Cloth diaper dude

While I was pregnant with Audrey, I started thinking about cloth diapering. But everything I read was so confusing, and I had no idea what all the different options were. And I wasn't any closer to deciding when she was born, and then I was already using disposables, so I felt like the investment wouldn't pay off.

Fast forward to now. Of course, if I'd started using cloth over two years ago, they would have paid for themselves by now, and using them with Quentin would have been virtually free.

So when my friend decided to give cloth a try, I picked her brain - I learned all of the jargon, and figured out what I would want. While I don't believe all the hyperbole about the cost savings (I really do not spend $1000/year on diapers), or even the environmental effect (cloth diapers still need to be made and washed), I do believe there is some benefit.

The day of Quentin's four-month well-visit, I stopped by a local children's shop and purchased a few to test out. Tell me these aren't the cutest diapers you've ever seen!


I love them, but I discovered that they were a little more expensive than the ones I really wanted (that aren't available at the local shop), and availability was hit or miss. I wanted to support the local economy, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted around here, so I ended up ordering Fuzzi Bunz from Squishy Tushy, out of Blissfield, Michigan. I love the fun colors!


I thought that maybe cloth would be a pain because of the extra laundry and more frequent changes, but the adjustment has been minimal. I wash a load at night, and stuff and fold them to be ready in the morning. Quentin and Audrey wear the same size, so I don't have to worry about sorting them, which is very nice. I change each's diaper once more per day than with disposables, and they both are so much more pleasant during the change so they go quicker, so it hasn't taken that extra time that I feared. They are bulkier than disposables, so I can't fit as many in the diaper bag, but I almost never need more than one change per kid in an outing anyway. If I plan on being out longer, I just stick more in a plastic bag and keep that in the van.

Overall, I love using cloth. Maybe I'm not saving that much money, and maybe they're not as good for the environment as some people claim, but my kids are happier in them, and they're so cute! One last picture:

Tulips!

Monte came home from work Wednesday with a bouquet of tulips for me. Just because. When I asked him why he brought me flowers, Isaac piped up, "Because he loves you!" Awww. Monte says at least we're doing a good job modeling love.

I once commented that receiving flowers for Valentine's Day seemed like such a waste of money, considering flowers are so much cheaper every other time of year. He finally realized a couple of months ago that I was trying to say he could spend that money on flowers more frequently throughout the year, rather than all at once on an over-priced Valentine's bouquet.

Anyway, they are gorgeous, and I love having fresh flowers in the house, especially with this beautiful weather!

Cookie Day!

What is Christmas without cutout sugar cookies? Nevermind that I don't even like sugar cookies, or icing, or sprinkles all that much, but it's a quintessential Christmas tradition, and I had to make cookies with my kids.

Of course, not being a Christmas cookie fan, I didn't have good cookie cutters. OK, I do have a nativity set that doesn't really look like a nativity set, and besides, I wanted the tree and candy cane and stocking - you know, the true meaning of Christmas ;). So I spent quite a bit of time trying to find Christmas shapes. Finally found a set of 100 shapes (all seasons and holidays, not just Christmas) for $10 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, so we were all set to make cookies.

So, we invited friends over to help make and decorate Christmas cookies Tuesday. The kids all helped make the dough (I have four different recipes, so I picked the easiest one, for which I actually had all the ingredients). Silly me, though, I forgot that the dough needs to chill for an hour before rolling our, so we had a bit of dead time. But that gave Isaac and Ben a chance to run around and burn off energy, and we also had time for lunch.

After lunch, it was time to roll out the dough and cut out the shapes. Isaac and his best friend Ben participated for a bit, but then they got bored, so they played while Audrey and Zach (Ben's brother) used the cutters. They had so much fun!




Then it was time to decorate. I like the ease of tub frosting, but I love the look of royal icing. So I made the icing, and added food coloring, so we were all set to beautify our fun Christmas shapes. The kids had a blast decorating their cookies! Zach ate them as soon as he decorated them, Ben and Isaac decorated all of theirs, and then started eating them, and Audrey just wanted to look at the pretty cookies, and clean up messes as they happened. When she was all finished, she ate the icing and sprinkles off her snowman, so we had to redo it. She still hasn't eaten an actual cookie.





Quentin slept through the entire process.

Welcome winter!

The great thing about kids is their excitement over snow. No matter how yucky it is to drive in, or the hassle of shoveling, or the freezing temperatures, kids love to play in the snow. And somehow their excitement catches, and I go outside and enjoy pulling them in the sled, or throwing snowballs, or sticking my tongue out to catch snowflakes. Or the best backyard snow activity of all, building a snowman!

Here's our first creation this season:

Advent in the Herford home

Growing up, I don't recall our family or church celebrating Advent. I don't recall Advent calendars or wreaths, lighting of candles, or even a basic countdown to Christmas day. Somehow, even without Advent traditions in our home, we learned about Christmas and what it really means for us as Christians.

I may sometimes decry the materialism of Christmas, but let's face it - I love getting gifts. My kids love getting gifts. And that's OK. I just want them to discover that giving is fun, too. I love decorating the tree (a pagan tradition *gasp*), but beyond just making it pretty, we can make it significant.

So maybe as I raise my kids, our tree becomes less perfect in its display, but more perfect as I spend time with the family making it our own. The conversations that we have while decorating, buying gifts, and wrapping them can be about what Christmas means to us. But one thing I've learned about myself is that good intentions don't always work the way that I want unless I'm very intentional in the execution.

So I've decided to give in to Advent traditions, and create an Advent tree for the kids. Each day will include an activity to prep us for Christmas. One day, we may learn a Christmas carol, another day we may wrap gifts, and another day we may create pieces for the nativity. I am hoping that this will give me focus as I teach my kids about Jesus's birth, and what we're really celebrating.