December 17, 2009

Mommy and Me Class

I have been given a great opportunity by Sara & Mike Juve to teach a mommy and me fitness class in their Rejuvenation Studio. I am really excited to not only get out and exercise but to be able to do it with my youngest son, Ethan. He will be helping teach the classes:)! I hope other moms will be just as excited about this as I am.

We will be doing things like lunges, squats, pushups, etc. There are so many moves that really work your muscles that you can do while holding your baby. We are going to start this class with a 6 week program that will begin in January. It will be Tuesday mornings at 8:30, and open to moms and babies (0-18months). I will update with more details in the next week or so.

December 11, 2009

A New Entry

Wow, it has been over 2 months since I have last posted a blog entry! I have a lot of catching up to do that I hope to accomplish over the weekend. Like Trevor turned 2, Ethan is on the verge of crawling, and Landon is learning lots in school. Right now I am just going to share some of the projects I have been doing lately...

One Size Fitted Diaper

One Size AI2 Diaper

Side Snap size Large AI2 Diaper

Work in Progress Pants for Brynn

Quilt for Ethan (need to add binding)

Landon saw Ethan's and wanted one too (need to do binding)



Just finished Landon's hat this morning



October 9, 2009

AdvoCare anyone?

After taking certain AdvoCare products for over a year now, I have decided to become a distributor. I did this mostly for my own benefit in receiving a discount on the products I use, but it is a nice perk to be able to sell AdvoCare products as well. If anyone is interested in either using some Advocare products or becoming a distributor you can go to my website and do it all online or give me a call and I can order for you. Just make sure my name is in the top left corner before ordering.

I will come back to this post when I have more time and tell you what I use and why.(Trevor is doing fish lips/cheeks to Ethan, and now saying I'm going to step on baby brother and then sorry Ethan, I didn't mean to! He didn't actually step on him, I would not allow that!)

October 5, 2009

I'm sew busy

Yeah, that's a totally corny title! I have been staying busy with diaper orders, but I have been wanting to get a few different items on my hyena cart that will appeal to a wider range of potential customers. The first thing I have decided to add is Lil' Loveys. They are small (approx. 10"x10"), and super soft and cuddly. Perfect for every lil' baby to love! I am making them with or without ribbon tags (no loops, sorry the taggies co. has a patent on ribbon loops!) per customers requests, and I have a beautiful variety of fabric choices and colors (all minky, messy to sew but oh so soft to love). They are available for sale right here on my blog or on my hyena cart . Here is a picture of the one I made Ethan (his has loops and can because I did not make a profit on it):


Here are a few diapers that I just finished up for a customer (1 newborn AI2, 1 newborn fitted, and 1 medium fitted)


September 25, 2009

Headed to AZ!!!!

Yesterday I was pretty sad and missing my sister terribly. Ted and I had dinner plans for us to have a night out, no kiddos (this doesn't happen very often!), and I mentioned at dinner how I was missing Tash and was down about it. Ted told me to take Ethan and fly out to see her, I was SO excited! We had wanted to fly out as a family, but financially it just wasn't a good idea. I don't know why I never thought of just me (and Ethan) flying out? I told my sister last night of Ted's great idea, and she was just as thrilled as I was. No later than a few minutes after taking to me, Dad call's Tash and she tells him that I am going to fly out.

Fast forward to this morning when I run into my dad he asks if we (as in Ted, the kiddos, and me) all wanted to go to Arizona to visit Natasha. I told him of course, but we don't have the funds to do so. He then lets me know that himself and my mom would help pay for us ALL to go visit! I spent the afternoon finding the best deal I could and booked a 4 day, 3 night trip for ALL five of us to see my sister!!! Landon adores Tashie and is going to be so excited when he heres the great news!!! I can hardly wait for October 17 to get here! I think I would squeal if Ethan wasn't sleeping!

September 21, 2009

I love you Etan...

...Trevor said to his little brother and then planted a big, wet kiss on his forehead!

The kiss part occurs about 50 times a day and is nothing out of the ordinary, but the "I love you" was the first time Trevor told Ethan that he loved him. What a sweet brother, I was so proud of him!

September 17, 2009

Feedback...

This is a review of my diapers so far:

Overall, what do you think? How can I make them better?
I really like it...A LOT!! I think that I would like one more soaker layer in the in the soaker. I love how trim the diaper is. Seriously, it rocks for trimness. It fit great under clothes. And the only other thing is making that wiast have a few more snaps. Other than that, GREAT JOB!! I will get some more too b/c of how trim it is. Thanks for letting me test and good luck to you. I will let you know how it washes up and how it is after a few more wears. But, seriously. I REALLY like it!!

September 9, 2009

Open for Testers

Last night I officially opened for business! I started a thread on diaper swappers as well as a hyena cart account. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about posting the thread, but I took a deep breath, clicked publish post, and was then excited! I got some interest right away, and hope to get more over the next week. I marketed these diapers as testers, which means the buyer gets them at a discounted price and then gives me feedback on how I can improve them.

As of right now I have 3 diaperswappers and a friend that have offered to test my diapers. It seems like medium and large sizes are the most popular, as well as fitteds. I still have open slots for newborn fitted and AIO/AI2, and medium AIO/AI2, and large AIO/AI2.

If you are interested in testing, you can check out my thread at diaper swappers:
http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8340973&posted=1#post8340973
or visit my Hyena Cart (don't forget to enter code test4me at check out for 25% off):
http://hyenacart.com/sonupdesigns/

back to cutting and sewing!!!

September 6, 2009

Sicky Pup

Do you know what the title of this blog means? It took Ted and I a few months before we figured it out! Trevor is a very good speaker for his age. He is talking in full sentences and is very articulate and easy to understand...for the most part. He had this phrase that we just could not quite under stand, and we weren't even quite sure what the phrase was. Was he saying sticky bob or sicky bop. No, finally we figured out he was saying SICKY PUP. We figured out what he was saying AND what it meant. If you just switch the "C" with the first "P" it all makes so much sense...SIPPY CUP! Finally after months of not knowing, we figured out this mystery phrase that just meant Trevor was thirsty and wanted his cup.

September 1, 2009

First day of SCHOOL!


Landon started preschool today. I blinked and my baby turned into a boy. Landon had been looking forward to this day when he found out he would be going a couple of weeks ago. Finally the day came, and the first thing that he said was, "SCHOOL!" He was still laying in bed and had a huge smile on his face. We had breakfast, got dressed, and then he put on his backpack a good 10 minutes before we had to leave. Ted called and asked for us to come pick him up from work so he could be there to drop Landon off on his first day (what a good daddy!). We pick Ted up, and get to his school a few minutes early and wait outside until the teacher opens the door. The teacher comes and the kids start going in with their parents, all the kids were pretty much not leaving their parents' sides. Then there is Landon, he said bye and took off for the classroom not caring about Ted and I and just plain excited to get into the room. Finally we caught up with him and got his backpack and folder in their places and then he was off on his own again. If you know Ted and I, you know that Landon did not get his outgoing nature from us. Ted and I were always reserved and shy, especially at that age.

I picked him up three hour later and he came out of his room just like he went in when I dropped him off ... excited and wearing a huge smile! He told me all about his day, excited and proud of everything he had done! I am so proud of my little guy!

August 21, 2009

It's Official!

I got the paperwork from the state saying SON up till SON down Designs can be open for business, and that I can charge sales tax for the state of Iowa. I can't believe how fast I got the OK! Now I really have to get my butt in gear!! I made a one size fitted diaper yesterday during nap time, and have an AI2 started (John Deere per Trevor's request). PUL and bamboo velour arrived in the mail yesterday, I am quite excited to use it all up and oh my is that velour ever so soft! 
Just finished Trevor's (and Ethan's) John Deere AI2

August 19, 2009

More diaper talk ...

I have been keeping quite busy. In my quest to be a stay at home mom, but also help out a little bit financially as well as have something I can call my own I have come up with SON up till SON down Designs. My love for being crafty and sewing combined with my silly obsession of cloth diapers is what brought this on. I have been taking care of my boys and my house and when I get a bit of free time I am sewing diapers. I have been trying out different patters and am a tester for a one size pattern right now. I hope to get that test diaper made today. I have created a website for my business and hope to find (and license if need be) a diaper pattern that I really love soon. I am really liking the Hippy Hippy Snap pattern, but I have a few more to try out before I make a final decision. I would love some feedback on my website, as it is a work in progress and any advise to make it better is much appreciated. Here is the link: http://web.me.com/sonupdesigns

These are my latest diapers I have sewn:

Hippy Hippy Snap, size small fitted
Super Front Snap, size small AIO
Super Front Snap, size Medium AIO

Yesterday was laundry day (diaper laundry day!), and here are my lovely dipes hanging out to dry:



August 14, 2009

Quick Work-Out

Ted has been working on a pretty big project at work, so I missed out on 2 days of kettlebells this week. I decided to do a quick workout at home today, and thought I would share in case anyone else would like to try it out. It is only 15 minutes, so everyone has enough time to do this workout!

Set your timer for 15 minutes and do as many rounds of these 5 exercises as you can:

1) 10 push-ups
2) 10 v-ups (or any type of sit-up you prefer)
3) 20 mountain climbers (10/leg)
4) 10 burpees
5) 10 sqauts

Now go work-out!

Wanted to add that I got 8 rounds in, your body can do amazing things IF you set your mind to do it...

Cookie Monster

I haven't really blogged about Trevor, so I want to write down something he said that gave me a good smile the other day. The title of the blog is Trevor's alter ego, he is most certainly the 'cookie monster'! He has a sweet tooth like I have never seen before. He will scale the pantry to get to the cookies that I try to keep out of reach. I just had to explain about Trevor's tremendous sweet tooth, otherwise what he said would probably be cute but you wouldn't really find it funny.

It was Monday morning and Ted was off to work before the boys woke up. They ALWAYS want to know where daddy is when they wake up. Landon asks were he was and I explain that it is Monday and that daddy works on Monday. Landon then asks me what days daddy doesn't work. I explain to him that Saturday and Sunday daddy stays home and does not work. Trevor is listening and chimes in "cookie dough sunday!" I love it, the cookie monster strikes again! I honestly think he thinks about candy, cookies, icecream...SUGAR...about 70% of the day, the other 30% he is thinking about tractors, lawn mowers, hay mowers, and combines.

One big turd, and lots of little turds

I have been meaning to blog about this for a few days now. It is a little on the 'eeww' side of things, but I find it just too funny to not write about it. Landon has been going on the potty for almost 6 months now. He does it all on his own, but likes to get some help wiping after he goes number two. I will ask him if he is done, usually he says no. When he finally is done I will go in and help him wipe and he needs to use the spray to make it smell good, because he starts gagging. Gagging to the point where I think he might puke. Then he says, "Mom, I did one big turd, and lots of little turds." You can tell by the way he says it that he is quite pleased with himself. 

We were over at my cousin Bree's the other day for a fun play date and Landon had to go poop. He comes out and tells Bree in a 'I'm too cool' type of voice, "I did one big turd and lots of little turds." How can you not laugh about that!!

What a BEAUTIFUL sound!


My baby boy laughed for the first time today! It was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. So crazy that hearing my children laugh can actually brings tears of joy to my eyes. It is just such a pure and innocent sound that is filled with 100% happiness. It really doesn't get much better than that!
I will add pictures of the little man latter today, because he is officially 12 weeks old today! Here are the pictures (so far), and of course my cloth diaper obsession took over and I decided to take one of him at every diaper change today (I didn't get his first diaper change of the day, but he was wearing a green gro baby):
Size small Bottombumper AI2
Bumgenius Organic AIO
Gro Baby
Size small Bumgenius AIO
Another size small Bottombumper AI2





August 12, 2009

The Power of the Sun

I started cloth diapering in the toddler stage, so I was not familiar with exclusively breast fed poo and how easy it is to clean and how easy it is to cloth diaper a baby that is exclusively breast fed. I was familiar with how easily it stained! I had heard about sunning in the ever so addicting Diaper Swappers forums, so I tried it on my toddlers diapers to find it didn't really get the stains out. I thought I must not be doing this right and there certainly must be some type of trick to this sunning thing.

Then Ethan came and so did those big yellow, breast fed poop stains. I tried the sunning thing again, and this time was amazed at what the sun could do! Now when I notice a stain in my clean diapers that are out of the dryer I just lay them out in the sun and they vanish! Just to give you all a visual of this miracle check out these two pictures taken only about an hour apart (and yes this is the same diaper insert):

August 11, 2009

Sewing

I really enjoy sewing. I was one of those little girls that would sew outfits for her barbies and baby dolls. I have always enjoyed crafts, drawing, pretty much anything artistic. Around when Landon was born I got into quilting and enjoyed it very much, I still have 'quilts in progress' that I haven't touched in about 2 years. I am now trying to do projects that don't take a lot of set up or create a mess that needs to be cleaned up every time I do it, quilting tends to be this way. This is one of the reasons that I picked up knitting and crocheting. I can easily pick up whatever I am working on and crochet or knit for 10 minutes and set it right down any time my boys are in need of attention. The other reason I started knitting and crocheting was to make covers for my boys' cloth diapers.

That brings me back to sewing. I finally sewed my first cloth diapers! One night after the boys were all sleeping I got a hankering to cut some fabric that I have had sitting around for over a year to sew my own diapers. I had no pattern so I basically just winged it and drew my own. Then I cut out about  ten of these. When I got a little time yesterday I set up the sewing machine and just started sewing how I thought it should be sewn. I don't have any PUL or waterproof fabric so the diapers I made are fitted diapers and they will need a cover. They actually turned out pretty decent. The first one I made was just a bit too small for Ethan (probably would fit if I put snaps on it, but I don't have a snap press or snaps), but the second and third actually fit him quite nicely. Not to mention that I think they are pretty cute! Trevor saw them on the table and got all excited saying, "New didies!" and then proceeded to take a diaper off of the table and lay down on the floor for me to put it on him. I think I better get a few in his size sewn up, because these ones I just made are way to small of him.

August 10, 2009

9 to 5

The title of this blog entry does not pertain to daytime hours, but night time hours. This has been Ethan's sleep schedule the last 3 days, and .... it .... is .... AWESOME (for lack of a better word)!!! This little guy makes my life too easy, but I will take it in a heartbeat. Of course there is always a drawback to Ethan taking 8 hour stretches of sleep. What drawbacks could their possible be, you ask. Um, well if you have ever nursed a child you probably know what this drawback is. I woke up the first night just soaked and in pain at about 3 am, so I was awake on and off for about two hours before Ethan woke up. I had not had to wear pads at night (I never wear them during the day, and am contributing this to my breast shells...man I love those things), so that first night my shirt was soaked and I was laying in a small pool in my bed. On top of that I was in pain, and the girls were hard as rocks.

The next night comes around and I remember to put pads in right before I went to bed. I had gerber light flow ones in my bedroom, so that is what I used. Again around 3 am, I woke up  and was quite wet and leaking milk. The light flow pads didn't even really touch this kind of flow. Last night was the third night of Ethan sleeping from 9pm to 5am, and this time I used some heavy flow pads. They helped but I still leaked. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned that Ethan only eats on one side at a time. That means that it is actually about 10 hours between feedings for 'the girls'. 

I will take this type of pain any day. Both Landon and Trevor never slept like this until they were about a year old. Trevor would nurse three times a night still at 6 months old, so with Ethan only nursing once, and technically sleeping through the night I feel quite lucky!

August 6, 2009

Wow, 4 Years!



Four years ago, on this date, I married my soul mate. It has been almost eleven years since our first date. I was a mere fourteen years old on that date, and by fifteen I was madly in love. With our busy day to day lives, I don't tell Ted enough how incredible he is. So today, on our anniversary, I am taking the time to let him know just that.

Ted,

Thank you for so many things. Thank you for loving me so unconditionally. Thank you for being my rock, the one person that I can always lean on and let all my guards down. Thank you for always believing in me and encouraging me. Thank you for all of the hard work you do to provide for me and our sons. Thank you for coming home from a long day at work and then cleaning the kitchen (you know how much I despise doing dishes!). Thank you for telling me 'I Love You' every morning and every night. Thank you for being an amazing father. You are my best friend, my true love and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing to share this life with me.

Love Always,
Nic

August 3, 2009

Mmmm, MILK!

My little Ethan is a booby baby. I make milk, he drinks it. This is going great and I truly am thankful for him being such a good nurser. But this blog entry is not about Ethan, it's about Landon. First I must start out by explaining how I came across these Avent Breast Shells while I was pregnant with Ethan, naturally I thought I must try them. They collect milk on one side as I feed Ethan on the other. They are truly amazing, and a must in my book but that is a completely different blog entry to write about.

Back to Landon. It turns out he really enjoys breast milk. You read correctly, he has taken a liking to 'your (as in my) milk' as he calls it. If I set the breast shell down and turn my back, when I turn back I see Landon drinking it. He has become a breast milk snatcher! Here are a few things he has said over the matter:

"Mmm, that's some good milk you make Mom"

"Can you make more of your milk for me?"

"Your milk is good for me"

I'm not exactly sure what to do about this, so far I just get some good laughs out of it. Oh, and of course little brother sees big brother and wants to do the same. Meaning Trevor wants to drink it too. Landon drinks it all and then hands it to Trevor so he gets the last drop. Just another ordinary day at home. I feed Ethan, go do something quick, go back to get the shell to put the milk in a container and into the fridge, find the milk is gone and Landon asking for more. 

July 27, 2009

Finished!


I am on vacation and have had some time to finish the pants that I started over 2 weeks ago...that was started as a 3-4 hour project. I think just over 2 weeks is pretty good considering my day to day and how little time I have to really put some good time into anything! All have left to do is sew in the stings that are located on the inside of the pants, as well as make a draw string. I have some yarn left over and I think I will try to make a hat that matches the pants. I paired these with a simple pink top from Gymboree and plan on giving them to my little cousin Willow for her 1st birthday, hopefully they will fit some time this winter or spring. Next I am going to start that hat and then start onto another set of pants. **Here are the finished pictures**
  



July 25, 2009

Another Great Fluff Friday Giveaway!




If you read my previous entry, you know that I LOVE Gro Baby diapers. They make up the majority of our cloth diapers and both Trevor and Ethan use them. They are a one size diaper that I just adjust snaps depending on which kiddo is going to wear it.

Well, over at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer they are giving away Gro Baby dipes! One with velcro and one with snaps. I have yet to try one with snaps and would love to! Snaps are much harder for a toddler to undo!!! I have to say that I really love the velcro system that Gro Baby has going on, though. It is the best I have tried (and I have tried lots of different diapers), it is so soft and I love how you can get a custom, perfect fit every time.

If you haven't tried a Gro Baby yet, you should! Make sure you get several snap in inserts if you try it out to get the true effect of the Gro Baby System. If you buy 1 system and 1 pack of inserts, it really will seem like you have 3 diapers! Right now I have 7 covers, and 19 snap in inserts that I think were at a great price. I basically got 19 diapers for between $14 and $15 per diaper.

July 23, 2009

Tiny Bubbles, Gro Baby, and a Wet Bag Giveaway!

FEED YOUR STASH: Tiny Bubbles, Gro Baby & a Wet Bag
Since Gro Baby diapers make up the majority of my cloth diaper stash, I am all for this giveaway! I know some are not found of Gro Baby, but they are the staple to my diaper collection. This (along with Bumgenius Organic) is the only diaper that is leak proof on Ethan (my super soaker!), and it fits sooo good on Trevor who is 20 months and 28 pounds but is still on the second setting of snaps because he has such a small rise! And who couldn't use more laundry detergent and a wet bag! Great giveaway!!

Shabby Creations Giveaway!

I know some of my followers also follow Kristen Self's blog, her blog is beautiful and I saw it was made by Shabby Creations so I clicked on it while on Kristen's blog and it brought me to this fun giveaway. This is what you could win: 
The first winner will receive a custom background and banner, package worth $47. The second winner will receive a pre-made design from the pre-made boutique worth $10. 
Head on over to Shabby Creations for your chance to win a beautiful background for your blog!


Ma-Cole & Ted

For the first time in my life it felt strange to hear my own name. Why? Because it was coming out of my three year olds mouth. What happened to mommy, or even mom. Now I am Macole. Landon doesn't refer to me by my name as much as he does towards Ted, though. We don't hear dad too often anymore, because Landon has picked up on the fact that 'DAD' is not Ted's name. Ted asks Landon to call him dad, and Landon replies back that grandma calls you Ted. He has also told Ted that 'Ted' is your real name, and if that's your name shouldn't I call you that? Ted then explains that yes, that is the name that Grandma gave me but that I am your dad and that is why you call me 'Dad'. Landon's not buying it! Ted has now started calling Landon 'Grandpa' every time Landon calls him 'Ted'. Landon gets quite a chuckle out of being called Grandpa. This whole situation makes me sad, and not becuase Landon is calling me Macole but because Landon is growing up.

To sleep or Not to sleep???

I have been awake since about 1am and it is now 4:30am, for various reasons but mostly because I just can't sleep. So now I am sitting here at 4:35am knowing that Ethan ate around 2:15am, and that I probably could get another hour or two of sleep in before he would wake up to eat. Is it worth laying in bed tossing and turning in the hopes of drifting off for a short time before I hear the grunts of little Ethan, or do I risk being completely sleep deprived and stay up?? Hmmm...

July 20, 2009

3 hour project...1 week later & still working on it!

After knitting and crocheting a few soakers (used as a cover over cloth diapers), I decided to try a pair of longies (pants used as a cover over cloth diapers). Although I feel like I can knit better than I can crochet, crocheting is much faster! I am a follower of the blog With A Tangled Skein and I went there to look for a pattern (I had used her soaker pattern) and found one called Little Fire Crochet Pants. This pattern is free, and for a beginner extremely easy to follow! Thank you Amy!!

I am terrible at following gauge, because I am way too impatient and always just jump right into the project. Basically I just grabbed out a pair of the boys' pants that are 12mo size and am using that along with Amy's free pattern to make my first pair of crochet pants. This is my work in progress picture:

I will add another one once I have finished. I did change the pattern slightly (mostly because I messed up and didn't want to undo it!) and made a larger waistband, and then I plan to add a picot cuff to the bottom of these pants. This is what a picot stitched cuff looks like when it is finished:
I think it is so pretty, and adds a very girly flair to the pants! Unfortunately I don't have a girl to wear these, but luckily I have LOTS of girl cousins that can:)! I will updated with a finished picture once they are done. That reminds me, this pattern says it will take 3-4 hours to do. With me only getting 15-30 minutes here or there, I am one week into when I started these pants and hopefully can have them done within a week. It seems like the best time to work on a little crocheting is when I am nursing Ethan, but I seem to always want helpers with the yarn. Trevor always wants to pull it out and wrap it all around him and Landon is always wanting to get the scissors to cut all of the yarn, not exactly the best helpers!

July 12, 2009

I Can Feel the Burn

I am getting back into the 'swing' of things, and have started again at Rejuvenation doing kettlebells. The first week is under my belt, and aside from feeling VERY sore it really feels great to be doing this for myself. It is easy to get caught up in the everyday and put yourself on the back burner, but now three days a week for 30 minutes a day I will be focusing on just myself. Since I have only lost about 15 pounds of the almost 40 I had gained, I am more than ready to see the scale start a downward trend. Kettlebells can and will do this for me, it is how I lost my baby weight after Trevor and I know it will help me loose this weight after having Ethan. 

I am a huge advocate for kettlebells. It is amazing how versitile the workouts are. Whether you are in your 50s and have not worked out in years or you are a 18 year old at the peak of your physical fitness, you can do kettlebells. Not only can both do kettlebells, but they can both do the exact same workout together. Another thing that has me hooked on kettlebells is that you get an amazing workout in a very short time. This is the workout I did on Saturday to give you an example:

Snatch Left side
Snatch Right side
Jumping Lunges/Jumping squats/Jumping knee-ups (your choice, I varied them)
Walk-outs

I did this for 20 minutes, 15 seconds on/15 seconds off (meaning I snatched L for 15 seconds, got a 15 second break, then snatched R for 15 seconds, got a 15 second break, Lunges for 15 seconds, got a 15 second break, ect.) This workout is only 10 minutes of work, but it felt like I was working out for over an hour. I was dead tired! The cardio of this workout is what was kicking my butt.

July 9, 2009

What once was lost, now is FOUND!

In June 2004, Ted and I went to a nice couples house to look at a puppy. We agreed on the drive there that we were just looking. Looking turned into playing, which turned into paying! We drove to Ted's tiny apartment (that did not alloy dogs) with the cutes, spunkiest Jack Russel Terrier in tow. We toyed with many names and nothing seemed right, they were too doggish (yes, I just made up that word). I was pondering Koda, but it didn't fit. Then I asked Ted, what about Kody. It was perfect! I proceeded to give him the title 'Chief Kody Grey Ear'. Kody became a part of our everyday life and our family. Kody has led us onto a roller coaster ride of emotions. From Ted and I getting engaged at the park we took Kody to (of course he was along for the big event), to Kody getting run over and breaking his hip. There is so much more unmentioned that we have been through with him, but our latest happenings had me thinking that this ride was over.

Kody went missing at the end of February. After driving around yelling for him, checking our local PAWS website, as well as the vet, we had come to the conclusion that he had an unfortunate encounter with another animal (he was known to like the badger holes) or a family took him. We had come to terms with the fact we would never see him again. Some silly part of me was hoping for a Homeward Bound fairytale, and that part of me had me still always looking for him while I was driving. That part of me would lead me onto random gravel roads thinking I might just see him. That part of me made my heart skip a beat anytime I saw a dog that even half way resembled Kody. Ted and I still talked about him on a weekly basis. The "I thought I saw Kody today", or "I had another dream about Kody", or we liked to talk about the "remember whens..."

Four months have now come and gone, when Ted gets a call from my aunt Mari. She told Ted that she thought she saw Kody at the vet. Him and his owner were walking out as she was walking in. She stopped and told the guy that she thought she knew that dog, and he told her that she might have because he had adopted it from PAWS. Mari got his name and number and passed that information onto Ted. Ted called up the guy and it really sounded like it was Kody, so he agreed to have us come to his house to see. We get to his house and I make Ted go to the door to make sure it is Kody. I didn't want to get my hopes up. Well, their door was glass and the dog ran right up to it when Ted rang the doorbell. It WAS Kody! If you know Kody, you know that when a stranger came to the door he would jump like crazy. When he ran up to the door with Ted on the other side not one jump, he sat down just looking up at him. Ted picked him up and Kody gave him a big lick on the face. I then went in as well and knelt down by him, he also gave my face a good lick. Unfortunately our reunite didn't come with just smiles and happiness, because as we got our dog back a family that had grown to love him was loosing him. It was the most bittersweet situation I have encountered. The adoptive owners of Kody, who named him Murphy, had two young children that adored him. It seems as if we immediatly jumped back onto that emotional roller coaster once again, to which we call Kody!

July 4, 2009

The Cloth Diaper Whisperer Giveaway

If you didn't already know, I cloth diaper my kids. I have always wanted to, well since Landon was about 3 months old and finally started once Landon was almost 2.5 years old. He was only cloth diapered for about a month and then potty learned. Trevor was about 14 months old when I started cloth diapering him, and now I have little Ethan at six weeks old in cloth as well.

A blog that is a must to follow if you cloth diaper is The Cloth Diaper Whisperer: check it out here http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/
Every week they have a giveaway, all you have to do is leave comments about the giveaway and such and you get entered in a chance to win the weekly loot. This weeks giveaway is one of my favorites so far (I hope I win!). They are giving away Kissaluvs Marvels One Size Fitted Diapers! As you can see by the picture, they are CUTE! The bottom print is hard to see in the picture, but it is of owls and I really want to get my hands on it!! These diapers are not even for sale yet, so I have no idea how much they cost or where you can/will be able to buy them. I do know that it would be great to get some free ones!

My First Blog Entry!

The name of my Blog says it all. I stay busy from when my first son wakes until the last one is asleep. Because of this beautifully busy life I am living, I have not been able to keep up with our family website. I was hoping that by blogging, there would be much less to maintain and I would still be getting some journaling done. I love going back and reading my journal entries of when it was just Landon, and then Landon and Trevor, and I want to be able to look back at lots of fun journaling about Landon, Trevor, and Ethan!

I am enjoying the quiet in my house right now. It is 7am, Ethan was up at 6am and now sleeping again. Ted, Landon, and Trevor are still asleep. What I hear right now: birds chirping, rain falling, a whimper here and there from Ethan, and the sound of the keys on my keyboard as I type. What I will be hearing once everyone is up, let's just say it will be much louder!

We have a busy day ahead of us. My parents and brother return from Oregon! We are going to Frana's cabin this morning, then taking the boys fishing at Grandpa's pond, and hanging out with cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends at Luke and Heather's cabin. It should be a fun 4th of July!