I have joined M.O.P.S, mothers of preschoolers. I started attending the play dates early this summer because I had realized how socially anorexic my life was. I had tried when Ben was younger with another group, M.O.M.S I think, but they had residency requirements and there weren't any groups that covered my area. That had kind of soured me on the whole mommy group thing for a while. But I decided to try it again and so far am happy I did. If nothing else, it's something to do every two weeks with activities in between.

Today was fun because it ended up being a diaper exchange. One of the other Moms' son had out grown the two size of diapers so she had brought them for another one. Ayla has recently outgrown the threes so I brought those in case anyone could use them, so the one mom gave one then got one. A cute chuckle.

We also have to get our vehicles checked this year, in Indiana you have to get an emissions test every two years, so I went after the meeting. Trying to explain to Ben what and why were interesting. The lady running the last part got a laugh when she handed me the certificate that allows me to renew my plates and Ben asked what that was and what it meant. My answer was it means the car is healthy.

Ayla's hair

I have been stubbornly refusing to cut Ayla's hair. I am doing all I can to prevent cutting bangs, because let's face it, they'd be half her head. I have put together some pictures that show the many hairstyles we have tried to keep her hair out of her eyes.

Let's start at the beginning, since she was born with a full head of hair.



It did take a little while to grow so that I had to think about it.


But grow it did and has


I didn't really notice until we visited my parents and my mother had fun ribbing me about the hair in eyes, it was about as long as it is in the above picture. Trying to find hair clips for a baby that actually are designed to hold hair is pretty much mission impossible and since she was so young you aren't supposed to put the hair in a ponytail. But we did managed to find some at Wally World on one of our trips out and the adventure began for me to try and find ways to hold it up that stayed.



Of course the "pebbles" hair do was one of the first and I still do it occasionally because it's quick and easy. The problem is that it doesn't stay to well when up against a baby.



The flower barrettes are some of the ones we found when I was in Virginia. Of course we are slowly but surely losing them and I cannot find them again. This one usually will stay in all day since it is essentially the same as the pebbles one with an extra clip to hold it all down.


I do tend to find something and stick with it. This one is hard because, as I said earlier, we have lost some and only have two pairs remaining.


Ok, I think you get the point.


This is where me being a groomer came into play. This one I keep calling a top knot, since that is what it would be at work. It tends to stay in better than just the regular pebbles one probably because I twist it on itself and clip the ends in. Getting Ayla to sit still long enough for me to do these however is another thing.

The problem with finding clips is that most that you find for little girls don't lock into place. They are covered in cloth and only hold it. The barrettes I have found are few and far between, until I discovered which section to check at Meijer.


The crown ones just fit sometimes. She looks really amused, doesn't she?


Of course sometimes it's just easier and faster to sweep part of it up. Again the big problem with this one is it doesn't stay in. She can have it out in less than 3 minutes if she wants.


Outside of this being a really adorable picture of the two of them, I have found a winner. This one stays in through naps and most of the day. I actually got the idea from talking with my mother about a family friends' daughter who is in the same position I am, except her little girl is roughly 9 months to a year older than Ayla, who does not want to cut bangs. Being that her little girl is older she can use ponytails and puts her hair up in pigtails a lot. So that gave me an idea....


As close as I can get to pigtails. The little barrettes are easier to find and I now have enough to last me a while, even with the tendency to lose them.

Now a few more pictures of this haircut and the adorable baby that they're on.


Love this outfit and I had barrettes to match!


This was about 830 this morning and it's still in, a little droopy on one side since she has a natural part that kinda prevents you from getting even amounts of hair but I'll take it.

If anyone with experience knows of any possibles that I haven't hit on yet (Beth, De I'm lookin at you) let me know!

Writing in crayon

To explain the title of this post and the rest of it, a little story. The characters are my Mother- who had 2 little girls, me and my sister. Her friend Renee- who had 3 little girls all younger than my sister and I. I can't remember which but one always felt like they were doing dishes and the other felt like they were always doing laundry. They had a joke between them that one day we would make them so crazy they would be put away and only be allowed to write in crayon. But that they'd probably be assigned occupational therapy and it would be dishes and laundry.

Now for my own part, Nick is currently working second shift since the other supervisors are having health problems within their families and everyone is trying to see that they have as much time as possible without crippling the company too much. So that means that I am solo parenting until 8 o'clock at night, more like 830 but whose counting.

Yesterday I was about ready to pull my hair out. I could not keep Ben out of the aquarium or from trying to change DVDs and if he wasn't having a fit or getting into trouble, Ayla needed something. So by 6 o'clock I was soooo frustrated I called my sister and said "I am officially calling in crayon." She understood what I meant and was able to talk me down a little. I still spent most of the night in a mild state of frustration but it was much better.

Today makes me kind of shake my in wonder because it has been so different than 24 hours ago. Maybe it's because I made more of an effort to engage Ben in different things. We went to Bellaboos, which is a play place for children under 9. Ben had a blast, he spent an hour at the water table. They have a train room, face painting, building, a jungle gym of sorts. We spent a couple of hours there and after we got some lunch, headed home. He slept the entire way home but did wake up once we got here. But he was happy to sit and watch Chip N Dale cartoons for about an hour or so, so I could feed Ayla and just have some peace. There have been a few frustrating moments, but not nearly like yesterday.

Sometimes though I still think they need to a font that is crayon on these blogs. I could type something very basic and everyone would get it.

Oh as a follow up to the original story - A few years after Renee moved away, my Mom had one of those days (like I had yesterday) and sat down and did write her a letter in crayon. When Renee got it, she had been having one of those days, she opened up the envelope and started crying. Her husband, thinking something terrible had happened, asked what was wrong and her only response "She wrote me in Crayon"

It seems like it's been so long since I've posted but good news pictures should be coming soon. Good thing to since it is fair season.

Nick is currently working on our big computer, which I've started calling Frankenputer, so that shouldn't be an issue much longer. Ayla will be four months in less than a week, but it does feel like she's always been here. Ben has become quite talkative but luckily also easier to understand. I don't have to translate a whole lot anymore for others.
Uncle Andy was out here for about a week and Ben absolutely loved it. He even asked where he was this morning when we got up. My expo is this Friday and I'm driving up there with two of my co workers so it should be a little easier drive since I drove alone last year.

Things have been a little interesting out here. Our big computer almost went kaput on us. Nick's managed to save all the pictures, which is what I was truly worried about. The downside to technology, no hard copies.

Grammie was out to visit last week and I'll get the pictures up soon. My little laptop doesn't have the right plug thingy, I think.

It's going to be a busy month for us again. Me and the kids are going to Grammie's tomorrow and next week is my expo (must find I want list) and then both me and Ben have dentists appointments the next week. And while all this is going on it's also the county fair, one of Ben's favorite times of the year. At the Porter County Fair we went to with Grammie, we almost couldn't get him out of some of the animal buildings. It's probably a good thing we don't have a lot of land and are in town, otherwise between me and Ben who knows what we would end up with ;)

PIctures Pictures

Everyone who knew what I was up to has said they want pictures. So here are a couple, do keep in mind I took them so the angles and such are a little funny.

To those who didn't know what I was going to do. I got bored with my hair and at my current job I only have to answer to my boss who doesn't care and Nick admitted he didn't have a problem with it.

I can Has Cheezburger

I love this site, between the pictures and the captions, priceless. It just brings a smile to your face.

Today I didn't lose my shirt. To explain, I got on the computer this morning to move money into my checking account so I could write the check for day care. (I CANNOT write a check if I know there isn't enough money in there, even if there will be later that day) When I tried to log on to my bank an extra step popped up. It looked pretty legit, had the bank logo and one that said VeriSign and a decent explanation. However as I read what I had to fill in, the warning bells started. It asked for ALL the information on/about my debit card including my pin number. That was the one that said this wasn't kosher.

Sure enough, I stopped in at the bank to deposit my paycheck and asked about it. The bank said that the most they would require would be t.o send me an ID number either to my phone or email and I would have to enter that. They would never ask for my debit info. So someone tried to phish my banking info and didn't get it

Oh, we also received the check from Pampers for the last box we bought before Ayla's poor bottom went south, which has cleared up completely *finally*

It may be a little while before I get more pictures up. Our desktop apparently has a virus and Nick can fix it. It just a matter of him having enough uninterrupted time to do it.

In other news, We've decided to try another type of diaper for Ayla. She's just not getting better as fast as I would like and I figured it could be like my hands. What set it off last summer I don't know, but once it got going everything seemed to make it worse. But once it healed, almost nothing bothers my hands. So here's hoping.

First thing, what do you think of the new lay out? Took some time to figure out how to get what I wanted but I got there. Just figured I'd give a little update on what's going on over here.

I had to groom Simba pretty severely (for him) since I found some skin problems and hot spots on him. So now instead of his fluffy feet (normally clipped off), and the long butt feathers, think golden retriever, he now has more of a Labrador look and one semi bald patch at the base of his tail. Everyone is getting a dose of flea prevention so that'll be a fun exercise later today. It's going to take both myself and Nick to get them done.

Ben and Ayla are going along and growing nicely. Ben used to be just a little too short to reach the light switch in the bathroom, now he can reach it without a stool. Ayla is starting to fill out the 0-3 month onesies.

To update on the post I made about the Pampers Dry Max, I did contact the company using the number provided in the comments (after googling it to see if it was a legitimate number) and it is apparently a number they set up to deal with the current issues. Although a little thick on the Pampers rhetoric, I was satisfied with my dealings with them. They asked for details about what Ayla has going on and offered a refund for the last box of Pampers we bought.

I've restarted the search for a church. We were looking back around when Ben was born, but life kinda got in the way and fell into routine. When it came time for his baptism, Nick's Grandmother's church did it, more for her than for us, since she is a member of the same religion. Call it pride or what you will, but I don't want to have to ask again. I did find one that was ok, but Nick wants one with more people around our age. So the next one up is one in the next town that also has a school. I figure that should have a fair amount of people around our age and/or stage of life. The only concern I have is that is part of the Missouri Synod and I was brought up in a church that part of the ELCA. So I'm not sure what the practical differences are, but I'm just going to have to see.

So that's about it for now, Ayla's waking up and is probably going to let me know her stomach is empty soon.

Today on being Mommy - I have officially join the adult club.

One thing that I forgot that changes with a newborn was how much more of a work load the washer and dryer get once they come home.

The washer and dryer we had came with the house when we bought it four years ago and we don't know how old they were before that. They had started to have some issues before Ayla was born, Nick had to disengage the sensor that keeps the agitator from running when the lid to the washer is open because it was malfunctioning and make/replace the knob that you choose the cycle and turn it on with. The dryer would sometimes work without a problem but most of the time you had to open and close it and push the start button until it started. I swear you also had to hold your tongue just right and standing just so for it to work. But it wasn't too bad and we were going to get what time we could out of it.

But with Ayla's arrival the dryer went down hill quick, to the point it would take an hour to get the dryer to run so laundry would literally take all day to do two loads. So, as you've probably guessed, I got a new washer and dryer for Mother's Day and Nick got me the ones I wanted!

Since they're front loaders they use less water so the backing up into the kitchen sink isn't an issue anymore. The really good thing about that being I can do a FULL load. So that alone will cut my laundry in half. The dryer has automatic settings and will dry a mattress pad in one go round instead of having to stop pull it out, move it around, and start it again.

I'm excited about new appliances, I'm officially an adult.

Brainfart of the year

I had the brainfart of the year on Friday. To explain a little, I forgot it was Good Friday and my daycare is in a church (see where this is going?).

Since it is a few days before a holiday we are really busy at work, at the beginning of the day I knew we had at least fifteen dogs on the books for Friday. I arrive at the day care and it seems to be taking a while for them to answer the bell, I figure I'll call to see in case the bell is broken. As I'm getting my phone out I suddenly realized what day it was and that I think the handbook said they were closed. So I sent a text message and yup, they're closed. My first thought outside of something not exactly kosher to write was "Co workers are gonna kill me"



Fortunatly for me, the twins we use for baby sitting were on spring break and one was available. I was able to call my co workers and let them know I WOULD be in, I would just be a bit late since I had to wait for the baby sitter to get up and ready. Then called Nick so that in case he got off work before me he wasn't surprised to find her and Ben at the house and also so if he was the first one home, he knew to stop and get money to pay her. He got a laugh out of my oops.



At work we ended up doing 21 dogs on Friday and I did thank the baby sitter profusely, and gave her a little bonus for the extreme short notice and hauling her out of bed.

It just hit, we've got a month until this baby is supposed to make her appearance! So that puts a little bit of a rush on things we've been "going to do" for a while now but kept thinking we've got plenty of time.

We got the baby stuff down from the attic, like the co-sleeper, bottles, still have to locate where someone, we won't mention who, put my pump since that's not exactly something you can just run out a replace easily or cheaply.

Currently emptying out the spare room so we can prime it to paint it. Now that we do have a little bit of time on since most likely she won't be sleeping in there for a little while. But better to get to it when we are able to.

Another life lesson

Equally as dangerous as shopping while hungry, shopping while pregnant.

What can a two year old in the time it takes to make a potty run? Quite a lot it turns out. When I returned to the living room I discovered that Ben had:
*Pushed his playskool desk up to the little entertainment cabinet
*Used it to climb onto the cabinet to access the top of the movie thing and get to my purse.
* Proceeded to empty the coin part of my wallet, move a few cards around and find my little thing of Tums and eat all but a few which led to
* My second call to poison control. I knew one of two wouldn't hurt him, but he had eaten more like 5 or 6.

So lesson of the day - Mommy can't even go to the potty safely.

It should be interesting

Nick is on his way to Kentucky for a school for work and won't be back until Thursday or Friday. It's going to make for an interesting week. I have the blood doctor on Monday and a follow up for all the dental work on Tuesday and am working as usual the rest of the week. Hopefully it'll all go well, although I don't imagine it'll be all that difficult but he hasn't been gone for a week since before Ben was born.

Monkey fights

As many know I was supposed to find out what the baby is yesterday and most already know that didn't happen. As I said yesterday I've seen monkey shit fights at the zoo more organized than my Doctor's office.

This was the third consecutive appointment that something has gone wrong and the worst time I've ever had being jerked around by the office. So now instead of doing the ultrasound yesterday and my dental work today, I get to do it ALL today.

I'll be all numbed up from the dental work which should end about 1, get to drink 3 glasses of water as quickly as possible and get to the ultrasound place (because of course they can't get me into the office until sometime in January) by 130 for an ultrasound at 2. It'll be interesting to see how well I can speak by then.

Needless to say that as of right now combative is the best description for my attitude toward my Dr and her office.

Ben scraped his knee in Daddy's truck and it turned out that the only band aids we had were my Fairy ones.

Ben's video game, he can plug it in, turn it on and off.

He figured out how to move the box of kitty litter in front of the washing machine so he could help load that one.


Rather ironic I think having a nuclear power plant and wind turbines in the same picture. The turbines are on the left side in the background.

Ben running to his sand box.

Lifting the lid,

I think it's cool anyway.

We also put out corn for the squirrels in the summer and he wanted to help with that too.

Helping Daddy move an axle.

The video is the tiger we saw on the highway, fair warning I do swear when I realized the camera was on video not photo.

It's been busy

It's been busy around here latley. As obvious from my earlier post, I found out I was pregnant again a few weeks ago. I just went to the doctor last week and I am 10 weeks along, so we are looking at late April for arrival. This one is a little rougher with the morning sickness/nausea but that it clearing up.

Nick and I also went to a wedding in Champaign and Ben got to stay the night at Grammy's. It was quite interesting since we saw a white tiger, yes you read that right, in a cage in the back of a truck going down the interstate. Ben and Grammy had a blast during their first over night.

We've re-homed the gliders since they weren't getting the attention they deserve, let's be honest we were just feeding them. The woman who now has them also has several so as long as everyone gets along they'll be in a bigger colony with more gliders to play with. With the new baby on the way, we decided it would be better to make things a little simpler, still have the four legged furries running around.

That's about it other than Nick is going to be working a lot for the next few weeks. Between the orders they have and having less men to do it, that means they all have to put in more time. But I guess it'll be nice when the paychecks come in.

I'm going to try to get some pictures up soon. Now I just have to find the camera.

The Fair

We took Ben to the county fair this evening. He had a ball! The bunny building was his favorite I think, he spent a lot of time petting the bunnies you were allowed to.

There were two bunnies and two guinea pigs in the container.


One more with the rabbits. Which I think Daddy may get him one next year, I don't know, not my idea.

He got a Junior Deputy ID card at the Sheriff's Building and a balloon.

He really liked the balloon.

You can't go to the fair without getting some food. Ben got fried mac and cheese, since that's one thing you know he will eat.

My favorite part and one Ben liked to, the petting zoo.

The little shovels made it a lot easier for Ben to feed the animals. Of course he wouldn't move on until there was no more food left so he (meaning we) couldn't feed any of the others.

Like the camel. He swung around pretty quick, I thought I was going to end up with a face full of camel fur. Of course I wasn't all that worried about getting bit, I was more worried about getting spit on.

This one made me nervous. It's an Emu and while their eggs might be pretty they are not. He would stick his head out and I did not want to get pecked.

After the exhibits and animals, we did do a game and a ride. Ben is still just a touch too young, and short, for most things. So he got to do the duck pull game and he chose.......a rubber duck as his prize. Of course getting him to move on was a little bit of a challenge but what do you expect when he's only eighteen months old. I did take him on the big slide, the ones were you get a burlap sack to ride on. I'll spare you the close up Nick took of the rear view.

That's me and Ben just reaching the top of the stairs. He walked up about half way then he needed some help.

Trying to manuver myself and a baby onto the slide without moving the sack.

Ben really enjoyed the ride down, I did too for the most part. Except for the fact the sack was a little too short for my legs and I am now missing some skin on my ankle.

Poor guy was so tired, he was asleep withing a few minutes of getting into the car. He stayed asleep the whole ride home, getting him out of the car, and putting him to bed. We decided not to try to wake him up since it was only about an hour before his bedtime anyway.