Cloth Diapering

For those who don't know already, we cloth diaper in this house. When I talk to friends or co-workers, I get a lot of reactions, saying "Wow, that's hardcore." Then I state to them that they have come a LONG way from rubber pants and prefolds.

The kind we use are Bum Genius 4.0 one size pocket diaper with snaps. Before I made the investment, I talked with several mommies about their experience using and if they were happy with the system. I didn't get a single buyers regret. This took me to Craigslist to see if I could find any used. Turns out, it was hard to find any of the one size modern day kinds. This showed me that mommies use them and love them over and over from kid to kid.

Investment
The retail cost of one of these is 18.00. This shocks a lot of people. Yet if you calculate the money spent over birth to potty training, these will pay themselves off by the first year (all depending how many are in your stash). Then you can reuse them for the next child! I love not having worry about running out of diapers in the middle of the night or the chunk of money being taken out of our grocery budget. Not to mention the fewer cases of blowouts and rash issues. There are other cheaper alternatives out there. This is just what we knew about at the time. It all depends on your preferences, family needs and lifestyle. Not to mention them being daddy friendly.


Commons myths

I don't have the time to be doing all that extra laundry
       1 minute spent loading diapers into machine for cold water rinse
       30 sec spent adding special detergent to hot/cold cycle with second rinse
       1 minute spent loading into dryer

What about those poopy diapers?
       The wonderful invention of the diaper sprayer! When solids are introduced, removing the waste is needed  
       before washing them. All you do is take to the toilet and use the sprayer which attaches to the back of the
       toilet plumbing and spray it off. This takes all of 1 min to complete and we do it after each poopy.

What if you are away from the house?
       We use a "wet bag" which is a nylon or plastic coated bag for storing dirty diapers or even for accident
       ridden clothes.

How To Be A Mom Monday

When changing your child, they might find it to be the perfect time to exercise his or her talents of artistic expression. Pallets may include your long sleeve shirt sleeves.

Nuff said

Tea for One

Here is a photo opt that I haven't seen done much. At least with an infant. After all the work done in the studio, the weather cleared up and on impulse grabbed a tea cup and very soft blue blanket (it had rained a lot of the week prior) I guess you could say that I am trying to get as much mileage as I can out of this yard sale tutu. Now watch my daughter turn into a tom boy just like her mother and have to wait till prom to get her in a frilly dress! 

Christmas Cards

In case you haven't noticed......but Christmas isn't all that far off. From planning what family will travel to who, winter breaks for the kiddies and a list of "to do" adding up; its hard to find time in getting those pesky Christmas cards out in the mail. Now I have no problem with the traditional card sent, but after opening it and maybe placing it up on the wall for a brief time.....there isn't much incentive to hold on to it. This is why I LOVE the photo greeting cards. Its a great way to get a new picture of the family or loved ones that you can stick on the fridge all year long. Then you can save it for the photo album (if those still exist).

Here is an example at what I am pretty sure will be sent out this year. It would be the first time doing it for our family. I have taken the liberty of making my own template instead of paying a lot more money for the panoramic pre-designed ones offered at various photo depts. If you don't have a design program, simply take a  4x6 card and cut/paste your photos and use festive scrap booking supplies to make it your own. Then take, get scanned....viola!

Fun in the Studio

Well, Momma had some fun in the studio this Saturday with tutu in hand for the 6 months shoot of little Eliza. What a difference 3 months is when trying to get a smile out. No problem this time! And with only a few breaks in between to check lighting and change clothes, I would say it was pretty successful.

Here is my little rolly polly at the last shoot.

Search me for a content heart

We all go through different seasons of life at different times than others. Some good.....some not so good.....and some last longer than they would like.

You could say that my thoughts and feelings lay with in the that latter. Working in ministry comes at many hidden costs of ones life. When those who reached Jesus and asked to follow him, he obliged. Except there were matters they wanted/needed to take up before following. Not too many would argue their reasons for requesting a little more time to take care of these matters. Yet we are called all the same to give up all our personal desires in order to fully follow.

My moving around has required me to leave some pretty awesome friendships/relationships in a long distance category. Sure there is Facebook, but it doesn't measure up to in face person to person time. I miss my church college group dearly. We've moved on from college, into careers and marriages and yet they still meet up in a new group each Sunday after the main service. It was still a cost when living on the west coast, but much less inconvenient to make it happen.

Then there is my creative side. I have many interests in different art medias. From oils to photography, I find the skies the limit in what can be created and captured. A lot of my recent work has been centered around my daughter. In capturing children the challenge is getting a fast enough shutter speed in relation to the amount of light available. I have not been able to make much of any real investment into my camera gear since living in California. To this day, I still use the first hot light set bought in my early college days when needing to get a Fila shoe product shot for Ad Campaign I. When I look at pictures taken in studio, I can tell the difference compared to a newer light kit. Not to mention many pictures deleted because of an overall blur or blurred body part. Frustration abounds.

If only I could be blessed with enough work to allow me to invest in updated equipment. If only we had the extra income to make traveling a more regular thing of vacations where I could have that quality face time with those I still love and still want to be a part of the new seasons they are embarking upon. If only my husband could be blessed with an awesome job with great benefits and our debt could start melting away like an ice cream cone on a hot summers day.

It makes me wonder when the break in the storm will ever come.

And in the midst of this all, I know I am still blessed with so much despite these situations. So I pray for contentment for this season of life.

6 Months!

Oh how the time flies! Here we are sitting on our favorite chair for our month by month picture. Mommy will break out the fun costumes and camera equipment this Saturday on her day off. Otherwise doing a shoot by herself after going to MOPS and working is just a bit too much for one day. Here's hoping the weather cooperates for a few out in the yard.

Enjoy our happy half birthday!

How to be a Mom Monday

Lesson:
When laying baby on your stomach while laying in bed....turn head towards husbands side of the bed. Or be prepared with a burp cloth between your boobs and around your neck. Multiple burps prior does not mean you're out of the woods!

What is on and off the menu

Solids for the most part are going quite well. After finding a solution to the carrots (mixed in canned pumpkin), she has taken to them with out a problem. Even when mixing them in with other foods like cooked apples from our visit to the orchards.

After I've cooked the large batch of a particular food, they go right into the freezer in ice cube trays. I highly recommend OXO Ice Cube Tray with sliding lid. After frozen, they are popped into freezer bags with a label and date. This makes it easy to mix and match different flavor combinations. When ready to serve, microwave a few cubes for 30-40 seconds until desirable temp is achieved.

Sweet Potato & Pumpkin
Carrots & Sweet Potato
Apple & Carrots
Apple & Oat Meal
Oat Meal & Sweet Potato
Apple & Pear
Pear & Cereal
Pear/Apple & Cinnamon
....and the easy favorite: Mashed Bananas!

I hope to introduce green beans by the end of the week. Although feeling a little discouraged after the Gerber Garden Vegetable was given the "ick" face. I don't blame her, as I don't like peas either.

But the biggest fight as of late would be taking the bottle for me or my husband......

Last night, after fussing and fighting with the bottle before bed, I walked to the front door, said good bye, opened and closed it and pretended to leave the house. By leaving I mean going off to the office. After some more crying and throwing on Veggie Tales. she took it.

Now if ONLY we could get her to take it in the night from my husband so mommy could actually catch a break.

Something tells me weaning her from the boob is going to be quite the challenge!

Apple Picking

I couldn't resist posting this after we went to Windy Hill Farms for some fall apple harvesting. We of course forgot the child carrier, but in the end we spent a good chunk of the time taking pictures of her enjoying the grass and apples. The weather for this fall thus far has been quite nice. At the end, we were hot and sweaty after all the walking around and hauling our loot and baby. Homemade apple sauce and other treats will be in the queue of my baking for sure if we are to use our half bushel of apples.

Baby Food

With the introduction of solids, we have ventured outside of rice cereal and into some new tastes. This has prompted me to get creative and bring down the costs of having a baby by making my own.

Funny thing is, once you get started, its hard to stop. Yesterday it was apple sauce and pears. Next I want to try sweet potatos and maybe green beans. After my notions of her getting tired of the rice, I switched to oatmeal which seems to be a winner.

What else have you made/tried with your sweet peas?