Random Thoughts of a Work at Home Mom

Last Friday (yes, one entire week ago), I arrived early to pick up Olive from school. Since I didn't have a book or crossword in the car, I started writing down random thoughts to use on my blog. Somehow the week slipped away from me and other things came up and I never got around to sharing them. So, here they are, for a little Friday Fun...

-Is there something innate in dogs that makes them despise all postal carriers and delivery men?

-Spring is coming - today is sunny and warmer and I'm starting to see short sleeves in the stores - yippee!! (Update - since then, we've had both a snow day and an ice day that have kept us at home but today the ice is melting and the sun is out again. New hope for an early spring!)

-Why are there SO many ads on TV and in the Washington Post for furs? Aren't fur coats taboo? Where would you wear this? And why? How do all these "furriers" stay in business?

-I'm enjoying the newfound freedom of being virtually diaper-free (except for bedtime). I will remove the diaper pail and changing pad from Olive's room soon (ok, well when I can move it to the nursery, hopefully soon).

-It's amazing how much you can accomplish in 3 hours when your kids are at school and you are all ALONE!

-I'm truly grateful for the wonderful friends, family, and teachers who surround our family with love and understanding.

-The longer you live somewhere, you eventually begin to grow roots and attachments, whether you intended to or not.

-I'm now obsessed with getting the new baby's room ready and buying everything we need, even though I'm not quite half-way through the pregnancy.

-I love my husband and he is my best friend.

-I love my daughter and have a newfound respect, awe, and admiration for her.

-It's very difficult to grocery shop and prepare meals for your family when 99% of all food grosses you out.

-Whoever invented the internet (and sorry Al Gore, I know it wasn't you) is both a lifesaver and a demon.

-I'm really excited for my ultrasound on Monday, where hopefully we'll be able to determine whether I need to buy some blue or pink things.

Have a great weekend!!

SNOW DAY!

Yesterday was the first real snow day we've had this season and little Olive had a blast! We hiked all around in the snow, made snow angels, threw snowballs, built a couple of snowmen (ok, so they were small and maybe a bit pathetic), and played with a couple of neighborhood friends. All in all, a great snow day! I'm including a few pictures of my all-weather girl...

HUGE children's SALE CLEARANCE

A new federal law comes into effect in just a few weeks that will prohibit the sales of any product intended for children 0-12 that has not been tested for lead and deemed safe. If you have been to Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, etc. lately, you may have noticed huge clearance items - they are trying to clear out all merchandise they have that was manufactured before these regulations come into effect.

The same is true for us little guys, though the law has different ramifications. As you can imagine, it's quite costly to have products tested and each and every part of a product must be tested to ensure full compliance. As a parent, this makes me happy to know that my kids will be playing with safe toys and worry less about all those lead paint toys imported from China. As a small business owner who deals primarily with work-at-home moms, this means that most of our children's line will unfortunately be discontinued. While there is no doubt in my mind that our products are all safe, this law applies to EVERYTHING - clothing, blankets, etc. - so the mom who sews baby blankets in her basement at night will soon be out of business. Therefore, my business (little pink pansy) is having a massive clearance sale to get rid of all existing children's inventory before the law comes into effect on February 10th, at which point, most of these items will be discontinued. So stock up now for your kids, for birthday parties, for Christmas, for nieces and nephews and neighbors. You won't find deals like this very often.

A few highlights... pictured above is an adorable coveralls set. This is great for children 6 months up to 2-3 years. It works well for messy eaters but has now become an excellent art smock for Olive. It wipes clean with a wet towel but is also machine washable (and very durable).

Another favorite is the fleece ribbon hats. We still have lots in stock - buy now for this cold weather and go ahead and get one for next year too! These also make excellent shower gifts.

Our adorable best-selling hairbows are also on clearance, at prices you can't find anywhere else for these hand-made beauties. Stock up and get one for every outfit.

To check out the full line, please visit www.littlepinkpansy.com and pass along the word to your friends and family.

Dealing with food allergies

In October, just a few days before I found out I was pregnant with #2, we learned that Olive has food allergies. (It was a big week around here!) Dealing with this has been really frustrating - it's a minefield of food avoidance and it's absolutely not clear how to do things. Every person has a different opinion. There are so many resources out there but they are hard to find and many of them differ in their recommendations. Our initial meeting with an allergist only left me more confused than before. We're currently searching for a new one who can maybe help clarify some things for me but until then, we've learned to "cope" as best as we can. The problem lies in the ignorance of other people, including those whose own children have food allergies. Most people don't know these things and I wouldn't expect them to. I wouldn't expect everyone to have to cater to my child but there are a few things that everyone should know to help keep kids safe. Someone directed me to this great website with a title - "10 Things Families With Food Allergies Want You to Know". Take the few minutes to read it - it really is valuable information. I think some of the most frustrating things to me are even dealing parents (both Food Allergy and not) because some people say, "oh you should just try giving it to her again" - um, HI, my kid has a PEANUT allergy...if she eats it she could DIE?? WHY THE HELL WOULD I RISK HER LIFE TO TRY THIS ON MY OWN??? ARE YOU CRAZY??? No thanks...I will wait until a trained allergist wants to do a food challenge (in the office, with Epi-Pen handy and 911 on speed dial) to give her nuts again. Anyone who thinks otherwise is out of their minds. As with all parenting issues, unsolicited advice is not welcome ;) The reason I'm blogging about this today is two-fold...I'm spending hours searching for a new doctor that takes my insurance and has appointments available within the next month or two. Also, at school this morning, a child brought in cupcakes to celebrate her birthday. The mom did post to the class about it yesterday afternoon but not enough time for many of us to read it or make other arrangements. I happened to check it right before I left this morning. While we are a nut-free school, some folks don't realize which products might have nut byproducts simply because of their manufacturing processes so it's often safer for me to bring in our own cupcakes. The ones today were OK but there's another child in the class who also has other allergies and couldn't have them. His mom hadn't read her email yet so she didn't have a substitute for him. Luckily I had a Dum Dum lollipop for him so he could have a treat too, but these are the kinds of situations that can be frustrating, especially when you are caught off-guard. Ok, enough of my babble...back to the phones to call more doctors... have a great day.

A Pea in the Pod

Exciting News...

Little Olive will be a big sister!!

I'm due sometime around July 1st with our second child. What a blessing. This pregnancy has been completely different thus far and we are really excited. I am about 4 months pregnant now and time is flying.

This morning Olive begged to go to the "baby store" so we went to Babies R Us to begin our research on beds and double strollers. As we were about to leave, she started crying that she really wanted to buy something for the baby. What do you buy for a second child when you are still 6 months away? So we settled on buying some new pacifiers, which Olive got to choose herself. I think it made her feel important and big. She's just as excited as the rest of us and is enjoying feeling the baby kick and giving him/her hugs and kisses. I think this will be such a wonderful addition to our little family but I do think about how different it will be when I can't give all my time to Olive. I can't imagine loving anyone else as much but I've heard that love multiplies, not divides, when you have more children. I'm sure this is true and I can't wait to share our love with another lucky little child. Thanks for letting me share the great news with you!

Florida Gators ROCK!

Congratulations to the University of Florida Gators who eeked out a great win last night over the Oklahoma Sooners to become the college football National Champions!! It was a great game full of surprises, nail biting, and frustration, but they pulled it out! What an amazing game. Dennis and my brother went to the game and had a blast - I had a great Florida fan friend over to watch with me and we cheered late into the night. So proud of them. Congrats, Gators!!

If you want to learn more about the Gator Nation, click here.

A potty training break through

We have been semi-potty training Olive for awhile now.

During Thanksgiving break, we were traveling to Florida and I'd say she got about 80% pee pee trained but when we came back home, she wasn't interested anymore and I was lazy and didn't push it.

So we've started trying again and have been mostly wearing big girl panties but for naptime and bedtime and she's done OK. She hasn't necessarily recognized the urge but will go on the potty when she is there.

This morning, she was in footed zip-up pajamas with a regular diaper on. I ran upstairs to get her something and I heard the clink of the toilet seat hitting the back. Huh?? I went downstairs and she had stripped off her PJs, her diaper, put the potty topper on (which she never usually uses), climbed up on the potty, peed in the potty, and gotten back down, standing naked in the bathroom with a huge grin and said, "Mommy, I went pee pee in the potty!" I was so shocked I didn't know what to do!! So I did what I would have wanted and showered her with kisses, hugs, and of course, chocolate. Her diaper was dry and she had recognized the urge to go and just took care of it, all on her own. AMAZING!! Then after this, she put on her shirt and socks for the day all on her own as well as a couple of other small independent tasks. I was blown away. Where did my baby go??? I am still reeling with the success of her taking care of this on her own and before she had an accident. Wow. I feel like we're making progress.

That's the excitement of the day. Maybe I should get a life... ;)