Baby poop - or not

Soooo...apparently when Chad and I make the most adorable children on the planet we forget to add in the ability to poop easily, because Kyla, Chase, and now Collin suffer from constipation. Kyla's and Chase's were very similar. Be constipated as soon as they go on normal cow milk and stay constipated until the miraculous day they become potty trained.
*I blame diapers. Why wear anything? Let's all just be naked!
Collin, the poor thing, has started early, and at just shy of 4 months he can't poop. I was really hoping to avoid this life of enemas and suppositories and Miralax and trying to add prunes to everything and crying as I helplessly watch my baby struggle. Collin was supposed to break the cycle. Maybe it's my fault. Was I wrong to let him eat peas the other day? It's the only difference in his diet so really I can't blame the formula cause everything was smooth flowing before. Maybe it wasn't early introduction but he just doesn't like peas. You would think on kid number 4 that I would be an expert at this raising kids thing but I always feel like a new mom. Good advice would be greatly appreciated - just remember kindness at the forefront. :)
Ok. So I just googled "when to start babies on solid food", and I should have before I gave him peas. I am officially the worst mother. I gave him solid food too early, it was the wrong kind, and he doesn't fit any of the "ready" criteria. Guess that answers my questions. But it doesn't solve the how to make him poop now....Karo syrup? Before I try it I need to figure out if i's safe....

Pea's

Collin is nearly 4 months old now. Apparently I don't remember how to be a mom from baby to baby. So I sat in the baby food isle forever trying to figure out how old a baby should be before trying solid foods. I couldn't remember if it was 3 or 4 months or longer... but the cereal box said supported sitter...and that Collin is. So I bought a box of cereal a couple of weeks ago. He's tried it a couple of times, and true to Baby Barrett form hates plain cereal! Which is why he's only had it a couple of times, because he just won't eat it. So today I broke out the stage one peas. I only have him a few large spoonfuls, which for him was more like a dozen spoonfuls. Just enough to try it and see if he liked it and then see how it sat with his tummy. He LOVED them! Ate every last drop of them. With a big ole' smile to boot! LOL I love this messy stage. As long as I'm in charge of the spoon. With any luck we'll keep trying new foods over the next several weeks and then mix in the cereal, cause I'm sure the grains are good for him. :)

Patriotism

I live in a wonderful neighborhood. It's close knit. I know most of my immediate neighbors. My street is quiet. I don't even have a fence and I don't worry too much about my kids going outside by themselves. Unless I tell them to stay inside...but that's a different post... However, I am very conveniently located within walking distance to basically anything I could ever need to do on any given day. I have four credit unions, McD's, Wendy's, Little Caesars, Subway, Mexican food whose name escapes me right now...Walgreens, Carl's Jr., Lowes, Kohl's, WalMart, Seagull Book, Macey's grocery, gas station, car wash, Great Harvest Bread (mmmm)....plus more, but you get the idea. I love the fact that all of it is sooo close and yet my street is still quiet. Quite frankly it's seriously perfect and I couldn't have done it on purpose any better. I got lucky, because I didn't know it would be like this when we moved in. Many of these things have been added recently.

In the last week a GIANT flag has gone up in the back corner of the Macey's parking lot. It's almost on the corner and you can see it large and clear from quite a ways down the street in any direction. When I first saw it my heart swelled with pride. I said to myself, "Now that's patriotic!". It made me want a flag in my yard. How silly that such a thing would make me feel such a strong emotion but I was extremely proud to live in America and be an American. It's made me crave the 4th of July early this year. Living in Utah I can enjoy an entire month of it because of Pioneer Day on the 24th as well. I love the double dose!!

I won't lie. The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. It's a fun filled day of parades, taffy, cotton candy, scones, wearing red white and blue, sunscreen, pulled pork sandwiches, carnivals, and fireworks! I LOVE fireworks! Since I've had kids I haven't really gone to see any big fireworks. We always do a few with the family out in our section of the street. At least one of my kids have always been afraid of the big ones and this year won't be any different with Collin being so little. Once again my perfect little house, in it's perfect little spot comes to the rescue. I can sit in my backyard, in a lawn chair; spray my kids down with bug spray and lay them on a blanket, and watch Clinton City's fireworks from the comfort of my own home without dealing with ash or traffic. Can you seriously think of anything better??? I think not. And since my little city has grown to include so many of those wonderful businesses I just listed the taxes have made the firework show get better and better, year to year.

So if any of you don't want to deal with the traffic and ash yourselves, you are more than welcome to come sit in my quaint backyard and enjoy Doritos and Twizzlers with us! :)

!!!God Bless the USA!!!

First Review

I don't know why but lately I've been thinking that it would be kinda cool to share my opinion on here about things that I try. Like a survey of sorts. Figure in this land of sharing all important and nonimportant thoughts alike it would be kinda fun to put my thoughts in my journal form.
First poll:
Venus Proskin Razor
First of all let me say I always use Venus. I love Embrace the most. I usually use plain conditioner for "shaving cream" but sometimes do buy a shaving gel/cream. I recieved a coupon to try Proskin for free so I figured -what the heck.
At first slide I thought things were going to be heavenly. The razor glides across my wet legs with extreme ease and feels smooth and comfortable. No need for shaving gel or conditioner of any kind. It was even easy to shave my knees which was nice. I was all about to declare my new favorite until I got out of the shower. One word: stubble. Not. Cool. I think it probably has a little to do with the gel bars being so big on the first use the 3 blades can't get that close. Then I'm also used to dealing with 5 blades and miss it. But I still had plenty of use with this razor and it's two cartridges.
*Side note: Being a mother of 4 I don't shave every day. More like once a week - Saturday usually so I don't look like a banchee at church. LOL So stubble right away was a very bad sign. My hair is thick and dark and grows quickly.*
In an attempt to give this product every possible advantage I shaved again two days later. Still just as smooth of a shave. Still felt wonderful. Problem with shaving frequently after you are used to shaving infrequently = razor burn. Plus, still had some stubble by the end of the day. I suppose if you have blonde, soft, slow growing hair this would be a wonderful shaver, but so far it's not my favorite for sure. I will continue to try and shave every other day until my two cartridges are all used up. Maybe by then my opinion will change.
Sum it up: Pros - very smooth and easy. Especially over bumps like knees. Also great on armpits. Cons - stubble and razor burn (which may go away) and have to shave more frequently because it only has 3 blades.

Now you know....

Big Diggers

Today we were out and about picking up medicine from the pharmacy by our house and across from the Kohl's parking lot was a huge dump truck with a big digger digging up huge chunks of cement and putting them into the dump truck. We drove over right next to the dig site and watched from the van. The kids LOVED it. One of the first really big pieces into the truck crashed loudly and they all ooo and ahhh'd. It was hilarious. I looked back at Chase and his eyes were giant and round. No big grin so I was slightly concerned maybe he wasn't enjoying it like I thought he would. I asked him, "Do you like it Chase?" His face then lit up with the biggest smile and he said "YA!" shaking his head vigorously. I guess he was just mesmerized! LOL O the little things that make the day awesome. It was fun.

Paranoia

paranoia runs in my family. At least that's what I tell myself to make myself feel better...
Collin has been having some congestion problems. It's either a cold or allergies and I can't tell which one. So I have an appointment with the doctor in 13 hours. Yes, the countdown has begun. The countdown has begun because as you can see by the time of this post - it is late. Midnight to be exact. And sleep is not to be found as of yet. Every time I walk around holding Collin up on my shoulder and he falls to sleep and then I try to lay him down, he will lay there asleep for a little while (very little while) and then start to squirm and fuss and wake up from being uncomfortable. I am now in my living room on the couch while Collin is asleep in the swing. The one and only place that he will sleep today -apparently. Unless we are driving around in the car (and since driving while drowsy is proven to be worse than drinking and driving I will remain on my couch). The poor little guy's eyes are red and watering. His nose can be runny at times and yet when I try to suck anything out of it I barely get anything at all. When he breathes it sounds like snorting, piggy noises, with the occasional cough. Thing is - I've been trying really hard to figure out if it gets worse when we are home (can it be the cat?), if we are outside (maybe seasonal allergies - in a 3 month old??), or if there's any change at all. Honestly I can't tell. Which means Jasmine has a good chance of not changing homes for now. Which as big as I talk would crush the children so it's a good thing I guess. So I continue to sit here, because my paranoia worries me that if I fall asleep and he needs me cause he can't breathe well enough I won't wake up from being so tired to notice. I know that's probably a very poor, run-on sentence that doesn't lead to any type of good feelings but my chest feels better getting it off of it. Now you know my secret. This isn't the only thing that keeps me up at night. But it's the only one I'm sharing at the moment. Goodnight to all you lucky ducks catching some Zzzzz's.

Summer Fun Ideas

Ok, so this year summer seems to be more dull than last year. I know, I know...it's only the first day, but last year I had a very full agenda with options of activities every day. My dear friends put together a schedule of various ideas for each day of the summer and it was awesome. The whole no need to think on my part was quite nice. This year I'm not so lucky...don't know why I just assumed the same friends would throw it all together but I guess I was secretly hoping.

I didn't buy a movie pass to any theatre this year. So that's only going to happen a couple of times instead of once a week. I didn't buy the dinosaur passes like every one else. I didn't buy the family fun center passes like a lot of my friends either. I have a couple of free passes so we will go a couple of times. We didn't sign up for swimming lessons. After last year being such a disaster and I still haven't figured out how I'm going to manage with even one more kid now we are going to skip this summer. At least for now. Daija might get lessons during the summer, then maybe Kyla, but not at the same time for sure.

As you can see many things that we did do last summer aren't going to happen this year, at least not nearly as often. I just don't have the money to spend on it all.

So far we are doing a young book club. Basically readers on the level of about The Boxcar Children (Daija and several of her friends) will meet every two weeks. We will "discuss" what we have read for as long as the kids will sit and talk and then spend the rest of the time having adult conversation while the kids play. We will rotate houses so the person hosting that week will provide snacks. I think it's a great idea. One: it gets us to read this summer. Two: it provides an activity once every 2 weeks. Three: it also provides another day filled every two weeks by making us get a library card and going to the library. I will not be buying a bunch of books for this, which makes it even better! :)

So that's the genious idea - not mine by the way - but still a good one. I'm trying to brainstorm more ideas. Please tell me what you do for summer fun that is either free or inexpensive. (And yes-driving far distances counts in expenses...darn gas!)

3 Months Old

My baby is 3 months old today! I can't believe it.

Collin can hold his head up like a pro. I discovered yesterday that I can't leave him on the couch unattended anymore. Luckily not the hard way and no he's not rolling over yet. He did roll over once but it was right after I laid him on his tummy and it was instant reaction and hasn't done it since. In fact when I lay him on his tummy he throws a huge fit and I can only stand to listen to him cry for a couple of minutes. Little turd. Cute. Little turd. But I left him on the couch on his boppy pillow and came back to find he had kicked enough to scoot out of the boppy and had pushed against the back of the couch enough to be aimed head first off the couch. I'm glad I came back into the room so quickly after leaving him there so I didn't have to hear the thud and then the crying. So no more couch without Mommy. :)

He has the cutest smile that makes the lack of sleep seem worth it. Recently (like in the last week) he has tried giggling. But it's still in the big-huge-smile-not-breathing-and-no-noise-coming-out stage. It's quite hilarious. Now and then he gets out a blurb of noise but not quite a real giggle. It's the most adorable thing! Usually early in the morning when I grab him out of the bassinet, that is getting too small, and put him in bed with me, I will sit and just smile and talk to him and he will smile and coo and gurgle back. He is a very happy baby. I love him so much!

I already mentioned he hates tummy time, but he loves his swing. In fact there is usually one point of every day that he gets fussy. Clean diaper, not hungry, doesn't want to be held, doesn't want to lay on the floor, so put him the swing and WaLa! he settles right down and usually goes to sleep. It's great! Best invention ever.

He looks like Chase. His little cheeks have filled in and it's funny to look at them together and they seriously are like twins. Except Chase looks great in orange and Collin doesn't. That one doesn't make sense to me but o well...

Collin has the sweetest little spirit. He loves to smile and talk to his siblings. He stares at Chad when Chad's talking and if he walks around the room Collin will follow him with his eyes. I love when I haven't been around for a while (like run to the store or something) and I come home and he gives me the biggest grin. He loves to cuddle with me. And I love holding him. I mentioned him growing out of the bassinet. I'm terrified of moving him into the crib. I've tried a couple of times this week to lay him in there for nap time. He has woke up every time. We'll keep trying.

Love you Collin!

the Piano

So I am volunteering at a school's art gallery tonight. I am playing the piano to help "set the mood". You know, like at a fancy hotel or something. Except it isn't fancy and I'm not that good. hehe I am nervous. I enjoy playing very much. Quite frankly, it's been a passion of mine my whole life. Just ask my parents. They used to ground me from the piano to make me do my homework. You would think I would be better at it then, but teaching myself has made for slow progress. Now as an adult it is difficult to afford good lessons that actually challenge me, because I'll admit the "normal" piano lessons are just too boring. So I continue to try to improve on my own. I wish I had more time to dedicate to it. Remember being a kid and having that "I can't wait until I'm older" mentality?? WHY!? I'm finally reaching the age that I understand why my parents always told me to enjoy my youth. That saying, "Youth is wasted on the young"? SO TRUE! I don't have any time to myself these days = no piano practice time. I remember just sitting and playing for hours a day. I could easily still play for hours. Chad laughs whenever I say I would like more, new music. I have a very full music bench, a stuffed music holder on the floor, and more up on the piano of what I'm currently working on. It's never enough. I would have an entire bookcase if I could - and some day I will. :) Anyway, rambling on... just nervous and excited about tonight. Wish me luck! Hopefully I'll even play well enough to gain a couple more piano students for the summer.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend we went to the Miller Motorsports Park to see the Superbike Races. It's the only world superbike races held in the USA and it was really cool! How spoiled are we to live somewhere there are so many different things to do and see!? Before the races began we wondered around looking at vendor booths, scoping out the food, and checking out the garages full of the race bikes. Michael Jordan has a race team and they raced two bikes in this race. One was just a normal super bike (red one pictured later) then the National Guard bike (white one below). Kyla said a red bike would win the race and Chase picked the green Kawasaki bike.

After paying way too much for hot dogs we went back to our seats to watch the first race. It was a crazy weather day. Walking around we got too hot and stripped down to our t-shirts. Then during the first race we gradually added back on the layers, until during the second race we were all bundled up in coats and shivering under the blanket. I was even holding Collin and with his added heat source I was StIlL cold! (Don't worry - he was toasty warm and slept through most of everything.) And Kyla was right - the red bike from Spain won the 1st and 2nd Superbike races! How did she know???

At one point Daija lay down in her chair under the blanket and fell asleep. O to be a kid again...

Chase's green Kawasaki bike. He would cheer every time it went by. :)

The girls would cheer like crazy every time a red bike flew by. They didn't care which red one. lol

You can see the Air Jordan symbol on the butt of the red one. It was fun to watch. I think one of the Jordan bikes came in 4th...? If I remember right...

After freezing to death I took the kids to the car for a little thawing and nursing Collin. Of course as soon as we get to the car the sun came back out. Here we are running around before the last race. Kyla was trying not to let Daddy take her picture. I'm trying to be sneaky and dodge her so she can't hide behind me. I'm such a geek. :)

Now and then you just need a good tickle!

The last race. Here's a good view of all the bikes coming around the corner right in front of us. It was so amazing to see how far over they lean into the turns. Scraping their knee pads along the road. We saw several wrecks, luckily they just slide to safety! On the small straightaway in front of us (after this turn) they would get up to around 120 mph on just over 1/2 mile of track. CRAZY! On the long straightaway that's got to be about 1-1 1/2 miles they max their speed to about 180-190 mph!

Chad is getting really good taking good pictures. I think an upgrade in camera might be in the near future. As good as these pictures are we can't make them very big or they get grainy. Unacceptable. hehehe

Coming out of a bend they gun it to get to the next turn as fast as possible. Notice the red bike is doing a little wheely. ScArY, but several of the bikes would wheely when the driver punched it into high gear! :) Way too much fun! We are definitely going to be back to watch more. I think next year we will have to save up for it and even take the kids on the zip line. I don't know if I will be brave enough to go but we'll see! :) All in all it was a wonderful day. I'm glad I was able to go with my family and see the kids enjoy something new. They were extremely well behaved all day - even in the cold. I have the best kids!