Parenting Princesses

Yesterday Gracie told me she looked like a zebra. Ok? I wasn’t aware you looked like a striped horse, Gracie. 

As of yesterday, Skyla is sitting up all by herself, completely unsupported. She has been sitting up for a while now, but she couldn’t balance for more than a few seconds without falling over. Yesterday, I patched several soft blankets together in the middle of the floor and covered the edges with a bunch of toys, so she would be surrounded and unable to roll away. Then I sat her in the middle, in front of one of her favorite toys and she just sat there, for over a half an hour. Really? I have been trying to get her to do that for months, I was starting to worry that she’s eight months old now and couldn’t sit up on her own; and then yesterday, all of a sudden she decides, “Oh, sitting? Yea I can do that.” Actually, it was probably more like, “Finally! Mommy left me alone and stopped holding on to me and surrounding me with towers of pillows so I can play.” Poor kid, i’m so paranoid, it was probably my fault. 

As I am writing this, Skyla is one her hands and knees in the crawling position, lifting one of her arms straight up in the air and from there she’s moving it all around, trying to figure out where she should put it. Good job! Usually when she tries to crawl, her legs move but her hands stay planted on the floor in front of her. 

Today I requested information from the cosmetology school i’m looking at. I tried calling but it was one of those phone lines where you can’t get straight through to someone, you have to leave a message. I have no problem talking to people on the phone but i’m horrible at leaving messages, I always forget what I wanted to say and sound like and idiot; so I decided to email instead.

Hopefully I hear back from them soon because I’m really, really good at making up excuses for myself and given enough time, I could definitely find a reason not to go. Actually, this afternoon I almost convinced myself that I couldn’t go because I didn’t have the proper shoes to wear and then had a minor panic attack at the thought of having to wear high heels because i’m already a giant. I’m 5’11” so I already tower over everyone else and I only weigh 114 pounds, so when I wear high heels I look like a telephone pole. Although, it’s true, I am a nightmare in high heels, I look and feel really awkward in them; but its probably not a valid reason to indefinitely postpone my education. Fortunately, I was able to talk myself out of that one. But eventually, i’ll find another reason; i’m really bad at waiting. I want to go back to school, though, I don’t want to talk myself out of it this time, I don’t want to make excuses anymore. I don’t know what my problem is. 

They better call me back tomorrow. Actually, if I could start tomorrow, that would be perfect. Obviously thats not going to happen, but the sooner the better, it leaves me less time to think up reason not to go. 

Today I am thankful for my children, thankful that they are safe and here at home. Thats all. 

Poor Athena had Demodectic mange when we brought her home and obviously, she’s still recovering. Oh, and on top of that, she has severe allergies. Poor puppy :( But regardless of that, Athena is the most faithful and lovable dog anyone could ask for and the most amazing creature I have ever encountered. 

Monday morning with two goofballs… They were actually playing together! Although, Gracie did steal that drum and run away about 5 seconds after I took the picture. 

Hey Skyla, what the hell are you doing under there? 

I am looking into cloth diapering and completely overwhelmed with the hundreds of choices. I liked the “hybrid-diaper” idea because it allows you to reuse the cover and of course, the “all in one’s.” 

The hybrid diapers are slightly less money, which is important. But on the other hand, the price tag isn’t nearly as important as functionality and ease of use. The most important feature of the hybrid diapers, in my opinion, was reusable covers that allow you to use the same cover through several diaper changes by wiping the liner clean and replacing the insert. 

Then again, all in one’s seem to be the tried and true method, loved by thousands of cloth-diapering parents all over the world. Should I use the time-tested and trustworthy system that has already proven itself through outstanding performance and raving reviews? The downside to AIO’s, for us anyway, is the need to wash the whole diaper after every use, there is no reusable part.

The hybrid diapers are partially reusable, i’m guessing we would only need to purchase 7 outer covers and 24-36 inserts. The starting cost using hybrid diapers would be about $225 total. The AIO system would require us to buy more complete diapers because no part can be reused without washing, I estimate we would need 24 AIO’s to get started. So the starting cost using AIO’s would be about $400 total. 

We were looking at Flip brand and G-Diaper brand hybrids and BumGenius brand AIO’s. Based on the information and videos I have looked at, any of these choices would leave us with a quality product that is easy to use and form fitting. Additionally, each of these products come with hook-and-loop closures and they are all made with stretchy material, which is important because we have a very wiggly baby. 

So for you cloth-diapering mamas out there, I have a few questions: Do the hybrid diapers work as well as the all in one system? Do the hybrid diapers look funny or bunchy on the baby? Is any one easier to use than the others? Also, what is the best storage for soiled diapers while awaiting the washing machine?

Please help! I am lost in cloth-diaper hell.

Oh lord, thats probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. 

(Source: imafighttillweseethesunlight, via mommymanual)

I’m thinking about teaching Skyla baby sign language. The only problem is I can’t decide which signs to teach her first. I want to start with signs that will be useful but also easy for her to learn. Theres no point in teaching her sign language if I teach her words that she’s not capable of signing. I don’t actually know sign language myself, but I thought it would be easy enough to learn as I go. 

I think that Gracie would benefit from learning sign language as well, not because she has any problem at all communicating verbally but because she loves to learn. Using sign language might even help Gracie and Skyla communicate better with each other. They would probably get along a lot better if they were both speaking the same language.