February 1, 2010

How I Fold a Cloth Diaper

I know this has all been done before but, since Leigh Ann and I have been discussing it in the comments on this post, I thought maybe someone somewhere might be interested in what I have to say about it.

This is not the only way to fold a diaper; it is not the “right” way:  it is only my way.  Something that has finally made cloth diapering “click” for me is realizing that I have to do it in the way that works for me – without following arbitrary rules.  I was wondering why it’s suddenly working for me this time around and that is a big part of it.  Remember that it is just a bit of fabric meant to catch waste – it’s not a big mystery.

Anyway, this method of folding works on my 20-something pound six-month-old and would probably not work well on a small baby.

Meet the diapers.

flatfold diaper

prefold diaper

Fold the prefold into thirds along the seams.

Lay the prefold in the center of the flatfold.

Fold up the bottom corners of the flatfold to make a triangle.

Put your cantaloupe or your baby's bottom on the diaper.

Fold up the center point of the triangle.

Fold in the two wings.

Secure with a Snappi.

I’d love to show you the securing with the Snappi part but it is a two-handed operation, at least for me, and I was taking photos with one hand.  :)

For the sake of honesty I must also tell you that I am incorporating some EC during the day and that I usually use a disposable at night.

January 31, 2010

Something New

I’m playing around with a new craft blog.  Here it is.

January 25, 2010

it’s genetic

January 22, 2010

Chores and Allowance with Littles

My kids get paid to brush their teeth.  OK, that’s an exaggeration.  My two oldest get paid to brush their teeth.

My children, who are very young, have chores.  Because they are so young, their chores are very basic and mainly having to do with personal care.

These are our chore cards.*  Three are for my younger son, and four are for my oldest.  My husband and I made these ourselves.  

(Please excuse the poor quality of the photo – my battery died before I could get a good shot.  It took me too long to figure out why there was a reflection when I had shut off the flash – it’s the chandelier over the table.)

Once a week my children get an allowance which is only vaguely tied them having done their chores.  I know there are competing theories about this and I really don’t care all that much about that debate so I’m going to leave it alone.  (yay me!)

My younger son puts all of his money into one jar.  Really, I probably wouldn’t even have such a formal system with him except that he MUST do everything his older brother does.  My oldest is required to divide his money into three jars:  give, save, spend.  The give jar is ten percent off the top and the save jar is thirty.  Then there’s the spend jar.  He can put the rest of his money into this jar and spend it whenever and on whatever he is able.  BUT.  Recently we began to encourage him to think about whether or not he’d like to put additional money, from his spendable amount, into the give and save jars.  Today he decided he’d like to give more.

give, save, spend and Harry Helper

Like most systems, it works if I work it.  If I forget to lay out the chore cards or don’t take time to talk about the hurting people in the world who need our help, then the system breaks down a little.  Like most things involving children, being consistent is important.

I’d like to also mention that the first time my oldest got his allowance, he wanted to spend it right away.  So we went to the store and there was VERY LITTLE that he could afford with the pittance we pay him.  Great big tears welled up in his eyes.  He did not throw a tantrum or display any act of temper – but he was hugely disappointed.  It was so very hard for me not to bail him out.  What I did do was put my arms around him tell him that I understood how disappointed he must be and that I have felt that way myself at times.  I explained that we could go home and he could save his money longer, he could ask for something for Christmas or his birthday, or we could look for something less expensive.  He absolutely did not want a gift; he wanted to buy something with his own money that he earned.  We eventually found a small car that he could pay for himself.  Most new toys lose favor quickly but this one and the next one he really saved up for are still special to him.

And that’s how it goes around here.

*I got the idea from Mrs. G. writing for The Pioneer Woman’s homeschooling section.

January 17, 2010

Haiti

What if it were MY baby alone and in pain under the rubble?  Crying for Mommy and Daddy, hurt, frightened, hungry, thirsty?

Lord be merciful.  Holy Spirit, please comfort the hurting.  Please save.  Please don’t hold back miracles.

Give me a heart of compassion and wisdom to know how to act, what to do.  Use me, Lord.

January 10, 2010

makeovers and marital aids

This post contains some adult content.

I think I have nothing to write but I have found that if I just start, then bits of flotsam wash ashore.  It is mostly inconsequential flotsam, but it is mine and since I am one of only a few readers, that’s alright then, isn’t it?

I was thinking recently about reinventing myself.  It is OK, I suppose, to want to dress a little better, put on a bit of lipstick, but a total reinventing?  Is that really even possible?  Wouldn’t that be more of a mask than a true reinvention?  And wouldn’t that be completely inauthentic?  And who would be the real person?  And why would I want to do that?  For whose benefit?  I’m thinking that “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”  And I’m thinking that I’d like my reinvention to come from being daily changed into the image of Christ.  I’m thinking of being changed into that same image from glory to glory.

In other news, I had to cancel a catalogue today.  Have you ever heard of Vermont Country Store?  They sell linens and old-fashioned candy, steel reinforced undergarments and clotheslines.  And now they sell vibrators:  a fairly wide assortment of buzzing d**dos.  I am not, strictly speaking, against such devices necessarily, but catalogues with pictures of them must come wrapped in brown paper so that I am duly warned.  Seriously, I just don’t want pictures of fake penises lying around for my kids to find.

Well, that’s all the excitement around here these days.  Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.

January 7, 2010

Learning to fly

I was trying to get some time alone organizing my bedroom when I heard my oldest call from his bedroom where he was playing with his brother, “Mom, we’re practicing flying!”  What I found was two beds pushed close together, with only about an eighteen inch gap between them, and two boys flying from one bed to the other.

I said, “Oh boy,” and walked away to put the baby down for a nap.  I wonder if I should have stopped them but it  was a huge hurdle not to freak out over the moved furniture and completely toy-strewn floor.  And I say no to so many things and they weren’t being “bad” but they were just using up some winter energy.  As long as they don’t get hurt, I’ll think I made the right decision.

What would you have done?

January 2, 2010

The Babysitter

January 1, 2010

A New Reading List for the New Year

Those things I have which can’t really be called resolutions as I am not truly resolved and could only be called goals in a very loose sense, and so must henceforth be named wishes, involve mostly reading more and better books and developing a more active prayer life.  (This is also the year I lose the weight and finally get organized!  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

During the next few months, I’ll be reading:

I also plan to read A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift and the U.S. Constitution.

and that takes care of the first three to six months.

There are many, many other books and essays on my list but it would be completely unrealistic and unpleasant to try to rush through them.  Let’s just say, though, that by April I’ll be ready for something breezy.

December 29, 2009

What’s a fetus?