These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Mama Bear twittered the other night about doing a "Favorite Things" post and if anyone else wanted to do it too. I had several things I'd taken pictures of/wanted to share but didn't really fit into a post, so thanks Carrie! To start off, I am not including my Bible (which is still from 1995 and falling apart...they don't sell that particular one anymore and I am very fond of it) or any of the devotional books I have really enjoyed. I think that might end up as a post in itself.

These are in no particular order...just how Blogger uploaded them. I tried to pick some things that other people might not know about/benefit from.

First up is the Sepia setting on my camera. I find it by hitting "ok" on my Olympus camera, then Mode Menu, then Camera, then Function, then Sepia. That's for anyone else out there who might have an Olympus and wants to try it. I am really excited for next week's I ♥ Faces contest that is going to use it!

Next up is the boys' bedroom. Here is a picture of Baby J who is pulling up like a champ these days. He loves to stand, and seems how we weren't allowed to let him until he did it by himself...well he gets even a bigger kick out of it. Anyway, the boys' room is a conglomeration of things I had picked up since high school (think I wanted to be a mom?), things my mom and I bought on e-bay, and garage sale finds. It is a Beatrix Potter/Old Pooh theme. I couldn't paint over the Pooh and Eeyore that were already on the wall when we moved in, so my mom added some murals like the one you see behind Baby J. Isn't she a great artist? The colors all fit together nicely. There is a Frog and Toad mural behind their door too. So cute!

Another favorite thing is the diaper you see Baby J wearing in both pictures above. It is a Haute pocket diaper. I have three that I bought used from The Cloth Diaperin' Mama. They work SO well. Never had a leak since we started using them.
The other diapers we use are Thirsties covers over birds eye flats. We haven't had success with their fab fitteds or AIOs, but the covers are used daily. (If you want more information on how I cloth diaper or want to think I am completely nuts go to http://www.clothcrazy.blogspot.com/)

Next is my sling from Kangaroo Korner. Mine is a Bali Breeze made by Gypsy Mama. I use either that or my ring slings (I make those) almost daily. While we do use a stroller, sometimes it is easier not to have to take it. Especially like when we were at the mall carnival (above) or in the children's museum today.

I know I've shared this picture before, but it is a classic. I wanted to direct your attention to the bib Snug is wearing. It is a bib that has SLEEVES* from IKEA. They were also really cheap...I think we got a package of two for $3. Because Snug is too big for them (it is all we had on hand this night) my mom took one apart, made him a larger size, and then fixed the original.

*If you have ever eaten a meal with Snug you will know that he may need a bib and or sleeves until he is a teenager

Probably is kinda dumb to blog about our favorite bubbles, but it actually was an issue this spring. The bubble tumbler is great, guess who it came from? Yep, my mom. But what is inside of it is the hot issue. We bought "Miracle Bubbles" from Wal-Mart and they were anything BUT a miracle. They didn't blow bubbles. I could eek out a few tiny ones, but the kids couldn't get anything. I was so disappointed because I got a HUGE container of them and thought it was what we had purchased last year. Right before we went to Virginia Beach I let Snug pick out a travel size bottle of bubbles to take with us. He chose some made by iNFINITE BUBBLES (also Wal-Mart) and they were amazing. I am pretty sure from looking at the logo it is the kind I bought last year in bulk. Too bad. I am working on the big thing of them I bought by adding dish soap to them...seems to be helping. So if you haven't bought yours yet, go for iNFINITE BUBBLES.

I blogged the other day about finding some all natural paraben free soap in Cedarville. My friend Christine wanted to know what I thought about it. I wasn't sure at first, but I think it is a keeper. You can order online if you want to try it and don't live near Cedarville (Beans N Cream sells it). Click on the picture and it will take you there. I do like it, but as I use it I feel really dried out. However, as soon as I dry off from the shower that feeling is gone. It smells nice too, and I have the Pure and Simple without anything added to make it smell. They have smelly ones too. So Christine, I give it one and a half thumbs up!

Ok Mitt, I know you are on vacation, but you'll recognize these. We have and love Bumpy Orbit Labels for both boys with their first and last name (for privacy reasons I don't use their names on the blog so I copied this from the website). It makes it easier when we take things to church or playgroup to get them back! I got them when Snug was a baby and will get more if we have another baby. SO much easier than tape labels or marker.

Speaking of Snug he just yelled "there's my sippy cup, right there!" when he saw this picture on the computer. (He is watching Bob the Builder as his 30 minutes of TV and Baby J is sleeping) This is his Nalgene BPA free sippy cup. He uses a real cup unless we leave home, but we are out and about quite a bit so this is used daily. He drinks lots and lots of water and I don't really want spillage in my van!

This picture was taken for my organizational post (also organized by Mama Bear..it was also a contest that I won!). This picture shows LOTS of my favorite things. We'll start on the left. Melaleuca products, IKEA containers, Longaberger baskets, and my Kitchen Aid mixer. Many, many of my favorite things. Not sure how I left this one off...but I remembered and just added it. We bought it for our diapers...but ended up using it for everything. Charlie's is environmentally friendly, cloth diaper preferred, and great for people with allergies. We were using Melaleuca products that we liked, but this replaced them fast. It is cheaper* than Melaleuca and we don't use any fabric softener anymore-don't need to.

*when we buy the 5 gallon bucket of it

We first saw Go Fish perform on JellyTelly (another "favorite") a few months ago. When I was in the Family Christan Bookstore picking up some things for our church, this caught my eye. TERRIBLE as it was, I got it out of budget (not a good idea, sorry Dave Ramsey...also a favorite thing) and Snug loves it...finally a break from Bob and Larry!

But my top 3 favorite things are:

My husband!

My Snug Bug (this was also from the mall carnival...how cute is he? He is also wearing one of my favorite shirts he owns. Mindy, recognize anyone?)

And our little miracle Baby J :o)

Are your retinas bleeding yet? Mine are! This post took SUPER long to put up. They usually take between 10 and 30 minutes to do...30 being if there are lots of pics to upload. Bob the Builder is WAY over, so I need to SCOOT.