Shrinky Dinks!

We completed our third full week of school today.  And we celebrated with Shrinky Dinks! I found this kit at a toy store a couple of weeks ago.  I put it up in anticipation of a particularly stir crazy day.  And with the extremely hot weather lately, it didn't take long!

After work was done for the day, I got them out.  The entire family gathered round the table.

Ruby was entertained watching Katie nearby.

i had to zoom on that one!

Tracing and coloring...

 Then cut....

and bake!

 (purple oven??)

We have many ideas for using the rest of the shrinky paper. It was a great way to kill some time indoors!

July 20th!!!!

Two months since I gave birth to this beautifully cute little girl!!!

 She is very responsive.  She will "talk" back and forth with coos and sounds.

 She smiles and laughs at everything!

She went to her second movie yesterday: Winnie the Pooh. She went with us to see Cars 2 a couple of weeks ago.  She actually seemed to enjoy Winnie the Pooh.  She would get excited when the music played and start kicking her legs and smiling!

 Constant kicking is her new favorite thing.  When she gets excited the legs go crazy! It's getting messy giving her a bath because of it.

 The new thing for this month is: reflux.

 If you know me at all, you know that I do NOT like medication.  Well, ever since we brought Ruby home she has had this tendency to choke.  So, from the first night pretty much, we have had her elevated at night.  As her episodes grew more frequent I was relatively sure that she was suffering from reflux.  I read online and did everything I could do naturally to treat it.  I was keeping her at an angle while nursing.  Keeping her upright for a long period after feeding her, we got a carrier that was comfortable so I could wear her as much as possible during the day, I cut out dairy. I did block feeding.  Anything and everything I could find to try, we tried.  She didn't cry a lot with it, it was just scary because of the choking and how miserable she would seem after eating.  She would stay squirmy and you could hear throaty sounds, she seemed to be chewing on something in her mouth all the time.  And she would randomly scream like she was in pain and it would pass.

 Well...this past Sunday morning she had what is referred to as a "stop breathing" attack.  For about 10-15 seconds she was choking to the point that she wasn't even taking breaths.  It scared me to death.  So, on Monday morning, she and I, and the entire family, were at the doctor's office.  And now she is on Zantac, to hopefully prevent that from ever happening again!

She will probably outgrow it when she starts solid foods...but for now this will work for me. :) We should know soon if the medication is going to be what will work for her.

I guess that is all the new stuff for month two!

Noah made the cute little heart sign for this month.

I will repeat:  TIME FLIES!

Adventures in Cloth Diapering!

Back way before we got pregnant (this time around), I was introduced to cloth diapering.  Modern cloth diapering that is, ha!  With everyone trying to be more green, it has become quite "in fashion" to use reusable diapers.  I started researching all the options. mostly from an economical standpoint, not necessarily to be green.  Cloth diapers range from the very basic kind, (like we are using) to very chic and "upscale" custom made with fashionable prints, patterns, and all in one designs.  Googling cloth diapers can be completely overwhelming.  In deciding which route to take, we almost went the route of a pocket diaper, but fortunately I have a friend and neighbor who tried it first.  She gave me her spin on it and I decided to go with what she ended up liking best.  The good old fashioned prefold/cover!

This is our basket of diapers.  To the right, a stack of Econobum brand prefold, flat diapers.

To the left, the Econobum covers.

We got a great deal..buy one diaper with cover set and get one free.  I bought 12 and my mom bought 12 for us for a gift, so we have a complete set of 24 diapers.  More than we go through in 1-2 days. The entire stash, with tax and shipping, is about $140 worth.

Here's how they work.....

 First fold the diaper over itself.  These fold the short way for younger babies and later will fold the long way when she gets bigger.

  

Lay the folded diaper in the cover like so......

Place the diaper under the baby and just fasten the snaps to the right size.  These diapers and covers, when unsnapped all the way, should fit her through her entire life of diapering.

 It took one poopy diaper for us to figure out the right way to make sure it is tight around her thighs. lol.

Yes, they are bulkier than a disposable diaper. But she doesn't seem to mind.

And it doesn't keep her from fitting in her regular sized clothes! :)

Fluffy butt!

They fit great.  They are extremely easy to clean!

We wash about every other day. Just toss them in a bin on top of the dryer and when we get about 6-8, we run a load.  It hasn't been extra work at all.

They are easy to put on, and the biggest advantage: CHEAP!

We have been using them for about 2 weeks now.  

We will break even on what we spent on them in about 1 1/2-2 months.  

 Then after that....we are saving ourselves about $20/week on diapers!

And...I can't believe I'm about to even type this, but...

I am about to make the plunge into cloth wipes as well.  Here's why:

It's VERY inconvenient to use a wipe and have to go throw it away instead of just wrapping it up in the diaper!  I have to go to the trash can and dispose of it and in the mean time it is just lying around on the blanket or wherever I am since I can't just throw it in with the diaper. So, for that reason alone, I think I am about to make my own or purchase some material to use to make cloth wipes.  

I can't believe how green we've become, but I can't take too much pride in that because it's really just because I am cheap. :)

Celebrating

 Here we are...exactly ten years later!

Corey gave me this beautiful necklace at exactly midnight last night.  It was the first time I have every gotten a gift on the exact intended special day!   It is a tin cup necklace...commemorative of the ten year anniversary.

We went out as a family for dinner.  We had a nice meal and red velvet cupcakes for dessert.

I wanted to get some pictures of us on our actual anniversary so we stopped by Corey's parents' house on the way home so she could get a couple.  I am happy with them! Even though I am definitely still spotting the only 7 weeks postpartum ...um..imperfections.

 Ruby decided to cry for a little bit, and then go 180 degrees into a very silly *laugh!*

It was hilarious...her extreme mood swing.... as you can see here:

 

She just started laughing last night.  And tonight she decided to do it again and it is so spontaneous that as you can see I was quite ridiculous lookingly entertained by it!

It was a sweet celebration.

10 Years

 Today marks ten years of marriage for me and Corey!

I have never regretted our super small wedding! 

And we have more than made up for our small honeymoon. :)

On our first anniversary I was five months pregnant with Katie.

And now on our tenth we have a seven week old newborn.

I could have never ever understood the overwhelming joy that I have experienced in spending these ten years as a wife to Corey.  The family we established ten years ago has grown into a home filled with lots of laughs and the love of three wonderful children.

10 happy years!

Life is nowhere near what I thought it would be...it is SO MUCH BETTER!

I love you, Corey!

Looking forward to many more years together!

Noah turns 7!

 We celebrated Noah's 7th birthday...almost two weeks ago! oops!!

 Our first ever homemade birthday cake...a double doozie.  Not nearly as good as the one his Nana made for me, but it was pretty good. :)

 Goofing around, waiting on....

 the Happy Birthday song complete with sombrero.

And of course, lots of good gifts!

He enjoyed a great birthday and has been playing with all of his gifts a lot!

He also enjoyed spending some birthday money on Amazon.com (we are teaching him that you can get better prices and don't have to go out to the store! ha ha!) and he loved getting the packages in the mail.  

 I can't believe my littlest boy...up until recently the "baby" has turned 7 years old!

Tune in tomorrow for another very special post and celebration. :)

1st Day of School

 School is officially in session!

We started on Friday, July 1st, after taking a spring/summer break from the week before Easter until now.

Above:  Katie on her first day of 3rd grade.

Below: silly pose

 They are sporting their official school uniform: pajamas.

Below: Noah on his first day of second grade.

The day went very smoothly, in spite of breaks to tend to Ruby.

She slept for the first long session of reading for our history/geography and Bible time.

The first week will be mostly review, getting their brains warmed back up to math especially.

We started on a Friday because I had planned to the first week of July and with Monday already being a holiday it made sense to just go ahead and get a first day in with time to break again right before the rest of the first week which we will start on Tuesday, after the 4th.

It was a huge relief to get some structure back in our day.  The kids I know were better off with some tasks and work to do rather than just sitting around being bored.

I can't believe how big they are.  This is our 5th year of having school at home. 

It was funny to look at Ruby throughout the day and know that she will always be schooled at home.  That is the plan anyway.  When Katie and Noah were newborns, we had no idea that we would homeschool.  It's quite different looking at her and having the peace of knowing she will be with us when her time comes as well! :)