You Are My Sunshine!

My only sunshine...

And with sunshine comes beautiful, blooming flowers!

 Marissa's Halloween costume!

 Our little flower girl

 

Hiding from the paparazzi (AKA Mommy) 

Too cool!  Ahh, I wish I could stay home with Marissa and play dress up, color, bake and spend time together as she grows.  I'm really going to miss her when I go back to work...so in the meantime I am going to soak up the next 3 weeks with her!

Cloth Diapers

We have been cloth diapering now since the first week Marissa has been home from the hospital. I must say, I love them and they really work well for us. I'm actually excited to say that I've had several friends inquire about my cloth diaper use. So I would like to compile some helpful information and I hope that others make the switch to cloth...we have colors! :-D

Here are a few helpful websites with diapering options, accessories needed, how to wash and care for your diapers and FAQ's:

Eco Friendly Family

Pin Stripes and Polka Dots


And here are a few websites that I buy my cloth from:

Abby's Lane 

Abby's Lane is a diaper shop located in Virginia.  They have free shipping and super fast delivery for Virginia residents (I can't speak for other states).


Jillian's Drawers


They have a cloth diaper trial you can do for $10.00.  Try their products and if you love them you will know what you want to invest your money in, if you don't love them, send them back for a refund!  Easy, peasy!


Kelly's Closet

So you might be wondering what products I suggest, please keep in mind this is what works for us and you may or may not like the same things.

Currently in my "stash" I have pocket diapers, All In Ones (AIO) and prefolds with covers.  We have diapers with velcro, diapers with snaps and diapers that you use with a snappi.

The brands that I have are BumGenius, SmartiPants, FuzziBunz, Thirsties covers and Rumparooz!  I actually just placed an order last week for the new BumGenius version 4.0 in snaps.  Honestly, I don't have a favorite yet.  Up until about a week or two ago, I was mostly using prefolds and thristies covers since Marissa hadn't grown into her pocket diapers yet.  So far, I have no complaints with any of the brands that I have.  I think I do prefer snaps (even though they are a little more time consuming than velcro) but I think they will hold up better over time.

Here's a list of other products and supplies that I recommend:

• A wet bag for on the go (I really like Planet Wise wet bags, they come in cute patterns and I have a medium and small bag)
• I have two Planet Wise pail liners (in pink and brown to match the nursery)
• A regular flip top kitchen trash can (flip top so that you can leave it open and let the diapers get air to keep stink
• Essential oils in your favorite scents (I love lavender, I put some in the washing machine and also put a few drops in the bottom of the pail liner to keep things smelling fresh) 
• Cloth wipes are great too!  
• I use Allen's Naturally Detergent (which is also HE front loader safe)
• I highly recommend Grandma El's (cloth diaper safe) rash cream.  Love, love, LOVE this stuff (even if you don't cloth diaper)!  It smells good, a little bit goes a long way and Marissa's butt is so smooth and clear when I use it.  I try to use it a few times a day just to keep her bum nice and dry but anytime she gets any kind of rash it clears up in no time at all. 
• A box of baking soda (I sprinkle a little in the bottom of the pail liner to also help keep things fresh)
• Fleece Liners (I went to our local fabric store and bought a few yards of no pill white fleece and cut them into rectangles to use as liners in all of my pocket diapers.  It's not really necessary but it does help to protect the diapers from stains and fleece is a nice stay dry barrier for heavy wetters.  I especially like using the liners at night since Marissa is sleeping longer stretches).
• White Distilled Vinegar and Wool dryer balls.  I have actually stopped using fabric softener on all of our laundry.  Not only does it contain lots of chemicals, it makes clothing more flammable and it isn't cloth diaper safe.  As an alternative, I fill my fabric softener dispenser (on my washing machine) with plain white distilled vinegar (adding a few drops of essential oils to make it smell good) and use wool dryer balls in the dryer. 
• Sun!  Yep, the sun works MIRACLES on stains (and it disinfects them, too)!  Just hang your clean, wet diapers in the sun to dry and your stains will magically disappear, no joke!

Cloth diapering has become an addiction for me.  I love the cute colors and it makes me feel so good that I'm not contributing to landfill waste, I'm saving a ton of money and I'm not putting harmful chemicals on Marissa's bottom.  So, will you make the switch!?

Lazy Sundays Are For...

...Redskins football...

 A little home decorating...

 Love how it turned out!

 

And baby talk with Daddy!

We woke up this morning at 5:00 am to go say goodbye to Danny's sister.  They are en route to Ohio and we figured we would see them off and wish them a safe trip.

With that being said and with waking up at 5:00, lazy Sundays are also good for naps and blogging, of course!  After the game we will be picking some crabs, drinking beer and then resuming our positions on the couch for the day.  :-D

Last night we had some friends over to watch the Capitals game.  I opened my first bottle of wine since I've had Marissa and I must say it was tasting pretty good!  It was nice to catch up with friends (I hope we didn't talk your ears off, Kristin).  To be honest, we haven't seen many of our friends since having Marissa.  It's not that we don't want to see our friends, it's just harder to find the time.  It's a lot easier for friends to come visit us, that way we aren't dragging Marissa out at all hours of the night in the cold and messing with her bedtime routine.  Plus, we are old folks now and can't party like we used to (nor do I have ANY desire to have a hang over any time soon). 

Do You Follow Me?

Well, my one and only "follower" has seemed to drop off the grid, deleting her blog and disappearing from the blogger world (what's up with that?!). So, I'm curious, do you follow my blog? I have a hit counter that shows I have daily hits, but I don't have any followers. So, if you check out my blog on occasion, follow me so that I know who's reading and leave a comment if you'd like. Let me know if there's anything you would like to see more of, whether it be sweet Marissa, cloth diapering, the pups, crafts, cooking and recipes or whatever interests you!

Most days I feel like I am just writing to myself and forget that there might actually be people out there reading what's going on in my mind! Now that's scary! :)

27 Years Ago...

...My husband came into the world!  I'm so thankful to have him and can't believe this is his 5th birthday that we've shared together.  Time sure is flying!  Today I baked him his favorite cake, strawberry with cream cheese icing and we are having his parents over for a seafood dinner.  I made crab cakes for the first time, so I hope they turn out, we're also having baked flounder, hush puppies, steamed shrimp and scallops.  Yum-o!

 Look at our cute little family!

Marissa and I wished Daddy a happy birthday this morning and saw him off to work.  Then we did tummy time, took pictures and played with some toys.

 

I got Danny a Redskins jersey for his birthday.  I finally converted him!  We are going to the Redskins and Buccaneers game in December, so I figured he needed a jersey to wear to the game.  He used to be a Buccaneers fan so it is pretty cool that we'll be going to that game.  I guess he is technically still a fan, but most of the Buccs games don't air here so it was hard for him to watch the games and keep up with them.  I'm really excited for the game (thanks mom and dad for the early Christmas present).  :-D

Look at this cutie!

Need I say more?

Marissa is all ready for Halloween thanks to her grandparents!  Danny's parents got her this little sleeper and my parents got her this bib.

And yes, she is so cute it's scary!

Yesterday Danny and Marissa were playing together and Danny was blowing on her face.  Every time he blew on her face, she would raise her arms up like she was flying.  It was the funniest thing ever!

 It looked like she was trying to fly away.  She also likes to mimic Daddy.  He will coo at her and she will coo back.  A.freaking.adorable!!!

We got our professional newborn photos back of Marissa.  They turned out really well, even though Marissa didn't cooperate very much.  It is recommended that newborn photos are taken within the first two weeks because they sleep a lot.  We kind of missed that window, so we worked with her sleep (or not so much sleep) schedule.

It's a rainy day so it seems like a good idea to snuggle up on the couch, drink coffee and spend the day with my little girl.

Where We've Been...

We've been busy these past few weeks.  Last Monday Danny had a guys night out and went to a Capitals game in DC.  I decided it would be a good time to head to the Valley and spend a few days with my parents.  We didn't do too much, they mostly just soaked in as much time as they could with Marissa.  Dad took me on a 4-wheeler ride to see the sun set over the mountains, it was beautiful!

 

 Rise and Shine!  No sleeping in around here.

 

 Hi, Grandpup!

But before heading to the Valley, we had to make a few pit stops.  Marissa got to meet her great grandmother, Mam, for the first time.  Then we stopped to have lunch with the Cierra and Sara (Danny had a night with the guys, so I had a day with the girls)!  Sara is pregnant with a baby boy and is due in February.  I can't wait to meet her little bundle of joy, Isaac James.  I'm so happy for her and her husband, Drew.  

 

 Marissa was very good at our lunch date.  She ate, slept and watched ceiling fans.

 

Sara glowing with pregnancy.

After a few days with my parents, it was time to pack up and head home.  We both missed Danny and he missed us, too!  

This past weekend we went to a going away dinner for "Auntie C" in Berryville.  Her grandmother made lots of delicious food and we had a great time socializing (and showing off Marissa, of course).  On the way up it kind of hit me that my best friend is moving half way around the world to South Korea for a year.  Cierra and I have been friends since the third grade, she's always been there for me when I needed her and I don't have another friend like her.  It's going to be really hard to see her go, but I know she'll be back in no time and I think she's going to have a great time exploring a new culture and lifestyle.  

Another week has come and gone.  Marissa is 7 weeks old today!  I have 5 weeks of maternity leave left.  Still looking for that miracle job that will allow me to stay home, ha, ha...wishful thinking!

Yesterday the Skins played the Colts.  It was a close game, but we couldn't come up with the win.