Money Making Ideas

We had a pretty good day! Today we video conferenced with Grandpa and Nana and Grandma and several aunts and uncles. It was nice. Baby doll had lots of smiles and coo's. She didn't laugh out loud as much as the night before, but I love having her happy and healthy. There were three different planes with issues today. No one died, but on the one airline four people pass out from mysterious fumes and went to the hospital. On another plane, a weld broke and a three foot gash appeared in the ceiling. The third plane hit a huge flock of birds and dented it's nosecone. So, it was forced to land too. That one was covered in blood -pretty nasty looking. So, I am a little on edge about flying with the girl. But, flying is a fact of life for us. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to manage the whole "breast feeding while flying" thing. Can't pump in the bathroom and baby won't eat from the breast.  

Here are some things that if people could correctly design, they would make a fortune: A bottle warmer that works like it's supposed to...a car seat for infants that doesn't make their head's flop straight down...pj's that zip from the top down to bottom ...hair barrettes that are choke proof...a teething ring shaped like a pacifier...or a gel filled pacifier so I can pop it in the freezer.  Feel free to use these ideas and give me 15% of the profits -which I will gladly forward over to ol' girl's college account.

To the right is her party dress. Man, she was so cute! She didn't behave very well tonight. She decided she was ready to go home and threw the massive-ist fit. Ouch. So, we packed up and came home. With the ride home and a lot of work, we were able to calm her down. After that it was bath and then bed. She does love her bath.  The picture below is Aunt Lori and Annmarie in PJ's all calmed down. She is funny because she wants to hold the bottle, but doesn't realize that when she turns her head, she MUST move the bottle too.

Finally Friday!!!

I can't believe how long the week seems. We had a pretty good day. Ol' girl did go through another outfit today, but she did it on Tara, so it's ok! (Tara laughs when it happens to me too.) She only woke up once last night! I actually got almost 5 hours sleep! So happy. When we went to get up for work this morning she didn't want to wake up. She slept through the diaper change so I didn't even try to feed her. It's funny that sometimes she can sleep through anything and other times the slightest thing will wake her up.
Today is the CPO Birthday. So, I worked through lunch and was able to leave early. This enabled me to get home and clean for a while before I picked up the girl. Yes, I needed it. This has been a busy week at work.
I also discovered that I am not the only one at work that tries to do that at least once a week.

I have discovered that if the girl gets a nap at 5pm, she is much better after dinner and at night. So, yesterday she got her nap at 5 and then was able to stay up a little after her bath. I am pretty sure that's why we slept so long last night.
Today she has been chewing on her hands all day -and slobbering everywhere. I am pretty sure it's because she is getting another tooth. Not sure where it will come in at though.
She has had cereal in her bottle at night for a couple of weeks now, but today we had a few bites full in a bowl. I think we are going to eat it for about a month -if all goes well. After that, it's on to veggies!
OK, bath time. Enjoy the movie and let me know if you want to Skype on Saturday or Sunday.

The Skinny on Flying with Baby

Man, Christmas comes a lot around this joint! After a long hard day that started at 4am...we came home to find not one...but two boxes on my doorstep! The boxes were stuffed with new clothes and toys from Nana and Aunt Janyl -and baked goods from the most Awesome Aunt Marci. The other box contained educational toys! I can firmly say that the kid has more monkey toys then any baby I know. Adding to the collection of monkeys...Aunt Janyl bought her one with purple eyes to match the PJs pictured on the left. (Believe it or not, she was wide awake for this picture...but every time the flash went off, she closed her eyes.)
The monkey. The monkey is brown, really soft and filled with beans...and...a little creepy. The eyes are purple glass and they kinda follow you around. Sorry Aunt Janyl. With that said, she loves it. I pray this isn't a sign to come about her taste in boys.
Last night she also got a singing monkey, shape blocks, and one of her books. We are still waiting on the rest of her book shipment. She has several books coming from her book of the month club.  Then we should be done for a bit.
We did pretty well today. She spit up all over a new yellow and black outfit from Nana, but it's not poo, so I think I can get it cleaned. I fell a little behind this week (again). Hopefully this weekend I will be able to get caught up and organized enough again to make it through another week. I am going to start shopping for a toy box for the girl. It's the one thing I didn't get because I figured she wouldn't need it for a while. Figured wrong. I want something to match the name coat rack that Great Grandpa Witherite made for her. Maybe Grandpa Witherite can make her one to match. He did an awesome job building my dollhouse when I was a little girl. If not, I can always shop for one -I have free shipping at Overstock.com!

The Skinny on Flying with Baby (in ConUS)

According to United Airlines

• One child less than 24 months of age may travel free when accompanied by an adult and not occupying a separate seat.
• Only one child may travel for free per ticketed adult.
• One adult customer traveling with more than one infant must purchase an adjacent seat for each child except the first, at the applicable fare.
• Additional children must be properly secured in their seats.
• A passenger must be at least 18 years old in order to travel with an infant on his or her lap.
• A child who reaches the age of two during travel may travel as a lap child on flights before his or her birthday, but will require a purchased seat on continuing and/or return flights. For portions of the trip requiring a purchased seat, a separate itinerary must be created.
• Within the U.S. or between the U.S. and CanadaAlthough infants are not required to occupy a seat, your reservation must be documented as including an infant.
  Infant occupying a seat
  • Within the U.S. or between the U.S. and Canada, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands
    You may purchase a separate seat for your infant for increased comfort. Infants occupying a separate seat are subject to the full adult fare
  
  
  

Child safety seats
You may use an approved infant car seat on board the aircraft when you purchase a seat for your child. The seat must be an FAA-approved child safety seat device. Please note the following infant car seat placement restrictions: on one-aisle aircraft, car seats must be placed in window seats, on two-aisle aircraft, car seats must be placed in window seats or the middle seat of a center section. Car seats are not permitted in rear-facing seats on any aircraft.

If manufactured after February 1985, the car seat should also be certified for use in aircraft. You should seat your child in the child safety seat for takeoff, landing and during turbulence.

The FAA has approved the use of a child safety restraint system for travel. The system, named “CARES”, uses an additional belt and shoulder harness that goes around the back of the seat and attaches to the lap belt. Children weighing between 22 and 44lbs may use this device. More information is available at www.kidsflysafe.com.

The following child restraint devices may not be used on board the aircraft: booster seats, belly belts which attach to adult seat belts only, and vests or harnesses which hold the infant to the chest of the adult.

My Typical Three Stooges Day!



Never fails, put her in the car seat and she's out cold!

 Such a busy morning! The girl woke up early and didn't leave me a lot of time to heat up a bottle and such, so I 'made' her a bottle from scratch. It was easier -and probably the freshest she's had in a bit! Then she set the tone for my day. She started by pooping -not one, but three times. She refuses to poop in a dirty diaper. She would wait until after I got her cleaned and dressed to go again. I am pretty used to this by now, so she had to turn it up a notch. She waited until I picked her up to burp her to spit-up all over my uniform. So, I went to change and this made me late for work. That's pretty much how the day went...to include locking myself out of the Lactation Station, with my 'accomplishments' locked inside. So, I had to get someone to pry the door open. I got a couple of guys from the shop to help me. These men looked pretty embarrassed. "Lactation Stations" are still pretty new in the military. But, they were helpful and respectful. Then I spilled my lunch all over the table. Then I said screw it and went home early. Sometimes it's good to be the boss. I am still dealing with a little bit of the post-partum issues. So, I deem these accidents to be 'zoloft induced'. Something tells me they can only be 'wine cured'. It will be nice to be done nursing so I can go have a glass of wine. Of course, by then my tolerance will be so low that one glass will rock my world. For the longest time, I had to mix formula and breast, but as of last week I am finally producing enough to say that the girl is straight boob fed -through a bottle.

Nana says she got two more boxes today. I say she isn't used to my shopping yet. She still has three more things enroute!  My brothers are going to love me! I sent their kids presents too! Ha ha ha ha. I am still laughing. And the silly thing is that I told Scotty to take credit for it and he said, "Sure". He jumped on it like a fat kid to cotton candy. I sent them each a couple hundred ballpit balls and a ladder toy to roll them down. I figure they will pay me back in a couple of years. But, for now I still love to spoil those four kids (two for Matt and two for Jarod). Still smiling at the thought of Robbie and Jarod Jr throwing balls all over the house. Kyleigh is big enough to dive in and play too. I wonder if I should have bought Olivia a different gift. She is a little on the old side. What do you get for a pre-teen girl that will drive the parents batty? Ohh the Liz Taylor make-up set! Muuuaaahhh babies!

Kyleigh and Jarod Jr Halloween 2010






Scotty, Robbie, me and Olivia





Happy Three Month Birthday Baby!

I can't believe three months has gone by so quickly. I am finally settling into a semi-decent routine. Baby girl is progressing nicely. She has started coo-ing and laughing more and more. That's not what I want to talk about today.

Today I want to vent about the Military's Family Care Plan. It's this extremely intrusive packet/contract amendment I am required to file within 60 days of my child's birth. Not everyone has to complete a Family Care Plan. Single parents and dual military must do it. Basically, it's all the paperwork to turn custody of my child over at a moment's notice. The good side is that this makes you dwell on the seriousness of the job and the possibilities that exist. It's good because the military member can use this as a tool to plan for their children's well being. It's bad because this is not why the military developed the contract amendment. And don't kid, it is exactly that- a contract amendment. If I don't turnover custody of my children so that they can send me

ANYWHERE in the world -at a moment's notice, they can (and will) fire me. Even after fifteen years, if I sign and turn in this paperwork, I can -in fact be terminated if something happens and my family care arrangements fall through. If I refuse to fill out and sign the amendment, I can be charged with Article 92 -"Failure to Obey a Lawful Order".  If pursued this too could result in my termination (or in Navy terms "Administrative Separation"). Some women think this is just another tool in the "Man's Navy" to force out women. We will save that one for another day. 

Here's the kicker of it: as long as I have braces I can't deploy with the Army (IA)...I can only deploy on ships and those are few and far between. And, I have already completed my IA duties.  I have completed my Family Care Plan, I just don't want to route it. I know that I don't have to deploy until August of next year...there's just something innately wrong in filling out paperwork to give away your child. I know it's only temporarily giving up your child -but it's still the same in my head. I guess it would be easier if I were dumb enough to believe that this program was designed to help families -instead of the "help" actually being a side effect of the military covering their butts.

I mean, c'mon...could you give up someone this precious?

Of course, I am going to turn in the paperwork. After 15 years I don't know how to not conform. Bottom line, if I found research that proved burning your skin off made your kids bullet proof, I would buy stock in BIC. The plan does make arrangements for my child in the event that I die today. So, I am doing it. And yes, your math is correct, I am a month late. But, in my defense, it was complete on time, I just haven't turned it in.

Speaking of which...don't forget to donate to the girl's college fund! >>>>>>>

Baby's New Cargo Pants

This is one product of yesterday's shopping trip. Man, she had fun. Right now she's fussy, so this is going to be a quick entry!

I picked her up from Tara's today where she spent the morning at the zoo. I am so lucky to have someone like Tara help me with her. So, I get her home and unlatch her car seat belts. Just as I go to pick her up...she explodes everywhere. I look at her and she looks back up into my eyes and stares at me with her eyebrows lifted and a huge 'O' shaped open mouth. The only thing I could think of is that this must be how I look at her when she poops. I stopped and laughed. The look on her face was priceless. 

We got to Skype again. I think she's getting the hang of it! 

Next step...get Aunt Suzi to Skype again. I haven't Skyp'ed with her since I was prego. 

Her new toys still haven't arrived -and Nana and Grandpa only got one box of gear. It seems all of her shipments are behind. We are waiting on her new books and a package from Grandpa and Nana too. It seems to me I have another shipment coming, but I can't remember what it is. I love surprises!  

For some reason the girl went another two days with no poo...then today...we ruined another pair of PJs. Immediately after I cleaned her up and put her in a new outift, she blew out the top of another diaper and ruined another onesie. Her third poo in the first hour this morning actually stayed where it was supposed to. I guess you can call it frustration, but we decided to go out and do some shopping. So, Annmarie was very good for lunch and then was great through 3 different stores. Several hundred dollars later...Annmarie is now stocked up with everything from new hooded towels to tons of gorgeous PJs and a new party dress for Anna's birthday party next weekend. Ohh wait til you see that one! It seemed like everywhere we went they had an awesome sale!  Lori scored some really good deals...so did I! I will try to put pictures up tomorrow. If anyone is interested...we should be available to Skype tomorrow around 5pm our time.