The Burp Rag Chronicles

Spottie Dottie

I'm already nervous sitting in the waiting room of the Skin & Cancer Clinic. It's got the C-WORD in the name, for Pete's sake!! But, I act casual. I'm cool. With all my spots and speckles. With my ill-fitting "gym" clothes that I wore to work and that have a thin film of detergent coating. My frizzy hair that is partially tamed and restrained by a scrunchie, and yet still the sideburns above my ears frizz out. Yep, totally cool.

They show me back to the exam room, and I try to stifle my nerves with jokes and talking to Cameron (my tag-along for the day). Everyone loves a baby! Please say I don't have cancer!

So I am sitting on the paper covered exam table, and in walks this thin man, probably my height or shorter. I've always been a little weirded out by doctors that are smaller than I am. At least in height, I can handle them being thinner than I am, I mean sheesh.

"Hi, I am Dr. H. How are you doing today? Good. And who is this cutie??" he says, turning toward Cameron. She beams her gummy, two-teefer grin at him, and I feel much, much better.

So he looks at me, we discuss briefly why I am there (for a hamburger, doc. I want a big, juicy In-N-Out burger! 4x4 Protein Style!). Then he does a quick up-and-down scan of me, and says, "Blue eyes, blondish reddish hair. Red/pink/blue skin. I'd venture to say that your ancestors hail from... Ireland and predominantly eastern Europe."

What. The. Hell.

"I only say that because my family is from the same area."

Uhh, okie dokie.

"Let's take a look here. My, my. You are a spotted girl, aren't you?"

I'm also apparently 8-years-old.

He checks all over the trouble spots, the usual suspects as far as those kinds of moles go. Then, he checks the Bigg'un. "Nah, it looks fine. What you are looking for is changes in shape, texture, raised/unraised, irregular-ness, black anywhere inside, striation..."

Okay, so the offending Bigg'un is on my ponch. My kangaroo pouch. My internal Baby Sling. It's changed a little since I was younger since, I don't know, two lives have started in there.

We discuss briefly about sunscreens since I have a heck of a time finding one that doesn't freak my skin out (I have a bit of success with the Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby... not too bad at least!), discuss how insurance doesn't pay for skin tags to be removed, and he sends me on my way after my copay.

Such an anti-climactic visit, really. I think it took me all of 15 minutes including paperwork. Why can't all doctors be that efficient?

The short of it: I am cancer free for the time being! Whoop, whoop!

Thank you, Miss Merchant*

There are days that I really, really need to remind myself to be thankful. Lately there seems so little to be thankful for, I really have to search for it. I do find some, eventually.

Cameron is a sweet, awesome little baby. She can be fickle and melt-down-in-a-second-and-without-warning, but overall she is a very smart and supa-cute baby. Sydney, also smart, is a very sweet and loving little girl.

I am sitting here tonight, kind of dreading tomorrow. We have a lot to do at work, and I have to leave early-ish to have a visit at the Skin Cancer Center to have a mole check. Oh fun! I just simply can not WAIT!

Love being Freckle Girl.

I guess on the bright side I do not spend a ton of time in the sun, I do wear sunscreen on the most vital of parts, especially since now I found one that doesn't seem to irritate my skin. I don't tan (even fake tan!), I don't smoke, I don'... well you get the idea.

So I am a little on edge about that. More than I should be, but... well, my luck hasn't exactly been all that stellar lately.

Wish me luck.

(*Natalie Merchant from 10,000 Maniacs. The lyrics are as follows:

These are the days
These are days you'll remember.
Never before and never since,
I promise, will the whole world be warm as this.
And as you feel it, you'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.

These are days you'll remember.
When May is rushing over you with desire to be part of the miracles you see in every hour. You'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.

These are days.
These are the days you might fill with laughter until you break.
These days you might feel a shaft of light make its way across your face.
And when you do you'll know how it was meant to be.
See the signs and know their meaning.
It's true, you'll know how it was meant to be.
Hear the signs and know they're speaking to you, to you.)

Hawk It

About a month ago, I purchased a Baby Hawk baby carrier. It was a gift to myself after working so hard - and also a sort of necessity.

See, Cameron has a hard time sleeping out of her element. It sucks, for sure, particularly since I am working and am often AT work during nap time. Given that she doesn't do well with no nap (Exhibit A: Last night driving home after work and crappy naps, she was inconsolable and pretty much just had to be held until she calmed herself down) I had borrowed Kim's Baby Hawk one day to hopefully get Cameron calmed down enough to finish up what I needed to do.

She fell asleep in the backpack carry. Lickety-split, too. I went home and browsed the website that night.

After taking a week to decide what fabrics to get (oh, the choices!!!) I opted for a black carrier with a zebra pattern on one side and a floral on the other. It took a loooooong three weeks to get it (they do make them from scratch for you! Though there are a few in-stock selections, too) but when I did, it was like the Heavens opened up and angels with trumpets came down.

Now, after having it a week or so, I have already gotten several compliments on it - people love to point and say, "That's cool/cute/awesome!" and "That baby looks so comfortable!" The other day someone stopped me in Babies R' Us while I was grabbing a few things - I had Cameron in the Hawk and Syd was holding the hand basket (at her request, of course) and asked where I got it. Turns out there are a few of us out there that enjoy the Punk Princess theme. *lol*

Anyway... I just wanted to spread the Baby Hawk love. It's easier, in my opinion, to tie than a Moby Wrap. Cameron seems to enjoy it more, and the straps are nice and padded like, well, a backpack.

So Cameron has learned to shake her head to say "no no no no." She doesn't use it in context, but I still thought I had a few years before she told me "no" about something.

And so the teenage years begin. It's either that or she just enjoys the feeling of her brain in the spin cycle.

Sydney has a fever right now that seems harmless, but we're laying low for a while because of it. It's been as high as 102.5 which Tylenol helps. But she doesn't have any other signs - she's not lethargic, she's not sleepy... she's eating a little finicky, but nothing outside of normal. So... I don't know.

My van... I feel like driving the thing off a cliff and saying someone stole it. It's been at two different shops for a total of two weeks, and no one knows what the deal is. One last place tomorrow before I just flip out and go postal. I swear I am just going to lose it.

And there I was getting used to the rental van that didn't die on me at stop lights and ran smoothly. I'd even trade the DVD player inside mine for that, I think.

Ocho

Cameron is officially EIGHT months old. I swear I must have multiple personalities that have me lose chunks of time, because I could have sworn she was born yesterday.

Let's see. At eight months, she is:

• Skipping that boring sitting and crawling thing and going right for pulling up on furniture, legs, large toys.
• Eats single-item solid foods (Stage 2) and enjoys finger foods such as Gerber Puffs. She also likes yogurt. Chicken, so far, is a no go. I think fruit in a mesh bag will be next.
• She is a loud and frequent babbler - she will give you the what-for if you will lend her your ear.
• She has roughly 3-4 bottles a day of formula, about 2 servings of jarred solids, and a couple handfuls of puffs or some sort of finger food.
• Likes to have a sippy cup of water while playing on the floor.
• Still does an Army Crawl, but is flippin' FAST at it.
• Sleeps about 12 hours at night (generally straight through) and has about 2 naps a day for about 2 hours each (give or take. I am really bad this time around about knowing this... I just kind of put her down when she is sleepy, and only wake her up if it's approaching dinner time).
• Is wearing 12-month clothes for the most part. Which pretty much sucks because Sydney was in 12 month clothing in the summer, so I have very little for Cameron to wear. *LOL*
• She got her second pair of shoes, which are 6-12 months. Her feet are tiny, so there has been no need for another pair of shoes. She is barely into them.
• She is still in her Medium diapers, mostly on the smallest snaps. Her thighs are starting to need the middle snap, though.
• She has two teeth, but I don't feel more on the horizon quite yet.

So there is Cameron's snapshot at eight months.

While we're here, let's recap Sydney as well.

At four years:

• She can say her alphabet, write the entire thing, count to a bazillion (alright, somewhere past 100), and can write double-digit numbers with just a little help.
• Can read simple books (I need to keep working with her on this... I've been a little lax lately. Though she does love playing with her Leapfrog Tag reader pen - it also helps those skills)
• LOVES to play games like hide and seek (which I absolutely hate) and Cariboo.
• Will instruct you on how to make chocolate milk, but with more exuberance than before.
• Can draw and color very well for her age. She is still kind of hit-and-miss with the right colors for things, but she stays inside lines pretty well. :)
• Is getting better with sharing and taking turns. Not terribly good at getting in line (at the end after her turn) but that is in progress and she is getting better.
• Is developing her imagination rather well. But everything is "in her dream." Like if she wants a piece of candy, she "had that in my dream."
• Is really doing well in gymnastics - she got to ring the bell this week at class! The kids get to ring the bell whenever they do something really well, and all the parents and teachers pause and clap for them. Most of the time we aren't sure who or why we are clapping, but the kids LOVE the attention. Sydney was doing exceptional on the balance beam, so she got a bell ring. :)
• She is also doing beautifully in Mom's Day Out (I knew she would). She really loves telling me about her day and what they did, and what she ate for lunch (even though I pack it in the morning. *lol*)

So, there are my girls! My beautiful girls.

Hurricane Me

I recently procured myself a means of income (I got a job).

My boss? She wears pajamas pants to work and lets me do the same.

My kids get to come to work sometimes and terrorize her kids, and vice versa.

I get to help make stuff in her garage, bag it up, and distribute it all over North America (and starting in some other places across the globe).

My friend Kim is the creator of Rockin' Green Detergent - originally for cloth diaper use but it's also good for your regular clothes, too. ;-) 

See, one of the most daunting things about cloth diapering, other than the selection of things to try, is the detergent. You can't use things with fabric softeners, optical brighteners, enzymes, and a whole host of other things. Softeners leave a film on your clothing which, while it may smell heavenly, is terrible for your skin.

And those of us that already have issues with eczema really don't want to flare up more than we already do. Do you have those prickly bumps on your upper arms? Sometimes they itchy? That is called keratosis pilaris, sometimes known as "chicken skin. It's basically acne on your arms. Stuff from your clothing is rubbing on your arms (already a sensitive area that doesn't get much touch) and clogging up your pores there.

Jarrod and I have had it, and once we asked the doctor about it, when he informed us about the horrors of Tide (yes, even Tide Free). Not getting in to that here, but suffice it to say the detergent hunt was ON. I was already cloth diapering Sydney, so there were already special detergent demands in our house, what was one more?

For a very long time I used Allen's Naturally. I still do on occasion since I have nearly a whole jug of it in my laundry room. But it doesn't get some of those hard-to-get stains out on occasion. For a while I used Charlie's Soap, which ate my baby girl's butt raw (and I mean that - she had an issue with yeast as many children do at some point in their babyhood, and the stuff it left behind would eat her already raw skin up!). Needless to say I was desperate for a solution.

I am proud to say that I helped develop Rockin' Green by being a tester. From the very early days when there was pretty much Unscented and Lemon (but mostly unscented). I tested it on our poopiest of diapers. I tested it on toddler gunked clothing. I tested it on my frillies. Towels, sheets, whites, colors... everything comes out so clean and beautiful! 

Best of all, there is nothing in there that is going to leave gunk on your clothes. You do have the option to scent it in a variety of delicious fragrances (very minimal, just enough to make you drool), and even the most sensitive of people have been able to successfully use it. Now when you take your clothes out of the dryer (washer even!) they are not going to smell like artificial funkiness - they smell clean, fresh, and scent free.

See, because when your stuff comes out of the washer smelling like apples and mango, that means there is stuff still on your clothes.

I guess if I want to be a product pusher (and I do because I believe in it) I could say it's has no phosphates! It's vegan! It's free of enzymes! Great for the environment! Works with High Efficiency machines! But I am not that person, I just want my stuff to get clean.

So yeah, give it a try. It's good stuff. You all know me well enough by now to know that my Virgo nature is to be hyper-critical of everything. This is on my list of Good Stuff. Yep.

(psssst!! Pumpkin Crunch is my newest favorite!)

So that is why I have been a little absent. The detergent is taking off at a crazy rate, which is kind of why I have a job in the first place. LOL We've been crazy busy buying supplies, bagging and tagging, filling and scenting, packing up (still working on a good option for that... apparently carriers feel detergent is heavy. Who knew?) and mailing out. Every order gets personal attention and is hand-scented.

Updates on children next time! :)

Bawk

She just loves chicken, ya'll.

You'll have to forgive the terrible video... I had my iPhone propped up against Cameron's sippy cup.