What was I thinking?!?

If only Stay At Home Mommas could take a day off!!

I'm back!!!!

Seriously. It has been a year!!!

The kids are growing so fast and keeping up with all they need has kept us busy.

Mini is 6 years old and in 1st Grade now!!!! How did that happen!! She is an avid reader, loves math, takes ballet & tap, and is shaping up to be a good defender on her soccer team.

Little Man is 3 (almost 4!) and is improving every day. He has Physical Therapy twice a week for his Hypotonia and Occupational Therapy once a week for his Developmental Delays. He has made major strides in the last 4 months physically and his OT therapist has helped him immensely over the last year. He goes to preschool 3 days a week and his teacher just enjoy him so much. 

Big Man is, of course, also 3 (almost 4!) and growing in leaps and bounds. He is the sweetest kid and is forever trying to help out his older siblings. He is also, literally, trying to climb the walls. I'm thinking early training for America's Ninja Warrior?

Hubby is as handsome as ever! ;-) I really am lucky. (So is he!!! Lol...) We are loving being in our 'new' house (can't believe we have been here over a year!) and the kids love having their best friends right behind us. 

Stay tuned.... (I promise I will be posting more!!) 

(This is from last year. Cannot wait to get new ones done this year. Love our yearly tradition of pictures.) 

There comes a time...

There comes a time when you have to decide what faith you are going to raise your children in. I was raised mainly in a Protestant church as my father was military and most posts provided a Catholic service and a Protestant service (there may have been a Jewish service but it was not on my mind back then.) My husband was raised Jewish.

Over the years I have examined my beliefs in an attempt to figure out where I stood in my faith. I do not agree with most organized religions. I find the idea of picking and choosing what you want to believe out of a book that was written hundreds of years ago, translated and edited many times over, to be mystifying. I do feel like there is a greater power out there. One that each of us can tap into. As I read and researched I stepped further away from my Christian upbringing and closer to a more Pagan view of things. It just felt right.

I will admit, though, that I chose not to broadcast it. Why? No reason, really, except that it was something I called mine and had no need to share. I played the fine line of never fully acknowledging my choice of beliefs so I would not be alienated by those who know me. There is a big trend in this world to see Pagans as something evil. Really it is quite the opposite. A Pagan sends out the energy they wish to receive. Why send out evilness if it will be revisited upon you??

Over the last year I have been more open about my beliefs. I am respectful of others beliefs but I don't let them preach to me. My family celebrates many customs that pull from many beliefs. I am teaching my children about Jewish customs as, in many ways, being Jewish is a cultural thing as well as a religious thing. 

So there you go. You respect my beliefs and I shall respect yours. Oh, and I'll teach my little witchling a that, too. ;-) 

                                

Being a Better Sibling

Something happened this weekend and it has stuck with me like a bad splinter. Someone was very rude to my sister during an outing and I let it happen. Now my sister will tell you it only bothered her a little and it doesn't matter. But it DOES matter. Let me tell you why.

A long time ago I was desperate for the love of a boy and I never saw how flawed he was. In order to please him and his family I let his siblings treat my siblings very poorly. 

It went against the sibling code:

"You mess with one of us you mess with all of us."

To this day I regret that. If you want to really know someone watch how they treat your family and how let their family treat your family.

I will not say that my brother and sister are perfect. Oh, they drive me NUTS! And I will tell you all about it if you let me. The thing is they are mine. You say nasty stuff about them and we are gonna have an issue. You treat them poorly then you better not intend to be my friend for long.

My sis has lived through shit that no one should have to deal with. The bullying she was subjected to in school was stuff that would bring assault charges in today's climate. It has left scars and so, maybe, she feels slights a bit keener than others might; add that she is pregnant to that and you could say she is a bit tender hearted these days. Understandable.

As my kids get older I want them to have an even better relationship than my siblings and I. How can I expect that if they are allowed to see me sit by while someone treats their aunt like she is an outsider not to be included in the group? So, just know that if you treat anyone in my family like crap without very good cause (and some personal issue you have going on is not good enough) than I am going to call you on it and make sure that it doesn't continue.

Today

Today.

Today I am not having good day.

I hate my hair, my body, my wardrobe.

I hate that it is cold outside.

I hate that I am tired.

I hate poopy diapers.

I hate dirty dishes & never ending loads of laundry.

I hate that I don't feel grounded right now.

Today.

Today I must remember.

I love my amazing husband.

I love my beautiful children.

I love my friends and family.

Today.

Today will soon just be yesterday and tomorrow will be better.

Holding it Together

People tell me all the time how amazed they are at all I do. Kids, crafts, meals, etc. I appreciate the complement but the truth is I am just holding it together. I wake up in the morning wondering how I am gonna make it through the day. I go to bed at night grateful that I did make it through the day. Everything in between is a blessing.

Don't get me wrong. I have amazing kids and an awesome hubby. We spend our time making memories that will be treasured.

That said. Right now, I am just holding it together. And that is ok because my kids are happy, my marriage is secure and we, as a family, are ROCKING IT!

She Did What?!?

FLUFFY BUTT!!!

Huh?  We took a leap of faith and switched to cloth diapers today. :-)

I have long adored all of my friends' cute diaper stashes but was wary of the idea of twins in cloth diapers. Then I did the math:

4 diapers a day per kid at $.25 a diaper (I'm rounding for easy math!) is $1.00 a day.
At least 1.5 more years/548 days of diapers/pull-ups times 2 is $1096.  OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

I found out that I could purchase 20 re-usable cloth diapers with microfiber inserts for $96.00 from Alva Baby. I figured that I needed 28 diapers in total to CD both boys for 2 days (with some leftover for laundry day.)  Completely doable for only $137.  Wow! That sounds a LOT better than $1096!  Plus, if I take good care of my diapers I should be able to re-sell them for about 1/2 of what I paid.  Nice!  So I took the leap and ordered everything that I needed to CD. 

Now, I did spend a little more than $137 because there are different supplies that you need.  For example, you need CD friendly diaper cream.  I recommend CJ's BUTTer for any number of reasons; the 2 biggest being the yummy scents and the amazing BUTTer PLUS that is great for yeast rashes (I got it in a spray which is nice because it is so easy to apply!)  I am experimenting with different liners.  I recommend liners for first timers because they make cleaning up poopy diapers so much easier. You also need a couple of wet bags to keep dirty diapers in in the diaper bag and a pail liner for your diaper pail. Oh & you need cloth diaper friendly detergent (for some good info check here.)  There are lots of optional things you can get, too.  Sounds intimidating but once you've read a bit you realize that it isn't that hard to CD anymore.

I got my fluff (as CD's are affectionately called) mail on Saturday and was so excited it was funny! I spent the rest of the day getting it all ready to be worn.  Our first diaper Sunday morning was a cloth one.  There's no going back now.

FLUFF MAIL!!!

So pretty!

Washed and ready to be prestuffed for wearing

Ready to go, so many cute patterns & colors

FLUFFY BUTTS!!!!

I am such a geek.  I know.  :-)  And you guys know you love me for it!