Rue La La

I know this blog has mostly focused on baby-related things so far, but there's more to life than diapers and daycare, right?? Right?

So today I'm going to let you all in on a little shopping secret of mine (and the reason everyone gets such nice birthday presents even though my paycheck is... not so nice):  RUE LA LA!

This website has great shopping deals! They have a cool format too:  each day new "boutiques" open up and they only stay open for a certain amount of time (usually 2 days), and you have that amount of time to buy what you want (usually at a HUGE discount) from that specific boutique.  Another cool feature:  you only pay shipping once in a 30 day period.  You pay $9.95 the first time you ship, and for 30 days after that, everything you order comes with free shipping! This format is especially nice during the holiday season, when I feel like I'm buying gifts constantly!

I order from this site All. The. Time.

I got my mom's birthday gift there (a beautiful blue Le Creuset utensil crock like the one you see below), and I got the baby some sweet kicks for Christmas (who am I kidding? I have gotten that child at least 3 pairs of shoes from Rue La La in the past month... Addiction? Perhaps. Don't tell my husband.).

Here's the catch:  You have to be invited to the site to join.  Luckily, you have a friend with invites to spare (Me!), so if you would like to check it out, send me an email or leave me a comment and I will send you an invitation.

This site is really great for working or generally busy moms who still want to get their Christmas shopping done in time.  Trust me, I am one of them!

Miss Kathy

One of the scariest parts of knowing I had to be a working mom was finding a babysitter. Can I get an amen from my fellow working moms??  I struggled forEVER trying to think of alternatives:  should I be a stay-at-home-mom (months 1-4)? Should Chad be a stay-at-home-dad (months 5-9)? Should I make my parents and my in-laws alternate days so that he can always be with one of us or with one of them? Should I condense my work week so I can have Monday off to have more time with him (current situation)? And then there was Miss Kathy.

Miss Kathy is a babysitter in our area with 15+ years experience, TONS of glowing recommendations, a strict "No Advertise" policy (which means she only takes new kids by word-of-mouth recommendations), a sweet converted basement/play room with everything at kid level and toys and books galore, and a heart of absoulte gold.  We love her. Love.

Even today, after almost four months with Miss Kathy, I still feel that same old Mommy Guilt when I drop Parker off in the morning, but I know that he loves her and he has a great time there. (Not only that, but I know that he loves to play with the other kids, and he gets a hot homemade lunch every day, and he takes a good nap everyday in a quiet environment in his own crib (pack and play) and his own blankie and his own Sleep Sheep. Not that I'm a little neruotic about naptime or anything...).  In fact, I still tell Parker every morning that we are going "to school," just so he'll know that he's going somewhere to learn and play and have fun, and won't have abandonment issues. Ha. (Ok, so maybe I call it "school" more for my own sake than for his).

Anyway, moral of the story:  Sometimes Moms have to work. Thank God for Miss Kathy.  If you want her number -- I might give it to you. Especially if there are homemade baked goods involved in the transaction.

-MB

Cloth Diapers

Ok, I want to tell you all about my one true love. Sorry Chad! Just kidding, y'all, but seriously, I have become kind of an Earth Mother where my child is concerned.

I LOVE cloth diapers. Can I say it again? LOVE.

I initially bought just a couple of cloth diapers because Parker was getting really bad (like, blistery) diaper rash for no good reason and I had read that the natural cloth could make the rash go away quicker.  Well, I soon discovered that 1) they are SO cheap 2) they are SO cute 3) it is impossible to buy "just a couple."  My poor husband keeps discovering packages from Amazon.com on our doorstep and threatening to divorce me if I don't stop buying them (I kid, but seriously... ).

But can I ask you this? What is better than a diaper you can wash and resue? Yea, occasionally you have to deal with poop, but you have to deal with poop with disposables anyway, right? Right. Everyone has had to deal with blowouts, and let me let you in on a little secret -- blowouts happen LESS often with cloth.

Now if only I could get my husband and babysitter onboard with this idea.

So here's what's ended up happening -- I now have pretty much a full stash of fluff (CD lingo -- I feel like a member of a cool club! Haha), and I use them as much as I can. I am finding that they are especially useful at night (for my heavy wetter I just add another insert), and that they are a TON cheaper (in the long run -- upfront costs for these babys are scary) than spending close to $100 a month at Sam's Club for the huge boxes of disposable diapers, and that I feel a lot better putting my baby in beathable cotton and hemp as opposed to disposable (fake? live in landfills for hundreds of years? whatever material they are made out of?) diapers. Amen.

And here's the thing:  once your diaper gets used (peed in or pooped on), you just rinse (if you have...solids) and thrown them in a wetbag till you're ready to wash them.  Then wash your inserts and your covers, set the covers in the sun to dry, and throw the inserts in the dryer. How easy is that?

So if you're interested, here's what I recommend: 

• I am actually a bigger fan of pocket diapers than AIO's, because you can really customize them for your baby.  I LOVE the bumGenius pocket diapers. I am also in the process of trying out Thirsties covers with prefolds.  If I don't like that I think I'm going to try a slim fitted and put the Thirsties cover over it.
• You don't have to buy expensive "cloth diaper" detergent. I use Tide Free and Clear, no problem. (Also I have a High Efficiency washer and you can't really use any of those fancy CD detergents in HE washers)
• You can buy them used. Sounds gross at first, but it's really easy to power wash (often called "stripping") a used diaper and have it look (and more importantly smell) brand new.
• Buy a wetbag. Listen to me. Buy a wetbag. They actually contain smells BETTER than my Diaper Genie. No kidding.
• For solid waste, either buy one of those sprayer things, or if you're cheap like me, invest in a scrub brush you can keep near the toilet and scrub off the junk before you throw the dipe in that wetbag you bought.

It would be super easy to cloth diaper your baby if you happened to be a SAHM, but since I am a Workin Mama, I can really only use cloth at home, and when my husband is cooperating and doesn't sneak the baby back in to sposies (more lingo. ha.). But next baby I have will wear cloth from birth to potty training, without a doubt. I'll just have to find a babysitter who is down with my plan.

Welcome to Blogging?

Life has been happening at warp speed for me for the past two years! Since January of 2010 I have: moved, graduated college, had a baby, gotten a job, gotten married, moved again, and started graduate school.  There is no absence of drama in my life. I am so greatful for the people in my life, and for the experiences I have had that have taught me what's important and what to prioritize.

I hope, through this blog, that I can keep up with the people I care about better (especially the ones who are far away) and let you all know what is going on in my life. I thought a blog would be good because you can choose to follow it or not -- i.e. you won't have to deal with me being an oversharer via Facebook (isn't that so annoying?!) or trying to fit my life into 140 characters on Twitter (though you're welcome to follow my musings @meganbea).  I also needed a space where I could really say what I thought (and perhaps sometimes, occasionally be a little controversial/passive aggressive/not PC/what have you), so if that sounds like something you'd like to read, I'm your girl.  Well, I guess, this is your blog.

First "real" post (aka actually about my life instead of an intro to my blog) to come soon!