Friday Randomness

Here are a bunch of unconnected things that I thought about writing about this week, but didn't....

Um, ok, Kim. I got my ShoeDazzle picks this week. I kinda thought that I would get an email with one pair of shoes that was all like, "THIS IS THE MAGICAL SHOE FOR YOUR FOOT, GUARANTEED TO NET YOU AT LEAST THREE PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS, " kind of like Cinderella with a large bottomed fairy godmother. Not so much. I got an email that led me to my "shoe closet" or something like that, and there were like 6 pairs there that in truth were probably picked for me by a hobo throwing darts at a wall with shoes on it. One pair of red flats was kinda cute, but I like these more, so I'm probably going to pass. But then I got an email from Kim Kardashian (OMG!) saying this was her pick for the month. Behold:

She goes on to say in the email that you could wear this with a cute romper to make you look a "little more edgy." A romper? Was this email meant for me or for Alice, my 11 month old? Because she can barely walk as it is--add a four inch heel to the mix and I think we've got trouble. Seriously...that is like one of the ugliest non-Croc related shoes I've ever seen. That saddens me. If we can't rely on questionably talented "reality" television stars to pick our shoes, just what will become of this world?

Cloth Diaper Warrior on Electric 94.9!!! Earlier this week, I was innocently driving my kids to school. My daughter INSISTS on listening to this radio station, Electric 94.9, that INSISTS on playing Lady Gaga every 4.3 minutes. Let it be known that Lady Gaga makes my ears bleed. Anyway, the morning show there was doing a "Things that Should be Banished from the World" segment and having people call in. Someone called in and said rats or something, someone else called in and said Obama (grrr...) and then this woman called in and said "disposable diapers"! This woman was OFF THE CHAIN with anger at disposable diaper companies: she cited the lawsuits against Pampers for the whole Drymax fiasco, she talked about the impact on the environment. It was awesome. The DJ was all like, "Oh I had no idea." She kept going and talked about cloth diapers now and how awesome they were and how she had diapered three kids in them. She was great. I loved this because I had NO IDEA that there were more cloth diaper moms and dads around here. When I talk about using them, I get THE LOOK that is usually accompanied by some nice woman saying, "Now, honey, you do what? Well, bless your heart!" But she's blessing my heart because she thinks I'm crazy, not because she thinks I'm righteous. So anyway, I am happy with this. I surely didn't think that there was someone else out there who lives in the Appalachian South, cloth diapers, and listens to/is forced to listen to Electric 94.9. I want us to get together and go to Stir Fry Cafe and talk shit. Literally.

Cheap Mascara! Let it be known that nothing makes me happier than a good mascara. I used to use Dior Show and swore that I would never use another. But then I moved to the middle of nowhere, and there wasn't a Sephora close, and yes, I know I could just place an order, but sometimes I run out and I just need it NOW NOW NOW. I think I've ordered DiorShow once since we moved here. I have thus experimented with other brands. Mostly it has just been an ok showing, but recently I got some Maybelline Falsies mascara. I actually like it. Now it is not like false lashes at all, and I don't think it is as good as DiorShow. But it is definitely a passable cheap alternative. A note: it will clump if you put on a lot of it. I have found that if you kind of rub the brush to get the maximum amount of product off before you put it on, you can eliminate some of the clumping. And really, a dab will do you. If you really want awesome looking lashes, layer a lenthening mascara (I used Cover Girl Lash Blast Length) underneath and then put the Falsies on the top (just a bit, mind you). Maybe more of a night time look. But overall, not bad, not bad.

Carnation Instant Breakfast. Huzzah! I bought some of this, and I like it. I have been having it for breakfast while I fix the kids lunches. I actually bought it for them because I wasn't having a lot of luck with getting them to eat healthily in the morning. However, they have found other alternatives, and I'm drinking this. It is good. I have the Rich Milk Chocolate No Sugar Added. I like that it dissolves really well in the milk, so there is no clumps or anything. It is only 150 calories though (when made with skim milk), so you probably need something else to make sure you don't get hungry before lunch. I've been having some fruit with it and maybe a piece of toast. It is also good mixed with light chocolate soy milk and instant coffee and then blended with ice. Nom nom nom.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! I have to get ready for Alice's Birthday Party, which is next Wednesday. Matt's birthday is on Monday as well. We were going to have the party this weekend, but Matt thought it important for her to have her party on the day of her birthday. Why? I don't know. When he gets something like this in his head, I have determined it is best to just nod and agree. So we are having a "drop in" party on Wednesday. A small one, because, well, she's one. And her favorite toy right now is a sample size maple syrup bottle. So I don't think we need a bouncy house or anything, do you? I am going to make the Magnolia vanilla cupcakes with pink icing, and I think I might try my hand at some homemade strawberry marshmallows. Or I won't. We'll see just how Martha-esque I am feeling. I am also thinking of making a big pot of spaghetti sauce because Alice loves anything with tomato sauce (enchilada sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato chutney--whatever, she likes it all). At any rate, my mother is visiting this weekend as well, which will probably mean there will be some shopping involved. And probably my mother will attempt to run a man down with her car. But that, as I always say, is another story for another time.

As Promised...Disposable Diapers Totally Work (If You Like Waking Up in a River of Poo)

Last week, I went on vacation with my mother. My mom and I have this tradition where every year we go to Kure Beach, NC with my kids and stay in a condo and eat fried seafood and ice cream for a week. We do other stuff too, but the main sticking points are the fried seafood and ice cream. We eat a lot of it. And every morning when we get up, we immediately begin talking about where (and how much) we will actually eat.

ANYWAY, because we stay in a condo, it is much like just traveling to another home. There is a washer and dryer and a full kitchen and all of that. Because of this, traveling with cloth diapers was no biggie. I just put our stash into a repurposed Gap bag and took it with us. And I washed diapers on the trip, just like I would at home. I actually washed them more often because Alice used quite a few as swim diapers during the day (just took the insert out of the pocket) or got her AIO sandy at the beach (I found that to be the best thing for her to wear to the beach--trim and absorbant). So I washed nearly every day. It was fine though--not a big deal.

When we got back home late Saturday night, my mom dropped the kids and me off at our house before she went down to my grandmom's house where she was staying (about 30 min. away). It was about 1:30 a.m., so we didn't unload the car--I just grabbed my toiletry bag because it held my contact solution and case. Because I was hella tired, I just carried Alice in to bed (she and the other kids were already asleep), said hello to Matt, and then went on to bed myself. Alice was wearing a nighttime diaper (extra stuffed FuzziBunz), so not a big deal.

However, the next morning, I realized that I had left our full stash in my mom's car. Because I knew that my mom was probably really tired from the trip home, I decided not to bother her and just put an old fitted and a wool soaker on Al until I could get the rest of the diapers. Approximately 30 minutes after I hatched this plan, Alice pooped. I couldn't let her sit in that, so I found a BumGenius that I hadn't packed because she had used it the night before we left for the beach. I washed out the cover on my hands, dried it quickly in the drier and then stuffed it with a combination of extra inserts. Whew, I thought. Crisis averted. But then, I realized that the trip had not been so kind to Alice's digestive track. Yup, more poop. Since I had exhausted my source of forgotten diapers, I begged my husband to go out and buy some disposables. After some convincing, he did it.

There were no real problems during the day that I let her wear it. Mom brought back all of our stuff, and I didn't think about it. But that night, I was changing Alice for bed. Sure enough, the bag of dipes was still sitting in the living room. The disposables were just laying near her crib. I thought, "What would it hurt? I spent $10 on those things, I should probably use them." So I just pulled one out, slapped it on her, and put her to bed.

The next morning Alice wakes up all happy and joyful. She is playing around in the bed between Matt and me--just smiling and being sweet. I love these times in the morning--the house is quiet and we just lay there and watch her, smiling at her movements and sounds. It is our time to devote all our attention to her and we all love it. All of a sudden, I hear the tell-tale sounds of baby gas. Now, on a normal day, Alice is pretty regular, so this is pretty normal for her. I think nothing of it and just let her get to her business. I shut my eyes and lay back and...

The next thing I know there is baby poop FLOWING down my new 500 threadcount sheets. Like not just a dot or a smudge or a tiny leak. A FULL ON LAVA FLOW. Add full on flow to moving baby and it is EVERYWHERE.

And I, of course, being the idiot that I am, think of nothing but this:

Yup, a Family Guy episode. To Live and Die in Dixie. In it, Peter Griffin gets mauled by a raccoon and then happens to be in an outhouse when it is tipped over by a bird. (I couldn't get a picture of the actual tipping.) Anyway, when this happens, and Peter is covered by the contents of the outhouse, he yells, "IT'S EVERYWHERE! IT'S IN MY RACCOON WOUNDS!" So of course, I jump from the bed, scream an expletive and then yell at the top of my lungs, "IT'S IN MY RACCOON WOUNDS!" My lovely husband gets the joke, but instead of quoting more of the episode (or even laughing at my funny) jumps out of bed and yells, "MY SHEETS!! MY AWESOME SHEETS!"

(Because did I mention that these were the sheets that I bought as a gift to us after our lovely anniversary trip as a way of bringing the luxury and romance home to us to stay? No? Because they were. They also cost a good deal more than I have ever spent on a piece of bedding and a good deal more than my husband even knew about. Had he known how much I actually spent on them, he probably would have chosen that moment to puke.)

Now, lots of people talk about cloth diapers being better for the environment, better for the baby, etc. But how about just better? We have never had a "diaper blowout" with cloth, never had that awful "poop up the back" that you get with disposables. We have had an occasional issue with wetness in the jumperoo and once some leakage when she managed to take off her diaper while in the jumperoo, but that's it. And compared to waking up to a veritable Amazon of baby poo? NOTHING. My husband said it best when he said, "Disposable diapers BLOW."

But...ah, the dilemma. Next week, Matt and I are taking our kids on a week-long family vacation to Williamsburg, VA. (One of the pluses to being a teacher, ya'll!) We are not staying in a condo--just a suite in a hotel. There is a guest laundry, but you have to pay for the wash, and it is not in the room so inconvenient (especially when we are planning on being out all day and tired at night). Before Poopgate '10, I had planned on taking disposables just for the ease of it. But...now I don't know. The way I see it, I have three options: 1) Take disposables and LOTS of clothes and Bac Out and Tide pens and just hope for the best, 2) Take our stash and just do laundry a lot, or 3) Buy a whole new diapers system (like Flips) that have a cover and a disposable insert. If I do that, I'm going to be out the money for the new system, and the money for fast shipping to get it here before we leave on Sunday. I'm just at a loss.

So we will see. I have to make a decision soon (for obvious reasons). However, aside from letting me hash out my options and maybe get some feedback from my -4 readers, I hope this post convinces someone out there to go with cloth. It is really the best option, and no, I'm not that crunchy or anything. I just like stuff to work the way it should, and well, disposable diapers do not. I am interested, also, to see if anyone googles "waking up in a river of poo" and happens upon this. Because if the internet has taught us anything, it is that if you can dream it up, someone out there enjoys it and is looking for video.

My Experiences with Cloth Diapering

So I cloth diaper my four month old. Cloth diapering is pretty normal now to many I think, but in the rural area where I live, I might as well tell people that I wrap my daughter's hindparts in leaves and mud cakes. When I tell lots of people, they immediately ask "why." To my family, it is mostly a question of cost. My husband, who is incredibly frugal, likes cloth diapering A LOT. The day after my daughter was born, Matt walked into my hospital room with this huge smile on his face. When I asked him what was up, he said "You know, I think I'm going to really like this cloth diapering thing." It soon came out that on the way home the night before (it was an hour drive home from the hospital--told you we lived in the boonies!) he had figured out the price of disposables for two and a half years versus the price of cloth diapers and he was very pleased!

For me personally though, it is a question of comfort. I know that I would not want to wear paper underwear around for two years, so I wouldn't think that Alice would either. The cloth diapers we have are super plush and super comfy looking. To me, they just look better for a baby. Plus, I think they are super cute and fun--and to me, aesthetics means a lot!

I used disposables for both of my older children. When Gabby was born 10 years ago, I was very young, and although I wanted to cloth diaper (my mom had used cloth with me, and I had heard her tell people about it over the years), I didn't have the knowledge or time to track down something that was not readily available in my rural area. When Sam was born, I was in college, and I just didn't think--went right with the disposables. The only issues I had with disposables were the comfort issues and then the fact that I didn't like the way that they smelled--even unused. Something about it was just artificial and weird. But because I didn't think about it that much, I didn't think there was any worthy alternative.

I have been so pleased, though, with the choices you get with cloth diapering. When Alice was a newborn, we used fitteds (Kissaluvs) with covers (mostly Thirsties with a couple of Bummis thrown in), mostly all borrowed from a super awesome friend of mine. Then, as she changed sizes, we moved to prefolds and covers. I will just be honest--I am not the best prefold diaper-er in the world. But my husband...holy crap. My boy could go pro. I have no idea why or how, but I'm pretty sure he could slap a prefold on a writhering elephant. He's that good. Anyway, we rode that wave until Alice grew a bit more until we thought one-size diapers would flatter her and do its job.

And that's where we are now. Our "stash" is almost exclusively BumGenius One Size 3.0 Pockets. Why? Because they are the diapers the fit Alice the best. I tested Happy Heiny's and one FuzziBunz One Size (although I recently ordered a few sized medium Fuzzi Bunz to try), but the BumGenius are the easiest ones for everyone in the family to do (I have to consider my mother in law's input since she watches Alice while I work), and they work the best on Alice's frame. The just look comfy on her when she is wearing them.

We also have two Goodmama fitteds that I purchased off of Spots Corner. I bought then gently used because I couldn't bring myself to spend $30 on something that my baby will poop in. I like them, but (for us) I don't think they are worth that kind of money. For one thing, the fit is not as good on the BG's. Something about the way they fit around her legs doesn't look as fitted as the others. I'm hoping she will grow into them more. However, the prints are AMAZING. The two we have are kind of psychadelic, Pucci kind of prints. Just seeing them in the laundry makes me smile.

So far, Al has worn them under a wool soaker that her aunt crocheted for her. The soaker itself is adorable--gold with a magenta ribbon at the waist and a ruffle on the butt--and I love that it was homemade just for her. We have worn this specifically at nighttime. We have only done it a couple of times, but I'm not sure how much I like it. For one thing, I don't like waking up to the smell of wet wool. This is especially an issue when Alice is not such a heavy wetter, and is usually just fine in a Bum Genius pocket with the doubler for nighttime. So I don't have to wake up to wet wool... For the other thing, I haven't tried to fit anything over her fluffy woolly butt, so I worry about her being cold, even though she is covered in blankets. I like her to wear a blanket sleeper (she is wearing a fleece one as she sleeps beside of me right now), and I'm pretty sure that I couldn't get that over the wool. Those are my only issues, but since we are happy with other avenues, I might not do a whole lot more with wool right now. I know, though, that as she grows and changes, we will look into it again.

The final experience with cloth diapering I have had is just how addictive it is! You have no idea at how many websites I have looked at, and how many diapers I have read about. My husband thinks I am insane. But I think it is worth it...even if diapers are my new crack!