Finally!

After nearly 4 and a half years of constantly changing diapers I finally have a changing table. I no longer have to sit on the floor. I really didn't mind the floor too much in the beginning but it's gotten old over time. And now with Zeus running around it's just down right dangerous for Phoebe. Plus I needed somewhere to store my cloth diapers so this made the most sense. I'm so excited to be able to stand up and change the kids, my life is pretty sad huh? So this is set up in the corner of the living room since that's where we do 95% of our diaper changes. I wish our downstairs bathroom was big enough for all this but there's barely enough room in there for the diaper pail.



Phoebe seems pretty excited about it too.

She looks like a Beatle

So we went out to dinner tonight and got a new comment on Phoebe's hair. Apparently she looks like one of the Beatles. Also that she was the cutest baby ever. Gotta love it.

Good Boy

I am very proud of Zeus today. I took him for a walk around the neighborhood and was trying to avoid houses with barking dogs (not that easy though) but he was actually walking great on the leash with no pulling at all. Anyway we were walking down a street and I saw up ahead a house with 3 dogs in the backyard at a fence barking their heads off, and then around the corner running at them where three more dogs. This lady was walking them but only one was on a leash (does that make any sense?) So 6 wild barking dogs within 20 feet of us and Zeus barely pulled on the leash at all and didn't bark. We just kept walking and he did great.

He went to the vet today and got his staples removed and his cut is healing great. The vets office is at the place where he was boarded before we got him and he must have remembered because as soon as we got to that street he started crying in the van. He did not want to go back in there. But he has adjusted great here at home. He rarely ever barks, just a bit in the backyard when we take him out. Directly behind our house is Home Depot and he barks at the big semi trucks that are back there.

He looks so scary doesn't he? ;)

What they don't tell you...

Everyone says that if you want you baby to be able to sleep through noise and be content in a noisy situation then you have to make noise. I agree it does work. Phoebe is great about sleeping through the noise of the other kids and she wasn't like that in the beginning. But what they don't tell you is if you get your baby used to constant noise and attention they won't be happy unless it's noisy. We've created a monster and this cute little monster is driving me NUTS lately. I can't wait until Corey gets home so we can go to the gym... aka sit in the hot tub ;)

Chili

I have a love hate relationship with cooking (and food for that matter.) When I'm in the mood to cook I love it, but since it's something I have to do everyday most of the time it feels like a chore. And on the downside I hate leftovers so cooking big batches that last for more than one meal doesn't really work. This chili however is the exception, it actually tastes better as leftovers. So we make a huge batch and it lasts about 3 days. It's especially good on cold winter days too!

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 cans of beans (I like to do 2 of pinto beans, and 1 of black beans)
2 cans diced tomatoes
32 ounces of tomato sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions

Brown meat and onion, then drain. Stir in beans, tomatoes and sauce. Add chili powder, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or longer.

We like ours served over rice. It's super yummy! Even picky John likes it.

Monday

I think she was waiting for the zebra to move!


And she started sucking her lower lip in like this today, it's cute.

Who Needs Pants?

John fell asleep tonight before I could get jammies on him. I found him in bed like this...

Wool

So I found two nice wool sweaters at the thrift store today, one still had the original tag on it and everything. So after the first pair of pants I made turned out way too big I had to mess with my pattern a bit and finally got it right. So Phoebe now has 4 pairs of wool longies. I hear wool is highly addictive so I guess we'll have to wait and see. So far I feel no strong feelings for it but I haven't actually used it yet so I can't really judge it yet. And I'm VERY cheap so I don't think I'll ever actually order custom made longies from online, though I would love to own some.





Also we went to Petsmart yesterday and today and took Zeus with us both times. We got him a halter collar yesterday and it made a huge difference in how he walked on the leash. He did so good at the store today. We got as many comments about him as we usually do about Phoebe's hair. And he seemed to enjoy all the attention he got. Someone even commented on what a well behaved dog he was. I didn't enjoy the comments about his cut on his back though. He has a huge shaved spot on his back with eight staples in it. The story as to how he got it is a little fuzzy but it happened in his foster home, anyway trying to explain it to people isn't that easy. It's healing very well though and he goes to the vet this coming Thursday to get the staples taken out.

Some things don't change

There's something about rings from ring stacks that just make Bella want to wear them. She started doing this with Phoebe rings recently and I remembered how she did the exact same thing with John's nearly 3 years ago. She's such a silly girl. And where did my cute little girl go? She's grown up so much.





And wow I had forgotten just how messy our house used to be when the kids were babies. Glad it doesn't look like that anymore.

Tattling

Me: John clean up your toys.
John: Bella's not cleaning up.

Me: John go upstairs.
John: Bella's downstairs.


Me: John take off your shoes.
John: Bella's wearing shoes.

Bella doesn't tattle on John though, instead she waits for me to scold him for something and then announces how she's not doing that. For example...

Me: John, get out of the kitchen
Bella: I'm not in the kitchen!

6 month stats

Phoebe's 6 month doctor appointment was yesterday. She now weighs 13 pounds and is 24 inches long. She's small but growing at a good rate. And she loves people and has always smiled at anyone that looks at her, but during the entire appointment she gave the doctor the evil eye. And when the doctor talked to her she cried the most pitiful cry ever. I guess she sensed that shots where coming.

And I don't think I mentioned it but after that day she rolled over like 2 months ago she has not rolled over again since then. I guess that was a fluke or something. She's happy to just lay where she is.

Meet Zeus

The newest member of our family, Zeus. I love dogs, always have but haven't owned one for several years now. With little kids I've always said we'll have one later down the road when the kids are bigger. A few months ago I started feeling like getting one sooner was the right choice so I looked into breeds and did some research. The doberman seemed like the best breed match for us so did some more research and stuff. Anyway eventually came upon the local doberman rescue group here so we put in an application. The lady called us and came out for a home visit and said they had one that fit exactly what we were looking for. We went to check him out a few days ago and today he came home with us. It feels like everything really fell into place with us finding him so I'm hoping that it's meant to be in some way.

He's about 4 or 5 years old and super sweet. In need of some training but he shows a lot of potential. And does well with the kids. The kids were of course our main priority in finding a dog. Zeus had been placed in a foster home with young grandchildren so we knew he got along well with them. He was moved out of the foster home and into a boarding facility though because the minature pinscher at the foster home wouldn't stop terrorizing him. Right now he's laying on the couch next to me like a giant baby. He's already claimed his spot, right here by the front window so he can keep a lookout at anyone outside.

Phoebe laughing

Finally got a video of her laughing. It's about time. She goes today for her 6 month doctor appointment. Can you believe she's going to be 6 months old on Thursday. It's crazy how fast it's gone.

Better than a diaper soaker

Fleece pants that work as a diaper cover. Solves the problem of her cold legs and none of her regular pants fitting over her cloth diapers well. I need to make her some more but I'm really not enjoying sewing lately.



Isn't she cute?

Fleece

Phoebe is still fitting into her newborn diaper covers (barely) but will be outgrowing them very soon. And only one of John's old one's fits her and I can't afford to order more anytime soon so I made some fleece soakers for her. They're perfect because they're soft, cute and easy to make. Even better the fleece was 40% off. I'm keeping an eye out at the thrift store for some old wool sweaters to make her some wool ones too, but so far haven't found anything good.

McDonald's

Bella: I'm going to McDonald's.

Me: What are you going to get?

Bella: A large size kids meal...with TWO toys!

I've been replaced

I hear John yelling "Mommy!!!!" from upstairs so I ask what and he says...

"No, the other Mommy."

I've been replaced by a plastic doll. What I want to know is when the other mommy is going to change his dirty diapers.

The down side of happy

Who knew that having such a happy baby could have a down side. But goodness this girl is driving me crazy! She wants to be held all the time and demands constant stimulation. You must be holding her, looking at her, talking to her, singing to her ALL the time. People worry about their babies being over stimulated but I'm the one that's over stimulated here. And of course it's at it's worst during the day while Corey's at work, but he does hold her a lot when he is home. Corey always complained that the others didn't like to cuddle, well he gets lots of that now with his girl.

Progress

The last few times we've gone to the gym John has gone without even crying. I'm so proud of him and I must say it's about time. Today after we worked out we got to relax in the hot tub for awhile with no kids. It was very nice. The thing I miss most about living in an apartment is going to the hot tub and doing it without kids is even better. Though I'm holding my breath just waiting for them all to pick up some nasty virus from the daycare, I'm trying not to think about it but everytime I walk in there and see all the kids that's what I think of. And then when I see all the winter coats hanging on the hooks I think about head lice. It's definitely the not so fun part about having kids.

Easy to please

Not sure what her problem was but she was NOT happy...





But it still took very little effort to get a smile out of her (this was literally seconds after the first two.)

Pictures

Getting a good picture of all of them is not really getting easier (not that I expected it to really.) Either they look at the camera but don't smile, or they smile but don't look at the camera. Or I get John and Bella to look and smile but as soon as I try to get Phoebe's attention they both also look at Phoebe and try to get her to smile. A picture of just the girls though goes pretty well.

It defies all logic

Who actually likes doing laundry, not many people I expect. Corey hates putting away the kids clothes and I hate putting away our clothes so it works out well that we each do what we like. Regardless though I don't enjoy doing it at all. Cloth diapers though seem to be a mystery, you take tiny cloth diapers and have a baby pee in them and suddenly laundry is fun. I can't explain it but I love doing diaper laundry. I always have. I look forward to the days when the pail is full and have to wash them, and then sitting down in the living room to fold them all before going to bed. I think part of the reason I like flat diapers so much is because they require extra folding. I'm weird I know.

Not sure what this means...

So we're driving around and from the back seat Bella looks out the window and yells...

"Get out of the way people, there's no parking lot. Go back to Wal-Mart!"

It's out of control

Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does! Her hair is now twice the size of her head and still it stands up. I wonder how old she can get before it stops being cute?

Church

Having church from 1-4pm with three small kids is not fun. It the perfect time for me because I don't like having to be places early in the morning but the kids are so tired and cranky. And it's right at naptime. John's in primary now and actually went to his class and stayed, he wasn't happy about it though.

No Nap

I'm a very lucky mother in that my kids sleep great. And they nap very well. Even now at 4 Bella takes a nap almost every day. It's not uncommon for them to miss their naps on Saturdays though, like today, and by the end of the day it gets to them.

So tonight I was about to get the kids in bed and sent Bella down to put on her pull-up and told John to grab a diaper too. I go in my room for a few minutes and when I come out I see this on the floor (notice the pull-up laying next to her.)



So then I wonder where John is and go looking in their room and find him on the bed (clean diaper also laying next to him.)



They must have been really tired because honestly I was not in my room very long.

Saturday

We started our Saturday off with a pancake breakfast. I tried out a new recipe and it turned out great, we'll definitely be having it again. We had to go to the mall to make a stop at the phone store so we got some mall pretzels. We used to always get pretzels at the mall in Hawaii but haven't had any since then, wow they were good. We rarely ever go to the mall here but I'm sure we'll be making some future trips there just for pretzels.

Then this afternoon we braved a trip to the gym. I haven't gone because John always cries and Phoebe was so young but now that she's older I've been wanting to go. That and Corey never goes anymore because it's no fun to work out alone. Anyway John only cried for a minute so we got to actually enjoy our time. 90 minutes with no kids! I figure exercising and getting healthier is just a bonus. Oh and the ladies in the daycare loved holding Phoebe and we got a hundred more comments about her hair.





I give her toys but still she prefers to play with the cord to my cell phone.

The Big Tub

Last night Phoebe took a bath in the big tub for the first time. She seemed to enjoy it. Today though she is super cranky, probably teething.







This is what her hair now looks like down. For a minute I thought it might actually stay down, but as soon as it dried it magically popped back up. Gravity will have to win eventually right?



And this is how long it is in the back

Cloth Diapers

So back to cloth diapers. I've used cloth on and off with each kid. While pregnant I got a newborn stash set up for Phoebe and looked forward to using the tiny cute diapers. Then she got here and with all her issues and breastfeeding/pumping struggles I never used them. By the time things calmed down they were too small and I wasn't ready to buy more. But now she has grown into John's old diapers (that still fit him by the way, he's small.) And since I'm sick of paying for so many diapers all the time I put Phoebe in them today. So here's to saving more money. That was one of my goals this year right? Now I just have to resist the urge to buy more, which I think I can do.

And if anyone out there is looking for some newborn cloth diapers let me know, I have a bunch that have never even been used.