GroVia AIO One-Sized Cloth Diaper

Today, I'm going to show you a quick video on how to change a baby using a GroVia AIO one-sized cloth diaper. I'm also going to include a review on the diaper, so you all get an idea on how we are liking this particular cloth diaper. I'm hoping to continue making these short videos with each brand/type of the fluff we own followed by a review. Hopefully, this will help you all decide what type of cloth diaper works for you and your baby. Feel free to leave any questions or comments in the provided comment section.

I have never really heard of GroVia, until I entered to win a giveaway over at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. I heard about their hybrid diapers, but had no idea they made an all-in-one. A week after I entered the giveaway, I found out I had won (out of 1100 entries). I was so excited to learn I won, because I'm so open minded when it comes to cloth diapering. I'm willing to try just about anything(except for gDiapers) and winning this giveaway gave me an opportunity to try something new. I received two GroVia diapers in the mail two weeks later, one color was Vanilla and the other Ice. They have some other cute prints that I like, especially the "Owls" print.

In case some of you are wondering, an "all-in-one" cloth diaper is a diaper that is pretty much ready to wear without having to worry about stuffing a pocket with an insert or liner, pinning/snapping a fitted or prefold, etc. My husband is a huge fan of this type of diaper, because it doesn't require too much thinking, it's also easy for a baby who doesn't sit still. I do like how the GroVia has the snap in soaker option for extra absorbency, did I mention it's organic cotton!? It's pretty easy to size, as it is a one-sized cloth diaper, but I'm a little worried it won't fit once we get to the potty-training stage. The diaper is supposed to fit a baby from 10 lbs until 35 lbs. However, with the way it fits P-man now, I'm not sure if this diaper is something that will last him until he reaches 35 lbs. That's another thing, just because it says it fits up to a certain amount of weight, you also need to take inconsideration of the size around baby's waste, buttocks, and thighs.

Besides fit, I really don't have any complaints about this diaper. It's super absorbent, so we've never had any problems with leaks (would make for a perfect overnight option). It only took four wash and dry cycles to prepare the diaper for use with no repelling issues. It's a nice trim and soft diaper, and would highly recommend this brand to anyone.

Fluff Deal of the Day

Today's Fluff Deal of the day is over at mini bargainz. You can get a FuzziBunz Perfect Size Cloth Diaper for $11.00, granted there are limited sizes and colors. However, it's a $11.00 FuzziBunz. You also get a FREE logo strawberry tote with each order!

Ready, set, shop!

Slowly Improving

Okay, I think I'm done messing around with my blog for a while, at least until I can get a designer to come up with a custom design. Plus, I want to see if my blog brings in more traffic/reviews/giveaways giving me a reason to pay for a custom design. Anyway, let me know how you like it. I really thought the 2-column look was making my page look cluttered. Plus, I wanted to make sure all my buttons were on display towards the top of the blog so others can check out some of my favorite blogs, instead of having to scroll more towards the bottom. Anyway, I hope I'm satisfied with this template for a while, because honestly, I've been spending way too much time obsessing over this.

"The Alligator is my friend...

...can be your friend, can be you friend, can be your friend too".

That song brings back so many memories for me, especially when I was a camper at YMCA Camp Kitaki in Nebraska. A is for Alligator was also the name of our project we did today for our Letter of the Week curriculum. William had a fun time making his Alligator. I cut out the template and teeth, and he colored in the eyes and glued the teeth to the mouth. We also sang the Alligator song, here are the lyrics:

Alligator
(Chorus)
Alligator
Alligator!
ALLLLIGATOR!
Can be your friend, can be your friend, can be your friend too.

The alligator is my friend
He has a lovely face
I’d rather see him in the swamp
Than to have him on my suitcase
(Chorus)

The alligator is my friend
He has a very lovely pelt
I’d rather see him in the swamp
Than to wear him on my belt
(Chorus)

This alligator is my friend
He has a very lovely snoot
I’d rather see him in the swamp
Than to wear him on my boot
(Chorus)

The alligator is my friend
Step on his tail, he’ll be in a rage
I’d rather see him in the swamp
Than to see him in a cage
(Chorus)

The alligator is my friend
He can be your friend too
I'd rather have him as my friend,
then wear him as a shoe (point to shoe)
(Chorus)

The alligator is my friend
He has a scaly pelt
I'd rather have him as my friend
Than wear him as a belt (point to belt)
(Chorus)

The alligator is my friend
He likes to tease and flirt
I'd rather have him as my friend
Than wear him on my shirt (point to shirt)
(Chorus)

The alligator is my friend
You can do no worse
I’d rather have him as my friend
Than wear him as my purse.

Besides our craft, we also worked on letter A recognition. I found a worksheet where there were six "A's" surrounded by other letters...I then asked William to find each capital A and lowercase a, and I circled them. He found all of them with no hesitation. I can't get over how much he's learning. He is definitely making Jess and I very proud.

We will be ending our Letter of the A curriculum with airplanes and a trip to the United States Air Force Museum tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers the snow doesn't ruin our plans. However, there is always Sunday and that way Jess can attend too.

I will go ahead and post the directions to our alligator craft in case anyone else is interested in making their own.

You will need:
-Alligator A template found below, copied onto a piece of construction paper
-googly eyes or draw your own
-white construction paper for the teeth
-scissors
-glue

You [your preschooler] will do:
-cut out your Alligator A
glue it to your full sized piece of construction paper
-glue or draw on your googly eyes
-cut triangle teeth out of construction paper
-glue on teeth

Template:

Giveaway Alert over at AppleCheeks™ Reusable Diapers

**GIVEAWAY ALERT OVER AT AppleCheeks™ Reusable Diapers**

AppleCheeks™ Reusable Diapers is giving away some amazing items, including a $50 gift certificate to their store (the grand prize), A Little Bundle in your choice of size and color AND a size 1 Storage Sac, A super soaking 3-layer rayon from bamboo insert, and a A size 1 Storage Sac in your choice of Chocolate or St-Lucia.

This giveaway will close at February 3, 2011 at midnight EST. Now, head on over to their blog to find all the many ways to enter. Who doesn't want an opportunity to win some awesome prizes? It definitely made my January a little more brighter, especially with all the Ohio gloom.

Good luck!

Letter of the Week Curriculum - Letter A

Today is the second day working on our "Letter of the Week Curriculum", and the letter of the week is A. With the help from friends and my wonderful sister-in-law, I've been given some awesome resources and websites to get started on W's early childhood education.

Today, we worked on more letter A recognition and tracing. I'm teaching W about the difference between "big A" (capital A) and "little a" (lowercase a). I found a tree template with apples...I put a capital A on three apples, and a lowercase a on two apples... he then had to match them up with the letters on the tree (pictured below).










W definitely had fun doing this project. After making the apple tree, W really wanted to work on his writing. So, I found a worksheet where he can practice writing the letter A by tracing it. I helped him place the crayon in his hand, and told him what I wanted him to do. He did fabulous! He traced the letter A with no problem. He then looked at me, confused, and goes, "where is the little a?". So, I made him a traceable "a". After he traced it, he went to the bottom of his paper and wrote his first lowercase a. I was so proud of him, and we both just shouted with joy! I can't believe how much W is picking up and we're only on day 2. He's doing such a good job recognizing the letter A, and I can really tell when we read books (picking and pointing out each "a"). I'm having such a wonderful time teaching W and preparing him for preschool and kindergarten. It's so much fun watching them grow and learn new things. **The first photo is W's first lowercase "a"**

Project 365

I have pictures to catch up on, and I will definitely post them soon. I'm fighting this nagging cold, and can only handle so much time in front of the computer before a sinus headache decides to sneak up on me. Anyway, just wanted to let you all know...I have forgotten about my "Project 365".

On a side note, today is P-man's 10 month birthday! I can't believe he will be blowing out his first candle in two months...time can slow down now.

For now,

Giveaway Alert over at Dibs!

**GIVEAWAY ALERT OVER AT DIBS**

Dibs is giving away one Doodle Dypes cloth diaper. The winner will receive a One Size diaper of their choice : fitted, AI2, or pocket! It will include wing snap covers and a doubler. The fabric choices are phenomenal and is hard for me to choose a favorite. So, head on over to Dibs , there you will find the many ways to enter this fabulous giveaway.

**This giveaway will be open until Monday, January 24th, and a winner will be randomly chosen. The winner's name will be posted as an update to this post, and the winner will be notified via email. This giveaway is open to USA and Canada.**

A is for...

I have decided to start "homeschooling" W part-time until he attends preschool in the fall. We will only work 1-2 hours in the morning, and hopefully extending hours in the afternoon. However, I don't want to overwhelm him right now, and want to slowly introduce "school time" into our daily routine. This week we are going to focus on the letter A. I have already printed off a few worksheets/trace sheets, and have been given some great craft ideas from a friend and my sister-in-law (she will graduate with an elementary education degree this spring). I have some other ideas with letters, like making our own Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom tree to go along with the book, numbers, shapes, and colors. I hope to add onto our "alphabet wall" in our kitchen, and then create a small scrapbook of all of W's accomplishments and worksheets. This process is definitely a slow one, but I'm so excited to get started and instill an early childhood education into the minds of my children. I'm hoping to share our "lesson of the day" each day on here, as well as link back as to where I learned of our activity/lesson.

For now,

Gerber Generation

Saturday night, I was finally able to have my "Gerber Generation Houseparty". I won this houseparty by visiting/applying at, HouseParty. It took a few minutes to fill out the questionnaire/survey, but it was all worth it when I was selected to host and give out free stuff. HouseParty always has fun opportunity to host fun family events...from Fisher Price to Pull-Ups. They also have other party's geared towards cooking, video games, etc. It's pretty much a cheap way for companies to advertise and make their product aware to specific targeted audiences.

My party was postponed twice due to the stomach virus hitting our home and then changed due to a quick change of plans. I was only able to invite a certain number of women due to only having a certain number of supplies. I did invite a few more over the number, because I know it's hard getting attendance to 100%. Anyway, we had a lovely time chit-chatting about this and that, sharing all sorts of motherly advice, partaking in a game of "Gerber Generation" Jeopardy, and munching on tons of yummy food. We also learned more about the Gerber product through facts pointed out in the Jeopardy game. Here are the list of goodies that were handed out:

* Insulated Gerber® lunch tote
* VIP product coupons
* Gerber® bib
* Breastfeeding Basics Booklet
* Nutrition Guide
* 1 2-pack of GERBER® Organic SmartNourish™ 2nd FOODS® Purees
* 1 4-pack of GERBER® Infant Yogurt Blends
* 1 4-pack of GRADUATES® Yogurt Blends Snacks
* 1 GRADUATES® Smart Sips™ Dairy Beverage

It was a lot of fun, and would love to do something like this again. I think the only "HouseParty" I will try and win are the ones geared towards parenting and children. Let me know if you've ever won a "HouseParty", because I would love to hear how yours went.

Fluff Deal of the Day

Today's "Fluff Deal of the Day" can be found at Baby Half-Off. You can get a Ecobumz Supreme Stuffable AI2 for 57% Off.

What makes Ecobumz special (taken of their website):

"We have 6 lovin’ layers of yummy fluffiness including a top layer of organic bamboo velour, 4 thirsty layers of organic cotton/hemp blend and a trusty, durable built in cover that will keep everything in the diaper where it belongs...In the diaper!!!


Why shiny diapers you ask? Well, our diapers are unique. The outer layer is a recycled polyester polyurethane laminate. Its a fluid proof barrier fabric that is commonly used as a medical textile. The bonus for using this fabric in our diapers is that not only is it waterproof, it’s also non-wicking! That means no dampness around the legs or waist!


One thing we have learned for sure in our 4 years of diaper making, there is a snap team and an hook and loop (Velcro) team. And in most cases, they don’t play well together. But, we’ve got you covered! Our diapers are available in both! That’s right, ecobumz can be loved by all!

Ecobumz are the only organic stuffable All-in-one diaper, which means that not only are they uber soft with a built in waterproof cover, they also are stuffable! Each diaper comes with its own insert for extra protection made of 3 layers of bamboo and organic cotton."

Ready, set, shop!