Our raffle is ending next Wednesday, September 24th at midnight. We’ve added more
prizes to our give-away stash, including 2 UPPAbaby G-Light strollers, a Mia Moda Cielo stroller, a Claire Bella Moses basket, and more! Be sure to buy your raffle ticket for $5.00 to hopefully win one of these fabulous prizes, or buy more and increase your chances of winning!
The Balsis family received their travel date to meet their daughter. They will be leaving for Russia on Monday to meet their daughter. This will be the first of two trips and on the second trip, she will be coming home for good! Please don’t miss this opportunity to help them bring their daughter home!
To buy your raffle ticket or to learn more about the raffle for the Balsis family, click here!
We have been having some drama with our cat, Samuel, recently. It all began when he peed in our friend’s car seat. I even wrote about it here. Since then about once a week we would something else he peed on – a blanket, t-shirt, an empty plastic toy bin on floor. The last straw was when he peed in Annabelle’s toy basket in her toy corner. In an emotional response my husband threw him out the back door. I didn’t see him for at least two days.
On the third day we decided to take him to the vet and get him checked out and make sure that it wasn’t an infection or anything. I saw him on day four and brought him inside. About three hours later I was on the phone with the vet and I heard Annabelle scream like I have never heard her scream before. I immediately got off the phone and found that she was messing with the cats and Samuel scratched her. He scratched her inside her left ear and down her cheek. Samuel lost his second chance.
We took both Samuel and Elizabeth to the vet and they are both fine. We got them updated on their shots. The vet agreed that it was a behavioral problem. Last night I posted them on Craigslist. Hopefully I can find them a home without young children. If not, then our only other option is to find a no-kill shelter that will take them.
We never took the pets and a new baby class. Maybe I would have learned something. What I know is that our cat doesn’t like having a toddler in the house messing with him. With a second baby on the way we can’t take any chances. We have had our cats for 5 years and love them. They used to be my babies, until Annabelle came home. It was a tough decision to find them new homes, but in the end we have to do what is best for our family.
Have you ever had a problem with your pets and your children getting along? Have you had to find a new home for your pet when you brought your baby home?
UPDATE:
In the end Samuel scratched our daughter at least twice. We honestly couldn’t trust him with her and her safety is important to us. I feel that it would be impossible to keep them separate at all times. I don’t feel like Annabelle was doing much to entice the scratching. After two people were interested in looking at the cats, but never showed, we placed them back on Craigslist. A lady who only wanted Samuel came and adopted him. He has the most perfect home now. Her last cat just passed away last month. She lives by herself in a huge house and I know that Samuel is going to be spoiled beyond measure.
I did have hard time letting him go. I was very sad after he left, but I prayed about it. I feel like God told me that he sent the lady and that Samuel is fine now. In the end I realized that Samuel wasn’t acting like his usual laid back and loving self. Now I hope without a baby bugging him, he is more relaxed and happy.
We still have his sister, Elizabeth. My husband caved in and let me keep her. She isn’t pee’ing or scratching Annabelle. I think it is much easier to only care for one cat.
Months ago, Amanda posted a great peek into her daughter’s beautiful nursery. I was so impressed with how cute and practical it was. Recently, another friend of mine redecorated a room in her house to create a second nursery for her new son (nursery #1 is now her todder son’s bedroom). I was practically drooling at the colors, the theme, and the pristine, matching furniture. This weekend, I read the new People magazine, which featured “Baby Yearbook 2008″, covering celebrity baby lifestyles from fashion to nursery decor. I marveled at J. Lo’s extravagant nursery for her twins, and then imagined what it must be like to have two other houses with two other nurseries decorated exactly the same way (Max & Emme won’t be confused at any of their three homes.)
My reality is altogether different. Here are my true confessions:
- We’re renting a house. This means major decorating is not only restricted, it’s kinda pointless. Therefore, we make do with what we have. And what we have is funny. It’s hilarious watching peoples’ reactions to the wallpaper in my son’s room. Three walls are a masculine, somewhat dark pattern, w
hich is fine. One wall, inexplicably, though, is a repeated pattern of pictures of colonial American buildings. Let me say that again: it’s a repeated pattern of pictures of colonial American buildings. It’s a bit like having a giant, permanent history poster in your bedroom. On the plus side, Eli has a better sense of our country’s past than I ever did at that age. So, bonus!
- The crib bumper is adorable. It’s green, blue, and red, which we bought at Wal-Mart. It doesn’t match the wallpaper, of course, or anything else in the room, for that matter.
- There are no curtains for the window. I wouldn’t even know how to hang them if I had some.
- I find random baby room decor at Target when it’s marked down, and occasionally, I buy it. So Eli’s room has a few animal plaques here, some safari animal clings there, and a wooden sign that says “Thank Heaven for Little Boys” over his window (this sign was a gift, actually). All of this is hung on top of that wallpaper. (Sometimes, if you stare at the walls long enough, you can make out new images, like those old Magic Eyes books.)
- We’ve moved a few times since my kids were born. Therefore, Eli’s room is also our storage/junk room. This is fine for now, since he only uses the room for sleeping. Other than the crib and wall decor, it’s pretty much my dumping ground for extra books, picture frames, and boxes. His closet is our extra storage closet.
- My daughter Lucy’s room is painted blue. Go figure.
- I try to stay away from Pottery Barn Kids, Babies R Us, and other baby specialty shops as much as possible, to keep my envy in check.
As much as I wish I could have a nursery that is airy and bright and serene and precious, with gliding rockers and lullabies playing, it’s just not in the cards for me. And frankly, the kids just don’t even know any better.
Have you got any confessions you’d like to share? Anyone out there in a similar boat?
p.s. I recently painted these letters to add to the decor, and I am pretty proud of them.
You know how they say that hindsight is 20/20? Sometimes I wish I had a chart on how many times I would have avoided something had I listened to my instinct that something wasn’t quite right. I think that we were created with an ability to detect problems and sense things in our children so that we can protect them. Haven’t you ever had your “mama bear” come out when your child needed you? Maybe another child was hitting your kid at the playground or another family member was taking a dig at your little one. Aren’t we willing to go to great costs to protect our children? If you are a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, we have been given a gift to know when something is right with our kids–emotionally, physically, mentally. I know there have been times when others have told me that everything was probably fine when it turns out that it wasn’t. Sometimes others doubt our instinct. Sure, we aren’t right 100% of the time–but I am a big believer in listening to your gut.
We took the baby to the ophthalmologist today because I finally listened to my instinct. Several months ago I noticed that Graham’s right eye looked crossed when he would turn his head to look at something. When I brought it up to the pediatrician he said he thought it was probably pseudostrabismus which is basically an illusion of the eyes crossing. He told us to watch and see if the light reflection in the irises of the eyes was in the same place and that if it wasn’t it to set up an appointment for a pediactric ophthalmologist. He felt pretty certain that it was pseudostrabismus since Graham’s eyes seemed normal otherwise and we couldn’t get him to do it in the office. Trying to find the reflection of light in the eyes is very difficult to do in a baby because they don’t tend to stay in one place for long. We started watching for the light reflection in his eyes and from what we could tell it seemed like pseudostrabismus. But something in my gut was telling me to call the eye doctor. My husband and I kept paying attention and trying to get the baby to turn his head to make his eye cross. I had a feeling I should call just to get a second opinion and then one day my husband noticed the light reflection wasn’t in the same place in his eyes. So I set up the appointment.
It turns out that Graham has Duane Syndrome. It is not a serious condition–and the problem isn’t that his right eye crosses–it is that his left eye can’t move to the right or left very well. It can only look straight ahead so it looks like his other eye is crossing in.There is no treatment for it because the nerves that control the muscles were miswired while developing in the womb. There is a possibility that surgery could be needed later if he has to keep his head turned in order to see straight. While I was listening to the doctor tell me about the syndrome I was so thankful that I took him in. I was glad I listened to my instinct to get it checked out. Now I know what is wrong with his eyes and I know what problems to look out for. And now I won’t worry that something really is wrong even though the pediatrician said it was probably fine.
I remember when I was pregnant with my first baby, Ewan, we had been going to an OB recommended to us by a friend. As we went through our childbirth classes and I was learning about all the different options I had for labor and birth I started feeling like sticking with that OB would not have been a good choice. I started feeling like I would have ended up with a general barking orders at me while he gave me an unwanted episiotomy. So we switched to another OB and ended up having a great birth where I felt safe and in control. Of course it is hard to say what would have happened exactly had we stayed with the other doctor but my instinct told me to switch and I am glad I did! It started me on a journey to help women be empowered to birth their babies.
Instinct is a very powerful thing. Especially when it comes to protecting our children or ensuring what is best for them. So, if you have that nagging feeling in your gut about something, listen to it. Get it checked out–even if others are telling you different. Maybe it will turn out to be nothing but you might be right and you’ll be glad you did.
What stories do you have where you listened to your gut and were glad you did?
The Mom Crowd is honored to be hosting a very exciting raffle! One of our sponsors, Bethany from The Polkadot Platypus, is in the process of adopting a little girl from Russia who has Down syndrome. Bethany and her husband will be traveling to meet their daughter within the next couple of weeks and will hopefully bring her home soon after that. As most know, adoptions are very expensive. We are hoping that this raffle will help raise funds to help with their substantial adoption costs.
As a way to thank you for your support of this great cause, we have over $2,000 worth of prizes to give away {see the slideshow below}. Each raffle ticket purchased will enter you into a drawing for all of the wonderful prizes pictured below. Raffle tickets are $5.00 each and the more raffle tickets you purchase, the more chances you will have to win these great prizes! We will be closing this raffle on Saturday, September 27th at midnight EST and will be announcing the winners on Monday, September 29th, 2008.
You can follow the Balsis’ adoption journey by visiting their blog: www.dreamingonanangel.blogspot.com
Don’t miss out on your chance to win one of these great prizes!
*There are two ways to purchase raffle tickets …
1. Electronically – Click on the “buy now” button below. {Note: When using Paypal, make sure the correct dollar amount for the number of raffle tickets you wish to purchase is displayed. You will need to click “Update Total” for the proper amount to be shown. Remember, each raffle ticket is $5.00.} Winners will be contacted by their email addresses shown in Paypal.
2. Snail mail – Checks, money order or cash may be mailed to the address below. Please include a note with your email address so that we can contact you if you win.
Payment must be received before the raffle ends on September 24th to be entered into the drawing for the raffle. Please make your check or money order out to “Balsis Family Adoption Fund”.
Balsis Family Adoption Fund
Raffle Tickets
PO Box 61
Washington, Virginia 22747
We would like to thank the following folks for co-hosting this raffle:
Also, thank you so much to the following companies for their generous donations:
