Ah, internets!! We're on vacation in Mississippi visiting my husband's family and childhood friends. It's the deep south! I was worried that Brendon might start really talking and end up with a southern drawl, but I don't think that's very likely. But anyways, the town we're staying in doesn't have high speed internets, or 3G coverage to use my phone. I mamnage to skimp along for email and facebook and reading blogs, but that's it. We went to some other town for a get-together and this town gas 3G! I've got so much to say, so I'd better get started before the 3G goes away. I'll wrote tidbits now, so I remember what I want to say when we get back home.
First, I was brave and travelled with cloth diapers. I pondered over it for a long time: do I bring them all; do I bring my laundry soap or just stick to vinegar and baking soda; do I chicken out and use disposables; do I put BAM in cloth diapers to travel in; is there a washer and drier handy? That washer/drier was a deal buster. If there was not, then no go. But there is one here and the vinegar baking soda is working great (with arm & hammer detergent). We went half the way in cloth, but I didn't want to have to stop so often so my clothies don't leak. And I'm still using disposables at night, but that might change. I found affordable cloth diapers! Like less than $10 for an all in one!
So far it's going really well. I like the most recent cover I made. It's wider in the crotch, so the prefolds sit inside the PUL rather than on top. Does that make sense? I'd have made another one, but I'm out of Velcro :( I brought my fleecies, and even had a chance to use them on my niece. She had a poopy diaper and her mommy and daddy were gone. I looked for those diapers as much as I could without peeking through their suitcases. So I grabbed the newest one of Brendon's and a fleecie. At first she didn't care, but after a while, she stated checking to see what that thing was between her legs.
Man, I misses posting this while we still had 3G. Meh, might as well keep going, huh.

One more thing, I'm working on Tata's quilt during the kids naptime, and it's going well. The binding (hand stitched binding!!) is about 1/2 of the way done. Then I just need to machine quilt the squares. I might send it to mom to do that. She offered to help, just depends if she has her machine around.

That's it. Until 3G again!

Tom's of Maine: Natural Toothpaste and Mouthwash

This post brought to you by Toms of Maine. All opinions are 100% mine.

I once overheard someone saying that if you don't want to eat it, why would you put it on your body. She was referring to deodorant and lotion and such. That makes sense, because even though you're not ingesting it, whatever you apply to your body does get absorbed. Tom's Of Maine has dedicated themselves to producing natural personal care products.

They carry deodorant, mouthwash, toothpaste, soap and dental floss. I never thought about dental floss as something that needs to be natural, but they have it!

When I checked out their website, the first think i noticed was the pictures. They look very personal, but I kept going. I checked out their toothpaste. I'm super picky about my toothpaste. I've used toothpaste that seems to only make your mouth taste slightly minty, and I've used toothpaste that leaves you feeling like an atomic bomb went off in there. Tom's of Maine claims to fix that. Their Wicked Fresh!™ Long-lasting Fresh Breath Toothpaste gives you cavity protection and uses powerful natural flavor oils and a patent-pending botanical extract to provide long-lasting fresh breath. So, no worries for atomic burn or slightly minty. :D

Tom's of Maine also makes some great mouthwash, that helps stop bad breath without the burn. Tom's of Maine's great tasting Wicked Fresh!™ Mouthwash refreshing mint flavors leave your whole mouth feeling clean. Again, no atomic bomb going off in your mouth!

Perhaps you've heard of and tried Tom's of Maine? If so, you'll want to check this out. You can share your Wicked Fresh moments for a chance to win Wicked Fresh!™ Prizes at the That's Wicked Fresh contest page.

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to try it, I'm still waiting for Tom's of Maine to get back to me, but I'm really excited to be able to try it. I'll let you know if I do get some and if I like it as much as I think I will. :)

To keep yourself updated with what Tom's of Maine is doing, I advise you to follow Tom’s of Maine on Facebook and on Twitter @TomsofMaine.You never know what you might find!

Christmas tree, presents, diaper

I thought I'd share a picture of Brendon's Christmas diaper. I've had this one waiting so it'd be clean for tonight for ever!

Side note: I still don't like blogger's picture loader thingy. Ugh. 

Happier note: I love my baby's fluffy butt!

Merry Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas songs, sung by an a capella group called Glad:

In the First Light

In the first light of a new day no one knew he had arrived
Things continued as they had been while a newborn softly cried
But the heavens wrapped in wonder knew the meaning of his birth
In the weakness of a baby they knew God had come to earth

As his mother held him closely it was hard to understand
That her baby, not yet speaking, was the word of God to man
He would tell them of his kingdom but their hearts would not believe
They would hate him and in anger they would nail him to a tree

But the sadness would be broken as the song of life arose
And the firstborn of creation would ascend and take his throne
He had left it to redeem us but before his life began
He knew he'd come back, not as a baby, but as the Lord of every man

Hear the angels as they're singing on the morning of his birth
But how much greater will our song be when he comes again to earth
Hear the angels as they're singing on the morning of his birth
But how much greater will our song be when he comes to rule the earth!

It gets me every time I hear it. Oh, I need a tissue... 
{happiness}

I'm a big kid now!

So, Brendon's crib is no longer a crib, but a toddler bed. He actually did really good with bedtime. He went down with no fuss at all, and I crossed my fingers that he would fall asleep quickly. I was down stairs when I heard the pitter-patter of feet and the creak of the door. *sigh* at least there's a baby gate in front of his doorway, so he won't get loose, and I baby toddler Brendon-proofed his room this afternoon. I kept waiting for him to cry to throw his pacifier over the gate, but he never did. I started up the steps then I heard *little feet running*. I peeked in on him and told him he needed to stay in bed and go to sleep. Back down stairs I went.
We repeated this once or twice more. I thought it was so cute that he didn't even whimper, he just stood there. I have no clue what he was trying to do, but every time I went upstairs he'd run back into bed. So I stayed upstairs on the bed.
He got up once more, this time I let him stand there. He stood there silently for about 10 minutes, then for about 5 minutes, he whimpered a little. Not crying/whining, but more of a grunting with his pacifier in his mouth. It started to get worse, so I knew he was getting tired. I would be too! I led him back to bed with a little persuasion. He stayed in bed for a while longer and was so quiet, I thought he had finally fallen asleep, so I went downstairs. I guess the creaky stairs reminded him that he was still awake, and he creeped back out. *creak* went the door. I went up stairs and had a "discussion" with him, and he ended up crying big sobbing tears, so I knew he was so tired. It'd been an hour at this point.
So I took him back to bed and dried his tears and climbed in to bed with him. I facebooked and messaged a friend about this and that while he lied next to me falling asleep. Oh, I was texting Mark too, about where I might be when he came home. FINALLY he was drowsy enough for me to slip away without him caring. There's a mattress next to his bed, toys in the off position, babygate at his doorway, and a towel to keep the door from latching just awaiting his arousal in the morning. I fear he might wake early and be too excited to put himself back to sleep.
But we have embarked on a journey that is not to be undone. Wish us luck! Next mountain, pacifier free! Coming early 2011!

No, there's no physical problems why we are moving our baby-turned-big-boy from all these baby associated items. We just feel that somethings are ready to move on. Brendon was climbing up and down the couches, doing steps up and down, so we felt as if he would safely sleep in a toddler bed. That's all.

Christmas Blessings

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and encouragement during these past few days. I did miscarry the baby and our angel is back in the arms of Jesus. I had written this post and planned to publish it with an entirely different mood, but God's thoughts are better than mine and has better plans. At the doctor's office, my doctor said something that is kinda hit me a little, but it's true. She goes, "Once you start talking about miscarriages, you find out that more people have had them then you know. No one talks about them, because it sucks." And it does, but I know I have a great web of friends and family around me, just waiting if we need anything. Thank you, all, again. {love}


On December 5th, I wrote:

our Christmas blessing

I'm writing this at the beginning of December, but I'm not actually going to post it until after January. Why? Because I don't want to spoil it, and because announcing one's pregnancy via blog to family is probably not going to get on their good side.
Yup, Brendon is going to be a big brother by the middle of August. I'm picking out "the shirt" for him to wear around Mark's parents, and I think I'll buy a present for my parents to open while we video chat with them.
I just hope it all works out and turns out cool rather than dorky.

Question of the Week

From the Cloth Diaper Whisperer:
Do you ever coordinate cloth diapers with clothing?

Head over to the Cloth Diaper Whisperer and leave your answer before Thursday, Dec.23rd at 7pm EST for a chance to win a FuzziBunz!