Andrew is 2 Month's Old

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Andrew...you are just the most handsome little man ever!! Your eyes are absolutely piercing. As we entered into the second month you have made it extremely clear that you are your own person...not a thing like your sister. One of the biggest differences between you and your sister: you despise the binky with every cell in your body. This has become so disheartening to me and your father because you are extremely difficult to soothe (especially since you entered into your colic phase). Andrew...you know what you want, WHEN you want it. Unfortunately, the only way you can express this to your father or I is by screaming at an ear piercing level. Because of this, your father has taken a liking to ear plugs (yes...this is absolutely true)
This colic phase is so difficult for us, as parents, because we can drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out how to help you, how to help soothe you. You are not a fan of your bouncy chair or your swing. 
Honestly, I thought that colic was fake...just a label that parents gave to their kids when they didn't know how to handle their own babies. I always thought that if you were patient enough that there were many ways to help your baby settle down and cuddle. BOY...WAS I WAY WRONG!!! This colic phase is like clock work. As soon as you completed your 8PM feeding, you just wouldn't stop crying...well, let's call it what it really is: SCREAMING...you wouldn't stop screaming...for a number of hours. We have tried to change your diapers, bounce you, pat your back, place you in the football hold, feed your some more, shoosh you, sing to you, rock you...you name it...we tried it...every night. There have been some evenings when we had to take shifts so that we could get some sleep. 
I do not wish a colic baby on my worst enemy. This phases is so difficult, so frustrating!!! It has brought me to tears because I want to help you but I can't and it pains me to hear you screaming for hours on end. 
HOWEVER, my joy comes in the morning!! Just look at those eyes...all is forgotten when you wake up and look at me with your beautiful eyes and I get to smother you in kisses! I pray that your colic goes away soon...for your parent's sanity and for your own quality of life...I want you happy my little angel.
WEIGHT ~ 11 lbs 15 oz
HEIGHT ~ 23 in   

I Love Cloth Diapers!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Andrew's first cloth diaper...BumGenius 4.0
To my complete surprise...I have come to absolutely LOVE cloth diapers. I was sure that they would disgust me...and the washing routine would just gross me out, but quite the contrary!! After doing a ton of research and reading of reviews, I decided to stick to two brands of cloth diapers: BumGenius 4.0 and Flips. I went in thinking that the Flips would be my favorite because I didn't think that they would take up as much space in my diaper bag, I imagined that changing them would be pretty easy and I didn't think that I would have to handle much of the "mess" of a dirty diaper with the flips...however, it turns out that I am in favor of the BumGenius 4.0 much more.
First of all...let me explain why I am in love with cloth diapers. To begin, Andrew's birth weight was 6lbs 12oz. I felt that he was just too little for the cloth diapers, so we started off with disposables. To be honest, I also needed to get used to the change of having a new baby before I started the change of a new diapering system. Once Andrew started to chunk up, I slowly started to use the cloth diapers. The biggest difference between the disposable and cloth diapers that I noticed right away was the main reason that sold me on the cloth diapers...the disposables kept on sticking to Andrew. Every time I changed his diapers, with the disposables, he would just start screaming...no matter how slowly I opened up his diaper. The darn things just stuck right on to his little man parts, it looked horribly uncomfortable peeling it off each time he needed to be changed. Now, with the cloth diapers...they were just so soft on his tiny bum. There were absolutely no tears when opening his diaper (using cold wipes is another story though)
As far as the gross part...changing a dirty diaper and actually having to handle the ickyness...IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL (I'll have to give my opinion again, once Andrew starts eating solids, but for now it really is not a big deal at all) For the BumGenius diaper, the opening of the pocket is in the back of the diaper and opens up easily by bending the diaper back. Then all you have to do is find the edge of the insert and pull it out and place both pieces into the diaper pail. I separate the inserts before placing it in the pail rather than when it's time to the laundry, that way I don't have to dig through the dirty diapers. For the Flips...it's even easier because the insert is sitting right there in plain sight, you just take the cover, with the insert laying inside of it, and place them into the diaper pail...the insert will just fall out by itself.
When it is laundry day, I just simply grab the liner out of the pail, and dump all of the contents in the washing machine followed by the liner itself. No icky mess, no dirty hands (don't get me wrong, I still wash my hands or use hand sanitizer because, let's be honest, there is nothing sanitary about changing a diaper whether it's disposable or cloth). I have a newer high efficiency top loading washing machine and matching dryer set. The wash cycle that I finally settled on for the cloth diapers was: I do a cold wash first without any detergent. Then I do a regular cycle, with HOT water, followed by an extra rinse. So far I have only used the Rocking Green detergent for the diapers and I have been totally happy. The diapers come out clean, no stains, and smelling fresh. When it's time to move everything to the dryer I pull out all of the covers and hang those to dry in the bathroom and then transfer all of the remaining inserts and pail liner into the dryer.
Once the inserts and covers are all dry, I stuff all of my BumGenius diapers before placing them back in Andrews changing table. I can't tell you how much easier it is when they are pre-stuffed rather than having the stuff the insert when Andrew is laying on the table ready for his change. When they are pre-stuffed the changing is exactly the same as with a disposable diaper. I get the clean cloth diaper and place it under Andrew's bottom before removing the dirty one. I open his dirty diaper, wipe things up as best I can, and then pull out the dirty one, place it to the side while I quickly snap his new clean diaper in place. Once everything is covered up (I can't tell you how many times I have been tinkled on during a diaper change...changing a boy's diaper is a totally new experience for me) then I take the dirty diaper and remove the insert, if it's a BumGenius, and then toss it all into the diaper pail.
I have been doing diaper laundry every 2-3 days now and I cannot believe that the diaper pail does not stink at all...Andrew's room, our house...none of it stinks like dirty diapers. I am the kind of person that likes things to smell good when I walk into the house. If I can smell my animals in any way, the house is going to be turned upside down until that nasty smell is gone (rarely does it smell, but on occasion my cat can do a number in her litter box...Lord help us!!!) So, I am thrilled that switching over to cloth diapers has not in any way added a funky smell to our house. My mom and I made a promise to each other to tell the other one if their house ever smelled bad (since we both have animals...you just don't want to become oblivious to the smell), and she hasn't said anything yet.
Now, as for my reason for liking the BumGenius more than the Flips, it's simply because the their are no moving parts with the BumGenius when actually changing the diaper. The BumGenius is easy to change, just like a disposable. The Flips, you are given the opportunity to change just the insert rather than the entire diaper. The concept is great...I just need to get used to it because it is a little more challenging for me to get the insert in the right place while removing the dirty insert...all while trying not to get tinkled on. I am getting better at this, so I'm sure that this won't be an issue for me in the near future. On the other hand, the really nice thing about Flips is that the insert does lay nicely on top of the cover directly in the middle, whereas with the BumGenius, you have to place the insert inside of the diaper and make sure it is all the way to back and laying flat...which, when you have a lot of diapers from the laundry to put inserts into, can be a small pain in the butt...very small!!!

Your Love Is Better Than Life

Sunday, September 16, 2012
Music has always been my place of refuge when going through tough times. I had certain songs that just spoke to me, they expressed feelings that I was unable to do on my own. Music became my way of calling out to the Lord, surrendering to Him and confessing His truth out loud so that my flesh could once again come into alignment with my soul.
Now, even though I am in a different place in life than I was five years ago...some songs still are able to take me back and REMIND me of how good God is and how faithful He is and was. The other day, I was listening to my favorite radio station, Air One, and a song by Remedy Drive came on. As I listened to the words, it almost brought me to tears. I can't really explain why...just that the words spoke to me, to my past trials of infertility, to the depths of our continual failures of trying to get pregnant and the loss of hope that I found myself in...HOWEVER...at the same time, reminding me that God never left my side through it all, that He not only walked WITH me but, like the "Footprints in the Sand" poem says, He was able to CARRY me through when I was no longer able to move forward.

REMEDY DRIVE ~ BETTER THAN LIFE

Exhausted You sustained me
Was lost but You regained me
It cost so much you made me free

Was broken You repaired me
My hope was thin, You spared me
You spoke lights lit the air for me

Your love saved my life
Your love is keeping me awake tonight

I need You
You keep You keep
My heart beating beating
I need You
You keep You keep
My lungs breathing
Because Your love is better than life
Better than life


You woke my soul within me
You gave me back Your fire to breathe
Your light broke through to rescue me

Your love saved my life

I need You
You keep You keep
My heart beating beating
I need You
You keep You keep
My lungs breathing
Because Your love is better than life
Better than life


You hold the stars in my skies
You put the light in my eyes
Your love keeps me alive
I need You now and You stay
You turned my night into day

I need You
You keep You keep
My heart beating beating
I need You
You keep You keep
My lungs breathing
I need You
You keep You keep
My heart beating beating
I need You
You keep You keep
My lungs breathing
Because Your love is better than life
Better than life

Your love is better than life
Better than life



As I was driving, I just fell in love with the chorus: Your love is better than life!!!!! IT IS!! IT SO IS!!! I cannot comprehend going through my four+ years of infertility without having God on my side...without knowing that I have a God who loves me and can heal me! I specifically remember finally coming to the point where I had lost all faith in the doctors and their treatments and knew that the only way we were going to be able to get pregnant was with a miracle from God...and THANK GOODNESS I knew a God that could make that happen. He was my only hope!!! 
In all honesty, that realization was not a relief...because it was easier to have hope in the doctors than in God...but I knew that God had become the only way for me and so it left me with no choice other than to put my trust and faith in Him. He is the only way!!!
"YOUR LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE!!!" His love is so great...it covers ALL things!! I'm so blessed and thankful that, first of all, I made it through my journey of infertility in one piece and stronger as a result. I thankful that I know am able to share with others the good things that God has done in my life! I'm speechless that God trusted me go through that and survive...seriously!! I know that sounds exaggerated, but it is more of an understatement than anything else. God is good! God is great!! HIS LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE!!

Andrew's Baby Face

Friday, September 14, 2012
I just had to share this picture with everyone. I'm so jealous that Andrew has already mastered the "one eyebrow raised" look. I have always wanted to be able to that. I have no idea what he is thinking...I'm sure it is just some sort of gas passing through. Regardless, this picture is priceless. A picture is worth a thousand words!

DIY Discovery Bottle


I have seen so many tutorials on how to make your own discovery bottles, I seen them in stores (whether in a bottle or in a bean bag)...and so I decided to try to make my own. They looked super easy.

MATERIALS:
~ Empty Plastic Bottle
~White Rice
~Variety of small recognizable objects (buttons, charms, etc)

I found all of my small items at a local craft store. They have a small jar with random buttons that I chose from. I also bought a couple of button sets to use as well. Before I placed the objects in the empty bottle, I put divided them up by similarities and took pictures of each of the sets. Then I put a few items in the bottle, followed by some rice...then a few more items, and little bit more rice. Repeat those easy steps until all of your items in are in the bottle. I left a few inches at the top of the bottle so that there would be plenty of room to shake the rice when searching for the different items. Once it was done, I hot glued the lid onto the bottle so that Emily couldn't open it up in all of her curiosity.




Preschool At Home

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Emily's Preschool Board/Center
Now that I am a stay at home mom now, I wanted to try and provide Emily with some sort of a preschool education a few days a week. Since I teach middle school, I really have no clue as to what is appropriate for my 3 year old to learn...so Pinterest to the rescue. 
In the corner of our dining room, we already had an IKEA table set up where Emily does her art: playdo, finger painting, coloring, etc. The thing I love about this table is the drop leaf. It is easy to extend when Emily works on her art, and easy to close up when she's done. 
I decided to spice the corner up a little bit so that it could evolve into her little school corner. I added two drawer sets from Michaels to organize her art supplies, school supplies, writing aids, etc. I found the perfect link to great preschool board, along with free printables at, "A Day In The Life of a Classroom Teacher". It's no secret that I like things to look pretty, so I immediately fell in love with her preschool board and I was on cloud 9 when I saw she included free printables for the days of the week and the months of the year. I already had a classroom calendar, and I found the counting straws piece at JoAnn Fabrics. 
The board quickly came to together. I laminated the free printables, cut them out and used puffy stickers to attach them to the board...to give it a little fun dimension. On the bottom left side, I attached flash cards that can rotate as we learn them: Letters, Numbers, and Colors. I also found a set of cards that focuses on 3-Letter words, which is what you see at the far bottom of the board. The fourth set of cards (that you don't see on the board yet, but I plan on putting them below the calendar portion) focuses on sequencing. They are sets of three cards with pictures on them and Emily has to figure out the correct sequence that they are supposed to go in. For example, a set of cards would have a picture of a girl planting seeds, then watering the seeds, and then watching the flowers grow.


So far, Emily LOVES playing school. I found some great songs to help her learn the days of the week and the months of the year from: ABCTV123. Emily learned the days of the week super fast and she won't stop singing the song...even late in the night when she is in bed alone. (Craig and I randomly hear her singing this song from our video monitor. It's hilarious).



Now, just because Emily can sing the days of the week, does not mean she knows what any of it means. At her bedtime, we always talk about all of the things that we did "today" and she talks about things from previous days..."No, Emily...we did that yesterday." "Emily, we didn't do that today." So there are three labels on the board for the days of the week: "Yesterday was", "Today is", and "Tomorrow will be". It is finally starting to make sense to her. To attach the labels, and be able to move them each day, I stuck them to the front of cloth pins. It works perfectly.

 I found some personal white boards for Emily to practice her letters and numbers. Right now, she starts off trying to trace my letters and write her own, but after about 30 seconds (if that) it turns into writing a ton of circles. A new product that I just found are the new crayola white board crayons. I started with her using white board markers, but that just turned into a disaster with her pushing way too hard, but these crayons are great. They even have a crayon sharpener on the back of the box! PERFECT!!
It is so fun watching her learn. She loves going over the board, singing our new songs, and practicing her writing.
Emily's A Pro!!!


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