Now I'm Going To Give You Stuff:: Custom AIO Fitted Cloth Diaper From Mommyx3 Monster's

I'm still very much loving my cloth diapers, so when I was offered the chance to review a cloth diaper from a WAHM who runs an Etsy store, I jumped at the chance.

The store is called Mommyx3 Monster's.

The store is run by Maddie, a SAHM to three adorable "monsters" and an Air Force wife. She makes cloth diapers, soaps, swaddle blankets, boppy covers, nursing pads, nursing necklaces, burp cloths, etc...The tagline? Monster tested, Mommy approved. Cute, right?

An example of some of these products.

I was sent an AIO fitted diaper.

How cute is that?!

Want to see what the inside looks like?

The diaper is waterproof, and made from one layer cotton print, one layer PUL, one layer microfleece and three soaker layers of microterry. It has velcro closures and elastic around the legs. I was told that all it would need was one wash and a dry on low tumble. I, however, like to line dry my diapers and soakers, and by line dry, I mean hang them over the shower rod in our bathroom because our weather is not wet clothing friendly in the winter.

After the diaper was dry, I grabbed my victim....I mean, my child, and slapped it on him.

The diaper fit very well, and was nice and snug around his legs and his waist. He was able to move around without any problems. It does make him quite the fluff butt, so if your going to put pants on over this diaper, make sure they are big enough to handle the fluff. He did have an incident where he became diaper free, but it was not the diapers fault. This was the first time Grayson has worn a diaper with velcro straps that didn't overlap and he took the opportunity to crawl bare tushed for a few minutes. The velcro actually held quite well during his crawling and army crawling.

Grayson wore the diaper for about 3 1/2 hours. There we no leaks at all. He actually could have worn the diaper a lot longer but he decided to really give it a test, and it held up very well. It's now washed and waiting for it's next turn in our diaper rotation.

Now, the exciting part. Maddie has generously offered one of my readers their very own custom print AIO diaper from her shop, Mommyx3 Monster's.

So, how do you enter?

Mandatory entry:

You must be a PUBLIC follower of this blog and leave me a comment letting me know you are. If you are not a PUBLIC follower, your entries will NOT count.

Extra entries (Please leave a separate entry for each.):

1) Become a follower of Maddie's personal blog and leave a comment letting her now I sent you.

2) Grab Maddies Button and post it on your blog. Let me know where to find it!

3) Become a Facebook Fan of Mommyx3 Monster's.

4) Visit the Mommyx3 Monster's shop and let me know what custom fabric you would choose.

5) Visit the Mommyx3 Montster's Shop and let me know another item you'd like.

6) Tweet this giveaway. Make sure to leave a link to this blog. Leave a link to your tweet. No daily tweets please!

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, February 12, 2011 and 11:00PM CST. 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 residents. Good luck!

And, just so you know, I was provided with an AIO Fitted Cloth Diaper from Maddie from Mommyx3 Monster's for this review and giveaway. This in no way changed my opinion of the product. My review and my opinions are honest and my own.

31 Day Photo Challenge: Day 3

A picture of the cast from your favorite show

I LOVE Friends. I love it. It is my favorite, favorite show. I know every episode by heart. I could probably take you down in a game of Friends Scene It. I laugh, I cry and I get excited every time Ross and Rachel get together, when they have their baby, when Monica and Chandler have their babies. I have all 10 seasons on DVD and I watch them probably twice a year. Friends is where it's at!

31 Day Photo Challenge: Day 2

I'm doing the 31 Day Photo Challenge. Technically, Day 1 was 7 days ago, but I was taking care of sick babies and couldn't schedule posts, so here we are, pretending it's day two. Let's see if that imagination works!

Day Two: A Picture Of You And The Person You Have Been Closest To The Longest

OK, so I have two. I know it says PERSON, but I'm making it PERSONS (or people, whichever you prefer).

So, photo one:

This is my cousin Danni (Danielle). We've pretty much been joined at the hip since, well, birth. We were both born in 1983, but I was a March and she was a November, which put her a year behind me in school. We did some pretty crazy (and probably pretty stupid) stuff together. She's always been my best friend, confidant and advice giver. She was my maid of honor in my wedding, and I was one of her bridesmaids. We were there for each other's first babies being born. Whenever we are together, it's pretty much comedy hour. She witnessed me being stabbed in the throat with a Twizzler, so if I needed to sue anyone, she would have been summoned to court.

Then, there is Kelly.

What? You don't like my drawing? But it's full of awesome! There would be a normal picture here, but my scanner and I are not on speaking terms right now. Anyways, Kelly and I met at Summer Camp in 1994. Maybe it was 1995. I was 12. It was probably 1995. It was Girl Scout camp to be exact. As soon as we met, that was it. Our friendship became life long. We've spent way too many nights staying up way too late at her grandma's house and giggling like idiots. We took the opportunity to walk to the park across the street from my apartment on a number of occasions. We've watched way too many bad movie and ate way too much junk food. We've cried on each other's shoulders about boyfriends and home life. I made her take me as her date to prom because it was something I insisted she not miss, and she had a great time. Even now, when I think about her way too much, I know she needs me, and I make sure I hunt her ass down so I can talk to her, and I'm right. She always needs to talk. Though our lives have taken two completely different paths, I know that I can always go to her and tell her anything, and she won't judge me or tell me anything I don't want to hear, and she knows that I will do the same for her.

Apparently, Ear Infections Are Trendy....Who Knew?

On Wednesday last week, I got in a fight. With a 2 year old. At the doctor. Claire hadn't been her normal, sweet self. She was waking up crying and wanting to be cuddled and she had a fever. We decided after three days of that that a trip to the doctor was in order. I made the appointment and Claire and I headed out. I was armed with the I-Pod and Claire's favorite dinosaur. I happen to think the thing is butt ugly, but I digress.

Anyways, Claire is not a fan of the doctor. In fact, the last time we saw this doctor, she wiggled and fought so hard that her shoe came off in the doctor's pocket. True story. This time, no shoes were lost, but she sure let us know all was not well. The doctor came in, we chatted about what was going on with Claire while Claire, for the first time EVER, sat quietly in her chair playing her zoo game on the I-Pod. Then, the words I dread to hear came out of the doctor's mouth..."Why don't we have her sit on your lap so you can hold her arms down." Yeah, great, I would LOVE to do that...(Not really). Claire SCREAMED, she spit, she wiggled hard and a lot. In the end, she had an ear infection and an infected eye. Not pink eye, just a gunky eye. Awesome.

Claire has been taking her meds like a champ. Grayson, however, got fussy, and he got fussy quick.

A few days ago, he started running a fever and just being clingy. His eyes got red and puffy, and then they got gunky. Then he started sleeping all the time. Then he started crying when he wasn't sleeping. I packed him up and headed to the doctor.

He did better than Clarie, but was still not happy about seeing the doctor or having his hands held down. She said, "Have his ears been draining?" No, they haven't. "Has he been sleeping well?" Yes, he has. "Eating, drinking OK?" Yeah, great.

Then she told me she was surprised his ears hadn't been draining because apparently, they were pretty infected. Both of them. Yup. Grayson has only had 3 other instances of ear infections, but they have all been doubles. I assume Grayson has the go big or go home attitude and I don't think that's a good thing to be showing so young. He was given antibiotics and anesthesia that I can put into his ears to numb them.

Now, though, Grayson isn't doing so great. We are three days into medication and the fever is only staying down because he's on a steady stream of motrin, he isn't eating or drinking so well anymore. In fact, today I only changed his diaper once at about lunch time, and again at bedtime. Both were not very wet at all. So, it looks like we'll be on our way back to the doctor.

I'd just like to take a moment here though and thank my daughter, Claire, for her willingness to make the double ear infection trendy this season (week?). Thanks.

31 Day Photo Challenge

So, I'm lacking on blog topics lately. My poor brain! So, I've decided to hop on the 31 Day Photo Challenge band wagon. Yeah, 31 days, 31 photos. Woo hoo! So, here is the list:

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your nightDay 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires youDay 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to youDay 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss
Day 31 - A picture of yourself

Day 1: A Photo Of Yourself And 10 Facts

(This picture was taken a few years ago after my cousin's wedding.)

Ten Facts About Me:

1) I read. A lot. Got a book suggestion? Please, let me know. I just finished reading Water For Elephants and could use some new material.

2) Music could be my boyfriend. I listen to it a lot, especially on Friday's when I need to take my clothes to the laundromat to dry. It gives me 24 minutes to really listen to and soak in the lyrics and the way the instruments sound.

3) I don't understand intolerance, and I don't want to. Please, take your hate filled message somewhere else. Differences and imperfections are what make us all beautiful.

4) You've probably heard me say it before, but I'll say it again, I am TERRIFIED of crickets. They jump. They chirp. THEY ARE OUT TO GET YOU....I mean me, they are out to get me.

5) They made a horror movie about the town I live in. I haven't seen it, but I live in a village of just over 1,000 people, so it's been big news ever since they filmed it....3 years ago.

6) I think Go-Gurt is the grossest thing ever invented and I refuse to buy them for my kids.

7) My sewing machine and I are now on speaking terms. We've been discussing things to make for awhile now. Let's hope we remain friends.

8) I am interested in photography and would love to own a DSLR, maybe take a class or teach myself.

9) I was raised by my grandmother starting at the age of 10. My grandmother is a lesbian. She is also in love with Shaq. The basketball player, not the rickety house in the woods. She is my Shaq Lovin' Grandma. Mess with Shaq and grandma will thrown down.

10) I watch Gossip Girl. I am addicted. I can't not watch. I also own every season of Dawson's Creek on DVD. I watch them a lot. I also own every season of Friends, so that makes it better, right?

Writer's Workshop: Who Doesn't Have Scars From A Government Office?

Thursday. Writer's Workshop. By now, you should know how this works.

After you get married, you have to go through the freaking fabulousness that is changing your name. Two weeks after I got married and our license had been mailed, I was excited to get mine changed. No longer would my last name be made fun of. FINALLY!

Since David and I were our running errands, we decided to go ahead and stop by the Social Security office so I could change my name. We pulled into the parking lot and headed inside to see every chair in the place filled. In Arizona, this sort of thing is not uncommon. I can honestly only remember one time where I didn't wait more than 2 hours to have something done at the DMV, the Social Security office or even the office where we needed to apply for and get Ethan's birth certificate.

After taking several deep breaths and cursing to myself, I grabbed a number, and cursed even more when I saw that my number was D-90 (yes, I do still remember...This story is about scars after all) and they were only just calling D-51. I scanned the room for three empty seats, because David and I had the genius idea that this would be quick (HA!) and had come in with Ethan, who was quite hyper. I saw no open seats, so we went to a back corner for me to fill our my paperwork and sit on the floor. Ethan was asking question, jumping up and down and trying to throw the chained pens to the floor only to discover that they bungee jumped instead of clattered to the ground.

After 30 minutes of waiting, my two children (yes, David was acting like a child at this point) were getting a little antsy. They paced. They whined. They complained. They, in general, were starting to drive me nuts. David decided he was going to head to the gas station down the street and pick up a couple of bottles of water and some snacks for Ethan, who was also complaining that he was hungry, and he'd eaten all his snacks by then. We decided that Ethan would stay with me because the gas station was just on the corner, so David was walking. It was 115 degrees that day, and we thought it was better that he stay. David turned to walk for the door, and then the scarring happened.

As David headed for the door, Ethan turned and saw him on his way out the door. He screamed, "Daddy!". He stood up from my lap where he was sitting facing me, and picked up his foot to run. Then, slow motion started. As he picked up his foot, it caught in the bottom of my pant leg. He jerked forward. I put my arms out to catch him, but I wasn't fast enough. He screamed, and fell face first onto the tile. Of course, the scream of "Daddy!" had caught just about everyone's attention, so they all saw me, arms outstretched, and him, on the floor crying. I scooped him up and looked him over. Amazingly, he didn't get anything but a bump to the forehead. I was expecting a bloody nose or mouth, but nothing. There was no bloody nose, there was no bloody mouth. My face was red, and when David got back, I insisted he take Ethan home and I would ride the bus. It was only 2 mile ride. He gave me the 60 cent bus fair and left.

An hour and a half later I had a new last name and some scarred pride. I still feel terrible whenever I remember that day. Ethan has no recollection of that day, but he was 3. I don't expect him to remember it.

It's A Sleepless Night...For Me Anyway

It's again 12AM and here I am, blogging. I'm still having trouble sleeping while Grayson peacefully snoozes in his own bed. Must be nice.

My plan this week was to have Ethan move back into his room, which he now shares with Grayson. He's been bunking with Claire until Grayson got settled into his crib and slept through the night. Things progressed beautifully. Monday was supposed to be the day. Supposed being the operative word. So, what went wrong? Grayson has been waking at 3AM and again at 6AM crying for long periods of time. I turn on music, I say goodnight and I leave the room. I can't let Ethan sleep in there during that. He needs rest for school. So, he continues to bunk with Claire. Claire doesn't mind though. In fact, whenever Ethan goes to bed, we hear a high, squeaky, "ETHAN!!!" When he goes in. I hear them giggling when they are supposed to be sleeping. And, there have been a number of occasions when I go in to find them sleeping like this.

Grayson has been enjoying himself a lot more during the day. His big smile has been a much welcome presence over all the tears he used to shed.

When I'm making dinner, he plays in the tent that David and I bought he and Claire. It has a tunnel, and his new favorite game is throwing a ball in and chasing it.

And he takes naps better. He isn't a fan of napping in his crib, and I'm OK with that. He sleeps there at night. He pretty much naps wherever he'd like during the day. Mostly with David playing a game in the rocking chair. Sometimes though, he just goes right to sleep on the couch after a chocolate chip cookie and without letting me clean his face.

(Don't worry. After I took this picture David swung his legs over to the couch and tucked a pillow next to him. He stayed next to him until he woke up.)

And now, I'm going to try and get a little sleep. Wish me luck.

Writer's Workshop: Drunk Foolishness At The Waffle House Is Not Cute

Writer's Workshop! Head on over to Mama Kat's and get your write on!

Today I chose the prompt Drunk.

When I was 20, 21, and 22, The Waffle House was a regular late night hang out. David or his mom would take care of Ethan and I'd sit with some friends, sometimes my grandma, at The Waffle House drinking tea and talking, laughing and generally having a pretty fantastic time. It was the place to be. It was especially the place to be after 2AM on a Friday or Saturday night. One night, we got a show.

I was sitting with some friends with our regular tea, coffee and hash brown combos. We were laughing. For a Friday night, it was pretty calm, especially since it was closing in on 2AM. Then the door opened and in breezed a tall blonde, she looked about 21, with her arm slung over the shoulder of a nice looking guy with brown hair who was just a little shorter than she was. She was laughing while he walked with her to the table behind ours. He took her purse from her and set it on the bench and then slid her into the seat facing us and took his across from her. I looked at my friends, and we all had our eyebrows raised. Little did we know....

We overheard him order coffee for the both of them, and a plate of smothered hash browns for himself and a waffle for her. That's when she loudly announced (maybe slurred) that she was on her way to the bathroom. She slid to the right, and immediately dropped to the floor. He got up to help her, but she shooed him away and demanded to help herself. He insisted on helping her, but she had already crawled to the counter and was in the process of using the bar and the chairs around the bar for support. He went back to the table, watching her with concern. She made it to the bathroom, and then disappeared behind the door that the bathrooms were behind. We went back to our conversation. It was interrupted a minute later with a loud scream and her throwing herself through the door onto the restaurant floor, laughing like a maniac. She pulled herself up and brushed the hair out of her face, and walked back to her table. Here's the kicker to this part, she was trying to walk with that sexy, hip swagger. She sat at the table, and we all looked back. She was sloppily trying to eat her waffle. She was talking loudly about how excited she was for him to touch her boobs later. Oh yeah, that happened.

This was about the time she decided she needed a cigarette. He helped her up and sat her in the doorway of the restaurant and came back. We were all staring at him. He looked humiliated. He then said with the slightest hint of a southern accent, "I'm terribly sorry. Her and I just met. We were set up on a blind date. I took her to a party and this is what happened. My friends asked me to leave." Our mouths dropped open. My friend said, "You just met her?" He said, "Yeah, and now I don't know what to do with her. This date has totally gone downhill." We all looked towards to door where she was teasing her hair and blowing him kisses while swaggering in her seat. That's when her cellphone rang. Her room mate was calling to see how her date had went. He answered and told the room mate that they were at The Waffle House, and she needed to come get her. The girl had upgraded from swaggering and kiss blowing to standing up, pressed against the glass and licking it. I wouldn't lick the glass anywhere, but especially not at a freaking Waffle House.

He said into the phone, "And hurry."

About 10 minutes later, a car pulled up and a girl got out, grabbed the Drunkie, who had upgraded from glass licking to trying to undress herself, and pulled her into the car. She came in and grabbed her friend's things, ran back to her car and sped away. He breathed a sigh of relief, apologized again, and left.

After that show, we weren't really sure what to do with the rest of our night, so we all went home.

So, here's a tip single ladies. If you are set up on a blind date, do not get sloshed and crawl around like an idiot on the floor of your local Waffle House. It is not cute. Do not lick the glass of the Waffle House. It is not cute and probably has herpes. Do not try to undress yourself in the doorway of the Waffle house. It is not cute and nobody wants to see the drunk chicks business. In general, it's probably not a good idea to drink at all on a first date. It makes you stupid and it is not cute.

And Then There Was Sleep....For Grayson At Least

Controlled crying worked. After less than a week, Grayson is finally going to sleep on his own and sleeping through the night. There are times when he does wake and makes a little noise, but I wait instead of getting up and rushing to his side, and he always goes back to sleep on his own.

On day three, he really let us know he was not happy with his new arrangement. He cried, loudly, for 5 minutes. I went in and stroked his hair. I wrapped his little hands around his blanket and gave him his sippy cup. I made sure his music was on, and I left the room. He cried more. But, less than 5 minutes later, he was fast asleep.

Ever since then, when I lay him down, he cries or whimpers for less than 3 minutes, and then he is out like a light.

So, what do I do with all this available night time? If you guessed sleep, you'd be incorrect.

It is now 12AM, and I am writing a blog. I should be sleeping. Why am I not? Ever since Grayson started sleeping on his own, I've found it quite hard to sleep myself. He would wake up between 1 and 3AM for a feeding and to lay close to me as he went back to sleep. I would stay awake until at least 1AM waiting for him. Sometimes I would fall asleep. Now though, I just can't seem to get to sleep before 12:30AM. I think I'm having separation anxiety.

As much as I love that he is sleeping on his own, in his own bed, through the night, I miss snuggling with him. I miss playing with his hair while he nurses back to sleep and listening to him breath. It makes me just a little sad to think about it. But, I also know that this is healthier for the both of us in the long run. Why? BECAUSE WE NEED SLEEP!!!

Now, I'm off to read. Hopefully I get sleepy in the process.

Hello 2011

Last night I rang in the New Year sipping hot chocolate on the couch next to Ethan, who, for the very first time, made it through to midnight at 8 years old. He was quite proud of himself. We both nearly spilled hot chocolate on ourselves when a neighbor let off some fireworks. I think Ethan was expecting more out of the event. We watched the countdown and the ball drop. The confetti fell over New York. A colored paper snowfall full of clean slates and hopes for the New Year. Then it was over. Ethan looked at me and asked, "Is that it? Is that the New Year?" I said, "Yeah, it sure it. Welcome to 2011. Brush your teeth." He whined a small protest and defeated by the power of mommy, reluctantly brushed his teeth and whined, "I'm not tired.." as he disappeared behind his door and into his bed. Five minutes later, I went to make sure he was warm and covered and he was snoring, quite loudly.

So, here we are. A new year. What are my plans?

To lose weight. I don't plan to starve myself by any means, but the extra weight I've been carrying around makes me unhappy with myself. It's time for a change. My plan of attack hasn't been established yet, but it will be. And, with this, also comes the goal of taking more pride in myself. I deserve to feel good about me and my body.

To take more pictures. A lot more pictures. I only own a point and shoot, and I dream of DSLR's nightly. Still, my kids are growing faster than I can keep up with. I want to remember little fingers and little toes. I want to remember the gapped smiles with the missing teeth and the dirty faces. I really need to take more pictures.

To keep up with sewing. I finally sewed some baby legs. My machine and I are becoming fast friends. I have a nephew due to arrive in May. I'd love to get better so I can make my SIL some things for my new nephew. I'd also like to make my niece, Makayla something as well. Her's will probably be in the form of a tutu.

And, I would say to keep my house cleaner, but I'm keeping it real and saying....Uh...No. I can't keep up with the tornado known as the Townsend children. There are still dishes in my sink and there are always toys on my floor. The beds are rarely made. The only thing being kept up on is laundry thanks to the dryer breaking and my having to drive baskets of wet clothes to the laundromat every week. Will 2011 bring me a new dryer, or someone who can fix it?

Happy New Year everyone!