The Great Cloth Diaper Change-recap

Post-change at the 2014 Great Cloth Diaper Change.

Last weekend's Great Cloth Diaper Change was a great success.  Our little diaper circle hosted an event in which 101 babies' diapers were changed into cloth diapers at the same time.  I have never seen so many babies in one place!

The energy and excitement was contagious.   After the event I felt like cloth diapering really will become mainstream.  Frankly, I already feel like cloth is mainstream.  I often forget that the things we do in our household are not commonplace.  I do think that breastfeeding has become mainstream so there is hope for cloth diapering.  

Saturday also marked a milestone for our baby finally feeling comfortable being out and about with her Daddy.  He was on baby duty as I volunteered at the event.  She is quite attached to me and in the past it has been hard for him to mange her without me.  It helped that she had 100 other babies as distraction.

We also enjoyed making music with More Than Music and Sing 'N Move.  Our baby girl loves drumming.  These two were definitely in their element.

My husband remarked on how cloth diaper families all seem to be good people.  He figures that any family willing to do the extra work of cleaning cloth diapers must be good people.  Frankly, sometimes it is pure love that gets him through cleaning the poop.  

Members of the Lehigh Valley Diaper Circle

Spring cleaning, inspired by Facebook

Last week I rejoined Facebook after a long hiatus.   It is no secret that Facebook is a huge time waster.  I don't have time to squander.  

I am now forcing myself to stay focused on utilizing Facebook for good.  I need to avoid the many pitfalls of Facebook that forced me into a Facebook time out.  For instance, at one point I was managing my then fiancées account as an excuse to manage two Farmville farms.  I stopped that madness by recognizing a real farm (or in my case, garden) is far more fulfilling.  

Facebook can provide an convenient connection to wonderful people.  However it also can provide an unhealthy view of other people's lives.  I tend to get caught up in what I should be doing.  An intimate view of other people's private lives doesn't help.  However, I am now more confident in my life and my decisions.

However, I still easily get sucked into Facebook.  It was a bit overwhelming to be back on the site.  I could spend far too much time on social media.  

Starting her early

Everyone's priorities are different, but my personality thrives when my house is clean.  Clean is a relative term, but there is nothing like a toddler's socks to make me feel like my house is filthy.  When my house is orderly, I seem to get more accomplished and feel much better about my day.  Also, clean begets clean.  When I go on a major organizing/cleaning kick I seem to be able to maintain the house better.  

But cleaning and organizing take time.

I decided I need a schedule.  

A cleaning schedule sounds absurd at first.  I have read many bloggers' schedules and none seem to make sense to me.  (Of course my three story house doesn't help.)  I need an intense week of spring cleaning.  (Spring cleaning is good for my soul and my allergies.)  After this week a cleaning schedule will be initiated.  I'm sure it will take lots of tweaking.  The goal of a cleaning schedule will help me feel productive and hopefully avoid a Facebook time domination.

Wish me luck.

Projects seeking perfection

I have been working on many projects lately, but they just aren't perfect yet, certainly not blog tutorial worthy.  I feel like I need to perfect a project before sharing it here.  Here is what I have been trying to get right.

Soft Soled Shoes

I made these shoes to go with her Easter dress.  I'm still tweaking the details.  The material for the soles was a liner to a waterproof fleece jacket.  It did not survive an afternoon of toddling.  I'm looking for a suede type material to use.  The elastic in the moccasin style shoe does keep the shoes on her feet.  So there is promise for this project.

 

Bonnets

Her first Easter bonnet was an epic fail.  She was fine wearing it that day, but refused to try it on during the sewing process.  As a result, the tie was not put in the correct place, which resulting in the nun-like style.  This fail has inspired me to perfect the sun bonnet.  

Her green cape, however was a success.  I'm working on a tutorial now.  It looked great, she was comfortable, and I got to use vintage from my sewing stash.

First attempt at soft soled shoes

Yes, I realize she looks like a nun.

The cape is a winner!

While there is nothing wrong with striving for perfection, I'm working on being content.  I still consider myself a seamstress and aspiring milliner, even though the Easter bonnet was an epic fail.  It is an excuse to make more hats!