best buds

cool baby products

There are so many cool new baby products that are out there now. My youngest is not even two years old, and there are so many new products. Here are some of my favorites that I used and some that I can't wait to use.

Bella Band - This is a great invention. My maternity pants always fell down when I walked. This is a great solution. You can wear them when your pants are too tight and just leave them unbuttoned under the band. You can also use it when your pants are too big to hold them up.

LilyPadz - I used these when I nursed Austin. I always hated traditional nursing pads. They are big and bulky and you can see them through your shirt. They are a necessity for some of us though. Lilypadz are the solution and I highly recommend them. I mostly used them at night so I didn't have to wear a bra to sleep. The only problem is they are pricey and they stop sticking after a couple months. It's worth it in my opinion though!

Born Free or Adiri - They now have bottles that are 100% polycarbonate-free and bisphenol-a free. I am ditching my 3 year old bottles next time around and getting these.

Miracle Blanket - I learned about the Miracle Blanket when I was pregnant with Ethan after reading The Happiest Baby on the Block. I used the blanket to swaddle Ethan and Austin from the time they were born until they were 4 or 5 months old. I loved it and it helped them to sleep very soundly. This is my favorite baby product and I highly recommend it. Ethan doesn't look very happy in this picture, but he loved it and we only stopped putting him in it because he grew too long. Don't feel bad like it's a straight jacket for babies, they need to feel secure and they sleep so much better! Ethan would fall asleep as I was swaddling him in it half the time!

Bumbo - I used a Bumbo seat with both my boys. I liked it, but unfortunately for me, it made them spit up. Actually everything made them spit up, but it was worse when they were in it. I still think it's great and as long as your baby doesn't have reflux issues, you will love it. They even have a tray for it now and that makes it even better!

Podee - I sure wish I had this when Austin was a baby. How handy to have an extra set of hands when you need it! No, I wouldn't use it every time because I love feeding my babies, but it would have come in handy at restaurants or when your crazy toddler is demanding your attention.

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Itzbeen Baby Care Timer - This is an awesome new product a mother invented after charting her baby's poo, feeding, sleeping and her own medicine schedule. I definitely want one of these. I still have pages of charting for both my boys. How nice to have it all in one easy to use timer!

my most embarrasing moment

We went to Playa del Carmen before we got married and loved everything about it, so we decided to go back for our honeymoon. We went to Xel-ha both times and enjoyed hiking, snorkeling and reading books in hammocks. The first time we went before we were married it was very romantic. We held hands as we snorkeled and enjoyed taking pictures of the beautiful fish we saw.

And then their was snorkeling on our honeymoon...

When we first started snorkeling that hot day in November, I had visions of us looking for the treasured parrot fish and enjoying the underwater beauty together. Eric had other plans. He didn't want to hold hands because he couldn't move around as well under water. I pouted for a minute and then said to myself "fine, I'll just hold on to his life jacket instead so we can take it all in together." I held on and floated beside him with my underwater camera. I was relatively happy with the arrangement even though it wasn't as romantic as I wanted. Then it happened. I saw a huge, beautiful parrot fish swimming nearby. I pointed at the fish and started to pull Eric that direction. He was not paying attention to me at all. I motioned again and said with my snorkel filled mouth "there is a parrot fish over there!" He still kept on swimming and disregarded my constant pointing. I frustratingly pulled him up to the top of the water to see why he was ignoring me. To my utter shock, it was not my new husband. It was some strange man saying "I am not your husband" in a foreign accent and pointing at his ring finger. I almost died at that moment. Eric heard a commotion from underwater 20 feet away and popped up to see the spectacle. The funniest part to me is that the guy didn't say "I don't know who you are" or anything like that. He was actually telling me that he wasn't my husband and showing me he had no ring. He knew that I had to be married since I was so bossy trying to tell him where to swim.

Needless to say, Eric learned an important lesson that day. And he will always hold my hand when we snorkel from now on.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

daydreaming

I'm daydreaming of getting away. I'd love to go some place tropical and sip pina coladas on a beach. Or be cozied up in a cabin looking out at snowy mountains. But right now I would settle for halfway decent hotel room anywhere. I want to wake up in a cold hotel room with the loud fan blowing and the drapes blocking out every ray of sunlight and sleep in until my body says it's time to get up. I'd read a book, eat in bed and snuggle with Eric.

These thoughts come after a week long battle with a stomach bug. Last night was our first night in a while without one of the kids throwing up. Did I sleep well last night? No, instead I heard Eric grunting and snorting and dealing with cedar fever. Can't a mom ever get a break? I did finally get out of the house after a week, but now I'm dreaming of more.

Speaking of dreaming, it's time.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan!

Dear Ethan,

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I wrote this letter to you when you were a little baby. You still bring an unmeasurable joy to us every day. Daddy and I feel so lucky to have you as our son. Happy Birthday!

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I love you!
Momma

You have brought me joy that I could have never imagined. Your bright eyes and smile light up the room and steal my heart. You have such a happy soul that makes everyone around you know how special you are.
I dreamed of you all my life and didn’t know how happy I could be just watching you sleep or hearing you say mama. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little boy. Your daddy and I love you so much and can’t wait to watch you grow up into a strong, loving man. I love you!

In this lifetime...

I came across a list Michele, Erica and I wrote when we were roommates in 2000. This was after I graduated college and before I was engaged to Eric. It is a list of things I wanted to do in my lifetime.

1. Have babies

2. Visit Guanajuato again

3. Have an outdoor garden/greenhouse

4. Sing a solo in church

5. Travel to Europe

6. Bungee jump

7. Paint

8. Have a fish aquarium

9. Marry a great man

10. Own a dog

I can honestly say that just doing number 1 and 9 are enough to make me very satisfied and happy with my life. I have done lots of painting, I've sang solos in churches, I own an awesome dog, have lots of potted plants and a fish aquarium. I still want to visit Guanajauto and Europe sometime, but I'm in no hurry. So here is my new list of things to do in my lifetime:

1. Raise happy kids

2. Run a 1/2 marathon

3. Travel to Europe, Guanajuato and Hawaii

4. Visit New York, Las Vegas, Disney World and California

5. Dance to our song on our 50th wedding anniversary

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I'm sure my list will continue to change throughout the years. What are the things you want to do in your lifetime?

one stubborn bug

My babies are sick. Austin just won't get better and now Eric is feeling bad. We thought we were in the clear with Ethan, but last night he had a fever and got sick. I decided to sleep on the floor with him last night to make sure he was OK. When I woke up this morning and looked at the clock, I could not believe it was 8:45 and not our normal wake up time of 7:15. I actually slept in on the hard floor. It's been a long week and I guess we both needed it. We have probably done at least a dozen loads of pukey laundry in the past week and have washed our hands so much I had to refill all three of our soap dispensers. We have literally watched Little Einsteins, Shrek or Toy Story all day to keep the boys happy and forget they are sick. I am ready for us to be well and back to normal! Hopefully I can leave the house for the first time in a week tomorrow.

My sick baby fell asleep on the floor for the first time in his life.

Our farm in the suburbs

Norman made it through the night. The water levels were fine, the temperature was fine and we still don't know what caused his near death. All the feeder fish in the tank died in an hour, so it's very strange. He was laying on the bottom barely alive when Eric changed out the water and replaced the heater. Now he is alive and well. He is a big fish at 10 inches long, so I guess he is pretty hardy.

Since we are on the subject of pets, I thought I would introduce a couple of our other pets.

Kirby is our dog we got right before we got engaged 6 1/2 years ago. She is the best dog ever. She loves going camping, swimming at the lake and is so good with the kids. She can sit, roll over, shake, lay down and catch a dog treat in her mouth when you balance it on her nose. We still love her even though we have kids, so don't worry too much Sammy.

Angel is Eric's cat. I say that first because I am allergic to her. I never touch her. She is pretty good for a cat. She does all the usual cat things like leaving hair on things and throwing up every once in a while. All that said, Eric loves her, so she stays.

Last and least is Morgan. Morgan is the pot-bellied pig I got in college 12 years ago. She lived inside with me for 4 years. She slept in a dog bed with covers, on the couch or in bed with me if you can believe it. She went to the door when she needed to go outside and was just like a dog. Except she would dig in your purse with her wet snout if there was candy or gum in it. Yuck! When I met Eric and she constantly bit him, that changed. She quickly learned what life is like as an outdoor pig. She now lives in a gated area in our backyard. No, it's not cruel. She is a mean, territorial pig that likes to be left alone. She has a cover and pigloo to keep her cool in the summer and warm in the winter. For the safety of our children, dog and ankles, she is kept behind a gate.

Why in the world did I ever get a pig you might ask? Well, in my defense I was young and she was really cute. It was back when mini pigs were cool and they were supposed to stay small and cute. She fit in my hand when I got her and I had to feed her from a baby bottle. Now she weighs 80 pounds, is scaly and when she grinds her teeth it sounds like nails on a chalkboard. The lesson here kids is cute baby animals do not always grow up to be cute. We tolerate her even still because I promised I would never get rid of her. I had pets as a kid that went to "the farm" or "ran away" and I don't want to do that. People ask me why I don't give her to a pot-bellied pig rescue organization. Those are for pigs that need rescuing. I'm not going to make someone else take care of the situation I got myself into. So she stays too. Just so you know, they live on average 15 to 30 years. George Clooney's pig lived 18, so I'm hoping that is the max life span for little Morgie. Horrible, but true. And since everyone asks, we feed her Mazuri pot-bellied pig food. Nothing but the best around here folks. Oh, and please don't mention our little porker to the home owner's association. :)

sick

A stomach bug has hit our family. Austin and I have it now, and Eric and Ethan are doing everything they can do to avoid it. We have been quarantined to the bedroom. We have been eating a lot of saltines and applesauce, drinking lots of water and watching way too much TV. I think it's a 24 hour bug. I felt like death yesterday, but today I feel much better. As bad as it is to be sick, nothing is worse than seeing your baby sick. I sure hope Austin feels better soon and no one else gets this yucky stomach bug!

Update: Even our fish are sick. Yes, you read that correctly. Out of the blue we noticed that all our feeder goldfish are dead and poor Norman the Oscar is laying on the bottom of the tank. It happened in no more than an hour. Now Eric is running to the pet store with a sample of fish water so the fish snobs can diagnose our fish. I sure hope we can save Norman! Life sure is interesting!

All grown up

My oldest friend Rebecca came in town to visit her parents, so we decided to get together for dinner. My friends and I don't need many excuses to get together for good food. We went to Chuy's and enjoyed margaritas and lots of creamy jalapeno dip. Yum!

During an interesting discussion over politics, I realized that I am officially a grown-up. It wasn't the house, kids or husband that brought me to this realization. It was a conversation about politics and the first one on that subject that I have wanted to willingly participate in. It's nice to talk about something other than our children every once in a while. Us mommies still have interesting things to say even though our mommy brains are slightly damaged from lack of sleep and talking to small children all day!

Jennifer's baby shower

Jennifer had her baby shower for baby Madelynn today. She got lots of diapers and cute stuff. I made the baby a red blankie with pink and red piping. Charlize really liked it and wrapped her bunny up in it.

Jennifer and Luis make the most beautiful babies and I can't wait to see little Madelynn!

Our little buckaroo

Ethan's third birthday is fast approaching. It's amazing how much he has changed in the last year. His communication is great now and he can really express himself. His little voice is so cute and his favorite thing to say is
"me do it!".

He is still working on the potty training. I'm always amazed to watch him pull down his own pants, move the stool to the potty, use it, flush it, close the seat and put on his own pants. He just looks like such a little boy and not so much a baby anymore.

My parents got him some cowboy boots for his birthday and we gave them to him early. He loves them and says
"me cowboy".

I sure hope the weather is nice for his birthday party next weekend. I would hate my little buckaroo to miss riding a pony in his backyard.

Too stinking cute

Ethan was really interested in Lily yesterday. After he saw me swaddle her in the Miracle Blanket and pat her bottom to help her go to sleep, he decided to try it himself. He found his favorite teddy bear and started patting it's bottom. He went looking for a blanket to wrap her in and found a Santa hat in his toy box. With the hat pulled up to it's neck, it worked like Lily's swaddle blanket. I gave him a tiny diaper and he thought it was so funny he laughed and laughed. I gave him a bottle to feed the bear too and he had so much fun feeding it. Maybe I should get him a doll for his birthday. Shh, don't tell his daddy.

I couldn't help but include some cute pictures of Austin in the vest his Gege got him.

American Idol returns

American Idol started last night and I'm so glad! The writers' strike has really put a damper on my TV watching. Eric and I love American Idol. Taylor thinks she is the biggest fan, but we have watched every season since the beginning when Kelly Clarkson won. I remember planning our wedding while watching it. I'm very to happy have a good show on TV again besides other crazy reality shows!

Is this the next American Idol 2022?

Happy Tuesday!

I'm taking care of Lily during the day for the next three weeks. I will tell you that I am completely smitten with this little girl. She is so sweet, smiley and alert. The boys absolutely love her. They call her "baby" and try to make her smile. Ethan says he wants a baby and he would prefer a boy. Interesting.












Erica and her kids came over today for lunch. The kids had a great time running around together playing with a balloon. Ethan and Grace were so cute having little conversations with each other. Austin, Carter and Tye are about the same age and they looked so cute running around together. It's always nice to have friends come over to play. It sure helps the day go by faster!