Look out World!!

Here come's Luke!!  He is officially crawling and pushing himself up to sitting.  Pretty much - he can get wherever he wants!  He's so happy with himself, too.  You GO big guy!!  Mommy's super proud of you!

BumGenius!

I'm writing today to tell you of my LOVE for my Bum Genius cloth diapers.  Here's our love story:

Hangin' in the breeze!  The sun naturally whitens!

When I had my first child, cloth diapers weren't even on my radar, until my friends, Brian and Chala, had their son.  They decided to do the cloth diaper thing, and honestly... I thought they were CRAZY!  I asked them if they were using a diaper service.  No?!  I had NO idea what modern cloth diapers were like.  But, I did think, "Good for them, helping the environment.  But it's not for me!"

Great for snuggle time!

Skip ahead to when my second child was born.  My neighbor, Jen, did the cloth thing, and let me borrow a few of hers.  She had these funny-named "Bum Genius" diapers.  I found out later that they were the original BG (Bum Genius) AIOs (all-in-ones).  I decided to go ahead and try them out, and do some heavy Internet research on cloth.  While I DID love the AIOs, I only had 2, so I was still using lots and lots and LOTS of disposables.  Then, when Laney grew out of that size, I was done.  It did prompt me to try another brand, too - gDiapers.  They were okay, but there were so many parts to them, and again - I only had 2.  I found out that the size of your stash is very important!

Cloth doesn't slow Luke down!

Luke showing off his BGs to his buddy, Benji

Now let's move on to my third child (who is currently 7 1/2 months old).  I knew when I was pregnant with him that I wanted to do cloth - but REALLY do it.  So, I registered for some gDiapers (I still thought the hybrid would be a good transition), and some Bum Genius 3.0 pocket diapers.  These BGs seemed to be better than the original ones I had - I thought they'd be easier to clean, quicker to dry, and they are adjustable with snaps to fit babies from 8-35 lbs!  Yeah money saver!!!  And - I was absolutely right!!!

Chillin' in my 3.0s

I started out using the gDiapers because no one bought me the BGs.  I honestly don't think people thought I could do it, or would stick to it.  But, I did get some gDiapers at my shower, and even convinced my sister-in-law to try them.  While the concept is great - a hybrid diaper that is washable on the outside, but can be used with either cloth inserts or biodegradable disposable inserts - they LEAKED!!  I looked up what I must be doing wrong online, and all everyone said is that I needed to change him more often.  Well, I changed him every 2 hours or so, and STILL his outfits were constantly wet.  So - scratch that idea!!

I was determined to do cloth!!  My mother-in-law sent me 2 BG 3.0s in the mail, and I tried them out using the newborn insert and an extra liner at night.  My Luke-ster was a heavy nighttime wetter.  THEY ROCKED!  Not only are they just about the nicest looking little diapers, they contain pee and poop better than any disposable I have ever used.  Since there is elastic around the waist of the diaper, you don't get the poop that shoots up the back onto the baby's head (that happened more than a few times with the girls in their 'sposies (disposable diapers).)  And they are very absorbent. 

How cute am I?

Now, many people think that cloth diapers are time-consuming, and harder to use than 'sposies.  Yes, I do a load of laundry every other day that I wasn't doing before - big deal.  It's not hard!  Just as easy (but more pleasant) than taking out a bag full of nasty poop-filled 'sposies! Here's a link to the washing instructions that Cotton Babies (the makers of Bum Genius, Flip and Econobum diapers) approves of for the Bum Genius diapers: http://www.cottonbabies.com/clothdiapers.php#detergent 

After falling in love with the 2 dipes that my MIL sent, I decided that this was the diaper for me! - well for Luke, anyway!  So I ordered 4 more.  And then 3 more.  :)

Thanks for the stash, Mommy!

It didn't take long, and then Cotton Babies revealed their brand new, updated BG diaper - the 4.0!  Now, my favorite diapers come with snap closures!!  My love has grown!  So, I ordered 3 more!!!  I hear they are working on some new colors, and possibly some prints, so I'm sure I'll order another 3 pack and really round out my stash. :) 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Luke's diapers.  I have been using disposables when we go out of town to visit Jerry's parents, but I think I will try to do cloth the next time.  Wet bags are a MUST when out and about.  You just put the dirty/wet diaper in there, zip it up, and wash it with the rest of your diapers at home.  No biggie!  And I don't have to search for a trash can that is "approved" for stinkiness!

Here are some benefits to using cloth:

• 
  
  Better for the environment
• 
  
  WAY cuter
• 
  
  Less instances of diaper rash
• 
  
  No running out to the store in the middle of the night to get yet another pack of diapers
• 
  
  Cheaper in the long run
• 
  
  Can use through multiple children - darn that I didn't catch on until my 3rd!!
• 
  
  No stinky trash cans - or worse - Diaper Genies! Bleh!
• 
  
  No chemicals on your babies bum

I know there are many more pluses, and you can find them on the Cotton Babies website: http://www.cottonbabies.com/clothdiapers.php

So, while it was not love at first sight, it's a stronger, long-term type of love.  And it has prompted me to become more environmentally conscious in general.  I'm trying to use less disposable everything! 

I love you, Bum Genius!!

My 4.0s with SNAPS!

By the way: my husband, mother, and father have NO problem using the cloth, either, and my daughters help me hang them on the line to dry.  It's so NOT complicated - and SO worth it!  If you've got a little diapered bottom in your home, give it a try.  You won't regret it!

A Day of Firsts!

Today was chock-full of firsts.

• Bella's first day of Pre-K
• Laney's first day wearing big girl panties on an outing (we made it for a couple of hours!)
• Luke's first deliberate, if wet and sloppy, KISS!  (Is there anything better?)
• Bella's first pop - she had a Sprite with her celebratory Happy Meal today.
• First run-away dog in our house - Her name was Shay
• Laney's first backpack

I'll post pics of the first day of school after Laney has hers, too.  But for now - here's our new friend, Shay - who lives across the big street behind us:

A Place for Everything, and Everything in it's Place!

So, a while back, I mentioned something about PROMing the desk in the kitchen.  The cabinet above the desk was virtually useless, except to throw the things that we didn't want the kids to reach.  Meanwhile, my cookbooks were shoved in a kitchen drawer, and NEVER, I repeat, NEVER looked at, let alone USED!  Such a waste!  So, here's my result... it may seem a bit random to anyone else, but it's what works for our family's needs.  And I'm sure it will change throughout the years as our needs change.  By the way, we threw away dozens of candles we had stowed in there.  We rarely light a candle, because we have little people who aren't quite old enough to know that fire is not fun.

Before now I would never have let anyone else look in this cabinet!

Hair accessories easily accessible to adults but not kids on top, coffee table books we can't bring ourselves to get ride of in the middle, along with the charging cord for the camcorder, cookbooks and binders with kids school and activities info in them on the bottom.

Tea lights in container on top (these I still use at holiday time), more coffee table books, heavy duty flashlight, stapler, and checks in middle, lotions, smelly-good sprays, and files on bottom.  We have files for kids school work, bills, coupons, things to file in the BIG file cabinet, etc - mostly mail organization.

On each door I attached a magnetic white board.  On this one I have our meal plan for the week (not completed, I know - I'm far from perfect!), the Daily 7 list, and some inspiration for me.  On the other side, I post random things I need - invitations, papers to send to school, etc.

Palmer Labor Day

We may not play well, but DANG we look good!

We had a fun-packed weekend in my hubby's home town of Palmer, KS!  Jerry played softball in their Labor Day tourney.  They lost... twice. I have successfully gotten out of playing on the co-ed team every year since I've been going (I think we're up to 9 years?).  So now, I'm the team mom. I even decorated team koozies for the players. :) 

The girls spent the weekend playing with their cousin, aunt and "Taka".  Lots of outdoor play for them and LOTS of dirt!  The result was two extremely exhausted little girls. 

Luke was pretty much toted about to different people all weekend long.  Aunt Tess really seemed to enjoy getting her snuggle time in with him.  He also started to crawl this weekend and can get from a crawling position to sitting (well, he did that once... on accident). 

We love when we can make it back to Palmer for Labor Day weekend.  It's always lots of fun to catch up with family and Jerry's old friends - and some new.  I'm a suburban girl, myself, but I'm getting used to the small town thing more and more.  This does NOT mean that I want to live in a small town, mind you.  But I don't mind visiting.  I really missed my phone having reliable service.  We did find that our GPS is worth squat when we get out in the country.  Hmmm... that's where I need it the most!  Good thing Jerry always knows where he's going!

Monday, we had fun at the quarter carnival "downtown" - do they even call it that?  Probably not.  The girls won enough tickets to buy them each a Barbie, and Luke some balls to play with in the bathtub. 

THE END

I need a break after our "vacation".  LOL  Isn't that always the way? No rest for the weary, however.  Have a meeting today, then getting rid of some clutter, and home to get the house back in order after the contents of our van threw up in our living room.