Sleeping… or not.

 

You see all of these moms talking about how their babies are sleeping through the night at 2 weeks, or 2 months, or whatever. Connor, who is still more adorable than anyone else in the year, does not sleep through the night. I tried “sleep training” and he want’s nothing to do with it. I am the one who is trained. He doesn’t want to sleep in his crib- so he doesn’t. I refuse to try cry-it-out. I have read both negative and positive things about it, but it just isn’t for me. I can’t stand to listen to him cry.

You may think that I shouldn’t cave to him, he’s just a baby, and I’m the mother and I should make the rules, but I can’t. He is my only baby- he will always be my only baby. There won’t be any more kids for me and James, so I let him snuggle in the same room as us. It is the only way I get any sleep at all. He still wakes up a couple times in the night, and he’s a super heavy night wetter so I have to change his diaper at least once.

So, while I do not get a full nights sleep, I do get some sleep. Which is better than none. Even if my parenting choices seem a little off. I have a handsome, healthy, happy little man. And he loves me- I can tell by the way that he wakes up and looks at me and a smile spreads across his whole face when he sees me next to him. It’s amazing.

Cow Patties–Review and Preview!

 

So, as I have mentioned, I have an awesome giveaway coming up called: Made With Love. It is part of a HUGE event where everything in the giveaway packages are handmade by someone. When I was trying to decide what I wanted for my package, I had a brilliant thought. Have two packages! One of my amazing packages is for all of you crunchy, kinda crunchy, and wanna-be crunchy mom’s out there. A cloth diaper package. But first my review.

 

I was lucky enough to win a gift certificate to Cow Patties Cloth Diapers through Facebook. I fell in love with the name first, growing up “down South” and now being in Wisconsin, it just seemed like a very fitting name to me. When I went to select what diaper I wanted, they all looked amazing and I decided that I needed two. First up was a Marvel Hero’s diaper (which I let Daddy pick),

 

and the second was an argyle print (Joint decision between me and his Nonna). The great thing was Cow Patties offers a $3 discount if you supply your own fabric! I supplied this awesome argyle:

 

These diapers are awesome! I purchased the two all in two diapers with two additional inserts. They are super absorbent after being “treated” (read washed a few times) and they have a very nice, trim fit, even though the insert is nice and big! When they are folded you can get 8 layers of absorbency!

(Images borrowed from the Cow Patties Facebook Page)

My little monster seems to like to wear them, I love the snaps, as I am too lazy to use velcro and never remember to fold down the laundry tabs. Then they get gross and hard to close.The other thing that I really like about these is the fact that they are my first non-pocket diaper, I can unsnap the insert and just reuse the cover! It’s awesome! These diapers are also really well made, when they arrived the package was in good condition, and the diapers and inserts were without any dangling threads or strange fuzzies. Always a plus. The customer service that you get from Megs really rocks, she put up with my crazy schedule and was really patient with me when I forgot to mail in my fabric. (oops) You do have to pay in advance before your custom orders will be made, but the turn around time if very quick, and she does her best to keep you posted on how it’s going, plus you get to see a picture of your diaper before it ships out to you! The only thing that I would like better is if plain colors were available for the insides of the diapers instead of prints, but I heard that was coming soon, so I really don’t have anything to complain about! Overall I give these awesome WAHM diapers a 10 out of 10! So go now and order some!  The one size AI2 is a very reasonably prices $14, and extra inserts are only $2 each!

Check out Cow Patties Facebook Page, blog, and online store. to se their awesome selections!

As an added bonus Cow Patties has generously donated two items to our made with love giveaway! So go like them now to be ahead of the game when it comes time for the giveaway! Here’s a sneak peek:

                                       

This is the print for the AI2 diaper!                                            This is the awesome cover!!

Fashionista Winner! and our next giveaway!

 

The Fashonista giveaway event is over! We had a winner who claimed her prize, Jennifer S. Congratulations! I hope you enjoy your prizes! Fret not those of you who did not win, there is another event coming in the spring! How exciting.

For those of you who just can’t wait, next month I am participating in the Made With Love giveaway event. We have a custom art piece from A Tender Yen who does beautiful work. I am also working very very hard to put together a cloth diapering package for you! I am reaching out to a few different work at home parents, who make cloth diapers and supplies to see if I can get a “Cloth Diapering Basics” package together. Wish me luck! I am trying very very hard! Cloth diapering is something that I am super passionate about, and I hope that I can spread that love to others. It really isn’t much harder than disposables, but the cost savings and other benefits are so amazing! My little guy just turned 9 months and has never had a diaper rash, he already knows when he is wet, and has figured out a way to communicate that to me. It is sooo cool! So cross your fingers that we can get the second package together. It has to be a value of $50, so I need a few items together. If you happen  to be a WAHM who would like to donate, please get in touch with me!

Check back soon for my first recipe post! I promise it’s a good one!

Fall Fashonista–My First Giveaway!

If you are new to my blog (dollars to doughnuts you are!) WELCOME! I am happy to have you here! My blog is a work in progress, When I finally figure out what I am doing I hope to have updates at least twice a week with recipes and a giveaway one day and my usually baby blabbing on another.
I was going to do a test run of a giveaway, but unfortunately that did not happen. However that does mean that my very first giveaway is part of an amazingly awesome event! The Fall Fashonista Giveaway hosted by Shelley Zurek, The Chief Blonde at Still Blonde after all these YEARS and Ellen leFleche-Christian http://the-socialites-closet.blogspot.com/ So let’s get to what you got here for!

For each Fashionista giveaway an entrant enters, they will gain an entry into the grand prize drawing.  The Grand Prize is a Fendi bag sponsored by Bella Bags!  Awesome Right?  And YOU can  qualify to win this prize too if you enter giveaways in the event.

My Prizes:
I received an amazing hat from Debutant Designs and I asked her if it would be possible for me to review and give one away. I will tell you that this woman does AMAZING work and I am so glad to be one of her customers. This is my (well it used to be mine but my mom stole it) non slouchy beanie hat.


                 Awesome Detail                                                             It wears so well!

This one could be yours! Okay, not really *this* one because you get to choose what color you want, but you know what I mean! After you check out her facebook, you can check out her etsy too! http://www.etsy.com/shop/debutantdesigns  YOU CAN GET ANY HAT IN ANY SIZE OR COLOR!

For this event she is giving away a hat and scarf set with a value of $30 It is an adult slouchy beanie hat and a scarf.  These will be custom made in any color or colors you like! These are so cute,I wish I could win! Also for this giveaway we have my website The Feisty Monkey with an amazing 100% cotton patchwork shirt from Kathmandu Imports. Making this prize package a $51 value!