Stinky Boys

It's not easy being the only girl in a house full of boys. I am surrounded by camo, hot wheels, rock collections, tools and muddy shoes. If the scenery walking into our home didn't give away that fact that boys live here, the smell certainly will.

Boys stink! I mean all boys, young and old. Well, maybe I'm being a little harsh. It's not necessarily the boys that stink. It's the boy's stuff. You know, the dirty shoes, socks and underwear (in our case diapers!) The dirt tracked in from outside. The dirty dishes and food hidden in their rooms (both Jeremy and Noah.) Their constant... bodily functions.

Anyways, last night I was expecting company. Ok, so I was babysitting. Still, I didn't want guest coming into my home and smelling stink! That's when I remembered an old trick from when I worked in real estate. Just before showing a home, we'd arrive a little early to make sure the house was ready for guests. One trick that I was taught was to give the illusion of freshly baked cookies.

Add a few drops of vanilla onto a small piece of foil. Place the foil in the oven. Set the oven to 300. Once the oven has finished preheating turn it off. Now crack open the oven and let heavenly aroma fill your home!

Or you could just light a candle, spray some Febreeze or whatever but the vanilla trick is my favorite especially in the winter!

Potty Training Nightmare

Noah's been making tons of progress on the potty lately or so I thought.

Today I took Noah in to use the potty. I got him all set up and ready to "go." I wanted to give him a few minutes to try so I stepped into the other room to sort some dirty laundry.

Upon my return, I was disgusted to find Noah dripping wet. I quickly studied the scene and could not help but bombarding my two year old with questions. Why are you wet? What happened to the floor? Where did all of the toilet paper go?!?!

I'm not sure what happened in there and I'm not sure I really want to know.

Tip: Earring Storage

Earlier this week I wrote about my lost earring. Today I thought I'd share a tip for anyone with the same problem, losing them...uh...not the finding them part.

All you need is a pack of buttons. I store my earrings in a craft organizer. Then, I use a button to keep the pair together. No more searching for matching earrings. I also keep a couple of buttons on my nightstand. I can't tell you how many times I've taken my earrings out during the night and never seen them again. It is much easier to find a brightly colored button than it is to find an earring.

Good luck to you and I hope you never find an earring in your child's diaper!

Not Snow Cool

Another six inches of snow fell the other night. Yesterday, I had an idea that was going to make me the coolest mom ever.

I spent 30 minutes bundling up Noah and myself. We put on layer after layer, just to spend a few minutes in the snow. It was everything Noah dreamt it would be! He was all smiles as he jumped into the snow, kicked it up and squealed with joy. I taught him how to make snow balls and even let him hit me with a few.

After a while, I started to get cold, Noah's nose started to run and I knew it was time to go back in. Unfortunately, Noah did not feel the same way and I was forced to drag him back inside. He was kicking and screaming the whole way. "No!!! Snow, snow, more snow! Daddy! No Mama, snow!"

Once we made inside, I sat him down and with the most disappointed face he looked at me and said, "You're mean!"

So much for being the coolest mom. Oh to be appreciated every once in a while.

Lost and Found

The other day, I lost the back to one of my earrings. I knew exactly where I dropped it but I just couldn't seem to find it. Later that day, I gave up, swept and mopped in the kitchen. "It has to be gone now," I thought.

How wrong was I?

Today, Jeremy found it. He was changing Asa's diaper when he shared the wonderful news with me. Thank goodness they sell extra earring backs. I won't be using that one again.

7 months old, It's Asa

In April of 2009, I wrote about Noah at 7 months. I thought it'd be fun to write all about Asa at 7 months too!

Weight: About 17 lbs

Eyes: Brown like Jeremy's

Hair: Light, short and fuzzy

Sleep habits: About 10 hours at night and two short naps a day

Favorite food: Peas, Bottle...He eats so sloooow


Least fav. food: Sweet Potatoes

Words: Mama

Teeth: Two on bottom

Mobility: Crawling, rolling and pulling himself up to stand

Favorite Activities: Wrestling with Dad and Noah, chasing Noah around, looking for food on the kitchen floor

Silly Traits: Gives mama Eskimo kisses, very ticklish

Dislikes: Not being held 24/7

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Looking back at my post about Noah, I see so many similarities and so many differences!

The Cloth Diaper Experiment

Practicing on stuffed animals

After months of research I'm going to give it a try, cloth diapering. A year ago I would have never imagined myself saying that but after spending another couple thousand dollars on disposable diapers, I swallowed my pride.

Now I'm convinced that cloth diapers are the way to go for our family. At first I was scared of the mess. I have heard horror stories from my mom, aunts and grandma about cloth diapers. And of course the, "We didn't have a choice when our kids were babies. We didn't have disposable diapers." I have always been thankful for the conveniences we have today, however, I hear that cloth diapers have evolved significantly in the past couple decades.

I also learned that disposable diapers contain A LOT of chemicals. Apparently disposables contain super absorbent gel-like crystals that are linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome. Remember that recall on Pampers this past year? Babies in cloth diapers experience fewer diaper rashes too.

Cloth diapers are also better for the environment. It takes like five hundred years for a  diaper to break down. What is so "disposable" about that? Manufacturing disposable diapers requires tons of plastic and hundreds of thousands of trees too. It makes me feels guilty to know we use that much of our resources just for a diaper that last a couple of hours. And then to think something that was only used for a couple of hours is going to spend hundreds of years in a land fill! Ok... I'll drop it for now. I'm turning into a tree hugger.

Anyways, last night I ordered some cute diaper covers. Hopefully next week we can make the switch for good. (It'd be a waste if I didn't use the disposable diapers we already have right? lol) Check back to hear how it goes. Wish me luck!

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Click here to learn how to wash cloth diapers.
Click here to read about our first three months using cloth diapers.
Click here if you'd like more information about how to use cloth diapers.

They looks so cute!

Snow Day

It's snowing! It has been on and off since last night. I hear it is only going to get worse. Noah seems to be mesmerized by the snow. Walking in from church last night he was kicking it up, eager for the opportunity to play in it.

At that time, we only had an inch. Now we've got several inches. Maybe tomorrow we'll go out and play.

 

This reminds me of an illustration my pastor shared with us in the last year. I believe he was living in New York at the time and was still a kid. They just had a big snow and he was outside with his dad. The snow was past his knees. He tried so hard but just couldn't get through the snow. Then his dad said to him, "Son, walk where I walk." Of course, that made all the difference in the world and he was able to get through the snow with little effort.

I cannot remember the scripture Brother Orvin preached from that day but I sure remember what he was trying to tell us. At times life is difficult to get through but if we would just follow Jesus and walk where he walks, we will surely get through. Save yourself the struggle, follow Jesus!

A Week Late

I realize this title may be a little misleading...

I know this post is a week late but better late than never, right? Happy New Year!

While everyone else is giving up on their new year's resolutions, I'm just starting mine. Honestly, I'm not a resolutions kind of person so let's just call these goals. In my mind, goals sound a little more achievable.

1.) Be on Time. Kind of an obvious goal being that I'm just now getting around to my resolutions and the first week of 2011 has nearly past. The truth is, it is hard to be on time with two little ones.
This will be a challenge.

2.) Completely potty train Noah. Not much to say about this one other than I am sick of changing diapers all day long. Perhaps if I can get Noah potty trained, we may be on time more often?

3.) Master the art of packing a diaper bag. Do you know how many times I have forgotten to restock the diaper bag? What happened to the wipes? Are we out of diapers? I have had over two years of practice yet I always seem to forget something. Well, this year things are gonna change. I am going to be prepared.

4.) Quit watching my weight. Tonight I am putting my scale in the top of the closet. This doesn't mean I am going to pig out and put on weight. I am simply going to stop stressing about it. I'd like to meet one woman that hasn't struggled with their body image. I'm too fat, too skinny, too flabby, too muscular. I will never look at a scale and be 100% satisfied with my weight but I can be satisfied with my lifestyle. I eat healthy and get plenty of exercise. That's what is important.

5.) Play with my boys more often. My babies are growing up so fast! Right now they love getting my attention and playing. Usually after five minutes of playing horsey, I'm done! One of these days they won't wanna play with Mom. So for now I am gonna spend as much time playing with them as I can.

The Glass is Half Full!

Our New Year's Eve celebration this past weekend was not typical but it was certainly one I will not forget. I rang in the new year with Mom, Dad and my brothers. I believe it has been over ten years since the five of us have spent New Year's Eve together. So what's the catch? We spent it in the hospital room that my mom has been in since Tuesday.

It was actually a wonderful evening. The nurse brought in a bottle of sparkling grape juice for our celebration. Just before midnight we turned off all of the lights. We had an amazing view out of our sixth story window of several firework displays.

We visited and laughed together. Just before we said goodnight, Mom cheerfully said, "Well, it looks like I've already met my 2011 health insurance deductible!"  Way to see the glass half full, Mom?!?!