Two of my favorite things!

Well I decided to highlight two of my very favorite things that help me be clean and be a good mom. They both are the Shark Steamers. Very easy to use, no chemicals just water that turns into hot steam, and you can use it on everything! This the pocket steamer. It cleans crayon off the wall in seconds, cleans kitchen chairs that have food stuck on them, the toilet, wipes finger prints off walls in seconds, mirrors, Toys, etc. I think this one is a must if you are doing preschool, daycare, nursery, etc. It sanitizes in seconds, and when those kids start sucking on a toy, you will know that no chemicals are on the toy, and it is clean.

The other favorite thing is the Shark Mop. No Chemicals used, only water, and washable pads. This is a very effective way to clean your floors. I think it is a must for any Mom with little babies. I think we have seen all babies lick the floor, and eat things off the floor, so to have it clean with no chemicals is a plus.

I have used steamers before, but hate the fact that they take 30 minutes to heat up. With these, you put the water in, plug it in, and 30 SECONDS later it is ready. I got mine for my birthday about two years and I love them. They are worth the 70-100 dollars they cost. Anyone that knows me can call me anytime and try it out before they buy one.

Toddler Fun!

My sister in law gave this idea to my sister and I loved it! Take a med. size rock, a paint brush, and a small glass of water. Then you let the toddler "Paint the Rock". When it gets all wet, change rocks and let them do it again. The great thing is that when done with the next rock, the prev. one is dry again. Simple, yes! Attention Getting, Yes! Perfect for your little toddlers.

Swimming Lessons Started

Well we started swimming lessons yesterday and I was so glad to have my favorite sunscreen on hand. Now this might sound silly to you, but if you have children with sensitive skin or like my children are black, you find that just any sunscreen won't work. My favorite sunscreen for my family is Neutrogena. I buy the kid mist, and also the baby cream. But my favorite one is this one:

I love to do their little faces with this sun stick. If you haven't used a sunstick before, you need to try it. They have them in all brands, but once again my kids don't tolorate the other brands. This baby and the other Neutrogena brands will run you about 9 dollars a bottle. The stick we bought for our trip in Feb. and we are still using it. Anyway I thought this might help you, because I sure have wasted lots of money on sunscreen that makes my kids skin hurt.

Wondering...

If I will ever update this blog again?

Answer: As soon as my poor sick little baby gets over RSV!

Advice from a mom that is sad her baby is sick:

Stay home if you have a baby, wash hands all the time, make your family wash their hands all the time, and of course change your child's shirt (not baby, the others) when they come into the house from school, the store, or church. And don't think because you Don't have a newborn, your baby won't get it. Mine is 7 months and I have seen lots of babies older in the hospital with us. Be diligent in suctioning out their little nose and putting saline in their nose, and be pro-active in the care of your baby. Don't ever forget that Moms know best (even over cute Dads sometimes).

Have a great day!

Adoption, Foster Care Style

My first child was biological, a honeymoon baby of sorts. We haven't ever conceive again. After 5 years of trying we turned to adoption. We certainly had no idea what we were doing, because we were pioneers in this on both sides of our families. I didn't know anyone who had been a birth mother, was adopted, or had adopted children. But we felt it was what we should do. We signed up with our church agency and tried to get a baby. Not long after someone called us about a little older boy. He was 18 months and he was black. We were so excited. We even got all ready to get this cute little boy. It fell through and we were crushed. But right after our sister-in-law called and told us of a little one that she used to babysit. She was in Foster care in California and was free for adoption. She had lots of physical and mental problems. Did we want to get more information and see pictures? We said yes, but really in our heads we were thinking, No! are you crazy! But something special happened when we saw the pictures. And below is the picture we saw.We knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was our child. Half a year later we finally got her to be our foster child. Three years later we FINALLY got her adopted. And now she is 9 years old and I love her so much. She is physically so healthy and mentally is only a little behind in school (they were wrong about her mental state). She is happy and she has a family and we love her so much. We would not be happy without her in our family. During the infertile stage of my life, my heart stopped beating, because of all the sadness of not becoming a mother again. I felt guilt to my daughter that I couldn't give her the sibling that she wanted so bad. I felt broken and alone. While everyone was pregnant, I was experiencing Hell. And as soon as this little one came into my life, my heart started beating again. Yes I missed out on Two years of her life, but it doesn't seem to matter anymore to me. I have got her now and that is what matters. I was happy and I could love again. Now I have 5 children and I love them all so much.

Recently we went to an adoption celebration put on by Utah Adoption Council. They had picture after picture of children that needed parents and families. Ages varied from 2 months old to 18 years old. I walked up and down the hall, holding my children's hands and explaining to them what this was. That some kids get to be 18 and never have had a parent or stable family. It affected me and it affected my children. It is not fair that these children are alone and don't have a good family that loves them.

I think back if we hadn't fallen in love with our daughters picture.....

All the times we would have missed out on.

And so I encourage you, to search out one of these lost souls and make a difference for them. They might have baggage, they might not look like you, and it might be scary and new territory for you, but I know you will be blessed and happy for saving a child and giving them wings to fly. And who knows you might even find a beautiful angel like our little girl is.

If you are interested you can go:

http://www.utahfostercare.org/ or

http://therhouse.blogspot.com/

Taking a little break!

Don't give up on me too much. I am taking a little break because I just Adopted a cute newborn baby boy. Check back in a couple of weeks when I get adjusted to having 5 kids!

Adoption

So we are trying to adopt our 5th baby. If you have any

Baby & Toddler Fun!

So now the kids are in school lets talk Baby & Toddlers! I found this on Family fun and thought it was really good. I think my little boy could use a little bit of mommy and Payton time. What could be more perfect than doing some of these little activities and games.

http://familyfun.go.com/parenting/child/dev/specialfeature/famf0703familyfun123-games/