Wordless Wednesday: Brothers

MiniMaestro Cloth Diaper Review

Recently, I was contacted by MiniMaestro wanting to know if I'd be interested in reviewing one of their diapers with Andrew.  Ever the fluff addict enthusiast, of course I said yes! 

Do you know much about MiniMaestro?

They are a cloth diaper company in Canada, our fluffy neighbors to the north.  MiniMaestro cloth diapers developed out of a mother's desire to save money and make a difference in the family budget (I hear ya there!).  

She wanted to design a diaper that was trim, leak resistant, easy to use and to clean, made in Canada and of course affordable.  

And she did.

We received a size small MiniMaestro pocket diaper in the beautiful color Little Prince.  

Features of the MiniMaestro diaper:

It has a waterproof outer shell.  The PUL is sturdy and well made!

The inside is made of super soft microfleece.  Seriously...it's like putting a blanket on your baby's bum

It has form fitting elastic at the legs to contain messes.

A wide pocket opening in the back to stuff the insert (no need for tiny elf hands here!)

Long folding APLIX tabs that actually stay put in the wash!! No diaper chains!

The insert is made of a combination of synthetic and natural fibers between two (2) bamboo fleece layers.  The insert becomes more absorbent the more you wash and dry it.

 

Our Thoughts:  

My #1 favorite feature of this diaper is the superior fit! One thing I love about sized diapers is how trim they are.  With the generous aplix on the front of the diaper, it easy to adjust this diaper to get a PERFECT fit.  Seriously, perfect.  And with the way it is designed, you aren't worried about the aplix rubbing on baby's belly.  

Another feature I love about this diaper is the inside of it.  It is SUPER soft...and I always feel good putting it on Andrew.  It's like wrapping his butt in a blanket...who wouldn't like that??

The insert is quite absorbent.  Now, I do recommend washing and drying the insert perhaps 2-4 times before really letting baby go crazy in it.  I was ridiculous impatient super excited when the diaper arrived and only washed it once before we used it--and Andrew had a massive poop...we had a leak but only because the insert hadn't reached its full absorption potential.  3 washes later and I don't have any issues using this for 3-4 hour stretches!! It is wonderful!! Just don't be impatient like me :)

Another wonderful feature is the aplix tabs! They fold in on themselves for wash day--which is so nice that there is nothing scratchy in the back of the diaper, irritating baby's skin.  Oh and these tabs STAY folded in while being washed...you won't have a diaper chain when you pull them out of the washer!

The sizing is generous as well! A size small will fit from 7-16 pounds! At just 12 pounds, Andrew is going to get a lot of use out this diaper!! 

Finally, I absolutely LOVE the vibrant color choices! Outstanding!

Our neighbors to the north sure know how to design and create a fabulous diaper!! 

You can check more of them out here.  

And you can purchase them in the US at Earthy Crunchy Mama for around 16.99 (this includes an insert).  So, it's middle of the road in terms of pricing.  

 

Be sure to keep up with MiniMaestro on Facebook, Twitter, and their Blog! 

I'd like to thank MiniMaestro for giving me the chance to review their fabulous product :)  Andrew's bum is quite happy!

 

$25 Modern Cloth gift card winner

Kickin' off "Mama's Makin' the Switch!"

We are kickin' off Mama's Makin' the Switch with a fun contest over at New Moon Pads!!


http://www.newmoonpads.com/Biehl_Contest.html 

Check it out!!

My lived-in house

So I finally decided a few months ago that I was done apologizing for my messy house.  In fact, I heard the expression "lived in" and that's what I have adopted.  My house is lived in. On any given day, there is laundry to be folded, toys and book strewn about, dirty dishes on the counter....  And ya know what?  THAT IS OKAY!! 


Clean laundry means my family has clean clothes to wear.


Toys and books all over the house mean I play with my kids and we have fun!


Dirty dishes on the counter mean I'm feeding my family.

I visited a mama friend once and she said "don't mind my lived-in house" and I thought..that's perfect.  My house isn't a museum.  My self-worth isn't based on how clean my house is, how recently I dusted, how shiny my floors are. My house is lived in by a mommy, a daddy, a toddler and a baby who would rather read a book, wrestle in the living room, or play a game on the ipad rather than unload the dishwasher or fold some laundry. 
 
Now, yes, that stuff does eventually need to get done--but that's what nap time and bed time is for--and ya know what..sometimes I'm just too tired..and that's okay too! 

So if you ever come over, please don't mind my lived-in house :) 

Modern Cloth Newborn Diaper Rental Review & $25 gift card Giveaway!!

I am SO excited to share my Modern Cloth newborn diaper rental experience with you guys.  You see, when Collin was born, we had covers and prefolds.  Those were fine--but I wasn't in love with them.  We had 2 bumgenius newborn diapers that I was in love with.  But, Collin outgrew them so quickly that there was no use investing in newborn diapers when we could just one-size diapers.

But...20ish months later...Andrew is growing in my belly and I start to swoon over all these newborn diapers..so tiny, so cute...so convenient!! But I knew that Mark and I probably weren't planning on having any more children (that fact was made even more clear after the scary events when Andrew arrived)--so I didn't want to invest in a whole bunch of new newborn diapers.  I sold off what one-size diapers I could bare to part with and bought a few newborn diapers here and there.  But I knew I would need at least 24 if I didn't want to have to wash every single day.  I also knew we didn't have the money to buy 24 newborn diapers.

Enter Modern Cloth.  A fellow cloth diapering mommy told me about Modern Cloth's newborn rental program...and I was hooked!

Here's how it works:

• Choose between new or gently used packages (new are always available; gently used has a waiting list so you'll want to get your name on there)
• You can pick between 5 different diaper options (prices vary):

• Bumgenius nb AIO
• Kissaluvs nb AIO
• FuzziBunz XS
• Kissaluvs Fitted/Thirsties wraps
• Bummis Tini Fits
•  You can choose how many you want to rent - 6, 12, 18, 24, or 30 (again, price goes up with the more you rent..obviously)
• You get them a few weeks before your due date (LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!)
• Then you get to use them for 12 weeks -- starting from the DAY your baby is born...not just whenever your due date is.  (LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!)
• At the end of your time, you package the diapers back up and ship them back to Modern Cloth.  Assuming there was only normal wear and tear on your diapers, your deposit will be refunded (because you pay for the rental + a deposit).
• You can read more here.

It's that easy! And if you are a cloth diapering newbie..don't worry! She sends complete instructions on how to care for your diapers!

So, what was our experience?

AWESOME. We received our diapers a couple weeks before Andrew's due date. This was wonderful since Andrew ended up being delivered 5 days earlier than we anticipated. 

We rented 12 gently used bumgenius newborn all-in-one diapers.  We paid $40 for the rental plus a $50 refundable deposit.  So...for $40...I got 12 bumgenius newborn diapers to use for 12 whole weeks!! That's a little more than $3/diaper.  Unless you are just one lucky deal finder...you aren't going to be able to buy bumgenius newborn diapers for that price. 

Now, something Modern Cloth offers is that you can either get your deposit refunded (which is what I chose), OR you can turn it into store credit and she'll throw in an extra $5! How cool is that?  If we were having more kids (and needed more diapers), this is the way to go!!

OR! Yes, there's another or.  If you have fallen in love with your diapers, you can email them about purchasing them and they'll give you a cost breakdown!

I should mention you will be responsible for the shipping costs.

In my opinion, this has got to be one of the best newborn diaper rental programs out there.  If you don't want to have to invest a lot of money into newborn diapers (since they aren't in them very long), this is the way to go.  I am so thankful we had those 12 extra diapers--essentially one day worth of diapers for a newborn.

tini fit fits from birth

Now, the only thing I was disappointed about had nothing to do with Modern Cloth.  Our first child came out almost 9 pounds so we expected Andrew to be large as well.  However, due to unknown placenta problems,  Andrew came out at 5 lbs 12 oz....the bumgenius newborn diapers did not fit him right away.  If I had it to do over again, I would rent the bummis tini fits since those fit Andrew from birth! So if you aren't sure how big your little one will be, I recommend the tini fits!

If I could make one suggestion to Modern Cloth it would be to also have a Grovia newborn rental pckage and a Bitty Bee (from The Little Bee Cloth Diaper Co.) rental as well!!

I 100% recommend and encourage you to check out her newborn diaper rental options!

ALSO!! If you don't want to rent, she does have gently used 6 packs for sale! They are newborn diaper 6 packs that have been previously rented and are either in good condition (just unmatched to a new recipient yet) and are available for sale or rent! Check 'em out!

And now one of you gets the chance to win a $25 gift card to use at her store!! WOOHOO!!

Just enter using the rafflecopter widget below! (Don't see it?  Give it a minute..sometimes it is slow to load).

MyMemories Winner!

Congrats Ashley!!! You have been emailed!

My day-long journey to choosing mama cloth

Ha..so...before I explain the title of this post...let me back up.  When I learned about modern cloth diapering, I was excited (still am).  I love it! When a friend told me about mama cloth, I said "gross" and never gave it a second thought.  I know, I know...considering the usual ways of dealing with Aunt Flo, you'd think I'd welcome something that seemed more comfortable..but the thought just made me cringe...

Fast forward almost 2 years later...I'm at home with both the boys and am needing some...necessities..I wasn't ready to attempt going out on my own with them..so I grabbed an old wash cloth, folded it how I needed and..well..used it for the day.  At the end of the day, I just threw it in the wash with the other dirty clothes...

And then I had my epiphany.  In fact..I think the conversation I had with myself was:

Myself:  "Wow..you are so dumb...how is this any different than mama cloth?"  
Me: "Oh..um...it's not..mama cloth would  be better..."
Myself: "Duh"


When I shared my epiphany with my husband (because he too had been of the "that's gross" mindset like me), he added, "it'd be a heck of a lot cheaper than buying all that other stuff all the time..."  And, something he might not have thought of...I won't have to send him to the store to pick it up..ha!

So there it is...it took me all of 1 day to figure out that I want to use mama cloth...but now..how do I decide what to get?????

Entering ever-so-gently into potty training...

So, Collin has been battling some irritation in his diaper area recently.  Our doctor said that for some kids, their urine is just more irritating to the body than others and the only way they'll get better is when they potty train.  In the mean time, he wanted us slathering on the zinc oxide and such.

Well, after a week of that, I decided enough was enough.  Collin has been interested in the potty for a few months now.  He is in the routine of pottying before and after his baths.  And, basically, he can pee on command.  Anyways, I know they say a kid isn't ready to train until they are dry through the night, but I figure, if Collin is willing to pee in the potty during the day...why not? He knows if he pees in the potty, he gets a treat.  So, there are times when he says "Treat!" And runs to the potty--lol! But for the most part, I just pay attention to when he has juice and steer him that way when he's probably ready to pee.  He also starts doing a little dance or getting a serious look on his face when he needs to pee--so I say "oh! let's go to the potty!" Whenever he's done he always says "Good job!" He's still had a few accidents in his undies, thankfully they were on the hardwood floor. But accidents are normal and to be expected.

It has only been 3 days and already his diaper area is looking awesome.  The only time he has a diaper on is for his one nap and for bed time.  The rest of the day he is in undies.  I did just buy a Flip training pant with the 5 inserts because, while he's all for peeing in the potty, he has no interest in pooping on the potty.  He knows when he has to poop--he tells me he is going to poop..but when I offer the potty he says (yells) "No!"  Not sure what it is about pooping in the potty, but he's not on board with that yet.  And I figure that's okay! We'll get there.  I don't want to force him or make him cry about it--that would just ruin his love of peeing in the potty --lol!

So we are entering ever-so-gently into potty training...did I read any books? No.  Did I read any articles?  No.  But I value my mom's opinion and her expertise (she did potty train all 5 of us kids!).  She stayed with us for a month after Andrew was born and gave us some potty training encouragement!

We'll see how this goes :D  In the meantime...I'm loving the decrease in laundry!! With Collin only using 2 diapers a day, I can steal his OS diapers that fit Andrew and only have to wash 1 load every 3 days!

My Memories Suite Software Review & Giveaway!

one of my first attempts

I am so excited to tell you about MyMemories Digital Scrapbook Software! I LOVE editing photos (in case you haven't noticed, ha!).  I also love organizing the photos and doing layouts.  Now, I love the idea of actually scrapbooking...but it is incredibly time consuming.  I have a couple hand-made scrapbooks that I poured a lot of time into.  However, if I had known about something like MyMemories...that time could have been better spent. 

My Memories is a software that you can use to design digital scrapbooks, yes, but you can do so much more! You can also make photobooks, cards, calendars and gifts! And it's all with one software! Of course, you might be saying, "well there are tons of free software programs out there, I'll just stick to those."  And yes, there are tons of free ones.  But I've used several and can tell you, this software is better--and let me tell you why.

#1 reason this software is my favorite:  All of the pre-made templates are completely customizable.  Don't like where a photo is?  Move it.  Want to add a shadow behind a box?  Do it.  Want to change the font? Delete it? Add it?  Go for it.

#2 reason this software is my favorite:  You can literally build it from scratch.  You can add anything and everything you want -- photos, text, boxes, borders, buttons, designs, etc.  If you can dream it, you can do it.  Now I will tell you, I don't have the creative ability to start from scratch.  I prefer taking a template and molding it into my own.

Collin/Andrew

#3 reason this software is my favorite:  TONS of freebies! Yep! If you go to their website, they have a section full of free things to download and add to your software --> http://www.mymemories.com/store/free_digital_scrapbooking_kits.  There are pages, paper packs, word arts, and several other extras--free to download! And it is updated frequently!!

#4 reason this software is my favorite:  Affordable! Regularly $40, you can use my special referral code 

(STMMMS66929)  and save $10 off the purchase of your software -- making it only $30! Using that code also gets you $10 to use in their store (where you can buy additional tools for the software).  Awesome right??

If you're like me, you don't want to spend a ton of money to send out birth announcements, birthday cards or Christmas cards.  Well, with this software, you don't have to! You can create your own project and print it at home!

Collage of Andrew's entrance into the world

Honestly, this program is so easy to use.  And you can get as involved with it as you want! That's what I most love! You don't have to be a technological wizard to be able to use the software!

And My Memories is offering one of you your very own copy of the software!!

To enter, use the rafflecopter widget below! (don't see it?  Wait a minute..it takes a little bit to load). 

HUGE Stash Giveaway ENDS AT 6 TODAY!!!

Oeko Popo Diapers is doing an insanely huge stash giveaway--one person wins an entire stash of Oeko Popo diapers!! We LOVE these diapers..we own 2 with a 3rd on the way! Affordable, durable and cute!!

Enter here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=281401398551372&set=a.281395495218629.74757.191442034213976&type=3

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 9 and 10

I am thankful and humbled by the generosity of others.

I am thankful for prayer...it is powerful, calming, moving...necessary...

Bright Starts InGenuity Signature Edition Automatic Bouncer Review

 Just before Andrew was born, I received the Bright Starts InGenuity Signature Edition Automatic Bouncer to review.  I was so excited for several reasons:

1. It was from Bright Starts, a company we LOVE.
2. We didn't have a bouncer or similar seat type device
3. The memories of a baby with colic were still in the back of our minds, and this would make us better prepared to handle hours of crying (Just FYI..so far..it appears Andrew does not have colic...fingers crossed!)

So, before I get to my review, allow me to share some details about the bouncer:
  

"The only bouncer that truly bounces on its own!  The InGenuity(tm) Automatic bouncer(tm) features a unique technology that provides 30 minutes of smooth, consistent bouncing that mimics mom's natural motion for those times when mom has her hands full. 

Featuring a cradling seat with premium fabrics, gentle heartbeat rhythm, 8 melodies, and 3 nature sounds, baby is sure to feel comforted.  This bouncer is powered by our exclusive Hybridrive Technology(tm) to improve energy efficiency and provides 2X the battery life when compared to traditional bouncers.

Features:
30 minutes of continuous automatic bouncing that mimics mom's natural motion
2 bounce settings:  low and moderate
Gentle heartbeat rhythm: just like mom's own
Cradling seat with premium fabrics and removable head support
Removable, pivoting toy bar with 2 plush toys
Energy savings with Hybridrive Technology(tm):  Extends battery life more than 2X

Our Experiences:

Hands down, one of the most used baby items in our house (besides cloth diapers).  

Now that I have a newborn (7 weeks old is still a newborn, right?) and a toddler, I am constantly tending to a child.  And unfortunately, I can't always hold Andrew when I want to -- "Momma, snack! Momma, play cars! Momma, play in the kitchen" And there are those few times when my toddler is grumpy and doesn't want to share mommy.  

Enter the Bright Starts InGenuity Signature Edition Automatic Bouncer.

I love that, when I have to, I can set Andrew in the bouncer and let him relax to the soothing sounds and rhythmic bouncing.  And now that he's starting to notice things in front of him more, the dangling animals on the toy bar are a nice added touch.  

The bouncer seat is so soft and comfy.  In fact, before Andrew was born (and a few times after), my toddler enjoyed sitting in the seat! (perhaps a testament to how well these bouncers hold up!)


The colors are gender neutral so it would make an excellent gift for any expecting mom.  And at around $60, it's actually affordable!! 

Maybe you are wondering if it really bounces well?  The answer is yes!! It is a gentle, soothing bouncing that you can see.  It's so fabulous that you just press a couple buttons and get 30 minutes of automatic bouncing!


Now, you might be thinking, well I'm more the baby-wearing type..I really wouldn't need this.  Trust me, you still need this.  I, too, prefer to wear Andrew around the house when Collin and I are playing.  But there are some times it's just not safe to wear him (i.e. when I'm cooking supper, putting dishes away, etc.).  I love that I can grab the bouncer for Andrew and put it in whatever room I'm in.


The lightweight frame makes this bouncer easy to carry from room to room...which, if you have more than one kiddo, you know that much of the day is spent going from room...to room...to room...

The bouncer was easy to set up--I did it all on my own!! And if you know me, you know I am NOT mechanically inclined...AT ALL.  So the instructions were clear and easy to follow.   


And finally, I mentioned previously that it is only $59.99 (sold exclusively at Babies R Us).  So often, when you want a quality baby item, you have to shell out big bucks.  That is not the case here.  For around $60, you get a high quality, super comfy, easy-to-use, easy-to-transport bouncer.  


But the best part?  You can use this $10 off Ingenuity coupon  http://coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=OWQT6P4QAW3XO

The coupon is good on this bouncer at Babies R Us but also on any Ingenuity item at Walmart, Target or Buy Buy Baby as well.

*It is important to note that I received this product, free of charge, in order to complete my review.  This did not influence my opinions.  Your opinion may differ from mine.

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 8

I am thankful that my husband and I set aside money all year to do holiday shopping with cash.  That is going to make January 2012 much more enjoyable! 

30 Days of Thankfulness: Days 5, 6, 7

My older brother holding Andrew

On the carousel

I am thankful for...

spontaneous family gatherings

 sunshine

toddler cuddles and baby snuggles

Collin and his cousin at the museum

.

Andrew at the museum

Oeko Popo gift card winner!

Congrats Katie Santiago! You are one lucky lady! You are going to LOVE your Oeko Popo diapers!