Change Update & More

Well, our first month of change is over, and I'll admit that I'm bummed- we weren't able to fully succeed at it, but we did give it a valiant effort!

I tried hard to sew those diapers!

I did manage to get one almost completed, but somehow, with a one year old and an almost 4 month old to take care of during the day, I just couldn't carve out enough time to "get 'er done"as Pete would say.

And so, we did have to buy more disposable diapers towards the end of the month.

Oh well. I'm not going to allow myself to feel bad about it, because our "heart" is in the right place. We are trying, and we will continue to try!

I did discover a few things in the sewing process though-

1. I can sew if I put my mind to it!

2. I like cloth diapers MUCH better than disposables (I think I already knew this, it's just that I reaffirmed that to myself during this challenge.).

3. I don't really care for the way the Little Comet Tails diapers are supposed to go together. I'm tweaking the pattern to my liking as I go along. Which brings me to...

4. I'm seriously thinking, as I do get the time to sew, that other people might be interested in buying my version of a cloth diaper. I'm pondering on how to find the time to sew more and thinking about possibly trying to sell some (if I ever get enough finished to have a supply!). And,

5. I am not a fan of snaps on cloth diapers. I'm a velcro girl. I'll openly admit it.

I did the numbers, and it will be cheaper for me to make our diapers in the long run, rather than buying them. I love shopping for the fabric and notions, and I can't wait to (find the time to) post pictures! :)


I am coming along, slowly but surely, on the Five a Day Clutter Challenge too. I'm slowly weeding out clutter and junk (I even discovered that I have 6 extra shelves of storage space now!!!), getting rid of it, and organizing what's left behind.

I'm not stopping at just 30 days though- I'm going until all of the rooms in this house have a place for everything in them, and our home feels comfortable and relaxing instead of cluttered and chaotic!

I've written down a daily routine, for each day of the week, that I hope will help me find the time to do things like sew and sort. I really hope I can get the baby to work with me on it too! ;)

And, on a side note, I'm feeling much better these days (though it will be such a relief when winter starts to end and we can get outside again every day!). I've been taking St. John's Wort at each meal, and I've noticed that I'm definitely calmer through my days, and my mood is generally better. I'm hoping if I can stick to my new routine that I'll start to feel more rested and have more energy through the day too.

On a second side note, we had Regan's 3 month pictures done last weekend, and I can't wait to see them! Hopefully we'll get them in time to send out Valentines! :D

Here's a neat video on how fast it all goes once you're a parent- I'm already beginning to see it start to happen, and it's good, but a little bittersweet. :)

How are you doing on keeping your New Year's Resolutions?

Resolutions

Well, I'm a week late in sharing my New Year's Resolutions for 2010, but that's because I've been thinking long and hard about them. About what I want this year- about what I want out of life in general. I've discovered that I'm inspired by the blogs/lives/pictures of others- other women (mostly here on the web) who are working at home, being with their families, raising their children, making it by hand, baking it, making it from scratch. Reading their words and looking at their pictures makes me feel more....centered. Gives me a clearer vision of what I want our life to be.

And so, here goes:
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In 2010 I Want:

-To begin to truly learn what it is to live simply.


That's it.
But, to me, it's a biggie. And, I think it entails smaller resolutions like the following:

-To pare down our belongings.
(Do I really need three great big cooking pots? Or 10 flower vases, when I rarely put out fresh flowers? Hmmmm.)

-To live by the "Less Is More" mentality.

-To create things by hand.

-To start recycling again.

-To find a way to work ourselves into a daily rhythm- one that involves a regular housework schedule.
(Ahem! That's something that's rather spotty around here!)

-To stay home more.

-To grow (and tend to!) a food garden.

-To (successfully) can or freeze our extra garden produce.

-To cook and bake more.

-To spend less.
(On everything. Food, clothes, entertainment- all of it.)

-To stay on our (very strict) budget.

-To remember that "it" won't be this way forever.
(I have many "it"s- feeling frazzled and overwhelmed from running a daycare and caring for a small baby of my own, keeping up with the house, the budget, the schedule, etc., etc.)

-To knit more.

-To sew more.

-To make sure it's not an option to NOT do something I LOVE everyday.
(It makes me a happier person and, by extension, a better wife & mommy.)

So, what about you?
What are you resolving to do in 2010?

Lessons Learned

I've highly appreciated reading Elizabeth's post on the lessons she learned while on bedrest the last part of 2008.

Thank you Elizabeth- though we've never met.

I think some of those same lessons are ones that I am supposed to have been learning as well, during this oftentimes difficult part of Pete's and my life.

I hope to be a better listener, and learner, in 2009.

Happy New Year!

I'm back!

Well, technically- I still feel like I'm in the "between holidays fog",
but I am posting, so that's a start.

Hopefully you have a fun New Year's Eve planned- it's sounding like we're going to be ringing in 2009 in a very laid back and quiet style 'round these parts.

But, that's okay too.

Have you made your New Year's Resolutions yet?

We have!
That's become a tradition that I like- even if half the time at least half the items on the list never make it to completion.

In the last couple of years I've tried just picking one or two things
to work on for the year. I think doing that helps me
actually meet my own resolutions better.

Here's what a couple of our main goals are for 2009:

1.) Finish last year's goal of getting the entire house organized.
This got a good start in 2008, and we're hoping to finish up in 2009.
The biggest accomplishment we saw towards this goal in 2008
was that we really pared down our "stuff." I have to admit, I was
the worst culprit when it came to having too much stuff- most of
it was piled in our basement (to the point we couldn't even walk
through it all!), and most of it was preschool/daycare related.
I hadn't used any of it in the five years we'd been married, so
I "bit the bullet" so to speak and did my best to just let it go.
Half of it was thrown out, and the other half was put on the
annual daycare garage sale. A lot of what went on
the sale was bought, so this summer I'll try
getting rid of the rest of it-
if it doesn't go it's getting thrown out.
Anyway, to complete this goal has turned into more work
than we expected. We thought we realized, when we
bought our house, that it didn't offer much for storage.
While working towards this goal in 2008 we realized
that the no storage problem is much worse than we
originally thought. So, in order to finish this one up, we're
going to have to find ways to creatively come up with
better storage from what we already have, or buy/build
better storage solutions. In order to have an organized home
every item needs a place to be kept. We don't have many "places"
at this point. Because of this, our organizational goal
leads into a kind of "sub-goal": finishing the remodeling
that we've started. Our kitchen, for example, has been
unfinished since 2004. And we've been waiting to build
medicine cabinets since, hmm, 2006? I don't know exactly-
it's just been too long.
Ideally this organizational goal will be met by the
time we finally have our first child.

And,

2.) Create a much healthier family diet.
Both Pete and I have slowly gained a bit of weight over the
last five years. Well, first I lost a lot, then gained some back, so
I'd like to get back to that weight that I felt the best at. We
found a site that calculates your BMI, and discovered we're
not as bad off as we'd feared- but we are still setting
goal weights. I'll admit, I'll probably end up doing most
of the work on this one- smaller portion sizes, smaller
serving plates, healthier meals will end up being up to
me as the family "cook" for the most part. But we've also
decided to find a way to commit to exercising (anything from
running to walking to an actual work out that will get our
heart rates up) 30- 60 min. a day, five days a week.
We both got miserably sick the day after Christmas and
were couch bound for three days, so what did we do?
Watched "Super Size Me". We made this resolution
immediately after. Need I say more?

Obviously, one of the most important goals we have
(but don't have a lot of control over) is:

3.) To have our first child.

Wish us luck this year. :)

Here's wishing you and yours a wonderful year in 2009.

Happy New Year!