Brrr!

Apparently we keep our home a little too warm for an Elf. I should have known that an Elf is probably use to cooler temps!

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Giving Tuesday 2013

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You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but do you know there is a Giving Tuesday? Today is the 2nd annual "Giving Tuesday" What better time to give back than now? With our tummies full and our trees going up, I hope that we remember to think of those that may need a little help before we empty our wallets on one too many candy canes. 

Giving Tuesday was started last year and here is what I found on what it is:

Question: What is #GivingTuesday™?

Answer: #GivingTuesday™ (#GT) is a movement to create a national day of giving to kick off the giving season added to the calendar on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The second annual GivingTuesday is on December 3, 2013. In the same way that retail stores take part in Black Friday, we want the giving community to come together for #GivingTuesday. We ask that partners create and commit to a project for/on #GivingTuesday and then help spread the word to their networks. 

Are you participating in Giving Tuesday? Maybe you are donating to a global cause? Or maybe you are keeping it local. It can be something as simple as buying that guy that you always pass on the way home from work that sits there with the sign a quick meal or maybe dropping a few coins into the Salvation Army bucket on your way in the door to get groceries. Maybe you have a neighbor who has been out of a job for weeks/months/years and can't seem to find work, do you have a handyman job that he'd be perfect for around the house? A $50 job could help his family out.  If you have kids there are plenty of ways to get them involved! It doesn't have to be monetary. Here are a few child friendly Giving Tuesday ideas:

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-Have them go through their toys and pick a few to donate.  -Encourage them to donate their allowance this week (if they have one) to a cause/charity. -Have them help a neighbor.  -Go shopping for an Angel Tree kid (or your local program). -Write a solider a letter or color a picture to mail to them. -Have them go with you while you donate blood. They can't yet donate but seeing your example will encourage them. -Raid your panty for canned goods you could donate to your local food bank. 

Comment and let me know if you are participating in Giving Tuesday!
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Meet Christopher

You've all heard of the Elf on the Shelf right? Sure you have, if not you either don't have children or don't have any sort of social media presence. If you haven't here he is:

But this post isn't about him, though about something very similar. This is about the original. Meet Christopher Pop-in-kins:

I will be posting our adventures with our elf on my blog vs my Facebook as I know not everyone enjoys this sort of thing :) You can find Christopher here. The Christopher Pop-In-Kins book was released in 1985 and the story is about an elf that is sad because he wants to see the kids that get the presents they make. So Santa allows Christopher to "pop-in" to check on the kids. The rules are that no child must touch him or he will lose his magic and have to come back to the North Pole to get it, so he needs to be careful. Another rule is that he return by Christmas Eve so he can report back to Santa before he has to pack his bag with gifts. 

The book is colorful and while it is a tad long, Norah, who is almost 2 1/2 sat through the whole thing without a problem. Christopher himself is cute. I love his oversize shoes! I also love that he is bendable/positionable. He looks very friendly to me. 

There is also a "Christina" elf and we may add her next year so they can hide together. You can find her here. You can purchase the elves as well as the books separately as well.

From now until Christmas Eve I will post where we find Christopher each day. Christopher will sometimes be found simply hanging out and other days he will have suggestions for us (such as coloring a color sheet, doing something together such as baking or finding a way to do something nice for our community). 

Last night before bed we read the book for the first time and let Norah know we'd be looking for him in the morning. Wes is of course a tad young for it so he'll be more in to it next year :) This morning we went from room to room asking if she saw him yet and when she did she was pretty excited and all day she kept going to where he was saying, "There he is!!" I'm hoping tomorrow when she wakes up it'll take less prompting and when she sees him she'll realize he moved. 

So here is where we found Mr. Pop-In-Kins this morning. He wanted to remind us just how to spread Christmas cheer this holiday season :)

I'll update this post with each day's new adventure with Christopher:
Day 2

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Hold Me Mimi!

   

Does every parent spend entirely too much time sad/fearful/amazed at the fact that their kids get older? I know they do, and if you look back through my posts, I talk about it a lot so obviously I'm in that place in life. There are moments every single day that I stop for a second just to soak in that moment, knowing that it is fleeting and evolving. Last night it was when I was cuddling with Norah before bed and she demanded I hold her, "Hold me mimi!" (she calls me Mimi)
It's kind of a strange feeling for me. In those moments that I soak up I'm both sad and incredibly excited. I'm of course sad in the way of thinking how she won't always still be a baby toddler and she won't always ask me to hold her, I expected to feel that way.

What I didn't realize is that even in those moments I'd be incredibly excited for the things to come. I'm SO excited to see her grow up. Every day she does things that amaze me and I love seeing her grow into a fun, excited, creative, drum to her own beat little girl. Sometimes it is little things that others probably would give me a strange look about. You know, tilt their head to the side, scrunch their eye brows and shake their head in confusion (and maybe ask Siri for the number to some sort of helpline).  Those little things that unless you are Norah's Mimi you probably won't care about - such as her being able to tell me what she had for snack at preschool, amaze me. Watching her grow mentally is so fun for me. Other times it is the big things, such as when she formulates a complex sentence that I've never heard her say before. Well... at least that is big to me :)
So I think my excitement for the future outweighs the sadness about her baby days fading. So I choose to soak in those fleeting moments and embrace the fun that is happening and the fun to come :)
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Learning To Not Rush To Bedtime

Many days bedtime seems to be the prize. If I can get to bedtime I've accomplished something. If the kids and I are still in one piece and they are asleep, I've made it. Sound familiar at all?

Sometimes I get so busy, so self consumed that I forget my children are to be enjoyed. After I've reached that "prize" of the end of the day I often feel guilty. How much of me did the kids get today? Did I enjoy them? Did I simply rush them through the day hoping for the least amount of hiccups until The clock finally said 7:30? Did I love on them... did I enjoy them?
I'm challenging my husband and I (and you!) to make sure we are enjoying our kids. That we don't make parenting a burden. That we fully experience the joy that our children are. Sure, it isn't jump up and down fun all of the time, and that's okay. It's okay if some days bedtime can't come a moment too soon. Days like that are bound to happen. But I have felt convicted lately about not being fully engaged enough to appreciate the kids. 
Maybe I would be less tired if I played on the floor a little more with them. Maybe I would be less stressed if I laughed at them when they splashed in the tub. Maybe I would feel more happiness if I embraced being asked for yet another story at bedtime. Maybe, just maybe, I won't look back on this time, sad that they have grown up, if I take the time to appreciate them being this age, while they are this age. 
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Thankful Thursday

Often my "Thankful Thursdays" are filled materialistic things so I wanted to change it up today.

5 non material things I am thankful for (in no particular order):
1. My children. As I've shared before, there was a time when I wasn't sure if I would be able to carry a child. I feel so incredibly blessed that I am on this side of my infertility battle and that I get these moments with them - all of them, from the cranky, snot nosed, no sleeping, time out taking times to the hugs, cuddles, kisses, first times.
2. My faith. I'm continually growing. I'm thankful that I have a God that is patient with me, that is willing to guide me and comfort me. I'm thankful I know God.
3. My parents. We loved living in Florida, absolutely loved it. In fact most days I'm ready to pack up and head back down. I miss it to my very core and if I could I would most certainly live the rest of my life there. But I can't. My family is up here in boring ole Indiana and unless they get the memo on the fantasticness of my "home" in Florida, we'll be here to stay. 
4. Health. None of my immediate family has major health issues. I'm not in and out of the hospital myself nor am I in an out of the hospital visiting loved ones. My children are healthy and I don't have to watch them being poked and prodded. I know just how lucky I am to have seen the inside of a hospital very few times.
5. My education. I never decided to go to college. It wasn't really something I decided it just happened. I always just assumed that came after high school. I often complain about the six digit amount of college debt we have but I'm thankful that I even had the opportunity to get a degree... even if I will be paying for it long after my children are adults most likely. 
So what non-material things are you thankful for today? Have a "Thankful Thursday" post? Share it in the comments!
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Spark of Amber Review and Giveaway!

Hey there! If you are a mom (or dad) of a teething child you probably have heard of amber teething necklaces. Spark of Amber kindly provided one for us to try out and I'm excited to share our experience with you! If you haven't heard of Amber necklaces let me allow Spark of Amber to tell you a little bit about them. 
Spark of Amber:

Baltic Amber is a fossilized resin. Europeans greatly prize this beautiful stone for its claimed 100% natural anti-inflammatory, pain relieving, and calming properties. The healing oils of the Baltic Amber are said to relieve teething pain, tame baby’s irritability and relieve inflammation in the throat, ear, and stomach. 

The necklace I received can be found here. It is a great length and fits both our 7 month old and our 2 year old. The pieces are nice and smooth and has not irritated their skin, which is something I was a bit worried about because both our children have very sensitive skin.  Safety! As parent's we're always thinking about our kid's safety right? When I received our necklace I was very glad to see that it is knotted between each and every bead, which means if for some reason it breaks they won't be all over the floor as a choking hazard. If it broke, only one bead would come loose - at the place where the string broke.

They are cute! My daughter has not really had an experience with jewelry yet so I wasn't sure if she would tug at it or be annoyed with it on. I was surprised when she didn't even seem to notice it was on. It's a cute fashion accessory for her even without regard to the beads doing their job. I was even more worried that my 7 month old would tug at it and was a tad worried he'd yank it off and break it. It's long enough on him that I can slip it under his shirt (which is actually ideal so the beads contact more of his skin) and he forgets all about it. 
I wasn't sure how a yellow necklace would look on a boy but I think it works! For the most part though he has been wearing it under his shirt to give more contact with the skin (except for the pictures) so if that is a concern for you wearing it under the shirt makes it virtually unseen. 

So does it work? Well Wes hasn't really been teething this week (or maybe he has and the necklace has helped??) so it's hard to say. I was quite skeptical but I had a headache the other day and decided to put the necklace in my fist to see if it helped and my headache went away pretty quickly. Placebo affect? Maybe, but it can't hurt so next time I get a headache I'll be trying it again! 

** These necklaces are not intended to be chewed on and they are not intended to be worn while sleeping for safety reasons**
Wes had just woken up from a nap and was still a little sleepy when I was taking pictures :)

Giveaway time! Spark of Amber is giving away a teething necklace to one of my readers. Use the widget below to enter. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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This or that? Cloth vs Disposables

Cloth or disposables? Obviously what works for one family may not work for another, so I can only share what our experience has been and hopefully it gives you some insight as to what might work for your family. I know there is a lot about this topic out there so I'll be pretty brief and try to keep it more about our experience than about going into detail about cloth and it's use. 

While I was pregnant with our first I saw a few women online talking about cloth diapers and it intrigued me but I put it on my mental list of things to do as, "Think about that later". As I got later in my pregnancy and finally got around to my, "Think about that later" list I started doing a bit of research. After looking at the financial side of it we decided to give it a try. I will admit, the environment played very little into our decision, but that was an added benefit. 
After a little more research I decided to go with Gro-via's All in 2 system. We purchased the "Live" package, which can be found here: Live Package. It is currently listed for $394 but I can tell you we paid less than that. I think we paid closer to $300 if not a little under. It was a big investment at first and it was tough to make the plunge when we wouldn't know if we would like them. 

Cost of cloth: If you cloth diaper full time you could spend anywhere from $100-$600 depending on what system you use and what kinda of deal you get. It's difficult to estimate the cost of washing because everyone has a different wash routine. I can tell you that we didn't notice more than a $5 increase in our electric bill, but we often line dry our diapers. I spend about $15-20 every 3 months on detergent.
Cost of disposables: Again it really depends on the brand you use. One site suggests $2400 from birth to fully potty trained. Baby Center suggests that it will cost $72 a month to buy disposables. I think it is possible to spend less though if you are using generic. If we use disposables for a month I think we'd spend about $40-$50. 

After our daughter was born we discovered the pros and cons of cloth for our family:
Pros: - We had already made our one time investment, so we were not running out and spending money on diapers every week/month. - Washing was super easy for us, especially since she was EBF. Toss them in, wash, rinse then dry (I tended to take advantage of that Florida sunshine to get rid of stains).  - They were cute! It was June, in Florida so it was nice to use it in place of a diaper cover over a disposable.  - The All in 2's were just as easy as disposables. We unsnapped the insert, threw it into the wet bag and snapped another one in. We have a mostly a velcro system which made them even more disposable like.  - She very rarely got diaper rash.  - When they start eating solids we use something called flushable liners that make solid waste very easy to deal with.

My cute bald baby girl in a matching cloth diaper

Cons:
- They were big on a newborn. I was so determined to use the cloth that I put them on her right away and they were just too big and bulky for her. It took her awhile to grow into them.  - They were a bit more work. Instead of just emptying the trash we had to throw them in the washer and then put them back away in the drawer when we were finished washing/drying them.  - The upfront cost was a bit steep considering we didn't have a lot of extra money laying around.  - If we ran out we couldn't just go get more, we had to make sure we had enough clean ones to last us until the load was washed and ready to go.

Now on to disposables:

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Pros: - Can easily just throw away (especially those really dirty ones!) - Take up limited space - Do not have to wash (kind of the same as can throw away) - Are not bulky
Cons: - The sometimes have caused a rash on our children - They cost more in the long run - They are bad for the environment - I wasn't able to match them to outfits :) - We personally have had more leaks with disposables than cloth

The Mama Mama Verdict? 
We prefer cloth. BUT We no longer prefer the All in 2 option. We enjoy using prefolds with a cover. I wish we would have started with this route. They are less pricy and less bulky.  With that said... we do use disposables sometimes. They are convenient while out and about when we don't feel like messing with a travel wet bag, they are convenient in general for traveling. I know some people use cloth while traveling, it just isn't for us.    ____________________________________________________________________  If you like my blog please click the image below.   There is nothing to sign up for, just click and you are done. Thanks!

Baby Needs a Bite

Yesterday we got home from our run, I left Wesley in his infant carseat carrier (which is almost outgrown ugh) and grabbed Norah some yogurt out of the fridge while we rushed to get ready to for the rest of the day. I walked passed Wesley and saw this:

I guess he got his first taste of yogurt. I think he loved it. These are the things that don't happen to you when you are a first child. I guess Norah should only eat her breakfast when we aren't preoccupied :) Do you have any funny stories about your kids sneaking your other children food? *Things coming up:  I have another "This or That" post coming soon! 
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This Or That: Baby Edition

Having a 2 year old and a 6 month old we have tried several baby items. We've weeded our way through several brands and products. I would like to do a series in which I compare like products with each other that we have tried. So if you have any ideas of two brands or products that you would like to see compared let me know and I'll see what I can do :) After I've finished this series I'll be moving on to "This Or That: Toddler Edition". 
The first post of the series will be on wipes. We use wipes constantly and not just for diaper changes! I'll be comparing 3 brands and let you know how they have sized up to each other for us.  *I will link each new post in the series here on this post for easy reference as they get written.  This or That: Wipes This or That: Cloth vs Disposables

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Gettin' Crafty

*I will have a full tutorial in the next week or so*
I've been in a crafty mood lately and that has inspired a few projects around the house. A week or so ago I tried to get artsy and created this for our dining room. (for us it represents trusting that God is in control)

My most recent project is one that has been on my project list for close to a year now. We recently visited our friends, Kerry and Heather and was inspired to finally get to work on my project after I saw that they had one on their wall. Heather has an amazing blog which can be found here.  I finally completed the kid's oversized ruler growth chart. 

There are a few customizations I am considering such as adding, "The Fry Kids Rule" on it somewhere, but for the most part I am done. I'll write a full tutorial in an upcoming post but I will say that it was really easy. All it took was a bit of stain and some time marking off the measurements. There are a few things I would have done differently but for the most part I am happy with it. I think it looks like an old school ruler, which is exactly what I was going for. 

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One Month Old! (Yesterday...)

Our guy was officially one month old yesterday. I meant to make this post yesterday but apparently we were too busy partying and I didn't get a chance to :) 
It feels like forever since I was in the hospital almost as if it never happened. It feels like Wesley has always been a part of our family and our family routine. Yet I still can't believe he is already a month old. I read something online (which always means it is 100% true right?) that said babies are medically a newborn for 28 days and after that they are considered an infant. Going by that he is no longer considered a newborn, which is crazy. He still fits in his newborn clothes though so I can't be too sad yet ;)
So far Norah and Wesley have been completely opposite babies. Even strange things like Norah being smaller weight wise but she outgrew newborn clothes at this point and Wesley still fits in them just fine. The way they nurse is different, including the frequency and duration being very different from each other. Wesley in general is a lot more high needs/maintenance and all around more dramatic than Norah ever was. I'm not entirely sure what that means we have in store for us, yikes! Norah took forever to lift her head on her own (seriously she was a few months old before she did) but Wesley is already hard a work with that. Norah never cared much about a dirty diaper (and actually she still doesn't, which I worry will make potty training hard...) but Wesley lets you know that he's ready for a dry butt - in fact the kid won't eat unless he has a total fresh diaper it seems. I can understand that though ;) Norah was always content just sitting around in her bouncer and preferred to not be held all that much, she never was much of a snuggler as an infant. Wesley on the other hand is a great snuggle bug! I love it! Except it can be a bit tough to snuggle him when it's just me at home when I'm chasing after a certain adorable 21 month old that I know. 
It's amazing to me that they can be so completely different. Even in their complete differentness (hm newly created word via me?) they are both equally perfect. I'm so excited to see them grow together and all of the adventures we have coming our way :)

One month old and pretty stinking awesome. 

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