Friday, February 24, 2012

We got it...

We got our van!!! Definitely not the van I had shown a picture of in a previous blog.

We did go look @ the van I showed a picture of, but after test driving it we noticed there was a small knock in the engine. Definitely a big problem. We cannot buy a vehicle that already had an issue with it. We need a vehicle that is going to be reliable for our family.

Funny story about test driving the Honda was I told Nate we were going to drive by another car lot to see what they had as well. He said fine but pull in so we can look. I was not to keen on stopping to look at other vehicles while on a current test drive, I definitely did LMAO, when we decided to do it. So we did. The sales guy was nice & informative, down to earth, told the facts. He actually asked about the van wed pulled up in. we We told him everything and did LOL as well.
So we took the Honda back. Nate told the guy about the engine, he said ok, Nate said no thanks on the van. The guy handed him his card, & we left & went to the other lot.

After we did our paperwork, got our numbers. Narrowed down to 2 vans, one being an 7 passenger, the other an 8 passenger. We decided on the 7 passenger. We are very happy with our decision.

We bought a 2001 Dodge Caravan. It its blue, & I love it!!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

We have a reason to Cloth Diaper...

We finally have a reason to Cloth Diaper...No, I'm not pregnant...yet, lol. I was so happy when i realized we finally had a reason to Cloth Diaper. We have 2 A Mommy's Touch AI2 diapers in our stash for our new baby, but Nathan does not want me using them on Andrew. my reason is they are diapers, and he doesn't wear them anymore, but they do fit him, lol.

Our youngest son is still potty training, he wears pull ups at night, but we ran out 3 days ago, The 1st night he just wore a thicker training pants by Gerber and no accidents. On the 2nd night we did the same trainer because the 1st night we had no accidents, well he had an accident. So i changed him, and my hubby found a swim diaper and i used that. He had another accident, my fault probably because swim diapers are not designed like regular diapers, so i changed him back into another pair of training underwear and hoped for the best, and he remained dry for the rest of the night.

On the 3rd day i woke up and got smart. I went on You Tube and looked up "How to fold a receiving blanket into a cloth diaper and found this video for the "Origami fold" and went with it.

We used this video and folded up all the receiving blankets. I decided there is no use in buying pull ups when I can use these, and get hard core with getting him accident free at night. Its rare that he has accidents at night, and ever more rare when he has more then 1 accident per night.

So on the 3rd night we got him ready for bed in his origami folded receiving blanket with a snappi, and a Gerber Birdseye cloth diaper folded as a lay in insert, a pair of his thicker training underwear, and his pj shorts and sent him off to bed. I made sure i had back ups in case he had an accident. He woke up once and needed to go potty. Then he woke up wet through to his shorts, I changed him into my back up that did not have the Birdseye folded insert, but instead another receiving blanket folded as an insert, he didn't remain fully dry for the rest for the night. He woke up and I changed him, but he wasn't wet through to the receiving blanket on the outside, but just the folded insert. I was so happy and proud of him.

Here are the pictures of what we folded and how it looked.

Here is Andrew all ready for bed in his origami folded receiving blanket with a snappi. The one thing is we do not have any type of water proof cover to use, So i am improvising for now on that, till I can either get something or make something.

And here is the picture of our little stash.

The one on the right is the ready to use with an insert in case of an accident Too bad we are only using them this week till Thursday night, as Drew is going to his dad's for the weekend. I am happy and very proud of myself.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Too Long...I know...Several Awesome Updates!!!

I know I left again. We have been having internet difficulties lately. But now everything is fixed. We gave Comcast the ax, don't even want to go into it. We are happy with U-Verse. I love it. I'm not happy with their channel line up, but it is something I can get used to. My son is definitely not happy that it does not include Sprout TV, which means no more "Super Why" He loves that show, and although at times I feel it can be corny, It is a very good educational show.

Things have been a little stressful here, we are one of the millions of Americans that are still waiting for their tax refund still. We filed on 2/1/12, and at first we were told we would have it by February 21st, then it was changed to February 14th. We on Friday, hubby and I decided we would give it a rest and quit obsessing when it would come cause we know its coming, its just really hard when you need that money. So I made it to Sunday without obsessively checking and the message i received was we should have it by February 23rd. And Hubby said, "So much for their 21 day promise". Its not really a promise from the IRS that we will receive it within 21 days, that is just the normal processing times for the IRS, but I think when they implemented this new pay system, i think it was, everything got screwed up, and i know a lot of my local friends are either getting them a week early or a week late. I really truly hope this money comes before the 24th, but I know i can wait until then.

We know exactly the van we are getting, there's a hint to one thing we are using our tax money for, is finally getting a bigger vehicle!!!! But without any type of money we cannot do much about it. Here is a picture of it. I really hope we can get it

Isn't it beautiful!!! Just perfect for our family size.

In more good news, I finally got my sewing machine, Thank to my wonderful mother!!!! I had originally asked for hers, thinking she didn't use it anymore, but she cannot locate it in the hanger, she decided I did not need her old one, but a brand new one. So she bought me a Singer Heavy Duty 4100 series. I love it. I haven't used one since i was a teen and it was my moms i used. I had no problem threading the bobbin, but I am having problems threading the machine properly, and all the thread is bunching on the bottom. When I told my husband he said I will help you with it on Monday on my day off. So tomorrow he is gonna help me and i can finally get to sewing!!!! YAY for me!!!!

Here is a picture of the Sewing Machine she got me. I am in love with it. After my mom said she was going to buy me one instead of giving me hers, i told her i didnt want anything special, something with plenty of stitch choices, nothing too fancy or expensive. I love her to death, she knew I needed something to last me. My 1st project, is my 1st cloth diaper. Nothing too fancy or special. I dont have all the materials to make it at this exact moment. I still need some hook and loop and FOE, and i want some regular elastic. I like the look of the FOE, but i know it wont work for every type of cloth diaper.

Here is a picture of what i have so far, sorry for the poor quality, they were taken on my phone.

It is made from one of my husbands old huge t-shirts and one of my sons old baby blanket. It has only 3 diaper layers, but i am attaching an internal soaker pad as well. It's ok if I dont every use it daily, but its my first trial diaper, and im proud of myself, and so is hubby.

I know the stitching on the internal soaker isn't correct, but its not done, cause of the thread bunching on the bottom. But it is only my 1st attempt. So i know it wont be perfect. Before i attempt to buy all my fabrics, including PUL, I want to get some good practice. Plus i have tons of things i can use around the house to make diapers, covers, inserts, and cloth wipes. Plus i want to attempt a few wet bags too.

He asked me if i could get a good hang of doing this, could I make them at home and sell them, and i told him absolutely, So we will see how good i can get!!!

Here is some random thought for you all...What would the world be like without us?