tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72241853691894123182024-03-12T21:18:27.354-07:00Squishy's MamaGina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-60125609216833870252015-11-16T20:22:00.002-08:002015-11-16T20:22:42.770-08:00Vent PostFair warning: Any negative comments will be deleted. And there's a good chance this post will be deleted in a bit since it doesn't fit into what I try to keep on my blog, but I really need to type it out for myself right now :)<br />
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I have always been quick with my emotions. I feel things very intensely and hubby says I carry them close to the surface. I get my feelings hurt easily, I feel deeply for others, I worry about everyone. I can also be incredibly joyful and giddy and child like.<br />
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I am having a very hard time with the amount of blatant biogotry I'm inundated with on social media. And, me being the way I am, I have a hard time with stupid and feel the need to comment and get riled up. <br />
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In particular, I'm having trouble with all the hate towards Muslims. If I see "not all muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims" one more time I might explode. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.<br />
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As someone who got her degree in Child Development and has two children of her own, I have an especially hard time with the stories about the children. The story about the Syrian refugee (same age as Squishy) who drowned trying to get to a safe place has stuck with me for months. Then last week I saw a story about a mass grave found. Over a thousand people. Including toddlers and their toys. My heart breaks for them and I've taken enough time to educate myself to know why they are fleeing and why it's not so easy to "just fight back".<br />
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Now since the devestating Paris attacks, many Americans have found a new found vigor for saying no one can come here. When I asked whether families should just stay and die, many told me I should take my children to the Middle East and die. That we are more important that them. That our lives are more important than them.<br />
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I don't believe that. I don't believe I am any better than those people and I can't imagine being turned away if the tables were turned. It's like no one cares to remember history. To the horrors Christians have committed in the name of God. <br />
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We look back on past genocides in horror, yet so many just want to ignore this one. Why? Why are people so hateful and fueled by fear?<br />
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I know I can't change anyones opinion. That no matter how eloquently I voice the truth, they don't care. <br />
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It makes my heart hurt so badly that people can be so fearful as to turn the other cheek. When someone said we should let them come and put them in camps I wanted to scream! That never ends well. EVER! Does no one understand history?<br />
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Right now the plan is for my girls to receive a classical education that focuses heavily on history and literature from around the world. Instead of just studying California first, they'll learn about the world starting right away. I just hope I can help them to see that the world is bigger than just America and that the people out there are good people too. We are all just people on a planet. There are bad people; but, the good still out weigh the bad.<br />
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I've also just been hurting and longing to find a way to help. Tonight I finally decided I'm going to skip Christmas this year. The only thing I really want is out of our budget for now so instead I asked hubby not to buy me anything more and instead anything we would have spent can go to a charity working directly to help the refugees. I don't need new foundation or Uggs that badly. I do need to feel like I'm helping that badly.<br />
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I'm also seriously debating deactivating social media through the holidays. If I do, I'll update the blog more frequently. While I can read the news stories with an aching heart, they don't cause as much pain as the vitriol from my neighbors and a few facebook friends. I just can't handle it. Right now I'm sad for the world and feeling dark. I don't want to feel that way.Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-47583283142449872162015-10-09T19:39:00.000-07:002015-10-09T19:39:12.117-07:00Recipe: Lucky Charm Bird Nest TreatsEver since Squishy started school we've been doing a lot of cooking. While it can be time consuming, and messy, to try to cook with a three year old, it also has a ton of benefits.<br />
<ul>
<li>Teaches her how to cook</li>
<li>Teaches her how long it takes mommy and daddy to make the food she refuses to eat</li>
<li>Teaches basic math skills (counting, measuring, fractions)</li>
<li>Teaches patience</li>
<li>Teaches how to follow directions</li>
<li>And helps to teach kitchen/oven safety</li>
</ul>
Last week we made some delicious apple muffins that I'll probably share with the blog later on. I forgot to take pictures this go around :( It corresponded with reading <u>Apple Farmer Annie</u>.<br />
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This week we read <u>Who Took the Farmer's Hat</u> so we made bird nests. Her teacher supplied a suggested recipe to make bird nest snacks but I of course had only two of the gazillion ingredients and I avoid taking both small children to the store unless absolutely necessary so we had to make do. Instead, we made a slightly less healthy version with snacks we had at home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_e9HCkT82c39FT4QDr-V1bVMB8Up8SG-aIod93Aeiq9yro41vs10AR9F5yPqXd2TvqZFcWD4TdlLTiN9UR8Nnm42h9CFa-jZgKXAPRP3CCDOjudMDAX-4vcA5IgwbOQQmgRM2Qw2yPM/s1600/IMG_20151005_1137017_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_e9HCkT82c39FT4QDr-V1bVMB8Up8SG-aIod93Aeiq9yro41vs10AR9F5yPqXd2TvqZFcWD4TdlLTiN9UR8Nnm42h9CFa-jZgKXAPRP3CCDOjudMDAX-4vcA5IgwbOQQmgRM2Qw2yPM/s320/IMG_20151005_1137017_rewind.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Click below to find the recipe!</span><br />
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Ingredients:<br />
<ul>
<li>4 tbsp unsalted butter</li>
<li>1/4 cup cocoa poweder</li>
<li>1 container of marshmallow fluff</li>
<li>5 cups of lucky charms</li>
<li>And fruit snack "eggs". I encourage you to find more appropriate, and believable, eggs. ;)</li>
</ul>
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1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Then stir in the marshmallow fluff and keep stirring until they are melted together. <br />
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2. Add in the cocoa and whisk until well mixed.<br />
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3. Remove from heat and add the cereal a little at a time while mixing until coated before the next addition.<br />
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4. Place in lined muffin tins and try to shape them like small nests. Try to do it better than me. I bet you'll succeed. Haha.<br />
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5. Let cool for 15 minutes. Add your "eggs" and enjoy.<br />
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They were quick and they were yummy, without being super sweet and sugary.<br />
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Best of all, Squishy got to help and talked about her bird nests until she and her daddy made two ingredient pumpkin muffins a few days later. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squishy mixing. Ignore my messy stove top.</td></tr>
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Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-89854686997063247642015-09-14T20:03:00.002-07:002015-09-14T20:03:57.899-07:00Color Activity for Preschoolers (and it's a snack!)We officially started the school adventure two weeks ago, and major props to me because I didn't cry like a baby cutting onions. Squishy peaced out and was painting before we even left the building. We are so excited and part of the big reason I wasn't a total trainwreck is because we love the school. It's preschool-12th grade, focuses on a classical education, AND is half homeschool/ half in the classroom. We are beyond stoked.<br />
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Even at the preschool level we're doing some homeschool stuff. Usually we read the weekly book that's read in the classroom and at home. Then we do a science and/or math activity. Most of the activities are suggested by the teachers and come from other blogs and we might share those (with credit of course) if we enjoy them; but, the ones we come up with on our own (and work out) I look forward to sharing with you. <br />
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Without further ado...<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Rainbow Yogurt Drops</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">What you'll need:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">* yogurt without a lot of coloring</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">* food coloring</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">* ziploc bag</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">* baking sheet </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">* parchment paper</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">* a small spoon</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQcrdzx0CtYg5BG2GZFDmjjqCGdihQbZrY2y_6ibx2UTCxPW5tMXcl-P-EqWVgKvbQnnlYoGBcB-SX29W-gIhMcc3_JxL3PRDxZuP525eepALkrE_MTMtzMhuBI-3Q0z1PGNix-2J4H0/s1600/IMG_20150902_0855508_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQcrdzx0CtYg5BG2GZFDmjjqCGdihQbZrY2y_6ibx2UTCxPW5tMXcl-P-EqWVgKvbQnnlYoGBcB-SX29W-gIhMcc3_JxL3PRDxZuP525eepALkrE_MTMtzMhuBI-3Q0z1PGNix-2J4H0/s320/IMG_20150902_0855508_rewind.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I started by dividing the yogurt into three piles in the tupperware. Then used the food coloring to make one red, one yellow, and one blue. If your child isn't super great at fine motor skills (most preschoolers aren't) I recommend that you be the one to mix the colors. I mixed a small amount of the primary colors to show Squishy how to make purple, orange, and green. We also practiced reciting them a bit and have continued to do so over the last week to make sure it really absorbs in. We've also reinforced the lesson with paint mixing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then I let her mix them all together to see how brown is made.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now for the edible part. You can always just eat the yogurt as is; but, to make it more fun for the kiddo, we turned them into yogurt drops. Scoop the yogurt into a ziploc sandwich bag and compress all the yogurt to one corner. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cut a small hole in the tip of the bag and slowly put small drops of yogurt onto the baking sheet. I made the mistake of making my hole wayyy too big and my drops were not cute, at all, but they still tasted great. Pop that sucker in the freezer for an hour or so and you'll have a great snack for you, and I guess the kids can have some too. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWOHCbvOsy1t5FDCldTZ3G4NxQSAU_0g6mwVriu_yhzhyZrnKGQGSd-wnQtIBoLbi_ysMQMIV0D-jO0sC1nuUWeDcMDOqIE9o6NRD-RNt3juy3Y-uM-asquXyhYJ1Ck90ueA2X6PgluQ/s1600/IMG_20150902_1637481_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWOHCbvOsy1t5FDCldTZ3G4NxQSAU_0g6mwVriu_yhzhyZrnKGQGSd-wnQtIBoLbi_ysMQMIV0D-jO0sC1nuUWeDcMDOqIE9o6NRD-RNt3juy3Y-uM-asquXyhYJ1Ck90ueA2X6PgluQ/s320/IMG_20150902_1637481_rewind.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our misshapen/yummy yogurt drops</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> It's a quick, easy lesson. Perfect for a preschool attention span. Plus, they love it since it ends in deliciousness. </span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></i>Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-31313284098236708802015-09-13T20:13:00.004-07:002015-09-13T20:13:39.708-07:00Oh, FacebookOh, hai, blog. It's been awhile. I meant to come back to you with a few super cool art projects I did with Squishy; but, then I logged on facebook. The art projects will have to wait.<br />
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When I first got facebook as a bright eyed and bushy tailed college freshman in the Fall of 2005 I was smitten. I could make new friends from my new school. I could keep in contact with all my friends from high school. It was glorious. Everyone was looking for rides home or talking about the music they were listening to. There were no obnoxious memes. There were no creepers from god knows where trying to add you.<br />
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Then facebook exploded. Everyone and their mom, including mine, got one. It was still cool, albeit a little less of a community feel. I was able to share my picks from our trip to Dublin easily with everyone. I was able to announce our engagement and hit everyone important, except grandma, in one quick post. It was still cool.<br />
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But then things started to change. You added everyone you knew and you felt bad if you deleted someone. If you deleted someone, it CLEARLY meant you despised them, even if you really didn't. People started posting politically memes. Some of them were obviously false, and snopes confirmed it; but, still you stayed silent. Maybe you start to despise facebook. Maybe you start to see that it's not all it's cracked up to be. Maybe it makes you start hating some people because of the uneducated shit you post, but you don't want to delete them because outside of the book, you really like them. <br />
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That's where I stand now. I fucking HATE facebook. I can't delete it though. Not yet. See, I have anxiety and phone calls are the devil. I hate talking on the phone. It is the worst. I'm okay on the phone with my mom, and that's about it. I don't even like talking on the phone to my own husband. I do not do well because I can't see you and I can't read your face and end up assuming I'm boring and you hate me.! Yay! So facebook is perfect because I can actually communicate...except I don't. I don't talk to anyone. Ever. I'm the worst. You email me, I can do that. You text me, A+ much like. You skype me, pretty good unless my children are squirrels. My friendships have suffered. But with facebook I can at least pretend we're still friends and stalk you from afar! <br />
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What tipped me over the edge you ask? Well, the picture of the little boy from Syria who drowned a few weeks back. I'm not going to describe it, or post it, it's easy to find and I can't see it anymore. When I saw it, I sobbed. I just want to pick up his little body and hold him close to my heart and snuggle him. My Squishy is the same age as him and I can't even begin to fathom the heartache his father feels after losing his wife and two children. <br />
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I've also thought a lot about the father who is selling pens to provide for his two children. Just regular pens. Someone took a picture of him trying to sell pens while his young daughter slept in his arm.<br />
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Then... I log into facebook. I see multiple posts about how the president is just allowing the refugees into our country to create a massive network of terrorists. Or how they're all wealthy and are clearly just using an excuse to come to our country. Yeah. If anyone bothered to step outside there xenophobic bubble they'd see this is a global crisis, but fuck that. Merica! Bald eagles! Fear of foreigners! <br />
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It's becoming toxic to see that kind of shit. It hurts my heart and makes me hate people a little more everyday. Even if I know it's out of ignorance, and not true hatred, it still weighs on me.<br />
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Right now I need facebook to help me figure out what the heck is going on with my high school reunion, but I'm thinking about moving away from that platform afterwards. Use this blog, or another that I can password protect, to update people about my family. I need to look out for me and I'm really sick of hating everyone.<br />
Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-21603050351756374912015-01-22T16:02:00.003-08:002015-01-22T16:03:00.675-08:00Five Tips for Surviving Life with a Toddler & a BabyCurrently, we have two daughters (2.5 and 9 months). We did this 100% on purpose and will probably do it again with another baby. For the record, we are not as crazy as our friends and family might think. This is how we've survived...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Squirrels in Question (aka Squiggles and Squishy)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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1. You have to <b>LAUGH</b>. Some days will be utterly and completely ridiculous. Some days they will only want to go in opposite directions. Some days the big one will hate the little one. Other days she'll be pretty sure she's the mommy and she loves the baby ten times more than you ever could. Some days they'll fight. Some days they'll love each other. You will only survive it if you're willing to laugh with them and, let's be honest, sometimes at them. <br />
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<b>2. Some days the older one will come first. </b>One of the best pieces of advice I received when I was pregnant with #2, was that sometimes you need to just let the baby cry to help your older child. It's advice I've followed and passed on to more than a few people. Your instinct will likely be that the baby should always come first, because baby; but, baby will survive and when you devote some time to your older child when they really need it, they remember that they are sometimes more important than the baby. <br />
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3. Some days will be really, really freaking hard. Do as Elsa and learn to <b>Let it Go</b>. I'm not saying let kids get away with whatever they want or turn on the TV for hours on end. I'm just saying, don't be too hard on yourself. If you need some quiet time, turn on a movie. We're partial to Doc McStuffins. If a little person misbehaves, follow through with your normal consequences, but then move on with your date. Don't let it stress you out. I've found that if I don't let it go, even small instances can wind me up. I'm learning to deal with it and then just moving on. My "favorites" lately have been when the two year old decided that carpet was a good place to color the day after I rented a rug doctor and when she colored all over her sisters new push toy in the matter of 60 seconds.<br />
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4. Try to<b> Organize. </b>When Squiggles first came home things were chaotic. I felt like I was pulled in too many direction at once. I quickly realized that it wasn't just the challenges of the new baby sending me spinning, I figured out that I wasn't organized and it was making me crazy. I took steps to keep the house neater and found ways to work in the housekeeping aspects of parenting and it allowed me to feel more relaxed with the girls. I know it sounds impossible and like the least of your worries; but, it does make a difference. I'll try to do a little write up on how I manage that and include a link here soon. <br />
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<b>5. Remember they are only this age once.</b> This is a great reminder for both your best days and your worst days. On your worst days you can remind yourself that this chaos will pass sooner than you think. Soon they'll be able to entertain each other, communicate with each other, and they'll be more independent. On your best days you can remind yourself that this magical time won't last forever. On those days take lots of pictures and give lots of hugs. It really does go by so very fast. Someday I'll have two dramatic teenage girls. I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling I'll be longing for these days in 14 years. Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-60491863946931005372015-01-09T15:09:00.001-08:002015-01-09T15:09:57.118-08:00One of THOSE DaysSometimes as a parent you have one of <i>those</i> days. Unless you're a Stepford parent don't even try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.<br />
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One of those days....where you are 80% sure your children have actually been replaced by small gremlins who only <i>look </i>like your children.<br />
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One of those days...when your older child seems to have lost the ability to entertain themselves and the little one thinks everything is sad.<br />
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One of those days...when you consider hiding in the bathroom for five minutes but remember that there's a very good chance that someone would get hurt in the meantime.<br />
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One of those days...where you start to wonder whether you might actually be done making miniature humans.<br />
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One of those days...when all you want to do is scream at the top of your lungs into a pillow and you honestly wonder how you are going to make it through the rest of the day.<br />
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<i>We all have those days.</i> If you don't, I will say right now I don't believe you. I honestly think it's days like this that keep us sane. It reminds us that we're only human. That perfection isn't realistic. And when days like this are done, it helps us remember that we can get through it the next time it happens.<br />
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Today was one of <i>those </i>days in our household. The baby, my lovely 9 month old Squiggles, has been a stage five clinger. Putting her on the floor has been labeled a scream worthy offense and god forbid the pouch of peaches takes more than a second to reach her mouth. She will make her wrath known.<br />
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The big kid, well, she's been potty training and chose to use today as her regression day. She's also lost the ability to entertain herself and during this blog post, when she was supposed to be napping, she informed me over the monitor that she needed a new pullup because she'd taken hers off. Yup.<br />
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Days like this are hard. I waiver between utter exhaustion, extreme frustration, and a deep and profound love for the day. It's like a roller coaster. But even as I hear the toddler refusing to sleep and the baby is rolling on the floor next to me talking to a notebook, I wouldn't change these days for anything.<br />
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These days remind me that I will get through this. They remind me that parenting is an adventure and I'm only human. They remind me that someday I will have no little bodies in my house and I will yearn for days like today. They remind me that, at the same time, when I have no more little bodies in the house I will be content and won't feel the need to fill my house with cats or rats or bats.<br />
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Remember when you have one of these days that they are fleeting. That although other mamas may pretend everything is rainbows and sunshine and unicorns pooping glitter, everyone has those days. Even those mamas. And if they don't, if they're just that perfect, they'll probably be a crazy cat person or have creepy realistic doll children when they have an empty nest. You don't want that. I'd much rather have a few rough days than resort to doll children ;)<br />
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Remember these days can turn on a dime and remember those moments when a little person crawls into your lap, wraps their arms around you, and says "Mama I love you."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A non-Gremlin Day.</td></tr>
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Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-8916956953934459262014-10-06T14:21:00.001-07:002014-10-06T14:21:25.828-07:00How to Have an Awesome Disneyland Trip with Your LittlesHubby and I are Disney addicts. Movies, books, tv, and, most importantly, DISNEYLAND! We live 200 miles away but still manage to go about three times a year and we're annual passholders. Squishy is two and some change and has already been seven times that I can think of. When I ask if she wants to go to the park, the kid asks if we can go to Disneyland. I tell her no of course because who wants to drive that far midday but it's a good example of how we are THOSE people. The crazy people.<br />
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Because we go so much, and because we've learned the ins and outs of how to have an awesome trip over the years I thought it was time to pass that info on to those of you who may be getting ready for their first trip with their kids, or even for veteran park goers who want to make things a little bit easier.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of: Disneyland.com</td></tr>
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<i><b><u>Don't Bring</u>...</b></i><br />
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<b>* </b>Your $700 stroller. Just don't. Unless you're planning to have someone with it at all times, I highly advise you don't take that gamble. Strollers do get stolen from Disneyland. It's not a myth. The likelihood isn't high; but, personally that isn't a gamble that I'm willing to take. We have a Baby Jogger City Select that I love more than my car some days but I only take it into the park if I know that someone can be with it at all times.<br />
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<u><i><b>Instead</b></i></u>...<br />
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* Babywear, rent a stroller, or invest in a cheap stroller that wouldn't break your heart if it grew legs and walked away. On our most recent trip, if we knew all of us would be going on rides, one of us would wear Squiggles and Squishy hung out in our $25 umbrella stroller. So much easier to maneuver. I can collapse that sucker down and bring it on rides or into the restaurants. It's just a lot easier. In the past we've rented the strollers at the park $15 for the day and if they go missing there are locations in the park where you can get a replacement.<br />
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<u><i><b>Don't Bring</b></i></u>...<br />
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* Your regular diaper bag. Unless you have a really supportive cross body bag or backpack don't bother. If you're going to the parks well prepared you'll have that sucker loaded with snacks, water, and all your baby goods. It gets heavy. Trust me. My shoulders and neck learned this the hard way. Thanks for nothing Petunia Picklebottom!<br />
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<u><i><b>Instead</b></i></u>...<br />
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* Bring a backpack with supportive straps. Sure, it might make things a little harder to find but it makes lugging all your gear a heck of a lot easier. I'll go into what we pack for a day at the park in a second, but suffice it to say we get our use out of the backpack.<br />
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<u><i><b>What to Bring</b></i></u><i><b>:</b></i></div>
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Other than your normal kiddo gear there are a few things I always try to bring with me</div>
<ul>
<li>Sunscreen, or hats, for little ones. You'll be outside a lot and it's sunny in SoCal.</li>
<li>Water. Bring in a few bottles of water. Bottled water in the park is outrageously over priced and there are water fountains you can use all over the place. </li>
<li>Granola bars. Chances are, at some point, you'll be standing in line and someone will end up starving. They will be pretty sure they are going to collapse before they make it on the ride. For those occasions have granola bars. They are typically pretty filling and can help tide you over. We like cliff or quest bars from the grownups and quaker chewy bars for Squishy.</li>
<li>Apples or oranges. Really any fruit that won't get squished in the backpack. </li>
<li>More diapers than you think is necessary and a change of clothes for young kids and babes. Murphy's Law is real folks. We have had epic blowouts in Disneyland even though we almost never have them at home.</li>
<li>Camera. Disney photopass folks will use your camera for pictures with your favorite characters. And they don't suck at it. And it's free.</li>
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<i><b><u>Where to Stay</u>:</b></i></div>
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I'm not actually going to say much on this topic as we do tend to stay in one of the Disney hotels, although we have stayed off site a handful of times. So I can't really give great recommendations for where to stay off site.<i><b> </b></i></div>
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The Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian are both beautiful and incredibly convenient. We love them both and I can answer questions about them in the comments if anyone is interested in knowing more or anything about our experience with either. </div>
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I will say if you are really wanting to stay at the Grand Californian but turned off by the price, check out David's Vacation Club Rental (<a href="http://www.dvcrequest.com/">here</a>). The Grand Californian has villas that are for Disney Vacation Club members; but, you can go through an intermediary, like David, and rent someones points. That's what we did on our most recent trip and we got a one bedroom suite, with a full kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, and laundry for less than the price of a regular Grand Californian room. Seriously. Same hotel. Same stylings. Biggest difference is less frequent cleaning. So worth it! ((We also saved A TON being able to cook some of our meals and make sandwiches etc.))</div>
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<u><i><b>How to Organize the Day</b></i></u>:</div>
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The night before you go to the park, make a game plan. Know what you want to do the most that day. If you want to make sure you get a Fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers make sure you are in California Adventure when the gates open. If you want to meet Elsa and Anna, you best be at Disneyland at rope drop. Knowing what you want out of the day is VERY important.</div>
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In general, Hubby and I usually hit up the park in the morning and then in the evening leaving the midday heat and crowds to other people. It gives us a chance to recharge and keeps us from getting burnt out. </div>
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We typically go to Fantasyland first thing in the morning at least once. Those lines are always extremely long and they tend to be shortest in the morning, and very late. </div>
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We also never wait in line for something with a fastpass. You can hold one Fastpass for each park at a time and, to us, it's just not worth it to stand in line when we can use a Fastpass and spend our time shopping, eating, or spending time on rides that don't require quite so much of your day in a line.</div>
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((For those who might not know, a Fastpass is a pass to get on the ride during a set time. For example, you head to Splash mountain and see the wait is 60 minutes but you have two impatient kids. Next to the ride there will be a kiosk for Fastpass. You insert your park ticket into the machine and it will spit out a voucher with a time range on it. When you are in that time range, you return to the ride, present your ticket to a castmember (Disneyland employees are castmembers) and you'll get on the ride after a much abbreviated line.)) </div>
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<b><u><i>Misc Quick Tips</i></u><i>:</i></b></div>
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<b><i> </i></b><b><i> </i></b></div>
<ul>
<li>If you're traveling with a baby or toddlers, utilize the baby care center. The care centers have a clean spot to change your little one, small toilets for potty training kids, stations for nursing or pumping, and high chairs for feeding. PLUS, they have most of the gear you might have forgotten for baby, available for purchase. In DISNEYLAND, the baby care center is located on the end of main street on the right hand side if you're looking at the castle. It's right next to corn dog cart and Plaza Inn. In CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE, the baby care center is located to the left, and slightly behind, the Ghiradelli shop which is in the wharf area where many of the restaurants are.</li>
<li>If you want to make your trip a little extra special, ask if you can ride in the top of the Mark Twain River Boat. They might not say yes, but if they do you might get to sign the special guest book and be in charge of the horn. We did it a few years ago and I loved it a lot more than my age should allow ;)</li>
<li>Try the goat effect. When you're on Big Thunder and see the goat on the hill on the right handside on the hill, watch it as you go around the turn. It'll make you super dizzy and is therefore super fun.</li>
<li>When you're on Winnie the Pooh, look behind you and up in the last few rooms of the ride. You might catch the remnants of the Country Bear Jamboree.</li>
<li>Touch the apple while in line for Snow White. Just do it.</li>
<li>While you're at it, stare at the window above the ride when you get off. You might just get a glimpse of evil.</li>
<li>If you're traveling with a baby or someone who doesn't like rides, ask about the parent switch pass. Parent A asks for pass and stands in line with a kiddo. Brings the pass for Parent B when they're done and Parent B gets to ride with kiddo without having to stand in the super long line. Usually you get to use the Fastpass line. This is not available on all rides.</li>
<li>Know the heights of our children before they go. It will prevent a lot of heart ache if you grab a map and can see in advance what the height requirements will be before you tell your kid about a ride. I've seen a lot of little ones with dashed dreams when they don't make the height requirement. </li>
<li>If your kid is a sloucher, but is tall enough, have them stand with their arms stretched up. Helps them hit that marker.</li>
<li>Keep your receipt for souvenirs. If they break, and you have the receipt, Disney will normally replace it, no questions asked. </li>
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Honestly, there is so much more I could say. I could be a this for hours. I will say, if you have any questions please feel free to ask it in the comments. We love Disneyland and there is a good chance we'll know the answer whether it's about dining, rides, the resort hotels, etc. <br />
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<u><i><b>For FALL/WINTER 2014:</b></i></u><br />
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<i>If you want to meet Elsa and Anna, you need to be there at park open. Disneyland no longer just has one long line to meet the ladies of Frozen. Currently, if you'd like to see them, you need to arrive at park open and head back to Fantasyland. There you will join the line that stretches towards Big Thunder and you will receive a voucher to come back at a set time to meet them. In order to get this voucher everyone in the party must be in the park, or at least have been in that morning at some point. This means dad can't go and get the voucher while everyone sleeps. Not everyone needs to be in line, but everyone must be in the park and whoever is in line needs to have ALL the tickets for the party. You then return during your designated time and stand in a shortened line. This was done to alleviate the three hour wait some guests were experiencing when trying to see the Queen. </i>PLEASE NOTE: these passes are frequently gone in just a few hours, if not less. If you get to the park in the afternoon you will not be able to attend a meet and greet with Elsa and Anna. You can still see them on a pre-parade float.Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-77815938707424570392014-10-01T20:38:00.000-07:002014-10-01T20:38:52.282-07:00Sissy Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Squishy can always make her little sister laugh. Always. I'm pretty sure Squiggles dotes on her already. Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-89841944296087930592014-10-01T20:23:00.001-07:002014-10-01T20:23:51.779-07:00Morning AdventuresOne of the many reasons I've chosen to step away from Facebook this month is so that I can spend some more time unplugged with my girls. I only tend to get on the computer at night once their both asleep; but, during the day I check my phone A LOT. Usually for absolutely no reason. <br />
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As part of my goals this month I'm trying to make a point of just doing more fun stuff out and about and at home. So this morning I gave Squishy the choice of hike, zoo, or park. She chose zoo and we did some park anyway. <br />
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We are members at the local zoo and can go whenever so we wandered around for a bit (and I got some cute pictures I'll share under the cut) and then we went to the park up the hill a bit. Squishy loves playing with other kids so much. And it was extra cute because the little boy she was playing with said "bye" to him mom and tried to leave with us.<br />
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It was so nice! Other than checking my phone for the time I didn't take it out once.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kickin' it with the Maras!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Tiger just came out for a minute. Usually he looks at Squishy like a snack.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red river hog!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_EoLXvqidghI1e0RM-N_pQNtL40sfbJb-9npUZ5g124PH_SgbyxrhRCDcO4SEV44iMyQfHEJ5jmUgjt2hjo11Qw1E4EvAvWWaeESbO5U7HxpCYRtsq_53tXQ4SkQhDBshsluCRLevRc/s1600/DSCN2670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_EoLXvqidghI1e0RM-N_pQNtL40sfbJb-9npUZ5g124PH_SgbyxrhRCDcO4SEV44iMyQfHEJ5jmUgjt2hjo11Qw1E4EvAvWWaeESbO5U7HxpCYRtsq_53tXQ4SkQhDBshsluCRLevRc/s1600/DSCN2670.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squiggles doing baby crunches with her wubanub in the stroller</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p714p66YQdnT9xwCyEf1i057ExWddTE48P3u_B_QMDUZPWyCVnINRbselS3pBzc_IQx-ij8bTzvF9yRRe4CJElQL5wBK9jQuJX3WbNn93IqbEhggI5z3NctXDgbdR8fCXXyWI4TzvkU/s1600/DSCN2673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p714p66YQdnT9xwCyEf1i057ExWddTE48P3u_B_QMDUZPWyCVnINRbselS3pBzc_IQx-ij8bTzvF9yRRe4CJElQL5wBK9jQuJX3WbNn93IqbEhggI5z3NctXDgbdR8fCXXyWI4TzvkU/s1600/DSCN2673.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The meerkats food smelled like dog food. I'm suspicious.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytRqUh3Y-8cpshRspIgox4gOCzs85ZhH05rlUzn5a7Lbixkw31OYy1BptFoZd39duEDJdw3T5ZBaY9FlPs1WSkDuh1yFIBwqVj6GovR6T79YCzEbPAuPQnuDFtIEAdug-gFlOLW0Vuuc/s1600/DSCN2674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytRqUh3Y-8cpshRspIgox4gOCzs85ZhH05rlUzn5a7Lbixkw31OYy1BptFoZd39duEDJdw3T5ZBaY9FlPs1WSkDuh1yFIBwqVj6GovR6T79YCzEbPAuPQnuDFtIEAdug-gFlOLW0Vuuc/s1600/DSCN2674.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Julian!!!!</td></tr>
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<br />Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-64530738670423547352014-09-30T21:22:00.000-07:002014-09-30T21:22:04.660-07:00Breaking my Longest Addiction<i>Hi, I'm Gina, and I've been a Facebook addict since 2005. I've been clean zero days.</i><br />
<br />
That's right, I've been on Facebook since the beginning. Since only college kids could get on. Since it was used for finding rides to get home. Since Zuckerberg was just a young 'un. Nine freaking years. <br />
<br />
We've had some good times...<br />
<br />
* It's where Hubby and I first talked<br />
* How I've stayed in touch with family and friends<br />
* Where I've shared my life for the past...forever it feels like.<br />
<br />
BUT...<br />
<br />
I think Facebook is the WORST for actually keeping in touch. You get the sense that you know everything that's going on with everyone without knowing anything what's <i>really</i> going on. You get the superficial only. It helps people be hermits, stalk, and buy way too much crap on buy/sell/trade sites. <br />
<br />
So, for the month of October I'm walking away. You message me? I'm ignoring you. You tag me? I don't care. If it really matters call me, text me, email me, snail mail me, or even leave me a blog comment. If you actually want to talk to me you will get in contact.<br />
<br />
I plan to use my blog and a <a href="http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/SquishysMama/library/June%202014-Sept%202014">photobucket album</a> (get a hold of me for the password) to keep the pictures of the girls going and for general updates. <br />
<br />
Peace out Facebook. See you when the ghosts, ghoulies, and witches are out! Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-41501687637544779112014-01-24T12:08:00.002-08:002014-01-24T12:08:36.115-08:00Take It or Leave It: What You Really Need to Have for BabyWith baby #2's arrival quickly approaching (12 weeks from today or less) I thought it might be a good time to do a post about all the baby essentials I've loved and the ones you can definitely live without. I know as a first time mom (FTM) there are so many baby products out there and you end up thinking that maybe you really do need them all; but, TRUST ME ON THIS, you really don't. So let's do a rundown!<br />
<br />
Needs:<br />
<ul>
<li>Bottles (get one or two of a few different kinds because different babies like different things). Even if you plan on breastfeeding I'd encourage you to have a few on hand because chances are at some point you'll use them.</li>
<li>Somewhere for the little one to sleep. We used a pack and play with a bassinet for Squishy until she was old enough to be in her own room in a crib. That's the plan for this little one too.</li>
<li>Carseat. Now here you have two options. You can start with an infant carrier and then transition to a convertible or start with a convertible. I chose the former. I so appreciated being able to move Squishy from car to house to stroller to shopping cart without waking her. Even though we moved her to a convertible by five months I still plan to use the carrier with this new little one.</li>
<li>Diapers and wipes. Self explanatory. If it's not, I'm concerned for you.</li>
<li>Onesies, sleepers and blankets. Let's be real. Babies are tiny little blobs at first. They do not need to be trendy. They will just spit up on everything. Plus, everyone else will buy the fancy clothes. Trust me on this.</li>
<li>Burp rags. I highly, highly recommend getting the bar style rags. Those babies can sop up a lot of liquid. They may not be as cute as the ones your friend embroidered for you (which you'll still use) but they are a lot more absorbent. </li>
<li>A diaper bag or even a purse that you aren't overly attached to. Remember, at some point there will be blow out or vomit covered clothes going in there and you don't want to ruin an expensive handbag. Even if you put those clothes in a plastic bag you will always flashback to what's been in the diaper bag before. I had a petunia pickle bottom with Squishy but this baby I've switched to a Vera Bradley Baby Bag because it's both washable <i>and </i>cute. </li>
<li>Stroller. If you can spend the money on the one you really want. Also think about where you live. We started out with a Graco travel system but those tires were no bueno on our semi-rural roads without sidewalks. Squishy felt every bump. I wish I'd planned ahead a little more on that one. </li>
<li>A good breast pump. Chances are you'll need it at some point. Also check in with your insurance as many (in the US at least) cover all or a good portion of them.</li>
</ul>
Now these are some things you don't need but that I loved and found invaluable<br />
<ul>
<li> A carrier. Wearing Squishy made chores, grocery shopping, trips to Disneyland, and walks so much easier in the beginning. She slept. I got things done. I had both a Moby and a <a href="http://www.babyhawk.com/">Babyhawk</a>. I will use both with #2 but prefer the Babyhawk.</li>
<li>A rock and play. I set that sucker up in the living room and that's where she napped for the first six months. It was lovely.</li>
<li>A nose frieda. Don't side eye me like that. I know what you're thinking. It's something along the lines of HELL NO!! First of all I promise no boogers get in your mouth. Second, it works ten times better than the mold infested bulb syringe. Third, you'll thank me when baby has their first bad cold. That's when hubby and I changed our tunes.</li>
<li>A changing table. I don't really think they are necessary; but, they are definitely a huge help and it's nice not having to bend over all the time.</li>
<li>Diaper genie. Because of smells. </li>
</ul>
Shenanigans (or things that are totally just a trap) <br />
<ul>
<li>Wipes warmer. Nope. Just don't. It's a trap. Wipes aren't as cold as you might think and when you've conditioned your baby to have a constantly warm tushy you're going to get some glares when you change them in public and they're screaming bloody murder because the wipes from the diaper bag are just a few degrees off. Just no.</li>
<li>Diaper genie refills. Not necessary. Bags work just as good. <a href="http://squishysmama.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-use-diaper-genie-ii-without.html">You're welcome</a></li>
<li>A bottle warmer. It's really not necessary. Room temperature bottles work fine too. If you're really determined, there is a much cheaper solution. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Proctor-Silex-K2070Y-Electric-Kettle/dp/B00023XCWS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1390593701&sr=8-3&keywords=portable+hot+pot">THIS</a> A hot pot works just as well and it's what we used when we bothered to heat a bottle. Plug it in, wait for it to get warm and then pop the bottle in the warm water until it's heated enough. I just saved you $10. </li>
</ul>
Of course there are tons of other baby products out there and you'll find what works for your family. This is what worked for mine. If you have any questions about a specific product and what I think about it or anything like that (doesn't need to be one I listed) just leave a comment and I'll be happy to give you my take on it if I have one.<br />
<br />
I'll leave you with one last bit of advice...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>If you really, really want things from your registry for your shower do not announce gender until after the shower or during. If people know the gender they will largely ignore your registry and get clothes. It's just what happens. Even if you don't announce gender you'll get some gender neutral clothes but they'll get more stuff off your registry too. Also don't register for clothes. They just take up space and will be purchased no matter what. :)</i> </div>
Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-20920527318137390312013-11-17T22:02:00.001-08:002013-11-17T22:02:41.926-08:00Pregnancy UpdateAs usual I've been MIA. Life has been fairly hectic and I have been utterly exhausted. Blog has had to drop by the wayside a bit. <br />
<br />
Squishy has swim four days a week at 8am, I watch a friend's 6 month old four days a week, and I pick up big kids from school five days a week. Throw that in with being 17 and a half weeks pregnant and I am exhausted. I have not slept past 7am in over a month and I don't think I've slept through the night in at least that long. I need to be up by 7 for one reason or another every. single. day.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Other than the exhaustion I'm doing well though. This pregnancy has been flying by so much faster than Squishy's. I chalk it up to having to chase after an 18 month old. I really don't have time to sit and reflect on it the way I did when I was pregnant with her.<br />
<br />
Pregnancy Bullet Points:<br />
* I've lost five pounds and only gained two back so far. Yay.<br />
* I'm officially feeling kicks now.<br />
* The baby freaks out when I have pineapple.<br />
* Yes I have names picked out. No we don't know, and will not know, the gender. <br />
* I've hard morning sickness this time but only two instances of actually getting sick. Both times due to a horrible gag reflex when coughing.<br />
* I'm craving savory stuff like salsa, burritos, salty snacks, and the like. With Squishy all I wanted was sweets.<br />
* I'm almost half way done!!<br />
<br />
Squishy is doing really well too. She cracks me up. She is the biggest ham most of the time and the biggest diva some of the time.<br />
<br />
Squishy Bullet Points:<br />
* She can point to at least 10 body parts<br />
* She's learning to swim<br />
* She knows a few animal noises<br />
* She has 20+ words but if you don't spend a lot of time with her you'd think she only said "hi" and "bye" when in fact she can say "here you go" "thank you" "chicken" "go" "mine!" "read" "sit" "cheese" and has a number of signs.<br />
* She's also really into playing in the backyard which is nice and she is great at entertaining herself.<br />
* She also loves the cat even though today I had to tell her "You may not lick the cat" <br />
<br />
Hubby is doing well. He's very much enjoying his new job and the perks have been nice for all of us. He's an awesome help around the house when he gets home and does a good job of getting stuff done so that I can relax in the evenings after a long day. He gets so very many props.<br />
<br />
We're also debating moving. Our house would be fine if we had one more bathroom but we don't. I'd also just like some more living space. We're currently playing with three options 1) move but have a higher mortgage since we don't have a great down payment set aside at the moment, 2) convert our garage into either a master suite, or family room with a bathroom and stay here for another 8 years or so until we can have a GIANT down payment and buy a large house on land OR 3) convert nothing and save the money and upgrade in a few years. We could sell this house and move asap (it's value has increased a lot since we moved in) but we'd like to keep this one as a rental. I probably cycle through all 3 options at least ten times a day. It's rather stressful. <br />
<br />
There is also a new subdivision being built that I love but I know that I would regret it in the long run as I love our little bit of land and chickens and I know we'd lose that in a subdivision. I think when we move we'll get a plot of at least half an acre. Ideally an acre or more. <br />
<br />
We're busy and hectic and I desperately need a new bed and a good night's sleep but I love it. I love that I have friends working their careers or going to grad school but that was not the life I was meant to lead. I love that I get to stay home at 26. I love that we are in the financial position to do that. I love that I'll be done having kids before I'm 30 (hopefully) and I look forward to attending grad school online when the kids are in school. Or I might just be a stay at home mom forever. Who knows. I just feel very blessed to be where I am and wouldn't change it for the world. I'm thankful to be done with the hustle and bustle of college and the immediate post college life. I feel like an adult, a wife, and a mom. Those are things I wouldn't change for the world. :)Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-52953925201509175522013-09-22T13:21:00.000-07:002013-09-22T13:21:36.862-07:00It's Official x2!We are officially expecting baby #2 (aka Baby Burrito). We've known for about six weeks now and I'll be ten weeks this Wednesday. We ultimately decided to announce a little bit earlier with this one after a viability scare. I decided that I would rather have the comfort of my family and friends than deal with any loss on my own. Thankfully though everything is going great so far and it looks like we'll have another member of the family joining us around mid-April. Meaning... we will very briefly have two under two. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0q0OUAWE4hLnwQp4HJv9pVEIDdy9MrQjYozibfis2zwTRFl7CkKivRAhIGa68Bj7Hvc37Ag5GAmx8E48jQZ3-vhFM0j-XVJpxqbiO47yGhyphenhyphenxXy2Sq90MXmubLgfAXXrGeqmz8j_CyqfM/s1600/20130906_181040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0q0OUAWE4hLnwQp4HJv9pVEIDdy9MrQjYozibfis2zwTRFl7CkKivRAhIGa68Bj7Hvc37Ag5GAmx8E48jQZ3-vhFM0j-XVJpxqbiO47yGhyphenhyphenxXy2Sq90MXmubLgfAXXrGeqmz8j_CyqfM/s320/20130906_181040.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7 week ultrasound. Just a baby blob :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All of this has come at the perfect time considering hubby just got a new job too. With Amazon! We still get to live in the same area and our income is going up by roughly 45% so we are feeling very thankful and blessed right now. He'll start in October. <br />
<br />
Now that things are settling down for us again I hope to have more time for posting! <br />
<br />
<br />
Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-31676852672043190012013-08-08T16:42:00.001-07:002013-08-08T16:42:39.126-07:00Kids are So HonestSquishy is 15 months today and we didn't have much to do so we went to the parks.<br />
<br />
Shortly after we got there another mama showed up with a little guy who was probably about 3 and another boy who was probably a few months younger than Squishy.<br />
<br />
Squishy's in a really friendly phase and she likes to say "HI!" and wave to everyone.<br />
<br />
We were playing near the smaller kid structure and the 3 year old came over, I'll call him 3, and Squishy said Hi!<br />
<br />
3 played around us for awhile and then had his mama put him in a swing next to his brother and she was pushing both the kids. <br />
<br />
This was their conversation:<br />
3: Last push mama. I want to go play with that beautiful baby over there. <i>(I swear he said that).</i><br />
Mom: Okay.<br />
3: She's a nice baby. She said Hi to me.<br />
3 (Looking at his baby brother): He's not a nice baby!<br />
Mom (trying not to laugh): Why do you say that?<br />
3: Because he BITES!<br />
<br />
The mom was trying so hard not to laugh and so was I. It was pretty priceless.<br />
<br />
Happy 15 months Squishy! Three year old boys think you're nice and beautiful :)Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-86288397249247076432013-08-05T14:17:00.002-07:002013-08-05T14:17:31.765-07:00Trying<i>For the record: I debated as to whether or not I wanted to make this post. I hemmed I hawed, but ultimately I decided I wanted to. If only so that those close to me and who read this know why I'm a little preoccupied over the next few weeks or months (hopefully weeks). Friends and family are not allowed to ask how this is coming along. I'll announce when I see fit :)</i><br />
<br />
We are officially trying for #2. <br />
<i> </i><br />
We decided to start about a week ago, just in time for this month. We'll try for my July-September cycles and if it doesn't happen then we will wait until January. Mainly because it's crazy hot here in the summer and I have no desire to be hugely pregnant in the summer and also we're planning around a family vacation that takes place in July.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Right now I'm in what people call the TWW or two week wait for those who aren't all up on the TTC (trying to conceive forums). What is this TWW you ask? It's the two weeks you usually have to wait between when you ovulate and when you get your BFP (big fat positive preggo test) or when you get shark week (aka the menstrual flow of sadness). The TWW sucks balls! All I want to do is know or not. My gut tells me this isn't our month but I want to know for sure and I want it to be time to move on to next month if it isn't.<br />
<br />
This month we kept it low key and didn't do anything to up our chances except for trying around when I'm ovulating. If we move on to next month I'll use ovulation prediction kits and temperature charting to give us the best shot possible. I've actually started charting already to get in the habit.<br />
<br />
I have to say this is so much more stressful than getting pregnant with Squishy. Squishy was a "wanna risk it?" "sure!" moment. I don't regret it for a minute and it was lovely spending two weeks not stressing until I got that test. This whole actually trying thing is tough. I do not have the patience needed for this! <br />
<br />
I have a few more days until I can test and even if it's positive I won't be telling the world for awhile. ***This will probably be my last post on this until I announce a pregnancy.*** In the meantime I'm trying to kill time by reading a done, playing with Squishy a lot, reading the drama filled April 2014 Birth Club on babycenter, and cleaning. <br />
<br />
Keep your fingers crossed that this month or next month are the ones for us :) Or September at the latest. <br />
<br />
Love xxoo Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-36877870156524875582013-07-16T22:24:00.000-07:002013-07-16T22:24:33.973-07:00Too Smart for Her BritchesSquishy is 14 months now and she's already too smart for her britches. I've worked with kids for a long time. I taught two year olds for a good portion of that time. I'm used to sneaky kiddos. I'm used to grumpy kiddos. But heaven help me, I didn't know it could start so soon. I have two quick stories to share (quick post before bed), that I think are hilarious and make me wonder what the teenage years will be like.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHS5JvDKGhsITbIQgSVyglk8K7CQLHwopGJXArHpLbNvDaYQOMtMNcxsJMn47bvDAXc_U8VbBEMNXJ8DCuNrOlTNZ8LP6SS5nLVWNKGKYjtEbZ8PhztTGW7vQPMy9vORa4C1QziAb7a4/s1600/DSCN2094+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHS5JvDKGhsITbIQgSVyglk8K7CQLHwopGJXArHpLbNvDaYQOMtMNcxsJMn47bvDAXc_U8VbBEMNXJ8DCuNrOlTNZ8LP6SS5nLVWNKGKYjtEbZ8PhztTGW7vQPMy9vORa4C1QziAb7a4/s320/DSCN2094+(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gratuitous cake picture of my silly girl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
1. Hubby has some little ninja toys he's had since he was in elementary school. A few years back when I helped him clean his mom's house we rediscovered them and they came home with us. For a long time they say on his desk at work but when he changed offices they found their way home and into some drawers that sit next to our computer desk. Squishy discovered them a few weeks ago but we've discouraged her playing with them as she shouldn't be going through the drawers. <br />
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<u><i>Follow the cut</i></u><br />
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<a name='more'></a><u><i> </i></u> <br /><br />
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Now Squishy likes to wander from room to room. Fine by me. I know she's safe and after a head start I follow her. The other day her meanderings brought her back to our bedroom (where the computer desk lives) and I heard her being awfully quiet. I came into the room, with hubby behind me and what did we find? Squishy playing with the ninjas.<br />
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Not surprising, kids get into stuff. The kicker: <i>the minute she saw us walk in she started shoving all of the ninjas back in the drawer and tried to close it as fast as she could!!</i><br />
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WHAT!?!? She just turned 1 two months ago. How can she already be sneaky?<br />
<i> </i><br />
2. One of her other favorite "toys" right now is the dog water bowl. She likes to try to splash in it. She likes to put things in it. I've even caught her trying to drink from it. None of which is acceptable. So when she does it I pick her up and move her into the living room so that she's removed from the temptation. Well, on Sunday she decided to give her sippy cup a swim and so I scooped her up and put her in the living room. <br />
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She put her head on the ground and cried for a second. Then picked herself by the proverbial bootstraps, looked me in the eye with a grump face, and then walked her little self to the front door and tried to reach the door knob. My 1 year old tried to run away! Again, isn't she a little too young for that?<br />
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Ugh. I have to laugh because she's just so ridiculous. I just can't laugh in front of her because I need to be serious business mommy; but, oh my goodness sometimes it is so hard not to just crack up at her determined little self.<br />
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As scared as I am about what she'll get into as time goes on, I am so excited to see how quick witted she grows up to be. I think she's definitely one we'll have to challenge.<br />
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<br />Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-53719450324594493942013-07-11T21:39:00.000-07:002015-01-23T13:23:17.088-08:00How to Make a Diaper Wreath/I'm BackI finally have a desktop again which means I can blog again! I guess I could have blogged from my phone but that would have been silly and lame and for some reason my phone is kooky and I can never scroll on posts. So, here I am.<br />
<br />
And I come baring a cute tutorial. I made this diaper wreath for a friend's baby shower back in April and I've been dying to share it with you but no computer + nowhere to put pictures the pictures I took = no tutorial until now.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnX1T4MzRCCacUezyufpb5H0DKTdEne0Cp7a7oMOr62sNUugxhW2I8Aaq0By5rtnu6TP1u3oFgdFbN9STqU9NWLf_yZi27E4V9yDYW8sEt6m2vknmzyFwieYTSlwOcgtx0IZzQMt_43H4/s1600/DSCN2023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnX1T4MzRCCacUezyufpb5H0DKTdEne0Cp7a7oMOr62sNUugxhW2I8Aaq0By5rtnu6TP1u3oFgdFbN9STqU9NWLf_yZi27E4V9yDYW8sEt6m2vknmzyFwieYTSlwOcgtx0IZzQMt_43H4/s400/DSCN2023.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The diaper wreath!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Follow the cut for the tutorial<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Materials:<br />
* Foam wreath (I found mine at Michaels but most large craft stores should have them)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018N41J4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0018N41J4&linkCode=as2&tag=squimama-20&linkId=RYYPS4UFR7V43ZUZ">FloraCraft Styrofoam Extruded Wreath 12" White</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=squimama-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0018N41J4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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* A thing of diapers (I think I used size 1)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I9L44BI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00I9L44BI&linkCode=as2&tag=squimama-20&linkId=F33XSHQTH5V45IHM">Pampers Swaddlers Diapers, Size 1, Jumbo Pack, 35 Count</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=squimama-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00I9L44BI" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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* Some thin ribbons (I used two)<br />
* A thicker ribbon as accent<br />
* Push pins (I found really pretty pearl like ones in the wedding section)<br />
* Onesies (optional)<br />
* Teethers/rattles/misc. small toys (optional)<br />
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1. I started off by opening the diapers up along the fold and wrapping them around the foam wreath. I then gathered the extra diaper at the top of the wreath and bundled it together and tied it with ribbon. I alternated between two colors but you can do whatever floats your boat.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYN4BT6CsCbqYkD0_vhLgckMn8LP-fScS_ZrAbH0R1M2Dy4Isb0op93NhpYxMJTzHAN98MJYcZgxrzEWS9gkY5clVozpwt09O_q7SiszlifBtZMfOBTmgPrj-AXQs9eZj9U0kh1riOCrc/s1600/DSCN2018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYN4BT6CsCbqYkD0_vhLgckMn8LP-fScS_ZrAbH0R1M2Dy4Isb0op93NhpYxMJTzHAN98MJYcZgxrzEWS9gkY5clVozpwt09O_q7SiszlifBtZMfOBTmgPrj-AXQs9eZj9U0kh1riOCrc/s320/DSCN2018.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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2. Once I had the wreath full of diapers, but with a little wiggle room, I started to add the accent ribbon. Using the pretty pins I had found I pinned the ribbon in between two diapers, ran the ribbon across the diaper, and then pinned it on the other side and continued until I had the entire wreath ringed with ribbon. Please be careful not to pin on the diapers. Don't want to risk leaks for a new mama.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpE3cwHev16Yej4vKHpNXLZIilQImmgB54s1x-zTAdAFX6g1F7hMjY0gDqCRtd8i8-WkeJgw1bHhO6iGmOt59ch8PA3HTjiaW54DRR0EJc65FfxFkcCmZs8PNOt_8x5rFTi0wuheHzOk/s1600/DSCN2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpE3cwHev16Yej4vKHpNXLZIilQImmgB54s1x-zTAdAFX6g1F7hMjY0gDqCRtd8i8-WkeJgw1bHhO6iGmOt59ch8PA3HTjiaW54DRR0EJc65FfxFkcCmZs8PNOt_8x5rFTi0wuheHzOk/s320/DSCN2021.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pretty pins helped with the look a lot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i>That can be it if you want, it still looks great that way; but, if you're like me and want to add a little extra follow along after the basic completion picture.</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh41jSn-89EWUWi-6tS56xNnR14HLGI1xiaoOun9vGlMHdriDbL5YqDwoWuWMo5Kd5DYUIz523-t9VhimqcOs8uaDKHl4Aa-n9qgJRRmaKF8UfCKMwl97Rd7jDoWUnQjkN5iGvCA2WtKg/s1600/DSCN2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh41jSn-89EWUWi-6tS56xNnR14HLGI1xiaoOun9vGlMHdriDbL5YqDwoWuWMo5Kd5DYUIz523-t9VhimqcOs8uaDKHl4Aa-n9qgJRRmaKF8UfCKMwl97Rd7jDoWUnQjkN5iGvCA2WtKg/s320/DSCN2020.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basic wreath.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i> </i>3. I wanted to add a little something more so I took the onesies I had purchased, and folded them into a rectangle. Then I looped ribbon around the middle and cinched it tight and fluffed the ends so that it would look like a bow. I made two of those. Then I also added a few teethers to hang in the center of the wreath.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguafpY0jcIiOwrECYP3bFk_65dHAJmYdBfl2FUDrA4vlemoZm8ASWv6oRuHRkj5hXjZcKtUjG6AmjgABi_GMkko2JHEn2rSCDUcMCkK0ZcuIKrpD_y6RGmQCH4sBRFGFKJz2LSVBnPzLc/s1600/DSCN2023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguafpY0jcIiOwrECYP3bFk_65dHAJmYdBfl2FUDrA4vlemoZm8ASWv6oRuHRkj5hXjZcKtUjG6AmjgABi_GMkko2JHEn2rSCDUcMCkK0ZcuIKrpD_y6RGmQCH4sBRFGFKJz2LSVBnPzLc/s320/DSCN2023.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished product again!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The whole project was super easy, cute, and I received a lot of complements on it. It's easy to customize for whatever the mama to be is into, or based on gender. Plus, there are also a ton of different ways that you could attach toys or clothes to give it that extra pop. It also only took me about 60 minutes, and that was while I was distracted watching Supernatural or something like that. :)<br />
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<i>Anywho, I'm glad to be back. I'll update on our lives soon for those of you who are interested in that. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this project that I have been itching to post!</i><br />
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<i>** This post contains affiliate links which help allow me to continue providing interesting and new content. </i><br />
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Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-25960662784344153192013-03-18T10:14:00.001-07:002013-03-18T10:14:32.706-07:00Sad DayI knew this day was coming but it's still sad. My laptop has officially died. Im praying we can get some of my more important files off of it but we shall see. So posting may be sporadic for a bit until I can buy a new computer I'll still be around though.Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-57331108242060658722013-03-14T14:43:00.002-07:002013-03-14T14:43:28.013-07:00ConfessionsThis post is about to get serious so if you don't like that, now is your chance to walk away.<br />
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Over the next few months my goal in life is to get better. What do I mean by that? Well, I've battled an eating disorder on and off for the last 13 years or so. <br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
If you're a friend of mine you're probably saying "WTF? How is that possible? Gina doesn't look anorexic!" Well unlike anorexia or bulimia, which can be hard to hide, I've battled binge eating disorder (also called overeating disorder). People like to argue as to whether or not it's a real ED; but, many professionals are realizing it is.<br />
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Really, I've known I've had it for a long time; but, who wants to admit they have an eating disorder. And mine has always been fairly unnoticeable and there have been times where it's been almost nonexistent.<br />
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I've always had a fairly unhealthy relationship with food.<br />
Growing up:<br />
<ul>
<li>We rarely ate at the table</li>
<li>Often ate in front of the TV</li>
<li>The only veggies I ate were corn, carrots, and salad</li>
<li>Dessert was an every night thing</li>
<li>Family activity didn't happen</li>
</ul>
When I was really little I was a healthy weight but by late elementary school I started to get heavier. <br />
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Seventh grade was when things got bad. My parents separated (and soon divorced) that year and as a result my mom had to go back to work full time. Suddenly I was going home after school to an empty house. Instead of doing homework or some type of after school activity I would eat. And it wouldn't just be an after noon snack.<br />
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I'd eat multiple pieces of bologna, frosting from the cabinet, huge ice cream sundaes I created... basically anything I could get my hands on. Then I'd make sure I would put everything back in the EXACT same spot. Facing the same direction and everything. <br />
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It was even worse at my dad's house because he felt so bad about the divorce that I was allowed to do whatever I wanted. I'd eat whole bags of popcorn and then a whole thing of Ben & Jerry's. I'd eat until I was full and then eat some more. Even when I felt sick I often wouldn't stop.<br />
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In high school I was still heavy but my binging got better. I worked after school so I really didn't have time but during break at school I'd buy orders of breadsticks or other treats even though it was only a few hours until lunch.<br />
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In college things got even better for awhile. I started making better food choices. I started working out religiously and tracking what I ate. I lost about 20-25 pounds in a completely healthy way. Unfortunately, my family didn't see me often while I was away at school and when I went home significantly thinner and chose to eat a salad instead of a huge meal while out, they decided I was anorexic. My dad's girlfriend made snide comments and my dad even called my mom to ask her if she thought I was okay. It was horrible. It hurt and is a horrific example of body shaming. In retrospect I know those comments were made out of their own frustration with their weight but it still tore me down and my healthy habits started hanging by a thread. <br />
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At the end of my second year of college my roommate (and supposedly good friend) moved out on me with 12 hours notice when we were planning on staying in our apartment all summer. It wasn't pretty. It was cruel. And, sadly, that action cut that hanging thread.<br />
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For the next year I ate horribly. Lots of takeout. Lots of eating. I'd eat a whole loaf of bread in an evening...with pasta. I'd order the largest container of frozen yogurt and eat all of it. Things were really bad again.<br />
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A year later hubby and I got together and things were pretty good. We worked hard to make some healthier choices together. We counted calories together and went to they gym together. Before our wedding I was working our regularly.<br />
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After we got married I was good for awhile; but, when we started the process of buying a house I started stress eating. Not really binging though. <br />
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Then I got pregnant at my highest adult weight. Then I gained baby weight. Now I'm at 180 pounds. Yup, I'm telling the world. At 5'2 I should be around 135 at the high end. So that's 45 extra pounds on my frame.<br />
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Since I've had Squishy things have been bad again. I'll eat out and hide the evidence from hubby. I'll do mini binges. I started eating fast food again. It's the unhealthiest I've been in at least four years.<br />
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BUT, the reason I'm coming clean is because I'm trying to heal myself. I know I eat when I'm stressed, when I'm mad, and when I'm bored. No more. It's time to change. I want to get pregnant in the fall and I don't want to be borderline gestational diabetic again. It's time to get it together.<br />
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Change is a-coming. Though most of it will be chronicled on my tumblr and not here :)<br />
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Mini-confession time: I also have anxiety. <br />
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My social anxiety is the hardest to deal with. I HATE meeting new people. It's physically exhausting and mentally draining for me. Putting me into a group of people is literally a form of torture for me. Unless there are <i>multiple</i> people I know there it is an absolutely horrible situation for me. I also hate the phone. I don't know why. Unless your family I don't want to talk to you on the phone. I feel awkward and I constantly feel like you don't actually want to be talking to me.<br />
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Understandably, that's ruined some friendships. I care a lot about people but I won't necessarily contact you. It's not because I don't care, but because I don't think to. Being social isn't natural for me (unless I'm tipsy or in a really random mood). I also feel like I'm annoying and that people are only friends with me because they feel bad for me. (Thank you disordered thinking). As a result I have a pretty small group of friends. Friendships are easier for me if I can see you frequently.<br />
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I also have a severe phobia of death. Like panic attack inducing fear. Even writing this is hard. I'm going to have to do it quickly. If I think too long about not existing (I don't believe in heaven usually) my heart will start to race, I'll start to sweat, I'll have a hard time breathing, sometimes I get tunnel vision, and I will dwell on it for hours. It's horrible. <br />
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Those are my confessions for the day. I'm working on it. I'm getting healthy. I'm being a good mama. I'm making this work :<br />
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Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-4311869468361157412013-03-11T11:34:00.002-07:002013-03-11T11:34:46.196-07:00Busy WeekendWe had such a busy weekend! Almost nothing got done at the house, which isn't good since Squishy's first birthday is in less than 2 months, but we had fun nonetheless.<br />
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On Saturday I had my first ever vendor event as an Independent Scentsy Consultant. I only found out about it a week beforehand so I had almost no stock on hand and all I knew was that it was going to be at a storage unit place.<br />
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Turns out it was in this funky grassy lot in front of the house that goes with the storage place. Really weird. There were probably about 10 vendors and I'm super proud to say that I probably sold close to the best. People were loving the buddies (one of my favorite products). I love them because I can put the scent that I'm warming at home into Squishy's buddy and it can remind her of home. I also sold some wax and some scent circles for peoples cars. They're hoping to make it a monthly thing and we have a planning meeting for the next one to try to figure out how to get more people to stop by.<br />
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Saturday evening was pretty easy, as was Sunday morning. <br />
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Sunday morning we added to our family. In March our local feed store does an event called "Chick Days'. On that day they start selling chicks, ducks, turkeys, and geese for the season. There is a whole room with tons of different kinds.<br />
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And we bought 4 chicks for Squishy. Bringing our grand total of animals at our house to 17! I swear it doesn't seem like that much and I promise we aren't hoarders. We now have 3 dogs, 4 fish, 6 regular hens, and 4 bantam chicks.<br />
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Bantams are smaller than regular chickens by a good amount. Now we just need to hope they are either all girls or three girls with only one rooster. I can't have any more than one rooster. We'll just have to wait and see. Our other batches have all been girls but we've been lucky. I've joked that these ones will all be roosters with our luck.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5B1eFDNR0DNmee1crB5uAN7wBmiErv-UZRAvqpqrW1ucqdHiSHqC7KRG5ANxWP3bRDOZ_cOzCuQE3Z0UsEG_JLwLeG7qZcwx8QZR875ieu1j50i3-QAtwWmdczvK75EhGe-6iqxoHY9o/s1600/chicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5B1eFDNR0DNmee1crB5uAN7wBmiErv-UZRAvqpqrW1ucqdHiSHqC7KRG5ANxWP3bRDOZ_cOzCuQE3Z0UsEG_JLwLeG7qZcwx8QZR875ieu1j50i3-QAtwWmdczvK75EhGe-6iqxoHY9o/s320/chicks.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Since they are Squishy's they all have Disney princess names. They black one is Belle, the gray one is Tiana, the yellow one is Snow White, and the red one is Merida.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTU38GTFENfjxPEDjmzPL-JSl4Z1tg6XYDZYryp2bBnRmLcoDIH" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTU38GTFENfjxPEDjmzPL-JSl4Z1tg6XYDZYryp2bBnRmLcoDIH" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red one is supposed to look like this someday!!! It's called a red frizzle.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chickenforum.com/images/4/4/4/japanese-bantam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://www.chickenforum.com/images/4/4/4/japanese-bantam.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our yellow one should look likes this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm not sure what our gray one or black one will look like yet as I forget their breeds. But the black one does have fluffy feet like the frizzle!</div>
Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-66892483921893997172013-02-25T21:30:00.001-08:002013-02-25T21:30:22.998-08:00SweetHeart VoxboxI got another lovely VoxBox from Influenster. This one is the SweetHeart Voxbox and I got it today. I haven't tried any of the products yet so no review today but I figured I'd share what I got in it and tell you a little bit more about Influenster in case you've been wondering what the heck I've been talking about :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SweetHeart VoxBox Contents</td></tr>
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Contains:<br />
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<li>Olay Fresh Effects - powered cleanser</li>
<li>Secret Clinical Strength - Deoderant</li>
<li>Not Your Mothers - Hairspray</li>
<li>SkinnyGirl Daily - a blueberry greek yogurt granola bar.</li>
</ul>
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I love Influenster. As I've said in previous post I've gotten some pretty cool stuff. In addition to this box I got a box with 3 dish soaps and another that had a hair brush, oatmeal, a face mask, lip gloss, a giftcard for Sole Society, a packet of Eboost, and Kiss Nail Dress.<br />
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I get the products and I try them, review the ones I really like, and then fill out a mandatory survey. As long as I stay active they will send me more boxes. Now, I don't qualify for all of the boxes. I only get the ones that fit my demographics; but, I've gotten some pretty cool stuff and I would be pretty busy if I got them all.<br />
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If anyone is interested just let me know in the comments. It's invite only but I have a few invites left :)<br />
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Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-61816673163587859292013-02-25T20:06:00.001-08:002013-02-25T20:06:49.965-08:00Fitness, Birthdays, Move Outs, & House Purging!Well, we have had a rather busy week. An amazing week really. Let us address the subject of this blog in order with the most awesome topic at the end.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>Fitness</b><br />
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You may, or may not, have noticed that I haven't really been posting my fitness related stuff on here. I'm still very active in getting healthy and am pursuing it full bore; but, I'm focusing my fitness writings on my tumblr. This is more about our family, parenthood, and crafting type stuff. If you're interested in the link to that just let me know, I'm happy to share. I also finally got a B.O.B. jogging stroller and it's amazing.<br />
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<b>Birthdays:</b><br />
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We are starting to plan Squishy's birthday as she'll be one at the beginning of May and nearly everyone has to travel 4-8 hours to get to us. So invites have been purchased and just need to be written out and mailed. I have the cake place picked out. Now I just need to figure out what we want to do for food and how we're going to set up the backyard to accommodate guests. <b> </b><br />
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<b>Move outs:</b><br />
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So, I don't think I've ever talked about it on this blog; but, my mother-in-law has lived with us since October of 2011. I mainly haven't written about it because it sucked. She ended up losing her house to foreclosure and didn't have a good enough job to even get an apartment so since she had no other plans and no family near by I was trying to be a good newlywed wife and I offered to let her move in thinking she'd get on her feet quickly. Of course, a week after I said that we found out I was pregnant.<br />
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My MIL didn't end up getting a job until seven months later and even then it was only part time. I know she kind of tried to look for a job; but, she didn't leave the house to try which makes finding a job difficult. <br />
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She's not a bad person by any means but having to share my new house (we only bought it 2 months before she moved in) really took a toll on me and I was feeling a little mentally crazy and depressed. Plus, we want to have another child so in November, we gave her until May 1st to either be out or to have a well enough paying job to save to move out. <br />
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In January we found out she had a boyfriend through a friend who saw them together but she never mentioned him. The situation was kind of weird because even though she lived with us, it was like ships passing in the night. We never talked. On my end I just ignored her because I was too frazzled and frustrated and it was easier to pretend she wasn't living with us if I ignored her. <br />
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So last Thursday the baby and I walked to work and when I got home she was loading something heavy into her car. I thought it was strange but whatever. Then when I got inside I noticed she was doing laundry when her laundry day is supposed to be Sunday. It was the sheets off the futon she'd been sleeping on. The bedding was mine but I didn't think too much of it. Her cat lived in that room with her and was pretty sick so I figured maybe the cat had just gotten sick.<br />
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Then hubby and I went for a walk and he realized that the heavy thing that she loaded into her car was her computer. We thought that was weird but whatever. We joked that maybe she was moving out haha. Well then at 8:30 at night while we were watching TV she came out and asked hubby if he could help her carry her stuff to the car. As he walked away I mouthed "Is she moving out?" The answer was YES. She moved out, at night, to her bf's, who we've never met, whose address we don't have, and whose name we don't know. To top it off....she said she was trying to leave 4 hours earlier which would would have been when we weren't home. She was trying to sneak out! So strange. So she's gone. I don't know where to & and we haven't heard from her. Literally the weirdest move out ever.<br />
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<b>House Purging</b><br />
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Well, now that we have an extra bedroom again we've started moving stuff around and having a house redecorating/stuff getting rid of/yard straightening party. <br />
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All three of our dogs are crate trained and since we had the baby and and lost our extra room too, our dog crates were first in the living room (ugh) and then in our bedroom (slightly better but still sucked). So now, the dog crates are in that extra room and we also moved Squishy's toys in the their so it's a playroom too. Makes things nice because she is getting into EVERYTHING right now and she can't hurt herself in there or get into anything she shouldn't.<br />
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With the crates out of our bedroom we moved our bedroom around completely. Switched the wall our bed is on. I had wanted it on this wall originally; but we measured and didn't think it would fit with both of our nightstands so we put it the way it had been. IT TOTALLY FIT! And now our room looks so much bigger even though we moved our computer desk in our room as well. <br />
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I am so happy! We had our computer desk in with my MIL so that she could use her computer so we've been without a desktop or printer for almost a year. We've been relying on our phones and my ailing macbook. <br />
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With all the moving around of stuff I've also found a few things to get rid of. There is a super cute desk I painted but it's been in our garage for months and we won't have room for it in the house for a long time. I got it at the goodwill. I can paint another desk sometime. I don't want to have store it for years when it'll be easy to replace. I have a ton of stuff like that and I've listed them all on a local buy, sell and trade facebook group.<br />
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Finally, we've started working on our backyard. 3 dogs have taken it's toll on our yard and when you combine that with the fact that a baby makes it hard to do yard work our backyard has been neglected. We spent this weekend working on turning a portion of our yard into a dog run. Our backyard came with a cement pad surrounded by lattice and I got to take out a panel of the lattice with a sledgehammer and we are extending the remaining lattice to the fence creating a run for the dogs alongside the house and then on the cement pad as well. It's kind of hard to explain; but, I'll post pictures when I'm done. We are also planting some jasmine to climb the lattice (jasmine smells amazing) and we bought some raspberry plants that we need to plant.<br />
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Over the next few weekends we'll revitalize the grass, hopefully get some more outdoor furniture, and just a general tidy. Should be a lot easier when the dogs start only using their dog run for their business. Hopefully it'll be nice and beautiful for Squishy's birthday since our party will mainly be outside. Our big family's wont fit inside!<br />
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~~This is my update. More to come soon. Hopefully with pictures.~~<br />
<br />Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-53551539219231934362013-02-20T09:47:00.002-08:002013-02-20T09:47:18.333-08:00Why Being an Only Child is LameI am an only child and sometimes it really sucks. I know, I just burst your bubble people with siblings. Sure there are those only children who didn't have to do chores because they were so precious and sure there are some who think they are special snowflakes. BUT, that's probably not the norm. This post is about realities.<br />
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I want to be clear that I don't begrudge my parents at all that I'm an only child. They tried their hardest to give me a sibling. It just wasn't in the cards apparently. So this is in no way an attack on them. It's more my rant as to why I refuse to let Squishy be an only child and why being an only child isn't all it's cracked up to be.<br />
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The hardest part about being an only child is that there is NO ONE ELSE to take care of my parents. Let that sink in. If you have a sibling, or two, or three, or a Duggar-like-clan of them you have someone else to share the job with. I have hubby and that's it. <br />
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All of that was made painfully clear when I got a text from my dad on Valentine's day informing me that he had a heart attack. Yes, he had a heart attack on Valentine's day. And yes, he did text me and didn't call. <br />
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Being that my parents are divorced, my grandparents are elderly, and my dad doesn't have a great relationship with his siblings I spent Friday driving 200+ miles with a nine month old, a dog, and a husband who wanted to be supportive but wasn't really happy to be sitting in a car for 4 hours. <br />
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Saturday hubby and I had to drive to the hospital that we had never been to, in a major U.S. city with an overabundance of no left turn signs and one way streets, and then we had to park in parking garage that costs $15 an hour. TO VISIT SOMEONE AT THE HOSPITAL YOU HAVE TO PAY FIFTEEN DOLLARS!<br />
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My dad was released that day and I had to ask his doctor questions. Hubby and I had to make sure he had his medication. Help him get his car. I have to talk to him every few days to make sure he's taking his medication, to make sure he's resting, to make sure he's not smoking (because of the 3 stents he had put in lighting up a cigarette in the next 4-6 weeks could instantly trigger a heart attack). <br />
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All of this has been a super shitty reminder that as my mom & dad age (neither remarried) and my husband's mom ages (his dad has other children and a wife) we are the only people who are here to support and take care of them. I don't blame them as I've said. All of our parents tried to have more children. But it's still hard to think about the fact that hubby and I will have to do all this on our own. <br />
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This is the truth of being an only child. This is why, if for some reason I can't have another child, we will most definitely be adopting a sibling for Squishy. I want her to have a support system so that when hubby and I are old and sick she has someone to help her other than a spouse or her own children. <br />
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I know that some people only have one child for financial reasons or because they are unable to have more and I'm understanding of that; but, as an only child I feel so bad for kids whose parents choose to only have one child. I feel like those parents don't think about what being an only child will mean way down the line and that's really sad to me. <br />
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**Okay rant done, and semi-story about my dad done. Just something that's been on my mind a lot lately. Also probably explains why I have CRAZY baby fever already and why I can't wait to have another one. I'll probably feel better when there are 2. :)Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-39302213314153716882013-02-10T19:13:00.001-08:002013-02-10T19:13:21.027-08:00Two Posts in 1 Day?Yes! Too cute not to share. Squishy's first nine months! We decided early on that we wanted to chronicle her first year like this and when I found that sweet hippo picture at Costco I knew what I had to do. Some months we've been in a little late, but we've still chronicled each month thus far. :)<br />
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<br />Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224185369189412318.post-46307860830841449692013-02-10T16:54:00.000-08:002013-02-10T16:54:30.689-08:00Activities for an 8-12 Month OldWhen I first had Squishy there wasn't much she could do other than sleep and eat obviously. Now that she's 9 months we finally have stuff that we can do. I know that sometimes I struggle with new things we can do so I thought I'd share what we do together and hopefully if you do something different with your little one you could share it in the comments!<br />
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<li>Lately Squishy seems really into music. It helps her to stop fussing. Sometimes I catch her hitting things in rhythm even. So the other day she got a hold of a metal spoon and thought banging it on the wooden furniture was an acceptable life choice (for the record, it's not). Instead I gave her a large, light pot and a spatula with a wooden handle and rubber top to hit it with. She spent a decent amount of time rocking out. Plus she did some experimenting to see what other things she could hit on the pot to make noise (apparently Little People, hands, and dolls are all good drum sticks).</li>
<li>She's big enough now that occasionally we take her to the park and try out the baby swings. So far she loves them. As evidenced by her ginormous open mouth. She'll even go down the slide with me. </li>
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<ul>
<li>Going along with her love of music, we also like to have dance parties. I blast some music on the record player and I either dance around with her in my arms or I hold her hands while she bounces about (which helps to work on leg strength).</li>
<li> It's still cold out but we still like to go outside. I like to bundle Squishy up and then let her explore the grass in the front yard for a bit. It allows for new sensory experiences, helps her get some fresh air, and allows her to get some vitamin D.</li>
<li>We read books. We read lots of books. I also make sure there are books that she can explore so that she can get used to turning pages and enjoying. </li>
<li>Squishy also loves to try new food. Little tastes of lots of different stuff. Always a good time.</li>
<li>When it's gross outside we can normally get a good 10-15 minutes out of laundry basket rides. I put her in a laundry basket and carefully push it around the floor. It seems to be hilarious. </li>
<li>Walks and hikes. I either strap her on my back for a hike or take her for a walk in the stroller. She loves both and is always looking around to scope everything out. </li>
<li>BOXES! Babies love boxes. Whenever I have a spare box I give it to her and let me tell you, it provides a lot of fun. </li>
<li>I put on puppet shows with her stuffed animals. Her interest may not last long; but, she finds it hilarious for that little bit. </li>
</ul>
What do you like to do with your little one? Gina Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982157370590085966noreply@blogger.com1