Sunday, February 28, 2010

What are Sundays Like In Your House?

Around here Sundays are a day to relax and get ready for the week. We usually take a nice long family nap and just veg out. I love Sundays. Today we sort of got all turned around. No naps, no relaxing, we cleaned all day! We all feel very accomplished, but it did get me thinking about what other people do on Sundays. Maybe it's totally commonplace for some of you to clean on Sundays. Maybe not.

Are Sundays a relax day for you? Do you have a family "ritual" you do every Sunday? We'd love to hear about what you do with your Sundays. Go out for breakfast? Stay in? Work out? Whatever it is, leave a comment and tell us what you've been up to. We look forward to reading your responses!

Remember to enter the giveaway, and that a new one will go up  tomorrow. Exciting stuff!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Mommy Brain: aka Why Is The Icecream In The Cupboard?

The first experiences with "Mommy Brain" usually begin the minute we bring that little bundle of joy home from the hospital. The nurses are no longer at your beck and call and you are exhausted. The joys of a little baby deprive you of precious sleep and you start to forget things. Important things. "huh? My mother moved and bought a house?" Scratching your head you move on. The incidents become more frequent as your baby continues to get up time and time again for nighttime feedings. This is only the beginning.

The whole world is a more interesting place with mommy brain. Groceries get misplaced. The icecream ends up in the cupboard (true story) and the coffee in the freezer. If this is your first child you'll swear you're going crazy. If it's not you're already all too familiar with Mommy Brain. That phenomenon that causes you to forget why you told your toddler no cartoons today. The part of you that wants a nap and a shower. Is it so much to ask for both?? Mommy Brain says yes. It's tied into Mommy Guilt and wrapped around Mommy Instincts. It can run your life. If you let it that is.

So Mamas I'm here tonight to say- Take that shower (or even a bath!) and enjoy your nap. Give yourself some me time and you'll find the fog has lifted and things make sense again. I'm giving you a free pass to be selfish once in a while. Show your children love by getting away from them. It will make you renewed and more able to deal with life. So, give your Mommy Brain a kick good bye and do something for you!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With A Diaper Sprayer

There are those who say a sprayer is a waste of money and those that are lovingly devoted to their diaper sprayer never to part. We here at Elegant Mommy love our diaper sprayer. Saved from dunking and swishing dirty diapers, one can go on to find many many uses for their diaper sprayer. Here are a few ideas:

  • Clean your toilet.
  • Spray cleaner on your shower then spray it down with the diaper sprayer.
  • Wash your bathroom sink. 
  • It's great for postpartum or mama cloth time cleansing. 
  • Use to spray down those sticky spots on the bathroom floor. The force can be amazing!
  • Spray off your mama cloth.
  • Spray dirt off of shoes etc. Cleaner carpeting!

There are seriously so many uses it is impossible to list them all. Did I miss one of your favorite uses? Comment and let us know! Share those tips mama. Don't forget to enter the contest and spread the word about it too! If you tweet about it you can now get an extra entry per tweet. Please leave a comment saying you tweeted, and make sure to mention @elegantmommysd in your tweet!

Have a great day.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

10 Reasons to Follow This Awesome Blog!

 As we work on being more active we've noticed our followers are so hard to find. Then we realized, Duh! You don't know why you need to follow us! So here are the Top 10 Reasons To Follow Our Blog.

10. If you don't the blog's feelings will be hurt.
9. We're just plain awesome. Who doesn't want part of that?!
8. Extra entries for followers on giveaways!
7. It will make us happy.
6. If you don't we'll cry. Do you want to make us cry?
5. We throw good tantrums. Follow us please!
4. We all love a good blog. This one is the best!
3. We love you, don't you love us back?!
2. You could win free stuff. Who doesn't like free stuff?

1. If you don't, the blog may float off into outerspace.


So don't forget to click the follow button on the right. We will be keeping the blog active and chock full of funny things, helpful things, and everything in between. Not to mention the giveaways!  Follow us for your own health. You don't want to miss out on any of this.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Zinnia Flip Review and Giveaway.


 Have you been curious what the whole fuss is about the Flip diaper system. This is your chance to win one and find out! Elegant Mommy is giving away one Zinnia Flip Cover with a Stay Dry Liner, AND a package of the disposable liners as well. It will be a great way to start trying out the system. 


Here is a quick description of how the system works.
      


      Cloth diapering has never been so easy!

  • TOSS the used insert into your diaper pail
  • REPLACE the insert with a clean one
  • REUSE the cover. The one-size cover and insert adjusts to fit most babies from 7-35 pounds.

Sounds great to me! And on to the good stuff right?

Remember a few things about giveaways: Always do the main entry. Nothing else counts with out it. Always leave a way to reach you. Please remember to leave a comment for EACH entry you complete. That is our only way to count the entries. Also, if you already are doing something that is an extra entry it still counts so just leave a comment for your entry!  Good luck!

As we said we are giving away a Zinnia cover, stay dry liner, and package of disposable liners. (great for on the go!)

So here are the rules for entry:

Main entry :

Become a follower of the Elegant Mommy Blog.

(If you already are, Your main entry is to visit Elegant Mommy's website and tell me another diaper brand we carry. Being a follower already means you get an extra entry.)

Extra Entries:

Follow us on Twitter. (1 Entry)
Become a Facebook Fan of Elegant Mommy. (1 Entry)
Tell us what you would like to see carried on the Elegant Mommy Website (1 Entry)
What blog topics would you like to see covered? (1 Entry)
Is there anything else we can do on our website or blog to better improve our services? (1 Entry)












This Contest will end on 3/02/10 at 10pm CST. Good Luck.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

2 Cloth Diaper Accessories People Wait Too Long To Get

When you start your cloth diaper stash there are two accessories that people usually choose to wait on.  One- The diaper sprayer and Two- Cloth Wipes.  After being a cloth newbie myself for a while I realized why these products are so integral to your cloth diaper experience.

1) The Diaper Sprayer- What is a diaper sprayer exactly? It is a life saver as far as I'm concerned. It means no more dunking dirty diapers, rinsing them in the tub, or dunking again. It's a sprayer that you use to spray the poop off of your diaper so it's washer ready.   It has a million other uses too. I use mine to clean the tub and spray it down. Same for the toilet and the sink. It also helps with mopping. Spray the floor down then mop up. Yes the water is from your toilet but it's the clean water in the tank you're using. I got a diaper sprayer about two months in and I'm not sure how I lived without it. Being able to spray the poop off and have a clean diaper was awesome for me. It still is.  In short, don't forget your diaper sprayer when you start using cloth.

2) Cloth wipes.  I know most of you are thinking you'll probably just keep using disposables but you won't I promise. Once you feel the ease of tossing everything into a diaper bag no separating required, you'll love cloth wipes.  They get the mess off in one wipe, no matter how bad the diaper. Then once all is said and done you just toss it all in your pail. You don't have to separate out the disposable wipes from the cloth diapers.  I would recommend buying nice ones over cutting up blankets because those edges fray and it gets harder and harder to use them. But either way, make sure to stock up on cloth wipes.

Your stash won't be fully complete without a sprayer and wipes. Give them a try no matter what the naysayers may say. We even have a GREAT diaper sprayer on our website so check that out too. Enjoy being fully prepared for cloth and not having poop all over due to no sprayer!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Is There A "Bad Side" to Attachment Parenting?

A few months ago I read an article on Associated Content from what appeared to be a frustrated and exhausted new mother. She seemed dead set on AP'ing which is fine and totally her choice, as we all do what we think is best. But the more and more I read the more I felt she wasn't supporting AP'ing as much as she was bashing it.

She complained of feeling tethered to her baby 24 with no break. Not eating because she was constantly doing something for baby. There was even an underlying tone that she felt trapped with not even her husband to help her out.

In other words, it sound like she hated AP'ing. It seemed as if she was only doing what others excpected of her. So I bring the following questions to our readers:

If you are "crunchy" is there pressuer to AP?

Are there downsides to AP'ing?

If you do or do not AP explain why.

I leave you  with a link to the article to make your own conclusions about our "test subject" as well.

Let us know what you think!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Elegant Mommy Fun Facts

Did you know….




Elegant Mommy has a referral program?

The process is simple:

1. Stop into (or email) Elegant Mommy and get registered as a referral customer. Take at least 5 referral cards to pass out to friends, family, co-workers, and anyone you think could benefit from knowing about our store.

2. When you give the referral card to others, you are not only earning money for yourself, but you are also giving away coupons to our store! Your customized referral card contains a coupon that your friends, family, co-workers, and others can redeem for $5 off a purchase in our store.

3. Your referral number is clearly identified on each coupon so when a coupon is redeemed, your account will be credited with $1 ($1 for each redeemed coupon)..



When your account has accumulated $5 in credit, a check will be issued to you!* What a great way to earn a little extra cash just by telling others of the great deals available at Elegant Mommy!



Elegant Mommy offers bulk discount pricing on cloth diapers?

Spend $50 & save 5%

Spend $100 & save 10%

Sprend $200 or more & save 15%



Elegant Mommy has a gift registry program?

Stop in to Elegant Mommy and fill out a registry form. Tell you friends, family, co-workers or anyone else who might be purchasing baby gifts for you that you are registered at Elegant Mommy. When someone purchases a product off of your registry, you earn store credit! You may come in at any point to redeem your store credit and purchase additional items off of your registry!

Purchases of $100 or more earn 5%

Purchases of $200 or more earn 10%

Purchases of $300 or more earn 15%



Elegant Mommy offers a 10% discount all year long when you use your Siouxper Value Card! www.siouxpervaluecard.com



Elegant Mommy is available to do speak at your MOPS groups, Moms group, or any other gathering that is interested in learning more about cloth diapering or natural parenting!



Elegant Mommy has 12 local Moms who sell their beautifully handcrafted items at our store!



Elegant Mommy donates 10% of our sales back to local organizations?


Elegant Mommy has a loyal following on Facebook, Twitter, and http://www.elegantmommysiouxfalls.blogspot.com/? We love to hear feedback and do reviews on products or services that are of interest to local moms.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

What does "Natural Parenting" mean to you?

At Elegant Mommy, we advertise that we are a pre-owned maternity & natural parenting store, which got us thinking lately, do people think of natural parenting the same way that we do? What does natural parenting mean to our customers and our readers?

To start, let me say that natural parenting is not just a choice to breastfeed, co-sleep, or cloth diaper. Natural parenting is a way of life. There are many decisions that parents need to make over the many years of raising a child. Those decisions can be influenced by many factors. To me, natural parenting means taking a step back and looking at the decision from a more universal lense. Many of the decisions that we make as parents will influence what our childrens health and welfare are today as well as for many years into the future. We, as parents, need to be conscious of the things that we put into our children's bodies and know the risks and benefits of that decision.

In my opinion, Natural Parenting means researching to see if there are options that would allow less foreign substances to enter my child's body. It means researching the things that are going into my children's body and not just taking someone's word that it is safe for them. It means do everything that I can to teach my children about having an impact on this world, enviromentally, spiritually, and physically.

Does this mean that my family eats only food grown from my garden? Does this mean that my children have never tasted fast food? Does this mean that my children have never had a disposable diaper on their bottom? Does this mean that all of my children were exclusively breastfed until they started school?

No! I feel that our family makes the best decision with the information that we have available to us at the time and we fully understand that we will deal with outcomes of those decisions. Natural parenting can mean many different things and each family makes the decision to what degree they want to expand their dedication to focus their lives on natural living.

There are many wonderful advances that have been made in past decades and I fully believe that a great majority of those advancements will enhance the lives of many people. However, not all advancements are the best thing for every family. Every family needs to be given the freedom to make whatever decision is right for their family at that moment. There should not be laws governing how I choose to give birth to my children, nor should their be laws governing how another person chooses to give birth to their children.

When my family chooses to make one decision and your family chooses to make another decision, neither one of those decisions is necessarily wrong, it is just different. Natural parenting a choice to live a certain way and if another family chooses to live in a different way, that does not make their decision wrong or even better than my decision. It just means that we have different paths of getting to the same goal of our raising our kids in the best way possible!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Baby's First Phone Call Winners

Congrats to the winners. Our first one is comment number 23:
 
 
Eco-Friendly and Frugal February 8, 2010 11:53 AM


Tweet: http://twitter.com/EFandFrugal/status/8822100058



ktgonyea February 6, 2010 6:22 AM


Great Prize :) ktgonyea at gmail.com

Vanessa February 3, 2010 9:37 AM

I'm a follower :)

designsvanessa@gmail.com Soon2beMommyof2 February 4, 2010 2:39 PM

I follow your blog!




Please contact me at media@elegantmommy.com and I will give you your gift code.


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

La Leche League Tonight!


Hello everyone. I hope you are staying warm and snuggling up with your little ones. Don't forget to come the La Leche League Meeting tonight at 6:30 pm at Elegant Mommy! We will have special prices on nursing items starting at 5pm...All in stock Anita Nursing Bras marked down 30%, All in stock Nursing Shawls marked down 30%!

We hope to see you tonight!

Have a great day!


(Ps- The picture is of a bride feeding her baby on her wedding day. So cute!)