Not to long ago I joined Twitter. Soon I found my self following and be followed by mom. Mom's with good values. Lots of cloth diapering Moms. I'm not having any more kids. I just got my 4 year old potty trained overnight and expect I have about a year left in diapers with my two year old son. I have no need to buy any more diapers. I have 53 covers, prefolds, inserts and covers. I just got rid of all my little baby sized diapers on craigslist to a new mama looking for to cloth about a year ago. SO why am I getting new diapers? No reason at all. I just did.
I follow Under the Apple Tree on Facebook and Twitter. She posted a photo of a Walgreen's that's selling bumGenius and Flip. Of coarse my interest peaked. What's Flip? Googling Flip I found it's a new product by bumGenius. A diapering system. It's an One size fits all diaper cover, with your choice of stuffing. Organic prefolds, a super soft insert, or compostable disposable liners. Very cool. I then looked up the pricing. Not a bad price. They have starter kit that has 2 covers and 6 inserts for $55. Not bad, thinking back to when I bought my bumGenius 3.0 3+ years ago at $21 each.
Now I'm doing one of my crazy Mary things I do and obsess on what does this look like? How do they work? I read in a review on one of the websites that said the inserts including the disposable work with other cloth diapers. One was a swaddlebees and Marni of Marni's Organized Mess just got one. I wasn't familiar with the diaper so I asked her to take a picture of the open inside of the diaper for me. It didn't look any different than the other pocket diapers I had. I ended driving down to Lafayette to my favorite baby story The Nurture Center because I knew they would have a Flip I could see. They did, I bought one in a warm blue. They did not carry the disposable inserts. That's were my real curiosity is. They said the read to many bad reviews. I wanted to try it out any how. I also bought a Econobum since it was also available, it was cheap and another product from the same maker of bumGenius. We're trying that one out today. I'll let you know.
Back to my new Twitter community. Earth Crunchy Mama was who I wanted to try. I have communicated with her a couple times and her website says she hand picks the products she sells and I believe her based on my own personal interactions with her. I bought Flip disposable inserts and GroVia BioSoaker. I would love to use a disposable at daycare and on the go that didn't make me feel like I've leaving to big of a carbon foot print. Oh she delivers quick and is a great value with her shipping and handling. I give her two thumbs up.
We tried the Flip Disposable yesterday with cover. It lasted through nap no leaks. A plus for me since Declan saves releasing his bladder during nap. We then went grocery shopping for 3 hours to get all the things I needed including the car ride. He peed and no leaking. I think I'm in love. I may buy a case soon.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
For the love of cats
I could leave these photos wordless but I have to tell. This is Pumpkin our family cat. In jest I often call him my favorite child. He is my sweet fur baby. Tonight coming home with the kids Pumpkin came out from under my car. Thin, messy covered with mud. I'm talking gooey mud head to tell. What an April fools joke. I get to give my cat a bath. I took him in to our bathroom and closed the door. I wiped him down with towels as he smeared mud all over my walls trying to get away. I finally gave up when kitty nipped at my arm. I took him and put him in the shower with a quick steam of warm water until the mud in his fur ran clear. I felt like I was torturing my poor fur baby, that he would never forgive me. I had no other choice with the amount of mud on him. I then got the biggest beach towel in the house and wrapped him like a baby. Held him close until he was dry enough not to be dripping. He calmed enough to give me a loving pure. If it's not absolutely needed and for the love of cats. They bath them selves an lot better and safer than you.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
For all the bacon lovers
This month Dennys is celebrating bacon. Don't get me wrong I like bacon, in fact my Mama I nannied for 11 years ago would make sure she had bacon before asking me to do a date night babysit. There is an item on the menu that is taking the love of bacon too far. If bloggers photos where working I'd post a picture of what I saw. They have a Maple bacon sundae. I think it looks like a joke but it's on the menu and has it's own Facebook page. Anyone willing to try it needs to let me know. I thought if I did I'd have an instant heart attack.
Monday, March 28, 2011
It's not Tuesday but I'll tackle it anyhow
So if your a working Mom you know that tackling anything on a Tuesday wont happen. You tackle all the big tasks on Saturday or Sunday. This is my norm. Today and tomorrow Warren is in Florida at a Mortgage convention. This gives me a few days off of work. I have to be home to transport kids to school and from, as this is a daily job Warren usually does.
I originally thought of going somewhere but it's been so wet her I thought I'd make a to do list and just get it done. Isn't it nice to come home to a clean house when you've been on a trip?
Today's list of things to do will be done with the help or my 4 year old and 2 year old. Not really but they will definitely increase the work for me I'm sure.
First things first. I need to start up the slow cooker. In my meal I will include boneless thigh meat, black beans and diced onions. Tonight when it all is soft and pulls apart it will be the topping on a bed or tortilla chips and covered with shredded cheese.
Next my bed room will be spot less. New sheets, dusted furniture, vacuumed and clothing thinned out for good will,and my bathroom cleaned top to bottom This should be complete by lunch time. I'm thinking today is a Mac & Cheese day.
While the boys are napping I'm going to trim my shrubs in the front yard and clean up all the berries knocked of this giant messy bush in the front yard that have started there own compost looking stuff on my driveway. I don't think it's going to rain today.
When the boys get up we'll drop off the good will bags and pick up Joe from school. Stop at Walmart for a wall clock. We cancelled cable recently and keeping time without their box has become challenging. Come home for snacks and I'll clean the office/playroom and maybe the kitchen could use a deeper clean than daily.
Tomorrow if there is still no rain. The yard has been calling me. I'm ready to get my hands dirty again at watch my boys play in the dog water dish.
I originally thought of going somewhere but it's been so wet her I thought I'd make a to do list and just get it done. Isn't it nice to come home to a clean house when you've been on a trip?
Today's list of things to do will be done with the help or my 4 year old and 2 year old. Not really but they will definitely increase the work for me I'm sure.
First things first. I need to start up the slow cooker. In my meal I will include boneless thigh meat, black beans and diced onions. Tonight when it all is soft and pulls apart it will be the topping on a bed or tortilla chips and covered with shredded cheese.
Next my bed room will be spot less. New sheets, dusted furniture, vacuumed and clothing thinned out for good will,and my bathroom cleaned top to bottom This should be complete by lunch time. I'm thinking today is a Mac & Cheese day.
While the boys are napping I'm going to trim my shrubs in the front yard and clean up all the berries knocked of this giant messy bush in the front yard that have started there own compost looking stuff on my driveway. I don't think it's going to rain today.
When the boys get up we'll drop off the good will bags and pick up Joe from school. Stop at Walmart for a wall clock. We cancelled cable recently and keeping time without their box has become challenging. Come home for snacks and I'll clean the office/playroom and maybe the kitchen could use a deeper clean than daily.
Tomorrow if there is still no rain. The yard has been calling me. I'm ready to get my hands dirty again at watch my boys play in the dog water dish.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The snow trip
First for the record. I don't do snow. It's cold and wet and I hate it.
My daughter goes every year with her Dad. Perfect.....something I don't have to do. Well Joey is dying to go so I broke down and planned a trip. Nothing big. Just a couple hour drive to Arnold and home.
No! They were under emergency conditions. PG&E trucks everywhere. No place to play. I pull into The Arnold Meadowmont Lodge. Pam the clerk filled me in and said we could play in their back yard. She even called around to find us a place to stay. Between you and me I just wanted a place to warm up and take a nap before heading home. Pam opened up a heated bathroom for us to use and let the kids play. I recommend if your ever that way to give them your business. I have never had a business so nice to me knowing I would be giving them no payment. Here's their website. http://www.arnoldlodgeca.com/
Playing in her back yard was great. I could sit in the car with my butt warmer and watch the older kids play once the little ones decided they too had enough snow.
Then we went to the hotel. At this point I just wanted to relax,have a snack and warm up. We had a room in Murphy, CA. Seven miles down the hill from Arnold. Hardly any snow, and cute little downtown area. People are walking down the street with empty wine glasses. The town is a winery town and there are tasting rooms all over the downtown area. Not very kid friendly place. The hotel we stayed at was Murphy's Historic Hotel. http://www.murphyshotel.com/ It's an old historic hotel. Not kid friendly! The room was up stairs from a bar. Murphy's...........on Yelp it says is awesome after 9 and if you need a restroom there is another one up stairs. Well there is another bathroom up stairs. A bathroom that is communal to the guests staying in the rooms. Yes that means there is no bathroom in the room,as well as no heat or TV. OK there is a space heater that too looks historical and turns on and off when it can. Their parking lot is a block a away and our room is filthy. We have a double size bed for me and four of my kids. We had to lug our sleeping bags in. Oh and no carpet. Hardwood with a ugly,thin throw rug.
After getting settled we took a walk down the main street looking for food. All the restaurants look fun for couples or groups of adults complete with live music and wine. We choose the Sun China to eat at. No one is there. Perfect! Aft. We are seated promptly and she has pot stickers ordered and cooking while we review the menu. My family is use to ordering enough for left overs so it was hard for my kids to pick one thing to share. We ordered mu-shu pork, lemon chicken and pork friend rice and hot tea. The food comes quickly. The pot stickers have spinach, pork and mushrooms in them. Kind of weird. The lemon chicken tasted like chicken nuggets with lemon cake filling on it and the mu-shu pork was overly salty, our fried rice was fried rice with pork, no eggs or veggies. None the less my kids ate everything. No complaints. Go figure?
Back to the hotel around six o'clock. The kids have fun running up and down the halls to go to the restroom. I pick up a binder on the dresser and it says that the hotel is known for paranormal activity. Marysa knows exactly what this is. She's a huge fan of Ghost Hunters. Too bad for Joey since she filled him in. The poor baby was terrified.
The night was long. Lots of crying from all the kids. If I wasn't so tired and had more experience driving on icy roads I would have put them all in my car and left. After what seems like 5 hours I got the kids to sleep. Marysa and Joey in the bed and Sonny, Declan and my self on the floor. This is hands down the worst sleep of my life. Checking out the following morning the desk clerk asked how I slept. Dark rings under my eyes, kids with matching rings under their eyes I told her the hotel was awful and I would never be coming back.
We drove back to Arnold to find breakfast and snow to play in. We ate at a cute place called Bristol's. The place was filled with families. We were seat quickly near a window and got to see icicles right on the other side. Very cool for Joey who studied each one carefully. Our order was taken and then we waited for close to forty minutes. Sonny had to go potty five times while we waited. Declan danced in circles in an open space next to our table. The coffee was bad but my cup was always full. When breakfast came I felt like I was at Claim Jumpers. The portions were huge. The food was cooked well my kids ate until they looked like they would pop. It was a pretty good choice. I'd go back.
The parking lot had a huge field of snow. Marysa, Joey and Sonny attempted to make a snow man and played for a good hour. Declan would not go in the snow. He yelled NO SNOW. He and I played in the warm car. The kids were soaked. I had no change of cloths for Joey so he road home wrapped in a blanket and his shirt. Marysa had gone through all her pants so she wore my pants 15 times to big. Sonny slipped back in to his pajamas. I have to tell you the trip was outside of my motherly instinct. I packed and planned poorly.
Will I go back to the snow? Probably one day. Did I like my trip? NO!!!! I am still a snow hater.
My daughter goes every year with her Dad. Perfect.....something I don't have to do. Well Joey is dying to go so I broke down and planned a trip. Nothing big. Just a couple hour drive to Arnold and home.
No! They were under emergency conditions. PG&E trucks everywhere. No place to play. I pull into The Arnold Meadowmont Lodge. Pam the clerk filled me in and said we could play in their back yard. She even called around to find us a place to stay. Between you and me I just wanted a place to warm up and take a nap before heading home. Pam opened up a heated bathroom for us to use and let the kids play. I recommend if your ever that way to give them your business. I have never had a business so nice to me knowing I would be giving them no payment. Here's their website. http://www.arnoldlodgeca.com/
Playing in her back yard was great. I could sit in the car with my butt warmer and watch the older kids play once the little ones decided they too had enough snow.
Then we went to the hotel. At this point I just wanted to relax,have a snack and warm up. We had a room in Murphy, CA. Seven miles down the hill from Arnold. Hardly any snow, and cute little downtown area. People are walking down the street with empty wine glasses. The town is a winery town and there are tasting rooms all over the downtown area. Not very kid friendly place. The hotel we stayed at was Murphy's Historic Hotel. http://www.murphyshotel.com/ It's an old historic hotel. Not kid friendly! The room was up stairs from a bar. Murphy's...........on Yelp it says is awesome after 9 and if you need a restroom there is another one up stairs. Well there is another bathroom up stairs. A bathroom that is communal to the guests staying in the rooms. Yes that means there is no bathroom in the room,as well as no heat or TV. OK there is a space heater that too looks historical and turns on and off when it can. Their parking lot is a block a away and our room is filthy. We have a double size bed for me and four of my kids. We had to lug our sleeping bags in. Oh and no carpet. Hardwood with a ugly,thin throw rug.
After getting settled we took a walk down the main street looking for food. All the restaurants look fun for couples or groups of adults complete with live music and wine. We choose the Sun China to eat at. No one is there. Perfect! Aft. We are seated promptly and she has pot stickers ordered and cooking while we review the menu. My family is use to ordering enough for left overs so it was hard for my kids to pick one thing to share. We ordered mu-shu pork, lemon chicken and pork friend rice and hot tea. The food comes quickly. The pot stickers have spinach, pork and mushrooms in them. Kind of weird. The lemon chicken tasted like chicken nuggets with lemon cake filling on it and the mu-shu pork was overly salty, our fried rice was fried rice with pork, no eggs or veggies. None the less my kids ate everything. No complaints. Go figure?
Back to the hotel around six o'clock. The kids have fun running up and down the halls to go to the restroom. I pick up a binder on the dresser and it says that the hotel is known for paranormal activity. Marysa knows exactly what this is. She's a huge fan of Ghost Hunters. Too bad for Joey since she filled him in. The poor baby was terrified.
The night was long. Lots of crying from all the kids. If I wasn't so tired and had more experience driving on icy roads I would have put them all in my car and left. After what seems like 5 hours I got the kids to sleep. Marysa and Joey in the bed and Sonny, Declan and my self on the floor. This is hands down the worst sleep of my life. Checking out the following morning the desk clerk asked how I slept. Dark rings under my eyes, kids with matching rings under their eyes I told her the hotel was awful and I would never be coming back.
We drove back to Arnold to find breakfast and snow to play in. We ate at a cute place called Bristol's. The place was filled with families. We were seat quickly near a window and got to see icicles right on the other side. Very cool for Joey who studied each one carefully. Our order was taken and then we waited for close to forty minutes. Sonny had to go potty five times while we waited. Declan danced in circles in an open space next to our table. The coffee was bad but my cup was always full. When breakfast came I felt like I was at Claim Jumpers. The portions were huge. The food was cooked well my kids ate until they looked like they would pop. It was a pretty good choice. I'd go back.
The parking lot had a huge field of snow. Marysa, Joey and Sonny attempted to make a snow man and played for a good hour. Declan would not go in the snow. He yelled NO SNOW. He and I played in the warm car. The kids were soaked. I had no change of cloths for Joey so he road home wrapped in a blanket and his shirt. Marysa had gone through all her pants so she wore my pants 15 times to big. Sonny slipped back in to his pajamas. I have to tell you the trip was outside of my motherly instinct. I packed and planned poorly.
Will I go back to the snow? Probably one day. Did I like my trip? NO!!!! I am still a snow hater.
My Weight Loss Journal
3/27/2011
Small successes keep my spirits up and my motivation strong. I weighed in at 181 today. Yay Me! This week I put a pair of size 12 jeans on and wore them comfortably all week. The rain made it impossible to work in my garden so this week I spent 20 minutes of my lunch doing laps down the long halls of my office building. I treated myself toSalt and Pepper Pop chips on Friday. I'm feeling good.
Pictures again next week.
Small successes keep my spirits up and my motivation strong. I weighed in at 181 today. Yay Me! This week I put a pair of size 12 jeans on and wore them comfortably all week. The rain made it impossible to work in my garden so this week I spent 20 minutes of my lunch doing laps down the long halls of my office building. I treated myself toSalt and Pepper Pop chips on Friday. I'm feeling good.
Pictures again next week.
Monday, March 21, 2011
My Weight Loss Journal
3/21/2011
I know everyone wants to loose weight. My story is this I have layers of issues in my back that cause chronic pain. I have been told if I loose weight it will help with my pain. The issues in my back may never leave me pain free but there are things I can do to lessen it. If loosing weight means that I can go to the grocery store, help at my kids sporting events, ride my bike, play at the park and go on vacations like camping and Disneyland I'm going to do it. I am still happy with My Fitness Pal app on my droid. It's easy to use. I weigh my self daily using my Wii Fit. I have a log of what I'm eating stored in the app. Even if my calories are perfect there are some foods that I choose not to eat as often because I notice I may be fluctuating my weight in the wrong direction.
With my back issues I am limited to what I can do as far as exercise. It has to be low impact and not in the sitting position. I walk and I garden, not lifting anything over 15 pounds. I also have a set of exercises I do laying down to improve my core muscle strength.
My progress is improving my self esteem and I can see the changing in the way I look. I'm not feeling pain relief yet but that takes time.
I hope my journal can help someone else who struggles with pain or weight.
So this is me today 5'10" 183 pounds.
I know everyone wants to loose weight. My story is this I have layers of issues in my back that cause chronic pain. I have been told if I loose weight it will help with my pain. The issues in my back may never leave me pain free but there are things I can do to lessen it. If loosing weight means that I can go to the grocery store, help at my kids sporting events, ride my bike, play at the park and go on vacations like camping and Disneyland I'm going to do it. I am still happy with My Fitness Pal app on my droid. It's easy to use. I weigh my self daily using my Wii Fit. I have a log of what I'm eating stored in the app. Even if my calories are perfect there are some foods that I choose not to eat as often because I notice I may be fluctuating my weight in the wrong direction.
With my back issues I am limited to what I can do as far as exercise. It has to be low impact and not in the sitting position. I walk and I garden, not lifting anything over 15 pounds. I also have a set of exercises I do laying down to improve my core muscle strength.
My progress is improving my self esteem and I can see the changing in the way I look. I'm not feeling pain relief yet but that takes time.
I hope my journal can help someone else who struggles with pain or weight.
So this is me today 5'10" 183 pounds.
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