The truth about marriage

I just want to quickly encourage people to read this story: The True Story of a Seven Year Marriage. 

This article made me cry. It is beautifully written and so incredibly true. 

Marriage is something wonderful but not always magical. It's not always about passion and feeling "in love". It's about commitment and family and some days, it's about simply saying I will not give up. It's about acknowledging that you can always find your way back if you try hard enough. 

What a beautiful and encouraging truth. 

Overwhelmed

Today was an overwhelming day. Twice a week I watch a little guy, he's 20 months old and adorable and mischievous and such a sweetheart. However, he is an extra munchkin in the house. An extra loud crazy active munchkin. I love watching him because he plays so well with both my boys, it's great to have the extra income and I know it relieves stress from his parents because he's so happy here. But, I'm tired. It's a lot of work. My house is a disaster after the 3 boys get done with it. My kitchen is crazy. And I never know what to feed them. And someone is always poopy, hungry and/or getting into trouble.

It makes me really wonder if I want another kid. I mean I know I do but can I handle it? Will my house ever be clean again? Will I ever be clean again (I wonder as I look down at my spit up and banana smeared clothes)?

I had a whole post planned on camping with munchkins (which we did this past week - so much fun!) but I'm too tired so instead you can all read about how I'm tired :)

On the plus side, I can announce that I just got a new job! Because that's going to help with the exhaustion right? :) I am now the Director of Children's Ministry at my church! Woot, woot. So excited. This is like my dream job. It's super flexible, it's administration based, it's working with kids and its in an environment that I love (my home church). I work one day a week in the office, my mom will come in and watch the kids for me and if she's not able to, my old dayhome (who is amazing!) will watch the boys for me. I then have to work 3 hours on Sunday (but I'm already there every week anyways so no hardship for me) and then 4 hours at home. Pretty much ideal. I'm pretty excited about it. I start next week! Wish me luck!

Tushie Tuq Cloth Diapers - My Review

I didn't do cloth with my first, I sort of wanted to when I saw my sister doing them but Hubby wasn't really interested and I planned on going back to work so I knew I would probably have to switch back to disposables then any ways so we just didn't. However when Baby K arrived, I had watched my sister successfully cloth diaper two kids and I just felt like it was something I wanted to do, however I was scared of that large initial purchase. 

My sister uses Bum Genius 4.0 snaps and highly recommended them, however the price tag scared me. She told me her sister in law used this Canadian brand called Tushie Tuq's and they were much more reasonable. No kidding - they were 15 diapers, 1 wet bag and 1 diaper sprayer for $160! 

However, I could not find a single review of these diapers that weren't on their website. I'm always hesitant to move forward with buying something when I can't find a review but I knew my sister had heard good things so I decided the cost investment wasn't huge. I figured that was about 6 months of disposable diapers so I figured I had to commit for at least 6 months. 

They comes in this minky material, so soft and cuddly. They are pocket diapers so super easy to use. I prepped the diapers according to the instructions and off we went on our cloth diaper adventure! 

Look how adorable he looks in his new cozy diapers! I loved the look of them, I was a little disappointed at the lack of cute designs but the colors were adorable and they let you pick whatever colors you want so I got green, blue and white. They also had a pumpkin color and a cranberry but they both looked more on the girl side so I stayed with the more boy-ish colors, however they are pretty neutral so I knew if I did end up having a girl, I could easily use them. 

My adventure started off exciting and then dampered pretty quickly. The leaks. Oh man the leaks. It was so frustrating for me to be changing clothes with EVERY SINGLE DIAPER CHANGE. I looked online and saw that I should be using special detergent so I went and bought new detergent, stripped the diapers and then washed my inserts about a million times. That sort of helped but I was still getting leaks every day, often several times a day. I figured out if I changed him every hour and a half and double stuffed at naps, we were usually okay. However that is a lot of bum changes and I felt like I couldn't go out in cloth because I would be constantly changing him or dealing with leaks. 

It was such a disheartening experience for me, I talked to my sister who said her sister in law wasn't dealing with this problem so I can't blame the diapers completely, my son is obviously a heavy wetter. He went through a stage where he even leaked through disposables.

I went to visit my sister about 3 months in and decided to not bring any diapers because she had a bunch of hers available because both her kids were now out of diapers and this was a good opportunity for me to try a different brand. She had the Bum Genius 4.0 snaps. I immediately loved the top of the diaper where they have a bit of the outside material in the inside to prevent leaks and I liked the insert, it felt more absorbent and you could snap it into a smaller size and then it was doubled up on the front or back (depending on the gender, for a boy I obviously put the doubled up end in the front). I used these for the week I was visiting and only had 2 leaks! Amazing. 

Needless to say, I immediately started looking into a new diaper stash! I actually ended up switching to velcro instead of snaps because I do think part of my problem was a fit issue with snaps. I will do a review on my new diapers soon! (Bum Genius Velcro) but as a spoiler - I love them! 

So here is my review on a scale of 1-5 for Tushie Tuq cloth diapers.

These are the criteria: absorbency, cost, overall fit, laundry, the cute factor, the company’s customer service, and Dad-Friendliness.

Absorbency: 2 stars - too many leaks, I think the inserts are the problem more than anything, one day I might try my Bum Genius inserts with the diaper to see if that makes a different

Cost: 4 stars, these are really well-priced and the bundle is a great purchase, we love our diaper sprayer and I use the wet bag constantly

Overall Fit: 2 stars - the leg russets seem to be a little loose and the insert isn't really designed to be on the smallest size so I had a lot of issues with the insert riding up when I had it on the smallest size and then causing leaks from the tummy

Laundry: 4 stars - these are easy to launder, both the cover and the inserts can be placed in the dryer and they are super easy to stuff

The Cute Factor: 4 stars - they look adorable! I love the minky material, the only thing stopping them from 5 stars is that they only have solid colors, no cute patterns

Customer Service: 5 stars - they are easy to work with, it's a small Canadian company which I love. One of my diapers had an issue with a snap and they immediately mailed me out a new one, no questions. 

Dad-Friendliness: 5 stars - my hubby was worried when I wanted to switch to cloth but these are just so easy. You just stuff them and put them on like a disposable and since you can set the snaps in place before hand, you don't need to worry about doing that each time. Taking them off is just as easy, all we need to do is remove the inserts before throwing into the pail. The diaper sprayer makes poop removal super easy too! 

Total Review: 2.5 stars - they are a great company, easy to use but the leak factor just brings them down too much. 

DIY Workbench

I love pinterest and I especially love the DIY and Kids section of pinterest - especially when they coincide. I found an adorable little workbench over a year ago and had it in the back of my mind as a gift for Z and when I showed Hubby my idea, he loved it and immediately decided to start building it. It turned out perfectly! All it took was some scrap wood, a bit of peg board, some peg board clips and some paint.

Z LOVES it! He constantly wants to go into the garage and play with his new tools. We figured this cost us around $8 (we already had everything but the peg board clips). Can't really complain about this! 

Elmo Birthday Party

So Z turned three last month and this was a big deal for everyone. It was a big deal to me because three seems a lot older, he was old enough to have a preference and old enough to really understand what was going on. Plus last year I was on bed rest so his second birthday just wasn't that exciting!
It was really exciting for Z because he knew this was a party all for him! We told him about 6 weeks in advance that he was having a birthday and he was allowed to pick the theme! He immediately requested batman. I was really surprised but figured if that's what he wanted, well then he can have batman so I started looking on pinterest and finding ideas on batman parties. Well two days later, he switches to Dinosaurs. Next was fire trucks. Finally he said he wanted Elmo. That one really made sense to me because he loves Elmo! So I gave him a week and when that was still his choice, I told him it was official and I was going to go buy the invitations. Thankfully Target has officially come to Canada so I was able to go Target and find some adorable invitations and decorations. The final thing was the cake, we are cheap so I knew I was going to make the cake but I also really wanted to have a decorated cake for Z so I once again went to pinterest and got some ideas there and then we started. My husband is the OCD arty person in the family and I'm the baker so I made the cake and he decorated, I think it was a huge success! I don't think Z has ever been so excited about anything!

Day in the life

So I haven't updated my blog in well...almost a year. One reason is because we didn't have a computer, just an iPad and I absolutely hate typing on an iPad but another reason is that I am busy with my two little munchkins. Life is not necessarily slower these days but a little more controllable. Baby K is in a pretty decent routine, he (usually) naps for an hour and a half in the morning and then two hours in the afternoon which usually allows me to get some stuff down, which is good because when he is awake - nothing gets done. He was my angel baby, so quiet and content and just perfect. And while he's certainly not a bad baby now, he's just nowhere near as quiet and content. All he does is move. Constantly. Up and down. He finds one thing, destroys it and then moves on to the next. I had forgotten how crazy this stage was. How loud this stage was! Baby K is so happy until you take something away from him or you stop him from doing what he wants to be doing and then oh man, he could shatter windows! Z is three now (how did that happen!) and I find myself just loving this age. He is independent but still a little boy. He loves to read, play with lego and playmobile and loves his brother. He finally has a good vocabulary where I can understand most of what he is saying and have full conversations with him. I just love this age.
Something I've noticed lately on blogs is moms doing "A Day in My Life" which I think is kind of a fun read and shows how crazy the life of a stay at home mom can be! I apologize in advance for the lengthy posts but my days are pretty full!
So here is a day in my life:

5:45 a.m. Baby K wakes up, Hubby and I argue over whose turn it is to feed him, this time it's mine so I crawl out of bed, get a bottle ready, feed him and pray he goes back to sleep - success!
6:20 a.m. Z is up. We have a Gro Clock which turns into a sun when it's time to get up and while it works beautifully, I'm pretty sure Z sits in bed and stares at it waiting for it to turn since he always runs into our room at exactly 6:20 which is what it is currently set for, oh well, better than 5:30!
6:30 a.m. Set up the playmobile knights for Z to play with while I have my morning coffee. This has been his new obsession, we got them about two weeks ago and he plays with them every spare moment.
7:00 a.m. Breakfast for Z - toast, watermelon and yogurt. Baby K wakes up. Bum change, change him out of pajamas and downstairs we go. Baby K decides he is starving so breakfast for him as well. I get to use my new yummy pouches! Baby K refuses to let me spoon feed him which really limits me because he won't eat oatmeal, yogurt, applesauce.... I feel like breakfast is always toast for him so I bought a 6 pack of reusable pouches from yummy pouches and put some greek yogurt in it for him - success! He happily slurped out the whole thing of yogurt! He will happily eat finger foods so he had cheerios and watermelon as well.
7:30 a.m. Run a load of laundry. The whole family has been sick so clean sheets are a must! I have to take the cloth diapers out that I did the night before and put them on the drying rack...hopefully I will get the folded today but if not, well that is why I have 30 cloth diapers! I can go several days without folding them and still be okay!

8:00 a.m. Hubby is off to work, the boys love saying goodbye and waving at the window. I pour my second cup of coffee while Z is back playing with the knights and Baby K has discovered my Tupperware drawer.
8:30 a.m. Clean up breakfast dishes, make the kids beds with the spare set of sheets
9:00 a.m. Baby K goes down for a nap (I trip on the knights which are set up on the stairs - due to a baby gate, Z feels this is the safest place for his knights from K), he lets out a loud squack going down (he has skipped morning nap the last two days) making me think this is a lost cause but surprisingly enough by the time I get to the basement he is quiet!

9:15 a.m. Switch the bedding over, get Z settled in the basement with some toys while I work out for twenty minutes
9:45 a.m. Breakfast for me - Peanut Butter Banana Green Smoothie. Snack for Z (seriously this kid is a bottomless pit) - bowl of blueberries, two cookie crackers (thankfully my kid thinks that is what a cookie is) and a sippy cup of my smoothie.

Recipe:

 1 cup spinach, 2 cubes frozen yogurt (you could also just put in a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt but I love it when it's frozen because it just makes the smoothie a little thicker), one banana, 2 tbsp natural peanut butter, 1 cup milk

10:00 a.m. I let Z watch a cartoon while I take a shower...have to get back in because I realized I didn't shave my legs and it's going to be hot today!
10:30 a.m. Z is playing with a sticker book so I am quickly making a couple fruit/veggie blends for Baby K to eat out of his new yummy pouch! Kale, Apple, Banana is my first try - hopefully Baby K likes it! I used to buy the pouches from Baby Gourmet which are fantastic but at $1.25 (on sale!)/pouch, it's a little pricey but he loved the Kale, Apple, Banana one they had so I'm hoping to replicate it!
10:40 a.m. Baby K wakes up..I'm in the middle of steaming Kale so I quickly grab him and give him a bottle in his high chair (first time doing that and he actually managed to do it himself!) and try to finish cooking. I manage to make 6 pouches of Kale, Avocado, Banana and Apple. However, due to the fact that I had an 11 month old either attached to my leg or hip, my kitchen got a little disastrous.

11:15 a.m. Realize I told my mom I would be at her house (half hour away) before noon. Oops! Quickly pack a bag, change Baby K, and try to remember everything I would need for an afternoon out of the house. Correction, pack 2 bags!
11:35 a.m. Out the door! Only 5 minutes late.
12:00-8:00 p.m. Grandma Grandpa's house. Several hours of trying to keep the kids quiet while my niece tried to sleep, did some gardening (my parents live on an acreage so we planted a garden there), hung out with my brother and sister in law who were visiting, and lots of chasing the kids around the house. Z took a nap but Baby K didn't fall asleep until 4 so I only let him sleep an hour.
8:00 p.m. Baby K fell asleep in the car, transfer him to bed. Z wants to play knights with daddy for a bit, since he took a 2 1/2 hour nap at G&G's house, I let him.
8:30 p.m. Z to bed
8:45 p.m. Z comes downstairs and I send him back to bed and I start on the dishes. To all the mom's who empty the dishwasher first thing in the morning and keep the kitchen clean all day. Wow and Kudos. I give up all day and then tackle a giant mess in the evening. But it's kinda my quiet time. I turn on Star Trek Voyager and just do the dishes and enjoy the peace.
9:30 p.m. Put up my extra booster seat since I have an extra kid in the house tomorrow and get my coffee maker ready for tomorrow.
9:35 p.m. Watch an episode of Torchwood with the hubby and then bedtime for me!