the pros and cons of "moon dough"

For Christmas I got the kids (the older kids) Moon Dough. For those of you unfirmiliar with this product here is the link. I got them this thinking it was a good alternative to playdough. So here are the pros and cons from the mom of an almost 5 year old and a 3 year old stand point.
PROS:
doesnt dry out (rather clever you can leave it out forever and it will still be usable)
flakes right out of fabric with scratching
if it get squished into your floor it just comes right up because its dry not wet
not salty dry hands after play
no sticking to molds, it just pops right out!
balls back up and sticks to itself after play like playdough

CONS:
it crumbles like none other
more expensive than playdough
perhaps a little harder to hand mold than playdough
doesn't come with any kind of container

So as the mom of preschoolers I both like and dislike this product. I like that it comes right out of everything, and that it never dries out. But I hate that it crumbles so much it really makes a mess. It is gluten (wheat) free which is awesome and hypo allergenic also awesome. But it isnt safe to eat like playdough (which tastes nasty but is harmless if swallowed). For me that is a con too because of Baylie's problems she still feel the need to explore orally and Daisy copies that. Also due to crumbling it gets on the floor and I worry PJ will eat some too.

BOTTOM LINE:
If you have older children that no long feel the need to put things in their mouths this stuff is AMAZING! If you have kids that still put stuff in their mouths or a little on crawling around your big ones during play time then I would hold off buying this particular product. The age rage is 3+ I would agree and maybe even say closer to 4+

Daisy at 3

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY DAISY ANN!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!
So I will have a long post tomorrow after her party with pictures and such but for today just a status update.

As of my home measurements today Daisy is:

37 1/2 inches tall
and
36.4 lbs.

That puts her in the 95% for her height and about the 92% for her weight. So By my guess she will be another tall one- maybe not as tall as Baylie and PJ will be, but taller than my 5'7".

RIP Blue Waters of Bristol Bay

Today heaven gained another beautiful angel My mom and step dad made the decision to put down our beloved Blue Waters of Bristol Bay aka. Gator. On Saturday morning he was attacked by two pitbulls and after being rushed to the vet in Gillette and a 3 hour surgery where they attempted to put him back together he struggled for 3 days to continue his life. But this morning his health went down hill and they had to put him down as he was suffering and wouldnt be able to recover. Here are some pictures from his long and loving life:

(all of these were taken by me in Rozet)

The man who's pits killed Gator are still around. They attacked a Jack Russle the day before and paralyzed him and he was put down as well. The piece of scum that owns those dogs moved them in the middle of the night on Saturday before authorities could seize them and quarentine them until judgement was passed. The dogs need to be put down. They have also attacked a person and were once again moved before authorities could take them in. The man's name is SEAN LEWIS, AGE 31- BROWN HAIR AND GLASSES, DRIVES AN OLDER GREEN CAR. USED TO LIVE IN SLEEPY HALLOW HAS RELATIVES IN GILLETTE AND MOORCROFT. These dogs are extremely dangerous so beware. Please if you know where in Gillette this guy or his dogs (two pitbulls one black one brown with white spots) are please let me or the police know immeadiately. Sean Lewis has a brother named either Clay or Trey. Both are now currently wanted by the law!! Thank you.

Two part post part 2: PJ

Today's Part 2: Pepper

On November 15 PJ turned 6 months! She is getting so big. By my rough home estimates she weighs about 20 lbs. and is about 28 inches tall.

For someone that can't crawl yet she sure is mobile! She almost has it though. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks but everytime she tries to lift a hand she looses her balance and does nose dive.

During the past two weeks PJ has been seen by the baby tooth fairy and been blessed with her two bottom teeth!! Yesterday the second one came in so she enjoyed her very first graham crackers!

During the past week she has also added some new sounds to her baby babble. Finally some consenents have joined all the vowel sounds! First was MAMA then last night B joined the word party for BABA. I dont count those as first words but I am glad to finally hear them!

PJ can sit for short period of time on her own before she looses her balance and slumps to the right or left. She is generally happy to sit, but doesnt care for the bumbo much as it always makes her throw up. She is still fighting with some reflux, so I think at her 6 month check up in December I will ask about some Zantac.

She is still the happiest baby I have ever seen and super easy to get along with in her personality. Which makes her my little dolly peach baby and makes me feel so grateful we have her in our lives.

And if you like the Chirstmas photos they were taken by the uber talented Jenni Hitt of JL Photography!

Two Part Post: Part 1- Baylie

I am doing two posts today. Part 1- Baylie Part 2- Pepper. Next month I will do a two part post Part 1 Daisy Part 2 PJ.

So Part 1 for today: Baylie.

Baylie has had some testing done this month with Children's in Denver. The first was with the pulmonary (sleep and breathing) clinic. They had no explanation for Baylie not sleeping. However they did give a RX for clonazepam- which is a seditive used as a sleep aid. I works wonderfully! It has been really nice to finally get some sleep- no more head banging!!!

The next meeting we had was with the genetics specialist from Children's. And after almost 4 years of searching for the reason Baylie acts like Baylie is this: she has a chomosomal abnormality. On the first chormosome pair on chromosome #1 Baylie has a triplication within the chomosome itself. This is different from say Down's Syndrom where there is an actual third chomosome. But they have never seen this triplication in this place on this choromosome. So Baylie is the first reported documented case-ever. Which means that now we have a answer, but they dont know anything about it. James and I will have to have our genetic maps done now to see if we passed it to her or if it unique to Baylie. Now if everything I just explained is Greek to you I have posted a picture below of a normal human chomosome map. The circled area with the red arrow is around the area that her triplication happens.

Okay so thats what we know for Miss B. we will start working with a Neuropsychologist out of Billings in January- hopefully they can help her with the behavioral problems.

AND if you like the pictures of Baylie they were taken by the fabulous Jenni Hitt of JL Photography.

Halloween 2010

Our pictures from this Halloween. I told James we have to dress up next year :o) Enjoy!

Baylie and Daisy painting their pumpkins

Mr Smiley, our family pumpkin

Daisy as a black cat. she think that this is a camera smile like this :oD

Baylie as a leapord cat. she is pretending to actually be a kitty.

pj as raggedy ann- i made all of her costume!!

5 months

welcome fall! as we roll into the middle of october miss pj turned 5 months old! She is about 19 lbs and (after a recent growth spurt) is about 28 inches long! she is still as sweet as sunshine and happy as the day is long. so without further delay pictures of all the kiddos from the past couple of months!

baylie in a bow!

This was taken last summr (2009) those would be my two sisters Fawn and Jamie (respectively)

Daisy being cute

baylie being cute

pj passed out in the swing

attempting to get a good 5 month picture

Here it is! a good 5 month shot of pj!!

her first go with sweet potatoes!

Looking very halloweeny in her spider shirt!

i love the angle it makes me smile :)

so cute!