Pictures of Diaper Cake and Diaper Baby

 






So, there are the pictures I have so far.  I am not a photographer by any means, so I feel like they don't really do justice for the baby or cake.  Oh well.  Oh, and I am going to make a stork bundle tomorrow too.


Here is my little blurb.  Let me know what you think!

Going to a baby shower?  Need a gift to take to the hospital when you visit a newborn?  How about a gift mailed to someone too far for you to see, who is having a baby?  What cuter, more practical gift can you give than a diaper cake, or diaper baby??

The basic (undecorated) diaper cake contains 2 tiers with a total of 42 Pampers size 1 diapers wrapped in white ribbon.  You add any other touches you want when you receive it.  $22 (before shipping, if needed).  Or, you can order a more intricate cake with other items and/or specific colors (prices will vary, and an example picture will be posted in a few weeks).

Diaper babies consist of 21 Pampers size 1 diapers, a newborn sleeper, a newborn hat, and a pacifier.  You choose basic color of the outfit (yellow, green, pink, or blue), but the actual outfit will vary.  $32 (before shipping, if needed).

**All pictures are samples.  Actual diaper cake or diaper baby may vary from the sample.**

WHOA, and A New Name

I just realized I need a new picture on my blog!  We haven't had family photos since that one, which was when E (who is now 25 months old) was 3 months!  I need get with it!

I also changed my blog name and domain name. Get it?? :)

Diaper Cakes and Diaper Babies

We need money.  Who doesn't?  But really, our bills are officially more than our income, which hasn't ever been the case before.  So, I have racked my brain trying to think of something I can do to maybe bring some money in, without leaving the children, since my resignation from my job was to be at home with them.  I considered taking in a child or two to care for during the day, but my children take more time and energy than 10 and adding another one would take all my sanity away-- though I'm not sure I even have any left.  I considered making desserts to sell, like pies, breads, cupcakes, whoopie pies, etc.  But, that is a lot of time in the kitchen that I don't really have right now, and a home food processing license that I don't have time or money to invest in just yet (though I am still considering this for the future).  I'm not very crafty and have no good ideas on what I could make to sell.  So, my options started dwindling and I was about to give up.  Then, I decided that maybe I should try diaper cakes and diaper babies.  I made a diaper bike and a diaper baby for Bri and Chris and thought the baby came out great.  The diaper bike needs work, so I decided to skip out on that for now.  Cakes are easy enough, though they take some time.  Diaper babies are cute and pretty easy.  So, I decided to make some samples, come up with a little sales pitch, and see if I can possibly sell them.  Here's hoping!! 


So, today I made a sample diaper baby.  I need to finish the head and take a picture.  I made a sample diaper cake a week or so ago and just haven't gotten to the baby yet.  I then went over the pricing of them in my head a million times.  I keep thinking I am going to be charging too much.  But really, I'm charging near nothing compared to many sites I have seen online.  I am going to post pictures and my little sales pitch on some FB groups that I am a part of, tonight, hopefully, and see if anyone is interested.  I really hope I can sell at least 3 a month.  That is a profit of about $40.  Not a lot at all, but could definitely help with gas!  When I get a chance to upload the pictures to the computer, I will  do another post showing them and the "sales pitch".

Another week

There are so many things going on right now that I could write about.

So, School started back up, and because we live about 40 minutes north or Farmington where Bretton attends school, his best friend's family has decided to let Bretton live with them Monday through Friday until we have moved.  Hopefully, that will be sooner than later.  It is weird not having him home, but I know he is in a safe, loving environment and we will have him home every weekend. 

Eric has applied to a number of different places, but still hasn't heard anything from anyone, other than LEAP, which hasn't called since his interview, so I think that is a "no go".  :\   Not sure what we are going to do if he doesn't get another job soon.  We have officially run through our savings and our bills are more than his pay each month.  I am trying hard to rely on God to see us through, but it is so hard.  I keep wondering if I made the right decision with resigning from my job.  I made about 2/3 of the money so I know financially it was a huge decision that could have negative effects.  But, I also wanted to be home with my children and feel like they will both benefit from me being home with them.  I was thinking I would sub on Eric's days off, but it doesn't look like he will have many off, and his hours make it hard to sub.  Saddest part of that: he still only gets like 20 hours a week, yet works most days.

After a very long and full day, this is all I got written down!  Next time I am going to attempt to write about the houses we are considering buying. :)

Break Wanted

I have days of great motivation, and days of not so great motivation.  I'm sure most people are like this.  But for the past few days, I feel like it is completely gone.  I have to actually force myself to do *anything*.  I just need and want to sit and do nothing.  I want to enjoy the peace and quiet of the mornings before the kids are up, the evenings when they have gone to bed, and maybe even a full day of no children at all.  I love my children more than life, but I am really feeling like I need a 24 hour break.  Actually, I need 2 of them.

The first 24 hours without children would be to clean, organize, sleep, and maybe even do some crafting or preparing for some crafts.  The second 24 hours without children would be spent doing whatever I wanted in the moment.  I'm guessing a lot of sleeping, movies, sitting outside, reading, etc. 

I love being a mother, but there are times where I am so exhausted from all the mothering duties that I would give my left arm for a few hours alone.  Even now, sitting here typing this, you would think that I am probably alone, able to get away for a few minutes to complete a blog entry.  Oh, but you would be wrong.  You see, most blog entries that I do are short because of what happens for me to write a longer one.  I type a sentence or two, then run off to tell (sign to) Ephraim "no" and redirect him, or feed or change one of the little ones, or listen to Bretton tell me stories about his time away this summer or how to play an Xbox game that I really have no interest in, but make myself listen because he cares and I care about him and what he has to say, even if it doesn't appeal to me. Or clean.  Or something.  I usually take most of the day to type a blog, unless it is after the kids are in bed.

Today, was a different day.  Usually I have Lorelai and Ephraim on a schedule of sorts.  It isn't strict, but it is good enough to get naps, meals, snacks, playtime, etc in for both of them, and usually at least a sink of dishes done as well.  But today, well, today, Ephraim needed extreme stimulation.  I always allow him to stim as needed, though I try to also encourage him to find an activity to do after awhile.  Today, he was having nothing to do with any activity set before him.  All he wanted to do was eat, watch Veggies and Blue's Clues, and stimming.  He stomped and ran back and forth as fast and hard as he could.  He bounced himself on his bed for over an hour.  Bouncing turned into body slamming.  He ran in circles around the activity center in the living room, and he hand flapped and toe walked more than usual.  He just now, at 7 pm, finally settled down.  I just now, finished this blog (after starting it at around 1pm).  Ha! 

Off I go to eat some dinner and see if Lorelai is awake...

Shift Sleeping and Selfishness

Here I am, 10:35 pm awake and trying to find as much as I can to keep myself occupied and alert until it is my turn to sleep.  I am usually already in bed by now, and with barely sleeping at all last night, I am so ready!  I don't sleep well in hotels. 

Why am I waiting for my turn to sleep?  Well, as you all should be aware by now, Ephraim had to have a 24 hour EEG.  He is currently sleeping in bed, hooked up to all his electrodes and a little Spiderman back pack.  Eric and I debated the many ways we could go about bedtime, and decided that taking shifts to keep watch over E was best.  This would ensure that someone was awake and aware of any movement on E's part, so that the back pack can be moved accordingly, ensure he or the back pack doesn't fall off the bed (which would cause serious injury), and to ensure that he isn't just plain getting tangled in the thing.  Ephraim is the most crazy sleeper I have ever seen.  He is all over the place, often times not even on his bed, no covers, covers, no pillows, under pillows, over pillows, half on the bed, half off the bed, etc.

So, anyway, the day went really well!  We were so afraid that Ephraim wouldn't handle the wires, tape, gauze, etc, but he did great!  He cried and fought through the 40 minutes of hooking him up, but the tech said he did very well for his age.  It broke my heart though, but mostly because he really has no idea as to what was/is going on and can't tell us what exact part was a problem for him.  The rest of the day went well, with a few moments of him trying to take the chin strap off (and succeeding), pulling in the "tail", and trying to take the back pack off.  All in all, it was a good day, much better than we expected, and I am so proud of him. 

He is so cute, happy, and easy going most of the time.  I love him so much.  I wish I could hear him speak.  Not just sounds, but actual words.  I am hoping and praying that one day he will "find his voice" and be able to say anything he wants.  Oh, how I wish he could talk to us.  I cry when I think about how he may never talk.  He may never tell us verbally how he feels, what he needs or wants, to say "mommy" or "I love you".  It breaks my heart, over and over again.  I cry for him, for everyone who is affected in some way by this, whether directly or indirectly, and most of all, I cry for me.  I know that is selfish of me, but I can't help but be selfish right now.  This is my baby!  My precious little boy, whom I love and adore more than life. 



And... the internet here at the hotel is being stupid.  It says there is plenty of signal but won't connect.  So, this post will be posted tomorrow I suppose.  What am I going to do for 3 more hours though?!? :/

Anxiety

I'm starting to become a mess.  I mean, more of a mess than I usually am.  My anxiety levels have been higher than usual lately, due to many stresses, but it is especially high now as we prepare for a two night stay in Portland to take care of Ephraim's doctor's appointments. 

Tomorrow, we will plan to leave around 10 am to head to Portland.  We will drop Bretton off with friends (his choice) and then head south.  We live approximately 2.5 hours north of Portland and with a nursing baby and a "special needs" toddler, the trip can be anywhere from quiet and relaxing, to stressful and overstimulating for all involved.  I am hoping it will be an easy trip. 

We are staying in a motel for Sunday night and Monday night.  With the gas, amount of time on the road and the time of the appointments, it just made the most sense to us.  Especially since we have no idea how Ephraim is going to handle everything.

In case you don't know, E has been having moments of blank staring spells for about a year or so now.  They have progressively gotten longer and more often, though weren't a huge concern to us, knowing that he is probably Autistic (we are still undergoing evaluations to determine if it is Autism or something else, but in my heart, I already know) and it can be a part of Autism.  However, at one of his observations, the observationist noticed and said we should bring it up with the doctor.  She seemed concerned, so we brought it up at his 2 year WCC, where the doctor decided we should get testing done.  He went a week later for an EEG, hat ended up a disaster, and the next day after that to the neurologist who advised us of the 24 hour EEG and the possibility of seizures, Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, or just a part of Autism (which he also suspects).   So, E is being connected to a small backpack that will have electrodes connected to his head-- an EEG.  He needs to have it on for 24 hours (technically it will be less) so that they can see how his brain reacts to all sorts of stress, his "normal" day, and sleep.  His appointment is Monday morning at 9 am.  It will take about an hour to hook him up.  After that appointment, he has an appointment with the Geneticist at 10:30 am.  This was scheduled over 6 months ago to help us determine whether there is something genetically causing the signs and symptoms that we are seeing in Ephraim. 

After these appointments, we are hoping for an easy going day, but have no idea what we are really in for.  We fear E will have a hard time with the backpack and the gauze the want to put around his head and chin.  My MIL sent a bunch of new toys and Veggie movies to help keep him entertained though.  Hopefully they do the trick!  We need to keep him entertained enough to leave the wires alone-- which he loves.  Seriously, the child loves string, wires, lamp posts, signs, etc.  So, keeping him away from the wires could be hard, but we are hoping and praying for the best.

Tuesday morning, he has to go back in at 8 to be disconnected.  I am hoping that other than the follow up appointment, that we will be done with the neurologist.  As soon as I know more, I'll post.  As soon as we are back from the appointments, I'll update on whether we have hair still or not. ;)

Oh, my teeth...

I wish we could afford to go to the dentist.  Our insurance doesn't cover it, and we don't make nearly enough money to cover it, so I haven't been to the dentist in over 12 years, except the one time when I was pregnant with Lorelai but it was just a basic cleaning.  I need to go so bad.  My teeth are horrible.  I can see cavities in most of them, two are broken, one has a hole going through the side of it, and eating and drinking are becoming unbearable.  I am in constant pain.  If anyone wants to help fund my dental bill, feel free to do so! ;)


Anyway, I suppose I should finish getting ready for our big weekend.  Ephraim's 24 hour EEG is Monday/Tuesday, so we are spending Sunday and Monday night in Portland.  I've already packed a large utility tote full of toys for E (and a few for L).  Now I am working on putting together snacks.  We are going to try our best to only eat out once.  But, with no fridge, we are going to have to rely on a lot of snack type things.  I've no idea what to bring though.  I'm thinking crackers, chips, fruit, maybe PB and J (even though Bretton doesn't like that) and possibly making some cookies and pumpkin muffins. 

So, off I go... wonder how much I'll actually do...

Purging is bitter-sweet

So, the last few days have been spent doing normal mommy things, like feeding, changing, playing with babies, and so on.  But Eric and I also have spent the last few days trying to get things done around here.  We want to get rid of some stuff, since we have tons and don't use it nearly that often, if at all.  It will also help us when it comes time to move again.  So, we started with the living room.  There is a couch we have that we hardly use at all, so we decided to move it out of the living room and store it in the kitchen (there is space!) until we move and know if we will have a place for a game room.  If we do, it will go in the game room, if we don't it will be junked.

After moving the couch, we decided to do a bit of rearranging.  I am home with the youngest 2 a lot with no one else to help, so we decided to put Ephraim's bedroom into the corner of the living room that he was already using as his toy/play area.  So, the treadmill went in place of the couch, and his twin bed is in front of that with his toy boxes, book shelf, and TV.  It seems weird in a way-- to have a bedroom in the living room, but it isn't bad at all and helps me tremendously!  Now I don't have to go check on him every two minutes to find out what he is into, which is usually Bretton's belongings.  I don't have to worry about him playing in the window, falling off Bretton's bed, trashing the bedroom, etc.  He doesn't seem to mind too much, though he has tried to go to Bretton's room a few times and looks around with an inquisitive look!

Once Ephraim's room and the living room were in order, I needed to tackle Bretton's room.  I don't normally clean B's room as I feel that at 13 years old he should be doing it on his own.  But, he hasn't been home for a few weeks, I wanted to give it a good cleaning and make sure things were actually thrown out, etc.  I am so glad I did!  Let's just say we are going to be coming up with a new chore chart that is going to focus on his room and many aspects of cleaning it!  But, after about 2 hours in there, we got it cleaned, his bed made up, clothes organized (at least E's-- as his stuff will still be in there), movies organized, and his game table put in.  We are hoping he is happy with the changes, but we will see! 

Now, we need to still do the kitchen, the bathroom, our bedroom, and the attic.  I wanted to get to the kitchen today while Eric is at work, but I just don't see it happening.  Every time I go out there Ephraim wants me.  So, I think I will do some of it tonight after Eric gets home.  I hate cleaning, but am really looking forward to having it done and seeing the progress/difference.

Just another day

Today was sort of hectic and long.  We had to leave the house shortly after 9am to head to Farmington to grab some groceries for Bretton.  Then, we headed to Livermore Falls for appointments for Bretton and I.  I haven't seen Bretton for over a week, so it was great to see him!  :)  He even asked for me to come into his appointment with him so we could talk. 

After his appointment, he left to go back to Steve and Tracy's until Thursday.  After my appointment it was already 1pm!  We were starving, so we headed to Jay to grab McDonald's (I need to learn to pack lunches with us-- when we actually have food to pack), then headed to the bank, Irvings to drop off some stuff for a friend, and to Hannaford for a few groceries for us to get through until Wednesday when we will actually get everything we need.  (We didn't want to spend extra time out in town today-- it is a lot to handle with the kids.) 

We got home and Eric took Ephraim right outside to play.  The poor kid hasn't been out to play for a few days, between Eric's schedule, my headache (that still exits after 48 hours), and the weather.  He loves the outdoors.  I can't wait until Lorelai likes it as much (hopefully) and doesn't want me to hold her and be in her eye sight at all times!



Anyway, I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet, but I have resigned from my job.  It was such a hard decision-- and I am still second guessing myself.  But I know it will be best for the family to have me home full time.  I just hope we can make it work financially.  I'm considering making diaper cakes and diaper babies to sell to help bring in a bit extra money.  Anyone want to buy one? ;)

Another week-- No weigh in

First, no, I did not weigh in yesterday as I should have.  Partly because I forgot, and partly because my week was so stressful that I decided to give the scale a break.  We haven't been grocery shopping for almost 2 weeks, so we are down to the nitty gritty, which isn't helpful to weigh loss either.

Tomorrow we will get groceries-- hopefully.  Then, next week I will weigh in again and make sure to be back on track.  I am hoping the stress of finances doesn't affect the weight though.  Not to mention the Depo.  It messed me up in the past (added 50 pounds) so I am hoping for a better experience this time. 

Well, I am off.  I feel awful-- major headache that won't go away.  I wish I could go to bed but Eric is working so I am in charge of children. :)

Late Post-- Weigh In

So, last week was crazy busy.  Ephraim had to go to Waterville for an EEG, which he didn't even sleep through as he should have (tech's fault).  Then he had to go to the neurologist in Scarborough.  I wish I had packed food to take with us, but I didn't.  We ended up eating out a few times and I missed a ton of snacks and didn't get all my water in.  So, I knew it would be a bad weigh in.  I just didn't realize how bad...

Weigh In (Saturday, 8/4): 284

Weight loss of:  ZERO.  Ended up with a 5 pound gain.  :\ 

But, that' OK.  I mean, it isn't OK-- but I am going to take care of it.  I am starting fresh and trying to remember to pack food for days we are gone for extended periods.  We also have a treadmill now so I am going to try to walk as much as I can physically handle.  Probably won't be a lot for awhile though as I am having a serious knee issue. 

I also have to try to not let the stress of finances and Ephraim's medical issues bother me too much, as I know stress isn't good for my health, weight loss, or family in general.