Cloth Diapering Experimentation

Recently I have been thinking about cloth diapering. Not something that I ever imagined I would be the least bit interested in... What can I say, sometimes I surprise myself.

After plenty of research I thought I might aswell give it a go. I was able to get 15 diapers for a crazy good price. Less than the cost of going out for a dinner. What's the worst that could happen. I could not like it and be out a "dinner." 

You can spend hundreds easily establishing a starter diaper stash but I would suggest starting small to determine if it is the road you want to go down before a major investment. 

I have only been cloth diapering for a few days but I think I am going to like it! I have already learned lots and know what else I need buy to make this system work for my family. My husband is even on board. How lucky am I? 

I still can't fathom why someone would spend over $30 for one diaper. Then again you will use it repeatedly, especially if you are having more than one child. 

I have learned that 15 diapers will last approximately 3 days of wear for one child. I will be looking at adding another 10 or so diapers to our stash. I don't mind doing laundry but a few days in between loads would be great. Especially with a new baby in a few weeks. 

The diapers I have been using as great as far as I can tell. I have only tried one brand so far so I might be missing out on something but we haven't had any leaks and that's the main point. The diapers have a bunch of snaps in the front that allow you to use them on various sizes of children. I really love that feature because Bee and Baby Cakes will be able to use the same diapers. I don't need to have a separate stash per child!!! I will probably have a few that are more gender specific eg. some with ruffles and some with trucks. For the most part they can share and it won't matter. 

Bee won't be in diapers for very much longer. He loves the toilet! He hasn't quite figured out how to know when he needs to go to the bathroom but he knows when he is going or when he needs a change so it will only be a matter of time until he is ready for full on toilet training. 

Currently we are just following his lead and putting him on the toilet when he asks. Sometimes he even goes on the toilet, not every time but I'm okay with baby steps. 

One reason why I am interested in cloth diapers is because they allow the children to feel "wet." I think that will help with toilet training and I will take all the help I can get. This is not a stage I have been looking forward to but I will be glad to not have to change Bees diaper anymore. 

I will keep you updated on our diapering/toilet training adventures. There are bound to be some funny stories. 

On Top Of The World

My brother graduated!! I can't believe it! Okay.... Mostly I can't believe that he is old enough to be graduated. 

Look how cute he was! Seriously an adorable kid. Then what happened. Kidding brother you have grown into a handsome man. 

He has always been very very intellectual so of course it was no surprise that he graduated with honours. I am still proud of him!

Here we are. When did he get so tall?

My immediate family. Well most of us, one of my brothers is missing. 

I got Thomas this fabulous button. It sings!! He didn't wear his boutineer so I made him wear this button instead. Muhaha! Yes I am that sister and I am proud to be. 

The grad theme was "On Top of the World." It's true the world is his oyster. Anything is possible, he is going to do wonderful things once he decides what he is going to do. 

I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens next. Oh the suspense!

Orange Week

We loved orange week! We spent most of it outside but we did manage to still get some tot school activities into our schedule. 

This weeks playdough went a bit better. Bee is starting to grasp the concept of rolling the dough. Although he still mostly likes to take it out of the bag and put it back. This weeks scent was the obvious; orange. 

I thought we would give lacing a try this week. The laces that I have slide in easily but the plastic tips stick out a bit so pulling them out is tricky. I'm glad that we gave it a shot but lacing is still a little premature. 

My solution was to fold a pipe cleaner in half, twist it so it was sturdy then we threaded foam discs onto them. Bee loved this. He kept putting them on and off. He placed them so carefully onto his tray. 

We spent a day at Jason's grandmas house. Had a wonderful lunch, played in the bouncy house and played with Bee's cousins. 

It's finally summer here which is wonderful but it was a very quick change.  We almost melted!! We were lucky that Jason brought us slurpees! 

Is It Spring Or Winter?

These pictures are taken a day apart! Ugh! We are seriously ready for some happy weather now! 

Forever Young

My wonderful mom turned 50 this year!! Of course we had to throw her a party. 

.....with all the excitement I completely forgot to take picture.... Oops.

My mom is always the life of the party. She loves to laugh, play games and make sure everyone is included and having a great time. 

We started the night off with a family dinner. Beef on a bun, spinach salad, Caesar salad, lots of fruit and veggies with an amazing cucumber punch. 

Here are my parents with Bee before all of my moms friends started to arrive. 

We had lots of wonderful people join in our celebration. Whic was good because we had a lot of cake to eat! We almost should have gotten a larger room to fit us all in. There was lots if laughter and conversation. We could have had an embarrassing program for mom but we decided to let her catch up with all of her friends. Most of the people that could come were from close by but a few people just happened to be in the area and came for a surprise visit. How lucky! 

For THE birthday present I gathered memories and special thoughts from people in my moms life. Some that she has known since youth and some recent friends. Once I gathered them I put them all in a binder for her to treasure over the years. She is sentimental so I'm sure that she loved it. This was an extra special project for me as well because. I was able to read all of the wonderful things people said about her. She has touched many many lives and I hope I can be a fraction of what she is. She is such a great example to me. 

Happy birthday mom! Hope your day was extra special!

Black Week

I know I know. Gardening isn't black! Clearly it is brown but I needed to get my strawberries planted if we are going to see any fruit. Bee loved helping me add water and mix the dirt. What a wonderful helper he is.

In our sensory bin we had a bunch of fun things as always. Bee extra enjoyed these googles. He could put this on himself but he loved running around the house holding them up to his face. 

We are trying to incorporate more senses so I made black playdough. It is tricky to get black but I got it eventually. I added some licorice (Anise) scent to liven things up a bit. He hasn't quite got playdough figured out but he does like to put the pieces into a bag and dump them out again. He will do that for over half an hour. Victory!!

Do we have a Picasso on our hands? 

I love this puzzle! It is a bunch of wooden pieces with a hole drilled through the center. The bottom (blue) has a wooden dowel attached to it. The pieces just slide on. 

Easter Week