Tuesday, May 31, 2011

At the Park



Monday, May 30, 2011

Flats Challenge Finale


First off, a huge thank you to all of our sponsors; Babee Green, Baby Belle BottomsBummis and Diapers etc.

The week is over and I no  longer have to use flats.  What did I learn during this past week though?  I am just going to lay it out with a list of pros and cons:
Cons:
Cleaning the poop off a flat is much harder than my usual pocket diapers.
Having to painstakingly fold each flat before using it.
I found it to be difficult to put on a flat in a small space (like a changing table) because of the different folds and stuff.
My husband hated them, but when pressed said he would learn to do them if we had to.
Pros:
Surprisingly, I have quite a few pros.
If using a washing machine, the laundering time is drastically reduced; diapers come out cleaner and waaaaayyyyyy less drying time.  To line dry all my flats and covers took only about 3 hours.  Regular diapers can take at least 5 or more.
I liked the trim fit of the flats with covers.  Much less bulky on our little man.
I was just plain proud of myself for figuring them out!
The flats were actually highly absorbent and had no leaks during my time using them.
- - - - - - - - - -
What does this mean in summary?  Well, flats are staying in my stash!  I feel confident using them and absolutely believe they are a great system to use....as long as you can use a washing machine.  If you are considering cloth diapers, please feel free to contact me with any questions...I am happy to help!




Memorial Day

Our day started off with a parade to honor all the veterans who have ever served our country.



Then the girls decorated our driveway.  You cannot read it real well, but it was tear-inducingly sweet.  They wrote "Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force...You help save lives"  "We love you" things like that.




 And lastly, thanks to our family, we enjoyed using our pool passes to celebrate the opening of the city pool!





Happy Memorial Day!

Sunday, May 29, 2011

He Walks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Professor started walking this past Friday evening.  There were no practice steps or anything.  He just took off!  Walking at 10 1/2 months AND he is our latest walker.  The Genius was walking by 9 months and the Hippie by 10 months.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Dollar Deals

Today my sister kept the girls, and my husband, the Professor and I hit some garage sales.  I got some great bargains!! Among my finds were some Gymboree clothes (like new) for .50 for the girls (for next fall), a shelf for one dollar and a brand new set of 8 placemats with 12 matching cloth napkins for $1!!! I came home and washed the linens and decided to have a fancy night.  We had lasagna, salad and garlic bread.  The Professor LOVED the lasagna.  Anyways, here is a pic of our new linens.  Love deals like this!


Friday, May 27, 2011

Book Review "The Reluctant Queen"



I recently received the book “The Reluctant Queen” by Joan Wolf.  The book is based on the true story of Esther from the Bible.  From the moment I opened the book, I was drawn into this timeless tale and Esther is one of my favorites in the Bible.  The book certainly brought the characters to life and it was an excellent read.  I was hardly able to put it down and finished it in just over one day.  However, I must say, the book left me with a sour taste in my mouth.  Yes, I realize it is a fiction book and simply based on the Bible story, but the author had Esther marry a fictional king, not King Xerxes.  There were other elements too that she took fairly large liberties with.  I found this to be very unnecessary.  Joan Wolf addresses this in the end of her book, but for a product being carried in Christian Bookstores, I was disappointed.  In summary, good read, but sadly lacking in truthful historical details.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Flats Challenge Day 4 Sponsored by Diapers Etc.


Kristen here and so far day 4 has been my best day!  Wanna know my secret?  I finally found a fold that worked for me.  See, all the other folds made me feel like a first grader trying to do Algebra.  I used the Diaperbag Style fold.  You can watch a video of it here.   I get this fold.  I like this fold.  To make it even better, I had a wonderful sponsor today....Diapers etc.   Diapers Etc. sent me a cover by one of my favorite brands!  Imse Vimse.

Diapers Etc. has a great selection of diapers and diaper covers.  The cover I received fit our little man perfectly!  I tried to get a picture of my first successful folding, but he was not real cooperative!

Buy it! You can find all your cloth diapering needs at Diapers Etc. You can also connect with Diapers Etc. here or on Twitter.


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Flats Challenge Day 3 Sponsored by Bummis


Kristen here and I am happy to say we are surviving the Flats and Handwashing Challenge!  Day 3 of this challenge was generously sponsored by Bummis!

Our little man tends to run on the skinny side and the Bummis diaper fit him perfectly, plus I am love, love, loving the cool  Rocket print!

I am kind of saving up all my thoughts on using flats til the very end of the challenge and am focusing on the various products right now.  So far the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap Diaper Cover has been our favorite!  It kept the Professor (and his crib) dry and held is some big poops too.  Plus, it just plain fun to look at!  My only wish….snaps.  I am  snaps lover, but if all covers fit, and worked, as well as the Bummis, then I could go back to Aplix!
Thanks you Bummis for making Day 3 so delightful!




Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Flats Challenge Day 2 Sponsored by Baby Belle Bottoms




Kristen here and I have survived day 1 and now day 2 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge! Today went better. I am slowly getting more accomplished at the folding. I loved my cover sent to me by Baby Belle Bottoms! Baby Belle Bottoms provided me with a great fitting diaper cover to use, some Snappis and some flats. If you are interested in trying out cloth diapers, Baby Belle Bottoms has everything you need!





If you like what you see, then please go visit Baby Belle Bottoms or visit the Baby Belle Bottoms page.


Are you in a club?

I am thinking about Coupon groups or Coupon Swap groups. Are you part of one? If so, can you please either email me or comment here with how it works and what you do etc? Thanks!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Flats Challenge Day 1 Sponsored by Babee Green

Hi!  Call me crazy if you want, but I decided to join up with Dirty Diaper Laundry and participate in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge.  The main goal?  Use nothing buts flats and covers to diaper your baby and also handwash them.  The why?  To show that cloth diapering can be affordable to all families.  It typically costs about $60 to use flats and covers on your baby from birth-potty training.  I believe that is about the price of 2 boxes of disposable diapers.  What would you do with all that extra money???
Anyways, today was the first day and I woke up with butterflies in my tummy.  But I was excited about trying out our new cover that came to us courtesy of Babee Greens.  Here is the photos of my very first attempt at flat folding.

We did it!!! I was quite proud of myself and I think that PUL cover from Babee Greens looks adorable on him!  I love that pale yellow color.
Buy it!  Visit Babee Greens to buy a PUL cover like ours!  You can also find Babee Greens here and can find their blog here.





Weekend Fun








We finally enjoyed a respite from the constant rain.  We all got out and enjoyed it!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Mommy is Young

My husband said I simply must record this conversation with the Hippie:
(This took place as she was brushing my hair)
H - Mommy, your hair is beautiful.  It is brown and blondish and lightish.
M - Yeah, the lightish is because Mommy is getting gray hair.
H - Oh no Mommy.  It is just blondish because you are not elderly at all you are YOUNG!


Kids are just so cute...especially our kids.  LOL!