Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My Cutie's Cloth Booty!




He was just a few days past 6 weeks old... I had 24 brand new diapers sitting waiting for him to be big enough to use. I didn't believe those BIG diapers could fit on my sweet tiny little boy. It took a nudge of encouragement from my friend Kelly before I tried it. It turned out that despite looking like it was going to eat him IT FIT!! That was the last day Jeriah wore a disposable diaper.
If you figure that every disposable diaper costs $0.25 each and a child goes thru about 7 diapers a day over 365 days that's about $638.75 we have saved not buying diapers. That savings while small has helped make it possible for ME to be the one changing every one of those diapers(GRandma has changed a few too). It has allowed me to be here with my baby every day of his life. Its ironic I haven't blogged about his first birthday yet but I'll blog about his cloth diaper anniversary lol. Maybe I'll get there its still hard to admit he's 1 year old. Admitting he's had a soft fluffy cloth butt for a year is easier!
I haven't ever regretted my decision to use cloth diapers even with the poopiest messes. EVEN BETTER all but 1-2 of those poopy messes was contained in the diaper! Washing is pretty much as easy as tossing them in and starting it up. I haven't ever had a problem with my diapers I haven't ever needed to strip them I treat them with care and love because I hope they'll last me thru a few kids! I am interested in trying other kinds and styles but I don't feel the urge to buy every cute diaper I see. I have been tempted seriously by Beatles diapers, Sushi Diapers and Super Mario diapers. Someday I'll have a girl (I hope) and I'll really have to find a way to buy some ruffly butt fluff! I'm just thankful everyday for what I have and what it means!
I also am a year overdue in saying THANK YOU!!! I did/do have a good adorable toddling excuse for not saying it sooner since he came the day after I received this wonderful gift. I'm still late saying it... All 24 of my wonderful diapers were a collective gift from the women at my church. My sweet sisters chipped in so I could be a weirdo who uses cloth diapers. I received everything I need 24 diapers, 3 wet bags, more wipes than I can count, a diaper sprayer, Baking soda, liners and i may be forgetting something. I am tremendously thankful to all of you all of them. Again it has helped make staying home with my baby a reality and in part allowed me my "dream job" STAYING HOME being Jeriah's Momma!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

EPIC FAIL! With a glimmer of hope....



So I've failed at my May Challenge which makes me sad I had really wanted to do it and spring clean my house... but in glancing thru the book (which is a perfectly fine good book) I found it to be a spring cleaning book and not so much a manage your every day life kind of book So until I can get a handle on the everyday its hard to imagine adding epic tasks like scrubbing my walls to it. I was amazed and disgusted tho when I scrubbed my kitchen cabinets blech... Its amazing to me how things get dirty that you wouldn't think get dirty offhand...

So a glimmer of hope I know my house isn't filthy! I could deal with the small amounts of shame if a friend dropped by un-announced most of the time. I have started just making little rules for myself tho to help me control the chaos. That way I don't feel like I have an insurmountable list of things to do. Among these; pick up Jeriah's toys when he sleeps This contributes to the overall cleanliness of the living room. I've also discovered if the toys are picked up he plays with them more lol. As soon as he's able to I'm going to start teaching him to help clean up the toys its on the horizon I can see it! :) Another thing I've tried to add is 30 min of kitchen clean up. Its easy for me on easy dinner nights when we only dirty 2 plates to leave the dishes for tomorrow but after 2 days of leaving the frying pan and 2 plates plus other assorted dishes I need to clean the kitchen badly!

I think the biggest challenge is time I feel like I need all day to clean but I'm learning cleaning up doesn't take a whole lot of time I just think it does cuz I don't want to do it. It reminds me of homework at some point I realized its easier to DO it and get it done than to not do it and suffer the consequences.

I do hope to read thru and complete the challenges in the book someday for the heart and home overhaul!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Week 1...

Homemakers Challenge - 31 Days to Clean



And so it begins... I'm going to post weekly but I'll try and say something about each day. What I learned or what God put on my heart how much I hate folding laundry... stuff like that :)

Day 1:
This day brought the question Why do I want a clean home... um isn't that obvious? I want to not be afraid if someone comes over. I want to have people over.I want to walk into a room and not see work waiting for me. I want to serve my family. I want it to be safe for my son so I don't find another "made in china" sticker in his diaper. I want home to be comfy and relaxing I want to relax and enjoy my family here not be thinking about how badly I need to dust the ceiling fan!
The idea behind this list is to remind me why I spend time everyday doing these things. Some days I feel like I clean my kitchen just to dirty it again. Far too often this happens and it saddens me. I was challenged to write a Mission statement for myself to motivate me everyday when I roll my eyes at the thought of doing whatever chore AGAIN!

"My home is the place where my family lives and it should feel lived in and full of life. I want to bring life to my family. I want my family to see that I desire to serve them as their wife and mommy." I may change this... LOL
My chore for day 1 was to look ahead at all the tasks in the days to come and ensure I have all the necessary potions, scrubs, sponges and scrapers! This may have been a bad idea cuz I had to look ahead at all the chores I have to look forward to... LOL On the plus side there are some I won't be able to do such as clean out my utility room. I don't really have one it kind of gets lumped in with the kitchen so on those day My goal will be to work on the other projects around my tiny sweet little home that I feel need my attention like dusting that darn ceiling fan.
Needs: febreeze and I think thats it.

Day 2:
Reminds us that women are life givers and give life with our words, our homes, our church etc. The challenge is to look at my home as something to make alive. What can I do to make it feel alive for me, Steve andJeriah? Off the top of my head i'm going to start opening the windows i think... Sunshine pouring in makes me feel rejuvenated and i hope it will have a similar effect on Jeriah. Also Flowers I wish I could put fresh flowers somewhere. Maybe i'll buy a little pot of flowers to grow in my kitchen!
My Cleaning Challege: Kitchen-clean out and scrub down my fridge and freezer! *sigh* usually my fridge isn't full of leftovers and such but this time it was and having space in it again is good! That and it looks empty... EEK until you wrench open the produce drawer and then I feel better deeing it so full of good things! :)
Day 3: Epic FAIL....Time to regroup I am going to *TRY* and finish my cleaning chores this weekend! and can hopefully get back on track by Monday... Not to make excuses because I did have moments of selfish laziness and facebook time and I wanna talk to my husband time... Jeriah's also teething and he's a horrible teether even with his amber teething necklace even chewing on frozen washcloths. He had a slight fever and was throwing up he's been chewing on anything he can get in his mouth... He also sleeps so erratically when teething so I in turn sleep erratically :( We've also realized we need to start changing how we've been feeding him so I've been trying to plot a new course in that regard. Lactivist that I am was relying too much on my milk to nourish him and while it is perfect and complete he needs additional things now and I need to be more proactive and diligent about feeding him. I never starved him but I often thought while out and about I'll just nurse him and la de da and he need more than that now. I feel negligent in some ways but I always offered him a variety of healthy good food and I've always let him choose to eat what he wants to eat and how much. Its a new dance for him and I to learn together. He has a lot of butter in his future and i might make him some rich eggy vanilla pudding. I'm also going to try and cut out 1-2 of those sweet precious nursing times . Weaning a baby the process of transitioning him (no matter how slowly) from the milk of my breast to other foods is hard.
We're also looking at and praying about moving so I've been scouring Craigs list looking for a new home that would be a little bigger and hopefully the same price for rent thats closer to work for Steve. This cleaning challenge is GOOD in the regard I can get a head start on cleaning it up before we move out even tho it will be hard to leave :(
I remain committed and will try to persevere... maybe this 31 day challenge will take me 2 months but I'm sure there are lessons and blessings to be learned!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

A Challenge....

Homemakers Challenge - 31 Days to Clean


*ominous music playing*

So I heard about this book 31 Days to Clean:Having a Martha House the Mary way by Sarah Mae on facebook a friend of mine got a copy for free (I think?) then another friend posted a link to a blog about raising homemakers (filed that one away for a future daughter God may bless me with) and the book was advertised there AND this challenge was offered. This book seemed to keep popping up and I was intrigued at the idea of a book that might teach me a system of keeping my home. I struggle with this and not because I don't enjoy cleaning but I feel like I don't have opportunity cuz I'm chasing around this grabby little person who's mission in life is to seek out trouble. Maybe I use him as an excuse? I am definitely guilty of collapsing exausted and spending my cleaning time relaxing! At any rate I would love to have a better heart attitude when it comes to my home. I would love for it to be cleaner and more organized. It would make me feel less stressed and maybe more relaxed when I have time to relax!
I feel like God kept putting this book in my face for a reason so I woke up this morning with a niggling little nudge nudge in my mind that I should jump ship and do this challenge. What do I have to lose? The book costs $5 on my(new amazing hopefully life-changing) kindle which is a small price to pay for a clean house and a God centered attitude toward keeping my home.
I hope to be faithful about blogging thru the next 30+ days. I don't have to every day just once a week. More than a committment to blog tho I hope I can be faithful about doing each task each day the one for my heart and the one for my home... Help me friends hold me accountable and ask me how its going! I may have no idea what I'm in for!

Here's how it works:
1. Read the chapters each day that week. Highlight, take notes, do what you have to do to engage the material. Don’t just read it. Really allow it to change you. Journal, pray, look up scriptures.
2. Write a post (or more, if you like) sharing your most challenging chapter for that week and give us a personal glimpse as to why you struggle in this area. Don’t worry! We all have an area of struggle, so we will all be sharing! Share what you need that could help you in that area. I will be posting a struggle, but also some extra solutions to accompany what Sarah Mae has offered. If you feel compelled, why not also share something that comes easily for you? Perhaps you could offer tips to others who may be struggling?
3. Use the button in your post so that others can find their way back in case they would like to join us. The more the merrier! I have changed the code so it brings you to the list of “31 Days to Clean” posts. You can find the button in my sidebar.
4.Link up your post(s) on Friday, beginning May 6th . It doesn’t matter what day you choose to write your post, you can still link it up on Friday.