The irreverent musings of a slightly crunchy mother of 5-the astronaut, princess, the squirrel, side salad, popcorn-and elementary school teacher. I am a semi-crunchy, slightly attached, cloth diapering, breastfeeding mama.
In case you didn't know, I'm a Crowd Tapper (click the button in the sidebar) and a member of the Old Navy Style Council. It's not just a fancy title, either. I am totally an ambassador. I'm veritably swagtastic. And I got to upgrade my style for the summer with Old Navy's white jeans. Plus, I got to bring a friend!
I'll let the pics do the talking.
I received a coupon for me and one for a friend. I immediately called my bestie and off we went!
In case you didn't know, Old Navy has a fit for every shape: There are six in all, the four I named plus the Rock Star and the Dreamer.The rise on the Rock Star was too low for me and I didn't see the Dreamer. After perusing the display, I decided to try four fits: the Diva, the Flirt, the Boyfriend, and the Sweetheart.
We took our finds to the dressing room.
Then it was dress up time!
The Flirt: They hugged every curve and had a bit of a lower rise.
The Boyfriend: a bit straigher than I like my jeans, but a nice fit. They were my second faves.
The Diva: My third fave, I just thought the fabric felt a bit thin. I think they had a higher stretch material content.
Cheese!
The winner: Sweetheart! The rise was perfect, the fabric comfy (not too thin and followed my curves without being too tight) and the cut was sassy. The Sweetheart is perfect for curvy girls like me. Here I am in the crop version, though I got the jeans that day.
While there, I downloaded the SnapAppy app and snapped away. I totally scored a $5 coupon and used it to buy a Tami Tank! Woot woot! Here's my final outfit.
I plan on picking up a few more Tami Tanks and the Sweetheart crops this weekend. Thanks, Old Navy and Crowdtap!
I shan't be long today. This week, Popcorn got two fluffy mails. For those of you not in the know, fluff is slang for cloth diapers. I am so giddy from all the cuteness.
Monday, I got a tester AIO from Five Doves, a WAHM I met on Facebook. Faith is such a sweetie and even sent me a little something extra-matching leggings! P is still an itty bitty so she'll have to grow into them some but they are so cute. Pic below...
A diaper worthy of a diva
The inner, a moisture wicking mesh
Baby leggings! The pattern matches up perfectly LOL
Close up of the dipe. Notice my animal print slippers; like mother, like daughter
Double row of snaps
So professional! This mama knows her stuff!
Such a diva!
Today, my long anticipated Orange Diaper Company fitteds arrived! They are customs and I love them. These aren't my first dipes from this mama. I blogged about some dipes I got from her about 3 1/2, 4 years ago here. They are pricey but they are worth it. Pic time!
When I found out I was pregnant with Popcorn, I was psyched about one thing and one thing only-cloth diapering! I mean, I was excited about a new baby and all but the dipes are what really got me grinning. You see, we got rid of all of our baby stuff. ALL of it. We were done, after all. So everything had to go, with the exception of my play yard and my cloth dipes. I did give a few away to a friend who was considering cloth.
{Side Salad was our cloth baby. We started cloth diapering him at about 5 months old to save money. I would estimate we spent about $300-$400 on cloth diapers for him. That is nothing compared to what most parents spent in a year on disposables. We started with about a dozen prefolds, 2 covers (Bummis) and a couple of bumGenius 3.0s. And my stash just grew from there. I need to take a stash pic, but I'm waiting on some new dipes.}
In the meantime, I'll tell you about one of my favorite fitteds. They were made by a talented mama named Jen R. at Orange Diaper Company (formerly known as Scuttlebutts). ODC sells both ready-to-ship and custom dipes through their online store.
Cost: They are pricey, ($20-22 for newborn, $30-32 for one size) though not has horrendously priced as goodmamas. And yes, I have one of those, too. Back then, they were probably around $20 or $25 each for sized dipes. I honestly can't remember as it's been nearly four years since I bought them. Quality: These are some seriously well made diapers. Jen uses organic fabrics so that they are safe for litttle ones.The are also wonderfully soft and squishy. You feel good about putting them on your baby. On my first order, I opted for turned and topstiched dipes. I think most patterns look good turned and topstiched. Here's a pic from when they were brand spankin' new.
I still love looking at them.
These were my absolute favorite dipes, my go-to diapers. Even Lettuce liked them.
And her are some pics of Popcorn in the elephant one tonight.
Here's a close up of the pirate one. It is in pristine condition after 2 1/2 years of use.
No stains whatsoever
Front of the dipe
Back of the dipe
Close up of the cute heart on the soaker
The diaper looks like it has never been used. In fact, it went through 2 1/2 years of hard use. I shan't lie; I don't baby my dipes. No matter how much I love them, they are still ultimately poop catchers. Back to the dipes: I wish I could afford a full stash of them. Though they've gone up in price over the past four years, they are well worth it. I have diapers that cost less that have frayed leg holes, blown elastic. When it comes to dipes, you generally get what you pay for. The only issue I experienced with these dipes was with the ones with brown interiors (the lizard/frog and the elephant). Side Salad's urine "bleached" the interior. This did not happen with the other two so it was clearly an issue with that fabric.
Overall Verdict: Great diaper, if you can afford it. This dipe is definitely worth putting a little money to the side for. If I were inclined to sell this dipe, I'm sure I could get a reasonable price for it, given its condition. I am very happy with it and it is some seriously cute fluff.
When you start building your stash, you are looking for anything and everything but price is definitely a factor. However, once you really get to know your dipes, you find that the cheaper stuff isn't worth it.
I know you can't tell from the video but Popcorn is a bit of a screamer. She has these crying jags. They aren't super long, but they are long enough, maybe 15 to 20 minutes. I don't want to use the c-word, but I don't know. It's really frustrating but honestly, I feel like nursing brings me emotionally closer to her and helps me function. This may sound crazy, but breastfeeding clearly defines my goal. I provide sustenance. No one else can do this. This prevents me from feeling like others aren't doing their share. It may not be like that for other people, but it keeps me grounded when I'm feeling worn thin. I have a couple of tools to help me cope, my nursing pendant and my slings.
The Seville *drool*
Yesterday, my ring slings from Comfy Joey arrived. I ordered my slings during Ayesha's (the CJ mama) April Fool's Day sale, before Popcorn was born so I tried to pick gender neutral colors. I only opened the Marrakech for now. I am only one person with one baby, after all. I love the color, a warm terra cotta, and the name, a city in Morocco. Morocco is my number one dream vacation, so it was clearly meant for me. The second sling is Santorini, a deep sea linen. It is named for the Greek island of Santorini and Greece is my other dream vacation. Ayesha picks the best names for her slings! The colors I like are all places I want to visit. I wish I'd ordered the Seville, a spicy olive, though (guess who wants to visit Seville, Spain? Me!!!!). Green is my absolute favorite color but I thought it looked too autumn-y. Silly me. Oh, well-I guess I'll have to order another in the fall!
Marrakech sling
Santorini sling
I put Popcorn in the sling tonight during her crying jag. She was refusing to nurse at the time. It wasn't her first time in it. I had her in there while I made dinner, too. Anywho, she was crying and Lettuce couldn't get her to stop either. She bobbed around on his chest like she was looking for a nipple, then refusing to nurse when I put her to my chest. So, I put her in the sing and talked and swayed. She fussed at first, then quieted down. I sat down on the couch and she let me nurse her until she fell asleep. She's still in the sling now, napping quietly.
Nursing in the sling
Finally nodding off
In nursing news, I am still super leaky. I feel like a milk fountain. The big kids love to point out the wet spots as the appear. It's annoying and I have to remind myself that it's temporary. My nursing pads are never ever nearby, but that's my poor planning.
A plus to using the sling is that not only can I nurse in it, the free edge makes a great nursing cover, if that sort of thing interests you. I personally think my breasts are fantastic and that you haven't lived until you see them. I'm just kidding. See how it covers up my upper portion? It's pretty wide so I can drape it over her and have as much coverage as I need. The fabric is linen, which is breathable. It can get in the triple digits here in the south, and the heat index is unbearable. Linen is a natural fiber with a kind of open weave. As far as security, she feels super secure, not like she's going to fall out at all. The sling came with a DVD to help novice mamas learn how to wear their babies.
Way back when Side Salad was born [4 years ago], I had a pincher on my hands. He'd nurse on one side and want to pinch the other. This was a point of contention for us as I don't like my nipples to be pinched. I heard about the Nurse Purse, the nursing pendant from Lori at Risky Beads, on another blog and decided that it was cheap enough to try out.
NEWS FLASH!!
I am super frugal and won't buy something unless I know I can use it or it's cheap enough to justify it failing me.
So I order the nurse purse from Lori and it worked like a charm! You can read about it here. Then he weaned and I never saw it again. It's been gone like 2 years. Right before Popcorn was born, we moved. Then, literally days before she was born, I found it! I've been wearing it all the time. Today, her little roving hands finally found it. It's really smooth and feels warm because I wear it all the time.
I caught a pic of her holding it. WARNING: This is a nursing pic! If you offended by my magnificent multitasking bosom, don't scroll down!
This is a quickie post. I have some more pinning to do....
I finally got into Pintrest thanks to a friend of mine and I have been having so much fun with it today. I can't explain why it's fun; it just is. Looking at my board is like looking into my scattered brain. So far, I have created/am creating two boards. One is a women's apparel board, the "My Style" board and the other is a lifestyle board, my "Birth Board" . The birth board is like a representation of what I want my birth to be like-all five senses. I love the sharing aspect. I just pinned this hat literally 2 minutes ago and it has 4 repins already!
I'm a lister so here is a list of things I like about Pintrest:
I like that I can help spread WAHM and small businesses by showing off their cools stuff.
I like that I can get crafty ideas from others.
It's fun and gives me a valid reason to spend even more time online.
If you are on Pintrest, follow me: lilmami81
If you want an invite, just leave me your email.
