http://www.alittlekloep.com
You'll need to update your feeds and bookmarks (sorry!). Google Friends I believe you were able to come along for the ride - I hope!
I hope you enjoy our new home as much as we do!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
We've moved!!!...
So I've finally done it - moved the blog over to its own domain and off the blogger platform! Visit us over at:
http://www.alittlekloep.com
You'll need to update your feeds and bookmarks (sorry!). Google Friends I believe you were able to come along for the ride - I hope!
I hope you enjoy our new home as much as we do!
http://www.alittlekloep.com
You'll need to update your feeds and bookmarks (sorry!). Google Friends I believe you were able to come along for the ride - I hope!
I hope you enjoy our new home as much as we do!
The time has come...
...for a new layout, new URL, and new blogging platform! Oh the changes...
I've been wanting to try out Wordpress for some time now (ever since blogger stopped supporting FTP publishing) and just finally got around to setting things up. I started with my little kloep blog to see how it goes and if all works out, I'll move the photo blog later. For now though, you all will have to bookmark a new URL - http://www.alittlekloep.com.
I think my googleconnect friends should all just come along for the ride (at least I hope). Someone please please let me know if it doesn't update you to the new site.
Starting tomorrow I'm dropping a redirect on the domain so that you automatically get pushed to the new site. For now, consider this your warning:)
I've been wanting to try out Wordpress for some time now (ever since blogger stopped supporting FTP publishing) and just finally got around to setting things up. I started with my little kloep blog to see how it goes and if all works out, I'll move the photo blog later. For now though, you all will have to bookmark a new URL - http://www.alittlekloep.com.
I think my googleconnect friends should all just come along for the ride (at least I hope). Someone please please let me know if it doesn't update you to the new site.
Starting tomorrow I'm dropping a redirect on the domain so that you automatically get pushed to the new site. For now, consider this your warning:)
Shutter Love Tuesday!
I saw this weekly photo challenge while participating in the Trendy Treehouse Friday Follow and just knew I wanted to enter.
This week's theme is "Stuffed Animals". Growing up I had tons (tons and tons) of stuffed animals. So many that we put up shelving around the perimeter of my room near the ceiling and even that wasn't enough to contain the tide that was my stuffie collection. I'd take them all down weekly and rearrange so that no one would feel left out and so the other stuffies could meet each other (I had a vivid imagination??:) )
Even before Noah was born we started accumulating a collection of stuffies for him and the little hedgie above is one of his first. The little guy is about the size of a softball and worked perfectly in his "woodland creatures" nursery. Here he's using the plastic grass to hide from the stuffed fox!
Head on over to Trendy Treehouse to see other stuffed animals and hear their stories!!
This week's theme is "Stuffed Animals". Growing up I had tons (tons and tons) of stuffed animals. So many that we put up shelving around the perimeter of my room near the ceiling and even that wasn't enough to contain the tide that was my stuffie collection. I'd take them all down weekly and rearrange so that no one would feel left out and so the other stuffies could meet each other (I had a vivid imagination??:) )
Head on over to Trendy Treehouse to see other stuffed animals and hear their stories!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Big things coming....
It's been quite around here lately but for good reason. We're all on the mend now from the sickness that took over the house plus I've been working on something new for A Little Kloep! Hopefully I can get things situated, tested and ready for a big debut later this week. Until then things will probably remain quiet because these changes are taking up most of my evenings leaving little time to actually write blog posts.
Anywho...hold your horses, this is gonna be big...haha..
Anywho...hold your horses, this is gonna be big...haha..
Friday, June 4, 2010
Memorial Day Fun....
Or rather memorial weekend fun! My parents were in town for the extended weekend to enjoy their little grandson and enjoy they did! Look at all the fun we had...
All in all it was a fantastic weekend even if we (Noah and I) were getting sick (you can see how red his poor eyes were in the pics).
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| We snoozed on grandpa... |
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| We laughed at the baby in the mirror with gramma |
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| We manipulated grandpa with our pouty lip |
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| We kept trying to manipulate grandpa with our lips |
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| We made granpa feel better with a cute laugh |
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| We explored new toys |
Summer Shape Up and Friday Follow....
Okay, now that did come faster than the others - 4 day work weeks (turned 3 due to a nasty sinus infection) really skew your perception on the week! Anyways...two orders of business as usual - accountability and making new friends.
I like to be accountable first so here goes:
This week was a total loss. Noah's been fighting somethign which finally turned into a sinus infection and lucky me caught it so on Saturday evening a little tickle in my throat turned into a full blown upper respiratory infection. Knocked me on my can (and I'm still recovering). So, needless to say I didn't work out at all...heck, I barely made it off the couch for the first few days of this thing. The only bounus is that I wasn't really all that hungry so I was able to control my eating and account for the lack of activity in my caloric intake so all was not lost.
This was a hold steady week - no wins, no losses...
Stats for this week:
Week 1 - 142lbs
Week 2 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Week 4 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Week 6 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs! I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Week 7 - 137.5 - woohooo! Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!
Week 8 - 135 - Hallelujah! Real progress now! I don't expect it will continue at this rate but we'll see.
Week 9 - 135 - With no exercise all week I'll take a steady number over what it could have been
Okay, on to making new friends!!!
Two Friday Follows....
I'm also participating in the same Follow Me Friday I did last week from from Trendy Tree House.
Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.
Me? I'man almost a 30 something (gah!) working mamma who would love to ditch her mortgage in order to stay home with little man but sadly bought when the housing market was at its peak and probably couldn't even break even in the sale. Some day I dream of leaving the corporate world to do something more creative - like photography or crocheting!:) But for now amuse myself with hobby photography and blogging.
Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!
I like to be accountable first so here goes:
This week was a total loss. Noah's been fighting somethign which finally turned into a sinus infection and lucky me caught it so on Saturday evening a little tickle in my throat turned into a full blown upper respiratory infection. Knocked me on my can (and I'm still recovering). So, needless to say I didn't work out at all...heck, I barely made it off the couch for the first few days of this thing. The only bounus is that I wasn't really all that hungry so I was able to control my eating and account for the lack of activity in my caloric intake so all was not lost.
This was a hold steady week - no wins, no losses...
Stats for this week:
Week 1 - 142lbs
Week 2 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Week 4 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Week 6 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs! I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Week 7 - 137.5 - woohooo! Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!
Week 8 - 135 - Hallelujah! Real progress now! I don't expect it will continue at this rate but we'll see.
Week 9 - 135 - With no exercise all week I'll take a steady number over what it could have been
Okay, on to making new friends!!!
Two Friday Follows....
I'm also participating in the same Follow Me Friday I did last week from from Trendy Tree House.
Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.
Me? I'm
Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sick..sick..sick...and some randomness...
So, what started out as a clogged tear duct last week has turned into a full blown sinus infection in poor little Noah. We were sent home yesterday from the docs with a script for amoxicillin and antibiotic eyedrops.
What's worse is that due to my carelessness in dealing with the gunk in his eyes and when he sneezed and my endless need to snuggle with him close, I've contracted a lovely upper respiratory infection to accompany his sinus infection. I was sent home today with a z-pack, a stronger cough suppressant, and an inhaler for the wheezing.
The trifecta will occur when DH comes down with what we both have - which has already started. I'm pumping him full of vitamin C and Airborne to see if we can fend it off! Crossing my fingers. At least the antibiotics are free right now at our pharmacies:)
On another random note...I really feel old today. I'm waiting in the grocery store for my script to be filled and I see these two young gentlemen wandering around the personal care aisles looking lost (or that they were looking for something specific). I saw them later as I waited in the magazine rack and I asked if I could help them find anything (I know the layout of the store pretty well). One boy says to the other "haha...you tell her what we're looking for.." to which he responds..."um...no you". At this point I knew exactly what they were looking for but I wanted to make him say it. The brave one said - "we're looking for condoms". Good boy...way to spit it out there...haha. So I told him that it was three aisles back on the far end - told him to look for the womens sanitary products and left them to their own. About 10 min later they were back in the magazine aisle just milling around. I got the sense that they were trying to work up the courage to buy them (or to ask me to buy them for them). I was getting ready with my speech about how if you're not brave enough to buy or even talk about condoms then you shouldn't be putting yourself in a situation to use them when the pharmacist called my name. They were spared but I can't help but feel old now....
What's worse is that due to my carelessness in dealing with the gunk in his eyes and when he sneezed and my endless need to snuggle with him close, I've contracted a lovely upper respiratory infection to accompany his sinus infection. I was sent home today with a z-pack, a stronger cough suppressant, and an inhaler for the wheezing.
The trifecta will occur when DH comes down with what we both have - which has already started. I'm pumping him full of vitamin C and Airborne to see if we can fend it off! Crossing my fingers. At least the antibiotics are free right now at our pharmacies:)
On another random note...I really feel old today. I'm waiting in the grocery store for my script to be filled and I see these two young gentlemen wandering around the personal care aisles looking lost (or that they were looking for something specific). I saw them later as I waited in the magazine rack and I asked if I could help them find anything (I know the layout of the store pretty well). One boy says to the other "haha...you tell her what we're looking for.." to which he responds..."um...no you". At this point I knew exactly what they were looking for but I wanted to make him say it. The brave one said - "we're looking for condoms". Good boy...way to spit it out there...haha. So I told him that it was three aisles back on the far end - told him to look for the womens sanitary products and left them to their own. About 10 min later they were back in the magazine aisle just milling around. I got the sense that they were trying to work up the courage to buy them (or to ask me to buy them for them). I was getting ready with my speech about how if you're not brave enough to buy or even talk about condoms then you shouldn't be putting yourself in a situation to use them when the pharmacist called my name. They were spared but I can't help but feel old now....
MIA
I've been a bit of an absentee blogger the last few days! I have some great updates from the weekend but right now we have a house full of the creeping crud! Noah brought home an infection that we all promptly caught. So the last few days have been full of dr's appts, antibiotics, saline spray, bulb suctioners, Kleenex and bad sleeping patterns! Hopefully we'll be back to normal in a few days and I can resume normal my normal posting habits:)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Cloth Diapers - 2 weeks in...
So, first off - cloth diapers are addicting! Once you make the switch and get into the groove, you want to add to your stash and try different things out (well, I do at least).
We're two weeks in and doing great! DH's even stuffed a diaper or two and voluntarily put it on Noah! What's even more surprising is that he changed a poopy diaper and actually rinsed it out instead of leaving it for me!! I'm floored!! And as if it couldn't get any better, I went to change him this AM and realized that he had cloth diaper on him when I didn't put one on him at the start of the night. DH did it all by himself! (Noah ended up in a disposable because all the cloth ones were in the wash). So, needless to say, things are going well! Daycare has even commented on how easy these diapers are!
Our stash is almost exclusively BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers although I ordered two MonkeySnuggles one sized, three MonkeySnuggles fitteds, and a FuzziBunz one sized and am waiting for them to arrive. Plus we have a few gDiapers floating around here with reusable and disposable inserts. I still need to get a cover for the fitted diapers and I hope to one day know how to knit well enough to knit a wool soaker or two for little man (basically wool covers which breath better than the waterproof ones do - great for summer time here at home to let his little bum get some air)
So, in case you're still not convinced that cloth diapering is easy and worth a shot think about this. Aside from the obvious green benefits there's a cost benefit too to cloth. Figure it this way (i'm calculating based on Noah's average right now)
We use 7 diapers a day (give or take 1 or 2) x 365 days a year = 2555 diapers a year! (yea, i realized the heft of that when I was walking a 10lb bag of diaper trash to the can every week!)
If I get my disposable diapers on sale they're about $.20 a piece. So, 2555 x $.20 = $511 in diapers for the 1 year. Multiply that by the 3 years he'll probably be in diapers and we're $1533 in diaper costs - for one kid!
For the stash I have now here's the run down:
12 BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers @ $18 each = $216
2 MonkeySnuggles one sized @ $18 each = $36
3 MonkeySnuggles fitteds (seconds) @ $18 each = $54
1 FuzzyBunz @ $18.00 = $18
5 Hemp inserts for my gDiapers (which were all gifts) = $25
Grand Total = $349 for his life time in diapers (plus maybe hundred or so for replacement soakers etc down the road)! You can even do it cheaper than that with exclusively prefolds and covered or getting more used. I went for the more expensive yet more convenient and more like a traditional diaper with the pocket diapers.
Not to mention the space in a landfill you save and the fact that I can use these for our second child and then sell the ones that are in good shape when we're done using them (yes, there's a market for used cloth diapers and it's not as gross as you think!).
I just wish I'd done this sooner! I can't believe how many disposables we've gone thru (at least 500 in his first 12 weeks) and how much that has cost us (over $150!).
We're two weeks in and doing great! DH's even stuffed a diaper or two and voluntarily put it on Noah! What's even more surprising is that he changed a poopy diaper and actually rinsed it out instead of leaving it for me!! I'm floored!! And as if it couldn't get any better, I went to change him this AM and realized that he had cloth diaper on him when I didn't put one on him at the start of the night. DH did it all by himself! (Noah ended up in a disposable because all the cloth ones were in the wash). So, needless to say, things are going well! Daycare has even commented on how easy these diapers are!
Our stash is almost exclusively BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers although I ordered two MonkeySnuggles one sized, three MonkeySnuggles fitteds, and a FuzziBunz one sized and am waiting for them to arrive. Plus we have a few gDiapers floating around here with reusable and disposable inserts. I still need to get a cover for the fitted diapers and I hope to one day know how to knit well enough to knit a wool soaker or two for little man (basically wool covers which breath better than the waterproof ones do - great for summer time here at home to let his little bum get some air)
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| Half of the stash - the other half is in the wash or at daycare! |
We use 7 diapers a day (give or take 1 or 2) x 365 days a year = 2555 diapers a year! (yea, i realized the heft of that when I was walking a 10lb bag of diaper trash to the can every week!)
If I get my disposable diapers on sale they're about $.20 a piece. So, 2555 x $.20 = $511 in diapers for the 1 year. Multiply that by the 3 years he'll probably be in diapers and we're $1533 in diaper costs - for one kid!
For the stash I have now here's the run down:
12 BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers @ $18 each = $216
2 MonkeySnuggles one sized @ $18 each = $36
3 MonkeySnuggles fitteds (seconds) @ $18 each = $54
1 FuzzyBunz @ $18.00 = $18
5 Hemp inserts for my gDiapers (which were all gifts) = $25
Grand Total = $349 for his life time in diapers (plus maybe hundred or so for replacement soakers etc down the road)! You can even do it cheaper than that with exclusively prefolds and covered or getting more used. I went for the more expensive yet more convenient and more like a traditional diaper with the pocket diapers.
Not to mention the space in a landfill you save and the fact that I can use these for our second child and then sell the ones that are in good shape when we're done using them (yes, there's a market for used cloth diapers and it's not as gross as you think!).
I just wish I'd done this sooner! I can't believe how many disposables we've gone thru (at least 500 in his first 12 weeks) and how much that has cost us (over $150!).
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Dryer balls...
So, in our journey to cloth diapering I've learned that you shouldn't use fabric softeners and/or dryer sheets because it can stop your diapers (and your dish towels for that matter) from absorbing. So I was on the hunt for another way to keep my diapers nice and soft while not affecting their absorption.
Enter the dryer ball. There were two options for dryer balls - the plastic PVC ones with nubbies all over them or all natural wool dryer balls. Since the plastic ones can give off chemicals when heated I opted for the all natural version. I searched around the web and found lots of options on etsy.com. However, they were expensive - about $20 for three balls and you'd need 4-6 for a normal sized load of laundry I read. Being the crafty (or wanna be crafty) gal that I am, I asked Mr. Google how to make my own wool dryer balls and voila - the Goodmama had a spectacular tutorial to guide me along!
I followed her instructions pretty closely and am very happy with the results. You can see in the pictures below the balls ready for their first felting. I actually ran them thru two hot washes and then dried them. That got them felted up nice and tight.
The image below is the after the final felting before I started using them. They're about the size of a softball, maybe a tad smaller.
I've been using them for a week now and have noticed a difference in my drying times. Plus, my clothes are as just as soft and static free as if I was using dryer sheets. With smaller loads you do notice the bumping of the balls as they tumble in the dryer but I just close the door to the laundry room and forget about it.
I used 100% wool yarn I found at Michaels (Lion brand) and one skein was $8. I made 2 balls from one skein and still have a bunch left over (so much that I think I might get another ball or two out of it). So, for $8 and a few hours of work I have 4 dryer balls (I of course wanted different colors so in reality I spent $24 on yarn - but I have enough to make many more balls or even a woolie soaker once I figure out how to knit!)
So there you have it! It's a definite worth while DIY project! Especially if you're a knitter already and have scraps avail! Then you really get to use everything up and get your money's worth!
(i must mention of course the best way to dry your cloth diapers is on the line outside but as a working mom that's just not practical for us except for the weekends)
Enter the dryer ball. There were two options for dryer balls - the plastic PVC ones with nubbies all over them or all natural wool dryer balls. Since the plastic ones can give off chemicals when heated I opted for the all natural version. I searched around the web and found lots of options on etsy.com. However, they were expensive - about $20 for three balls and you'd need 4-6 for a normal sized load of laundry I read. Being the crafty (or wanna be crafty) gal that I am, I asked Mr. Google how to make my own wool dryer balls and voila - the Goodmama had a spectacular tutorial to guide me along!
I followed her instructions pretty closely and am very happy with the results. You can see in the pictures below the balls ready for their first felting. I actually ran them thru two hot washes and then dried them. That got them felted up nice and tight.
The image below is the after the final felting before I started using them. They're about the size of a softball, maybe a tad smaller.
I've been using them for a week now and have noticed a difference in my drying times. Plus, my clothes are as just as soft and static free as if I was using dryer sheets. With smaller loads you do notice the bumping of the balls as they tumble in the dryer but I just close the door to the laundry room and forget about it.
I used 100% wool yarn I found at Michaels (Lion brand) and one skein was $8. I made 2 balls from one skein and still have a bunch left over (so much that I think I might get another ball or two out of it). So, for $8 and a few hours of work I have 4 dryer balls (I of course wanted different colors so in reality I spent $24 on yarn - but I have enough to make many more balls or even a woolie soaker once I figure out how to knit!)
So there you have it! It's a definite worth while DIY project! Especially if you're a knitter already and have scraps avail! Then you really get to use everything up and get your money's worth!
(i must mention of course the best way to dry your cloth diapers is on the line outside but as a working mom that's just not practical for us except for the weekends)
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Swagger Wagon
Okay, I stumbled upon this today during the blog hop and am dying laughing...seriously, falling-out-of-my-chair-on-the-floor-tears-in-my-eyes laughing...
Toyota really has something with this Swagger Wagon campaign...
Toyota really has something with this Swagger Wagon campaign...
Friday Follow and Summer Shape up Check in..
Good golly these Fridays keep coming faster and faster...I feel like I just wrote this post for last week! Anyways...two orders of business as usual - accountability and making new friends.
I like to be accountable first so here goes:
This week I tried a bunch of new things and they seem to be working! I did a mid week weigh in and couldn't believe my scale so I waited until boxing to use theirs (it has to be spot on right? they're weighing these guys to match them up with other fighters...it's all official and stuff..) and if my shoes do indeed weigh 3 lbs then my scale at home was right!
This week I added Yoga Burn on my off days plus I installed a calorie counting app on my iPod. Between the boxing, the yoga burn, and the counting calories I'm making progress! I was actually able to get my wedding rings on! I didn't leave them on because they were still uber tight but we're making progress!
This week I'm switching to Pilates instead of yoga burn - gotta keep things changing so the body doesn't adapt!
Stats for this week:
Week 1 - 142lbs
Week 2 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Week 4 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Week 6 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs! I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Week 7 - 137.5 - woohooo! Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!
Week 8 - 135 - Hallelujah! Real progress now! I don't expect it will continue at this rate but we'll see.
Okay, on to making new friends!!!
There's a new Friday Follow on the block! Thanks to Ian, Harriet, and Tami we have an all new and improved Friday Follow! I'm excited to try it out! Maybe one day I'll even try for a host spot. For now I'm just a spectator!
I'm also participating in the same Follow Me Friday I did last week from from Trendy Tree House.
Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.
Me? I'man almost a 30 something (gah!) working mamma who would love to ditch her mortgage in order to stay home with little man but sadly bought when the housing market was at its peak and probably couldn't even break even in the sale. Some day I dream of leaving the corporate world to do something more creative - like photography or crocheting!:) But for now amuse myself with hobby photography and blogging.
Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!
I like to be accountable first so here goes:
This week I tried a bunch of new things and they seem to be working! I did a mid week weigh in and couldn't believe my scale so I waited until boxing to use theirs (it has to be spot on right? they're weighing these guys to match them up with other fighters...it's all official and stuff..) and if my shoes do indeed weigh 3 lbs then my scale at home was right!
This week I added Yoga Burn on my off days plus I installed a calorie counting app on my iPod. Between the boxing, the yoga burn, and the counting calories I'm making progress! I was actually able to get my wedding rings on! I didn't leave them on because they were still uber tight but we're making progress!
This week I'm switching to Pilates instead of yoga burn - gotta keep things changing so the body doesn't adapt!
Stats for this week:
Week 1 - 142lbs
Week 2 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Week 4 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Week 6 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs! I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Week 7 - 137.5 - woohooo! Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!
Week 8 - 135 - Hallelujah! Real progress now! I don't expect it will continue at this rate but we'll see.
Okay, on to making new friends!!!
There's a new Friday Follow on the block! Thanks to Ian, Harriet, and Tami we have an all new and improved Friday Follow! I'm excited to try it out! Maybe one day I'll even try for a host spot. For now I'm just a spectator!
I'm also participating in the same Follow Me Friday I did last week from from Trendy Tree House.
Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.
Me? I'm
Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
A little Sophie Action
Noah's starting to really play with his toys. He's getting the hang of grabbing them (although it's still hit or miss most times). This morning I gave him Sophie in addition to the rings and as you can see he was hell bent on shoving both simultaneously into his little mouth, along with his fist:)
This all ended in tears and then he fell fast asleep...I guess shoving all of your toys into your mouth at once is kinda tiring!
Books...books...books...
During my elementary school days I was the queen of BOOK IT!. Each month you'd have a goal to reach - be it number of books, number of pages, time spent reading etc...and when you reached it (as verified by your parents of course) your teacher would give you a reading certificate that you could exchange for a personal pan pizza at PizzaHut! It never hurts that pizza was involved but for me, while pizza was nice, I was jones'n for those stars for on my cool arse hologram pin! I think I filled four or five pins during my elementary school days. And I ALWAY wore it proudly on my jean jacket (along side my dinner plate sized Donnie Wahlberg pin). I'm actually glad to see that the program still exists and I hope that it continues to exist when Noah is old enough to read.
For now, I want to instill in him the same love for reading that I had. A generous gift from my co-workers enabled me to just about buy out Amazon and their book section! I grabbed a few of my all time favorites (Where the Wild things Are, Tiki Tiki Tembo, Ferdinand the bull) along with a few of the newer published books (Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh)
What were some of your favorites growing up??
For now, I want to instill in him the same love for reading that I had. A generous gift from my co-workers enabled me to just about buy out Amazon and their book section! I grabbed a few of my all time favorites (Where the Wild things Are, Tiki Tiki Tembo, Ferdinand the bull) along with a few of the newer published books (Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh)
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| Photo Credit Amazon |
What were some of your favorites growing up??
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Carrier comparison...
There are three major styles of baby wearing apparatuses (can you call it an apparatus?) - the sling (Hotsling, Peanut Shell etc..), the wrap (Sleepy Wrap, Moby) and the baby carrier (Baby Bjorn, ERGO, LilleBaby). Each seems to serve its own purpose and I've found that many momma's own two or more of these in various styles to serve different functions. I've tried 4 different carriers that cover all three styles and definitely have my favorites. Here's the run down:
HotSlings
This is the first one I tried when Noah was wee little. We took a walk around the block about 10 days postpartum. It fit tight because I still had a good deal of baby weight and I could never seem to get him situated where I was comfortable enough to take my hands off of him. I always felt like he was goign to suffocate. Come to find out, weeks later after I'd abandoned this anyways, there were a number of recalls on sling type carriers due to positional asphyxiation. Gah...My need to have my hand supporting him wasn't just me being paranoid!
I don't want to write this one off yet. But I am going to wait till he's a bit older to try it again. I'm sure it's great for carrying kiddos like the one below and it was comfy to wear. However, I was (and still am) worried that he's not strong enough to turn his head to breath if he gets turned wrong.
Moby
This was my second carrier. It's a wrap style carrier and I love love love it! Noah loved it too! I could fold him up in the fetal position and wrap him up against my chest where he loved to be. This wrap would turn a fussy baby into putty and put him right to sleep. This wrap was the only way I got anything done in those early weeks. I'd drop him in it when i needed to clean or get groceries or even go for a quick walk around the block.
It does take a few tries to get the tie right and I did find myself readjusting the wrap on a regular basis but all in all I love it and will continue to use it. I will say that now that he's bigger it puts a good deal of strain on my back because there's no real support. So, I reserve this for around the house and when he's super fussy. This isn't for long walks or extended pd's of time where you're standing/walking.
Kelty Wallaby
This was the first carrier I bought before Noah was even born. I had visions of DH carrying him around in this (because lord knows he wouldn't be caught dead in the Moby). We tried it a few times and it works well although I had concerns about Noah's hips. He was so tiny and it splayed his legs out at a weird angle. I couldn't imagine it was comfortable.
I did use it quite a bit to let him face out when I was too tired to wrap myself up (or it was too hot). Now that i have my ERGO though, this gets little use.
Ergo Sport
This is our latest carrier. It's also a "carrier" style like the Kelty with two huge differences. This one positions Noah where his hips are rolled under him like he's sitting in a swing. Much easier on his back and hips. And two it has a bib at the bottom that helps distribute the weight across my hips. I feel like I'm wearing my backpacking pack.
There are a bunch of wonderful things about this carrier that makes me think it will be our go to carrier from now on.
- It has great support. The hip belt distributes the weight perfectly. I can walk for miles with him in this and feel little fatigue.
- The straps are super cushy and comfortable.
- It's quick and easy to get on, even once the baby is asleep. I can get him in and out without waking him.
- You can wear this a thousand different ways (It does front, hip, and back carry positions depending on the childs age).
- It switches from hubsy (6'3") to me (5'3") very easily
- It puts Noah is a very natural position so I know we're not doing any damage to his hips.
The one draw back is that it has no forward facing position for a baby that has good head control. Noey like to face out sometimes and when he does I ahve to use the Moby or the Kelty. This one doesn't work like that (i'm not ready to do the hip carry with him yet)
We got the sport version because it's made of a different material that was said to be good for summer time. It also has a vent on the back to let air circulate. I did buy the Heart to Heart insert because it was recommended for children under 4 months of age but ended up not using it. The sport actually comes up high enough to support his head. Perhaps if he was smaller then I'd need it. I guess we'll see when we have our next baby:)
Overall I'm very happy with the choice to purchase the ERGO and I think it's safe to say it will be my last carrier purchase. Between it and the Moby I have all of my needs covered. Besides, I think DH will hurt me if I buy one more of these things:) haha..
HotSlings
This is the first one I tried when Noah was wee little. We took a walk around the block about 10 days postpartum. It fit tight because I still had a good deal of baby weight and I could never seem to get him situated where I was comfortable enough to take my hands off of him. I always felt like he was goign to suffocate. Come to find out, weeks later after I'd abandoned this anyways, there were a number of recalls on sling type carriers due to positional asphyxiation. Gah...My need to have my hand supporting him wasn't just me being paranoid!
I don't want to write this one off yet. But I am going to wait till he's a bit older to try it again. I'm sure it's great for carrying kiddos like the one below and it was comfy to wear. However, I was (and still am) worried that he's not strong enough to turn his head to breath if he gets turned wrong.
Moby
This was my second carrier. It's a wrap style carrier and I love love love it! Noah loved it too! I could fold him up in the fetal position and wrap him up against my chest where he loved to be. This wrap would turn a fussy baby into putty and put him right to sleep. This wrap was the only way I got anything done in those early weeks. I'd drop him in it when i needed to clean or get groceries or even go for a quick walk around the block.
It does take a few tries to get the tie right and I did find myself readjusting the wrap on a regular basis but all in all I love it and will continue to use it. I will say that now that he's bigger it puts a good deal of strain on my back because there's no real support. So, I reserve this for around the house and when he's super fussy. This isn't for long walks or extended pd's of time where you're standing/walking.
Kelty Wallaby
This was the first carrier I bought before Noah was even born. I had visions of DH carrying him around in this (because lord knows he wouldn't be caught dead in the Moby). We tried it a few times and it works well although I had concerns about Noah's hips. He was so tiny and it splayed his legs out at a weird angle. I couldn't imagine it was comfortable.
I did use it quite a bit to let him face out when I was too tired to wrap myself up (or it was too hot). Now that i have my ERGO though, this gets little use.
Ergo Sport
This is our latest carrier. It's also a "carrier" style like the Kelty with two huge differences. This one positions Noah where his hips are rolled under him like he's sitting in a swing. Much easier on his back and hips. And two it has a bib at the bottom that helps distribute the weight across my hips. I feel like I'm wearing my backpacking pack.
There are a bunch of wonderful things about this carrier that makes me think it will be our go to carrier from now on.
- It has great support. The hip belt distributes the weight perfectly. I can walk for miles with him in this and feel little fatigue.
- The straps are super cushy and comfortable.
- It's quick and easy to get on, even once the baby is asleep. I can get him in and out without waking him.
- You can wear this a thousand different ways (It does front, hip, and back carry positions depending on the childs age).
- It switches from hubsy (6'3") to me (5'3") very easily
- It puts Noah is a very natural position so I know we're not doing any damage to his hips.
The one draw back is that it has no forward facing position for a baby that has good head control. Noey like to face out sometimes and when he does I ahve to use the Moby or the Kelty. This one doesn't work like that (i'm not ready to do the hip carry with him yet)
We got the sport version because it's made of a different material that was said to be good for summer time. It also has a vent on the back to let air circulate. I did buy the Heart to Heart insert because it was recommended for children under 4 months of age but ended up not using it. The sport actually comes up high enough to support his head. Perhaps if he was smaller then I'd need it. I guess we'll see when we have our next baby:)
Overall I'm very happy with the choice to purchase the ERGO and I think it's safe to say it will be my last carrier purchase. Between it and the Moby I have all of my needs covered. Besides, I think DH will hurt me if I buy one more of these things:) haha..
Sunday, May 23, 2010
3 months old!
So here we are - 3 months old! My little Noey is growing up soo fast! We did our monthly photo shoot this AM and I love love love that he's starting to be more responsive and actually smile when I ask him to (or rather coo and make funny high pitched noises until he smiles).
So, here's the recap:
- We're all getting more sleep! He goes down around 7 or 8 and is up around 4am to eat then down again until 7 or 8 on most days (this is a relatively new development - normally he's up at 1am, 5am, 8am
- during the day he's eating 4 - 5 oz every 3-4 hours (we're up to 30-32oz a day!)
- he started daycare a few weeks ago and so far so good. He seems to be thriving.
- he's figured out a few of his toys - if he bats long enough he gets them to flop and make noise. It's pretty consistent now
- he smiles at everything - the walls, the drapes, other people (women especially - he has every woman in a 10 yard radius of him wrapped around his chubby little fingers almost instantly)
- he holds weight on his legs pretty well. He'd rather be standing than anything these days. When he's on his back he's just kick kick kicking those little legs.
- still very much loves his baths and actually tolerates diaper changes pretty well.
- he's obsessed with his hands. He plays with them, clasps them, stares at them and tries to fit both of them in his mouth at the same time. Now and again he'll manage to get his thumb in but he'd rather just his fist.
- is in size 1 disposables although we're not using a ton as we've switched to cloth!
- he's on the tail end of his 0-3 month clothes and fits most of his 3 and 3-6 stuff. I tend to size up on the pants due to the bulk of the cloth.
We didn't have a dr's appt for a well check up but did end up there for a sick visit (clogged tear duct) and found out that he's 13.5 lbs. He soooo doesn't look like he weighs 13.5 lbs...
I calibrated my monitor and I'm not sure I like it...he looks green in all my pictures....I'm hoping he looks normal to everyone else.
So, here's the recap:
- We're all getting more sleep! He goes down around 7 or 8 and is up around 4am to eat then down again until 7 or 8 on most days (this is a relatively new development - normally he's up at 1am, 5am, 8am
- during the day he's eating 4 - 5 oz every 3-4 hours (we're up to 30-32oz a day!)
- he started daycare a few weeks ago and so far so good. He seems to be thriving.
- he's figured out a few of his toys - if he bats long enough he gets them to flop and make noise. It's pretty consistent now
- he smiles at everything - the walls, the drapes, other people (women especially - he has every woman in a 10 yard radius of him wrapped around his chubby little fingers almost instantly)
- he holds weight on his legs pretty well. He'd rather be standing than anything these days. When he's on his back he's just kick kick kicking those little legs.
- still very much loves his baths and actually tolerates diaper changes pretty well.
- he's obsessed with his hands. He plays with them, clasps them, stares at them and tries to fit both of them in his mouth at the same time. Now and again he'll manage to get his thumb in but he'd rather just his fist.
- is in size 1 disposables although we're not using a ton as we've switched to cloth!
- he's on the tail end of his 0-3 month clothes and fits most of his 3 and 3-6 stuff. I tend to size up on the pants due to the bulk of the cloth.
We didn't have a dr's appt for a well check up but did end up there for a sick visit (clogged tear duct) and found out that he's 13.5 lbs. He soooo doesn't look like he weighs 13.5 lbs...
I calibrated my monitor and I'm not sure I like it...he looks green in all my pictures....I'm hoping he looks normal to everyone else.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday Follow and Summer Shape up Check in..
Gah! Again, here we are at Friday - I can't believe it! My week did go a bit slower than normal but still was blazing fast!
Two orders of business today as usual - Friday Follow and my accountability check! We'll be accoutable first (as always)...
I was down right sick this week! It all started with a very unpleasant incident at 3:00am on Saturday that I'm not going to get into and continued into a full blown cold - yuck! The lack of energy, congestion, runny nose, and coughing kept me from going to boxing most of the week. I did manage to get back there yesterday and even did some Jillian Michaels today (her 30 min Yoga Burn DVD is pretty good...I'm definitely feeling the burn..) but my success this week revolved around the fact that I'm counting calories...trying to be VERY careful about how much I'm taking in as compared to my output. Fortunately for me I wasn't all that hungry anyways:)
Stats for this week:
Day 1 - 142lbs
Day 8 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Day 24 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Day 38 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs! I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Day 45 - 137.5 - woohooo! Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!
I think next week I need to switch over to weeks instead of days....I'm having a hard time counting the days each time:) I originally started on days because I was going to do the 30day shred...ya, we see how long tha lasted! I'm still proud of myself for keeping with boxing though! It's still totally fun which makes me want to go even more.
This week I'm adding as many evening walks as I can with Noah as well as either Yoga or 30 day shred on my non boxing days. Let's see how that works!
Okay, all accounted for....on to fun things....this week I'm trying a different Friday follow group from the folks over at Trendy Treehouse (such a fun name)
Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.
Me? I'm an almost 30 something working mamma who would love to ditch her mortgage in order to stay home with little man but sadly bought when the housing market was at its peak and probably couldn't even break even in the sale. Some day I dream of leaving the corporate world to do something more creative - like photography or crocheting!:) But for now amuse myself with hobby photography and blogging.
Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!
Two orders of business today as usual - Friday Follow and my accountability check! We'll be accoutable first (as always)...
I was down right sick this week! It all started with a very unpleasant incident at 3:00am on Saturday that I'm not going to get into and continued into a full blown cold - yuck! The lack of energy, congestion, runny nose, and coughing kept me from going to boxing most of the week. I did manage to get back there yesterday and even did some Jillian Michaels today (her 30 min Yoga Burn DVD is pretty good...I'm definitely feeling the burn..) but my success this week revolved around the fact that I'm counting calories...trying to be VERY careful about how much I'm taking in as compared to my output. Fortunately for me I wasn't all that hungry anyways:)
Stats for this week:
Day 1 - 142lbs
Day 8 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Day 24 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Day 38 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs! I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Day 45 - 137.5 - woohooo! Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!
I think next week I need to switch over to weeks instead of days....I'm having a hard time counting the days each time:) I originally started on days because I was going to do the 30day shred...ya, we see how long tha lasted! I'm still proud of myself for keeping with boxing though! It's still totally fun which makes me want to go even more.
This week I'm adding as many evening walks as I can with Noah as well as either Yoga or 30 day shred on my non boxing days. Let's see how that works!
Okay, all accounted for....on to fun things....this week I'm trying a different Friday follow group from the folks over at Trendy Treehouse (such a fun name)
Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.
Me? I'm an almost 30 something working mamma who would love to ditch her mortgage in order to stay home with little man but sadly bought when the housing market was at its peak and probably couldn't even break even in the sale. Some day I dream of leaving the corporate world to do something more creative - like photography or crocheting!:) But for now amuse myself with hobby photography and blogging.
Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A little afternoon photoshoot...
The lighting in the guest room was perfect the other night right before Noah's bath. I tried a few pics with his cute little shirt on and then he told me he'd had it. So, we waited until after his bath when he was happy again (he just loves loves loves his bath!)
Mr. Hippo wanted to pop in and say hello too! You won't find any conventional rubber duckies here...we're all hippo!
Mr. Hippo wanted to pop in and say hello too! You won't find any conventional rubber duckies here...we're all hippo!
Monday, May 17, 2010
♥Monkey Minute
I posted a few days ago about Mission Monkey - well, the blogging community has really taken a hold of the story and are rallying behind Michelle and her family and Ian over at The Daily Dose of Reality is leading the charge! Today instead of the Monday minute they're doing the Monkey Minute and I thought I'd join in!
Have you ever peed in the shower/bath/pool?
Um...who hasn't?? We were all children at one point in our lives:) Now that I'm older I've learned better habits
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Oh boy...that's a can of worms that we don't want to open today (or in a post designated for good vibes...not bitching...)
What's the story behind your blog title?
The blog was started when I found out I was pregnant with Noah. At the time I didn't know he was a "he" or that his name would be Noah so I had to be generic. And since I lack the creativity to come up with something super cool and catchy , I went with a derivation of our last name.
What is your definition of success?
Wow, hard question for a Monday morning. I want to say that achieving the goal you set out to achieve would be success but there are times when that doesn't happen and you still can be deemed successful. For me it's not black and white...there are a lot of "it depends".
If you were famous, what would you want to be famous for?
My photography is the gut response. Being a catalyst of change in the world is the thoughtful response.
Head over to Ian's blog to join in on the mission!
Have you ever peed in the shower/bath/pool?
Um...who hasn't?? We were all children at one point in our lives:) Now that I'm older I've learned better habits
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Oh boy...that's a can of worms that we don't want to open today (or in a post designated for good vibes...not bitching...)
What's the story behind your blog title?
The blog was started when I found out I was pregnant with Noah. At the time I didn't know he was a "he" or that his name would be Noah so I had to be generic. And since I lack the creativity to come up with something super cool and catchy , I went with a derivation of our last name.
What is your definition of success?
Wow, hard question for a Monday morning. I want to say that achieving the goal you set out to achieve would be success but there are times when that doesn't happen and you still can be deemed successful. For me it's not black and white...there are a lot of "it depends".
If you were famous, what would you want to be famous for?
My photography is the gut response. Being a catalyst of change in the world is the thoughtful response.
Head over to Ian's blog to join in on the mission!
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