Little Chatterbox

Last night, Ande and I were doing a project together. Puckey came to the doorway and said, "Hi, Mama! What are you doing?" I told her I was washing walls, and she walked away. About 2 seconds later, The Jib toddled up to the doorway and said, "Hi, Mama! What doin'?" I wish I could write it the way she said it, it was so funny!! I about died!!

When Puckey started talking, she was always really easy to understand and she said a TON of words very early. The Jib, however, being more mellow than Puckey, has taken her sweet time in doing pretty much everything. Her current vocabulary now consists of (the list has gotten longer, I keep remembering or hearing her say new things):

• Bye
• Hi
• Ball
• Ee-i-ee-i-o (You know, from "Old MacDonald Had a Farm")
• Tee-Tee-Tee (Tickle, Tickle Tickle)
• All done
• Ba-ba
• Ta-da (while raising both hands above her head)
• Meow (although her version doesn't have the "e" sound)
• Puppy (she says, "AW, Puppy" when she's holding her stuffed animal puppy)
• I no-no (I don't know)
• No (a particular favorite)
• Uh-huh (complete with head nod)
• Mamma
• Daddy
• Whassat? ("What's that?" Usually said while pointing one direction and looking the other)
• Psss.... (that's what a cat says)
• ROAR (that's what every other animal, including mice, birds, and elephants says)
• Baby
• Tanks (Thanks)
• Peese (Please)
• Boon (Balloon)
• Papa
• Nana

It's okay Mama, I'll get my own breakfast...

Fashion Envy

I've worn glasses since I was in 4th grade. Being a real fashion plate, my first glasses were HUGE PINK PLASTIC FRAMES, complete with tinted lenses AND a small butterfly sticker in the lower corner of one lens. Yeah, I was pretty cool. NOT.

Over the years, I have always wanted to be able to have multiple pairs of glasses, so I could change my glasses to suit my whim. Unfortunately, my glasses are usually quite expensive, so I can barely afford to get a new pair every couple of YEARS, much less have more than one pair at a time! (Case in point, the glasses I had until May were like 5 years old or something)


I found a new site featuring inexpensive glasses, that might just be the next place I buy from. It's called Zenni Optical, and you can check it out here: zennioptical.com


With frame prices starting at $8.00, this site would be especially good for anyone who, like me, does not have vision insurance!!

I'm such a loser

So, in the last 2 weeks, I entered Amanda's Pay-it-forward contest, and when I LOST that one, I entered Amanda's friend, Jenn's, Pay-it-forward contest. I lost that one, too!!! MAN!! The good news is that my friend Cindy won Jenn's contest, so now SHE'LL have to have one. Maybe I'll win?!?! I might have to just continue following the chain of Pay-it-forward contests until I win!! (Because I hate to lose!)

On a completely unrelated note, Ande and I took Nans, Puckey, and The Jib to see a magic show at the Flint Public Library last night. It featured Doug Scheer, from "Scheer Genius" Productions. I have to say, I was very impressed. Mr. Scheer was very funny, had a great rapport with the kids, and was really good at what he does! If you are at all involved in scheduling assemblies for your children's school or fun activities for the children at your church, this is something you should at least check into! There are several different shows to choose from (we saw "Adventures in Reading", you know, since we were at the LIBRARY). All of the kids in the audience had a great time, as did their parents. Best part of the whole thing? Admission was FREE!

Moving on...in addition to not letting Ande push Puckey on the swings anymore, he is also no longer allowed to use the hair clippers unattended. Last week he gave himself a haircut (which he does every 2 weeks or so), and then decided to trim his eyebrows. Except he forgot the blade guard. So his eyebrows were nearly non-existent for a few days. I was reminded of the episode of "Friends" when Joey got his eyebrow waxed and then had to have Chandler fix the other one...

No, I seriously thought I was going to have to get him a set of these:
These babies are multi-purpose, too!!! Notice the packaging shows several different options. I'm digging the Tom Selleck-style moustache...LOL

There ARE actually eyebrow kits out there (I'm guessing for cancer or alopecia (sorry if I spelled it wrong) patients), which is a really cool product idea.

And for those of you who are wondering, YES, Ande's eyebrows are growing back in nicely...

A New Way to Collect Stem Cells?

Stem cell research - it's a term most of us are (at least somewhat) familiar with. In fact, many people are opposed to stem cell research based on the fact that in some cases human embryos are created (and ultimately destroyed) for the specific purpose of extracting stem cells.

Scientists have been working on finding new ways to collect stem cells without having to use human embryos. Maybe you've heard of using a newborn's cord blood for stem cells? There are even cord blood banks that will preserve your babies' cord blood (for a fee, of course). There is also the option of using bone marrow, which I've heard is a painful (and most likely expensive)process.

I just read about a new option for retrieving (and storing) your own stem cells. There is a company in Florida, called C'elle (pronounced C-L) that says it can store stem cells extracted from a woman's menstrual blood. Yep, that's right, your period may not be a total waste after all!

The following is a press release from C'elle:

Taking Control: Future Therapies for a Host of Serious Diseases May Be Found in Women's Menstrual Blood

July 07, 2008: 01:28 PM EST

OLDSMAR, Fla., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

With today’s hectic lifestyle, where most women are juggling careers, family, relationships, and a host of activities, the idea of possibly facing a serious illness in the future is not something that readily comes to mind -- especially when a woman is in the prime of her life. But what most women don’t know, is that the key to treating a number of possibly life-threatening diseases that she, a parent, a sibling or even her children may face in later years, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, may be found within her own body -- in vital stem cells, which can now be harvested from her own menstrual blood.

Now, thanks to the revolutionary research and technology of C’elle, a service dedicated to providing women with a safe and easy method of collecting and preserving stem cells found in her menstrual fluid each month, even the busiest woman can take control of her future, right in the privacy of her own home. With C’elle’s non-invasive collection process, menstrual cells are processed and cryo-preserved (stored at a very low temperature) for potential cellular therapies that may be used in the future. These self-renewing cells one day may even be used for sports medicine or cosmeceutical treatments, such as anti-aging therapies.

"C’elle enables and empowers a woman to take control of her future health, and possibly of those genetically closest to her, in a fast, painless and stress free way," said Michelle Kay, Marketing and Sales Manager for C’elle. "We live in exciting times, as science and technology are discovering how extremely valuable menstrual blood stem cells really are, and the enormous treatment potential they represent for future therapies. C’elle’s ongoing research is supporting these promising findings."

For more information about C’elle, please call 1-877-892-3553 or visit http://www.celle.com/

To think that it's possible to be able to do stem cell research using something that most of us see as an inconvenience each month is pretty awesome, in my opinion. The storage of the cells is not cheap initially, but the yearly fees after the first year aren't really that bad. This is definitely something to keep an eye on!

You can learn more by clicking here: CNNMoney

Of course, as with anything related to your health and your body, you should consult your doctor if you have any questions!!!

It's FINALLY happened...

Playing together

Oohhh, I love Ruggeros focaccia bread!

On July 4th, 2008, The Jib FINALLY "declared her independence" and decided she was ready to walk. She's 17 months old, and had BEEN ABLE to walk for months. She just refused to do it. Ande decided that he was just going to make her do it that day, and she did!! (YEAH!!) Now when we go somewhere, she gets mad if she doesn't get to walk! Kids are so funny!

Throwing a fit because I won't let her out of the stroller...notice the flying hat!

July 4th was a day of many firsts for the babies (the older kids weren't with us). The girls both tried cotton candy (or candy cotton as Puckey called it) for the first time. I wasn't sure if they'd like it....JUST KIDDING! What kid DOESN'T like spun sugar with flavoring in it?? (Okay, so there may be kids who don't like it, I just don't know any...)

Sharing with Daddy

Another first was the fireworks. They both LOVED them! The Jib would gasp each time a new firework exploded in the sky (good thing they weren't shooting them in rapid succession, she would have hyper-ventilated!)

We had a really nice time playing at the park together, although I did decide that Ande is no longer allowed to push Puckey on the swings...

Umm...Mama, look at what Daddy's doing...

Puckey is the little red blur in the middle of the picture

DO YOU SEE HOW HIGH DADDY PUSHED MY BABY?? She's almost as high as the top of the swingset!!