Profile view, stretching view, foot view!Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Turning a corner?...
This weekend I wasn't as nauseous as before. I was able to eat larger quantities. Of course I felt that way last weekend too. Maybe work is making me sick :-)
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Favorite Toys...
What were your favorite toys as a kid? Mine were, even way after I was too big to play with them, some simple wooden puzzles, the silly stacking ring things, nested cups again in bright colors that you could stack in different ways and other non-battery operated items.
Why? I guess because #1 there WEREN'T that many battery operated things back then, and #2, because I would have gotten very bored with them after a while. Same way with dolls. They didn't 'do' anything and you could do very little with them. Once you changed their clothes, fed them and played with them a little bit, there wasn't much left to do with them. I never had an in-depth active imagination for 'fake' things. I knew dolls weren't real and never would be. I never really did like Barbies. I think Barbie is a w-h -o--r--e. Well, she's made to resemble a French pros-ti tute doll, so there you go. No, I'm not making that up. She really was made that way. And, if she were a real live woman, well, she'd be dead from being anorexic and if she was still crawling around she'd literally be crawling as her boobs are so out of proportion to the rest of her that she'd have to 'walk' on all fours. Needless to say Barbie and I didnt have a whole lot in common.
I played in the dirt, picked up worms, squished bugs, investigated things in the garden, chased butterflies (never with a net! you'll hurt them!) around, and just made my own fun sitting in the dirt. I'm so sick of hearing kids say 'I'm bored' that I could scream. If I would have dared to utter the words 'I'm bored' -- I would have had so many chores to do it wouldn't be funny. I think I may have been threatened a time or two before I realized that entertaining myself would be much smarter than whining about not having anything to do!
When winter came, we went sledding, played in the snow, got really cold, and then came in and had hot chocolate. In the summer, the creek was always an invite, for squishing mud in your toes and looking for toads/frogs to watch them. When we were old enough, occasionally we got to go 'to town' to go to the pool in the summer. Not much, but some. Then there were always books, I probably read every book that we had 10 times over, but I gained an excellent vocabulary, grasp of language, and deductive reasoning skills. I was smarter than most of my classmates. Mostly because I didnt spend all my time stuck in front of the tv. Yes, I watched tv, but I was always held by the call of the wild outdoors.
I hope I can help my own child/ren hear their own call of the wild, learn to appreciate the simple and make their own fun. I'm sure, like my mother, that I'll have plenty to do in case they get 'bored'!
Why? I guess because #1 there WEREN'T that many battery operated things back then, and #2, because I would have gotten very bored with them after a while. Same way with dolls. They didn't 'do' anything and you could do very little with them. Once you changed their clothes, fed them and played with them a little bit, there wasn't much left to do with them. I never had an in-depth active imagination for 'fake' things. I knew dolls weren't real and never would be. I never really did like Barbies. I think Barbie is a w-h -o--r--e. Well, she's made to resemble a French pros-ti tute doll, so there you go. No, I'm not making that up. She really was made that way. And, if she were a real live woman, well, she'd be dead from being anorexic and if she was still crawling around she'd literally be crawling as her boobs are so out of proportion to the rest of her that she'd have to 'walk' on all fours. Needless to say Barbie and I didnt have a whole lot in common.
I played in the dirt, picked up worms, squished bugs, investigated things in the garden, chased butterflies (never with a net! you'll hurt them!) around, and just made my own fun sitting in the dirt. I'm so sick of hearing kids say 'I'm bored' that I could scream. If I would have dared to utter the words 'I'm bored' -- I would have had so many chores to do it wouldn't be funny. I think I may have been threatened a time or two before I realized that entertaining myself would be much smarter than whining about not having anything to do!
When winter came, we went sledding, played in the snow, got really cold, and then came in and had hot chocolate. In the summer, the creek was always an invite, for squishing mud in your toes and looking for toads/frogs to watch them. When we were old enough, occasionally we got to go 'to town' to go to the pool in the summer. Not much, but some. Then there were always books, I probably read every book that we had 10 times over, but I gained an excellent vocabulary, grasp of language, and deductive reasoning skills. I was smarter than most of my classmates. Mostly because I didnt spend all my time stuck in front of the tv. Yes, I watched tv, but I was always held by the call of the wild outdoors.
I hope I can help my own child/ren hear their own call of the wild, learn to appreciate the simple and make their own fun. I'm sure, like my mother, that I'll have plenty to do in case they get 'bored'!
Friday, June 6, 2008
What's in a name?...
While buying a present for friends in Target, I overheard some whining, crying, old enough to know better kids demanding this toy and that toy. Their mom was whining in response. Telling them to 'hurry up and pick something' -- but NOT that.. It was dinner time. I imagine the kids were starving and the mom just wanted to get out of there. But umm, the kids' names? According to their expertly 'coiffed' via the 80's model mom, Mercedes, King, and Maverick...
What's in a name? Is a name reflective of the parents, the children, or lifestlye?
Certainly in this case it makes me wonder.
What about you?
What's in a name? Is a name reflective of the parents, the children, or lifestlye?
Certainly in this case it makes me wonder.
What about you?
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Cloth Diapering
Note: There's a lot of links here which I hope you will explore, baby or no baby. Who knows? Maybe you'll change your mind on how you will/would handle diapering in the future. Just make sure to come back and check out the rest of the post! Maybe open the links in a new tab so you can mark them for future reference. On with the post!
I was pretty sure growing up that I'd never use cloth diapers, I mean, come on, poop on cloth? Ick. That was bad enough in changing "regular" diapers as a teenager while babysitting. Then I found out that diapers really do cost a lot. I was figuring about a package or two a month, but then I found out that diapers do not all come in the same size package, and they get more expensive for fewer the bigger they get. And they're only in the cheap sizes for a few months. Ouch.
I read this on Lotus's site and figured I should probably get some actual facts instead of just how I was thinking things really are. I'd heard about people cloth diapering, but it was always always in conjunction with a diaper service, where someone else came and took the stink away in a big old diesel hogging truck, used tons of water and other resources. Of course duh (smacks forehead), it never occured to me that gee, you could do them at home (possibly combining poopy or throw-upy clothes as well) in a load and save gobs of money, diesel fuel, not to mention if you were using disposables, well, the trees, oil, and other gunk it takes to make up those things. Also the 500 years in a landfill that we don't really have space for. That would leave burning them, but that releases all those chemicals into the atmosphere, so, well, let's just say I figured that cloth diapering was starting to sound REASONABLE not to mention better for our earth. And of course it occured to me, that duh you can wash the diapers every couple of days, but the trash sits around for at least a week. You have to 'smell' either a trash can or a diaper pail about the same way, so what is the difference? I couldnt figure it out. Then came the old research bug and I found this info. Basically saying I could cloth diaper for what about 6 months of 'regular' diapers would cost. Wow!
So I started researching cloth diapers a little more and came across this site that had reviews on it. I had NO IDEA there were that many kinds of cloth diapers out there. A long way away from the 'walmart' kind that everyone uses for burp cloths now. Crazy stuff. Of course, everyone has their own favorites, so it is really hard to decide what to go with. Several people I messaged from Lotus's blog said that they had their favorites and basically you should go with what you think you want, maybe try a few kinds at first and then really go hog wild with buying stuff once you know. That seems like pretty good advice.
One thing of course I was curious about was the prefold diapers with covers. If you've clicked on any of the links yet (which I highly recommend!) you may have seen that there are hundreds of types of diapers, all in ones (like disposable, but not), pocket, etc etc, but what intrigued me was of course what was mentioned in the frugal diapering link that compared the cost of disposables to prefold cloth. How do you fold them or what exactly do you do? I found that info here.
No late night 'runs' to the store for diapers, just toss some in the wash when you're running low and voila, you don't have to go anywhere, pack up the baby, or lose sleep, you just run them through the machine and poof! New diapers!
Basically, I think I've talked myself into trying cloth diapering, at least for the breast feeding period and perhaps the whole way through. I hate to think of such waste. Note: I'm not knocking those who dont want to or can't deal with cloth, just saying, I think it may be a good option for us. I plan on being a stay at home mom for the duration of diaper years at least. My husband seems to agree on the diapering, at least at the outset. Come to think of it, he doesnt really argue with me much anymore. I think he's finally realized it isn't worth it to argue. Awesome, no? Sure, we discuss stuff, but if its not worth arguing over (life changing) then why do it? We have better things to discuss. Neat, huh?
Side tracked, anyway, I figure if you're already handing the 'yuck' from a diaper, or an exploded diaper, on the clothes, sheets, whatever, then it's probably not any more 'gross' to deal with a cloth diaper on a daily basis. You're already right there dealing with it, right?
Granted my experience here is limited, but that's just what I'm thinking. What do you think?
I was pretty sure growing up that I'd never use cloth diapers, I mean, come on, poop on cloth? Ick. That was bad enough in changing "regular" diapers as a teenager while babysitting. Then I found out that diapers really do cost a lot. I was figuring about a package or two a month, but then I found out that diapers do not all come in the same size package, and they get more expensive for fewer the bigger they get. And they're only in the cheap sizes for a few months. Ouch.
I read this on Lotus's site and figured I should probably get some actual facts instead of just how I was thinking things really are. I'd heard about people cloth diapering, but it was always always in conjunction with a diaper service, where someone else came and took the stink away in a big old diesel hogging truck, used tons of water and other resources. Of course duh (smacks forehead), it never occured to me that gee, you could do them at home (possibly combining poopy or throw-upy clothes as well) in a load and save gobs of money, diesel fuel, not to mention if you were using disposables, well, the trees, oil, and other gunk it takes to make up those things. Also the 500 years in a landfill that we don't really have space for. That would leave burning them, but that releases all those chemicals into the atmosphere, so, well, let's just say I figured that cloth diapering was starting to sound REASONABLE not to mention better for our earth. And of course it occured to me, that duh you can wash the diapers every couple of days, but the trash sits around for at least a week. You have to 'smell' either a trash can or a diaper pail about the same way, so what is the difference? I couldnt figure it out. Then came the old research bug and I found this info. Basically saying I could cloth diaper for what about 6 months of 'regular' diapers would cost. Wow!
So I started researching cloth diapers a little more and came across this site that had reviews on it. I had NO IDEA there were that many kinds of cloth diapers out there. A long way away from the 'walmart' kind that everyone uses for burp cloths now. Crazy stuff. Of course, everyone has their own favorites, so it is really hard to decide what to go with. Several people I messaged from Lotus's blog said that they had their favorites and basically you should go with what you think you want, maybe try a few kinds at first and then really go hog wild with buying stuff once you know. That seems like pretty good advice.
One thing of course I was curious about was the prefold diapers with covers. If you've clicked on any of the links yet (which I highly recommend!) you may have seen that there are hundreds of types of diapers, all in ones (like disposable, but not), pocket, etc etc, but what intrigued me was of course what was mentioned in the frugal diapering link that compared the cost of disposables to prefold cloth. How do you fold them or what exactly do you do? I found that info here.
No late night 'runs' to the store for diapers, just toss some in the wash when you're running low and voila, you don't have to go anywhere, pack up the baby, or lose sleep, you just run them through the machine and poof! New diapers!
Basically, I think I've talked myself into trying cloth diapering, at least for the breast feeding period and perhaps the whole way through. I hate to think of such waste. Note: I'm not knocking those who dont want to or can't deal with cloth, just saying, I think it may be a good option for us. I plan on being a stay at home mom for the duration of diaper years at least. My husband seems to agree on the diapering, at least at the outset. Come to think of it, he doesnt really argue with me much anymore. I think he's finally realized it isn't worth it to argue. Awesome, no? Sure, we discuss stuff, but if its not worth arguing over (life changing) then why do it? We have better things to discuss. Neat, huh?
Side tracked, anyway, I figure if you're already handing the 'yuck' from a diaper, or an exploded diaper, on the clothes, sheets, whatever, then it's probably not any more 'gross' to deal with a cloth diaper on a daily basis. You're already right there dealing with it, right?
Granted my experience here is limited, but that's just what I'm thinking. What do you think?
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