Monday, May 23, 2011

Questions, comments, etc...

Where have I been?
Trying to keep my head above water :)
Trying to love on 22 second graders. Sad that I only have a couple days left.
Feeling bittersweet about leaving.
Feeling Satan attacking my mind and heart about finances.
Recently have had $1600 in unexpected, frustrating costs.
Feeling like we can't make it without my income.
LIE.
But feels real when you are living in FEAR.

 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
( i have to remind myself..)



I am allowed to feel weak, as long as I rely on the Lord to strengthen me again.
Often, I want to fix it myself.

I shot a wedding in Destin last weekend. It was beautiful, and so much fun. But to put this little preggo lady on her FEET for 12 hours taking photos...well, to say I was pooped would be quite the understatement.  It took me all last week to RECOVER :)  I had a friend help me as a second shooter and I was so so so glad she was there. She was very NOT PREGNANT and had a ton more energy than I did :) The wedding was a lot of fun, and I got to hang out with Jeff and Christy (our pastor and his wife) on the way down there along with my hubby...so that was a major bonus.

Brandon and I went garage sale-ing Saturday. He was being so selfless, taking ME to yard sales. Guess what happened?
He found new truck tires and a new tool box.
I found nothing :)
I guess that is what you get when you choose to serve your wife by going to garage sales. :)

Thank you for all the baby 'stuff' advice.
Keep it coming.
It (all the baby junk) is so overwhelming, I love to hear opinions from real mammas who have been there.

The stroller we got is the Baby Jogger city select.  It is a single stroller. But it will easily convert into a double.  I got it on sale and couldn't pass it up....after doing a ton of research to strollers that will convert to doubles. Considering I will have a single child for a short time before adding the second (YAY!)  I haven't bought the 'second seat' yet, but I am registered for it.

SPeaking of that, we are **OFFICIALLY** waiting for a referral for a child from ETHIOPIA!! YES!!!!! So that is very exciting. We got all of our USCIS approval paperwork last week and it all got put in.  Things are significantly slowing down in Ethiopia, but we all think it will just be for a short time, and that God's perfect timing and plan will work all things out. So no worries on that front, I know the Lord will fit little Eli Matthew into our family in the perfect timing.


We got it in red.  We got the bassinet (show in black) as a gift for mother's day :) so that will be what little
Finn cruises around in for the first couple of months.  It can also snap the carseat in. 

It is pretty fun to see all the different ways that you can position the goofballs...if they are getting along, they can face each other. If they are crabby...they can both face out or face away from each other.  Or they can both face me.  I think it is a good investment.

I am going to see how much we use strollers, but we might get a super lightweight one that I can throw one baby into if I am out with only one...but I think that will come later when the babies are older. When they are little I think I will mostly wear them :)


It is going to be my 'hybrid' stroller, but I might invest in a BOB down the road, so have an AWESOME running stroller. My plan is to wait on the prowl at yard sales, etc, just like I did for the tandem bicycle. Unwilling to pay full price, I waited and waited and scored our awesome tandem for $30. So....BOB duallie stroller...watch out...I will find you. Craigslist or yard sale...someday you will be mine :)

Our chairs for the boys will be hand me downs from our best buds, the Fitzcharles.  The boys were in our wedding a million years ago, and I nannied for them when they were just little fellas.   This was a reunion trip a couple years ago...but I found a picture that I took of them when {the twins} were only about 6 months old.
 Anyway, the chairs are awesome. They grow with the kids forever...and they are actually a good looking piece of furniture pushed into the table. I used to sit on them sometimes.


And they grow with you...
So I am registering for the baby seat and the tray that can attach but we might end up using the bumbo to eat in a little bit until little guy gets big enough to scoot up to the table.  THen he can make a mess right on the table.  The twins had high chairs when they were really little, so we might invest in one too...we'll just see what we need....  I know you will probably all say we need one...and we probably do. I just don't want to buy it yet.....I will......

SPeaking of BUMBOS...we had our first shower (at work) today which was so sweet and kind.  And we got a bumbo, and a bouncy seat, and a noise machine, among other fun things! I was really excited to start to get some fun baby stuff!  And I felt really honored.  I hate that sweet Briar missed out on some of that....but he did get a pretty special love shower.

Breast pumps still confuse me a lot because I want to stay home...but I feel like I will need one...wanting to be as active as I always am...I just don't know!

Cloth diapers will not be what we start with. But I am thinking on it for the future...we will see. I'm just not sure if it will work well for us.  Another thing that will just depend on life...and how I settle into the world of being a mom. Do you know how many things you must do INTENTIONALLY to do them well. I believe being a parent is one of them.  But I don't necessarily know the right way to do that, I just know that as I think and pray through the journey of being a mom, and I feel led to do things, I will do them REGARDLESS, and I will be INTENTIONAL to do them...because I believe that God has placed that ability in me...to be an intentional parent.  But it doesnt' always mean knowing what is right immediately.  So...cloth diapering will wait until I figure out how to nurse and deal with spit up and get my child brought home from a third world country ;)

On another note, if you use DISPOSABLES....what do you think about a diaper genie? Seems unnecessary (and expensive for refills..), but then I think about my dogs, and all the trash they get into....is it necessary?  Is it worth it?

What about bassinets? I have a friend that said I could borrow one...but I don't know if I will need it....i guess it is different for EVERYONE...so who knows...

Pack and play...same question...will I use it? If you use yours...tell me when.... if you don't....tell me why.  Very confused about these little contraptions.

Well, it's the last week of school.
I have not gone back into full fledged blogging mode.

But do you know where I spend way too much time?

PINTREST!
It is awesome!
You can "pin' all the things you love.  All the ideas you find all around, and it catalogues them into links so you don't have to bookmark everything in the world.
So I have been gathering things I love for nurseries.
Oh. my. word.
So fun.

This is a screenshot of about 1/25th of my nursery pin board.

HEre is some more.
I am sort of obsessed with gray walls, white bed....pops of color. We will see.
I adore it.


But for now...that is enough all over the place random talk.
Goodnight!


name
gray ric rac copy

13 comments:

  1. We have the City Select and I can not recommend it enough. You will LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it! The seats pop on and off so quickly/easily that it is easy to reconfigure on the fly.

    As for pumping even though you are planning on staying home. It's beautiful to have the freedom to hand the baby to someone else for a meal. As someone told me...just because you prepared the meal, doesn't mean you have to serve it. :)

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  2. Looks like you picked a good stroller. Lots of different combinations w/ that one. And it's got nice big wheels.

    I would def get a pump. I have a Medea PISA and the Medea Swing. The Swing is really great for pumping on the go, whether you're doing stuff at home or out and about. I really recommend that one! When I know we'll be gone for a few hours I still take it w/ me. In fact, when hubs and I went on our first date in over 3 yrs I took my Swing w/ us and pumped on the way.

    I really recommend CDing. I know it's saved us a ton of money. We were CDing 2 for 6 months and then my older DD potty trained. The only difference in CDing 2 compared to 1 is I had to do dipes every 1 1/2 days compared to every 2-3 days w/ just 1. We do use sposies too. We started using them at night when my older DD was 18 mos b/c she was such a heavy wetter by then that all the moisture in the CD was giving her sores. So we have just stuck w/ sposies at night since then. And I use sposies when stripping my dipes, which I don't have to do that often.

    We have both a bassinet and a pack n play. Lainey was in her bassinet til she was 7 mos and now she's in her pack n play. Although she still sleeps half the night w/ me :) the pack n play is def nice for traveling so I would recommend that one above a bassinet. The pack n play even has a setting on it that can be used like a bassinet.

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  3. We have a diaper genie (although a generic, much less expensive brand) for one child, and not one for the other. Well, let me tell you what nursery always smells fresh and clean, and which one doesn't? I would highly recommend one. And it doesn't have to be a diaper genie. We got a brand called diaper pail from babys r us, and I believe it was $30, which wasn't so bad. Without one, you just have to make sure to empty the trash in the nursery after every poopy diaper.

    We also had a basinett and loved it. A crib just felt too massive for a newborn, although the crib felt the perfect size for our Ethiopian prince.

    As far as the pack-n-play, we got one and loved it. We put it in our lower level, not the level of the nurseries and stocked it with diapers and wipes. That way, we had a place to change babies no matter where we were in the house. :)

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  4. I can comment on a few things...
    diaper pail. we didn't do the diaper gene, but another brand. my sister in law schooled me before we had J. The diaper gene requires two hands to turn and special bags. there are two other brands out there that can take regular trash bags and require only on hand to turn - so you can hold baby on your hip and swoosh the diaper into the pail. one is diaper champ, the other is diaper pail at babies r us. we used ours for a year before we ever had a smell. then i replaced, and had smells immediately. we've now taken the Jenny (Ely) Border's family approach and use all our grocery bags as nursery diaper bags. I hang them on the dresser knob and take out at the end of the night. or before company comes over. works out great.

    we had a bassinet for J. We used if for about 2 weeks in our room, and then moved him into his crib. he made LOTS of loud noises that just kept us from getting any rest at all. I have other friends who kept bassinets in their rooms for several months before moving to the crib.

    pack-n-play... we had one fancy one that included a bassinet/changing spot. we set it up down stairs and used it as a play yard and changing table. we didn't take it down for 2 years! we bought a basic one for about $25 at KMart and have always traveled with it. J sleeps well in it, and it's much much easier to put up and take down than the fancy ones.

    Love all your nursery ideas. You are so creative I know it will look amazing when you’re finished!

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  5. I don't love the diaper genie---too much work/contact with clogged nasty diapers. Here's what we have

    http://www.amazon.com/Diaper-Dekor-Plus-Disposal-System/dp/B00005V6C8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1306244112&sr=8-4

    I love it! It has 2 doors on it and the inner one can lock so kids/dogs can't go play in the nasty diapers. It's never clogged, roomy so we don't change the liner very often. Love it. And, we just order the refills from Amazon with my free Prime subscription from my Amazon moms account (we get our diapers from there for super cheap----let me know if you ever want to know about that!).

    Pack n play goes with us everywhere when we travel. It was in our room with us when Harvey was first born, but he hated it then. my advice: borrow a few options like moses basket, a co-sleeper, a basinet to see what your kiddos like. Harv was pick-y when he came home and only wanted to sleep in our bed. So we needed a co sleeper. This time we're borrowing a bunch of stuff that we would only use for such a short time instead of buying it all. Something to think about---the basinet only holds up to 15 pounds (typically) and big Harv was 14 lbs at his 8 week checkup. :) You just never know when you're going to have a big chunk and when you're not.


    Love the high chairs! And until he's ready to sit in there, you can just put the Bumbo on the dining room table to feed him. We did that forever until Harvey's legs were just too chubby to get in there, and then we bought a high chair. I don't think you really need to buy a seperate high chair. Just my humble (Bumbo lovin') opinion. :)

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  6. awww- i love the Fitz's chairs and they're red too!! :) and you know that i am in LOVE with pinterest ;)
    hugs, love, and prayers to you!!! everything will work out for the good of those that love Him!

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  7. Hey girl. I kind of hesitated to comment about all the baby gear, bc it totally overwhelmed me too. I had to take Bethany with me to register bc 1) i couldnt make a decision to save my life during my entire pregnancy and early breast feeding. All the hormones made me super sensitive and over anxious about the smallest of decisions. So, all that to say...even going back in my mind to where you are now makes me a little jumpy. Haha.

    However, it all does, truly work out.

    So here are my suggestions.

    Don't waste your money on a separate bassinet. Just get the pack-n-play that has the infant sleeper/bassinet in it. Its very easy to take apart when they are older and sleep in it on trips. I love mine. Mady slept in hers (the infant part) in our room for MONTHS! I loved having her close during those late feeds. Also, we still use it when we go on trips. She sleeps great in it (no longer the infant part, just regular). Its super easy to put up and down....although, at first its confusing. Just YOU TUBE video how to put it up and down.

    Your stroller seems amazing! Great choice.

    We are also looking for the BOB duo jogger. So great. Hunting them down at our yard sales and Craig list too. They are SUPER expensive!!

    DIAPER GENIE is a HUGE waste of money. THEY literally STINK! Just have some Kroger bags handy and throw them in your regular trash. If you are like us, you take your trash out atleast once a day....the daipers will most likely never stay in the house for too long. The genies stores them for almost a week or more. SICK! SMELLY and Gross. We hated the smell. and the bags are expensive to have to keep buying vs. the FREE kroger bags. Just a suggestion.

    Also a must have: Miracle Blanket. Its a swaddler, but not the brand name swaddle. Its like a longer wrap. Mady LOVED hers and slept for 6 hrs. straight the first night with it.

    Breast pump is a must too. I hate to say it. But, if you have issues with milk supply at first, which unfortunately some moms do have....or the baby may have some reflux in the beginning....or you could be engorged....or supply isnt coming in....all of which are easily helped with a breast pump. I pumped almost every morning for a while to keep my supply up and to have some stored incase of emergency and I work part time. So it helped me a lot. Its peace of mind and very handy. I had the Medella. Works great. Most of my girl friends had the same.

    Good luck friend. All the stuff is overwhelming, but asking all the questions like you are doing is going to help you a lot. At the end of the day when he comes out/ and the other comes home...your mom instincts will be your best friend. You'll just know what to do .:)

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  8. LOVE all of your things you've picked out or thinking about --- you are so stylish girl!! ;)

    ok - diaper genie -- NOOOO! I (personally) think it is the grossest thing ever to KEEP POOP in your baby's nursery! How disgusting! We use the blue bags from Walmart -- 100 for about $5.00 - they smell great and we just put them in the regular trash and take it OUT!

    Congrats on your baby boys! So happy for you!

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  9. Oh, yeah -- Breastpump is also a good item. Loved my Medela:)

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  10. I am so happy that you are finding comfort from the Lord about the financial worries of staying at home.

    In the last year we have found that, yes, our income has decreased, but so has our (cough *my*) spending. And while at home I have been able to reward our family with resources that have been earned through my dedication to my new job at home! Remember, your time and energy are valuable and you will be ploughing that directly into the family now. Blessings will continue to rain upon you guys.

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  11. We didn't use a Diaper Genie or any comparable product- we've always just dumped pee diapers into the trash can and poop diapers go into a plastic grocery bag first and then into the trash can. We have a super awesome trash can with the sensor that opens automatically but otherwise stays firmly shut. We have never had a smell problem or a problem with dogs or kids getting into it (but we do have smaller dogs, haha). It's been a great system for us!

    We got a pack 'n play that had a bassinet and a changer in it. It was in our room as a bassinet and changing area for a couple of months until Jude moved to his crib. Then the pack 'n play was in the living room as a changing area and safe place to put him if I needed to for a minute (the playpen part). Eventually we took the changing part off and used the playpen part as a time out spot to keep him contained. A few months ago we finally folded it up and used a time out spot on the floor instead. So we got good use out of it for about 2 years and it worked out great! Also good for sleeping in while traveling.

    Love the stroller and the nursery ideas, so cute! I want gray walls for our bedroom, we've had a really hard time finding the perfect gray.

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  12. I have the city select too! I got the second seat as well, and can I tell you how much fun it is to reconfigure. Seriously, I kept watching the video, waiting for the 'big box' and tore into it like it was Christmas! Super fuhn ~ super easy to use ~ best buy evah! AND THAT IS SAYIN' SOMETHING, since I have been using some cheap stroller in my time.

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  13. I've read great reviews about the pack 'n play, but I've almost never used mine with either of my girls. But my niece got a lot of use out of it. We have a diaper genie, but we've also thrown diapers in the regular trash as well. As another person mentioned the trash at our house gets taken out pretty regularly. You mentioned babywearing, have you gotten a wrap? I loved my Moby for the first couple of months and have recently purchased a Bali breeze which I also love.

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