Cloth diapers rock.

In yesterday's post I told what happened with baby blowouts and disposable diapers. Later on that day, there was another blowout. I didn't know about it until I opened up the diaper cover.

Unlike the disposable diaper, this poop blowout stayed inside the diaper! His clothes weren't soaked with poop, it didn't leak through the diaper, through the diaper cover and onto the mattress, no. It stayed inside the diaper like it should!

May I also say, I'm glad I don't have to worry about running down to the store at 3 in the morning because I'm out of diapers. As long as I do my laundry, I'll never run out of diapers! The cost in water is significantly less than a package of diapers every few days.

There are daycares in my area that do take cloth diaperered babies, if that's a worry for anyone. I would definitely at least like a daycare that is open to it because to me it shows they care about the baby and not just your money.

That's my opinion! Do cloth diapers on your babies! Plus, the different diaper covers they make now are so darn cute!

I usually close with "until next time...", but today is different. I won't have computer access for the week so I might not be back until next weekend. Sigh. It's going to be hard for me. I'm sure I'm going to be computer jonesin' all week.

See ya!

Avisting we will go

I packed up the 8 year old and the newborn and headed to Grandma Popsicle's condo for the weekend.The newborn has a suitcase and a stuffed to the gills diaper bag, the 8 year old and I share a backpack. I didn't even bring the swing and the bassinet! How come the smaller the person, the more stuff they need packed?

Maybe I should have at least brought the bassinet though. My mother, Grandma Popsicle, assured me she had "something" for the baby to sleep in. I did wonder if it was a drawer, but was relieved at having one less thing to lug over to her house so I didn't question her further. It turned out not to be a drawer, but a clear plastic storage container with a blanket inside. The baby seemed fine in it, if a bit confused. I actually thought this might be a good idea for a crib. Clear plastic sides, no way to pinch a finger, no way to crawl out, put airholes in the lid and you don't have to worry about cats/dogs jumping in with the baby. Grandma Popsicle not only nixed my idea about mass marketing this product, but also warned me not to tell too many people about it. What? Why? It would be like the isolettes they have for newborns in the hospital, just on a grander scale. For the record, there's no lid on the baby's storage container/bassinet.

I forgot to mention I brought a small box of reheatable leftovers and healthy juices to Grandma Popsicle's as well. I have an issue trying to find food in her house, so I made sure to bring my own. She lives alone and I guess she doesn't really see the need to have actual food for meals in her kitchen. She does have a huge supply of popsicles though, hence the name Grandma Popsicle.

There's also the pan issue. It seems I can never find a pan in her kitchen. When it got close to supper time I decided the box of rice a roni looked more delicious than the reheatable lean ground beef, brown rice and corn I had brought for dinner. So I search through the cupboards to find a frying pan. After ten minutes, I folded. "Where does Grandma Popsicle keep her frying pan?" I asked my older son. "Look in the oven or the dishwasher." was his reply. Hmm, okay. Nope, not there. So I call Grandma Popsicle as she's on her way home from work. "Where are you hiding your frying pan?" I demand. "I gave it to you.". What? GAH! Her frying pan was at my house and I don't even know why seeing as how I have a total of 4 frying pans in my abode. However she assured me she was bringing a frozen pizza for supper. Figuring out her oven and trying to find aluminum foil plus a pizza cutter was an adventure I'll save for another day.


Despite the kitchen setbacks, I was doing okay. I still prefer my own house, but I was maintaining. Then I turned on the computer. Now, here's where my problem comes in and could no longer maintain an even keel. The computer I have at home has everything nicely set up on it. I have Firefox version 2, I have my StumbleUpon toolbar, my Delicious toolbar/icons, my blogger things all set up, everything is just where I need it for easy clicking. None of that on my mom's computer though. I didn't realize how lost I was until I tried to access what I needed through Internet Explorer. I couldn't just click on my Delicious icon to bookmark a page, I couldn't easily Stumble a post, I could do nothing! I attempted to download what I needed for IE to no avail. I tried for over an hour last night. Bupkus! Why was this so hard? Grandma Popsicle's Hewlett Packard is practically brand new so it should be able to handle these downloads. Maybe the problem was me? Okay, I decided to try harder to adapt to my new situation. After all, what if Firefox didn't even exist? What would I do then?

However, my attempt at adapting was a miserable failure. I gave in. First I tried to download FireFox 3 which Grandma Popsicle's computer had no intent of letting me do easily. With a gassy, squiggly baby in my lap, both of my arms sunburned and having only one hand available to type and click, it was hard. My usual toolbars weren't downloading. I tried to restart Firefox 3 only to be told there was an error. An error? I just had it up! I mulled it over and decided to go to Firefox 2. It's what I have on my computer at home. I purposely didn't download Firefox 3 because I was happy with everything I had configured on my computer and I didn't want to change anything. Maybe the computer Gods/Goddesses were telling me something. Firefox 2 it is!

Well, that's easier said then done. I couldn't believe the trouble I was having finding a Firefox 2 download. I finally found it and rolled with it. Ahh...so far so good. I recognize things now. Downloaded StumbleUpon toolbar, downloaded Delicious toolbar and my little icons, I even downloaded a new theme. Squigglekids, for those that are interested. I have a Cats theme on my home computer.

This took me about 2 and half hours, by the way. I was at the end of my rope. I didn't realize how much of sanity depended on my computer icons and Firefox 2. Having sunburned arms and a gassy baby, all right, but throw in Internet Explorer and toolbars I don't recognize and I am lost.

I started this blog around 10:30 am and it's now 1:45 pm. Despite having the computer finally set up the way I needed it, the gassy baby took up much of my time. He finally had a blowout though. Here is where I would like to once again spout the awesomeness of cloth diapers. I had a disposable diaper on the baby, thinking it might be easier since we were in a strange environment. Well, baby had a poop blowout and it shot of the disposable, soaked through the onesie, soaked through the futon cover and onto the futon mattress. All this in one shot. I'm surprised the baby didn't shoot off the futon with the force of the explosion. Now I had to get a poop soaked onesie off the baby. After I got it off over his head, he was covered in it. You know, with cloth diapers, this doesn't happen. When he's had a blowout with cloth diapers, it all stays IN the diaper! So I grabbed my supply of cloth diapers and covers, cleaned off the baby so he looked like a baby again and not a poop monster, then covered his butt with a cloth diaper and cute diaper cover. I got the baby done, threw him in his storage bassinet then proceeded to put the futon sheet in a plastic bag, the poop soaked onesie in a plastic bag and hoped I was done. I have plastic bagged everything but the baby.

I like visiting Grandma Popsicle, but I want my home computer back! I swear when I get home I'm going to smother it with kisses and give it a gift. Maybe a new desktop wallpaper. Computers enjoy that, don't they?

Wish me luck for the rest of the weekend.

When does this Feng Shui crap start working?

The other day I looked up various feng shui articles. I consulted a book I already own about feng shui placement and colors. I compared the various things and wrote down the items that the various articles and the book agreed on.

After I hung up pictures and mirrors in their designated feng shui places, moved the furniture to their "power" places, made sure my chi flowed correctly through the house and put "power" colors in the correct corners of the house I sat down. I looked around and saw everything was in its place. Ahh, perhaps now things will be going a bit better in our lives.

I can't forget intention. The feng shui articles said thinking about your intention when you do placement is very important. Picturing something happening is very powerful. So I sit and I picture what I want/need. For example, a check I'm waiting for to show up in my mailbox.

I already know I'm an impatient person. I'll admit to this sad fact about myself. I'm not one for waiting more than a few minutes for something to happen. Moving my desk to face a certain direction to improve chi flow didn't seem to have helped anything, though my mother complimented me on the arrangement of my furniture. If that's the most all this moving got me, I could have continued waiting for compliments from one of the three people that come into my home on a regular basis and not have built up a sweat moving things.

I just found out the woman who is supposed to send out the social security check, still hasn't sent them out yet. They are still waiting to be signed. Sigh. So much for feng shui.

Until next time...

Today's team member tip!

You may remember when I told my family we're a team!I have decided to start giving team member tips!

Here's team member tip #1!

When one member of the team (let's say me) sprays oven cleaner in the oven to sit overnight, make sure to tell another team member (let's say my significant other) before he makes french fries in it the next day. Especially if, let's say, the team member who sprayed the oven cleaner completely forgot about it until she came home from an errand the following day and saw her SO eating french fries. Then you can avoid conversations like the following :

Me/Team member: "Oh, you wiped out the cleaner from the oven?"
SO/Team member/french fry eater: "What cleaner?".
Me: "You didn't wipe out the cleaner I put in the oven last night?"
SO: "Is that why the oven was smoking?"

Communication is key, people!

Until next time...

Christian Bale's arrest and why it's a bunch of hooey.

This article on The Dark Knight's Christian Bale reminded me of something similiar that happened about 7 1/2 years ago.

My grandmother, well, tends to be dramatic. Let's put it that way. She decided one day she didn't like my significant other (aka Muffin Top). Why? No idea. She constantly complained he was "just a clerk" at a convenience store. Our plan, at that time, was to work for money to move back to Arizona from Boston. I worked at Starbucks during the day, came home at 2:45pm, got passed the baby and off Muffin Top went to work until midnight. He also worked 6 nights a week for the overtime pay. We weren't exactly looking for careers there, we had every intention of moving and hey, a job is a job!

She had no problem with him at first. Suddenly she started doing odd things. For example, giving him the evil eye and sighing heavily when he sat down in the room to quietly watch television with us. Sorry, I should explain we were staying with my grandmother at the time. You can read some details here. She would shift from side to side, crossing and uncrossing her legs, doing the sighing and shooting the evil eye at him. Of course, eventually, it just got uncomfortable and off Muffin Top would go back to our cave, I mean bedroom.

I really didn't know what to say at the time. I asked her what was wrong and she would just shake her head and sigh. Well, that's helpful. Then the "he's just a clerk" phrase started. Actually, he's a painter, but doing what he can for money at the moment. To me, she really crossed the line when she stood in the front door of the house, holding me and Muffin Top's infant son, and refused to move so Muffin Top could enter the house. She didn't look at him, acknowledge him, nothing. So he went around to the back door and complained to me about it. I went to my grandmother and asked if this was true. Yes, she replied. I asked "Why wouldn't you move so he could come in the house?". "I didn't feel like it." was her reply. With that, I took the baby from her and went upstairs. Nothing I had to say in response to her was really appropriate. It was extremely insulting to both of us, especially doing it while holding our son.

Flash forward to almost the time we're getting ready to make our escape, er, I mean move from Boston. I don't remember now what the deal was with my grandmother that day, but I remember she was in one of her moods where nothing was right. Muffin Top wanted to go up the stairs to where I was in our room. Apparently, she blocked the stairs. He decided to go by her anyway and ignore her.

Muffin Top was complaining to me about her not moving again. I was extremely angry, not believing this was happening again. Then I hear panting and my name from outside the room. I go out and Grandmother is there, hunched over, saying "My heart...my heart" and breathing heavily. Sorry dear readers, but I was instantly suspicious. She had no history of heart trouble and I found it coincidental this was happening immediately after she did something she knew I would get angry over.

Inwardly, I sighed. I asked if she wanted an ambulance. No, she just needed to sit she said. This was a woman who wanted to go to the emergency room at 11:00 pm because she took an expired aspirin until I convinced her to call Poison Control. For a heart problem though, she wants to sit it out. Riiiiigghhhht. Anyway, I was trying to be patient and sat with her until her "episode" passed. I kept getting flashes of Sanford and Son, where Sanford would grab his heart and say "I'm comin'! I'm comin'!" when he heard something he didn't want to hear.

So that passes and I go back in the room with Muffin Top. I figure this stupidity is over for the day. She got her daily dose of attention and managed to have a fake heart attack or heart problem or whatever is was, on top of everything. Shortly after that, my Uncle comes in our room with my Grandmother at his heels. Uncle tells Muffin Top not to touch his mother again! Say what now?! Somewhere in this, Grandmother had told Uncle she was either heavily pushed or hit, I honestly can say I don't remember which one it was now. I do remember thinking "and she conveniently forget to tell me this when I was waiting out her fake heart attack?". I don't think my Uncle believed her either, but he was in a position where he had to say something or my Grandmother would never let him hear the end of it. Muffin Top assures him he never laid a hand on the old bat (well, he said it nicer than that) and somehow everything is settled. Later, my Aunt says she doesn't like to say it, but even she doesn't believe her mother (Grandma).

When I read Christian Bale's tale involving his estranged mother and sister, I felt his pain. The poor guy was probably trying to get by them without acknowledging their presence and accidentally brushed against them. These two lunatics decided it was assault and got the guy arrested. GAH! Family, seriously, you don't have to like them, especially when they pull crap like this where it ends in arrest!

Until next time...

Framing Baby Onesies?

My chunky newborn is growing way too fast. His birth weight was 8 pounds 7 ounces. At his most recent doctor's appointment, which was about 3 weeks ago when he was two months old, he weighed in at 14 pounds 1 ounce.

Great, he's healthy! Here's my issue...he hasn't been able to wear most of his clothes! Before he was born I made sure to get some onesies. People gave me onesies as gifts, very cute ones! I dug through boxes and found some onesies that my oldest son wore, washed them and got them ready for the newborn. I was so excited for him to wear these outfits.

Lo and behold, at 8 weeks old, he had outgrown most of them. Did I say most of them? I meant practically all of them. He never got to wear 90% of the outfits!

I was trying to think of what to do with them. I was sad thinking about giving them away and also sad thinking about them being hidden away in a storage box. Then, an energy saving 60 watt light bulb went off over my head. PING! What if I got a few frames and framed my favorite baby outfits? Heck, I have a variety of colors, I could change the onesies in the frames according to season!

I'm thinking a black frame with white background. Three to start off with, square frames. I'm going to start with that and see how it goes.

Somebody suggested I make a blanket with the onesies, which is a good idea. However I would have to learn how to make a blanket. Framing the onesies seems much easier to me than learning how to crochet or knit or whatever it is you need to learn in order to make a blanket.

I'll update the blog with my project! I'm definitely hoping this works, partly because I want to do something useful with these cute outfits and partly because I really don't want to learn how to sew.

Hurricane Katrina math error?

A math error is the latest in a series of debacles by the federal government when it comes to the hurricane Katrina aftermath.

In reading the article, it also comes to the light that many supplies meant for hurricane victims,never made it to them. Instead, the much needed supplies sat in a warehouse.

Watching the horror of Katrina play out before me on TV, I came to many conclusions.

1. Count on our FEMA for nothing.

2. Don't expect George Bush to care about his people.

3. In the event of a city wide emergency, you're on your own.

So many innocent people died in the week following the levee collapse and the surge along the Mississippi River. They were all waiting for help that showed up much too late, all due to a President who looked the other way and red tape. I'ts really a shameful moment in our country's history.