HappyMamaToMany

Summer time is here, and while my daughter couldn't wait for school to get out for summer vacation, she now asks all the time, "When are we going back to school?". We don't start here till the end of August.Why she is so bored already I couldn't tell you. It's not like we just sit inside all day everyday.

We have been going swimming every afternoon, and we went to Sea World the first week in June for the weekend. We stayed at a really nice resort called  "The Blue Tree Resort in Orlando, FL. Its a condo, with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, dining room with a table and 6 chairs, a FULL kitchen, even a dishwasher, and a washer and dryer. We got it for $65.00 a night- how you ask? By going to booking. com and reserving online. I do not work for them or anything, I was just very pleased with our stay. We were lucky and the kiddie pool and pool (with fountains) was right out front of our condo. It has 4 pools, tennis courts, mini golf and tennis courts, oh and a playground for the little ones. VERY clean, and just a great time.

Today we went back to Orlando, my brother had to tie up some loose ends for his business, and we decided we'd all go..well not all , but the 15 yr old son and the 3 little girls. Yesterday the baby started running a fever of 103.2 but with a little bit of Tylenol it came down, and she wasn't acting sick so we decided to go anyway. The 15 yr old also wasn't feeling too well before bed last night, his legs and back were aching, and I had to give him the heating pad. After using that and a dose of Motrin he said he felt better....so as you know we went to Orlando, a 2 1/2 hr trip for us. We had a great time, did some sightseeing, my brother took us out for a wonderful lunch, had wings and gator tail, on the way home we saw lots of orange groves, and drove past John Travolta's horse farm. We even took a different route home and went through Gainesville to show my son The University of Florida, as this is one of the colleges we are considering for him. I have also been thinking about going back to school in the next year or so to become a Midwife. I knew there was a school in Gainesville that offers the Midwife Program but you can imagine my excitement when we actually passed it, and its right across the street from UF!!! Wow, I wonder if that's a sign?

We are planning to go back to Orlando at the end of July for my daughter's 4th birthday,. She wants to go to the Nick Hotel and stay in a SpongeBob room, and be slimed. I think it will be fun...okay, maybe not the slime part, but I will do it for my daughter :)

Aside from a couple other small trips we are planning to the beach, the Museum of Science and History and the Zoo, I don't know what else to do with my children to keep them busy and having fun. What do you do with your preschoolers and school aged children to keep them not bored and happy? I also need things that don't cost alot of money.

I can't wait to hear some ideas.

Okay, I have 7 children, and they are expensive. I have to try and find ways to save money where I can. When my oldest son was born, we used cloth diapers on him from time to time, as in between paydays because, well, my husband was an E-5 in the Navy and we were poor. You know, struggling to make ends meet. Then we had 3 more children fairly close together, and while I should have used cloth, I didn't. My husband was deployed ALL.THE.TIME. and I could barely keep my head above water, so we used disposables. Then fast forward to 6 years after we had our youngest son. I met a friend, who later become my best friend on an online diaper forum. She had been using cloth diapers, and well, introduced to me to the dark side of cloth diapering. So my cloth diapering journey began with my first daughter. WOW, they had come a long way, no more diaper pins and rubber pants. Now they had these awesome diapers that were cute in prints, and had velcro...I didn't know what to think. I of course jumped in feet first and had to try every kind they had, after trying a few brands, I was hooked!! Hook, line and sinker.

I had to decide if I wanted to use an All In One, which is just like a disposable, a fitted, which is usually a really nice diaper that snaps, and is super silky soft inside, but needs a cover. Next were pocket diapers, Fuzzi Bunz (my favorite) and Happy Heiney's. they are basically a waterproof outer with an opening in the back that you stuff with something, like a diaper prefold or an insert. Next came wool, nice soft wool, not your grandma's scratchy wool socks. While they are pretty to look at, I just never got into them, then another one of my favorites, prefolds, flats and Bummis or Thirsties covers. Also many Work at Home Mom made ones. I have a list, if your interested, send me an email, I'd love to share my list of favorites.

So from my oldest daughter, I continued to cloth diaper my next two daughters. While I have tried MANY and possibly ALL the cloth diapers there are, I have a few I remain loyal to. Different diapers serve different purposes. In the beginning, it can seem like a foreign language, but google can become your next best friend when trying to decide what kinds to buy. My advice would be, is to buy just a few different types of diapers, never buy a whole bunch of one brand, each baby is shaped differently, and while one diaper might work GREAT on your friends baby, it may not fit yours at all. I never understood that term until I started cloth diapering. It will be trial and error to see what works for you.

You will also need to think about if you will use cloth wipes as well. I did and found it to be much easier, I could make my own wipes solution (SO EASY), let me know if you need a reciepe, and you'll need a wet bag to keep your dirty diapers till wash day. Cloth diapers are so easy to use and have so many advantages. My baby  has very sensitive skin, and breaks out REALLY bad when she wears disposables. Cloth lets there bottom breathe, which is important to healthy skin. It really isn't that much extra laundry...If you have a baby or toddler, chances are your going to be doing laundry frequently anyway.

If there is an interest, I would be happy to write a post on what kind of diapers I use, how many is a good number to have, and how I keep them until wash day, and how I wash them.

Not to sound like a commercial, but it's also good for the environment. I am glad that my baby's diapers are not sitting in a landfill somewhere for the next 500 years, trying to biodegrade. If you are COMPLETELY against cloth diapers, I'd love to hear why, maybe I could change your mind :).