A Week Late and Day 1

Do I have you scared? lol I'm only a week late on my New Years post. (Nothing else is late!)
Christmas was pretty awesome. Holly and Peggie were here, we won Super Mario Bros Wii and got really close to beating Mario Galaxy 2. We played LIFE, 1/2 of Monopoly, plenty of card games, and some new games Peggie got us called Privacy, and Truth be Told. I don't know about everyone else but I had fun. I had forgotten how easy it is to mess up the house and how hard it is to clean with so many people. They've been gone 3 days and I'm just now finishing up the kitchen/downstairs. Haven't even begun to clean upstairs. Which of course is not entirely their fault. I seem to slip back into my childish ways and get even more lazy than I am regularly and didn't fold any of my clean clothes...they are spread out on my bedroom floor.

We had a slightly...anxious...holiday season. Just before the sisters got here I found a lump in breast. Rather than waiting we went to the doctor straight away. I had 2-3 screenings, an ultra sound, a mammogram and finally a biopsy just to find out that it was something to do with breastfeeding. But I'm glad we went in sooner rather than later. I'd rather know what it is and be safe, than not know and end up dieing from breast cancer because we didn't catch it in time.

Elliott is doing more "proper" crawling than army crawling these days! She's amazing and gets were ever she wants to go. She has already even attempted to climb the stairs. I was there watching her, just seeing how far she would get. It's time to invest in some baby gates. We've finally got out the play pin, because she is to big for the bouncer now and I can't just leave her in the middle of the floor when I need to clean the kitchen or vacuum.We've been toying with the idea of moving her crib into her room, hoping that since I won't immediately hear the tiniest noise she makes, than I won't jump up to get her before she's actually awake. But I'm still not sure I am ready for that. If/when we do that I'll be getting up and sitting to nurse her, rather than bringing her into our bed and going back to sleep while she nurses. Which will make me more tired come morning...but with the chance of her waking up less often...Well after a few nights (or weeks) we all might get more sleep. It will happen eventually...just not tonight. =)

This post is kind of jumping all over the place...sorry about that. I just have one more thing I want to share. And that is...

I think that sometime (a few years from now) I want to become a surrogate mother for a couple that can not have a child of their own. I'm not old enough at the moment, and I want to be done breastfeeding Elliott before I even begin the surrogate stuff. I want to spend time and enjoy my own daughter. In a year or two when Elliott is older Matt and I will talk and if we decide we want another child for ourselves...then that is what we will do. If we decide that Elliott is the only child we want, than we will discuss me being a surrogate further. If we do have another child for ourselves...than I'll wait a few years after that child is born to entertain the idea of being a surrogate then. This is not the first time that I've come across this idea, but I know that right now is not the right time, and I know that I will need plenty of time to thoroughly think about this (and maybe some counseling) before I will know if I am truly able to carry a baby for 9 months and then give it away at birth.

OK I think now one last thing.I've come across a "30 Day Challenge" That I would like to try. For the next 30 days I will post once a day with a picture of some sort. Sounds a little stupid but at least it will get me writing right??

DAY ONE:
A picture of yourself.

This is the most recent picture of me. Taken before Matt's work Christmas party.

Learning a New Language

So we've all heard of American sign language, and some have even heard of it being used for infants. Making it easier for our children to "tell" us what they want, before they can verbally tell us. Well of course I'm a seriously interested in this. It's so neat. I've always wanted to learn to sign, and what better time than when I'm teaching my daughter? =) I've found a really neat site that shows you how to sign a whole but of words. We will in no way be fluent, but with the site I've found (click here to visit site) Elliott will be able to tell me that she wants to wear "red socks" or that she needs a diaper "change" or that she wants some "milk"

Elliott probably wont sign for a couple of weeks to a couple of months. Right now is just a learning stage. Even Matt is helping with the signing. We are having fun learning and teaching Elliott.

Oh and here as a special treat is a video of Elliott's first full out laugh. It's dark, but that's ok =)

No More Disposables!

We are officially and totally out of disposable diapers! We now have 32 cloth diapers for Elliott. I'm so excited! The ones that just came in are pretty awesome! They are a bunch of different colors and are not as "puffy" as the first ones we got. Which means we'll have to change her diaper a little more often with the new diapers but they fit a little more like disposables so she's not stretching out her onsies all the time. We still have the older ones, I use them at night and for when we got out and might not be able to change her diaper when we should. (We all know it happens) Here are some pictures. I got Elliott to model one for the camera. =)

Aren't they simply adorable! I love them. When I ordered them, they said I could pick which colors I wanted and I specified the number of each color I wanted, but I didn't get what I wanted. Which irritates me. There was a cute one with bunnies on it that I didn't get. But before any of you repeat "Complain" I'm not going to. It's not that big of a deal. I'll just have to live with what we got. Ok now that you are all caught up on the cloth diaper situation I must go. 

Change of Pie Plans

Well...more like the cancellation of pie plans. That idea died out within two days of writing the post about it. Sad, I know. But really, thinking about it...it just won't work.

Fortunately I've come up with a new idea that has stuck with me for a couple weeks now. As you all know I've recently started cloth diapering my daughter, as well as looking into many homemade/natural alternatives to everyday cleaning products. I want to start making these products, test them out and if all goes well...sell them. I'm still in the research stage, trying to find the best recipes for everything. When I get to the testing stage, I will need a few volunteers to help "test" my products. (Unfortunately the testers might need to make a donation, since I can't exactly hand out stuff for free.) Anyway, here is a list of natural homemade products I am thinking of making and selling:

Lip balm
Deodorant
Bath Salts
Reusable cloth breast pads (for lactating mothers...or the few men that might have a lactating problem)
Reusable cloth menstrual pads (washable, comfy, money saving, eco-friendly)

That's all I can think of right now. Depending on how the making and testing stages go, I may or may not drop/add items. I am going to be making laundry detergent and hair care but I'm not sure if I want to sell them. I can however still give you the recipes I end up using.

For this next part of the post if you are opposed to talking about a woman's monthly cycle I suggest you discontinue reading.

I know the idea of cloth menstrual pads sounds a little gross at first. But if you think about the benefits for you and the earth than it's not so bad. That is one reason we switched to cloth diapers for Elliott. They are more comfy for her tiny tooshie, they cost friendly, eco-friendly  and come in many cute colors and designs (I know that no one will see them but we woman like things pretty even things that don't get seen.) Disposable pads can be scented, and feel to much like a plastic diaper, added chemicals to make them smell can cause infections or allergic reactions. And NO ONE wants an infection *down there* When making these cloth pads I will also be making a storage bag, that you can put the dirty pads in until washing day.

Ok I'll finish now.

Oh and if you made it this far I want you to comment! I want feed back on this idea and feel free to ask questions. =)

Here's a cute picture as a reward for reading through this slightly awkward post.

Sisters

Sisters are pretty amazing. I have 4 of them and I love them all. They are pretty much amazing. =)

We all have our faults, we all mess up but we are all there for eachother when we need it the most. I would do anything for those 4. And I know they would do anything for me. I love my sister and miss them very much. I can't wait for Christmas! They (excluding Laura) are coming to my house! It's going to be amazing. We'll spend the time picking on eachother, playing games (maybe even hide and seek! and karate!!) Eating and just having fun. It will be epic. =)

Tree Hugging.

So as many of you know I've recently decided to switch to cloth diapering Elliott, rather than using plastic disposable diapers. We just recieved our first pair of cloth diapers and have been washing them daily so she can use them at night. We love them! They are easy to use, and you can tell they are 20 million times more comfortable than disposables. With all this cloth diapering excitement I've also done some research and have recieved a few recipes on how to make your own laundry soap, softener etc. Which got me doing even MORE research and looking for MORE ways I can make cheap and all around better soaps for my home and family. I've found some interesting stuff on homemade hair products which I can't wait to try! So not only is all of this stuff I am finding better for our wallet, better for our lives (chemical free and all natural) it's better for the enviroment! Who knew that I would be hugging trees!? =) Maybe I will post recipes and new ideas as I go. For now, here is a couple of pictures of Elliott in her new cloth diaper!!

She had just gotten out of the bath, she was hungry and she was exhausted! But she was nice enough to let me take these three pictures to share with you all. =)

Plastic to Cloth

I have finally convinced my dear husband to try cloth diapering Elliott, instead of using those icky plastic disposable diapers. I'm really excited about this. Not only will Elliott be less likely to get diaper rashes, she's less like to have a blowout, and we save a ton of money in the long run! Did I mention I was really excited? Cloth diapers come in pretty colors and designs, and you just through them in a "wet bag" (From what I gather it's just a laundry sack, made for cloth diapers, probably water proof so the icky diapers won't soak through and icky-fi anything else) then every few days do laundry. There is also cloth wipes, that you can wash and re-use, but I haven't looked into them much. For now we are just doing the diapers.

See they're cute! And they look so much more comfy than those plastic crappy (pun totally intended) ones. =) And of course there are endless possibilities for color and design.