsical dreams!

I'm Shedding

2008-02-28T23:00:00.003-06:00

My postpartum hair loss has reached a peak... I thought until about a month ago that I was going to mysteriously be void of having the whole postpartum hair loss that I had read about in books.

Nope. It is here, and here in a larger magnitude than I thought possible.

Supposedly pregnant women don't lose any hair like normal people do who shed some every day. So, after pregnancy, you are supposed to lose all that un-shed hair. Like I mentioned, I read that this was going to happen, but didn't know how grossed out I would be when it did...

I have a large paddle brush that I use to brush my hair while I blowdry it after showering every day. The brush has seriously been FULL after I am done lately. Then, there is the hair on the bathroom floor and the hair stuck all over my shirt after I blowdry. On top of that, there is the hair I find all over the house, and on Evelyn, and Jason. The hair all over the house is what baffles me as my hair goes into a ponytail almost immediately after I am done drying it and remains that way about 23.5 hours out of the day... The worst part of this has been the KNOTS that have happened in my hair. Last week, I almost cried at the size of the knot that I brushed out. We're talking baby rodent sized hairball (okay, I might be over exaggerating a bit on that! :-) But, once again, how do knots form when my hair is pulled back at all times (including sleeping) and is brushed frequently?

How much more hair can I lose??? And, if I have to lose hair, can't I also lose the hair on my legs and underarms since I like to be rid of that? :-)

Bouncing Baby

2008-02-27T22:57:00.002-06:00

Evelyn has found the pleasure of jumping in her Johnny Jump-Up. Thanks to Auntie Andrea for passing it down to us! She was an even better bouncer yesterday for Grandma Sharon who came all the way to play with us for a while. But, I didn't get a good video of that bounce session. Enjoy her cuteness!

Let's See...

2008-02-25T12:58:00.004-06:00

Let's see...what's new, you ask?

I got sick. Again. Agh! I became ill with some stomach bug on Monday afternoon and was sick until Wednesday afternoon. More fever and overall crumminess, but this time lots of nausea was added! My great friend Tessa sent her hubby over on Tuesday with PowerAde and bananas. I have decided that "electrolytes" really do help! Then, Tessa made me delicious homemade chicken dumpling soup that night and sent it over! I have such great friends!
I am thinking seriously about switching to cloth diapering. I have started some reading - especially people's blogs about the subject. I am the most indecisive person, and since quite a bit of money is invested upfront, I know it is going to take me forever to decide which type and how many to choose from. Cloth diapering is not like it used to be! There are so many varieties of diapers, liners, and covers - too many! Will anyone volunteer to just make my choices for me? :-) I also am of course obsessed with getting the best possible price on things. So, I need to be assured that I pay the least amount for whatever products I decide to go with.
We met one of the newest babes on the block last week - Sebastian! I went to college with Alix and Derek and it was so fun to see them last weekend when they came into town. He is adorable! I realized in the shower getting ready that day (all of my deep thoughts come in the shower) that I have known Alix for 9 years this fall! It doesn't seem like I should know a college friend for that long!

Evelyn had her first taste of cereal last Sunday! We mostly took video - this pic isn't that great and definitely is not demonstrative of how much she liked it! I hardly added much rice cereal, so she was mostly just drinking breastmilk from a spoon. Yesterday was the second time she had it. I added much more cereal and she actually liked it even more. I am not in too much of a hurry to get her going on solids. She loves it when we are eating and always wants some, so I figured since her interest was there, I would give it a try.

We went out to eat yesterday after our pretty dismal (one attendee) open house. Evelyn wanted my water, so I let her put her mouth on my straw. She sucked up and drank a little water - loved it of course, too! She is so funny!
We took our first trip to the mall with Evelyn last weekend, too. A baby's delight - lots of new faces, things to see, sounds and lights!

And this was just a pic thrown in for fun because she is adorable and is wearing her "toasties" that Uncle Dawson gave her!

At Daddy's Request: Pictures!

2008-02-20T23:14:00.003-06:00

Evelyn displaying one of her new favorite passtimes - grabbing her toes! It is very fun to watch! She immediately rolls to her back if I place her on her tummy. She is learning more and more every day how to maneuver her body how she wants it. She also is playing more and mare every day with toys. She will feel for them and even grab her toes, roll to her side, and grab them. I know she'll be rolling to her tummy soon, too!

Not only is she a cutie, but this pic from last week shows her new talent - when she grabs her toes and rolls on her side, she also moves herself around. She is usually 180 degrees around a few mintues after I lay her down and off of her little play mat - as shown here!
Fun times with daddy last weekend! I am trying to play extra with her at night since she is missing daddy playtime!

We love you Jason/Daddy!