Back to School Shopping - Reviews of Best Lunch Box / Bento Box containers

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!!!! BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!

At our elementary school, we have something called Boo-Hoo Yahoo at our first day of school. Some parents are saying "boohoo my kids are going back to school" but for me, this year, I'm falling into the YAHOO category. With three beans who are 6 and under, I can't wait for the kids to go back. Oldest goes back to First Grade.... middle bean goes to 4k - FIVE DAYS A WEEK!!!!!... and the baby bean will be going to a Mother's Day Out  program which is two days a week until mid afternoon. I cannot explain to anyone how much this means to me.

Summer is exhausting. I'm tired. ALL THE TIME. I see on Facebook lots of mom rejoicing that school is out and their kids will be home ALL THE TIME, but I guess I'm just not there yet. I'm not at that point where having my kids with me 100% and being hot and sweaty and tired and smelly is fun for me. I am however looking forward to getting everyone all set for their first day of school.

I have one child who eats everything in sight (the 6 year old) and the other child who literally eats nothing. The oldest one will be served the finest public education food this side of the Mississippi but unfortunately the 4 year old has to take her lunch. Do you like packing lunch for your kids? I really dislike it. I keep forgetting. I need to remember to make it the night before and sometimes I'm totally worn that I forget and wake up in the middle of the night to do it.

A friend of mine found these things called LAPTOP LUNCHES. What a great idea. I find is helpful for picky eaters because they are Bento Box - like lunch boxes. You take a few things and place them in the boxes. Middle bean won't eat sandwiches so these are perfect for her. Cut up protein, fruit, crackers, cheese. It even have a place to put a water bottle. I used to pack milk with the lunches but I find that the kids drink the water more and that is fine with me.

This is the unit that we have. We have two of them. A purple and a blue one. They have lasted over 2 years so I'm pretty happy about that. Get ready to pay out the nose though. This unit cost me about $50. I checked on their website and this one is priced at $39.95 without the water bottle. I'm pretty sure that they have re-vamped their inventory because mine came with one and it fit right in the insulated carry bag. By the way, your kid will LOVE this. It looks like a little computer.

Now having said how much I love this system, a friend of mine told me about another system which looks a little cooler. But it may serve a different purpose. This Laptop Lunch holds a lot of food. Here is the PLANETBOX.

Now since I already have two laptop lunches, I think I would probably invest in the little one. My 18 month old is going to Mother's Day Out and it would be perfect for her little lunch. It retails for $39.95 with the bag, $5 less without. If you think it's pretty expensive, just think of how long their will last.

This system comes in three sizes/prices. The Launch $50-$75, the Rover $40-$60 and the Shuttle (seen here) from $35-$40. Also, I believe you can get the larger ones at PotteryBarnKids.

So what will you use at your kids lunch box? I really do like these systems. The only thing with the BentoBox from Laptop Lunches is all the compartments. My cabinet has TONS of them and they are kind of annoying. They hold up very well in the wash.

Finally - there is an option for LunchBot. It's my third option for quality divided food containers. I am planning on ordering one for my daughter so when I do, I'll update the blog with a post.

Good Luck at Back to School!!!

:)R

What to buy for a Second/Third/Fourth baby

When you have your first child, you go out and register. You get some fun things, not so fun things and things that are so stupid that you are not sure why you got them in the first place. We have so much stuff in this house, we have started weed out the things we don't use. I gave away/sold most of my baby gear, but I'm trying to think about things that I "splurged" on with my third child. I have a few things that come to mind.

• #1 - A compact folding, swiveling, neat looking stroller

When I first registered, there was not a lot of cool looking strollers. It was about 7.5 years ago and most people got Travel Systems. I'm sure if we did this all over again, not sure I would do that again. I did like the Graco Car Seat, but the huge stroller that we strapped the car seat into... probably could have done without. I really like the SnugRider by Graco or the Snap n Go stroller by BabyTrend. We borrowed one from a friend for the second child and I gifted it to someone after the third. This would be a great present for a second/third time mom who is having a baby.

I decided to get rid of my huge GRACO QUATTRO TOUR deluxe stroller. It was so friggin heavy I couldn't lift it. It didn't fit in my van with the back seats up. Buh Bye. We bought a brand spankin new City Mini Single stroller. I really wish I knew about these (and could afford them) when I bought my double. I would have bought this one. But I wanted to save $$$. Next time I won't worry about cash and go for the good one.

I really love this stroller. Folds with one hand. Can lay back. Great canopy coverage. We are going to Disney this fall and this is all we are taking. This might be something you can splurge on for your third or fourth kid. Your stroller is probably out dated. This is a great option. I got mine online at Albeebaby.com which is my go to site for gear. I also recommend this double. My sister has it and loves it.

• A Better carrier than that silly BabyBjorn - the BOBA 3G

I swear BabyBjorn was the ONLY baby carrier back in the day. They had cornered the market. Every single mother got one when I was first pregnant. I got mine and loved it. Until my kid weighed about 10 pounds. Then the straps were going into my back. My body was hurting and I was begging for mercy for my husband to take the child. I had the bjorn for the first child. Second child hated to be in anything, I tried the MobyWrap sling but she just screamed in anything so I gifted that to a friend. Someone told me about this:

Is that a pretty picture? Yeah, not me. This is more like me:

Yeah not as attractive, but it works. I prefer to put her on my back. She is about 15 months here. As for a front carrier, you can wear the baby facing forward, but not OUT. That is the only downfall. But again, it's worth it because you can wear it longer. I put my 4 year old in here and it worked great. I carried her for a half hour!!! Wow! Looking forward to using this during the summer at Tball and in the fall at Soccer.

This is the BOBA 3G and I purchased it at Diapers.com and used a 20% off coupon. It was about $105. Well worth the price and you can resell it easily.

• 100% Cotton
• Front and back carry options
• Removable sleeping hood
• Adjustable sleeping hood, adjusting in length to fit growing babies
• Zipper pouch may be used to store your hood when not in use
• Comfortably fits heights 5’0” – 6’3”
• Waistband range: 25” – 58”
• Additional adjustments for easier fit & breastfeeding
• Patent-pending removable foot straps
• Elastic bands neatly roll up straps
• Shoulder strap holders keep purses and diaper bags in place
• Easily adjustable chest strap
• Uniquely designed to “hug” your child
• Converts to an infant carrier without an insert
• Extra head support adjustments for infants
• Body of carrier rises 2-3” higher than other brands
• Multiple pockets for on-the-go storage
• High quality military grade buckles

• THE BEST SLEEPER IN THE WORLD - FISHER PRICE - ROCK N PLAY SLEEPER

What can I say about this item? There is no way to repay the maker of this item for the wonderful sleep that I had when I first brought my third child home. It was a gift from my husbands aunt and it was literally sent down from the Heavens to this mother who was so very tired. The baby slept through the night at less than FOUR WEEKS. She was only getting up once. It's very portable. She loved feeling squished in there. We even bought an insert (Snuzzler) that is usually for car seats/strollers so she could go in it straight from the hospital. I really love this product. Baby Bean did too. 

Product Description
Soothe, nap or play! What makes this Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'N Play Sleeper perfect for newborns is that it's extra deep with a structured insert that surrounds them in comfort and makes them feel secure. The seat is also inclined, which makes napping more comfortable for babies who need their heads elevated. And with help from mom, baby can rock the day away - soothe, nap or play! Other features include three-point restraint to keep baby secure, a toy for soothing & entertaining, and a washable insert for comfort and support. Plus it's very lightweight, so it's easy to move around the house.

• Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'N Play Sleeper - Tan Circles includes removable, machine-washable insert
• Storage pocket for little extras
• Portable sleep seat for newborns, with a wonderful rocking action and secure inclined position
• Easy-push button fold for storage
• Maximum weight: 25 lbs

They even make ones now that are super padded so you don't need the insert. That is the upgraded version. Go ahead. Splurge. You deserve it!!!!

I would be interested to hear about what were your SPLURGES for your second, third and fourth baby. What did you really want to get that came out for the later child that you didn't have?

Happy Baby Thoughts :)

R

Toddler Technology - My beef with Steve Jobs

I always said that I wouldn't be the mom who throws an electronic device at my child to keep them  quiet. Nope, not me. Ever. I was NOT going to do that. Just like I was not going to give my kid a sucker to keep them from crawling out of the shopping cart. I lied. In a big way. I'm pretty sure I pictured my kids eating all home made organic food. Never was going to take them to McDonald's. Never going to let them play in a dirty playland. Again. I lied. I was living in "La La Mom Land". Yes, sure there are moms out there who probably stick by their pledge not to give into the screaming or the annoying things that their children do to get their way. When I say "NO" I try to stick to it, but sometimes I just need a little peace and quiet and I give in. I cave. I fold like a chair. It's bad. I know. My mom always tells me "If you say no, MEAN IT!!! Don't just say no if you are eventually going to say yes. It confuses them". Yes, mother. Thanks for the information. I try to not do this but sometimes it doesn't work. I'm a bad mom sometimes. I say No, then cave and say Yes. My bad.

I think we may be the only family that does not own an iPad. You know why we don't have an iPad? Well, frankly I'm afraid of it ending up in the toilet. That definitely could happen. We did however recently get a Kindle Fire HD which was supposed to be mine and all mine and I was never going to let my children use it, but I have caved. They have a cute system called Kindle Free Time. It actually locks your Kindle into "Kid Mode" and they can't change any settings etc. Its about $5 a month which I think is worth it. We also have iPhones. This is where I have a problem.

I hate the iPhone. I really do. I want to thank my soon-to-be husband of my cousin for showing my 2 year old that they have games on there one afternoon at a family funeral. Had to keep her busy. Yes, thank you, but OMG. "The Cake Game" was the start of the downward spiral. Thanks Dan for opening "Pandora's Box". The entire way home from that trip my middle bean asked to play on my phone. More like sang about, screamed about it and demanded. I told her I didn't have any games on my phone. She told me that wasn't true.

I told my husband I didn't want to start this. I didn't want to have children who played on devices. But alas, I caved. It started when my older child got a VTECH Mobigo from her grandparents. I must say. I fell in love with it. She would play at age 3 for 20-30 minutes. They looked like pretty good games. She got excited. It was a nice babysitter and it took her away from TV. Sometimes I would actually put her on the porch to play so it gave the appearance she was outside playing. But she wasn't. I would keep it in the car and she would take it into appointments. LIFESAVER. A year or so later, the middle bean got one to be like her older sister. Then shortly after the first one died and I was on a search for a new system. We replaced them this past Christmas with the LeapFrog LeapPad. Okay. I like those.

My reviews of the systems are as follows: If you are looking for a low budget beginner system for your kids, try the VTECH Mobigo. It's around $50-$60 and you can buy cartridges. I think even the upgraded system has games you can download from the net. You can buy games on amazon for around $12-$20. Nice little system and a 2-3 year old can use it. We upgraded to the LeapFrog LeapPad. It looks like an iPad but it's a kids system. It works well for a 4+ kid. My only note on that system is that it sucks batteries like no tomorrow (the new LeapPad 2 has a rechargeable battery pack you can buy for a HIGHLY ANNOYING PRICE of $40). I think we put $400 into the system including the system, wall charger, car charger, gel skin for the unit, cute pink purse carrying case and like 20 games. My final note on that system is LeapFrog has won the jackpot by putting all those cartridge games on the LeapFrog Connect computer download system where instead of getting those annoying cartridges, you can just download them to the harddrive of the unit. BRILLIANT. My children fight over this one cartridge. Something about a Mr. Pencil. We only have one. But if i would have bought it online and downloaded it, we can put it on multiple units.

I'm sure in a year, my child will want something else. But the question is do we upgrade to an Apple product or do we do a Nintendo DS. Her cousin has a DS and she wants one. Which is where I get to my beef with Mr. Jobs.

Mr. Jobs. If you are looking down reading this, I love you and I really hate you. Well, dislike would be the term. You gave us the educational tools known as the iPad and the iPhone. Thank you. And Shame On You at the same time. How dare you make it so easy for me to reach in my purse and pull out a babysitter. How dare you make my child learn on my phone and play a game and keep her from screaming while I'm at the doctor's office. I love you for doing it, but I also really really really dislike giving her my phone because truthfully, she doesn't like to share and getting it back is annoying.

I have subscribed to a blog about free apps for kids. Since now we have an iPod and an iPhone, I like to load up on free apps. This is a great site. Here is an article on the TOP 100 PRESCHOOL APPS. On Friday's they have tons of free apps listed and sometimes they are the ones my daughter uses on her SIX IPADS she has in her KINDERGARTEN classroom. So I load up.

Top 100 (actually 349) FREE Apps for Preschoolers

This website is great for apps for all ages. SMARTAPPSFORKIDS.COM

So either way you do it, if you like the new technology that is out there, or if you are a slacker mom that just gives your kids crayons when they throw themselves on the floor, I'm sure you can find some good info in this article. Perhaps you can give send this blog link to your sister who dares to give their child an electronic device to have a 30 minute nap. But remember, once you give it to them, you will NEVER hear the end of it. For me, I guess I'm okay with it. They are in the generation of electronics. So they better learn early.

If you have any good websites that have free or reduced priced apps, let me know! Or if you have tried any new gaming systems I would love to know about that. A friend of mine was telling me about the NABI Tablet and I am very interested to hear about that. My soon to be 7yo will out grow her LeapPad. And I'm thinking a Nabi or a DS. I know people just say to get them an iPad because I have so much invested in Apple, but then again, I'm afraid of toilet scenario.

Happy Baby Thoughts :)

R

When the bad gets really bad - Calmoseptine

Diaper rash hurts. It hurts the baby and it hurts the mom! Nothing worse than the child waking up in the middle of the night with a wet or poopie diaper and SCRRRRREAAAAAMING!!! This happened to us today. Screaming. I thought it was teething. She is getting her molars and she is in pain pretty much all day these days. Crying. Clingy. Doesn't want to be put down. Sometimes doesn't want to be held. Always her hand in her mouth and chews on everything. Poor kid. I went into the nursery to console my little one. She wouldn't take any teething tablets, teething gel, and just keep wailing.  I knew she was hurting i just couldn't figure out why! Then I found it.

Poor girlie had diaper rash. And bad. It comes on quick in this house. I put her to bed and she was fine, but she had some stomach issues in the night and during the time it took me to realize this and change her, it set in. Red, raw and painful. I could barely wipe her bottom. I removed as much as I could with a cloth and just let her crawl around. She could barely move. Gave her some Motrin and put her in the bath. Nothing like a cool bath to calm the screaming the dry those tears. It's now 5am and I'm sure my husband was wondering why the baby was in the bath. Everyone thankfully stayed asleep. As I looked in my arsenal, I couldn't find my go-to product for painful diaper rash. Calmoseptine. A neighbor had recommended it about 6 years ago when my oldest daughter had diaper rash due to teething as well. It literally numbs the butt and takes the edge off. Not sure it has any "healing" qualities but it does the trick and lets the babies go back to sleep. I had to go back to the pharmacy today to get some more... Its about $9 and is sold behind the pharmacy counter. One huge tube should last you a lifetime but I'm pretty sure this was my third one that I bought. First one was used up, second one is probably in my closet somewhere so we are now onto a third.

The thing with this stuff is you would never know about it if another mother doesn't tell you. It's a staple in this house but just because someone else told me about it. It's originally made for nursing homes for urinary incontinence patients but it works wonders over here.

This time I'm not going to lose the tube because the next time she wakes up with flaming rash, I'll be ready!

My New Solution for Baby Eczema

Eczema is horrible. Especially on babies. We never really had an issue with this with the other two girls so I was a little caught off guard when I had to start scouring the internet looking for eczema solutions for babies. The "rash" started when she was a few weeks old where I noticed that little bean had red patches on her back. Then it was on her arms and on her thighs. It was never bad enough that the doctor said anything... I even brought it up to him and he said it would go away. Just put some "lotion" on it or leave it alone. Or I think I even heard from someone to not bathe her that often because baby skin needs to not be washed a lot. Well... that didn't work very well. I don't think the itchy skin bothers her. She has never flinched in pain. Since she is only 1 year old, we won't know for a while, but I guess it bothers me. Over the past year I have tried pretty much everything on the market to get this to go away. I have gone on blogs and community boards, asked my friends and doctors. My doctor's current solution is to try hydrocortisone cream 1%. I tried that, then I really didn't want to put that on my daughter's skin so I looked elsewhere again. By the way, NEVER GOOGLE if you should put hydrocortisone on your baby. You won't like what you find. At her one year old checkup I told the doc again and he said to try it again and see if it cleared up. It didn't.

Want to see my arsenal of skin care products? Well here it is. After 7 years of being a mom, here is my stash of diaper creams (which some people told me to apply to her red skin on her back, legs and arms) and lotions for itchy, red, bumpy patches on my kids skin. I'm sure I have spent a few hundred dollars. And this doesn't even count the stuff I got so frustrated with I threw in the garbage.

When I first became a mom, I was showered (literally) with baskets of Johnson & Johnson products for the baby. The familiar yellow bottle of baby shampoo. The little lotions. Even the purple "bedtime bath" set from J&J. Notice there are not J&J bottles in this stash. I found it to be very drying and quickly replaced it. I actually switched when my oldest was a few months old to a product from Arbonne. Well, that stuff smelled great, but it wasn't really in my price range at the time and I couldn't get to my "Arbonne lady" quick enough and I decided it wasn't worth it. Someone bought me some Mustela products which I soon fell in love with. Mustela SMELLS WONDERFUL. You literally want to eat your child when you smell their hair after you use their products. They worked well for my first two kids but for some reason was irritating my third. I noticed they came out with an Eczema line for Mustela so of course I had to try it.

 Another $20 down the drain. Well, it worked for a while. I do recommend the Mustela line for Eczema. It doesn't smell as yummy as it's predecessor but it cleared it up for a bit. Her rough, scaly skin became smooth again. I thought I had hit the goldmine. We tried the wash and the cream. I had read online somewhere that they said that balms are better than lotions. I had a few balms in my bag of tricks..... Bag Balm and Aquafor to name a few. I even went "BIG MONEY" when I decided to throw down the mother load and buy the BABY BEAR SHOP CHEEKY BABY BUTTER which I think was $30+. Wow, I found something that smells better than Mustela. The ONE problem with the Cheeky Baby Butter is that it didn't spread. I was so afraid I was going to rip her skin off when I rubbed it on. It was impossible to apply to a one year old. Poor little one. Had to pretty much hog-tie her down to put it on. So.... I stopped using that.

Ever use Triple Paste??? The diaper cream made of gold. It must be for a small container costs about $18. I do however give Triple Paste to every new mom I know. I love it. It works wonders. I'm really a Butt Paste kind of girl but I have been known to reach for the Triple when the time is right and the butt is so raw that you need a miracle. Not to mention the prescription diaper cream shown above in the mother-load (Vusion) that we have that literally costs $250 without insurance. Talk about liquid gold.....But I digress........ Well... my point about Triple Paste is that now they make an Eczema cream. Apparently everyone is getting into the market. They figure they have the best selling diaper cream on the market they might as well try another area. Does it work? No. Didn't do a thing. And I did try each and every one of these products for two weeks or more.

Now... for my new find. A fellow mother told me about something called "Emily's Skin Soothers" line of products. I was talking to a friend who is on a Facebook board and she was saying that she had heard good things about this natural product. Well, I had actually heard of it and a friend of mine gave me a sample. It was a balm. Great!!!! And it smelled good. Great!!! We are two for two. AND... It was an all natural product that didn't have weird things in it that I couldn't pronounce.

I started using it a few weeks ago when I located the sample. It started to work and I liked the smell, texture and baby bean wasn't screaming when I put it on so I thought I would give it a try.
If you go to the website: http://www.emilyskinsoothers.com - you will read about the story of how the company started. It was created by an acupuncturist father whose daughter (Emily - you guessed it) had skin issues and it got raved reviews.

I placed an order for the BABY AND ADULT SKIN SOOTHER, SUPER DRY SKIN SOOTHER (for me and those harsh Wisconsin winters), DIAPER SOOTHER AND LIQUID SOAP. I was very excited about the liquid soap. We have been using the Mustela Stelatopia Lotion ($20 which is outrageous for this product - but of course I would spend it to make it go away) and Mustela Stelatopia Liquid Soap on baby bean and we were almost out. Score. I didn't want to put $15 down on a product that didn't work. Within the first two weeks of using the balm (Baby and Adult Skin Soother) the redness went away. I bathed her every other day in the soap and started to see a difference. The liquid soap was even used as a shampoo and her hair looked wavy and clean and smelled great. It's now been almost three weeks and I'm happy to report that her scaly skin is almost gone. Wow, what a difference!!!!

The bottom line is that if you are trying different products, this product might work for you. I'm going to place another order and I might even keep a liquid soap in my shower because it seems to do the cleaning job and not have any residue, etc.  I am hoping to get my Health Hut to carry it because I really don't want to pay shipping every time. But I guess it's better than having to buy tons of products and not use them... or worse, throw them out. Now to just sit back and wait for a sale so this mama can afford to buy some more.

I guess it's time to go through the arsenal of crappy products and throw out the stuff that doesn't work. After all, we aren't having any more babies ;)

Happy Baby Thoughts :)
R

My four little girls

October 15th is National Day of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness. Although I actually knew that I was reminded the other day by a friend. It's not really known. It's not a national holiday so to speak, but for some, it's a special day in which to remember your babies who never made it.

Today at the gym I heard two older women talking in the locker room. They were talking about someone who recently miscarried and how she and her husband decided to send an email out to all their friends and families about her loss. One woman was saying, "I'm not sure why she needed to tell EVERYONE about this. It's a private matter". Really??? I couldn't help thinking. Why is it a private matter? If this woman wants to share her story with others why can't she? When did it become a "faux pas" to tell people that she was expecting a child and early on, the baby passed away. It's still a trauma for that mother and father. It's still a loss. Not matter how early on. Infertility or pregnancy loss is like a giant elephant in the room. You know it's there. You don't talk about it or point it out. If you don't make eye contact maybe it will just walk away. And after it does, you don't bring it up because maybe the elephant will come back. Well to me, that's not really fair for anyone.

I have known my fair share of women who have gone through a similar trauma but it was never made public to me until I shared with them that we had our own loss. I have known people who keep it a secret but also people who decided to be very public about it and send even a letter or a mass email or however they decide to tell people. To me, I think that is part of the healing process. When we lost our little one in March 2011, I felt that people did not want me to tell anyone about this. I heard comments about how this is something that is private and they didn't want to share it with anyone and I should just not do that (no offense to my family or friends if they are reading this - everyone was very supportive but it was just kind of a silent issue). Well, why? Why can't women talk about it? Can we only share our stories when we are in therapy or a church setting? Do we have to wait until October 15th to remember our child? Even my husband never brought it up after the fact. For him, I know he knows it made me sad and I know he didn't want that. But today for whatever reason, I can't help thinking about her. I guess I'm choosing to write about it here because I know not a lot of people read this and I think all hell would break loose if I ever posted anything directly on facebook for all 625 or whatever people would see it. God Forbid I make a public statement. People would be calling my parents and my in laws or mentioning it to my husband. Why oh why is that woman sharing her feelings? I guarantee there would be other women who would share my feelings and join in silent prayer on October 15th with me but again, that is a public forum and we can't talk about such things in public. I would hate to offend anyone in my healing process. I have family and friends who have been through similar and yet drastically different losses and I guess I just want them to know that I will pray for their little one too. Which is funny because I'm not an overly religious person and I don't pray a lot but when it comes to this subject, I guess I can make an exception.

It's been over a year since my little girl was supposed to be born on September 11, 2011. Since then we have welcomed another girl into the world and we cannot be happier but I can't help but think about the little angel that we lost. I refer to "her" as a girl because well, let's face it.... we make girls. We have three so I assume the little one was a girl too. In my head, she has a name which I never shared with anyone. I'm sure some people would think that is silly since we were only 12 weeks along but not to me. I was still having a child. I was in even in maternity clothes.... took belly pics because let's face it, I was showing with my third child. To some people it probably wasn't a big deal, but not to me.... not to her mom.

I just put my third daughter who is almost 9 months old down for a nap and cuddled with her for a bit. I can't imagine my life without her. I know God works in weird ways and does things for a reason which is kind of crazy thing to think about and if you ever say that to someone who just lost a pregnancy or infant they would probably secretly be VERY mad at you. I remember someone said that to me and I was not really very thrilled with the statement. It made it worse.

So if you reading this, don't go calling my parents and tell them that I'm off my rocker. I'm just kind of having a sad day and I needed to write this down and then be done with it. I never shared this with anyone else and this is the only way I know how without causing a fuss. My other girls will be home soon and it will be business as usual in my household. Happy Mom. Happy Mom. Happy Mom.

So this October 15th, say a prayer for all the little ones who were born sleeping or who we never got to meet. Say a prayer for my little girl in heaven. And I'll say a prayer for yours.

I'm a BabyGear Mama and I am a mom of FOUR little girls. Three have feet here on Earth and one has wings in Heaven.

Okay, enough of the sap. My girls are home. Time for some fun.

Happy Baby Thoughts.
:)R

Order of Chicken McNuggets and Fat Loss in a Can, please

Being a mom is pretty hard. On a variety of different levels. To actually have carried the child is pretty traumatizing to your body. Just think about it. You have somewhat of a good figure when you get pregnant, then your uterus and everything in its way blows up to the size of a fricking watermelon... A WATERMELON!!!! Then all of a sudden the watermelon is a removed and you are supposed to be normal looking again. Ever blow up a balloon.... keep it blown up for 9 months, then let the air out??? Chances are, that little balloon will not be the same small shape.

I've had three watermelons in my uterus and it definitely is not the same. I'm traumatized. It's traumatized. When I got pregnant the first time, I really didn't know what I was doing. I gained about SIXTY pounds. Yep, that's right. 6 - 0 - pounds. I weighed more than my husband who is 6 foot 4 inches. I blame it on the two trips downstairs to the cafe in the building in which I worked. I would stop for breakfast, then get to work and be hungry again. Twice. And the sciatica prevented me from working out. Yep, I'm going to blame it on that. Took me a while but I finally took off the weight and then some but it took a lot of hard work and the help of a small village (aka weight watchers) and throwing out all bad food in the house. It helped that my husband is a health nut and would blow an air horn every time I put a carb in my mouth. He was pretty supportive but I'm sure he got annoyed with me. I'm like the person who asks someone else to wake them up at a certain time... then that time comes and they come in to wake you up and you scream at them because you don't want to be woken up. I told my husband, PLEASE HELP ME DO THIS, I HAVE SIZE 4 JEANS I WANT TO WEAR. Then when time came and I was eating something bad, he would "gently remind me" and I would bite his head off and scream and he would throw his arms up in confusion. I'm a very angry person when I don't have carbs.

Being a mom on the go is pretty hard, especially when my kids have all this yummy food and I so want to finish what's on their plate. Ever go out to dinner and order a kids meal and you as the mom end up finishing the meal??? Yep that is me. I think the last straw for me after we had our first kid was I went to a party and the person I was talking to said something about a woman across the room. They mentioned that they didn't know she was pregnant and how excited they were for her. I knew for a 100% fact that SHE WAS NOT PREGNANT but that was definitely a maternity top because I had the same one. I prayed and prayed that this person did not go up and say something to her. I didn't want to be that person. The person who 10 months after the baby is born is still in her maternity clothes.

After the second child, I decided to resort to weight watchers. That for me was pretty easy and I made my goal within about 5 weeks. I loved it because you could add "activity points" and get to "earn food back". I was the youngest and most active person there by far. I think they looked at me a little weird when on my chart converting activity to food I put "14 mile run" and they didn't even know how many points to give me back. I'm pretty sure no one had ever run that far and asked that question. I do thank them for helping me. Another challenge was between my second and third child, we were actually pregnant for third time. I made it to second trimester when I found out that we had lost the baby. I had already gone into my maternity clothes and gained about 10 pounds because not only did I gain weight from the baby but it was also a Christmas holiday which I blame on the vast amount of food we consumed down in Florida. Getting home and being in stretchy pants was nice, but when we miscarried, I felt horrible that I had added some pounds and now didn't have any reason for it. I worked harder then ever. Emotionally it was upsetting because the weight reminded me of the loss, but over time, I stopped eating my kids Chicken McNuggets and my body and my mind healed.

I've decided now that since I'm 6 months post baby with my last child, our third and wonderful gift from God, that I'm not as excited about getting back into those size 4 pants as I once was. I guess I'll never have another excuse to not fit into them. I have no more maternity clothes in the house so I pretty much live in workout clothes because after all, they are stretchy. I have a goal of getting back into my size 4s in the next few months but right now I'm enjoying my light beer sitting on the back porch watching my children play in the backyard. I'm not that far off my goal, and I know it will come. But I'm really in no hurry. At least not this week. I've gotten back into the workout routine once I picked my uterus off the floor and healed my broken foot, so I guess I just need to get my kids back into school to focus on getting back to myself. As a mom, the hardest thing to do for me is to keep up with things that I NEED to do..... like workout, run, read books and find time for me. Not Mommy, but ME.

Kindergarten starts in two weeks. My oldest is going off to "real school". Going on a bus. I'm kind of sad and kind of happy. I'm happy for her to start this new adventure. At our elementary school, they have this event on the first day of school called "Boo Hoo Yahoo". It's for a social for parents after they drop their kids off at school or have their kids jump on the bus. They can't either come and cry "boo hoo" that their child is going to school and all grown up or they can cry "yahoo" that they are super excited that their kids are going to school and they will have no more kids at home. I guess I will be doing both this year. I'm not too sad since I have two other kids still at home but I'm a little sad that my little one is old enough to go on this adventure by herself. I know she will do well. She makes friends very easily and I know that this is the first step that she has to do on her own.

I'm writing this I guess because I'm day 3 of my new workout program and healthy eating kick. A friend recently posted on how she is going "carb free" and I am attempting to do this. The only carb I have had today is this beer and so far I feel great. I have been doing TURBO FIRE workouts and P90X with my husband. I can't wait to see the results.

As for now, I'm enjoying my kids and trying to find time for ME, not for mommy. Mommy has plenty of time during the day.

Happy Baby Thoughts:)
R