Our Life..One Step at a Time

SpRiNg is in the AiR!

2011-03-18T13:53:00.000-05:00

The weather has been so amazing this week! Even when it gets "chilly" it still feels so nice out! We have been wearing shorts and capris, flip flops and sandals, and opening up the windows. It has been great!

It's got me thinking about our backyard though. It's bare. Well.. there's a small little slide and a grill out there. But other than that.. it's bare. I would LOVE to get Kylee one of these wooden swing sets. She loves climbing and sliding on things at the park and in the gym daycare. I know she would be thrilled to have her own swing set.

While I love the prices of the plastic and metal ones.. we really want something that is going to look nice, stand up to the weather we get in Nebraska, and give us the best bang for our buck! So I'm off to browse at some swing sets. Hopefully we can liven up our backyard soon!

Our Life.. Running at this Time!

2011-03-06T10:03:00.000-06:00

We have been so busy lately. Sometimes I look at the clock and can't believe it's already the end of a day. It feels like we just woke up to start our day. But busy days make for adventurous and fun days! (Most of the time)

Ladies and gentlemen! (I'm just going to pretend both sexes read here for the moment) I have joined a gym! Yes. My two feet walk me in the doors of the gym every other day. Granted this is only my second week, but I am so pumped up about it! I've been tackling the elliptical, bikes, and some different weight machines. I've sweat more than I knew my body could. But, I have to say.. it feels AMAZING! I know things can only go up from here when it comes to my health.

Kylee has also started going to the gym daycare. She LOVES it! She loves it the best when me and my friend Missy work out. Missy's son is one of Kylee's best friends so they get to hang out together in daycare. It's all sorts of cute.

Kylee has also transitioned to her big girl bed. It's a queen bed and I was that awesome mom that didn't put a bed rail/gate thingy on the side. Has she fallen out? Nope! And I have to say.. she has done fantastic. There are a few times that she's had a hard time settling down and we find her playing in her room instead of sleeping. For the most part though, she has done great! It makes me proud and sad at the same time. It's such a blessing to get to watch someone grow before your eyes.

Healthy eating is going great for us as a family. We've gotten rid of all the junk food and whatnot for 2 months now. We eat out once a month for one meal. It's nice to work hard and be able to reward yourself. I've worked hard to lose these 18 pounds and a reward now and then helps in the motivation department. (As well as the fact that I'm starting to see some results!)

Let's see.. what else? Oh yes. I've transitioned into working evenings pretty well. It was hard at first, but each day got better. (Except the other day when Kylee cried and begged me not to go. It broke my heart.) We're finally starting to get in a new groove and get a routine down in order to use all the time we get together wisely. I don't want to waste a minute! Especially as quickly as she seems to be growing and changing every day.

Two more months and I will be celebrating 4 YEARS with my stud. I can't believe how time flies. It seems like yesterday I was batting my eyelashes and acting like the coolest person ever to catch his attention. Now here we are.. almost four years later. We've had our ups and downs. But I couldn't imagine my life spent with anyone else.

So.. here is my attempt at catching you all up. This is what happens when you don't blog for a month..
I really need to work on putting this into the "routine" because I do miss it.

Until next time..

Work in Progress

2011-02-05T14:23:00.000-06:00

That's me!
A work in progress.
Being a mom? Work in progress.
Being a partner to one amazing man? Work in progress.
Being a housekeeper? Work in progress.
Keeping a social life while doing those things? WORK IN PROGRESS.

One thing I have gotten much better with this year.. (Obviously I'm not talking about blogging...*sigh*) is keeping up with the house! I know, it's surprising to me too! It's only taken me almost 4 years to get this house in order and not be buried in total chaos!

As I type this, my entire upstairs is spotless clean! And our downstairs ... well it's cluttered with boxes that still need to be unpacked and put away. No, we didn't just move in. But we thought we were going to move at the end of last year, so I had tons of things packed away. And yeah.. I still need to unpack a few more boxes. Oh well...

I used to stress and put off doing laundry because there was always 8000 loads to do.. and I just didn't want to deal with it. Well, I finally caught up with it and now I do a load every other day. Stress about doing laundry? Gone!

I have to clean the kitchen every night. Have to. I feel gross if my kitchen is dirty. I mean.. there's food in there. Shouldn't that be the one room that is always clean? And I've started making Kylee help clean up her toys after she uses them. It resulted in major meltdowns in the beginning.. but now, most days, she will start cleaning up something after she uses it without me even asking. It's awesome!

So now that I've improved on my housekeeping skills, it's time to focus on improving my role in my family. It's going to become a LOT easier because I am switching my work hours and I'm going to be a lot less tired every day. Adios overnights! Hello evenings! I'm really excited about this change and I know it's going to be a great change for my family.

2011 is my year of change. And I am LOVING it! So while I continue to be a work in progress.. I know this is my year!

It's a No Go.. Thanks, Snow!

2011-01-22T15:26:00.000-06:00

Yeah. Snow sucks. It really really sucks. I still can't believe I've lived in Nebraska my whole life. I still complain about the Winter every.single.year! And each year it seems to get worse and worse. More snow. More freezing temps. More blowing winds. More days trapped inside.

Rewind a few years and being trapped inside the house wasn't a terrible thing at all. It meant hot chocolate or coffee and a good book and lots of napping. Now? With a toddler... HA! You can only do so many art projects and play in the tent and read books so many times. And going outside is fun.. until said toddler almost gets blown into a snow mound by said high winds. Not to mention the fact that it takes as long to put her in her snow clothes as she plays outside.

Mother Nature also seems to use my social calendar as the basis for her weather making. Days when I have nothing to do? Perfect weather. Days with plans? Schloads of snow! In fact as I type this, I'm supposed to be going to my good friend Missy's 30th Birthday party in a few hours. Guess what it's doing outside? Sunshine and rainbows? Hell no! It's snowing!! Hard. And it's very windy. Surprising, I know.

We've missed out on play dates and trips to fun places and hanging out with friends quite a few times already this lovely season. And it's only mid-January! It's only been officially Winter for a month!

So.. until Spring decides to show it's face.. I'd really really really like to just hibernate with my family and sleep away this crappy, asstastic, frigid weather! That would be great.

And Let it Begin..

2011-01-02T12:05:00.000-06:00

Peace out 2010! Welcome 2011!

I just want to go on the record here saying that it's been TWO months since I've last blogged. That's insane. I mean, I've never been the most consistent blogger, but this is just sad. Pitiful. Ridiculous.

Life has strapped me in and taken me for a ride. Days with a toddler fly by. And to be honest, I try not to miss a moment. So I really need to find a nice balance between life and blogging. (Isn't that what all the bloggers are saying these days?) I've also taken on a volunteer position with my local MOM group. It's been stressful. Chaotic. Demanding. And tons of fun! I'm really enjoying it so far. Work. Overnights. Four nights a week. So yeah.. life has been busy but fun!

2010 was pretty good to my family. There was so drama and lots of stress. But we always had a roof over our head, food in our belly, and love in our home. So I really can't complain much. We made new friends, reconnected with ones from our past. Kylee has really developed into quite the little person. She's so funny, smart, talented, and pretty darn adorable if I do say so myself. Tim switched locations with his job and it's been a hard change on him, but something that was great for our family. We were going to move at the end of the year, but now we are staying. (I'm so happy about that!) We were together with both of our families for the holidays and everyone had a good time.

2011 is looking to be wonderful for us! A job change is in the future for me. Our very first family vacation at the start of the summer! (Down south to visit Tim's family). Hopefully an end of the summer mini vacation with some good friends. More time together as a family. I have a lot of hope in 2011 being "our year"!

With the new year upon us I know a lot of people are making resolutions. I told myself I wasn't going to. I always seem to make them and break them before I even make it through the month of January. But.. I've decided I am going to set goals for myself.

1. Eat healthier as a family and start exercising.
2. Become more organized in my life. Find that balance I so desire.
3. Take time for myself.
4. Start reading again (things other than kid books and magazines)
5. Take time for my relationship with that awesome man in my life!
6. Volunteer more. (I really miss doing this!)
7. Say farewell to the people in my life who are just a giant, negative, hurtful weight.
8. Start blogging again.

SO.. those are my goals. That's the wrap up to the end of our year. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! And I look forward to the adventures of this new year!

(Oh.. and tomorrow is my birthday. I plan on saying I'm 25 for the rest of my life. The End.)

Decorating CSN Style!

2010-11-02T18:39:00.000-05:00

CSN stores can easily drag me in for hours. There are SO many different things to browse through. With our upcoming move, I've been looking around on there for some new furniture, decor,appliances, etc for our new place. We're selling our current one, so I checked out the dining chairs and tables. The formal dining sets were so beautiful and it made me wish we were going to have a formal dining room. Not that we'd ever use it much.. but then I could have a big pretty table. So wish me luck in my searching on CSN stores for the perfect "accessories" for our new abode! And while you're at it.. you should browse the 200+ stores yourself. I'm sure you'll find something you absolutely love! And stayed tuned for more CSN goodness!

Greetings and Proof We're Alive!

2010-10-19T12:56:00.000-05:00

Wow. It's been ages since I've actually had a wholesome post. This year is flying by and most of the time I feel like I'm barely hanging on. I often question how parents of more than one child do it. This one I have seems to consume every minute that I'm not at work or sleeping. At even sometimes in my desperate attempts to get a nap in, she still manages to consume that time. But.. really, I wouldn't have it any other way.

We're in the stages of moving. Well.. we still have a month and a half before actual move date. But lucky me.. I've been living with a hoarder for the last 3 1/2 years. Yeah... every single thing down to a key to some old lock from some old place has a meaning to him. I've finally ~~threatened bodily harm to him~~ encouraged him to start purging some stuff that he could live without. Yes.. you can get rid of that old receipt from 2001 from when you got a tank of gas, a pack of smokes, and a 20oz Coke. And yes.. go ahead and toss that employee handbook from your high school job. I'm pretty sure you're never going to work there again. Considering the place was closed down over 10 years ago.. You have pictures of your friends from when you worked there. And memories in your brain. I'm sure you'll never forget those days just because the handbook gets tossed out. Love ya, babe!

Anyways.. we've also been out and about enjoying this beautiful fall weather before we're bombarded with hundreds of inches of snow again! (Dear Mother Nature, I will kill you! Love.. Me) We've hit up the zoo, the pumpkin patch, the apple orchard, the parks, etc etc etc. Lots of cute pictures of my girl will follow at the end. (But hey.. slow down.. and don't skip ahead. You might miss something interesting. Or not...)

Today.. well.. it's a pretty special day. No.. I mean besides it being the 197th anniversary of the conclusion of the Battle of Leipzig. It's also Mother Teresa Day in Albania. One of Jimmy Carter's daughters is celebrating her birthday today. AND.. so is my better half! Yep.. he's the big 3-5 today.. but doesn't look a day over 50 ummm 21 or so.. Happy Birthday my love! Thank you for being the amazing, wonderful, awesome, hilarious, intelligent, and brilliant man you are! You're the butter to my bread and all that jazz!

So yeah.. that's us. Busy but loving life!

How about you? How are things? Yeah.. I'm talking to you out there (assuming you're still there.)

Once Upon a Time..

2010-09-30T20:40:00.000-05:00

There was a little girl named Kylee. She had a mommy who wanted her to look oh-so-cute on Halloween. Her mommy thought many months about the perfect costume for her little blonde beauty.

At first she was planning on dressing Kylee up as Dorothy and having her join in with her toddler friends on being the cast of the Wizard of Oz. (In tiny people form, of course!) But plans fell through.

So her mommy began thinking again.. and again.. and hours and hours of thought went into this decision. FINALLY! The perfect costume for a cute and animated little girl. (Yeah.. her mommy is kind of a genius and stuff..)

Precious Kylee would be... GOLDILOCKS!! Cute costume, no?

(That's not Kylee. And I'm waiting on posting pictures of her in the actual costume until my Halloween post. But.. nonetheless.. it's quite possibly the cutest costume I've ever seen! ) And check out that awesome price! I don't know about you.. but nothing irks me more than companies whose costumes all cost $50 or more. Yeah.. not happening!

I will say that Kylee has tried on this costume a couple of times and she LOVES it! (I actually had to hide it away in her closet). She loves taking all of the little bears out and loving on them. She calls her dress "Gowocks" (yeah, cute, I know!) and loves that she gets to wear her "fancy" shoes with her costume. And lucky girl that she is.. her costume will be added to her dress up collection once Halloween passes.

This costume may be cheaper in price than most costumes out there. But don't let it fool you into believing the quality is cheap. It's thin enough that it's a breathable fabric but not thin enough that I feel like it's going to rip while she's wearing it.

So what are your little ones being for Halloween? You should head on over to Costume Discounters and check out their selections. It's not too late! There are SO many cute toddler costumes. And I spent quite a while in the girl costumes section as well before making my final decision! We will definitely be using Costume Discounters in the future!

*I was not compensated in any way other than receiving a Goldilocks costume to review. These are my words. My opinions. My thoughts. Thank you to to Charles at Costume Discounters for being such a pleasure to work with.*

Super Skivvies Winner

2010-09-22T09:59:00.000-05:00

Jessica said...

your button is on my blogroll.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2010 8:35 PM

CongrAtulations! I'll be emailing you shortly. please respond within 24 hours so i do not have to draw a new winner. thank you to super skivvies for sponsoring this giveaway!

Misery is NEVER Good Company

2010-09-14T18:10:00.000-05:00

This is our pollen count lately..

(Image is from WOWT\)

I've been doing lots of this...

(

And using lots of this...

And feeling like ...

So yeah.. it's be awesome over here lately. But hopefully I'll be on the mend soon!

Until then.. go ahead and feel free to enter my Super Skivvies giveaway.

Maybe it will make me feel better?

It's In The Air...

2010-09-09T17:35:00.000-05:00

What's that you ask?

.... FOOTBALL!!! ....

We love some college football in this house! Me and Kylee cheer on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (GO BIG RED!) and my honey is an Arkansas Razorbacks fan (yeah.. exactly...) because he is currently boycotting the Ohio State Buckeyes due to all of the changes going on with the Big Ten.

Kylee is a huge football fan. She has her own football. ("Fooball!) and she throws her hands up in the air and declares touchdowns with the best of them. It's so cute to see her excited about it. And just another thing she can bond over with her daddy.

Without going into quite the debate.. I'm just going to say that I do not support the Huskers move to the Big Ten. I'm going to miss the teams we've played against for years. The rivalries. It's not a move I'm at all excited about making. But you go where you have to go, I guess...

So I'm going to enjoy the cool Fall weather, the chili, the chips and awesome dips, the cold beers, and whatnot and cheer on my Huskers in their last season before the big switch. Cheering right along with me .. is this cutie..

SUPER Skivvies!!! Review & Giveaway

2010-09-03T09:42:00.002-05:00

(Image is from the Super Skivvies etsy website.)

How cute is the Super Skivvies banner? I just love it! Steph is one creative and talented woman! She was also such a pleasure to work with. Very sweet and informative.

I came across Super Skivvies while I was searching etsy for cloth trainers. I was done with store bought pull ups and using disposables. I wanted to find a trainer that was cute, functional, and well made. Kylee is still blessed with cute little chunky legs (although they've slimmed down a ton as she's gotten older) and I didn't want any trainers that were going to leave marks on her leg. I also wanted a pair that had sturdy elastic in the waist so they didn't slip off of her, but ones that were easy enough that she could take them off herself. I loved the look, design, and structure of Super Skivvies so I contacted Steph about doing a review.

At first she told me it would be a few weeks before she could get a pair made and out to me.. so I began to wait patiently. Then, she emailed me a day or two later and said she had a pair to review AND giveaway ready to be shipped to me. That made my day! And a few days later the mailman was ~~attacked~~ greeted by me down at the mailbox! I tore into the package so quick and immediately went.. "Awwww". So Cute! Immediate love and it was hard to choose which pair to keep and which pair to give for the giveaway. I let Tim decide and I'm SO happy with the pair he chose.

We reviewed the Springtime in Oogaville pair and aren't they SO cute?! They are a size Small (2T-3T) and fit children approximately 25-35lbs. Kylee is right around 30-31 pounds and they fit great with some room to grow! (Rise: 16.5", Waist: 16.5", Thigh: 11.5") Super Skivvies measurements are unstretched. There is a lot of stretch in the waist and thigh area. So you don't have to worry about any of those painful looking red marks. Kylee has no indentations or markings when she wears these and I really appreciate that.

"Super Skivvies feature one layer of soft 100% cotton interlock in the body, a rayon (from bamboo)/organic cotton velour liner in the crotch area, 100% cotton interlock waist and thigh bands, and no-roll elastic encased in the waist.

Included is a removable insert consisting of three layers rayon (from bamboo)/organic cotton fleece. Just tuck the insert into the crotch lining, and your undies are trainers!" (From the Super Skivvies etsy shop product description)

I love the insert that comes with this trainer. You can leave it in for training purposes or take it out if you want just plain underwear. And when you wash your Super Skivvies, you do not have to pull the insert out, it comes out during the wash cycle. I love that feature! I also love how soft the insert and crotch lining is. Even after a few washes it still all feels as soft as when we first got it! You can also purchase additional three and five layer inserts on the Super Skivvies website!

Please note that Super Skivvies are NOT an alternative to diapers. With the insert in the trainer there are five layers of protection which is enough to contain a single accident. Kylee has had one accident while wearing her Super Skivvies (not a very big one) and the insert did a very good job of containing most of it and the body of the trainers was barely wet.

So in finishing, I must say that we LOVE our Super Skivvies and plan on purchasing a couple more pairs! Kylee really loves the "waindow haws" (rainbow hearts) pair!

SOOOO.. lucky readers you.. Steph has offered a little something-something for you guys! I have a little "package" of goodies to send to one of you! What does it contain you ask?

(And a cute little sheet of stickers -- not pictured)

You will get a size small (2T-3T) pair of Super Skivvies, a 10% off code for your next purchase, an informational booklet, and some fun stickers! How great is that??! And how cute is that print? Bacon, Eggs, and Toast! Yum and Adorable!

Mandatory Entry:

Go to the Super Skivvies website and "Heart" (add to favorites) the shop!

I will check and make sure you did this. Failure to do so will void any additional entries.

Additional Entries:

1. "Like" Super Skivvies on Facebook (1 entry)

2. Follow by blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (2 entries)

3. Add my button to your blog. Please leave a link to where I can find it. (2 entries)

4. Follow me on Twitter. Leave your Twitter ID in your comment (1 entry)

5. Tweet about this giveaway. Include @Mommacrissy and a link back to this post in your Tweet. Leave link to your Tweet in your comment. 2x per day and at least 3 hrs apart. (1 entry per tweet)

6. Buy something from the Super Skivvies website sometime during the giveaway (10 entries)

7. Blog about this giveaway. Leave a link to where I can find it. (3 entries)

8. Subscribe to my blog via email. (1 entry)

(ALL entries of the winner drawn will be verified. So please be honest or a new winner will be drawn.)

Giveaway ends Sunday, September 19th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

Dedication Pays Off

2010-08-31T09:27:00.001-05:00

Towards the end of our summer there were many days that Kylee and I stayed home. We didn't leave to do anything. Well.. we played out back a little bit. But mostly we stayed inside. Why? Potty training! She's been casually training for a couple of months now and doing alright. But, we finally ditched the pull ups because she was just treating them like diapers. We did the run-around-naked-and-hopefully-make-it-on-the-toilet method. We put her potty chair in the living room right in between the couch and the tv stand. I would put her on it every 30-45 minutes and we would talk about going pee and poop. We would read books. We would sing songs. And sometimes it would only take a minute or two and she would go. Other times it would take 10 minutes before she would go. (Of course there were times she didn't even go at all and then would stand up and pee on the carpet. Fun..)

Anyways.. a few days of that and lots of carpet cleaning and one weekend it just CLICKED! She started using the potty all on her own! I kept it in the same spot for a week and then moved it back to the bathroom. She didn't dig peeing in the bathroom on her little potty chair. So I put it back in the living room. I mean.. people that come over won't mind watching my 20-month-old pee.. right? *sigh*

Fast forward a couple of weeks and we were planning a trip to the zoo with some friends and their cute kids. I didn't want Kylee to wear a diaper to the zoo. I didn't want to send her mixed messages. SO.. I took the seat part out of her potty and put it on the toilet. I figured if I could get her to pee on the big potty then she could wear her underwear to the zoo and use the toilet. We had ONE day to get this. The morning got crazy hectic so I actually didn't end up putting the seat on the toilet until the early afternoon. And wouldn't you know.. she went on it with no problem! Like she'd been doing it for years. SO.. I dressed her the next morning and went the underwear route and packed 2 changes of clothes and a diaper. (Just in case) Grabbed the potty seat and crossed my fingers. And my girl.. did PERFECT! Asked to use the potty and everything! No accidents! Even drank 2 full sippy cups of water and stayed dry! I cried a little on the inside (and outside). Because during the day... we are now DIAPER FREE!!

Good job, K! Mommy is so proud!

It's Broken.

2010-08-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

Yes.. our precious air conditioner is broken. Again.

It broke about the same time last week. They added some freon to it and we were back in business.

Then yesterday.. same issues came back and we were left without any air.

On a day when the temp was 91 but with humidity and all that jazz felt like 98 degrees.

Our house got up to 87 and I'm pretty sure we all sweat out the calories we consumed during dinner.

Repair guy is coming back out this morning. Fixing something different this time.

Seeing as how the temps are going to be high again today, I'm very glad they're coming out in the morning.

It has also given me a new prospective to the lives of others.

People who always live without air conditioning. People who can't afford to buy fans to put in their windows.

People with children who live like this.

Me? Well I was a little more crabby, unable to think clearly, and mad at the world (at the time).

But what about people who ALWAYS live like this? How do they manage?

So while I'm very glad that our air conditioner is getting fixed this morning.. I need to realize that it's a privilege to have cool air when I want it. Not something I should take for granted. Something I should feel blessed that I have.

But yeah.. our a/c is broken and my mind hasn't been in blogging mode at all. But stay tuned because I have another review and giveaway coming up for a pair of cloth trainers and a review for CSN stores. And maybe some blogging about family life and changes we're coming into.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Green Sprouts Winner

2010-08-18T09:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in drawing the winner. It's been a crazy last couple of days in our house. Lots of changes going on. Anyways.. the winner is...

#19

jdeemarie said...

I tweeted:
http://twitter.com/jdeemarie/status/20277580704

Looks like all that tweeting paid off mama! I'll be emailing you shortly and you have 48 hours to return the email before I have to draw a new winner. Congrats!!

Goodbye Sweet Dog

2010-08-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

16 years ago you came into our lives...

Nala

My sister named you that after The Lion King.

I thought it was a silly name for a dog.

16 years ago you taught me to love unconditionally...

Even when you chewed on my stuff or peed on the carpet.

I loved you.

Watching you dig holes in the backyard with Sarah, as if you guys were trying to reach the core of the Earth.

Taking you on long walks and rollerblading through the park.

Surviving and staying strong with faith when you ran away for those 2 days.

You came back to us though.

Your family.

Sneaking you Doritos and apple juice when no one was watching.

Cuddling up with you even though it was the dead of summer and a hundred degrees outside.

Safe.

Secure.

Talking to you late at night when I was down and knowing you would not judge me.

Inviting you over when I first moved away from home. Feeding you a 12pk of hot dogs because I didn't have any dog food at my house.

Trying to get you to wear bows in your hair. You were having none of that!

Squirting you with the hose and watching you attack the water. Laughing until I could laugh no longer.

Swimming in the horse tank and laughing at your aquatic "skills".. don't all dogs know the doggy paddle?

Coming home to discover you ate more than half a box of Fruit Loops. That was some colorful vomit.

Car rides. Drooled up windows. Hairy seats. Rockin' music!

Drive thru windows. "Can I have a plain hamburger and a glass of water for my dog?"

Naps on the couch.

You curled up in between my legs at night. Not being able to move. But I didn't mind.

16 years ago you came into our lives...

You became a member of our family.

Today.. I say goodbye to you sweet dog.

You may be gone from us but you will never be forgotten.

Rest in peace my sweet puppy.

Your pain is gone and you are free.

I love you.

Serving Up with CSN Stores

2010-08-02T17:25:00.001-05:00

If you're anything like me you love to host a good party now and then. I don't do it very often, so when I do I have to make sure it's very nice! Along with making sure all the food is perfect, a great host must bring out the best dinnerware sets possible! CSN stores is the place to go for your casual and everyday, formal and fine, and holiday dinnerware. Their selection and prices can't be beat! And I'm sure your guests will appreciate all the work you'll go through finding the perfect dinnerware for them to eat off of! (Little do they know how easy and quick it is to shop any of the 200+ stores on CSNstores.com)

Please stay tuned for some more of CSN stores goodness!

Green Sprout Cloth Trainers Giveaway

2010-07-31T14:35:00.000-05:00

Kylee is pretty much potty trained during the day. If she's distracted by playing I have to remind her (and occassionally take her kicking and screaming to the bathroom) to go to the potty. But otherwise, she's pretty good about it. She'll even go sometimes by herself without me needing to be in there with her. I'm always very proud when she disappears and I go to find her and she's sitting on the potty.

I still put her in diapers to take a nap and a night. We're not ready for that milestone quite yet. Especially since Kylee still sleeps in a crib. I also am not so brave yet to take her out in public with just her underwear on. I have this fear of her having a huge accident in a place that isn't so easy to clean. I'd hate for her to be the kid that ruins the fun for everyone. But I also hate having to put her in pull ups because she gets that comfort of a diaper and will sometimes get lazy and just pee in it. So I wanted to find something that would contain a tiny accident or minor leaking but not act as a diaper.

Allow me to introduce you to Green Sprouts cloth trainers!

We received the girly print retro cars to review. Rena (the owner of Green Sprouts) was so awesome to work with! She answered any questions I had, asked for suggestions, and shipped these trainers to us so fast! It was great!

Green Sprouts cloth trainers are made of cotton interlock with a full layer of organic bamboo velour in the wetzone. There is also an additional layer of bamboo fleece sewn into the wetzone. The elastic arond the waist and legs is very soft and doesn't leave any red marks. We received the size 2T-3T but additional sizes are available. You can also find additional prints at GreenSproutBaby.com

So what do I love about these trainers? Well first of all.. the print is SUPER cute and perfect for my car loving daughter! These trainers have been washed 4 times and show no fading. They haven't really shrunk in size either. I love that the elastic isn't super tight so my 20 month old daughter can pull them up and down on her own with no issues. It's also really great that if she does have a small accident these trainers contain it with no problem. I used a medicine dropper and determined these trainers can hold about 12-15mL of fluid before leaking. They will also help slow down any major accidents. I have no complaints about our Green Sprouts cloth trainers. They're very reasonable in price at $9 per pair and are made with quality that assures me they'll still be going when it comes to potty training any future children.

So awesome readers that you are... how would you like to win a pair of Green Sprouts trainers?

Rena has offered a pair of trainers in your choice of size and print to one lucky person!

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what print and what size you would choose if you won.

(This is mandatory people.. you don't do it.. there's no chance of you winning.)

Additional entries:

1. < Heart > the Green Sprouts shop. Leave your Etsy name in your comment (1 entry)

2. Follow Green Sprout Baby on Twitter --Leave Twitter name in comment (1 entry)

3. Follow me on Twitter -- Leave Twitter name in comment (1 entry)

4. Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect ( 2 entries)

5. Add my button to your blog. Leave a link to where I can find it. (2 entries)

6. Give a potty training piece of advice or share a funny potty training story (1 entry)

7. Tweet about this giveaway. Include @GreenSproutBaby and @Mommacrissy in your tweet. Include link to your tweet in your comment. 2 tweets per day and at least 3 hours apart. (1 entry per tweet)

Giveaway ends Sunday, August 15th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

Boogie Wipes Winner

2010-07-26T18:30:00.000-05:00

#11

pawsnhooves said...
http://twitter.com/pawsnhooves/status/18763711148

July 17, 2010 7:48 AM

All that tweeting paid off! You have 48 hours to respond to my email before I have to draw a new winner! Congratulations!!

Thank you to Boogie Wipes for sponsoring this giveaway!!

Many Stages of "What's that?"

2010-07-25T09:23:00.001-05:00

Kylee talks.
Often.
A lot.
I love it.
Sometimes.. I hate it.

When she first started talking it was OH SO DARN CUTE! Every new word she said we would clap, cheer, oooh, and ahhh over. (And still do)

But.. there's one thing I could have lived without her learning..

"WHAT'S THAT?"

It's cute to hear her say it. The first time. Even the second time. But after roughly hearing it 7,892 times in a day. My ears hold up the white flag and surrender. Please. Please make it stop.

The phrase "What's that" has gone through many stages during it's first learning.

"Wu za" .. is how it came out first. It was so cute. Especially since it was only being said 2 or 3 times a day.

"Whu zat" .. even cuter! And still not said all that often so I'm still loving hearing it!

"Weez dat" ... HILARIOUS to hear.. but now it's being said about 1200 times a day. Starting to lose the cuteness factor.

Now ladies (and possible gentlemen..) we have...

"WHA IS ZAT?" said almost a good 10,000 times every 2-3 hours.

Heaven help me. She points. Asks. I tell her. She points again like her hearing went out and she didn't receive the message of what said thing was. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. And don't you DARE pretend you didn't hear her because she only gets louder and more in your face.

And suddenly things she's pretty much always known what are have lost their name in her mind. Really Kylee.. you don't know who you are? Do I have to tell you that it's "you, Kylee" to 81 pictures in an album? Do I have to tell you that your baby dolls are your baby dolls and your kitty cats are your kitty cats? You know this girl. Why must you torture your mama?

So.. you.. you evil "What's That Stage" I say to you.. GO AWAY! Or at least tone is down a ~~helluva lot~~ tiny bit. Please?

Wherefore Art Thou?

2010-07-20T14:15:00.001-05:00

Summer days.. it's you I'm talking to!
Where have you gone?

I am refusing to believe that August is less than two weeks away! How is that even possible?

It has been such a hot summer. Skin-melting-hotter-than-hot kind of weather. Our yard has taken such a beating. We've gotten ~~a shit-ton~~ our fair share of rain and then some. We've had flooding all around us and I swear you combine that and the crazy humid temperatures we've been having and it's no wonder the mosquitos have been out in packs. Tim.. bless his heart.. loves sitting outside at night and having a few cold beers. I do too. But NOT in the summer! I have no desire to become any insects source of a blood transfusion. Get back to me when the temps drop and those damn things leave!

When it's possible to go outside and not melt into a puddle before you get out of the driveway, we have! We've enjoyed time at the pool and splash station, the park, the library party, the lake, a couple of parades and festivals, and going for ice cream! Nothing super adventurous has gone on. But.. I think that's what I've liked about this summer. It has been so relaxing and chill. Exactly what we needed!

So.. while I'm sad to see the summer days go soon... I've got arms wide open to welcome slightly cooler temperatures and bug free zones! I'm not looking forward to the snow and freezing temperatures again. So.. maybe.. Autumn can stick around for a while. A VERY long while...

Hey, a girl can dream, right?!

What has your family been doing this summer??

Oh.. and feel free to enter my Boogie Wipes giveaway. It ends on Sunday. Or something like that.

And I've got a review and giveaway coming up for some awesome cloth trainers! WooT WooT for potty training!!

Boogie Wipes to the Rescue!

2010-07-13T08:38:00.000-05:00

I'm sure once Kylee is old enough to care she's going to LOVE that I'm telling you guys that she is a ... NOSE PICKER! Yes. My precious, beautiful, intelligent, and funny daughter picks her nose. Mostly it is to get a reaction from someone, but we've also caught her "mining for gold" when she doesn't think anyone is watching. Y-U-C-K. (But I still love her.. booger finger and all...)

SO... when I came across Boogie Wipes I knew they sounded perfect for us. Remove the boogies.. be gentle on the nose. I'm all for that! So what exactly are Boogie Wipes? Glad you asked.

"Boogie Wipes are made with saline to dissolve boogies (mucus) caused by the common cold, allergies or otherwise booger-filled kid moments. Extra soft, alcohol, phthalate and paraben free, Boogie Wipes are available in Great Grape, Fresh Scent, Magic Menthol and Simply Unscented. Recommended by pediatricians as a gentle, effective alternative to a dry tissue."

(Boogie Wipes description and picture are from the Boogie Wipes website.)

We were sent all of the scents to try out. I can say right off the bat that no one in this house is a fan of the Magic Menthol. Luckily my sister was a fan so I sent them home with her to use on her little guy. However, the other three scents were awesome. Kylee usually runs away when I go to wipe anything on her face. After using the grape wipe on her though I no longer have to wrestle her down to clean her face. She will actually take a Boogie Wipe from me and wipe her own nose first. Now if that isn't a boogie-cleaning-win, I don't know what is!

What's even MORE awesome is the fact that Boogie Wipes are sold in over 40,000 locations! Run out? Never fear.. I'm sure there's a location not too far from you (assuming you don't live on top of a mountain or something..) and you can get your Boogie refill on! I'm also a huge fan of the Boogies on the Run. These are individually wrapped Boogie Wipes which are GREAT to stick in your purse, a lunch box, backpacks, etc. I stuck a couple in our swimming bag the other day when we went to the pool. They're great!

I will NEVER go back to using tissues now after trying Boogie Wipes. I'm sure Kylee and her nose will appreciate this decision. SO.. are you also tired of chasing runny noses? Tired of dry, red, chapped skin? Then try this gentle alternative to dry tissues. I guarantee you'll be impressed! (OH, and Boogie Wipes aren't JUST for kids...)

Lucky readers.. I extend to you another giveaway! ONE lucky reader is going to receive (2) packs of 30-count wipes! (And before I tell you how to enter.. you should head over to Boogie Wipes and join the Boogie Bunch because it's the cool thing to do!)

Mandatory Entry: "Like" Boogie Wipes on Facebook. Leave your name in your comment. (If you fail to complete this step all of your other entries will be deleted.)

Additional Entries:

1. Follow Boogie Wipes on Twitter ( 1 entry)

2. Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)

3. Tell me one of the nearest Boogie Wipes retailer locations to you! (1 entry)

4. Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (2 entries)

5. Add my button to your blog. Leave a link to where I can find it. (1 entry)

6. Tweet about this giveaway. Include @Mommacrissy @BoogieMoms and #giveaway in your tweet! Leave the link to your tweet in your comment. You are allowed 2 tweets per day and they must be at least 3 hours apart! (1 entry per tweet)

Giveaway ends Sunday, July 25th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

Monkeysnuggles Winner

2010-07-12T08:31:00.001-05:00

# 38

Joanna said... Follow Monkey Snuggles blog.

July 5, 2010 10:02 PM

Congratulations, you have 48 hours to respond to my email before I draw a new winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned for the Boogie Wipes giveaway!

(Red)(White)(BOOM!)

2010-07-10T07:44:00.000-05:00

Yes.. it IS July 10th. Yes.. I am just now getting around to putting up my 4th of July post. Not that I have to explain myself but.. I haven't been able to use my computer for a few days. WHY? Because.. my sister decided that my computer needed a few hellacious trojan viruses. I mean really.. only the cool people have them. I couldn't even get past the Windows welcome screen. How wonderful is that? It's not. It sucked. I contemplated death to my sister a couple of times.. I won't lie. Because, you see, I am a lover of all things photography. BUT.. I'm terrible when it comes to organizing, editing, etc. I'm also horrible when it comes to backing them up. Which means ~~bajillions~~ thousands of my photographs were in jeopardy of becoming.. "extinct" !! Luckily my aunt knows someone who knows someone.. well anyways, this someone gave my aunt instructions (from Portugal!) on how to fix my computer. And.. VOILA! Here I am again. Anyways...

Saturday night we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings because my friend works there AND I love their wings. After dinner we went to the park for a bit and then home to cover ourselves in bug repellent, grab some drinks and snacks, and head to a neighborhood park area. They were having a huge fireworks show. The parking was crazy when we got there and after driving around for about 10 minutes we found a good spot and started the hike to the park which took less than 10 minutes. The show was really great. I was worried Kylee would hate it. (As she tends to hate lots of loud noises and puts her hands over her ears) But.. she was armed with her apple juice, Dora fruit snacks, and she really enjoyed the show and kept saying "pretty". Back home and she went straight to bed about 10:15ish.

Now as mother nature frequently loves to do.. she decided to rain on our actual 4th of July. Literally. All morning it rained and poured and rained some more. So that parade we were going to go to? Didn't happen. Instead.. Tim went to work (which he was scheduled to do anyways) and Kylee and I went to WalMart. Kylee got a new toy to play with (a moving, meowing, purring cat) and I picked up some paint and accessories to give our bathroom a little makeover. So we came home and Kylee played with her kitty, ate fruit snacks, and watched Barney. I started in on the bathroom. (And finished in about 2 hours since our bathroom is not that big at all..)

Nap ensued.

Then when Kylee woke up we decided to pack it up and head to dinner. After driving around and realizing the two places we really wanted to eat at were closed (*sigh*) we decided to eat at IHOP. I mean really.. if you don't love breakfast for dinner.. I don't know if we can be friends. So we grubbed on pancakes, hash browns, eggs, fruit, etc. and then rolled our bodies home. We sat out in our neighbor's driveway and watched everyone who had come to the top of our circle shoot off fireworks. The highlight of Kylee's night was getting to feed the neighbor's dog a grilled hot dog. She LOVES dogs and she kept saying "nom nom nom" with each bite Body (the dog) took. It was SO cute. Finally about 11:15 she started getting really tired and went straight to bed. It was a really relaxing weekend and I enjoyed all the family time. Getting Kylee back on her sleeping schedule took a couple of days but it was totally worth it! I hope you and your family had a wonderful time celebrating the independence of our country and managed to give thanks to the soldiers who are away from their loved ones fighting for our freedom.

CSN Review: One Rockin' Tent!

2010-07-06T09:26:00.001-05:00

As promised.. here in my CSN review!

CSN stores carry so many items.. millions of items. It's insanely awesome! I had a hard time choosing what I was going to get. Finally I decided on the super awesome Pacific Play Tent. I knew it would go perfectly in Kylee's new play room. I was absolutely right too.

So.. here are some specifics on the Pacific Play Tents Super Duper 4 Kids play tent! (Taken from the CSN website)

"Open the doors and bring in the whole gang! This play tent is so large that 2 moms and 3 kids have room enough to play inside. Designed especially large for added play value, the fun can happen all year round as it can be used inside or out. This giant tent is made to be "kid tough" with a waterproof floor and a patented "G-3" shock corded fiberglass PU coated pole system. The Velcro front door closure and 2 tunnel ports (tunnels NOT included) make access into and out of the tent a breeze. A full mesh top has been added to allow extra ventilation, as well as to increase visibility for parents. The Super Duper 4 Kid Play Tent is a fabulous addition to any toy collection! "

What I really love about this tent:

* It's VERY easy to set up

* Soap and water are all you need to clean it off

* The mesh top make it easy for light to get in the tent (for when it's being used as a reading area), air to get in the tent (when it's being used for indoor camping), and children to get in and out of the tent (my 19 month old can easily zip up and down the zippered side)

* It has ports for tunnels to be added on (hello, additional fun!)
* It's colorful and catches the eye of the young and old

* For the price.. you get a LOT of space!

* The floor of the tent is durable, washable, and waterproof!!

So far we have used this tent as a reading "corner", a picnic site, a nap oasis, a hiding spot, a dance floor, and a place to cuddle and sing songs. It's been the perfect addition to the play room! The description on CSN says this tent can be used outdoors. Just because you can't completely seal the openings into the tent (the zipper side and the tunnel ports) I don't think we'd ever take it outside. I have no desire to rescue my child when the ants and other insects try to take over her tent. (Clearly because they would be totally jealous of the awesomeness of it...right?!)

All in all.. I HIGHLY recommend this tent!! So buy one. For your kid(s).. or yourself..

Monkeysnuggles Review & Giveaway

2010-07-01T17:11:00.000-05:00

My name is Christina and I am a Monkeysnuggles-aholic. It's been a couple months since my last purchase. (And I've got a craaaaaaving!)

Why would someone EVER be addicted to something as silly as a diaper? Well.. I'll tell you.. Monkeysnuggles are some of the best made and cutest diapers out there! I've been a Monkeysnuggles customer for like a year now and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. When I first jumped on this awesome bandwagon it was in the days of Monkeysnuggles just being on etsy. But since then Renee has branched out to a her own .com. Yep! She sure did!

One of the things I love the most about this company is the customer service. I know if I have a question it's going to get answered and as quickly as possible. Renee is one of the nicest and most helpful people I've ever worked with. I really dig that because people with crappy customer service are the ones who lose me as a customer. I'm glad to know I'll be taken care of when it comes to buying from Monkeysnuggles.

Love pocket diapers? Fitteds? Wool longies? Shorties? Skirties? How about cloth wipes? Wetbags? Awesome and absorbent inserts? You won't be disappointed if you buy from Monkeysnuggles.

My diaper of choice is the pocket diaper. I never caught the "fitted bug".. so I've never actually tried out her fitteds or wool but I know MANY cloth mamas who love them! Now.. back to the pocket diapers. Monkeysnuggles diapers come in very cute and fun prints and they are SO trim! Kylee can actually wear jeans over these! I was very skeptical when I first saw the inserts. They're SO thin and I was expecting leaks. Boy was I wrong. Monkeysnuggles inserts are made with 3 layers of bamboo fleece which is why they are so trim. It's also why they are so absorbent.

Renee sent me a very cute lavender colored pocket diaper with a inner brown lining. I had to wait until the next day to start putting it to the test because I had just done diaper laundry in the morning right before the diaper was delivered. But once it was washed I put it right on Kylee's bum. I'm still amazed at how soft it is. I'm also impressed at how trim it is for an OS diaper. Kylee was in the diaper for almost 3 1/2 hours and did not have one single issue with leaking.

She still has LOTS of room to grow in this diaper.

She can perform all her sweet dance moves with no problem!

Bending and squatting present no problem.

It makes her chunky thighs look OH so cute! (Without leaving any red marks--which I hate!)

It matches with this cute shirt/vest combo PERFECTLY! (I love things matching)

It's the perfect diaper for us and I love that we were able to add it to our stash!

Kylee has napped in this diaper for almost 4 hours and had no issues at all. We had an unfortunate accident with some V8 Splash being spilled all over this diaper AND Kylee going outside and sitting in her pool with this diaper on. Still holding up GREAT! And I'm a firm believer that real men wear lavender. So even if our next baby (no, I'm not pregnant) is a boy.. this diaper is still going to get lots and lots of love!

SO.. if you're looking for top quality diapers and fantastic customer service.. I can't speak highly enough about Monkeysnuggles. I promise you will NOT be disappointed. (Especially since right now lots of pocket diapers and wool accessories are on sale!!)

So what are you being offered today?? Well lovely readers..

Through August 15th if you use the code Juneblog10 you will receive 10% off your entire order! Score!!

Or.. if you're REALLY lucky.. you'll win this giveaway here and be sent a super secret code to get $20 to use at http://www.monkeysnuggles.com/ OR the etsy shop ! Sounds amazing, right? So how do you go about winning this giveaway?

Mandatory Entry: "Like" Monkeysnuggles on Facebook (Leave your name in your comment) AND tell me what you think you would use your $20 towards. (If you fail to complete this step all of your other entries will be deleted.)

Additional entries:

1. Follow the Monkeysnuggles blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (1 entry)

2. Follow Monkeysnuggles on Twitter. Include your Twitter name in comment. (1 entry)

3. Make a Monkeysnuggles purchase. Email me some sort of proof of purchase. (5 entries)

4. Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (2 entries)

5. Follow me on Twitter. Include your Twitter name in comment. (1 entry)

6. Add my button to your blog. Leave a link to where I can find it. (2 entries)

7. Tweet about this giveaway. Include @Mommacrissy @Monkeysnuggles and #clothdiapers in your tweet! Leave the link to your tweet in your comment. You are allowed 2 tweets per day and they must be at least 3 hours apart! (1 entry per tweet)

*Make sure I have a way to contact you. Be signed in or leave your email address in each comment.*

Giveaway ends Sunday, July 11th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

GOOD LUCK!

Prepare for CSN!

2010-06-28T14:02:00.002-05:00

I love to shop. No. Really. I LOVE to shop. I avoid large grocery shopping trips just so I can go to the store another day during the week. I am addicted. I really love buying things for Kylee. Clothes..toys..books..puzzles.. pretty much anything that I feel she needs.. So when I was contacted by CSN stores and asked if I wanted to do a review of something from one of their stores.. OH MY! I jumped on the opportunity. After browsing through a few of their stores (which was barely scraping the surface since CSN has over 200 stores!) I chose a really cute tent for baby girl. I'm thinking it can be her reading tent in her brand spanking new playroom. Or else she could include the tent in a camp out in the playroom and sleep in there like a bed and have daddy create a "fire" and we'll all make s'mores. And..and..and who knows?! The possibilities are endless. I just know she's going to LOVE this tent. So.. stay tuned folks for my amazing review and super cute pics of my darling daughter!

(This is the tent being sent for review purposes. The children inside the tent are not included.)

Absence

2010-06-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

Makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Well pardon my absence. We have been doing lots of work around the house. We've finally got our basement refinished. Again. And we've been working on turning it into a family room/ play area. It's still a work in progress as I type this. We've also been getting TONS of rain lately which means our yard has been growing out of control! We spent 2 days working out in the yard mowing, weeding, and other things which cause lots and lots of sweating. It's been hard work. But I am loving the results we've been getting. Nothing feels better than a clean house that's been purged of useless crap and a yard that looks better each time I see it.

But anyways.. my plan is to return to blogging this week. I've got a couple of great reviews and giveaways coming your way and fun stories. So stay tuned! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Green Bee Winner

2010-06-21T13:18:00.001-05:00

Comment #4 was Renee from Monkeysnuggles with ...

Monkey Snuggles Mama said...

I follow you on twitter @monkeysnuggles

Congrats mama! You have 48 hours to respond to the email I'm about to send you..

Lost In Translation..

2010-06-14T09:47:00.003-05:00

Kylee is at such a fun age. She's developing into quite the ~~hellspawn~~ spirited little lady! (Don't let her precious and innocent looks fool you!) She loves gaining more and more independence and learning new things on a daily basis. She's learned how to move objects to get to something she wants (i.e. her music table to grab spices off the kitchen counter). She's learned patience can often result in getting what you want (i.e. waiting outside the bathroom door until someone is done showering so she can run in and drop things in the toilet and laughing as mommy fishes them out....). She's also finally started learning that "using her words" makes for one happy mommy.

Now.. that's not to say that we still don't get frustrated when we don't understand her.. but we're all getting better at this whole communicating with a toddler thing. So when Kylee says "die die" now.. we know she's not wanting us to come to an untimely death.. she's just saying "bye bye". And when she asks for "moke" .. she gets her good old ice cold 2% in a sippy of her choice. But when she came up to me a couple of weeks ago saying, "Uh oh, oop!" .. well friends.. I didn't know what the hell she was saying. I looked at her and asked her to repeat herself (big mistake..) " UH OH, OOP!" .. and that's when she takes off for her bedroom.. so I follow.. she opens her closet door and I am then face to face with... POOP.. smashed in the carpet .. in her closet. It took some carpet cleaner, gagging on my part, and about 10 minutes but said poop was removed from the cream colored carpet.

Lesson learned. "Uh oh, oop!"

Bummas Wipes Winner is....

2010-06-12T08:20:00.001-05:00

(58) Christina said...
I'm following Bummas on Twitter.

Christina
The Subfertile Frugalista
@sf_frugalista
subfertilefrugalista@gmail.com

Congrats on finding out you're having a baby girl. Girls are SO much fun! You have 48 hours to respond to my email. Enjoy your wipes!!

Happy Green Bee Review & Giveaway

2010-06-06T11:03:00.002-05:00

"Born mid-century in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Roxanne Quimby developed an early passion for the arts and nature that was to become the central theme of her future business philosophy. In 1975, after receiving her BFA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, Roxanne moved to a small town in central Maine, where she used her life savings to buy her first 30 acres of woods. She built a small cabin where she and her twins, Hannah and Lucas, lived in harmony with nature for almost fifteen years without electricity, running water or other modern conveniences.

In 1989, Roxanne and her partner Burt, a beekeeper and refugee from New York, started Burt's Bees, a cottage industry which quickly evolved into an internationally renowned personal care company with a core commitment to pure ingredients, naturally efficacious formulas and earth-friendly packaging. In 2003, Roxanne sold the now multimillion dollar company, while continuing to serve on the Board of Directors and helping ensure the company maintains its commitment to natural integrity.

With the proceeds of the sale Roxanne funded two foundations. The first awards grants to nonprofit organizations in support of the environment and the arts and the second, an operating foundation, owns and maintains 70,000 acres of wilderness in the North woods of Maine. Roxanne is also the cofounder of Maine Woods Forever, a heritage conservation organization dedicated to preserving the spirit and landscape of Maine Woods.

After a yearlong respite traveling from Antarctica to Paris, Roxanne began to crave a new challenge. As a mother, designer and lifelong environmentalist, Roxanne saw a void in children's clothing wear and a lack of awareness of the benefits of organic cotton. Thus she began to "sew" the seeds of her newest venture - happygreenbee, an all organic cotton clothing line created specifically for kids."

So there you have it..the history of Happy Green Bee. I have to say this is by far one of the most interesting ones I've ever read about a company and their start. I love how generous and caring Roxanne is and how much she really loves our environment.

I was so excited to get to do a review for this company. I LOVE all things organic. Especially clothes! I love how organically grown cotton does not retain the harmful toxic residue that cotton clothing does. Clothing made with organically grown cotton is pure and natural.

Pesticide and chemically treated clothing traps heat and prevents skin from absorbing adequate moisture. This often causes rashes and eczema on sensitive skin. Organic contton is very breathable. I know when Kylee has played outside while wearing this she doesn't get nearly as hot as she does in other clothing Also, children with allergies benefit from organic cotton since it does not retain residue like chemically treated cotton does. That's a winner in my book for sure!

So what do I love about Happy Green Bee? I love their bright and fun colors! I also love how stretchy the material is. I know Kylee will be wearing her very cute sports suit for this summer and possibly next depending on how much she grows during the year. I've also had a great experience with customer service and have no complaints in that department. Their products are made with top quality material and are very well made. Kylee has put her outfit to the test.. and I have yet to see a single string come undone! I may have to start hiding her sports suit because she wants to wear it every single day all day long. It's cute but not something she should wear out to dinner with us! Thumbs WAY up to Happy Green Bee !

Lucky readers that you are.. Happy Green Bee is giving one of you the chance to pick anything of your liking from their clearance store!

Mandatory Entry: "Like" Happy Green Bee on Facebook! Leave your name along with your comment. (You must complete this entry or no other entries will count!)

Please make sure you leave your email address or be signed into blogger so I have a way to contact you!

Additional Ways to Enter:

1. Tell me what you would choose if you won! (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway and link back to me and Happy Green Bee. Leave where I can find your blog entry in your comment (5 entries)

3. Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (2 entries)

4. Add my button to your blog. Leave where I can find it in your comment (2 entries)

5. Follow me on Twitter. Include your Twitter name is your comment (1 entry)

6. Tweet about this giveaway! 2x per day and at least 2 hours apart! (1 entry per tweet)
Feel free to use: Love the environment and your babe? ...Organic clothes #giveaway from Happy Green Bee and @mommacrissy http://bit.ly/dqEb3o (Ends 6/19)

7. Make a purchase from Happy Green Bee during the duration of this giveaway. (5 extra entries per item purchased)

Giveaway ends Saturday, June 19th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

GOOD LUCK!

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T20:47:00.001-05:00

BUMMAS! (Review & Giveaway)

2010-05-28T19:47:00.002-05:00

I have been using cloth diapers for a year now. I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself because I didn't think I was going to make it very long in the beginning. But I love how I'm helping the environment and my daughter's little bum. What I haven't been doing for a year is using cloth wipes. I know.. *GASP*.

So a couple of weeks ago I decided I was going to make the plunge. No longer would my daughter's bum be wiped with a commercial wipe. But where to start? What brand is the best? What brand to avoid? SO many questions.. So I contacted Bummas about doing a review of their wipes. They came highly recommended to me so I figured why not start there?

I was sent the Wild Ones and can I just say.. SUCH beautiful colors! I was in love as soon as I opened the packaging!

Bummas wipes are 100% Cotton - Woven Velour Terry Cloth milled right here in the USA. The perfect 5” x 7” size that won’t pill, shrink, or fade. Plus they come in a variety of fun and vibrant colors. The Girls .. the cute pinks and purples for that sweet princess in your life! The Boys .. the blues and greens for that special little man in your life! The Wild Ones .. which is a combination of everything and totally beautiful! The Calm Ones.. very earthy and relaxing! And NEW are the Tropical Ones which are bright and colorful!

What I love about Bummas Wipes is the fact that you can use a wet wipe to clean up and then a dry one to help keep rashes away. When I was using commercial wet wipes I always had to let Kylee's bottom dry out before putting on a new diaper. I don't know about you.. but that's the last thing I want to do with a toddler who would rather be off and running. With my Bummas wipes I give the wipe a little spray, clean up her bottom, then use a dry Bummas wipe to make sure her bottom is totally dry before putting on a new diaper. Simple! Then I just toss the wipe and the dirty diaper (after a shake and swirl in the toilet if need be) in the pail. It's so easy! No more taking a diaper to the pail and tossing wipes in the trash!

Storing my wipes and solution is just as simple as it was before my switch to cloth wipes. I keep my clean and dry wipes in an old wipes container and my wipes solution in a spray bottle. I either use a solution or just plain water. Both work equally well. Once I run out of my solution ingredients I will just be using plain water. No more running out to the store when I'm out of wipes!

Bummas wipes are also great for cleaning up messy faces and hands! I keep some in our diaper bag for changes when we're out and about or to wipe up baby girl after she's gotten messy.

So why should you use Bummas wipes? You can help eliminate irritating diaper rash without the use of powders, talcs, and ointments. These wipes are SO soft and so gentle and who doesn't want that for the bottoms of their loved ones? Bummas wipes are GREAT at wiping up and drying off. They come in amazing colors and I personally love something that works AND catches my eye! Plus.. if you don't use Bummas.. you'll be really bummed you're missing out on the best cloth wipe out there! I can't wait to get a couple more sets myself!

SO.. lucky readers that you are.. Bummas has offered to give one of you a set of wipes of your choice! Awesome, right?

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what set of wipes you would choose if you did win! (You must do this or you forfeit your chance to win!)

Additional ways to enter:

1. Follow Bummas on Twitter (2 entries)

2. Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)

3. Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect (3 entries!)

4. Add my button to your blog and leave a link to where I can find it (1 entry)

5. Tweet this giveaway. 2x/day and at least 2 hours apart (1 entry per tweet)

6. Blog about this giveaway. Include a link to your post in your comment (2 entries)

7. Make a purchase of Bummas wipes before this giveaway ends. This will be verified. (10 entries)

Giveaway ends Friday, June 11th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

GOOD LUCK!!!

She's An Artist

2010-05-25T09:57:00.001-05:00

What a great way to spend 45 minutes!

She's An Artist!

An AppleCheeks A Day Keeps the Rash at Bay!

2010-05-17T09:51:00.002-05:00

Many many months ago, Ilana, of AppleCheeks diapers was looking for blogger mommies to review her diapers. I had been drooling after her super cute St. Lucia diaper for as long as I could remember. So..naturally.. I jumped on the opportunity. I ~~stalked the mailman pretty much every single day~~ waited sooo patiently for my diaper to come in the mail. It wasn't the St. Lucia. I was bummed. It was Coriander. BUT.. after trying on said diaper, I was in love! It looked great with Kylee's skin tone and it was really cute! My diaper came with a one size rayon from bamboo insert which can be folded into thirds (hello six layers of protection!) and a booster as well!

"Rayon from Bamboo is perfect for the heaviest wetter as it retains twice as much moisture as cotton alone for its weight! And plus rayon from bamboo's antimicrobial properties make it the healthy choice for your baby's bottom. Rayon from Bamboo is the cloth diapering choice!"

I am that cloth diapering mama who is scared of anything that is not bulky. I feel like bulk = a lot of absorbing action going on. So I was kind of nervous about using only the inserts I received. But.. I had a job to do.. must review this product. So after doing my prepping of the diaper.. I put it on her for nap. 3 hours later.....

NO LEAKING! I was amazed!

(She gets her dancing moves from her daddy..)

Another issue I have with diapering in general is the fact that my girl has some chunky thighs and that usually results in her getting red marks on them from the diapers. AppleCheeks? They passed the test! No marking on her legs!

One of the REALLY awesome things about AppleCheeks is that you can use the envelope cover as just a cover or as an entire diaper. So stuff it.. or don't stuff it.. and you still get great use out of it! But whatever you do.. don't unstuff it! (Because the inserts come out in the wash all on their own!)

Got a super chunky cute baby? Well.. fear not.. AppleCheeks to the rescue! Enter.. waist extenders!

"AppleCheeks™ Waist Extenders allow you to get even more life from your gorgeous AppleCheeks™ envelope covers. Sold in pairs, simply snap one on each side of your trim fitting diaper cover and, voila, you get up to approximately 2 inches of extra space for baby's cute rolls! Available in all 10 permanent collection colours, can be mixed and matched with other colour envelope covers for ultimate cuteness."

Are you getting the picture yet? This is an AMAZING diaper system! You really can't go wrong.

I was also sent a Size 1 storage sac to review. I love it! It can easily hold 8 diapers or more (depending on how full you pack your storage sacs). It's easy to wash and I just hang it to dry. Simple. Easy. And it has some great stretch to it!

My final test to my oh-so-cute AppleCheeks diaper was overnight use. And some of you may be saying oh what's the big deal? Well my friends.. my daughter pees. A LOT! At night! And we use uber thick inserts for nighttime because she pees so much. So.. I put her in her AppleCheeks and I added one additional bamboo insert.. put on some fleece longies... and prayed as I put her down to sleep. I expected to hear screaming at 4am for a diaper change. I expected to get her up in the morning and find a bed soaked in urine. I expected to regret my AppleCheeks overnight decision. Boy was I wrong. She was wet in the morning but not soaked and we had no leaking! I was one happy mama and so was my baby girl!

So there has to be SOMETHING wrong with this diapering system, right? Well.. I was going to say the price. AppleCheeks cost a tad bit more than diapers I usually buy. BUT, I really feel they are worth the money! So.. my only wish for AppleCheeks is more color options and maybe some prints?? Because this mama here loves her some cute prints!

(If anyone wants to donate a St. Lucia to us.. that would be totally rad... just sayin!)

Pretty Much Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-12T11:03:00.001-05:00

2009 ... When I could put her somewhere and she stayed put for a picture!

2010 ... Always on the move!

Inspired by Mooky Diaper Review

2010-05-10T16:41:00.001-05:00

My kid pees.

Often.

And in large quantity.

So I've been struggling to keep her in cloth during the nights. She's been peeing through everything I toss on her. I had actually switched her back to disposables at night. They were gross by the morning but they worked. Yes they weighed like 5 pounds and were just a mess of cold urine but I wasn't having to change sheets every morning. I started asking around about what people were putting on their heavy wetting toddlers at night and someone recommended Inspired by Mooky. Something new to me.. but I decided to check it out anyway.

I am SO happy I did. Pam makes some of the cutest and softest diapers ever! She made me a super cute monkey print with polka dots diaper. I was in love. The crotch area was too narrow though and I was super bummed. Fear not.. Pam had me send that diaper back to her and she made me a new one and shipped it back in just a couple of days! Now that is some great customer service! Let me tell you about this diaper..

It's a One Size AI2 Fleece Night Time Diaper and the outer part is made up of 2 layers of anti-pill fleece. The inner part of the diaper is organic bamboo raylon velour and it is SO soft! The soaker (WHICH I LOVE!) is 2 petal style (for quick drying) and each petal has 3 layers of organic bamboo raylon fleece topped with velour. It's trifold style and when folded over you get 16 absorbent layers!! This diaper does NOT require a cover.

What I really love about this diaper is that it stands up to my super-wetter overnight, doesn't leave ANY red marks on her at all, and it's super cute and VERY soft! It's made of quality materials and the work that goes into this diaper is so apparent! We have it on one of the lowest settings so I know this diaper is going to be sticking around until Kylee doesn't need diapers anymore! And then it will be passed on to the next sibling when the time comes. (Even if it's a boy.. because boys can wear cute polka dots!..And I'll be the only one seeing their bottoms at night anyways!)

Pam also carries longies, shorties, skirties, wet bags, changing pads, etc in her Cutzie Designs shop. So make sure you check out both of her shops on Hyena! Tell her I sent you!

The Gymnastics Express

2010-05-06T10:18:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning Kylee and I joined up with some mamas and kiddos from our playdate group. We met up to let the kids play on The Gymnastics Express!

"The Gymnastics Express is a gymnastics facility - on wheels! Perfect for today's busy parent, we bring The Gymnastics Express right to your child's preschool or daycare center, and teach them our innovative gymnastics curriculum right on our customized bus!"

If you've got kids and they've got energy ... you can't go wrong with this bus o' fun! If you're in the area I highly recommend getting in contact and finding out how your kids can get their jump and tumble on!

(Jack is going for the gold in tumbling!)

Now I feel like I must say that 18 months+ were allowed to play on the bus yesterday. Kylee won't be 18 months for 12 more days.. but I figured she was close enough. (There were another babes around her age there as well.) In my personal opinion I think 18 months may be a little too young for The Gymnastics Express. Kylee did not want to sit and sing songs in the beginning. She was much too distracted by all the fun tumbling equipment. She cried. And cried. And cried until I came and held her and then she watched the other kids singing. Once it was time to play on the equipment though she was ALL about it. A few other kids that were her age also cried and didn't want to stay on the bus long. So I would recommend this for ages 2 and older. ( I am really glad Kylee got to experience this though and when it was time to play she DID have a great time!)

(Kylee enjoying the zip-line and the kids jumping hoops!)

So if you're in the area and looking for a way to entertain your kids this summer or any other time of the year, get in contact with staff at The Gymnastics Express. You'll be able to put together the best playdate ever! Best of all? The bus comes to you!

Healing Home

2010-04-22T09:34:00.001-05:00

This has been a crazy last couple of weeks in our house. Last week Kylee had a dermoid cyst removed from above her left eye. It was done by a highly recommended plastic surgeon who works closely with little ones at the Children's Hospital here. We had to get up VERY early (think 4am) so we could be at the hospital by 5:30. It was a long day but Kylee did WONDERFUL and over a week later she's still healing but the stitches have come out. We're just using Neosporin all day every day and it's looking great!

(That is not a cast.. It's just keeping the IV in her hand in place.)

(Soo tired. She took a very long nap when we got home)

Then on Tuesday this week I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed. Yes, I'm a little less wise now (haha .. ha?) but I'm slowly healing. Every day gets a little better. The day of was horrible my mouth was so numb it was work just to swallow my own saliva and the bleeding lasted a little longer than I would have liked. But here I am...2 days later and I'm able to eat soft foods and I get to gargle warm salt water. Jealous, eh?

So.. we're just going to keep healing in this house and one day I know we'll all be back to 100%. (My honey is getting his last 2 wisdom teeth taken out on Monday..poor guy..). And I'll be posting a few reviews I need to get done later this week. I hope everyone has a fabulous and GREEN day! HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

Baby Dipper Winner

2010-04-12T12:28:00.001-05:00

#92 ...

Nikki said...

http://twitter.com/CubsMamma/statuses/12031428167

Congrats Nikki! And thank you everyone for entering! Nikki I will be emailing you shortly. You have 48 hours to respond.

PROVO who?

2010-04-07T12:08:00.002-05:00

So my friend Jess is a craft master. I kid you not. She's as talented as they come. Mother to three boys. She owns her own Etsy shop. She creates things that I wouldn't even imagine thinking of. She also can decorate a cake with the best of them. Speaking of the best of them... Her mother, Linda McClure, is one of the most talented cake artists I have ever seen. Well I have never seen her in person but I have been to her website numerous times and watched many of her videos. The woman has talent like I've never seen!

So what is the point of this post? Other than singing praise to some talented mamas out there? Well.. PROVO CRAFT .. the maker of the Cricut has done Linda McClure VERY wrong. VERY, VERY, VERY wrong. So now I will never be making a purchase from Provo Craft. Ever. Which is sad because I've wanted a Cricut for a very long time. BUT, I refuse to support a company that would do this to anyone.

Please read Linda McClure's story here. It's too bad the most honest and kind people in this world get taken advantage of. Please help spread the word if you are as disgusted with Provo Craft as I am!

Hip-Hop-Hip-Hop

2010-04-07T11:31:00.001-05:00

Hip Hop!

Easter at our house,

Was kind of a flop!

(But a very good flop!)

Yes.. I did that on purpose. And yes.. I am a nerd! So what?

Easter evening was pretty fun. We sat around the tables with dye and eggs and had a grand time. I also broke out the coloring books and crayons for Kylee. And OF COURSE.. there was banana cream pie. My little family loves us some banana cream pie.

Kylee has been working on two new teeth so she wasn't feeling the greatest. She also had a little cold and that just added to her sickies. Her poor little cheeks were so red and chapped looking. Put after we colored the eggs and some pictures and finished our pie I put K in some Easter-y props and snapped some pics. (Please forgive the messy face.. it was before bath and we had lasagna for dinner..)

Cute, no?

Well then Easter morning came and Kylee AND Tim were both sick! Kylee was getting over the cold still and still trying to pop out some chompers and Tim had a chest cold. Fun, fun, fun! So no church for us. Kylee didn't get to wear her Easter dress. Its okay though. It's just a cute pink sundress and she'll be able to wear it to church another time and minus all the accessories she can wear it this summer. So no big loss.

So Easter was spent hanging out in our pajamas. Checking out what the Easter Bunny brought and watching movies. By mid afternoon and after a nap.. both my loves were feeling much better. Kylee was even running around and playing and Tim was coughing much much less. So my sister came over Easter night to stay the night. Kylee loved hanging out with her little cousin outside. She kept running over to him and giving him hugs and kisses. She's going to make a great big sister in the future!

So while Easter wasn't what we had planned on.. I loved every minute of just being with my family!

Baby Dipper Review & Giveaway

2010-03-30T13:38:00.002-05:00

I love top quality items that work. I don't like the idea of people paying more for something that just doesn't even work like it says it will. So I've never splurged on any "fancy" eating utensils or bowls for my daughter. I figured.. I didn't have one growing up and I learned to self-feed just fine. But, I have to admit.. when I first saw the baby dipper I really wanted to get one for her. But again.. didn't think I NEEDED it.

So I decided to contact Baby Dipper and see if they would be interested in doing a review and giveaway. I didn't hear anything back. So I actually forgot all about it. But then I received an email from Barbara (of Baby Dipper) asking if I'd be interested in doing a review and offer up a giveaway. At this time my daughter was about 16 months old. I didn't know how much use we'd get out of it, but I said sure.

Barbara shipped my Baby Dipper so quick I don't even think it took 2 days to receive it. Now, THAT is some quality service! It just happened to come right before lunch too! So I washed it up while K was eating her main part of her lunch and then I put some applesauce in it.

Kylee does great with a fork. She can stab food and shove it in her mouth with the best of them. However, she tends to get frustrated with spoons. She didn't really have the scooping method down and she used a spoon much like she used a fork. (Stabbing everything.. or at least attempting to...) So I didn't know how well this was going to work either. Was I surprised though! She did GREAT with the baby dipper! After a few tries and some trial and error.. she was scooping up her applesauce!!

So what exactly is SO special about this bowl? What about do I LOVE so much? Well let me tell you...

It's BPA-Free

Lead-Free

Phthalate-Free!!

It's very easy to clean

The non-slip bottom keeps it from sliding all around (on tables and highchair trays!) and you don't have to worry about suction cups or anything annoying like that to keep it in place!

Feeding baby one handed and not having to chase a bowl across the table!

The sloped interior surface is great for getting every last bite out and the spoon-shaped collection point is wonderful for keeping those precious bites on the spoon! Thank you for that, Barbara Schantz!

Sounds perfect, right? Well.. I do love our Baby Dipper dearly!

If I could make any changes though.. I would like to see Baby Dipper offered in more color options and I wish there were "toddler sized" utensils as an option. We don't use the fork because it's just too small for my daughter. Other than that.. the Baby Dipper is perfect!

SO.. how would you like to win your very own Baby Dipper bowl? Barbara has been so nice to offer one of you a bowl of your own!

[Please Note: Previous winners of Baby Dipper Bowls sponsored by Baby Dipper, LLC are not eligible to win again.]

Mandatory Entry:

Tell me what state you're from and where you'd like to see Baby Dipper sold at near you!

Additional Entries:

1. Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter (1 entry)

2. Sign up for the Baby Dipper Newsletter (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to the Baby Dipper blog (1 entry)

4. Follow me on Twitter..leave your Twitter name in comment (1 entry)

5. Follow my blog publicly (2 entries .. please leave 2 seperate comments)

6. Add my button to your blog and leave a link to where I can find it (1 entry)

7. Tweet about this giveaway and leave your link to your tweet. (2x per day/ must be at least 2 hrs apart) (Please leave a seperate comment for each tweet)

Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win. Email address in comment or email address visible in your blog profile.

Giveaway ends Sunday, April 11th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

Good Luck!!

Kissaluvs Antibacterial Pail Liner!

2010-03-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

So.. about a month ago I was having some SERIOUS issues with my cloth diapers. They were getting really funky smelling. Not just stinky...not just smelly... they were down right FUNKY! The ammonia smell was ridiculous! So I finally had to break down and strip my diapers.. again. It doesn't help that Nebraska is cursed with hard water.

In my head I begin to wonder WHAT IN THE WORLD is causing these issues. I mean yes.. we have hard water.. but I know for a fact we're not the only inhabitants of the entire freakin' world cursed with hard water!! I was my diapers every other day. I use the appropriate amount of soap. I do an entire cold wash cycle, HOT wash, cold rinse..yadda yadda. So what's the deal?!?! So I begin reading and researching.

I read that pail liners can be a cause of the stinks. They hold odors and bacteria just like diapers do. My current pail liner (at the time) was about a year old and had housed MANY a disgusting diaper..especially back when I didn't have a very good wash routine.. oops. SO.. I started looking around for a pail liner that could help me out with keeping the stink under control. That's when I came across Kissaluvs Antibacterial Pail liner! I contacted Kissaluvs and had the pleasure of working with Heather who offered to send me a liner to review!

The Kissaluvs Antibatercial Pail Liner is " Made from a high quality PUL (poly urethane laminate) fabric with a special anti-microbial effect*, the Kissaluvs Antibacterial Pail Liner lets your diapers sit another day or so, worry free, without collecting gunk! The special finish also helps reduce unpleasant odors and protects against the spreading of health hazardous bacteria which can sometimes collect on soiled diapers." So I tested it out by using it straight out of the packaging. After tossing in 2 days worth of diapers, it was wash day. BUT.. I didn't wash the liner! I wanted to put it to another test. Could it.. WOULD it really not smell after having 2 loads of diapers in it without being washed? Well... 2 days later I did another load of diapers and after tossing the diapers in... I stuck my nose down into the liner and believe it or not.. I still have my sense of smell!! (Now with my other pail liner I wouldn't dare do that!)

So what makes this liner so different?? It has been specially treated with SILVERPLUS® antimicrobial effect!

Moisture in diapers is ideal biosphere for bacteria, which exploit the organic content of the moisture. The degradation of this exploitation is associated with unpleasant odors. SILVERPLUS® silver ions which are embedded in the fabric in a resistant-to-washing and dry-cleaning manner, without using a binder or adhesive system, protect against the spreading of health hazardous bacteria and form a reservoir to counteract odor. Many products with antimicrobial effects migrate from the textile onto the skin to then attack it. SILVERPLUS® has developed its antimicrobial effects exclusively on the textile surface. The hygienic effect develops on the textile, leaving the skin fully functional. This has been confirmed by the independent test institute ITV Denkendorf.

Likes:
Leak-proof
Durable
Lots of room for those stinky, wet diapers (can hold several dozen diapers)
Affordable (costs less than $15)
Keeps a lot of the smell associated with dirty diapers away! (I dig that!)

Dislikes:
The liner is only available in white (I'm a woman who loves bright and bold colors and prints)

As you can see.. there's not a very "valid" dislike that I have with this liner. I recommend it to anyone who asks about liner recommendations and I will always sing praise of this liner to any listening ear. So get one. You won't regret it!

Thank you Kissaluvs and Heather B (of Kissaluvs) for allowing me to review such an awesome product! All words in italics are from the Kissaluvs website (http://www.kissaluvs.com/antibacterial_pail_liner.php) and all other words are my own and of my own opinion.

You (might) live with a toddler if...

2010-03-15T17:45:00.001-05:00

Old pots and pans live amongst the toys most of the time...

Pretty pink potty chairs and a toy "eating" turtle have taken up residence in your bathroom...

The toys are always growing and overflowing.....

Sticky hands are being cleaned off all day and every day....

But the messy eating that causes the sticky hands is just sooo stinkin cute...

When dancing along with your shadow is entertaining for... well... a long time!..

When feeding yourself yogurt becomes body art.. or something along those lines!

When that messy little face is the most perfect little face that you love more than words can explain!

Life with a toddler...

It's never dull.

SmartKnitKIDS Review

2010-03-05T08:56:00.001-06:00

It may be a "secret" to some.. but for those people who have lived with me..trust me.. it's no secret. I HATE sock seams. I don't like the way they feel against my toes. I don't like when my sock gets twisted (even a tiny bit) and the seam then runs crooked across my toes. I just don't like it. Now.. does Kylee complain about her socks with seams? No. She's too young. But.. when I was asked by Rose from SmartKnitKIDS if I wanted to do a review of their socks, I jumped right on it. Why? Because SmartKnitKIDS makes seamless socks! It's true. Socks with no seams. (My dream come true!)

From the SmartKnitKids website:

"SmartKnitKIDS® patented seamless socks are perfect for children experiencing sensory processing diﬀerences, hypersensitivity or who simply can’t stand annoying seams! These super soft socks for sensitive little feet will not wrinkle or bunch and are proven to reduce irritation."

I asked for the size small ankle sock for toddlers. I asked to be sent a pair in either white or pink. Well surprise! .. Rose sent me 2 pairs of white and a pair of pink. I told you. She's a total sweetheart. It was also perfect timing because they day they were delivered to us I just happened to be doing Kylee's laundry. So she actually got to wear them to bed that night! (Did I mention how fast the shipping was?! Like 2 days later kind of shipping.. and I dig that!)

So.. what are the likes and dislikes I have for these socks?

Well... let's start with the good.

PROS:
* No seams!!
* They really “hug” the foot which reduces wrinkling
*No sweaty feet at the end of the day (the material these socks are made with actually wick moisture AWAY from the foot!)
*They are also anti-microbial, inhibiting fungal odor-causing bacteria. (Who wants to deal with yucky fungal bacteria junk?)
*The Halo Top™ keeps her socks from slipping down her leg
*The "No Heel" design means that I can put the sock on pretty much any way I want. (Which is very helpful when you're getting a toddler dressed who doesn't want to cooperate!)

CONS:
*I am a huge fan of color! And I wish there were more color options

*They do leave slight marking on my chunky legged girl. But, not NEARLY as much as the regular socks do. With other socks she'll get a deep red imprint on her leg. With these socks it's barely there and it's usually only after she's worn them 13-14 hours to sleep in.

So my overall opinion is that these socks are GREAT! We'll be buying more in the future and hopefully there will be a few more colors to choose from! Thanks SmartKnitKIDS, you've made fans out of us!

Duo Diaper Winner!!

2010-03-05T08:24:00.001-06:00

With a whopping 347 entries (woohoo!) .. random.org chose number 198 who was...

Amanda said...

Made a purchase #10

February 26, 2010 6:55 AM

Congrats Amanda, you have 48 hours to return my email or I will have to draw another winner. Thanks for entering everyone!! Have a wonderful weekend!

THIS is our future?

2010-03-03T10:38:00.000-06:00

So while driving home from work this morning I heard something very disturbing on the radio. Very. Very. Disturbing. Was it some raunchy lyrics to a trashy song that makes you cringe just hearing it? No. Was it some racist, sexist, or derogatory joke? No. Britney Spears attempting to sing? Definitely no. It was the radio peeps talking about a local public school district here. Apparently, said school district has adopted the same thought process of many other school districts. They are changing their grading policy in the schools. To what you ask?

WELL... you don't want to do an assignment? Dont. You'll still get a 50% instead of that "0" you should have gotten. If you jot out a few answers that could actually be right you get a 65%. While that's still a failing grade (70% and above is passing) I couldn't believe what I was hearing! My daughter isn't school age yet..but it now makes me cringe thinking about her going to school. REALLY? You don't even ATTEMPT to do an assignment and you still get a 50% for it? Well that... that is absolutely ~~bullshit~~ ~~crazy~~ wonderful.

So what is this ~~asshat backwards~~ ridiculous policy called you ask? The "No Zero Policy". Basically the reasoning behind it is that giving a student a "0" on something just discourages them from trying in the future. They're saying a "0" on something is hard for the student to come back from in terms of their grades. WELL HERE'S a CRAZY idea.. why don't you actually try on something.. study..ask for help.. accept tutoring.. so you don't get that "0" ?

It just boggles my mind that the school district has put this policy into action. Is this really what we want to teach our children? That they'll never totally fail because we'll always be there to provide some sort of cushioning? That when they put in barely ANY effort they still won't totally fail? That they will still get rewarded with some sort of grade (even if it is just 65% and still a failing grade) even if they don't try their hardest? It disgusts me. If you don't put forth the effort and try your hardest and you get a "0".. then you deserve that "0". Period. The End. No questions asked.

It doesn't really make me nervous for my daughter or future children because we are always going to instill in them that trying your hardest with give you the greatest reward. But it just makes me sad that their classmates are still getting "rewarded" in a certain way for doing absolutely nothing. It makes me nervous thinking into the future that these kids are going to be the ones out there working in the real world. In my real world. It's not a very pretty picture. In the real world..you don't give much of an effort or performance..then you get fired. So while they're attempting to "cushion" the feelings of these kids and attempt to help them succeed... they're only hurting them in the end.

Hmmm.. I wonder if I don't put in any effort at work if I'll still get 50% of my paycheck...

OH, and have I mentioned how glad I am to be a taxpayer whose money goes into supporting this crap? .. Suh-weet!!

(Hopefully private school hasn't adopted this asinine method of thinking when Kylee is of age to go to school...)

Sunday Funday!

2010-02-22T12:58:00.000-06:00

So.. it's not often that we find ourselves with nothing to do on the weekends. This weekend we went to a wedding reception Saturday night and Sunday afternoon we were supposed to do a mall walk to help raise money for adults with special needs. Unfortunately, Kylee had other plans. She decided to sleep in (after rockin' out at the reception until late into the night) .. and so we missed the mall walk. But quickly came up with other plans! Which included packing up and driving the 54ish miles to Lincoln, Nebraska. Once we got to Lincoln our first stop was Raising Cane's. Oh. My. Amazing! They have some of the best chicken strips and the most AMAZING dipping sauce!! Even Kylee was loving the dipping sauce!

After leaving Raising Cane's we made our way to the Lincoln Children's Museum. Now we have a museum here..but the one in Lincoln is AWESOME! (Yes, I think a children's museum is awesome.. so what?!) Kylee loved running around and screaming at the top of her lungs. She loved playing volleyball with her daddy in the Husker sports area! (And she was so talented that she was tossing the balls under the net two at a time!)

She wasn't so sure about riding on the horse. But loved playing with the saddle!

The Children's Museum is outta this world!!

After we left the museum we went on down to the Westfield Mall. I was a little apprehensive about it when we first got there. From the outside it looked a little rundown. But once we got inside it looked like every other mall I've been in. We got some delicious snackage in the form of fresh cinammon pretzel sticks and slush drinks. Kylee was all over the pretzel sticks. We walked around a bit and let Kylee play in the playground area and then headed home late in the afternoon. It was the perfect Sunday Funday with my perfect family. (And Kylee did AMAZING on the drive there and back. No crying, no fussing, and even napped a tiny bit!)

What did your family do this weekend?

Thirsties Duo Diaper Giveaway!

2010-02-18T19:38:00.000-06:00

Step right up folks and let me tell you about one of the sweetest mamas I know! Her name is Jess and she just recently opened up an online cloth diapering store in good ol' Omaha, Nebraska. That's right people.. we have cows.. and NOW a cloth diaper store! Jess and her husband opened up Top to Bottom Baby Boutique after going through the frustration of waiting for diapers to get shipped to them. Imagine the absolute horror when her sweet baby boy was born early and had no sweet soft diapers to cover his bum! Jess is such a sweetheart and is always up to answering any questions I have and even letting me drop by her house before 8am just so I can pick up some diaper detergent. Yeah! THAT is how much she rocks! So when she approached me about doing a review for her...I literally jumped at the idea. What was I to do a review on? Why the Thirsties Duo Diaper of course! I have tried the Thirsties AIO and LOVE it.. so I was hoping that I would love the Duo just as much!

The Duo Diaper comes in two sizes which will cover you from birth until the glorious days of potty learning!This adjustable rise on this diaper is awesome and allows your little one to wear each size twice as long. Now THAT is my kind of diaper. I love soft fluff that looks cute and spares my wallet as much as possible.
We are actually able to snap this diaper rise down which is something we rarely get to do anymore!

Another feature of the Duo Diaper I love (like other Thirsties products) are the leg gussets!! I don't know about you.. but I hate leaks! I hate changing up after leaks and diaper explosions. It's no fun and you're crazy if you like doing it. Thirsties leg gussets keep all the yuck stuff in while remaining gentle on the legs. (No more red marks people!)

Look at that cute bum! And those fantastic leg gussets!

Anyone hate unstuffing wet and poopy diapers? Well fear not.. the Duo Diaper has openings on both sides of the diaper between the microfleece and waterproof layer. This enables easy insert stuffing from either side of the diaper and also makes for very simple cleaning. There is no need to remove the soiled inserts when washing and who doesn't love that?! (Which is especially nice in the case of the Duo Diaper inserts because they absorb a ton and then some!)

We've got nothing but love for Thirsties Duo Diaper in this house! It's cute, easy to clean and quick to dry, and trim enough to fit under a pair of jeans! That in my book is a true winner! SO... which one of you would like to win your very own Thirsties Duo Diaper? The lovely Jess is offering one up (in your choice of size and color) .. I told you.. she's precious! So how do you win?

Mandatory Entry: Head on over to TTBBB and tell me one product that Jess carries that you love and one product you would like to see her carry in the near future.

(This entry is required. You don't do it. You don't win. Simple enough.)

Additional Entries:

1. Become a subscriber to the TTBBB mailing list (I will verify with Jess)

2. Follow TTBBB on Twitter (Leave your Twitter ID in comment)

3. Become a fan of TTBBB on Facebook (Leave your FB screen name in comment)

4. Follow my blog publicly with Google Friend Connect (2 entries...leave 2 seperate comments)

5. Follow me on Twitter (Leave your Twitter ID in comment)

6. Add my button to your blog (Leave a link to where I can find it in your comment)

7. Tweet this giveaway and include @Mommacrissy and @TopToBottomBaby and a link back to this page in your tweet. You may tweet up to 2x a day (tweets must be 3 hrs apart)

** For 10 additional entries make a purchase from TTBBB ** (This will be verified)

Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win. Email address in comment or email address visible in your blog profile.

Giveaway ends Thursday, March 4th at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

Tea?

2010-02-14T19:03:00.001-06:00

WalMart has been having some AMAZING clearance sales lately! We got her a too-cute-for-words Radio Flyer horse last week.. and today I got her a fun and cute tea set (originally $16.99 and on sale for $7..score!). After a trip to Books-A-Million and lunch we got home and sat down for some tea! Kylee loved it and continued playing for almost half an hour! She offered us both tea and was "pouring" it soo nice and offering up yummy pastries! I don't think I ever had a tea set as a little girl. Or I don't remember it anyways if I did. I can't wait for more tea parties with my cutie girl. (Warning: Many pictures following!)

Tasting it first to make sure it's alright!

More tea for everyone!

Concentrating so hard..

Stacking the cups.. she sure is a tidy girl!

Mama loves her tea.. thanks baby girl!

Tea parties sure are a lot of fun!!

Giddy Up!!

2010-02-07T13:58:00.001-06:00

So while browsing the aisles of WalMart last night I came across a pretty sweet deal! ... it's "Oss" (horse).

This too-cute-for-words horse was sitting on the top shelf of the clearance section! Originally priced at $69.00..it was on sale for $35!! So of course I had to buy it for Kylee. She loves bouncing on the couch so I figured she would LOVE this! It was about 8:30 when I got home last night. (YES.. I got to go shopping by myself!!) But I really wanted Kylee to try this out before she went to bed. So I set out putting it together. Now.. I am a huge fan of Radio Flyer. But, my one complaint with this toy is that it seems like the screws you put in the main part of the horse should be a tad bit longer. But after working some magic with the screwdriver I had this baby put together in about 20 minutes. I put the batteries in (it makes horse and galloping noises!!) and Kylee hopped right on! All in all I will say it was a great deal and a huge success. She was not happy this morning when I told her she couldn't eat breakfast on the horse. I mean really.. who wants to sit in a highchair and eat when you could dine while riding your "Oss".

Operation Fluffy.. Commence!

2010-02-04T17:21:00.001-06:00

I'm not addicted to many things. I mean..I really love photography, Twitter, fine dining, blogging, walks on warm and sunny days, being with my daughter, Twitter, chocolate, Twitter, traveling, reading and journaling, Twitter, and top notch movies. Oh..did I mention I really love Twitter?  There are so many amazing mamas on there that love the things I do. Especially... CLOTH DIAPERS! So.. when Kim of Dirty Diaper Laundry decided she was going to create OPERATION FLUFFY to help spread the word of cloth to as many listening ears as possible.. I knew I wanted to get involved. Enter.. Cloth Diaper Carnival VI- Get Cloth Diapers Featured on The Ellen Show !!

The goal has been broken up into phases. And we'll continue until Phase #301 if we have to! Ellen just has to have cloth diapers on her show.. I mean.. she just has to!! So what's phase #1 you ask? Well..All blogs, big or small, will write a post about Why Cloth Diapers should be featured on Ellen. Sounds simple enough right? Exactly. So.. here goes!

Dear Ellen,
   Your show has entertained me and my daughter day in and day out. You have an amazing sense of humor, an infectious laugh, and a wonderful heart! I love how you care about everyone. From top notch celebrities to the struggling single mother fighting to feed her family. I also love that you're able to keep the attention of my soon-to-be 15 month old daughter! It's time I spend watching your show and folding laundry, straightening up after Hurrican Kylee (sweet destructive daughter of mine), OR... stuffing and putting away my cloth diapers! Now.. I know cloth diapers probably aren't your thing. But.. I'm here to ask you to get to know them. They're soo nice, friendly, simple, and GREEN! No, I don't mean the color green.. although you can get them in green. (Lime green, sea green, light green, green-green.) I mean they're green.. great for our environment type of green.

So why you? Why is it YOU that we're bugging 24hrs a day on Twitter? Why you that we're spamming all our #operationfluffy at? Because your audience.. is us! You have the mother on a single budget. You have the mother looking for a way to help the environment. You have that father in the audience looking to save some money at the end of the day. We need your help to spread the word of the modern day cloth diaper! They're simple, they're CUTE, and they are great for the bottoms of all babies! (Have I mentioned that EVEN PETS can wear cloth diapers? Yep.. it's true!) So Ellen.. from the bottom of my cloth loving heart.. I'm asking you to help us. Buying a hybrid car and purchasing only organic food just isn't enough.. our landfills are flowing over in stinky disposable diapers that are going to be there for years and years.. and YEARS to come!

   Come on Ellen.. jump on the #operationfluffy bandwagon .. I dare ya!

Much Love,

Christina & Kylee (and all of the other cloth diapering mamas and babies out there!)

Sometimes I Get Bummed Out..

2010-02-03T16:04:00.001-06:00

That I was never able to see my daughter born. I never got to experience seeing her take her first breath. I wasn't there to hear her first cry. I didn't get to witness my loving fiance cut the umbilical cord. I didn't get to breathe in that new baby smell as she was first out of the womb. I didn't get to give her a kiss and welcome her into the world (until hours later). So yeah.. sometimes I get bummed out.

(Pictures taken by Tim when Kylee was only a few hours old. She was hooked up for monitoring and medication

(I FINALLY got to hold my baby girl when she was about 8hrs old. Swollen head from her head hitting my pelvic bone over and over.. poor girl)

I was induced with Kylee. She was a stubborn baby. She didn't want to come out. She loved kicking her mama in the ribs and giving me sweet sweet heartburn. Thursday, November 13th I went for my OB appointment and she checked me and I wasn't anywhere close to being ready. We discussed options and decided that we would induce the next day. I was MORE than fine with this. I was miserable. Friday morning bright and early we went to the hospital and after spending ~~a decade~~ a few hours checking in and getting situated.. we started the pitocin. I was on that damn pitocin for 13 hours and had NO progress. My doctor came up to check me and we talked about trying a different drug that was just going to help soften up my cervix. I was game. I was ready. Unfortunately.. we had to wait until Monday. So I shoved handfuls and handfuls of food into my mouth (Hey! I hadn't eaten in like a day!) and we are discharged. Monday morning we go back to the hospital (a different one this time.. one closer to my OB's office) and start the softening up the ol' cervix. I make some progress.. and around noon my OB comes and breaks my water and things start moving along a little faster. Then comes the epidural. And then life for hours without being able to move my legs, control my bowels (sorry nurse for passing gas just as you went to check me.. not my fault...but sorry).. ANYWAYS.. I'm FINALLY ready to push in the early hours of November 18th. I push. And push. Push again. Push until I feel like I'm going to push my own organs out of my body. Her head just won't cooperate! So we try to vaccuum her out. (Medically speaking.. I mean we didn't stick a Dyson on her or anything!) .. Doesn't help. More pushing. Suddenly... they say.. "We can see her..she's almost here! Just a little more!" (Yeah right...) So more pushing. Suddenly.. I'm not feeling so great. Things are starting to get blurry. My eyes aren't staying open like they should. My chest feels really heavy. I pull the nurse down towards me and yell at her to help me! She says, "Hang on honey you're almost there." I look over at the tv. Saved by the Bell is on. That's the last thing I remember.

Tim tells me that I started talkin really funny. Not making much sense. And then I went into a seizure. Doctors came running in from everywhere. Tim was reassured and then brushed to the side. They had to get us into surgery and get baby girl out right away. I was given meds in my IV to stop the seizure. They performed a c-section and retrieved my baby girl. However..she wasn't breathing. This was due to the medication they had given me combined with the stress from her attempted vaginal delivery. Tim remembers standing outside (he wasn't allowed to go in) and peaking through the tiny glass window and seeing our doctor working on Kylee and saying "Please breathe baby. Just breathe." He cried. (Don't tell him I told you..) Finally Kylee started breathing. Me? I was still totally out of it. I don't really know much of what happened from seeing Saved by the Bell on to then waking up in recovery. It wasn't until after it all happened that I even knew I HAD a c-section.

I woke up in recovery. Totally confused. Not even knowing where I was. Not even knowing that I was no longer pregnant. I asked for Tim and the nurse brought him over. He told me about what happened and told me she was okay and the breathing tube had been taken out. He even brought me some pictures he had taken! (What a sweetheart). They even left a little bit of her umbilical cord on so he could cut it. (Wish a doc or nurse had taken a picture...).

Anyways..before you all start falling asleep.. I know a lot of people have very strong opinions about c-sections verses vaginal delivery. Medicated births verses natural birthing. The point is.. I may not have wanted a c-section to start out with. But I'm so glad that I had one. It saved the life of my daughter and myself. My stubborn daughter happens to have a gigantic head (like her mama) and her head was too big to fit down under my pelvic bone so she wasn't coming out by herself! The recovery from my c-section wasn't pleasant. It was damn painful at times. But it was meant to be. I firmly believe that. I will not be attempting a VBAC with any future children. My doctor supports my decision as does my loving fiance'.

But yeah.. sometimes I get bummed out...

But then I look at her. And nothing else matters.

On the Mend...

2010-01-31T19:50:00.001-06:00

Everyone is feeling much better. We're all fever free. Minor coughs are still hanging around. No vomiting though! Kylee is now working on 2 teeth so she's cranky, has some minor diarrhea, and just wants to cuddle with her mama when she's not running around or playing. Will be back to regular blogging tomorrow. I can't wait! I've got 2 posts in mind and I'm just trying to pick which one I want to write up first! Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Go Away Germs!!

2010-01-24T15:29:00.001-06:00

This has been a sick house since last Sunday! It started out with Kylee having a 103.2 fever and her not wanting to eat much. Then that turned into diarrhea, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, runny nose..and just a very sick little girl. After a trip in to see the doctor we were told it was viral and it just needed to run it's course. Of course on that very same day.. me and Tim started feeling sick. Wonderful... so now it's Sunday again. We're all still sick and it stinks because this was Omaha's first sunshine filled morning and afternoon in WEEKS! And us? Well we were stuck inside. On a good note though I have discovered that some vapor rub on the bottom of Kylee's feet and a humidifier next to her crib do wonders!! She was getting up 2-3 times a night or more due to her cough being soooo bad. Last night? She slept a solid 13 hours AND took a 2 hour nap today! It was A-MAZ-ING! So hopefully in the next few days we will ALL be feeling better. (Just in time for the next snowfall.....)

I knew she was sick when she crawled up on the couch by herself w/ her sippy and laid on the pillow

(She may be sick but she's still darn cute!!)

Sick days are best when you get to control what's on the tv!

One Rockin' Winner!!

2010-01-23T23:07:00.001-06:00

The winner for the "One ROCKIN' GREEN Giveaway" is... #110 Jessica said... "follow your blog"
The winner has been contacted and has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is drawn. Thank to everyone who entered!!

Box Baby

2010-01-17T11:20:00.001-06:00

My daughter LOVES boxes. Boxes of all shapes and sizes. Big boxes. Little boxes. Square boxes. Rectangle boxes. So when we got her new car seat OF COURSE she needed the box. She's been playing in it for weeks. Yesterday we got her a pretty pink potty chair and OF COURSE she needed the box. The car seat box has just been sitting in our living/dining area looking so bland and boring. So, my mission this weekend was to spice it up! And spice it up I did. I covered the box in white paper ALL over and made a few "windows" and then me and Kylee drew pictures everywhere! To finish it off I sealed our precious drawings in with packaging tape. This was done with the idea that it would keep our beautiful project looking beautiful longer... and Kylee couldn't rip the papers off! Win-Win! Her potty chair box we just cut a hole in so she could see out and she walks around with it on her head laughing and giggling.

Silly girl playing in the potty chair box!

The front entrance to the fun play box! Enter Princess Kylee!

Please don't be jealous of my amazing artistic abilities.. HAHA!

The other side..and the 2 windows/openings

Top view of Kylee in her fun play box!

The back view!

I love watching her play in her boxes. She takes her stuffed animals in there, she reads books in there, she feeds her baby dolls in there, and sometimes she takes her snacks in there. It's so amazing to watch her little mind grow and develop. She's becoming so creative and has such a wonderful imagination.

Hello There Mrs Panda Bear!

2010-01-11T16:01:00.001-06:00

So we were lucky enough to win a Buddy Tops from Jessica's blog giveaway in December. I was soooo thrilled because Kylee LOVES to wear hats! (Mostly her daddy's football ones!) So we had to pick which animal we would like. We chose Ah Wah the adventurous Panda! "Ah Wah comes from a far away land to make new pals, so make sure you take him out to meet all your friends! It's always an exciting adventure whenever you're with this world-traveling Buddytop!" That was taken from the Buddy Tops website and I couldn't agree more! We just got it in the mail today and Kylee has not removed it from her head. She's been running around and laughing and we even played hide-n-seek in her bedroom while she was wearing her Ah Wah panda hat! She hid on the side of her crib which made her looked like she was caged in! (I dont love seeing a caged animal... but when it's my child in a SUPER cute animal hat..it's sooo picture worthy!) Enjoy! And I'm guessing you should probably head on over to Buddy Tops and get one. ASAP! You won't regret it!

Hello There Mrs. Panda Bear!

Oh no!! The panda is on the run!!

It's okay..she's in her "cage"!!

Just kidding! We would never cage this too-cute-for-words panda!!

One ROCKIN' GREEN Giveaway

2010-01-09T10:57:00.001-06:00

I have been cloth diapering for about 8 months now. Originally it was something I started doing to save money. Then, I started learning more and more about cloth diapering and I was happy to be helping out the environment! I also began noticing that my daughter was having less and less issues with diaper rash. I don't know about you but I can't imagine that a nagging rash on the bum would feel very good so I bet my daughter is also glad we made the switch! Anyways..I had my cloth diapers..but what was I supposed to wash them in? That's when I was told about the amazing Rockin' Green Soap which is made with our precious babies in mind.

Rockin' Green Soap is made of safe, natural, phosphate free ingredients, which are good for the planet, and is great for our precious babies! (And even for us adults!) What is the best part to me? That it is TOTALLY safe for cloth diapers. It has been designed and perfected to get the YUCK out of our diapers (and clothes) and leave everything smelling fresh and clean. Even better is the fact that Rockin' Green is a dye free detergent with no fillers, enzymes, or optical brighteners! It is an easy rinsing formula and is great for all water types.

Rockin' Green comes in sooo many great scents. My personal favorite is Cherry Almond and I've had many bags of this wonderful smell taking home in my laundry room cupboards. I was also quite the fan of the seasonal scent Pumpkin Crunch! That's another great thing about Rockin' Green ... you get a couple of new scents for every season! Who can complain about that? Not me!

For my cloth diapering moms and dads out there..
How many times have you been SO frustrated because you've got the dreaded "stink issue" ??
How many times have you been ready to toss out a diaper because it's badly stained ??
How many of you love keeping your diapers looking fresh and as new as possible ??
I'm telling you.. ROCKIN' GREEN is the way to go!! I've battled my fair share of "stink issues"...I've been plagued with the ammonia stinks..and I have had more stained diapers than I care to talk about. For the minor issues all I had to do was a good 1-2 hour hot soak in the washing machine with Rockin' Green and all was solved. (For more stubborn issues I will give a good long soak overnight.) Since using Rockin' Green my diapers retain so much more of their color and vibrancy than when I've used other detergents. I cannot recommend this detergent anymore. I can say though.. you will NOT be disappointed and you will NOT want to use any other soap!

SO...what was the point of this post? The point of all this informative rambling? WELL... the lovely Kim, who is the fabulous creator of Rockin' Green, is offering one of my amazing readers a chance to win their very own bag of ROCKIN' GREEN (which is good for 45 loads if you use a top loaded and 90 loads if you use a toploader). How great is that??! So how do you enter to win? Well, listen up folks...

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what your favorite scent of Rockin' Green is! (If you haven't had the pleasure of trying it yet..tell me what scent you would like to try!) ALSO..tell me what scent you would like to see offered!

(Please leave your email address in your entry comments or sign in publicly so I have a way of contacting you!)

After completing the mandatory entry you may do one or all of the following:

1. Follow Rockin' Green on Twitter (Dont forget to leave your Twitter ID) .. 1 entry

2. Become a facebook fan of Rockin' Green ...1 entry

3. Follow me on Twitter (Leave your Twitter ID in comment) .. 1 entry

4. Subscribe to my blog via email... 2 entires (leave 2 seperate comments)

5. Publicly follow my blog via Google Friend Connect ... 1 entry

6. Add my button to your blog (Include a link to where I can find it) ... 2 entries (leave 2 seperate comments)

7. Tweet!! (Include @RockinGreenSoap and @Mommacrissy in your tweet)

You may tweet up to 2x a day ..tweets must be at least 2 hours apart (Leave a seperate comment each time you tweet)

8. Blog about this giveaway (Include a link to where I can find it)... 3 entries (leave 3 seperate comments)

9. Make a purchase of Rockin' Green during the time of the giveaway! (Email me a copy of your receipt..you can block out personal info I don't need) ... 10 entries! (leave 10 seperate comments)

Good luck!

While only one person can win this giveaway.. you can all be the proud owners of your own Rockin' Green by purchasing a sample bag for $2.50, a 45/90 load bag for $13.95, or a 90/180 load bag for $22.95! The hard problem will be choosing which scent to get!

One ROCKIN' GREEN giveaway ends Saturday, January 23rd at 10:00PM .(CST). I will use random.org to determine the winner and notify the winner via email. The winner will also also be announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

OPEN TO U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY

My Precious Baker

2010-01-07T17:17:00.001-06:00

So since the roads are covered in snow, ice, and other craptasticness (what a word!)...me and Kylee are still indoors. In our pajamas. Finding ways to stay entertained. I decided today was the perfect day in the ice cold tundra to make... Banana Muffins!! So I headed on over to Cat Can Cook and snagged up the perfect recipe and headed to the kitchen. Kylee was very excited for this because she got to cross over the gate to get into the kitchen which pretty much never happens! We washed our hands and set to work. I had already measured things and set them out. Life with a 13 month old requires preparation and planning. Let me just say... it was a BLAST! Kylee actually helped a lot! She put in flour and helped mix and stir. She also laughed when I was cracking the egg. Silly girl! The muffins turned out great and we each enjoyed one with a nice cold glass of milk!

Here she is checking out the ingredients just tossed in

Then we have to stir it up REALLY good

Bake it in the oven at 400* and enjoy smelling the yumminess coming from the kitchen

And then time to ENJOY!!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

2010-01-06T15:02:00.001-06:00

What's that you ask?

Why is my Christmas post so late?

Well...that's a good question.

Answer is... I've been a slacker. A very big slacker.

Well Christmas has come and gone. (As well as New Year's Day for that matter). And I just thought I would throw up some pictures and tell you all about our holidays. (Or lack of).

This was the first Christmas in my entire life that was not spent with family. Mother Nature decided to drop ~~assloads~~ quite a large amount of snow on us during the holidays. It started with some rain a couple of days before Christmas... yes.. RAIN! Then it snowed. And snowed. And..well..you get the picture. Thursday it snowed. Friday it snowed. Saturday it snowed a little more. Then it was done. What was the end result? Tons of snow, impassable streets, 5 foot snow drifts, and us. Trapped in the house.

Anyways, Christmas Eve we watched some Christmas movies, hung out (because really what else were we going to do), and watched the snow fall. Kylee got to open up one of her presents and of course..she wanted the big one. Which turned out to be a baby stroller. So of course we had to let her open the package that contained her baby doll. Because who just wants to push around an empty stroller? She was so excited about the things coming out of her packages. She was very serious while opening them though. Silly girl! She played and stayed up late (9:30 is late for this girl).

Christmas morning she opened the rest of her presents. We colored. Built with Mega Blocks. Tried on new clothes. Listened to music. Danced. (Realized we were still trapped in the house). Watched movies. Napped. Oh and did I mention.. we watched the snow fall. Joy. Later that night I made us Christmas dinner. (My very first time making Christmas dinner by the way. Which probably explains why the ham was so dry. Oops.). We also played some video games on Tim's new PS3. Had a few drinks. Went to sleep. (Yes, it was still snowing).

So while our Christmas was pretty uneventful (Other than the amazing joy I felt watching my beautiful baby girl get so much enjoyment out of opening her packages to find awesome gifts.) I felt SO blessed to be with my family. We were all happy, healthy, and equally pissed at Mother Nature. What else could you ask for?

* I did finally venture out Saturday night to run to the store. It was pure craziness on the streets. Lesson learned*

Verbal Ignorance

2010-01-05T11:36:00.001-06:00

So..there are few things in this world that irk me. I lie. There are a lot of things in this world that irk me. I just try not to let it show. But one thing that just drives me up and back down a wall is when people drop the word 'retarded' ever so casually. It's a terrible word. People who say it should feel terrible for saying it. It's just as terrible as a lot of other derogatory words out there that people get chastised for saying. I've been involved in some aspect with special needs people my entire life. As far back as I can remember anyways. I'm not going to put you on display for all to tar and feather you. But I will ask you to refrain from saying it around me. Don't text it to me...type it to me..or sing it to me. But really.. why would you sing it to me? That would make you an even bigger asshat! (Thanks Megan for the word usage). Please just take into consideration the feelings of the millions of people in this world who are affected with any kind of disability. Sound good?

The Fluff is Back!

2009-12-24T08:34:00.001-06:00

I'm happy to report that Kylee is now back in all of her amazing and wonderful fluff! She's been teething. Which has caused her to be a little fussier, to nom nom on anything she can get her hands on, to wake up during the middle of the night, and caused some icky, nasty diapers. So..we made the dreaded switch into disposables until Kylee's bowels got back on track. I tell you..clothes don't even look right without the bulkiness of fluff coming off the back. Babylegs don't look nearly as cute paired with a disposable diaper. It was just a week of sadness in this house. BUT..last night things went back to normal and Kylee went to bed in a super stuffed and wonderful cloth diaper! I am not telling everyone they have to cloth diaper..although if you're willing to listen..I'm willing to try and convert you. I promise.. you won't be disappointed. I just don't know how people can use disposables day in and day out. Kylee had leaks EVERY SINGLE DAY. My trash smelled like a petting zoo. I wasted money that just went straight into the trash covered in poop. It was terrible. But..I can breathe easy now.. WE'RE BACK IN CLOTH!

Yogurt Unsupervised!

2009-12-17T12:48:00.001-06:00

ATTENTION:

Never leave a container of yogurt unsupervised.. or you may end up with...

One VERY tired cutie covered head to toe in yogurt! (And the carpet suffered a little as well)..

All I could do was laugh, grab the camera, and a wet rag.

Lesson learned!

Winter Wonderland...

2009-12-11T10:22:00.001-06:00

Or not. At least not the Wonderland part. More like a nightmare.

This Monday we were blessed to get a couple of inches of snow in the Big O. It wasn't terrible. Nothing a quick shovel couldn't fix. Not big deal, right? WRONG! It was just the preshow. Tuesday the snow started falling. And falling it did. It snowed, snowed harder, stopped for 2.5 minutes, and picked up with a vengance. It was crazy out there. I was one lucky girl though. I got to go to work that night. Across town. Yeah..you're jealous, I know. By the time I was heading out to work we had about ~~20 feet~~ 8-9 inches of snow on the ground. I got stuck at the bottom of our hill. I knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant drive. I figured once I got to the interstate though it wouldn't be too bad..wrong again! I got stuck twice on the interstate. In fact I got stuck 7 times getting to work. Two of those times required me getting out and digging around my tires to get out. It was terrible. I had to walk up the giant hill to get up to work because my car looked at it and gave me a quick "F U"...

But on a brighter note.. Wednesday morning Tim did get to stay home so once I FINALLY got home from work that morning we all had a snow day together. We're not the bundle-up-to-go-get-frostbite kind of family so we didn't go out and play. BUT I did bring some snow inside for Kylee to play with (and taste..until she realized it was SO cold). We stayed in pajamas and cuddled up a lot and played. It was a perfect day. Thursday came and brought another snow day..Kylee had another pajama day with her buddy Jimmy and they played with wrapping paper tubes and we listened to Christmas music! Friday morning..OUR STREET FINALLY GOT PLOWED! No more getting stuck just trying to get off of our street.

Needless to say..it was been a very cold and snowy week. Have I mentioned it's not even officially Winter yet? Be gentle Mother Nature..be gentle.

RG Giveaway!

2009-12-09T23:51:00.000-06:00

What is RG you ask? WELL.. Rockin Green is only the greatest soap on the face of the Earth! I use it mainly to wash my clothdiapers. It comes in two (soon to be three) formulas..classic rock and then soft rock. Soft rock is for those with sensitive skin. It comes in a million different amazing scents. I've tried quite a few myself and I have yet to find one I don't love. Anyways..The Inquisitive Mom is hosting a giveaway for a 45/90 load of soap. I want this win because I love my Rockin Green and you can never have to many bags. Ever. Seriously. It's great stuff. Great!

Did you hear?

2009-12-05T15:14:00.002-06:00

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will be playing tonight in the BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP game!! That's right folks. Tonight the Huskers will be laying out a big old hand of DOMINATION to the Texas Longhorns. Let's Go Huskers!! GO BIG RED!!!

Thirsties Craving!

2009-12-01T18:04:00.000-06:00

The sweet mama over at Monkey Tales is hosting a giveaway for an amazing Thirsties Fab Fitted and Duo Wrap of their choice in color and size. I just ordered my first Thirsties diaper on Black Friday and am awaiting it's arrival. I have heard SO many awesome things about this company and their diapers. The leg gussets are top notch and the color options you get with these diapers are so bright and fun! Who doesn't want a chance to win a diaper that comes so highly recommended? I know I'm hoping to get this win..but alas the point of this blog post is to spread the world about this giveaway and get Monkey Tales more entries for the giveaway. )So.. head on over to Monkey Tales and enter to win your very own Fab Fitted diaper and Duo Wrap!)Good luck!

Happy 1st Birthday Kylee Lynn

2009-11-17T18:53:00.001-06:00

Dear Kylee Lynn,

It's hard to believe that a year has already gone by. It's hard to believe that every day you are growing more into your own person. It's hard to believe that while you'll always be my baby, you are no longer a baby. What's not hard to believe..is that I love you with every fiber of my being.

I never thought I was a woman put on this Earth to be a mother. I didn't know if I had it in me. I was nervous. I was scared. Then God blessed me and showed me my destiny. To be the best mother I could be. To you.

November 18, 2008 was the scariest and best day of my life. Of course, in Kylee fashion, your entrance into this world was nothing short of dramatic. You were a fighter. I was thankful. It was a few hours before I could hold you, but when I could, I walked through pain and tears to you. I scooped you up and knew you were meant to be mine. It's cliche..but true... I never knew I could fall in love with someone at first sight. But that's how it happened.

It was tough in the beginning. I felt like I was fighting a loosing battle. Nursing. Sleeping. Soothing. I thought all these things would come naturally. I was wrong. But, we learned together and grew.

Watching you grow has been one of the best experiences of my life. Your first smile. Your first coo. Rolling over and sitting up. Crawling and standing. Solid foods and teeth. And now my baby girl.. you are our walking, talking, self-feeding, independent little girl. I'm so glad I've been able to see all of the things you have achieved and I look forward to watching you grow even more.

Sweet baby girl I thank you. For being the best daughter a mother and father could have. For being the reason I smile every morning. I thank you for making me the mother I am today. Happy 1st Birthday to you..my girl.

Love Always,

Mommy

Suck It Up!

2009-11-10T16:53:00.000-06:00

Suck it Up Oreck Halo!... Please. Seriously. Suck up all the dirt and icky germs and yuckness that live deep down in my carpet! Oreck has a top of the line wonderful vacuum that I believe was made for ME and my family! It has a feature that actually kills germs, bacteria, mites, flea eggs and more. With my messy daughter my carpets have definitely seen better days.

The Halo is great because it is the only vacuum that uses Oreck Halo Ultraviolet Technology to kill many microscopic germs that can live and breed on your carpets and hard floor surfaces. Now.. doesn't that just call out to you? Still not impressed? Well did you know that there can be more germs on household floor surfaces than on toilet seats, kitchen counters, and bathroom tiles combined. Yeah.. gross, huh? Well the Halo will get rid of those nasty germs for you without using ANY harsh chemicals. Now I know you're convinced!!

So head on over to Eighty MPH Mom's awesome blog and enter to win one of these sweet vac's for yourself. I bet your carpets will be in tip top shape in no time! But don't enter too often because I need this vacuum. No, really. I do.

Boo! It's a Bug!

2009-11-05T15:12:00.000-06:00

A ladybug that is!!!

The cutest ladybug to ever crawl this Earth if I do say so myself.

This year was Kylee's first Halloween and I was so excited to see how she was going to react to all the ghouls and goblins, witches and monsters, Octomoms and Michael Jacksons...you get the picture. I was hoping she wouldn't be scared and would love seeing all the costumes and the decorations.

Before hitting the road to go knock on doors and beg for sugary treats, we carved Kylee's baby pumpkin. She wasn't much into the carving but she loved sticking her hands inside and feeling the "guts" and seeds. I think her favorite part though was rubbing those said "guts" into her hair. (Secretly I think she just wanted to play in the bathtub.)

After a nice bath and cleaning up we went out trick or treating to a few different houses and then showed her off to a few friends. She loved it. Didn't cry or scream once. (Until she got hungry). She even helped her cousin hand out some candy!

She also got to experience chocolate for the very first time and I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight. She cried when her mini Hershey bar was gone and longed for another all night long.

Then next morning when she got up she enjoyed playing in her "winnings" and surrounded herself with chocolate, suckers, tootsie rolls, and candy bars. I imagine it was something that closely resembled Heaven. Sugar Heaven. Yummy Heaven.

PC for Kylee!

2009-10-23T15:47:00.000-05:00

So I'm in the process of attempting to win a baby friendly PC for Kylee. Why would I want to do such a thing? Well.. probably because our PC and laptop are tired of being beaten up by her precious little fingers, delicate head, and cute feet. They've had their share of abuse and then some! So when I found out that the lovely ladies over at Blogger Mommies was hosting a giveaway for a PC that is BABY FRIENDLY.. I jumped up and down for joy and jumped right on entering. Added bonus that the giveaway ends on November 9th..which is RIGHT before K's birthday, so when I win.. I hope they have quick shipping!

So what exactly makes this PC so baby friendly? Well.. let me tell you! Easy PC allows children to use a computer, safely and easily, with a special keyboard that is designed for their small hands, and special software programs that have phenomenal educational and play value. So not only is it stimulating their minds but it's also saving your wallet! Most PCs these days are $600+ and you have to sell your arm and possibly your leg to get one in this economy. Well.. Easy PC retails for about $70 and comes with the First Steps software so you can play it straight out of the box. So your wallet will get a break as well as your own keyboard.

My daughter loves playing at the computer and I'll let her listen to music on it or ~~bang the crap out of the keys~~ type in a word document or something. My computer would like a break though and I'm hoping this Easy PC will be in our household for Kylee's birthday this year. But..because I have to blog to spread the word.. head on over to Blogger Mommies and enter.. but not too much.. because this win is meant to be ours!

One, Toooo, Teee

2009-10-18T12:51:00.000-05:00

So I have discovered that Kylee will count to three if you start by saying "One" and hold up a finger. I used my camera to catch it on video so the quality isn't stellar.. but it sure is darn cute! I say "One" and she says "Tooooo" "Teee" !!! Love it, don't ya? I figured. (Oh and please ignore the fact that I need a manicure something fierce and terrible.)

Wait! What?

2009-10-17T13:07:00.000-05:00

Wait! Are you trying to tell me that my baby girl is going to be 11 months old tomorrow? What? Are you positive about that? I'm pretty sure I just gave birth to that big headed and big hearted babe with a big attitude not that long ago.

Wait! So that means I have ONE month to get all of her birthday plans in order. I don't do well under pressure. I never have. What am I going to do? Well.. besides stress until my hair falls out.. I'm going to get my ass in gear and finalize some things and order some things and wipe my tears away while doing it all.

One thing I am mucho excited about is the long awaited day where I didn't have to buy formula anymore. What person in their right mind likes shelling out a kidney and a right arm every month to buy powdered milk in a can? Not I... Not I... and on that note..I wanna throw out a big thanks to my boobs for failing me.. Nice job!

We're going to start using the sippy cup more and slowly taking away the bottle. I'm just waiting for Kylee to realize that a sippy is waaaaa-aaaay cooler than a stinky old bottle. But you know Kylee.. she does what she wants...when she wants..how she wants. But our goal is to cut the bottle shortly after she turns 1.

WAIT! What was the point of this post again? I mean aside from the fact that I've neglected this blog for how many days now.. The point of this blog was to inform you all that my baby girl is going to be 11 months old tomorrow and I'm not ready.

Wait! What's that? Yes.. we already had our first snow. Yes..I went and bought my cutie some winter snow attire that very same day. Yes...it all melted the next day. Nebraska........

Spring, Summer, WINTER?!

2009-10-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

Well.. it's not really Winter right now. I was clearly being dramatic and what else is new? Although it's not Winter..these ~~nipple freezing~~ cold temperatures sure could lead someone to believe that Fall has taken to hibernating for the year. We have no snow, but we're waking up to high 30's and lower 40's and crazy strong winds.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons because I love opening the windows and getting the fresh, cool, crisp air moving through my house. Well..in these temperatures if we open the windows not only is it bone chilling air that comes in, but a small tornado starts in my house because the winds are so strong. I also thought I would be able to sit out back and enjoy a few drinks with Tim this time of year without dying of heat stroke or acquiring the ever sexy swamp ass. Alas..that idea is out the window too. You get blown away or frozen to your seat if you sit outside at night now.

So I'm going to go drop an email to Mother Nature real quick and ask her when she's going to stop jerking me around and give me my damn Fall weather. Until she responds though, I will continue to stay cooped up in my house, dressed head to toe (not literally) in anything made of fleece, wool, or heavy cotton and observe "Fall" through the window. Thanks Mother Nature. You suck.

Moby Wrap: Save my Back!

2009-09-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

So I have no complaints about our stroller. It's amazing and I looo-oooove it! But..there are times when I want to run into the store for an item or two...or places we go where it's just not very stroller-friendly. Times like this..it would be nice to have something that would make carrying an almost 23lb 10 month old a tad bit easier. So, when I found out that Kelly, from Baby, Naturally was having a giveaway for a Moby Wrap, I was ecstatic! This giveaway is in honor of International Babywearing Week too, of course! So hop on over and give it a go and try to win yourself a Moby Wrap to keep that precious bundle of yours close and comforted.

Fuzzi Fuzzi Fuzzi Bunz!

2009-09-23T08:32:00.001-05:00

Yes..that's right I said Fuzzi three times..and that's because..
Over at The First Time Around there's a giveaway going on to win 3 Fuzzibunz OS diapers. That's right folks. Count em.. 1..2..3 diapers! And who doesn't want to win that? I know I sure do! We have one Fuzzibunz in this house, and I love it! We don't have an OS though, and I would LOVE to try them out. So go on over, check it out, enter if you dare, and pray that we you win!

Win Sum Dypaz!

2009-09-17T18:37:00.000-05:00

Anyways...

Cloth Diaper Tips is giving away 6..yes 6 bumGenius 3.0 diapers! Which is an amazing offer and even a greater win for one lucky mama (or papa I guess..). So I'm really hoping it's me because we haven't tried the bumGenius diapers yet and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to as I've heard nothing but great things about them. There's a possibility of 5 entries..and I'm hoping that's enough to get me the win! So go check it out..enter..and when I win, cheer me on and if you feel like it send me more free diapers! We love em here!

http://clothdiapertips.com/contest-six-bumgenius-3-0-one-size-cloth-diapers/#comment-644

OH poops!

2009-09-17T16:11:00.000-05:00

Yep..that's pretty much what I've been up to lately. Kylee has had the world's worst diarrhea which has also resulted in the world's worst diaper rash. Luckily two days later it's finally starting to clear up and hopefully all the toast I've been putting in this little lady will start kicking in and things will go back to normal. I'm thinking it may be the result of her eating her weight in Chili's food AND teething. I don't care (I do...) what's causing it..I just want it to stop! I've been COATING her butt in rash cream we got from the hospital after I wipe her off w/ some butt cubes spray and a cloth wipe...and slowly we've been getting some progress. Sadly..we have switched back to sposies for the time being because my washing machine doesn't even deserve to be ran as many times as we'd need to if she were in cloth. (We don't have any flushable liners or she would still be in cloth) I kid you not when I say I've been changing her diapers anywhere from 2-4 times PER HOUR! As soon as I hear the dreaded sound..I'm on her like a moth to a flame. Because I know the longer it sits in there..the worst the rash will get. It's a good thing Kylee is a fan of Pedialyte because she's been swimming in it for a day and a half now. We're avoiding dehydration and Kylee thinks she's getting a yummy grape treat. She has been in GREAT spirits though which is why I've decided it's a reaction to something she ate and not a virus. She hasn't had a fever either. I'm not a doctor..but I've decided she's not sick, but her bum is reacting from something her royal chubbiness ate a couple days ago.

In other "medical" news..Kylee will be having surgery on her tear duct to open that sucker up. This poor girl wakes up with her eye matted shut, her eye is constantly watering and gooping, and quite frankly we're both tired of it. It's a really simple procedure with a 95% success rate on the first go. So odds are in our favor. Right now we're just sorting out and dealing with the insurance company to get her approved. We switched insurance companies almost 2 months ago..and so we're trying to get the "pre-existing" crap waved. I tell ya..insurance companies are quite the pain in the ass. If they don't wave this...not only will I be one pissed mama they don't want to deal with...but I think we're just going to have to wait it out until it finally decides to go away. I mean..I've never met someone my age with a clogged tear duct..so I'm sure she'll eventually grow out of it. But it's just something we want to get resolved now because it's getting harder and harder to pin this girl down to wipe crusty booger looking blobs out of her eye just so she can see out of both eyes.

Yummy eye booger creeping down onto her cheek

While I'm blogging, I guess I could give a little update on the chunky angel. She's 22+ lbs now and getting "taller" it seems every day. Or maybe it just seems that way because she's learned to stand on tiptoe and find everything I try and stash away 'out of her sight'. I have contemplated boxing up the whole house except the couch, tv, computer, and her toys. It really has crossed my mind. She's still a crawling machine and gets around quite quickly. She's also thrown some walking into the mix..of course she has to hold onto something to make any distance. Usually she's holding onto someones hand, her walking toy, or objects around the house. She gets around our house just fine independently..she just holds onto everything and the walls. She's starting to refuse the bottle unless she's starving and loves drinking out of her straw sippy cup. She doesn't eat any baby food anymore (except some of the Graduates snacks) and eats pretty much everything we do. Her favorites are toast, bananas, spaghetti w/ meatballs, and hamburgers. This girl loves her meat and breads. She's not a juice girl (which I don't mind at all) but she loves her ice water. She's still very addicted to books and music and her baby friends. I can't believe she's going to be 10 months old tomorrow. I say it all the time..but time is just going SO fast.

Speed Demon!

2009-08-30T17:09:00.000-05:00

So we got a walker toy for Kylee from my MOM friend, Lindsay. Let me just say.. Kylee LOVES it! She looks for it when she gets up in the morning, after naps, etc. She has been so fast w/ walking from the very first time she tried it out. Steering on the other hand...she's gonna need some practice..or maybe take some driver's ed. But it's my go to toy when she's being cranky and normally it puts her in a good mood right away. Best $5 I've ever spent. We're working on getting a spare to have for grandma's house, aunt and uncle's house..pretty much anywhere that's not at home. Enjoy the video...Kylee does. She cried when I quit letting her watch it (she LOVES herself) and had her do something else (she watched it seriously 8 times!)

I apologize for the poor quality video..who wants to buy me an actual video recorder so I can stop using my camera? Eh?