today...

Enjoyed some simple things at home today:

*amazing organic coffee from our friends in Wisconsin

*cuddling and laughing with a sweet little dude

*knocking things off the "to-do" list

*working on an adoption video for some friends

*eating sweet potatoes for breakfast while watching Finn play in the yard

*taking some quiet moments just to read

*listening to the rain outside the window

*getting kisses from the hubby and the baby all at once

Today was a good day.

playing outside...

We took advantage of the warm, sunny weather this morning before all the storms hit.  I gave Finn a bunch of lentils to play with and it kept him entertained for a good while. :)

I love our mornings...just hanging out in our front yard, me drinking coffee, and Finn poking around at whatever catches his eye.  These days are such a treasure for us, as I know time will fly.
 Enjoying each moment!

DIY: glider rocker re-cover project, or, "what did I get myself into?...

When I was pregnant with Finn, some friends of ours generously gave us a glider rocker.  It had been given to them, and since they were done using it with their kids, they passed it onto us.  The glider had signs of wear for obvious reasons, but it had great bones and we were so thankful to have it in our nursery.  I spent many nights in that rocker, and we sit in it still to read Finn his stories as he gets ready for bed each night.

With the desire for more children in the future, we decided maybe it was time to spruce up the old girl.  After searching on Pinterest for some inspiration, I decided that with Landon's help, I could totally recover the glider myself.  We picked out some fun and bold fabric at JoAnn's, matched some thread, and rolled up our sleeves and dove in.

Now if you know me well, you know that I hate following directions.  I rarely follow directions on recipes, and when it comes to DIY projects, I'd rather figure it out as I go.  This doesn't always work out in my favor, so because this was a more daunting project, I really tried to take my time and do a good job.  We are planning on giving this glider away whenever we are done using it, so we really didn't want to put a lot of money into the project.  We chose to just recover the existing cushions so that whoever has it next can do whatever they want with it.

I didn't take how-to photos as I don't consider myself a professional seamstress, but here are some photos of the before and after.  Landon and I are so pleased with how the rocker turned out.  More than anything I was worried the cushions would look wrinkly and baggy, but for the most part, I think they look pretty good.  It sits in Finn's room in the corner, so not many people see it, which is another reason why we didn't put a lot of money into having it professionally covered.  Trust me, if this was in our living room, I may not have attempted this myself.

There were some hairy moments in the sewing process, and if you look closely at the seams, you can tell.  But it got done, and it doesn't look half bad to us, so we'll keep it.  The only advice I can give if you want to do this yourself is pick a solid fabric if you are type A and would go crazy with the pattern not lining up.  Fortunately, Landon and I don't mind and we really love the fun fabric.

Before!  Obvious need of an update.

a baby is coming....

Things have been busy over this-a-way lately.  I've been finishing up work projects, sewing projects, DIY projects, and hobby stuff.  Finn and I have been getting outside every chance we get, and it feels so good!  Landon and I have been working hard on a financial class we are taking, meaning tweaking our budget, cutting costs and being disciplined, and paying off our remaining loans as quickly as we can. (I can't wait to become debt-free!!!)  Some nights we both just want to veg in front of a movie because it seems like the days are so busy.  But life is good and we are just trying to soak up as much as we can...even if that means watching a movie every now and then. :)

So, about this baby deal.  It's not ours. :)  But my cousin and his gorgeous wife are expecting this fall!  We are so excited for them.  It's so weird (and awesome) to think that my big older cousin who used to rough house around with my other cousins and I is going to be a daddy!  They asked if I would take a few photos to help them document this exciting time, so we got to hang out one afternoon.  They are in a really exciting time not only because of the baby, but because my cousin is graduating with his Master's degree soon and there are new possibilities on the horizon for them.  His wife has been such an amazing gal as she has been working to support her hubby.  I am so excited to see where they will end up!

Anyway, here are a few photos I took of them.  I love getting to hang out with family any chance I get, and it was so fun to be a mini part of their exciting news.

cloth diapering: let's get down and dirty...

So when I was pregnant with Finn, Landon and I discussed what method of diapering we wanted to do.  I found a ton of information online, and we quickly realized that we were interested in cloth diapering.  My mom cloth diapered all of my siblings and I (think old-school rubber pants/big ol' diaper pins), and Landon's parents went the disposable route.

There were a lot of reasons we decided to pursue cloth diapering, but cost was the main pull for us.  On the Fuzzibunz website, they have a price comparison chart, and it really impacted us when we looked at the numbers.

We registered for cloth diapers and accessories for our baby showers, and we were blessed to receive most of our stash before Finn was born.  We actually use a combination of cloth and disposables for some different reasons.  I always put Finn in a disposable at night, and we generally take disposables with us if we are out for a whole day or gone for a weekend since it simplifies things for us.  But most of the time, Finn is in a cloth diaper.

Anyway, without getting into all the details and logistics, I just wanted to share a quick post on how we do the diaper thing.



This is our diaper shelf in Finn's room.  We have 4 different kinds of diapers, Fuzzibunz, bumGenius 4.0, Flip diaper, and SunBaby.  We also have our stack of disposables for nights and naps now that Finn is taking one 2.5 or 3 hour nap each day.

The Fuzzibunz and bumGenius are my favorites, and I have noticed that although the SunBaby diapers were super cheap, they aren't holding up as well in the wash.





Instead of using a diaper sprayer attached to our toilet, we use Bummis biodegradable diapers liners that are flushable.  This helps a ton when Finn has a dirty diaper.  Most of the mess is contained on the liner and we just drop it into the toilet and the diaper is left with only a little mess.  The dirty diaper goes into the diaper bag and awaits a washing. We are currently using disposable wipes, and dirty wipes are collected into a trash bag and thrown out with the garbage.  If I ever get around to it, I want to look into reusable wipes.



We hang our diaper bag in the garage since our laundry is right inside the door.  Every couple days I wash all the diapers.  I put them in the washing machine and run two light loads on cold, then one hot normal load with a small amount of detergent.  I dry mine on low for 20 minutes.  Some people don't dry their diapers but I do.  Hopefully in the summer I can put them on the patio to dry and let the sun bleach out any stains.

I will say that with cloth diapers, you have to watch for build up and be prepared to strip the diapers.  I have only had to do this once, and it really wasn't that hard.  You basically boil and scrub the diapers to remove the buildup of detergent, oils, and any other things that cause the diapers to smell bad and not absorb as well.  Finn was having some trouble with rashes and leaking, and after I stripped the diapers, he was totally fine again and the diapers seemed like brand new.  **Edit: I will be doing a post strictly dedicated to stripping diapers.  This description is extremely basic and I need to do more of a step-by-step process on how I do this.  It will all be much more clear after that. :)**





And here's the little man modeling his diapers. :)  He has worn these since he was a few weeks old, and they have adjusted with him as he's grown.

We love using cloth diapers, and we love being able to do disposables on the side too.  Being flexible and keeping things simple is important to us, so having a combo has worked well for our family.  I was super intimidated by cloth diapers when we were starting out, but they are so much easier than I expected.  There has been some trouble-shooting involved, but with the internet and so many friends of ours doing cloth, it's been easy getting answers when we need them.

I was listening to a Simple Mom podcast yesterday that mentioned cloth diapers, and the speaker made the comment that every time she sees the washing machine full of diapers, she realizes how many less diapers are going into the landfill.  She also said that even using one cloth diaper each day will prevent 365 diapers from going into the ground.  While the environment wasn't the main reason we started with cloth, it definitely is important to us.

Bottom line, if you are thinking about cloth diapering, then do your research and consider buying a few to try out.  A lot of people seem scared at first, but love the decision afterwards!  And know that there is no one way to cloth diaper.  The best thing to do is figure out what works for your family right now and rest comfortably in that decision.

creating...

After reading this great article last week, I really started to ponder the whole idea of creating vs. consuming.  I shared it with Landon, and he loved the idea as well.  Funnily enough, we were riding in the car with Landon's younger brother, and he shared a similar idea from a conversation he had with one of his friends.

If I sat back and thought about it, I would say lately I have been consuming more than I have been creating.  It's hard to go through your day without consuming something, and I don't want to say that's a bad thing.  But it seems easy for me to do more consuming and less creating.  It's easy to sit on the bed and watch a show on Hulu, or waste time "consuming" the latest news on Facebook or blogs.  What about changing these habits?  What about spending more time cooking in the kitchen with Finn and showing him how things are measured?  What about walking outside and "creating" a memory as we explore the beautiful world?

Landon and I have decided we want to be creating more and consuming less, so we are looking for ways to do that each day and week.  It sure helps that the warm weather is approaching and we can be more free to go outside, or grow some veggies, or take a bike ride.  Creating doesn't need to cost a lot of money or even any at all.  Just being mindful of things that suck away our time and trying to change them can do so much.

So try creating something this week...a new recipe, a diy you have always wanted to try, teaching something new to your child or yourself.  Try turning off the t.v. or computer for even a little while each day and writing a letter to a friend instead.

Happy creating!!

diy jewelry hanger...

With the help of Landon and his dad, I now have a jewelry hanger in the bathroom!  The wood is from Landon's parents' place, and the knobs I picked up at Anthropology.  Landon hung it up last week for me, and I love being able to grab my necklaces or bracelets whenever I need them, and how pretty they look on the wall.

We are now in the middle of a challenging diy project...we are attempting to reupholster a glider rocker.  Details on that later! :)