Sweet Moment

This is one of my most favorite pictures/moments.  Daddy was working on his Master's Degree and had classes on Saturdays.  He called on a lunch break to talk to us.  I gave the phone to Sissy and she talked to him for a couple minutes and then did this and said "Brother wants to talk to Daddy too."

September 2010  :)  - Bubby -4 mos and Sissy almost 3yrs old.

Silly student

"When I was a kid I lived in Virginia" says a 6 year old student.

100th day of School items $1

I saw some 100th day of school items for $1 at Target. I know several of our teachers celebrate the 100th day of school especially Kindergarten. I don't really get to because I'm a specials teacher.


They had headbands/hats the kids can color and I think they come in sets of 20.  They also had different kinds of bookmarks.  If you celebrate the 100th day of school, be sure to check out your Target.  There wasn't a lot of stuff there, but great deal for $1.   I love Target's dollar section especially when it is clearanced. 

I can't wait to celebrate the 180th day of school!  :)

Sea World Free for Teachers & Preschoolers - FL

For the 14th year, SeaWorld Orlando offers a complimentary Teacher Study Pass to all active and certified K-12 Florida grade school teachers. The pass is valid for unlimited admission to SeaWorld Orlando through 12/31/2012.

All you have to do is take your Florida Teaching Certificate (we take a copy), Paycheck stub within last 30days, and Photo ID.  Go here for details.

Yay!  We LOVE this.  My husband and I are both teachers and we love going to Sea World.  My kids are too young to really enjoy the rides.  My daughter is just now starting to like the kiddie rides.  She was terrified of them all up until this past summer.  They love the shows and love looking at the animals.  It doesn't ever get old to them. 

There is also a free Preschool Pass for Sea World and Busch Gardens which is valid for children 5 and under.  Register Here.

Last year we bought my daughter the study pass, but now we can take her for free too.  My son is only 1 so he is already free.  We will definitely be taking advantage of this. Unlimited Sea World for just the cost of Parkin.  I wish they'd offer a parking pass.  That would be great. :)

New Year's Resolution/Goal

I don't like to make New Year's Resolutions because, like many people, I don't usually keep them.  I do have goals and things I'd like to work on or continue to work on. 

I want to do more outdoor activities with my children.  I don't think kids spend as much time outdoors like we used to.  Of course, a lot of the time my Mom sent us kids outside and locked the door so we couldn't get back in until we played for awhile.  Sounds mean huh?  There were six of us.  I think she and my step-dad just needed a break.  We rode bikes, built forts, played hide-n-seek, etc.  I don't think it is as safe to let kids play outside like they used to either...not unattended and carefully watched.  My kids are young anyway, so they definitely need to be watched carefully.  I need to get outside more.  It's good exercise too.  Speaking of exercise, that's a whole other resolution that I don't like to make, but need to work on.

I want to keep up with taking pictures, editing, and blogging.  I was taking a weekend photo every week for 2011, but didn't post them all on here.  Maybe I should, so that I'll be motivated to keep up and get the editing done...before 2013. :P

I have many goals that are professional (or work related with teaching), personal, family oriented, but nothing that is brand new because it is a New Year.

I hope that 2012 brings many wonderful adventures for my family.

Do you have a New Year's Resolution? 

Breastfeeding in Public

There has been lots of talk about breastfeeding in public after a woman in Target was harrassed by an employee because she was breastfeeding her baby in the store.

A nurse-in was organized for breastfeeding mother's to protest the incident.  You can read about it here on CNN.

The protesters did accomplish one thing for sure.  They got a lot of people talking about breastfeeding in public.  I've seen quite a few articles for and against it and the comments are quite strong on both sides of the fence.

I breastfed both of my children for 15-17 months each.  I never thought that I would be a breastfeeding advocate, or that I would even be able to breastfeed my children.  I didn't really know many breastfeeders at all.  I have many memories of bottle feeding siblings and baby dolls, but not breastfeeding.  I'm so thankful that I was able to breastfeed successfully because I know so many that weren't.

My husband is not a big fan of public breastfeeding even after 2 babies and 2+ years of me breastfeeding them.  It drives me crazy!  Honestly, I think he just likes to debate, so he'll pick certain topics to debate with me.  I think he would make a great lawyer.

I'm a very modest person and wasn't sure if I ever would breastfeed in public especially knowing my husband's view.  I was so worried of someone getting upset or staring.  There's also the chance a student my catch me. Yikes.  I didn't breastfeed in public often, but there were times that I did.  I'm so glad that I was left alone to do what I needed to do for my baby and wasn't harrassed.  By that point, with a screaming hungry baby in hand, my husband just wanted the baby(ies) happy and didn't really care if I had to nurse in public.  I used a nursing cover when I could, but my son absolutely hates anything on his head.  As soon as he was able he would pull on it anyway.

I'll never forget when I took my daughter with me to our school's Christmas party that was at a coworkers house.  She was not quite 3 months old.  Everyone was in the living room area and there was an open, empty room right (or living room extension) next too it.  I decided to go in there to nurse my daughter since it was away from everyone yet I could still see and hear what was going on.  A friend/coworker came in and started talking to me.  She thought Sissy was asleep.  I didn't have a nursing cover on, but I had everything covered the best that I could.  She even got really close to look at her face and asked if she was sleeping.  I said, "no she's eating/nursing."  It was so funny because she backed up and said she had no idea.  SO...breastfeeding can be done discreetly without covering the baby under a nursing cover.

With this whole debate I feel like if a company doesn't want women to breastfeed anywhere they want in their place of busines, then they need to provide a nice clean room (NOT a bathroom) that has a comfy chair with armrest for nursing moms (ie BabiesRus).  Oh how I would have loved to have a place to breastfeed in public places.  It is not comfortable to try to nurse a baby while sitting on a bench or anywhere that doesn't have arm support.  At least it wasn't for me.  Although, I know a woman that can breastfeed her child while shopping (as in while walking, pushing a buggy, and tending to 6 other children) and no one knows. 

I don't get as fired up about the whole topic as some Mom's, but the "breastfeed in the bathroom" comment is one that does hit a nerve.  I'm not going to go sit on a toilet in a dirty stall and feed my baby.  It's just not going to happen.  I don't even like using public bathrooms at all let alone to feed my baby.  My husband does agrees with me on this one.

 I wish that everyone saw breastfeed the same as feeding a baby a bottle.  Pumping and feeding a baby a bottle while out isn't the right solution either. Mother's that have had to pump for work or have had supply issues know this doesn't work for everyone.  I hated to pump and had issues getting enough for my kids while I was at work.  I definitely wouldn't use up my pumped supply to feed my baby when I have "fresh milk" ready to go.
I just don't think some people will understand unless they have a baby and they are the one breastfeeding. 

I say if you don't want to see it, then don't look.  I'm subjected to many things that I think are obscene every day...especially if I shop at Walmart. ;)  If I don't want to see it, I don't look.  Even then I just don't see how somone could see breastfeeding as obscene.
When I see a breastfeeding Mom in public, I'm not offended.  I do look away to give her privacy that she deserves (no one likes to be stared at), but I secretly applaud her for sacrificing for her time/body to her baby and giving her baby the best nutrients that she can possibly can.

Oh and for the record,  I don't think Target the corporation should be looked poorly on because some employees don't know their stance especially this time of year.  They are probably seasonal employees anway.  I bet they will be getting a training video or sessions for their employees after all this publicity.  I still love Target. :)

Neatnik Saucer Review

My daughter's favorite place to eat is Golden Corral. We sometimes eat breakfast there on Saturday. We love the variety of food to please my picky eaters since their likes change almost daily.  The one thing I hate about Golden Corral (and actually a few others are pretty bad too) is that their high chairs are nasty. Usually we bring a shopping cart cover and a cover for the table. I was so excited to see the Neatnik saucer. It seemed like the perfect solution, but I couldn't justify spending $32 on something when we already have a system that works. I was so excited when one showed up on my doorstep that I won in a giveaway.

I had no idea how big it really is until I opened mine. Its huge! This is a pro/con. It covers a lot, but takes tons of table space from others. I love how compact it folds and that its all-in one.  I don't have to take two separate things.  I have the Miami design which I love.  It's a nice grey and neutral color with circle patterns.  It has velcro on each side to put toys on it so they aren't thrown on the floor.  We didn't use them, but my son liked playing with them.  It did keep him busy while waiting for food.

I really wanted to love this, but there are cons...

We've tried it several times at different places and all restaurant tables are taller than high chairs which causes the Neatnik to angle toward the baby. There are suction cups to keep it on the table, but they don't stick to all table surfaces. If it doesn't stick, then food falls to the baby's lap.  We went to Longhorn for my Mother-in-law's birthday and the suctions would stick at all to the table.  Every time my son would lean back in his chair the neatnik would come up from the table and angle everything down at him.  We took it off.  Thankfully, their high chairs were very clean.  He used a plate which he, thankfully, didn't throw on the floor.

Here is a picture from our first try.

See the angle? It's pretty bad at the several places we tried.

This is what happens when my 19 most old gets mad.

Or curious..

The food goes straight in his lap when he does this.  Cleaning the seat area...well the whole thing...isn't easy. I can't throw it in the wash. Its not easy to wash in the sink. It's possible, but is so big it's a pain. The material is easy to wipe down with a wipe, but that's not a good wash.

I think some of the angle issue wouldn't be so bad if the leg holes were lower. My son's legs were actually pulling the whole thing lower.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but with it suctioned to the table the leg holes are about an inch from the bottom of the chair.  As he sat his legs pulled the saucer down even more.  I still want to love this thing.  If there were some changes, maybe it could work.  Ie small table surface area, longer seat area (so the seat could come up high and not have as much an angle?), and lower leg holes. 

If I bought it, I'd probably return it. We will stick to our previous set up.

Our infantino shopping cart cover that can double as a high chair cover.

Our Summer Infant Tiny Diner Placemat that we got from ToysRus/BabiesRus).  We get TONS of compliments on it and parents wanting their own.  It doesn't take up the whole table. 

Thankfully, he doesn't seem to mind the pink. ;) We should have picked the green for my daughter rather than the pink and we are too cheap to buy another one just for the color when the one we have works perfectly fine.

We don't use the shopping cart/high chair cover unless we really need too.  Most of our favorite places to eat actually have clean high chairs. :P


Is it bad that I still want to keep trying the Neatnik?  I was really hopeful about this product. 

I was not compsensated for this review in anyway.  All opinions are my own.