Some photos. Just because (=

Here are some photos.. just because I feel like it!



1.28.10, M was being camera shy.


Annnnd. I got two Goodmamas (aka my favorite diaper.. EVER) today from Spot's Corner. Cheap too! Here they are.



Serendipity, with Organic Bamboo Velour Inner
and

inked, also with OBV inner

I'm currently waiting on the wonderful toy I got from ImaginationKids on Etsy. It's a Waldorf-Inspired rainbow stacker. I'm sure N and M will love it! I'm also waiting on the hat I posted about from SweetNettle. My BumGenius bamboo diapers (that were dirt cheap!!) aren't shipping until February 2nd. You can still take advantage of that deal at ElegantMommy.com . They're $6.48 a piece which is AWESOME. We needed new diapers, M grew out of everything I had bought her. So I'm selling off our newborn stash and buying small and one size dipes.

Hangin' with the dinosaurs.

I realized I hadn't posted anything in a couple of days. Oops.

M is quite a character already. She's almost 6 weeks old, and has a great personality. She's starting to smile when we play with her, which is wonderful. She loves kisses from mommy. Sometimes, when N laughs, she laughs right along with her!

One thing that her daddy and I have found quite funny is the fact that she doesn't really cry. No. She makes these funny, grunty, dinosaur noises. Daddy affectionately calls her "T-Rex" or "Baby Rex". I have to get her noises on video!

Spring Cleaning!

It's beginning to smell like spring. Now, I know it's still below freezing most days but lately I've been waking up to the sweet smell of spring! This has been inspiring me to de-clutter and such. In the process of this, I'm trying to get rid of most of N's old clothes, since it will be about 2 years before M fits into them. M also already outgrew her newborn stuff so on sale that went as well. I already sold some stuff, and it feels great- not only to have the potential to get rid of this stuff, but to have a little extra $$ :)

Last night I bought M a new warm hat for outings.. it's knit in rainbow wool. She had begun to outgrow her hats and I'm not learning to knit fast enough.

M's new hat, from SweetNettle on Etsy.

I'm planning on getting a few wooden toys for the girls since M will begin to play with things soon and N just has far too much plastic-y junk that needs to go. And fast.

My new project...

I've taken to knitting! I'm so excited. Yesterday we went to the craft store, bought some knitting needles and wool yarn in a pretty color. I'm excited. I've learned to cast-on and am still learning the knit stitch, I haven't moved onto the purl stitch yet though. Anywho.. I've got a new hobby and I love it. I also got a crochet hook just in case knitting wasn't my "calling". We'll see.

DeClutterFying

Making up words is fun. It makes me feel superior. *blushes*

ANYWHO. I borrowed this from a momma on MDC. I reccommend everyone to read this, especially if spring cleaning is in your near future (or if you'd just like to be able to see your bedroom floor again!).

You can't take it with you when you leave this earth...
So why not de-clutter and get rid of it now?!

this is inspiring me to clear out more.

copied from an amazing mama on mothering.com

Good Rules of Thumb:
* get rid of anything that requires you to purchase some kind of organization item for it. chances are, you don't need that crap to begin with.
* anything that ends up covered in dust--if you really loved it that much, it would get more attention.
* anything you can always find at goodwill for under a buck that you hardly ever use anyway.
* Get rid of duplicate things you have that you thought you'd keep both of in case one broke
* Get rid of that box of stuff you might try to sell someday.
* get rid of stuff that just never seems to find a "home".
* get rid of "some day" things, as in "SOME DAY I'll use this for xyz".
* Get rid of things you would NOT want to pack up and have to move if you were moving to a different home.
* get rid of all of the boxes that haven't been unpacked yet from the last time you moved.
* things that "can be fixed" -if you haven't fixed it by now, it's probably not going to happen.


EMOTIONAL/SENTIMENTAL:
* Consider taking a photograph of a momento then getting rid of the actual momento.
* Get rid of ANYTHING that does not bring you some joy when you see it or use it.
* Get rid of gifts you don't like and things you keep out of guilt or obligation
* Get rid of anything that reminds you of someone who doesn't make your life joyful
* Get rid of thank you cards, birthday cards...that don't really have special meaning
* Get rid of things that make you feel like you're not the person you want to be (those reminders of things you'd love to do but never have time to and that only drain your spirit/energy)
* Get Rid of Anything You Don't Need or Love, things that aren't "you".
* If you pick something up and wonder whether you need it, you don't.
The things you truly need and love - you know that without hesitation.
* Ditch all your dried flowers.
* Get rid of balloons that no longer stay afloat


KITCHEN
* Get rid of kitchen appliances you use less than, say, once a month
* Anything in the kitchen cupboard (dishes, canned goods, utensils, you name it) that haven't been used in a year. (Other than the forspecial china and silver).
* Get rid of all but four pot holders
* all the extra measuring spoons and cups
* All those knives that don't really do it. you only really need 2.
* the cookie cutters that are never used.
* Get rid of food in the pantry that has sat there for a yr (find a new owner or toss it with an expired date)
* most of the tupperware can go


CLOTHING/LINENS:
* Get rid of clothes you don't look good in, don't fit right, or you don’t love.
* Ugly, stained, ill-fitting, maybe someday I'll wear it again, itchy clothes. (keep one set for painting and crud)
* Get rid of clothing I won't wear or haven't worn in 2 yrs
* Get rid of the orphan socks and pairs of socks with holes in them - they're useless!
* Undies with holes even if they will last another year
*Get rid of all towels that are holy or frayed or excess (keep enough for 2 per person and 1 for the pets)
*Get rid of all bedding sets (keep 1 for myself and 2 per child)
* Get rid of your fat clothes, your skinny clothes ... dress the body you have and love it
*Get rid of hand-me-down clothes that you don't even like!
* Get rid of the 8 or 9 boxes of fancy baby clothes that will never be used


HOBBIES/MEDIA:
* Get rid of books/magazines you don't read all the time, will never read again, or no longer interest you (what's a library for after all?)
* Get rid of outdated reference materials
* Get rid of pictures and artwork you have no place to put - if you like it, then find a place for it - take something you like less down, but if it doesn't have a place what good is it?
* decorations you don't love
* craft supplies you aren't using
* Get rid of scrap wood from that last project, unless you have an actual plan in mind for it.
* Get rid of scrap fabric.


KIDS STUFF:
* all the extra markers and crayons. keep one set of new.
* Get rid of dried up play dough.
* Get rid of toys that are overflowing out of the toy bins, toys the kids don't even know they have, noise-making toys that require batteries!
* all but 25 favorite toys for each kid (sets count as one thing). This one is hard.
* Stuffed animals. They are nasty and collect dust. Keep one or two special loves. but not 50.
* Get rid of poorly written, insanely annoying or duplicate kids books.
* Get rid of broken crayons (yes, I know you can melt them to make block crayons. If you were going to do that, wouldn't you have done it already?).
* Get rid of things you have been collecting to do "recycled art" with your kids, unless you actually plan to do it this week. There will always be more.


JUNK EVERYONE SEEMS TO HAVE:* that bunch of random floating pens--give em to the grocery store clerk
* All those screws and nails that are leftover from everything. Can never find the one you want anyway.
* Get rid of blurry or bad photos (especially if they're duplicate prints), unless it's the one shot you have of a momentous event.
* Get rid of at least one rubbermaid of the Christmas decorations you don't like that have been heaped upon you because your inlaws can't imagine that maybe you want a simple Christmas.
* Get rid of the 9 extra cameras that haven't been touched since the digital camera was purchased.
* Get rid of the two "spare" computers that barely work, take 10 minutes to boot up, and sound like jet engines when they run.
* Get rid of the "spare" furniture (that entertainment center) that has been sitting in the garage and storage area since move in day, extra furniture, the ugly chair in my bedroom
* Get rid of junk mail!!
*Get rid of all outdated toiletries and make-up, products (cleaning and body) that are unsafe and lotions and potions you no longer use
* Get boxes loaded with books, DVD's, cd's and clothes OUT of here, before I start going through them and "finding" things I "need" to keep.
*Get rid of stuff you hang onto just because you spent a lot of money for those things, or someone else spent a lot of money for those things. If it doesn't work for you, get rid of it, even if it was expensive. Keep the lesson but not the item.

Friday: Arts and Crafts @ Indy

N had art at Indy today. They made Chinese fish kites and paper lanterns in honor of Chinese New Year. She had a little too much fun with the glue!


Her finished fish kite. The lantern wouldn't photograph well :(

Cooking and cleaning can wait till tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm nursing my baby and babies don't keep.
-Unknown

Just popping in to show everyone the simplicity of sisterly love.





I'll be back to blog later.

Shadow

N is adorable. She's like my little shadow. She wants to be doing exactly what I'm doing WHEN I'm doing it. Folding and sorting laundry, washing dishes, cooking.. I love it.


I feel so silly questioning my "beliefs" and general philosophy yesterday. I'm still a bit iffy but I do know the general way that I feel about things. Take it or leave it. I still don't believe in a "conventional" diety (God, Jesus Christ, Buddha, etc.), but I'm firm on my ground that I feel very in-tune with nature. This is more philosophical as I don't feel the need to WORSHIP the earth.. but I do feel that we should love and respect the natural world we live in.

Confused, Frustrated, need some guidance.

This blog might be a bit splotchy and rambling, and I do apologize in advance. This is all coming out of my need to find a better parent in myself, exploring the "Waldorf" way of parenting, and therefore questioning my religious and philosophical beliefs. Here we go...

For the longest time I've considered myself to be an athiest, or at the least mildy agnostic. I have come to realize that my beliefs (lack thereof, really) are just based on my rejection of the notion that there's some guy in the sky who's going to send me into a firey place to punish me, but still loves me. There's more to that, but that's the gist of it. I comfortably reject conventional Christianity. My mother was Lutheran and in her mind there was a God who she looked to for strength.. but she was never gung-ho on anything. We never went to church. I was enrolled in an evangelical pioneer girls club at a church and attended vacation bible school for a few years, but that was mainly for social purposes and my mother sent me there for that reason. I've never jumped into the depths of Buddhism or Islam, so I can't say how I feel about them too much. I do know that from what I know about them, their "key aspects" do not fit me.
When I was around 12 or 13, I began exploring Wicca and Paganism.. I found them quite wonderful.. I loved the emphasis on the earth. Now, i don't feel that I should "worship" the earth as a diety per-se, but I do feel very connected to nature and have a love for it (and always have had). I then moved on to high school and became too busy to focus on everything- I was a kid and had alot going on.. mother having a massive brain bleed during my Freshman year and then being diagnosed with lung cancer that eventualy manifested her brain and bones and who knows what else.. she passed away junior year... got transpanted to the south side with my dad, oh, and had a baby on top of that. I was... busy.

Now, I'm not so busy. I've got two children, and a husband who feels almost the way that I do regarding religion, only that he doesn't feel the connection to nature and just quietly considers himself an athiest or mildy agnostic as I put it. I see flaws in my parenting. I've always been quite natural minded, and really want to give that much to my children.

I began exploring parenting styles, seeing which categories I fit into and which qualities i'd like to adapt and adopt into my own parenting style. I also searched for homeschooling "mantras" as I'm hoping to homeschool my children. I then stumbled across Waldorf. I'm still learning alot so forgive me if I come accross as ignorant.

I firmly believe that children learn by doing, and agree that children learn by imitation. I don't know about the anthroposophical aspect of it though- I'm actually going to stop this blogright here because I feel the utter need to do more research before I open my trap.

Fotos

M and N


N coloring


M after nursing, lol.

Warm weather, where art thou?/Medicaid Rant/THRUSH!!

I'm totally sick of snow. Snow, slush, ugliness. It's a truly beautiful thing when it's crisp and clean on the ground.. but when it gets to the point where you have to tiptoe around your parked car to get in it to avoid getting crap all over your pant legs and inside your socks... it's time to say buhbye to the cold and snow. According to the weatherman, we're supposed to be in the upper 30s this entire week. I wish with all my heart we'd go up to the 40s.. so I could throw N in the stroller and pop M in the moby.. and just walk. To Walgreens for my prescription. To Target to get N some shoes or whatever else we need.. or to Jewel for milk. I just feel like I have 100% dependence on everybody else. I'm 19, mother of two, cam't drive and doesn't even own a car. I don't even own a bike! Tax money is unfortunately going to the bills because we got carried away last year and had to buy everything to get us moved into our new home. We also bought a new bed, fridge, TV, among other things. We're pretty far in the hole. And we need a car. NEED NEED NEED.

And now, for the promised Medicaid rant. Back in early December, I spent two days for a total of 8 hours (or more) in that office. They had sent me a letter stating they were going to cut my coverage and they needed proof of pregnancy. So, I walked my 38 week pregnant butt in there and gave them all they wanted to know. Caseworker said I'd be fine and I was still covered. FAST FORWARD to yesterday afternoon. I saw a letter from DHS and thought it was hubby's approval. Nope. They said they're cutting me off 2/1/10. WTH? So I called the caseworker. Mailbox is full. I called their supervisor. MAILBOX IS FULL. So I've got to spend next week straightening sh-t out.

Egh, anyways... M and I have THRUSH!! NOO!!
Yeah. We do. And it sucks. We're on Nystatin and diflucan and I'm walking around topless. Fun fun fun...

Getting along good- for now.

Everything is going pretty well. N is a wonderful terror that needs to be potty trained and M is a complete boobie monster. Story of my life.

I'm disappearing!

No, not really. But I did lose all but 3lbs of the weight I gained during pregnancy! That's right! I lost 20 whole pounds in two weeks. I am awesome. My incision also looks great :) Which I'm happy about.

M is doing good and breastfeeding well.

N is also doing good and driving me nuts! She's great though. She loves the play kitchen she got for Christmas and plays pretend very well.