50% Off: Kelly Wels Changing Diaper Book

Kelly Wels Changing Diapers book is 50% off (plus free shipping) now through Memorial Day! Great book to have if you're interested in using cloth diapers!

http://www.kellywels.com/changing-diapers-book-50-off-through-memorial-day-weekend

Angel Baby Lotion

 

I've been using this product on my daughter since she was born, 3 years ago. I cannot recommend it enough. Not only does it leave her skin soft and smelling amazing (orange and vanilla), but it has zero toxins. I have no worries when applying this lotion to her skin.

I've also recently discovered another use for it. I never applied it to my newborn's skin because he didn't seem to need it. But recently he developed eczema. As I was trying to figure out how to help his eczema without the use of a steroid cream, I happened to read a review on the Earth Mama Angel Baby site about how someone used it to treat eczema on their kids. So I went ahead and gave it a try, and the same day I applied it, his eczema improved dramatically. I'm beyond impressed.

Yes, the price is a bit high. An 8-oz bottle costs $20.00, plus shipping. But it's worth it. I do not need to worry about chemicals when I apply it to their skin, and that's worth the price right there. Also, it lasts forever. It's a very thin lotion, so a little goes a long way. And, if you "like" their page on Facebook, every Friday they will have a sale on one of their many products, which is usually buy one get one free. This lotion is featured often, so that pushes it down to 10 bucks. Definitely a great deal.

Click here to read about the product or purchase it.

This is not a paid review.

Outdoor Winter/Christmas Decoration - on the cheap!

I love natural outdoor decorations. I'm always trying to find something outside to decorate with. Today, I decided to take a few small branches from our tree, piece them together and then hang them on the porch.

For Halloween and Thanksgiving, I hung up some corn with ribbons around it. When I bought the ribbon, I made sure it would work for fall/winter. So after I tied the branches together I was able to re-use the same ribbon to save time and money.

Ok, here's how it's done.

First, trim some small branches off of your tree.... or your neighbors tree when they're not lookin' :)

I made the mistake of doing this without gloves.... in the words of my toddler "ouchies!"

I used three branches for each piece. I tied them together using some thin green wire, but almost anything  would work.

Create little hooks in the back....

This will allow you to hang it up of course....

Don't forget to attach the pretty bow, which I also did with wire. After you hang them up, you might need to trim them a bit to keep people from bumping into them. Again, ouchies....

Pine cones and red berries would make this adorable but sadly I have none.

So there ya have it! Outdoor decorations which was almost free. The ribbon was $1.00 each on clearance and I used it for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Winter/Christmas decor. Easy as that! :)

Play Room - Part 2

Remember this? It's the playroom. Progress report = Zero

Ok, I did add a pink bean bag chair and the room has carpet now. I wanted to start on the curtains but I cannot find yellow chevron fabric anywhere. I searched every store I could, even in different towns but came up with nothing. I did find some online but it's way more money than I'm willing to pay. Hopefully I will find some though. I'm not giving up.

Here are my ideas:

The blue above is the wall color, which is already done. (Benjamin Moore's Bahaman Sea Blue #2055-44)

Yellow Chevron fabric for curtains:

Decor Pad

Pink Bean Bag Chair for accent color (no, I did not buy this from Amazon but this is the same color):

Amazon

World Map to either hang on the wall, or maybe find a rug:

Amazon

I want to build this table:

Fabulous Finishes

Build this cute little chair/reading area and the puffs hanging from the ceiling, but in pink:

I love my apartment

Some type of chalkboard:

Amazon

Just head on over to my pinterest for more ideas. Click here.

I'm also going to make a toy box and add some shelves. Oh, and I plan to use their hand/footprints as art. :)

All of the pictures are cited, of course. Just click on the link below each picture and you will go to the website.

Child Led Weaning

What is it? You allow your child to breastfeed for as long as they want to until they decide to stop on their own (this can occur between 2 - 4 years of age, although usually around 2). I decided to do this with Mimi even though I questioned whether or not it would work. When she approached 2 1/2 years of age and was still nursing (not constantly, but when she wanted to sleep) I started to get concerned. I was worried because I'm pregnant and I didn't really want to nurse two kids. She was actually starting to nurse MORE than usual for a few weeks and I was very discouraged. But then... bam... done. She stopped nursing one day. She nursed a tiny bit for a night or two (I didn't bother her about it) and then completely stopped..... all by herself.
No crying fits
No tantrums
No staying awake at night
Nothing

So if you're wondering whether or not it works, I'm here to say that for me it did work. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that I stuck with it and didn't give up. Knowing that she stopped when she was nutritionally and emotionally ready really makes me happy.

Kitchen Curtains

After 1 year, I finally found fabric to make curtains with for my kitchen. Yay!!

I'm excited and hoping that I can actually sew them since I have no idea how to use my sewing machine.

Fingers crossed! I will post pictures after I finish them (hopefully this week).

Rumparooz

I've only been using Rumparooz for a few days, but so far I'm very pleased with the results. I think I will be buying several of these for Emmett and Mimi. Unfortunately they are shockingly expensive but they work well and seem the most comfortable. I was very worried about the bulk but once it's on the baby and then you switch to the less bulky BumGenius 4.0, it really isn't THAT noticeable. 

The BumGenius 4.0 is probably my second favorite so I plan to buy a few of those as well. It's second because the insert moves around a bit more than I would like. It hasn't been enough to cause problems though and I love that they fit a bigger baby so well.

Rumparooz though, I have to say, I'm impressed. They are the ONLY diaper that will fit a newborn (we'll test this out in October) AND my 2 1/2 year old toddler. BG is too big for newborns, fuzzibunz is too small for my toddler (she can wear it, but it's snug) --- every diaper I try it is either one or the other, but Rumparooz fits all sizes. We'll see though, I could change my mind after trying them a bit longer. 

Also, the first thing I noticed about cloth diapers is that my daughter is more aware of when she's dirty. I really think this will help her potty train faster. As soon as the diaper was heavy with pee she immediately came to me fussing to be changed. She would have never done that with a disposable diaper. 

Good results so far!