merry christmas

love, the eberspachers

.herrold.family.

love this family.
partly because they became my family when i married evan
and partly because they are all just so sweet and awesome and well…
good looking!!

 i love you herrold family.

it's hard

being a mom is hard.

lately i've been struggling with this

when eleanor was first born, for the first few months, things were easy
maybe easy isn't the right word. they were i don't know..
different
newborns sleep so much
all they do is eat and sleep
when she was a few months old i showered every day
i put make up on every day
now i'm doing good to get a shower every 2 days.
it's harder now
she moves, and crawls, and stands, and is so much fun
but i have to watch her at all times so she doesn't eat something or
play with a cord
or fall and crack her head open
my house is a mess
i dont get things done
the days of leaving the house in 15 minutes are gone
it takes so much effort and work to get her ready, then myself
feed the dogs, let them out
load the diaper bag
make sure there is food and diapers and a bib and snacks
and everything you could ever need

its hard.
and thats ok
just because its hard doesn't mean we're doing it wrong.
just because its hard doesn't mean you're a bad mom
or a bad wife
maybe you're a good mom because it's hard
maybe it's hard because you're doing something right

Happy Halloween

happy halloween from eleanor the elephant

so freaking cute i could cry

Logan.Senior

i spent the other friday night with this awesome guy.

it was so fun to get to know him. 

and he made my job pretty easy!!

thanks Logan, for letting me be a part of your senior year!

i suck at blogging

i'm terrible at it.
i try really hard.
and do ok for a few weeks then i fall off the face of the earth for a month.
i don't know how to make myself get better.

i don't do structure.
i don't get up at the same time every day
eleanor doesn't take a nap at a specific time
heck sometimes she doesn't even take a nap at all

maybe i just need a little more discipline and i can figure out this whole blogging once a week.
frick.
wish me luck.

cloth diapers

so most of you know how much i love cloth diapers.

i love them a lot.

more than a lot.

i love them so much i have to ground myself from buying more.

and my husband has asked more than once if "we have enough diapers yet"

we don't. well we do but….

they are so cute and fun and easy and even though we have tons (40ish to be exact… oops)

we are still saving money. and no matter how many diapers i buy that makes evan happy!

when we decided to use cloth diapers, before eleanor was even born i chose a brand i researched, and i thought they were the best option. they were $20 a pop. they're great, and we still use them but since then we (and by we i mean i) have discovered there are way cheaper options. now some people don't like these cheaper diapers…. because, well they're cheap. and made in china and yada yada yada  but i LOVE them.

they work just as great as our $20 diapers. and some i even like better.

and they cost $5 or less!

i mean seriously. they poop in these things so i figure why spend $20 when i can spend $5 and get four times as many :) and they work just as well.

my favorite inexpensive brand is alva.

i've also discovered if you use pocket diapers(which we do) the inserts are the most important part.

A pocket diaper has a waterproof outer layer and a microfleece or suedecloth inner layer. you place an absorbent insert in between the 2 layers(like a pocket) to draw moisture away from baby's skin.

my favorite inserts are blend. microfiber and bamboo.

one of the things about cloth is you can't use regular laundry detergent. you have to use cloth diaper safe detergent. there are things in regular detergent that make the fabrics in cloth diapers waterproof and that leads to leaking which is not good!

so i've done some research and started making my own cloth diaper detergent. i've been using it for a few months now and love it. it works great. is easy to make and way more cost effective. so heres that.

• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
• 1/2 cup of OxiClean Free or “Baby”

you can make a larger batch if you want… i got the recipe here 

i know cloth is a little more work but i truly love it and will do it with all of my children. 

its the best!

if you're on the fence about cloth 

please DO IT!

its so great and good for the environment and your pocket book, not to mention the baby. no chemicals from what ever gels up the disposables and babies in cloth potty train quicker than disposables!! (i've been told, will let you know when we get there)

oh and they're freaking cute.

hope this helps sway you!

mobile baby. messy house.

well
eleanor is completely mobile now.
she is not graceful. at all
but she can get where she wants to go.

that being said i don't know how do to anything anymore.
i don't know how to do a load of laundry or clean the kitchen.
when she couldn't crawl i could leave her playing and get those things done.
now i can't turn my back on her.
i feel super busy, but i'm not any more busy that i was. i just can't take my eyes off of my daughter.
or she will chew the dogs toy and not hers!

while she naps i shower and make myself look somewhat presentable for my husband but other that i just hang out with a baby, following her around, putting her back on the blanket or moving her away from the laptop cords, or dog toys or furniture.

its driving me crazy.

my dogs need baths but where will i put her while i do that.
i can't bathe 2 dogs while holding e.
my left arm has to be getting some serious muscle because it carries her around everywhere.
so one day, hopefully soon i will re-learn how to pick up my house and do a load of laundry and clean my kitchen while my husband is at work.
but for now i just get it all done once he's home.
oops.
sorry babe.

.ethan&courtney.

i had the privilege of spending an evening with this wonderful couple.

they so in love..

and you can see it in every single image.

had the best time with them!

well….i'm crazy.

we got a new puppy.
2 weeks ago.
she's from the pound and she is just the sweetest.

she belongs to evan.
he is smitten.
we went to the humane society, just to look and he fell for her right away.
we met her, gertrude met her and evan wanted her.
we went home to think about it…. and i did. a lot.
and the next day when evan came home from work i told him what i decided….
nope.
didn't want her. i didn't want another dog. i liked our routine. i liked that i could leave eleanor on the floor and know gertrude wouldn't bother her. i liked that a walk with a baby stroller and ONE dog was manageable. and i like that the dog we already have i can trust.
and evan was heartbroken when i explained this to him. but being the amazing husband he is he said ok.
later i asked him to tell me why he wanted her. out of all the dogs why this one.
he said
"she is THE dog for me"

frick.
as soon as he said that i knew it didn't matter what i wanted anymore.
so we got her. and he was right. she's great. she fits right in and most of the time she behaves better than gertrude. she loves eleanor.
she's the most loving dog ever. she just wants to be next to you, or gertrude. they play and are so sweet.
evan was right and she is THE dog for our family.
so now we have 2 dogs 6 chickens and a baby.
i am crazy.
but evan is happy.
and gertrude is happy
and so am i.

here she is.
sweet 9 month old gretchen

and we love her.

and her awesome collar :)

six months.

my sweet sweet girl was 6 months on june 6th.
i can't believe it. she's so big and strong and beautiful.
i still don't know how ev and i got such a stunning daughter. but we did!

also, let me just say sorry for sooo many pictures. but i couldn't help it. there were way too many good photos not to share.

so here are some of the images from her 6 month shoot!!
i am so in love…

i just want to eat those cheeks.

 i mean, seriously.

evan hates that poof. but i got it just for this picture and i love it! 

 look at her eyes. we're in trouble.

 so much trouble.

 she still loves her thumb :)

we just thank God for her, everyday. 6 months have flown by. 

but at the same time i can barely remember life before her.