Too good to last

Although we have had a "jumpin" summer, it is time that all the late nights come to an end. My last and FINAL year of school kicks off tomorrow. I want to give my school work all of my attention and really finish off my senior year with a bang. I'm shooting for straight A's, so we'll see how i do! I hope to keep up my blog, there may be weeks when i keep it up and weeks when i'm nowhere to be found. A lot of that has to do with my projects, crafts, and time with the kids as well.

I'm still patiently working on my desk, i was hoping to have it done by the time i went back to school but it looks like it was a bigger project than i was ready for. I will keep you all updated as i finish it and the craft/guestbedroom throughout the next few weeks.

I also have been wanting to do a running post. A post where i can write about all the things i love and cant live without in my 3 years of running. I cant believe this October 1st will only be 3 years since i took up the sport. It was the best thing i ever did. I hope everyone had a great summer and are ready and re-charged for fall and all the festivites that come during this time of year!

Bobbi Jo and baby Stella Rose

As if i don't take on enough extracurricular activities, here is my FIRST shot at taking some pictures of my beautiful friend Bobbi Jo who is 8 months pregnant. I've ALWAYS loved pretty pictures, and most my time out is spent looking at different and unique places where a picture could be captured. Don't get me wrong, i am in no shape or form a photographer, i am simply a girl who is having fun with her camera and capturing shots of someone i love and hoping she will look at these pictures and see herself the way i see her, simply beautiful, inside and out.

I've wanted to try something like this for awhile now, i just never had the guts, and someone close enough to me, to actually let me try what i wanted to, in regards to pictures. I have to say i was pretty impressed with myself. I was SO nervous that they would turn out horrible and i would hang my head and walk away with the satisfaction that i at least tried. But instead i was EXCITED, and found myself starring at some of the pictures i took hours after i took them. I am sticking with my major of teaching special ed, but i would love to learn more about photography and hopefully take more pictures of people i love, especially my own 2 kids. So here are some of my favorite pictures i took of my dear friend Bobbi Jo, her husband Gary, and their soon to be baby girl Stella Rose :)

Operation........Guestroom/Craftroom!

Our 4th room is a rather large room. When we picked the floor plan we had the option to have an additional (4th) room added above the garage for more money. Of course we agreed. This took our house from almost 2300 (i believe), to exactly 2600 sq. ft. This addition room is HUGE, the same size as our Master (minus the bathroom). So i didnt want it to be one of the kids rooms. It wouldn't be fair to whoever got such a large room. So of course it was easy to put the babies in the 2 equal sized rooms, and do something fun with the big one.

At first, this was before i learned to sew, i already had planned to make it a cozy guestroom/office space. I had lots of different visions and ideas, but then as time wore on and Noah got older and started doing crafts with me i decided i need some space. Creative space :) So that was when i decided it will be our guestroom/craftroom. Then soon after i learned to sew and noticed that not only was my fabric stash growing, but i needed A LOT of space for most my projects. Our master bedroom would look like a tornado hit it, and before bed Goerge and i would be cleaning forever. How nice it would be to close a door with all my parts and pieces of a project left EXACTLY where they were, only for me to return to it in the morning completely refreshed.

I have a vision for this room, as i do for most the rooms i take off decorating. Many of the rooms in our homse have waitied to be completely done because i may have a million ideas for it and i NEVER want to commit to something when i have a million different ideas. I'm patient with my designing and decorating, and even then i still change things around. So with this room i have taken my time and it has evolved quite well.

I am re-doing my desk i bought last fall because as one of my very FIRST furniture projects i used the wrong kind of primer. I used latex instead of oil based which caused the oil based paint i used to peel right off. It was a disaster and i didnt even put new hardware on it. YUCK!

It is almost completely painted and i have the fabric waiting and ready to be made into beautiful curtains. This weekend i will hang them and start slowly putting my desk back together upstairs instead of in our Master bedroom downstaris. Here is what the room looks like now. There is a bookshelf, drresser, nightstands, BEAUTIFUL white small cubicle shelf, queen size bed, and my shutter headboard i created from $5 shutters :)

Stay tuned as this room evolves. I will snap a pic once the curtains and desk are set up but then i also need to make an ikea run for a few items and am searhcing for some fun and funky lamps for the nightstands :) I'm TOO excited about all of this. 

Here it is: the requested Cloth Diaper post

**NOTE** This post is what works for me and my kids, and i am very well informed that what may work for one person will not work for another. I'm not claiming to know everything, or telling anyone to do it my way, i am simply stating what i do and what has worked for me and my family. I cloth diapered my son who is 3 and now fully potty trained, and am currently cloth diapering my daughter who is 8 mos. I have tried just about EVERY diaper, and learned many lessons by taking advice from people and the web. Some good, some bad.

I tend to get alot of emails and messages about ALL kinds of things, but the number one subject i get asked about is.........cloth diapers. I don't mind AT ALL, to be honest, i think moms should stick together and i have messaged and emailed moms that i like and respect to ask questions on certain matters myself! So of course my brilliant husband gave me the idea to go ahead and write a blog post about what works for us when it comes to the topic of cloth diapering. I snapped some pics to show you all what they look like, where we store them and what products we love the most. I hope this will be informative and will answer any questions anyone has.

BRAND:
First off, the diapers i use the most often and love the most are none other than Bumgenuis. These are All In One, which means they DO NOT need a waterproof cover. Just think of them as a NORMAL diaper that you throw on and take off. Nothing special needs to be done. They are the easiest and most daddy friendly. You can find the ones i use HERE.



They are one size which means they can grow with your baby. This saves a TON of money! The pound range is 8-35 pounds and the snaps in the front are so the diaper can be snapped down small and undone to make them larger.



STORAGE:
We store our diapers in a dresser that i use as a changing table. This was during laundry day, so the rest of my diapers were hanging in the laundry room. I have about 17-20, not too sure, haven't counted and i have some Grovia AI2's for backup. (All in 2's just means it has a waterproof cover but the inside snaps in and out. So you use the same cover all day, you just replace the inside during every change.)







Now lets talk about the most asked about topic when it comes to cloth diapers......POOP! Newborns who are breastfed do not need to have anything special done to their diapers. Breastfed poo is watery and goes right through their system so it is almost like pee. Those diapers you can just throw in the wash, and i understand some people may think that is gross, but i can think of a million other GROSSER things that have been thrown in a washing machine. Plus, for first time moms, guess what, your kids are going to have blowouts and you are going to have POOP covered clothes at least once a week, so if you're washing those in your washer, diapers should NOT bother you.

So for newborn breastfed poo, you don't have to do anything different. But if your baby drinks formula or eats baby food then that begins the fun stuff lol. You can buy a diaper sprayer which i have NEVER used, but i hear they are EASY to install and work well, OR you can use disposable liners. I use THESE disposable liners. They are very thin and soft and i just lay one in the diaper during EVERY change. If she poos, then i wipe her up, placing the dirty wipes on the liner, and then i grab the edges of the liner and throw everything in the toilet and flush. Then i can throw my diaper in the pail. I NEVER have to deal with poo because i always flush it. For all the liners that she wears that she doesn't poo in i just throw those away. I used these liners with my son and now my daughter, and i just love them. They are SO easy!



I store my diapers in a diaper pail between changes. It is basically a cheapy trashcan from Wal-Mart. The pail liner i use is Wahmies and it is basically a trashbag that has fabric on one side, and lined with waterproof plastic on the inside. I have 2 of these, so that way when one is in the wash, the other i can put in my pail.



These liners come in all different colors and prints. HERE is where i bought mine.



I grab the entire bag by the top, shove the bag inside out into the washing machine, NEVER touching ANY diapers and then throw the bag in there with the diapers. Shut the washer and it's ready to wash!

WASHING:
I have read a million crazy wash routines. You would think you're reading a damn recipe with how many washes and products people use! YES, i bleach my diapers, YES i use dryer balls (similar to dryer sheets), and YES i use fabric softener. In the beginning, i listened to all the crazy things i read and over time i slowly adopted my own method and realized that it DOES not hurt to do things you're own way. So i start off by putting all my diapers in the wash, i wash them every other day. I add a scoop of oxiclean and do a quick cold wash. This just rinses them and helps get any stains out. When i'm done with that i put a small amount of any free and clear detergent. Detergent with scents will build up in your diapers and cause smell issues. I just buy all natural free and clear detergent (any brand) and wash ALL my baby clothes, my clothes, and diapers with it. I don't buy different detergents for different people in this house. We ALL use the sensitive hypoallergenic kind. I cant stand dreft, it's a rip off in my book and any all natural detergent will work just as well if not better.


Here is my detergent i get in bulk at Sam's Club, Ecover (my ALL time favorite all natural fabric softener), oxiclean, and Bac Out which i spray on any stains before throwing the diaper in the pail.

Ok back to washing, so after the first cold wash, i put a little detergent, and a little fabric softener and do a normal hot wash with a extra cold rinse. I do not have any recommendations with fabric softener, i use Ecover which is ALL natural and safe and keeps my diapers VERYYYY soft. Diapers tend to get very hard and almost crunchy if you don't use anything like this, but i'm scared to use other fabric softener because i don't want stink issues. And Ecover just gets all our clothes and diapers SO soft that i LOOVVEE it. About once a month, during the hot wash i will add bleach to it as well and this keeps my diapers SO white and clean and has NEVER hurt or harmed them. If anything, HALF of Belle's diapers were Noah's 3 years ago and they are in PERFECT condition and i've been bleaching them for quite awhile now.

Another topic i wanted to touch on was diaper cream. I also use diaper cream and occasionally baby powder on my kiddos as well. I've NEVER had ANY build up and that might be due to the fact that i bleach them.

I throw my diapers in the dryer for ONE dry cycle, cloth diapers are EXTREMELY absorbent, so they will not get completely dry in one drying cycle. I like to throw them in for one though because again it keeps them soft. I use dryer balls that you can find in the laundry aisle of target and wal mart and i just use these for ALL my clothes. They make our clothes and diapers fluffy and soft and are green since you're not throwing away a million dryer sheets. After the one drying cycle i hang the damp diapers to dry over night and they are ready for Belle in the morning!


I'm sure i left some things out, but i hope that helps anyone considering cloth diapering. Like i said before, not only does it save SO much money, but it is also green and healthy for your kids. I know diapers can take YEARSSS to decompose in dumps and i can also say my kids hardly EVER get diaper rashes because we change them and keep them SO dry. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me.

And just for you to see how cute, here is my daughter after waking one morning in her yellow Bumgenius. She loves them :)

Goodwill=Heaven!

A few Monday's ago, George and I had a little "day" date. Noah is now in preschool, so we were left with just Belle. She went along for the ride, and we had such a good time. We stopped to get me some running shoes (more on that later), and then i somehow convinced George to swing by the Goodwill on our way to lunch.

If you don't know George, then you don't know that he isn't the biggest fan of used things. This is extremely hard considering he is married to someone who has been obsessed with the thrift store since Junior High, and has been yard saling since i was a wee little one with my grandma. So what do you know, this was George's FIRST time at the Goodwill!

We walked in, me with a happy grin, George with a apprehensive smile. We plopped Belle down in the basket and i started my journey. I have a particular way i go through our Goodwill, furniture first, then toys, then housewares, then electronics. There was SO much goodness during this visit, but i had to keep it simple since George was so uneasy.

Of course i spotted tons of great furniture items i could spruce up, but didn't want to push my limit. After all, when we walked in George said i could LOOK, but couldn't actually get anything. I knew otherwise. We flew through the toy aisle, because our kids really don't need anymore toys. THEN, i found them. One of the items i have been searching for.....some vintage sheets!





I have been wanting to make Belle some cute summer dresses with some vintage sheets, and i have passed some up in the past, but told myself i would never make that mistake again. There was one that was just a flat sheet, and then an actual Queen set. Our queen bed is in the guestroom since we upgraded to king, and these sheets were just so sweet and cute, i HAD to get them for our guestroom. So in the basket they went.

The other thing i found that i could not pass up were some tea cups and saucers. I have been wanting to start a collection of these for Belle when she gets older. I know that when i was a little girl, one of my ALL time favorite things to do was have tea parties. And they were even better when i could use REAL china. Not to mention, tea cups are just adorable and look so cute throughout houses. I have a few around my house for decoration, and even one on my sewing desk that i use for pins and buttons and what not. So i snatched these up and George with a confused look said LETS GO! Not before i also snatched a glass cake stand. Can never pass up a cake stand :)



I spotted a laminator in the electronic section, and i'm kicking myself for not fighting him on getting it because i have been wanting one with all the crafts and things i do with Noah! The laminator just had to be the item that i let go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed i find one again at the Goodwill, after all that's the best part of thrifting! Finding something you've been DYING for, for cheap and in great condition. Sigh, i love thrifting.

Pre-traveling preparations!

Before going to Cali there were many things i wanted to get done. Some i did, some i didn't even get close. For sewing i wanted to make a pretty camera strap like THIS for my camera that i was taking. I already made a camera bag that i had made in this POST, so all i needed was a strap! I did it really fast since i needed to get a few other projects knocked out, so it didn't come out perfect, BUT it came out cute enough to take to California!




The next thing i was trying to knock out before California were some crayon rolls! I found this tutorial HERE, and wanted to try some. I had attempted one for Noah awhile ago, and it was simple enough so i made some for a few of my friends kids. Here they are! They turned out great and i will most definitely be making some in the future for gifts!



The blue shark one is Noah's. I decided to make him a new and approved one for his plane ride :)

Shake it like a polariod pictuurree

I recently purchased the Polaroid Instax Mini camera and it is so darn cute in person, and even more fun to play with.



I would recommend it to anyone looking to have some spontaneous pictures, especially to leave with family and friends. The only downfall is the price for film. At $17.99 a pack on amazon, you get 10 pictures. So you have to be VERY choosey when taking pictures. Here are some we recently took on our California vacation that i loved!

The beginning of our date day. This was in the morning at La Jolla Cove.

Noah wearing his Mickey ears that he got at Disneyland. I was surprised he was wearing them so willingly.

The kiddos watching tv in their Minnie and Mickey ears. This pic melts my heart.

The kids after bath time in the hotel relaxing.

I think my most favorite thing about the Instax, is leaving people with memories. We have gotten so use to everything being digital, that we forgot the simple pleasure in actually holding a picture. And actually seeing it for how it was captured, right then and there. Not erased and taken a ton of times because someone didn't like the way they turned out. These pictures come out natural, because for once, you have only one shot to get the pic. We recently visited an aunt of mine in San Diego on our trip, and she's older so she doesn't have internet or the luxury of seeing photos via email or Facebook. So before we left, i left her a few little surprises. Photos of her and the kids, and of me and George. Little souvenirs for her to look back on from our stay with her. I know she will treasure them, and that's why i love my Instax Mini!