Oh, hey there!

Oh hey there everyone! It feels like forever since I last blogged. Well it has been 4 months! I'm finally falling into the routine of juggling the new job, Boy Scouts, PTO, civic engagements, and life in general, so look out!  I have a ton to share with you from the past 4 months, and will start unloading it all to you next week, so stay tuned!

Ch-Ch-Changes

Change is about to happen in our household! Mama is changing jobs!

This is a huge opportunity for myself and our family.  I will have to drive 25 miles each way to work every day, but I will also have the opportunity to work from home once a week or so. It is quite a jump in pay too!

We plan to move closer to the town where I will be working, as Chris works there also. So now we are fixing our house up to get it on the market!

Exciting times in our house right now and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Anxiety, ADHD, and My Son: June Update

It's been two months since we had an update about Carson and his emotional struggles. He's been on medication for the anxiety since January, and the ADHD since the beginning April.  We've noticed a difference. We notice in the evenings when his medicine has worn off, we notice days that he hasn't taken it. For us, for him, medication is necessary, but that's another post in itself.

Carson has done well on medication. He is able to sit and pay attention to a task, he doesn't bite his fingernails until they bleed anymore. His emotions are more stable. Being out of school, we have noticed a slight change in his behavior. He smiles more. He wants to hug us more. He seems more relaxed. It is a very welcome change from where we were a few weeks ago, and especially from where we were a few months ago.  We are constantly working with him on how to express himself in a healthy manner when he is frustrated or angry. We are trying to stop the behavior of yelling at us, threatening bodily harm to us, throwing things, and the such. It will take time, but we are trying.

I have to share a little bit of our success with you...A couple of weeks ago, Chris took Carson out of town for Father's Day.  A weekend away, with just the two of them. I was worried the whole weekend that Carson would act up, and they'd be miserable the whole trip. Much to my happiness, Chris said that he couldn't have asked for a better child while they were gone. Carson was polite, well behaved, and listened to him!  I'm sure it was no easy task as they were 6 hours from home, at a NASCAR race. I was so happy to hear they had a great trip and enjoyed being with each other.  Not that long ago, they couldn't stand to be around each other for more than 15 minutes! My heart swells with content when they are able to enjoy time together.

Hopefully, we are on an upward trend and have worked out the kinks for Carson for now. 

Tips for Surviving Summer Heat

It's hot here in the midwest....and humid, extremely humid!  In light of this, I thought I would share a few of my tips for surviving the summer heat with little ones.

1)  Plan outdoor activities for the morning or evening. Generally speaking, the heat here reaches its peak mid afternoon. We try to go outside to play early in the day (before 11am) or later in the evening (after 6-7pm) to avoid the heat as much as possible.

2)  Dress in cool, "heat wear" clothes. You can purchase "heat wear" shirts for children just about every where now days. Shirts with UPF (similar to SPF sun protection) and shirts that wick the moisture away will help maintain body temperature and keep you or your child cooler.  If you don't want to spend the money on "heat wear", wear cotton clothes. Polyester and non "natural" fibers hold the heat in more than cotton and natural fibers will.

3) Have water play.  Let's face it, what kid wouldn't love to play in the sprinkler, or splash in a kiddie pool? Combining a child's love for playing with a way to cool their little bodies down is a double win in my book! Remember to keep these things in the shade when possible to avoid sunburn.

4) Keep blinds and curtains closed.  While in the house, keeping the blinds and curtains closed will help eliminate some of the heat produced by the sun shining through your windows.

5) Stay hyrdated. The biggest thing you can do to help survive the heat is to drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluids. Water, juice, decaf tea are all good options.  A good general rule of thumb is to drink one glass of water for every 20 minutes of heat exposure.

Have fun and enjoy your summer, but be smart in your heat exposure.

Eight Years

Eight years ago today, I married my love. We've had our share of ups and downs, but stuck together through it all. He's my rock when I need it. My comic relief at just the right moment. My best friend always.

Happy Anniversary Chris!

PS - Oh my goodness we look young in those photos!

Friday Free for All

It's Friday! Friday the 13th in fact. Oh, and a full moon! I'm not superstitious about it at all though really. I will say that the full moon does explain some behaviors in our hour this week though.

Jonathan has had his ups and downs this week. He actually slept from 11p-6a twice this week, which was awesome! The other nights though were brutal. He was up most of the night on Monday and Tuesday. I think he had a stomachache. I was at my witt's end by 10pm on Wednesday. He finally went to bed at 11 and stayed down until 6:30am! I was very thankful for that. We both needed the rest.

He bit Carson for the first time this week too. Apparently Carson went to the bathroom at my mom's house and Jonathan went in there with him. Jonathan bit Carson's arm at some point while Carson was trying to use the restroom. Carson was fine by the time I got off work you couldn't even tell where Jonathan had bit his arm.

Carson has had a pretty good week this week. He's consistently getting his medicine at the same time (shortly after I drop him off at my mom's) every morning and it shows. He is being nice, loving, and respectful! He's super excited to be traveling to Michigan with his daddy this weekend for a boys' weekend. They are going to the NASCAR race on Sunday.  Jonathan and I will be staying behind.

The weather here this week has been cool and rainy. It's quite a change from the 90s and sunshine we had last week, but I'll take it! Perhaps a little less rain would be nice though.

Summer reading programs started last week and so far Carson has read 15 books to either myself, Chris, or my mom. He's doing awesome with expanding his reading skills. He has a new found love for "Walter the Farting Dog" books. They are funny and cute at the same time.

Next week is a big week for us. Father's Day Sunday, Chris' birthday on Monday, our 8th Anniversary on Tuesday, and the local town festival (which I help plan) on Saturday!

I will have a few posts next week too, so stay tuned for sappy love stories!

I Run...

I run.

 I am a runner.

 It's not about finishing first. It's not about speed.

It's about me, the pavement, and the time.

I run.

For my sanity. 

For my health. 

For the natural high. 

To forget the day.

To forget the troubles. 

To spend time with my family. 

For fitness. 

To clear my mind. 

Because it's cheaper than therapy.

To get away from it all.

I run...because I can!

Kindergarten is Over

Last week, Carson finished Kindergarten. Now if you have followed my blog for a while, you know that we have had problems with his school working with us on his behavior and emotional problems. I would love to say that we ended the year with a plan in place and with the school working with us. That's not the case. In fact, my last email to the principal went unanswered for over a week! Now this is the guy who preached how we needed to communicate better when we had our meeting just a month prior!

I have shifted my focus to providing the best school year possible for him next year. I am exploring our other options for schooling.  So far all the other options are quite pricey. By pricey, we're talking $2500-10000 per year! The $2500 doesn't bother me, and really I would have no problem taking him to that school except it is a 30 minute drive, the opposite direction from my work. It would be a stretch for me to get him there and get back to work in time then get back there to pick him up each day. So for now, we are sticking with the school he currently attends. I have already arranged to meet with his teacher for next year prior to the year starting so that we can work out a plan for him. If that doesn't work, I will go up the hierarchy again...ugh!

On a more positive note, Carson completed Carson with great remarks in all academic areas. He really excels in Math. He got his Kindergarten diploma last week and was so excited that he is now a first grader! Only 2 months until it all starts again!

Comparison of first day of school and last day.

Mamavation #2WeekChallenge

A couple of weeks ago I participated in the Mamavation #2WeekChallenge.  It's a great two week workout challenge put on by Leah and her husband Mark of the Mamavation Sisterhood.  You can read about it here.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the experience!  The workouts were quick circuit workouts that were easy to complete, but yet challenging enough that you felt the burn the next day (and then some!).  They were enjoyable workouts too!  Being a busy mom, I appreciated that I could complete most workouts in around 15 minutes. Yes, fifteen!

The end of the two weeks was celebrated with a virtual 5k....Yes I said celebrated. I love running so for me to get to do something I love to finish the challenge, it was a celebration!

Every day when I would tweet to Mark that I had completed the workout, he was encouraging. He always had something kind to say. In fact, he wasn't the only one! Many of the other moms completing the challenge with myself would often "tweet" back a "congrats" or "way to go".  That's the thing. ALL the moms taking the challenge were uplifting each other with kind words. It was kind of empowering to know that I, no WE did it and we weren't alone!

I loved the experience and can't wait for the next two week challenge....rumor has it there will be another in July. Will you join us? 

Jonathan is ONE!

A few days ago, our sweet, happy little baby turned one. He was baptized at church that morning, then had a great party surrounded by all our family.  There was food, a cake, an inflatable water slide, presents, and a lot of fun! Here are just a few photos from his party. I will write up a whole update on his 12th month after his doctor's appointment next week.

 

Friday Free for All: I'm still here

Last week I was out of town for work. I was barely home in the evenings to get any posts written. That was followed this week by T-ball and swim lessons in the evenings...I apologize. Forgive me?


What if I share cute pictures of my kids? Ok, I will do that!

All my boys playing together <3

Sneak Peek of his one year photos!

Our first Great Cloth Diaper Change

This past weekend Jonathan and I participated in our first Great Cloth Diaper Change. We attended the Champaign/Urbana, Illinois location that was hosted by B. Lime. Our location had 28 attendees changing cloth diapers simultaneously so we qualified to count toward the world effort to break the current record in the Guiness Book of World Records. Here's the photos from Mary at B. Lime.

One baby was changed into their first ever cloth diaper during the GCDC! That's what this event is all about, creating awareness and helping people change from disposables to cloth. We also had an itty bitty one week old there with us. It was a great experience, and hopefully "we" broke the record.

Carson's First Race

This past weekend, as you may recall, our family ran three different races. I ran the 5K Friday night, Chris ran a half marathon on Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon Carson ran his first race, a 1K (slightly more than a half mile). Each race finishes at the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium, home of the fighting Illini.

I got to run with him since he's so young. He'd been looking forward to it for a few weeks, ever since I told him I signed him up for it. Before the event he told my parents that he didn't want to run with me because I slow him down....little stink!  Carson and I lined up in the front half of the group originally but we moved and started toward the back of his age group due to so many kids pushing each other at the start line in eagerness to finish first.   The event isn't officially timed because all the kids are winners, but I had Chris' Garmin 310XT with me just to see how fast this kiddo really is. We ended up passing the majority of his age group and even some of the 4 year old age group that started 10 minutes before us! We ran 0.56 miles in 5 minutes and 46 seconds!  He LOVES to run.

Here he is before the race:

And here he is after the race with his medal!

The whole race he kept looking at me saying, mommy I see the stadium, we're almost there! Both of us were encouraging the other the entire way. I loved that he kept turning to me with a smile on his face saying, 'We got this mom!'. He smile one his face makes me one happy momma!

Super proud of himself for running the race and "being like daddy". He seriously looks up to his dad for running races and doing triathlons. I happen to think it's pretty cool too ;)

Ruby Moon Laundry GIVEAWAY

I'm so excited to have the opportunity to host this giveaway!

Based out of Maine, Ruby Moon is a small, family owned business that is quickly becoming a well known name in the cloth diaper detergent world. Their mission is absolutely awesome!

“Our mission at Ruby Moon is to provide you with an affordable, gentle on the earth and your skin, tough on stains and odor, line of products. All of our products and packaging are made with natural and biodegradable ingredients.We rigorously test our products and would never sell you anything that we wouldn’t use on our own families.”

Ruby Moon was created when the owners' recognized the need for a safe detergent that didn't bother their daughter's sensitive skin. All of their products are all natural, making them gentle on baby's skin.  As a mom of a little one with eczema and sensitive skin, I can appreciate their efforts to help others who need a safe laundry option. The wash leaves little to no residue on cloth diapers, which is a great thing since stripping diapers is not only a pain, but is also very time consuming!

Ruby Moon makes wipe bits, laundry wash, and cloth diaper laundry wash. Check out their website here.

Enter below for your own chance to try Ruby Moon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will run from April 28th until May 4th. Giveaway is open to US only. You must be 18 or over to enter.  Winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. Winner will be notified by email at the end of the Giveaway and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  Midwest Cornfed Mom s not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment.

Friday Free For All

I know, once again I have been slacking on the home front, lol.  Truth is, I've been outside enjoying my time with my family. AND training for another 5k tonight! Yes, I am running a night glo 5k! I can't wait to share the experience with everyone. 

This weekend is jam packed with activities. Tonight, I run a 5k. Tomorrow, Chris runs the Illinois Marathon, half marathon. I am attending the Great Cloth Diaper Change. Then Carson is running his first race, the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon Kids Run! He is so excited to be joining daddy and I doing something we all love.

Yes, Running is life for us now...and that's ok! I especially appreciate the BOB stroller I got a couple months ago now that we all can go run together.

As for life lately, here's the scoop!

Carson has been doing fantastic at school since starting the new medication. I wish we didn't have to medicate, and we may be able to stop it in the future, time will tell. He starts T-Ball next week and is super excited for that! 

Jonathan is doing great, I wrote a post about him yesterday actually. You can read it here.

Chris and I have been busy at work and busy training for our races this week.

Sorry it's short this week, I am swamped with things to get ready for the weekend. Oh by the way, keep a look out for a new giveaway opportunity on the blog on Monday! Happy weekend!

~11 Months~

I can barely believe I am writing this post. Tomorrow,  my baby is 11 months old. In just 4 weeks, he will turn the big 1! In the past month we have hit a few milestones!

Milestones
- Walks a few steps alone without assistance or support
- Waves "bye-bye"
- Signs "Done" and "More"
- Started transitioning to the sippy cup, and accepting it finally!
- Says Mama, Dada, Blanket, Minde, Papa, Baba (bottle), Done, and Bye

Teeth
- Three on bottom, two on top, with a third on top coming through

Eating
- Mostly table food now with the occasional food pouch
- Drinks Enfamil Gentlease

Sleep
- He still wakes through the night to eat...yeah I know, he's "too old for that". He's a big boy, he needs his food I guess! 

Clothes
- Mostly size 12 - 18 months. Some 24 month shirts though.
- Size 5 shoes....yeah he has big feet!

He's changing every day and becoming more independent.  He loves to roam the house and chase the dog around.  He also loves to play with his big brother. The bond between these two seriously makes my heart feel like it will explode!

Our Easter

Here's some photos from our Easter day festivities. The boys had four, yes FOUR, egg hunts on Easter Sunday. We had a great time with all our family!

School Domain Meeting

Yesterday morning I met with Carson's school for a "domain meeting".  This meeting was to determine the need for special education evaluation and services. The meeting consisted of the school's principal, counselor, psychologist, special education teacher, myself, and Carson's classroom teacher. Honestly, I'm still not sure how I feel about the way it all went.

The verdict? There will be no formal evaluation for Special Education and accommodation services at this time. I felt like they had already decided to not evaluate for services before we even had the meeting, but alas we had the meeting.

They asked me what my concerns were at the start of the meeting. I expressed that Carson's anxiety and behavior began to manifest itself more once he started school. We gave him time to "adjust" to being in school, but after 3 months of school, I had decided it was more than just adjusting to being in school.  I had requested an evaluation or a plan to be made, and for him to see the counselor then. Nothing was done. We started taking him to a counselor in January, and saw his pediatrician in late January. We requested an evaluation at that time too. I even followed up with the teacher a week later, but nothing was ever done. I told them how it is impacting him emotionally and socially as he isn't asked to play with the other kids. We don't get invited to parties or play dates. We've had to take him out of certain activities/sports because of it.

They questioned how his baby brother impacted things (not at all!), how he acted socially, how he played with others, how his school (academic) work was, was he just being a copy cat, what are his triggers, what behaviors are indicators he's getting anxious, etc. I answered, the teacher answered, then I was told my son is "a very smart boy". Yeah. I know that!  They told me to create a behavior chart...yep already did that. They said to take away privileges...yep done that too.  I told them that he responds best to positive reinforcement...they acted like I was a genius! They are going to go off that they say.

They decided to put a plan in place to address his anxiety, and to have him see the school counselor once a week...Isn't that what I asked for last fall?!?

They will be developing a plan (or so they say) to provide him a quiet "calm down" period of 5 or so minutes when they notice his anxiety increasing. The counselor is supposed to work with him to identify his anxiety triggers and for him to recognize the cues that his anxiety is increasing so he can get to his "quiet place".  As part of the plan, he will choose what behavior to work on and the time frame to do it. When he achieves it, he gets to choose a buddy to go with him for his reward (taking a letter to the office, going to the gym for 5 minutes, coloring, etc.)  The whole time they kept saying "communication is the key"....I agree but the lack of communication wasn't on my end! The principal even admitted that they dropped the ball and will be having an inservice this week to address what to do when a parent requests evaluation...a little late to help us, but at least it will help someone hopefully!

Anyways, I'm not terribly optimistic about this all, but we will see where it goes. Hopefully they hold up their end of the plan.

Tomorrow's the day...

Tomorrow I meet with my son's school to discuss their lack of action on my concerns. This meeting will consist of myself, the school pyschologist, the school guidance counselor, his teacher, the principal, and the school's special education teacher. Since November, I have made two requests for the school to evaluate my son and his behavior for the impact it has on school as well as how it is effecting his well being.  Both of these requests went UNANSWERED. His teacher acknowledged the requests, told me she would look into getting things started, but that's as far as they ever went.

According the the Illinois State Board of Education, "Within 14 school days after receiving the written request, the district will decide whether to evaluate the child or not. If the district determines an evaluation is warranted, then the district must provide the parents with the paperwork to provide formal written consent. If the district determines that the evaluation is not necessary, it must notify the parent in writing of the decision not to evaluate and the reasons for the decision".  So that makes what has happened so far ILLEGAL! As a parent I am outraged about their lack of concern for my son and his well being.

You may recall in my post last week, I mentioned that I had gotten his pediatrician involved and the school FINALLY responded. It took her writing a letter, me distributing it to the counselor, teacher, principal, and psychologist, before they decided to agree to meet to discuss my concerns.  We are having a "Domain Meeting". They will decide if they have enough reason to conduct an evaluation for services, and then go from there. I'm not too hopeful going into the meeting as the pyschologist says the teacher said "lots of positive things about Carson, and has seen great improvements".  I told her I found this hard to believe since the "Behavior" section of his report card has gotten progressively worse throughout the year.


We will see though....hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement and get a plan in place for his education. I'll let you know later this week!

Womb To Walking Giveaway!

Welcome to the Womb to Walking Giveaway Event

I'm so excited to share this amazing giveaway with you all! Jamie over at Momma Without a Clue has seriously put together an awesome prize packaged. There are fantastic baby items that any new mom would love to have up for grabs in this giveaway!

hosted by Momma Without a Clue

co-hosted by Addicted 2 Savings 4 U

Spring is in the air, everything is blooming... It's definitely baby shower season!  What better way to bring in Spring than with a giveaway??  We've brought together some of the top baby products that you would need from womb to walking - the best for baby's first year - into a great product guide and now we're giving those items away!

Prizes include:

Combi Coccoro convertible carseat - ARV $200

BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier One - ARV $170

Ju-Ju-Be - Better Be Diaper Bag - ARV $120

$100 Gift Certificate to Mimi and Maggie - ARV $100

One month supply of Luvs Diapers - ARV $30

Classic Alphabet blocks from Uncle Goose - ARV $35

Evenflo Feeding Bottle Set - ARV $20

Baby's First Book Set - ARV $25

For a grand total of over $700 worth of baby gear!

To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  All entries are optional, but the more you complete, the better your chance of winning!



Giveaway will run from April 14th until April 28th. Giveaway is open to US only. You must be 18 or over to enter.  Winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. Winner will be notified by email at the end of the Giveaway and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  Momma Without a Clue and the other participating blogs are not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment



Good luck!





a Rafflecopter giveaway





Disclosure: Momma Without a Clue received the above items in exchange for review. This blog did not receive financial compensation or product in exchange for this giveaway. Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest are in no way associated with this giveaway. Prize fulfillment and shipping will be handled by the Sponsors.

Friday Free For All

This week has been a whirlwind! I can't believe it's already Friday?!

Spring had sprung this week and we've had a lot of time outside playing as a family. Watching my boys bond is seriously one of the most heartwarming and rewarding experiences a parent could ever ask for in life.   The memories we are making can't be topped.

His first time getting to purposely ride through the puddles!

Aside from lots of family time, work has been at a dull roar lately, which is a welcome change!

Carson has been signed up for his first kids fun run in just 2 weeks and we've been training for it together. He's such a good runner! I think we found his sport!  School has still be a struggle for him, as you may have seen in my post about his anxiety. Next Tuesday I have a meeting (Chris can't go due to work) with the school to discuss possible evaluation and putting a plan in place for addressing his behavioral and emotional needs.  I'm not too optimistic about it, but that's more than I can fit into today's post. I will have to write about it next week!

Jonathan is so close to walking all over! He will let go and take a few steps but doesn't venture all the way across the room just yet....I'm thinking he will do it before he's one next month though for sure.

Anyways, enough rambling for now! Time to enjoy the nice weather some more before it cools off again next week.

I ran a 5K!

A couple of weeks ago I ran my first ever official race! I ran a 5K with my husband...well he ran and finished 6 minutes ahead of me, but still, we ran the same race.

Pre-race Selfie, haha!

I had set a goal of 45 minutes for the 3.1 miles.....to my surprise I finished in under 39 minutes! I was so proud of myself when I crossed the finish line. Here's some pictures from that day :)

"Oh I see the finish!"

Almost there!

Finally done...yes I shared this even though it's an awful photo of me!

Anxiety and My Son: April Update

Carson has been on anxiety medication for a little over two months now. Last week we had a follow up with his pediatrician. We discussed his behavior and the little glimpses of improvement we see. Little things such as not biting his nails constantly. I never have been so excited to cut my son's nails! It was a great moment for us both, haha.  Other things we have noticed are less frequent crying spells, less "gloom and doom" talk, and better sleep! He doesn't wake up during the night and isn't nearly as restless as he had been prior to starting the anxiety medication and the iron supplementation.

His behavior is slightly improved, but the busyness, angry outbursts, and oppositional attitude still is very prevalent. He still has trouble at school, but its not every day anymore, so that's an improvement! During our visit to his doctor last week, it was decided that it is now time to treat him for ADHD as well as Oppositional Defiance Disorder. The treatment for these is the same thankfully, but it is a stimulant drug. So far after a week of medication, we haven't had any negative effects of the medicine, but really aren't seeing much improvement yet either. I wouldn't expect to see much improvement yet though, as medications like this take some "tweaking" to get to the right dosage and right medication for your child.

You may be thinking "Oh my gosh! That's a lot for a child." It is, but it's not uncommon. Anxiety or depression disorders are often found as a comorbidity of ADD or ADHD.

So this is our life now. A child on three medications, that sees a counselor every other week. Myself and my husband are both committed to only the best for our son. Stay tuned for an update to my "Parenting a child with anxiety" series later this week!

Throwback Thursday

2 years ago this week <3

Friday Free for All

This week has been a little quiet around here thanks to this:

 

That would be my husband, holding Jonathan in the pre-op room on Wednesday.  Yes, Jonathan had surgery. Nothing major, just tubes in his ears, but it has made for a busy snuggly week. All we did Wednesday when we got home was snuggle and nap off and on all day...It was great! He's back to normal Jonathan now, which is wonderful after the past month of illness!

The night before he had surgery Chris and I took Carson to Family Reading Night at his school. They had activities, snacks, and a book swap. We could take old books, redeem them for tickets, then redeem the tickets for "new" (to us) books. Carson absolutely loved it and it was great to get time with just the three of us.

In 8 days, I will run my first official 5k! I can't wait! I have been walking or jogging every day lately to get ready for it. I even go to the gym or walk around town on my lunch break. I'm serious about losing my muffin top!

Last night, the boys and I did yard work and played outside, it was wonderful! The sun was shining and it was in the upper 50s. Today's weather is supposed to be nice and warm, then the bottom is going to drop out and their talking of snow again next week?!? Go away Winter! I'm ready for Spring!

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

A Weekend Away with Cloth Diapers

This past weekend we took a little trip to Chicago, well the suburbs of Chicago anyhow.   I decided I wanted to take cloth diapers with us as a trial run for our vacation this summer. I packed our Flip diaper system along with stay dry and disposable inserts.  We were only going to be gone for one night, we left at 8am Saturday and returned Sunday evening, so I figure this was our best option.

 Here's what I packed in the diaper bag:
    ---2 Flip covers
    ---6 Stay Dry Inserts
    ---6 Disposable inserts
    ---1 Geffen Baby Jersey fleece prefold (for overnight)
    ---A few emergency disposables, just in case!
    ---Two medium wetbags

Overall, it went very well.  On the car ride up, I put Jonathan in a BumGenius Freetime with two added cotton doublers.  He fell asleep for the entire 3 1/2 hour drive, including a pit stop for us to potty, so I'm glad I opted for the extra doublers! His pants were dry, but the diaper was soaked when we got to our destination.  From this point on, we used the flip system almost exclusively!

The stay dry inserts worked well for us the entire trip, except when we had a poop incident. Jonathan had a bowel movement, but no one knew he did. He crawled around, walked, fell down, etc., which meant the poop got on the cover, not just the insert. No big deal! I just hand washed the cover in the bathroom sink and hung it to dry. I rinsed the dirty insert and put in the wet bag to deal with when we got home.  We continued using the Flip system even for bedtime. I pad folded the prefold and put it in the cover and thought we were set for the night. I didn't take into account that Jonathan would wake up every 2 hours that night and drink a total of 20 oz during the night either.  At 4:30am I woke to a wet baby. When I unsnapped the cover, urine literally ran out of the cover onto my legs, bed, and hands! I forgot to add a hemp doubler like we usually do at home, so this was really my own fault.

::Enter a disposable::  I put on a disposable, until I could get this cover rinsed and dry also.

In the morning, I put the flip cover back on with the disposable inserts. I was leery of what would happen when I front carried him that day while we shopped, but there was no need for it! He stayed dry and all the messes were contained.  We used the disposables while we shopped, had lunch, and even on the way home with no problems!

The only problem I ran into was I should have packed more covers. Again, my mistake, not the diaper's fault.  I was very pleased with our weekend away with cloth, and really hope to use cloth when we are gone for 8 days this summer!

***This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using the links provided, I will receive a small percentage as commission.

The "Dirty Thirty"

It's true folks. Today I turned the "Dirty Thirty" I can't figure out why everyone makes such a big deal about turning 30? It's just another day, another year older and wiser.

In honor Celebration of turning 30, here are 30 facts about me!

1) I have only moved once in my life. From my parents house to the home I now live in with my family.

2) I share a birthday with my uncle. He was 18 when I was born.  My husband's cousin also gave birth on my birthday 6 years ago. So I share this day with her daughter too!

3) I have 2 sons and love it! People often ask if we will try for a girl...Nope! I embrace my title of "Boymom"

4) I have had 2 shelter dogs in the last 8 years. One now lives with my in-laws, the other still lives with us.

5) I was born with the "nubs"  and "extra skin" for 6th fingers, but the doctors tied them off with string when I was born, leaving me with what looked like warts on my hands.

7) I had my belly button pierced my senior year of high school. It lasted 6 years then I took it out when I was pregnant with Carson.

8) I've performed CPR on 2 adults, and resuscitation measures on a few babies during my work as a CNA, then as a RN.

9) I love working Labor & Delivery/Newborn Nursery. I just didn't like the hours :(

10) I only need 5 classes to complete my bachelor's in nursing. Someday I will finish!

11) I love to run.

12) I still like to call people on the phone, not just text!

13) I own less than 10 pairs of shoes, only 4 of those do I wear regularly.

14) The bathroom is my favorite room to clean. The kitchen is my least favorite.

15) I won a gold medal at national convention for FCCLA Parliamentary Procedure when I was a freshman in high school.

16) I always wanted a husband, 2 kids, and a dog....that has been achieved!

17) I wanted to be a nurse since I was 5 years old. Over the years I would think about other jobs, but eventually came back to wanting to be a nurse during my first year of college.

18) I love hard pear cider and white wine.

19) I am a steak and potatoes kind of gal.

20) I've traveled to 21 states and 3 other countries, but never been any farther west than Oklahoma.

21)  I’ve been with my husband for 12 year and married to him for 7. (soon to be 8)

22) I played every sport that was offered at my junior high. That was basketball, volleyball, and track.

23) I used to be able to play the trumpet and piano in band. I can still play the piano, but not the trumpet.

24) I love boating in the summer. I learned to ski when I was 6 and was able to slalom by age 10. I can still slalom today!

25) I love living in a small town. Even if everyone knows your business before you know it yourself, haha!

26) Are we to 30 yet?!?

27) My favorite flowers are not roses. I actually prefer Gerber daisies or irises.

28)  I have 3 God children.

29) I grew up with severe anxiety, to the point I gave myself ulcers actually. So it is not really that surprising that Carson has the anxiety he does.

30) My family is my life. I can’t imagine my life without each and every one of them, from husband to kids to parents to grandparents.

Dropping the Muffin Top!

For a while now I've been trying to drop my muffin top from having Jonathan. Oh who am I trying to kid?! It was there before he was conceived! Anyways, this past week I took my first steps toward getting serious about it! I made two big purchases to start getting out and being more active.

Purchase #1

Photo Source: Amazon.com

I have to be honest. I have been drooling over this stroller since I found out we were expecting again in October 2012.  I kept saying it was too much to spend on a stroller that I wouldn't use that much...Then my faithful old stroller died last fall and I needed a new one.  I decided if I was going to get fit, I had to have the right equipment to do so, regardless of the cost. Thus, I researched for months and finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a B.O.B. I've only had this a couple of weeks and taken it out a couple of times, but so far I am in love! I look forward to writing a review of it soon for any readers who may be in the market for a jogging stroller.

Purchase #2

Photo source: Brooksrunning.com

You can't have a new stroller without having a new pair of running shoes.  Enter: Brooks PureCadence 3.  I went and had my feet "fitted" at a local running store for shoes that would work for me. I cannot tell you how awesome it is to have shoes that fit perfectly! My husband bought me these for my birthday and I love them! I've worn these for two walks now and can't wait to run in them tonight.

I look forward to sharing my weight loss and fitness journey with all of you in the weeks and months ahead!

This post was not sponsored by any company. Both products have been purchased by myself/my family for my use. All opinions shared are entirely my own.

Friday Free For All

It's FRIDAY!!!!!!! It has been a long week, so today's post is a mix of stuff ;)

Last week we had a very sick little baby and this week he's finally getting back to his normal self! We even took him swimming for the first time last night! He loved it!

The weather seems to finally be looking more like Spring.  Today it is 55 degrees and sunny. The lowest high for the next week is in the upper 30s. I can handle that!

Tomorrow is Carson's last "Bitty Ball" game. Then we get our weekends back for a few weeks. He's really enjoyed basketball this past 8 weeks, he's done a great job listening and learning the game.

In one week, I turn 30....only 7 days left in my 20s....How do I feel about that? Hmm....I'm ok with it!

Hope you all have a great weekend! I know I am spending some time outside soaking up some much needed Vitamin D!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday, he's 54 today!

Dad and I at my brother's wedding...July 2005.

This man means the world to me and my boys. He's always been there for us all and I can't thank him enough for that! Love you daddy!