Some noteworthy changes and characteristics are:
- her eye color changed from dark blue to hazel
- her dark hair lightened up to a strawberry-light-brown
- she now has 4 bottom teeth, 2 top teeth, and 2 currently pushing through
- she loves to feed herself finger food and dislikes being spoon-fed
- her favorite and most used words are “kitty” and “cheese”
- she is getting close to walking, but is currently satisfied with cruising along furniture
- she gives high fives, claps her hands, waves, and sticks out her tongue on command

I’ll spare you from more mom brags and just say goodbye for now. I will be back soon!

As a kick into gear, I have committed to having a booth at an upcoming Spring Boutique Expo in Oakdale, MN in a few weeks. There will be a variety of vendors there – from beauty products and services to crafts and handmade goods. I’ve been working on a collection of Scripture based Art Prints that I will be selling at the expo, among other things. I hope you will consider coming! Below is a sneak peek of the collection. You can also find them in my etsy store online.

Spring Boutique Expo:
Sunday May 19th
1:00 – 5:00

Cedric’s Landing
5680 Hadley Avenue North,
Oakdale, MN

Click on the image above to check out my shop!

This past weekend, our little family ventured out to the Kielbasa Festival, held by and in the parking lot of Kramarczuk’s Deli. Both my husband and I have Polish in our blood and grew up eating cabbage rolls, borscht, sauerkraut, and various sausages. Kramarczuk’s was not a foreign place to our families. So, of course when we heard about the festival, we just had to go.

We enjoyed our food and drink and the entertainment — traditional dancing and music. Chatted with some folks sitting at our table, and enjoyed the company of my sister and her husband. And on our way out, we stopped in the Deli to pick up some meats to enjoy at home. This might have to become a family tradition.

I’m a sucker for antiques, vintage stuff and sales.

It was only a few years ago that I found out about the Elko Trader’s Market.  If you live in Minnesota and love antiques and vintage items, have a home that needs furnishings, or simply like to “window shop”, I highly recommend checking it out.  A few weekends in the summer, hundreds of vendors set up their goods outdoors in Elko, right off I-35. You’ll find anything from old tin buckets to beautiful antique furniture. There are also food vendors with hot dogs, tacos, mini donuts and kettle korn. 

My sister and I wandered out for a morning at the Market with little June.  We indulged in some mini donuts and brats and made our way to each vendor’s “store.”  There were so many things I would love to make mine, but, knew I didn’t absolutely need.

My husband and I have been trying to simplify and de-clutter our home from decades of collecting. For the past 6 years of marriage, we’ve mostly been making due with our random belongings and making them work in our space. But, now that we own a home, it would be nice to furnish it accordingly. So, I knew I had to resist the temptation to buy until we are ready to purchase those perfect pieces. I did end up buying a vintage puzzle (pictured above) for when June gets a bit older. 

Know of any other must-go-to flea markets or sales in the Twin Cities? I’d love to hear about them.

Congrats to Joy & Patrick, who are tying the knot next Summer. I am soo happy for you two and can’t wait for that special day!

As you may know, we started cloth diapering last month. I promised to keep you readers up to date, so, here is my experience (as a stay at home mom) thus far…

OVER ALL: I’m still really happy with my decision. I’ve been using prefolds with diaper covers. And for overnight, I use a pocket diaper, a special fleece lined diaper with an insert, so the bottom layer soaks up the moisture while the top layer stays dry.

LAUNDERING: June probably goes through 8 prefolds and two diaper covers (if she has a stool) a day. I wash diapers and covers together, every other day. So far, it hasn’t really been a hassle. First, I do a presoak for 20 mins. Then I wash on a cold cycle to rinse any poopy residue away. Then I add soap and wash on hot/cold. My diapers ALWAYS come out smelling clean. BUT, the poopy ones usually still have light stains. I’ve heard that setting them out in the sun will “bleach” the stains out, so I might try that. Not to mention, could save on the electricity bill. Currently, I dry them in the dryer on high heat.

DETERGENT: I was using baby Dreft (sold pretty much anywhere) detergent before I did any research. I wanted to see if I could make my own. After reading an article on how important the right detergent is and reading some negative feedback on making my own, I decided to order something else. This week I started using EnviroRite, which is free of Enzymes, Brightners, Dyes, etc, etc. This chart was helpful in helping me make a decision. But, only in the long run will I be able to tell you for sure if it does the job.

JUNE’S THOUGHTS: She doesn’t really seem to favor one over the other. I’ve heard from others, that babies notice the wet feeling more with cloth. But, last week, we stayed with my family at a cabin for the weekend. I decided to buy disposables for space-saving packing purposes (cloth take up a lot of room in the diaper bag!). When we got back home and went back to cloth, she didn’t seem disappointed. Sure, she’s only 4 months old, but, she does let me know when she has a poopy diaper. So, I know she’s aware of what’s on her bottom.

That’s all I have time for right now. Any other cloth diapering mom’s have any tips for stains?

It’s only been a few days, but here’s my report so far, for those interested:
I’ve only had one “blow out” where I had to change her clothes. But, I’m pretty sure it’s because the size small is a tad bit big on her right now, so it isn’t as “leak proof.” But, already, this surpasses the ratio of “blow out” to “stay in” she had with disposables. It was pretty much an every day occurrence. She also had an overnight bed wetting once, and it was lack of responsibility on my part. I think she had that diaper on all night (bad mom).

She has two sizes right now, XS and Small. She’s close to being too big for the XS, but the smalls are a tad bit too big for her, still. I ordered a Thirsties Duo Wrap 6 pack, which have snaps that convert the diaper into two sizes, enabling you to use them longer on a growing baby. I’m hoping this will help with the size gap problem I seem to be having right now.

If you’re interested, check back for more updates on our adventures of cloth diapering!

1. Chocolate Banana Shake
2. Neighborhood stroll to a garage sale and back
3. Lost CD
4. Water Tower
5. Sleepy Girl
6. Treat for a sweet tooth
7. Happy Girl