Chew on This :)

Hee hee hee hee hee: saturday-night-live-pampers

Diaper Donations Coming In! Please Send Yours!

Thanks to those of you who have donated new or used cloth diapers for our Fall Diaper Drive!

We so far have a growing stack of prefolds, pockets, inserts and some covers. We are thrilled to set up a collection bin next weekend at the Sustainable Ballard Festival.

 

We are particularly in need of covers!

Donations can be dropped off anytime on our secured porch at 7350 Mary Ave. NW, Seattle 98117 – we are in the Ballard neighborhood. We also have a collection bin at Childish Things on Holman Road (which by the way has THE BEST baby and young child clothing selection right now).

New Diapers Pouring Out of Vegas

Lots of new and different cloth diapers are being announced this week at the ABC Kids Show in Vegas. These cool dipes are going to be on pre-order and will stock at Punkernoodle Baby as soon as they are available this fall. A preview from the manufacturers:

econobum, from the makers of bumGenius:

Why econobum?

Econobum™ is the cloth diapering solution for every budget! Save money while making the environmentally friendly choice to cloth diaper little one’s bum. The one-size cover and prefold adjusts to grow along with your little one.

Econobum features:

• A waterproof shell, so no extra cover is needed.

• Form fitting elastic to prevent leaks.

• Easy to use snaps.

• One-size prefold easily adjusts from small to large to grow with your baby.

• No stuffing involved just lay prefold in cover and go!

• Patent pending 3×3 adjustable snap system to fit most babies from birth to potty training.

is designed for the on-the-go consumer. One of the things we find most exciting about the Flip system is the disposable insert. This insert eases the transition into cloth diapers, makes vacations simple and helps families through times when life just demands something disposable. This system is fully supported with 100% reusable inserts as well. The One-Size Stay-Dry Insert is perfect for overnights or to keep little bums dry anytime. The 100% Organic Insert is perfect for families who prefer the more natural things in life. Whether you are at work, at home or traveling with your baby, the Flip system will be here for you with exactly what you need.

Flip, also from the makers of bumGenius, is designed for the on-the-go consumer. One of the things we find most exciting about the Flip system is the disposable insert. This insert eases the transition into cloth diapers, makes vacations simple and helps families through times when life just demands something disposable. This system is fully supported with 100% reusable inserts as well. The One-Size Stay-Dry Insert is perfect for overnights or to keep little bums dry anytime. The 100% Organic Insert is perfect for families who prefer the more natural things in life. Whether you are at work, at home or traveling with your baby, the Flip system will be here for you with exactly what you need.

Organic Caboose Organic One-size Snap Fitted Diaper with quick drying snap-in liner is created with pure American grown and sewn organic cotton fleece.  This diaper has it all!
 
Featuring 5 adjustable rise settings, a snap-down for the umbilicus, snap adjustment settings, and a fold-over quick drying snap-in diaper liner for extra absorbency.

Organic Caboose Hybrid All-in-one One-size Snaps Diaper is perhaps the most economical organic diapering option! 
 
This diaper is constructed with bamboo outer/PUL shell with a layer of organic cotton liner.  Baby’s skin only touches the natural fibers! 
 
We recommend 3-4 washable refills per outer cover.  This diaper combines the convenience of the diaper and cover in one. 
 
Features adjustable snap closure, snap-down umbilicus, elastized waist in the front and back.

Fuzzi Bunz Rewards – Who Can Resist Free Diapers?

For fall, an excellent deal from Fuzzi Bunz! In this economy, who can resist free cloth diapers and fabulous accessories? After you buy your Fuzzi B’s, follow the clicks to get either $40 or $80 worth of free product – all you need is proof pf purchase from Punkernoodle Baby!

Do They Sell Mace at Walmart?

It looks like Walmart might need to start handing out baseball ball bats to sleep-deprived mothers as they walk through the front doors. Not to use on their children, of course – apparently us mothers need to defend our offspring from grouchy psychos whilst shopping for corn puffs:

Stranger at Walmart slaps crying child

Associated Press

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Police said a 61-year-old man annoyed with a crying 2-year-old girl at a suburban Atlanta Walmart slapped the child several times after warning the toddler’s mother to keep her quiet.

A police report said after the stranger hit the girl at least four times, he said: “See, I told you I would shut her up.”

Roger Stephens of Stone Mountain is charged with felony cruelty to children. It was unclear if he had an attorney and a telephone call to his home today was unanswered.

Authorities said the girl and her mother were shopping Monday when the toddler began crying. The police report says Stephens approached the mother and said, “If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.”

Authorities said Stephens then grabbed the 2-year-old and slapped her. The child began screaming and Stephens was arrested. Police say an examination showed the girl’s face was slightly red.

A call to the girl’s mother, identified in the police report as Sonya Mathews of Grayson, was answered by a woman who identified herself as Sabrina Mathis, the victim’s aunt.

Mathis said today that the girl is doing fine.

“As of today, she has really forgotten about it,” Mathis said. “She’s been playing.”

Mathis said the girl’s mother was shaken up over the incident.

“She’s as well as to be expected,” Mathis said. “Right now she’s just trying to calm down.” 

Gwinnett County Sheriff / Associated Press

Now, I don’t even shop at Walmart. But if I did, and a snarling man with bushy eyebrows came toward my toddler, you can bet I’d grab the nearest bat, or Nascar Collector’s Edition Raceway Set, or can of foaming rat poison, and go mommy medieval. Who the hell do you think you are, crazy angry man?

After three years of crime and court reporting at a metro newspaper, I’m a firm believer that the punishment should fit the crime. So let’s put this guy in a nice padded room littered with less-than-fresh diapers and piles of crushed goldfish crackers, hook up a cheap Walmart stereo system and pipe in a 24-hour live recording of the nearest daycare center. Have a nice three years, sucka!

Hello Cali…

Mt. Shasta

We made it. A record for the Punkernoodles – Seattle to Cali in one day, by dinnertime. Yes, we did leave Sea-town at the crack of dawn. We usually just say we’ll leave early, but this time we did. Three-quarters of the drive behind us will make for an easy stretch down to Bodega Bay tomorrow, where we get to have a mini family reunion and hopefully prolong our summer sunshine just a little bit longer. It’s tiring, but always a little bit astounding to travel so much ground by your own power. This morning we said goodbye to the Space Needle, shrouded in a misty gray fog, and by this afternoon we said hello to palm fronds and funny towns with names like Yreka, Castella, and Weed (no need to wonder about what the souvenir shops sell there).

It was a long drive, especially with the twang of Dora the Explorer echoing in the background. But it reminded us how wide and raw the Northwest can be, and how beautiful. Oregon seemed to fly by, much of it still green even at the edge of summer. I love the quaintness of the rolling hills and get a little bit freaked out every time by the sharp edges and plummeting canyons as you head through the pass.

But then you get to take in California. I have a love affair with Cali, probably because I spent 9 years there and even more so because setting foot in that state was my introduction to life in this country after a childhood in another. I hope to pass on that passion to the little Punekrnoodles. I don’t know – there is something about those sweeping, stark expanses of valleys and mountains, the way the sun alights a random hillock among the cloud-cast shadows of many more. Something about California says BIG to me – not just in size, but in variety, landscape, possibility.

Other reminders from the day:

How hard it is to take a road trip with a kid who just barely potty trained. Three pairs of panties, one wet car seat, and countless gas-station rest stops (let’s not even go into how I feel about those) later, we still made it.

How the simplest things can thrill kids: a fast-food milkshake, a herd of baby cows crowding their mother, a semi-truck hauling 14 Lexuses.

That it is so easy to forget, in the slug of our daily lives, how important it is to pull loose and hit the proverbial open road. To just spend some time getting somewhere, and in that window of time it takes to get there, to dream and imagine where we might go next.