Changes

I feel compelled to share all the changes in our family and with our kids. Just when you think you have this parenting thing down, they throw something at you.

C.J. will be five in one month and now that we are in summer loves to announce he is a kindergartner, despite the fact that he hasn't actually started. Suddenly he wants more freedom. He no longer wants me to stand next to him as he does the monkey bars or climbs around on the play ground, he wants to use the men's room instead of the women's with sissy and I. Suddenly, he's asking for things for dinner, refusing help to everything! It's a challenge but I think I am learning to allow more freedom.

Jasey is a two year old. She loves to empty the fridge and is suddenly putting everything back into her mouth. She loves to get into the soap and wash her hands. Today she tried to go pee standing up like her brother. One of the many things she insists on trying to copy.

I'm sure things will change again soon.

Go Green pocket diapers

I LOVE these!! My computer is still losing my picture files or else I would upload some pics.

However, they rock. They are a one size, pocket diaper, they come in TONS of colors and work well. The only leak we had was at night with my 2 1/2 year old. It was my fault I forgot to double stuff. Jasey loves them, they are not bulky at all, super soft and even my husband is impressed. When changing a wet diaper the liner is amazingly dry while the insert is soaked, I love knowing her bum is staying dry! I got them for 8.99-12.00 each and every diaper comes with an insert. A great way to bulk up your cloth diaper stash.

Virus!

My computer has a virus. So I am unable to upload pictures at this time or even get on the internet half the time. Sorry! The rest of the cloth diaper reviews will have to wait :(

Econobum Review

Let me begin by first reminding everyone that I only have two children at the moment an almost 5 year old and a 2 year old. I am choosing to use my cloth diapers with my third, whenever that may happen. However, I am having a lot of fun using my new one size cloth diapers on my two year old daughter. Being that she talks pretty well she is helping me with the reviews.

Econobum, this diaper grabbed my attention first with the price and then with the idea of reusing the shell. It comes with a prefold that you place in the outer shell and then snap on. While this is very economical and will work. The prefold tends to move so I will not use it at night, and it's pretty bulky. My daughter says, "Not pretty" and "Not soft". I like that it is one size and can grow with the child.

Above is the prefold and the outer shell.

Above is how the prefold in to be laid inside of the shell.


Above is my 2 yr 4 month old daughter modeling the diapers. She is 28 lbs and very well in the average for her size. Just to give you an idea of how long you could use these one size diapers. We are keeping his one, but not ordering anymore.

So sweet!

I am so surprised that Melissa over atThe Mommy Files gave me the versatile blogger award. Yet, extremely pleased, I love reading her blog and encourage others to as well. Receiving this award carries 4 parts.

1) Thank the person who awarded you.
2) Write 7 thing about yourself
3) Pick 7 bloggers to bestow the award upon.
4) Contact and congratulate the bloggers you picked.

7 Things about myself

I had declared the day I met my husband that he was the man I was going to marry. That was almost 10 years ago, we have now been married over 7 years.

I truly love being a mom, I would honestly have as many kids as my husband would let me. I do hope to adopt in the far future.

I would rather read than eat. I have never read a book I didn't like. I would rather shop at a bookstore then go clothes shopping any day.

After reading Ann Frank when I was 11 I began keeping a diary/Journal and have kept one ever since I am now on my 13th one.

I LOVE going to tea, and I do go to a tea house every year. I also make many of the "tea foods" here at home.

I am the oldest of 12 cousins, the youngest being 25 years and 10 months younger than myself. So I get to watch them grow up as my children's cousins.

I was home schooled after attending public school k-4th and then again my sophomore year.

I couldn't pick 7 bloggers, because I don't follow seven blogs. So I picked:

No Greater Joy Mom
25 Kids and Counting
My Journey to Going Green

Cloth Diapers

Okay, so for a very long time I wasn't able to post anything. That seems to be fixed, however all my cloth diapers i ordered about two weeks ago, got shipped to the wrong address. As soon as I get them I will write a review of each one.

Cloth Diapers vs Disposables and Cost Part 2

First off their are so many diapers to chose from. Most stores also have their own store brand. Diapers DO go on sale and their is coupons. For this example I chose the top three most popular that every store in my city carried, Pampers, Huggies and Luvs. Then I chose the cheapest store brand which was Wal-marts Parents Choice. To keep this even I am using all Wal-mart prices, keep in mind that the totals may vary child to child and depending if you catch sales and or use coupons.

Huggies $8.97
Pampers $8.97
Luvs $6.97
Parent's Choice $5.97

I am going to use an average 8 per day for 2 years. Then factor in 6 month use of pull-ups. I am averaging 40 diapers per package, even though the bigger the size the less diapers in a package, and 26 pull-ups per package. Many children are not even potty-trained by 2 1/2, so these totals are less then what would be for most families.

Huggies- 8 (8 per day)x 30=240/40=6 packages of diapers per month. 6 x 8.97=53.82 x 24= $1,291.68+ ( 8x30=240/26=9.23 round to 9 packages of pull-ups 9x 8.97=80.73 x 6= $484.38) For a grand total of $1,776.06.

Pampers happen to be the same price at Wal-mart so the above figures apply here as well for the same grand total of $1,776.06.

Luvs- $6.97 a package. $6.97 x 6= 41.84 x 24= 1003.68 + 484.38 (Pull-ups)= A grand total of $1,488.06.

Parent's Choice- $5.97 x 6=35.82 x 24=859.68 + 484.38 (Pull-ups)= Grand total of $1,344.06.

One of my children was a late trainer and a night wetter so that child wore pull-ups for an additional 6 months ($484.38), that child also continued to wear night time pull-ups for an additional 2 years at 1 pull up a night= $276.36. I personally used Luvs, because I felt the generic brands carried more defective diapers per bag and many times were out of the size I needed.

So, for my first child our minimum ( I say minimum because there were times we went through more than 8 a day) diaper cost was: $2,248.80.

Even if I spent $500 on cloth diapers and another $500 on the added utilities expense. I still would save $1,248.80.

Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable and Cost Part 1

Never in my wildest dreams did I think of all my posts that this one would be the hardest. After all I've been buying diapers for a long time. It seems I need to do more research, I have run into a couple factors I wasn't expecting. After all I want to be a realistic as possible and honestly different brands can cost differently. Here is what I'm working on.

1) Diapers used per day (it's less when they are older).
2) Diapers per package vs cost (some places sell bargain boxes).
3) Different brands cost differently.
4) Some people don't have a choice because of the limited stores in their area.
5) The cost of pull-ups, if used.
6) How long does it take for the average child to be potty trained?

I will search and be back!

Cloth Diapers and Wasted Electricity.

When is comes to cloth diapers and waste, I was reminded, what about the electricity, used to power the washer and dryer? I would be using more of it, if I choose to use cloth diapers. Now I am not a mathematician nor due I understand electrical stuff very well, but I sought out the information, that in hopes will answer this question. I have found a very simple formula to figure Daily Kilowatt Hour Consumption (KWH) that formula can be found and the watts an appliance use can be found here.
To find the KWH simply plug in the numbers to the following formula.
Watt x Hours used per day/1000= Daily Kilowatt Hour Consumption.
I learned a clothes washer uses 350-500 watts per hour (I always use the highest number) I decided to use 2 hours as a cycle time. So...
500 x 2 hrs. per. day/1000= .1 KWH. In the previous blog on water waste I used 3 loads a week I will use that number here again. 1 x 3 loads per week x 4 weeks per month= 12 KW per month.
Using that same formula I plugged in the energy used if you have an electric dryer, as I have. A clothes Dryer uses 1800-5000 watts. I used 2 hours as drying time, and 3 loads per week. 5000 x 2 hr. per. day/1000= 10 KWH x 3 loads per wk. x 4 weeks a month= 120 KW per month.

To put this in perspective I figured how much electricity is wasted from leaving one flat screen on all night while you sleep. A Flat screen uses 120 watts. I am using 8 hours to represent a full night's sleep. So...
120x8 hours per day= 960/1000= .96 KWH x 7days per week= 6.72 x 4 weeks per month= 26.88 KW per month.

I have decided when using cloth diapers, I will air dry them. Outside in warm weather and inside in cool weather. So that will save my 120 KW per month on drying. On the energy used on the washer, I would use less then some one uses sleeping with the T.V. on. So you can see, people can choose to simply just live their lives differently and use close to the same amount of electricity.
Many Appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched "off." These "phantom loads" occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. Most phantom loads will increase the appliance's energy consumption a few watt-hours. These loads can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.
So I conclude that if one sat down and figured out all the things we do to use electricity, using cloth diapers in reality uses a very small amount. Disposable diapers, which are made in factory's and then sold in stores, probably use a lot more. However I don't know what a diaper making machine is called, and thus couldn't find the watts used.

Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers and Waste

One of the biggest reasons cited for the use of reusable a.k.a cloth diapers is the environmental one. Personally this is one of my BIGGEST reasons.
Disposable diapers are destructive to the environment on so many levels. One they fill the land fills, it takes an estimated 500 years for diapers to decompose. An average child uses an average of 5,000 diapers in first 24 months. So a typical family of 2 children will send on average 10,000 diapers to the landfill, adds up when you think about it. "Americans throw away enough disposable diapers each year to stretch from the moon and back at least 7 times" ~Julia Butterfly Hill. The second biggest reason of which I didn't know until I began my research is ground water contamination. Much of out water comes from underground. The sky rains and the ground soaks it up, then we pump it up from underground reservoirs. Did you know it is against the law to dump human waste in landfills for that very reason? Did you also know that, that particular law isn't enforced when it comes to diapers? Run off from the landfill and it's millions of diapers busy taking 500 years to decompose could infest our water with polio, hepatitis and dysentery to name a few.
Cloth diapers don't fill landfills, they are made of natural cloths that don't take 500 years to decompose. part of washing a cloth diaper is dumping the waste into the toilet where it is then taken to a sewage plant and treated.
A recent factor brought to light, and used in many discussions I have personally had, is the water wasted in washing all those cloth diapers. There are so many ways to dispute this, however I picked one.
A typical top lading, non-conserving washer uses 40-45 gallons of water per load( According to the Consumer report and California Energy Commission Consumer Energy Center). I'll go with 45. If you wash diapers every other day that is 3 loads a week. 45 x 3= 135 gallons a week x 4 weeks a month= 540 gallons of water a month used to wash cloth diapers. Compared to say some on who waters their lawn 30 minutes a day 7 days a week. A Garden Hose without shutoff nozzle can pour 530 gallons water in a hour. Yard watering by hand is typically 9 gallons per minute. So 9 gallons x 30 minutes = 270 x 7 days= 1890 x 4 weeks= 7560 gallons a month. Obviously, using cloth diapers uses way less water then many other things we do in life. For a list on water saving ideas and to find out where does all our water go click here.
My personal opinion is that the water I 'waste' to help prevent groundwater contamination and save 5,000+ diapers from going to the landfill, is better than water wasted for green lawns and vanity.

Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables

It wasn't until really the past fifty years there was even a choice, between cloth or disposable diapers. Disposable diapers became readily available in the 40's, yet were still a luxury many could not afford. In 1942, unbleached creped cellulose tissue was first used. In 1946, Marion Donovan invented "the boater" a waterproof covering for cloth diapers. The 60's and 70's saw major development in disposable diapers. Diaper History shows in the 1990's cloth reemerged from the awareness of the environmental issues concerning disposable diapers. History shows every culture using some form or another of a diaper. Technology and more resources have just improved on what mothers have always known, you need to keep that end covered!

I am not some poor farm wife, nor a wife of a millionaire. I am just a normal run of the mill housewife. I have used disposable diapers on my first two and am choosing to use cloth on my not yet third. In making this transition I have in countered many cultural and social obstacles. My goal is to do a series of blogs depicting my journey from plastic to cloth in hopes of educating others out there. In no means to I wish to hurt any feelings or condemn others' choices, I simply want to share the knowledge I have gained that have influenced my personal decision. Look forward to a series of blogs regarding the whys and hows of cloth diapering.

Two's

Two's the second time around, are the same as the first time. This time I know what to expect, what works and what doesn't. It still is hard to see your baby cry and get in trouble.

Jasey, has fully embraced her two year old self. Everyday we here "I do", "My turn" and "How about now?" at first it was cute and endearing. I patiently let her put her shoes on, I carefully let her have a turn brushing her own teeth, I smiled and marveled at how I was teaching her patience when she would ask and I would tell her not now and she would wait. In the past couple weeks it has all changed. She still says all the before mentioned, but now likes to let out a blood curdling scream at anything but her own way. Today we were walking through a parking lot, the rule is if you walk you have to hold mommy's hand. She didn't want to, I simply could not let her run through the parking lot so i grabbed her and said, "If you choose not to hold mommy's hand I will have to carry you. The big cars and trucks cannot see you Jasey, and I don't want you to get hurt." This was met with a blood curdling "NO!!!!!" I ignored her tantrum and picked her up, unable to leave because I was picking up her brother, we walked into his class and soon her tears were all forgotten.

On the better side of two's, she is copying everything I do, she even pretends to straighten her hair and has several times gotten in my make-up. Every week she seems to be learning new words or phrases. She pretends to shiver and says "I freezin" when she's cold. Clasps her hands under her chin and says "Too scared".

I know all of this is her learning to identify and express her emotions. Part of me is loving this new stage and the other part is sad that we are suddenly seeming no longer babyish.

Green Part 2

I haven't touched this subject since November 2010, oh my things have changed. I really need to give my friends Brittany and Melissa the credit for helping to enlighten and educate me on whole living and being eco-friendly. Through their experiences that they have shared in conversation I find myself curious and then doing research on my own. I have already listed several healthier eating choices we are making, here are the Green choices we are making.

1) The biggest thing I have discovered is that at our Wal-mart they have free recycling. Next to the Good Will drop off there are several huge white trash can looking things. Each one is marked either, paper, cardboard, etc... I now separate all the paper in our house such as magazines, receipts, junk mail etc... I also separate all the cardboard, Empty 12pks, cereal boxes, empty toilet paper tubes, empty diaper boxes and so forth. I then whenever I'm going to go their and shop I stop and drop off everything that is to be recycled. The amount of waste coming out of our house has been just about cut in half. It also costs me nothing! I do believe they have one for plastic, but we rarely buy plastic so I haven't looked into it yet.



2) I recently bought several cloth bags to use for my groceries instead of plastic bags. I got the ones that were 99 cents a piece. Honestly, they hold more, they stand nicely in my trunk and don't fall over, plus I can carry more into the house in one trip because I don't have plastic bags ripping or cutting into my hands. I estimate we are saving 50 plus plastic bags a month.

3) Thirdly and probably the most cost effective one is trading in my plastic dishware. I am choosing to do this after I was enlightened about the amount of chemicals in plastic and how they can leak into our foods.I had already seem lids and cups fraying as a result of going through the dishwasher even through they are supposed to be dishwasher safe. I also was educated about how my Montessori friend uses cups for her child instead of sippy cups. So I got rib of all my plastic cups including sippy cups. Two playtex no spill sippy cups cost me about $8. A set of 16 glasses cost me $8, now we keep our drinks in the kitchen and they will last longer.

Making Soap

Ha ha ha, I feel odd writing this because my friend did the same thing and posted about it also. I guess great minds think alike! So here it goes.

During spring break one of the fun things we did was make soap. I used a kit that I had gotten at hobby lobby, we have done this before so we have several molds, colors and scents to chose from. I let the kids pick out what they wanted. With Jasey she pointed out all the colors and answered accordingly when asked, "what color is this?". With C.J. who recognizes all his numbers, he pushed the buttons on the microwave and pointed out his sight words that he found in the directions.


Holding the items they chose, C.J. blue coloring, Jasey rose and thyme scent.

A Will.

I have put this off way to long, I have always though it can't happen to me. Up until very recently i have learned I am not the exception to bad things happening I am just young, not everything is going to happen right away.
I also have always been devoted to being a good parent. Putting the two and two together I'm more convinced then anything that my husband and I need a will. If something were to happen to us who would take care of our kids? Would the person raising them, take care of them the way I would? it is a horrible thing to think of, however having a will I am able to have more control of what happens to my kids if both my husband and I were to die.

Here are some key points I have learned.

1) A handwritten will with both your signatures is better than nothing. A lawyer will able to help you write it so nothing is disputed.

2) Find out the laws in your state regarding social security and your life insurance, some states you have to assign someone OVER 18 to help disperse funds. It doesn't just go to the person who is taking care of your kids.

3) Think about your wishes for your child about education, beliefs and so forth then talk with your spouse about who you know would be the best fit for your kids.

4) Last but not least make sure to ask that person before you leave your kids to them in a will.

More then anything try to find the legal documents online or go to prepaid legal, or find a lawyer who can help you sort everything out. Taking care of our kids doesn't end when we die.

Why my healthy changes are important...

Yes, this is a blog about my darling little angles. Yes, my recent posts have been about healthy changes my family is making. The are connected I assure you.

Children are like sponges they soak everything up around them good and bad. For many many years psychologists and child development athorities have agreed and concluded how seriously influencing a child's environment is to their development. Children of divorced parents are more likely to get divorced, girls of mothers with bad body images tend to have the same issues, and so forth. No matter what we want to think we are very much alike to those who raised us. Please don't freak out, I didn't say we are destined to be like them, we have free will and can make different choices. Children tend to mimic their parents style when it comes to food. Those who had parents who cooked tended to do the same. Children who had a taste per say for healthier things, tended to make healthier eating habits when they were older. There is a ton of information out there about this, I encourage each of you to research it for yourselves.

In my house, I want my kids to grow up eating and liking healthy choices. I want them to prefer fruits and vegetables over microwave dinners. I'm not saying never let your kid have a treat, but educate them about what you are eating. My four year old knows exactly what I mean when I tell him he can only have something healthy vs a treat.

Besides helping them grow up to make healthier decisions, I am helping them grow up into the healthiest people they can be. I truly believe there is more to feeding you child then just putting food in front of them, but that the quality of that food matters greatly.

My NEW water bottle

My love for what I just discovered, my stainless steel water bottle, it two fold.

1) My kids drink water through out the day, the benefits are immense for the body. We always use glasses her at the house. However, my son will be in school next year come august and has to bring a water bottle every day.

2) Thanks to my eco-friendly super awesome friends I now have a fear of plastic!! I am currently ridding my house of plastic. For those of you who don't know it carries many toxins and DOES leak them into your food and or drink.

So here I was needing a sturdy water bottle for my son, preferably one you didn't need to unscrew. Reusable, not plastic. So I found this water bottle I bought one for my self to try and I love it. You can drink from it without your fingers having to touch the mouth piece, super sturdy, not plastic and not overly huge either. After all my son will have to carry it in his back pack. So now I will go and buy several. My kids will have a cute eco-friendly drink and learn about recycling and reusing things, along with environmental awareness.

Whole grain

Now that I have been educated to the awesomeness of whole grains. I only buy whole grain bread and pasta. If you pay attention to the sales 90% of the time they include the whole grain varieties of the brand as well. The whole grain has more fiber, interestingly enough I keep finding that the less healthier option has odd things added to the product to make it seem like a healthy choice. Such as thiamine, niacin,and riboflavin.

Thiamine- is a vitamin prescribed to those who have a deficiency, that you get from not eating enough whole grain.
Niacin- is found in meats, dairies, vegetables, nuts. You don't need a lot, daily.
Riboflavin- interestingly enough is water soluble and NOT stored in the body, it needs to be replenished every day. It also can be found in dairy,veggies and nuts.

I'd rather my family eat several veggies a day to receive what they need of the above and the many many other benefits the veggies have to offer.

Banana bread

my kids love bananas, but we always ended up with a few overly ripe ones. So I began making banana bread. My kids love it and it freezes REALLY well. I don't have to waste my overly ripe banana's and we have a tasty healthy treat. I bake a lot actually and one of the biggest things I have noticed in difference to store bought items besides taste :) is the amount of salt used. In banana bread I use a pinch, in chocolate chip cookies I use 1/4 tsp. Many times one batch of B-bread makes two loafs and one batch of Choc chip cookies makes several dozen. I like to think this is healthier for my kids.

Other Healthy food choices we make have to do with cooking. I DO NOT use shortening. I DO NOT fry. I DO not buy pork (that's a personal one). I try to buy organic when ever possible.

Olive oil and green tea

We have started cooking our meat and whatever veggies in Extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I all ready bought pure vegetable oil, so the nutritional value didn't really change, However, we did notice a big difference in taste. Especially in stir-fry's



I LOVE coffee. I have said many a times I am an emotional coffee drinker. I drink it when I'm sad, happy, tired, to celebrate, to curl up with a good book. I have a really hard time with moderation, that's why every time I'm pregnant I quit completely. Then I have a newborn and something about sleepless nights, make coffee sound like a gift from God.
I do realize how unhealthy this is and have started drinking green tea. We have even begun making ice tea out of green tea. Plus side is that my kids love drinking warm green tea with a little sugar on cold days. It has no caffeine and major antioxidant properties. I don't know how good it is for growing children so we do it in moderation.

Hazelnut Spread

I love this stuff!!!

Not only is it healthier then typical peanut butter.It has 30 less calories than PB and 60 less calories from fat then PB. It has a little higher fat, but NO Polyunsaturated or Monounsaturated Fat, unlike PB. It has 10 mg of sodium compared to the 150 mg of sodium found in PB. While PB has more protein and Vitamin E,Riboflavin and niacin, The Hazelnut Spread has Calcium, Iron and a lower level of protein. Once again I can read and pronounce all the ingredients in the hazelnut spread.

My kids think it taste like chocolate frosting. We eat it on whole grain toast or crackers. A real treat is animal crackers dipped into the spread. Which by the way is a million times healthier than actual frosting.

Butter

So one of the healthier choices I have made this year is to use only REAL butter and not margarine. Besides me being able to pronounce every ingredient in the butter vs. the margarine. Here are a few health facts, that helped me make my decision.

1)Margarine is high in trans fatty acids

2)Margarine increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol).

3)Margarine lowers quality of breast milk.

4)Margarine decreases immune response.

5)Decreases insulin response.

No, it wasn't made to fatten turkey's and no it is not one molecule away from plastic. Many have said Butter help your body absorb other nutrients, I could not find this. However, the above reasons seem pretty good to me. What do you know Wal-mart carries a wal-mart brand of "REAL BUTTER"!!!

For us, we can tell a HUGE difference baking with it and eating it spread on things.

Beef

Due to all of my recent knowledge about food. My family has chosen to buy 1/4 of a cow. One that we know for sure is hormone free, grain feed and healthy. It even turned out slightly cheaper this way.


There is 108 lbs.

The Tooth part 2

So... that wiggly sucker is no more.

On February 23rd, Cj says "mom look". I turn around and there before me stands my four year old in all his glory, proudly holding is little hand out to me. I look and then look closer, laying on his palm is a tiny white tooth. I look up at my son his eyes gleaming and a toothless smile beaming at me.

That night we put the tooth in a small cup and the tooth fairy left him $2.00.

C.J. feels rich, declaring he shall go to Wal-mart and buy a huge toy.



So in my own way of keeping all life experiences educational, I used this experience to reiterate the importance of dental hygiene, we read a book " The Night before the Tooth Fairy" by: Natasha Wing and "Just going to the Dentist" by: Mercer Myer. We also used this receiving money as a way to go over the money concept, using addition, subtraction and easy division. Such as you have a two dollars, if I take one away then what do you have? One dollar four ways is 25 cents and so forth.

C.J.'s first Feild Trip

In January C.J. had his first class field trip, to the Dinosaur Museum. I left Jasey with Grandpa and went with him and his class. It was really neat to see everything the museum had to teach the kids. I was impressed with all their was to touch. The whole class was very well behaved and attentive. For me it was awesome watching C.J. interact with his peers, I take personal pride in seeing how well-behaved he was. I also was glad I got to know some of his class mates better. After the trip was over I walked back to the school with his class. For the rest of the day all he could talk about was seeing the dinosaurs.

Jasey's 2nd Birthday

Sorry for the delay. I finally have a new cord so i can upload photos.

On 1/20/11 my sweet baby turned two. Hard to believe she's getting so old. We let her pic her theme and she chose princesses.



She had a great time. Even dressed up as Cinderella.


Every year her daddy buys her red tulips. Every little girl should be so cherished by their daddy.

Heaven

I made a post on facebook about something my 4 year old son said, this is what I posted.

"In my attempt to explain the greatness of Heaven to my 4 yr old I said, "It's like the greatest thing you can think of." He thinks for a moment and replies, "Oh, it's like McDonald's."

I was taken aback by the responses, both on my Wall and my Inbox. Yes, I am a believer. Yes, I believe in Heaven. I have never hidden this fact, but I am amazed at how many people feel the need to correct my beliefs or shoot me down for them. In a world where I feel we are being forced to accept anyone and everyone for anything and everything they do. Where we are being told to be open minded, non-judgmental, give it a chance, and so forth, I can't believe how so many of what I considered 'friends' can't do the same for me.

I would never hate my child for not doing what I feel is right. I may not like their discussions or agree with what they chose to do as they get older, but I will always LOVE my kids. But, like almost every other parent in the world, I feel the need to install moral and ethical values in my children about how they conduct themselves, and treat others.

I do not apologize for my beliefs. This is part of who I am.

My questions for other parents (not for debating) but out of curiosity. How is religion addressed in your home? What values do you wish to install in your children and how do you go about doing so?

Frustrated!!!

Should my taxes support something, I then have to pay to use???

Woodland Park wants to open an aquatic center. I get it. They want to raise our property and sales taxes to accomplish this and then still charge us a membership to use it.

Honestly I feel that the city officials are acting like children, they want something and can't afford it so we pay for it and then pay again to use it!!! If we can't afford something of this scale, then maybe we don't need it.

I'm a parent and it would be great to have a pool, but they are not just asking for a pool they want a center to include fitness, workout rooms, childcare etc...

Why not just put a pool in the 24-Hour fitness center? We have pools we can use near by that don't charge a membership or raise our taxes? Golden Bell, Country Lodge, Green Mountain Falls and Manitou Springs. Two of which I know offer swimming lessons. We have to my knowledge 4 Gyms/Fitness centers. All of which seem to run fine without our tax money.

This is why I'm pissed off! The city wants to raise taxes to build an Aquatic Center, but we have one of the lowest paying police departments. The city want's to raise taxes for a swimming pool, but our ambulance department has to bill patients, because they don't receive enough taxes. Yes, they are privately owned and receiving tax money.

They just cut our bus's and combined routes. Some kids have to walk quite a distance to reach a bus stop and NOW the parents have to PAY for their children to ride the bus.

Sounds to me like the city wants to skimp on their responsibilities. If we already don't receive enough tax revenue to cover the expenses we already have why are we trying to tax more to cover entertainment?

I am not a business major, I just manage my own finances and it seems to me. You shouldn't spend money you don't have. When you do get money pay your bills before going out to play.

Feburary!

I know it has been almost a month since I have posted. How can I write when the words escape me. I can't...not yet. This is a month of irony's that I don't feel quiet comfortable sharing, yet. Bear with me, I will resume my posts soon.

Unsure

Once again here I am unsure of my next step. With Kindergarten round up right around the corner. I'm wondering if my son is ready. I "know" I can to an evaluation, but it's really difficult to be objective when it's your own child. I understand they can complete a readiness evaluation at the schools to see if he is ready for kindergarten, but I hate their system. Why you ask? Because judged against EVERY kid in Colorado I know my son would look good. I already go back and forth with them about his speech, they say he's fine he doesn't score low enough to receive help. He would have to score below a 7th percent before he qualifies. I don't see the sense in waiting until he falls that far behind to help him. Similar with the school. I'm feeling he would have to score so low to be considered not ready. Yet, what they consider ready in my mind would not be so. So here I am on another journey to try and find a place or a person who can do an academic and developmental evaluation, that's not associated with the schools.

Why is it every time you questions how things are done, or seek further information, you feel as if you get written of as "one of those moms". I really don't want to be difficult, I just want the best for my child.

Minimizing

While I'd love to post a picture, one of my lovely dogs has chewed my usb cord so no uploading pics today.

I love reading my friends blog's, they have so many fabulous ideas and it not only encourages, but inspires me to try new and different things. After reading several posts about my friend who is minimizing her life, letting go of all the unused and unneeded items. I started looking around and suddenly I was amazed at all the stuff I keep because one day I might need that or use that.

This past weekend I have gone through closets and boxes, and drawers, I got rid of like 10 garbage bags full of stuff and I feel great. It really is nice when everything has a place, when your life isn't cluttered. I felt slightly ill at the amount of stuff that I had that I didn't use, knowing there are many people out there who need it and don't have it. So I donated it to a church! I'm not done, yet.

Next step is to let go of all the things from my past keeping only a few that have strong meaning. Then going through the millions of photos I have updating all the albums and baby books then throwing away the rest.

If you know me this is a big deal, because I'm a bit of a pack rat. I come by it genetically.

The tooth

It's official my son is growing up weather I like it or not!

He has his first loose tooth. I for sure thought there was something wrong, after all he's just a baby and can't possibly be old enough to lose teeth. I called his dentist and he assured me, he is a little young, but at that age non the less.

Now he walks around the house wiggling his tooth and talking about all the money the tooth fairy is gonna bring.

We did however, have to have a talk about not letting our friends wiggle our tooth.

(sigh) I'm not ready for this.

An excerpt from my life...

I will never understand the complete awesomeness of my master bathroom. My kids however, think the coolest thing is to pee in my bathroom. They look at it as a room of hidden treasures. Honestly it's where I store extra toilet paper, soap and such.

Typically they are not allowed in my room without me. However, on more then one occasion they have gone in there and to the bathroom.

It never fails, they lock themselves in the bathroom. Thanks goodness I can pick the lock.

Love

Mu husband brings me home flowers and champagne, just because he loves me! My son watches me smile and thank daddy with a kiss. C.J. tells us "I'm gonna do that when I get older." Once I again I realize what an impact how Chris and I treat each other has on our children, and if my husband bringing me gifts teaches my son to be a little romantic, then bring on the gifts.

Dryer Lint!

If your like me, you throw it away. You have that one little trash can next to your dryer, that collects that fluffy blue gray matter.Trying to be more earth friendly, I am searching for ways to reuse things instead of throwing them away.

My husband used to be a fire fighter, and he reminded me how flammable it is. SO, the next time I tried to start a fire, instead of using a ton of newspaper. I used one sheet of newspaper and then stuffed drier lint between the logs.

WOW!!! It worked, it burns hot and lit my logs easily.

Because it is so flammable, do not store next to your fire place or wood burning stove.

A taste of Thai

I am constantly, looking for new dinner ideas, that both please my family and are budget friendly. This weekend we found a hit. In my new Season's Best pampered chef cookbook, I found Thai Peanut Chicken Stir-Fry Salad. It was so good.

1 bag of romaine.
1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken.
1/2 tsp. salt.
1/2 tsp pepper.
1 tbsp. veg. oil.
1/4 cup peanuts.
1 can corn.
1 medium red bell pepper.
1 medium red onion.
4 garlic cloves.
1/3 cup Thai peanut sauce.

First cut the chicken into 1 inch squares, add salt and pepper and mix. Put veg oil in a pan and heat, meanwhile slice up bell pepper and cut onion into 1 in wedges, chop peanuts and set aside. When oil is hot add chicken cook undisturbed for 5 minutes and then turn over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. When chicken is no longer pink in the middle add corn, bell pepper, onion, mince garlic and add. Stir and let cook till veggies get tender-crisp. When done remove from heat add peanut sauce and stir. Serve over cold romaine lettuce. Top with chopped peanuts.

Everyone loved it. It serves 6 and costs only about $2 a serving.

1st family night of the New Year!

We have honestly been really enjoying, our family movie nights. Even the kids are excited. This past weekend, we got McDonalds, the kids favorite. We also got the movie "Despicable Me".


It was a really cute movie and provided several talking points, with C.J. In the movie it shows three girls living in a home for girls. I know this is a new concept for my son, realizing that not every kid has a mommy and a daddy. We talked about what we can do to help them. C.J. said we can be their friend, play x-box with them, and buy them happy meals. Another really awesome point in the movie, is that the lead Mr. Gru had a change of heart. Showing that even mean people can learn to be nice, love others and be loved. We asked C.J. what changed his heart and he knew. He very quickly answered, "The girls". We then talked about things we can do to mean people we know.

I know it seems like nothing, but we laid the foundation for how to handle mean people, that everyone can change, and how to help kids who don't have families. These are points that will be addressed and grown upon in the next several years, or maybe a lifetime.

Sewing

I laid out my squares

I sewed them together and added the backing.

Heres what it looked like when I was all done!

This was my first attempt and I learned a lot. I'm sure the next one will be even better.

Making Ice cream

C.J. got an ice cream maker for Christmas and we have been having a great time making and enjoying our ice cream.