Cloth Diapering (6 months in)

We have been cloth diapering for just shy of 6 months now, and it is one decision I am glad I made.  There were serious pros and cons to consider when making the transition, but the bottom line for us was our budget.  As part of our monthly budget planning, we had a money envelope solely dedicated to the purchase of diapers and wipes.  Now that we have dropped down to one income, it is so nice to have one less envelope to fill with cash.

 It really does save money!

• My cloth-diapering routine results in one additional load of laundry every 2-3 days.
• Every time I put on a cloth-diaper, it's like putting a quarter in a piggy bank since I am not spending the 21 cents on the disposable diaper or the 4 cents on the wipes I would use during that diaper change.
• 25 cents a diaper change adds up, especially when you have more than one in diapers at a time.
• Cloth diapers are made to last.  You can use them from one child to the next without really needing to replace or add to your stock of diapers.  Plus, as weird as this sounds, cloth diapers have excellent resale value.

I know that it takes some extra planning and some added inconvenience, but the monetary benefits make it well worth it to me.  Now that I'm not drawing in an income, I can help my family by cutting costs anywhere possible.  Diapering, as it turns out, is a major money-saving area for us.

Soon and very soon

Dear Elinor, Your daddy, your brothers, and your mommy are so ready to meet you. Your oldest brother has even invited you to come out and join us! We cannot wait to see your sweet face, give you hugs and kisses, and shower you with love. We have been praying for you and asking God tO keep you safe and healthy. Still, we are eagerly anticipating meeting you in His timing. I love you, Ellie. Love, Your mommy

Gluten-Free Fail

Trey and I both have immediate family members who are on strict gluten-free diets for specific health reasons.  Trey has been on a gluten-free diet for a couple months and has experienced amazing health benefits (like his cholesterol ratios going from "dangerous" to "optimal").  Now that summer is upon us, we've decided to extend the gluten-free diet to everyone in our household, really in the hopes that it will help our oldest son in particular who has major tummy troubles. 

Here's the thing, my sons like to eat things filled with wheat.  In fact, Owen Ray has been begging for bread, "the square kind... from the store."  He's all but offered to go out and buy it himself.  It's hard to say "no" when the kid has had his fair share of mac'n'cheese and crackers these last three years.  In an attempt to make this transition easier, I promised him that I would make him macaroni and cheese for dinner.  We headed to the store and picked up some quinoa elbows and gluten-free velveeta.  He was so excited because he knew: noodles + cheese = deliciousness.

Unfortunately for us, quinoa mac'n'cheese was not a big hit.  In fact, Owen Ray nearly spit it out seconds after excitedly popping a big bite into his mouth. It was rejected, flat out.  I tried a bite, and I had to concur. This was not edible.  Plan B was sure to be a hit, though.  Owen Ray wanted a quesadilla.  No problem.  We've got extra-large, extra-soft corn tortillas and lots of colby jack cheese blend.  Thirty seconds in the microwave and voila!  Unfortunately, those corn tortillas were not fooling anybody either. Ray took a bite, smiled at me, and choked it down.  Then he said very politely "Oh, I think my tummy is telling me I'm full" (i.e. this food is gross, Mom). 

What I found out today is that I have a lot of room to grow in the gluten-free arena.  The boys have had more fresh produce, dairy, and protein than ever before... but when it comes to making substitutes for things that are clearly meant to contain wheat... yikes.  Mommy has got some learning to do.

Officially a Stay-at-Home-Mom

I cannot believe it's finally here!  I put in my resignation letter months ago, but I still had to finish out the school year and what remained of my teaching contract. It's been exactly one week since I turned in my keys (and my district-issued iPad -- bummer).

On Friday, the boys and I went to the zoo to celebrate the beginning of summer, but for me it was so much more.  It was celebrating the fact that I don't have a mental countdown ticking off the days until I have to report back to work.  It was celebrating four years of waiting and hoping that God would allow me to be with the little ones full-time.  It was a big deal!

The last seven days have been a typical whirlwind for us at the start of summer. We headed out to Lake Fork to spend a few days out of our normal routine. It was good to rest and recharge.  It was also Trey's first time taking Owen Ray fishing.  Our little man was pretty ecstatic that he managed to hook a turtle with his spiderman fishing rod his first time out.

Now that we are back at home, I have been so thankful, but it's hard to believe that it's finally here. I am used to summer with my boys.  The full reality won't likely sink in until the school year starts, and I find myself blissfully at home while my former colleagues are setting up their classrooms to welcome in a new group of students.

Cloth Diapering Tryout - Day 1

I have spent the last few weeks researching all things related to cloth-diapering. I asked friends for their input and found out that those who choose cloth diapering, love it. In fact, some are borderline fanatic about how awesome they think cloth is.

There are several reasons these folks choose cloth diapers for their little one:
-environmentally friendly
-more natural
-less expensive

I really like all of these reasons, but I have been most intrigued by the economical advantages that cloth diapering offers. I was surprised to find out that most of my friends pay off their initial investment within 4-8 months. I say "investment" because deciding to cloth diaper does take quite a bit of funds up front. Most people spend at least $300-$400 and some much, much, more. Despite the high "start-up" cost, within the first 8 months, they "break even" in terms of what it would have cost them to buy disposable diapers. After that break even point, it's just money in their pocket. When I consider the monthly cost of diapers, we do spend about $50 a month. That's a lot of money over the last three and a half years.

Now, with #3 on the way, I am seriously considering converting to cloth. How seriously? Well, I purchased a small stash of bumgenius diapers for $5 each to use on Chandler during the weekends. He will still continue to wear disposable diapers at day care, but I'll get a chance to see if cloth will really work for our family before we make an investment bigger than $50.

Today is our first day - wish me luck!

The best gift I never got

I should preface by saying that my mother has eight children, so Christmas shopping can probably get a little overwhelming. It’s got to be hard to keep those lists straight. Anyhow, allow me to take you back in time. The year was 1994, and I was but a lowly 4th grader. I had the great fortune of knowing exactly what I wanted for Christmas that year. A Game Boy. It didn’t bother me that the word “boy” was in the name of the toy. It was clearly meant for me. When I would visit my cousin Tracy, I would often leave her upstairs to play with her dolls, while I played Mario Bros or Duck hunt with her little brother, Matto. In contrast, my sister, Kelli, loved to accompany Tracy around the neighborhood as they pushed their baby dolls in their toy strollers. To each his own, right? No, you’re right; it’s just lame. Anyway, while Kelli probably asked for glitter nail polish or a Minnie Mouse book, I had written “GAME BOY” out five times on my list and numbered it 1-5 in order of greatest need. I didn’t ask for anything else; I didn’t want anything else.
When Christmas morning rolled around, I excitedly approached the tree knowing the approximate size and shape of the package I was looking for. As we opened presents, one at a time, I remembered anticipating the great unveiling. When would I get my Game Boy? Surely it was just a matter of time. None of my presents looked the right size though, and each one I opened revealed another gift that was not on my Christmas list. Ah well, maybe next year.
Across the room I heard several of my siblings gasp. They moved around Kelli and pointed to the gift she had just opened. “What could be garnering her all of this attention?” I wondered. I moved toward her and suddenly realized what the hoopla was about. In her hand was a Game Boy -- my freakin’ Game Boy. And my parents had gotten her a Looney Tunes game to go along with it. How lame! Kelli may have liked Looney Tunes, but she didn’t even play video games! Had my parents really screwed up so monumentally? Did they not even know the difference between their own daughters? I was angry. “How could this be happening to me?” I wondered, “This isn’t what Christmas is all about.” In my mind, Christmas was about giving good gifts to the people that wanted them; to break it down to the simplest terms, me + gameboy = Christmas.
So that Christmas sucked. At the time, I didn’t even understand the error of my ways. But as I was driving to work one morning just a few months ago, it hit me. At 27 I can truly say that I am so glad my parents didn’t get me that blasted Game Boy. It is the best gift I never got. In that single moment, they communicated to me that neither the world, nor the Christmas holiday , nor my family revolved around li’l old me. I was not the center of the universe (as I had imagined). And, consequently, neither was the Game Boy. I learned that sometimes I will not get the things that I want, even if I desire that thing with my whole being. In fact, I may have to watch other people get something that I desperately want, when they didn’t even “wish” for it. That is a hard lesson to accept when you’re 10, but it is much harder if that lesson doesn’t come until you’re 20, 30, or 40. So thank you, Mom and thank you, Dad. You made Christmas 1994 miserable, and I am better for it.

Strange, strange world

I just recently read through "A Voice in the Wind" which chronicles the fictional story of Hadassah, a Jewish Christian in the early Roman Empire who is employed as a household slave. It was a captivating story, and the author had done a good deal of historical research in order to piece together an accurate depiction of 1st century Jerusalem, Rome, and Ephesus. However, I found myself a little unsettled by many of the cultural details that were included: temple prostitutes, convenience abortions, bloodythirsty arena crowds, drunken orgies, adultery, and "consenting" relations between men and young boys -- all are referred to within the text. While the author does not place undue emphasis on these unfortunate occurrences, they are nevertheless a present and pervasive part of the culture Hadassah lives in.

I read through a paragraph describing what a central character first encounters when entering the temple of Artemis. "Surely not,"I thought in response to the description of prostitutes provided by the temple to help "aid" in worship. Another character fears becoming pudgy and unattractive because of the child that is growing inside her -- she's thankful when a friend shows her the way to "freedom" -- through abortion.

When I finished this book last week, this Roman world seemed a million miles away. It's 2012; I'm living in Texas, and I can't imagine a blood thirsty mob shouting for women and children to be fed to lions for their own entertainment.

Right now, as I'm sitting at my computer, I still can't conceive of the lion bit, but my eyes are a bit more opened to some of the other realities around me: sexual sin, abortion, violence, etc.

Let me explain. I guess when you are hitting the 10 year high school graduation mark, you start to see a sudden rise in the divorce rate among your peers. Facebook makes it a really ugly process. By ugly I mean that it tells the world that you went from "Married to ______" to "no longer in a relationship with ______." And that's not even the complicated part. These dissolving relationships are followed by new, perplexing status developments. You've dumped your husband but now you have a new girlfriend; you love the new man in your life but- snap-the baby you are pregnant with isn't his, you can't stand the "brats" you gave birth to and wish someone would come take them from you... and the list goes on.

All of this is pretty overwhelming for me and my sheltered self to process. These people are so broken! Their world is falling apart! The lives of their children are just crumbling to pieces! Who the blazes is going to fix this mess?!

In Sunday School, you quickly learn as a kid that "Jesus" is the safest answer.
What is this Bible story about? Jesus
Who should we try to act like? Jesus
If you could meet any famous person, who would it be? Jesus

What I'm starting to realize is that this simple concept is weightier than I ever gave it credit for.

Because Jesus really is the answer; the only answer.

At the end of "The Voice in the Wind" the characters' lives are in shambles. They are miserable Epicureans who discover the very shallow waters of hedonism... except for Hadassah. She loves Jesus. This little slave girl is the only one that is actually free -- and she's fed to the lions. I know I just ruined the end of the story for you, but you should know what happens to her, because at the end of the book, she is possibly the only character you don't have pity for.

Countdown to June

I am so excited for 2012.
2012 is the year that I get to stay home with my little ones. Today is a school holiday, so instead of dropping off the boys at daycare and heading to the classroom, I piled them into their wagon and we took a long walk around the block. As we were walking around the neighborhood, I thought, "Could this really be my life? Could I really spend weekday mornings trekking around the neighborhood with my two little boys?"

Right now, I am at a particularly difficult stage with Chandler. He cries when I drop him off at daycare in the morning, and he falls asleep shortly after we get home. With Owen Ray it's a whole lot easier. He loves his buddies at daycare, and we have a few hours to hang out once we get home.
Weekends are wonderful, but weekends are also short. Plus, many things that need to be done throughout the busy work week get pushed to Saturday or Sunday.

All that to say, I am really starting to anticipate my impending retirement from teaching. It cannot come soon enough.