The longest post ever. And My Beef with Thirsties AIO Pockets.

Well, the birthday party is over. It was great. I was feeling icky. It was hot. I was exhausted. And Nauseous. And had a weird pain in my upper belly all day. But It was still fun. The pool was refreshing. The food was AMAZING. The cake got rave reviews for taste AND looks. I was pleased. Evan did a great job of blowing up the balloons and making a pretty balloon bouqet for the bench along the driveway. It was wonderful. Ardyn got lots of good stuff, a few toys, books, a beautiful quilt made by Bekah, and some really great clothes from my mom. She enjoyed every bit of it and wouldn't nap for a second. She was awake from 7:30am till 9:30pm, that little stinker didn't want to miss a bit of HER party. Ha.

Since the party we have recuperated. Gotten the dishwasher installed (I am in love) and Ardyn and I met with Nicole Isaacson and spent two hours, two locations, and FIVE outfits getting pictures taken. I can't wait to see the results! Hopefully we will see them online by the end of this week or the beginning of next week at the latest. Today Ardyn and I took the van for an oil change, and also to get the AC Checked out because by Saturday it was not working again. They found the leak this time and have ordered parts. We took a Dodge Magnum Wagon as a loaner car today. It wasn't bad but I wouldn't trade it for my van. I don't like all the blind spots it has, it's way worse than MIL's newer Durango. But it was a nice loaner. Except I left the stroller in the back like a Moron. But in my defense it WAS Pouring rain all day. And I didn't like moving the baby, car seat, diaper bag, purse, etc. in the rain.... let alone the stroller. I just forgot. Until about three hours later when I was mentioning strollers when talking to my mom and I was like "Holy shit I have to call the car dealer!"

Tomorrow are Ardyn's 1 year shots. I am not looking forward to them. At all. They worry me because she will get ones that she has never had before, and because MMR is "the" controversial shot. I am sure it will all be fine, but mom's can't help be be anxious abut these things.

Lisa's Bridal shower gift arrived today via UPS and I am SO Excited to give it to her. I also got a dress and shoes in the mail today, that I will wear to her wedding. I already had a dress with a cute little sweater that I bought at the beginning of the summer, with plans to wear it to the wedding and reception, but that was BEFORE I was pregnant, and it still has the tags on it because NOW I can't wear it. LOL. Oh well. My shoes are so freakin adorable. They are Kenneth Cole Reaction and I got them from PiperLime. I adore them and will be able to wear them comfortably forever and ever. That's the best kind of shoe there is. When I measured my belly last week it was already 46 inches! Holy Cats! They are right when they say that you show quicker the second time around. By 6 weeks I couldn't button my pants and had to break out maternity clothes. The only bad thing for me is that all of my maternity clothes (most of them) are too big for me. So either I can't wear them (in the case of jeans and some of my shirts) or they look frumpy. I have asked my mom for some smaller maternity clothes for my Birthday, which is actually approaching fairly quickly. I sent her links to ones I like and am pretty sure she's got me covered. Evan my maternity underwear are too huge, and my swimsuit too. For Ardyn's birthday party I was able to wear my regular swimsuit but my stomach was all squished and killing me after an hour or so. I had to get out of that suit.

The weather was awesome today. Low 60's, rained all day. We opened the house up yesterday and it is so nice and cool. Ardyn and I have snuggly pants on and long sleeved shirts and socks and slippers. We drank tea (juice for her) and baked cookies this evening. We have all the Scentsy warmers going with Sugar Cookie bricks. It smells heavenly here! If you haven't heard of scentsy, my best friend Carrie is a consultant and you NEED to check it out. Flameless home scents with wax that isn't hot enough to burn. It's heated by a regular lightbulb, and the warmers are beautiful. They JUST released a plug in warmer that I want to get for my kitchen. They are awesome. Check them out here www.scentsy.com/carriestokes

I was actually motivated to clean off the dining room table, which was a mess of paper and glue and scissors and glitter from working on decorations for Ardyn's party. I was pleased when I finished. I am really wanting to get my 2 yards of Organic Sherpa Fleece cut into 9" squares so that I can start matching them up with my flannel and cotton knit fabrics and making wipes.

I just bought 5 Goodmama One Size OBV Dipes to add to the collection today. Lavender, Purple, Hot Pink, Orange, and Light Blue. I already have Lime, Red, Circus (rainbow Serging), and Marigold. Ardyn is just now growing out of her Size Medium Thirsties AIO's.

They recently re-vamped the Thirsties AIO Pockets and removed the fabric from inside the leg gussets. The V1 model had leakage issues, which to my dismay, we have experienced. It is frustrating because I paid $17 plus for each diaper and we have a full dozen of them in Medium and another full Dozen in size Small. That's alot of money ($414.00 to be exact), and that doesn't count the Ten Thirsties PUL Covers that I have (@ $11.50 each) or the Thirsties fitted or the 18 Thirsties Prefolds.

Even though the thirsties diapers are under warranty, the manufacturer doesn't feel that the leaking warrants a replacement or a discount on replacements, even though the leaking did warrant a redesign of the product into a V2. This has been something that I have been thinking alot about and I have made the decision to no longer purchase Thirsties AIO Pockets. I think. So instead of moving up to the size Large, I will move into using more fitteds and OS diapers, like the BG 3.0's that I am so happy with, and the Goodmamas. If I want some AIO's I will be trying BG AIO's. I like their Organic AIO but it is pricey at $24.95 per diaper... but really not bad for a OS AIO (which there aren't many of.) AND I was recently able to send in 3 BG OS 3.0's that I had aplix issues with (they had the older style aplix) and have them completely replaced at no cost to me, with new identical diapers with all the newer aplix and newer foldback tabs. Now. That is what I call customer service. And THAT is what makes me be a repeat customer, when you will stand by your product. I adore thirsties, but when you feel like you have $414 in diapers that you can't use for your second child, that frustrates you. It frustrates you enough to not invest another $217 to buy a dozen large diapers. I saw that Kelly's closet is clearancing out the V1 for $11 each. Ugh. Proof that they have been improved and aren't worth as much anymore.

For me, It is making more sense to use more OS Diapers. OS dipes will fit the new baby and Ardyn at the same time. I can use the BG 3.0's, the MEOS OBV's, and the Goodmama OBV's for both kids at the same time, eliminating the need to keep different sizes of diapers separate, and also eliminating the need to pack two sizes of diapers for an outing. The only downside is the added bulk of a fitted and cover (but fleece covers seem to work well for us in substitute for pants) and the fact that the millions of snaps in pretty rows tend to make a grandparent's and daddy's head spin. Although Evan does really well with snap MEOS. Unfortunately, when grandparents see those snaps, their mind automatically says "Disposables at my house" which really does make me sad. Very sad. I don't mind education sessions, but the older you get, the more you can't remember from one day (or hour) to the next, and not everyone in the grandparent lineup is a good listener.

We adore prefolds at home, but if you think snaps make a person's head spin.... just let them face down the pointy teeth and snappin stretch of a snappi. LOL. I love snappis. I love prefolds. But it sets panic into the hearts of babysitters everywhere. Evan doesn't do snappis. But he does fitteds and that makes my heart beat faster. He he.

So tonight I put Ardyn in a Fattycakes Heavy Wetter Fitted By Butterfly Baby, and some wool longies for overnight. I know the fattycake will do well overnight, but I have never used it with wool overnight, so we will see what the morning brings. I usually use BG OS for nights, but they are all in the wash, with the exception of the 3 new ones that are on the way to replace the ones I sent back to Cottonbabies.

I also ordered 5 pair of Custom Fleece Longies from Michele at ThePeaChicNest (part of the inspired congo.) I have SEVEN of her fleece inspiration soakers and they are hands down the best on the market. She does great custom work. I can't wait for the new ones to arrive. Aunt Liz gave Ardyn some birthday money and that has funded the 5 pairs of Fleecey goodness that we are awaiting.

Well. it's midnight. I am falling asleep. Gotta Go!