Why I need diapers with snaps...

Most of the time I use infant size prefolds with a Thirsties cover on Rachael. I save our fancy (one size pockets) diapers for outings and night time. All but one of her diapers/covers have a velcro closure....

It's pretty warm around here these days since we don't have a/c in our home - we are currently at 80º inside - so there are days when Rachael only wears a diaper around the house. I don't find this to be an issue yet because she is only 10 months old, however, she has been playing with the velcro lately, so I'm not sure how long this will last!

Anyway, I put her in the highchair for a snack while I was preparing lunch a couple days ago and all she had on was her prefold and cover. I heard her fiddling with the velcro, but was totally surprised when I pulled back the highchair tray and found this:

She had completely unfastened the diaper!! I'm thankful she was sitting and couldn't actually get out of it (even though it was dry), but I'm thinking I will have to start actually dressing her during the day if this continues.

Awesome babywearing scene!

Tonight I took the littles out (Michael and Jacob aren't home from Australia yet [they'll be home late tonight!!!!] so I only have the other 2) so I could gas up the van, grab a coffee and get our mail. We were driving back from Starbucks when I spotted an awesome babywearer!!

There was a family (mom and 3 children) who looked to be of African descent (the mom seemed she might have grown up there because of some cultural things I noticed) walking on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road... let me paint you a picture:

9ish year old boy in front carrying a box on his head. A girl that seemed a couple years younger than the boy, carrying a grocery sack. Then mom with a young child (1 or 2 y/o) in a sling on her back - mom was also carrying a grocery bag in one hand and had another sack balanced on her head! The mom was dressed in what seemed to be cultural attire (long, printed skirt and matching top, with some sort of head covering).

It truly was an awesome and moving sight. Beyond the fact that her older two seemed very well behaved and they were out on foot walking along the sidewalk of a very busy street (Academy for you locals), they were not ashamed of their culture/heritage.

As I drove away from the light, I began to ponder her uniqueness and how extremely practical those things are. Truly, it might be beneficial if we all had proper posture and stride so we could balance things on our heads! How many times have you seriously wished you had an extra arm or two? And wearing the baby, well, we all know some of the benefits to babywearing (closeness, security for baby, free hands for mom, etc.). Modesty in dress, that doesn't really need an explanation.

** I do not personally know this family and cannot attest to anything about them. My speculation of ethnic origin is based on the cultural things I noticed and the very beautiful, dark skin tone they all had. I could be COMPLETELY wrong and I am aware of that. It's just a hypothesis, OK?**

Confession

I'm having a really difficult time betting back into our normal routine since we got back home from our trip. I'm having trouble getting to bed at a decent time (which is mostly because I'm missing Michael terribly and am so happy he and Jacob will be home on Friday) and then because I went to bed too late, I don't get up when my alarm goes off in the morning. This throws me off even further because I'm not starting my day with my normal quiet time. Sigh.

I also mowed, weed-whacked and raked the entire yard along with weeding all the other landscaping yesterday and think I may have over done it a little because I'm super sore this morning. Therefore, I didn't go to the gym which is normally a staple of my routine.

I'm on a mission to get to bed at a good time tonight and then actually get up in the morning and having an appointment at 10:00 is a really good motivator!!

What we're up to.

I've been MIA for a couple of weeks and will be for a couple more weeks...

Eli, Rachael and I are in Florida visiting my family and having ourselves a grand time! And Michael and Jacob are in Australia visiting Michael's family (that's where he grew up and everyone except his mom and 1 sister still live over there). It's strange that it worked out the way it did, but we are essentially on 2 separate vacations.

I've posted some photos of what we've been up to on my flickr page. I don't have enough time to upload them all here, but you're welcome to hop over there and check them out.

We're staying with my parents and we've been to the beach several times, been out on my dad's boat, seen my grandparents, played lots with the cousins (my brother and sister-in-law and their 2 daughters live on the same property as my parents and it makes it easy for playing together) and we are really enjoying ourselves!

I won't be home and back to a normal routine until the 11th of July, so expect the hiatus to continue.

Receipt bin

If your family is like mine there are plenty of receipts around, possibly in varying places around the house.




A few years ago I came up with a solution to our receipt problem....




This is a magnetic note paper holder. It use to have note paper in it, but once it was all used up, I started putting receipts in it when I got home from shopping. It quickly became our designated receipt bin. It is on the side of the fridge and when unloading shopping bags, the receipts are immediately taken care of. If it's a debit receipt, it is logged in the check book before it's put in the bin. I go thru all the receipts every few months and file the ones we need to keep and then the rest go in the recycle bin!
This has saved a lot of trouble when it comes to returning things, we ALWAYS know where the receipt is. It definitely works for us!

What do you wear?

Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing is hosting a linkup today. It's all about showcasing what/how you wear your kids, and I thought it would be great to participate!!

This is the back carry in the Beco Butterfly II (purchased at a local cloth diaper shop). I use the back carry mostly for hiking or things where we'll be doing a lot of walking.





This is my brown linen ring sling. I ordered it from Li'l Peeper Keepers on Etsy and we love it! It's awesome for sleeping babies (especially in airports or on flights).






This is my Hotsling (it's a pouch)! This is my pick for ease and quickness! Rachael currently prefers being in the Beco (I also prefer her in the Beco), but if we're in a hurry, this one just slips on and I pop her in and we're ready to go! Also, a great plus to this sling is that it's available at Target. I bought mine at a Super Target and was able to try it on to test out the fit!!



This is the front carry in the Beco Butterfly II. I LOVE this carrier. It's not the quickest of my stash, but it's definitely the most comfy and having both hands completely free (rather than one shoulder not having full motion) is awesome! I was a bit apprehensive about how structured it is, having tried one of those Bjorn type things and none of my kids liked being in it and I was never able to get it comfy, but this one has definitely proven it's worth. My favorite feature of this carrier is the ability to secure Rachael in it before I even put it on. This allows me to be able to get her on my back safely without any help. You can also put it on and then put the child in, but I prefer to snap her in first, it just seems easier to me.

You Capture - nature

I LOVE this week's You Capture - the theme is nature! Nature is one of my favorite things to photograph (in addition to my kids and old/dilapidated wooden structures such as barns).

We went to Helen Hunt Falls this past weekend for a short bit and it was beautiful. We've had a lot of rain and add to that the snow melt from the mountains and you've got yourself a rushing river!!

Here are a few of my favorites: