New Year's Resolutions

I'm not a huge fan of New Years Resolutions. I love the idea of a fresh start, but for me January 1st isn't that. My fresh start tends to feel more like August, when the new school year starts.

Regardless, in 2009 I wrote this post detailing my goals for 2010 and the next decade {which obv includes 2011!} I was reading through it and I'm really, really proud of how far I've come. You can read the post if you want to know what all of my goals were, but I'm going to reiterate the ones I've accomplished and the ones I'm resetting for this year.

• In 2010, I wanted to lose weight. What I actually did? Was regain all the weight I had lost on the "Divorce Diet." I was stressing out about school, so what did I do when I studied? Ate. And ate. And ate. Mindlessly. So that was a total bummer. I am happy to say that in 2011, I have re-lost all of that weight and am still working on losing more. So yay! A year late, but I'm doing it. I feel fabulous. 
• I wanted to get good grades. So I could get into nursing school. Done and done. As above, it obviously came at the sacrifice of my waistline but you know. It was worth it. 
• Enjoy E. I totally was glad that I took the time the summer of 2010 to just be a mommy. It was great. 
• Get divorced and enjoy being single. My divorce ended up being final this year, in 2011, so that didn't happen in 2010. But? I have been single since March and I'm just now starting to date, so I think I had awhile to adjust to being single and enjoy just worrying about myself. Mission accomplished. 

The goals I set for the next DECADE seemed so ambitious at the time and I'm surprised to have finished a couple of them! 

• Graduate. I obviously have not done this yet but I am well on my way. Two more semesters to go and I'm an RN. I've totally got this and it WILL happen this decade. In fact, it will happen by the time I write this post next year. 
• Move out of my mom's house. Done and done. I am so grateful that she let me stay there for as long as she did but I love having my own place. Love love love. I'm so grateful that I can afford to do it. It's nothing fancy but I'm in love with it. 
• Take care of me. I can only say I halfway accomplished this one. I did take care of me, but I was pretty lost in single motherhood and nursing school. I have lost some of the weight I wanted to lose, but I'd like to make more time for "me" time. 

That was it. Those were all my goals for the entire DECADE. Aiming low, much?! I have so much more self confidence in myself this year it's astounding. I have accomplished so much. I haven't worked out my new resolutions for this year yet, but I'm going to figure them out and a post will follow. I've missed blogging so much! I hope you guys still enjoy reading. Xoxo! 

I hope each and every one of you have had as blessed a 2011 as I have and that 2012 will be even more so! 

Year in Review - 2011

Happy New Year!

I haven't been around for awhile :( Blogging has kind of gone by the wayside in light of... well... nursing school.

But I was thinking about the post I wrote on New Year's in 2009. It was especially cool because it covered a whole decade, but this year was pretty exciting so I thought I might use that format to let you guys know just what an awesome year I had in 2011.

So here it is: 2011 in bullet points.

• Started getting child support in February. Yay! {We separated in Oct 2009. That's how long it took. CRAZY.}
• Divorce was final in March - I was a single woman again! 
• In March I also applied for the super competitive nursing program. Eeep! I was so nervous! 
• I found out I had been accepted into the nursing program on my first application cycle in May. Squee! All my hard work for the previous two years doing prerequisites had payed off. 
• June, July, and the first half of August were lazy and wonderful. I took the summer off of school and just hung out with E for the first time since he was 5 months old. We did swimming lessons and spent a lot of time in one of those little plastic kiddie pools in our backyard. 
• Nursing school started in August. We got iPod Touches at orientation and I met all of my amazing classmates. They are now my BFFs and I love them to death. I will be super sad not to see all those amazing faces every day once nursing school is actually over.
• In October, I moved out of my mom's house after having lived there for two years. I am so appreciative of everything she did for me, but goodness is it nice to have our own space. I rent a tiny little one bedroom casita/mother in law apartment. It's small but perfect for just me and E. 
• During clinicals in November I met a boy. A seemingly good one, which I no longer even believed existed. I'm still testing him but so far he's passed, and has been very patient with my scrutiny. 
• December marked the end of the first semester of nursing school. I am officially 1/3 of a nurse, and I'm freaking excited about that. Two more semesters to go and I will be completely capable of supporting myself and E - not grandly, but comfortably. 
• Tonight I have New Year's date. E is staying the night at my mom's so I can stay out late and not have to worry about picking him up at like one in the morning. I'm super excited. This is the same boy I met in November... I really like him. There may be pictures and a relationship status update coming up on Facebook in the next couple of days.... keep your eye out ;)

So yeah. After a pretty rough DECADE? 2011 treated me extremely, extremely well. I am so grateful and feel so blessed. I'll miss you, 2011, but I'm excited to see what 2012 brings! 

What about you guys?! I'm so behind on everyone. Comment or link me to your posts with your year in review! Pretty please? 

Blood Transfusion

In the skills lab, we've been learning how to do blood transfusions. It's really very simple - for the most part, just like running a regular IV, just with a few extra bells and whistles. And of course, a million more risks.

One of which is hyperkalemia. Your blood cells are just full of potassium, and when blood is transfused, some of those cells burst, releasing way too much potassium into the plasma.

Before B died, she received a blood transfusion. I have no idea when, or how much. She was hemorrhaging from her lungs. That's all I know. When we were finally allowed in the room and they told us that they had done everything and she still wasn't getting better, that was one of the things the neonatal nurse practitioner said.

Her potassium levels are so high... so high her heart will slow down, down, down until it stops.

Asystole.

We let her die before that happened. When we made the decision, though, her heart rate was already in the 60s. The alarms kept going off. {120-160 beats per minute is what is normal, if you're not familiar.}

I don't know how high her potassium levels were. I wouldn't have understood it if I had known. I didn't understand anything, yet they put the decision of her life or death into my hands.

Every new thing we learn about that I was first exposed to that night takes me back. Makes me second guess whether I made the right decision. Because really, I made that decision with hardly any information. I had medical advice and that was all. No background knowledge to speak of.

Someday, I want to see her chart. I want to know what happened before they let us into that room.

But I'm afraid. Really, very afraid. I know too much now. I'll know if errors were made, or if I made the wrong decision. If I could have had them do something, anything, to save her life.

I looked up the number for medical records at that hospital just the other day. I haven't called it yet. I want to get her records sent to me - I don't know how long they keep them readily accessible {probably a long time, but still}. I'm nowhere near ready to read them, though.

Maybe when I graduate. Maybe when she would have turned 5. That's a nice round number.

When she would have turned 5, I'll know how to save a life. I'll be able to see more clearly that vague, vague line where enough is enough. I'll know for sure if her medical team - and if I - did everything, everything. I think we did, but I'm afraid. So afraid that we didn't.

ABE 2.0 Winner!

The winner for the Eco Baby Prize Pack is Lindsay! She was comment #37! Yayayayay!!! Congratulations Lindsay! 

Thank you so much to everyone for participating in ABE 2.0! It was so much fun! 

Nursing School - Orientation!

Today?

Awesome.

I couldn't sleep last night. The countdown clock I've had on my desktop ever since I applied to the nursing program (counting down until the latest date we would find out our admissions status, and then counting down until, well, today!) read: "FINISHED!" Just like that in all caps. SQUEE! I got E's diaper bag all ready (emphasis on the diaper - I took like 8 or 10 cloth diapers to daycare with him so I don't have to remember them every day), cleaned out my purse, opened up all my new pens and pencils, and was so overwhelmed by my books that I decided to just leave them all in the box. Finally at midnight I showered so I wouldn't have to in the morning (mornings and I don't really get along), looked over the student handbook again (we were told to read it before we came to orientation) and went to bed.

I managed to roll out of bed at a decent time (6:30, I think? Maybe 6:45) and thankfully my alarm didn't wake E up, so I got to do my hair and makeup alone! I honestly don't remember the last time that happened. So it was great. Everything went smoothly; I knew what I was going to wear, and E woke up at the perfect time - maybe a tad late for when I wanted to leave - but woke up happy and he was super excited once I told him we were going "bye-bye in the car."

I was really worried about how he'd transition to daycare - we have a new daycare provider this semester and I honestly wasn't too sure about her yet. I mean obviously I was sure enough that she was a good and qualified caregiver, or I wouldn't have let him go there at all, but I just didn't know whether I loved her or not. When we got to her house I finalized some paperwork with her; meanwhile, E got down and started running around like he owned the place. I was amazed. After about 30 minutes I told him that mommy was going bye-bye to school, and that he was going to stay and play. He started to cry, but the daycare provider told him to say bye-bye, which he did, and then immediately diverted his attention to their family dog. It worked like a charm, and she said the only other time he cried was when she took the crayons away because it was lunch time! He had a really hard time transitioning to daycare last semester; it's amazing the difference 6 months can make at this age.

So I went off to orientation! It was great to be at the nursing building and not on the main campus - there are more parking spaces than cars, so no spending 20 minutes trolling for a good spot. I was amazed at how quickly I got parked and in the building. I was a little earlier than I had anticipated being, but it was fine. I sat in the front row because I'm cool like that, next to some super nice girls that I got along with well. Double yay!

We did boring things - went over paperwork and other things that I assume most of us already knew since the information was readily available on the website. But then the bombshell came, out of nowhere.... we were each getting an iPod Touch!!!  What?!?!?!?!

Turns out that this is the first semester they're trying to integrate technology into the program, so they're testing it on us. I don't mind... except that I just bought one. I wish I would have known, but I'm still totally psyched that their use will be not only tolerated but required in classes and clinicals. YAY! The one they're providing is only an 8 gigabyte - the one I bought is a 32 - so I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. I *have* to use the one they provided for clinicals - they took our serial numbers and stuff. So selling the 8 gig and keeping the 32 isn't an option. I can return the 32, but *sigh* all that space! Or I can keep both, but how selfish and excessive is that?! Sigh. I knew I had a bad feeling about buying one for a reason!

Anyway, they gave us all our iPods, and then we had our pictures taken for our program IDs that will get us in to clinicals and stuff. My hair had seriously wilted by this point so I'm kind of afraid to see that picture. Oh well.

And that was it! I picked up E and he had been having a blast at daycare. He was happy to see me but wanted to stay and keep playing ;) I can't explain to you how happy that made me; there's so much guilt associated with taking your child to daycare (at least for me) and it makes my heart sing to know that he likes it. That I'm not a bad mom for taking him there. That he enjoys the social interaction and change of scenery and doesn't spend the whole time worrying because I'm not there.

I have my first "real" class tomorrow morning at 9 am! I started the reading (90 pages) for the first lab we have this week and got about 2/3 of the way done with it. I'll finish it and start the reading for Lab #2 tomorrow night. Eeeek! So much to do already and we haven't even been to a class!

On that note... I'm going to bed. I got out of the shower right before I sat down to write this post, and I think my hair is dry enough to not soak the pillow :)

A Blogtastic Extravaganza 2.0 - Eco Baby!

I didn't participate in A Blogtastic Extravaganza last year but I had so much fun entering all the giveaways that I really wanted to be a part of it this year! I was so happy to be one of the blogs chosen to participate!

I have a great prize package full of my favorite products that have helped me become more eco friendly and save money at the same time!

The winner of my ABE giveaway will receive:

• One 2-pack of Tiny Bites Food Shears
• 2 "Regular" style Bamboobies reusable nursing pads
• One 45/90 Bag of Rockin' Green Soap
• One JoeyBunz Insert
• One Pooter's Organic One Size Pocket Diaper
• $20 Gift Card to ThanksMama
• $20 Gift Card to SweetBottoms Baby Boutique

YAY! That's a lot of eco friendly, money saving goodness right there. 

Mandatory Entry:  

Follow my blog via GFC (sidebar!) (+1)

Additional Entries: 

Follow me on Twitter (+1)

Tweet about this giveaway (including link!) and leave permalink to tweet (+1, up to 3x/day at least one hour between tweets.) Suggested tweet: "Going green and saving green - Enter to #win products to do both from @HauteSingleMama during #ABE2! #clothdiapers http://bit.ly/qUYHoO " 

"Like" on Facebook: 

Me! Haute Single Mama

Tiny Bites

Rockin' Green 

Bamboobies

Baby Kicks

Pooter's Diapers

Thanks Mama Cloth Diapers

SweetBottoms Baby Boutique

+1 entry for each sponsor that you "like"! 

I'm doing this the old fashioned way, so please leave a comment on this post for each entry you complete (and please send me an invite to Rafflecopter if you have one. Seriously.) US only, please. Good luck and have fun entering all the other ABE giveaways!!! 

*Please be sure to either have your email visible from your Blogger profile or leave me your email or Twitter name in your comment so I can find you if you win! Please be especially mindful of this now that I opened it up to anonymous comments :) Leave me some way to contact you!

Tiny Bites Food Shears - Review

When I first found this product, I was intrigued. Food cutting scissors?! I'm not a chef, so I don't have all the bells and whistles in my kitchen. But this was something I totally had to try.

From the day I opened the package, I found a MILLION uses for those babies. The most used? Cutting up grapes. I always worry about E choking on grapes, but it's nearly impossible to cut them into decent sizes using a fork and knife! The Tiny Bites Food Shears made it take no time at all - snip, snip, snip, and DONE.

I was super surprised at how sharp they were. They cut up chicken and steak! I was amazed. It is so much easier than using a fork and knife to try to get those tiny toddler sized pieces.

The reason that these shears serve their purpose so well is that they were invented by parents of toddlers!! Imagine that! Ed and Anila designed the shears with their own toddler meal adventures in mind, and blessed the rest of us in the process. These have honestly been a lifesaver for me. Look how much more safe and toddler friendly meals become with the Tiny Bites Food Shears!

Photo from www.TinyBites.com

Don't worry if you didn't win your Tiny Bites during ABE; they're available at a  retailer near you!

BlogHer 2011

I totally went.

I didn't talk about it much here because - well, let's face it, I just haven't really been blogging - and also because I was always just teetering on the edge of being able to save enough money to do it.

But I did it! I saved, I went, and I'm back. It was so much fun that it has taken me until now - 4 days after I got home! - to post about it. I've literally been recovering all this time.

My BFF and BlogHer roomie Katie summed it up extremely well - to be honest, a lot of it is a complete and total blur. I was so nervous/excited that I only slept for 2.5 hours the night/morning before I left, and I had an eight hour drive to San Diego. I made it though, and from then on it was nonstop fun. Staying up late, getting up... well, early for how late we had stayed up the night before... and party hopping. We skipped too many sessions and probably tried to go to too many parties. But it was amazing. 


I loved meeting some of the people I talk with daily in "real life."

I loved the parties. Rooftop parties in the city. Who gets to do that?!

I loved the swag. So much swag. Too much swag.

I'll post more on those topics later - with pictures, I promise - but for now? I'm totally saving my pennies for BlogHer '12 in NYC!

ABE 2.0 Sponsor Spotlight - BabyKicks

I just recently got to try a BabyKicks diaper, and I have to say... I'm hooked.

The fit is a little bit different than diapers I'm used to.. it snaps differently, so it took me a little bit of time to get used to it. Once I figured out how to get it to fit right, I loved it!

The best thing about them in my opinion? is the insert.

Look how trim that is!

They are a hemp/cotton blend and they are SO trim, yet so absorbent. {Side note: did you know that hemp has antimicrobial properties?  Me neither! Amazing, right?!} My favorite use for them is under clothes that just look a little funny with the fluffier butt - you can't even tell there's cloth under there. I love a fluffy butt just as much as the next cloth diapering mom, but sometimes it makes E's pants look too tapered and just kind of... weird. Anyway. They make super great doublers for night time too - they add hardly any bulk so it's not like you've got this HUGE double stuffed diaper.


At $5 a pop they're seriously a steal. Since they're made of natural fibers, you can even use them right against baby's skin with a cover - I haven't tried that yet, but I really want to! That would be sooo much trimmer than prefolds! {Plus, the one con to the BabyKicks diaper - and seriously it is the only one - is that the pocket is a little narrow so it's hard to make the hemp insert lay flat when you're stuffing it. I saw a post on the BabyKicks Facebook page addressing this - they say you can just plop it on top of the diaper and use it that way! I haven't tried it that way yet but I plan on it!}

I really heart this company and their products - I will definitely be adding some JoeyBunz to my stash!

BabyKicks sponsored a portion of my giveaway package for ABE 2.0. I was not sent any product to try; my experiences were based on a diaper I already had.  I was not compensated in any way for this post; all opinions are honest and my own.

Dreaming of a Vacay...

It's still summer {although I've gotten a frightening number of emails telling me to check out the fall fashions and look at new laptop bags and backpacks... shudder! It's only July!} and E and I are still just chilling at home. We've had a busy past couple of weeks - swimming lessons and lots of friends coming into town to visit.

As much fun as we're having right here, I can't help but think how I wish I could take him on a vacation this year!   E has NEVER been to the beach {and admittedly, I haven't been nearly as often as a normal person...}. After getting comfortable in the water at swimming lessons, I know he'd just love it. One place I would absolutely love to take him is Virginia Beach, VA.

E was actually born in VA, and my mom lived there {in Virginia Beach! How lucky is that?!} when she was a young girl, so those are both huge reasons why I'd love to take him back.

Besides personal ties, there are soooo many fun things to do there....

Obviously, the beach. Laying out, letting E dig in the sand with a bucket and pail, seeing him dip his little toes into the water... *sigh* There are tons of beautiful beach areas there {duh! Virginia Beach!} and it would be a great place for him to have his first beachtastic experience.

There's a place there called Grommet Island. I would absolutely LOVE to take E there! It's like a splash pad park.. on.the.beach. How perfect would that be?! We have a splash pad here... but come on. It's in the middle of the desert. It would be way, way better on the beach. Plus? It's completely handicapped accessible.  It would be a great place to hang out with some of our differently-abled friends so everyone could participate!

And speaking of the beach? On the beach... there is a boardwalk. The Virginia Beach Boardwalk. While I'm sure E would love it... this one is more for me. The closest I've ever come to being on a boardwalk? Is at Disney's California Adventure park. Seriously. I have never been on a real beach boardwalk. I imagine it would be kind of like a fair... lots of good tasting/bad-for-you food...{like fried Oreos... YUM}.. games... and even better than the fair... the beach.

I love, love, love seafood, but I rarely ever get to eat it - for one reason, it's super expensive here... and when you can get it, it's well... not all that fresh. In Virginia Beach, there are tons of great seafood restaurants. My personal style would be to go try all the really local places... things you can only get there... but I'm sure there are a lot of chains as well, in case you're in a more stick-to-what-you-like mood. Or if you have picky toddlers and want to stick to what they know. Not that I would know about that or anything ;)

E just loves animals - he's learning a lot of animal noises right now, and even pretends to be a kitty sometimes (I don't know why a kitty... since we have a dog...), so of course we couldn't miss the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. They of course have lots of water animals, but they also have birds and reptiles. I have a feeling E would loooove the Komodo Dragons.

In Virginia Beach they have a ton, and I mean a ton, of family activities. The one that caught my eye? The Family Great Adventures Series.

"Throughout the summer, families can take part in an interactive adventure along the oceanfront to unravel a mystery. Each adventure ends with a family-friendly movie shown on a giant inflatable screen on the beach! "

How fun is that?! A MOVIE. ON THE BEACH.

There are tons of different choices when it comes to where to stay in Virginia Beach. You can always camp... but I'm not a big camper. I might feel differently on the beach instead of in the woods, but still... if there's no plug for my flatiron, I'll be staying somewhere else thankyouverymuch. I'd much prefer a resort and spa, especially a small one exclusive to the Virginia Beach area. No chains for this lady {of course, on this imaginary vacation, money is no object!} I know lots of people rent vacation homes, and I think that would  definitely be the way to go if you were going with a group. But just for myself and E? Housekeeping and spa services are definitely required.

I'm kind of a history nerd, so I would be super interested in taking one of the historical tours. I'm not sure that it's something I'd do while I had a toddler, but I think when E gets older it would be awesome to see all the military and religious history that is in Virginia Beach!

It won't be happening this year, but Virginia Beach is definitely on my vacation wishlist for summers to come. In 2001, Virginia Beach was ranked #2 in Child Magazine's Top 10 Cities for Families - and after doing a little research, I can see why! There's so much to do there for adults and children... lots of fun with lots of educational value hidden in between :). I can't wait to go... someday!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Virginia Beach Tourism blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

This Is My Baby Girl

This is the first time I saw my little girl.

This was the first time I held her hand.

This was when we were still fighting to save her life. She was drowning in her own blood and in so much pain even high doses of morphine would not stop her thrashing. She had to be restrained so she wouldn't cause more damage to herself.

This is when the fight had ended. Minutes after this, her breathing tube was taken out and she passed away in my arms.

This is her in her burial gown, lying in her teeny tiny coffin. She's wearing the gown I was blessed in as a baby. It  was huge on her, as I was 7 lbs and she was 1 lb 15 oz.

This was one of the last times I got to hold her. I had to put her in her coffin and watch as the top was sealed shut forever. 

This November she would be turning 3. I would be getting ready to enroll her in ballet lessons this fall, or maybe I would wait until spring depending on how she was doing developmentally. I would be buying cute girl clothes - she'd have an adorable swimming suit and we'd be playing in the water all summer long.

Instead, I'm growing frustrated at the lack of Independence Day decorations there are at my local dollar store. So I can decorate her grave. You know, this place:

Because that's all I can do for her now. 

So excuse me that I'm not jumping for joy that my sister is having a baby girl. The "first girl grandchild." This baby won't be the first. Everyone will get to buy her frilly things, and she will get to take ballet, and do all the things that I will never do with my baby girl. But she will never be the first female grandchild, because my baby girl was first.

Excuse me that I take offense when my sister hopes that, since her due date is in November, that she will have the baby on 11/11/11. It's a "cool date." She doesn't remember, but B would have been 3 years old that exact day. That's my daughter's birthday. Furthermore, 11/11/07 was my wedding date. B was born on our first anniversary, and the man I married just had a baby with another woman. When he has nothing to do with our son. Who I stayed in the hospital on bed rest for six weeks to get here, sat every day in the NICU with him for another 45 days praying every minute that he wouldn't die like his sister, and pumped breast milk for the first twenty months of his life, because I just knew if I didn't and he died, it would be my fault. He simply abandoned us after all of that and is having a wonderful life with a woman who can clearly produce full term babies. I call mercy. I am inferior, and I know it.

Excuse the fact that all of this information is overwhelming to me. Excuse me for being heartbroken over everything I have lost. Excuse me for letting that heartbreak be exacerbated by everyone else's joy.

Whine Party

Okay. I need to vent, it's too long for 140 characters, and everyone who I usually whine to has already heard this and I still feel the need to rehash it.

So all you lucky people get to listen to me whine. YAY!

Today M's sister in law sent me a private Facebook message to see how I was doing. Nice, right?! So I told her that I was doing AWESOME, that I got into the nursing program, that E is doing well, I have the summer off... life is pretty awesome all things considered.

So she writes back and basically "Yay! I'm so proud of you! In other news, M is back with C [the girl he had an affair with when he was with the girl who he had an affair with when he was married to me... did that make sense?!] and their baby boy was born last week. They're getting ready to move closer to his parents."

.........She always does this. I'm not sure why I ever email her back, because she always asks how I'm doing and then when I answer she drops some sort of huge bomb on me.

I knew C was pregnant, but C and M had broken up MONTHS ago. So I was like.. look! This means that my inability to carry a child to term was NOT the determining factor in me being such an unsatisfactory wife that M had to cheat on me multiple times. The fact that she will likely carry their baby to term does not guarantee that they will live happily ever after.

Apparently I was wrong.

So now, he has gotten to experience having a baby and taking him home from the hospital in a timely manner. An experience without apnea and bradycardia, NG tubes and IVs. Without worrying about brain bleeds or if the baby's PDA was still leaky. Without having to leave the baby night after night in NICU, falling asleep watching him on a webcam.

I will probably never get that.

So why did he get back with her, to take care of her baby? Why not me and mine?

I don't miss him. I don't want him back. She can have him. I am a better person now that he's out of my life.

That doesn't change the fact that I still feel inadequate. Like I wasn't enough. Like I will never be enough for someone else; that even if/when I do start dating, who will want me? I can't date someone who doesn't want kids - I have one! I can't date someone who wants many children - if I get one more live child I will be extremely blessed.

I also feel stuck. He's in a whole new phase of life; I'm the same. I'm still struggling with solo parenting day after day. I am still in school and I have a whole year and a half to go.. and even then I'll still be in school part time, although I'll be able to work so it won't be as bad. I'm still living with my mom, which is humiliating just in and of itself. I've been living here for a year and a half and I'm probably looking at another year and a half. That's three years. That's a long time.

Loser comes to mind. About me. And him. But mostly me.

And this is sort of unrelated, but it's part of the whine party. My sister is having an anatomy ultrasound for her pregnancy on Friday. She's asked me to babysit her three boys while she goes. Which is fine.. but B was the only granddaughter. All the other grandkids are boys. So if the anatomy ultrasound reveals she's pregnant with a girl, she's going to come back all happy and squeely. To make it worse, she's due in November and keeps telling me she's hoping to have the baby on 11/11/11. Which, she never remembers, will be B's 3rd birthday. Should have been B's 3rd birthday. Because, you know, my baby girl is dead. People forget that sometimes.

I'll feel better in the morning, I know I will. I just needed to get that out. I should get a journal or something and not burden all of you kind people with my whine fests, but thank you for being my listening ear <3

Sunny days, party nights...

...hot guys, water fights, pretty hair, tanned skin, schools out, summer's in!

Well... not exactly ;)

Sunny days, for sure. It was 99 degrees today and the temp is just going to go up, up, up!

Not too much partying going on at night here, unless you count the once a week mom's fro-yo night. That's sort of a party. And of course the nightly "baby's asleep! SILENCE!" party. Wild times.

Hot guys... well, I did get asked out by a WalMart cashier. So that was pretty cool. Except he forgot to ask for my number, and I'm sort of disinclined to ever date anyone in the retail occupation again {M worked retail. Yep. Still bitter!}. And I did go to a movie with a different guy, although it wasn't a date. It was a step in the right maybe-someday-I-won't-hate-men direction for me.

Water fights... oh yes. E has a little pool and a water table in the back yard, and he loves splashing me. I of course splash him back.

Pretty hair... meh. I'm growing it out so all my layers are blah. I'm going to get it styled just before school starts again. Maybe get bangs. I'm hoping for some natural highlights from spending time in the sun.. but I just keep finding grey hairs. Those are sort of highlights, I guess...

Tanned skin.. yes! I'm working on my tan while E plays in aforementioned pool. I spread out my beach towel on the grass, put my sunglasses on and read. I'm happy to say I'm a shade or two darker than ghostly white already!

School is out, summer is in, and I'm loving it. I'm having so much fun being a SAHM, and I'm so excited that I still have two more months left! I'm sure by the time August 22nd rolls around I'll be more than ready for school to start - this SAHM gig is fun, sure, but way hard at times!  For now though, I'm spending lots of time outside, reading fluffy fiction, and chowing down on the watermelon and green smoothies. It's soooo great! Way better than last summer when I was working my butt off in Anatomy!

Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 3 Episode 26 - ...Or Not to Be

All I can say is wow.

Wow.

I just caught up on this episode today - I always watch them online at abcfamily.com, and they don't become available until the following day - and I am totally speechless.

Well, not speechless, because here I am blogging about it.

**Warning: Spoilers**


I legitimately cried during this episode. I could see where it was going from pretty early on (not because I'm psychic or anything ;) You know how you can just tell when something's coming?! I just knew) but I was still in denial - they had to be making it seem worse than what it was... right?! But if it was going where I thought it might be going, I really didn't think I'd cry. There was a time when merely the suggestion of a dead baby resulted in automatic waterworks.. but not really anymore. I save my tears for special occasions now. So I was totally, totally shocked. Secret Life is so often cheesy and unrealistic, but to me the acting in this episode was so raw and real, I couldn't help but cry.

I totally saw myself in Adrian (and Ben a little bit, too). Especially in the scene where Tom calls Adrienne and she says she can't talk - and the look on her face, and the sound of her voice is just dead and emotionless. You're so tired, you're so numb, you just go on autopilot:

Screenshot taken from the abcfamily.com Total Access Player.

It was so weird but just watching her... just relived the exhaustion, the disbelief, the feeling that this cannot possibly be real.

And then an instant later, she hangs up her phone, looks up at Ben, and her eyes immediately start to well up with tears: 

Screenshot taken from the abcfamily.com Total Access Player

and she bursts out sobbing. All. Too. Familiar. Feeling like you have no tears left and then suddenly it hits you again.

Screenshot taken from the abcfamily.com Total Access Player

You can totally just feel her pain. She's so heartbroken. Then Ben comforts her - and I remember that feeling too. Sobbing those deep sobs that wrack your entire body, and having someone comfort you. You feel their warmth but you still feel so alone, and so cold. I remember feeling so cold all the time after B died. Literally and figuratively.

I just can't say enough how great I thought the acting was in this episode. Mainly Ben and Adrian, but everyone else, too. How helpless Ben and Adrian's parents felt - I remember seeing those exact looks on the faces of my family and friends. People try to be there for you and they don't know how - they just look bewildered and pitying. 

There were a few things about the episode that I was disappointed about: 

I wish they would have focused more on the stillbirth.. the fact that Adrian still had to go through the birthing process even when she knew her baby was dead. I can't even imagine having to do that, and that is (in my opinion) a huge differentiating factor between a stillbirth and an earlier miscarriage or a neonatal loss. 

Along the same lines, I wish they would have shown the baby. I know I'm dark and twisty like that, and probably 99% of people would have been horrified if they had. It could have just looked like a sleeping baby... nothing gory, of course... but it would have been nice to see Ben and Adrian getting to hold her. Even if they just showed a swaddled blanket and not shown the baby per se. And seriously? They didn't call anyone until it was all over and done with?! Really?! It would have been awesome for everyone to have been rallying around Adrian when she had to give birth. I see the statement that they're making - that Ben and Adrian clung to each other through it - but it seems unrealistic to me. Most people would call the people they're close to as soon as they found out something was wrong.

All in all though, I thought this was an amazing episode. I don't usually blog about television shows but this was a must. I can't wait to see next week's episode, and how Ben and Adrian deal with the grief of being babylost :(

A Day at the Dog Park - #DogCollarCharms

Making our customized dog collar charm inspired me to go to a local park I had heard of - it's the only dog park in town, and I'd never been there. I didn't bring Jack with us this time, since I wasn't sure how it would be. I definitely plan to go back though!

It looks like it was empty but it really wasn't. There is a section for big dogs and a section for little and/or old dogs, and there were some people in each section with their dogs. 

I had brought the Dog Collar Charms that I made with me, and gave the two "My Dog is Cuter Than Your Dog" charms away - one for the big dog and one for the little dog! 

The owners were all very impressed with the photo charm, and were thrilled that they got to keep a charm for themselves! They declined having their photo taken, and didn't want to put the charms on the dogs right away - bummer! I was hoping for some good pictures, but oh well! They were very interested to know where they could get them, and I gave them all the information - I think there might be some Father's Day gifts ordered from DogCollarCharms.com!

This is the envelope the charms came in! They  were delivered so fast and I just loved the sticker on the back - such a personal touch! The customer service is just great! 

I'm so glad I discovered this park - I'm for sure going to take E and Jack there. I know they'll both love the socialization with other dogs, and the owners can all admire Jack's personalized dog charm!

View my #DogCollarCharms ThisMoment story here!

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are honest and my own! 

E and Jack - #DogCollarCharms

E and our {my parents'} dog have an interesting relationship... definitely of the love/hate variety. E just LOVES Jack - and we've taught him all about being soft to animals, and not pulling on his feet or tail, so he's usually pretty good. Jack basically loves E when he has food - he follows E around and cleans up the inevitable trail of snacks E leaves behind everywhere he goes.

When there isn't food involved... well, that's where the "hate" part comes in. Jack just tolerates all of E's attention, often growling a little bit under his breath. He's sort of old and is used to being the baby of the house, so he's a little jealous of E! That being said, he has never bitten or even snapped at E.. just that grouchy growl.

We love Jack all the same, and I was so excited to make a personalized dog charm for him! It took me forever to decide what picture to use. I *almost* used one of E hugging Jack, but it was sort of a far away picture and I wasn't sure how good it would look. I chose a picture of me and E instead, and it turned out so cute!

Adorable, right?! I think it would make a really cute keychain too.. just saying!

Jack wasn't too thrilled about being a model, but he loved wearing the charm! It's the perfect size, too!

Blurry pic, but this basically sums up their relationship. E trying to love on him, Jack running away!

From the side... Own it! 

The ordering process was so easy. It's just three steps -

Choose your picture and upload, position your picture, and choose your color! So simple! 

We really love it, and I think that I'll be using DogCollarCharms.com often for dog charm gifts. My dad has two labs, and I think that dog collar charms with pictures of his grandkids on them would make a fabulous Father's Day gift! 

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are honest and my own! 

The Magical Weight Loss Breakfast

So. We all know that I put back on all the weight I had lost during the divorce process thanks to using domperidone to continue breastfeeding. It was worth it, but I definitely felt fat and gross.

Now that I'm done, I'm finally shedding that weight! It's coming off more slowly than I put it on, of course... the law of the universe. Or dieting. Or whatever. But I've lost 15 lbs since I quit pumping on April 18th, and I often get the question, "What are you eating?!"

The answer, my friends, is oatmeal. I'm serious. For some reason, if I make it a habit to eat oatmeal every morning, I lose weight. Not super duper fast or anything, but I definitely notice that when I stop eating oatmeal I stop losing weight.

I'm not really sure why - I don't know if it's the fiber, or just the fact that I'm eating breakfast so I eat less throughout the day, or if it's the teaspoon of cinnamon (no sugar!) that I put in it.. it's rumored to help with stabilizing blood sugar and weight loss.

But who knows. The point is, I love eating oatmeal for breakfast, and it totally works for me.

I usually buy rolled oats, but I've been curious about steel cut oats for a long time. They're supposed to have a lower glycemic index and obviously, they're less processed. But I haven't wanted to go out of my way to the health food store to buy them, so I never have.

Until now! Today, I went to Wal Mart to get some more oatmeal and some things for dinner (pasta with chicken and basil pesto! Yum!) and THEY HAD QUAKER STEEL CUT OATS. I was totally excited and I totally bought them. I know they take longer to make than rolled oats, so I'll have to get some recipes and figure it all out or whatever. But I will, and I will let you know if they are good and if they still help me lose weight. They were more expensive than rolled oats - it's this bitty container that costs like a dollar more than the HUGE rolled oats container so we'll have to see if it's worth it.

I also saw some oatmeal packets that were labeled "Weight Control." I was very curious about these... I kind of rolled my eyes, to be honest... but from what I could glean from the label it looked like they added protein, which is SO awesome. I always worry that I'm not getting enough protein with eating just a bowl of oatmeal. It was flavored, so I thought there would be a ton of extra sugar but there really wasn't. I didn't buy any... mainly because I tend to dislike oatmeal that comes in packets, but I will definitely keep these in mind when school starts up again. It would be really easy to take a packet of oatmeal with me in the morning and make it in the student lounge between classes - the nursing lounge has a microwave!

It seems like there are a lot of new oatmeal products out now.. I was surprised at the variety. Maybe I just beeline for my stand-by regular rolled oats and don't take notice, but this time I did. There is definitely some oatmeal product for everyone! I, personally, really love regular old oatmeal for breakfast - all I put in mine is the cinnamon and it tastes amazing. You just can't do that with cold cereal - the ones that are good are always chock full of sugar, and that is the LAST thing my body needs!!!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are honest and my own! I really truly do eat oatmeal almost every day and love it. 

How Do You Cloth Diaper? Part I: The Diapers

The great thing about cloth diapering is there are about a million ways to do it. This is part of what makes it so confusing when you're a newbie - you're getting different advice from everyone and you kind of start to think that everyone is crazy and nobody knows what's what. The thing is, something different is going to work for everyone, and you really just have to jump in and find what works for you and your baby. 

We've been cloth diapering for awhile now, and while it was very intimidating at first, I think we've finally figured out what works for us. 

The Diapers: As you can see, our stash is really varied. That's the best way to go in my opinion; I always have an option for all of my diapering needs!

The bulk of our stash consists of prefolds and covers - I initially bought these because they are the most inexpensive option (well, besides flats! I still haven't been brave enough to learn how to use those!) but I've ended up liking them a lot more than I anticipated. I generally use these when I have E all to myself; most other people who watch him aren't huge fans of cloth diapering and don't want to pull out the wet and potentially soiled insert to switch it for a new one, but I don't mind it at all. I almost never have leaks with my prefolds and covers, and often use them for overnights. 

I have several different brands of pocket diapers - each brand has a feature that they're best at, and I haven't met a brand that I have no occasion for. Some I like better for nights, some I feel are super reliable for when we go out (and cute - that's important to me because I want people to think "What? A cloth diaper? CUTE!" not "What, a cloth diaper? Ick!") and some are trimmer and look better under clothes, but are better for shorter periods of time.  It all just depends, so that's why I really love that I have a mix. I definitely would not change my wide variety even if I could afford to buy a whole new matching stash!

AIO (All In One) diapers are a minority in my stash, and in my humble opinion are a luxury item. I only have a couple of these, and while I don't feel that they're a necessity in a cloth diaper stash, they are quite convenient. They're my first choice to leave with babysitters, because there is nothing different about them than a disposable diaper besides the fact that they are washable! A velcro AIO diaper is very non-intimidating to people not familiar with cloth, and that helps a lot when you're trying to convince people that cloth diapering is not that hard. Or weird. Or crazy. But since caregivers aren't doing the washing, they're not really going to notice the difference between an AIO or a pocket. So they're cool and nice and convenient, but I certainly wouldn't die without them. 

Fitteds are even rarer than AIOs in our house - when I first tried one I didn't "get" it. Most other diapers have a polyurethane lining (PUL) - basically, plastic - to keep it from leaking; fitteds do not. They are very trim, and come in a million adorable prints, but because of their lack of PUL they need a cover (same covers you would use with a prefold!). That made no sense to me - I know some people worry about the chemicals in the PUL, but I am not one of those, so fitteds just perplexed me (why have such a cute diaper just to cover it up? WHY?). However, a couple of months ago E got a pretty bad diaper rash and Katie told me to put him in a fitted overnight - since there is no "plastic" lining, it allows the air to circulate and would help the rash get better. GENIUS. It totally worked. And ever since then fitteds have totally clicked for me, and I wish I had more. As I type, E is in one for the night because again, he has a bit of a rash (I'm making it sound like he gets them a lot, but he really doesn't. He just happened to have one today!). If I add to my stash it will probably be more of these, and I would definitely say having a few of these is a necessity. That being said, I personally probably wouldn't build a stash of exclusively fitteds. 

Now, of the above, probably two-thirds have snap closures and one-third have velcro. When I first started out, I preferred velcro - it's very similar to putting on a disposable diaper, it's fast so you can hurry up and do it before your squirmy toddler gets away, and there is less guesswork involved in getting the right fit. As E has gotten older, though, he's figured out how to get a velcro diaper off. That is bad, bad news. Remember the time I woke up and his diaper was off and he almost pooped in my bed?! Yeah. So my preference changed. To snaps. Which he still does not know how to remove. I'm thrilled about being able to let him run around outside in just a diaper this summer without having to worry about him going streaking. As a bonus, snaps tend to last longer than velcro, so if you're planning on using your diapers for multiple children it's a way better investment. Now, personal preference and investments aside, I think there is a place in every stash for both. Velcro is so much better for apprehensive caregivers. It's so similar to disposable diapering and it's so easy to get a leak free fit. Even now, I occasionally have to adjust E's snappage after I've already put the diaper on and sent him on his way, and for someone who isn't the primary caregiver and isn't used to cloth it can be really confusing. Refer to the above picture of the way my mom put on a snap diaper. Lol!

So those are the diapers that make up our stash. How about you? How do you cloth diaper? 

What's up?!

Whew!

Finals are over at last for this semester! YAY! I'm so relieved. I ended up doing well in my classes, so it was worth all the craziness.

I am now officially a SAHM for the summer! I am waiting to find out whether I got into the nursing program for Fall 2011; depending on whether I did or didn't, I may or may not be taking a couple of online classes over the summer. If I didn't, I'll take a math class to replace the one unfortunate "B" on my nursing application, but it will be online so there will still be no on campus time besides tests! If I did get accepted, I'm not going to do anything this summer but be a mom. Nursing school is tough so I'm sure that I'll be glad I took some time out before starting!

I've already noticed how much of a better mom I am when I'm not worrying about a million things I ought to be studying. I have so much more patience and I truly enjoy spending time with E. Not that I don't usually, but I'm normally really high strung and preoccupied. So this is awesome. I'm loving it, and I hope it lasts the whole summer whether I end up taking classes or not.

I'll keep you posted on whether or not I get into the program! I should be getting notified by the end of next week, but by May 31st at the very latest. Eeek! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Earth Mama Angel Baby - C&C Wash

I love Earth Mama Angel Baby Organics. I first became aware of the company when I heard of their baby loss comfort line, and I was immediately impressed. Their line of products is something totally unique and higher quality than I have found elsewhere.

I was so excited to try the Calm and Clean Hand to Toe Wash! Before I received it I had been using their Angel Baby Shampoo and Body Wash for E, and I love it. That being said, we usually do bath time at night and I've always heard that citrus smells (like the fabulous orange-vanilla of the Shampoo and Body Wash) were "energetic" for mornings. The Calm and Clean wash smells like calming lavender (and a hint of vanilla, too!), so it's perfect for those baths you're hoping will induce an early bedtime!

The thing I wondered when I first tried organic products was obviously, do they work as well as the products I'm used to? And with EMAB's products, the answer is definitely YES. The first night I used the Calm and Clean wash on E? He had gotten hold of a marker (not a permanent one, thank goodness - just a regular one) and decorated his arms and legs with dark, black streaks of marker. I thought I would have to scrub and scrub to get it off, but a little bit of the wash took it right off. I was shocked!

This is really a great product, and the smell is fantastic. I have been known to use it in lieu of my regular body wash in the shower!

Want it? One lucky reader will win a 1.67 oz bottle of Calm and Clean Hand to Toe Wash!

Mandatory Entry: 

Follow my blog publicly via GFC

Extra Entries:

• Follow Earth Mama Angel Baby on Twitter! 
• Sign up to receive Mama's Monthly Newsletter
• Follow me on Twitter 
• Tweet this giveaway "#Win a bottle of Calm and Clean Hand to Toe Wash from @EarthMamaHQ and @HauteSingleMama! http://bit.ly/l9nHWR Ends 5/17 " (3x/day, at least one hour between tweets. Please leave permalink!) 

Leave a comment for every entry you've completed, and have your email address or Twitter handle in the comment or visible on your Blogger profile so I can notify you if you win! Good luck!

I was sent a bottle of Calm and Clean Hand to Toe Body Wash to try. I was not given any other compensation for this post. All opinions are honest and my own! 

Vintage Pizza Parties

When I was growing up, my parents had "date night" every Friday night. I think they went out to dinner or something, I don't really know, but for us? It was  PIZZA PARTY NIGHT!! 

Sometimes we would order pizza, but most times we would make what we called "little pizzas" - they're those premade buttermilk biscuits that you buy in the refrigerated dough section at the store, with some sauce and whatever toppings we wanted to go on them. Pepperoni, onions, olives, pinapple, barbecue chicken pizza, or macaroni and cheese pizza - anything we could think up! It was fabulously fun when I was like, 8. (Actually I still make them every now and then - it's still pretty fun!)

And with those pizza parties we always got to have soda - usually Coke or Barq's root beer. Normally root beer though, because obviously my parents didn't want to return home to 4 kiddos hopped up on caffeine. Now they have caffeine-free Coke - that would have been the best of both worlds! We never, ever got to drink soda with meals (or anytime, really, unless we were going out to dinner or something) except on date night, so it was a big deal.  

We'd make our little pizzas, hunker down with a glass of Coke or Barq's, and watch TGIF on channel 3? Or 4? I don't remember. But they played Boy Meets World and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Lol! Does anyone else remember that? Just me? We really loved, loved, loved TGIF. 

Those are some of the best memories I have with my siblings. Hanging out at home, being "responsible" enough to be left home alone for an hour or two, and enjoying some of our favorite foods and drinks that my mom was awesome enough to allow us to have in only in moderation. 

Now, my parents still go out on Friday nights :) Even though I'm allowed to have soda whenever I want (I'm an adult after all, and I have a terrible awful addiction to diet soda), it always seems particularly festive on Friday night. I still make pizza for myself, my brother, and now Eli - and I even let Eli take a little sip of the soda. He just loves Barq's root beer -  but he's only allowed to have it on Friday nights! TGIF is no longer on, but we watch other silly, family friendly programming, and it's just a fabulous way to wind up the week and start the weekend. 

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Coca-Cola® blogging program. If I am one of the first 100 blogs received by SocialsMoms, I will receive a $25 gift card. For more information on the program,click here.

Hanging Up the Horns

I've decided.

I'm going to quit pumping - or "I'm going to hang up the horns (HUTH)" as they say in EP'er circles.

I feel fabulous that I've been able to pump for E as long as I have. 20 months! That's a long time. That's almost 2 years of my life pumping every.single.day. Half of high school. Woah.

I'm a little sad that I'm not going to make it to two years, but I just can't. I mean I technically could, but I need my body back for my own health and sanity. I was pregnant for almost 16 months straight (pregnant - early miscarriage; pregnant at next ovulation - lost B at 26 weeks; pregnant at 12 weeks postpartum for 29 weeks with E) and now I've been pumping for 20 months. That's exactly 3 years that my body has been a home, a food source, or recovering from childbirth. That's a long time.

I'm ramping up my domperidone dosage to try to add a little to my freezer stash before I quit - and to make it so it (the domperidone) is gone faster. I'll be done pumping in a little less than two weeks. I have enough freezer stash for a month? Maybe two? I'm not sure. But when the freezer stash is gone.. we'll be done. I'm a little sick that I don't have the milk I pumped in NICU - I had over 3,000 oz stockpiled; that would have taken us well into two years. Stupid ex husbands who throw liquid gold away. But oh well. No use crying over spilled breast milk ;)

Every time I give E a bottle of freshly pumped milk I'm a little sad. I feel a little guilty that his breast milk bottles are numbered. But he drinks water out of his bottle like it's no big thing (for naptime), so I really don't think he'll even notice. I've started giving him smoothies at lunch with different fruits, some protein powder and either avocado or coconut milk/coconut oil for some good fats for him. He's drinking them pretty well. When he gets a little better at drinking them I'll sneak some greens in there. That way I'll know he's getting lots of good nutrients still. (He's on a multivitamin too - but I'm extremely paranoid about his nutrition and weight gain. I blame it on NICU.)

I've shed tears over this decision, but ultimately I'm happy with it. My goal was 6 months, and then a year, and after a year I had no defined goals - I just knew I was okay with doing it until he turned two, but I was okay with stopping anytime after I had reached a year, too.

I'm excited to get my body back. Sad that my baby isn't such a baby anymore. Grateful that I made it this long.

And I can't believe it. I'm hanging up the horns. I'm weaning. In a couple weeks, my life won't revolve around pumping!! How crazy is that?!

Dialect Vlog Revisited

Hey everyone! There's a new dialect vlog started by MamaDweeb, and since everyone else is doing it of course I had to too. Make your own and link up! P.S. I was going to redo it since it looks like my foot is sticking out of the top of my head, but E was too cute in it I just had to post it. Lol! Oh, and I'm from near Las Vegas, and I've lived in Virginia, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

Pillow, Exhausted, Governor, Entrepreneurial, Calm, Milwaukee Wisconsin, Bagel, ambulance, aqua, femoral, address, rural, hypocrisy
What do you call a store where you buy alcohol?
What do you call it when you blow on a baby’s tummy and make them laugh?
What do you call batting your eyelashes on someone’s cheek?
What is another way of saying, “to deceive,” or “swindle?”
What is a funny way to say someone is not smart? (one fry short of a happy meal?)
Another name for butt?
What do you call it when you drive through mud. Lots of it, often fast and pray you don’t get stuck?

Easter Time! Pillow Pets Review and Giveaway

Easter time is HERE! Just in time, Pillow Pets has brought Fluffy Bunny back!! YAY! Fluffy Bunny is one of the Limited Edition Pillow Pets that are only available seasonally, and it is SO CUTE! I was so excited to get a chance to review it.

As you can see, it (he? she? it feels weird calling this cute thing an it) is soft and furry purple with green gingham lining on the bottom and on the insides of its ears. I think this is an adorable combination - bright for spring, and gender-neutral enough to pass for a boy or a girl.

I'm saving Fluffy Bunny to give to E with his Easter basket, but I took a peek in to the package when I first got it because I was dying to see if it was as soft as our Luv Pup Pillow Pet that we got for Valentine's Day. It sure is!! The gingham lining is also made of the ever so soft chenille that all the Pillow Pets have! I could just stroke them forever.

Just like the rest of the Pillow Pets, Fluffy Bunny turns into a pillow when you unhook the velcro.

If for whatever reason you're not into the purple and green combo, there's also pink-and-polka-dot Cuddly Bunny which is super cute too, especially for those of you who have little girls!

Pillow Pets has come out with a lot of new non-seasonal Pillow Pets, too - including the Green Dinosaur which I'm DYING to get my hands on! Isn't he awesome and ferocious looking?!

Okay... so you know how much I love Pillow Pets... now do you want to win your own Fluffy Bunny?!

Of course you do!

Mandatory Entry: Visit Fluffy Bunny's page  and leave a comment here telling me who you would like to give Fluffy Bunny to for an Easter or spring gift! (It's okay to admit you'd keep it for yourself, too!)

Extra Entries: 

• "Like" Pillow Pets on Facebook
• Follow Pillow Pets on Twitter
• Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (in the right sidebar)
• Tweet the giveaway! "Hop into spring! #win a Limited Edition Fluffy Bunny from @MyPillowPets and @HauteSingleMama! http://bit.ly/gGsa68 Ends 4/13 " (3x day, at least one hour in between, 1 entry per tweet, please leave permalink!) 
• Follow me on Twitter

Each is worth one entry into the giveaway. Leave a comment for each entry you complete! Please be sure that your email address is accessible from your blogger profile, or leave your email or Twitter name in your entry comment so I can for sure get in touch with you if you win.

The winner will be chosen on 4/13/11 via random.org. I will email and/or tweet the winner, who will have 24 hours to respond before another winner is chosen. Good luck!!!

Pillow Pets are intended for use by children aged 3 and over. If children younger than that are playing with them they need to be supervised during that time.


This giveaway is open to US mainland residents only. I was sent Fluffy Bunny to review. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. All opinions are honest and my own! 


This giveaway is now closed!! Thanks for entereding, everyone! 


Congrats to....

kellyr78 said...81

I would give the bunny to my 3 yr old daughter.

April 6, 2011 1:15 PM 

Kellyr78! You won! Happy Easter to you and your 3 year old!