No Longer Sleeping in the Closet

In November after sleeping in the Pack 'N Play at Marcia's, Lily refused to go back into the bassinet she had been sleeping in. She was about an inch from the top and an inch from the bottom anyway, so we made a quick decision.

We got an old crib from James' parents and fit it into our closet. It was great because it is smaller than a normal crib, but is miraculously up to safety regulations. Being about 25 years old, it had to be rigged to stay together, but dad Schmitt can rig anything to work. We covered the "mattress" in plastic wrap so we could eliminate dust or anything old from spreading. It was a great little in-between bed for our lady. Don't mind how ghetto this looks. It sort of was.


Lily's pediatrician said that 6 months is a good time to move her into her own room and when all of our Christmas guests left, we made the move. I knew it might be a hard few days, but we made the push to get her to sleep longer at night. We set up a little fan for white noise, a humidifier for her little stuffy nose and a spacious new crib. Thanks Leathra and Tom for letting us borrow the crib!

And best of all: Lily slept for 10 straight hours for the first time Monday night!

Of course, she didn't do that again last night, but I think we're well on our way. Woohoo!

Semi-Decade Teeth Cleaning

No, not me or James...it's Jack's turn for his dental cleaning and check-up. I'm not a dog person so I didn't realize why his breath started to stink and why when he licked something it smelled like stinky cheese. When my good friend and veterinary technician Lisa came to visit, I mentioned it and she looked and was astonished at how nasty his teeth were. She said it was a cesspool of bacteria. I was totally freaked out since I had a new baby. Then, I looked into prices for these teeth cleanings and freaked out even more. Intravenous fluids, anesthesia, lab work. But, alas, it had to be done.

Then, I found out he needed to have up to date vaccines to get his teeth cleaned. Ugh, more money. I mean, I like Jack, but it's real money here. We got to the place and they said he needed heart worm meds so my baby didn't get worms. Ahh! But to give them to us, he needed to get a test first otherwise the meds would kill him. Ok, I said.

THEN, they called me later in the day and he was also suffering from an ear infection. Poor guy... and yet poor me who had to buy two more meds. Don't worry, he also needed 3 teeth pulled cause they were decayed into stumps and only staying stuck in his mouth with plaque. Pain killer and antibiotics required. Ahhh!

Long story short (or long) over $500 later, my dog's breath smells better.

Before.

After.

Oh, Jack. You silly expensive dog that brings such joy and loathing to my heart. I'm glad you're so long-suffering with your crazy owners. It teaches me that I can also be long-suffering with you.

Grrrrrr....

Lily has started this adorable little growling and I've tried dozens of times to get a video of it. This is about the best I could get. I love it.

6 months!

My baby is getting so big!

She wiggled so they couldn't measure her correctly the first time. The Dr figured she hadn't gotten shorter so she re-measured. She only grew 1/2 inch in length, but got some fat on her!

I love this shot of her little feet and the double chin. This face is a classic Lily face.

I LOVE this LADY!

Make your own laundry detergent

When my wonderful sister (Marcia) was here over Christmas, we made our own laundry detergent and I'm totally hooked. I'm attempting to be super frugal and making your own detergent costs close to $.01 PER LOAD! Umm, ya, this is an amazing savings. I do so much more laundry with Lily and I'm so glad Marcia suggested we try it out. I tried to take pictures, but only ended up with a few random shots, so take this for what it's worth.

I started out needing a bucket to put the soap in. I went to the grocery store and asked for an empty bucket and they gave me an empty frosting bucket for free!


Marcia used an empty laundry container. She had obviously planned ahead better than I did. We used an empty water bottle for the funnel since I don't own a funnel.

Ingredients:

1. A bar of soap, like Kirk's Castile. I've heard Fels Naptha or Ivory work, too.

2. Washing Soda, in the laundry isle.

3. Borax, also in the laundry isle.



Put 1/2 quart of water in a large saucepan. Boil water. Meanwhile, grate the soap with a cheese grater.
Add the soap to the boiling water and stir until it melts.



Then, add 1 cup of borax to nearly-boiling water and 1 cup of washing soda. If you're Marcia and I, the water will boil over and make a HUGE soapy mess all over your entire kitchen.

Then, start completely over again. :) Ha! We cleaned up the mess and started over. This time, we took the pot off of the heat after the soap melted. We poured in the washing soda before the Borax and then poured the Borax in a little at a time. Marcia grated the second time around.


Stir the mixture until it's all dissolved. We didn't have a 5 gallon bucket, so we split it into two buckets (trash cans that we washed out). We put 8 cups of hot water in each, then added the cooked soap. We then added 16 cups of hot water to each and stirred.

We covered the mixtures and let them sit for 24 hours. Marcia has an HE machine, but this soap works for her. I use about 1/2 cup of soap per load. So far, it's great! The soap is a little funny. It's really just liquid with bits of gel in it. But, that's how it's described on lots of recipes, so I think we did it right. :) We didn't, but some people add essential oils to add scent. That also increases the cost.

Hurray! I am definitely going to do it again. Our clothes seem clean and I love that it's better for the environment, my wallet AND it's gentle for Lily's skin. Anyone else out there make their own soap!?

Christmas 2010

I've been out of the blogging world because I've been in the family world! I figure I'd rather enjoy family than blog about them any day. We were so blessed to have so much family with us in Provo this year! Amanda, Jared and Stuart Ondricek came on their way to Virginia for Jared's new job. We also had Marcia, Joe, Kye and Macie from Oklahoma for almost 2 weeks! In addition, on Christmas day we were with Mom & Dad Schmitt, Leathra & Tom Evans (with Matt, Sam, Joey and Abbylee) and Terry & Alice! How blessed we were to have such abundant family! If only we had a bigger house!

This is Lily on Christmas morning. She really enjoyed the paper.

Lily and cousin Macie.

Lily and cousin Stuart.

More Lily and Macie.

Kye enjoying the Wii.

Joe with a little sick Macie. Poor thing got really sick at the end.

Marcia and Malea.

James read Lily and Macie stories the night before the Schmitts left. It was SO cute how he used silly voices. They loved it.

James wishes Lily had long flowing hair like her cousin Macie.

Kye eating his gingerbread house.

Manie and Jared. Poor Manie had emergency surgery! She was a real trooper to still have fun with us!

Christmas day with Leathra, Joe and Abbylee!

Jared, Wes and James playing nerdy computer games.

CUTE cousins!

Irony

I just posted about how happy I am staying at home with my baby. And I am! BUT, the day after I posted my feelings on staying home, I got a call from my old boss saying that someone in our department was going to be on a leave and he wondered if I could come in again at all. Well, here's the thing: we used up almost all of our savings when James was out of work for a little while this fall. So, we could really use the money. Hmmm...

I talked to James right away about it. He had the best advice. He said it was up to me, but that I needed to pray about it. I prayed that if I was supposed to go to work that I would be able to find someone I can trust to watch Lily and that I would feel good about it. If I was unable to find someone, I knew I wasn't supposed to do it.

At first I hit a few roadblocks. But then I called my WONDERFUL neighbor and friend. She felt like the opportunity to make a little money and watch my cute baby was just what her family needed right now!

So, I'm going back to work! It's only part-time and temporary. I'm a little worried because I very likely could miss some of Lily's "firsts," and it breaks my heart to think of not being with her all day, but I do feel like the security of replenishing our savings is worthwhile.

Have any of you gone back to work after staying home? How did you feel?