Lovely Fluffy Mama

After you read my "A Confession, A Little Venting, and A Blessing in Disguise" post, the info from here on out will make more sense :) 

FYI: This post is a tad lengthy, but I need to explain some things first - by the time you are reading this post, I will be backtracking some, so try not to be confused ;)

A Little Background:

This is pregnancy #3 for me and my husband Ryan. We have two beautiful little ones - our little princess Riley is 3 and our handsome prince Noah is 2. We always knew we wanted to have at least one more baby, but didn't really know when. My first 2 pregnancies were a breeze. In fact, we got pregnant immediately (on our honeymoon) and weren't even trying! (Well, we weren't exactly doing our best to prevent it either, but you know what I mean hehe). Piece of cake pregnancy - no morning sickness, not a lot of weird cravings (except at the end I drank about a gallon of milk every day - seriously I had to have it!!), I didn't even show with that pregnancy until I was almost 6 months pregnant! I was induced at 37 weeks only because she was tiny and the doctor wanted to be sure she wasn't tiny because of lack of oxygen flow. Turns out she is just tiny, no health issues whatsoever. Labor was extremely short, about 4 hours total, from breaking my water to Riley screaming her little lungs out on my chest :) In fact, it was so short, by the time I asked for the epidural, it was too late! I was already 10cm dilated and she was ready to make her entrance!

 My second pregnancy happened when Riley was about 6 months old, and I misplaced my birth control pills while the interior of our house was being painted and we moved out for about 3 days during that time. Again, we weren't really taking the appropriate measures to prevent the pregnancy, but it happened after only missing about 2 days of the pill - doesn't take much! But again, no morning sickness, I showed a little earlier that time around, no weird cravings (except for Nathan's corn dogs and cheese fries, and anything spicy - so nothing weird, just completely unhealthy lol), he was an average sized baby, but I ended up being induced again, only because he went past his due date and I couldn't handle it anymore! Short labor, even shorter than my first one - less than 3 hours total. Severe back labor, but again, I waited too long to ask for the epidural (you'd think I would have learned to ask for it immediately upon arrival after having gone through the last labor and deliver without one), so Noah was also born without any pain meds - WOW! That's all I can say - it is a pain like no other! lol

So because it has been so easy for us to get pregnant, we really wanted to wait and actually plan for #3. And so we did. We waited for about 2 years to try again. Except this time it wasn't so easy. Thankfully, it only took 3 - 4 months after really trying (I know that's nothing, but for us it seemed like forever, so I really feel for those that have had to wait much much longer and are possibly in the process of still trying and waiting - i.e. my mom and dad tried for 8 years to get pregnant with me!!!). At the time we started trying again, Ryan had a new job and the future was looking great! We were talking about moving beachside (my dream!), and spending Christmas in a new home! It was all just so exciting! 

Then, one day, Ryan came home from work earlier than I was expecting. I was actually expecting him home a little early, because we planned on going to a basketball game that evening and he needed to leave a little early so we wouldn't be late. But he came home a few hours earlier than I was even expecting him. He got layed off. Talk about emotional rollercoaster. We went from talking about moving to a beach house, planning our Christmas in a new home, to being jobless and falling behind on our bills, and then finding out about our pregnancy all within a matter of weeks. 

The Explanation (for not telling anyone sooner):

Meanwhile, I have been trying to keep this pregnancy on the down low, but it has not been easy!! Not telling anyone wasn't the hard part. The fear of judgment from everyone has made it quite easy for me to keep it a secret. Thankfully, I have had no morning sickness or any food aversions or cravings, so it hasn't been too hard to keep it under wraps in that sense. Physically hiding it has been the hard part. I have been showing since I was somewhere between 8 - 10 weeks! Here's my belly at 12 weeks:

A Confession: 
Recently friends and such have been asking me when we are going to have more kids. And I have been answering them with something like," Hopefully sooner than later". Or "We would love to have more kids, we just don't know exactly when yet".  The truth is, I have known that I was pregnant since I was about 4 or 5 (at most) weeks along, which makes me almost 4 months pregnant as I am writing this. The day my period was due in April (possibly the day before), I took 3 home pregnancy strip tests - the kind that you dip into the urine sample. I thought they were all negative, until I looked closer. There was a very very very faint line on all 3 tests. Evaporation lines. Or so I thought that was what had happened. The lines seriously were so faint that I thought maybe I was imagining it. But I still had that feeling. So a couple of days went by and I bought another test - the kind that reads either "pregnant" or "not pregnant". I wanted the results to be more clear than the lines - and sure enough "PREGNANT". I took the second one the next day just to be sure - "PREGNANT". 

I'm due December 24, 2012 :)

A Little Venting:

My husband has been self-employed up until recently (now he works for a company instead of for himself). And while we were self-employed, we have had no health insurance for the last 5 years. It is WAY too expensive to purchase privately, and since we didn't work for a company that provided benefits, we have always been able to get coverage through our state (enough coverage for pregnancies and the kids' pediatric services and that's all). BUT, this time around was different. Long story short, it has taken 2 1/2 months to get my insurance coverage straightened out (and another 2 weeks to see a doctor after that), and I have waited this whole time to be able to make a doctor's appointment for prenatal care! Let me tell you, it has driven me CRAZY!!!! All I have wanted to do is to hear the heartbeat, make sure the baby is ok, get my lab work done and out of the way, tell people the exciting news!!! I must have called the doctor's office a billion times trying to make an appointment, and every time I called, I ended up disappointed, because I couldn't get in, because my insurance coverage wasn't "correct". 

So, today (July 2nd), I am now 15 weeks pregnant (I know I am back tracking a bit by the time you are reading this), still haven't seen a doctor - I have had a really smooth pregnancy so far, so thankfully I haven't had any emergencies or else I would have gone straight to the ER or Health Department. Trust me, I would have rather gone to the ER for anything than the dreaded Health Department - I have never had a good experience there, so I will not go there if I can go somewhere else. Anyway, I called AGAIN today to make an appointment, because I was assured that my insurance coverage was in place and ready to go. DENIED an appointment AGAIN!!!! INSANE I tell ya! 

A Blessing in Disguise:

I was totally heartbroken and disappointed, because I was so excited to finally be seeing a doctor! However, I truly believe in blessings in disguise. God knows what He is doing, especially when it doesn't seem to make any sense to us :) So, I started thinking, "Maybe I am just not meant to go to this specific doctor. Maybe I should look into other doctors in the area". And I did just that. And I found a wonderful office that I had never heard of before, affiliated with the hospital where I would like to deliver (and have delivered my other 2 children). Called them and got the appointment right away! My insurance went through and we are all set for July 17th. Yes, I'll be about 17 weeks pregnant by then, but I am SO EXCITED to check out this office and meet the doctor and get things rolling finally! UPDATE: I finally went to my 1st doctor's visit and I am SO BLESSED to have found this office! I love it!

P.S. You all won't be reading this until AFTER this appointment, since we are not telling anyone the news until I have had my first appointment or after the gender reveal ultrasound - see the following post :) 

In the meantime, I'll be updating the blog with pictures and such and when the time comes, I will post everything for all to see!!

Thank you all for reading and keeping up with me! I hope you will continue to follow me and my pregnancy!

~ Jessica

Hi all!!! As of late, I have been getting so distracted with making diapers, selling diapers, doing giveaways, sponsoring giveaways, keeping up with all of the Facebook "groups" and such, that I have completely gotten away from using this blog for it's original purpose. I started this blog as a way for me to share my feelings, connect with other parents, and be a positive and uplifting source for those who choose to read. I apologize for getting away from all of that. And to be completely transparent with all of you, I have also gotten away from the joys and responsibilities of being a stay at home mom because I have been so focused on all of these other things.

I am truly blessed and grateful that I have been given the option to stay at home with my beautiful and precious children. My husband Ryan is amazing and does everything he possibly can to provide a comfortable lifestyle for us. For a long time, I felt so guilty because I was not providing financially for the family. I have made a lot of changes in order to cut back on expenses, such as switching to cloth diapers, using cloth in the kitchen, using the clothes line more often to dry clothes instead of the dryer, cancelling cable tv, switching to a lower speed internet, making homemade meals and snacks, etc. But I never felt like it was enough. Not because Ryan made me feel that way, but because I made myself feel that way. 

Ryan has always found a way to make money. I have never had to worry about that. We have owned businesses, sold businesses, he has had "regular" 9-5 type of jobs, sales jobs, traveling jobs, and he has freelanced as a subcontractor taking side jobs as they came up. He works incredibly hard so that our kids can stay home with me and grow up comfortably in their own environment. If he wanted me to work, he would ask me to find a job. He has never pressured me into making money, and I appreciate that so much. The added pressure on me has been put there solely by me. The whole reason he does what he does, is because he truly wants me to stay home and raise our kids! And you know what? I want that too!

Sometimes people question my decision to stay home: "You have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Why aren't you using it?" Why on earth would I want to spend 12+hours/day with people who don't care about me, working my butt off doing something that I don't even really like doing? Especially when I don't have to?? It's not that I have anything against nurses or any part the medical field. I wouldn't have gone through college to get a degree in the health/medical field if there wasn't something appealing about it to me. But just because I have the background doesn't mean that my life has to be centered around it. Was college a waste then? No way! College was great! Life experiences, friendships, awesome education, independence - it was well worth it! But, now that I have a family, my focus is on giving my all to them and not giving my all elsewhere. 

I understand that not everyone has the opportunity to stay home with their kids. I get it. Everyone has to do what they have to do to provide the best for themselves and for their families. And you better believe that if Ryan ever asks me to return to work, I would and should do it. In fact, after our 1st child was born, Ryan did ask me to return to work when our daughter was about 6 months old. And I did. And it worked out fine. And I was able to return home later that year and haven't been back to work in almost 3 years now. What I am getting at is that I have realized that I am what is best for my family, and I should be taking full advantage of the opportunity that God has given me through my husband, and stop feeling guilty about not providing financially because I am providing a life for my kids that no one else could provide for them. 

My babes are 2 yrs and 3 yrs old. They will not be little and young and innocent forever. I want to spend as much time with them as I possibly can. Connecting with them, providing for them, teaching them, having fun with them, supporting them, being there for them. And with all of that being said, I am getting back to where I started with this blog. I will still do reviews, giveaways, sponsor events, make and sell diapers, etc. But all of those things will always come second to my family and what matters most to me and my husband. This blog is getting back to sharing playtime activities, yummy recipes, positive thoughts, family values, "green" tips and ideas, and simply sharing the fun and humor in life!

A big thank you to all who take the time to read my thoughts - I appreciate you! Now, let's all have some fun and get back to where we started with this whole thing!

~ Jessica

As I was browsing through some of the WAHM Facebook groups I belong to, I came across a wonderful woman named Desiree from Scarlet's Naturals (on Facebook you will see it as Scarlet's Hiney Honey), looking for a few testers for one of her natural baby skin care products. I volunteered to be a tester, as well as offered to write a review in exchange for the product. I love to review products, so when she asked if I would also review her natural sunblock (review still to come), of course I said yes! 

(And, since I'm a sucker for anything coconut scented/flavored, I went ahead and purchased her Scarlet's Suds laundry detergent because I saw on her website that I could get it in coconut scent :))

Before even receiving any products, I could tell that I was going to like the Scarlet's Naturals product line. My kids have always had very sensitive skin, my son especially. Our decision to cloth diaper Noah was partly because of his skin sensitivities. So when I saw that Scarlet's Naturals products are specifically made for babies and kids with sensitive skin, I wanted to know more. I found out that each product recipe uses ingredients found locally to them, including honey and beeswax that is from their own backyard! Love it!

The tester was for the Hiney Honey Cream in the form of a convenient stick (as of now, this product is available in a nice 4oz tin only, but will very soon also be available in stick form, although I am uncertain at the moment what size stick will be offered for purchase).

The original 4 oz tin


The tester stick (chapstick size)


The Hiney Honey Cream is a wonderful product that can be used for many purposes, such as (but certainly not limited to):

• diaper rash
• dry skin
• eczema
• irritated skin
• redness on skin     

Mother's Day is almost here and we are celebrating with our love for cloth diapers!

I am so super excited to be hosting a giveaway as part of this event! I have some really awesome sponsors that have offered some of their amazing products for this event, including Greenie Beanie Bottoms, Lovely Fluff, Mandi's Menagerie, Hipster Fluff, Kitty's Top2Bottom Diapers n' More, Nature's Keyes, and Scarlet's Naturals. These companies have been such a pleasure to work with. I will be giving away an awesome Cloth Diaper Package from these sponsors, valued at nearly $150! The package will include these products:

• 2 Tiny Tush Elite One-Size Pocket Diapers (winner will choose colors) from Greenie Beanie Bottoms - valued at $29.95! ($14.95 each) 

• 1 First and Last (F&L) One Size Bamboo Fleece Diaper from Mandi's Menagerie (winner will choose boy/girl or gender neutral snap & thread color) - valued at $17!

• 1 custom fitted or AI2 diaper (winner's choice) from Hipster Fluff - valued between $22-$25!

Hello! As many of you know, my company Lovely Fluff is having a cloth diaper giveaway! I am putting the rafflecopter entry form on this blog as well as on the Lovely Fluff Facebook page, so that even if you are mobile or accessing FB via tablet, you will still be able to enter the giveaway :)

The winner of the giveaway will receive one free custom fitted diaper or one free AI2 diaper of their choice! This giveaway will go until Monday, April 23rd, and I will announce the random winner on the Lovely Fluff facebook page. You can view some of the previous customs here, or at the Lovely Fluff store, or simply browse some of the wall photos on the FB page. 

Good luck everyone! Thanks for your support!

Hi all! I've been off the grid for a minute, but I'm back again! I am super excited about an upcoming cloth diaper giveaway event, hosted by Daily Mothering! Daily Mothering is such a fun blog! She features hundreds of product reviews, awesome giveaways, and wonderful daily deals. You can also keep up with her via her Facebook Page :) 

From May 1st - 12th, the Mother's Day Cloth Diaper Giveaway Hop Event will be featured on over 100 blogs, including this one! Each blogger will be doing a cloth diapering product giveaway. Check out the list of participating bloggers so far! If you are a blogger, you can still sign up to participate! All of the giveaway items will be cloth diaper related - diapers, wetbags, wipes, detergent, accessories, etc, valued at minimum $15 (most will be valued at a lot more than that for sure)! And some blogs will also be giving away mama cloth and other mama related items! Many blogs will be featuring giveaways worth well over $100! There will also be a Grand Prize Giveaway, featured on Daily Mothering, valued at over $1000!!

You won't want to miss out on this amazing event! I will be hosting a giveaway for this event, right here on the blog! Keep an eye out here for some sneak peeks of some of the products that I will be giving away, and learn about some of the companies that will be sponsoring the giveaway. Your chance to enter my giveaway will be here on the blog, starting May1st. 

I am really looking forward to this event! It is going to be so much fun! What a great way to see different companies and blogs that love cloth, and to have a chance to win some wonderful cloth diapering products! I will give notice on facebook the night before the event goes live (April 30th), with a link to my giveaway, so that you will have a heads up! Hope to see you all enter the giveaway!

My husband specifically requested for lasagna to be on our menu this week. So, I am making a healthier version (or at least a little healthier) of the classic recipe. I also made it without cooking the pasta first - and I didn't use the "no cook" specific pasta! 

Not gonna lie, I was very nervous about trying this recipe without cooking the pasta first. I had never attempted this before. But, I love to try new things and new ways of cooking, so I went for it!

Pretty simple to put together.

Preheat oven 350*F

Brown the meat, drain, return to skillet, add sauce and water, then simmer for 10 mins.

Whole Wheat Turkey Lasagna

Makes 6 large servings or 9-12 smaller servings.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 
2. Brown ground turkey in skillet over medium high heat, drain, and return to skillet.
3. Add sauce and water to the meat and simmer for 10 mins.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper. 
5. Pour 1 cup of meat sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 in baking dish. Arrange 3 pieces of uncooked lasagna over the sauce, then cover with 1 cup of sauce. Spread 1/2 cheese mixture over the top of the sauce.
6. Repeat the layers of lasagna, sauce, and cheese mixture. Top with a layer of lasagna, the remaining sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
7. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
8. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Recently, I came across the Modern Parents Messy Kids 6 Week Meal Plan, and decided to give it a try. She has made it so easy! All the meals are already planned out with grocery lists and links to the recipes for directions on cooking them! I am not following the plan exactly day by day, but I am planning my dinners according to the recipes found in each week. I pull about 5 or 6 recipes from the week and decide which day that each meal will work best for my schedule and family. Tonight, I decided to make the Cheeseless Pasta Bake.

Very simple and not a lot of ingredients to deal with which is exactly what I was looking for! I made the pasta sauce ahead of time and stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator until ready to use. Or you can use your favorite store bought sauce. As I was making this, I realized the original recipe only yielded 3 servings, so I doubled the recipe to suit my family's size and appetite :)

Cheeseless Pasta Bake

Adapted from Healthy Tipping Point.

Ingredients: (this is my version that has been doubled)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease casserole dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for pasta sauce.
3. Pour mix into casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until egg is firm. (The original recipe calls to cook for 25 mins, but mine was finished in just under 45 mins, rather than doubling the time to 50 mins. You will need to just check so you don't overcook.)
4. Remove from oven and drizzle with pasta sauce.

So easy! Enjoy!

No, I'm not talking about money, although seeing a little more of that couldn't hurt ;) 

I'm talking about being more "green" - you know, eco-friendly, non-wasteful, "crunchy", and so forth. As you know, (or at least you will know now), I already use cloth diapers, cloth wipes, and mama cloth. (We do not currently use "family cloth" a.k.a. cloth toilet paper, and we may never get to that point.) And I typically don't buy or use paper towels or napkins, my husband does. I usually use a kitchen towel or microfiber cloth to clean up messes and such. But recently, I have come across a lot of info about using "un-paper towels" and cloth napkins.

My mom has always used a lot of cloth napkins (she still does!), even when I was younger. Most times, they were just for special occasions (we had a lot of special occasions. Every birthday, holiday, big accomplishments, etc. was a special occasion at our house). Every now and then we would use them for a regular meal. But I definitely have always associated the use of cloth napkins with either a special occasion or a fancy shmancy restaurant. It never occurred to me to use cloth napkins for every meal at home. But I think it's a great idea!

The only time I never used paper towels in a kitchen was when I worked at Chick-fil-A (yum!). We used regular, washable, reusable kitchen towels for clean ups in the kitchen. Of course, we had paper towels to dry our hands with. But in the kitchen I grew up with at home, we always used paper towels for clean ups and even for drying hands many times. Now thinking back, I was so wasteful! Even in recent years, living in my own places, I have used paper towels for everything! Any kind of kitchen clean up for sure, windows, mirrors, cleaning the inside of my car, dusting, wiping down counter tops and tables, drying hands, cleaning little hands and faces, etc. Never really thought about using a reusable towel for cleaning up until more recently. So, when I started seeing "un-paper towels" all over the internet, I thought that it made complete sense. Especially since I am already using a lot of cloth in the kitchen these days.

So, I came across a couple of blogs (I can't remember them now, and I didn't save them so I can't refer back to them - sorry!), and these ladies had goals of making cloth napkins and un-paper towels for their families to use. One lady had a goal of making 30 - I think she was mostly referring to unpaper towels. Another lady had a goal of 40 - I think she was making 20 unpaper towels and 20 cloth napkins (5 napkins per person in her household). I really like this idea a lot, and I am also going to make a goal for myself to make my family some of these money-savers. (I hate buying paper towels and napkins, so this is going to be fantastic!) 

My goal is to start off by making 10 un-paper towels and 12 cloth napkins by the end of April. That gives me 2 months to get it done. I am giving myself plenty of time so that this is a realistic and attainable goal for me to accomplish. Hopefully, I will have them done a whole lot sooner than this, but at least I have set a time limit for myself to complete it, since I am a huge procrastinator. If we need more, or I have finished earlier than April, then I will just make more!

Of course, I will be posting pictures of my completed work - I may even post a quick and easy tutorial later on during my progress :)

Do any of you use cloth napkins and/or un-paper towels? How did you find out about it? Did you make them yourself or did you purchase them already made? What fabrics do you like for your cloth usage?

~ Jessica