Back when my first daughter was born, we brought our brand new bundle of joy home from the hospital and clothed her in pink everything! Our first days as a family of four were such a joyful blur, but one memory lingers. Almost instantly, my precious newborn developed a terrible diaper rash. Within a week, we were at the doctor for this rash and were told it was in fact a second degree, blistering burn! 

I was horrified. we were using "natural" baby wipes and cloth diapers, so how could this happen? The doctor recommended only using a wet wash cloth to wipe her until her burn healed. With that new protocol, her burn began to improve quickly, and I began to be MUCH more conscience of what was in the products we used. Even though we had been purchasing "natural" huggies wipes, the harsh chemicals had burned my newborns skin and I was ready for change! 

When I heard about Seventh Generations' sampling program, I was really excited to check out their wipes and try them for free. I love usuing cloth wipes with our cloth diapers... but there are times when that's totally impractical, so it's important to have back-up wipes handy in diaper bags and at home. 

The 7th Generation wipes were gentle and caused no irritation on my little ones. I was thrilled with the ingredients [or lack there of!]

We're certainly going to be stocking up for baby #4, and grabbing some of their diapers too! 

Hi,

Do you live in a house?

Do you have kids?

Do you have carpets?

Then we can be friends and sympathize with each other on just how darn messy those carpets get! I also happened to have married a guy who works on heavy equipment all day, and walks into our house covered in grease, and oil, and only God knows what else. 

So, these are my front steps into the main house:

Yes, that's gross. And, I've casually walked around whatever those spots are for months, telling myself each time, "I've got to rent a carpet cleaner!" 

The problem with renting a carpet cleaner is that I have to first steam clean the carpet... then take three kids out of the house until the carpets dry. So, I thought there had to be a better way. And there was!

Drum roll, please!

I decided to pour some vinegar into a spray bottle and shoot at some of the carpet stains. I had tried an oxyclean mixture, and regular old carpet cleaner, which helped some spots a bit. I never expected the vinegar to completely cure my carpet spots! 

Within a few hours, I had hit every spot on my carpets and felt like a domestic warrior all at the very same time :)

Here's my front steps, before and after... all thanks to good ol' fashion vinegar!

So if your carpet spots have you feeling like you live in the house from The Cat and the Hat, grab some super cheap cleaning vinegar  instead of a carpet cleaner... or waiting for all those ridiculous mini cats to show up. Anyone else get so tired of reading the book by the time Cat H shows up??

After the Build-A-Bear debacle of 2018, my kids were looking forward to going to the park and enjoying a picnic with some friends! We were selected to sample Finlandia Cheese Sticks through Moms Meet and thought a splash- and -snack playtime would be the perfect place to share some gourmet cheese sticks! 

The flavors were so unique that I felt like it would be a hit or a miss with kids, but Finlandia sure knows a thing or two about incredible cheese! The gruyere and cheddar cheese sticks was a favorite with the kids, gouda came in second, and the gouda parmesan, with a slight crunch, was enjoyed mostly by the adults! 

After our time by the lake, I left with my tired kids, thinking about the remaining cheese sticks the entire drive home. I've longed for gluten-free fried mozzarella sticks, but a melted mess 5 years ago had kept me from trying to make them on my own! But, I decided today was the day to be brave and use some of our remaining Finlandia Cheese sticks to either make a masterpiece or a [yummy] mess!

I started by preheating the oven to 450 and putting the cheese sticks in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

In three separate bowls, I prepared one egg, 1/2c gluten free bisquick, and 1/2c italian bread crumbs.

After the cheese sticks were slightly frozen, I dipped them in egg, then bisquick, then egg again, and finally breading.

I baked them [or really just hovered by the oven] for 7 minutes.

The results- amazingness! While they might not look like they came out of a box, the flavor was incredible! Finlandia's cheese blends would make an amazing addition to summer parties for both kids and adults!

Thanks Moms Meet and Finlandia!!