Wordless Wednesday: Table Setting

by Abi.

=)

Stack 'Em Up!

We took our Memorial day easy after having two packed days on the Saturday and Sunday before. Unfortunately, my "sleep in" dreams did not happen as I had a fantastic visit from Mr. Charlie Horse TWICE at 5am. I stayed up for 45 minutes of potassium and prenatal vitamin consumption, as well as water rehydration. Then I "napped" until 8am.

After doing the diaper laundry, I came to a realization while putting it away that we have virtually no room for Hannah's cloth diapers. Being as how we had a lazy Memorial day ahead of us with plans of hot dogs in the backyard amid the girls playing in the swimming pool (will post those pics in a further post), my creative wheels started turning. I eyed my dwindling stack of receiving blankets, noting that 3 color coordinated.

Backstory: Saturday morning I got the privilege of discovering a woman selling her newborn cloth diaper stash (24 prefolds and 6 covers) for only $25 on craigslist. Since the prefolds themselves cost $2 a piece and the covers cost $8 a piece, I knew I wanted to jump on that deal before someone else did. We were in her area Sunday and were able to complete Hannah's diaper stash until she gets into our current pocket diapers. I WAS (and still am) PUMPED!!!

So looking at the stack of 39 (I made 15 myself) newly washed and ready to be stored Hannah diapers/covers, while putting away Abi's diaper stash, I decided to take advantage of our "lazy day" with a little sewing project.

I used this free diaper stacker pattern (though mildly vague).

And primarily this picture over the pattern words, which were a bit confusing to me. I read another pattern ("simple design" one) with pictures and figured I had the hang of it enough to improv.

I grabbed my three coordinating receiving blankets and, after reading reviews on other diaper stackers being too thin, grabbed some extra polyester to line the diaper stacker with reinforced durability. I laid out my fabric, measured twice, and cut once (though nearly twice. LOL).

This is my starting picture (minus my piece of cardboard to stiffen the bottom of the completed diaper stacker.) 

And this is the finished product:

 It is hung by a "child sized" hanger inserted into the stacker. I chose a metal skirt clip for two reasons: we have a plethera of these and I wanted the hanger head to be able to swivel and hold the weight of the cloth diapers.

** See Hannah's cute cloth diapers in there? =D All 39 fit with extra room.

This hangs wonderfully on the end of our changing table in the nursery. YAY! And it's also easily transported to the laundry room for refilling on laundry day. 

A close-up of the primarily hand-sewn part. I took the butterflies off an old and semi-useless burp cloth (it was really small and thin), then sewed it onto a few leftover pieces of the receiving blanket material I used in the diaper stacker. 

It took me about 4 hours (I hand-sewed a little of it so I could watch the girls "swim") and cost me $1.59 (I ran out of thread. hehe).

I think it came out pretty cute! =)


P.S. For those of you concerned about Hannah potentially being a boy: 1. They got a really good "tell all" peek. 2. If Hannah turns out to be an Elijah, Elijah will get over the butterflies since "he'd" be sharing a room with his sisters for a good while. hehehe. But I'm pretty sure Hannah is 99% more likely. ;)

P.P.S. Matt was impressed that I created this in one day. His exact response: "You made that (smiling and surprised) just today?" =D YAY! I did!

Brand Cloth Diapering

I wanted to share some tricks of the trade and a compilation of my personal reviews and the reviews I've heard universally about some cloth diaper brands. I'm not going to review all cloth diaper brands (there are a bunch) and I'm only going to briefly review the cloth diapering brands that are connected to our diapering system and therefore I have chosen or chosen to by-pass.


Prefolds (old-school cloth diapers)

• You can use pins or snappis. I prefer snappies - snug, secure, no baby stabbing. But less cost-effective than pins. 
• Generally prefolds cost about $2 a diaper unless you are buying in bulk.
• Material: generic cotton - decent, Chinese cotton - holds up well, little rough, Indian cotton - BEST! holds up great AND soft. Comparison. Our Indian cotton prefolds have had more wear/tear on the edges in terms of the edge stitching, but I like softer over needing to re-edge a diaper (which I haven't had to do yet).
• Bleached or unbleached - depends on your preference. I prefer unbleached since my kids tend to have sensitive skin and the cost is maybe a few pennies different. To me, why risk that your kid has sensitive skin if you can just buy the more sensitive skinned ones (unbleached) for about $0.10 more.
• Best brands I've found for the cheapest cost: 
• Osocozy brand (prefer unbleached) runs about $13 a dozen on Amazon.com. Best brand if you have to buy new. Easiest on the pocketbook unless you can find some incredible sale.
• Green Mountain - a little more expensive, but if you can find them used they'll last through many childrens' bombings.
• Econobums - I've heard they are a good/absorbent brand that is financially savvy but not experienced them personally. And they seem to always come in a pack with other stuff when sold new.
• Bummis - strong, thick, quilty and gentle on the pocketbook if you are buying them second-hand. Otherwise about $4.00 A DIAPER.
• Gerber brand birdseye = good for burp clothes, BAD for cloth diapering. Birdseye shreds in the wash after about 3 months of use (if it makes it that long). 
• If your prefold doesn't have sizes - it's a bad prefold. No one's 3 month old is going to fit into a toddler prefold. Best economical expense = small gaps between sizes, but you will be choosing to fold down a portion of the fabric while baby grows into the full fabric, which some people call bulky and I call "extra poop safety" as well as "financially savvy."
• Check out some youtube prefold folding videos if these intimidate you, they might change your mind. 
• To double a prefold for naps/night put extra insert OUTSIDE of prefold but inside of cover to allow best pull away from skin.
• Fleece on sale at a hobby store is best call for more sensitive skinned kids. Buy a yard, cut down into insert-sized strips and throw into inner lining against skin, making a barrier between baby's bottom and the prefold itself. I found fleece on sale for $4.50 for a yard and it made 24 "barriers" of fleece.
• Wash (water for every cycle but the last) 4-5 times when bought new to maximize absorbency. OR my preference: boil for 15 minutes in water alone and then wash. Cuts down on water use and gets the job done faster than 5 times through the wash. 

Covers

• You will only need a rotation of 3-5 over the span of 2 days depending on preference, material inside, and the age of your child (young baby wanting to err on the higher amount of covers, vs. older/more controlled BMs = less covers). If baby dirties cover beyond recognition, then wash. If baby spots on cover, then wipe clean and lay aside to dry while baby wears another cover. Less changing of covers = less laundry.
• Can be used with just an insert (see below) or a prefold with or without a snappi/pins.
• Thirsties covers are by far the cheapest with the best overall reviews throughout the sizes. Offered in velcro (hook and loop closure) and snaps. I prefer velcro for tighter/trimmer fit. Lasts through multiple kids may need to replace velcro with multiple kids. 
• single sized thirsties covers (ex. Extra small, small, etc) - fit best for newborns, especially if your newborn has a slim waste. Most reviews talk about thirsties covers being one of the few that work on that "fresh out of the oven" time. Single-sized covers cost about $10.50/cover. 
• duo wrap covers - 2 sizes from birth to potty training. Size 1 (6-18lbs) Size 2 (18-potty training). Just the covers run at about $12.75/cover. Again, you'll only need 3-5 to use in a rotation over the span of 2 days. 
• duo diapers (different than wraps) have insert included in diaper that can be flush against baby's skin. These also come in 2 sizes (size 1 and 2) and run about $18 a diaper (sometimes $16 for the solid colors). A little more pricey but you know for sure you have all the pieces to get started if you are uncertain. These diapers can also be used without the insert as a regular cover. I would suggest getting extra inserts or using your prefolds as extra inserts.
• Prorap covers run about $8.00/cover and come in 5 sizes (newborn, small, medium, large, XLarge). Medium, Large and XLarge start to get more difficult reviews in terms of leaking (kids start to thin out in the legs so it gets more varied to make a cover that will get the job done for everyone). Newborn has the umbilical cord cut-out which is VERY good for keeping irritation away from baby til they lose their cord. Newborn and Small get best reviews for being a cheap in price, but good in fit diaper cover. Inner shell is more plastic than some covers, making it easily handwashed, quick-drying, and washer-safe. Not suggested to dry these in the dryer due to how quickly they dry and the risk of melting them. GREAT pick for newbie to 3 month old size, especially cost effective. Reviews say they last through multiple kids, but I have no personal experience with this.
• LOVE Wonder Wraps, but they're less cost-friendly unless you get them second-hand. They usually range about $18-$20 a wrap (if you can find them in stock), but are a one-sized cover. The shape of these is slightly different than other covers (more pear shaped) and therefore covers VERY well with 0 leaks. Lasts through multiple kids. May need to replace velcro after 2 kids.
• Wash at least 3x if new before first use to remove factory chemicals. 

Inserts

• Wash (water for every cycle but the last) 4-5 times when bought new to maximize absorbency. OR my preference: boil for 15 minutes in water alone and then wash. Cuts down on water use and gets the job done faster than 5 times through the wash. 
• Materials:
• Microfiber (MF)= cheapest in cost, absorbs instantly unless repelling (detergent build-up due to not washing with cloth diaper safe detergent), holds up same as other materials. Quick absorbing. Debate of whether can go directly against child's skin. I've put it against Abi's sensitive skin and had no issues, but these have been washed MANY times before. There are some reviews that say MF should never be put against baby's skin and results in hive-like spots of diaper rash. Your call. You can use a fleece barrier if you are using an insert alone in a cover. Can bleach if needed to keep white (though some argue against the sheer "harshness" of the bleach product in general, it is infrequently in reference to it being harsh to fabrics, but to sensitive skins - these people also tend to be the "all organics" people).
• Hemp = very absorbent, absorbs slow. Preference for many cloth diaperers for a night diaper. More pricey cost - up to $5 per insert. Retains smell with repetitive use so you'll need to treat extra for smell. Can be put directly on skin contact. Longest time to dry in dryer.
• Bamboo = supposably more absorbent than Hemp and MF, but my personal results with bamboo have been much less absorbent (apparently I'm in good company too) than hemp. Retains smell like hemp. Dries quicker than hemp. Less expensive than hemp, but more expensive than MF.
• Zorb = very absorbent, can be cost effective (especially if second-hand), no blue zorb material can touch baby's skin so be sure to have it covered in fleece or another material if not already. Absorbs better than MF, better than bamboo, and less bulky than hemp. Material made specifically for heavy-wetters in the cloth diaper world. $5 an insert piece at this site for the non-sewers. $11 for a yard here if you make your own insert. I got them for $0.50 an "insert" off craigslist. 
• Terry (towel) = now more than 2 layers at a time to avoid retained smell and allow for extensive washing. HIGHLY absorbent and cost-effective, especially if you use old towels and make your own. BEST night diaper material I've found for the cost. 4 layers of towel wrapped in material in the form of 2 inserts suffices our heavy wetter at nights/naps when all other materials have failed. Funny how the cheapest wins. ;) 
• Comparisons of all the kinds of inserts here. and here. and here. Or there's this method of testing. Or this one by brand and it's part 2 [Gotta take a second to give a shout-out to the Sunbaby insert that beat out many high priced brand name inserts when you can buy them for up to a quarter of the price. ;) ].

Pockets/All-in-Twos (AI2)

• Designs for 12lbs to potty training crowd, and not little babies. 
• One-size = most economical verses buying and rebuying specific sizes. (That's why one-size are less frequently available in resale markets due to their versatility). 
• One-size is especially helpful if diapering more than 1 child at one time since the sizes can be altered by snapping down to fit the child on the spot. 
• Sunbaby and Alvababy (in China) make most cost-effective and quality diapers. Soft fleece inner-lining and durable, can be used for multiple kids, outer PUL. Cute patterns/colors or solids available. Plan ahead: takes 3-4 weeks to arrive. About $5 a diaper with some combination deals.
• Most like disposable diapers, excluding use of inserts to customize for child. 
• Stuff insert into pocket post wash and shake holding opposite end of pocket to dump insert out before wash.
• MF insert = good til about 9 months then need additional insert. Suggest less bulky material as second material to avoid leaking through legs. 
• Snaps survive far better than velcro on these diapers.
• Wash at least 4x if new before first use to remove factory chemicals.  

Diaper Rash Creme

• Cannot use regular diaper rash creme on cloth diapers due to most cremes being made with Zinc Oxide or Fish oil. Both stick to your cloth diapers and do not wash out well, if they ever wash out. These ingredients repel water - not a good feature when you want your diapers absorbing urine. 
• Pure, Organic Coconut Oil is the best and cheapest cloth diaper safe creme. It costs $17 for a 32 ounce jar. You only need a fingertip's worth for a diaper change so this stuff goes a long way. (Also great for eczema.) Washes out easily and safely from cloth diapers in one wash. [Sure beats a 3.75 ounce jar for $15 of "cloth diaper creme".]

Okay, that's all the wisdom I can think to share for now. Hope that's helpful.

Have a great day!

The Creek

This morning I got up and felt the desire to "go away" from our house. We'd settled back in since vacation and now it was time for a little cabin-fever driven play. Today not being a homeschooling day meant we were free until nap time, while I still hoped to spend the lunch time with Matt.

At first the idea was a local park that has farm animals, play equipment and not too much walking. I gave a few friends a call, discovered their full plans, and then rethought about our original plan. If we were not partnering with anyone else, we were free to do whatever. Then the idea popped into my head: muddy water play. The level of grease in Rachael's hair this morning sealed the deal, clearly bath time was in order for today so why not get the most out of the dirt before returning to the world of clean.

Rachael was all-in, my previous "ew-dirt" toddler now turned into a "dirty can be fun" preschooler. But Abi had her own plans of lying in a pile of play jewelry (can we say uncomfortable?) and wrapping her stuffed duckie in a blanket. VETOED! Abi got over it with a few minutes of consoling and then happily got into a swim diaper and bathing suit. With T-shirts (for extra sun protection), water shoes, a few bath toys, some towels and my camera we were out the door to our adventure.

The girls, having never play in a creek before (dude, they're small), learned all kinds of things about creeks through hands-on experience. And boy can I tell you, we experienced the creek TO THE FULL. Short of drinking the water intentionally (sorry Abi), we did just about every other little sensory experiment imaginable.

Rachael learned about water currants, floating and sinking objects,

 Boat floating down-currant. Then whale's turn to float in a bucket.

depth of water, mossy rocks being slimy,

and all kinds of other personal experiments like how much water can be splashed by jumping furiously in the water.

Abi enjoyed many dump and fill pleasures with her self-declared recycled cottage cheese container which was a HUGE "no no" in the sharing category. That container was an emotional attachment, a beloved friend not just a selfish moment of "I don't want you to have it". No, cottage cheese container was NEEDED  (funny how they attach to things randomly). Rachael was content to play with everything but Abi's cottage cheese container so no wars were waged creekside. Abi also highly enjoyed kicking and splashing - a must for my mud-inspired baby.

 Dump and fill.                             Kick, splash, kick!

 Catch the small waterfall.

While the girls were a little hesitant at first about the shiftiness of creek rocks, they soon kicked into their regular selves, sitting in the cold water with squeals and 'do it again's. In a few minutes their limbs had gone numb in the creek's shade-covered arctic waters and their focused turned to exploring the water.

 Explore. Discover. Delight. 

           Joy.                                         Catch and release.

      Exploration.                                Watering her hair. =)

We stayed for 45 minutes of bliss, soon-to-be lunch grumbling encouraging our departure. I wondered what people thought as two young children emerged from the "no swimming" lakeside entrance (we walked a little ways back to the creek) fully wrapped in towels and soaking. We looked like rebels, but there were no signs posted in the creek area regarding swimming (probably since the water was um ankle-deep), but my children very nearly swam in that very ankle-deep currant.

A quick towel-drying, change of clothes for the ride back, peanut butter sandwich lunch, bath time and redressing has produced two wonderfully exhausted children and a quiet napping house.

I'd say our adventure was a success for all. =)

Colored Play Rice

I was asked by my sister in law, Kat, if I'd share the recipe for the play rice I made with Rachael for homeschool back in November 2011. So I figured I could share it on here too to not only gawk at her cute pictures again, but also help anyone else out who is interested in making similar joy in their household.

Recipe for Colored Play Rice
1 cup regular rice. 
1 tsp rubbing alcohol 
food dye to your hearts content. 


Step 1: Stir rice, rubbing alcohol and food dye in a bowl until the color distributes, 

 She's concentrating, not scowling, I promise. ;)

Step 2: Spread rice out flat on wax paper or whatever,

 Clearly the spreading was the most fun in the making part. =)

Step 3: Let dry for 1 hour.

 Start of drying process.                  End of drying process.

***No she did not stand there for an hour. ***

Then you're good to go and ready to play! It's really that easy!!!

***Warning: you will have fun and will need to vacuum.
***Second Warning: sometimes food dye slightly comes off on hands with prolonged play, but the dye washes off easily with soap/water and the rice still remains colored.  

Recycled medicine cups, funnels, old teaspoons, large straws, whatever make wonderful play tools. And I must say, playing with rice has such a calming and soothing affect while encouraging great creativity and manipulation of the rice. We enjoyed burying each others hands in the rice and also just letting her go to town making up communities and storylines in her rice play. We haven't tried it yet, but another way to play in the rice could be to use toy buildings, people, animals or cars to add in more story play and less sheer manipulation of the rice. But Rachael has enjoyed sitting and playing with the rice for 45 minutes, in which I had to put an end to the play because it was lunch time. I'd suggest a plastic tub with high sides that are high enough to keep most rice in, but low enough to allow the child to play without having to stand or bend their arms awkwardly. Also, the larger the tub, the more the mess - so you'd be surprised what a medium sized (for the preschooler) tub of rice would do for creating clear boundaries and also allowing all play to be in view without requiring the child to turn their head (permitting more distraction opportunities). [Recalling how we used rice for play therapy in attending to one task.] Rachael has never complained about the size of the tub of not having enough room to play. We do use the lid to put extra play items on though, when she is not currently using them. The tub we use is about the size of a show box.

Wordless Wednesday: Warm Evening

Warm evening: done right.

Country Frog Huntin'

One last story about our mini-vacation that I wanted to share with you:

We had many opportunities to take life at a simpler pace. So if you could take life at a simpler pace what would you do?

Frog catching, of course!!!

Matt set aside his morning devotions Bible on our walk back from the wooden bench swing to return to his childhood.

Despite nearly catching one poor, slimy victim (he grazed through Matt's hand), our frog-hunting experience did not produce "a big one for the camera."-


I'm sure my one-hit-wonder theme song "Water Serpent" didn't aid in Matt's catching success.  Oh you haven't heard that wonderful song? You poor, deprived people. Well I'll share the lyrics with you...

"Water serpent... coming to bite your face off.

Water serpent... out of the mud.

Water serpent... coming to bite your face off.

Water serpent... he'll drink your blood." 

Now do you see why Matt's concentration could have been slightly off?

He's still my hero regardless. ;)

Returning

Matt and I went away for a few days this past week – just the two of us. Our little girls stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house with a slumber party at a dear friend's house for one night while Mommy and Daddy got away.

We ventured a whole whopping hour away – not really going a far distance, but certainly traveling a far emotional distance. It was the longest I had ever left our youngest, who will be 2 in June. Honestly, it's not my distrust for people or my insecurity in leaving her (though in some moments I surely was more concerned about her than our brave three year old), but it was just that with two young children the opportunity hardly ever presents itself to leave them for more than a date night away. They are work, that we know, and yet they're also the norm for us.

Matt thought it a good time to get away and have a few days to ourselves to celebrate our 5 year anniversary early, since late-August (our anniversary) I am going to be “great with child” and since the second trimester of pregnancy seems to carry less symptoms and more coasting. So we left our home in wonderful care of our cats and a friend and fellow past and current youth group members to “check in on”.

When our tomtom started inventing roads we knew we were getting close to our destination, breaking away from civilization into the farmlands of the nearby country. A large rock marking the gravel road to the property only seemed fitting. Twisting through the woods at 5 miles an hour we broke into a clearing of 71 acres of beautiful land. Four ponds, trees and shade, wooded paths, and a two story manor house welcomed us to our new home for a few days. Luxury breathed deep through beautiful wooden floors, large four-posted beds, various sitting/quiet rooms, a dining room that could easily hold twelve with care, large decks with patio furniture, a basement with ping-pong and a pool table, and three separate and private rooms with bathtub, sitting area and King-sized beds. Hopsitality and luxury breathed from the place. And we drank deep.

The wooded paths welcomed conversations, the bench-swings overlooking the ponds brought dreaming and reflecting, the downstairs couch and “movie theater” area delighted laughter that found us smothering ourselves in it's cushions and streaming tears. Away with your best friend is more than wonderful. More than delightful.

There was also work to be done, times of homeschool planning (I'm now 3 weeks ahead!), VBS material studying, and recipe reviewing/tagging. We wanted to use our time to relax, but also to get a leg up on a few lingering projects and take advantage of the uninterrupted time (a true luxury for us both).

And then the trip away took the turn most trips take – no, not to the fighting or the bickering, but to the “ready to go home” phase. We looked around us at all the place had to offer and both said, “we miss our girls.... our home...” You know, I think time away is a wonderful thing, a break in the normal routine, a time to reconnect and set time apart for each other. But I can honestly say that I think Matt and I do a good job of that on a pretty regular basis. We didn't come into this weekend not knowing each other, having neglected each other at home. Quite the contrary, we do make a very serious effort to remain best friends amidst the normal (though we all have busy weeks here and there). With the girls' schedule, we have a lot of time to be “just us” in the evenings (2+ hours at least 3 nights a week). We treasure that time, whether it's in watching a show together or working alongside each other in a united goal to homeschool our kids or serve the church, or whether it's laundry or just melting into the couch together. That being said, we came to the time away with no agenda or past scars to fix, but instead with the same priorities to listen and share and love as we have at home.

And we both agreed on the car ride to our time away and we've agreed before that we really like our life. We love where we are right now – me at home, homeschooling, wonderful kids, the church, the house (even with her repair needs), devotions, the youth group, our families, even seminary in it's demanding moments... we're both just really satisfied. Really happy. Really blessed.

When you go into a time away with that heart, you find it completely acceptable to cut the trip one “night sleep” (as we describe it to Rachael) early and scoop up your kids early because you just want to snuggle them and be around them again. You find it fitting to spend some of the last day reminiscing about your own bed, those annoying meows of the “feed me” cats, the diaper laundry and other laundry awaiting you, the graduation parties and celebrations coming over the next few days that you want to be ready for... the home that you have left and love so dearly.

Sure our household has it's flaws and it's frustrations, last time I checked none of us are perfect. But it's ours. It's us. Those little voices over the baby monitor, the urgency of the morning cat feeding, the hallway light flickering from a bad wiring, the dishes piling in the sink, the smelling of socks to verify clenliness, the rocking of the over-packed washer... it's all us. And it's loved.

So after a wonderful time away, we returned to the delight of our normal.... and we're grateful.

- Blessed.

Our Vacation

1. Laughing until tears came to our eyes and we buried our faces in the couch.
2. Quiet swinging on the wooden bench-swing while overlooking the gentle water's ripples and listening to God's orchestra of birds.
3. Getting stuck on logs, going in circles and “back petal, back petal” in “we're going to have to go to couples counseling after this” paddle boat laughter.
4. Just sitting beside you, cuddled up on the couch with bowl of popcorn in hand to watch an uninterrupted movie in the middle of the afternoon.
5. Dreaming about the delights of the days after our family adds in Hannah Joy – the challenges that we will overcome and the wonderful delights of a new snuggler.
6. Just together... just us... and drinking it in. 
   
   
   
   
   (sigh) ...vacation...

Signs of The Country

1. Your detour takes you to another detour making an 8 mile trip closer to 20 miles.
2. 800 feet of road closed with no warning or detour signs equals guess & go methods.
3. 15 passenger van with at least 15 kids and more piling in the door.
4. Pontiac G6 (2000+) parked beside a sun-faded Kia with broken windshield wipers stuck mid-wipe on the passenger side.
5. Ferrah Faucet hair, bright pink overalls with matching long-sleeve shirt loading groceries into a 1990's Cherokee 4x4 in the Walmart parking lot.
6. 9pm at Walmart has more life than the main strip through town – even with it being a truck route.

Wordless Wednesday: The Value of Away

[sigh] "The value of Away."   =)