Our Cloth Diaper Stash.

Since the arrival of our 2nd little dude, our cloth diaper stash has really grown.  Having two kiddos in such a short span of time, 2 little boys under the age of 2, that means 2 tushes that need diapers.  I had hoped to get the potty training train going a little for Leeland prior to Hayden's arrival, but he isn't interested right now.  I hear that little boys take a little longer.... And to be honest, it's probably a blessing, potty training is hard work on a Momma and takes incredible diligence and with a lot of my effort going into a newborn right now, it's one less thing on my plate.  I've been wanting to get some shots of our stash for a while now, but all of the diapers aren't typically clean at once-- so here is the majority of it.....

The following diapers are currently used for Leeland...
22 one-size bumGenius 4.0's
2 one-size Kawaii diapers
2 one-size Bamboo Kawaii diapers
1 one-size diaper without a name
2 one-size Charlie Banana diapers
2 one-size Fuzzibunz

....And these diapers are used for Hayden right now
24 Oso Cozy size small unbleached indian prefolds
5 Thirsties diaper covers (4 are duo size 1's and 1 is an extra small)

Also not pictured we have 2 dozen size medium Green Mountain prefold diapers, along with about 7 size medium and size large covers (combination of Bummis and Thirsties).  These prefolds were purchased when we first started cloth diapering Leeland at 6 months old.  Then he got to moving around a lot, and we upgraded to the one-size pocket diapers so that they were easier to wrestle on him.  Hayden will grown into them soon enough and until then, we tri-fold the prefolds and stuff them into a pocket diaper for night time use for Leeland. 

We also have over 50 cloth wipes, about 85% are handmade from receiving blankets.  And we have 3 wet bags, (a Planet Wise, a Bummis and a Thirsties). 

My latest love.

I recently ran across "Educated Mama Decals" on Facebook.  She makes vinyl decals that are used mostly for car windows but you can also put them on your cell phone, wallet, toys, or if your a sticker collector like me you just might have a guitar case covered in them.  I haven't ordered any yet (mostly because we're broke), but also because with baby #2 coming next year, there is talk of getting a minivan (fingers crossed)!!! And the stickers would need to go on the van so I can sport them around town.  But since I'm sharing, here are a few that I would LOVE to have.

 We are far from a "full" quiver of arrows, but I really love this scripture and Daniel and I like to tease each other and joke about our quiver. We truly our blessed with baby #2 on the way and I would totally sport this with only 2 arrows (so far). She does offer the option of ordering arrows "for the future."

 LOVE THIS! In case you don't know, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently changed their recommendation about rear facing your child until the age of 2. The current law is 1 years old and 20 pounds which is not appropriate for your wee one's developing neck. We are proudly still rear facing our 15 month old boy and will continue-- his seat will rear face to 45 pounds and he is always very low on the percentile charts for weight, so we have a long way to go before he'll be turned around!

 Love supporting breastfeeding! Many of you are aware of the struggles I had breastfeeding Leeland. SO many latch issues in the beginning which required SO much pumping, then working hard to get him back on to the breast-- and shortly after that, a battle with post-partum depression wiped me out. It was a sad sad time for me. I'm proud to have breast fed for a little over 3 months (that's more than most babies get), but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed also. With #2 on the way, that is one of the things I am most looking forward to! Giving breastfeeding another shot and this time I am determined to succeed!! So what I had a bad 1st time!? This is a whole different baby and a much more experienced Momma.

Yay for cloth diapers!! This one is pretty self explanatory. Just wanting to advocate and spread the word about cloth diapers. I still run into people that picture flats and plastic pants when I say cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are a whole different ball game from when my parent's were babies. SO many options out there, so many cool designs and something that would work for every family.

Ice Cream!

Tonight after dinner we went out to Homeland Creamery to get ice-cream! Homeland creamery is in a small town about 30 minutes from where we currently live-- it's out in the country where I am originally from. They have the most amazing milk, and even better ice-cream! And they use no artificial growth hormones. I got peach ice-cream and Daniel got chocolate and we each shared with Leeland.

It was yummy yummy! What a fun little outing it was! It's nice to get out of the house sometimes. We also purchased some chocolate milk because we LOVE their chocolate milk. We hope to return to Homeland Creamery sometime soon-- they do farm tours and we really want to take Leeland on one. He just learned the word "cow" in the past month and he even knows that cows say "moo"... so cute! However they only do tours during the week, so we are going to have to work out a day that Daniel can take off work. If you're in the area, you should check them out-- it's a pretty neat place, with AMAZING ice cream! :0)

Farmer's Market Finds

Leeland and I met one of my friend's at the Farmer's Market yesterday morning. I was supposed to meet her there at 8am. I had the alarm set for 6am, and I had every intention of getting up early before Leeland woke up (he usually wakes around 730 or 8), getting my shower and spending some good quiet time just me, my Bible and a cup of coffee. That is what I intended, but instead I woke up to the sound of a text message on my phone from my friend at 8am that said "I'm here". I jumped out of bed, threw on shoes, grabbed a Starbucks doubleshot from the fridge, changed Leeland, made a bottle and ran out the door. I was so frazzled and so disappointed in myself for potentially upsetting my friend and also not getting that good time that I had planned with the Lord.

Once we got to the Market, all was well again. I went with the intentions of of buying goat cheese spread, I have been craving it for weeks (and NO, I am NOT pregnant, I just get crazy cravings sometimes). I not only got my delicious goat cheese but a few other things as well-- some fresh eggs, pork country sausage, chipotle pimento cheese, and a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk.

When we got back from the Market, Leeland was getting fussy and ready for his morning nap. We're very lucky-- Leeland currently still takes 2 naps a day. Once I got him fed breakfast and down for his nap, I decided to cook myself some breakfast.

So with Leeland down for a nap I got to enjoy my delicious breakfast and get some good reading in and take my shower all after the Farmer's Market. Isn't it funny when we have plans and intentions that don't go as planned but work out for the better. I don't know that anythings better than reading God's Word with a side of fresh eggs and toast with goat cheese!


And I will leave you with a couple smiles from yesterday-- a beautiful weekend it has been, but it's back to work tomorrow.

A boy and his balloon

Call me old-fashioned.

I have been called old-fashioned, out dated, and even a senior citizen over the use of my checkbook.  No, I'm not one of those crazy people that whips it out at the grocery store and holds up the entire check out line, but I DO pay all of my bills by check.  I can't explain why, but my brain doesn't do good with online banking and paying bills online.  There is something about writing that makes me feel much more organized.  I receive all of my bills in the mail, and mail them all with a check.  And unlike most, I still keep up my checkbook register with every deposit, debit, check written and ATM withdrawal.  I check my findings with what the bank has every few weeks.  

Lately I have been a little torn about my use of USPS.  My resolution this year was to be greener and yet I receive ALL paper statements monthly, and I mail EVERYTHING.  I just can't seem to talk myself into doing it any other way though.  One day checks and paper billing will become obsolete like the VCR, and when that day comes, I will be heart broken, but will be forced to make the transition.  Until then, in an effort to be somewhat green, the checks we ordered are printed on recycled paper and have a pretty tree on them. :0)

A greener me.

     My husband says that I have turned into a hippie, but one of my new year's resolutions was to be more eco-friendly, more green.  Note that I said "one of".  The jury is still out on if it is allowed to have New Year's ResolutionS, rather than A New Year's resolution, but the two of mine kind of go together.  The second New Year's resolution was for us to save more money, isn't that everyone these days?  Well, let it be known that some of my greener ideas have saved us a little "moolah" along the way. 
     So you all know that I do cloth diapers and have been doing those for quite a few months now.  The original reason that we switched to cloth was not at all about the Earth or about money but about what's best for Leeland.  Leeland had a TERRIBLE diaper rash which eventually blistered and made me cringe and cry every time I changed him.  A friend turned me on to cloth diapers and after doing some research I decided that they would not only be what's healthiest to use but also what would be more cost effective.  We are currently saving about $80 a month from no longer buying diapers.  (I say "saving" but in actuality the money is just going somewhere else, not actually in our savings account.) We are also saving the planet, one cloth diaper at a time, as it takes 500 years for ONE diaper to decompose in a landfill-- gross and ridiculous!  Along with the cloth diapers, we use cloth wipes which were totally FREE because I made them out of receiving blankets that were cut up.  I would guess that saves us around $10-15 a month not buying baby wipes.
     The newest thing that we are doing is that we are cutting out paper towels.  We are on our last roll of paper towels that was purchased back in December and once they are gone, they're gone.  I started thinking about it, and I don't really see a point in the paper towels.  We really don't use them often and the few things that we use them for, there are other options.  Such as the cloth napkins that have sat in a drawer since we got them as a wedding gift 2 years ago.
    The next thing that I have been doing to be greener is using re-usable bags when I go shopping for groceries or other items.  Apparently plastic grocery bags are a top item in the landfills and they don't decompose all that well.  I made excuses for a while about using them and how I actual re-use the plastic bags in the bathroom garbage can or I carry my lunch in them, but if I'm completely honest-- they sit under the sink.  I attempted to clean out the area under our kitchen sink a couple weeks ago and found like 50 plastic bags.  Just to call myself out, that's a little RIDICULOUS! Plus when you take re-usable bags to a store like Target, they give you a 5 cent discount! See, being greener AND saving money!
    The next thing on my list of things to do is to buy some re-usable snack bags.  They make really cute ones, and I can use them in my lunch box or pack Leeland's snacks in them for the diaper bag.  Another greener measure that will save us money because I want have to buy sandwich bags anymore.     The last thing that I am doing to be greener is using re-usable feminine products.  I recently tried out sea sponges and fell in love with them.  I know, you probably think it's really weird, but they work better than any tampon I've ever tried and they are re-usable!  An added bonus is that I don't have to carry feminine products around and be the awkward lady trying to be discrete by carrying her purse to the bathroom.  If you want more info on the sponges you can find that by CLICKING HERE I purchased my sponges at Earthfare for around $15.00 and they should last at least 6 months.  There are other re-usable feminine products available also like the Diva cup and there are a variety of brands of re-usable cloth pads (next on my list to purchase). Cloth pads example

Well, that's the start of my New Year's resolution, combined with simply recycling.  If anyone else has other green ideas or anything I haven't thought of yet, please let me know! And I'd love to hear what you do to be "green"! :D