Show Me The Money!

Forty count pack of diapers, $11. Five pack refill of wipes, $11 . Watching your newborn grow before your eyes, priceless.

So, is the American dream owning a home or spending time with your child. Maybe both? All I know is that I'm diggin' this little venture thus far. One problem. It doesn't pay that well... or anything. I have been attempting to find a way to make some "diaper cash" while tending to our little one and have yet to discover the best way.

I have tried a few things, but to no avail have yet to make any revenue. While cleaning out the garage one weekend I came across some items I new I should just part with and decided to take some pics and put 'em online. This is frustrating, especially for myself, because I tend to hate people. That's right. Truth be told. I can't stand getting a call from a foreigner, only to run in circles trying to figure out what is being said and what is being understood... I just have to hang up at a certain point. Then you have the jerks that call for the details on an item they saw an ad for. Huh! Read the ad and find those details. But, worse yet is the character who calls to set a time for a visit and never shows or even answers when called upon to see what is going on. It gets worse yet. It has only happened once, but this ass actually showed up, made an offer, which we agreed upon and said he would return the next day at this time with this person la la la. So, when that time came and he was AWOL, I called and got this long story and he rescheduled to the next day... and did the same exact thing. Sorry loser. Onto the next guy. People are ridiculous and have absolutely no consideration of others. The bright side is that sometimes the good person does follow through and it all works out. I just hate the B.S. along the way.


In the past month and a half I have found a few ways to make some cash and still have the ability to chill with Grace. With some of these ideas I am still waiting for results. I have seen magazines saying "make thousands working from home". If you look into that you'll be hard pressed to find any ideas of how to work from home with a little one strapped to you. These ideas will take that into account.

• Sell your junk or unneeded items, as mentioned above, whether it be a garage sale or classified ad or even a grocery store flier.



• Cash in all your loose pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Sure you're not making money, but at least it's in a more spendable form. It adds up quick.



• Cash for cans. Scrap metal in general can be had for free. Some people will even pay to have it removed. Do you have beer drinking friends? Give 'em a pale for their cans. Look for junk ovens and other appliances in classifieds and take it away. Now, I'm not saying to be one of those dirtbags "stealing" peoples gutters and riffling through dumpsters but that's your call.

• Sell Avon. I have a friend who does it. I know nothing about it. Really... it's a friend!

• Do you have a camera? Sell stock photos. I could go in depth on this but there is so much material out there so just google it. I have been using istockphoto and it hasn't really paid off. Kinda a pain in the butt. I have learned a few things though. Give it a shot. Maybe it will pay off for you.

Crafts. From birdhouses to knitting. What's your hobby? Sell framed photos if you like playing with your camera. Make wind chimes. Knit scarves. Some crafts are fun to do with the kids given they are at that age. Enter a crafts show to show it off.

• Write. Build a book, write an article, or even blog. You never know what it may turn into.

• Turn your past occupation into a gig if it will fit. You may have to work after hours. If you did accounting you could do something I'm sure. If you did something not possible to do around a baby you could always do it when mama gets home or even on the weekends... if you have the time.

• Do you have a green thumb? If your garden is getting too large, if that's possible, divide your plants up and sell them at a fraction of the cost a garden center would.

• Try throwing a bake sale. Never done it. Except in church. May work though... and I'm sure the kids would have fun too considering thet're old enough.

Regardless how limited you are, there are still opportunities out there. Again... something is better than nothing.

On a slightly different note, today is/was the 7th anniversary of the attacks against the USA. My hats off to you... all of you. R.I.P.

What'd I Get Myself Into?

Just over 4 months old.

Well, I am about fed up with Comcast's internet service as well as their customer service. Grr!Besides that, all is well and I am really beginning to worry about what's to come. Our little munchkin has taken my glasses off, pinched me repeatedly, and is grabbing things at random. Sure she doesn't know, but that's what worries me. What happens when she realizes how to throw things?

So, now that things are progressing as they should, I can't help but think of the stairs, knives, table corners, tools laying around (all Dani's of course), and the dreaded skull and cross bones under the sink. Baby proofing, less naps, and way more activity (from the baby that is). Too much to watch out for, yet I honestly cannot wait. A little person wobbling around on her own, speaking crazy talk more than she does already, eating rocks (trying), more and more giggles, ticklish toes, food... the real thing... or one step closer. As messy as it will be I am really looking forward to "helicopters" and "airplanes" and the swatting them away as they're landing. Too funny. At least the first few times.

Grace had her 4 month checkup a few days ago and we got the news we were so excited to hear. Onto cereal and then baby foods. Cool. Too bad the doc said I must wait a bit lonfer for my pilot's liscence. Upon Dani's arrival home from getting the cereal, I found that my lovely wife was way more excited about baby food than I was as she had grabbed two of everything. Two sweet potatoes, two beans, two of this and two of that. We can't even give her that stuff for a month or so. Were the floods coming... Armageddon maybe? I thought she jumped the guns a little until the rains came for four days straight. Just nature tough.

The first feeding was very interesting. The look alone said a million. I don't believe that she was too impressed as the looks of wonder and confusion quickly turned to disgust and distaste. Then came the liquid vitamin. Woe! Not good at all. In goes the spoon at out comes the mixture. I'd say maybe 50% of what went in made it own the hatch. She took it well for the most part and actually began to figure it out the next time around.

One Month Down

Well, due to internet issues, we missed week three which was fun filled. I think we left off with tummy time and Grace attempting to find a boob in the covers somewhere... huh... so I'm not the only one.

Anyhoo, Grace is rolling over, and has been for what seems like forever. She doesn't do it as much as I thought she would. Just sporatically. Again, it all seems to be going by so fast. Watching Grace trying to sit up reminds me of myself trying to pry myself off the couch only I make the old man grown... not good. To remedy this problem (the old man groan) we have continued to do our long walks around the area with Nyla. Danielley attends on occasion too and does she ever get concerned about the sun. If it's not the hat it's the hat, sunscreen, glasses, and spit rags... can't even see the poor baby. Better safe than sorry I suppose. The stroller was even converted into a beer cart once. Really, it was just once. It was her idea. Talk about multi-tasking!

Still no answer to the "pick me up cry". Two days of that tend to tire one out quicker than usual. Good thing nothing phases me. This curve ball gets thrown into the mix more often than you may think. A few days went like this...

• Day 1 - Grace slept most of the day and ate only once between. Kinda worried me but she seemed content and I actually got a ton of work done around the house. Actually, nothing got done, just progressed a bit.




• Day 2 - The morning was fun with tummy time and sit-ups (no, not me). Then came noon and heaven forbid a nap was in the mix. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Just a bunch of fussing. If she isn't in my arms she isn't diggin' it.




• Day 3 - Ditto Day 2




• Day 4 - Things are back to normal. Sleep a little, play a little, eat, sleep a little more, eat, play some some more, and sleep.

Grace has also gone from stuffing her entire hand in her mouth to choosing a thumb.

This Is Nothin'!

Week Two

Well, here we are in week two of the adventure and I seem to be inseperable from my lil' buddie Gracie. To anybody considering jumping into this scenario... do it! I am having a blast. I even find myself swaying the baby when I don't even have her...wierd. Luckily I haven't been caught yet. That'd be embarrassing. Grace is a few days over the 3 month mark now and she is getting more and more talkative. She is growing so fast it seems. Still waiting for her to roll over during tummy time though. When seated in the near upright position she tends to lean forward and topple over which is quite amusing yet worrying at the same time.

Here we go!

Week one



Dani left me with Grace on Saturday so she could get some things ready for her return the the work place. I don't think it went too well for me or Grace, as she seemed very fussy. Was it tiredness or sleepiness? I sure hope it isn't always like that. She would nap for maybe 20 minutes then get all pissy when she woke up. I dunno.?. This is gonna take some getting used to but I know I am up for it. I wasn't getting mad or grouchy about Grace's frustration, just felt bad she couldn't relax and that I couldn't help her.

Monday went better than the Saturday prior. No walks due to thunderstorms though. I attempted to load pictures and blog while Grace was napping, which was very sporadic and quite short. I have realized that she loves to be held whether sleeping or awake and she gets a tad heavy... even for a guy with arms as large as mine : ) I strapped up the baby backpack thingy (hangs on the front) and carried her with me. Worked out well but gets tiring too, and warm in steamy weather.

A new finding is that Grace really gets comfy in this donut feeding pillow dealy. It's nice because she tends to sleep much longer in it than anything else. She has woken up a few times this past nap and I just cuddle her right back to sleep. It's not that I don't want her to wake up, but she gets a bit grouchy when she doesn't get enough sleep... like mommy. It's funny how she gets so upset trying to stay awake. All she needs at that point is some snuggles to convince her. She really just does what she wants right now... no schedule. How does one go about setting a sleep schedule for a newborn and when should it begin? Huh? I have a lot to come and I can't wait.

Already In Vacation Mode

The countdown has begun and I can wait no longer. The air in this shop couldn't be cut with a knife. Thick stagnant air that even the three fans and a window air conditioiner propped on a nearby table are unable to combat. I've had a one track mind lately, as I have for quite some time now, besides the thoughts of how certain parts of my body are constanly sticking to others. Thoughts of diapers and naps, of tummy time and bottle feedings, of giggles and cries. Oh, what's to come? Whatever it is, it will be here soon enough and I can't stand the anticipation. Having put in for my FMLA (family medical leave), due to my " baby mama's" returning to work, has been kind of a change lately. Only in that I have been planning things to do with three month old Grace which focus on getting out of the house and into the world.

Having recently snagged a jogging stroller and bike trailer from the classifieds I am ready to get on a roll, literally. How will Gracie take to this idea I wonder. When I discussed these same plans with her she gave me this crazy look like I was out of my mind. Funny, it's the same look mommy makes when workouts are mentioned. Well, only time will tell. To see the trees in the park and clouds in the sky (if she can even see that far) and to feel the breeze and to hear the birds. The list could go on. Then again, I think she is more concerned with eating, sleeping, and pooping. Well, I went so far to get these things all cleaned up only to realize that helments aren't made for tiny people... and the warning on the trailer and bike seat confirmed that. Maybe that explains the look she gave me. Bummer! There's always next year. At least we have the jogging stroller I'm sure I will only walk with. Somehow I ended up with some of the baby weight, and now I'm thinking I got the bulk of it. It's true that it's only cute on babies. Bummer again.

Handing Over Gracie

Before my amazing husband - aka 'Metal God' - takes over watching Gracie all day, I'd like to share how my experience has been staying home with her. I - aka 'Mrs. Metal God' - have been blessed enough to be able to take my 12 weeks off of my senior accounting position to stay home with our new daughter Grace. It has been absolutely wonderful and has gone WAY too quickly! I LOVED being pregnant but I absolutely LOVE being a mommy! I have just enjoyed every minute of Grace - from the special bonding times when we nurse to the poopy explosions that happen afterwards! Our days are pretty simple, we eat, poop, and sleep...and then repeat! I usually try to set at least one goal for myself everyday - whether it's to vacuum, check my email, or pluck both eyebrows! That way I don't feel like the day has completely gotten away from me. Since Grace is our first baby, we both had no idea what to expect. In a way John has it a little easier with his 12 weeks because now we're both pretty familiar with her hungry cry versus her tired cry and so on. I had to figure these out the hard way - although I enjoyed it! Also Gracie is much more alert now and is smiling and cooing at us - John is going to have so much fun playing with her! I know I've been a little paranoid and overly protective with Grace going outside, etc (afraid she'll get bit by mosquitoes, afraid she'll get sunburned...) - but John has helped me not to worry so much (it really must be a girl thing!). I really haven't gotten Grace into any sort of a schedule yet. She is still very much on demand for when she's hungry or tired - I think we'll worry about setting more of a set schedule when we get her ready for daycare (which we haven't figured out yet and I don't want to!).