Greeting cards

So I was trying to find a card to put a gift card in for a first time mom. She is due in a few weeks.

This wasn't for a baby shower...just a gift.

One of the hardest cards to find. I think Frank had rearranged the WHOLE card isle at Target before I found one. Sheesh. I had an easier time finding a card for a teenager in re-hab, than I did this one.

Some of my stumbling blocks with my card search:

1. Baby isn't born yet so it couldn't be a "Congratulations on your baby boy/girl" card.
2. They don't know the sex of the baby (good for them...someday I will get my wish with that!) No pink, no blue.
3. It wasn't for a baby shower gift. Too bad too because there were a lot of cute baby shower cards.
4. What is a mom-to-be? To me that is a very odd term. You are a mom (or a dad) at the moment of conception. So, I guess a mom-to-be would be one that isn't pregnant yet. Well....who in the world would send a card like that?? Even adoptive parents that have been matched with a child (in my opinion) aren't parents-to-be, they are already moms and dads. And there were A LOT of mom-to-be cards. I guess I just don't get the terminology. Are you not a mom until you have a child in your arms? Seems a little insulting to not call a pregnant woman a mother. Like you can't feel the love for your baby until he/she is born.
5. A "congrats your pregnant" card didn't seem right either as she has known for the last 36 weeks that she's pregnant.


Oh and just for fun....a recent pic of my oldest who made me a mom some where around June of 2003.

Threading

I will never pluck, wax, stinky cream my eye brows again.

I have discovered threading. It's amazing. Took all of 3 minutes and I'm so very happy with the results.
Waxing always left my skin really raw and red and bumpy and itchy for a few days. Not threading.

A good friend of mine, Shauna, told me about it. After she had a large chunk of eye brow taken off during a wax at a place in the mall I was convinced to never do that again. So this little cart thing in the mall opened for threading.

I was nervous to go at first, but I'm glad I got over that. It was cheap ($8), fast, and the results are very nice. Ya, it hurt a bit, but nothing like waxing. And my skin turned barely pink. Not bright red, no bumps, no itch.

I have watched a few youtube videos on how they do it and I will never be able to accomplish that. It was like watching turbo advanced cats cradle/friendship bracelet making with eyebrows involved. Since I had no idea what she was doing, cuz well, you can't see your eyebrows (well I can after a while...just think Bert with freckles). It was really cool. And I will leave the skill up to her. But I'm impressed.

I will let you know how long before I turn into a Muppet again. Since it's quite quick and easy, I may leave my Muppet days behind me for good!

Yucky bugs and sick babies

Baby Gwen has her first ear infection. It's so sad. She is so miserable. She is usually this bubbly happy squawking baby. Now she's whiney, coughing, cranky baby. I want my happy baby back. Hopefully this amox will kick in soon and she will be back to normal.
I couldn't imagine having a baby like this all the time. I'm so very blessed that I can stay home with my babies. I know too many kids that are full of boogers and ear infections often probably because of day care. Not to say that some SAHB don't get ear infections...but day care babies seem to get sick more often. And I'm lucky that I can stay at home and take are of my sick babies with out the worry of taking time off or other office issues. I can cuddle and hug and snuggle and wear her until she is fully recovered. Not when my vacation time runs out. And I feel so bad for those moms that struggle with that issue.
When kick ass hubby and I first started dating we both knew that we wanted to raise our children at home with only one income. It was always known that when we had out first baby I would quit working and stay at home with the kids. And that's exactly what I did. And KA hubby has done a KA job of keeping us stable and with out financial worries. Did I mention he kicks ass.


Oh and we have hornets. Or yellow jackets. Or what ever they are. They are yucky. They scare the sh*t out of me. I'm allergic to those stingy things....I swell up like a balloon. Not attractive. The last few times I had to head to the ER for an antihistime (sp?) shot. I do not have the desire to take 3 children to the ER so I can get a shot. They would probably come out of there with worse illnesses then I went in for in the first place.
So the bug guy is here. We aren't exactly sure where those suckers are....but we think they are in the eves. I don't like the chemicals he will have to spray around the house. But I dislike ER trips more.

Here's to hoping they are gone gone gone!

Problem Solved

The rash is no longer a mystery!

So I took her to the pedi and she said it was contact dermatitis. A contact rash. She was allergic to the ONE disposable diaper I was using at night. That's why it was getting worse slowly. And then getting worse faster when the phone nurse told me to slop her up with grease (which I can't use cloth with) and put a sposie on her.

So we are cloth 100% now. Slobbed her up with some CA baby cream and we have one clear Gwen bum. I now have to do diaper laundry more often now (every other day now). But a happy baby tush is worth it!

As some of you know I do some things that are considered "crunchy" or not very mainstream. But I think my reasoning is a bit different than others that do these things. Here are the things that I do and MY reasons.

*I cloth diaper. I do this because all those chemicals in sposies are gross. They smell yucky. They now give my baby a blistering rash. I don't wear clothes next to my sensitive nether regions loaded with crystals that turn into a gel when wet. Eww. I'm not going to do that to my baby. Some people cd because diapers don't biodegrade in landfills. That is a great side effect from us using cloth diapers, but not my motivating factor.

*I use all natural cleaning products around my children. I use natural laundry soap. I use natural soap on my children when I bathe them. We have natural soap in our bathrooms for hand washing. I use these things because they are better for my children. Aili has sensitive skin so those mainstream baby washes made her itch and red and it was awful. 5 years ago it took a long time to find a product that was available in the stores that would work for her. Now there are more to choose from and she's doing well. Same reasons I use natural laundry soap. I also want my clothes to smell like...well...clothes. Not some fake overly powerful eye watering perfume. Just the thought of that smell makes me itch. Some people choose to use these things so the petroleum and other harmful chemicals do not get put back in our water supply as we rinse. That is a great reason, but not my motivating factor.

There are other things I do too. My kids are on a delayed vaccination schedule. They do not eat things full of sugar and HFCS. We don't go too far with their food, but are far from mainstream with this. We drive over one hundred miles just to buy cereal bars for our kids.

I'm not out to save the planet. I'm trying to help my kids. They are my number one priority. I'm the mama. My kids are an extension of hubby and myself. We want them to be the best they can. And these are the choices we make to have the happiest kids on the block! And if anyone has heard Aili's laugh...I think they would agree.

I love this planet. I want it to stay green and lush and beautiful for as long as possible. I'm also not trying to be a revolutionary, just a thoughtful mama.