Breezy

Betcha thought I'd be wearing a nice, flowy dress, blowing in the wind, right?

Nah.

Feast your eyes upon my newest love. If you live in my neighborhood, shhh. I know the HOA says we can't have laundry lines, but I hung it under the fence line, so it shouldn't bother anyone. Who's anyone kidding, anyway? I can't reach a standard sized laundry line. Because it's so short, lengthwise, I'm hanging another right below it. Hopefully the dogs won't think clean diapers look like something fun to eat. Neither of them are interested in anything but real food, so I don't foresee a problem.

 I just love seeing the flags of colors blow in the sunny breeze!

It's the little things in life... and these diapers smelled SO wonderful and fresh after a day in the sunshine!

On Cloth Diapering

Hubs and I made the decision to cloth diaper before Bean came. My best friend, Jackie, got me on the bandwagon and Melanie helped encourage me. Jackie is CDing her third girl and it's her first time. Melanie is an advocate of all things green, healthy, and non-toxic (which is why she sells Ava Anderson!). I jumped into cloth diapering head first and while I thought it was the best idea since sliced bread, it hasn't come without challenges. And we're only 10.5 weeks in.

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There are 8 zillion brands that all fit differently, regardless of same sizing. Some have snaps, some have aplix (like Velcro), there are pockets, all in ones, all in twos, flats/prefolds/covers, fitteds... So much to choose from and some people literally have to try EVERY kind before finding what works best. I did what every cloth diapering expert says not to do. I read up on all the types of diapers before Bean was born and decided I wanted to use pocket diapers. All in ones are the easiest, but they're also the most expensive and apparently take forever to dry. Pockets seemed like the next best option for us, so I bought about 35 of them- some new and some swapped on a Facebook cloth diaper swap page. I learned all about washing them, drying them, and caring for them. And once Bean was here, I was blessed that Jackie let me borrow her newborn stash so I didn't have to purchase two stashes (newborn and one size). 

Well, the small fry is out of the newborn sizes and while I can't afford the "in between" sizes like smalls and mediums, I tried to go straight to one size diapers (they have snaps to change the rise to three different sizes). NONE of these suckers fit! The leg holes are all too big, even on the smallest setting. So, trial and error has led me to start using flour sack towels (a glorified kitchen towel, available in Walmart or Target) with covers and I've sold back several of the new condition diapers we used once or not at all. I'm saving up the money I make from the sell-backs to invest in a few different types to try. Hopefully we'll find something because the challenges are discouraging. 

And storage... I wish mine could look like this setup I found on Pinterest:

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... but it doesn't. Because I haven't found something that works, yet, I have also not found a storage solution that works. As gung-ho as I am about cloth diapering, I want to give up sometimes! Washing and drying them, stuffing pocket diapers, and caring for the diapers as a whole doesn't bother me at all. I just pray that we can find a system that works best for Bean and isn't a total hassle. Husband likes all in ones or pockets that I've already stuffed. He doesn't like snaps, but the aplix versions break Bean's belly out. So, wish us luck on keeping the disposable diapers at bay while we continue this crunchy challenge that I'm standing my ground on! 

Who else cloth diapers or plans to do so with their future children? We didn't with Little S, but I really do love it for Bean!

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win $20 to Ava Anderson non-toxic by Melanie!

A Glimpse into Gingham Wonderland

There was once a shirt that I loved so dearly...

... that I based the design of a whole entire nursery on its gingham glory.

And although the finishing touches have yet to be made (artwork hung, crib skirt completed, clothes put away...), I wanted to show you a few glimpses into Bean's room. It's probably tied with S' room for my most favorite in the house. Eventually, I plan to love our room just as much, but we've really concentrated on the designs of our girls' rooms and we're really proud!

Every part of the room is "my favorite," because I put a lot of thought into the design, but topping it all has to be the gingham wall that Husband painted. It was taped off 5 different times to get the three shades (ultra white, daisy, and yukon gold - Valspar). I'm so pleased with how it turned out!

mobile: from Target (was Little S'), lantern: Target, rocking horse: my Nanny made it (it was mine), books: gifts from friends (Mell, Angie, Gabi, Joe), Eiffel Tower bank: gift from Mell, bitty gold toe shoes: Old Navy

My *second* favorite part of the room (and first favorite item) has to be our glider/ottoman, which was gifted to us by my MIL. We helped some, but she really went out with a bang on this. I fell in love with it at Babies 'R Us and it was ours. I got the lumbar pillow in gold ikat print on Etsy. 

 After Hubs was done with each shade of paint, I covered S' old pink baskets to match the gingham wall. These house burp cloths, receiving blankets, and bath linens and are on the bottom shelf of the changing table.

 And we heart cloth! Our cloth diapering endeavor has gone wonderfully so far and I'm so glad my best friend, Jackie, got me on the bandwagon. She's cloth diapering her third girl and it's her first go-round with it, too, so we're bouncing off of each other and it's going so well. I really love it and can't imagine going back to disposables! Here's half of our newborn stash all clean and fluffy, ready for a sweet little bum!

As I complete the room, I'll be doing a video tour of both of the girls' bedrooms so you can see how much work we've put into them and where our bitties live!

Don't forget to enter the Party Works giveaway!