Christmas and then some!

Well, Christmas is finally over for this house. I love Christmas time. I have said that in so many posts lately. I love the reason for Christmas and being with family so much, but boy oh boy, we have such big families that Christmas can be never ending sometimes. This year was LJ's 3rd Christmas. It all started on Thursday night when we saw a friend to exchange presents (our usual Chinese night crew). John got a coloring book and crayons and Baby C even got some really cute outfits.
Then came Friday. We had to leave our house around 2 in the afternoon so that we could head out to East Brunswick NJ to see my dad's side of the family for our Traditional Christmas Eve gathering. We were there until after 830 (got there around 4), so we didn't get home until after 1030 at night. LJ had a blast at my Uncle's house and got a whole bunch of trains. I can't believe how many train sets (Thomas of course) he has now. We set them all up yesterday evening and he was in heaven. :)
Of course after getting LJ in to bed we had a bit of work to do in order to get things ready for the next morning. Santa had a fish tank all set up in our room that we moved in to LJ's room and put the wrapped box over so he had a present from Santa in his room when he woke up. He was totally amazed by that. We were sort of lucky that we did not have to hook it up as it did not have fish in it yet. That would have been interesting to say the least.
We don't do too much Christmas morning as we don't want to teach John that Christmas is all about presents. Plus, he gets plenty of gifts from the rest of the family. We are planning on having it that each child gets a present from Santa, a stocking, and then one present from mommy and daddy. Then we just have a nice morning as a family and enjoying each other and the reason why we have Christmas. Mid morning we headed over to Hubby's parent's house (the whole minute drive) to celebrate Christmas with Mommom, Pop, Uncle J and Uncle B and the newest member of the family, Aunt S. LJ made out like a bandit, again. This time luckily it was more construction equipment type toys instead of more trains. Around 1 we had Christmas dinner when Grammy and Pop M came over.
After Mommom and Pop's house, we went over to my parent's house (Mommer and Pop-pop). Of course LJ had more than enough presents again to open. It was this day that LJ actually was getting in to present overload at each house. It was nice being at my parent's house later in the afternoon because we were then able to be there when my granma was there. Our Christmas day adventures didnt' end until after 6 that night.
So, that brings us then to Sunday, the day after Christmas, and day 4 of "Christmas" for our family. Since we both have such big families we have to split the family in to groups and meet with grandparents and their sides of the family separately. After church on Sunday we went over to Grammy and Pop M's house to have Christmas dinner with them and the Aunts and Uncles on that side of the family.
Oh what a few days we have been having! And we knew we still had Mommom's mom to see and have Christmas with. That was Monday night! That means Christmas was then 5 days long, in a way, for LJ! I couldn't believe it. It was nice that Monday night at Nanny's house was pretty subdued, but it was still quite the ending to a week of Christmas.
Now we are just trying to recover from such a busy few days. I have so many new toys in this house that I had to pack up everything from before Christmas (well, almost). I love Christmas, but Christmas Eve and Christmas day are good enough for me. This whole, 5 days of Christmas, can be a bit much. I am just happy that Hubby only has to work today (Wednesday) and tomorrow. He has off every other day this week. It is great because then i have so much help getting things back to normal around the house. And I just love when he can be home with us! :)

How was your Christmas? Did your kids get spoiled by the family?

Until next time... Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
As so many of us, I will not be on my computer all that much in the next few days. As a matter of fact, Hubby has off all but one day next week even, so I probably won't be on much then either. It is so nice when he can be home. We really enjoy the time as much as possible when we can just be our own little family and be together without a ton of things we have to do, but can relish in what we may want to do.
Baby C is making mommy take things easy for a while too. She started acting as if she wanted to make an early appearance, but we are holding her off for as long as possible. If I don't make my myself rest as much as possible these next weeks, I pay the price. So, here is just hoping that we don't have ourselves a Christmas baby, but if she really wants to be a New Years baby, I won't say too much as then things aren't as crazy for the family and all. :)
So, anyway...

Merry Christmas!

Annual Fudge Night (Pic Heavy)

Okay, so here is the long awaited Fudge Night post.Like I mentioned last night, There is a lot of stuff that goes in to four batches of fudge. You may remember, 2 pounds butter, 16 cups sugar, 8 bags chocolate chips, 4 cans of evaporated milk and some vanilla extract. Well, This is what that looks like (tins included).

My mom has been making this recipe for about 27 years now. We have found through the years that doing one stick of margarine and one stick of butter works pretty nicely, so that is what we use now.  Again, you can refer to this post for the full recipe.
It all starts with the sugar and milk in a big pot and the chips, butter and vanilla in a big bowl.

I like to break up the butter/margarine a bit so that it melts faster and things get all happy in the bowl quickly. The milk/sugar gets heated up on high until it starts to boil, then we turn it down closer to like 4-5 (just enough to keep a boil but not too much that it boils over). Boiling over is just a total sticky mess!

When the sugar is boiling and someone is stirring constantly for 8 minutes, we make sure we have our tins (or plastic containers) well greased with a cooking spray and ready to go when they are needed. Once the sugar is poured in to the chip mix bowl, things can move pretty quick, so being prepared is a good thing here. :)

My mom is always the one to pour the sugar mix into the bowl while I am at the ready, just waiting to start mixing like mad (without splashing hot sugar on anyone)

Mix, mix, mix until it is all happy and smooth (just make sure you don't take too long or it will start to set in the bowl) :)
Then we pour it all into the tins. Mom pours while I move the tins into place so she doesn't have to move the bowl too much.

When we have things set in their containers, we put them out on the back porch which acts as a second refrigerator in the winter.
Repeat all these steps for each batch. Yes, four batches can be fun and a bit of time. There is a reason we set aside a night to do this. You need a night to do that many batches.
Curious what it all looks like when things are done? Well, my sister and I love to make fudge so that we can lick the bowl when we are done. Here are my closing shots. First, the table of all of the fudge tins. Then Hubby took a picture of Sis and I licking the bowl and the spoon. Then of course he had to take a picture of the bowl when I was done with it.

Baby C loved mommy licking the bowl. She has made me all about the chocolate!






So, there you have it. Our Fudge Night in picture form. I know this may have taken some time to load because of all of the pictures, but I love to share. I hope you enjoyed.

Do you have a recipe you have to make every year? Make a night of things? I would love to hear all about it!

Until next time... Happy Christmas Preparations!

Fudge coming soon

Last night was our big fudge night. It was also the night we celebrated my dad's birthday (it is really the 22nd). I was going to do my big pictorial post about it today, but today has gone totally haywire. After over a day of what I was hoping was Baby C stretching and a few other symptoms, the phone nurse felt otherwise and said I have to stay off my feet more than I am on them. At least for a few days to see if it helps. Hubby ended up with an extremely late day (he is still at work) so I ended up at my parent's house for the afternoon and evening whenever LJ was awake. I just could not stay off my feet and keep him from wanting to be on top of me or my belly. Yes, LJ likes to sit on my belly if he can, though I always tell him he can't.

The pictures from fudge night remain on my camera to hopefully be put on to my laptop and then into a post tomorrow. It was fun and tiring. We made four batches of fudge. If you don't remember the recipe for it you can look back at this post. But to sum it all up, 4 batches takes 2 pounds of butter, 8 bags of chocolate chips, 16 cups of sugar, 4 cans of evaporated milk, and 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Doesn't that just sound like the healthiest thing in the world? No? Well, good because it is the Holidays and we splurge!
I took a ton of pictures, so you will be able to see just what it takes to make that in one night plus my dad's favorite dinner (open faced bacon and sharp cheddar sandwiches). Oh what a night it was.

Until next time... Happy Christmas Preparations!

a New Goal

Well, I want to bring you all some really great reviews and giveaways during my baby event that I am trying to set up for February around when Baby C arrives. Well, to do that, I need some more followers. I am thinking that quite possibly there may be a nice little giveaway on here when I hit 300 followers. I will tell you more about it when we start to get closer. I am at 53 followers now, so we have a ways to go. Can we hit it anytime soon?

Good Fluffy Week!

This was a very good week for fluff mail. I posted earlier this week about my delivery from KAM Snaps. Then on Friday I got a great little package in my mail. It was a diaper that I am going to be testing for a great diaper company. I can't say who it is for, but hopefully come February and my event, I will be able to tell you all about it. One reason I love the diaper even more is because it is winter themed! LJ doesn't really have any winter themed diapers (other than the one I just made for him with Peanuts on it) and so this one is just too cute!

There are so many weeks that I don't get any fluffy mail so to get two fluff mail days in one week is just awesome for me! I just had to share with you my joy for Fluffy mail. When I saw the mail on Friday I started singing "Oh fluffy mail, oh fluffy mail, how i truly love thee!" (to the theme of O Christmas Tree) :) Hubby and LJ got a kick out of that. LJ was then trying to sing "fluffy mail" too. It was cute.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend and a great week leading up to Christmas!

Until next time.. Happy Holiday preparations!

Season of Advent - Day 21

It has been a little while since I have posted about our Advent activities. Shortly after my last post, we were able to decorate our tree. LJ had fun helping us, though he likes to put all of the ornaments in one location, so we were helping him try to spread things out a little more. :)
Our Advent Manger scene is really coming along. We have enough stickers for the wall that one day we will do an animal or person and the next day we do two stars. When we get more in to the people (we have just done animals so far) we are actually probably going to do all the wise men in one day and things like that. We have that many stickers and not the many days left. LJ really loves putting these on the wall each day. He gets so excited and loves placing them himself or telling Daddy where to put it (Daddy helps with bigger stickers like the animals).

Our Manger Scene so far

I have been ever mindful of how much Santa has become a part of Christmas and it seems like so many are forgetting what Christmas is really about. It makes me sad to think that way, but so often that is how it seems anymore. I find myself singing many of the great hymns of the season while trying to go to bed and then when I wake. It is nice. We have spoken to LJ a lot about how Christmas is celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus. I love when he then tries to parrot back "Baby Jesus?" Whenever he repeats a word or phrase he always makes it a question, it is very cute.

Another part of my getting ready for Christmas day is to do some baking. Well, some might be a slight under statement. Last year I ended up baking I think at least 6 or 7 dozen cookies for family and friends. I love doing that. This year I can't make as many, as I haven't had a good working oven until today. The oven that was in the house when we moved in had a shot thermostat. At one point it almost maxed out at 600 degrees when it should have been in the 400's. I knew then and there that there was no way I was baking in that oven. Last night Hubby and his dad moved the range from our old house (we have yet to sell it) over to our new house and we put in a replacement (free) range in that house.

What have you and your family been up to in order to prepare for Christmas? I would love to hear all about it!

Until next time... Happy Holiday preparations!

Last minute Gift Ideas from Husky Tools

I never know what to get my Hubby or most of the guys in his family for that matter. They are all about tools though, so usually I end up trying to find some tool that they might like and not already have. Well, with things tight at they are for almost everyone, I can't spend a whole lot on gifts for everyone. Hubby and I both have big families and that would easily run into a whole stinking lot of money and there are just some people I can't make gifts for.
This is where Husky Tools steps in. They have some great gifts for Dads, Granddads, Brothers, friends, almost anyone. The best part? They are all under $20! Where can you get these great tools for such a great price? The Home Depot. That's right, great tools for a great price and at a great store.
If you are like me and end up with last minute shopping to do for Christmas, then I would check out Husky Tools News and see what they have available. I think you might be pleasantly surprised at all that is available. I know I was!

If you can't click on the above link, here is the address: http://huskytoolsnews.com

Until next time... Happy Bargain Hunting!


This post was a sponsored post for Husky Tools. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.

This is just too Cute!

Okay, you may not think so, but I do and that is why I am posting this. :) Yesterday I told you a little about a shirt that my mom bought for LJ that gave me the idea to make a matching diaper. Well, here is the post!
First the shirt that inspired the whole thing:

The Shirt

As it turns out, last year I bought some material that I wanted to make some children's placemats out of, but I could never find a coordinating material for the flip side, so it didn't happen (well, not yet at least). Here is the material already cut in to the diaper pattern (I used the Cloth Revolution Pattern for this diaper).

A little closer shot

Being as this is a very directional pattern on the material, I even had to do the whole cut in the middle of the diaper to flip the pattern, so the front and back will both be upright. You can see the line in the bottom picture where the material flips over. 

I have been working on sewing encased elastic instead of sewing it on to the serged edge, so that was a bit fun with the way that the CRP has you doing elastic. I did have to rip a few stitches out and redo them, but luckily I noticed the problem pretty quick and was only having to rip like ten or so stitches.

So, now you have seen the pieces of this total cuteness separate, now for them finished and together:

I love it!

Of course this diaper wouldn't have been possible either if I had not gotten my snap pliers yesterday either. I used neon yellow caps because I think they are just too cute on the Peanuts material.


Do you have any really cute sets with your diapers matching some piece of clothing? Have you made any diapers that you find just too cute? I would love to hear about it!

Until Next time... Happy Diapering!

Oh Happy Almost Fulffy Mail!

Today was a good day for me mail wise. Not only did I get my package from Amazon so that I basically have all my gifts in the house, but I also got my almost fluffy package from KAM Snaps! A while back I had ordered some plastic snaps from them at a great price and I thought that the pliers I had would work for them. I was wrong. So, I have been left with some great mixed bags of snaps for diaper making, but unable to use them.

Then my mom saw a cute little Peanuts shirt at Walmart and bought it for LJ. It is a picture of the kids all standing around the Christmas tree at the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Well, that made me want so badly to make him a diaper with material that I have with the same picture (that whole story is another post to come soon). I needed to be able to put snaps on my diaper! I get the KAMsnaps newsletters via email and the most recent one mentioned their second quality pliers available for a great deal. How perfect is this timing! I talked to Hubby about maybe buying a set of pliers and the snaps that I could get with it, and with the splitting of the bill with my business partner, I went ahead and ordered it. Well, that was Saturday and I had a nice little envelope waiting for me when the mail lady came. I was so happy I ripped into that package like there was a million bucks in it.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear but some awesome pliers and 14 bags of snaps!

I love that this is second quality(so cheaper) but only for a very minor cosmetic flaw (the hinge looks rusty). Because of that, I was able to get all of the snaps at right! They even threw in the small baggies with some of their oh so cute engraved caps!

Now I can go nuts putting snaps on my diapers that previously I have resigned myself to using Snappis with or just not using. I love Snappis, but there are some fabrics that just don't work well with them.
Oh let the snapping begin!


Until Next Time... Happy Diapering!

do I have enough?

The time is winding down before I get to meet my little Baby C. As you may have read in my 32 week update, the doctor thinks she might actually get closer to 8 pounds, unlike her brother who was born at 6.3 pounds. I had been figuring I would probably have another small baby and making the fitteds in small newborn sizes (some of which fit up to like 7 pounds).

Well, the news of this baby maybe being bigger, had me freaking out a bit. What if the diapers I have made for Baby C don't fit her ever?! What if she is born too big for them? Some of them are just so cute, I would hate if she never had a chance to wear it. The picture at right is one of my favorite ones that I made for her as it ties closed but has the snap down front for her cord and is a cute pink stripe fleece outer. The tie is a pink ribbon I found lying around my sewing room that looked too cute when next to the diaper. :) So, yesterday I found a bunch of sites on different ways to make prefolds at home and some good size charts for the various prefold sizes and ages.


So, now I come to you, fellow cloth mamas! Help me know if the stash I have is good enough (ie big enough) for Baby C's starting stash.

Baby C's stash right now.

Okay, so right now I have an XS AIO (mommy made), 12 Small pockets, 1 OS pocket, 2 OS fitteds, 3 small fitteds, 5 newborn (small) fitteds, 3 newborn prefolds (mommy made yesterday and today), and five covers (1 OS, 3 small, 1 XS). 

I am hoping for maybe a few diapers in Baby C's Christmas gifts, but I am not holding my breathe as they would all need to be bought online and not all our family does online shopping. I am hoping to make a few more prefolds to use as they are quick and it would build my stash quickly. I just want to make sure I have what I would need to cloth diaper my child full time. I don't want to use disposables if I don't need to. I hate that I can't CD full time with LJ, but I am also hoping that soon he will be potty trained. Then his OS diapers can become Baby C's diapers, too. 

Do I have enough diapers to at least start a full time cloth routine possibly while even in the hospital? What style of diaper do you like best for CDing a newborn?

Until next time....Can you help this Momma Out?!

Cloth Diaper Blog - Blog Hop

I recently joined a nice little blog hop called the Cloth Blog - Blog Hop. The above button will take you to Fitteds and Pockets and Snappis, oh my!
This blog hop is for any blog that ever posts about cloth diapers. You can stop by each blog in the hop and follow if you would like, but you don't have to. I know that I always love finding new blogs that love to talk cloth too. I hope you enjoy checking out the blog hop!

Take Time to Share: Traditions

I have wanted to participate in more of these weeks of Taking Time to Share our Christmas Traditions, but of course life has gotten the better of me. Plus there were a couple weeks when I just could not think of anything to write about. This week though, I want to sit back and share some of our Christmas traditions. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to share some of your traditions!
1. Each Christmas Eve my father's family all get together under one roof to celebrate Christmas together. This used to be at my grandparent's house, but now we rotate between the kids' houses since it is too much for my grandfather to do on his own. Sometimes this is the only time each year that we are able to see some of this side of the family. Things start mid afternoon and run into the evening hours. We eat, play, unwrap gifts and just enjoy the company of family. It has been great to watch as we all grow up and now the grandkids have kids so my grandfather can watch his great-grandchildren grow and play even for a little while.
This picture is of my grandfather with LJ at LJ's first Christmas, 2008.

 2. Fudge! Yes, remember that recipe I posted a few weeks back? Well, that is another family tradition that will continue for years to come. Each year my mom has to make it, and each year I help. Now my little sister helps as well. We make a night of it along with celebrating my dad's birthday which is Dec. 22nd. When my mom can no longer make the fudge, I know that my sister and I will make it with our families and pass it out as part of our gifts each year.

3. New for one that I have become a part of. Each year Hubby's Dad's side of the family get together the Sunday after Christmas to celebrate as a family (to lessen all the running around to families that always happens on Christmas day). We all get together and of course eat and exchange gifts. But, you don't just open the gifts willy nilly. We go in order from youngest to oldest around the room opening our presents. It is sort of nice because you can watch each person open a gift and you don't miss things like you can when everyone is opening gifts at the same time.
The picture to the Left is LJ sitting with his Uncle Jim last year and reading a new book.

4. Advent Calendars. As I was growing up, we had a very cute cloth advent calendar. It had a scene of Santa and Mrs. Claus in their house with a nice fire going. Below that were the days in December leading up to Christmas. Each was a pouch where a little mouse would go. Every year my sister and I took turns each day moving that mouse. Some years we would count down from 24 to 1, others, we would go up. This year we are doing the manger scene with LJ as a sort of Advent Calendar and I have up the one I had as a child. I am hoping that some years we will make a calendar as a family. I will just have to wait and see.

I can't wait to see what this year brings for my LJ. Last year he was getting in to Christmas for opening presents and things like that. This year we are starting to teach him more of why we have Christmas to begin with. I don't know what new traditions we may start as LJ grows and Baby C joins our family. I look forward to this time of year as it was always my favorite and filled with wonder.

What are some of your family traditions for this time of year?  I would love hear about them!

Until next time... Happy living!

32 Week Update - 8 Pound Baby!?

Hello again all! Today marks 32 weeks gestation for me. Only 8 weeks left. I am happy about that. This pregnancy has been completely different from my first one and it has not been easy, but I do not want to dwell on the negative right now.
Today I had my doctor's appointment. All went pretty well. I was apparently very calm as my BP was only 100/70. Oh my. :) So far I have gained about 16-17 pounds. I know it isn't a ton, but that is just less that I have to try to lose after she is born.
I was talking to my doctor about size and such because I can tell my belly is bigger and everything. Well, I was shocked by what she told me. LJ was 6.3 at birth. Apparently, by the size of my belly at the moment and I guess her gut, my doctor tonight felt that Baby C could be close to 8 pounds at birth! I know plenty of women have had 8 pound babies, but giving birth to LJ at 6.3 was about what I was hoping for again this time around.
I am also hoping that if the birth is any longer than LJ's, that I have enough time to get some kind of assistance through it.
Overall, I am pretty content with where things are right now, though I do wish it wasn't as difficult to move around, but that is par for pregnancy at times. The end product is all worth it.
I don't have a picture, but let's just say, the belly is bigger than the last picture. I think Thanksgiving had something to do with it too. :)

Until next time ladies (and gents)... Happy Living!

Season of Advent - Day 10

I know that I have not been blogging about our Advent activities each day, but we are doing our best to prepare our hearts for the celebration of our Savior's birth. Each night LJ and Hubby get together to pick out what image we are going to add to our manger scene that is this year's "advent calendar." LJ is always so excited to put up the stickers that he wants to put them all up at one time. Every night he asks to do more, but we have to tell him we will put up another picture the next night.

Our Manger scene so far

It has taken us a bit of time to find the time to decorate our house more for the Christmas season, but yesterday I brought in our boxes of decorations so they would be here when I was in the mood to decorate for Christmas, and that ended up being today. We did some of our indoor decorating last night, but it mostly consisted of putting garland up our banister and some garland on our mantel (with an added string of colored lights). I was happy that we were also able to put up our stockings. It did make me realize though, that we never did get a really nice stocking for LJ as we had a feeling my mother-in-law may make one for him. She may make one yet, but we are going to go out this weekend to buy two cute stockings (might as well prepare for Baby C's first Christmas while we are at it) and then I am going to customize them myself to make them special. 

Today I wanted to do more decorating around the house, so I put up more of our decorations on the mantel, and I am surprising Hubby by having the tree up and already strung with lights when he gets home. LJ doesn't know about the tree either, so when he wakes from his nap, he will be so surprised! My hope is that tonight we can prepare our house by putting ornaments on our tree as a family. 

Here are some pictures of more of our decorations.

How are you preparing your hearts and homes during this Advent Season? I would love to read your comments!

Until next time... Happy Prepartions!

I've been featured!

Last week the Kickernappies blog let it be known that they were looking for guest bloggers. Well, of course I responded. It helps that I love my knickernappies diapers. I got some Ideas from Julie over at Knickernappies and began writing my post. It ended up long, as many of my posts do, but I attribute this to my writing background. :)
Anyway, today my blog post is on their blog. I ended up writing about the start of my cloth diapering journey and how I have become addicted to cloth. If you want to learn how to become a cloth diapering addict, head on over to the Knickernappies blog and read my guest post!

Win an Ergo at Luvs Jurn3

As you have probably been able to tell, I am beginning to enter a lot more giveaways lately seeing if I can win any diapers for Baby C like I did for LJ when I first began to use cloth with him. Well, today Luvs Jurn3 posted a giveaway I sure hope I win. She reviewed an ErgoBaby carrier. I have been dreaming of getting one of these, but we just can't buy one new.The giveaway ends on 12/16, so you have some time to head over and enter yourself. Good luck ladies (and any gents who read and want to enter too)!

If you cannot click on the link above here is the address for you to copy and paste:
http://luvsjurn3.blogspot.com/2010/11/luvs-jurn3-ultimate-baby-shower-event.html

Free Fluff - 29 Days of Christmas

There is a great blog out there called 29 Diapers. It is all about cloth and helping explain all that comes with being a cloth family. Today is day 6 of a great little event they are having called 29 days of Christmas. Each day they are having a new giveaway open just for that day. So each day you have a chance at winning some great fluff! Who doesn't love new fluff, especially around the holidays!? So, head on over to http://www.29diapers.com and check out their 29 days of Christmas.

The Season of Advent - Day 2

While most people know or have heard of advent calendars and Advent for December, not everyone knows that the true Season of Advent starts 4 Sundays before Christmas. That means that  this year November 28th was the beginning of Advent.
We want to teach our children about Jesus and God at an early age. One way to begin to teach children about the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the Advent season and explain take the time to explain it to them each day.
It can be hard to teach young children about something and know that they are really understanding it. I had seen a great post on Advent calendars and making your own over at Keeper of the Home, and it made me start thinking about Advent season in our house and how we can celebrate it. I wanted to make our calendar this year with LJ, but that isn't going to happen as we have had to much going on. Then while I was out with my mom on Saturday I saw the cutest thing at Walmart. It is a set of wall/window clings that are the Manger Scene.

There are a ton of stars with this so there are more than enough images for the entire Advent season. I like that the images are kid oriented so my son loves it.
We didn't get to start putting this up yesterday like I had hoped, so I did two images today. I got my son together with me and we cleaned the wall to make sure the clings would stick. Then I picked what would be the best images to start with: the manger and the words.

First, i put up the manger as this would be the center of the rest of the season. LJ wasn't too interested in it at first, but then he saw that mommy had put something on our wall, and that made him want to see what I was doing. I explained to him that we were starting our advent season and that this is when we celebrate Baby Jesus being born.

Once the manger was up I told LJ we were going to put up one more picture and I read what the words said. After peeling it off of the backing, I had him help me put it on the wall. He really liked helping me put something on the wall and making sure it was stuck on.

I think this is a really cute manger scene. One thing I like it that it can come off and be repositioned on the wall. I don't know if it will last more than one year, but at the price I paid, it wouldn't entirely matter and maybe next year we will finally be able to make our own family Advent Calendar that we can use year after year.
I look forward to seeing what picture LJ will want to put up tomorrow. I am going to let him pick the picture each day and then before we leave our house on Christmas Eve we will put up the last cling which I will of course make sure is the Baby Jesus asleep in the hay. :)

How do you celebrate the Advent season with your family? Do you have a calendar you use each year or some other tradition you have in prepare yourselves for Christmas? I would love to hear from you!

Until next time... Happy Advent!

Ring in the New Year Event!

I have found a great new blog (well, new to me). Her name is Bargain Mom. Starting December 1st, she is host her biggest event to date. Well, that might be all well and good, but why blast it to the world? Well, I will tell you why. She is having a giveaway a week for the month of December and there will be a grand prize winner for the event that will be drawn on January 1st.

What is the grand prize? Well, how about a $500 DeluxeCard Visa gift card plus over $1,500 in prizes from her sponsors!
How awesome is that!?! She hasn't listed all of her sponsors yet, but they will be up soon. I can't wait to see what all is in store for us, but it is sounding like this is going to be one great way to Ring in the New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! I know that this can be the beginning of a very busy Holiday Season. This year we will have a nice busy but fun Thanksgiving having two different meals with family. First we will eat with Hubby's family, and then we will head over to my parent's house for some dessert and such. Of course as it turns out, the two meals are going to be starting about an hour or so after each other. That is why the dessert is at the second place and not another full meal. :) I was hoping there would be even a few hours between the two meals, but that is how things go.
I hope everyone has a great day and a good weekend! Let us all remember all that we have to be thankful for! I know there is so much for me to be thankful for this year, but that is another post. For now, I must go and begin this great long weekend with family.

Until next time... happy eating!

30 Week Update

Well, Wednesday will mark 30 weeks for me. I can't believe I only have ten weeks left before we meet Baby C. Monday afternoon I had my doctor's appointment.

I was really anxious for this one because it was my first one since getting my 28 week blood work done which included the glucose tolerance test. With LJ I was told that I passed, but I was pretty close to the cut off. I really did not want to have to take the 3 hour test or be told I had gestational diabetes. Luckily, my doctor said all my test results came back completely within normal ranges. I was so happy to hear that. He didn't even act like they were close to cut off numbers either. Big thumbs up!

Everything else also checked out with Baby C today. My weight went up a good number since my last visit. I think I am at about 14 pounds gained so far. After the start I had, I think this is pretty decent. I mean I did only gain 24 with LJ, too, so I wasn't expecting big numbers anyway. The nurse didn't tell me my blood pressure but said that it was good. Baby C's heart-rate was in the 140s when the doctor listened to it on the doppler. I knew she was sleeping as she hadn't moved around much before then. Actually, she hasn't moved too much all day. I think her most active times of day are the night times when I want to sleep and such, of course.

So, things are going well so far. I am already at the point where I want to meet her and get this over with. She really like to stretch out and make me uncomfortable.
The other day I realized that we really had not taken any pregnancy pictures this time around where as we had tried taking pictures every two weeks or so with LJ. So, this past Sunday I had Hubby take a preggy pic so we can have at least a few pictures of this pregnancy. So, without further adieu,

taken at 29 weeks and 4 days

There are a lot of great things that will be going on in the next couple months and so here's hoping we can all keep up and enjoy the holidays and I can keep you all up to date as to what is going on. :)

Until next time... Happy Living!

First handmade baby blanket

Baby C now has her very first handmade baby blanket ready and waiting for her arrival. Yesterday after church the family went over to Hubby's grandmother's house for some visit time. We go most weeks really.
Yesterday as I was sitting at the counter after eating some lunch, Hubby's Nan came out with the cutest little blanket. She crocheted it just for Baby C. I just had to share it with you because it is so cute!

The blanket in all its glory

A close up of one of the bears with its pink bow

This is the third blanket like this that she has made but the first one that she could put pink on instead of blue. :) The blanket is the perfect size for draping over the baby's car seat during the chilly February weather that we have here. I just love it.
I think this may have even renewed my desire to make sure I get the knit cap done that I am knitting for Baby C to wear home from the hospital.

Until next time... Happy Living!

Stuff your stockings in one stop

A great blog to follow is the Bragging Mommy. Right now the Bragging Mommy is having the Brag Worthy Christmas event going on. Currently she is hosting a Brag Worthy Stocking Stuffers giveaway.The winner will get enough things to stuff the stockings of all those you need to get stocking stuffers for. Mom, Dad, baby, brother, sister, everyone. There are some really great prizes to be had in this prize pack. Whoever does win this giveaway is in for an easy shopping year. :)

If the above giveaway link does not work, you can copy and paste this one in to your browser:
http://www.thebraggingmommy.com/2010/11/19/brag-worthy-christmas-brag-worthy-stocking-stuffers-stocking-stuffers-prize-pack-giveaway/comment-page-3/#comment-77084

Until next time... Happy Shopping!

I'm on Facebook!

I have gone ahead and made up a Facebook fan page for Lynifer's Blog! I am also setting it up with my networked blogs profile so that these posts should be automatically added to my fan page so you will always know when I have a new post up, if you don't alreayd get my feed, emails, or likewise. :) I hope that you will head over and like my page and then we can continue to make this blog grow into something awesome!

If you cannot click on the link above, you can copy and paste the address below:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lynifers-Blog/165379306829846?installed=1&fb_page_id=165379306829846

Take time to Share your Christmas Traditions - Recipes

This weeks theme is "Recipes". How yummy! Also, who doesn't have a recipe that they make every year? I know my mother has one that she has been making for over 20 years and now it is to the point that if she shows up to our big Christmas Eve with my Dad's family without her fudge, she can't come in. Yes, fudge. Noone said these recipes would be healthy. Heck, most holiday recipes are exactly the opposite. This is the time of year that everyone lets loose a bit and we all gain weight because of it. I am starting to get my own recipes of note, but I think for now, I am going to share my mom's awesome recipe, that I have now begun to make as well. This fudge is super simple and oh so yummy!

The ingredients:
two sticks of butter (you can mix one stick of butter and one margarine if you prefer, but you need some good old butter in there), cut into pieces (for ease of melting)
two bags of chocolate chips
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
a can of evaporated milk (not condensed)
4 cups of sugar
Tin pans or plastic containers for storage and packaging (well greased)

Directions:

Put butter, chips, and vanilla in large mixing bowl. You want to make sure the bowl is large enough for all ingredients plus room for vigorous stirring. Set aside.
Pour sugar into large sauce pan and add the can of milk. Heat over medium to medium/high until it comes to a boil. Boil 8 minutes, stirring constantly. You may need to adjust your heat from time to time to keep from boiling over, but you need to maintain a good boil as well.
When 8 minutes is up, pour mixture over the chips mixture in the bowl. Stir vigorously until chips and better are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour into containers and allow to cool. We tend to use the 4 or 5 inch decorative tin pans that you can buy at the store. The smaller tins allow you to cool it and then give it as a gift without having to cut it into smaller pieces first. Allow the fudge to cool overnight or until firm. Do not put lids on the containers until the fudge has cooled. This recipe can make about 4or 5 containers of fudge that is about an inch thick.
I will post a follow up to this post with pictures once we make our fudge for this Christmas. It should be just in time for Christmas, as we are planning our Fudge Night for the weekend of the 19th of December. Yes, we do a Fudge Night as we make at least three batches each year.
You may want to keep your eyes open this week as I just may post some more great family recipes throughout the week. ;)

Until next time...Happy Cooking!

3 more cloth mommas - FTT

During the month of November, BethAnne over at Happily Domestic is sharing interviews with other cloth mommas during her Fluff Talk Thursdays. This week I am one of them! To learn more about my journey in cloth as well as more info on two other great moms head on over and check it out. The other moms this week are Tara from small town mom and Chari from Take time to smell the Rose. I hope you all head on over and check out the stories of these other great mommas.

Until next time... Happy Blogging!

New Meme to follow

Instead of all of the Gift Guide events and everything that is going on this time of year, Chari over at Take time to smell the Rose, is starting a new meme for the Holiday Season. Each week Chari will focus on one area of Holiday tradtions that each of us have. I love this idea so that each of us can think of all of the great family traditions that we hold with our families and then we can share them with fellow blogging moms and dads.
Let's remember what the focus of this season really should be. This meme can help with that. It can help us to slow down a little and think back to what we love about the season.
I know that I plan on participating in as many weeks of this meme as I can and I hope that you will too. Too busy? Each week the meme will stay open until the following Friday. You get a week to do this. Don't have a blog? Leave a comment at the end of her post for the rest of us to share.

Until next time... Happy Reminiscing!

Will you take my survey?

To all my wonderful readers. I am trying to get a better sense of who my readers are. If you could please find some time to take the little survey that you can find at the bottom of my blog, it would be greatly appreciated.
I want this blog to be an ever evolving and growing blog, and to do that, I want to know more about who you are. Then I can use that information to make this blog even better! Thanks ladies and gents!

Until next time... Happy Living!

To have an Event or not to have an Event....

So, like so many other mommy bloggers out there right now, I am expecting another baby. I was thinking of having a new baby event, but there are just some catches.
One - I have no idea what I am doing to host an event. I know I can contact the companies or stores to see if they would be willing to sponsor a review and giveaway and such, but I want to make sure that I don't come across as just looking for free handouts, you know?
Two - Is the new baby event being over done right now? Am I coming in to this event thing a little late? I know there have been a ton of expectant moms who have been hosting events lately, and I don't want to overdo a good thing.
How long does it normally take to set up an event like this? I wasn't thinking of going to extremes and having like a million reviews and giveaways, just a few of some great products. I would also love to feature some etsy shops if there are any that would like to join in on the fun.

Do you have a product that you would like me to review and or host a giveaway in my up coming event?
If you do, contact me at whocg23 at gmail.com

If you would like to offer help in setting up an event or would like to be a part of the event, please feel free to contact me. :)

Until next time... Happy Blogging!

Free Songs

I don't know who else has kids that are in love with VeggieTales, but if you do, you are not alone. My son loves to watch VeggieTales and loves the songs.
Today amazon.com is having a great special for all of us with such kids. If you go to amazon's website, you can download the entire mp3 album of "The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree." They had this same deal a week or two ago and I had downloaded the album then. I was kicking myself that I didn't share it with all of you, so now I am getting a second chance.Even if your kids don't watch or listen to VeggieTales all that much, it is a great album to listen to. They always have some really silly songs, but also songs that are great lessons for the kids to hear and hopefully learn.

In case the above link does not work, you can copy and paste the following:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Incredible-Singing-Christmas-Tree/dp/B001232ODA/ref=xs_gb_bd_BsBCAshIL6Dx?pf_rd_p=441937801&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1DGKPANMPE66H27W9YTP

Until next time... Happy Veggie Singing!

Mini Series in Fluff Talk Thursdays

BethAnne over at Happily Domestic has come up with a great idea for a little mini series in her Meme, Fluff Talk Thursdays. For the whole month of November she will be interviewing and then featuring other cloth moms. Each week she is featuring three new moms. Most of the moms are fellow bloggers and all use cloth.
This is a great way to build up our community of cloth mommas on the interwebs. I will be featured this coming week and I do believe BethAnne still has slots available. So, if you are interested in chatting a bit about your journey in the world of cloth diapers, drop on over to Happily Domestic and drop BethAnne a line. I know she, as well as I, always love to get comment love and things like that. :)
If interested, I will be posting a link to this weeks Fluff Talk Thursday when it is posted.
Until next time.... Happy Diapering, Mommas!

expanding to Facebook

I really want to expand my blogging presence to facebook, but I am not sure how to go about doing it. I already have a fan page for my business Lynifer. Would suggest that I just do a fan page for the blog or do you find it easier or better to just make a second account where you have friends instead of fans? I don't know if that makes any sense. I notice that a lot of the companies and such use fan pages where I "Like" them in order to follow them. I am thinking that this might be a better way to do things, but I am not sure. I want to start seperating my personal accounts from the more business oriented ones and I want to make sure I do it in a way that will last.
What are your suggestions? I already have my twitter account, though I may be changing my name on there to go more with the blog and business.
Oh and I am doing this in preparation for this blog growing more with reviews and giveaways as well as being all about cloth and the business of Lynifer.
Until next time... Happy Facebooking!

Converting to cloth?

Hi all. I need your help. I have a friend of mine who is due in march with twins. As we all know, diapers for any child really can rack up in cost, let alone using disposable diapers for two kiddos at the same time. I know I want to try to convert her over to the cloth side, but I need your help. I have used cloth for one, but how have mommas done who used cloth for twins or just having two kids in cloth at the same time?
I know she is going to have a ton of questions for me, if she is at all interested. What was the wash load like? Is it that much harder than sposies? I know for me, using cloth is really not that bad, but I don't know what it would be like for twins.
What has been your experience using cloth diapers for more than one baby at a time? What advice could you offer up to this momma of twins to be?
I need your help!
Until next time...Happy Diapering!

Two Diapers in the works!

So, I have been renewed in my love and quest to make our own cloth diapers. I have been looking at supplies online and all that fun stuff, but at the same time, we don't have the funds to be buying all the hook and loop or snaps (snap pliers in particular) to make enough diapers to sell them and keep some for ourselves. So, I found an awesome diaper online the other day and it made me realize that we don't need hook and loop or snaps to have a diaper. I mean, yes, I know there will always be pins and snappis, but what if you don't have those either?
The solution: Tie diapers!

 

My first tie diaper

With ties, you don't need to have a snappi, pin, aplix, or snaps. All you need is already with the diaper. Now, yes these diapers do not have PUL, but they could. 

I have been looking online to see what kind of tutorials or patterns I could find that were for tie diapers. Well, there isn't much out there. I did find one or two sets of pictures that showed me what one style of tie diaper looks like, so I used that to draft my own patterns.

I now have two different patterns for tie diapers. Of course they need to be tweaked a bit and I have been making things sized for my LJ, but the one in the picture above can be more of a one size diaper.

 Outer of diaper

 Inner of diaper

Pocket in front

I made this out of an old T-shirt that I had. When I laid things out on the shirt, I realized that if I lined the front of the pattern up with the bottom of the shirt, I could use the finished edge of the shirt to make this an awesome pocket diaper. I like pockets that are in the front and have nice big openings. This is more of a Size 2 of a two size diaper system in that the way it is currently designed, the waist would not get small enough for a new newborn, but it will get for a kiddo that is maybe 20 pounds or more. The rise is adjustable in that you just fold down the front to the rise you need. 

Yes, once this is tweaked and we think it is ready for Lynifer, we are going to offer it in our line-up of items for sale. I am super excited to get some patterns ready for diapers for Lynifer to sell. I think it is a good way for the business to go. Lynifer will also be going more in to the world of Etsy too once we have more items actually made that we can sell. 

So, keep your eyes peeled for new things coming to Lynifer and for diapers to be coming soon too!

Until next time... Happy Diapering!

26 Week Update

Hi all. I know that I have been sort of absent lately. Life has continued to keep me away from the computer for the most part. I do want to write more, but we will see how things go, especially once Peanut gets here. Today marks 26 weeks gestation for me. I had my baby doctor appointment on Monday. Happy enough, I have gained at least four pounds since my last visit, so I know she is growing in there. My blood pressure is great as well. As Hubby puts it, I am cool as a cucumber. :) My doc didn't say how big my belly was, but I know I am pretty much right on target, or she would have mentioned something. I got the hear Peanut's heartbeat and it was strong and steady again.
Overall they are very pleased with how things are progressing. I am glad that I am in what I figure is the "honeymoon" stage of pregnancy. I feel good, of course there is always going to be some tiredness, and I am comfortably pregnant now.Of course, I know that I am apparently smaller in the belly than most pregnant ladies. I say this only because it seems that all I hear is how tiny I am. You know how you want to just tell people to be quiet when they think your due date is closer because to them you are huge? Well, it is the same way when you are smaller. And you know what? Maybe the baby is just sitting in a way that makes most of the belly disappear. Some days I look about as far along as I am; other days I look a little smaller, and then there are days that it changes almost hourly. But that is my rant on that for now. :)
Anyway, back to the update. We have been trying to make this concept of new baby in the family a smooth transition for LJ. A few weeks ago we took the front off of his crib and put up one of the small sides so he wouldn't fall out. We were happy to let him stay in the bed like that for a while, so he was used to it and then when he wanted, or when it was closer to Peanut's due date, we would get him some special sheets for his new big boy bed. Well, yesterday LJ made the move all by himself. When I took him up for his nap, he decided to run over to the big boy bed that has been set up in his room since the move and jump in. Of course as it stands, the bed only had a fitted sheet on it. I brought over his pillow, blankets, and his baby and stuffed animals to the big bed and he took his nap there. Last night we asked him which bed he wanted to sleep in, and big bed it was. He has now spent two days in that bed. He just went up to bed for the second day in his big boy bed. I guess we are going to have to get those sheets sooner than we thought. :)
I could of course go on and on for quite a while updating you on all that has been going on lately, but I know how it can be reading such long posts. This has gotten long enough for now. I will be sure to update you again soon!
Until next time... Happy Living!

Oh the Portability!

For a while now I have been living with my desktop. During college I had a laptop and loved having a laptop. That computer had Windows ME. Woof. Towards the end of college Windows XP came out and my college had it for sale for nice and cheap as an upgrade. Well, what we quickly learned was that laptops running ME should NEVER be upgraded to XP because they just can't handle it. I ended up slowing down my computer so much it was practically unusable. After a bit, I just got myself a desktop (when I married Hubby and we had a house to put it in) that was very nice.
Don't get me wrong, I do love my desktop. It is really nice and has served me well, but you know, it really isn't portable. Portability is so nice when I now have a two story house where the desktop is downstairs and my sewing room is upstairs. Also, when I do craft shows, I would love to have a laptop there for Lynifer's use and for helping my customers better.
So, Hubby and I have been married for almost 5 years. November 4th will be five years of marriage with 11 years of us being together. We were trying to think of what we wanted to do big for our anniversary present. Since a new laptop (preferably and tablet) had been on my list of wants for quite a while (mostly for Lynifer, but also nice for me) we decided that for our anniversary we bought each other new laptops.
So, what kind of laptop did I get? I got myself a very awesome laptop. It is the new HP TouchSmart Tm2.

I got my Tablet PC! We built the PC on the HP website to make it just how I wanted it, and also to be basically the same as the laptop we were getting for my husband (he wanted to see how the price would compare). Well, when we ordered the laptop we got an estimated build date of Oct. 22. A few days later I got the email that my laptop was being built and it was shipped. I got the laptop three days before it was supposed to be here too. It was so nice.
Well, I have had the laptop a couple days now, and I am totally in love! It charges up really quickly, and it stays alive on battery power for a good amount of time. By not having the screen on full brightness, I can have a totally portable laptop in use for a good five hours or more. It all depends on how much I am using it at the time.
I love being able to flip the screen around and have what is more like a notebook than a computer. The TouchSmart tm2 comes with a stylus pen that stores in the side for use whenever. The pen is great and the recognition is amazing. I don't have the greatest of handwriting and it knows what I am writing almost every time. This really is a great laptop and I can't wait to take it to shows for Lynifer and see what it can do for me there!
Okay, I just had to tell you all about my new laptop. Now I am done. :)
Until next time.... Happy Computing!

Back Carrier for Baby

I love babywearing. It is a great way to make sure that your little one is always near you and you know what they need. When I had LJ I found the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder sling. I liked it. When LJ was maybe close to a year I learned about the Moby and I ended up making something very similar. I love my "Moby" wrap but I recently learned that they no longer suggest using it to carry baby on your back. While I don't know how often I would carry Baby on my back or Hubby's, I wanted to start my search now for a carrier that might work. I don't really like the carriers with the metal supports and all that are more meant for hiking up a mountain with a kid.
This is where I need your help mommas!
What soft baby carrier is your favorite for using when carrying baby on your back? I have seen so many. I know that you can back carry with an Ergo. Have any of you tried an Ergo and did you like it? What, if any, were the pit falls?
I want to wear Baby longer than I did LJ, if she allows.
I need your help!

Until next time....Happy Babywearing!

And the Child Goes Wild

Is it just me or do kids seem to go absolutely nuts when their dads are away? Hubby had to go out of town for like three days. Well, he left yesterday and it seems like as soon as LJ woke up yesterday morning, he knew Hubby was gone for a bit and he decided to go crazy! He has done everything he knows that will drive me bonkers while Hubby is away. I can't wait for Hubby to come home, hopefully tomorrow so he can once again save me from the insanity that is our child. :)
Don't get me wrong, I love LJ and all his craziness, but when I don't get the luxury of Hubby coming home after a day's work to help me with LJ, it seems like everything is worse times ten. Of course this is not helped by the fact that I am 22 weeks along now and really not always up for all of this crazy two year old stuff.
Yesterday I was lucky enough to have a friend come over for the day. She loves to come over and chill for a bit anyway since she is otherwise confined to her apartment (no car) with her 7 month old. It was also nice because then she could come with me and LJ while I had my latest baby doc appt. We heard CE's heartbeat. The doc didn't have her watch on her, so I don't know quite how many bpm, but it was loud fast and steady. All good things to hear about a baby's heartbeat. Everything mommy related looked good too. Well, to a point, I guess I should say. She was happy with my weight gain since the last visit, but what I didn't realize is that while I gained 3 pounds since last time, that only put me at a whopping +4 for the entire pregnancy. Oops! I didn't realize exactly how much weight I lost at the beginning. She would be happy to see me at a pound a week for the rest of this pregnancy. Oy. We shall see. Well, I hear LJ calling for me from the playroom. I better go for now.
Until next time... Happy Living!

Another Baby Event

Okay. So, in line with yesterday's post, I have found another great mommy blogger who is hosting an awesome event. The blog: Monkey Tales. The event: Mommy & Me Baby Blessings Event. I have been following Monkey tales since just before I started blogging. It was her blog along with a couple others that made me want to start blogging.
Anyway, back to the event. She will be hosting a great event for any mommy-to-be, already a mommy, or for those who know someone who is going to be a mommy. There will even be some giveaways just for mom. She is even giving her readers until September 30th to get extra entries in to her giveaways. I am super excited to see what she has in store. I can't wait to see if I am a lucky winner of some great baby gear for our soon to be baby. :)
Head on over to Monkey Tales and check things out! I am sure you will not be disappointed.

Baby Ultrasound

Well, this morning Hubby and I went up to the hospital and had our level II unltrasound done on Peanut. We were super excited for today to come as we decided this time around we wanted to find out what we are having. That is going to have to wait until another day as most of our family and friends still do not know. Anyway, Peanut looks great! At one point (the first picture printed for us) Peanut was acting like "The Fonz".

 That is Peanut's right hand doing "The Fonz"

It was cute. So, right now I can share one other picture with you. It is when they actually did a 3D part of the ultrasound. They did not do this with LJ so it was a very pleasant surprise. Peanut at first was not cooperating with us and had both hands over their face. Then Peanut moved and we got this picture:

Again, I think it looks like Peanut is doing the Fonz move (three fingers curled, the pointer outstretched, and the thumb in the air), but who knows.
I was getting all kinds of kicks and punches during the ultrasound. It was funny watching it on the monitor. We are just so happy that Peanut looks happy and healthy in there and is staying nice and active.
Stay tuned for a post to come in the next few days, maybe a week or so, when I can announce what Peanut really is, and maybe even a name. ;)

So, for family and friends we made a shirt for my son that said he was taking bets as to whether he is having a little brother or sister. What is your bet? There is still time to guess since I am not announcing it to all of you quite yet. (and if you are family or a friend who already knows, no giving it away yet!) :)

Until next time...Happy Living!