Friesencold

Sunday was the final day of mine and TJ’s big trip.

Bye bye Ritz.

We got to have breakfast again at the Ritz restaurant. This time we had the melon plate for starters. TJ got the same 3-egg veggie omelet, and I tried the Belgian waffle along with the oatmeal on the side. Same great food. Same great view.

TJ and Torrey.

We checked out of our hotel by 9am and were on the road to San Diego. We spent a few hours going around to different places TJ knew of from the summer he spent there while in college. We went by the cafe where he worked to see if it was still there. It was changed into “Organics To Go” but wasn’t open anyway. We went by Torrey Pines because TJ had always wanted to see it. We stopped by Whole Foods to get some lunch and then went to a cliff TJ knew about where we could watch the surfers way down below and see a great view of the ocean while eating our lunch on the rocks. That was a cool experience.

Tired of plain water.

Never tired of Stacy's.

After our yummy lunch of ratatouille, couscous, jambalaya, brussel sprouts, beets, and hushpuppies (all from the $$$ hot bar), we headed to a nearby cove to see the seals. Sorry that I don’t remember the names of any of the exact towns or places, but it was all in the San Diego area and all in the general direction of us heading to the airport. Seeing the seals was a cool experience too.

A bunch of seals doing nothing.

What was not such a cool experience was getting to the airport and seeing that red flashing DELAYED up on the screen next to our flight. Our flight was supposed to be at 3:20 P.S.T. which would get us back to Chicago around 9:20 C.S.T. We ended up not leaving the airport until sometime after 6pm, so we didn’t make it back to Chicago till close to midnight. During our long wait in the tiny overcrowded area of the airport where we had to stay, I just kept reminding myself that at least we didn’t have the kids with us. That would have seemed so much longer.

Nana was taking great care of Baby Cash and Bauer.

The flight home was uneventful, except to say that I finished reading Twilight. Just the book, not the whole series. I liked the story the most at the beginning when it was still the most believable. But I still enjoyed the story even when it turned into full-fledged sci-fi. I plan to start the second book soon.

Nana got Bauer all ready for Parents Day Out.

Our friend Jeff picked us up from the airport and we arrived back to our house by 12:30am. TJ’s mom, Carol Anne, was still up (or got back up) when we got home. It was fun to talk to her and find out more about how she and the boys had done. It was around 1am that Cash woke up, crying and hungry to be fed. Carol Anne said he had been waking up around 11:30 the nights she was there (I usually wake him at 9:30 to feed him, but I told her she could just see what happened if she didn’t try to wake him up). This night, though, he woke at 1am instead of earlier and since I was needing to pump anyway after our trip, I figured I would just try to nurse him. Unfortunately he didn’t want a thing to do with nursing. He seemed like he didn’t even know me and just kept crying and arching his back. Carol Anne said this is the same thing Cash did that first day after we left for our trip. I went ahead and gave him a bottle that night since it was so late. He drank 5 oz and was right back to sleep. I pumped for the final time of our trip, which brought my grand total to 128 ounces, or 1 full gallon!!

See how happy Cash was.

We all prepared for bed, while I kept asking questions to Carol Anne. I wanted to find out as much about everything as I could since her flight was leaving early the next morning and I knew I wouldn’t get to talk to her in the morning. Well around 2:30am is when Bauer woke up and from then till at least 4:30, he just kept calling us, coughing, and saying his ear hurt. I knew he had started to get some kind of runny nose/cough earlier in the day from what Carol Anne had told us, but when he started saying his ear hurt, I didn’t know if he might have an ear infection or if it could just be a sore throat.

Nana got Bauer to help shovel snow.

But of course she also pulled him on the sled.

TJ ended up sleeping in Bauer’s bed with him for the next couple of hours until we were all back awake at 7am. Thankfully, Carol Anne got a call from the airline saying her early morning flight had been cancelled and she was able to get on another flight that left at noon. That way, TJ didn’t have to leave for the airport so early and we got to spend some more time with Nana before she had to leave. Also thankfully, Cash went right back to nursing first thing on Monday morning and has done great with that ever since. And a third thankfully is that Bauer’s ear ended up being fine and his cough continues to improve. He has started adding to his prayer before dinner that he is thankful his ear doesn’t hurt.

Nana took the boys to Barnes & Noble for some train time.

She also braved the cold and snow to take them to church where Bauer got to see his buddy Branton.

I miss the Ritz so much. I miss the calmness. And the talking to TJ. And seeing the surfers. And the hot water not ever running out in the shower. The fluffy white robes. The amazing free breakfasts. The feeling of being a movie star the way they open the doors and get your car and tend to your every little need. The Starbucks across the street and going there to check email. The being disconnected from email 24-7 and having to walk across the street to go online. The walking around. The sunshine. The looking for rocks and shells on the beach. The beach. The no dishes or clothes to wash. The time to write. The time to read. The time to just be a couple again. And to talk about our kids and smile about what they must be doing.

It was so good to be away, but good in a different way to be back.

Looking for shells.

My favorite picture from our trip.

These are my open windows at the moment:

1-Helping to plan my class reunion which will be in May.

2-Wanting to write about the last day of our trip on the blog.

3-TJ’s birthday coming up on Monday.

4-Baby showers! Baby showers! I have 10 friends having babies between now and August.

5-Starting Cash on solids later this week, trying to make some baby food.

6-Wanting to try on the new pants I bought from American Eagle and decide which ones to keep, which ones to take back.

7-Chatting with my sister on the phone.

8-Making a menu and getting groceries for the rest of the week and weekend.

[Disclaimer: Long post, but with lots of pictures.]

It’s Saturday night as I’m writing this and TJ and I are doing what we always want to do, but really never get to do. Nothing. We’re doing nothing and loving it.

We’re in our hotel room at 6:30 pm, resting on the comfy Ritz bed. TJ’s watching Ocean’s 11 on TV and I’m switching among reading my Twilight book, looking for recipes in my newest Everyday Food magazine, and thinking of what I want to write on my blog. Wow, this is really fun.

It has been such a great and restful trip for us. We left from Midway on Thursday afternoon and had a good travel day. I sat beside a very interesting lady named Lynda Jo on the airplane. She sells wine and teaches yoga. She has two teenage boys. She loves to travel, eat healthy, and talk to people. It made the 4-hour plane ride very enjoyable to talk to someone so full of life and so willing to share her life with me. I enjoyed it a lot and it gave TJ a chance to rest and watch the documentary “Maxed Out” on his laptop.

We arrived in Las Vegas by mid-afternoon P.S.T., rented a car, and drove to Planet Hollywood, the hotel. They had purple towels and washcloths in the rooms, plus a big flat-screen TV. Both were firsts in my hotel experience. We didn’t even turn on that TV we were so tired by bedtime. Our evening was fun, though. We had dinner on the recommendations of TJ’s friend Sean who used to live in Vegas and of our new friend Lynda Jo from the airplane. Mon Ami Gabi was the restaurant, just across the street from the Bellagio and the famous fountains. We got to eat out on the patio under tall warming lamps which were very nice to keep the chill off.

TJ had butternut squash soup and I had the French onion (Mon Ami is a French restaurant connected to the Paris Hotel).  We shared various vegetarian sides, including Au Gratin Potatoes, Whipped Cauliflower, and Green Beans. The French bread came to our table hot and in the paper bread bags, served with a mountain of freshly grated carrots, lemon juice, and honey pepper for piling onto the bread. I just ate it like it was a carrot salad and asked for more it was so yummy.
After dinner we watched the fountains across the street on our way to the Cirque show at the O Theater inside the Bellagio. We were actually kind of disappointed by the show. It was our third Cirque show to see, the first being La Nouba in Orlando and the second being Kooza when it was on tour in Chicago last summer. Both La Nouba and Kooza had very memorable parts to them, but I feel like O was all sort of the same, nothing too amazing or breathtaking. I guess I was just expecting more, with it being in, around, and on top of water, not to mention it won Best Show in Vegas last year, or some award like that. The water part was unique, of course, but the show just didn’t have the wow factor (American-Idol style) that I was hoping for.

Before going to bed, TJ and I played a few rounds of roulette in our hotel casino. That was fun, but would have been more fun if we’d walked away with more (not less) than we started with. The good thing is that we only spent half of what we had said we’d allow ourselves to spend. I told TJ he can spend the rest when he visits Vegas for a work trip in April and try to make it all back for us.

Friday morning we had planned to have breakfast at Hash House A Go-Go, which someone had recommended to us. However, neither of us felt like a big breakfast or spending the money on a big breakfast. We decided to hit the grocery store and buy some fruit and then get on the road to California sooner. It was so fun to me to go to Von’s and buy oranges, apples, bananas, granola bars, bottled water, paper towels, and hand wipes. Fruit is just about the best thing ever. That and baked sweet potatoes.
Before leaving Las Vegas, we had to stop and get our picture in front of the famous sign. Then we got on the road and had a great time talking about our goals, listening to music on TJ’s iPod, and looking at the desert scenery. We stopped for lunch at a Chick-fil-A in Irvine, CA, and that was just about the most perfect moment of the trip. We sat outside in the bright warm sunshine and ate our original Chick-fil-A sandwiches and fries (and TJ his sweet tea). The food was so fresh and so perfect, probably because we don’t get to eat Chick-fil-A all the time anymore since there aren’t any in Illinois. It was just one of those moments you want to put in a bottle and keep forever. After lunch I called my old, but good, friend Mindy from Texas and we were able to reconnect in a way we haven’t in quite some time. That was really nice. And then TJ and I walked across the parking lot to a nearby Trader Joe’s, just to see how it felt to be in a Trader Joe’s in California and to pick up some trail mix.

We got back on the road and had less than an hour to go to our California destination, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Laguna Niguel. (Thanks Vitality!) Talk about service. Talk about niceness. Talk about what the heck are WE doing here? It’s really amazing and I am so thankful we get to be here.
After getting settled in, we took a walk down to the beach, watched the surfers, and looked for shells. As soon as I realized there were Chinamen’s Hats, I was hooked on the shells part. Those were rare finds back when we were kids looking for shells at the beach. TJ and I found 9 of these pretty shells within our hour on the beach, plus I picked up a bunch of really cool smooth rocks of different sizes, shapes, and colors.

After the beach, we decided to walk to Starbucks just down the road from the Ritz so we could use the free Wi-Fi to upload a few pictures to our blog and to check out places for dinner. We decided on Souplantation (sister restaurant to Sweet Tomatoes) which was about 15 minutes away.

TJ and I had a very leisurely late dinner at Souplantation: Big salads, baked sweet potatoes, 2 vegetarian soup options, and freshly baked cornbread muffins. Vegetables are just about the best. And they even let me use my Sweet Tomatoes coupons from back home.

We went to bed pretty early, maybe 10ish, but neither of us minded. It has been really nice to catch up on some sleep. A king size bed helps. As does no kid in our room, or the next room over.
This morning (Saturday), we woke around 7 am and decided to go for an early morning jog together on the trail by the beach. Running together is something that TJ and I used to do when we were dating back during our Clemson days. It was really fun to get to do that together again. We came back and stretched on one of the hotel’s outdoor decks and counted 73 surfers in the ocean below. That was around 8:30 am and from then till about 6 pm tonight when it got dark, the ocean was filled with the surfers. How convenient for the Ritz to be able to offer such great free entertainment to their guests.
After showering, TJ and I had breakfast at 162, the hotel restaurant. Breakfast up to $60 value was included in our $120 Ritz hotel stays (Thanks again Vitality!). These rooms normally go for $725 a night if that gives you any idea of the quality of this hotel. Craaaazy.  We get that breakfast deal both mornings here. Today TJ and I started with the seasonal fresh fruit plate, which had 9 different kinds of fruit on it, including the exotic starfruit. Then we both got the three-egg omelet with roasted peppers, shitake mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and onions. I had oatmeal on the side and TJ had hash browns and whole-wheat toast with jam. We got to sit right by the big windows overlooking the beach and the surfers. Wow. That’s just about all we could say. Wow. (That’s for all you Kevin Henkes’ Lilly fans.)

We took another walk to Starbucks so I could send two emails and drop off a real letter to my friend Brandy in the blue P.O. box I knew was on the way there. Brandy is a friend we’re in small group with. She and her husband Rob are from California, so they were able to give us lots of great tips on things to do and places to eat while in the area. Brandy grew up in Newport Beach, just north of where we spent most of the afternoon today. Now I know why she loves California and is sad that her cute peanut Zander is not growing up at the beach like she did. Speaking of beach, we took another stroll on the beach around lunchtime and looked for more shells and rocks and watched more of the free surf show.
When we actually got hungry for lunch, we headed to Wahoo’s in Laguna Beach. It was a short drive from where we’re staying and one of the places Brandy recommended to us. TJ got to have his fish tacos and I had a veggie bowl with rice, black beans, and banzai veggies. The atmosphere was so cool and reminded us a lot of Tijuana Flats, one of our all-time favorite places to eat in Orlando. I can’t wait till TF spreads all over America, same as I can’t wait for that to happen to MealBaby (shameless plug!).

After lunch, we spent a couple hours walking around the Laguna Beach downtown, going in various cool little shops, being amazed at the ocean view, taking some pictures, and looking for matching Laguna Beach t-shirts for Bauer and Cash. We changed our mind on those when we realized we weren’t going to find a 3/$10 deal like they have at North Myrtle Beach in SC. I didn’t think the kids really needed $15 t-shirts that they’d outgrow before we know it, especially when they aren’t really old enough yet to expect souvenirs from their mom and dad’s trips. TJ did get Bauer a few Wahoos stickers for his sticker notebook and I plan to give him a few of the cool rocks from the beach. Bauer will love both of those gifts, I’m sure. Cash will just be happy to have the boob back.

The last thing we did in Laguna was that I got a henna tattoo. As most of you may know, I have been planning to get a tattoo later this year when I turn 30, but then I got the idea that maybe I should go ahead and get it now while we’re in California because how cool would that be to come back with a souvenir like that from a trip like this. Even after doing a little research earlier today at Starbucks, I still wasn’t convinced I wanted to risk the real thing while breastfeeding, plus TJ isn’t quite convinced about the permanency of it. He thought it would be a good idea for me to try a henna tattoo first, so when we saw a spa place advertising henna tattoos on their window just across the street from Wahoo’s, I knew it was a good idea. I won’t say what I got because I want to save the surprise for when I get the real thing, but it’s something I heard Anne Lamott say when I saw her in person last year. I can’t remember if she said she has it tattooed on herself or if it’s just something she said is sort of a motto for her. Either way, it’s words and I love them.
Around 4 pm, we headed to the Crystal Cove Shake Shack, another thing Brandy had recommended to us. It’s a shake place that’s been around for years and years and is a local favorite evidently. It was a bit farther down the road going toward Newport Beach, just kind of standing alone there off the main highway and near the beach. But there was a line, and they weren’t tourists. TJ got a Black Cherry Shake and I almost got an Oreo one, but as I had been feeling chilly all afternoon (the clouds kept the sun and expected warmth at bay even though it had to be in the mid-60s still), I decided I’d rather get a Starbucks instead.

We made our third stop to the same Starbucks by our hotel on our way home and I got my decaf soy latte. Just right. And now the just right has continued for these last few hours, as we’ve sat in our room, resting on our comfy plush bed. TJ has moved on to Garden State, which he brought along to watch just in case. Great move on his part, as there are not one, but two, DVD players in our Executive Suite here. Two flat screen TVs to go with those, too.
I’ve been working on this post for the last 2 hours and have enjoyed myself thoroughly. We opted for more of our fruit and granola bars from yesterday for an easy dinner in our sweet suite tonight. We took a break while ago to call TJ’s mom to check on her and the boys back home in Naperville (everything’s great!). And I also had to stop and pump, which has been a regular occurrence during this trip. It hasn’t been as inconvenient as one might think, and it’s all in the name of keeping my milk supply up for when we get back home. So far I’ve pumped and dumped 88 ounces of breast milk. And I still have tomorrow to go. Yes, we still have tomorrow to go. Yeah!!

But that’s all for tonight.

Enjoy! (We are.)

Our view from dinner last night at Mon Ami Gabi on the Las Vegas Strip.

Watching the fountains at the Bellagio to the music of Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to Be An American.” Seriously.

Waiting for Cirque du Soleil’s O to start.

Bright and early the morning after in Vegas.

The view from our hotel, The Ritz-Carlton at Laguna Niguel, CA.
Temp: 70 degrees. All smiles.

I am loving the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. It is so good to finally be into a good story again. My friend Gretchen told me about the series ages ago, and at the time, I didn’t really think it would be my type of story, but I kept hearing so much about it that I finally decided to give it a shot. Thanks so much Gretchen and maybe I will really have to give Harry Potter a shot too one day. Thanks also to my other friend Lesa for lending me the first two books in the Twilight series so I can have a good book to read on our big trip. (We leave tomorrow for Las Vegas and California. TJ’s mom arrives in town tonight and will be keeping the little critters for us. Gotta love that.)

TJ and I are both loving American Idol. Our favorites from last night’s show were Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai, and Ricky Braddy. Note that 3 of those 4 are from the good ole South! Danny was our favorite favorite. I had liked Ann Marie Boskovich all along but I don’t think she’s good enough to win but I do think she looks so much like the judge Cara.

Cash is loving his new Jumperoo. Thanks to Cash’s baby friend Zander for passing it along when he outgrew it.

And Bauer is loving the Highlights Hidden Pictures Playground. We had gotten a few sample pages in the mail recently, and he enjoyed them so much that I ordered him a free trial full-length issue. Can’t wait till it comes!

7:35 am

Fed Cash. Pumped. Put away dishes. Cut up apple for Bauer. Cut up orange for TJ. Made smoothies. Toasted waffles. Went to Target. Went to Meijer. Put away groceries. Sent TJ and Bauer out to library and Costco. Said a prayer for help. Put clothes in washer. Walked on treadmill. Stretched. Fed Cash. Took shower. Fixed lunch. Ate lunch. Washed dishes. Prepared meal for my friend. Talked on the phone to an old high school classmate. Thought about class reunion. Pumped for Cash’s next feeding. Delivered meal to my friend and hung out a while. Made a few phone calls on the way home. Ate banana and granola bar. Took care of Cash while TJ and Bauer went out again. Washed grapes. Fed Cash again. Checked emails. Straightened up. Took picture of Cash’s first two teeth.

Waited for TJ and Bauer to arrive home with dinner. Ate dinner. Gave Cash a bath. Hung out on bed with Cash while TJ and Bauer wrestled. Fed Cash again. Sang to Cash. Put Cash to bed. Helped Bauer clean up. Read books to Bauer. Brushed Bauer’s teeth. Sang to Bauer. Sat down. Read Jeremiah 3. Made this list in journal. Typed this list on blog.

8:42 pm

TJ and I had a great dinner last night. I had considered cooking something special and rich for us (think Rachael Ray recipe that calls for olive oil, butter, and heavy cream). But then we decided to get food from one of our favorite places when we are wanting to eat a little (or a lot of) meat: Ted’s Montana Grill. They serve bison, and that’s what we always get, or the 4 times we’ve been there. TJ gets the bison burger and I get the bison meatloaf.

TJ had to work yesterday, as he always does on Saturdays, so we planned that he would call in our order at Ted’s and then pick it up on his way home from work around 8pm. I worked hard to get the kids in bed by then (well, Cash is usually down by 7:30, but Bauer not so much). TJ got home around 8:15 and then we got to eat in peace. It was sooooo nice. TJ had the bison burger and garlic mashed potatoes. I had the bison meatloaf, a baked sweet potato, and green beans. We shared some onion rings, and some wine I had picked up at Trader Joe’s. And we both got a chocolate chip cookie for later in the evening when we watched Survivor and then decided not to watch Survivor anymore. Glad we got that out of the way.

TJ and I have been learning a lot about and talking a lot about generosity lately. Our church had what they called a Generosity Conference last weekend and it was fabulous! There were around 800 people in attendance for the morning. There was a large group main session, followed by 3 breakout sessions (you just picked one to attend), followed by a break for lunch, and then a closing main session. Childcare was provided (and was completely organized and well-run) and the whole thing was free. How cool. Although I could only stay for part of the morning due to a birthday party for one of Bauer’s friends, I am so glad I was able to be a part of something so special and exciting.

I truly do feel blessed to be a part of a church that eats, sleeps, and breathes generosity. It is not about bringing in more money for the church, but about how can we as Christians view all the cookies as God’s cookies and change our way of thinking from “Why don’t I have more cookies?” to “Why do I have so many cookies?” It is about generosity leading to heart transformation and world transformation. It is about using our cookies to shape something that will last forever even though our cookies themselves won’t last forever. I am not sure where the main session speaker got the idea to do the cookies illustration, but it really did help me get a new perspective on being generous with our money and possessions. It also reminded me a lot of Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s children’s book that is one of my all-time favorites. It’s called Cookies: Bite Size Life Lessons, and it uses the illustration of cookies to explain definitions to many different words that children (and adults) need to learn. For example, the first word in the book is COOPERATE and the definition is “How about you add the chips while I stir?” The picture is of a little girl stirring the cookie dough while her rabbit and dog friends pour in the chocolate chips as she is stirring. So you get the picture, but if not, you should get the book. Every definition is something about cookies. There is even one for GENEROUS.

This is what TJ and I want to live out – sharing our cookies with people in need. And this is also what we want to teach Bauer and Cash. To help us learn some practical guidelines on how to teach our kids about money and sharing, we are going to be taking part in a 3-part class called “How to Raise Financially Healthy Kids” at our church. I am so excited about that too. I want Bauer and Cash to get it from a young age that nothing is MINE, but it’s all GOD’S and He wants us to share.

I remember back when I was growing up and I attended a Christian camp in the summers that there was a guy who was a speaker a couple different years whose name was Jeremy. I got to know Jeremy during the course of the weeks at camp because he would just be hanging out with us campers. I don’t remember a lot of what he specifically taught about during the lesson times, but I do remember how he lived his life as a generous person. If someone said to him that they liked his watch, he would take it off right then and there and give it to them. Not to borrow, but to have. If someone commented that they liked his t-shirt, the next time he came around, he would be wearing a different shirt and would have the original one in hand to give to the person. I remember him saying that when people came to his house for any reason, he would tell them that if they saw anything in his home that they needed, it was theirs to have. It didn’t seem weird or prideful in any way that he did this. It seemed like a way of life for him and that he was practicing being generous all the time. Almost like by giving away things that people around him commented on liking of his, that he would not be able to become too attached to any things. That has stuck with me for years and years and now I’m wishing I could be in touch with him to ask him more about this generous way of living. I found out he will be speaking to a nearby youth group sometime in March, so I may try to see him at that meeting.

A friend of mine recently posted a question on her blog that if you went to your mailbox and found a $100 bill with a note telling you that you had to spend it in the next hour, how would you spend it? My very first thought was that I would go on Amazon and buy some books I have been wanting. But then right after I typed that response, I realized how very un-generous that was. I want generosity to be my first thought in every situation, not an afterthought. I know this is a process, and I am glad this is a process. I am also glad there are other people around me on this journey toward generosity. Our small group has been talking about generosity, both in small group time and just when we’re hanging out as friends. And another of my friends recently told me about a generosity 30-day journal that her small group may do, so that is something I am going to consider doing as well.

I finished the Obama book last night. 442 pages. I only read it when I was nursing Cash and it took me probably 2 weeks. It was cool to finally finish it. Wasn’t the most interesting read, but I stuck with it because I wanted to know more about our President. Enjoyed the Kenya section most, learned about Obama’s family that is from there.

Bauer’s prayers at dinner these days are priceless. He always prays about different people coming home. It started because we would sometimes pray at lunch for Dad to come home safely. Bauer transferred this to everyone….and now his prayers go something like this….

Dear God, Dad get home, Mom get home, Bauer get home, Cash get home, Gwen get home, Ta-tee (Tucker) get home, Frog get home. For everyone I know. And all my family. And everyone I know. And all my food. And Mr. Putter and Tabby not catch a cold. And Jesus makes me happy. And not be sad. And everyone I know. The Son, The Spirit. Amen.

The Mr. Putter and Tabby reference is to a book by Cynthia Rylant from the Mr. Putter and Tabby series. There’s one book called Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch The Cold, and somehow I guess Bauer thought to pray for them not to catch a cold…maybe he heard me pray for Baby Cash recently when he had a stuffy nose.

The Son and the Spirit reference at the end is something we don’t know where Bauer got. We sometimes end prayers In Jesus’ Name and at first I think he was trying to say that. But then it started sounded more like The Son, The Spirit – so maybe that’s something he’s heard in his class at church.

Who’s Gwen? It’s what we might name a girl if we have one (no, we are not pregnant). Bauer says he wants a baby girl and so now he prays for Gwen every day.

We decided not to do the Fuzzi-Bunz cloth diapers for Cash. We bought two of them for Cash for Christmas so we could try out the system and see how we liked them before investing the whole amount of money.

I didn’t realize that you have to change the baby every time they wet or otherwise there is a good chance the diaper will soak through onto their clothes. I had thought maybe we could get by with ordering 12 of the diapers and go through about 6 a day like Cash does now with disposables. That way, I’d only have the diapers to wash every 2 days, and since I’m usually washing some kind of laundry every other day, I figured I’d just throw the diapers in with the other clothes. Come to find out, you have to wash them separately in hot water, and that’s after a cold soak, and before a low-heat dry. All of this for the sake of keeping the diapers clean and in good condition, which of course I understand but found I could not embrace. We rarely use hot water to wash our clothes (saves money), so to think of all those loads of hot water…I wasn’t convinced the cloth diapers would help us save as much money as I first thought.

I realized we’d have to invest in more like 20 diapers instead of just 12 so that I could change Cash more often and avoid having his clothes get wet. Plus it takes longer to change a cloth diaper because you have to put in the insert each time and you also have to wash out the stinky ones. I know you get used to it, so I’m not criticizing anyone who has chosen this route (in fact, I applaud them for the effort and the care of the environment and their baby’s comfort and health). But for me, I often find myself doing as quick a diaper change as possible with Cash because it’s at the exact same moment that Bauer is needing me to wipe his behind on the potty or the very second the oven timer is going off. I know I could make it work if I wanted to, but I am okay with not wanting to at this point.

I do know the cloth would be better for the environment and for Cash’s bum. So we are looking into some more environmentally-friendly disposables. We plan to sell the 2 gently used Fuzzi-Bunz on eBay soon, but if you’re in the market and want a deal, let me know! Here’s the picture that’s going to be on eBay.

At the same time we are trying to get the cloth diapers off our hands, we’re looking into buying some kind of cloth version of pull-ups for Bauer. He is still not consistently dry at naps or nighttime, and we are tired of buying pull-ups and tired of him wearing them. I’ve read some good reviews of the Nikky All Night Pants and found a website that gives you the opportunity to try one out and return it if you are not satisfied. So I’m going to be ordering one of those soon for Bauer and if it works well, then I’ll order a couple more.