tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23701332591207331462024-02-19T08:15:20.131-08:00SURVIVORMAMAMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-6294615129633582432011-09-01T14:02:00.000-07:002011-09-01T14:02:54.184-07:00A Camping We Will Go Camping with toddlers may be the most authentic portion of parenting survival style. There's just something invigorating about camping that makes me feel a bit adventurous and flares that pioneer spirit leaving me with a desire to find a cabin in the woods somewhere with some chickens and goats and a big fresh-tilled garden. Yes, I will admit that there was running water on site and both a playground and real bathrooms in walking distance at the locale where we chose to make our first foray into the world of camping with small people and we were camping a stone's throw from train tracks and less than a mile from town as well as under an hour from home. But when you keep in mind that the last time we went camping the only children involved were well outnumbered by adults, far too young to walk and most importantly not ours, I figure having a few cheats on our first attempt is allowable. We did a quick two night trip to end the summer with some friends of ours and their kids so it ended up being four adults with an eleven year old boy and four girls 3 years, 2 years, 4 months and 4 weeks. We took Survivordog too but given that he's pretty mellowed in his old age that wasn't a particularly trying thing other than figuring out how to pack around him in the car and scolding at him for chasing flies.<br />
The loose plan was to get up there sometime shortly after three as both guys got off work about two on Friday and we knew there would be a few last minute things to throw in the vans. As it turns out we both pulled in at just after five. It was actually quite funny that we both ended up being late by pretty much exactly the same amount of time. All in all the trip was enjoyable despite a few mishaps and flaws in planning. I've definitely got some good ground rules for surviving camping with babies and small children in mind for next time so hopefully we can sail through a few camping adventures next summer.<br />
<br />
1. Eat Easy - Most of the meals on our camping menu involved cooking as a major part of the preparation which isn't normally an issue but when at least two and sometimes three of the four adults are generally working on supervising, chasing, pottying, dressing and/or comforting babies and toddlers it leaves the kitchen crew a bit short-handed so what would normally be everyone pitching in and getting it done drags on a bit. I think next time there will be lots of cold cereal, sandwiches, premade salads in gallon ziplock bags that just need dressing tossed in and cold snack smorgasbords with just one or two open-fire or campstove cooked meals.<br />
<br />
2. Keep Bugs at Bay - I bought natural bug-spray as we didn't have any at home and forgot it. Despite what everyone who lives here says about the mosquitoes here in Oregon this summer, they really aren't that numerous when you're used to the skeeters in the Midwest but Spice is very susceptible to bug bites and tends to react badly so I would normally try to keep her protected. We did bring the liquid Benadryl I grabbed just in case even though they didn't have dye-free because I figured we wouldn't really need it. Turns out she got big on the eyelid Friday night(so bug-spray may not have helped) and it swelled up like a ping-pong ball overnight and was actually swollen shut when she got up Sunday morning. This was of course the eye that she was supposed to be having surgery on the following Tuesday but that's a whole other story. Suffice to say we'll be bringing bug repellent, dye-free Benadryl and one of those nifty bite and sting kits next time. I did like the bug repellent fan we brought along for the baby.<br />
<br />
3. Portable Potty - You'd think it would be the kiddos in diapers that would be the problem but we actually had no issues with cloth diapers and camping. It's actually the potty-trained ones that require extra work. Bring some sort of portable potty to keep in your tent. We took one of our little Ikea potties with a supply of plastic bags and disposable g-diaper inserts and it worked out great. I think it saved us about twenty-five trips to the bathroom in the two days we were there. Just in the two hours after we'd packed it all up in the van before we were ready to pull out Sunday morning we walked Sugar to the bathroom 3 times.<br />
<br />
4. Independent Activities - After putting on/taking off their bicycle helmets 45 times and helping them figure out the directions on their workbook pages as they drew and colored I was really wishing we'd brought a few more toys for playing without adult help. The crayons were great but I should have brought some less structured coloring books and the soccer ball we threw in last minute was a big hit. They were just dying to play in the dirt so some sand toys might have been good although I think they'd have dug up the entire campground if they had shovels and some cars would have been great too.<br />
<br />
5. Slip-On Shoes - While solid tennis shoes are a necessity if you're going to be doing any hiking they aren't easy to slip on and off before running in and out of the tent so best case scenario you spend a good share of your time putting shoe on and worst case scenario you either end up with dirt tracked all over your bedding or dirty socks when someone has forgotten to get their shoes back on before coming out. Next time I'll save the sneakers for hiking and bring some easy slip-on shoes for the rest of the time.<br />
<br />
6. Bring Batteries - Go through all your camping gear and figure out which ones take batteries and which don't and bring extras for everything. Bring multiple sets of extras for light sources, cameras and airbed pumps (which I apparently didn't know you're supposed to check before you go to see if they're charged). If you have cellphones or other electronics along that you charge off your car battery, make sure you run your car to charge the battery each time you use it this way so you don't end up with a drained battery at the end of the trip.<br />
<br />
7. Take Time for Nature - Camping with busy little kids can seem incompatible with enjoying the quiet of the wilderness but taking time out to partake in the beauty of God's creation will both recharge your batteries and help to foster the beginnings of a lifelong love of the outdoors in your children. Our girls had a blast building a little collection of things they found including a piece of bark, some flowers, a yellow maple leaf and a rock. They got dirty and did a great job of staying away from the "buzzy, buzzy bees". The first night we were there we were sitting by the campfire when all the hustle and bustle of set-up was finally over and our girls were in their sleeping bags chatting and giggling and I happened to look up just in time to see and point out a <a href="http://www.amsmeteors.org/2011/08/washington-oregon-fireball-august-26-2011/">fireball which is a particularly large meteor</a>. It was gorgeous, flaming yellow, green and pink and definitely something we'd have missed out on if we'd been at home indoors.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-85808584733061618382011-08-22T09:46:00.000-07:002011-08-22T09:47:27.557-07:00Blogging for Books Review #1The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck by Kathleen Y’Barbo <br />
This is my first book review for the “Blogging for Books” program from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I’m reviewing a digital copy of <em>The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck</em>, a historical Christian romance by Kathleen Y’Barbo. <br />
The story flows seamlessly between the polished, cultured world of the English nobility in London during the late 19th Century and the open, natural setting of the American west in the same time period. The transitions could have been very jarring if they weren’t so smoothly written. It follows a very young woman with family ties in both arenas and an English astronomer who is the younger son of an English lord. It also weaves real historic people and events into a fictional story in a charming way.<br />
Readers who frequently read historical romances set in this period will not find the storyline to be strikingly original but as someone who does read a lot of these stories that generally isn’t what I’m looking for. There s one place where a 4 year gap in the characters lives is skipped and it does take a bit of time to adjust to the changes in their personalities and motivations in that space. One could wish for a bit more character development although isn’t too hard to fill in the blanks with a bit of imagination.<br />
The spiritual aspect of the book is fairly scarce early on and comes in more in the later chapters. It centers on the human tendency to rebel against the Lord'’s will for our lives in deference to our own desires and the havoc that such choices tends to wreak in our lives. <br />
Overall it’s a sweet, feel-good book with a witty, fast-paced storyline easily devoured in an evening or two.. If “chick-lit” historical romance isn’t your cup of tea then definitely move on to something else but if you’re a fan of the genre, it’s definitely one I’d recommend and I look forward to reading the other two in the series<br />
If you're interested in the Blogging for Books program, <a href="http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/">check it out at this site</a>. :) A great, free mama-time resource for bloggy mamas and other bloggy book lovers too.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-26202508261247197622011-08-19T15:04:00.000-07:002011-08-19T15:04:51.297-07:00My Take On Affordable Cloth Diapering When we started cloth diapering over a year ago the two big motivating factors behind the switch from 'sposies were the severe rashes that Sugar always seemed to be dealing with and saving some money! There have been lots of other benefits like feeling good that we've made a responsible choice for the environment, knowing there are less chemicals around our girls, never having to run to the store because we've run out of diapers and the fact that they're just so darn cute but rashes and cost were definitely the big two at our house. I was totally overwhelmed by the choices when I first started looking into cloth and again when I was choosing pocket diapers to fill out our stash before baby Sweetness was born. Buying second hand online can be a good option but I was really just wanting to make one or two purchases and be ready to go with a full complement of diapers! In hopes of helping other parents dealing with a similar quandary, I've decided to put up a list and a quick review of some of the more economical choices we've found that work well for us.<br />
<br />
Our original stash of diapers was almost completely prefolds and covers with just a handful of pocket diapers. After doing a little research, most of it on <a href="http://diaperswappers.com/">diaperswappers.com</a> where there are lots of parents using every kind of cloth imaginable, I decided to try<a href="http://little-lions.com/page50.html"> Little Lions</a> seconds prefolds and have never regretted it. I've ordered several different styles of seconds prefolds from their clearance department and while they may not be totally perfect they've all been absolutely functional and I can't imagine spending more for their non-seconds counterparts. They're lovely and soft and we've never had trouble with the absorbency. Prices vary by size and style as well as if you're buying by the half dozen or by the dozen but these are a great buy regardless. If you're looking for cotton prefolds at an affordable price, I highly recommend trying these.<br />
<br />
I recently ordered a set of these super cheap contoured cotton flannel diapers from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/100%25-Cotton-Flannel-Prefolded-Diapers/dp/B003XNDEYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312620387&sr=8-1">Amazon</a> and I've been using them as prefolds on baby Sweetness occasionally and primarily to stuff pockets with. For the price, 60 dipes for $20, you can't beat them, especially for pocket stuffing! Because they're flannel they're also more difficult to grab with the Snappi's teeth but it is possible with a little trial and error to get the right method figured out. They work well with pins though for anyone not wanting to fool with the Snappi/flannel conundrum. They're a little bit snug to use with a Snappi on Sugar's chunky toddler frame but work in a pinch although they have to be doubled. For infant prefolds, stuffing or tri-folding in a cover though, they're fantastic. I've come to prefer natural fiber stuffers for my pocket dipes as I just find them easier to get clean and keep from repelling than the micro-fiber alternatives and these really fit the bill. Since they're flannel and only two layers everywhere but in the center soaker portion, they're nice and trim compared to traditional quilty prefolds. There is the extra step of folding them over but I suppose if you were going to use them exclusively for stuffing you could fold them and then run a line of stitching down the center so they'd stay folded although that would add to your drying time. As mentioned in some of the customer reviews on Amazon, some of the center padding is colored instead of white and sometimes shows through the white outer layers but we've had no issues with bleeding of dye. Also, some of the inner layers aren't caught quite as well with the stitching that holds them in place so there's been a little bunching on a few but it hasn't caused any real problems for us.<br />
<br />
My first pocket diapers were <a href="http://theluvyourbaby.com/">Kawaii</a> brand and I've ordered several more from them since them and loved all of them! The only varieties we haven't tried are their Pure and Natural diapers (designed to fit slightly smaller babies and likely to fit sooner than the regular one size but not last all the way through potty training) and the velcro version of their standard Heavy Duty diapers as I prefer square tabs for hook & loop diapers (hook & loop is Velcro or Aplix). If that "square tab hook & loop thing doesn't make sense, just go look at the different dipes on their site and you'll see what I mean. My favorites from them are the Bamboo Minky diapers which have an inner lining and two stuffer inserts of organic bamboo fiber and a soft, fuzzy fabric called "Minky" laminated with TPU for the waterproof outer layer. I like that these dipes only have natural fiber touching the girl's skin and I've found them to be one of the best fitting pockets both for the itty-bitty just-growing-into one-size dipes baby as well as for my big, chunky almost-ready-to-train toddler. We also like the Overnight dipes they offer (probably my favorite of all the hook & loop dipes I've tried) and both the non-bamboo "Snazzy Minky" diapers and the snap version of the "Heavy Duty" diapers have served us well. Their covers were the first ones I ever bought and they've held up really well but I've found another similar brand that I like slightly better for covers. They also now offer a pull-on, waterproof cloth trainer that we haven't tried yet. You can get these diapers from a few other sites but unless you really only want one or two, it's much more economical to get them straight from theluvyourbaby.com in a quantity large enough to qualify for free shipping. Bought that way, the prices for their pocket diapers include two inserts and range from $6.99 to $11.20. The woman who runs the site has always been quick to answer my e-mails as well. These diapers are made in China and ship from Canada so it takes a bit of time for them to arrive but they're well worth the wait.<br />
<br />
The next brand of pockets we've really found a love for are <a href="http://www.sunbabydiapers.com/">Sunbaby</a> diapers. They come in adorable prints and are a nice fit for both my big and little girl. My one big complaint is that they don't have a crossover snap but I bought a plastic snap pliers and some snaps on the cheap (see the part about Assunta Store lower down) and added them and still came out with really cheap, cute dipes. The patterns change up fairly frequently so if you see some you love now grab them and if not check back. We've been using our Sunbabies on both girls for 5 months now and they've held up to very heavy use. Running as low as $4.50 a diaper with one insert per dipe in a package that includes free shipping these would be great for starting a stash on a budget. If you prefer natural fiber inserts over microfiber this is a good brand to go for as I've heard that if you e-mail them they'll sell them at a discount without the included insert(s). Like the Kawaii diapers, these are made in China but these also ship from China so again, plan ahead when you order for a fairly long shipping time.<br />
<br />
If you're looking for a U.S. made option, <a href="http://nubunz.com/">Nubunz</a> diapers are by far the most affordable pocket diaper option I've found. Fully made in the U.S.A. (something not even the almighty Bum Genius can claim) these are good, solid pocket diapers that come in mostly sweet baby pastels and are backed by a decent warranty. We have both the super cheap "seconds" (stay away from those for anything but back-up diapers unless you plan to handwash or cold wash only and always hang dry) and the ones they currently have on sale that are the older model. We've been super happy with the sale diapers and I love the hook & loop ones for our newborn especially although they don't stay on as well on my chunky two-year-old toddler. Their snap diapers do have a somewhat odd configuration of snaps where the "hip snap" is set in a line along with the other two snaps but I haven't had any issues with leaking and it actually seems to make for a diaper that will fit a really chunky bellied baby especially well. The sale they have going right now on their 2010 stock puts them soundly in the same price range (including what you'll pay for shipping) as the China made diapers but even the regular priced dipes are still a great bargain if you're looking for a domestic manufactured option.<br />
<br />
My most recent affordable diaper find is the <a href="http://www.assuntastore.com/">Assunta Store</a>. Another China based business, this little web store carries onesize pocket diapers, both sized and one-size covers and diaper making supplies as well as some other sewing paraphernalia. All sales from the store benefit<a href="http://www.littleflowerprojects.org/index.html"> Little Flower Projects</a> which is a USA registered non-profit organization providing hospice and/or medical for premature and otherwise medically fragile Chinese babies as well as long term foster care support for developmentally disabled children. I've been reading this group's blog and following them on facebook ever since discovering the store and they do some amazing work with these tiny, precious little ones. Even the babies who don't make it are recognized, cherished and given value that they might otherwise not have in their short time on earth. In addition to the fuzzy warm feeling of knowing your purchase from this store is helping some adorable little kidlets, they have great prices and all the items I've gotten have been of good quality. Their diaper covers (both sized and onesize) are my new favorites for everything beyond the very tiniest newborn stage and beyond the fact that they don't come with crossover snaps, I've had no problems with their pocket diapers. I also purchased my snap pliers and snaps from this store at a very affordable price and have gone snap happy adding crossover snaps and extra snaps to extend my size options on some of my other diapers and to other projects for the girls including anything that keeps me from having to sew buttonholes. Their customer service in unparalleled too. My first order with this company went astray due to a postal error that they were totally not at fault for and the woman at the other end immediately tracked the package down here in the states, had it sent to me super-fast at their own cost and also gave me a $10 coupon code to use on a future purchase which I made soon after. <br />
<br />
My experience with fitteds is admittedly limited but one well-priced option that I've tried and loved are the adorable soft-cotton flannel stuffable fitteds from WAHM company <a href="http://gemcloth.webs.com/">Gemcloth</a>. They fold down nicely for different sizes and since they're stuffable the trimness and absorbency are very customizeable for what your little one needs. If you're looking for fantastic mama-cloth, flannel wipes or nursing pads this is also a great place to look. There is sometimes a wait on getting a slot for custom stuff but the delay is well worth it!<br />
<br />
I posted a while back on affordable cloth training pants so I won't go into that too much but I will mention the overall winner from our trials with those again. See WAHG (Work At Home Grandma)<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/qtbunns"> QT Bunns</a> on Etsy for our hands-down favorite. She also offers other diapers which I have yet to try but if the quality of her training pants holds true for her other products, I wouldn't hesitate to buy.<br />
<br />
Hopefully this list of my pet favorite brands will be helpful to someone else looking for cloth diapers that will save them both hassle and money. I wish you and your little ones happy diapering and that you'll love it so much you get to be as hooked on cloth as I am!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-58407552120063153802011-08-06T01:12:00.000-07:002011-08-19T10:16:30.270-07:00Genesis 21:8 Party<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I was reading in Genesis recently when I came upon something in a verse referring to Sarah, Abraham and their son Issac that I'd never noticed before but that caught my attention now. <i>"</i><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>The baby grew and was weaned. Abraham threw a big party on the day Isaac was weaned." Genesis 21:8 - The Message. </i></span>If you have a bible with footnotes or do a little outside research you'll quickly discover that babies in bible times were nursed well into toddlerhood, likely to around age three. I thought it sounded like a fantastic idea that when babe was ready to wean, <i>Dad</i> threw a party! What a great way to both acknowledge the hard work mom has done and to recognize the special relationship that the nursing pair have had. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I didn't think about it again very much until this week. Then I realized a few days ago that Spice hadn't nursed for a solid week. There were two days when she asked but I was doing something else right then that couldn't be put on hold and she never asked again. Also she's developing herself a pretty fantastic set of comfort tools that don't involve "Mama Milkos" now that the new baby is here hogging it up so frequently. I decided that a Genesis 21:8 party would be the perfect marker to take some of the bitter out of that bittersweet milestone for both of us. I mean, people have parties when they say good-bye to diapers and good-bye to binkies, why not a good-bye breastfeeding party to end things on a positive note for both me and my sweet Sugar? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> This will be a fairly modest affair, I bought some ice cream and toppings for a sundae party that will either be just us or shared with family or friends this weekend depending on how our rather crazy schedule works out. Maybe by the time baby Sweetness' Genesis 21:8 party rolls around I'll have SurvivorDad a little more on board and he'll join in and do his part in planning the whole shebang but right now he's having a bit of a crazy time at work so just showing support by attending will have to do. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> So my challenge, a particularly fitting one given that this is World Breastfeeding Week, is for you other mama's out there with babes nearing the end of the nursing period. I challenge you to either plan for yourself or ask someone to plan for you a Genesis 21:8 party because you deserve it! Whether you met your nursing goals or had to cut your nursing period short, breastfed for 3 months or 3 years, birthed your babe yourself or did the extra hard work of adoptive breastfeeding it should be recognized that you've made the effort to do something pretty fantastic for your little one and shared a bond that can only happen between a mom and their baby.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">UPDATE: We ended up taking ice cream and sundae toppings out to Grandma's house to celebrate and made an attempt at watching The Sound of Music for the first time. They loved the ice cream but the movie was a bit of a flop as Grandma's is just to exciting to permit any extended screen time. :) We made a second attempt at the movie during the day later that week and my girlies and I all snuggled up and watched the whole thing with a few breaks for exuberant dancing on the part of the oldest two. The couple times that Sugar has asked about "Mama Milkos" since then I've just reminded her about how she's a big girl now and that we had ice cream with Grandma to celebrate how she's big enough to not need to nurse now and we've moved on painlessly to other topics every time. </span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-13431677011383527992011-08-04T10:31:00.000-07:002011-10-07T01:04:38.975-07:00Unplanned Sabbatical<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"> If you look at the date of this post as opposed to the date of the last post you'll see that a rather long time has gone past without a post. In fact the last post was about the annual Big Latch On event which we're planning to attend again this Saturday so it's been just over a year (I wonder if I could get away with just reposting that one again with the new dates). You'll also see no mention of why I've not posted in so long. I thought for my first post back, I should take the time to introduce you to the reason for such a long, unannounced break. The little darling in the picture below is our newest blessing; we'll call her Sweetness. We found out we were expecting her just about the time last year that my posts stopped and due to the fact that we weren't sharing that news with most of the people close to us right away, I figured it was better safe than sorry and avoiding posting all together would prevent any slip-ups. By the time we chose to share our joyous news around 20 weeks I decided I was tired and busy enough being pregnant and keeping up with two little girls that I'd just wait until baby had arrived and we'd all suitably recovered before trying to get back into the swing of things with blogging. Well, now I'm back with a goal of getting in at least one blog a week for the time being! I figured an appropriate first post back would be sharing our birth story so if you're squeamish about the details you may want to just look at the baby pictures and move on. </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaGiKZh7uORBql8WAHLzRNrsy8ei5G9oO9W_5N_OoFnn4qmu4ydBtuYpUBN2yv1sYpZEJptTjNUXfoQcmIfGajK2mBg7iibBHzMOD6pih-1QbKYT8Q4YTqqJ06Iv2LB6wZgaxdJEdjrPZ/s1600/14098353940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaGiKZh7uORBql8WAHLzRNrsy8ei5G9oO9W_5N_OoFnn4qmu4ydBtuYpUBN2yv1sYpZEJptTjNUXfoQcmIfGajK2mBg7iibBHzMOD6pih-1QbKYT8Q4YTqqJ06Iv2LB6wZgaxdJEdjrPZ/s640/14098353940.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angela, the photographer from <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simple-Creations-Photography/148640485155102?sk=wall">Simple. Creations Photography</a> came by while we were still at the birth center and did some beautiful newborn portraits of Sweetness in spite of the fact that she didn't want to cooperate!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaGiKZh7uORBql8WAHLzRNrsy8ei5G9oO9W_5N_OoFnn4qmu4ydBtuYpUBN2yv1sYpZEJptTjNUXfoQcmIfGajK2mBg7iibBHzMOD6pih-1QbKYT8Q4YTqqJ06Iv2LB6wZgaxdJEdjrPZ/s1600/14098353940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaGiKZh7uORBql8WAHLzRNrsy8ei5G9oO9W_5N_OoFnn4qmu4ydBtuYpUBN2yv1sYpZEJptTjNUXfoQcmIfGajK2mBg7iibBHzMOD6pih-1QbKYT8Q4YTqqJ06Iv2LB6wZgaxdJEdjrPZ/s1600/14098353940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> You're probably wondering why we waited so long to tell our families we were expecting. Part of it was just wanting to keep the news as just belonging to our family for a while but also there was the fact that Sweetness was one of identical twins and her sister died in the womb very early on for unknown reasons. Because they were identical and as we had no way of knowing if it may have been the result of a genetic flaw that could have affected both girls we waited until our "big" ultrasound to tell anyone other than a small handful of close friends from church who supported us during those long weeks of waiting. When the day for the scan arrived, everything looked text-book perfect other than the fact that she was already measuring a big ahead of schedule by their guess. Once we knew for sure that the lost twin would have been a girl we named her Julia, one meaning of which is "young" and also because she was conceived in July and I wanted to choose a name that honored her short life rather than acknowledged her death. The babies' gender was actually quite a shock to Survivordad and I. In spite of the fact that we were both cheering for another girl, we both had strong feelings that it would be a boy who showed up in the spring. Only 2 1/2 year old Sugar got the gender right as she'd insisted all along we'd be bringing home another sister.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> We chose an out-of-hospital birth this time at a local free-standing birth center with a fantastic direct entry midwife, apprentice midwife and student midwife. If you live in the Portland, Oregon area and are looking for a midwife for either a birth center birth or a home birth I can't speak highly enough of the women at Alma Midwifery. We saw the same team of women for hour long appointments throughout the pregnancy and I've never felt that level of respect and dedication from a care provider before. It was a fantastically different experience from the traditional western medicine world of obstetrics. The birth center itself is a gorgeous old Victorian house fronted by a gated garden and ringed by a building containing the midwifery clinic and some other small businesses. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Sweetness arrived at 39 weeks and 5 days on April 14th after several weeks of anticipation, a full week and 3 days later than Spice and 2 weeks 2 days later than Sugar did. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. on the button and felt a strange, high pop at the top of my uterus. I am fairly sure it was a sharp kick that resulted in a tiny tear in the amniotic sac that only lead to a small amount of leaking as her head was already so low. At 6:01 a.m., after 3 solid weeks of wimpy, barely have to pause contractions every 10 - 15 minutes I felt the first serious contraction which was rapidly followed by another. After a short mental conversation with myself about the fact that no, it probably was not just intestinal cramps (which I'd convinced myself the contractions were with both of the other girls) I got out of bed and used the bathroom. Survivordad knew something was up as he was starting to get ready for his 7 a.m. shift at work and I let him know that he probably shouldn't be going today before I called the midwife to talk about heading in to the birth center and left a message for our good friend who's been there at all the girls' births. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> SurvivorDad got the girls up and dressed with some very minor pointing and prompting from me in between contractions while I slid on a comfy skirt and shirt and we all loaded in the car. It was lovely to be heading for a place that they were welcomed to be with us for the birth as we didn't have to stop and leave them at the sitters. They'd already been well prepared for the big event with videos and information as a bonus of Mama being a childbirth educator in the making is she's got lots of good visual aids. In fact Sugar was so well prepared that a couple months earlier when asked by a kindly, older cashier at the grocery store if the stork would be bringing her a baby sister she replied politely with, "No, my mama will go to the midwife and go HOOAH and push our new baby out her vulva." Not so lovely was dealing with contractions that were slowly going from 2 minutes down to 1 minute apart while sitting in the passenger seat of a minivan and fighting weekday-morning freeway traffic. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> We finally did arrive and I was by that point feeling some pretty major pressure. There were no last minute baby-belly photos as planned, I just wanted to get up to the beautiful birthing suite where I knew three very gentle women and a large tub of warm water were waiting. After a few quick words exchanged with the midwives, I used the restroom (at which point I was already feeling pushy although I tried to talk myself out of that fact too) and stripped down to the manky old nursing bra I'd worn to bed the night before and crawled into the tub. The black nursing tops I'd ordered specifically to wear in the tub so I'd look halfway decent in my birth photos stayed tucked firmly away in my bag and I had to have one of the midwives pull my hair back for me as I couldn't get myself together enough right then to do it myself. One of the girls got an "in labor" picture on their little fisher price camera and it was the only one taken before baby was actually crowning. My friend rushed in just a few minutes before I started really pushing and made it just in time to settle down and talk the girls through the actual birth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> SurvivorDad managed to get my cd playing for me on the cd player there and that was an amazing help as I could just focus on the baby and the music. Everyone just let things happen as they happened, letting me do whatever felt right at the moment and I ended up flipping from a semi-sitting position onto my hands and knees in the water. Over the course of 5 pushes total spaced out over 3 contractions, baby girl girl first crowned in the caul, then emerged with her head in precisely the intended position and finally arrived fully at 8:46 a.m. to the words of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6JQDsbtlM">The City Harmonic - Manifesto</a>. The entire labor had lasted less than three hours. The midwife passed her between my knees to my waiting arms and I flipped back to my back and snuggled her close. As the midwives subtly checked her over on my chest I remember being amazed and overwhelmed at the instant and total sense of possession as I felt for her that had been absent at the hospital births of the other girls where the emphasis was on how long I'd be "allowed" to keep the baby on my belly before they were whisked away to be suctioned and examined while the O.B. dealt with me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> We relocated to the bed with some assistance and delivered the placenta (thankfully intact after having experienced a D & C to deal with retained placenta at the last birth). My good friend cut the cord as hubby has never had any desire to do that part of things and Sweetness and I got lots of time to cuddle and start working on nursing while the midwives dealt with the blood loss that seems to be the norm for me when it comes to birth. I ended up getting a few shots of pitocin and after passing out in the bathroom (yay for the midwife apprentice who caught me before I slid to the floor) I also got an i.v. of pitocin and fluids but in spite of all that I felt 100% better than I ever had after delivering a baby before. When all was said and done, she was a full 23 inches long and weighed in at 10lbs 3oz, 13 ounces heavier than Spice who'd been 13 ounces heavier than Sugar. I had no tearing and my only pain at all was from a sore tailbone which I suspect had less to do with the actual birth and more to do with transitioning in the car for forty minutes with all the pressure of baby's head on that area and from the pretty heinous afterpains that pitocin and nursing bring on but they were doing their job. At no point while we were there did anyone ever tell me to pass the baby off or touch her or me without asking permission and explaining exactly what they were doing and why and then leaving me the choice of whether that was ok. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> The big girls got to spend the afternoon with us meeting, holding and cooing over their new baby before SurvivorDad left to take them to our friends' house where they'd be staying for the two nights I was still resting up at the birth center. After the midwives felt that everything had settled down with my bleeding they left me in the care of the fantastic postpartum doulas there who spent two days helping me to and from the bathroom, checking our vitals at our convenience, bringing me snacks and meals at request (so much yummier than hospital food) and brewing me nettle iced tea. One morning while I was there I got to enjoy a postpartum massage and the masseuse also gave Sweetness a sacro-cranial adjustment to help ease any issues from where her head was still molded from the birth. I remember laying in bed one night snuggling my sleeping baby and looking out my second story window down on the gated garden and feeling like a character in one of those old stories who's been given sanctuary at an old fashioned convent with the feeling of peace that pervades that space. The primary difference being that the patient, loving women caring for Sweetness and I were not wimpled nuns but rather pierced, tattooed, unshaven hippies which was just fine in my book.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> When the time finally came for us to go home I snuggled Sweetness close in the ringsling and walked with SurvivorDad and our doula out into the grey, drizzly Portland morning and snuggled her down into the waiting carseat for the first time. As happy as I was to start our life as a family of five instead of four I definitely didn't have that same relief to leave that I'd always had leaving the hospital with a baby. I got to go home feeling alert and well-rested and other than some lingering fatigue from the blood loss and anemia I felt ready to face the added challenge of a new little creature in our own particular parenthood jungle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54M6lSm_R73VbOMotBTkGOptBD-x0fisqsrLerKKd6pZbiDLirlAqBREhPgrn8owEeXEtnVMWsP6R7cTHEno7EUiu_xojdq7pKYwRBRCFxQksy3cFnVdwKEKJJfKLwStohU25Ao3pLaZG/s1600/100_8495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54M6lSm_R73VbOMotBTkGOptBD-x0fisqsrLerKKd6pZbiDLirlAqBREhPgrn8owEeXEtnVMWsP6R7cTHEno7EUiu_xojdq7pKYwRBRCFxQksy3cFnVdwKEKJJfKLwStohU25Ao3pLaZG/s400/100_8495.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-75228450326318861022010-07-30T22:59:00.000-07:002010-07-30T22:59:32.524-07:00For the Local Mamas!!! Do you live near and/or will you be near the Portland/Gresham or Newburg area on Friday, August 6th? Are you nursing a baby (or a toddler)? If you said yes to both of those questions, you should have the Big Latch On on your calender! Come join in to attempt break the record for mamas and babies nursing simultaneously and support breastfeeding awareness. Check out the website <a href="http://biglatchonpdx.weebly.com/index.html">HERE</a>, pick out a venue and show up at 10:00 a.m. (the BLO starts at 10:30 but they're asking mamas to show half an hour early to register and get settled). There are lots of locations all over the area and it's a great, non-threatening way to promote the truth that nursing is normal to our culture! If you have any trouble with the link above, the site for the Portland Big Latch On can be found here: http://biglatchonpdx.weebly.com/index.html . The Big Latch On started in New Zealand and you can find more info on the NZ BLO at NurturingNZ's site here: http://www.nurturenz.com/latchon.php . There's also a lot of great breastfeeding info in other areas of that site and on their youtube channel.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-25519065473028727902010-07-30T22:37:00.000-07:002010-07-30T22:37:12.994-07:00SAHM Seeking Time to Stay-At-Home! I was thinking today as I was loading my two toddlers, the dog and the double jogging stroller back into the car after a long walk out at the dog park today that the term "Stay-At-Home-Mother" is a serious misnomer. You see, while wondering why I've been so tired lately, it finally occurred to me that we have been out at least once and often twice or more every day since last Sunday for sure. It may have been longer, I can't remember Saturday. If we went somewhere Saturday then it's been at least every day since last Wednesday. I can't remember Wednesday either.<br />
It is serious work leaving the house with two toddlers. First I have to figure out what time I'll need to leave in order to get back for lunch and a nap or decide to go after nap which only works if I'm going somewhere that doesn't keep business hours. I have to dress children, change diapers, feed tummies, pack the diaper bag and make sure there are clean, full sippy cups before even heading out the door. That of course doesn't count showering and dressing myself. Making our way to the car is always interesting, especially if there's more to take than just the kids and bag or if Sugar, the only one steady enough on her feet to go down the front steps reliably, has left the shoes I intend for her to wear in the car on our last outing. If I have to take the girls out to the van one at a time, there's a strategy involved as to who's in the better mood and therefore less likely to have a screaming, whiny meltdown in the house while I'm strapping the other one into their seat. If Sugar's the one waiting in the house I have to be sure I've got the house-key in hand since she'll lock me out. <br />
Once you're loaded and get where you're going unloading is usually easier. Spice goes into her carrier on Mama's back and Sugar either walks or is loaded right into a stroller or cart. (We always park next to a cart return at places that have them.) After managing both girls through whatever we're doing the loading/unloading process is repeated as many times as necessary to complete our tasks. Usually there's also at least one diaper change for each girl and at least one passing out of snacks in there too. By the time we get home and finish up that final unloading, not only do I need to take the girls in but usually I need to pee. Two back-to-back pregnancies with big, low-lying baby girls takes a permanent toll on one's bladder that no amount of kegels is going to fix and I'm sure my neighbor lady has gotten quite the giggle watching me dance around on my front porch with my legs crossed and a baby under each arm trying to finagle the key into the front door before dashing into the house. <br />
After repeating this process at least once and often two or three times on an almost daily basis, no wonder I'm tired! It's amazing how much more exhausting everything becomes when you have two, tiny little hitchhikers assisting at every step. I really think that a better term than "Stay-At-Home-Mother" would be "Leaves-Home-Frequently-And-Slowly-But-Doesn't-Get-Paid-For-It-Mother" You know though, I did get to go grocery all by myself a few weeks ago and realized halfway through the store that I was lonely. Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-53339792962920612012010-07-15T16:48:00.001-07:002010-07-16T21:52:35.008-07:00Appreciate the Man I need to report to you an historic event. Last Sunday evening, we went on a date. Why, you might ask was this such a big deal? Well, it was our third childless date since Spice was born (one of those was SuperDad's company Christmas party which I don't really count) and the first time that both girls stayed with a sitter for the whole night. Yes, I spent eighteen hours away from my baby. We both survived and I somehow managed to avoid texting to ask how they were doing until morning. This post actually is not about leaving baby for the first time though. You're going to have to figure that one out on your own.<br />
<div> Instead, this post is about remembering that our spouse's are not just parents. Generally I had thought I was fairly good at this. We try to get a little time that's toddler free every day and we do talk about things other than the kids. We watch movies and "stuff" (I won't get into "stuff", my mother reads this blog. Well, I like to think she does anyway.) It's funny though how something as simple as dinner, a walk and a second-run cheapie movie can change your perspective. (We saw Shrek 4 and I liked it regardless of what the critics may have said). It reminded me that I need to put a little more effort into having fun with my husband and remembering just how much I really like to spend time with him. There were reasons I moved 1800 miles across the country to marry this man and I'm cheating both him and myself if I don't take the time to look at him as the man I fell in love with (albeit in an updated model) instead of just as my husband or co-parent.<br />
All this just to say, take some time to make things all about you and your spouse. Even if you can't or choose not to leave the kiddos with someone else and get out alone, you can still make the activity all about you and let them tag along for once instead of planning for family. Or take some time after they're in bed to really reconnect with each other over something you enjoyed pre-kiddos as people instead of just parents. I know that I personally need to take time to appreciate the man in my husband. (And if you caught the TMBG reference you get double points.)<br />
<br />
(A More Real) Love Story from Anita Renfroe<br />
<br />
<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/vLjWDKu0jfM&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/vLjWDKu0jfM&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-84599452403888639842010-07-14T01:40:00.000-07:002010-07-14T01:40:42.277-07:00Parenting in the Digital Age I know that generally speaking, electronics and software aren't thought of as necessary baby equipment and really that's true but I have to say that I love knowing that I have literally thousands of pictures to capture my daughters' first years. Especially since for some of the weeks in those years I was in such a haze due to dealing with the everyday needs and desires of two babies spaced a mere 14 months apart, one husband who was just as overtired as I was, one severely displaced dog and myself that I don't totally remember all that happened during those vital, growing months without looking back at the pictures. There's no way I could have amassed such a record of their babyhood without a digital camera and a fair share of the disk space on my computer. Thanks to the miracles of modern technology though we have those beautiful (and some less beautiful as I'm by no means a professional photographer) images. Also thanks to Google's Picasa software (which you can download for free, I highly recommend it) I can find what I'm looking for in the multitude of shots.<br />
There is a downside though of having the precious pictures of your children preserved as a tiny bit of memory in a chip somewhere, they're way to easy to lose! I was deleting some duplicate pictures off our camera card the other day from a few months ago that had already been transferred from the card to my computer but never were removed. Our pictures from the Fourth of July were still on the camera and had not yet been moved over. I bet you can guess where this is going. Yes, I deleted one of the new ones. In fact, it was one I particularly wanted as it was a picture of Sugar gazing up at the fireworks in nearly the same pose that she was in while doing the same on her first Independence Day two years ago. I was so bummed out. I had only taken the one shot of that so there wasn't even a similar substitute. <br />
Then I thought to google whether there might be a way to restore the photo. Sure enough, I found lots of people wanting me to pay them lots of money to get my picture back for me and in amongst the ads was a blog post pointing to a free software download specifically for restoring pictures on camera cards. I figured for free, it was worth a shot. It took a while for the software to run before I could go in and see what it had found. Wow, was I impressed with the results! It not only pulled off the picture I was wanting (the last one to be deleted from the card) but also all the pictures I'd deleted that day and pictures that had been taken and deleted over a year before (the earliest was from when Sugar was about 7 months old) that hadn't been overwritten yet.<br />
The software is available free for download <a href="http://www.snapfiles.com/get/smartrecovery.html">here at snapfiles.com</a> and is very easy to use. Neither I nor my avast! antivirus software noticed any weird tagalongs when downloading. (I love that my virus scanner sounds like something a pirate would say almost as much as I love the fact that it runs much smoother than my old McAfee did.) It does suggest not taking any more pictures on the card or messing with the data until you've run the software so that you don't overwrite the photos you're hoping to save. I would suggest making a new folder for the restored photos so that you don't have to sort through them to find the one(s) you're looking for as you never know how many deleted photos may be lurking around on your disk and it's much easier to delete the duplicates after pulling the ones you need if they're all contained.<br />
Since accidentally deleting photos is one of those things that is likely to eventually happen to any of us that use a digital camera I thought I'd share my new found trick and suggest that you bookmark either the download page or this post so that if you someday do the same thing, you'll be able to spring into action and save your shot. Now if only I'd known about this back when I mistakenly erased the pictures of my great-grandmother's 95th birthday from my mother's camera card. (Yes, I really did. Yes, I still feel awful.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs122.snc4/36476_408555741318_504106318_4974066_5058122_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs122.snc4/36476_408555741318_504106318_4974066_5058122_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> And now for the picture and couple more thrown in just for fun and grandmas. (Grandmas always want more pictures.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs024.ash2/34579_408555151318_504106318_4974053_3250384_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs024.ash2/34579_408555151318_504106318_4974053_3250384_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs064.snc4/34579_408555161318_504106318_4974055_3413709_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs064.snc4/34579_408555161318_504106318_4974055_3413709_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-49044616121496303832010-07-02T21:34:00.000-07:002010-07-02T21:47:02.131-07:00When it all goes BOOM!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmid9MFMbeH_WVDJav97m7o-Sv4qvOa4lWo7Pj4BRdCY-GJaLxrZQP7-xe8uY1QbrcpeVzJCmIvDo0T2GilFo8zvWpRW0wx8AvXBwj1lG0skkcCjU4jSv0Vhw9yN9IGa_zYz4AAzfmBL23/s1600/100_6117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmid9MFMbeH_WVDJav97m7o-Sv4qvOa4lWo7Pj4BRdCY-GJaLxrZQP7-xe8uY1QbrcpeVzJCmIvDo0T2GilFo8zvWpRW0wx8AvXBwj1lG0skkcCjU4jSv0Vhw9yN9IGa_zYz4AAzfmBL23/s320/100_6117.JPG" /></a></div> Happy 4th of July Weekend! It's officially the weekend for most Americans (our weekends start on Saturdays here, not Fridays so we've got another day to go) and everyone is gearing up for celebrating our nation's birth with food, family, friends and of course fireworks! Now in general, most Independence day celebrations are designed with families in mind so you'd think this should be an easy one but whoever it was that thought up these family friendly occasions was obviously thinking more about what the kids would enjoy than what would make their parents lives run more smoothly. Right now I'm busy making a list of all the things we'll need to bring beyond the regular bag of diapers and change of clothes to childproof this kid-friendly holiday. You'll notice there are NO fireworks on our list, fireworks and kids just are not a good combo, especially when it comes to preserving mothers' sanity. This is why we go watch a big fireworks display where the professionals are setting them off. <br />
Emergency Snacks: We usually share a picnic with another family with kids for the 4th of July which makes things somewhat easier as there's no grill for anyone to burn themselves on and anything too foreign is usually left at home but I never can tell when my girls are suddenly going to turn their noses up at the sandwich fixings, chips and bite-size veggies and fruit that they normally relish. I'll make sure to have some wholegrain crackers, string cheese and juice boxes (a rare treat at our house) so there will for sure be something they'll eat to keep the crankies away if they're feeling picky.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXungvJgi1mva1YK_3ebQXl_Cjf6MGDONFjIOYTAe3-wyx7lxgWgznEaYwCtMUZl2MAfUp1LBNjsaw6g8xpAXRJIJiSCgUAfKOJrXTRTRFv-BdBUMONNMimeZ7VSKSjkhDyJFPIfpP7o6p/s1600/5294_112581229056_520124056_1914599_6041344_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXungvJgi1mva1YK_3ebQXl_Cjf6MGDONFjIOYTAe3-wyx7lxgWgznEaYwCtMUZl2MAfUp1LBNjsaw6g8xpAXRJIJiSCgUAfKOJrXTRTRFv-BdBUMONNMimeZ7VSKSjkhDyJFPIfpP7o6p/s320/5294_112581229056_520124056_1914599_6041344_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Sun Protection: In addition to our normal concern about keeping their skin safe from the sun, Spice was just started on an anti-biotic that specifically states to prevent prolonged exposure to natural or artificial sunlight. Because I so often take my one year old tanning. We'll be camped out under our sun canopy with sunhats, barrier sunscreen (Blue Lizard Baby is our favorite) and hats.<br />
Water: I've just heard it's supposed to be over 90 on Sunday. Blech. I have the best luck keeping them hydrated by bringing their straw cups to tote around and sip on and then filling extra waterbottles with ice and water to keep filling the straw cups from. That and filling waterbottles for their water reminds me to fill some for ours too! I always toss in an extra, empty straw cup too because someone always manages to either lose theirs or get it so dirty that I can't get it clean without taking it home for a scrubbing.<br />
Seating and Containment: We have one of those nifty $6 ground cover blankets that I can never remember the name of for the first time this summer and I love it. We'll also bring camping chairs for us and the girls and probably just the single jogging stroller. I'll have a mei tai and a ringsling for Spice if she gets clingy and we'll probably throw one of the superyards in the van to pull out just in case someone decides that staying with the group is over-rated. I know that sounds like a lot but when you're talking several hours in an open field with two hot, overstimulated toddlers up past their bedtime you need options.<br />
Entertainment: Haven't totally decided what to bring here yet. We always bring a few books, Cat (Spice's lovey) and a baby doll of some sort and we may stick to that since there will be other kids to play with. I might throw in some bubbles too and if things get too out of hand there's always my phone, my necklace, whatever I happen to have in my hair and my wallet as the standard backup "toys" of choice.<br />
Clothing: One change of weather appropriate clothing for every child (two for anyone under the age of one), sweatshirts and leggings/long pants since it always seems to get chilly as soon as the sun is down (and for bug protection) and pajamas for all kids who will be arriving home more than half an hour past their normal bedtime hour. They WILL fall asleep in the car, you will NOT want to deal with them after you've not only woken them up getting them out of the car but had to rummage around for pjs and then shove their cranky, sleepy little limbs into them.<br />
First-Aid: Summer is definitely the big selling time for first-aid stuff I think. We'll have our bug repelling fan thingy just in case the mosquitos show up in that gap of time between the sun going down and the field being overtaken by clouds of smoke from the fireworks. Band-Aids for both real and emotional boo-boos, preferably the kind that are clear or pictured thin, waterproof plastic that covers the whole pad since that's the only kind they'll keep on. Liquid Benadryl, never leave home without it, especially if you have kids or dogs that may eat or play with random unknown things they find laying around on, crawling through or growing out of the dirt. (Liquid especially because it's easier to get into a person or pet whose throat is swelling up due to an allergic reaction.) Cloth diaper safe rash cream for possible heat induced-rashes (although I will say that switching them into the fleece covers on top of their prefolds when it gets real hot has led to so many less heat rash diaper rashes than they ever got in 'sposies). Aloe for whatever spots on himself my red-headed husband misses with the sunscreen. Anything we need for something more serious I figure we can depend on the fire fighters stationed at the field for the fireworks to supply. <br />
Ear Protection: Earplugs are a big thing for us with our girls. Since we're already dealing with one kiddo with compromised hearing (Spice is single sided deaf) I don't chance risking their hearing any further. It only takes one loud noise to damage a child's hearing and lots of moderately loud noise over several years (think fireworks, sirens at parades, loud music at outdoor concerts) can slowly impair their hearing into adulthood. Make sure ear plugs or sound blocking earmuffs are on your holiday must-bring list too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> I think that's it. What's unique to your family's must have holiday gear list? Anything on your list that I should have on mine to make my life easier?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vsm1ZusVe27BmmODLoXDOFakMsIWe2YzSBEtVukEWxGjrHKXbQMIOFcJCqBY7B92fo9IRbZn4ipn8FwU6sNhiDlPCRRQcuTUSnB0Xvp8PP2zETAWkvNHABt8J5yPJX0qikSruqljsMpb/s1600/100_6109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vsm1ZusVe27BmmODLoXDOFakMsIWe2YzSBEtVukEWxGjrHKXbQMIOFcJCqBY7B92fo9IRbZn4ipn8FwU6sNhiDlPCRRQcuTUSnB0Xvp8PP2zETAWkvNHABt8J5yPJX0qikSruqljsMpb/s320/100_6109.JPG" /></a></div> Pictures are from last year's 4th of July picnic, easily survived with careful planning.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-41341368862961797592010-06-26T23:32:00.000-07:002010-06-29T16:21:33.254-07:00$10 and Under Cloth Trainers Reviews!! I'm apologizing in advance for what is going to be a very long post, but I want to make sure I get all the info in that I was wishing I had while shopping.<br />
<br />
A few months back we switched to cloth diapers from disposables for many reasons (environmental, financial, Spice's 'sposie sensitivity, etc). I haven't regretted it for a second. Since Sugar is in the early stages of pottytraining though, I wanted something that was a little faster for up and down than a full snappied prefold and cover like we use on Spice. That and after switching her to cloth diapers we saw immediately how much less she liked sitting around in wet pants when she could actually feel that they were wet and we hope this will help her be more ready to potty-learn than she was in 'sposies!<br />
<br />
I started looking into cloth pull-up training pants and decided in a hurry that we needed something absorbent and waterproof enough to hold at least one full accident so at least semi-waterproof was the first requirement on the list. I also was amazed at how much some of these things cost! I'm sure they're great but for trainers that we're only going to use on one child for (hopefully) a few months I just couldn't see spending twice or three times what I did on my one-size pocket diapers that can be used nearly all the way through diapering. Even figuring in reselling when we were done with them I couldn't stomach the idea of buying a full complement of something like Antsy Pants even though they do look adorable and functional. I decided to limit it to trainers that could be had new for $10 a piece or less with a little shopping around and when buying a reasonable amount of pants for training one kiddo who was still having drastically more misses than hits in the potty department. I tried to figure in shipping too since all but possibly the Gerber pants depending on your area have to be purchased online. This is for the size my daughters are currently wearing so it may end up being a touch more than $10 per trainer with shipping for some of them in larger sizes. I spent less on several of them as some were second-hand from the forum on diaperswappers.com and some just cost less new. Rather than buy all of one kind not knowing what would work for us, I bought several to compare and since I couldn't find a very good list of options in this price range online anywhere I thought I'd post my opinions for anyone else who was looking.<br />
<br />
The seven trainers I ended up buying were, in no particular order: <a href="http://www.brightbots.com.au/category/2/page/1/item/11">Bright Bots Essential Training Pants</a>, <a href="http://www.kushies.com/Catalogue-new/training_pants/training_pants.html">Kushies Waterproof Pull-On Training Pant </a>(not the lightweight taffeta variety), <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/qtbunns">QTBunns Potty Training Pull Up</a> (on Etsy), <a href="http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/WMT_AI1G.html">Gerber All-in-One Waterproof Trainer</a>, <a href="http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/30GTPG.html">Gerber Cotton Training Pants</a> w/ <a href="http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/31GVP.html">Gerber Vinyl Pants</a>, <a href="http://www.pottypatty.com/Kit-0017.html">Potty Patty 2 in 1 Waterproof PUL Training Pants</a>, <a href="http://www.pottypatty.com/Kit-0019.html">Potty Patty Potty Training Pants - Padded</a> w/ Fleece Cover. I tried each trainer/combo at least twice and I tried them on both my girls just to test the fit on different kids in the weight range. Both Sugar and Spice are about 25 lbs but Sugar has 4 inches on Spice so I thought that was a pretty good comparison of a naturally lean kid to one that still has baby chub. I'm adding laundry info too on how well they did going through the cycle with my regular diaper routine. It's enough to keep microfiber inserts from developing stinkies so it should be enough for trainers too. I did turn all the trainers inside out for washing and drying. A trainer that could hold up to the dryer was a must as with all those layers of padding I'd have a hard time getting them dry in the ever drizzling Northwest otherwise. Most of these are all-in-ones but there are two training pant/cover options. They did take a little longer to put on but I didn't find the trainer/cover sets to take any longer to pull down for pottying as they just come down together.<br />
<br />
Number Seven:<br />
Gerber All-in-One Waterproof Trainer-<br />
These were our least favorite of the seven options. They are bulky and noisy and Sugar seemed to think they weren't very comfortable either. These trainers seemed to leak frequently on the first accident even if the whole pad wasn't wet as though the liquid was just running off the fabric if they weren't adjusted perfectly which seems to be totally possible since it is a very tightly woven, slick cotton fabric for the lining. At first I thought maybe they just needed a few turns in the wash but that didn't seem to help. They also didn't perform very well in the wash when it came to coming clean after a pooey accident, sometimes staining and more than once needing a second turn through the laundry cycle to remove all the smell from the padding. They do seem to fit both girls equally well, although since the fit isn't perfect with either, you could also say they fit both equally poorly. Also sizing is confusing as we've found a 24 months, a 2T and a 2T-3T option currently for sale in these. There are 2 girl colors, 2 boy options and white. <br />
<br />
Number Six:<br />
Gerber Cotton Training Pants w/ Gerber Vinyl Pants-<br />
The cotton trainer/vinyl pant combo from Gerber definitely performed better than the All-in-Ones from the same. The cotton trainers are fairly thin but as long as you make a relatively fast catch after an accident has occurred the vinyl pants do a good job of keeping your home puddle free. The cotton trainers fit well and I think they'll be a nice last step before regular undies but the vinyl pants are the bulkiest and noisiest of all the trainers we tried. The cotton pants also wash well but take care not to let the vinyl covers slip into your dryer as they'll easily melt. The vinyl pants also seem to hold onto the smells from the diaper pail but I think this could be helped by keeping them in a separate container until wash day. The cloth pants have some stretch and fit both girls well although they are a little hard to get up over the chunkiest part of Spice's thighs and I think a size up may leave them loose in the waistband. There are a handful of limited colors and patterns in each for boys, girls and neutral.<br />
<br />
Number Five:<br />
Bright Bots Essential Training Pants-<br />
I actually really like these terrycloth Australian training pants. They fit trimly and seem well constructed. Sugar seemed to find them very comfy and I actually had to put our pair up to keep her from requesting them. The only reason they didn't score higher is because we're not quite ready for them at this stage of training as the waterproof section is just a large strip down the center which allows for too much leaking with a full pee from her. I anticipate pulling them back out for outings and naps as an undie alternative when we've progressed to the mostly trained stage. If your little one is already to the point of being able to stop an accident part way through or if you're mostly just looking for something that's going to keep puddles off the floor but you don't mind having to possibly change clothes if it means faster training, these would probably be a great fit for you. I just wish they made a fully waterproof option for those who aren't quite ready! They launder beautifully and are a great fit on both kiddos because of the terry stretch at the sides. They come in plenty of solid colors, both bright and pastel and are very cute.<br />
<br />
Number Four:<br />
Kushies Waterproof Pull-On Training Pants- These are a sturdy, well constructed trainer The outer fabric is slightly stiff but effective (NO dampness leaks through) and they have plenty of absorbent padding and a soft flannel interior. They're not noisy and Sugar seems to find them pretty comfy. They are a little puffy due to the way they're seamed and the fact that in order to have enough padding there has got to be some bulk. The only real problem with them is the waistband. There is a soft piece of fabric rolled over the top for the waistband that is nice and comfy on the skin which would be fine except it wicks moisture as soon as they pants are wet! Watch closely with these and you'll be ok but they're definitely not the greatest for in the car or anywhere that there's not an easily accessible change of clothes around in case of damp spots. It's really too bad since otherwise I think they'd make a decent nap/light night alternative even. The stiff outer fabric does seem to cut down on the fit versatility and these cut in a little bit at the leg openings for Spice. She didn't act uncomfortable but they did leave some redness. These trainers didn't seem to have any real trouble in the wash other than some light discoloration if I we were out somewhere and one sat in the wetbag before I could spray out any ickies with the sprayer. The discoloration faded easily with repeated washings or sunning. They do come in a few different little colorful prints on white backgrounds or in all white. (I have not tried their Lightweight Taffeta Trainers at this point but, while very cute and although I love the Kushies taffeta wetbags I have, they appear to have the same rolled waistband. If anyone knows whether these have the same wicking problems or not, please mention it in the comments and I'll add that info.)<br />
<br />
Number Three:<br />
Potty Patty/Scotty 2 in 1 Waterproof PUL Training Pants-<br />
These trainers have a PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) outer shell and soft cotton on the inside with absorbent padding in between. These were comfy, trim fitting and definitely absorbent enough to hold a full accident although I wouldn't want to risk them for nap unless I knew I'd be able to get baby up as soon immediately when they woke. Sugar seemed to find them comfortable although they weren't her favorite. The outer PUL stretches in a way that the other exterior fabrics don't which is part of what allows for the trimness as well as allowing a good fit for both kiddos. I had no laundry issues with these and because they're fairly thin, if I had to line dry and wanted an all-in-one I think this would be the best bet. They do only come in one design, white with little bright pink Potty Patty logos (or blue Potty Scotty logos) printed all over.<br />
<br />
Number Two- <br />
Potty Patty/Scotty Training Pants -Padded w/ Fleece Cover:<br />
Although this is another 2 piece system and therefore a little more work to get on they still get high marks from me for several reasons. First this is the most breathable combo by far since it uses fleece for the water barrier layer. Then there's the fact that economically they're a great bet. The trainers are relatively inexpensive and you don't need a full complement of fleece covers as you can reuse them a time or two over a clean trainer as long as they haven't gotten any ickies on them. Also in the economy column is that many cloth diapering families already have fleece covers like we did (or you could substitute wool, whatever you had in a pullup variety that fit) and could get by with just buying the trainers. Once little one is ready, the trainers could be used without the fleece overs as a stepping stone to just regular panties too. The Potty Patty/Scotty cloth trainers may resemble the Gerber cloth trainers at first glance but there is really no comparison. These are slightly thicker with better absorbent padding, seem better constructed and are, according to Sugar, "nice and comfy". They're a good fit on both girls and have plenty of stretch so they fit snugly without leaving marks (read no pee dripping out the leg holes into the fleece cover before it has time to absorb). I use these at night sometimes and just fold a preemie prefold the right width to fit the crotch between the trainer and the cover. Another extra step in putting on but no more trouble to pull down. We've never had leaking problems with this combination. I'm not specifically listing a fleece cover brand because I just use what I've got which is 3 Mile High Monkeys soakers and one pair of fleece longies. If you don't already have fleece covers check out etsy or just look for some thickish fleece pants (cut them down if you'd rather have shorts.) Because fleece covers for diapers come in soaker length (think panties), shorties (shorts), longies (long pants) and skirties (any of the others with a skirt sewn on top) you don't need another pair of pants over this option which can make it very trim. If you do have both the trainer and the fleece under pants or a diaper cover they can be a bit bulky. No laundry issues with this one and if you're willing to deal with the two piece thing this is hands down the best pick for the line dryer. The Potty Patty/Scotty trainers don't score high marks in the appearance column (the same blue or pink logos as the waterproof variety) but the huge amount of different styles, patterns and colors of fleece covers that are out there more than makes up for that. <br />
<br />
Number One: <br />
QTBunns Potty Training Pull Up-<br />
This was by far the favorite for both Sugar and for me. These are homemade by a grandma in Alaska who sells online which is a plus right there. Supporting small businesswomen, great customer service, being able to make some custom choices and knowing that if you have a problem you'll get a response is worth a lot in my book. On Etsy "qtbunns" is both the seller name and the shop name. She appears to have a site being built at http://www.qtbunns.com/ and I believe she sells on E-bay too. The trainers are soft flannel for the interior and exterior with a hidden PUL layer and plenty of padding sandwiched in between. The stitching is very sturdy and is of an overlock or serge variety instead of stitched and turned which allows for a very trim fit at the hips and waist even with the multiple layers and the generous absorbent padding where it's needed. I think it's this stitching style that also seems to prevent any wicking from the soft inner layers to the outer one. These trainers have never leaked for us, even during nap or overnight and Sugar, while not a supersoaker, does still have full on accidents overnight. They fit both girls nicely and were snug at the waist and legs without leaving red marks. We had exactly zero problems laundering these. Even the time that Sugar had a poo accident when we were away from home and they sat in the wetbag in the hot car for hours before I could get them home and sprayed they washed completely clean with no odor or staining. When it comes to appearance these are the best of the bunch. They come in plenty of choices of colors and patterns for the exterior flannel (and if you're willing to wait a bit you can choose your own prints from her selection) and are plain white on the inside where they contact delicate skin.<br />
<br />
Overall, when we do this again (and we will since Spice will definitely be in a bigger size when she's ready to train than Sugar is in now) we'll be going with mostly QTBunns and a few Potty Patty/Scotty padded pants in fleece for spares and days when we really want the breathability. If you find these reviews useful, have questions about any of the trainers listed that I didn't answer, have anything else to add or want me to try out a trainer that you offer that fits the qualifications of under $10 a pair and waterproof leave comments. :)Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-26560869219990579462010-06-23T20:52:00.000-07:002010-06-23T20:52:51.716-07:00A Not-A-Real-Post Post For You I know, it's been a long time since I've posted and this isn't even a real post! I promise though, either tomorrow or Friday I'm going to get up a real post. It's even going to be a long one, a review of several under $10 a pair pull-up waterproof training pants, how cool is that? How can I be so sure I'm going to have enough of that ever elusive thing people without children call free time to do this? I have a BABYSITTER for two whole days during the day and for Saturday night. This will be our first night without Spice and our first night away from Sugar since Spice's birth so it's a big deal! Now if only I can keep my mind off of them long enough to enjoy our date night. He he!<br />
Anyway, on to today's not-a-real-post post. It's a video on Vimeo that someone shared on my Facebook and I thought it was hilarious and totally relevant to this blog, so here it is. :) <br />
<object height="225" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11621957&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11621957&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/11621957">Mommy Rhapsody</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/cotm">Church on the Move</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-9500789585708496622010-06-08T18:00:00.000-07:002010-06-08T18:01:40.288-07:00If It Looks Like a Duck... There's something unique about having kids less than two years apart the way our girls are (fourteen months in our case). I think that the "twibling" experience as they call it over at the <a href="http://www.babybunching.com/baby_bunching/">Baby Bunching</a> blog is even more intense when you have two the same gender and when you're a parent to twiblings it starts to become easy to spot another family like yours.<br />
We had a funny run in in Target yesterday with another mom. I was walking through the women's clothing department scoping out the clearance racks with Spice in the ringsling and Sugar walking next to the cart that she was supposed to be holding onto. She was having some trouble with listening and she knows that she needs to hold on to either the cart or Mama's hand when she wants to walk through the store so I scooped her up to have what was probably the eight conversation about needing to hold on to my hand or having to ride in the cart as the alternative. (When you are shopping with two toddlers you ALWAYS take a cart, even with one in the carrier and one walking and not much to buy. Having somewhere available to tie a stray child down is invaluable in some situations.) The other mother was a few racks over and smiled when she overheard our little talk and after I'd put Sugar down and we got closer she commented that my kids looked about the same age as hers. Turns out she has two boys, one and two, who are fourteen months apart and she was enjoying a rare trip out without them. She said seeing us reminded her just what a treat it was to get an outing by herself! We wished her a good trip and finished up with our shopping but it made me grin that we were so easily spotted as familiar. It's funny, when you get so used to doing everything with two toddlers you sort of forget how much easier things are when you're all by yourself and just adjust to always accommodating two wiggly little people.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-30690608508298539642010-06-07T11:42:00.000-07:002010-06-08T10:48:47.517-07:00Consumer Reports for Birth? I'm forewarning you that this post is about birth, a topic I have a particular interest in since I'm training to be a doula, but I promise it's not gory.<br />
<br />
Women by nature tend to be social shoppers. It's not enough for us to know the specs, price and features of a product as listed by the manufacturer, we want to know what other people like us who have used it really think of it! We ask our friends about vacuums, google reviews for food processors, watch talk show segments trialing beauty products and scour magazines for travel stories. Is it any surprise that when we're pregnant we listen to the stories other women tell us about their birth experiences?<br />
There is a difference though! With everything else we are listening for the stories of people who are really happy about whatever it is they've got but with birth, often the stories we let affect us the most are the horror stories! I mean, we certainly don't consciously think "I'm going to find the women who feel they had the worst possible births and do it just the way they did!" but often that's what we end up doing! If we're truly honest, don't most uf us, upon hearing a woman go into raptures about how fabulous their birth was sort of give an internal eye roll and think to ourselves that she's crazy, or that she must be a little bit of a masochist? Why don't we instead try to really listen to what she's saying and hear what it is that made her experience different from the nightmare stories?<br />
Mind you, I'm not of the opinion that there's only one right way to do birth that fits every woman. I've known women who had unmedicated, vaginal births with midwives who talk as though they've survived a major natural disaster and I've known a few women who had elective c-sections who talk about the entire experience as being blissful and peaceful. I think what is really important is to listen for stories that are rave reviews of birth and consider being open to different possibilities for our own birth that what we may have pictured and take those stories into account while searching for the plans and goals that fit us and our families.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsv4AWr7Z2LYY512jns9xKM5LTPD9DQNzyVQu86fTexxMIGlRfGYnIR1pJpzijDPE984A_s10LUqDyXL4-5xzFt8I2DXwrLoni7cPN1NhSMsBMmmZjACix0qFO-Wg2udhXwJqZWbUDI1m/s1600/IMG_2097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsv4AWr7Z2LYY512jns9xKM5LTPD9DQNzyVQu86fTexxMIGlRfGYnIR1pJpzijDPE984A_s10LUqDyXL4-5xzFt8I2DXwrLoni7cPN1NhSMsBMmmZjACix0qFO-Wg2udhXwJqZWbUDI1m/s320/IMG_2097.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-53663131894749435472010-05-28T01:14:00.000-07:002010-05-28T01:32:56.458-07:00I Like Cake! (do de do, do de do do do do) This post is going to be all about cake. What exactly you ask does cake have to do with surviving parenting? Well it's not so much the cake per se, it's more about the making of the cake. Here's where you start saying to yourself, "I'm lucky if I have time to make a peanut butter sandwich, much less a cake. Is this woman nuts?" Just hear me out! For me, making cakes is both a valuable mama-time experience that I enjoy as well as a useful endeavor that serves a function and saves us money since we'd be getting cakes for various and sundry occasions anyway that would be less tasty, less fun and much more expensive. This alleviates any and all guilt associated with aforementioned mama-time activity! I know, most people will tell you that you shouldn't feel guilty as a mom for needing some mama-time and they're right but that still doesn't mean I don't feel just a wee twinge when sitting down to watch an episode of Dr. Who on Netflix with my feet up surrounded by two loads of clean, unfolded laundry.<br />
Now, if baking isn't your thing, then find something that is that fits the requirements of being something you really enjoy as well as serving some sort of useful purpose to your household or the world in general. Cook new meals, knit diaper soakers, repurpose old furniture, plant a garden, volunteer with animals or whatever does it for you. You don't even have to be good at it, you just have to enjoy it and feel good about doing it. I am not a skilled baker. I make crooked cakes and flatten them with generous use of a cake leveler. I can't make a rose out of frosting or ice a cake so it's smooth which is why I use a lot of fondant because it's very forgiving and a lot easier than it looks.<br />
Ok, now on to the cake! This is a cake I made for my dad's birthday while he was out visiting us. He's in the timber industry and I don't know how to make a jelly roll for a log cake so instead he got a stump cake. It's a devil's food cake from a mix with chocolate frosting from a can and homemade peanutbutter cream frosting as filling. I covered it with a combo of storebought marzipan (for the top and mushrooms) and homemade peanutbutter fudge marshmallow fondant (recipe the very bottom of the post if you want to try it.) There's coconut grass and the fondant and marzipan has been painted with paints made from gel food colors and green apple schnapps (I didn't have any clear alcohol and water melts fondant.) I've decided that I don't have to show you the picture of the back where I tried out some "moss" effects and there are two green spots that look sort of like boogies.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_eIIH0T9wnqx1mS6GwlGftWKQOt7obbpZHDcSJfYMbZjW6TZiNCbHU3Tw154aoDootlYi5cRe9b8upFGgnnvTEGXvKjBNihYCoLxhb4pPaVZqPnFJ_RyYCPiJgSi66dqsSAtZ_qqhkj8/s1600/100_7731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_eIIH0T9wnqx1mS6GwlGftWKQOt7obbpZHDcSJfYMbZjW6TZiNCbHU3Tw154aoDootlYi5cRe9b8upFGgnnvTEGXvKjBNihYCoLxhb4pPaVZqPnFJ_RyYCPiJgSi66dqsSAtZ_qqhkj8/s320/100_7731.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Just for fun, I'm subjecting you to a few more past cakes. Remember, this is my mama-time activity so humor me. :)<br />
<br />
These are the guest cake (carrot cake with orange filling and frosting, YUM!) and Spice's cake for her 1st birthday party. She was somewhat underwhelmed with the cake. She sort of picked at it for a few minutes and then decided she'd rather be picked up instead.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJenK6__sdH88zyK5qdOgyt6cHU4gOZPHxf3DvbT-kFVotYv34_SOZAzsOAwnHOj1W4TNwWU20KFjhWLp_l5fuqZvU4MMz5AXrW1i7qYEDH6NCOeRhI1Li403WYiO72Ao1mSEqhP4vcICD/s1600/100_7438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJenK6__sdH88zyK5qdOgyt6cHU4gOZPHxf3DvbT-kFVotYv34_SOZAzsOAwnHOj1W4TNwWU20KFjhWLp_l5fuqZvU4MMz5AXrW1i7qYEDH6NCOeRhI1Li403WYiO72Ao1mSEqhP4vcICD/s320/100_7438.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvbMFNQAHP-D0MxMYeJp96eXDzppKyQq79PMEmVpexBwzXR2TmdRaW0PyI29epM6kHvaB4wAlM_TbCKTW4kSeqAwXktGt-8tTVC1J46w9Ijpuhq8fWOCjCcLodD60kCiGeeHJLLsQbq1V/s1600/100_7456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvbMFNQAHP-D0MxMYeJp96eXDzppKyQq79PMEmVpexBwzXR2TmdRaW0PyI29epM6kHvaB4wAlM_TbCKTW4kSeqAwXktGt-8tTVC1J46w9Ijpuhq8fWOCjCcLodD60kCiGeeHJLLsQbq1V/s320/100_7456.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the cake I made for Sugar's 2nd birthday (at McDonald's as she loves "Burgers, Fries and Milk" right now.) Word of warning for anyone ever considering it, don't use marshmallow creme with fondant, they don't like each other. That runny stuff that looks like an over abundance of mayo isn't supposed to be there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiui8-cKN4ebrVEwaH9J9Pw9AeMv1de_hCjraV0BK3ShJKtQ7xRjmcDKieeNlG1wvnGpBfrhhih7KoFBrMsuDr8n60RV2RMmQGZyFD9BmlpLXx0fA3AXRUq0zLbipKMCCtCXdfxY36_F6Q8/s1600/100_7242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiui8-cKN4ebrVEwaH9J9Pw9AeMv1de_hCjraV0BK3ShJKtQ7xRjmcDKieeNlG1wvnGpBfrhhih7KoFBrMsuDr8n60RV2RMmQGZyFD9BmlpLXx0fA3AXRUq0zLbipKMCCtCXdfxY36_F6Q8/s320/100_7242.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We did cake every month for the first year on our girl's monthly birthdays. I only made a couple of those myself as we usually did really mini cakes or itty bitty cheesecakes so we didn't have cake for two weeks every month. This was the topper for Spice's 8 month birthday. She had swine flu. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtefym6TCEIy3AAenQDYzigLf34bZKp7F-2xucgJd9srcDzUPwFi1EVa1-cKsojicHsj7GAAiSBtyDrKbfkRsQ_NELsbN4V0m0Aj2rmn4o3Ab_HW4boeJjhe8oCksknquu3z6Kdmfu18L/s1600/100_7004-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtefym6TCEIy3AAenQDYzigLf34bZKp7F-2xucgJd9srcDzUPwFi1EVa1-cKsojicHsj7GAAiSBtyDrKbfkRsQ_NELsbN4V0m0Aj2rmn4o3Ab_HW4boeJjhe8oCksknquu3z6Kdmfu18L/s320/100_7004-1.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one was YUMMY! It's matcha green tea and vanilla flavored layers with strawberry preserve filling. The icing is vanilla and the fondant is matcha flavored too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cTsxYwjtUmKR-_-61kNQAqmvQjigmS0b2agCimEGj_-peXMwlCLAck-jidc4-aABIsWmtKwBtrV7tj0rjYk_3UiPE0mnrvBD2JmXB9K_krJC9XsYboS4QSaaBx5aRhE9fGd3zbfn3CTU/s1600/100_6669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cTsxYwjtUmKR-_-61kNQAqmvQjigmS0b2agCimEGj_-peXMwlCLAck-jidc4-aABIsWmtKwBtrV7tj0rjYk_3UiPE0mnrvBD2JmXB9K_krJC9XsYboS4QSaaBx5aRhE9fGd3zbfn3CTU/s320/100_6669.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Peanutbutter-Fudge Marshmallow Fondant:<br />
I covered a large area of my sanitized, dried kitchen table with sifted powdered sugar mixed with 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, about 14 inches across and an inch deep. You can cover the table or whatever surface you're using to knead on with shortening, but I find it's easier to clean powdered sugar off the table than Crisco and if you use enough sugar, the fondant still doesn't stick. I coated my bowl (I use a microwave safe ceramic one from IKEA) in vegetable shortening as usual and my spoonula too. Then added in one full bag of mini-marshmallows, about two tablespoons of water and roughly half a cup of peanutbutter and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the marshmallows are fully meltedand quickly coated my hands with Crisco before pouring the melted marshmallow mixture into the powdered sugar. I kneaded it together until it felt just a little softer than I'd make regular marshmallow fondant as the peanutbutter makes it a little chewier once it's set. There are lots of good marshmallow fondant recipes and videos online and I'd try that enough to be comfortable with making and using it before trying this one because it is a little harder to work with. This batch had a nice, mild chocolate peanutbutter flavor that I prefer to the straight marshmallow as it is less sugary tasting and you can knead in as much or as little cocoa powder as you want to adjust color and flavor but I wouldn't add more PB as it would be TOO chewy. I've also done it without the peanut butter and used strawberry extract in place of the water for a yummychocolate covered strawberry fondant that I make darker.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-30564621991070830962010-05-20T23:00:00.000-07:002010-05-20T23:00:17.753-07:00Grocery Store Survival 101Just to give you an idea where I'm coming from I thought I'd share an old post off my previous family blog from when Sugar and Spice were 15 months and 1 month old about what a trip to the grocery store is like with two babies. If you look closely you'll find lots of dos and don'ts sprinkled throughout. :D Looking back I realize that shopping is so much easier now roughly a year later so if you're still at this stage, know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. <br />
<br />
The concept of "running to the store" no longer exists for me so it's a good thing SD works there because otherwise I'm sure we'd end up with some pretty interesting dinners when a necessary ingredient was left out because it just wasn't worth the trip to the store. (Like the other day when I was debating about what I could use to frost Spice's 1 month birthday cake that didn't contain any butter.) If we don't need milk or diapers, I don't go to the store until we have a decent sized list going. I thought I'd share just WHY that's the case when dealing with our two little angels by telling about our shopping experience yesterday (the first one out with both girls since the grandparents left.) This was a GREAT shopping trip mind you, about the best I could hope for. We go shopping in the afternoon after nap and lunch are out of the way normally. We try to shoot for being done shopping right around four when SD gets off so he can help us get stuff into the car and then into the house without having to hang out there too long after he's done working. I started getting the girls ready to go at 1:00 p.m., shooting for leaving at 3:00 since we didn't have too long of a list today. We pulled out of the driveway at 3:40. Other than being late however, we were in pretty good shape. Both girls had been changed, the baby had been nursed and Sugar had a snack. The grocery list was totally written and I made sure I had my wallet and crackers in the diaper bag in case Sugar got the munchies. The strategy for getting out the door is to put Spice in the meitai, grab the diaper bag, pick up Sugar and check to be sure she's still wearing two shoes and then grab the keys with whatever spare fingers I can find to lock the door before getting them each buckled in their seats while Sugar is reaching over trying to tickle Spice. Upon arriving at the store (right next door mind you) I have learned to park beside a cart return that has carts in it. Then I get out, grab a cart and after checking to be sure it has BOTH ends of the seatbelt buckle intact and no bent or stuck wheels I throw the diaper bag in and put the buggy-cover on before getting Sugar out and buckling her in and then getting Spice out to tie her into the meitai. Once in the store, departments are hit by priority and temperature. If there are diapers on the list, that's first, otherwise it's just a matter of getting through everything as fast as possible in hopes of finishing before anyone melts down. Then there's the "mommy moments" that I still haven't gotten over yet. According to my mother, my memory and better reasoning skills are never coming back. For example, yesterday I found myself standing in the popcorn aisle staring at two kinds of microwave popcorn and wondering which had less calories, the kettle corn 100 calorie mini bags or the buttery 100 calorie mini bags... Thoughts like this make shopping interesting to say the least. Then at some point Sugar will see SD working down an aisle usually (she's always looking for him at the store, even if he comes with us) and will spend the rest of the trip going "Dad? Dad! Dad, Dad, Dad.." until locating him again. Also, when shopping with two under two, every third person in the store stops to chat. They ask how old the girls are, comment on how cute they are or, and this is my very favorite (sarcasm implied), say "Boy, you've really got your hands full!!" Also fun is the ever popular "You've got two!" SD says I should say, "What? Where's the other one?" and take off running with a panicked look on my face. As if I didn't know that I had two and my hands are full. Sugar's newest shopping trick is to wait until someone who's had the audacity to pass by us without stopping to wave or comment and then suddenly SHOUT at the top of her lungs, just to see them jump. So once we've finally knocked out all the room temperature groceries on our list and gotten the last of the cold items in the cart, there are usually one or two things I'll notice we've forgotten and have to run back for as fast as possible while Sugar is turning around and banging on whatever frozen items she can reach and thereby thawing them out that much faster. By that time SD is almost always off work (since we never make it to the store as early as we're hoping) and he entertains Sugar while we finish up and check out. Checking out usually takes a while too because the cashier feels compelled to visit with Sugar, ask how old the girls are and of course let us know that "You guys really have your hands full!" Once we have made it back out to where the car is, I unload and strap in the girls, starting with whoever is the least cranky (they were both actually pretty good yesterday) while SD gets the groceries in. At home, I unload the girls while he starts bringing in the stuff and then I work on getting the frozen stuff put away first and then the cold stuff while the girls fuss and then hand Sugar a snack and a drink in her superyard before grabbing the baby to feed. I'm lucky if I get the room temperature stuff put away by bedtime and about the time the last things are in the cupboard is when I'll realize that I've forgotten at least one thing that was on the list. Yesterday it was potatoes. Guess we won't be having potatoes again until next week. :)Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2370133259120733146.post-69248847542533446992010-05-20T22:46:00.000-07:002010-05-20T23:07:57.455-07:00IntroductionsHi! Welcome to my blog. :) I am a wife and stay-at-home mama to two girls. Our older daughter is two and the younger is one; they are roughly 14 months apart. They will be referred to in this blog as Sugar and Spice respectively both for safety reasons and in the hopes that they won't someday come home from their Freshman year of high school screaming at me because someone found online where their mother described their potty training routine in detail. I'm madly in love with and married to a great man that I'll be calling SURVIVOR DAD (after all, we are in this parenting thing together) or SD for short. We met online and if you think that's weird, I'm ok with that. I think it's weird to meet in a bar. The last member of our little family is our 7 year old German Shepherd mix, Echo. I'm training to be a doula and loved my natural birth (the second one of the two) but will never rag on anyone for choosing an epidural. I live in the Portland, OR area and love the great Northwest. You will probably read a lot on this blog about day-to-day life with two toddlers and a dog and how to get through it without losing your mind and also a liberal smattering of camping, cake baking, babywearing, cloth diapering, reading, simplifying life, green living and internet shopping posts. I hope you hang enjoy reading and feel free to leave comments! After all, if we don't share resources, how will we ever survive parenthood?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibE-nYEm12xn_7xDW-Hn9i7FFDeRxHwTQZeyeZGTn0lmoKPtwXvMBSUPCRKNhHj7HIgJLM93YECciKyfAYpQK3gPbppFIgldXXLVzQnD9jVl0NTzQT_flapuTi9IPY4tFUhQGiQR6HVZ6M/s1600/100_7638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibE-nYEm12xn_7xDW-Hn9i7FFDeRxHwTQZeyeZGTn0lmoKPtwXvMBSUPCRKNhHj7HIgJLM93YECciKyfAYpQK3gPbppFIgldXXLVzQnD9jVl0NTzQT_flapuTi9IPY4tFUhQGiQR6HVZ6M/s400/100_7638.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01904054094888971270noreply@blogger.com0