Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

So I'm laying in bed, using my brand new iPad. Fancy schmancy, I know. Apparently I did something right this year because my awesome hubby thought I deserved this! We had an awesome Christmas this year, aside from the fact that the boys and I aren't feeling well that is. Of course that didn't stop them from enjoying the last few days. Sam must have said "wow" more times than I can count. It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly simple things, are just wonderous marvels to my sweet little ones. Oh to be young again!

I hope you all had a very blessed Christmas and got to enjoy some quality Imelda with family. I know we did and it is something that I love, and look forward to every year. Don't forget the real meaning of Christmas, this year and always. Our amazing Lord sent his son to die for us, so that we can have the most amazing gift there is, eternal life in heaven with Him. Simply amazing, the love God has for us. No matter how selfish and greedy we get, He is still there, loving us more than ever!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

What we are going to do today

I love Pinterest. I sit on that site for hours,[usually] after the kids go to bed. I was just browsing it while the boys are playing "ice skating" in the kitchen (they are pushing the chairs around to their little table. Apparently that's ice skating) and I realized, I have a board named Christmas is coming. With a few ideas I wanted to try and some recipes to make.

 Well, Christmas is less than a week away and I have yet to do anything on that board. So today is the day! Today is the day I attempt to make cute little ornaments of their little 1 and 3 year old hands. Today is the day I make cute little pretzel snacks, and possibly even some snickerdoodle cookies. OK, so maybe I am being a little over ambitious, but hey I am going to accomplish at least one of these things today!

Wish me luck friends. Are there any cute Christmas crafts, or yummy Christmas treats you have tried and would like to share? I am always open to fun and tasty ideas!

Why I don't blog more...

When I started this blog I was hoping to get into a regular routine, blogging every couple days at least and getting involved with my readers. Then... my computer died. We have no desktop computer anymore, my laptop has no battery and has to be plugged in to be used. I try and go on it often, but it overheats and it only lasts about 20 minutes before it shuts off.

My husband just started school, so he bought a beautiful new laptop. But, of course, he is always on it doing school! The only time I have the chance to get on it is during the day. During the day I have a very energetic 3 year old and a 1 year old that is SO needy, so needless to say I don't get much time to sit at the computer and write to you!

So now you know, if I am not around for a couple days, don't think I forgot about you. Chances are I am busy playing doctor with my 3 year old or getting my 1 year old out of the freezer for the 50th time that day. My oh so exciting life :)

Leapfrog Touch Magic Learning Bus 40% off

Do you have a toddler in your life?? Right now you can score this awesome learning toy by Leapfrog for 40% off on Amazon. It is on sale for $13.19 and it is eligible for free shipping on orders over $25. So click here and go pick one up for a steal today!

Product features include:

• Little touches. Big learning. Hop on board for fun with the alphabet, early vocabulary, motor skills and learning songs
• Make a movement or touch a sensor to activate the bus and get the learning journey rolling
• Switch between 3 modes: Learning, Letter Exploration and Music, which includes fun sing-along songs about the alphabet, motion and more
• The Touch Magic Learning Bus is appropriate for children ages 2+ years
• Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging

I am planing on getting one of theses for my boys :)

Win A stash of Kawaii Diapers

It's time for another giveaway!! Kerrific is hosting another awesome giveaway this month. One lucky person will win a stash of 6 Kawaii diapers and a wet bag. 

These are one size diapers that fit from 8-36 lbs

Each comes with two microfiber inserts

Wet bag holds approximately 12 diapers

Total Value: $55 +

Enter using the rafflecopter form below. Make sure to visit all the blogs and say thanks for this awesome giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coming up Kawaii Stash giveaway

When I started cloth diapering I went to our local cloth diaper store All Things Diapers and spent so much time looking around. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stick with the whole cloth diapering thing so I looked to see what was the cheapest and bought a few of those. Some of the cheapest cloth diapers out there are Kawaiis. Want to try them for yourself? Your chance is coming up... Starting in December Kerrific is giving away a whole stash of Kawaii diapers.

 Disclaimer: This is not the diapers that will be given away, I found this picture here 


These are a great way to start cloth diapering. They are quality diapers and super simple to use. Come back in a week or so to enter the giveaway, or if you are a blogger and want to join in on the giveaway go here and sign up :)

Thankful

A few things I am thankful for this year:

• An amazing Jesus that loves me more than I can even imagine, even when I am not the person I should be. He doesn't care who I am or what I have done, He is just that amazing!
• An Amazing husband who has more patience with me than I deserve
• Two beautiful, healthy children. Even though they drive me crazy most days, I can't imagine my life without them
• An awesome family who is always there for us when we need them
• A home to raise my children in. It might be a little squished and not what I want to be in right now, but when there is snow on the ground and it is 15 degrees outside, we are warm and safe. For that I couldn't be more thankful!

The list could really go on and on... I have an amazing life and an amazing family. I do not appreciate the life I have enough sometimes. Hope you all had a fabulous thanksgiving.

Totsbots Easy Fits Review/Giveaway

I have been wanting to do a review and giveaway for a while now, life has been crazy but it is finally happening! When I started cloth diapering I wanted the convenience I had gotten used to with disposables, I just wanted to be able to reuse them to save money. So when I was told about TotsBots I decided to give them a try. They are a very convenient All In One, which has by far become my favorite kind of diaper. The first time I got mine in the mail I was so excited to get it on my little man, I prepped it right when I opened the  package and he had it on within a couple hours.

The Good: 
Totsbots easy fits are VERY flexible diaper. I have never had my 33 pound 17 month old get a red mark on him from this diaper. The spandex like material is so stretchy I feel like it could fit any size baby and feel like it was made just for them!

These diapers are some of the trimmest diapers I have ever used. I have tried to keep my diapers for day time as trim as possible so my boys can wear regular clothes, and this is always my go to diaper when my little one needs to have jeans on.

The Microfleece liner on the inside is SO easy to clean! I have a diaper sprayer so none of my stinky diapers are particularly hard to clean, but this material is so easy to clean. I always put my totsbots on my youngest first thing in the morning because that is when he tends to poop :) nothing sticks to it and the diaper goes into the diaper pail surprisingly clean.

The convenient All In One design means no looking for the right insert when they come out of the dryer. It is built right in and never goes missing.

The velcro on these diapers are some of the best I have seen. I have pretty much stopped using velcro because they all wear fairly quickly and I am sick of replacing it all the time. I have had my first totsbots for about a year now and the velcro is still as good as it was the day I got it. Laundry tabs and all.

The absorbency of these diapers is awesome too. I have a fairly heavy wetter and I can generally go 4-5 hours without changing this diaper. It's stay dry material helps him not get any kind of diaper rash either

The Bad

It is seriously hard to think of anything bad about this diaper. If I could replace every diaper I have with this one at no cost, I would. I have used these for overnight by adding a micro fleece insert and it has worked just fine every time. Obviously it isn't as trim, but for night time that isn't as important.

You can buy your own Totsbots Easy fit diapers here for 23.95 

or enter below to WIN one in Chicken Little Print with Aplex closure

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These are my personal views and opinions and I have not been paid in any way to write this.

Busy Mommy

When the hubby goes away the mommy will play.... HA! Yeah right. Ryan has been gone since Sunday and I have gotten about 5 hours of sleep a night on average. No fun. I have had a sick little boy since Sunday night, I have had a stye (which of course, means a headache) since Monday morning. Another exciting thing that happened this week is this beautiful little girl!!

This beautiful little girl is my older sisters first baby. My first Niece, Paizley Faith Hope. She was born Tuesday evening at 4:52 weight 6 pounds 15 Oz and was 19 inches long. I already love being an aunt :) 

Hopefully Next week once Ryan gets home things will slow down a little bit, and I can get a little bit of me time!

Wool Dryer Ball Tutorial

I have been wanting to make my own dryer balls for a while now. I bought my first set a while back to help dry my diapers faster and to reduce static, and I love them! I have only had 4 of them but I have noticed they have helped with everything I wanted to. So the other day when I was at Walmart I stopped in the craft section to see if they had any wool for felting, and they did. So I grabbed a roll and decided to try making my own dryer balls while the boys napped that day.

What you will need:

100% wool yarn for felting

A pantyhose or sock

Scissors (to cut yarn)

String (NOT wool yarn)

Washer & Dryer

This is the yarn I got

Step 1: Wrap the wool yarn around your fingers about 20 times

Step 2: Take the yarn off your fingers and wrap it the opposite direction about twenty times again

Step 3: Squeeze your little "bow" of yarn into a ball and start wrapping

Step 4: Continue wrapping, switching directions often until the ball is the desired size (usually a little bigger than a baseball, but smaller than a softball. I couldn't completely wrap my hands around my completed one)

Step 5: Cut the yarn and tie it off into the ball. Some people use a knitting needle for this but I just tied it on to a string on the ball and it worked just fine

Step 6: Stuff your un-felted dryer balls into the pantyhose, tying in-between each one with a piece of string of some kind. I just made a knot after each ball and it worked for me. Make sure you don't use the wool yarn, because it will felt and not hold it all together.

Step 7: Wash in the washer machine on hot a couple times, this part was annoying for me because we only have cold rinse so I had to stand around waiting for the wash to be done and start it over again. I washed them 3 times.

Step 8: Dry them in the dryer on the hottest temperature you have

And voila- here is the completed dryer balls! 

I Got three good sized one, and then one smaller one out of this roll of yarn . I plan on going to joanns and getting some more yarn and trying to make fun colored ones. These happen to be one of my boys favorite toys to play with. I am constantly hunting them down to put them back in the dryer!

Want dryer balls but don't have the time to make them? I am selling them in my NEW Etsy shop here, for a very reasonable price. The ones I bought were almost twice as much as these, so stop by there and see what I have left.

Things that make me smile...

My life is exhausting. I have a 17 month old and an almost 3 year old boys. They have so much energy and they never stop causing trouble. Don't get me wrong, I love them more than anything! They are the light of my life and I don't know what I would do without them. But someday's I feel like just curling up in a ball and crying. On days like that, there are a few things that make me smile. Here they are in no particular order.

Can make any day better

Sleeping Children

My favorite show

Running

So now you know a little more about me :) what is something that helps you feel better on a day when nothing seems to be going right?

Free 8X10 Photo Collage Ends today!

I just came across this deal for a free photo collage from Walgreens... It ends today though so don't wait! It would make a great Christmas present for Grandparents :) I think that't what I am going do with it.

Win 12 Glow Bug Cloth Diapers!!

Are you ready to win a stash of cloth diapers?

We're cloth diapering for the first time and we love it!

This month we are giving away a complete set of 12 cloth diapers from Glow Bug Cloth Diapers. These are bright, one size, pocket diapers that are a perfect   starter to any diaper stash. 

The winner will receive their choice of boy, girl, or solid diaper sets from Glow Bug.

Please use the form below to enter.

*Giveaway is open to US & Canada only. This giveaway is organized by Kerrific so please send any questions or comments her direction.*

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A few ideas

As a mom of two toddlers who have a lot of toys every toy imaginable, when it comes to Christmas gifts I am open to anyone who wants to give me a few ideas. I have followed this blog for a while that is all about teaching your kids through play. I have gotten so many cool ideas for fun stuff to do with my boys from this page. They have had a couple posts about some good Christmas ideas for kids, they are doing it by age and the one for two year olds is full of awesome stuff. Here are a couple that I am looking into for my boys

Design and Drill

Tall Stacker Pegs

And one that I have been wanting to get for a while, and am FINALLY gonna break down and get

Hop around steps

Seriously, these look like some awesome toys that my boys would love! I could probably buy all of them :) I can't wait until we are in a bigger house with a playroom and can get all kinds of fun stuff. Go check out the full list of 20 ideas for gifts for two year olds here. I am gonna wait until they post the list for three's before I order much, since my Joshie will be three soon! Any thing specific you could add to this list? Anything you saw on here that you loved?

He that gives to the poor shall not lack: but he that hides his eyes shall have many a curse. Proverbs 28:27

Sometimes...

Sometimes I come across fabric that I love. A fabric that I can imagine being something else besides just a peice of fabric. Usually I just say to myself, "you really need to learn how to sew", then I put the fabric down and continue shopping for whatever we really need.

Last night I went to walmart with my mom, I stopped by the fabric area to get a couple things I need to make diapers, a few cheap things of course (I wanna make sure I can really do this before I spend to much.) but back to the point here, we went to the fabric and of course had to look at scrap fabric. Thanks to scrap fabric I have a little fabric collection going, and can whip up a little blankie if there is none to be found when my 17 momth old feels the need to suck his thumb. My mom found a super soft material that is adorable and I immediately thought it would be an awesome pillow case for one of the boys.

 It is so soft and comfy, who wouldn't wanna sleep with it?? And there is enough that I might make a pair of pajama pants for one of the boys too... the pillow case will be super easy, the pajamas I'm not so sure about. So wish me luck :)

Glow Bug Givaway

I have been wanting to try glowbug cloth diapers for a while. I always hear good things about them, but honestly I just need to stop buying diapers! So I am pretty excited about this opportunity. The winner of this awesome giveaway will win 12 glowbug diapers. 12 diapers!! That is practically a whole new stash. That would be awesome for anyone to win. The winner gets to choose their package

 

How cute are those diapers!? I love them! If you are a blogger that wants to participate in this giveaway go here and sign up, the blogger sign ups will close very soon so don't wait.

 

If you aren't a blogger that wants to enter, then make sure to check back on November 1st and enter to win these beautiful diapers!

 

What package would you choose if you won? I would choose the neutral one I think :)

 



My first "fake" diaper

Here it is:

I went upstairs last night after the boys were in bed to get the vacuum... I got a little distracted and came downstairs with that. It only took me about twenty minutes and it was way easier than I thought it would be. I'm not gonna lie... I am pretty proud of how it turned out :) I had this little boost of confidence that I didn't expect. I am gonna make at least one more out of scraps to fix a few little details I know I did wrong with this one, then I am off to Joanns to buy some cute babyville fabric I saw there the other day.

Here is the diaper on my only newborn sized model I could find around the house:

He seems to like it :)

For my first time sewing something that isn't pretty much square it was a success and I couldn't be happier with it! Wish me luck on my second "Fake" Diaper and then on my first real one.

 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28

Baby Steps

I was hoping to get started on my first diaper by now, but I will admit, I am nervous to start. So in order to help me get over my fears, I went and bought  a a few refresher Velcro packs from my local diaper store. I figure that is a good place to start. I have several Bum Genius diapers that I haven't been using for a while because the Velcro is shot.

After taking twenty minutes to thread my sewing machine, I finally got started and it didn't take to long. Ok, So maybe it isn't perfect. But I have one more diaper today than I did last night :)

The new tab and laundry tab sewn on

A little crooked, but it works.

Things can only get better from here.

I am declaring our desk in our room "My sewing space" we never use our desktop computer since it doesn't work, so now that is my space. I cut out a pattern for a newborn diaper the other day so hopefully tonight I will be able to start that.

Wish me luck as I start to figure out how this is all going to work for me!

 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 
Hebrews 11:1

A little about me...

I have started this post several times, deleting them all because nothing seems the same in type as it does it my head. I have had my other blog http://lifeonsunshinestreet.blogspot.com/ for quite a while, but that is more of a personal blog and I want this to be more professional (not sure if that's the word I'm looking for)... 

My name is Melissa, I am a 23 year old stay at home Mom to two amazing little boys, I am married to an amazing man and we live a pretty amazing life. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to do something. I have all these great ideas, but I feel like I am not capable of actually making these things happen. So this is me trying, again, to make something happen. This time, I am going to try making cloth diapers. I am not an experienced sewer by any means, I have made a couple pairs of pajamas pants for my boys and some curtains for their room. But for some crazy reason, I feel like maybe I can actually do this. I am determined to at least try it for a while and see how it turns out. 

So stick around, see my attempt at doing something I want to do for a change. 99% of my life is not about me. I get it, that's what being a Mom of two toddlers is all about. But after they go to bed, after the sippy cups are all clean and the diapers are in the washer, this is something I truly want to do for me! If I could make some money off of it that would be an amazing bonus, but if not then at least I set out to do something I wanted to do and didn't give up. Wish me luck on my journey and I hope to see you along the way. 

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  Psalm 13:5