Why Ice Cream is bad

Today was one of those "can't-keep-up-I-can't-remember-what-color-our-couch-is-DID-I-FEED-the-children-today?" kind of days. You know the type. By three o'clock I was in desperate need of either a grown up beverage or ice cream. Since it was only three o'clock, I decided ice cream was the way to go. Unfortunately we had no ice cream. I knew danger was imminent if we did not  leave the house, so I tossed Spain on my back, slapped a hat on Alex's head, and we trudged two blocks to the commissary to get ice cream. 

During the walk we waited on hold with our internet provider. As soon as we reached the commissary, Alex began his 10 point inspections of the car carts. You know, the shopping carts that were mated with Little Tyke cars in an attempt to make grocery shopping with little children somewhat less traumatic. As Alex approached the fourth hybrid cart, I announced "This one's perfect!!" I swung Spain out of the baby carrier and strapped him into Driver's Seat A. Alex gave me a patronizing look as he climbed into Driver's Seat B "I was trying to find one with a working horn" He explained patiently. I know. That's why I stopped you before you found one. 

By the time we got to the glorious ice cream display, we were talking to a real human trying to figure out our internet difficulties. Twenty minutes later we were still standing in front of the ice cream display as the very nice Indian Jan and I discussed our internet issues. The boys were starting to get skittish. The Hybrid cart was losing it's novelty and it was all my fault!!

I wrapped things up with Jan, we grabbed some Ice Cream (with more than 5 ingredients in it. -10 points), and turned down the yogurt aisle. All of a  sudden the hybrid cart novelty was gone. Spain was screeching like a baby velociraptor and trying to shove Alex out of the cart. I pulled over and pulled Spain out of the cart. Alex got back in to drive, and I awkwardly carried Spain in one arm while pushing the cart. This is where things begin to go HORRIBLY WRONG.

 We stopped in front of the eggs. The price tags for the eggs were on the very bottom shelf, conveniently placed where you could not read them through the door. I put Spain on the floor, right between our cart and door to the egg case, just in case he had any ideas about escaping, then launched myself into the egg case, at an angle that would have impressed a circus contortionist. As my eyes landed on the array of price tags, I saw Spain's diaper cover hit the ground. 

Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, because I like pins. You pin the diaper on, and it's not going anywhere. Cover on. Cover off. The diaper stays in place. 

But I didn't use pins this time.

Now I have your attention. 

That's right. I didn't use pins. Or a Snappi. Or any other type of fastener. I folded my flat into a rectangle, stuck it in a cover and off we went. It would have worked perfectly, except that in my haste to get out of the house I didn't put pants on Spain. When he was in the carrier on my back he couldn't get to the cover, but while wrestling in the confining space of the hybrid cart................

I jerked out of the egg case, in a flash I grabbed the diaper and quickly and awkwardly tried to cover el nino up. The folded flat kept sliding out of place, and EVERYONE in a two mile radius suddenly needed eggs. I forgot how to breathe as I pushed the cart over to a cracker display. Spain, at this point realized that I was cramping his style, and went into thrashing mode. Have you ever held a diaper less thrashing baby in the middle of the grocery store? It will bring you closer to God. 

At this point, through what I can only describe as Divine Intervention, the cover cinched into place, the dairy department empty and I could hear the faint sounds of the Hallelujah chorus being piped through the sound system.

I learned something important today.

Never under estimate the power of pants.... Or at the very least, use a cover that snaps instead of velcros.

Dirty Diapers

I live!!!
 I know there was some concern, given the silence of my blog. But everything is fine. We are in fact, all still alive.

  It's no secret that we use cloth diapers with Spain. I'm a huge fan of cloth diapers for hundreds of reasons. I'm always a little taken aback when people site time, money and convenience as reasons not to try cloth.  We started using cloth diapers when Alex was born... Actually it was right after we used the last of the disposable diaper supply we received as baby gifts. He was about two month old at the time. Sweet husband was in school and working part time. I was had taken the semester off and had not gone back to work. The truth was, we couldn't afford to buy disposable diapers. 

  We started off with Gerber prefolds. Then I made some fitters. I soured wholesale co-ops for fabric and snaps. I slowly started buying fitters. Before I knew it I had a sizable stash and was completely converted.
As soon we brought Spain home he was cloth diapered. Our stash has everything; fitteds, prefolds, all-in-ones, pocket diapers, and flats. When I head about the Flats and Handwashing challenge, I knew I needed to try it.  

“Why I’m Taking the Challenge”

  Because it's extreme. In an age where everything is automated the idea of washing clothing by hand seems antiquated. The idea of washing diapers by hand seems almost barbaric. As far extreme challenges go, this is a safe one. I don't have to worry about broken legs, lack of food, language barriers or hitch hiking. It's laundry and it's diapering my baby. Both would be happening anyway, I'm just taking a different path on it.

  I only have a few flats. That means I'm going to be forced to think ahead and try to be prepared. I won't be able to put off doing laundry. Between you and me, I'm excited about being forced to be organized for a week. 

Oh, and the hippy points. I'm totally doing it for the hippy points.

Survival Tips for Spouses of Deployed Soldiers.

Care packages are touted far and wide for their magical abilities. However, you will find yourself wondering what to put in these USPS delivered treasure boxes. Your soldier will be no help at all. There is even a chance that they will insist that they “don’t need anything”. Send snack foods… And baby wipes. Don’t expect a Thank you card. They may thank you in passing, while requesting that you send razors.


Everyone from family members to complete strangers at the post office will tell you to stay busy. After a while “stay busy” will begin to sound like “please hit me”. This goes away after homecoming.

Your soldier will never call at a convenient time for you. In fact the more important your plans are, the higher probability of receiving a phone call.

Case in point, I’ve considered making a doctor’s appointment any time I want to talk to Sweet Husband. It never fails, every time I’m in the middle of an examination, he calls. Every. Single. Time.

Don’t talk to other spouses about the frequency of phone calls. Seriously. Nothing good can come of this. If you are the one whose spouse has a hard time finding the Skype icon on their computer you will feel lousy that you don’t get to talk to your spouse that much. Feelings of bitterness, hurt, and distress may bubble up inside of you.
On the other hand, if you’re the one who gets to talk to your spouse every day…. Run. Your life is in danger. Especially if you’re having conversations that are hours long, everyday.
Don’t talk about it. It’s safer that way for everyone.



Don’t post photos of soldiers you know online without they‘re permission. And err on the side of caution, don’t post pictures of them in uniform with visible patches and name tapes. Familiarize yourself with OPSEC.

Don’t post your soldiers deployment information on the internet. Facebook does not need to know your soldier’s flight information or that the unit is stuck in Oz for the next seven hours. I promise.



Friends and strangers will try to make you feel better by telling you about the time they had to spend a week away from their significant other. DO NOT follow your instincts.
Though they mean well, They are clueless.


Don’t be afraid to take your friends up on their offers to help. I’m still working on this one. But I cannot describe the bliss of knowing that there are people able and willing to help you when you need it.


Deployments are rough. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first one or the eighteenth one. You will not finish it the same person you were when you started, and neither will your spouse.

Did I forget anything?

Three things

March has been a rough month for us.
Just when I started to think that we had found a groove of normalcy, both of the boys had health issues pop up. We discovered that Spain stopped gaining weight whenever Sweet Husband deployed.
We had a blood test run to check his iron levels, which turned into a horrifying string of events. The phlebotomist kept uttering "This has never happened before." and "I don't know what to do." Which is never reassuring, and even less so, when they have a needle inserted into your child's arm.
The tubing for the needle was defective, so his blood kept bubbling in the tube. Spain ended up with a blown vein, a deep seated fear of needles, and we never got the results of the blood test. The lab forgot to run the tests.

We scheduled another appointment for a few weeks later, and I turned on my "Jewish Grandmother" charm. I began to offer Spain food ALL. The. Time. I did "normal" things, like buying avocados by the case. And crazy things, like making breast milk yogurt, from our freezer stash. A pediatric dietitian I spoke with suggested I give Spain butter, just little slices of butter occasionally. Like a dutiful mother, I obliged. I discovered that Spain LOVES butter, as long as he can eat it directly from the package. Every time I gave him a slice of butter, he eyed it suspiciously and then would fling it behind his booster seat.

Finally our follow up appointment arrived. We gleefully discovered that Spain gained a pound. Unfortunately after a slightly less horrifying blood draw, we also discovered that Spain is currently iron defiecent. We've started him on an iron supplement, and I'm hoping that once we get his iron levels back to normal, the weight issue will resolve itself.

Not to be outdone. Alex has developed new allergies. We don't know to what yet, just that it's environmental. The poor child has been covered in hives for weeks. He doesn't even notice them anymore. Which does not leave me feeling warm and fuzzy.

During a particularly rough week, I decided I needed to choose happier thoughts to dwell upon. Three things. I told myself Find three good things that happened today.
At first it was difficult. I would strain to think of three good things that had happened each day, but now I'm finding it easier every day. The biggest perk though, is that I don't feel like a unwritten Edgar Allen Poe poem anymore.

Which is good. Because I'm surround by vibrant colorful scenery, and I really should stop and enjoy it. I'll only have this year once. Spain and Alex will only be young once, and if I'm only focusing on surviving this deployment, I'll miss it.

Today my three things are:
1. Alex lost his fear of water he can't stand in. We spent a couple hours at the pool. He kept swimming back and forth
2. We went on a nature walk, and spied flowers, windmills and butterflies.
3. I'm going to bed before midnight.

Fun with food

Sometimes, I wonder How can I bring excitement to our house today?

Then I glance down and see something like this:

No, he isn't laying on my lap bleeding.

He's enjoying a baked beet!


In hindsight, perhaps the high chair would have been more fitting area...

FPAD Finale

Day 17- Time

Day 18- Drink

Day 19- Something you hate to do

Put away laundry....

Day 20- Handwriting

Day 21- A Favorite photo of you

Day 22- Where you work

Day 23- Your shoes

Day 24- Inside your bathroom cabinet

Day 25- Green

Day 26- Night

Day 27- Something you ate

Homemade pasta sauce. It was delicious!!!

Day 28- Money

We bought Alex his first proper Bible.

Day 29- Something you're listening to

Mom Points

Some days I don't feel like functioning. I want to spend all day just recharging my batteries. No emergencies to deal with. Nothing pressing to handle. No decisions to make. Most of the time, these days are accompanied by illness, ick, or general discomfort.
I dream of a time when I can be ill, and stay in bed sipping hot tea and sleeping. My nine year old self had no idea how good I had it.

Today I woke up with a feeling of general ick. My sinuses were going crazy, and my head was not amused. Luckily my gravelly "smoker's" voice had disappeared.
Of course days like today I feel like my worth is only equal to what I rack up in "Mom points".

Today's scorecard looks like this:


Let Alex play the Wii so I could sleep -5 Mom Points
Got out of bed, with a throbbing headache and beginning of a sinus infection +15 Mom points

Feed the boys breakfast before 10am +10 Mom Points
Let Alex have frosted cereal for breakfast -5 Mom points
Made him eat a banana +2 Mom Points

Cleaned Alex's bathroom +5 Mom points
Let Alex veg in front of the TV so I could clean the bathroom -5 Mom Points

Fed the boys lunch before 1pm +5 mom points-
Used canned green beans with a side of BPA -4 Mom Points
Tried to make bread +10 Mom Points
Wash dishes +5 Mom Points
Turned into "shrieky mom" -15 Mom Points

Washed diapers +5 Mom Points
Laid on the couch and pretended not to see the laundry that needed folded -7 Mom Points

Nursed Spain +25 Mom Points

Make yogurt +4 Mom Points
Feed the boys dinner before 7pm +5 Mom Points

Survive until bedtime +5 Mom Points



I could try to shoot for for a few more Mom Points, before I go to bed. Then again, my sinuses are throbbing and my head wants to fall off. I think I'll just be satisfied that I have not gone into the negatives today.

Sometimes less is more

In some stories, the first sentence tells you everything you need to know.
In brilliant strokes you have a general idea of what the end result looks like. Yes, the details may be a little fuzzy, but those can be filled in later. You learn the moral of the story, and whether it will make you cringe or sigh. All of the information can be packed into one small, possibly innocent, sentence.

For instance, in high school, my brother's friend started a story with:
"Last year I drove a semi truck into my neighbor's garage."
Collectively everyone in the room fell silent as we processed this information. With that opening remark we discovered that 1)this was a tale of impaired judgement, 2)It wasn't a fatal accident, and 3) my parents would be supervising all his visits from there on out.

Sometimes writing in a blog is like that. I have a story to tell. I want to vividly paint it out for you to read, but the first line packs so much information into it, that I am emotionally spent just typing it out.
The following sentence reveals that 1)this is a tale of impaired judgement, 2) it hasn't been fatal, and 3)I probably need supervision.


While on a cleaning bend, I decided to wax my living room floor.

Day 16- Something New

Two minutes before this picture was taken Spain a asleep.
One minute before this picture was he was crying his heart out about the inhumanity of being tricked into sleeping.
We stand in front of the camera and he's all smiles. What a scamp.

Oh right! Today's topic "Something New". Can you figure out what it is? It's not the baby. My mom made this dress for me. I have to admit, I was a little worried at first. Yellow is not a collor I should wear, but I really enjoy the way it turned.
I should also add that she made this dress with lightening fast speed. I was still working on gathering the ruffles for the skirt, when she finished the dress.

Playing Catch Up

I've been slacking on posting my FPAD photos. I'm sorry!!
Without any further delay, here are the last eight days in my FPAD project.

Day 8- Sun

Day 9- Front Door

Day 10- Self Portrait

Day 11- Makes You Happy

Day 12- Inside Your Closet

Day 13- Blue

Spain believes that it's hard to feel blue when you're eating blueberries... Even when you're boycotting sleep.

Day 14- Heart

Day 15- Phone

I do this a lot. Randomly stare at my phone, trying to will Sweet Husband to call.

Now that I'm all caught up, please send helpful thoughts my way. My camera battery died today, and I can't find my charger. I need to be supervised when I start reorganizing.