Teeth

Mister G officially has 2 teeth! I would include a picture, but try to get him to show you and he will stick his tongue out, so.. no picture.

He's crawling all over the house, which means the day I have dreaded for months has arrived... He has discovered the dog food in the dining room. I had a bunch of pins on pinterest on ways to lift Deezuls bowls up off the floor. But here's the problem. I moved Deezul's dog bed out of the living room a while ago because of all the baby crap taking up the whole space. That is what started Deezul's anorexic spiral. And seeing as how I am just barely getting my old dog back after battling months of puppy depression I don't want to ruffle any feathers by messing with his food. Any advice?

We were able to get Riley home for 9 days (ridiculously short I know!)

 He made sure to do some super manly things with Miles.

 We celebrated Easter a week early. Miles LOVED his loot from the bunny. Rye had a blast helping the bunny figure out what he would enjoy.

 Tigger towel was all dad :)

 We went out to dinner with good friends (This is Miles with the Godfathers)

 We drove up to north shore and watched the sun set over the waters of Waimea as a family.

 Seriously look at that grin! This kid is so in love with his dad it's not even funny!

 Miles soaks up screen time with dad

 I really love these boys.

He loves to lay his head on Riley's shoulder (He pretty much NEVER does this with me)

9 days seemed to go by so fast, but we also fit SO much into 9 days it seemed to last far longer than that.

Miles was teething the whole time Riley was home so he got to be up multiple times a night with us. He is so incredibly patient at 3am... I'm not as much. I just want to give him the boob and shut him up so I can zombie walk back to my room and concentrate on not falling down the staircase on my way past it (seriously think about that every night). Riley would so calmly take the not hungry but screaming Miles in his arms, head down the stairs and out the front door. He would either walk down the block with him. or once we put him in the stroller, put the leash on Deezul and we went on a 2 mile walk around base at 3am.

Miles is so incredibly lucky to have a dad who openly admits that his entire world revolves around his family. He has never been ashamed to be a family man. I love that Miles will grow up with his dad as his role model. There is the quote "The greatest thing a father can do for his children, is to love their Mother" Riley is a fantastic dad and the most loving husband a girl could ask for.

We miss him every minute that he is not home (especially the days when Mister G refuses to nap)

Soon he will be back with us. I feel as though lately I have been in a constant state of counting down. I want to enjoy my husband without an expiration date right in front of us. I'm ready to go out with our little family and explore more of this amazing Island. I've got my list of hikes ready to go!

Stain Remover

Ok, So I bought something online like 2 weeks ago and was pretty excited to try it... I was SO pleased with how it worked I decided to go ahead and blog about it :)

This bad boy is FANTASTIC! Wanna see it in action? good.

So if you cloth diaper you probably know all about staining... it's pretty gross. Sorry if this is TMI but Miles has some BRIGHT yellow poo... It's the strangest thing. anyway, here are just some before and afters!

All I did was wet the diaper, rub the stick on the wet diaper and then lather it in my hand. I could watch the stain come out, after rinsing it well I put it out on the line to get some sun. After an HOUR in the sun they looked BRAND NEW!!! basically I recommend this to everyone. It apparently gets any stain out of anything!

After

Before

Before

After

After

Before

Happy December!

I get my husband home this month!!!!!!!! That is the ONLY info I can give right now.

This weekend I decided to clean out my closets and get rid of quite a few items that I don't understand why I still have them! So far just from posting some stuff on facebook I have made $170.... Which pretty much covers the Christmas shopping damage I did this weekend for the small child (sorry Riley) hopefully I can get some more of this stuff out of here! Cause I need to make room, Miles is slowly taking over all the free space in the house :)

I went to the craft store this weekend to get some supplies for a few projects, a welcome home sign, Miles' 3 month onesie and some other super fun craft stuff.

I really wish I was blogging more, BUT I use all my free time to work on projects. Why do I ALWAYS overwhelm myself with projects while Rye is gone. I have to get our new bed built in the next like weekish (that is my timeline I gave myself) When Rye gets home he is going to help me sand down and stain this table as red as I can get it!


I WAS going to put some pictures there but apparently I ran out of storage space on my blog for pictures... Anyone know if I will attain more storage at the beginning of the year. or am I going to have to purchase storage? I mean $2.50 isn't a terrible price a month, But how many people actually read my blog anyway... Is it worth PAYING for pictures? I know Riley reads it, and when he is away it is nice for him to keep up to date... We will revisit this issue.

Miles is going to be 3 months old the day after tomorrow. Time sure does fly! He rolled onto his belly for the first time today. Riley was able to see him do it over Skype! Well we both actually missed the first time... little Roman saw it instead. He pulls up to stand, and holds his head up like a champ! He's VERY physical and has been trying desperately to become mobile for WEEKS. I fear we may have an early crawler on our hands. I am NOT ready for him to be mobile. Deezul is just getting used to him, and I know he is not ready for Miles to be able to go after him. Lord help us all when the day finally arrives.

Cloth diapering is still going awesome. I only use disposables with the babysitter now. She MAY be cool with cloth, but I haven't ever asked her. I don't want to burden her at all. Also she is very well priced, and Miles only goes 2 days a week for like 4 hours, I think I can afford diapers for that time!

Speaking of cloth diapering, have I mentioned that it is addictive yet? Yikes. Wait until you guys see my next post about my stash. I would include pictures... But blogger hates me, and your curiosity.

The house is being decorated for Christmas and I am beyond excited. I cannot wait to see Riley and Miles on Christmas morning :)

Also I think I am A-OK if Riley decides to get out of the Marine Corps. I know that it is really hard on him to be away from us (especially Miles(And Deezul)) I really really like Rye, so I wouldn't mind having him around 24/7 again. He's my best friend :)

I really do love blogging, I have just been so busy. I will try to stay on top of it though!

Cloth Diapering

Alright I've been Cloth Diapering for nearly 7 weeks now. This will be my first official reviews and tips post. Keep in mind, every baby is completely different. I am still super new to this and don't pretend to know even HALF of what I need to know. So please be understanding. This is just what is working for ME at the moment. This will be the first of MANY cloth diaper posts, and hopefully if you were thinking about cloth diapering or currently are, I will be able to provide some kind of insight. I will include pictures as well!

My Stash

• 14 Bumgenius 4.0- I LOVE these... can I just say how much I LOVE these! I stuff them with the large adjustable insert with the fatter part up front since boys tend to pee towards the front of a diaper. I have not had ONE leak in these. They are the first diapers that I reach for. I have 8 or 9 that are snaps and the others are velcro. I will always try to set aside the velcro so that I have them ready for the middle of the night change. It's much easier to slap the velcro closed than to try to line up the snaps on the right setting in the dark. 
• 3 fuzzibunz pocket- So far I give these 1 1/2 stars... I had leaks EVERY time I put these on. I hear nothing but awesome reviews on these so I have been super frustrated. But I just adjusted the settings and I THINK AND HOPE AND PRAY that I fixed the issue. the first time I put him in it after the change and I didn't have a leak... So we will see. I really want these to work. So stay tuned, I really do believe they have the potential to be amazing diapers
• 5 flip Covers- No complaints about these. HOWEVER no one told me that there are special inserts you can put in the flip that is able to touch baby's skin (cause normal microfiber inserts CANNOT touch baby) I think I may end up ordering some of these (shhh don't tell Riley)
• 2 bumkins pocket-I loved these. They were in my most used pile. They are super cute, I especially love his turtles print. Recently though they started leaking, so I am actually stripping them right now. Hopefully stripping them fixes the problem. Cause I love these. I try to stuff these with the same bum genius adjustable insert. If I don't have any left I use 2 smaller inserts
• 2 Grovia All in One's- I have 1 infant and 1 one size. These are fantastic. They are normally a little pricey, but I got them both on a Grovia seconds sale. The infant one has leaked the past 2 times. I'm stripping it right now but honestly, I think he may have just outgrown it... This makes me sad. I really love his little robot diaper.
• 3 MG baby pocket (I think it's cool that it says MG baby... get it... Miles Gardiner... Yup I'm a nerd)- Love these. I got through all 3 with every load (which I do every other day) I stuff them the same way. I am also able to use these as night time diapers, which is always a plus! 
• 3 lotus bumz pocket-I like these, but don't love the colors that I have... which is a stupid reason not to use them, but I find myself passing it for a cuter one... other than that I don't have any complaints about how they work. I don't worry about these leaking and just stuff them the same way.
• 1 small Baby beehind cover- This cover is AWESOME I absolutely love the velcro on it. It's not normal velcro and sticks to every part of the diaper so I am not limited to the small velcro tabs. 
• 3 random brands that came in the mail and I don't love the colors... So I will probably pass them on to someone---- Honestly I've never used these.
• 3 large and 2 medium workhorse- I am going to try the medium and see how it works, he might still be too small, but we shall see. 
• about a dozen infant prefolds- I use these with a snappi under a cover. Sometimes I will just fold it in thirds and set it in the cover, that seems to work as well. You just have to make sure you change it within the 2 hours. 
• about a dozen and a half newborn prefolds- I WAS using these... I suppose I could use these to stuff diapers now. 
• a billion microfiber inserts- I know a lot of people complain about these inserts. They come with virtually every diaper you order, and so far I haven't had any issues... however I am very new at this. 

Also I have some new additions to my stash... Cloth diapering is an addiction. So please know that going into it! 

These are my new Thirsties covers.

I am SO excited to try the thirsties. I hear awesome things about them, and I got the inserts to go with them.

Alva baby pocket diapers

I was wanting to try these and so I am pretty stoked to be able to do so!

My poor little robot diaper... You lived a good short life... I'm sure the next baby G will love you. 

Also did you notice my new rug... I love it!

Wash & Care

Currently I am doing laundry every 2-2 1/2 days. I WAS using charlie's soap but when that ran out I decided to try and make my own. I ended up making some with Borax, Washing soda, and oxi clean. I also added a little peppermint oil. So every time I do laundry my whole laundry room smells slightly of candy canes (LOVE). I use 1 TBSP of this in each load. I even started using it for my normal laundry. I am completely in love with this. It is also much cheaper than paying $30 for a tub of soap that will only last 80 loads. I throw my diapers in on the sanitize setting and then dry the inserts and hang all the covers and diapers out to dry over night. So far so good. I only have slight staining on a few of the diapers and I need to try and sun them to bleach them out. I am curious how well sunning actually works... anyone know? 

I still highly recommend having a wet bag (or 3). I need to get a big one for the nursery, but so far my three little bags have worked out great! 

I am only using disposables when I go to church (his church clothes fit better with them) and if I'm out and about in town for a long period of time. I find that he will have blow outs and leak in disposables, and NOT in cloth

So far I am in LOVE with this whole thing. It's working out awesome for us. If you have any questions of tips for me, leave a comment! 

The Pumpkin Patch

I have finally established some sort of a reliable schedule, Thank goodness! I decided that for my own sanity I wanted Miles in bed at 7. I thought it would be a good idea to set that up early so it's not a hassle later on. So we have bath time at 6:30 and he either eats right before or right after that. and He is in bed by 7, asleep before 7:30. For the next few hours I am able to have "me time". On my lifting days I'm able to go into our home gym room and workout, and only be a room away from Miles. Then I relax in bed while I fold laundry, or hang out on the always enjoyable pinterest. I pump during the 9-10 time frame so that when he wakes up between 12-1 I can pop a bottle in his mouth and we can both drift back off until usually around 6-ish. I am extremely blessed to have such a great sleeper. I APPRECIATE that God has given me that! I'm hoping by praising the gift he gave me, that he won't feel the need to "teach me a lesson" or humble me...

So quick fitness update. I had decided that Monday would be my first day back working out. Holy Crap! Monday and Wednesday I ran 2 miles (run/walk) Tuesday and today I walked lots, and lifted weights. My arms and abs are killing me from Tuesday! I just finished working out like an hour ago, and I can already tell that my chest/back is going to be feeling it! And I worked my abs again... So I can plan on a continuation of the soreness in that area. Here is to hoping that I start to see a change soon-ish. I don't hate my body, I see it as a price to pay for my little miracle. However, I would like to be able to wow myself when I look into the mirror. Next baby I will absolutely be lifting weights throughout the whole pregnancy, I learned my lesson the hard way. Starting over is no fun!

Ok so on to todays main blogging subject... THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!! I'm sure you saw my pictures on facebook... but in case you didn't I will include some. I set my alarm for 6AM to make sure that Miles didn't let me sleep in. I knew we would have to leave the house around 8-ish. I got up and tried to get ready before waking up Miles to eat. He woke up at 6:40 when I was 80% ready and was hungry. Amazingly we made it over to the pumpkin patch like 10 minutes early. The patch is designed for young kids, but obviously not for 1 month old babies. I figured we would show up, mingle with the girls from work, pick out his pumpkin and head home. I didn't want to wait in line for the hay ride... just to hold either a sleeping or hungry/crying baby.

I made sure to bring cash. Last year they sold the fresh squeezed lemonade in the mason jars, as well as the fresh picked corn. They had no such booth this year and I was severely disappointed by this!

Yes that is a sliver of the ocean you see in the picture... Ahhhh-mazing

Picking out his pumpkin!

Miles and Mom

I did NOT match us on purpose. 

 And since you have been patient in reading my long blog posts lately... here are some of the pictures I got back from one of the photographers! She did an awesome job, and I am very grateful to have gotten more shots of my little guy! He's already growing up so fast!

Those blue eyes KILL me! 

Lil' blue eyes throwing up stones!

Looks like a fighter with his eye

Time of birth

He is wrapped up in a scarf that Rye brought me back from Afghanistan.

Oh I love his smile. Can't wait till I get to see it more often!

Milf Monday- 1st Run Ever As A Mom

So this morning I embarked on the new adventure of post baby body rejuvenation.

It was tough! I left the house, started my pandora Nsync station and was all ready to walk the first leg for a good long warm up... except my neighbor who is not very neighborly was leaving her house and giving me her judgmental eyes she likes to use when she stares me down... So I took off running. Ya I never fully grew up, It's like when I was 12 with a cast on my arm, walking on the beach in Oregon and I saw the cute boy so I tried to walk all "hippy" except I didn't have hips, or coordination. I still have the scar on my knee from that little mishap! Anyway, the plan was run 30 seconds- 1 min and then walk for 2-3. I just don't do well with starting uber slow. I just couldn't do it. So I ran 1 song and walked 1 song. Nsync radio let me down today, it wanted to play all the amazing SLOW boy band songs. I had to switch over to Today's Adult Hits.

My run went really well, My right shin hurt, but that is normal for my runs. I need a new pair of running shoes but am waiting until the next shoe sale on base. Miles slept for the entire run (THANK GOODNESS) and the Bob stroller is ahhhh-mazing. Seriously I even thought about having to correct it, and it was already done! Totally worth the money if anyone out there is looking for a recommendation.

I will not be running everyday, tomorrow I will either lift, or maaaaaybe get out one of Riley's yoga dvd's. Ok let's not lie, Yoga probably isn't going to happen. On my non running days I plan on taking Deezul and Miles out for a good walk, just to make sure we get out and around the neighborhood.

I just downloaded the app runstar, I got the free version till I realized I wanted the full version, so I paid the 5 bucks for it. It is the first app I have ever paid for though, so I don't feel guilty! I will check in with you and let you know how I like it!

Stats
Weight - +5.4lbs from pre baby weight.
I don't know what other stats I should put up... I'll get back to you on that!

I took day 1 pictures, but the memory card is downstairs. I will update with those pictures probably tomorrow. But for now here is a few pictures from my run this morning! Way to start out a month, with a good run!

Miles' outfit for the day, courtesy of  Nana Gardiner

Asleep in the stroller, PERFECT!

Starting one of my walking breaks... more than 1/2 way!

This is my Napoleon Dynamite yessssssssssss face, I finished my first workout as a mom!!!

Cloth Diapering In Practice

So I have been researching cloth diapering for YEARS, no I'm not exaggerating. I first wanted to do it in 2008, Riley shot down that Idea... thankfully he came around once I showed him the research and the truth about how it actually works.

My total cost to this day is $320 for all the cloth diapers I have. That includes my stash of about 35-ish pocket & All in One's, 7 covers, and 30-ish prefolds (just newborn and infant size at the moment). I have only 1 snappi, but have a package of 10 in my cart on amazon right now.

The past 2 1/2 days I have put Miles in cloth during the daytime when we are downstairs. After his bedtime bath I put him in disposables for the night and until the late morning that is what he stays in. We still have lots of disposables that were given to us, no use in wasting them! I had to buy an extra pack of newborn diapers with the umbilical cord cutout, 1 package of huggies cost $13 for 60 something diapers.. .That is ridiculous! How do people afford to diaper a child?! He waits till I change him to finish pooping! So now I have to wait a good 10 minutes after the first sound to make sure he's done.

So far we have had 1 leak. And it was a user error. I did not tighten it properly, or he may still be too small for that particular one. So far it's been pretty easy! My only issue is that I can't tell when he's wet. It seems to stay the same bulkiness, and I don't want to have to test it with my finger... So I will go off and do my research for another way! I didn't think that I would like doing prefolds, but I don't mind it at all! it's nice to be able to just wipe off the cover with a wipe and stick on another pre fold, rather than have to put on a whole new diaper.

I highly recommend wet bags! I need to order a big one, but so far my little ones have worked. I'm doing my first load of dirty diapers tomorrow. I'm using Charlie's soap. I've been using it on his clothes and I really like it so far!

If you have zero interest in cloth diapering... I'm sorry for boring you with this post... but I'm sure you'll get over it! Tomorrow is my first day back working out. So I will be posting my first post-baby body picture... It won't be pretty, but it will be good for accountability!

I'll leave you with pictures of Miles in his cloth diapers. If you follow me on instagram, these may look familiar!

 This is Mr G in his first cloth diaper ever! A pre fold with a flip cover. It's a one size cover, and I was able to get 5 of these on seconds sale for I think $5 or $6 a piece. These were the first cloth diapers I purchased, so it seemed fitting to be the first I put him in! These are still a tiny bit loose around his legs, but still fit snug enough that I haven't had a leak yet.

 Mr G is sporting a prefold, and a Bee cover... I can't read the full name, it might be Bee Baby. it's a size small cover. This one worked REALLY well, and the velcro was able to be pulled super tight and it stuck to any part of the diaper which was nice seeing as it overlapped the other strap by a bit. I also got this one on zulily I believe.

 This one is not a diaper one.... This is Miles drunk on milk, and I love it!

He started screaming (for no reason I might add). So being the awesome mom I am I snapped a picture before picking him up and setting his world right again. He's wearing a MG Baby pocket diaper... I bought a few of these on zulily for I think $10, So far I love these, I've used 2 of them, they fit well and zero leaks. This one was REALLY full when I changed him since he wore it on our evening walk. So this is one I would recommend if it comes back on zulily!

I'm a Cow

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