I allowed B to put C to nap today. This is a rare occurrence because B would rather play with C than put him to bed. As well, the two children are best buddies. C was tired today, so I thought it wouldn’t take long. However, I was wrong. Very wrong.

After about 15 minutes I went in to turn off the light and tell B to come out; however, when I entered the room I caught B mid flight flying into C’s crib with her arms and legs out like a frog. “I wasn’t scared” was all that B said in her most proud voice when I said she was all done putting her brother to bed.

A few weeks ago I moved a small, flimsy, plastic dresser next to the crib. For the first time today B, Climbed up on it and then put one foot on the crib and launched herself up about 2 feet above the top of the crib before landing on the trampoline/ crib mattress. What fun for a little one, but what fear for a mom.

While her older sister was flying, C was out of his crib, running around the room. I asked B if she had helped her brother out of the crib and all she said was “No?, I wasn’t scared!” It seems that having fun was all C needed to push him over the edge, literally, to climb out of the crib. While the two children were having fun, I was trying to figure out how to keep the door shut because it doesn’t latch in the summer. I need a resolution quick because the baby sitter was due any minute and I wasn’t sure what would transpire while I was away with C being so proud of his new venture of climbing out and then running out of the room.

In the end I had two proud kids and one exhausted mom. Apparently, the babysitter figured out how to make the baby pass out so it wasn’t so bad for her… now if I could only borrow her for the next few days until C learns that nap time means to stay in his bed.

If you don’t want to use a picture of your child on their tag, you might want to put a favorite toy or something that reminds you of them. Whatever you end up creating, it will be easier for you, and others to recognize your bag.

* You can only create 1 set of tags unless you clear your cookies locally
* Tags are about a 5X7 photo ratio.

* I used the text lines to put “Parent’s of:” along with my name and my husband’s name.

This usually happens the 3rd full week in January as well.

* JC Penny has 70% off clearance items.

* http://www.childrensplace.com – Semi-annual Monster sale with a great selection online & $5 shipping.

* Target stores is also marking down children’s clothing with deep discounts (75% off some summer clothing with more every Monday)

Time to go to the outlets for the best prices.

We purchased spider traps from Cleaner Today and have them in all the closets and at the heads of the beds. I also heard from an exterminator to put duct tape around bed posts backwards so the sticky side is out, but we do not do this.
We now make sure the beds are not right against the wall, and make sure bedding does not touch the floor. Before putting on clothing that has been hanging in the closet we shake it. If anything has been on the floor for too long it gets a good shke before being put away and sometimes I check it to be sure there aren’t any spiders lingering.

If you want to know more about what to expect from Brown Recluse spiders read about the habits of the spiders from one of the many web sites.

I read http://www.brownreclusespider.org/brown-recluse-spider.htm and have found the information to be true for us.

I had about 1000 holes to punch for a kids church project and I didn’t want to spend all day punching holes only to align them again to put rubber bands in the holes. So I found a solution.

This only works if you have holes that don’t matter if they stray a little as you drill (unless you have a good drill press).

SUPPLIES NEEDED
1) A Hand held drill or drill press

2) Brad point bit wood drill bit. This bit has two spurs on the rim that cut a circle out before the wood in the center
is removed. However, If you do not have one you can use any drill bit, but it may not look as nice. I could not find a brad point when I drilled my papers and I still was successful, but about 10 pages had ugly holes.

3) Two (2) pieces of wood that can go along the length of the paper. Two paint stirrers from the hardware store work great and are the best price (free). As a last result glue several pieces of several pieces of cardboard from the recycling bin together and make a template.

4) Four (4) clamps that can fit around the entire paper stack.(I prefer to have at least 3 clamps around each hole as I drill and 1 that secures the paper to a table.

HOW IT IS DONE

I. Make stacks of paper that are about 1 inch thick, but no thicker and clamp so the edge is flush while still leaving room for the clamp.
(I found that thicker stacks produce less clean cuts at the bottom of the stack)

II. In one of the paint sticks make a template by drilling holes at the spacing you want. Drill the holes in from both sides to make sure that the stick is flush on both sides.
You do NOT want holes in the bottom paint stick.

III. Place your template on top of the paper and clamp it down. Put other clamps around the holes as necessary
I like to have three clamps around each hole so there is a good amount amount of support so the paper does not bend.

IV. Put a rubber band around the papers so they do not come unsorted after drilling!! Clamp the paper to a table so that it does not spin as you drill !!

V. Drill the holes.

After drilling the paper will be stuck together and may not come apart without pulling each piece apart, but you will have clean holes in your paper.

Background:
I went to the local copy shop to have some paper cut. It cost about $1.65 per cut and I gladly did this as I did not have a paper guillotine and had lots of paper to cut.
I also wanted to see if they were able to punch holes in the paper. It cost $.01 per piece of paper which may not seem like a lot except I had about 1000 pages that needed holes and tax is about another 10% so I brought the paper home and drilled the holes myself.

I am a post modernist and I accept this change. I also know the price was once high for this book and now it is free for the download. I will still go to the library for flip page books, and I will support good writers; however, like MP3s for music, books are changing and the big box book stores must adapt to this change or die.

For the past year I have purchased 1 insert most *Sundays and I have always gotten my $$$ back in using coupons and then some.

There are lots of sites out there on using coupons and getting the best deal, but I have limited it to local sites and what I use.

http://publix4pennies.com/
Allows you to check off what you want to create a list and says if they are good deals

I live in Middle Tennessee and the following sites are local and say if the sales are rock bottom prices.
http://www.faithfulprovisions.com/
http://frugalinfranklin.typepad.com/frugal_in_franklin/

The couponmom.com is a very confusing site, but you can look through their coupon database to see if you have a coupon for an item you need that may not be on sale. I also make a grocery list from the sales matched to coupons from this site… but they don’t list things by the way they are found in the grocery store.

* There usually are not coupon inserts the weekend of major holidays.

The NG Ergo is greatly improved from the previous version and I recommend it as a great carrier once baby is old enough to sit without an infant insert especially in the back position. I can put my baby on the back easily and it makes life very manageable for my baby who likes to be held. I wear my baby almost every day for at least an hour and am able to cook, clean and play with the other children. I cannot comment on the carrier with the infant insert as I never have used it. I ordering the Ergo from a website which offered 30 day return policy (not an exchange policy as many sites have. and free shipping for the Ergo.

The back support is so much better that other baby carriers that don’t even offer waist support.

Pros:
Great support at waist for those with or without bad backs… and this is the most important feature IMHO
Side zipper pocket. Great when baby is on back and you want to get something out. I didn’t realize how important this was until I had a sleeping baby on my back and I needed my wallet. I also can fit a cloth diaper, keys and a wallet in the pocket with extra room.
Chest strap runner. Chest straps stay in place with no more lost chest straps like in previous versions.
Great for sleeping babies with the head support cover. This is greatly improved from previous versions.
Video is good and should be watched to know how to properly put baby in and make adjustments to the carrier.

Cons:
Waist needs to extend out longer for taller men and rounder people.
Extra infant insert. I like how the Beco has the baby pouch for the infant to be locked in the carrier.
Difficult to clip and unclip straps when crossed while baby is in the front or side position.
The following are only a problem if you go from the front to back regularly (used most in cold weather or with children of differing ages.)
Difficult to adjust straps when baby is in the front.
Difficult to adjust the support strap when baby is in the front position.

I have been waiting on the prefect SSC Carrier for several years because I wanted one with prints, was comfortable, and was cheap. When I moved away from a retail store that sold carriers I put it off even longer longer because I wanted to try them on before purchasing them. I finally spent some money that I had saved up on an Ergo even though I don’t consider the price to be cheap. I also got a boring black carrier because I didn’t want to spend the extra $15 for an organic that had some color and even then the organic colors don’t say “I’m fun” but say “I’m functional” in my opinion. So I ended up settling for something that was Comfortable and by far this is the most important when you wear your baby. I did not try on the carrier before I purchased it but knew I could return it if I had to.

I have a very bad back and and in the back position the Ergo is a dream. I keep the shoulder straps a bit loose and the waist on my hips (not above them) so that the weight is only on my hips and the shoulders straps are only to keep my baby from falling out. When my 15 lb baby is on my back I don’t have any problems with feeing the weight or having the negative effects the next day. The Ergo is also comfortable when I wear my 2 year old, 28 lb baby, but I sometimes have a sore back the next day if it is for more than an hour. If I wore her more, then I think my back would get use to the extra weight and I may not feel the after effects as frequently.

I tried on an older version of Ergo about 2 years ago and didn’t like how it felt in the front position and it just felt uncomfortable with the strap across my back and it rubbed funny under my arms. At first the NG Ergo was also uncomfortable in the front position, but I found if you put the security strap about an inch from the bottom, have it synced slightly, and have the shoulder straps a bit loose it is comfortable. I usually only have my baby on the front until we are in a store, so I can’t comment for long periods in the front position.

I didn’t want to pay extra for sucking pads, but something similar is a must. I have put car seat straps covers on my carrier for my baby to suck on . I have also cut the tops off a few long socks to add color and sucking straps

Today my mom turned 60. If she lives to be as old as her mom, she still has 1/3 of her life to live (and if I live to be as old as her mom I have lived over 1/3 of my life).

So to honor my mom I am writing down how great of a mom I have for the world to see.
If I were to sum up my mom in 3 attributes they would be giver, servant, and rememberer.

Early memories of mom revolve around holidays and food. My mom is a great cook and an even better baker. Most food was made in the oven and I was there helping. Mom gave me the gift of being able to make a meal and the desserts that come after them. This may not seem like much for those that can cook, but I know a few people who spend most of their time eating out because they don’t have the skills or desire to make their own meals. I also had my first math lessons following recipes (mainly multiplication to double the batches of cookies.) The best memories are of double batches of CCCs with only about 1 or 1 ½ of the dough actually making it in the oven. I was also taught the fine art of eating vanilla cake batter. Even though mom was a super cleaner, she allowed me to help out with the baking, messiness and all. There may have been times when I was asked to stand back, but I don’t remember them, but overall, mom took the time to let me be near to her while she was making dinner.

My mom likes to celebrate holidays. As a family we also like to celebrate birthdays and holidays. There only needed to be a reason and she would come up with the goodies of food and gifts. Growing up there were the main major holidays, but mom also threw in special times for Valentine and St. Patrick’s Day. Birthdays and major holidays were celebrated with big family and while minor holidays were celebrated with special treats that were picked out just for us. Like socks for me or I can’t remember what it was for the others, because mom hit the mark with my gift.

And everything was done with fairness. I secretly think mom would carry a calculator to make sure gifts were equal to the penny, at Christmas mom would make sure we each got the same number of M&Ms and at Easter the same number of Jelly beans. Christmas also meant Chex mix for each person. Mine without pretzels and my brothers without wheat Chex. I still get my own special bag all to myself. I don’t mind pretzels anymore, but I don’t want mom to know because I like having my own bag.

My mom is a great seamstress; however, if you were to ask her, she’d deny it. How can one person make all the clothing for her daughter for many years and not be good at what she does. My grade school pictures were almost always in a dress that mom made. I even have a 3 piece suite that she made out of corduroy. The one caveat is that mom didn’t EVER make things that required zippers. So all my dresses she made had buttons. She even put the fancy decorative buttons on dresses, but wouldn’t think of putting a zipper on anything. That was until I needed her to make a dress for me for a high school play. After almost 10 years of sewing she finally tried one and it turned out great. I think she only made 1 other thing with a zipper before going back to buttons.

Now that she has grand daughters, she is in the dress sewing “business” again and as long as they are little and like frilly dresses, mom makes them… because little girl dresses have buttons. Last year my girls had Nana dresses for Easter. While they didn’t match, my oldest insisted that both girls wear them at the same time and she tried to have them wear them everyday. Those dresses got more than the average mileage out of them and the larger, Holly Hobby, one may end up being thread bear by the time it goes through both girls.

Mom is great at remembering things. Growing up she was my day planner. Long before the days of Personal Data Assistants, I had one. I’d just tell mom and she would remind me with ample time to prepare. Once I was on my own I needed to learn how to use a planner, and there were times I still relied on mom to remind me… maybe that is why I still get calls the day or 2 before birthdays to be reminded of them. Now that I’m married, my husband isn’t thrilled about being my day planner. I’ve tried to use on and have limited success at using them, but I think I already had the best day planner available at the best price, so why should I try to find something to replace it/ her… maybe because she doesn’t live with me and lives over 700 miles away.

Now that I’m a mom, I realize how patient she was with me. Every Saturday would be chore day. I would be sent to my room to clean and every Saturday I’d be up there for hours. I have great memories of making great science experiments from stuff in my room. I think mom was wondering what kind of science experiment was harbored in my room. At the end of the time I was to be done with my cleaning there were almost always threats, and miraculously, I would be done in 10 minutes close enough to her standards. It never occurred to me that my brothers were done quickly and off to new and exciting things. I was excited about the time I had alone to develop potions that could be sold on an infomercial (I’d even practice the infomercial). Now I see my oldest doing the exact same thing when it is time to clean; however, I’m not patient. I feel like I have to lead her around and can only give 1 command at a time or she will be lost in make-believe-land.

All in all, I really like my mom and think she is the best mom I could ever have. I miss her (because she lives so far away), and can’t wait until I can have one of her home cooked meals again.

I love you mom,
Your favorite Daughter

PS If there are any spelling errors or grammatical errors in this, my mom will let me know.

A’s logic may be flawed, but she wants to be a princess because they wear wedding dresses that touch the ground all the time. When they sleep, when they eat and even when they take a bath. The most curious thing is that they only wear the same dress all the time and it touches the ground all they way around.

We recently got a Wii and A scored 200 in bowling! She also asked me why my Mii was fat after weighing myself on the fit.

B is a curous one. She tries her best to keep up with her sister and sometimes tries to be like her brother. She likes being swaddled almost every night and during the day she can be found either near her sister doing what ever she is doing or near the water making messes.

Last night B was eating her dinner. A was all done and asked for some chips. B asked for some right away and also had a clean plate. Daddy wasn’t to be fooled; however, he asked her to finish her sandwich that was wrapped up in her cloth napkin.

C is crawling now! he is sitting himself up, but isn’t steady once upright and tumbles over after a few minutes. His first creeps were towards cars and other things that make noise. He shows signs of liking to eat books; however he isn’t interested in small pieces of fuzz and paper on the floor like both of his sisters (YEA!!!)

I am overjoyed with all of my children as they are all very happy and their shrills of laughter are heard all over the house often. Despite our rule of no yelling in the house, it happens daily. It is either a tickle time, children not getting along, or just sounds of joy at little things that amuse children.