Encouragement to Self

We are being transformed into His image, and God sees you as forgiven and washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

Smart Bottoms Cloth Diapers Review

Alright, I have heard all the ruckus of this Smart Bottoms through reviews and giveaways, and have been so excited and itchin' to get some for our household!  For some reason I just did not want to have my daughter never try these babies out!  I am glad that we have 5 to join our little stash of cloth diapers.  So now that we got a chance to use them for a good week, I just wanted to give my opinion too on these Smart Ones 1.0.  

A Bit about the Company:

Smart Bottoms Inc is a Cloth Diaper Company started by Christy and her family's decision to cloth diaper their children.  100% Organic Cotton and USA-Made Diaper are two things they are proud about at Smart Bottoms.  I personally appreciate these two facts about this company!
So I felt great knowing that the diapers I buy are going to support a family in the United States!  I also am loving the fact that the Organic factor of the cotton is well....Organic.

The Smart 1.0:

My daughter is almost a year now, and fits a Medium-sized diaper.  I love this cloth diaper for a couple of reasons.

#1  During the Daytime, I need no extra liners or inserts.   It has a great fit.  I do find that I can customize the size of the leg fittings a bit.  My daughter has really chunky legs--and still gets some redness because of the diaper, but it is not bad that I worry.  Once my daughter starts walking I know that she will slim down and the leg gussets will not be a worry anymore!

#2  I can use this diaper as a night time diaper.  The only thing that I am finding is that I do need an insert to help the diaper not leak during this length of time.  I have used this diaper 3-4 times at night, and love the ease of using the diaper, but I did find her clothes wet in the morning twice. So an extra liner should easily solve the problem.  (Right now she is using a Smart One for the 5th time.  I have no worries in the morning.)

#3  Trimness:  I found that the diaper was not too bulky.  At first I felt that it was HUGE, but I think that after prewashing it and preparing the diaper, the bulkiness went away.  Now after a week of using it, Sophie has broken it in and it works well underneath her clothes.

Alrighty, Thanks for reading! I hope it helps you out if you are considering purchasing her Smart Ones 1.0!  They are on sale at www.smartbottoms.com and are on sale:  5 for $50!  Original price is $20 a pop, so I recommend getting some since they are marked down at half off.  I took advantage of it and I am glad I did.  I do hope to try out a Smart 2.0 or a Smart Cover one day to see the difference and account for myself how well it works in comparison.  But until then we are THOROUGHLY enjoying the usage of this 1.0. 

I will post up pictures soon of my little one using the diaperes, but until then....

My batteries in the camera just will not last, I hate this about cameras and batteries: 

#1 Never around when you really want it    

#2 Batteries do not last as long as you really need it to!

If anyone has a suggestion for great camera batteries--reusable or not I would love to hear from you!

Family Day at the ShipYard!

Today was really special, for Andrew was able to take us in to see all that he does everyday!
  I have to say that I was grateful for his mom and sister being there too.  Between us all we were able to bounce the baby around.  Armed with our Beco we were able to tackle all the walking! 

We went on the USS Nimitz, and it was neat to see a tiny bit of the painting and blasting Andrew does on the ship.  It is indeed a beautiful yet overwhelming thing to stand next to this air carrier.  I had never imagined how deep the ship actually extends from what we see on the top!  Gorgeous.

Family day was filled with walking and meeting a couple of Andrew's Co-workers--one of which carried his little one in a Beco Baby Carrier and clad in BabyLegs!!!  My daughter was in our Beco AND wearing BabyLegs too!  I think it's so encouraging seeing other moms using the same stuff as us!  It just makes me wonder if she has a blog!  I should not have been so shy to ask!

My favorite part of the trip was just hearing and seeing my husband tell us about our job.  He was pointing out different parts of the ship he was working on.  He sounded so excited too!  I know its hard work and he hates it....but he sure LOVES telling us about what he does. 

Isn't that funny?

Well,  I am proud of him.  I am proud that he is my husband and that he works so hard to provide food and shelter for us.  As an afterthought I need to really let him know how much I appreciate him more often.  I know that I love it when I hear "I loved dinner tonight, hun!"  OR "Thanks for Lunch!".  I know we have hard times and fights, but I need to appreciate him more and treasure the times and not worry about life too much.


Well, I we had a blast today and now Andy has snuck out to his fishing spot on the Skokomish River to hopefully bring some salmon home!  He had better bring some fish home!  I am hankering for some baked salmon tonight!

Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Diapers {Review and Giveaway}

Seventh Generation-Free and Clear Diapers!
We were very much excited to try these disposable diapers from Seventh Generation.
The material in the diaper was all natural and contained no dies, chemical, and not even
a print on the diaper itself.  This was our first reactions when it came in the mail!  Hehe, she was excited to open the box.  I thought it was very neat to be able to be sent a product we could try out in terms of a long term package.

Here is some information that I read about when we were sent this diaper package.  Information was provided from Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark.

So what exactly does "Free and Clear" Mean?

Free & Clear diapers do not include chlorine processing, fragrances, latex and petroleum based lotions. In an effort to contribute less overall landfill waste and continue to ensure a premium standard of absorbency, the new Free & Clear diapers have been redesigned with a lighter-weight core. With processed chlorine-free wood pulp in Free & Clear diapers, Seventh Generation also makes certain that no chlorine is released into the environment during the totally chlorine-free (TCF) whitening process of the diapers and training pants.

Seventh Generation has also reduced the size of the diapers’ plastic packaging, meaning that each pack now contributes even less overall landfill waste than before. In fact, Seventh Generation Free & Clear diaper packaging can now be recycled at local supermarkets where plastic bag recycling collection boxes are available.

Initial Thoughts:
The first couple of days using it, we noticed that it held up quite well in comparison to
other disposable diapers we have used in the past. Can I just say how wonderful it is that it can be our night time diaper without worrying about her being wet in the morning?  I love using cloth diapers, but I know that I have only about 2-3 diapers that can hold up the night time.  So this in my opinion will work well when I am laundering my cloth "nighttime" diapers.  I did like that the packaging (not the mailing packaging) was not in a box that I had to break down. 

Absorbency:
The fit is great, and the size is "true" to description. It is a natural light brown color without any
additional prints or pictures on the front. Absorbency of the diaper is very surprising. Without any of those little chemical absorbing crystals in the diaper, it was able to really lock in the moisture and keep things in.  I'd say that for the natural products in it, it gets two thumbs up in the area of absorbency.

Closing Thoughts:

I love that I am not exposing my child to any chemicals, and that this diaper is a disposable one.  I would consider that this disposable diaper from Seventh Generation is a great asset to us as a cloth diapering household who might need a "go to" diaper when we need one. It is safe and healthy for a baby, and better for the environment. 

Additional Seventh Generation Information:

• Seventh Generation on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/SVGDiaperFbook
• Seventh Generation on Twitter: http://bit.ly/SVGDiaperTwitter
• Seventh Generation Free & Clear diapers on SeventhGeneration.com: http://bit.ly/SCGDiapers
• For information about the whitening process: http://bit.ly/TCFProcess
• For information about the role of pigments in diapers: http://bit.ly/DiaperPigments

G I V E A W A Y 

One winner will be chosen to win a pack of Free & Clear diapers!

Giveaway will end 8/27/2011 at 9pm PST.

***Mandatory Entry***

To Enter the Giveaway Simply tell me what you think about Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers? Comment below and be sure to leave your email address so I can email you if you win!

***Extra Entries***

1.  Visit Seventh Generation and tell me another item of theirs you'd like to try!

2.  Follow Seventh Generation and Sophie and Momma on Twitter and Tweet up to one time daily:

 RT @Sophieandmomma Enter 2 Win 7th Generation Free & Clear Diapers!  #Giveaway from @SeventhGen #myblogspark http://tinyurl.com/3r8ojza

 Ends 8/27

 3. Become a friend via Google Friend's Connect (GFC).

     If you are already a friend, just let me know and leave your GFC name!

4.  Enter to win a $50 Gift Card!  I just entered to win via Facebook and super easy to enter! :)

5.  Subscribe to my blog via email!

The Seventh Generation Diapers sent to us for review, as well as the giveaway prize are provided through Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark!  I was given these diapers to review and test and opinions and reactions are simply our thoughts and opinions.