Me and My First Baby Meme

1. Were you married at the time? Yes

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Excited! We had been trying for a couple of years.

3. How old were you? 27. My birthday after she was born my mom called and wished me a happy 29th birthday. I almost freaked. I thought I had lost my mind and couldn't remember how old I was and that made me 1 year closer to 30. 30 was hard for me.

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I had been charting and my temperature had stayed high. So I took a pregnancy test.

5. Who did you tell first? Webby

6. Did you want to find out the sex? No

7. Due date: June 19, 2002

8. Did you deliver child early or late? I week early

9. Did you have morning sickness? Yes, it was terrible. I was throwing up 6 times a day at the worst. I broke the blood vessels in my eyelids it was so bad!

10. What did you crave? Chocolate

11. Who irritated you the most? I don't think anyone irritated me. That's kind of an interesting question. Throwing up irritated me, does that count?

12. What was your first child's sex? Girl

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 23lb, but I think I lost about 10 the first trimester so 13lbs. Don't hate me!

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Not during the pregnancy. She did aspirate (inhale amniotic fluid) during birth and had to go to the NICU for a week for non-bacterial pneumonia.

15. Where did you give birth to your child? At Home!!!

16. How many hours were you in labor? 3 days off and on

17. Who drove you to the hospital? No one

18. Who watched? Webby, 2 midwives, and a dear friend who had home birthed as well.

19. Was it vaginal or c-section? vaginal

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Not an option

21. How much did your child weigh? 7lb 4oz

22. What did you name him/her? I named her after a character in the movie The Three Musketeers and her middle name is mine and my paternal grandmother's.

23. How old is your first child today? 6 years, 3months and 14 days

I going to tag: Rebecca, Krista, Kelly, My cousin Liz, and you!

Poetry

I'm dedicating this post to Krista my poet friend who has even published! She loves poetry and shares it on her blog. Sweetie Heart wrote this for our friend Jessica who was having a bad day.

For those of you who don't read first grader I'll translate:

I want to show

My love for you!
I'll do it every

Time you come!

I love my classroom

Clean and nice and new!

of course!

I'll hum the tune
That I learned last
year. Love Sweetie Heart

Now don't you wish you had a poem written for you? I know I do!

Tip Tuesday

So I know it's late but I am doing my Tip Tuesday. Since it is still Tuesday I think I'm in the clear.

Tip Tuesday
So for today s tip it's apples. I know I promised to do another post on drying and folding clothes, but that will have to wait because it's apple picking season here in New England. There is nothing like fresh apples picked with your own hands and costing only 50 cents (did you know there isn't a cents sign on the keyboard?) a pound! Now that's umm, umm good.

I cannot actually take credit for this tip. I was in a meeting at the school when another mother pulled out some sliced apples from her bag. I sniffed and smelled cinnamon. I asked her about it. She said she read somewhere that if you put cinnamon on the sliced apples then the kids don't notice that they are turning brown. Genius, I told her. She asked if I put lemon juice on mine, nope my kids just deal with the brown. I take the, "if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it" approach, but don't ask for something different. The school nurse seemed pretty impressed that a parent would do that. It does teach a valuable lesson. You can't always get what you want. Life comes with some browning but in the end it's not all bad and maybe you won't even notice. That said, I think it is a great idea to put cinnamon on apples. I put cinnamon on apple sauce all the time, why didn't I think of that? So now when I slice apples I offer the cinnamon and the girls usually say yes. I can even cut up several, out the cinnamon on them and keep them in the refrigerator for when we need a fast snack.

So how about them apples? ...I slay myself...

Webby's: 10 years ago and still here

10 years ago: a server with a knee that wouldn't bend, learning that there was more to life than living, trying to convince a choice, faithful girl that i was not her choice or her faith (i was wrong), travelling here on a silver Honda Silverwing (before they were glorified scooters), enjoying the company of friends.

Today's to do: spend some morning time with the girls, chastise the computer for undoing my efforts (while being grateful for the work), get excited about what little i could grasp about ohm's law and electrical fundamentals (in school after work), plan a mountain bike ride for the 'morrow, drink colloidal silver (silver being the best electrical conductor - don't believe the gold hype) to avoid pneumonia and subsequent suffocation.

Snacks are really just a question of: sweet, starch, salt, spice and or...did i mention starch?

$1,000,000? maybe i'd buy Morgan Stanley, i just like the sound of it! Or, perhaps i'd just give them and JP Morgan what i owe them, then take some practical measures to protect myself from their plans.

Obviously i have lived in the previously mentioned places, so i'll add: Columbus, OH (no, really!), in a State Forest in southern Illinois (ok, only for a looong weekend), Laatzen, Deutchland, on a motorcycle/in a Palapa in Mexico (well...maybe that was just a vacation), & in the now.

Jobs i've had? You'd have to pay me to count them all up. But i can freely say: if it's a restaurant job (but not fast food), i've done it; driving which doesn't require a special license - yes; selling stuff (or non-stuff) like insurance, electronic components, movies (only for a short time i promise), and homes (only a few - hence not my profession); installing alarms in homes and throwing boxes destined to be delivered to homes are a few things which readily come to mind. Oh, and i did flip burgers in a 50's style American Diner (Mel's Diner) in Germany with James, my nearest-to compatriot from England and a handful of happy to have known folks from all over that side of the world.
-Tschuess

My friend Kelly put this on her blog. I've never done a Meme, or maybe I have. I don't do many so I thought I'd do this one. You know because I have nothing else to do tonight. Feel free be tagged and let me know that you did!

10 years ago I was:
1. Taking care of my "not boyfriend's" knee (and him as well)
2. Trying to convince said "not boyfriend" and current husband that he wanted to date me
3. Driving a red, 2 door, hatch back Honda Accord
4. Working a Barnes & Noble
5. Losing the freshman 15 plus some

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Go to the store
2. Go out to eat
3. Not loose my cool
4. Get out of bed
5. Talk out my emotions
Not in that order

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Cheesecake
2. Gingersnaps
3. Celery & Cheddar Cheese
4. Chips & Salsa
5. Yogurt & Granola

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Buy property
2. Build a environmentally conscience house with solar panels
3. Automate and remodel the public library (make the librarians' dreams come true)
4. Buy a home in Greece/ learn Greek
5. Save for the kids education and missions

5 places I have lived:
1. Delaware, Ohio
2. Provo, Utah
3. Orem, Utah
4. Louisville, Kentucky
5. Vergennes, Vermont

Five jobs I have had:
1. BYU Grounds Crew
2. Library Shelver
3. Barnes & Noble Bookseller
4. BYU Inter Library Loan Copy Center Supervisor (say THAT 10 times fast!)
5. Assistant Librarian

WFMW: Journeling with Kids

Well I finally figured out how to move that banner from Shannon's site. Yeah for me!

When Sweetie Heart was born 6 years ago, my sister-in-law suggested that I start a baby journal for her. You know just a journal recording her birth and the little events of her life. She told me it is a wonderful thing to be able to look back at. I agree, but at that time I was just too tired to write, not to mention the fact that I would have to go out and buy one. So I didn't do it. And the longer I didn't do it the more grand I thought it would need to be. Oh, and there was so much to catch up on.

Then I had Sweet Girl. Again I felt like I should do it, but much of the same was felt. Plus the guilt of not doing it with Sweetie Heart. But last winter I began to rethink it. I really felt it was a good idea. I want my kids to be journelers like Webby. I want them to record their thoughts and feelings to get them out and not keep them in like I did.

So I went to the dollar store and picked up a couple of journals. I picked the bigger size so that as they get bigger they can write in them, too. Webby and I write things in the journal to the girls so that they have a memory of things we experienced with them. Sweetie Heart can write so she records things in it now. We also use it as a conversation tool. Webby is in school a few nights a week and works at night, too, so Sweetie Heart can write him a note in her journal and leave it on his pillow for him to read when we gets home and he can to likewise for them. I feel like this is a good habit to get into young. That way when the teen years come we will still do it. I remember being a teenager and having questions but being to embarrassed to ask. With a journal it can take the embarrassment out of that. It also gives them power to ask to talk about something and me time to think about and prepare what to say.

Mostly, I just want to keep the lines of communication open even when it's not face to face. We encourage the kids to write what they feel and when they want a private journal we will purchase one for them. Webby and I also have one that we share for the same reasons. Sometimes it's just easier to write my feelings (positive and negative), many times we are able to work stuff out that way. Like with the kids, with Webby gone so much it allows me to express things to him when I don't see him or even during the day when I think about it. I put it on his pillow so he knows I wrote in it.

In the words of FlyLady, "You are not behind. You do not need to catch up. Pick up where you are." It's great advice for many areas of life.

Journeling is what works for me. To see what works for others go visit Rocks in My Dryer.

I just want to confess that I just dogeared a page in my cookbook. This is huge people! I am very anti dogearing. And I just did it. But I have reason! I promise I didn't do it on a whim. I have gotten tired of having to look up the page on how to make yogurt every time I do it, and that's once a week. I even paused to think about it before I did it. Please don't cane me.

I apparently have some fans of my Tip Tuesday and had a complaint, okay not really a complaint, for a roommate from college. Little does she know that I did it on purpose so she would call me. Of course, I didn't know she's been lurking for a while.

Tip Tuesday
Laundry

It's the much anticipated laundry addition. Not really anticipated, since you didn't know I was going to write this. I knew and have been anticipating it. I may need to make this 2 posts, we'll see.

Pretreatment:
Very important if you are anal about stains. I don't like them but have accepted that my kids, not to mention my own clothes will get stuff on them and sometimes they will stain. I have let a lot of that go...I think.

First and foremost, treat your stains every evening or sooner depending on how important the item is to you. Sweetie Heart inevitably comes home from school with a spot or ten on her clothes. I have told her to put clothes with spots on them in the bathroom so I can treat them every night. A basket or would be great idea for that. When she gets bigger I'll teacher how to do it for herself. I hang the clothes over the shower rod to dry and them throw them in the laundry the next day.

For pretreatment I usually just use diluted dish detergent in one of those foaming dispensers. I picked up one on sale, I think Huggies brand, and keep reusing it. It works great. I wet the stain with warm water, work in the soap and rinse. That actually takes most of my stains out. Sometimes I do it a couple of times.

If you get ink on you clothes spray aerosol hairspray on it and rinse in warm water. It also works on marker. I've even used it on sharpie, it doesn't usually get all of it out, but it usually lessens it a bit.

When you get oil on your clothes while cooking put a drop of dish detergent on it immediately! It will dissolve the oil. If you wait it might take a while to get out. You will have a spot on your clothes, but when you rinse your clothes out after you take them off it will come right out. I just figured this out a couple of months ago.

Peroxide will take out fresh blood. The sooner you get it on the better it works. Once the blood dries you have a different beast.

My sister in law picked up some "Fan's Laundry Soap from Singapore" for him when she was in Chicago's China Town. He sent me one of the bars and it is amazing!! I love this stuff. I was mowing the neighbor's lawn one afternoon in cream pants (why you ask yourself, too lazy to go upstairs and change) and got grass stains on the cuff of my pants (shocker!) That evening when I took them off I wet them and rubbed some of this soap in, worked up a lather and rinsed. It came out! I could hardly believe it. It nice because it's a bar and it smells great! If you have a china town near by, rush over and pick some up. And while you're at it pick one up and send it to me to express you appreciation for the tip! You can also get it online. Google Fan's Laundry Soap and you'll see where you can get it. I haven't purchased any yet, so I won't recommend anyone.

Some things I don't even pretreat. I chance it with normal washing. If it doesn't come out, oh well. I can't keep all out clothes in pristine condition and some stuff I just don't want to waste the energy on.

My personal philosophy is that clothes are going to get stuff on them. If you don't want that to happen to a particular item, don't buy it, or save it for special. Don't let your kids wear it to school or all day, just to church. Look at where you are going and what you will be doing, does it increase the likelihood of stainage? That said you can't be in control all the time. Sweetie Heart once spilled iodine all over one of my favorite white dresses that she had on for church. How she got the iodine I don't know, but I was crushed. I took it off her immediately and started washing it out with dish soap. And wouldn't you know it came out! I couldn't believe it! The sooner you get to the stain the easier it will be to come out.

Washing:
Save yourself some money and use about half what the manufacture says to use. If there are suds after the final rinse cycle there is still soap in the clothes and you have used too much. This is very obvious for me because I have a front loader with a glass front. You can also lift the lid during the final rinse and see how many soap bubble you see, there shouldn't be any.

I've used the disks with success. It's a bit spendy up front, but work really well. My aunt gave me some Tsunami Wave and really liked them. Another alternative, if you have the money is to use a LaundryPure and is manufactured by EcoQuest. Webby's aunt sells these so if you're interested let me know. It ionized the water before it goes into the machine, so it mounts behind the machine. I don't have one of these yet, but I will. She says it works great and saves tons of money! But they are a big investment up front, but you can try it for free and send it back if you're not satisfied.

I don't use bleach. I don't like the smell and it doesn't seem to really help when I have used it. I do use oxiclean sometimes and I use the natural bleach alternative. It's basically peroxide, but it works well on my whites and doesn't smell like anything.

That's all for now. I post more about drying and folding next week so tune in again!

Clocks

This is a great is a great video, especially if you like the muppets and Coldplay, which I do! I've been looking for this for months! I guess it was reposted recently. I am so glad because I have wanted to share it with all of you. I'm generous that way. It's amazingly well done! Enjoy! And Chris this one's for you!


Tip Tuesday is coming so keep your pants on...please!

Who misses me? Raise your hand!

Tip Tuesday

Yes, it's Tuesday. I've have a busy weekend with my in-laws in town. It was not as painful as it could have been. I chose it to be that way. We had fun playing together. They did a little landscaping, as they always do, to our rented lawn. They visited a nursery and bought flowers to take back to Ohio and plant in their gardens. We visited an out door museum of sorts. Hard to explain without giving our location. Lots of old building, an old cruise ship out of the water, and a Mary Cassatt exhibit. Very fun.

They left this morning. So I'm tired and was trying to think of a tip. Them the mail came and I got a catalog that I have never ordered from. I hate that! But in that comes my tip!

Tip Tuesday
I came across this web site last year and it really works. It allows you to set up an account and unsubscribe to catalogs as you wish. It even allows you to enter your Customer # and Key code so it can stop all other catalogs. And it really works! We were getting so many catalogs it really made me mad. I would call and they would "take me off" and then I'd be getting them for people who used to live here. Plus we get catalogs for Webby's dad with our address on them. We'll I just signed up and there hasn't been a problem. They don't come anymore. I love it. I love that it helps the environment, too. Yes, recycling is great, but not having to is better.

The site, I know you've been waiting, is Catalog Choice. Try it, you won't be disappointed!