Ever the princess…

Friday Fragments – Week One

Gather up all those little thoughts and air them out for all to see read. It’s time for Friday Fragments, my weekly “spring cleaning” of the mind. If only real spring cleaning was so easy! Thanks to Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissing Time, we all get to share in the cleansing!

• We went ahead and purchased a family membership to the local pool for the summer. Now I just need to make sure they go at least 25 times to make it worth the cost!!! I am pretty certain that when I was a kid I was there every day they were open so I don’t think 25 days in an entire summer will be difficult.
• Can you believe Michael Jackson is gone?? Seriously? I know he really went downhill this last decade or so, but I mean the King of Pop? Even with all that has transpired, he was an extremely talented musician. I used to have a big time crush on MJ. I still have a whole box of memorabilia my mom brought over to our house when they moved and cleaned out my old room. Hmmm, I guess I may have to visit e-bay this afternoon, I bet the market value has gone up.
• I’ll be listing some new stuff on Etsy this afternoon, I’d love it if you all would drop by. ALSO… the reason I started really listing on Etsy was to HELP COLE. I have listed a Baseball themed Scrabble Tile Pendant that you can personalize. The proceeds go to help sweet little Cole go to a special care school and pay for necessary equipment. Any of you with special needs kids know how expensive things can get, even with good insurance. So, please, take a few minutes to check in on Cole and if you feel led, buy a pendant!! There is also a button on my sidebar that will take you directly to my shop on Etsy (if you REEAALLY want to help, e-mail me, I’ll send you the code for the same button for your blog!!)->->->
• The kids and I have been making little cardboard houses for AM’s miniature cats to live in. I get to show off my prowess with craft paper and a hot glue gun, the kids get “new” toys. Even MD will play with the girls and live in the houses. They were upstairs for almost 2 hours on Tuesday just playing “kitties”. Ahhh, a little quality computer cleaning time!

• PM and MD love to push each other’s buttons. I know this is what it’s like for siblings, but they both seem to be particularly good at it. MD will say or do over and over again the one thing PM reacts to. PM on the other hand, finds that one thing that bugs MD and stores it in that little Rolodex of a brain she has and keeps that nugget for a time when he least expects it. She analyzes the situation, then accesses her file of things-that-bug-MD and pulls out of her arsenal something that will almost frustrate MD to tears.

• We are almost done with Week One of PM’s CIT. Here’s today’s numbers:

# times asked for “pink off”: 1

# times MD got clobbered with cast: 0 (woohoo!)

# kitchen gloves mom bought for swimming: 2

# hours PM was in the wading pool: 2.5

# ounces of water in said kitchen glove and dripping out of cast later: maybe 1

# times mom kicked herself for taking PM to the pool: most of the evening!

A Thousand Words Thursday – Photos by AM

I’d like to introduce a girl after my own heart, my oldest took this shot. She got a couple of really good ones, actually. She told me she doesn’t want to be an archaeologist any more, but a photographer. I told her she could probably do both, and still sketch as well. AM was elated.

Do you have a picture worth a thousand words (or more)? Join in showing them off at Cheaper Than Therapy!

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CIT Day Three Numbers:

# drinks spilled: 0 (yaay sippies, I cheated)

# times asked for “pink off”: 0 (progress!)

# times MD was clobbered with cast: 1

# times she wanted to clobber MD with cast: at least 15 (more progress!)

# of times PM fell face first spread eagle onto the parking lot pavement at Wal-Mart thus inducing several “Mom-of-the-year” stares from people noticing the poor girl already has a cast on one arm and a brace on the opposite leg: 1 (sigh)

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday – A little leftover from Father’s Day

Wordless Wednesday is brought to you by the fine ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Daddy comes home for a visit, October 2006

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And now the wordful part~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You know those times when you tell yourself “I’m not going to cry” even though you know just how its going to end up? That was the day. Daddy was home, albeit for only 2 short weeks. I absolutely love this photo, and I was so glad that someone was thoughtful enough to catch this moment for us. I slept so well those two weeks, simply from the relief of knowing my husband was in the bed beside me. You wouldn’t believe how often I freaked out when someone knocked at our door, praying silently that this wasn’t a pair of men in dress blues with a letter for me. What can you do in two weeks? Well, attend a few parties, love on the kids a whole lot (meet the daughter you haven’t even seen in person), and eat….a..lot. My hubby had actually written a list of the foods he’d like to enjoy while he was here. I think we made it through all but one or two items on the list. Two weeks was never so short.

Wordful Wednesday can be found at Seven Clown Circus

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CIT Day Two Numbers:

# drinks spilled: 1

# times asked for “pink off”: 1

# times I was clubbed with cast: 2 – NOT intentionally

# times PM asked to take a bath: 3 at least

# of baths PM got to take: 0

My Unsolicited Review of Coolababy and Rainbow BB diapers

~~~~~~~ UPDATE ~~~~~~~

I've had these diapers for several months now. After you read my original review below, please CLICK HERE to read an update! Thanks for stopping by!

~~~~~~Original Post ~~~~~~~

I have been an E-bay addict lately as I tried to scout out some new yet inexpensive cloth all-in-one diapers. I have some very nice SposoEasy dipes I purchased from a friend, but I wanted to add to my stash. I kept seeing tons of these made-in-China sets of diapers sold in lots from 4 to 24. They end up being around $6.50 to $7.50 each, depending on the shipping and if they include extra inserts.

The Coolababy cloth pocket diaper I purchased came in several cute colors. I looked for one that included a second insert for the pocket. It came in a reasonable amount of time, being that it came from China. When you look at the description on E-bay, you have to weed through the poorly translated English. I actually sort of enjoyed this part. For example:

• according to the size of your baby's urine choose thick or thin diapers, going out at night or optional Thick, thin normally used.

3. Lining is a strong water permeability, when the baby urinating, urine will soon be absorbed through the lining to all the diapers inserts.

I would hope when my baby is going out for a night on the town he remembers to use the optional Thick diaper. There is also a fairly straight forward set of washing instructions on the listing, which is good because they don’t come with any additional instructions in the packaging and a cryptic half-Chinese character tag sewn in.

The Rainbow BB cloth pocket diapers are so very similar that I believe they may be made at the same manufacturer for two different wholesalers. Actually the listing for the Rainbow BB diapers call them Coolababy in the text! They both come in similar colors (Rainbow BB more pastels, Coolababy more basic colors), they both have a very similar design with a few variables, and they both have identical inserts. They also have some fun translations on their listing:

Afterall, the like these of the with cloth, it'the s not saving money of the only about ….. It'the s not environment of the saving our of the only about ……and it'the s not saving our of the only about health. It'the s also every minute of the and loving of the duper CUTE of the looking super of the about baby of it!

Duper CUTE of the looking super!!! Exactly what I was looking for!!

Here’s the specifics….

You can see the slight difference in color. The Rainbow BB PUL material on the outer cover seems to be just slightly better quality. Also, Rainbow BB has an extra row of snaps across the top and the elastic legs are slightly more snug. The Coolababy diaper is a good fit on my chunky baby, but I think would not be as snug on a thinner child (read: leaky?). Both snaps are durable, the Rainbow BB snaps seemed a bit better, but it is slightly newer so maybe just less worn. I played with the adjustable rise, but I have a hard time believing a 7 pound baby would fit either of these. Both have a very nice microfleece inner layer and extremely absorbent inserts. We used these overnight with no leaks, and no blowout in the morning (so far!)

The Coolababy diaper has microfleece right up the top, while Rainbow BB has PUL turned. Either one seems fine. I think I like the Rainbow BB pocket a bit better with the extra flap inside. The Coolababy pocket is slightly more wide, so easier to stuff, but the pocket is open at the end so if the microfleece shifts too much you may end up with PUL right against baby’s skin. Both wash well and dry fast either on the line or on medium heat in the dryer. After some long term use, I’ll probably post again as to the wear and tear and how they’re holding up.

Overall, for the price, they seem like they will be decent diapers. I think I like the Rainbow BB slightly better than the Coolababy. Some tips for hunting on E-bay: These are usually a buy-it-now item. Look for listings for free shipping, or remember to factor shipping into the cost of the diaper. You really should be able to snag these for less than $8 each with second inserts included! I would not at all recommend the Babyland Diapers as the inner lining looks like terribly cheap polyester. I was totally wrong about Babyland Diapers, you can read my review for them HERE!

There wasn’t much info about these so I wanted to post my experiences. If anyone ever tries SunBaby, SweetDollBaby or any of the other similar products, I’d love to hear what you thought.

Constraint Induced Therapy – Round Two, Day One

PM got her new cast put on this afternoon. She wasn’t too interested in getting a new “pink” when we talked about it, but like the trooper she is, she sat quietly and watched as they wrapped up her left arm. She picked out red this time, but we still call it her “pink”. If you’re not familiar with CIT, constraint induced therapy, you can read the definitions HERE. Basically, we are constraining the “good” arm to force her to use the weaker one. This should help the brain remember that the other side is available and help build stronger neuropathways. We saw pretty good results with the last session in October, so we wanted to get another one in before she gets to old for this type of therapy isn’t as effective. I have videos of her last session on YouTube. Having a cast that can’t be removed makes all of her daily activities become therapy. When you have a cast that can be removed, they know it. PM has already asked twice for me to take it off, when I tell her its “stuck” she accepts that answer and goes back to what she was doing. I can imagine her throwing more of a fit if she knew the cast came off and I just wasn’t removing it for her.

I’ve already noticed a few issues we didn’t have last time. 1.) PM no longer drinks from sippy cups and her little fingers just don’t wrap around a regular kid cup well enough to drink from it. 2.) PM wasn’t potty trained last time, so I will have to accompany her to every bathroom visit since she probably won’t be able to do it all alone. You can read about our last adventures with CIT in October HERE (start from the bottom). I’ll also be posting more on her Caringbridge site.

Today’s Tally:

# drinks spilled: 1.5

# times asked for “pink off”: 2

# of people who thought she broke her arm: 1

# times MD got clubbed with a cast: 4 - yes on purpose.

Happy Father’s Day!

By the way, you didn’t see this picture.  I didn’t sneak around the corner of the deck and shoot it on the sly. 

Friday Fragments – Toilet Paper and Stuff

So once again I have all these little things I didn’t get to post about during the week.  Thanks to Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissing Time, I can save ‘em all up for today!!!

• I had two other entries for I Heart Faces, and I had a difficult time choosing one.  These are the two I didn’t post…

• Now about this toilet paper thing.  Seriously, am I the only one who would spend 15 minutes re-rolling an entire roll of TP that the toddler spun onto the bathroom floor?  It’s butt wiping, not brain surgery, I’m sure its fine.  And a lovely  job I did, too.

• I found a new site to love.  For a good laugh I’ve long been a fan of Cake Wrecks, and yesterday i discovered Bent Objects.  They’re both visually entertaining, but the writing is witty and fun as well.  Enjoy!!

• I went to a co-worker/friend’s house today with the kids.  It was kind of a play date as well as a photo shoot.  I needed July fourth off from work and I offered to sweeten the deal with some professional pictures for whomever picked up my shifts. We also got to talk cloth diapers, and that’s fun because I ended up buying from her several that she couldn’t use.  She’s probably the only IRL cloth diaperer I know!!! Anyway, here’s a shot I took today…. you can see more at my photography website HERE.
• And here is JC in all his post-bath-drooling-chunky-legged glory.  Love it.

A Thousand Words Thursday – Birthday tribute

Find your favorites photos worth a thousand words and share them at TheMomJen’s Cheaper Than Therapy!

I meant to get this done yesterday, for PM’s birthday, but it took me an extra day. I hope you like it. I tried to keep it under 10 minutes, so grab some popcorn!!

Wordless Wordful Wednesday – Happy Birthday Sweet Princess

Wordless Wednesday is brought to you by the sweet gals at 5 Minutes for Mom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~And now for the wordful part~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s PM’s third birthday. It’s significant for us in a number of ways. Today she is no longer eligible for our state’s Early Intervention program. She has “graduated”, which doesn’t at all mean she’d done with therapy. She has many years of physical and occupational therapy left. It simply means the state will no longer send over an OT to our house, and ALSO she is no longer covered by Medical Assistance, so we will now be responsible for a larger part of her medical care (co-pays and items not covered by our personal insurance). It also is significant because many children with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy suffer from seizures and take medication daily in hopes to control it. PM has not had a seizure, and it is less likely now that she will have any, but not impossible. We are in love with this little girl and inspired by her strength and determination, her tenacity and playfulness. Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

Wordful Wednesday posts can be found at Seven Clown Circus!!

I Heart Faces - Sepia

Just a quick post to put up my entry for I Heart Faces.  The theme this week is Sepia toned photos, and I had a hard time deciding on one.  I picked this…..

Go see more entries here…

Friday Fragments – Getting things cleaned up

Gather up all those thoughts and bits of pieces of the week you couldn’t post before, and get ready for Fragment Friday. See plenty of disjointed thoughts at Half Past Kissing Time!

• My head has been swirling with all the stuff I need to get done this summer. I have a wedding to shoot this weekend. PM’s birthday is Wednesday and we haven’t even decided on a party yet, another wedding in July, PM’s second CIT casting is coming up as well as her new orthotics are here and need to be fitted, the big kids want swimming lessons and T-ball, we want to travel a few places. Ugh.
• Speaking of CIT, here’s some of PM’s most recent therapy…

• I’ll post a full report over at CaringBridge, but I may not get to it today….
• I MUST clean this room up. It’s a toy room right now, but it is SO full of toys that no one plays with that the kids can’t even get in to play. We are going to get rid of 80% of this stuff like it or not! This is the future home of JC’s new room. He needs a baby safe play room with no Legos, Polly Pockets, or stray tasty items like kleenex and bottle caps. I just don’t know where to start. This photo is after I kicked a path to the back of the room.

• I’ll be tying a rope around my waist when I go into the toy room to clean. If I don’t come back for lunch, someone pull me out!!!!
• I need more people willing to take my kids for a whole weekend. I feel like that’s a huge task to ask anyone. I know it will be easier once they’re older and less needy. Right now I have been splitting up the big 3 and little guy, this weekend it will probably be 2 and 2 while I work at the hospital AND shoot this wedding. *sigh*
• I know I have more… but my brain it at it’s limit. Have a fun weekend! I’ll sneak some wedding shots on Monday!!

A Thousand Words Thursday – MD the Gladiator

Visit TheMomJen’s Cheaper Than Therapy to show off your photos worth a thousand words!!

We went to “Ribfest” this weekend and while the hubby and I ate our way through several Rib vendors’ sampler plates, the kids got to take out their frustrations Gladiator style.

PM got her own place, and ended up with an assistant as well. The girl running this particular bouncy house had nothing better to do, so she went inside and helped PM jump around for at least 20 minutes.

JC and I just hung out and watched!

Food and bouncy castles. Can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon. Unless you do the food first, in which case, stay away from the bouncy castle for a good couple of hours!!!

Are you reeling in the years, stowing away the time?

Their very blue eyes...
every one of my kids
has them
I want to gaze into
those eyes,
but the kids are always
on the move.
So I take a few pictures...
something that will stop time,
because I can't pause this moment
and savor it the way I'd like.
Capture something now
because everything moves so fast.
I wouldn't mind if they stayed
this age just a little longer.
But I know I can't,
wouldn't, shouldn't.
They will be amazing adults.
I'll need to prove to myself
that I once had little kids.
So I take pictures.
To make it last.