Cloth Diapering

2:00 AM Mallory Nicole 0 Comments

We cloth diaper. I know, I know, it's the "hippy" thing to do. Why do we do it?

1 - There were at least two blow out diapers a week in disposables. Inevitably, it would happen on a Sunday right before I put him in the nursery, and it would get on his clothes and mine.

2 - The cost. It seems so expensive at first, but cost compare. Up front you put in some money, but in the end you save so much. With Soren we'll save about $500, and if we have another child, $1000 more.

3 - I will admit that the green factor had a big pull for me. Did you know it takes 300 years for disposables to begin to break down? That means any disposable ever made hasn't started breaking down. I had a little bit of guilt every day that I was using 10 diapers. Let me add that I don't look down on those using disposables, the green thing was just my own internal struggle.

We use a stash of 11 diapers. We use one brand - bumGenius - so we don't have to match inserts to the waterproof cover. We wash daily, because we don't like to have any smell linger and the whole process is much easier than all of the info online made it seem!

I tell any friend who is about to have a baby to consider it, and I have had a couple who made the switch and are so happy they did!

THESE Are Quilts

5:54 PM Mallory Nicole 0 Comments

Book Ends

6:58 AM Mallory Nicole 1 Comments

I am obsessed with spray painting things these days. And I can't lie, I love spray painting gold! So I could not resist sharing this simple DIY from DESIGNLOVEFEST.

Soul Mates

2:00 PM Mallory Nicole 1 Comments

I never believed in "the one." I still don't. I like the idea, it's so romantic, but it's a story for fiction. My husband knows. It's ok. He doesn't believe in it either.

Our first year of marriage I would often say "I think God had several men that I could have married." I know, the stuff of love poems...and epic...novels? And I didn't mean I could have married someone who treated me horribly, or Daniel. I meant there were several good men that I could have met at some point in life and married.


Now comes the romantic part:
God knew exactly what he was doing when he put Daniel in my life. He gets me. Those other boys I wasted crushes and thoughts on could not have made me happy. Even if they become wonderful husbands to lovely women, it would not have been the same. I read recently that you don't marry your soul mate, you become soul mates in marriage. Coming on to (only) our fourth year of marriage I see the purpose God had in bringing Daniel to me. And I look forward to 60 years of marriage when I think of this post and laugh. I married a man I love, and I hope to die married to my soul mate.

On A New Role

2:00 PM Mallory Nicole 1 Comments

The times after marriage and before pregnancy I often wondered how motherhood would change me.  There were times of panic when I thought I would lose myself in mom jeans and t-shirts that I was forced to wear, because my body didn't maintain it's shape. I was concerned that my new role as "mom" came with expectations of looking a certain way...more tame.

I am a graphic designer. Being a graphic designer doesn't mean you have a particular style, but once I discovered my love for design, I discovered where my fashion preferences lived. I like fun patterns, and loud colors. I wear a lot of skinny jeans, mostly because they are the only pants that look good short, but I admit I love them. If I can refer to a shirt by a name like "puppy shirt" or "tiger dress" to Daniel and he understands completely, then it's probably a good fit in my wardrobe.

I was worried that teal hair, purple eye shadow, and tattoos would be cause for judgment in my parenting ability, but then, I didn't have real world examples of moms like this.

What I have discovered is that Soren has helped me to be more myself. I can project my "fashion sense" on him as long as he doesn't care what he wears. If I can care for another human being, then I shouldn't be afraid of what people will say about a nose ring. Now I have the perfect excuse to go to petting zoos, and play in water fixtures. And most of all, I realized that I shouldn't be so worried about how people perceive me.

Kate Spade Saturday

1:00 PM Mallory Nicole 0 Comments

Oh The Places You'll Go

5:00 PM Mallory Nicole 0 Comments

It's been almost a year since we left for Venice, Italy to sail the Mediterranean. If you know me at all, you know I love traveling, and I'm usually ready to go again after a month at home. Unfortunately, time and money don't allow for such a life.
I do have quite a few places where family and friends live that I hope to be making my way to soon:





Oh, New York City, how I dream of you! I wanted to go to college here - Pratt, but I had to stay in Texas. For now our cousins live in New York City and we hope to go and do all kinds of touristy things!

We also have a few friends overseas, and we are making plans to visit them, hopefully by 2016.

I'd also like to make it to Key West, FL so Daniel can see the little island that made such an impact on my life. And Wiesbaden, Germany deserves a visit; it seems wrong to be unable to visualize the place you were born.

Of course my list of places to visit goes on and on, but these are the more reasonable places to go.

If you could go anywhere for two weeks at the expense of someone else, where would you go?

1, 2, 3

Hair, Accessories and Ink

6:05 PM Mallory Nicole 2 Comments

1, 2, 3

My Vast Knowledge After 6 Months

6:25 PM Mallory Nicole 2 Comments

This kid cracks me up. He makes the best faces.

6 months. I have been waking up with, feeding, kissing and loving this boy for over 6 months now. Let me tell you that I have learned a lot about parenting and myself.

In these early days of Soren's life I have learned that you do whatever makes you the best mom you can be. Since I became pregnant, I have seen "scientific" proof that bed sharing will spoil a child and they will dependent on you for the rest of their lives. I have seen "scientific" proof that allowing a 6 month old to cry it out will psychologically ruin them and they will be insecure for the rest of their lives. The same high stakes studies are done with breast feeding, baby wearing, diapering, and anything you can think of. What do you do then? How do you decide and be the best mom? Tell yourself...

"It's alright". Loving your child, feeding them, comforting them - that's important and you decide how you do that best.

It is so hard not to judge other moms based off what has worked for you and your family; everyday that someone chooses something that I feel is extreme, I tell myself it doesn't matter. They love their baby.

I have a total of 6 months of experience. Nothing really. I don't think I have the answers, I have just learned to breathe easy and trust myself.

Now, talk to me when he is 13...that will probably be a different conversation.