Review and Giveaway: How to do a wool dryer ball review

Order dryer balls from Amy at Redhead and Blue on Etsy. Get them super fast. Sniff the package straight out of the mailbox. Mmmm Liz got Spun Sugar Champagne. Lisa got Fall Honey Harvest.

Mmm Spun Sugar Champagne

Take them out of the Ecoenclose envelope (love them by the way). Admire the packaging.

Great packaging!

Read Amy's sweet note (and remember why you love ordering from Work At Home Moms [WAHMs] and homemade crafters).

Amy's cute note

Remove gorgeous dryer balls from package and place them in the dryer.

Lisa's dirty duds.

Wait for someone to dirty some laundry (HA! Wait, I'm a mom...no waiting...). Be excited to see how much quicker your clothes dry and how awesome they smell.

Dry clothes.

How cool is the inside of Lisa's dryer?!

Listen to the "thump thump thump thump" of the dryer balls rolling around in there separating the laundry. Smile when you realize what usually takes 80 minutes to dry took 60 minutes.

Lisa's dryer has a light. Totally jealous.

20 minutes off a large load is great (says Tony the Tiger), especially over time!

Order more dryer balls or a scent refresher kit from Amy by using the %15 off code she gave us just for our readers. Didn't get that code in your email? Huh. Are you signed up for our email list? If not, do so here. Subscribers will receive an email with a promo code for 15% off on Monday, September 30 so be sure to register by then!


Enjoy awesome smelling laundry, save electricity, and don't have to use dryer sheets. Love it!

Want to love it even more for free? Enter our giveaway for four wool dryer balls from Redhead and Blue LLC. How to do it?

1) View the options available at Redhead and Blue LLC on Etsy. Choose which color and scent you would pick if you were to win.

2) Comment on this post with the color and scent you would want.

3) Use the Rafflecopter form to gain entries. You only have to technically do the first one, but the other ones can gain you more entries.

4) Share with your friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What We Learned This Week - September 8th Edition

Another day another dollar...what did you learn this week?

Robyn: 

1. I've learned about a gadget update: I receive deals via email for local stuff. This week, I opened my inbox to find a car seat swivel tray on sale. Are you thinking car seat for a child? That's what I thought! So they can sit quietly in the backseat and eat their happy meal while mommy is driving with hands at 10 and 2, playing her favorite tunes! Hold up, that's not what's going down...EVER! (Just trying to be real here) Seriously, But NO! This is a seat swivel tray that attaches to the cup holders, that the driver can vegetate off of while commuting. To the purchasers of such ridiculousness: Eat up Fatties. Nobody will be surprised if you drive off a cliff while texting from your swivel tray, either! SMH.

2. I've learned how much busier life can get in the matter of a week. I got a call with a really good job offer starting in a few weeks (which puts 3 out of 4 kids in daycare, and time for running errands on the weekends, and finishing up my degree next year...) teenage turd has extra curricular stuff 3 nights a week, husband is finishing his masters degree (2 nights a week), and T-Ball starts in 3 weeks for kinder turd. I guess that leaves one thing for me to do...put on my cape and rock this! 

3. Last but not least, I've learned to take time for myself. Even if it's while the baby is napping during the week (that 'sleep when the baby does' advice is not for me!) 30-45 minutes of Insanity has given me a huge burst of energy throughout the day. Plus, i notice that the floor needs to be swept while doing pushups! Right after, I am like jello going up the stairs. But, it's motivation to not be a dent in the couch while lactic acid is building up in my muscles (that's where soreness comes from) I push through the workout and hmm...the house has been cleaner and laundry has been done since Tuesday! Imagine that! Plus, a mani-pedi Sat morning totally went down! Ahhh(sigh of relief), clean house and polished toes...this mama's in total bliss!!!

Lisa:

1. The girls were having a hard time with this move. They were very sad about the old house, so we got them to help with packing things into the truck, so they could get some sense of closure. They said their goodbyes to the house this morning and are asleep now in their new room in the new house. Feels good to know just how resilient they are. 

2. It's ok to take a break. Part of being pregnant is getting easily exhausted and for me a huge problem. I feel like I don't do enough, that I could be doing more to help out, and I find myself on the brink of exhaustion. With everything going on here, I realized that I was doing a lot and I should take it easier. I took some breaks but still a managed to help a bit. Now, if I could only find a long-lasting cure for cankles!! Yeah right. 

3. Neighbors are interesting people! Our old neighbors, which were awesome, could barely say bye to us today as we loaded our last boxes into the truck. We didn't realize how good we'd been as neighbors, until half our block came to wish us good luck. It was intense to say the least! At the new house, we met the new neighbors en masse and they were wonderful! They even brought us a treat as a welcome to the neighborhood. It felt nice but overwhelming to be welcomed that warmly. Always a good thing to learn that there are still really good people around. Now, if I could just figure out their quirks, we're in business.

Liz:
1) I've learned that I can sometimes be a hypocrite. My completed dissertation was due Friday (a schedule that I created myself at the start of this quarter). I got it submitted Friday at 4:22 p.m. I busted butt working on it all this week (even though I did work on it for about 30 minutes a day for the two weeks before that). A former student heard that I had submitted it just under the wire and said, "Huh Liz, you always tell us not to procrastinate but..." And she's right. For most things I'm not a procrastinator but for some reason I'm just tired of this dissertation. I'm ready to be DONE.

2) Sage (14 months) is droppin' the science on us - this kid is spitting out words left and right like it's no 'thang. This past week? Chicken, Mickey (Mouse), dog, ball, go (used contextually correctly), down...that's all I can think of for now. It's amazing how different two children from the same household can be. Silas said "ball" at 12 months and that was it for a while. Child #2 has the advantage of having three role models for language (and behavior) rather than just the 2 that Child #1 had.

3) After going back to work full time (after a summer of teaching just two online classes) I've realized I cannot keep up the pace I had during the summer. Laundry, dishes, cooking, diaper laundry (including wool washing and lanolinizing), grocery shopping, cleaning...after working 40+ hours (many from home at night) is not as simple as it was during the summer. I feel badly, but I'm considering finding someone to come clean the house once a week. Why do I feel bad? For some reason I feel as if I should be able to cut it myself (those damned "shoulds").

4) I need a motivator. Our race got cancelled (the race Robyn and I were supposed to run next Saturday). I'm bummed. Now we need to find another one to register for. I have to say this has slightly decreased my motivation to go running and work out in general. Bummer.

What about you, what have you learned this week?

Night Time Cloth Diapering - What Works for Us

Most parents who cloth diaper eventually realize that cloth diapering (CDing) at night can be a challenge. After 3 years and two children, I (Liz) have found what works for us. But what works for one child may not work for another. Some kiddos are heavy wetters. Some kids change what works for them at different parts of their small lives. So what have worked for your littles?

Liz: Silas (age 3) was almost always a heavy wetter. For most of his diapering nights I used Sustainablebabyish (Sbish) organic bamboo fitteds (OBFs), a Gen-Y Classic cover (a PUL waterproof cover), and Sbish wool of some sort (shorties or covers mostly). If I didn't use the PUL layer then I would have to wash wet bedsheets every night but now that he's almost potty trainined, he can go without the PUL layer. For Sage (14m) I used the same combo until he finally slept through the night. I realized that the PUL layer was probably making him hot so he'd wake up, so I only use an OBF and lanolinized wool for Sage for nighttime.

Lisa: I had a challenge with overnight diapering because both girls were in cloth diapers at the same time. Eep! Pixy(then 2) and Banshee( then infant) had very different body types: one was skinny-Minnie and the other was built like a quarterback--even in infancy! I found the best thing for both was a Tiny Tush OS pocket diaper, stuffed with the Tiny Tush inserts and an additional Joeybunz hemp insert. It was bulletproof, as it kept Pixy's toddler pee from saturating her diaper, and it kept Banshee dry and comfortable through most of the night(or at least through that nighttime feeding). Nighttime diapering is probably the part that takes the most experimentation, since no child is the same. Even in the same family! 

Robyn- So far, we are only 2 months into CD'ing with baby #4. Thankfully, she is not an overflowing waterfall of a mess at night. The boys, on the other hand, would have to be pointed down (hey, that's important!) and changed every two hours. Their kidneys functioned at full capacity!!! For Reagan, we use a fitted cloth pocket diaper, with an insert. Then, we use an old school, white plastic cover to keep in the wetness. It holds up overnight, so we must be doing something right. Holla!

What has worked well for your CD'd little one? Share with us in the comments - give some new options to some mamas who may be tired of the wet sheets!

Things We Learned This Week (August 4th Edition)

Our first group post! We're excited!

So the prompt is, "What did you learn this week?"

Liz:
1)  I learned I hate car shopping. It makes me anxious. My husband somehow has a 0 credit score. How is this possible? We've bought two houses before. I don't get it. But we are now the proud er...not owners...drivers...payers...of a 2013 Honda Pilot. And it rocks my socks. And Silas decided this week that he likes it too (at first he wanted to "Take ih back and geh our car"). Driving an SUV is way different than driving the Prius. This will take some getting used to.

2)  Sage has slept through the night twice. I'm not sure what's going on. Before he was waking up and going right back to sleep if I changed his diaper. Now...he wakes up, mehs a few times, and puts himself back to sleep. I like it. Become the new norm please. Of course now I can't sleep though.

3)  Coordinating the blog with two lovely mamas is interesting to start off with. I'm a control freak and I'm handing over some to two friends...if anyone sees me freak out, understand why. Love my girls!

4)  Quitting smoking (in May) has made it so much easier to run. I ran for 10 minutes straight (2x in one session) twice this week. And I wasn't dying when I finished. Soaked in sweat, yes, but not cardio dying. Go me.

Lisa:
1) I learned that "see you laters" are just as hard as "goodbyes". Banshee has graduated from her preschool at Kennedy Krieger and during the party, after showing much improvement in behavior and social skills, she shut down on me. No talking, no smiling, just hiding behind me. It was sad. Banshee was not happy that she was done with school and even more unhappy that she wasn't going to see her teachers everyday, just for visits here and there. It was a very hard concept to prepare for and with all the change going on in our lives, I felt horrible that I couldn't shield her from something like this. We will keep muddling through together though. She is much better today!

2) Finding the time to continue jotting down "simple joys" in my Simple Joy journal. Let's face it, the day fills up like crazy for Mamas and the last thing you want to do is pick up a pencil to write down the most enjoyable moment of the day "What do you mean? NOW! When I am in bed!" But, taking the 5 minutes to really think about what made you smile and write down a couple of sentences, is fast becoming an enjoyable experience.

3)Breaking the news of our pregnancy and the sex of the baby. This floored some people, mainly because I am 5 months along and no one knew. We had to keep it secret for a bit, due to some early complications, but Mr.Cubby is determined to stay in there and meet everyone in December. I am panicking a little too...I have no boy gear. Sigh!

4) Being unplugged every once in a while, is not a bad thing. I found the time I had been messing around on Facebook, I used it for other tasks around the house. Mainly, helping to get things ready for our move and ::gasp:: read uninterrupted! Woohoo!

Robyn:
1) For all the BF moms, there has been some controversy over why babies get 'that drunk look' on their faces after BF'ing. You know, the glazed over and half open eyes while their body is as limp as a dishrag while trying to burp? Well, get this! It has been linked to the THC receptors in a baby's brain. (Seriously?!) That's right, breast milk will inadvertently get your baby high! I almost spit out my drink (and hopefully didn't cause you do to the same) while reading this BOGUS article. Hmmm..that must be why my other kiddos are so smart. Because I got them "high" for 10 months. Sheesh!

2) Having a postpartum (gyno) appointment is apparently not the time to multi-task. After being put in a room and being told "It will be a while, there are 3 more ahead of you", I cringed. Not only is this appointment not a favorite, but parking is charged by the half hour. So, I decided to do what any busy mommy would do with our precious time: Multi-task. While breastfeeding, I was on the phone with a cruise line (my kids Christmas present this year. I know, genius idea!). I hear a knock at the door, and in walks the doc. Pretty sure I had the deer in headlights look as my doc asks "So, YOU'RE not ready yet?" Clearly not, doc! Pants still on, drape sitting nicely folded in a square on the exam table, and a baby on the boobie. Here I was, trying to explain to two men (with completely different occupations) what was going on. Let me say that it felt very uncomfortable knowing one wanted to get in my pants, and one wanted to take my money. Good thing I know which one was which!

3) For those with teenagers: There is a new game called Oreo (as explained by my 14 year old). While sitting with a group of friends (guys and girls), one teenager will ask another one "out". Out meaning being to have the BF/GF title at school only. The purpose is to see who really likes who. Yep. That's it. Simple. Hey, no complaints from this parent! This is the only time I'm thankful for my children growing up to be technology geeks. At the age of 14, I was thinking about more than just "going out" with boys. Heck, my mind was in the gutter! I was thinking about doing ______ (Feel free to fill in the blank with comments).

What did you learn about yourself or others this week? We'd love to hear about it in the comments.

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My Current Obsession - Arm Warmers

Most months in Texas I'm damn hot but December through March/April-ish I'm always cold (while Daddy's just fine). One thing I've found that helps me is arm warmers. Wearing them I can still wear short sleeves or I can layer them under long sleeve shirts.

If you do an Etsy search for armwarmers you'll come up with a ton. Some super cute and reasonably priced, some, like, whoa. I have been enjoying my Sustainablebabyish Armwoolies (sold out of course) and I've been looking for longer options. Enter Bumby Arms. I love Bumby stuff for the boys (interlock wool pants and shorts for over cloth diapers) so I've been contemplating pre-ordering a pair with the Gnome's Naturals buy. Now to choose a color...suggestions??