Getting the Word O-U-T!!!

Ok so awhile ago my BeFri Jess Whipple asked me about where to buy stuff to make a beaded watch band. I gave her my sites and kinda forgot about it. Until a few months later when I saw her wearing the MOST adorable watch band. Big and chunky and SOOO cute. Turns out searching for the watch faces was nearly impossible but in her hunt she came across this company called Bumbles and loved their stuff so much she decided to become a distributor.

Well, I am now a Bumbles collecting FIEND! I have a number if their bracelets, watch bands and faces. They were my go to gift for Christmas. Anyways, my point is that it seems that everywhere I go someone stops and asks me where I got it from. So I talked to Jess and we are going to have a Bumbles open house so you all can come see for yourself! These are a huge trend in jewelry right now- and it is obvious why, they are stinkin' adorable!

They have over 100 different bands and like 60 watch faces, so you can make any combination you want. They have different sized bands and faces- which is why it is crucial to try them on. I tried several combos on before I found the perfect fit, and when I tried to guess and give one as a gift I chose too small... So---- come and see what they have. Necklaces, cute pendants, bracelets (I {heart} the holidays ones), earrings and of course the WATCHES! So we'll have a ton ton ton of different styles for you to see and try on and then you can either leave with it that night- or Jess can custom order ANYTHING for you!

So Save the Date!

Feb 9th, 2010

my House

(if you need the address let me know)

7-8:30pm

If you can't come that night and want to order something, just shoot me an email. Or if you are out of state let me know and I will have Jess contact you! Seriously, come see this cute stuff! I already picked out another band for Rusty to give me for Valentine's Day- oh and one for Easter- and shoot, another one I want I guess for Mother's Day! Ha. These suckers are like Pringles, I can't have just one! I'll be sending out invites to my nearby peeps but it's a come one come all kinda thing- shoot bring your neighbor, your sister and your Mom!

No Fun, No Fun at All !!!

Well, the sleep things will have to wait. The haircut happened- kinda. It's hard to trim a busy baby's head! It looks a little better, and maybe when we buzz the boys in the spring we will do his too. The sleep thing is having to wait because this little guy thought it would be oodles of fun to go and get himself a nice case of Bronchiolitis. So we started breathing treatments every six hours and then over the weekend he started running a fever. At his follow up today -he is worse. And he has an ear infection now too. So now we have bumped up the treatments to every four hours and added an antibiotic. If he doesn't sound any better by Wednesday then we will have to add an oral steroid in to the mix. All this is in hopes of keeping it from becoming RSV and trying to keep us OUT of the hospital.

Poor guy, he sounds like a barking seal when he coughs and his breathing sounds just groadie. My babies are always young their first winter but this is the first one I have had get anywhere near RSV. Braden lucked into qualifying for the Synagis vaccine- so we never had to worry about it for the first 2 winters. And in case you didn't catch that, YES there is a vaccine for RSV, only problem is that unless you have certain medical aliments you don't qualify. And even then it is a series of shots Oct- Apr at $1,100 bucks a pop. So, I guess poor Brenner will have to fight it out on his own. Poor guy. So odds are, if you call I either can't hear ya over the respirator, or the crying that accompanies the treatment. Or, my hands are just full with a super squishy cranky baby who needs all his Momma's love for a bit.

To Cut or Not to Cut...

You are all so fabulous for helping me out with my stinker of a sleeper that I have just one more question...

Do ya think it's time to cut his hair yet?

Or should I keep his awesome combover? (ok really that was a rhetorical question...)

In Another Life...

In another life I had a perfectly straight house. Kids that never fought. A baby who slept at night so I could get a full 8 hours. A three year old who was potty trained. And I never had such sore shoulders and arms from carrying around a colicky baby that migraines were a weekly result. Yes, in another life I was the perfect mom, homemaker and I had infinite patience and energy.

But this is my real life. And I'm exhausted. Dishes sit in my sink, my carpets need vacuumed SO badly, which is complicated, since our 6th vacuum in 9 years is broken and sitting in the garage. And I spent most of today playing referee between two of my boys who were home sick with runny noses and coughs. The third was was sick too, but since he was too young to jump in and wrestle, he just got EXTRA clingy instead. I swear, some days I feel like I just may fall over by 5pm.

Having to deal with the stress of the break-in hasn't helped. Even when Brenner does sleep I have a hard time falling asleep. Either thinking of other things to add to our home owner's claim, or stressing about keeping Braden's from knowing just how scary what happened was, or just everything.

And just about the time my brain finally shuts down, Brenner wakes again. Now, I have NEVER had good sleepers. Nadda one.

Braden was on a very strict 8, 11, 2, 5 schedule. So, for feeding and medicines we had to wake him every night until he was almost 10 months old and by then it was built in. He still woke up around 2 for years until he finally outgrew it and would wake at other times instead. Now, he finally sleeps ok. Aside from the occasional bad dream, or growing pains. I think he has really benefited from having Berk in his room.

Berkley, man was he hard. When we brought him home, Braden still needed us to lay with him till he fell asleep and was waking up once or twice a night. Rusty is the best tag-team partner ever. I finally begged for sleep advice when my blog was still pretty new and was overwhelmed by every one's support and advice. I finally let him cry it out about 18 months old and he started going to sleep on his own, and staying asleep most nights straight through. Then we went on the cruise and for 2 weeks he was in bed with us, on a loopy schedule and after we got home it was chaos. Things settled down again and then we moved him into a big boy bed, and at the same time he started sharing a room. So we started laying with him. Now he rarely falls asleep with out us and I'd say 4 out of 7 nights wakes up at least once. Again, my tag teamer is great about getting him right back down.

So, I should have known Brenner would be a cruddy sleeper. But deep down I thought "I'm SO due for a good sleeper!" And at first he was. Then he got his first ear infection, and started cutting teeth at 3 months. And between 5 and 6 am (no matter what time he went down for the night) became wake up time. I fall asleep every night with him in my arms. My neck, arms and back can't take it. He goes down the first time in his crib for anywhere between 3-5 hours but after the initial wake up it takes a bottle and rocking or patting to get him back down. But forget about laying him down after that.

Ok, ok, you get my point. Here's my question. He's nearly 5 months old. He still takes 1-2 bottles (and we're talking 8 oz) through the night. I already started him on rice cereal, which I feed 2 times during the day and again right before bed and then a bottle. I am sure that's why he goes the stretch that he does. So my questions are as follows:

1. Is he to young to cry it out?
2. Does he need to eat that much in the night?
3. Does anyone want to take him for a week or so, so I can catch up on sleep?
4. Does anyone wanna come potty train Berk???

Kidding about that last one or two, but not really... I guess the feeding in the night thing goes back to Braden. It was crucial he ate as often as possible. And that was how I was wired. So I feel like if he was waking up and I could get him back down, in a reasonable amount of time without needing the bottle I would. But his cry tells the mommy in me he's hungry. So what do I do?

Honestly, I'm spent. It's wearing on Rusty too, because he gets up with Brenner at 5 so I can sleep from 5-7 when we all get up for the school rush mayhem. And most nights, that is the longest stretch of sleep I get. I can't nap in the day. A) I'm still leery about it being alone since the robbery and B) Berk loves to poke me on the couch as I rest and tell me he's poopy-- always about 3 minutes after I zonk. And C) I always feel a little guilty about sleeping, even if my kids are, cause I know there are other things I should be doing.

I've hear about Baby Wise, but no one has the book I can borrow, and I don't know if I'm too late to start. I seriously have a dozen different baby sleep books and don't have the energy to read any of them- plus none of them helped with Berk...

Can you sense my desperation? I openly welcome advice, and arms willing to hold Mr Cranky. I laugh that my kids nicknames are "Sugar" "Pumpkin" and "Stinker" because this third kid has really done a number on me. You think you are finally getting a hang of the Mommy thing and then BAM- you get a totally different baby. I tell him all the time "It's a good thing you're cute."

Better Scared than Sorry...

So earlier this week our house was robbed. We weren't home and no one was hurt. And that's the most important thing. It was between 9-10 am. They took a lot of things, ruined a number of things and made a big mess. But they were just things. Things can be replaced. Because it is an open case I won't go into much detail here, except to say that I am so sad about a few of my jewelry items taken and irate that they took some of Braden's Christmas presents...(so email me or call if you just have to know more details).

So here is my Soap Box Moment...

We were house number 3 of 5 with in a week.Not just in my neighborhood but my area (a few square miles). Let me just say, I live in a nice, family friendly neighborhood. So it's not just something happening in 'bad parts' of the city. All over the city, this is happening. I had no idea there was any kind of spree going on. I have a routine, we all do. And people took advantage of mine.

As far as how they are targeting people, there are two schools of thought 1. They go door to door knocking, posing as solicitors-if no one answers they try the door. If it is open well then... 2. They case them. Learn your schedules and routines. That's believed to be the case with us. It is so unsettling to know someone could have been watching me put my kids in the car, get my mail ect. Who knows what drew them to us? It is a downward spiral to play the 'what if' game.

The detective on the case said he has about 100 other recent open cases...

Times are hard and people are desperate and greedy or both.

So here are some tips to help protect yourself...Stuff I've learned the hard way, or had Police officers tell me or just common sense reminders. Most of these examples aren't even what happened to us, but a good reminder non the less.

• Always, always lock your doors, even if you are home. Even if your just running to the neighbors for a bit, or down to the school. Cause let's face it, "a few" can become an hour real quick.
• Never keep your purse or car keys in your car (I almost added 'anymore' to you out there who know who I am talking to! ) Even if it is in the garage. It only takes a moment for someone to come into your garage and open a car door.
• Vary your routine!
• When you leave if you have one, set your alarm!
• When you leave, lock the door from your home to your garage.
• Install double deadbolts. Those locks require a key to open- even on the inside. So when you remove the key, you can't get out (which is great if you have kids too BTW)
• Look like you are home. Make sure you get that paper off the driveway, and those dang adds off our door. Thief's really do look for that sort of thing. There is a really easy way to have your mail put on hold when you go out of town go to the USPS.com site and it's there. Turn on the lights on the porch, front AND back.
• Know your neighbors. Have a contact for them just in case. I'm not saying you gotta have a block party, but know you can get a hold of someone if there's a fire, or you see something funny, or their dog gets out.
• Keep your garage closed! Be a good neighbor, if it's dusk and your neighbors garage is open, go close it for them. How many times have you pulled away and thought if you shut the door or not? This is also where the locking the interior garage door comes into play.
• Be aware. If your neighbor's lawn guy always comes on Saturday and you see a landscape truck there on a Tuesday, maybe give your neighbor a shout. What can it hurt? When ever you leave if you see someone on the street, make eye contact with them. If you live in a circle where you know what cars should and shouldn't be there, don't think its retarded to keep a little notebook with plate numbers.
• Be in the Know. They have security cameras now that can be hooked to a DVR and you can check them on your Iphone or Blackberry. Check out companies like Lifelock and Carbonite to protect your identity and anything on your computer.

Now, as far as helping the Police recover things that are stolen here's what you should have in a perfect world (although in a perfect world you'd never need it)...

• A home inventory list. Go room to room with a camera and take pictures of everything. Open drawers, pictures on the walls, garage too. I can tell you first hand, when they are asking you what is missing your mind goes blank- until 3 am and then you start remembering the most random stuff...
• Make digital copies of any important papers, irreplaceable documents ect. ie birth certificates, Passports, High School Diplomas and on and on...
• Be able to prove what you have! In order to aide in the recovery of things, you need to know the serial number and have a description. For insurance you need (if possible), the value or a receipt. Everything has a serial number, your iPod, your cell, computer- shoot even the baby monitor does. Write it down, and keep a file at your residence and somewhere else. If it was a gift, make a note of it. If you keep cash on hand- they have those handy numbers on them for a reason. Knowing a bill number isn't just for banks.
• Pictures Please! When an officer is showing you stacks of photos of piles of jewelry, and other things--trust me when I tell you its a WHOLE lot easier when you can pull out a picture you have and say, "yep that's mine'. Otherwise it's, "well, that looks like the side of that bracelet maybe." Not so helpful. And when you are trying to remember what a ring that you got when you were 10 looks like, your memory gets fuzzy.
• Kids Stuff too! Our kids have so much crap. Ok I mean things... and some of what was taken was theres. So don't forget to write down their electronic stuff too. ie, their DS and all the games that they had.
• Collections- DVD's, CD's, golf balls, you name it. If you have a lot of them you will never remember them all. Think video games, tools ect ect.

So let's say it all together now

"MAKE A LIST and TAKE PICTURES"

so you have a shot at getting some money back to replace them.

Just use common sense. Be aware. Don't be afraid to call your local PD if something doesn't seem right. They have an 'non emergent' number for things just like that. I know it seems like a lot to remember, but being on this side of it, it would have been 100 times easier to do any of these things than to be calling, emailing, a million places to try to put your life back and pick up the pieces like we are.

I had to laugh a few mornings after it happened. The officer assigned to our case called to see if he could come by and show me some photos. Keep in mind, I am still functioning at half capacity because Brenner AND Berk have been sick, plus the break in, plus getting back into the swing of having Rusty back at work... anyways, when he came in I had piles of laundry in my hall ready to be done, and dishes all over the kitchen. Berk was in a pull up and shirt, screaming that he "wanna be NAKED" and Brenner was doing what Brenner does, crying. And the officer says to me, "Glad to see you are getting back to your normal life." It made me laugh.

Consider me stepping down from my soap box now...

What a way to start of my 2010 huh?

Going Private!!!

Honestly, I never thought I would go private.

Blogging has been such a great thing for me. I have reconnected with so many long lost friends and family. And more meaningfully (is that a word?) to me is the community of Heart Mom's I have met. I love being able to talk to them, help them through it and give them hope.

But, given events of this week-- right now it is a must. I can't say I'll stay private forever, but for right now it's happening. I will be switching over the blog to Private starting Sunday. So leave me your email address. I turned on comment moderation so your email will NOT show up in the comment section.

Thanks for following me, I'd love to still have you as a reader. I am going to be setting up anther blog to update you on google reader when I add to the private blog, that blog address is...

http://becknewstoo.blogspot.com/

So add that to your lists! Basically when I update the BeckNewsAZ blog, I will also go to this new blog and say "Hey come read the post about why we went private" and then you can log in and read my ever so charming musings...

If you are reading this on Facebook, send me an email to my FB inbox and I will add you too!

Love to all!

Conspiracy Theory...

I decided after MANY long months of heming and hawing that poor Larry our Beta Fish was getting lonely in that big 'ol tank, so I finally got him some friends.

And after just 3 days I was reminded just why I like Larry- he doesn't breed baby fish.

Yup I am pretty sure there is a sign at each local pet store that has a picture of me and the caption,

"Sell this woman pregnant fish!"

You may remember our many adventures with fish babies, but it has been quite sometime since we have had even a single newbie. Right now I have no less than 30 babies. Black and orange ones. which leads me to believe not only are the fish stores plotting against me but the fish as well, I mean COME ON! What are the odds two fish would have babies in the same 24 hour period?

Assuming they make it that long, anybody need a pet?

**Updated with pictures of the newborns**

The gold ones- nearly invisible above and the black ones below- all smaller than the pebbles in the bottom... TEENY TINY!