Vegetables and my toddler

My husband and I have been reading up on how to get your toddler to eat, and all of those good things that mom and dad's read about, as far as feeding a toddler goes! My husband was on the verge of force feeding, which made me really upset. I know that when you force feed someone the chances of them throwing it back up is high. I didn't like to see her cry...etc. SO anyhow...he must have got the hint and started reading about how toddlers eat. What we should do, what we shouldn't do. Basically..they are meant to graze. I'm familiar with this process because I've done it for 18 months over the last two or three years. That's what pregnant mommies do!!

So then I made a connection. Toddler eating is similar to the way a pregnant person eats. Some days some things are good. Really good! But the next day...that same thing could be 'blah'. Some days you feel like eating more, others you nibble lightly. Once in a while you get on a kick, you really really crave fruit for a month, or spaghetti for a few weeks. I see that same trend in my toddler.

So, we have just started letting her chose -sort of- what she wants to eat. We offer her healthy foods. We let it sit (if the food allows for that). If she eats it all, great, if not, that's fine also.

Parent's aren't perfect, you have to learn with your toddler for sure.

I'm still having a hard time introducing things to her that I won't eat...like brussell sprouts, or cauliflower, peas....but I'm learning that just because I never liked those things..doesnt' mean that my kids will not as well.

Any tips on toddler feeding? (Who am I asking this to...? I barely have any followers?) ...and certainly no commenters.

Getting a little discouraged!

I've been working really hard (well not really hard...but harder than I was previously) to get people to follow my blog! I read all of these other blogs, by mom's just like myself and I just can't figure out how they do give-a-ways and have tons and tons of followers! So I'm over it. Read it if you want to, don't if you don't.

Today was a great day, and it's only 4:15. Haha. My daughter and I (she's two) painted bird houses today while I nursed my 2 month old son! The simply joys in my life! I adore it. The house is trashed...my husband will be home in 30 minutes...and here I sit reminiscing on things that happened just hours ago.

I noticed today...that while I thought I was addicted to cloth diapering...that other moms have real addictions to these things! Haha. I have 9...and today I ordered a Doopsy. I've been trying for weeks to win one, to no avail...so I said whatever. I bought one. Then I found out that they are still doing their video promotion. If you buy or have a Doopsy CD, you make a video, post it and they will send you a new one FREE of charge! What! So not only did I get 17% off my Doopsy...I will be getting two for the 19 dollars that I spent (which included shipping). Then about 4 hours later...I see the Rumparooz Facebook page post that they hit 2,000 fans...so 20% off! Gosh I just don't have the funds for deals like this! This one I'll have to pass on. If you are interesting in checking that out though...fan them on facebook!

I'm looking for ideas from other mommies. I was reminded the other day that having a two year old is a time to let go of life's worries and focus on the small stuff. Like putting stickers on my arm, or coloring my body with washable markers...or painting bird houses. So if you have any ideas for me and my two year old...we would gladly accept them!!

Rethinking my blog

So my initial thought of having a private blog to rant and rave alone has gone away. Since I've started cloth diapering...I've been checking out several other blogs and can see that its fun to blog and interact with other bloggers!! So I'm taking this blog a different way..I'm going to post questions, share things i've found, and other things like that.


My first question for all you cloth diapering mommies and daddies :

If cost were not an issue, what cloth diapering accessory would you have?

What type of CD would you buy?

Thanks@!!

A gateway drug....as I'd like to call it!

Cloth diapering!!!

I think I've made it clear that cloth diapering is a new thing for me, and I've only tried a few of the thousands of cloth diapers out there. With that in mind...I've come to a conclusion. Cloth Diapering is addictive, and it's not only addictive...it's a gateway drug as well. Even though Google defines gateway drug to be one that its self is not addicting but leads to other addictive drugs. And clearly I am not referring to drugs at all in any way.

I just got to thinking about it. There are tons of different kinds of CD's out there. Some are more common, others are not. I've only tried the BumGenius 2.0-3.0-4.0 (from cotton babies!!) and the Rumparooz G2, I have a Fuzzibunz on the way though!! There are so many colors, designs! It's incredible. I've heard great things about WAHM CD's. I haven't tried any yet. If I had a budget that would allow for it...I might though! There are several give-a-ways. I can hardly keep track of how many I've entered...I haven't won anything yet...but you certainly can't win if you don't try RIGHT?! Anyhow, a little off topic.

So now that I am interesting in this cloth diapering...I found other things. There are special laundry soaps that you need to use to wash the CD's. Then I stumbled upon cloth pads, breast and menstrual. I've never been a fan of disposable pads, so I don't think I will try the re-usable pads...but once I found those..I found people that like this thing called a Lunette cup? This is a neat little cup that 'catches', if you will, stuff, and then you remove it and rinse/clean it. You can re-use it over and over.

Then I found a diaper sprayer, something like a sink sprayer...but it goes on the back of the toilet. Seems like a necessity..but I don't know if I can spend 40 dollars on it! And I haven't seen/heard anything from real mom's who have it.

The list goes on and on....do you know of other things that sprouted from Cloth diapering?

Exhausted

So for the past three days or so, I've been on Facebook checking out the millions of cloth diaper pages! Wow. There are a ton. It's amazing. They are always giving things away, having competitions. It's great. I haven't yet won anything, but I've learned a lot and found some new products that I will be trying out when I get some extra money. (Extra money? Ehhh. Better not wait until I get that...who EVER has extra money? Bill Gates? Donald Trump? Bad wording there.) I will wait until the next pay check...? That sounds better. LOL.

Wool dryer balls, Pure Bebe Super Stars, many different kinds of cloth diapers. It's incredible. I feel like I've been introduced to another world! LOL.

pureMotherhood
Pure Bebe
My Baby Pumpkin
I <3 Fluff
Sew Funky Baby Slings
Happy Cotton Tails
Urban Sprout Baby Boutique
Huckleberry Baby Shop
Doopsy
Sweet Bottoms Baby Boutique
Sew Crafty Baby Cloth Diapers
Mommy Secrets
The Cloth Diaper Whisperer
Top to Bottom Baby Boutique
Little Lady Designs
Cloth Diapers, Inc.
Chubby Cherubs Cloth Diaper Naturals
Rumparooz
BumGenius


All of these can be found on FACEBOOK! Check them out, and if you do, make sure you tell them I sent you. They are always giving things away! Totally worth a look! Good luck.

Sunday

So it's just Sunday. My husband and I took our kids to the Sports park. Grayson and I hung out in the shade, and Kendall and Jeremy played! She played her first quarter of mini golf! LOL. She was bored about 6 holes in. 2 year old, go figure. So we decided to take her on the water bumper boats. That would have been fun if my parents or siblings were there with us, but it was just Kendall and her dad....so fairly boring. Haha, I was just thinking. I have this cousin, who I haven't seen in years but speak to on Facebook. We live (I believe) about 12 blocks from each other (I don't know where she lives...but I've told her my address and she said she was close by) So, anyhow...we have been trying to get together out at my mom's house for months. Literally. This girl says she will be somewhere, and swears to it...she *supposedly* has everything ready and then BAM at the last minute something awful and drastic happens and she can't make it. The first time we were supposed to get together, she had a seizure and wet her pants, almost wrecked her car but her son managed to save them by grabbing the wheel. She had to go back home and change and head to the hospital to make sure she was fine. Another time, she thought she was pregnant. And she was super sick because of it. Then a week later, we find out she "miscarried". One time her son got REALLY sick at the VERY last minute. Another time, well no I can't remember her excuse for that one. She has promised to stop over on this day and that day. Never shows. She says she owns many businesses, owns and rents out homes, has a dealer ship, has a body shop, etc etc. She was going to adopt this baby, but then decided against it because the baby has medical problems, all of a sudden. Bad ones.? WTF is all that is running through my head. I told her that my family doesn't care whether you are rich or poor, married or single, living large or just living...it doesn't matter to us. We would just like to see you once in a while because we are family. That's about the time I stopped hearing from her. Then about a week or so later, after I talked to her son ONLINE a few times and she is talking to me again. It's weird. All around weird.

In laws...

So today was the day I'd been planning for months. My little sister's bridal shower! I woke up, showered...got all ready...was nursing my baby while my husband ate breakfast and loaded the car. And then I got a call from my sister. Wanting to know where I was and how long I would be. I said probably an hour and twenty minutes. We have a 45 minute drive and still had to go to the store. She was cool with that and said she would see me then. So about 5 minutes later I get a call from her fiance (my current brother in law...yeah I know weird right? My husband and him have different dads, so whatever it is what it is.) Anyhow. He calls and he says well do you think you could like get down here now, get your crap together and get going? And of course this was after he asked me what I was doing and how long I would be (to which I replied I was nursing and an hour and twenty minutes). So yeah, he wanted me to quickly nurse my son and get going. He informed me that my sister was sitting alone at the pavilion we were having her bridal shower at, and would be until I got there. Well I was under the impression that he was to sit there and save the spot for her. We had been talking about this for months! Otherwise I would have rented one, and had it RESERVED! So I call my sister to tell her to leave, that I would figure it out if she didnt want to sit there, no big deal. And she says that it isn't a problem, she didn't mind sitting there, and then I heard it in her voice. She was crying. On her day. HER DAY! Grr. I was sooo angry. We loaded up the car, stuffed the baby in and were off. We made it in an hour, maybe a little less, who knows. Plenty of time before the shower. Had tons of time to set and and time to spare. In the mean time (while we were on our way) my brother in law goes back to my sister and starts in with her....asking her why they were even getting married, and starts throwing weird things at their vehicles (water bottle and granola bar) Yeah and this was after he called my husband and said that I hung up on him and that was immature. Haha some people. So my sister told him to F off, and she left. Thankfully she came back or I would have hunted him down with a baseball bat! This was her day and he ruined it. Well anyhow, after we all got there and everything was set up....she was calm and ready to have a great day. I had everything planned out and ready to go! So the rest of her day went well and the bridal shower was great. You think they would have hashed it out when she got home, at least talked about it. But no. They didn't. She let it become 'water under the bridge' ( I do believe that is how the saying goes) Just completely acting like nothing happened. I told my husband that if he ruined my bridal shower like that, I doubt I would have married him. Who wants to start a marriage out like that? And I was ALMOST accepting that she was going to marry him, after months of telling her not to. She is smart, beautiful, and just better than that. She deserves better. Her real problem, she doesn't think she is all that special and she wouldn't know where to even begin to look for someone else. Plus I think she believes that this is what you do when you are in your 20s, and yes for some...that is what they do. For others, not so much. I just hope this works out for her....poor girl.