Thursday

Mom, it's HOT




Yay! Now it's not quite so hot anymore.




Splash! Gotcha Mr. Crab.




Mmm, mmm good.

I missed a spot.

Charlie wanted in on the action.

Today was super hot - just like the rest of this week has been. We stayed home today after going to story time at the library because we are trying to conserve gas. I have filled up every week for the past three weeks and I am going to Steph's cabin this weekend for a much needed girls' weekend! So, I need the gas left in my tank to go to Missouri! It will be my first night away from the baby! I'll actually get a full night's sleep, well maybe. :)


Like I was saying, it was hot. Since it was so hot and we had time to kill at home, we decided to break out the splash pool and splash around.

Dunning is teething super bad - he would only nurse 4 times today and he usually nurses 6 times plus he refused to take his afternoon nap, which is very unlike him. However, he did take about 5 hours worth of naps yesterday, so he may just not have been tired. Although I sure was and could have used the nap. Although he wasn't really wanting the boobie much today, he did eat like a champ for dad, finishing off half a jar of mommy's homemade sweet taters, some yogurt and some rice cereal. Bowl lickin' good!

Charlie has been staying inside more this week because of how hot it is and because of his allergies. Yup, we would get the dog who has an allergy to GRASS of all things. He is on antibiotics and had a steroid shot last week. He's leaving a lot of fur around, but he is great entertainment for the boy. I can now leave Dunning on the floor with his elephant pillow to cushion any falls and he is happy watching Charlie prance around.

Letter of Apology

Dear Sir:

I just wanted to say, "I'm Sorry." I'm sorry that you did not see the fact that you were to stop at that little red sign, a sign that I did not have. I'm sorry that your stupidity angered the over protective mom in me, the mom that will protect her baby with all her being, the baby that was in my car with me. I'm sorry that I had to point out and highlight your stupidity by honking at you. I'm sorry that you feel your ancient gold Lexus with missing hub cap gives you some apparent sense of supierority over my plain ol' Civic. It doesn't. I'm sorry that you felt it necessary to tail gate me, honk and yell at me when I did not pull out recklessly in to traffic fast enough for you. I'm sorry you did not get up early enough this morning so that you could have had a more leisurely drive to wherever it was you were going.

Lastly, I'm sorry I made that hand gesture. I was merely trying to point out the stop sign.

Sincerely,

Me

(p.s. sorry mom!)

Stickin' it to the Man

I don't know if it scares anybody else, but "recession" scares the heck out of me. I really enjoy being a stay at home mom. I also enjoyed work. So, I take tasks at home and make them a little bit like work so that I get a similar feeling of accomplishment. The budget is one of them. No matter how much you do or don't make, I am a firm believer that every household should run by a budget. I didn't used to always believe this, but since I started staying at home, I do. I think Mikel wishes we would have had a baby sooner so that I would have come to this realization a long time ago. But after work, money talk would just stress me out. But now, I have constructed several spreadsheets that maintain our running total budget and our monthly budget. Our monthly budget is done by category item, how much we should spend on this item for the month, a column for actual expenditures, overages by item and a total over/under column so we can analyze where we go over the most and adjust accordingly (most always the ever indefinable "miscellaneous" category). Today, I received our electric bill, up $30 from the past two months. I expected it to go up in the summer months, but the notice that accompanied it was scary. It basically said, get ready, your bill is going to go up up up and there is nothing you can do about it because all Americans use is coal, gas, oil and more coal, gas and then some more oil.
Of course, we've all noticed the gas price increase. Then there is the grocery increase -I'm amazed at how little $50 will get you at the grocery store. Then Cox decides I need to pay $3/more a month for internet (stupid "Power Boost"), and let's not forget the $8/month increase we experienced for car insurance, despite the fact that we just receive a "safe driver" bonus check for not having a wreck or ticket for 5 years! Needless to say, when we discovered AT&T charging us for INCOMING text messages - messages we have no power over - we were a bit upset. Actually, righteous indignation comes to mind. So we actually called them and told them to shut text messages off completely because I'll be darned if we are going to pay them $4 for messages we received from other people (most of which are AT&T customers!). Your not getting my $4, no siree! Talk about stickin' it to the man.
All this to say a few things.
- We REALLY need a renewable energy policy.
- Be conscious of what you are putting out there. Don't be a part of the problem.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Learn it, love it, make it your mantra. Thank you to my old roomate Gracie, who used to threaten bodily harm if she found a yogurt cup in the trash.
- Beware of hidden costs. It's amazing to me how much money we WASTE. It's like a fun little treasure hunt for me now. It doesn't make a whole lot of difference to our budget whether or not we have a $4 charge for text messages or an $8/month increase in car insurance. But when I found out I could take a safe driver online course and receive an $8/month reduction in our car insurance bill, you can believe I'm gonna take it. And that $80 refund I am due from my pediatrician, they'll hear a lot from me until I get it - that'll cover over half my of my electric bill. I'm sure I'll throw a parade and invite everyone over when I get that check. Just make sure to email or call me to RSVP because your text won't go through.

This weekend

Whenever I leave Mikel at home with Dunning, I always find fascinating pictures on my camera later on. WHAT prompted this balancing act, I don't know.

Dunning loves to stand and we've been trying out some different ways to get him to stand on his own, safely, so he can learn how to do it without us holding him up.

Mmmmm, yogurty. Gives new meaning to "milk mustache."

My bath time superheroes.

This weekend was a lot of hard work for the Hancock family. A couple of mom's from my mom's club had a garage sale at my house this weekend and the work started on Thursday night and didn't end until Saturday night. We had 4 moms in total, lots of good clothes, baby toys and clothes and other random stuff, including a ceiling fan and a separate light fixture. There were several other garage sales in the area and we thought, man, this is going to be a great sale! Boy were we wrong. We had a total of 10 people come by (or so it seemed) and made $100 between the four of us. I think I ended up making almost $35. I had set up tables, spent a few weeks putting together piles of stuff I could sell, I priced, I made signs, I drove around and posted the signs, I drove BACK around and fixed the signs, and sat for a total of 10 hours in the humid, hazy, sticky heat that passes for summer - all for a measly $35. As Gracie mentioned, it's strange as to what people will and won't buy. They'll buy all of the baby colored socks, but not the white ones. They'll buy a Banana Republic top with Old Navy yoga pants that are WAY too small for you lady. One guy bought my Pier One wine decanter, but passed up the Mr. Beer Micro-Brewery (and trust me, he was no stranger to beer), stating that maybe it was time he quit drinking beer. My ever clever husband then remarked, "But not wine, right?"

Baby Shower

I look like Stella.

Much better.

Belly belly!

I went to my friend from my old job's baby shower this week. She has four more weeks and looks so cute with her little basketball of a tummy. She is the one that I painted the pink flor de leis painting for. She cried.


Dunning was the hit of the party, until he got really fussy. He was sleepy and hungry. Not a great combo. But he did get dressed up in a bow and a hat before it was all said and done.

Woman's Rant

Ok. As women, we all need to stick together. It's a tough world out there for moms, grandmothers, friends, sisters, daughters, etc. Let's not make it any tougher. The world puts out a stigma of impossible, and incredibly unhealthy, beauty. You must fit these dimensions or you are not what we consider "beautiful." We should be banding together to reject this rigid and ridiculous standard by telling each other how beautiful we really are.
Things you should do:
- Be a nice driver
- Write thank you notes (although I often forgot this practice, it is one I resolve to be better at)
- Sincerely compliment other women (Love your hair, nice shirt, great bag, etc.) But don't say "nice hair" if the woman is sporting a mullet. Let's not encourage those trends that just truly are a BAD IDEA. Find something else to sincerely compliment.

Things you should not under any circumstance do:
- Be rude just because
- Be mean and spiteful just because
- and finally, do not under any circumstance...
ASK OR ASSUME A WOMAN IS PREGNANT IF SHE HAS NOT, TO YOU DIRECTLY, SAID "HEY I'M PREGNANT."
Ever. ESPECIALLY if you are another woman.

My Kid - King of the Crazy Haired Babies

Cousin play time

Yes?

I will eat your arm...or at least your wrist rattle.

AH HA! Carson found his own cow and commenced eating.


Kelsey Belsey and her baby blues.

Dunning in his effort to be mobile, likes to use my legs as a prop.

I love you mom.

Hmmm. I want to touch your head.

Hmmm...I want to eat your hand.


D and I went over to Bridget's yesterday while our house was being shown. The babies had fun playing together. Carson and Kelsey have Bridget's big blue eyes. Right now, Dunning also has these stunning blue eyes, but Mikel's are hazel (so he says, I say more blue), and mine are as brown as brown can be. So who knows what D will turn out with. Probably hazel like Mikel.



Carson has two teeth and is trying to cut some more, so he tried to chew on Dunning's hand. It's so funny watching the babies grow. It's amazing. Almost overnight, Dunning has learned that he can indeed be mobile, he just has no idea how. So he'll start out sitting up and then roll over to the side, kind of on his knees on my legs, and then eventually down to the floor on his back or his belly. He has figured out how to roll, so he goes from back to belly to back to belly, but I don't think he has quite realized that this will actually get him places. Right now it is just something he has figured out he can do.


After the house showing, Mikel ate with Jim and Bridget and Bridget's brother Bobby while I went to MNO at Carrabas with my mom's club. We talked about our kids, our husbands, our labor stories and other things that make men cringe. Good times!

Garden time

Last week, I took D outside while I worked in the garden. He loved it. He mainly loved just watching Charlie run around outside. Cheap entertainment. I need to go back out there soon, but it's just so darn hot outside. Yesterday it was 102!

Adventures in food

D likes apples. Not applesauce or apple juice, just apples. I think he likes the way it feels on his gums.

This week, we tried carrots. I steamed them and then pureed them with a little water to make our own carrot yummies. He loves them. We had to discontinue the squash as he has some strange rash that showed up on his upper body after we tried them for a few days. It's either a heat rash or a reaction to the squash. Hope it's nothing to be worried about. So we'll watch it and hope it goes away so we don't have to go to the doctor.

Same same

You know Mikel always said that he wanted him and the boy to have matching outfits (ok, he may not have actually said this, but I'm sure he was thinking it). But for some reason, when I brought Dunning out of his room after dressing him for church on Sunday, Mikel said "you didn't." I said, "oh yes, I did. And I'm taking pictures."

Library time

Dunning likes listening to Ms. Sue Ann and will reach out for the book when she shows it to him.

We especially like the bubbles :)

Library friends - Dunning, cousins Carson and gymnast Kelsey, and baby Isabella.

Today was story time, which we haven't been to in a few weeks. Here are some pictures that Carla took of the babies. My La Leche League meeting was at the library this morning too, but we skipped it because I've been doing too many things in the morning and causing him to miss his morning nap, resulting in a very fussy baby if we only get one nap. Oh, wouldn't it be nice if we could ALL take two naps each day. I bet there would be no war. :)

Cloth Diapers - Week 2

So far so good this week. We've had a few minor and one major leak this week. Mainly due to my inattentiveness. It's hard going from disposable to cloth diaper changing frequency. Disposable you can leave on for almost up to 3 hours, barring any major dirties. Cloth diapers are a MAX of 2 hours, with no dirties. And my child is a heavy wetter. So it's more like 1.5 hours in one. No biggie if we are at home, a little more of a big deal if we venture out. Like today, I went to go my hair cut and was going to run to Hobby Lobby afterwards to return something. My hairdresser was behind and we ended up being out for over two hours. D has a rash we are trying to get rid of, I think due to the new foods we are introducing, and the long time in a wet diaper doesn't help. Pobre bebe.

Random Weekend Happenings

So after Bridget's party on Friday, we just hung out with my parentals over the weekend. We went shopping and I got a killer deal on these two t-shirts - uber-clearance for $1.97 each! Nothin' says fun lovin' than a self-righteous, organic cotton, recycled polyester t-shirt!

We discovered that Dunning loves drinking out of straws.

Sunday, hanging out with dad before church. Xbox is not for babies Mikel!

Attention grandparents. My child needs jammies. All we have is long sleeved and he needs some jammies pants. Preferrably footie jammies. Thought: why is it that when you have a baby, your vocabulary is automatically re-programmed to insert the suffix "-ie" on the end of every word??

My handsome fellas.

Yes, I know he is cute, but these are 12-18 months and way big on him. But oh so adorable. They have little razorbacks and "Arkansas" all over them. They were a gift from my hairdresser!

I contructed my clothesline on Sunday night and hung out the cloth diapers to dry. A breastfed baby's poop is notoriously orange and stains everything, so if you hang them out in the sun, the sun will bleach it out. As some of you have asked, what is a yucky duck (in so many words)? The blue diaper and the white diaper two diapers down on the left from the blue one are yucky ducks brand cloth diapers. I thought they were all in ones and apparently they are the "pocket" style. My friend who uses pocket style cloth diapers gave me tips on how to use them so they don't leak, so we're going to give them another try. We are going to be washing diapers a lot, so hopefully the clothes line will help reduce electricity from them having to dry them all in the drier. Plus, it keeps the velcro on them all from sticking together and tearing the cloth. Mikel is not too thrilled about my construction as we have put our house up for sale and said "Our realtor is going to kill you." :) Bring it.

Happy Birthday Bridget!

Queen B Cake

Queen B and Jim

Happy birthday to you!

Surprise!!


Friday marked Bridget's 30th birthday and Jim and I threw her a surprise party at PF Chang's. It was a lot of fun and she didn't expect a thing. Friends and family were there and we ate, drank, talked and laughed. We had a Queen B cake (story behind that) and went on to Eddie Haskell's for a few more drinks and more talking and laughing. My parents came down with my grandmother to watch Dunning for us - it was the first time we have gotten to get out without the boy. Well, there was one other time where we went to lunch for like an hour while they were here, but this was a real date. It was a good time had by all!

More Adventures in Cloth - Days 3-6

So, Thursday went really well and so did Friday with little incident with our pre-folds and vinyl pants, rigged up with velcro. Friday marked the appearance of the long awaited Yucky Ducks, which I washed and got ready to go on Saturday. He wore his first one and then went down for a nap and woke up all wet. Then today we went through all 3 Yucky Ducks before noon. Sigh. The first one went fine with a poopy diaper, but the second two leaked before the end of 2 hours, and he is in outfit #3. Double sigh. I was so hopeful these would be such a wonderful diapers. But it sounds like our pre-folds are better. So, I'm not sure what to do now. I don't know if I should keep trying the larger Yucky Duck (I bought two different sizes) and hoping it was just because the diapers were too small. I do want to get some vinyl diaper covers that you just put the pre-folds in and the diaper covers velcro shut. They do the same thing as the vinyl pants, but they're supposed to be easier to get on and off.

Wednesday

Dunning and daddy just goofin' around before church on Sunday, while I was working my buns off leading three children's services.


Dunning and Oliver


Dunning reaching for Oliver's blocks. TJ in the background. Oliver has the cutest t-shirt on. It says "Silly" with a picture of a monkey on it. Gotta get one. Carter's Outlet store in Branson apparently has them.


My cloth diaper creation (sideways view)


Cloth diaper un-velcro'd. I'm a friggin' genius!!

On Wednesday, we went to our weekly lunch meeting with our mom's club. It's a lot of fun. We go and have lunch (if you want to), feed the kids, and dump all toys on the floor and let them go to town. We watch each others' kids to make sure they're not wandering off or terrorizing the other patrons. And the moms talk. I'm really glad I found them, they are a great grouop of moms and so supportive and welcoming. And I'm glad Dunning has some babies to play with. Most of them are older, but they like to come and sit with him and it gives him the opportunity to be around other babies and socialize. He likes to reach out to touch them and try to play with the same toys. If they have a toy, he wants it. Guess that's an omen of what's to come.




I started the process of sewing the velcro on Dunning's diapers and the results have been very good so far. They work so much better than the pins and so much more convenient too.




This whole experience thus far has made me really greatful for our moms and grandmothers and aunts etc., who did not have conveniences like we do - things like disposable diapers and driers. And sewing is HARD! A lot of them sewed their own clothes! My mom made a lot of cute dresses for me and my sister and I know that was not easy. So props to you mom and all the other mothers out there who had it a lot harder than we do today!