Win it Wednesday: 7/15/15

The following links are a few giveaways/contests currently happening online that end in less than a week. Good luck!

Baby wearing:

Breastfeeding:

Cloth diapering:
      Grovia hook/loop "Adventure" shell & a 2-pack of no- prep inserts,  runs July 15-July 21, 2015 at Abby's Lane Store

Gentle parenting:

Other:
     4 pack of tickets to Silverwood Theme Park, ends 7/18/15, at Take That Exit
     (1) silicone teething necklace or baby carrier accessory of your choice, ends  7/16/15, at Trendy Mommy Designs

Fun Fact Friday: USA Energy

Did you know that the United States uses 25% of the world's energy while only being 4% of the world's population? Yikes!

I didn't until a few days ago and it's been on my mind constantly since.This scary statistic is one of many tidbits of information revealed in the documentary, Drying for Freedom. If you haven't watched this film, I strongly recommend you do. I am really glad that our family air dries the cloth diapers for our youngest child, but I am inspired to do more. We currently use the below A-frame rack and it works wonderfully.

This weekend, I will be hanging a clothesline in our backyard so that can dry some of our other laundry outside.

Do you use a clothesline? Why or why not?

Win it Wednesday: 7/9/15

The following links are a few giveaways/contests I found currently happening online that end in less than a week. Good luck!

Baby wearing:
     BBTai Mei Tai, at the Facebook page of Keep Calm and Carry Them

Cloth diapering:
     
      (1) bumGenius Chico Limited Edition Freetime OS AIO, ends 7/9/15, at Diaper Junction
      $25 Kelly's Closet gift certificate, ends 7/9/15 8pm ET, at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer

Gentle parenting:

Other:

She's Crafty: Stash Jar

I admit, I am a fan of the current stache craze. Something about people acting silly & putting fancy mustaches on makes me smile. So I couldn't resist buying a set of stache vinyl shapes at a local craft store when they went on sale last month. I wasn't sure what I would exactly use them for, but that didn't bother me.

Lo and behold...Father's Day gave me the perfect opportunity to use them. I came up with the idea of making stache (stash) jars for the favorite guys in my life.

For my husband, I bought him three flavors of licorice and put each in a plastic jar with a stache on the front.

For my Father-in-law, I decided to give him a dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies in a jar. My children call him "Papa", so I used my Silhouette to cut out the words "Papa's Emergency" to put right above a picture of a {mus}stache.

After all was done, I was very happy with the results. Easy to make, fun to look at, and something I know they will both enjoy!

Fun Fact Friday: The b(r)est prevention

Breastfeeding is a natural prevention against breast cancer. 

The results of a study released by the University of Geneva shows that The longer women breastfeed the more they are protected against breast cancer.

Did you know that breastfeeding reduces the chances of not just the mother, but also the baby of developing breast cancer?

For the Mother, the risk can be reduced as much as 59% and 25% for the baby. 

How awesome is that?

 

2015 Great Cloth Diaper Change

The evidence for our location's event was submitted to the Real Diaper Association for verification and I am proud to share that it was accepted.

We had 49 pairs successfully participate in the worldwide 2015 Great Cloth Diaper Change!

Thank you and congratulations!

Greek Taco

Here is a yummy snack I created out of my kitchen on a whim. I didn't have any olives on hand (insert sad face), but if I did this baby would be stuffed with kalamata olives.

Enjoy!

~Laura

Treasure Valley Natural Parenting Expo

Next month I am hosting an event here in Southwest Idaho.

 I'm so excited to be a part of the 5th annual Great Cloth Diaper Change and am looking forward to helping to break last years world record for the number of cloth diapers changed at one time.

8,459 cloth diapers were changed at 188 locations in 18 countries on 6 continents.

How awesome is that!?!

The event for this year will be held at the Nampa Public Library on Saturday, April 18, 2015. Please visit our Facebook page for more details.

She's Crafty: Upcycled maracas

One of my favorite ways to play with my toddler is with music and movement. He really seems to enjoy making noise, like most babies. While doing some recent Spring cleaning, I realized we had quite a few empty prescription bottles laying around. They could be recycled, but instead I decided to upcycle them into toddler toys!

Note: You can definitely skip the decorating part. I choose to decorate them so my kindergartner could also play with the maracas in a different way and also work on word and number recognition skills.

Speechless...

I found this website and am IN LOVE!!! I adore the baby tees.



Click here to check out this adorable line of baby wear!

Hamster vs. human

Didn't get that hamster you wanted as a kid? No worries, this product will help your dreams come true - you just need a baby!

Yes, my friend - that is meant for a human baby.

Yes, I was using humor and sarcasm to mask my anger.

Sad. So, so sad. Why would someone who would stoop to that level of removing any form of human contact from their child even have children?

It just hurts my chest {read:heart} thinking about the poor babies that get fed that way. What can be so damn important that someone can't even take the time to hold a baby and the bottle?

Ugh. I'm so disgusted I have to go snuggle with my baby.






*This post is not in any way directed at parents of multiples that use such a device to feed their babies. Unless, said parents purposely birthed multiples. Then I feel extra sad for their children. Yes, I'm serious.

Bring me the tissues!

Normally I am a calm, unemotional person. Very few things make me cry at the drop of a hat. I was relaxing, errr researching blogs when I stumbled upon a website and came upon this beauty.



It knocked me on my feet and my eyes leaked. Wow, that was surprising. I guess I am an emotional sap, after all....at least when it comes to my children.

Looking for a good, clean time?

As a Proud Breastfeeding Mom (going on 5 1/2 years) I am always looking for ways to learn about ways to encourage other Moms. I have experienced different challenges with each child. Number one was getting comfortable NIP (Nursing in public), an incorrect latch, and some witty responses to naysayers that questioned breastfeeding past my son turning six months old. With the second child, it was colic induced by hyperlactation and pumping every day for a year and a half. Then came baby number three. She latched right away and was a constant nurser. Out of the blue, I was hit with Mastitis when she was four months old. Ugh, I hope to never experience that again.

One thing, however, remains the same. It can be hard and frustrating to find a place to NIP.

While attending a twitter party tonight, I found out about a spectacular tool for parents.

Bye Bye with Baby is a website that serves as a directory of baby-friendly places. You can search by location (radius of 5-100 miles) for locations depending on your criteria. Sure, one of the choices is Nursing/Breastfeeding, but there are other choices such as Urgent Care and Clean Gas Station. They also just created a new form on the website if you’re looking to suggest a location.

I can just imagine how helpful this site can be when planning a trip. Soon, the site will have an iPhone App. Wow!

Engorgement hurts.

Several times unfortunately I have experienced engorgement while breastfeeding.

The first time was when my 1st child was stillborn at 28 weeks. My milk came in a few days after delivering him. I had no idea what to do and my Dr. gave me no Rx or advice. So I just suffered thru it. :(

With my 2nd, I was engorged while away from him for a business conference for about five days. Along with pumping and an OTC pain reliever, I took a lot of hot showers.

With my 3rd, I was working part-time and going to school full-time while she was in child care, so I had some episodes of engorgement. I would just try to pump as often as possible when away from her.

This time (4th) I am happy to say I have only been engorged once, when I had mastitis. I used cold packs, hot showers, pumped, and tried to nurse as often as possible. It still was like carrying rocks around. Did I mention I am a size 44H? Yeah - the size of most people's heads. HUGE rocks.

I sure WISH I knew about Earth Mama Angel Baby Bosom Buddies. ugh.

Check out the EMAB Facbook page for more details. Trust me, you will want relief as soon as possible.

I'm back!

After a long hiatus ( a year), I am really excited to announce I am back. I will soon be blogging regularly here again!

What's for dinner?

My daughter may soon be sporting one of these shirts...

Beware Children’s Cough Medicines Containing A Controversial Drug | Healthy Child Healthy World

Are you ever confused by what OTC medicines really contain? I am. Almost every time my kids are sick, I worry about what I am giving them.

Is it really necessary? What are the side effects? Which product is the right one?

The last few years I have also been concerned with giving my children natural or homeopathic medicines. I feel much better buying products with natural ingredients, knowing that I don't have to worry about a recall.

The following article pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.



Beware Children’s Cough Medicines Containing A Controversial Drug | Healthy Child Healthy World

How do you feel about this? Do you have similar concerns?

Easy Peasy Back-to-School Shopping with Famous Footwear

This post brought to you by Famous Footwear. All opinions are 100% mine.

My house is abuzz with the excitement of children getting ready to go back to school. We have school supply lists, clothes to buy, and  of course, shoes to find. Sometimes the thought of buying' shoes for three kids overwhelms me, until I think of Famous Footwear.

Have you been to one of their stores? I really like that the childrens' shoes are easy to find and the store layout is nice and open. I am also impressed at their selection. Even with two daughters who have very different tastes, it is easy for me to find choices for both at Famous Footwear. Did you know that you can also order shoes at at www.famous.com and have them shipped to their favorite store for pick-up at no charge? I love that option.

On top of everything else I mentioned, Famous Footwear also has an awesome deal right now to celebrate back-to-school. It's so easy! Just print out the below coupon to get 15% off PLUS Buy One, Get One Half Off (BOGO)! This will definetely make my back-to-school shopping easier, knowing that I will have more money to spend on clothing.

BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon

In addition, if you sign up to become a Rewards Member (or if you are already a Rewards Member), your saving goes up to 20%!

Join the FREE Rewards Program -
• Earn 1 point for every $1 you spend in-store or online
• Accumulate points to earn certificates up to $100 a year
• Discount offer just for signing up
• Other special inside discounts and perk

So don't forget to print your coupon and redeem at your local Famous Footwear store until August 18, 2012.

Have fun shopping! I know I will!

World Breastfeeding Week!!

Today is the 1st day of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)!! 

I found some great deals online in honor of this week & will post more as I find them.

Motherlove More Milk Plus is today's steal on BabySteals.

Zulily has bras, pajamas, & breast pads from La Leche League.

Mom's Milk Boutique Giveaway

Have you ever checked out the website ~ Mom's Milk Boutique~ ? If not, you definitely should. MMB started as a brick & mortar store in Southern Illinois by two sisters and has since expanded to offer an online store.

To celebrate the huge number of fans they have, the ladies at MMB are holding a giveaway and one lucky person is going to win a Butterfly II Beco Baby Carrier! Click here to check it out.

Oh, and good luck!!