J1 decided we should "picnic" for dinner so we even moved J2's high chair outside. It was really nice except for the ants D put on my plate after she cleaned up the food J2 threw off his tray - that was nasty. Though it was nice that she picked up the food so thanks! :) And the pork that the mister cooked was perfect and tender. That man can bbq meat like no one else. When I cook meat it always turns into leather.
And here is J1, aka Mr. Daredevil, on his play structure. Like how it is on the deck? Wouldn't want it to ruin the grass. Turns out the mister isn't alone in this obsession. One friend told me her father used to let them run in the sprinkler but they couldn't stand still because their feet would smash down the grass. Men! Usually I try to be casual about the crazy climbing of the boys because I want them to be brave and have fun. I had to put a stop to this one though because I was picturing him falling forward and breaking his neck. Still makes me shudder. Oh, here's another funny thing that came of out J1's mouth. He was jumping off this kid-sized table we have in the family room and landing on the couch pillows. I told him to stop jumping and he said "I'm not jumping, I am just falling off the table onto the pillows". Also known as JUMPING! We brought the trampoline back down from the attic. J2 "jumps" on his knees so it is well loved.
And finally, this is what happens when J2 wakes up at 6 am instead of his normal 9 am. Thanks for jinxing me D - this was Monday morning!
On to the world of cloth diapers. There seems to be a certain mindset of a bunch of the women who cloth diaper. No one get offended - I know it isn't all of you - I am just saying "a bunch". There are numerous cloth diapering "communities" where you can get answers, buy, sell, brag, whatever. The one I used to frequent most was diaperswappers.com. There you can have a "signature" and people would post about all the beliefs they have. You would see stuff like exclusive breastfeeding, non-vaxing (or delayed vaxing), attachment parenting, natural toys only, crap like that. Stuff that makes a normal mom feel, well, annoyed. I am all for breastfeeding but there are many people who are down right rude to moms who are feeding formula. Who cares how the baby gets food? Do we need this level of judging of other moms who are just trying to make it through the day? I'll admit to being judgmental when I hear something like, "I didn't breastfeed so I could get my figure back" but I guess that is rude too. The non-vaxing and delayed-vaxing just pisses me off. There are so many studies that dispute the link between vaccinations and autisim and on the other side - mostly just celebrities spouting about how they *know* the vaccines were the problem. Not vaccinating your kid puts my baby at risk until he is fully vaccinated and that makes it a problem for me. Attachment parenting - who goes for the "unattached parenting?" And only "natural" toys - don't get me started.
Okay, that was sort of a rant and not the direction I was intending for this post. Mostly I wanted to write about all the cloth options that I discovered once I joined that community. I knew about cloth diapers of course but had no idea the vast range of options there were for cloth items.
Cloth Wipes - I was hesitant to start using these. I decided to do things in baby steps so I didn't get any until a few months into using cloth. I love them and wouldn't go back. In fact, I really dislike using disposable wipes now.
Mama Cloth - sort of self explanatory. There are so many options, fabrics, prices, how would you decide? Everyone swears by this so it is intriguing.
Family Cloth - well, the first time I read about this was on a blog and she didn't say what it was so I had to google - I'll torture you and make you do the same. Suffice it to say, I won't be doing this. Ever.
Nursing Pads - a good idea all around and I probably would have done this if I had found them before I had a lifetime supply of the disposable ones.
Tampons - um, wow. That's all I have to say. Check out this link so you know I am not making stuff up: http://hyenacart.com/FernandFaerie/index.php?c=14&p=33864 I haven't actually read anything from anyone who has used these (except the person who wrote the ad) but I would not even try them.
Paper towels - also called un-paper towels. I just use washcloths to clean up the boys and dish towels to dry my hands. We still use paper towels in place of napkins. We use the small select-a-sheet ones and a roll lasts 1 or 2 months - I feel okay about this. Some of the un-paper towels come with snaps and attach to a roll so you can use them on the paper towel holder which is sort of cool. Still, I don't see the point to this.
I have also seen cloth "cotton balls", face mitts, and swiffer pads. I actually like the swiffer pad idea. I was telling my friend KVO some of this stuff when I was visiting her a couple of weeks ago and she said she just uses microfiber cloths attached with velcro and a spray bottle of cleaner for her swiffer. I tried it and it works great! I do like having an alternative to buying those expensive swiffer pads - that makes me happy.
If you are interested in any of the items mentioned, check out Hyena Cart (http://hyenacart.com/) or Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/). You'll probably be sorry you did because they have the cutest things to spend money on. But they are great sites for unique gifts.
Not looking for diapers, but wanted to tell you to have a GREAT flight tomorrow!
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