It seems that Pete and I have heard many times that we tease, pick, bicker, etc with each other too much. The truth is we do this out of extreme love and we wouldn't really feel as close if we didn't do this. Perhaps it is a thing of age because growing up I remember doing this with my friends, the loving little sarcastic comments made us feel like we were part of a group. So Pete and I enjoy each other tremendously and it makes us feel special, honestly when we use our daily sarcasm or teases. I suppose we need to start limiting it when we aren't just alone together. But I will have to say that if a day went by when my husband didn't tease me about my height, cloth diapering (okay I could go with out that), racewalking, or whether or not I have showered I would think something was wrong.
So the point is I suppose that we do this out of love. We don't argue alot, in fact I can probably count on my hand how many times Pete and I have had a big argument. We frustrate each other frequently and annoy each other quite often. So perhaps our teasing or picking is our little way of venting to each other. I don't know, but it works and we have fun.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Trying some watermarked photos
Okay I am trying to post some watermarked photos. The first photo is what Celia does when she sees Pete come home or leave.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Costsaving Tips and Going Green, Part 1
Okay I know this isn't the most exciting post but I wanted to share. I really should be doing other things at the moment too but I am procrastinating those things.
Cleaning:
Clean with vinegar, buy it by the gallon!! I use it for a general cleaner and as a laundry booster/ fabric softener. It is super cheap, offers no harsh fumes or chemicals, and really works. Add a little salt to it and you have a good abrasive cleaner for those tough stains.
Paper products- don't use unless necessary. I have tried to cut down on using them. It is actualy easier to clean the bathroom with an old hand towel then a paper towel. I still reach for them, but I am trying to stop. Paperplates- stop using them. I have totally eliminated them and it is just as easier to use a plate and pop it in the dishwasher.
Microfiber towels- I don't need endust or other dust cleaners. Automotive microfiber towels are awesome. Actualy they are absorbant to so they are great for picking up spills.
Here is a link for some more budget friendly/ ecofriendly cleansers
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html
Laundry: Fabric softener is actualy bad for your clothes. If you buy some dryer balls (about $5-7) they will fluff your clothes and not leave a residue. You save money on fabric sheets and you make your clothes last longer. Celia is currently playing with our dryer balls because I couldn't take the noise. I am looking for some soft ones. So we have cut our dryer sheets in half, they work the same. In general you do not have to use as much laundry detergent as you think. Decrease the amount of deteregent you are using by just an 1/8th or a 1/4 and see if you get the same results. Reuse fabric sheets if you use them, they are great electronics cleaners, just swipe across the surface and they pick up lint!
Water: Okay can't help you there a whole lot because we use a ton of it. So the only solution I could think of is, shower together. Celia and I did it yesterday.
Groceries: Buy frozen veggies. They are actual supposed to be better for you because they are picked at the height of freshness and then frozen shortly after that. They are a great deal cheaper right now. Not to mention the fact that they take alot longer to go bad in the freezer!!
Food- Plan meals for a week or two. Pasta, beans, and rice are cheap alternatives to meat. Chicken prices are going to go up so stock up now. One cheap recipe:
Bean Burritos
Black Beans
1 TB Minced Garlic
Light Mayo
Salsa
Chili Powder
Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese
Heat black beans in some olive oil with 1 Tb minced Garlic. Mix together about 1 cup salsa, 2 Tb Mayo, and a dash (or more) of chili powder. Put the beans on the tortilla, add salsa mix, and some cheddar cheese. Fold over tortilla and then cook in a skillit. Cook until the cheese melts, flipping once.
We had them last night and they were great.
Okay enough for now. Ms. Celia is doing wonderful. She helped me get some things from my classroom and had a great time. Of course she was trying to unpack when I was packing!
Cleaning:
Clean with vinegar, buy it by the gallon!! I use it for a general cleaner and as a laundry booster/ fabric softener. It is super cheap, offers no harsh fumes or chemicals, and really works. Add a little salt to it and you have a good abrasive cleaner for those tough stains.
Paper products- don't use unless necessary. I have tried to cut down on using them. It is actualy easier to clean the bathroom with an old hand towel then a paper towel. I still reach for them, but I am trying to stop. Paperplates- stop using them. I have totally eliminated them and it is just as easier to use a plate and pop it in the dishwasher.
Microfiber towels- I don't need endust or other dust cleaners. Automotive microfiber towels are awesome. Actualy they are absorbant to so they are great for picking up spills.
Here is a link for some more budget friendly/ ecofriendly cleansers
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html
Laundry: Fabric softener is actualy bad for your clothes. If you buy some dryer balls (about $5-7) they will fluff your clothes and not leave a residue. You save money on fabric sheets and you make your clothes last longer. Celia is currently playing with our dryer balls because I couldn't take the noise. I am looking for some soft ones. So we have cut our dryer sheets in half, they work the same. In general you do not have to use as much laundry detergent as you think. Decrease the amount of deteregent you are using by just an 1/8th or a 1/4 and see if you get the same results. Reuse fabric sheets if you use them, they are great electronics cleaners, just swipe across the surface and they pick up lint!
Water: Okay can't help you there a whole lot because we use a ton of it. So the only solution I could think of is, shower together. Celia and I did it yesterday.
Groceries: Buy frozen veggies. They are actual supposed to be better for you because they are picked at the height of freshness and then frozen shortly after that. They are a great deal cheaper right now. Not to mention the fact that they take alot longer to go bad in the freezer!!
Food- Plan meals for a week or two. Pasta, beans, and rice are cheap alternatives to meat. Chicken prices are going to go up so stock up now. One cheap recipe:
Bean Burritos
Black Beans
1 TB Minced Garlic
Light Mayo
Salsa
Chili Powder
Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese
Heat black beans in some olive oil with 1 Tb minced Garlic. Mix together about 1 cup salsa, 2 Tb Mayo, and a dash (or more) of chili powder. Put the beans on the tortilla, add salsa mix, and some cheddar cheese. Fold over tortilla and then cook in a skillit. Cook until the cheese melts, flipping once.
We had them last night and they were great.
Okay enough for now. Ms. Celia is doing wonderful. She helped me get some things from my classroom and had a great time. Of course she was trying to unpack when I was packing!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Okay, budget costing post comes later- this one is about Gator Wrestling
I have learned how to Gator wrestle, or I am learning. I can't say that I am very good at it yet. The Gator is a small wirey thing, only in the 20th percentile for weight but strong. It can wiggle like no other being out there and when you try to wrestle it, it often ends up standing on it's head. So the wrestle itself often involves too people- one to handle the head area and one to handle the bottom area. It is especialy difficult if the Gator is wet, which Pete and I had to do last night after we gave it a bath.
Okay, okay, our Gator is really Celia. Diaper changes and getting dressed has become interesting at some points. She has no issues what so ever with undressing. She loves to go around naked and it is funny to see her naked tushie crawling around. But when it comes to put her diaper on or a shirt on, forget it. She turns into this screaming, wiggly, thrashing Gator. I have started trying to stand her up while she holds onto something and put the diaper on. But that certainly doesn't solve the getting dressed problem. At some points she wiggles and arches her back so much that she is standing on her head. We need to videotape it, we really do. A couple days ago Celia would not let me put her diaper on so I gave up and let her go naked for a short time. What does she do? She crawls over to the changing pad, stands up with my help and pees. She got very excited too, she liked seeing the water come out. Then she laid down for me and had no issue getting her diaper on. I told her that she was more then welcome to potty learn now if she had an issue with diapers. So far she hasn't headed for the bathroom yet.
So that is my little snippit on Gator wrestling.
Okay, okay, our Gator is really Celia. Diaper changes and getting dressed has become interesting at some points. She has no issues what so ever with undressing. She loves to go around naked and it is funny to see her naked tushie crawling around. But when it comes to put her diaper on or a shirt on, forget it. She turns into this screaming, wiggly, thrashing Gator. I have started trying to stand her up while she holds onto something and put the diaper on. But that certainly doesn't solve the getting dressed problem. At some points she wiggles and arches her back so much that she is standing on her head. We need to videotape it, we really do. A couple days ago Celia would not let me put her diaper on so I gave up and let her go naked for a short time. What does she do? She crawls over to the changing pad, stands up with my help and pees. She got very excited too, she liked seeing the water come out. Then she laid down for me and had no issue getting her diaper on. I told her that she was more then welcome to potty learn now if she had an issue with diapers. So far she hasn't headed for the bathroom yet.
So that is my little snippit on Gator wrestling.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Celia Happenings and diapering
Celia is showing us more and more of her little personality lately. Right now she is babbling away, almost humming in her toy corner playing with her whoozit, a green ball, and a toy that my Mom got her that has things to open and close and push. Yesterday she played for 30 min. with a dryer ball and a clothes pin. She crawled around with them, put them up high and low, and help them up in the air. Celia likes to hold things up in the air and make some sort of proud babbly sound as if to say "Look what I have" or "Can you believe what I have!" Yesterday when we arrived back from visiting a friend a package of some of her diapers had arrived. When I opened them she quickly grabbed one and held it up as if to say "I got new diapers!!" It was funny at the time.
What diapers did I get her? Snugglebottoms. They are fitted diapers that require a cover. It irritates me that even though I spent a great deal of time before I started cloth diapering researching the easiest way to diaper and the most economical, that I am finding that I missed alot! Well I thought Pete would change more diapers so I ordered alot of pockets. Pocket diapers require you to stuff an insert into them to make them absorbant then they basically function the same as a disposable diaper. I stuff them when they come out of the dryer. My favorite pocket diaper is Bumgenius 3.0 (yes there was a 1.0 and a 2.0 and I am sure there will be a 4.0). That diaper can really hold it all, 3 hrs plus. It is onesize too, so it lasts until she potty learns. That is right folks evidently it is not called potty training anymore it is "potty learning".
Okay boring cloth diaper infomorcerial here:
In anycase in the beginning I listened to my Mom (no offense Mom) and some other people as they said that the diapers they used when they had kids were awful. So I avoided flat diapers and prefold diapers (think old school diapers that were pinned). However I discovered that they don't use pins anymore they use something called a snappi (looks like a T and grabs the fabric with plastic teeth). The covers now are wonderful and hold alot in. So prefolds and flats are actualy the easiest when it comes to wash and drying. For the next one, I will be doing prefolds. They are cheap- 12 for $25. Oh but back to the Snugglebottoms. They are plain white fitted diapers but at less then $5 a piece are a great deal. We will see if they fit, they are looking a little big. The covers that you use with fitted diapers, prefolds, or flats are reusable. So you only need 1 or 2.
The cloth diapering industry is growing fast and I think even faster with the economy the way that it is. Kimberly Clark announced (Pampers, etc) that they will raise prices 8-20% in the next few months. You spend alot initialy on cloth and I even have a hard time with the initial cost, however if you look at the longterm costs you can save more then $2000 using cloth. More if you can save your diapers for the next child. Isn't it alot of work you ask? 2-3 extra loads of laundry a week and a few minutes stuffing pockets while watching tv- that is it! The poop factor. Well before Celia ate solids it just all was thrown in the washing machine. Now I use liners and if they are too bad, they just get tossed. No big deal. The big factor, diapering is not boring. There are so many cute ones you can get, even customized ones!
What diapers did I get her? Snugglebottoms. They are fitted diapers that require a cover. It irritates me that even though I spent a great deal of time before I started cloth diapering researching the easiest way to diaper and the most economical, that I am finding that I missed alot! Well I thought Pete would change more diapers so I ordered alot of pockets. Pocket diapers require you to stuff an insert into them to make them absorbant then they basically function the same as a disposable diaper. I stuff them when they come out of the dryer. My favorite pocket diaper is Bumgenius 3.0 (yes there was a 1.0 and a 2.0 and I am sure there will be a 4.0). That diaper can really hold it all, 3 hrs plus. It is onesize too, so it lasts until she potty learns. That is right folks evidently it is not called potty training anymore it is "potty learning".
Okay boring cloth diaper infomorcerial here:
In anycase in the beginning I listened to my Mom (no offense Mom) and some other people as they said that the diapers they used when they had kids were awful. So I avoided flat diapers and prefold diapers (think old school diapers that were pinned). However I discovered that they don't use pins anymore they use something called a snappi (looks like a T and grabs the fabric with plastic teeth). The covers now are wonderful and hold alot in. So prefolds and flats are actualy the easiest when it comes to wash and drying. For the next one, I will be doing prefolds. They are cheap- 12 for $25. Oh but back to the Snugglebottoms. They are plain white fitted diapers but at less then $5 a piece are a great deal. We will see if they fit, they are looking a little big. The covers that you use with fitted diapers, prefolds, or flats are reusable. So you only need 1 or 2.
The cloth diapering industry is growing fast and I think even faster with the economy the way that it is. Kimberly Clark announced (Pampers, etc) that they will raise prices 8-20% in the next few months. You spend alot initialy on cloth and I even have a hard time with the initial cost, however if you look at the longterm costs you can save more then $2000 using cloth. More if you can save your diapers for the next child. Isn't it alot of work you ask? 2-3 extra loads of laundry a week and a few minutes stuffing pockets while watching tv- that is it! The poop factor. Well before Celia ate solids it just all was thrown in the washing machine. Now I use liners and if they are too bad, they just get tossed. No big deal. The big factor, diapering is not boring. There are so many cute ones you can get, even customized ones!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Showers are so yesterday
So this morning Pete decides that he is not going to workout and sleeps in an extra hour. Okay, that is fine with me. However when he wakes up he of course announces that he is going to do what he always does for about 20 min each morning in his "office" then take a shower. I comment that I might take my shower while he is in his "office". Well, Pete didn't like that idea. You see our hot water sucks, we never know when we will have an unlimited amount or about 10 min. worth of it. I secretly think our neighbor mooches off of our hot water. So we negotiated, he took a quick shower and I took one afterward and luckily it was one of those unlimited hot shower days. However Pete was very disturbed when I told him the reason I couldn't take his initial suggestion of showering tonight because I hadn't been able to shower yesterday. This occurs on many occasions and each time Pete is shocked, "That is gross, your female".. Okay I can't say I am excited that there are days in which I don't get a shower. But with a very active Celia it limits the times that I can shower. If I shower during her nap time I risk waking her up and if I do it while she is awake that leads to all sorts of questionable trouble. Last time I did that she crawled into the bathroom, parked herself on my bath mat and proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs.
So yes I am gross but the truth is, who cares. I take care of things and have had no complaints on smell. I think my husband is not one to comment on the subject because at one point he was showering 2x in the morning, with in a few hours. He would wake up, take a shower, go work out and take another shower. It took awhile to convince him that it seemed a bit ridiculous.
But I often think that Pete wouldn't be so terribly disturbed over the showering issue if I was more feminine female. So I don't like shopping, wearing jewelry, never wear make up, and enjoy doing home repairs. He saves money and doesn't have to do a lot around the house..
So Pete is also distraught over my latest big project- my annual clean out the house project. I did it last year this time and he called it nesting. Now what is he going to call it? He probably has some choice words. I have discovered that at current count he has over 25 books that he has bought and never read. So we now have a "library" shelf for Pete to pick books from. Maybe it is a guy thing, I don't know. But I have been able to get him to thin his collection of books, finally!! But in general, this is stressing him out. I haven't told him yet that I am moving my cleaning out project to the upstairs in the next few days...
In any case, a bit of a boring post I suppose. Ms. Celia is still a riot. We picked up her hoppy frog canopy blow up pool from Target yesterday. We don't know when we will get to use it as the temperature now seems to be actually too hot for swimming- 99 on Monday.
So yes I am gross but the truth is, who cares. I take care of things and have had no complaints on smell. I think my husband is not one to comment on the subject because at one point he was showering 2x in the morning, with in a few hours. He would wake up, take a shower, go work out and take another shower. It took awhile to convince him that it seemed a bit ridiculous.
But I often think that Pete wouldn't be so terribly disturbed over the showering issue if I was more feminine female. So I don't like shopping, wearing jewelry, never wear make up, and enjoy doing home repairs. He saves money and doesn't have to do a lot around the house..
So Pete is also distraught over my latest big project- my annual clean out the house project. I did it last year this time and he called it nesting. Now what is he going to call it? He probably has some choice words. I have discovered that at current count he has over 25 books that he has bought and never read. So we now have a "library" shelf for Pete to pick books from. Maybe it is a guy thing, I don't know. But I have been able to get him to thin his collection of books, finally!! But in general, this is stressing him out. I haven't told him yet that I am moving my cleaning out project to the upstairs in the next few days...
In any case, a bit of a boring post I suppose. Ms. Celia is still a riot. We picked up her hoppy frog canopy blow up pool from Target yesterday. We don't know when we will get to use it as the temperature now seems to be actually too hot for swimming- 99 on Monday.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Ramblings
Celia is 9 months tomorrow and that saddens me because it means less then 3 months left with her. I am returning to work in September hopefully for just one year. The thought of handing her over to someone to watch her and spend more time with her then I will is very depressing. However with Gas likely to reach $5 by September and my inability to get the grocery bill under $80 each week, it just isn't realistic. I have thought about marketing Celia, you know swim suit modeling, 5 kisses for $10, that sort of thing. It doesn't look like Pete is on the list as Warren Buffet's replacement either (his company is owned by the money maker). She will be one of five babies in a room at our church daycare. The pastor visits them on Wednesday for a little bit of worship which sounds very sweet. Celia will go to church more then Pete and I!! So she will survive and I will survive. If we aren't then I will just resign, there is a nice little bit of relief about that. But hopefully our plan will work and I will go back for one year, we will put away more money and I will stay home for a few years. During that time hopefully there will be a second at some point.
So today is my school's graduation and Celia and are going to attend. I always love to watch our graduation however it is followed with a deep saddness for these students. Unlike a typical highschool graduation the future of my students is not as bright. The parents sit in the auditorium with the knowledge that planned programming for their child has ended. Hopefully most have plans for their future but alot of our parents are still searching for a place for their child. For those who don't know- My school is a special education center and I work in the Multiple Disability Support program. Our students have a wide range of abilities but all of the students have moderate mental retardation or lower and most have behavioral and physical disabilities. So in the search for group homes to care for their children, alot of our parents find that there are not many resources. Work programs are typically not an option for most students and many group homes will not deal with a 21 year old with behavior problems. So we all sit in graduation, proud of their accomplishments over the years and hope that they will continue to be stimulated in someway in their new environment. So I look at Celia and sigh that at 9 months it is fairly clear that cognitively she is on track and you couldn't ask for a more healthy child!
With that sad little rambling... Celia is doing so much now. She is cruising the furniture like crazy, going from coach to coffee table and back again. I think it is funny that she will get into more things that she isn't supposed to when Pete watches her, however she knows a little better with me!! I coached/ did 20 miles on Sunday and Pete was a bit tired of his little "boo" by the time I got home. I was told "she got into everything, everything". No more napping with Daddy all morning while I am gone! Yesterday I cleaned out the closet underneath the basement stairs and she had a blast. There were so many boxes for her to hang onto and cruise. She went from one side of the room to the other, babbling the whole time. I have caught her several times standing without holding on, but she won't do it if you just let go of her hands. Walking by 10 months? Maybe. This morning she ate her oatmeal with bananas very fast. So I mashed some more bananas and she refused them, she drank a little and still refused the bananas. I looked at her and said well "do you want more?" She lifted up her hands and said "a da". I sign "all done" when we are finished eating and she imitates me. This is the first time she has done it appropriately on her own and it was very cute.
Okay, well I better tend to the house a bit before Celia gets up from her nap. However I will end with her current vocabulary.
"A da"- all done
Dada
Mama- not directed at me, but she calls Elmo, Mama
Baby
Hi (only done a few times but very clear)
Yucky
A der- no clue what that means but she likes it
Bababa
So today is my school's graduation and Celia and are going to attend. I always love to watch our graduation however it is followed with a deep saddness for these students. Unlike a typical highschool graduation the future of my students is not as bright. The parents sit in the auditorium with the knowledge that planned programming for their child has ended. Hopefully most have plans for their future but alot of our parents are still searching for a place for their child. For those who don't know- My school is a special education center and I work in the Multiple Disability Support program. Our students have a wide range of abilities but all of the students have moderate mental retardation or lower and most have behavioral and physical disabilities. So in the search for group homes to care for their children, alot of our parents find that there are not many resources. Work programs are typically not an option for most students and many group homes will not deal with a 21 year old with behavior problems. So we all sit in graduation, proud of their accomplishments over the years and hope that they will continue to be stimulated in someway in their new environment. So I look at Celia and sigh that at 9 months it is fairly clear that cognitively she is on track and you couldn't ask for a more healthy child!
With that sad little rambling... Celia is doing so much now. She is cruising the furniture like crazy, going from coach to coffee table and back again. I think it is funny that she will get into more things that she isn't supposed to when Pete watches her, however she knows a little better with me!! I coached/ did 20 miles on Sunday and Pete was a bit tired of his little "boo" by the time I got home. I was told "she got into everything, everything". No more napping with Daddy all morning while I am gone! Yesterday I cleaned out the closet underneath the basement stairs and she had a blast. There were so many boxes for her to hang onto and cruise. She went from one side of the room to the other, babbling the whole time. I have caught her several times standing without holding on, but she won't do it if you just let go of her hands. Walking by 10 months? Maybe. This morning she ate her oatmeal with bananas very fast. So I mashed some more bananas and she refused them, she drank a little and still refused the bananas. I looked at her and said well "do you want more?" She lifted up her hands and said "a da". I sign "all done" when we are finished eating and she imitates me. This is the first time she has done it appropriately on her own and it was very cute.
Okay, well I better tend to the house a bit before Celia gets up from her nap. However I will end with her current vocabulary.
"A da"- all done
Dada
Mama- not directed at me, but she calls Elmo, Mama
Baby
Hi (only done a few times but very clear)
Yucky
A der- no clue what that means but she likes it
Bababa
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