Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Tuesday Baby Link Up: Week 41


Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

Thanks for reading and linking up with us again this week!  I am just sitting here fantasizing about fall.  I can't wait for fall.  Here is a post I did last year about what I was looking forward to about fall.  Nearly all of them are still things I am looking forward to about fall.


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Your Hosts

Shannon at GrowingSlower
Jennifer at Every Breath I Take

Featured Post

We are in the midst of trying to convince Destructo he wants a big boy bed.  He is quite attached to his "cribbie" though and doesn't want to give it up which is great except he keeps thinking about climbing/tumbling out.  So this week I am featuring a post from Young Nesters about transition her son to a big boy bed in the hopes that maybe some of the successful transfer vibes will wear off on us!  Check it out here!

 

Monday, July 29, 2013

Exhaustion

Tired, exhausted, sleep deprived, weary.  Whatever word you choose to use, most moms can probably agree that motherhood is tiring.  The art of guiding small and unknowing souls into becoming good, upstanding men and women can be downright exhausting some days.  Exhausting and mind numbing.
Source

But how do you combat this weariness?  Because if I really think about how tired I am it is almost overwhelming at times.  What are your tried and true tricks for the days that you just didn't get much sleep and have to keep on keeping on?

I have found that copious amounts of caffeine in the form of cherry coke helps.  I kid.  That isn't my wonderful words of wisdom.  Although I do speak the truth as a self proclaimed cherry coke addict.

Here are a few tips for the days when you can't keep your eyes open.  Like today.

1)  Go for a walk.  Being outside just seems to wake me up.  Even better if you are the exercising type, go exercise.  This is shown to increase energy levels.

2)  Work in your garden.  Days I just can't seem to stay awake and am hours from bedtime, I like to go work in my garden.  Destructo plays outside and I tend my veggies.

3)  Eat well.  I know I feel crappier and more run down on days I don't eat a lot of protein.

4)  Let the house work go on evenings you are really exhausted.  This one is hard for me because I hate waking up to a super messy kitchen, but some nights it is necessary.  I promise the dishes will still be there in the morning.  Those nights I just go to bed as soon after Destructo as I can.

5)  Open all the blinds in your house.  I always feel more energized when my house isn't dark and dreary.  Of course, then your AC bill is higher.  But I think energy is more important than saving a few bucks.  (At least for me.)

6)  Have a crazy dance party with your kiddo.  Works like a charm to give me more energy.

7)  Have a couch day with your kiddo.  We watch movies, read books, cuddle on days I really don't have the energy to chase him around.  Destructo could sit for hours letting me read to him.

8)  If you aren't working, take a nap when the kiddos nap.  I set my alarm for a thirty minute power nap on the weekends and this helps more than if I had slept the entire time he napped since I have trouble falling asleep at night if I sleep too much during the day.  Thank you insomnia.

9)  Even on days I can't nap, I close my eyes and sit down for five minutes.  I might not be sleeping but at least I am letting my body relax just a bit.

10)  Put on happy, up beat music.  Whatever you want.  I like Black Eyed Peas Tonight is Gonna be a Good Night (or whatever it is called.)

Linked up at:
Modest Monday
Mommy Moments
Titus 2sday
Top Ten Tuesday
Women Helping Women

Sunday, July 28, 2013

It's the Consignment Sale Time of Year!!!

I will permanently be on a good deal high for a while.  I sure do love a good deal and you can sure save money on clothing for your kiddos (and toys, books, etc) at consignment sales.  Check out this post about where to find them and the do's/ don't from last year.  http://www.adventureswithcaptaindestructo.com/2012/07/consignment-sales-rock-my-socks.html

And without further ado, my favorite outfits and how much I paid for them.

The first outfit is a Gymboree shirt and Janie and Jack grey jeans.  It cost 7 bucks.

This is an outfit I will consider for his Christmas outfit, but possibly with some dressier pants if I can find some.  The vest and Cords are Children's Place and the white dress shirt is Osh Kosh.  It cost a total of 8.50.

This outfit cost 8 bucks.  The flannel shirt is from Children's Place, the thermal tee is Jumping Beans brand from Kohls, and the jeans are Old Navy.
This outfit cost 6.50.  The sweater is from Children's Place and the khakis are Circo from Target brand.  



Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Tuesday Baby: Week 40

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

Four more days to enter to win a Bummis beautiful basics pack.  Check it out here!  Feel free to message me or Facebook message me with any cloth diapering questions you might have.  I am here to help and love talking cloth diapers.



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Your Hosts

Shannon at GrowingSlower
Jennifer at Every Breath I Take

Featured Post

 

As everyone knows, I was a pumping and working mom so I choose to feature Green Idea Reviews The Complete Guide to Pumping at Work.  It has a lot of very useful info about being a working and breastfeeding mom.  You can also check out a similar post I wrote about being a milk cow while working haha.

Monday, July 22, 2013

My house used to be clean

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am having a slight pity party over the state of the cleanliness of my house.  I used to mop my floors every other week and even when life was crazy it was still at least once a month.  Now I am just happy if it is done at least once every three months and/or there isn't noticeable dirt on them.

 My bathrooms were cleaned each and every weekend except for tubs and those were scrubbed typically every other week although I will fully admit this is my least favorite chore and the one I put off the longest.  Now my shower gets scrubbed when my mom gets bothered by it and does it or when Kai poops in the tub.  Oh wait Kai doesn't take baths anymore.  He is too big a boy for that.  He also doesn't poop in the shower.  I guess that means my tub doesn't get cleaned.  (I kid slightly on that.  I do clean my tubs, but not nearly as often as I should.)

My kitchen was deep cleaned once a week.  I mean I wiped walls and doors down and cleaned the fridge out, all that good stuff.  Now I cleaned the fridge out completely once since Christmas and it was quite the feat.  Walls and doors getting wiped down are laughable.  My microwave stays pretty clean only because this bothers my mom the most I think.  I scrub my sinks sometimes.  I will say I am actually better about cleaning the kitchen nightly (and by cleaning the kitchen I mean at least washing all the dishes and sometimes wiping counters/table down.)  This is because I feel guilty having my family watch Kai with dishes piled up everywhere not because I am effectively managing anything.
 Source

I can still say I vacuum as much if not more than before Kai.  We have a very sheddy long haired dog and a white haired cat.  It is awful if I don't vacuum nearly daily.  What I can't say I do is clean the windows.  I mean I recall doing this all the time before Kai.  Now as long as I can see out the window, hey I am happy.

So tell me those that are stay at home mom's, is there a light at the end of my dirt tunnel?  Do you manage to find a cleaning schedule that works and actually have a clean home?  I mean I am not talking the legos we are all stepping on or the dump trucks we skateboard on.  I don't mean the crayons we find scattered high and low or the teddy bears we find using the potty in the bathrooms.  This is normal kid clutter that a lot of the time makes me smile.  You know when it isn't inflicting bodily harm on me and my loved ones.  ::glares at the darn cutlery from Kai's play kitchen::  I am talking more getting in a groove and having a fairly clean/sanitized house a lot of the time.  I hope to stay home soon/one day.

But just know even with all my dirt and mess, the little boy that has inhabited this household makes every dog hair dust bunny, every disgusting wall that is smeared with food, paint, and dry erase marker, every shower floor that makes me cringe well worth it.  I mean I might miss my clean house some days, but I wouldn't trade one second with my little man for a live in maid.  Okay maybe a couple seconds I would trade, but that's it.  I swear.




Thursday, July 18, 2013

More and More Destructoisms

Crackers are trackeee.

He walked into Cracker Barrel yelling "I luv Crack Baby! I loovveee Crack Baby!" the other day.

Pickee is picnic which is he obsessed with lately.

As we went to get into the shower the other day, he looked at me and said "Thas momma's boos (boobs).  Momma's boos funny."  Thanks son.

He likes to run around pretending to fly and saying "I Baby Supah Kai."  He has a cape shirt he loves to wear, but even when he doesn't have it on he will just grab a pretend cape off the ground and put it on and fly.

Chicken nuggets are chickie nuh nuh's.

He had to have his arm re Xrayed and screamed and kicked and thrashed.  It took me and two nurses to hold him down.  As we left he screamed to all the kids in the waiting room "XRay chomp you."  I couldn't figure out why until days later when he finally explained.  Well he has been fascinated with alligators lately and apparently there was alligators in the Xray machine that were going to chomp his fingers off. 

On vacation we went for a walk to get ice cream.  On the way back he was dawdling so slowly that Mr. Destructo decided to carry him.  This ticked Destructo off and he was so mad and when he finally realized he wasn't getting his way he said this:  Dada fly away on a airplane...fly away to Michie (Michigan.  Go up to the sun.  Bye bye.  Bye byeeeeee.  Go up in a tree.... like a monkeee...oooh ooh ahh ahh..... Fall down in the road and get a lellow casss....  Eye roll, nothing like dramatics there Kai.

The other day he tried to follow Mr. Destructo outside, but he didn't have pants or shoes on.  Mr. Destructo told him to turn around right now.  He literally started spinning circles at the back door.  We died laughing.

He told his beloved Auntie Kara "Katah you pain in the butt." 

This is a story he recently told me.  "I need a gun"  I replied "Why do you need a gun?"  He replied "I need a gun.  I got shoot a tukey with my gun.  I eat the tukey all up yum yum yum yum.  I go Crack Baby get lunch."  This is hilarious since he not only remembered his daddy going turkey hunting, but also remembered that the field he was hunting in was next to a Cracker Barrel.

Everything is yummy in his tummy while showing you his belly.

He was being a scaredy cat one day and I said why are you so scared.  He replied "I big chicken bawk bawk."

He still threatens  to fall off another swing and get another lellow cass.

Anything he doesn't like, that annoys him, that he doesn't get his way, etc he tells to fly away in an airplane.

He pretends to take my sister's baby out of her belly and take care of him.  Or throw him in the water.  Either way.


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Tuesday Baby Link Up: Week 39

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

Hey guys!  If you haven't already entered my giveaway for a Bummis beautiful basics pack, check it out here!



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Your Hosts

Shannon at GrowingSlower
Jennifer at Every Breath I Take

Featured Post

This week I am featuring One Organic Momma's post about Breastfeeding, a Reflection.  This post has tons of valuable information about breastfeeding and shares two breastfeeding journeys.  Go by and check it out!

Monday, July 15, 2013

My Garden

As I have mentioned before, I toil at organic gardening.  So I figured I would share some of my garden pictures and a few organic gardening tips I have found this year.

1)  Neem oil  I use this to help with the bugs that like to munch on my plants and veggies.  It smells funky, but does seem to help.

2)  Milk.  I use this to help with powdery mildew.  I mix it 50/50 and spray it on my plants at the first signs of mildew.  If you look closely at the pictures of my squash you can see powdery mildew.  We had a ton of rain while I was on vacation and it got on some of the plants pretty bad.  I am going to treat it tomorrow with the milk solution and hope for the best.  Every time I have tried to spray them, it has rained recently.

3)  Coffee grounds and crushed egg shells help combat slugs.  I have had horrible slug issues with my cucumbers.  Typically the cucumbers do the best of anything except tomatoes and this year I have only gotten one lonely cucumber.  The slugs are decimating the leaves.  And speaking of killing slugs (and snails), beer works amazingly.  Pour an entire can of el cheapo beer of your choice in this plate.  It is deep enough that they can't get out.  I did this last night and had probably 30 dead slugs/snails when I got home from work this afternoon.

4)  Pine straw and weed fabric has made all the difference in the world in controlling weeds.  I will do this every year (although I might possibly try newspaper next year so I don't have to pull up the fabric at the end of the year.

5)  I buy organic fertilizer from Lowe's or Home Depot.  I know it is a lot cheaper to make your own from bone/blood meal, but I just don't have the time.

And now some pics.  Like I said it is a work in progress.  With working full time and then going on vacation for two weeks and having a crazy two year old, there is a lot of work still needing to be done. My tomatoes were all leaned up on a trellis my hubby built, but we had a big storm and they all fell off it and are now growing on the ground.  That is on the docket for this weekend, fix the tomatoes.

Share your favorite organic gardening tips or tricks!

Green peppers and a lot of weeds with a possible garlic plant
Watermelon and cantaloupe that will never have fruit before frost at this rate
Fallen down tomatoes
Raspberries.  A friend had his house foreclosed on and dug up a bunch of plants.  This one not only survived, but thrived.
Poor sad slug eaten cucumbers.  Notice the coffee grounds everywhere?
My beautiful squash plants.  There is one zucchini plant in the mix, but the others all died off from squash borers.
Linked up at:
Modest Monday

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Bummis Super Snap Review

I was given a chance to review the Bummis Super Snap diaper cover.  I was curious about this since I tried prefolds when I was baby sitting a friends little girl and failed miserably at them.  Needless to say, it is much easier now that Destructo is bigger since I can just trifold two prefolds and lay them in the cover.  I would even be willing to give prefolds a try if we have a newbie again to diaper in the future.

The material that this cover is made with is thicker than my pocket diapers.  It held up to leaks and moisture even overnight very well.  I very much liked it and think it would hold up to washing over and over well.  It is even made in Canada with fabrics/materials from the US which is awesome.

I was a bit skeptical about getting a good fit because I have had lots of trouble with wing droop in diapers that only have one row of snaps, but thus far haven't had any trouble.  I think it also helps that this isn't a one size diaper so it is more fitted to your child than a diaper that fits from 10-35 pounds is. The snaps seem to be sturdy and Destructo couldn't undo them which I love.

I love the feature of these diapers that is a little flap on the inside top of it.  Since I am tri folding prefolds, I can stick them right in there and it helps hold them in place.  Oh and a shout out for the Bummis prefolds.  This is what I use as inserts for all my pockets.  I trifold them and pair them with a cotton or hemp insert and/or just use two trifolded prefolds.  I got the infant size one size and they work great.  They are organic cotton.  This is what enabled me to ditch the microfibers completely since I couldn't afford enough hemp/cotton inserts, I just used these.  I love them.

Heck now that I think of it, there isn't a single Bummi product I have tried thus far that I have disliked. I love their swim diapers since they go on and off like a diaper and make poop messes easier to clean.  I love the prefolds, cover, Easy Fit.  Maybe this is the sign that I should buy a pair of the potty pants to try out!

And speaking of trying out, enter below to win a Beautiful Basics pack!

And finally, here is the reason all my reviews no longer get adorable pictures showing how well diapers fit, different aspects of them, etc.   These are just a few of the pics from when I asked Destructo to show off his froggie diaper.





Disclosure:  I was given a Bummis diaper cover for free to review and keep.  I was not paid to review them and all opinions are honest and my own.    See my full disclosure policy tab for more information.

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

I'm So Excited for the Fluff Fairy!

My very favorite cloth diaper store Kelly's Closet has started an awesome new program.  I can not wait to get one although I might be waiting for awhile since Destructo is nearly fully day time potty trained and Mr. Destructo might actually kill me if I buy any more cloth diapers.  Sob.  Sob sob.  But not to worry too much, I have a baby nephew on the way whom I can buy cute cloth diapers for.  

Anyways what I am so excited about is the Fluff Fairy program.  You go to the link and buy that month's package.  It will vary each month, but will be a complete diapering system.  The price will also vary each month.  Included in the package with the diaper you will also get three diapering accessories or samples such as detergent samples, wipes bits, wipes, lotion, or other fun accessories or cloth diaper advocacy gear.

I have seen similar packages on other sites and always wanted to try them, but didn't want the monthly subscription since just because I have extra fun money one month, that doesn't mean I always do. No need to worry about that with this program. It is a buy by the month. haha I could be Dr. Seuss. You just go to the Fluff Fairy page and buy it any month you are interested.

There will be hints each month about what type of diaper you will receive so you can decide if you want to buy it or not. Plus shipping is free. But wait... included with each Fluff Fairy package you buy is the fact that you will earn diaper dollars!


So what are you waiting for, head on over and get your fluffy surprise today! They are only available for one week each month while supplies last so hurry!



Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Tuesday Baby Link Up: Week 38

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

Hi!  I am back!  Vacation was wonderfully exhausting and now I need another staycation to get caught up around the house.  Alas I go back to work tomorrow.  Ugh.  


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Your Hosts

Shannon at GrowingSlower
Jennifer at Every Breath I Take

Featured Post


This week I am featuring a post about using fenugreek to naturally increase your milk supply when nursing.  I used both fenugreek and blessed thistle and had really good results with both.  You can read my post about this here.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Guest Post from Rocky Mountain Mama

Rocky Mountain Mama so awesomely agreed to write a guest post for me while I was on vacation!  Check out her blog over at Rocky Mountain Mama.

What I Learned About Cloth Diapering

One of the big deciding factors about cloth diapering my first (at least for my husband) was the cost factor. The great thing about cloth is that we would also be able to cloth diaper our second and possibly third with the same diapers. Totally cost effective, right? We cloth diapered Christopher for 2.5 years. At the end of his diapering years, the cloth diapers definitely showed some wear and tear.

There are a few things I learned and would do differently if I could go back and do it again.

1. Buy Snaps: We originally purchased diapers with hook & loop closures for ease of use. After a year of use, they just didn’t hold the same. I ended up converting all of our BumGenius diapers to snaps. That was a large chore. After my son had worn the diapers for another year, I started replacing the elastic on the BumGenius diapers. That was an even bigger chore.

2. Be Gentle With Your Diapers: I used to strip the heck out of our diapers with bleach with our first. I wanted to get that smell out of our diapers. You know what I’m talking about. And then I just got into the habit of adding a little bleach almost every load. Bad, bad, bad habit. It definitely wore out our diapers a lot quicker than they should have. Not only that, I would throw all the covered in the dryer. All of this caused the elastic to wear quickly. Of course, at some point, you will have to replace your elastic, but being gentle with your diapers will serve you well in the long run.

3. You Can Never Have Too Many Diapers: The husband may disagree with me on this one, but I believe you can never have enough cloth diapers. There are pros and cons to every diaper and sometimes certain diapers work for certain occasions. With my son, I thought, “Oh, if we ever end up having a girl, she can totally rock the blue diapers.” True. And she does, but she also needed a few “girly” colors. I think it’s great to have a selection of several different diapers.

Our current stash (not including newborn diapers):
  • 7 prefolds
  • 2 Thirsties covers
  • 12 BumGenius AIO
  • 1 Charlie Banana
  • 3 BumGenius OS in each size
  • 3 Rumparooz
  • 2 Flip covers + 4 inserts
  • 2 Bumbaroo



Now that we are cloth diapering our second child, I am so glad that we went with cloth. We are using all the diapers we used with my son, with a few additions. But, overall, we have saved hundreds of dollars over the years. 

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Tuesday Baby Link Up: Week 37

Welcome to the Tuesday Baby Link Up!

Hey guys!  I am on vacation so sorry for the neglected blog last week and this.  I am making memories with my boy!



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Your Hosts

Shannon at GrowingSlower
Jennifer at Every Breath I Take

Featured Post

This week I featured a post about teething since Destructo is working on his two year old molars.  Ugh teething sucks.  Check it out here.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Ahh Vacation

In case anyone has noticed a decided lack of posting in Destructo Land, it is because I am on vacation. I had big aspirations that I would get all caught up on blog related things while Destructo napped since I would be house bound. What I failed to account for was my love of fishing and the fact that we are staying on a lake. Yeah those fish just scream my name during nap time. So sorry for the neglect. I will be back to my regularly scheduled posting late next week.

 And while we are talking about vacations, tell me about your favorite vacation memories!

Here is something I have been working on in my head while I fish.  I might add to it later who knows!

Vacation is:
Filthy hands, sandy feet, slamming screen doors, and a bonfire with smores.
Waking up early, staying up late, hunting under logs to catch some bait.
Snakes, snails, and big fish tales.
Muscles that are sore (especially me right now since I have been jogging/walking/ running stairs taking full advantage of the twenty degree cooler weather to prep for my mud run at the end of the month) and walking to the ice cream store.
Catching a fish, sharing a delicious dish, catching a firefly and making a wish.
Sunscreen and bug spray, fishing and lazing the day away.
Watching the sun set and catching minnows in a net.
Listening to the call of the loons and walking the Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Walking the shore looking for a petosky stone and eating a delicious ice cream cone.
Seeing an eagle sore and hearing the local lore.
Making memories that last and reminiscing about the past.