Devils Workshop

has been moved to new address

http://www.thisadventureourlife.com

Sorry for inconvenience...

This Adventure, Our Life: March 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Wordless Wednesday- Cool Factor


Bailey is way too cool for us!

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Guest Blogger: Diana from Hormonal Imbalances



Today we have the opportunity to meet Diana from Hormonal Imbalances while she shares her insight on cloth diapering.  Diana and I both share a love of the laundry that goes along with cloth diapering, yeah, I know it is weird, but yet so rewarding!!  Nothing is better than clean cloth diapers.  After reading her Q & A here, check out her blog!  When you are at her site you will want to enter her contest, no you really will want to, this one is a MUST!!  This giveaway is from Thirsties and includes the following:  Five Duo Diapers in your choice of size, two packs of Fab Wipes in your choice of colors, the Thirsties Prewash and Super Wash and a 4 oz and 8 oz Booty Luster.  This bundle is worth $170!!  Click HERE to link to her giveaway!!  What a great way to start cloth diapering or add to your fluffy fetish!!  Anyone can enter this giveaway, and while you are there check out her precious little girl Bella!!  Go enter, soon, it is a more than awesome giveaway!!

Describe yourself...
I'm an eco friendly, cloth diapering new mom of a 4 month old little girl. I stay at home after teaching the past two years, and being a nanny in Southern California before that. I'm really into all things green - and love to share those things with my readers.

How long have you been cloth diapering and how old is child?
Bella is 4 months and I've been cloth diapering her since she was a week old.
What, if any, were your fears/ misconceptions before cloth diapering?
That it would be too time consuming, and that it wouldn't be practical for overnight or travel. And now I wonder how anyone uses disposables during those times.
What convinced you that you should cloth diaper?
I watched my doctor's kids for a while this past summer and she cloth diapered. After getting the hang of it, I was in love.
What is your best advice about starting cloth diapering?
Start small, perhaps only with covers and prefolds. Save your money (and sanity) for down the road, when you have time and knowledge to find what style would work best with your baby.
Were you intimidated? Is there anything that still intimidates you?
I was of the unknown, of what might happen if I didn't have enough diapers. (Again, prefolds are great as an "Ooops, I forgot to do laundry" option). I'm not anymore, I absolutely love using them.
Why do you prefer cloth diapers over disposables?
Disposables are awful. Bella did them on and off for the first month while I got the hang of cloth and she had constant diaper rash, blowouts, leaks, chapped skin and smelled horrible.
So far, what’s your favorite brand(s) and why?
I love Thirsties and Gro Baby. They are both really absorbent, Gro Baby is great for my husband as it's just 2 steps, snap one out, snap one in.


What would you tell someone who is skeptical of cloth diapering? 
Give it a try. And don't give up until you've done it for a month or so. It's possible to switch between disposables and cloth diapers while you get the hang of things.
What’s the best part about cloth diapering?
The laundry. :) It's a great feeling to have all those little clean diapers sitting there, waiting to be folded and put away.
What is a must have when you are cloth diapering?  
Prefolds, covers, a few fitted diapers, and some good traveling ones. Also, I love a wool cover for overnights.
How is the husband handling the cloth diapers?
He enjoys them as best he can when handling poop and a crying baby. :) I try to save the easier, faster ones for him - no fancy folds or too many snaps.

Labels: , ,

Month 5


Dear Bailey,
I am typing this one handed as you take a nap on my chest.  It is the best thing in the world, being your Mommy little one.  I always wanted to be a Mommy growing up, I would watch my Mom and be like, yep, that is what I want to be.  You are growing so quickly!  I know I say this often but you are.  You are 5 months now, doing soo many new things.  Some of the things you have started to do:  sitting up (still wobbling around), you said "Mom Maaaa" for the first time and my heart melted into pieces; you are now very interested in toys, you love to grab things, touch everything; you marvel at the world around you, you like to look at everything when we are inside and especially while we are outside; you have quite the personality in the making, you now have many expressions; you laugh, yes, my favorite sound ever; your smile is continually gorgeous, it lights up the room; you have many new found noises and you use different pitches to get our attention; and the best yet, you are happy, such a happy baby.




Napping is not your thing yet, I am pretty sure you despise them unless you are sleeping on Mommy.  I have come to accept this, and although we still try, most of the time we just play all day.  You are a great sleeper at night though!  We read books every night before I put you to bed, you love to listen to books (and chew on them).  We are making it through only 1-2 books right now, because you want to nurse and you know that comes after we read! 



Right now you are growing bigger each day, you are getting longer.  You are now trying to crawl around, you just can not seem to get your arms and feet working at the same time.  You have though found out that if you roll enough you can make it across the room or just about anywhere you want to go, you are an expert roller!!  You can hold your head up and look everywhere now with no issue at all.  Sitting up is what you are working on right now, you are still very wobbly but it will be very soon!


  
You have started to pull tantrums, yes, tantrums!!  I do not know quite how to deal with this.  You cry hysterically till you get your way and I know what you are doing but you are soo tiny, usually I give in, but from time to time I let you cry.  Sometimes I even laugh (okay mommy laughs most of the time)!!  




You are now really starting to interact with the world and with us.  You have decided hitting me is a great way to get my attention, so you lightly tap my face when I am not giving you undivided attention!  Then you smile really big when I look at you.  You have also just started to really look for me when I come and go, you have always done this but now it is more apparent.  You laugh at us, smile at us, and carry on conversations with us.  Starting to see your little personality is more than awesome.




Cloth Diapering and cloth wipes are going great, we are still happy with our choice!  You now have learned to hold your legs up when we change you, it is soo cute!  Nursing is going great also, I love that time we spend together just gazing into each others eyes.  I am trying to enjoy those moments because I know things will change as you get older, so to me, there is no rush.    We have decided to hold off on solid foods for another month or two (6-7 months of age).  I guess I figure, what is the rush.  We are trying to approach things when we feel you are ready, not just because of you being a certain age.



We enjoy watching you take in the world, it just never gets old for you!  I hope you never lose the desire to explore the world around you.  There is soo much to see out there, and soo very much to learn about.  Sometimes as an adult we forget to stop and enjoy life, every part of it.  You help me to remember this everyday.  We love you soo much little girl and we always always will.  You are a beautiful little girl Bailey.  The love we have for you is not able to be measured, it is unconditional and larger than you know.






  


Love you to the moon and back,
Daddy and Mommy

Labels: , , ,

Monday, March 29, 2010

Guest Blogger: Stephanie from My Life As Mom


So I promised everyone Guest Bloggers in our Cloth Diapering Series...So here we go!!
Today we have the opportunity to meet Stephanie from My Life As Mom while she shares her adventures in recently converting to cloth diapering.  After reading her Q and A, check out her blog, enter to win a Wonda Wedge for FREE (ends Wednesday so go now because it is cool!), and while you are there admire her ohh soo cute little Monkey!!  She has become a great blogging friend and I love that she is a "Cloth Convert".  We can now share our cloth diapering stories and become obsessed with fluffy together!  Anyone on the edge about converting to cloth should definitely consider talking with Stephanie as she was skeptical at first also, and now she has a happy cloth diapered monkey!! 



How long have you been cloth diapering and how old is your child?    
I have been cloth diapering for a couple weeks, now. My son is 4 and a half months. 

What, if any, were your fears/ misconceptions before cloth diapering?   
My fears and misconceptions of cloth diapering was that it was a very time consuming process, it was expensive, I would have to fold 900 diapers and use those horribly ugly plastic underwear looking covers. SOOOO not cute.  

What convinced you that you should cloth diaper?
What convinced me to cloth diaper was that I've recently met a lot of friends who cloth diaper and all of them mentioned how easy it was to do, despite the "bad rap" that people give cloth diapers. 

What is your best advice about starting cloth diapering? 
The best advice I could give to someone who was thinking about cloth diapering is: buy a couple of each brand. You'll quickly figure out which one you like the best and won't loose money on buying ones that don't work. Also, buy the best that you can afford.. the resell value is a great pro to cloth diapering. 

Were you intimidated? Is there anything that still intimidates you?
I was intimidated about the possible work load when it came to washing them. Am I still intimidated? No! It's so simple!   

Why do you prefer cloth diapers over disposables?
Oh my gosh! For so many reasons!!!!! There so much softer on his skin. They keep tons (literally!) of unneeded waste out of the landfill. They keep harmful chemicals off my sons skin and they prevent him from having diaper rash like he had SOOO often with disposables. OH! Cloth are SOOOOOO much more cute!  

So far, what’s your favorite brand(s) and why?
Every single person that I've talked to has a different favorite when it comes to cloth diapers. My favorite just happens to be FuzziBunz. My second favorite would have to be KnickerNappies. The reason FB's win out over KN's is because the FB's have adjustable leg elastic. It's SOOOO helpful to tighten those up at night time to prevent leaks. I do have to say, however, that I love how the back pocket is sewn in on the KN over the FB's. FB's are just kind of a wide open pocket and the KN's have an elastic strap sewn in to keep it tight up against the cover. Ultimately it doesn't really matter when it comes to the use of the diaper.. it's just my visual preference when I'm stuffing them. 

What would you tell someone who is skeptical of cloth diapering?
If I could talk to someone who's skeptical about cloth diapering (which I have) I would simply tell them not to dog it unless they tried it. While cloth diapering is not for everyone, it IS for me. If it takes me a bit of extra time to prepare my son's diapers in order to keep those chemicals off his skin, prevent diaper rash and keep that much garbage out of landfills, then so be it. I would do it ten times over. When we become parents we vow to do anything to protect our children and if 99% of people KNEW what they were putting on their child's skin when it came to a cloth diaper, I bet they would change their mind, or at least think twice about it. 

What’s the best part about cloth diapering?
The best thing about cloth diapering is a few things; keeping my son rash free and chemical free and of course that the diapers are sooooooooo cute! 


Do you find them harder, easier or the same to use as compared to disposables?
I find cloth diapers different than disposables. For me it's like comparing apples and oranges. They're not the same. Yes, cloth are a little more time consuming because you have to wash them and depending on the style, stuff the inserts back in them once they're clean. However, overall, it's not nearly as bad as it seems. I am also one who HATES doing laundry and I don't mind the work, at all. 

Do you have any funny cloth diapering stories to share?
I have only been cloth diapering for a couple weeks so unfortunately I don't have any good stories to share, yet. 

What is your cloth diapering routine?
My cloth diapering routine is pretty simple. When I change diapers, I have a laundry bin on the side (cloths in one, cloth diapers and reusable wipes in the other). Once I remove the diaper, I remove the insert and throw both pieces into the diaper bin. Put the new one on and go about my day. When it comes time to wash them, I simply dump the bin into the washer, run a cold wash (no soap), run a hot wash (with 1/4 amount of soap) then an extra cold rinse (just to remove a much soap residue as possible). Next I tumble dry the diapers on low for 20min, remove the outer "diapers" (leave the inserts and wipes in the dryer) and rerun for another 20-30min until the inserts are dry. Once all the pieces are dry, then I insert all the inserts into the diapers, snap the buttons and put them away so they're ready for use. 

Do you have any tricks, shortcuts or fun information about cloth diapering?
The only trick that I've really figured out, as of yet, is to prep them and get them ready to go once they come out of the dryer. It's so nice to just be able to throw a new, clean diaper on without having to take the time to put the inserts in before being able to change it. 

What is a must have when you are cloth diapering?
My "must-have" item would have to be my homemade wipes and homemade "wipe water". If I am going to go to the trouble to wash diapers to keep the chemicals off my sons skin, why would I use disposable wipes which have chemicals in them, also? It's just as easy to use cloth wipes and throw them in the washer with the diapers and inserts.  

How is the husband handling the cloth diapers?
Due to just starting cloth diapering, my husband is still getting used to it. He's done what I call "sticking his toes in the water". He's removed a dirty one and put a new one on, but he didn't know what to do with the dirty one, once done so he came out of the bedroom and said, "the dirty one is on the dresser, I'm not sure what you want me to do with it". I'm sure things will get better with time, as he gets used to the whole routine. 

Have you had any funny comments when cloth diapering?
I've had a few comments when it came to cloth diapering. Things such as, "are you turning hippy?", "are you doing it to save money or go green?", "are you doing it because of skin sensitivity issues". I've also had comments go as far as, "wow, you must be bored!". However, the most common one seems to be, "I couldn't handle cleaning up the dirty diapers. Do you have to rinse the poop off in the toilet before hand?" I do try to answer each question with as much information as I can without feeling like I'm pushing it on someone. As I said before, cloth diapering isn't for everyone but it IS for me. Don't dog me because I cloth diaper, I don't dog you because you use disposables. It really is easier than one would think and I would recommend it to everyone!

Labels: , ,

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Being a Mom Maa...

I am so very proud and excited...I just can not hold it in...

Bailey said Mom Maaaa (I write it like this because that is how she said it)!!  Yes!  It was in the car yesterday as we were driving she was complaining (go figure) to get out of her seat.  Then loud and clear she was like Mom Maaaa!!  My husband looked at me and we were like she just said momma.   That was the first time she said it well and understandable.  She makes a lot of "m" sounds but this was clear.  My husband then jokingly  said "That does not count because she only said it once!" Then proceeded to tell me that he was kidding!  

Then later in the day my husband was holding her at the family party we were at and she yelled out in front of everyone "Mom Maaaa"!  Everyone looked at her and said, "She just yelled Momma".  My face lit up with a huge smile and I told her she was the cutest thing in the world along with many kisses and hugs, she thought I was funny!!  

I know she does not know what she is saying yet, but I am sure proud.  She is growing up, and her Mom Maaaa  is forever proud.


Labels: , ,

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Share your dirt Saturday!

From Stephanie at My Life As Mom's blog:
I have met so many new friends over the last couple weeks. Many of which follow my blog and many more of which I follow. I thought it would be fun to have a day specifically for sharing. What you ask? Details, of course! The nitty gritty. The deep down dirty. The soap scum on the bathtub, dirty. The paw prints on the floor kind of dirty. The kind of dirty that would get you smacked by your Momma.
If you want to participate, I would encourage you to do so! Make sure you link back, here, so others can view your dirt, too.

 
Here's how to play:

1. Answer my dirt question.
2. Post your dirt question on your blog.
3. Come back here to link up to Mister Linky.
4. While you're here, choose a blog or two to answer their dirt questions.



Today's Dirt: What is something you do that you wish you would not do?


My Answer:  I guess I would have to say getting annoyed with other people.  I do not usually ever say anything but from time to time I do get really frustrated.  Usually it is over pretty dumb stuff like things people say or do.  Then I end up thinking "why am I annoyed, are they meaning to do this?  Or is it me?"  Usually I end up just letting it go, because life is too short.  I still wish I would not do this though...

Labels:

Wordless Wednesday (Wordful)- I Wonder What You Think...


We spent some time outside, just you and I...
You love to roll around on the blanket


You love to look at the tree blowing in the light breeze and the blue very blue sky


Then you look over at me, and we stare into each others eyes and smile
We are meant to be together you and I


I look at you and think I want the world for you, everything.
Happiness, love, compassion, faith, belief, friendship and peace.
Then I remember we are here now,
and then I think of how beautiful you are,
how you are my little baby girl and
how very much I love you.


Then I wonder what you think...
What you dream about...


I know I think about you, and love you.
I know I dream about you, but you are here, now.


Labels: , , ,

Friday, March 26, 2010

Get your DROOL on!

The Drooling around our house is forming lakes!  May I present the Drooling Princess Baby:






But how can we resist this cute little slobbery face??  Bailey thinks drool is too cute...

Labels: , ,