Pre-Thanksgiving sale

Ecobuns is having a Pre-Thanksgiving sale! Tue the 23rd and Wed the 24th. 15% off storewide online and in store check them out! They carry cloth diapers and more! This is a local store to me, that I visit quite often. I absolutely love this store! Check out all that they have to offer.

Click HERE to shop

Momma Bears

Mom's are strong, yet sensitive creatures.

It's the reason I got so many tips and advice from complete strangers when I was pregnant. It's the reason I continue to get tips and advice from complete strangers now that my baby is...well....a baby!

As moms, we want to believe that what we are doing is the best for our babies. We don't like to be questioned. When someone asks our opinion, we are going to give it, and we are not going to like any other opinions that differs from ours.

Take the recent uproar from the cloth diaper community when they felt attacked by the Early show. It was a little crazy how many comments this poor woman got personally attacking her.

I recently posted a link to a post that you may recognize advising guys on what do when a woman breastfeeds in front of them. The personal attacks on my facebook were totally uncalled for!

I will never judge another mother on how to raise their child. (As long as there is no abuse going on, then I will have to step in.)

There is a time and a place for formula, disposable diapers, and strollers. But like all other moms, I think I have found some great ideas, products, resources, etc. I won't look down on anyone for not seeing the same way I do.

Mom's put their whole heart and soul into raising their children. We need to stand besides each other, building each other up!

Whatever you decide, you are doing the best for your child!! Keep up the good work momma!!

Today's challenge, find one mom today to tell that you think is doing a great job! Send her an e-mail, a short letter, or better yet, a phone call. Let's spread some positive around!

Star blog on Bassigiraffe's thoughts

I was chosen as the star blog this week! Yay! Check out the link!

Adventures in Baby Food making: Squash

Today my sister, baby A, and I made a trip down to the local Farmer's Market. It was super windy, so there weren't many vendors there, but we still got plenty of yummy food to make for baby A.




We had such a great time preparing everything!



















I love this picture! Baby A is really showing signs of being ready for food!!











When all was said and done, we had made 1/2 bag of rice for rice cereal(I had no clue that you could actually make this!), one acorn squash, two butternut squash, a pie pumpkin, and two rutabagas. (Seriously, thanks to my sister for suggesting this while at the Farmer's Market. I would have never thought of that being a baby food!)

We had a great time! I can't wait to see how baby A likes it all. We made a ton, and I'm working on freezing it all now. I'm putting into ice cube trays and then storing them in freezer bags. I hope baby A likes squash!

Up next, green veggies! (green beans? peas? Who knows. I'll just have to see what looks good at the grocery store. I should have done these this summer when they were in season. Oh well. Live and learn) :)

Halloween with a baby carrier

This year is my little man's first halloween. I have a thing for themes, so I wanted hubs, baby and I to match. Baby is going to be a monkey. I thought about us going as zoo keepers. But then I thought, WAIT! I have a Moby wrap! I decided to be a tree. If only I could convince my husband to be a banana.

So I started browsing the internet, and I found tons of cute ideas for costumes and wraps! Here are my favorites!

-pretty peacock
-Totwheels
-Dad as football player, baby as football, mom as cheerleader.
-Bee on a giant flower
-Spider on a web
-Farmer with a baby chick hatching
-kangaroo


Here is a list of other costumes that are simple to make. Super great for the last minute mom. :)

I'll see how it goes tomorrow on my hunt to find things to make my tree costume. I'll have to figure out what to do with my husband. There are so super cute ideas out there?

Are you using your baby carrier as part of your costume? Or a theme for your family? I want to know!

To line dry, or not to line dry.

I have a "co-worker" that is always negative. Let's call her Negative Nancy. No matter what you say, she will find a negative in it. I say "I love my new neighbors. They made us cookies" Nancy says, "I hate my neighbors. They are plotting against me. I baked them cookies, and no one said thank you."

*sigh*

The latest negative?

Me, "I had such a great day today! I took baby outside for a walk in the morning, I pushed him in his swing, and spent the whole day outside while diapers were drying."

Nancy, "Line drying is so nasty. Why would you expose your child to that!?!"

So it got me thinking. (I find it's best just not to respond to someone who always thinks the are right.)

I sat there and thought. Are there really people who think that line drying is gross? Who are these people? What do they believe in? And really, is line drying gross.

Let's look at the pros and cons. I did some research online and took my own common sense. :) Here's what I came up with.

Pros:

1. Saving electricity. It was a rule in my house growing up that if we wanted to run the air during the summer, we had to hang our clothes out on the line to offset the cost.

2. Extra exercise. Walking the clothes out, bending and stretching. It's all good for the body. Every little bit helps to burn off that baby fat.

3. Safer. You never have to worry about the clothesline catching on fire because you forgot to empty the lint trap. (You should never leave the house while your dryer is running! Huge fire risk)

4. Disinfectant and stain remover. Ultraviolet light from the sun disinfects, and takes stains right out! I didn't really believe this one until I had a really bad stained diaper that didn't have a stain on it after being out in the sun for two hours!

5. It can help clean up the air inside of your house! See here for more info. (It's tip H)

6. Better on your clothes. The fabric holds up longer. Dryer lint is a thin layer that has been sheared from your clothes. The high heat can also create havoc on clothes. The perfect jeans can end up in the back of the closet until you lose another twenty pounds.

7. Encourages you to only have attractive delicates/undergarments.

8. Smells great! I love the smell of freshly laundered, line dried sheets!

*What other pros can you think of?*

Cons:

1. Bugs. Potential for bugs (and birds) to linger and/or leave you a reminder of their visit.

2. Takes more time to walk outside and hang the clothes up. (oh boo whoo. This should be removed as a con. Exercise is good for you)

3. There may be rules/regulations in your community.

4. If you need an item right away, you are out of luck.

*What other cons can you think of?*

I want to know your opinion. What do you think?

To line dry, or not to line dry?

That is the question.

Baby needs Daddy

I am a stay at home Mom. The way I see it, the only job I have is to raise my son and take care of my house. My son had a mild case of Torticollis and Plagiocephaly. Thankfully, both were mild, and reversible with physical therapy.

I left a career as a Brain Injury Specialist working as a therapy assistant to be a stay at home mom. I worked with the therapist and followed the home program to a T. (And then some) Baby A made great advances at every session and we were able to stop therapy early, and ended up not needing a helmet.

Yay Mommy.

But then there is Daddy. My husband works 40-60 hours a week. Plus the drive to and from work. He is an amazing dad and an even better husband. He is gone most of the time that Baby A is up, so he makes the most of the time that he has.

The Rattle

I worked for weeks to get baby A to take a rattle in his hand. I even made a special trip to the store to buy some different ones that I thought he would take to. It wasn't too successful. Baby A would hold on for about three seconds before dropping it. I tried and tried and tried.

Then one evening while I was making dinner, I looked over at my husband and son playing. There was my son WAVING a rattle around. Up, down and all around! I was shocked!

"How did you do that?!?!" I yelled.

"I just gave it to him," my husband shrugged.

Sitting unsupported

Since we stopped therapy, I have been working overtime to meet baby A's goals. The current one is sitting unsupported. He has got the prop sit down, but is still working on his balance. I spent ALL DAY today working with him. I have been working with him for a while on it, but it's coming down to crunch time. Before I can get his six month pictures taken, he must be able to sit unsupported. (A selfish reason, yes. But it is the next thing we are supposed to be working on.)

Tonight, while I was cleaning up dinner, I looked over at my husband and son, there they sat. Both of them. Baby A sitting unsupported waving his arms around! I just stood there, jaw dropped!

Conclusion:

My baby is going to be a Daddy's boy. The little stinker just wants to show off for Daddy.