The Goodins: March 2015

Monday, March 30, 2015

Snow Night

It snowed sometime in February. I am so behind I've lost all details from my memory. But I'm pretty sure it was February.

Jake was out of town. Hadley was asleep...thank goodness. We waited all day for it to snow (preschool and UA both closed), but instead of playing in the snow we just played in the house. It finally snowed at about 7:30pm! I wanted Hadley to experience it on one hand, but I sure wasn't looking forward to the mess it would make or the chasing I'd have to do to keep socks--or whatever I would have fashioned--on her her hands, and worry about her getting sick. It was perfect timing! Poor baby; she'll experience snow eventually!

Collins and I hurried and got dressed and headed outside. We threw some snowballs at each other, built a teeny tiny snowman, and stood under the street light so we could see the flakes better. Then we went inside and made snow cream right before bed. It was fun :)

18 Months

Hadley Lauren turned 18 months old on February 25, 2015! Some new things and words to note:

Loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and really loves "Jesus Loves Me." Particularly the last part of that one. Collins, Jake, and I will all sing the whole song with her then pause for her dramatic "SOOOOOO"!
When we sing, "Wheels on the Bus" it's cute how she does the wiper part: "shish, shish, shish." It sounds like she's having a "shishing" fit!
Goes up to the pantry, reaches for the door knob, and says, "A snaaack!"
She's a bit of a dare devil still. Climbing in the tub, on the chair, standing on the couch and glaring at us when we tell her no. And when we correct her or tell her no her response is either to cry or to smile sweetly and say, "haaay."
She can count to 10! Each number is said slowly and goes up an octave at the end. Sometimes she skips a few numbers. I think it's a common core thing ;)
Likes to tote her own lunch box to and from preschool. She tries desperately to put the handle on her shoulder and carry it like a purse. It weighs about as much as she does with the food and ice pack inside.
Almost every day she takes off her shoes, socks, and bow while we're riding in the car. You may wonder why I keep putting them on her if I know this is going to happen. The answer is that I don't know. I ask myself the same thing every day.
Dances at any sign of music. She cannot resist. No matter what time of morning, what kind of beat, what position she's in. If she's sitting in your lap she'll just do a little pelvic thrust.
When I rock her I use a small yellow and white pillow behind my back because it's the perfect lumbar support. When she sits in her little pink rocker to hold her babies she's started to grab the pillow and put behind her back, too. It is so sweet! And way too big for her!
"Almost...almost" and "wait...wait" because that's what I say when I'm trying to hurry and change her diaper :)
Our routine at night is bath time, then we brush her teeth (which she loves to do...especially if she can stand on the stool to do so), read two books (favorites are The Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, a book about Global Baby Girls, and a book called God Made Me), sing "Jesus Loves Me" with an encore of the "so" part, and then she goes in her bed. With a paci still, which I've recently poked a hole in and taken from the car seat. Pretty sure her teeth are messed up from it :( She uses no night light and I even block the light from the humidifier when we use it. She sleeps with a pink elephant lovey and a few blankets.
I love, love to hear her walk barefoot through the house. Her little flat feet sound so sweet :) Probably another post on just that soon!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Stuff That Amazes Me

I have a whole lot of stuff to blog about, but have been crippled by the fact that my phone isn't cooperating. Stuff like t-ball, family visits, spring break...good stuff! :)

In the meantime, let me share with you some other good stuff. Not related to my children (gasp!)

I am not one to write product reviews online, but I am definitely one to rely on them when making purchases. Hypocritical, I know.

Not too long ago I "attended" a virtual party on Facebook to learn about Norwex cleaning products. I was impressed, but they didn't discuss price at the party which was an obvious (and accurate) indicator that the products are expensive. I did some research and found another company called eCloth that offers pretty much the same products, some argue they're better, and they're waaaayyyy cheaper. They don't even charge shipping. Ever. That's the way to my heart!

www.eclothusa.com

I first purchased the General Purpose Cloth (that happens to be recommended by Real Simple magazine) and loved it so much I bought the Kitchen Pack, which is on sale right now for $6.99. And free shipping, remember.

They are amazing. Jake said it's one of his favorite things I've ever purchased. They use microfibers and water to clean, so no need for chemicals and surfaces (any surfaces) really do get very clean and shiny. I've used it in the bathroom, kitchen, on mirrors, on windows. Wonderful. You just can't use bleach, fabric softener, or dryer sheets with them or it'll ruin the microfiberness.

Which brings me to my next random, self-imposed review that most probably won't care about: dryer balls. I thought if I can't use dryer sheets, and if Norwex and eCloth taught me that dryer sheets are one of the number one causes of cancer among household products, then why the heck use dryer sheets at all? So I broke up with dryer sheets. And got these:

If there are 715 reviews on Amazon and the rating is 5 stars, sign me up. Especially when it's only $10.95 and no shipping again (if you spend the $30 total on Amazon). And no cancer either. I liked these so much I have another order on the way. Because if three are good, six are better. Plus, the more balls you use, the less drying time. By the way no static and the clothes are soft!

The only down side is there's no smell either. I don't really care about that because I agree with what someone, somewhere said, clean has no smell. But Jake likes smelly clothes (in a good way), so I also have some lavender oil on the way to try that.

Last thing. Dry shampoo. I know, that's not a new thing, but this brand is awesome.

This is currently on my wish list on Amazon, but I haven't bought it because it's $17.85 for shampoo. I do think it's worth it, though. I received it in my Birch Box (a Christmas present from Haylee; you get sample beauty products in a box sent to your door every month). I ran out of the sample, went to Ulta, showed the sales girl who said, "Did you get that in your Birch Box? Yeah, it's awesome. I love it. We don't have it." It just does so much better than other brands I've tried at keeping hair fresh and not oily looking, which is an issue for someone with long, thick, fine, oily hair.

That's all for now. Next post will be about a kid or two :)

Monday, March 2, 2015

Layla Rose

My friend/coworker, Amy, had her baby girl on January 29, 2015! She weighed 10 lbs 3 oz and is beautiful! The first picture is of Amy holding her when I went to visit the other night. Then I held Layla as she napped and grunted :) The bottom pictures are from her newborn session. Precious! Congratulations, Amy and Keith!