Took the Plunge

I can't believe I'm admitting this. A few months ago I would laughed if you told me I would give into this new trend. I used to laugh at others who gave in. I had all the excuses in the world.

1. They are gross.
2. My water bill will kill me.
3. My husband would never let me.
4. I don't have time for that!

And then, I moved to Oregon. Yes, my friends, I have taken the plunge. I'm now a cloth diaper Mom. You see, slowly my excuses were no longer valid. I no longer have a water bill (my landlord pays for it). I have time since I'm home and I do laundry all the time. And well, I had a boy! Boys dirty diapers a LOT and I'm pretty sure my son has the innate ability to poo sideways and out every single diaper I've tried on him. I was already cleaning out his outfits. So what was the purpose of the disposable diaper? They weren't working!!! Which is when it happened. My biggest excuse turned on me. Yes, my husband looked at me a few weeks ago and said, "Maybe we should look into cloth diapers." It was then that I knew my battle with the cloth diaper world was over.

One would think that looking into cloth diapers would be easy. Ha! I don't think I did as much research on my Geography project on Nepal! There are way too many types of cloth diapers. Fortunately, I had friends that helped me narrow down which kind would be my style. To make the long research of cloth short...I picked the Oh Katy pocket diaper to try. I am happy to report, my son has not leaked yet! In fact, he's absolutely adorable in them! I don't even want to put clothes on him because it covers his cute little dipe bottom. But I guess since it's still chilly here clothes will do for now.

Yes my friends, I'm afraid I finally took the plunge...and I'm never going back!

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend as a family. Unfortunately, I realized last night that I forgot to take a picture of the kids dressed up. We were a bit rushed on Sunday morning :(. However, we did enjoy a lovely Easter service at church, and then headed to Easter dinner with some friends that invited us over. I made scalloped potatoes for the first time and they were a hit. I love it when a new recipe turns out.

We didn't do any egg hunting this year. However, we do plan to do something like that next year once Jewell is walking. We were very proud of Jewell this weekend though. She isn't the best morning person so we've always fed her her oatmeal. This weekend she decided it was time to feed herself.


As for Jefferson, he rolled over! He's 11 weeks and 6 days :). I took a few snap shots of him on his tummy, completely forgetting that my camera has a video mode. I think this was a weekend of Mommy brain!


Overall, we had a great weekend as a family, reflecting on how Christ has risen. We are so thankful for all that He has done for us.

A Great Week

We had another typical week here at the Slocum house :). We enjoyed laughing, playing, napping, and just being...kids.

Jefferson was a bit unusual this week. Can you believe this cute face would only want held when he was awake? Yes, Mommy was shocked as well!



Jefferson prefers to keep his legs in a standing position so giving him baths is rather interesting. I decided we needed some extra sitting practice since I was sprayed with an unpleasant fountain almost the entire bath time since someone was screaming and standing in the water :). Anyone that has a boy knows what I mean!




Jewell of course had to get in a picture :). I love this smile! It's her new favorite thing.



It's been raining a ton here in Oregon. Earlier this week we were at 127% for our rainfall. The drought definitely has not started yet! Since it was so nice out yesterday I decided to venture out for a walk. My back was really hurting, so I decided not to put Jeffers in the sling or carrier. I got out the double stroller. It was a huge success. Jewell loved her special cup holder! Jefferson well...as you can see from the picture below, tolerated it. I did learn one lesson from the experience of pushing the double stroller, I'm going to have killer legs for sure.




Yesterday afternoon I decided to introduce Jewell to Play-doh. She did great, until she ate it. I didn't even catch her eating it until I snapped the last picture! Oops! Bad Mommy!




I had a great week with the kids! However, I believe my favorite part, was my evening runs. Yes, I was finally able to sneak that in. I have learned to have dinner cleaned up rather quickly. After I feed the little man, Matt plays with the kids while I go running. I can't begin to explain how good a long run feels at the end of the day. My runs are beautiful. I live in a cute neighborhood that has mountains around it, as well as horses in one part. It's the perfect way to unwind from a busy day with the kiddos. I'm so blessed to have a husband who gives me this time to myself.

The days are getting more and more beautiful. I can't wait to see what next week holds!

It's Just Natural

Jewell has been working really hard on walking lately. So last night we decided to buy her a baby stroller just for her. We figured it would give her more practice with walking. It's definitely given her extra practice. As you can see, she's enjoyed playing "Mommy". It's amazing how little girls just know what to do with babies :).





As for Jefferson, he's enjoyed chilling out on the couch!



Love his chubby legs (Yes, he has Kistner genes)!

11 Weeks

Jefferson is 11 weeks today. I can't believe he'll soon be 3 months old. He is growing so fast! Here is a cute picture of his chubby little self :).

Worth It All

Today is the 19 month mark for Jewell. Wow, 19 months? She's growing up so fast! Boy have I learned a lot since she was born. I have learned to not look at milestones anymore and to not be discouraged :). Instead, I've decided that Jewell is just trying to set a world record when it comes to her lack of walking independently.

As I look back at the last 19 months of her life and I see how much our family has changed I can only think of one thing. It was worth it all. Many people thought I was crazy that I was having 2 kids 16 months apart. But deep down, I wouldn't trade this crazy life for the world. Jewell is slowly becoming a great big sister. She may not understand why Jefferson is sitting or playing with her toys yet, but she loves him as much as a 19 month old can love someone else.

The past week has had its challenges. Jewell probably has ear infections again, and well, she's only cutting a whopping 4 molars! We've shed quite a few tears and tissues this week. But even with her discomforts, Jewell has learned to be a comfort. Earlier this week Jefferson was on his playmat while I was sorting laundry. I put Jewell in her chair and put on a Blues Clues so I could quickly sort and get the laundry in (Jewell freaks out if she's not distracted when I go into the garage to put the laundry in the wash). While I was working on the laundry, Jeffers began to fuss. Jewell then got out of her chair and went and sat next to him. She put her blanket on him and then patted his belly. A few minutes later he stopped fussing and began to smile at Jewell. I do believe in his mind they were playing together. I had to stop sorting the laundry at that moment to take a mental picture of what I considered sweet innocent love. They already adore each other so much and yet they are so young.

This time in life is difficult. A lot of training is taking place, and messes are constantly made and cleaned up. However, having these 2 just the way they are was completely worth it all.

Here are some recent pics of the 2 of them!

It's the Little Things

I have only been a stay at home Mom for about 10 weeks now. You would think staying home all day without having a car to drive would be quite discouraging. I must say, that's not been as discouraging as some may think. Staying home with my children has been a wonderful blessing. However, I do find the evenings a bit discouraging. More because I'm ready to wind down, and I can't seem to clean up dinner until after Jewell is in bed. Who wants to clean up the kitchen at 8 PM? NOT ME! So last night, I asked Matt to play with Jewell so I could just clean the kitchen right after dinner. I was desperate for an evening of no cleaning. He was very willing of course. A few minutes into cleaning and I noticed they weren't playing with her toys. He was teaching her how to play on the Wii! It was absolutely hilarious.




I did take a few pictures, but I was also able to get the kitchen cleaned before Jewell went to bed :). What a blessing! I had a much needed relaxing evening...ha, well we played the Wii too. It was a nice break.

This morning, I was reminded on a blog that it's important to teach your child how to play in his room on his own. I have had a bit of an issue with taking a shower in the mornings. Jewell always ends up destroying the bathroom while I shower. So today, I decided that was the end of that. I put her in her room (with the door open this time) and encouraged her to play with some of her favorite toys. She had so much fun. She did end up finding her way to my bedroom, but she had a blast with her toys too. I was thrilled.

Here is a Mommy/Daughter picture :).


These few things may seem small, but they mean the world to me. The little things really do add up for this Mommy! ;)