Yo.

So, I know my posts have been scarce lately, but I promise you I have a really good excuse this time.  You see, I’m an auntie now, and I’ve been sucked back into newborn hell with my sister.  Yes, it’s a glorious time, don’t get me wrong, but just being with my new nephew for a few days has worn me out.  So, my evenings are spent resting in the comfort of my old lady chair while wearing my old lady pajamas and watching my old lady TV shows.  Since my birthday is Friday, I will technically be an old lady, so now is the time to cash in on that title and really milk it for what it's worth.

I just wanted to give you a little update on where things stand.  I promise I haven’t abandoned you or dumped you or tossed you aside for richer, more famous blog readers  - I’m just on a mini-vacation until things slow down a bit.  Then I’ll post so much that you’ll be sick of me again.  What a vicious cycle. 


An update to the PSA about Pampers causing chemical burns:  Fortunately, since my sister caught it in time, Jackson’s rash/burn has all but disappeared.  It’s still a little red and tender, but a combination of Eucerin Gel mixed with hydrocortisone cream and lots of naked time, and, oh, NEW DIAPERS, has really made a huge difference.  He’s basically fully healed now.  My sister and I truly appreciate all of the kind comments that were left in response to that post.  We appreciate that each of you are spreading the word about these diapers (and will hopefully continue to do so). 


Since you’ve only seen the rashy part of my precious nephew, here’s a sneak peak at his newborn shots.  I’ll be posting more about this later (as well as my sister’s labor story – I got a front row seat, and it was simply amazing).  Tons of pictures and great stories to follow. Stay tuned!

PSA: Pampers Causes Chemical Burns

Did my title get your attention?  Good.  Please keep reading.  This isn’t going to be a typical, light-hearted post.  I hate that the introduction of my brand new nephew is going to be marred with what I write below, but I know that many of the readers of this blog are parents of young children – children who are still wearing diapers, children who may or may not be affected by the latest Pampers technology.

Earlier this year, Pampers came out with a new technology that supposedly keeps babies dryer and mommies happier.  This new “Dry Max” formula, found in the Swaddlers and Cruisers styles, has done everything but keep babies dry and mommies happy.  This new formula is causing chemical burns, blisters, rashes and wounds.  Why are these diapers still on the shelves?  Don’t ask Procter and Gamble – they’ll just tell you it’s a normal, run-of-the-mill diaper rash.

My sister has given me permission to post these photos and write about this issue.  The best way to get the word out and prevent this from happening to other innocent children is to spread the word.  I ask that you please tell everyone in your circle of friends, your Facebook/Twitter accounts, your blog followers, your email address book, family, etc.  The more heat that Procter and Gamble feels, the better the chances are that they’ll actually, I don’t know, PULL THE DIAPERS FROM THE SHELVES!

Does this look normal to you? (Warning: The photos below are pretty hard to digest. This is my 1 week old nephew, the latest little victim of the chemicals used in the Dry Max Swaddlers.)

 

This is only after a few days of wearing the diapers.  Imagine if we’d let him wear the diapers for longer. 

If your child has been having more rashes than usual or sudden changes in his/her skin, please check to see if the diapers you’re using have the Dry Max technology.  Whatever chemical they are using in those diapers is having an adverse reaction to some children’s skin.  There are tens of thousands of parents in the same situation with their children.  We just want P&G to own up to this issue and pull the products, that’s all.  Many other products are pulled for far less, why are they dragging their feet on this?  There is VISIBLE proof that these diapers are causing major problems.  Spread the word!

If your child has been affected, here are some helpful links for you.

CPSC (to file a complaint against P&G)

800-638-2772 or https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

Pampers Customer Complaints

1-877-256-3265

Class Action Lawsuit Information
Article about lawsuit
Lawfirm: Keller Rohrback L.L.P.
Contact: Elise Bigley, (206) 623-1900, Email

Facebook Group (over 10k members already)

If your child has been affected and you would like to discuss this outside of my blog, please feel free to E-mail me.  Anything that is discussed will be kept strictly confidential. 

ABC.

Anna’s latest obsession is showing me her ABC (already been chewed) food.  Gee, I have no idea where she learned this (ahem, Paw Paw).  So, now I get to see the inside of her mouth at every meal.  I’ve already shed 3 lbs. from losing my appetite around my child.  It’s a great diet.  So, for those of you who are trying to shed a few lbs., use the Anna Kate ABC System.  Your skinny jeans are calling. 

No, she’s not laughing in this photo.  She just has laughing eyes because she knows she’s grossing her mother out.

More Anna grossness. 

Let’s put a foot up on the table for good measure.

A little food/foot action.

Her foot fell off the table a little, but she still hasn’t quit with the open mouth chewing. 

Methinks I need to hire a manners coach STAT. 

One egg shy of a full basket.

Anna is hilarious, there’s no doubt about that.  She’s forever doing things that make me laugh, scratch my head, shudder in embarrassment or sport a major side-eye.  Everyday she’s doing something random, something that makes me laugh a hearty laugh at her expense.  This is why I keep my camera close to me at all times so as to catch the action as it happens.  This is why I’m glad my camera was within reach when Anna came out of her room looking like this…

Yo, who turned the lights off? Mom?  Are you there? Whew, I can see again! Wait, now it’s dark again. Whew, I can see again!  

Kindred spirits.

Much like Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables, my own little Anna Kate has her own real life kindred spirit.  Her name is Kadence, and she’s seriously the cutest little girl on earth (besides my own child, of course).  Kadence also has a cool mom, so I rather enjoy it when we join our two little girls together – we can have mommy conversations and let our little ones wreak havoc on whatever location we’ve picked for that particular outing.  This time, we chose the children’s museum.  Since we’ve been there before, we knew there was lots of great stuff to do to keep the kids entertained (and keep us sane).  I love that there is an infant/toddler room where we can just turn the kids lose like a bunch of angry bulls.  It’s very therapeutic.  I highly recommend it!

Like a loser, I forgot my camera at home, but Myndee saved the day and took some great photos of our kids at play.

They were deeply engaged in some sort of babble speak at this point. 

And then they got into a fight.  (Just kiddin)

Anna wants to brave the slide.  Kadence will cheer her on.

I’m starting to get a lot of these slide shots lately.  I think my child is addicted to them. 

Time to go shopping for dinner. 

That’s ok, baby, I wouldn’t know what to do with a red pepper either.  Oh, and I’m digging your Donald Trump comb over. 

Anna decided she wanted corn and lobster.  Kadence is pondering some purple thing. Eggplant?

I honestly have no idea what is going on with Anna in this picture.  Did she chug that gallon of water and leave most of it in her mouth?  Bad plastic surgery?  Too much Botox?

Bubble land!  This is where she had a melt-down and cut our museum trip a little short. 

But not before she stuffed her mouth full of Goldfish.  We all know how much she loves those things!

Winner of the Craft Therapea Mother’s Day Give Away!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Craft Therapea Mother’s Day Give Away!  The lucky winner is...

  

Mandy from This Girl’s Life!  Congrats to you!  I will be in touch with you shortly with instructions on how to place an order with Kelly. 

Thanks to everyone who participated! 

4, 3, 2, 1.

The countdown is on to 6 p.m. (CST).  That’s when I’ll be using random.org to pick a winner of the Mother’s Day Give Away.  Don’t forget to leave a comment if you want to win!  It only takes a few minutes – what have you got to lose?  Also, this is the last give away I’ll be doing for a while, so better get gettin’ while the gettin’ is good.

Leave a comment here!

A day at the dentist.

To keep myself from needing dentures and/or having the appearance of meth mouth in my twilight years, I’m trying to keep up with a grueling schedule of teeth cleaning.  I say grueling because even though I only have to go twice a year for a cleaning, that’s two times too many.  We should have self-sufficient teeth, teeth that cleanse themselves and prevent their own decay and rot.   If I owned the world, this is how it would be.  There would also be no toothless people giving interviews about tornadoes on the local news.  We would all have teeth like this guy and be proud to show them off.
 

Ok, this guy looks a little insane, but he has an awesome grill.  In my world, he would look a little less nutty and maybe eat a more manly fruit like an orange.  Oh, and he’d cut down on his tanning bed time. 

I digress.


While I was sitting in the dental chair trying to look as cool as possible with someone’s hand rummaging around in my mouth, a few things dawned on me, so I thought I’d share them here. 


1) How much more relaxing would a day at the dentist be if the drill and/or cleaning equipment they used would churn out some Yanni or John Tesh each time it turned on instead of that awful, high-pitched death sound?  Drill starts, cue piano, cue violin – relaxation. 

2) Why don’t latex gloves taste like food?  Wouldn’t it be much more enjoyable if you could order a flavor before they stuff their latex-y hands in your mouth?  What flavor glove would you like today?  Mashed potatoes, roast beef and gravy.  Maybe cheesecake.  Maybe chocolate. 


3) When I get an x-ray of my teeth, they’re very careful about covering my body, but my entire head is exposed.  I need my brain cells, all of them (the few that are left).  Why don’t they give us a hat to wear as well?  Is my brain not as important as my arms and boobs?  Men, don’t answer this. 


4) Why are they so rough with my gums?  Don’t I need gums to hold in my teeth?  


5) To prevent droplets of water from splashing in my eyes during the process, they gave me a pair of clear glasses to wear.  No one except carpenters and construction workers should wear clear glasses like this.  I’ve got hands in my mouth, bleeding gums and clear construction worker glasses on my face.  It was a very attractive moment for me. 


So, now I can ponder these thoughts for the next six months until I have another day at the dentist. 

We are family.

I am very blessed to have a wonderful family.  We are all extremely close, not just my immediate family, but also my cousins, extended aunts, uncles – all of ‘em.  We have family reunions and Bunko parties and trips to Natchez to tour old plantation homes and Carter’s shopping trips and weekends in St. Francisville, and the list goes on and on.  I love them all dearly.  I find great comfort knowing I have their unconditional support and love.  I also know that this type of family unit is not typical, and I am truly, truly blessed beyond comprehension to have been born into this family. 

To re-connect on a grander scale, we have family reunions on a bi-annual basis.  It’s the ultimate blast – a live band, tons of games, Cajun food and lots of fun.  If you don’t understand Cajun speak, you’d be completely lost at our family gatherings.  If you don’t like jambalaya and Cajun sausage, well, you’re insane.  So, as we say down in Louisiana, laissez les bons temps rouler.

Consequently, the location where the reunion was held is the home of my cousin Lil' Bit. She watches Anna every week, so Anna was right at home.

This is Anna’s swing!  She ran right to it and forced her daddy to swing her in it for 5 or 6 hours. Uncle Trent got in the action and pushed Anna for a while.  Joe welcomed this time to rest. Time to slide!  I’m not sure why she wouldn’t put down her sippy cup the entire time. Her bow was ‘specially made by Ro from Bella Mia Bows & Things. I spy baby butt. 

Anna and Lil’ Bit (Elizabeth) The jumpy thingy. Anna and mom Me, Dot, My Sister (36 weeks pg)


It was a wonderful time! I can't wait for our next reunion.