I confess that I really didn't mean to be MIA for a week!
I confess that now that Caleb is for sure going to Special Forces selection in late November, I am getting nervous about it for him. I REALLY hope that he gets selected!
I confess that this weekend we were trying to figure out which language he would like to learn (and rank them) and where we would like to be stationed (and rank them), I started getting scared about the future (and all of the deployments)! Up until now, I have been nothing but excited!
I confess that I really am a germaphobe! I first realized it when I had to work in a daycare room, and then again while babysitting for a friend's kids (who were coughing and one had a fever). Sickness, please stay away from my baby girl!
YUCK!!!!!!
I confess that we have not yet gone to a pumpkin patch. I wanted to do that next Sunday, but I remembered yesterday that Caleb has Staff Duty from 9am Sunday to 9am Monday.
I confess that we could do the pumpkin patch on Saturday, but that is also the day of my church's Fall Fun Day. It is a craft day where I was planning on working on my scrapbook (that I desperately need to catch up on). I hope we get to go to the pumpkin patch as a family sometime before Halloween so that we can carve them!
Wish I could carve like this... but this will be my first time carving, so we shall see!!
I confess that I remembered what day it was so I was able to call my dad on his birthday... and know it was his birthday! Haha!
I confess that I wanted to wait until Clara was 6 months to start solid foods, but she keeps eyeballing our food so I think she is ready. Sorry Mom, I think we might be starting sooner than we thought!
I confess that the fact that my computer can zoom in and out when the mouse is hit in a certain way is REALLY annoying me!! I am not blind so I don't need it THIS BIG!! Gah!!!
I confess that I ALMOST (comfortably) fit in my pre-pregnancy pants. I have to specify comfortably because I can get into them and button them, but I don't think it would turn out great if I tried to sit down.
I confess that my quest to fit into my pre-pregnancy pants has left me SUPER sore!
Both of these I TOTALLY recommend!! Make sure you have 3 pound weights and get ready to feel the burn and sweat!!
I confess that this is kind of working out like a Weekend Wrap-up... pretty cool!
This weekend, I had Caleb home for 4 days!! It was great to have him around to help me. I am realizing more and more everyday that he is such a great dad!!
Clara is as cute as ever! However, I think she has a cold/is getting teeth. I think a cold because her voice sounds funny and her nose is runny. I think teeth because I saw a white line in her gums the other day, she is drooling a lot, her nose is runny, she had a fever the other night, she is fussier than usual, and her gums seem swollen. Both are plausible and both need to hurry up and leave my little girl alone!!
We found a show on National Geographic Channel called Rocket City Rednecks. It is pretty awesome! I love that they are such rednecks and sound like they shouldn't be smart, but yet they are physicists and rocket scientists! You should check it out!
Both of my apple pies from the Fort Riley Apple Pie Day are gone already!! But, that is kind of what we were wanting since too much apple pie will cause me to gain my pregnancy weight back instead of getting back down to my pre-pregnancy weight!!
Thank you Kaarin, Meghan, and Chris for coming over Saturday to watch the Mizzou-KSU game. Yes, I realize Mizzou looked horrible... but they are still my team. Play better next game boys!
It is finally not as windy as it had been and Sookie has FINALLY calmed down! SO glad!! She was getting a bit ridiculous!
On a happy note with Clara, she is starting to scoot backwards on her back and eat her toes!!
I confess that I used Adrien's blog to get ideas for confessions... haha!
I confess that I went to The Children's Place last night and bought cute clothes (on clearance and with a coupon) even though she has PLENTY of clothes!
I confess that I REALLY want a MacBook Pro, but Caleb doesn't want to get a second computer (or a Mac). I used Steve Jobs' death to bring it up, but it is still a no go. Grrr...
I confess that I really have a problem remembering to give Clara a bath before bed. If she is tired, I just want to put her to bed!
I confess that I'd REALLY love to get to go to these blogger dates. I will have to let everyone know when I will actually be in town so something can be scheduled! :)
I confess that Clara will be 5 months old in a week, and as much as I like that she is learning new things and bringing me SO much joy, I want her to go back to being little already!
I confess that even though Clara will be 5 months old in a week, she still has only ALMOST rolled over (back to belly) by herself once. And, none at all belly to back. I'm WORRIED!!
I confess that I wish I lived closer to Eckert's. I want to pick fruit and pumpkins with Clara. The pumpkin patches around here just don't seem as good.
Imagine this being a picture of Caleb and Clara. Yeah, I like it too. :)
I confess that I was seriously thinking about possibly making a business out of being a photographer. Then, I went outside and took some pictures. Now, I'm not so sure... I just don't think I'm good enough yet.
I confess that I'm getting my hair cut and dyed tomorrow. I want to have my hair cut differently, but, knowing myself, I will probably end up getting my usual.
I confess that I can tell the girl who cuts my hair that I want my usual and she knows exactly what to do! Is that bad?
I confess that Clara makes the cutest farting sounds with her mouth, and I think she is getting a tooth!
"Don't you have to use pins for cloth diapers?"
"Isn't cloth diapering A LOT of work?"
The answers to both of these questions is NOPE!!
According to some sites, using disposable diapers until your child is potty trained can cost AT LEAST $1600 (the linked site says it costs more). Cloth diapering can cut that cost more than in half!! In fact, everything cloth diaper related that I have has cost a total of LESS THAN $400!! So, what are you waiting for?! (Warning before you go any farther: I use BumGenius, so I know a lot about BumGenius, but not a whole lot about any other brands. The end of this post gives websites where you can learn more about the other brands. Okay, now keep reading!)
I use BumGenius 3.0 and BumGenius 4.0 One-Size diapers on Clara. I have 25 of them, however some people choose to have more in their stash. I know people who send their kids to daycare and are still able to use cloth diapers (they have to have more in that case)!!
Anatomy of a BumGenius diaper.
I chose to use them because I have many friends who use them, so I knew they worked well. And, they will grow with Clara as she grows (up until about 35 pounds).
I was REALLY excited when I saw this picture and discovered that my one-size diapers could possibly also work for littler babies!!
They are SO cute and easy to use! They use elastic and Velcro to fit (they are also available in snaps).
Velcro (or called hook and loop) on the left and snaps on the right
When they are on, they look exactly like disposable diapers... except they come in much prettier designs and colors!!
This is the BumGenius Artist Series (which I have heard rumor that there will be more designs coming in early 2012). They are also available with Velcro.
These are the solid colors available (and there are more rumors of new colors coming in early 2012 as well).
BumGenius diapers are pocket diapers. This means that you can pick the amount of absorbancy your diaper is by stuffing it with inserts (made of microfiber, fleece, terry cloth, hemp, etc).
You can see the pocket that you stuff the inserts into here.
Obviously, when your baby has a dirty diaper, you have to use wipes. I have decided to use cloth wipes as well. They are available to buy, but I made my own out of flannel. You can also buy a wipe solution, or make it as I do.
You can buy this, or my recipe (that I got from Ashley) is: 2 cups water, 1 TBSP baby wash, 1 TBSP baby oil, and a few drops of tea tree oil. (Use just 2 or 3 drops of the tea tree oil... more than that makes them VERY strong!) Once I have made it up, I put it in a spray bottle. I like this because it leaves her skin dry instead of wet like disposable wipes.
Once you have a few dirty diapers, it is best to spray off the diapers to get off most of the poop. I don't spray a diaper if it was just pee or if it has barely any poop on it. And, I use the BumGenius diaper sprayer to do this. My husband (who is no plumber) was able to attach it to our toilet, so it is easy to attach (as long as your toilet doesn't have ANCIENT parts in it)! I have posted a video on how to install it below.
Make sure you know which side the water comes out of... I have sprayed myself in the face before.
I wash my diapers every other day. As I have eluded to in a past Confession Friday post, cloth diapers require special detergents. The detergent you use has to be fragrance, dye, phosphate, optical brightener, and enzyme free. There are lists of detergents you can use if you don't know which one to use. Or, you can use the BumGenius diaper detergent (which is the one I am currently using). After I get done using the box of it that I have, I am going to order Country Save detergent. Country Save powder has the same ingredients as the BumGenius detergent, but it comes in a MUCH bigger box for less money.
Awesome detergent! Which is the same as...
... This detergent.
I have just scratched the surface of cloth diapering, so here are even more sites that have general cloth diapering tips.
BumGenius is the brand that I use, but there are many, MANY more brands
and types of diapers. I don't know much about them, but you can go to
the top four websites below to learn more about them.
Once you have decided to start cloth diapering your child(ren), here are some sites where you can buy them! And, if you can find them on Facebook and "like" them, they will keep you up to date on what coupons are out there... saving you even MORE money!!
**For my St. Louis Area readers, there are not one but TWO Cotton Babies stores in St. Louis. You can go there, ask questions, see diapers in person, and take really cool classes. They sell more than just diapers and more than just Cotton Babies made diapers, too And, Mom's Milk Boutique is in West Frankfort if you want to visit that shop as well! I CANNOT wait to go home and check these out!!**
This weekend was Fort Riley's Post-wide Yard Sales. I got a TON of great deals!! I spent $43 and got MANY scrapbooking items and a whole lot more clothes for Clara. Now, I just need to continue Clara's scrapbook so I can use what I just got! (Are we going to have another scrapbooking day, Celeste and Hannah??)
Hannah and Celeste, I saw this and thought of you two. :)
The rest of the weekend was spent watching college football, NFL, and Cardinals baseball. GO CARDS!! I wore my Cardinal red today in support of them. Can't wait to watch the game on Tuesday!
Today was my very dear friend Hannah's birthday. I had a fun time celebrating with her at Noodles and Company today. I also learned today that if you want a caramel apple from the Coldstone/Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory shop in Manhattan and they don't keep it on hand, you can call ahead and they will make it for you. :)
I got more clothes for Clara from Melanie today (thank you SO much for them!), and between my friend Kaarin and I, we divided them up. I struggled getting the box into the house, and now I can pick it up with no problem! (Kaarin thinks I'm weird for getting so excited that some of the clothes were from Gymboree! Haha!)
I wish I had more to say today, but I don't. It has been a relaxing last few days (I got hour naps on both Saturday and Sunday), but it was a great weekend overall. I hope you all had a good one as well!
