I'm a sub now

Officially signed up to sub in five districts in my county. All because I can't seem to find a full-time job (surprise) yet. But that's okay. I'm ready to take sub jobs in any of the districts. I can even tell the system when I can and cannot work, like on days I don't have child care or the boys have appt.

Everyone has a talent

One thing I always hear in church is that we need to use the talents God gave us to help others.

It's as simple as exchanging services with a friend. Eric's not handy with cars, and that's okay, neither am I. I only know enough to take it to the dealership to get the oil changed. (which is great because Saturn will WASH my car in addition to changing the oil) Anyway, my friend P's husband is good with cars. Couple years ago, before they moved back to Illinois, C changed the oil in my car, I just had to get the parts. In exchange, I "helped" them pack. Well, I guess I was more of a social outlet for P and I brought Sam along to entertain their son. My point is, one service exchanged for another.

Everyone has a talent, everyone has some time in their day to do something for someone else. Even the workaholic that goes to school and still finds time to bake cookies for her kids' class has a special talent to share. (did ya catch that? she made cookies for school....that's her talent)

Or how about the family that's having another baby? Chances are, a package of diapers will cost you the same amount as that adorable outfit you want to buy. Sure, those diapers are going to get thrown away, but there's a near guarantee that they'll get worn whereas an outfit might sit in a closet unworn because the baby and the outfit didn't match the season.

Food pantries are emptying faster than they can be filled. I know someone who found a 10 for $10 sale on loaves of bread. Know what he did? He spent $30 on bread and dropped it off at the shelter.

Speaking of food pantries............if you donate at your church, why not reach out to the office staff and ask if they know someone benefiting and ask them if you can donate fresh fruits or veggies to the family. Pantries stock non-perishable items for a reason, but families still need the fresh stuff. (don't get me started on assistance programs, they're way overloaded and too many working poor don't qualify anyway)

A place to start? Craigslist has listings of people looking for things they need done. Me personally? Last year, when MSU was playing in a Florida bowl game, I was looking for someone coming down for the game anyway that was driving a truck and could bring a crib and bed down. I was willing to pay for their service and add in Disney tickets. I got NO TAKERS.

So, what's YOUR talent? What can you do TODAY that can help someone else today or tomorrow?

you know you're a parent when....

you have no problem asking the color, shape, and consistency of poop. Of course it takes a somewhat obsessive parent to actually be in the bathroom when it all happens. And one with a strong stomach, I might add.

I'm so proud of Sam. A few weeks ago, I had to go to CVS and get suppositories. He'd been withholding again and I got so upset and fed up with withholding and changing poopy pull-ups, I thought I had to do something "drastic."

That's when the sticker chart came to use. I love that he gets so excited about pooping. Nowadays he tells me how many he wants to go.....did you know there's a number called "thirty-teen"? No? Me either. I just tell him, "let's start with one."

Sure enough, he's staring me down and we hear the fateful "plop" in the toilet. And he squeals with delight "yay I pooped, no medicine."

As of tonight, his sticker chart is completely full. Three weeks of daily pooping. THREE WEEKS!

You can't argue with FREE daycare

So many people think we're nuts for having moved back to Michigan with the current economic climate here. Especially without jobs.

But, you can't argue with free rent and daycare. Although, the rent's not really free. I personally do all our laundry, try to cook dinner at least one night a week (or we buy the $5 pizza from Little Caesar's), clean up the kitchen regularly, pick up things at the grocery store for the house.....lots of things. Let's not forget the general stress of moving back into your parents' home at 36 with two kids and no real job. I love my parents dearly, but I don't think any of us really expected us to be in this situation.

I've been looking for a job, had a few interviews, even got set up to sub for the county and for two local private schools. But, it's hard to look for a job that would take me out of the area since we do have free daycare right now. I mean, if we moved anywhere but here, then I'd have to find some way to pay for full-time care for Henry and half-day care for Sam. (and we all remember what it was like to find Sam care last year at this time he was going to school all day, I just needed after school) After talking to my friends about what they pay for care for two kids, I can pretty much guarantee up to $1000/month.

So, you can't argue with free daycare. Right now I can work or sub, my mom keeps the baby while Sam is at school and can get him off the bus mid-day.

I don't know when we'll be living together or where, but for right now, my plan is to stick around here for now.

I'm so happy with Sam

First....if you don't like hearing or reading about bodily functions....stop reading right now. Come back another day.

Okay, with that warning out of the way, I have to share that Sam is nearly half way to winning the war on constipation. Sure, we're still doing Miralax every day, but unlike previous attempts, he's now going every single day, on the potty without tears. My big boy has even abandoned the Elmo potty ring!

I need to be better about putting the Miralax in juice rather than milk and about giving it to him at lunch rather than bedtime, but neither of those have interfered with his progress.

Here's a picture of his chart from earlier in the week:

Of course, you have to know there are three more stickers there since this picture was taken on Thursday last week.

We have the chart and the stickers taped to the bathroom mirror so he can see it all the time.

First day of school

All better mama, all better

Aside from a slight discoloration that will probably take another week to clear up completely, Sam's reaction/infection from the last vax is gone. Nine days of Keflex three times a day will do that I guess.

and we're making GREAT strides in the potty training realm. In fact, accidents are a rarity now. The best news on this front? SEVEN (7) days in a row of pooping. Last time that happened was probably 2 years ago when he first went on Miralax. But I'm not changing a diaper and he's ASKING to go poop.

We started a reward chart today. I told him each time he got to 7 days in a row, we'd go for ice cream. (the local ice cream shop has soy ice cream) If he goes three weeks (there's 21 boxes on the chart), we'll go to the zoo.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Yes, I'm going to try and follow the bus to the school. Not sure if he's the first or last getting on the bus. Oh, get this.......his class is the only one on the bus. The district actually has a special bus for all the special ed pre-k kids since they're program is a bit different in time from the regular classes. So, he'll get to ride the bus with the kids from his class and ONLY the kids from his class.

****************************
Henry cut his first tooth! It came in on Saturday, just in time for Pompou's (FIL) birthday. He's been eating solids for a couple months now. We started with rice cereal, then moved on to fruits and veggies. I'm making it again. In fact, aside from prunes, he's only had homemade baby food. Peas, green beans, squash, and peaches. I have zucchini, cauliflower, yellow squash, pumpkin (canned) in the freezer to be tried.

I did go ahead and buy bananas, mangoes, and pears in Gerber because they were on sale and my pears didn't turn out right and bananas don't last long around here and mangoes tend to be on the expensive side. Oh and since I really didn't want Sam too close to them, I bought sweet potatoes in the jar as well.