Saturday Mocktails, Randomness, and Cloth Diapers...

1/4 a glass of peach mango juice, 1/4 glass of orange juice, fill the rest of the glass with 7 up and what do you have? A Mormon Screwdriver...ahhh Mocktails...

But, life isn't all mocktails and glamour in the Nielson house.  The teething monster has officially come out in full force.  We sure wish we were seeing more of THIS in our house these days

Today she is finally exhausted enough from lack of sleep that these pictures are current, but it is a restless sleep. She wakes up and cries for a few minutes and then, after a few minutes of chewing on the backside of her pacifier, she finally gives in to the call of the sandman and drifts away again for a short time...

Poor Little Diva. She's so tired and wants to sleep, but she just can't bring herself to until she is so exhausted that she just lays there until her body gives in to what her heart wants.  It takes every measure of self restraint I can muster not to cry with her.  It breaks my heart. I did manage to get my wonderful husband to pick up some teething tablets yesterday, and I think they help a bit, but I suppose we will have to deal with a cranky Little Diva until these teeth push through, which could take a while (from what we can see she has 3 coming in, and all are at various stages...some almost ready to break through, and others just hinting that they exist.)

The Princess did decide to almost sleep through the whole night last night- a sign that the teething tablets are working their magic, because she hasn't slept very well for the last couple of weeks... She took a bottle at about 10:30 (which wakes me up, because we're super cool in our house and zonk out at around 7 or 7:30) and woke up again around 2. I put her pacifier in her mouth and she slept until 3, 4, and then 5. Finally at 5 I decided I was sick of waking up every hour to put her pacifier back in her mouth and made her a bottle and woke her up to feed her.

In other news...Jeff dressed the princess this morning...after her bath he put her in a white onesie and diaper...and...nothing else...Let's just say mommy finished the job with some jeans and a headband and flower (her hair was a crazy mess because of her bath...she has naturally wavy hair and it goes EVERYWHERE after a bath if its not taken care of right away)- but I was very grateful for his efforts. I feel very fortunate and blessed to have a husband who takes an active role in taking care of our little one.  Sometimes you can see he is terrified that he is doing something the wrong way, but I love that he tries.  I know quite a few other people that aren't as blessed...and considering that Jeff has been the favored favorite today of the Princess, it makes me even happier- because it means that she is a happier baby.

She loves her daddy. Mommy is chopped liver when the daddy is around, but I'm okay with that because the big smiles that she gives are proof enough that its totally okay. I'd rather see her smile and be excited to be in daddy's lap than see her frustrated and sad because dad is afraid to pick her up for fear of breaking her.

All in all...this is really a blog about nothing...its a Saturday and we aren't really doing anything spectacular, just living and being...My house is a mess because I took a "sick day" yesterday (well, as much of one as I could take with a 4 month old to handle)...we went grocery shopping...we're planning on sitting down and paying some bills later...Jeff changed our air filter...and found out that his prized welder that he just bought won't work for what he needs it for (I guess its not enough amperage?) , which means he gets to take it back to the store today...I suppose while he's gone I will clean and try to get my house ready for the Sabbath. I hate starting off Sunday with a dirty house. I'd rather focus on just getting everyone ready for church and out the door.

A final random thought...mostly because I'm super excited about it: Soon I will be making the purchases necessary for us to start cloth diapering!  Some of you are thinking, "Ewww cloth..." but I can guarantee you that from all the research I've done, and friends that are avid cloth diaperers that I've talked to, these are NOT your mother's cloth diapers. Gone are the days of plastic pants and pins...the cloth diapers of today actually function very similarly to disposables, except they use snaps or velcro to latch together, and its all compact into one nifty cloth cover.  They have lots of new different types, and fun gadgets and gizmos to make cleaning them an easier, faster process.  I went back and forth when I was pregnant with Faith about cloth diapering, but eventually gave in to all the nay-sayers simply because I was tired and it seemed like disposables would just be easier...but with a second baby on the way I feel like cloth diapering will be great because it will save us a TON of money in the long run.  Did you know that from birth to potty training the average U.S. family will spend $5-6,000 dollars on diapers?!  Now...multiply that by 2...I refuse to waste that much of Jeff's paycheck every year until we no longer have kids in diapers.   Initially the cloth diapers seem expensive, but once you've purchased what you need, if you buy Onesize diapers, you're set until they are potty trained. My cousin Desiree directed me to this brand, all reviews and reports indicate that these function as well, if not better, than the more expensive brands you see on the market.

Initially we will be spending $144, as we will be opting to purchase the 24 covers with 48 liners, and we will likely need to purchase about 12 more once new baby gets here (but we're going to wait and see how this supply works for us at first), but after that, the only expenses associated with them will be for laundry (which you're going to do anyway)...we spend about $50 a month on diapers as it is right now, so this means that they will have paid for themselves in about 3 months of use. Also, there is also strong research that indicates that cloth diapered children potty train more easily than kids that were diapered with disposables...we'll have to keep you posted as potty training for us is a far distant thought.  I imagine that we will have to purchase more cloth diapers through the years to replenish our supply as things wear out (since everyone knows we're Mormon and going to have like 20 kids...LOL) but considering the savings it isn't so bad.

Well, the diva is screaming for sustenance...I should go!

Hugs and Loves until next time darlings!

P.S> I've officially lost about 12 pounds since the middle of December, and my husband agrees that its likely I've lost even more since my doctor's appointment last week...Don't freak out! Its totally normal and okay to lose weight during the first trimester...especially if you were a little overweight to begin with (guilty, but much closer to my pre-Faith weight than I thought), and extra especially if you are so sick you're lucky to manage to eat 2 or 3 bites of anything before it makes you want to vomit...liquid diets are fun (NOT)

Okay...now I mean it! Hugs and Loves until next time darlings!