A Mid-meal snack

It finally happened. Patrick's hands found their way into his mouth. Unfortunately, his favorite time to put his fingers in his mouth is when he's supposed to be eating. He just sticks his fingers in his mouth and then grins at me. I'm a sucker for those grins. 

He slept a lot today. This is how he fell asleep for his second nap. Who am I to tell him what's comfortable? I slowly re-situated him once he was asleep. I'm fairly confident Patrick is in a growth spurt. He slept 10 hours straight last night and then went back to sleep for an hour this morning. And he pretty much ate and slept the rest of the day. He woke up, I changed his diaper, he ate, and went back to sleep. I've missed playing with my little guy the past few days. 

I didn't get a chance to get pictures of the new Blueberry diapers today, but the gDiapers arrived today so maybe I'll get a chance to post all three tomorrow. One can hope, at least. I can report that the Blueberry diapers performed as well as the others and I am still extremely happy with Swaddlebees/Blueberry. I think after 6 diapers, I can say Swaddlebees/Blueberry pocket diapers are my favorite. 

I'm always behind the camera, taking pictures. There really aren't many pictures of me and the Little One. Here's a picture of me and the ever-photogenic Patrick hanging out after a nap. And what a wonderful nap it was. It's amazing what sixty minutes can do to perk you up.

So now, my husband is at the bar watching the NFL draft with his friends and the kids are tucked in their bed. What do people do when they don't have families that require direct attention? Well since the internet is being finicky, I think I'll enjoy this free time with a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream and a refreshing bottle of water.

Enjoying My Breakfast For Dinner

My diapers from Ecomom arrived today! Cute blue and green pastel prints. There should be picture tomorrow after I've prewashed them. I am so grateful to be able to have a little bit of income from GPT sites with which we can buy extra things like cloth diapers, e-books, and a new computer when mine died.

Patrick started playing with toys today. I put him in his carrier with a toy clipped to it. He played with it the entire time I was in the shower. Then, I put him in the Exersaucer while I was cooking dinner (turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, grits, and biscuits-yum) and he played with the toys there. My little man is getting so big!

I'm learning as I go, but I love all the new experience I've had this time around. I feel like I've done everything opposite with Patrick as I did with Austin ten years ago. With Austin, I didn't exclusively breastfeed, I used disposable diapers, he was in child care at six weeks old, he never wanted to snuggle (even though that's all he wants to do now). And soon I'll be making my own laundry detergent and baby food. It seems strange to say, but I can't wait. It sounds like more work, but it's fun and saves money.

And I'm so grateful to all my friends who have helped me save/earn money along the way; you know who you all are. From new ways of earning, to code alerts, to sharing coupons.  I wouldn't earn over $100/month (at 10 earning sites) or get all the amazing deals I get. I hope I've helped out a few of you as well. Austin is always asking what I'm doing on Swagbucks and Patrick is usually sitting in my lap. Starting them early!

I'm hoping to start painting the nursery soon. We're only four months behind. Better late than never, I guess. Of course, I have to actually start. I can't wait to decorate with Dr. Seuss. I wonder if I'll have any help?

A Little of This, A Little of That

If you're not doing Jingit, I just don't know why not. I've made $10.00 since Sunday just watching a couple of ads on Walmart.com. What else do I have to do to convince you? Jingit is the easiest money I make.

I've finally reached platinum status at Calyp by pimping out my Twitter (@stokesreagan). I'm totally fine with it; I really only use Twitter for my GPT sites anyway. I've earned over $150.00 at Calyp this year.

I'm very excited about the newest toy I purchased using money I earned online. Anyone want to guess what it is? Here's a hint: it's not cloth diapers. I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of four diapers in transit right now from various retailers. I'm so impatient when it comes to waiting on cloth diapers! 

I can't wait for the weather to decide what it wants to do. Sweaters one day, tank tops the next. Come on, summer! Only a little more than a month left before school's out so it's almost here. 

Patrick  and I took Austin to school this morning since Jonny had to go in to work early (after my mom came over and helped me jump the battery). I went to the Drug Store to eat breakfast with my mom and grandmother as I always do when I take Austin to school. It just so happens there was a Grammy Award-winning group there. I'd never heard of The New Christy Minstrels, but it's cool to be able to say I've eaten breakfast with someone who's won a Grammy. They even sang a little tune for us. It's not quite my type of music, but if you like folk chorus you should enjoy them. Here's the daily pic of the little guy. He's asleep, as I'm sure you can tell. It won't be long before he'll be awake and wanting a diaper change and some nourishment.

Weekend Update

Austin, Jonny, and I (and Patrick) did our first 5k Saturday. It was an amazing turnout. The Dan River Autism Awareness 5k raised over $12,000 its first year. We all had a great time, especially Austin. You know it's a fun time when there are balloon animals. Next year, we'll start earlier and get in on all the festivities. Here's Team Austin, minus Jonny who was in the bathroom at the time.

I've never seen a baby eat so much or go through as many diapers as Patrick. It's a good thing we use cloth diapers. Otherwise, we'd still be buying diapers every other day. Yes, every other day. That's like $7 a day in diapers. I guess a lot of babies probably need diaper changes that often, but Patrick refuses to sit in a wet or dirty diaper, whether it's disposable or cloth. If he starts crying, the first thing we do now is check to see if he needs a diaper change as it's the most likely. He eats every two hours-some times less-and we change his diaper about every thirty minutes unless he's asleep. It's a good thing he sleeps through the night because his daytime schedule wears me out. 

I joined Bing Rewards today. I can't believe how easy it is. It's not going to make me rich, probably $5 per month, at most, but it couldn't be much easier. You get a reward limit each day and you earn 1 point for every two searches up to that limit. My limit was ten today so I searched twenty times. It took me about two minutes. They have a variety of rewards to choose from: Amazon gift cards, Xbox Live subscription, Redbox codes, Hulu Plus subscription, along with others. The $5 Amazon gift card (my go-to reward) is 525 points. If my limit is ten every day, it'll take me less than two months to earn that. I've heard that eight is the lowest limit. If you'd like to give Bing Rewards a try, click HERE. You don't lose anything by giving it a test drive.

Jingit has started a new campaign. In addition to watching video ads on their website and doing check-ins at places like Walmart, they now have ads placed around Walmart.com (with other websites to follow, I hope). You go to Walmart.com, look around their site some, find an ad with the Jingit curl, and click. You'll get a pop-up window with the Jingit homepage and a video ad will appear momentarily. Once the video is finished, money will be added to your balance. Also, if you'll notice, the weekly limits have increased. If you originally had a limit of $5, it has been increased to $10. Through the month of April, there will be three ads available each day. If you're getting $0.50 per ad, you'll meet that limit easily. That's an easy $40 per month. I'm already at $3.00 for the week and my Jingit week starts today. That's $3.00 just today. Not too shabby.

Should You Or Shouldn't You

 I haven't yet addressed the pros and cons on cloth diapering. That might have been a good topic with which to start this series. But since it's too late for that, I'll do it now. Each system has its own pros and cons, but I'm just going into the advantages and disadvantages of cloth diapering as a whole.

PROS

-:Less expensive long-term than disposables, especially as they should last through more than one child

-No middle of the night runs to the store for diapers

-Reduced occurrence of diaper rash than with disposables

-Better for the environment than disposables, especially if line- or air-drying

-Cloth-diapered children tend to be potty-trained earlier than disposable-diapered children

-Less leaks and blow-outs with some choices of cloth diapers

-Made of natural fibers so no toxic chemicals sitting against baby's skin

-Prefolds and flats can be used as rags after diapering is through; pockets, covers, fitteds, and AIOas can be sold or donated

-Less garbage than with disposables

-Much cuter than disposables

Patrick rocking a Grovia All-In-One (AIO)

CONS

-High initial cost with cloth diapers

-More laundry (although diaper services can take care of this for you, for a price)

-More energy usage with cloth-diapering

-Child care provider (or family members) may not be willing to use cloth diapers

-Cloth diapers can be more difficult in public, especially long trips and vacations where they would need to be washed

-More leaks and blow-outs with some choices of cloth diapers

-Baby will need to go up a size due to larger tushy

-There is a learning curve with using cloth diapers

-Cloth diapers have to be changed more often than disposables (But do you really want your baby sitting in waste any longer than necessary?)

-It can be addictive!

And there's no need to worry about stabbing baby with a diaper pin. Below is a picture of Patrick wearing a prefold fastened with a [white] Snappi. Just stretch it across, throw on a cover, and go.

On an unrelated note, you shouldn't wash disposable wipes. They make a giant mess. I've learned this the hard way. My husband keeps accidentally throwing the disposable wipes into the cloth diaper pail. At least every other wash cycle, I'm picking bits and pieces of a disposable wipe out of my washing machine, or worse, my dryer. If you're going to use cloth diapers, I suggest also using cloth wipes. I was hesitant at first. It seemed expensive and unnecessary. But I've changed my mind. You don't need many. I wash my diapers about every other day and I wash my cloth wipes with them. They go in the same laundry pail. 

Cloth Diapering is Girly

Continuing on with the Real Diaper Week theme, it might be surprising but men are capable of changing a cloth diaper. My husband does it every day. No, he doesn't used duct tape and super glue. I don't think. He hasn't yet gotten the hang of stuffing the pockets and hes's still getting the hang of folding a prefold but it works. So far, he's not interested in changing a cloth diaper on-the-go. But that was our compromise: he'd use cloth diapers at home as long as we could do disposable in public. I'm hopeful he'll adapt and get on-board with changing him into cloth in public. I do admit, it's more difficult considering how often I change Patrick in the car or on my lap. Much more difficult with a cloth diaper, but not impossible. 

We use Swaddlebees and Blueberry pocket diapers, Grovia AIOs, and Baby BeeHinds covers with our prefolds. We love the pockets. We use them primarily at night because they are so absorbent. The prefolds are a little more work, but cheaper. We rarely use the prefolds/cover at night as it requires more concentration than we're capable of at 3am. Jonny dislikes the AIOs. They're the easiest-you just take it out the dryer and snap it on, no assembly required-but least absorbent. Patrick doesn't wear these at night because they almost always leaks after a few hours and he sleeps more than six hours straight at night. We use these during the day when I'm changing him as soon as he's wet or dirty. 

Now, where I buy my cloth diapers. The majority of my diapers to this point have been purchased from ecomom. I've found good deals through Plum District and gotten diaper for a fraction of the cost. Ecomom often has sales also. The Black Friday sale was hugely popular-$40 off $100. I highly suggest you check them both out. The remainder of my cloth diapers have been purchased through Amazon using money I've made on various GPT sites.

The Fish King

This is my attempt at blogging while Patrick is asleep. Let's see how it goes, shall we? It's been a pretty eventful day. First off, my mom called at 7:30 this morning and woke Jonny up. Normally, calling and waking someone up isn't appreciated. However, Jonny has to be at work at 8am and Austin has to be at school by 8:05am, and it's a 15-minute drive. They managed to get ready and out the door by 7:45am, which would have given them time to get to their respective destinations in time. If the battery in Jonny's car hadn't been dead. And that would have been manageable if the trunk (where the jumper cables are stored) hadn't refused to open. My jumper cables were still at the old house. It just so happens that I accepted that Patrick wasn't going to go back to sleep this morning and went ahead and got us ready for the day. I took Jonny to work and dropped off Austin. All of this happened before 8:07am. Wow. Patrick and I hung around town for awhile-he pooped, ate, and pooped. Then, I read Good Housekeeping while he took a nap. He woke up and pooped again. I had a meeting with the peer lactation couselor where he was showered with isn't he cute' and 'look how much he's grown' and 'what beautiful eyes'. All very true, of course. The women comment on the cute diaper/onesie combo (Elmo and a red Baby Beehinds cover). I gushed over my pediatrician, Dr. Cates.

It's blurry (Patrick likes to move it, move it), but you get the idea. And, if you'll notice, he's also rocking a Team Austin button in preparation for the Dan River Autism Awareness 5K on Saturday. If you want to come show your support, the race is at Dan Daniel Park in Danville, VA and starts at 10am. Continuing on, after we left the counselor, we grabbed some lunch and picked up Jonny to take him home to get his car. After another nap, it was off to pick up his big brother from school. It's been a long day, especially since Patrick was up most of the night wanting to play.

And if you're interested, no I didn't manage this entire post while Patrick was asleep. Did you really think I would? Now, off I go to check Austin's homework and entertain the Fish King-one of Austin's many nicknames for his little brother.

Real Diaper Week

Today kicks off Real Diaper Week. This is the week when cloth diaper fanatics come out of the woodwork to promote cloth diaper awareness. As an aforementioned cloth diaper fanatic, I want to take this time to say how much I love cloth diapering. I've saved money, it's better for the environment, they're so cute, and Patrick hasn't had a diaper rash since we switched. And it allows me to indulge in shameless shopping. And really, how cute is this bum?

On to some information concerning the exact opposite of parenting. I had the Essure procedure done after Patrick was born. We're done having kids (especially after all the complications while I was pregnant with Patrick) and we wanted permanent birth control. I can't stress enough how much better Essure is than other long-term birth control options. Permanent, no hormones, no surgery, local anesthesia, 24-hour recovery, in-office, minimal pain. If you're considering permanent birth control, I highly suggest you look into this procedure.

I was the hourly winner at 4Loot yesterday and won 150 coins. I wish I had thought to take a screenshot, but I didn't think about it. I was pretty psyched about it. And then today, I managed to get 40 coins from videos. If you do 4Loot, don't forget about the videos. Those things can be pretty lucrative at times.

The buttons for the Dan River Autism Awareness 5k arrived today. Austin was very excited about the 'Team Austin' buttons. I think Patrick and I are going to do the 1-mile instead of the 5k. 3.1 miles is a bit much for a 3-month old that eats, on average, every two hours. If I'm lucky he'll sleep through the 1-mile.

Don't forget, tomorrow is Tax Day! If you haven't filed your taxes yet, make sure you get them in by midnight.

Tax Day is Coming!

Well, if today wasn't Sunday it would be tax day. And as such, I've always celebrate 4/15 as tax day or as I like to call it, Fair Tax Day. It's a day when I try to share with people the wonderful idea that is the Fair Tax. If you're not an American, feel free to skip to the next paragraph as this will not interest you. The Fair Tax is an amazing idea, especially for those of us who enjoy reusing as much as possible-such as hand-me-downs, shopping at Goodwill and yard sales, and borrowing. My family barely ever buys anything new (except food, but a lot of that comes from a garden). With the Fair Tax, you don't pay taxes on your income. Instead you pay taxes on 'new goods'. You wouldn't pay federal taxes on items purchased used. How great is that!?! Hate it that thugs don't pay taxes on stolen money or drug money and are driving around in Hummers? Upset that welfare recipients are purchasing expensive televisions? With the Fair Tax, they would be taxed on those new goods. Click HERE for more information.

And now for an update on my little ones. Patrick is rolling over from his belly to his back like a champ now. And today he sat upright by himself for a prolonged amount of time. We even manage to get a video. Here's a picture of him sitting up all by himself.

I can't believe he's gotten so big. He's three months old already. Austin has been working with Heather on his math lately and is improving. This Saturday is the Dan River Autism Awareness 5k. Austin is really pumped about it. What kid wouldn't be excited to have a 5k team named after him? Go Team Austin! He doesn't know it yet, but I even ordered Team Austin buttons for myself, Jonny, Austin, Tammy, Heather, and whoever else ends up on Team Austin. 

And moving on to GPT sites. I'm testing out quite a few new sites right now. Some I like, some are mediocre. There aren't any I hate right now, so that's a plus. Social Moms is quite lucrative. I managed to earn $20 last month and all you have to do is comment on a few articles, tweet a few articles, and complete the activities in a couple of emails. It couldn't be much easier. And my account doesn't even work correctly! More than half of my points are going to another account and I haven't managed to get them merged yet. Customer service leaves much to be desired, however. I've been in contact with them about the issue for about a month now and, well, basically nothing happens. But I'm still making an easy $20 so it's obviously not too big an issue. I've been playing Booty Slots in my spare time. It's a Facebook application where you can earn real money, playing with fake money. I have $8.96 right now and I've been playing for a few weeks now. You have to have $25 to cash out. Obviously I'm not going to get rich without putting real money into it, but I'm patient and it only takes a few minutes a day. Also, I've been playing aroound on 4Loot. You get paid in Facebook credits on this site. I've already earned enough basically doing the easy contests (although there are videos, surveys, and search wins) on their Facebook page for 2 FB credits. I'll be using those to earn more Doubloons on Booty Slots so I can earn real money. I'm also testing out Zoombucks. I don't like it as much as Swagbucks, Irazoo, Jingit, InstaGC, Calyp, and Social Moms so I don't use it as much. $10 Amazon gift cards start at 1000zb so at 206zb I still have quite a way to go, but I also don't play on it much. And finally ChaCha. ChaCha is similar Calyp in that you get paid to post ads. However, while you only get paid to post at Calyp, with ChaCha you only get paid for clicks. So that means I only earn pennies per day. And you cash out at $25. We'll see how well this works, I guess.