Monday, January 13, 2014
Why I use cloth diapers
When we first found out we were pregnant, I started thinking about cloth diapers. A friend convinced me how convenient and easy they are to use. I still wasn't sold, so I extensively read the Back to Basics series on The Cloth Diaper Revival blog. After reading Jenny's blog, I was sold!
There are a few reasons why I chose cloth diapers. Here are my top reasons.
1) Ecologically friendly. - Our household tries to be "green" whenever we can. The thought of how many disposable diapers end up in the landfills each year is enough to make me sick! Now I'm not saying that we don't ever use disposables, but each cloth diaper we use is one less disposable in the landfill.
2) It's Economical! - While the up front cost of cloth diapers is slightly higher, the overall savings is incredible. The amount of money I would spend on four months of disposable diapers was the same amount of money I spent to get started cloth diapering. The diapers I bought will get us through potty training, then we can resell them to recoup some of our costs! That was another thing that sold me on cloth diapers!
3) Amazing online support/connections - I have made some good friends in the cloth diaper community online. Everyone I have "met" has been incredibly kind and helpful in my cloth diapering journey.
4) Great for sensitive skin - Jonathan has pretty sensitive skin. We have to be very careful what we use in his baths, etc. If he's in disposables very long, his skin gets red and irritated. In cloth, he rarely ever gets red! It's great for sensitive skinned babies, as the cloth diapers pull the moisture away from the skin better, and have a fleece (or similar) layer against baby's skin to give them a dry feeling.
5) The convenience - This past week we had a major blizzard. We couldn't leave our house for 4 days. I didn't have to worry about getting out for diapers. All I had to do was wash a load of diapers and we were all set! It was wonderful not to have to get out in sub zero temperatures and two feet of snow!
There are many benefits to cloth diapering, it just happens to be that these are my top 5. Do you cloth diaper? Why or why not?
Friday, January 10, 2014
Friday Free for All!
It's back!
After months of being missing, I am bringing back the Friday Free For All. These posts are just a mash up of what life has been like that week.
This week we've had a blizzard that resulting in my office being closed for 2 days. Multiple roads in the area were closed due to the snowing and blowing. People were referring to this storm as "snowmageddon" or "snowpacolypse". The stores were sold completely out of bread, milk, meat, and produce from Sunday until Thursday! We still have drifts throughout our yard (some are 3-4 foot high), and snow packed roads everywhere you go. The foot of snow was followed by two days of the "highs" being sub zero! I have been very thankful for our new furnace this week. We've stayed inside, spent time together, and stayed warm. The hubs has been sick this week, but thankfully kept his illness to himself due to me quarantining him to our room for two days during the blizzard. I was so happy to return to work on Wednesday. We all were getting cabin fever and VERY ready to get out of the house, even if it was still cold!
What are the munchkins up to?
Well...
Carson has had three snow days so far this week! (He was scheduled to go back on Tuesday) We are hoping he will return to school today, after 21 days of Winter break! It's going to be rough getting him back into the usual routine, that's for sure. He's thoroughly enjoyed the more than foot snow we've had this week though. He built a couple of "igloos" at Great Grandpa's house while staying there on his "snow days".
JP, what gives little man?! He's a grump this week, which I attribute to teething. I am pretty sure he's cutting his top front two teeth. Wednesday night he also decided that it's boring being on the floor, so he now pulls up on everything he can! Between the pulling up, and the full out crawling he does now, there's not a dull moment in our house.
So there's our week...nothing exciting, but that's life :)
After months of being missing, I am bringing back the Friday Free For All. These posts are just a mash up of what life has been like that week.
This week we've had a blizzard that resulting in my office being closed for 2 days. Multiple roads in the area were closed due to the snowing and blowing. People were referring to this storm as "snowmageddon" or "snowpacolypse". The stores were sold completely out of bread, milk, meat, and produce from Sunday until Thursday! We still have drifts throughout our yard (some are 3-4 foot high), and snow packed roads everywhere you go. The foot of snow was followed by two days of the "highs" being sub zero! I have been very thankful for our new furnace this week. We've stayed inside, spent time together, and stayed warm. The hubs has been sick this week, but thankfully kept his illness to himself due to me quarantining him to our room for two days during the blizzard. I was so happy to return to work on Wednesday. We all were getting cabin fever and VERY ready to get out of the house, even if it was still cold!
What are the munchkins up to?
Well...
Carson has had three snow days so far this week! (He was scheduled to go back on Tuesday) We are hoping he will return to school today, after 21 days of Winter break! It's going to be rough getting him back into the usual routine, that's for sure. He's thoroughly enjoyed the more than foot snow we've had this week though. He built a couple of "igloos" at Great Grandpa's house while staying there on his "snow days".
JP, what gives little man?! He's a grump this week, which I attribute to teething. I am pretty sure he's cutting his top front two teeth. Wednesday night he also decided that it's boring being on the floor, so he now pulls up on everything he can! Between the pulling up, and the full out crawling he does now, there's not a dull moment in our house.
So there's our week...nothing exciting, but that's life :)
Thursday, January 9, 2014
New Year, New Goals
This year I have made a few goals for myself. I tried to choose things that were achievable, and reasonable.
1) Run a half marathon with my husband in April.
2) Run a total of 500 miles this year.
3) Cook more meals at home, eat out less.
4) Be a more "green" family.
5) Worry less, stress less, and smile more while making memories with my family!
What's your goal(s) for 2014?
1) Run a half marathon with my husband in April.
2) Run a total of 500 miles this year.
3) Cook more meals at home, eat out less.
4) Be a more "green" family.
5) Worry less, stress less, and smile more while making memories with my family!
What's your goal(s) for 2014?
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Welcome 2014!
So here we are a week into 2014. It's been quite a while since I posted anything. That all changes now! This year I am going to do better about scheduling posts, and posting 2-3 times per week. So what have we been up to?
As a family, we are doing great! We are currently snowed in, and experiencing the coldest temperatures our area has seen in over 2 decades. It was -14 for the high here yesterday, with a wind chill of -45! We've been hunkered down in the house for 4 days now, and everyone is getting cabin fever. We all enjoyed Christmas together and had a lot of good laughs while memories were made.
Jonathan is now 7 months old! I'm not sure how he got to be that old already, I swear we were just bringing him home a few days ago. In the last or two before Christmas, he started sitting up on his own, and crawling! He's into everything now days. During that time he also had his first upper respiratory infection with bilateral ear infections, (which went undetected thanks to an urgent care doctor), and ended up with perforated ear drums :( He's been so miserable, horrible cough, disgusting nose, the whole nine yards. Thankfully, his awesome pediatrician caught it, and got him on the mend! Jonathan enjoys eating baby food, and especially any finger foods! He's determined to feed himself now, which often leads to a battle at meal time. He has taken a liking to NUK sippy cups. Which would be fine if they were easier to find around here! His first two teeth have made their appearance in the 3 weeks as well.
Carson is growing like a weed! I think he has grown three inches in the past month or so. During the past month and a half he has had two bouts of a stomach bug, which ended up in his vomiting for the first time in his life. (at least the first time that it was more than a one time thing). It always seems to be late at night too...fun times! He's been very busy playing hockey. He moved up to the "Mini Mite" level, so we have practice three nights a week now! They play scrimmage games on Sundays, which are quite entertaining to watch. Despite behavior struggles, he has been doing pretty good academically in Kindergarten. The kid is a math whiz! He can add and subtract like nobody's business. It's impressive for a five year old!
As for me and the hubs, we are still here. Still working our jobs, etc. Chris is now training for a full Ironman triathlon in September. He's not home much in the evenings, but that gives me time for mommy and boys time, which is ok :) I've decided to run a 5k with a friend for her birthday in May, so I should probably start training for that!
Overall, we are all doing good. Just trying to stay warm and healthy in this crazy Illinois winter!
As a family, we are doing great! We are currently snowed in, and experiencing the coldest temperatures our area has seen in over 2 decades. It was -14 for the high here yesterday, with a wind chill of -45! We've been hunkered down in the house for 4 days now, and everyone is getting cabin fever. We all enjoyed Christmas together and had a lot of good laughs while memories were made.
Jonathan is now 7 months old! I'm not sure how he got to be that old already, I swear we were just bringing him home a few days ago. In the last or two before Christmas, he started sitting up on his own, and crawling! He's into everything now days. During that time he also had his first upper respiratory infection with bilateral ear infections, (which went undetected thanks to an urgent care doctor), and ended up with perforated ear drums :( He's been so miserable, horrible cough, disgusting nose, the whole nine yards. Thankfully, his awesome pediatrician caught it, and got him on the mend! Jonathan enjoys eating baby food, and especially any finger foods! He's determined to feed himself now, which often leads to a battle at meal time. He has taken a liking to NUK sippy cups. Which would be fine if they were easier to find around here! His first two teeth have made their appearance in the 3 weeks as well.
Carson is growing like a weed! I think he has grown three inches in the past month or so. During the past month and a half he has had two bouts of a stomach bug, which ended up in his vomiting for the first time in his life. (at least the first time that it was more than a one time thing). It always seems to be late at night too...fun times! He's been very busy playing hockey. He moved up to the "Mini Mite" level, so we have practice three nights a week now! They play scrimmage games on Sundays, which are quite entertaining to watch. Despite behavior struggles, he has been doing pretty good academically in Kindergarten. The kid is a math whiz! He can add and subtract like nobody's business. It's impressive for a five year old!
As for me and the hubs, we are still here. Still working our jobs, etc. Chris is now training for a full Ironman triathlon in September. He's not home much in the evenings, but that gives me time for mommy and boys time, which is ok :) I've decided to run a 5k with a friend for her birthday in May, so I should probably start training for that!
Overall, we are all doing good. Just trying to stay warm and healthy in this crazy Illinois winter!
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