Happy 2 Years Lamica Bunch!

Guess what? Today is my 2 year blogiversary! If you are a loyal follower you may remember this post and when it all started.

I've often wondered who actually reads my rambles on this blog.

So to say thanks I am going to give away my first freebie. Just leave a comment below and you will be entered to win a free Mary Kay mineral eye-shadow, your choice of color.

Here's to 2 more years...cheers!!

:)

Homemade Diaper Wipes

I got this recipe from a friend. I've made 3 batches of wipes so far and they seem to work just as well as the Huggies brand. Sometimes I use 2 at a time for the messy diapers. I like the way they smell and love the fact that I know exactly what's in them.

You'll need a roll of good-quality paper towels (bargain brands won't hold up to the moisture). Cut it in half length-wise. This is most easily done with an electric knife but can be done manually.

For each half, you'll need to mix together 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of baby wash, and 1/2 tablespoon of baby oil. Put the half roll in an air-tight container and pour the water mixture evenly over it, making sure to wet the inner cardboard tube. Put the lid on and wait about 10 minutes. Turn the container over and wait another 10 minutes. The tube should now be soft enough to remove. If it's not, you can pour some more water over it and wait a few more minutes. Once the tube is out, you're ready to pull the wipes from the middle.

I use the Bounty Extra Soft and really like it. For mine, I mix up half as much again water/wash/oil mix to make sure the whole roll gets evenly moistened. I've read to not use a select-a-size type, but I have a friend who does and she just tears off 2 wipes for diaper changes and uses the single small wipes for hands and faces.

I also suggest finding a container that is easily opened and closed with one hand. The one I have has a thing on top that you pinch to release the lid. (I use empty Huggies wipe containers)

If you want to, you can make up both halves of the roll at the same time and they'll keep for awhile as long as they're in an air-tight container.

If you need a visual demonstration, there are tons of videos on Youtube showing how to make them.

Based on the ingredients I use, this is the general math:

1 59-sheet roll of Bounty Extra Soft paper towel: $1.60

1 tbsp Aveeno baby wash: $0.18 (based on $6.50 for an 18-oz bottle)

1/2 tbsp Target brand baby oil: $0.04 (based on $3 for a 20-oz bottle)

Total: $1.82 for 118 wipes = $0.015/wipe

Compare to $7.00 for 216 Huggies wipes = $0.033/wipe

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters

Love this.

All I wanted was cookies.

I was waiting in the car at preschool for JC and Si. And it hit me...a need for something sweet! I'll go home and bake cookies! Yep, that's what I'll do! I baked cookies yesterday for an activity at church and knew I had all the ingredients to make white chocolate cranberry cookies. I couldn't wait to drive home...

30 min later we pull into the driveway.

I unloaded the car. Kids and backpacks are inside. I asked the kids to put away their backpacks. I put Rossin in his high chair. He looks hungry. I preheat the oven. Notice a bottle and a few other things in the sink. Run a sink full of soapy water. Silas wants a snack. Get Silas a snack. Rossin is still hungry. Pull out baby food to feed Rossin. JC needs help in the bathroom. JC needs a snack. Start to feed Rossin. The kids decide they want to watch a video so I give instructions on how to rewind a video. They are finally settled. Feed Rossin. Start dishes in the sink. JC and Silas want a drink. I notice a case of water that needs to be put into the fridge. Then I notice a load of clothes that need to be dried. Start dryer. Pull out ingredients to bake cookies. Rossin wants out of his seat. Put him in the swing. Take a bag of chips from Silas...he cries. Go back into the kitchen and see magnets on the floor, place them back on the fridge. Put away Rossin's spoon and empty food container. Now back to the cookies...get out bowl to start melting butter. Silas needs help in the bathroom. Phone goes off. Text from my mother-in-law needing help with Facebook. Log onto computer. Fix problem. Have an email from a friend who has a question, respond to email. Rossin is fussing. Change his diaper and discover we are running low on diaper wipes. I'll make a some wipes after the cookies! Fix a bottle and lay R down for a nap. Take a bag of chocolate chips from Silas as I head out to the garage to toss dirty diaper. Find some dirty clothes...toss into hamper. JC asks me to show her how to do her prek homework. Silas wants to paint a picture. Remember I need to call about a picture order and do that. Find Orbeez on the floor. Clean those up. Silas is finished and wants to hang his picture on the fridge and can't reach the magnets. Rossin wakes up...he lost his paci. Find my utility bill on the kitchen table covered in paint. Wipe it off and take it to bedroom. See my purse and remember I needed to mark something on my calendar. JC asks for a popsicle...I tell her no. Hear my phone going off again...I'll check it later. JC wants her little Bible to look at but can't find it. Help search for Bible. Bible found. Silas has boogers in his nose and is now crying. "I can't get them out!" Dislodge boogers. Rossin is now awake from the booger commotion. Realize Rossin has leaked through his outfit. Change diaper and clothes. Needs a new bib too! Toss out another diaper...walk past the oven and wonder why it's preheating??? Oh yeah....

cookies. I was going to cook them at 1:00 this afternoon. It's now 3:40.

Maybe I'll get to them sometime today.

You think I'm kidding....wish I were :)

5!

5 years ago today I was admitted to Huntsville Hospital for a c-section.

I had spent the last month on bed rest trying to "cook" this baby a little longer. I remember waking up in recovery wondering what I had...boy or girl...boy or girl? The nurses wouldn't tell me, they said Andrew wanted to tell me.
So I waited....and waited....close to an hour to find out if I had a Camden Andrew or a JaneClaire Elise.

Andrew finally met me in the hallway as I was riding to my room in the hospital bed. He was holding a blanket and a little pink and blue cap peeked out from under it.

And I met her...

He said it's a girl. Meet JaneClaire. I've been in love ever since.

I can't even begin to describe how much love I have for this girl. She is my first born. I spent many hours in the hospital for various tests, 7 months of nausea, high blood pressure, many shots of steroids, early labor, painful contractions, hips dislocating, 4 weeks on bed rest and I would do it all over again. In a heartbeat.

She wanted to come out early...and she did. 4 weeks before her due date, it would have been 8 if she had it her way :) And she hasn't slowed down since.

JaneClaire has many names. She is our JC, Janie Claire, Boot Boot, Toodle Doodle, Sassy, Wild Child, and our favorite here lately, Legs. She has the longest legs in the Lamica house :) She has a stork bite that resembles a "V" on her forehead. It was very red and noticeable when she was born but has faded some over the year... When she gets mad or upset it still turns bright red.

She crawled at 7 months, walked at 11 months and was talking in sentences by 18 months. She is smart and funny, caring and kind. She can also be a tad dramatic and sassy :) She is generous and she loves attention. She likes to be "held like a baby" but doesn't want to be called a baby. She gives huge-knock-me-down hugs and some of the best "sugar" around. This girl can eat her weight in ice-cream. She would prefer salad and fruit over french fries. She loves pink, sparkles, princesses, ruffles and bows. She loves to play doll house and pretend being a Mommy. She is a great big sister to her little brothers. She loves to paint, color and make crafts. She loves being read to, it's one of the few moments when she will sit still. Her feet are huge, there is only a one size difference between us. AND let me tell you - this girl loves to SING! Anything and everything. I love watching her from the rear view mirror in the car. She knows just about every song that comes on the radio. She loves Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Sugarland and The Band Perry.

She has been looking down at me for quite a while now...



And now she's 5! 5 seems like such a big age. I can't wait to see what God has planned for her in the next 5 years. I know he enjoys watching her just as much as I do.

This is the song that reminds us so much of our girl. We call it "Daddy's song to JaneClaire"

She was a surprise baby. A baby Andrew and I wanted to wait 5 years for. She came in 2. Thank you God for our surprise!