Baby’s first car seat ride!

Did you know that you can use rolled up receiving blankets in a car seat to make the fit better for baby? Aftermarket products (those not actually sold WITH the car seat) are a BIG NO NO and should NEVER be used. But handy dandy receiving blankets can be and here’s how. Remember: Blankets should not be between the baby and the car seat, or between baby and the shoulder straps at any time.

Next to the baby’s head, like this (image courtesy CarSeatSite.com):























Next to the baby’s body, like this (image courtesy Car Seats For the Littles): Note that the picture on the left is a MISUSE picture.



Or between crotch strap and baby, like this (Image courtesy Louisiana Car Seat Mom):



For more on infant (bucket) seats, check out this article “Where does the handle go?” from CSFTL or this article, called “The picture guide to car seat safety” from the Daily Momtra.

Mom's Camping Kit

We have done a lot of camping this summer. Bear and Bug just love it and they’re at the age where they’re both reasonably fun to take out into the wilderness. I saw a great idea on Pinterest and knew that with all these trips, I’d have to try it.

The idea: Mom’s Camping Kit (seriously, this woman is BRILLIANT)

The verdict: I like the idea so much, I just might duplicate it at home!

My packing list is here. Obviously, this is just one year's accumulation. Emily, at Abide with Me (where I got the idea, linked above) has a much more extensive kit. Also, what you have would obviously depend on your family, the length of the trip, specific medical needs, etc. For example, we don't really have ticks or poisonous snakes here. If you did, you might want something in case of a tick/snake emergency. But this is a starting point.

Oh, and I forgot my last rule. No one touches it but me! Happy Camping!

Extra absorbency?

A friend asked me recently if I could use a g diaper insert inside a prefold for extra absorbency at night. I didn't have a cloth gdipe insert so I used a microfiber BG one instead. It's the same size and shape but you should NOT use it against baby's skin in real life because microfiber can irritate.

In any case, the idea had honestly never occurred to me so I tried it out. It worked great! It was a little extra bulky but might save you from nighttime leakage!

(Shown here: GMD prefold, Snappi fastener, BG 4.0 insert, Thirsties Duo Snap Wrap in Ocean blue)

Panther Creek

We went camping this last weekend with Mama’s family at Panther Creek Campground. We drove in and reserved a site that ended up being perfect, but that was not available to reserve online.

Perhaps in the future we can reserve it by phone. In any case, the kids both did amazingly well with the fluid schedule and lack of toys and Papa and I even got a few relaxing minutes to ourselves!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Bear spent hours playing with her princesses and faeries in a tiny village that Papa and I built…

…while Bug Bug just LOVED crawling around the campsite and exploring everything. With his mouth.

Unpaper towels

We ran out of paper towels a week ago. That is to say, the roll in the kitchen ran out and I was too lazy to get more from the garage. We buy the giant packs from Costco, you see, so there are always some on hand but lately, what should leave me feeling secure in paper towel wealth has instead left me with the Magog feeling that I am, again, creating too much waste.

So instead of just walking out to get more, I grabbed my husband's nearest ratty white undershirt (also Kirkland brand, thankyouverymuch) and cut it into 8 rectangles, each slightly smaller than standard paper towel size. If this were Pinterest, I would have then sewn backing and snaps on and wrapped them around an upcycled and bedazzled piece of PVC pipe... but it wasn't so I threw them in a pile over the cookbook holder and that was that.

And they're great! Perfect for small spills and they don't unravel in the wash. Tonight I sacrificed 5 more shirts to the cause and increased my pile size. We still haven't replaced the roll of paper towels but I imagine we will eventually. That or buy something with coordinating backing and snaps to fill the empty holder. Extra points, of course, if I paint chevrons on it first.

So fresh and so clean

Bug has been having trouble with Excema lately. At least, that’s what we think it is. The patches on his skin are barely visible but he scratches all the time. It’s been a busy few weeks with Little Bear turning three but some initial research on Google led me to find some articles indicating detergent as a leading cause of skin trouble.

Unfortunately, a little more research illuminated an important, yet discouraging, point.

1. Detergent is in everything. Literally.

2. “Detergent” is not just one ingredient.

3. People use the word “detergent” when they don’t actually mean it AND

4. Not everything that has detergent in it is labeled detergent.

Again, I haven’t done a ton of research on this but while I did, I came up with two laundry options that are both detergent free.

One is Zote soap flakes. They can be found at Wal Mart and are about $2.60/box (at least that’s what they are here). Several washes with this and several wash cycles with no soap left both clothes and cloth diapers smelling, well, like clothes. Even the diapers were totally fresh. I was initially a little worried because they have quite a strong citronella smell out of the box but it dissipated by the time the clothes were out of the dryer.

When I had a tiny bit more time on my hands, I followed this recipe from “Nature’s Nurture” for making my own laundry soap. This is an awesome blog but once again, the author is using the word “detergent” for something that is, finally, not actually “detergent.” Which is great for me! Anyway, it was easy to make, other than the fact that my arm got tired after grating the bar of soap (that’s a little bit sad, isn’t it). Also, all of the ingredients could be found at Wal Mart.

Now, I do want to note here that I am not in love with that specific store BUT my husband and I work full time and it was important to me to be able to find things locally. The ingredients used added up to probably less than $8.00 but I don’t remember exactly.

 

In any case, the castille soap comes in packages of three so I made two batches. I actually sort of miss the smell of the Zote, though, and as a bonus, it’s already shredded, so I might use that instead next time. And as for Bug? His skin actually seems better. Of course, there’s still the detergent in shampoo, sun screen, hair products, makeup, dish soap….

…but we’re getting to that.

3 years old

How did this happen? How did my tiny little baby become this… well, this child? This tall, thin, adventurous, creative, brilliant, and a little bit crazy child? It is so amazing to think that just a few years ago, she was barely anything in this world and now look at her. She’s going to go places, I just know it! I just hope she comes back home, occasionally, and hugs me like she did, well, when she was just three.

 

Looking back….

Happy birthday Little Bear!

And just like that, you are three.

We have been talking about your birthday for months. Ever since Mama’s in January, birthdays have been a BIG THING around these parts. We practice singing, we have a pretend cake, and there’s even an iPhone app for blowing out candles. Early on, we settled on a Fancy Nancy party. I say “we” because, while you love Fancy Nancy (and, certainly, all things fancy), I’m sure you would have picked a princess theme if I gave you complete choice over it. But Fancy Nancy was good enough and we set out to prepare a soiree.

Of course, the best laid plans, as you know, often fall through. But your uncles were kind enough to let me use their apartment (which is WAY fancier than our suburban home) and we made sure to write “black tie” on the invitation. You spent days deciding which dress to wear and whether to go with the silver tiara or the pink one (both, in the end). I even let you help decorate the cake!

And the party was wonderful. It was a gorgeous sunny day but even without air conditioning, the apartment was at a comfortable temperature. You were thrilled as each set of guests showed up and you entertained everyone by twirling, dancing around, and singing “You are my Sunshine.” The dress up box was a big hit, too, though our “photo booth” area didn’t get used as much as I would have liked. 6 other friends showed up, between the ages of 3 and 6. It was a perfect amount, as all of the other 25-or-so guests were adults. And I got a few pictures, despite only having one working camera.

But it’s hard, my love, because some of the qualities that I love about you, that you are determined and headstrong, make it really hard to take pictures of you. You have such a shining personality. Ever since you were born, people have commented that looking at you makes them happier; that there is something in your eyes that lights up a room. It is so frustrating not to be able to capture that on film and looking at these pictures made me sad for a moment.

And then, I saw this picture:

and I remembered how carefully you studied the snacks that papa bought before you chose some. You paid close attention to what was offered (all your favorites) before making your choices. I can almost see your little brain working sometimes and this expression perfectly captures that.

And this one:

and I remember how for the week or so before your party, you asked every morning if today was the day the children were coming to celebrate. You were so thrilled to see your best friends there to celebrate you and they were equally excited to be a part of your big day.

And this picture? Well this picture:

this is your smile. This is the smile that we see so often in real life and so rarely on the camera. You love to laugh. More than anything else you love everything silly, surprising, ticklish, or goofy. When you play hide-and-seek, you can barely contain your joyful laughter long enough for anyone to find you and you positively shriek if anyone comes close to nuzzling your neck.

I am so, so proud to be your mama, my little Bear. You are so smart and amaze us every day with your vocabulary and thinking. You are loving, empathetic, creative, determined, courageous, and thoughtful. I am so happy you enjoyed your party, even though it fell short of the one in my head and I hope that you remember, every year, how many people are so thankful that you are in their lives.

I know I am.