Coming up quickly...

...this weekend is our annual trip to St. George Island, FL with Levi's family.  I'm thrilled to be having our first family vacation!  Next week is also Oliver's first birthday (I can't believe it!), and we'll be celebrating at the beach, but leaving the day before his actual birthday to come home (four days out of the normal eight isn't too bad, right?), so we'll have a rather low key actual birthday at home with just the three of us, but then the Sunday after his birthday, we're having a blowout here at our house!  Whew.  I'm tired just thinking about it.

Just wanted to check in before all of the craziness.  Hope you're all doing well!  BTW, my blog changes are coming soon, just have to hammer out some code issues!  Big loves.

Mother's Day!

Oliver and Levi did a great job for my first Mother's Day!  Check it:

Mommy Charm

Cable Charm Bracelet

We had a pretty laid back day.  We went to church, out for lunch, and then I spent some time with a couple of friends at Starbucks.  Stopped by mom and dad's for awhile even though mom is out of town, but had a little visit with dad and my sister and her family.  Made breakfast casserole for supper (yum!), and spent a nice evening with Levi.

We ended up watching a documentary called The Case For Faith based on the book of the same title by Lee Strobel.  It was really interesting, and Levi and I are both interested in Christian apologetics, and this documentary sparked  even more interest for me.  In fact, I just ordered the book (and The Case for Christ and The Case for a Creator) from Amazon today.  I also plan on re-watching the documentary, and if you want to watch it, too, it's available on Netflix Instant Q.  =)

I couldn't have asked for a better first Mother's Day.  I haven't got the charm put on the bracelet yet, but I've been wearing it on a necklace since I got it.  =)  So pretty!!

Hope your Mother's Day was great, too!

Also, I have a big blog remodel coming up soon!  Stay tuned!

Verdict?

The verdict, for now, is that we are back to the overnight disposables.  I don't think it can be helped!  He even fills up the OVERNIGHT disposables...and they are about three times as thick in the front as a regular disposable!

I would be willing to try the gRefills at night, but they are so dang expensive that it is not an economical option for us.  For now, the Huggies Overnight work.  It's what we're going to stick with.

Thank you for your encouraging words, though!  You are all appreciated.  =D

Trying cloth again for night time...

Since Levi is gone tonight for his Nerdy Board Game Day (the guys get together and play games they can't trick us wives into playing!), I'm all alone tonight!  I decided (on a whim) to try the Babykicks, which we've used for naps, for night time.  So I stuffed that sucker with a piece of gCloth, a doubled over Hemparoo up front, and another piece of gCloth.  I'm expecting leaks, but only because we're only making it through with disposable overnight diapers.  But perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised...I hope so!

I'll be sure to post results in the morning.  Wish me luck!

Naptime solution for gDiapers! WITH PICS

I decided to stop being a crazy person, bite the bullet, and just use what I had to figure out a naptime cloth diaper solution.  I have perfectly good diapers at my disposal, and buying more wasn't going to do anything but waste money and make me feel even crazier!  So I sucked it up, and figured out what would work for me.

I had some older Joey Bunz that I bought used when I first started cloth diapering, and I rarely ever used them.  After the Twitter party (that I inadvertently stumbled upon) last night, I decided to just see how absorbent they were.  See, the gCloth I have boasts about how hemp "wears in, not out", meaning the more you use it and wash it, the more absorbent it becomes.  I took a 6oz. sippy cup, and poured it on a small Joey Bunz that was folded in half.  That sucked soaked it ALL UP!  Was it wet on the other side?  Yeah...but there is a waterproof liner in my gDiapers.  It didn't have to be dry on the other side!  So my solution?

One small Joey Bunz, folded in half, topped with one piece of gCloth. 

Insert the folded Joey Bunz...

...add the gCloth...

Bam!  Naptime gDiaper!

  I think it will also hold up for his longer afternoon nap, though I plan on trying my Babykicks Bumboo Pocket (stuffed with two pieces of gCloth) for that nap today.  If it holds up with no problems, I might try the Bumboo for night time.  We shall see!

Over all, I'm super pumped.  I feel like I'm doing what is best economically for my family by using what I have and fighting the urge to buy one of everything available (there are TOO many cloth diapers on the market right now!!) and hating most of them.  I feel like I am being resourceful and a good steward.  Woo!

More diaper chatter.

So, I was waiting to see how much I hearted the gDiapers before sending back the Babykicks Bumboo One Size Pocket Diapers that I ordered from Amazon.  I'm glad I didn't send them back, because it turns out even though I love the gDiapers for daytime, we need a naptime diapering solution!

I tried two pieces of gCloth for naps, but didn't get the absorbency I wanted (hopefully after the hemp wears in, it'll be more helpful).  I was using one gRefill and one piece of gCloth at naps, but Levi said that it wasn't an economical solution (those gRefills are EXPENSIVE!), and wanted to just use regular sposies.  We already use overnight sposies at night, and I didn't want to throw away any more diapers than I needed to, so I said to heck with it, I'll try the Babykicks Bumboo One Size Pocket Diaper that I already own.   I have two, but only opened one in case I don't like them.  I can send the other one back!

They are SOOOOO soft and delicious on the inside!  The hemp insert does have to be prepped, but I figured I can layer gCloth with some other Babykicks hemp inserts I have, and see how that works for a nap tomorrow.  For his last nap today, he's in a sposie.  =(  Ah well...tomorrow is another day.

But the gDiaper-ing is going super well.  The gCloth is nice and absorbent, and the little gPants are TOO dang cute.  Too cute!  I plan on modifying the more plain covers if I can find some cute appliques.  We'll see how that goes.  I'll write up a full review on the gDiapers after some more use.

Stay tuned to see how the Bumboo Pocket works out!

gDiapers for the win!

SO.  STINKIN'.  CUTE!!

Not only are the gDiapers adorable, they fit great!  He had both a wet and a messy diaper and the gDiaper held up beautifully.  He's still in a disposable at night, because he is suuuuuch a heavy wetter and I haven't found the right diaper for night time.  Double inserts don't work.  For now, we're using Huggies Overnights.  I feel better about throwing away 30 diapers a month rather than 200+!

I feel so much better now that we're back in cloth for most of the time.  I am loving the gCloth, though I did loathe the prep work.  Ugh!  Like I don't have enough laundry in my life...lol.

I have some super adorable pics to post from my nephew's first birthday, but that'll have to wait.  Night!