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Archive for the ‘Sites to See’ Category

Let me introduce you to my new obsession…Smartipants!

17 Jun

Several weeks ago, I found out about a new cloth diaper that was just released.  After reading more, I was really intrigued and dying to try one out.  We didn’t have the funds to purchase one, so I took a giant leap and emailed the company asking if they’d give me one to try and review in my blog.  This can be hard, because if you don’t love it you’re potentially hurting a company that was so cool that they gave you a product that you need/want!  Anyway, they were kind enough to send me a diaper to try and now I get to give you my review!

I’m going to start out by saying that I loved my Smartipants!  There was absolutely nothing to worry about because they totally lived up to my expectations.  Can’t recommend them enough, really.  If you’re looking for an easy cloth diaper, it doesn’t get better than this.

Now, to go through the top 3 features that I really liked…

  • First, they are easy, easy, easy to care for.  One thing I despise about my other pocket diapers is pulling the insert out to put it in the pail.  Gross, especially if there’s a poop.  Just last week somebody in my house (probably me!) forgot to take out an insert before washing.  It got clean enough, but didn’t dry in the time the other diapers dried.  Not a huge deal, but certainly a pain in the rear I’d rather not deal with.  With Smartipants, you don’t have to do this.  You put them in the pail in one piece and the insert comes out in the wash!  I was skeptical, but it really did work.  They call it the Smart Sleeve and it’s awesome.
  • Second, they have snaps.  I am not a huge fan of hook and loop closures.  Every diaper I’ve ever had with H&L closures ends up getting yucky and looking worn after only a few washes.  It frustrates me that no matter how careful I am to use the washing tabs something always gets hung up in the washing process.  This leads to diapers looking more worn out than they should!  Smartipants have snaps to prevent this, and plenty of snap settings to make it a truly one size fits all diaper.  My skinny kids could have worn these from birth!  The other OSFA diapers I’ve tried didn’t fit until they were about 10 pounds, which can mean a long wait for them to actually fit.  This isn’t a problem with Smartipants.
  • Third, the price can’t be beat.  right now they are selling a pack of 3 (including 3 inserts) for only $36.95.  This is a really good deal for an easy diaper that can be used from birth to potty training.  If you are a mom who intends to cloth diaper or just want to get a feel for it, the price is a good way to explore the option without making a huge commitment.  And then when you’re sure, it’s a great price to pick up additional diapers when you can.  As for myself, I admit I’m saving up my pennies to order a couple of packs of these.  I’m still building up my diaper stash and had intended to buy another brand but will stick with these now!

As for the additional information you might want to know about a cloth diaper, I’ll try to do a quick rundown!  The construction was good and I was impressed with the sewing.  No loose strings or weak seams.  This can sometimes be an issue with even the pricier diapers and I was glad to see that wasn’t the case here.  The absorbency with one insert was excellent and perfectly adequate for my heavy wetter.  The single diapers come with 2 inserts (or additional inserts are sold separately) but I felt that 1 was plenty for us.  If you use them overnight you may want to try 2, but I’m not sure it would be necessary even then.  I didn’t find that they were any more bulky than our other OSFA insert diapers, though of course they’re a bit more bulky under clothes than a disposable.  I certainly don’t think you could find anything that fits slimmer than this in cloth.  They also have some very pretty colors.  I especially want a purple one for my little Violet!  I would like to see more colors (especially brights!) as they become more popular because I find that to be one of the most fun things about cloth.

Overall, I could not be more impressed.  I still love my other diapers, but Smartipants get a solid 10 from me!  Thanks to Smartipants for the free diaper and a great cloth diapering product!

 

Hopping on the Twitter Train

08 May

I have succumbed to the pressure. As you can see, I am now twittering. Or is it tweeting? Whatever. Anyway, my twitter stream is located to the left there and I’m JCVmama. Follow me!

Gah, this feels so attention whorish. But I’ve been wanting to add a mini-update thing to my blog and I couldn’t get my Facebook status updates to work, so there you are.

 

Sensitivity Training

07 May

Last week I served meatloaf for dinner.  A friend had given it to us a month or so ago but I had forgotten about it until my freezer started looking bare.  And I admit…I am not a major fan of meatloaf.  My husband likes it, but I’m not sure I’ve ever made one.  Maybe once, way back in the early days of our marriage but not since.  But I made it last week and everyone liked it, including my super picky 6 year old with sensory issues relating to food.  (And to be honest, I did too!)  Since he ate it and liked it, I decided I needed to add this to the dinner rotation and started searching for a good recipe.  I found one at allrecipes.com and tried it tonight.

I thought it was good.  A little *too* moist, though.  I think the soup was plenty of tomato and the added ketchup made it runnier than I would have liked.  But the taste was fairly good, so I thought it was worth saving the recipe.

Until I noticed my 6 year old hadn’t touched his. When I asked him why, he gave me a lot of attitude and told me it looked gross.  I told him I made it especially for him and added that if he chose not to at least try it, then he was choosing to lose his privileges until Monday.  (Which is not as big a deal as it seems…he rarely has time to watch TV/play Wii/use computer on weekends anyway.)  So he tried it.  And gagged.

So now I’m feeling way more hurt than I should be.  I try really hard to make things he’ll eat, but it’s a challenge when there is so little he can tolerate.  I tried so hard to please him and it upset me a lot that he hated it so much.  So a 6 year old made me cry tonight.  Over a meal that I took a lot of effort to make especially for him.  Maybe I set my expectations too high…or maybe I finally understand just how hurtful a child can be to a parent.  I am not sure I “got it” until I was sitting at that kitchen table tonight.  I really wanted to call my mom and tell her how sorry I am for the mean stuff I said to her as a kid.

Needless to say, his daddy had a talk with him about being sensitive to other people’s feelings and he understands that he treated me unfairly.  And to be fair to him, he does have a LOT of problems with food textures and the texture of this meatloaf wasn’t great.  I guess we both have a few things we need to work on!

 

Adventures in CSS.

25 Apr

As you’ve probably noticed if you’ve popped in here at all over the last few days, I’ve been working on the blog a little bit.  Looking for a new theme, making some adjustments to the CSS and widgets, and updating my blogroll.  I think I’m just about done, except for a little minor tweaking.  I was looking for something spring-y and flowery, and though this isn’t exactly what I wanted I’m happy with it for now!  If you don’t have the Century Gothic font installed on your machine, I recommend downloading it here so you can see this blog the way it was intended to be seen.

You’ve also probably noticed that the posts have picked up again.  Now that Violet is happy to hang out in the swing or Pack & Play for a little while, I’m getting a little more net time that allows me to type.  (I was getting plenty of net time before, but most of it involved nursing her.  I need both hands to really type!)  And with more net time that allows me to type, I’ve started a work-at-home job.  I am now working as a kgb_ agent.  I have more to share about this, but that’s another post for another day.

 

Big doings in Sanford this weekend!

24 Apr

It starts with tonight’s “Screen on the Green.”  They’re showing the Ant Bully at 8PM in Depot Park.  Then tomorrow is the opening of the Farmer’s Market, finally!  I can’t wait to get some good, locally grown fruits and veggies.  And I hear Amy will be there with some things that aren’t quite as healthy. ;)

Then Sunday is the big bike race, the 5K, and Springfest.  Registration for the 5K starts at 6:45AM and it begins at 8:15AM.  I would do it but I have commmitments at church that morning.  I could probably finish in time to hit the 2nd service, but I don’t want to take the chance!  Next year I will definitely plan on it.  The kid’s bike race starts at 1:30, and there will be vendors and other fun stuff in Depot Park from 11AM-5PM.  We really enjoyed watching the races last year and are so excited that it’s grown so much this year, despite objections from grumpy old antique store owners!

More info is available on all of these events at the Downtown Sanford website.