Would love some insight:

I'm on a quest to find out as much as I can about cloth diapering.

Drum roll, please.... I am going to cloth diaper our little person. Yeah! It seems like a really big undertaking right now. I've read, however, so many encouraging entries of how people "love" cloth diapering, how they save so much money, and how they're so green. Whatever. We're attempting to do it mostly for the sake of our finances - especially since we would like to have a larger family (4-5 kiddos????).

According to what I've read, on average a household would spend $2,500 to $3,000 per kid to diaper them from infancy to potty training in disposable diapers. Cloth diapering, on the other hand, ranges from $300 to $500 for the entire diapering experience! That's a lot of money to save! Not only that but you're able to use the same cloth diapers (if you're thorough in cleaning them and take care of them) with your next kid!

On the flip side, though, some of the money you save with cloth diapers you lose with your water bill. Supposedly it's not a whole lot, but it does make a difference. On average you'll do a load of diapers every 2-3 days. That's not too bad. I think.

So, here's why I'm posting: I need advice! Lots of it. If you've used cloth diapers before and you have some tips, have a favorite brand, have a friend who's used them, know anything about them please share with me! Even if you've found a website that's been helpful. Let me know. I'm hungry for information.

The two types I'm most confused and interested in are pre-folds with covers and pocket diapers. What's the difference? Which one is easiest to use? Which one is more economical? How many times (in a day) can you use the same diaper?

You are the Titus 2 women that I need to learn from! Please share the wisdom you've been given!

Thanks, Everybody!!!!

Coming soon...

Right now (with my limited burst of energy) I'm cleaning up the house so I can take pics of our abode. Sorry it's taken so long! Our camera broke while I was on the road (trying to capture the absolutely stunning countryside in Roscoe, TX). So now it's fixed and I'm taking pics again.

Miss you all! Hope everybody is doing well!

It's the weekend!

Hurrah! I am having a very lazy day. I love it. You know when you've been going and going and you finally slow down and realize you're tired? That's me. I've been cleaning and helping friends move and getting things settled in the house so my time apart from Michael is smoother. I know it's not a whole lot of work, but my body get tired much faster than it ever has. I'm pooped!

So today, I'm bein' lazy. :) Hanging out in my pjs. Eating leftovers. Relaxing. Aah.


Oh! For all of my crafty friends, if you sign up as a member (free) with Michael's Arts and Crafts they'll e-mail you sales and coupons! I've received coupons from 10% upto 50%! I love it!

All better.

Before: Aweful.

After: Much classier (is that a word?)

Our little peanut is no longer the size of a peanut. He/She's the size of a lemon now! Yeah!

I just love this print!

Then and Now

The first pic is from a cutey photo shoot my mom did when we started dating the second time. I'm obviously too thin.

The second pic is me almost exactly one year ago on our honeymoon. Happiness makes you put on a little weight... I wasn't quite as skinny as in the first pic.

This is me now. Yeah. I've put on a little weight. :) Happily, though. By the way, the pants in the first two pictures... I can't get them around my hips now. If that gives you a point of reference.

For those of you who don't know me terribly well, this post was harder for me to write. I very much struggled with my perception of myself and viewed myself through what I thought others were thinking. And, yes, I was way too skinny. That was not intentional. I used to be much heavier than the first picture but I never gained back the weight I lost with Celiacs. Until now! I'm now 1lb away from my goal weight and looking forward to surpassing my goal weight very soon. :)

One year of marriage

Sorry this post is kind of late. Sunday was our first year anniversary! A year! I can hardly believe it. A year ago Sunday I pledged my heart to the love of my life, the prince of my dreams, the awesome man God set aside for me. I'm one lucky girl.

As I was reflecting on our wedding day so many other things came to mind as well. This past year was B-U-S-Y.

March 15th - Got Married (Yippee!)

Honeymoon in Italy
Moved into Michael's bachelor pad

Went to 3 or 4 weddings that summer

I turned 20
I changed my major from Elementary Ed to Nursing
Michael had 4-5 mini (1-2 weeks) deployments from the end of July to the beginning of Sept
Vacation in Texas with Mom and Dad P
Bought our bedroom furniture (finally)
2nd week of September - Both of our bathrooms flooded. TWICE.
From Sept to Dec we worked on our house:

1. Completely revamped both bathrooms (floors, vanities, sinks, mirrors, paint)
2. Painted the hall, kitchen, bathrooms and foyer (thanks, Mom, Dad, Jimmy, and Gracie)
3. Dug a new irrigation system on the side of the house (thanks, Dad)
4. Our fireplace flooded (4 days before the tenants had their walk-through)
5. Replaced flooring in foyer, bathrooms, and kitchen (awesome job, Michael and Dad)
6. Cleaned our windows (huge feat - Thanks, Mom, Joy and Kimi)
7. Fixed our garage leak
8. Replaced the fitting around the garage door
9. Replaced most electrical outlets/switches
10. Replaced the blinds (Thanks, Dad)
11. And finally, made at least 100 trips to Home Depot and Gino's Pizzeria

Flew to CO to see David and Kara get hitched - absolutely beautiful!
Got a renter! Yeah!
Blew up my first gingerbread house
Said goodbye to family and friends in VA :( Miss everyone!
Drove halfway across the country to Texas
Spent some time with our Texas family and friends
Drove the rest of the way across the country to Las Vegas
Found a house
Moved into our house
Found out I am pregnant (same week)
Had David, Kahlib and Megan in (separate visits) Thanks, guys!
Found a church (that doesn't sing "I Believe I can fly")
Went to San Francisco and stayed with Aunt Lynn and Uncle Joe (Thank you! Awesome time!)
Bought our first hookah (no relation to a bong - well, not really)
Smoked our hookah (Barely - Peanut's fault)
Bought a new computer (I smuggled my way into keeping it - Sorry, Michael)
And saw my husband off to Albuquerque, NM for four months

If I'm missing anything, it's because my brain is fried from this list. Yeah. If I had been told ahead of time that we would do all of this, I would have laughed at you, called you crazy, and then cried from the stress of the list.

I'm hoping this year will be a little quieter. At least till September. Then it's Mommy time. (Meaning I'll be a mommy, not I'll have time for myself. Oh how far from the truth that will be.) I'm looking forward to what the Lord has in store for our growing family. He has certainly brought us through a busy year, and at the end of it I am more in love with my husband, more in awe of how perfectly God has formed Michael for me and I for him - strengths and weaknesses, more aware of the Lord's hand in my life, and less likely to make "plans" - as obviously God completely side-swipes them, thankfully.

Our little peanut

Yesterday I got to hear the baby's fast heartbeat and see our little one on the ultrasound. It was so amazing to get to see this little human bouncing around in me. It definitely brought me back to the reality that we're having a baby.

I know that sounds weird, but hear me out. This pregnancy was a complete surprise for Michael and I. Our "plan" (I say that very loosely) was to wait 3 to 5 years till we started a family. I wanted to get through Nursing school and work for a little while, and Michael wanted to enjoy being "marred" before he embarked on a new season of life.

So when the little stick said pregnant... well... I was shocked. Maybe a little bummed, to be completely and transparently honest. Definitely reevaluating how our life was strategically planned out. So we proceeded to call our families and friends with the news, mostly to be encouraged that this was a wonderful new season we were walking into.

Two months later. I've finally gotten over all-day sickness, still tired, and seeing my body grow in places it never has before. :) I'm excited that I'm pregnant. Haven't really digested that I'm a very soon-to-be Mom.

That is until the ultrasound. BAM! There's that little one on the screen. It looks like a human (no alien or reptile resemblance anymore). It moves. A lot. Jumping up and down. I see it's feet and toes and little arms and head and eyelids. It's a baby! And this little one will be under our care, protection, loving, guiding, mentoring, disciplining, hugging, kissing, and teaching (among many other things that I'm sure I haven't mentioned) in just a few short months.

Wow. That's a lot to digest. I'm going to be a mom. This little ankle-biter is mine.

But what's more amazing, is the grace I see the Lord give me to walk through this. I see him fashioning me into a mom. He's been putting wonderful moms into my life to encourage me. He's given me the support of an excellent husband. He's giving me the strength to raise this child with out the continual presence of my husband, 'cause I will definitely need it. He's getting me excited. He's providing resources to learn what I need to learn. And He's given me two awesome Moms to pray for me, encourage me, be excited with me, give instruction to me, and to give the wisdom that comes with raising 3 kids of their own.

I'm a blessed woman. Lord, thank you. Please continue to encourage me and excite my heart as this child is growing in me. Fashion me into the mom you want me to be. Amen.

We're back

After an absolutely awesome time with my San Francisco family Michael and I are back home. We spent the entire weekend exploring SF, Berkley, the Jelly Belly Factory, and just hanging out. I really needed to see family. It was good to just kick my shoes off (my boots to be exact) and relax and feel the love of family. We got to celebrate my cousin Ryan's birthday (14!!!) and Aunt Lynn's birthday (we won't go there...). It was awsome.

But now I'm back to reality. Cleaning up from our trip, looking for damage after our area was hit with an earthquake last weekend (2.5!), and getting exited about my doctors visit tomorrow. Just to give everyone forwarning, I will not be answering my phone after my Dr. visit (I'll be tempted to tell you all about it before I've even told Michael), to honor my husband with the details of how the visit first went (especially because he can't be there). Just hang in there. You'll hear soon enough how it went.

Other than that, our lives remain normal. I've already gained about 8lbs since I found out I was pregnant (yipee!), I do have a little belly, but I don't have pics 'cause our camera is still broken and we need to get a new one for me.

For those of you who haven't heard, I will be in Virginia Beach from April 8th to the 20th!!! I would love to get together with everyone, but my time is slightly limited so please be understanding if I can't be in 5 places at once. Hoping to see most of you soon!

According to my mom, 35 days and counting! :)