Dare to Care Challenge - Week 1 - Spread the Love

I'm gonna try a little something new. We are going to try a weekly Dare to Care Challenge! This will be the first week and my challenge for you is to tell 5 people that you love them. It can be your spouse, kids, parents, friends. You can say it, message it, text it, mail it , whatever works for you. Just let the people you love, know how much you care! Feel free to tell more than 5 people. I think once you start you'll realize just how many people out there make a difference in your life.

I would love to hear about your experience in the comment section! Now go out and spread the love!!!!

Homeschool Park Day

Spent a wonderful day today at the park with friends! We left the house this morning and met several homeschooling families at the Evergreen Park. My husband has informed me that the park's real name is Cappell Park.

Photo by: Vinson Mouser

The adults had the pleasure of talking to other adults. Yay!!! The kids enjoyed playing and visiting. The little ones ran and played on the swings and slides. The older girls visited and climbed the jungle gym while the older boys played cards at the picnic table.

The only drawback was the cold. It wasn't too bad when the sun was out, but when it decided to disappear behind the clouds we were left shivering. Everyone wanted to stay longer but it was getting colder and we all had to get home. Finnegan wore himself out at the park and fell asleep as soon as the car started. Can't wait for the next park day and visiting with friends!

A Hiking We Will Go!

 
Vins decided the last day of 2012 was a great day for a hike. He was right! We headed out to Chicot Arboretum, minus Tanek who didn't feel like going, for a nice hike. The drive there was uneventful and the weather looked promising.

It was chilly when we began our hike. We decided to take the wetlands trail, which is a nice short hike with some hills and a boardwalk over the wetlands. Finnegan loved being outside and exploring nature. He played in the leaves that were scattered along the trail and chased Kaia up and down the hills. He learned to say tree and thought it was fun to hug trees as we hiked. 


About halfway through the hike it started to warm up. Chicot has benches along the trail and a gazebo in the wetlands area. We stopped a few times to rest and enjoy the peace and quiet. We didn't see any other people while we were there. We did see lots of birds and heard their friendly chirping. 



Near the end Finnegan got tired and wanted to be carried. After about ten minutes of being carried he got another spurt of energy and decided to finish the trail on his own two feet. Kaia and Vins finished the last of the trail with a race uphill. Kaia won:)

It was a beautiful way to end 2012. I hope we get to spend more time hiking in 2013.

My toddler is AMAZING!

After reading the title of this blog you probably think I am going to write about all the wonderful cute things my toddler does on a daily basis. Wrong! Trust me he is adorable and wonderful, but he can do things that make me shake my head and wonder how I am going to survive the terrible twos that are quickly approaching!

1- I still can't figure out how he can DESTROY a room in a matter of seconds.
2- Why does he find the toilet so interesting?????
3- Does he really need to bathe in his food?
4- He sleeps in on the days I have to get up early and wakes up early on the days I want to sleep in.
5- When you cloth diaper the surest way to get your child to poop is to start washing diapers. It never fails!
6- Cute outfit means it will be dirty before you get out the door.
7- I would really love to eat a dessert without having to share it or wait till nap time. He doesn't feel the need to share dads dessert, just mine.
8- Must he hit his head EVERY time he falls down.
9- He can't put his clothes on by himself but he sure can take them off.
10- He can barely walk on uneven ground but he can climb the step stool and scale the kitchen counter.

If you have kids you totally understand what I'm talking about. If you don't have kids then enjoy the quiet because I'll be dropping mine off at your door soon. Trust me, I need a babysitter for about  an hour so I can maintain my sanity today. :)

Drybees

After talking about cloth diapers I started thinking about which ones are my favorite. I would have to say that I absolutely love my Drybees diapers! They are the best!

A few months after Finnegan was born I decided that the normal cloth diapers weren't working well for night time use. I asked my friend Jenny, who works as a Field Consultant for eLeMeNO-Pee, what she recommended for night time. Her recommendation was the Drybees Fleece Diaper. This diaper has worked so well for us. I stuff it with two inserts and put it on him before bed. In the morning when we wake up his bed is dry and the Drybees diaper has kept everything contained.

Drybees diapers not only keep your baby dry but they breathe well and they come in a variety of  colors. 

Diaper Duty

  Well with all the post about babies I thought maybe I should write a post about diapers. Most of my friends already know I use cloth diapers, many of them do too. They are much more affordable and cuter than disposables. I also use cloth wipes because if you're going to wash diapers you might as well wash the wipes too and save even more money.

  When it comes to cloth diapers there are tons of choices available. Check out Simple Mom  to learn more about the different types of cloth diapers available.


  Cloth diapers really aren't that much different than using disposables. Instead of throwing them out after one use, you just wash and reuse. One other great thing about cloth diapers is the resale value. Cloth diapers hold their value really well. Just check out ebay and you will see how easy it is resale your diapers.

  Look at that baby, his diaper is cuter and more stylish than those plain old disposables! If you're on the fence and thinking you might like to try them out then take the Change 3 Things Challenge! What could it hurt to try something new!