What I learned from my baby shower...

So, there are a few things you only do once in your lifetime.  Come into this world, graduate from high school, celebrate your 21st birthday...you get the drift.  Well, I'd like to add, you only have your first child once.  Which means you'll (most likely) only have one baby shower.  Now I've had CS which makes me a wizened mama!  Well, not quite, but I would like to think that almost four months in, I have learned a thing or two.  And one thing I've noticed is that, although I asked for some good items for my baby shower, there are others I definitely should have asked for (and some I didn't need at all!)  Now, some of these may not apply to you, so take it with a grain of salt.  :)

Baby Registry Tips!

Must haves!

1. Diapers & wipes:  Now before I went all hippie-mama and started cloth diapering, I thought I'd be using disposables, and let me tell you, some of the best gifts i received were diapers and wipes!  Actually, I've never had to buy wipes--between a three pack my aunt got me, a traveler pack from my soon to be sister-in-law, and a box of wipes from mother & sister-in law, I was set.  I still have three packs left.  You can never have too many diapers, especially different sizes and kinds.  I found when I was using disposables, I had my favorites.  Some I felt didn't hold as well, some didn't fit CS's chunky thighs, so I preferred Pampers versus any others.  Similarly, if you plan to cloth diaper, then you can always ask for a starter pack or a few so you can try different kinds.  You can always spread that via word of mouth or some websites have registries you can do.  I know if I hadn't had my cousin's wife, who also CDed, I'd have been lost as to what kinds were good or not.

You can't tell but that giant duck in the background was filled with two layers of diapers rolled up like on a cake.  We had a Dr. Seuss theme, as you can see.

2. Bottles:  Regardless of if you're going to breastfeed or bottle feed, put a few bottles on your list.  Yes, I know, motherhood and solidarity and all that, yay breastfeeding, and I totally agree.  I fully intended on breastfeeding, but because of complications, I wasn't able to continue.  Hello, formula.  Thankfully the hospital and my doctor had given us a ton of samples (which I took even though I planned on nursing), but the only bottles we had were three that John had picked up in the clearance aisle because he can't resist a deal.  (Then again they were three large sized Avent bottles for $8.00.  I'm not complaining.)  When we realized we'd be switching, we had to make a quick-run trip to the store and it was an extra hassle I wish I hadn't had to deal with, especially when I was still recovering from a c-section and trying to get a handle on motherhood. 

3.  Swing: I know, swings can be expensive.  But I consider this item probably the most useful of the big items we received (minus the car seat--that obviously was top).  CS is a swinger.  His daddy liked to swing, and so does he.  Without the swing, I'd be a nutcase by now.

4. Boppy: Absolute must-have for breastfeeding!  Makes life so much easier.  And even if you don't nurse, I've found it's great for propping baby up or assisting with tummy time if your baby is not a fan.

5. A good playpen: I usually try to keep any registries I make under a certain dollar limit.  For example, I didn't have a car seat on the list (thankfully got it anyway) because I thought it was too expensive.  Pack-n-plays aren't honestly that expensive, but depending on the variety, they can be.  I splurged and asked for a bassinet/playpen combo because with my family living in Indy, I knew we'd be traveling from a very young age.  (I also didn't think I was getting a bassinet--my mama is a good woman).  That said, do your research and find what works for you.  If you don't have a lot of space, and want things that are multi-use, I'd go for a fancier playpen so you can have the bassinet.  Some even come with a changing space.  That way, you don't need a separate bassinet and take up more space.  Then, as the child gets older, the bassinet part comes off and can be put up until the next child (or never, whatever is your preference). 

My fancy Pack n play bassinet...complete with diaper goodies in the corner

6. First-aid stuff:  Yes, I know I said only five things each, but I just remembered this one, and felt it's pretty darn important too!  By 'stuff' I mean thermometer, nasal aspirator, etc.  Mainly those two.  We have quite a few nasal aspirators and I'm sure they'll all come in handy.  Mind you, the best one we have is the one the hospital sent us home with, but it's always good to have one or two (or five) extra lying around.

Well...maybes

1. Burp cloths:  This was kind of a toss up.  I did ask for some, and got the ones I liked.  But now with baby starting to teeth and him being a bit spitty anyway, I tend to use an ugly, old (like from Sears & Roebuck old) hand towel that I got to use in my sewing projects from the mother-in-law.  Turns out they hold spit a lot better than any other burp cloths. 

*TIP*  If anyone gets you sets of cloth diapers--the really thin ones tons of people use for burp cloths--fold them in half and sew or double and sew.  They held absolutely nothing for us, and I got so frustrated I finally ended up folding them in half and sewing them.  They work much better now.

2. Baby towel/washcloths: I didn't ask for any, but I still received a couple.  I do think the hood especially is nice for wrapping up baby if it's winter or when baby is younger, but I don't consider them necessary. I've used a regular ole' towel and washcloth when I ran out on CS, and he didn't care.  He actually seemed happier with the towel--it's thicker and kept him covered better.

3. Medicines: Yes, it would be nice to be a leg up and have some when you need it; conversely, what happens if you have a really healthy child and don't need it for awhile?  Then your medicine is closer to expiring/already has and that helps no one.  Better idea is to have a mama you know and trust help you with what you could need the first time baby's sick.  I have a cousin who, if Carson gets sick, I can go to and have her help me find the right stuff.

4. Diaper creams & baby wash/shampoo:  Honestly, people will probably get you this anyway.  Expect a lot of Destitin and tons of Johnson & Johnson.  That's not a bad thing though, seeing as you'll be using baby products for quite some time with a little one.  The one thing I'd advise is to put some Aquaphor on your list as well; I found out the hard way Destitin doesn't work worth crap on my child.  That was a stressful week.  But thankfully someone had been kind enough to give me a travel-size of Aquaphor and it was seriously a miracle-worker!

5. Toys:  Another item you'll probably get some of; however, it's nice to choose some that you really want; whether that be an activity mat or car-seat toys, or jangly things for when she's older.  We received a few toys, but most of what I have now are hand-me-downs or garage sale finds (John & his family are big garage-salers--can you tell?)

Don't bother!

1. Onesies: Nearly everyone will get you clothes.  There's just something about baby clothes that people love.  I didn't put any clothing on my registry and I still have enough to not do laundry for nearly two weeks (and that's with CS changing outfits during the day because of massive drool/spit up incidents. Not to mention you can pick up garage sale baby clothes for cheap.

2.  Bibs (and Pacifiers):  See onesies.

3. Blankets:  Let's face it, unless you have a very specific theme for your nursery, I wouldn't register for them. people are going to buy you blankets regardless.  Plus if you're lucky and have other relatives passing on hand-me-downs, you'll have plenty.

4. Changing table and/or changing pad:  Ideally, you'd easily take baby to the changing table everytime he needs changed.  There you'll have a well organized center where you can easily grab a diaper and wipes and throw it into your diaper pail to take out to the trash later and...yeah, doesn't happen.  Now, I actually did want a changing pad initially; I thought they'd be useful.  Didn't get one and have managed fine.  By this time you change baby wherever you have an open spot.  The bed, the bassinet.  We actually have our pack and play in the living room where all of Carson's diapering things are since nine times out of ten, we change him in the living room.  We always have a few diapers in the bedroom in case, but we hardly have to use them.

5. Wipes warmer:  The whole idea seems like a money-making ploy to me.  I promise you, the baby will not be scarred for life if his tush gets a little cold from a wipe. 

So...I didn't realize the post was gonna be so long!  I hope it helps though--I had fun writing it at least!  Most of all, whatever you end up registering for, make sure it's something both you and your baby daddy (or baby mama) want and need.  There were more I could put on my list but...I didn't wanna overwhelm you too much.  

So what do you think?  Anything I missed?  Ones you thought were necessary that ended up on my 'don't bother' section?  I'd love to hear your feedback!

That's What People Say About Writers

Hey guys, so I promised LB a blog post—sorry it's not what we talked about, but it's kind of related? Anyway, here's the 1st in what I'm hoping will be a series of posts called "That's What People Say", discussing things commonly said to or about a certain type of people. The catch, I'm only covering categories I self-identify with. (LB, I challenge you to also write posts for this series.) Warning, this may/may not get controversial and I in no way speak for everyone in whatever category I'm discussing. So please take whatever I say worth a grain of salt! I am no expert.

Today, I'm talking about a category I've spent the last year identifying with more than ever, as I'm working on my masters in creative writing: writer. For the purposes of this post, I am defining "writer" as someone who writes creative work with the goal of being published online or in print by someone else (a magazine, a publishing house, etc.).

Here's what people say, and my thoughts on the stereotypes out there about writers:

So what do you write? Romance? Horror?

It's really not surprising that most non-writers assume writing should fit into a neat little genre, and sometimes it does. But a lot of us, particularly those who go the MFA route (re: study creative writing academically) write literary fiction, which is to say it's not supposed to fit into the genres. I have the hardest time describing what I write and have only recently landed on an answer of listing a few topics/themes that recur in my writing.

How's the book coming? (Said in a patronizing/sarcastic tone)

A book, be it poetry, short stories, a novel or something else, is a Huge undertaking.  And in the publishing world, it's often not the 1st or 2nd step. Writing a book is not remotely close to cranking out that essay for freshmen comp due tomorrow.

I feel like I know you so well, since I read your book. (AKA I can't believe you wrote that about your grandmother!)

Let's be clear, just because I write a character who is a woman in her 20s, that does Not mean that character is in any way/shape/form meant to be me. I did not have X terrible thing happen to me just because it happened to a character in my writing. You should always assume writing is fictional unless I've specifically said it's not.

Writers are all drunks and druggies. It's because they're all emo and misunderstood.

Yes, there are writers who drink and writers who smoke and writers who partake in drugs. That's not to say all of us do, or that if we drink for example it's the only way we can write. Personally, I write best sober. Writers are people too, and we all have different methods and make different choices.

Writing must be so lonely.

It doesn't have to be. MFAs, writing conferences, fellowships—there's a whole world of writing communities out there. Some writers write collaboratively. And editing, where some say the real writing happens, is almost always collaborative.

I don't see what the big deal is. Anyone can write.

True. Most people can write. But writing well takes effort, and practice, and a whole lot of time and some luck/talent/stubbornness too.

Writing isn't a real job.

Ask your favorite author if it was easy writing your favorite book. I'm betting the answer is no. Writing is hard, and it takes work. Just because it may not pay the bills doesn't mean it's not a job.

Why are you even in school? Isn't writing all about being in the real world?

I've committed myself to becoming a better writer, and for me the way to do that is through working with others who care about the craft, peers and mentors. That doesn't mean it's what's right for everyone. Plenty of established writers have been in MFAs, plenty haven't. But just because I'm in school, that doesn't mean I've stopped experiencing life. The world is "real" wherever you are, be that in a classroom or a house or an office of anywhere else. 

In closing, I'd make a plea to all you non-writers out there to cut writers some slack. We work hard. We're individuals. And we have something we want to say, something you might want to hear. Otherwise we wouldn't be writers.

~AC

Gardening and oils

So as I've said, I live on an old farm.  It's a good ole' farm, but a bit run down.  Part of my huge cleanup has been the many--and I mean many--flower beds this place has.  Along with flowerbeds, there are two giant old water/feed troughs just waiting for love me to plant my herbs and such in.  But first thing's first--to clean them out.  

As you can imagine, the beds were quite full of weeds.  I was pluck-pluck-plucking away, and brushed up against a plant and thought I was dying.  The stuff itched like hellfire!  Now, I've never been allergic to poison ivy, and therefore only knew the 'leaves of three, let them be'.  The plant I encountered was over two feet tall and didn't have three leaves to put in sight.  Tall and sort of prickly like an okra plant, I immediately snapped a photo and sent it to my Mama and sister (God bless them for putting up with me) and asked if it was poison ivy.  By this time, bumps had appeared.

Terrified it was poison ivy and completely unsure if whatever it was could be given to CS, I ran inside and washed it off with cold water.  Then rubbed the welts with my YL lavender and joy.  It helped dull the stinging, which I hoped to be a good thing.  By the time I had fed Carson, (I'd say about an hour after the incident) it had faded tremendously.  I kept applying joy and lavender to help clear up the rash.  By supper, it was completely gone and my arm only tingled minimally.

 

Great for poison ivy...and other stinging plants!
 

 

Before & After

Come to find out, I'd ran into burnweed--also known as stinging nettles.  I'd like you people to know, Indiana does not have burnweed.  Or at least none I've ran into.  I mean, we have thorn trees (aka honey locust) and it's MN's burnweed that does me in.  

Thorn trees = not terrifying

  

Stinging Nettles = never wanna see again   

But--I made it through!  And it once again leaves me thankful for my oils.  They promote a healthier lifestyle...and for that I'm grateful!  Remember, if you're interested in Young Living or want to know more, check out my previous post on the subject!

Turn, Turn, Turn

Well, LB's right, I'm not dead. I am however different. Different life, different priorities, different scars. It's crazy how quickly things change.

A bit of backstory—I've just finished Year 1 of a 3 year masters program. This means I've moved to a new place, met new people, & had a lot of new experiences in the last year. Some good, some bad, & most somewhere in between. With all this newness & in-betweenness comes a lot of adjustment and then readjustment—home for the summer, I find I don't quite know what to do with myself. And so, because LB asked and because it's probably good for me, I'm blogging again. Or trying to at any rate.

The things I might blog about are sometimes similar and sometimes very different to the things LB might blog about. For instance you will not be hearing as much about my family and location as I am very happily single and live alone in the middle of nowhere most of the time, however my crafty and creative projects are likely topics. Also up for dicussion, my research, my misadventures (I tend to have a few), & my interests. (For book reviews, check our sister blog Turning Pages: Off the Shelf. This is hopefully to be a summer of about a book a week, so there should be plenty to review.)

I can't promise much—in fact one of the differences of the year is that I'm pretty much done making promises to anyone but myself—but I can say I plan on being around more. So stick around!

~AC

My Oily Adventure!

Alright guys, I gave AC the option for the blog post topic of today, and even though I was really rooting for a recipe (which would give me an excuse to bake again...even though we have a plethora of food in our home), she said...oils!  Which I'm totally cool with as well.

First, let me tell you, the following oils are not intended to treat diseases, be a miracle-cure, or anything like that.  They're meant to support healthy living, enhance your day-to-day life.  They can help you clean green, and minimize the potentially hazardous chemicals that are in your household products.

Second, not all oils are the same.  Some are watered down, some contain more than just the EO (essential oil--making it easy for me to type later on).  The only oils I will use are Young Living Essential Oils.  Why them?  Well, for a number of reasons, some being:

1.  Seed-to-Seal Guarantee

2.  They own their own farms.

2.  The Oily Community.

What does all that mean exactly?  Well, here's the breakdown:

1.  Seed-to-Seal Guarantee: It's all about quality. What this means is that from the start of every tiny plant (the 'seed') to the moment they're bottled up and sent on their way to your happy home (the 'seal'), YL is a part of the entire process.  They use careful distilling techniques to get the purest form of oil.  I could explain it til' the cows come home, but they have a wonderful website here that explains it so much better than I ever could.

2.  They own their own farms:  This ties in to #1 a bit.  They have farms all around the world, and take pride in every one.  Every weed that's plucked at their farms is plucked by hand.  Harsh pesticides and chemicals aren't used.  If a crop doesn't come in because of weather conditions or whatnot, they don't sacrifice the oil or blend (a combo of oils) for the sake of production.  For example, because of some weather conditions, Peace & Calming and Valor is out of stock for the foreseeable future. But there are some other blends that work just as well to replace them with. 

 

3.  The Oily Community:  This may be my favorite reason.  I didn't realize going into oils the support I would receive, not only from my up line but from our 'little' online community.  I say little, but The Sweet Team, headed by the wonderful Melissa Poepping, has over 12,000 members!  When I'm unsure or have a problem, I can log into our Facebook group, search to find my answer, or ask a question, and I have many, many people willing to help me.  It's a great support system for any new oiler.  

Now,  I was introduced to oils by a coworker when I was working at the credit union.  They intrigued me, so I thought I'd give it a try.  You have the option of buying retail or becoming a member and buying wholesale.  As a member, you save 24% off the retail pricing, have an enormous amount of community support with the Sweet Team, and have the ability to participate in Essential Rewards (blog post on that later).  As you can imagine, I became a member.  I bought my premium starter kit, got my oils and diffuser and went...what do I do with them?

Simple....just start.

My messy shelf...someday I will have a better place to put my oils

 Close up of some of my most-used oils

I diffused heavily for the first weeks, and I still very much love my diffuser.  Then I started using PanAway on John because of his restless legs.  And you know what?  It helped!  I've made hand soap, bath fizzies, bath salts, and bug spray with my oils.  I tend to use Valor on my wrists in the morning, Joy on my heart.  I dilute Lemon for everything from scrubbing pots and pans to washing floors to getting labels off of bottles (it's a great goo-b-gone substitute!)

I'm sure as I blog more, you'll hear more and more about my oily adventures.  If you're interested, you can sign up here. Use me as a referral (see info below) to join the ever-expanding Sweet Team!  If you have any questions, comment here or email me.  I'd love to help you be a part of your oily adventure!

Using me as a referral:  When you sign up, it will ask if someone referred you, and ask for a name and member number.  This is the info you would put.

Laura E. Zeimetz

Member #: 1922342

I could go on about the reasons why I love Young Living, but why don't you check them out and see for yourself? 

To end with, I give you some of my favorite YLEO memes:

Here to stay!

Wow.  Has it really been That long since I've blogged?  Well...in my defense, since I've been gone I've gotten engaged, quit my old job, got a better job, had a baby, quit the Better job to stay home with the baby, and am still living in the cold up-north, though in a little town in Benton County, not Stearns.  A few things to address:

1. I am here to stay.  Now that I'm at home with CS, the lil' man, I have all the time in the world to blog, and so that's what I'll be doing.  

2.  Now onto subject--since being at home I've started two things a lot more heavily than I had before:  crafting, and trying to have a greener lifestyle. As you can imagine, that will have an impact on my posts. No, I'm not a hippie mama who never showers (although I may not have a shower every day because trying to get fifteen minutes where my happy, healthy three month old doesn't need me is Difficult) but I am trying to be healthier, not just for the fiance' and I, but for baby as well.  For example, I cloth diaper, and have been using essential oils in my day-to-day going-ons (Look for a blog post about both!)

 

One of my many crafting projects--I make rosaries!

3.  AC is not dead.  I know this because I've been in contact with her, although I haven't seen her for a bit since she lives across the nation from me currently.  Hopefully I'll convince her with all the not-so-free time she has to pop in for a quick hello.

Anyway, for those new readers (or old readers who are surprised we're even alive still), I'll give a brief intro.

 

I started blogging with AC back when we both were bright-eyed freshmen in college.  She went to big-city public college and I went to a smaller, liberal arts.  We talked about our adventures.

Then I left college, she continued. We couldn't blog about being Collegiate Crazies when we both weren't, so we shifted gears to a new blog.  ...then life got in the way, we got busy, and well, life changed again.  She graduated, and took a year off before getting into a Master's program at an east-coast college while I quit my job at the local Cracker Barrel and moved up north to Minnesota (not so random, my dad's from there).  So we started this blog: a blog about life, about the crazy, constantly turning world we live in.  ...and then life got busy and we fell off the map. 

 Me and a much-smaller CS

As for me, I'm a twenty-four year old stay-at-home-mom to a wonderfully bright-eyed three month old boy.  He's the light of my life and definitely keeps my days busy.  The fiancé and I live on a small fixer-upper farm.  Right now it's fixing up the house--small steps.  I'll be planting a garden when it warms up a bit and stops raining, and I hope by next year to have chickens.  I do a lot of sewing and crafting to take up the time not spent playing with CS.  I look forward to blogging more about my family, Minnesota, my new projects, and my essential oils (I've become quite passionate about it). 

Hope you tune in for more!

1950's!

I'll admit it, I should have been born in the past.  I used to think the 1800s would have suited me fine, but being a woman then would suck.  Not to mention, I like indoor plumbing (who doesn't)?  Recently, however, I found a new love:

The 1950's

That's right.  From big skirts to bright polka dots to bigger sunglasses--I love it all.  AC laughs that I'm stuck in the 50's, but let's face it--the fifties did a lot of great things.  Lots of amazing things came from the 1950's!

Bubble wrap!  Color TV!  Even my father! (I won't put a picture of him...he would Not be pleased if I did)

I sat down in the mindset to figure out the root and cause of my love (not obsession, I'm sure) with the era when I realized it.

The 1950's knew how to dress fat people.

Now before you go all mad-dash "How could you say that?!" let me clarify:

I am a fat chick.  I'll admit it; I've always been the chunky kid.  And y'know what?  It's not a shameful thing.  Everyone's always like, "You'd be so pretty if..." and "If you lost a few pounds..."  and I used to believe the lies.  It was honestly only recently I truly realized how harmful those lies people tried to tell me were.  My prettiness isn't a size.  I don't need to be a size two in order for someone to rate me.  I don't really wanna be rated anyway.  I love who I am--curves, rolls, arm flab and all--and nothing's going to change that. 

You see, I came to the realization because of two people.  The first is the fiance' (I know, cheesy it sounds) but when we first got together, it baffled me how he could find me attractive with my extra weight.  I understood he loved me (what can I say?  I've got a great personality) but I've never been confident about my body image.  And not only did he find me attractive, he liked it.  I wasn't a twig he could snap in two (the boy's  6'5....he dwarfs me, honestly). 

Enough about that though--not the point.  The second person, who I actually technically found before John--is The Militant Baker.

Who the hell is she, you say?  Some crazy army pastry chef?  Not so much.

She  is only one of the greatest blogs I've come across recently.  You can visit her here.

She's all about body advocacy and loving yourself and she says it a lot better than I do, so go, right now.  Go visit the blog!  ...well, let me finish my post first.  Bring it up in a new tab.

Right, back to the fifties.  Their clothing is not only super-cute (Most of the time) but the women of the fifties weren't all skinny twigs.  They were women of all shapes and sizes, and no one was telling them they were wrong for not fitting the 'mold'.

John and I at his brother's wedding.  He was best man.  Yes, they did camo and orange. 

I'm not honestly really sure where I was going with this post...maybe it was to show off my rockin' pink dress and petticoat?  Or to tell everyone to read Jes' blog because it's awesome?  Maybe a combination of both.

The dress, by the way, I bought online at ModCloth, only one of the most addictive and plus-size friendly stores out there!  Go there, but beware...it's addictive!