new bling and some linky love

my friend, so kindly linked his popular blog, to my little one because our girls just happen to be best buds...

amazing photo courtesy of andreaboettcher
and they both had their ears pierced this week!

however, i must apologize to those who skipped over here from this is reverb, looking for pictures of my beautiful girl and her new bling. but instead only got a picture of my 21 month old's butt!

please forgive me. i am lazy.

anyway here is my big girl in all her ear-piercing glory!


come on gracie, just one smile?


you little punk, i guess that will have to do.

happy good friday!

fluffy butt

My stash

so we have decided to go cloth! honestly when i had Gracie four years ago i never thought i would cloth diaper. now that i have tried it and LOVE it, i wish i would have started a long time ago. yes it does require a little extra effort but believe me when i say, it is totally manageable!

when i decided to test it out i did a ton of research, to find the best diaper for us. i decided on pocket diapers. then i narrowed it down to either the fuzzibunz perfect size or bumgenious one size 4.0. after trying them out, i decided bumgenious 4.0 hook & loop is what works best for us. i am not to pleased with the fuzzibunz perfect size, they just don't seem to fit noah as well as the bumgenius. however, i am going to try the fuzzibunz one size and see what i think.

i am in love with the bumgenius. they are basically fool proof. they go on just like a disposable and the keep noah dry! i was nervous to see how they would hold up overnight since noah sleeps 12hrs and is usualy soaked from head to toe in the morning. but with the bungenius 4.0 and an extra hemp insert, he is dry as a bone every morning!

i am still building my stash but this is what i have so far.

-7 bumgenius 4.0 one size hook & loop

-1 bungenious 4.0 one size snaps

-1 fuzzibunz perfect size medium

-3 fuzzibunz hemp inserts

-2 kissinluv antibacterial pail liners

- rockin green diaper detergent

i need about 6 more diapers to be able to make through two days. that way i am not going crazy with cleaning them!

i am still getting into a routine but this is how i clean them. first i do a cold wash with no detergent. second i run a hot wash with detergent a soak and an extra warm rinse and go to bed. in the morning i throw all of my inserts into the dryer and hang the covers inside if it is raining or outside on my cloths line.

the best part is the money we will save. even with spending about $300.00 to build a stash and everything else needed to cloth diaper, that is a one time expense. where as now we spend at minimum $800.00 a year on disposables. so cloth diapering noah for the next year will save us $500.00, maybe more! if and when we use them with our next baby the savings will just keep adding up!

too me it was a no brainier once i realized how easy it was. plus, they are too cute!

happy sunday!

New do

look who got a hair cut...


isn't it sweet?


or maybe that is just her in general :).

happy thursday!

wild girl

gracie is our little, wild child.




her wild heart is only matched by her sass.


i love her.

happy tuesday!

Something right

You know how somedays your kids spend half the day in time out? Or you leave the grocery store abruptly in the middle of the dairy isle cart full because your 21 month old is melting and no amount of bribery with get him to stop sceaming? I have those days. I have them far more then I care to admit. Those days make me wonder, what am I doing wrong? Am I a bad mom? Then this happens...

;

And I know I must be doing something right. I know for a fact I have and will make many mistakes as a momma. However, when I see the love between these two, my heart feels as though it might burst and I know, I am doing ok. Those teeny tiny victories are what will get us through the temper tantrums and timeouts. So tonight I will go to sleep thinking of only the good moments and triumphs we had today. Because I am a good mom, they are hands down the best kids ever and I am doing something right.

Happy Monday!

Something right

welcome back

hope you had a great weekend. we are loving the beautiful summer-like weather we are having. the best part is getting to play with our buds in the circle.



we missed you, sun. thanks for coming back.

happy sunday!

my guy

ooppssy daisy! i already missed a day. good thing i make the rules or i would be in big trouble :). to make up for my lack of a picture yesterday here are five from my trip to zoo with my guy...



we had so much fun, just us. we moved at his pace. we walked slowly to look at the sticks and squirrels he thought we soooo much cooler then any of the animals we had come to see. every once in a while he would stop pushing his stroller to decide which way to go and when he would point and tell me where and i would agree his little face would light up. for once, he was to boss! we ended our trip with a ride on the train, like we always do. i think this was the first time he actually understood what we were doing. he would look at me with the sweetest smile as if to say, "mom, this is the best day!" and then hug me so tight. i am sure everyone thought i was crazy when we pulled up to the end of the ride because of the tears in my eyes. it was one of those days that you are trying to remember everything, so you never forget. i hope i never forget.

noey, i had so much fun with you yesterday. i love you to the moon. promise you will always be my baby.
love,
momma

they're here....

look what showed up on my front porch this afternoon...



they've been prepped and my baby has a cute little fluffy booty as we speak! i am anxious to see how they hold up at night. noah's jammies are usually SOAKED by morning, in a disposable. if he is dry in the am with cloth, i will be hooked. not to mention they are so freaking cute!

think dry!

happy wednesday!

not quite there...

she can usually go without a nap...

but some days he little 3yr old body remembers it still needs a rest during the day.

happy tuesday!

picture a day and cotton babies!

hi all! whats happening? i am excited about a few things today such as, my new picture a day challenge. i have been sad abut two things lately, not taking pictures of my kids and not blogging enough. so, i've decided to kill two birds with one stone and challenge myself to take and post at least one photo a day for 30 days. hopefully it goes better then the other challenges i've tried. here is my first picture to start me off...


that's noeys whiny, i'm tired, gracie wont let me play with the ipad face.

i am also totally psyched because i ordered a couple cloth diapers from cottonbabies.com! i decided to start small and ordered two bumgenius 4.0 one size diapers.

one with hook and loop tabs


and one with snaps.


if you are already a cloth diapering whiz or just testing the waters, cotton babies is a great resource with tips, tons of different cloth diapers and great sales!! speaking of sales, they are having a sale on bumgenius right now! buy five 4.0 get one FREE!

i can't wait for my fluffy package to arrive so i can give cloth diapering a whirl!

wish me luck on both my adventures!

happy monday!