Thursday, April 16, 2015

Camping recap, days 2 and 3.

Rain coats are fun, but only for so long.

However, the sun came out early enough to start on laundry.

And, it warm enough to kick off boots while swinging.

First load of hand washed and line dried clothes.

The shower nears completion!
Day 2 started off wet and chilly, but quickly turned into a lovely day.  Our first entire day outside, and boy were we tired when it was over!
Day 3 we hit up our Wednesday play group and ran to the local raw dairy farm for milk and cream.  It was a cold night with a thick layer of frost on the ground, but we were surprisingly warm and snug under our wool blankets. 
We needed butter, but boy does it take longer without my mixer.


Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Camping...for a month Day 1

We're getting work done to fix the chipping and peeling lead paint problem in our house. Again.  I"m not even going to get into the problems we had with last year's contractor.  Onwards and upwards, right? So we needed to move out for another month.  With all the work to be done around the farm in the Spring we crazily decided to camp in the back yard rather than rent or stay somewhere else. I finally have the laptop up and charging, and as long as I don't shift it at all I think I can give you all a visual of what our life is like.
First morning, "camping is fun!"

The kitchen

All set up!

Might not be pretty, but everything is in!

Braeden's 'nook'

The storage corner

First day faces

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Saggie drawers saga, or how to get those pesky 2Ts to fit your skinny baby bottom.

This post is being written for my fellow ECers.  For you lay people just joining, EC stands for elimination communication.  It is a practice of acknowledging your young child's ability to express their elimination needs, and often offering a receptacle other than a diaper.   Oftentimes we ECers find ourselves with young children ready to be diaper free without an inexpensive source for underwear.  While a lot go nude, or without undies it is sometimes nice (not to mention cute) to outfit these little ones with their own sweet tiny undies.
I'm not much of one for giving detailed directions, as I am more of a throw away the directions and wing it type person.  If any part of this is unclear, or you want more detail please ask and I will do my best to oblige. 
The original undies, size 2T but extra stretched out by
the first boy.
Center part of undies, sides and binding cut off.




One side of undies, with the smaller new side traced out on an old tee shirt.


Sides attached

Leg gap before new elastic added.
Fit with elastic added. 


When deciding on the new side panel size, I reduced the waist measurement by 1", and the hips by 1.5".  Your measurements will vary, depending on what your child's measurements are.  You don't want either the waist or leg openings to be skin tight, but have approximately 1" of gap.  You'll be taking this up with the elastic.  Measure the elastic long enough for your waist or leg circumference plus a little extra for over lapping the ends. Stretch it to fit as you pin and sew, then there will be a slight gathering once finished.