Maybe I Should...

If I have an hour, maybe I should write something else on my blog.
Maybe I should catch up with an old friend.
Maybe I should clean my nasty kitchen.
Maybe I should exercise (for the first time in 2012).
Maybe I should play with my kids.
Maybe I should fold laundry, or bag up those things for Goodwill, or organize that landfill my son calls a bedroom, or do another of the thousand things that are still undone.

Maybe I should accept every interruption as an opportunity to practice patience and love.

 Maybe I should just pause for a moment, be quiet, and thank God that He has given me the freedom to choose what I do every day, every hour.

Maybe I should stop worrying about the maybes and start doing the things I need to be doing with a joyful heart.

I praise God for letting me be a homemaker.

CJ's BUTTer® Review and Giveaway

CJ's BUTTer® graciously sent me samples to try! They came in cute little 1/2 oz jars. I love the sample size, because I have one in the diaper bag, one in my purse, one by my bed, one in the bathroom, one on my desk, and one... that I've lost (if you know me you won't be surprised!).

The texture of CJ's BUTTer® is unique. It's thicker than lotion or cream, yet it goes on just as smoothly. Right after putting it on your skin feels oily, but after a few minutes the BUTTer® dissipates and soaks in and the oily feeling vanishes. The Vegan formula was the same texture as the original. If you prefer a lotion, CJ's also sells Creamy Body Lotion. 

The first day I used CJ's on every person in our family:

-On my son's diaper rash (See HERE)

-On my daughter's eczema (more about that below)

-On my sunburn (soothed it)

-On my husband's grease burn

CJ's can also be used as a lip balm. For a (more) complete list of uses, go HERE. 

CJ's comes in a number of scents you can check out HERE. Below is a list of the ones I was able to try, and my opinion of each. 

Sensuality (ylang ylang and myrrh)- Although this scent is CJ's favorite, this one is probably my least favorite. But that's only because it smells just like the face cream my grandmother uses. If it were my husband who used it, I'd probably like it better. 

Lavender and Tee Tree Oil- I love this one! It smells exactly like the title says, and is my second favorite scent. 

Monkey Farts- This is another one that I do NOT like. According to the scent page, it "begins with top notes of fresh banana and juicy grapefruit, middle notes of kiwi, bubblegum, and strawberries; and a hint of vanilla as a base note." I'm pretty sure it's the banana and bubble gum that bothers me. My husband, on the other hand, loves this one! 

Pink Sugar- I love this one too! This one is hard to describe, and it's tied for second place with the Lavender and Tee Tree Oil in my opinion. Here is the scent combination: lemon drops, cotton candy, red fruit, fig leaves, caramel, raspberry, and vanilla-musk.

Blueberry Crumble-This one is my favorite! I could eat it right out of the jar! (and therefore do not dare use it as a lip balm). It smells like fresh blueberry muffins. (WARNING: It doesn't taste at all like it smells!)

The only problem I had with the CJ's cream is that my daughter's eczema became much worse after using the CJ's. According to her doctor, scented creams can worsen eczema. A CJ's Representative suggested trying the Lavender Tee Tree BUTTer®: 

The Lavender Tea Tree is one of our essential oil scents, so it does not contain any fragrance oils (like the Monkey Farts, Pink Sugar & Blueberry Crumble). Instead it contains both Lavender & Tea Tree essential oils, which are both known to help with treating eczema in and of themselves. In fact the 4 options that we recommend to people with eczema are Unscented (Natural), Lavender, Tea Tree & Lavender Tea Tree. If the Lavender Tea Tree seems to aggravate her eczema it may be that she actually has an allergy to one of the essential oils or another ingredient, which I just wanted to point out so that you can compare the ingredients to anything else that may cause irritation for her in the future. 

So if you want to use CJ's for eczema, go for the one of the four scents she recommends (I had been using the Blueberry Crumble... you know, because she's so cute you could just eat her up?). 

Use the Rafflecopter below to win some CJ's BUTTer® of your own! The winner will receive a 4 oz. Tube of BUTTer® in the fragrance of your choice!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Booty Buns vs. Fuzzibunz Comparison Review

Earlier this week, I did a review and giveaway on Booty Buns diapers. Today I'd like to compare the Booty Buns diaper to a Fuzzibunz One size diaper. 

Here is the Fuzzibunz diaper on top of the Booty Buns diaper, with both diapers set to the largest setting:

-The Fuzzibunz is narrower

-The Booty Buns has more coverage in the front

Here are the two diapers set to the smallest rise:

The Booty Buns diaper has double gussets, but the elastic looks more comfortable in the Fuzzibunz.

The Booty Buns diaper has one hip snap and two front snaps, while the Fuzzibunz has two hip snaps and one front snap. I would love to see a diaper that has two hip snaps AND two front snaps. 

The Booty Buns has a waterproof flap on the front of their diapers. The insert can also be inserted from the front or the back, which allows the insert to agitate out in the wash. 

The large Booty Buns insert is larger than the large Fuzzibunz insert, and their small insert is smaller than the Fuzzibunz small insert. Also, the Booty Buns inserts snap in. 

Snapped at its smallest, the Booty Buns diaper features crossover snaps. The Fuzzibunz does not have crossover snaps, so although you could snap the diaper as small as shown below, I found it to be quite awkward because there was no place for the extra snaps to go. Also, the rise on the Booty Buns is higher in front. 

At its largest setting, the Booty Buns diaper can be used as training pants, thanks to the elastic in the back. 

Here is a photo of the Fuzzibunz on my 14 lb. baby. We have issues with the fit. I think the Fuzzibunz would work better on babies with fatter legs.

And here is the Fuzzibunz on my 35 lb. toddler (along with his sister's helping hand...). It's almost too tight. 

For photos of how the Booty Buns diapers fit, go HERE. 

Below is a chart comparing the two diapers (***Currently the Booty Buns diapers are on sale for $25.50!***)

Booty Buns                                               Fuzzibunz One Size

      $29.00 (+ $6 s/h)                     PRICE PER DIAPER                       $19.95                    
                      
           Y                                             INSERT SNAPS IN                             N

           Y                                            DOUBLE GUSSETS                            N


           Y                                      WATERPROOF FLAP IN FRONT             N


           Y                                                     BACK FLAP                                N
  

           Y                                        INSERT AGITATES OUT IN WASH       N

          Y                                               OVERLAPPING SNAPS                    N

          Y                                            INCLUDES WIPE AND LINER              N

          Y         DONATED DIAPER FOR EVERY DIAPER PURCHASED      N

          N                                                 TWO SIDE SNAPS                           Y

          Y                                                 TWO FRONT SNAPS                        N

         N                         REPLACABLE ELASTIC TO CONTROL RISE        Y

         Y                                                 SNAPS FOR THE RISE                      N

        Y                                                 ELASTIC IN THE BACK                      N