and we're back in the game!!!!

cloth diapers...ohhhh how I've missed thee! since within 10 weeks we were adding a 4 person to our family and moving to another state we decided that once Violet was born we would take a "cloth diaper vacation" until we got settled in Texas...then we would get Violet in cloth and Piper potty trained! well Friday we pulled out our diaper tub and put Violet in her first cloth:) they look so cute on her ;) I am so glad to be starting them! I was getting SUPER tired of buying diapers!!!!

next....the potty training adventure begins!!!! ANY ADVICE??!!

my friends and their thoughs....

i admit it...im not much of a writer...i have so many views, thoughts, feelings that i just am not good at getting them to "paper"....but i have very talented friends that are great writers... so when i read something that i really connect to...i just steal from them... :)

my awesome friend Katie wrote this....

"Judgment~
I've been wanting to blog about this for awhile and have been trying to decide which angle to address it from because let's face it...as soon as I throw out a belief I have or a parenting choice I've made, people reading this have an opinion of me and they will judge me based on that opinion. It's really hard not to, and I get it because I do it too. Usually I don't mind when I feel judged by others because I'm pretty confident in my choices...but still. Mothers judge other mothers. Maybe not out loud, but they do in their head every day. And how can you not? Obviously the choices you make for your family are the ones you feel are right, so if someone else does it differently, it seems wrong.

For the most part I truly believe that you have to do whatever works for you and your family (different strokes for different folks right?) and I try not to give unsolicited advice or opinions UNLESS someone asks me and then I will be more than happy to ramble on. I am blessed to know many moms and babies and we don't all do things the same. In fact, by getting to know them, I have come to respect many of the differences that we have and the choices we have made. I've also learned that you can find solid research to back up whatever choice you want to support, you just have to decide which side to listen to!

I am truly blessed to know people who......
had planned pregnancies, unplanned pregnancies
had natural births, medicated births, c-sections, home births
circumcise their boys, didn't circumcise, vaccinate, don't vaccinate
co-sleep, use a crib, use a floor bed
breastfeed infants, breastfeed toddlers, use formula,
use doctors, use chiropractors, use acupuncturists
cloth diaper, use disposables, use elimination communication (you're googling aren't you)
are working moms, are stay at home moms, etc.

Becoming a mother has made me feel more judged by others and also made me more judgmental. At the same time though being a mom has helped me see that there aren't always black and white decisions...some things are gray...and some things that I think are black and white, I'm learning to shrug and say "agree to disagree"! Some days I can celebrate the differences, but some days I do find myself thinking that I know best.

I don't know if I have a point to this post other than rambling my thoughts (and hey it's something deeper than a cute pic of my kid with a fun title), but I guess I'm wondering do all moms feel this way? What do you do when you start to feel judgmental towards others? What do you do when people say judgmental things to you? Inquiring minds want to know!"

woooo-hoooo!

we are tv stars!!! :) thanks to my friend Chellie for such a fun experience!!

Watch the clip *here*

watch it!!....

piper and i will be on channel 4 tomorrow night for the 6pm news segment...we will be during the "saving a buck" part....you better watch it!!! ;)

DO IT!!!

lesson in parenting...

the day piper turned 6 months old was a Sunday... It being such a special day, i dressed Piper up in the sweetest pink and black striped shirt with a bow and black leggings...before we left we looked in the mirror and i told her how beautiful she looked :) When we got to church as usual piper was sitting on my lap as i Internet surfed while daddy was running around getting ready for the morning...all of a sudden i "feel" her pooping i immediately stand up to go get her bag to change her...the second i stood up i looked down and.....poop was oozing out the back of her leggings...i am not joking...oozing!! I panicked!!!! I yelled for Jake and told him we had a major crisis!! we ran out of the room *like crazy-first-time-parents-style* took her to a Sunday school class room and stripped her down! At this point her beautiful pink and black striped shirt and leggings were COVERED in poop! It took practically an entire tub of wipes to clean her up...by this point i realized...being the mother of the year that i am...that i did not have a change of clothes with me!!!!!!!! I have never carried around a change of clothes with me!?! In 6 months, nothing like this has ever happened!?! I *in tears* looked to Jake and told him that i had to take this precious *poopie* little naked girl out in the freezing cold to take her home for new clothes :( when Jake reminded me just to run down to the nursery, they have reserve clothes for this very occasion! OHHH thank goodness!!! So *naked* piper and i go to the nursery...and this is what the had for my little birthday girl....


I was a little embarrassed to think that people were thinking i was the kind of mom, that puts her beautiful little girl in a blue, over sized, Eskimo Joe's, sweatshirt onsie for church (i promise im not!)....but at the same time overwhelmed with gratitude to the lades at the nursery front desk who helped a un-prepared momma in a time of need (they are blog readers...so THANK YOU!!)...so the lesson....
-always have an extra set of clothes with you...ALWAYS!! :)

by the way...i still thought she was beautiful!! :)

pipers diapers...

been doing diaper laundry today...just thought i needed to show the fruits of my labor :)....

ohhh this is also the fruit of my labor ;)

I am thankful for....

1.my best friend and love...jacob
2.my heart outside of my body...piper
3.the grace and forgiveness of my savior
4.two paid for working cars
5.pipers nap time
6.e-mealz
7.my super cute and cozy home
8.my parents happiness
9.dave ramsey
10.the dr.sears book series
11.pipers smile
13.piper and i's playgroup (aka...adult conversation)
14.moby wraps and slings
15.redbox
16.cloth diapers, breast milk, hand me down clothes...and everything else that makes having a baby cost practically nothing!
17.my sweet doggy...annabelle
18.midwives
19.modern family, afv, the office, the middle, big bang theory...
20.the fact that i have wonderful in-laws (and sister-in-law!!)
21.james taylor
22.jacobs job
23.white noise application on jakes iphone (it has saved us from a lot of screaming car rides)
24.the fact that i can easily stay at home with piper.
25.blogger...having so much of piper life documented is so amazing!
and much more then i could ever list....i am very blessed...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!!!!

wipes recipe

we have officially used up all our disposable wipes from our shower and gifts...which has forced me to start using our cloth wipes :) which has turned out to be much much easier then I ever thought! We are using the kissaluvs organic wipes and are loving them so far! We have been only using water for the past week...but i know that Pipers little bum needs more for cleaning...so a friend of mine gave me a recipe we are going to try. If you have a different one that you love...please share!

2 TBSP Baby Wash (choose a natural wash!)
2 TBSP Olive Oil , tea tree oil, or baby oil
2 Cups water Mix well in a spray bottle or your wipes box. Spritz on wipe before using if in spray bottle. Swish solution around over wipes if using a wipes box.

Happy 2 months!!

-you are smiling lots...and even giggling a little
-you are out of mommy and daddies bed and sleeping great at night in your co-sleeper
-you still LOVE your moby wraps, and now even face out sometimes.
-you LOVE to nurse and in the evenings sometimes you need "mommy time" every hour!
-you are generally a happy baby and really only fuss when you are tired or want to nurse.
-you hold your head up like a champ!
-you are still pretty little, and very long! I think your going to be a model!
-when you are held (unless your sleepy) you like to be facing out to see the world
-you are offically in your cloth diapers 99% of the time...pre-folds and covers during the day and your bumGenious at night, and a disposible here and there when mommy is in a hurry out in public :)
-you snort all the time. We think that is from Daddy's side.
-you have been great when we go to the dollar movies, although you sleep through all of them, as you are snug in your Moby.
-you still wake at least once in the middle of the night to feed.
-you have just started sittning in your Bumbo for short amounts of time.
-you are still a big James Taylor fan.

We look forward to see how you change each month. Until then, we will enjoy watching you perform for us. Hopefully we will be able to catch your performances on camera like we have your first two acts below.

two reminders...

1. how awesome Randy Coleman is...
2. how beautiful Piper Ann is...

the love of GREAT grandparents!

Piper is blessed to have 3 sets of great grandparents to love her!!




Buzz and Sally...thanks for taking such good care of Piper before we were blessed with her presence. Sally, i know you were helping God mold her into the beautiful little girl she is!

Memaw and Papaw...Piper can not WAIT to meet you...she talks about it all the time! ;)

cloth,cloth and more CLOTH!!! :)

our diaper stash.... :)

i always thought i was crunchy....

now facebook has proven it....I took the "what is your parenting style" quiz today...and this was the result...

Your Result: Kind Of Crunchy

You lean more toward Attachment Parenting, natural births, homepathic remedies, and living green! You tend to question modern medicine and mainstream parenting. You tend to delay vaccines or use an alternate schedule. You aren't bothered by the fact that people tend to question your parenting style. You feel strongly about the way you're raising your kids. You believe that it's our duty to make the earth a better place for our children by being more eco-friendly. You buy organic foods whenever you can and you use cloth diapers or seriously considered it. You've also considered homeschooling. When people see you with your baby you're usually wearing her in a sling or wrap. You tell new moms who complain about lack of sleep to try co-sleeping with baby and let them know how much you loved co-sleeping. You believe in breastfeeding and baby led weaning, but to a point. And you'll nurse in public but modesty is important to you. You aren't afraid to disagree with your Dr about delaying solids or vaccines. You don't like to let your baby cry and cry-it-out methods make you cringe. However, if nothing else is working you are willing to try it once the baby reaches a certain age. You read different books about parenting and take what you feel will work for you and your family. You tend to believe in trusting your instincts when it comes to raising your kids.

what do you think?? sound like me?? :)

GIVE IT TO ME!!!!....

the start of my cloth diaper obsession....

My first cloth diapers!!! the two newborn ones were giving to me from my dear friend Amy, and i got the large one on craigs list...these particular ones are called gDiapers which are great, because they can be used as a 100% cloth diaper, by putting a traditional pre-fold inside the gDiaper OR....for more convenience (which we will use for babysitters, church nursery, and trips) you can buy biodegradable liners to go inside the gDiaper to just throw away once soiled! AWESOME HUH?!!