The Bag Lady

As I trudged into the office this morning, I carried my Louis Speedy 25, breast pump bag, gym bag, and lunch bag. I had more bags than a homeless woman! Oh I also had my makeup bag stuffed into the Speedy. It's official, I am a working mom that puts her makeup on at work! Given that the Speedy was filled to capacity, I think it may be time for an overdue upgrade to the Neverfull.

Springing to Life

Ahhh spring is in the air, finally!  Tulips and daffodills are blooming and trees are starting to leaf. Keeneland opens Friday, Easter is coming up, and we may be going to Oaks this year.  That begs the question of what to wear.    I'm loving this dress from Nordstrom and with Ebates I would get 5% back!  It doesn't do much for my attempt to add color to my wardrobe, but when paired with an obscenely large colorful hat, that may just do the trick.

It is Easy Being Green!

Alex in his grasshopper BumGenius 4.0

This St. Patricks's Day I want to celebrate how I am helping my baby boy live green, in the environmental sense.  Before baby Alex's arrival I started reading all about cloth diapering.  I hated the thoughts of contributing to such waste.  I was met with animosity from relatives that were familiar with the cloth diapers from years ago.  Long gone are the days of sharp pins and stinky diaper pails filled with bleach and water.  After doing my research we chose to go with BumGenius 4.0 with the snaps.  It is an all in one diaper with an insert and outer shell.  When the diaper is soiled ,the whole thing goes in the pail or wet bag after being sprayed with odor remover.  We wash them every other day in special detergent and they are good to go.  Cloth diapering helps cut down on diaper rash and we have had minimal leaks and no poo showers like I unfortunately was on the receiving end with a disposable Alex was wearing.    

I have invested approximately $350 in buying the diapers, pail, and wet bag, all of which will last Alex until he is potty trained.  The diapers come in several great colors and prints.  The bum geniuses will then be available for another child or can be sold.  Recycle!  There will still be the expense of energy, water and detergent for washing but that will be less than the hundreds of dollars we would incur annually from disposables.  Alex has a total of 23 cloth diapers which keeps us in supply with an every other day washing. Today I ordered flannel wipes and bottom cleaner so we can also do away with disposable wipes, which are more of an inconvenience at this point.  Stuffing a wipe into the  narrow opening of the diaper genie is not pleasant.  The flannel wipes will go into the diaper pail ,or wet bag, and be washed with the diapers.  

BumGenius is  having it's spring sale right now, which is a great time to buy some to try if you are thinking of going green.  Sites I like to order from are Cotton Babies and Diaper Junction.  No more running out to the store when your low on diapers, or taking out the trash bag filled with disposable diapers, that will be in a landfill for hundreds of years to come.  And don't worry, I'm not ready to trade in my stilettos for Birkenstocks! 

Heidi Claire: If you can do this....

Great story that puts a perspective on things and makes me smile 
Heidi Claire: If you can do this....

Mmmm...healthy

I love me some blueberry scones or muffins from Starbucks, but even the low-fat versions, when you can find them, are not the slightest bit healthy.  I am trying to embrace the healthy alternative by eating Fage Greek  yogurt, blueberry flavor.  It is deeelicious! Other yogurts seem really processed, but the Fage cup has two sections: one for the yogurt and the other for the blueberries.  I'm sure there are still some preservatives, but it tastes like fresh goodness to me. Hopefully this will help me lose my muffin top.