I'm Outta Here!

After a long and frustrating week, I'm blowing this joint. Ya heard me, I'm outta here! I'm hightailing it to my parents house so they can spoil me and buy me things help me take care of the Child while I run screaming in the opposite direction. 

So, sayonara!

Exhaustion

So the Husband has been gone for a week and even though I 've tried to work the cheery-I'm-fine thing, the truth is  I'm falling apart. I'm exhausted by a needy wounded (more on that later) dogand a teething clingy baby. Frankly, I have very little time to myself and the little time that I do have is spent trying to practice my deeping breathing/don't have a cow  exercises. So more later, and yes, in the next week I will be posting my long awaited giveaway. Despair not!

My morning Routine

So parenting is a lot of work and I don't get a lot of breaks. The Husband works a lot (currently overseas) and in many ways I'm essentially parenting on my own. That being said, I do get a few blissful sweet hours of alone time. 

Before the Child wakes up I like to enjoy a little alone time in front of the computer, sipping my coffee and entering my giveaways (cue old lady/bathrobe image). But today, horror of all horrors(!), rafflecopter isn't working.

So, rafflecopter, this one is for you. How dare you mess up my morning routine?? Don't you know that you are integral to my morning zen/zone out process?? I need you to be up and running so that I have something to space out and do while I drink my morning coffee. Don't get all "well you could read the news or clean the house" on me. No, I absolutely cannot do those things.  Cleaning the house is for after my giveaways and reading the news is for while laying in bed.  There is an order to my life, it can't be disturbed! Do you hear me? Do not disturb my morning routine!!

The Child is teething, (fun!) so I'm already on edge, consider yourself warned. You have zero time to fix this problem. 

Also, for those of you who wonder what I am going to do after I post this, the answer is look at cute animal pics. Nothing to bring you back like pictures of bunnies snuggling dogs.

The Husband is away...

The Husband is gone for two weeks, and you know what? I ain't cooking for two weeks!!! That's right  I will be doing the single girl diet, which for me consists of scrambled eggs, yogurt with frozen berries, hummus with carrots, coffee and chocolate.

Frankly, that's the only perk/benefit of having the Husband traveling.  Who's going to kill the errant moth's that get inside? How about my internet?  And what about regulating our finicky thermostat?

I'm ready for him to be back NOW, but in the meanwhile the Child and I will be hanging out, visiting my folks and eating those strangely addicting Dr. Sears puffs.

Breaking News: The Child is a disinterested eater!

Feeding the Child solids is like taking "just a sip" from a firehose - impossible.  Attempting to feed her anything off a spoon begets baby kung fu and a mess. Seriously, she is the master of the two-hand fend off and the if-you-put-in-my-mouth-I'm-gonna-sneeze face.  Who taught her this??? Aren't these toddler level skills?? I'm blaming the Husband.

These next few weeks I'll be reviewing kid food. Freeze dried, purreed, in a pouch. You name it, I'm trying it.

Why? Because as much as I love breastfeeding, and trust me I do, I will not be breastfeeding the Child until she is five.

I miss red wine. Red, red wine, you make me feel so fine...

Things I wonder about...

So the Child is napping (she went down easy) and I have completed almost all the household tasks (minus dinner) that were on my list, therefore I am zzzzzoning out in front of the computer.

On occasion, I like to check the Thirsties outlet page.  I know, I know, I have a Thirsties problem.  They were the first cloth diapers (duo wrap, stay dry insert and wipes) I ever bought and I love their business ethos, so cut me some slack. But, I digress. Anyway, I often wonder about the kind of defect that forces a cute little wrap to end up in the outlet.

 In my cloth diaper fantasy world, I like to imagine that there has been some crazy accident at their factory and that the covers end up tie-dyed. Wouldn't that be cute? Or better still some tie-dyed wipes.

And then, after this terrible factory accident (no injuries) the tie-dyed wipes and covers end up in the outlet, where they are purchased by yours truly.

The End.

Morning Thoughts

So I have been trying to do diaper laundry every third day and it's mostly been working, but for some reason yesterday afternoon, I decided to go back to my every other day routine and start a load. Boy, was that a smart decision! After putting the Child in her night time diaper, I lay down to nurse her and she promptly had the biggest poop of all time. Had I not done diaper laundry that afternoon, I would have had NO extra night time diapers. None!

I think there's a lesson to be learned here.

Thou shalt not save up the diaper laundry until one only has ONE night time diaper left.

Honestly, I'm not sure what prompted me to do the diaper wash yesterday afternoon ( I normally do in the morning or late at night) but I'm taking it as a sign from above that I almost erred seriously in my diaper ways.  

Also, does anyone else ever put a night time diaper on their child only to have said child promptly poop?

Exciting news! My first giveaway!

I am thrilled to announce that I will be doing my first giveaway!  I'm not going to say who or what because the details are still be worked out, but I am very excited. 

I will say this though, they are an award winning company founded and run by a mom. Mom power!

More news on this giveaway in the upcoming weeks, in the meanwhile I will be dancing around my kitchen to "I like to move it move it" out of one joy and two because the Child finds it highly amusing.

Where have you gone Thirsties?

Did Thirsties not have one of their weekly giveaways this past week? I'm frantic, heartbroken and mystified. So many emotions! Be still my heart!

How can I grow my Thirsties stash/obsession if they don't have a giveaway?

**Plea to Thirsties**
I beg of you, oh dear Thirsties, please have another giveaway so that I might try (in vain so far) to win your lovely US made, carbon offsetting, solar powered products.

This is one of those "absence makes the heart grow fonder" sort of moments, I think.

The Thirsties weekly giveaway was the first giveaway I ever entered and I have devotedly/OCD'ly entered ever since.

Planet Wise Wet Bag Review

When I started cloth diapering, I wasn't really sure what I needed. I'm a minimalist at heart, so I didn't want to be a whole lot of unnecessary stuff.  For the first two months of the Child's life I only owned diapers and wipes.  Seriously.

It wasn't until the great poopathon at our two month well-child checkup that I decided things had to change. Basically in the course of an hour and a half visit ( we waited and waited and then waited some more to see our pediatrician and lactation consult) the Child pooped three times and spit up all over me. There is nothing like leaving an exhausting morning appointment with a disposable Harris Teeter plastic bag fully of poopy diapers and clothes to make you rethink your current set up. 

Anyway, I requested and received a Planet Wise Wet Bag for the holidays from my folks and I haven't looked back. Here's a picture of the one I have:

Tada! There it is and aren't my photo taking skills lurvely? Yeah, I know, they leave a little something to be desired.

This wet bag has been great, not only do I use it when I'm out and about, but I've also successfully used it while on vacation. What does successfully mean? Well, it's a medium and I have stuffed a days worth of dirty (including poopy) flats and covers in it without stink or leaks.  This is the only wet bag I have, and I have no intention of switching it up, although I'm considering buying a large one with a snap handle thingy in Owl to possibly coordinate with the Child's room.

This bag has held up very well after almost seven months of constant ( I have a hard time sitting at home) use AND it's MADE in the US! Go Planet Wise! What more could you want in a wet bag?

Also, I was perusing their site and they make cloth wipes as well! Swoon!

Things I've won...

I'll keep this list updated...I promise

6 BumGenius Freetime
$25 gift certificate to Etsy store
1 package of Molly Suds
7 Ella's Kitchen pouches and an upcycled bag
3 pack's of samples from Sweetbottoms baby 
1 Geffen Absorber and 2 Geffen wipes
1 set of lunchskins reusable bags
1 Grandmas's natural soaps
1 pack of 3 Snappi's
1 better bottoms diaper
1 Earth's Best Bars
1 Blogger Bash ( swim diaper, wet bag and something else that I've currently forgotten)

Different strokes for different folks

In a few short hours, The Husband, The Child and I will attend a 4th of July BBQ at a friends house.  I'm thrilled to be going, it's a nice group of people with children the same age.

*This is where I get ranty*

There is one family whose choices have been diametrically different than ours. Our husbands are in the same profession, but very different ends of the spectrum resulting in different lifestyles. Very different. I realize I am being vague, but I like a modicum of privacy so I'm sorry. Deal with it.

Anyway, the wife, who gives out a lot of unsolicited advice as it is, always makes a point of comparing our lifestyles. She very clearly feels they have made the better choice. What I really want to say to her is "what works for you is not what works for us, to each their own!".  I don't want to fight, I don't want to argue when our mutual friend has invited us over for a nice afternoon.  The choice we have made for our family is the right choice for us, and really that's all that matters.

There, that's it, I'm done. Rant over.

She sleeps!

I have a few glorious hours all to myself. The husband is off to work and the Child is still asleep. What to do? what to do? I've made two important phone calls (don't you just LOVE arguing with insurance people first thing?), written three emails, consumed 2.5 cups of half caf. coffee and done the dishes.

I also used the bathroom by myself, which is a rare occurrence.

This day has already been productive, so if the Child wakes up and it all goes to pot? Well, at least I got to use the bathroom by myself and honestly, these days, that goes a long way towards a good day.