Summer Updates

School ended on May 20 and from that point forward we have been in non-stop motion. The Monday after school ended, the boys completed a week long basketball camp at the YMCA. 6 hours of non-stop games and drills. Their b-ball skills really increased. Then we celebrated Memorial Day and all 3 kids started summer camp through the YMCA on June 1.

Taylor is now old enough for "Kinder Camp" and that lasts about 4 hours. Jackson is now old enough for "Day Camp" and both boys can attend together. Unfortunately though on the first day of camp, Anthony took a tumble and broke his left ring finger. For the remainder of that week, Anthony's finger issue took precedence. He was on activity and water restriction so he couldn't swim and he couldn't get his hand wet while he showered. He had to go to the hospital to get put under so his Orthopaedic Surgeon could reset his finger. He came through like a champ and was so very brave.





The following week, Anthony was back in camp with Jackson and Taylor. And Taylor started "Princess Camp" where they read stories and did ballet. She had a great time. During their weeks at Day Camp the boys were able to play camp games, they made friends and went on field trips. One was to see Aliens In The Attic and another was to the Reid Park Zoo.

Then as a family we started our "staycation" up in Scottsdale, Arizona. We traded one of our extra timeshare weeks and stayed at the Sheraton Desert Oasis. For the first part of the staycation Anthony was still on water restriction so we opted not to swim. Instead we took the kids to Chandler Mall so they could visit Build-A-Bear and the Lego Store. Then we came back to Tucson so we could tend to some doctor appointments and Tony could go back to work. But during the second half, the doctor released him and we were able to use the pool which had a waterfall feature. We had such a great time. During that weekend, Tony and I also celebrated our 11 year anniversary and he got me a new digital camera. It's waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof and dustproof. So of course we had to get some great pictures while we were swimming.




This week Taylor is the only one in camp again. She'll resume Kinder Camp for the remaining part of the summer. This is to keep her 8-12pm wake/school routine/schedule so when the kids resume school in the Fall she'll be used to those hours. Anthony and Jackson are able to take the week off from activities. Next week Jackson will do Basketball Camp again and the boys will also resume Taekwondo. In July there is another week of Basketball camp for both boys and Taylor will also do another Princess Camp that includes, ballet, tap and tumbling. Then comes August and we'll ramp up and prep the house for the arrival of our new little girl and the kids will go back to school.

It's crazy to think that we'll have a Fourth Grader, First Grader, Pre-Kindergartener and a new infant in about 7 weeks. YIKES!

To Cloth or Not to Cloth...that is the question.

Cloth Diaper that is. There was a recent post on the moms board that had a link about the new Pampers Dry Max diapers causing extreme diaper rash/possible chemical burns on baby's tush. Being that we are a "Pampers family" and exclusively used Pampers diapers for all 3 kids, after reading the article and viewing the edited picture (to not show all of baby's privates) what the burns/rash looked like I'm scared to even try and diaper #4 in disposable Pampers again. Let alone try any new disposable diapers anymore. It's been 2 years since I've had to diaper someone and since technology and chemicals change all the time (look at all of the cool new baby gear available), disposable diapers and wipes have too.

I KNOW there are Huggies, organic, chlorine free and store brand diapers that may work just as well as Pampers for us but let's face it...in this family we are about 85% brand loyal. But if there is something that I can do to prevent pain for my child, I will do it full bore! As a female I know it's not fun to get "pad/liner rash" from the adhesive or dry weave on a feminine product so why would it be fun for a baby to have "diaper rash" from their diapers? And boys, what about when you have to wear a protective cup...don't you guys find jock straps, supportive cups and supportive underwear uncomfortable over time? What about the debate between boxers and briefs and "jock itch"?

Let's see, the upfront cost of cloth diapers are expensive as most cloth diapers run between $15-25 each. A small package of Pampers (even on sale and with a coupon) can come down to about $8.00 for say 24 one-time use and I'd have to purchase them every other week or so. So I guess for every 1 reusable cloth diaper I can purchase 2-3 packages of disposables. Hmmm, over the long haul, I can see that cloth diapering would be cost effective provided that they are used and maintained on a consistent basis.

Then there's the washing aspect of cloth diapers. More laundry and separate laundry detergent...hmmmm, does a family of 6 NEED to do more laundry? Granted every night currently we are washing the kid's uniform clothes (yes, I'm cheap and won't buy a ton of uniform clothes for them) but I'm already saving money on their school clothes because we use handmedowns and I don't have to continue to buy them clothes that are "in style" for both weekend and school use. But really if you buy enough cloth diapers to last 2-3 days, and do a full load every other day, then 1 extra load of just diapers and maybe cloth wipes might not be a bad thing and may not be too stressing/taxing on us. We also wash everyone's clothes together so it's not like I'm doing whites and darks and reds for each kid plus a load of each for me and Tony. Let's see, handling poo...well when a baby has blowouts which for some kids can occur every other day, that laundry is nasty and piles up. Hmmm, maybe my kid will be a REALLY clean kid because we have to wash her and her diapers down all the time. ;-)

But what about during travel or when we are away from home? What about Nana and Papa and any other babysitters we have in the future. Are they going to be comfortable using/supporting cloth diapering efforts? Or during these times will I have to use disposables but just a chemical free brand of disposables?

Lastly what about "bubble butt" due to the bulk of cloth diapers? She's a girl, and yes...may have a big tush but given that they are my kids, this may not be as much of an issue as I am concerned about.

So what have I done thus far? I'm looking on line, searching back through previous posts on the moms message board and emailing all my cloth diapering momma friends for advice. The response is amazing. All right within the same page that cloth diapering is a lot easier than originally thought and so much better for them. They have their own system for doing things which I believe I can successfully handle and all the mommas I've gotten responses from take their kids out and about and aren't just stuck at home waiting for the next diaper change. Thanks ladies for putting my mind somewhat at ease in this department! They all also recommend the following website: tentinypiggies.com

Hmmm, as I type this post, I'm almost convinced that I may purchase a few cloth diapers to "try out" and see where we end up from there. More thoughts? Opinions? Advice?

We Will Have A...

GIRL!

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and it's definitely a girl. More purple and pink and probably princesses and tea sets to grace our household. We will be evened up 3 boys/3 girls. Funny thing, all the boys in the family (Tony, Anthony and Jackson) are Colorado Natives whereas all the girls (me, Taylor and #4) are Arizona Natives. I have this funny feeling that this one will be just as giggly and active as Jackson is if her ultrasound movement is any indication. She just would not keep still, kept flipping around and turning. Although it could have also been the banana or Chex Mix I ate for breakfast that got her going.

Now my next mission is to get rid of all the small sized boy clothes and pull out Taylor's old clothes and set them aside for #4. Sorry all...no clues will be given on names until she makes her arrival in August!