"Perfect" Strangers

I spent this weekend driving from NJ to Ohio to attend my Grandmother's funeral and then driving back again. I didn't add up how many hours were spent in the car, but can tell you that we put about 1400 miles on it. My Grandmother was very loved, and her 6 children spread out pretty far, so my family members made the trip from near and far (Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, NJ, other parts of Ohio, California, Massachusetts). It was a sad family reunion (although we did manage to also have some fun).

The night after the funeral, most of us went to have dinner together at Steak N Shake. Not a fine dining restaurant, but they do make a mean burger! The hostess actually didn't have a heart attack when we walked in and announced that there were about 30 of us... and thankfully there was a large section of tables all by each other for us to descend upon. We felt kind of bad for the family of 5 that was trying to have dinner, who were now completely surrounded by us (they didn't seem to mind though)! (you can see them by the window in the first picture)

We mingled and took pictures, talked with the poor family that got stuck with us a little bit... the kids made a mess, took 20 bathroom trips. It was a normal extended family dinner.

Normal until I glanced over and saw my mother looking at something in utter disbelief. My first thought was that it was the check even though we weren't done. I went over to see what was up and she showed me a paper placemat from the restaurant with a nice note written on it in crayon. It was from the family that had been shoved in the corner expressing their sympathies for our loss (it had been mentioned in conversation that we were all together because of the funeral) and letting us know that there were angels watching out for us. It was very sweet, their kids had drawn on it a little and signed their names. But the really amazing part, included with the note was a Steak N Shake gift card for $100 to pay for our meal... all 27 of us!

They really were "perfect" strangers. Their random act of kindness really moved our entire family, and I hope that we will be able to pay it forward in tenfold.

Fitted Diaper Blitz!

I have started myself on a bit of a kick... buying fitted diapers! It all started with one from Cloth Couture. It was so soft, squishy and luxurious (not to mention great for overnights) that I had to find more!

I had tried fitteds before, my introduction to cloth diaper kit contained a Kissluvs fitted that I wasn't crazy about, and I had bought a few Thirsties that I liked, but not as much as my AIOs... so, I gave up on fitteds for a little while. I bought the one from Cloth Couture to support Alison (the woman who makes them) and out of curiosity (because others had such great things to say about them), never thinking it was going to lead to an obsession!

The next "nail in the coffin" was hearing about Bagshot Row Bamboo fitteds, I was told that they are very popular and impossible to get your hands on. I love a challenge so I checked them out and HAD to have one! I was able to buy one at the next stocking (just recieved it today actually) and can't wait to try it (although I am a bit intimidated but having to use a Snappi)! I was on a buyers high from getting in on the BSRB diaper and started cruising the diaper sites and Etsy, looking for more to buy!

I decided on:

1) Natural Sustainablebabyish in Medium

1) GoodMamas

2)WAHM made fitteds from Etsy

and added in a very cute used "Nemo" fitted (I think it is a Mutt) because my older kids begged me to get it.

That brings my fitted total up to 7, one for every night of the week. Which (of course) meant that I had to buy more covers!! I will be trying out my new Thirsties Duo covers tonight. I just adore Thirsties covers, they are so thin and easy to use, I think that they are just about perfect!

I am considering selling off all of my pockets and buying even more Sustainablebabyish fitteds to use during the day (they might be my favorites of all my new purchases).

I do wish that I liked the GoodMama more, but for the price, I have to say I expected a bit more... I don't know if the one I got is slightly defective, but the insert gets very crinkled up and is hard to get flat again.

An Introduction

I started this blog and then realized that I have very little time to actually write it! I am sneaking in a quick one while the baby is sleeping and the other two are content playing without me. 

For anyone who stumbles across this and doesn't know me, here are the basics:

I am a thirty-something stay-at-home-mom of three girls, ages 4.5, 3 and 3 months. We also have 2 dogs that drive me batty, one big and one small (a Great Dane that is 140+ lbs, and a Toy Manchester Terrier who is now tipping the scales at 9.5 lbs), and 3 grey and white cats, and we are all packed into a 2 bedroom townhouse! 

As you can imagine, life gets interesting, and that is what this blog will mostly be about...