Ok, it has been too long since I've posted anything.  I went back to work last Monday, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. maybe because I'm just teaching part time, maybe because I know Gabe is safe with mom.  I couldn't ask for a better babysitter!! Have I mentioned how blessed I am to have such an amazing family?  My little guy has been sick on and off for the last two weeks with a horrible cough and double ear infection, he's handling it so well though-even survived an overnight trip last weekend for a family reunion (somehow for this 24 hour trip we packed more stuff than we took to Ethiopia for 10 days-not even kidding!)  He's doing so much better now, but even when he was sick you couldn't tell, he's just so happy ALL the time!  Of course, I caught some of his cold. I haven't felt this bad in years. It really scared me the other night because I could not stop coughing.  Mike said I woke up, pulled his blankets off, and started coughing on him.  I just remember sitting up and trying to wake him up because it felt like I couldn't breathe. 

so back to my amazing family...when I got to mom and dad's house yesterday, mom pretty much wouldn't let me leave or take care of Gabe.  her and dad took turns playing with him so I could rest.  Then mom made some chicken and noodles for dinner.  Steff came home with me so Mike could play poker with the guys and so she could listen for Gabriel if he woke up while I was sleeping.  When I woke up, Mike had already fed Gabe his breakfast and started getting him ready for the day.  School was ok, I didn't feel great, but I didn't want to stay home after only being back for a week.  We came home and it just seemed like everything was going wrong.  the house was a mess, I had a stack of papers to be graded (still working on that one) Gabe was hungry, Sulli was hungry, the phone was ringing...you know, THAT kind of day. then Mike called and reminded me of his meeting after work and that he wouldn't be home until 7!  Once again...I'm so blessed. Steff volunteered to come over so I could rest for a while, but just then Mike walked in the door and said that we were more important than his meeting. I love him so much! and Steff brought dinner for us! although, I haven't had any appetite at all.  Please continue to pray for me, I'm feeling much better but I want to know what's going on with my heart.  it was so scary the other night when it hurt, and I just keep putting off telling anyone about it thinking it will go away.

sorry I don't have any pictures tonight.  There are a ton on my camera but I just haven't had the time to go through them.  If I can't go to sleep anytime soon I'll post them.

 

i ♥ faces-week 40 Excited!

This week's theme is excited. I don't have any pictures where Gabe is NOT excited! he never stops smiling and laughing :) he has two reactions whenever he sees my camera-he'll either stop and pose for me with a big smile like he has here, or he will start racing towards the camera and try to play with it! I just love that smile!

head on over to i heart faces to see more pictures! this is going to be a great week!

name: Gabriel

event: long distance walker pushing

track: living room/dinning room/kitchen loop: 3 laps

distance: 120 feet

record time: 2 minutes 53.8 seconds 

If the world were a village of 100 people

Picture this: If the world were a village of 100 people, 1 has AIDS, 3 are slaves, 14 are illiterate, 20 are malnourished, 23 drink polluted water, 25 have no shelter, 30 are unemployed, 22 have no electricity, 40 have no shoes, 43 live on less than $2 a day, 48 have no sanitation, and 58 have parasites.

Do something.

Toms Shoes.

One for One.

i ♥ faces-week 38 blue

This was Gabe's first trip to the park.  He LOVED the swings! he never stopped laughing the whole time :)

Head on over to I ♥ faces to see more "blue" photos.

*PLEASE Read This*

If you have kids or grandkids or know someone with kids PLEASE take 4 minutes and watch this video.

I had no idea there were so many car seat options...the first time Mike and I walked into Babies R Us and looked at them we were just overwhelmed with all the choices, and even after talking to a salesperson we still didn't know where to begin.  

It has really been bothering me lately. I know that if I was so confused about this that other people probably are too.  Please take time to learn about a 5 point harness and make sure your kids are safe.  Pass this on to everyone you know who has kids or will soon. 

There are so many stories similar to this one.  Laws in most states only require kids to be in a booster seat after a certain age or weight (usually about 40 pounds) but they are so much safer in a 5 point harness.  I know car seats like this are expensive, but it's worth it.  PLEASE don't let you kids use booster seats. They have NOTHING to protect them if the seatbelt fails-and this happens more than I ever imagined.

Do your own research and see what works best for you, but if you need a place to start the author of this video states:

"Britax Regent, Britax Frontier and Sunshine Kids Radian 80 are the ONLY 3 car seats that harness up to 80 pounds. There is a lot of confusion about this because some car seats will convert to a booster and show a higher weight limit but that weight limit is for the booster mode, not the 5-point harness mode."

 We bought the Sunshine Kids Radian XT (a newer version of the Radian 80-with side impact protection) because it was the ONLY seat that can also be used rear facing. 

It goes from 5 to 80 pounds with the 5 point harness.  The other great thing about this seat is that you can fit 3 across the backseat (even in our extended cab truck) this is almost impossible with most car seats.  I have to warn you, when I saw the pricetag, my first thought was No Way!  but we added up what it would cost to buy an infant carrier, a car seat, then a booster...and it was a lot more than just this one that you can use from birth to 80 pounds.  

If you baby is older or you already have an infant carrier I would try one of these that go from about 25 pounds up to 80. 

http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/regent

http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/frontier

 

 Like I said, please do your own research and see what works best.  I know these three aren't the only seats with the 80 pound-5 point harness, my mom bought one for her car that goes up to 100 lbs. I can't remember the brand but it was from Walmart and cost less than $200.  I just can't say this enought times-Please DON'T use a booster seat!! 


The family in the video has even set up a website to help people who can't affort a new car seat. http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/home/index.htm  There is also a section where you can donate to help buy car seats for other families.  


Just in case I haven't convinced you yet...





Please pray for these families, I can't even imagine their loss.  But also listen to them and do everything you can to keep your kids safe.


And THANK YOU to the family who recommended our car seat and brought all of this to my attention

pampers? luvs? g diapers?

thought I would share this just in case anyone is having trouble choosing diapers.  first of all, I have to say that I'm VERY picky about what diapers we use. and I think I've earned this right after working in a daycare for two years and changing at least 20 diapers a day. probably more.  Pampers are the BEST.  but pampers makes more than one type of diaper-that would be too easy right?  so my favorite are the swaddlers, they only go up to a size 2/3 which we are using now, sometimes-I'll get to that later.  the second best are the cruisers because they're really stretchy and stay where they're supposed to. next are the baby drys, also good with no leaks, but if you're using these I would just get Luvs because they're pretty much the same and a little cheaper.  Huggies. NO.  that's pretty much all I can say.  every baby at the daycare who wore these always had an icky white layer of something on their bottoms left behind from the diapers. plus diaper rash.  no thanks. and any of the store brands that I saw leaked most of the time. 

ok, please don't leave me horrible comments saying that you've had nothing but good luck with huggies or a store brand, of course I haven't tried all of them and it was several years ago so things may have changed. I'm sure that one thing may work for some babies and not for others. this is just what I have found so far.


since there has been so much talk about cloth diapers lately I thought I should check them out.  I bought some Bambino Mios because they are so cute-probably not the best reason to do something :) but also because I liked the liner system they have. 

The liner, that kind of looks like a dryer sheet, wraps around the cloth insert and fits inside the cover.  This does two things: pulls moisture away from the baby's skin and removes any mess from poopy diapers and gets thrown in the trash.  this is GREAT for laundry! 

These are so easy to use and I haven't had one leak yet.  but I do have a couple problems with them.  One, they have to be purchased online and take at least two weeks to arrive. shipping is kind of expensive too.  and the other problem is that the covers get dirty easliy and have to be washed more than you would think. 

So after buying a trial pack of the Bambinos, I knew cloth diapers were the way to go, but I wanted NEEDED something now, not in two or three weeks.  We headed down to Babies R Us and bought some of these

I had read about "g diapers" before but I didn't want to use them because they have a disposable insert that can be flushed or thrown away, this sounds good but once you buy more inserts it ends up costing more than a case of pampers.  I'm all about saving the planet, but there are better ways to do that without spending tons of money in the process :)  I bought these thinking that we could use the prefolds inside intead and it works great!  I love the g diapers because they have an extra snap in liner that can be washed if it gets dirty.  the covers don't have to be changed as often which is so nice.

Ok, so this is what works best for me: g diaper cover and snap in liner, Bambino liner wrapped around a prefold (I use the 6-ply Gerber prefolds-they work well and cost about $10 for 6 instead of $30) and that's it! So easy.  I still use pampers at night just because.  AND we don't have to spend $40 every copule weeks. my favorite part!!

So let me know what you think...what works for you?

i ♥ faces-week 37 Completely Candid

This picture was from my sister and brother-in-law's wedding.  they had been posing for pictures for hours and were so tired.  I didn't even know I took this shot until later, but it makes me laugh every time I see it.

head on over to i ♥  faces to see more candid photos!