Wordless Wednesday: Head-Gear

Ask and You Shall Receive

I've been a little depressed lately. Since it's started getting cooler, I have noticed that the jeans that we have for Gracie are getting smaller. Rather, she's getting too big for them. What this means is that I need to get to the store and buy her new jeans for this fall and winter. With money that I don't have. I almost cried today when I sent Gracie to school in almost-high-water-jeans.

When I was a kid - specifically when I was in 5th, 6th, and some of 7th grade - we had a hard time getting jeans of proper fit for me. Because of this, my nickname became high water. I swore that I would never never, ever ever let my children go through the same ordeal.

Just as I was about to start feeling really sorry for myself (and for Gracie) a good friend showed up. I had been expecting her this morning, but what I was not expecting (especially since I haven't breathed a word of this to anyone) was for her to show up with a box filled with 9 pairs of jeans, 2 outfits, and a couple new pairs of boots. And it's all really nice stuff too - a few pairs of Gap jeans, some Calvin Kleins, and a few other really decent brands.

Anyway - I am excited and thankful for such a wonderful friend. I sometimes take what I've got for granted, but today I am taking a gratitude inventory. What are you thankful for today?

On the Fritz!

Apparently my Twitter gadget is on the fritz. And I guess Blogger knows about it. I guess it's everyone having these problems, so I'm not too concerned. Just wanted to let you all know that I am not posting all the stuff listed below.

For those of you who would like, you totally should follow me on Twitter!

I Wanna Win a Moby Wrap!!!

So, over at Our Life Upstate there is a contest going on for a free Moby Wrap and I. WANT. IT!!!!

So, I found this great new store online - Growing Green Bums. I just love the store because it has everything a family could possibly need. Marissa, the owner describes her store as an online cloth diaper and attachemnt parenting store. But, in truth, they are much more than that. Yes, they sell cloth diapers (and they are all organic - how cool to find all your organic needs in one place), and baby carriers. But they also sell mama care items, wooden toys (USA made and everything), skin care and even laundry supplies.

As you can guess by the name the store is very eco-friendly. But what is more important (at least to me) is that they are family friendly. To me being family friendly means that I can find what I need, at reasonable prices and have it in a timely manner. And you will find all of that at Growin' Green Bums.

One last bit of information about Growing Green Bums is that Marissa's Husband is in the military. Marissa told me that for almost the first year of her son's life her husband was deployed. She said that during that time babywearing made a huge difference in her ability to attach to her son. She said "Without daddy, skin to skin connection was the next best thing! It helped me get through the rough months of deployment!" And, to me, that makes purchasing from them that much better. I just love the idea of helping to support a military family. They (the whole family - because it sure is a sacrifice on all of them) do so much for our country and I always want to give back to them. And to be able to do it simply do purchasing something I want from an awesome store? Well, I say there is no way to beat that. :)

Anyway - I'm super excited, as this is the first giveaway I have tried to win, and I am really hoping I do. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want a Moby Wrap. My Peanut Shell, while nice, just isn't cutting it and I really need something I can put Kairi in when I am walking Gracie to and from school, as well as when I am doing housework when she wants to be held. LOL.

So, keep your fingers crossed for me. I really hope I win!

Crochet Madness!

I keep seeing these really cute baby beanies online. I see pictures of friends' babies wearing them too. They're the ones that have the big cute crochet flowers on them. So I went on a mission to find one for cheap. The cheapest I can find of the style that I want is $22. Rather than giving in and paying that kind of price for an item that Kairi will likely only be able to wear for one season (especially when I want more than one!) I decided to learn to crochet. I went to my local arts and crafts store and bought a beginners kit for crochet. It came with 4 hooks of varying size as well as an afghan hook, a book explaining a few different stitches and including a few patterns, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm not really sure of the use. I also bought a few different things of yarn. (There is a specific word for this but I forget what it is and it's late and I don't want to look it up. LOL.) Then I came home and watched 3 YouTube videos on how to crochet "granny squares." Once I had the technique down I quit for the night and went to bed.

Yesterday morning I began a blanket for Kairi. As it stands now it is about 1/4 done and on hold. A good friend of mine is pregnant. Her due date was yesterday and she is scheduled to induce on the 23rd. So I am making her daughter a baby blanket. It is purple and soft and cozy. I can't wait to finish it.

Another thing that I have worked on, the only thing I have finished thus far, is a hat. It's not the kind of hat I originally started this for, but it is darn cute and just that in and of itself is worth the money I spent on all of this stuff. And I must say that Kairi looks super cute in it.

I will post pictures of the blankets once they are finished. Until then, enjoy these pictures of Kairi in her new little beanie.

I'm Being Followed....

I am being stalked by a video. Everywhere I go, I run into it. So I am giving in and posting it here - that way I am watching it on my own terms.

Bronchitis? RSV? Who knows!

Kairi is sick again. She caught Gracie's cold a couple days ago but this morning she woke me up with her raspy, wheezy breathing. It sounded like a dragon growling.

I called the doctor and got her an appointment at 11:10. We went in and the doctor had her checked for RSV, had her blood drawn, and did a chest X-Ray. He thought she had bronchitis, but her chest X-Ray was clear. She's negative for RSV, but her white blood count is really low and he said that's typically indicative of a viral infection like RSV. He's put her on Azithromycin, Veripred 20, and Xopenex breathing treatments. We have a follow up appointment in a week and if she hasn't shown decent enough improvement by then we will have to admit her to the hospital.

Already she hates the nebulizer. We haven't even made it through a complete breathing treatment without a full and complete breakdown. We're trying to get as much in her as we can before she has a meltdown and thus far we're making it about 3/4 through a treatment. Hopefully we will see some improvement there soon.

Anyway, please keep us in your thoughts. I doubt we will have to go to the hospital but even so it IS still a possibility that I don't want to happen. I will keep everyone updated as things progress.

This video is from this morning...

If you guys like my blog....

You might enjoy this too. It's too funny.

The Great Carrot Catastrophe

A few nights ago I was feeding Kairi a jar of carrot baby food. Typically I will follow the spoon with a wipey or a wet wash cloth and clean her up every couple of bites, but this really upsets her. This night I knew that I was going to give her a bath immediately after feeding her, so I just let her get as messy as she wanted. It was kind of fun, really.











Her bathwater turned bright orange and had to be drained and refilled before she came completely clean. And Gracie thought it was hysterical as well. I'm disappointed that I didn't get any pictures of her reaction.

No Boobs in the Cry Room

A few weeks ago I posted something on my Facebook status regarding breastfeeding support. Most of my friends know that I breastfeed my daughter, and while I am not of the Breastfeed-or-Die clan I am pretty well versed in the pros and cons of both breastfeeding and formula feeding and have opinions on both.

Well, as you can imagine, my status sparked a conversation with a younger girl with whom I used to work. In so many words, she stated that she too supports breastfeeding but she doesn't want to "look over and see boobs in the middle of Sunday morning mass. That's what cry rooms are for," she claimed.

Well now. As you can imagine, this struck a chord with me. As a breastfeeding mother and an equal rights activist for ALL I was slightly offended. "I'm sorry if I'm mistaken here, but I was under the impression that cry rooms were meant to be a place where you take your crying baby, as not to disturb the rest of the congregation. You'll have to excuse that assumption as I'm not exactly a member of the church but that is what the name implies. Now, I can't speak for other mothers, but I can read my baby's hunger cues and get her fed well before she starts crying, so there's no real need for me to take her to the cry room, is there?"

I got an immediate response. "Sure there is. Don't you think that waving your bare breast around in the House of the Lord, or in any public area for that matter, is inappropriate?"

Hah! Inappropriate! Boy oh boy.

"Let me tell you what I find to be inappropriate: First of all, the fact that a mother who feeds her child formula from a bottle wouldn't have to leave the room yet I am basically punished for feeding my child the best possible food for her and blacklisted from any public area while doing so. Yes, let's reward the mom who feeds her baby what scientists call "artificial milk." That's right - it's artificial. It's a half-assed chemical reproduction of the better choice.

"Second of all, I find it completely inappropriate that society has marked breasts as first being sexual devices and only second as what they were naturally intended to be. If GOD has a problem with me using my breasts the way he intended them to be used in his house then I shall choose not to visit Him. Although I doubt that is the case.

"Last but not least, I find it HIGHLY inappropriate that you claim to support breastfeeding. As a breastfeeding mother, when people tell me something like what you've just said I hear 'Oh, it's okay to breastfeed, so long as it's convenient for me and doesn't offend me. Because that's who it's about anyway, right? Me.'

"I am all for modesty. While I disagree with the way society has forced our view on breasts as sexual objects I understand that that is the world we live in and if I feed my daughter in public I will do so as discreetly as possible. But I refuse to shy away from giving my daughter what is best and I refuse to be inconvenienced by people who go out of their way to be offended by it. I'm sorry if this seems harsh but I am tired of being looked down upon for making what I believe to be the healthiest, most responsible choices for my child. I appreciate your opinion but that's not the kind of 'support' I need."

My Little Sweetie

I had a cute little picture made of Kairi at http://www.sugarnsweets.com/ for her 5th month b-day. It's really cute. My only problem is that the girl who made it did some weird stuff to her eyes, and while the effect is really neat looking, I also happen to REALLY like my baby's eyes.

Anyway, it was free, so I can't complain. Here it is:

Casting Stones

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Proud Mommy Moments

**EDIT**
I can't figure out why, but my pictures aren't scaling to the right size. Once I get this figured out I will fix it, but in the meantime I'm leaving it as is.

Gracie has begun school. I can't believe it. My kid - my freaking kid - is in school now. Whoa.



This little chunker is in school now. I can't get over it.



It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. This area got the closest thing to a blizzard that I've seen in quite some time the day she was born. We had to drive home, a 30 minute highway drive, going about 40 mph. It took so long. But that ride in the backseat with her was so great. We just looked at each other while she held fast to my index finger. *sigh*

But now she's growing up. A couple Wednesdays ago I walked her to her first day of school.


She was so excited.



I don't know how I made it through the day without crying. But I did.

She's really enjoying school so far. She's just like me and doesn't like to get up early. It's hard forcing her to get up when I know that I'm just going to go back to bed when I get home. But I don't tell her that. :)


In other news, Kairi is 5 months old now! She's getting so big! On her 5 month birthday she started doing a few new things. Well, she started doing 2 new things and began doing 1 old thing but really loudly and frequently - when she laughs or gets really excited she will squeal as she inhales. It's so freaking cute. It used to be a very few and far between kind of thing but now I hear it often daily. She's also started doing this funny lip smacking/popping thing. It's really loud and really cute. And she likes raspberries with her cereal too. ...No, I'm not talking about the fruit. She blows raspberries while eating, flinging and spraying cereal everywhere. It's fun though.