Friday Free for All

How is it already Friday again?! I swear I just wrote last week's post!

This week has been busy and stressful for us. On Monday, we took Carson to his pediatrician to address his behavior problems. Tuesday, I had to be the mean mommy and take him to have his blood drawn :(  It was worth it though. As it turns out, he DOES NOT have ADHD as we suspected. He actually has extremely low iron (ferritin) levels, sleep disturbance, and anxiety.....profound anxiety.  When we returned the questionnaire to the doctor she was floored by our (and his) answers.  A normal score is less than 25. Anything over that is suggestive of anxiety disorder....Carson's score??? 54....FIFTY FOUR!!!!!  He's always been a very nervous, worrisome child, but I will get into that more in a separate post next week.

Jonathan has been doing well, thank goodness! He's trying so hard to walk already...he needs to slow down! He also wants to try to feed himself everything he can reach.

Chris and I are doing well also, both busy with work of course, but doing well.  I traveled 115 miles round trip for a work conference on Tuesday and sat on a 5 hour long conference call on Thursday.....fun times!

The weather here has been crazy again....Sunday it was beautiful and 45 degrees outside. I let Carson go out to play in the mud!  Then Monday and Tuesday there was no school due to the temps being frigid and the wind chills being -25 to -30! Mother Nature is drunk and needs to go to rehab, lol.

Anyways, that's our week in a nutshell. Busy, overwhelming at times, and full of twists and turns.

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday

8 month old Carson

Wordless Wednesday

Busch Gardens 2011

Friday Free For All

It's Friday again!

This week brought another blizzard with it! We were off work/school on Monday for MLK day. That night, it was an all out blizzard! Cold temps, lots of snow, and 45mph winds! School was cancelled on Tuesday, and my office was closed by the county due to white out conditions and drifted roads. I enjoyed my day snuggling with my boys :)

Monday we had a day with just Carson! Chris and I took him to lunch (he chose pizza of course), took him shopping, and to see "The Nut Job". It was a cute movie. We had a great day with him and I really enjoyed one on one time with him.
 Next week is supposed to be frigid again, so maybe I can prep some more blog posts and get them scheduled?!

I don't have a whole lot to say this week. It's be very busy at work, and fairly quiet at home.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

My Perspective: Rumparooz Pocket Diaper

Last fall when we needed more pocket diapers for daycare, I decided to try new brands. At the time Kelly's Closet had Rumparooz G2 Aplix Pockets on sale for $17.95. I decided to give them a try. I loved the fact that they had inner gussets. I also liked the contoured microfiber insert that promised to be less bulky between baby's legs. I also liked that they had different color choices than bumgenius, which was all I had in my diaper collection at the time. I purchased one in a color I had been wanting (root beer) and eagerly awaited my mail that week.

The Rumparooz G2 is a one-size diaper that fits babies and toddlers 6-35+ pounds. It adjusts to four different sizing options with the snap down rise. The 6R Soaker has multiple combinations for the right amount of absorbancy for your baby. The pocket diaper has inner leg gussets and the "poop scoop" to contain messes. The inside of the pocket is lined with no-pill micro-chamois to provide a soft layer against baby's skin.


Here's the G2 on my 20 lb, 7 Month old.

Stuffed with both inserts

On the largest rise setting

Overall, I was very pleased with the G2 when I first got it. In fact, two weeks later, I bought three more! They fit well, and the rise was just right at the time. The aplix is very strong, and is still showing no signs of wear 5 months later. The leg gussets do help hold in messes, however, the "poop scoop" in the back, did not save us from a big mess! We had poop inside the pocket, which was a challenge to clean out. As you can see in the photo above, my 20 lb, 29" baby boy is on the largest rise setting at just 7 months old. I'm not sure these will last us until potty training. If you have a shorter baby, or at least a baby with a short torso, these would probably work great for you.  I love the different ways you can set up the inserts (which snap together, unlike BumGenius inserts).  The contoured insert snaps on to the larger one-size insert, which makes for easier stuffing. The 6r Microfiber Soaker is very absorbent, which is great for my often heavy wetter.  We haven't had any leaks with it so far.  I will say though, despite being very absorbent, when you have both inserts in the diaper, it is quite bulky, both between the legs, and on the booty. We have a hard time getting pants over this diaper when using both inserts.

Overall, I do like this diaper. It has sturdy aplix, is very absorbent, and will fit from birth until your baby outgrows it.

If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can find it on sale for $17.95 right now at Kelly's Closet!

***I purchased the diaper for this review with my own funds. All opinions are entirely mine. This post does contain affiliate links, which if you purchase by clicking through my link, I will get a small percentage of the sale as commission.***

Don't...

Don't judge me. 

Don't judge my parenting.

Don't judge my child.

You aren't there when our five year old is sweet as can be one moment and in a pile on the floor the next.  You aren't there to see him fighting emotions he doesn't understand. You don't see the fear in his eyes when we raise our voice. You don't see that we discipline him more than anything else. You don't see him spending extended periods of time in his room, in timeout.  You don't see him laugh at us when disciplined. You don't hear him say he doesn't know why he does the things he does. 

You don't see the good times he has. You don't see him play nicely with his brother. You don't see him snuggle with his parents every night. You don't see him cry because his best friend told him he's a bad person. You don't see him ask for more housework to help his mom. You don't see the love in his eyes as he helps his brother accomplish something new. 

You aren't the parent who cries for their child to fit in. You aren't lying awake at night wondering what you did wrong or if your child will grow up to hate you. You don't see the fight it causes between parents. You aren't holding the door closed so he stays in timeout. You aren't the one walking away for the sanity and safety of all involved. You're not the one longing for someone to understand, to feel like you fit in, to feel supported. 

So unless you are living in our house, spending time with my child daily, and living our struggle, just don't.

Friday Free For All

This week has been pretty quiet for us overall.

Jonathan had to go back to the pediatrician Monday. He'd been coughing still, had ear drainage and was pulling his ears. Sure enough, he has an ear infection in his right ear still. So, he's now on his third round of antibiotics since Early Mid December.  Unfortunately, this medicine is rough on his stomach, so we aren't using our beloved cloth diapers for the time being :(

Carson had his half birthday at school yesterday. Since he has a summer birthday, he gets to celebrate his half birthday at school with his friends.  We took cupcakes and treat bags for his class. He tried to tell me that we had to have a party at home too, which I found funny. I told him no, so he decided he would talk to his meme about it, haha!  Tomorrow he starts Bitty Ball (basketball for elementary kids), so that should be interesting, as he's never played before. I'll be sure to update you on this next week!

Chris is busy working out and training for his Ironman this week. He's gone to the gym almost every single night this week.

I've been super busy at work this week, and am looking forward to this weekend!


That's all for this Friday folks! Hope you have a great weekend!

Being A Working Mom

As you may know, I work full time outside of the home as a Registered Nurse for a local health department. As frustrating and challenging as my job can sometimes be, I absolutely love what I do. I get to deal with people of all sorts of backgrounds. There's just enough variety in it to keep the routine from getting stale.

Many of the parents I know from Carson's friends or online, are stay at home moms.
I've always said that I could never stay home, all day, every day, with my children.  Living where we do, I would absolutely go stir crazy if I were a stay at home mom. There is literally nothing to do for kids in our town! The nearest town with activities for kids is about a 25-30 minute drive for me.  Kudos to you mommas who stay home and don't go insane.

Back to me working....

Anyways, I work 35 hours a week at a 8:30-4:30, five day a week job. I see my boys for about 45 minutes in the morning while we are getting ready for the day, and then for about 3-4 hours in the evening before it is bedtime.  During the evening I try to spend my time with them as much as possible, but there are dishes to do, baths to be given, laundry to wash and fold, etc., etc.  Recently I got to be a stay at home mom for a few days when we had a blizzard. I loved spending extra time with my boys. It made me think though, about how much I am missing of their lives because I do work.

I miss volunteering at Carson's school. I can't always take them to doctor's appointments. I can't always go on field trips with Carson. I miss snuggling with my two handsome little men. I can't talk to his teacher after school if he's had a bad day. I don't get to hang out with the other moms waiting for our kids to come running out the doors at 3:00 every day. I don't get to socialize with adults that aren't my coworkers. I just can't be there...and frankly, it sucks!

I want to be there for everything, but that's just not possible. I am there for classroom parties and take them to appointments when I can, but work needs me. My family needs me too. I am there for all the important things, and if I can't be, daddy is there for them, or grandma is there. We make it work so that someone is always there.

There's a certain balance that I have to keep between work and home, yes, it may suck at times, but sometimes its just perfect and it works for us. Does it frustrate me? Yes. Do I feel like I am failing my kids? Sometimes. Does it make me any less of a good mom? I don't think so.

I guess the point of this post is this....You don't have to be a stay at home mom to love your children. You don't have to work to buy them things to be a good mom. As long as you are there for them when you are with them, you're doing it right and that's all that matters. 

Why I use cloth diapers

When we first found out we were pregnant, I started thinking about cloth diapers. A friend convinced me how convenient and easy they are to use. I still wasn't sold, so I extensively read the Back to Basics series on The Cloth Diaper Revival blog. After reading Jenny's blog, I was sold!

There are a few reasons why I chose cloth diapers. Here are my top reasons.

1) Ecologically friendly. - Our household tries to be "green" whenever we can. The thought of how many disposable diapers end up in the landfills each year is enough to make me sick! Now I'm not saying that we don't ever use disposables, but each cloth diaper we use is one less disposable in the landfill.

2) It's Economical! - While the up front cost of cloth diapers is slightly higher, the overall savings is incredible. The amount of money I would spend on four months of disposable diapers was the same amount of money I spent to get started cloth diapering. The diapers I bought will get us through potty training, then we can resell them to recoup some of our costs! That was another thing that sold me on cloth diapers!

3) Amazing online support/connections - I have made some good friends in the cloth diaper community online. Everyone I have "met" has been incredibly kind and helpful in my cloth diapering journey.

4) Great for sensitive skin - Jonathan has pretty sensitive skin. We have to be very careful what we use in his baths, etc. If he's in disposables very long, his skin gets red and irritated. In cloth, he rarely ever gets red! It's great for sensitive skinned babies, as the cloth diapers pull the moisture away from the skin better, and have a fleece (or similar) layer against baby's skin to give them a dry feeling.

5) The convenience - This past week we had a major blizzard. We couldn't leave our house for 4 days. I didn't have to worry about getting out for diapers. All I had to do was wash a load of diapers and we were all set! It was wonderful not to have to get out in sub zero temperatures and two feet of snow!


There are many benefits to cloth diapering, it just happens to be that these are my top 5. Do you cloth diaper? Why or why not?

Friday Free for All!

It's back!

After months of being missing, I am bringing back the Friday Free For All.  These posts are just a mash up of what life has been like that week.

This week we've had a blizzard that resulting in my office being closed for 2 days. Multiple roads in the area were closed due to the snowing and blowing.  People were referring to this storm as "snowmageddon" or "snowpacolypse". The stores were sold completely out of bread, milk, meat, and produce from Sunday until Thursday! We still have drifts throughout our yard (some are 3-4 foot high), and snow packed roads everywhere you go.  The foot of snow was followed by two days of the "highs" being sub zero!  I have been very thankful for our new furnace this week. We've stayed inside, spent time together, and stayed warm.  The hubs has been sick this week, but thankfully kept his illness to himself due to me quarantining him to our room for two days during the blizzard. I was so happy to return to work on Wednesday. We all were getting cabin fever and VERY ready to get out of the house, even if it was still cold!

What are the munchkins up to?

Well...

Carson has had three snow days so far this week! (He was scheduled to go back on Tuesday) We are hoping he will return to school today, after 21 days of Winter break! It's going to be rough getting him back into the usual routine, that's for sure. He's thoroughly enjoyed the more than foot snow we've had this week though. He built a couple of "igloos" at Great Grandpa's house while staying there on his "snow days".

JP, what gives little man?! He's a grump this week, which I attribute to teething. I am pretty sure he's cutting his top front two teeth. Wednesday night he also decided that it's boring being on the floor, so he now pulls up on everything he can! Between the pulling up, and the full out crawling he does now, there's not a dull moment in our house.


So there's our week...nothing exciting, but that's life :)

New Year, New Goals

This year I have made a few goals for myself. I tried to choose things that were achievable, and reasonable.

1) Run a half marathon with my husband in April.

2) Run a total of 500 miles this year.

3) Cook more meals at home, eat out less.

4) Be a more "green" family.

5) Worry less, stress less, and smile more while making memories with my family!

What's your goal(s) for 2014?

Welcome 2014!

So here we are a week into 2014. It's been quite a while since I posted anything. That all changes now! This year I am going to do better about scheduling posts, and posting 2-3 times per week.  So what have we been up to?

As a family, we are doing great! We are currently snowed in, and experiencing the coldest temperatures our area has seen in over 2 decades. It was -14 for the high here yesterday, with a wind chill of -45! We've been hunkered down in the house for 4 days now, and everyone is getting cabin fever. We all enjoyed Christmas together and had a lot of good laughs while memories were made.



Jonathan is now 7 months old! I'm not sure how he got to be that old already, I swear we were just bringing him home a few days ago. In the last or two before Christmas, he started sitting up on his own, and crawling! He's into everything now days.  During that time he also had his first upper respiratory infection with bilateral ear infections, (which went undetected thanks to an urgent care doctor), and ended up with perforated ear drums :( He's been so miserable, horrible cough, disgusting nose, the whole nine yards. Thankfully, his awesome pediatrician caught it, and got him on the mend!  Jonathan enjoys eating baby food, and especially any finger foods! He's determined to feed himself now, which often leads to a battle at meal time. He has taken a liking to NUK sippy cups. Which would be fine if they were easier to find around here! His first two teeth have made their appearance in the 3 weeks as well. 

Carson is growing like a weed! I think he has grown three inches in the past month or so. During the past month and a half he has had two bouts of a stomach bug, which ended up in his vomiting for the first time in his life. (at least the first time that it was more than a one time thing). It always seems to be late at night too...fun times!  He's been very busy playing hockey. He moved up to the "Mini Mite" level, so we have practice three nights a week now! They play scrimmage games on Sundays, which are quite entertaining to watch. Despite behavior struggles, he has been doing pretty good academically in Kindergarten. The kid is a math whiz! He can add and subtract like nobody's business. It's impressive for a five year old!

As for me and the hubs, we are still here. Still working our jobs, etc. Chris is now training for a full Ironman triathlon in September. He's not home much in the evenings, but that gives me time for mommy and boys time, which is ok :) I've decided to run a 5k with a friend for her birthday in May, so I should probably start training for that!

Overall, we are all doing good. Just trying to stay warm and healthy in this crazy Illinois winter!