Ok, Last Diaper Post (I promise!)

My diapers are done and ready to go. Here is the final count of dyed prefolds. These were SO much fun, and I would highly recommend that anyone who isn't cloth diapering should dye their burp rag diapers just because it's fun and pretty!

And a pic of the whole stash: 18 prefold diapers, 12 fitted Kissaluvs, 5 covers (3 Thirsties, 1 Bummies, 1 Prowrap), 4 Pockets (1 DryBees, 1 Scooterbums Designs, 2 Swaddlebees) and 1 All-In-One (Swaddlebees). I also have 2 Snappi fasteners to use instead of pins, 4 Kissaluvs doublers to use as doublers in the fitteds or inserts in the pocket diapers, and a whole load of wipes. I sewed most the wipes myself - 1 layer of flannel, 1 layer terry. BTW, terry is quite messy to sew with and leaves little fuzzies everywhere - don't take it on unless you're ready for the mess all over yourself and your sewing room!

Newborn Diapers - Look how small!

My last order of cloth diapers came in today so I've been busy washing them all up and getting them ready for a newborn baby tushy!

For those of you who aren't familiar with cloth diapering, this is my newborn stash:

I have 18 prefold diapers, dyed by yours truly :), 12 fitted diapers that require a cover, 6 covers (5 I bought, 1 I made and it remains to be seen whether it is usable or not), 4 pocket diapers and 1 All-In-One diaper (these do not need covers, they are ready to put on and go!). I have 2 snappi fasteners to use on the prefolds instead of pins. The fitteds snap on, and the covers are velcro.

Here are 2 of my favorite pockets - 1 DryBees LacyBees and 1 Scooterbum Designs (the red brocade with black inner) - I know the seamstress behind Scooterbums, and she is wonderful!

Here is a close up of my fitteds - Kissaluvs, size 0
And my hand dyed prefolds - who needs plain white diapers??!?
Ok, this post may not be interesting to anyone but myself, but still, I love my diapers! Who says that about sposies?

Christmas is Coming...

Call it early preparation, nesting, whatever you will, but this has been a busy weekend so far...and it's still Saturday!

Thursday was Thanksgiving. We intended on eating at Golden Corral, but we saw Lonestar was open, so we ended up stopping there...yum! Then we came home, finished cleaning out the spare bedroom and moved Toby's big toys in there (it will eventually be his bedroom), and watched some football.

Yesterday I was not about to hit the big Black Friday sales, but Michael's had 25% coupons only good before 9am, so we left about 8:30, hit up Michael's, then headed to Lowe's to stock up on outdoor decorating aides. This is our first year decorating the outside of the house, so we needed extension cords and shingle clips...we already had tons of lights thanks to Curtis's dad!

From Lowe's we headed up the road to the cut your own Christmas tree farm. We didn't even know there were any local, so we were excited to find this place on the internet. It was only a 25 minute drive, and we definitely saved some money!

Here is Toby wandering among the trees. He enjoyed the freedom to run around a bit!



Now, the idea was to not go overboard on the tree this year. For one, our living space is small and already over crowded, so we didn't need a giant tree taking up an entire corner of the room. We figured a 6 foot tree would be plenty big for the room, and still give us room to live for the next month. Now, my husband is 6 foot tall. Out at the tree farm, we found a tree that stood about the same height as my husband. Well, we must have stretched it out on the way home or something because it grew a foot in height before it made it in the living room. I swear, it did. And it's HUGE in girth. The thing is, the tree was pretty puny compared to the other ones in the lot! We thought we did great picking a small tree...yeah, apparently not. It IS a beautiful tree...but it is HUGE! The branches are so full and thick on it that there weren't a lot of holes for ornaments, and it smells so wonderful in the house.

Keeping Toby out of the tree is the main objective right now. He did really well yesterday, when it just had lights, but after seeing mom hang ornaments on it this morning, he's been very tempted to play with all those fun toys on the tree! LOL! But he seems to be doing better this evening. He definitely loves the tree!

Curtis started hanging lights on the house yesterday. It was chilly here - mid 50's and windy, but I'm sure it could be a lot colder! He did more today during naptime so I was free to hand him things (now before you go thinking I'm climbing a ladder at 8.5 months pregnant, calm down. I tossed the duct tape to him, and handed him extra strands of lights by draping them over the broom and using the broom to hand them up). He might be done - we have to see how they look tonight after dark, then decide if we'll do them along the very top of the roof...once they're complete, I'm hoping to post a picture.


Yesterday was also Curtis's birthday. Although it sounds like I had him working all day, he had time to relax and watch some football, and I made him ribs, stuffing, and corn for dinner - his favorite! Instead of birthday cake, he requested pumpkin pie, so we sang Happy Birthday over pie after dinner - Toby is a big fan, so I had two happy boys :)

I've been meaning to get another belly picture for the last few weeks, and we finally got around to it last night. This is me at 36.5 weeks pregnant. I can't believe that on Tuesday I will be considered full-term. This pregnancy has flown by so fast! It will be December before I know it! I need to get a bag packed, I suppose.

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday weekend. We still have another day to work around here...it has been a busy but productive weekend here!

Booties

These were knitted for a friend having a baby in a month or so. I actually did 2 pairs, one for another pregnant friend, but I forgot to take pics of these before the package was wrapped - whoops!

Anyway, I seriously love these booties...I should make one for my own kiddo! Will have to work that in around everything else I've been up to lately...can't post pics until after Christmas though...that will be one heck of an update post!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to make sure to wish all our family and friends and Happy Thanksgiving! We have exciting plans - Golden Corral ;) Well, at least I'm not cooking!

Here are some pics...The thinker...

Curtis fixed the lights in the living room today, and Toby was fascinated with the ladder, so when Curtis was done we let Toby have a crack at climbing.

Look how high, Mom!

And then Toby helped me vacuum!

Anywa, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We miss you all and wish we could be there for the yummy meals and family time. We will be thinking of you all tomorrow!

Take care,

Chel

Monsters!

This is my first attempt at a knit...well, I was going to say animal, but really, it's my first attempt at anything beyond clothes! I like him. I knitted this for a Christmas gift for a child the same age as my DS...since DS keeps swiping this little guy, I'm hoping the other child will like him too. If I get time I may have to make one for DS too...it really didn't take much time at all, but was a little complicated. Fun though, and a change of pace!

Excitement at our house

It doesn't take much to get Toby and Lex excited.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I know you can't see much since they're against the window, but you can tell just how excited they were. There was a squirrel on the fence, running back and forth. That's it. Just a squirrel. Nothing like the local wildlife to keep us entertained.

:P

Other than that short burst of excitement it's been pretty quiet around here lately. It cooled off, with lows in the 30's overnight - brrrr! We actually had to turn on the heat! It's still pretty nice during the day, although we've had a few chilly mornings at the park last week...but the fresh air is so nice.

More shirt painting!

I finally got around to the stack of dyed shirts I've been waiting to paint. The pics aren't the best, but I was in a hurry and didn't feel like fiddling with the flash.

I am working on a knitted toy right now - I've never made anything like this before, so it's a whole new adventure. I have the body stuffed and done, and the arms and legs knitted, but not sewn together - another night or two should see that project done...I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Knit out?

I took a few days break late last week and over the weekend to chill out some...I think I've been over-booking myself with projects lately. But it seemed to give me some energy to knit yesterday and I got a nice chunk done on "Project Christmas" - sorry I can't reveal any more than that until after Christmas as it would ruin the suprise for someone :) I am squeezing little project in between my big one, so last night I made a tiny newborn moccasin in yellow...I'll knit the mate today. They are so tiny, they take no time to knit up, and then I just need to felt them. This pair is for a babyshower next week - to match the yellow with blue hippo shirt (shown in one of my posts about a week or so ago).

I need to get around to some more painting, maybe I will get to that this week or weekend. I have the ideas in my head, I've just been unmotivated lately.

The other project in my mind (not sure if I'll get to this or not) is to make a new carseat cover for my infant seat. I don't really NEED it, but it would be nice to have two so if one is in the laundry I have an extra...but creating a pattern from an existing cover sounds challenging, and while I'm sure I CAN do it, I'm not sure I want the hassle of doing it.

I have to admit, the idea for that one is directly related to the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt (sound intruiging?). It's a semi-annual hunt through different online stores for an icon - finding the icons puts you in drawings for some great prizes. This is my third hunt...haven't won anything yet, but maybe this is my time! I could sure use some cute new fluff! Back to the point at hand, I saw some sewn carseat covers in luscious minky, but yikes, the price they put on those is enough to give one gray hair! So I thought I'd be smart and make my own...but...so many other projects in the queue right now...not sure I should embark on that journey. Oh well, maybe someday I will get to it...probably by the time my kids are out of the carseat, lol.

Anyway, if you're interested in some great new sites to check out (many are WAHM sites with some very interesting products you can't find in stores), check out the sponsor list for the hunt. Many of the sites sell cloth diapers, but some of them have nothing to do with diapers...there are some interesting sites that sell homemade soaps and candles, etc...great ideas for Christmas gifts. When I happen upon a particularly intersting site, I will try to remember to link it here.

Well, if you couldn't tell this was my attempt at procrastination this morning. I should be working on my grocery list (how mundane!) and then DS and I are headed for the park, should it warm up (it was in the 30's this morning! Brrrrrrrrrr!). And maybe at naptime I can squeeze out that other bootie. Ok...must...publish.....post.....

My Little Garden Gnome

Kind of...ok, really, I have a hard time thinking up titles for these entries...

So the weather was beautiful today...mid 60's and not a cloud in the sky. You just can't ask for nicer weather. After naptime we headed out for the botanical gardens at the local college. There's not a lot blooming this time of year, but it was a pretty day for a walk and they have such nice paths there.

Anyway, Toby had a fantastic time! We practically had to drag him out of there. The trip was really just a ruse for me to try to get some decent pictures of Toby, since I haven't had any play time with the camera but that boy would NOT cooperate. And the camera wasn't much help either. I had several shots that would have been great had my focus not been off...I'm going to

have to play with it tomorrow and see what I can do about it. Curtis has been having the same problem, but I was blaming it on his lack of camera skills...come to find out, I think there really is something off in the camera right now.

Teeheehee...doesn't he look like a little convict here?

I love this one of him playing ring around the rosy with the statue :)

So we had a nice day around here. Tomorrow looks just as pretty. I have lots of things I *ought* to be doing right now, but I am just not motivated to do much at all.

Remember to set your clocks back tonight!

Happy Halloween!

More little monkey man! We stayed in last night and handed out candy. Toby had a great time giving candy away, although he backed off from the scarier costumes...too cute! He was allowed to stay up past bedtime, and then threw the royal hissyfit when we tried to put him to bed, but oh well, you win some, you lose some :)

For the most part he only wore his costume pants...it was a little warm for the jacket. With any luck the costume will still fit next year (it was huge on him)...and yes, I am that cheap. :) We didn't have as many trick or treaters as we expected, but still enough that we had a lot of fun, and all the kids were on their best behavior. We had the front windows open so we caught some funny conversations too...my favorite was the two little boys who came up to the door. One said thank you...as they walked away, they were halfway down the sidewalk before the other turned around and yelled his thank you...Curtis told me then he heard the first little boy threaten the second that he was going to tell mom if he didn't say thank you! Hehe! Very cute!