27 Weeks Pregnant!

Tomorrow I will be 27 weeks pregnant! One more week and I will be officially in the third trimester! She is growing so fast and is very active. I think she is more active than Maddox was.

Yesterday was a pretty routine day. I babysat Little Man and we did our normal routine and I stayed in my PJs all day! Yesterday could have been summed up in one sentence and I didn't have a blog post idea planned, so I didn't bother with a post. I have been terrible lately for not taking pictures throughout the day lately! I love going back through my posts and looking at pictures for that day, but I never seem to remember to take any until it is too late.

Today was a little different than our usual day. Maddox went down for his nap a little later than usual and for the first time in a while I actually took a nap myself! I can feel the tiredness and fatigue starting to creep back in now that I'm getting bigger. We then went to the grocery store and managed to be under our budget this time, which when that happens I always wonder if that is going to be enough food to last 2 weeks. We didn't have to buy meat other than bacon since I bought so much the last couple of trips so that cut the price back pretty good.

I have found a cloth diaper buy,sell,trade group on Facebook and boy has that been a bad idea! I have bought 9 diapers off of there in the last 4 days! In my defense though they were all a great deal and I needed to add to my pocket stash because most of my pockets except 4 Bumgenius 4.0's were boy print. So, I bought 2 more Bumgenius 4.0's in Butternut, 6 Rumparooz, and 2 Charlie Bananas in pink and a butterfly print. I'll post pictures when they all come in. I was debating between Fuzzibunz Elites and Rumparooz OS pockets. I just kept hearing mixed reviews about Fuzzibunz and that the perfect size ones were better than the Elites, but I really wanted one size diapers to keep it simple. So, now for Natalie I'll have 6 Bumgenius 4.0, 6 Rumparooz OS pockets, and 2 Charlie Bananas OS pockets. I love Charlie Banana so if I find that I need more pockets than that I'll probably get more Charlie Bananas. I have never tried Rumparooz, but I'm getting 6 of them so I hope I like them! They are fairly expensive diapers at retail price so I hope that is a good indication of their quality. Also, what sold me on them is they have a 4 step rise so they get really tiny and will actually fit from birth because I decided against getting newborn AIOs. I also plan on using prefolds and covers from birth to potty training too, so I won't need a ton of pockets.

I'm going to try out the Rumparooz on Maddox when they get here and I strip them, so I'll post a review on them after I've used them a few times! 

How did you cloth diaper your newborn??

-Hannah

Short & Sweet

Blog posts have totally went off my radar the past few days! Tuesday was a babysitting day, which it has been a few days since I had babysat so I was spending the whole day trying to get back in to my normal routine. Otherwise, we had a fairly calm day of just staying home, which felt nice considering we had been going full blast the past three days! 

Yesterday, my sister and I went to a Dolly Parton concert in Knoxville Tn. I just loved the fact that she had people from all walks of life at her concert from the elderly to babies and that she talks so openly about her faith and love for God! We got home really late which I am not used to at all so today is going to be interesting considering I have to work from 4 to 10 or 11 tonight!

Dolly Parton Concert

I figured I would keep this post short and sweet today, just a mini update! I do not like leaving Maddox for any length of time so I 'm definitely going to get my snuggles in before I go to work!

-Hannah

Family Fun

We have had a busy Memorial Day weekend and spent most of it with family we don't see very often which was great and definitely a blessing!  Today, Maddox and I (Bryan of course having to work. Side note: I am so thankful he is willing to work so much to provide for us, but this overtime thing is killing our family time!) went to visit my 2 sets of grandparents that live about an hour away. My Mamaw Faye is awesome with a sewing machine and helped me sew together my fabric I bought for my DIY burp cloths. They turned out so cute! I will post a tutorial for them soon.

After we left there, we went to my other set of grandparents house to swim. Maddox had a blast! It was his first time this year to get in a pool. He is such a water baby. I wish i had gotten some pictures, but I couldn't take my eyes off him for a second around the pool!

It was a long, but productive day! Maddox fell asleep in the car and went straight to bed as soon as we got home. He played hard all day and definitely gave my grandparents their exercise for the day!

How did you spend your extended weekend??

-Hannah

Maddox's Favorite Toys

These are some toys Maddox (now 20 months) has been loving these days!

-A Mickey Mouse doodle pad. It has the little magnetic pen to draw with so I love that I don't have to worry about him eating crayons or drawing all over himself or the walls with a pen or marker. He is really getting into coloring and this is a perfect mess free toy for that. It also has a little book attached to the bottom that teaches you how to draw different little things.

This was a consignment sale find for $2!

-Monkey Stuffed Animal. I think his "official" name is Mr.Bim. He was my mom's when she was a child and then my sister and I both played with him. I looked up a little info on him to get his "official" name and these monkeys were made in the 1950's, but my mom was a child in the 60's and 70's so I am not sure how she got him, but I'm curious now to get a back story on him. Maddox loves the fact you can put a banana in his mouth. He carries him around and calls him "baby" (which is what he calls every stuffed animal). 

His little shirt is a newborn shirt from a hospital my mom used to work at.

-Monkey Color Train. This little set I found at a consignment sale for around $2 too! It is so cute and colorful and is great for teaching coloring and number matching. It is made by Marvel Education Company. I tried to find a link where you could purchase it, but I don't think they sell them anymore. The little train carts velcro together and are numbered 1-5. The little monkeys are also numbered 1-5 on their shirts, so the red monkey has a number 1 on his shirt, etc. Maddox is a little too young to match by the numbers, but he is learning very quickly how to put the red monkey in the red train cart and the blue monkey in the blue train cart, etc!

He also is loving his Melissa & Doug Rainbow Stacker and his shape sorter which are great manipulative toys!

What toys is your toddler loving??

-Hannah

Busy Bees

Our Busy Day in Pictures:

Maddox "driving" the lawn mower while we had another yard sale! He was so tired at his nap time he went and climbed up in our rocking chair in his room and fell asleep in the chair!

Chocolate face boy at McAllister's

We went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some fabric for burp cloths for Natalie I'm going to make and supplies to make bows.

Burp Cloth Fabrics

Bows! I've got 3 of them actually sown together...I'm having to hand sew these!

And of course I had to stop by Baby Depot since it is right next to Hobby Lobby!

Hope you all had a great Saturday!

-Hannah

The Countdown Begins

Today it has really hit me that I only have about 14 weeks left until baby Natalie arrives! Time is just flying by and I think it's because I don't have everything already bought like I did with Maddox. It seems like as soon as I found out Maddox was a boy I went out and bought everything all in one whack! We haven't saved a big sum of money all at once this time as we did with Maddox, so I've just been buying things here and there. I also really want to wait to buy clothes for her until after any baby showers we may have and also wait on the consignment sales to come back around again in August. I ended up with double the amount of clothes & baby things I needed with Maddox because I did not wait for my baby showers, so I don't want to spend excessively when I don't need too. She's has her diapers and she'll have me for food, so at least we have the necessities! ;) Some days I just can't wait for her to get here and some days I think I am glad I still got about 3 months because I want to have everything prepared for her and also to prepare Maddox. 

I'm glad he has learned over the past few months what it feels like to have to share mommy where I've been babysitting. It's definitely been a learning experience for me. I'm hoping that when Natalie comes it will come a little more naturally though. I babysat my nephew who is exactly a year older than Maddox while I was pregnant with Maddox and there is just something about it being your own baby that makes the day to day tasks easier. I guess because with Maddox I don't have to really think about when he is going to be hungry, I just know. So with babysitting, I have to constantly remember to make sure I feed him every two hours and be more conscientious about taking care of him because where I'm not his mother I'm not in tune with his every need like I am with Maddox. On days that I babysit, there are some points of the day where there's so much going on at one time that my brain feels like it can't process fast enough! The Lord will never give you more than you can handle though and He always gets me through! 

Maddox has been wanting to snuggle after he wakes up from his nap the last few days, which I am loving. He usually isn't the snuggling type anymore, but yesterday I held him and rocked him back to sleep for about 30 minutes. Then today, he did the cutest thing ever and brought me his blanket and climbed up in my lap in the rocking chair and let me rock him like a baby almost to sleep, but he probably laid there a good 30 minutes. It was so precious! I just soaked up every minute of it because he hasn't let me hold and rock him like that since he stopped nursing! I miss nursing him so much some days, but I can look forward to nursing baby Natalie when she gets here,Lord willing. I told Bryan the other day I planned on nursing her as long as she wanted because it such a special bonding experience and if they are hurt, sick, teething, or just having a rough day it works so well at calming them and making them feel better. Not to mention how great is for their immune systems! Maddox was never sick a day until a couple days after I weaned him and he caught a virus. There are just so many wonderful benefits to breastfeeding that it could be a post in itself!

The only picture I managed to take today! All tucked in his toddler bed like a big boy!

Did you prepare differently for your second baby than your first??

-Hannah

Toddler Tuesday

Well it's official, Maddox has graduated into his toddler bed. I just happened to be watching him on the baby monitor when I put him down for his nap and I saw him hike his leg over the side, but I honestly didn't think he could get out! Sure enough though he hopped right down and came knocking on the door. I put him back in thinking maybe he wouldn't do it again, but he did. So, it took me about an hour to get him to go to sleep in his toddler bed and he only took about an hour nap, whereas normally he would take a 2-2.5 hour nap. Hopefully we will get some sleep in this house tonight!

We went to the farmer's market today and got some farm fresh eggs & 2 pounds of ground beef. Nobody had any fruits and veggies out today so it must not be time for them yet. We are relatively new to shopping at the farmer's market, but I loved knowing I was supporting local farmers. I can't wait to see what they have in the next month or two when more fruits & veggies get ripe!

I love that all the eggs are unique looking!

Can't wait to try local beef! I usually get grass fed beef at the grocery store, but I've never tried local beef!

After the farmers market, I went to pick up the rest of the fruits & veggies we needed at the grocery store and headed to my mom's house. Maddox always loves visiting his Mimi! It was a pretty peaceful day and was beautiful outside! 

Today was the first day that I've slacked a little on my Fly Lady cleaning due to Maddox's nap time switch up, but I plan on being back in full gear tomorrow!

What are your favorite things to buy at the farmers market??

-Hannah

Under Construction

Thursday and Sunday posts are just not happening for me! I work those 2 days usually until 10 or 11, so by the time I get home I just head straight to bed! Sundays are generally the same every week though. We go to church and get home about 1 and then I leave around around 3:30 to go to work, so I am only home a couple hours in between and most of the time we all take a nap! How exciting, right?!? Occasionally, I will leave early and run "errands" (go to Target). I love shopping at Target. It's always so peaceful in there and I could just browse all day! I always laugh when I see the saying about spending a little more to go to Target just to avoid going to Wal-Mart because that is me! Wal-Mart is so crowded and loud and I could go on, but it's just a more pleasant atmosphere in Target so I don't mind to pay a little more. Target also has a better selection of organic/all natural products which I love! Yesterday, I left a little early to go to Target because I was wanting to get some good under eye concealer, but of course I can't go in there without coming out with a few more things! I saw on Krazy Coupon Lady that you could get these Swiffer dusters with coupons and actually make a little money, so I printed off all the coupons and of course Target was out of the dusters! Somebody else must have figured that out too. I also saw on her website you could get 3 packs of eye makeup remover wipes for $0.12 each! When I got there I realized I forgot to print off one coupon, but I still ended up 3 packs for around $2 which was awesome because I was out of them anyway. So, I ended up leaving with:

-2 Packs of Ponds eye makeup remover wipes

-1 Pack of Simple eye makeup remover wipes

-Age Rewind dark circle eye concealer

-Babyganics Shampoo & Wash for Maddox (I was using Burt's Bees, but the scent of that is kind of getting to me now)

-Babyganics Spray Sunscreen (I wanted a safe sunscreen that was spray on)

On to today! This morning I was cleaning up the bathroom and I heard a big ripping noise. Maddox had ripped a huge piece of wallpaper off the bathroom wall! I definitely wasn't mad because that wallpaper was there when we moved in and I've been wanting to tear it down since we've moved in, so he just gave us the push we needed to redecorate our bathroom! :) Some of the wallpaper came off easy and some parts are going to take a little scrubbing to get off. Our bathroom looks hideous right now, but I'm excited to give it a fresh coat of paint which is long overdue!

Half of the wallpaper is still on the wall!

Underneath is just the drywall so the walls have never been painted!

Bryan got off work early today, so we all headed off to the grocery store. We always go way over budget at the grocery store and the sad thing is I didn't even buy many fruits and vegetables because I plan on going to the farmers market tomorrow, but we eat good and fairly healthy. Personally, I don't mind sacrificing going out to eat all the time or doing alot of extra activities that cost money to be able to get what I want at the grocery store! 

I received 2 packages in the mail today and fluff mail at that! I love getting packages delivered to my doorstep! It's like Christmas, even though I know what I'm getting! ;) I ordered Maddox 2 swim diapers for the summer. These are by My Swim Baby and I liked them because the have 3 snaps down the side that makes it easier for them to come off your baby when they're wet.

Green Chomp & Aqua Splash were the prints

I also got 2 more Thirsties Duo Wraps in Hoot & Mud that I won off ebay. I already included these in Maddox's stash that I posted about a couple days ago, so now he has 4 covers which will be nice!

What are your favorite swim diapers??

-Hannah

Yard Sale!

Today was another early morning for me! I woke up at 6:30 because my mom and I were going to have a yard sale at my house. We had one a few weeks ago and it went extremely well, but we still had stuff left over and had found some more stuff to add. It was pretty chilly this morning (around 40-45 degrees) so we didn't have quite as big of a turn out as last time, but we are going to give it another try next weekend because there will be tons of yard sales in our area then. We had a pretty good day though considering we didn't stay out very long! 

After the yard sale, I got in a quick nap while Maddox was still napping which really helped boost my energy back up! So, Maddox and I went out for some lunch at KFC (pregnancy craving?!?) and to the library. Even though it only got up to about 60 degrees today, I was feeling stir crazy and just wanted to get out the house.

Maddox had to have his own little plate at KFC & probably ate his weight in green beans! :)

Maddox loves bunnies right now & I thought this would make a good night time story book!

He is also loving Eric Carle books right now too. We read Polar Bear, Polar Bear a million times so I thought I would switch it up!

I myself am loving Eric Carle books for him too. I think they are so colorful and fun! I'd like to get him little board books versions of these books if I see them out somewhere. That way he could look at them by himself and I wouldn't have to worry about him ripping out the pages. He has Hungry,Hungry Caterpillar, but I'd like to get all the books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. He could later pass them on down to his sister! :)

Tomorrow is church, so I have went ahead and laid out our clothes. Maddox's bag is already packed. I just need to add some snacks and a sippy cup, so I'll go ahead and prepare those tonight and hopefully we will have a smooth morning!

What books did/does your toddler enjoy??

-Hannah

Snuggle Day!

So, yesterday I did not get a post up because I was at work until really late and went straight to bed when I got home.

This literally happened last night!

We didn't do anything exciting yesterday at all because it poured rain all day! Maddox had another rough teething day yesterday with a low grade fever still, but thankfully he is all better and is back to his spunky self today!

Today was supposed to be a babysitting day, but someone in their family passed away so I only kept him for a couple hours. Maddox and I have taken most of the day just to play and snuggle and it has just been great. I got all of my morning chores done fairly early this morning and there is a few things I'm putting on the back burner so Maddox and I could just spend the whole day playing and spending good quality time with each other. It is crazy how I am with him all day five days a week, but between cleaning and babysitting I am lucky to sit down and have a few minutes of one on one time with him! I truly treasure days like this!

I thought I'd post what our changing table looks like now that we have got it up and semi-organized. It is a darker color than I thought it would be and is a little darker than their other furniture, but it will work just fine. Right now we have a blue cover on the changing pad because we are using the table for Maddox. In the cubby holes I have some extra pocket diaper shells that I'm not using right now, a caddy with wipe solution, cloth wipes, extra Snappis, shea butter for rash cream, lotions, and his wetbags. In the first drawer I have Maddox diapers and the bottoms drawers are Natalie's newborn prefolds and covers. It has worked out great with Maddox and makes changing his diapers alot easier!

Maddox's diaper drawer

His stash right now includes:

-4 BumGenius 4.0s (White, Ribbet, Clementine, & Noodle {not pictures})

-1 Charlie Banana

-3 Dream Diapers by Tot Wraps AIOs

-5 Alva Baby Pockets (we have a ton more of these, but I've only got 12 prefolds to stuff with!)

-1 dozen Diaper Rite orange edge prefolds

-4 Thirsties Duo Wrap size 2 covers (2 Hoot, 1 Celery, 1 Mud)

-1 Flip w/ 3 Stay dray inserts {not pictured} in Twilight

Natalie's diaper drawer

Natalie's stash includes:

-1 dozen Diaper Rite newborn prefolds 

-1 dozen Green Mountain Diaper orange edge prefolds

-1 Imagine newborn cover (Flutter)

-2 Thirsties xsmall covers (Rose & Blackbird)

-6 Thirsties Duo Wraps size 1 (Mango, Meadow, Orchid, White, Honey Dew, & a striped one{ I cant remember the name of that one})

-2 Kissaluvs fitteds

-1 Kawaii Good Night Heavy Wetter Pocket Diaper (Mod Circle)

*Then she will also get Maddox's pocket diapers, Flip, bigger sized prefolds, and covers too.

I am also thinking about adding a couple Thirsties AIOs, a couple FuzziBunz Elite pocket diapers or Rumparooz, a couple more Flip Hybrids & inserts, a couple more BumGenius 4.0s, and maybe some BumGenius newborn AIOs to her stash.

I've never tried the Thirsties AIOs, FuzziBunz Elite, Rumparooz, or BumGenius newborn AIOs. What are your thoughts on them if you have tried them?

-Hannah

Teething Blues Day 2

Sorry to not have any pictures with this post, but we have had a rough teething day today. Maddox woke up before 6 this morning and still with a low grade fever. Today was also a babysitting day and Little Man is also teething bad! Neither one of them took a good nap today, but I still managed to get some good cleaning in.

Bryan came home around 5 and cooked us some dinner before heading off to church. Maddox hung in there pretty good,  but his low grade fever came back again. He went straight to sleep as soon as we got home. I am praying those teeth come in soon. I hate seeing him not feeling good!
So between cleaning and loving on two teething babies today, I have had a non-stop day! I thank God for being my strength and hope in times like these!

-Hannah

Toddler Teething

Today was an early morning for me. My mom was having an outpatient surgery done today and we had to be there at 6am. I am not an early morning person at all. I am doing good to be up by 7:45 everyday sometimes later if I can! Bryan stayed home with Maddox while we went and I got back just as Maddox was going down for his nap which gave me the chance to take a nap too! Bryan had warned me that Maddox had been pretty fussy while I was gone and that did not change once he woke up from his nap. I thought maybe he just needs to get out of the house for a bit so after Bryan left for work, we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream and then played outside some.

Chasing his truck around

One of my pregnancy cravings..Oreo Blizzard!

Around 5, he said he wanted to take a bath, which he usually says that when he is sleepy because he knows usually after a bath we go to bed. So, I let him take a bath and tried to hold him off from going to sleep til at least 6:30 (his normal bedtime is about 7:30). As I was taking him to brush his teeth, I noticed his head felt warm. I took his temperature and sure enough it was 100.1. I had been thinking he had symptoms of teething again like drooling and red cheeks, but I think it was full blown teething today. The only teeth left to come in besides his 2 year molars is his canine teeth, so I guess those guys will be popping through soon! I gave him a little tylenol and put him to bed after 6:30 and he told me "night, night" and went right to sleep. He always sleeps more when he is teething too.

Here is a list of his usual teething symptoms:
-Fussiness
-Pulling at his ears
-Blotchy, red cheeks
-Drooling
-Sleeps more
-Lack of appetite
-Sometimes low grade fever
-Sometimes diarrhea

On a positive note though, he used the big boy potty for the first time today!! We have been sitting him on the potty just to get him used to being on it for months now, but for the first time today he actually used it! Hopefully, we are breaking some ground now!

Our flowers are starting to bloom around our house!

What are your baby's normal teething symptoms and how do you remedy them?

-Hannah

Water Fun

We started off today on high note. After breakfast, Maddox and I took a package that needed to be shipped to the post office and also made a swing by the car wash too! He had to say "Hello!" to everyone that came into the post office while we were there. It was so sweet! I am glad he is a sociable little guy because it makes me feel more confident about homeschooling and that he doesn't have to be around tons of kids everyday to know how to talk to people. To me life is a classroom and there is no better way to learn how to act in public than to go out in public! We stay home 5 out of 7 days of the week usually and he is more sociable than most kids his age.

 After our errands and a nap, we headed off to my mom's house so Maddox could play with his cousin!  They had a blast playing in their little water table and with the water hose! I'd say it was nearly 90 degrees today and sunny. It was just beautiful!

They were determined to make it a pool!

They played so hard all day that Maddox is ready for bed earlier than usual and Momma is too!:) 

What are your kids' favorite summer water activities??

-Hannah

Happy Mothers Day!

Today was a busy day! I woke up to a wonderful homemade breakfast (cracker barrel to go ;)) along with a card and some flowers!  Then we got ready for church and Maddox and I headed off while Bryan had to stay behind to go to work. Going to church with a toddler by yourself is something you have to really prepare yourself for before you get there because it is not going to be easy, but it is totally doable and worth the effort.

The message was great and just what I needed to hear. On Saturdays, I always watch Dr. Charles Stanley's messages on TV and both he and my pastor preached on the same story of Timothy and how he turned out to be such a good Christian because of the godly influence of his mother and grandmother.  I think when God gives you the same message from two different people he is really trying to tell you something.  I think God is really speaking to me about making sure I not only teach my children to be have godly character, but to show them godly character all the time. We can tell our kids to do one thing over and over, but they are going to do as we do. I dont want to be a parent that says "do as I say, not as I do" . I don't want my children to look back and say I was hypocritical about anything.

After church, Maddox and I went to mom's to give her her mother's day present.  I also had to go to work so she was going to watch him until Bryan got off work. So, I headed off to work and I am just now home to sleep! It had been a very tiring day, but a wonderful mother's day! I am so thankful for my 2 babies (I am 24 weeks today!) and my own mom who had always sacrificed everything for her kids!

Hope you all have had a great Mothers Day too!

-Hannah

A New Routine

I had the intentions of running some errands today, but considering most places close at 12 on Saturdays that just did not happen. We ( as in Maddox and I) ended up having a "day of rest", but I still kept up with my daily chores(sweeping, a load or two of laundry, making the bed, etc.)  I've realized that if I let those things go even for one day they get overwhelming by the next day. I also did a little more studying on FlyLady.net of her methods for keeping up with housework. I've been doing really good at keeping up with the day to day cleaning and keeping the house maintainable, but my detail cleaning schedule tends to come and go. So, today I did Fly Lady's first step of shining your sink. It sounds odd, but it is one thing I have always overlooked in detail cleaning. She then suggests after basically scrubbing every crease of it with a toothbrush to dry it out after every use and clean it with Windex every night to keep it always shiny. So, now that my sink is all shiny, I have the motivation to keep it that way! I also did her suggestion of 15 minutes a day of declutter. The first area of our house that came to mind was our "junk drawer", so within 15 minutes that cluttered drawer became nice and organized. It's amazing how just those two small touches I made to our house today has made me feel productive. I wish I had taken some before pictures of the sink and drawer, but here are some after pictures!

Shiny Sink!

Clutter Free Drawer!

Bryan has been working like crazy the past couple weeks, so it has been an odd feeling for me because alot of days I'm with Maddox by myself the whole time he is awake. I am so thankful he has the desire to be the "breadwinner" and provide for our family, but I'll be thankful when things slow down a bit again so I don't feel like a single parent some days!

Tomorrow, I will be taking Maddox to church by myself for the first time in a while due to Bryan working all day tomorrow too. So, I am taking Fly Lady's suggestion of laying out our clothes the night before and I will probably go ahead and pack Maddox's bag too. I'm hoping to making tomorrow as easy on myself as possible!

Do you keep up with your housework on your own or do you follow a cleaning schedule??

-Hannah

"Highlights" of the Day

So, yesterday's blog post did not happen because I typically work Thursday evenings and Sunday evenings and last night I did not get home till after 11, which is a lot later than normal. This morning I woke up tired as I knew I would, but I knew I had to get up and get going because Little Man would be arriving soon. It's definitely been a pajama day all day today which I have been working really hard to get out of the habit of doing. I have found that I am much more productive when I put on "real" clothes right when I wake up, but that just did not happen today!

It was another pretty typical babysitting and routine housework. I try to purpose everyday though to make sure I take the time and sit down one on one with Maddox and play and really make sure I'm reaching his heart with some undivided attention. Small children really need at least 15-30 minutes a day of undivided attention. We usually play a shape sorting game or color sorting game, just something fun and educational!

One of my favorite midday snacks!

This is our new blender, which I snagged up yesterday at Walmart on clearance. It retails for about $60, but I got it for $27! We were in need of a new blender because I had let a friend borrow ours because we had really quit using it, but I've been finding so many good recipes that involve a blender lately that I was going to ask for it back. I kept hearing her say all the things they were still making in that blender so I didn't want to ask for it back knowing they still used it alot, so I figured I would just pick up a cheap one at Walmart that would do the job and I ended up finding this one! God reminded me of the verse that says if you let someone borrow something, do it without expecting a return. It's so wild and beyond my ability to comprehend sometimes how true God's Word and when we obey Him how He rewards us, like this little gem here!

Maddox managed to find a highlighter today and wrote all over himself with it. Thankfully, he just wrote on himself and a piece of paper, not on the furniture or carpet. He can dig out stuff you never knew you had sometimes, it's crazy! His new favorite "toy" now though is our Keurig coffee carousel. He likes to take out the little "K-Cups" and put them back and try to open them. He will sit and play with that thing as long as you will let him! 

It's hard to see in this picture, but he has highlighter all up and down his leg!

I finally got to try my new blender this evening by making Maddox some homemade fruit snacks. They turned out good! They are a little sour, but I'm sure Maddox won't care. I got the recipe  from Sarah on YouTube at Making Life Simple. She has some other great recipe's and cloth diapering tips on her channel that I love to watch! We ended the day with some tacos & Toy Story before bed!

What are some of your favorite blender recipes (smoothies, milkshakes, etc.)??

-Hannah

Another Beautiful Day

Today was gorgeous again! It was in the 80's again! I woke up this morning with Maddox and we read some books and started breakfast. I made biscuits from scratch this morning so while I was mixing I set Maddox up with a little cup of his own flour and some utensils on a towel. He sat and played with that until I had finished breakfast. It's amazing how something so simple can hold his attention for 30+ minutes!

We finally put together the changing table today and it was a doozy to put together. My fingers are so sore from screwing in so many screws! It took us over 3 hours to get it together. It looks great now that its finally finished. It is a little bit darker than the rest of our nursery furniture although they are all supposed to be espresso. I'm excited to use it with Maddox because it has become harder to change him in the floor with my pregnant belly!

Maddox took a nap and then we headed to my mom's house to visit for a bit. Played in some water and rocks and rode on the train (lawn mower haha).

Maddox can make a "bowl" out of anything!

When we came home I organized Maddox's and Natalie's diapers in the drawers of the changing table and then put Maddox to bed. He went right to sleep, poor little guy must have been wore out from all the building we did today!

What activities holds your toddler's  attention for long periods of time?

-Hannah

Bright, Sunny Day!

Today has just been a beautiful day! It was in the 80's and sunny all day. I love days like these so much that I like to think the Lord made this day just for me! hehe We had another "normal" day of babysitting and staying home all day doing our regular routine. 

Today was our first day of trying our new prefolds with covers and so far so good. They are much more absorbent than microfiber inserts in pocket diapers. I have noticed a little rash break out today. I'm not sure if that is common with prefolds or if it's from the orange juice I gave him this morning. I've noticed when I give him orange juice he tends to get a diaper rash. We use some pure African shea butter for rashes and it works wonders! 

Maddox sporting his new Thirsties duo wrap in Hoot :)

During Maddox's nap, I had the chance to organize and clean out our kitchen cabinets. After going to the store yesterday everything was still sitting on the counter because our cabinets were so cluttered! I focused on getting as much healthy, organic foods as I could yesterday, which could be why I went so over budget! I go through phase where I want to eat healthy, organic, and homemade foods and then I'll get tired of cooking 3 meals a day everyday and I go back to processed, "quick" foods. I usually stay within our grocery budget when I stay out of the junk food aisles, but i think yesterday I bought enough food to last for 3 weeks instead of just 2 (at least I hope!). I feel so much better when we are eating healthy, but it does take more meal planning, cooking, and prepping.

Non-homogenized whole milk from a rather local creamery in a glass bottle! They sell this at our Kroger.

For dinner, I tried out something new for us, but really simple. We had beef tips with onion and peppers. I just threw it all in the skillet and it took no time at all! As I was eating it I was thinking it would probably be good wrapped in a tortilla like a fajita too.

We are ending the day with some chocolate chip cookies and more playtime before bed (for Maddox at least). These are the days I hate to see end because they truly feel like special treats to me after going through a very long, cold winter!

What healthy/ all natural switches have you been making in your life?

-Hannah

One Tired Mommy

Today seemed to be the never ending day. There are some days that fly by, but today was not one of them. It started off a normal day, wake up, breakfast, and then the little boy a babysit a few days a week arrives. My changing table arrived today from Amazon! Too bad it was too heavy to carry in the door or I would already have that thing put together!  

The box it is in! It has caution tape on it warning that its over 70 lbs!

Maddox took his normal 2 hour nap as I anxiously awaited the mail man for some cloth diaper mail. Maddox woke up and my package finally arrived. I had ordered a dozen unbleached prefolds in Maddox's size and two thirsties duo wraps size 2 and some Bummis fleece liners. Well sure enough they sent me the bleached prefolds which bummed me out for a second until God showed up right on time with the verse from Luke 12 of isn't life more than what clothes you wear? After that verse came to mind I totally put it to rest and went and started prepping them. This will be the first time I've used prefolds and covers so I'm pretty excited about trying something new! 

He was determined to lock me "in"!

Then, the day went on and Little Man's mom came and picked him up and I had the bright idea that Maddox and I would go to the library and then grocery shopping. By this time it is 6pm and usually Maddox is in bed by 7:30pm. Why I thought taking a sleepy toddler to the grocery store I have no idea!?! But, he enjoyed the library. We picked out some potty training books to take home and then headed to the store. 

Picking out some books at the library!

He was so determined to eat everything in the cart and say "Hi" and "Bye" to everyone we passed by. It was so cute! We made it through and went way over budget because I think at the end I just started throwing a bunch of stuff in the cart trying to hurry.  I was so exhausted when I got home and got Maddox in bed! Going to the grocery store is hard work. I think that's why I put it off so long!

Now I am going to head off to bed and do it all over again tomorrow (minus the grocery shopping)! 

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

What are your thoughts or experiences using prefolds and covers on a toddler? Are they better than pocket diapers with microfiber inserts? 

-Hannah