I got crafty!

I've been in a funk off and on for a while now. Nothing puts me in a better mood than working with my hands. After last nights cloth diaper fail (no fun in the family bed), I decided to try something different. I had been using two flat diapers folded together inside a fleece wrap. After reading a thread on nighttime CDing over at GCM, I decided to try and covert one of my size medium prefolds to a fitted diaper. Using instructions found on the net, I got to work. While I was sewing, Mom showed up with my laundry. In the laundry basket was a treasure--a 100% lambswool turtleneck sweater. I began the felting process in our washing machine, and it finished up in my Mom's dryer. I dug it out of the basket, and an hour later, I had a pair of wool longies, that could quite easily be converted to overalls.

I based my pattern on the one found over at indietutes. I had read over the tute a couple of times, so when I got the sweater in hand I just started winging it. I got the idea to remove the turtle neck portion, and attach it at the waist to create an extended waistband. It's tall enough, that all I have to do is attach straps and I'll have overalls.

I might give these a go tonight, even though they haven't been lanolized. These will go over the new fitted diaper (formerly prefold) and a couple of hemp soakers. Maybe an infant prefold too. We shall see.

And while I'm showing off, here's the dress I made for Fidget last week. I used one of the shirts she got from Nana, and a piece of fabric I bought with the intentions of making a doll dress.

I feel...accomplished.

A brief note on change

No time today for a well thought out blog post. I've got 3 sick little ones, two of whom may be visiting the doctor today.

Last month we switched to cloth diapers during the day. Using the diapers themselves made our life no more challenging. Washing the diapers was another issue. Our house is old, and poorly built. Every winter, when the temp drops to freezing, the trap along our washing machines drain line freezes. This means that we can be without a washing machine for up to a week at a time. Right now I have a load worth of dirty diapers and no way to wash them. I'll probably take them down to mom's house tomorrow and wash them.

In spite of the washing difficulties, we've decided that this month we'll be using cloth diapers all the time. At night, and when we're out and about. I'm also aiming to make a few covers, and maybe some cloth diaper friendly pants for the Little Man. If I use what I have to make what I need, then I can save money and reduce my footprint. Yay!

A month in review

Where has the month gone! It's been an emotional roller coaster for my fellow travelers and I. Cancer scare, leaky ceiling, financial ruin, oh my!

Thank God the doctor found no cancer.
Thank God the leaky ceiling hasn't ruined our new floor (yet).
Thank God for His provision.

Here are a few more things I'm thankful for:

My little Fidget turned 5!

Bookie's mad dress up (and silly) skills.

My men.

Being able to work with my hands.

See you in February!

For Haiti...

“Do all the good you can,

by all the means you can,

in all the ways you can,

in all the places you can,

at all the times you can,

to all the people you can,

as long as ever you can.”

John Wesley

My heart aches and breaks for the people of Haiti. I cannot wrap my mind around the devastation. I am anxious to do something to help. We have donated to the UMCOR Haiti Earthquake fund. This week we will gather the supplies to put together health kits. I'm toying with the idea of organizing some sort of fundraiser.

For now, I pray. I pray that those who need help wil receive it. I pray that those who wait for help will not lose hope. I pray that those who are now alone will be comforted. I pray...and my prayers will go on.

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13 NKJV

Please. Do what you can.

Movie Day!

I'm feeling kind of bleh. I've got a little cold starting, and I'm sleep deprived. So today will be a movie day. We generally don't watch tv at home. We have a television, but it's on it's last leg. It's a 13" tv/vcr combo. One of it's speakers blew out a while ago. Our dvd player doesn't work. Not quite sure how that happened. Thank goodness for laptops! If all goes well, we'll cuddle on the bed and watch some Harry Potter, Prince Caspian and maybe some Clifford. The girls have never seen The Lion King. I don't know if I'll risk it. They tend to get rather emotional when watching movies, and Fidget is still having a hard time with her Nana's death.

Hoping and praying for a lazy, peaceful day.

I'm determined

Our cloth diapering adventure is going well. I dug around today and found our other diaper covers. That brings the total up to three. I don't have enough medium prefolds to get me through the day, but I found that I can use the large ones just as well if I flip the end over. Working well.

So, over the last two days I have used a total of four disposable diapers. That's a significant reduction.

The problem we're facing now is laundry. The drain line from our washing machine is frozen. Instead of the water draining out, it shoots up like a fountain, drenching our walls, laundry bin and floors. This discovery was made while I was composing this post. Yes, I was attempting to wash diapers.

So. Tomorrow we will walk down to the local hardware store and a get a bucket. I'll transfer the saturated diapers into said bucket and haul them down the street to Mom's house. Thanks Mom!

I don't know when the pipe will thaw. Tonight is supposed to be the coldest night of the week at 17 degrees. I don't think we're expecting night time temps to go above 2o the whole week.

We'll make it work, somehow. I'm determined.

January's Change

Well, the first day of the new year is 3/4 over. It's time to declare January's change.

Let me start by saying that I'm generally of a green mind. I'm the one that people apologize to when they mention buying Styrofoam or bottled water. I'm the environmentalist. The treehugger. The dang hippie. With all of this in my favor, one would think that I would have to search for one small thing to change. But, alas. I have a dirty little secret.

Ahem. Hi, my name is Shawn, and my baby wears disposable diapers. (Hangs head in shame).

There. I said it. I admit that I have a problem and that my actions are hurting the earth. I need to change. I have cloth diapers, I just don't use them.

So that's it. This month I will choose cloth diapers during the day. I will also spend time during the month researching and trying to determine what cloth options would work best for us at night.

I wonder what small change others will be making...