Busy Weekend Ahead

Hello everyone. Sorry I haven’t drawn a winner for the Tot Bots Giveaway. Maybe tomorrow, but I doubt it! You see I’m headed to Omaha for a weekend away. It’s going to be so much fun. I get to hang out with an awesome mama, as well as tell everyone about the amazing world of today’s Modern Cloth Diapers!!!!!!! Plus did you notice I said away….that means NO kids! I’m going by myself!

Bet you didn’t know I was excited. It’s been the first time I’ve been away from my kiddos/husband since Thanksgiving. I love my kids, but at as any mom knows sometimes we just need a break. So Joel will be home with the kiddos all weekend. I’m hoping my house is clean when I get home….but I doubt it! LOL I did try to clean as much as possible before I left, but that consisted of the girls’ room & closet, as well as my room/closet. Such a slacker I know. There is clean laundry though. I’ve done probably 10 loads since Tuesday. WHERE does it all COME from???

In other random news. I have a bunch of pictures on my computer to blog about, including Dahrran’s Field Trip, and a few from a little session I did with our newest niece… Oh did I forget to mention she was here?? I did! oops… Any who Bailey Anne joined the Benes/Cast family on April 21, was 21 inches 8lbs 10oz. She’s such a cutie! We spent the day over there on Wednesday just helping/hanging out!

I also crocheted a sweater and hat for Miss Bailey. I’ve gotten so many complements on it that I’m thinking of making custom orders as need be. I’m not sure I’d want to actually open a Etsy store or anything, but they are uber cute! Esp. the hats! LOVE THEM! Now to just get motivated enough to make them for the girls.

Okay I need to get to bed. It’s almost midnight, and I’ve been up way too late this whole week. (Plus, I still have to pack my bags yet, just don’t tell anyone!) Have a great weekend!

The Fort

Daily the girls ask me to build them a fort. Usually they try themselves for a while but then fall short, and always come begging for me to make on. Sometimes I tell them to fix it themselves, but other days I just give in and make them one with the few blankets they bring down. Usually too small, but either way we make it work.

Its so much fun to hear them giggle and talk amongst themselves. I love the bond these two girls have (when they can get along). They’ll grow up knowing the love of a sister, and that makes me smile.

 

Usually when I try to get pictures of them in their fort, they hide under the covers. If I’m lucky I can get a good picture. But usually they just giggle while trying to hide from me. So instead I take pictures of their cute little feet, and remember someday I’m going to miss this!

 

Your Questions Answered

Thank you all for asking some fun questions! I always like these types of posts because it gives you just a little more insight on who the person is behind the blog, and the pictures. Even though it’s taken me forever to get them answered I didn’t forget!

The dog. Well the dog…is Jackson. Jackson is a 5 1/2 yo Chocolate Lab mix. We’re not sure what he’s mixed with, and we’re not even sure who/what his parents were. Jackson came into our family about 5 years ago now. He wasn’t quite a year old, and we adopted him from our local humane society pet shelter. He was house trained and for the most part has been the best dog. The kids love him, and he’s great with them as well.

Life on the Farm….well since we still live in town and haven’t been able to get our house sold, life on the farm isn’t happening. But I know what you meant Gayle. We still have the cattle on my dad’s farm & are waiting the birth of two more sweet baby calves. We’ve got 4 calves on the ground 2 bull calves and 2 heifer calves. 3 are black 1 is red. We did have our first set of twins this year. Joel has been wishing for twins since we got our first cows 7 years ago! We’re hoping this summer we will be able to get our house sold. Although we’re not sure where we’ll go at this point because we don’t have any future farm prospects at this time.

The day I wrote this up , Farm life got interesting. We had a first. A backwards calf. So I decided to snap a picture of Joel. He then asked if I was going to Blog this! LOL Yup, dear here it is!

If I could go visit anyone, and money/time wasn’t an issue I’d go visit all my fellow blogging mommies that I’ve made friends with! You’re all so nice that I’d never want to leave anyone out. Also along the way I think I’d have to go visit my mommy up in Canada. We don’t get to see her but maybe once a year so I’d have to say I’d go spend quite a bit of time there too….

….now someone win the lotto and share with me so we can all meet up! :)

 

For Easter we went to DH’s family on Palm Sunday. Easter Sunday, the kids got up early found their Easter baskets from the Easter bunny, and then found all the hidden eggs through the house. The kids and I got ready to head out to church. Joel wasn’t able to go with us this year because about an hour before we needed to be leaving he got called into work. He had to go in for about an hour, and then was back home. We then went to visit my grandma who is in the nursing home right now. After that we hung out for a while, and then went to my dad’s house for supper. Nothing big and exciting but we did get to see family!

 

My favorite thing about spring are the flowers and the new life that is emerging! The temperatures are beautiful! My favorite time of the year is the spring and the fall. I think it’s all the changing of colors that is the best!

Favorite Fluff Fridays - Tot Wraps

FAVORITE FLUFF FRIDAY’S IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Yes I’m super excited. I’m sorry I was away for so long but it wasn’t my plan. Honestly! So, on with the show must we go!

This weeks Favorite Fluff Friday is brought to you courtesy of Tot Wraps. What you haven’t heard of them yet? Oh my goodness. You are missing out! Tot Wraps are the brain child of Krysta, a homeschooling, cloth diapering, work at home mom to 5 (yes I said 5) kiddos! The youngest being 6 months old!

Krysta was nice enough to send us out the Dream Diaper, one-size, hybrid all-in-one in black and purple. I couldn’t believe this diaper was an All-in-One diaper! It was so trim and soft. The tabs are stretch and so you can get a great fit every time. Not only is this diaper an All-in-One, but it has a pocket opening for those super heavy wetter's to use over night. Krysta also sent us a Dream Diaper Insert as well. We LOVE to use this diaper as an over night diaper with the Dream Doubler Insert in place.

Features of the Tot Wraps Dream Diaper™, one-size, hybrid all-in-one include:

• 
  A wide fit-range in a single diaper—trim enough to not be bulky on a 7 lb newborn, yet large enough to fully cover a 40 lb toddler. There’s no need to invest in multiple sizes of diapers, saving you both time and money.
  
• 
  Two rows of closure snaps for optimum leg and waist adjustment. To obtain a perfect fit, simply snap the closure tab in the leg row (bottom row) of snaps where the leg fits comfortably. Then snap the tab into the waist row of snaps where the waist fits comfortably. It doesn't matter if the same snap placement is used for both the leg and waist.
  
• 
  Easy pull, stretch tabs have plenty of grabbing area and a gentle stretch. Making changes easy, and wearing comfortable.
  

• 
  No complicated folds, flaps, snaps, or attachment parts.With only one pair of rise-adjustment snaps this diaper is easy for anyone to use. Long-lasting, easy to use snap closures mean no hook ’n’ loop diaper chains and the closures will last the life of the diaper.
  
• 
  Gentle clear elastic around leg and waist openings plus the lack of top-stitching allows the diaper to comfortably and gently stretch to fit almost all diaper-wearing children and eliminate red marks.
  
• 
  A colorful, waterproof polyester PUL outer that rolls in on the legs and completely edges the inner diaper for a leak-proof, one-piece diaper.
  
• 
  A soft, absorbent inner and Zorb™ soaker holds up to 11 oz. of liquid, handling even the average toddler-sized mess without adding any doublers or inserts. The comfy cotton velour is drier to the touch than other absorbent fabrics yet still stays moist enough to let children know they are wet to aid in potty training. Some styles offer organic viscose of bamboo velour or stay-dray micro fleece inners as an option. Maximum absorbency won't be reached until diaper is washed at least 5 times.
  
• 
  Large interior pocket opening allows you to easily increase absorbency for naps, trips, heavy-wetters, or overnight use. Insert will agitate out in the wash, so there is no need to un-stuff before washing. The pocket opening also ensures thorough cleaning and shortens drier time to about an hour.
  
• 
  Hourglass-shaped Dream Diaper™ Inserts are optional since you won’t need them for normal use. Folding on stitched fold line allows insert to fit smaller rise settings.These can be inserted with the larger end toward the front for boys, or toward the back for girls. For nights instead of stuffing the pocket, try laying the insert in the diaper white side up. The stay-dry fabric on the white side will wick moisture away from your child's bottom, keeping them dry and comfortable all night long.
  
• 
  Thinner than a wet disposable so it fits well under any clothing, even jeans and Onsies.
  

I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of this diaper on Kaitlynn. I love it! But Kaitlynn does not love my camera. I have pictures of her in it, but she’s crying because I decided to clean up her boogery nose before taking any pictures. We then refused to let me take them and thought we would cry & not look at the camera the whole time! If I get some good ones of her in it, I will post them in a heartbeat! (Plus the ones I do have of her crying are on my camera yet, and it’s late! Dahrran has a field trip tomorrow and I want to get this posted. I knew if I didn’t do it tonight it wouldn’t get done!)

BUY IT:
Dream Wrap OS AIO diapers sell for $18.00-$20.00

WIN IT:
Krysta was nice enough to offer up one of my lucky readers their very own Tot Wraps Dream Wrap OS AIO diaper!!

MANDATORY ENTRY:
(must do or none of the other’s count)
Head on over to Tot Wraps and let me know what product is your favorite and why.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
(please leave a comment for each one that you complete or it doesn’t count)
Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect
Follow me on twitter @amongthemess
Tweet about this giveaway (include #clothdiapers, #giveaway & @amongthemess) (once per hour)
Sign up to Tot Wraps Yahoo Group for updates (3 extra entries)
Tell me what your favorite night time solution is for diapering (as many as you have)
Name one thing you learned about Tot Wraps that I didn’t write in this post. (limit 5)

Just Cause I can Entries:
Become a fan of Top to Bottom Baby Boutique on Facebook
Become a twitter follower of @toptobottombaby
Become a follower of Top to Bottom Baby Boutique’s Blog
If you are comments number 1, 18, 26, 33, 63, 89, or 112 get 5 extra entries

Disclaimer:
I was provided a diaper to review. In no way did this sway my view of this diaper. I truly love this diaper, if I didn’t I wouldn’t include it in Favorite Fluff Friday’s. Contest will be open until Thursday April 29th.

10 on Tuesday

1. This is going to be quick because there are random thoughts running through my head right now and it’s already 11:33pm! It’s been such a long week, and it’s only Tuesday!

2. Two sweet friends text messaged me yesterday making sure I was alright because we’ve just been running so much this last week that I wasn’t on twitter all weekend! It felt soo good to just have friends who know when I’m not around, and that’s totally not like me! I love getting to know people on twitter and the adult interaction is amazing. Just the friendships I’ve made are amazing!

3. On a last minute whim I decided on Friday night that I was going to head out to Earth Day Omaha to meet up with Jessica Quick from Top to Bottom Baby Boutique. I figured heck why not! I’m so glad I did. Jessica is so sweet. I mean I knew she was, because of all of our late night conversations, but she’s even sweeter in person! I had promised Joel that I’d be headed home around 4pm because it was a 2 hour drive home. Come 6:30 I was still in Omaha helping Jessica pack up! At that point Joel told me that Kaitlynn & I were on our own for supper. So I decided I needed to go see the Diaper room over at Jess’s house. Jess was nice enough to give me the grand tour of her house and neighborhood. Since I was on my own for supper, we decided to head out for supper then too! It was so much fun!

4. Just a few pictures from Earth Day Omaha. You can see more of them here.

View Full Album

5. Dahrran had his first baseball practice tonight. It was so much fun & he had fun! Joel is coaching this year, and so that is a huge step for them both. Last year was a trying year to say the least and so we’re hoping for a more laid back learning, having fun, type of year!

6. Joel’s been working so hard to just get us enough kids for a team. Thanks to the coaches we’ve had for the last two years we’ve had a lot of families leave our town to play in other towns. He got the call last Thursday that we were going to have just enough kids to play. He was so excited, and I was excited for him as well!

7. I’m so far behind on blogging right now I’ll never catch up!!

8. So who misses Favorite Fluff Friday??? I DO! I feel so bad because I haven’t had the time to get them up and posted! So as of right now I’m not sure if I’m going to run a couple together or what I’ll do! But what I do know is that I’ve got 3 great products in the line up, with a couple more in the future!

9. Part of the reason I’ve been away and not blogging? It’s been beautiful outside! We’ve spent quite a few days at the park. In fact just this weekend we went 3 days in a row.

  

10. Joel came down stairs just a few minutes ago. He didn’t look pleased that I was still awake, and on the computer! Which means I’m off to bed! Night all! :)

Happy Birthday MacKenzie Wylene

Today my baby girl turns 5! WOW, where did the last 5 years go?

MacKenzie,
        You were our surprise baby. Not as much as a surprise as your brother was, but still a surprise none the less. When we found out we were pregnant with you, we were in the midst of planning a wedding. A wedding that would be one short week after your due date. So we moved the wedding up, and prepared better for your birth when that time would come. Of course if we’d known you’d decide to make your grand entrance almost 2 weeks before your due date we may have just kept the wedding date we’d chosen.
         Either way, you’ve made a huge impact on our lives. Starting off with those beautiful brown eyes! I’ll never forget them

You have a love for everyone. Even if you’re over enthusiastic and I have to tell you to slow down.

 

I cannot believe how much you’ve grown.

 

From pooh bear, to Dora, to Hannah Montana, my baby is growing up! I cannot believe she turns 5.

Now, maybe I should go print pictures so I can START* her scrap book! Bad mommy!

*And yes I did just admit that I haven’t printed pictures from her birth…at all!

**If you promise not to think I’m a horrible person, I’ll admit that I haven’t printed from Kaitlynn’s birth either….or her whole 2 years! :( I’m so bad. There are only a few printed pictures of Kaitlynn in the house!

Wordless Wednesday – Fluffy Style

Some Random Fluff Pictures from over the last two years as we’ve Cloth Diapered.

Fluffy Hanging on the Line

   

Yup, she’s stuck like that!

 

We had a blow out, in a fancy restaurant. Yup. She walked out in just fluff.

   

We play outside in just Fluff…cause that’s how we roll.

 

And eat Doughnuts in nothing but Fluff.

 

Cousins in the Fluff. (yes I put him in fluff, I cannot convince his mama:( )

 

Just some of our Stash….which sadly most of this is sitting right now. I need to just list them on Diaper Swappers, but haven’t had the chance. There are 10 Bum Genius, 2 Fuzzi Bunz, and a few other diapers that I’m willing to sell or trade. Something you’d be interested in? Let me know. Hopefully SOMEday I’ll get them posted! LOL

Thanks for Stopping By! This blog post is brought to you in part of a Wordless Wednesday blog hop from Top to Bottom Baby Boutique ‘s Blog. Go on over check it out. We’re looking for suggestions on what you’d like to see! Feel free to leave a comment here or there to let us know what you’d change!

10 on Tuesday

1. Went back to the dentist today. They took x-ray’s and found that there were bone fragments still in the socket where they pulled my wisdom tooth. They cleaned it out and he said it should be good to go now! Let’s hope he’s right. Cause I’m done with this stupid thing.

2. Dahrran is growing up too fast! He has his school program on Thursday night, and has TWO speaking parts. I’m excited, but I know he is nervous. He also has TWO birthday parties to attend this week. One tomorrow night, and another on Sunday.

3.
Along with all the other things I’ve had on my plate lately, I started a new job. A job that I LOVE! And the best part, I can set my own hours, work as many or as little as I’d like, work in my pj’s or get all dressed up, and I get to promote Cloth Diapers! What am I doing? I’m the new Social Media Coordinator for Top to Bottom Baby Boutique, an Omaha based cloth diaper store. Jess is great to work with. I’m in charge of promoting Top to Bottom Baby Boutique via twitter, Facebook and their Blog (which is in the design process and totally my baby!). I’m so excited to be doing something I love! And the fact that I can do it from anywhere is great too!

4. Just a little insight on what it takes to get 27 kids to sit still long enough to get pictures snapped. That includes 8 mama’s plus grandma trying to get at least ONE good picture! (FORGET IT! I'm done! Lost the picture because it looked goofy, and now I can't get it to upload again! Guess it's telling me to just get off the computer and clean my house!)

5. Windows Live Writer is pissing me off today….so I guess this is a 5 on Tuesday instead!

6 degrees of blogging

Here are the rules

:
*Start on your blog and clink on another blog's link. Keep clicking through to another blog until you get to the 6th blog.

So I started on my blog and clicked on :

1.

She’s having a special event going on…but hurry today is the last day to enter!


Then I went to:
2.


From there we ended up here:
3.


And here:
4.
 

5.

Finally we end here:
6.

Go read about this family. They’ve had some trials over the last year, but hopefully are headed on their way to a better “normal”. I’m reading now, hoping and praying that such a strong mama can keep her spirits up for her kiddos!

 

What we’ve been up to.

I know I’ve been a slacker. But to my defense it’s spring….and I LOVE spring. Spring/Fall are my favorite seasons. To top off the fact that it’s spring, it’s not raining…yet at least. So we’ve been outside cleaning the yard, and just enjoying the nice weather.

I’ve also had a few projects under my belt. There’s this one….where I helped a fellow Cloth Diaper mom out, and then this one….where I’ve started making my own Cloth Wipes for other Cloth Diaper mom’s.
I’ve also been slacking on the Favorite Fluff Friday event. I do have 3 reviews in the process…..and they’re ALL diapers! So soon there will be another fun Favorite Fluff Friday review going on!

We’re also looking to put our house back on the market. Anyone who’s had their house for sale knows how much of a pain this can be. And to do it with three kids is even worse! I’m trying my hardest to get it clean enough to even list. Over the last few months we’ve just cluttered everything up, and so I’m in the process of spring cleaning!

 An update on my tooth....I got ahold of the doctor and they prescribed a prescription. I've taken it all, but there is still gunk leaking out of my tooth. I feel like I have a huge zit in my mouth! :( I do go to see them tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully we'll know more then. 

I hope you all haven’t left me! I promise to answer any questions you had for me, and if you didn’t get yours in yet, go ahead and leave them here. I plan to post them on Thursday this week, so get them in! :)

Our Easter – In Pictures

Easter at Grandma & Grandpa Cast’s house

 

The kids with cousin Rylyn. Rylyn & MacKenzie are 9 months apart & the best of friends!

The Easter Egg Hunt

All of our nieces and nephews on Joel’s side. There will be one more added here in the next couple weeks or so too!

Our town’s local Easter Egg hunt.

   

MacKenzie down right refused to take pictures with the bunny, but after a little coaxing she went right up. I was surprised she even gave the bunny a hug. This is HUGE for her! We’re so proud!

Easter Morning.

They know they have to get their picture taken every time before they’re allowed to go down the stairs.

 

The goodies. Puzzles, bubbles, fruit snacks, Alvin & The Chipmunks Squeekquel, sidewalk chalk.
 

Sniffing her chocolate!