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I've been cloth diapering for almost 6 years now. It was only after 4 year that I decided to find out what the fuss was about flats. They had never appealed to me before because they seemed to "old fashion" but it seemed that more and more people were buying them and raving about them. I started by just laying the flats pad folded in any diaper cover. Then I realized that they also worked great for stuffing my pocket diapers with. After a few weeks of using and washing them, I came to realize not only are they a great option, but I think they may be an essential to any cloth diaper stash! They wash and dry SO quickly, they truly are one-size, and because they are a natural fiber rather than a synthetic I didn't have to worry about stinkies or compression leaks.
When I heard about The Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun! When I learned more about the reasoning behind the challenge, I jumped on board. One in three families with children struggle to pay for diapers. Sadly, many of these families have resorted to re-using disposable diapers. They feel that cloth diapers are too expensive, too much work, require a fancy washing machine and electric dryer, or just aren't familiar with their options. Each year this challenge gets larger and larger. More and more people find out this very affordable and legitimate option for a family on any budget.
But handwashing you say? It might be more work than just tossing them in the washing machine, it will probably take more elbow grease, MAYBE I'll even touch some poop. I could come up with every excuse in the book... I'm a busy mom of 3 kids 5 years old and younger. My daily commute to and from work takes just under 2 hours/day. I have to make dinner. I have to clean my house. I'm peaking in my half marathon training this week and need to gets my runs in. How does anyone possibly have time for this? The reality is for many people, this is their only option. This isn't a temporary 1-week challenge where they learn about all the fun folds, take pics on their i-phones of their little one running around in the cutest flat, and go to discussion boards on facebook talking about the day's challenge. These are real people who work full-times jobs (or two!), have children to take care of, dinner to make, houses to clean and yet, they somehow manage. So why wouldn't I give it a try?
Today was Day 1! I pad folded a bunch of flats, packed them up in our wetbag with a handful of covers and sent them off to my in-laws with my 18 month old. The report I got was great! No leaks, and they were able to use each cover over again. As soon as I got home, I rinsed all the diapers out with cold water and put them in a bucket of hot water and detergent to soak while we ate dinner. After dinner I put a little muscle behind it and did a handwash, then rinsed them out and put them on the rack to dry outside. It was just before 7pm when I got them out. By 8:30, they were dry! I pad folded them and packed them up for tomorrow. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
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What a difference 10 years makes!
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| Nicki and son Cole in 2003 |
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| Nicki, husband Jesse, and Cole (10), Lily (7) , and Holly (4) |
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all our loyal current and past customers! We would not be where we are today without your support all along the way. Growing from the few shelves in our home basement in Madison, Wisconsin to the 10,000 square foot warehouse we built just last year, you have encouraged us and reminded us each and every day why we do what we do. It has been a long time goal to get cloth diapers on as many babies as possible. Together, we get closer every day!
Just for fun, here are 10 things you didn't know about Nicki!
1. I am NOT a morning person
2. Finishing an Iron Man Triatholon is on my bucket list
3. I believe in Karma
4. I grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin close to Green Bay. Go Pack Go!
5. I met my husband on the college track team
6. I hate doing laundry (but don't mind washing diapers - go figure!)
7. I love to read but only have time on vacation where I read multiple books at a time
8. I love the ocean, but not swimming in it
9. I am a terrible speller, thank goodness for
spell check
10. I love to travel and do so as much as possible
And, as a HUGE Thank You......
My co-workers will attest to the face that I am a severe weather freak. As soon as I hear the rain start beating on our office roof, I run to the windows to make sure there aren't any tornadoes to be seen! Yes, seriously paranoid. Since becoming a mom, I've had to really make sure that I keep my emotions under control when we do get thunderstorms because I don't want to freak my boys out. They know our action plan, where our "safety spot" is, and they know we have a severe weather kit ready to go.
If you've been hanging around our facebook page for a while now, you might remember last year when we talked a lot about having a severe weather kit. You all shared awesome tips and help me put mine together! Since I'm quite sure we saw a whole 3 drops of rain last year, we didn't have to use the kit at all. With last week being the official start of spring, I thought it was time to drag the box upstairs and refresh the contents. My boys thought this was just about the most exciting thing ever! Easily amused.... :)
The contents of the box is pretty basic. I have a change of clothes for each child, diapers for Emmett, wipes, a wetbag, flash lights, batteries, a basic first aid kit, hand sanitizer, dog food, snacks, toilet paper, tissues, books and small entertainment things, and a party horn (because we didn't have a whistle!) In our safety spot in our basement, we have a weather radio, blankets, bottled water and several gallons of water, and a battery operated lantern. It's also right next to our dry goods pantry.
The first thing I did was update the clothing sizes. Then I replaced all the snacks with fresh ones, checked the expiration dates on all the of first aid kit items, and made sure all the flashlights were still fully functional. I had each of my 2 oldest boys pick out new books to keep in the kit, and I let them toot the party horn, a lot. Wow, now I remember why I don't like New Years Eve.
One of the biggest debates that took place on the facebook wall last year was weather or not to have cloth diapers or disposable diapers in your severe weather kit. After doing some research, I decided to keep cloth in our kit. I have about a dozen cotton flats and several diaper covers. I also have a small container of detergent. I chose flats for several reasons. First off, they're one-size. Pair them with a one-size diaper cover and I don't have to worry about sizing up diapers in the kit as Emmett grows. Flats are super easy to wash, and specifically hand wash. If push came to shove, I could easily hand wash the flats and covers and they would air dry very quickly. Finally, flats are dirt cheap! I don't want to have to keep a full set of more fancy cloth diapers in a separate box in case of emergency, that could be expensive!
Do you have a severe weather kit? What's in it? If you chose cloth diapers for your kit, what kind are you using?
In the "junk" drawer in my kitchen I have this folder that I call the "inspiration folder." In it are paint chips, magazine clippings, and printed out Pinterest projects that I reference when I need to find something for my husband to do update a room in our home. While cruising Pinterest a few weeks ago I ran across an adorable project that my kids and I could do to put to use some of those paint chips that I've stored up! When we took a trip to the local home improvement store, I let my 3 and 5 year old pick out a couple colors that they each liked to add to our collection.
Today, we got to work on our project!
First I showed my kids a picture of what we were trying to create. I find it's easier to keep their attention if they have an idea of the end product. The OCD pre-mommy Annie in me really wanted to just cut all of the egg shapes out myself so they were perfect. Luckily for my kids (and my sanity) my 5 years of parenting has taught me that Playdoh colors can get mixed, you can color out of the lines, and choppy safety scissor cuts are endearing. So, I just traced the shapes out on the back of each egg and let my kids do the cutting. One egg into it my 3 year old was bored and wanted to play with the hole puncher so my 5 year old and I finished up.
After we finished cutting the eggs out, I helped my 3 year old punch two holes in the top of each egg. Then I had the boys pick a pattern of how they wanted the eggs to go and I strung them on a piece of yarn. We hung the finished product on the mantle. I say for a free decoration, it turned out pretty cute! Do you have any free or almost free Easter projects to share? Post them in the comments!
As any moms know, juggling work (whether that's for you, your significant other, or both!) and family is a huge challenge. One way that we've kept balance in our family is to have me home with my kids every Friday. Many of you have come to know me over the last several years and I've had the joy of getting to know so many of you! You were with me through my last pregnancy and followed me as I cloth diapered Emmett from the hospital. I thought it would be fun to start a little blog series with an inside look at some of the crazy, fun, and spontaneous things we do on Friday at home with my boys, ages 5, 3, and 1.
So we'll begin where we begin every Friday... breakfast!
This is a "sneaky" tradition that I started with our kids last year around Dr. Seuss's birthday. We read through a bunch of Dr. Seuss books, and several times their favorite Green Eggs and Ham. Soon enough, my kids were begging me to make them green eggs. I didn't want to just throw food coloring in the eggs through. I figured there had to be a healthier way! For the most part, my kids are good eaters, but who doesn't need more green veggies in their life?!
Enter.. Spinach! At first I thought just cooking the spinach down and putting it in scrambled eggs would work. The result of this was a lot of turned up noses! Finally I figured out that I needed to blend them together! This is where the magic happens. I throw a few handfuls of fresh spinach into my blender, crack a few eggs in, and press start! Just a few seconds later I've got a smooth green liquid. Cook it up like regular scrambled eggs and you will have perfect green eggs and your kids will think you're just about the coolest mom ever. You'll feel good that they're getting extra nutrients and the taste is so slightly different that they won't even know!
This morning I asked them how they thought I made the eggs green. My 5 year old suggest kiwi fruit or avocado while my 3 year old thinks I paint them! I told them they'll find out when they're 18.
Check back next week when I'll tell you how a trip to the local home improvement store lead to a fun FREE spring craft!
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