dadwell

Helping (Taken with instagram)

We get caught up in the this and that, all the daily effort.

But it all it takes is a random visit from a random friend from far away to remind you of old memories. Good times, a few drinks, and catch-up conversation. Real.

And it reminds you that it isn’t about this push, this minute, this thing right now. Everything we want to do, need to do. But what about the people? What about our relationships that get lost in the cracks of schedules and to-dos?

It makes you realize that this other stuff just isn’t that important and that short window of conversation and connection is way more relevant than whatever I was just doing right before this. I wish I had a few more windows.

If you didn’t see, Jessica Alba’s new company, Honest.com, just got funded $27M from the likes of funders that built ShoeDazzle, LivingSocial, Twitter, Zynga and Netflix. Just a few small timers. An interesting route that is typically saved for cash-starved startups - evidently they ( Jessica + former founder of Healthy Child, Healthy World) are looking to grow this e-comm site quickly.

Saw this launch, but didn’t pay much attention since we use BumGenius cloth diapers exclusively. But funding like that makes me want to check it out. The line is diapers and cleaning supplies that are supposed to be all natural.

I get the premise: Part of the reason we switched to cloth diapers was that Jagger was rashing out on all the Pampers and Huggies we tried. Even Seventh Generation didn’t seem to work despite the all-natural claims (which they weren’t exactly). Honest.com seems to want to be in the premium diapers space with ‘biodegradable, all-natural’ stuff.

—

Heading over to the site (honest.com), it looks like I can grab a free trial so why not? If nothing else, I can bury them in the garden to see if they are really biodegradable.

Here’s how the sign-up went:

1. Tell Us - ok, got a Boy. Check. (noting the cutish comments on the side. Trying this a second time, would be more fun if they were dynamic):

And he’s not a fatty, just kinda average. Look at these patterns, now. I guess this can work for a boy. Deselecting ‘white’ because that’s boring as eff:

2. Little bit of surveying here - let’s see: I like clean but clever decorating. Donate money? Sure. All.

…and what matters most? Affordabilitydesignecofocusbrand. Who doesn’t check all those?

Clever. I’m honestly ready! Evidently I can eat these diapers because the USDA says so:

ANNNnnnddd…here’s the closer - Diapers bundle: Yep. Sales pitch with small prices: $79.95 a month + $4.95 shipping. Seems a bit more than you would spend on a diaper set for the regular diapers that destroy the world but you still have to pay for the truck to deliver it.

Last bit of info - what you are getting & entering your order blah:

And that’s it.

So not endorsing anything yet, but have an order in on the free trial (which can be cancelled up to 7 days after receiving the shipment).

Let’s see what $27M is going for…

Here’s a little video tidbit about Jessica’s project, which seems much friendlier than Dark Angel.

Everything in reach (Taken with instagram)

Happy 1st birthday, Jagger (Taken with instagram)

We have friends that just had twins about a month ago or so.

Their life is insane. And thankfully, one of our other friends set up a food chain or whatever it’s called to make sure they get a hot meal at least 3 days a week (I guess it’s leftovers and PopTarts the rest of the week).

Here’s a recipe that I thought my mother-in-law created but it turns out it was just Jessica Seinfeld via Oprah: Crock-Pot Lasagna. We made this for our turn on the food chain on Saturday.

And it’s good. Try it out if you are looking for an easy something. Start about 3.5 hours ahead of eating, since it takes about 30 mins prep (or less, I’m a little pokey in the kitchen) and about 3 hours cooking.

Tune-ups:

• The recipe is veggie. Works great for my wife. Not always so much for me. Try tossing in pepperoni or sausage or drained ground beef. Might work just as well after the fact if you want to keep it veggie for everyone involved and just tune-up your plate.
• Add some basil in with the spinach to amp it.
• I have trouble spreading softie ricotta on spinach (really, Jessica?). Next time I am going to try cheesing the hard noodle layer and then spinach above it.

Go for a quick salad on the side, and dinner is done.

Just so everyone knows, I’m the digital guy at ergobaby. All the opinions here are my own (and they wouldn’t want ‘em anyway). For the record.

Disclaimer Disclaimer:
And I love kid and baby stuff. I don’t work here because of the free coffee. Which there isn’t any, so I try to work from a local coffee shop. Often. It’s called ‘less commuting saves the world.’

Laundry wasn’t fun until I started folding things like this.

…and after (Taken with instagram)