Cloth Diaper Tuesdays :)

Okay, for those of you who think I am nuts for cloth diapering, I think you're nuts for not! We decided to make the swtch in March because we had tried all diaper brands, and I was continuously having leaks. I was tired of changing outfits with every diaper change, so I researched cloth diapers. Let me tell you, I was OVERWHELMED at first with all of the information, which is maybe why some people won't cloth diaper. I spent three days searching all of the types, brands, etc. I decided to do a trial of diapers from a company so that I could see which diapers I liked the most. I recommend Jilian's Drawers for a diaper trial, btw. Once I got the diapers, I found that I really like pockets! Basically, it's a simple as a disposable. You just stuff an insert into it's pocket and snap or velcro it on! Easy Peasy. I also like hybrid dipes because they are good for the diaper bag. Basically it's a cover with an insert, and you just reuse the cover with different inserts. Anyway, I'll be going into great detail about brands and types that I use with one post for each. So look forward to that next week! Cloth diapering is so easy that I would NEVER use disposables again. I can't believe I was paying money for that garbage that's going to be in our landfills for 600+ years!!!! Aaron thinks I've moved to California and become a hippy, but seriously, it's just the logical choice.
Many people think the washing would be bad, but I assure you it's fun! I love having clean fluff to fold, and I hate laundry! Something about hanging my diapers to dry makes my day! Here is a little photoshoot of dipes outside drying this morning:

 

That is the cheapest little drying rack that Target carries, and works perfect for hanging the covers! So if it's not washing that causes people to not cloth diaper, start up costs could be it. Yes, it was a little bit to start up, but honestly, I am going to save about 1800 or more with just Emma. Then, I can use them for our next baby also! And when I am done, I will still be able to sell these things to other mama's! So, questions? Feel free to ask me! I would love to sell some other mamas on cloth!

Emma Mondays :)

Oh, Emma! Did I mention that my little one is a PISTOL! This girl has definitely got her momma's attitude. She definitely gets it honest, but I could live without the ridiculously sassy personality! She knows what she wants and how to get it already, and she is only 4.5 months old! YIKES! Anyway, we have her late four month well baby visit on Wednesday, and we are very anxious to see how much she weighs! I am also very anxious to get a hold of her reflux issue.
She was put on Zantac at her two month appointment, and it had a hold of the situation for a little while, but it's lately come back and been getting worse. Not only do I hate to see her in pain, but it stresses me out a lot with her crying so much and not wanting to eat/sleep, etc. Poor baby. I hope the doctor will actually listen to what I have to say this time. Last time, she just kept interrupting me every time I tried to say something. It's an unfortunate situation we're in with this Tricare Prime business. I wish we lived at a base with more than one pediatrician, but Beale, well, is Beale. So we'll see how it goes.
We recently purchased a white noise machine, and it's helped with our sleeping issue a little. If you didn't know, she slept through the night for a few weeks, then she got sick, and it's been awful since (That was 2 months ago!). Last week, she was waking up about every 1.5 hours, which is NOT fun. So, since she slept so well on the plane on both trips we've made, I thought a white noise machine would help. The last two nights she has slept from 9-2! That's a huge deal to me because before it was like 9-11, up at 12:30, 2, 3:30, 5, and 630 for the day. So I'm hoping as the nights go on, it will get even better!
And we got a new big girl car seat, YAY! The airline ruined our infant seat by getting cargo grease all over it, so we got $200 worth of travel vouchers, and we had to get her a convertible seat, and she LOVES it. Here is a picture below: How I rotate it is beyond me! So just turn your head!

Now that I'm back! Some changes!

Okay, now that we are back from our little vacation, I am going to be making some changes to my blog! I am going to start dedicating each day of the week to a different topic so that my blogs aren't completely random and hard to keep up with! So, here is how it will go.
Monday- All about Emma :)
Tuesday- Cloth Diapering... Yes, I'm obsessed!
Wednesday- Exercise & Getting back to the size I was in 9th grade
Thursday- Budgeting/School/Life in General
Friday- Groceries and Dinner (I'll share new recipes that I like and any grocery trips I've had!)

I will not be blogging on the weekends in order to spend some time with my little family! This will start tomorrow! Also, I am going to try and include at least one picture with every post!

Twice in one week!

Okay, so it's my second post this week. Go me! I'm really going to try hard this time. I am writing as I sit here feeding Emma and trying to get her to go to sleep. She has been on a wonky sleeping kick lately, and let's just say, I've been one tired momma! I think the hardest thing about having her has been the fact that I am nursing and she relies on me for all of her food rather than me being able to pass off the night feedings to Aaron on the weekends, which would help tremendously, but I suck it up and do it anyway. I can't wait for the day when she finally sleeps through the night. I haven't seen a full night's sleep since long before she was born. At least my fat pregnant body got me sort of used to it before she got here.
Anyhow, tomorrow is mother's day, my first. Aaron and I are going to take Emma to the Sacramento Zoo in the morning, and then have lunch. We then have to come home and pack and be at the airport back in Sac around 10:30 tomorrow night. I am really looking forward to this trip and having the help with Emma, also to see family and eat good southern food!

About that diet. hahah. How am I possibly going to diet while going home for a week. Yeah right! So, I've really decided I'm getting serious about it when we get back. I've been doing well lately with working out. I've been doing an hour circuit type workout five days a week and walking with Emma another few times a week. Now I've just got to get my eating under control! Even though I've lost the baby weight, I want to be in really good shape, and it's going to take some discipline!!!! Hopefully I can do it!

Serious about blogging

Okay, so I want to get serious about blogging! I know. I've said I'm going to do better about blogging several times, and here it is two months since my last post! I mean it this time!

So, in 5 days, we are saying happy four months to Emma! Yahoo! A lot has changed since I last posted. We are going to Mississippi for a last minute trip next week to visit Aaron's family, and mine will be coming down for the weekend to stay and visit with us. Then we will hopefully still be going back in September to visit one week with my family and one week with his! Even if he can't go because you know issues arise with the military (last minute deployments, etc.), then I will probably go alone. Emma was not as hard to deal with as I had imagined she will be when I traveled home in March. It was my first time on a plane, and I will admit, I was TERRIFIED! It was easy peasy really, besides the fact that my plane from Jackson to Houston was delayed, and I almost missed my connection back to Sacramento! If you've never been to the Houston Airport, it's huge! And it wasn't easy lugging myself, a 2.5 month old, and two diaper bags across the airport in less than 15 minutes! I loved being home and definitely wish we lived closer, so I could go more like once a month!

Anyway, Emma is doing lots of new things since I last posted (DUH! It's been two months). She started to roll over from her tummy to her back at about 2.5 months ish. She recently, like a week starting rolling from back to tummy, and it makes her so proud! She does it every time I put her down now, so she's actually spending a good bit of time on her tummy without getting mad! She also started eating solids about 2.5 weeks ago, and she LOVES them! She's eaten carrots, bananas, apples, and green beans so far. So far, she love the apples the best, and surprisingly really doesn't like bananas. Oh well! Oh, my favorite thing is her laughing out loud! She's been doing this for a while now, but I still get excited every time she does it. My least favorite thing is this sleep regression phase she's going through. BOOOOOO! She's been waking up several times a night, and I'm about to go crazy! She was such a good sleeper for the longest time that I got spoiled.

Another new thing is: CLOTH DIAPERS! Okay, I looovveee them! We originally switched because of the massive amount of leaks that we were having with disposables. But a huge plus is the lack of money we are going to spend! Now that I have pretty much got everything I need, we are going to be saving a good bit of money not buying diapers every week or two. We are also using cloth wipes which is money saving too. :) Doing the cloth diapers has inspired me to do other things, like going back to menu planning and saving lots of money on groceries! That means only eating on Saturday, and every other day, we will be eating at home. It's been way too hard with a new baby and going to school and such to cook every night, but now that the semester is almost over and Emma is getting bigger, it will be much easier!

One last thing for this post, and I'll stop talking your ears off! I seriously want to start selling things that I make! Now that I have a sewing machine, I have learned to make leg warmers, skirts, shirts with sewn on designs, fleece diaper covers, curtains, a dress, and I plan on making a cloth diaper here soon. Plus I still make bows, bow holders, tutus, paintings, etc. I really want to do it because I have so much fun sewing and doing crafty things, but I also would like the little extra money it would provide. I just don't know how to go about getting all of that started. I know lots of boutiques have Facebook pages and Etsy stores, but how does one get so many freaking fans? IDK. I am going to continue to make a few more things and then I will see about starting something up. I think it would be ultra fun!