Goodbye Corolla...Hello, minivan!

Through about six months of research, there were five words that sold us on the Kia minivan....safest minivan in it's class.

Sure, Kias don't have the history of dependable cars...about 15 years ago I had some pretty negative impressions of the brand. But several years of negative publicity can do two things to a company. It can make them go under, or it can make them come back determined to prove the publicity wrong. Kia took the latter approach and 15 years after the worst of their sorrows, they've come out with a line of safe, dependable, inexpensive cars.

Toyota started exactly the same way. And I'm a Toyota lover. So for me to choose another brand means there has got to be a good reason. The Sienna just wasn't rated as safe and it's a wee bit more out of our budget.

It's more fuel efficient than I could have hoped for a car this size. It's no 38 mpg Toyota Corolla (which we've sadly traded in..sniff sniff)...but it's a lot better than many of its counterparts.

But yeah, I watched a bunch of crash test videos. Read reviews. Read consumer reports...there's still people who have carried the negative image from 10 years ago into today's market. But most people I've read are loving their Kias. The safety is just so important to us, and we couldn't find one rated safer.

So here it is...our new family car. As well as a tribute to the Corolla and Arthur saying goodbye to our "Mickey Mouse" car.

Arthur hugging the car goodbye:



Another hug for the car:



Shouting "Goodbye Mickey Mouse Car!":



Our new van:

Finding a good playground.

There is a mama who lives on our street who we've met a couple of times who has two boys (4 and 18 months). She invited us yesterday out to the playground and it turned out to be a really nice play space. We have a park near us that we've deemed slightly unsuitable for three-year-olds. Aside from the cigarette butt and glass filled sand that covers the park, there's the drop off over the sea wall and the heavily vandalized park equipment that bugs us too. It's o.k to play in, and not inherantly unsafe. It's just not our first choice of parks when there are safer, cleaner options close by.

There's one park close to Joanne's work that is geared towards children 5 and under. It has a bark mulch covering which has been deemed the safest playground covering by a mile and the whole area is fenced and gated in which greatly reduces the chance of one running off into the marina. This has been the playground of choice since we discovered it.

Now I'm glad we have another option because this one turned out to be excellent as well. Again with the safest bark mulch landing pad, there's a very large fenced in grassy area to run and play ball. There are picnic tables and right across the circle are some nice walking trails. You can definitely make it a half-day trip. It's away from any main roads and in a quiet, safe area. I had a nice time with my neighbor and met some other local moms too. They all knew each other so I felt a little like a fourth wheel but it was nice to have all of the kids playing together.

We decided to go out after dinner tonight being that it was so nice and I recommended to Joanne that I bring her down to this park since she didn't know where it was. We had a nice time before bringing the boys home for bed and we got some cute pictures too.

Bark mulch (and sand) are not good play spaces for crawlers. Especially for crawlers who like to eat random specks off of floors. But wearing Robin solved the problem. It gave me two free hands to attend to Arthur and Robin was quite happy and entertained. Whichever pre-historic mama who invented the baby sling should be forever congratulated.

Here's some photos from our after dinner excursion.

Oh, and since I feel badly so quickly bumping my welcome post for the twins...if you haven't had a chance to see our friend's new additions here is the link: (Rohan and Ian)

Welcome to the world, Rohan and Ian!

Our friend Mary had her twins on Thursday and it's been the highlight of our week! We're so happy for their safe and happy arrival. The boys are adorable and they are all home now, adjusting to a new life with not one, but two little babies to cuddle, and nurse, and change. Congratulations Mary and Dave and big sister Anjali!

Diaper attempt #2

I had much better success this time and I'm starting to get into a system now. I bought some french terry tonight on a whim because I know that it is used to make diapers sometimes and I found that I loved it so much more than the fleece. It's softer and seems more sturdy. It seems like it will be absorbant on it's own accord. I did two layers of french terry on the inside of a pretty cotton pattern I found (If anyone can read the characters, please let me know what it means). The soaker pad is two layers of flannel sandwiched around two layers of microterry (those things will soak up anything).

I used the hook and loop closure because I don't have any plastic snaps, although at about 2 cents a piece, I think I'm just going to order a bunch online.

I tried a zig-zag elastic this time and I think if I can get it right, I prefer the feed method instead. I just didn't like sewing on top of the elastic, although I think maybe for the back of the diaper it might work nicer. Maybe zig-zag for the back and feed through the legs.

In any case, I love this one. I might even try it on Robin for size however, although he is still in the small fuzzibunz, this one seems just a hair smaller than a "small" and I'm not sure it would fit him. The whole thing overall, front and back is just so darn soft. I can't wait to use it in August!

Diaper Attempt #1

I found an old skirt that I just can't quite squeeze into anymore and I had some fleece and microterry hanging around from making my diaper liners so I thought I would try to take on a more challenging project. It only took about two hours, which I don't think is so bad for a first attempt. A lot of that was just figuring out a pattern I wanted to use by tracing and cutting out a form for the diaper and the hidden insert.

I had a rough time with the elastics and I'm not quite sure they will hold. I think next time I'll try the zig-zag method I've seen becaue I think I'll have better luck with that and it will take me less time.


I also don't have any plastic snaps, which I think work better for cloth diapers. I've never seen a professional diaper made with metal snaps, but these were all I had so they'll do. I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt and I have some ideas of how to improve as August gets closer!

Arthur's First Theater Movie

Last week, Arthur was having a "difficult" time going to bed. He was being very fresh and testy. So we (well really Joanne) decided to try some of our mama friend's ideas and do a sticker chart with a reward for a set amount of stickers. The first couple of nights were a teeny bit better but not really enough to get that full sticker...but we worked on it. A few days later the idea "sunk in" with him and we had some really good nights. He still has moments but overall, the past week has been a lot better.

His reward for filling his sticker chart was to go see "Horton hears a who". I had to work this morning and since our schedules have been overlapping so much, this afternoon seemed the best time to try. We figured around 4:00PM on a Sunday, the theater would be less crowded so if either boy threw a fit, we could get up with them and step outside without disturbing too many people.

We went armed with snacks and when we arrived, I nursed Robin to his heart's content about the time that the previews started. Only one other couple arrived so we breathed a sigh of relief that at least we didn't have to work within the confines of a crowded theater. It was us, and a young couple sitting about 6 rows behind us.

Both boys were gloriously behaved. Robin maybe made two "peeps" in the whole movie and when I say "peep" that's pretty much what I mean...And Arthur and I had been practicing how to talk in a theater the whole ride there so he was already whispering even before we bought the tickets. He had a couple of louder "What's that Mum? What's he doing" but gentle reminders did the trick. He really did so well. I couldn't have asked for them to have been any better. It was an enjoyable experience for all of us. I was nervous about the baby but he was so content the whole time.

The best though, was the absolute giggles and glee from Arthur when he laughed at the funny parts of the movie. We'd been to the drive-in before, but this was an entirely new experience for him and it was great to see. It's definitely something we'll consider doing again in the future and I think we should aim for this most perfect time slot again. It was great.

Robin's 9 Month Well Baby Visit

We had our well baby visit today for Robin. I was hoping he would have gained more but I'm not surprised that he only gained what he did because he's been crawling for a month now and before that he was still pretty mobile and speedy. I call this "activity related minimal gain" ha ha ha. The doctor agrees.

Weight: 13 lbs 8 oz
Height: 26 3/4 inches
Head: 17 something...I can't remember what was on the sheet but it definitely grew enough to make them happy.

We discussed diet and they recommended to get as much breastmilk in him as possible and to not let food take the place of my milk. She actually said this to me first and I was so happy because I'm 100% in line with how she is thinking. Basically, keep nursing him and use food in addition. And try to get the foods as calorie dense as possible. Avocados, some egg yolks in a month or two, some olive oil mixed in his cereal...

She said I could try adding a little plain whole milk yogurt. No liquid cow's milk. Not until a year, and even then if he's still nursing it's better to keep him on the breastmilk. It has a lot more fat and calories than even whole cow's milk. This is stuff we knew already, though. For whatever reason, the plain yogurt doesn't have the tummy concerns that liquid cow's milk has. I think I might give him a small spoonful and see how his tummy does. We usually have plain yogurt in the house.

His iron was excellent. He's doing great with table foods. He can eat lots of things cubed (plain veggies and soft fruits mostly). She was very impressed that he could eat with his hands already and that he was so mobile.

She said that because his head size and his height were going up along a nice curve, that's really the biggest indicator of nutrition and health. His weight may just hit a spurt one of these days. But if not, he's still healthy and growing as a baby his size should.

The best thing is that it looks like his ear infection has almost nearly cleared up. Which is great because I didn't want to have to put him on more antibiotic. He's so miserable on it.

We discussed vaccines again because some of the ones that concern me are coming up at his next appointment. She's going to give some of my research to one of his pediatricians, who is also doing his own research on the issue. I'm hoping they can order one of the alternative MMR vaxes for us. At the very least, I know I'll be going into the appointment having done everything I could in terms of finding an alternative.

Happy Easter! 2008

Speedy Baby...

On March 9th I posted a video of Robin just learning to crawl. 9 days later and he's all over the house, crawling faster than I can catch him....kneeling, lifting himself up against things, and causing general mischief. I don't remember it all happening this fast with Arthur. I'll have to go back and read some of my older blog to see if I can jog my memory!

Oh, and I swapped out for an adorable new diaper today. I love the GADs diapers but Joanne isn't much of a fan so I compromised and swapped two (I kept our gorgeous embroidered ones with the dragon and lion). In exchange I got this one, and a cute print from Spooky Kitty!

Our name quest is over.....

...because it's a girl! And she looks great!

Arthur's Haircut

The first thing he said to me after we left Snip-its was "Mum, I don't look like a gorilla anymore!"

You can see the video "bananas and cheese" I posted for a reference of how shaggy he was.

9 Months Old Today

I can't believe it's been nine months!

Two Videos for Today - Part Two - Bananas and "Cheese"

Two Videos for Today - Part One - Robin Crawling

Moving along...

I think Robin may have crawled forward today for the first time. He's been mobile for about a month but mostly it's been a combination of skootching, rolling, and crawling backwards that has gotten him where he needs to be. He's also recently been moving from the hands and knees position to sitting up. He's been doing that a lot (unfortunately, also in his crib..which makes it harder to get him to settle down for the night).



But tonight he made his way forward a couple of feet. I wasn't really expecting it. I'm wondering if he's done it before but I just haven't seen it because there have been a few times when I've left the room only to return to find him across on the other side.



I'll count today as the first time though because I actually witnessed it this time.

They just don't make valentine's like they used to...

For a two-year-old? Come on. I can't imagine that a parent really sat back and thought this one was a good idea for a class of toddlers. I think I'm a wee bit behind the times..ha ha ha

A little bit of a scare, but everything is o.k.!

Joanne had a pre-natal appointment at the birth center today (13 weeks) and the midwife had a little trouble finding the heartbeat. After about 10-15 minutes of trying she said "Why don't we send you over for an ultrasound". We had heard the heartbeat at 9 weeks so we weren't over-the-top worried but it was still a little unnerving.

So across the street we go and check in with the radiology department at the hospital and then Joanne gets sent to registration first and they send her to the front of the building to check in and they send her back to register! It was a little time-intensive and we were nervous. An hour later we finally get into the ultrasound. Everything is fine. The tech said that the baby was probably just moving around too much for the doppler. (Baby was very flippy and bouncy). Heartrate averaged about 169 and everything looked as it should at first glance.

We were a little worried of course, and Arthur sensed that I think and he refused to use the potty at the technicians office even though he really had to go. While we were in the ultrasound room he wet his pants and the floor. So I had Robin in one arm trying to wipe up pee off the floor and Joanne obviously couldn't do anything. What an adventure!

But everything is fine. I'm glad we got a sneak peek at the baby because we weren't planning on any ultrasounds until one at 18 weeks.

Your input welcomed....(see previous post for elaboration)

Of these boy's names, which do you like best? Frederick (Fred) Leonardo (Leo) Elijah (possibly Eli) Noah Henry view results

Speaking of names...

Choosing boys names is difficult. It was challenging the first time, tough the second time, and pretty darn brutal this time. Not that we know what we are having..not for another 4-8 weeks will we be able to find out. But I can assure you that if we don't think of a boys name, that's what we most definitely will be having. I mean, we've had a girl's name picked out, ready to go, for three years now...so I'm not sure of the likelihood that we'll ever get to actually use it. I love my boys, and would be very happy to have another one. But truly the most challenging part of the whole process is picking the name.

Our perameters are kind of tough. It must be a name that is a name that people know and could say. But it can't be common. Names like Ian, Connor, Logan, Caden, Brayden, and Max (while we really do like "Max") are completely out of the picture.

We like traditional names but we aren't quite as particular this time. Our "no" list of traditional names includes: Matthew, William, Charles, George, Albert, Alfred, Edward, Michael, and Nicholas. Some of these are merely just names that are too common and other we have associations that we don't like.

We've tossed around: Leo, Frederick, Theodore, Elijah, Henry, Isaac, Noah, Seth, Finn, Nevan, Benjamin, Oliver, Henry, Caleb, Walter, Nathanial, and more unusual ones like Armando, Ansel, Barrett, August, Seamus, Dmitri,and Benicio, Elliot, Emmett.

Obviously we've found some "no's" from that list too. Joanne doesn't like Dmitri, Benicio, Armando, or Nevan. Seamus and Ben with our last name sound ridiculous.

I don't like Elliot, Emmett, Ansel, August, or Leo as a stand alone name. I also think Barrett reminds me too much of the guy with a gun for an arm from Final Fantasy VII to want to pick it.
Caleb is the name of a friend of mine's son and it's a wee bit too common for me now. Noah and Elijah are also becoming more common (although I really like Elijah). Oliver and Gabriel are huge with two-mom families so I don't really want to perpetuate that stereotype. We like having something a little unique.

I was recently reminded of the Pharoah Seti where the name Seth really comes from who doesn't really have the most compassionate and glorius of histories.

We both like Frederick, Leo, Noah, Elijah, Henry...and really that's it right now. If I had to pick today, I'd pick Elijah. But then again, it has slowely creeped up the latter of popularity and most recently was number 26 on the social security administration's list of most popular names. 26 is pretty high for us.

We have contemplated Frederick since Arthur was born. We both think Fred is a great nickname and Frederick is a good solid name. Frederick Douglas would be an excellent association to the name too. However something keeps holding us back. We keep passing it over for other options we like more. So something might be telling us there is a reason we're not picking it.

As for "Leo". The problem we're having is that we can't agree on on a formal name. Joanne feels that "Leo" would be fine as a stand alone name. I feel that something bigger should be on the birth certificate and that "Leo" is too short for a formal name. But Leonardo...doesn't that seem so huge? Sure Da Vinci is an excellent source for a name but it really is a big name. Not a fan of Leonard and Joanne doesn't really like Leon either.

Henry is an issue too because if I named my son Henry, I'd call him Henry. Joanne would call him Harry. It's cute and all but in the midst of this Harry Potter mania the past few years, do we really want "Harry"? And I also kind of think that if we call him "Harry", we should just name him "Harry". Both of us don't like "Hank".

So there is Noah. Great name...nice legend. Number 15 on the list of popular names. Dang it.

So here we are...kind of at square one. I can't even possibly anticipate what we'll come up with at this point but if anyone has any suggestions feel free to leave some comments (click "0 comments" below the post and it will take you to the comments screen).

A name is a tough thing to choose..you're stuck with it for the rest of your life so of course, all parents want to pick something nice.

Sharing one of my mental inspirations for Robin's name

You can click HERE to view For Better or for Worse, which has been my favorite comic for the better part of about 15 years and which sadly, is coming to an end very soon. Sniff sniff.

Michael has two children, a girl and a boy, named Meredith and Robin. I've always thought Robin was such a sweet name even before we incorporated the "Robin Hood" legend to match up with our "King Arthur". Just thought I'd share a little bit of the history now that the comic is coming to an end...

Whoever said nursing burns more calories lied!

I'm stuck. I didn't gain much when I was pregnant...less than 20 pounds. But now, I'm still a good 6-7 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. Which is still about 15 pounds heavier than when Arthur was born (and I wasn't too uncomfortable with my weight at that point).

Usually, I hit a plateau of "My goodness, I can't wear my good pants anymore" and I modify my eating a bit, try to get more exercise, and drink a lot of extra water. After a few weeks of that I get a momentum and I can lose a few pounds.

But I don't know if it's the breastfeeding, or the post baby blobby-ness overall but I am having so much trouble doing that. Part of it is that I am hungry ALL-THE-TIME. It's ridiculous. I have dinner, then about three hours later my stomach is literally growling so much that a mere cracker will not do it. A sandwich and a glass of milk later and there's a whole extra meal for the day.

I know, I know...nursing requires an extra 500 calories a day (so they say). So that sandwich and milk (or pack of noodles, or can of soup, or wheat thins with cream cheese, or a bowl of cereal) really isn't such a bad thing. However, I've just got to do something about this flab. I'm in a weight range that I'm just not comfortable in at all.

Don't get me wrong, I love nursing. It's recommended for at least a year and I plan to go at least that long. But I just wasn't prepared for it making me want to eat like a sumo-wrestler (and hanging onto the body baggage like one as well).

grumble grumble...the cornflakes are calling...thanks for letting me vent!

Edited to Add:

Just read this and had to laugh...this is so going to be us!

Our stroller is here!

And it's even nicer in person. Arthur keeps begging to ride it so we'll have to venture out sometime this weekend, I think. He says "Arthur goes here" as he climbs on the back and then "Robin sit there" as he points to the front. He's cute. (reference earlier post here)

Arthur is at school. Robin just went down for a nap with (so far) no protest, and since I have to work this afternoon I'm going to try to squeeze in a little nap too.

Cat's Out of the Bag

Most Compact Double Stroller

It's double stroller time! It was getting a little tough pushing both boys in seperate strollers. And while most of the time, I don't mind wearing Robin...sometimes I want to be a little more active than baby wearing will allow. So we decided it was time for a double stroller. We wanted one really compact but the prices for the ultra-compact ones were a little bit out of our range. I'm not really looking to spend $800.00 on a stroller, no matter how nice they are or how much they are named after a cute little frog...



Joanne received a gift card from one of her customers at work (the whole office did) and we thought it would be nice to get something practical and useful for the family. We stopped at Babies R Us to look at some and Joanne discovered one right away that was excellent. Affordable and really compact. It's the Joovy Caboose Tandem Stroller. Robin can ride in the front (in his infant seat or in the regular seat) and Arthur can either stand or sit backwards in the rear part of the stroller. It has a metal frame and folds up smaller than our Graco Metrolite. It's a tad heavier but I can't really feel much of a difference.



Babies R Us was out of stock for the stroller so we put one on hold. In the meantime we found one in a better color online for the same price and ordered it. (Joanne liked the orange color and I was happy with that too).

Nothing gets between me and my Mum Mums....

Mr. Sun

Arthur had his face painted at school today. He told us he was the sun. :)

January 5th Trip to the Boston Children's Museum

Robin's 6 Month Appointment

Have I mentioned how much I love our pediatricians? Seriously, love them. They are so incredibly supportive and receptive to any issue I've presented and are champions of flexibility. Oh, and they love our kids. But I'll get to that later.

Robin's 6 month Stats:
Height: 25 3/4 inches
Weight: 12 lbs 6 ounces
Head: 16 1/2 inches
Chest 15 1/4 inches

He's growing great and is sticking to a nice curve. He's a long skinny thing...maybe he'll be tall and be able to reach things for his short mamas. He's sitting on his own (but will flop over when he gets tired of it). He's rolling from back to tummy and tummy to back. He's not as miserable during tummy time as Arthur used to be. And this past week he's been a fairly smiley happy baby.

And the best thing is...last night he slept through the entire night for the VERY FIRST TIME. 9PM-5:30AM. I don't expect it to last..ha ha ha. He usually wakes up twice to eat so this was a shock to me. I would love it if he's just finally decided that sleep is good :)

As for the supportive pediatricians...I've developed some ethical issues with a few of the vaccines. None that impacted Robin today but will in the future. I've just discovered that a few of the major vaccines contain human diploid cells (fetal tissue). I'm a very liberal person, and I place no judgement on what is right for others regarding this issue...but when I found out, I cried. There's a difference between knowing what exists that I wouldn't personally partake in, and taking something objectionable to me and injecting it into my child. Without getting into it too much, this was upsetting to me and I decided to ask my pediatrician about it.

Turns out, I'm not alone. He just discovered this issue as well and it has upset him greatly too. His advice "get the vaccines BUT make a huge stink about it with the companies...they need to change how the vaccine is made". I was so happy to get so much support from him! He gave me some materials to read from a medical journal "Ethics & Medics" and I'm going to pore over it to help me make the best decision I can. I do know that alternative vaccines exist without ethically questionable materials and if I can seek those out instead and use those, I will. (The vaccines with human diploid cells are MMR (specifically Mumps and Rubella), the chicken pox vaccine, hepatitis A, and the live Varicella vaccine)

I'll skip the chicken pox vaccine entirely. It's not a required vaccine and honestly, knowing what goes into it...I'd rather my kids get chicken pox.

The shots today (while containing things like formaldehyde, monkey kidney cells, and thimerasol) I wasn't thrilled about but I've decided to break them up to make them easier for Robin to handle. Instead of being majorly uncomfortable for two days, he'll be just a little uncomfortable for a day or two now, and then a little uncomfortable for a day or two in a couple of weeks when I get the rest. He's so tiny for his age, I didn't want to overload him and the pediatrician is fully supportive of parents selectively choosing to delay vaccines. He got 3 today and he'll get the other 3 in two weeks. If he's reached 13 lbs by then, I'll get the flu shot too...but I really need to cross that weight milestone (being that 6 months is the earliest they offer the flu shot and he is just so small for his age still). I mean, the poor baby is conked out cold right now just from getting half of the shots today...you know those ingredients in there are some pretty potent ones.

Wow, that was a novel! But it's something that has been really weighing on my mind the past couple of months and I've been doing lots of research about and I thought I would share it. A lot of people may not know what goes into vaccines and would be surprised to learn what exactly is being put into our children without questioning if there is a better way.

With Arthur, I never questioned..and I'm ashamed that I didn't know what was being put into his body. Joanne and I try so hard to limit the chemicals he eats, but I thought nothing of letting someone put formaldehyde into his bloodstream. I understand that vaccines can be a great thing...but if I at least know ahead of time what I'm putting into my children I can be more prepared and research if any alternative vaccines exist that we can use instead. I'm not anti-vaccine, but lets find a way to make them with ingredients that will reduce fear and worry in parents as well as eliminate ethical concerns with questionable ingredients.

If I don't get to post again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!