i don’t know if it’s a good thing that i caught the gap’s family and friend’s 30% off sale right before midnight but i did. alex received a bunch of clothes from our friends and families so i think he’s good for a while. i bought him some anyway because i just couldn’t resist the organic onesies from gap. and really, for about $6 a piece after the discount (and with free shipping!), i think they are just too cute!

here are some of the ones i bought for alex; aren’t they adorable?

i’m replacing things in my house with more eco-friendly alternatives. sure it get expensive but the thought that it is much better for my family really drive me.

so here’s what i did today (you guess it, more shopping):

1) replaced our old cotton sheets with these rayon / bamboo sheets from jcpenney (used thank-you giftcards). they feel SO soft!!! what a difference!

2) replaced our pillows with new organic cotton ones – again using giftcards so my wallet is okay.

3) replaced our plastic food storage containers with pyrex glass storage containers. bought 4 sets.

pyrex 6 piece storage set

4) i was just browsing and saw these oh so cute incense holders so i grabbed 3 from gaiam. about $7.08 w/ t & s.

zen incense holder

aren’t these just beautiful??? as much as i love the colors and idea, i’ll hold out for now. see more here.

decorative bamboo charcoal

multipurpose decorative air freshener

last but not least, you have to visit this website i somehow stumbled on. i love the concept of it – all kinds of neat things and ideas to decor your home with. maybe i won’t look much so i won’t spend much but still, it’s a great blog!

green your decor

i don’t really have time to read during the week, with all my doctor’s appts and what not. this week, i saw this book on amazon and had my local library held it for me. i just picked it up on friday and it’s what i’m reading this weekend. these are like little treats to me.

gorgeously green

the book is gorgeously green and so far it’s a great read. i’m not done with it yet but i love how she emphasize again and again on how you can start with just 1 green thing a day. it’s nothing overwhelming or hard to do. some very eye-pleasing things about this book is the way the book is laid out and typed. the pages all have a pastel green border at the bottom!

i do so love to read these green living books! i can’t wait to check out her website in more detail at http://www.gorgeouslygreen.com!

on a side note, i received my $25 giftcard from this promo and another $25 from buy.com for completing a trial offer from checkoutfree.com. i do love these free trial offers!

yesterday i went to my weekly NST at the hospital. when the nurse finished hooking me up to the monitor, she left. after 30 minutes she came back to check on me. she remarked to me, “wow, you had a big contraction there!” i did? she asked me if i felt it and i told her i thought it was heartburn!! isn’t that silly of me? you would think i would know by now what is a contraction and what is not….LOL i still can’t get over that.

so she left again and said she’ll come back to check on me. when i was alone, i knew then that what i thought was heartburn was really contractions. they were coming every few minutes and there were another 1 or 2 really big ones!!

the nurse came back and told me that me if i actually go in to labor at this point in time, they’ll just let me because i’m already 35 weeks and a few days. i know i can’t wait to have the baby but i still want to wait another few weeks and i’ll feel a lot better about the whole thing. anyway, she released me after talking with the doctor. i was just told to really pay attention and to go in if anything major happens, ie: water break, bleeding, etc. you know the normal stuff.

as soon as i got home, i told james that we needed to get the hospital bag ready. like seriously. i’m already pre-registered at the hospital, we packed some spare clothes for me and a coming home outfit for the baby, filled out the birth certificate paperwork, and our overnight parking pass. i felt much better! whew!

the contractions wasn’t really painful and they went away, for the most part. i was getting braxton hicks on and off all day today though. i can’t believe i’m really almost there!!! woohoo!

reusable fresh snack pack

i had to use so much plastic lunch bags the last few days that i got really really tired of them. i hate using them and throwing them away. i saw these last time but wasn’t going to buy any until we’re done with using whatever plastic bags we had. i couldn’t wait. amazon have these as part of their 4-for-3 promotion and i snatch 4 (8 snack packs in all – 1 small and 1 big one per pack) of them. it’s too bad that they’re temporarily out of stock. anyhow, i can’t wait to get them and start utilizing them. our lunch bags from pottery barn kids should be here monday too. that’s something to be excited about.

to live a bit greener. at least, that is what i’m noticing. maybe it’s just me? i can’t use any drugstore shampoo brands or my scalp will itch like crazy. i’m running out of the sonoma soap shampoo and conditioner that i bought last time. we’re also running out of bar soap.

i’m not sure where i can locate more of the sonoma soap brand so i bought goat’s milk tearless shampoo and body wash for baby. i figure the whole family can use these, including me and the new baby!

shampoo and body wash

we have used canus goat’s milk products before, like their bar soaps and LOVE IT!! it smells great, lasts a long time and doesn’t get all soft and gooey like regular soaps.

moisturizing body soap bars

instead of ordering the bar soaps again, we’re giving the body wash a try.

body wash

before i said we were going to buy these for the place but changed our minds. that means we have some leftover money on the jcpenney giftcard. so today, james bought this:

coin sorting machine

sometimes, i just find that i can’t always be frugal on the personal care stuff. faith have ezcema and she would always break out on her arms and legs. after we made the switch to more natural products (like no dyes and fragrances  and skipping fabric softener and bleach altogether), she has been fine since and have no break outs. maybe because of the switch jaelynn never had that problem.

it’s not always cheap but it’s worth it.

i saw this on slickdeals and jumped in because i NEED a reusable lunchbag; so does james and faith. aren’t these so cute? i got them for about $5.86 each with shipping. see them here at pbk.

i got the pink polka dots, lavender polka dots, and blue roll-top bags

from pbk’s website:

Our stylish expandable lunch bag is packed with top quality features, phthalate- and BPA-free insulation, and an easy-to-clean outer surface. Made of durable, water-resistant 600-denier polyester, it’s shaped like a paper lunch bag. Sized perfectly to fit our food storage containers and juice boxes. 12.5 x 6.5 x 13″ h. Available colors listed below.

now i need to find some reusable sandwich bags. gosh, i hate those ziplocs or whatever-you-call them plastic sandwich bags with a passion! these don’t look so bad hmm…?

first off, go here to get your $5 off a $25 purchase at walgreens. hurry, may 20 and 21st only!

i would really really love to get away from using paper towel or paper napkins. granted, we don’t use a lot but james like them. i’m shopping around and am going to get some paper napkins for meal time. i think i have enough towels already. it would be really nice not to have to buy paper towels – they’re about $15 – $18 a bundle at costco. i saw a mama on etsy listing 28 dyed cotton napkins / towels for $40 incuding shipping. that comes out to about $1.43 a piece. i’m thinking i may be hitting the buy button soon.

photo from small wonder wipes

talking about un-paper towels, i bought some cloth wipes for my baby. i do not like disposables wipes and have never use them with my first 2 girls. with jaelynn, we used paper towels wetted at each change. yea, can you believe that? i don’t want to go there this time. i have a custom order for (24) 8×8 sherpa / velour wipes of assorted colors. they are neat huh?