The Cows Looked at Me as If They Knew

When I was in seminary, one day our teacher's husband taught the class and he read us a poem about falling in love with his wife or something. The one line I, and I'm sure others, remember is "The cows looked at me as if they knew..." I don't remember what they knew...

Anyway, when I was in labor with Taryn, I had the opportunity to labor at my aunt's house. She has a few yorkie terriers that are very yippy dogs. They bark a lot and don't particularly favor anyone but my aunt. Whenever we go to her house, the dogs bark and run around your feet and are very active. They're cute, but noisy. (I hope it's okay to say that Aunt Katherine!) The day I was in labor with Taryn, however, they came and sat with me the WHOLE time I was there. They were silent, climbed up on my belly, laid in my lap, licked me and my belly, and stared at me with their round little eyes as though to say, "We understand." The dogs looked at me as if they knew...

That was the only time they had ever acted that way. The next time we went to their house after Taryn was born, the dogs were back to their yippy selves. Well, we went to my aunt's house last Saturday to swim and the dogs were yippy and noisy and in constant motion. I went again today, and as soon as I walked in the door, all the dogs came to me, sat at my feet, climbed onto the couch and sniffed me and licked my belly again, and would not leave me alone the whole time I was there! When I went to go to the bathroom, they followed me down the hall. As soon as I came out, they were right behind me, with one of them practically licking my heels with every step I took. They sat at my feet while I talked to my aunt and the mom of the group would stand on her hind legs and just stare at me. It was the strangest thing. Do you think they know something I don't know?

The dogs looked at me as if they knew...

So...What's Up With You?

You know that story about the goose down pillow's feathers getting thrown all over the place? How you can never really pick them all up after they've floated their many ways? Well, here's my attempt to gather a few back up. A lot of people out there are anxiously awaiting news of an impending (or successful) delivery tomorrow of our baby because I had planned to have my membranes stripped tomorrow since about 30 weeks. That was the original plan. But plans change...

As my sisters' due dates came and went without delivering their babies (we're expecting baby #2 to come by Friday via c-section...over a week late), I began to wonder just how long my body would go with this one. Could I possibly go early? Or would I see my due date come and go too? Curiosity got the better of me and I started doubting our decision to urge things forward.

While I believe in all things natural with labor and delivery, I do not see having your membranes stripped as invasive or a medical procedure. Sure, your doctor has to do it, but doing so does not MAKE your baby come, nor will your baby come any sooner than your body is ready to deliver. It's just another method, like jumping on a trampoline or taking castor oil or walking for miles, to try to coax your body forward.

At the same time, I am almost intrigued by the idea of letting nature do its own thing again without ANY intervention and just seeing what happens. Will I go into labor before my due date? Will it be in the middle of the night? Will my water break? How long will it take me to realize I'm in labor? Again, curiosity has gotten the better of me.

So, for those reasons, I am almost 100% decided that I will NOT have my membranes stripped tomorrow, but will wait another week until my 40 week appointment to make that decision. However, at that point, I may just do it because I don't really want a September baby...

So don't expect phone calls tomorrow unless she comes on her own. We'll hopefully post pictures quickly and keep everyone in the know as soon as we can. We can't wait! And yet, apparently we can...

Taryn's New Allergist

Two weeks ago, I took Taryn to her new allergist. I had been looking forward to this appointment for 4 months, mainly because this allergist was highly recommended to us a year ago when we found out about T's allergies.

A year! I can't believe its been that long, and yet can't believe its ONLY been that long.

Anyway, we learned some very intriguing things and have been able to modify some of how to deal with things here. I admit I wasn't thrilled by the doctor's perspective on things (I think some doctors are too concerned with protecting themselves to offer honest medical advice) but I appreciated his thoughts on others.

One of our biggest concerns was that even if we didn't see a reaction after exposure to something with one of Taryn's allergens in it, what was happening on her insides that we COULDN'T see? We certainly didn't want to be destroying her insides (like with celiac) by feeding her something just because we couldn't see a reaction. But the doctor assured me that the reaction will appear if the allergen is enough to warrent a reaction. If you don't see one, there is none.

So, if she eats some bread that has a milk ingredient in it and there is no reaction, it means her allergy to milk has a higher tolerance level than that bread contains. While there is some dispute about whether or not exposure to something will increase future reactions, there is also a lot of evidence suggesting that non-reactive exposure can actually increase the likelihood of outgrowing an allergy.

Because we know Taryn is very allergic to eggs, we're not willing to expose her to those at this point. She's never reacted to peanuts, but we don't really have a need to give her peanut butter, so we decided to start with milk. We are now offering Taryn baked goods that have milk baked in them. So still no cheese, yogurts, creams, etc. but she can have bread or cereal that has a milk ingredient. So far, so good! No reactions. Braden even made pancakes the other day and put real milk in it and no reaction! Last night, I gave Taryn a semi-sweet chocolate chip (which doesn't have full milk in it) and no reaction! Besides utter joy at having some chocolate!

Anyway, that's where we are at. He still thinks that she will outgrow the milk and egg allergy by the time she starts school and also doesn't confirm that she even has a peanut allergy since that is so heavily mis-diagnosed. Her reactions are so mild and he said that they probably are even more mild than they appear because of how fair her skin is. Her IgE levels in her blood are high, but are not causing major reactions, which is good.

So we have great hopes for her and really look forward to her being able to eat and live normally...especially since food is her favorite thing!

Blast From the Past

Keara and Taryn love to go thru the movies on our computer and watch them over and over. Today we went thru the movies from 2008 and found this classic.

Look What I Did!

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. I wanted to make a car seat cover for our infant seat because I was a little tired of the blue and yellow plaid. But I knew we couldn't really afford for me to do that, so I cleaned the car seat out, prepared to use the plaid again.

Enter my mother-in-law. She wanted to know what to do for the baby and I mentioned that I wanted to make this cover. So she offered to buy the fabric so I could do it. After my doctor appointment yesterday, I stopped by Joann's to find some fabric. I didn't find anything I loved, unfortunately, but I was so eager to do the project, that I bought some I was just okay with. I know, you should only buy what you love. But...

I started cutting and sewing and realized I had grossly over estimated how much fabric I would need. Even doing it reversible, I had plenty of fabric (and I only got 2 yards of each fabric, so 4 yards total). Thankfully, with a coupon, it only cost $11.50 for all the fabric. So I was able to not only make the cover, but also a cover blanket and a head guard.

Here's my finished product, from the top down.

The cover blanket, to keep our baby protected from the elements and other people. It's attached with these tabs that velcro over the handle of the carrier.

When you want to see the baby or just have it open, you flip the front of the blanket over the handle and you have a canopy like most carriers come with. I made the blanket with the print on top and then this solid rose color underneath.

WOW! Look how awesome the cover turned out! And the head guard...so perfect! I love it!!!

Here it is without the head guard.

Here you can see how I tried to add to the simplicity of the colors. I did a decorative stitch along the outline of the middle section and then freehand machine stitched this little embroidery pattern. It's not perfect, and it looks better from a distance. But I think it added so much.

I am so impressed with myself...terrible to say, but true. And it only took two naptimes to do it all. I love learning to make things!

Incredibly Thoughtful

Today, Braden's coworkers threw a baby shower for us. I wasn't there, so he got to do the honors of opening gifts and oohing and aahing without me. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall. His coworkers were SO incredibly thoughtful and generous in their gifts. One gal even made a beautifully scrapbooked baby album that I can insert pictures into. It is wonderful! (I'm thinking of having her make me 2 more so Keara and Taryn can have one with their baby pictures in it...)

They also gave us 2 outfits, socks, headbands, a bib and burp cloth set, really soft blanket to match the baby's room, and a gift card to Target. Plus a pot luck lunch for the team and a cake in the shape of a carriage. So cute!

Caught on Camera

Like I said a couple posts ago, Taryn spends most of her day reading. I caught this in my rear view mirror today and just had to smil at how much this kids loves books. This one book will entertain her for a half hour.

The problem is this: a couple weeks ago, Keara decided to spend her naptime tearing apart 5 books. Just ripped the pages right out of them. And then ripped up the pages into small pieces. And it cost us $22 at the library because one of the books was a library book.She got into trouble, had to apologize to the librarian, and was on time outs from books for a week. No bedtime stories, no books at naps, no books...

Taryn also has a problem ripping books. Only with her, its not usually on purpose. Its that she's turning pages and her hand is on the page, so it rips. Or she grabs it at the middle to turn the page and it rips. Whatever the reason, most of our books are now 75% tape because we keep fixing them and giving them back. I just can't bring myself to punish her by taking the books away since a) she's not doing it to be bad and b) she LOVES books. They mean the world to her. And it entertains her so well. But should I be punishing her so she learns to not rip them? What would you do?

Disney Knows What Its Talking About!

Finish this song: "Don't pick a prickly pear with the paw. When you pick a pear, try to..."

Anyone who has seen the Jungle Book or knows The Bear Necessities knows that the end of that line is "try to use the claw." Well, who knew that ol' Baloo was right?

Last night, my friend Jill and I picked a prickly pear...bare handed. Not a good idea. They are deceivingly covered in tiny baby fine prickles! I got a hundred in my fingers and spent the next hour picking them out. I guess I missed one, because now the skin has covered it and I have a very painful red bump.

So, the next time you go to pick a prickly pear, remember Baloo's advice...and take it.

The Ants Go Marching...

Taryn is talking SO much lately! I love it! She is talking in sentences like "I want more" "Don't push me" and things like that and is also just adding depth to her vocabulary. She LOVES to read and read and read and probably spends 80% of her day with a book. I love that. Her two favorite books are "If You're Happy-Jungle Edition" and "The Ants go Marching." The If You're Happy book is If You're Happy and You know it, but you clap your hands, stomp your feet, scratch your fur, give a roar, flap your wings, etc. She LOVES it and knows each movement according to the picture, so whether or not I read it to her, she can still do it. Keara will read that one to her too, which Taryn loves.

The Ants book is fun too and Taryn will bring it in saying "Hoorah, hoorah" when she wants me to read it to her. Then we sing it together, with her singing "Hoorah" and "boom boom boom." I finally got it on tape...

Do You Think They're Excited?

These girls are so ready for this baby to come! Every time I pull something out for the baby, they need to play with it, be a mommy with it, get into it, or whatever it is. The day I brought out the carseat to clean it caused major fights because they both wanted to play with it. Luckily, we have two...

I also made mei tai carriers for the girls so they could carry their babies in them. Normally, I am not this "granola" or natural or whatever you want to call it. But I do love my carrier and I think the girls look so cute with their mini versions!

Taryn especially loves hers, probably because she loves riding in mine. She'll wear it for a long time and just love having her baby near her. I think it is so precious to watch these girls mimic mommy things and take care of their dolls. Keara's been doing it for so long and it is so a part of her nature, that we're used to it. But we're seeing a new side of Taryn coming out, and I love it.

HAIR!

Keara's hair has grown SO much. So much so that I was able to put it up in a ponytail! And then a few days later, I blowdried it and straightened it and it was SO long! I told her that she looked like a different girl, which she took to mean she WAS a different girl. And then we cut it...short. Sad! But having it straightened without all those curls let us see that it was getting thin. So we cut it off and hopefully it will encourage a little thicker growth.

Sometimes You Just Gotta...Cry...

I cried today. Over something silly. But to me, it was a big deal. And now I'm going to blog about it.

I had my 37 week appointment today and was hoping to have everything perfectly how I wanted it to be. Let me paint a picture of my ideal labor and delivery:

I feel those first pains and within a couple hours, they become more intense and I know I'm in labor. After a couple more hours of those intense pains, I know I need to go to the hospital. We show up, they check me, I'm at a 7 or 8, we get changed and set up, and within the hour (after 2 or 3 pushes) the baby is born. Then, all goes swimmingly over the next 24 hours, at which point we get discharged and get to come home. Of all that, the two important things to me are 1) only being in the hospital to deliver, not to labor and 2) going home after 24 hours and no more.

But I've been very concerned about getting to the hospital in time, seeing that we live 30-40 minutes away, not to mention to time to get our girls where they need to be, etc. And if each labor typically gets shorter, timing the whole thing gets tricky. I don't want to get there a minute too soon or a minute too late. We've prayed a lot about it, praying to know when to go, and today we got our answer.

Last week I was tested for Group B Strep...and it came back positive. I realize that a TON of women have GBS and its no big deal to them. But I was so disappointed to hear the consequences of having GBS. First, I have to be given an antibiotic during labor...in the hospital...for at least 4 hours. So, instead of showing up to deliver, I have to labor in the hospital. Second, if the baby comes BEFORE 4 hours of antibiotics, the hospital will monitor her for 48 hours, meaning either I go home without her at 24 hours, or we both stay...in the hospital...for 48 hours. Silly to cry about it, but I did.

At the same time, my baby's health and safety is far more important than my ideal plans. Afterall, the consequences of her contracting GBS would be worse. For example, "Babies infected with Group B Strep or GBS may go on to develop pneumonia or even meningitis. Others may have long term problems such as hearing or vision loss during their lifetime." Sweet. Yeah, not going to risk that one.

Also at the same time, I recognize this as the Lord's hand, stepping in to remove the worry of when to get to the hospital and ensuring that we will be there in plenty of time. Perhaps nothing out of the ordinary will happen, but maybe she'll come so fast that we wouldn't have gotten to the hospital in time had we done it our usual way. Or maybe we need the extra monitoring this time. Or maybe nothing. Who knows.

But one thing is for sure, this will be a different labor and delivery than we've experienced or planned for.

Bake Sale!

I think this is a great idea. My friend's baby boy needs one of those corrective helmets because of some developmental issues but they cost a LOT of money! So, she's putting her talents to work and is doing bake sales at the beginning of each month until she earns enough money to pay for it. This month...CUPCAKES! And Ruth is a VERY talented baker. The picture alone made me salivate...

So, if you are in Arizona and are interested...go to her blog http://tinybabybubbles.blogspot.com/2009/08/bake-sale.html and place your order!

I Need a Pattern

I love to sew. I love to create. I love having an idea and watching it come to fruition. I do not, however, like having an idea, trying to make it, and having it FAIL. Which is why I've decided I need to start using patterns to make clothes so I can learn some basic things and then I can go back to doing it out of my head.

Right now, I need to know 2 things:

1. How to correctly measure for making pants (capris, really) because I need more pants that will fit during these last 3 weeks and I don't want any with a tight waist or zipper or button because that just hurts. And I don't want to buy them and I don't want to wear pajama pants, and I can't wear pants anyway cause that's too hot.

2. How to correctly measure to make sleeves for little girl dresses. I know I can figure it out, but I want to know the secrets of making it simple.

It's Almost August, Right?

I've been putting off getting anything ready for the baby until August because anything earlier would seem premature. Why change the bedding in the crib when Taryn still takes her naps in there? Why pull out all the clothes when the girls may just go thru them all and I'll have to refold them all anyway? So I thought I'd at least wait until August when it would feel like we were almost to the end.

I swear, this is the longest pregnancy ever. I think when I get so excited about something and stay excited about it for this long, it seems interminable. And I'm so excited for Keara because she is so excited. So I want the time to pass quickly because I can understand how hard it is for a 3 year old to understand time, but then I, myself, feel like the 3 year old because its "taking a long long time, mom."

So today, a day early, Keara and I went thru the boxes of newborn and 0-3 clothes. It was so cute to see her hold up a shirt and say, "Mom! Look at this tiny shirt!" Or when I would say, "Keara, look how little this dress is" she'd get that "Aww..." look on her face. It was classic. We went thru the boxes, picked out what we needed, unfolded them and looked at it all, then tossed it in the laundry. I'm glad we were able to do it together.

All I have to say is WOW, we have a lot of girl clothes. At least a lot from birth to Keara's size. I'm glad we're having another girl. If she comes out a boy...

I had my appointment yesterday where the doctor did an ultrasound to determine size. He measured the skull, torso, and thigh bone. It said that she's skinny but long, just like Keara, but the estimated weight at birth is about where Taryn was (7 1/2 to 8 lbs). So we'll see. I'm just glad he wasn't projecting an 8 1/2 pound baby. We're now a little less than 4 weeks from ETA but of course hoping for something earlier.

My sisters' babies are due next week and the following, so we are SO excited to hear good news from them. Then, its our turn...

Waste of Time

We saw a dumb movie last night. Don't see it. Braden wanted to get it because the previews made it look really cool. But it was dumb. He even said so, which is saying a lot because he rarely thinks a movie is just dumb.

Anyway, don't see KNOWING.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a...

...nother rocket belly!
I haven't posted belly pics on this blog in a LONG time. So, I had Keara take these pics today for 2 reasons. One, to document this stage. But two, because I needed to send this picture to my sister to show her the new skirt I made yesterday.

So, there's how I look at 36 weeks. I'm really looking forward to my appointment on Thursday because it'll be the first "exam" and he may also do an ultrasound to determine size. I like knowing these things.

I have a TON of people throughout my pregnancies comment on my belly. "Wow, you're showing early." "You're carrying really low." "That just pops right on out there." "It really looks like just a basketball." "Are you sure you didn't swallow a watermelon?" And then there are the many women who say something akin to "I wish my belly looked like yours...just out there instead of all over." I don't say that to brag, but to preface the following.

I have rocket bellies. I know I have rocket bellies, yet people are astonished by how it looks. And here is why I have rocket bellies. It's not all that worth it. After Keara was born, the natural separation of my abdominal wall didn't heal. I just figured I couldn't get rid of the bread basket no matter how many sit ups I did. I didn't realize it was anything more until I was 6 months pregnant with Taryn and talked to my sister who is a physical therapist.

When I mentioned how I could create an "alien baby" by leaning backwards and watching the center of my abs pop out and how I was hurting so much more than with Keara, she told me about this problem with my abs. She told me I needed to do therapy for it and I must not do sit ups or crunches because that only makes it worse. Well, that's all I had done after Keara was born. Then she told me that it was possible that even with therapy, I would never go back to normal because of the scar tissue that was likely present.

So I learned about it and did physical therapy for it after Taryn was born. Basically, during pregnancy, the abdominal wall naturally separates to allow for the growth of pregnancy. After delivery, most women will either lose the separation completely, or, after 3 weeks, will have a 1-2 finger spread between their abdominal muscles. This eventually heals.

But mine didn't heal. I couldn't do anything about it while pregnant with Taryn, so I had to wait until she was born. Three weeks after she was born, I did the test to see where my separation was. Instead of the normal 1-2 finger spread, I could fit my entire hand, fingers spread between my walls. Not a good thing. I did the exercises for it and after a few weeks, I had gotten it down to 2 fingers. Good. I felt so much better than I had in a long time because I finally had abdominal support again.

I hoped that it would stay when I got pregant this time, but as soon as I got pregnant, it's like my body just decided to lose the strength again. Part of the "joys" of having this ab separation is that I show really early because I have no muscles to hold it in. I carry really low which leads to back and pelvic pain. I have a bulge at the top of my prego belly that actually hurts (I wonder if its the beginning of a hernia). I have no feeling on the middle of my belly, perhaps because of the scar tissue. It is painful and difficult to be pregnant from about 5 months, instead of just at the end because of the strain on my body. And people have a lot of comments because it does look different from most bellies.

A couple of the true joys of it all, though, is that I never look like I've just eaten too much at the beginning of my pregnancies (except at the very beginning when I'm...retaining water, for lack of a better word) because the belly just pops out there. And I also feel the baby move extra early because I have no muscles to prevent feeling.

I'm hoping I can be even better at my exercises after this baby to perhaps at least gain back what I had before rather than regressing every pregnancies.

Anyway, there's your science lesson for today...

No, There is Too Much. Let Me Sum Up...

Name the movie. Anyway, I thought I would put a couple projects on hold and take advantage of Braden playing basketball and the girls sleeping to catch a few things up.

*In April or so, Braden was made Team Lead at his work. That means more responsibility, not more pay. Then, someone quit, so he was given her teams of students. That meant a LOT more work. Despite it all, he managed to pull off some of the most incredible numbers his manager had seen which meant she recommended him for a really awesome raise when it was time for his semi-annual review. He did awesome and I'm so glad he still loves what he is doing!

*We moved the girls into the same room for night time. We bought some bunkbeds from Walmart after months of looking for good ones on craigslist. I love them! They're not put together as bunks yet, but the girls are doing great sleeping in them. Taryn looks so tiny in such a big bed. They can't take naps together, but nights are going well.

Here are a few pictures to sum up some of the other things going on:

The other night, there was a big storm that came thru, starting with a lot of wind. When we went to the window to see how pretty it was, we were SO sad to find that our big, tall mesquite tree had met its match. Fortunately, it kind of rested on Braden's car without doing any damage. But he chopped it up and it is no more.

Keara and I had a really great laugh at the dinner table last night when daddy went to a meeting. I couldn't help it. We had bought some grapes at the store and some of them were REALLY big. She popped one in and I just had to pop another in on the other side. She could hardly close her mouth. I think the video is hilarious.


Taryn is becoming the sweetest thing in the world. Her vocabulary is exploding and she is generally happy and content 95% of the day. She is helping more, doing more, understanding more, and making me SO happy! Sometimes, she's what gets me thru the days when my 3-year old is melting down. I love this little girl!

Here's a shot of her sores on her legs. She got them the worst on her legs, but has some on her arms and a few spots around her mouth. I can't see the one in her mouth to know what that is like, but so far, she hasn't seemed to be affected by it when it comes to eating. The sores are starting to diminish and it doesn't seem to be spreading anymore, so I think we're good. She has such a perfect disposition for all the trouble she's been given with this body of hers!

Grandma Moore gave Keara a new pair of sunglasses. She put them on and knew JUST how to pose in them! She and Braden got to go on a date to a movie last week and I took this right before she walked out the door. She chooses her own outfits, down to the shoes, every day (and Taryn's too, for that matter), but I thought she looked great for a date. She even has her most important gum in her pocket!

We got to have Braden's sister and kids over for a day. It was SO fun and SO great to get to know them better. We were glad we had our little pool to entertain them and keep everyone cool in this heat. The kids had so much fun in it.

We also got to have Braden's mom and grandma stay over night with us. The girls were so happy to have them around and made sure to take every moment they would give them!

We loved the Moore Family Reunion this year. It was at an awesome place with awesome people. Keara loved being with Jack, her bestest cousin friend. For the first day and a half, they were almost inseparable.

My favorite part of the reunion was going to White Sands. Imagine a bunch of sand dunes...I mean miles and miles and miles of sand dunes...that look like snow. It was awesome. The weather was perfect that day and it had rained so the parking lot was flooded. PERFECT! It made for extra great fun for everyone. It also meant the sand stuck a lot more than it would have...Keara spent the whole time in the sand, whereas Taryn...

...alternated between the water (lying down in it, drinking it, splashing in it, running thru it)...

...and then rolling in the sand...just to make sure every inch was covered. Have I mentioned I love this little girl!?

My sister-in-law, Amanda, caught our family in some sweet shots walking thru the water. I love them! My shirt is doing something funky in the wind, but hopefully we can get that photoshopped and then this pic up on the wall.

NEWS UPDATE: I think our garden is shot. It may have had a chance if it had never been moved, but most of the plants in it were NOT summer crops. They were plants that should be harvested in the summer, not growing. So, today I pulled most everything out. The watermelon is still thriving, but it's a tiny vine...it should be dying after producing big watermelons at this point. The cucumber is still growing too, but again, hasn't even flowered. The cherry tomatoes are turning red, but we'll probably only get 5 or 6 off it this year. The other tomato plants aren't doing so hot. Even the bell peppers are struggling. We did get some jalapenos that were already there when we got the garden. I made salsa with them and it was great! But I do believe that will be the extent of our crop this summer. Come fall, we'll start again.

I'm sure there are a thousand other things I was planning on catching up on, but for now, that's it. We are SO excited and wait with baited breath to hear about my sisters' babies being born...just a couple more weeks for them! And then it's our turn...I can't wait!

The Story of My Life

We are TOO busy right now! My goodness, I don't have any time. But I wanted to blog about a couple things really quickly before racing to get other things done. Now that I've pulled up my blog, I can't remember what I was going to say...

Well, here's some quick highlights (and some low lights), until I can remember what I meant to write.

*We had a very busy week with LOTS of family! Mom, Grandma Dolin, Laurie, Lauren, Lexi, Madi, Jake, Brie, Stacey, Kyle, Caden, Nicho, Grandpa, Janae, and Enoch...we were exhausted last night after everyone was gone.
*I'm almost 35 weeks now and we are definitely counting down! We are SO excited to have this baby come!
*It's hot. We dropped the temp in our house while we had guests, but today I had to put it back up. I'm going to miss feeling comfortable!
*The ward cookbooks are slowly leaving my house. I sure hope I can collect all the money so we don't have to pay for them ourselves...
*I want chocolate chip cookies...really badly. Right now.
*My sewing machine broke while I was in the middle of a REALLY REALLY REALLY big project. SO SAD! I honestly wept. Keara even gave me her blanket to help me feel better. But I ended up buying a new one since I rely on my machine so much. I LOVE IT! Who knew so many problems I've had over the last 2 years were because of my machine?!
*I am loving making my mei-tai carriers and other things people are ordering from me. I actually should emphasize that I LOVE LOVE LOVE making them. I don't know why they bring me so much joy to make. A total delight.

Our biggest "light" of the day, which I guess is a low light, is that Taryn has Hand Foot and Mouth disease or whatever it's called. To me, it just sounds like Hoof and Mouth disease. But, she broke out into a rash on Friday which has now spread down her legs, on her arms, and around her mouth. Yesterday and today, they have become more like open sores. Poor kid. No, Laurie and Stace...your kids are fine. In fact, they are the ones who gave it to her... :) She'll get over it. But then, when we got home from the doctor, she put her hand on a hot burner on the stove. Poor kid!! She's miserable today, and has been for the last 4 or 5 days. At least now we know what has been bothering her.

Well, after all that, I still didn't remember what I was going to say. Oh well.

Utter Frustration

I cannot explain how annoyed I am right now at the stupidity of our country in electing Obama president. I hate how that election was based on race NOT on politics. I'm sorry to say it, but people who voted for Obama largely were simply looking to not repeat Bush, rather than searching to elect the best candidate. Now what we have is a president who is putting a finger of the government in every pie, dictating every aspect of our lives, and slowly eliminating our freedoms.

My current frustration is over a law called the CPSIA which is set to go into effect in August, requiring ALL people who make and/or sell children's products (from clothes to shoes to toys to bedding) to provide tracking labels permanently affixed to all products. Great if you are a huge company and produce large quantities of product and actually have batches and lots. Not so great if you are a stay at home mom who is plunking out products for people you know or online and selling them to make a little extra money.

This act even goes so far as to affect YARD SALES, consignment stores, libraries. Fortunately, the even more outrageous part of the law (lead testing) has been put on hold for a year while the commitee (of now 3 people I might add) decides how to handle the general anger toward this law. But still, they did not take into account the millions of small business owners or online sellers who will no longer be able to offer their product because the law would make production too expensive. So, in essence, your options will go from boutiques, ebay, etsy, and the like to ... WALMART. Because the people who are trying to preserve quality, functionality, style, and value will no longer be able to do so. And the cost for non-compliance (though possibly not investigated on such a low level) would be damning.

The more annoying part about it is that the whole point of the act is to create ease in locating the manufacturer and pinpointing product when there needs to be a recall of a product. Great. That sounds like it will make it much easier if they can just tell me the crib I bought which comes from batch 7-1020-494786 has been recalled. BUT, if I'm making a mei tai carrier for someone who buys it from me off etsy, I'm going to go to Joann's, buy the materials I need, and make that ONE carrier. If that person then decides there's a problem with it and alerts someone that it needs to be recalled, its only their carrier that will need to be recalled because I'm not using the same fabric over and over. So, why do I need to comply with this law if I will never have a problem with recalls?

I'm searching to find more information about this act and to understand how and if it is really going to go into action. I'm hoping the people over there at the CPSC will stop sitting on their brains and think about the ramifications of this act, because they didn't when they first signed it. They have 1 month. Less than 40 days to figure out if they are going to actually do something about it.

I realize that this act was started with the Bush administration, but it has been pushed forward heavily by Obama. Does anyone else see that slowly our government is becoming the voice for all our decisions, our opportunities, and our future? Do you realize that if things continue at the pace they are, there will be laws or government interest to dictate almost every aspect of our lives? And you voted for this. Thanks.

Yes, I'm a little frustrated.