Yes, that really is a cloth diaper!

Last month I took a train ride down to Florida with Evangeline (much easier than expected!). On the way back, there was a nice lady sitting next to me who let me change Evie's diaper on her seat. When I took her diaper off and put it in the wetbag (a waterproof bag for dirty cloth diapers), she took the bag and started walking down the aisle toward the trash can!! I said 'Oh, those are cloth diapers!'. She looked surprised and brought them back...she said it's a good thing I said something or those diapers would have been goners. She also said she was wondering why those diapers looked so cute. I have explained to so many people in the past months how the "new" cloth diapers work, and have had so many people say something along the lines of 'Wow, they've come a long way since I (or my mom) used them!'.

I have really enjoyed my adventures in cloth diapering. I remember a few months into my pregnancy when I was researching and deciding whether or not to cloth diaper...it was so completely overwhelming, I ended up bawling my eyes out after spending several hours online and getting totally confused, feeling like I would be a terrible mother because I didn't even know what kind of diaper I wanted to use. After a bit more research and talking to some others who cloth diaper, I finally decided to go for it, and it has been one of the best decisions I have made for our family.

This is her first time wearing one of our cloth diapers...she was only four weeks old, so she kind of swam in them! But they still didn't leak, and she has grown into them since then.

We mostly use Flip diapers, by Cottonbabies. We also have a few Kawaii and Fuzzibunz pocket diapers that we use at night.

Evie with Grandma S...how cute is that jean print?!

I'm not going to write a 'Top 10 reasons to Cloth Diaper' post since it's been done a lot in the blogging world, although if you want to see them you can go here. (Sweetbottomsbaby.com is my favorite place to buy cloth diapers, by the way....free shipping on any order!) I will say that the #1 reason we chose to cloth diaper was economical. It is way cheaper! We've spent probably about $200 on cloth diapers (and some of that is just because I couldn't resist a cute diaper, not that we needed it). The diapers we have are all one size diapers (they adjust from about 8-35 lbs), so they'll last until potty training most likely. I seriously doubt I'll be able to resist buying a few more, especially when they go on sale, but still...if you're really strapped for cash, you can definitely get away with spending about $150 total. There will be a few ongoing costs, like a special diaper rash ointment (although most cloth diapered babies get a lot fewer diaper rashes) and a special laundry detergent (although I found a detergent that will probably last about 150 loads for $11...not bad!). Our water bill is a little higher, but electric is being less affected because I hang dry the diapers every time I can (added benefit to hang drying is that the sun gets any stains out!). We've also got mostly neutral colored diapers, so we can use them on our next child too...more savings!

So all that to say, I love cloth diapering Evangeline! If you want to find out more about it feel free to ask me, but I would recommend going to this blog. Autumn Beck has a lot of good posts about how to cloth diaper and making it work for your family, and she's great about responding to questions...but be sure to check out her recommendations first, since she probably has the answer to your question there somewhere. I really hope that if you are pregnant or have a baby you'll consider using cloth diapers...it might not be for everyone, but if I can do it, anyone can do it.

I've been working on becoming an excellent wife to Adam for 1 year and 8 months, and becoming an excellent mother to Evangeline for 3 months.

Tick Tock

The clock is running down on my time for writing a new post this week!! This one doesn't count...it's just meant to serve as a reminder that I have to write tomorrow, or I'll have failed my challenge after just one week! Ahh...I think I will write a little bit about my experience with cloth diapers so far. I'm a little bit obsessed with them right now, so it's a good thing to write about. (-:

Tomorrow!

The Challenges

Challenge #1: Successfully take 335 days of pictures. (Started 1/30...it's hard to start anything 1/1 when you had a baby on 12/30!)
Progress: 4 down, 331 to go!

Evangeline's 1 Month Picture--1/30/11

1/31/11

2/1/11

2/2/11

Challenge #2: Write at least one blog post a week.
Progress: 1 down, at least 47 more to go this year.

Challenge #3: Continue learning how to become an excellent wife, as well as mother.
Progress: Working on it...(-: I love being a mom, and I STILL love being a wife. I'm even loving finding the balance between the two. Both are still hard, but both are incredibly worth it. Evangeline is almost 5 weeks old now, and we're settling in to a new normal...I'm going to start back nannying next week, and be able to bring the baby with me. I've also started taking Theology (that should make for some interesting posts) one night a week...that helps me feel like I still have a little bit of a life that's not centered around babies. d-: Evangeline is going about three hours between feedings, sometimes four at night...which means the most sleep I've gotten in a row for the past five weeks is about 3 1/2 hours. But I'm pretty amazed at how well I'm still able to function! The house isn't falling apart, I'm not bawling my eyes out everyday, and I think I'm going to be able to keep up with my classwork.

I'm looking forward to a new year (sorry I'm behind a month), and updating you on my new normal. (-:

A dessert recipe for your eggless friends

I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book that I got as a wedding gift...it has seriously been one of my most used gifts! (-: I knew a lot of recipes before, but when you start cooking for someone else more than once or twice a week, you need some variety.

Anyways, I made this recipe on a whim once, and it was delicious. Then I realized that it was perfect to make for my Indian friend who chooses not to eat eggs for conscience reasons. He loved it! It says in the cookbook that this was also a wartime favorite because it uses very little sugar, no butter, and no eggs. It's relatively easy to make too, so I figured I should share it! Here it is...enjoy!

This isn't it exactly, but it is pretty much how it looks...so much chocolaty goodness!

Side benefit of making this if you are pregnant: You can lick the bowl, because there are no raw eggs in the batter!!! WOOHOO!!! 

Brownie Pudding Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8x2 inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, granulated sugar, the 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, the baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the walnuts.


2. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar and the 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Stir in the boiling water. Slowly pour brown sugar mixture over batter.


3. Bake for 40 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool for 45 to 60 minutes. Serve warm (you don't have to, obvioiusly). Spoon cake into dessert bowls; spoon pudding from the bottom of the pan over cake. If desired, serve with vanilla ice cream. (that's all suggestions...you can eat it however you want!).

Sisters

Last night I went to a family's house for a party, and there are four sisters ranging from 5th grade to college. One of the sisters was wearing a cute jacket, and at one point all the other sisters started saying it made her look like a wise owl. You can tell they're all close, and they have that 'sister bond'...It made me think so much of me and my sisters. Spending most of last week with my family in Florida reminded me of how much I love have sisters.

On our way to do some Black Friday shopping

I've gone shopping with Adam a few times and...it's not horrible. But there is nothing like shopping with your sisters, or having your sisters there on Sunday morning to tell you if your church outfit looks cute yet modest. I found some cute maternity clothes at Ross on Black Friday, and my sisters sat outside the dressing room door as I tried them on, opening the door and asking for opinions for each outfit. You can be sure a sister will be honest! Like when I walked out wearing maternity leggings with a shirt that was no where near long enough to wear with leggings. The best was when I walked out with my maternity full panel pants on and a shirt I was trying on, and my sister Caley said 'The only problem is that it makes it look like your pants come up to here (pointing about 4 inches above my belly button)". I replied by lifting up the shirt and saying 'You mean like this?'. That got some squeals and looks of shock! Hopefully they will all be more prepared now for the day when they have to wear maternity clothes!

I also realized that I laugh more with my sisters than with anyone else in the world. Somehow we all just 'get' each other's humor...I'm sure it has to do with growing up together, and with the same mom and dad, who also have quirky senses of humor (especially dad!). The difficult thing is that when you try to explain that oh-so-hilarious conversation to anyone else, it just drops...no one else usually gets it, except maybe our brother.

My sisters had their hands on my belly almost the entire trip! Of course, that was after Tabi stopped screaming 'Ew, don't touch me!!' when she first saw me...after getting over that she probably felt the baby kick more than anyone else because she would sit with her hand on my belly while she watched Glee or something. I know some people don't like their bellies to be touched, but I must say I kind of miss it! I wanted my baby girl to bond with her aunts. (-:

Angel, my youngest sister, was the driving force behind my baby showers last weekend...which were amazing, by the way! Probably one of the best baby showers I've been to, and not just because I was the star of the show. (-: I love seeing how different all my sisters are, but how they work together so well. I really almost wished that the shower wasn't for me, because I wanted to help so much (I did help a little, but the organizing part was up to Angel, and that's the part I like!).

I plan on having several more kids, and I know I'll love them all the same whether they are a boy or girl. But I can't help hoping/praying that this baby girl will get at least one sister...they're the best!