Joe's New Blog
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Check out Joe's new blog.
http://themeteorcannotbestopped.blogspot.com/
This is where he write about music and the like.
Bookmark it, Send it to your friends, Read it everyday!
Jude's BFF
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Today Jude and I made a trip to Cary WakeMed to visit baby Oscar and his parents.
Cuddly and Cute
Mama and Oscar. skin to skin contact
Jude testing out Oscar's new monkey in the box toy.
Jerry in recovery.
Babies and Shopping
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday morning Andrea and I went to the Kids Exchange. There were alot of great deal but I had to stick to my plan and budget. I went in with the mindset that if it wasn't a great deal I wasn't going to buy anything. However, I found several things on my list and stayed within my budget.
I bought:
Safety 1st Table Edge BumperNIB - Paid $10
Fisher Price Monitor - Paid $5
Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders: Musical Fishbowl - Paid $6
LeapFrog Baby Counting Pal - Paid $4
2 Shirts 12mo - Paid $2
Freaking Cute Baby Flip Flops - Paid $4
Andrea got a few baby items and a play mat. We did alot of walking and I think that helped her get labor started as she went into labor that night.
So today we celebrate the birth of baby Updyke.
Oscar Lawrence Updyke
11lbs
22inches
15inch head
WOAH big boy!
Kids Exchange Response
Friday, January 23, 2009
Here's the email from the Kids Exchange
Thank you for your email with concerns regarding our ‘spouse only’
entrance to the Kids Exchange during the Work Exchange sale. For a
while now, we have been considering a change in this policy to better
serve single parents and military families as well. We appreciate
you bringing your concerns to our attention. Starting with our July
2009 sale we are considering a new policy. We will be polling our
current work exchangers to see which of the following options they
prefer. We will implement the one with the highest votes.
A.) Work Exchanger ONLY with no guest, no spouse.
B.) The Work Exchanger will be allowed to bring one ‘helper’. The
helper must be shopping with the work exchanger for the same family
(honor system), and must checkout with the Work Exchanger. Only Work
Exchangers (wearing the entrance sticker) will be able to pay. The
helper will not be able to checkout separately. The Work Exchanger and
their helper will only have one order, not separate orders.
Our goal and focus have never been to discriminate in any way. We ask
that you circulate this change in policy in the same way the negative
information was prematurely sent regarding the Kids Exchange owners on
both a business and professional level. We personally are very upset
that our sellers and work exchangers would circulate such information
about us before we were given a chance to officially respond to their
concerns. We have both friends and family that are gay and in no way
sought to discriminate against anyone. The policy has been in place
for many years. We have always been very firm even regarding single
parents, widows and military families. Our firm stance on our
policies was not anti-gay nor was it created or implemented against the
gay community. Again, please circulate this change in policy which
will take effect at our next sale in July.
*Our policy of 'spouse only' has been an ongoing policy since the
inception of Kids Exchange. This policy is clearly stated on our Website
and also in emails sent to all Work Exchangers prior to the sale. This
entire situation could have been avoided if we had been contacted prior
to the sale date. We work with over 500 people in a very short time
and this simply was not an issue that should have been discussed or
brought up at the front door of the sale. Each Work Exchanger devotes
countless hours for their right to shop early at the Exchange. To allow
non-Work Exchangers admittance would be unfair to the Work Exchangers
and serve as a disincentive to these workers. We never meant to
embarrass anyone. We wish that the family involved would have
contacted us to clarify their questions beforehand and this may have
been resolved before the hectic environment of the sale. We cannot
change an ongoing policy, on the spot as the person requested us to do,
without thoughtful consideration and deliberation among ourselves and
our volunteers, who are the lifeline of the Kids Exchange.
Thank You ~ Kids Exchange
Kids Exchange Discriminates
Thursday, January 22, 2009
This is an email I received earlier today as part of an online mother's group post I'm a member.
Let me know what you think.
Greetings Triangle Families~
I just had to send a post after a negative experience with the Kids
Exchange sale in Raleigh today. For those of you who don't know
about the Kids Exchange, it's an event that takes place twice a year
at the raleigh fairgrounds where people can consign and buy used
baby/kid stuff. I've gone twice a year for the past six years for
great bargains and to consign so it is with GREAT disappointment that
I send out this email.
My partner was a part of the super volunteer exchange for this sale
(which works 3 shifts -total of 11-12 hours) in exchange for being
able to shop early at the sale. If you are a super volunteer you can
bring your kids and your 'spouse' to shop early with you, but not
friends or others. The thought behind that (per the website) is that
they only want people shopping for their children (one family) not
shopping for kids of people who were not volunteers. So as we entered
for the super volunteer sale today we were questioned at the door
going in...and I said we were partners...that the 2 children are
ours...we were their parents. They started to not let us in, but then
one of the ladies knew my partner and waved us in...amongst some ill
looks. It was when we paid that i got pissed.
As I handed the check to Doris (remember this name...she's the head
honcho....write to her/call her...PLEASE! ) She looked at us and said
that the early volunteer sale was for spouses only. I explained that
we are domestic partners...the 2 children with us are OURS, we are the
parents. She again said in a snotty voice, that it was for spouses
ONLY, but since we had already gotten in, she'd 'let us pay for our
stuff' this time but that it would not be permitted again. My partner
then said, 'you mean husband and wife only? Man and woman
only?'...and Doris continued with her snotty voice and said yes.
So, please keep in mind that no 'proof' of marriage is required when a
man and a woman go into the sale together. No questions asked. It's
just one man and one woman....and that is acceptable as long as one of
them was a volunteer. It seems that gay parent volunteer hours aren't
the same as straight parent volunteer hours....any man and woman can
enter the sale early if one is a volunteer..for all they know they can
even be strangers. But as a gay parent, we are NOT ALLOWED the same
benefit of shopping early with our partners since we're the same
gender.
Please take a moment to send an email to Doris and the others who
'run' the Kids Exchange to let them know that this type of
discrimination against our families is not fair. If we are
volunteering our time and resources we should be entitled to the same
privilledges as straight families (or even a man/woman non-related or
strangers) for that matter. If they want to enforce the sale as being
for married couples only...then require a marriage certificate. What
about non-married parents? THIS IS DISCRIMINATION OF OUR FAMILIES!!!!
!
Please feel free to circulate this e-mail to anyone you know who will
spread the word and contact the Kids Exchange, Media or other outlets.
This type of treatment of our families in 2009 is not acceptable and
unless we make our voices heard incidents like this will continue. I
appreciate you taking the time to read this, and please follow up with
an email to Doris and the Kids Exchange organizers listed below to let
them know this is discrimination.
Doris@KidsExchange. net
Julie@KidsExchange. net
Amy@KidsExchange. net
Amanda C.P. Lenhart
Snow Day
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Yesterday it snowed several inches in NC. Which is kind of a big deal since it snows in NC like once every few years. Normally, Joe would have to work despite the weather but fortunately he was off this Tuesday since he worked all weekend filling in for a co-worker that recently had surgery. So we enjoyed a nice relaxing day indoors doing laundry, watching the House marathon on USA and playing with Jude. We did venture out briefly into the snow to let Jude explore the fluffy white world outside. We walked to visit our neighbors, the Stevens, to see if they had any coffee. Sadly we were out of coffee and so were the Stevens. Jude didn't care much for the snow... he briefly touched it but quickly realized it was very cold and was ready to go back inside, snuggle up in his bed and take a nap. Once we returned home Joe ventured out to get coffee for our house and the Stevens. Our house was nice a toasty all day especially since Joe finally added the new weather stripping to our once drafty front door on Monday. Who knew I married such a handy man!
The snow is melting now and Joe is back to work. It was fun if only for a day.
Wardrobe Remix 09
Friday, January 16, 2009
We're finally getting back into the swing of blogging. So here is the first Baby Wardrobe Remix of 2009.
Brown Sweater - Target
Unseen Onesie - Blue and Brown with a Lion on front by Carters
Green Cargo Pants - Baby Gap
Unseen socks - Brown with Flames! from Target
Elephant Shoes - Bugaloo on Etsy.com
Unseen Diaper Cover - Imse Vimse Organic Cotton Velour Olive Stripe
We're co-sleeping family.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The most recent issue of Mothering Magazine has a few articles about co-sleeping that I've recently been reading. And up until now I never really understood what Co-Sleeping was all about.
Apparently, there is a difference between Co-sleeping and Bedsharing.
Co-sleeping: sleeping in the same room, in close proximity to one's child, but not necessarily in the same bed.
Bedsharing: sleeping in an adult bed with one's child.
According to these definitions we are a 100% Co-sleeping family and I'd say about an 80% Bedsharing family. Jude sleeps in the play yard bassinet next to our bed most of the night but inevitably at some point ends up in our bed.
I'd never considered us to be a co-sleeping family but after some research I've learn that the benefits greatly outweigh the prospect of Jude sleeping through the night by himself in the other room.
Some of the benefits of co-sleeping are:
A lower risk of SIDS
Promotes Breastfeeding
Babies sleep better when they feel secure
More sleep for parents
May positively effect child's self esteem long-term
Co-sleeping is actually alot more common than I suspected. 70 percent of new parents beshared at least occasionally. And the idea that infants should sleep alone in their own room is actually a recent and culturally unique phenomenon. In almost all cultures around the world babies and parents co-sleep. Additionally, I learned that most babies don't sleep through the night and the fact that we expect an infant to have the same sleep patterns as an adult is a source of much misinformation. "Babies do not follow adult patterns of behavior in other areas, such as feeding, motor abilities, and daytime sleep, so it's logical that babies' nighttime sleep patterns will also be unique and evolving."
I'm glad we are a co-sleeping family and I feel that Jude is a secure and happy baby because of it. Sometimes I wish I could have a whole night of uninterupted sleep but I know the time will come when Jude doesn't want to cuddle up next to me in bed so I better enjoy it while I have it.
For more information about the statistics and benefits of co-sleeping and bedsharing checkout Mothering.com articles about Sleep.
A new way to paci
Usually he only plays with his pacifier during the day but he still enjoys having it when he's sleeping.
However, recently he's decided he wants to change things up a bit.
Jude's sleep patterns
I think Jude is settling in to a sleep pattern, for now anyway. He typically wakes up anywhere between 9-10 am. Takes a nap around 11-12am then another nap around 3-4pm and goes to bed around 9-10pm. I'm perfectly O.K. with this schedule. Sometimes we get a little off if we have a bad night or busy day. But he's hardly ever fussy except when he's decided he's ready to go to sleep. Then I just lay him in our bed and he may fuss for a minute until he finds a comfortable spot then he's out!
Here are a few of the positions he finds comfortable!
Yes that is a blanket hanging over the edge of his bed covering his head!
Again with the blanket on his face and his hand over his eyes.
No covers and drooling on the sheets!
The Big Lebowski Strikes Again
Friday, January 9, 2009
On our first date Joe and I watched The Big Lebowski. Now, I'd never seen this movie and at the time I didn't really care what movie we saw. I just wanted to get to know this hot guy. And to be honest I don't really remember too much about the movie. (I was a little distracted by the hand holding game that was going on ;)
Well, after Jude was born and we finally revealed his awesome name the nicknames started to develop. Obviously he got alot of, "Hey Jude" comments. Especially from my nieces and nephews who constantly watched the YouTube video of the little kid singing, "Hey Jude". They would sing to him and of course it was cute! Now my 2 year old niece, Ella probably influenced our nickname choice the most. Being two years old pronouncing Jude proved to be a bit of a challenge so she called him Dude! Which we thought was adorable, primarily because we'd never thought of it. So pretty much everyday since we've called him Dude. When I'm talking to others about Jude I usually refer to him as "Baby Dude" or "The Dude". Hopefully, he'll learn his proper name and not think that we named him after the movie we saw on our first date or even after a Beatles song. He was infact named after Jude the Apostle, you know the one in the Bible. And because the name Jude means "Praise". (The meaning was very important to us.)
Blog-i-vation
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
2009 hasn't been as blog centric as I'd hoped it would be. I just don't seem to have any motivation to blog these days. I guess my enthusiasm for cleaning and organize overshadow the desire to blog. But inevitably that motivation will wane and I'll be back in full force.
In the meantime here are a few updates of things that are going on in the lives of the Liebs.
- Jude is 6 months old! He's trying very hard to sit up and he wants to GO! He can't crawl yet but he does hurl himself places. For instance, just this morning he was sitting in the Bumbo playing with his toys when one specific item he wanted was out of reach so he hurled himself out of the Bumbo onto the floor. I thought he might start crying but apparently it was his plan to propel himself to the floor specifically to reach the item he wanted. BTW he got the toy!
- Joe and I are leading our Home Group. In the next few weeks Jerry and Andrea will be welcoming baby Updyke into the world and they decided they need a break from leading the group. So the Bonchaks offered to host the group at their house. (Since we have a tiny place and they are backdoor neighbors.) And we offered to lead. This is definitely a big responsibility and will challenge us in many ways but I think the benefits will be wonderful. I can't wait to see what God will do.
- We are trying very hard this year to purge the unnecessary from our lives and organize the rest. With Jude fast on his way to becoming a crawler we understand the need to baby proof everything. So while baby proofing we'll use the opportunity to reorganize a few things and get rid of stuff that's just lingered for awhile.
- Chicago here we come! In February we are taking Jude on his second plane trip to attend his 5th wedding. Also, this will be his second trip to the mid-west. This boy has done more traveling in the first 6 months of his life than I did in the first 16 years of mine. My dear friend Vasti is getting married and I'm so excited for her!
- Double Morrissey shows. In March we are going to see Morrissey... TWICE... with in one week! I know we're crazy but why not!
HT Triples 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Jude and I went to Harris Teeter this afternoon for triples. He slept through most of the trip which was nice. We did pretty well. I had to buy alot of stuff that wasn't on sale or had coupons so my total was a little larger than normal but it's still pretty good.
Total Before Coupons: $62,14
Total Spent: $29.86
What I bought:
Tabasco Sauce
BC Cookie Mix
BC Frosting
Craisins
6 pack Toilet Paper
Paper Towels
3 boxes Tissues
Pasta Sauce
Salsa
Panty Liners
2 Toothbrushes
Pears
Bell Pepper
Tomatoes
Sour Dough Bread
Eggos
Cheddar Cheese
Tortillas
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