Dear Ethan

Dear Ethan,

On August 28, 2002, I headed to the hospital in great anticipation, and great fear, of your arrival. I was 19, and scared out of my mind. But then, you arrived. They placed your tiny body in my arms, and all I could think was, "You are amazing." Here we are, 8 years later, on your birthday.

Last year on your birthday, you patiently awaited the arrival of an (at that time unknown) baby brother. But you also grew from this:

To this:

You've learned to ride a bike. You are about to enter the third grade. You are compassionate and loving and such an amazing big brother. You've decided that you are too big to call me mommy and your dad daddy, and have broken us into mom and dad. Yes, I did cry the day that happened. You are no longer a baby.

Today, you opened presents under the watchful eyes of grandma Judy, grandpa Earl, uncle Tim, aunt Kim, Makayla, dad, Claire, Grayson and of course, me.

You quickly chose a favorite, which required us to take batteries from Elmo (sorry Claire, mommy and daddy will get more tomorrow!) so you could take your new remote control helicopter for a spin in the kitchen. Claire LOVED this, and you laughed harder making her laugh.

Then I debuted your cake. You requested a robot this year. I made him a little on the lopsided and deformed side, but you loved it all the same.

Eight candles were lit and happy birthday was sung.

And then you made your wish!

And then we all realized that I accidentally bought trick candles, and you got to blow your candles out about 10 times before I could could find a cup to put them out in. This made everyone laugh quite a bit.

You had a great day, and I'm glad. Next year is the last birthday before we get to double digits. Right now, let's just enjoy 8, OK buddy?

Love,

Mom (mommy!)

Happy Birthday Hubby!

David turned 28 today. I made him a big breakfast of potatoes, eggs, bacon and toast with OJ. I got him Chinese food for lunch. I bought him the second season of Breaking Bad on DVD, which he already watched, but I had no idea he had seen. Looks like I'm taking it back and finding something else. I made him a cake. Then, throughout the day, I was reminded that Ethan will be 8 tomorrow. Can we just go back to David turning 28, because I like that more than Ethan turning 8.

We didn't do much. Ethan spent the night at my SIL's last night, so I had to pick him up, which gave David about an hour and a half to himself to play video games without interruption. Claire ran around saying, "Happy Birthday..Happy Birthday!" over and over. Grayson? He rolled a ball. He cared more about his first taste of cake than he did about the day's meaning itself, but he is only 9 months old, so that's pretty much to be expected.

So, here's wishing my wonderful hubby another great year!

Planning A Party And I Really Don't Want To!

I'm planning a party and I'll cry it I want to.

And, that's as far as my song is going to go because I can't think of anything to come for the next line.

In just a few short days, Grayson will be 10 months old. I feel like I was announcing his birth not that long ago. I feel like I was announcing he was boy, that he weighed 7lbs 8oz and that he was beautiful. Now he's 10 months old, 18 lbs even with 4 teeth and amazing blue eyes. He giggles with the best of them. Does he crawl? No, because Ethan and Claire bring him everything, but he spins himself in circles on his little tush on the floor.

So, here I am, two months and a few days from his very first birthday party. I'm super happy that he'll be one. I'm incredibly grateful that he is healthy and strong. I'm sad that this will be the last first birthday party that I will ever plan for one of my baby's. However, I am super excited that I get to plan a Halloween themed party every year since I was lucky enough to get my Halloween baby.

So far I know that I will be making my own decorations. I plan on getting some white paper lunch bags to decorate with pumpkins that I cut from my Cricut that David bought me for my birthday to use as favor bags. I've been dying to use the Cricut...DYING!! But, our pictures are digital, and we haven't been able to get them printed out. We also just lost quite a few of them because our computer crashed. I felt it was coming, so I was able to back some up, but not all of them. I also plan to make his party hats, birthday banner and a few other supplies. That means I need to get to some scrapbook store and try to find some Halloween papers and put one of the Michael's coupons in the Sunday paper to use on a Cricut Halloween cartridge. I've also found some super fun Halloween themed snacks I can make here at home to help us cut down our food budget for this party. I saw Wal-Mart has cheap candy and party favors as well as black and orange cups, silverware, plates, napkins and table covers. Target always has great Halloween stuff as well. I can't wait to see what I can find there. I'm planning to ask my SIL to carve extra pumpkins this year that I can use for decoration as well. She and Ethan always do a GREAT job when they carve pumpkins, and I would love to use them to decorate for Grayson's party!

I was lucky enough to win a $50 GC for Storkies and I just ordered Grayson's birthday invitations. They aren't a Halloween pattern, but they are pretty great. I'll try and post one when they come in. I'm very excited about their arrival! I can't wait to see them.

I'm still looking for ideas though, so if you have any, throw them my way!

Try And Try Again

Next Saturday, the 28th, is Ethan's 8th birthday. I am not at all looking forward to it. Can I just keep him 7 forever? I like him at 7. It means he's really not that close to a double digit age. Ten is the danger zone. It means almost 13. Thirteen won't be that bad, right? RIGHT?

Anyways, since next Saturday is Ethan's birthday, my SIL, her husband and my MIL all pitched in and bought Ethan a bike for his birthday. He already owns one, but he was a little bit for it. Last night she brought it over to give it to him. She propped it up on the kick stand behind the car and we called Ethan out for, what else, a photo op!

Off topic for a second, but don't you love my sweet ride in the background with the green bumpers on the tan car. You're jealous, I know it.

Ethan was So super excited about this new bike. He walked around it and was like, "Really? MINE! I'm so excited!" Then he hopped on to make sure the seat wasn't too high for him.

Perfect! My MIL spent a good 20 minutes pushing him back and forth so he could get used to balancing. Claire followed and whenever he started to wobble, she would say, "Oh no! Oh gosh! Oh no! NICE...NICE!!!" No word yet on if this gave Ethan any confidence in his bike riding endeavors.

After awhile, he moved the bike into the grass to show us that he could, in fact, balance on his own. Claire cheered him on.

Today we headed out to try again. Claire assumed cheerleader position.

Ethan, decked out in Spider-Man helmet and Spider-man outfit grabbed his bike. My MIL held Grayson while I took Ethan into the street to give him a push. We started running. Pedals were going. Ethan giggled. I let go.

And he went into the neighbors yard and fell over.

He dusted himself off, grabbed his bike and came back. We straightened his helmet, gathered his courage, and started running. He pushed the pedals as fast as he could while I ran beside him. I let go.

He went into the other neighbors yard and fell over.

He picked himself up, dusted himself off, grabbed a drink of water, and back to it we went. The look of determination in his eyes was even stronger. He took a deep breath. He shook his shoulders straight and pushed his helmet into place. He gripped the handle bars. I started pushing, he started pedaling. I let go.

And he rode away. He did it! I've never been so proud. I think my heart swelled with pride when I watched his little legs pedal to the end of the street and saw the look on his face when he came running into my arms yelling, "I did it! I did it!"

Ethan...The bike rider!

Fawn Doe Rosa

My MIL is in town. We've got two weeks until school starts. Ethan's birthday is next Saturday. So, we're packing in the fun. Yesterday we went to a small wildlife park not too far from us called Fawn Doe Rosa. They have deer and all kinds of other animals. The deer roam free. You can purchase a bag of food for $1.00 on your way in to feed to the animals. I bought one bag, my SIL bought 3.

When we first started walking, there was a huge flock of geese. Claire got excited. She started walking towards them saying, "Kitty! Kitty!" I threw some corn at them so they'd come closer. A few did and ate a few pieces. Then, Claire tried to touch one. They didn't like that so much and started to walk away. Claire didn't like that, so she started to follow them. That made them go faster, which made her go faster.

Eventually she gave up the chase because Ethan had started to feed a deer. A fawn to be more exact.

Claire was very excited about the deer. She kept calling them Teddy. She calls most animals Teddy. Teddy is our dog. She looked at me, completely excited and said, "Mine?" while pointing at the food bag. I gave her a carrot out of the bag. Before I could get a picture, the deer had eaten her carrot. I gave her a dog biscuit (deer eat dog biscuits...who knew) and grabbed my camera. She walked sweetly up to the deer, patted her neck and said, "Here Teddy."

She was very excited about the deer eating out of her hand. She stood there gently petting her neck for quite awhile. The deer kept sniffing her face.

Eventually we moved on to see all the other animals, including Grizzly Bears! Seriously! They're just hanging out in cages that made me feel like if they really wanted a snack, they just might book it out of there to have one.

We met goats that Claire tried to give kisses to.

There were llamas that Ethan had conversations with. No, really, he did. He was actually talking to the llama about what kind of food he liked.

And more goats and lambs to feed.

It was a really fun day. And, Claire, my tiny animal lover, was thrilled to be there. Grayson enjoyed watching the geese run in front of his stroller. He thought that was pretty funny.

So, if you are ever near a Fawn Doe Rosa, you should check it out. It was a lot of fun!

30 Days of Truth: Day 6: Something You Hope You Never Have To Do

There are many things in my life I hope I never have to do. They mainly pertain to my children and the fear of something happening to them.

I hope I never have to help one of my children battle a disease that I can't take over. Stories of other parents having to help their children battles cancers break my heart. I try to spread their stories and get them help. I donate money. I cry, even though I don't know them, I cry. I think, "What if that was my child?" and then I selfishly hope that it never is, even though I know full well that one day, it could be.

I hope I never have to watch my child's heart break. I know it will happen, but I'm unprepared. How do you help them through that? My heart was broken, and my grandma was at a loss on how to help me heal it. How do you help them pick up the pieces so they can try and put it back together? I'm just not sure.

David Needs To Take A Trip Outdoors

Because I don't want to be witness to insanity anymore!

It seems that whenever I step out my front door, the world is all, "Holy crap, Chantel's out...Quick, throw something her way!"

Here's a few highlights of the summer.

**We're enjoying a pleasant day at the park. It's actually nice out. It isn't overly crowded like it usually is. There is only one camper. People are swimming. Kids are running and laughing. Then, they show up. A family of 3. The mom gets out of the car with a baby that looks to be about 18 months old. The dad wonders off gabbing on his cell phone. The mom grabs her daughter by the arm, swings her into the sand and then immediately starts screaming at the girl. I mean, she is echoing through the park. She takes the girl to the swimming beach, strips her down naked and starts wading into the water with her. All the swimmer's freeze. One of them looks at her and says, "Um, shouldn't you put a diaper on her?" The mom looks around, screams at the baby, and then takes her back to the car. The baby, upset by being taken from the water, starts to throw a fit. This makes mom scream more. Dad is sitting on a swing, gabbing away on his cell phone watching the scene unfold. Toddler still screams, which makes mom scream louder. At this point, I decided I'd had enough of this scene. I grabbed my kids and booked it. So much for a nice day at the park.

**While grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, I see a family of 7. It looks like 4 adults and 3 kids. While picking out produce, I see the little girl in the group, maybe she's about 6, being a normal 6 year old while shopping. You know, hyper, jumping, talking to everyone. One of the adults in the groups was holding a baby. The girl was kind of slapping her leg. Ethan does this to me all the time while we're shopping. It never bothers me. Apparently, it bother's this woman, because she places the baby in the car seat, and kicks the girl in the thigh. The girl whines. The woman says, "How do you like it?" I look at her and say, "Yeah, because that's the same." The family looks at me. The woman puts her arm around the girl and the family quietly moves on.

**The bar in town is also a restaurant. They make great burgers. On a lazy night when they are offering a bargain on their food, we order some burgers. I head out to pick them up. The bar is relatively quiet on a Friday night. I stand at the bar and pay for my food. They are finishing it, so I wait. That's when I notice the man at the bar staring at me. He orders a drink, and immediately spills it all over himself because he's watching me. Now, it's not unusual, because it is a normal thing that whenever I go to this bar, people stare. I'm the new chick in town wearing an Arizona Cardinals hoodie. It is, however, unusual that this guy is staring so hard and spilling things on himself in the process. Can you say creepy? I'm given my food. I thank the bartender, and get the hell outta there. I hop in my car, look up and see that guy staring at me through my windshield. He followed me out of the bar! I book it and take a totally different route home, which is not easy to do in such a small town.

I'm just hoping for something normal to happen this summer. I really am. I'm ready for normal. Really, really ready for normal.

Winner!

Thank you all who entered my very first giveaway for the Bummis One Size Easy Fit in Lemon! It was so much fun to host this giveaway, and I hope you'll all return for more in the future! I also appreciate all the fabulous cloth diaper advice.

Our winner was chosen by random.org. There were 120 entries. And the winner is?

Number 61! That is SCMOMOF2BOYS! Congratulations! Please remember to check your e-mail and get back to me within 48 hours to claim your prize, otherwise I will choose another winner.

30 Days of Truth: Day 5: Something You Hope To Do In Your Life

Someday, I hope to see this.

I want to see it up close and personal. I want to walk the streets of Paris. I want to eat French pastries. I want to see the Moulin Rouge. I want to see the art. I want to dine on French cuisine. I want to hear the history. I want to stay in a French apartment.

Most of all, I just want to visit Paris. It's on my bucket list. Make is to Paris. Hopefully, someday, I will.

30 Days of Truth: Day 4: Something You Have To Forgive Someone For

My mom met a man when I was 8 or 9. We lived in California at the time, in a tiny apartment. He was not a nice man. He hurt us in a lot of ways, but there comes a point in someone's life when they need to let that go, and that is what I need to do.

It's taken me a long time to come to this point. To actually say those words and mean them, but in order to make a clean break and finally let the past be the past, I'll say them. I forgive him.

He may have broken my spirit and bruised my mother, but he gave me something that I hold onto, and that is courage of the heart. I hold my head above whatever crap I might wade into. I'm strong and opinionated (even if it is quietly sometimes) and I make sure that people know that my body is my body and my mind is my mind and I want them treated with respect, because I deserve that, and my kids deserve to see a good example of that.

So, here I am, 19 or so years later, breathing the biggest sigh of relief I have ever breathed and saying it. I forgive him.

He's 9 Months....I'm Not Ready For 12

Grayson had his 9 month well check on Wednesday. He's is 18lbs 15oz and 25 inches long. That's 5 inches grown and 11 pounds gained. He's got two teeth popping into place on the top, which makes for a super fun nursing time filled with, "Oh God, please don't bit me" and my face contorted with the fear of being bitten.

At his appointment the doctor said that since he is hitting all of his other milestones on time, we shouldn't be concerned with the crawling. He's probably not doing it because he has two bigger siblings to bring him everything, which happens ALL THE TIME. He cries, Claire brings him his sippy cup. He grunts, Ethan brings him a rattle. He says MaMa, Claire hugs him, says, "OK Brudder..OK" and puts a puffy snack in his mouth. See...No need to go anywhere for anything. He's got everything he needs at the utter of a grunt. However, him not crawling is not getting any easier on my arms. We attended my friend's daughter's first birthday party last weekend. All the other babies were crawling and playing with all of Riley's new toys. Grayson was all, "I'm cool. I'm just gonna chill by mommy's legs." Claire, of course, brought the toys to him.

So, now that's we've hit the 9 month mark, it's time to start planning and prepping for Grayson's first birthday party. Since his birthday is on Halloween, I've decided on a pumpkin theme, since he's my little pumpkin baby. Did that sound cheesy? Whatever.

I'm making the banner, and I'm planning on making his party hats. We always buy the first birthday cake, and there is FABULOUS cake baker here in our tiny town. She made Claire's first birthday cake, and it was better than I expected it to be. We get a smash cake at Wal-Mart. I found out Wal-Mart has cheap candy and favors to put in favor bags. I'd like to make my own favor boxes. I just need to look up how to do it.

I can't believe I'm planning this already. I don't want him to be one. It's my last first birthday plan ever. It makes me sad. I don't want him to grow up.

And Then She Got A Little Bigger

Claire made a big transition of Friday night. She broke up with the crib. She was all, "Look, you were good for me, but I need to make a clean break from your bars. It's time for me to be a big girl."

After reading that Target was having a sale on the bedding I wanted, Circo Love And Nature, we ran out and snatched it up. And, wouldn't you know it, it was the VERY last bed set in stock. Lucky us! I put it in the cart and Claire looked at it, then looked at me, and said with the smallest bit of excitement in her eyes, "Mine?" I looked back at her and said, "You bet baby. Yours."

After a stop at the grocery store, we came home, put away groceries, had some lunch and then went to Claire's room to set up her bed. I put the rail on. Then I opened up the bedding and laid the comforter and pillowcases over the side of the crib. Claire touched them gently and said, "Hi bird." There are owls on the blankets. She giggled with excitement as I spread the sheets over the bed. She could not WAIT until I was done.

After I finished putting everything on the bed, I looked at her and I said, "What do you think baby girl?" All she did was giggle. She spent the afternoon running around her room.

At bedtime, I took her into her room and pointed at the crib and then at the big girl bed. I asked, "Where do you want to sleep?" She looked at me and said, "Night night." And climbed into the newly blanketed big girl bed. She realized though that her friends were missing. We rescued them from the crib, and I tucked Sully, Mike, Boo, Oscar and Tad into bed with her.

She gave each one a kiss goodnight.
I gave her a kiss on the forehead, said "Night night, I love you." To which she responded, "You.." (Claire's version of I love you) and quietly closed the door. I think my heart broke just a tiny bit. My baby girl is no longer a baby.

30 Days of Truth: Day 3: Something I Need To Forgive Myself For

I wrote about this episode awhile back here. In summary, Ethan got pneumonia. He got pneumonia bad. I took him to the doctor, and the doctor said he was barely ill at all, that he was fine to travel on our planned trip to Arizona the next day to attend my cousin's Bat Mitzvah. He didn't do any x-rays or anything like that. He just listened to his chest and diagnosed.

Me, as his mother, should have pushed harder for an x-ray or an antibiotic that was stronger than than the standard Amoxcillian. He'd had a fever of 103 almost all night the night before we went to the doctor. After a few doses of medication, he seemed fine the morning of our flight, so I finished up packing our bags and we headed to the airport.

A few hours after we landed, he started coughing so hard he was turning purple and getting pale at the same time. He couldn't breath. My MIL and I ended up rushing him to urgent care where the doctors rushed to get him on oxygen and snap x-rays. Everything that the doctor the day before should have done they did in this tiny room that wasn't equipped to handle what Ethan needed. He was so weak from the coughing and lack of oxygen that he could barely move. My heart broke for him, and I was angry with myself for not being more vigilant. He was only 5. I'm his voice. I should have spoken up.

On the other hand, this doctor should have taken more care in Ethan's case. It was 5:45 in the evening. We were the last patients in the day. He spent a total of 6 minutes with us before he shoved a prescription into my hands and sent in a nurse in to show me how to connect Ethan's inhaler to a pediatric tube for him to breath the medication through.

I feel terrible that Ethan got so ill and that I didn't notice the signs sooner. I need to forgive myself for this though. Not all illnesses wave red flags to say they are around. I thought he just had a normal case of the flu. If I had known it was this bad, I would have canceled my trip in a heartbeat and just exchanged my tickets for another time.

30 Days of Truth: Day 2: Something You Love About Yourself

You know what I love about myself? My ability to be totally goofy without caring what other people think.

If you first meet me, I am incredibly quiet and shy, but it doesn't keep me from being goofy. When I was 17 and 18, my friends and I thought that Denny's was where it was at. We'd get in big groups, hang out for a few hours, and then hit Denny's. Sometimes all we'd ever do was drink coffee (lemonade for me) and talk. Sometimes we'd have a late night breakfast. Sometimes we'd all split fries. Denny's nights were always full of laughter until your sides hurt and tears were in your eyes.

On one such Denny's night, we had a video camera. I don't remember where we got it from, or why we were filming, but we had it. We were trying to decided what to film. Then the subject got changed to music. Then music videos. Then how I knew part of a Britney Spears video dance and all of the song that went with it. Everyone looked at me. Everyone looked at the camera. It was decided. I would be filmed dancing and singing Britney in the middle of Denny's. I was thrust out in front of the table with a ketchup bottle as my microphone, and started to sing and dance. This was on a Friday, at 1AM, so the place was filled with the after bar crowd. I finished my song, and I actually got applause from other people in the restaurant.

I'm silly. It's my nature. I can be silly with my kids. I can be silly with my friends. It's who I am, and I love that about me.

30 Days of Truth: Day 1: Something You Hate About Yourself

I came across this interesting sounding meme/carnival, whatever you want to call it on Mama's Pixie Dreams, who found it through The Random Blogette, who read it on Angel Believes. It peaked my interest, so I decided to take part. Here goes.

Day 1: Something You Hate About Yourself

I hate that I am so shy in person. Really shy.

I mean, really, I am one of the nicest people you will meet, but when I meet someone and I am quiet, I resonate as a bitch. I like to think I am funny, but not a lot of people get to see that side of me.

In high school, I was in the concert choir. I sang in competition. My classmates were astounded that I could sing. None of them knew I had much of a voice because I was just one, blending into a sea of other voices. I left the solos to others. I competed in choir competitions in groups. Then, my senior year, my teacher signed me up for solos at a singing festival. I panicked. I didn't know what to sing. I didn't know who I would sing for. Why? Why was I being told to do this? I practiced for two months. I walked into the room, my teacher started playing my piano music, and I choked. Completely choked. I can sing. I can sing well. But if I have to open my mouth in front of people I don't know to sing, it doesn't happen...Unless I'm doing karaoke and I have had a little liquid encouragement. Surprisingly, I was given a superior medal, which is the highest medal you can get.

If I could change this about myself, I would. I hate being so shy, and I hate people thinking I am a bitch.

Kids Say Funny Things...

Wednesday night we're getting ready to watch a movie with Ethan. We catch a small clip of South Park before David changed the channel to put the movie on. The word Catholic happened to get by. Ethan, being the ever curious mind that he is, perked up. He said, "What's Catholic?" David said, "Well, Catholic is was Great Grandma Townsend is. Catholic is..." And Ethan said, "Oh, old people!" It gave us a good giggle and made for an amusing Facebook status.

What else is happening in our neck of the woods? We're awaiting the arrival of Grandma, my MIL. She'll be here on the 17th. We're looking for things to do while she's in town. The zoo is already on our list. Hopefully it isn't hot or humid and we can enjoy a great day. What else are we going to do? I have no idea. The only things I am certain of that are happening are the zoo, David and Ethan will be taking a trip to Mall of America for their birthday's, we'll be going out to dinner for their birthday's and we'll have family over for cake, presents and pizza on Ethan's birthday. David's birthday is on the 27th and Ethan's the 28th. Did I plan that? No. Did it happen? Yes.

We've been in cloth diapers for almost a week now, and I have to say, I'm a fan. The bad thing? I got snap front diapers. Grayson has recently become a big fan of rolling, so the snap fronts make for an interesting diaper change. I try and snap the left and he rolls to the right. I try to snap the right, and he rolls to the left. I try and snap the middle and he somehow manages to flip completely over. Something I'm a little concerned about? Grayson hasn't even tried to crawl yet. He still is not a fan of tummy time, but he does play on his tummy a lot more than he used to. He's gotten up onto his hands and knees a few times (4 now that I think of it) and rocked, but hasn't actually made the move to crawl. He kind of does this move I've dubbed the inchworm where he gets on his belly, pushes his tush up as far as he can, gets a leg under him and pushes his face forward across the floor until he gets to what he wants. He'd much rather be in his jumperoo or in my lap than on the floor trying to crawl. I read that some babies never crawl, so maybe it's nothing to worry about. He does love holding my hands and standing while kicking his little legs around. We've got an appointment next week with the pediatrician, so I guess we'll find out for certain what's going on then. He has started to say mama. It's the first time one of our kids has said mama first. I think David is jealous. Although, when David gets home from work, it's all I can do to keep Grayson from bouncing right out of my lap. He's very excited when Daddy is around.

Now I'm Going To Tell You What To Buy:: Paperspring Review

You know what I like receiving from my friends and family? Really cute invitations, birth announcements and holiday cards. You know who I can get those things from? Paperspring! I know, you're all, "Paperwho, Chantel?" Paperspring guys. Paperspring.

Paperspring is a fantastic company offering invitations, announcements, personalized stationary and lots of other fun products! What sets them apart from other companies? Their cards are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled thick cardstock. The going green nut in my heart loves that. I think my going green status just upped itself by typing that. They also utilize a chemistry-free and waterless printing system. They also print all of their products right there in their very own warehouse to ensure you the fastest shipping time on your products. Wanna know what else? Free shipping! I know, you're excited, right?!

I placed an order for several different items. See?

In my order are a set of 24 address labels, 4 StickyStock pictures and some personalized stationary for Ethan. Why for Ethan? The kid loves to write his grandma....A lot. Now he's got some awesome paper to do it on.

I immediately wanted to try the StickyStock. I thought the back was going to be all sticky because the website describes it as being like a post-it. I was all, "Oh, crap, I love these things but the sticky is going to get all over the place...Right?" No. It's more like a static cling. They peel really easy:

And you can stick them and move them anywhere. We stuck them up on the fridge:

I really love them. I've been admiring them all day whenever I reach into the fridge for something. The jumble of pictures was insanity. Now I have my three favorite pictures of my three favorite little people to look at all the time.

Ethan busted into his his personalized stationary and wrote a letter:

It's currently awaiting it's trip to Grandma's.

I also received samples of several different announcements and invitations that the company provides.

My favorites?

I mean, really, how cute is that rocket ship one? It even says, "We're over the moon!" with all the announcement info on baby. Can you say precious!?

Here's another one of my favorite things that came in my package:

There was a note from the actual person who packaged and checked my order. So, I know that a real person went over my order, made sure everything was where it was supposed to be, probably looked at the pictures of my kids and said, "Awwww..." because, let's face it, they are pretty darn cute, and then sent it my way. So, Mary, thanks, you rock!

My likes?

*The cardstock is thick. The front is a matte finish which I love. I'm not a fan of the glossy finish. And have I mentioned the 100% recycled part?

*The StickyStock is really fun. I hope they make more StickyStock products!

*The personal note letting you know someone REAL packed and shipped your box is fabulous. I was not expecting that. It makes it a lot more personal. You know they care about your satisfaction as a customer.

My dislikes?

*I don't really have a complaint. I love this company!

Want a discount? Paperspring is offering you, my wonderful peeps, a $10 discount on a $50 order with coupon code PSAUGUST. This code expires on August 31, 2010 so use it quick my friends. You saw the part up top about free shipping, right? Get out there and order!! Happy shopping.

And, just so you know, I was provided with Paperspring products for review. This in no way changed my opinion of the product. My review and opinions are honest and my own.

Now I'm Going To Give You Stuff::Bummis Review And Giveaway!

In my quest to go green, I decided to give cloth diapers a try. The price tag (or lack of one after awhile) also appeals to me. David was apprehensive. He was all, "Eww..It's so gross. What do we do with the poo? How do we clean them? Ewww..." Honestly, he doesn't do diapers. He can't stand them. He gags at the thought of it. If I'm out, he will do it, but he doesn't like to. So when I was given the opportunity to try Bummis Easy Fit diaper, I was all over it.

Now, please bear with me. I am 100% new to the cloth diaper game and not hip to the lingo. If I get anything wrong, just call me a newbie.

I received the Bummis Easy Fit in Pomegranate.

I read the label which stated the diaper could begin being used after 3 washes and would reach maximum absorbency after 10 washes. I was very excited by the 3 wash and wear rule. Many people I know told me they needed to wash 8 times before wear with their diapers. I Pulled the diaper out of the label and explored it. It's a one size fitting from 8-35 lbs, and the liner is actually attached to the diaper. See?

I popped it into the wash right away, and looked up the Bummis website for more instructions and info on the diaper. Here's what I learned from the website:

The easy fit is made by Totsbots in their factory in Galsgow, Sweden and sold by Bummis in the US and Canada. The liner is made of two layers. The top layer is made of Rayon from bamboo fibers which is super soft and sits nicely against baby's skin. The second layer is 100% polyester microfiber. The liner can be folded six different ways to adjust to your baby's absorption needs, and if need be, you can always pop another liner into the pocket. They also have a video online showing you the different ways you can fold the liner to get the best absorption for your baby's needs.

Once my diaper had been washed 3 times, I watched the video, and folded it for Grayson's needs:

And stuffed the liner into the diaper. You can also see in the picture that the velcro tabs are nice and wide and there are fold back tabs on the inside of the diaper to attach them to to keep your other items from being snagged and dragged through the wash:

Next, I grabbed Grayson, wrangled him from turning over and put the diaper on him.

The diaper fits great. There are no loose spaces between his legs or around his waist. He was able to wear the diaper through his afternoon nap (three hours that day!). He had a small wet spot on the inside of his leg when he woke up, but that was completely my fault. I didn't stuff the liner over completely. Other than that he was super dry and very happy!

My likes?

*The velcro tabs are fantastic. They are soft and don't scratch his skin.

*The diaper wasn't at all bulgy. I was worried his clothes wouldn't fit over it.

*The liner shakes out in the wash, so there is no need to pull it out of the diaper. I tested this. It really works.

My dislikes?

*I had a small issue with the velcro sticking to the tabs in the wash.

Wanna buy it?

Bummis Totsbots Easy Fits are available online through retailer's such as Kelly's Closet for $23.95 and are available in 5 different (Oeko-tex certified!) colors, as well as white.

Wanna win it?

Bummis has graciously offered to give one of my readers a Totsbots Easy Fit diaper in Lemon.

Here's how to enter:

Please be a follower of my blog and leave a comment letting me know you are.

Extra enteries (Please leave a separate comment for each!):

1) Tweet this giveaway leaving a link to your tweet. Remember to link the giveaway. No daily tweets please!

2) Leave a comment telling me which color Easy Fit you like.

3) Give me some cloth diaper advice. Remember, I'm a newbie!

4) Like Bummis on Facebook and let them know I sent you.

5) Follow Bummis and Totsbots on Twitter.

Please make sure you're e-mail is either public in your profile or in at least one of your comments. If I can't e-mail you, you can't win.

Winner will be chosen on Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 11:00PM CDT. Winner will be chosen by random.org and e-mailed. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail before another winner is chosen. Open to US and Canada. Good luck!

And, just so you know, I was provided an Easy Fit diaper for review and giveaway. This in no way changed my opinion of the product. My review and opinions are honest and my own.