My kids love foaming hand soap, it is so easy to use, it washes off completely but I have some issues with the store bought brands.  All foaming hand soaps that I have found in the stores are antibacterial soap and we are not supposed to be using antibacterial hand soap on kids.  Antibacterial hand soaps if not rinsed off can cause skin burns and irritation and they also should not be used daily because we are creating super bugs that can be antibiotic resistant.

I had four foaming  hand soap dispensers sitting around empty, and I filled one 1/8th the way with Seventh Generation dish soap then the rest of the way with regular tap water, shook it gently to mix it, and it created a perfect foaming soap.  I chose Seventh Generation because it is easy to find, less than $4 it is unscented for my fragrance free house, it is hypoallergenic,  non-toxic and it is not petroleum based.   This foaming handsoap washes off completely, and it is not antibacterial so I have no worries when my kids wash their hands without me watching them like a hawk, to ensure they rinse off the soap completely.   If you want to try to make your own foaming hand soap, save yourself money, and reuse your foaming hand soap containers and switch to seventh generation dish soap for your family and the environment.

I was able to be present at the most perfect delivery of my baby neice today.  My sister in law waited until she was 5 cm dialated before going to the hospital at 9:30 AM, they gave her an epidural at 6 cm and it was perfect, no pain at all, it was so good she needed pitocin to augment the labor but still no pain.  We laughed, told stories, and had a fantastically stress free experience.  The baby was delivered at 2:50 PM and there was still no pain, no ripping, and she delivered her face up. Both mom and baby were completely healthy, the baby was 3 weeks early and only 5 lb 4 oz. When the nurse asked my sister in law what the level of her pain was she replied she had no pain at all.

The parts that I find interesting about births are that everyone wants to be there to share in the excitement and see your baby right when it was born. The problem with that is that babies come out long before afterbirth.  When your parents want to walk into the room you have a baby in your arms but your crotch exposed to the world as they wait for the afterbirth to be delivered.  I remember with my sisters birth, everyone wanted to rush into the room when the baby came and that was the point when she was completely exposed in stirups as the Dr. sewed her up and delivered her afterbirth and cleaned her up.   So the parts of you that you wanted to keep private from your friends and family have now been shown in full bloody view.

Now even after your sewn up and cleaned up now you have the flocks of people waiting to see the baby and if you want to nurse the first thing the baby wants to do is nurse.  So you have to try to do something completely new and uncomfortable to you and people are pressuring you to let them come into the room.  Now the time when you need to be completely relaxed and bond with your baby you are not comfortable exposing your friends and family to your breasts, and the way the Nurses always disrobe you completely to have the baby up against your skin you are totally out in the open with no way to cover yourself up.

Maybe other people do not have an issue with this and think that this is a normal part of life to expose the parts of you that have never been exposed except in the most intimate of circumstances to your whole family and friends.  I think hospitals need to come up with a plan to make it so that new mothers have some privacy bonding time with their new children before visitors are allowed to enter, maybe 2 hours after giving birth. I know I requested it from my family after the birth of my daughter and I do not feel guilty about that decision at all, by the time my son was born I knew how to ask my friends and family to step outside without guilt but that was not something that came easy for my first.   Good luck with your birth experience. I hope you have a perfect delivery like my sister in law but maybe come up with a plan for after you give birth so you can bond with your baby and not completely expose yourself to your friends and family.

Being a bridesmaid in a friends wedding is a strange business.   Your friend or relative asks you to be in their wedding and you are honored that they asked you (or else you feel bad for them because they have no friends) so you say you will be in their wedding.   Now you just signed up for a whole list of obligations and if you do not make good on each and every one you will be considered the bad bridesmaid and friend. If you are the maid of honor your job is to pick up the slack of these bad bridesmaids and your costs double for each of the days below.

Bridal Showers- You are now invited and expected to attend and maybe even host bridal showers,  you have to pay for invites, food, drinks, organize a location, buy a gift for each shower, take time out of your life to devote to the bride. Cost- 2 Saturday + $75 party hosting + $100 gifts ($175)

Bachelorhood Party-  You have to help host and pay for the events, bus, drinks, food, and pay for drinks for the bride, and another expensive night of your life devoted to them. Cost – 1 Saturday +150 for party+$40 naughty gift +$60 new dress, +$50 for night out ($300)

Dress Shopping-  You are invited to go bridal dress shopping so you can be honest with the bride about what looks best on her,  you watch her try on dresses for 2 hours and wait for her to purchase it before you go out for drinks or lunch to celebrate the bridal dress shopping. Cost- 1 Saturday + $50 lunch and drinks ($50)

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping- You are expected to shop for the bridesmaid dresses that she has chosen for her bridesmaids, you go there hoping it will be reasonable priced bridesmaid dress, you know that no matter how cute it is you will never, ever wear it again, seriously nobody does that, you don’t want to be the girl at the next event wearing a bridesmaid dress that the other girls laugh at in the bathroom.   Now you try the dress on, the one that only looks good on the super skinny girl with big boobs and you look down at the price tag and gasp, $250 bucks!  Holy crap, now you have to purchase it the day you are in the store so they can order them all together so they are all the same lot so you just signed your life away for a dress you can not return for any reason.    Now that the dress is ordered you have to buy shoes, the same shoes as the rest of the girls, fingers crossed they are cheap and don’t need to be dyed or something stupid like that.  Don’t forget you need to get new support undergarments so the shiny dress does not show every lump and bump, matching nylons and you need a  new strapless bra too.  Cost – 1 Saturday, $250 dress + $60 shoes, $20 nylons +$80 undergarments ($410)

Day Before Wedding Events- Maybe it is a golf day, or a spa day, or a bar and casino day you are obligated to take the day off of work to help the bride stay busy. Cost – 1 vacation day $80 events +$40 food ($120)

Grooms Dinner- Sure you get a gift and a free dinner out of the deal and hopefully a sincere thanks from the bride and groom.

Hairstyle Morning-  You are now told by your friend how she wants you to style your hair, she wants everyone to have matching updo’s and you all have appointments at her salon for a $60 updo at 7AM on her wedding day. Cost -$75 with tip ($75)

Wedding Day and Gift- Now that you are in the wedding, besides each of the previous gifts of your time, bridal shower gifts, bachelorette gift, hosting parties, updo costs, dress cost, shoe cost, nylons, undergarments to fit under the dress, you are also expected to give a nice gift, not just a general wedding guest gift.  Cost -1 Saturday + $100 gift ($100)

Gift Opening- You are in the wedding so you are expected to attend the day after to watch them open gifts and be bored out of your gourd sitting around drinking mimosas and eating fruit.  Cost – 1 Sunday.

Wedding Total- $1,230 plus 8 days devoted to your friend the bride.

For my wedding I purchased my bridesmaids dresses and jewelry. I realized that they might not have liked my dress choice and I knew how I hated the feeling of plopping down the full cost for a bridesmaid dress that I could not ever return so I wanted to do something nice for my girls.  They still had to buy the undergarments and shoes, but I also made sure I only had one large shower because I wanted my friends to remain my friends and not spend months of their life devoted to my wedding.

I am not a wedding hater, I am just practical.    I also think that people need to consider the costs you are signing up for if you are asked to be in a wedding.  If you are a bride, remember the costs your friends are spending on your day and in your honor.  Try to pick out a reasonable bridesmaid dress or better yet, consider buying them for your bridesmaids!   If you are still friends after their wedding, try to put the same friends who’s weddings you were in, in your wedding so you guys can pay each other back for the time and energy spent.

Having young kids means it is a ton of work to get ready to go on a vacation. Before I had kids I had to just pack my bag and plan meals, now that is the easy part that takes me minutes.  My Dad rented a cabin up on the Cross Lake chain in MN for a family vacation so the kids and I are going up there for the week. I will be bringing everything I can possibly need with me, the pack and play, a bed rail, a blow up bathtub, a fan, the sound machine, baby monitors, blankets, waterproof bedding, towels, pool toys, sand toys, bikes, stroller, paper goods toilet paper, garbage bags, and I haven’t even gotten to the clothes and food. I have to go grocery shopping the day before and pack a cooler, with everything we may possibly want to eat for 7 days because the nearest grocery store is 30 miles away.   I have one bag packed of stuff that I need like outlet covers, door knob locks, gate, edge guards, dark sheets and clips to cover windows, organic sunscreen, organic laundry soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, brushes, soap, lotion, bug spray, nail cutter, tweezers, hair accessories, hats, bathing suits, diapers, night time diapers, all possible medications, band aids, life jackets, I will have a big box of toys and books,  then I have to pack things for the car ride like snacks, milk, movies, toys, blankets and a restocked diaper bag.  I need to remember my computer, books, magazines, radio, ipod, cell phone, charger.  Thank goodness we have a big truck with a topper. Then I have to plan my route for the 4 hour drive, find a park on the way to stop and get out energy, and print maps.I need to research all activities possible and print maps to those.  I have to plan the trip around nap time so they hopefully sleep a bit in the car. Before I can leave I have to do all of the laundry, I also have to make sure the pool, hot tub, garden, flowers, yard and dog, are maintained before I leave and pick up the house so I don’t come home to a mess.

Just writing this list is exhausting, I keep reminding myself I am doing this for my kids because they will have a great time.  It will be a ton of work for me but they will get to spend a week swimming in the sandy lake, eating ice cream cones and having a summer vacation with my family.    Now all I have to do is make it there!

My daughter came down with a fever and a sore throat last weekend on Thursday night.  Friday morning she woke me up by telling me she thought she was going to throw up, I spent that night sleeping in a recliner with my daughter sleeping on the couch because I did not want my daughter to throw up in her bed and definitely not in my bed.  Besides her initial stomach upset, and thankfully no vomiting, she also had a fever.  She laid around on the couch and watched TV, and I kept her in the house that whole day while giving her ibuprofen.  She was up Friday night with a fever of 102 and her throat hurt, she kept moaning all night long.  This was night two with a fever.  I gave her Tylenol on Saturday and ibuprofen and she relaxed on the couch again all day.  The next morning on Sunday, I brought her into Urgent Care because her throat still hurt and she still had a fever.  When I got her into the clinic, they checked her temp and she had a temp of 99.5 while on Ibuprofen and Tylenol.  They felt her glands which were swollen, they checked her throat and it looked clearly inflamed so they tested her for Strep throat.   The rapid strep test came back negative but the Urgent Care Doctor sent her home with a weeks supply of antibiotic because he said there was clearly a sign of infection in her throat and he was hoping the antibiotics would take care of it.  One more night of a sore throat and and the next day she was good as new, no more fever or sore throat.  She had a slight cough and runny nose but she was eating again and happy as a clam and ready to go play. I kept her away from all other children besides her brother until her fever was gone and she was on antibiotics for 24 hours.

One week later, on Friday night my son developed a fever. He was moaning but still sleeping all night.  Even if he can’t talk to tell me how he feels, I knew what his sister felt the previous weekend, so I medicated him and he fell back to sle Yesterday he wanted to be held all morning.  A friend of mine shared that her daughter had been diagnosed with H1N1 at their doctors office in Woodbury the day before so it made me wonder.  I found out what the symptoms were for her child and they were high fever for 36  hours, sore throat and coughing.  I said wow that sounds similar to my kids symptoms.  Yesterday afternoon I made an appointment for my son at the same Urgent Care office my daughter visited one week prior.  I told the Dr his symptoms informed him that I wanted him tested for H1N1.  They ran the tests on him, he had a fever of 100 while on Tylenol and Ibuprofen, they felt his throat, his glands were inflamed, they checked his throat, it showed signs of infection, they gave swabbed him for the strep test, and they also quickly swabbed his nose for the Influenza test.   I also made sure that the Dr. knew that his sister had the same exact symptoms the week prior and that she was good as new in three days. The Dr left to bring the samples to the lab.  I sat in the exam room and waited. My little guy fell asleep while I hugged him on my chest for the 30 minute wait and I almost fell asleep myself when there was finally a knock on the door.   The Dr. came back in and said that the strep test came back negative but that my son tested positive for Influenza A and that he was prescribing him Tamiflu.  I knew from research that this is what they used for H1N1 cases and asked if this meant he had H1N1?  He said that they are basically the same thing, and that they are treating them the same way.   He informed me that his sister probably had the flu the previous weekend but that I did not have to test her or give her Tamiflu because she is healthy now.  He told me to keep my son away from anyone who has heart disease, diabetes, elderly, very young babies, and pregnant women until all of his symptoms clear up.  He told me to take good care of myself.   I said OK and walked in a state of shock out to my car while holding my sleeping toddler.

How does this happen to my kids?  They don’t go to a daycare, they are not in school, they are healthy clean kids. we have not been anyplace where I noticed sick children, of course I had brought them on our normal weekly outings, the zoo, the parks, the grocery store, Walmart so I guess they could have been exposed anywhere, I just expected this to be the diagnosis made at a daycare center not with my children who stay at home with mom.

I dropped off the prescription at the pharmacy and went home to wait to pick it up.  When I walked up to the house my husbands parents had stopped over for a visit so I had to tell the first visitors that my son has Influenza A which they are treating as if it could be H1N1.

I picked up the phone to the CDC because I still had questions that I did not think to ask the Dr. I got a CDC representative specializing in H1N1 on the phone.  I told him my situation and asked how my friends child who lives 2 towns away and my two children can have this condition and the CDC website only shows that there are 395 confirmed cases in Minnesota?  He informed me that all samples of Influenza A need to be sent in to the CDC or state department of health to be tested before the H1N1 diagnosis can be confirmed but it is not required that all clinics send in the samples for testing.  He asked me to contact my clinic to request they send my sons positive Influenza A test in for H1N1 diagnosis.

Then on my way to pick up my son’s prescription of Tami flu I was so worried that it was going to be hundreds of dollars but that I would of course still choose to give it to my son.  The pharmacist who came to the window to ask if I had any questions about this medication and I said what does this medication do?  He said it helps the flu run its course faster and help the children to fight the flu virus easier,  he also mentioned that there has been a lot of Tamiflu being administered in the last couple of days.  He said that most Doctors are being safe for all Influenza A positive patients in the risk categories of under age 5, the elderly or sick and prescribing Tamiflu.   I told him I am OK with that because with my toddler I would rather be safe than sorry.  Thankfully the cost was only $30 with my insurance, the retail cost was $65.99 for Tamiflu.

I administered my 17 month old his first dose of Tamiflu last night, I made sure he was medicated before bed. He slept quietly all night long. His eyes looked normal and happy this morning.  He still had a fever but he was outside playing and running around again in the yard and eating normally again today.   I have a lot of guilt and feel horrible while having to tell everyone that I exposed to my son and daughter to over this past week, that my son tested positive for Influenza A.  I brought my daughter to Urgent Care 7 days ago, why did the Urgent Care Doctor not even mention or test for Influenza A?  If I knew she had the the flu, one week ago I would never have exposed either of my children to anyone.

I have to admit I am thankful if this is the extent of this flu and my children are handling it just fine.  For this horrible hyped up, frightening, H1N1 Pandemic scare, that the news has been hyping up, and the CDC has raised to threat level to 6.  I read today that 98% of Influenza A tests that have been tested to see if they are H1N1 are coming back positive for H1N1, so I am going to assume that they probably have H1N1 until I receive the test result back.

My children tested positive for Influenza A and it does not make me a bad mom. I want others to know that this horrible, news worthy flu has been no worse for my children than a regular cold.  I would rather have my children have this Influenza A then have a stomach flu or an ear infection any day.    So if your children test positive to Influenza A, give them pain medication to keep down their fevers and discomfort, get the Tamiflu and keep them at home as the CDC recommends.  Kids get sick, and when they get better they become stronger!

Wishing you good health!