cloth

of all the things i could blog about right now (4th of july, our new house, all the summer fun we've been having...), i choose cloth diapers! ha. i've been meaning to update on this for a long time and i figure i need to soon before diapers are a thing of the past. yep, i actually see a light at the end of the tunnel in regards to diapers. not sure if it's a girl thing or the fact that maya watches kellen go to the bathroom...but this girl has been going on the potty now since she was about 18 months old. the first time i thought it was a fluke...she said poo poo and pointed to her booty. i asked her if she wanted to go sit on the potty and lo and behold, the girl pooped! now she goes anywhere from 1- 4 times a day. she almost always goes first thing when she wakes up and often her diaper is dry in the morning. crazy - probably the only thing that is holding her back from being fully potty trained is me!!! it's so much work out and about ensuring that two are all set potty wise and that there are no accidents. but, moving on...this post is not about potty training!

it's about my switch to cloth diapers...almost a year ago!!! after much research and good intention, i finally switched to cloth after i quit my job (seriously, it's been almost a full year now!) and probably a good four months after i bought my first FOUR cloth diapers! there is no denying, a cloth diaper booty is way cute and really, the laundry hasn't been bad. but it is a lot of extra laundry. i probably wash diapes 2-3 times a week and it takes two cycles (1 cold wash with extra rinse, followed by 1 hot wash with extra rinse). in terms of better for the environment, i feel SO good about not putting bags of paper diapers in our trash, but there is a lot more water usage.

i went with mostly pocket diapers...fuzzibunz are my faves, but we also have a blueberry and some katydid diapers. i have a few all in one, which i didn't care for as much, but have found they make a really great night time diaper. i also have a couple of bamboo fitted diapers that require a cover and for that i have a few thirsties duo covers! on top of not having to buy paper diapers, i bought most of these diapers on super sale via daily deal sites or amazon (got several practically for FREE when they had $10 off purchase and 30% off diapers coupons in magazine...those were total scores!).

almost a year into it and my diapers are holding up really well...although i think they are starting to stink a bit! need to figure that out...but all in all, i'm so happy and proud of myself for making the switch. i did buy a pack of diapers when we went on vacay to hawaii and i have some left from that. we use a paper diaper every now and then when i don't have any clean/dry diapers or when i think her booty just needs a break (the moisture doesn't wick away from the skin with cloth like it does with paper). now if i can just muster the energy to potty train this girl, we'll say goodbye to the cloth and hello undies forevah!

can't stop...

...reading this blog: http://www.mattlogelin.com/

it's very sad, but also somehow uplifting. not sure how i came across it now, but i've been wanting to go back and read all the archives. it looks like this story was just featured in people magazine as well. makes me so thankful for what i have!

tagged

OK, I was tagged by Jamie weeks ago now and am finally getting around to following through! (The rules....link your tagger and list these rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.)

hmmm...this requires some thought.

1. I have a tattoo on my big toe. It's of a sun, but unfortunately it looks like the sun has an eyeball in the middle of it. It bugs me, but not enough to go back and get it fixed!

2. I stood in line for 3 hours in hopes of getting a ticket to game 4 of the 2004 alcs game between the red sox and the yankees at fenway park. my husband was so proud. i ended up getting a ticket, but unfortunately the game was rained out and i was leaving boston the next day. boo.

3. After standing in line for so long to get that ticket, I ended up meeting a nice guy, who was a restaurant reviewer for citysearch.com. He invited me to tag along with him and his parents to review a restaurant since the game got rained out. Yes, I called my husband to tell him about it - but looking back it's kind of weird that I got in the car with basically a perfect stranger, drove to a really nice restaurant in boston where his parents met us and we all dined together - on citysearch's dime. He also ended up buying my ticket to the game, so I didn't lose out on that $50.

4. Aa and I were robbed in the Johannesburg, South Africa airport...by the police. Long story short (or long), we found one of our bags missing, went to the police station and after lots of talking they pulled our bag out. OH...I forgot to mention that this bag held our plane tickets to Botswana and back and then home, Aa's passport and lots of money! Needless to say, when we got the bag back, Aa went through it to make sure everything was in there and found everything except his passport! Not good and after a lot of discussion, another police man walked by, holding Aa's passport and nonchalantly asked if it was his. It was all very weird and a bit scary. We grabbed the passport and went on our way, only to figure out in the morning they had gotten away with Aa's Oregon hat and a Nike fleece. Hmmmm....you'd of thought those envelopes of cash might have been more tempting! I guess they were Duck fans!

5. I hate cooked carrots, but love them raw!

6. I met my husband the first day back to Eugene my junior year of college. We were next door neighbors and didn't actually start dating until we moved across town from each other.

7. I used to have a big crush on Shaquille O'Neal when he first was drafted into the nba. I can't even explain it now, but I have t-shirts, signed player cards and pictures of him taken at trail blazers v. magic games that I attended.

ok....now I'm suppposed to "tag" 7 others, but I'm not even sure I know 7 others to tag! How about Megs, Kelle, Heather, Christie and Kelsey...if you ladies feel like doing it...have at it, along with anyone else who might be so inclined...my feelings won't be hurt if you don't! :) leave a comment here if you decide to participate!

a message from the boy...

"Vote for my better tomorrow"

you know you are sleep deprived when...

...you find the telephone in the washing machine as you are putting the clothes into the dryer! oops. i guess the boy can finally have the phone for good!

don't forget to register to vote!!!

the oregon deadline is october 14!

i need your help...

picking a book for my book club...so come out of hiding and leave me a comment with your top book recommendations. pretty please? with sugar on top!

wordle schmwordle...

if you peruse the blog-o-sphere...you'll see lots of people referring to a cool website called worldle. there are a couple of ways to do it - you can either enter a bunch of your favorite words and it'll randomly create a "word cloud" OR you can also enter your blog address and it'll create a cloud from the words on your blog, with the biggest words being the ones you use the most. you can then change the settings to get a different look. it's really fun to play around with and can be yet another major time suck...but i can see all sorts of fun ways to use this - would make cool custom cards, print for a nursery or child's room, shower or party invitation, t-shirt, etc. Meg finally prompted me to actually give it a try - so interesting to see the words that i use the most (although i question whether those are really the words i use the most!) and i see that i tend to overuse the ... !!! check it out!

Why my job is cool...

Employees are encouraged to hold meetings/have lunch/hang out in one of the courtyards to watch the Olympics on the Jumbotron.

we're not the only ones interested in vitamins and poop

here are some of the google searches that people have run that led them to our blog:

• my 6 months old baby sleeps with legs sticking straight up


• "loves his dad" boy


• i love k boy


• hippie chic


• how to incorporate infant naps with being outside


• vitamins make my poop black


• vitamins poop more


• greenish black poop in a 6 month old


• vitamins + take a poop


• dark poo and vitamins

who knew there were so many poopy vitamin questions!!?

i <3 paper*source!

i'm so excited...they are opening a paper*source in portland!! word on the street is that it'll open Aug. 16th. i've actually never been to this store, but i first discovered them over four years when i was researching ideas for our wedding invitations. we ended up using one of their invitation kits and made them all ourselves - aaron even got in on the action. it ended up being quite a bit of work, as there were multiple parts to put together, but they turned out great and we paid A LOT less than we would have if we would have ordered them or had someone else do them for us! jan did end up saving they day by taking them home and finishing them all up for us and my friend kelsey was so awesome and did the caligraphy! i can't wait to be able to visit the store in person...now, i just need a paper project - maybe 1st birthday invitations???!!!

wow!

ok - this is a departure from my typical subject matter, but i can't believe that britney spears has just given up her custody rights to kfed - he now has full custody of their kids. one of my favorite pre-baby time sucks was checking out the latest celebrity gossip on Pink Is The New Blog. oh how i'd love to check out who was dating who, who was flashing their privates or who was a drunken mess...but now, i'm so out of touch. so when i saw the headline on yahoo, i had to go check it out on PITNB to see what T=trent had to say about it. i'm pretty surprised that britney didn't get it together and while i used to be entertained by this stuff...it's suddenly very, very sad to me to think about these poor boys and the fact that their mom couldn't get it together enough to care for them.

our 15 minutes of fame...

About a month ago, Kellen and I, along with several other moms and babies were asked to participate in a video for Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield for new moms. Basically, we were asked to talk about what we wish we would have known before we had our baby. Since this video was only for Blue Cross insurance members, I haven't been able to share the video until now...as it's now on YouTube for all to view!



So, how did this happen? Well, I started going to the Good Samaritan Hospital Baby and Me group and ended up meeting a great group of women. A bunch of us started doing other things together - weekly coffee at Sip and Kranz, mommy Matinees, Gymboree and it's now morphed into our own official Mom's Group. Unfortunately now that I'm back to work, I don't get to attend all the events, but I've still been able to join in the Friday Play Dates that we rotate hosting at our houses and of course, Gymboree. Anyway...one the moms is a web editor at Blue Cross and her first project back to work from maternity leave was all about having babies and evidently their original plan for a video fell through so she came calling on us!

It was very fun - one of the first nice days we had this summer and a great way to remember this time as new moms together! Hopefully we don't scare people away from having kids - it's funny how so often when you talk about things, that's the bad or hard part that you share - but it's true, being a new parent is really hard and it's a big change AND something that we would do over and over and over again! I'm lucky to have found such a great, supportive group of women and I really do hope that we continue to get together and share this parenting experience! It's so fun to see these babies together and imagine that they could be friends for a long time.

So, since I know a lot of soon-to-be and new moms, here's some advice from me to you...in addition to things I wish I would have known - I share with you how valuable it is to get out of the house as a new mom and connect with other new moms - whether it's through the hospital baby group or other venue - take advantage of those opportunities! I know that it's been a huge help to me! And...we don't always just get together with the babies...here's a picture from one of our Mom's Night Out at Thirst Wine Bar!

Back to Work, 5 months old and other stuff...

I'm half way through my second week back to work (as if I haven't been working the last five months!) and it's going pretty good. The first week and especially the first day was hard and I'm simply exhausted trying to manage both a full time job at home and a part-time job at work, but I keep hearing over and over that it gets easier...so I'm going to have faith that it will! Thinking back to those first few weeks at home with the boy and how much easier it became makes me believe it even more! We just need to get settled into our new routine.

Let's see...I'll try to give you a little recap of what we've been up to and of course I'll get some pictures in here.

gymboree

A few weeks ago we started Gymboree classes with a group of moms and babes that we met through the hospital Baby and Me group. We've had so much fun...learning new songs and different ways to interact and play with Kellen that will encourage his development. Kellen absolutely loves it - especially the parachute and Gymbo the Clown. Personally, I think that Gymbo is a bit creepy, but I tell you...the babies go crazy for him! Anyway, now a month later Kellen is no longer content in the Level 1 class that is meant for ages 1-6 months. The instructor has recommended that we try out the the next class. We just got back and I think we've officially graduated out of level 1 and into Level 2. The sad thing is that all of our friends are a bit younger than us, so won't be joining us for another month or so! We can't wait for them to join us in the next class...it's so much fun!

new toy

the boy has outgrown the bouncy seat and the swing just bores him, so we pulled out a new toy that had been stashed in the garage. the jumperoo is just a riot - kellen loves it! it makes him squeal with delight and he'll jump, jump, jump and then stop in amazement of himself. i made a video but i haven't downloaded it yet...as soon as i do, i'll post it because it's pretty fun.

beach trip

In honor of our 4th anniversary, the three of us headed west to Canon Beach for a night. It was just gorgeous - 70 degrees and no wind on the beach. That is a rarity! Kellen was able to put his feet in the sand for the first time...what fun. Of course, like all good babies, he stuck a fist full of sand right into his mouth! We just relaxed, walked around town, checked out the shops, ate good food and walked up and down the beach. It was the perfect way to celebrate our marriage and also get a little r&r before I headed back to work the next Monday.

work

As I said, we're trying to figure out our work routine...but we can't get too comfortable because I'll only be on this part-time schedule for 12 weeks and I've already started the countdown...only 10 more weeks until I have to work full-time again! ugh. But, it's so great to be able to ease back in. We are SO lucky to have family stay with Kellen while I'm out. We have Grandma Jan on Mondays and Aunt Nancy on the half day Tuesday and then Aa is home with the boy on Thursdays and once Auntie Sarah is done teaching for the Summer, she'll take on every other Thursday. Then in September, Kellen will be coming to work with me!

beach trip part two

The boy and i were lucky enough to get to spend two weekends in a row at the beach! This time we went with my book club. We stayed at our family beach house in Salishan and enjoyed some girl time. There were eight of us, plus two babes and an almost three year old - Kellen, Avery and Macen. We had a lot of fun - walked on the beach (unfortunately it was VERY windy!), ate WAY too much food, watched a movie, played some games and stayed up WAY too late (at least for this mama). It was pretty mellow since we have a lot of pregnant and nursing moms in the book club...we've discovered that our book club is VERY fertile! It's a baby boom right now. I forgot my camera, so hopefully we'll be getting some pictures from the girls soon!

5 months

Ok...we now have a 5 month old - I just can't believe it. I've said it many times, but I'm simply amazed at how time flies and how quickly he's developed in these last five months.

• The boy is now sitting up all by himself. He started sitting up a few weeks ago, but was pretty wobbly and now just like that he's sitting and let's us know that he prefers the upright view, as opposed to the lying down view!
• He's very into checking everything out these days...which makes feedings a bit difficult, as he'll take a few sips and then look around! If Aa is talking to me, forget it...what Dad has to say is WAY more interesting than food. What is sweet is that when he is focused on eating, he now pats my face or tugs at my hair while he is nursing.
• He's a pro at reaching for and grabbing things and has no problem passing items from hand to hand.
• He's still a rolling fool and will roll all over the room if we let him! I'm sure he's going to be an early crawler which is scary to me!
• He's laughing and talking up a storm. The most random things are funny to him. The other day I asked him if he wanted a panini and he thought that was SO funny. The Panini trick worked for about a week and now it's no longer funny!
• His eyes are still blue!
• He's found his feet!

I'm not able to go the Baby and Me group at the hospital anymore, so I haven't been able to weigh him in a month...I'm so curious to know how much he weighs now. He's obviously growing as his rolls just get better and better - oh those thighs, I could eat them for dinner! And just this morning I went through his closet and weeded out all the things that don't fit him and pulled out the lot of 6 and 9 month old clothes. It's a good thing we know lots of babies that are coming later this year to share our hand me downs with! I have 10 good friends right now who are pregnant with babies due this year. It's crazy!

Okay...if that wasn't enough pictures for you...here's the links to his monthly albums:
5 months
4 months
3 months
2 months
1 month

and finally...
half...make that quarter marathon
okay, the training didn't quite happen as i imagined it would, so this weekend, instead of the hippie chick half marathon, i'll be running the hippie chick quarter marathon! wish me luck (what was i thinking)

and we're done with the mega post

We're in!!

I'm so relieved and happy...we just received an offer letter for the Child Development Center at my work, so it's official! Kellen will be joining me at work starting in September - which will really make going back to work full time so much better! He'll be right on campus and I'll be able to stop any time for visits or feedings. Plus, they do sign language, music and they even provide cloth diapers for the babies - can you believe it?



In other news...guess who's working on sitting up! He no longer enjoys being on his back - I guess the view isn't as good!

Okay...must finish the taxes!

Update on the Jeans

Not sure anyone cares...but just in case, I just received my jeans in the mail from Costco.com and they are GREAT! I'm having trouble deciding which to keep because I just can't justify three pairs right now! The really cool thing is that you can order them in multiple sizes to ensure you get the right fit and then return the others to your local Costco for a full refund including shipping! Unfortunately for you all, the ones that I purchased are no longer available. You snooze, you lose! I think that they continue to add new styles though, so keep checking back!

Blah, blah, blah...

I don't have too much to report...just some random thoughts.

Time is flying - I can't believe my maternity leave is over in 5 weeks...I'm not complaining because I know I have it pretty good, but I'm definitely starting to feel a bit sad about it coming to an end! I received an e-mail from a friend today that was an essay by Anna Quidlen and it really resonated with me today. It's really long, so I won't include it and I can't find the original source...but I've done the google search for you. Check it out (just click on the first link)...it's a great one! Thanks, Megs!

A couple things spoke to me...first - I don't want to spend these next 5 weeks being sad about having to go back to work - I really want to "live in the moment" the next 5 weeks and forever. The second is about how all the books can't tell you how to raise your child - you need to trust your instincts and your child to show you the way! This has been SO true for us - well me! I've probably read too many books and googled too many things because I wanted to do everything perfect when in reality all the information was just overwhelming and stressing me out! Once I put the books down and stopped relying on the internet to show me the way...it all just seemed to work out! So...my boy is going to wake up soon and I want to get some pictures up here for you all to see. Enjoy!

Our dear friends, Mel and Macen were in town for a visit a couple of weeks ago. Macen was so cute with Kellen. She had her feelings a bit hurt at first when baby Kellen wouldn't say "hi" back to her. In no time, they were the best of friends! My favorite was hearing her sweet little voice saying "hi mister" to Kellen (we call him mister a lot and she picked up on that quickly!)! We can't wait to see them again! Note to self...never slouch in that position again - not a good look and not good for the body image!!

Some of Kellen's favorite times are on the changing table...sometimes we hang for awhile and just play! I thought that second picture was pretty funny!

Kellen has a basket full hats and Aaron pulled this one out the other day - we just cracked up! So cute...

Okay...the boy is still not awake, so here are some more random thoughts...

1. I'm dying for something sweet - a burgerville chocolate hazelnut milkshake (thanks for reminding me that they are in season, jamie!), a coconut creme st. cupcake, a little piece of dark chocolate...I can't wait until April 7th!

2. I am in major need of a good concealer. These middle of the night feedings have created major bags under the eyes. Anyone know of a good one?

3. We're signing the boy up for swim lessons starting at the beginning of April - i can't think of anything worse than getting in a swimsuit right now. ugh...but i know he'll love it, so it'll be great!

4. GO DUCKS!!

...and there's my boy...so with that I say goodbye!