The Grind.

You may have noticed that things here are sporadic, at best.

That's true.

Like just about everyone out there, I've got a lot going on. There's the kid, the house to attend to, volunteer work (that's near & dear to me), studying for some career- and life-advancing designations, freelance work (that thing that makes actual money), and this site. That's the short list, anyway.

I'm not trying to compete with anyone here, so lets not go getting all "oh you only have that much to do? 'cause I have SOOOO much more." Because really, that's you, and this is me. And we're talking about my life-load here, not yours. Kudos (honestly!) if you can do it better than I can.

This is the part where I'm going to ramble a bit, but bear with me...

Now, on that little list I gave, certain things have to give way so that others can get done. For instance, I have vacuumed the upstairs of our house THREE weeks IN A ROW! (Ok, so it was just our bedroom, most of the hallway, and the bathroom...but that's like 2/3 of the upstairs!) That's an accomplishment here, because A) usually you can't see the floor to push a vacuum over it, and B) housework? I am unfamiliar with this term.

So, the housework usually slides. Unless we have company coming (which happens about four times a year, due to the perpetual "this mess is so bad we can't even have people over"-ness of our house, and the fact that it literally takes at least a 12-hour day of cleaning to get this place to a minimum standard of visit-abilty). Frankly, I'm ok with that. Life's too short to screw around cleaning. Once we can afford it, I will most happily pay someone to do that shit for me. Until then? The hubs and I make due and get done what we can. We've only had one catastrophic dust bunny accident that involved loss of life...

Some people think it's nasty (hi, mom!) - and it kind of is! Would I like my house to be cleaner? Sure, of course!! Am I going to be the driving force behind that change? Oh, HELL no!

So. I don't really clean, and that frees up time for the other stuff that I do. Mostly, my hours are spent with The Kid. As she gets older, she demands more present-interaction. As in, I need to be fully present and pay attention as we interact, otherwise iPhone apps disappear, the Cabbage Patch has a near miss with taking a ride in our toilet, and I find crayon in lots of places that I'd really rather not find it (because we all know the odds aren't good that it's ever going to be cleaned up!).

Oh yeah, and I quit my job (the one that, at the time, was more than half of our income...*cough-sputter-gag*), so that I could do this. Be here, be present, be present and be her mom. So that someone else isn't keeping the crayon off of the bongo drums and reading to her all day long, as she likes it. This was our plan, this is what we've sacrificed things for. Like my big, cushy Tribeca. I love my car, and it's going away, so that I can stay here. Someday, I'll drive a big, cushy SUV again, but for now, we'll share one crappy car and just deal with it, so that I can be mom. That job is #1, it's the king of the mountain of all the other stuff I do.

That's not to say that there aren't days when she watches too much TV while I have to get other things done. I'm all about the no TV for kids under 2 deal; I support it 100%. But somewhere around 10 or 11 months, she started being allowed to watch a bit of TV here or there, when I needed her to be distracted. She'd only watch for about 3 minutes at a time, which was fine by me. Now, I can put on Curious George (god bless that squirrelly little monkey) in the morning and get a solid 20 to 30 minutes of "me time" out of it. Do I like that she's watching TV? Nope. Would I like to sit here and tell you that I entertain her otherwise 100% of the time and that she doesn't even know who Elmo is? Yep, but that's just not how it is. Again...I'm ok with it.

(I told you this was going to ramble...)

Then there's the other stuff. Before I took on the volunteer work, the studying, and the freelance work, it was just me and The Kid. In the beginning, days were long stretches of a twilight-zone-ish world where I cared for this little person, but one who never spoke a word to me or interacted all that damn much. It was pretty strange (newborn care is odd to me, it might not be to you). So, I started a website. I really like talking about the products that I find and like, so it was natural that I ended up moving my blog in the direction of a product review site.

That site provided my adult interaction. The internet was my little window to the real world, the adult world. Where I once had coworkers to go BS with, I now spent time writing and meeting new and interesting people, some of whom I've developed real-life, deep friendships with. In short, my little website was one of the cornerstones of my sanity back then.

Time has passed, though, and the babychild actually requires more time, energy, and attention than she did back then. It was easy to get things done when she didn't speak, was stationary, and slept 2/3 of the day! But now, things like writing and, um, showering, are much harder to accomplish. I still get my adult conversation fix from Twitter and Facebook and the like, but it's usually from my iPhone, while I'm playing with The Kid. Not exactly optimal writing conditions.

So, I haven't accepted anything new for review in about 3, going on 4 months. I'm still knee-deep in a pile of stuff, some things many months old, that needs to be reviewed here. The reviews, each and every single one of them, will come. Let me repeat that: if I have it for a review and I haven't contacted you to let you know that I think it's crappy and I'm not going to write about it, then I'm going to write about it. I just can't guarantee when.

As much as I'd like to have this site be run professionally and be on top of my A-game with it 100% of the time (much like I used to), this isn't the top of my priority list. It just isn't, and it's not going to be.

I'm studying for some breastfeeding-related designations that are going to have a big impact on my life and our family. There's also some volunteer work that is part & parcel with that pursuit. I'm doing it on a very aggressive timetable, because that's just how I roll. I'm pushing to have those done, so that I can A) help moms and babies, B) contribute more to the breastfeeding community through various outlets, and C) begin contributing to the family cash-flow once again. While we're making one income work for the time being, I can't wait for the day that we're not so cash-strapped all the time. Doing this, advances that. That makes studying second only to billable hours and spending time being The Mom.

I do bring in some cash via freelance work. It's not a lot and it's certainly not regular, and frankly, it takes a lot more hours than I will ever be able to bill for. However, it does entail billing, which brings in money. And, like I said...that helps. So, that's another thing, that, like it or not, needs to be prioritized above this site.

So, there's The Kid, and the studying, and the other stuff. Of course, add in things like cooking (if it can be called that...I am no chef!) and spending time (usually in passing) with The Husband, and there's not a lot of time leftover. There are little cherries on top of the busy, like the holidays and the fact that since Christmas, I've been healthy for a whopping 3 weeks, off and on. The germs that seem to be lingering in this house have put a damper on just about everything! Spring, are you listening? Come soon!

So, the bottom line is that there's not a lot of time leftover for this site anymore. There used to be time for it, and in its heyday, it was awesome! And, like I said, every single product I agreed to review will eventually get posted. However, this site is the bottom rung of the food chain. Like most bloggers, I'm not making much money from this site. I'm pretty sure the hourly rate is still in the red, even when I am making a few bucks. I put together this big, awesome event, and because I haven't had the time to devote to executing that, it's strung out for months. I hate that! It makes my stomach turn. But, family comes first. And when I'm reviewing things that aren't part of a series or event? That's basically me working for free to promote stuff for the companies I work with. The reviews will post, giveaway winners will be posted, but it's not going to be snappy like it used to be. There are a lot of bloggers out there doing a much better job of running a tight bloggy-ship than I currently am. I hate that, too, but there's only so much of me to go around.

So, in light of that, I've enlisted help. I'm still relaunching this site (another thing to find time to work on), and because I really do love my site and want it to continue. I've got one ace in my pocket that will be exciting to reveal when the new site launches. I've also enlisted the help of a very good friend to work on reviews (and she has boys, so her posts can fill out where I leave off with all the girly stuff!). I may have one or two other tricks up my sleve for working this out, too, I'm still waiting to see how those play out. MMH will continue, and it will be even better! I'll get to blog more posts like this (ramble-y, personal goodness for you to savor, lol), in addition to the reviews. With at least three of us contributing, if not more, there will be regular content again (hallelujah!) with the bonus of more perspectives and diverse thoughts being included.

The future? It's all good, it's just going to take some work and some time. Lots of time! But, it'll get there. To those I've worked with who are still waiting, your day will come! And a most heartfelt thank you for bearing with me as I transition from mom to blogger to student to mom-blogger-student-wife-etc. All the posts from this site will move to the new one, too, so don't worry about anything being left out due to the move (that is, unless I can't figure out how to make that happen, in which a case, I'll have to get someone to help. That's the goal, though.)

Hopefully, this post will clear the air a bit and alleviate the heartburn that creeps up every time I think of this site. I want it to be awesome, and it will, it's just got to endure some growing pains in the meantime.

Ah-choo!

I've been healthy for two weeks since before New Year's. I have no idea what's going on! First, the sinus infection accompanied by infections in both of my ears. Then, a week of healthy (yay!) followed by the 5 days of that nasty stomach bug that everyone in our house passed around. Then, another week of healthy (yay!)...

...and I'm sick. Again. It's the sinus infection/cough/wheeze thing this time. I own a nebulizer. I don't have to rent one, because when I get a cough, the nebulizer comes with it. (After you have to rent those often enough, you get to own one. Thank you, dysfunctional pulmonary system).

I have no idea what's up with being sick so much, but it can end anytime now. I am clamoring to be back - and to be healthy!

Lact-ivate the Bat Signal, Girls!

If you've been on Twitter recently and you follow the breastfeeding conversation, you're probably aware of the big brouhaha about covering versus not covering while breastfeeding.

It was spurned by a blog post that basically came out and said, "Breastfeeding moms: Why can't you cover up?" Actually, that was even the title of the post, verbatim.

Trust me, I see the bazillion different reasons why that title and the point of the post are just.so.wrong. I do. But this isn't about that post, or it's author (which is why I'm not linking or citing, because that's not what this is about). This is about the larger conversation about breastfeeding.

Honestly, it can't even always be called a conversation. Too often, it derails into heated, reactionary, emotional words that are hostile to all involved.

To all involved; including the ones speaking (or typing, as it were).

If we are going to make progress in the world of breastfeeding and give it a makeover, a la Best for Babes, the arguing and hostility has got to STOP.

It seems as though every time someone tweets something negative about breastfeeding, there are people standing ready to light the torches and throw up the Bat signal: come on, let's get 'em, unleash the fury of the lactivists!

I'm not seeing positive progress from it, are you?

And to be clear: I'm not using the term 'lactivist' in anything close to a derogatory manner. I, myself, am a lactivist.

I firmly believe in first giving the benefit of the doubt to those disparaging breastfeeding. I speak from experience: had you asked me even three years ago if I planned to breastfeed, I would've given you a staunch "hell no, that's gross!".

I have been the uninformed, poorly enculturated person uttering those words. I had no concept of their weight or implications; I only understood how they related to me and my situation.

Luckily, my feelings were met with respect, acceptance, and education. And that led to me breastfeeding.

If I'd been attacked and torn down for how I felt, I would have dug in further and written off breastfeeding all together. I would have not breastfed on principle, based on that kind of reaction.

Yes, there are those who say negative things about breastfeeding just to be inflammatory. I don't think I'm going to change the attitude of someone who's coming to the table with that intent, so I don't engage with them. Engaging is what they're after, and doing so only encourages the bad behavior.

But for those who speak from ignorance, misinformation, or both: we are doing the breastfeeding community at large a disservice by meeting them with hostility and negativity.

First, we need to band together in a positive way in order to promote our cause. Supporting each other should be our first step in supporting others. In-fighting never made progress for any group.

We must be open to the conversation about breastfeeding. The nonjudgmental, open, respectful conversation. If we can't have a civil discussion about it, we're certainly not going to convince anyone that they should support us and our cause. That means listening to some things that we probably don't want to hear ("breastfeeding is gross!" for instance), and not jumping the gun on a reactionary response.

That said, some will see our side and some won't. And that's ok, too. Every other mother in my family formula fed their babies, and yet we still manage to be friendly and even love one another! It's ok to agree to disagree, and it's completely possible to do so respectfully and even with acceptance for others' choices.

In light of all of this, I pledge to...

1...support the other members of the breastfeeding community.

2....support the right of every parent to choose how to feed their child without facing judgment or hostility.

3....behave in a manner that is civil and respectful toward others, promoting the education and understanding that will further this cause.

Are you with me?

Fluffy Stuff: sloomb (part two!)

The MMH Great Cloth Diapering Event, brought to you by New Baby Products

Brand: sloomb (aka: sustainablebabyish) (http://sloomb.com)

Product Reviewed: sustainablebabyish fitted cloth diaper & doublers

Type: fitted

Closure: snaps

Cost: $26

Adjustability: snaps at the waist; leg elastics are fixed

Size Range: x-small, small, medium, large

Materials: organic cotton-bamboo fleece with the jersey side out

Quality: Excellent! These are work-horse diapers. We have two and Lovie wears them 3-4 nights/week, which means they get washed and worn a lot. The fabrics are really thick and sturdy and most importantly, soft!

Laundry Tabs: n/a

Laundering: sloomb recommends a cold rinse and hot wash, which is how we roll around here with the cloth diaper laundry. ;) Of course, line drying is best, but since it's snowing/raining/sleeting and generally unpleasant here, I've been using the dryer (with dryer balls, which are also recommended).

The leg elastics are holding up great to being run through the dryer (I'll switch to line drying when the weather breaks). The dye does lose a little brightness and depth of color over the washings, but nothing major (and more importantly, the dye never leached on to anything else! definitely a good thing!).

Inserts: Here's where the doublers come in! Lovie isn't a heavy wetter, and the sustainablebabyish fitteds come with snap-in soakers. So, if you have a heavy wetter, you can tuck it into the soaker and you'll be fully protected (I can't imagine that a babe could wet through the soaker, a doubler, and the fitted!). For us, it means that we can get away with swapping the soaker for a doubler and get an extra wear out of the fitted itself. Both the snap-in soakers and the doublers are super-absorbent. The doubler is a single piece, while the snap-in soaker is two pieces, serged at the top where the snaps are. Having the layers separated into two larger layers keeps the drying time down (a major plus!).

Fit: Great fit! True-to-size for what the sloomb sizing guide says, too. Lovie has lots of room to grow in hers. I like that the snaps are well-placed to allow these to have a snug fit on a wide variety of sizes, too.

Trim Factor: When Lovie's just in the fitted - no soaker or doubler - it's got a super trim profile. Adding in the soaker doesn't add a huge amount of bulk, but with the soaker and a doubler, it starts bulking up (especially between the legs). These are pretty trim, overall, though, depending on what kind of a cover you use with them.

Performance: These are in our top-three favorites list for overnight. We've never had a leak in them and they're great at wicking away moisture from Lovie's skin. I like the sloomb wool pants over them, or a Bummis cover also fits well. Since they're organic, I choose them over most of the other night-friendly diapers we have, because she's wearing them for such long stretches. No nasty chemicals sitting on her skin for 12+ hours = Happy Mommy. =) [Yes...we're lucky, she sleeps that long!]

Dad-Factor: Since there are a lot of snaps at the waist, even if he doesn't quite do it the way I do, he still manages to get pretty close on the right fit (I hope that makes sense! Frequent snap placement = finer sizing adjustments). Dad-approved!

Overall: I absolutely looove everything we've tried from sloomb!! I can't say enough good things. It's a company with great ethics that's producing extremely high-quality cloth diapering products. The sbish fitteds are fantastic (love the colors!) and they're a staple in our stash. They've held up well and I expect that these will last well beyond Lovie's potty learning. :)

BONUS!! You can win a pair of interlock OR knit wool longies! Check out my review of sloomb longies to enter!

DOUBLE BONUS!! sloomb is offering MMH readers a special 15% discount! (excludes interlock pre-orders & snapless multi 6 packs) - good through 2/10! Enter code HAPPY15

Fluffy Stuff: Sloomb

The MMH Great Cloth Diapering Event, brought to you by New Baby Products

Brand: sloomb (aka: sustainablebabyish) (http://sloomb.com)

Product Reviewed: Organic Stretch Wool Karate Pants & Pure Solid Lanolin

Type: wool pants (great to cover any fitted or over any diaper/underwear at all!)

Closure: elastic waist

Cost: $64

Adjustability: n/a

Size Range: x-small, small, medium, medium-long, large

Materials: 95% certified organic merino wool; 5% lycra. Organically felted using citrus and dyed in an oko-tex certified environment (basically, all the highest quality materials, which also happen to be the very safest you can get).

Quality: Ah-mazing! Seriously, these are nicer than any of Lovie's other pants (or really, mine & her dad's, too!). These are hand-made and it shows. =)

Laundry Tabs: n/a

Laundering: This is where the Pure Solid Lanolin comes in. sloomb products don't come pre-lanolized, so you'll probably want to do that before you use any of their wool items. Most wool users lanolize, though some choose to never use lanolin. It's a personal preference. Lanolin naturally occurs in wool, it's what helps it stay water-resistant.

To lanolize (it's super easy!), just follow these instructions for lanolizing that are provided on the sloomb site. I recommend using wool wash over baby shampoo, because baby shampoo can actually have some nasty chemicals in it.

Other than lanolizing, these should be hand-washed as needed and laid flat to dry. I wash mine on the delicate ("hand-wash") cycle on my front-loader and lay them flat to dry, and that's worked well for me. Wool isn't as scary to care for as it sounds!

Inserts: n/a

Fit: These are pretty true-to-size based on the sizing info on the sloomb website. They've got a nice little stretch/give to them, too, so they're growing well with her. And of course, they fit over the sloomb fitteds perfectly!

Trim Factor: n/a

Performance: Fantastic!! Wool is the golden standard of cloth diapering because it's natural, sometimes organic, and performs SO well. It helps to regulate body temperature (it's very breathable) and is naturally moisture-resistant. We've never had a leak in these and I'm not sure that we ever will! These are great for daytime play or as PJ pants (over a sloomb fitted) at night. They're really made to be worn and played in. We've had everything from poo to ketchup on ours, and they've always come clean. They can take some serious scrubbing!

Dad-Factor: No brainer! Put the baby in a fitted, put the pants on. No keeping the cover straight or getting it just right.

Overall: Love! These have been one of my very favorite cloth diapering finds. These are my "no worry" pants: no nasty chemicals, organic materials, no leaks, and they're made to be played in. They're cozy and comfy, too (which has led to several stints as PJ pants, in addition to daytime wear!). I was a little intimidated by the whole lanolizing and "hand-wash only" care recommendations, but it was much ado about nothing. They get tossed in the washer on the delicate cycle, it's really quite easy.

And the best part? The colors! Ooooh, the colors. All the sloomb products are gorgeous. We got these pants in Lotus, a rich, beautiful pink. Try one and you'll be hooked!

I'm also a huge fan of sloomb as a company. In order to offset the energy that creating and caring for a sloomb diaper requires, they have partnered with Trees for the Future for one diaper-one tree. You buy a diaper and one tree is planted in Southeast Asia. Pretty cool.

BONUS!! You can win a pair of interlock OR knit wool longies! Here's how to enter:

• Leave ONE comment on this post and let us know that you follow both @sloomb and @HappyMomAmy on Twitter. You must ALSO let us know if you'd like knit or interlock, and what color you'd pick if you won - check out the knit colors, they're different from the interlock line.

Open WORLDWIDE! Giveaway runs 1/24-2/12/10, 11:59pm EST. Good luck!

DOUBLE BONUS!! sloomb is offering MMH readers a special 15% discount! (excludes interlock pre-orders & snapless multi 6 packs) - good through 2/10! - Check out my review of s'bish fitteds for details!

Ick.

There's really no better word to title this post!

It's been an icky week here. @Dad_o was in Florida for business from Sunday afternoon until late Tuesday night, so Lovie and I flew solo for a few days. I'm thinking he brought something back, because...

...ew.

Let me back it up for a second, though. My dad had a partial knee replacement on Tuesday (it went well!), so we were heading to see him when he got home on Thursday evening.

Wednesday night, @Dad_o was sick. Pukey-poopy gross sick. I figured it was travel-related or stress and left it at that. He was better by dinner time on Thursday, so we went to go visit my dad, anyway.

When it was about time to head for the drive home - an hour - I felt sick. Enter: more puke. Lots. About 10 hours' worth, actually.

Obviously, @Dad_o had to stay home with us on Friday, there was no way I could handle the kid on my own. Good thing he did...'cause she joined the barf-fest after breakfast on Friday.

Aaaaand here we are Sunday, all of about 7 hours since the last puke. @Dad_o was sick again Saturday, and Lovie picked up again today. Here's hoping this thing doesn't chase me down again tomorrow...

It's been an icky week here! But Monday starts a new week, which will bring the last few cloth diaper posts, as well as a few other fun reviews!

Here's to the new week!