Category: Household

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Cole Household Mothering Parenting Ryan

Pity Party

I just posted today about Cole being sick again, and then the day went from bad to worse!

I only got three hours of sleep last night, so I was hoping I could catch a nap today when the boys took theirs.  I put Ryan down at 1:30, and at 2, he was still up, and then Cole woke up.  No nap for this Mama today!

While Cole was sleeping he had an incredibly foul diaper, which leaked through some, so there was another mess to clean up.  He did manage to drink some water, and breastmilk and keep it down, but he was terribly fussy.  I don’t know how I managed to get all my consignment sale tags done, but I did.  (Yea for small miracles!)

I called Joe at 4:30 to ask him to bring some Jell-O home for Cole, and he said he’d be home in half an hour.  Then my dad called and said he’d be by for a short visit on his way home from work.  I was happy that my dreadfully long day was ending, and was hoping I could make a quick dinner for the boys and then rest for a little bit.

At 5, the phone rings and it is the massage therapist Joe has been working with since the car accident, wondering where he was.  S***!  He had an appointment at 4:45, and we both totally forgot, even though it was written on the calendar.  I told her I’d try calling him, and he could probably still make it.  He did end up making it, but now Ryan was wondering where Daddy was, and to top that off he said his stomach was hurting, and now Joe wouldn’t be home for another hour.

Fortunately, my dad still stopped by, but Cole & Ryan wanted nothing to do with him. I have to hand it to Grandpa- he pulled out his work cell-phone / walkie-talkie, and made it beep and the boys flocked to him like bees to honey.  I was trying to get some dinner made while my dad was here, and got it finished just as he had to go. 

By the time I freshened up a salad for my dinner, Cole was done with his rice and wanted out of his chair.  I got him cleaned up and thought I could finally sit down and try to eat.  Ryan said his stomach was feeling better so he was up and down from the table, playing with Cole.

I wrote a few weeks ago about their Drinking “Beer” game and they started playing that again.  But this time the 3.5 year-old took it a step further and threw one of the cans of Coke back into the pantry, and then I heard it- the can of Coke exploding.

Ryan looked stunned- Cole looked stunned- I looked stunned- time stood still.  I slowly made myself look at the Coke dripping down the pantry walls, the door, and over absolutely every thing and item in the pantry.  I saw my two boys covered in sticky, gooey, Coke from head to toe.  I saw Coke puddles all over the floor.  I saw Cole splashing in the Coke, making an even bigger mess.  I heard Ryan saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry- it was an accident,” over and over, and I heard myself starting to cry.  I heard myself asking why did this have to happen today– haven’t I had to clean up enough messes during the last 24 hours?  I heard myself saying, I just wanted to sit down for five minutes and eat, and now I have to clean up another gross mess.   

What else could I do, but start?  I rinsed the boys off in the sink.  Ryan told me it was almost night-time and I would feel better in the morning.  He kept saying he was sorry, and said he wanted to give me a hug to make me feel better.  I told him it was okay, it was an accident, but I was upset and didn’t want to hug him right now.  I told him I needed him to play with Cole in the living room, so I could clean up.

As soon as I put Cole in the living room, he started to scream.  He dashed back into the kitchen to be with me.  I put him back in the living room, and he screamed again, trying to get back in the kitchen.  I grabbed a chair and blocked the entrance to the kitchen with it- you can imagine how much Cole loved that, and what kind of screaming fest I was treated to!

I asked Ryan again, to see if he could sing a song or play with Cole, and I was crying again.  He told me he was very, very, sorry, and that just made me feel worse!  I finished filling up the mop bucket and went to Ryan.  I hugged him and told him he didn’t need to be sorry anymore, I loved him, and Mommy was just very tired.  He looked so relived and it reminded me how much power I have right now over him, and how utterly miserable he looked before I told him everything was okay.  I never want him to think that I don’t love him, but sometimes it is so hard to keep everything running and having to think about everyone else’s feelings when I am just beyond exhausted.  I am glad that I took those few seconds with him, so he knew everything was okay, and I was not mad at him. 

As soon as I was done hugging him, Joe walked in the door to our lovely situation.  He offered to clean up the mess, but I told him I’d get it, and he picked up Cole, who immediately stopped screaming.  Joe read to the boys and then took them upstairs to play, while I cleaned up.  Joe also had a talk with our oldest son, on why we don’t throw pop cans.  🙂  It took half-an-hour to clean everything up.

Later while I was cleaning up Ryan’s bedtime snack dishes, he gave me a big hug and said, “I love you Mommy.”  Then when I was putting on his pajamas he told me I was his number one girl.  I don’t know where he picked that up from, but it melted my heart.  I really do have a sweet little boy, who is very good.  This was just a very bad day for an accident to happen, but under the circumstances I am happy that I didn’t yell at him, or lose my temper. 

This is the type of day as a mother you can’t prepare for- you just find yourself in the middle of this tempest, like a hurricane, with more and more problems brewing, and gaining momentum.  You can’t predict these days, you just have to go with it, and hope in the heat of the moment when you think you have taken all you can take, and then more and more crap happens, you can get through it the best you can, without taking it out on your children.

I have to admit that I am so glad these 24 hours are over, and Cole has stopped vomiting. Even though only one can of Coke exploded, I threw away the other can, and it will be a long, long, time before pop cans make another appearance around two little boys in our house.  

Categories
Cole Household Ryan

“Stripping” the Ol’ Fuzzibunzs’

I started using Fuzzibunz cloth pocket diapers when Ryan was about 18 months old.  I absolutely LOVE them!  They are so easy to use, and it is great being able to customize the amount of protection needed, by simply inserting another insert, or even wrapping the inserts with a cloth (I use one insert and then wrap that in a microfiber cloth.)

Most of the Fuzzibunz I got for Ryan were size large, but as soon as I found out I was having another baby, I started buying the size smalls and mediums.  Cole has been in Fuzzibunz since he was born, and while I still use disposables on occasion, I can only imagine how much money we have saved by using cloth the majority of the time.  At first I thought I would hate doing the extra laundry, and how do you get the solids off the diaper, it was gross, etc.

I started using flushable diaper liners with Ryan in the Fuzzibunz, and those work great for me.  I just set a liner in each diaper, and then when it is soiled, I can just pick the liner out, and dispose of it.  I have enough diapers that I only have to wash them every two or three days (if I push it), so it hasn’t been that big of a deal.  We also invested in a front-loading washing machine, and with the exception of about two cold months in the winter, I hang them up outside to line dry, so it is VERY economical for us to launder the diapers.

The only downside I have had with the Fuzzibunz, is sometimes they seem to hold in the unpleasant smells, despite several washings and hanging them out in the sun to dry.  I have heard that using too much detergent can cause this, and heard you could “strip” the diapers to get rid of this.  I wasn’t sure how to do it, but looked it up yesterday and did it last night. 

I am pleased to report that I have my clean smelling Fuzzibunzs’ back!  With a front-loading washing machine, you really have to cut down on the amount of detergent used, so I think I was using too much.  I’ll have to use about half of what I was using so this doesn’t happen again.  Here is what I did that worked so well:

1.  Wash all diapers, inserts, and anything else you stuff in the diaper on a hot wash (no detergent).

2.  Wash everything again in a hot wash with detergent (Allen’s Natural was suggested, but I used my high efficiency natural wash for front-loaders from Costco, and it worked fine).

3.  Run a cold-water rinse.  If smells still linger, repeat the cold-water rinse.

4. Line dry, or tumble dry in dryer.

I only did the cold water rinse once, and noticed just a faint, faint smell in a few diapers, after they had dried, so if I had to do it again, I would have run one more cold-water rinse.  Also, this took about three hours just to wash them, (not counting the time it took to line dry), so make sure you have enough time.  I think you will be pleased with the results if you have a need to do this. 

Happy diapering!!!  🙂

Categories
Current Events Household

My Part for the Environment

Back in April, around the time of Earth Day,  I saw a statistic which hit home for me- it said:

“Did you know that we use an average of 500 plastic bags every year? Most bags taken from the grocery store are created for exactly one use, and then they’re tossed in the trash to fill up land dumps. All that work for one use. Think of all the machines, labor, and materials involved just to give us the opportunity to throw a couple items in a bag and carry them in from the garage. Is it really necessary?” (from www.delight.com)

I think plastic bags breed under my sink.  I probably have no less than 50 under there- I try to resue them as much as possible, but every time I go to the grocery store, or Target, etc., I’d end up with more.  I feel guilty throwing them away, so instead of doing that, we have our own plastic bag landfill under our kitchen and bathroom sinks!

I have to agree with the above quote, and I think there will be a movement soon to really try to eliminate plastic bags every time from stores.  I have heard several people in lines at stores say in Europe, you have to buy plastic bags, so EVERYONE brings their own bags to the stores / marketplaces, and a lot of places don’t even offer bags.  Swedish based retailer, IKEA, started charging its US customers this year for plastic bags. 

So I decided NO MORE!  Only trouble is, I usually forget to bring my bags, and I HATE most of the canvas bags you can buy at stores.  I realized I would have to just start making a conscieous effort to remember my bags, so it would become second nature.

However, I saw these adorable, pretty, cute, and practical set of five reusable bags from Envirosax:

Due to a huge demand, I only now just received them, but they are great!  Everything they claim to do, so far, has been true.  They roll up so thin, they take up no space at all.  Tonight I took one to Target, and fit a pretty good size order of household items in one, whereas it probably would have taken 2 to 3 of the Target bags to hold my stuff.  They snap up, so they don’t become unrolled, and they are PRETTY- no frumpy canvas here!

It was kind of a splurge, but I am very happy with them, and I know it will help a bigger cause, plus I can use them for library books, swimming / beach bag, or when I just need a bigger bag than my purse, and finally rid us of our out-of-control plastic bag breeding factory.  (in case you are wondering, I plan to take the plastic ones to the next items- hard-to-recycle-day, at our local recycling plant- they will accept them on these special days.)

It looks like Delight.com, where I purchased mine, is sold out, but you can pre-order them for their next shipment.   

So the next time you see a girl at the grocery store, saying no to paper or plastic, and she whips out these lovely bags, you’ll know it is me.  🙂

Categories
Family & Friends Household Ryan

Hello, I Can’t Take Your Call…

We finally splurged about a month ago and got a new phone.  Our old phone was awful, with lots of interference, static, and the worse part, it would make this terrible high pitched scream almost every time we used it, and the person on the other end could hear it too.  No wonder no one ever called us!  🙂

We got a new GE 6.0 DECT Cordless Handset Speakerphone, with digital wireless technology that has no interference and I LOVE it.  You can customize the rings as well, so I know ahead of time who is calling by the song the phone plays- I don’t even have to look at caller ID.  One of the best features is the speaker, which I use almost all the time now.  I can set the phone on the counter, and go about what I was doing, and still have my hands free.  No more crimped up neck.

Ryan has taken an interest in the speaker as well.  Now when we call Grandma, and she isn’t home, he can hear their voice-mail recording which goes something like this:

“Hello, you have reached B. & L.’s house.  We can’t take your call right now, but leave your message and we’ll call you back.”

The other day, I was upstairs putting laundry away, and I could hear him ‘talking’ on his play phone using Grandma’s voice-mail recording, but customizing it for himself- examples of what he was saying:

“I can’t take your call but I’ll call me back after my nap.”

“This is Ryan’s house.  I can’t take your call right now, so I’ll leave a message.”

“This is Ryan- I can’t take your call at your house, so I’ll leave a message.”

“Hi, Grandma, this is L.’s (grandpa’s name), I’m working right now, call me after my two hour nap.”

“I can’t take your call right now, but I’m at work.”

“This is my grandparent’s house.”

“Oh hi, I pressed the wrong button, sorry.”

“Hi, this is Ryan’s house.  I’m not home.  I’m right by my phone.”

He just kept coming up with these right after another.  I had a hard time trying not to laugh, because they were just so cute, and yes, I stood at the top of the stairs writing these down on the back of a receipt, because there is no way I would have remembered all of them. 🙂

Categories
Activities Cole Household Ryan

I Just Couldn’t Stay Away

 I ended up going back to the consignment sale on Monday for the last day, where almost everything was 50% off.  (If a seller didn’t want to reduce the price, they marked the tag with a star, and then you knew the item wasn’t reduced.)

I got a few more shirts for Ryan, and a couple more rompers for Cole which ended up being $1 each- can’t beat that.  I also found a little Baby Bjorn Potty for Cole that I had been wanting to get for him, for some time.  I am hoping I can start potty training earlier with him, and these little potty’s are supposed to be pretty good.  He has already started sitting on it.  When I was checking out, an older lady saw it and said, “Oh, what a cute fire man hat.”  It was upside down at the time, and kind of looked like one.  I smiled to myself, and then her grown daughter said, “No mom- that’s not a hat- it’s a potty seat.”  We all started laughing- it was pretty cute.

I think it is funny how excited I am on finding a good deal on boy’s shirts, shorts, and underwear.  I remember the days, when I used to get that excited on finding something for me!

I got a few rompers for my neice as well.  My sister said she didn’t have very many and now that it is getting hotter, she really wished she had a few more.  They have been putting her in dresses, but they creep up, so the rompers are nice.  I ended up getting 7 really cute ones- for $8!

Finally, as I was leaving, Cole needed to nurse, so I went back to the corner of the building where my sister nursed Maelin the other day.  There was a table and chairs back there, and I noticed there was a little chair and ottoman from IKEA.  I LOVE IKEA, and wished we had one in our state.  My other sister has one near her, and we always go there and find great stuff when I visit.  Anyway, this chair was there the other day, and Ryan wanted it then.  He looked so cute sitting on it, and he does need a new chair for himself. 

It was pretty dirty and kind of beat up, and after seeing how Ryan climbed around on it, I can only imagine how many other kids had been jumping around on it all weekend.  BUT, it was 50% off, and I looked and saw that the covers could be taken off and washed, and I know IKEA makes good, quality furniture so I was sold. 

When the covers were in the wash, I cleaned up the wood, removed the crayon marks, and polished it.  I was happy with how it turned out, and the best part is Ryan just LOVES it.  He is having a ball sitting on his “grown up chair,” and even wanted to take his nap on it. He grabbed one of Joe’s woodworking magazines yesterday, after I put the cover back on, and he got to sit in if for the first time.  Of course, here are some pictures:

chair1.jpg 

chair2.jpg 

chair3.jpg

The chair ended up being $15, and I think it has already paid for itself.  Ryan says, “I’m a hard working man,” before he flops down in it now to relax and read his magazine.  🙂