Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Cloth diaper rant part 5: Where to buy?

So sorry it has taken so long to finish all these CD posts!

So I want to finish my cloth diaper rants with where to buy (that is until next year :)  First CD stores are popping up all over the country (I would really LOVE to open one up myself... ahh dreams.) So be sure to google ones in your area.

Websites NEW
Cottonbabies- My favorite website to order from, this is a christian company, they even have grants for overseas missionaries! Cotton babies are the makers of Bum Genius (by far the most popular CD), Flips (What I mostly use), and Econobums.

Jillians Drawers- They are out of New York, and if you are local you can stop buy and visit them.
Nickis Dipers- Also the maker of Best bottoms.
Green mountain Dipers- This is a great place to buy prefolds! (also another Christian company)
Kellys Closet- Here you can earn reward points for your orders and receive free diapers!
Diperjunction- They have pretty good deals, especially around black Friday!
sunbaby diapers- These diapers have a pretty good review at a great price, they are however from China and do take a while to ship.
hyena cart- This site provides lots of WAHM diapers (work at home mom's), always check the reviews of the seller!
Swaddlebees- Where you can buy swaddlebee/blueberry diaper products.
etsy- Etsy also has lots of WAHM diapers.
abbyslane
sloomb- Popular place to buy fitteds.
fluffenvy- Rewards program!
happybabycompany- Free shipping in orders over $35.
diaperpin- Check here for weekly deals.



USED
Another great way to save money when you CD is buying used. In fact, I got a great deal when I was building my stash for L.
ebay- I have bought most of my used CD's from ebay. I really enjoy getting the best deal possible and have done pretty well. For me I only buy from America, from what I have heard the one's from China are quite cheap and well, you get what you pay for. Always look up the going rate for the diaper, and always count in shipping. Don't forget to check the sellers reviews!
diaperswappers- This site has a great forum!
craigslist- Just don't buy from the craigslist killer ;)

Places like Cottonbabies and Swaddlebees will also post up diapers that are seconds. Meaning they might have been apart of a diaper program and were returned, or they are slightly defected.

The bump Cloth Diaper Board- Is a great place to ask questions, just make sure to read the Faqs at the top before you ask one.


As always you can email me here if you have any questions, or find me on facebook! Comments are WONDERFUL.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

It never fails... nap time woes

Today while getting the girls to nap I had an idea about a weekly post called "It never fails." Basically, they will be about the things that drive me crazy with parenting/homemaking/being a wife. I need something creative to call it so we'll see about that. Anywho, here is this weeks "It never fails..."









The only way to have a successful nap through out the day is if I lay down with BOTH the girls at the same time. Usually L is to my right at the "buffet," while A is on my right side literally almost on top of me. Its normally quite the ordeal to get them to sleep, I mean most of the time I even wonder why I even do nap time at all. L is pretty easy, as long as I let her hold my hand and rub her face a litter, she is normally asleep with in ten minutes. Some times if she is not ready she will talk a little, if she does that I let her be and wait for the "rubbing eyes out" cue.

A however like always is quite the project. The talking, oh the talking, the kid talks herself to sleep. She wiggles incesivly and does not stop making noises. It use to stress me out some because the noises and the moving makes my eyes start to twitch... Somedays it takes me an hour to get her to sleep (indcluding 7 rounds of the "Go to sleep" song, then somedays she doesn't go to sleep at all. Those are the days when I go for a second cup of coffee. (It makes me a better mom, more on that another day.)

So today it only took Addy about a half hour to fall asleep. I was nestled between two sleeping beauties, laying between them is the most peaceful environment ever. It makes the work of nap time so worth it. There I was thinking about what I was going to make for dinner when I heard it. The low throat growl of our ferocious pekapom Max.  I lay there frozen for a moment thinking, if I don't breath maybe he'll stop. Nope. Of course not, he gets a little louder, I try a quiet whisper "max," unfortunately he has learned the art of selective hearing (I blame Mr.). His growls turn into a full blown bark, I try again to quietly get him to stop he or course keeps ignoring me. I succumb to having to raise my voice just above speaking voice "Ma please." Nope. My pleading does nothing. "MAX SHUT IT." Success, he stops. Failure, both girls wake up and it takes me another ten minutes to get them to sleep.

It never fails that as soon as the kids fall asleep the dog starts barking at a piece or dust flying through the air.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Would you like an apron with those heels?

I am starting to get the hang of this sewing thing. I honestly thought it would be another phase or pipe dream of mine, however it has become one of my favorite things to do. Since I still have a ton of left fabric from the Christmas stockings, I decided to make my self an apron. Then I thought of my little helper who drags her potty seat (she doesnt actually go potty in it anymore, just to clarify) over to the counter every time I am making something.
"Can I help?" "Can I mix it?"- Sometimes she drives me crazy with it, escspially if I need to make something quick, but I think it is important to let her try things so more often then not I have a pound of sugar on the floor (or chocolate milk...).
I decided that I could make A and I matching aprons, I mean what little girl doesn't love to match her mama? I am going to give it to her for Christmas, and can't wait to see her face when she realizes that we match!
Pretty cute huh?
Since I am now famous for my tutorials I am going to make one (with pictures) when I make my own apron which should be some time this week.

Can I just say look at those skills! I even made a POCKET! Go me!

Pretty much I am famous.

A few weeks ago I decided to bring out my sewing machine and get creative. I had a TON of fabric that I had originally bought for curtains that were going to hang in the apartment we lived in before we moved into this house. Needless to say like many things, they never got done, so I decided to try to make Christmas stockings! Since we have been married (coming up on four years!) we have always had cheesey stockings from walmart, or Christmas tree shop. I decided it would be nice if we could all have coordinating stockings, ecspecially since this is our first Christmas out of the apartment life. I ended up making four stockings for us! I'm pretty proud of how they came out, since I made the pattern myself. Just like I do with a lot of my crafts I shared it with my online mom group, that is when Jennifer a popular blogger asked me to do a guest blog and write a tutorial on how I made them.

Let me tell you, it is NOT that easy to type up step by step on how you make something. Of course I had serious writers block... anyway she put the tutorial up in her blog. So there you go, I am famous. :) You can find the post on Jennifer's blog at AKAthewife, check out her other stuff too! She is pretty crafty and has beautiful baby!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Yes I am alive.

It's been a while!

Who knew that having two kids could leave me so busy?

I am going to try an update this once a week, probably sometime in the weekend. After all how can I get paid millions of dollars for my whitty writing if I don't actually write?

So here is where we are at. L is five months now (getting close to six), time seems to just be flying by. In a month and a few days A will be 3 years old! Since I was sure that we would never actually make it out of the terrible two's this is really quite the milestone. Also I have a birthday coming up, super close, two close. I'm sure you'll do a huge *eye role* when you realize I am turning 24, but I'm pretty sure I never saw myself living past 21, so any time past that is a strange new reality. It's the last year before my mid twentys, to me it's the last year before *real* adulthood (does that even exist?)

Ok enough on the "like omigoshI'msofreakenold."

L is really coming into her own personality, the middle name Joy really seems to fit her. She is easy going, and has a pretty hilarious sense of humor. Finally she discovered the fine art of rolling, she tends to get herself stuck underthings and will yell until we fix her. Daddy always makes her smile, mama does too, but A certainly gets the most smiles and laughs. L loves her sister so much, is amazing to see the bond and attachment forming between them. L's favorite thing right now is her jumperoo, I was pretty nervous when I bout it since A hated anything like that. I guess that is what I get for thinking that they would be anything alike! A few weeks ago L started to shows signs of being ready for solid food, she stopped sleeping through the night, was mesmerized by our food, and would try to bat at our hands and food while we were eating. So we started her on a few simple purees, and to be frank she pretty much hates them. I'm not sure if it is the texture, the different tastes, or just that she is not ready. So for now we are holding off on them. (Oh and she is sttn again so no worries there!) Another thing, she seems to have some sort of food sensitivity, I went on an elimination diet and I am pretty sure she has issues with dairy. Do you know how hard it is for me to not have dairy? From the time I was little I remember my grandmother calling me the cheese queen. *sigh* the sacrifices we make for our kids!

I am convinced that A is absolutely brilliant. I know that all moms think that they have the next Einstein, but A is really smart. Her vocabulary astounds me, and he imagination is just amazing. I really believe God has big plans for this kid. Anyway, she is potty trained (yay), and is pretty excited for Christmas. We really want to instill giving and humility in her, so we are trying to think of some ways to have her give back. She currently loves her baby dolls, play dough, and of course her best friend Max (our dog). She'll take his toy and make him chase her around the house. Most days she shuts him in her room, I'm not sure what goes on in there, I hear tons of giggles and him running around like a loon. As much as we complain about him, I am pretty thankful he is hear to give her a moment of entertainment. Did I mention that A loves to do yoga with me? It's pretty cute to see him in downward facing dog and cobra, maybe it will help her calm down a bit.

I can't forget about J! His job has slowed down a town, it's been nice to have him home earlier. Recently under the direction of the youth pastor he is preaching for the Sunday morning teen service (and doing worship too!) We are pretty excited to see where God is bringing us. He is also taking another class this semester, its nice to seem him excited and learning about things that he loves.

I am really truly blessed by this family. How wonderful it is to be the mama of this group!