Battle of Knits

I'm just trying to keep it real… while knitting.

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I joined a congo…

http://hyenacart.com/Home2Home/ I joined the Home 2 Home Congo. I will be stocking my items with some other mamas who make diapers. There is some nice diapers and other things in the congo, so be sure and check it out! There is nothing more wonderful than cloth diapering… well, except supporting stay at home Moms!

I am going to let my Hyena Cart lapse, since it is cheaper to go with the congo and it easier to advertise when you have 7-8 other Moms helping! I can also focus more on stocking the congo. Stop by and check it out, tell me what you think!

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Posted September 30th, 2009.

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Monday, Monday…

I enjoyed a tasty meal last night. My long time friend, Craig, came over and cooked up a tasty gourmet meal called “Saltimboca” which consisted of a chicken cutlet wrapped in prosciutto then pan fried and drenched in a mouth watering sauce made from Marsala wine and chicken stock. I wish I had more!!! I made some fettuccine Alfredo and sauteed some fresh spinach and garlic with a touch of white wine and butter. We drank an excellent wine with it, the well known 2000 Chateau Pavie, which was rated either 100 or 99 points. The wine was sexy, to say the least, but the dinner may very well have shown it up. After dinner Josh, Craig and I watched “Zack & Miri” since Craig had not seen it, Josh loves it and I was busy working on the finishing touches of April’s skirty, so I was indifferent.

Soon it was time for Boo to go to bed and Josh fell asleep with him. Craig and I stayed up having a theological discussion as we usually do and finally I went to bed soon after he left some time around midnight. I fully expected to wake up hungover… but I guess that it the good part about $300 wines, no hang-over? Or perhaps I just got lucky? Either way, I had a huge burst of energy this morning and emptied about 6 more lingering boxes of stuff, did 3 loads of laundry, lanolized all the wool covers in the house and straightened up the place. I honestly think cleaning this place is more of a pleasure due to the well-lit atmosphere and beautiful kitchen. Our dishwasher is worlds above our old one and the sink even makes washing dishes as close to pleasurable as washing dishes can get.
I am desperately trying to push the boy towards eating more food. He wants to nurse constantly and I am not only tired of nursing every hour, but I am feeling sore from it as well. Today I have made major effort to push back each feeding an hour. I have been offering food and water to him since he was 6 months old, but he will rarely eat more than a few bites for me, unless of course I offer him french fries or pasta! He eats a lot for his father when I am out of the house, so I know he will eat when hungry, I just have to be more strict about nursing. I am not trying to wean him by any means, but I would like to get it down to 4-6 nursing sessions in a 24 hour period. I know my body will thank me for it too.
Well, off to surf the web for a good deal on a dependable swift. Wish me luck!

Posted June 8th, 2009.

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Washing and Lanolizing Wool Diaper Covers is This Easy!

I started cloth diapering my son when he was about 5 months old. I wanted to do it at birth, but everyone told me I was crazy! Well, finally I took the plunge after much support from some other April mommies on a BBC message board I am on. I used to use PUL covers from a brand that starts with “T”… I wont name them because I hate them. They leaked and smelled. I got a wool crochet pattern for shorties from a fellow cloth diapering mommy and I whipped up a few pairs. The first few came out odd, but worked so well! I kept at it and now I feel like my soakers and shorties look amazing, I have also decided I wont use anything but wool covers! They are warm in the cold weather and breathable in the hot weather. I live in Florida and it gets so humid… my boy has a cool dry bum though! Thanks to merino sheep!
There are a million tutorials on the web for this, but I wanted to have one here… I get asked all the time, “isnt it a pain to hand wash all that wool?” and really, it is a lot easier than doing a load of laundry… it literally takes five minutes. Here is the process step-by-step. I hope to add a video of this soon. 
Wool is natural and anti-microbial. The lanolin neutralizes the urine so after you change your babies diaper, just hang it to dry and when it dries the bacteria is gone!  JUST LIKE MAGIC!  I use a few soakers and shorties to alternate through day and night. This way they have time to dry out. The lanolin in the wool repels wetness and when your baby gets really wet, the wool can hold up to 30% of its weight in liquid. None of my wool covers have even gotten more than slightly damp, even overnight! No doublers or inserts needed. I only wish someone would have mentioned wool to me sooner! 

1. Get a container. I use this pink plastic tub thing I lifted from the hospital after having my son. You can use anything, a pasta pot, a bowl, even your sink if it seals tightly.

 

 

2. If you are a breastfeeding mama, you probably have Lansinoh  lanolin sitting around somewhere. I never used my on my breasts, so what a great way to get a use out of it. If you dont have any, you can use lanolin wool wash which is even easier… here is a link for a free sample: http://www.eucalan.com/free_sample.php
If using wool wash skip too step 4,
(I also grab a spatula, because I hate the sticky feeling the Lansinoh leaves on my skin.)

3. If you have a microwave, heat up a cup of hot water… about 2-3 minutes, not boiling, but very hot! Now add a teaspoon of the lansinoh. Stir with spatula and let it dissolve. It will look oily and form circles on top of the water. Want to wash it as well as lanolize it? Well just add a drop of baby wash. Not too much though. Some wool washes need no rinsing. This may be the easiest method.

4. Check on spectators. No limbs missing? You are good to go!

5. Add enough cold water very slowly, to make the water -just warm- too hot or too cold will felt and shock the wool– you dont want that! When it is warm, add wool item. Sometimes I am lazy and do 2-3 at a time. Push down gently with spatula, or hands. Swish wool items gently. Let sit for a few minutes. (With wool wash, follow directions.) Here is where you multi-task and fill the sippy cup, breast-feed or eat a snack… now, pick up wool item and gently squeeze water out, do not wring or man-handle, you will damage your woolie item. Use TLC! If you desire, scrape the sides of your container with the spatula and get the excess lanolin off, now spread it on the inside wet zone of your soaker. Extra protection!

6. Grab a couple towels… I use bath towels that are headed for the laundry pile. No need to create extra laundry. Fold in half and then fold in half again… lay it out on the floor and put woolie item on top.

7. Now roll the towel up like a log! 

8. Step on the towel to squish out the excess water.

9. Now lay flat to dry, or hang over chairs like me… this is one of the few places my son will leave them alone. I flip them over periodically and they usually dry between 4-12 hours later, depending how much water I got out of them with the towel. 
That is it!!! You are done! Now think about it… doing that every 2-4 weeks is so much easier than loads and loads of laundry, right?  On rare occasions you make get poop on your wool items… when this happens I simply wash them out with a wool wash bar or you can use dish soap (you dont need more than a drop or two) and then proceed to lanolize them using this method. 

Posted May 13th, 2009.

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