Woolzies Review & Giveaway

Pin It Now!

Before I gave birth to my son and began using cloth diapers, I had what most would consider a normal laundry routine.  I used fabric softener and dryer sheets.  I thought that was what you had to use.

When I began researching cloth diapers and how to clean them, I learned a lot about natural laundry methods.  I soon replaced my fabric softener with white vinegar after reading that commercial fabric softeners build up on fabrics.  This is bad news for cloth diapers because it can actually cause them to repel rather than absorb.

Doing away with my beloved dryer sheets was a bit more difficult.  What could possibly help with static caused by the dryer?

Enter: Woolzies Dryer Balls

These are amazing.  Woolzies are handmade wool balls that you use as you dry your laundry.  I was surprised at how well they reduced static.  I've used other dryer balls in the past, but none of them ever cut static like Woolzies do.  While they help cut static, they also soften your laundry, making them a great replacement for fabric softener.

I have also noticed that Woolzies have reduced the amount of time it takes my clothes to dry.  According to their website, Woolzies can reduce drying time by 25-40%!  This has been especially true for my cloth diapers.  My overnight diapers used to still be damp after running the cycle on high heat.  Using Woolzies they come out of the dryer completely dry.  That fact alone is enough to keep using them considering the rising cost of utilities.

My favorite thing about Woolzies is that they are eco-friendly.  They are made of wool from New Zealand sheep.  They aren't full of potentially toxic chemicals like fabric softeners and dryer sheets.  This makes me feel better because I have a young son.  I like knowing that I'm not putting chemicals and toxins on his skin through his clothes.

Want to try Woolzies for yourself?  You can purchase a six-pack here here for $35.99.

Or you could enter for a chance to win them for yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was provided a set of Woolzies for the purpose of this review.  However, all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Pin It Now!

Happy birthday to my incredible husband, Michael!

Happy 28th to my best friend and the best Daddy ever!

I Love My Husband :)

Pin It Now!

It goes without saying that I love my husband.  He is the man I have chosen to spend my life with.  He is the man I have chosen to be the father of my children (we make beautiful babies).  Here is a brief list of things I love about him.

1.  He is a great provider.

2.  He has a great work ethic.

3.  He is funny.

4.  He is a wonderful father.

5.  And this:

Did you just pee a little?  

I opened PhotoBooth on my Mac and found these four little gems staring back at me.  He had a similar photo of me posted on Facebook for the longest time, so I think it's only fitting that I share these.

I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

Have a fantastic weekend :)

Gene's New Toy

Pin It Now!

We bought Gene a tunnel a couple of months ago.  He didn't seem to notice it at first, but over the last week, he suddenly started playing in it all the time.  He will sit in one end for a minute and then take off crawling to the other end.  It also has mesh windows.  He looks for me through the windows and giggles.

Lucky for all of you, I have a video clip of him laughing and playing in his tunnel.  I'm sure you will agree that he's pretty much the cutest baby boy.  Ever.

PS -- I've created a YouTube channel for my blog!  Maybe one of these days I'll do video reviews or random vlogs.  We'll see!

100 Followers Giveaway WINNER

Pin It Now! The 100 Follower Giveaway ended last night and the winner has been emailed.

Congratulations to Mary Ann {@LilMondu}!!!

Mary Ann will receive the following prizes:

~ $10 Target gift card

~$10 Cheerful Homemaker on Etsy gift card

Congratulations to the winner!

Pinned it. Baked it.

Pin It Now!

All of the recipes I have pinned lately seem to be desserts.  Shocker, right?  The food presentations of some blogs is so enticing that you can't help but pin it.  I mean, if the pictures look that good, the taste must be amazing.

I ran across a recipe for Butterfinger Blondies on Six Sisters' Stuff and knew I had to try it.  Fortunately I have a husband whose employees are more than willing to taste my yummy creations.  Thank goodness, otherwise all of my pants would be too small. :)

{via}

If you are looking for a new dessert recipe to try, I highly recommend this one.  The texture of the blondie is fantastic and the Butterfingers add just the right crunch.  The Butterfinger buttercream on top?  Heaven!

What new recipes have you tried lately?

A Quilt for Baby Blake

Pin It Now!

A couple of months ago, my friend Sonya was oohing and aahing over all of the cute dresses in my Etsy shop.  She had a friend who was expecting a baby, but they didn't know if it was a boy or a girl.  She was hoping it was a girl so she could order a couple of my dresses.  Instead, her friends were blessed with a baby boy.

With dresses no longer an option, we started to discuss possible sewing projects for a baby boy.  Her friends are huge Chicago Cubs fans, so we finally settled on a baseball-themed quilt with the baby's name on the front.  

I found a great baseball print on a navy background that I used for the front.  I used solid red for the name, the backing, and the binding.  I am really happy with how it turned out.  I think Gene liked it, too.  As I was sewing the binding on (by hand) he kept trying to yank it out of my hands to snuggle with it.  I may have to make him one for Christmas.

Without further ado, here is baby Blake's baseball blanket (hello, alliteration!):

{look closely and you can see Sonya!}

If you are interested in ordering one of your own, email me.

9 Months

Pin It Now!

I know I say this every month, but I seriously cannot believe that my sweet little man is already 9 months old!

Dear Gene,

You have been a busy baby over the last month.

You are finally crawling on your hands and knees.  For the last three months you've been army crawling and scooting around on your belly.  You are able to get almost anywhere you want now.  Instead of just pulling up on the furniture, you are pulling up with toys in your hands.  You love to bring your blocks up on the couch and smack them together.  You hold on less and less, which makes me think you may start walking soon.

You love to eat food!  You still take three bottles a day, plus a small bottle before bed.  You love trying new foods.  This month you tried your first non-pureed foods.  You love Cheerios and Goldfish crackers.  We have to watch closely, though, because you will shove the Goldfish far into your mouth and we don't want you to choke!  

You now have five teeth!  You cut the top two middle teeth a few weeks ago.  Just this week you cut a third tooth on the bottom.  One drawback to all of these teeth?  You've started biting!  You only seem to bite me, though.  Hopefully you break this habit.  Soon.

You just started swimming lessons at the Y.  You love being in the water.  Your favorite part was "jumping" into the pool and splashing in the water.  I hope that you continue to enjoy being in the pool.

In the last month you also had your first boo boo and first trip to the emergency room.  It was a scary few hours, but nothing compared to your first stomach bug that followed.  We wished that we were the ones feeling ill instead of you.  If I had my way, you will never vomit again.  I know that's not likely, though. :P

You are seriously the happiest baby I have ever seen.  You're so easy-going and laid back.  You're fine snuggling on the sofa or playing on the floor with your toys.  You give the sweetest hugs and kisses.  I love you so much!

Totally Random Wednesday

Pin It Now!

~ I can't believe it's Wednesday already!  Not that the days of the week matter so much right now.  The days and weeks are just flying by.

~ My sweet baby will be 9 months old tomorrow.  I can hardly believe it.  Gone is my tiny newborn.  In his place is an ornery baby who is always on the move and gets into everything.  He is still as sweet and happy as can be, though.

~ Speaking of tomorrow, Gene starts swimming lessons tomorrow at the Y!  I'm not thrilled about having to put on a swimsuit, but I think he will really enjoy the pool.  I'm excited to see how he reacts to being in so much water.

~ We went to Sam's Club the other day.  While Michael was checking out manly stuff (TVs), I put his sunglasses on Gene.  I think he's one cool little dude.  What do you think?

{sorry it's blurry. he never stops moving!}

~ We woke up Sunday morning and decided to make the journey up to Bolingbrook to visit my favorite store -- IKEA.  Whenever I walk through the showroom, I always tell myself I could easily live in the tiny apartments they have set up.  Then I come home and am smacked in the face by reality. :)  Anyway, while we were up there we bought a new dresser.  I've had the same tiny dresser I bought used in 2005.  We bought the Hemnes six-drawer dresser.  It's enormous compared to the old one.  I love it. 

~ An old friend back in Missouri sent me a photo of her sweet baby girl wearing one of the dresses I made!  Baby June is adorable.

~ I recently took a photo of my cloth diaper stash.  This is probably 2/3 of them.  I love the bright colors and prints!

~ Have you entered my GIVEAWAY yet?  There's still time!  Entries are low, so your chances of winning are high!

Baby or Puppy?

Pin It Now!

Gene seems to be confused as to what species he belongs to.  He watches the dogs all day and seems to be emulating their behavior.  He walks on all fours.  He doesn't use the toilet.  He bites.  Oh, and he growls.

Yes, my sweet baby boy growls like a dog.  It's kind of the cutest thing ever.  He even growls 'mama' once in a while.

Here's a video of my precious puppy baby in action. :)

**I was telling him 'no' because he was biting the sofa.

100 Followers & a Giveaway!

Pin It Now!

I finally reached my first big blogging milestone -- 100 Followers!

I actually got my 100th follower a couple of weeks ago but am just now getting around to having my giveaway.  Thank you baby stomach bug!

As a Thank You to all of my readers, I'm offering the following prizes to one winner:

$10 Target gift card!

$10 Cheerful Homemaker on Etsy gift card!

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter form below.  Only the first option is mandatory, the rest are optional.

Since only one person can win the big prize, I wanted to thank the rest of you with a discount to Cheerful Homemaker on Etsy.

Use the code 100Follow for 10% off any purchase through August 16th!

Thank you so much to all of my readers. I love all of the friends I've made over the last few years!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Did You Notice?

Pin It Now!

**If you're reading this via Google Reader, this won't make any sense.  Click over to my blog to understand!**

I'm finally coming out of my blog funk and am making some changes to Cheerful Homemaker.  If you look closely, you'll see that I have added a sponsor tab to the top of the page.  I am now accepting sponsors.

If you click on the tab, you will see prices, sizes, and guidelines.  I am using Passionfruit Ads which makes buying ad space incredibly simple.  Instead of e-mailing me about advertising at the beginning of the month, you can buy ad space at any time.  Your ad will run for 30 days, regardless of what time of the month you made your purchase.

My ads are really affordable.  To make those prices even better, I'm offering a "Grand Opening" discount, so to speak.  Get 50% off already low ad prices with the code BrandNew50 through July 19th!

Looking to trade ad space or sponsor a review or giveaway?  Send me an e-mail.

Guest Post

Pin It Now!

I wrote a guest post over at Little Woman Little Home today since she's off on her honeymoon.  Go check it out!

{source}

Stalking

Pin It Now!

In the world of cloth diapers there are the regular, retail diapers and then there are boutique diapers.  These are often made by moms working out of their homes.  Some stock their shops as they finish a diaper and others stock everything at once.

Chelory is a boutique diaper maker who stocks everything at the same time.  I've heard wonderful things about these diapers, which makes them very sought after.  The diapers sell out quickly once they are made available to purchase. 

This week my tweep Joann wanted to try and buy a Chelory AIO.  A few of us agreed to help her try and get the diaper (also known as stalking).

Waiting for the diapers to be available was like Black Friday.  Being my first time, I was definitely nervous.  What if I choked and forgot to click the button, adding it to my cart?  

The rush was worth it.  I am happy to report that my friend was able to purchase her diaper.  The great thing about stalking is that you get the rush of the buy without spending the money. :)

What do you think of boutique diapers?  Have you ever tried any of the big names?  Chelory, Goodmama, Tiny Tush?

Happy Birthday, America!

Pin It Now!

What a Week!

Pin It Now!

This has been a rough week for Gene.  He cut tooth #4, took his first trip to the emergency room, and got his first stomach bug.

Like I said, it's been quite the week.

Let me back up.

Our house was built in 1919.  We don't have central air or heat.  We have metal radiators to heat each room.  

Anyway, back to the story.  Gene discovered the stairs last week.  We have a baby gate on the bottom step, but Gene can still stand on the step and likes to hold onto the gate.  

On Friday I caught him on the step and got up to get him.  He lost his balance and fell backward.  In doing so, he hit his head on the radiator knob.  We were both horrified and kept an eye on him the rest of the evening.  

Around midnight he woke up fussing.  Knowing he likely had a whopper of a headache, I brought him to bed to snuggle.  A few minutes later, I was covered in vomit.  Since he had hit his head pretty hard, we became concerned.  After a call to the ER nurse, we put him in the car and headed out.

Taking an infant to the emergency room is not fun.  He had a CT scan, x-rays, and a blood draw.  At one point the nurse gave him more Tylenol for his fever, but he threw it up a few minutes later.

Fortunately he was able to keep fluids down a while later, otherwise they would have kept him to give him fluids.  

It was a long night, but we finally made it home around 3:45AM and tucked ourselves into bed.  

While at the hospital, we heard several people mention a stomach bug that has been going around and wondered if Gene had caught it.

Saturday confirmed our fears.  Gene was fussy and wanted to snuggle and nap ALL day.  Michael and I took turns snuggling with him.  Around 9:30PM, he began vomiting again.  It wasn't fun.  We felt so bad for our little man, wishing we were sick instead of him.

Sunday he did play quite a bit, but he still wanted to spend most of the day snuggling.  Now it's Monday morning and I am happy to report there has been no more vomit since Saturday night.  He woke me up at 6AM and is now happily playing on the floor.  I am hoping the worst is behind us and that he is feeling better.

Having a sick baby is not fun.  :(

{sick baby on Sunday}