virtual baby shower goodness

I'm a part of a little online community of women who share a lot of the same ideas and beliefs on natural parenting and the like. and it just so happens that we are all expecting sweet little babes in, or around, march (we do have some late february mammas and an early april mamma).

yes, we are the crunchy march mammas. and we are going to take on the world.

it's been really fun getting to know these women over the past few months. we all come from such different places in life, but we're connected in so many ways. it's nice to be in an online community where other people's opinions and beliefs are respected even if not agreed with. we're all nice to each other. (which doesn't really happen on something like a birth board.) it's refreshing.

we decided to throw ourselves a little party. a little virtual baby shower of sorts. everyone who wanted to join in signed up and was paired up with someone to give a small baby shower gift to. it's been fun seeing what everyone has been getting.

I decided to do a little handmade goodness for my sweet mamma + babe. in the photo above (which she posted, thankfully. I'm lame and didn't even get any photos of it all since I was in such a rush to get everything finished and out the door to the post office before the tub guy came with his toxic fumes. that's another story for another day.) you will see:

an infant peasant dress upcycled from a cute women's top. I loved the happy, yellow print and it turns out yellow is one of this mamma's favorite colors. hip! hip! {a free pattern is available for this dress in size 0-3 month over at sew-much-ado.com}

a newborn sleeper gown with hand mitts! I seriously, seriously love hand mitts. so much so I would even wear shirts with hand mitts. so this was fun to make. I think I will be making baby girl some of these for sure. it also turns out that this mamma has a newborn diaper in the very same print. how serendipitous. {a free pattern is available at thismamamakesstuff.com}

wool breast pads. have I mentioned my love for wool? it is probably one of the most magical fibers ever known to man. it is self cleaning (because of the lanolin content in the wool), antibacterial, can hold up to 40% of its weight in moisture before feeling wet, is breathable so you feel warm in cold temperatures and cool in hot temperatures, and not to mention fire retardent. if you think you're allergic to wool, you're probably not. you're probably just reacting to the chemicals commercial wool goes through in the garment making process. pure wool is soft and squishy and hypoallergenic. okay, okay. enough of why I am obsessed with wool and back to the breast pads. I used some upcycled wool sweaters for these, but they were merino or cashmere sweaters so still super soft and not scratchy against the skin. since they were so thin, I just serged a few layers together (I traced a CD, if you want to try making them at home!). they should totally work in theory, so I'm excited to try them out (and hear how this mamma likes them when the time comes). wool breast pads can be really expensive to buy, but the great thing is you really only need one or two pairs. one can be air drying while you're wearing the other pair. they only need to be washed and relanolized every few weeks or more. that is why I love wool! {tutorials and ideas: felted, contoured, and flat}

I had so much fun crafting for this little girl and her mamma; envisioning a sweet little babe wearing this cheerful little dress in the hot louisiana sun, or curled up fast asleep with the cute little mitts covering her hands. I love making baby things. so tiny + cute for someone so tiny + cute.

a resolve for the new year

food waste is a huge problem. the united states generates 34 million tons of food waste each year. that's a lot of food that could have gone to feed hungry people, not to mention the negative environmental impacts. (such as food rotting in landfills, which doesn't really decompose so easily, and then creates methane gas.) so this is a problem that I'm always sad to see myself being a part of when I clean out my fridge or fresh produce bin on my countertop... so much waste. it hurts my heart.

so this year I am going to try and make a more conscience effort to eat what I buy. (or grow.) so far so good, eleven days into the new year. I see something in my fridge that is pushing the limit and I find something to make with it. I'm happy to say that I don't think I'll have to throw out any produce from my last shopping trip. hurrah!

I'm also going to try and be better about composting. in the past I would just throw all my kitchen scraps into an old plastic container (the kind you get nuts in from costco. it works perfectly!) and just throw them in our county yard waste recycling bin at the end of the day. well, it seems I got a little lazy (early pregnancy might have had something to do with that!) and out of the habit. one day I may even try and step it up a notch and start our own composting pile in our backyard. the garden would love it.

another thing I used to do with kitchen scraps was freeze them in a large ziplock bag as I went, saving them up to make veggie stock from scratch. it works perfectly and is so easy. again, I got lazy somewhere along the way and haven't done it in years. maybe I should start that up again, too.

so let's all resolve to eat our food this year. waste is so 2011.

info source: epa stats

image source: perfect gardening tips

(check out their list of tips to reduce food waste)

nesting

{image via}

the clock is ticking away. baby girl will be here soon. there's been a flurry of activity around this house.

you might think it's me who's been in nesting mode. but really, it has been peter. even my midwife pointed it out as I told her about our impromptu home renovations.

our upstairs living spaces now have a fresh, new look. well, almost. we're still living in the chaos. (that is, we're still living in the basement amidst all our piles of displaced crap.) but soon, hopefully soon we will be able to move back upstairs and put the finishing touches on the rooms.

we've gone back and forth on having the kids share the upstairs room. right now we're on the sharing bandwagon, and I think it's going to stick. I'm working out the shared bedroom decore ideas. pj already has a new big boy toddler bed that just needs some paint and some bedding. we're still on the lookout for a nice, used mini crib for baby girl, but we have time for that. I'm excited to put a nursery together again. (let's all pause for a moment to mourn the loss of my tree branch.)

so come over in a few weeks and see all the nesting we've been up to. while peter is renovating the house I've got sewing projects on my mind. hopefully we can get everything finished up before baby girl makes her big debut. time is flying faster than I think.

thirty

I've been busy mothering lately. mothering from the outside, mothering from the inside. it's kind of been all encompassing. totally consuming. and I love it.

we're thirty weeks in with baby girl. ten (or so) more weeks to go before we get to meet this tiny person. it's crazy how fast a second pregnancy goes.

hopefully this space will start to fill up with more of my thoughts over the coming weeks. forgive me if they're mostly about birthing and the power and beauty that it all entails. as you can see, it's been a little bit on my mind these days.

whales

oh, hello. it's been a while. nice to see you.

I know I haven't even wrapped up my flats handwashing challenge yet (because I'm sure you've all been dying to know how that turned out... let's just say my husband said that the challenge was ruining our marriage. seriously. and if you weren't dying to know before, I'm sure you're dying to know now! I'm just trying to build the intrigue + suspense, here. but no, really. he did say more than once that it was ruining our marriage!) but I'm not going to be posting about that today. today I will be talking about whales. especially these cute little whales on the itty bitty baby outfit I made this weekend for a friend's baby shower.

the jamie jumper | fishsticksdesigns little one layette pattern

I had a crafty sewing day with my darling niece last week and it was so much fun. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to be sewing until literally minutes before I was leaving to drive up to her house. I was hesitant to cut into this whale thermal tee I have been saving forever. it was just too cute + I was nervous the fabric was too stretchy to work with. I'm glad I did because my friend told me after she opened it that she was having a whale theme in the nursery. meant to be!

since I wasn't able to finish it at my niece's house I really wanted to let her see how it turned out. so here it is. hurrah! let's have another sewing day soon. maybe this time we can make matching skirts.

the routine

it's been two days now, and I'm still perfecting my routine. we'll see how things evolve as the week goes by. this is the general routine, though, all done during nap time.

I've been using one of my five gallon buckets as my diaper pail because it just seems easier that way. I normally use a large hanging wet bag to store the dirties, but I didn't feel like adding an extra thing to wash. so once pj is napping, I take the bucket full of dirty diapers down stairs and I fill it with some water. today I let them soak with oxi-clean for about 45 minutes while I ate lunch.

I don't think my next step is necessary, but it makes me feel better about things. I boil two stock pots full of water and then dump them in the other five gallon bucket. I just do this while my diapers are soaking. this is my wash water. I add my detergent and start plunging away at my diapers, two at a time, for about a minute. (sixty plunges, to be exact.) since the water is literally boiling hot, I use a long wooden spoon to fish them out and put them in a large plastic bowl to await the rinse cycle.

once everything is washed, I fill up both buckets with more water. this time I plunge the diapers for thirty seconds in one bucket, then thirty seconds in another. if I feel like there is still detergent in the diapers, I do it again in more fresh water.

once fully rinsed, I wring the heck out of those things. I definitely learned my lesson. I twist those suckers dry and then twist 'em again!

then they go on the drying rack.

I had to put monday's not-quite-dry diapers out on the line so I would have room for yesterday's diapers. as I was hanging them up it started raining just a little bit. at least the clothesline is covered by the party patio.

luckily the sun came out.

so they were able to get some sunshine + fresh air. just what every diaper needs in life.

the lessons I've learned

{image via}

I wish this was the scene from my line drying experience yesterday. unfortunately my backyard is not as cool, nor is it as sunny. (what a dream it would be to live right there and have that clothesline!) the on and off rainy weather has forced me to line dry my diapers on a drying rack in my basement bathroom.

lesson number one: line drying outside on your clothesline is way better than drying in your basement on a drying rack. especially since the wooden drying rack left funny little brown stains where it was hung over the bar. and not to mention they're still not dry.

real lesson number one: wring out the wet diapers better!! I didn't wring them out too well and the dry time is reflecting that. after the spin cycle in my washing machine they will line dry in like twenty minutes. it's been nine hours now and some of the thicker flats are still pretty wet.

the overall process of washing my diapers went better than expected. it wasn't hard and it definitely took less time than doing it in my machine. the kicker is that it's all hands-on time. still not hard, though.

lesson number two: don't be afraid to handwash diapers when necessary.

the down and dirty

I have never handwashed diapers before, so this process might be modified as I go. I'm hoping to do a trial run before the challenge actually starts. you could do this in a bathtub with just your hands, but I didn't particularly want to go that route. instead I bought a few supplies to make things more fun.

two 5 gallon buckets from home depot. orange, of course.

I plan on using one bucket to initially rinse the diapers in. then I will be filling up the other bucket with hot water (I'm contemplating boiling two stock pots of water) for the wash. I will have dumped out the initial rinse water and put fresh water in for my rinse. I will probably do a second rinse to make sure no detergent is left in the diapers. I think this sounds like a solid plan. but again, we'll see how it goes.

this is the mobile washer. I bought it online at an emergency preparedness store. it supposedly produces a push/pull sucking action so the water and detergent get, well, pushed and pulled through the clothes. they say you only need to agitate it for about a minute. and that it gets your clothes super clean. you do the same agitation for the rinse(s) and it supposedly gets all the detergent out easily, which is very important for cloth diapering.

I didn't really need rubber gloves, I have no problem touching dirty diapers (I mean, that's what we wash our hands for, right?), but I actually wanted them mostly for the wringing out process after they are washed and rinsed. (because that can be hard on your hands!) though I could probably not even wring them out and the flats would still be dry in no time. that's why I love flats.

and of course, the clothesline + clothespins. though I didn't purchase them for the challenge, I just love them all the same.

when washing cloth diapers you need a cloth diaper safe detergent, and handwashing them is no different. you really don't want anything with additives, brighteners, enzymes and the like. I use country save because I can buy it locally and it seems to work well with my hard water. I actually use it on all my laundry. it's a low sudsing detergent, so it's perfect for my HE washer.

I will be using about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspon to wash my diapers. I think. I really have no idea if that will be enough/too much until I actually try it out. I'm just going off a recommendation from another handwashing flats challenge mamma (who uses the mobile washer and a bucket! whoot!)

and no, oma, no bleach. gone are the days of bleach soaked diapers. it actually wears out diapers faster and can ruin the modern day covers. the detergent + hot water should do the trick. not to mention the uv effects of the sun. I should write a whole post about the sun. amazing!

well, that's it as far as supplies, I think. oh, and my diapers of course. and my covers. and my son's cute bum.

::check out how other mammas are preparing for the challenge::

old school is the new cool

{pj rockin' his new ikea flats, sans cover}

I love telling people how far cloth diapering has come. that modern cloth diapering is nothing like your grandma's cloth diaper. but the most ironic thing about it is that my favorite cloth diapering system is as old school as you can get. flats + wool.

so as crazy as it sounds, I'm going to be taking one more step in the old school direction next week by committing to the flats and handwashing challenge* hosted by dirtydiaperlaundry.com. yep, that's right, for the week of may 23rd through the 30th I will be handwashing my diapers. crazy? yes, a little. but I'm excited to try!

here are a few of the rules:

You MUST use Flats.

You MUST handwash them. How is up to you. (bathtub, sink, large wash tub, portable non electronic washing machine, or camp style washer (bucket and plunger- think churning butter)

You MUST air dry them. (indoors or outdoors, makes no difference)

You MUST limit your number of covers in rotation to 5 or less.

You can use any detergent you want. (Keep in mind that you still want cloth safe detergents)

You can still use your nighttime diapers but I ask that you try to make flats work. Maybe try a prefold wrapped in a flat.

You can use disposable liners.

You CAN’T use a diaper sprayer. I thought long and hard about this one, but at an average cost of 40.00 this is one diaper accessory that is out of range for many families. Dunk, swish, flush, or scrape!

{image via}

okay, I'm good with using flats. I use them almost exclusively anyway. (yes, even over my more "high-tech" diapers) and line drying? no problem. I try to do that weather permitting already. but no diaper sprayer?? I am in love with that thing! but I'm a big girl, I can handle the dunk + swish for a week (because honestly, it's really not that bad. I swear!) but I do have to say I will miss spritzing my dipes...

I'll be blogging about it all, so you won't miss a thing. don't worry! I'll also go into a little more detail on why I choose (and love!) cloth diapering my son as well as some general cloth diapering info, because people have been curious. so get ready for some fluff people!!

::check out why other mammas are joining the challenge::

*recently I have read news articles about low-income families reusing disposable diapers because they cannot afford to buy more. scraping out poop and putting a soiled diaper back on a child is such a huge health risk! now I know that in some circumstances cloth diapers aren't realistic for a low-income family due to a myriad of reasons, but I wanted to see for myself how realistic it would be for me to handwash my diapers. because I know if it came down to it, I would rather handwash diapers every night than use disposable diapers on my son for a prolonged amount of time. it is that important to me. I am also doing this so I know how to handwash the cloth so I would feel comfortable doing it in an emergency situation. plus, I just like a challenge!

the great cloth diaper change

photo + news article here.

on saturday, april 23rd a world record was set and my son's cute bum was a part of it. (as you can see in the photo above) the great cloth diaper change was a worldwide effort to change the most amount of bums into a cloth diaper at the same time, via the guinness book of world records. below are the (unofficial, for now) stats from the GCDC:

157 hosts have reported 4928 participants so far!

Australia: 3
Canada: 668
Germany: 26
Spain: 17
Switzerland: 13
United States: 4201

I love that the event is bringing awareness to modern cloth diapering. they really are nothing like your grandma's (or even mom's!) cloth diaper. it's a whole new world of cute, functional, easy, healthy for the bum+earth fluff! and I am so happy to be a part of it.

hello.

hmmm... I've been away from this space for far too long. maybe you can blame my love affair with the ipad for that. or that I've just been so busy chasing a little pj around.

but hopefully that will all change soon. (the lack of blogging, not the chasing.)

right now I'm live blogging from atlanta, georgia. (where you can literally ice skate down the street.) I'm waiting for a sweet little babe to enter the world, though I don't know what she's waiting for. though to be honest, if I were her, I'd want to stay just a little bit longer in the cozy spot too. it's a little too cold on the outside.

snowed in

they say the blizzard is coming.

are we ready?

thankfully we had a small dose last sunday. now I am sure we are ready for the big one, as it were. we just have to remember to detach the automatic garage door. as it turns out, if you don't have power you just might find yourself stranded* in your own home. it was like being snowed in by six inches of snow. it made for a fun and adventurous day, to say the least. we felt like pioneers.

I know we have our headlamps at the ready. we have candles. we always have the jeboil. we have a hatchet, some wood, and some hot apple cider. we are ready for you, blizzard. just please, don't interfere with the rest of our holiday plans!

*it turns out that in 1940 when our garage was built they hadn't invented access doors yet. or was it that they hadn't invented automatic garage doors?? no matter, we were truly trapped at our own house for nine hours, that's all I'm sayin'.

you're invited

I've been busy lately crafting up a storm for the harvest boutique. if you're around on the twenty-third you should stop by for some local, handmade goodness. I'll be the one selling the upcycled children's items. leggies. longies. skirties. raglan tee's. envelope tee's. previously loved items infused with new life + a bit of hip.

celebrate the boy

celebrating the little man's first three-sixty-five.

details* to come, I'm sure.

*because yo, I totally made that shirt. not just freezer paper stenciled it--which I did--but actually made the shirt. upcycled from two previously loved tshirts. I just might tell y'all how I did it.

*and also, remember when I said I had all these things floating around my head regarding pj's birth? well, I've been processing things for an entire year now. I just might spill my thoughts out onto the blog. hopefully. they need to be aired out. but they run deep and sometimes I feel it's hard to get them out. to make sure the words are the right ones.