It Ain't Easy Being Green

One of my on-going goals for myself and our family, is to be more green.

We've done stop steps to get us there.  We grow our own veggies in the summer, we compost our food, we recycle, we shop at thrift stores, etc.  We're doing things here and there to keep us more conscious about what we're doing to our wonderful earth and environment.

As a next step, I decided to give up shampoo for Lent.  I know, it sounds really strange.  I'm not giving up washing my hair, just giving up on the use of typical shampoo and conditioner.

Here's what we're doing instead.  (Yes, we.  Eric agreed to do this with me). 

A mix of baking soda and water is our 'shampoo'.  I've found, through LOTS of internet research, that boiling the water prior to mixing it with the baking soda is a must for me.  Before doing this, I sported a lot of ponytails.  Something about the hard water mixing with baking soda...it left a nasty funk on my hair and I didn't think I'd be able to keep this up.

And our 'conditioner'??  It's a mix of apple cider vinegar and water.  I tried to mask the scent and added some lavender essential oils.  Big mistake.  Lavender and apple cider vinegar is NOT a good combination, in my opinion!  Turns out, once you rinse the vinegar out you can't smell it anyways.

It took a few weeks for my hair to adjust...and I'd say we're still working on being fully adjusted.  It was a disgusting combination of greasiness and caked on baking powder.  It felt like greasy hay, was filled with static and took about 20 minutes to comb through, wet or dry.  But we are making progress!  And my hair is fantastic!  I have seriously gotten more compliments on my hair in the past few weeks than I think I ever have before!

One benefit is that we're doing our part to preserve our planet, our water supply, our future.  The other bonus?  It seriously costs less than $10 for over a month's worth of our new shampoo and conditioner!  In my book?  You can't beat that!

Fun Filled Weekend

We had our first experience with an ear infection over the weekend.  And it was awful!

I picked sweet Neva up from Becca's on Friday, because she had a small fever.  We went to the pediatrician, confirmed the ear infection, picked up some antibiotics and were on our merry way.  As the night progressed, she didn't eat much and was hard to calm.  Honestly, I thought that would be the worst of it.

About 2 hours after we put her down for the night, she woke up SCREAMING.  This is unusual for her as she typically sleeps through the night.  We took her temp at it was high, at 104.7.  We tried Tylenol, she threw it up.  Temp climbed to 105.1.  We tried a dose of Advil, more barfing.  And her temperature climbed to 105.7  I'm sure most of this was due to all the crying and screaming, but it scared the pants of me.  We tried cooling her temperature with ice cold wash cloths on her tiny little body...nothing was working and this mama was getting scared.

We ran to the ER because frankly, we didn't know what else to do.  Eric drove faster than he probably ever should have.  And Neva didn't seem to care or feel too badly any longer.  Her temp got down to 103 and she was in a relatively good mood once we finally arrived.  We were told that all the rooms were full and there were at least 5 people in front of us and that we would just have to WAIT.  My heart was still racing and I again explained that her temperature was over 105.  Isn't that concerning??? 

Neva quickly made friends with a little gal in the waiting room.  She was speaking Spanish to Neva, but with reminders from her Mom, would say the same thing in English.  It really was cute to watch these two little ladies interact, not caring that they weren't speaking the same language.  They looked at the fish together, played with our thermometer, talked about what they say...it was awesome. 

I fumed and fumed about how long it was taking and wondering if I needed to worry about Neva's perfect little brain frying...and 2 hours later we saw the triage nurse.  She informed us that with a temperature that high, we would have to wait to see the doc...even though her temp had come down to 101.  She just didn't feel comfortable letting us go with her fever getting that high.  She sent us back to the waiting room to sit...and wait some more.  She came back eventually and told us we were free to go, we had done everything right and if her fever got high again...to do the exact same thing.  Great.

Luckily, it didn't happen again. 

I learned a lot about myself this weekend.  Mostly that I don't function very well in stressful situations when it comes to Neva.  I was a hot mess most of the weekend.  Also, kids cry and scream A LOT when they're in pain.  That's not my favorite thing in the whole world  But mostly, I learned that I'd rather spend a day holding Neva and letting her cry and scream at me than to have to rush her to the ER on a regular basis.

For many of the families that I work with, this is a very common occurrence.  This is their normal.  I can't imagine being in that situation  I thought about these families as we sat and waited for someone to help us.  What would they do?  How do they handle just waiting?  It amazes me.  Parents of kids with special needs, delays or developmental disabilities are amazing people.  They may be difficult and challenging at times, but wouldn't you be too?  Wouldn't you just want the best for your kid?  Wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to make it all okay?  Isn't that just part of being a parent?

I swear, I won't take this for granted ever again.  She is amazing.  We are blessed, truly blessed.  And I love her with my whole heart.

Sweet, sweet sleep

I never realized before becoming a mom, or pregnant really, how amazing sleep is.  Thing is, in the past year, I've become very aware of how precious and amazing sleep is...and how much I miss it sometimes. 

Now, don't get me wrong, Neva is a fantastic sleeper...most of the time.  The exact days she started walking, was the exact day she started sleeping all night.  And it was amazing.  And it has been most nights...aside from teething and colds and staying out too late with her crazy parents.

This past week was one of those 'not so good' weeks.  I am not much of a morning person, so being woken at 5:00am, does not work well for me.  By the time I get to work, I'm ready for a nap.  There's not enough coffee in the world to help me get through my day.  And we had a few of those days last week.

On top of that, we had some middle of the night wakings.  Snot sucking, teething gel and a little bit of 'Little Fevers' were our go-to helpers.  Even then, after rocking her back to sleep, the second I crept towards her crib and started to gently lay her down...screaming, bloody murder. 

And then there's nap time.  Napping doesn't always go great on the weekends, you know because her parents totally kick ass and she wants to spend as much time with us as humanly possible.  But when she's not feeling well, holy moly.  It can seriously take and hour, hour and a half to get her to finally lie down and fall asleep.  And then she sleeps for about 45 minutes.  On a good day we can get a little more than an hour.

But yesterday, after fighting this cold for a week...she napped.  Like a champ.  For 3 whole hours.  It was rough to get her to go down and I thought, 'Oh great...here we go again!'  And then she did not move her tiny body for 3 solid hours. 

And last night?  Again, with the screaming.  And again with me thinking, 'This is going to be another one of THOSE nights.'  So I held her and rocked her and sucked some more snot.  And she slept for 13.5 glorious hours.  We were all running late this morning, but I'll take it. 

I'm also going to give some credit to the amazing blanket I knit for her before she was born.  I swapped out blankets during nap time, as I was looking for any possible solution.  Wrapped it around her tininess and she didn't move.  And at bedtime, same thing.  She wads it up and sleeps on it, like her own little body pillow.  Made with some good ol' fashioned motherly love.  Apparently, that will do the trick!

Sweet, sweet sleep.

My Favorite Time of Day

As a full-time working Mom, I have learned that my time with Neva is extremely limited.  We have a little over an hour in the mornings and in the evenings to spend time with her.  I hate that and I'd do anything to change it, but fact of the matter is...that's just not an option for us. 

I'm not a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is my new favorite time of the day.  We usually sleep until 6:30 or so, then she comes into our bed for a pre-breakfast snack!  After that, she is just the most fun!  She is so talkative and funny in the mornings.  She will repeat nearly anything we ask her to and will snuggle a bit as well!

This morning, she repeated names of everyone in our families, all the kids at daycare, all her friends, etc.  My favorites were the names with "L" in them.  I don't know what it is about them, but the way she said those names...kills me! 

She is learning new things everyday!  She is starting to recognize some shapes.  Knows stars and gets that one right every single time.  Also starting to get hearts and circles.  Smart, smart, smart.

On Tuesday night, we were doing our regular nightly routine (which is my other favorite time of the day).  We said our prayer, the same one we say every night..."Now I lay me down to sleep..."  And at the end, completely unprompted, she said "Amen!"  Following that we sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".  Little Miss took the lead on this one.  As I stood up to turn on her star light, she started swaying and babbling and ended every sentence with the word "stars".  She was trying to sing it herself!  She just amazes me!!!  I don't know where she gets it, but this kid is smart!!!

Over the weekend we got to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Neva LOVED to hear the kids singing "Happy Birthday" and tried to chime in!  Ever since then she will just stop what she's doing, start swaying and sing "HAPPY" repeatedly.  Again, trying to sing the song all by herself.

She is just amazing.  She's learning so much right now and is starting to express herself so much more.  It makes my heart full!!!!

Happy F***ing New Year

Okay, okay...I know I should have a better attitude.  See below for resolutions...  But one comment yesterday just sent me into a state of being super mad.  And super hurt.

I had a great day yesterday.  I took a day off...completely.  My office was closed for the holiday, but I decided to send Neva to daycare so that I could have a much needed, and in my opinion much deserved, day off.  I laid on the couch and drank my coffee, watched some crappy TV, drank wine at lunch and did some shopping.  All in all, it was a great day. 

I wanted to get some exercise, so decided to walk to Rebecca's to pick Neva up for the day.  I was walking with a friend and saw an old co-worker across the street.  We waved and said hello...no biggie.  I saw her again after picking up Neva and this is where things went south.  She came over and put her hand on my stomach and said, "It looks like it, so I just have to ask.  Are you pregnant again?"  I mustered up all the strength I add to not cry and laugh it off, explaining that I'm just carrying a little extra weight, I guess.  She laughed and told me it must just be my coat, which is not puffy or padded or anything.  She carried on, while my mind was spinning.  Do I look pregnant?  Is this what people think of me?  How are these few extra pounds that I'm carrying making me look like I may be pregnant?  Her final response being, "I knew you wouldn't get mad, so I thought I'd ask you."  Who doesn't get mad about a comment like that? 

Why is this a comment that's okay to say to people?  I really don't think this is a comment that should be said aloud, unless you are actually watching a woman give birth.  It's hurtful and stupid and can completely kill a woman's self confidence.

Such a crappy ending to such a great day.  I hope the rest of 2012 is better than the first day.

Christmas

Ah, Christmas. 

This year was tons of fun!  It's been so fun to watch Neva get into this holiday season.  She loves to point out all the lights we see.  She was a little hesitant of Santa after a Homer Santa interaction, but now loves to say "ho ho ho" or "oh oh oh" every time she sees a Santa.  She enjoyed her presents and had to play with or try on every single gift she opened.  Hilarious!

I, on the other hand, had a little bit more difficult of a time getting in to the holiday spirit.  Don't get me wrong, I was beyond elated to have 2 days (in a row!) at home with my little family, but I sure do miss all the family get-togethers back in Kansas.  I've been able to talk to my families during their get-togethers and have done some skype-ing as well, but it's just not the same.  And I miss Kansas most during this time of the year, every year.

And now we're back at work and I find myself in the post-holiday funk.  I would love to figure out a way out of it, but...will probably just pout for a few more days.  Everyone who gets to spend holidays with their extended families complains about the stress of being around so many people...but it sure can feel lonely to be at home, just the 3 of you.  You know?  A super fun-filled day can often be followed with an empty feeling at the end of the day.

But...at the same token, I'm truly blessed.  Being able to spend the holidays with Eric and Neva is amazing.  Much better than the Ski Co days when Eric was at work and I was often home alone!  And Neva?  She's a trip!  The 3 of us, sure had some fun over the past few days together!  They make my heart happy, even when I'm feeling a little sad.

And now the new year is quickly approaching....I don't know why time is moving at warp speed!  I have a few resolutions that I'm going to be working on this year and figured I might as well write them down here, so that I have to be somewhat accountable for them.

1.  Build confidence - I'm not exactly sure how to do this, but I'd like to give it a whirl.  Figure it has something to do with eating right and exercising, but also about being nice to yourself.  Not being so hard on yourself.  So, these are the things I'm going to be working on.

2.  Save some dough - I'm not very good at this, but this is something I need to work on.  That little girl??  She's not cheap.  And I imagine she'll only get to be more expensive so we need to start saving for things like cars, college, weddings, grandbabies, etc. 

3.  Be content - Again, something I need practice at.  During this time of year, it's especially difficult to not find myself being envious of what other's have or wanting more.  What I really want, is to be happy with what life has given me. 

That's my list...at least for now.  Happy end of the year everyone...wishing you all the best in 2012!!

Boobies!

Neva's new word this week....BOOBIES!  She knows that she has them, but not anyone else...and I'd like to keep it that way!  I'm sure this isn't the most appropriate thing for a 15 month old to be saying, but it sure makes me giggle!  I know, I know, we need to start watching what we say around her.  But I just can't help it! 

She's picking up all kinds of new things recently...she loves to lie on her belly and color.

She will shake hands when she meets new people and we say, "Nice to meet you". 

She LOVES to hug our pets.  Specifically Bella and will take her to the ground, but she also likes to hug Risa.  Otis on the other hand, I'm not sure that she knows that he lives at our house.  And since this is for Neva...I thought I'd put up some pics of our beloved pets, so that she'll always remember them!

Bella...showing us just how important she is by sleeping in our bed

Risa all snuggled up on a Boppy

The one, the only...Otis

A new baby started at her daycare and she likes to 'help' with her.  She'll bring her toys that she can't reach, go to her when she cries...quite the little mama hen we have on her hands.  She likes to do the same things at home, with her baby dolls.  She feeds them and helps them go "night night".   It is so amazing to watch her take care of babies.  Really...already?  Where does she come up with this stuff???