The word "sat"

JoJo has finally mastered his letter knowledge and I have started to get him into being able to recognize simple words. I decided that the words that end in "at" would be a good place to start. So I made up some little cards for him with all the words that end in "at". He just needed to figure out the beginning sounds. He was very excited to be given his cards to practice and we sat down to go through the words one by one. I tried explaining how each word rhymed and he just had to put the first sounds together. I guess this really did not make sense for him because after going through the list of words twice, he still seemed confused. Here is an example.....
I hold up the word "sat"
me: "What word is this?"
JoJo: sssssssssssssss
me: "now add 'at' to the end"
JoJo: " bat"
me: "No, it starts with the 's' sounds
JoJo : "snake"
me : "No silly!"
JoJo : " rug, kite, chair"
me: "come on JoJo, you know this!"
JoJo " rat, fat, hat"
me : "NO! It is sat! with an 'S'!!
JoJo: "Oh"

I am sure I just sprouted a gray hair after that encounter.

Shutdown

I know the talk everywhere right now is on the government shutdown and how this will effect the military families. I am very thankful that we will be able to ride the storm through for awhile, with little effect on our family. (Thank you tax return) I know for many families this will be a very stressful time and financially very difficult. I want to let anyone know that if they need help with their family, please let me know. I would be more then happy to supply a meal, or a bag of groceries. I don't want anyone to feel that they have to go without during this time. I know most people are thinking "but you have so many people already!" And that is true, we are by far the largest family I know of around here, but God's blessings have poured down on us, and I feel that because God has blessed us, we are responsible to bless others. As people around us are having hard times, we should be able to open our hearts and our homes and enjoy one another and be able to get through this together. I would hope that if the shoe was on the other foot, people would reach out to us.
Last year we went through a similar circumstances in our family, with the military taking out half our pay for a few months, and it was a struggle to say the least! God brought us through that, and I am such a stronger person then I was before, I always feared losing money and not making ends meet. I learned that God will provide, He is all powerful and all controlling. I think at times like these we need to really see what is important in our lives and what we can truly live without. I for one, realized that no matter what- donuts need to be on hand. :)

Hard Day

You know you had a hard day when you can fall asleep standing up.

Poor Laurelin was so tired after her day of playing, that she fell asleep leaning against the ottoman.

Diaper Changes

I have never had a problem changing diapers. I was a pro by the time my first one was born, since I took care of my brother for years. I have bought countless packages of diapers over the years. (Don't even want to imagine how many). I never even considered other options besides the packaged kind. I have learned what brands work for my kids, and what ones leak horribly. With Zachary, I stocked up on my favorite brands, and was ready to begin the diaper show again. For some reason I started thinking about alternatives. I have no idea why, maybe I felt bad about my contribution to the landfills,or the huge bill I paid the last time I went to Babies R Us to buy diapers in bulk. I don't know, but I started looking into the possibility of cloth diapers. (gasp!) When I think of cloth diapers I think of those diapers that were just a piece of cloth held together by safety pins, and covered with a plastic cover. Totally unappealing. I know that poor Zachary and I would be poked and stabbed constantly with those pins. I happened to come across a lady selling some cloth diapers, and I was really impressed with the quality and ease of the diapers.They had a cloth insert, and were covered in a nice soft water proof material, in different colors. (And yes, they were new!) I bought a couple for Zachary, and one for Laurelin since she uses a pull up at night still. First off, I liked how soft they were on the inside, and how easy they were to adjust to the correct size for Zachary and the size for Laurelin. Laurelin was very excited to try it since I was able to buy her one with a pretty flower print. I must say that the cloth diaper is much bulkier then the disposable kind. It did fit very nice around the legs and waist.  When I changed Zachary, he felt nice and dry, and his skin was not red. I put the diaper in the wash machine and just washed it with our other clothes. In the morning, Laurelin was very proud of not peeing in her new diaper, and pulled it off and put it in the washing machine. Now came the next challenge of a poopie diaper. Being that he is breast fed, he doesn't make that big of a mess. It was very contained inside the diaper, better it seemed then a disposable diaper in fact. My one complaint was, what do I do with the wipe? I just put it in the garbage, but I think I would have to come with a better way of dealing with those. I took the diaper to the washing machine and sprayed it with spot remover, and threw it in the washing machine. It came out nice and clean. I think I am a convert! Although Derek is not completely sold on the idea, and won't change Zachary with those on. I know if given a chance he will come around. Next will be finding some diapers on sale and stocking up on extra cloth ones. I guess I can walk proudly to the Earth Day festivities knowing I am doing my part. :) Well at least for part of my days.