Penultimate Post

I just posted my second to last post on the 365 day blog.  It's so surreal that tomorrow will be my very last post there.  I am planning on doing SOMETHING here - at least a 52 week blog, I think?  I might post other stuff as well - recipes, random thoughts, whatever - it'll just be weird to not write SOMETHING every single day.  Although it will be nice to not have that pressure, around 6pm, when I've realized I have yet to take a photo of the Goose.

So stay tuned!

Counting Down

We are on day 313 over at the 365 day blog - how insane is that??? Only 52 more days of daily blog posts and pictures.  I am not entirely sure of where I want to go next, although I'm thinking about moving all of the activity over here.  Any thoughts?  What would you, dear reader, like to see?

Recipe Review: Mushroom Risotto

Some friends recently directed me to new (to me) recipe website/blog called Gina's Skinny Recipes.  Last night we tried the Turkey Stuffed Zucchini - delish even without the cheese - and tonight we tried the Mushroom Risotto - really yummy!


Just thought I'd pass that along!

Fluff Stuff

It has been a while since I've updated this blog, mainly due to this project.  While there are things I would post here that I would not post there, frankly I don't have enough blogging energy to do more than one post a day.  I am not sure what I will do once we finish with 2011 - whether I continue to blog here or there - but I know I will write somewhere.


I have been meaning to do a blog post on how we do the cloth diaper thing, but since it was nothing something that fit into the daily blog, I have yet to do it.  One of my favorite blogs, The Crafty Nest, is doing a whole week of cloth diaper posts, which spurred me to finally get to this post.  


Back in January, I wrote this post for the daily blog, basically showing our stash of diapers.  The stash has changed a bit since then - some diapers have left our home, new ones have arrived.  Perhaps I will write a new post at some point giving a review of the various diapers we have tried, but not today.  

 This is Michal's dresser, which doubles as her changing area.  Mickey is hanging out on her changing pad, to the right of which are two wipes containers.  We are in the process of switching from disposable wipes to cloth wipes, but for now, we are still using the sposies.  To the right of that is all of her "stuff" - we have lots of stuff.

 One of the drawers in Michal's dresser holds her fluff.  I try to keep it organized, and it is a constantly evolving system.  On the left side of the drawer is the majority of her diapers - all pocket diapers or AI2s (all-in-twos) - definitions can be found here.  To the right of that are the wet bags and extra pail liner and her nighttime diaper (a fitted) and covers.  To the far right are all of the extra inserts (microfiber, bamboo, and hemp), as well as her AFFFs - the best hemp insert ever! - and fleece liners.

To the left of her dresser are the receptacles.  For her diapers we use a regular, plastic trash can we purchased at Ta.rget, lined with a pail liner.  A pail liner is just like a garbage bag you would line your trash can with, except it is reusable.  When we go to wash the diapers, we pull that out, walk to the machine, dump everything in, including the liner, and wash.  It's great.  To the left of the trash can is the diaper champ we received as a gift.  We tried to use it to hold used diapers, except it holds only about 3 cloth diapers.  Now it holds used disposable wipes and other assorted trash (the better for keeping out a curious dog!)

  

Tech Tuesday

No, I'm not starting a weekly post on Tuesdays having to do with technology, but today is a day where I want to  crow about all of the benefits we gain from technology.  I am away at a conference, the theme of which is technology, and I spend most of my day in sessions discussing the latest technological advancements and how it might be applied to our schools, classrooms, and synagogues.  There is much to learn, but it has not been the highlight of this time away.


J has been staying home with M, at least for Monday and Tuesday - Wednesday she will resume her normal weekly schedule with day care - but these two days she has been with her daddy.  It's been wonderful for them to have this special alone time, but I do miss both of them.  Luckily, we have fantastic phones that allow us to see each other from across the miles.  


With our super spiffy fruity phones, we can video chat, and with this feature, I have been able to say hello to M, watch her gobble up some tasty carrots, and my absolutely favorite - I was "there" this morning when J went in to get her once she awoke, and I got the treat of those absolutely delicious first morning smiles.  Nothing is better.


So while technology is often vilified as breaking down relationships and discouraging face-to-face time with people (not your handheld device), I maintain that technology connects us to those we know and love, enhancing those relationships in a way that was previously impossible.

Cloth Diapers

I have been thinking of doing a cloth diaper post, to accompany the post I wrote for my other blog - the 365 project.  We have grown to love cloth diapers for a number of reasons, some of which I will describe here.  But first, some definitions.

• Prefolds - Pre-fold diapers are rectangular shaped diapers that must be folded into the shape of a diaper. They are similar to flats, but have multiple layers with more layering in the middle.  We completely skipped these - never even purchased a single one even to be used as a burp cloth.
• Fitted Diapers - Contoured diapers with elastic around legs and the waist.  They fasten with velcro, snaps, or with a Snappi (these need a cover to be waterproof - either wool or a PUL cover).  Our first diapers were fitteds, and while we have mostly moved away from them, we do have one we use for her overnight stretch.  I'm always a little tempted to move back to fitteds - people really love them.
• Pockets  - These diapers have an outer layer of waterproof material and an inner lay of stay dry material, like microfleece or suedecloth.  They have a pocket opening that allows for absorbent material to be stuffed during use and then removed for laundry.  The vast majority of our stash are pockets.
• All in Ones (AIO) - Fitted diapers with a water proof outer layer.  These are closest in similarity to a disposable diaper since they are a one-piece diapering system.  Some include a pocket for additional absorbency.  I am in the process of selling my last AIO - they are perfectly fine diapers, but they just don't meet our needs, and they take forever to dry.
• All in Twos - Very similar to AIOs except the absorbent material is not attached to the diaper in any way. The soaker is usually a second, separate piece that must be attached to the diaper to be used.  I just sent the last of my AI2s to a friend of mine who is just starting to cloth diaper her little girl.  There are many pluses to AI2s, we just stopped reaching for them.

Tomorrow I'll try to post some pictures of M with her fluffy butt, as well as explain some of the reasons we went to cloth and why we love it (or at least why I love it - I think J is just along for the ride).

Five Months!

Today, Michal is five months old.  So incredibly hard to believe that so much time has passed so quickly, and yet it feels as if she has always been with us, always been a part of our lives. 

A few things I've learned in five months:

time flies when you're having fun

huge baby smiles first thing in the morning NEVER get old

getting a baby to sleep without a swaddle IS possible

it is possible to become obsessed over diapers

you eventually stop wondering what color her eyes WILL be and instead take joy in her observing the world

finally, Sophie becomes AWESOME

standing is still super fun, tummy time is still super lame, and sitting is still on the horizon

real food is fun, as is watching for reactions to a new taste

Tales from Day Care

Michal goes to daycare two days a week, and we found a wonderful brand new, in-home daycare that has been awesome. Not only are they totally willing to do the cloth diaper thing, but they just adore M. The woman has two children - a 2 year old who calls M her baby, and a 5 year old who, new to kindergarten, is very concerned about Michal's education and wants to give her circle time every day to enrich her learning. He has a whole list of subjects that he considers really quite important for a growing girl.

This week is the first week that Michal is not the only baby there. From now on, it is her and a 3 month old little girl. Now, Michal is quite the calm baby (that might be an understatement), and the woman who watches her has told me on more than one occasional that M is just not normal - her children were apparently quite feisty and difficult and Michal is just a whole other breed of baby. At one point today, the other little girl starts to cry and then scream, so the woman who watches them decides to put her down next to Michal, who was having a grand time on the activity mat. After listening to the cries for a little bit, Michal rolls to her side facing the baby, and apparently made some grunting sound, as if to tell Amelia, "Just get over it already!"

Here's hoping she doesn't learn any "bad lessons" at day care!

Pondering the Project

I love taking pictures of M - she truly is a wonderful subject. And really, you can just eat her up. So when I contemplating taking on the 365 day photography project, I thought why not? I take TONS of pictures anyway, how difficult can this be?

Aside from trying to maintain the diligence to post something every.single.day, it's not as easy as I thought. Trying to find a topic around which to craft a photo and a post, this has been tricky. I want to avoid burnout too early, but there is this pressure to have a great post every day. For now, I'll continue to try to brainstorm possible pictures while keeping an eye out for that unexpected gem of a shot. I hope you enjoy the photos!