Mommy Confessions

Parenting isn't a competition, and shouldn't be treated so. As mothers we shouldn't be judging one another or critical. Parenthood is more then just doing it by the book, it's about raising wonderful human beings and making memories along the way.

~  I use fruit snacks to help my kids wait patiently in tough situations such as the dr.s office.

~  Sometimes I skip bath night.

~  I let my daughter color her white blond hair with markers knowing they were washable, so I could sit in silence for 10 minutes.

~ I use movies for rest time.

~  I have been known to bribe my kids from time to time.

~  Sometimes, we stay up too late.

~ Sometimes, we sleep too late.

But, at the end of the day. I love my kids more then life itself. I've learned my kids shouldn't be made to fit life's schedule, but schedule life to fit the kids.

I made a memory today.

I didn't do any vacuuming, I let the laundry go,
Instead... I went shopping with my family.

I didn't make the beds, or clean up the playroom.
Instead... I spent a couple hours play a video game  with my son.

I didn't really cook, or take out the trash.
Instead...my daughter and I made home made play-doh.

I didn't sweep or mop, or clean the tub.
I kissed a sweet baby face and listened to him laugh.

I didn't do any of the things, I normally do.
But... today I made memories.

From the mouth of my five year old...today

"Mom, an earring would make me look tough!"

"I could take you down... I know Kung Fu."
       (to another child)

"I tried to to hit the toilet, really!"

"Mom, I'm gonna live at home forever."

"Yeah... I have 4 girl-friends."

"Look at me...(dances) I'm sexy and I know it."

"Mom, how come I only have one dad, ____ has two!"

"How did Alex get in your belly? Mrs_____ has a big belly, but she said there was no baby in it."

"Mom, guess what? I farted."
          (laughs hysterically)

Cloth diapering

  I swore I would cloth diaper our 3rd child. I felt over whelming guilt when I didn't...at first. At the hospital it's easier to use disposables, as I didn't have access to a washer and that black tar poop is crazy sticky. When we arrived home I was saddened and slightly relieved that I had to use disposables because the cloth diapers were to big. My son was 7lbs 5 ounces and the diapers on their smallest setting were way too big.
  Tip #1- It's worth it to buy newborn diapers or find a brand that runs tiny,like for me, thirsties. Like you, other moms will need these tiny ones in the first months, making them very easy to resell.
   When Alex was 2 months old I looked at my stack of brand new cloth diapers and felt the guilt settle in my stomach like a rock. I grabbed one determined to try it because after all I spent all this money. It took some practice, finding the right rise setting, the right waist setting. every brand is different. I had an old Rubbermaid with a lid I decided to use that for my diaper pail. I thought I'll try these at home ONLY. I didn't tell any one when I started, I was afraid to fail. After a couple days I found my groove and was madly deeply in love. However, I was only a part time clother, one who cloth diapers only part of the time.
  Tip #2- No one said it was all or nothing. Start out as slowly or as fast as you feel comfortable. Don't want to cloth in public, THATS OKAY, don't want to cloth at night, THATS OKAY. 
  Once I discovered that it wasn't an all or nothing. The pressure melted off. I was able to play around, practice my folds on my prefolds, try different detergent, hang dry vs dryer. When Alex wasn't brand new, and after my family had a chance to find our routine, cloth diapering didn't seem so daunting. Slowly I began telling people starting with my husband...
  Tip #3- Have faith in you spouse. if they seem hesitant, it's because they are either intimidated because cloth is not the norm, or they are worried you will be over whelmed by the extra work. 
  My honey has turned out to be the most supportive person in my life. No one could tell a difference when I used cloth, until I told them. I found that many people had a very out dated idea of what cloth diapering was. It wasn't that they didn't want to be supportive they honestly thought I was talking about safety pins and such.
  I wish I could have found more cloth diapering moms willing to indulge my interest. It was daunting making this decision, without ever seeing the product on a child.  Youtube, has many reviews and demos regarding cloth.
 Tip #4- Try one of each. I was sold on the AIO's but have quickly fallen in love with the prefolds with a cover. 
 Tip #5- You don't need all the cute accessories. I used plastic store bags, until I got a wet bag, I have had lots of success with certain popular detergents and haven't needed to order any. 

  I love cloth diapering, it's easy and simple. I love not having to spend 15-25 dollars every other week for a box of diapers. I rarely use disposables, I would say I use cloth 95% of the time. My only wish was that I had started with my 1st.

Living Green

Green living, honestly I'm pretty proud with how green we are. I buy organic whenever possible. We recycle, buy used,  and re-use what we can.

Consignment stores- I just discovered, a  few of the consignment stores locally. I'm in love! I love being able to save money while buying my kids the things they need. Shop at locally owned businesses, that in turn provide families with some extra income. Also another form of recycling.

 Reuse- I also wash and reuse items normally thrown away. Straws, plastic sandwich bags, and plastic utensils all of which I wash by hand and never microwave. These items I use all the time in C.J. and Chris's lunches. We also wash out glass jars some are used as glasses, others are saved for when I make homemade candles. Others are recycled.

Breastfeeding- I include this because by breastfeeding I don't have to buy formula thus cutting down on waste. (This is a personal decision and not a judgment.)

Cloth Diapering- I am proud to say we are cloth diapering, it took about 6 weeks for him to get big enough so that they would fit well. I still use disposables when someone else is watching him, when we are gone for a long time, or staying overnight at houses that prefer we don't use their machine to wash the diapers in.

Homemade Baby Food- I received a baby Bullet for my baby shower and am loving it. I have only played with it as Alex is still very young. I personally think the taste difference between store bought and homemade is amazing. Plus, I save money and am not throwing away more plastic.

Recycling- We recycle plastic, cardboard and paper at our local Wal-mart. They have free recycling roll offs. I also recycle cans at our local City Market.

Composting- We have a composter in the back yard. So, all of our left over or scrap pieces of fruits and veggies go in there.

 I try to be conscientious about the things we use, like dish towels instead of paper towels. Reusable shopping bags instead of plastic. Hang drying instead of dryer, unplugging unused electronics etc...

Thankful

 Today, Alex got his 4 month shots. He cried, but honestly been in a great mood this afternoon. He is very healthy, his head is in the 99%! Daddy jokes and calls him pack-man, because he is all head. I proudly showed the Dr. all his rolls, told him everything he can do. Described our day, our Dr. is amazing and very supportive of everything I do.
 This afternoon, he was cuddly, giggling at his toes. He has learned to reach for me and recognizes my face. He has his dad's blue eyes. Now, he sleeps for the night.
 I look at him and am so thankful. He was meant to be.

My friends are adopting a little girl from Bulgaria, she is 14 years old and only weighs 14 lbs. My heart aches for her and other children in her situation.  

I look at my 4 month old who weighs 15 1/2 pounds. He weighs more than that poor child. I am suddenly so grateful for everything we have.

A challenge

I have heard of people who don't have a microwave and I admire them. I know they are eating healthier and using less electricity. However, I never thought I could do it, until ours broke.

I have no choice. We are microwave less. I know we can do it. It's exciting to see what life will be like. I plan on using the oven to reheat leftovers, use my teapot for tea, a pan to melt butter for baking and heating milk for hot chocolate.

I wonder if I will see a change in our electric bill.

Schooling Part 4: What if he doesn't want to learn?

 The second biggest concern I hear is, What if he doesn't want to learn? I feel this isn't a home school concern rather than a teaching concern. I counter with " What guarantees he will learn at school?" Nothing.
 We place our children in the public school system with the belief that they are professionals, thus my child will learn. This is a very deep and complicated topic. First, what classes does a teacher take that prepares them to teach, UCCS, list all their required classes to obtain a teaching degree. Second, what is your child's learning style? How does the school teach? Rather then jumping onto another tangent let me list how I will encourage my child to learn.

1) Adaptation, I will be able to adapt the subjects and teach in accordance to my son's learning style.
2) Because we won't move ahead until a concept is grasped, there is no falling behind and thus no frustration or embarrassment from struggling.
3) We will be able to deviate and elaborate on subjects of interest for example;While painting for art, we discuss artist, then have an impromptu trip to an art museum.
4) I will have flexibility  to teach or not to teach, I'm not stuck in a 8-3 time frame. If he was up the previous night with nightmares= let him sleep 1 hour longer. Its the first sunny day in 2 weeks so we play outside= do school that evening. Thus, less cabin fever,less burnout, irritability, and stress.

 If by some off chance he absolutely refuses, and it becomes a battle of the wills. Then further behavior modifying actions will be taken.Keeping  in mind "battles of will" can occur over ANYTHING. This behavior is NOT a conclusive sign that the thing the battle is over, is wrong. However, he enjoys having fun and learning while doing so. I do not for see this being a problem.