This view makes me smile...

As I walk down the hallway and peek into the nursery...

I see Levi's new dinosaur pillow and it makes me smile.

To me, little boys = dinosaurs. 

So, this weekend my mom and I were shopping for some items for the new playroom project and I spied this pillow. I knew my baby boy needed it!

Since we didn't know whether we would be having a boy or a girl we kept the nursery neutral. We love the way it looks, but the dino pillow just really makes it a "boy room."

And I'm so thrilled to be the mama to a beautiful little boy!

P.S. In a few weeks we will be starting on a VERY frugal playroom in our unfinished basement storage room! I will be sure to update as we work on this project!

Things I'm diggin' right now...

 International Delight Iced Coffee

Vanilla flavor

If you haven't tried it...YOU MUST!!

It tastes SOO good!!!

I like my coffee cold and plenty sweet and this fits the bill.

It's about $4 for a half gallon at the grocery store.

All you gotta do is pour it over ice and enjoy!

I'm not making nearly the Starbucks runs that I used to, but this satisfies that caffeine need mid-afternoon and its saving me lots of money too!

Trader Joe's Cookie Butter

This stuff is amazing.

Addicting.

It is Speculoos cookies, ground into a butter.

Speculoos cookies are from Belgium (I think...) and have a mild caramel, gingersnap taste to them.

I ate a jar this week.

*hangs head*

And I'm currently eating the last lit bit smeared on a crossaint.

So.stinkin.good

BumGenius Albert Print Diaper

I got some fluff in the mail today!

The new Albert print diaper!!

For Earth Day, Mom's Milk Boutique had their BumGenius diapers for 25% off.

I quickly snagged this hard-to-find print!

Grandparents!!!

Levi is so blessed to live within 15 minutes of all his grandparents, and 30 minutes from all his great-grandparents.

What does this mean?

LOTS of eager baby-sitters!

They have been a godsend to help whenever we need it.

I seriously don't know how people do it without the grandparents near!

Being home with my lil' man

I am very much cherishing this time I have to dedicate to my son, my husband and my home.

The quality snuggles and milestones I get to to witness each day with my son is amazing.

With this time I've also been able to keep our home the cleanest and most organized its every been.

I've been able to knock out some long-needed projects.

I know that my husband coming home to a kept house and a happy son is a blessing to him.

My time at home will be up come next school year, but I feel so very blessed that God provided this extra abundance of time to dedicate to my family.

What are you diggin' right now?!

Levi in pics

Levi is 11 weeks old today!

I thought I'd share some pics from the past 11 weeks!

Professional pics

Courtesy of LeGrand Photography

Newborn

One Month

Two Months

And some non-pro Mama shots

Time is sure flying!!!

Back to the Basement

Now that our basement has been lived in for awhile and decorating is complete (for now), I thought I'd share some pics!

Keep in mind...this is a FAMILY room. It is lived in. 

By 2 adults, 2 dogs, a cat and a baby.

You've been warned.

The family room kind of has 2 "sides".

The TV side, and the baby side.

The focal point of the TV side.

We just got a Mac Mini off of Craigslist with an apple keyboard and track pad.

Since we are a non- cable family this is an awesome option as we can watch TV shows online via their station website, Hulu and Netflix.

The view from the baby side to the TV side

Baby side. 

Got our play gym, Levi is rockin' the swing and his Bumbo.

On the baby side is a hand-me-down recliner to sit and enjoy baby.

I tried to dress it up by adding a throw blanket and pillow.

It helps.

Also on the baby side is a little desk workstation.

Mr. Free got it for me for my birthday.

The bookcase is full of Levi's books and future DVDs, my favorite books, games, toys and our candy stash.

Yes, we have a devoted candy stash.

Candy is Mr. Free's favorite food.

Thank goodness his sister is a dentist!

The TV side.

Sectional from Nebraska Furniture Mart with pillows from Pier 1.

The couch on the left is a hand-me down sleeper sofa.

The ottoman is from Walmart with the tray from Target.

The art above the sectional is Mr. Free's and the framed picture is from our good friend.

This area is so cozy.

We constantly have people over for TV and movie nights and can fit everyone!

View from the corner of TV side. 

Still love the beam Mr. Free made to cover the I beam.

View from the Desk area to TV side.

The desk, ottoman and lamp are from Target.

The ottoman has storage for pens, stamps, etc.

The basket next to it have baby blankets.

Great for tummy time!

Door to the laundry room.

Still love the family sign I got from Hobby Lobby on clearance!

Up close of ottoman and sectional. 

We spend a LOT of time here.

Lots.

Side table that also houses an ottoman. Gotta love multiple uses!

Dog bed for our bassets to lounge. It's huge, can fit all three pets easy and only $20 from Costco!

Also next to the couch is a diaper caddy.

It holds a few cloth diapers,  cloth wipes, diaper area spray and lotion, hand sanitizer and a changing mat.

Perfect for quick diaper changes.

Starburst mirror is from Target.

So this is where we now live! We love it so much!!!

The Yeast Monster

Levi has been a yeasty baby.

In his 2 months of life he has had 2 yeast infections (evidently more common in baby boys, to my surprise!) and thrush.

Poor buddy.

Just so you know...since I sure didn't...yeast rash looks similiar to diaper rash, but it has red bumps. Not just red skin.

During his first yeast infection, he had JUST started in cloth diapers, and it was recommended to us to switch to disposables until it cleared up. Luckily we still had some disposies left from gifts, so we did that. Our pediatrician recommended a combination of monistat and aquaphor on his bottom with each diaper change. Also to make sure he is very dry before applying it.

Levi is a hot box and a sweaty little man. This obviously gives the perfect environment for yeast to thrive.

Cloth diapers are also wetter on the skin which also contributed.

With the combo of disposies and monistat/aquaphor, the yeast went away.

But we had to disinfect the cloth diapers he had previously worn as they could still contain yeast spores which could bring that awful Yeast Monster back.

I googled my little heart out and decided to do a combination of tea tree oil and bleach to disinfect them. All I did was add a capful of tea tree oil and the bleach (totally safe for those cute colors!) to the first rinse cycle, then washed (make sure it's HOT) and dried as normal.

A few weeks later the yeast came back, and we were out of disposables. I was not about to go out and buy more. So, I googled again and found a great idea! Fleece liners! Fleece is a great material to put in cloth diapers as they are dry to the touch even when wet. And since they go on top of the actual diaper, you can use any cream you want on baby's bottom as it can't harm the diaper. So I went to Hobby Lobby, bought a yard of fleece and got about 30 liners out of it. (I just traced a pocket insert and cut around it) and fleece doesn't fray, so no need to sew! Just cut! So for $5 I got 30 liners and went ahead and put them in all my diapers (they just lay on top of the diaper, against baby's skin).

The liners have been wonderful! I was able to again use the monistat/aquaphor combo without damaging my diapers and his bottom is much drier after a dirty diaper, which helps combat the yeast as well.

Another way to be proactive with yeast is that I added a drop of tea tree oil to the California Baby Diaper Area Wash that I use with his cloth wipes. Tea Tree Oil is a natural anti-fungal, so it fights the yucky yeast.

I also use coconut oil as a diaper cream when he isn't yeasty as this is a naturally anti-fungal as well.

Another great thing to do to prevent any type of diaper rashes is having some diaper-free time each day. Since Levi is supposed to do Tummy Time everyday as well, we just do it naked! (Him...NOT me!) That really helps air things out and prevent rashes.

And of current, he is yeast free!

Hope this helps any fellow cloth diaperers if they come up against that yucky yeast monster!