A Post of Pictures

I had a mini photoshoot with Brynnie the other day because I LOVED her outfit so I want to share a few of the pictures.

And I have to AW my little girl... she knows how to do "SO BIG". She puts her arms up whenever anyone says it. Sometimes she will grab her hands and pull them up together and she grins the.whole.entire.time. She sometimes sticks her tongue out too and it is ADORABLE!
B & her buddy Gus

You get back over here dog....



"Oh My!"


a little photoshop fun

SOOOOO BIIIIIGGGGGG

See I even do so big with my toys!

So proud of herself

Showing her disappointment in the Bears.


xoxo....P

Cloth Diaper Detergent

Hi! My name is Paige and I'm addicted to cloth diapers.

That being said I have a review on a cloth diaper detergent. Let me preface this by saying I HATED RockN Green. It was terrible! I would seriously want to die when I opened the bag or even just took a diaper off of B. The ammonia stink was terrible. I NEEDED something new.

Then I heard about this great new product made by a WAHD (Work at Home Dad)! It is called Eco Sprout and people at my local CD shop Cutie Poops and Bottoms RAVE about it. (For sale in store and online.) Also availible direct from Eco Sprout.

(Side note: Cutie Poops may be my most favorite store ever. They carry great products, offer amazing classes, and have the nicest most knowledgable employees. Oh and the owner has tons of experience cloth diapering since she has cutie pie twins!)

The WAHD really wanted a NATURAL and Eco Friendly detergent that could be used to cover anything he needed it to. From the daily family laundry to the baby's clothes to the ammonia stench filled cloth diapers.
Each batch of Eco Sprout is hand made and mixed, ensuring a pure batch.  They want families to know that small changes can make a big difference! Changing to an all natural detergent that is highly concentrated limits waste. And seriously who doesn't want something that isn't over processed and chemical filled on their baby's teeny tiny tushie?

So I got my sample from Eco Sprout to review on here and let me tell you it smells Oh My God Ah-Mazing! I got the Cinnamon Stick Seasonal Scent and I LOVED the way it smelled. I was impatient to use it right away but I had just done diaper laundry the day before so I had 2 days to wait to use it! (I may or may not have smelled it multiple times during that 2 days.)
So the night I did laundry I held my breath dumped in the diapers and did a regular wash cycle. The directions say to do a soak but I wanted to see what it did without.
I'm sad to say that was a big mistake. My diapers smelled great coming out of the wash and I was so hopeful.... then I put them on her. Still had the ammonia stink. BOOO. I was disappointed but wanted to give it a couple more chances to test things out. I actually went to Cutie Poops and got another sample even though I could do 3 more loads with my sample I had. (The scent they had availible was Warm Vanilla Sugar - I HATE vanilla but this stuff smelled good - I was pleasantly surprised.)

So I used all of my first sample doing 4 regular washs and had no luck with the stench. :( Then I wanted to try the soak. I FINALLY got around to doing that this past weekend.

I let the diapers soak for almost 12 hours in 2 TBSP of the detergent (Recommended is 3 but I have soft water so I always use less detergent). Full wash cycle with no detergent and then one more full wash cycle with no detergent, then for good measure to make sure the detergent was really out I did a cold rinse. The results....

still have the smell. I'm disappointed about that of course. But what I am most upset about is something I didn't mention until now DIAPER RASH. B never had a rash with the other detergent and every time she has a diaper on that was washed with Eco Sprouts she gets a rash. Right now she actually has a blister. :(

Needless to say I won't be using Eco Sprout but I know several others who will use nothing but. I think it is worth a chance at least. Hopefully you will like them.

And good news is in the mean time I did find a detergent that works amazingly well for us. Baby Dropps. After 1 wash the smell was gone and the rash from before started to clear up.

Hope this helps someone.
xoxo... P

Cloth Diaper Giveaway (not here)

But it is HERE!

Chubby Cherub Cloth Diaper Naturals has an awesome BYOD (Build Your Own Diaper) option that I'm dying to try. Look how cute these ADORABLE paisley prints are!!!!

Anyway the deal - Check out their facebook for a chance to win $1000 Shopping Spree.

I think that since I told you about this awesome opportunity if you win you should spilt your winnings with me, if I don't win that is. Agree? ;)

xoxo...P

In honor of ....

My 29th Birthday!!!!!!!!! Let's talk about now Brynnie Bee is over 6 months old.
We just had her 6 month check up on the 6th.

My little girl is 14lbs 10 oz and 25.25" long. She is a little thing! Only 10% for weight and 25% for height! But she is growing steadily and the Dr is very happy with where she is at. She is just a petite little thing.

Here are some 6 month pictures I took! I love love love my girl!








And because I think these 2 are funny...



This girl is sure to make my birthday a very happy one! I can't believe I'm 29 as of 5:18 this morning! J, B and I are going to dinner with my family tonight! I'm so excited.
xoxo...P

The Best Christmas Yet...

I know it is late coming but.... I think I fell in love with Christmas again this year. My love of Christmas comes and goes, at least my love of Christmas decorations come and go, though to be honest it is usually gone. But this year my little B has renewed that love. Just like she has renewed my soul, my heart and my life. This year I felt like a kid again, and that was pretty great! 

Our Christmas celebration started December 19th when J, B and I went downtown Chicago for the day. We parked at Navy Pier as we usually do. Since we have wonderful memories at the pier and a place in our hearts for Jeff's uncle who used to work there that way we know we will be there every time we are downtown. (Plus it is a bit cheaper than most other garage parking we have found!) Our first destination was The Walnut Room at Macys (which will forever be Marshall Fields to me.) It was my first time being at The Walnut Room and it was perfect, I had zero expectations going in but I'm so happy we went. Brynn sat in a big girl high chair for the first time while we were there and she l.o.v.e.d. every second of it.

She didn't stop chatting with her toys or her dad and I. It was music to my ears. And the food you ask? AMAZING! J said his Swedish Meatballs were the best he has ever had. The salmon was incredible!

While we were there we had plans to see Santa but the line was almost 2 hours and we weren't going to risk B having a meltdown standing in line. So off we went to Daly Plaza for the Christkindle Market (or something like that). J and I have gone every year we have been together and will continue that tradition for as long as we are this close to the city.

B slept the entire time and man did we have her bundled up! It was cold out! She had on fleece jimmy jams (jammies), a snow suit and was in her car seat with a cover on it and a blanket to cover the face hole. Don't worry we peaked in to check on her from time to time. When we took her out she was a sweaty betty! ;)


I had my heart set on pictures with Santa so off we went back to Navy Pier and let me tell you that was the right decision! There was only 1 person in line to see Santa! Brynnie Bee did so great. Not a single tear... though she did want to rip Santa's beard off! My little punk butt! :)


FF to Christmas Eve.... We spent the night at my parents house for dinner and a few gifts. What a whirlwind day/night. Before we left for my parents house my mom called to say that my dad's mom was on her way to the hospital. She has cancer so I assumed it was something related to that but it was a UTI and sever dehydration. She came home on Jan 1st and is improving.

But that night we got some adorable pictures of the babies and I got to give my sissy and her boyfriend their Christmas present. FINALLY!! We gave them a 20"X24" Canvas print of a picture I took of their family. Sissy may or may not have teared up. ;)
Some random Christmas Eve pics:
 



Oh and B had her first taste of "real food" on Christmas Eve. Avocado! She was so cute eating it.


We spent the night at my parents and got up the next morning to do my favorite Christmas tradition.... gifts and brunch! I LOVE Christmas brunch. Swedish pancakes and monkey bread. Oh yum! Here are some Christmas morning pictures. Before the crazy present opening.



Brynn was sad Chance was crying. :(

attack of the present!

My girls first camera! Love!

Yummy snowball


We got a canvas for my parents too!




After brunch we packed up our million gifts and headed to Jeff's parents for dinner. We got Jeff's parents a canvas as well but I don't have a picture of them where you can see it. :(
My pretty little tomboy!

Jeff's Aunt & Uncle gave her this chair that was made by his Grandpa!!!



More avocado yumminess!


I know it is late but I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did.

xoxo...P

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!
We all (J, little B and I) hope that your Christmas is the best yet!
For your viewing pleasure... our Christmas Card with guess who as the focus!!!



Yep these are the free cards I got!
My little girl just makes me grin from ear to ear! I love her more than anything. Merry Christmas!!!
xoxo...P

Fill in the Blank Friday -Gifts

Stolen off Krysten's blog again this week. :)

1. Giving is so much fun! I try so so hard to find the perfect present for people and I get giddy waiting for them to be opened. I just wish I could afford to give more. Not only to my loved ones but to people that can't afford as much as we can.

2. Receiving is always nice too. Be honest... who doesn't love a present?!
3. The best gift I ever received was my Nikon D5000! OBSESSED with my camera. Like OBSESSED! It is amazing.
 4. The best gift I ever gave was a few things. Sorry I love some of the gifts I have given... like the year I MADE - yes MADE a gigantic beanbag chair for Jeff, photo calenders for parents and grandparents, a mother's ring for my mom and soon to be my sissy & her boyfriends present! Which of course I'm not saying one more word about until after Christmas!
 5. Something intangible that I wish I could receive would be the ability to get more done in a shorter period of time.
 6. Something intangible that I wish I could give is for Jeff & B to know how much they mean to me. I know that they know (at least J does B doesn't realize yet) but sometimes it doesn't seem possible to convey exactly how I feel. How never ending my love is.
 7. The one gift I always wanted as a child, but never got was a horse. What girl doesn't want a horse? Ok I assume quite a few actually but I was never that girl. I LOVED horseback riding and I assume that had I had a horse I would still be doing it to this day.


xoxo...P