Giving thanks

Good evening folks and Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I should be organizing my closet tonight but I thought it was important for me to sit down and record all that I am thankful for.. Warning - there is a lot and I might get teary (good thing I am behind the screen). And I am on my second glass on wine (pre- babies this would have been a non-issue).  Anyways, lets go. These are not necessarily in order, except maybe the first. 

1. First and foremost I am so very thankful for my beautiful family.  We were fortunate enough to grow our family this year. 

2. I am beyond thankful and grateful for my Mother in Law.  She selflessly gave up 6 months with her husband in Beirut to come here and live with us to help me out.  She has been an amazing help.  I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that she is leaving in a week.  There will be major heartbreak around here. 

3. I am thankful that Amelia and Sammi have been able to spend so much time with their Teta (Grandma).  Especially Amelia, she will be unbelievably sad when she leaves, as will I. 

4. I am thankful for my husband who works tirelessly for our family and allows us to have a pretty crazy, awesome adventurous life! 

5. I am thankful for my Mom and Mick (Grammy and Grampy) who take time everyday to Skype with us.  Even though we can't be with them Amelia and I get to see them almost everyday. 

6. I am thankful for the kiddos Jido (Grandpa) who also takes the time everyday to Skype with us.  We are so very sad that he isn't here with us and miss him every single day. 

7. I am thankful for our neighbors who have taken us as family.  The kids love their Grammy Sandy Boppy Bob and Aunties Heather and Taylor.  We are so fortunate to have friends so close that not only love our children, but treat them as their own (and us too).  

8. I am thankful for Mary F who I was introduced to by another person I am thankful for, Katie S.  Mary befriended me no questions asked when we moved her and has been so accepting of myself and my family. We love you Auntie Mary! 

9. I am thankful for Katie S. who introduced Mary and I.  I am also thankful for Katie who never makes me feel silly when I come to her with my Mommy questions or when I cry over FaceTime with her because I have life changing news!  I love you and miss you Katie! 

10. I am thankful for my first 3 Mommy friends here.  Amanda J (our first neighbor who was so kind to us) - you often answered questions and pointed me in the right direction :) Camille - Turns out we were going to have more in comment then 2 people could ever imagine including but not limited to getting pregnant within days of each other before we even knew each other! and Olivia - Well you kind of deserve your own, you are next! 

11.  I am thankful for my friend Olivia.  You and your family have been amazing and quite frankly have gotten me through the past 6 months or so.  Mason has been the perfect little boyfriend for Amelia and I love watching them together and show their love for each other.  For you and Jimmy and Mason I am forever thankful. 

12. I am thankful for French nursery rhymes that seem to calm my daughter in an instant when she is having a meltdown (and yes she looks sweet and innocent but she can throw a tantrum with the best of them)

13. I am thankful that all friends and family in France and Beirut are safe in this crazy scary world that we live in. 

14.  I am thankful for my best friends who take the time to Skype and call often.  Not only do I love hearing from them, but it makes being homesick a little easier.  Danielle, Kate and Kerin.  I love you more than know. 

15. I am thankful that I am able to stay home with my children, as hard as it may be some days it means the world to me. 

16. Last but not least, I am thankful that when my MIL, my husband and I sit down to a casual dinner and Real Sex 24 comes on the channel of the movie we were watching, at 8pm that we can all sit and laugh as none of us can find the remote! Only in California folks, only in California. 

17.  Ok, one more - I am thankful for this wine I am drinking. 

With all that said (there is so much more to be thankful for, but I would be here all night). I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your families.  It is most certainly my favorite holiday! 

Cheers and Love, 

Sarah R.

Our giving thanks feast before the feast :) 

My daughter got the measles from her vaccine and Im still not an anti vaxxer!

Our poor Amelia was 1 in 75 kids to come down with the measles due to the MMR vaccine.  We all know that when we take our children to the pedi for any vaccinations that there is a chance for something to not go right.  The MMR is a live vaccine so the chances of them getting the virus is higher than most other vaccines. However when contracted via the vaccine the case contracted is considered mild. 

With that said, Amelia in our eyes was very lucky that she did not have a moderate or severe reaction.    I also feel lucky that we did decide to vaccinate her.  Now knowing what a mild case of the measles is, I would never wish an actual case of the measles on any child.  While we were battling temperatures headed close to 105, severe rash & super crankiness (due to my poor bug not feeling well), all I could think was that if this was the full blown measles I would not only be having anxiety but an anxiety attack! I was nervous enough with her temps as high as they were! 

Now that she has an immunity to it I feel much better.  Living in the East Bay of San Francisco has made me even more aware of the importance of vaccines.  There are many Mom's here who choose not to vaccinate and truth be told this makes me very nervous for my sweet girl (and soon to be newborn Son). 

Below are links to the CDC and WHO where you can find more information on the MMR vaccine and others.  

Vaccines save lives! 

Much Love, 

Sarah R 

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm#mmr

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/

Call it what you want!

Some people call these unsafe, silly, great, smart and the list could go on.  I call them genius :) My husband has been concerned lately as our daughter just started standing up in her crib.   While we lowered her mattress she can still grab the top of her crib although not pull herself up.  This little act leads to often bumping her head.   

I went online last night in search of a solution.  I found Wonder Bumpers.  These are great however they are only made for cribs that have slats that are all the same size.  Then I realized, hey, I can do this on my own! So I googled DIY wonder bumpers and sure enough.  While all had great ideas I combined a few ideas and did it my way! 

This is how the day started! 

Baby A didn't know what to think! She thought we were done with Home Depot when we finished our home renovations! 

Here's what you need:

Pipe insulation (I used 1" with a 1/2" hole) also you must measure all your slats to see how much you need to purchase. 

Fabric (again you have to measure, I needed approx. 12 yards) I was liberal

Ribbon Your choice (I would say 4 spools) 

Scissors

Time

Patience ;)

I measured and cut the pipe insulators to match my measurements. I then cut the fabric into strips in which could wrap around the pipe insulator.  Then I took of the strip that was covering the adhesive on the insulator and stuck the fabric to it.  I then wrapped the fabric around  repeated.  It slid right onto the slat on the crib and I secured it with a ribbon bow up top! 

I have to admit that I am pretty happy with the way they turned out! Looking forward to finishing the whole thing! 

I only had enough time today to do the front of the crib.  I am hoping this will be ok as it's usually this side which she wants to climb :) 

Happy Crafting, 

XOXO 

S

It is not your choice, it's your civic duty! Vaccinate your kids!

This topic has been coming up a lot lately and being a Mom of a 7 month old who can not yet receive all of her vaccines I feel that this effects me directly. 

I am not a scientist nor a doctor, but I do have half a brain and it doesn't take a scientist to put it all together. 

A woman on one of my Mom's groups said it perfectly - It's not your choice it's your civic duty. 

I recently moved to Northern California, it just so happens Northern California has one of the highest rates of non-vaxxers in the country.  The East Bay (which happens to be where we live) is high up there in terms of Northern California.  While I respect a parents right to choose how they raise their children I also believe that not vaccinating them is doing them a huge disservice.   Vaccines save lives.  Not only that of the child/person but of the children/people around them.  

An uneducated woman commented on every one's pro vaccine post on KRON 4 news asking, "If your child is vaccinated, what do you have to worry about".  This absolutely floored me! 

It's not only about your child.. It's about the young child that isn't old enough to get all of their vaccines yet.. It's about the young child who has cancer who's immune system is so low that they can't vaccine right now..  It's about your grandparents whom are unable to receive the vaccine.. 

I moved here in September and have been scared to death to join any "Mom's" groups because it is not mandatory that you vaccinate your children.  While we are getting along just fine I am counting down the days in which my daughter is vaccinated enough to a point where I feel comfortable bringing her to these groups.  She would love it.  

I could go on and on, but I won't the evidence speaks for itself.  Below are a few articles that I have come across.  If you don't think you should have to vaccinate your kids I highly urge you to read below. 

Also a shout out to one of best bloggers out there! Baby Sideburns! and I love how she is pushing the topic as well.. Her audience is massive! 

http://babysideburns.com/2015/01/vaccinate-measles/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/please-vax-your-kids#.naNoNxA92Y

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/29/health/california-boy-vaccine-school/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/27/californias-epidemic-of-vaccine-denial-mapped/

Thanks for reading!

Much Love, 

S

New Years Resolutions and Wishes

I was reminded tonight that I can sometimes write well and that same person told me they enjoyed reading my blog.. Doh - MY BLOG! I almost forgot.  Life seems to have gotten in the way of something I very much enjoy doing! So here it is..  My 2015 resolutions and wishes. Grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine (I have mine)  this could take awhile as I have no gathered thoughts (potential ramblings may occur). 

Resolutions (the shorter list, wishes will be a bit longer)

1.  I resolve to blog more - it's good for the soul <3

2.  I resolve to lose the baby weight that I so quickly lost and put back on again (I think - I'm afraid to weigh myself, maybe I should start there)

3.  Get rid of all the sweets in the house left over from the holidays. 

4.  Eat said sweets tonight so they don't go to waste ;)

Wishes

1.  World peace - Seriously why can't we all just get along?! 

2.  A cure for cancer - F*&% Cancer (and if I find out someone is holding out on this one I will probably go to jail for what I would do to this person)

3.  For humans to stop hurting children and each other but mainly innocent children, I have been hearing more and more about parents doing terrible things to their children and it makes my stomach turn and brings tears to my eyes

4.  For every human that desires and deserves to have a child have their wishes and dreams are fulfilled

5.  For my Mom to get on an airplane - for 6 hours (and not yell there is a pilgrim woman on the wing) Love you Mom! 

6.  I wish for cheating husbands genitals to fall off and be thrown into the Atlantic (not talking about my own hubby just for the record) He's still amazing :) 

7.  Amelia should really start cooking for herself - she is rather advanced (just kidding) but she can stop growing so fast. 

8.  I wish for a way to have all of our families together for at least 3 months out of the year (myself and Nicks)

9.  I wish for shipping to be less expensive as I have many pine cones that need to find their way to MA and potentially SC :)

10.  I wish CA would sell margarine

11.  I wish for all our friends and family to have a happy and healthy year and years ahead.  I am reminded all too often that life is too short. 

12.  All friends and family to visit us is CA

OK, so that wasn't as long as I expected and some of them are way more important than others but that is what is on my mind tonight.   

Life update: Nick, Baby A and I are finally starting to get settled into our new home.  While we miss everyone back east we are over the moon grateful for the wonderful neighbors that we have.  We have been fortunate for a 2nd time to find the worlds best neighbors, seriously!   Baby A is growing like a weed and teaching us her new skills every day.  We are beyond grateful for our super happy healthy baby girl.  Nick is loving his new job with PG&E and I am beyond grateful that I am able to stay home with Baby A.  While she is a ton of work I don't think I could have done it any other way. She is our love and our light <3 

We look forward to seeing what 2015 has in store for the Raads! 

Much Love, 

S

This post is dedicated to my best friends 2 little angels in heaven <3