Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Toy Tuesday

Since my children have a ton of toys, I thought I would share which toys they love to play with and which they don't like.  Hopefully, I can keep up with posting every Tuesday with different toys we have.  For my first post I will start with my DS's (dear son) favorite toy.

The Walk N Roll push toy from Plan Toys


My son loves this toy.  He has been pushing/ pulling it around the house for a few months now.  The toy says for 19+months but its perfect for children who can walk (my DS is now 15 months old).  *Warning:  there are small balls located inside the cylinder.  The balls could be a choking hazard

What I like about this toy:
I like this toy better than the Popcorn popper toy because its made out of wood.  I have been trying to limit the amount of plastic toys in my house so when I saw this toy I got really excited about it since it was wooden and a lot like the popular Popcorn popper toy.


Another thing I like about this toy is unlike the popcorn popper toy there is no spring that makes the toy 'Pop."  If you have ever seen the popcorn popper you know there is a spring and if that spring breaks or gets stuck then the toy will not pop.  The Walk N Roll doesn't have a spring in it, instead the balls are free to roll around inside and bang up against the wooden parts to make its noise. 

What I dislike about this toy:
The only thing I don't like about it is that it is really loud.    

Cost:
According to Amazon the Walk N Roll by Plan Toys retails for $35.99 compared to the Fisher-Price Corn Popper which retails for $15.99 (I've seen them cheaper). 

Is it worth it:
All in all I love this toy.  My children love playing with this toy.  To me its worth the money.  We have a Fisher-Price Corn popper and it collects dust at my house.  The Walk N Roll is played with almost everyday.  Its as loud now as it was when they got it for Christmas. 



                                        Here is a video of my DS playing with the Walk N Roll.




Sunday, June 19, 2011

Cloth Diapers...

I thought I would start out with a fun post so I picked one of my favorite things that I LOVE to buy.....Fluff!!!!  That's Cloth diapers to people who don't know.  Cloth diapers are my absolute favorite type of mail..fluff mail that is. 

To start off I will tell you that there are several types of Cloth diapers (CD).  Personally, I only use pockets and an AIO diaper.  I tried prefolds for all of 2 seconds.  My DD (dear daughter) won't stay still long enough for me to get them on so I decided to do pockets instead.  Pocket diapers look and go on like regular diapers.  There are no safety pins in pocket diapers.  Here is what is in a pocket diaper and what one looks like.
 These are 2 microterry inserts.  I use two now because my DS (dear son) is peeing a lot.  The inserts are what goes into the pocket of the diaper.  You can use other materials such as hemp and bamboo but I like my microterry.
 You can see the "pocket" where the inserts go.
 Here is a picture of the inserts inside the pocket of the diaper.
The finished product!!  Now, isn't that diaper cute?  Its an one-size Happy Heinys diaper.

Now, I own both hook and loop (velcro) and snap diapers.  I personally like the snaps because its harder for my kids to take off the diaper.  My husband likes the velcro because its easier to get on.  I have found that the velcro tends to curl on the tabs making it easier for kids to take them off.  My 3 year old still struggles with getting off the snaps (she likes to try the new ones on). 

I also own one-size diapers meaning they fit kids from 7lbs to 35 lbs and sized diapers meaning they fit kids from 15lbs to 25lbs.  The Happy Heinys owl print diaper is a one-size diaper.  If you look you will see snaps that run down the sides and middle of the diaper, when you snap the diaper down you make it smaller.  Here is a picture of the smallest setting on the owl print diaper.   
I like both types but for different reasons.  I like the one-size because you can use them longer but I really don't care for how big they make my kids butts.  I dislike one-sizes because they tend to be pretty bulky in the front where you snapped the diaper together.  I like sized diapers because they fit better and don't have the bulk in the front but they don't last as long as the one-size.  I say last as long but really its more on how long I can use them because they are bigger.

So here is the fun part....I know you are wondering exactly how many diapers does one need!!!  As of right now I don't have an exact count but I will break it down for you using pictures because come on CDs are so cute!!!
Right now my Favorite diapers are my Fuzzi Bunz diapers.  I don't have a complete picture of all of them but I will added them in later.  For now here is an old picture.


Stash Dec '10
These are all sized diapers.  The 3 on the left with the flowers on them are sized large and the rest are sized Medium.  I have: 3 green medium, 3 choc. brown medium, 3 orange medium, 3 red medium, 3 blue medium, 1 white medium, and 1 buttercream medium diaper and 4 flower diapers sized large (red one is missing from bottom photo) for a total of 21.

Next are my Happy Heinys diapers.
Stash as of Dec '10
I have both one-sized diapers and sized diapers.  The blue ones are sized medium (don't really like those blue ones) and the print ones are one-sized.  I have 3 one-sized print diapers: 1 puppy, 1 owl, and 1 cow print diaper for a total of 5.

Next are my Blueberry diapers. 
Stash as of Dec'10

Starting from left to right: 9 trainer diapers (for potty training), 2 side snap large, 4 one-sized diapers (1 pink lemonade is missing), 6 minky one-sized diapers, and 8 minky wraps made into pocket diapers sized large for a grand total of 30.

Finally, I have Bum Genius 3.0s.


I have a lot missing from these photos (my sister is using some).  All but one these diapers are one-sized except for one of the darker green, its a AIO diaper.  So, I have 7 pink, 3 zinnia, 7 yellow, 3 grasshopper, 2 ribbit, 1 twilight, 1 clementine, and 3 white.  Since this photo I haven't added any for a total of 27.

And the Grand total is...........about 83 diapers!! 

Here is a photo of my stash minus the ones out on loan, the one being fixed, the 2 that are dirty, and the spare that are at my mom and dad's house.  Yep, I'm nuts!! 

*As for how much money I have spent on diapers...I really don't know but I can find some great deals if I'm patient enough.  Good thing about CDs is that once you are done with them you can sell them to other people.

Welcome to my new blog!!

On the advice of a dear friend, I have decided to create a new blog about how my husband and I have choosen to raise our children.  As you can tell by the title of this blog, we do NOT follow most of mainstream America in our parenting choices.  Some many say we are "old schooling" it but I just think its what is best for us. 

Here is my shout out to you Brittany!!!!  She has been telling me for weeks that I need to blog about all the cool things I do and all the cool stuff I find for my kids.  So, here it is!!!  Hopefully, you will find something useful.