Yogurt Maker??

I'll spare you the whole long story about talking to my mom. But basically it all came down to the junk our government is putting into our food. There was a girl in Japan who started her perod at THREE YEARS OLD because of the hormones in their food. My mother has a farm with chickens and will be getting goats soon. And I'm looking at starting a family soon. And researching what's best for baby. I fully intend on making my own baby food. My aunt made her own, it's not hard at all. And now there are machines out there that will be a big help.

But with the arrival of my mother's goats, I will have the ability to make my own yogurt and cheese for my children. My mom bought this for me today so I could get to practicing. I love yogurt and will enjoy making my own. There are different recipes and different ways to make yogurt, but it's basically chemistry when you get right down to is. I am so excited to get this in the mail!! Just wanted to share! http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/automatic-yogurt-maker/?pkey=e%7Cyogurt%7C3%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCHNoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Featured_Recipe_Rule-_-

Almost ready

Joe made a comment that really made me laugh today.

Rigel and I were "fighting" with his toys. He ran over to get a drink of water then jumped on the back of the couch. Once in a while he will burp and spit up a little if he doesnt let the water settle in his tiny belly. As the tiny amount of clear dog spit slowly rolled down the back of our leather couch, I stopped it with my hand and told Joe to grab a towel. Joe's first reaction was to jump out of the way or stop it with a fairly nice blanket on the couch. While Joe was watching me wash my hands, he said that maybe I'm ready to be a mom since my first reaction wasn't to jump out of the way of the nastiness. I just had to laugh. Babies are FAR grosser than a little dog spit! :)

Dinner with babies

I had a great time with two of my girlfriends last night. We went out to dinner, much needed girl time for all of us. The other two ladies have kids, one has a 5 year old and a 2 year old. The other one has one 2 year old. I was sitting at dinner observing their parenting styles. When their babies would scream or get upset, they reacted completely differently. But they both looked at me and smiled, "Just wait until you have a 2 year old." I'm sure parenting isn't easy. I've been around kids all my life. I'm the oldest of 10 grand kids, I've babysat since I was 14. I lived with my Aunt and Uncle and her two young kids while I was in school. But no, I've never been a parent. But I have some great parenting role models, my mom and dad and all my aunts and uncles. My father would NEVER allow me to throw my mac & cheese or run around a restaurant. Both my brother and I were very well behaved kids. And get this... we weren't spanked as kids. I was spanked once when I was about 7. I was oldest enough to know better and I probably deserved it (even though I still tell my mom I didn't). But they never spanked us when we were small. And it feels like this is the go to method for many of my friends AND my husband. He was spanked as a kid. And he thinks this is the only way to discipline children. I might not be a mom yet, but I have read a lot about child development and the way the human brain develops in a child.

But Joe says to me, "What do you do when your 4 year old son sticks aluminum foil in the light socked?" What the hell is your 4 year old doing with aluminum foil? Every kid gets into stuff and there will be plenty of accidents, especially having Joe's demon spawn. But my mother has always told me, you just have to be smarter than your 5 year old. We were smart kids, Joe was a smart kid. When we did something stupid, my father would laugh at us. Or mom would say she was disappointed in us. Having my parents' approval means the world to me, it always has. Disappointing them, even a kid, wasn't an option. I just have to figure out how to parent like my parents did.

So if your 2 year old decided to throw their mac & cheese while in public, or your 5 year old ran to the bench and laid down and stated kicking the chair behind him, which someone else is sitting in, what would you do?

Father's Day

Me and my dad

Two babies

Prom

Dara

The newest member of my family, my baby cousin. Born 3/4/10. 8lbs 12oz

Baby Hog!

My neighbors two doors down just had a baby. I don't really know them very well. But a few days after they had the baby boy, I saw the father walking around outside. I went out to say hi. He was telling me about the labor and how he has 10 days off of work since he's a soldier. The mom came out and started telling me more. At one point she tried to reach over and take the baby. Dad made a face and didn't give the baby up. In the best straight face ever, mom whined, "You are such a baby hog!" I couldn't stop from laughing. She said that he needed to be fed and probably changed. And the dad said okay and walked back inside with the baby boy. Being married to a man that says he doesn't want kids, this is a very foreign sight to me! It's very refreshing to see a man that not only wants kids, but then whole heartedly wants to be a baby hog!

I always ask new parents if the pain of pregnancy and labor was worth the reward. They ALWAYS say yes! This mom started telling me how the epidural only worked on the right side of her body and she could feel everything on the left. OUCH!! But she said that after it was all said and done, it was totally worth it. I guess it cant be that bad or there would be many more only children.