crochet and chat

Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks

2011-05-10T06:55:00.000-06:00

Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks

Poll: What do you think I should stock in my etsy shop

2011-04-02T11:35:00.000-06:00

Poll: What do you think I should stock in my etsy shop

Buy a Downloadable, Printable Version of My Snood Hat Pattern

2011-03-26T08:14:00.001-06:00

this is a patteren by:

SEWMODESTCLOTHING.COM

God is good!

2009-08-29T22:56:00.003-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBZ0ylj-k28&feature=player_embedded

I was chatting with a friend tonight when she told me her husband left here...another friend posted this video on face book at just the right time...i had her listen to it...i think it helped...go watch the video for yourself...

on another note Friday afternoon my brother was riding his bicycle when he got hit by a car...he is alive...needs an operation on his knee...like so many of us without health insurance hasn't seen a Dr in years...but because of this accident found out he has diabetes...Like i said God is good...everything happens in the right season (eccl 3:1-9)...so while i don't want my brother to be hurt...i am praising God that he found out about his diabetes before it affected his health...also praising God that my brother was able to call me and tell me and that it wasn't the dreaded knock on the door telling me he didn't make it...he's going to be fine.

The Amazing Bendy Baby!

2009-08-19T19:34:00.004-06:00

Need I say more?! Yes, she sleeps like this quite frequently too.

I dress myself mommy!

2009-08-01T08:52:00.002-06:00

Only 13 months old and trying to dress herself...in mommy's slip! How cute is this?!

2009-07-06T11:49:00.003-06:00

So this is how my day has went. Daddy put her in the high chair for breakfast... didn't strap her in so she proceded to climb out and sit on the tray... then i put her in the walker and went into the kitcken and she got out... note the pic of her standing at her walker... then i put her back in to see what she would do and that is the one of her standing on her walker... guess the only place to saftley put her now is the crib or the playpen... they grow up to fast!

Communion Bread

2009-06-10T14:28:00.005-06:00

I would like to say thanks to Diane over at http://tomatosoupcake.blogspot.com for her lazy burger bun recipe. I used it to make the communion bread for communion on Sunday. This is the first Sunday we have used bread and I was the one who made the bread for communion. This is an excellent recipe. The only changes I made were I used
3Tbs sugar
3 Tbs olive oil instead of butter
and 3 3/4 cups flour
then put it all in the bread machine on a large dough setting.

For the full recipe check out Diane's @ http://tomatosoupcake.blogspot.com/2009/03/lazy-buns.html

Again a big thank you to Diane for the recipe. Everyone at church loved the bread.

To cute!

2009-04-09T09:29:00.001-06:00

Being a goof ball last night.

More Pics

2009-04-03T13:00:00.002-06:00

Top pic is the baby taking a bath in the sink. Middle pic is me and my daughters at church. My son stayed home that day. The bottom pic is one of the baby trying to be a big girl and drink out of mommy's cup. She wouldn't take no for an answer either.

Great site for cleaning

2009-03-04T13:21:00.002-07:00

The clean kitchen schedule
http://www.rightathome.com/view.aspx?pid=346#

The basics of cleaning the Bathroom
http://www.rightathome.com/view.aspx?pid=641

Fridge cleaning
http://www.rightathome.com/view.aspx?pid=376

Find these articles and others here:
http://www.rightathome.com/view.aspx?pid=485

Black History Month

2009-02-21T08:24:00.004-07:00

Dressed up for Black History month this past Sunday. Isn't this a beautiful outfit. My friend brought it back from Kuwait a couple of years ago and she gave it to my daughter.

Great web site

2009-01-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

here is a great web site for kids crafts, coloring pages and other things.
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm

New Pictures

2009-01-17T13:00:00.002-07:00

This is the first time she actually saw the food mill and wanted to see what it was and what was in it. It's hard to believe she is 7 months already.

Babysitting yesterday and she wanted the toy of the little boy I was watching.

More current pictures, no peticular order.

2009-01-02T11:56:00.003-07:00

Maylinda in her new bumGenious baby legs.

I'm not so messy of an eater now but this is when I was younger.

I have no clue what the baby was doing here. Was she trying to look at her new baby legs or was she trying to kick her sister? Who knows!

This is the most current. Sitting on sissy's lap trying to play on the computer, while big brother looks on. Yes I love my baby legs.

Children's church

2009-01-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

4 Months Old

2008-10-11T16:47:00.001-06:00

She was 4 months in the top photo, and 3 months in the bottom one. She was being nosey at an appointment we were at and had her neck turned funny in the carrier so I had to take the cute picture of her.

Jacob kissing Maylinda

2008-10-05T19:13:00.002-06:00

This picture was taken 2 Saturday's ago. My friends baby boy gave her about 5 kisses when we were hanging out together. They grow up to quick.

Fighting Sleep

2008-07-26T16:00:00.003-06:00

I don't want to go to sleep, really I don't!!

Well maybe for just a little bit!

Why do the little ones like to fight going to sleep? My girl has been doing it almost as long as she has been alive. My other two used to like to fight sleep as well.

Six weeks old

2008-07-25T00:35:00.002-06:00

I am a couple of days late getting this posted, but here is a picture of Maylinda at six weeks old. Isn't she so sweet?

One Month Old

2008-07-13T08:19:00.002-06:00

Ok so I am a couple of days late posting it but here is a picture of my little girl in her crib. It is hard to believe she is one month old already. They get so big so fast.

My Girls

2008-07-09T15:51:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture taken on 6-29-08 at church by our "official" church photographer. He has a very nice camera. It is photographer quality. (I would love to have one like it, very expensive) Then he edited the picture and gave it to me as a "baby" gift. Aren't my girls pretty?!

Mom and baby

2008-07-04T09:34:00.003-06:00

Here is a picture of me and my little girl in "our verision of the Moby wrap" It is just a peice of fabric and directions from the Moby wrap that I found online. As soon as I put her in it she fell asleep.

My Cutie Pie

2008-06-27T09:40:00.003-06:00

Here is a current picture of my little girl. It was taken last night. She is my little cutie pie.

Baby Pictures

2008-06-17T17:55:00.004-06:00

This picture was taken the day she was born. Just a few hours old here.

This picture was taken on June 14th. I just though she looked cute the way she was laying.

Maylinda Elizabeth is here

2008-06-13T07:30:00.003-06:00

She is here. Maylinda was born on June 10, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. She was 8# 0 oz and 20 inches long. She was in a hurry to get here as she didn't even give the dr time to change out of her street clothes into scrubs. My dr just had time to put on a gown and catch her. Well got to go. I will post more pics when I have time. God bless all of you and thank you for your prayers.

Finally

2008-06-10T06:28:00.002-06:00

Today is the day. I will have my little girl in my arms in a few hours. I will post when I get home from the hospital in a couple of days.

My Cloth Diaper Stash

2008-05-19T11:25:00.010-06:00

This is my stash of newborn (Indian) and infant (Chinese) prefolds. There are also 2 dozen bumGenius baby wipe. I bought 4 dozen and have left 2 dozen in the packs. I have a total of 24 infant and 36 newborn prefolds..

This is a size comparison of the two kinds of prefolds I have.

This is a picture of one of the Chinese prefolds I have.

This is one of the Indian prefolds I have.

This is my diaper bag already packed and ready to go to the hospital. I have put 1 dozen Indian prefolds in the bag. Half of them are already stuffed into the 6 newborn bummis super whisper wraps I have packed as well. I have one of my pink bumGenius diapers packed as well as 2 of the Chinese prefolds. I have packed my 3 snappies, diaper pins and rash cream as well as some clothes for the baby. I am comfortable with pins as that is all there was 9 years ago when I cloth diapered my son.

Here are my 6 bummis super whisper wraps in newborn along with another picture of the wipes I bought.

Here is one of the Indian prefolds already stuffed into a bummi wrap.

Here is my stash of bumGenius diapers. I have 6 white, 6 twilight, and 7 blossom. All are stuffed with the newborn insert.

Here is a pic of the blossom stuffed with the newborn insert and set on the newborn setting.

Here is one the the stuffed diapers opened up to show how much they do look like a disposable diaper.

Here are the regular inserts for my bumGenius diapers as well as 6 small bummi super whisper wraps and 6 medium bummi wraps as well.

Well there you have it. It seems like I have alot of diapers, probably more than some, less than others, but what I have here should get me through potty training. To break it down this is what I have in my stash:

1) 36 Indian prefolds in newborn size

2) 24 Chinese prefolds in infant size

3) 19 bumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers (6 white, 6 twilight, 7 blossom), includes 19 newborn inserts and 19 regular adjustable inserts.

4) 6 bummi super whisper wraps in newborn (1 print, 5 white)

5) 6 bummi super whisper wraps in small (all white)

6) 6 bummi super whisper wraps in medium (all white)

In total I have 6 1/2 dozen diapers plus 1. 60 prefolds (5 dozen) 19 bumGenius diapers (1 1/2 dozen plus 1). Then I have a total of 18 bummi super whisper wraps to cover from around 6 pounds to 30+ pounds. The bumGenius are good from 8 to 35 pounds. I have purchased all of the diapers either from cottonbabies or the Montana diaper store. I have links to both sites in my side bar. I have had excellent service with both companies and highly recommend both. I bought the bummis from the Montana diaper store as they were bargain priced ($9.50) and first quality pieces.

My Son

2008-05-12T07:46:00.005-06:00

I bet no one will guess what my son did on Wednesday! It was your normal average day and his class had a feild trip to go on. I wanted to go but being 34+ weeks pregnant I figured I should stay home. It was 10 miles out of town on the bus and with the back and hip problems I have been having I figured home would be the best place to be. Well sitting at home less than an hour before he was ready to go on the feild trip I get a call from the school, (not his teacher, we talk often) It was the secretary informing me of what my son had done in gym class while playing rainbow tag. Instead of telling you what he did I will put up a picture of what he did. You guessed it. He ran into the gym wall (made of cinder blocks) and broke his tooth. I had no way to get to the school to see how bad it was as the car was at the shop with the husband. So the next best thing, I called the dentist office and told them what the secetary had told me. I was talking to the receptionist when she told me to hold for a minute and then next voice I heard on the line was our dentist. He was asking me questions that I couldn't answer because I hadn't seen the damage. He told me if it was just a little chip and no blood it could wait until my son got back from his feild trip but if there was any sign of blood that he needed to come in right away. I told the dentist that I would call the school back and ask the questions he had asked me. They told me what it looked like and (and it was the worst case senerio, blood on the tooth) I told them to not send him on the feild trip and that I would be there as soon as I could find a ride. So as soon as I hung up the phone from the school I though who can I call. I know I will call Stan. He is a guy from our church that has given us rides to and from church many times when we didn't have a car. He has been a blessing to our family. He had taken his wife to the doctor and was waiting for her to go in when I called him. I told him what happened and he said he would come and get us. He came right away, picked me up then went to the school, we got my son and headed to the dentist office. All said my son was sitting in the dentist chair within an hour and a half of breaking his tooth. Stan was even able to make it back to the doctors office before his wife had a chance to see the doctor. Here is what the dentist did to his tooth. I think he did a good job and you can't even tell unless you look really close at the tooth and this picture doesn't show the tiny line at all.

For all that would like to know, my son did get to go on the feild trip with the other class that went in the afternoon.

Study says near extinction threatened people 70,00 years ago

2008-04-26T09:23:00.003-06:00

I thought this article was interesting. It proves what the Bible says about Noah and the flood. The scientist are still off as to what happened but just the mear fact that they acknowledge a global near extinction is a start in the right direction.

Load Up the Pantry

2008-04-26T09:20:00.003-06:00

I thought this was an interesting article about food prices and why it pays to stock up now instead of trying to save your money. It explains that food prices are raising at a higher rate of inflation than the interest you could get if the money were in the bank.

Got my Luna Pads

2008-04-23T14:33:00.004-06:00

Well I got my Luna Pads on Monday. I washed one and have been using it since then. This baby likes to lay on my bladder so I have been having some problems there. The couple of times I have had a leak the pads have absorbed great, no leaks, and still felt very dry. If they work this good for my menstrual cycle then I am sure I will love them. I will keep you posted as to how they work for me postpartum.

As far as how they wash up they are great. For the first use I threw my tester into the mesh bag that came with the kit that I bought. I washed and dried it in the bag with a load of my clothes. That is when I started using it. I must say that when the liners needed washed all I did was hand wash them and put them over the towel bar and let them dry. They dried up quickly. Must say I am impressed with how quickly. I used the one pad and 2 liners that came with it for a couple of days and now I am ready to wash up the others I purchased so I can start using them as well.

2008-04-12T18:42:00.005-06:00

I got to thinking if cloth diapers are going to be good for my baby that maybe I should give them a try for myself. I know I have personal issues with disposables so why not give cloth a try. What a better test than to use them postpartum. If they will work then, they should work for anything. I ordered mine the other day and am now patiently waiting for them.

Goods 4 Girls

2008-04-10T16:12:00.005-06:00

This is a good cause. If you can donate, I know you would be blessing these girls.

You can go to

http://www.lunapads.com/

http://www.gladrags.com/.

They both have links to help you with making your donation.

The Joy of Cloth Diapers

2008-04-03T12:18:00.004-06:00

To view the original article click on the title. There area also other interesting links at the original aritcle.

The Joy of Cloth Diapers By Jane McConnell Issue 88, May/June 1998
I have three children in diapers--a nine month old, a two year old, and a four year old who wets at night. In rough numbers, this means our household has changed more than 20,000 dirty diapers in four years.

Now, I'm not a glutton for punishment, and like all working mothers I don't have a lot of spare time. But I've chosen cloth diapers over disposables from the beginning. Like breastfeeding and drug-free childbirth, cloth diapering has always seemed to me to be the most "natural" approach. Yet, even in an environmentally conscious town like Boulder, Colorado, I'm surprised at how few parents use cloth. Some are put off by the perceived inconvenience; others have argued that cloth diapers are actually more harmful to the environment than disposables.

To aid you in your own decision, or to help you educate your friends who are new parents, here is a current look at some of the issues involved in cloth and disposable diapering.

Which Is Better for the Environment? To most, the environmental impact of disposable paper-and-plastic versus reusable cotton diapers seems clear-cut. But delve into the facts, and things begin to get murky.
The debate started to get heated in 1990, the 20th anniversary year of Earth Day.

Environmental awareness was at a peak, and many states were considering initiatives to tax or ban the sale of disposable diapers. Procter & Gamble, the nation's largest manufacturer of disposable diapers, fearing a loss of market share, commissioned a study by Arthur D. Little, Inc., on the environmental impact of disposable diapers. The study came to the conclusion that, lo and behold, disposables were actually no worse for the environment than cloth diapers. Procter & Gamble followed with an ad showing tree roots in compost, stating, "90 days ago this was a disposable diaper." After several lawsuits based on the fact that composting facilities for disposable diapers do not actually exist, the ad was pulled, but not until millions of parents had read and believed it. Meanwhile, the National Association of Diaper Services sponsored several reports of its own, prepared by consultant Carl Lehrburger, showing that there was a clear environmental advantage to using cloth diapers.

So which study was right? It depends on your bias. Sponsored research, or any research for that matter, is inherently subjective. The set of assumptions you start with--How many diaper changes will a baby go through in a day? Is the life of a cloth diaper 100 uses or 150?--will greatly influence the outcome of the study. Ultimately, the Little study was deemed misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority in Great Britain, and Proctor & Gamble was prohibited from mentioning the study in its advertising. However, public opinion had already been influenced.

Some of the facts: 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown in landfills each year, taking as many as 500 years to decompose. Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills, after newspapers and food and beverage containers--a significant fact, considering they are a single product, used by a limited portion of the population.1 It takes upwards of 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp, or a quarter-million trees, to manufacture the disposable diapers that cover the bottoms of 90 percent of the babies born in the US.2

Some will argue that in areas where water is scarce, disposables are the better environmental choice. However, carrying this argument to the extreme, we should be wearing disposable clothes, and using paper plates and plastic utensils. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days--about the same as a toilet-trained child or adult flushing the toilet five to six times a day. A diaper service puts its diapers through an average of 13 water changes, but because of the economies of scale, uses less water and energy per diaper than one laundry load at home.

Today, as a rule diaper services use biodegradable detergents not harmful phosphates. The waste water produced from washing diapers is benign, while the waste water from the manufacture of the pulp, paper, and plastics used in disposable diapers contains dioxins, solvents, sludge, and heavy metals.3 Chlorine bleach, whose manufacture is harmful to the atmosphere, is used in whitening diaper service diapers, but the environmental impact is far greater in the paper-bleaching process used in making disposable diapers.4

Cotton, of course, is not without its evils. Conventionally grown, it is a major user of harmful pesticides. There are, however, several companies offering organically grown, unbleached cotton diapers as an alternative.
Ultimately, instead of getting bogged down in each side's scientific data, the most commonsense approach is to use commonsense. Weigh the impact of manufacturing and disposing of 8,000 paper-and-plastic diapers over the average diapering period of a child versus that of a few dozen cotton diapers, and decide for yourself which is better for the environment.

Which Is Better for the Baby? With all the focus on environmental issues, the baby often gets overlooked in a discussion of cloth versus disposable diapers. All parents want to do what's best for their baby, but many people aren't aware of, or don't consider, the short-term and long-term health effects of their diapering choice.

Although the disposable diaper industry spends millions of dollars on ad campaigns touting the fact that their diapers feel drier, there is no benefit to the baby in terms of diaper rash. In fact, diaper rash is caused by numerous factors ranging from food irritations to soaps used on the baby's skin, and the number one factor in preventing it is frequent diaper changes. For this reason, babies in disposable diapers may experience more diaper rash; because the diapers feel dry, parents tend to change them as infrequently as every four to five hours. But though the outer layer may appear dry, bacteria from the urine is still present in the baby's diaper, and still comes in contact with the baby's skin.5 Furthermore, plastic does not "breathe" to let out the ammonia formed in the bacterial breakdown of urine, while a cotton diaper and nylon or wool wrap are breathable, allowing air to circula te to the baby's skin, keeping it healthy.

Of more serious concern are the toxic chemicals present in disposable diapers. Dioxin, which in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases, is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers, and trace quantities may exist in the diapers themselves.6

And what about the material that makes "superabsorbent" diapers so absorbent? If you've ever used disposable diapers, you've probably noticed beads of clear gel on your baby's genitals after a diaper change. Superabsorbent diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, which absorbs up to 100 times its weight in water. Sodium polyacrylate is the same substance that was removed from tampons in 1985 because of its link to toxic shock syndrome.7 No studies have been done on the long-term effects of this chemical being in contact with a baby's reproductive organs 24 hours a day for upwards of two years.

Neither type of diaper can claim to be more sanitary. In the early 1990s, right around the time many states were considering offering incentives to hospitals and daycare centers to switch to cloth diapers, disposable diaper manufacturers attempted to prove that cloth diapers contribute more to the spread of bacteria. In fact, it is the caregiver's hand-washing habits, and not the type of diapers, that is the deciding factor. "The research in this area was funded by special interests," points out Janet Primomo, RN, PhD, associate professor of nursing at the University of Washington, Tacoma. "It's not a question of whether cloth or disposables are more sanitary--it all depends on practices and procedures, such as hand washing habits and what kind of storage containers are used."

There is, however, a more serious threat of contamination from disposable diapers, because of human sewage going into landfills. The disposal of human waste in residential garbage is technically prohibited, and instructions on disposable diaper packaging recommend that you shake out any fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of it; but in practice this is almost never done. Live viruses in the feces, such as the polio vaccine, can live in landfills for a long period, and if there were ever any leakage, could potentially contaminate a community's drinking water. So far, there has been no evidence of contamination--this is more of a concern in Third World countries, where landfills aren't as well constructed, and disposable diapers are being marketed aggressively.

What About the Inconvenience of Cloth Diapering? It's true that the thought of rinsing, soaking, and laundering dozens of cloth diapers a week is overwhelming to most new parents. But if you're a parent, you're doing laundry around the clock anyway, and what's a few more loads a week? However, it's not for everyone--and that's where diaper services come in. Many parents don't realize that with a diaper service there's no rinsing or soaking involved. You don't even need to flush solids away--you simply throw the soiled diaper directly into a diaper pail lined with a garbage liner. Once a week, you put the bag of dirties out, and a bag of fresh, clean diapers is delivered to your door. Can that really be considered less convenient than throwing a disposable diaper in the trash and taking an extra garbage can out to the curb each week? In fact, with a diaper service there's the added convenience of not having to remember to buy diapers--you simply never run out.

Yes, you do have to rinse out the occasional soiled diaper cover, and tote back soiled diapers from an outing. But this is really no more inconvenient than sorting glass and cardboard for recycling, and most of us don't think twice about that. And you don't have to be a purist. I personally feel that disposable diapers (preferably the chemical-free variety) have their place when I'm traveling and not close to laundering facilities.

Even home laundering diapers isn't necessarily as time-consuming as you may think. Ginny Caldwell of Ecobaby argues that it takes less time to dump a load of cloth diapers into the washing machine and transfer them to the dryer than it does to shop for disposables, load them into the car, unload them at home, and take out an extra garbage can once a week.

But Isn't a Diaper Service Expensive?Although a diaper service seems like a luxury, in fact it can cost considerably less than using disposables--and home-laundered cloth diapers are, of course, the cheapest alternative of all.

Each week, many parents think nothing of buying a pack of disposables, whose cost is often hidden in the grocery bill. But when you add it up over the entire diapering period, the costs are substantial. The figure, of course, depends on the number of diaper changes a day (as pointed out earlier, babies in disposables are often changed less frequently--at the expense of the baby's health) and the age at toilet training. But assuming an average two and a half-year diapering period, and an average of eight to ten diaper changes a day (based on every hour for newborns, every two hours for toddlers) this translates to 7,000 to 9,000 diapers over the diapering period. At an average price of $.24 per disposable diaper (premium diapers cost closer to $.33 apiece), the price tag for disposable diapering is around $2,000, plus several hundred dollars for garbage disposal costs of an additional can per week.

By contrast, diaper services charge anywhere from $10.00 to $15.00 a week, depending on the part of the country you're in. This works out to $1,300 to $2,000 over two and a half years, for clean diapers delivered to your door each week, the use of wraps in whatever size you need at the time, and a diaper pail. if you have more than one child in diapers, the price drops considerably (usually by 75 percent) for the second child.

Home diapering, on the other hand, can be done for as little as $400, or as much as $1,200, depending on the type of products you buy. Well-made products should last for subsequent children. Diapers can range anywhere from $20.00 a dozen for diaper service-quality prefolds, up to $60.00 or even $100 a dozen for fitted, contoured diapers with snaps or organic cotton diapers. You'll need somewhere between three and five dozen. Covers range from $4.00 to $18.00 apiece, depending on the quality and material, and you'll need up to 25 (about five in each size range). Figuring in detergents and energy costs of about $.60 per load, the average parent will spend well under $1,000--usually more like $500--for home diapering.

An Added Benefit: Earlier Potty-Training Another advantage to cloth diapers is that they usually lead to earlier toilet training because the child actually knows when he or she is wet. Now that many children go straight from disposable diapers to disposable pull-ups, it's not uncommon to see four and five year olds who still aren't completely potty-trained wearing pull-ups to school. This has an obvious impact on the child's self-esteem, not to mention the added impact on landfills.

"We get customers calling up to start a diaper service when their child is three and a half and not yet toilet trained," says Brian Smithson, president of the National Association of Diaper Services. In fact, several diaper services around the country are, as an incentive, starting to offer the service free after the 30th month if your child is not toilet trained by then.

"We live in a fast-paced society where people don't want to deal with the `yuck' factor," adds Smithson. "Parents look at a diaper as a container that doesn't leak and can be left on for eight hours, instead of looking at it as clothing worn on the most sensitive parts of the body. Shouldn't we b e changing babies when they wet?" Adds Erica Froese, owner of Mother-Ease Diapers, "A diaper is not meant to be used as a toilet."

The "Bottom" LineAside from the environmental and health arguments, many parents feel, as I do, that cotton is a purer, softer, simpler choice than paper and plastic, and that if their babies could vote, they'd choose cloth themselves. In fact, my four year old, who has tried pull-ups at night and inevitably wakes up with an itchy rash, has made it clear to me that she prefers cotton. Many cloth diaper companies are now offering adult sizes, as incontinent adults look for alternatives to the feeling of a mushy mass of paper wadded between their legs.

The bottom line is that choosing cloth diapers doesn't have to be a daunting prospect--it's simple, it's convenient, it's inexpensive. And it's the best choice you can make for the health of your baby, and of the planet.

NOTES (1.) EPA, "Positive Steps towards Waste Reduction," June 1989.(2.) Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corporation. (3.) Cad Lehrburger with Rachel Snyder, `The Disposable Diaper Myth," Whole Earth Review (Fall 1988): 61. (4.) See Note 3. (5.) Nan Scott, "Nan Scott's Newsletter for Parents." (6.) EPA, "Integrated Risk Assessment for Dioxins and Furans from Chlorine Bleaching in Pulp and Paper Mills." (7.) Judy Braiman-Lipson, Empire State Consumer Association, Rochester, NY.

Jane McConnell and her husband, Jeff Heyman, share the diapering responsibilities for Jack (9 months), Henry (2), and Lucy (4). She works as a part-time freelance writer and an associate editor for Mothering from her home in Boulder, Colorado.

Interesting Articles

2008-03-22T23:30:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of interesitng articles I have come across latley. Just click on the title for the full aritcle.

Family Review articles

2008-03-22T23:25:00.001-06:00

This just has some good product reviews.

Glass Baby Bottles Making a Comeback

2008-03-22T23:22:00.002-06:00

NEW YORK - Meg Robustelli had heard reports that a chemical in most plastic baby bottles could be dangerous, but she had not done anything about it. That's when her mother stepped in and bought her glass bottles.

For the rest of the story click on the title to go to the original aritcle.

The Politics of Diapers: A Timeline of Recovered History

2008-03-05T04:53:00.004-07:00

The Politics of Diapers: A Timeline of Recovered History By the Mothering Staff Issue 116, Jan/Feb 2003

1961 Proctor and Gamble (P&G) introduces Pampers.

1971 Pennsylvania Boy Scouts conducting a highway cleanup campaign report that the largest single source of litter is the disposable diaper.

For the rest of the story click on title to view full article. There are some interesting facts about the history of the disposable diaper. One more reason I choose to use cloth diapers/

Yeah! My diapers arrived today!!

2008-03-03T12:44:00.005-07:00

I got my 4 bummis whisper wraps in the mail today from http://www.mtdiaperstore.com/. The service was great and shipping was fast. As for the rest of my baby diapers I ordered from http://www.cottonbabies.com/. They also have great service and fast shipping. I recieved 24 chinees prefolds, 2 bummis whisper wraps, one in a cute flower print, and 1 pink snappi, and 48 clothe wipes, and 18 bumGenius diapers from them. I also ordered a small wet sack from them for on the go. I am now prewashing the prefold diapers and cloth wipes. (yes I know I am kind of early) When they get done I will take some pics of them and the bunGenius to post to my site. (SHOW AND TELL)

Sleep Deprivation

2008-03-03T12:41:00.002-07:00

Click on the title to link to a good article about sleep issues.

Save Money on Food

2008-03-03T12:39:00.003-07:00

Click on the link (in the title) for a good article on how to save money on your food budget.

Oprah's Free book

2008-02-22T07:23:00.002-07:00

Free Business Book Is Web SensationSaturday February 16, 3:20 pm ET By Hillel Italie, AP National Writer
Oprah Plug Makes Free Internet Download of Business Book, 'Women & Money' Web Sensation
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Oprah touch doesn't just work for traditional books. More than 1 million copies of Suze Orman's "Women & Money" were downloaded after the announcement last week on Winfrey's television show that the e-book edition would be available for free on her Web site, http://www.oprah.com/, for a period of 33 hours.

"I believe `Women & Money' is the most important book I've ever written," Orman said in a statement released Saturday by Winfrey. "So this was not about getting people to buy the book, but getting them to read it, and that was the intention behind this offer."
The download offer "has built excitement for Suze's book across all formats," Julie Grau, the book's publisher, said in a statement.
According to Saturday's statement from Winfrey, more than 1.1 million copies of Orman's financial advice book were downloaded in English, and another 19,000 in Spanish. The demand compares to such free online sensations as "The 9-11 Commission Report," which the federal government made available for downloads, and Stephen King's e-novella, "Riding the Bullet."
The publishing community has endlessly debated the effects of making text available online, with some saying that free downloading is a valuable promotional tool and others worrying that sales for paper editions would be harmed. The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers each have sued Google for its plans to scan and index books for the Internet.
The offer for "Women & Money," originally released a year ago by Spiegel & Grau, a division of Random House, Inc., has not kept people from buying the traditional version. As of Saturday, the book ranked No. 6 on Amazon.com. The paper edition of "The 9-11 Commission Report," published in 2004 by W.W. Norton and Co., was a best seller for months.
"I can tell you that with respect to the `9-11 Report,' the free download did not seem to hurt sales at all," Norton publisher Drake McFeely told The Associated Press on Saturday. "There were people who wanted it quickly, in a less convenient form, and that was clearly a different market from the people who wanted the traditional book."
He said free downloading of books does concern publishers, but "if Norton had been given the opportunity for an Oprah Winfrey plug, and part of the deal was making the book free online, we would have gladly taken it."

Breast Feeding Benificial

2008-02-22T07:20:00.002-07:00

Breastfeeding Benefits Women with Late Age at First Birth
According to the results of a study presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), breastfeeding may lessen the increased risk of breast cancer that comes from having a late age at first birth.
Breast cancer is diagnosed in over 200,000 women annually in the United States alone. Due to its prevalence, researchers have focused on evaluating environmental factors with potential links to the risk of breast cancer. Factors such as diet, exercise, age at menarche (first menstrual period), age at first childbirth, and breastfeeding appear to influence the likelihood of breast cancer. The effects of these factors on breast cancer risk, however, may be different for estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) and estrogen receptor-negative (ER-negative) breast cancers.
To evaluate the relationships among several reproductive factors and ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer, researchers conducted a study among 995 women with breast cancer and 1,498 women without breast cancer. All women were age 55 or older.
An early age at first birth (first birth before the age of 25) reduced the risk of ER-positive breast cancer but did not reduce the risk of ER-negative breast cancer.
Breastfeeding reduced the risk of both ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer. Importantly, breastfeeding appeared to reduce the increased risk of breast cancer experienced by women who had a later age at first birth (first birth after the age of 25).
In a prepared statement, Dr. Giske Ursin, one of the study authors, noted, “We suspect that women can reduce the increased risk that comes with later childbearing by choosing to breastfeed.”
Reference: Lord SJ, Bernstein L, Johnson K et al. Parity, breastfeeding and breast cancer risk by hormone receptor status in women with late age at first birth—a case-control study. Presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, Los Angeles, CA, April 14-18, 2007. Abstract 2610.
Related News: Early Age at First Birth Does Not Reduce Breast Cancer Risk in BRCA1/2 Carriers (2/9/2007)
Copyright Breast Cancer Information Center on CancerConsultants.com© 1998-2005 CancerConsultants.com All Rights Reserved.These materials may discuss uses and dosages for therapeutic products that have not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. All readers should verify all information and data before administering any drug, therapy or treatment discussed herein. Neither the editors nor the publisher accepts any responsibility for the accuracy of the information or consequences from the use or misuse of the information contained herein.
Copyright ©2008 University of Florida Shands Cancer Center. All Rights Reserved.Site Created By CancerConsultants.com

Round Ripple Update

2008-02-16T03:01:00.006-07:00

Here is a better picture of My Beast that I did for my Pastor.

Here is a pictue of the one I did for a baby that was born in our church way back in July. His grandmother loved it. Not sure about his parents though.

Just finished this one for a baby girl due in March. This is another lady that is pregnant at our church. The mom loved it. She said it was very pretty. Big sister loved it as well and mom said that big sister would probaly end up "running off with it" until baby comes. I have plenty of leftover yarn in the solid colors so I will be making one of these for my own little girl. The pattern won't be the same and I need to get more of the ocean color. I will post a picture when I get done with it. I also have to do 2 spider man ones, one for a baby boy who was born in December and his mom was able to adopt him. Then there is another lady who is due in April with a boy as well. Yes we have had a "baby boom" at our church. When I told my pastor I was expecting too she said "she was getting all of her new members through babies". By the time mine is born there will be 5 in one year so I guess she is right.

Ultrasound Photos

2008-01-12T09:29:00.001-07:00

Here are some better pics of my baby girl. She is 17 weeks in these pics. I took them off of the disk they gave me of the ultrasound.

Ultrasound

2008-01-11T02:49:00.001-07:00

Well I went to my ultrasound on Wednesday. We found out I am not as far along as the doctor said. She thought I should be due May 3rd. The ultrasound technician said I am not due until around June 16th. My kids went with me to the ultrasound. My son wanted a boy and of course my daughter wanted a girl. I didn't really care whether I found out or not but they really wanted to know. So when we got to that part of the exam the technician looked and said it looks like I am having another "princess", well that made my daughter's day. She got up and did a little happy dance with that one. My son thought the technician was wrong and still thinks She might be a boy. I already know what I want her first name to be. I am going to put my aunt and mom's name together. They both went home to glory the year my son was born. Her name is going to be Maylinda. Now to figure out a middle name to go with that. Oh well, I guess I have plenty of time to decide on that as they added 6 weeks to my pregnancy. Now for some pictures. I will get them scanned in later but for now I have taken pictures of two of them and downloaded them. So here she is. Her first baby pictures.

The top picture is of her profile, and the bottom one is her giving us a thumbs up sign. Really I think she was getting ready to suck her thumb but this is how the technician captured her. I think it is cute.

I Registered for cloth Diapers

2008-01-04T11:10:00.001-07:00

http://host.pappapak10.com/~yourdiap/registry.htm?rgid=6&rguser=sueb0154
I registered for some all in one diapers. This is the link used to get to my registry. I only have smalls right now but will take mediums in the same prints.

Psalm 127:3-5

2008-01-03T20:51:00.001-07:00

21 Weeks

2007-12-26T23:00:00.001-07:00

My Baby

http://www.parents.com/parents/myfamily/pregnancy.jsp?cid=2322100043&week=21
By the end of this week, your baby will measure about 7 inches from crown to rump and tip the scales at nearly a pound. Not too shabby for someone who barely weighed an ounce 10 weeks ago! Part of her growth spurt is likely because her stomach is now equipped to start absorbing energy-boosting nutrients from the amniotic fluid she's swallowing in there. (But most of your baby's nourishment is still coming directly from the placenta.)
Your baby's hearing is becoming even more fine-tuned now. In addition to making out your heartbeat, stomach rumblings, pulsing blood vessels, and your voice resonating inside the uterus, she can also hear sounds and conversations coming from the world outside of Mama. So have your partner chat her up regularly, too! This doesn't have to be nightly renditions of Goodnight Moon, by the way. You can each read regular books or mags aloud, sing along with the radio, or even just give baby a brief recap of your day -- especially all the parts where you couldn't stop thinking about her!

WOW!!!

2007-12-22T06:47:00.001-07:00

Wow doesn't express my surprise when I went to my local free clinic to have my yearly "women's" exam done. I just turned 36 on the third of this month and figured I should get the exam over with. They asked the standard questions, one of which was when was your last cycle. Well I haven't been "normal" for several years but when I told them when it was they instead that I do a pregnancy test. Well I went in the cup for them, they did the test, and yes it was positive. They told me to get dressed, go home, make some phone calls so I could get into an OB. Well all of this happened on the 12Th of this month. I went and made my calls and was able to get into the doctor yesterday. She figures upon exam that I am around 20 weeks. Needless to say this has been my easiest pregnancy so far. I didn't even suspect anything until around Thanksgiving when I felt the first flutters of life but immediately passed them off as gas. After all I am to old "right". Well I guess not. Needless to say I am excited because this child is a gift from God and I would never turn down one of his gifts. I go in on January 9Th for my ultrasound. I may take my kids with me, I am sure they will want to see once I tell them. I am waiting until Christmas Day. I am going to wrap up some baby stuff and give it to them as a present. I know my daughter will be happy about it, because about a month ago she told me she wanted me to have another baby. I guess she got her wish. I will keep you posted as to their reactions and what happens at my ultrasound. I am not going in to find out the sex on purpose but if the baby reveals it's self that is OK too.

Christians be aware of this movie

2007-11-26T12:05:00.001-07:00

Subject: Warning -- bad family movie

Check out www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp and read it foryourself. Hope you all pass this along. Take care.A terrible, (anti-Christian) movie called the "Golden Compass" will becoming out in early December, aimed at children and labeled as a familymovie. This movie is based on a series of books by an atheist British author(Phillip Pullman) whose goal in writing the books is to be the "Anti-Narnia"series and to lead children into atheism.The main villains in the series of books are the Magisterium, Cardinals, andthe Pope, and includes a heroine that is a young girl who sets out to killGod. The truly sick thing about the movie is that they have made it APPEARas if it is an innocent film, with exciting effects and a fairytale story.They have removed from the movie the appalling anti-Catholic/Christianthemes from the book. The goal of the movie is to hook unsuspecting familiesinto viewing the film so that children will then want to read the books (andprobably buy merchandise) . Nicole Kidman stars in it, and Scholastic Booksis behind it.The goal is to let as many people as possible know about this horrible filmand to have it bomb at the box office. The makers of the movie are hoping itwill be as big as Harry Potter or the DaVinci Code. Let's pray that itwon't! Please tell as many people as possible to avoid this terrible film.Thanks!

My son and Fragile X testing

2007-11-25T08:13:00.001-07:00

Well this past Monday I talked to my son's doctor and she had gone over his chart and no testing had ever been done, so she ordered the test for him and we went an got his blood draw on Wednesday. He was a trooper and did really well. He didn't wiggle (which is hard for him an ADHD kid) and he didn't flinch or cry. I am proud of him. The blood has to be sent out to our local children's hospital about a 100 miles away and we should know in a week or two if he has fragile X. If he does I am going to request that my daughter gets a genetic screening to see if she is a carrier. We will cross that bridge if my son is in fact diagnosed with the syndrome.

Round Ripple Patterns

2007-11-25T08:05:00.001-07:00

Here's a link to a page with links to round ripple patterns. The most commonly used is the sew on fire and lynnes round ripple patterns, I hope this helps. http://www.tamemymind.com/blog/2007/...or-knitted.php

The sew on fire has a mistake in it on round 3, here is a link to chrome kittys correction. http://www.crochetville.org/forum/sh...ty+corrections

Here is Lyn's round ripple pattern: http://project-angel-kisses.150m.com/roundripple.html This is the one I use all the time.

Here is Yarndiva's Star Pattern: http://yarn-diva.blogspot.com/2006/03/free-star-shaped-afghan-pattern.html

Fragile X Syndrome

2007-11-16T07:20:00.001-07:00

The Top Ten Things You Should Know About Fragile X Syndrome
by Mary Beth Langan and Sally Nantais, July 2006

It’s genetic.

If a woman is a carrier, she has a 50/50 chance of passing it on to her son(s) or daughter(s). 1 in 100 to 200 women are carriers **.

If a man is a carrier he will pass it only to his daughter(s), and they will only be carriers. 1 in 800 men are carriers.

Fragile X Syndrome does not discriminate; it doesn’t care which ethnic group you belong to.

Fragile X Syndrome is a spectrum disorder. Symptoms may vary from mild learning disabilities (including shyness and social anxiety) to severe cognitive impairment (mental retardation).

Premature Ovarian Failure, more commonly known as early menopause, is a condition that affects 20-28% of the female FXS carrier population.

Fragile X-associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS), discovered in 2001, is a neurological disorder that can involve tremors, balance irregularities, difficulty walking and dementia which sadly is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s and/or Alzheimer’s. This condition is present in some older FXS carriers (typically after the age of fifty), usually in males but FXTAS can also affect female carriers.

There are minor physical traits noted in many persons with Fragile X Syndrome, but not in all. These are traits which may also be present within the typical population, nothing unique which would necessarily indicate FXS testing is necessary for your child.

When testing for Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), it is critical that the correct tests are ordered – the Fragile X DNA (Southern Blot) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests. Inaccurate results occur far too often with the generic chromosomal panel. Test for FXS to obtain a diagnosis or to rule it out. If you don’t have what may be the correct diagnosis of FXS, then you will never be aware of improved treatments or the cure when it’s found.

Where to go for the most accurate and up-to-date information on fragile X syndrome:

http://www.fragilex.org/, the National Fragile X Foundation

http://www.fraxa.org/, Fraxa Research Foundation

http://www.conquerfragilex.org/, Conquer Fragile X Foundation

** American Academy of Family Physicians, News and Publications, Vol. 72/No. 1 (July 1, 2005) http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050701/111.html

Mary Beth Langan and Sally Nantais are both Fragile X Syndrome carriers; each have a son with Fragile X Syndrome and autism. They can be contacted at mblangan@hotmail.com and sally_nada@juno.com

I took this from this page:
http://fragilex.wordpress.com/the-top-ten-things-you-should-know-about-fragile-x-syndrome/

Fragile X syndrome

2007-11-06T16:28:00.001-07:00

I took my son to the doctor today to have his normal ADHD check up and she brought up the subject of genetic testing. She asked if any had been done on him. I said no. This is what she thinks he might have. I doesn't change who he is but would give some answers to all of the issues he has been having.

The Beast

2007-08-15T20:15:00.001-06:00

It's finally done and it is a beast. I estimate about 90 inches. I will give it to my pastor on Sunday. I know she will love it as it is her favorite color. It took a long time to do as it has been so hot here. July the average temperature was 95-104 all month. This summer just has been unseasonably warm. When it was so hot I could only work with it in the early morning and for only about an hour before the air conditioner couldn't keep up so I would have to put away until the next day. When it got close to done it would take about an hour to go around it so you can figure how long it took to finish. It is well worth it though. It will be my pastors appreciation/house warming/ birthday gift. I will post again with her reaction to it but like I said I know she will love it and know that God has blessed her.

"God's Blessings"

2007-08-12T08:39:00.001-06:00

Here it is Sunday again and I am able to make it to church despite not having a car and my normal ride being out of town at annual conference. Normally I call my pastor and ask her for a ride. I had to call a church member today though. He was back from his trip to Washington and was able to take me to church. My daughter is at the annual conference t0 and will be home some time tomorrow. Praise God for all of his blessings. My daughter got to go to annual conference despite us not having the money to send her.

Isaiah 49:15

2007-08-11T18:24:00.001-06:00

My recent round ripples

2007-08-08T10:35:00.001-06:00

These are some of my recect projects:

This was for a baby.

This was for a 3y/o girl

This one is almost done now and is for my pastor. It is very big. I am thinking around 90 inches when it is done.

My Church "Union Bethel AME"

2007-06-26T12:55:00.002-06:00

Here is the church I attend. It is Union Bethel AME church. We are a small church but we are doing well as a church. This is an older picture of our church. Thanks to the generosity of our members the sanctuary has brand new stained glass windows. They are so pretty. As a church we have had our share of turmoil, but under the direction of our new pastor the Church is being blessed. She is truly a Woman of God. This is our pastor. The Reverend Mercedes Tudy - Hamilton.

Summer Camp

2007-06-24T16:33:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year again. Girl Scout camp. In a week my daughter is going to Camp Scoutana. Here is the picture of her when we took her last year. This is a picture of the Nilan Reservoir that you go past just a couple of miles before you get to camp. The theme of her camp is "the Advanced Potters Wheel". She is very excited to go. She just loves it. Sure hope she makes time to write to us this year. I wrote her a ton last year and we never heard from her once. Pay all that money to send them away, and they don't even write to tell you if they are having fun or not.

Feild Trip

2007-05-01T18:54:00.001-06:00

Well I went on the field trip with my daughter. We went to egg mountain near Choteau Montana, then we visited the dinosaur museum in Choteau and went to freeze out lake. It was an all day trip and we had fun. Even my daughter that didn't want me there had fun. We learned about Montana's native dinosaurs, we did science experiments with soil, and learned about the paleontologist who discovered egg mountain. His name is Jack Horner (I also learned he had dyslexia which was important because I am having my son tested later this month and I was wondering what his future would be if the test said he has it), he and a friend discovered the first baby dinosaur bones. I learned a lot on the trip and even got a little sun burned.

April 30, 2007 First post

2007-04-30T09:02:00.001-06:00

My first post ever. I am getting ready to go on a feild trip with my daughters class. How fun. She is in fifth grade and doesn't want me to go but I told her teacher that I would so off I go.