I know I have written about cloth diapers before.  I used them and loved them.  I am happy to say though that my diaper days are over and I am also very glad to be done with that phase in parenting.  However, recently I did come across a wonderful article for anyone who may be interested in using cloth, or just interested in learning more about cloth diapers.  It’s on the Z Recommends site and it’s titled, “ZRecs Cloth Diaper Showdown”.

I found the article very informative.  It  gives reviews of several types of cloth diapers.  There are all kinds of things considered in the the reviews from price to ease of use.  There are 11 different types of diapers that were looked at and reviewed.

Have fun checking out all the different ways to diaper your infant.  Maybe you’ll even decide to use one of them.

How to remove permanent marker.

In our house, hair brushing has been a nasty task. Our daughter hates it when I get closer than 5 feet from her, if I’m holding a hairbrush. I often catch myself telling her I’ll give her a “treat” if she lets me brush her hair. By “treat” I mean a few M&M candies or a piece of that Easter Candy that never seems to go away.

Lately I have been trying to steer away from giving her treats, but rewards instead. She doesn’t get to choose if she wants her hair brushed because that’s just part of being a girl. But if she sits still I try to reward her with something other than candy. It may seem silly because she is so young, but I don’t want her to get into the habit that I am in of rewarding myself with food. In my opinion, “treats” should be given out just because and not as a reward for doing something. I am not perfect at this yet, but I am trying harder to change this habit I have created. Continued

We’re in the process of getting rid of the high chair at our house.  That means moving to a booster seat for our 2 year old.  I found a booster that seems to be perfect for our situation.  The Cooshie Booster seat is made of a soft foam which secures right to the chair with a snug fit.  I have never owned a Bumbo seat, but it seems to be made of that same type of material.

Since it’s made of this foamy type material, it does not scratch the surface and is super easy to clean. There are no straps to get in the way like other boosters which is very convenient.  It sits right on the chair and stays in place. It’s also very portable and perfect for travel.

Here are just a couple things to consider when thinking about purchasing this item.  It was a bit more money than traditional boosters, costing about $30.  Also, since it has no straps it’s intended for a child who can sit on their own.

I think it will last a long time at our house.  Our 5 year old likes using it so much that we may have to purchase two.

Here are some of the highlights from the last 100 posts.

Team Sports-Are They Ready?:Here’s a small checklist to see if your child is ready to play team sports.

Our Children and the Environment: What can we do to make our children more aware?

Old Crocs Traveling to Needy Places: See how you can help someone else with your old Crocs.

Lookybook.com: Check out children’s books page by page before you buy them.

FreeRice.com: Help solve hunger while playing a fun game that increases your vocabulary.

Here are some fun St. Patrick’s Day coloring pages.

Click Here 

March 8th marks a big day in history for women. I thought it would be fun to do some research on International Women’s day to help celebrate and honor women, as well as take the opportunity to teach our children the importance of women. Here’s a bunch of great information I found.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. It started as a political event, and the holiday blended in the culture of many countries (primarily Russia and the countries of former Soviet bloc). In some celebrations, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love to the women around them in a way somewhat similar to Mother’s Day and St Valentine’s Day mixed together. In others, however, the political and human rights theme as designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. The IWD is also celebrated as the first spring holiday, as in the listed countries the first day of March is considered the first day of the spring season. Continued

As I was reading through the pamphlet that came with our insurance statement, I found some great tips for cooking outdoors.  The sun is starting to peek through the clouds in many areas, and we’ll all be breaking out the grills real soon.  Here are some simple things we can do to reduce the risk of fire or explosion when using our outdoor grills.

• Check the tubes that lead into the burner for anything that may have made it’s way in there over the winter.
• Check all the hoses to make sure they are in good working order.  Cracks, leaks, and holes can lead to a problem.
• Replace scratched or nicked connectors.

All grills produced after 1995 must be equipped with these three safety features.

• A device used to limit the amount of gas flow to the burner in the event of a leak.
• A device to turn the grill off
• A feature that will prevent the flow of gas if the connection between the tank and the grill is not leak proof.

Take the time to check over your grill before you begin using it this year, and enjoy all that awesome food.

I seem to always be in search of things to make my diet healthier.  I am constantly reading about the latest crazes in eating and finding out lots of myths and truths about what we put into our bodies.  It seems that the most successful solutions in my life have been to eat a variety of foods and to use portion control.

I found a great article that was actually pulled from a book entitled The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.  The particular article I read listed 12 superfoods we need to be eating.  The article not only lists the foods, but gives reasons why.  Beans, broccoli, blueberries, and yogurt were all on the list.  Those seem to be some of the more common foods we relate to being healthy, but according to this author, peanut butter is not considered a food just for kids.   It’s packed with omega -3 fatty acids which help with heart disease.

Research is also finding that cocoa is also good for you, if eaten in small quantities.  The article suggests mixing a little into a morning smoothie.  Avocados are said to help increase blood flow, this increasing brain maturity.  Although healthy, avocados are a very high calorie food, and should be eaten as a side dish.

Knowing that I don’t need to eat a salad every meal to be healthy gives me more encouragement to change my eating patterns.  There are a lot of great foods and recipes out there that will help us become and then stay healthy so we can enjoy life.