Cloth Diapering the GTA

Goodbye 2010

2011-01-01T12:03:00.002-05:00

So as I spent the evening in my living room watching SALT (it was ok) I went to bed early and ended up with 2 kids in bed with me (at some point - I don't remember so really I don't care as long as they don't wake me up). Life has really changed in the last 3 months - so here's hoping that 2011 brings happiness, joy, love and maybe even a few surprises :) As it rains outside and I sit here typing I think back to everything that's gone on in 2010 - I've made some new friends - there's been a new baby (NOT for me but for a great friend of mine) and the company has grown. So really it's been a good year just ended badly. So let's start off 2011 right - with a smile, with hope and with the perfect cup of coffee in my hands (thanks to Andie & Glen :)

I resolve to get my office cleaned and to keep it in better shape (at least so that I can actually see my desk), I resolve to continue to lose weight (almost 50 lbs down just another 50 to go), I resolve that I will be happy, I will smile, I will be a better mother, I will work out, I will continue to spread the cloth diapering love (oh and baby wearing love) all across Canada (but mostly to the GTA). I will be a better friend, I will design, I will create, I will sing, I will cry but most of all I will love.

So as I say goodbye to 2010 I say good riddance - 2011 is gonna be great you just wait and see.

Whenever something strikes me funny I write it down on a little piece of paper and tape it to my desk - most of them won't make sense to anyone else but when I read them I have to smile because they remind me of a great time in 2010 (some are a little older than that).

So here are my notes from 2010:

It's not like they are jealous of the cookie.
Are you for real? My eyeballs work!
Hey Dude that was for science!
That's such a non-answer!
When Pi$$ comes to PUL
You're all getting it I'm not discriminating
Are you imploding? What are you doing?

This last one is just from the other night when Team Canada won 10-1 over Norway - from a TSN announcer:

Whoever made that selection shouldn't be allowed to select ANYMORE!

That last one kind of sums up my year so goodbye 2010 - Hello 2011!

For the Good fo the Budge, Child, Environment, OH and my Sanity

2010-10-08T13:41:00.001-04:00

Using cloth diapers is just what the doctor ordered – something had to give and in the end it was the rash causing, toxic chemical filled disposable diapers that went bye-bye. When our son was born I used disposables for 6 months I had more laundry than I care to remember (due to blow outs that ended up all over his clothing and mine), diaper rashes to contend with every day and the money being bagged up and put out for the truck every week was insane (over $500 in the first 6 months alone!). This was insane and figuring that using cloth diapers couldn't possibly be worse I went on the hunt – thinking they would be easy to find – boy was I wrong! I wanted someone local who could answer my questions but had no luck (other than Sears – and they had no idea) and so I turned to Google – WOW what a selection, but still I was timid and didn't want to bother anyone with my million and one questions so I bought a little of this, a little of that, wising that I could see and feel diapers in person!. Cloth diapers fit so much better than the disposables did that there was very little leakage and they contained the blow outs! I was sold! I bought enough diapers to last 3 days (costing about $500) and I was off never looking back! Luckily there are now more cloth diapering shops around so finding the answers to all your cloth diapering questions can be as easy as picking up the phone, sending an e-mail or checking out a website! Check out the New Modern Cloth Diapers today – you won't regret it!

Don't Wake the Sleeping Husband???

2010-08-27T09:58:00.002-04:00

So my dh likes to sleep and yes he has a full time job (which he lucky enough to be able to do from home, plus he does some work for me and his own company) and so today we shall see what time he wakes up - I hate waking him up - he's not one of my kids - get yourself out of bed - you're an adult! Having to wake my kids up is one thing - I know it sucks to have to get up in the AM but really it's apart of life - it's not like he was up late working - in fact he was asleep well before me and yet I still got up with the kids and got them all breakfast - clothed and such. Why can't he manage to get himself out of bed without my having to yell his name 3 or 4 times? Actually you know what's worse - when I've called him for the 5th (or so) time and he says WHAT??? What do you think? Why do you think I'm calling your name? AWWWWW men sometimes mine drives me nuts - and yet I still love him after 12 years (11 of them being married) - so maybe by now I should be use to it right? Only he didn't use to be like this he use to get up by himself. It's already 10 AM (which ironically I joked about him not being awake for something - can't remember what it was - today at 10 am - I guess I was right) so maybe he'll be up by 11? If I make lunch for the boys and he's still in bed I'm gonna freak - oh well at least he'll have a headache from coffee withdrawal if he sleeps in that late - maybe just that alone would get him out of bed!

Rant over - time to get back to the sewing room - shhhhhhh don't tell anyone I'm working on a One Size diaper cover again - I'm sure I can figure out a cover that will work for all ages all the time. Back to the drawing board.

Easy to Bum is Open for Business

2010-08-06T17:27:00.003-04:00

So August 1st marked the opening of Easy to Bum (my cloth diaper service). Testing is over and all went well - I'm loving these diapers and wish I had done this while Alex was still in diapers! The diapers look so CUTE! The multi-colored snaps and colored trim add such character to them :)

Not only are our diapers made here in Ontario
BUT
they are also made from Ontario made materials!!

So tell your friends - tell your neighbors - tell everyone!
Easy to Bum is open a month early :)
www.easytobum.com

Potty Training ....

2010-07-24T08:27:00.002-04:00

So I have a lot of customers ask how did you potty train your little boys .... this is what I tell them.

With my first son he was almost 3 1/2 when we potty trained him - all our fault as parents as we were waiting for a "sign" that he was ready being first time parents, and we were busy - we'd had another little boy and we just didn't have the time to spend on training him. So had tried to start training him around the 3 year mark but in the 1 week it was horrible and he didn't pee at all in the potty so we gave up for a while. We tried again a while later and it was a HUGE improvement. Johnny trained in 3 days!!! By trained I mean that at the end of the 3 days he went and pee'd and poo'd on the potty - without fights, tantrums or messes in his pants! He was night trained by the end of the week! Wow that was easy I thought - what I did was take him from his cloth diapers directly into BOXERS - not training pants, and not briefs - simply because I thought that that would seem too much like a diaper. I ONLY put a diaper on him for night time (which was done with by the end of the week). The boxer thing was actually proved correct for my boys as anytime he was put into briefs he would pee himself, and I didn't have any training pants so that one was proved later with Alex (#3).

So then baby #2 - Nicky - ohhhh Nicky! These two boys couldn't be any different if they tried! But 26 months rolled around and I decided that I would start potty training Nicky - this round had more tears than smiles unfortunately but by the end of 7 days we were trained (Nicky was actually night time trained before he was day time trained which is what prompted me to start training him. Now when Nicky was in the house he had very few accidents - he was big enough to go to the potty by himself (just like Johnny was when we trained him) BUT if the kid ever went outside he threw all sensation out the window and just figured that the pee & poo would take care of itself - well it did - in his pants all of the time. It had nothing to do with lack of sensation as he proved every day when he was inside the house that he knew when he needed to pee. So after almost 2 years of accidents on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis I can finally say that Nicky is completely 100% potty trained. Man that was a crazy time - warm weather was a killer on the underwear drawer! We even tried to curb the behaviour by not allowing him to play outside because he had pee'd himself, that worked for a few days and then he'd be right back at it. We even made him go pee BEFORE he was allowed to leave the house - so he'd pee and then not 30 minutes later he'd be wet! So we used a time and every 20 minutes the timer would go off and he'd have to go pee - this we found was the most useful tool of anything!

Baby #3 (Alex) was about 4 months old when we potty trained Nicky so there we were again about 25 or so months this time around potty training the final boy (at least for now). Alex we kind of do things by accident - he moved from his crib into a toddler bed by accident (we set it up but were just trying to get him use to the idea, and he fell asleep) .... - so it was kind of an accident that we potty trained him. One day he said Mommy pee! So I put him on the potty and he pee'd - now this shocked me and I got excited - yeah all my boys will be potty trained (now if I could just teach them all to AIM!!! my toilets might at some point in my life be clean again!). Well my husband thought that training pants would be a better idea this time around - less mess for the week while they are training - I didn't agree with him as my methods had worked the last two times (and I'm the one training them!) so why not go my route - but I figured it can't hurt and I told him that I would try it for 1 week (no more if it wasn't working). So I made Alex some Traineez and off we went - one pee in the Traineez at a time! There was no progress - oh he knew when he was wet and he would tell us but he wouldn't tell us before when he needed to go pee. So with absolutely NO improvement after 3 days my DH gave up and told me to just put him into boxers - 7 more days and we were done! Now Alex has probably been the hardest and the easiest - hardest because he's soooo tiny that his little legs weren't long enough to allow him to sit on the potty himself. He had to be lifted up onto the baby potty every time! Also he's very stubborn and didn't like to poop - so he'd sit there for hours (yes 2 hours) and then I'd let him up for 10 minutes and he'd poop himself! It took RAISINS to get him to poop - this again was by accident! One day he came to me and said Mommy Poop so I got up ready to clean out his underwear at least I was still level headed for the day and hadn't started to tell him that you don't poop in your undies - where do you poop? potty - not in your ? undies which had become our weekly (2-3 times) routine. I asked him if he had poop in his undies and he said no it's in the potty! WHAT?????????? :SHOCK: :AMAZE: :JOY: :ELATION: could it be??? Could he have actually just pooped on the potty without crying, screaming and the like? I go to the potty and then start to praise him because yes he had! Well this happened every morning like clock work for a few days and we couldn't figure out what was different - then I realized around the end of the week that the boy had been eating raisins like candy (he loves them!) and that must have been just enough softening to not make it a thought provoking thing (he wasn't constipated before by any means but the more he thought about it the worse it got!) Oh and Alex has finally grown just enough in the last 6 or so months that he can get onto the potty by himself :) YEAH

So after that "little" story about how I potty trained my boys I sum it up - if your child is in disposable diapers then the cloth Traineez pants work great!!! BUT if they are in cloth diapers switching to a Traineez pant probably won't do you any good as they'll just see it as a diaper - switch directing to undies (preferably boxers) so they get a very different sensation (they generally don't like the pee running down their legs - gross I know but their peeing in their undies either way :) My other suggestion is don't switch back and forth from undies to diapers - kids do get confused and they won't be able to figure out when they are suppose to go in them and when not :)

Welcome to our newest retailer -

2010-07-08T13:26:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the family - Baby Ware!

Baby Ware is currently carrying the following items:

Easy to Bum Fitted Diapers
OS ALL Diapers (One Size AIO's)
Newborn Organic Fitteds
Organic Breast Pads

They are located in St John's, NFLD.
We're thrilled to have them as a part of the Wee Ones family!

Now it's time for the 4th of July SALE

2010-07-03T22:53:00.004-04:00

The Outlet is almost empty - thanks to so many great customers!
- so I've put the leftover diapers on sale for the 4th of July - Even lower prices!

A few new items!

Run ...... it starts at midnight (Saturday midnight) and ends Sunday (midnight)

Diaper Dash Sale - $2 Diapers

2010-07-01T07:49:00.001-04:00

So I'm trying to clear out the Outlet some - so I've put diapers on sale for today only - $1, $2, $3, $4, $5 Diapers!

Run ...... it ends at midnight!

http://hyenacart.com/weeonesoutlet

Why can't children make our life easier?

2010-06-28T19:40:00.002-04:00

Maybe the true meaning of the word child is this:

an individual that "belongs" to you (either by birth or adoption) that will on occasion drive you insane, make you want to pull your hair out, beat your head against a wall, scream, kick, cry, and sometimes make you pack up all of their toys.

The only other thing would be that it would also have to read:

an individual that "belongs" to you (either by birth or adoption) that will on occasion make you smile, giggle, laugh, cry, and will give you hugs and kisses for no reason whatsoever!

Why can't we always have meaning #2?

I guess simply because what is good if there is no bad? Maybe all of the little things that are tender and sweet are that because we know what's on the flip side of the coin.

I think though that your children should not be allowed to all be meaning #1 on the same day - spread it out a bit please :) Give your poor parents a break :)

We love you why make it hard on us all at the same time :)

------------- One Completely Exhausted, Had Enough Mommy

Company Logo

2010-06-13T10:38:00.005-04:00

So the parent company is JaJoC (pronounced - Jay-Joe-See) and I finally got a logo for it :)

What do you think?

I got the label scan ...

2010-06-11T09:09:00.003-04:00

So I designed the label for the Easy to Bum Diaper Service and here is what they are going to look like (they are folded in 1/2 just under the words Diaper Service). What do you think of it?

Things for Mom

2010-06-10T16:06:00.003-04:00

So a customer has asked me to make her some mom pads - which I was happy to do - and so I think I might stick them back into the store. I use to sell them years ago, but I wasn't all that happy with the pattern so I've redone them (there are 3 different pads to choose from), and I think it might be time to put them back in.

So there will be a Mini, Regular & Night, they are made with bamboo french terry (the night also has a layer of zorb in it), and they are backed by pul.

Eventually I'll get some pictures taken and I'll post them to the website - I'll let you know when they are up.

Oh pricing - Mini's are $5.50, Regular's are $6 and Night's are $8

Have a great Thursday :)

PS ------- I just had a girl drop off 90 baby slings that I've got to finish (she serges them and puts the tag on) so be on the look out for new slings up on the website - once my baby sitter gets here in 22 minutes (not like I'm counting or anything) THEN I'm going down to the studio and I can finish them up (I just got a new batch of sling rings last week and they've been calling to me to make them into ring slings for days now - time to give in)

Have I Bitten Off TOO MUCH??

2010-06-09T18:27:00.002-04:00

So as life goes on and the company grows our expansion has be wondering have I bitten off more than I can chew? My days start earlier and earlier, they are ending later and later, and in between although I'm getting lots done I'm wondering if I'm missing the bigger picture! I don't think I am, just someday's it's good to sit down and take a look at the bigger picture.

Bigger Picture:

I want more people to use cloth diapers on their kids for what reasons?

It's healthier for their kids
It will save them money (the service likely won't save them much but it shouldn't cost them anymore!)
It's better for the environment (honestly this isn't as important to me as the first two but it does help - I recycle so why wouldn't I use cloth!)

Am I doing all of this for the right reasons? When I started the company it was for those reasons is it still? I don't want to "sell out" and just be another company that doesn't care about anything but the bottom line.

I want to be known as a company that cares about what it makes, about their customers, and about the next generation (as well as our planet!)

So does my expanding the company help these things - YES I am certain that I can reach more people if I have a store front that is closer to Toronto. Does doing a diaper service help this - YES I think that more people will use cloth diapers who wouldn't if someone else isn't there to clean them!

So all in all YES I'm doing a good thing, and I'm still on course - I haven't sold out (in fact my dh is always after me to up my prices but I stand firm - I want cloth diapering to be affordable and I'm standing firm to that if nothing else :)

Enjoy your Wednesday - I just took a pizza (home made from scratch) out of the oven and boy does it smell good :)

Gotta run :)

Life as Wee Grow

2010-06-08T09:13:00.002-04:00

So we've (my husband and I) decided a few months ago that we were going to grow Wee Ones into a nationwide company and not just the small local company it currently is. There is nothing wrong with it the size it is but I've always wanted to grow it into a larger company - this was just ahead of my timetable (being that I figured I was going to have to do it slowly and "by myself"). Anyways so the first step was to start to branch out into the other provinces - show wise. So next weekend we're going to Halifax for the big baby show there .............

Anyways so that's not all we've decided to do . . . . ......

We're moving the company into a warehouse / industrial space here in the near future, and we're starting a cloth diaper service that services the Durham Region.

Wow I know it's a lot to take on all at one time but I think that it's necessary in order for the little company that started on a singer sewing machine in a spare bedroom to bloom and blossom into something grand and extraordinary!

So Easy to Bum is the diaper service and we're (cross your fingers) going to start delivering the diapers in September. Our service diapers are also available to buy on the Wee Ones website here. You get 12 diapers (10 size large) for $72.00!!! These are awesome fitteds but I've been able to keep the costs really low on them as I make so many of them I buy these particular fabrics in huge bulk, and when you're making so many of them at one time the amount of time it takes to make each diaper is lower considerably!

Here they are!

An Update on Pampers ....

2010-05-29T13:37:00.003-04:00

So the RDIA (Real Diaper Industry Association) which I am a part of got lawyers involved with the whole pampers fiasco, and now apparently Pampers has taken down the LIES from their website! I wish I'd copied the page when I went to it last - I wonder if I can find a cashed version on google!

Here is where it was:
http://www.pampers.com/en_US/diapers-myths-and-facts

Yard Saling

2010-05-29T13:33:00.002-04:00

So we decided to get up and go to some yard sales this morning - I love yard sales but my dh doesn't usually anyways. With a store, warehouse and more shows on the horizon there are a few things we needed to buy - a new office desk, chair, buffet table, kids play area table & chairs, and some clothing for the baby (well he's almost 2 1/2 years old but wears 12-18 month clothing and we had no summer clothing in that size).

So off we went - man did we ever hit the jackpot today!

I got a buffet table which is going to be perfect for my cash counter at shows (and for in the store), we got a kids play table with chairs / benches that you can store toys in the seats - double score! I also got a trike for alex. Then we got a retail display shelf with TONS of shelves and finally on my way home I decided to try one more and I got all the clothing I needed for Alex - what an awesome yard sale day!

Cloth Diaper Users Unite!

2010-05-16T08:48:00.005-04:00

This post is part of the Real Diaper Facts carnival hosted by Real Diaper Events, the official blog of the Real Diaper Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to cloth diaper education. Participants were asked to write about diaper lies and real diaper facts. See the list at the bottom of this post to read the rest of the carnival entries.

We as moms and dads who use cloth diapers have to stand together - we are coming under fire from one of the biggest disposable diaper makers out there!

So let's address these issues, half truths and bold face lies right now!

"Cloth Diapers are better for my baby" - Pampers says that this is a myth - which it is NOT!
Thank you Pampers for stating the obvious - although your response is a total lie - your initial line from this myth is true. Cloth diapers are better for your baby and here's why:

You WILL have less diaper rash (if any)
You will NOT get any sort of chemical burn on your baby from your cloth diapers
You will have a natural fabric against your baby's skin
You will have less poop all over the place (including all over your baby's skin - it will stay in the diaper!

"Cloth diapers are better for the environment than disposables." - Pampers says that this is a myth - which it is NOT!
Let's see which is better for the environment - something that you can reuse over and over and over again (roughly 300 times or much more!) before end up throwing it out (and then it will decompose) or something you use one time and WON'T decompose (they don't know it will decompose in 500 years that's just a guess they haven't been able to decompose one yet!)

Also along with all of those disposable diapers in the landfill is all of the poop that no one realizes that they are suppose to dump into the toilet prior to throwing out the diaper either! YES EVEN WHEN YOU USE DISPOSABLE DIAPERS YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO PUT THE HUMAN WASTE INTO THE TOILET JUST LIKE WITH CLOTH DIAPERS!

"Disposable diapers are harmful to the environment." - Pampers says that this a myth - which HELLO it's totally true!!
What a bold face lie! See above where we talked about reusable versus NOT - and decomposing versus NOT.

Let's see which would you rather - more laundry (disposables) or less (yes I had less laundry switching to cloth diapers from disposable diapers as I didn't have poop all over my son's clothing, or my clothing, or his bedding!!!!!).

I choose less (score 1 for CLOTH DIAPERING)

Would you rather have possible chemical burns on your baby's bum or NOT!

I like we'd all choose NOT so score 2 for CLOTH.

Yes 1 cloth diaper will cost you more than 1 disposable diaper BUT you can use it say 300 times so let's say you bought the most expensive diaper I sell which is $31.95 and that's not counting any of the discounts I offer. So for 300 uses this diaper will cost you about $0.10 per use. I just saw "cheap" disposables for $0.17 each at Costco - so you do the match :)

Score again for CLOTH.

Realistically I think that the disposable diaper companies are starting to finally take notice that cloth diapers are coming back and they are coming back with a vengeance! So watch out Disposable Diaper Companies - you're betting against Mom - who has her baby's interest at heart and not your pocket book! Not such a great idea!

Use Cloth Diapers - be proud that what you're doing is better for your baby!

Mello it's May!

2010-05-07T15:21:00.001-04:00

So Baby Time has come and gone for yet another 6 months .... Most Popular Item - Baby Slings .... Most Popular Diaper - Swimeez.

I spent the first evening up making slings for day 2 as I almost sold out on Day 1 of a 3 day show!

Swimeez same deal for both Days 1 & 2 - they're extremely popular even now after the show!

So I have this weekend "off" although I use the term "off" loosely as I my dh is away for this week and isn't coming back until Sunday - so my "off" time includes double duty (parenting wise).

Phase 1 of the Green Bum Initiative has been launched - it includes the Easy To Bum cloth diaper. This fitted diaper is easy to use, easy to clean and cheap to buy. 12 diapers is only $72!! Made from our regular high quality Bamboo and ZORB these diapers were a huge hit at Baby Time and are going to be a favorite in your diaper stash!

Positive Procrastination ....... Again

2010-04-22T15:52:00.002-04:00

Ok so I'm stalling I don't want to have to pull the kids from the backyard so that I can get downstairs and work - they are having so much fun! The baby sitter comes in 30 so maybe I can find just enough to keep me busy until then - like there's ever a shortage of things to do here in the office - oh like clean my desk so that I can see it again - nahhhhhh - the photo contest is running until the 30th now as I haven't gotten the labels yet for the new diapers :( Very dissapointing that I won't have them for Baby Time - crap crap crap!

Anyways I'm making the H2O Wrap this afternoon - the samples are cut I can't wait to see the finished product.

Oh for bad news - CRA is auditing me on my GST returns now (like I don't have enough to do they figure I like to sit around and make up things just to try and squeeze a couple hundred out of them! Buddy I've got much better things to do!) Anyways so that the bad news - there's some awesome great news on the horizon but I can't say yet as it's still a work in progress but I promise you're gonna love it! I'm in Lindsay on Satruday for the Mom 2 Mom Sale there at the Lindsay Inn - like I said it's gonna be a busy week.

The water patrol just entered the kitchen (neighbors kid in tow and all) - my middle one smells stinky - he doesn't like a dishwasher 1/2 full of dirty dishes apparently - well then don't open it! Or wash them yourself! Neither is going to happen but I can still dream :)

Tyler comes home tomorrow yeah :)

But in the meantime I've got TONS of diapers to make for tomorrow, and I've still got to cut at least 1 (probably 2) rolls of bamboo! wish me luck :)

Fly Away

2010-04-18T16:20:00.002-04:00

Well that's what he's done - he's gone off to Boston again - but really I can't complain my dh's job is really great and he likes it! But here I am in the middle of show season and he's off to Boston from the day after one show up to the day of the next one - hehe it's gonna be an interesting week!

We've still got the photo contest going on - so be sure and get your photo's sent in - as the winner gets a set of 12 diapers (the new ones!!)

I can't wait to share the new diapers and the new promotion with you - but we're both just going to have to be patient :)

Our slings have been a HUGE hit at the shows so far, and there's even customer comments on the facebook fan page. Our customers love not just the product but also the price! You can't go wrong at $30!

It was so nice meeting so many new and expecting Mom's here locally and I look forward to meeting lots more this weekend in Lindsay at the Mom 2 Mom Show!

We'll I'm working on some shipping issues on the website so I should stop procrastinating (positive as it may be) and get back to it.

Photo Contest

2010-04-15T18:09:00.002-04:00

We're having a photo contest. We're launching a new line of cloth diapers (no we're not telling yet) and we need an image for the promotional materials. Whoever has the winning photo will win a dozen (yup 12) of our new products in your childs size :) Here is what we are looking for ... your Wee One in their cloth diaper (a Wee Ones diaper of course) - preferably with no shirt on and back to (but not mandatory). You must give consent to have the image used in any marketing materials, for the website or any other advertising / promotional purposes. E-mail your images here - jajoc@weeones.biz - please send high resolution if possible.

Contest runs until April 23rd - so get your image in today!

No Tags

2010-04-14T07:38:00.002-04:00

So a customer sent back her diapers today - she decided she doesn't want to use them ...... hasn't even washed them ..... tried 2 ......... not the point. Anyways

So I take them out of the box, they are all there, yada yada yada, and then I look at them further!

THERE ARE NO TAGS ON THESE DIAPERS!

Not that someone took them off there just were none ever put on! Somehow I managed to make 18 diapers and not put a single tag on them - it's kind of humorous - I don't know what I was thinking or in this case wasn't thinking!

Oh well I can easily put the tags on them I just thought it was funny.

Tell me a funny something you've done!

"Coffee" & Toast

2010-04-13T08:47:00.002-04:00

As I sit here with my "gas station cappuccino" and my rye toast with raspberry jam I'm thinking about my day, what it needs to hold, what it holds and what it shouldn't hold.

Needs to Hold:

I need to start making the adult diapers that were ordered last night.
I need to get my kids paperwork ready for school (this is our last year of homeschooling) this entails a trip to the notary public to have a "Statement of Conscience or Religious Belief Affidavit" signed - then we have to filed it at the Durham Region Health Department (this is because we don't immunize our children).
I need to order some new racks for my "show kit".
I need to ensure that my in-laws are coming tomorrow.
I need to do homeschooling with the 6 yr old.
An order of packaging materials from Uline.
Happy Kids & Mommy
Lots of Smiles & Hugs

Does Hold:

A very weak but still very good cup of "coffee" *see above*
1 load of dishes DONE - many more to do :(
No kids dressed yet - but it's still not quite 9 am
A to do list for the new "expansion" to Wee Ones that seems a mile long.

Should Not Hold:

Dirty Children
Unhappy Children
Unhappy Mommy
Procrastination (hehe)
Whining
Tears

Well that's my to do list for today :) What does yours look like?

We're Potty Training !!!!!!

2010-04-12T09:45:00.002-04:00

Yeah - just like with everything else with Alex - it's by accident! Well sort of anyways! He's now telling us PEE PEE before he's pee'd - well at least some of the time! Now he did just do a #2 in his undies but oh well he still asked to sit on the potty after I had cleaned him up! He'd already done #1 & #2 in his boxers by this time but he's asking!

YEAH - could it be that I'll actually not have to wash any more dirty diapers in a little while??

Don't get me wrong I love using cloth diapers but I HATE LAUNDRY! Even clothes I just don't like it - must be time for another baby :)

SNOW

2010-04-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

Ok I forgot to mention it's snowing! Not a little barley even a flurry but it's actually snow out there! For the last 2 weeks my kids have been playing outside in tshirts and pants most days (our neighbors kids were even in tshirts and shorts one day it was almost 20 degrees out that day) and here today it's snow - crazy canadian weather ;) I would have it no other way!

New Product Alert -

2010-04-09T14:08:00.002-04:00

So I've been asked to create a water wrap to carry a baby in while in the water. I'd say swimming but then that really wouldn't be possible as the baby would be under the water :SHOCK: Anyways I thought it was not only an intriguing idea, but also a very useful one so I set out to find my materials, and do some research (this was yesterday afternoon) and here today the fabric has been ordered and I'm excited about my new product :) So I'll have made up the first batch by the end of next week (or at least that's the idea!). They should retail in the $40 range, they will come in black and they are gonna rock :) Can you tell I'm excited :) I'll be sure and post pictures as soon as I've got one made :)

One of my new favorite colors ....

2010-04-08T17:07:00.002-04:00

So I had a customer order 3 Large green covers - all different shades please - and this one I absolutely love - the seafoam color - it's absolutely gorgeous! This one is kind of in the blue / green "camp" I hope she likes it! What do you think?

Waiting for a customer ....

2010-04-07T15:08:00.000-04:00

Well while I wait for my 3 pm customer to arrive I thought that I'd jot down a few things for today - we've sort of kind of started to potty train the 26 month old - we're slacking on it for sure (as parents I mean) we live in our basement (that's where the sewing machines are) and there is no bathroom down there so it's hard to put a potty down there - either way I will say that I do love the Traineez they really work well to hold in the accidents! Now we're having a lot of accidents and with our other 2 boys I was much more on the ball (and on the same level of house as they were) and potty training consisted of a pair of boxer shorts (NOT BRIEFS) and a potty - and 1 week worth of patience! But by the end of the week both of my boys were trained - either way that's not likely going to happen this time around and I don't have a week to just sit by the potty and entertain the grumpy 2 year old, but hey who knows maybe (haha) he'll finally decide that diapers aren't all that comfy - haha - and he'll want to wear undies - I can always hope right!

On another note - Show season starts this weekend!

On Saturday you'll find me in Mississauga at The Family Fun Show - stop by and say HI!

Background

2010-03-31T16:17:00.000-04:00

Well I've finally gotten around to changing the background image to the blog - just matches all my other sites:

Wee Ones by JaJoC
Wee Ones Outlet

Hope you like the change - let me know what you think - do the sites flow well together - the blog still needs some work, but at least it looks more like "me".

TTYS!

Rain Rain Go Away .....

2010-03-28T19:51:00.001-04:00

Well it's Sunday - which usually means it's RACE DAY ......... in your house that probably doesn't mean much of anything but here in my house it means that Mommy and her little guys are going to watch Race Cars drive around an Oval tracking going in excess of 200 mph (sometimes) and I love every single minute (hours) of it! My dh doesn't care for it, and my youngest and I get into arguments about which driver is JR (he thinks that all men in race suits are Dale Jr - I'm still trying to get it through to him that there are other drivers out there - so far I'm loosing the battle!)

Anyways - it's raining not only here in Whitby, Ontario but also in Martinsville, Virginia! What are the chances?? Ok so it's late March it's pretty good - but STILL this means that tomorrow at Noon EST I may not get to watch my favotire past time as likely my crappy tv stations won't be showing it - they'll show chess or fishing or anything else but .........

Maybe I'll get lucky and get to watch it on the internet while I'm sewing :)

TTYS

Color Combinations

2010-03-26T14:32:00.000-04:00

Ok so a retailer e-mails me saying she doesn't like the color combo's I sent her - what now? I thought that they looked awesome (so did the lady who did the snaps for me). When someone buys only a handful (12 total) diapers and doesn't like the combinations of colors what should be done? I mean there are like 30+ fabric colors and about 40 trim colors that's an awful lot of color combinations! Should I have just a set selection of color / trim combo's? I would think that people would prefer a wider selection of choices - maybe not!

The Store ...

2010-03-25T14:20:00.001-04:00

I'm finally getting around to putting the new items into the "store". The "store" is apart of my living room (well it's almost 1/2 of my living room but it's separated off so there are not any toys in it). Anyways - so as business is not at it's peak right now so I have been working on getting some stock done up - hence the new items - so that's what I'm working on right now - or at least that's what I should be working on right now - hehe now I'm writing to myself. I wonder if that's a sign of being crazy - some people talk to themselves, others write to themselves - NAH I think it might be healthy :)

Tired of diapers .....

2010-03-24T10:11:00.000-04:00

Ok so don't get me wrong I love using cloth diapers but I'm tired of changing them overnight. Now let me explain ..... with my first son (kid) I started using cloth at 6 months. I switched to cloth cold turkey and never looked back. I never changed him throughout the night (well once in a blue moon maybe), and then #2 comes along - same thing.

#3 ............................... and my dh decided a while ago that he thought he should change him in the middle of the night for a few nights in a row (well the few nights were not actually in a row he doesn't get the "baby" that often but each time he got him he changed him).

I continued to refuse to change him in the middle of the night (none of my kids are really great sleepers it always seems like there is at least one kid that's up for one reason or another in the middle of the night!). So Alex just got worse and worse about wanting his bum changed - and so I started to give in (BIG MISTAKE!) so that I didn't feel like the worst mom ever! Anyways so here we are months later and I'm here by myself for about 10 days while my dh is off galavanting (haha - he's not really) in Boston for work. So I'm pulling double duty throughout the evening (he's the one that puts the kids to bed), and I've been up late every night so far reading (yes I know I could have gone to bed early but the kids don't let me read in the evening and I work all day so .....) and so I hear him crying, calling my name (it was a little easier to ignore when he was calling for Daddy but that only lasted a night or two). So I go up and try to reassure him, but NO he wants his bum changed, and at this point I either want to get back to my book or I was already in bed (this one I hate the worst - why didn't he cry 5 minutes earlier when I was not quite in bed yet??) Either way I get up and tend to him, and then wouldn't you know it around 6 am he's at it again! I'm exhausted, beated down and just tired - I would love to potty train him but I'm not doing it by myself I just don't have the energy! Maybe I'll do it while my mom is here in May - at least then there would be an extra set of hands to help get him to the potty. Some days it really doesn't seem like it's worth getting out of bed!

At least it's sunny outside today - so that means I have to go to the garage - clean off the cutting table, and lay out the french terry - I've got to get these diapers made :)

Thanks for lending your ear :)
Happy Hump Day! (that's Wednesday for those of you who think I'm a POGO addict - I'm NOT - not even close!)

Why is it ...

2010-03-16T20:43:00.000-04:00

That I think I have an order complete and ready to ship when I count and I've miscounted - why is it that the count is never in my favor?? Oh well at least I know what I'm doing tonight and then I can get these two orders shipped out.

On a crappy note - my dh is leaving for 10 days on Thursday and I've got to get up really early in the morning to take him to the airport (we live only about 35 mins from the airport but we're going to have to leave over 3 hours early for his flight thanks to the new flying restrictions - don't even get me started on those!).

Anyways I'm not really looking forward to those days they are not going to be fun!
Today my boys got to play outside it was beautiful weather out today - somewhere in the teens I think - they'll likely get to play outside again tomorrow :)

Oh there's a FOE COOP going on right now - Check out Nature's Fabrics for the details :)

TTYS!

Fabric Cutting .....

2010-03-09T19:53:00.000-05:00

So today is / has been a cutting fabric day! My huge cutting table (I've got 3 "pieces" together and it's 80" wide x 144" - yes it's 12' long! - long) set up all day long. First it was with Bamboo French Terry, then Cotton French Terry, now it's ProCool. I've still got ZORB and more bamboo cotton fleece and organic cotton terry to cut up tonight :) It's already after 8pm I'm hoping to be done by 10 pm :) Thank goodness for my fabric knife and spreader it really makes it so much "easier" to handle a huge (obscene) amount of fabric every time I need to cut fabric.

Wanna see what I'm talking about?

While I wait

2010-03-08T23:47:00.000-05:00

Well while I'm waiting for my printer to spit out the final page to the Baby Boom Application (2010 Ottawa Baby Show) I figured I might as well sit and chat for a minute since I don't want to leave the computer on all night and I can't shut it down or the printer won't finish.

Today in cloth diapering - Alex has taken to screaming and hitting and even bitting his clothing when we go to change his diaper - it's time to potty train him I'm afraid! Bad timing as "show" season is about to start (I'm at the Better Baby Expo this weekend in Peterborough come on out and visit me :) So I guess it's time to clean up puddles of pee and reward with Fishies :)

Today in making cloth diapers - I'm working on 22 embroideries for a retailer in Norway - it's been a tough couple of days on my poor machine I don't think it's ever had to work that hard! I'm hoping it will forgive me when all is said and done :) I'll be sure and post pictures before I ship them out!

The phone wouldn't stop ringing today - in a good way - and for once I actually had my phone on me most of the day! I really should start using my case that way I don't have to wonder where I've put it - oh it's on my waist - hehe

Man this printer is like molasses running up hill on a cold day :)

Tomorrow will consist of more embroidery and COVERS!!!!!! Oh and One Size Pocket diapers, and probably much more but I can't think of them all right now.

Night night - maybe tomorrow I'll get my first follower - who knows it might be you!

OH OH OH it printed - good night!

New Ads ...

2010-03-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

So I've got a few new ads that are ready for print what do you think?

This one is for the Durham Parent - as a preview ad for the Durham Parent Baby & Kids Show which is being held April 17th from 9-4 at the Pickering Recreational Complex.

This one is for the Help We've Got Kids 2011 distribution.

What do you think?

Traineez Review

2010-03-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

Everyone is loving our Traineez - read for yourself!

Win your own Traineez

Only one week in and I'm already behind

2010-03-06T22:58:00.000-05:00

Ok so the weekend was absolutely amazing as you all probably hear (literally I mean and not online). Everyone hear Canada scream with 0:24 left in the 3rd when the USA men's hockey team scored to tie the game and to send our GOLD medal game into overtime - I do wonder how many Canadians has heart attacks at that 24 second mark! So overtime starts and the game is on - worried nail bitting we stand beside our couch (we are no longer sitting) and scream at the TV - our children can't quite understand why the adults are standing in the living room in front of the perfectly comfortable couch - so they take the opportunity to be bad - GRRRRRRRR - and then the magic happened! 87 - his name is Sidney Crosby - he's a Nova Scotian (hehe) and he's about to become Canada's hero - he scores the winning gold to bring home the GOLD. Gold in men's hockey, the record breaking GOLD for any country - GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!! I think the entire neighbourhood hear the screams from my living room - remembering it makes me want to cry - what a proud canadian moment - it was truly amazing and I was so proud to be a Canadian in that moment (even if I did only get to watch it on TV).

All 3 of my boys now want to play hockey - and they run around in the house with their tiny hockey sticks - yelling GOAL (or GOLD - they're not quite sure which they are yelling!) It's so adorablly cute :) Some days it's so easy to be a MOM :)

Well enough about Hockey - on a diaper note I've done all of the diaper laundry now just in time to start all over again - hehe.

Gotta get back to the site up dating the pricing to put back in the quantity discounts per product!

Oh and I created a page to show you all of the PUL color options - check it out here.

Another Hockey Game!!!

2010-02-26T22:11:00.000-05:00

Our Canadian Men are up 2-0 over Slovakia - I'm sitting here by myself though - unsure where my dh ran off and hid! Oh we got the boys their first pair of skates today (and helmets). Even the baby got skates :) Oh and the dh got skates - I get to teach all my boys how to skate (my dh use to know how but it's been quite a few years!)

I'm updating the site as I watch the game - with new pictures and new features added to products.

Oh and I have to share my favorite tv commercial:

"We have more square feet of awesomeness per person
than any other nation on earth"

Women's Hockey - Yeah Gold - & a non issue

2010-02-26T12:06:00.000-05:00

So after much anticipation we (meaning Canada of course) play the USA in the gold medal round of Women's Hockey last night. It was an awesome game - I screamed and scared the kids when we scored and to shut out the USA it was just truly a Canadian Moment to cherish! 2-0 Sorry my American friends but we kicked your butt in hockey and this is our game - our ice - our country - we won!

Now onto the non issue - of course the Women's hockey team is going to celebrate - and rightly so! If this was the men's team NO ONE would have said anything about it - who cares if they are going to drink after winning the game! What do you think that the men will do if / when they win? Any country would have done the same thing - sure maybe you can say that they should have kept it confined to their dressing room but still they just won the GOLD medal for crying out loud give em a little slack!

That's my 2 Canadian penny's worth of input on that subject :)

Now onto diapers - Made up 6 Ooga Booga One Size Bamboo Organic Cotton French Terry (man that's a mouth full!) diapers yesterday - as soon as I get the pictures taken I'll post them onto the website - they are really awesome looking and at $23 are a great price!

Check them out!

New Shipment of Fabric - well almost

2010-02-25T14:18:00.000-05:00

So I ordered a new huge shipment of colored French Terry that I make these out of.

They are by becoming the most popular diaper and so it was time to reorder fabric. I called the company last friday and was told that they didn't take paypal :( (I've got funds in paypal I was trying to use and didn't want to have to wait for it to transfer to my bank account) - so I told them that I would have to wait until the funds transfered to be able to pay for my order - they said (SHOCK) No problem give me the order I'll get it together and then on Tuesday call in your payment - doing the happy dance! So all goes well paypal transfer my $ (after taking almost an additional 3% - robbers - thieves -grrrrrrr) and I call in the payment on Tuesday. Well then they tell me that they've already shipped it :) SHOCK :) without even being paid yet! So then yesterday I get a call saying it's in Toronto and can be cleared through customs - who are these people and what super powers do they have this is awesome! -

Thursday ...... I unload all of the car sets (except for Alex's) and we head into Toronto to clear customs and pick up the fabric. Everything runs smoothly until I call the warehouse and inform them that they should have their customs clearing docs at the fax machine - which they did - now all I need is the address to the warehouse so I can pick up the fabric - well here is the problem I have to take the skid and all of the fabric without removing anything from the skid - hun?? Ok so I get her to explain why (customs regulation for this particular warehouse) so to make a long story short I can't get the fabric until tomorrow (it was always going to be delivered tomorrow I'm just impatient and wanted it today).

So yeahhhhhhhh a huge shipment of fabric in less than a week :)

Now to get back to the cutting of the PUL - it's all laid out on the table I've just got to find time without the kids - oh and we've actually got SNOW! Not a lot and not even enough to cover the grass but it's actually stuck around for more than 24 hours!

An Amazing Hockey Game

2010-02-25T00:33:00.000-05:00

7-3 7-3 7-3
We Win We Win We Win!

Can you believe it we beat Russia for the first time in 50 years!!!

On a diaper related note - over 40 diapers were shipped out to day to customers.
It's always bitter sweet when I package up diapers to ship out. I love the fact that more people are starting to use cloth diapers but they are always so cute and I hate to see them leave :)

All of the diapers that shipped out today were zorbeez AIO's

Here is a picture of some of the diapers that left here and are on their way home:

TTYS and remember - if better is possible good is not enough!

My very first blog post

2010-02-24T00:22:00.000-05:00

Ok so I've decided that as I want to blanket the GTA with cloth diapering parents one way to do that would be to blog about the ups, downs of cloth diapering from both the change table and from behind the scenes as a cloth diaper designer / manufacturer / retailer ...... I'm not sure where this will lead - mostly I'm starting today simply so that I can get use to the idea of writing something - just a little something each and every day - I'll eventually attach the blog to my website but for now it's just you and me :)

Today's cloth diapering experience ended up with wayyyyy too many poopy diapers - a 2 year old that I really should start potty training (if I wait long enough he'll tell me right - NOT!!) but as I've already been down this road twice before I know how much time it's going to take and really I don't like spending the majority of my day in the bathroom or cleaning up the carpet / tile / laminate - and so I'm procrastinating - I wonder if I can turn it into a positive procrastination somehow?? Hmmmmm not likely but it might be worth a try!

If you don't know what positive procrastination is it's like this - You know you have to do something, but you do something else (that also needs or should be done but is much more fun, or rewarding) first. This way at least something positive comes out of the situation and hopefully you are now at least slightly more inclined to do the thing that you weren't so keen on doing in the first place.

This gives me another idea here is my current procrastination list - (I'm hoping that if I air my "dirty laundry" - pun intended - to you then I might be less likely to procrastinate!)

Current Procrastinations:

Laundry - Diapers specifically - how ironic!
Sending some information to China about my current FOE order
Dishes (like this one will ever change!)
My office desperately needs a good cleaning / organizing - I can barley see my desk!
Homeschooling (my son is in his refusal to do schoolwork phase and it's frustrating).
Big bin of cloth diapers in my office that just need to be snapped together and put into the "store".
HUGE box of 2nds / discontinued items that need to be placed on the outlet
Filing this weeks orders into my filing cabinet - this one I don't know why I don't do but the pile continues to grow and yet here I am typing instead of filing!
THERE's lots more but that's enough embarrassment for today!

Positive Procrastinations for today:

I started my blog - hehe
I tagged a new batch of breast pads for the "store"
I fixed a lot of pictures on the website - probably about 75% fixed - did a lot of upgrades to the site this week!

Well that's enough for tonight - on an Olympic note - we (and by we I mean Canada) beat Germany in Men's Hockey tonight - EH OH CANADA GO! - Score was 8-2!! This was by far the best game that the men have played during these Olympics - I made a joke to my dh that the head coach of the Men's team must have had them play a scrimmage game against the women (which in my funny world they lost terribly!) and so the men decided tonight to play HOCKEY - shocking I know! They passed, they looked (they didn't managed to hurt any of their teammates!) they acted like a ................... a .......................... wait for it ..................... TEAM! Yeah - EH OH CANADA GO!

They have renewed my faith in the Men's Hockey Team - oh and did you know Sidney Crosby is from Nova Scotia - that's just a feather in my cap :)

Tomorrow we play Russia in the quarterfinals - see you after the game (or before if I get into my positive procrastination mood!)