Days 1 & 2: Minimalism Sept. 1st Challenge

I am doing a challenge on the Minimalist Babycenter Board where we get rid of at least something everyday until September 1st. I will be logging it here:
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a63127180/itembag-a-day-out-post-here?cpg=1#c2534187830

Day #1
-Went through a bag, put stuff away and only found one item to get rid of. I tried to toss some CDs but DH wanted to keep those. Now I am going through the living room.
Items.
1. Jean Material Bag- Donate
2. Ikea Plastic Bag Holder- Donate (We are now only using reusable bags)

Day #2
-Today I went through a laundry basket, and then I started going though things in the kitchen. From today's work I have half a big black garbage bag full.

1. Pair of Ikea lace curtains (They used to be hanging in the archway between the kitchen and the living room.)
2.  Old Towel
3. Waterbottle
4.  Coffee Cup
5. 2 Cereal Containers
6. 1 Funnel
7. Pull-Up Bar (We haven't used it in a while since DH works out at the Gym instead.)
8. Pair of Mr. & Mrs. signs (We bought them for our wedding but I never used them.)
9. Random Bottle Parts
10.  2 old pillows
11. Pack of toothpicks
12. Broken Iphone
13. Broken doll & stand
14. Dh's box of bachlor dishes that he never opened while in the dorms
15. New in box convection oven (We haven't used it for a year we probably never will.)
16. Wipes warmer
17. Random lid to a pot that we no longer have.

It is just bit by bit to become minimalist. It's a marathon not a race. Eventually we all will get there.

Struggles of Breastfeeding

I have to admit something. While I was pregnant I was so sure that I was going to be able to breastfeed. Life happens and it throws you a curve ball. Two days after we brought my son home we discovered mold in our apartment. My husband and I didn't want our newborn to get sick so we went and stayed with my paternal grandparents. Breastfeeding was hard in the hospital and it was a struggle. The lactation consultant kept hovering and would really stress me out and my son would have trouble nursing. I also was suffering with postpartum depression. That alone is rough. While I was staying with my grandparents I was under a lot of stress, because I was a mother to a newborn and was not able to be in my own home. I really enjoy breastfeeding however due to the gap of one week where I didn't nurse him much and gave him formula. My supply dropped. I have been using oatmeal to try to bring my supply up. And right now I only have two 6 oz. frozen bags of breast milk in the freezer. I am trying my hardest, but it just seems like it's not enough. The wonderful pastor's wife at church who is nursing her daughter told me some wise advice. "You give the gift that you have and that's all you can give." That really helped a lot and I figured mom's out there would love to hear that even if you are a slightly crunchy mom and want to breastfeed that it isn't the end of the world if you can't. I feel like many mothers judge other's parenting choices. However the most important thing is that you tried to do your best in parenting your child or children.
Your life isn't over if you can't breastfeed, so don't feel guilty about it. Some women can't breastfeed based on the fact that they are on medication. They tried and couldn't do it or like me have struggled with it. There should be no mommy guilt for not breast feeding. A fed baby is a happy baby no matter if it is with formula or breast milk

Flats Handwashing Challenge!

I will be participating in Dirty Diaper Laudry's 6th Annual Flats Handwashing! This event is the one that made me get excited about cloth diapering. I really love flats and they are a major part of my stash. On this blog I will be documenting my experience for a week. The flats challenge starts May 16 and ends May 22! Go sign up now if you would like to join! I'm really excited about this and I hope you are to! This is the event that led me to use flats as a big part of my stash. Yes I have pockets, AIO, prefolds, and fitteds. But flats have a special place in my stash. They are great for traveling and we even took them to the beach with us when we traveled since they are less bulky any other type of diaper. Flats are cheap enough that you can have +100 flats if you really need them. Personally I love the Diaper Rite Large Bamboo Flats. I have tried the Nicki's Cotton Flats & And the Diaper Rite Cotton Flats and I feel like they aren't as absorbent. However the Bamboo flats that I have do shrink so be forewarned about that. Flour Sack Towels also known as fst are popular however when I used them for my heavy wetter he soaked them clear through. I am a college student and stay at home mom. I don't find cloth diapering any harder than using disposables, because my son is allergic to disposable diapers. I hope this challenge will inspire you to just give cloth diapering a try.
http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/announcing-6th-annual-flats-and-handwashing-challenge-may-16-22/Challenge!

The countdown has begun...

Malachi is almost here and I am 36 weeks. The countdown has begun and I haven't been on the blog lately. In other news I got a 4.0 last semester for my Fall term classes and I'm hoping to get a 4.0 this term on my Winter term classes that I am taking online. Life has been really busy since the holidays and getting ready for baby that I haven't even had time to check my blog.
Last term I wrote a story for my World Religions class that I am going to turn into a mini series. That class was amazing and really reignited my love for writing again. Ben has been awfully busy this term because of his ROTC and taking 16 credit hours. I'm not exactly sure how he does it but he's practically superman.

Facebook Page!

Hey guys! I am now on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/journeywithaslightlycrunchymom
You can find me there and message my page or leave a post to get in touch with me :)

Get $30 worth of clothing free!

You can get $30 worth of clothing free from Schoola and help schools raise funds!

https://www.schoola.com/stitch?ref=cp-3X7s0j5B5

1. Click the Link Above ^^
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3. If on a mobile device, switch to desktop view located at the bottom of the page.
4. On the top of the page click collections.
5. Click add or create new collection.
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7. You now have $30 free credit!
8. Choose $30 worth of clothing & select the free shipping option!
9. You clothes will be mailed to you!

This website helps schools raise money! 40% of all sales goes to the school that donated the clothing to Schoola. You can be helping children while getting some clothing in return :)

Flats Challenge, Challenged Me.

Every year Dirty Diaper Laundry does a flats challenge. This inspired me to try out flats to diaper my baby. I realized that this was an affordable and economical way to diaper. The flats challenge starts off with everyone diapering with flat fold diapers & covers for one week. They must hand wash the diapers and show that it can be done by any family no matter what their financial circumstances. Some people use a wash board, while others use a breathing plunger or yet others still wash them in the bathtub or sink. This challenge shows that anyone can cloth diaper and when it comes down to keeping food on the table or diapering you LO you can use flats and a diaper cover to be able to cover all of the necessitates. You don't even need to buy flats or flour sack towels to diaper. You can take an old t-shirt and turn it into a flat. You also can make several covers out of blankets that you cut up and tutorials for this can found online. Cloth diapering is more than just putting cute cloth on your LOs bum it is also about frugal living.

Tragedy In Paris

As you hear the news about the tragedy in Paris and all of the lives lost. Sit down and hold your family, be thankful that they weren't hurt. My heart goes out to the families of those who were injured or killed in the shootings or bombings. Not only in Paris but in all parts of the world. People are hurting each day and we just don't notice it. This pain is caused by sin and we can just send prayers to those around that world in this time of turmoil. Everyone has stopped to notice what happened in Paris last Friday night, but do we stop to think of all of the pain and suffering that is going on in the world every day? Or is it that we only notice it, because the media has taken a hold of this story and sensationalized the deaths of over +100 people. We should reach out and help not only those in Paris but also in Beruit where there was also a terrorist attack on the day before. There are many other attacks like these that happen worldwide that never get reported, because they aren't deemed important enough compared to the rest of the days news. As we sit and watch the aftermath of the tragedy in Paris, remember to be thankful that our families weren't involved or hurt in any way. And if they were my heart goes out to you. This should remind us that we never know what day will be our last and we should tell those who are important to us that we love them.

Cloth Diaper moms can be crazy!

Blueberry (a cloth diaper brand) had a 50% pre-black friday sale. This was hosted on blueberryandme.com in only 8 minutes 3,000 diapers were sold. The diapers were sold in packs of 4, so that means 750 grab bags were sold. I was able to get 2 grab bags with coveralls (diaper covers.) One came with a wet bag and the other didn't. Peoples complaints began to flood Facebook and the baby center community about how they didn't get what they wanted or they didn't like that they wouldn't know what prints they were getting or they didn't want duplicates of prints. Dude, you got a $20 diaper for $10 why can't you just be happy with that? And the fact that Blueberry even had a sale is amazing, because I figured that they wouldn't do anything with Black Friday, because they are a major company and are so popular as it is.

The Flooded Closet- The nursery is now our bedroom.

Since our closet got flooded and mold and mildew contiued to grow. We have moved our bed and belongings into the nursery and we now realize that we could literally survive with one bedroom in our house. This has led me to purge and get rid of all of our excess stuff. And further our journey with minimalism. I realize that I have so many clothes and extra stuff that I have been packing around that I don't need that I have decided to get rid of it. Maybe someday family will realize my goals and stop giving me all there excess stuff that they no longer want, but don't want to part with.

Nursery... Do you really need one?

People get all hyped up about baby stuff and they start designing a nursery with dreams of pinterest in their minds, they get all this baby stuff that their registry checklist says is a "must have" and then bam the baby is here and they are just swimming in stuff. However instead of having a million articles of clothing that my son will grow out of right away or the newest and greatest electronic toy I have decided to take an approach at minimalism. We don't even have a nursery set up. It is literally a crib that we will end up bringing into our room and converting into a co-sleeper. Yes, my son has all the clothes and diapers that he needs but most importantly he has my time. Babies aren't going to remember what color there nursery room wall was painted or what the theme was. Instead what really matters in that they have loving and caring parents to bond with them. No amount of "stuff" could ever replace that. My parents were not the most available people when I was growing up and I want to change that for my children. So I have decided to opt with not having a nursery, I know that it may be a big uproar for some people, but how can families all of the world survive without having a designated area for babies. People have done this for generations and we still managed to turn out all right. So my minimalistic approach will not cause problems to my child just because it isn't the mainstream thing that most American parents are doing in 2015.

Flooded Closet!

Earlier I talked about in the blog post "Unexpected Adventures" that I came home Tuesday after school to find that the apartment's water heater above us was leaking and I soaked our closet floor. Two days later it still smells like mildew and I'm not sure what to do. I can't open the window because it is just too cold out so we have a commercial size drying fan running in our master bedroom. Last night I noticed that the power strip that is plugged in behind our dresser wasn't working. I'm hoping that the water didn't get to the electrical socket. And that there is no damage. A power strip is an easy thing to fix. We are just lucky that it didn't damage anything important. :) Hopefully I will be able to get the mildew smell out and that the carpet won't start to mold.

Revised Black Friday Shopping!

Before I start to say anything, the baby center community is amazing! If you need any advice on cloth diapering go to their "Cloth Diaper" board! I have gotten a ton of advice there and other moms are more than willing to pour out their wisdom on us newbies :) I have also been able to get a ton of cloth diapers from the "Cloth Diaper Swap" board for good prices! Most of my stash has now come from there! So now I realize that I need to redo my Black Friday wishlist!

- 2 Wet bags
- 1 to 2 dozen Diaper Rite Bamboo Flats (Large)
- 2 to 3 snappis

With the help of the Cloth Diaper Swap boards I have been able to fill out my newborn and one size diaper stashes! :) Now all I need is a few more items and I will be able to be ready for LO to get here! And that is three months away :)