Most Excellent Bellingham Adventure

We had the great pleasure of spending a week (The first week of February) up in Birch Bay at a lovely condo... that we were able to enjoy for mostly free thanks to a deal my parents got us (Thanks Mom and Dad!)!

We spent most of our time at or around the Condo. We did head into Fairhaven for a morning. We also went to see the INN staff one day too. But that about sums it up. Thankfully many of our friends who still live in the Bellingham area came to see us. It was wonderful.

Also the night before we left we were able to meet up with a few Elephants (guys that Rory used to live with in the Elephant house) Ross and Cori were in town and Allison and Jamie came over from Tacoma and we had a nice time catching up and eating pizza.

Big Girl Haircut

This is Cecily getting her first big girl haircut. This is my friend Kaaren giving Cessy a "trim." In the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" the mouse gets a trim. Since having her haircut she has been pretending to give us a trim. She says "Mommy sit in the Bumbo, you need a trim." And she keeps talking about Kaaren. She told me the other day that it was Kaaren's turn to put her night night. She also was pretending to take her Kitty to see Kaaren, and then went over to the kitchen drawers to pay her with tea bags ofcourse. This made quite an impression on her. I keep reiderating that we only PRETEND to give trims with our fingers. He idea of giving us a trim is twisting our hair round and round... it's actually pretty painful, but she is so cute!

January Sprouts

Slowly but surely I am determined to get our blog caught up. I guess I should just start where we are now... but where's the challenge in that? Plus there is a lot that happened in the first few months of 2009.

Sprouts is a playgroup that I co-ordinate through our church. We meet once a month at a local community club house. It is tons of fun. In January our theme was Noah's Ark. We painted the kids faces and marched around to "Arky, Arky"

Here is Cecily showing off her latest creation. I have to take the pictures of her art work right away before she disassembles it.

It was a fun filled day, and both of the girls had a blast socializing with all their Sprout's Friends.

Swing Open the Doors!

In January Rory headed up a fundraising event for The Red Barn. The Red Barn is a youth center that our church and some other community members have been trying to open out here on the Peninsula. This project has been in the works for over three years now. The goal is to transform an old pole-barn into a place for local teens and area youth groups to hang out.

So far it has taken three years to get through the permitting process. Now we have the permits and we need money to complete it. The Red Barn is actually two pole barns that are perpendicular to each other. We have separated the building project into two phases. Phase One will create a coffee/homework/lounge out of the first barn. Phase Two will turn the second barn into a gym and stage.

For the first part of January Rory spent most of his time working on a big fundraising event. It was a Dinner, Swing Dance and Silent Auction. We raked in a few bucks and raised a lot of awareness for the project.

Rory and I rediscovered how much we LOVE to swing dance. We had a great time cutting a rug and letting loose after so much preparation. It was pretty much our first night out with out the kiddos! Thanks Nanny for taking on the two girls (Rosemary doesn't take a bottle very well so she had her hands full!)

To find out more check out the website that Rory has been working on:

The Red Barn

One Giant Diaper Bottom

One of the side effects of cloth diapers is the GIANT DIAPER BOTTOM! Poor Rosemary! People are always confused as to why she has such a big bottom. She has to wear bigger pants! Her tee shirt says it all in this picture! ("Does this diaper make my butt look big?")

As per my previous article we decided that the Kushies needed to have an early retirement. I only paid $5 for 5 all in ones off eBay so it's not a big loss. We decided to invest in some more bumGenius. The bumGenius on eBay are going for pretty close to retail price especially if you factor in the cost of shipping. I found that buying them new and not paying shipping was the way to go. I opted to buy from www.diapers.com because they ship in two days.

In other news, we are proud to report that we went from a completely stuffed garbage can each week... to one and a half bags of garbage a week. Amazing!

The Cloth Diaper Adventure

I honestly don't know what came over me this past January. What started as something innocent like buying disposable diapers online turned into a life changing new years resolution revolution.

My friend Ami who lives out in the sticks like us told me she buys her diapers off Amazon and gets free shipping and doesn't pay any more than if she went to Costco. That sounded great! Especially since I have no car and making sure we don't run out of diapers has been a stressful thing for us. So I hopped online... and I said to myself... gee pull ups are so expensive! I wonder if there are any cloth training underwear out there that are better then the Gerber underwear and plastic pants. (as shown in picture)


These little questions lead to amazing discoveries!

Discovery #1-- For what I buy www.Diapers.com is cheaper than Amazon and there is still a free shipping option. (If you are going to check this out put my number in the referral box and we both will get a discount JENX0015). They do free shipping and deliver in two days. Plus they have lots of 'green' options and they sell Melissa and Doug toys (which are GREAT by the way!)

Discover #2-- There is a whole WORLD of cloth diapering options out there! Holy Cow! I was completely overwhelmed by all the brands and different types. You have your prefolds... Indian or Chinese, diaper service quality. Then you have your pocket diaper that work more like a disposable in the way that it is shaped. It has a pocket that you can fill to the level of absorption that your baby needs (more at night time, etc.) Then you have your all in ones, your one size diapers, and your cloth diapers with out pins that still need covers. Beyond that you have to choose whether you want to go with Velcro or snaps.

It's so involved I recommend taking Diapers 101

(Be sure to check out all the links that I included for more information)

Initially, since the idea of cloth diapering sounded a bit overwhelming I thought that pocket diapers would be my best option. And since I did not think people would sell used diapers I initially started my research looking at new diapers. I compared the product sites and I mainly went back and forth between diapers.com and amazon.com as far as comparing prices. I read reviews of the diapers for hours and I ended up getting two Happy Heiny's and One BumGenius. I am bummed to say that I wish I would I gotten three BumGenius' but that's the learning curve.

Here is the scoop on Happy Heiny pocket diapers. I bought one of the regular pocket one size with the Velcro. I have had no problem with this one. I like the BumGenius a little better but all in all they are pretty compilable. The thing that I like about BumGenius is the Velcro is easier to use and they hold in the leaks a bit better.

By the way... Diapers that have fleece liners do not stain (Happy Heiny, BumGenius, and Tiny Tush fit into this category) The diapers made out of cotton or flannel are very hard to get looking clean.

The second Happy Heiny that I bought is their new all snap diaper. This diaper is super confusing to figure out. If you have a baby who likes to take off their diaper then this would be very hard for them to get out of. But on the flip side it is very hard for you as a parent to get it all snapped on. And to make matters worse, I have to return it because it actually broke. So I am not a fan.

Then my friend Audra told me that she got all her cloth diapers from Craig's List. Awesome!! So then I completely changed directions... because $20 per diaper was too steep to take seriously.

That's when I discovered the world of eBay! I am proud to say I earned my yellow star through this process! I became certifiably addicted for most of the month of January.

On eBay I ended up getting an assortment of diapers. I bought a few lots of used diapers, but mostly I got brand new diapers from cloth diaper drop outs.

Here is what I have and what I think of each of them.

Tiny Tush
These are well made diapers. I have no problems with them. They are very comparable to BumGenius but not as popular so I was able to get some great deals on them. The BumGenius One-Size Micro-fiber Inserts fit nicely inside the pocket, so I got a set of those from Diapers.com and use them in all of my pocket diapers. It makes it easier then trying to fiddle with a variety of different inserts.

Kushies all in one
If you see these going for cheap.. .just walk on by. These diapers are nice in that they are all in one... you don't have to stuff them with inserts. They are great if you need to just get a diaper on the butt and feed the screaming baby. However, they leak around the leg, and they hold the ammonia smell. I have five of these and I think that eventually I would like to replace them with something I like better.

Mother-ease
This is a wonderful brand. These are like prefolds but you don't have to worry about pins or any kind of contraption to make the diaper stay on. They have a variety of different designs. I have two of the Sandy's (I think I have the Sandy's Organic) and one of the One Size Cloth Diaper (I have the Bamboo). These diapers are super soft and they seem so comfortable. Plus they work well. I can really adjust them to fit Rosemary.

Mother-ease has the BEST covers. I have several Rickki Wraps. These have really effective gussets (gathering around the waist and legs) They also have what they call Airflow Snap (breathable covers), I really like these as well.

Pocket Change
I have two of these. They are a pocket diaper and they seem pretty good. They came with some other diapers I bought on eBay. Unfortunately she grew out of them too quick. They seem pretty good and they will be great SOMEDAY down the road a few years when we hopefully have baby #3. (by the way this link shows their latest model with snaps, mine have Velcro)

Prefolds
These are the good old fashioned diapers that many of us wore as kids. I have read that the ones you want to look for are either Chinese or Indian, and you should look for diaper service quality. I was able to get 24 unused diapers on eBay for $20. If you really want to save money... Get these! If you have a couple of good covers they really aren't that hard to use. We don't use pins we use a Snappi that just hooks onto the diaper.

Mamabearbabywear
This is a seller I found on eBay. Her name is Amy Washington and she's a mom who makes diaper covers. The website above is a link to her direct site. Her covers are very well crafted and they are an awesome design. She made a one-size cover that looks like your average pocket diaper. You can adjust the size with snaps and you close it with Velcro. Plus it's great to support other moms!

Training Pants
I found some awesome training pants at www.onestepahead.com Cecily really likes them, and they do a great job preventing puddles when she doesn't make it to the bathroom in time.

Make your own!
For all you sewers out there... there are plenty of free diaper cover patterns, and various other diaper patterns out there. Get a few patterns and start experimenting. Simply google free diaper patterns.

Here are my conclusions.

Is it worth it?
I love cloth diapers. They haven't added that much more laundry for me. It's about a load per day or every other day. I use a lot of prefolds with covers at home. The girls both sleep in pocket diapers with one insert at naps and two inserts at night time. Cecily likes them because she has some fun colors. I put the diaper all together and then Velcro them first and then have her put them on like underwear. The pocket diapers are nice when you go places or if you have a babysitter who you want to make it a little easier on them.

Rosemary is a very powerful pooper. She would absolutely explode out of disposable diapers. I found myself changing her entire outfit along with her diaper. One benefit of cloth diapers is that I can tailor them to fit her, and we have had far less explosions these days.

Have we actually saved money? The answer is yes! As times goes on these diapers will continue to earn their keep. I am not planning on reselling them after I am done, rather I am planning to use them for all they are worth!

How many diapers do I have?
I have twelve pocket diapers and 24 prefolds. This is a nice number for me since I have two children who use them, and it gives me the break of not having to wash them all every night. It will also make the diapers last longer since I won't be washing them so much.

What about a Diaper Sprayer?
I don't have a diaper sprayer. I might invest in one later but I am not sure. So far it hasn't been an issue. Rosemary really isn't on very many solids yet. On super bad diapers I do rinse them in the toilet a little (wearing gloves) and I usually soak them in a wet pail. However, the rest of the diapers I just throw into a dry pail. Cecily poops mainly on the potty and even when she was in disposable diapers we were able to plop her poop in the toilet no problem (plopping the poop makes your house and your garbage smell a lot better... plus it is a lot better for the environment to not have all that in the landfills)

What about wipes?
We are still using disposable wipes for the most part. But we are trying to convert to flannel. If you have old towels, tee shirts, flannel scraps it is easy to sew or surge around the edges and make them into wipes. If you make your own you can easily make them the same size as your wipes container. We have wanted to switch to washable wipes because the wipes naturally get thrown in with the diapers. If the disposable wipe makes its way into the laundry you have a big mess on your hands... (if you have Velcro diapers)!

Well, that's my diaper report. Let me know if you have questions!

Happy Diapering!

Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday Rory!

On December 30th we celebrated Rory's Birthday. Here he is making a wish... banana bread was the closest thing we could get to cake this year!

Rory enjoyed his gifts. I got him a Golf Billiards game. Genesis gave him Math Dice, a game that only Rory could love (OK, and Rory's Math friends)! Now we need to get him together with some people who would enjoy playing it with him!

The Dedication

Rory and I have chosen to "Dedicate" both of our girls. This means that we have pledged publicly that we are going to raise our children to know the Lord. Our hope and prayer is that we can live lives that will point to Jesus. We are going to make every effort to teach our children about who Jesus is.

Since out church building is not quite done we opted to have both Cecily's and Rosemary's dedications at First Christian. We thought this would be a great idea since my grandparents, Cara and Phil and my cousin Josh and his wife Dorothy were all going to be in town. All of those people in addition to my Aunt Susan, Uncle Michael, Becky, and her Phillip. (In our family there is Cara's Philip and Becky's Phillip... we have to keep them straight!). Plus Rory's parents and sister Genesis. All this to say that we wanted everyone who wanted to come to be able to come and we wanted to be able to visit with them. SO we had it in Port Orchard. This was the theory. Then came the snow!

My Aunt Susan's whole family wasn't able to make it. That was a bummer! But we still had the rest of us. Plus some of our friends braved the elements and were there to share in the day. It was a beautiful time, we are so thankful for all of you who came!

Christmas 2008

Here are some highlights of Christmas 2008! It was a fun snow filled event. Our best present was having Cara and Phil fly in on Christmas Day! We were really fortunate that they could make it in time. It took a lot of waiting in line down at the airport to get there! We also really enjoyed having Grammie and Papa for a nice long visit. Becky, Phil's mom also joined us, as always. we love having her with us!


Rosemary seemed to enjoy her first Christmas! And big sister Cessy really enjoyed being part of this Christmas. I think she loved having so many people to play with the most! However, she did enjoy her presents very much!


Christmas Eve was a bit sad for me this year. The girls and I were snow bound in Port Orchard. My parent's church canceled their Christmas Eve service. Rory, thanks to his step dad Cliff, was able to make it to our Church's service and then Cliff drove him all the way back out to Port Orchard. (That was such a big deal! Thanks again Grandpa Cliff!) Cara and Phil did not get in until Christmas day... so our yearly Pajama party did not go as it usually does. I was sad that Rory missed that part of reading the Christmas story with the girls and opening their jammies. BUT there was so MUCH to be thankful for!!!

A few Christmas gift highlights.... Rory and I got matching Michigan PJ's! (Rory was beside himself!)

I was given a very nice stereo to keep me company while I am home with the girls. It has been great to be able to listen to music (we don't get any TV channels, so radio and Internet is our link to the outside world). Uncle D gave Cecily and Rosemary a big red wagon. Cecily also really liked her tutu, firetruck and fireman boots. (That's my girl.... at her age I went around the house wearing my gun holsters with my dolly under my arm!)




Rory is teaching Cessy how to dance like a ballerina.

Oh (*Sigh*) Christmas Tree!

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Ok... so it seems like we spent a greater part of December trying to get our Christmas tree lights working. We have a wonderful fakeulous (my new word to say that it is both fabulous and fake) tree. The only catch is that this tree does not come with it's own lights.

Rory is our resident tree lighting expert. He is ... shall we say... a meticulous tree light stringer. The tree things he strives for are #1 A good amount of lights.... no skimping on the lights! #2 A very even distribution of lights. #3 If possible the same kind of lights on the whole tree.

Phase 1
Rory went to town putting up the lights with the lights we had left over from last year. Unfortunately they only covered the bottom fourth of the tree.

Phase 2
Off to the store he went to get more lights. He returned, put them up, but they did not cover the last fourth of the tree.

Phase 3
Back to the store. He came home with two more boxes only to discover that he grabbed the wrong ones. The boxes he brought home had white cording rather than green.

Phase 4
Ask the neighbor...By the way.... we live really far out... going to the store is a BIG deal. Our neighbors gladly let us borrow their lights with the promise that we would pick some more up for them in town. BUT their lights were different than the rest of our lights, AND much more expensive.

Phase 5
Return lights to the neighbors, and back to the store to exchange the white ones and get more of the cheap lights we had been using.

Phase 6
Back home to finish the tree! And we're done.... so we think! We only needed one more so we put the other strand in the storage shed with the other Christmas boxes.

Phase 7
About a week later the strands from last year burnt out! So, as a snow storm descended on the house Rory went back out to the shed to get the lights. Then came the task of unwinding and restringing.

Phase 8
Leave the tree up until almost February!