What's a boy to do?

You are my sunshine....

At our house

Whats been going on at our house:

We converted H's crib to a toddler bed this week, and so far it's been just fine!
He hasn't fallen out, and it really hasn't messed with his sleep schedule either.



Sweet sleep!

H has been eating his cinnamon rolls from the inside out.

Little brother

Noah in training.
H has a set of A-Z Little People (plus a few extras) and likes to organize them neatly on the coffee table and then knock them all off.

Cloth, round 2

Warning: a lot of cloth diaper talk in this post!
If you are not interested in that, just enjoy the cute boys!

H was in cloth diapers pretty much since he came home from the hospital, and still is (although we are working on potty training). C has been in cloth pretty much since he came home from the hospital too. We love cloth especially for the ease of use and budget friendliness. I like that it is healthy for their skin and the environment.

We've been using bumGenius 3.0 since H was born and continue to love them! I like the ease of use with pocket diapers, that it is so easy to stuff them to the desired absorbancy - newborn inserts for C, one size inserts for H, and hemp at night for both boys (C is a heavy wetter - we didn't need to use hemp for H until he was over a year old, and C already needs them!) I like the adjustability of aplix (Velcro), but will probably switch to snaps when we need new diapers because snaps won't need to be replaced.

Here are a few of the things that we have learned since cloth diapering.

Harrison at two months


1. Rockin' Green is awesome! We haven't had funk (smell) problems since using it. Just doing an overnight soak every once in awhile keeps this problem under wraps. Their Funk Rock took care of ammonia problems with toddler diapers as well as lightening and brightening the diapers. I did the Funk Rock and an overnight soak before C was born to get them ready.

Charlie at two months

2. Hemp inserts are great for extra absorbancy.

3. A diaper sprayer is a must. I don't think we'd still be cloth diapering if not for this.


4. Tea tree oil has helped us out in more ways than I thought it would - we put a few drops in the wipe solution (we use cloth wipes) and it keeps it smelling fresh. The tea tree oil has also helped with yeast. With H, every summer we have to battle a little yeast, and it helps keep it at bay (we live in the hot, humid south). After C started using these diapers we had a pretty bad case of yeast and I soaked the diapers in about 10 drops of tea tree oil. The combination of TTO in the wipes and the soak seemed to take care of it.

5. We were having problems with overnight and naptime leaking for H, even with the use of hemp inserts. I read somewhere about using the pocket diaper like a diaper cover and just laying the inserts in it (not putting them in the pocket) and it totally took care of the problem!

6. One size diapers are awesome! H has been in the same diapers from birth through the present (he is now 2 1/2), and now C (at two months) is using the same diapers!

Our changing table
(I realized it would need to be more organized, having two in cloth.)


7. Take good care of your diapers so they will last a long time! We have abused these diapers (dried in the dryer, used diaper creams, etc.), and they have lasted us well, but they are showing a little wear (elastic has been replaced, and some build-up has occurred in the diaper making them a little slow to absorb). If we replace these, I will probably hang the covers to dry and will always use a liner when using creams.

8. Wet bags are not necessary, but they sure are great! We don't need to worry about bags leaking en route from changing table to laundry room, they can hold a lot, and are "green".

9. Exclusively breastfed baby diapers don't need to be rinsed. Yay for water soluble poop!

10. They are cute! Especially these two boys in blue!



Some of my favorite cloth diaper resources:
Kelly's Closet
Rockin' Green
Dirty Diaper Laundry

Morning snapshots

Morning, brother!

Breakfast: "Shimma Rolls"
(cinnamon rolls)
We ate cinnamon rolls, but H asked for hot dogs, garlic and peppermint....

First nap of the day

A little playtime with Henry

I'm up!

Off to story time!

Snuggle time with Mama

What are you doing this morning?

Mama said there'd be days like this...

Days that it would seem like everything was in the wrong place

Days that we would want to refuse all comfort and cry

Days when it would be obvious we didn't know what day it was (for almost two weeks....)


Days when we would want to stand in the corner with buckets on our heads



But, she also said there would be days like this:
when all would be right in the world!

Amish Country

Some of our good friends had told us about a trip that they took to "Amish Country" in a nearby town of Pontotoc. We had been talking about it for a little while and decided to make the journey today. There were not clear information on the internet about it, and we really didn't get clear information from our friends except to "go down this road and then stop at a gas station to ask for directions." So, that is what we did, and somehow we made it there. We knew we were getting close when we started to see horse droppings on the road and almost ran into a horse drawn buggy.It was like a step back in time or to another culture to see everyone in homemade clothes and many without shoes. They talked to their families in Dutch and were very quiet. Both N and I were very surprised to see children so quiet -we are used to kids talking and chattering almost nonstop!

Most of the Amish homes in the area were very simple - wooden, with porches, red barns nearby, fields of corn, plots of veggies and more. The homes would have white signs by the road telling what they were selling: fresh vegetables, jellies, scented candles, saddles, handmade soaps, mud rugs and more. They sold from their porches, barns, or sheds. At each house we stopped at, it would only take a moment for a parent or an older sister to come and assist us and then all of the younger children would come and watch and look at us.

Just about every home had animals of some sort in their yard: chickens, ducks, bunnies, dogs, sheep, goats, horses, cows, etc. and H loved it! He was so excited to see all of the different animals. After the first home with chicks, ducks and bunnies, H screamed when we put him back in the car. At the next house I told H to look at some sheep, and instead of just running, he took off running towards them! (At the last home we stopped at, I had just nursed C a little while before and picked him up to go to the porch to see some soaps, and he threw up all over me and the porch... but the man who greeted us said not to worry, he had eight children so they were accustomed to things like that - he was very nice, but I still hated for that to happen. With one child screaming and chasing animals and the other throwing up, we felt very aware of the fact that we have little ones!)

We all had a great time and would love to go again!
Maybe after we rest up a little first...

Some of our bounty that we came home with: A handmade basket, molasses, pear jam, pickled okra, a candle, raspberry soap, okra (there is only about 1/4 of it in the picture), peaches (there are only about 1/6 of them in the picture), cucumbers, and eggplant (H called it a big olive), and we also got a lot of corn... I am thinking up some good meals....

Wordless Wednesday

I know that it is not Wednesday anymore...
I had planned to post this yesterday, but, it was one of those days...

Brothers

Brother of mine

I could be no prouder

I could love you no more

I will always be here for you.

No matter what occurs -

No matter what is said or done

I will never be too far away

You’ll always be in my heart.

Brother of mine

I made something!

Nothing glamorous, technically difficult or particularly pretty...

I just feel very accomplished that I made something other than supper. I think it took me about 4 months at the very least before I was sewing anything after H was born.

So, I thought I'd share!

A freezer bag for all the milk I've been making (I won't post a picture of that!).
An appropriate fabric choice, I think. It won't get mistaken for anything else and it has an elastic opening so you can easily slip the milk bags in once they are frozen.

Swaddling blankets for this boy who likes to be swaddled! Just squares of muslin with a little bit of decorative stitching around the edges. Nothing fancy, but he seems to approve. Since discovering that he only likes to be swaddled in blankets, not the swaddlers, I realized that I needed some lightweight (not flannel) blankets appropriate for summer.

And a little fabric envelope for some neat flash cards that GrandMissy gave H. Something to keep them together, and easy for little hands to open and close.



So, nothing fancy, and all very practical. I just thought I should document the fact that I actually made something. It feels good to be creating a little bit again!