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Study...Study...Study

2010-10-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

Will be in the books today. Need to join the Wandering Wed., but too busy. Please join Inspiring To Save for her Wed. blog hop called Wandering Wed. I will try to join next week. I hate Anatomy and Physiology!!!!

Tuesday Toddler Talk-All that garble

2010-10-19T05:37:00.000-07:00

I completely understand the sideways glances that I get from people who hear me have conversations with the kids in public. Mainly with my two toddlers. I am constantly repeating different things that could be what my 3yr old is saying and telling the almost 2yr old " I'm sooo sorry but mommy has no idea what you are trying to tell me"! I try my best to decipher the garble, but sometimes I am at a loss. The best is when my 3yr old is trying to talk to some pretty lady (he is such a flirt) and I have to translate. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and tell that pretty lady I have no idea what that one was!!

Sometimes it works in my favor that it is difficult to understand my son. I have a bad habit of swearing and he picks up some phrases. Then he even knows how to use them correctly in a sentence. The latest is "that pisses me off" He has been saying that to the TV (mainly to Olivia, why? I have no idea), to is little sister, and even to going to the commissary(he hates that place-no toys all over the place). When I was showing my ID to the guard at the gate he told me that "it pisses him off going to this store". I have no idea if the guard understood him or not, I am hoping not. I hoping that I only understood it cause he is my son and I listen to him all the time and have gone through the continuous guessing game of the garble. The guard made no face or comment,so I think I am OK. Me and my damn mouth, next thing he'll be saying "Oh Shit". I say that the entire time that I am cooking dinner!

So, we work on words and read books together to try and ease the understanding of the garble and to get the almost 2yr old to speak words. That does seem to help and I love reading to them. Maybe it will teach them to respect books and not just try to tear them up. I wish that there was a book that could help me understand the garble! Actually, I think that there is one out there somewhere. I saw a commercial once, but remember thinking that they were full of shit! I will just continue doing the guessing game of all that garble!!

Coochy Cream

2010-10-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

Don't get grossed out, I am not talking about THAT! For Mommy Monday I will be talking about Coochy Cream. I have found myself telling others about Coochy Cream more often lately. If you don't already know, Coochy Cream is the best shaving cream ever. If you get rashes easily from shaving, ANYWHERE, this is the best cream for that!

I have been using Coochy Cream for years. I hate shaving to begin with, since I get razor burn if I get cold coming out of the bath. There is no way that I would even think of using regular soap and my body doesn't like the shaving creams/foams that you can get at the grocery store. So, I use Coochy Cream and those problems are gone. Now I use it for my legs and ....well my coochy area. It works fantastically!!! Very smooth and no rash, a plus for me. Now, it is exactly what it says, a cream. It doesn't really get soapy or foamy, it just works.

So, where can one get this fabulous stuff? At the local "dirty" store, also know as the sex shop, adult store, porn house, love shack, you get where it is. Why do I call it a "dirty store"? Only because of the way I feel after leaving. There is always that creepy looking old man that looks at you that way and makes you feel...dirty. I wouldn't sit down anywhere in that place either, do you think they clean up anything!! There are some more well keep places than others, but they all have them. If you have a huge aversion to setting foot into a place like that, which they really are not bad at all, you can order the Coochy Cream online. Since I have just moved and don't know where there is a "dirty" store, I will have to order online. When you order online and not at the store, you don;t get creeped out by the dirty old man, so you tend to browse for other great finds. You would be amased at the fun couple toys and games they have, and you can also get some good laughes at some of the things they have. "How do you fit that into there!!!" Seriously, good laughs!

Where did I hear about Coochy Cream? Don't remember, actually. I think that my sister told me about it and then I heard from others that it works really good. I discussed it once with the nurse at my docs office and she said that it was great for super sensitive skin, that would be me! I have been using it ever since, almost 10yrs now. Hopefully I have informed someone of this wonderful Coochy Cream, and it will help them out!

Healthy Thursday- Flu Talk

2010-10-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

Thursday's are going to be dedicated to health issues. It is good to get the information out and it will allow me to use my medical skills...so they don't wither and go away. I love being a nurse and teaching about medical stuff, so this will be a great outlet for me. If I start to get too medical sounding let me know. I want to make it easy to read so that all can understand the info.

The subject for today is the Flu Season. Since the flu season is here and there are things that I think everyone should know. The first that I am sure not everyone knows, is that there is only one flu vaccine this year. You will not need to get two since the H1N1 is included in this years strain. The only reason that there were two separate vaccines last year was because it takes over 6mnths to grow the vaccine( on eggs by the way) so there was no way for them to include the H1N1 in the same seasonal flu vaccine in time. Which, if you work in the medical field is awesome. The ordering and making sure that those who were high risk got the vaccine was a little crazy!

So, what is the flu?
The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. You can get a mild case to a severe case, that can even lead to death. ( a couple actors have passed from it, scary right).

What are the symptoms?

cough
fever-not everyone gets this when they have the flu
body aches/muscle aches
runny nose
headaches
fatigue/feeling tired
some may vomit or have diarrhea, common in children

The above are also common for the common cold, so it is hard to detect. You know your family and if their symptoms seem more than that of the common cold or a virus, contact their doctor's office and discuss your concerns with them. It is better to be safe.

How is it spread?
Studies show that it is spread by droplets/spit, from when you cough, sneeze, or talk. With kids they slobber and sneeze all over the place. It is good manners to keep your kids away from public playing areas if they seem like they might be getting a cold, to be on the safe side. Of course, this is my personal opinion and I apologize if this offends others. One can be contagious for up to 7 days after showing any symptoms, especially children. So, keep that in mind when you are considering taking that possible sick little one to a public playground or family function. Again, sorry if I offend anyone!

How does one prevent the flu?
There is only one reliable way to prevent and that is getting the flu vaccine. This is a yearly vaccine that you can get wither through injection or in a nasal spray. It is your choice as to which one to get.

Who is at high risk?

Children under the age of 5, especially those under the age of 2
Pregnant
Adults over the age of 65
Healthcare workers
Daycare providers
Those with other medical conditions

Lung Disease
Asthma
Heart Disease
Blood Disorder
Liver Disease
Diabetes
HIV/AIDS
Obesity

Who should not get vaccinated?

Those allergic to chicken eggs(since this is what the vaccine grows on)
Children under the age of 6mnths, it is not approved for them
If you have reacted to the vaccine in the past
Those with Guillian-Barr's, a disease where your body damages it's own nerve cells, that has developed within 6wks of getting the vaccine previously.
Those with severe symptoms or fever should wait till the symptoms are gone

There is some great information about the flu and all you need to know on the CDC website, I love their website. it is easy to use and it gives you good information that doesn't totally freak you out. it is just the facts. They also have a great Parents Guide to the Flu, check it out.

I hope that this information was helpful. Please let me know what you think. Take care and here is to hoping that our little ones stay as healthy as they can this Flu Season!!

Wandering Wednesday

2010-10-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

It's Wondering Wednesday! Go to http://www.inspiringyou2save.com/ to join in. Hope to get connected with you. Happy hopping!! If you follow me I will follow you.

Tuesday Toddler Talk-Potty Training

2010-10-12T05:26:00.000-07:00

Today is the first post for Tuesday Toddler Talk. I am creating this post so I can get discussions started on ideas or info on things pertaining to out wonderful. active, and crazy toddlers. i hope that it will be a hit and that I can get a lot of good feed back. Please tell others to stop by and give their opinion on the subject for that Tuesday.

Today's subject is potty training. I have a son who just turned 3 this past September and we are still trying to get the potty thing going. Some days we have really good days where he goes regularly...with me just taking him and not waiting for him to tell me(cause that will be never). Other says it just is not working out for either of us, he will cry every time we go near the bathroom. It can be very frustrating at times, that is when I try to take deep breaths cause I don't want him to associate the bathroom with mommy getting angry. I felt lost at times, like it was never going to happen. I will say that we have had more good days then bad days now, so I do see the diaper days for him gone soon.

There are several different ways and theories on potty training. I have tried them all. The one thing that will be constant in the search for what works best for you and your toddler is that you HAVE to be constant. If you can't do that then it will be a long training. Here are a few things that I have tried.

Rewarding I tried giving CJ M&M's to lure him to go to the bathroom. I would give him one for just sitting on the potty, two if he would actually go, three if he asked to go to the potty and went. That worked for about a week and then he didn't really care about the M&M's so he would start to play and not really associate the potty chair with peeing.
Charts The chart idea didn't work at all for us but did really well for a friend and her daughter...maybe it is a girl thing. We printed a great chart off of Nick Jr., it had Nick stuff which he loves, and got star stickers from Walmart. It had steps on there for sitting on the potty, to asking, to going and you put the stickers on the ones that you have done. Even tried combining the Reward with the Chart method and that didn't work. My friends daughter liked putting the stickers on the chart, so maybe when I get started with my 1.5yr old that method might work for her.
Timer This is the method that is working best for us. How it works is you get a timer of your choice and have it go off every hour. You want to make it a fun sound for your toddler so that they get excited when they hear it and then they know that it is time for them to go to the bathroom. Cj loves this. Right now I am using my cell phone and have it set for a rooster call, he thinks it is so funny. We have been able to stay dry all day. I am looking for a watch that he can wear and have it go off, since that is his new thing of wanting to wear a watch like mommy and daddy.

Now we have the task of keeping a dry diaper through the night, which is not happening for us. He gets so full that he will leak out of his diaper. He does not get anything to drink an hour before dinner and I don't feel that he gets too much during the day, so that is where I am at a loss of what to do. We do have him go to the bathroom right before he goes to bed which does help, but not all the time. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Those are the things that we have tried. I am sure that there are other ideas and I would love for you to let me know what worked best for you. Thank you for reading Tuesday Toddler Talk. Also if you have any requests for next weeks subject let me know.

Great Deal ending today for Blog Look

2010-10-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

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it's all about Mommy Monday's

2010-10-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

This is the first post that is going to start off Mommy Monday's. On Monday's I will discuss what is on my mind that is related to just us moms...without the kid stuff. It came to me over the weekend that I need me time not only in the real life, but also in my new virtual life. Which brings me to my first topic for today, a girls night.

I went out last week to go play bingo with my neighbor and her friend and had a blast. While getting ready I realized that it was the first time in like 6mnths that I was going out with out the kids or my husband, a complete girls night out. How sad is that!! Before that it had been like a year that I had a "girls night" out. Now, that is really sad!! Why do I not go out? I had to ask that myself. I never wanted to I guess. Sounds weird, right.

About 6mnths ago is when I became a stay at home mom, prior to that I worked full time. I worked all day and enjoyed the time with the family that I never really wanted to go out. I then would always plan things with other families or would have the kids with me if I went to have lunch or dinner with anyone. This could be why I lost myself for a bit.. I was JUST mother...not ME! I didn't talk about anything that was going on in the world, not that I ever really did that before( I did at least know what was going on). All I discussed was the kids, all I did was for the kids. Now I have the time to find ME again. There are times, now, that I have had enough of kids, you know what I mean if you are home all day with little ones. I think that it is needed to have a healthy mind to go out for those girl's nights. I even read that online! I know that you can't always believe what you read online, but I am going to take that one and run with it. I told my husband that in order for him to get "nouchy" on a regular bases I need to have a girls night out and he will have to take care of the kids, this is the only way for me to stay mentally healthy (it is written so)... not that I ever really was, but it sounds good,right!

Back to the actual girls night. Bingo is a lot of fun! I had never been before. There are some crazy people there, they take bingo very seriously! Of course, I didn't win anything and lost $11, which isn't too bad. I don't know how some of them have all those sheets and keep up with things, the are not talking to anyone so I guess that would make it easy. Some even have things set up around them for good luck, like little trinkets, it is so odd to me. What ever works for them, though I didn't see them win anything. I will definitely go again real soon, it is needed for my mental health!! As soon as my neighbor has her little one this Nov. and has stopped breastfeeding, we are going to go out for drinks. That will be a fun night out!!

Tell me about your last girls night out. Give me ideas for some future mental health days!!!

Feeling...OFF!!!!

2010-10-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where evrything is off. My typing skills are way off today, putting spaces where they don't go and caps in the middle...way off. Even my handwriting isn't right.

I slept in today! Go figure that sleeping in would cause all this. Too much sleep. My husband had off and I had him get up with the kids @630am(same time everyday). I did not get out of the bed till 930am, now my whole day is off.

I had plans today to go thru all the blogs that I hopped into yesterday and read a bit and comment a bit. Now the pages look like a blurr and my brain can't think of things to reply back. One page I couldn't figure out how to leave a reply to a post, I am sure that it is real simple-but I am just not with it today. i also had plans to write a really good post about something.... forgot what it was. That is when I thought I would just post what was happening. I still have to clean the kitchen from last night....damn trolls!! And get ready for wing night with the neighbors....I LOVE WINGS!!!!

All because I got a few extra hours of sleep, threw my whole day off. Doesn't help that I Think I might be getting a sinus something or other. My husband has off again tomorrow, I think that I will just get up with the kids, never breaking the routine again!!

The Bomb in the Kitchen

2010-10-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

Every evening after dinner, I head back into the kitchen and damn if someone didn't set off another bomb in there. First, I accuse my daughter-who is 10. She says no I think it was Pop (step dad)! Well, we all know that men don't enter the kitchen, so it wasn't him. So, it must be kitchen trolls or elves or something ,right. No way it was me and my excellent cooking skills.

I have really started to like cooking meals from scratch, but the clean up is a biatch!!! When my husband and I first got married he used to come into the kitchen and help clean up.... that stopped. Now, after dinner he sits down and turns on the damn Simpson's( that he DVR'd). That show sucks the brain cells right out of you. A whole other post on that subject! Anyway, where was I. Oh yeah, he used to help! Every once in awhile he will step into the bomb after math...but not lately. Sure would be nice if he did that again, I was always able to play a little without the kids seeing (wink).

Now, I know the trolls or elves or whatever did this so they should be the ones to clean it up. Tried leaving the mess one night for them to take care of it, but they just like making it and it was still there in the morning. Lazy ass's!!!

I know...I know... I'll get out of my delusional world and admit that I DID IT! I need to learn how to clean up while doing the cooking, sometimes it is easier than others. When you are cooking and telling the boy to not head butt the little girl, or pulling the girl off of the T.V. stand it makes it kinda hard to do that. I thought about strapping them down while I cook, but I heard somewhere that it is considered child abuse... go figure!! Sticking them in a closet falls under that child abuse thing, too.

So, I guess that I am left with cleaning up after those darn trolls or elves or whatever!! Maybe they will learn to make smaller bombs.

Farewell cooking blog!!!

2010-10-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

I tried to have a cooking blog, but I had a hard time with it. I am not a cook, ask my family! I try new recipes and some work ,but most don't. I was going to try to talk about stories that went with recipes... it was a wonderful blog.... in my head. I just could not get it to look great on the computer. The ideas just looked sad and I am sure that it looked very un-interesting. After awhile the posts would just be about how I burned myself with this or that meal and then the inevitable ER visit.

Who knows, maybe once I get a good handle on this blogging thing, I can revive the cooking blog. By then my skills might have improved to the point where I can actually be of some help to others with mad cooking skills!!! Recipes that no one has ever heard of that taste like heaven. OK, maybe not that good, but one never knows.

I will still be able to talk about some of the adventures that I have with cooking on my blog here, but having just a cooking blog was too hard for me to fill at this point. Just keep in mind, most of them will be about the rad burn or the wonderful ER visit.

Trying to Save a Buck

2010-10-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

I am on a mission to try and save money any way that I can. I have signed up for coupon sites, getting coupons for groceries and even to restaurants. I am trying to just buy things that are on sale. Even quit smoking( I know bad habit and I should have quit anyway) to save on money, and my husband quit too. We have committed to not buying movies any more and using the Netflix that we have had for every and barely used. All of this so that we can save a buck!!

When you decide to start saving money, you really have to commit or it will not work. This is something that I just started doing, for about 2wks now. I am still experimenting with the groceries, trying to see the best way to save that buck. I tried first doing a lot of coupons and going to commissary( husband in the Navy) to see how that did, I saved $22. I thought that was pretty good for my first time. The only bad thing about the commissary is that the one we have here is very small and they do not carry a lot, the produce doesn't last long at all either. Next, I tried one of the local grocery stores, Price Choppers, and used their online grocery list placing only the things that were on sale using their Advantage card. This time I saved $19, again not too bad. I think that I might have saved more if I would have used some other coupons for the things that were not on sale. I will have to try that next time. I also tried going to Walmart using the coupons, and ended up buying more stuff than I needed- this was not a good effort on my part. I will have to try that again. I will go to Hannafords, another local grocery store, next to see how much I can save there.

The task of working on cut backs with the family can be trying. We have been used to having two pretty good incomes and have now gone to just one. I am lucky that I still get some money from my old nursing job, being "on call" for the doctors office to call with questions and help with tasks that I can do from home. It brings in some money, but not a lot. We also get some money from a house that we are renting out, still doesn't make up my old income. So, now we are faced with changing our spending life style. I am having an easier time than my husband. I think that he wants me to go back to work so he doesn't have to change anything. I don't want to, I know that if I do go back to work now my school will be pushed back.... again! Not only that, I love being at home with the kids. I have been having sooo much fun with them. I have convinced him that he needs to cut back on our cell phone policy... we do not need all those minutes, it is crazy!! The amount that we pay for the cell phone is the same amount that we pay for a car payment! Next, I will be working on cutting back all the cable channels....that too is crazy. All those channels and still nothing on TV.

I know that this will be an ongoing practice to save money. I also know that there are a billion different ways that you can make it work. I will be updating on this subject all the time. If you know of a great way to save a buck, please give me secret. It will help us moms who want to stay at home and enjoy our kids.

Daughters 1st Dance!!

2010-10-02T05:34:00.000-07:00

My daughter went to her first dance last night, I can't believe it. There I was dropping her off and getting a little teary eyed, but that comes easily anyway! It was not a dress up event, more of a social gathering. Still, it was her first dance, and I forgot my camera. Of course, she told me that if I would have taken pictures it would have been " way not cool MOM".

It seemed like just yesterday that she was grauduating pre-school! I loved it when they were telling what the wanted to be when they grew up. My daughter stated " a nurse or a ROCK STAR". She more wanted to be the rock star, she said nurse cause that is what I am. It was the cutiest thing, ever.

Now she is 10 1/2 yrs old and going to dances. The one thing that I am still thankful for is that she still thinks that kissing boys is gross. THANK GOODNESS!!! She also stated that "going out" with a boy just includes holding hands. Still don't know how comfortable I am with even that!! They grow up soo very fast.

Guess I just need to hold on tight and go with the ride. I do have my foot right above the break, though!!
She went to her first dance, sniff sniff!

I found my niche to start blogging!!

2010-09-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

So, I found it!! My niche, that is, to get started on blogging. I read through several getting started blogs that were very helpful. All of the blogs said the same thing.... you need to have a NICHE or something that the blog is all about. I knew that, I just didn't have any idea of what to write about. There were even some ideas about putting a survey out there to see what subject to talk about. Of course, the most popular idea was to blog about a passion of yours, something that you enjoy doing or like to talk about( i.e. cooking, gardening, etc.). This is where i got stuck for a bit. I just couldn't think of anything, and then it came to me. I will have more than one blog! I will keep this one for me tid bits and then create another blog for my attempt at cooking, note the attempt... I enjoy cooking and love it when others like what I make, I am just new to cooking from scratch. So, I thought it would be great to write about my trial and errors with recipes. I want to keep this one so that I can blog about my family, my adventures, and other odds and ends.

Another thing that all the blogs about blogging stated was that you have to have patience with blogging as well. Not every blog gets read, what you find interesting may not be to anyone else or the ways that you present the blog just cant be found. They stated that you need to have catchy titles, that is something that I will definitely have to work at. I also read that one blogger keeps a note pad near by to jot down ideas, that is a very good idea. Catchy titles could come at any time for me and then be lost just as fast.

I also read that having good writing skills is a plus, but first timers can do good as well. That was very comforting to hear. I can write papers sometimes, but grammar gets me good. The more you blog, the better and more comfortable you become, hopefully. Most of the blogs stated that you could find a hidden talent that you never knew you had unless you try. It is also a good idea to have others read your blog to give you an idea of your blogging talents, tell a friend or family member to read it. I am going to try and think of someone that i can trust to be honest with me, one to make sure that I don't sound like a total idiot!

So, here is my attempt at blogging! Now that I know what I am doing, or better that I have an idea of what direction to go in, I am very excited to get started. Here's to hoping that my blogs get read( fingers crossed).

First Blog... EVER

2010-09-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is the first blog that I have ever done, hence the title. I don't quite know why I even started this Blog page! Maybe to just have a means to vent or tell how I feel about something, not sure. I can talk to my friends, family, or facebook so that might not be it. Maybe to just have it. I'm thinking that it is more of the having it available. I guess we will see what I do with it and then it will come to light why I started it in the first place.
I guess i should tell a bit about myself. I am a happily married mother of 3. The children's ages are 10,3, and almost 2 ( on X-mas day...poor kid). I am a licensed practical nurse currently going to school to become a registered nurse, stay at home while I try to get this degree. I am on-call for my old job to help out with things over the phone since I no longer live in the same state. That was an awsome job, by the way! The doctors that I worked for were wonderful, the pay was great, my manager the best, and the work was great! So why quit, right? My husband's job took us out of the state, otherwise I would still be there. In a way it was the best thing for us, it gave me the opportunity to get back to school. Can't think of anything else to say about me right now, I am sure that I will come up with a post later to give more info about me.. if that is the direction I am taking this.
So, that is what I have for now. Who knows where this is going now? I am sure that it will lead to something, definitely something new ( again... 1st post ever). Maybe I will read others blogs and see if I get any ideas from there. I'll keep you updated!