Addiction Baby Company

Late night grocery trips = hidden blessings

2011-02-28T11:13:00.000-08:00

So I admit it... I really don't like shopping. And the shopping I like the LEAST is grocery shopping. There's nothing worse than arriving at the grocery store, with all the seasonal toys and candy propped up right at the front of the store before you get to the kids play place... and then there's that sinking feeling you get when you realize the kids play place is closed for the evening. Now, not only do you have a child who is upset because they won't unlock the door and let him play video games, but you have a child who now wants to push the cart and buy his OWN list of groceries instead of YOUR list of groceries. Tack onto that your Mother tagging along saying "Oh look at that cute..." insert anything here. It's usually about 3 seconds too late to remind her that pointing out anything cute adds to the CHILD'S grocery list instead of yours.

So when I dropped off Gama (Grandma) at the door of the grocery store, I was only way too happy to stay in the car with my increasingly taller 3-year old and sing Mickey Mouse songs from the CD in the car radio. However, this was one of those nights where I realized there was that ONE thing that we needed to get before going home... and Gama DIDN'T have her cell phone on her. Of all the luck. I don't even remember what that one thing was, but when I mentioned out loud that Gama might forget something from the list, Brandon was all gung-ho to run in and remind her. He was just dying to go running through that store to find her. Of course I thought "Fine. I'll walk you in there, and you run around and find her. I'll wait by the cash register." Hee hee. (NOT. But he's fast and it was sooooo tempting.)

Well, before Gama got to the register and had to check out twice, I figured I better get in there so we could find that last item. That's when I realized we had a big problem... NO SHOES. I had rushed out of the house to run Gama up to the store and in my haste had just jumped in the warm car in the garage and let Brandon tag along, no jacket and no shoes. I really had NOT planned on taking him out of the car. I was okay with being coatless, but NOT him. Not to mention, my shoulder and back were not very excited about carrying him around the store until we found Gama.

Thank goodness I had Brandon's old carrier in the back seat for an emergency winter blanket in the car. I yanked it out and threw it (and Brandon) on, then we ran into the grocery store all toasty warm, tied up to each other. It didn't take too long to find Gama and then find the last item, but by the time we got to the front register, Brandon was already too comfortable. While standing in line, Brandon laid his head down against the back of my neck, curled his fingers up in my hair, and said "Mommy, I'm gonna go to sleep now. Don't wake me up." LMAO!

Well, the cold wind on the way to the car woke him up anyway, but it was one of those moments that just makes you feel good for the rest of the night. I'm really glad I didn't have to lug him around for very long, now that he's so big, but it made me feel good to be able to manage in a "grocery emergency" like that.

The multiple uses of a WRAP

2010-07-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday we had the RARE opportunity to be extras in a movie! Woo hoo! I was so excited! I thought it would be so awesome to have our names in the credits of a movie, and what was even better is that it was a movie about the Soap Box Derby. This was something that my Dad had done when he was little and he was a huge fan of it and I knew he would love being an extra in the film. It would have more meaning for him.

So we got up at the crack of dawn and I gathered some snacks and just a couple toys to take with us. My Dad, Brandon, and I all hopped in the car with my bag of toys/pull ups, the bag of food, and just for the heck of it - a wrap. It was a malafa that my sister had given me, but I knew if I had to carry my son in the heat and if he got tired, that would be the best option for me on a hot day. I didn't want to deal with fleece and the wrap was pretty and I wanted to show it off.

Well, I only used it as a carrier for all of 15 seconds while I was showing someone else how you can carry a child with a big piece of cloth. Other than that, I used it for:

1) a seat cushion, when the wet, dirty bleachers were too cold and hard for our tushies during the hours and hours of sitting in the 'audience'.

2) an umbrella, when the rain started pouring down and I didn't want to lose my spot in the bleachers, since everyone else seemed to be smart enough to bring an umbrella but us. (just grab a couple corners and hold up high! lol)

3) a changing pad, when I found out the port-a-potties were too full and nasty to allow my son to use, and I resorted to letting him go in his pull up that day. Needless to say, the grass was just to pointy for him to be willing to lay down on it.

4) a play-toy, when the toys I brought just weren't good enough. Luckily, it was sunny and windy enough for us to play 'parachute' with it (just like back in elementary school when you had a REAL parachute).

5) a jacket, when the shade was way too cold for a tank top.

6) a hiding place, when I wanted to leave our stuff on the grass and walk over to the vendor booths for a cold drink.

Needless to say, you would never think that you can do so many things with just a huge piece of material. :-) Let me know what you can do with a 'simple piece of cloth' in your comments!

Picture post!

2010-07-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

Finally uploaded some Idaho pictures! Go to my photobucket gallery to see some highlights of our trip! Hope you enjoy them!

Talents lost over the generations... Can you add any?

2010-07-15T05:27:00.001-07:00

I've noticed that as the needs of each generation changes, the talents passed down in families changes. But I'm starting to wonder if the things we pass down should be different, or if we should just pass down MORE? I think there are some things that, even though they seem antiquated, are still useful and necessary even in today's technology age. Grant it, any child now knows how to 'google' a how-to instruction sheet on just about anything that they want to learn. But isn't it better to get the experience from Mom and Dad first hand instead? I think this gap this shows that there is a huge difference in the way we were raised compared to how we raise our children today.

Yes, we have a lot more knowledge than we did before, and thank goodness for that! We avoid a lot of mistakes and hazards that our parents didn't know about. But, I think we also forget the simple things in light of today's technology age. Our kids are kept busy playing computer games and watching the amazing assortment of TV educational shows (or not educational lol). We know we have less time to get things done because we are juggling work and home and trying to find that quality time (as opposed to quantity time). As a result, we try to get as much done without them as we can, and then try to squeeze in that quality time at the end of the day when we know we will be able to focus our attention on them.

Well - at least, that's what I do. I'll admit it.

But I keep reminding myself of this: involve them in our grown-up daily life, and the quality time will come on its own. It really will!

Back in the day, instead of sitting in the cart at the grocery store and playing by myself with a toy in the cart, Mom involved me in picking out all the groceries. There wasn't an option of buying a toy, or picking out the cookies, but I was in charge of helping cross off the shopping list, or of helping to spot the right brand, or learning how the scale in the fruit section worked. For dinner, I was in charge of cutting or cleaning something (now Brandon's job) and I was the official 'taste-tester' of the house. (That easily became my son Michael's job as he grew up.) When it came time to do spring cleaning, Mom let me help pick out new paint for the walls and whether to rearrange the furniture or not. We had some really creative rooms! Not to mention, I learned a lot about the best ways to organize a room for the most effective use and what it costs to renovate a room on a budget.

So what things might we have fogotten to pass down in the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Well, I have been reminded of a few in the last couple of weeks and thought I would share with you things that you might have forgotten to hand down to your own kids. And don't think you're the only one... I forgot about these, too!

1) The ability to know which fruit is the best fruit at the grocer's.
This is one of those things that you might have witnessed your parents doing when you were younger, but unless you asked them to teach it to you, you might not have inherited this ability. Especially in the day and age of preservatives and wax covered fruit, this knowledge has fallen by the wayside a bit. I heard some great tips on the morning show I listen to this morning, though, and thought I would pass on some of those to you!
Watermelons - look for the yellow 'belly'. If you roll it over and there is a yellow belly on it somewhere, then it's ripe.
Cantelopes - push on the 'button'. If you push on the little belly button of the cantelope and it SMELLS like a cantelope, really smells, then it's ripe.
Peaches - (season: late june-august) Peaches won't ripen more after they have been picked, so pick ones that SMELL ripe. If it doesn't smell like a peach then it won't taste like a peach, no matter how long you wait.
Bananas - Bananas continue to ripen so make sure you buy them when there is still a bit of green at the tops of the bananas.
Corn - don't open it - that makes it go bad faster. You only have one or two days before it's not fresh, so farmer's markets are better than grocery stores. Instead of opening it, feel it, and don't overboil it. Add a tiny bit of sugar to the water too.

2) The ability to wait for someone to call you back if they don't answer the phone.
We live in the "i-generation". Children who grew up during the cell phone era have not learned the patience required for life (or the classroom either) because they have been conditioned to get an immediate response through text messaging and twitter. Instant gratification has replaced the quality of patience required to be able to wait for the larger reward instead of the smaller, more instant, reward. I think we all need to practice 'phone-less' time daily to get our exercise in patience.

3) Knowing how to mend or sew something. I would love to add tips on this in a seperate blog! Too much to mention right now, though. All that needs said is that it is important to teach kids how to sew on a button, mend a sock or hole their jeans, or hem that pair of pants they paid way too much for. A simple needle and thread will do.
When sewing on buttons, don't forget to put a straight pin across the button to add space for the button to move. It puts less pressure on the threads during washing or wearing.
When hemming dress pants, there is a specific stitch to use. It looks like an X and you only grab the tiniest bit of material so that the stitiching doesn't show on the outside. Try this link: http://thesewingdivas.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/hemming-stitch-by-hand/
If you don't want to sew a hem, try stich-witchery or hem tape! It just irons on.
When mending a hole, try substituting a small piece of material behind the hole and then stitching the edges down. This helps keep the size of the garment the same, but helps close up the hole. Use scrap material from another sock or tshirt that is too far gone to use or donate.

4) Proper table settings. Does anyone know how a table SHOULD be set? I don't know how often it is needed, but it certainly is one of the lost arts. Although this website shows you how it should be done, remembering this is a matter of practice... which is why I can never remember it! lol
http://www.trueblissevents.com/2009/12/wedding-table-setting-etiquette/

5) Vehicle maintenance. I remember when I was little, I was the official 'tool-hander-offer' to Dad. I HATED it. I would always pick the wrong tool because I didn't know the difference between a monkey wrench, a crescent wrench, and a rachet. I'm better about that now, but I learned then that you didn't always have to pay someone to change your oil. I know where an oil pan is, where the filter is, and even where the spark plugs and wires are. I also know how to bleed brakes to a point. Heck, I've even changed my own oil pump in the past. NOT fun. And even though the time it takes to do it is really worth paying someone else to do it, sometimes you don't have the money and so you must force yourself to make the time. I severely regret not forcing my son to sit down with me while I changed the oil in my truck as he got older. I would definately feel much better about him being on the road if I was sure he knew the basics of how a car works, just in case he breaks down.

Can you think of any other lost talents/arts that your parents taught you that you realize you haven't passed on yet?

Language aquisition and YOU

2010-07-15T05:22:00.000-07:00

For those who have visited my babywearing site (www.addictionbabycompany.com) you might have seen my link for Monkey Bars. I won't go into a full blown explanation of monkey bars, but what I want you to notice is that on that monkey bar page I have listed quite a few activity ideas that you can do with your little one. They are very very very simple, and aren't anything that you couldn't make up yourself. I simply posted them for those people who don't have the time to think about this stuff or don't feel like they can come up with ideas on the fly.

The biggest thing you will notice is that the activities all focus on talking with your little one and using key words to point out things in their environment. They are simple words, but to a little one that doesn't talk much, it's a treasure trove of new experiences! Hearing you say the words, seeing you point to things, getting that eye-to-eye contact with Mom and Dad, and learning the names of new things is exciting to an infant or toddler. You might even think that you sound silly talking to someone who doesn't talk back, but it's the best thing you can do and makes them feel super super loved!

If you wonder why I have such an interest in helping parents have conversations with their little ones, then I will share with you the fact that both of my children had speech problems growing up. Luckily, my 2.5 year old had the fortune of getting caught early on and he LOVED going to school once a week for speech therapy. To him, it was extra playtime with other kids and he got special one on one time that made him feel special. On the other hand, my 15 year old struggled a little more than his little brother, and I can remember how hard it was for me to try to convince everyone NOT to talk the same as he did. It's hard NOT to use the same nicknames that they do when they first start talking. I still catch myself saying "uv you too!" when my littlest says it. As a result, Michael's spelling suffered. You see, when the schools start teaching you how to sound out words, you can make a lot of mistakes when you say words differently than they are supposed to be. (Try spelling spaghetti when you've said "buskepi" for the last 4 years.)

So I thought I would share some of my experience and ideas with you if you are one of those parents that knows their child needs a little help, but just don't know how to help them. There's no tricks, really. Eye contact, slower speaking, and involving them in the conversation early on makes all the difference in the world! And if you are a babywearer, then you have another advantage because when you wear your child in front, they can see the words come out of your mouth even better!

First thing that might help you to know is when children usually learn certain sounds. Lexicons (sounds) are USUALLY learned in this order:

(emerging early)
P, M, H, N, W

(emerging around age 2)
B, K, G, D, T, NG

And emerging later on (around 2 and a half years or later) in order:
F, Y, R, L, S, CH, SH, Z, J, V, TH (thin), TH (then), ZH

Next, you need to realize that if your child doesn't say these sounds at the right age, that doesn't mean you have to worry. It might just be that they haven't had a reason to use those sounds yet because the things in their environment don't HAVE those sounds! If you want to teach them the "G" sound, try giving them a stuffed animal like an alligator or a dog. Find a book that uses words with those sounds. Or take time looking through the grocery ads in the paper once a week and point out foods that have those sounds to them.

Last, if your child still seems to be having a harder time than children his age, don't hesitate to ask their pediatrician! They will know resources in the area that can test your child (don't worry, they'll have fun) and let you know if your child is eligible for free services in the area. There's always help.

I hope some of this information was helpful to you! I know that I would have loved to have known that everything my child needed was already in me when I was a new parent. It's hard to be confident in yourself when you are getting advice from every different direction. Just rest assured that you can't ever teach a child something they won't use. Don't hesitate to talk to them, even if they can't talk back yet. They really are listening, even if it doesn't look like it. ;-)

References:
http://www.overtonspeech.net/EmergenceVsMastery.html
and the Speech Pathology and Audiology Clinic at Kent State University

Great resource!
http://www.zoo-phonics.com/products_samples.html

Kids and Cameras

2010-07-02T05:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm a guest blogger on www.byebyewithbaby.com! If you get a chance, get over there RIGHT AWAY and post a comment on my blog! I need more comments! lol

http://byebyewithbaby.com/wordpress2/?p=1129

For those who read the blog, what kind of pictures are near and dear to your heart that your kids have taken?

~M~

Idaho International Babywearing Conference

2010-06-18T13:52:00.001-07:00

Excitement is contagious… and it’s much more fun to catch than a cold! It was wonderful to travel to Idaho last week and see all of the wonderful babywearing people walking around everywhere! I finally felt like I wasn’t the only one who got excited about going on adventures with a monkey on my back. The excitement felt by other people (not JUST women) at this conference really gets into you and makes you remember exactly why you are so happy to be a parent. No one is protected from that feeling of being overwhelmed or frustrated when things are going perfect in your life. We all have our moments when we wonder if we’re being punished for the things we did to our own parents. But those moments happen more often than not while you are alone… it’s hard not to be thankful and mushy when you are around other people who embrace the joys in life and try to focus on all the things that are wonderful about being a parent. That’s what I love the most about being around other babywearing parents. They don’t pretend like it’s not hard to be a parent, they just embrace the wonderful opportunities that babywearing gives them. We all struggle with those frustrating times where we have our hands full and there just isn’t enough help around to keep you from losing your patience, and to know that there are other options out there and that you know about them is a wonderful feeling! It’s like having that sudden moment when you realize what it’s like to actually think outside of the box. Life seems so much more open to possibilities and you suddenly feel more adventurous. And that’s how these people were… adventurous. Not like they were all rock climbing the walls of the classrooms or skydiving from airplanes at lunchtime, but I simply mean their personalities seemed more outgoing and more open to possibility. It was wonderful to see, and very encouraging! It WAS a little intimidating, I’ll admit, but after coming home, I started feeling like I wanted to have some of that energy that I saw in some of them. (Maybe not as much energy as Becca… I think I’d overdose! LOL But definitely somewhere close to that. **HUGS**)

Outside of the conference, the state of Idaho was SOOO open and beautiful. It was amazing to see what grand talents Mother Nature had to offer. If I wasn’t such a social person, I could easily see myself living someplace like West Yellowstone or at the base of the Teton Mountains. It was simply gorgeous. On the other hand, it took us hours sometimes to find the simplest amenities… like a McDonald’s!!! HA! Seriously people – my 15 year old was acting like he was going to die of withdrawal if we didn’t find a McDonald’s by sundown. I ALMOST felt sorry for him. ALMOST.

Since there is way too much to put into one blog about our trip, I’ll take a break here and find some time this weekend to finish uploading the pictures from my camera into my Monkey Bar photo album. I’ll link it here so you can go straight to it, but I’ll try to post one or two good ones of the scenery and the conference. I know how annoying it is to follow links. J

Here’s hoping you have a wonderful and adventurous weekend! Think outside of the box everybody!

Airport Adventures

2010-06-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Airport adventures: Salt Lake City Airport, Utah

Before having children, there were some things that I took completely for granted. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t inconsiderate; I simply was “ignorant” about what it was truly like to be a parent. There are some things you don’t realize… like how hard it is to eat dinner while it is still hot, because you are usually spending most of the time making sure your children aren’t starving first before you eat. I took for granted how easy it was to run to the store to get a gallon of milk and get back home, in ONLY the time it takes to drive there and get back (not including carseat time, in and out of cart time, chasing across the parking lot time…) I certainly didn’t appreciate how easy it was to use the bathroom and wash my hands, or how dry my clothes were after leaving a public restroom when I was single or child-less.
Well, someone in the Salt Lake City airport must be a parent and must appreciate how refreshing it is to use a restroom without juggling a toddler, your luggage, soapy hands, and the coffee that you just bought at the coffee shop across the hall. Seriously, it’s very difficult to encourage good hand-washing habits in a 2 and a half year old when you are trying to prop them up on your thigh and keep them from getting the front of their shirt wet because they are leaning across the nasty soapy counter that someone else just splashed on, all the while you are trying not to let your purse or bag touch the dirty floor. I say that someone must appreciate (or more likely, UNDERSTAND) this in Salt Lake City because when I took Brandon to the bathroom in the airport to wash his hands, right there under the counter for the sinks was a toddler/child stepstool! It wasn’t in the way where you would bash your shins, but instead it folded up neatly and you could simply pull it down when it was needed for younger children. It even had nice rubber treads on it so you wouldn’t have to worry about their little shoes slipping on it if the bathroom floor happened to be wet and they walked through it. Now, of course, they had other perks, too, like automatic faucets and toilet flushers and a very nice changing counter… complete with hand sanitizers on the way out of the bathroom. Everything a Mom could want! Honestly, I don’t know if these were also in the men’s bathroom or not. I chose not to venture in there. So sorry guys! Maybe next time I’ll get brave and interview one of the guys walking out of the men’s room. ;-)

For more information on the best places to hang out or stop at when travelling, make sure you check out http://www.byebyewithbaby.com/ for areas by zip code or city. Don’t forget to check out their blog! They have some wonderful information out there for parents that goes above and beyond traveling tips, too! (Not to mention some awesome giveaways!)

Look for us online!

2010-06-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! Can you find our carrier on this webpage?
http://www.internationalbabywearingconference.com/MeiTaiGallery.htm

10 points if you can tell me what color it is and the name of the baby being worn in it! :-)

(I have no idea what 10 points get you! LOL)

A walk and a nap...

2010-05-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

A beautiful walk in the woods after another visit to the labyrinth proved to be a great exercise for us all! Aunt Brandy and Uncle Glenn came over with the kids and my Mom and I took little Brandon and everyone up to the park to see the Labyrinth and take a walk. We found a lot of neat little things to show the kids and I discovered a plant that has flowers that I've never seen before! It was pretty cool. But by the end, Brandon decided that it was my job to help him JUMP the whole way back and I finally gave up. Luckily Uncle Glenn and Aunt Brandy helped me keep from getting frustrated and I was finally able to just pick him up and carry him in my arms back to the Labyrinth. I realized when we got in the car that he was exhausted, which explained the little temper he had. He passed out 2 minutes after we left! So instead of going home, we took a trip to the store and I let him sleep in the car while I listened to the radio and Grandma and big brother went shopping. It broke my heart to see his little head leaning so far down and I felt responsible for making sure he was comfortable while he was sleeping... so VOILA! Instant head rest! LOL I used the strap of the carrier I had left in the car to wrap around his forehead while he was sleeping to hold his head up. :-) I just let it hang over the back of the seat as a counter-weight to his big noggin. Such a tired little boy...

Labyrinth Walk April 2010

2010-05-04T10:28:00.001-07:00

April 2010 - John Brown Tannery Park

It definately needs to be said that sometimes an adventure is best had when everyone does the adventuring together. I'll be the first to admit that I love taking my kids places where we can all explore someplace quiet and off the beaten path and get a little bit of that feeling that we are discovering something new or hidden. I'd love to say that every adventure I take will involve me using my carrier, but I'd be lying if I said that. It IS nice to know I have it in the car in case of emergency, but now that my littlest is 2.5 years old, his favorite thing to do is run away from me! LOL

Luckily, I found a place that kept him in one spot for at least a LITTLE while. You might not be familiar with these, but not too long ago my oldest and I discovered that there is a labyrinth just a few blocks from our old house. We stumbled upon it (almost literally) while wasting a half hour in between doctor's visits one day. We had some time to waste, so we decided to go to a park that we like and toss pebbles into the river... one of our favorite past-times. In the process of cutting across a grassy area during a particularly muddy day, we noticed that there were bricks under the grass where we were walking. Strange... at first we thought maybe it was some old historical foundation of a shed or house that used to be there and was unmarked. There was even a post where it looked like a sign had been, but the sign itself was missing.

On that particular day, I happened to be using my carrier because of the mud on the trails that day, so me and my oldest didn't have a problem tromping around in the mud trying to trace all the lines of bricks under the grass. (Brandon was very helpful pointing out the spots I missed!) After thoroughly trashing my nice work dress shoes by scraping all the bricks, we realized that we were standing on top of a labyrinth! I had read about them for a while and had actually searched the online labyrinth locator (http://labyrinthlocator.com/ ) to see if there was one in the area and came up with nothing. For the longest time I had been trying to think up a way to make one myself, and imagine how happy I was when I found out I didn't have to do it myself! :-)

Well, the picture posted above is actually the second trip to the labyrinth that we took. It's hard to see the lines, but you can kind of make out the ridges in the grass. This time I brought my Mom along because I knew she would appreciate it. She will be the first to admit that retirement isn't necessarily the most stimulating to the brain, and I knew she was looking for something to do that felt more meaningful than just taking 'a walk'. She loved the fact that this hidden treasure was there and that it was available for anyone to use. As a matter of fact, I called the parks and rec office to find out more about it and they agreed to let us do some maintenance on it ourselves! Ironically, I also found out it had been there for TWENTY YEARS!!! And all that time I didn't have a clue.

If you aren't familiar with what a labyrinth is for, or how to use it, there are a lot of places online that can give you more information on them. My favorite spot is http://labyrinthsociety.org/, The Labyrinth Society. They have information and links there, as well as a directory of terms to help you understand more. For me, my first question was "What's it for?" and boy did I find out more than I planned! Labyrinths can be used for meditation, prayer, mental focus, relaxation, fun, or whatever you want! There are so many ways they have been used over the years, there is no wrong way to use them. HOWEVER, you might notice there is a kind of... etiquette... to them. So if you see someone else using one and you want to use it, just remember to try to respect that they might be using it for prayer or meditation, and take cues from them on if they want to have company while they are walking it or not.

If you want to find a way to experience a labyrinth with your little one and you're not sure how to go about it yet... try my Monkey Bar activity called "The Labyrinth Walk" on this page: http://www.addictionbabycompany.com/monkey-bars/activities

Enjoy and have a wonderful time! Don't forget to share your stories with me!

May 4th memorial walk

2010-05-04T10:22:00.001-07:00

May 3rd, 2010

We had a great walk across campus in memory of May 4th, 1970. It has been 40 years, and it seems as though it is just now being embraced as an important part of history... and a great lesson that shouldn't be forgotten. We took our time, walking from sign to sign, trying to picture the whole scene in our heads and trying to understand what happened. Not WHY it happened, but just understanding the facts. I let both boys walk through it themselves, and had to do occasional re-routing of Brandon (I was SOOO embarassed when he stepped on a daffodil!!!). They were so good about it, and we actually enjoyed the wonderfully warm night and the gathering of people around campus and listening in to their conversations. Brandon did really good putting stones on the sites where the shootings happened. I learned a little bit about the traditions of different cultures, and that was cool. (Look up/google using rocks instead of flowers for memorials - I believe it's a Hebrew tradition.) The walk was long, but we didn't mind. While the sun was setting, we went off track to examine some of the other art-work on campus. I showed the boys "Tilt", a structure made of newspapers from 2005, and explained what it USED to look like and how neat it was that it looked so different now. Unfortunately, Brandon decided that was the perfect time to stop for a break and 'relieve' himself. Nice. Well, that smelled. lol Well, we weren't close enough to the car yet, and we had quite a ways to walk back to it. Unfortunately, Brandon was now walking MUCH slower, and I had forgotten to throw a diaper in my handy-dandy carrier (which I was wearing like a messenger bag). So, to get back to the car quicker, I threw him in the carrier and we walked straight back to the car. I put the back seat down and laid out the blanket from the carrier (the trunk is really hard and scratchy) and proceeded to stink up the entire car. UGH! What's worse, is that it wasn't solid and it leaked all over his pants. So those came off! But by then it was chilly, so going home pantsless wasn't really an option. Luckily, it hadn't leaked onto the blanket carrier, so he just cuddled under that the rest of the way home, while we left the sunroof open and jammed to a little classic rock on the car stereo. ;-) It was a great evening with my kids... something I will treasure forever, and I hope they do, too.

***********************************

Now... if you'll pardon me for a minute... I'd like to share some thoughts about something other than "Adventures in Babywearing". It was something I needed to say, but didn't know where to say it. So here it is.

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" ~George Santayana

____It was strange, considering I grew up so close to this memorial, yet I almost never think about it. It's a part of the scenery, a part of the town, blended into the hill... and yet, if you make a point to walk through it for the SAKE of thinking about it, it can really make an impact on you. I have walked past the sites where the Kent Four have died many times before, and until I stopped and thought about what happened on that spot and just how tragic and unnecessary it was, I never really understood what kind of lesson we were supposed to learn from mistakes like this in history. What was it that we were supposed to tell our children about this? Would they ever understand it? Could they ever relate to it? I suddenly felt the weight of being a mother on my shoulders. I had no idea what lesson I was supposed to teach my children.
____I read the editorial about the May 4th incident in the University Paper, and that's when it hit me... it is nearly impossible for college students and teenagers to understand the impact this incident has had on their lives. For me, it wasn't even about the war or protesting it, or whether wars should exist or not. That's not why we remember this. It's because what happened was unnecessary... and it resulted in the deaths of people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time... and they couldn't have even known that they were in the wrong place until it was too late. For the first time during that war, the war came HOME.
____This was a different war than we might be familiar with now, although the lessons are still important. There were no cell phone alerts to pass along a message from the University about dangers on the campus. No terrorism alert signs telling us what level of anxiety we should have. There were no laptops to be able to research the moods and attitudes of students across the campus, and no blogs or facebook pages where the University could communicate openly with the students and address the issues that weighed heavily on their hearts. Back then, students were looked down upon because everyone assumed they were there simply to avoid the draft. (If you don't know what a draft was, or why going to college might protect you from it, you have some research to do!) If you were in college, then you were a hippy, and an activist, and you had radical, even crazy, ideas. You weren't cutting edge, you were just nuts and a plague to our Leave-it-to-Beaver world. Let's not forget... law enforcement didn't use rubber bullets back then, either. There were no riot shields or Kevlar vests to make them feel more protected and calm under the pressure of a crowd. And there was no internet where students felt they could have an impact and make their voices heard. Instead they had to shout it out loud just to get anyone to pay attention.
____I wonder now, if 'kids these days' will ever understand what people have done to pave the way for them. A college graduate today goes through such a different experience, and is looked at in such a different way than 40 years ago. Universities are so much more involved in what their students do, and they are held MUCH more responsible for the citizens that are a part of their campus. It's a necessity. A campus is a community within a community. But it's important to remember that both the city and the campus are intertwined, and they are dependent upon each other, not at odds with each other. One supports the other in ways too complicated to begin to describe. It's a support system with a very delicate balance. So much more delicate than we realized 40 years ago. The world is different today, and with that difference comes new concerns, but also new experiences and new opportunities... and new lessons. But we still have to teach the old lessons, lest our children learn from experience.

"History repeats itself because no one was listening the first time." ~Anonymous

GIVEAWAYS!

2010-05-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

I've been blogged!!!! :-)
http://byebyewithbaby.com/wordpress2/

How cool is that????? Woo hoo! They really make me sound good, don't they? LOL

Please go check out their blog!!! The website is really useful and the blog has so many interesting products that us parents don't know about! AND, they have tons of giveaways for those who take the time to comment, and you can comment on the blog about us and be entered to win a Micro Blanket Carrier!

Speaking of giveaways, I am pairing up with "Aunt Brandy" to start a line of first aid type products and we are trying to come up with a name for that line of stuff. It's not babywearing oriented, so I wanted to give her products a different name. If you help us come up with a name, you'll be entered into another giveaway for a free pair of cold packs! Look for the info on our Products and Pics page!

Happy surfing everyone!!!

Baby Bonanza, Great Lakes Expo Center

2010-04-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

I just had to say "Hi and Thanks!" to all the Mom and Dads who I was able to meet last Saturday (April 24th) at the Great Lakes Expo Center for the Baby Bonanza show! Many thanks to Kendra also for getting me in there at the last minute! (And thanks to Megan for bringing this event to my attention! ...all be it at the last minute lol)

I couldn't believe how busy I felt all weekend! The diaper derby, the fashion show, the Dad races and all the interesting people visiting my booth and asking me GREAT questions! I came away from the show with lots of ideas, and even more feedback. For anyone who saw the Dad who modeled my carrier on stage, wasn't he GREAT?! I felt bad that he was so beet-red through the whole show (lol!), but he did such a great job. Then he came off stage and told me how comfortable the carrier was and even wore it around the rest of the expo for me! I think it helped that his daughter fell asleep in it, otherwise I wonder if he would have returned it earlier. ;-)

And thanks to the others who tried it out at the expo and carried their little ones around. I hope you were able to enjoy the expo a little more with a little bit of support!

I have to say, there were some awesome vendors there as well...
ClevelandMomsLikeMe.Com - I registered! :-)
Gifted thoughts diaper cakes - they were too pretty! It was great talking to you!
Bye Bye with Baby - I can't WAIT to explore your website more! (http://www.byebyewithbaby.com/ )
Charity's Create-a-book - My son loves his new book! And loves when his older brother reads to him.
Ohio State Waterproofing - Howdy neighbor! hee hee
Q104 - thanks for the cookies. :-)
Bath Fitter - thanks for staring at my goofy butt all day long. LOL
BABIES film - waiting for this to come out in theatres!
Boogie Wipes - my sons nose will be so happy.
And FYI: my son stomped around in his new squeaky shoes all Sunday night. (Fiance LOVED that one. lol)

Hopefully I'll successfully upload pics from the weekend and post them next. (Along with the pics of the carrier from the "Email List Giveaway" from my booth!) Wish me luck finding the cord to my camera!!!

p.s. If I didn't mention your name, don't worry. I'm sure I'll remember it later when I'm browsing through all the coupons and fun stuff I got at the expo! ;-) I wish I had been able to see more vendors before it all closed down. I was just so busy!

New Malafa from Jean!

2010-02-05T21:12:00.001-08:00

A new malafa from Jeannie!!! xoxoxo

This is called the "Jordan's Back Carry" or JBC. Really secure and Bran seemed to be pretty comfortable. His legs didn't seem pinched at all either... need to practice it more though! It took me a while to 'get it'. But I think once I've done it 2 or 3 times I'll be really quick at it! :-)

2010-02-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

Just in case anyone was interested in doing something to help Haiti, but needed to save money to buy that special someone a Valentine's day gift... Try the HeartsForHaiti.etsy.com store! They have some amazing handcrafted items and it benefits Haiti! Just a thought, ya know... ;-)

Never too old...

2010-01-27T07:12:00.001-08:00

You know, I was starting to wonder if my 2 1/2 year old was getting to that age where he wouldn't want to ever 'ride' again if he could RUN. But the other night, as I was desperately trying to clean and organize a room that he was in, I realized that alternating play time with clean up time really got me no where. At one point I was putting away shoes and coats and came across Brandon's favorite monkey carrier and was folding it up and getting it ready to hang on a coat hook when he glanced over and saw it... whining and tears and clingy-ness immediately ensued. I was totally confused... I knew it was getting past bedtime and I wasn't sure WHAT he wanted, as all that was coming out of his mouth was confused babble... until finally I realized he wasn't patting my legs, but was patting the carrier resting against my legs. I said "what... this?" and held it up. And he immediately said "uh HUH." and promptly turned around and faced away from me.

Still a little confused, I thought maybe he was just wanting a blanket to cuddle with while watching cartoons (which happened to be in the direction he was facing). So I started to hand it to him and he shoved it back and grunted then turned his back again to me and walked backwards towards me... waiting for me to reach down and pick him up and flip him over my shoulder. I thought "you're kidding, right? 30 lbs of kid, in a 75 degree house, and you want to hang out on my back and watch cartoons while I clean?"

.... but then I realized, he was QUIET. And with my recent surgery I was instructed not to strain, or carry more than 50 lbs, and having him on my back in the carrier was a LOT less strain than trying to carry him on my hip and keep bending over to pick things up. So... on my back he went, turning his head whatever direction the TV was in.

Yes, after about 10 minutes, he wanted to get down to go get a toy. So I pulled the straps down and let him climb off and just let the carrier dangle on my butt. But 15 minutes later, while crouching down to put shoes away in a shoe rack, I was tackled from behind with arms wrapped around my waist and directed to "tarry me!" again, so the straps came back up and we promptly folded blankets and put away knick knacks that were in the wrong place until I finally decided it was bath time (and break time!).

I tell ya, it warmed my heart to know that my little monkey still loves cuddling with me even when his matchbox cars are only 10 feet away. <3

Happy babywearing everyone!

Misty

URGENT: donating breast-milk to bank in HAITI

2010-01-27T05:36:00.000-08:00

I don't want to copy someone else's blog, but for the sake of passing on critical information I will post this link instead and summarize....
"GIVE THEM ROOTS" BLOG SITE:
http://www.givethemroots.com/2010/01/urgent-milk-donations-for-haiti-infants.html

And here is the detailed information about breastmilk donations from HMBNA directly:
http://www.hmbana.org/index/haiti

Being a Mom who has breastfed two happy, healthy children of her own and never regretting one minute of it, it saddens me to know that there are children suffering in Haiti because they have been orphaned or seperated from their mothers and are now lacking that precious nurishment. Switching a child from breastmilk to formula, especially in a time of such change and scary surroundings, can be devestating to their health. Especially in disasters, where local water may be contaminated and cannot be used for formula (only bottled water), breastmilk is an essential resource!

For more information on how to help this effort and details on the project to provide breast milk banks to Haiti relief efforts, please click the link above. Here is some further information copied from that site:

"Urgent Call for Human Milk Donations for Haiti InfantsWashington, DC--The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), International Lactation Consultant Association/United States Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA/USLCA), and La Leche League International (LLLI) are jointly issuing an urgent call for human milk donations for premature infants in Haiti, as well as sick and premature infants in the United States."

"Mothers who are willing to donate human milk should contact their regional Mothers' Milk Bank of HMBANA. A list of regional milk banks is available on the HMBANA Web site at (www.hmbana.org/index/locations)."

"For more information, contact HMBANA at 408-998-4550 (www.hmbana.org). Additional information can be provided from the United States Breastfeeding Committee at 202-367-1132 (www.usbreastfeeding.org), ILCA/USLCA at 800-452-2478 (www.ilca.org or www.uslca.org), or La Leche League at 847-519-7730 (http://www.llli.org/)."

KSU HOMECOMING PARADE!!! OCT 09

2009-10-21T06:08:00.001-07:00

Yay! We got SOOO much candy! Thanks to all the frat boys and sorority gals who caught candy and gave it to Brandon! LOL This is a picture of him checking out all the candy on his blanket on the curb. It was a chilly morning, but I didn't want to miss a parade, so I popped him in the carrier and took a walk downtown with him trying to find a good spot to sit where we wouldn't have to fight other kiddos for candy. We ended up right at the top of the hill by the frat houses and it couldn't have worked out better! One guy had an adorable little puppy that he let Brandon pet, too. It was great to just unfold the carrier into a blanket and sit on the curb on a blanket instead of the cold, hard cement.

Too bad Brandon will probably have nightmares of giant squirrels for weeks to come. Poor kid! There were so many people dressed up in black squirrel costumes, and one of them tried to shake Brandon's hand and Brandon FREAKED. He just backed up and started screaming and the poor guy in the squirrel suit just ran away! LOL Luckily, a nice guy (I think his name was Matt) kept egging him on to get more and more candy from all the pretty girls in the parade. Brandon even shared his Lightning McQueen hat with him. It was cute! But now we have so much candy that I think we are ALL gonna need a dentist real soon! :-)

New Carrier!!!!

2009-10-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

WOO HOO! New Carrier!!!!
Ok, so I keep getting these comments from people saying "But don't the kids sweat like crazy in that thing? My kid is a sweat-er... it's too hot where I live... I can't stand being too hot...."

So, my first reaction was... then don't carry your kid around! LOL I sweat like a pig when I have to carry my kid on my hip in the middle of the hot summer, carrier or not! Luckily, this style of carrier still allows for air flow on the sides of the baby, just not a lot in-between airflow, which you don't get much airflow in-between without a carrier either. (Not to mention my body works a lot less when I can carry him hands free.) But I began to think about how to make my carriers less condusive to heat, and what kind of needs someone might have in Texas or Florida that would be different from Ohio. Things like protecting their precious little skins, and carrying water around with you, and do you still need a blanket? So here is what I came up with:

1) Yes, you still need a blanket, but not always for covering up or keeping warm, but more for laying them down to change a diaper or for having a picnic, or even laying across a chair that is too hot from the sunshine.
2) If you have a water bottle clip, you should still be able to carry water with you by clipping it to the carrier. Sippies are also easily carried by sticking in the bow around your waist and tightening the strap around it. (I'll have to take a picture of that later!)
3) Protecting their skin would require covering them up, but hopefully not with material that doesn't breathe. You want them to stay cool and shaded, but not smothered.
So here was my solution... a combination of Solarveil material and light cotton with tapered straps and light colors. The blanket is half Solarveil and half cotton. The Solarveil half is the part that can be pulled out of the carrier while you are carrying your little monkey, that way you can use it to cover their head in direct sun. I'm still debating adding a pull string onto it to make it more like a 'hood' when it is pulled out.

Misty the mule!

2009-09-16T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well - I finally got pictures from Brandy of me carrying Samantha back to the cabin from the woods. She's my little guinea pig! I wasn't sure how hard it would be, but it was surprisingly easier than I thought!!! I'm glad I was able to help out Samantha's poor little feet... and amazed that I can now say my carriers have a weight limit of 60 pounds!!! I didn't find one stitch broken after carrying her all that way. Thanks Sam!

2009-09-05T17:23:00.001-07:00

Little Miss Sarah and her beautiful Mommy Brandy:

Oh my gosh she was SO passed out!!! We started laughing at one point cause we could hear her snoring! LMAO!!!

This picture was taken while we were taking a hike through the woods down at my sister's cabin. Along the way we saw some cool spiders, HUGE spider webs, deer tracks, racoon tracks, water spiders and we THINK we saw some tadpols, too. There were pretty flowers that were SO bright red it was crazy! And Christopher was nice enough to be the 'dispenser' for the Ice Breakers candy that Samantha, Sarah and Brandon (and Brandy and I!) kept eating along the way. Thanks Chris! Samantha found a pretty rock that looked like a bird. We brought it back with us and she was going to paint it to look like a bird, but I think we forgot it down at the cabin. Sorry Sam!

On the way back from our walk, Sarah woke up and wanted to walk on her own, so of course Brandon wanted to copy Sarah. So we put both of the little ones down off our backs and let them walk... at which point Samantha's feet hurt so bad she looked like she was gonna cry! So I decided I wanted a challenge and I told Samantha to jump on my back. I tied her up in my carrier and asked her if it was ok. She said "It's really tight, but I like it! It doesn't hurt or anything!" She seemed happy enough so I carried her on my back the rest of the way and with her weight on my hips and the carrier supporting her close to me, it didn't feel much different than carrying Brandon! How crazy is that?! I mean, Samantha is SEVEN YEARS OLD! Brandy took a picture of that, too. LOL I'll have to share it when she uploads her pictures to her computer.

Overall, it really was a nice trip to the cabin, and we got to really take some time to relax and enjoy nature. We even saw some deer in the back yard! Not to mention, every time we drove anywhere, we saw a bunch of deer along the road, too. But that didn't impress Chris, who informed me that "I saw LOTS of deer down in West Virginia. I saw them a lot closer, too! Right now I'm just HUNGRY!" LOL At that point, getting to dinner was a lot more important than seeing some silly deer. :-)

Malafa/Baby wrap

2009-08-31T15:01:00.001-07:00

My first wrap carry! My niece brought me back a malafa (melafa?) from Africa and I used it for a wrap... what do you think? It's a real pretty purple, black and orange malafa. Malafa's are what the women traditionally wear in Nouackchott. It's a kind of wrap/cover. Sometimes they wear two at a time, but my niece said she's also seen women use them to carry their babies around. It's my first time trying to use a wrap-style of carry for Brandon so I'm not sure if I did it right. I'm researching more wrap carry positions now, so if I come up with something better for this size of material, I'm sure I'll try it later and take more pics. LOL

This is what it looks like stretched out:

Randolph County Fair

2009-08-29T12:09:00.001-07:00

This is on the way out to the car after the fair... The majority of the time we were there, all he wanted to do was jump around in the middle of the road and bat around his balloon... I am SOOO glad I brought the carrier this time! I almost didn't, but of course I DID forget to put an extra diaper inside it and what happened? He peed a waterfall and the poor kid was so soaked he was 'mushy'. Ewwwww. So we decided to hike it ALLLL the way back out to our horrible parking spot and change him then hike back in... but not until after we reparked the car in a closer spot. HA! Anyhow, we ended up tying the baloon to the carrier because it was just too hard tying it to his wrist and I didn't want to worry about it flying off and being stuck with a poor, depressed, tear soaked little guy in the middle of the fair. So who got to get bumped in the head with the balloon for half a day? Yup, me. Well... and half of the people we passed by! LOL He was soooo exhausted after riding all the rides. All three of them. He went on the slide first. LOVED that. Then the kiddie ferris wheel which no adults were allowed on... he started out liking it cause he got to sit next to a cute little girl... but then the ride started going around and around continuously and by the second pass his face started to look worried... by the 4th pass around he looked like he was gonna puke and by the 5th pass he had his face hidden in his hands on the railing. He didn't look back up until it stopped, poor kid. Daddy tried taking him in the Haunted House ride... yeah. Not the best idea. He came out crying. lol I know, it's horrible, I shouldn't laugh, but he looked so excited to go inside it at the beginning and that's why we let him go. Guess he learned his lesson! After that, the only ride we could convince him to go on was the motorcycle ride and he LOVED that. But I think he's done with spinning for a while. He shook his head 'no' to just about everything else after that. I don't think he was ready for any more surprises after that.

(See the pic of him on the motorcycle ride in the previous post below....)

Randolph fair motorcycle ride

2009-08-29T11:35:00.001-07:00

2009-08-24T11:55:00.001-07:00

Ta Da! My first post to this blog from my cell phone! :-)

I figured this was the perfect introduction to my blog. I know some of us are addicted to our kids, but it's just VERY possible that sometimes our kids are addicted to us, too! Either way, we're happily addicted! I thought as my son got older (He's now officially OVER 2 years old!) he would get tired of hanging out on my back while I was doing chores around the house. Guess not. :-S The other day I just couldn't get anything done, and there was a LOT that needed done! Too many things at once and Daddy was dealing with big brother elsewhere so no help for Mom! No matter what room I was in or what I did, Brandon followed me everywhere, hitting me in the butt (a favorite pasttime), holding his arms up for me to pick him up so he could see, trying to drag chairs up to counters and "help" (his version of help... not my version). Finally he started making these gestures and I was trying to figure out what he wanted... "You hungry??? Thirsty? Want a drink? Chips? Chocolate? Gotta poop? Want a movie? Anything besides ME?!" Nope to all of it. Finally he walks around me and points at my back and grunts, then walks in front of me and backs up to me... the way he has to stand if I'm going to throw him over my shoulder in a piggy-back. "You want a piggy-back???? NOW??" You gotta be kidding. His answer. "UH HUH!!!" He was so proud that he conveyed what he wanted. Me, on the other hand... ugh. I gotta carry you around while I'm doing laundry and dishes and you really think you're gonna STAY there? Whatever. So I got out the carrier, half-doubting it would work at this point... sounds horrible doesn't it? Doubting my own carrier? LOL Well, as you can see from the picture, he was happily playing with one of his cars that I picked up while cleaning the living room, and driving it through my hair while I did the dishes. He stayed like that for a good half hour I'd say before he finally decided that Mommy's cleaning wasn't as fun as "Madagascar" on TV anymore. So at that point he pointed to the TV and I was only too happy to let him have 'movie time' for a while until the laundry was folded. LOL It was only a half hour out of the day, but I'll take a fuss-free half hour of cleaning to 2 hours of fussy cleaning ANY day. But beware... toy cars LOVE driving in hair. :-)

~Misty