We are going to a birthday party right now, in a couple of minutes. I just have a quick thing to say. We are going to have lots of lots of fun at the birthday party. The birthday party is going to be fun. It’s for my cousin, Kendall. We will probably eat cake and talk and watch tv and lots of stuff. And I will have lots of fun till the end. Well, I don’t have much time so see you later.
Bye, Bye!
moo to you love mmk.
wow you are a star.
a said to y you are so far away.
(Last three lines typed by M)
[The rest dictated to AEK]
How I love birthday parties by Miss M
March 5, 2011 1 Comment
Here She Comes To Save the Day!
March 2, 2011 1 Comment
Cloth Diaper Girl & Her Trusty Sidekick…
Peanut Butter Face!
Yes, those are cloth diapers on her feet and a changing pad on her head. All her idea. Peanut Butter face photo compliments of our superhero, Miss M.
A Letter to Caley, a new mom, or, Beware of…
March 1, 2011 2 Comments
One week ago, my awesome niece, Caley, gave birth to her first child. Beautiful “J.S.” was born at a bouncing 10 lbs 2 ozs and 19 inches long. She has a ton of hair and already has all of us wrapped around her tiny fingers.
In anticipation of Caley becoming a mom, I asked my facebook and twitter friends what words of advice they would provide to a new parent and/or what they would have done differently. The following contains their words and for that I am grateful.
Dear Caley,
Well, you have now survived the first out of hopefully a multitude of weeks with your new baby girl. It is an amazingly tiring thing, isn’t it? You are now somebody’s mom. You will hold this title for the rest of your life. It is a job that never ends. I remember thinking as we were leaving the hospital with Miss M., What? They are just going to let us have her now? Am I ready for all of this? The answer is no, you are never truly ready. No matter how old you are or how many babies you have cared for. Not until you have your own do you truly understand this.
I know that you are getting and will get a ton of advice right now. That will not stop. You will learn to take what you need and just nod politely and ignore those that you don’t. I wanted to use my blog as way of sharing some of my own advice and that of some my friends with not just you but also any new mom that may stumble upon this little corner of the internet. So here it goes.
- Don’t give up on breastfeeding, it can take a good month to get into a rhythm. It is well worth it! (HM)
- Swaddling blankets are your friend. (JJ)
- Enjoy every moment. It goes by so fast, it is unreal. (JJ) (MB)
- Nap when baby naps. Housework can wait. (JJ)
- Invest in a good baby carrier like mint wrap or sleepy wrap. They help with bonding and also freeing up your hands to get other things done. (JJ)
- No such thing as spoiling a baby. (JJ)
- If someone offers to help, take it. (SB)
- Take lots of pictures. (SB)
- Relax. (MP) (MB)
- “Never forget you know your child better than anyone else.” (MM)
- “You’ll make mistakes; forgive yourself for them and start every day fresh.” (MM)
- “Every day every moment is an opportunity to make a memory.” (MM)
- “Beware of explosive pooping.” (MM)
- “Trust your instincts as a mom and not worry so much about what the ‘experts’ say should happen.” (JB)
- “They won’t go to kindergarten nursing every two hours.” (JB)
- Take lots of walks as the weather gets warmer. (CD)
- “Work as a team.” (CD)
- “Write down everything they say and do…otherwise time goes by so fast you forget.” (CD)
- “It’s tiring but well worth it.” (CD)
- “Trust yourself.” (HS)
- “Never wake a sleeping baby.” (HS)
- Everything will be okay.
The greatest thing that I have learned as a parent is that it is okay to walk away and give yourself a time out once in a while. You need this and deserve it.
I am so proud to be your Aunt. I love you and Bryan so much and wish nothing but the best for you all. Remember I am only a phone call away.
With Love,
Angie
PS. If you are curious, the letters after the bullet points are the initials of those who provided me with the advice. My small way of providing credit where credit is due.
$100 Grocery Gift Card Giveaway on Facebook!
February 25, 2011 Leave a Comment
Earlier this week, I reviewed CuteyBaby’s latest cloth diaper “It’s a Wrap!” Recently, I received an email from CuteyBaby notifying me that they are currently running a giveaway on their Facebook page for a $100 grocery gift card!
Anyone can enter this giveaway! Do you eat food? Do you have one of these stores in your area: Albertsons, Jewel, Acme, Farm Fresh, Savon or Cub Foods? If you said YES! to both of these questions than you can enter!
Here’s what you need to do to enter:
- Go to Cutey Baby’s Facebook Page and “Like” them.
- Enter their sweepstakes by filling out the form here.
The giveaway ends Monday, February 28th. So enter NOW!
Good Luck!
I received an email detailing about this giveaway but I was in no way compensated to promote said giveaway. It is just a great giveaway that I wanted to share.
Our Little Reader
February 23, 2011 2 Comments
Sitting in her sister’s chair, reading her sister’s book, wearing her
“little sister” shirt.
Review of That’s A Wrap! Cloth Diaper
February 22, 2011 3 Comments
I have been cloth diapering Little C for about 20 months now and love it! It is such a normal part of our everyday routine that I don’t even think of it as being “different.” In fact, when I see a toddler at the library or gym class and their disposable is sticking out, I think to myself, “that’s odd, they don’t use cloth.”
I have always thought that if more people got to see an actual modern cloth diaper (and no, it doesn’t require pins and rubber pants) their minds would be opened. I was excited to then learn that a cloth diaper company was going to begin selling one type of their diapers in select grocery stores. What a great way to showcase the product and perhaps make people think twice about that disposable diaper they were about to purchase.
That company is Cutey Baby and that particular diaper is That’s a Wrap! I was given the great opportunity to review this diaper and see how it fits and wears on Little C. When I first received the product, which included the diaper cover, two inserts and a roll of disposable liners, I was impressed with the color and cuteness of the cover. It is a vibrant pink and white checkerboard pattern with the label “Cutey Baby” sewn on the back of the baby’s diaper as seen here:
The front has a velcro enclosure and the inserts sit inside the cover. The inserts lay securely within the lining of the cover. This is nice for those times that the insert is the only thing that is soiled and the cover is still dry. Then you can simply take out the insert to be washed and put in a new one and reuse the cover. Here is a view of the front:
Another plus with this type of diaper is the leg gussets. This helps to keep all that yucky stuff off of your baby’s clothes. It really helps to ensure a tight fit (but not so tight that it leaves marks) in those important areas, as shown here:
Besides the diaper cover and insert, I also received a roll of their disposable liners. Before trying these I was never a big fan of liners because they would always bunch up and not really do the job for me. These liners have changed my opinion. They work well at containing the messes so that all you have to do is dump it in the toilet with the mess and flush. I have also used them when I need to put diaper rash cream on my child and I don’t want the residue to get on my diaper. Overall, these work great!
The only negative thing I have to say about this diaper concerns the velcro enclosure. Don’t get me wrong, it does it’s job in holding the diaper secure around the child. My problem is when it is time to wash the diaper. There is nowhere for the velcro to adhere to without it becoming a huge diaper chain with the other diapers in my wash! I guess you could wash the diaper with it remaining fully fastened as shown above, but I like to have mine open to make sure the water gets to where it needs to in order to fully clean the diaper.
Overall, I definitely recommend this diaper! It does the job and offers a lot of neat features for an item that you wouldn’t normally find at your local grocery store. I highly encourage you to check them out and perhaps pick some up whenever you at your local Jewel/Albertson stores. If there is not a store in your area, they are also available on Amazon.
Disclaimer: I received this diaper plus disposable liners at no cost, but it in no way shaped or influenced my review. All opinions are strictly my own and your results may be different upon using this product.
Friday Laugh
February 18, 2011 2 Comments
A couple of days ago, the girls, as usual, had gone up to Miss M’s room after lunch. They miss each other after M has been at school all morning so I just let them be. At some point M usually calls for me to get Little C out of her room so that she (M) can have some “alone time.” In other words, M has grown tired of little sister touching her stuff.
Well, on this particular day the girls were playing a little too long with no one calling for me, so I went to check. When I came upon Miss M’s room, I first noticed the door was closed. Then I opened the door and this is what I saw:
You never know what you are going to find behind closed doors around here.
How Much Snow We Got by Miss M
February 17, 2011 1 Comment
How much snow we got was about 40 feet. It was a lot of snow! I went sledding. You should’ve seen our front lawn. It was so so cool to see lots of snow! I love lots of snow and I made a snow angel too. When I got inside, C was watching Elmo. I drank lots of hot chocolate with maybe 5 or 7 marshmallows.
The snow is starting to melt now at our place. We got lots of areas that are empty of snow. That’s it.
[Dictated to AEK by Miss M – age 6]
[Editor’s note: we did not get 40 feet of snow, but it was a lot!]
Don’t Mind the Girl w/the Screwdriver and the Dick Clark Record.
February 16, 2011 1 Comment
She’s just taking apart a very old computer….
all the while spinning some tunes.
How I love to play in the snow by Miss M
February 16, 2011 Leave a Comment
I love to play in the snow because it is so fun! On the weekend, I spent time with my daddy and go outside and I made snow angels and sometimes I do sledding and sometimes I get hot chocolate! I also love my baby sister! She is so cool. And she loves to go on my bed.
My best friend at school is Brodey. I like to play with him. I also like to play with the boys. At art, I get to free draw after I am done with my art project. We usually sign things to go to birthday parties. And I also like to play with my friend Brian and Abby and Beth. Abby and Beth are twins. And Skyler and Chase are twins.
That’s it.
[Dictated to AEK by Miss M – age 6]