Author Archives: Tabetha Gedeon

About Tabetha Gedeon

Co-founder of Kdari Virtual Partners and The Kdari Network

Somewhere Out There

My favorite reader said he wished he knew the words to “Somewhere Out There“ as sung on An AmericanTail. His wish is my command! Click here to hear the song.

Somewhere out there
Beneath the pale moonlight
Someones thinking of me
And loving me tonight

Somewhere out there
Someones saying a prayer
That we’ll find one another
In that big somewhere out there

And even though I know
How very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing
On the same bright star

And when the night wind
Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we’re sleeping
Underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there
If love can see us through
Then we’ll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true

And even though I know
How very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing
on the same bright star

And when the night wind
Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we’re sleeping
Underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there
If love can see us through
Then we’ll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true…

Foaming Hand Soap

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Foaming hand soap is the coolest thing! The kids love to see the bubbly soap squirt out onto their hands, so they want to wash their hands more often just to see the bubblies. I have also read that you can actually save money by using it. The most expensive part is the pump soap dispenser. You can refill your dispenser using your normal liquid hand soap and diluting it with water.

Sounds wonderful! My question is does it make you cheat? When I watch my kids wash their hands with foaming soap at the store, they squirt, play with the bubbles a few seconds, rub for about 2 seconds, and then rinse.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, you are supposed to lather and rub for at least 20 seconds (long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” twice) before rinsing. Regular liquid soap makes this pretty easy because it is very thick and probably takes about 20 seconds just to get off your hands. With foaming soap, you can put it on your hands and then rinse it off with very little rubbing at all (and that is almost exactly what my kids do). 🙂

So, I guess my question isn’t whether the soap works. The question is, do people actually take long enough washing their hands to make it worthwhile. I know it makes kids want to wash their hands more often because it is so fun. Maybe frequent washing makes up for the lack of time spent washing each time? I am not sure.

So, tell me. Do you think foaming hand soap does the job just as well as liquid hand soap? I would like to hear your opinion. (In other words, please leave me a comment) 😀

If you already use foaming hand soap and think it is a great product, check out recipes for the homemade refill at the blogs of Butterfly Mama and Melanie.

If you aren’t quite sure how to wash your hands and need to see a video, check this out! My only question is, does each person get his own individual towel? If you’re not sure why I asked that question, let me know. 🙂 Meanwhile, go wash your hands….and please use soap. Oh, and don’t forget to wish your mother, brother, or dog (or whoever happens to be nearby), a double happy birthday!

What Hoppened?

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A month or two ago, Phillip started crying, and Bethany said, “What hoppened?” It was so cute, especially the pronunciation. Today, when Candice was crying, Bethany bent down, looking Candice right in the face, and said, “Canny, what hoppened?” It was so adorable!

Other phrases Bethany has picked up are:

“I want a bite of water.”

“Ew! Yucky!”

“Wet’s Pay” as she folded her hands in prayer. (The cutest part about this one is that she folds her hands and then lays face down on the floor to pray).

“Wook at Anna.”

“Anna, Peta, Phup! Tima eat!” as I put food on their plates.

Blankets & Brotherly Love

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Luke’s Mom has made it her goal to crochet an afghan for each of her Grandchildren. This is a big project on her part because between her three married children, she has been blessed with ten grandchildren within eight years! 🙂

When we got together at Thanksgiving, Mom gave Bethany her newly crocheted afghan, which was very similar to the one she had made for Phillip. This led to some unnecessary worry on Peter’s part. Here is how the conversation went:

Peter: Mom, Mom, will you come upstairs? I need to show you something!

Me: I’ll be up in just a minute.

Peter: Mom, I need to show you Phillip’s blanket. It’s broken.

Me: What? (and I go upstairs)

Peter (with an urgent expression): Look (and holds up both afghans)

Me: Oh! Sweetie, that is 2 different blankets. Grandmommy made Bethany one, too. Isn’t that cool?

It was the cutest thing! And the best part is that he was so concerned for his brother. That just warms a mother’s heart!

Anna’s New Word

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Language has been a big topic during the last several months because we have been trying to learn Chinese. Tonight at supper, our conversation went like this:

Anna: Mom, do you know what Maltome-el means?

Me: No. What.

Anna: it means ‘more’

Me: Where did you learn that one?

Anna: I see it all the time on the cereal bag. It says, “Maltome-el means more.”

This is where I couldn’t help but smile. She was talking about Malt-O-Meal cereal, which indeed advertises on the bag “Malt-O-Meal means more.”

More Calories for Breastfeeding Mothers?

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As a breastfeeding mom of a 7 week old baby, I have been seeking ways to get back to my pre-pregnancy size. While I know exercise is important and has its place, it also makes sense to watch what you are eating.

I have been told with all my children that I should have an extra 500 calories per day in order to give my body enough energy to make breast milk. While I know that is a great thing to hear and very tempting to do no questions asked, it did not make a lot of sense to me.

This is the most sensible answer I have every heard or read on this topic. It makes so much sense it is almost hard to believe. 🙂

Think about it. Adding 500 calories to a diet of a woman who consumes 2000 calories per day (the amount most food package labels assume you will consume) increases the intake by 25%. Adding 500 calories to the diet of a woman who normally consumes 1200 calories per day increases her calorie intake by 41.6%! So tell me. Wouldn’t it make more sense and be more realistic to say that breastfeeding mothers should increase their caloric intake by 25%?

Scary Bathrooms

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Did you ever wonder how no-touch technology comes across to two year olds? Think about it. At home, they flush the potty themselves, they at least see the water turned on by an adult, and the hand dryers are something they don’t see at all (especially if mom or dad prefers paper towels over dryers)!

Then they walk into the bathroom at a store and feel like they’re in the twilight zone. The toilet noisily swallows anything that comes near it (or at least attempts to). The sink spits on anything that dares to move in front of it. The hand dryer blows hot air out its snout when someone walks underneath it (two year olds do walk under them, you know). They probably come out of the bathroom expecting the water fountain to stick out its leg to trip them!!

And we wonder why two year olds throw temper tantrums!! 🙂

Respiratory Synctial Virus

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Well, it is the time of year for Respiratory Synctial Virus, more commonly known as RSV. The symptoms in an adult are similar to a cold, but are viral instead of bacterial. RSV can be quite serious in a young baby 6 weeks old and younger, especially preemies.

RSV is probably the bug that has been going around our church, but we probably would not have known it if Candice had not tested positive for it. I took her to the emergency room early (and I do mean early) this morning for holding her breath, and they admitted her to watch her.

Candice had very mild symptoms that did not get serious at all. But because RSV affects the airways, which happen to be quite small in an infant, and because she was holding her breath, the doctor wanted to keep her for monitoring. She is home now and still sick but seems to be taking the virus in stride.

On another note, the hospital had these nifty Purell dispensers that automatically spray hand sanitizer in your hand when you hold it under the dispenser. They are so neat…until you sit in a chair that happens to be right underneath a dispenser! Hand sanitizer instantly becomes hair sanitizer!:)

It’s Free!

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A couple of years ago, someone told me about a website you could go to and get free stuff. Usually when you hear of a site like that, you expect hidden cost or something you have to do to get the free stuff. In this case, the stuff is genuinely free except for the gas you use going to pick it up. This site is availabe in many areas and invites you to start a group in your area if there isn’t one. Check out freecycle!

The downside of freecycle is that you must become a member to view listings, and to become a member, you must have a yahoo ID. But the sign-up process doesn’t take long and is free. It might be worth your while.

One of the many positives of freecycle is that their goal is to keep good usable stuff out of landfills. Furniture, clothing, and many other items can be recycled kind of like paper, plastic, and glass!

We have gotten good use out of freecycle both in Nashville, TN and here in Rhode Island. We have gotten a baby swing, walker,stroller, high chair, clothing, bunk beds, and many other items from freecycle, and most of the time the items were in good shape! I just got some clothing for Candice, and it looks and smells brand new!

So, if there is something you need or want, why not try out freecycle before you spend money. You could save anywhere from a couple of dollars to a couple hundred dollars. Go ahead. Try it. You know you want to! 🙂

Bethany is Two!

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Last Thursday was Bethany’s birthday. Since we had just moved, we didn’t have anything special planned. We decided at the last minute to do a mini party, and this is how it all came together. I took Bethany with me to the grocery store to let her help pick a small cake from the bakery (a first for us, by the way). She picked green. On the way home, I remembered that we had green disposable plates and napkins at home.

Luke decided to help the other kids make little boxes out of paper. He chose green construction paper to go along with the already green color theme. During supper we were teasing about all the green, and mentioned that we might need to color our noses green, too. Then I remembered that we had the DVD If Only I Had a Green Nose by Max Lucado. The perfect “green” activity to help calm everyone down for bed! To top it off, we painted our noses green, too!