Flanagan Clan

Things have been really busy around here, as most of you can probably imagine. I’m not getting a lot of sleep, the boys are active as ever, and there’s not enough time in the day to get anything done. Here are a few highlights from the past week or so.

1. Sammy is now house-trained. By this, I mean that he’s potty trained at home, although we’re still having trouble with him when he goes out into public. I have found that just putting him in big boy underwear has helped the potty training process immensely- pull-ups, I have found, hinder the process because he can not feel when he’s having accidents. This is one reason to switch to cloth diapers- kids feel when they’re wet and tend to potty train sooner than those in disposables. Definitely a money saver!!!

2. Liam has grown. We saw the lactation consultant again on Tuesday, and he now weighs 8 lb, 2.5 oz… which is exactly a pound heavier than he was two weeks before. We found out that he has an enlarged subligual gland, and when she e-mailed the picture of his mouth to a bunch of her collegues, one of the pediatricians in the practice (who happened to do checkups on Sammy and Ethan in the hosptial when they were born and is really nice!) came forward and mentioned that all 5 of his kids had the same thing, and that his wife was able to successfully nurse all of them. So, we’re working on things. It’s not perfect, but he hasn’t had a drop of formula and only two very small amounts in a bottle to make sure he would take one. So, we’re getting there 🙂

3. We’re currently having a huge rainstorm outside. And it’s August. The weather has been really weird. The week after Liam was born we had a huge heat wave, and now we’re into overcast days and lots of rain. I love Washington 🙂

4. Ethan and Sammy have become partners in crime and are always into EVERYTHING. If things are quiet in the house, there’s usually a good reason. Normally they get into small things like the cereal, but on Tuesday they got into the lanolin (think sticky, greasy mess…) and Wednesday they got into my prescription flouride toothpaste. Both times, they smeared the substance all over Ethan’s hair and the carpet. Needless to say, I’ve been watching them like a hawk the past few days!!!

5. On Tuesday we had an absolute treat when Jean Jackson, who goes to our church, came over and cooked authentic Japanese yakisoba for us. It was delicious! She also cooked up edamine and brought over different types of snacks that they use to love in Japan when they were missionaries over there. It was a really neat experience and we were all quite spoiled. I sorta wish we had people cooking for us more often!!!

6. Yesterday Andrew took the boys to the Seattle aquarium after we had all gone out to lunch at a yummy teriyaki place in Kent. The boys had a blast. Patrick mentioned that his favorite fish was the puffer fish. Unfortunately, they didn’t bring a camera or else I’d post pictures. Afterwards they all went out for ice cream. I’m glad that the boys are able to spend good time with their daddy!!!

7. Tomorrow Sammy has his 3-year checkup. It will be interesting to see where he is on the growth curve! He will be starting preschool in a month- I can’t believe he’s growing up so fast!

8. Two of my online cloth diapering friends sent Liam the most beautiful knit presents! One of the mamas, Katie, is from Victoria, Canada and she has been one of my customers in the past. I also helped her stalk (and scored!) some very hard to get yarn, and she’ll be starting her own at home business making knitted items in November. The other mama, Christia, actually is from this area (I believe her family lives in Edgewood), but she’s now in Iowa living with her two boys and husband who is in medical school. We met through the Goodmama forums, but hopefully next time she’s back in the area we’ll be able to meet in real life. Anyways, this is what Liam got:

Mosaic Moon Jacob’s Ladder longies by Katie

Appliqued shirt and custom colorway shorties by Christia

9. I finally finished a pair of Mosaic Moon Woodland in Spring shorties for Liam today. I started them the last couple weeks before he arrived (while it was still hot), but now that it’s cold and damp they’re finally finished. Oh well, if he doesn’t end up wearing them, I can probably sell them to someone who will have a new baby next summer…

10. I’m starting to think about reopening my shop in September. I will be working on a very reduced schedule only during the times when Patrick and Sammy are in preschool. I don’t think I’ll be keeping any merchandise in stock- I will be doing customs only. I’ve had an overwhelming number of people asking me when I’ll be coming back- it’s great to be missed, great to have my work loved, and I hope I have time to take on at least a few customs each week to allow me to keep the business up, even if it’s at a significantly reduced rate!!!

Well, that’s it. Liam is having his regular evening fussy period and the boys are creating havoc, so I must go!