Saturday, February 19, 2011

Handmade With Love

I love handmade items. As a crafter myself, I feel that it's important to support others in what they do so that they will keep doing it. That is why, when I went to my parenting class on Thursday, I HAD to have the hand quilted diaper bag that I saw. As many parents of an infant know, there is a lot of stuff you have to carry around with you anytime you go somewhere with the infant. You have to make sure that you have an ample stock of diapers, wipes, baby powder and formula. Not to mention a change of clothes for the baby, a shirt for yourself, burb rags, bibs, a toy, teethers, a snack if they are to the point that they eat them and a small blanket never hurts either- those bathroom changing tables are gross! Because of this need to carry the baby's room with you everywhere you go, a big diaper bag is essential. For Christmas, my sister gave me a new diaper bag that had more pockets but wasn't really much bigger. I rocked it for awhile until this beauty came along :)

I LOVE THIS BAG. Not only is the red and yellow giraffe and elephant design super cute, but I can fit everything in it that I want to and still have a little extra room. The sewing is quality and thick which is nice since carrying all of your child's belongings can get heavy! I have always wanted to learn to quilt but I never found anyone that was able to teach me. The one place in town that has a quilting club requires that you have all your own equipment which I don't have, so for the time being it's a distant goal to work toward.

I don't know who made this bag except that it was a church friend of the awesome lady that does my classes. I'm sure that the bag was handmade with love as all items that are handmade usually are. So when I'm out and about and someone asks me who made my bag, I will be telling them, "I don't know but I know she made it with love because I love it!"

Friday, February 18, 2011

Myxer Website has Some Awesome Stuff

A friend told me about this awesome website last night called Myxer. This website is AWESOME. It is full of ringtones, wallpapers, apps, mp3s and videos that you can download to your phone for free or very little. I got two ringtones and two wallpapers for my phone absolutely free. At first I was super skeptical of the site because I thought that it was going to be like Jamster which charges you $10 a month to use their service. I called my phone company immediately after making my first selection- a Celtic shamrock for the upcoming holiday. There was no pending charge from them on my phone. Yay! A site that really is free when it says so.

Not all of the ringtones and wallpapers are free so be sure to look before you make your selection. The one that I did look at that you had to pay for stated that the company cannot charge your phone bill directly therefore, they use request authorization for Paypal so that you can purchase your ringtone. As many of us know, you have to sign into Paypal to confirm your purchase, otherwise it doesn't work.

I can foresee a lot of fun coming from this website. You can even send them to your friends if you find something that they may like.

NOTE: This post is completely my own opinion and is not a sponsored post by any company.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Disney Junior is Fantastic

Ever since Hail was approximately six weeks old, he has liked the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon. Whether it's the bright primary colors or the catchy, simple songs, he has always been drawn to it. There are many others that he doesn't seem to like as much. Handy Manny, the show that follows Mickey Mouse has also been a favorite because of the simple songs and bright colors. I also feel that it has something to do with the few Spanish words, the tone and sound is different and he is attracted to that.

On February 14th, the Disney Channel converted their toddler daytime programming from the Disney Playhouse to Disney Junior. With this switch, they also replaced a few cartoons with a few new ones and streamlined the airtime so that you are not watching back to back episodes of cartoons and the schedule is the same every day. This has been very helpful for a parent like me that keeps the cartoons on all day for auditory stimulation throughout the day. Before it became Disney Junior, the schedule would change every day as to what cartoon was on at which time and how many times. This caused confusion and chaos while trying to figure out a schedule.

Now, instead of breaking up cartoons with other little cartoons, there are educational fifteen minute shows such as "what is a poem", "three healthy steps", and "Mickey Mousekersize" where kids are encouraged to get up and follow along. A few other shorts also include things such as learning to clean up, picking out patterns, sharing and routines such as waking up and brushing your teeth.

Overall, I feel that the new layout of airtime is used much more effectively than it has been. The biggest downside has been so far is the elimination of Oo and Ah the monkey puppets that used to host the Playhouse. Hail really liked them.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Show the Love


Just a little message to say Happy Valentine's Day from us to you! And a special reminder to show some love this year! Whether it's a big kiss to the ones you love or a simple "You rock!" Or perhaps a snuggle like the one shown in this photo of Hail and his cousin whom turns three today!Not to mention, this is Hail's first valentine's Day, woohoo little guy! No matter how you choose to show it, don't forget to spread it around and let everyone get that warm fuzzy feeling today.

How will you be showing the love on this Valentine's Day?

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Compounding Problems

Lately, I have had several issues with being able to find the time to work on the things that I really want. I have had issues with meeting deadlines, working on things that will ultimately bring me the most long lasting income, or even work on things that I need to to help build my new business I am trying to create for myself. But now, a new problem has arisen. My computer, the new one that I just purchased in July is having problems. Half the time it doesn't want to work.

At first I thought it was an overheating problem as the computer gets hot and the fan is rather small. so, I purchased an external fan for the computer. The downside is that I can barely use it because it runs off of a usb and it slows the computer even more. So much so that when it is plugged in, the computer will freeze whether you are using the internet or updating my spreadsheet. The problem it was having was an issue with freezing. It will start up and work for a couple of moments and then it freezes, same as with the fan being plugged in. Admittedly, I work this computer like a slave. At first I thought that it was just bogged down, but when I deleted most everything and moved it to an external hard drive, it didn't do any good.

So, I have no idea what is exactly wrong with my computer but it is a complete hindrance when it decides to crap out. I have gotten WAY behind in work because of it and I am trying to catch up the best I can. So, if you don't see me, I'll be impatiently sitting next to the mailbox form y tax return so I can purchase a new computer.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Just Can't get Ahead

Balance. It's something I've struggled with for a long time. It seems that once I get ahead in some part of my life, I fall behind in other parts. Hail and I spend a lot of time together and because of this, we are developing an awesome relationship and he is getting smarter and smarter with each day that passes. He is learning a lot, more than I ever thought someone his age ever could in such a short time, but I guess what they say is true- babies are like sponges and they absorb everything.

Because I spend so much time with Hail, my work is falling farther and farther behind. I am trying to build a residual income so that I won't have to work nearly as much, but in order to have that passive income, I have to write the articles that will generate that income to begin with. At the start of the month, I had a plan to do 3 articles a day, I thought that this was a reasonable goal so that my passive income would grow. However, I am now 27 articles behind. That is really not good. I am not the fastest writer, but even so, 3 articles a day was something I could easily do had I the time to do it.

The last couple weeks I've been suffering from a mystery illness. I have had right side kidney pain, the need to use the bathroom every 30 seconds without being able to and on occasion throwing up. :( I went to the doctor and they told me that they had no clue what was wrong with me. They ran a bunch of tests, checking for pregnancy, a urine analysis, CAT scan, blood draws and they can't find any sign of infection, illness or anything wrong with me. Because the pain and overall sickness has persisted, I had to go to the specialist to see if they could find anything. He thought that perhaps I was passing a kidney stone. Nope. Then he told me that it could be muscle pain. I don't really see how muscle pain could make me have to pee all the time, but I'm not the doctor. Before I left he told me I was fine and not to lift ANYTHING for ten days to see if it improves. Being a single mom, that is just not going to work at all. Have you ever tried to tell an infant no, I won't pick you up? It just isn't going to happen. This was another instance of reasons why I am farther behind. Not only did I take the bus to get to the doctor's office, but I was there for nearly three hours getting tests and lab work done.

The two things I am most pleased about about my doctor's visit is that my blood pressure is back to normal and I no longer have to be on medication. I have also lost another TEN POUNDS since the first of the year. GO ME!! I am now 30 pounds less than what I weighed before I got pregnant with Hail. Woohoo! I guess that's what being on a mostly liquid caffeine diet does to you...

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Working on a New Project

As some of you know, I'm a pretty crafty person. This year, I really want to work on crafting for money. I m pretty positive that I can do it if I can find the right place to sell them. Although I love writing, it is very time consuming. I don't seemingly do much else because writing, editing and then waiting for someone to edit my articles and pay me for them takes a lot of time. I have been working on a few items and I feel that it is about time to try to post them and sell them.

The idea that I have been currently working on is greeting card placemats. I put a post on freecycle.org for greeting cards and got a huge response. I ended up getting enough greeting cards to make about 20 placemats. So I'll have 5 nice sets. Obviously each placemat is unique and even within a set, they will all be different. I've never seen anything like them before, and I'm really hoping that I'll be able to sell them for something decent.

How much would you pay for something unique such as this?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

It's Not the Grossest Thing That's Happened

I think that as a parent, that is the only time you can ever say everyday, "that's not the grossest thing to happen to me... yet." For some, their "yet" may never come. As a parent it's probably unlikely that it will. Just today, I've been spit up on twice and drooled all over. And yet, that still won't be the grossest thing to happen to me.

Yesterday, I had to clean up baby poop that was running down Hail's leg because he had a massive explosion in his diaper. The gross things just never seem to cease and everyday you can end it by saying, "that's still not the grossest things that's happened to me."

What are some of the gross things that have happened to you as a parent?

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Discipline

I never realized how important it is to discipline your children until today. I mean, I always knew that a child needs discipline to grow and learn, but more so than ever, to learn to act like a proper human being. Unfortunately, we can't always be the parent and the friend to our child.

Today, I saw a mother and her children in the store. One of them was small enough to still be in the car seat while the other was a young child somewhere under 5. The infant was asleep in the car seat and the child was pitching a huge fit in the back of the basket over fruit snacks. He was jumping up and down, banging his little fists on the car seat, waking the infant who immediately became distressed and began crying as well. Instead of disciplining the child for throwing a fit, waking the infant and jumping in the back of the cart which was completely unsafe, the mother ripped open the box of fruit snacks fresh off the shelf, opened a package and gave it to her son. Had that been Hail, I would have not have hesitated to spank him right in the middle of the store. I do not really agree with spanking but if my kid was acting in a way that was not only annoying but also dangerous to himself and others I would not hesitate to do anything in my means to stop the situation immediately. And if that meant spanking him, then so be it.

Later on in the store, I saw this same mother with her child. This time, she was attempting to bribe him with stickers if he behaved the rest of the time in the store. Obviously this didn't work, and the child proceeded to throw his fit for more fruit snacks and started ripping the stickers off the wall and throwing them in the floor. So, the mother picked up all the stickers, selected the one that she thought her kid would like best, and gave him another fruit snack pouch from the box.

I thought that I wanted to be one of those cool parents that was more of a friend than a parent to their child. After this encounter, I can clearly see why this can never work. If I were to give Hail everything he wanted, then I would be allowing him to be the parent and ruling me instead of educating him and attempting to teach him to be the best person that he can be. Teaching him to be an awesome person with all the perks of kindness, charity, good will toward man and to stay a sweet person even through trials and shitty dealt hands is my ultimate goal for him. I know that at times I will be able to be his best friend, but for the most part I have to be his parent. Otherwise, there is no telling what sort of person that he may end up being, especially if I teach him through my actions that he can walk all over me and other and get what he wants by pitching a fit.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Chuck E. Cheese Child Check

Last night we went to Chuck E. Cheese for my niece's 5th birthday. This was our first Chuck E. Cheese adventure, and, surprisingly it went better than what I was expecting. My biggest complaint about the whole ordeal is their "child check." Realistically, the concept seems like a great idea, but when you have some teenage girl manning the counter that is more interested in the boy inside the Chuck E. Cheese costume than standing by the door, I'm a bit concerned.

First of all, although I am sure that Chuck E. Cheese is a safer place than most for kids, that does not mean that parents should let their three year old little girl wonder all over the place by herself. That was an exact situation that happened while we were there and that little girl ended up falling off a carousel horse face first. She wasn't hurt badly, but the tears began to flow and crying ensued. Places like Chuck E. Cheese is the perfect opportunity for child molesters and rapists to get a hold of your child, especially if you are just letting your 3 year old little girl run around by herself. Your child doesn't have to leave the premises for harm to come to him or her. Someone could take them to the bathroom or into the back corner and do as they wished, then leave the child with the games once they are done. Many kids aren't taught about "stranger danger" these days, when it seems like family places as such would be the perfect opportunity to do so. For instance, the little girl that was crying let me pick her up and wonder around with her until we found her parents. Me, a complete stranger, could have easily taken her from the restaurant in a heart beat, something that I would never to with a stranger's child but it would have been that easy. She was even snuggled up to me while she cried with her hurting face as if I could have been her mother.

Any person that walks in with a child is required to have a stamp on their hand that matches the stamp that is on their child. Even my cousin whom is 16 was required to get a matching stamp to the one of my aunt because she was under 18. This seems well and good, but in my case specifically, when they place the stamp on his car seat instead of on him directly and he is being walked around the place to see everything, how is that going to be helpful? If someone was really interested in stealing my child, they would not be running back to grab his car seat to put him in.

Another instance of how Chuck E. Cheese's child check does not work is this. I have a big family, a large fraction of which were at the birthday party. Two of my aunts brought their children with them. One st of my cousins were 19 and 16. The 19 year old did not have to have a stamp. The other set of my cousins are 13, 10, and 8. Although this was an instance in which this was legitimately okay, it could have been horribly wrong, none the less, this is how it went.

My aunt took her 8 year old nephew outside to put him in the car. The girl working the child check station stopped them and asked to check their stamps. My aunt told her that this was not her kid, but she was simply taking him to the car for his mother since she had her hands full. Legitimately, this was the situation. The lady asked him if it were okay that he go with her, which he said yes. Now, what would have happened if the two of them were complete strangers to each other but she had told him that if he did not say it was okay to take him to the lady that she would go back in and hurt the rest of his family? The simple matter of the fact was that she looked as if she were forcibly removing him, by grabbing his wrist and pulling him (all a staged act) but they were allowed to leave together none the less.

Now, my aunt's two children who were 19 and 16- one with a stamp the other without. Were told to try to leave together after we were all outside. Although they are brother and sister from the same parents, they look nothing alike. They were allowed to walk out together without any questioning or even a second look from the teenage girl that was supposed to be doing the child check. Keep in mind, had she of been doing her job, she would have known that one of them came with no child but was now leaving with one.

I am pretty sure that it is not just me, but this system seems extremely flawed. Regardless of whether you know the kid, you should not be able to leave with them under any circumstance unless their parent is standing right next to you.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

4 Months Old!


This is my beautiful son Hail. Yesterday, he turned 4 months old. He had his 4 month check up yesterday and I was a little surprised with what the doctor had to say. First, he is a happy, healthy, baby. However, he is underweight. I really don't know how this can be since it seems like he does nothing more than eat all day long. He weighs a healthy 15 pounds and 6 ounces but still less than what he should be. Since his last visit two months ago, he has only gained 6 ounces!

Unfortunately, it does not seem as if Hail will inherit his dad's "tall" genes. Since the day of his birth, he has only grown 4 inches. He was 21.5 inches when he was born and now, 4 months later, he is only 25.5 inches. I thought he seemed tall :)

Whether this is a bad thing or not, Hail also has a small head. But that small head of his is filled with a lot of knowledge already. He is very advanced in the way that he moves, the doctor was very impressed that he can grab things,hold his head up, roll over, "talks" and that he is scooting all over the place. He said that most babies at his age don't do so well with these things. He was also very impressed with how well he is able to follow things with his eyes and his head.

And lastly, Hail has begun teething, officially. He is drooling on everything and everything he can get his hands on goes in his mouth, including his hands! So we have been given the go ahead to start solids! His doctor says try fruits this month, veggies next month and then meats, because digestion wise, those are the most difficult to keep down. And of course he can have baby cereal at any time.

He also had to get doses of vaccines as well. This time, because he didn't have breakfast before his appointment due to our alarm not going off (it was a common thing- when my sister came to drop off her car and go to school she said that hers didn't go off either), I fed him while he was getting his shots, therefore, there were no tears. This momma likes no tears. :) Overall, the appointment went great! He's happy, healthy, short and smart :)
 

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