Tots Bots Easy fit star Diaper review

Look at those cute printed diapers.  I love them all. 

Its been a long time since I did a diaper review.  I kind of slacked on cloth diapers this past summer with camping and being gone so much plus being sick from pregnancy.  I just didn't have it in me to do it some weeks.
I am full blown cloth again even night.  I haven't done night for a really long time because Sawyer has super ammonia smelling urine and so it makes it hard with night diapers.  I really am trying to save some extra money lately.   I will write more about this later.
So I pulled out my tots bots bamboozled for night again and got them super duper cleaned again so we could start fresh.  I then started looking at other tots bots diapers.  Why?!?  I have no idea.

I just like looking at diapers and new things they have.  I think I found some newborn ones.  I wanted some AIO newborn diapers since I sold all of my easy ones that I used with Sawyer because I didn't really like them that much.  I found some good reviews on the tots bots newborn ones.  Then kept searching.

I"m a sucker I know.  haha.
I have really liked what I have used  so far.  They are super cute and easy to put on.  They don't absorb a ton so I just put a thirsties hemp small insert in the pocket they have.  I really like how thin they are for an AIO.

They have this really long tongue that you can either just fold on top or tuck back into the pocket.  I found tucking is better for cleaning, its easier to spray it off with just the one layer.
So I tuck.  I hated pocket diapers because you had to tuck but these ones its all one piece so its easy to tuck and there is plenty of room inside the pocket to fit it in.






I have really liked these diapers for a quick easy fit.  I still like my prefolds and covers the best. They are just easier to clean off.  These are great for dad though.  They are one of my favorite AIO I have tried.  Plus they are super cute.

A new way to do New Years Resolutions

In one of my podcast that I have been listening to recently they talked about new years resolutions and we all know that 90% of them don't actually work out.  That is just normal.  These ladies had a different idea and I really liked it.
They were talking about just picking a word or a phrase for that year like "rest"  or "discover"  Then they take that word and apply it into each area they are wanting to improve.  Discover new ways to live healthy or lose weight or Discover a new food.  Discover new friends.   They liked an idea better to focus on.  They used prayer and scriptures to pick there theme of the year.  I really liked this idea and I want to try this.

They also said make a list of things you want to do more of and a list of things you want to do less of.  Make that part of your resolutions. Really live life and don't just react to it.  Make sure you are deciding where your time goes and don't let life decide for you.  I love this because sometimes we do let life decide what happens or how we react to what life gives us.  We need to have a plan and be prepared to continue on with life.

I love making goals and writing them down I have been pretty good at doing that since we got married.  I didn't always do all of them but I really tried and I would see my list there next to my desk or bed and it would be a daily reminder of what I had wanted to accomplish that year.  So I like this idea of a phrase and then write a list of things I want to do more of.  I know go to temple will be one of those.  I love going but with little kids its hard to have time to go. I used to trade time with my sister watching kids so we could each go.  I know its on my list to go weekly when all of my kids are in school.  That is a ways off for me though so I need to find an alternative plan until that time has come.

Then to make a list of things I want to do less of is spend money or spend less time on my phone mindlessly reading things of no importance.  I also want to eat out less..... which in turn means cooking more.  I have always had a hard time with cooking meals consistently.  My mom was amazing at doing this.  We always had a great pretty balanced meal.  I go in streaks where I will cook for a few weeks really good then I won't for multiple reasons.   Now that I am pregnant and getting farther along the less I want to cook.  My motivation to cook now is because I want to make sure that we are eating healthier food and know what is actually in our food.

So I have made a list of things I want to do more of and less of and some actual goals too.  I also chose "Back to Basics"  for the theme.  I want to simplify so many things and I feel like that can be summed up in back to basics.  I want to apply that to all things in my life.  I will do random post that will help me be accountable for how I am using that phrase this year.

I am excited for a new year and a fresh new start, even though everyday is a fresh start but the new year is a great time to have some long term goals as well.

Reusable snack/lunch bags

With my daughter being in first grade and taking home lunch every day I wanted to find some good reusable bags.  Even though we do reuse ziplocks as well.  I have made a post on that a long time ago.  So I found some on Jane.com  a terrible website that has so many good things I have to stop myself from looking at it everyday.    

They had the sandwich size and a snack size.  It came in a pack of two each.  I like them but they are really stiff and hard plastic of some sort.  They function but I wasn't sold on them. 

Then I am part of a group that does monthly buys from a place called frontier.  They have a lot of natural things.  I have loved ordering from them.  We get a better price when we order as a group.    I found some on there and I bought a set a few months ago and have loved them. They are more silicone feeling and easier to work with. 

I have liked them so much I just ordered a bunch more of them for using for the other kids snacks and stuff in the car and when they want a bag of pretzels.  I also found they had a large size one that is like a gallon size ziplock so I will see how that one works out.  

I would like to not have to buy the ziplocks at all anymore.  

I would still have some on hand for meats and stuff like that I don't like to mess with that.  

They had some really cute patterns that the kids love.  I am loving how the ones I got a few months ago have held up they don't show any signs of wear.  

The first ones I got from Jane are a little worn and I don't think will last very long compared to these.  The brand on the good ones are Full circle.  

This is a picture of the bottom of the snack size it has a pretty wide base for a small bag and I am amazed at what I can fit in their.  The sandwich bags don't have the pleated bottom so they are more for just sandwiches or flat things.  

The large gallon ziplock one has the pleat thing.   I love them and the kids love picking the fun designs out.  I love to be saving in one more way.  Highly recommended.  

No spend month

We love Dave Ramsey here and we listen to it a lot.  We follow a lot of his advice and things in his book.  We don't do the cash envelope system. I"m sure it would benefit us but we just aren't that into it.  I hate carrying cash around.  I have gone through phases of keeping track of our money.  Not really a budget but seeing where our money goes helps me to spend less or adjust my spending.  I use an excel spread sheet.  Within the last few years I started using Mint.com and I have liked that it brings in the info from our bank accounts and I can sort them into which category they go in.  I am amazed at where our money goes. Even when I think I"m being so good it still finds places to go.

So I am determined to be better I have heard of doing a no spend week or month.  I am going to see how far I can do it.  I have most of christmas shopping done just a few things left for grandparents and stuff, but the kids are all done.  So I want to do it in dec.
Another motivation to do it is to clean our our pantry, freezer and actually use a lot of our canned food I have made.  I want to use it up and make sure we don't have food going bad in our pantry.
I found a can of evaporated milk in my cupboard yesterday it EXPIRED in 2007!!!  Now when did I have to buy that for it to expire in 07?  I don't even know obviously I don't use evaporated milk often enough to have it in my cupboard.  Things like that. I know I have some ravioli that expired this year and I feel like its still find to eat.  But it needs to be done soon.  So that is part of this no spend month.  I want to use up a bunch of stuff I have in the freezer, help clean things out.

I really really think I can do it if I put my mind to it and really use some self control.  Its only a month.  If I really need or most likely want It can wait for a month right?  think about it, research it for a month and then buy it if I still want it after that long.   I am an impulse buyer and I feel like its gotten a little crazy lately so this will put a  stop to it.  This is for my accountability.

Reading El Libro de Mormon

I finished reading the book of mormon recently and so it was time to start again.  I used to read it in spanish every other time I would read it and maybe its just been that long since I finished it.  It seems like its been years since I read it in spanish though.  I think it was maybe 2011.  Anyways I decided that I really wanted to do it.  So I started reading in spanish, I was reading out loud and it was taking forever but it was good.  Then I started listening to my gospel library in spanish its much better. Especially because I am trying to read it by the end of the year and I started about the first of November.  So in two months.  I decided I could use the reading help.

 I won't lie I have been lacking on my dedication to reading my scriptures daily.  I can't do it in the morning because I work until the kids wake up and then its get the kids to school and preschool.  Then the day just gets away from you.  Night is hard because I am just so tired by then.  I can come up with a million excuses.   I shouldn't because I remember thinking on my mission  how can people not spend time reading everyday?  How do you stop reading them?   well I know now.... I am that person.  So this has been a good kick in my pants to get me launched back into it.  I get my daughter off to school and then while Max is doing his preschool I take that time to read.   I have made it a priority, and I can tell the difference.  I need to make that a life long goal.

I love that when I read it in spanish I get different things out of the same book.  It just means something different.  Or you perceive it differently, that is one reason I like to switch reading english and spanish.  I don't know why but some songs are better in spanish too.

Another part I like to have it a chart.  It helps me see how far I need to go and how far I have come.  I am a list maker so this is so fun for me.   I also like to color how much I read each day with a different color so I can look back and see some days I really had a lot of time to read and some half a chapter.  Its great.  We started this chart with all of the beehives in our young women.  So we all have a chart together but going at different rates.  Its fun to do things as a group. 

Homemade belly butter

I have always liked the belly butter I have used before with my previous pregnancies.  I used Bella B tummy butter with my other three.  This one I wanted to try something home made to save and to know exactly what was in it.  I have really gotten into making my own skin products as you have probably noticed with all of these blog posts.  

I found this one from Wellness mama and I had most of the ingredients anyway. I had to buy ginger root and that was it, so I thought I would give it a shot and so far I love it.  

Here is the recipe 

• 1/4 cup Shea Butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3 Tablespoons Apricot Kernel Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Calendula flowers (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger root
• I added some Doterra oil called Immortelle its supposed to really help with anti aging and wrinkles just overall good for the skin.  I figured this was a perfect place to put this oil and try it out.  

You do a double boiler where you put the measuring cup inside of the pot of boiling water and melt down the butter, oils and I already had some Calendula infused oil made from previous recipe so I just added the already made oil.  

Then I put in the ginger root and waited until it cooled off a little before I added in the immortelle oil.  

  

I use a skewer wooden stick to stir my stuff usually.  It works really well.   It turned out really nice. I was a little runny for a week or so but then as the weather got colder it has firmed up a little bit.  Its still pretty soft and easy to apply.  I put it on at least once a day if not more.  If I can remember.

I'm not terribly worried about stretch marks because I already have some from having three babies already but I really like it for the itching and not feeling so stretched out.  

I feel like this is great for my skin and it smells good too.  

 This jar was half full when I made it and its getting close to the end. I probably have maybe another month so I will have to do another batch that should last the rest of the time.

Homemade probiotics

I have been looking for a good vitamin for my kids, and for me.  Ones that only have the stuff I want in them none of this added extra sugar or weird ingredients that don't need to be in there.
I finally found a good recipie that the kids like and actually love.  They make sure to tell me to get them out in the morning. 
They are from the wellness mama of course. That is where I get all of my good tasting recipes.
This one has 4 simple basic ingredients.

• 1 cup pure juice.  So we have been using grape juice that we canned just a few weeks ago.  Or some apple juice.  
• 8 teaspoons gelatin powder.  I got the one she uses and its great. I bought one from the store before and it did not taste good and it left it gritty almost. This one has great ingredients and it gels up nicely. 
• 2 tablespoons honey if you want.
• Then you can add probiotics, vitamin c, magnesium.  Whatever vitamin you want.  We usually do a probiotic in one batch and a vitamin c in another.  I found somewhere that she said 2 teaspoons of which ever vitamin you are using per batch.  

The probiotic that I use comes in capsules so I have to emtpy them out and measure them out.  It is a great probiotic though so its worth it.  

Then you heat it up and add the vitamin after its cooled down a little bit.    

Then I got these silicone molds that I pour them into and each batch fills three of these trays.  

So we have a bunch to make it fun.  The kids love to choose the shapes. That is half the fun of the vitamins is what shape they get to choose.  

These are the ingredients for the probiotic ones 

These are the vitamin c ones. 

I have been really pleased with the results the kids love to take them and I feel like they are getting a better vitamin than any I could buy.  I know exactly what is in these.  They are quick and easy to make and very inexpensive.  

The kids also love to help poke them out of the molds once they have firmed up.  I put them in the fridge for probably 5-8 hours.  I line the molds with coconut oil so they wont stick and it works wonderful.

These are some of the fun shapes we have.  Dinosaurs, animals of course, stars,  seashells, robots, hearts, small hearts and gummy bear shaped one. 

I am really hoping these vitamins will help keep away all of those colds this winter along with other things we do.