Welcome to “Tuesday Tours: What’s Happening on the Web” where I serve as your tour guide and showcase the best contests, freebies, deals, and reads for moms on the web…all in one convenient location.
Contests
I’m *this close* to trying cloth diapering. As such, you’ll find me entering to win a Fuzzi Bunz Perfect Size pocket diaper over at See Bess Run. Deadline: Nov. 14.
Tea Collection invites you to enter their Little Citizens of the World Blog Contest for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree. Deadline: Nov. 19.
Good Reads
Read this: Why does our society hate children? {James C. Kaufman, Psychology Today, 10-31-2009}
Stephanie {NieNie Dialogues} inspires me with her courage and strength: Do you still see me?
This is a must-read for new-ish bloggers: First Impressions Do Matter, Even With Your Blog by Jennifer James.
The Journal of Happiness Studies reports: “having children boosts happiness. And the more, literally, the merrier. The study found that life satisfaction for married people goes up the more kids they have.” {MSN, 10-26-2009}
Miscellany
Cool: creative birthday card idea for a child {via inchmark}.
Dana made another dress that I want for my girls: Harvest Dress.
Watch this inspiring talk by Sir Ken Robinson: Are schools killing creativity? {CNN, 11-02-2009}
Easy Snack Idea – Homemade Microwave Popcorn {via Snack Snoop}.
Is anyone else excited about Disney’s A Christmas Carol?
I think I would like a cup of this Sweet & Spicy Carrot Soup on a cold day {via Our Green Nest}.
These videos remind me that complex problems can often be solved with creative solutions: The Fun Theory {An initiative of Volkswagen}.
Someday I’m going to have a cool business card like one of these: 51 Creative Business Cards That Will Make You Look Twice {Quick Sprout}.
Amy {Crunchy Domestic Goddess} is conducting research about H1N1. If you or someone in your family has had H1N1, please take her survey.
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*** If you have a contest or an announcement that you think might be a good fit for Tuesday Tours, e-mail me at stephanie@metropolitanmama.net.
Ooohhh. I’m new to your blog, so I’m looking forward to checking out your links. It looks like a great mix!
Thanks for coming by yesterday! Have a great day.
I’m *this close* to trying cloth diapering too… it is just so expensive to get started, sigh.
I read NieNie’s post earlier – loved it, she is truly inspiring.
Now… you’ve given me some others to check out – thanks for the great Tuesday Tour!
That birthday card idea is so cute!
Thanks for the mention – you can save SO much money making your own microwave popcorn vs. buying the packaged kind. I owe you one! Lisa
Well then. I guess that according the Journal of Happiness Studies I should be one happy, happy girl!
And yes. I am extremely excited to see A Christmas Carol. I saw a 3-D preview of it at D23 in September and it looked awesome. That said, I’ve heard (from more than one person) that it is dark in parts and may not be appropriate for the youngest viewers. Just FYI.
Thanks for the heads up on the shopping spree…gotta love that!
I just have to say that I think you should go for cloth diapering! We love it here and have been doing it since my older daughter was 7 months old. Check out http://www.diaperswappers.com It offers a huge wealth of information when it comes to cloth diapering. :)
I use Fuzzi Bunz, so let me know if you need tips :) But there are other ways to start if you’re looking for something cheaper like Blessed said.
Stephanie! You always find the best stuff. How do you have time, mama?!
If you try CDing, Fuzzi Bunz are a great place to start. That made up the bulk of my stash (by far) for years. I have other faves, too. I’ll be happy to hold your hand a little. (Without anyone in diapers around here, I get a little nostalgic!)
Hey Steph you know what other blogger you would prob love? progressivepioneer.com
I had heard before about doing popcorn in the microwave but didn’t have the actual directions. Now I do. Thanks!
YES!!!! Do cloth diapers!!!! And there are a few other sites that have weekly diaper giveaways, too. I can tell you all about my diapers, if you want. I will do my best to convince you :)
Great links and information, as always! Thanks!
Stephanie, I LOVE your Tuesday Tours! You go to a lot of effort to provide this information for us, and you make it entertaining, too! Keep us posted on the cloth-diaper decision. ;)
You always have the best picks. I’m especially loving your good reads this week.
P.S. I highly recommend cloth diapering. It’s not as hard as it sounds. It makes your baby’s bum that much cuter. And, it’s way cheaper than disposables. Good luck on that contest. I hope you win!
Cloth diapers are the best! You don’t have to make a big decision to start though – we just kind of eased into it, eliminating one disposable at a time. (We’re doing the natural infant hygiene thing now the same way – eliminating one cloth diaper per day at a time)
I really find cloth diapers super convenient. We have a Whammis drybag and we just toss our diapers into the bag. We’ve never bothered with rinsing or anything like that and it has not yet been a problem, but we started with diaper liners because we were frightened by the idea of cloth + poop and I think it helped! When we are getting low, we toss the whole lot into the washing machine. It means less smells since the disposables aren’t hanging around until garbage day. If we run out, we use disposables but Elizabeth is much more likely to have a blowout in disposables so they make us a bit nervous.
We use prefolds + covers which are considered really complicated and which daycares won’t touch but honestly we prefer them because they dry way faster and they are made of materials that mommy can tolerate (I have fabric sensitivities and simply can’t handle a lot of polyester and microfibre).
We’ve found that different diapers fit differently depending on your baby’s build (ours is petite) etc etc, so if you have the opportunity to try out a cloth diaper sampler service it’s really not a bad idea. They usually cost about the same as a week’s worth of disposables but instead you get to use cloth diapers of varying kinds and you’ll find what works best for you and your baby. When we were thinking about getting bigger diapers we also tried buying one or two diapers of other kinds just to see if they’d be better.
Lots of people recommend getting snaps over velcro; I’m a velcro person myself. We find velcro fits better and it is WAY easier to do and undo in the middle of the night (huge criteria for us since we’re getting out of bed to take Elizabeth to pee…). Velcro does have a tendency to curl eventually, but most (including Bummis) have a velcro tab replacement program, so if that happens it is fixable.
Based on conversations with others who have made the switch recently, you will likely find that you are changing your baby more often after you switch. It’s easier to tell when your baby has used a diaper with cloth, and they are much less happy to “sit” in it. This is one reason why cloth diapered babies tend to toilet train earlier.
Good luck!
I read only five blogs regularly, and NieNie’s is one of them. Oh, some days how I wish I could hug her. Or at least leave a comment. But I understand why she doesn’t have them open…dude, with how many she would get, she would never have time to read them all!