Sunday, October 25, 2009

Giveaway: EcoChic



The EcoChic is having a giveaway of the best kind in my opinion, a cloth diaper give away. GroBaby cloth diapers have actually a few different options. The first is to use one of the cute shells with a cloth liner that snaps in and the second option is to use one of their biosoakers (earth friendly disposable liners). I have yet to try GroBaby, but have been wanting to for a while. Check out the giveaway on the EcoChic’s blog. If you don’t have little ones in diapers, why not enter anyways. A cloth diaper or diaper system like GroBaby makes a fabulous gift for any cloth diapering mama. I am typically not very lucky at these things, but would love to win this one especially. I want to try the Sunset Stripe GroBaby.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

GroBaby Video

This is a nice little video. Please don't be offended if you do not use cloth. I didn't for a while and now I do. It is whatever works for you. I just thought this was an information packed video.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Busy Week


So here is a little bit of my to do list for the week:

-Purchase and prepare snack for Big A’s preschool class
-Complete and attend Bible study
-Finish up MOPS name tags
-Update MOPS Contact list
-Prepare to hand all of MOPS registration and finance over to new steering member since I am transitioning to be a DGL
-Send out Baby A’s announcements (she is two months old)
-Clean House
-Make Dinner
-Finish organizing the girls room
-Clean Little A’s room
-Put up things for sale on Craigslist
- Finish birthday present for a friend's daughter
-Finish sewing recycled wool longies
-Start recycled wool soaker

The list continues on, but I won’t bore you with anymore. I have so MUCH to do and I am feeling a little lack of motivation  I guess I better get off of the computer and get busy. The problem is that I also have to be mom to three under three while I accomplish all of these things. How am I supposed to do that? Plus, my kids do not play by themselves. They pretty much follow me around the house all day long and usually bring their toys where ever I am. Does anyone else have this problem?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

A little bit of Mommy Encouragement from Christy Nockels

Well I have not posted a lot lately on my blog. I have been rather busy with life. I am still in the transition phase of having three kids, three years old and younger.

This is a different kind of post than I normally do. It was prompted out of a post I saw on Jessica Turners blog. She attend the MOPS convention this past week in Georgia. There were many speakers and it sounds like amazing worship. I only wish I could have attended, but since I couldn't watching these two video clips was a great way to get a taste of what it must have been like to be there. They were also so encouraging to me as a mom of young kids. Check out the video clips if you are a mom or a mom-to-be and if you do not already know about MOPS. Check MOPS out at www.mops.org. It is a wonderful way to get connected with women that are also moms of young children. There is probably a group right in your area. :)

Being A Mom {Part 1} from christy nockels on Vimeo.




Being A Mom {Part 2} from christy nockels on Vimeo.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Meals for the week of September 14th


This week's menu...

Sunday: Cesar Chicken Pasta Salad
Monday: Pork Sirloin Roast (crock-pot), brown rice, salad and homemade whole wheat bread
Tuesday: Neighbors for dinner
Wednesday: Grilled chicken, homemade mash potatoes (freezer)and a salad
Thursday: Chicken Tortilla Soup
Friday: BBQ Hamburgers, sweet potato fries and grilled veggies/fruit
Saturday: Freezer meal ?

I am sorry this is such a quick post. I am exhausted and I just need to go to bed, but I wanted to post something. :)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Fuzzi Bunz

I was reading a blog that I started reading when I was pregnant. It is written by a dad and is a wonderful perspective that I rarely get being a mom. Well they are using Fuzzi Bunz one size diapers on their newest little addition. I have yet to try a one size diaper by Fuzzi Bunz. The couple is actually giving away some to one blog reader. From the looks of Fuzzi Bunz I would like them because they look very thin and that is good, especially with my little boy. Have you tried Fuzzi Bunz one size diapers?

Monday, August 31, 2009

I apologize!

I have neglected my blog. Terrible, I know! I am OVERWHELMED! I have been working the past two weeks before I take 12 weeks off for childcare leave. It is amazing how exhausting it has been, plus three kids under three. Ugh! Well I apologize for being a flaky blogger. I am hoping to be back to blogging next week. I have so many ideas for posts I just need to take the time to write them. :)



This little one is a huge reason for not getting much of anything done. Baby A is such a joy. We just love her to pieces, but she has been attached at the hip and it is hard for me to put her down without her complaining about it. I can only wear her so much in the carrier before we both get tired of it. Anyways, we are still in transition from a family of four to a family of five. I am hoping to figure out how to be super mom in very soon. I really miss having a clean house and decorated home. I am on this decorating kick. I will hopefully post on it very soon. I hope anyone who still my reads my blog is doing well. :)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

She's Here...

Baby A is here. She was born last Friday via c-section. She is a sweet baby. I still cannot get over how big she was. She weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces. Here are a few pictures of her in her first few days of life. Big A and Little A are getting used to having a little sister. Big A loves to play mommy junior. She is so proud that she has a sister. Nursing is going fairly well. It has been so hot here in the Pacific Northwest that just to make sure that Baby A is getting enough I have supplemented a little with a few ounces of formula here and there when she is still hungry and I don't have anymore of my own milk. I am careful to only do this as a last resort because I for sure don't want it to interfere with my milk production. I sure hope she is getting enough though.

Baby A is a sweet baby. Although, in the hospital she quickly got a reputation with her screaming and crying. Baby A loves to be held and since she is my last baby I am probably indulging her a little too much.

I am doing okay. I am still very swollen from all of the fluids from the surgery. I was really hoping it would be gone by now, especially in my feet. The swelling is uncomfortable and rather painful too. If you have any suggestions for reducing swelling please post a comment.

Oh you can see my hospital gown in one of the pictures. It worked out really well.
1 week old

Hospital crib

Big brother and Big sister checking her out

Big A holding Baby A

3 days old

Mama who is a little out of it

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

New Fluff: Just in time for Baby A



Just less than three days until my c-section. This amazing four pound package of fluff arrived in the mail today. I am just so delighted by cloth diapers. It is pretty funny. I ordered 11 newborn/medium diapers and 4 medium/large pocket diapers from Sassy Pants Diapers. The gal who makes them is just so nice and the quality is unsurpassed by any of the major brands that I have tried. The stitching is near perfect on every diaper. I was able to get some different color combos this time around. I love the browns and pinks together. These are all pocket diapers. They are not one size, but come in adjustable sizes newborn through medium and medium to large. Most of the diapers that I purchased have an inner velour layer that is so soft to the touch, some of a micro fabric which is also soft, but not as luxurious as the velour.

I think we are done purchasing diapers for a while. This will make my stash pretty complete especially if I can use all of them when this baby girl is in size medium. I would use the first size with nothing snapped and the second size with them snapped as small as they go. I am hoping that works out.

What is your favorite cloth diaper? These are mine. I am so excited to try them with this little baby in a week or two. For my older kids the medium/large seems to fit better than some of the other brands that are one size, especially with the snaps. I have found that I prefer snaps, which is a surprise. I still ordered a few hook and loop closure diapers for baby A because I think they will work out better in the beginning when she is so little. We will see. I am thinking we will save these beauties for a little while until her yucky poops are gone. I don't want to stain them and honestly we bought some hybrid diapers for the beginning or Gdiapers with biodegradable disposable inserts and then a package or two of newborn Huggies with Organic Cotton. I know they are not the best, but I think it will work out the best for our family situation in the beginning. We will see.

My laundry room sink is in. I will try to post pictures in the next few days. I am very excited to have a sink in the laundry room, especially with cloth diapering. This will be so much easier than using the bathroom sink (of course I will still use the toilet to dump the dump first), but to soak or scrub the diapers I am going to experiment with the laundry room sink and a tub. We will see. :) At least now I will be able to strip the diapers when needed.

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful summer day!

Jen D.

All the new fluff


The inside and outside of a bright coral PUL cover and yellow velor inside. I love it and I thought I was taking a huge risk in ordering the color combo.



Light Blue Small/Med PUL with brown velor... inside view and outside view.



Brown Hook and Loop Closure Diapers (it is hard to tell, but the inner fabric colors are pink, blue, brown velor and then one white micro-fabric). These are all in the smaller size.

Friday, July 10, 2009

I am still here...still pregnant...

Yes, I am still pregnant. I am sorry for not updating my blog in almost a month. I was so good for a while. I have been struggling with the last weeks of pregnancy and it is difficult to think of something blog worthy to write.
Here are some of the things that I have been working on or thinking about:(sorry the pictures are not the greatest...it was the lighting.)

Nursing/Handmade Nursing Cover Up
I made a nursing cover up out some fabulous new fabric and was actually able to make a few burp clothes to go with it. I am a little nervous about this because with my other two pregnancies I was not able to make enough milk to sustain my kids, I have always had to supplement. I am hoping and praying this time I will make enough milk and even have a tea to try that my friend swears by. We will see. I want to be realistically optimistic. I was devastated the with Big A when I couldn’t solely nurse and spend seven months with a crazy rigorous feeding schedule of nursing, feeding bottle of pumped milk from previous pumping session, feeding a few ounces of formula (yes three bottles) and then pumping again after the feeding. It was too much to do with my second so I would just nurse and supplement little a with formula. I know breast milk is best, but when you have tried everything to make it work and it is not, thank God there is such thing as formula. I would prefer for my body to work as it is supposed to, but it has failed me so many times…I must be realistic. The positives: at least there is formula, the baby can thrive off of it and it is readily available. The negatives: formula is not as good as breast milk for the baby, formula doesn’t help shed the unwanted pregnancy pounds, the cost of formula is very high compared to free breast milk, it is not as convenient when you have to wash bottles, prep formula, make sure you have it with you everywhere, formula stains, formula smells, formula diapers stink more and have to be rinsed before washing (if you are using cloth). Anyways, there is the list. I am hopeful, but at the same time know that I have struggled with this in the past…I am not sure what would change with the third pregnancy, but maybe…do you think?


Two Weeks and Counting Down
Although, I have been trying to stay distracted and busy so I don’t think about how much I want this little girl out of me, I am still counting down. There are things that I want to finish before she gets here, but I would be so happy if she came right now. My c-section is scheduled for two weeks from today. I hope I don’t make it that long, but I am not the one in charge.
I decided to sew my own maternity gown, but I am a little stuck on it now. I have not followed a pattern in two decades so it is a little difficult to know what to do with things like interfacing and what not. It is all cut out, but I don’t have the interfacing and I am not sure if it’s a must or not. We will see. I’ll post pictures when I am done, that is assuming I finish it.

Balance
I have been trying to balance things in my life. I don’t have a lot of balance right now. I struggle with it and that is one reason I am excited to be going back to work sixty percent, it helps create some sort of balance and order in my crazy life. Right now balance is particularly difficult to achieve because of the crazy hormones, waiting for this baby to decide if she is coming early or not, it is summer and things are a little out of routine due to that, both the hubby and I are home (we both teach) for the summer (this is good in many ways and also creates some problems in other ways), my three year old is still toilet training resistant (honestly, I am tempted to just put her back in disposable diapers and forget it…I have never met a more stubborn child in my life or a more difficult task and I am a teacher), my son will be two in a few weeks (need I remind you about the terrible twos), and my life and body are out of my control. I don’t know if you can achieve balance without some measure of control. It is an interesting thought to ponder.

Well I have a few ideas for posts in the next few days. I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful weekend.

Jen D.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Baby Update and Hospital Delivery Gown

(This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I have been having a few technical issues, all hardware/software related with NetGear.

I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is fine with the little girl growing inside. I have a little less than six weeks to go. I am hoping shorter, but we will see. If she comes a little early I will be very excited. Although, my c-section is already scheduled and I am thankful that the date is the closest to my due date that they will allow one to be performed. These last six weeks are usually the most difficult for me to do lack of sleep, being uncomfortable, feeling awkward and just gross. This pregnancy seems to be even harder. I am not sure if that is because it was a surprise or I have two toddlers this time or if my body is just tired of being pregnant or a little of all three.
I have continued my nesting streak and have been working on my To Do List before the little one is born. As I have mentioned before I love to cross things off my To Do List. It is so satisfying.



One thing I am considering is a bringing my own hospital gown with me to the hospital. I can’t stand the scratchy, icky gowns that they give you in the hospital to wear. They also seem to be the most unflattering thing to wear to have your picture taken with the new baby. Case in point, see the picture below of me with little a.



I have found several gowns that I could purchase, but the frugal side of me is apprehensive to spend so much money on a gown like that. I would love to try to make one or have my MIL make me one. I think that would be the most frugal thing to do, but lately when I have brought up any sort of sewing project she hasn’t objected, but she hasn’t really volunteered or made time to do them. I can’t imagine spending $35 up to a $100 on one gown, but at the same time I really want one. I would love something like either one of my top choices listed below, which I could wear later to nurse in at night. I could really use something to feel a little more attractive in when I am at the hospital, not to mention a little more modest since the hospital gowns open up in back. I would love something to hide my horrible arms (my legs and arms seems to swell up when I am pregnant…no I am not kidding…although they could probably use A LOT of toning once I am done with this pregnancy.) I would try to make my own gown, but I am not that great at sewing and I would be afraid to waste my money on the fabric and have it not work. I also don’t have a serger, which seems like it would be necessary for durability.



So here is my dilemma do I just do it, purchase one? Do I ask my MIL to make me one? Do I try to make my own? Do I buy some nursing pajamas instead (could I wear these for the first picture w/my c-section)? Or do I just not bother with bring my own gown? I don’t know.

Here are my top two choices, although I have been considering this third one mainly due to the price.





Monday, June 8, 2009

This Weekend…

Well not a lot was accomplished for this ambitious, nesting mama of soon to be three kids under three, but at least some progress was made. I don’t know about you, but I am a list person and just love to cross things off of my list. Looking back is the best when so much is crossed out.

I was able to get a few things completed and a few other things started throughout the weekend. The main project that I completed was covering these stools.



I should have taken a picture of them before (but I may not have wanted to post it even if I had taken one). We have had these stools for four years almost and the cream fabric that was on them had definitely seen better days. I had used our carpet cleaner (SpotBot) to clean them, but they still had stains from the kids and who knows what that were stubborn and not coming off.

On Saturday, I went to the fabric store and scored this great fabric for 50 percent off the normal price. All of their upholstery fabric/home decorating fabrics were on sale. (I also picked up some fawn colored silk for my ribbon board, but that is a separate post and all I have is the ribbon and fabric right now for it). I purchased 1.5 yards of fabric, knowing that I would have some left over and I could make pillows for the adjacent family room. Although, I really want to use the fabric to cover our kitchen table chairs, but the hubby wants to wait since our kids eat on those daily and they still have some wear and tear that we get out of them.

So getting to the point…it was really a simple project. I cut three large squares of fabric out, making sure it would fit around the diameter of the stool pad. While I pulled the fabric tight and so there were no creases my husband stapled the fabric to the back of the stool. It was much easier with two people, but I am sure one person could do it. The total time not including the fabric purchase was twenty minutes. I am very pleased with the results. I would love to hear about your do it yourself projects if you care to share leave a comment with your project or your blog post.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Menu Plan Monday: Second week of June



I am not that attached to anything on this menu, but it is getting more and more difficult to plan our families meals because nothing sounds good to me in these last weeks of pregnancy. I am trying to just not consider myself, but then I am the one who cooks so I want meals that are quick, easy and don’t cost a lot of money…not to mention healthy.

Sunday: Cheeseburgers, orzo salad and baked beans (strawberries, whip cream and angel food cake for dessert (MIL came over to celebrate her belated birthday)
Monday: Leftovers that need to be eaten
Tuesday: A stir fry of some kind, fish and rice
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner
Thursday: Chicken enchilada soup, served with chips and a small dinner salad
Friday: MIL is coming over with dinner…yea!
Saturday: Leftovers from Friday’s meal or grilled fish, rice and artichokes

Enjoy your week.
Jen D.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Trouble Sleeping


Well among all the other horrible symptoms I have of being pregnant I now am having a lot of trouble sleeping. I am sure having to use the bathroom every hour or so is not helping with that, but tonight I just can't seem to fall asleep. I am sure tomorrow I will be paying for not falling asleep when my two children are up rearing to go, but between the heartburn, all the frustrations of this week, the hubby doing his thing (snoring or moving), the dog (who the hubby allows on the bed) and my to do list that is a mile wide I am unable to fall asleep and get good sleep these days...especially tonight for some reason. It has been a pretty horrible day, but that is nothing new as far my life goes. Oh well! Maybe if I try again it will happen. Goodnight!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Food For the First Week of June (With a graphic of my motto)


Oops! I intended to post this earlier in the week, but forgot. It has been one of those weeks.

Food for the first week in June:
Monday: black bean burritos, with rice and a side salad
Tuesday: Turkey, avocado and cream cheese pita pockets with sprouts
Wednesday: grilled chicken, polenta and a side salad
Thursday: Orzo spinach salad with grilled chicken (recipe to follow soon)
Friday: Chicken Enchiladas (This was the original plan, now with the week I have had I am thinking take out or something that does not involve me cooking.)
Saturday: Grilled salmon, wild rice, strawberry with gorgonzola and tasty pecan salad

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Office/Craft Room Re-do

So I took a little blogging hiatus after my two week stint of blogging daily. It has been nice, but I am exciting to be posting again.

Old Living Room

Now an office/craft space...the doors were eventually painted.

The new space as I moved all of the clutter into it with no organizational system.


A few weeks ago I posted about my office/craft space and the lack of closed storage. Well yesterday and today I re-organized, re-arranged and basically revamped my office. Check out the before and after photos below. My office used to be our old living room. We never used it and it was fairly inexpensive to convert the space to something else by adding a wall and French Doors.

The view from entering the space



Well this week my hubby picked me up this table off of Craigslist originally from Pier 1. It is an actual craft table. I love that it is pretty much counter height and that I can use it solely for scrapbooking and cardmaking. Now I won’t have to clear off my desk and move the keyboard to the side. I have plenty of space right there. My kids love that it has two stools, perfect for them to sit at and color if mommy is on the computer.

My New Craft Table



So after getting the fabulous craft table I had a dilemma of how to organize the room. I need as much storage as I can get. I used to have a sofa in here, but it was pretty cramped with the addition of the new table. I decided to take the sofa out and re-arrange the space with the bookcases all together on one wall, the desk moved to the right a little bit and the craft table against the window so I can look out as I scrap. It was difficult to figure out a layout that worked. Originally, I thought I wanted the craft table in the center. While that would be nice, it just wouldn’t work in the space that I have with the other furniture that I need. Unfortunately, I also decided to store my sewing stuff in a closet in another room. I really just don’t have the space for it.

The revamped bookcases with no closed storage, but boxes make it look neater, more orderly.

It feels fabulous to be organized (as I am pregnant and very much nesting). My amazing hubby insisted that we go to Target yesterday and get some much needed closed storage for the bookcases. I didn’t really want to spend any more money than what we had spent on the craft table. Well he wouldn’t take no for an answer and insisted that I get some storage and do it right. This is the outcome. As you can see, there is a big difference from the before and after. I already had a few storage components, but nothing that was unified and not enough. Now I won’t have any excuses to be unorganized. Fortunately, Target had the brown containers on clearance, along with some of the blue cubes. They matched what I already had perfectly. I just love it when that happens.

Room view from the corner


Overall, I am thrilled with the space and I can’t wait to have some time to scrapbook and make some cards in it. It has been a while in the making and I am so thankful to my wonderful husband for making it happen. Now it is onto creating some unique artwork and a ribbon board for my revamped space. This along with a bazillion other projects I have on my plate before this third baby arrives. 

Jen D.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Apple Cheeks Diaper Starter Kit Give Away



Apple Cheeks diaper is giving one lucky reader of Your Mama Reviews a starter set of their diapers. Now I have not tried these myself, but they look like a wonderful pocket diaper with an insert that can be used inside the pocket or just laid in the diaper as a prefold would. I would love to try these, but if I don't win it would be nice for someone that reads my blog to win. Enjoy!

Diaper Stash for Baby Number 3

Well as most of you know we are expecting our third. She is due this summer. I am nesting and trying to prepare for her arrival, but with two toddlers it is not easy. So far this is the cloth diaper stash for her as an infant. I intend to use gdiapers (with disposable inserts) or disposables for the first few weeks due to the messy tar-like bowel movements that infants have and then I will start in with cloth. I am excited and nervous to cloth diaper an infant. I have only cloth diapered toddlers and I still feel like a beginner at that. Newborns and infants are a little different to diaper so I am not sure if I have all that I need yet, but I hoping by the time she arrives we will be set.
Here is the breakdown of what we have so far
The Stack
10 infant prefolds (I will probably use these with the g diaper pants as inserts)
10 infant Chinese Prefolds (inserts for g diapers)
8 homemade inserts for gdiapers



In the basket (from left to right)
11 gdiaper covers (most are cream or orange, but there is also 1 red, 1 pink striped and 1 brown)
6 Fuzibunz pocket diapers size small in pink, lavender and white (a good friend gave us these to use since her daughter is done with that size)
2 Sassy pants pocket diapers in small/medium (brand new)
2 Swaddlebees size small stuffable pocket diapers
1 fitted newborn diaper
11 Sassy Pants all in one diapers (these are mostly boyish in color since I bought them from a mom on Craigslist that had a boy)

As you can see we are off to a good start, but with changing a newborn about a dozen times a day I am not sure if this is going to do it. I am hoping to be able to get some more diapers in the next several weeks so we can really be prepared. I have some one size diapers for the other kids that I can always throw into the little girls pile if need be. We will see.

I hope you are enjoying the sunshine and the extra long weekend. Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Jen D.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Sunshine and Retail Therapy


Well I had intended to type this out early, but the night got away from me.

Today was actually a semi-good day. I am still not feeling great about being pregnant another ten weeks and life sure is not where I want it to be, but things went a little better today. It is amazing what some sunshine and a little retail therapy can do for your mood. We spend the better part of the day outside. The family went to a nearby outdoor mall and walked around. It was so nice to be out in the fresh air and son. I also got a late incredibly indulgent, Mother’s Day present. I have not bought anything for myself like that outside of the iphone (which I saved money from both Christmas and my birthday for, plus waited for four months to get) for more than a year. I am still feeling a little guilty for it, since I know with a third baby on the way things are going to be tight for a while, but at the same time it is not something that will go to waist or that I won’t use. I probably just didn’t need to indulge in such an extravagant one. Since my hubby was with me and said to do it…I threw caution to the wind and gave into the impulse.

I have wanted a new Coach bag for quite some time. I find that when I do make quality purchases on something like a purse, I end up getting a lot more use and value out of it. The Coach that I purchased four years ago as a graduation from my master’s program for myself I still use. In fact I am having it sent back to the company to fix some of the stitching on it. It is a great purse and I am sure I will go back to it at some point. I know it was not necessary, but at the same time it is something I will get a lot of use out of and probably have for quite some time. Plus, this one is a quite a bit larger than my old one. I have been saying for a few years now that I need a large purse now that I have kids. Now it still is no huge purse where I can fit everything in it and the kitchen sink, but it is a nice medium size, instead of what I had before which was on the smaller size.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I am delighted that I finished two weeks of daily posts on the blog. I will continue to try to post frequently, but may not quite daily. Happy Weekend!
Jen D.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Organization: Craft Room

So today’s post is on organization. I consider myself somewhere in the middle. In my brain I am very organized and I rehearse all of these different scenarios. I type lists, keep records, but when it comes down to it I am not as organized as I want to be or my brain thinks I should be.

For example, I really struggle in my office with organization. I have a lot of craft stuff for scrapbooking, cardmaking and some sewing stuff. The problem is I have no closed storage and I have no place to really spread out to make scrapbook pages, cards or a craft project. I love to look at how others have organized their spaces, but when it comes down to it I don’t have the extra resources to devote to new closed organization or a lot of new furniture. In a perfect would I would have built ins in my office and plenty of work space within those built ins. There would be closed storage and a little open storage. Everything would have a place. Obviously, it is not a perfect world.

My hubby was planning on getting me some sort of second desk so I could have a computer workspace and a place for my crafts. I would love this and be very grateful for it. It would solve one of my big problems with organizing my office; however, I still have the issue of no closed storage. The funny thing is I struggle with this in my work space at school as well. I have no closed storage there either and my closet of a classroom is not much bigger than my office at home. I affectionately refer to it as a trailer. I don’t mean to be condescending to anyone, but it really is not fit for a classroom of any kind. Ideally, I am hoping to be placed in a regular classroom next year, but with how things work out for me I am not too hopeful.

Being that I struggle with the same problem of lack of closed storage at both work and home I have been brainstorming ideas for how to solve the problem without spending a lot if any money. This is not easy, but I was thinking of making a curtain and hanging it with a tension rod over on the top of the shelf so that you couldn’t see what actually being stored in the shelf. This would be fairly in expensive because tension rods are only a few dollars and have fabric that I can use. I actually already have the curtains for my office and they match perfectly. Another thing I could use is some decorative tacks that I already own to hang the curtain. The negatives to this idea are: I would have to hold it up and would not be able to pull it back when looking for something the shelves. My other thought the curtain may make it look even messier than it does without the curtain because it will look like I am hiding something, which hey I am.

Has anyone had this problem before and if you have, did you find a solution? I am open to suggestions. Once I figure it out I will post pictures. The first picture below is of my open storage office, when I first moved into it. Notice how clean it isn't even organized then. The other photos are of rooms that I like. I wish I could give credit to these websites for their photos, but I have saved them in my inspiration room file and I don’t know where I got them. There are a lot of others that I just love, but they were saved on my other computer and I didn't have the energy to hunt of them. Maybe I will post those inspiration pics tomorrow. I apologize to anyone whose photo I am using. I am not trying to steal the credit for your creativity.



Enjoy your weekend.
Jen D.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Another Cloth Diaper Post

I ordered some brand new diapers from the Swaddlebees outlet store yesterday. I am so excited. These are sized diapers, but the cool thing is they are stuffable AIO’s. I purchased a few off of Craigslist on Monday and then I found some seconds on sale at the Swaddlebees outlet store for a great price so I purchased those. It is amazing how excited a person can get about diapers. I never thought that I would get so much joy out of cloth diapering and out of trying different ones, but I do.


Lately, I have been drooling over these beauties. The first few pictures are from this etsy site. Now I don’t usually like fitted diapers, but I have heard some good things from other cd’ers about fitted diapers. I have not had a lot of luck with them so far because my kids seem to be heavy wetters. I am still interested in trying these though. The second group of photos is called Little Fancy Pants. I really want to order some of these for this baby girl I am carrying. I just love the floral prints. They remind of good mama’s, but they seem to be a little cheaper than the beloved Good Mama’s. I have yet to try a Good Mama diaper. I want to, but I just can’t bring myself to pay that much for one diaper. This is especially the case since cloth diapering is supposed to be saving me money and it will, but not until I stop buying new fluff when I find it at a great deal. I have been very frugal about it so far, but since I am also trying to get some sort of stash for this new little baby together it is probably not saving much if any money yet.


With that said, cloth diapering sure is saving me a lot a trash. I only use disposables at night on my kids when I work and then at the sitters house. So I am maybe tossing between two and four diapers a day three days a week and the other days I am cloth diapering so I don’t have any garbage from those. It is fabulous. My husband has even commented about the smell of our laundry room being less stinky now that I am cloth diapering. I do wash the cloth diapers every other day so they really don’t have much time to get too stinky. It is funny how I don’t putting and folding our other laundry, but I have no problems folding and putting away the cloth diapers. 

Do you cloth diaper and want to share your experiences? Please post a comment. I love to read about how others CD and their experiences.

Jen D.