Thanksgiving and Our Time in Florida

Mara and I headed to Florida this year for Thanksgiving.  We were so excited to get to spend some time with Josh's parents as well as check out their new place (new to us, not them :)

The first day we were down there was pretty dreary as it rained most of the day.  The rain didn't dampen Mara's spirit as she enjoyed running around Nana & Papa's home.  She was on a mission to explore every corner and see what she could get into or climb on!

She loved sitting on this

The next day we were able to finally brave the weather and headed out to run some errands.  We hit up Trader Joe's and a few other health food stores.  We picked up a few treats for Josh and also ran to Kohl's to spend some Kohl's cash.

And playing outside

For the actual holiday we headed down to Melborne, FL to visit with extended family.  Josh's cousin lives there and his uncle and aunt were down visiting.  Mara immediately warmed up to their two young girls and spent the rest of the afternoon running around with them.  

playing with the girls

Our meal was absolutely delicious and included all my favorites: stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole.  Just writing about it now is making my mouth water.  I love Thanksgiving dinner and this one did not disappoint.  

closer mama!

The rest of our time in Florida was pretty low key.  We took long walks around their neighborhood and checked out the birds.  We hung out in their home and just enjoyed our time together.  We did find time to go see the manatees (a separate post to come) and even fit in a girl's shopping day.  

Despite sleep issues, Mara did great with the traveling and loved spending time with her grandparents.  She followed her Papa around the entire week and loved watching Nana cook in the kitchen.  We can't wait to go visit them again!

Mara-14 Months

Wears:  We have for the most part put away almost all of your 12 month things.  You still fit in anything that doesn't snap or have to accommodate your diapers but need the extra space 18 month onesies and pants give.  These are however a bit too long on you.

You were so proud of yourself for climbing up there

Mommy's laundry helper

Health:  You are doing great in the health department.  You had a small cold this month which made you a bit more clingy than normal but after a few days of the humidifier and eucalyptus rub you were on the mend (just in time to give it to mama).

You also broke through your bottom left molar which made you a bit cranky at night for a few days.

Running around Nana and Papa's church

Visiting the manatees

Says: You came up with a few new phrases this month.  On top of mama, dada, yeah, and tickle tickle, you now say, "uddy" (Buddy), "I did it!", me and love you.

Buddy get's the most use as you yell his name every time you see him.

The cutest had to have been when you said love you to daddy after he said it to you.  You haven't done it again but it melted our hearts.

Christmas is coming

A lazy day when we were both down with colds

Favorite Foods: You are still a pretty picky eater.  This month you enjoyed eating chili with mommy and taking a bit of her bagel in the morning.  While at nana and papa's you were not amused with the amount of veggies mama put in front of you although you did like the soups we had!  You also love yogurt and applesauce especially the ones in the little pouches you can suck down!

We also tried cow's milk this month.  You're not impressed.  You typically take a sip then put it down to be forgotten for the rest of the day.  I'm not too worried as we are still nursing and you eat a ton of dairy.

My patriotic girl

A somber moment during our photo shoot

Sleep:  You were doing fairly decent in this department for you before we traveled.  You were only waking twice a night and were sleeping the entire night in your crib.  I was also seeing signs that you were able to put yourself to sleep once laid down on your own.  We'd nurse but you'd be still awake.  I'd lay you down and walk out.  Not a problem!

Then we traveled.  Traveling with you girl is always a lesson in sleep regression.  You did ok the first couple of nights and then I think you begin to realize mama is in the same room as you.  Wake ups become more frequently (this wasn't helped by the teething) and we both don't sleep well.  The last night you absolutely refused to sleep without mama.

Now we're back and trying to work back from this.  Hopefully it's a quick revert! Mama's still praying for that night you decide to sleep through.

Naps on the other hand are decent.  You are right in the middle of the two to one nap transition.  When we are busy in the morning you tend to take two naps.  One shorter one in the car and a longer in the evening.  When we're at home you hold off till early after noon and take just one long.

What's out the window, Mara?

Best Moment:  I think the best moment this month was our visit with your nana and papa.  We spent an entire week with them and really enjoyed our time there.  We visited, went on long walks around their neighborhood, chased birds, saw the manatees and went shopping.

My favorite shot of the shoot.  14 months!

Milestones:  You are practically running now.  You are super stable and most people are shocked to hear you've only been walking for two months.

You easily squat down to get toys or play from standing.  Apparently this is an advanced skill.  You have been doing it since walking.

You have started climbing and love testing your limits to mama's dismay.  You climb boxes, the fireplace and nana & papa's ottoman.  Once on top you usually stand up and start dancing as if to celebrate and further give the people around you heart attacks.

You now respond to other commands such as, "let's go" by going to the door and waiting.

You have started waving this month.  You don't do it a ton but will occasionally when prompted.  It's the cutest thing as you turn your hand palm toward you and wave.

You have started pretend play.  This seems way early but you clearly love to pretend you're eating from bowls and shoes.  Anything that somewhat resembles a food container.  You usually offer others a bite of your pretend food too.

You have started mimicking animal sounds.  You make a great pig noise and also try to bark like a dog.

Already a Clemson fan.  Just like Daddy!

Loves To:  You love chasing mama around the house.  You are my shadow and are right where I am trying to do what I am doing.

You love buddy.  You chase him and pet him.  Usually I find you two sitting next to each other on a rug in the kitchen.  You also love to steal his bed up from under him.

You love it when daddy chases you through the computer.  You giggle and run away as he says, "I'm going to get you."

You love to play peek-a-boo.  You cover your eyes and wait till someone asks where Mara is.  Then you giggle and pull your hands away.


You love dancing.  Anything that plays music you love.  You push the buttons and sway away.  Usually this involves some squatting and hand swinging.

You love belly buttons.  You try to pull mama's shirt up to see hers and have recently discovered yours.  

My big girl.  

Favorite Toys: music table, mama's cell phone, your radio flyer, puzzles, books, anything that's not a toy.

Dislikes: Not getting your way!  You have a strong will girl.

Not going outside.  You love it and don't understand why rain and cold should keep you away.

With Papa at the manatees

A Welcome Home

No Josh isn't back yet.  We still have a little while yet.  But this past weekend we had the privilege of welcoming home one of the soldiers from the unit along with other members of the battalion.  

Mara and I got there early and started the waiting process.  They never let you know exactly when they are coming home so you kind of have to come early and see.  Mara thoroughly enjoyed running around the PAX shed especially running under the velvet ropes that would eventually separate the soldiers from their families.

When the announcement came that the plane was landing we were able to head outside to welcome it back onto American soil.  The soldiers filed out and headed our way.  It was a little surreal to watch them just walk past us not able to hug or welcome them properly.  

Once inside they lined up and marched in.  After some brief words from the commander they were released to their families.  The tears started.  Every time I watch or hear about a homecoming I cry.  I can't even imagine what it will be like when it's our turn.  

I'll be honest.  It was hard.  I was so happy to be there to welcome our soldiers home because in the end we're all a big military family.  But I can't help but be a little jealous of those wives.  Of those kids.  I wanted my soldier to be in those lines.  

Our time will come though and it will be amazing.  I can't wait for that first hug...kiss.  The next time I meet a plane my soldier will be on it and that thought is so comforting.  

Thursday Randoms

Mara picked something up in the church nursery last Sunday and we're feeling the effects of it here at home.  She's been sleeping pretty poorly and despite not being sick myself I feel like I've been hit by a bus with the sleep deprivation.  Praying that we both feel better before traveling next week.

Speaking of traveling, we are headed down to Florida for Thanksgiving and I'm getting a little excited for warm weather and some time with family.  I love Thanksgiving and I'm hoping we get to indulge in some of the traditional favorites.

I'm already thinking about Christmas decorations.  This is so unlike me.  I'm a strict not till after Thanksgiving girl and I am itching to pull them out of the attic.  I may break open the boxes this weekend if it's not too busy with packing and such.  I think it's the cold weather and also trying to plan for Christmas this year.

I've been thinking about Christmas probably way too much this year.  I am excited to find special gifts for both Mara and Josh and am pretty excited with what I've come up with.  This year I am trying really hard to stray away from the typical gifts and I am pumped with what I've come up with.

Mara is becoming this little toddler.  I love it.  And I hate it at the same time.  Mostly I love the little girl she is becoming.  Her personality and how mobile it is.  The hate only comes into play when I think about how fast she's growing up.  I swear she was just this little baby a while ago.

We got the fireplace tank filled at the house and I have been seriously enjoying having a fire every night.  I get my mug of spiced cider and cuddle on the couch under a warm blanket.  It's pretty much perfect....except for the handsome hubby who's would be next to me.  And on that note...

I can't wait till Josh gets back home.  Yes this is obvious but I finally feel like we're getting closer to the end.  I just am so ready to have him here with us.

An Early Surprise Anniversary Present

Being apart on our anniversary is going to be hard but this past weekend Josh went above and beyond to make the day special for me all the way from Afghanistan.  A few days before he let me know that a friend would be knocking on my door and that's about it...Despite me asking a few questions he was adamant on not giving me anymore information than that.

So on Saturday morning at about 9 am our friends Joe and Alyssa knocked on my door with two dozen red roses.  The day had begun!  We were headed to Raleigh for the day.  I was told that Josh had planned a few surprises and the rest of the day was mine to enjoy.

Our first stop was at a local spa for a massage.  Alyssa had been trying to set it up for a few days and hadn't been able to get through to the office.  The plan was just to show up and see if we could set something up.  Needless to say the office was closed.  We tried to contact the spa again with no luck.  In the end we decided to try another day.

After the spa we headed to the second surprise.  I asked Alyssa and Joe not to tell me until we got there.  As we pulled into the parking lot I knew...we were at the cloth diaper store.  My husband knows me well :)  They told me that Josh had purchased something for me behind the counter and that I was at my leisure to look around.

From there we headed to lunch which ended up being a quick bite in the mall with delicious cheesecake from the cheesecake factory for dessert.  We then decided to do a quick look around the mall and then headed over to the Container store.

I love organization so this is my kind of store.  I proceeded to walk down every aisle and picked up a few things that I thought we could use in the store.  Mara was about done at that point so we called it a day and headed home.

Although we ran into a few hic-ups with the spa it was a great day.  Of course I would have loved to have Josh there with me but I love him for putting this day together for me.  I know how difficult it must have been setting it up from over there.  This is one of the first times he's done a big surprise day like this for me and it was a blast.   I came out of it feeling so loved and appreciated.

Happy Anniversary Babe!  I can't wait to celebrate in person!

Cloth Diapering-Stripping

Even with a good laundry routine, cloth diapers are bound to build up residue (mainly detergent) and will thus not be able to absorb liquids as well anymore.  Read: pee will leak out everywhere.  

I had my first experience with this when Mara was about six months old.  At first I thought that we were just going through a phase where we were struggling with fit.  With one size diapers, there are some points where you will struggle to get the area around legs tight as your child grows.  I played around with the snaps and still had a ton of leaks (something I had never had before).  After a quick google search I realized that it was time to strip!

You can strip diapers SO MANY ways.  I think I read something about Dawn blue soap and of course there is also specific products on the market just for stripping diapers.  I decided to go with RLR, a product originally on the market to get out dinge on white clothing.  Surprisingly it also works great for removing build up on diapers!

Getting ready to strip was a bit daunting.  I wanted to make the process simple yet I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.  Basically I made sure all my diapers, wipes and inserts were clean before throwing them in my soaker tub.  You can do it in your washer if you have one of the old fashioned top loading agitator.  I do not so I did it in my bathtub.  

I filled the tub with extremely hot water and threw in two packets of RLR.  I'm not sure the exact ratio of RLR to diapers but I have a lot of diapers and insert and two packets just seemed right.  I then let the mixture soak, coming back to stir it around every couple of hours or so.  

After half a day I threw all the diapers into the washer and did my typical wash routine.  (hot soak, hot wash, rinse x 2).  Dry and voila stripped diapers!  

I just had to revisit this process a few weeks ago which isn't as bad as I originally thought.  I think I can definitely handle twice a year.  AND if I can get Mara potty trained by 2 that's only four times lol.  

Cloth diaper mamas.  How do you strip your diapers?

Cloth Diapering-Laundry and Solids

I was rereading some of my previous posts about cloth diapering and thinking to myself that some things have changed as of late, specifically my laundry routine.

As Mara has started solids, our laundry routine has changed a bit.  When she was exclusively breastfed everything was water soluble and easy to wash out.  Now not so much....

I think in the cloth diaper world you can go about this one of two ways.  The first is to buy those disposable inserts that you can lay in the diapers and lift out when your child poops.  This never made sense to me as it's just another disposable thing to buy and throw away.

The second option is to purchase a diaper sprayer and attach it to your toilet.  We found a sprayer on clearance at a local cloth diaper store before Mara was born and Josh hooked it up in the bathroom adjacent to Mara's room.  It worked really good at getting all the poop off of the diaper and when you were done you just flushed it away.  No bad smells lingering afterwards!

My only issue with the sprayer was the water splatter.  At first I would get water everywhere in the bathroom.  I felt like I had to clean the bathroom every time I dealt with a dirty diaper. As time went on I got better with my aim but still wasn't completely satisfied.  Enter the diaper dawg spray cover.  Totally awesome.  It looks like those dog collars that your animal gets when they have stitches from the vet.  It slips over the sprayer head and voila no splatter!!!

So after a quick rinse our routine hasn't changed much.  I still spray the diapers down with BioKleen bac out and throw them in the diaper pail.  I now rarely rub them down with the diaper soap as I usually get all of the poop off with the sprayer.

On wash day I throw everything into the washer turning the pail liner inside out and using it as a hand cover to arrange the diapers.  I now don't do an initial rinse but do a hot soak on my diapers.  I do this to get them nice and wet.  I am still using Charlie soap but now use probably close to 3 tbsps per load.  I run a hot wash cycle followed by a rinse cycle.  After this initial rinse I usually do one more to make sure I get all the soap out.  I've found that over time this really helps on build up on the diapers.

Then I throw the inserts into the dryer with three wool dryer balls on high for about an hour.  I found that the dryer balls help a ton with static cling and dry time.  I still hang all my covers for about a half a day and then stuff them all when everything is dry!