Hello, all! Vanessa here with my top 5 favorite products that you can get at the Green Bambino.

1. The Chico Messenger bag! For less than what most people spend on a purse that’s not nearly as functional, this bag fulfills my every need when it comes to carrying all of my junk. Since my only kiddo left in diapers is 2 ½ now and doesn’t requiring changing nearly as often I can stuff a couple diapers, a wet bag, an extra pair of pants (for him..not me..wanted to clarify), all of my junk, sometimes my camera, and two water bottles all in the same bag. And when I have to carry something bigger when we’re out all day if stuffs itself into a nifty little pouch that’s sewn inside of the bag so I can just unfold it for running into the store really quickly. I also love that it’s gender friendly. While my husband probably wouldn’t be likely to carry mine being that it’s purple, I’m considering getting him one in black for his birthday. (If you’re reading this sorry I spoiled your surprise, Honey.) It would be especially handy for him since he’s still a full time student who bikes to class.

2. Earth Mama Angel Baby Mint Herbal Lip Balm. I’m addicted to all things mint or menthol related. Menthol infused tissues? Buy me a box and they’ll be gone in a day’s time. Mint chocolate chip ice cream? It’s a problem. While neither one of these are related to lip balm in any way, I thought it was important for you to know because part of the reason I love this stuff so much is because of the mint in it. It’s also not goopey at all like your run of the mill chap stick or carmex. I’m one of those people that are turned off by odd textures which is why I can’t stomach raw tomatoes. But this stuff i just nice and smooth. It glides on so nicely and I really do think it heals my chapped lips and doesn’t just act as a 10 minute band aid.

3. The Ergo Baby Carrier. I bought my first ergo nearly 7 years ago and it remains one of my favorite products of all time. While I loved my moby wrap and still use my ring sling to carry my giant 2 ½ year old, the ergo is what I use the most often. The support that it gives is unlike any other baby carrier that I’ve tried. And they’re extremely durable. Even with the constant use and abuse my first ergo has seen, it’s still in amazing condition. While some people are scared away by the price, I have never once regretted buying my ergos. I have two of them.. and would have a third in a Petunia Picklebottom print if it didn’t get vetoed on a consistent basis by my money savvy husband. The fact that they last forever, save my back, and have made it possible to chase two children while knowing the third is strapped safely to my back all make them more than well worth the money.

4. Mother-Ease Diapers. All of them. I started my cloth diapering adventure with Mother-Ease fitteds and air flow covers. They still remain some of my favorite diapers many years later. Their Sandy’s Fitteds are some of the softest diapers around, even with all the wear and tear we’ve put them through. And their absorbency was at times the only thing that would give us a full night’s sleep. I think they’re one of the most under rated diapers, just because they don’t have all the fun prints or bells and whistles, but don’t just write them off without trying at least one.

5. Rumparooz Wet Bag. I love this bag! While part of it is vanity’s sake and I have a weakness for robot prints, it’s also because of the way it’s shaped. With it’s round shape, it holds a massive amount of diapers..especially when compared to most other medium sized wet bags. It’s actually big enough that it can hold a full two days worth of diapers for my 2 ½ year old. With the snappable hook loop on the back I can just hang it from a hook in my laundry room and it’s the perfect size for using as a diaper pail, yet it’s small enough to cram into my bag for day trips outside of the house.

Green Bambino staff member and resident photographer Vanessa will teach you simple tricks to take better pictures of your baby. No fancy camera is needed. You’ll learn about lighting, creative backgrounds and subject positioning. If possible, bring your camera and its manual.

Weather permitting, we’ll take short walk to a nearby park to learn how to apply what you learn in real life.

Who am I? That one question that sends everyone on their own path of self discovery. A search that I’m not convinced ever ends.

But thankfully Morgan didn’t ask that I give you an in depth analysis as to the depths of my soul. And good thing too, because we’d all be plum outta luck..as the saying goes.

My name is Vanessa. I recently celebrated my 31st birthday. And I’m not even sure that’s important, but I wanted to share it because I’m quite excited about growing older. My recent discovery of two tiny gray hairs makes me a minority, because I was rejoicing about the occasion and thought about celebrating with a glass of champagne.

I married a very loving, tender man 8 years ago. Approximately 2.7 seconds after being pronounced man and wife I began begging for a baby. Seventeen months later persistence proved a valuable annoying habit to have because I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. A little girl who proved to be allergic to nearly everything that touched her skin. Being a low income family, I chose to research cloth diapers. The research started slow, being that I had to do all of it in the internet, and I didn’t become a full blown cloth addict until having my son 19 months later.

I now have three children. Once again, persistence paying off. My youngest is 2 ½ and still wearing some of those diapers I bought years ago. So if you’re a numbers person, I have saved over $6,000 in the last 5-7 years. If I had cloth diapered my first born full time and hadn’t been so intimidated by all the research, that number would be closer to $9,000.

So obviously, you can tell that my main motivator in cloth diapering was the money. Being that my husband and I are still working on finishing our degrees in higher education, finances are usually tight in our house.

I think that cloth diapering was  like a gateway drug into becoming a more eco-friendly family. Once we saw the savings and how easy it was to cloth diaper, we switched to nearly all things reusable in our house. From cloth wipes, to cloth napkins, to..ahem… cloth toilet paper when times are really tight. I can picture the face you’re making right now, but I can assure you that it’s not nearly as disgusting as you think it is. I promise.

Cloth diapering accomplished a lot of things for our family. First and most importantly, it saved us money. But it also gave us the confidence of knowing that we were doing what was best for our kids, by avoiding the chlorine and chemicals in disposables and also helping to lessen the waste that they and my future great great grandchildren will have to deal with.