Support from other parents I think is very important. I feel like I do get good support from other moms that I know and even some moms that I don't quite know. But I do have to say that I have seen a lot of parents who could maybe do a little better in that department.

It all started when my father in law was asking me if I felt pressure because these days it seems like things are so strict when raising a baby. Like baby is suppose do this at this age or don't give that to baby or baby should eat this. But I actually told him that what gives me stress is when other parents ask me things and I think it's them being nice but they are just trying to one up us on everything. If I say my baby is 20 months old then they say he looks small meanwhile they are both 7ft tall and their 2 year is already like 4ft. So yes my average sized baby is going to look small. Or if I say my baby walked at 13 months their baby walked at 7. Well I'm exagerating but I've had people say things like to me. I have heard a lot of moms say things like this at our play group. My favorite is when I see a new mom clearly tired someone asks how her baby is sleeping she says not so good and then of course their baby sleeps 12 hours straight. Wow I'm sure that makes another mom feel great.

Just yesterday my husband was at a neighbors yard talking to a mom and her two little ones. These neighbors we never really met and we know everyone except for them because they tend to keep to themselves. Now she works from home and her husband is home as well and their kids go to daycare. Ethan was shy because he's never met them and she's talking about how she's so happy her kids go to daycare because of socialization. I go out of my way to make sure he is around other kids all the time. He is just like me I'm quiet when I first meet someone. Since when is there anything wrong with that?  But I must say that I'm proud of my husband for what he said next.

Husband - Do you consider me social? My husband is the most talkative and the least shy person I know.

Neighbor - Yes

Husband - Well I never went to daycare a day in my life.

Ha! This is exactly what I mean what the hell is the point of saying something like this when you see my son is being shy. Well moms and dads the stresses of keeping up with other kids is coming from you!!! Not play group teachers, babysitters but you. Let us all do a better job of supporting one another. I'm not saying that all parents are at fault because I do get and hear a lot of positives out there but we can do better.

You know I get that people want to let everyone know how great their child is doing. Sometimes it would be better if parents give a little more support to other parents out there. Telling someone that their child is cute or telling them how great he's/she's doing works better. I try and say that to parents but I do wish I heard that a little more. Not just to me but to other parents as well.  It's amazing all the things I overhear when I'm at Ethan's play groups. So next time you are giving another parent info on your child ask them about their child and just say "that's great."

I am very happy to announce that my little man has finally been baptized. I am very proud and happy for this moment in his life. We had a very special day yesterday with him and our family. It was a lot of planning and a bit stressful at times but of course it was all worth it. Everything turned out great.

Congrats to my son who I absolutely love and adore.

20 months

My boy is now 20 months old. He is the most loving little guy ever and he is learning so much. He is repeating everything I say and is still a very busy little boy. Going out to eat or even the grocery store has become a bit of a challenge but it has been fun at the same time. At this age they are so funny, curious I absolutely love it.

New words
Potatoe in Spanish
Christian
Elmo
Open
Up
Cookie

Favorite things to do
Play in his little swimming pool
Loves to color
Loves to go for walks

Favorites foods
Fruit
Grilled cheese
Rice cake snacks
Yogurt

Happy 20 months to my Ethan.

currently happening

So I've been super busy this summer and my posts have slowed down but I will do my best to keep them going.

So currently Ethan is getting baptized this weekend so I'm preparing for that. I am so happy this is finally going to happened. I would have done it sooner but his godfather to be lives across the country. It's been a little difficult to find shoes for him I must say. It's been a very hot summer so I found a nice cotton white romper for him to wear which is great because he will be comfy in that. So for shoes he will just be wearing a pair of white fisherman sandals which I'm happy with especially in this weather. The only other option for him was those high top white dress shoes and that just wouldn't work.

Also happening in my life at the moment is me finding out that my mom has type 2 diabetes. This has me so worried about her. My parents mean the world to me so I just want both of them to be healthy. Now my mother is skinny so I never thought of her getting this disease. But apparently you do not have to be overweight to get the disease. She had to make a few changes but she is doing much better now. 

I'm also preparing for a wedding that I am in which will be in about a month. So I'm getting the dress altered today and making appointments for hair, make up and nails. And as soon as I make arrangements for someone to watch Ethan everything will be all set. Being in a wedding these days requires quite a bit of work so to finally have the wedding is a great celebration of all the hard work that everyone put in. That's of course in addition to the real reason we will all be there which is because these two people fell in love and decided to spend the rest of their moments together. 

So I will be updating you all soon all on everything with pictures of course. Have a wonderful weekend.

4th of July

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. We had a great 4th and a pretty good weekend. We had a picnic at a lake with some friends and family. That was fun but let me tell you 19 months is a hard age. He's just into everything and has absolutely no fear. I ended up just chasing him the whole day. So although these family outings are nice they just make me more tired. The lakes and parks are obviously not baby proofed and he would never stay in a stroller or anything for long.

The weekend was nice because we went to another lake but it was just the three of us and it was nice to have alone family time. Sometimes I feel like I don't get to have these special experiences with Ethan when there are other family members around because they always take him off my hands for a while. The bad thing about that is that I'm always just taking care of him and I don't always get to do the fun stuff alone with him like playing in the sand, bringing swimming but I guess it is nice to have some mommy relaxing time.

We also went to a local town pool which was nice cause he got to play with other kids and we got to spend some time with family and friends again. Also it's been hot and humid so we needed some pool time for sure. We are definitely going to do some swim lessons with Ethan but we are waiting for fall because we are busy just about every weekend this summer.

We also spent some time in our mini pool that we have on our deck. This was definitely a good buy since he loves playing in the water.

Being a stay at home mom

Being a sahm is the best decision I've ever made for me and my family. But I do have to say that stay at home parents don't get enough credit sometimes. I've had a couple of difficult jobs but this is much harder. It challenges me, tests my patience and it completely fulfills me. It's truly what I've always wanted and I'm glad that I am able to do what I want.

Being able to teach my child different things, feed him lunch every single day, put him down for naps, and just be with him means the world to me. I understand that it's not for everyone but for me it's exactly what I want to do and I am thankful. I just want everyone to truly understand that being a stay at home parent is truly a difficult job. It doesn't mean that you get to stay at home sit on the couch or clean your house and just do whatever you want. It also doesn't mean that stay at home parents are just cleaning poop or feeding kids all day. Trust me it's much more than that. The same way I understand that being a working parent is difficult I want people to understand that a stay at home parent it also difficult in a different way.

Now that my son is 19 months old I have to plan out different activities so that he is busy but also so that he starts learning different things. I do let him do things on his own so that he can explore and figure some things out himself. I like for him to do that but I also sit with him and read,  show him different shapes or colors and just help him learn. All of this of course while I take care of my 8 month old nephew. But I do have to say he's pretty good and usually is just paying attention to whatever Ethan is doingJust teaching and playing with the kids can fill my day but there's also preparing meals, cleaning up, changing diapers and dealing with our pets so I barely have time to do anything else. But I would not change it for the world. I'm super blessed and so thankful. For the stay at home parents out there I know it can be hard so make sure you take some time to look at your child or children and remember what's it's all about. And for the working parents you are doing a great thing and one day your children will be so thankful for all the hard work just like I am thankful for everything my parents did for me.

Back from vacation

So I've been back for a couple of days and I still feel sad that I had to come back. I had a wonderful time in San Juan, PR with my whole family and it meant the world to me that I got to spend some time with my parents.We all met there and spent two weeks in the warm sun. But the end of the trip is when it got a little hard for me. I am very close with my parents and because they no longer live near me it kills me every single time I have to say goodbye. It literally takes me a few days to get in a normal mood again.

Besides the part where I had to say goodbye to my parents and family we all had a great time. We went to some beautiful beaches, we ate a lot of great food and got some much needed relaxation. My parents and family spent a lot of time with Ethan and my nephew which gave my sister and I a bit of a break. It really is a beautiful place with the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen and I've been to quite a few. If you are ever in the area visit Flamenco Beach in Culebra, PR. I hate car rides and boat rides but it was worth it. I went once before in October and it was great because the weather was perfect and there were no people so we basically had that gorgeous beach to ourselves. I just had to go back and I'm glad I did.

It was a fabulous trip and I'm so happy I was able to go.

19 months!

My little one is 19 months today! Time has flown by and he is now this little person running around and exploring. He means the world to me and I'm so thankful that I get to spend all my days with him.

We are currently on vacation so Ethan has gotten to really experience some new things. He's been to the beach before but this year he can really enjoy it. He had a great time with his grandparents at the beach last weekend. He's also seen chickens, goats, cows and he is really loving the chickens. He keeps asking to see them so I will have take him again of course. Maybe I'll take a video for him.

At 19 months Ethan's new words are:

Chicken

Wow

Water in Spanish - agua

Eyes

All done

He also knows the letter e

His favorite foods are:

Pancakes

Fruit

Graham cracker bunny snacks

Still loves sweet potatoes

Favorite things to do:

Read - I constantly catch him in a room on the floor reading a book

Wants me to read dr. Seuss abc all the time. At least 4 times a day

Loves Mickey Mouse playhouse
Loves his climb and slide toy
Loves to help me vacuum

Happy 19 months Ethan!

Ethan with his grandpa

Blog name change

I have decided to go ahead and change the name of my blog. I wanted something happy that was about my whole life not just about my sahm life. I enjoy life and I want to share everything about it. From my happy moments with my child to my home projects which make me so happy. I just want a name that will match with who I am and a name that I can be excited about.

So I've decided on Joyful Vida! For those of you who don't know vida means life in Spanish. I absolutely love it. Please come and follow along on my new blogger blog joyful vida coming real soon.

Thank you!

Just a quick hello from the beautiful and always sunny Caribbean. I'm vacationing with my sister, nephew, parents and my little guy. We are having an amazing time can't wait to post some more pictures. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.





Before I became pregnant and while I was pregnant I did research on just about everything. I just wanted to be sure I did what was best for my child. And still to this day I do the same because I want the best for him. Before he was even born I just wanted to protect him in every way possible. To me breastfeeding was one of the ways to do that after he was born.

In my opinion I believe breastfeeding is one of the best things you could do for your child. If you've explored all the benefits and facts about breastfeeding and still have decided it's not for you that's ok. I believe in doing what works for you and what you think will benefit your child. I also understand that some women are unable to breastfeed. But what I don't understand is why some people decide not to breastfeed without even doing their research. There are so many benefits for mom and baby that more women in America should be breastfeeding. I hope as time goes on all hospitals, doctors and employers across the country support breastfeeding by educating women and making it easier for them in the workplace.

I know a few people that have had children that have said they didn't want to breastfeed because it was an inconvience, or because if the baby didn't latch on it could be hard emotionally, or the baby wouldn't sleep well. I wish they would have done their research. For those of you who have not breastfed please know that there are solutions if for example your baby doesn't latch on. My baby did not latch on properly but with the help of a nipple shield we were good to go. And if that does not work you could always just pump so that your baby still gets the good nutrients from breast milk. I would suggest meeting with a lactation consultant before making that decision. I've also known quite a few people who have tried which is great but they said that milk never came. This is why speaking to a lactation consultant is important. Breastmilk takes a few days for it to come in but you must just keep breastfeeding in order for that to happen.

I personally miss breastfeeding my son. It was nice to just sit and bond with my baby. It was an incredible experience and I hope to do it for longer with my next child. I nursed Ethan for about 8 or 9 months but I would have liked to make it to at least 1 year. I think my supply just dwindled after returning to work. I tried everything but it just slowly went away. So now that I am a sahm I hope to make to that 1 year mark with my next child.

The most important piece of advice I can give is just to relax, take your time and enjoy the moment with your baby.Here is a list of products that I found helpful for breastfeeding.

1. Breast pads for your bra
2. Nipple shield
3. Nursing cover
4. Nursing pillow
5. Breast pump - A good tip for cleaning breast pump parts. The sippy cup cleaners the ones that allow you to clean out the straws work great. Dr. Brown also makes them to clean bottle parts.
6. Nursing bras
7. Nursing tops
8. Milk storage bags for freezer
9. Extra storage bottles w/ nipples. Very convenient because you can pump, put it in the fridge and just feed from that bottle.
10. Nipple cream - you will need this for sure in the beginning.

I've started to teach Ethan the abc's with the help of Dr. Seuss's ABC book. I didn't set out to teach him letters yet but this is his absolute favorite book.We read this a million times a day and if I don't read it he literally starts crying. He actually now knows a couple of letters which makes me so proud. So now I make sure I read each letter and repeat the sound that it makes. Our next step is to do the same with the letters in spanish.

How have you taught or how do you plan on teaching your child the abc's?

I've decided that my kitchen and dining room need a bit of color. The walls are beige which I am keeping but I would like to add some pops of color. I had some green mixed in but I hate green so I'm not sure why I even did that. I would like to add some teal/turquoise which I absolutely love. I got inspired by this candleholder that was in my living room. In a perfect world my kitchen and dining room would be painted gray with some teal accents. But gray does not match my tile and backsplash so maybe ill just paint the dining room one day.

So far I have a few things that are teal but I still have a ways to go. I just have some placemats which I usually just use for the middle of the dining room table, the buffet table and small table I have in the kitchen. I also have some lovely new kitchen towels thanks to target, the candle holder that was in my living room and a lovely new memo board from home goods. With a toddler and a 7 month old nephew I take care of I just have no time for these projects. So I'm constantly starting things or just wanting to do things and I just can't do. If you've read my last post you know that soon enough I will have some extra time on my hands. I am super thankful for it because I really do want to make my home look nice and I want that extra family time. so I will finishe my projects I just need a bit more inspiration so maybe I will take a look at pinterest for some teal decor.

Take a look below at what I have so far and check back later for an update.

 

happy friday

So glad that today is Friday. I'm actually even more glad that this is the last weekend I have with some kind of commitment until late summer. As I have mentioned before I am a bridesmaid in my friends wedding this summer. This weekend is the bridal shower which I am very excited about. I think it's going to be beautiful and it will be nice to spend some time with my lady friends. I still cannot believe she is getting married but I am so happy for her.

Also, this weekend I have to shop for vacation stuff since I will be traveling next weekend with my little guy. I'm excited for my vacation and I'm also excited for the summer. Last year, I was working so this summer I really get to spend my time with Ethan. And since my weekends will be free I will actually have some time for my organization and decorating projects I have going on around the house. I will also have some more time to spend on this blog. I've been making some changes here and there to make better. I've even thought about changing the name but we'll see.

So I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I will be super busy but hopefully will have some time for another post.

Mother's Day

I know I'm a little late but I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mother's Day is very special to me because it brings me back to that very moment when I became a mother. The moment that Ethan was placed on my chest was probably the greatest moment I have had in my life. The very moment I became a mother I fell in love like I've never been in love before.  And it is the best thing that I have done and will do in my lifetime. Being a mother means the world to me and I now know the love that my mother feels for me.

My mother was a hard working mother and she made it looks easy. I love her dearly and just looking back sometimes I wish I helped a little more. Because I now truly know that it is the hardest but best job. My mother and father mean the world to me and I'm so thankful for everything they have done for me. They worked so hard from the moment my sister was born and to this very day they continue to do so much for us. Moms and dads are the best and I always like to make sure my parents know that whether it's Mother's Day, Father's Day or any other day if the year.

Best gift I got for Mother's Day. A nice smooch from my little guy.

 Can't forget about my fur child. He spent Mother"s Day by my side just relaxing with his favorite ball.



Ethan and I will be taking a trip soon to the sunny and tropical Caribbean. I love taking trips but when I know I have to travel alone with him it just makes me nervous. I never know how he's going to behave. He's flown 4 times and he's been great each time but its a little difficult when I'm on my own with him. Thankfully I will only be on my own for one of the flights. Wish me luck.

This time I am packing early to make sure I am prepared and not running around the morning of. I also want to make sure that I don't pack too much so that I have room for all the stuff I will probably buy. So here is a list of what I usually bring for Ethan when we go on vacation.

1. Sunscreen - Very important when going anywhere especially somewhere super sunny. My favorite is the honest sunscreen.
2. Hats - I always pack some beach hats and baseball caps.
3. Stroller- I have a lightweight Chicco stroller that I bring everywhere. Make sure to remove cup holders because they will get lost even when you gate check.
4. Books - Ethan loves books so I make sure to pack a few for the plane ride and for bedtime.
5. Toys - I always buy a few small toys that way he has something new and that will hopefully keep him entertained for a while.
6. Snacks - I buy snacks for the plane and for the week or two that we'll be on vaca. Ethan loves the fruit pouches which are great for traveling. 
7. Clothes - I usually travel for 2 weeks but only bring enough for a week and then I just do laundry. Of course daytime clothes, pjs, and a bathing suit.
8. Eating essentials - a couple of sippy cups, silicone bibs, fork and spoon.
9. Diapers and wipes - I usually only bring enough for the plane ride and first day then I just buy them.
10. Meds - I always bring some Tylenol and Advil. Very important! I bring a thermometer as well.

The key is to remember to bring the important stuff like anything your child may need to fall asleep like a favorite blanket. Anything else you could always buy so no need to stress about packing. 

my night out

So it's Wednesday and I'm just now feeling better from my night out on Saturday. Yes I did say Saturday. I am a bridesmaid for my friend who will be getting this summer and we had bachelorette here near our town for her. She is having one in Vegas so the girls figured we should do one here for everyone who can't go to Vegas like me.
So let me start off by saying that I am the only one of my friends who has a child so they are very much still in the party mode. I let that go a long time ago because I was over it since I did it for a while and because I've always been the type of person who just likes to stay home. I'm just tired thinking about the fact that they've been doing it for probably about 10 years! And I'm not saying it's a bad thing I think its great and what you should do in your twenties especially if you don't have kids. So anyway they have quite a bit of experience and they went all out.
We started the night at one of their houses drinking beer and lots of shots which I did not take. I haven't gone out for a night of drinking in over two years so I figured I would stick to beer. We then went on a limo to the city and I think that part was louder than the actual places we went to. We ended up going to a couple of small clubs and I had a good time. It was just nice to have a night out where I could let loose and get dressed up. I am very glad I went and I'm glad the bride had a good time.
All in all I had a great time with all the girls and I'm glad I had my night out. But since we didn't get home until 3am and I had to wake up with my child I've definitely been hurting for the last few days. That's the thing about getting older it just takes a lot longer to recover. Now I'm back to being mom again and I love it.

favorite toys

Ethan has quite the collection of toys at the moment. I try and rotate them around the house and that really seems to work for us. For now we are probably done buying toys until his next birthday. When that comes I will look around for some nice learning toys. I'm really liking the Melissa and Doug toys  we have so maybe a few of those for his birthday and Christmas.

Take a look at the toys that he is most interested in at the moment. 

Boston Strong

Great May cover for Boston Magazine.

Behind Our May Boston Marathon Cover

Ethan and his cousin. They are 11 months apart and they absolutely love spending time together. So cute!

my favorites montessori websites

As I stated in one of my  previous posts I am very interested in montessori education. I go online constantly to look up toddler activities and just to learn more about the montessori methods. I have put together a list of my favorite montessori blogs. I know there are many out there but these websites might be a good place for someone to start.

The counting coconuts website has a lot of activities, printables and information. Love it!
http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/

Jens peaceful parents has great montessori ideas. She has a great home tour which can give you a lot of ideas on simple things you can do at home.
http://jen-peacefulparenting.blogspot.com/

Montessori for everyone has a lot of great materials for sale and also some free printables. The blog also has a lot of great info.
http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/

Living montessori now is another great place for information for parents who are interested in everything montessori.
http://livingmontessorinow.com/

These are just a few websites that I visit on a regular basis. There are a lot of montessori blogs and websites out there and I use them for ideas that I can use at home. I do what works best for us but it is great to see how others are using the montessori methods.

a sense of relief

In the last couple of days we have been glued to our tv's. We couldn't help but feel scared as the police searched for the bombing suspect. Scared for the people in the area, the state and the country. I feel so horrible for all the people that have suffered and I still feel so angry that this has happened. For now we do feel a sense of relief knowing that these two suspects are not out there to hurt more people.

doggy love

yesterday's tragedy

What occurred yesterday is just sad and disturbing. I have not gone to the Boston marathon in recent years but as I child I went every year. I can't imagine what these families are feeling at this moment.  It makes me sad to see what is happening in this world. As a mother I worry all the time but now I have to worry when I send my child to school or when we go to any event. I don't know why someone would want to cause such hurt. 

Let us all take a moment in the day to be thankful for what we have and to say a prayer for all the families involved in this horrific tragedy.

choosing a baby name

My only piece of advice when choosing a name is not to tell people the list of names you are thinking about. I cannot stand when people ask pregnant women or the dads about names and then just flat out say they don't like this name or that name blah blah blah. I made this mistake in the beginning of my pregnancy and after that I just started saying that we had no names.

I knew that I wanted the name Ethan but I also wanted to explore my options. I've liked the name forever because I have an older cousin with the name. So when I was young I always said I would name my son Ethan because I loved it so much.  So fast forward years later I'm pregnant with a boy so how perfect that I have a name that I love. The only negative part was that the Ethan was showing up on all kinds of baby name lists. That was ok but it was near the top of all the lists I read. I'm the type of person that likes names that are not weird but that nobody else really has. I knew nobody except my cousin with the name so I went for it.

Now fast forward to 17 months later and it seems like everybody has named their son Ethan. I just hope another popular name comes along so everyone can forget about the name Ethan. I get a little annoyed because I've had the name picked out since I was a little girl. And nothing against the name Aiden or Aidan or Aden but I don't want the name Ethan to get like that name has become. Please do not take offense I have a 10 year old nephew with the name and I do love it but it just has become too popular for me. Again I'm just not the type to want to name my child Michael, Jonathan, or Ryan even though I do love those names.

So I think as long as you love the name and you know you didn't choose it just to be like everyone else then that's all that matters. I think Ethan is a beautiful name and I wouldn't choose anything else for him.

project organize

So if you've read my previous post about organizing you know that I have quite a list of projects that need to get done. So I went shopping and got some labels, storage bins and some Martha Stewart hanging folders which are great. They are part of her office collection at Staples. They stick to different surfaces and you can remove them and use them again.

I started with an idea to put a shelf above my washer and dryer. I haven't done it yet but I got some storage bins and just temporarily put them on top of the dryer. I reorganized the closet next to the washer and dryer and no longer have a laundry basket in there. I just figured I needed something for Ethan's socks or any dirty laundry that gets left downstairs because it doesn't make sense to have to bring it upstairs. I also got one for dirty kitchen towels, placemats, etc.

For the hanging folders I just put them inside of a cabinet and used one for coupons and one for menus. The picture below is awful but you get the idea.

I'm glad I've started some things here and there. It will take time but it will get done little by little. I will keep you all posted.

Cute labels!

Chalkboard labels

Menus

Coupons

Temporary. I want the shelf to go right above washer and dryer. 

music bin

Ethan loves when we do music time at home or when he does it at his story and music hour at the library. I've read a few montessori articles about having an area for instruments which is great because I already keep all instrument toys in a bin. We have music time some days and I'm trying to teach Ethan to put them away once he is finished before moving on to something else. He's done it but is not consistent yet. He's still young so I like for him to explore and play I'm not trying to force him to do things. As he gets older he will now what to do because I will teach him but I don't like to push things.
I'm still reading quite a bit about the whole montessori approach and I do like it. I'm not a full force montessori type of person. I would love to have everything montessori with all the wooden toys and whatever but we do what we can and it works for us. We do have some wooden toys that I absolutely love but we also have other types of learning toys which is ok with me. Our music toys have come from all different stores and even one homemade. Below are some ideas and where you can get the instruments we have to create your own music area.



Ethan's music bin


Got these at Target for $1 each!

These were my husbands when was young.

I got these when I went on vacation is San Juan, PR. They are mini so they are perfect for him.

This I made out of a plastic bottle and some pasta. He loves it.

our favorite books

I read to Ethan every single night and he loves it. He now takes books and reads all by himself. As soon as he sees me get the books off of his book shelf he comes over to sit with me. I think reading to your children is very important and every parent should take the time to do it.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Happy 17 months

Today Ethan is 17 months old. I can't believe how big he is already. He's repeating words that I say and I can't even believe it. He's runs around the house chasing the dog, he gives us hugs and lets us know when he wants to eat or when he wants milk. It was just this time last year where we would spend the weekends snuggling on the recliner. I would relax with him, nurse him, rock him to sleep and he would spend the day in my arms. Now we spend our days reading, playing and dancing around the house.

Happy 17 months to my little man.

This was Ethan this morning reading his book. 

My Birthday

Today I turn 29! My last year in my twenties and I can't believe it. When I was younger time was slow I just wanted to be older. Now I'm older and time is flying. I just want time to slow down a little. I am enjoying my life right now and my child but he's just getting so big so fast. I have loved this past year and I hope to have another great year. I want to just spend time with the people I love.

Things I want to do this year:

Family day trips
Plan a trip to visit my parents
Take Ethan to the beach
Plan Ethan's baptism
Spend more time with my friends
Save money!
Date nights with hubby
Organize my entire house

Hopefully I will get at least some of these things done.

Cloth diapers

I started using cloth diapers well after Ethan was born. I figured it wasn't too late to start and we are still learning quite a bit about it. We still don't use cloth 100% of the time but we do for most of the day and all night. We still don't use them when we go out but it's better than not using them at all.

So I started out with 3 different brands and I actually like all 3. We use pocket diapers with the microfiber inserts and bioliners. I'm not one of those people who has gone all the way with cloth diapering. I don't have a diaper sprayer so we use the liners which you just put right in the toilet and then you just throw the diaper in the laundry bag. For those of you who have not tried cloth diapering this is super easy and not bad at all.

Here are the diapers we started out with.

Charlie Bananas - These are a pocket diaper but you also have the option of using a disposable pad instead. They are super soft and fit great. Buttons are not my favorite because I have a super squirmy baby. I now know exactly which buttons work for his size so it goes a little quicker now. These cost me a little less than $20 and I got them at Target.

Bum Genius 4.0 - These are great. They are available in the button closure or Velcro and I of course got the Velcro. These also cost a little less than $20 but the quality is great. These I would say are my favorite. I purchased these online at www.cottonbabies.com with free shipping.

Kawaii - These diapers are the affordable choice and I think they are great. Very similar to the BG diaper.  I purchased the heavy duty 2 and have had no problems. I like the outside material on the BG diaper better but like I said we've had no issues with Kawaii. They have quite a few different kinds but I went with the hd2 and have not had any leaks. I am going to try the other types they have because I'm super curious. The best part about these diapers are that the are $7 - $10! These can be purchased on their website www.theluvyourbaby.com

Another great website for purchasing cloth diapers and other items is www.sweetbottomsbaby.com They also have free shipping which is great if you just want to try a few to get started. I absolutely recommend cloth diapering there are several options out there you just have to find what works best for you.

My pets

Just wanted to share a little something about my pets. I have a cat and a dog and I adore them both. Since Ethan's arrival it has been a lot of work trying to balance everything out but it's all worth it. They both have their issues but at the end of the day their like my kids. My goal at the moment is to just try and spend a little more time with them. Things have been a little hectic around here so they haven't gotten much attention but I will try harder.


This is my gorgeous cat that I've had since high school. She's at least 12 years old and doesn't even act like it.

This is my little dog who I've had since I was 20. Both of my pets are very healthy and act as if they were much younger. I've been feeding them very healthy food and treats for years and I believe that has a lot to do with it. Check below for some of their favorites.

My cat loves Wellness treats and Cat man doo bonito flakes. Her favorite foods are Innova Evo, Wellness, and Solid Gold.
My dog loves Real Meat Treats which are a little expensive but dogs and cats love them. His favorite foods are Wellness, Merricks Cowboy Cookout, and Back to Basics.