My Child is Adorable.

That's all. =]

Giveaway #3!

This giveaway is for eight 1/2 oz samples of CJ's BUTTer! Included are the scents:
-Blueberry Crumble
-New Mown Hay
-Mango, Sugar & Mint
-Perfect World
-Love Spell
-Bamboo & Lotus Blossom
-Coconut Lime Dream
-Lavender Vanilla

To enter this drawing visit CJ's Sewing Room and tell me what other product(s) you would be interested in trying! This entry is required, all other entries are void if this one is not included. Make sure to leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win! =]

For additional entries you can:
- Follow my blog and comment saying that you are.
- Blog about this giveaway and provide a link in a comment.

This giveaway is for US residents only. I will use random.org to choose a winner on February 5th and the winner will be contacted by email. If you don't respond within 48 hours I will choose a new winner. =] You can enter all 3 drawings, however, if the same person is drawn more than once I will be choosing a different winner.

Giveaway #2!

This giveaway is for eight 1/2 oz samples of CJ's Creamy Lotion! Included are the scents:
-Apricot Freesia
-Toasted Almond
-Love Spell
-Pink Sugar
-Warm Vanilla Cake
-Cherry Blossom
-Oatmeal, Milk & Honey
-New Mown Hay

To enter this drawing scroll down and read my review of CJ's BUTTer, then leave a comment on this post telling me why you want to try the lotion, or who will be trying it. This entry is required, all other entries are void if this one is not included. Make sure to leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win! =]

For additional entries you can:
- Follow my blog and comment saying that you are.
- Blog about this giveaway and provide a link in a comment.

This giveaway is for US residents only. I will use random.org to choose a winner on February 5th and the winner will be contacted by email. If you don't respond within 48 hours I will choose a new winner. =] You can enter all 3 drawings, however, if the same person is drawn more than once I will be choosing a different winner.

Giveaway #1!

This giveaway is for 4 oz of CJ's Creamy Lotion in Pink Sugar, and 4 oz of CJ's Body BUTTer in New Mown Hay. Both scents smell great! Pink sugar is girly & sweet, and New Mown Hay smells naturally earthy and slightly sweet. =]

To enter this drawing scroll down and read my review of CJ's BUTTer, then leave a comment on this post telling me why you want to try CJ's products. This entry is required, all other entries are void if this one is not included. Make sure to leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win! =]

For additional entries you can:
- Follow my blog and comment saying that you are.
- Blog about this giveaway and provide a link in a comment.

This giveaway is for US residents only. I will use random.org to choose a winner on February 5th and the winner will be contacted by email. If you don't respond within 48 hours I will choose a new winner. =] You can enter all 3 drawings, however, if the same person is drawn more than once I will be choosing a different winner.

Someone Else's Giveaway.

Haha. Mine will be up momentarily...

In the mean time check out this one for the Ergo Baby carrier!

Review: CJ's BUTTer

It all started when I was checking my facebook... ::cue dreamland music::

A fellow cloth diapering mama friend of mine had posted on her status that she had ordered a cloth diaper safe, all natural, diaper rash cream. This peaked my interest, since you have to be so careful, not only about what you put on your baby's skin, but also what ends up on your cloth diapers. Traditional diaper creams can cause staining on cloth or build-up which leads to repelling issues. And we all know we don't want that...

I asked my friend about this diaper rash cream and she directed me to CJ's Sewing Room. She also told me that the BUTTer worked great for her son's dry skin. That's where it really got me. We'd been trying to battle a diaper rash with vaseline (which required me to use liners in my diapers) for quite awhile, and Z had red, flaky dry spots all over. I had to try it!

I received my Mango, Sugar & Mint BUTTer on Saturday morning and started using it immediately. Saturday afternoon I gave her a bath and then slathered her in BUTTer. Btw, it smells soooo good! By Sunday afternoon her rash was already clearing up. Her dry skin is taking a little longer, but it's no longer red so I know it's working.

My favorite part? (besides the obvious awesomeness that it's clearing up my poor baby's skin!) I LOVE that I can slather her all up and not have to worry about the BUTTer getting on her diapers.

Some other great uses for BUTTer:
- It has helped people to get rid of eczema. One mama ended up using BUTTer after going through 5 prescription creams that weren't working! And the dermatologist agreed that she should just keep using the BUTTer!

- BUTTer works great for black/mixed hair and dreads.

This stuff is truly all around fantastic!

So here I am. A BUTTer user and lover, wanting to spread the love, and the BUTTer! I contacted CJ, and she has generously agreed to send me some of her BUTTer and some of her lotion for a giveaway! In fact, there will be 3 lucky people who get to try her products! I'll be posting 3 separate posts and using a random number generator from Random.org to pick the winners.

Here's a bit about CJ: "I am a busy 30-something Work-At-Home Momma living in the Rocky Mountains of the United States.

I have four main roles and passions in life.

First and foremost, I am a daughter of God.

Secondly, I am wife to my sweet husband and soul mate. We were married in February 2003 and are currently living happily ever after!!

Next, I am momma to two fiery redheads and 1 sweet strawberry blond! Our first was born in 2004, our second in 2006 and our baby in 2007! They keep me busy and very fulfilled.

Finally, I am a seamstress and owner of CJ’s Sewing Room! This business was born out of a need for a warm and safe alternative to bulky winter coats when we moved to Colorado and our youngest moved out of his bucket seat. I didn’t know how I was going to manage 3 kids in and out of the car, with blankets and coats falling all over the place! One night, I looked at my son’s lovey in his crib. It is a lamb head with a small blanket coming down like a dress that overlaps in the back. Thus the Travel Trench was born!! Along the way, I have added new products that solved a 'problem', like the Towel Trench (the summertime cover-up that won't fall off--great for bathtime, too!), and the One-Size Blanket Bag for toddlers (a safe sleepsack with footie holes, so baby can stand and walk.)

Our kiddos also have very sensitive skin, and I quickly learned that we needed to find *something* that would protect their skin in cloth diapers. At the same time, we were doing our best to use natural products wherever possible. At my husband’s encouraging and my own curiosity, I began doing research to find out what combinations of natural butters and oils would work for our skin. After months and months of trial and error, I finally found what I thought to be the best combination and it WORKED!! BUTTer was created. From there, I branched out to lotion and lotion bars, lip balm, milkbath and bath salts. We also decided to sell the cleaners we were already using in our own home. "

Sooo yeah! That pretty much sums it up! Be on the lookout for the giveaway posts in the next few days with the "how-to" on entering. Invite all your friends! =]

[I was not paid or otherwise compensated for this review, I just love the product!]

Blog Makeover

Woohoo! I know it doesn't look that different... besides the header. But I'm working on it folks. My original intent for this blog was to mainly share my different projects that I was working on. Then it kind of turned into a family blog, so I decided we needed a new header. (Plus I love looking at my baby's 2 day old feet!!)

In other exciting news, I'm working on a review for a new product I've just started using, with possibility of a giveaway! Stay tuned!

Simplifying Life 2

Now that the holidays are over, and the baby is a little less *new,* I'm starting to look around this place and really just want to clean out.

We have so many things that we don't use or don't need, and I know that if I tackle a little at a time I can clear all the extras out.

Tonight I started by cleaning out a utensil drawer in our kitchen. It was one of those drawers that is such a mess that once you dig through it to find what you want, you can't close it. And 1/2 the stuff in there we don't even use! So farewell, Ben's old bachelor cheapo kitchen stuff! You won't be missed.

I can't wait to kick all this extra stuff to the curb!

2 Months

Our little munchkin turned two months on the 16th! It's amazing to me how much of a difference 2 months can make in a baby.

She uses her hands so much more. She's so fun to watch.

Ooooh and the smiles. Absolutely contagious! I love this girl.

Diaper Love

Here's what our diaper stash looks like. =]

A few bumgenius 3.0s, xs AIOs, and prefolds are missing because they're dirty. =]

Dear New England Coffee,

Before you print up your next batch of bags, you may want to invest in a program that has spell check.

Love,
Melissa

Simplifying Life

Clearly my sanity is fleeting lately. So coming up with ways to simplify life is somewhat vital to my survival. My latest way to make life a little easier is wearing a bracelet. Huh? Yeah. Rather than letting my child scream while I sit and ponder to myself, "Which side did I feed her on last time?" I simply glance down at my wrist, and see that the side I'm wearing it on, is the side I need to start on.

Genius? No. Simple? Yes.

Hello, mommy brain.

Goodbye 20 year old self. I hope to see you again soon.

It seems as though the "crazy mommy brain thing" has begun. Let me walk you through a quick run down of the last 24 hours.

Yesterday I went to the store to get eggs & tuna. I left my wallet in the grocery cart in the middle of the parking lot. I found this to be very embarrassing. Thank God someone brought it inside rather than running off with it and stealing my identity.

Today I had a hair cut. While getting ready to leave I noticed said wallet was not in its usual home in the back pocket of the diaper bag. I did a quick look around the apartment and decided I didn't have time to look for it (it had to be here somewhere right??) and grabbed a Visa gift card I got for Christmas instead.

While driving to my parents' house to drop off the wee one I got a rumbly in my tumbly. I recalled this morning around 10am when I had stared into the cupboard looking for a snack, gotten distracted and made coffee, and never ate a snack.

In preparation for leaving for my hair cut, I took the Visa gift card out of the diaper bag, only to realize that it wasn't my gift card. It was Ziva's. My gift card had more than enough to pay for a hair cut, while Ziva's only had about $2 left on it. Oy. Luckily the little sis came through and loaned me some cash.

I started nursing Ziva a little later than I should have, which made for a close call for making it to our appointments on time. When it seemed we would get there just in the nick of time, I took the wrong exit off the rotary which landed us on the opposite side of the river, on another rotary, and then I had to navigate the maze of one-way streets and find us a parking spot. (I've lived in this area my whole life, people!)

Let's just say that getting my hair cut has never seemed quite as lovely. Hopefully relaxing for an hour in the chair gave me back enough sanity to make it through the weekend without doing something totally wacky. Then Monday it'll be back to the beginning.

Since my goodmamas didn't come today...

...and I laid awake for like an hour last night thinking about how much I wanted to finish sewing this diaper that I started before Z was born:
Another product of the RRP pattern. It's not perfect. But it's made out of a tshirt I picked up for like 2 bucks at a touristy shop DH & I visited on our anniversary getaway. I actually bought it to make into a sleep gown for her but it was too small. I think I like this better. =] Oh yeah, and it was her souvenir! (I was 16 weeks pregnant.) =]

Ps - I am amazed at how quickly and how much more Z has started using her hands. I better go pack away my dangly earrings. =]

Dear Old Lady in the line at the grocery store,

When you ask me my daughter's name and I tell you, please keep to yourself the fact that your cat is named the same.

Enuff Said.

Weekday Mornings

I love listening to Z talk to her monkey while I eat breakfast and check my facebook/email/whatever. Ah the life of a SAHM. =]

PS- I've flossed everyday since January 1st. =]

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Blizzard-y weekend + desire for something scrumptious = Pumpkin Spice Cake being devoured at 11pm on a Saturday night

We spent a lazy Saturday hanging around in PJs and watching season 2 of NCIS on DVD. Then I had a real craving for cake. Mmmm cake. My cake was a little primitive to say it nicely. My culinary instructors would probably nominate it for cake wrecks. But at 11pm on a Saturday night? Divine.

2010

2010 is here!

Am I honestly brave enough to post my New Year's Resolutions on the interwebz for all to see and keep me accountable? =P Here we go.

1. Floss. Daily.
2. Blog more.
3. Turn off lights when not in the room.
4. Read my Bible more.

So there we have it. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing throughout the year. =]

2009 was a good year. We had some big changes! (Read: a BABY!) March 8, 2009 we found out I was pregnant. And we were soooo excited! In April I got let go from my job (everyone thinks it was because I was pregnant) and so began my life as a stay-at-home wife. Staying at home probably helped me to have such an easy and healthy pregnancy. Which is good. In May we celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a weekend in Bar Harbor. Summer brought camp and flooded our home with lots and lots of teenagers. =] I knit lots of tiny baby things and Ben and I spent hot evenings swimming in the pond. (Feeling weightless is so much more fun when you're pregnant. =]) Fall passed slowly as I counted down the days until my due date. November 13th came and passed. November 16th our little angel arrived and has been rocking our world ever since. It was a good year. =]

We rang in the new year with Camp Berea's New Year's Retreat and all of our favorite teenagers.

Here's myself and baby Z hanging out at the retreat =]