Problem: I washed a pullup

Problem solved: salty cycle

Yep, this weekend when doing laundry, I washed a pullup. I never knew what a pullup (or a diaper for that matter) was made of. I never bothered to care either as long as it served its purpose. These days, we barely need pullups. Brenna wears them at night still because I'm paranoid and don't want to have to be changing sheets in the middle of the night (I actually really enjoy sleeping through the night). Most mornings, well really all mornings for quite awhile now, Brenna's pullup is dry when she wakes up. Sometimes they are recycled for the next night (it is dry after all) but apparently this week, one snuck its way into the hamper with some jammies. I didn't see it when dumping the clothes in the washer. BUT, when I moved the clothes to the dryer, I was horrified to find lots of little balls of gel EVERYWHERE! I panicked a little, not knowing what it was. I initially thought it was one of those little silica gel packets that you find in a new purse or something (I frantically searched the internet for what to do and how dangerous they could be when opened). Nothing found...nothing helpful anyway. So I did the next thing that most people would do - I called my mom. But, busy helping with new baby Rylan, she didn't answer her cell. So, I called my dad. I asked for advice. They didn't know what was in a pullup either and didn't know what I should do. So, I did the next think I think most people would do, I googled "I washed a pullup". Luckily, I was not the first one to do this. I found a blog (on blogger even) where someone posted that they'd done this and fortunatly all of her friends gave some helpful tips. The one that seemed the most promising (translation easy and quick) was to run an empty cycle through the wash of water and salt. So I did that (after I scooped up the gel goop from the washer tub first. While that was running, I shook out the soiled clothes in the back yard. Then, I checked the washer - hooray, gel was gone! Put clothes back in washer, did not add detergent, but added salt. Ta da! It worked. Ran clothes through wash again and dried them...gel free! Quickly told Brenna not to put pullups in the hamper anymore - they go in the garbage can. She agreed and knew that it was not good to put a pullup in the "dishwasher".

Rylan is here!

My baby sister had a baby! Rylan Kae Silliman was born at 4:53pm on September 17, 2008. He weighed 7 lbs, 15 oz and was 21 inches long. I got to go visit them today and he is the most precious little boy (easy to say since I don't have a boy). He is very mellow and alert - he was looking around at us quite a bit. He makes adorable little noises and entertained us all - at under a day old! We can't wait to see him grow and play with his cousin (Brenna didn't come along because she'd been battling some sniffles and a cough and we didn't dare expose Rylan to that). I just know that she will love him so much and smother him with kisses! We all think that he looks like his daddy - but has his mommy's nose. Regardless, he is adorable!

Congratulations Jamie and Josh - you are already fabulous parents!! Love you!

Princess Brenna

She's been a princess since the day she was born - sometimes even a "baby queen" around Papaw. For her birthday this year, she recieved many princess related gifts and she LOVES them. Most of the time, she prefers to be in her dress up clothes rather than her regular clothes and very often she changes as soon as we get home. Sometimes the princess outfit is even put on top of her everyday clothes. If she can't be in her full outfit, she at least has the shoes on. She plays in her princess outfits, eats in them and even naps in them. She is very aware of using other princess items, such as her princess plate (a request at nearly every meal) her princess ball, her princess cup, princess washcloth and her princess toothbrush. Of course we regularly watch princess movies too! Thank goodness for her sweet nature - she is truly a treasure to me. She is quite the trooper as we go through some major adjustments and is so innocently optimistic about things that have quite a different effect on me. Without her kind, giving spirit this would be a much more difficult time for me. Thank God for this beautiful angel! Outside of being a princess, she is also quite the performer. She'll go on for quite awhile singing various songs and doing different dances - and if I'm videoing, she'll do even more (she also really likes watching herself). So, enjoy the video below. This one was one of the last in a concert she gave last weekend. Before I started recording, she said that she was going to sing "Old McDonald had a Farm" but it is important to note that the song just before was "B-I-N-G-O". Cutie patootie if I do say so myself!