We have a winner!

Hey, remember when i had a giveaway?

My friend Sarah Chia won!

i really appreciated all of your ideas on making my life smell less, so i'm going to copy the tips into this post. They are tremendously helpful! The italics are mine.

From QuiteContrary1977:

For your stinking house: Get a jar of cinnamon from a dollar store, and toss a tablespoon in some water. Let it simmer on the stove. All the time. People still asked "What's that smell?" But in a good way!
For your stinky self: Get your own baby wipes! To that stack of wipes,add lemon juice,water and some squirt of your fave perfume. Pull out and wipe neck when you neeed freshening up!

From Nikki:

I've found that baking soda takes the smell out of anything. It amazing! You could sprinkle some in the diaper genie to absorb the smell. Every now and then I sprinkle it all over the carpet in my house and let it sit for a few minutes before I vacuum. I've even heard of people adding it to their laundry :)

From Jes:

Before switching to cloth diapers we had a diaper champ, I used to spray it with bleach water and rinse it out every time I changed the bag. Now with the diaper pail for the cloth diapers I sprinkle baking soda in the bottom, or I will drip some lavender oil on a paper towel and put it in the bottom. but I always, ALWAYS put it outside to air out for a few hours every couple days. that really makes a difference.

From Katie:

--New baby smell--every time you change her diaper, wipe with a diaper wipe under her chin to get the fold gunk off her neck.
--Breastfeeding smell--now is a sour milk smell, or a yeasty smell? If it's sour milk smell, change pads more frequently (and bras)--and after you've pumped or whatever you're doing right now--give your nipples air time so they dry off...if it's yeasty smelling you may have thrush...and you'll need to boil your bras and breastpads (if they're the washable kind)...and possibly take antibiotics. Are you trying to supplement your formula with breastmilk or are you trying to dry up--I've got tips for both of those as well!
--Formula smell...yeah...there's really nothing you can do about that..
--Toddler smell--save the diapers that are too small for Cadence--or donate them to a women's shelter--it's so not worth a huge load of laundry (or the hassle of changing clothes with every poopy diaper)--just switch up to the next size--it kills me when I have to do it too...but it's so worth it! Also, examine his diet--is it different from before he had a little sister or the same--that could say something about why he's pooping so much!
--New baby's smelly clothes--have a "dirty wet clothes" plastic tub--and once a day have your hubby throw it in the laundry (so it doesn't sit too long)--or if you're up for it--throw it in yourself once a day.
--I'm still working on this mildewy smell in my own clothes--I've experimented with tea tree oil and vinegar and combinations of other "natural" things...and I gotta say--laundry soap and add oxyclean really does the trick! For extremely smelly laundry, soak it first in the laundry soap/oxyclean combo, then when that's done wash it a second time...should do the trick. Also, add a second dryer sheet (if you're into those kinds of things--I AM) in the dryer and make sure they are SUPER dry (I always do a second dryer cycle on towels that got too moldy smelling)...
--Stomach flu--I'm glad you're better!
--Postpartum smell--well...I'll leave that alone! :)
--Diaper genie--ADD YOUR OLD DRYER SHEETS to the bottom of the pail--and sprinkle baking soda in it--OR douse it in vanilla and then after it sits for a while, wash it with bleach really good...
--House--enlist family or friends who love you very much to come help you...(i'll help if you want it!)... Borrow or rent a steam vacuum cleaner and get the couch (We own one so you can borrow ours or I can do it for you) and remember it's OK if your house isn't perfect--it's better to take care of your kids, yourself, and your hubby rather than a perfectly clean house! I guarantee you my house has been worse!


From Sarah Chia:

For mildew, my neighbor swears by the Shout/Oxyclean combo bottle they sell. It's a two-sided thing.

I haven't tried it yet, but she's pretty pumped about its results.


From Kristine:

I remember my mom saying something about using vinegar in your dishwasher. Sorry, I don't know.

P.S. Kristine, i think you're supposed to run an empty load with vinegar in your rinse liquid spot. i tried it and it seemed to help! love jessica

P.P.S. Everyone should check out Kristine's other helpful tips. If you go here, she's got awesome ideas for making your life easier.


Mama Belle said:

The only thing I know of is bleach, Febreze, and B&BW candles & air fresheners. Probably all not good for the baby. Not a lot of help, I know.

You know, sometimes air fresheners are the only thing that work, especially when you've got people coming over and don't have time to bleach the diaper genie. Lord knows i believe in them, which is why i'm giving one away!


Thanks everyone for your awesome advice! Miss Sarah, i will be emailing you to get your lovely air freshener out.

A giveaway

First, a lengthy explanation:

i've been going around blogging for like 1.5 years now. You all have been extremely wonderful encouragements and faithful friends to me through all of my life's events. So lately, i've been trying to come up with a nice but also affordable giveaway to show you all how much i appreciate you.

Here's a tangent:

My life is smelly. Really. i just had a baby (4 weeks ago today, my water broke right about now) and i forgot about how much life smells after a baby. Here's a breakdown for those of you who may not know. These are in no particular order.

• You've got your new baby smell. i'm not talking about that "Oh, she smells like a new baby!" smell, i mean the baby that spits up 2x/daily and poos much more often. These are not particularly pleasant smells.The spit up also tends to hang out in the folds of her neck and that's gross.
  
• You've got your breastfeeding smell. i don't know about you, but when i breastfeed, it produces this...odor. i don't know. It's totally weird. i think, actually, the baby is supposed to smell it and get hungry? Not sure. But with breast pads and the milk and everything, there is just a smell.
• You've got your formula smell. i stopped breastfeeding like two weeks ago after my baby wasn't gaining weight, and i was getting too stressed out. The downside? The aforementioned spit up and poos of my child are quite a bit smellier. Yick.
• You've got your toddler smells. Mine has randomly starting pooing about 3-4 times daily since Cadence was born. No idea why. He used to be a 1 poo a day kind of kid. So now he smells a lot more often. And he needs to go into the next size of diapers, but i don't want to waste the old ones. So i'm having to change his clothes almost every time he poos now, because his diapers are too small, leaving smelly clothes.
• You've got your new baby's smelly clothes.
• You've got the mildewy smell from accidentally leaving all these extra clothes in the washer too long.
• i got the stomach flu. i won't go there, but trust me, i'm glad to be feeling better and have cleaned my bathroom!
• Another "i won't go there" bullet point: the post partum smell. 
  
• The diaper genie. There are so many extra diapers, but less time to empty the pail. It's very stinky, especially when i resort to tossing the diapers in any garbage can but my kitchen. (P.S. Does anyone know how to make diaper genies not stink? Even when mine is empty, it smells to high heaven! It is not dirty, either.)
• The house. i haven't cleaned my house in ages. It's gross. And for some reason, my couch is wet? My is my couch wet? So smell may be coming from there. i need to clean out my refrigerator. i know there's some food in there that would help things if it were thrown. i've got diapers in my bedroom and bathroom garbages. i've got stinky clothes around. 

So you see, my life stinks. :) One of my bestest real life pals, Liz, brought me a really good smelling body wash and lotion kit, complete with loofah, after Cadence was born. So at least i don't smell. (When i get to shower.) But i'm tired of being greeted with ugly smells every time i walk into a room. i have found i tend to buy air fresheners after i have babies. i bought a new one yesterday, the Airwick Freshmatic.You know, the one that automatically sprays? And i totally love it! Outside of it freaking me out every 9 minutes when it sprays, (i've always been a little jumpy though) it is wonderful, and it has made my open floor plan living room, kitchen, hall, and entry smell like holiday spice. i also like it because it takes batteries, doesn't burn a flame, and doesn't plug into anything. With a toddler, i can't really have anything plugged into sockets that looks fun to play with. It's a really great air freshener for me, so i decided to give one to you!

There were two different scents at the store to choose from, vanilla or the holiday spice one. i went for the spice, because even though i don't usually love that one, i find most fake vanilla scents to be a bit nauseating. And it's a very nice smell. So that's what the winner of this giveaway will get.

How to win:
leave a comment, and a tip for getting the smell out of some aspect of my life, ie my towels that won't stop smelling, my stinky dishwasher, my diaper genie, etc. Here's where it gets fun for me, because i don't know how many people read this blog. So it would be fun to see some people come out of the woodwork a little bit. If you're new and just stopping by, feel free to enter. i'd just encourage you to maybe check out my "about me" page, and if you like me, subscribe. i'm looking to expand my blog a bit, and would like to know more of you!

So anyway, i will be picking the entry from the random number generator next Thursday, Nov 13.

(i'm so sorry, but i will only be shipping inside the US. i know that sucks. i'm sorry.)

Good luck! i look forward to this!

Halloween 2008

We had a very nice Halloween. Kris had me paper mache half his head and face, and he used the mold and liquid latex to make his mask. He is Two-Face, from the Batman series, who i'd never heard of until seeing the Dark Knight. i guess true Batman fans have known about Two-Face forever.
We got David's costume last year right after Halloween for $4. It was awesome, because i saw the same one on sale again this year for $16. Now that i think about it, i should go buy next year's costumes before they're gone.
i got Cadence's outfit at Once Upon a Child a few months ago for $8. It was an one sized infant outfit. i wish i'd gotten her one that was A. softer and B. sized according to months. That lamb hat was way too big for her! She was pretty uncomfortable in that outfit, as the "wool" was kinda scratchy to her newborn sensibilities and the whole costume very uncomfortable in her car seat.
The day before Halloween, i dressed up the kids in their costumes and we went to the OB/GYN and my mom's work to show everyone how cute my offspring are. Friday night we visited lots of grandparents, and we also made a trip to Outback where Kris works.
We had the opportunity that night to go bowling with the Coen brothers, but because of Halloween stuff we couldn't go. :( However, on Thursday night the movie is having its wrap party, where i'll be able to partake of free food and adult beverages with the Coen brothers, Richard Kind, Adam Arkin, and all the rest of the cast and crew members from the movie. Kris will miss this movie. He's had a lot of fun with it, and it feeds him really well. For instance, lunch the other day for him? Craft services came over and was basically like "Mr. Gensmer, would you like lobster or prime rib or both?" He'll be home quite a bit more until January when he'll get his ambulance job, so that will be very nice. i miss him a lot. He's been working a ton. The day after i had Cadence, he worked from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM on the movie, while i was sitting there alone in the hospital with the new baby. November and December should help make up for that:)

Also, Kris is on imdb.com! Here's his profile. i'm married to someone famous!

i hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!