Christmas Time

We spent Gentry's first Christmas here in good ol' Nacogdoches.  Carl's parents, Gil and Sher, came into town from Nashville on the Friday before Christmas and stayed until the day after Christmas!  We spent time watching Christmas specials, going to church and eating!  

Santa came!  We left out sugar cookies that Carl, Gil, Gentry and I made.  They weren't pretty but Santa ate them all and drank all the milk too!  I helped Gentry write a note to Santa and Santa wrote back!  He left some toys for Gentry and all of our stocking full!

  

We out some water for Rudolph and he drank it and it made it red and sparkly!   

She loved her Santa gifts!  

Daddy helped Gentry open her stocking.  Her favorite part were the super hero Little People. 

Gentry opened her gifts from Buddy and Gigi.  Such a spoiled girl.

She sat and took a picture of all of her goodies from Santa, Mommy, Daddy, Buddy and Gigi!  Clearly, the ribbons and bows were her favorite.

Gentry and I left on December 26th for Dallas.  Gil and Sher headed back to Tennessee and Carl went out to Pirtle Boy Scout Camp.  We arrived just in time to take pictures in the snow!  

That night we had Christmas with Tilly, Lolli, Pops and Uncle Evan.  Tilly even unwrapped her gift from her little sister.  A squirrel to chase even in winter.

My brother, Evan, got copper mugs to drink Moscow Mules.  Gentry wanted to try them out too!

We gave her water and she loved drinking it from the copper mug!  Surprisingly she loved the cold, cold drink!

Gentry painted a picture for both sets of grandparents.  

Unkey and Pops played with all the new toys.

Here she is with all her loot from Lolli, Pops, Harper and Unkey Evan.

The Friday after Christmas we met up with Bevin and Olivia for a girl's lunch!  Olivia and Gentry had a lot to talk about!

We had a great 1st Christmas

Month 3 Update

Dear Gentry,

You are another month older and we had another month of fun adventures.  You, once again, have amazed your parents with how much you've changed in over a short period of time.  My little newborn is fading away and is being replaced by such a smiley, happy baby.  We don't have an EXACT schedule down yet because our day to day routine changes at the drop of a hat but you adjust well.  What was once my biggest stress has become so easy, you eat well and about every 3 and a half hours.  We were going every 4 hours but that put you going to bed at about 11PM.  Now you go to bed at 10 and don't get up until after 7AM!  I am so blessed!  Just this last week we stopped swaddling you because I noticed that at nap time you sprawl out.  See, my little newborn is fading away!  Every night I put you in your bed wide awake with a pacifier and you go right to sleep by yourself with little to no fussing. (thanks Baby Wise)  It is so hard for me to say goodnight because you are so darn precious and you are usually chatting away when I put you in your crib.  I foresee this becoming a problem when you are in a big girl bed and can speak actual words....like Mother like Daughter.  

Our days at home are absolutely wonderful!  The best present your Daddy ever gave your Mommy was the chance to stay at home with you!  He works so hard so I can feed you every meal, see your every smile, change your every diaper and wipe your every tear.  I feel so blessed to be your Mommy but even more blessed to be your Daddy's Wife.  Most days we have a day full of eating, napping, chores and working on tummy and back time.  All day long we talk and sing to each other.  You already enjoy the same music as your parents such as Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, The Civil Wars, plus many more.  We also play plenty of Elizabeth Mitchell and Caspar Babypants for you!  The louder the music is playing the better.  

On August 26th, you were baptized at Perritte Memorial United Methodist Church by Rev. Josh Hale.  It's the same church your Daddy was baptized in 27 years ago.  You wore the same baptism gown your Mommy wore almost 30 years ago.  Cooler than that, your Pops wore it 57 years ago.  Even Cooler is that your Great Grandfather Papa DeFord, wore it 98 years ago.  The coolest part is that your Great, great Aunt Belle wore it 100 years ago in 1912.  It was made by your Great, Great, Great Aunts.  We were so blessed to have both sets of your grandparents and your Uncle Evan at the baptisim along with our closest friends the Kahldens and Cullen!  After church we had them all over for a nice lady like lunch.  God has blessed us so richly!   

 Your beautiful parents.

 Pops and Lolli

Buddy and Gigi

 Uncle Evan and Gentry in the outfit he got you.  It's monogrammed!

Uncle Evan using the Bumbo seat and Tilly 

Update:

Weight: We are guessing 12 lbs
Length: We guess 23.5 in
Head: No guesses here Our next Dr. apt isn't until 4 mos.
Eating: 7AM, 10:30AM, 2PM, 5:30PM, 9PM (give or take 30 min)  1st feed is a bottle of bmilk.  5oz.
Bedtime: 9:30-10 PM
Rise:7:15-8 AM
Naps: 7:30-8:30, 12-2 and cat nap at 7
Diapers: You wear your Fuzi Bunz cloth diapers so well!  Size 1 at night but only until we run out of our gifted diapers.
Clothes: 0-3  Fit well.  You are still in NB shorts and have a few NB outfits you can still fit in.  You don't fit in shoes.  Not even the 6 week old shoes.
Favorites: Tummy Time Mat and Activity Bar, Pandora, Penguin Mirror
Latest tricks: You can blow bubbles on demand, You say "pooop" and you can "sing" Beyonce's All the Single Ladies (ohohohohohohohohohohohoh) 

Month 1

You've been alive through a whole moon cycle!

Gentry,

I can't believe how I am so in love with you.  I enjoy almost every moment watching you learn and grow.  In the last month I have really gotten to know your cry.  I love to watch you cry.  You give one little wail and then the biggest, cutest pout.  You don't last long at crying either.  You usually give up pretty easily unless you are hungry.  The faces you make are hilarious.  You look like your dad often.  So serious.  I hope I am in there somewhere!  If not naturally then I will drill smiling into you!  You are a pretty chill kid going from quiet content to sleep to eat.  I love it!  You do whimper in your sleep and I wonder if you are remembering the rough way you entered the world!  The breastfeeding thing is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life!  Just before your month birthday I got on Reglan and got a new pump and it seems we've got the hang of it!  I couldn't be more proud when you spit up all over me because I know you actually have something in your belly to spit up!  You really have only spit up a hand full of times since you've been born.  I will say.  You have some wicked gas.  You even grossed out your Uncle Evan!  That takes talent!  You are so very loved by many Gentry!  I mean I couldn't believe who all came to see you when we went to Lolli and Pops house!  You are a very blessed girl!   I can't wait to see who you are going to become over the next months and years!  We love you very much!  

Your Mom and Dad

Update:

Weight: 8.9 lbs  (24th percentile)
Length: 22 in (84th percentile) 
Head: 15in (90th percentile)
Eating: On Demand.  Morning feed is bottle of breast milk and may have one more
Bedtime: 10:00 to 10:30 (wake up at 3:00)
Rise: 6:30-7:00
Naps: ummm....whenever.
Diapers: size 1  We are waiting for 2 more lbs to be in cloth!
Clothes: NB and 0-3
Favorites: Your Soothie Pacifiers, Your Mom's Arm, Lavender Body Lotion and the ABC book from Lolli for your 1 month birthday!
Latest tricks: Holding head up, going from back to side, looking at the baby in the mirror!
Firsts:  Umm....EVERYTHING DUH!  Went to Blueberry Festival, swam in Lolli and Pops pool were the highlights!

The Ideal Day

The following is the day in the life of a newborn and her mom.  This is what it looks like on paper but isn't necessarily what happens!  Most of the time Gentry and I fly by the seat of our pants!


2:30-3:30:  Wake, Change Diaper and Feed.  I drink a Mother's Milk Tea
3:30-4:00:  Back to Bed (Gentry is currently sleeping in a bassinet in our room)
5:00-6:00:  Wake, Change Diaper and Feed.  Gentry has a bottle of breast milk.  I pump.  I eat oatmeal with fruit.  I take my first set of Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek.  I put up dishes from the dishwasher and bottles that have been drying from the night before.  I wipe down kitchen countertops.  Gentry generally stays awake for 15 min to an hour.
6:30-8:30- Back to Bed!  This time she joins me in our bed.  At this point Carl is up and getting ready for work.  I put on the TV and watch the news and snooze.  Carl kisses us good bye and it's just us!
9:30-10:00-Wake and Change Diaper, Put on Clothes and Feed.  I eat a Fiber One bar or have "Second" Breakfast.
10:00-12:00-  Move from Tummy Time, Swing, Rocker and sing or talk about all of Life's little secrets and maybe snooze.  I try and sneak in a little chore here and there.  IF SHE LETS ME!  Sometimes she just wants to be held.  

I do have a daily chore list for me to hopefully stay on top of keeping our house clean.  I have a cute little SAHM binder I made well before Gentry was born.   

Monday: Laundry Day!  Iron Carl's clothes.

Tuesday: Meal Planning and Coupon Day and Baking/Baby Food Day

Wednesday: Grocery Shop, Clean Out Fridge, Wipe Down Kitchen Trash 

Thursday: Bathrooms and Mop all Areas

Friday: Vacuum, Mow and Bank Run

Daily: Pick Up, Dishes and Sweep

I also have Monthly and Quarterly Duties!

Every other day will be Diaper Washing Day

12:00-1:00: Feed Her while watching The Chew.  I take 2nd set of pills and eat lunch.  Carl comes home to eat lunch (rarely).  

1:00-2:00:  Gentry naps while I do chores or maybe just try and shower!

2:00-4:00:  We nap together in bed/watch Ellen

3:30-4:00:  Change and Feed Gentry

4:00-7:00:  More hanging out around the house/snoozing for Gentry.  I get dinner ready.

6:30-7:00:  Change and Feed Gentry.  Feed Carl.  I eat and take round 3 of pills.

7:00-9:30:  Gentry hangs out with Daddy if he is home.  Otherwise more of the same.

9:30:  Bath time is every other day or so.  Then we have the beginnings of our night time routine. I take her and change her.  Rub her down with lavender lotion.  Put her in night clothes.  Later we will add a book reading and stay in her room for her to stay in her crib.

10:00-10:30:  Last feed before bed while watching Conan!  We wrap her up in her baby burrito and put Gentry in her bassinet.  

10:30-11:30:  Load dishwasher.  Pick up junk.  Gather and clean all the bottles and pump stuff.  I set out all the pills for the next day.  Put out the oatmeal and tea so I don't have to think in the morning.  Get the pump stuff ready.  Get ready for bed.

11:30-3:00: SLEEP!

There you have it!  A Day in the Life of us!  For now.  Sometimes this whole day gets scraped for holding Gentry.  And you know what!  That's ok!  She's only this little once!

How Gentry Got Here

This is Gentry's LONG birth story!  It's proof that even when you have plans God's plans are bigger!  I couldn't have imagined this would be how my daughter would come into the world but I wouldn't change a second of it!  God is Good.  Here is our story:




Saturday night Carl and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in the metropolis of Lufkin, Texas!  We went to see MIB 3 and then went to dinner at Del Rio!  Exciting I know!  Just as the movie was starting our friends Dan and Bevin Jackson called.  They were in a panic because they were staying in a Nacogdoches hotel that night and they found out Ruby, their dog, couldn't be in the hotel room with them.  Ruby is a cool dog so we let her stay with us that night.  Bevin, Dan and their 10 week old Olivia came over for a visit after we got back from dinner.  Dan schooled Carl on what to do in the delivery room and I got to hold sweet, beautiful Olivia!  After they left we got ready for bed and I put Ruby in her kennel!


Sunday morning at 7:30, after battling wicked pregnancy heartburn all night, I got up to let Ruby outside.  I bent over to let her out of her kennel and my water broke.  I knew immediately that my water broke but I didn't want to be the girl that thought her water broke and it was really just pee  pants.  I went to the bathroom and when I stood up another gush.  WEIRDEST.  FEELING.  EVER.  I stood at the door of our bedroom and told Carl.  He jumped out of bed.  I called my mom and told her that I was pretty sure my water broke and that I would call her from the hospital to let her know we were for sure having a baby today.  Today.  HAH!  I took a little time to have one more pregnancy vomit for good measure. Carl took a shower.  I took a shower.  Carl washed dishes and took out the trash while I finished getting things together.  No contractions.


We walked into the ER by 8:30.  They brought us up to Labor and Delivery.  We were the only ones!  They had me change into a gown and checked to see that indeed my water broke not that you couldn't just look at my pants.  Nothing can hold all that!  Once we were checked in we called our parents, my brother, and various others to let them know that today was baby day!  TODAY!  HAH!


And then we waited.  And waited.


No contractions.  They gave me something to thin my cervix and that is when things got started.  By 10AM I started having regular contractions.  By lunchtime my family arrived.  All at the same time even though they left hours apart!  Pastor Josh, Cullen, Bevin and Dan all came by to say hi.  We waited.  I was at a 5 for SEVERAL HOURS!


Pitocen was started.  That is when the contractions reached misery.  Carl was wonderful.  I birthed on a birthing ball and Carl was a great coach.  Listening to what I needed and was just there.  I told myself if I was still at a 5 for the 4th time I was going to break down and get the epidural.  So I got an epidural at 5:00.  That was amazing.  I didn't realize how much I hurt until I got the epidural! Kelly came directly from Houston.  After that most people left to eat dinner and I dozed.  While dozing I noticed my contractions were not as strong.  Sure enough....I was still a 5.  At this point in the evening 3 other girls had come in and 2 of them had their babies already.  Dr. Kyle McMorries (I had his son at school this year) came in to check on me after delivering the other baby.  He said my contractions were not helping me progress and I showed him how Gentry was not dropping.  In fact she was going more into my ribs with every contraction!  He said because my water broke so long ago and now I was getting a fever which is a sign of infection, we would have to move quickly if I didn't want a C-Section.  Finally at 1 AM I was at a 7!  Evan and Dad went back to the house at midnight.  Lisa and Rachel went to the hotel at 1.  Mom and Kelly tried to stay awake and Carl dozed on the couch in the room.  Well, he more than dozed.  He was sawing logs.  At 2AM I was at an 8!  At some point a nurse came in and told me that Dr. McMorries wanted to go ahead and try pushing.  I was starting to get super nauseated.  At 4AM I puked my guts out (Not that I had eaten anything but a Popsicle in over 24 hrs!)  and in walked Dr. McMorries ready for me to push.  It was 4:15 when I started to push at 8 CM dilated.  Dr. McMorries was fabulous and he made sure I got to a 10!  Then out came the forceps and he pulled Gentry from my ribs to her exit hatch!  A couple of rounds of pushing and out popped Gentry at 4:41 AM!  

She didn't cry.  She was suctioned out by Dr. McMorries and he put her on my stomach all blue and whimpering.  We rubbed on her to get her going.  Finally the nurse took her to get her to breath.  She was pretty cute even in a blue state!  I told Carl to go with the baby and he gladly obliged!  I started to lose too much blood and I felt like it!  I had a special shot to stop the bleeding and Dr. McMorries continued his work.  All the while I am shaking and watching my baby be passed from Carl, to my Mom and Kelly.  They all looked up in time to see my face go white.  The shot worked!  I didn't even pass out but they still let us recover for a little longer since I had lost so much blood.  The saddest part was I couldn't hold my baby because I couldn't even lift my arms!  I finally held her for a bit and they came to take her to the nursery and me to my room!  We were in our room just before the 24 hr mark of my water breaking.  Delivery was a wild ride!  

Dr. McMorries did an AMAZING JOB!  I am so glad I didn't have a C Section and I know that would have been the easy way for him to do things.  He let me keep my wishes!  Gentry is so perfect for our family and I wouldn't have her enter the world any other way....even if it wasn't my original birth plan!  

Everything I've always dreamed...

It's no secret that I want to be a mom. 


 It's all I've EVER talked about.  


EVER. 


 When I was a preschooler and my parent's asked me what I wanted to be, my response was,"the first person pregnant in high school."  Really it's all I've ever dreamed about.  


Every part of it.  From conception until my wonderful children gather around my coffin to say goodbye.  I have always dreamed of the day I would tell my husband that our lives would forever be changed and we are going to be parents!  I thought it would go something like this:

Anyone else a Lucy fan and remember this episode?  Lucy tried and tried to tell Ricky that she was pregnant but Ricky was too busy so she went to his club to surprise him.  What really surprises me is that he didn't know she was pregnant because it's not like maternity wear was all that discrete in the 50's!    

  My husband works for the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) and we were trying for parenthood in the most stressful month for a District Scout Executive.  The month of September is when they have School Night for Scouting and recruit kids by the hundreds to join the awesomeness that is BSA!  In fact, my husband was opposed to the idea to try in the month of September because he was so busy.  That was until I pointed out the fact that I only needed him a few times for like 5 minutes and if we indeed were to get pregnant the baby would be due in June, which is his slowest month, where I would need him for days!  Well much to my shock, we had in fact achieved the almost impossible.  (If you want to check out my journey to get pregnant click the link).  When I couldn't get a hold of my busy husband I opted for a modern day Lucy style telling.

I texted him!

Here is the transcript:

(Shortly after I had privately taken a digital test at work)

9/22 8:02AM ME:  Today is my early day.  Wanna have lunch?

9/22 8:35AM HUSBAND: Sure

9/22 8:58AM ME:  Cool.  I get off at 1.  Where do you want to go?

9/22 9:19 AM HUSBAND:  Can we go about 1:30  I have a boy talk that starts at 1:15

9/22 9:47AM ME: Cool.  Where?

9/22 9:49 AM HUSBAND: Cotton Patch?

9/22 10:08 AM ME:  Sounds good.  I have a gift card.

9/22 10:57 AM HUSBAND: Hey can't go to lunch have a united way lunch that I have to go to

9/22 10:58 AM ME: :(  Will I see you at all tonight?

9/22 10:59 AM  HUSBAND:  Don't know

9/22 11:50 AM ME: Well I have something to tell you...do you want me to text you?

9/22 11:51 AM  HUSBAND:  Yes in a meeting.

9/22 11:54 AM ME: 

9/22 12:02 PM ME: Your boys work. (In case he didn't get the picture)

9/22 12:27 PM  ME:  Are you at Home Depot yet?  (sorry, inside joke)

9/22 12:29 HUSBAND: No I am at franks wishing I could pound beers.

9/22 12:35 PM  ME:  Are you freaked out!  I wanted to tell you over lunch or tonight!

9/22 12:35 PM ME: ?

9/22 12:38 PM HUSBAND: I am trying to block it out by listening about the texas state budget

9/22 2:11 PM  ME:  Are you running away?

And that is how I told Carl we were expecting.  For the record.  He didn't run away.  Very much the opposite.  He has stuck by me more than ever before and I am so excited to see what kind of dad he is going to be!  I would just like to point out that I asked him if he was running away at 2:00 PM because you would think that as soon as the meeting was over that he would have called me!!!!!  Nope.  Not Carl, my mild mannered husband, went about his day like normal.  In fact the next time I saw/talked to him was later in the evening!  

So now I blog.  I am going to try and back it up and do a week by week sort of a journal for my own personal records.  If you know me, you know I am kinda blunt and I don't hold back.  I apologize in advance if some posts are too graphic.  There are things about pregnancy that NO BOOK will ever tell you!  I promise I will give fair warning to the posts about poop.  Yes, there is a poop post in the works!  Carl and I appreciate any prayers or good thoughts you may have for our family and I hope you join us on our newest journey!

The Kitchen: A Story of Before and After

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sorry, I cut out the window but you are basically looking at the same thing. The counter tops will be replaced with something in the black scheme. The flooring will be replaced with a faux wood linoleum. I know what you are thinking but you are staring at faux stone linoleum so I consider it a step up! Just as a side note, the stuff on the laundry room door is actully a over the door hanger that holds anything from recipes to pictures (or in this pic Christmas cards) and I LOVE IT! It is from Southern Living.

BEFORE

AFTER:

We have changed the light fixtures. The rest is just paint.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Ahh, A better picture of the over the door thingy! Notice my Christmas present from Mom and Dad? A NEW STOVE! Good bye Golden Drop In and HELLO Mr. Ceramic Slide IN! Oh by the way, THANKS LISA! Notice the hardware that you gave me almost 3 years ago! They are up!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now I am just waiting for the funds for a counter top and flooring. I am so thankful for my parents help! It was actually fun!

P.S. There are more pictures on my facebook.

Year in Review

January

• My best friend left State Farm Insurance for a job at SFASU. It was the first time in nearly 5 years that we didn't see each other every day.

February

• Made an effort to be more GREEN!

March

• For the first time since working at State Farm I was finally doing what I wanted to do!

April

• Celebrated Easter and Andrew's First Birthday!

May

• CARL GRADUATED and I took him to the Dr. Pepper Mecca!
  
  

June

• I lost my job. It was the biggest blessing in my life so far!

July

• I enjoyed not having a job for the first time since I was 15.

August

• I had my first day at First United Methodist Preschool and I reconnected with my true calling...teaching.

September

• Adjusted to this new, wonderful, semi-grown up life.

October

• Fell in love with 16 toddlers and realized I really want one of my own! (Still discussing the next steps to fulfill that little dream with Carl!)

November

• Went with my brother and husband to get my tattoo for Nini.

December

• Redecorated my kitchen. Thanks to my awesome Christmas present from my parents, a stove.

Easter in Pictures. Very bad pictures....

BUMP: What I Miss....

Today marks year 5 without her.




Nini,

Can you believe it’s been four years since you left this world for a place much better? I can’t believe it. In fact I believe it less today than four years ago. It’s funny how grief works itself out. It’s the most random things that really make me wish you were still here and that wish is growing instead of fading. I feel like I have to remember and that I am grateful that I have so much to remember.

The Raccoon Soap Dish
The smell of Violets
Your Vanity
Cotton White Hair
Opening Christmas presents in the front room at 7 Park Place.
White Pepper
“Oh Gad”
Nail polish on the Lazy Susan at the kitchen table.
The way you pulled me toward you while we would nap on your bed
Randy Gnome
The powder in the yellow container
Pecan and Chocolate Pie
SHOES! (Your gold, silver and bronze sneakers)
Braums Milk
The maddest you ever got at Evan and me.
Saturdays in Richardson while Mom was with Mr. Huddleston
The smell of leather seats, cigarettes and Kleenex in a hot summer car
Piano music
Your handwriting
Your letters that always mentioned the weather
Shopping trips and lunch at Christina’s
Calling you to take me to school because a pumpkin was thrown through the windshield of my car. Did you know Mom was upset that I called you? She didn’t want me to worry you.
You calling Carl a big Teddy Bear
Abuelo’s
The way you and Lucky had matching hair color and moles
farting dining room chairs
spoons
Listening to Chipmunks Christmas on the record player
Coffee mugs with birds and lipstick stains.

There really is so much more. I just can’t think of them right now. That scares me. Sometimes the memories just come to me. Most of the time I smell something like coffee or violets and it takes me back. Funny enough I usually go back to the Richardson house. I don’t know why. The last time I was with Tyler and Rachel was the first time I realized they didn’t even know the Richardson house! I told them all about it. I told them how much fun Evan and I would have exploring the upper floor and going through Lisa’s things while she was away at college. I just bought Caress body wash and it’s the weirdest thing, every time I use it I feel like I am in the upstairs bathroom staring at that silly raccoon soap dish. I have no idea the connection, but I like it.

By the way, it’s unusually warm and sunny today. In fact I walked to lunch.

Love Always,
KD

Goals for 2009:It's Not Easy Being Green

Baby steps.  

All I can say is we have taken baby steps in our 2009 goal to go green. Surprisingly Carl is actually game with the changes so far.  Going green is a fairly new passion of mine.  While I grew up in a house that recycled I was known to still throw cans in the trash out of total laziness.  My mom was "Green" before it was so popular!  We grew up using vinegar and water as our cleaning supplies.    That being said it was only when my friend Kelly went through her pregnancy that I discovered the cloth diaper comeback.  It made me curious about what I could do to help the Earth before I have children.

Green before 2009

Carl and I were doing things that are considered "green" before we had a conscious effort in our "green" pursuit.

1.  Use dishes instead of paper plates

2.  Use fans before the AC.  Blankets before the Heat.

3.  Use our dishwasher (people are surprised to learn that it's more green than hand washing)

4.  Buy Organic (unfortunately we don't buy as much as we would like)

5.  Pack our Lunches (this is really more because of lack of cash)

6.  Wash a full load of laundry with cold water and clean out the lint trap after each wash.

7.  Buy less STUFF (again lack of extra money helps)

8.  Recycle cans

9.  Use Water Filter pitcher. (we have only bought one pack of bottled water in our marriage and it was to prepare for Hurricane Ike.  Even then I recycled our milk jugs for non drinking water.)

2009 

Carl and I have achieved quite a few of these goals.  Some are yet to be!  

1.  Cloth no more paper towels.

2.  Buy local produce

3.  Replace lights with CFL lighting

4.  Put certain outlets on a timer (to slay Vampire energy)

5.  Start buying organic and making organic cleaners for the house

6.  Replace our doors

7.  Join a CSA

8.  Buy Cage Free Eggs

9.  Use glass instead of plastic food storage.

10.  Buy Bamboo linens

11.  Have a garage sale!

12.  Hang laundry

The Future Still

There are TONS more that Carl and I want to do in our future but here are the top 5 for years to come.  

1.  Cloth diapers....I know right!  Have your negative remarks!  I am going to do it.  (Carl's apprehensive about it but I asked him if he was REALLY even going to change disposable!)

2.  Homemade Baby Food.  Yep.  That too!  I have a huge desire to do these things for our babies who are merely "twinkles in our eyes" right now!  

3.   Buy Hybrid (this is a while into the future....like babies will probably come first)

4.  Build a "Green" home.

5.  Garden

It's Not Easy Being Green

There are a few things I am not ready to give up yet!  Maybe someday but for now I will try and use restraint!

1.  Decorative napkins (I have an obsession with cute napkins)

2.  Ziploc (sometimes easy wins)

3.  Buy New.  (There are just somethings I cannot buy as a hand me down)

4.  Disposable Tampons (come on now!  Did you think I was THAT crunchy)

5.  Holiday paper plates (it's a weakness)

6.  Using the dryer as a fluffer.  (OOPS.  I can't help it.)

7.  I know there are more and I put them here just in case someone catches me being not so earth friendly!

Interested?

Check out The Little Green Book: 365 Ways to Love the Planet by Joseph R. Provey and Owen Lockwood.  Better yet, check it out of the Library!  It's better for the Earth!

 

Bit by the Baby Bug

This is not new! I've been bitten before. (Say that three times fast!) Like when I was 4! I've wanted babies as long as I can remember. I was the child still playing with dolls long after all my friends had discovered the telephone. I know this is what I am supposed to do. God created me to be a mom.

That being said...Carl and I are not ready to be parents!

I know right now my baby bites are just a desire for the future. I want to be pregnant when I can fully enjoy every moment without worrying that we can't afford the health care. I want to act like we can't afford to give our child whatever he or she wants but I don't want to actually not be able to afford whatever my child wants. I want to be able to raise my child in an environmentally friendly home (WE ARE NOT READY FOR THIS ONE BUT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THIS). I want my husband to be able to be a "real life" adult for a while without having to be a daddy! I want to announce to my husband that we are having a baby "I Love Lucy" style not waving the pee stick in front of his face yelling "Now what in the hell are we going to do!?!?!?"

It must sound like the baby bug hasn't bitten me at all! But it has. I really want to get my body ready so that when my husband and I decide that the timing is as right for us as it's ever going to be I will be as healthy as I can be for a growing baby. We are also taking measures now to prepare our home to be more green for our offspring. I dream about what our babies will look like. I dream about the new traditions we will start as a family. I even dream about how I will discipline our children! All in due time. All in due time.

In the mean time....

I have Andrew!

And I can't get enough!

Tilly is at Gramma's and Granpa's

This is the email my mom sent me this morning:


Subject: Tilly is being a good girl!
Jean DeFord (XXXXXX@someinternet.com)


Attached is a visual of what your baby has been doing since daylight.....

Asks to go out.

Runs after animals.

Comes back in.