Days 1 and 2, Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Ok, so I have been really excited to take part in the Flats and Handwashing Challenge and I had everything together. Then, on Monday, I totally forgot. Got up, put diapers in the washer and changed Sweet Pea as usual. It wasn't until noon that I checked Facebook and was reminded of the challenge (hand meet forehead). So, after her nap, I got Sweet Pea into her flat and cover. Since we started her in flats, this was no real change for her, but I had to try and remember some of the different folds again.

Now, this challenge won't necessarily be as challenging for me as it would be for some of my other mommy friends (check out Adventures in Mommyhood about doing this challenge with 3 in diapers!). The main issue I will have will be the handwashing. My other issue is, I just got my cute diapers in the mail from Save Baby Myah and now I can't use them for a week :-( I also just got my Blissful Booty diapers to review in the mail and, again, can't use them for a week :-(

Anyway, once I remembered to put Sweet Pea in a flat diaper, things went well. I never had any issues with flats leaking, and I still don't. I only use one flat diaper at a time and she can go 2+ hours with no issues. I am using Econobum covers, all of them are seconds that I got from Cotton Babies. Overnight, I am using a single flat and a homemade soaker, along with just a cover. Again, I have not had any issues with leaks.

As for the handwashing...right now I am not doing very well with it. I, unfortunately, didn't try to start that until later on this evening. I used a regular garbage pail and filled with hot water and some detergent. I stirred for 5 minutes and then was interrupted. The diapers had a chance to soak for a REALLY long time. I then rinsed them, I thought, rather well and went to hang them in the bathroom. They didn't have a smell, but as they dried, I could smell them and knew they weren't clean. Now they are back in the bucket and I will let them soak overnight. I figure I will dump out the water in the morning and try again with a little detergent and water. If the weather goes as it has the past couple days, the forecasters will promise us rain and nothing will happen, I should be able to line dry them.

The diapers being agitated.

Other than the little handwashing hiccup, diapering isn't really that different than usual. Sweet Pea gets a little frustrated that it is taking me longer to get a diaper on. She is ready to crawl and just wants to GO, GO, GO! I just wish I had remembered I would be doing this challenge when I planned an out of town adventure. I know I will be able to do the flats during that time, I just don't know if I will get to handwash.

Are any of you taking part in the challenge? How are you doing so far?

To My Husband

May 22, 2004

Seven years ago tomorrow, on a beautiful afternoon, I married my soul mate in a loving ceremony, surrounded by friends and family.  I can still remember how I felt that day.  I am so lucky to have met you and to have you in my life.  I can easily say that I have grown to love you more each year.  When I look back, it is amazing that we are here together, all from a chance encounter.

It was a warm summer evening, August 11, 2003.  I had turned 21 that May and had yet to go to a bar.  So, since college classes had not started yet and I was already a little bored living on my own, I headed down towards the strip of college bars and shops.  It is amazing, looking back, all the little things that slowed me down in getting to that street.  When I finally got there, I realized I didn't know where I should go.  Lo and behold, a group of guys on motorcycles happens to be driving in front of me.  I figured they would know a good place to go, so I would just follow them.  Yet, they didn't stop at any of the bars.  I ended up pulling up next to them at the next stoplight.  My window happened to be down and I hear someone trying to get my attention.  It was you.  You asked if I would like a ride.  I said yes.  We decided to meet back on the strip.  I drove around to park my car, you and your "posse" finally showed back up.  I didn't know at the time that chance meeting would completely change my life.  We all rode through town until 2 am, finally stopping at a local diner to eat.  When you dropped me off, you asked for my number and I remember I asked if you were really going to call me tomorrow or if it would be three days later.  You did call me.  We spent everyday for the next two weeks together and then you were gone for a month.  Training for the Army called.  I hoped that we would pick up when you came back, but there were no promises.  Yet, you showed back up at my door and I was so happy.

I remember us being apart more than together during those first few months.  Of your proposal New Years Eve in front of all our friends.  Our decision to get married 5 months later, after having only known each other for 9 months.  You deciding to re-enlist because that would be the best for us.  That first year of marriage was hard.  You lost your best friend right in front of you, then you had to go to Iraq.  On top of that, you returned to me hurt.  Then we started our lives over again outside the Army.  We tried to keep our spirits high, but there were definitely so rough patches.  You worked so hard at so many jobs until we found "the one".  It was all worth it!

Because of you, we have two amazing children together.  I get to stay home and blog about this wonderful life.  I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I had not met you on that street corner.  Something so unlike me, yet it was the real me that showed up that night.  You have taken me on so many adventures in such a short period of time.  I look forward to what the rest of our lives holds.  I love you.

Marriage

So, I was racking my brain for a title, and everything that came to mind made it sound like a depressing blog, so I went with a simplistic title. I think I have been thinking more about marriage lately since my husband and I have an upcoming anniversary. Do any of you ask yourselves nowadays, where is the safe point in my marriage? What I mean by this is, when do you not have to worry about your marriage not lasting?

I have always known that I wanted to marry one person and be with that person for the rest of my life. I am by no means a traditional person, but this was something that I felt strongly about. That is not to say that if I was cheated on or abused (not that my husband would do either of these things) that I wouldn't leave. I just always wanted it to happen just once. I always remember, when I was younger, thinking that if you made it to 15 or 20 years, you were in the safe zone. You didn't have to worry about your marriage breaking up. Now, you see people who are married 20, 30, even 50 years, divorcing.

I remember my dad telling me before about the 7 year itch. He said that is when you look at your marriage and decide if this is who you want to be married to for the rest of your life or not. He said it a little better than that, but you get the point. Now, like I said before, I always knew that I wanted to only marry once, it is just hard for me to see people who don't take marriage as seriously. I am not saying that everyone whose marriage ends did not take it seriously, it is just that the numbers are staggering. I think it would be fair to say that, if you are cheating or abusing someone within a marriage, you did not take it seriously. That is just me. I think that instead of taking the marriage seriously, you are taking it for granted. When my husband and I were looking over the vows, I knew I would not say obey. To me, I don't think I should have to obey anyone, just like I don't expect my kids to "obey". I want them to be polite and open with me and follow the rules, just like I would expect myself to do the same in marriage.

I know this is a tad rambling. It is just something that has really bugged me. Do any of you ever wonder the same thing? As secure as we are with ourselves, sometimes you always have those flitterings of doubt, even if you know they are unfounded. I just like to have that security and I know a marriage is always a work in progress, but as a naive little girl, it was always nice to think that there is a point in marriage where you know you are "safe" and it will never end. I am sure that I have that with my husband, again, just ramblings. What are your thoughts?

Krogers trip, 5/12/11

Well, this is a few days late, but I figure, better late than never. This is $83.11 worth of product that I only paid $27.82 for, a 66.53% savings.

I am not going to go through all the coupons since I am behind and this was last weeks deal, I will just give you the highlights.

The pasta was all free, so 12 boxes of healthy pasta that, with the buy 10 sale, was only $0.49 each and then I had coupons that were $1/2, making each box a $0.01 money maker. The bar-b-que sauce was only a penny with the same deal and a coupon from Krogers for $1/2. Another Krogers coupon got me a free bag of frozen veggies and the box of Cheerios. From the previous weeks newspaper, I had a coupon for a free box of the Life cereal when you purchased two Quaker products. That was probably the best deal because they sell that cereal for almost $4 a box usually and it was on sale already for $2.49. The banana were on clearance since they were ripe, so I bought them to freeze so Sweet Pea could then have some banana pops. Plus I can use them in smoothies.

Now, if you are like me, I see a lot of people who post their purchases with amazing savings and they seem to be missing many of the staples. We don't eat red meat, so I don't purchase that. I did get a good deal the previous week on frozen chicken, so I purchased that two weeks ago and stocked up. I also purchase whole chickens so I can make chicken broth with those. We also drink almond milk, which has a longer refrigeration life, so I can stock up on that when it is on sale.

A Month of Challenges!

So, I decided to take part in a weightloss challenge this month. The Sparkle Mama is hosting a weightloss challenge this month and the grand prize is FLUFF! I am actually pretty happy with my weight, but I wanted more motivation to exercise and stop eating the junk. Everyone who participates mails in a diaper and the winner gets half the diapers and the other half are split between the 2nd and 3rd place winners. I figure, what is a better motivator than the idea of lots of fluff.

My other challenge this month is the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. This challenge is about proving that you could feasibly diaper a child with only 5 covers and just using flats and handwashing. This is to spread the idea about how cloth diapering is cheaper and, especially with the economy how is, why make your child sit in a dirty diaper longer because you don't have the money to buy more diapers? Yes, cloth diapering can get expensive if you let it (I mean, who can pass up all those cute diapers?) You can feasible cloth diaper for under $50. So, if someone started saving $5 a month during their pregnancy, they would have enough to get started.

What are some challenges you are taking part in? Is there a challenge that you would love to start (something that you believe in and would like to create a challenge for)?