TMI Tuesday

It's TMI Tuesday. I'm warning you now, it's not for the faint of heart. Don't blame me if you can't handle it. You've been warned.

Onions give me gas.

TMI Tuesday. Love it or hate it, it's here to stay.

The Great Diaper Debate

Last week, as I was changing an extremely messy diaper, I had a thought: "I am so thankful that the parents that I work for decided to use disposable diapers." Not that I have anything against cloth diapers. I know that they are much better for the environment, but I didn't know anything else about them. I reached out to some moms to get their opinions.

Elizabeth, mom of 2 boys:

Cloth Diaper Pros

-Cloth is certainly the more eco-friendly option- no disposables cluttering up landfills and certainly I think this is the biggest reason people go cloth. Ryan pooped A LOT as an infant and the sight of all the diapers in my trash is what inspired me to make the change when he was a couple of months old.

-Better for sensitive skinned children- Ryan often got diaper rashes from disposables

-Economical. While some cloth diapers can be pretty pricey, old fashioned prefold diapers are low maintenance and a high quality one can run you as little as $2-$3 per diaper. Plus they can be used for future children.

-Did I mention cute?

-Popular brands such as BumGenius are not your grandmother's cloth diapers. These have the all-in-one ease of a disposable.

-Much better at containing those messy breastfed newborn poops!

Cons

-Certainly not the more convenient option

-Not all daycares are down with it yet, but I think more and more are coming around to it.

-Bulkier

-Require cloth diaper friendly detergent which isn't always readily available at mainstream markets.

-Have to be washed and often can be finicky resulting in stink issues

-Sometimes can get dicey when you are dealing with a very messy poop because you do have to get most of the poop off in the toilet before it can be put in the washer. HOWEVER, for the those newborns- exclusively breastfed poop is completely water soluble and doesn't need to rinsed prior to washing- SUPER EASY!

-Can be a higher start up cost if you want to go with more modern diapers such as "All In Ones" and "Pockets", however, you'll make your money back, no doubt.

-Have to pack more accessories when you are out and about (such as a bag to store the dirty ones in)

Elizabeth's youngest son wearing a cloth diaper

From Amanda, mom of 1:

Cons to cloth

Rinsing them out, getting more poop on your hands, risk of wiping poop on your face, getting hepatitis from all the poop all over the place, knowing there is poop residue in your washing machine and therefore on the rest of your clothes. Not as absorbent which means more urine in contact with babies skin (More irritation??)

Also, you probably have to bleach them to get them clean so there is the chlorine issue.

What kind of diapers do/did you use?

Happy Birthday Kelly!

Today is Kelly's birthday. I think she wishes that it would just pass by without a word from anyone about it. Well, that's not my style. I'm thinking of hiring a plane to fly over her house with a banner that reads "Happy Birthday Doggie" (that's my nickname for her). But, planes are expensive to hire, so I thought I'd say it here....where it's free.

Happy Birthday to the best sister:

Kelly, Essie, Laura, Tommy

Laura, Kelly, Essie

Kelly, wearing her favorite green outfit

Mom:

Aunt:

And friend:

If you see her today, or even if you don't, please be sure to give her some birthday love. I know that I'll be reminding her that it's her birthday, over and over and over and over....

TMI Tuesday

It's TMI Tuesday. I'm warning you now, it's not for the faint of heart. Don't blame me if you can't handle it. You've been warned.

I shave my toes.

TMI Tuesday. Love it or hate it, it's here to stay.

5 Things That I'm Curious About

1. Why is there a hobo in my town carrying a Lululemon bag?
2. Do all men who drive Corvettes have small...ahem?
3. How come my jeans don't fit anymore?

4. How much do these people make? Do they do it for a pack of cigarettes?

5. Do they still make Steak-Umms?

Is May 21, 2011 Really Doomsday?

According to some, it is. Not that I'm questioning them, I'm just thinking of how much I have to do if it's true:

• Get my nails done.
• Clean my house.
• Write a memoir.
• Wash the dishes in my sink.
• Get my cat groomed.
• Finish the laundry I stared earlier this week.
• Take a nap.
• Finally master PowerPoint.
• Buy milk.

How about you. What do you hope to accomplish before the end of time?

Fun Summer Things To Do For Families in the Boston Area

Last year, I sat down with my niece and nephews and did a spreadsheet of all the fun things we wanted to do that summer. I printed the list and my nephews (ages 4 & 5 at the time) loved crossing things off the list after we did them.

One of our favorite things was taking the boat into Boston. It was a perfect day for it; not too hot and not too cold.

Kelly and the kids on the boat ride in.

When we got to the city we walked around Faneuil Hall and got something to eat. After doing some shopping and watching the performers we headed to the fountain. The kids had a great time splashing around.

Another favorite thing that we did in the spring was visit Southwicks Zoo in Mendon, MA. It's my favorite zoo in the area. Franklin Park Zoo is closer to us, but I, personally prefer Southwicks.

Speaking of Mendon...another really fun thing that we did was go to the Mendon Drive-In. I don't know about you, but I haven't been to a drive-in since I was little and we all piled into the station wagon with my parents. We had a blast!

We made this mistake of doing a day trip on one of the hottest days last year. We headed down to Plymouth to do some sightseeing and go on a pirate cruise. Plymouth Cruises does an AMAZING job with this. All three kids loved it, including my 14 year old niece. The captain does a great job of entertaining the kids the entire time and the hour long cruise is just long enough to hold the kids attention.

Do your kids love baseball? Do you feel like shelling out about $300+ for an evening at Fenway? If not, check out a Brockton Rox game. They really cater to the kids and the seats start at just $5.

On one of the days where it was just too hot to be outside, we went to the Museum of Science. Be sure to check your local library for discount tickets before going.

One of my 6 year old nephews favorite things that we did last year didn't cost us a penny. We went for a picnic at Castle Island. We packed a lunch and wore our sneakers and we walked around and checked out the planes taking off and landing, ran on the pier and even rolled down the grassy hill. Moms-don't forget to bring your camera!

Some of the things on our list to do this year include:

• New England Aquarium. We're dying to see (and touch) the new Shark & Ray Touch Tank.
• Bowling
• Buffy's pool
• Aunt Joan's lake house
• Our family cottage in Hull
• Beach
• Riding the Go Karts at Starland
• And to repeat the day trips mentioned above.

Phew! Looks like we have a busy summer ahead of us. It's a good thing we have a friend with a pool (hi Buffy!). By the way, if anyone wants her phone number it's 508-555-1234, just tell her Loopy sent you.

Do you have any fun summer plans?

TMI Tuesday

It's TMI Tuesday. I'm warning you now, it's not for the faint of heart. Don't blame me if you can't handle it. You've been warned.

In the past two weeks, I have discovered three, quite long, chin hairs. They have been removed and destroyed.

TMI Tuesday. Love it or hate it, it's here to stay.

Where am I Going With This?

I'm suffering from a bad case of "bloggers block." I can't think of a single thing to write about. The more I try to think of something, the more blocked I become. It's so frustrating.

After attending Bloggy Boot Camp a couple of weeks ago, I can't help but question myself: "where am I going with this?" I met so many wonderful bloggers at the conference. I think most of them fall into one of the following categories: Mommy Blogger, Food Blogger or Deal Blogger. I'm not a mom. I had Wheat Chex for dinner and I only seek out deals in the clothing stores. Where do I fit in? Are people even interested in what I have to say? Is it relevant?

So, I've decided to open it up to you, my reader(s): what would you like to hear about? What topics would you like me to cover?

Thanks for continuing to read my little blog. I really appreciate it.

TMI Tuesday

It's TMI Tuesday. I'm warning you now, it's not for the faint of heart. Don't blame me if you can't handle it. You've been warned.

I'm 40 years old and I suddenly have a case of bacne.

TMI Tuesday. Love it or hate it, it's here to stay.

5 Things We Learned at Bloggy Boot Camp.

Kelly & I had the opportunity to attend the SITS Girls Bloggy Boot Camp at the Seaport Hotel in Boston this past Saturday. Tiffany and Francesca put together a great one day conference. It's now Monday and I'm still trying to sift through my notes and figure out what the first step we should take to get our blog to the next level.

Here are 5 things that we learned on Saturday:

1) You can never have too many business cards. Kelly thought she had plenty, but she quickly ran out.

2) Be prepared with a notebook. You'll be taking a lot of notes. The speakers are going to give you a lot of information. You'll want to take down as much as you can so you can refer back to it later.

3) Get a Social Media Kit together. If you want to work with brands you'll need to have something to give to the brand to let them know a little bit about you.

4) Remember the Mom Test. The internet is forever. Whatever you put on your blog be comfortable with the content if your Mom decides to read it.

5) Tiffany Romero is very pretty.

If you're a blogger and you have the opportunity to attend a Bloggy Boot Camp, I highly recommend it. You'll be so happy you did.

TMI Tuesday

It's TMI Tuesday. I'm warning you now, it's not for the faint of heart. Don't blame me if you can't handle it. You've been warned.

I currently have a large ingrown hair in my armpit.

TMI Tuesday. Love it or hate it, it's here to stay.