Here is a little video I made of clips of videos from Boston's first 7 weeks.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Our Adventures in Cloth Diapering Part 1: The Try Out
Yesterday Boston wore his first cloth diaper. I got a quick pic right after putting it on. After looking and feeling it a bit more, I snapped them even closer. At first I thought it might be too tight but it wasn't, it was just right snapped all the way to the smallest setting.
Right now we still only have 7 of these BumGenius 4.0 snap diapers. I looked around and found out that BumGenius is having another buy 5 get 1 free sale! That's how I bought the last ones. I did the deal and added one more diaper for a total of 7 diapers for $104. I'd like to have around 20-24 diapers total, so that we have some breathing room between washes. Boston usually goes through 10-12 diapers in a 24 hour period of time, so if I had close to 20, that would allow some wash and dry time.
I want to start using cloth wipes as well. I'd like to get some material and make my own. I'm not sure what the best kind of material for them is yet so I'll have to research it a bit more.
It's not only important to me not only to be saving a ton of money, but to prevent more diapers from filling our landfills. The estimate is that a single-use diaper takes between 250-500 years to decompose, and more than 27 billion disposable diapers are used every year in the US alone! And finally, over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce the disposable diapers ONE baby needs for ONE YEAR! Insanity!
Right now we still only have 7 of these BumGenius 4.0 snap diapers. I looked around and found out that BumGenius is having another buy 5 get 1 free sale! That's how I bought the last ones. I did the deal and added one more diaper for a total of 7 diapers for $104. I'd like to have around 20-24 diapers total, so that we have some breathing room between washes. Boston usually goes through 10-12 diapers in a 24 hour period of time, so if I had close to 20, that would allow some wash and dry time.
I want to start using cloth wipes as well. I'd like to get some material and make my own. I'm not sure what the best kind of material for them is yet so I'll have to research it a bit more.
It's not only important to me not only to be saving a ton of money, but to prevent more diapers from filling our landfills. The estimate is that a single-use diaper takes between 250-500 years to decompose, and more than 27 billion disposable diapers are used every year in the US alone! And finally, over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce the disposable diapers ONE baby needs for ONE YEAR! Insanity!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Our Sixth Week: In Pictures
Well folks, after this week Boston will no longer be considered a newborn. I can't believe how much faster time goes by when you have kids. It's insane! Since I actually got around to updating the blog this week, this is pretty much just a picture post.
Taking Time
Ryan went to Costco this morning and got me lots of fruit. Apples, oranges, bananas and my favorite, strawberries! I thought I'd take a moment to stop and just enjoy the little things.
Then I snapped back to reality and rolled up my sleeves. I haven't been working in here long today, this is pretty much just what I'd done the other day. I'm a ROCKSTAR at getting things into piles and moving them from place to place around the room. Haha! Seriously, I have a motivation problem these days.
I figured Boston could supervise, but he's been sleeping on the job. He sure is cute though.
Then I snapped back to reality and rolled up my sleeves. I haven't been working in here long today, this is pretty much just what I'd done the other day. I'm a ROCKSTAR at getting things into piles and moving them from place to place around the room. Haha! Seriously, I have a motivation problem these days.
I figured Boston could supervise, but he's been sleeping on the job. He sure is cute though.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Spring Cleaning
Not too long ago I posted about how badly my office needed cleaned and organized. Do you think it's done? Ha! Hardly! I went through a bunch of papers on the desk and put them into piles and that's about as far as I've gotten. I haven't been particularly busy or anything, but I've just been spent. My get up and go, has gotten up and went. I've been feeling down about my grandpa the past few weeks.
Just today I fed Boston and said to myself "Self, just DO SOMETHING!" So I did. I vacuumed. We have a bagless vacuum and thank goodness for that because the garbage can had about 25 puppies in it. There is SO.MUCH.DOG.HAIR.IN.THIS.HOUSE!!! I'm constantly picking dog hair off of Boston and his clothes and blankets. Out of his mouth even! Ugh! I gave Judy a bath a few weeks ago. Walters bath is still pending. Ryan and I tried for about an hour one night to get him in the tub. We got him in a few times, but he'd struggle right back out. I don't know what his deal is! Once he's in the bath and getting scrubbed he loves it, but he always makes a huge production out of getting in. I've been brushing both dogs daily and that seems to be helping with the shedding. I don't know if this is a weird year and they're shedding more, or if I just never really noticed how bad it was before? Weird.
Another thing I want to get to very soon is raking the yard. Not just the leaves, oh no, I have lots of dog poop to rake up too. It's seriously a dog poop graveyard in the back side yard. So gross! I have all sorts of cleaning, purging and organizing plans to fill my weekend. Let's just see if I can actually find the motivation that seems to be hiding from me lately.
Just today I fed Boston and said to myself "Self, just DO SOMETHING!" So I did. I vacuumed. We have a bagless vacuum and thank goodness for that because the garbage can had about 25 puppies in it. There is SO.MUCH.DOG.HAIR.IN.THIS.HOUSE!!! I'm constantly picking dog hair off of Boston and his clothes and blankets. Out of his mouth even! Ugh! I gave Judy a bath a few weeks ago. Walters bath is still pending. Ryan and I tried for about an hour one night to get him in the tub. We got him in a few times, but he'd struggle right back out. I don't know what his deal is! Once he's in the bath and getting scrubbed he loves it, but he always makes a huge production out of getting in. I've been brushing both dogs daily and that seems to be helping with the shedding. I don't know if this is a weird year and they're shedding more, or if I just never really noticed how bad it was before? Weird.
Another thing I want to get to very soon is raking the yard. Not just the leaves, oh no, I have lots of dog poop to rake up too. It's seriously a dog poop graveyard in the back side yard. So gross! I have all sorts of cleaning, purging and organizing plans to fill my weekend. Let's just see if I can actually find the motivation that seems to be hiding from me lately.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Our Fifth Week: In Pictures
Time continues to just fly on by! I can't believe it!
He smiled at me for the first time this week. He smiles a lot in his sleep, but this week was the first of his intentional smiles. Each one melts my heart!
He smiled at me for the first time this week. He smiles a lot in his sleep, but this week was the first of his intentional smiles. Each one melts my heart!
Boston's First Trip
Boston went on his first trip last weekend. We went to my hometown of Libby. He traveled very well and slept all but the last 20 minutes there, and the whole way back! He did a whole lot of eating and sleeping but also a lot of visiting. He got to meet my grandma, his great-grandma for the first time!
Visiting with Great-Grandma
We went around to a few of my favorite places to shop like the local consignment store and the Amish store. I figured since I talk about the Amish store so much, I'd get a few pictures of it.
Shopping sure is tiring work!
We got a lot of my favorite goodies. And quite a few for the dogs too!
Visiting with Great-Grandma
We went around to a few of my favorite places to shop like the local consignment store and the Amish store. I figured since I talk about the Amish store so much, I'd get a few pictures of it.
Shopping sure is tiring work!
We got a lot of my favorite goodies. And quite a few for the dogs too!
My Dear Grandpa
My grandpa passed away on April 4th but I didn't find out until April 6th. He was a very kind and hilarious man. His sarcasm and remarks about my grandma's driving made me laugh every time. He will be greatly missed. I love you grandpa. I was sad that I couldn't make it to the funeral in California. My thoughts are with my loved ones.
Grandma and Grandpa Keefer at my wedding May 23, 2009
Here is the obituary I found for him online:
Lawrence Gale Keefer Jr.
Larry, a native of Santa Rosa and one of five Keefer generations in Sonoma County, died April 4, 2011 at a local hospital surrounded by his loving wife, Helen, and family. He was the son of Lawrence Gale Keefer, Sr. and Isabelle Adele Stocker Keefer; father of Tim Keefer, Steven Keefer (Jill), Kathy Lynn and Peggy Marsi; grandfather of Amanda (Ryan), Lindsay (Bryan), Melissa (Ryan), Tim, Sam, Megan and Katie; great-grandfather of Kiley, Boston and Bryan. Larry was the brother of Margie (Joe) Shoemaker, Lydia June (Paul) Davis and the late Les Keefer; also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. He attended Rincon Valley schools, Santa Rosa High School and the university of Nebraska. Larry joined the U.S. Navy in July of 1942 and served on the transport-hospital ship USS Tryon until December of 1945. He re-enlisted and served on other USS ships; Ottawa and Harkness, rising to the rank of Signalman 1st Class. Larry worked for Pacific Telesis for 29 years. In retirement he enjoyed travel, working in his yard and time with family and friends. He loved Santa Rosa and spending the last 46 years in the home his Dad built. Services will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at Calvary Catholic Cemetery Chapel, 2930 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. Memorial contributions may be made to the SRJC Foundation, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401, Cardinal Newman High School, 50 Ursuline Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 or the charity of your choice.
Grandpa and I on my wedding day
Grandma and Grandpa Keefer at my wedding May 23, 2009
Here is the obituary I found for him online:
Lawrence Gale Keefer Jr.
Larry, a native of Santa Rosa and one of five Keefer generations in Sonoma County, died April 4, 2011 at a local hospital surrounded by his loving wife, Helen, and family. He was the son of Lawrence Gale Keefer, Sr. and Isabelle Adele Stocker Keefer; father of Tim Keefer, Steven Keefer (Jill), Kathy Lynn and Peggy Marsi; grandfather of Amanda (Ryan), Lindsay (Bryan), Melissa (Ryan), Tim, Sam, Megan and Katie; great-grandfather of Kiley, Boston and Bryan. Larry was the brother of Margie (Joe) Shoemaker, Lydia June (Paul) Davis and the late Les Keefer; also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. He attended Rincon Valley schools, Santa Rosa High School and the university of Nebraska. Larry joined the U.S. Navy in July of 1942 and served on the transport-hospital ship USS Tryon until December of 1945. He re-enlisted and served on other USS ships; Ottawa and Harkness, rising to the rank of Signalman 1st Class. Larry worked for Pacific Telesis for 29 years. In retirement he enjoyed travel, working in his yard and time with family and friends. He loved Santa Rosa and spending the last 46 years in the home his Dad built. Services will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at Calvary Catholic Cemetery Chapel, 2930 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. Memorial contributions may be made to the SRJC Foundation, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401, Cardinal Newman High School, 50 Ursuline Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 or the charity of your choice.
Grandpa and I on my wedding day
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
1 Month Old
I can't believe my baby was 1 month old yesterday! Every month I'm going to be taking a picture on the 4th to celebrate his month birthdays. Each one will have a different theme. Since his FAVORITE thing to do so far is sleep, I had to get a sleeping picture.
Here are a few outtakes:
This morning he smiled at me for the first time. Well, he's been smiling a lot in his sleep and even having hysterical fits of giggles while sleeping too! But today was the first time he smiled right at me as a result of my talking and playing with him. What an amazing feeling! I love this little guy so, so, so much!
Last night I started (and finished, yes I'm a champ) Boston's birth video. It starts with a bunch of pregnancy pictures and has labor and delivery (nothing gross is shown, don't worry) pictures and video mixed in. I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out in the amount of time I worked on it! Boston and I were up till about 3:30 AM, because I was working on the video, and right as I'm finishing it about 1 AM, he wakes up and wants to play and eat.
I should have the video posted later today. It's a huge file, so we'll see if it works!
Here are a few outtakes:
This morning he smiled at me for the first time. Well, he's been smiling a lot in his sleep and even having hysterical fits of giggles while sleeping too! But today was the first time he smiled right at me as a result of my talking and playing with him. What an amazing feeling! I love this little guy so, so, so much!
Last night I started (and finished, yes I'm a champ) Boston's birth video. It starts with a bunch of pregnancy pictures and has labor and delivery (nothing gross is shown, don't worry) pictures and video mixed in. I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out in the amount of time I worked on it! Boston and I were up till about 3:30 AM, because I was working on the video, and right as I'm finishing it about 1 AM, he wakes up and wants to play and eat.
I should have the video posted later today. It's a huge file, so we'll see if it works!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Motivation? Yes Please!
Lately I've had no problem keeping up with day to day housework and laundry. I've actually never been more caught up on laundry in my life. Weird. I spent the third trimester of my pregnancy trying to organize things around here but there was one place that became a major dumping ground and storage area: the office. I thought that if I posted these embarrassing pictures of the state it's in, I'd have to clean up my act and show some after shots. Now how's that for motivation? I need to show I can redeem myself, haha.
It all started when I started storing all of Boston's stuff in there before getting his room. Even now, there's just a path to the computer and back out there door, it's ridiculous! We bought a new TV back in January that is still in the box and shoved just to the side of the walkway. Why explain it, let me just SHOW you the mess.
WARNING: It took great courage for me to show the state of this disaster area. I'm extremely ashamed and totally embarrassed by how it looks. This door is the first one to get closed anytime we have anyone over, look below and you'll see why.
No, you're not looking at images from Hoarders, this is my office!
Where do I even start. Embarrassed yet? Yes I am! See, you can barely get in the door these days. Picture frames, clothes and books are stacked on and behind the ginormous TV that's still in the box and blocking the way. Do you SEE any space available to even set a pen on the desk area? Nope.
Oh good, there's some of the painting supplies from some of my nursery projects! Even my keyboard is getting in on some of the stacking action!
There is actually another computer hiding on this desk...somewhere. There really just are no words for this. I don't even want to come into this room!
To the right we have a huge pile of things to go to Goodwill and empty boxes and packing supplies. I can't even get to the closet to see what all is going on in there. I'm sure what's behind door number 2 is just as bad. Ugh!
So, now that I have this hot mess posted, I'll have to work on it and get it organized so that I can show some afters. Good motivation? I think so!
It all started when I started storing all of Boston's stuff in there before getting his room. Even now, there's just a path to the computer and back out there door, it's ridiculous! We bought a new TV back in January that is still in the box and shoved just to the side of the walkway. Why explain it, let me just SHOW you the mess.
WARNING: It took great courage for me to show the state of this disaster area. I'm extremely ashamed and totally embarrassed by how it looks. This door is the first one to get closed anytime we have anyone over, look below and you'll see why.
No, you're not looking at images from Hoarders, this is my office!
Where do I even start. Embarrassed yet? Yes I am! See, you can barely get in the door these days. Picture frames, clothes and books are stacked on and behind the ginormous TV that's still in the box and blocking the way. Do you SEE any space available to even set a pen on the desk area? Nope.
Oh good, there's some of the painting supplies from some of my nursery projects! Even my keyboard is getting in on some of the stacking action!
There is actually another computer hiding on this desk...somewhere. There really just are no words for this. I don't even want to come into this room!
To the right we have a huge pile of things to go to Goodwill and empty boxes and packing supplies. I can't even get to the closet to see what all is going on in there. I'm sure what's behind door number 2 is just as bad. Ugh!
So, now that I have this hot mess posted, I'll have to work on it and get it organized so that I can show some afters. Good motivation? I think so!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Our Fourth Week: In Pictures
I can't believe it's already been darn near a month since my baby was born! It feels like I've had him forever, yet it seems like he was born just yesterday. I couldn't imagine life without him. He makes everything feel right.
He's still just as good as ever. There were a few nights his tummy was upsetting him that he was up more than usual, but for the most part, he's only up a few times here and there a night! He still doesn't cry much. He makes the face like he's gonna let you have it, but then just grunts, it's kind of funny. The second he gets what he wants he stops crying.
Next week we're heading up to Libby so he can meet some friends and family. I can't wait for my grandma to finally meet him. We haven't been to Libby since the weekend before Christmas, so it's definitely time to go! I can't wait to hit the Amish store! I LOVE that place! I think I'm going to be stocking up on their homemade oatmeal cookies, OMG yes please! So good.
Hopefully I'll get a start on the pregnancy/birth video this weekend. It's so hard to edit video in Final Cut Pro because my Mac is super slow, and rendering takes forever. Windows Movie Maker just won't cut it. I'm going back to using Pinnacle to get the job done quickly. It may not be as good as FCP, but I'll take it!
He's still just as good as ever. There were a few nights his tummy was upsetting him that he was up more than usual, but for the most part, he's only up a few times here and there a night! He still doesn't cry much. He makes the face like he's gonna let you have it, but then just grunts, it's kind of funny. The second he gets what he wants he stops crying.
Next week we're heading up to Libby so he can meet some friends and family. I can't wait for my grandma to finally meet him. We haven't been to Libby since the weekend before Christmas, so it's definitely time to go! I can't wait to hit the Amish store! I LOVE that place! I think I'm going to be stocking up on their homemade oatmeal cookies, OMG yes please! So good.
Hopefully I'll get a start on the pregnancy/birth video this weekend. It's so hard to edit video in Final Cut Pro because my Mac is super slow, and rendering takes forever. Windows Movie Maker just won't cut it. I'm going back to using Pinnacle to get the job done quickly. It may not be as good as FCP, but I'll take it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)