Monday Mommy

Today's Monday Mommy is Shaina. She doesn't run a blog which is just fine and dandy. I would like to share that she is new to cloth diapering which is WONDERFUL! Welcome to the world of Fluff Shaina!

Here are our Q&A's: (if you would like to be featured as a Monday Mommy please go to the link above (under the top picture) for more information!)

I love to hear about others cloth diapering stories and adventures. What kind of experience do you have with Cloth Diapering?
-CD'ing for about 6 weeks. I started my daughter in them at 12 months old. I wanted them soooooo bad!!... immediately I became addicted to all different kinds!! I purchased12 used FB on ebay, I am learning the hard way I guess that used sometimes is more work? They are the only ones in our 'fluff stash' (hehe) that seem to get ammonia smell after being peed in... so currently, my big life event is figuring out what works for cleaning/stripping those diapers....and it stinks (no pun) as I was hoping to share/sell/trade some, as I have 12 lavender with daisies.. soooo cute.. who wouldn't want them?? (ooohhh someone who doesn't want ammonia!)

Tell me a little bit about your family, where you are from etc.
-I am a 29 year old SAHM. This past year was my first year of being a SAHM. It took serious mental adjustment, as I have always had a job outside the home. I often would/sometimes still do, get consumed by feeling worthless.

What are some of your top recommendations for cloth diapers and cloth diapering related items?
-I don't think I'm experienced enough for this question!! haha.... I'll say, I'm not impressed with Planetwise small wet bag... its incredibly small... but with one diaper (a prefold), I could smell the funk of it about 10 minutes after.... I thought maybe the smell should be contained longer... we were at Disney... Yes!! I, new to CD'ing, did it at Disney...who knew playing in Disney toilets could be so much fun. hahaha!

What do you enjoy doing during the day with your children?
-My son plays baseball, so we often end up at the field watching, as my 12 1/2month old climbs, yes, climbs on the bleachers... (she did stairs at Disney )....
We like going for walks, my son rides his bike or scooter and my daughter and I follow, she loves to kick her feet in the stroller and watch her big brother...
My daughter also loves books, she will bring them to you and then back up into your lap....
i WISH my daughter would take a nap during the day...however, shes crazy and doesn't think she needs to sleep.... she just goes and goes and goes and nurses and goes and nurses and goes and goes.....

What are some of your favorite blogs to check out? Do you visit blogs for fun, research, learning, to get ideas, etc?
-CD'ing!!!!! I'm addicted to anything CD!! I also love love love Paint and Prozac blog for toddler crafts!!!! soooo cool...

If you are not a cloth diapering Mommy we would still love to hear about you. What are some must have baby/children's products you just couldn't live without?
-I don't think there is one thing I couldn't live without. Is that sad? Should I have something I need?? gee.... terrible....

Do you own a store? Make and sell things? Blog? etc. Share with us links to your pages/sites/stores that were not already mentioned or filled in above
-I wish! :)
If anyone wants to watch my daughter and purchase me a serger or embroidery machine.. I'm all over making kid stuff! I did go on a binge of making hairbows... but couldnt wrap my head around asking people for money... so I gave them all away as gifts!!!!

A Lego Birthday Party!

Last weekend, we celebrated my oldest son's 4th birthday. We decided to do a Lego theme, which was risky because he'd never even seen a Lego before, but we were planning on him acquiring some for his birthday. I didn't want to do the typical 'store-pack' themed items, not really our style. What I did want was fun and color!

I typed up "Happy 4th Birthday Keaton" on white card stock in a Lego font that I found for free. I cut out the words and then traced around them onto construction paper (had I thought of this project sooner, I would have done it all on card stock, but my original banner failed me about 36 hours before party time, haha). I cut out the traced objects a bit bigger so that the original white words had a bubble of color around them and then taped them onto sheets of black construction paper. I then used a 3-hole punch to make holes on the top of the black pieces of construction paper and used black yard to string it. We then hung it across the kitchen, much to the excitement of the birthday boy!

Next was the cake. This was the first time I had ever done anything to a cake other than frost it while it was still sitting in its 9x13 dish. It's not perfect, but it was fun, a great conversation piece and definitely yummy! I originally saw this tutorial on Betty Crocker's website and referenced it again for the party. I ended up making 2 cakes because we were planning on having a slew of people for the party, but, because we all had the seasonal crud, we closed it to family only. I confess to having a HUGE sweet tooth, and really, while I had planned for each person to have one small rectangle (as in a small piece with two marshmallow tops), having just one marshmallow top was probably more than enough. With a frosting covered half of marshmallow on top, this cake gets super sweet, super fast!

I had no idea what to do for a base for the cakes to sit on, so I took a priority mail box, taped orange construction paper on it and covered that with wax paper! Couldn't have worked out better!
Before the party, my lego-lovin' hubby made the 'centerpiece' - the little cabin with canoe guy. I had anticipated it being a lot larger than it was, more like a true centerpiece, but, it ended up working out perfectly once all the food, utensils, etc... were on the table. When Keaton woke up from his nap, we let him open a gift (a small lego set) and he and his daddy got to work on building his first creation, a dump truck! He was so excited to place that on the table next to Zach's creation for the party!
I remembered the 'yearly' shirt I like for the boys to have...on Friday morning (his party was Saturday afternoon!) Thanks to an amazing friend around the corner from us, she lent me the supplies and I got to work right after Keaton went to bed and got his shirt made:
The other things that didn't get photographed:

• We had pizza, chips, pretzals and drinks, complete with a bag of ice from Sonic (really, they do have the best ice!)
• I was torn on what to do for a color scheme. I knew I wanted a green table cloth, since most Lego 'boards' are green (I have since been informed that I was wrong in this thinking. I'm a girl, what do I know) ;) I ended up getting various colors for the remaining paper/plastic ware: Orange napkins, blue plates, yellow cups and red forks. I was worried that this would look totally tacky, but after seeing it on various other websites and taking a picture of it all laying out pre-party, I wasn't too worried. And it looked great! Definitely the color punch I was going for!
• We also hired a friend/photographer to capture the day. Probably the best money spent. Ever. She's just starting out, so doesn't charge a lot, but how wonderful to sit back and enjoy the afternoon with family celebrating our little man! She also snagged some family pictures and sweet moments of the day:

The big boys waiting for family to arrive

The cake was a hit!

And it made for a birthday that I hope he remembers for awhile!

Today is big man's real birthday! Happy 4th birthday to you, Keaton.
My sweet pea who made me a mama!

Diaper Repairs by Dandy Diaper Repair

One of my first diaper purchases, over 3 years ago, was half a dozen BumGenius 3.0 diapers. I bought them because everyone raved about them. I hated them. I was so bummed that we spent all this money and then I despised these diapers. I used them (being new to the cloth diaper world, I didn't know about diaper swapping sites, nor I didn't think anyone would buy them used!) Life goes on and we build up our stash enough that those diapers turned into emergency only diapers, and eventually, got lost in a box in the closet. The main thing I didn't like was the velcro, but the fit was weird too (or maybe we just have big kids!) ;-)

Backing up a bit, my very FIRST diaper purchase was a handful of Pocket Change diapers. When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to start using cloth diapers, she sent me two Pocket Change to keep! These were by far top-of-our-stash-favorite diapers. So, after 3+ years, these diapers had seen better days. The elastic was totally shot in these diapers. I wasn't too terribly worried with my toddler's poo, but my youngest was going to need them soon and I just didn't trust the mainly breastfed poo in these loosey goosey diapers!

Being a fan of Lauren's Little Lovies on Facebook for some time, I was browsing her Etsy shop and noticed she did diaper repair.

A few conversations later and this big box of diapers:
was headed to sunshiny Florida!

The box included:

• 6 BumGenuis 3.0 that Lauren was going to convert to snaps

• 5 Pocket Change that Lauren was going to replace front, back and thigh elastic

(Just FYI, diapers shouldn't lie that flat) ;)
(Nor should they look that sad!)

• 1 Thirsties Cover that was velcro that Lauren was going to attempt to convert to snaps

• 1 Pocket Change that had a "wonky snap" (snap broke) - Lauren was going to fix this as well.

Let me start off by saying that Lauren was AMAZING to work with. She was so patient through all my emails and questions and confirming (and losing her address. sigh).

She emailed me while she was working on the Pocket Change elastic and asked if I dried my diapers in the dryer or by hanging. My guilty conscience made me feel like a little kid getting sent to the principal's office. I responded, "I try to air dry as often as possible, but with two in diapers....it's just hard...."

And then she sent me this:
That's not poop on the diaper.

That's burnt elastic.

From drying diapers in a dryer!

Convicted. For sure. I felt so bad about what I had done to my diapers! I've done a much better job since that picture of air drying diapers (helps when it is 80+ degrees outside, hehe, but I've tried to be diligent about hanging inside even on not so nice outside days).

Then, I noticed a bright cheery picture on Lauren's facebook page:
My gorgeous diapers! I couldn't believe the color! (made up for the sad, dying elastic for sure!)

Before I knew it, my box of diapers returned from sunny Florida to not-so-sunny-at-the-time North Carolina...Bliss!

The half dozen BumGenius converted to snaps:
It screams spring!
The Thirsties cover converted to snaps - it works great, but looks like a lot of work went into making it usable as a snap diaper:


The Pocket Change with the wonky snap repaired!

And life returned to the 5 Pocket Change...and no more dryer time (unless I'm in a hurry!)

If you have some diapers that are in need of a bit more life, please visit Dandy Diaper Repair! Be sure to check out the discount page as well if you have a huge order to repair or are worried about cost! Lauren was fantastic to work with and I have her address saved (hehe) for when we need the next batch of diapers repaired!

Thank you Lauren for, as you said, "breathing new life" into our sad diapers! If you're ready to get your diapers repaired, head right here to inquire more info!

You can also find Dandy Diaper Repair on Facebook - be sure to stop by, say hello and that Cloth Diaper Addiction sent you!

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review, nor did I receive any form compensation. I paid for these repairs out of my own pocket and want to tell the world what an awesome job Laura did!

Adventures in Potty Training: Getting Ready

Potty training is something we all look forward to...well kind of. For me it was one less child in diapers, not that I don't LOVE my cloth diapers but seriously when your child screams and kicks like a wild hyena its something you look forward to. But here is the thing...where in the world do you start?

I have had my share of experience with potty training. Not that I'm bragging about it because trust me when I say that my child was nothing like the other children I have trained. I worked as an early preschool teacher which was with ages 2 1/2 to 3 years old. It was my job to teach the children their ABC's, 1 2 3's etc...yeah not really, we called my class the Potty Training Class. Stick me in a room with ZERO experience in potty training with EIGHT 2 1/2 year olds by myself and see what happens. Potty Training happens.

I was probably way more excited when I got the first kid potty trained than the kids parents were. But seriously having to change 8 diapers every 2 hours gets really old, really fast and really stinks....literally PHEW! So that is where I learned about potty training. It is a total trial and error. Every child is completely different. Parents methods are completely different, some parents don't even seem to care that your potty training their child. (Note to self and other parents: If you have a child at a day care center check in with the teachers at the end of the day to see how things are going, feel free to ask what works for them, share what works for you, let them know how you do it so they can do it the same way.)

(okay, so hes not ready yet (only 19 months old) but what does it hurt to get him introduced to the idea? )

Anyways, it was getting close to the time of me wanting to start potty training my E-man. How did I know/why did I think he was ready? Here are some signs I went by:
-curiosity: He was interested in the bathroom. Checking out the potty, watching Mommy and Daddy, looking and seeing how things work.
-"Mommy, I'm pooping": Okay, Yes my 2 year old said this to me as he sat crouched down in his special corner doing his job. Enough said.
-Practice: I happened to go to Ikea when E was about a year and a half old. They had cute little potty's for only $5.00. I couldn't pass that up, so into my cart went a cute little green potty. I knew my sweet little son wouldn't be potty training anytime to soon but what would it hurt to have a little potty around? (see above picture of the potty)
-Grabbing: I started to notice my son grabbing himself when ever he peed. He would also tell me when he had gone potty in his diaper and I knew he wanted to be changed.
-Fighting: Remember the beginning of this post when I said my son screamed and kicked like a hyena? He HATED his diaper being changed and it was bad. I was tired of dealing with it.

We let our son sit on the little potty before taking baths and he liked to. If he said no we didn't force it. He was still pretty young so I wasn't to worried at that point. After he turned to I started taking in signs and cues that he was getting ready. I finally said at two and a half I was going to try potty training. We would see how it went and go from there. The day finally came when my little E-man turned 2 1/2 years old. Welcome to the world of potty training!

What we had on hand:
-1 pack of pull ups ( I got these free and had no intention of using them).
-15-20 pairs of underwear
-6 pairs of plastic pants (most lined with a cotton)
-1 little green potty
-Gummi Worms
-Gummi Bears
-Thomas the Tank Engine Wagons

Seems like a funny list right? Its what I had and what we found to be successful. ( My experiences will, I guarantee, be different from yours). The undies and plastic pants are pretty self explanatory along with the little green potty. The Gummi Worms are for when E actually GOES pee in the potty, even a little dribble (only 1 worn). Gummi Bears are for when he tried to go pee but had no success (he only got 1). Last the Thomas the Tank Engine Wagons, those are for the big kahuna, that's right little E-man you go POOP on that potty and you can have a brand new wagon for your train! Bribery? Sure some people would call it that, I considered it more of a reward for doing good.

What did you do to prepare your little ones for potty training? Next week I will share our first weeks experience of potty training!

Monday Mommy

Today’s Monday Mommy is Toni George. Toni runs the blog Crazy 4 Fluff, which is focused on cloth diapering, natural parenting and going green. Below are some Q &A’s about Toni and her blog.

Q: I love to hear about others cloth diapering stories and adventures. What kind of experience do you have with Cloth Diapering?
A: I have been CD'ing since August 2010. After Lillian had severe, persistent diaper rash, a friend recommended switching to CDs. I was immediately on board! Initially I was only CD'ing Lillian until the birth of Olivia in October, now we have two in cloth! It is great. I’ve never looked back.

Q: Tell me a little bit about your family, where you are from etc.
A: I am a 24yr old SAHM of 2 girls, Lillian (2) & Olivia (3months). I am married to my best friend and greatest supporter, Will. We have been together for 7yrs and married since October 13, 2006. We live just north of Memphis, Tennessee. We have two mischievous dogs, Xander and Esme.

Q: What are some of your top recommendations for cloth diapers and cloth diapering related items?
A:This is a hard one to choose! I have so many favorites... I do prefer pocket diapers. Being able to control the amount of absorbency is very important with two heavy wetters. I prefer snaps, mainly because aplix is a major pain when it comes to washing. As of today... my favorite pocket is BlueBerry, my favorite AI2 is BottomBumpers, my favorite AIO is BG AIO or Elementals and my favorite fitted is a Thirsties Duo Fab Fitted. I have recently discovered and quickly fell in love with wool! LOVE IT! :) Must have... CJ's butt cream, Pue Jolie detergent, my diaper sprayer and Planet Wise hanging wet bag! I am not a HUGE fan of prefolds and hybrid systems. They just don't fit our family well. "

Q: What do you enjoy doing during the day with your children?
A: I enjoy being able to take a stroll around our neighborhood {weather permitting}
or just snuggling on the couch<-- those moments don't happen much with an independent, hyper toddler. lol

Q:What are some of your favorite blogs to check out? Do you visit blogs for fun, research, learning, to get ideas, etc?
A: Wow, I have a lot. Forgive me if I leave any out. Happenings of a Harper Household, Dibs, Thrifty Nifty Mommy, Cloth Diaper Addiction, Not-So-Secret Confessions of a First Time Mom, Modified Mommy, and so many more. I am addicted to reviews/giveaways. I love reading about other mom’s opinions on products, their family life, going green, etc. It is because of these mamas that I learned so much about CDing! I am eternally grateful!

Q: Anything else you would like to share with us?
A: Cloth Diapering has made significant changes in my thinking. Initially I chose CDing for the health of Lillians bum but it has quickly grown into much more. I am now making greener choices in my life and making it a goal to live a more sustainable and natural way of life!