When I was in college, I always thought that I’d be happy enough just finding a guy who will make some money and allow me to stay at home with any kids we might have. Well, enter my husband. My husband is worth more than money, and I’m proud to work alongside him in our dual-income home in order to give my family everything we need. Being a stay at home mom quickly became a dream I gave up and I decided to get my degree in accounting. I wasn’t heartbroken and still felt very proud to be sharing the financial responsibilities of our married life. I left my shifty-scheduled retail sales job (which I was in love with) and got a very stable job using my degree.

Fast forward to 2010. We have a brand new baby boy. While I was very happy working, there was this crazy maternal nudge within me that desperately longed to raise my son. Financially, though, it just wasn’t possible. My husband works second shift and gets to spend mornings with our son, and then we have a really great daycare arrangement that he goes to for a few hours every afternoon until I get off of work.

I only see my son an hour a day. (And sometimes, due to mandatory overtime, I’ll go more than 48 hours without seeing him.)

I love my job, I love providing for my family, but I love and I miss my son.

Enter Scentsy.

I signed up for Scentsy because I figured it would be nice to have a few dollars a month to set aside for Christmas and special occasions, and it was $99 that we happened to have that month.  Scentsy has no minimum selling requirements aside from “just sell something” and I liked the idea of being able to work as little or as much as I could. I’m not a good salesperson. Even at my “retail sales job” had all the tools I needed to be able to sell well without trying too hard. But, Scentsy literally sells itself and there is so much support from the entire Scentsy team that makes it even more rewarding. At the time that I signed up for Scentsy, I didn’t realize how quickly it could become more than just a “Christmas funds” hobby.

I’m still working my full-time job for the moment, but the awesome thing is, that for every single devoted hour I’ve given Scentsy, I’ve seen great return. I only had 2 shows in my start up period and was able to receive a pay increase and a sales award! I spent, at most, 8 hours “working” with my Scentsy business in my first 70 start-up days.  So far, every Scentsy hour that I have worked has earned me twice the amount I earn an hour at work. I’ve met so many inspiring women so far in my Scentsy journey who have not only started as I’ve started, but have also been able to quit their full-time jobs in order to raise their children, while earning what I earn in the time I spend away from my child. It’s not one of those companies that shows you these crazy, lofty, lucrative goals and mislead you into thinking you can achieve them–people actually achieve their goals with Scentsy and can actually change their lives. I’ve actually met SAHM moms who started selling to supplement their husband’s income, who have made enough to allow them and their husband to stay home! It does take work, and your results are a direct result of your efforts, it is a job, but it’s so flexible.

So far, Scentsy has just been perfect for me, and I’m so excited about my future and the idea that I will be able to finally stay home and earn my share of our family’s income!

More about Scentsy

Are you anxious to start writing your Scentsy story? Join my team, and let’s start reaching our goals together. Not only will you be helping me achieve my dreams — I’ll get to help you with yours!

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I honestly don’t think we’re ever home. Never, ever. With working full time, I don’t get a lot of time to sit around the house and hang out. When I’m not working, we’re running countless amounts of errands. We’re always finding new ways to cloth diaper on the run!

We’ve tried several wet bags in our day, even stooping to use a grocery bag once in a while. I was very excited when BABY by danish contacted me about their wet bag and offered one to me for review and one for you to win! We could always use more wetbags, and I was thrilled to get a chance to try these!

Of all of the wetbags we’ve used, I would say that BABY by danish’s wet bags are the strongest, sturdiest, and most durable I’ve used! Not to mention — they’re beautiful! If it’s even possible, these wet bags are absolutely gorgeous. We’ve never had a leak with these, and they don’t “sweat” like some others we’ve tried! What’s sweating? Yeah, you know how sometimes you leave a rank diaper somewhere and forget where for a few days? Then, when you find the wetbag it’s damp on the outside? For the absent minded airhead cloth diaperer–these bags are dreamy! They’re so super thick and their waterproof lining is bulletproof!

Confession? I can’t get my hands on our wetbag fresh out of the wash fast enough to photograph it – Once I do, I’ll add more photos to this post! But I wanted to get this up here for you!

A BABY by danish Wetbag in Black & White Damask. Courtesy of BABYbydanish.com.

 
Interested in buying one (or two, or three) of these amazing bags? Head on over to BABYbydanish.com!

While you’re here, though — try your luck at winning one!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Although the wetbag was provided free of charge by BABY by danish, the opinions are 100% Christina’s!

In my search for more microfleece diapers or natural fiber diapers, I ran across Applecheeks! I’d heard about them before, but I’d never given them a try, as we had previously been completely set on diapers. Applecheeks very generously sent me one to review, and you’ll get a chance to win one as well!

I think my favorite part of the Applecheeks systems is their super-crazy absorbent bamboo inserts! The insert is a huge sheet of bamboo vicose that you can fold into whichever shape works best for you. We trifold ours and put the majority up in the front. The wide envelope style opening of the diaper helps the insert shake itself out in the wash – no touching necessary! The envelope is right in the middle of the diaper, which I was concerned about at first, but seeing how easy they come out in the wash, I don’t have to touch anything!

Applecheeks diapers come in two sizes, 1 and 2. Size 1 covers 7-18, and size 2 covers 18-35! The size 2 fits my 30 pound, 33 inches, 16 month old perfectly!

The top shows the bamboo insert and the cover. The bottom photo is the envelope style opening!

My favorite thing about microfleece, I think? Poop just comes right off of it. Just sayin’.

Here are some more action shots of this diaper.. I love the double rows of snaps and extra bunchy elastic!

And one more to grow on! He was cooking us some dinner. I think it was soup. Made of ranch dressing. And Chick-fil-A sauce.

Where to buy Applecheeks?

Shop at the Applecheeks online store!

Win One!

Fill out the simple Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win!

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*Though the product was provided by Applecheeks for review and giveaway, the opinions are those of Christina

Swagbucks.com is the online rewards community that works, rewarding people for all of the things they’re already doing online – search, games, watching videos, shopping, surveys and more! The Swag Bucks earned by users have helped purchase everything from diapers to video games – it’s easy, it’s rewarding, and it’s 100% free!

Thanks to our incredible mentor and sponsor, The Maven of Social Media, WhyClothDiaper.com is participating in this event by giving away:

1 Brand New “Rainbow Fluff” Goodmama Cloth Diaper (OBV, Serged) and
1 Pair of Jelly Bean BabyLegs!

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The Kindle Fire is available to win from the entry form located at OurFamilyWorld.com.

WANT TO WIN EVEN MORE PRIZES?

Check out this linky showing ALL of the participants of the New Years Hoppin’ Eve Giveaway Event! Each of this blogs is giving away another awesome prize!

Please note that WhyClothDiaper.com, “New Year’s Hoppin’ Eve” or the “New Year’s Hoppin’ Eve” bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.

This is a MULTIPLE WINNER giveaway!

Make sure to go to the PHOTO ALBUM on our FACEBOOK PAGE and “like” EVERY item that you’re interested in winning! This is to help make sure that if we draw your name for a prize you weren’t particularly interested in and can suit you to a prize that you were interested in. After viewing the album and clicking “like” on your favorite items, please fill out the rafflecopter form at the end of this post!

OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS

Click the image to see the album on Facebook where you can "like" what you want to win!

Don’t forget to “LIKE” the images on our Facebook page of the items that you want to win! You will not be considered for prizes that you haven’t “liked.”

This giveaway closes on JANUARY 2, 2012!

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I noticed your request to have me contact you in regard to your seemingly blatant plagiarism on October 12, 2011 of a recipe that I posted in November 2010 to my blog for a business I used to have called, The Ginger Kid, LLC. The recipe was most recently posted to my current blog, WhyClothDiaper.com, on September 4th, 2011.

An “apology” of sorts was issued on your Facebook page; however, it was in the form of comments to anyone who had posted a complaint to your wall. I honestly didn’t see any of your comments until someone messaged me to tell me that you had “made an apology.” This apology would have been much better received had it been personally delivered to me by simply clicking on the link attached to my name or my Facebook page in many of the complaints. Instead, along with your apology, you hoped this issue would just be buried. Additionally, it was brought to my attention that you “cited” your source on the note containing the recipe. A non-hyper-linked citation at that.

In the recipe, at the very top, I respectfully requested that if anyone decided to post the recipe to their site, share a link to the recipe, or adapt the recipe, that they issue credit where credit is due. I am aware that ingredient lists for recipes are not copyrighted; however, directions for recipes are.

Honestly, it’s not about the recipe at all. It’s about the fact that I work over 50+ hours a week at a full-time job and a part-time job in order to support my family. Then, in my very little spare time, I work tirelessly to drive traffic to my blog and Facebook page. I’ve written many articles on that website; however, none of them was I so proud of as I was that recipe. Why? That recipe was given to me by one of my friends, and with her permission, I adapted it to fit the needs of a breastfeeding mother. Initially, I adapted it for myself, and also gave the cookies to friends who were also breastfeeding. Those cookies saved my supply!

I breastfed my son for 13 months. I worked over 40 hours a week at that time and almost exclusively pumped his milk with a Medela Pump in Style. I loved my pump. The day I had to “hang up my horns” because our breastfeeding journey was over was one of the most emotionally challenging days of my life. My pump is actually still next to my night stand, and we stopped nursing 3 months ago! During those 13 months, I purchased at least 4 sets of replacement parts due to my forgetting them at home after arriving at work. While I was nursing, and even after I was finished, I convinced at least 3-4 mothers to purchase a Medela pump. Most of them wanted to buy used pumps and I made sure to tell them that it would be worth it to buy a brand new one, especially since you had a great warranty. Each one of them bought a brand new pump, per my suggestion. You’re welcome.

I’m not going to add up the cost of 4 or more pumps and a countless number of replacement parts, as the monetary amount isn’t what’s important to me. It’s important for me that you know that I’m actually a customer. A CUSTOMER. I’m not just some blogger on the internet who threw a dumb old recipe up on her blog just to fill space. No, I deliberately shared a very special recipe with my readers in hopes that someone would find it and would be able to continue breastfeeding their child because of it. That recipe and your pumps helped me go 13 months, and I could have only wished that for someone else.

I noticed that you “issued credit” to me on the recipe that you posted, but the thing is: that recipe was posted in October. No one is looking for a Pumpkin lactation cookie right now, but they were absolutely looking for it in October! And guess where they found it? On your Facebook page. They shared it, they liked it, they commented on it… they trusted that the recipe was written by your company. So, for over 2 months, that recipe sat on your Facebook page gaining unfathomable amounts of views, while my small blog received very little traffic for the original post. For two months, instead of “accidentally forgetting to source” you took credit for a work that was not yours to take credit for.

I don’t for one single second believe that you forgot to source my site–I believe, 100%, that you blatantly copy and pasted that recipe to your Facebook page without regard to where you got it. I was a tiny blog, who would have known? No one forgets something ingrained into them from the seventh grade all the way through college, over and over and over again. You don’t take credit for writing that is not yours! You credit and source all of your resources! You mentioned seeing the recipe on BabyCenter, and offered the link to where you found it. The funny thing about this link, is that the person who posted the recipe (who was not me), placed the link to where they found it at the very top!

In exchange for these 2 months of lost traffic to me and increased traffic for you, the deliberate theft of intellectual property, and the many dollars that I have undoubtedly spent myself, and through my influence on others on products from your company, I respectfully request the following, of which I believe to be entirely reasonable:

• A public apology, tagging WhyClothDiaper.com’s Facebook page in your apology, on your Facebook page. I want this posted as an original post, and not as a comment to a post.
• I want a link posted, tagging WhyClothDiaper.com’s Facebook page, to your Facebook page and to all of your current readers, explaining the mistake, without calling it an accident, containing an original link to the recipe located here: http://www.whyclothdiaper.com/2011/09/04/pumpkin-nut-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-lactation-cookies/
• I want the note containing the recipe to contain hyper-linked links to my site and Facebook page, not only text. Most people don’t like to copy & paste, they’d rather click. Let’s make it easier on them.
• I want you to sponsor a giveaway on my blog at WhyClothDiaper.com, in which you give a brand new Pump in Style breast pump to one of my readers. I want you to tell your readers about this giveaway when it runs. One of the required entries will be that they “like” my Facebook page, but they will not be required to like yours.
• I want you to send me a Pump in Style breast pump, as well, that I may freely give to a mother of my choosing. I know several women who wish to breastfeed their babies, but cannot afford a pump for when they return to work. At my discretion, I would like to gift one of these mothers with one of your incredible pumps.

If you decide you’d prefer not to take any of these steps to make this right, I will be in contact with your legal department. I don’t want to have to take any further steps regarding this, as the easiest thing to do here, would be for you to honestly and professionally admit your mistake to those in which deceptively shared this recipe with and make it right to me and my readers.

If you agree to grant these requests, I will provide you with my phone number.

With respect,
Christina Stainbrook
WhyClothDiaper.com

Abby Bear Boutique

“Hi! I am a WAHM. Selling my craft allows me to stay home and care for my child! I love it. I don’t think I could imagine anything else right now. My shop is www.facebook.com/abbybearboutique! Check it out. I love making customized items!” – Christy

BagBabyBoutique

“Hi everyone! I’m Bryn and I’m the face behind BagBabyBoutique! I specialize in crochet hats and sewn bags! check out my page and Happy Holidays!” – Bryn

Magic Bum

“Hi there! I’m Aja and I make Magic Bum and Body Magic Skin Soothing Oils. Both are 100% natural and free of cheap fillers. Magic Bum is also cloth diaper safe! We even have a review on WhyClothDiaper.com. Come check us out. ” – Aja

Paparazzi with Bryn

“Check out Paparazzi with Bryn. You can’t deny $5 jewelry and accessories!!” – Bryn

Little Whimsy Wears

“Hola! I am a WAHM. I am the creator/owner of Little Whimsy Wears! I love what I do. Creating beautiful childrens clothing and accessories bring me such joy! I started sewing about a year ago for my daughter who is now 15 months old and I cant believe how far I have gone! Please support small businesses!” – Heather

Diaper Parties by Tara

“I think most of you already know me But check me out at Diaper Parties by Tara You won’t want to miss out. There is going to be some great Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales on my page!” – Tara

Snaps and Snails

“Saying Hello! from Snaps and Snails We are an eco-friendly boutique from Nova Scotia, Canada. We specialize in bringing parents innovative and stylish cloth diapers, baby carriers and other accessories like our Design Socks Leg Warmers (twice the length of all the other brands!). Our items range from all bamboo Pocket Diapers, Tie up Fitteds, Fair Trade Peruvian style carriers to Wool Wraps & Ring Slings…and what’s more, is the a-may-zing Black Friday sales coming up this weekend, you won’t believe how low the prices are! Oh, and did I mention we have free shipping on all orders within Canada and the US? Hope to see you soon ” – Courtney

Fluffy Fashions

“Hi! I’m Crystal and have a small online store and fb page www.fluffyfashions.com “fluffy fashions” I have cloth diaper detergent, thirsties, episencial, piggy paint and baby legs and am always adding free us shipping at 24.98 and “firstorder” saves 10% at checkout common over and like for more deals thanks!” – Crystal

Torsdag Designs

“Hi! We love Small Business Saturday! I invite you to check out my little space on the web – Torsdag Designs. I like to make toys mostly, but also make a few other things. ” – Jennifer

Do you have a small business, too? Add your link here! Also, spread the love and share this post with your page to help these other small-business owners out during this Holiday Shopping Season!

My usual cleaning supplies include vinegar and water and a very spartan amount of other kitchen-found items.

Sometimes, though, I really just need that extra kick. For instance, in our bathroom. I’ll clean all day with vinegar and water, but only hours later our old toilet smells like urine again, and it seems like such a waste. I was excited when I stumbled across Natural House‘s natural household cleaning products: Trashy, Sinky, and Flushy!

Image © whyclothdiaper.com

Natural House‘s natural household cleaning products are powered by probiotics and yummy plant-based enzymes. Check out the video below to learn more about why they were formulated in the first place! (And why I’m so glad they were!)

I’m definitely impressed with these little guys after using them for 3 weeks. That urine smell I was talking about? Flushy knocked that out, the very first time I used it. Flushy packets just get dropped right into your trrrlet and the fun foaming action begins! After a couple of minutes, once the packet is completely done foaming, you take a brush to it and flush it down. After cleaning your toilet bowl, they move down and clean your pipes and septic!

Trashy worked great in our diaper pail, and in our kitchen trash. I cook with a little more garlic than I think I’m supposed to, and our kitchen trash gets nas-tay. It’s really nice being able to spray Trashy in there, and once it dries, just throwing the bag back in! You don’t have to wipe after using Trashy unless you really feel like it. Trashy cuts the smell right out and keeps it fresh for a week!

Sinky is in packet form, just like Flushy, and gets tossed right into the sink drain. While running hot water over it for a few seconds, the packet dissolves. I like to run the garbage disposal for a while when rinsing it down to give it a nice little whirl. We inherited a really disgusting kitchen sink with our house last year, and this does wonders for our decades-old disposal. I love being able to freshen up our disgustingly funky drain! It seriously always smells, and it’s nice being able to throw one of those packets down there each week and let it do all the work.

I think my favorite thing about these products is that they’re super easy to use. I hate getting out sprays and towels. I’m super-lazy and these products are way up my alley!

Natural House is on Facebook and Twitter if you’d like to follow them! Additionally, you can purchase these really great products at their website or on Amazon.com if you wish!

Natural House was kind enough to send me a 30-day supply of Trashy, Sinky, and Flushy, and they’re super excited to send you some, too! Enter our easy giveaway using the rafflecopter below!

While the products were provided by Natural House for free, the opinions are those of Christina.

Cloth diaper laundry. Daunting? Terrifying? Complex? Not entirely.

From the outside, cloth diaper laundry is one of the biggest hang ups that a lot of people have with choosing cloth over disposables for their babies. When I first started researching, all I could tell about the laundry process was that there were rules, rules, rules! With time, I learned that cloth diaper laundry, literally, only takes minutes, and is actually very easy! However, some of the main rules that I immediately noticed were:

1. Don’t put turds in your washer. (Your washer just isn’t meant to break down partially digested carrots and raisins. Trust me!)
2. Don’t use regular laundry detergent, as many times it’s too harsh for baby’s booty & too chemically for your diapers.
3. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T YOU EVER USE FABRIC SOFTENER! (I mean, uhm, please? I promise you’ll regret it!)

Let’s look at that last one for a minute. Fabric softener is yucky stuff when it comes to cloth diapers (and anything else that you intend to absorb anything at all–like towels, wash cloths, etc.) Fabric Softener leaves water-repelling (the opposite of what you’d like in a diaper) residue on your clothes and fabrics. Also, many commercial fabric softeners contain lots of nasty chemicals that are too harsh for baby’s skin and are non-biodegradable. So, washing them down the drain really causes a bigger problem than it’s worth!

Some of your options for softening up your cloth diapers and getting them yummy-smelling include sun-drying (then tossing them in the dryer for a minute or two to soften them), using wool dryer balls to beat the crap out of them (think: softening up some fruit by banging it on the counter. Nice and squishy soft!), or using a “chemical-free” reusable dryer sheet!

Here’s where Purecosheets comes in!

We’ve been using our Purecosheets for almost 3 weeks now on all of our laundry, not just our diapers!

We stopped using fabric softener completely when we started cloth diapering our son, so we’ve had some relatively stiff laundry for the past year-and-a-half. It doesn’t bother me, really, so I never sought out to fix it. But, it’s been awesome these last 3 weeks to finally have softer laundry! I’m sure Purecosheets aren’t completely intended to do this, but I’ve noticed my laundry is slightly less wrinkly too! That’s really good news for me, because I don’t believe in irons. As far as I’m concerned, all of the irons and all of my dirty dishes can go play in traffic. One thing that the Purecosheet really does fantastically, is cut out the static! Microfiber inserts are disgustingly staticy. I mean, they’re gross. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I panic when I have to touch one of those. Not only are they creepy feeling on my perpetually dry skin, but they have so much static when they come out of the dryer! The Purecosheets make pulling those suckers out of the dryer so much more tolerable. My clothes have zero static, too!

One of the most important reasons why you shouldn’t use fabric softener or traditional disposable dryer sheets is that they leave the flame retardant properties of your fabrics completely ineffective, and can actually increase the flammability. You buy flame retardant jam-jams for your little one for their protective purposes, and it’s important not to ruin them!

How does the Purecosheet work? They have this to say about their product:

a static charge builds up when two dissimilar materials are rubbed together, and a typical household dryer load is made up of a lot of different kinds of fabrics. the friction between these fabrics causes electrons to be transferred from one material to the other. with this transference, some surfaces get positively charged and others get negatively charged, and they attract one another. that attraction is static cling. the more rubbing, the more the electrons move, and the larger the static charge that builds up – sometimes as much as 12,000 volts worth.

disposable dryer sheets are impregnated with a waxy, chemical mixture. The heat from the dryer melts this deposit and leaves a residue all over your clothes and your dryer.  this residue “lubricates” your clothing so that cling can’t build up.

instead of leaving a chemical residue all over your clothing and your machine, purecosheets act like antennas –  conducting, equalizing and removing any potential static charge in your dryer load. we get rid of the static and keep your family’s fabrics clean, fresh and natural.

Interested in buying a set of Purecosheetsfor your household? You can get them here! Also, they just came out with a new freshening linen spray that I’ve heard is phenomenal. I can’t wait to buy some and give it a whirl!

*Although the reviewed product was provided at no charge, the opinions are those of Christina.

I’ve been using Country Save ever since we started using cloth diapers; however, lately, which I don’t necessarily blame on the detergent, my little guy has been getting very bad rashes. We’ve determined the problem to be our ridiculously hard water and the fact that our softener had run out of salt quite a while before we realized it. This left our diapers in very bad shape. The build up and the stink was horrendous. We stripped countless numbers of times and we tried using more detergent, less detergent, other laundry additives… Nothing was working. So, I decided to look for another detergent to try, just to mix it up a little.

I decided to purchase some Ruby Moon for two reasons, initially:

1. I really love their packaging. I know, very silly, but I’m a sucker for cute packages! (Bonus: it’s eco-friendly!)
2. Their special edition Pumpkin Pie scent! Yum!

However, Ruby Moon was an even better choice because it’s designed to work especially well with hard water! Additionally, we’re used to buying Country Save at only ten bucks a box, so I’ve had a hard time justifying switching to a Cloth Diaper specific detergent due to the prices of many other brands. Ruby Moon? It’s only $10.95! I could handle that!

So far, the RubyMoon Detergent is working fabulously at keeping our diapers clean.. We’re still working on getting them completely build-up free, but RubyMoon is making great strides in getting all the funk out. I think after a really long soak in this detergent, we’re going to finally be rid of our stink and rash issues!

Ruby Moon has this to say about their products:

At Ruby Moon, we believe in creating all natural products that are safe, effective and affordable. Getting your diapers clean- and staying clean- the first time is our priority. You save time, money and the environment when you use Ruby Moon. Your support of a small mama owned business is greatly appreciated!

Not only do they make cloth diaper detergent, but they also have a separate formula for regular laundry (although we’ve been using the cloth diaper detergent for all of our laundry, and it works just as great!) They also sell their very own wipe bits, and pail powder!

Interested in purchasing some detergent? Head on over to RubyMoonLaundry.com!

Ready to try and win some detergent? Fill out the easy-entry rafflecopter form below!