Huggies Bug Me

Now, before I rant and rave about how much I do not like Huggies diapers for my kid, let me just say, I'm sure they work great on some babies...they just are horrible on mine!

My dislike for Huggies began all the way back to when Connor and I were still in the hospital after his birth. He was a teeny tiny four pound baby and the hospital was putting him in preemie size Huggies diapers. EVERY time he wet his diaper he leaked totally through them. We figured it was just because he was so small and the diapers were so big on him. We suffered through this horrible dilemma for the first three weeks of his life...and then we bought Pampers. Same size, but NO LEAKING! Hooray! It was like a miracle!

I continued to use Pampers after that first purchase, but have occasionally used a Huggies diaper either because someone else gave them to us or because I would buy a pack that was on sale and think, "Maybe now that he is a different size they will work better on him." I have been wrong about that 100% of the time.

I am still using up the diapers I have here in the house before potty training Connor (and I am now SERIOUSLY almost out of them). Last night I put a Huggies diaper on him (what was I thinking) and he woke up this morning DRENCHED.

The thing that bugs me so much about this are those darned Huggies comericials I see all the time...the ones that say "unless your baby is a brick Huggies are best because they are shaped to fit babies of the human variety." LIARS LIARS LIARS! My son is not a brick, he is a little human, and their diapers stink on him!

So, today I take my hat off (not that I ever wear hats, but if I did I would) to Pampers. The company that not only keeps what goes in the diaper inside the diaper but also give me free stuff all the time for buying their products (which are also cheaper than Huggies by the way). Their Pampers Points for Products system is awesome.

The end.

P.S. If you use and love Huggies please do not take offense to this, like I said, I'm sure they work great for some babies, they just are horrible on mine.

Carpet Cleaning and Medical School

What do those two things have to do with one another you may ask. Well, I'll tell you, they are what we (and when I say we I mean Marcus) are going to be doing for the next several years.

Marcus has been applying for and looking for various jobs in the Dallas area since January. We have always been planning on going there to work and go to graduate school, but a couple of months ago we began talking about going there and preparing for Medical School.

Marcus visited Dallas this last weekend to attend a teacher's job fair but ended the trip with a fantastic job working for Zerorez (a carpet cleaning company) which, as funny as it sounds, we could not be more happy about! The job only requires him to work 4 days a week and pays double the salary we have been hoping for. His boss is a former stake and mission president and Marcus was impressed by him and the way he runs the business.

So...Marcus does not have to begin until after our baby is born, and will probably start sometime towards the end of July. I will be moving with the boys in August and Marcus will begin taking the classes he needs to prepare to apply to Med School. We are grateful for this opportunity to purchase our first home sometime this year, make the money we need to support our family, and save big time to prepare financially for the four years of schooling he will have before doing a paid residency. We will just need to practice some solid financial discipline.

Anyway, that is our big news and we are both really looking forward to the next several years!

Today's Doctors Appointment

I had my appointment this morning with Dr. Gourley that I was so looking forward to. I asked all of my questions and got very good answers.

First, I am doing very well. I still have super-low blood pressure, had 0 weight gain (hooray!), and James' heart was beating fast and furiously (which was good). I feel like my belly is much bigger this time than it was with Connor (it was not very big with him) but I am apparently wrong. It measured almost exactly what it was at during this point in my last pregnancy, but all is well. I will have an ultrasound to check James' growth next Tuesday and they will check my organs as well then too to make sure I really am still nice and healthy. The Doc was extremely optimistic today and has no concerns about me or James at this point!

Now, I will not bore you with all the details of all the questions I asked today and the answers I got, but the bottom line was simply that I should not worry too much because Dr. Gourley is taking every precaution. If I ever have a day where I'm worried that I'm begining to not feel well, or my blood pressure goes up, etc., he feels confident that with monitoring and possible early delivery we will avoid any major problems.

Lastly, I recieved full permission to eat as much sugar as I want. My glucose screening test came back mostly normal...it showed I have too high of a tolerance for sugar. So, to avoid feeling light-headed or getting headaches I was told to eat sugar as I please. I guess that's a Dr.'s order I will just have to follow :)

Mother's Day

Marcus has been in Texas this weekend job hunting (and has been successful! More on that in a later post). Anyway, because he was going to be gone this weekend we celebrated my Mother's Day a week earlier and each spent yesterday with our own mothers. I just wanted to thank Connor and Marcus for a great day last week and my own mother and grandmother for a wonderful day yesterday (my in-laws too...thanks for the e-mail, phone call, and gifts!)

100th Post

So...aparently this is my 100th post. When I noticed this fact I started feeling a lot of pressure to make it a really good one. Unfortunately, I do not think it is going to be. I just do not have anything really exciting to write about today and all the celebrities I invited to guest write on my blog to celebrate this occasion declined. SO...it's just me and my "not too happening" life.

Anyway, Connor and I just got back from dropping Marcus off at the airport. He is flying to Texas to attend a huge school district job fair this Monday as well as look into some other potential jobs. He will be back this Tuesday and I am already looking forward to his return.

Since Marcus has continued to work a lot of overtime shifts lately Connor and I have been trying to keep ourselves busy playing with friends and running errands. Yesterday we went over to my aunt Julie's (where my cousin Christy and her little boy Ty are staying this summer while her husband is away doing a physical therapy internship in Las Vegas). We had pizza with Christy and Ty and then played and went for a walk. Although we are sad they have to be away from Jay (Christy's husband) this summer, we are glad they are here for us to play with!

Connor and I are going to get a good sleep tonight and then head down to Ephraim to celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow. Monday morning I have a Dr.'s appointment and I am totally geared up to ask Doc Gourley LOTS of questions about the coming few weeks and all the "what if's" that could happen. I'm also excited because we'll be scheduling another ultrasound for the week to check James' growth. I LOVE ultrasounds.

O.K. That's it. Happy 100th to me.

Shopping for Baby

I have realized that finding out I was having a second boy instead of a girl was a definite financial blessing in disguise. I kept all of Connor's clothes that were in really good condition as well as all the other baby boy odds and ends I bought for him. It has been fun to go through everything that was being stored and get it all ready for James. I am mostly left needing to get "baby gear" type of things; either because what we had for Connor was disappointing, or it was passed on to someone else, or we never got it to begin with.

So...Since I'm sure you are all so curious, here is my list of things to get:

1: Infant Car Seat (We had quite the ordeal with this when we had Connor. The first one we got was not preemie compatible and it was too big to fit securely in the back seat of our CRV. The second one we got fit just fine but was really disappointing...it just ended up not being a good car seat. It was HEAVY, bulky, and the handle and base became very lose after a few months of use...not too safe).

This time I'm going with the #1 safety-rated car seat on the market which also comes at one of the best prices I've seen...HOORAY! It's also ultra light, slim, and is made out of the same fabric that Connor's current car seat is made of (which is super-easy to wash)! It's the Baby Trend - Flex Loc Infant Car Seat and here it is:


2: Swing and Bouncer (LOVED LOVED LOVED the ones I got for Connor. However, one of his older cousins accidentally broke the motor that moved the toys around when visiting as well as straining the motor that actually moves the swing...so Connor let his sweet baby cousin Ty see if he could squeeze any use out of it).

This time I'm going for nearly identical products to the ones I got last time...and safe guarding them as much as possible. Good thing Connor is only 21 lbs. so if he does climb in the swing he is still light enough to not strain the motor (although my preference will be for him to stay out of it completely)! Here they are, the Fisher Price Cradle Swing and Bouncer:



3: Infant Stroller (I never bought one last time. I just didn't want a bulky travel system and I couldn't find one that was small enough for my liking. I LOVED the stroller I ended up buying, but would like the convenience of not having to wake my baby up if he's sleeping when going from the car seat to the stroller).

This time I'm going for the Baby Trend Snap N Go Stroller:



There you have it. I'm thrilled because the two things that are not coming from Wal*Mart.com (which beats Babies R Us pricing on the products I like by $20-$60) are going to be on sale the end of this month during Babies R Us Baby Days...I love a good deal!

Now I have a question for any of you who might be able to offer some good advice. I've been shopping around for double strollers and I'd love some tips on what makes a good one! I do not like the big-bulky-humongous strollers (my muscles and coordination are not good enough to manage ones like that). If any of you have a double stroller that you LOVE let me know!

Elmo Underpants

I have been on a mission to find Elmo underpants in a size 2T. "That can't be too hard" you may say...well, if you did say that you would be DEAD WRONG!

On Saturday Marcus, Connor, and I went to EVERY, and I mean EVERY, single store we could think of from Spanish Fork to Orem that could possibly sell them. We got really creative too, I even checked grocery stores, just in case. Well, our search turned up unsuccessful and we had to call it quits until yesterday. After some hard-core internet research I came up with a list of random places to check. After a few more failed attempts we finally found some at Sears! HOORAY!

Connor is now ready for potty-training...now I just need to do it. I plan on starting as soon as I run out of diapers (which will definitely be in the next few days).

Nothig Says "I Love You" Quite Like...

...a note on a box filled with Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Thanks Hub!

Fun Summer Days (Even Though It's Not Really Summer...I Know)

Connor has had a VERY fun few days this week (and I've had a fun time with him)! Marcus has been picking up lots of extra shifts to earn what we need to compensate for the Teacher's Aid job he no longer has now that school is over. We decided our preference was for him to just get the extra shifts out of the way in May so that we did not have to worry about it throughout June, July, and August. So, he's been super-busy with work (and sleep) and it has left Connor and I with lots of time on our hands to fill. Abigail has been coming up in the morning to play and then we have been going out with her and her mom in the afternoons to do some fun summertime activities!

This week we went to lunch on Wednesday (thanks to Abby's Grandma), went swimming for two hours at the Orem Rec Center on Thursday, and then rode the "choo choo" (Trax) up to the Gateway yesterday to go to the Children's Discovery Museum and see "Sesame Street Presents the Body". We were gone for eight hours, and even though we came home absolutely exhausted, we all had a blast!

Connor is really turning into a good little swimmer! With the help of his trusty floaties he now swims all by himself in the big pool. He kicks his little legs as furiously as he can and he is able to actually make his way from one end of the pool to the other.



Connor was in an entirely different world when we were on the "choo choo" and at the Sesame Museum. He was completely unresponsive to me or anything else around him as he ran from one display to another. I was desperately hoping to get some good pictures of him in front of all the cute Sesame Street backdrops they had, but like I said, he was checked out of reality. I did get lots of "action" shots, however, and hope you enjoy them!

Enjoying the train ride on the way to Salt Lake City.


Connor was desperately trying to get Big Bird to open the door. "Hi Big Bird. This is Connor. Connor at your house!"


Shopping at Hooper's Store.


I wish I could have captured the look on his face when he saw this! He could hardly believe that we were at "Elmo's House!"


"Hi Dorthy!"


Another desperate attempt to get someone to open the door. "Elmo...this is Connor! Open!"


Playing the Count's organ.


Maybe nobody answered any of the doors but everybody was on the phone. (When he'd pick the phone up the different characters would take turns answering and talking). Connor spent nearly 30 minutes talking to everyone and telling them that he was at their house.


Big Bird.


Happy to say hi to Big Bird...Connor had no idea this was just a cardboard cutout.


Sleeping on the train ride home.

Last Trimester!

Today I am officially in my last trimester! WAHOO! I am:

1-EXCITED! (can hardly wait for my little James to be here!)
2-Nervous. (I do not want to get sick at all or have any complications).

So...here's to hoping the next few weeks go as smoothly as possible!