Kind of Off the Grid

Once again, several months have passed without a post. It seems like we are busy with the same old nothing.
J and T celebrated their birthdays in August. We had a great birthday party complete with a Fire Engine Bounce House. Our neighbor made a delicious cake for the celebration. We all had a fantastic time! I can't believe that T already has a birthday party under his belt.

 Fun in the bounce house - flashing the big "3" 

 T wasn't a huge fan of cake. So anticlimactic!

September's big news was our evacuation due to the flooding. It began up in the foothills and mountains, and being that we're a good 45-60 minute drive away from that area, I thought we were fine. I was surely surprised to be notified by authorities at around 3:00 on a lazy day that we were under mandatory evacuations. Long story short, we stayed home that night ... for a while ... until the authorities drove through the neighborhood with sirens and horns yelling "Get out now! Flood Imminent!" So, we frantically packed up the kids, ourselves, the dog, and any piece of clothing and important items we could grab in 2 minutes time and left. We stayed a night in a hotel and then stayed with family for another night. We were happy to be safe but overwhelmed at the idea that our new home could be compromised. We were so blessed to have absolutely no water damage here and have things end so well. Thankfully, we feel pretty good about how the house was built and the flood mitigation that was done. Hopefully in the time we're here, there won't be another 500 year flood or worse.

 An aerial of our neighborhood. The Big Thompson River at the bottom of the image and our home is on the right.

The lazy day that was before the evacuation

October doesn't hold many memorable events but Halloween. J was "Daniel Tiger" from the PBS program (although after all of the modifications we had to make for a picky toddler, he looked a little more like a cat in a sweat suit). T wore a hand-me-down costume from J of a video game character "Wheatley". It was cold and windy, so he looked more like a baby in a coat and hat. While we live in a neighborhood of young families, the trick-or-treating was a little disappointing. Everyone seemed to be out with their own kids and so most people just had a bucket of candy on the front step. Bummer...

 T's pumpkin

J's Halloween design

Thanksgiving came and went and I didn't, AGAIN, take a single picture of my kids. UGH! I must get better at this whole "capturing important memories" thing. We had a nice time with family and some delicious food. We did not host this year and while I miss the leftovers, I'm glad that it was pretty low key.

We look forward to the Christmas season and what 2014 has to bring.

Some cute kid things:
J:
-Picked up a phone in a waiting room at my work and dialed a phone number randomly. He had a nice 5 minute long conversation with a man named Mark while I worked on scheduling with a coworker. He proudly told me "I like Mark. Mark is my friend." I thought he had discovered an imaginary friend. Boy was I put in my place when I had the opportunity to explain J's phone call to Mark on the phone.
- He likes to have Mommy and Daddy get married at night. This usually involves me wearing high heels and holding Daddy's hand.
- He saw a 6 sided Wheat Thin and exclaimed, "Mommy, this cracker is a hexagon!" WHAT?! Where did he learn that?...because Lord knows I didn't teach him that. I mean, I planned to teach him that, but ... not when he's 3.

T:
-Talking up a storm just like his brother. Most of this chatter goes on while his brother is sleeping. He says things like... stairs, more, all done, get it, come up, mommy, daddy, truck, car, train, plane, bottle, night night, blanket, jump, run, fast, touchdown, Broncos, football, basketball, "what?!", funny, ...you know, a long list of boy things.
- He loves to have races with cars. Have races with his brother. Jump. Run in circles. And read.
- He has a six pack. I don't know where he got that because it surely doesn't come from his parents, but go muscles!! He's incredibly strong and has serious muscle definition. It blows my mind!
- He is a cuddle bug. He loves to give hugs and kisses and just snuggle. He is a kind soul and it melts my heart.

7 months worth of updates? No problem...

Yeah, so I sort of forgot about this blog until recently. Whoops. I'm sure the entire universe was freaking out so I really thought I should calm everyone down by providing can't-put-it-down style of blog post.

These last several months have been filled with two ever-changing boys who are consistently the highlights and lowlights of my days. They are so funny, clever, smart, strong, sweet and loving. They can also test their boundaries with the rest of them ... well, J tests boundaries. T just doesn't sleep through the night yet.

We have taken a few small trips, mostly to visit family. My grandmother passed away in February after a long and sad, downward path with dementia. I was able to spend a lot of time with her in her last few days, although I wish those last few days had been the Grandma that I remember and not the person she had become. Ross and I were able to go out for the funeral. While I would've loved to make it a family affair, it was best that the kids stayed here. Luckily they had some eager grandparents of their own to hold things together while we were gone. We also took a short jaunt to Florida for my sister's wedding. That was a scary endeavor but ended up working out rather well and I was so glad to be able to be there. And then we went and visited some family back in the midwest just over the 4th of July. All have been very fun, always nice, and of course we were glad to be home each time.

We've...well, I've been slowly working on lots of house projects to turn this house into a home. Every time we have lived somewhere, by the time I got ideas of how I wanted things to look, we were about to move. So this time, I've been able to take my time and really get into some projects I'm proud of. And, thanks to Pinterest, I'm really proud of my DIY capabilities that have been stagnant for quite some time. I like how things are progressing and am excited about my budding ideas of things to come.

Big deal things...we added another member to our family. Penny the dog. We impulsively went to the humane society on a weekend and Ross fell in love with her. In his suave way, he convinced me we should bring her home. We did wait 24 hours though (so not THAT impulsive). The next day we took the boys to meet her to be sure that she did well with them and that they didn't have any weird reactions to her. She has been a lovely addition to our family!

I had to say goodbye to my old vehicle - it was a good one and I had a lot of good times in it. But it just was not as practical for a family of 4 as I had initially thought. It also was getting up in years and beginning to be "off" more than it was "on" so we decided to make the switch. One day while we were just out browsing - I wanted to know exactly what I wanted before I made the switch so I was dead set on doing lots of browsing, test driving and researching - we drove a couple vehicles that I was not that thrilled about. I convinced Ross to look at a minivan. He was not thrilled. I have always wanted a minivan (yes I know, I know...). But once we started looking it through, we were both hooked. So now, we've joined the ranks of the young family with 2 kids, living in a suburban neighborhood where all the houses look mostly the same, driving a minivan, and with a dog. Oh dear... All I can think of is the theme song to that show Weeds ... "little boxes on the hillside...and they all look just the same". Silly as some may think it is, I'm rather happy with it all!

We enjoyed Easter with the kids and did a really fun Easter Egg Hunt at church which J could not get enough of. In April both of the boys were baptized and it was just so special!

J did some classes at the rec center this spring - swimming and gymnastics. He was a huge fan of gymnastics because there is an episode of Curious George doing gymnastics with his buddy Alli. The swimming was not that much of a hit. Often we visited a gymnastics place near us so J could use up all his energy before nap time. The place just opens its doors for toddlers to run and play and try out the equipment. It was awesome. They're closed for the summer but I'm positive we'll go back.

Speaking of summer, our neighborhood pool is open and it's awesome! Last year we didn't go because T made his grand appearance the day we moved in here and put the kibash on any plans we would've had to go. The boys have loved it and so have I!

So onto the boys. J is about to turn 3 and amazes me daily with how quick he is to pick things up. He is  quite the talker and just seems so smart. His current favorites are monster trucks, trains, rockets and cars. He is learning how to recognize letters and the sounds they make. T is about to be 1 already! He started crawling at 6 months, walking at 10 months and is seriously on the move. He is brave and bold and is not afraid to be physical. He is talking some but it doesn't seem like much in comparison to his brother who never stops talking. He says Mama, Dada, Ball, Train, Tree, Chicken, Duck, Lion, Dog, Giraffe, all done, more, and a whole lot of jabbering. They are playing together and it is so sweet and just melts my heart.
Now the pictures. :)

T, the big time sitter at about 4-5 months

Being cute in the bath

Too cute for words

Crawling!

Put his bike helmet on during his nap (backwards)

Playing together in the bath

J showing T what it's like to be a big kid at an Easter Egg Hunt

Cuteness and trouble

Getting so big!

Delving into Diapers

My life is run on a clock of feedings, naps and diapers. Some may find this monotonous...I find it inspiring for a blog post...
For those of us disposable diapering Mom's, I thought a run-down of the different brands could be...well, fun! I've used almost all of the brands that are available to me in stores nearby and of course have something to say about each of them. While a lot of Mom's are choosing cloth diapering (Go Mama's!!!), some still use disposables, and so here's my rundown...

Almost everything about Pampers, I love. The shape of the diapers is pretty "well rounded". There is enough space within the gathers to hold the majority of the bum and keep the mess well contained (with a good application of course). There is enough length to the front and back of the fold to cover the bum sufficiently. I don't have to worry about my kiddo walking around with a plumbers crack. The tabs are strong and don't get caught on clothing and come unattached. They are pretty soft and have a nice fresh smell before use. One downside is the overnight use. While I feel like they do a great job at absorbing 12 hours worth of urine, when really full, the absorbent gel balls can come lose from the diaper and be an immense PAIN to clean off of baby. While rare, the annoyance of it ranks high so it has to be mentioned.
Pampers sensitive have all of these same perks plus the sensitive aspect. I'm not too fond of the mesh lining on the sensitive though. If poops stay in the diaper too long...for those pesky, elusive stink-free ones (yes they CAN happen) or the baby-pooped-at-the-store-and-I-forgot-my-diaper-bag trips...the mesh can stick to baby's bum and be a tad painful at changing time.
The most obvious downside to all Pampers is the cost. While great in a lot of ways, it's hard to justify spending $10 or more extra on a package of diapers when the competitors are good in a lot of ways too.


Huggies to me are just OK. The length from the center fold is superb and definitely doesn't leave a crack to be shown. Their tabs have a lot of give room so I don't feel like I'm having to pull to hard to bring the tab toward the center. Unfortunately the tab strength is not too great and they often come unattached because of a snag on pants or jammies. I find too that a lot of the tabs are folded during packaging and so the unattaching problem comes into play here too - the tabs are folded and then you can't get the entire tab to stick, making it even more susceptible to a snag. The biggest downside to me is that Huggies are made for children with incredibly narrow bottoms! The gathers are too close to the center and there's always a little butt cheek wishing for more coverage. When poorly applied, this becomes an even bigger issue. They hold wetness pretty well but do bulge quite a lot so overnight use is not ideal - they begin to pull away from the body because of the bulge and then more leaking takes place.
Huggies newborn diapers though seem to break the mold here. I love their softness, belly button cut out, and all around ease of use. No complaints with these.
The price for Huggeis generally is very competitive.


Ok, I first was not a fan of Luvs but they've grown on me some. Their price is definitely a HUGE bonus. They're just ok in the softness factor but not super papery like some of the less expensive brands. Luvs tend to be smaller in the waist - the tabs don't seem to have as much give (like Huggies) and so I feel like I'm really working to be sure I get the diaper secured well enough. The width on the bottom is spot on. The length from the fold is middle of the ground. Not super long (like Huggies again) but again, OK. My biggest issue with Luvs is the smell. Once they've had a few wets, Luvs have a very strong urine smell. So while they cost less per diaper, I find myself going through more because of the smell. Now whether that is a down side or not is up to the parent. No one (I think) wants their kiddo to hang in their wetness for too, too long. But if we're in a situation where we can't change a diaper at the moment (or have forgotten the diaper bag like I too often do), it's more annoying because of the smell. They do maintain wetness well and are great for overnight use.


Target brand diapers seem to most closely mimic Huggies. Their softness and fit is pretty similar. They do run small so if your kiddo seems to be in between sizes, this might be a good option. Otherwise, I'd say they share most all comments with Huggies, except the cost which is a bonus. They are a bit more papery in feel than Huggies though.




I used to be a bigger fan of Parent's Choice diapers. Recently they changed their packaging and it seems like also, their diapers. As they are now, the diapers are thin and papery and feel like they won't hold wetness or mess well. However, they do a rather decent job at both. Not that it really matters, but there aren't any colors or images on the pictures so they look more plain. Often the tabs are folded in packaging and the snag and coming unattached becomes an issue here. Since the redesign, the tabs are more difficult to pull open when placing the diaper and can rip off the diaper entirely with a heavier kiddo laying on the diaper. The tabs also seem to need more work for the initial securing. They don't seem to have much of a smell but the thinness comes into play after a mess - sitting in a trash can, the mess becomes more of an issue after sitting. Parent's Choice run big so again, if your kiddo is in between sizes, these can be a good option. Also, the price is good.


Kroger Value or Comforts for Baby is an ok option. Overall these are not my favorite. The tabs don't have much give, they don't last overnight, they don't seem to stay in place and are papery. They'll do in a pinch or if you don't have any other option but I'd say the other generic brands like Walmart and Target would be a better choice. Their price, again, is better but so comparable to other brands, there doesn't seem to be much of a benefit.






Ok, so I expected these to be on par with Comforts for Baby but I have to say that I am IMPRESSED. These are inexpensive but a great diaper. Fit is great - cheeks covered, cracks hidden and tabs are easy to attach and stay attached (sometimes are hard to get off). They absorb wetness and mess and don't have a smell. They last overnight really well. They are soft. They are cheap. They are my top choice for bang for your buck! They run a little big comparatively on the size so again can be a great in-between option.


I know this does not run the list of available diapers out there but these are the ones most readily available. Costco's Kirkland brand is pretty good - they are very similar to Huggies but tend to not have as much top to bottom coverage (ie - crack sightings). I haven't had much experience with the Sam's Club brand to give a full opinion.
Which do you like best? Do you agree?