Seventh Generation Free and Clear Wipes: Review and Giveaway

Posted on March 5, 2013 by vanderbiltwife

Someone makes a lot of messes …

There are honestly very few items that I am brand-loyal to. I tend to be a generic kind of gal, unless I’ve had a really bad experience in the past – or the brand name is on sale for cheaper than the generic.

But wipes are the one product where I almost always buy the same name brand. I’ve found they are simply the best.

Recently, I didn’t have a coupon and I couldn’t make myself pay a few extra bucks for the name brand I usually get. We ended up with a store- brand generic … and I’ve regretted it greatly. These wipes somehow managed to smell worse than the poopy diapers. I often felt like my hands smelled like they were BURNING after using them (??). Too weird.

So I was hesitant to review Seventh Generation’s new free and clear wipes, even though I love their company. I do cloth diaper, at least most of the time with David, and one of the big reasons is that I don’t want my kids sitting in chlorine. And yet, I’ve used wipes with chlorine for years. I can’t deal with cloth wipes … especially with my darling son, who poops more and worse than any child I’ve ever met.

I needn’t have worried! The Seventh Generation wipes are just as thick as my normal brand. They are actually unscented, unlike many “unscented” baby items I’ve come across. (The first thing my husband said about these wipes was, “Well, they don’t smell worse than what’s in the diaper.” High praise from him.) They are soft, clean well, and I don’t have to use 10 of them, even on a big mess.

The price isn’t too bad (those linked above have a $4 coupon on Amazon, too, right now!) especially considering they don’t have any yucky chemicals, dyes, etc. The wipes really mimic cloth; even if you use cloth wipes at home, these might be worth a try for when you’re out and about.

The best part is that I am giving away a package of these new Free and Clear wipes! Open to U.S. residents age 18 and older. Use Rafflecopter to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored giveaway from Seventh Generation and theMotherhood. All opinions are my own.

David, Two.

Posted on December 21, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

The one lousy picture I took on my phone of David’s party.

Dear David,

You turned TWO yesterday! How is that possible? I’m fairly certain you were just born. (Let’s pause for a moment and try not to hyperventilate about how ENORMOUS my belly is in the picture of me at 9 months pregnant, and how I am going to get that big again in 3 months. Yikes.)

You are quite the character for someone only 24 months old. As always, you know what you want and when (NOW). At 18 months you started talking, and now you have a pretty impressive vocabulary. You don’t always show it, mostly because your sister rarely stops talking to take a breath. But on the rare occasions she’s not there, I’m always taken aback by what you actually know and can say.

Where did you learn these things? All your colors? At least half the alphabet, and easily counting to 9? I sure don’t think I taught them to you. Maybe we OD on Super Why?

Basically, we just think you’re a genius. What you lack in stature (still tiny), you make up for in brainpower.

You, like many a little boy before you, are obsessed with trains and fire engines. (Fi-gen en-gen!) Daddy and I got you basically the coolest train set ever for your birthday, and you were too preoccupied with it to even eat cake last night. (Which is unheard of. You LOVE sweets with a passion.) In fact, you got back up out of bed after 10 p.m. wanting to play with the train some more.

But cake for breakfast? Yes indeed.

I am absolutely infatuated with you about 75% of the time – your absolute adorableness, your little voice, your leg rolls, your insistence that we tickle you “gain!” You are sugar-sweet and love to cuddle and read – especially Thomas books. You will play with a train or Legos for an hour, showing a concentration I’ve never seen from your sister.

And then the other 25% of the time you are mad as a tiger, throwing things, screaming in a voice that is so grating I will do just about anything to make it stop. Once again, you know what you want, even if we can’t decipher it. And if you don’t get it, you will make it known. Well. And often.

This boy stuff is still new to me – and I’m soon to be outnumbered for the first time ever, with your little brother on the way! But I love being a boy mom. I can’t wait to see you interact with Joshua.

I love you, my little Doodlebug. It scares me to make you a middle child, wondering if we’re inflicting some sort of cruel punishment on your sweet heart. I hope you’ll enjoy the gift of another sibling and know you are loved. SO loved!

Mommy

We’ll Just Call This One ICE KEEEM.

Posted on July 31, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

My little David has two settings: giggly and happy as any clam in the ocean, or “you have just ruined my life” mad.

The latter can be triggered by any factor of things, including wearing socks, not being allowed to nurse 14 times a day, being forced to to put clothes on, not being allowed down from his high chair, and adult people not responding immediately when he demands “UP!”

But David’s great woes involve sugar.

Oh, my boy. Around 9 months, he was eating a bagel in the dining hall. I took a spoon and gave him a tiny lick of ice cream. Then I tried to return his bagel. While he had been happily chewing on it moments earlier, post-ice cream he threw it at me.

I am not joking.

He then pounded on the table in anger and reached for the ice cream.

This scene has been repeated often, whenever someone around him has dessert and he doesn’t. Even if he’s already finished off his dessert, which takes about 25 seconds and usually involves a bath afterward.

Lately, we’ve been giving him one chocolate Pediasure a day to try to bulk his scrawny self up a little bit. Our 19-month-old, who speaks very little, can say “chocolate” like a champ. And when his chocolate “milk” is gone? THERE IS GREAT SCREAMING.

I’m a little scared. I would say I fear we’ve created a monster, but his great love for sugar seems so ingrained I’m not sure we had anything to do with it. (Well, maybe my intense sugar cravings during my pregnancy with him.)

Who would be surprised that his favorite Sesame Street character is Cookie Monster?

When Your Best Parenting Isn’t Enough … But It’s OK.

Posted on May 24, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

It’s the incredulous tone of her voice that catches me, makes me stop talking and start listening.

I’ve just admitted to my mentor, E, that the more I read about and see other 3-year-olds, the more I am convinced Libbie’s idiosyncrasies and bad behaviors are just her being 3, not my own fault.

E kind of stared at me and asked, “You didn’t really think that, did you?”

Well, yes. I often wonder if I could have done something different, something better, something more that would have made Libbie an angelic child, obedient to a fault. I feel like I’ve failed her as a mom each time she ignores an instruction or hits in response to something she doesn’t like.

Does everyone not feel like that? E seems to think the answer is no. And she is wise.

It’s then that I relate the story of The Mom Who Saved My Sanity Sunday.

source: mhaithaca

Sunday after church we went to Moe’s for lunch. If you don’t know, Moe’s is a restaurant known for burritos, where you wait in line to get to the counter and then instruct those behind the glass on how to fashion your burrito or nachos or tacos.

We probably waited 20 minutes before we even approached the counter. Behind us in line was a mother with her two kids, also an older girl and younger boy. They were around 8 and 5. While we waited, the kids flirted with eye contact and giggles. We made a little chit-chat.

By the time we reached the counter, David was done. He did not want to be held or put down. He wanted to wail. Over his cries, I gave my order. Surely he’d be happy once he was sitting down and eating.

But he wasn’t. Sunday, we were THOSE people. The ones with a baby screaming bloody murder in a restaurant, who are trying every song and dance they can think of to calm the child down to no avail. David was simply inconsolable. After five or ten minutes of dirty looks and intolerable wailing, we packed up our food and dashed to the car.

But as I was leaving, obviously ruffled and near tears, the woman who had been behind us in line looked me straight in the eye and told me, “You are doing a great job. It gets easier.”

Such simple words, but they meant the world to me. It was a pertinent reminder that my kid’s behavior does not always reflect my parenting–sometimes they are simply acting their age, or are overtired, or just in a funk.

Thank you, Lady in Moe’s. You sincerely touched my heart and made my day better. Instead of fretting over how many people’s lunches we had ruined, I took a deep breath, loaded kids in the car, and thought, “I am doing a great job. It gets easier.”

Easter in Pictures

Posted on April 10, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

Libbie and her little buddy Hollyn

Family photo

My guys

Mr. Cute Stuff looking all grown-up!

I hope you had a lovely weekend and a very happy Resurrection Day!

Added to Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Five Minute Friday: Brave.

Posted on March 16, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

He’s all grins as he holds on to the handrail and tries to take the step.

He stumbles, of course, short legs longer in his imagination than they are in real life. I wonder how tall he thinks he is in his head. Surely longer than the 25th percentile they tell us at the doctor’s office. My poor little shrimpy guy.

He scurries up stairs again, eyes set on the prize: the slide, the biggest one he can find. And yet, when he gets there, he can’t remember how to sit down. He needs Mommy – before Sissy finds him and shoves him down.

My David-bug is the version of tough and brave you only are at nearly-15-months: irrationally, spastic, and overwhelmingly sure that you can do everything. The place where I’m not quite sure whether to let him attempt the hard climbs or rescue him before he kills himself.

It’s my first taste of son-raising. Libbie was typical-girl-cautious. She certainly had her stair-tumbles, but never the moment of staring at me, smile canyon-wide, stepping down without fear of falling.

STOP.

Edible Sensory Tubs for Young Toddlers

Posted on March 12, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

I was browsing Pinterest Friday morning, searching for a craft for my 3-year-old since I knew we would be stuck in the apartment most of the day. A few clicks later, I found Spice Painting at Play Create Explore. Fun! Easy! I had Libbie set up to paint with containers of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sprinkles in just a few minutes.

But I have this other kid, too. And he’s that age where I would love for him to be exploring and trying new activities (he’s a little shy of 15 months). But he definitely cannot do the same things Libbie does.

I tried putting some paint into a ziploc bag and letting him squish it around. This was his reaction.

Then a lightbulb went off in my head as I wandered to the pantry. I would love for David to be able to play with sensory tubs, but he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. So why not create a sensory tub with objects I wouldn’t worry about him ingesting?

I started with oat bran as a base, where you might use dry rice or sand in a “normal” sensory tub. I then added small edible objects of various sizes: raisins, chocolate cheerios, a few mini m&m candies, and broken-up cracker pieces.

The first thing he did, of course, was stuff some in his mouth. That’s what I get for giving him a spoon to play with, I guess! But since it was just oat bran, no big deal. He figured out quickly that the oat bran really didn’t taste good and instead dug for the other items to eat.

After a while, I dumped it out on his high-chair tray and gave him a toy car to roll through it. He “vroooooomed!” to his heart’s content while Libbie took her time with the spice painting. A win-win situation all around!

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One Year

Posted on December 22, 2011 by vanderbiltwife

Dear David,

On Tuesday, you turned 1! Crazy! I am pretty sure it was about 10 minutes ago that it was last Christmas, and you were being passed from arm to arm until you wanted to nurse. And then arm to arm to sleep.

I don’t even know how to describe your personality. You are giggly and happy a lot of the time. Except when you’re not. You have always been very sure of what you want and never failed to make it known. When you are mad, you’re mad. You will pound things and throw things and wail like your little heart is breaking. This is possibly why you didn’t sleep in a bed until you were at least 3 weeks old.

Right now, you sleep most nights from at least 7:30 to 4. It’s not my favorite time to wake up, but it’s better than 1 a.m. Some nights you make it until 6 or 7, and then I am ecstatic. You usually take at least one long nap and one shorter nap. You are a very light sleeper, which is a little unfortunate, especially since you share a room with your sister.

You have had a very healthy year, with just one ear infection and some sniffles here and there. You are maybe on the smaller side, but not from lack of eating. You still love to nurse and do so pretty often, as well as eating a lot of table food. Your favorite is fruit, and you would eat mandarin oranges, pineapple, and grapes until you exploded. I’ve never nursed a baby past a year, so I guess we’re both playing this by ear; but given your enthusiasm for it still, I can’t imagine just cutting you off now.

You have 7 teeth, giant blue eyes, blonde hair, and sometimes I think I see a little dimple on one side of your cheek. You started crawling at 5 months and walking at 11, and at 12 months you’re toddling along with some surety.

You love balls, dogs, cars, your sister, nursing, and shoving everything you find into your mouth. You dislike it when Mama walks anywhere near you without picking you up, being shoved over and choked by your sister, the vacuum cleaner, and running out of food you like.

My sweetie boy, my Doodle Bug, I didn’t think I would ever have a son. But I do, and I love it, and you’re awesome. I wouldn’t trade all the sleep in the world for one of your precious giggles and grins. You are all boy, and that scares me a little, but I look forward to continuing to see your personality develop.

Love you so so much!

Mommy

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A Christmas Baby (No, Not That One.)

Posted on November 15, 2011 by vanderbiltwife

My little David is a Christmas elf. He was born December 20th. When you ask those with Christmas birthdays how they feel about it you get one of two responses. Either, “I love it! I always have family around then!” or “I HATE IT SO MUCH MY PARENTS MUST DESPISE ME TO HAVE CONCEIVED ME IN MARCH AND I CELEBRATE IN JUNE.” Well then.

We’re approaching David’s first birthday. Let’s not talk about how much it pains me to even write that! He is still my little tiny baby and I am not ready to give that up for toddlerhood. He is trying to walk and talk and play with Libbie and it’s too much for my mama heart.

But anyway, I am trying to decide if I should do something for his first birthday. It feels wrong NOT to! I know we won’t have any family there, obviously, because we will see them all the following weeks for Christmas. So … will anyone come?

Right now I’m thinking of having an open house-type get-together the Saturday before his birthday. I realize most people will have something else that day, but maybe they would drop by. What do you think?

If we do have a mini-party, I think I am going with a snowflake/winter theme. Here’s some of my inspiration.

Source: pizzazzerie.com via Vanderbilt Wife on Pinterest

Source: ohamanda.com via Vanderbilt Wife on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Vanderbilt Wife on Pinterest

Of course, if you know me you realize I mean a VERY simplistic version of these decorations. I’m not a very good party planner. And I haven’t been able to convince Amanda to just throw one of my parties for me yet.

So, I want to hear it. What’s your advice for Christmas babies?

Speaking of parties, last week my sweet bloggy friend Mary released her first e-book, Plan a Fabulous Party without Losing Your Mind.

Is that not the most hilarious cover ever?

Seeing that Mary’s blog is Giving Up on Perfect, her writing speaks to me! (Because really, I am forced to give up on perfect each and every day. Good enough is the new perfect, or something like that, right?)

I had the privilege of proofreading Plan a Fabulous Party and if I do throw a little David shindig, I will definitely be referencing my copy! It has tips for planning, decorating, and food, along with cute quotes, tricks, and pointers for every kind of get-together.

You can buy it using that link above or get it for your Kindle on Amazon. With the holidays quickly approaching … it can’t hurt to have some quick party tips at your fingertips! The book is $7.99, but with code FABPARTY you can get $3 off through tomorrow, 11/15.

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Two Babies

Posted on October 17, 2011 by vanderbiltwife

Credit: Portrait Innovations

I remember watching Libbie, sitting in the primary-color bouncy seat, as she grasped a toy. I grinned from ear-to-ear. My mom was there, a rare treat for both of us, and we sat and stared at my months-old princess simply because her fingers were wrapped around a piece of pink plastic.

“Is everything as exciting with your second child?” I asked her. “Do you still get excited about the little things?”

I don’t remember her answer, but now I know.

Credit: Portrait Innovations

With babies are close together in age as mine are, you don’t always have time to notice those first tiny things. I might be elated to find that David was grasping, or self-feeding, or cutting another tooth … if I weren’t putting Libbie in time-out for pulling him around on the carpet by his arms or calming her as she screams that he’s stolen her bowl of cereal yet again.

I was upset that he started dragging himself around on the floor as soon as he learned to sit up on his own; gone were the dreams that he could play by himself for a few minutes. Am I the only mother to bemoan the fact that her child can crawl? Out comes the vacuuming and securing and plastic plug-things and hoping that he just won’t hit his head falling this time.

So maybe the answer is no, it’s not as exciting with the second little one. But here is what I find different.

I cling to his little body, sucking in deep breaths of baby shampoo and snuggling an angel-soft cheek. “Don’t grow up!” I cry, even though of course I don’t mean it. What choice do we have but desire their growth … yet at the same time I find myself hanging on desperately to the baby-ness of him in a way I never knew with his sister.

They can tell you it goes by so fast until it comes out of your ears and you’ll never know until you get there. Until your tiny baby is almost three and sassy and hilarious and more of a girl than a toddler. When you set the two babies side by side and ask yourself, “How on earth did she go from this to that so quickly?”

That’s why I kiss his cheek when he’s nursing. Why I rub his sweet head and tickle tiny feet and take mental photographs of his precious belly button.

Someday I’ll catch a whiff of Aveeno shampoo, or see a baby spit up on his mother’s shirt and think, “How? How is it already gone?”

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