Mommy and Sweet Pea

The majority of new parents are not aware of the many benefits and the ease of use of modern cloth diapers. For this post, I've tried to condense my ideas down into three main points about the differences between cloth and disposables: cost, disposal of wastes, and the environment/health. Warning: this post is one-sided because I have never used disposables and they are not appealing to me to try out. But, I have done my research! Cost: For $350-$450, you can get set up with a great stash of enough cloth diapers to last you from birth until potty training. Yes, you can spend more than that, but you can also spend less. I have read of some people who went as simple as possible and bought mostly used and diapered a baby for around $100. Compare that to disposables, where you'll be typically spending at least $1000 (based on buying store brand and only changing 6-8 diapers per day), some estimate as high as $3000, depending on how many you use in a day and what kind you buy. A

I just got back from a few days on vacation, and am about to start a couple of weeks of substitute teaching, so my blog has and probably will continue to suffer from my current non-Stay-at-Home-Mom status. It's not that I don't have ideas for things to write about, but I am having a hard time finding the time to write new posts, beyond a paragraph or so. One idea that I have had for a while I am going to actually crank out tonight! Blogging on a Friday night -- my life is so exciting. Buying in bulk is a great way to save money and to be green. Greater quantities usually are cheaper by unit (although check the price tags to be sure), and use less packaging. Some items that we have bought in bulk recently include: Hand soap for the kitchen, where I really like to have a hand-pump style soap dispenser. We bought a large bag of it to re-fill the dispenser that had run out. We got five times the amount of soap for only twice the cost of a regular container of soap.  Trail mix f

You may have noticed that my About Me section over on the side mentions my 11-month-old baby. Eleven months old is almost a year. So, we have a first birthday party to plan. I need ideas. Should we do games? Should I ask people to write a letter to Sweet Pea? What kind of food should I have? All that I have planned so far is for carrot cake cupcakes and only used, hand-made, or re-gifted presents. I want this to be a fun event for our family, low-pressure for me, and have some nice pictures for Sweet Pea to look back on. Which reminds me, I am also debating about doing professional 1-year-old photos, like from a real professional photographer, not a department store. I am talking art quality photos for us to blow up large and hang on the wall. This seems to be quite expensive. Ideas? Please?

I got my first blog award! Thanks for passing this on to me, Abby ! When you get the award, you’re supposed to reveal seven things about yourself, then pass it on to seven other bloggers. Seven things you might not know about me: I played volleyball in high school and I still love it My biggest weaknesses are dessert and TV I gave birth in my dining room I don't like tomatoes I graduated from the "Honors College" at my university My husband and I met when we were 18 I spent 6 months living in Spain and traveling in Europe And the seven creative, informing, inspiring, and entertaining bloggers I am choosing to share this award with are: Samantha at Mama Notes Kim Rosas at Dirty Diaper Laundry Emi at the Cloth Diaper Report Carly at The Less Than Domestic Goddess Melissa at Ethan's Page Hellcat Betty Andréa

I have been reading about amber teething necklaces for months, and finally decided to buy one this past week when Sweet Pea started drooling gallons again. She already has 8 teeth, and teething pains and symptoms seem to come and go for her, so I thought I might as well go ahead and get her a necklace, and whether it helps or not, it will be pretty! Oh boy, first piece of jewelry for my little girl! Amber is supposed to have a natural soothing effect, through the tiny amounts of succinic acid in the oil from the amber that get absorbed by your skin -- not by the child actually chewing on it. The Baltic amber is supposed to be best for this, and the lighter the color the better. You can read more about it on one of the many websites dedicated to information and sales of these necklaces. I'm not sure if I believe in it yet, but I am willing to give it a try. I got this twelve-inch strand from Inspired by Finn on Hyenacart. It's is a European traditional teething soother that

Random.org chose the number 19, so Maura, with comment number 19, is the winner of the blue Woollybottoms! Congratulations! Maura said... "I'd love to win these. We're adopting an infant in the next few months (universe willing, of course) and I'm trying to start a collection of natural baby things!" Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway. I have another one with a different product tentatively planned for a few weeks from now, so stay tuned!

When we bought our home last year, one of the items on the inspection that we didn't request for the previous home-owner to complete was screening the fireplace. The chimney also needed to be cleaned and a new topper put on the top. We are now one step closer to being able to use our fireplace, and we also have a barrier to keep Sweet Pea from climbing into it! I am so glad that it no longer looks like a big sooty hole in our living room. We also recently installed a wall mount for our TV so our living room is definitely looking more put-together these days. We decided on a glass door system after browsing around and deciding that Sweet Pea would just pull down any screen that wasn't fully attached to the fireplace, and we have a smallish living room so we didn't want to totally baby-gate off the fireplace area. A door seemed the safest and most attractive way to go. However, doors can cost as much as $1400, which was not really in our budget for the month. We asked a sal

Here are a few of the messes that my sweet baby has made in the house this week. Clearly, she has continued with the " emptying everything " phase. Although she has on occasion begun filling things, too. Today she put a big tape measure in the diaper bag. I found it when we were at a restaurant. The other day she put the mixer blades in the oven drawer and I felt slightly crazy when I was trying to clean up the kitchen and they seemed to have disappeared. We now have child safety devices on our kitchen cupboards so she can't do that anymore, which she finds very frustrating. Sometimes I think I spend half my day cleaning up Sweet Pea's messes, but she has such fun making them, and I know this phase won't last forever. The one certainty in life is that time will pass and things will change. I was just looking through my photos and found what I looked like one year ago. Unbelievable.

I am hosting my first giveaway! I have been wanting to do this for a while, and I'm so pleased to have it finally planned. The item I chose to give is a new pair of Woollybottoms - wool pants for babies. The retail value of these is $29.00. I have been really into the wool pants thing lately, as you may have noticed from my recent posts (about Nifty Knickers , and my baby blue longies ) so this seems like a good fit. Wool pants can be used as a cloth diaper cover, or just as snuggly warm pants for the winter or for bedtime. These ones are "footies" so they should keep your baby toasty! The pair I am giving to one lucky winner is light blue with fish fabric for the footie part. Maybe a little more boyish than girlie, but Stella would definitely wear these if we got to keep them. They are size medium, and have the following measurements: 8" waist (elastic) 9" rise 18" length Here they are: To enter, simply comment below and let me know why you wan

We finally bought a bicycle trailer to tow Sweet Pea. We chose the deluxe model, since we plan to use it a lot and for a long time. The one we got, the Chariot Cougar, has room and seat buckles for two children, a spot to stow gear that perfectly fits my new diaper bag , and can convert to a jogger or to be used with cross-country skis. So far, we have taken Sweet Pea in it twice, and she has been happy both times! Average, who works in a bicycle shop, says that it's rare for a baby to take to riding in a trailer the first time so we really think we are lucky. She looks quite comfortable back there rolling along, playing with a toy or drinking a bottle of water. Of course, she got a helmet, too, and she likes it so much that she just wants to wear it around the house sometimes. Average usually commutes to work by bicycle, but I have only been on my bike a few times since I was pregnant. These first rides as a family felt so good I can't wait to do it again! The fresh air, t