Story Time

I want to make a short post about a great podcast that your kids will love! My brother-in-law introduced us to Miss Natasha over at Story Nory. You can download their children's story podcasts for free! The wonderful thing about Story Nory is that some of the stories are short and some are long, so you can download the one's that fit your little listeners attention span and intrests.

NO SICK BABIES!

When we are driving somewhere and Marin seems to be getting a bit antsy or just plain mad about being in her car seat we like to play a game called "Marin what does a_____ say?" We started it back when we taught her animal noises, so the "blank" is usually some sort of an animal. This is a great game to keep her busy and happy for a while and gets her mind off of being in the car seat.

The other day she and I were driving somewhere and I started the game.

Me: Marin what does a cow say?
Marin: mmmmm (she never does the "ooo" part)

Me: Marin what does a horse say?
Marin: Nay Nay

On and on through all the animals she knows, its a lot. We have added a few non-animals too--the conversation continues:

Me: What does Marin say?
Marin: bo-maing! (its her own made up word that we think comes from a book where the real words are "boom bang")

Me: What does mommy say?
I just threw it out there to see what she might say, we had not taught her any specific thing.
Marin: No sick babies!

I guess my fears of entering cold and flu season have rubbed off on her. Those are the words I had been telling her the week leading up to our Atlanta trip. But no matter how much ranting and raving and healthy-anti-sick foods I gave her, she still got sick. So we are on lock down right now not leaving the house, making teas, reading about natural cough remedies online, keeping track of when the next dose of Tylenol can be dispensed, charting her fevers, calling friends for advise--but really just to hear them say "she's going to be alright", and making chicken noodle soup from scratch.

This is her first time to go through cold and flu season without the amazing power of nursing. I weaned her before her second birthday back in October and can no longer use that source of nutrition and hydration to keep her healthy. And I'll be honest it makes me nervous because when she was sick and nursing I knew she was going to be alright because she was nursing, but now... I have doubts that chicken noodle soup (even if it was made from scratch) will provide her with the proper nutrients she needs to fight off an illness. I know there are a billion kids out there each year who make it through flu and cold season just fine without nursing, and deep down inside of me I know that my child is going to be OK without nursing, but nursing just gave me that comfort of knowing she was getting the most perfect food to get her through sickness. Or at least it gave me the comfort of knowing I was actually physically doing something to help her get over her illness.

Well here goes the first round of Winter-time illness. My thoughts are with all of you who are tending to sick children right now.


Yes, that flaky white stuff on her face is dried snot!

Saving a Bit of Cash

I know there are tons of ways to save a little or a lot of money. I am not going to try and cover every area of our lives where we can save money, but I am going to pass out some information on one specific area; natural and organic products. These items can often be the most expensive, but they don't always have to be that way. If you are committed to using natural products or eating organic foods than this post might be for you. As a side note, I'm not going to make this post about why you should be using natural products because that's another post topic (I did natural cleaning products here). But this is about ways you can save money on the products you might already be using, or would like to use.

Natural Cleaning Products
7th Generation-- This is a wonderful company! If you go to their website you can sign up to get their weekly coupons. These coupons vary from dish soap to diapers to tampons. Not only do you get your coupons but they come as part of a great newsletter with all kinds of wonderful tips on purposeful living.

Shacklee--This company sells many of their green cleaning products in concentrated amounts so they last longer.

Check around at your local stores who might have their own natural brand that mimics a name brand product for a cheaper price.

Make your own-- here are a few sites I found on making your own cleaning products that are not only natural but very inexpensive: Pantry Cleaners, Earth Notes, and many others.

Or you can do what I do... just don't clean then you don't have to buy new products, hahahaha, just joking sadly the toilet must be cleaned! But I do use 100% natural cleaning products in my home, it has been a high priority with a kiddo in the house.

FOOD items
If there is a name brand organic company you like check their website for coupons. You can get weekly coupons from: Horizon Milk, Brown Cow Yogurt, Earthbound Farm (take the quiz for a $1 coupon), Earth's Best baby foods. Also if your local grocery store has its own organic brand they might put out coupons in their weekly adds. We have Greenwise organic line at our grocery store, Publix, and weekly get new coupons in their Greenwise advertisement.

Now if you are a lucky human and have a Trader Joe's near you than you don't need any of this information because TJ's is just the best grocery store in the world and you have many natural products, from shampoos to cleaning products to mac and cheese that is not only affordable but has great ingredients. We stocked up last week in Atlanta with all kinds of yummy foods, my favorite cleaning solution (Cleanliness is Godliness all purpose for $2.99), and lots of chocolate!

If you have found other ways to save money on these types of items let me know I am always looking for new ways to save and still buy natural products.

Traveling With Toddlers

We took a road trip to Atlanta last weekend to visit my husband's family. We had a great time hanging out with everyone. My daughter has a cousin one year older than her and they might have become best friends over the weekend, they just loved playing together.

My nephew is a miracle, I know all children are, but he was born 13 weeks early. Not only did he survive, but he is doing really well. I totally love this little guy, he's just a great kid who I wish lived next door so we could play every day.

Anyways what does all of this have to do with traveling and toddlers. Well this trip to Atlanta got me thinking that a great post would be to write about what I have learned about traveling... and all the tips I have gotten from my sister-in-law who lives in Atlanta and spends lots of time in traffic when she goes places, which has made her a pro at packing a bag full of "quiet toys".

Before I start let me say most of these ideas are airport/airplane-friendly, sitting-for-a-long-time-in-church-friendly, and fairly small which is nice for packing.

TOYS for travel:
Stickers--as soon as stickers are no longer a choking hazard for your child these are quite possibly the best option on the market. You do not need to spend a lot, many dollar stores sell good stickers. Also I recommend stickers that come on sheets, the one's with individual backing can make a huge mess of left over paper... I bought a packet of 200 Dora stickers with individual paper backing, while the stickers were worth it, the mess was not fun.
Aqua Doodle--there are nice ones out there but the one's Target carries are just fine

Books on CD--your local library may have many books on CD, but its also common that they have many more options on tape... sometimes it takes a while to get up to date.
Glow Sticks--night time dance parties, these do not need to be costly. I found 15 for $1.
Cookie Sheet and Magnets--you can even find toaster oven cookie sheet that are smaller. MAKE SURE THEY ARE METAL!!! A lot of new ones are made out of materials that do not attract magnets.
Books--My daughter likes books that have flaps, and other interactive parts to them.

Crayola Color Wonder--no mess

Crayola Color Explosion--similar to color wonder, no mess just another option

Magnadoodle--also comes in handy when you need to write down directions... just don't erase it!

A good book everyone can read together
Colorforms--nice and quiet

Mini no-spill bubbles--I have only seen the mini one at Target in the $1 section. This was one of the best toys we took on a flight. The bubbles are very small and the container would fit in your coat pocket and not leak.

Chalk Board--you can use a black Styrofoam meat tray and white chalk
One Special New Toy--this does not need to cost a lot, for example on this trip to Atlanta I restocked on stickers and then bought the glow sticks. I think the whole bill came to $3! This adds something exciting to the trip. I also always get a juice box, there is something really special to Marin about juice that comes in a box. I'm not sure what considering I get the Tot Motts apple juice which is probably about 90% water. But hey the goal is keeping her entertained.

I also bring a lot of snacks, things like cheese cubes, animal crackers, raisins, etc, and water in her Nalgene sippy cup.

I know most of these tips are already out there and most of them are for young children, but I know a lot of traveling is around the corner for many families so I hope they bring out just a few fresh ideas that help your travel time go a bit smoother.
Two cousins making their way around Atlanta!

Art and Stitches

The weekend before my birthday this arrived in the mail. Even the artist did not know it was my birthday it still arrived right on time. It added a lot of birthday joy around here. Let me tell you the story of this wonderful mosaic.

My brother got married this summer. Of course we went to the wedding, all three of us were in the it, I was the best-woman, my daughter was the flower girl and my husband was a reader. My brother and his wife, then fiance, put a lot of thought and energy into making it one of the most beautiful and fun weddings I have ever been to, and I'm not lying just because it was my brother. It really was a lot of fun. One of the things that made this wedding so fun was meeting all of their friends, mostly from college. One of the friends we met and spent a lot of time with was an artist. Now she is not just any kind of artist, she does mosaics (among other things) which Todd loves. I mean doesn't everyone love them, but seriously he really really loves them. I'm not sure how it happened but somehow between June and October a conversation happened in which our new friend made us one! WE LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! We have spent a lot of time talking about it, touching each piece of glass and thinking about how she put them all together.

Anyways what does this have to do with stitches? Well I had to have a little surgical procedure done this week (yes October was an exciting month for me, my tooth removal and now this which left me with 10 stitches and turning 30) and got to spend a little bit of time laying on the couch healing. Well as I lay there I found myself just looking at our new mosaic thinking how much joy a single piece of art can bring someone. I mean it really makes me happy because of how beautiful it is. I am always amazed at how incredibly creative God made humans. Knowing the artist has made our mosaic even more wonderful to us because we know the story behind it, what parts of it were more difficult than others to cut and put together, what she likes about it and other interesting things. All of this really does bring joy to me when I look at it. It makes me really grateful that humans were made so creative because that creativity just makes life so wonderful and beautiful.

Thanks for our wonderful mosaic. We love it!

Featuring Fuzzi Bunz

OK OK OK so if you read my cloth diapering post you might get the picture that I LOVE Bum Genius pocket diapers. And I do, but I have been getting a few email questions asking me if they are good for the long haul. Meaning, "if I have four kids will the velcro last?". Being an honest person I must tell you, no, the velcro will not last. In fact if you are starting diapers with your first child and plan on having more than one, get Fuzzi Bunz. I say this because I have several friends who's number three of four is now wearing the same diapers they put on number one. I'm not joking that these diapers can last through four kids, maybe more. But its the longevity of the snaps verses the velcro.

Now if you are trying to save money or space BG's are still a great choice because the velcro can be replaced with each kid without distroying the integrity of the diaper. Ahhhh that's good news. The reason I love these is because they are good diapers but also because you only need one set of them. However if you are having a diaper baby shower, and you plan on having more kids invest in the best. Get the Bunz. BUT ONLY GET THE SMALL AND MEDIUM. Do not buy the large until you actually need them. Why? Well I have known several people who's kids still fit into the medium size at the age of mastering potty training. Then you would be stuck with a whole set of brand new unused large diapers. You can resell them on ebay or craigs list, but not for the same price, people want a deal.

I hope this helps people in making decisions and does not add more confusion in the process.

Enter a Contest--Post a Picture

The site 5 Minutes for Mom is running a contest that involves giving away an entire bedroom furniture set. So I'm going to go ahead and post a picture of my sleeping babe. I know many of you know that our little one has been a "high needs sleeper" (HNS) according to Dr. Sears thus our recent bed time achievements have been welcomed with open arms. We are also excited because we were able to accomplish this without a CIO (cry it out) moment. Thanks to my wonderful husband who has worked so hard over this summer to help our toddler become a wonderful sleeper. There are a ton of really adorable kids and pictures so I do not expect to win, but I just thought that I would make this post to encourage all of you out there who understand and appreciate what it is like to get a nights sleep once your HNS has made the leap into dream land.

Here are the rules for entering the contest. We love the style of the Summer Breeze Set.