cloth wipes

I made a bunch of wipes last night and it took a lot longer than I thought it would. I had to get them done because I'm nearly out of regular wipes and I'm just not spending any more money on them!

I figured we do about 7-10 diapers a day with 2 wipes each so I made 40 to start. I made them roughly 6"x8" depending on the size of the scrap I was cutting. They're no where near exact, nor are they at all straight, but really considering what I'm using them for I don't really think it matters! I did a zig-zag stitch around the edge to keep them from fraying. This is what took so much time because I did a fairly short stitch so it would reinforce it better. I think my stitch width was a 3 and the length was a 1. I had to refill my bobbin 3 times!! I started using them today and already like them better! Because they are cloth they wipe up better so I only need one instead of the usual two I use of the disposable wipes. Also I used the recipe from the last post, but it seemed like too much so I halved it. This morning the wipes were barely damp, it needed the whole 2 cups! I just thought I would pass along this info in case anyone else wants to give these a try.

I think if someone had told me a year ago that not only would I be cloth diapering today, but that I would be making them myself I would have laughed myself silly. I really can't believe how easy and so much more affordable this is. Also I love that we're that much more self sufficient. No more late night runs to the store because we're on the last few diapers!

A victorious day in the Meakin house

I think we are officially potty trained!!! I'm tearing up as I write this that's how happy I am. It's been a battle from the very beginning, but she finally figured it out. I give a great amount of credit to my sister in law, Alexis, for giving me the cloth diaper idea. That's what pushed her over the edge. I hate to say it, but Melody is simply lazy about going potty. Why on earth should she stop what she's doing to run into the bathroom if she could sit the in a diaper and not have to worry about it. The cloth diapers weren't nearly as comfortable and after only two days of them she started asking for panties. Now we have been wearing panties for going on a week (we took a break one day for six flags) and she's only having one accident a day if any at all! I was having to remind her to go every so often, but now she just takes care of it. She still wants a cloth diaper at night, but she's waking up dry so next week I may start encouraging her to wear the panties to bed too.

I've pretty much got Katie exclusively on the cloth. She's a really heavy wetter, so we have to do disposable at night, but during the day I keep her in the cloth. She's also not liking the feeling too much and will bring me a diaper every so often when she's decided it's time to change. I've given up for the time being on making my own covers. Too much hassle. I found a hole in the wall store out here called Diaper Mart that has pretty amazing prices on everything. I got my diaper pins for $0.89 for 6 and I paid over $3 at babies-r-us for the EXACT same thing. They also had some terry cloth , plastic lined 'training pants' that work great for covers. They were only $1.49 so got a few of those also. Hopefully in the near future I'll either figure out how to make my diapers all in one's or just find a better fitting cover pattern.

My new project is home made wipes. I figure it would be easier to have cloth wipes and just wash the whole mess instead of having to throw away the dirty wipe before putting the diaper in the pail. I'm just going to use the left over fabric from the diapers and hem the edges so they don't fray. I did some research and the recipe for wipe solution is pretty much consistently the same everywhere I've looked:
2 T baby wash
2 T baby oil or olive oil
2 C water

I've also read that adding a little white vinegar will help with diaper rash, tea tree oil will act as a disinfectant, chamomile and lavender will act a a soothing agent for the skin and also help relax baby. I have the basic ingredients, but as soon as I have some extra cash we're heading over to GNC for some essential oil shopping! Then I can make some bath salts too!

I just needed to share our victory with you all so you could rejoice with me!

Some random fun pictures

I recently put the little TV that has a built in VHS in the kids room simply because the only other place for it to go is the garage. A little hard to use in the garage. I didn't think it would really be that big of a deal, I mean they're three and 18 months. Unfortunately I underestimated my children, yet again! While I actually had to show Melody which buttons did what Katie figured it out all on her own. Mostly through trial and error. I would put a movie on for them to watch while I made dinner so they would stay out of the kitchen, then at random intervals Melody would start screaming like a banshee because Katelynn turned the movie off, or fast forwarded it, or rewound it.

Now when I send them to their room to play I tell Mellie to leave the TV off. She understands so she mostly follows instructions, however Katie does what Katie has always done...exactly what she wants! She'll pick a VHS from the stack and start it. If it's over, she'll rewind it. I tried unplugging it, but she quickly figured out how to plug it in. She has even figured out how to pull the plug covers off!!! Melody is a terribly smart little girl and she picks things up quickly. However, Katelynn is quite simply clever. I can not believe the things she does, or how she figures out how to get around me.

Here are some random pictures I took one day when Jared went in to watch a movie with them. They were all so cute all snuggled up together I couldn't resist!

I probably clean their room four times a day, but it always seems to look like this!

See! They do other things even though the TV is on!

I heart this daddy!

This is what happens when Jared tries to get a kiss from Katie,

and here's Melody's consolation kiss.

T-shirt lounge pants

Thanks to Isaak I was able to get pictures of Katie. I'm going to miss him when he goes home! He's such a huge help!

The bottom of this shirt had an x-box website on it. I couldn't get around it so she has www. across the crotch. I don't think we'll be wearing these in public!

Since seeing these yesterday on the Nanny Goat Blog (the original post and the tutorial is on lil blue boo) I felt the need to make them. Immediately. I don't know how many people are weird like me, but when I get an idea or come across a project that I just love, I can't do anything else until I get it finished. So today I dug through all of our boxes and found the stack of t-shirts that we had put away because we might need them some day. Well today was that day!

I thought these green ones would look really dumb, I mean it was dumb looking as a shirt so why not as pants? However, I discovered that they both have several shirts that match! Yay! The gray ones were the first ones I made and I had to alter my pattern a bit. Again with the long waists and big butts! I made the rise an extra 1 1/2" and made the casing a little bigger than she did. Also, I only had enough elastic to make two (I didn't get a pic of the turquoise ones) so I made the green ones draw string. Just cut two long pieces from the left over t-shirt material and then pulled to make the edges curl in, then knotted the ends. I figure if they're going to be sharing them, drawstring makes more sense. That way one of them doesn't have them falling off and the other isn't getting squished.

These were both made with medium sized shirts. I'm going to hit the garage sales this weekend and see what I can find, and for you lucky ducks that live near a DI enjoy your quick trip! I know one thing they always have in abundance is t-shirts. I think these could easily be made for boys as much as for girls, I just think the girls are more fun to make, but I may be biased ;0)

Noteworthy Blogs

I wanted to draw attention to a couple of new blogs I've started following. The first is Wonder Mom Envy. So far I really like this blog, it's fairly new, but stuffed with great info and ideas. She has everything from recipes (I recommend the homemade Oreos! Yummy!) to DIY pedicures to the low down on sun screen and bug spray for kids.

Next is Food, Crafts, and More! My cousin Julie just started this one also. I have long been envious of her ability to decorate and craft so I am very much looking forward to the crafts she'll be posting here. Right now she's hosting a give-away of a CTMH acrylix stamp set. I adore stamps so you know I've already entered!

Last but not least is Little Nanny Goat. I stumbled across this blog today, it has an odd name, but great ideas! She has a great idea for a 30 day menu that I will now be implementing in my house. There is also the T-shirt pants that I am book marking to make this summer, and this adorable owl I will be making for every baby shower I will ever attend in the future.

I'm adding these to my blogs we love menu on the side bar so definitely give them a look when you have a few minutes.