Other new stuff...

Summer is over in every way. As I sit here under a blanket, I am almost thankful that it is over. I am such a homebody. I always feel like I have to be doing something during summer. Weekends, days off, and any other free time. We were fairly busy this summer. I am not complaining, because it was a good summer, but I love lazy days, sitting on the couch under a blankie and snuggling with my boys. That, to me, is the good life!

Eric and I are both back in school. He is taking 2 classes: Tax Accounting and Literature. Two good classes to catch up on some sleep, right? Zzzzz.....I am taking my LAST class needed to get my second Associates degree from Corning Community College. Both degrees will be semi-useless to me, but overall, I guess, a good life experience. I am doing my field experience that is needed to get an Early Childhood degree. I go to class 7 times this semester, but have to put in 225 hours in a day-care setting. So, I "work" at the Corning Children's Center any chance I get, for free. I go and play with 10 toddlers and then come home. Not bad, right? A little tiring, but ok.

Taigan starts school back up on the 17th. Half the class will go the 15th, and his half goes the 17th. He is so excited. We had his open house the other night and he was running around the house before we left saying that he was so happy to be going to school. This year he will go 3 days a week from 8:45 until 11:45 and the class is combining the 3 and 4 year olds. 21 4 year olds and 9 3 year old, with 4 teachers. Sounds loud and chaotic to me, but those teachers are so good at keeping them focused! I can't believe that he starts Kindergarten next year!! *cries*

Brendan is doing very well. He is talking so much! He has so many cute little expressions and makes us laugh many times a day. Eric and I find ourselves looking at each other questioning if he could be any cuter, and if there is a cuter 2 year old in existence. haha

Evan is going to be crawling any minute. He gets up on all 4's and scoots. We expect it to happen soon. He is eating "real" food and loves it. Peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, fruits and yogurt. He has yet to "not like"something. I make 90% of his baby food and he really enjoys eating it! He weighed in at 17 pounds at his 6 month checkup and is catching up to Brendan already! haha

I am going to be 30 this year. It is right around the corner. It is so funny to be "this old" because despite the fact that I am a mother of 3, I still feel very young. I remember thinking when I was a teen that 30 was old and that life was almost over at 30. Well, for me, life is at the beginning. Eric got me tickets to see my very favorite band for my birthday. The concert is on the 27th of October and is in Philly. I have loved this band since I was about 15 years old and they get better through the years. We are going to see Pearl Jam! I used to joke that the only man that could ever steal me away from Eric was Eddie Vedder....

This will be the 5th time I get to see them live and I am more excited now than I was the first time. Thankfully, I have the best parents in the world and they are watching my 3 babies for me so I can go have the time of my life!

Some cute things that they kids have said lately...

Taigan:
"Mom, I am smart, but I am not Kmart smart!"

Me:
"Taigan, have I ever told you that you are my hero?"
Him:
"Yes"
Me:
" I have? Do you know what that means?"
Him:
"That I am Superman?"

Miss Judy, one of his teachers at school the other night at the open house (she was in the other room and he walked in):
"Taigan, I was hoping to get to see you!"
Him:
"I know, I came in here to find you!"

Brendan has started adding your name at the end of his exclamations. He was exhausted the other day and I was singing a silly song to him about being tired. "Noooo, mommy!" Or I tell him to go do something, "Ok, mommy!" or again, "Noooo, mommy!"

Part 1 of the Dream!

"If you can conceive it, you can accomplish it."

Isn't this so true? Everyone always says that if you want something bad enough, you can have it. Well, I want something real bad. I want to become a Certified Hypnobirthing Practitioner. I will become one.

There was a class being offered in Wilmington, DE. Eric and I talked and decided that if there was a way for me to come up with the money to do this, I could go. Well, ok, great. Right? Not that easy...

1. How in the world are we going to come up with the money?? For the class? The hotel? The gas to get there?
2. I am still breastfeeding and will be gone for about 5 days. I am not ready to give this up, he is only 6 months old. Can the whole family go? More money...
3. Can Eric get the time off from work, and still be able to make the time up so that he is not losing out on hours?

I go to school the very first night, and the lady comes in to give the "back to school" speech that she gives every semester. I am not really paying attention, as I have heard this speech about a thousand times. So, as I am doodling on the notebook in front of me, I hear the faint words; "Aid for part-time study." If I were a dog, my head would have cocked and my ears would have stood at attention! Part-time aid?? They have never offered this before. There is aid for those who attend full-time and I have often thought that it would be nice to receive this, but can't fit 12 credits into my already crazy life. She says you can pick up the application in the hall on a table during break. Well, there is NO way I am waiting until break . I went out immediately and picked up one for me and one for Eric. Filled it out that night, and dropped it off personally to the Financial Aid office the next morning. We then find out that we are both getting money and it is enough to pay for the class and a hotel!! WHOO HOO!

The "bubble" begins!

Eric gets the time off and is able to get the hours made up in other shifts. So, we are all able to go.

The "bubble" is getting bigger!

I find a motel about 12 miles from the birthing center that the classes are being held at. It is priced well, and has a full kitchen so we don't have do eat out for every meal.

The "bubble" is so big now that I can't believe this is actually happening!

Thursday night we come home to a message on the machine...the class has been CANCELED!!!

The "bubble" BURST!

What? Are you kidding me? The only other classes are in California, Toronto, Australia, and South Africa. California, Australia, and South Africa are obviously out. But, is Toronto possible? It is not far from here. All of us, except Evan, have a passport, and I found out that he doesn't need one. It looks possible...

Hotel is booked, Eric has gotten the ok to take the time off, and I am super excited again! The instructor for the class is away until Tuesday, so I couldn't register, yet. So close!!!!

October 1-4, and I can't wait. I have never been to Toronto before. And it is the weekend after my 1st wedding anniversary. Maybe we will be able to do something fun for it, good thing we will have a babysitter, right Sue? haha

Do dreams really come true?

When I was pregnant with Taigan, finding cute, affordable maternity clothes was a huge challenge. They are SUPER expensive. You only wear them for maybe 6 months, and if you are lucky, you can re-wear them for other pregnancies. It became a dream of mine to open my own maternity clothing store. I wanted to have affordable clothes for all sized women. Mom and I were going to do it together. I met with the small business association, the local radio stations for advertising, started talking to different wholesale companies, and even started looking for a store to rent. Then...Dad have another heart attack. The store went on hold physically, but not mentally. It has been something I have continued to think about often, especially when I hear someone say that there is NO WHERE around this little area to get maternity clothes.

I have learned a lot through my own pregnancies and labor. I have learned that I have a huge passion for it all. Pregnancy, labor, and breastfeeding. I want to be involved, somehow. During my pregnancies, I studied hypnobirthing. This is the form of relaxation I used during labor, my "pain meds", if you will. I had 3 absolutely beautiful births. No drugs, no machines attached to me, total relaxation. I love giving birth. I think that all women should have the opportunity to have births like that. I know that some are not able to for medical reasons. I think that some women are not told that birth can be like mine were. I think that most doctors just tell women that an epidural is needed and they can get it as soon as they get to the hospital. Now, I have some friends who have done it both ways, and loved the epidural birth. I am not saying that the way I did it is the right way. What I am saying is that I don't think that some women know that there are other options out there.

I have also become passionate about cloth diapering. I think that, especially in this area, people don't know that this is such a do-able option. We are educated by all the Huggies and Pampers commercials, and go into it thinking that disposables are the only way to go. Thanks to the Internet, I learned that cloth diapers are not what they used to be, and they are actually very easy and have many other benefits.

Another thing that I have started getting into is called "babywearing". Babywearing is the practice of wearing or carrying a baby or child in a sling, wrap or other form of carrier.


This is me "wearing" Brendan. There is nowhere in this area where you can by good wrap or slings.

So, this brings my back to my dream. I want to own a store that sells inexpensive first and second-hand maternity clothes, cloth diapers, and babywearing articles. I want to become certified as a Hypnobirthing Practitioner, and upstairs from the store, conduct hypnobirthing classes, cloth diapers parties and babywearing classes. I would also invite people there for other learning opportunities.

The reason I ask if dreams really do come true is because I don't see this happening. Why does everything revolve around money? Why wasn't I born rich, instead of, well, nice. haha. I can't win the lottery if I don't play. And I don't play because I don't want to waste my money! One can dream, right?

More Kidisms...

Brendan has called Bananas "nana's" since he first started talking. I think this is the common name for bananas when you are that young as Taigan also said that. As most of you might know, this is also the name for my mom. She is "Nana". Well, this morning Brendan asked for a nana and I asked him to say BA nana. He did, a couple of names. I praised him and gave him one.

He looked at me and said "BA Daddy". hahaha

Why, you might ask?

While I have been getting a lot of support from people about the cloth diapers, I also have heard a lot of negative comments about why on earth I would choose to do this. At first, it was for cost. The environmental factor has always bothered me, too. Well, in all the research that I have done there are now SO many reasons why I chose to do this. It is not a decision for everybody, and in no way am I saying that people who do use disposables are bad parents. It is the best thing for our family and disposables might be the best thing for those families.
\
Having said that...here are all the reason why I chose to sloth diaper.

Health issues-

-In 1955 before modern disposable diapers were sold and consumed, it was estimated that 7% of babies and toddlers had diaper rash. In 1991, long after plastic disposables diapers dominated the market, the number jumped to 78%. Brendan has pretty much had a rash since birth. Since using the cloth, he has not had a rash!

-Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by product of the paper bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. In small quantities, dioxin causes birth defects, immune system suppression, skin an liver diseases, and genetic damage in lab animals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.

-Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.

-Disposable diapers contain sodium Polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. This chemical can cause skin irritations and severe allergic reactions including vomiting, staph infections, and fever.

Environmental Concerns

Cloth diapers are kinder to the environment than disposables. Consider these facts.

-Disposable diapers generate sixty times more soiled waste than cloth. We were using at least one garbage bag a week when both boys were in disposables. Now we are having trouble using one!

-Disposable diapers use twenty times more raw materials, like crude oil and wood pulp.

-No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it's estimated to be about 250-500 years under optimal circumstances, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.

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

-Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill.

-Throwaway diapers use twice as much water as cotton diapers, mostly in the manufacturing process.

Cost

-Your baby will need anywhere from 6,000-9,000 during the first three years of life. How much will that cost if your using disposables?

-Disposables. If you purchase disposable diapers, you can easily spend over $65 an month. You will have spent more than $1,600 before your baby turns two. You will have nothing to show for this money except stinky diapers in a landfill!

-Diaper service. If doing diaper laundry is not in your bag, a service can be an option, usually costing between $13-$17 each week. Over the course of 2 years, you will spend $1,600, about the same as disposable diapers. However, the diapers get used over and over, and do not enter a landfill until they are nothing but rags.

-Cloth Diapers. If you use simple pre-fold diapers and covers, you will only need a few dozen diapers (in various sizes), which you can use over and over. The cost of cloth diapering can vary considerably from as low as $300 for a basic set up to $1000 or more for organic cotton fitted diapers and wool covers. You can spend even less by using found objects (old towels & t-shirts) or much more by buying designer diapers.

I just wish I would have started sooner!

New Pics

People have been requesting pictures. So here are some new ones...
Buttermilk Falls, Ithaca ~ Brendan wanted to be "worn".

He loves to smile!

In the exersaucer...2 other boys are really enjoying it too!

Brendan was trying on mommy's mascara!

Notice all the drool and the soaking wet shirt...

Taigan really wanted Evan to smile, and Brendan thinks I am crazy

"MOM! Don't take pictures of me when I am yelling and mad!"
Cheeessseeee

Happiest baby

Nana's boy

He loves his baby brothers

Taigan on his last day of school singing his favorite song, "God Bless America!"

Kidisms

Taigan (at the time was 3) moaned while getting up off the floor, looked at me, and said "Mom, I'm getting old!"

Today: "Mom, I don't like carrots. My mouth is still too young."

Every night at dinner. "Vegetables make me giggle." He means gag.

His new saying "Power to the People!" I have no idea...

I will be doing a Kidisms blog every time someone says something funny.

Sports and boys

Is it something in their nature that makes them like sports? Taigan was obsessed with hockey during hockey season, and now is obsessed with baseball. Everything more than a couple of inches long is a bat, and he hits anything he can. When he hits it, he says "cores!" haha, he can't say score quite right yet! Does he like them because other people like them? Daddy loves hockey and Nana loves baseball. Is it because they watch that he likes to watch? What if they watched ice skating or cheerleading, would he like them, too? Grandma watches QVC all the time, but I don't think he likes to shop...yet. Seriously, is it almost set that most boys will like sports. Nature vs. Nurture, I guess. Probably a little a both.

On Father's Day we went to an Elmira Pioneers game. Everybody went. Nana and Pop-pop, G-ma, Eric, all 3 kids, and myself. It was a lot of fun. I think he really had fun. I know my dad did! We went again last night. Nana and Pop-pop, Eric, Taigan, Evan, and I. Brendan stayed at home. Sitting for 5 minutes is hard when you are 23 months old. haha. First thing this morning he asked me if we could go again next week.

Saturday

I remember as a kid that every Saturday morning my dad would make waffles. It was always really special because back then, Dad never cooked. This was the extent of it. Well, this morning, I made the boys pancakes...from scratch. They were a success and the boys love them, well...that was the second batch! I have to admit that the first batch is now being digested by Calyx (the dog!). I burned them. It was a combination of me not knowing how long to let them cook on the first side, and the heat being too high. He enjoyed them. I asked the boys if they wanted pancakes for breakfast and Brendan's eyes lit up..."Cake!" haha

Update on cloth dipes: I can't believe it took me this long to start doing it. I feel sorry for Taigan's butt, that it never got to experience the softness of cloth diapers. It is becoming an addiction that I can't feed. I want more, and can't afford them right now. We are about 20 diapers and 3 covers away from being able to do it 100% of the time. We chose to put Brendan in them all the time right now because we didn't have any disposables left for him. We have a couple of packages that people gave us for Evan after he was born. Brendan was breaking into bad diaper rashes a lot and his little heiny has been, well..."as smooth as a baby's bottom" since we started him with cloth. And it is not nearly as gross as I had anticipated. I am so happy I have made this decision! Next step...clothes line. I really want to start hanging the diapers out to dry. The sun will help me with any bacteria and stains.

Evan has starting laughing. Anyone who knows Brendan, knows that we have always said that he has the best laugh. I think Evan may eventually compete with that. The fact that at this early age he is laughing from the belly when he is tickled is amazing to me. It is so cute. Big, gummy smiles! He also has reached the point when he doesn't want to sit. I am continuously holding him in a standing position. You sit him down, he stands up. He does not like to lay down either. When he is on his belly, he is trying to move. Both the other boys crawled at 6 months. We will see with Evan.

I thank the Lord every day for giving me 3 strong, healthy, active, smart, beautiful boys. They are so special and different in their own ways and I am so glad that I get to know them.

He did it!!!

Tuesday morning, I put Evan on the floor (on his back) in the dining room (under the fan, he loves it!) and went into the kitchen to make lunch. When I came back into the dining room, he was on his belly! So at 3 1/2 months old, my baby is no longer a newborn :(. Taigan gets so excited when he starts to roll. He yells, "Ebi is rolling!". It is so cute how much he loves his little baby brothers.

Taigan had his 4 year old checkup at the end of April. Kathy, the nurse practitioner we see, heard a heart murmur and referred us to a pediatric cardiologist in Elmira. He had his appointment yesterday. They did an EKG and an ultrasound of his heart. He was so good. He just laid there and took it all in. The doctor and nurses were so impressed with how well behaved he was, most of their 4 year old patients are not that well behaved. The diagnosis is GREAT! He has a Venous hum, http://www.wilkes.med.ucla.edu/Venoushummain.htm, which is considered an innocent murmur and will probably go away at the age of 7 or so. He also noted that his heart looked beautiful on all the testings and he is very healthy. What a relief! And you can imagine how proud I was at my well behaved boy. The last comment the Dr. made was that if all 4 year olds behaved as well as he does, there would be more pediatricians in this world! haha

New Diapers

Well, the diapers I bought arrived yesterday. I washed them last night and put them on the boys this morning. So far, so good!

Oh, how they grow!

Evan is trying so hard to roll over. He gets all the way around from his back to tummy, but that darn arm gets in the way! Once he figures out how to move it, he will have succeeded. I can't believe he is not my helpless newborn anymore!!

Brendan is starting to go pee-pee on the potty! Tonight, he actually took his diaper off and sat down on the little potty all by himself. He squeezes so hard, he grunts...and then little drops come out. His eyes get so big, he smiles and you can see the sense of accomplishment written all over his little face. I love it!

He is saying so many words. Sometimes, I have to stop and wonder how he knows a particular word, and then I am reminded that his older brother NEVER stops talking. I remember when I was a little girl, my Nana pointed out to me once that I talked non-stop. I wonder if that is where Taigan gets it from. Anyway, Brendan is talking more and more each day. He is so cute with his little gremlin/munchkin voice. I mean it, one minute he sounds like the sweetest little munchkin and the next the is this sort of growl-grunt to his voice. It is funny because he was a grunting baby. People always thought he was filling his pants, haha, but he was just grunting.

You never realize how difficult it is to grasp the concept of time until you have to explain summer vacation to a 4 year old. Every morning he asks if he is going to school and every morning I say "No, you are on summer vacation." He then asks how much longer summer "cation" is going to be. I tell him a couple of more months, and then he asks the next day.

My Aunt Jane sent the boys a "care-package" the other day in the mail. In it was a pair of Lightning McQueen (The Cars movie) slippers. Brendan has had them on now for about 2 days. He wore them to bed last night. It was 80 degrees out.

They make me laugh every day.

My First Blog

Ok, so I did it. I started a blog. I guess I am doing this for all the people that I do not talk to on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. We all know that kids do things that are worth sharing, and I guess I feel that I need to share. Not to mention the fact that my conversations all day long include words like "I don't know, Taigan, let's look it up," or "One Fish, Two Fish," or "Brendan, where are yours eyes?". This is a way for me to journal and write down my thoughts.

Where to start...I have trying to think of ways to be more "green" lately and in the process come up with lots of new ideas. The first and probably most exciting to me is that we are transitioning to cloth diapers. I know what you are thinking...but they are not like they were in the old days. Here is a picture of one that I bought and am waiting for; . The only problem that I can see myself having with them, it that I think it will be addicting and will want to buy lots. I am going to have to put a limit on myself because they can get super expensive. They are going to save us SO much money in the long run. This is what I figured:
Evan will be in disposable for maybe another 2.5 years. If he go through an average of 8 diapers a day for 2.5 years it will cost us about $1500 and is that using cheap diapers. Brendan is still not potty trained and will probably be in diapers for at least another 6 months, which is about $350 or more. Those are just estimates, and they are low. Cloth diapers are a one time price of about $500, for a savings of about $1350! That is a lot of money! I am sure I will keep you posted on how it goes!!

Another thing I did was make my own laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent. For the laundry I used a half a bar of Ivory soap and a cup of Baking soda in a gallon of water. It needs to be revamped a bit because I have 2 very messy eaters, but I will just add Borax to the mix. A gallon is going to be costing me less than $1 and has about 16 loads! For the dishwasher detergent, I mixed 1 cup of Borax with 1 cup of baking soda. Also, about 16 loads and costs less than$1. I run vinegar through the rinse cycles to help kill germs and get smells out. It really works well!

Less chemicals, and less money = healthy kids and fatter wallets!
!