This and That

On Saturday we went to Old Tucson Studios with Tyler and AmiCheri. We would have had a fantastic time, except for one minor detail: it was blazing hot outside! Did I mention BLAZING? I think we hit the record high for the month of August or something. And unfortunately Lyla got heat exhaustion, and was burning up the rest of the day and into the night. But that aside, it was pretty cool.

Here is Mister Squishy with his Uncle Tyler. I just can't get over this little guys cuteness factor! I mean, I know I'm his mother, but he is just too cute for his own good, don't you think?!
Right before this photo was taken we went to go see the can-can dancers, and Spencer thought he had died and went to heaven... Jesse kept trying to cover his eyes and Spenc would yank his dad's hand away and strain to see the dancers, and his eyes were glued on them as they danced around the room. One came right up and sang right into his face and touched his hand... and let me tell you, that just made his whole little life right there! He was smitten!

And here are my other two jailbirds. Ironically Lyla's face is real in this photo... we didn't even have to ask for it! Aren't they just a pair!

So our hens started to lay! And I am so stoked! The eggs are blue, like an instant Easter egg. Anyone ready for an egg hunt?! So here is my little familia showing off our new loot! And I must admit, I kept clapping my hands on my legs and saying "good girls" to our chickens, and I probably looked like a lunatic.
And yes, as much as I complain, my babies do actually sleep...sometimes. And even less sometimes do they actually sleep at the same time, so I had to document it for sanity purposes.
He is completely on the move these days. Knee and army crawling. He cut his lower two front teeth a few weeks ago, and today his top ones are coming through. Yikes! He is growing so fast.
Jesse and Lyla built a cool fort, and here is Lyla smooching on her daddy, who is "locked" in.
I just love this smile. Lyla is, for the most part a pretty serious girl... but when I get a true smile, it just brightens my entire day! I love to see her happy.
Lyla and her friend Isaac heading to the Tucson Children's Museum... Lyla loves to hold hands, I think that is adorable. Right after this we had a meltdown because Isaac didn't want to hold her hand... so sad : (
And this picture... just to emphasize the cuteness factor I mentioned before!!!!!! Oh, I just can't stand it!

Hairied Mom Day

Yes, I did shave, that is not the hairy I am talking about.

It is one of those days where you wear you and your sweet children out at the zoo, and then take them to McDonalds, where they proceed to cry during lunch and run around like little monkeys that have never been disciplined. And when you finally realize you just need to go home and never leave again, you find... you locked your keys in the car.

When the hubby finally arrives with the spare keys (a magically speedy delivery at that) you quickly hop in the car, and to your astonishment neither tired child falls asleep on the 30 minute drive home.

Yep, it's one of those days.

Cloth!

Have a mentioned to you that I love my cloth diapers? No? You must not have had me over for a playdate this month.

I do, I love them. I love them so much, I just grabbed the button for Green Baby Elephant, which is where I bought my diapers! Tonya is a great Tucson gal, and had the best prices I found anywhere online! She even came to my house to show me all the products she carries. Talk about awesome.

So I am old fashioned, I went with simple prefolds, but not the kinds our mothers used. They are hemp... so they are very thirsty! They soak up pee like no other. I am also old fashioned because I wanted all my cloth diapers to be the same. Lots of CD mamas have like one of every brand... but I didn't need to do that, because when I saw these prefolds, I knew they were the diaper for me... well for Spencer! I use Thirsties brand hemp prefolds with Flip brand covers.

It's gross you say? Obviously you haven't tried it yet! No I don't stick my hands in the toilet... I have a diaper sprayer. But they get stained and gross. No again. Hang dry them in the sun, and let them bleach out, and bonus all the germies get killed t0o. Well, it's gross to tote the dirty diaper in your diaper bag when you are out and about. Nope. I have a "wet bag", and it conceals the smell, and it also doubles as a spot for Lyla's wet clothes because of pee accidents, or jumping in friends pools before taking her clothes off. No more carrying around grocery bags!

Softer than paper on my baby's precious bum. Good for the environment. Cuter than disposables by far!! Budget friendly.

People have asked me what my investment was totally. The switch cost me $350. And that was everything! Sprayer, 26 diapers, 12 covers, 2 big wet bags, 1 small wet bag, 12 cloth wipes, and enough detergent to do 90 loads of diapers... which will last me 1/2 the year! And I no longer need to buy diapers or wipes for any of my children... ever again. And diapering a child from birth to 2.5 is around $2,000 ... so the research says.

Wait, before I end, can I also rave about my cloth wipes? Wierd I know. I originally thought I wanted to stick with disposable wipes... but then I was picking the used poopy wipes out the the dirty diaper before I tossed it in the wet bag, and they had to go in the trash... and they aren't folded in a disposable diaper. So my house smelled rank! Well I tried cloth wipes, and I love them too!!! I fold them so they pop out of an old wipe container (Tonya at Green Baby Elephant taught me how). One wipe cleans poopy bums, they are so soft, and they smell great, and they go in the wet bag with the dipes. I make my wipe solution with 2 cups boiled water, 1tbs. baby wash, 1tbs olive oil, 5 drops grapefruit seed extract. The extract makes it antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and what not. I pour like 1/2 cup of solution over my wipes in the wipe container, and am good to go for a few days. I use the wipes for everything! Even Lyla and Spencer's faces.

I am suprised to admit, but I love cloth diapering, and I am also suprised it takes no more time or effort than regular disposable diapering. The "unknown" was the hardest part to deal with! But it passed quickly!