days of yore

i was just remembering that episode of friends where rachel bought a bunch of stuff at pottery barn but convinced phoebe that it was all from thrift/antique shops. when ross asked rachel what time period they were from she kept responding with unintelligent answers like days of yore and yesteryear. i'm pretty sure i peed in my pants a little during that episode.

anyways...it's been almost a month since my last post because i just kept feeling uninteresting for the most part when i wasn't too busy to take a minute for the blogging world.

the weight loss competition ended this wednesday, and i was down 16 lbs at the final weigh in. my team went to an awesome celebratory dinner on wednesday and i think i have a couple of those pounds to give back after that ;) it was all worth it though. our team lost 79 lbs in total over 12 weeks! a bit more to go, but it was a great part to have well underway before the holidays.

much of my days have been spent walking, working out, doing this or that around the house, and of course some fun stuff like baby dance class, lunches out with friends, a visit from tia sara, etc. time has been flying!

H is now 7.5 months old and this week has really been working on his crawling skills. i'd say he crawls with an inchworm flair. it's the cutest thing, really! but he is able to make a good distance, so all eyes are on him...especially before we get around to a bit more babyproofing around here! he's eating anything and everything...and i LOVE giving him real people food instead of bothering with purees now. he's a hearty eater and it works in my favor for distracting him when we are trying to do things like eat out at restaurants.

in other exciting news, we got a court date for the finalization of H's adoption! we'll be going to court in LA on january 13th, and perhaps having a party to celebrate on the 16th. what a blessing he is to our family!

i'm sure there's more going on than that, but i feel like i need to spend the rest of naptime either napping, working out, or working around the house. decisions decisions.

praying for follies, families, oneness and tao.

why i loved today:

-a windy walk with a good friend
-a teeny but good enough bit of weight-loss at my 8th week weigh-in..bringing me down 13 lbs total so far
-a stop for H to play with friends at the park
-a nap for me and a great nap for H
-diapers washed
-kitchen cleaned
-successful tutoring session
-found hubby's favorite cereal at albertsons
-an amazing italian food dinner with a good girlfriend...wine, pasta, creme brulee...mmmm.
-good convo with the hubby
-got laundry folded
-topped off with a warm bath
-now into bed with my miniature snuggle bug and my bigger snuggle bug

that's what i loved about today. God is good!

praying for safe travels, brokenness, and accomplishment in pursuit.

funny tidbits

the funniest thing happened today. our luggage came off the conveyor belt, and plopped onto the metal part that goes around (what is that called anyway?). yes. that was funny to our little bear! we were just off the plane from visiting mimi and mom in phoenix, awaiting our bags. as soon as the first bag came out and plopped onto the metal, H started giggling! i looked over to see what he was looking at, and saw that he found the dropping bags to be funny! bag after bag came tumbling down and his giggles were obvious to everyone around us. i think it had to be one of the cutest moments ever!

we had a good visit, though mimi ended up getting sick and not spending a ton of time with us. H did great on the whole weekend, even with a stuffy nose. thank goodness for the nose frida...aka, the snotsucker. hopefully mimi is on the mend and we were just happy to have the time we did, and to spend lots of time with my mom...always a special thing.

praying for health, recovery, babies, and rest.

CDing

that's what we cool kids call it...CDing {cloth diapering}. i've been meaning to post about this hobby of ours for quite some time now, giving friends some place of reference when they ask about our CDing system. we tend to get the following responses when we tell people about the fact that we CD:
1) wow, you're brave! i would never take the time to do that.
2) oh, i would try it if i only had one kid
3) what service do you use? isn't that MORE expensive than disposable diapers?
4) ew, you put THAT in your washer and dryer??
5) wow, that's cool! how do you do it??

we mostly get 1-4 but occasionally i score a #5 in conversation.

many people love the idea of the ease of pocket diapers in which you use various layers of absorbent inserts...VERY handy. the only drawback is that these are somewhat tricky to get to fit a newborn, or up to maybe 12 lbs or so. oh, and they come at a pretty penny too!

so here is how we do it, and it has worked great for 6.5 months so far! since we didn't know what system to use, we went cheap and decided to see how it went as we went along. we ordered 24 infant unbleached cotton indian prefolds and 6 XS thirsties velcro diaper wraps. this fit our needs perfectly from the beginning, saving us the need to use 'sposies in the early weeks. before too long we ordered the size S of the thirsties wraps (6 more) and 24 of the toddler sized prefolds. by the time we were going up to this size, however, i also noticed my use of the bumgenius one-size pocket diapers was greatly increasing. the handy features on these are the snaps on the front that allow you to change the size with growth of the baby. within the first few weeks i learned that because the pocket diapers wick moisture away onto the layers tucked within, you can leave them on for longer! with the proper stuffing (which takes some trials) i was able to not change his diaper at all through the nights! that was quite a perk to the nighttime feeding routine! i also like using them for when we are out on the town or going to be gone for a while. the cotton prefolds should really be changed at least every 2-3 hours like a 'sposie. we just added more pocket diapers to our collection over time, and will likely continue to do so until we have maybe 16 ish.

we did also get crazy and invest in a diaper sprayer, also made by bumgenius, which easily hooks up to the toilet and gets out the extra messy stuff if your baby is on formula or starting solids. until then, they can just go straight into the washer as they are! i'm sure everyone figures out their own washing routine, but here's what i do...
-usually wash diapers every 2-3 days in a cold prewash followed by a hot/cold cycle with only a tiny amount of detergent. i use 7th generation unscented, but supposedly the BEST is a brand of detergent called planet. i'm planning to switch soon!

another question i often get is whether or not we use them when we travel...and YES! as long as i will have access to a washer and dryer i always do. i'm addicted to them as an outfit accessory...SO much cuter than 'sposies!

so far we have bought everything for our diapering needs at abbyslane.

happy diapering!

praying for minds, peace, transitions, and bodies.

making the switch

so...recently we made the switch to cloth, reusable paper towels. we're really quite happy with the switch and it's nice to feel not so wasteful. that got me to thinking a step further--about reusable toilet paper. a friend of mine brought it up again yesterday to ask if i would ever do it. before throwing up, if you think about it, why would it be any more gross than the cloth diapering which we do and LOVE? so i would totally like to make the switch, but joe is less than jumping on the wagon. he was all about the paper towels, in fact he's the one that found the ones we bought! but this idea he doesn't love.

so maybe provide paper for the messy jobs, but why not reusable toilet paper? i can't think of any reason...

praying for open minds, peace, opportunities, and blessings.

decisions, decisions

6 months old.....really??


so many decisions to be made! how do i make the right ones?? unfortunately i know the answer...but that answer still seems to leave me unclear. it seems there are more things i'm questioning than i'm sure about these days...kind of driving me nuts!
-should we try feeding whole, solid foods?
-should we get a crib or continue co-sleeping? i guess we at least will need a crib for naps by the time he's crawling--any day now!
-how should we incorporate H's tummy mama into our lives once he's aware of what's going on? i want whatever is best and easiest on his heart.
-should we give the flu and swine flu shots all at the same time, or is that too much?
-should we go on the church retreat despite the long drive?
-when should we really start thinking about baby #2? i want H to have his time, but i know the process can take a while too!

seeing H turn SIX MONTHS OLD has just made me feel like i need to get a handle on these decisions! he's doing so wonderfully, and people always comment on how happy he seems, and i want him to always be that way! he's growing so fast it blows me away.

october 1 and it really feels like fall is getting underway...and i like it! joe is convinced i am so happy about fall because it's little bear's first fall...new, cute clothes, fun adventures, pictures in the pumpkin patch, and longer evenings. whatever it is...it's fun, even in the land of unchanging seasons! we are looking forward to a visit from my parents-in-law this weekend, but we'll miss tia sara!

praying for wisdom, peace, hearts, and trees of life(A--that one's for you:).

it does a body good!

3 weeks into the local biggest loser competition, my team is ranked 30 out of over 100 teams, and i've dropped 7 lbs! i already feel SO much better. it's amazing what a little extra weight can do to your energy. even though the little guy isn't sleeping well, i am getting so energized by all the exercise i've been getting. the most rewarding part, perhaps, is that i'm being very reasonable and not over-restrictive on my eating habits. this is totally what i needed right now. well...that AND some sleep. seriously though, it feels great! if you're thinking about getting off your booty and exercising..do it! i think i'm getting addicted.

H is napping well these days, and i think maybe that will contribute to getting back to better night-sleeping habits. my hopes are high. the past couple of nights have been getting a bit better, so hopefully we're on a good trend.

there are a few crafts i'd like to get around to in the near future:
-curtains/window coverings of some sort for the nursery--yes, still a work in progress and he's almost 6 months old!
-filling in the sweet new baby book i just ordered custom off etsy
-painting wooden letters for H's wall
it really stinks that crafts cost $$ because that seems to be our biggest challenge since losing my teaching salary! all worth it in the end, but penny pinchers is our middle name these days.

last week H and i went to the aquarium with our friends brooke (and gus) and loved it so much that over the weekend daddy and i took H back. he loves watching the fish...especially the big guys! we also have been spending more time at the beach lately..because why not?! i do love fall being in the air these evenings lately...and the cute little footie pajamas for H that entails. a quick recap in pictures and i'm off to grab a piece of a nap!




praying for teeth, pain, hearts, and minds.