Journal #2

Outside my window:

Colder still - here comes winter.  The car read 30 degrees this morning.  I had everyone in sweatshirts or jackets, but we probably should have busted out the winter coats.  I think it has warmed up some now as afternoon has hit.

 

Clothing myself:

Work-out pants, MS Bike-a-thon T-shirt, MS Walk sweatshirt.  (For the record, I was wearing jeans out of the house this morning, I changed upon returning in hopes of making myself feel better.  Every little thing helps sometimes.)

 

Around the house:

I keep cleaning and fixing one area/space/drawer/closet at a time, but I'm not sure I'm making headway.  With every space I clean/organize five more crop up somewhere else it seems.  But I keep trying!

The Baby:

Still cute is ever.  I love her so much and could just kiss and hug her all day.

 

The Kids:

It is neat to see Samuel and Jacob enjoy playing with each other as boys do - lots of jumping, running, and noises.  It was not long ago that Samuel ONLY really played with Rebekah and just tolerated Jacob.  He definitely sees him as more of a playmate now.

 

In the Kitchen:

I've been trying to fill my freezer.  Last time I cooked taco meat, I quadrupled the recipe and it has been a life-saver!  I will definitely do that again.  Yesterday I made waffles and I usually make a quadruple batch of those and then eat off of them from the fridge for the next week.  This time I purposely put a meal's worth in the freezer for later.  Baby-steps.

Crafting:

I finished Rebekah's slippers.  (And wow, was it easy - I should have done it weeks ago.  I just used a crochet hook and that worked great.)  I have now started a dishcloth (with praying hands) in hopes of having it done to use as a Christmas present.  I'm on row 11 of 65 rows.  If I keep at it I can easily finish in time, and maybe make a few more if it turns out well.

 

Homeschool:

Rebekah and Samuel are getting the "school thing" figured out. They know what to expect and are beginning to grasp what is expected of them. I think I expect a little too much from Rebekah (as she really enjoys being "spoon-fed" her studies now and again) but all in all I have no complaints.

Reading:

Some days I soak up my Scripture reading and other days I force it down, but I know it is good, so I keep trying.

I'm a few paragraphs ahead in my catechism.  I used to read it 15 minutes a day in college.  I love reading the catechism.  It never gets old.

I should start a fiction novel to "relax" again, but I have trouble letting myself do this when I have so many GOOD non-fiction books that I SHOULD be reading.  Anyone else have this problem?

Entertainment:

Gordie and I have started watching a TV series called Warehouse 13.  It originally aired on the Science Fiction channel.  (We are catching it on Netflix.)  It is pretty good - entertaining, but light-hearted with some good humor.

Bringing me joy:

My husband got a new job!!  It is only a little more money, but I think it is an important "next step" in his career path.  It is difficult as we do not like change, but we are hopeful and grateful to God for blessing us.

Thinking about:

Being sick.  It is a real challenge for me to not abuse being sick by being grouchy and short-tempered and for me to allow myself to take a break (even just letting the dishes pile up or the room get messy).

Bible verse:

But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord help me."  (Matthew 15:25)

Pictures to share:

Miriam peacefully sleeping in "my spot."



Here are "the slippers" I made for her.  She likes them a lot.

Rebekah, being creative.

I came up to find this one morning.  I love these boys!  (For the record, the red marker on the wall has been there a while.  It happened on Gordie's watch and I leave it there to mock him - and because it is not high on my priority list to remove.)

Reflecting on the Blessing of being Sick

Yes, you read that title correctly.  I am beginning to see sickness as a blessing.  Up until this afternoon, the only blessing I could glean from being sick was knowing we had survived "whatever happened to be going around right now" again so we we were "good to go" until the next "wave" of yuckiness came about (usually 6-9 months, depending on the time of year).

Here in our household we survived the stomach-unhappy-stuff (coming out either way - sometimes both at once - yikes!) about a week and a half ago (give or take a few days as it ran its course through the family and that took a few days).  Then I got sick again - really sick.  I gave it a few days, I thought I was getting better.  Then I finally conceded to go to the doc.  Then I took medicine.  And although I'm still not feeling all that great (partly due to the wacky side-effects from the medicine - dizziness, really?  For a mom  that goes up and down the stairs 50 times a day?  I am so lucky to not have a  broken leg right now.) I have finally "given in" and embraced what I consider my "lesson," and hopefully changed  my attitude a bit.

My initial response to being sick was of course to be grumpy.  I was grumpy that I had to be sick again.  I was grumpy that I had to be in so much agony.  And I was grumpy that I had to change my plans.  Then I was grumpy that I was falling so far behind.

Since I had so much time to "ponder" while being miserable, God pointed out that my grumpiness was mostly being caused by two things:

1) Pride - that no one else could possibly replace me or do the things I do "good enough."

2) Fear - that we would fall WAY behind in school and housekeeping (hey, it's not like I'm a pro at this homeschooling thing as it is) and/or that this will last forever (which is possible, but of course, unlikely).

You might think I could add that not feeling well could also cause me to be grumpy and I will concede this to a point, but I was not/am not in THAT MUCH physical discomfort.  I might have been playing this card a little, but I was definitely being a bit of a baby while I did so.

Now I am trying to "undo" all the damage I have done by letting my temper and impatience get the best of me during this time to trial.  (If you could hear my sweet daughter YELL at her brothers at the drop of a hat - all because she has heard me do it for the past week, oh, it is not pretty.  Who knew I could be so cruel?)

And I am thanking God for this opportunity to see another example of just how imperfect I really am (yes, I might need to occasionally be reminded) and how much I need Him.

"To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:18)

Cloth Diapers Recap (not for the faint of heart)

Well, something monumental happened a few days ago here with our cloth diapers.  I had to THROW ONE AWAY.  It broke my heart, but nothing lasts forever (except, of course our immortal souls :)

But let me back-up a bit.  About seven years ago, when our first baby (Rebekah) was about 3-months-old, we purchased our first few cloth diapers and "gave them a try."  We were hooked!



Here is Rebekah sporting her prefold with snappi.  I'm not sure what size these are - not the toddler - I think one size down.  This size may be different colored new now as I bought these seven years ago!!



Rebekah with Bummis Whisper Wrap

We purchased two-dozen and about three covers.  Then as she got older (unfortunately I'm not sure how old) we purchased two-dozen of the toddler-size prefold diapers.  After the addition of her brother (before she decided to potty train) we purchased another dozen toddler-size diapers and comfortably cloth diapered the two of them.  Since then I have bought a cover here or there or some training pants, but mostly that is it!



Paul (younger than Rebekah was for her picture above, but I'm not sure of age), sporting a new cover I had to purchase as I was lending my others out to a friend and she was not finished with that size when Paul came along!  (Sorry, I cannot remember where this one came from.)

These are the infant-size prefolds, I think (now with her new sizing, I do not know what they would be, sorry).  They generally fit my babies for about a month - seriously, but before I got them, trying to put the smallest size I have on the new baby was quite humorous, let me tell you!   And I don't consider them a waste of purchase as they make great burp rags now.

Here is one of the first diapers I bought, seven years later.  It looks AMAZING, but that is mostly because they do not wear this size for that long - maybe 6 to 9 months.  I just looked back at Green Mountain Diapers website (where I originally purchased these) and have no idea what size this would be now - maybe one step down from her biggest one).

Here is one of the toddler prefolds (now I think she calls them extra-large or something - the biggest size she carries).  It still looks pretty good, yes?  So although SOME of the diapers are "near the end," definitely not all.

Here is a toddler size that is starting to show its years.  Notice the rip on the right side?  When this happens I have to "fix it."

I take the torn spot and pull away that layer (I guess you could leave it and let it wear, but it will tear out in your washer and it can get poop stuck in there when you are spraying it out - such a pain!)

Here is what I have "left-over."  I sometimes use it for other projects and sometimes just toss it - all depending on my mood.

And here is the diaper again, all "fixed," until next time.

I did not think to snap a picture of "the one that did not make it," but basically I was in the process of "fixing it" and it just ripped right in half.

 

So there you have it.  Now, while I have your attention, I guess I should mention a few of my items that have stood the test of time.

 

As I have said numerous times, I purchased my original prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers.com and if you are new to cloth, she is a GREAT website to hit up first - even if you don't buy anything.  She has a "new to cloth" section and has a "guide" for everything from washing to wearing, etc.  Unless she has changed it, her shipping is a little steep (especially considering most sites will give you free shipping if you spend enough), but she gives great explanations of what works and why it works and on what type of baby it would work best.  She sells A LOT of products and you probably don't need them all (like Diaper Lotion Potion - hehe, I only got one bottle, but have since concluded cloth wipes wet in the sink work perfectly fine with no additives).  I would suggest you browse her site and then look things up by name on amazon or google and go with a place that offers you free shipping, but if you have a little extra to spend, then feel free to buy from her - and she has really good sales and seconds sometimes, btw.  I have had good experiences with Cottonbabies, and even amazon (sporadically and make sure you are purchasing exactly what you are looking for).

 

So if you want to cloth diaper like us, you need two-dozen XL toddler pre-folds (about $40 a dozen, needing four-dozen if you have two in diapers) a few snappis (or you could skip these, as often the covers hold the diapers on fine, but I just like the security of them and they are not that expensive and last for a long time - seriously, they stretch some, but we get several years out of them).

 

We use regular washcloths as cloth wipes.  I purchased my latest set from Wal-mart when they had that giant brick of multi-colored washcloths (maybe 20 of them for between $5 and $10).  I keep them folded in the bathrooms.  Before I change a diaper, I check for poop.  I wet a wipe in the sink and then sit down to change the diaper.  RARELY I need more than one wipe (sometimes with girls - as you have to be extra careful or with new little babies and that insane breastfed liquid poo that gets everywhere).

 

For babies that eat real food (not until 9 months or so around here), you have to spray out their poopy diapers.  I use The Potty Pail because it was all I could find at the time.  It definitely does the job (and is still doing it).  You could probably buy a kitchen sprayer at the store and make the "bucket" yourself if you feel so inclined.  I think there are other sprayers available now, perhaps some better than ours.  But until ours breaks, that is what I recommend!

 

We through our diapers in an open or flip-lid pail.  (Surprisingly giving them a little breathing room actually makes them smell less- I think.)  I use pail liners from Green Mountain for my pails (the flip-top lid trash can from Wal-mart downstairs and a regular small trash can upstairs).  These pail liners also make great dirty laundry sacks for trips.  They are a good investment.  Some of mine have their inner liner wearing out, but they still work fine.  I throw them in with the diapers to wash them.

 

For my first few kids I squeaked by with about three covers per kid-size at the time, but now I have a surplus and I am enjoying it.  I recently picked up a bunch of econo-bum covers from Cotton Babies on clearance (supposedly there was something wrong with them - other than an x marked on their tag I have yet to figure out what that is - the link says almost $9, but I'm pretty sure I got mine for $5 each and I think they go on sale fairly often).  I bought A BUNCH (like maybe 15) and with two kids in diapers and a two-story house, it has been nice to have covers at every clean diaper location so I can switch them out regularly (I usually swap them even if they are not dirty, just to let the damp one air out).  When they are poopy I throw them in with the diapers.

 

I wash diapers every other day (whether the pail is full or not as letting them sit too long is a bad idea).  I use a high efficiency washer with Charlie's Soap and it works fine for us (we use this soap for all our washing).  The first wash is cold with an extra rinse and the second wash is hot - no extra rinse.  I use one scoop of Charlie's soap in each load.  Then I hang them out on the line (weather permitting) or sometimes on racks in the laundry room.  I try to not put them in the dryer is it shrinks them a little and I think makes them wear faster (although it does make them very soft! - sometimes I toss them in for a few minutes off the line, just to be nice - but diapers straight off the line really work great I think).

 

Finally, I have a post here about nighttime diaper solutions, but let me caution you.  Using cloth at night can be DIFFICULT and don't let it come between you and using cloth just for the day.  There is not a law that says you have to cloth diaper all the time or not at all!!  After MANY years of struggling with nighttime diapers that just did not work - or spending money on products I was just "trying" and kind-of worked, but not really, I have conceded to becoming an Amazon Mom and ordering chlorine-free, paper diapers for night through Subscribe and Save.  Being an Amazon Mom saves me about $10 a box and Subscribe and Save gives me another percentage off.  So my Amazon Prime membership basically pays for itself by the end of the year and I get other fun perks like free two-day shipping and streaming of lots of movies and tv shows.

 

Now that I have said this, I am still using cloth for Miriam at night but only because I have several fitted diapers that I purchased for just such an event (as nighttime) but do not use regularly as I don't want to wear them out!  Many of them I picked up on sale or seconds from various sites.  They work "ok" when I pair them with a regular prefold, too (a lot of bulk - makes me have to size up her diaper cover and her pjs, but we have both already in bigger sizes so that is not an issue for us).

 

But my two-year-old wears this diaper at night and my four-year old wears these training pants at night.  It works for us.

 

So, to re-hash, my original thought for this post. . . cloth diapers has saved us A TON of money.  I could maybe figure it up for you, but I'm lazy.  But considering my dozen of prefolds cost $40 and lasts seven years and five kids, well, you don't have to be a rocket-scientist to put together it is a good investment!!

 

I believe I have said all I wanted to say about this (and possibly more).  Feel free to comment if you have questions, corrections from your own personal experience, or just like me :)



Jumping on the bandwagon. Journal #1

Outside my window:

Kinda chilly.  Long pants and sweatshirt weather.

Clothing myself:

Jeans, black t-shirt for NEW's anniversary (hubby's work), FHSU sweatshirt.  (My typical "be seen in public" uniform.  Unfortunately, since getting dressed my public plans have changed, so I might end up in sweats again before the day is out.)

Around the house:

I am implementing a lot of ideas I picked up (or some I had already thought of but just had not done yet) from this Smart Martha retreat.  It is making things much more "user friendly" and efficient.  I hope to give these their own post soon.

The Baby:

Since this is my first journal, some background.  Between 2 and 4 months, Miriam would sleep up to 12 hours a night!! I thought she would be like Rebekah (who did this and then never went back -she was such a great sleeper).  Then Miriam hit a growth spurt and nursed AT LEAST every three hours around the clock for about three days straight.  She has ebbed and flowed since then but is still now, at 5 months, not a great sleeper by any means.  Her newest habit is fussing after nursing at night.  She finishes but her nose is stuffy or she is just uncomfortable, so she thrashes all over.  I have had her on my chest with her binky in for several hours every night.  Often she finally gives in and falls asleep (and so do I) but lately even this is trying my patience!!  Must be teeth or growing or both - or she is just a baby.  Who knows?

The Kids:

Paul is in that super-cute phase.  My mother-in-law described his voice as "having swallowed a helium balloon" and I think that is quite accurate!  Everything he does is done with enthusiasm!  I recently started taking him to swim team (and getting in with him) and he has been BESIDE himself with glee!  Sporadically throughout the day he will proclaim, "I go to swim team!!!"

In the Kitchen:

I'm just trying to keep floating.  I really do not enjoy cooking all that much (but I do like eating! :) but we are "making do" and learning as we go.  My meal calendar on the fridge (a wipe-off calendar) is going well.

I have recently started making my own yogurt and that is fun!!  Something about the joy of creating something just gets me.

Crafting:

I have some slippers I started knitting for Rebekah when I was in labor with Miriam. (I needed something to pass the time while waiting the 5000 hours for the pitocin to kick-in.)  They just need to be "sewn up" which is really easy (assuming I could find my "sewing needle" for this project - but I think I can just crochet them).  In any case I NEED to get them done while they still fit and so she can wear them this winter!

Also, I recently discovered the baby hat I knit for Miriam (before she was born) just barely fits her head now and will definitely not make it through the winter, so I better get cracking on another one!

Homeschool:

There is so much.  I need to do a separate post on this.  Suffice to say it is going WELL!!  We are kind-of getting things figured out.  Everyone seems to be having fun and learning.  I am pleased.  (And a bit exhausted - hah!)

Reading:

I'm REALLY TRYING to get my daily bible reading in.  For as long as I can remember (probably since I really started making prayer a priority back in high school) I would read a chapter in several books of the bible each day.  For example, now I am reading Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, Isaiah, Matthew, and Acts of the Apostles.  I read a chapter from each, each day, and jot down verses that I like or want to remember in my journal.  Some days I don't make it through all the books, but I am making it a priority and seeing fruit from being in Scripture daily.

I'm also doing the "read through the catechism" thing for the year of faith (although I'm reading in my actual catechism, not online - I'm keeping up, or getting ahead).

And to top it off, I have been dipping into Chris West's commentary on the Theology of the Body.  I really enjoy TOB and I really enjoy Chris West, so it is a treat to pick up when I have time (hah).  I just wish the book were not quite so big as it would be easier to read while nursing :)

Bringing me joy:

A snuggly baby.  The kids being helpful.  Rebekah asking to pray "the entire" Rosary (as we have just been doing a decade at a time).

Thinking about:

Trying to be "kind" to my children (even when I have to be firm - yelling less, listening more, staying calm).  Also about friends with sick kiddos, or who have lost kiddos.

Bible verse:

This very day the Lord your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and ordinances; so observe them diligently with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 26:16)

Pictures to share:

Paul and Rebekah enjoy the tornado simulator at Exploration Place.