Do you see my toes peeking out? I cheated when I took this photo because I angled the camera so you could actually see my toes. Had I taken it from my viewpoint, you wouldn't see the toes. Then again, you really wouldn't see much of the ground either, just all belly. My little app tells me that I'm 33.5 weeks far along and let me tell you, I want food. I want all sorts of delicious food. Of course, I can't eat much of it because there isn't much room in there.

I've been wanting to try out Whiskey Cake ever since I drove by it and saw that the vacated spot that was once my favorite Tavern was now converted into something new with a giant CAKE on the side. Hey, the word cake gets my attention every time! :) I've never had a whiskey cake before, so this was going to be the February try something new.

We went for lunch. 3 adults and 1 child. I walked in to a familiar location that seemed to have an Anthropologie makeover. Seriously, the marvelous details in the restaurant were fun! Old lightbulbs converted to tiny vases filled with a sprig of fresh rosemary. Thick curtains, hung with that really thick brown twine instead of curtain rings. Plush and welcoming outdoor furniture. And the server's attire. The gals had these half aprons with pockets that definitely looked very Anthro. The guys had a simple white shirt, green and white striped (I think) suspenders, and these nifty tawny leather aprons. Fun indeed.

DRINKS. We had a lemonade, Arnold Palmer, Mint Julep, and water. We didn't have any of the beer or wines. The lemonade, while tart, was fresh. It actually enhanced the tea, which made my Arnold Palmer taste that much more like summer--and that definitely made me happy. I sipped the Mint Julep and unlike my experience with one in New Orleans, this was divine. It tasted like a mojito, but a bit different. I think I would have liked for it to have been sweeter, but I've never had a proper mint julep, so I wouldn't know.

STARTER/ENTREE. We started with their chicken chowder and deviled eggs. The chowder was good, but I was a bit surprised by the bacon or pork that was in it. Not bad, but just surprised. And the cup of soup looked to be an exact 1 cup serving. The deviled eggs are of the mustard variety, not the mayo. Not a bad thing. The salmon on them was more like a forgotten discarded piece, and I would've preferred a bit more salmon. And they were a bit on the salty side. Yet, I still liked them. We ordered the OMG burger, the hot chicken and cheese melt, a basic burger, and the pulled chicken mac & cheese w/ green beans for Mari. The sandwiches came with kettle chips, but we also ordered a side of fries, roasted fingerling potatoes, and orzo spinach. The basic burger was good and cooked as requested. The hot chicken and cheese sandwich was a bit of a disappointment. We agreed that it needed a bit of extra panache. I think if there would have been a punch of horseradish or something, it would've been better. But it just needed something. The OMG burger was definitely OM worthy. I had a bit of avocado leftover from the chicken sandwich, so I put it on the burger and then it all of a sudden became OMG! I want to go back to eat there just for this burger! Mari wanted nothing to do with her mac and cheese and definitely not the green beans. She took one bite and refused. Instead, she preferred the burger. Should have gone with the sliders for her. As far as the sides...the kettle chips were ok. I liked them, but the others at the table were less than impressed. I thought the texture was good. They probably could've been a tad bit crunchier, but overall, I liked the flavor. We all agreed that if they did a par-fry, refrigerated them, then finished frying for each order, then they would've been fantastic! The fries were fries. Nothing monumental about them, but they weren't awful. The spinach orzo was just that. Simple. The roasted potatoes, however, were an epic disappointment. I guess because they were roasted, there was no need for the addition of butter. And if there was butter in them, I certainly didn't taste it. I very nearly asked for a side of butter, but instead, just had them box it up and took it home.

DESSERT/COFFEE. They serve a french press coffee for the table to enjoy, complete with half and half from a ceramic cow. They also bring out fun mugs that are different for each table. I really wanted a fancy-schmancy mug, but instead I had a regular white mug with a green stripe. I noticed the fabulously well-dressed and coifed older lady at the table next to us was greeted with a super fancy mug and yes, I was jealous. But she looked like she needed that mug because it fit her. The coffee was good coffee. Not blow you away coffee, but still very good. We ordered a Whiskey Cake for the table, which came with fresh whipped cream. This was a nice sized serving of cake, definitely good enough to share. And share we did. Wow, I have already made a mental note that I want to enjoy this cake after having Tesla. It was ridiculously fantastic! Loved it and it definitely lived up to the fact that the restaurant shares its name. I dream about this cake. Now I want this cake, dangit.

In summary, go for drinks, enjoy the OMG burger, and definitely have the cake! This is a great place to hang out with friends and family. The service was wonderful, particularly for Mari. I like finding places that can be both adult friendly and family friendly. Check 'em out and go support the local joint.

**I was not paid for this review and the thoughts and opinions are my own.**

That One Time We Went to Children's

It's been no secret that we've had a sick little one for a while. Well, yesterday, everything came to a head. We'd gotten to that not-so-great point of parenting inadequacy where we knew we would have to call for reinforcements.

Just after midnight, we loaded up and headed out to the ER. First of all, I have to say just how impressed I was with their ENTIRE staff. They were happy, patient, informative, and helpful. They TOTALLY explained what they were doing, why they were doing it, and what we could expect.

Anyway, we arrived, gave our information to the registrar and sat down. After 20 minutes, they put us in Triage.

Here we are in triage giving details while the nurse collected vitals. Mari had no problem taking her Tylenol or wearing the oxygen monitor they put on her thumb. She just sat with her daddy, feeling lethargic, and far from her usual self. I was entertaining myself with the silliness of Wizards of Waverly Place when all of a sudden, a very upset mother stormed out with her daughter while her husband followed behind. She hollered about it taking over an hour waiting for a doctor and blah, blah, blah. I don't know why she was surprised with the wait. I've been to two other hospitals in the area to wait for their ER and a couple of visits to CareNow, neither of which was less than an hour and a half wait. Anyway, since that family left, I figured we would get in the patient room much faster. We waited another 15 minutes when they called us back to the room to wait.

After another 30 minutes of waiting in the room, the nurse came in and took her vitals. It was that waiting time that I was able to catch a 15 minute cat nap with Mari on the tiny bed. When she was gone, I got up and was alert again for the duration of the night until we got home. About 20 minutes after that, the doctor came in to see us. She was kind, patient, and listened without rushing. She had great bedside manner. She listened to her chest and wanted to give her a breathing treatment. She also ordered an x-ray. The Respiratory Therapist came in and gave her a dose of Albuterol.

This was her first time to wear a mask. We called her Mari Vader. She seemed somewhat comforted by that. Shortly thereafter, she took a power nap before they took her away to get her x-ray. She came back upset and I wasn't sure what happened while they were gone. Being beyond pregnant, they would not let me go back there with her. Don relayed to me that she was not happy to do it. It was a bit after this that our friend came over to keep us company.

It didn't seem like it was that long before our doctor came back in to listen to Mari's chest. She returned with good news that Mari did not have pneumonia! Because she was coughing so much still, she wanted to do another breathing treatment and give her a few drops of codeine to help her get some good sleep. She had another treatment and was not very happy about it. She took the codeine and less than 10 minutes later, she had a coughing fit that caused her to not only get rid of some phlegm, but most of the codeine she'd taken. Instead of giving her more, we were content with the results from the breathing treatment. The coughing had subsided tremendously and her fever was now down to 99.

Just before 5AM, we were discharged with two new medications and a much brighter outlook. My head bobbed on the way home and I have no idea how my husband made it through an entire day with about an hour of sleep. Kudos to him, indeed.

I would highly recommend Children's for your emergencies for your children. I'm sure many of you readers have already discovered them and their awesome care, but if you haven't and you find yourself in need of medical attention for your small person, then check 'em out.

Love is in the Air *cough*sneeze*cough**sneeze*cough*

No, I am not making reference to being allergic to Valentine's day. Actually, I have a great appreciation for it because on February 15, chocolate goes on sale and so do many of my favorite sweets!! And unlike Halloween, it has prettier packaging than the ghosts and ghouls from Halloween.

My friend Mandi shared a couple of her Valentine's stories, so I figured instead of leaving my story in the comment box, I would write a whole blog around it! Huzzah! Here you go, Mandi...

When I was younger, I always wondered why everyone didn't give everyone a Valentine. I didn't think it was nice.I knew which kids were going to be left out, so I tried to make up for their lack of candy and cards by making up extras with names of kids who were not in our class. I would insist on making Valentines and buying store bought ones just to remain anonymous. Mom never knew what was going on with me, but never gave me too much grief about it. I'm not sure if she ever knew what I was doing.

I didn't get much attention from boys during those awkward years. Daddy would always "surprise" us each Valentine morning with a tiny 4 pack of Whitman's chocolates in a kitschy red heart. They would be nestled by our heads, smiling at us when we awoke to face the day. I secretly wanted all of that hokeyness. The flowers, the cards, the stuffed animals, over the top romantic gestures and jewelry.

In 2001, I was very blessed. My niece was born! While I went to the hospital ridiculously early in the morning, and was beyond tired, I worked a full day and was so very blessed to receive three very large flower arrangements, chocolates, and a stuffed animal. I also got some lovely jewelry too with an amazing dinner, and a pair of shoes! That was one of the all time greatest Valentine's for me. It was that day that I knew I really wanted a child, especially a daughter.

Then, two short years later, I was fabulously single and out and about with my girlfriends at a bar. Little did I know that my beloved was less than 6 feet away and we would meet a bit over a month later.

This year, the sugarbean is sick, my grandmother-in-law is in surgery from suffering a broken hip the night after Mari's party, and I myself am under the weather. Fortunately, we get to spend a few extra days with our in-laws, despite the circumstances. We had to get some more yogurt since we'll be doing yet another round of antibiotics. We picked up some happies for my aunt and MIL since they were going to be settling in for the long haul. I love the grocery store. And while there, I decided that Grandma needed some cheery flowers, so not only was I in a grocery store, I was able to do something creative in a grocery store...arrange flowers using a plastic knife, paper towels, and a granite counter top. By the time we got home, Don picked up some Indian food to-go on his way to the market to get toilet paper. I found a dozen roses that he'd left for me. *swoon*

We are blessed because we spent it together, embracing our sick little one, while doing some soiled laundry that she'd gotten sick on. It is definitely a memorable one, and one where I'm humbly reminded just how absolutely blessed I am. We renewed our vows on Sunday, and with tears in my eyes (again) I proclaimed my love to Don.

 No matter what babe!

A little something to brighten your day...

Now isn't that sweet?  I totally think so!! 

And a little bonus for you go-getters out there. Do you ever feel like you try and try and try and things just don't work out as planned. Or you really put forth some huge effort and BAM you're immediately humbled back to reality? Well, such was the case for me last night. This is what is known as the Epic Birthday Cake Fail. I had high hopes for that upside down pineapple cake. It went from a mass craving to, this will be the birthday cake for Mari's party, along with cupcakes.

Looks healthy enough, right? I mean, not healthy, but definitely mouth watering, right? At least I thought so! In the oven they went for 45 minutes and out they came:

Here is where things took a spin for the worse. You might be able to see it already in this photo, but I probably needed to let the cakes cool a lot longer. Let's say....OVERNIGHT in the FRIDGE OR FREEZER! But no, it was nearing midnight and I wanted to be done with it. The recipe said 45 minutes and I'd already spent over an hour and a half with prep and baking. But look closely. There in the middle of the cake you can see that it is starting fall. And to the center right of the cake...yep, right there, it's starting to crumble.

Here is where a person who has had more sleep, a more logical person, would put the cake in the freezer or fridge and be patient. Not me, I wanted that instant gratification. I made some amazing icing and dangit, I wanted it to be nice and beautiful and delicious. So I began to frost my cake...while it was still plenty warm. Do you see where I'm going with this? Yes, my cake started to melt the frosting. Yes, the white frosting was becoming engulfed with caramel color, pineapple bits, and melted Maraschino cherry. THEN, a chunk fell in my hand. I couldn't take it any longer. I tried to use the frosting like glue and put it back together, but it just wasn't working. It was stuck to my hand. I'm pregnant, and this pineapple goodness was a bonafide craving. Little Tesla was willing that tropical ambrosia to my belly. So I shoved the damn thing in my mouth and sweet baby Jesus it was heaven! Had I not started to cry a little bit at my failed attempt at making a two layer cake, I TOTALLY would have devoured the entire cake. And the mini cake too!

Instead, I did my best to keep all of the frosting tidy on the top and shoved it in the fridge and pretended that it was what I'd done all along. 15 minutes later, I opened the door to peek in. It's like I somehow thought I had a magical refrigerator and something that Martha herself would appear in place of the disaster that I'd tossed in. But no, I don't have a magical fridge. It is real and mean and honest and blatantly laughs at my mistakes. Because not only was there a mess when I put it in, but it managed to get worse. (please don't put this on cake wrecks)

My cakes are lopsided, the center is nearly half an inch caved in, making this appear more like a bundt cake, and yes, that's a giant piece that has fallen off and given up in culinary surrender. *sigh* Be jealous of my baking adventures! So what if my cakes aren't store perfect pretty. It is pretty darn delicious and so far I'm batting a thousand because the uglier I make something, the tastier it seems to be.

There you go. High five yourself as I happily take my failure bow. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will still try to salvage the smaller cake and use it as a smash cake and the larger one will be reserved for a more intimate gathering of family who could care less what things look like because in this case, they see the beauty with their bellies.

I'm just glad I was pretty good at "baking" Mari. She turned out to be sweet and beautiful! Wish you all a very happy pre-Valentine's Day!

p.s. I made the Valentine layout using a free action from MCP Actions.

What's the Matter with Butter?

I've been in a baking frenzy lately. Seriously, I made cookies, pie, cake, cupcakes, icing, whoa. It's been nuts. Last night, I went to make Paula Deen's Pineapple Upside Down Cake when I realized that I was out of butter!!! I don't remember the last time I'd run out. I usually have 8 sticks in my fridge as "emergency" butter. 4 salted, 4 unsalted What makes it even more bizarre is that I'd just come back from the store to pick up some essentials for that recipe (buttermilk) when I realized I didn't have the glorious butter. *sigh*

Anyway, I like to leave my butter out in the morning, and let it get nice and soft for evening baking or even for spreading on toast. I don't have one of those butter crocks, so I guess that is something to put on my wishlist. Well, I kept thinking I was having serious pregnancy brain because I would swear I had a couple of sticks of butter out, but only see one. Or I would leave a tablespoon out, but then I wouldn't find it. I never saw a wrapper, so I just chalked it up to me not really setting them out or just doing a lot of baking.

When I was making homemade cinnamon rolls last week I caught the Sugarbean happily devouring half a stick of butter!!!! She must've eaten about a tablespoon of it and was smearing the rest of it on her hands, her face, and painting the kitchen window with it. (It's never a good sign when the kiddo is THAT quiet!)

MAH-RISSS-A-BELLE!  is what came out in that evil Stepmother voice from Cinderella. I hate it when I do that, by the way! She stared at me with those gorgeous brown eyes, wide and surprised. She smiled and said, "I like butter. It's goooooOOoood!" and grinned. (No I didn't get a photo, but needless to say, her hair had some extra shine and apparently, Guapo is a fan of it too because he "aided" me in the clean-up effort.) Her daddy wasn't very happy about this, but then I got to thinking...

Blythe Beck, The Naughty Chef, loves her some butter.
Paula Deen can't seem to get enough butter.
Tony Bourdain...another butter lover.
Primo also loves butter.

These are all chefs. They all know really good food. I know for a fact that two of them are huge fans of wine and are extremely adventurous eaters. Heck, Mari prefers to have her eggs cooked over easy, and I mean for real, over easy. (When we had a breakfast date, I ordered them this way and the waiter said, "Really? That's great! She likes to eat eggs the right way." Not sure what he meant, but he followed up with, "She's going to be an adventurous diner!"--she already is, darlin'!) I don't know many children who like their eggs that way. Before she discovered over-easy, she would eat her eggs scrambled with cream cheese or just barely pick at the eggs. I was the same way growing up. If my over easy eggs weren't cooked perfectly, I would pass and not eat them. My mom would chop them up in tiny, tiny pieces like perfectly broken bits of egg-glass. I could never get them like she would get them, but now I can. And now, that's how Mari likes them too. I went on an egg tangent, sorry. Anyway, all this to say that I know she has a fine palate. It was my goal from the very beginning to continue to cultivate that palate and introduce her to all sorts of foods and have a greater appreciation for them. I never wanted her to be limited to just a few select choices. I don't want her to grow to be the picky eater I was, even though I never knew I was a picky eater. I was just narrow in my scope.

I'm not going to let her continue to eat butter straight from the stick, but if she wants to add a tiny bit of flavor to something with butter, I'm not going to tell her no. I do try to instill good eating habits in her, but at the same time, I don't want to compromise the flavor. Besides, I'd rather she eat the natural butter, churned from milk instead of that margarine that is just one molecule away from being plastic. (which I don't knock too hard for those people who are on a special diet that requires they eat that stuff, but man, I'd just rather do without than have the substitute.)

What about you? Do you love and appreciate butter? Which kind do you prefer?

HDMR: Wall Street Money Never Sleeps & For Colored Girls

Alrighty, so it is time for another round of HDMR, that's right Hump Day Movie Review. I'll be reviewing two movies available for rental and I'll be using baked goods as my rating level.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
I liked the original, but honestly, I don't remember much of it, I just remember Michael Douglas was a force to be reckoned with. I had a free coupon for Red Box, so I used it on this. I'm sorry, but after the first 15 minutes I just wasn't captivated. I kept watching it and frankly I'm a little pissed off about wasting that time watching it. Maybe some of you loved it, but I just didn't really feel like there was much depth to the characters. There was a scene in there with Josh Brolin and Shia LaBeouf where they were racing bikes. Frankly, it was lame. And the soundtrack...what in the world? It didn't enhance the show, it was actually a downer. If you liked it, then let me know why. I'm open to other perspectives. I rate this a week old grocery store cupcake.

We had another icy/snow day today, so I was able to sneak in another show before the blog. I knew this was going to be dramatic, but wasn't really sure to what degree. Wow, no wow! I know why this movie didn't make a big impression at the box office. It just wasn't that type of movie. However, I have NOOO idea why not one of these ladies was nominated for an award, especially Kimberly Elise or Thandie Newton. This movie shook me to my core and I found myself wanting the poetry in hand to follow along. I like really tough dramas chock full of the dirty gritty unimaginable things we do to one another humans. Anyway, there were parts that were a bit artsy, but it was part of the film, so it was ok. The acting was amazing and the storyline was captivating. I really enjoyed this film and I would recommend it if you like those deep and heavy dramas. I rate this the pineapple upside down cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory.

And speaking of, despite being late, I'm jonesing for some pineapple upside down cake, so maybe I'll run and bake some. :)

Memories from the day

The Sugarbean awoke in a pleasant mood. It also helped that her brother Guapo was singing to her his very own rendition of Happy Birthday. Those of you who know Guapo know that he LOVES birthdays and when given the opportunity, he will sing along or just sing in general. It's wonderful.

We dressed her in her new red birthday dress, which incidentally, when I presented it to her, her face lit up, she grinned at me, and proudly proclaimed, "It fits me!" Finally, I found something to suit her style! I even let her put on her pink and purple multi-colored tights from American Apparel. She happily scampered off to school, excited about her yogurt for breakfast and happily greeting all of her friends in the morning. She especially greeted her morning teacher, Miss Vicki with utter enthusiasm.

I was nervous all day, praying that her day was special and that it would end without one single tear of sadness.

That afternoon, I surprised her at her school, not only by showing up, but also having a happy person, Miss Spirit, accompany me. It warmed my heart to see my birthday girl wearing a special birthday crown that said, "Birthday Queen" on it. Everyone seemed to know it was a special day for Mari and they all treated her like she was a princess. It was very neat! Spirit was going to put on a short show for Mari and all of her friends, then afterwards, would make each person a balloon animal and paint their face or hand. Mari had the opportunity to be first.

Spirit suggested many ideas of what to paint on Mari's face. When we asked her what she wanted, she quietly stated, "Christmas." I looked at her and asked her to be a bit more specific. So she said, "snowman, please." And there you have it. My daughter didn't want a butterfly, a heart, or a flower, she wanted a snowman. Definitely a unique child who knows what she wants. I couldn't help but beam with pride at her individuality. That's my daughter indeed.

Then, the class gathered around and sang to her. And not one to miss a beat, she leaned over and blew out her three candles on her giant 3 shaped cupcake cake. It was easy to tear away the different cupcakes making it easier for the kids to enjoy. There were a couple of parents who had arrived early and seemed really happy for their children to enjoy the party. The kids loved Spirit, their face paint, and the balloon animals. I had three of them come up to me and give me a hug to thank me. Two of the little boys smiled at me, while one gave me a thumbs up. It was so wonderful! It was also nice that our Primo and Don were able to join us before the party was over.

Later, when we left, the teachers had all pitched in and given Mari a beautiful costume to add to her dress up collection! She was also given a gnome dress up costume from her Aunt and cousins, a coloring book and stamp set from her grandma, a play food set from her aunt/uncle and cousins from Tennessee, and an empty shop vac box from Daddy, which ended up being one of her favorite gifts (along with the pink flamingoes my friend from Florida had shipped to me for Mari's party, which she adopted as her own birthday gift). Also, my grandmother, her great grandmother, had sent her a birthday card. By the way, how in the world she always knows the timing of when cards will arrive is beyond me. It's like a special gift or something!

She played for a couple of hours with that box before we headed out to Twisted Root Burger Co for dinner. And now, she is so hopped up on birthday festivities that she's fighting the sleepies. Poor thing, I know she's exhausted, but it was definitely a sign of a great day indeed.

Happy 3rd Birthday Darlin'! I'm glad you enjoyed your very, very special day!

THREE!!

Where in the heck did the time go? I really don't know. I blinked and BAM, the past three years were fast forwarded.

Dear Sugarbean,

I can't believe that you are three years old today. I was re-reading your birth story and I swelled with pride at the memory of the moment I became a mother. YOU...you changed my world more than any thing. All the darkness that I've experienced in life, all of the ache and hurt, it's been replaced with love and light. My perspectives on the world changed because of you, changed for the better.

This is the last year you will celebrate your birthday as an only child. You are so giving and generous, that I don't think you will hardly notice. You already involve your baby sister in your every day routine. You kiss her goodnight each evening, you tell her good morning, and you like to tell her secrets. You are such a beautiful soul and the absolute very best of me (and your father) shines through you.

Thank you for the your curiosity. Thank you for your song. Thank you for your belly laughs. Thank you for the stories you make up. Thank you for your unabashed honesty. Thank you for your pure innocence. Thank you for your creativity. Thank you for your unique sense of style. And yes, thank you for your tenacity, stubbornness, inquisitive nature, and orneriness. I love it all and I love the adventure we've been on so far. I look forward to creating so many more memories.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sugarbean! I hope you enjoy your surprise this afternoon!

The Big Girl Room Part 2

We were quite the busy bees this weekend. I guess you could call it pent up energy because we've been enduring some serious cold weather conditions: ice, sleet, snow, thundersleet, freezing rain, more snow...insanity. I digress. The contractors braved the weather, came by and got it done. They taped, sealed, added mud, sanded down the walls, and scraped the ceiling free of the popcorn. Every thing was nice and smooth like a fresh canvas. I loved it!!!

We headed out to get the primer, paint, ceiling fan, and lights. We also made notes for what we wanted the closet to look like. Here is a view facing her new closet. Love that smoothness and the pocket door opening. MUCH larger than the regular closet opening.

Then, Don decided to hit it hard. He wouldn't let me do any painting because of the potential of VOCs in the paint and primer. He could not, however, stop a certain small person from helping. She was rather insistent despite the fact that she should have been fast asleep. Yes, she's wearing footie jammies with furry Crocs. You can see her determination while she works the roller. 

She helped primer a tiny bit, and then she came to me and helped me clean up her current room. Meanwhile, Don finished the primer. The next morning, he was up to get started. My sister came by and helped put on the first coat. I continued my epic cleaning journey of sorting out the breakfast nook, kitchen, and dining room. While it was drying, my sister helped me break up the ice on the walkway that wasn't melted by the sun. 

That night, Don added another coat of paint and prepared the trim. Once it was dry, he installed the new ceiling fan. Here is the final product from our efforts this weekend. We still need to add the trim and hardware before we can officially move her in. But it is looking awesome!! I'm going to officially order the vinyl saying  and the butterflies for the room. Don will add the trim this week and I believe the vinyl will come in before the weekend. 

I wanted a unique fan for her room. 

Since we are going to leave the pocket doors white (adding the butterflies to the front) and the trim will be white, we opted to look for a white wooden daybed, preferably with a trundle and maybe storage. I found this one locally and I think it would be perfect. Hopefully we'll have some time to check it out in person. Another awesome thing I'm looking forward to picking out her mattresses from Mattress Firm. A couple of weeks ago they ran a Groupon where we bought $200 worth of mattresses for $50! TOTALLY excited about that.

REPURPOSED ITEMS: Because the furniture will be white, we need to paint the large bookshelf that will go in her room. This will be a repurposed bookshelf from our office. It is large, and of course, Don will mount it to the wall for safety. It'll be wonderful to see all of her books in one spot instead of strewn about on the floor like she has them now (partially because she doesn't have enough shelf space). Also, we will be repurposing one of our old end tables and painting it a darker purple (plum) color. I think the color we picked out will match the butterflies we ordered. This is where she will have her tea parties, do her school work, or whatever she wants.

There you have it. Hopefully, we'll have another room update before she's totally moved in. We'll see. So far, we are still right at our budget, but the closet, whoa...still keeping my fingers crossed.

Not Your Momma's Cloth Diapering

Say what? Yeah, you read that right. Cloth Diapering. With Mari, we went the gDiaper route. While we felt very eco-friendly and awesome for using them (especially because she didn't have diaper rash!), they were a bit of a chore to clean up. It wasn't that often that we had to clean up the outer layer, but the liners always had to be cleaned. So much so that we had a special cleaning toothbrush and cleaning container next to the sink, just to clean them before we would put them in Jacki's Super Soak solution. I quickly grew tired of pruny, wrinkly hands from the cleaning. Plus, we hadn't yet discovered the awesomeness that is the Bum Genius Diaper Sprayer.

Around 9 months, Mari had her first diaper rash and we didn't have immediate access to the refills for the gDiapers. She had demonstrated that she was highly allergic to Huggies and Pampers disposable diapers. I was at my wits end and had read the amazing breathability of cloth diapers. While it was the weekend and we let her run around naked for a while (try containing a very active & walking 9 month old to a small blanket for "accidents"), we set off in search of some cloth diapers. I bought 3 Bum Genius diapers and said a prayer for them to work. I remember the sticker shock value of them, but quickly dismissed it when I was faced with a very happy baby (with a much less angry heiny!). I was sold!

I never bought more than those initial three. When she outgrew the size medium gDiapers, we didn't buy the large. Instead, we went the 7th Generation disposable route for other reasons too long to explain here, BUT! with Tesla, I was adamant about wanting to go the cloth route. Here are a few of my reasons:

1. They definitely breathe better than disposables.
2. They have a better fit and less blowouts than the disposables and/or gDiapers.
3. There isn't a stinky diaper pail smell, just the regular odors of a bathroom. (light a match)
4. Better for the environment because they don't take forever to decompose and with a high end washer, you will use less water for cleaning them, especially if you use the Super Stainer Soak.
5. Less expensive than disposables in the long run.
6. A better fit, in my opinion.
7. Way cuter than regular diapers. A must in the summer months when she would run around with a diaper and a tank top.

Some people don't like the idea of trying them. I get where they are coming from. I understand convenience and ease of use. I totally get that. Will you have to spend a bit more time than you would with disposable diapers? Yes, a bit more, but not much. I'd have to launder the cloth diapers and prep them for the next day. Instead of carrying  around those tiny plastic bags for the disposable diapers, I will use a travel wet bag (for all diapers) or a wet pail for home (for the pee diapers). The extra time is worth it for me. Even more so because the daycare Tesla will be attending not only allows for us to use cloth, but they are eager to learn what to do. I can't tell you how much it means to have their support in this matter. I know daycares will allow it, but whether they like it and are receptive to it is something else entirely. 

There you have it. At this very moment, we have 6 cloth diapers that we can use out of the gate with Tesla. The three Bum Genius that are one size, two Charlie Banana diapers (turquoise & black in the above pic) because they are also a one size fits all pocket diaper (8lbs-35lb), and one extra small Fuzzibunz green pocket diaper (the top center one in the pic). I love that the Bum Genius and Charlie Banana are one size and will grow with the baby. I really like that the Charlie Banana ones have an elastic that adjust the size, plus the snaps are better than the velcro on the BG, because sometimes the velcro can get compromised. 

My fabulous besties & sister are throwing me a baby shower later on this month--Burleseque themed no less (wahoo!!). Since this is our second child, I wanted to do something a bit unconventional (more of a girls night instead of a sit down and have cake shower) and out of the norm. This is a great opportunity to spend some time with my girls and learn a new skill, maybe! As far as gifts, there isn't a whole lot we need since we saved everything from Mari, but we have requested cloth diapers and sensitive skin wipes*. I created an Amazon registry to give my loved ones an idea about the cloth diapering world since more than a few of them think I'm out of my mind for wanting to venture down that path. For all they know, I would be using safety pins and traditional cloth pads from back in the day. (I remember cleaning a few of those diapers as a kid.) I also threw in a couple of more conventional gifts on the registry so as to not scare them off entirely! I will be sure to post about the shower at that time. Until then...

If you are interested, you should check out Amazon to read reviews on some of the cloth diapers out there or visit Diapers.com to read some reviews. If you like what you see, and you want to take the plunge, use the code GUAP0228 to receive 15% off your first order at Diapers.com.

If you cloth diaper, what are some of your favorite reasons? What is your favorite brand? Do you use a super stainer soak? How does your husband feel about the cloth diapers or if you are male, how do you feel about them as opposed to disposable diapers?

*We do have some reusable cloth wipes, but I do prefer the wet wipes that we can warm. Babies seem to prefer a warm wet wipe, plus, I can get a more concise clean with the disposable ones than I can with the cloth. Otherwise, I'd need a warm water bucket nearby, which, if that were the case, I'd be wasting too much water and almost be bathing my child after each bowel movement. That's just a reflection of my own inefficiency.

**In no way was  I compensated for my review on any specific cloth diapers. These reviews are my own.**