Cloth Diapering... The first of many installments

One of the things I have been wanting to talk about on the blog for a long time is cloth diapering. This is definitely geared toward women who are mommies or those about to become mommies, but to be truthful I learned how to cloth diaper way before kids were even on my radar. In fact, knowing about (and having experience with) cloth diapers before I was a mom is where my enthusiasm for cloth diapering came from!

Before I get too deep into the cloth diapering topic though, I'd love to know... Where do you stand with cloth diapers? Have you used them? Do you love them? Do you hate them? Are you the type of person that thinks, I could never do that! ?

No matter what type of person you are, I would love to share my personal experience with cloth diapers. I hope that I can answer questions you have and just introduce you to these concepts (if you don't already use them or have decided against them)... and maybe at the very least when asked by a friend, "How do I find out about cloth diapers?" You can direct them here.

So let me share my very first experience with cloth diapers. I have been baby-sitting for a family I know (first in their home, now in mine) for three years now and when I first started with them they used disposable diapers for the first month or two. I loved taking care of this nine month old baby! (I still love taking care of her now as a toddler:) ) Then one morning I came to work and the mom tells me they are trying out cloth diapers to see how they like them since it could save them so much money. She demonstrated how to do one (it didn't look too difficult to me) but assured me that if it proved to be too complicated I was welcome to continue using disposables.

Enter the first wet diaper and my need to change little girl's diaper... I quickly realized that this was more complicated than it looks! I had NO idea what I was doing. There sat a stack of disposable diapers next to me and I remember thinking to myself, "I can't use all of these disposable diapers, they're doing this to save money! I can't be the babysitter that causes them to have to buy tons of diapers all the time. I'm going to figure this out."

In spite of the fact that the parents are very laid back- they would never be upset with me if I thought this was too difficult- I was determined.

I don't remember if I used a disposable or managed to get the cloth on somehow, but during the baby's nap I got on the family's laptop and Googled "how to use cloth diapers" and found this website. I watched every video there and read every piece of information I could find on how to use cloth diapers. There were diagrams of how to fold cloth diapers and even videos on how to use snappi's. (These are what you use now instead of diaper pins- unless you want to use diaper pins!)

When baby girl woke up from her nap she laid patiently on the changing table while I tried all the different methods of folding pre-fold diapers (I will explain all the different types of diapers in another post) until I found a method that worked. It was nice that she was an accommodating baby who laid still for ever diaper change practically her whole diapered life. (I know that is rare.)

And even though I didn't do it exactly the same way the mom had shown me that morning, when the parents came home I was proudly able to tell them I had done fine with the whole cloth diaper thing. Their baby-sitter was not a reason that cloth diapers wouldn't work. I had accomplished my mission. :)

And that is my first experience with cloth diapers. It was a good experience (I felt a little like a Super Nanny), but it also wasn't necessarily a personal choice. My first experience with cloth was a service to someone else, so I'm sure that made a big difference in my attitude about them (in a good way).

So tell me, do you have a first or funny experience with cloth diapers? And don't forget to give me your opinion on cloth diapering!

*Green Mountain diapers has in no way given me compensation for bragging about them in this post. In fact, I have paid outright for ALL my baby's diapers from there since before she was born. :)

Habit Update

Here is the habit update for how I'm doing on week #2 of my second round of habit forming. (Was that confusing yet?)

Here's the chart...


Successes:

I did laundry and dishes five days out of seven... whoot whoot for a less chaotic house!

Epic Fails:

Oh bed time, how you haunt me... You are the thorn in my side. I either forget all about you or desperately hate you. Why do I hate going to bed "early"? I have no idea- I just do.

Do you know what else I hate though? Waking up at 7am after not getting enough sleep. It just plain stinks. A little insight to that chart, you see the two days I actually went to bed on time? I was so tired from a week of staying up past 10:30pm that I finally desperately wanted to get some rest.

I should also add that I haven't found as much time to conquer the little loose ends in my life this week. 3 days out of 7 isn't exactly an epic fail, but it isn't great either. It's so easy to get distracted and forget to focus on these things.

Conclusion, with the start of school, foster care training and fall kicking into gear it is much more difficult to focus on changing my habits. But I am not giving up, I will keep on trucking and trying to focus on changing my weaknesses a little at a time.

I am so thankful for you (5?) readers that keep me accountable about doing this. Especially this second time around, I would have thrown in the towel in the midst of all the busyness if I didn't have you guys waiting for these updates. So thank you for taking the time to keep coming back.

Love, Rachel

Dining Room Corner

And now for more in the decluttering adventures...

There is a corner in my dining room that has become a true clutter spot. You know the clutter that eventually becomes invisible (to you) and you just don't see it anymore? Well, this was such a clutter spot that even my 17 month old daughter (who is into everything) does not notice it anymore.

Here it is:

And close up:


The spot started out as a stack of cook books that lost their home when I moved a bookshelf around. Then it grew to include other random items... leftover plates, napkins, candles, silverware from a baby shower, fabric, ribbons, thank you cards and books... and a bag of things I'm not going to keep.

Here are some visuals:


So after throwing things away and sorting like piles together, I was left with this:



I put everything else away and managed to find the cook books a new home...



And now my corner looks like this!


Don't you just breathe easier now? I do...

The beginning...

A few weeks ago, I made a phone call. A very important phone call. One that will change our lives forever.

Christian and I scheduled our first home visit to begin our requirements to become foster parents!

After making the call, I was giddy. Elated. Had butterflies in my stomach! After 10 months of waiting for the right time to do this, we finally feel that it is here. Who honestly gets excited about foster care? Apparently we do.

I went around with a smile on my face the rest of the afternoon after that phone call. House work was suddenly more like "nesting," my thoughts were completely on preparing for a new life to enter our home. We would love for this to be a child's forever home- "fostering to adopt" is what we are hoping to do.

Soon I will write about our thought process of beginning foster care, but right now I just wanted to let you all know about it and ask for your prayers. We know that fostering is a crazy, topsy-turvy process. There are many friends of ours on this journey right now and I am not in the dark about the joys and difficulties that foster parents go through. However, for us it is worth it. As a friend of mine has said, "The right thing to do isn't always the easy thing, is it?"

Last night we began our training and started learning things like skills we need as foster parents and what the foster care system is like through the eyes of the child. We are learning so much, but I am already anxious to be through this process and ready to take on a child.

God has asked us to travel this road, and both Christian and I couldn't be more passionate about loving and providing for a child who is in desperate need of both.

Decorating and the Redskins

Awhile ago, I made myself a short house list. I love going back to read it because most of the things on it are simple and quick fixes. They remind me that with a little bit of focus, I can really change some things in my house. I haven't done any of these things yet... but just reading the list is inspiring.

I've been keeping this list in the back of my mind though, and even asked the hubby if I could spend $25 on a project for the house this month (I figured that $25 would easily knock out at least one small item on that list).

While I haven't done anything on the list for myself yet, I did manage to make a wreath for my mother-in-law as a birthday gift. It's nothing like what I want to make for myself, but it is a fun fall wreath.


Here's what I used. A Styrofoam/plastic wreath form from Michael's, 2 rolls of wide brown ribbon, colored twine, a pumpkin/foliage stem, 5 ft of berry garland, a roll of ivory ribbon and a box of 100 quilter's T-shaped pins. I forgot to save the receipt, but the whole thing came in at under $30. Not bad for a totally customized wreath!

For this project I used no glue or adhesive at all. Here's what I did...

Step 1. Wrap ribbon around wreath, securing with quilter's pins. (I made sure to put a pin in then cover it with ribbon.)

Step 2. Cut berry garland to fit.

Step 3. Wrap berry garland with colored twine and secure colored twine with quilting pins.

Step 4. Place pumpkin foliage in the right place and wrap stem with colored twine. Secure twine with quilting pins.

Step 5. Use ivory ribbon to create a hook on the top and a bow near the pumpkin foliage.

Estimated time spent- 30 minutes

I figure that if my mother-in-law likes this fall themed wreath, I can always make her a winter one, a spring one, a 4th of July one... well, you get the idea.

Other items of interest. We are Redskins fans at my house. Here is my girl sporting her Redskins jersey for the first time this season.



I just couldn't resist putting a couple of super-cute pictures of her up tonight. Is it just me or is she just too adorable??

Okay... Going back to the house list that I made, I have been paying attention to DIY art on Pinterest. Here are some ones that I have been considering for the bathroom...

Bathroom Art Option #1


Bathroom Art Option #2



And my personal favorite, Bathroom Art Option #3


Of course all the colors, patterns, etc would be totally customizable. So feel free to weigh in and give me your opinion. Which one is your favorite? And while we're at it, what was the best gift you ever gave your mother-in-law for her birthday? Who is your favorite NFL football team, and did you see the Redskins on Sunday... WOW! :)

Later this week I will have an update on how round 2 of the habits are going and some de-cluttering updates!

September Habits #1

Here is my first update on my second round of habits. I apologize for the lack of posting lately. Is the fall back-to-school time hectic for everyone or just me? We have been very busy getting back into the swing of things. I hope to share in a post soon all the things we have been up to lately. In the meantime, let's focus on habit forming!




Successes:

• There were already 2 times that I was able to complete every new habit in the same day.
• I was able to spend a lot of time "following through" with things that had been on my to-do list for a long time. That was a liberating feeling!
• Going to bed at 10:30pm 3 nights out of 7 made me feel a lot more rested.
• I was impressed that it wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be to keep up with washing dishes and washing/drying laundry

Areas needing improvement

• While I am getting good at being sure to wash and dry the laundry, I remain not-so-good at folding it and putting it away.
• Going to bed at 10:30 for 3 nights was great, but after many nights of staying up late (which I really like doing), I am feeling tired again. This re-emphasizes to me that I really need to value and commit to this habit!

Overall, I felt like this week was pretty successful. Thanks for helping me stay on track while I form some new habits. They are really starting to make a difference in my house, life and family.

Love, Rachel

Morning or Night?

**In my best announcer's voice** We apologize for the interruption to our regularly scheduled program (de-cluttering, working on new habits and playroom problem solving) to bring you a little something you didn't expect... A personality quiz.

Okay, I'm not an announcer... and this isn't a quiz... But I do have a question for you.

Which are you- a morning person or a night person?

I love this discussion because people are usually so strongly one or the other. Take me for example. I am DEFINITELY a night person. No question. In the morning, I am irritable. I am tired. I cannot problem solve. The only thing that wakes me up is a shower taken in the semi-dark bathroom. After that I am fine. If I don't get a shower then I am half groggy all day long... until dinner time. Then when the sun goes down I go all nocturnal. Every day like clockwork at 9:30 or 10pm, Christian looks at me slightly annoyed and says, "You are such a night person." Then I realize I have begun talking... and talking and talking, while my morning-person-husband's brain is shutting down, struggling to process my very fast and active thought processes. At night, my brain goes crazy into creative mode (I thought about the idea to write this post last night right before I went to bed) and it is hard to shut off. I am ready for fun at night. I am ready to clean the house at night. I am ready to do basically anything... except sleep.

Then there is my darling baby Melody. (Who is not a baby anymore. I've really got to stop calling her that. :) ) She is a morning person (like her Daddy) and at 7 AM the girl is up. She doesn't need to do anything to wake up. She just wakes up. She doesn't need wake-up snuggles, she is just happy and ready to play. She and her daddy are cute in the morning. They are each others' favorite people at that time of day. At 7 am, you will find me dozing on the couch or rocking chair while M plays with her toys or wandering around listlessly trying to wake up. Maybe I'm in the dark shower if Christian is feeding Melody her breakfast for me.

That's where I was this morning when he thought it was a good idea to bring Melody to say hi to Mommy. I was so annoyed. After all, it is the morning- it is my shower. I will be with this girl all day- can I not take my shower in peace? Isn't the bathroom where mommies go to be alone? "You are frustrating me so much this morning!" I snapped.

He's a morning person. He didn't understand why I was so frustrated. Post-shower, I realized that I was only frustrated because my brain was still in the OFF position.

Not only does morning v. night orientation affect my mood at different times of the day, it also affects what I remember. Did I have a conversation with you in the morning? Chances are I put it in the back of my mind the rest of the day, and it may get lost back there! Devotions in the morning? At lunch time, I probably couldn't tell you what I read or what I prayed.

Devotions at night though- I will be thinking about those all day the next day. I will wake up thinking about them.

So I guess I'm not totally straying from my flow of posts lately since one of the reasons I am thinking about these things is because of my new going to bed by 10:30pm habit. I have definitely been better rested this week (for the most part) and I don't wake up AS tired after getting 7-8 hours of sleep, but I know that my night time orientation will probably never change. Just like my husband will always be a morning person, I will always be a night person.

Do you know what else is a little comical? I LOVE being a night person. My husband LOVES being a morning person. We both think the other one is missing out- haha!

Anyway, what I am most interested in here is - What are you? Morning or Night? Do you love it? Do you wish it were different? Do you have to go against your own grain sometimes to fulfill your responsibilities?

Thanks for satisfying a curious friend :)

Love, Rachel