Funnix Beginning Reading program – FREE DOWNLOAD

Have you heard of the book Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons?  I’d been reading about this book, and I was considering using it with Alex in the fall.  It has 716 reviews and 4.5 stars, which I’d consider a pretty good thing!

Well, the other day on MoneySavingMom’s website, she posted about a Funnix computer software that’s currently available for free.  I decided to check it out, and guess what…it’s the COMPUTER VERSION of Teach Your Child To Read!  And it’s currently FREE!

I did a quick Google search, found lots of happy reviews from Funnix users…and asked Keith if he’d mind if I downloaded it and used up 2 GB on our aging, slow computer… ;)

I can’t give a review on it yet, as Alex (and Max, who insisted on being included) has only completed one lesson.  I will say that, while it’s very basic in terms of fancy stuff and graphics, it held Alex’s attention throughout the entire interactive lesson.  (Be prepared – they ask your children to point to things on the computer screen.  Max’s little sticky hands made me VERY nervous, and Alex tried to point with the pen in his hand at one point.)

It comes with a .pdf file of the workbook and the teacher’s manual.  Alex was even excited to do the worksheet, and he happily completed all ten letter Cs for the handwriting section.    (You’re supposed to cross out all the lowercase a’s, but Alex thought his x’s looked bad, so he switched to circling…)

Maybe I’ll post an actual review when we’ve made some progress…or given up on it, although I doubt we will.

Anyway, just wanted to give you all a heads-up that this is available for free at www.funnix.com until February 16th.  After that, it will be $38…so, if you think you might use this at any point, download it now & save yourself 40 bucks! ;)

Fluffy Little Bums…

Alex, 6 months old, wearing a cloth diaper

I’m very excited to have the opportunity to host a cloth diaper giveaway starting tomorrow!  Before the giveaway, I wanted to share a little about how we cloth diaper…

I started looking into cloth diapers about 4 years ago, just before Alex was born.  It’s something that I just felt compelled to try.  I was surprised to see that cloth diapers are not just Gerber prefolds, safety pins, and plastic pants anymore.  The new options are much nicer!

There’s no more “swishing” in the toilet.  We keep a plastic kitchen trash can with a PUL (waterproof) liner in our laundry room.  When we change a diaper, we just toss it into the can.  (If it’s dirty, we “plop” the solids into the toilet first.)  Every other day, I wash by doing a cold water rinse, a HOT wash with a diaper-safe detergent, and a few extra cold rinses to be sure all the detergent has washed out.  Every once in a while, maybe once a month, I do an extra wash with a bit of bleach.)  That’s it!

We started out trying a variety of diapers.  I tried everything: prefolds and covers, fitted diapers with separate covers, snap diapers, velcro diapers…and I got a pretty good idea of what I liked best. 

In those early days, I really came to appreciate the diapers that were most similar to a disposable.  Still adjusting to being a mommy, I didn’t enjoy any sort of prefolds or complicated diapers.  My favorites were BumGenius one-size diapers (which are like a washable disposable with velcro tabs) and FuzziBunz (which are very similar, but have snaps instead of velcro).

Alex, around 4 months old

When Max came along, I purchased some used Bum Genius x-small and small diapers to use for the first few months.  (DiaperSwappers is an excellent place to purchase gently used baby diapers.)

Max, around 2 months old

When Max began using the same BumGenius that Alex was using, we started having a problem ~ after 2 years of regular use with Alex, and now the washing/drying demands of TWO children wearing the same diapers, the velcro just wasn’t holding well enough to stay on a wiggly toddler.  Max could still wear them just fine. Alex, however, would be running around the house, and suddenly his diaper would fall out through a pant leg! 

 Max, around 4 months old

That’s when Cotton Babies was introducing their new Flip diapers.  The price was right, and I was confident enough in cloth diapering to try something a little less like a disposable.  I fell in love with the simplicity of the Flip diapers! 

Max, 2 years old, in a Flip cover

I used Flips on Alex until he potty trained, and Max is still wearing Flips every day.  Jensyn will begin using these soon, too.  They’ve held up WONDERFULLY, and I have no doubt they’ll last through Jensyn’s diaper days, too.

Flips are very thin, PUL (waterproof) covers with flaps inside to hold an insert in place.  They have absorbent microfiber inserts with a soft, stay-dry suedecloth lining that goes against baby’s skin.  (They also sell organic cotton inserts for those who prefer to avoid synthetic fibers against baby’s skin.)

You simply pop them into the reuseable cover and snap it on the baby.  (They’re available in snaps or velcro, but at that point, I was not a big fan of velcro on diapers that needed to last for a long time!)  When you change the diaper, you slip out the insert & set a new one in the cover.  If the cover gets a little dirty from a messy diaper, you can swap it out for a new cover.

We ended up purchasing 6 Flip covers, 12 inserts, and 4 organic inserts.  We also have some prefold diapers (you know, the “old-fashioned” diaper) that get used when we’re behind on the diaper laundry.  I just fold them into thirds and pop ‘em in the Flip – no pins involved!

Jensyn, just a few weeks old

When Jensyn came along, I purchased some clearanced BumGenius small diapers.  (Cotton Babies no longer be sells their sized diapers, so I snatched up some REALLY inexpensive pink & purple diapers.)  These fit her well, and we’ll be able to resell these with no problem when she outgrows them.

Now that she’s nearing the point of outgrowing these, I wanted to get her a few girly-colored diaper covers for Christmas.  There’s nothing wrong with yellow, green, and blue…but a little pink won’t hurt.  Besides, this little girl has EVERYTHING she needs…and she deserves to get SOMETHING for Christmas!

The next post, scheduled for tomorrow morning, reviews the diaper covers that we’ve been trying out this week.  I’m excited to have the opportunity to share a cover with one lucky reader!

Homemade Foaming Soap

This idea has been floating around the internet for a long time, and I just got around to trying it today.  Money Saving Mom posted on her foam soap about a month ago, and that reminded me to give this a try.  I thought I’d share this here in case anyone had not heard of this idea.  It’s a great money saver!

My sister Deb was kind enough to give me an empty foam soap container the last time we were at her house.  (Thanks, Deb!) It’s been sitting under my bathroom sink for a few weeks now.

We were down to the last few pumps in an old container of soap, so I figured it was time to try making foam soap!

I opened up the almost-empty bottle, propped it on top of the foam soap container, and then let it drain in.  I also added three squirts from another bottle of soap, as there wasn’t quite enough left in the old one.

I added very warm water, very slowly, to keep it from foaming while it filled.  I put on the lid, set it next to the sink, and gave it a try.  (I wish soap could always be nice & warm when it came out of the pump…that was nice!)

Now we have a full container of soap at almost no cost.  I could get used to that!  My boys are going to LOVE that it foams, too!

Fisher Price House Party!

I won a Fisher Price House Party!

I'll leave out all the details, but I signed up to win a chance to host a Fisher Price Toy party for babies & their moms. I won one of the Indiana spots! That means I get to invite 10 moms with children 2 & under. They come to my house & get free toys.

No one has to buy anything. They just get to try out the toys with their kids. It's basically a free in-home advertisement for Fisher Price.

I get $200 worth of new Fisher Price toys. I get 4 pretty fancy toys! I feel guilty about that, so I'll probably do a drawing for one or two of the toys. Everyone who comes can enter, and one of them can go home with a bigger toy.

Here are the toys I'll receive:
1 Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony™
1 Laugh & Learn™ Fun with Friends™ Musical Table
1 Amazing Animals™ Spinnin’Around Musical Zoo
1 Go Baby Go Crawl & Cruise Musical Jungle™

Here is what guests will recieve:
10 Fisher-Price toys to share with your guests, including Poppity Pop™, Rock-A-Stack®, and Friendly Flip Phone™
10 Infant Product Guides
10 coupons for the Fisher-Price®


We have a Bounce & Spin Zebra that I picked up on clearance. The new one - Bounce & Spin Pony - actually is interactive for older children. At 12 months, you can use it just as is - a fun pony that makes noise as you bounce & spin. As they get bigger, you can hook it up to your TV with a wireless setup, and your little one can interact with what's on the screen to play & to learn colors, numbers, shapes, etc. Wow!!!!! I think someone else can have the zebra as a baby gift.
The musical jungle looks really fun. Balls go through the elephants ears/trunk, down the monkeys hands & through the slide, and somehow they pop out of the hippo. Alex would love this toy now, I think!
Either this zoo or the table below will be my party drawing give-away. I'll have to see what I think when they arrive.
The table can be used with or without legs, depending on your baby's age.
I just think this is SOOOOO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I suppose that happy parents make loyal customers? Whatever the case, THANK YOU Fisher Price!!!

August So Far...

Okay, I lied. These start on our anniversary - July 31st. I haven't updated for a while, so it's another picture day.

See? Keith IS wonderful! Happy Fourth Anniversary, Keith! Wer celebrated at home with grilled ribeye, baked potatoes, green beans, corn, & rolls. Keith said it's better than a restaurant.


The picture above is supposed to show Alex's 2 teeth. He didn't cooperate.

The picture below shows Alex "helping" me with the laundry by unfolding all the wipes.

This is one of his favorite seats.


I volunteered to test a new fabric softener. I just had to be able to complete 5 loads of laundry in a week. (Ha! I can handle that!) You get free softener (obviously) and now that I've completed the survey, they're supposed to send me another free product. Here are a few pics I took during the survey:

Comparing my regular fabric softener (yes, I'm cheap...) with the survey softener.
Odd looking, isn't it? You might have guessed it's an all-natural product made from recycled papers. It's the newest 7th Generation product. That company hasn't let me down yet. These do the job of softening & removing static, but they're unscented. I look forward to them introducing a scented variety. I'm waiting on my other free "green" product to arrive in the mail. I'm so curious to know what the thank-you gift will be!!!!

Do you think he's helping with the laundry? At least he's not bored or crying while I fold clothes!
Thanks for the corn, Angie! Alex held an ear very happily while I shucked the rest.

Look what happens when you give Alex a teething biscuit...

Most of you know that I don't let Alex watch TV. I think TV for babies is absolutely ridiculous. After 7.5 months of parenting, I still feel that way. Ask me again when he's a year old. Until then, no TV.

However...

...THIS is what happens when Jon & Kate Plus Eight is on. I usually watch it in the afternoon for a little humor while I'm making dinner, folding laundry, nursing Alex, etc. If he's not in my arms, Alex is on the floor with his toys facing the OPPOSITE direction so he can't see the TV. On this day, I was making dinner. I peeked in on Alex to find he had turned himself around to watch Jon & Kate. He loves to hear/see all the little kids on this show!

Uh-oh...We're in trouble, people...somebody discovered that the toilet paper roll looks very entertaining. At least he's not mobile yet! Look out, Mama...

This is my little guy today. He has a cold, and he feels miserable. He's all stuffy, has a cough, and I think he has a sore throat because he keeps making funny throat-clearing sounds & whimpering. He really doesn't feel well. Poor kiddo! He just about fell asleep with his head back while I dried my hair today. Every time he falls asleep, though, he wakes up screaming a short time later. I feel for him. If only I could make it all better :(
That's all so far. Just a bunch of pictures for those of you who have asked when I might update the blog again. There you have it - an update *Ü*

Mama In The Kitchen

If you know me well, then you know that sometimes I am a good cook. Other times, well...it's...um...humorous. (Fried kitchen, anyone?!) Today, I managed to be both a good cook and an awful baker.



The good stuff first: I realized that it's costing us about $1 per day to feed Alex solids right now. That's up to $31 per month, and the cost will only grow as he eats more. Yikes! We can afford it, but WHY? So...I decided to try making homemade baby food. I started simple...with a free bag of frozen peas & carrots. (Meijer had a sale - 2 bags of frozen veggies for $1. I had coupons for .50 off per bag. Free!) I cooked it up, pureed it, added a little rice cereal & a pinch of spice...YUM! Perfect consistency, great taste (Alex inhaled the stuff from the spoon...and I thought it was pretty tasty, too). It was just what I'd hoped for. Yay! I froze 5 servings and fed him what was left (about 1/2 serving). So, for the cost of a couple tablespoons of rice cereal & rice milk, I have 5 containers of food. That would be $2.50 with store bought food. Score one for Mama!



Now, to admit the bad stuff: I figured that the peas & carrots went over well, so why not try for another success in the kitchen? Dairy Free teething biscuits are kind of pricy: $3.00 for 12 biscuits at Meijer. I found a website with recipes for homemade teething biscuits. It's a website I trust, and they label this as their favorite teething biscuit recipe. I figured that was the best recipe to try. Obviously, I did SOMETHING wrong. Now, if only someone could tell me just what it was...because I thought I followed the recipe exactly. If you want burnt rectangular sugar cookies, I did a great job. If you want dairy free teething biscuits for your baby, well...have someone else try this recipe. I can't do it! :)



I'm going to try a different teething biscuit recipe next week. If I don't succeed, then I give up. Buying store-bought biscuits is probably cheaper than throwing away all these homemade batches before I get it right!



(By the way, yes, I do know about nitrates & homemade baby food carrots. I did my research. I'm comfortable with what I learned & what I did today *Ü*)

I love CVS!

Once again, I have to thank my friend Karen for introducing me to using CVS to get stuff for free! Today was a good CVS day, and I just have to share. You can tell by what we bought that Keith came along today. We're going camping soon, so there are a few additions to what I'd normally buy.

We bought:
Kingsford Lighter Fluid ~ $4.99
Chrome Grill Basket ~ $4.99
2 Colgate Total toothpastes ~ $2.49 each
1 Neosporin To Go spray ~ $6.49
1 box of bandaids ~ $1.99
Total: $23.44

We spent $3.97 out of pocket!
We received $7 in extra bucks to spend on our next CVS trip.
YAY!

I don't remember the last time I paid for toothpaste. We get it free at CVS.
Actually, the way it works out, CVS pays me to buy toothpaste.

Keith says that he's going to work extra hard, pay off the house, and then we can live for free on what I get at CVS. Ha! I'm not quite that good.

So, thanks Karen! We definitely have benefited from your advice! *Ü*