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Monday, November 7, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
And the winner is...
First of all, my apologies for taking the better part of the week to fill this giveaway! Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away last Sunday, and my week has been a whirlwind. Back home now, here is the answer you're waiting for!
Maia G! Since entries were low, I just had my son pick a number out of a hat, and it was #3, comment, "I follow your blog via gfc". She has been contacted via email as well.
Thanks for entering, and have a great day!
Maia G! Since entries were low, I just had my son pick a number out of a hat, and it was #3, comment, "I follow your blog via gfc". She has been contacted via email as well.
Thanks for entering, and have a great day!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Seventh Generation Free and Clear diapers Review & Giveaway
Update: Due to low entries, I will be extending this giveaway until July 31, 11:59 EST.
Thanks! ~Julia
As a cloth diaper enthusiast, I rarely have the opportunity to use disposable diapers. This is, of course, mostly by choice - I love my boy in cloth too much to opt for 'sposies! He has, in his 2.5 years of life, spent a total of 22 days in disposable diapers. Truth be told, 9 of those days he wore cloth at night since I really don't trust disposables to hold in all he has to offer.
That said, when opting for a disposable, I turn to the more environmentally friendly companies first. Seventh Generation is one of the top options on that list for me. So, when I received an offer from MyBlogSpark to try out, and review the new line of Free and Clear dipes offered by Seventh Generation, I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl.
My pack arrived the day before we took off for my mom's fourth of July weekend. While I have always brought cloth with me to her house in the past, I figured it was an opportune time to try out the disposables. So, off to the store I went to purchase a package of Seventh Generation wipes to match (why use cloth wipes with disposable diapers? I know, I know, I could have, but I didn't), and we took off for NJ.
T was overjoyed with the package of diapers...he walked around the living room before we left holding them and exclaiming over them. This excitement didn't wane with the option to put one on when we arrived at our first destination, a friend's house in NJ. He thought they were great! Of course they are super easy to use, the fit is great, and they clean up easily. Most of my complaints come only from the comparison of cloth to disposable, and not of these diapers in particular.
What do I like about the Seventh Generation diapers?
~ The ingredients are listed right on the package.
~ A major complaint I have with most disposables is that I can smell a wet (urine filled) diaper the second a child wearing one comes into my immediate range. With these diapers, it's not so overwhelming, and I assume (with no factual basis) this is because Seventh Generation uses both SAP (super absorbent polymer or sodium polyacrylate)and wood pulp as absorbents, rather than just the SAP.
~ Seventh Generation is consistently working toward creating a healthier product for family and the planet, and the new generation of the Free and Clear diapers are no exception. The packaging is now smaller and recyclable wherever you can return plastic bags (as in supermarkets). They've cut back the amount of wood pulp used, and attempt to cut the overall space each package contributes to landfills.
In the past, I have erroneously assumed the pigmentation of these diapers was due to the lack of chlorine bleaching in the processing of Seventh Generation diapers. As written on the package, "The color of disposable diapers is typically achieved through the addition of pigments. This is also true for the brown layered materials in Seventh Generation diapers." Reading more from the Seventh Generation website, I learned that without such pigmentation, disposables would be virtually see-through, and after direct feedback from consumers, the company decided to continue using the safe brown pigment in their diapers.
After three days away, I still have half a package of these diapers to use. I'm saving them for a rainy day. As in the past, I will continue to reach for Seventh Generation as an option when necessary, like when T had impetigo and I had to strip all of our cloth diapers. It's still up for debate as to whether I will use disposables for the meconium days when baby #2 arrives this fall. If I do, I may opt for these dipes as well. We'll see!
As a part of my participation in this review, Seventh Generation would like to offer a package of Free and Clear diapers through MyBlogSpark to one lucky winner on this blog. Interested to try a pack of your own? Please enter, and spread the word!
Want to try the diapers out before the giveaway closes? Seventh Generation has offered a $2 coupon to my readers. You must have a coupon printer installed to print this out. Find the link here.
Giveaway will be closed to new entries July 24th, 2011 at midnight Eastern Standard Time.
To enter the giveaway, you MUST answer the following question and leave your email in this comment:
What do YOU think about the new Free and Clear diapers?
Extra entries:
Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect and leave a comment that you do. (1)
Go to the Seventh Generation website here and tell me one thing you learned about these diapers in a comment. (1)
Leave in a comment your own preference for diapers, cloth or disposable? Brand? (1)
Refer another person to this giveaway and have them leave a comment you sent them, and you both receive an extra entry! (no limit)
Thanks so much, and good luck!
Thanks! ~Julia
As a cloth diaper enthusiast, I rarely have the opportunity to use disposable diapers. This is, of course, mostly by choice - I love my boy in cloth too much to opt for 'sposies! He has, in his 2.5 years of life, spent a total of 22 days in disposable diapers. Truth be told, 9 of those days he wore cloth at night since I really don't trust disposables to hold in all he has to offer.
That said, when opting for a disposable, I turn to the more environmentally friendly companies first. Seventh Generation is one of the top options on that list for me. So, when I received an offer from MyBlogSpark to try out, and review the new line of Free and Clear dipes offered by Seventh Generation, I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl.
My pack arrived the day before we took off for my mom's fourth of July weekend. While I have always brought cloth with me to her house in the past, I figured it was an opportune time to try out the disposables. So, off to the store I went to purchase a package of Seventh Generation wipes to match (why use cloth wipes with disposable diapers? I know, I know, I could have, but I didn't), and we took off for NJ.
T was overjoyed with the package of diapers...he walked around the living room before we left holding them and exclaiming over them. This excitement didn't wane with the option to put one on when we arrived at our first destination, a friend's house in NJ. He thought they were great! Of course they are super easy to use, the fit is great, and they clean up easily. Most of my complaints come only from the comparison of cloth to disposable, and not of these diapers in particular.
What do I like about the Seventh Generation diapers?
~ The ingredients are listed right on the package.
~ A major complaint I have with most disposables is that I can smell a wet (urine filled) diaper the second a child wearing one comes into my immediate range. With these diapers, it's not so overwhelming, and I assume (with no factual basis) this is because Seventh Generation uses both SAP (super absorbent polymer or sodium polyacrylate)and wood pulp as absorbents, rather than just the SAP.
~ Seventh Generation is consistently working toward creating a healthier product for family and the planet, and the new generation of the Free and Clear diapers are no exception. The packaging is now smaller and recyclable wherever you can return plastic bags (as in supermarkets). They've cut back the amount of wood pulp used, and attempt to cut the overall space each package contributes to landfills.
In the past, I have erroneously assumed the pigmentation of these diapers was due to the lack of chlorine bleaching in the processing of Seventh Generation diapers. As written on the package, "The color of disposable diapers is typically achieved through the addition of pigments. This is also true for the brown layered materials in Seventh Generation diapers." Reading more from the Seventh Generation website, I learned that without such pigmentation, disposables would be virtually see-through, and after direct feedback from consumers, the company decided to continue using the safe brown pigment in their diapers.
After three days away, I still have half a package of these diapers to use. I'm saving them for a rainy day. As in the past, I will continue to reach for Seventh Generation as an option when necessary, like when T had impetigo and I had to strip all of our cloth diapers. It's still up for debate as to whether I will use disposables for the meconium days when baby #2 arrives this fall. If I do, I may opt for these dipes as well. We'll see!
As a part of my participation in this review, Seventh Generation would like to offer a package of Free and Clear diapers through MyBlogSpark to one lucky winner on this blog. Interested to try a pack of your own? Please enter, and spread the word!
Want to try the diapers out before the giveaway closes? Seventh Generation has offered a $2 coupon to my readers. You must have a coupon printer installed to print this out. Find the link here.
Giveaway will be closed to new entries July 24th, 2011 at midnight Eastern Standard Time.
To enter the giveaway, you MUST answer the following question and leave your email in this comment:
What do YOU think about the new Free and Clear diapers?
Extra entries:
Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect and leave a comment that you do. (1)
Go to the Seventh Generation website here and tell me one thing you learned about these diapers in a comment. (1)
Leave in a comment your own preference for diapers, cloth or disposable? Brand? (1)
Refer another person to this giveaway and have them leave a comment you sent them, and you both receive an extra entry! (no limit)
Thanks so much, and good luck!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Updates
For anyone who happens to stop by occasionally...hello again!
I am currently 5 months pregnant with baby #2. I got pregnant at the end of January, and by the time I hit 5 weeks, nausea hit. It increased incrementally until I could no longer keep a thing down, including water or most beverages. Ginger ale worked for the most part, but I was still dehydrated. Anyway, at 20 weeks it all passed, and here I am heading into the sixth month and feeling alive again.
Better news for you, I've decided to participate in a review & giveaway hosted by MyBlogSpark! I am a devoted and faithful cloth diaper user, I even stuck through it when I couldn't bear the smell of my son's poops in combo with the detergent I was using at the height of my nausea. Many a time, I thought I would put them away and get some 'sposies to get me through...but a change in detergent and several washes later, I pulled through the worst of it.
Anyway, all of that said, this spark review is for a pack of Seventh Generation's new diaper line:Free & Clear. I will be receiving the diapers soon, and after using them a few times will conduct my review & giveaway. Please keep posted for the info on that!
Hope to see you soon. :)
I am currently 5 months pregnant with baby #2. I got pregnant at the end of January, and by the time I hit 5 weeks, nausea hit. It increased incrementally until I could no longer keep a thing down, including water or most beverages. Ginger ale worked for the most part, but I was still dehydrated. Anyway, at 20 weeks it all passed, and here I am heading into the sixth month and feeling alive again.
Better news for you, I've decided to participate in a review & giveaway hosted by MyBlogSpark! I am a devoted and faithful cloth diaper user, I even stuck through it when I couldn't bear the smell of my son's poops in combo with the detergent I was using at the height of my nausea. Many a time, I thought I would put them away and get some 'sposies to get me through...but a change in detergent and several washes later, I pulled through the worst of it.
Anyway, all of that said, this spark review is for a pack of Seventh Generation's new diaper line:Free & Clear. I will be receiving the diapers soon, and after using them a few times will conduct my review & giveaway. Please keep posted for the info on that!
Hope to see you soon. :)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
A New Year, Same Old Goals :)
Trying to post more regularly is a theme of mine. Sometimes it works and I'm good at it, others it just doesn't happen. For months at a time. Friends of mine have family members who egg them on for more posts, can't get enough. My own mom often can't even log into her account and my dad never checks here. I don't hear from anyone else, so who knows! It's just a few friends who love to read up when then can and for you, I post.
My newest adventure has been in babysitters. Not babysitting, as many of you know I have done to keep things afloat since I got pregnant with T, but in actually getting sitters. Today I wondered if it was worth it as I gave the sitter exactly the same amount I was making (after paying her). But, it's good for T to have a different playmate, and it's all in the hopes of finding a day care for him one day a week. I wasn't necessarily going to put him into any structured environment until he hit 3, ready for preschool, but this new cleaning job came up and I just couldn't say no at this stage.
So, we're here, and I suddenly find that I feel like a grown up. Is that weird? I mean, my kid is two, I'm over thirty, we own a house and have been married for 5 1/2 years. But hiring a babysitter for my son while I go work is what makes me feel grown up. Not in an "I'm proud of myself" kind of way, it just has that effect. Like, suddenly I crossed into a new realm of mommy hood and it's really ok to not be the main influence on my child anymore. I guess I still am, and will be until he really takes to having peers, but I gave up that position in a way.
I have also come to realize something else. I don't care who thinks I'm nuts, but I've always wanted my children to be really close in age, much less than 2 years apart. Andy didn't feel the same way, so it was a bit longer before I even convinced him it was really ok to start trying. Well, I've realized my fears of not conceiving right away, or even the subsequent months after. Still waiting for the day we can say number two is coming, I look at my 2 year old boy and think "Wow, by the time the next one comes, he'll be close to or at 3 years old. And he'll be potty trained or close to it, and I'll have to get back into diapers. And lose sleep, when my boy has been sleeping through the night for a long time now. And get all crazy, when I really just rediscovered myself as a separate person, probably around the same time he did. Now I truly understand why I have always wanted my kids to be close together. But that's not what happened, and I have to find the grace and the gratefulness in the way things are."
But it still makes me want to cry.
On the other hand, I've been reading a book that I feel is somewhat cheesy, as in the exclamation point is way overused (did anyone even proofread this?) but just in that statement alone I'm undoing some of the work I've been doing with this book. The sequel to 'the Secret', "The Power" by Rhonda Byrne, is what is helping me realign my thoughts from a negative pattern to a more positive one - working with the power of the law of attraction. What I want must be what I love - and what I don't want shouldn't be thought or spoken of...
I've been finding new ways to look at the world, and it's really bringing me back to where I was in my early twenties - more carefree, more open, less worried and much more focused. I have lost so much of my true self through the years, allowing one experience to dictate my feelings on the next. It's a snowball effect, but I feel I must have hit a plateau. A study I read a little about helped to change my view first, which allowed this book to work a little more. This study said that in observing the human brain, it was found that thoughts create different neurological pathways, and a person will automatically start to go into certain thought processes if a pathway has been set. So, if one constantly thinks negatively, the brain is programed to go into those negative paths as soon as a new thought enters. The fun fact is that with persistence, these pathways can be changed. By taking time each day to think positively, the negative pathways will eventually be erased and the positive ones take precedence. What beauty's in that!
"The Power" also brings out the notion that life is not circumstance, but whatever you give out, you get back. It's really true, and has been spoken of all over in many different cultures, but the simplicity of it is likely what makes most people turn away. Which will make what you love turn away. By giving the love you have to those people and ideas you honestly love you are starting the path. It's tricky once you begin to find ways to change each negative word or thought into a positive one.
So, giving half my pay today to someone to watch my son? I love that he has a new person to play with. I love that he warmed up to her within 3 minutes, not the usual 10-15 it takes him. I love that she didn't mind my house is a bit messy. I love that she can drive herself here and home. And I love that I had a little bit of freedom to go outside my house without remembering everything my boy needs as we walk out the door.
My newest adventure has been in babysitters. Not babysitting, as many of you know I have done to keep things afloat since I got pregnant with T, but in actually getting sitters. Today I wondered if it was worth it as I gave the sitter exactly the same amount I was making (after paying her). But, it's good for T to have a different playmate, and it's all in the hopes of finding a day care for him one day a week. I wasn't necessarily going to put him into any structured environment until he hit 3, ready for preschool, but this new cleaning job came up and I just couldn't say no at this stage.
So, we're here, and I suddenly find that I feel like a grown up. Is that weird? I mean, my kid is two, I'm over thirty, we own a house and have been married for 5 1/2 years. But hiring a babysitter for my son while I go work is what makes me feel grown up. Not in an "I'm proud of myself" kind of way, it just has that effect. Like, suddenly I crossed into a new realm of mommy hood and it's really ok to not be the main influence on my child anymore. I guess I still am, and will be until he really takes to having peers, but I gave up that position in a way.
I have also come to realize something else. I don't care who thinks I'm nuts, but I've always wanted my children to be really close in age, much less than 2 years apart. Andy didn't feel the same way, so it was a bit longer before I even convinced him it was really ok to start trying. Well, I've realized my fears of not conceiving right away, or even the subsequent months after. Still waiting for the day we can say number two is coming, I look at my 2 year old boy and think "Wow, by the time the next one comes, he'll be close to or at 3 years old. And he'll be potty trained or close to it, and I'll have to get back into diapers. And lose sleep, when my boy has been sleeping through the night for a long time now. And get all crazy, when I really just rediscovered myself as a separate person, probably around the same time he did. Now I truly understand why I have always wanted my kids to be close together. But that's not what happened, and I have to find the grace and the gratefulness in the way things are."
But it still makes me want to cry.
On the other hand, I've been reading a book that I feel is somewhat cheesy, as in the exclamation point is way overused (did anyone even proofread this?) but just in that statement alone I'm undoing some of the work I've been doing with this book. The sequel to 'the Secret', "The Power" by Rhonda Byrne, is what is helping me realign my thoughts from a negative pattern to a more positive one - working with the power of the law of attraction. What I want must be what I love - and what I don't want shouldn't be thought or spoken of...
I've been finding new ways to look at the world, and it's really bringing me back to where I was in my early twenties - more carefree, more open, less worried and much more focused. I have lost so much of my true self through the years, allowing one experience to dictate my feelings on the next. It's a snowball effect, but I feel I must have hit a plateau. A study I read a little about helped to change my view first, which allowed this book to work a little more. This study said that in observing the human brain, it was found that thoughts create different neurological pathways, and a person will automatically start to go into certain thought processes if a pathway has been set. So, if one constantly thinks negatively, the brain is programed to go into those negative paths as soon as a new thought enters. The fun fact is that with persistence, these pathways can be changed. By taking time each day to think positively, the negative pathways will eventually be erased and the positive ones take precedence. What beauty's in that!
"The Power" also brings out the notion that life is not circumstance, but whatever you give out, you get back. It's really true, and has been spoken of all over in many different cultures, but the simplicity of it is likely what makes most people turn away. Which will make what you love turn away. By giving the love you have to those people and ideas you honestly love you are starting the path. It's tricky once you begin to find ways to change each negative word or thought into a positive one.
So, giving half my pay today to someone to watch my son? I love that he has a new person to play with. I love that he warmed up to her within 3 minutes, not the usual 10-15 it takes him. I love that she didn't mind my house is a bit messy. I love that she can drive herself here and home. And I love that I had a little bit of freedom to go outside my house without remembering everything my boy needs as we walk out the door.
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