Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Green Mama Blog Hop ~ Week 1


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Welcome to the 1st week of the (revised) Green Mama Blog Hop!

Please only join this hop if you deem your blog as 'green'. It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or if you're a pro.. this Green Mama Blog Hop is for you!

My goal is to have more and more people join each week! But that can't happen without your help. If you could please post the button on your blog, as well as in a post, that would be great! Thanks so much for your involvement! I want us 'Green Mamas' to befriend each other and be there for questions or support.








~Lovely Hostesses~










Each week, starting next week, there will be a fifth, Featured Blog to be followed as well. To qualify to be the Featured Blog, you will need to participate in all of the guidelines. I will pick one at random from all qualifiers. I will email you the Monday before the Hop, if you are chosen.




Hopping Guidelines:




MANDATORY:


* Add your blog's home page to the Linky list! I will be monitoring the blogs to make sure we only have 'green', family-friendly blogs involved.




* Follow the 4 hosts and the blog ahead of yours. Make sure to leave comments on each of the blog so they can follow you back! The more you follow, the more will follow you back!




OPTIONAL:


(You don't have to do these to enter the hop, but you must do both to qualify for the Featured Blog position)




* Grab the new Green Mama Blog Hop button and place it on your home page.




* Put the button into a post on your blog. Then leave a comment on this Hop post with the link.






This hop will open each Tuesday night and will be open all week. It will start over each week, so keep coming back each week to enter!






Welcome to the Green Mama Blog Hop! Enjoy!






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Monday, January 10, 2011

I AM MOVING TO WORDPRESS!

While Google is transferring my domain name - you can also find my blog at:

http://www.familylifeinlv.com

Jessica at the Pixelista has put in countless hours to make this switch, and redesign work!  I hope you all like it as much as I do!!

I have a new Header and Button over there thanks to Jumping Jax Designs!  I hope you will all make the big switch over there!  Don't forget to subscribe to my emails, and RSS me at the new address!  :)


LOVE and PEACE OUT BLOGGER!!

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Sunday, January 9, 2011

Tales from the Scale ~ Week 8 #NSNation

I am finally finding a groove.  Since starting Nutrisystem I have been plagued by self-doubt, (which led to cheating with food, since I am an emotional eater) temptation foods by others in my household, (not their fault at all) and stress in my everyday life.  Add to that that I am still having insomnia problems, (which leads to late night eating) and it is no wonder I haven't been doing very well on this program.

But no more!  I have really been trying to stick to my program and using  the amazing support system provided by Nutrisystem.  And you know what?  It is working!!

I was going to show you via VLOG what a typical day of food looked like, but I kept forgetting to tape my food before I ate it!!  LOL!  So I am going to still post the Vlog of my typical breakfast.  And then in the weeks to come I will tape other meals to share with you.  

One of the best parts of this program is the food.  I have definitely found favorites, and even tried things I wouldn't eat prior to starting Nutrisystem.  Please enjoy this vlog of my typical breakfast.





This week I am down 2.8 lbs - for a total loss of 8 LBS!!

Week 1: -3.0 lbs
Week2: +0.6lbs
Week3: -1.2lbs
Week 4: -0.8lbs
Week 5: 0.0lbs
Week 6: Bye-week
Week 7: -0.8lbs Out of the 190s!!
Week 8:  -2.8lbs
Total Lost : 8lbs

If you are interested in learning more about Nutrisystem, or want to join, you can do so HERE or call 800-853-4689. All products have been provided to me free of charge as a selected blogger of the Nutrisystem Nation Blogger Program. My opinions are 100% honest and my own and my differ from yours. No monetary compensation was given for my opinion.

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Saturday, January 8, 2011

You know you are a Mother when...

Just a few moments you never envisioned your life having until you became a mom.

You Know You Are A Mother When:

Getting Peed on is the least of your worries.

Silence is no longer Golden.  In fact it usually means bad bad things.

You wake up humming the tune to the Wiggles.

You are bathing your child, when they turn to you and hand you a turd, complete with a "Here you Go."

You talk more about poop then your local Proctologist.

You spend most of your life trying not to look like a fool, but now you could care less who stares at you while you make weird noises in the grocery story to entertain you child.

You can come up with 10 creative uses to keep your child entertained using only a cardboard box, a book, and a car.

You buy more shoes for your little one then you ever have for yourself.

You are lucky to get through a day without boogers, drool, food, or various other arrangements on your clothing.  *And usually you don't notice that it is there until after you get home from a rare moment out on your own.

None of that really matters because you couldn't be happier, whether you are handling baby turds, covered in slime, or dancing like a fool in public - everyday seems to be better then the last - and the mamas, kisses, smiles, and hugs are worth their weight in, well, parenting.

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Friday, January 7, 2011

Why I use a Cloth Diaper Service

The day got ahead of me BIG TIME.  I wrote this for a guest spot on Greening Sam and Avery (thanks again Abbie for having me), but I thought I would share this again here. 

Why I use a cloth diaper service.

Hi, my name is Emily and I use a cloth diaper service.  No, I am not lazy, no, I am not rich, and yes, I did my homework.

When Squishy was 4 weeks old, the Hubs and I went to a 4th of July celebration in the park.  We sat down, and while the Hubs stayed with the baby, I went off to get some food.  When I came back there was another young couple with a baby close to Squishy’s age.  My Hubs told me that they owned a cloth diaper service.  We talked a bit about that, I took their card, and pretty much woke up the next day and started researching cloth diapering.

I guess I didn’t look into it before I had Squishy, because I thought it was all rubber pants and safety pins.  Little did I know there was a whole world of cloth diapers out there.  My Hubs is a stats kind of guy.  He wanted to know the black and white of it.  So I researched, and posted on a community board.  Everyone told me diaper services were a waste of money, and was the lazy person’s way to cloth diaper.  But if that was the case, why was what I was reading was telling me differently?  Here is why using a cloth diaper service was the best option for us.

ENVIRONMENT:
Using a diaper service is one of the greenest ways to cloth diaper.  The services use extremely high efficiency machines.  They use less water and waste less fuel by washing a lot of diapers at once. They use a specifically formulated soap system, and a PH-balanced wash cycle that is more extensive than those used for hospital linens.  The soaps are fragrance free, biodegradable, and phosphate free.

The routes are designed and laid out to use the least amount of driving time and gas possible.  Water where I live is getting to be pretty scarce, and isn’t exactly cheap.  In fact I don’t ever remember paying near as much for water in Chicago as we do in Las Vegas.  By using a service I feel we are really reducing our carbon footprint as best we can in the area we live.

CONVENIENCE:
Not laziness.  My husband is deployed frequently for his job.  And until recently we didn’t have any family in the area.  We were both worried that there would be days were I wouldn’t be feeling well, or Squish would need extra attention, and laundry would be the last thing on my mind.  While I can always find another outfit for us to wear, not having a clean diaper is a bit of an issue.  Yes, this wouldn’t happen all the time, but it was a thought.  Also as a single mom 1/3 – 1/2 of the year, I honestly knew I was going to have enough on my plate, adding washing diapers to that list could have easily put me over.

MONEY:
Yes, washing your own cloth diapers is the most cost effective way to cloth diaper, but using a service will save you money.  Typically, children who are cloth diapered potty train up to a year earlier than children who wear disposables.  And in the beginning when they are first born, it seems like they poop every two minutes.  So you are in essence saving money at the beginning and end of your diapering days.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS:
I really liked the fact that the company was run by a husband and wife team.  I liked that they saw a need for something, and got it taken care of.  I liked talking to them, and the way the answered my questions.  I liked the fact that our money was going to a locally owned business instead of somewhere ½ way around the world.

THE EMILY FACTOR:
I may or may not be known to start something and then decide it isn’t right for me.  I know – it is an awful personality trait.  I wish I wasn’t known for that, but I am.  So the Hubs wasn’t ready to shell out a whole bunch of money to start a stash only to find out that CDing wasn’t something we were going to be able/want to do full time or at all.  So it made sense to at least try the service since it was the least expensive way to go.  Yes, there are places that have trials of different kinds of cloth diapers for you to use.  But honestly, two weeks isn’t enough time for me to decide if I like something or not.  If I love it, I know right away, but if I am unsure, it takes time to figure out why. 

These were the reasons we decided to go with the diaper service, there were smaller reasons too, but these 4 was enough black and white to make the decision.  And let me tell you, I am so glad we did. 

The company delivers the diapers in a biodegradable trash bag, which we than use to line the diaper pail. The diapers come off, and go right into the pail.  No rinsing or soaking, no extra work for us.  They do get a little stinky towards the end of the week, but I just pop an extra biodegradable, completely edible deodorizing disk in, and no more stinky. 

The diapers are delivered right to our front door in the middle of the night.  Put the old ones out, and new ones magically appear.  It’s like the diaper fairy comes and hauls away the poop so you don’t have to. 
If we ever need more diapers, they get delivered with in 24 hours, no charge.  If we have any issues, like my heavy wetter issue, they have worked with us to find a solution.

They also recycle the diapers after they have been used too many times, or have stains.  They are sold to housekeeping business, or car washes, and many other businesses to repurpose.
I have not yet had one complaint about our diaper service.  We absolutely made the right choice for us, our son, and the environment.  And his bunz are happier as a result of Happi Bunz diaper service, and we are too!





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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Bee Friendly Friday Follow ~ Week 9

Family and Life in Las Vegas




Welcome to the week 9 of Bee Friendly Friday Follow hosted by Crazy About My Baybah and Family and Life of Las Vegas . This hop is all about meeting new bloggy friends. So link up, grab our new button, and Bee Friendly!

Would you like to be our co-host?! It is simple, all you have to do is link up to Bee Friendly! Each week we will use random.org to select a co-host from the previous weeks link-up. We will then contact you to let you know if you have been selected. There is a new list every Friday, so remember to come back and link up with us.


Our featured co-host from last week is Hope from The Life of a Daydreaming Mommy! Bee Friendly, and show her some love!






Here are a few simple guidelines we encourage you to follow:

1. Add your blog to the linky below.
2. Follow the hosts in the #1 and #2 spots, and the co-host in the #3 spot! Leave a comment, and we will follow you back! (Please be sure to leave your blog address too!)
3. Grab our new Bee Friendly button to share the fun.
4. Bee Friendly, and visit the blogs that catch your eye.
5. If you get a new follower, Bee Friendly, and return the love!
Image and video hosting by TinyPicImage and video hosting by TinyPic


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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Toddler Talk ~ Week 22 (Milestones)

Family and Life in Las Vegas




Welcome to week 22 of Toddler Talk Thursday! Where Family and Life in Las Vegas, Crazy about my Baybah, and My Life as a Sippy Cup Mom Talk all things Toddler! We hope you had a wonderful holiday with your family and are enjoying the New Year!

Toddler Talk Thursday was created as a place for moms and dads of toddlers to come together over a weekly topic and share ideas, go-to toys, or products. It is a great way to meet other bloggers of toddlers. Each week the topic will be different; we invite you to link up, share your weekly Toddler Talk!!

Each week the hosts will travel around to each blog that links up, and pick an idea, story, or picture they think was a great example of that weeks topic. In order to qualify for this you need to blog about this week's topic, and follow the hosts. Comments letting us know you are participating are always great too. If we choose your blog, we will link back to your post the following week.

Our highlighted blog this week is:



This week’s topic is :
Share your Toddler's favorite Milestones or Firsts from 2010!

We had a lot of "firsts" in 2010. But I think that the ones that rank up at the top of those lists would be:

The first time Squish gave me a kiss when I asked for one.

Daddy coming home from deployment
(Not a first, but definitely a highlight!)

Squishy's first hair cut

Our first visit to the Minnesota State Fair


Squishy's first steps.


And not a first - more like a last, but the day we stopped breastfeeding. I am thrilled to have made it as long as we did, and it is definitely a day I won't ever forget.



Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts. That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.
2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.
3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up. Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

This link up is for families that have toddlers. Raising a toddler can be fun, crazy, exciting, and exhausting. Sharing what works for you could give other families another way to do things.

Have Fun!


Next weeks topic will be:






Image and video hosting by TinyPicImage and video hosting by TinyPic

Please – Before you Link up – This is NOT A BLOG HOP!! IT IS A MEME FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS OF TODDLERS. If you aren’t going to post specific to this weeks topic, then don’t link up.





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Daily Vegas ~ Snowing in Las Vegas



It didn't last long - but always fun to see.

Wordish Wednesday





Other Wordless Wednesdays:

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