I'm A Mommy

I can't deny it any longer; my children consume me. All my time goes to them, my thoughts are theirs, all of me, body, heart and soul belong to them. So, my point is, I will now be using my blog as a journal about them so that family can stay updated on all the awesome stuff they do! I apologize for bad grammer. I'm walking through life half asleep at the moment.

My precious Elijah is turning two next Sunday. I can't imagine what life would be like without him. He opened my heart bigger than I ever could have thought possible. The love you feel for your children is like nothing else in the world. He amazes me daily. He is so sweet and incredibly smart. I am truly blessed!

This morning I went to get him up out of bed and he was laying at the door looking through the crack. When he saw me he said "you open door Mommy."
As I was getting him dressed he was telling me about what I assume was a dream. He said "I drank it all" I asked him what did he drink? Then, he said "Grandma's water." When he realized he was wearing some Cowboy gear he said "Yay OSU! Good job OSU!" He already knows what's up!
We are making great progress with potty training. There are days when he has no accidents even when we go out in public away from the house. After he uses the potty he wants me to clap my hands which then turns into wanting to sing the patty cake song. So, I guess we do a potty patty cake! Haha!
We had donuts for breakfast this morning, for the first time ever. He kept wanting to call them Donos at first.

My sweet little Joseph turned a month old on Thursday. Wow! Has it really already been an entire month?? He is such a sweetie. He loves to be held and cuddled and actually gets pretty mad when he is put down. Thank God for the Moby wrap! He eats great and often! At his check up he weighed 11.6 and was 22 inches. Dr. Sublett kept commenting on how pretty and clear his skin was. He really is gorgeous, again, I am so blessed! He has started to become a little more vocal. He has almost started to smile when I kiss his little neck, but not quite. The hair on the top of his head likes to stick straight up! I can't get it to stay down. It's pretty cute though. We have almost used up all the disposable diapers on him that we had left over from Elijah so we will be starting cloth on him in a few days. They will fit him, but they're going to look so big on his tiny little bottom.

Love, Jessica, Elijah, and Joseph.

Vintage Pretties

When the evening shadows and stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

<3 Jessica


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Cloth Curious?

My Cloth Experience

What people still use cloth diapers??

Yes they do and I am one of those people. I actually know several mommies my age that use them as well. There are several reasons why I made the switch from disposable to cloth. These reasons include, cost, environmental impact, baby's sensitive skin, and they're just plain adorable.

Cloth it turns out are extremely less expensive in the long run than disposables. We haven't had to buy diapers in months and I can not imagine what it would be like having to run to the store for diapers every few weeks with the schedule I have now.

Cloth diapers are so much better for the environment and baby's skin than disposable diapers. It takes a disposable diaper over 500 years to decompose when it is not in a landfill (laying out in full sun exposure). I always hated finding those little gel balls on my baby's skin from disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers are stinkin' cute. They come in so many different colors and prints. I loved shopping for diapers and I still "window shop" diapers all the time even though I now have a great stash built up.

When I started researching cloth diapers I was completely overwhelmed with all the information available on the net complete with jargon that I had no idea how to translate and companies just trying to sell sell sell. So I had to ask around and finally got some good information I could understand and was able to make my decisions.

First I learned the jargon:
Cloth diapering vocab-(The ones that apply to my experience)

Pocket Diaper- includes a stuffable pocket allowing you to control the absorbency.

AIO- All in one, the "insert" is already attached and you have to do no prep.

Prefold- traditional diaper which many would recognize today as a burp cloth.

I wasn't sure what type of diaper would work best for us so I bought a few of each to try them out.

Then I made a list of all the things we would need if we switched and how much each would cost.

My list looked something like this:
9 pocket diapers
9 inserts
3 doublers
5 liners
flushable liners
12 prefolds
3 snappis
2 covers
2 large wet bags
2 travel wet bags
15 reusable cloth wipes.
wipes solution
diaper detergent

with different prices all over the place being compared to each other.

So after I figured everything out and found the best prices I bought everything we would need until Elijah was potty trained. I bought most of the supplies from Amazon.com. I love that website. They have a program you can use to purchase baby products and not have to pay shipping. I also bought a few wonderful homemade items from etsy.com, another website I'm in love with. It ended up being about the same price for 4 months of disposable diapers. Keep in mind these diapers could fit a baby from birth to potty trained without needing to be replaced.

Another great place to look for diapers that I realized after my initial diaper purchase is ebay. I have used ebay exclusively to build up my diaper stash! Yes you can buy used diapers but if this grosses you out, listen, you can also find diapers that have never been worn and are brand new with tags at extremely low prices!!

Once everything arrived we finally started our new adventure in cloth diapering. We did run into a few problems along the way. Dads and prefolds do not mix well. We had parts of diapers hanging out of covers all over the place. But, with kind and patient tips and teaching from Mama, he eventually got the hang of it. This video was also helpful>

The biggest problem we had was with rashes. Elijah has eczema and very sensitive skin. He kept getting rashes and I couldn't figure out why and was getting very discouraged. Then I finally figured it out after googling the problem. As a new mother I am so thankful for the internet!! I immediately found information on cloth diaper rashes and a little thing called bac-out. Bac-out is a stain and odor eliminator with live enzyme cultures that I use in the pre-wash rinse. These live enzyme-producing cultures attack pet stains, organic waste, and odors naturally which is awesome except that they also attack baby's skin! Once I figured this out I stripped all his diapers (washing them with no soap to remove all residue including the bac-out)and the rash went away.

I have since started using bac-out again because it just works so well but I now do a soap free wash afterward and baby's bottom is still fine.

Here are the brands I use:
FuzziBunz (pocket)
AlvaBaby (pocket)
Thirsties (cover)
Econobum (cover)
Motherease (AIO)
Sunbaby (pocket)
Marvels (cover)
Fluffy's diapers (cover)(etsy)

FuzziBunz are very popular and they really are a good diaper, not only are they one size, but they are adjustable at the waist and the legs. Others are only adjustable at the waist which hasn't been a problem so far. They are however a little pricier than the others I own at about 18-20 per diaper (less if you buy in a bundle). Alva baby diapers are in my opinion just as good as FuzziBunz but at a fraction of the price ranging at around 4-6 per diaper with more prints and the very soft minky outer. Another thing, I only bought diapers with snap closures. I hate velcro and did not want anything to do with it! haha!

As for the covers, They don't really vary in my opinion, although, the Fluffy's diaper covers are far better than any manufactured cover I have used and much cuter!

We have ended up using our prefolds only at night and in between washes if we run out of pocket diapers. Snappis are wonderful little inventions that hold the prefold together.

All of our wet bags are from etsy sellers.

Another thing I was apprehensive about was the washing. Flushable liners decompose within 28 days and make clean up a breeze. They cost $7 for 100. Here is my washing routine:
I do a rinse with bac-out. Then a wash with Charlies Soap. Followed by a soap free wash. I like Charlie's Soap so much that I now use it for all of our laundry! It cleans so well, it is great for Elijah's sensitive skin, and all our clothes have a fresh clean scent. Oh it's awesome for the environment too, made from natural biodegradable ingredients. Bonus!
I only do 3 diaper loads a week, not a big deal at all. I hang dry all the diapers.

One more thing, clothe wipes and wipes solution. It is just easier to use cloth wipes when you're using cloth diapers, just keep them in the diaper and wash with them.

I have only used two solutions: Kissaluvs diaper lotion potion and a homemade version. I really like the Kissaluvs, it has a nice lavender scent and all natural ingredients. I like making it myself too, because I can customize it to Elijah's skin. Here is the recipe I'm currently using.

Aloe Vera Recipe

1/4 Cup Aloe Vera Gel
2 Drops Tea Tree Oil
2 Cups Hot Water

Stir or shake until this recipe is well mixed. Don't use until the mixture cools. Spritz on wipe before using if in spray bottle. Swish solution around over wipes if using a wipes box.

I really hope this has been helpful to someone! Happy diapering!!

love,
Jessica

Apples and Oranges

Prints and Stripes

I love prints and well, stripes are okay.
That's all I've been seeing lately! But I have one problem, I can't really pull either one off unless it involves a very strategic design. I have curves and while some may argue that they would trade prints and stripes for curves, I'm not so sure. I've never not had curves so this is a battle I've been fighting forever! But anyway, here are some prints and stripes I love but will never be able to wear. Wear them for me and I will live through you!

These are from Oldnavy and Anthropologie.

OK OK! I have ventured into the forbidden realm of stripes and prints once upon a time.
But I did have a different body then!

Maybe someday I'll wake up and look like her again?? HAHA!

Dare I wear both at the same time?!

and baby E looking cute in his stripes :)

love,
Jessica

Bubble Toes

I often find myself, when listening to music, feeling that I am the girl from the songs I hear. The artist and the character in the song change as we all do throughout our lives, though one thing never changes; I am a dreamer. I've always been a dreamer and always will be. It allows me to be whom ever I want to be and go wherever I want to go.

Well tonight I am the girl from Jack Johnson's Bubble Toes.
Or, at-least I was, the lyrics take me back to the 16 year old me: carefree, barefoot, and dancing my way through life.

It's as simple as something that nobody knows
that her eyes are as big as her bubbly toes
on the feet of a queen of the hearts of the cards
and her feet are all covered with tar balls and scars

It's as common as something that nobody knows
that her beauty will follow wherever she goes
up the hill in the back of her house in the woods
would she love me forever,
I know she could

His dreams are like commercials
But her dreams are picture perfect and
Our dreams are so related though they're often underestimated

Well I was eating lunch at the D. L. G.
When this little girl came and she sat next to me
I never seen nobody move the way she did
Well she did and she does and she'll do it again

When you move like a jellyfish
Rhythm don't mean nothing
You go with the flow
You don't stop

:)
Jessica

Fashion Isn't Free: but it can be cheap :)

Hey readers!

It has been quite a while since my last post. I have been very busy working at my internship the past two months. I'm interning at a unique little resale shop which has a wonderful mission. It is called Karman Korner Resale Shop and it helps fund Judith Karman Hospice. None of their patients ever receive a bill! How awesome is that?!

Along with hospice care Judith Karman Hospice also provides many other services for their patients and their families. Services like bereavement and pet care. The most amazing thing about the resale store, atleast to me, is that it operates solely by donations and is mostly run by volunteers!

Not only does it support a wonderful foundation but it is so much fun working there! It's like a treasure trove that is constantly being replenished with new treasures daily. The volunteers are all so kind-hearted and fun to be with.

I have done a little bit of everything from dressing mannequins, to processing donations. I was asked to script a fashion show that would be used as a fundraiser for the hospice. I was thrilled to do it and when I presented the final product my supervisor loved it so much she cried. I can't wait to get this fundraiser up and running!

I only have about 5 weeks of my internship left but I'm so in love with this store that I'm going to keep volunteering here. I have learned so much and it will help me in the future WHEN I open my own store which will have a similar mission and structure. Two of my passions in life are fashion and the environment and wouldn't you know that God showed me a way that I can bring the two together.

Feeling inspired and blessed beyond what I deserve.
With love,
Jessica

Peas-and-Carrots Soup with Dumplings RRR

It's a triple R! RRR=Rachael Ray Recipe!

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced ( I chopped, much easier!)
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- salt & pepper
- 2 rounded tablespoons flour
- 32 oz. or 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock ( I used veggie)
- 1 rounded tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons tarragon, dill, or parsley ( I used parsley)
- 8 oz. or 2 cups prepared biscuit mix (you'll need milk for this)

( I didn't use all these ingredients; I had no celery or onion and I forgot to add the mustard)

Directions:

- Heat EVOO on med high heat in a soup pot. Add butter, melt. Add veggies, season with salt and pepper, cover pot, cook stirring occasionally until carrots are soft about 7-8 minutes.
- Sprinkle flour, stir. Whisk in stock until thickened.
- Add herbs to batter, combine, form batter into dumplings using 2 spoons. Drop into bubbling soup, cover pot, cook, stir until firm about 8-10 minutes.

Finished product:

(bad photo)

Thoughts:
I loved this soup! It was sooo good and I'm not a huge soup person or a fan of carrots but this was delicious. My version was pretty thick; you can add water if you want it thinner. It was also super quick and easy to make. Husband loved it too! I WILL be making this one again.

"This may be what's for dinner" ;-)

Love,
Jessica