Have Mercy! is open for business!

My Etsy shop is open and stocked! I am so excited, I know it will probably take awhile to really get up and running with consistent orders, but I am still very excited to have finally opened it and stock it. Check it out and let me know what you think!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HaveMercy213

Dear Blog....

I apologize for my neglect.  I have a good excuse.  Well, not really.  I've been running around with friends, and when I'm not doing that I've been, ya know, being a mom.

I do have good news though!  After much procrastinating and dilly dallying I think I am finally about ready to open my Etsy shop.  I have been turning this idea around in my head for MONTHS, and I think I'm just about ready to put it into action.  Well actually, I've already put it into action.

I'm going to sell wraps....

and slings....

and diaper cozies...

and Sans Pants...

and soakers/diaper covers.... 

 

and hopefully soon, as soon as I work up the guts to try and make them, fitted diapers.

Here is a peek at one of the possibilities for the banner. (Right click, View Image, to see it larger)


I'm so excited!

Happy Birthday!

My precious baby girl is now a whole year old.  Its crazy, it seems like just yesterday she was a newborn baby girl, but at the same time like that was FOREVER ago.

Best baby wipes ever!

Not only have I embraced the world of cloth diapering, which I never thought I'd do, I have also recently started making my own baby wipes.  At first I was just using paper towels, spraying some of the mixture on one and proceeding as usual.  For awhile though I've had the thought of using cloth wipes rollin around in my head.  The other day upon finding some cute flannel in the remnants bin, I thought Why Not and went for it.  I just cut the fabric into small rectangles, mine are about 3in by 6in and they fit just about perfectly in a standard Huggies wipes container. Once I'm reunited with my sewing machine I will probably get some cuter fabric and sew two pieces together so both sides are the "right" sides and the edges don't fray, until then though, simple 1 ply rectangles work great!  I find they work better than commercial wipes actually, even with dirty diapers I usually only need 1 wipe, and there is no grody chemical smell that a lot of wipes have!

Super Great Smelling Lavender Wipes Solution!
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baby soap (Johnson and Johnson Bedtime Bath) I feel like this is a little soapy, next time I make it I think I might try using a little more water or a little less soap.
1 tablespoon baby oil (Johnson and Johnson Lavender Baby Oil)

From this point there are several different ways you can go about this.

Paper Towels-Method One

1. Take a roll of paper towels (I hear Bounty works best) and cut it in half.  
2. Put one half in a container, pour mixture evenly over the top, let sit about a minute
3. Remove cardboard center.  Pull wipes from center of roll.

      If the towels mold before you use them up you can add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and switch to distilled water.  Storing in the fridge will also help.

Paper Towels/Cloth-Method Two

1. Pour mixture into spray bottle.  (I use one of the 8oz bottles from the travel toiletry section at WalMart, and also one of the little mini finger sprayers from the same area to keep in the diaper bag. Mine are purple, to match the Lavender!) I usually have some leftover which can be stored in the fridge to refill when the spray bottle gets low.
2. For paper towels I used Bounty select-a-size, I would pull off one of the sheets and fold in half, the spray a bit of the solution on it.  To save time and effort during the actual change, you can tear a bunch off and prefold them and store in a wipes container. Mercy LOVED to "help" with the unrolling and tearing apart part of this....she also really enjoyed dumping out the case after I had them all neatly folded....

• For cloth wipes, you can either purchase some made from cloth diaper stores, or of course make your own.  Store wipes however fits your style best, I keep mine in an old Huggies case, a bigger one at home and one of the travel ones for the diaper bag.  When needed spritz with the solution and commence with diaper change! I am without a wetbag at the moment so my used wipes are getting stored in another old Huggies case until they are laundered with the rest of my cloth diapers and fluffy paraphernalia.

 I am so in love with these wipes guys, they smell SO good.  I'm not gonna lie, I have to fight the urge to sniff her bum right after diaper changes and throughout the day.  They are so easy to use and great for your wallet and the environment, I definitely recommend giving them a try.

Have I mentioned how awesome they smell?