summer flowers are nice

Lizzy must have picked up some kind of flower-arranging gene from my sister Betz, because she has a serious knack for it that didn't come from Richard or me. Give her free reign in the garden, and that girl will come up with something both gorgeous and inventive every single time. Tonight she streaked into the house hollering, "Mama! Mama! Come and see your surprise!" She'd carefully arranged marigolds, cosmos, dill, daisies, yarrow, and geraniums into a perfectly beautiful ring around the table, all ready for dinner.

The sunflowers are a happy reminder of last Friday, when I got a babysitter so I could go to my OB appointment solo, have lunch out at the inimitable Bombay Duck Pickle Cafe, and garner sideways glances (and some outright stares) while trundling out of the farmer's market, fully 9 months pregnant, with an enormous armload of sunflowers.

We're keeping busy. Trips to the beach, trips to the $1 kids' movies, endless kitchen experiments, playdates, OB appointments, on and on. Having fun plans makes me not mind waiting around for this kid a little longer. As in, he can't come today, I've got peaches to can! Thursday we're planning on visiting the farm where the Bombay Duck lady gets her produce, hoping to score some tasty grass-fed beef, so I really do hope baby boy can wait until after that.

nature journaling

Last Child in the Woods is being thoroughly enjoyed over here -- by mama because it's so inspiring and interesting -- and by the chickies because we're all getting outside and exploring a whole lot more. One idea in the book is to help the children start nature journals. The girls are thrilled with theirs, and I can't help being a little bit proud, even if Maren wants to erase everything she's just drawn/written, just because she just learned how to erase.

Oh, Spring. We're so glad you're here.

re-introductions: raspberry leaf + dandelion

I've got herbs on the brain this weekend, thanks to my new book that came in the mail this week. I'm looking very much forward to the coming weeks of growing, collecting, tincturing, and concocting. This morning's gatherings came from the backyard -- raspberry leaf and whole dandelion plants (who knew?).

of bum geniuses, fuzzibunz, and why i switched

Hi everyone! I've been getting some questions in my inbox lately about cloth diapering, so I thought I would go ahead and do a whole post about it.

We love cloth diapers. People do it for lots of different reasons (the environment, allergies, economics), but for us, it really just boils down to the moola. I haven't calculated exactly how much money cloth diapering has saved us, but it's a substantial amount.

When Lizzy was born, we spent a few weeks of experimenting with prefolds and covers. Once we decided to commit to cloth diapering, we dished out the cash for 12 one-size Bum Genius diapers, which are super easy to use. We freaking loved them and used the same 12, washing every other day, for about 2 years, no complaints whatsoever. We more than got our money out of those.

By the time Maren came along, the elastic and velcro on our trusty BGs needed replacement, so I replaced it myself, which was a royal pain in the butt (ha!), but it gave the diapers an extra year or so of life. Then a few weeks ago, our BGs started leaking, probably just because they've reached the end of their lives.

To replace the diapers, I decided to go with FuzziBunz one-size diapers, for one reason only: the leg elastic is both adjustable and easily removable. When it's time to replace the elastic, you just button in a new piece, no sewing required (I feel like ripping out and sewing in new elastic in the Bum Genius diapers may have weakened the waterproof material, hence the leakage issues we're experiencing now). I also really like the snaps; velcro gets all tangled up with everything in the wash, and I am happy not to be dealing with that anymore. I have to say that the shape of the BGs seem to fit my kids a bit better than the FBs, but ehh, it's a trade-off.

Dirty diapers get disassembled, sprayed with Febreeze, and go in a lidded garbage can that's lined with a nylon laundry sack. I have an HE frontloading washer; I do a full cold wash with no detergent, a "whitest whites" cycle with 1-2 scoops of Rockin' Green, and usually an extra rinse after that. Inserts get tumble dried; the waterproof covers air dry. Everyone washes differently, and it usually requires a bit of tinkering, but there are a zillion online forums and articles out there to help you figure it out. We do use disposable wipes, as well as disposable diapers at nighttime and on vacations. I tried cloth at night, but it's just kind of a pain.

It sounds like a lot of work, but really, once you get it figured out and do it a few times, you go on autopilot and it all becomes a no-brainer. Easy peasy.

If you are new to cloth diapering, don't miss Cloth Diapering 101 on The Cloth Diaper Report. It's the best resource I've found that explains the ins and outs (eeww) of cloth diapering in a clear, user-friendly way. There is a LOT of info out there and you could spend weeks trying to sift through it all.

More questions? Hit me...