Pumpkin Patch

We barely squeezed in a trip to the pumpkin patch this year! We met Ryan yesterday after work at Hall Pumpkin Farm. The ground was really muddy, but Tink loved it and we got some fun pictures. I left with wet feet and ruined shoes, but Ryan bought me kettle corn, so I think I'll get over it :)

family picture

Tink's favorite part of the pumpkin patch
(I see a play house in this girl's future)

cowgirl tink

corn maze

cheese!

Seriously, can I get down?

Dad, I want this one!

mini hay maze

(Daddy's worst nightmare)

How many pictures are you going to take?

If I look really cute, can we be finished?

30, Flirty, and Thriving

What a fantastic birthday weekend! My parents came in to town and we took the girls to the zoo, carved pumpkins, and my Mom and I snuck in some shopping during nap time. Ryan came home just in time to surprise me with dinner at Twisted Root with family and friends - thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate! I also got seasons 1-5 of the Gilmore Girls, my all-time favorite show. It was a great weekend, and I was reminded how truly blessed I am. You could have never convinced me 10 years ago that at the age of 30 I would be happily married to an amazing husband, staying at home with a beautiful daughter and a son on the way, raising my family alongside my sister, living life with a fantastic group of friends and involved at a great church. Turning 30 was even better than I expected, and I can't wait to see what the coming years bring!

Ready for the zoo

We love our Papa!

Nana bought the girls an Elmo because that's the

logical souveneir to bring home from the zoo . . .

Giraffes

Elephants

What's in there?

pumpkins

Surprise!

More friends

Big sister practice

Cute cakes from my sis

Family

Family Fun

I got some great pictures from my Mom today of our visit to Oklahoma over Labor Day weekend. We always have a great time and leave feeling spoiled!

Sonic Happy Hour

Favorite toy at Nana's

"Ride the Horsey"

The beginnings of a dress-up box

Nana made us bracelets!

Very cool name puzzle benches hand-made by Papa

Swinging with Grandad

Checking out the bird bath

A sucker from Grandad's pocket

Sharing scrapbooks with my Granny

Granny and the girls

More cloth and a fantastic giveaway

So, I'm still trying to find the perfect fit for us with cloth diapers. I finally have enough in my stash to last most of the day, but haven't found one particular brand that I can't live without. There are so many choices out there, and if I had a million dollars, I would order one of each of them to find just the right one! Of course, I don't have a million dollars, which is why I am so excited about this fun giveaway! One of my friends has also been exploring cloth and told me about GroBaby. They're a cloth diaper that come with biodegradable, disposable soaker pads. I'm not a big fan of rinsing out poop in the toilet, so this is my kind of cloth diapering. You get to thow away the mess and keep the cute outer shell - it's like the best of both worlds! I'm super excited to try this diaper, and am even more excited that they're giving away a great intro package for FREE! If you want to know more about GroBaby diapers, click on this link.
http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/gro-baby-biodegradable-soaker-pads-p-745.html

30 Lessons

My Mom sent me an e-mail about celebrating life lessons as you grow older, and I thought I would post my 30 favorites in honor of turning 30.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
3. Pay off your credit cards every month.
4. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
5. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
6. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
7. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
8. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
9. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
10. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
11. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
12. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
13. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living.
14. You can get through anything if you focus on today.
15. It's never too late to have a happy childhood, but the second one is up to you and no one else.
16. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
17. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
18. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
19. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
20. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
21. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
22. What other people think of you is none of your business.
23. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
24. Believe in miracles.
25. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
26. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
27. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
28. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
29. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
30. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
(Taken from Regina Brett's 45 Life Lessons)

Mommy Time

So with all of R's travel this month, Tink has had quite a lot of "Mommy time". I'm completely worn out, but wouldn't trade it for anything, especially considering that times like this will be few and far between after her brother arrives! Last week (during a well-child visit, no less), she caught a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad stomach virus, but we survived and things are finally back to normal. I have to say that spending the night in the bathroom with your sick kiddo is one of the WORST parts of being a mom! Anyway, we've been doing lots of fun things like watching TV in our PJs, reading ten books in one sitting, taking naps in the rocking chair, eating breakfast for dinner, and looking at pictures! We've also been working on saying "please" and "thank-you", and today when I put her shoes on, she looked up at me and said "tank-oo Mommy" all by herself - melted my heart! She spent about 20 minutes under the table "reading" books (out loud) while I was cooking dinner the other night, so I'll try to add video soon.

The best part of being sick - Jell-O :)

Looking at her scrapbook

Reading in a drawer while I cook dinner :)

To cloth or not to cloth

So, for the past several months, we've been exlporing the options of cloth diapers. If you're my parents' age or haven't explored cloth diapers since we were babies, you're thinking I'm crazy! Yes, I re-use the diapers every day , and yes, I put dirty diapers in my washer, but it's not AT ALL what it used to be!

The cloth diapering community is FULL of information, choices, and opinions - each one enough to overwhelm even the most determined mom! There are hundreds of online retailers, independent companies, blogs, and websites dedicated completely to cloth diapering, and users range from full-out reusable everything, to those who still use disposables when traveling and out and about (more my style). Will you use prefolds, pocktets, or all-in-ones? How should you go about washing them? What detergent should you use? What if you encounter stains and/or smell? And what's up with all of the acronyms? There are acronyms for the type of diaper, the diaper parts, the diaper brand, and I could go on. . .

I'm all for saving money and being more environmentally friendly, especially if it's good for my kiddo, but I'm not a big fan of poop, and getting up close and personal is not my idea of a good time. After a LOT of confusion and the help of a few experienced friends, I decided to jump in and give it a try. So far, I've used only pocket diapers (a waterproof cover and soft liner with a removable "soaker" inside), but they really are convenient and have the potential to save us TONS of money! I say potential b/c we're still trying to find the best fit for us. Here's our progress so far:

We started with Bum Genius 3.0 (pink), but Tink had a reaction to the microfiber liner with a horrible rash! Apparently, this is super uncommon, and most of my friends like this brand best.

We moved on to Happy Heinys (lavendar) (did I mention that cloth diapers have some hilarious names?) She did much better with those, but they're super bulky, especially for my tiny girl!

Our next brand is going to be Green Acre Designs (orange) - I heard great things about their trim design, so I'm hoping that they will work better for us. The only downside is that they're not as adjustable, so they won't fit the new baby until he's around 22 lbs (the others are supposedly fully adjustable from 8-35 lbs - we'll see. . .)

I'm also thinking about trying Fuzzi Bunz (green). These are adjustable in the waist as well as the legs, which I think might be helpful, but my friend who has tried them wasn't a fan.

So, now that your head is spinning as much as mine, let me know what you think about cloth diapers. Have you tried them and had any luck (in the past 10 years)? Do you know anyone who has been using them for awhile? Any tips or suggestions?