I Lied..

Well, if you read this blog post a few posts back (which I did just add a comment to at the end lol) you know I had intended on making slight changes to the blog, but nothing crazy... 

Obviously that didn't happen lol. 

I started out with just those slight changes (actually weeks ago, just late getting around to telling everyone) but today... I don't know what I was thinking, but I just got that I wanna change things mood going. I'm glad I did though. 


For one thing, it didn't take much time to do really. I have been working around the house at the same time... playing with Kalila... making dinner.. all that fun stuff. I even have proof of some of that I'll add below lol. But yeah, it was a fun thing to do during my breaks and stuff... 


And... the part I think I am going to like the most... It makes it easier for me to change things in the future. Every time I have, I've lost EVERYTHING. Had to start from scratch... Not fun. Is why I hadn't planned on changing my background again. This way I'll still have to redo widgets and stuff when I change it, but I won't be starting from scratch by far. 


But... of course I am this time... So please have some patience with the links sections. I'm not going to sit down and do them all at once. Just not gonna happen. So it may take awhile. Hopefully not too long. I like my links lol. 


Speaking of... as you can see they are now on seperate pages. Because I use blogger, technically they're seperate blogs too... but I'm linking them all back here & using them as pages instead. It works right? That's part of what's gonna save me when I change things up from time to time... and (another thing I like) it clears up my main page so its not so cluttered. I may change the titles of them, but for now at least this works lol. 


Like I said in the other post... 

I am still going to fix the labels slowly over time. Or continue doing so... Nothing that will be rushed though. 


I'm still excited about the little reactions thing under each post... Not sure how it'll work out, but.. that's ok lol. 


I mentioned the buttons and widgets too... I'm not sure which ones I'll put back on here. Obviously a couple have already made it. Some may make it to the links pages. We'll see. 


And since I promised... or hinted at... whatever.  Here's a glimps of my day!

Oh... and another reason I'm glad I did this... the composing page is so much nicer now!

Decisions - Bag Edition

Well, I'm over half way through this pregnancy... which still leaves me (and Baba of course lol) with plenty of time to make a few of the decisions we need to make. But it also means we've got to get on the ball and start researching some of the things we haven't.

Luckily its not really much... We have most of the things we need from last time. We purposely got as much as possible in neutral colours/patterns... We saved most of it... So that's a huge help.

One of the things we are gonna have to get again though is a diaper bag. Its not that we got a girly one last time (like I would carry around pink lol). Its that its falling apart. Thanks to a gift card from Babies R Us and not needing anything else from there at the time, we were able to get a good one... so a little frusterated by that. But at the same time... after we switched to cloth I was wishing it were bigger so I'm not really complaining either.

I'm looking online for 2 reasons... The first being that Walmart & Target ones are tiny and don't look all that great to me. No offense to anyone who has one, but I know they won't work for us. The other... Babies R Us has slightly nicer ones but most are still too small & the prices are rediculous considering... even more so when I think about how much the one we got last time cost & how little time its lasted.

Unfortunately the prices online are even worse! Most bags under $80 look tiny... and I've seen everything from there up to $300. $300???????? You've got to be kidding me right?

So far the one that's caught my attention the most is the Skip Hop Dash bag... still more than I want to spend on a bag, but it looks like it could work. Plus I haven't looked at other stores besides the one linked, so I might find it for less if I shop around. Possibly. Hmm more than possibly, just found it here too... Definately looking around more.

Found another couple I like but yeah not happening for one reason or another lol. That one may not either... is just hte best option I've seen so far.

On another note: today is a good day to search on Swagbucks lol. I forgot they give away more on Fridays!

Sweet Voice

Remember that VSMILE Kalila got for her bday? I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but she did get one.. along with a couple more games for it. I felt really bad because I knew she wanted to play on it, but it sat in the box for months... I didn't want it in our room, the living room has too many systems & she has no tv. Of course I don't want a tv in her room... but I got to the point that I decided to pull my old one in there just for the game. LOL bad idea... Wore myself out getting it in here and then it didn't work because I got it in the 8th grade or so and it doesn't have the right connections on it. Oops.

Well, yesterday I decided I would see if I could get it on our tv... at least until we can work out something better. There was room... I got it up and working & Kalila had a blast. I even got these video's. Excuse the comp (one Baba is building for Kalila) and stuff in the background. Like I said the other day, I still have a little to do in there.









Unfortunately it stopped working later that evening. I was not happy esp since she was screaming for it. I managed to get it working again later by recharging the batteries so assumed it was that... but today after switching to the Pooh game (the same one I'd tried to put in the night before) it did the same thing and stopped turning on. I have no idea if its the game itself (the other two do work) or if therés something wrong with the power on the thing or if it just drains the batteries faster than I expected. Recharging today to see if that's it.

Bloggy News

I've been meaning to post this for awhile... finally some time.

No major changes... Don't worry lol. I like this background, I like my setup... Just needs a little routine tweaking here and there.

The biggest area is on my labels. I have one called Baby. Obviously its a little outdated. I started out putting posts about Kalila there... but she's not a baby now. Yes there is another baby on the way and I did start out linking his there as well as hers, but... he won't stay one either and at some point having them labeled that will get rediculous lol. So I made two new ones. Kalila and Zavier. I've started labeling posts w/ those, but I'm also slowly as I get time moving the others over. I don't expect to be done anytime soon because I just don't have that kind of time and I'm not all that worried about it either. I also made one for pictures in general, not just baby pictures. Same rules apply. If for some reason you're looking for an old post (esp the older it is) then its prob best to look in the older labels until they're gone.

Blog lists are constantly being added too... I've found some great blogs over the last few months. I don't comment on them as much as the ones I've followed for years now (sorry about that) but I am enjoying reading even when I don't. Will try to do better w/ comments btw.

Buttons, Blinkies and Widgets... Weeding out some of the older ones... New ones will be added I'm sure. I got both my rosary shop (which I need to work on at some point again) and my Avon website linked in buttons at the top. I added my Cafemom blinkies (or the ones I use on my siggie there) the other day too. Not sure if I'll leave them, and they'll prob change over time if I do. I like blinkies though lol. And of course the baby widget. Unfortunately I know that it causes my links to take time to come up.... The Swagbucks thing does too... I may get rid of it soon, I still love Swagbucks but not sure the extra load time is worth it. The baby thing will stay though until he gets here :) Just too cute.

I just added reactions. I've seen them on other blogs and wondered how to do it. So glad the little tip thing popped up on my post lol. I know I have several readers that don't comment though, so this seemed like another good form of feedback (and an easy one at that). An option at least.

I guess that's it...

Edit (that will prob be its own post later) - obviously I lied lol. Major overhaul... 

Family Life

Apologies if this is completely random, but eh...

Baba - Is doing good... Gearing up for the end of the semester so he's been really busy with papers and stuff lately. Work is still going well. We're really enjoying his having the weekends off... So far they've been pretty busy doing one thing or another that we've needed to do, but I'm looking forward to relaxing too lol. I'm sure he is too... I know he needs some rest.

Mama - is tired too lol. No I'm good. I had a little scare this morning.. probably nothing. I dreamed I was bleeding & woke up with very mild cramps, but added to the dream they scared me a little. Called the Birth Center and was told to rest and drink water... They're calling me back later. It has stopped so I'm not really worried... or as worried lol. I didn't think I was dehydrated, but I was sleeping when it started and it went away around the same time I finished off a bottle of water so it is entirely possible. What's sad is I put a bottle next to me last night so I wouldn't get that way! My energy has come back on the other hand... yes I am tired, but I've been able to get a lot done. Not really today considering, but still... I got about half the laundry or so done yesterday. I got a good start on our bedroom the day before (poor thing has been neglected with me trying to keep up with everything else)... Its actually almost done, just have a few more things to do in there. I'm still really excited about selling Avon, but a little frusterated about it too. I was supposed to have a meeting last Saturday & noone was there. So I can't get the new campaign catelogs I need... I want to do most of my work online anyway so it wouldn't be too big an issue... but just finding customers and stuff when I'm busy with everything else and I know everyone is stretched thin to begin with is crazy. I know its gonna be fine, but still...

Kalila - Is growing like crazy. She eats all the time... Literally had 3 peanut butter sandwiches for lunch today (foldover style) and is now asking for an apple too... Seriously???? Baba thinks growth spurt... I kinda agree... but wonder if its the weaning too.... She hasn't nursed at all today, at least partly because I'm not comfortable doing so with the cramping. It hasn't been an issue though either... She's still acting like she's not comp ready to wean, but... she definately is. Every day she does less. Her tummy thing seems to be working its way out. Wow bad choice of words. No... She's getting better lol. I did feel kinda bad for her yesterday because she told me it hurt (literally said "my tummy hurts") but that didn't last long because when I asked her if she needed to use the potty she said yes and sat down on it just in time. I was so excited... Of course today she peed on my just cleaned sheets so I'm not counting chickens on that front at all lol. She's really taken to snuggling lately, is so sweet. And she's just crazy about Baba... every time he's home she's all over him. We are having to work with her on not pulling his hair though lol. She grabs hold and pulls him over. Not cool. She's talking even more... I need to get video's. My favourite is when she's on the phone. She will beg to call Baba... and gets upset if I don't let her talk to whoever I'm talking too. Singing more too... I can think... LOL her foot just got stuck in her pants & she started yelling "ayudame help, ayudame help" :-D Anyways, I was gonna say that I can think of about 6 or 7 songs she goes around singing off the top of my head. I could probably go on but I'll be nice... She's just doing so much lately. Its hard to keep up.

Zavier - is kicking. Not at the moment lol, but still... I'm feeling him more and more... Baba is so excited that he can too. He still seems to have a temper (already) and pushes back hard if anyone pushes against my tummy... but I'm also feeling the little rolls and regular kicks too. Those are a lot more fun than the temper thing cause it kinda hurts lol. I can't believe I'm already half way through the pregnancy though. I'm kinda thinking about going to my Myspace account & seeing what I blogged about w/ Kalila around now, I think this was about when I started mentioning it on there. Curious.

Mumble - What I can't leave out our other babies! She is so tolerant though... I'm amazed at what she lets Kalila put her through... Unfortunately having a prob cutting claws right now. We think we might have to take her to the vet to get it done... from what she'll let us see one broke on its own & probably hurts. Poor thing. Will try agian later today, but... She has to go in for shots soon anyway.

Kimosimi - is still a much a sweetheart as ever. I had to laugh at him last night because he goes batty while I'm changing sheets. He's tolerating more from Kalila now too... still a little held back from her and I have to watch that she's not pestering him too much... but the other day he let her put a tiara on him and has held up to a few hugs.

So yeah... That's a bit of what's going on here... Hopefully I'll have a big picture/video post soon :-D

The Vertdict - Part Two

Yes today is definitely laundry day around here... on one hand I'm having fun w/ it because I'm testing out my new soap... but on the other I hate putting away clothes so I keep distracting myself from that. I have gotten a good bit put away though...

Anyways... I started out with a load of whites. Determined to make sure it was the soap I left out any other additives that I'd normally put. It was hard. Really it was... With regular detergent I add vinegar to the rinse... with whites I sometimes add OxiClean for whitening (although I do have a fun tip to share at some point that I'm very excited about, something most of us keep around and very easy to do) and sometimes TTO. Really depends on how bad the load is.... This load I would have added stuff. I really had to hold myself back not too....

I'm glad I didn't... The load came out nicely. It smells great. The clothes are clean... I can't complain. Ok I wrote that after taking them out and before hanging them up... I have to add... I more than can't complain. Everything is soft... and with 2 exceptions (very old shirts) very bright. Even the 2 exceptions look cleaner than they have in awhile. Impressed.

My next load was blacks (some colours we mix together, but we have enough of these that they stand alone lol). I'll be honest here & say I couldn't hold back and leave out the vinegar on these. I never wash my darks w/ out vinegar.

Once again turned out great...

Load 3 (yes I told you I have a ton to do.. .ALWAYS... it never stops) was colours... First round of colours, mostly blues w/ green, yellow & grey thrown in. Once again I bucked up and started it w/ detergent only. Feeling a lot more confident about that after hanging up that first load lol.

I have them in the drier now, not expecting any different from the other loads at this point. They look and smell clean from what I've seen.

I could go on, but not really a point lol.. Besides I'm taking a break from regular laundry at this point & doing the other half of the diapers. I don't want to end up staying up past 2 again tonight!

The Verdict (CD edition)

I'm really pushing it for my first load with this new detergent... I'm not just doing any old clothes, I'm doing diapers!

Before I go any further have to tell you why.. Horrible story..

I just did diapers the other day, still have plenty of pockets left - so not a huge need for that... Tia Sallie did mention that she noticed the prefolds (or possibly the fitted) needed stripping though so I already had in mind to do that asap. Note: She didn't really put it like that, but there was an ammonia smell after Kalila wet that is not supposed to happen... sure sign it needs stripping, so as soon as she mentioned it I knew what had to be done lol.

But yesterday was Baba's day off & we had a few things to do as always... and went to go do them. Well... We got to Sams and headed straight for the family restroom knowing Kalila needed a change. What we didn't know was that she'd had diarrhea.... I'm not all that surprised because she was just getting over being sick and stomach still adjusting when she ate part of a bar of soap. (yes my daughter eats soap... its not the first time... I try to stop her, its awful... any ideas of how to stop it would be appreciated...) I just didn't expect it to go through that soon. My mistake. I did put her in the fitted and orange cover though, so not expecting any leaks if anything happened. But it did... and badly. Now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if it was one of the ones that got washed last weekend... (diff detergent? Possibly softener?) Oh well, doesn't matter lol. It leaked... all through her pants... and for once we didn't have a backup pair... Kalila got a new outfit out of the whole ordeal, but I felt horrible about having to take her bare legs into the store (at least it was warm inside and we were able to get her dressed before heading out).

Anyways, as you can imagine... I didn't want those sitting around in the wetbag for even a day.

So I'm really testing this stuff... but... I have to point out that I am stripping them too, which I use Dawn and Oxiclean for... and I added TTO at one point. So keep that in mind.

Despite what the recipe I originally linked called for, I went with the 1 tbsp the other one mentioned... partly because if using less works why use more and partly because they're diapers & those of you who use cloth know you don't want to overdo the soap on those.

I was warned beforehand that either way wouldn't have all the suds that store bought has, so I wasn't worried about that. Opened it up mid cycle and could def see the soap residue in the water... So that looked good to me lol.

At the end of cycle 1 - the diapers looked clean from what I could see. A couple were still stained, but I'm pretty sure they were ones that had been stained from before... Is a recent thing (I think from the tummy problems) and I'm planning to separate them out & figure out how to fix that or at least get them looking a little better, but that's a whole diff post.

Beyond that is stripping process and extra rinses so nothing to write about until I see how they come out of the drier.

Ok.... this post isn't posting until later this morning because I cannot stay up any longer lol. Very loopy at this point. Really wish I could have started earlier in the day. Oh well...

As of now... I think I was 100% on with my thinking the stained ones were from before and not because of the detergent. Why? Because I have already used both Dawn & OxiClean and see no difference from immediately after washing them in the detergent. So they were clean... and now hopefully well on their way to being stripped.

I'm running another load of hot water right now before I lay down and gonna let them soak until morning (which will come all too early I'm sure) and finish up the rinse cycles. Normally doesn't take that many but I want to be extra sure everything is out. Not taking any chances here...

I'll finish this in the morning... Later in the morning... today... whatever.

Sorry about that lol... I'm back and diapers are DONE. Whoo hoo!

I have to say this try was a success... I'm still holding out a little until I've both finished some regular laundry with it, and have done a diaper load that doesn't need to be stripped (I still need to strip the other half of our diapers... doing that later today... so figure in 2 days or so for the next reg load). But... the diapers are clean. They also feel very soft (the prefolds at least) and have lost the stiffness they've had lately. I really can't say if it was the diff detergent or the stripping because I can't remember them not feeling like this after I stripped them last... but they do feel nice. Everything smells great... So no complaints at this point.

I've already started a regular load... and will post about it at some point soon. I feel kinda bad because I go days w/ out a new post & all the sudden I'm piling them on lol.