Our Adventures with Family Cloth

Back in April, Ingrid and I stopped using toilet paper and started using family cloth.  I wrote a post about it on my other blog, here.  After months of this, I've become so used to it that using regular tp when we are washing the cloths feels strange to me.  And very wasteful.  I'm throwing something in the toilet and I'll never see it again.  Some might say "EXACTLY!!" but to me it feels wasteful when I could be doing a load of laundry and reusing cloth wipes.

We have a simple system--I cut up some flannel and sewed two pieces together.  We keep them on the back of the toilet in a plastic container. 

We use them and throw them in a little red bin that I keep a pillowcase in.  We have three pillowcases just for this occasion--none of them end up on our bed!!  When we are running low on wipes, I do a load of laundry.  Shake out the pillowcase, hot water with a double rinse, and a scoop of oxy-clean along with detergent.  Dry in the dryer, and then, according to Ingrid, comes the fun part.

She will take a basket of clean wipes and play for literally hours!  Yesterday was such a day, which led me to writing this post.  She goes through each wipe and says what's on it (we use patterned flannel, with frogs, trucks, skulls, etc on them.) She has favorites, and loves to choose which one to use.  While sorting through the wipes, she makes piles and has just started to match up like wipes.  This is something she does every time we wash them--if I say there's a load of wipes in the dryer, her face lights up and she says "can I make a pile of wipes?!"  As if that's the greatest gift I could give her, bless her.

I was just thinking about how she would not have this much "fun" with toilet paper.  And that made me happy.  She finds joy in the simplest things!

Jack'O Lanterns

Yesterday was a great day.  I got some sewing done, and I am loving the fact that Ingrid gets excited when I get out the sewing machine now!  She wants to throw the scraps away, she begs for it!  We made this little number for a friend:

It's this cool sensory "book" that is just squares of flannel with Velcro, so kids can rip them apart and stick them together.  I also added some ribbons to one, and to cover the stitches on the front, I put a little piece of flannel with her initial on it.  I love how it turned out!!  The thing I love most is that the 4mo old for whom it's intended will love it, but so will her 2yo sister!  Ingrid loved the thing, I might have to make one for her today while it storms.

Last night after dinner Brendan decided it was time to carve the pumpkins.  I'm sure glad he likes to do things, because I could care less about carving pumpkins.  Ingrid was not so sure about the goop on her hands.  Where did this come from??  She could be messy from head to toe (and usually is) but once something gets on her hands, she freaks.

And please get a hold of Ingrid's outfit.  We did laundry yesterday and every time I would take something out of the basket, she'd want to put it on.  That's how we got this look.  A stripey shirt, Christmas dress, cookie pajama pants, and orange mary janes.  Good look for you, honey!

Halloween Party!

Yesterday afternoon we went to our friend's for a rip-roaring toddler style Halloween party.  Ingrid was SO EXCITED to try on her kitty costume!  She's been asking to use the face paint ever since we got it last week.  I made a tail to sew on her pants and it turned out so funny.  Brendan and I both thought it looked either very phallic or like a big poo.  And of course Brendan had to say that in front of Ingrid and she kept running around giggling "I pooping, Mama!" 

There were tons of toys and a bounce house and cupcakes and food.  Ingrid was in awe of everything, her attention span was about four seconds long.  And then once she got over it all she wanted to do was swing in a swing that an adult had to put her in and push...The whole point of a nice backyard party is that the parent's don't have to watch their kids!

It was a super fun time and we still have next week for trick or treating! 

So Busy. So Tired.

Yep, I've been busy.  I got a bee in my bonnet to make a lot of stuff for the etsy shop, so I have been working on burp cloths and cloth wipes like no one's business.  And I made a couple baby quilts. 

Ingrid has been a huge helper.  She keeps asking to sew with me, which means she wants to throw away my scraps.  Seriously, it kept her occupied for a half hour the other day!  I pink the edges of the cloth wipes and she throws each piece away seperately.  And giggles the whole time. 

We have also done a lot of raking.  And baking.  And being into the fall weather.  And snotting everywhere (she was sick, mine is just damn allergies that will not go away even with medicine I'm not even sure I'm supposed to take while being pregnant...)  And giving the state of Michigan massive amounts of money for expired license plates.  And watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which is less annoying than I thought it would be.  And looking through catalogs that have come in the mail (wow, American Girl dolls are expensive!!!)  And playing with these Max and Ruby paper doll cutouts (those were a huge hit!)  Just being mellow and keeping busy.

Oh, and being tired because I'm 26 weeks along and Otis is karate chopping me throughout the night.  And when I do fall asleep, Ingrid wakes up screaming for mama to come put her blanket on.  For a little one that has to do everything by herself you'd think she could manage to put her damn blanket back on herself at 2am.  Good thing she's so cute:

These cute Toughskin overalls courtesy of Heather over at 3RingCircus.  Cutest vintage stuff ever!!

Halloweens of Yore

Another post inspired by my favorite ladies over at Modern Kiddo!  They had this great post on vintage Halloweens and it made me dig through our boxes to find the photo albums with kid pictures of Brendan and I.  Luckily I found the one I was looking for:

The year was 1979 (gulp.  I AM vintage!)  That would be me in the middle as Raggedy Ann, my sister on the right as Cinderella, and my brothers behind me as a football player and Frankenstein.  The other kids are our neighbors.  Love that Holly Hobby costume!!

Brendan's were equally fun.  1980 was a plastic number of the Hulk.  No mask, though, wonder where that went off to?

1984 was Darth Vader.  What is that around his neck, does anyone know?  I wasn't a Star Wars fanatic, but I didn't think he had a turntable on his chest...

Someday Ingrid's going to look back and say really, mom?  A ladybug?  What were you thinking?

Cupcakes, or How I Gained 10 Lbs Today

This pregnancy I have had a major sweet tooth.  I like me some salty things, but man, the sweets just hit the spot!  Usually our trips to the grocery store end up with donuts, cookies, brownie mix, or ice cream going in the cart.  Today cake mixes were $1 and frosting was on sale as well, so that is what we made.  Yum.  Chocolate fudge cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and topped with candy corn we got on a whim at Target yesterday. 

I gave Ingrid a little bowl of frosting and some candy corn and let her at it.

Inevitably she just licked the knife and started to eat the cupcake.

A couple did get decorated, though.  This one by her:

This one by me:

Can I just say it one more time--YUM.  I don't know why I even have to take the stupid glucose test in a couple weeks--I eat so much sugar that this baby and I would be in a coma if I were diabetic...

Holidays Already??

Today was awesome, I got my groove back after being sick for the past few days.  We got off the couch and away from the TV and got things done!  We painted a section of the wall in the basement with chalkboard paint, we did laundry, we got new fabric, we raked leaves and layed in them in all their wet, muddy glory.

Then I saw some Etsy sellers getting their shops ready for the holidays and it hit me--it's the middle of October!  If I want to make sure to get my holiday stuff ready before, say, the middle of December, I have to start thinking of it now!  Luckily today I was super motivated to get stuff done.  After five or so days of being sick and taking care of a snot nosed Ingrid, it felt good to get up and be productive.

So, I made lists.  I love lists.  I love checking things off lists.  I love throwing lists away because everything is done.  One thing on my list--cut out ornaments.  Check!  I cut out six sets of three different ornaments, total factory line style.  It was fun to have them lined up and see how felt and scisscors make cute things.

I sat and watched 30 Rock tonight and sewed, finishing up seven of the eighteen I have cut out.  Not bad.  Certainly better than the work I've gotten done in the past week, which would be...nothing.  And with the new fabric we got (from the Joann remnant section again, seriously the most dangerous part of the store for me!!) I have lists of what needs to be made.  The shop will be stocked, so if you have any babies or new mums to buy gifts for, check it out!!

Pumpkins!

Saturday was insane.  We live a block away from a university football stadium, and Saturday was a big game with the local rivals.  It was estimated that our small little college town had an extra 120,000 people in it!  The game started at 3:30pm but people were tailgating and driving obnoxiously starting at 8am.  There are some serious fans around here...

Anyway, we decided the best idea was to get out of town for the day.  We went to a local pumpkin farm and had another wonderful family day.  It was hot out, and Ingrid was tired, but we managed to have a great time.  They had animals.  They had slides.  They had a big sandbox filled with corn--it was awesome!  What a great sensory game for kids!  They were going nuts and it hit me that most of these kids have probably never been allowed to play in a big bin of corn, rice, lentils, etc.  What they have been missing out on!

After we did the kid's area we got donuts.  Of course!  My favorite part of fall is the donuts and cider.  Ooey gooey cinnamon sugar donuts and tart apple cider, could there be anything better?  I caved and spent three times more on a little plastic pumpkin cup for Ingrid, how dumb is that?  I swear, people know how to get money from parents.

Then it was time for the hay ride.  They had big tractors with wagons hitched up to them, and the ride was the perfect length for Ingrid.  She didn't seem to care about it one way or the other, actually.  But she loved the field of pumpkins!  She had so much fun running from one to the other and rolling them, trying to pick them up, sitting on them.  Fun times!

Gabba Live!!

Yesterday Ingrid and I drove to Detroit to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live.  It was insane.  I've never gone to a kid's show like that before, and frankly, I might not go again for a long time! 

We were lucky enough to get free tickets, and actually being in the way back had its privileges.  Ingrid could stand in her seat and dance without annoying anyone behind her, and we could make a quick getaway at the end.

It was at the Fox Theater right downtown Detroit, which is an amazing old theater with tons of cool lights and statues and velvet covered seats.  The seats we had actually weren't bad, there was a huge screen behind the characters so it was easy to see.  And if Ingrid could stand up in her seat she could see everything. 

They played all the old favorite songs and the characters danced.  Ingrid was so excited!!  She kept stuffing her fingers in her mouth and chewing on them she was so hyped!  She sang along and had a great time.  We went to the merch table but found most things were pretty expensive.  I am such a cheapskate...Luckily they had cute little tote bags.  She can't outgrow it and we will use it for our library trips every week, a perfect idea!

I Made a Coat!

As I've said in the past, I am not very good at following patterns while sewing.  I usually get confused and do my own thing and lament on it turning out not quite right.  But I've tried a few patterns now, and seeing how if I slow down and follow the directions properly things actually turn out right, I am loving it!  My most recent creation is this coat from Heidi and Finn on etsy.  It is so cute, and really was so easy! 

I loved that the directions were simple, there weren't a lot of pieces or steps to follow, and the end product looks very polished and put together.  I am LOVING the little placket (is that what it's called?)  on the back, I just could not get over how adorable it was after I sewed it together last night!  My poor husband had to listen to me gush over how excited I was...

I cut out the pieces yesterday, then started sewing after Ingrid went to bed.  It went pretty quickly, and by my own bedtime I had a finished coat, all the but the buttons.

When Ingrid woke up we tried it on and I figured out where the buttons should go.  I did that all while Ingrid ate breakfast, and by the time we had to leave to go get the car fixed, she was sporting a new coat!  Hooray!  I am definitely going back to Heide and Finn, they have SO MANY cute things to make.  Another place I'd like to try is Oliver + S, although their stuff looks a bit trickier. 

A Day Outside, a Day Inside.

Yesterday Ingrid and I had the best day.  We went to the park and brought lots of snacks so we could stay for however long we wanted, we ate lunch outside, I even folded laundry outside while Ingrid was off in the trees in her own little world.  It was crisp and cool and sunny, totally fallish.

Then today we woke up to rain.  I'm not necessarily against going out in the rain, but it makes it way harder for me to get the motivation to do anything outside.  Luckily Brendan had it in his head that he was going to take the car in to get new brakes, and he was going to take Ingrid.  You can tell he doesn't have to run errands with her very often because he thinks of it as an adventure rather than a chore.  Bless him.

So, while they were out, I put on some music and started cutting up the new fat quarter bundle I got for half off at Joann's the other day.  I have always wanted to buy one but it was the first time I ever have.  I just love how they match up the colors and all the prints go together nicely.  I looked at the LOTUS BRICK PATH pattern on the Amy Butler site and made my own version.  It turned out really cute, and it's backed in pale green fleece so it's super comfy! 

I was going to make this for another pregnant friend but I got selfish.  I just couldn't stop looking at it, I loved it so much!!  So it's for Otis.  The first thing I have made for him.  I made Ingrid a quilt when I was pregnant for her, too, but I wasn't nearly as good at sewing as I am now, so it's kinda crappy.  Oh well, she's got other blankets I've made, and it's a nice keepsake for her.

I also watched the movie Babies today.  How cute!  It was really good, and Ingrid liked to watch it with me for awhile.  I'm very thankful I don't live in Nairobi, where they wipe their baby's poo on their bare knee and then rub it off with a corn cob...Anyway, both good days, one out and one in.