Car Seat Drama

So I have decided to tell on myself in this post. I am not proud at all of my mothering abilities today but I figure with all the good I report, I must also post the occasional mishap on this parenting journey. So when Ramsey was born I had gotten one of those car seat travel systems which has been a really good thing thus far. I never fully read the instruction manual (I never do). I realized today that when you become a mother you don't have the luxury to just blow some things off. My mom and I were going to take Ramsey to pick strawberries in Calhoun and we were just headed out of the neighborhood when a dog ran in front of the car and my mom swerved to avoid hitting the obviously oblivious creature. As she did Ramsey's car seat tilted sideways. I said "oh, jeez" (not really but cursing on a blog doesn't seem quite appropriate). So we stopped to inspect the mishap only to realize it was not a quick fix. Over the past 4 months the car seat had been a little less than perfect but each time we would get all our stuff plus Ramsey to the car I did not think of it. Well, I suppose God sent me a definite sign today so I decided I could not in good consciousness not figure it out and fix it once and for all. As a mother I have to figure it out. There is no other choice when someone so small is depending on me to keep him safe. So I called the health department because they do car seat installation and inspection. The lady was really nice and hopefully it is ALL GOOD now. I beat myself up about it, that I had not done something before now. Thankfully he is safe and I will absolutely do better for him in the future. So I might have failed today but thankfully there is always tomorrow to strive to do better. Needless to say we did not make it strawberry picking but hopefully soon and this time with a safe little boy and more conscientious mother.



I also have to give shout out to my friend from college and fellow blogger, Lindsey(Paramore) Oliver. She and her husband Jace welcomed their first son in to world yesterday. They named him Luke and he is perfect!

Things that make you go hum???

So you know how in earlier post I had mentioned that I have started making bibs, burp cloths, and pacifier clips for my friends store? Well, I finished the pacifier clips yesterday and thought I should probably have Ramsey test them out during the day to see their durability before I go selling the to the masses. Ramsey does not use a pacifier and I hated that I made something he could not use. So when I decided to test it out on him I thought hum, what could I attach to it for his testing purposes? My mom, being the wise one she is, said "why don't you use a few of his ring toys on it?" Now, why did I not think of that? Just last week we were out to dinner and after a little while he got fussy so I set him on my lap while I finished my meal. He kept wanting to put his hands in my food so I grabbed his little rings to set on the edge of the table to play with. He kept dropping them, I would clean them off, give them back and then this cycle would continue the remainder of our dinner. Needless to say after about 10 times it became a little annoying. So now I have a better solution and that I can clip his little toys on his shirt or whatever else when we are out so he can't drop them into the bacterial mine field and won't loose them if I'm not paying attention. So needless to say I am pleased that my one dimensional pacifier clip has now proven to have duel purposes. I love when things like that happen! My friend loved them for her shop and now Ramsey has a few of his own in his diaper bag for such needed occasions.

Yes! Flowers!

So I got a special delivery today from this really hot guy, who just happens to be my husband. I love getting flowers especially when it is out of the blue. Ramsey and I are counting the days until R and R and it is now just under 2 months away! I can hardly wait to finally be a little family in the same place. I can't even imagine how great it will be, wait... yes I can totally imagine it! Cope really is the best guy and I am so happy we found each other. Even when this deployment is long I can get through it knowing we're in this together, no matter what. Oh, and flowers always help too.

Gotta love Dr.Suess

Ramsey got to attend his first play today at a local high school that has a really good preforming arts program. It was Suessical the Musical and actually My mom and Morgan were taking my niece so we decided to tag along. Ramsey did great but we only stayed about 30 minutes and then went to run some other errands before the day was out. He loves TV, I only really let him watch American Idol but anytime a TV is on he is fixated on it. So the play today was just like watching a huge TV because he was mesmerized at least for a little while. Yesterday was fun too in that we went fishing and rode in the peddle boat at my mom's lake. He enjoyed a little picnic and splashing his toes in the stream. Once he got his diaper soaked we had to come on home and take a nap. Big play should make for a big nap but oh no, he slept for 30 minutes and was ready to go again. All in all it was a fun, relaxing weekend and I hope the week to come proves to be much of the same but one can never tell with a little boy who is constantly changing.

Who Knew?

Who knew Webkinz were all the rage? Certainly not me until this past week. My friend's store that I have been selling my products to also sells Webkinz. They are similar to the popularity of Beanie Babies. A Webkinz is a stuffed animal that comes with a little tag that has an code for a virtual world where you can put in the code from your animal and play that character online. Again, who knew? Friday my friend's store was having a Webkinz Extravaganza. So my mom and I went by to spectate on this strange phenomenon and also see how my products were displayed in the store. Well, it was very busy and there were all these games and things for the kids. I got Ramsey a press on tattoo and my mom even fell for the propaganda and bought Ramsey his first Webkinz. He picked out a cute yellow lab with my help of course (they were out of the bulldog ones). Then we came on home because he was a very tired little boy. Oh, and just to update, Ramsey has found his groove again in the all night sleep department, but seems to be in the cycle now of eating a ton and not napping much. Hey, what can you do? His hair has finally started to grow so his bald spot from sleeping in the back has finally filled in nicely. I'm still waiting to see if it will end up curly or strait??? He is also loving his new "Born Free" bottles. Yeah!

This is hard stuff

Well, in case you are not aware and are interested, there has been lots of stuff on the news, in the paper, and in many articles this past week about harmful plastics. There is a concern that baby bottles have a harmful type of plastic (Bisphenol-A or BPA) in them that could be potentially dangerous to children. At first I thought it was no big deal, and it certainly might not be. It seems like there are new studies ALL the time and it is hard to make heads or tails of it usually. I mean are vaccines safe? Should I be worried about lead in his toys? It is enough to make you crazy if you let it. How do you know what is the right thing to do? As a parent I have decided all I can do it to educate myself the best I can and then make the best decision from there. I can't be worried all the time because that will make me a miserable person and and a way too cautious mother. Ramsey has been using the Avent bottles which I have really liked thus far. They have been banned in Canada recently due to the the harmful plastic in them. Can I consciously continue to use something that has been banned in a neighboring country? So I checked into this new bottle company today called "Born Free" and they seem to have it together and offer glass and plastic bottles that don't contain the BPA plastic. So I have gotten a few to try on him to make sure he'll do okay with the switch before I go investing in a whole new supply of them. I am glad there is continuous research on baby stuff and I'll just try to make the most informed decisions I can. As a parent it is really hard but it is my job to try to make Ramsey's little world as safe as possible without going crazy in the process. I am also very grateful to Cope for working so hard so that we have the funds to do the best we can for our son. We have very different roles this year but we are dedicated to the same amazing cause...Ramsey.

I'm in business

So, I finally finished making the bibs and burp cloths for my friend's store. It was a lot of work but she liked them very much. Thankfully my mom helped me a ton so it wasn't too bad. I realized good bibs take much more time than I originally thought it would. So if they sell good in her store that is great but I am just happy to know how to make them. Now I can make Ramsey a whole collection and make great gifts for others. I love making things but i am not sure if this is my lives calling or not :)