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. 

Our medicine chest

While I haven't found the perfect pretty chest to store these in, here is a quick run down of just what I keep in our washroom.  This list won't include things like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, garlic, various berries etc that live in our kitchen cupboards. 

Here is the run down of what and why. 

Manuka Honey - it's antibacterial properties are great for injuries, and it can be taken for viral infections as well.  Dr. Bob Sears just had a great write up on Facebook about why he uses it in his office to combat MRSA and other nasty infections. 

Buckwheat Honey - an alternative to  main stream cough syrups, this is our go-to for colds and coughs.  It's also anti-inflammatory. 

Diatomaceous Earth - we use this as a detox when the boys eat something yucky.  It is also on hand for tooth powder, and to be sprinkled as an ant repellant. 

Bentonite Clay - another cleanser and tooth powder ingredient.  This one we use both externally and internally.  We put it in their bath, and on their teeth as part of their tooth health routine.  It also can be used to absorb yuckiness if they eat something that doesn't agree with them or poisonous.  In addition it helps balance the body's PH levels.

*Activated Charcoal - our last in the line of stomach cleansers, this also is used for brightening our smiles.

Shepherds Purse - used for internal bleeding as a tea, or external injuries as a poultice.

Slippery Elm Bark - used as a tea for sore throats, coughs, intestinal complaints of both varieties, externally for burns.  ***do not take if pregnant, can cause abortions***

Magnesium Oil - for balancing the body's magnesium level.  Helps relieve cramping quickly, and I need to use it several times a day during my last trimester of pregnancy to help relieve prodromal labor. Magnesium is best absorbed through the skin, rather than taken internally.  We spray a little on the bottom of the feet before bed.  I make our own using magnesium flakes or Epsom salt.

Epsom Salts -  A base for my magnesium oil, I also add this to my water daily when pregnant.  Other than that we mostly add it to baths to relieve intestinal complaints, sore muscles, and to help the boys relax during baths.

Iodine - another detox solution, it also helps balance the body's PH levels and is in our tooth decay prevention regiment.

Astragulus - immune booster/cold fighter

Xylitol - cavity prevention.  The molecular structure of this birch-based sweetener makes the mouth inhospitable to the bacteria that cause cavities. 

Arnica - pain relief.  We use both internally and externally.

Licorice Root -  The boys are free to chew pieces of this whenever they want.  I use it as part of a healthy syrup to top off Saturday morning pancakes.  There are lots of healing attributes for this root but the ones we use it for mainly are as part of our tooth decay prevention routine, for colds and flu, heartburn, and other stomach complaints.

Juniper Berries -  mainly for congestion, but also for injuries and inflammation.

*Elderberries - another immune booster for colds and flu season including bacterial and viral infections.

Aloe - for burns, hair tangles, and as hair gel.

Pau D'Arco - an expectorant that can also be used for candida problems.  It is also an antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-parasite agent.

Goldenseal Root - used in teas for colds and flu, as a wound antiseptic and on newborn's cord stumps.  It can also be used for upset stomach, intestinal complaints, and whooping cough.

Clove Oil - not an essential oil, but used in tooth paste and painful teething or tooth complaints.


The next three are the store bought items we have.  Rather than talk about what I use them for I've put their links in.

Badger Baby Balm - http://www.badgerbalm.com/p-398-baby-balm-organic-baby-skin-care.aspx

Cape Cod Bug Repellant Lotion -http://www.capecodallnatural.com/products.html

Hyland's Teething Pellets -http://www.hylands.com/products/hylands-baby-teething-tablets

The rest are essential oils.  I don't support any specific brand, nor am I an oil expert.  These are what we have collected so far, and our particular uses for them.   There are plenty of 'experts' when it comes to oils.  For specifics, please ask them not me.  I am much more comfortable and versed in the use of herbs.

Calm Time Spray - My own blend of essential oils that we use during extended tantrums and before bed when needed.

Tea Tree Oil - one of our go-tos.  We use this for viral and bacterial infections.

Cinnamon Bark - Mainly used in our toothpaste.

Citronella - Mainly used in our bug spray.

Lemon - Used in our bug spray and in deodorants.

Citronella - Used in our bug spray and in deodorants.

Lavender - Used for bug bites, in baths, for headaches, and in boiling water to keep the house calm.

Eucalyptus - Used in bug spray and in deodorants.

Rosemary - Used in bug spray and in deodorants.

Thyme - Used in deodorants and topically on cysts.

Peppermint - Used in toothpaste, bug spray, and as a room cleanser.

Basil - Used topically on cysts.

Sandalwood - Used in deodorant.


* items are not shown in the photo.

I highly recommend that before you use any herb or essential oil that you do your own research as I am not any type of trained professional and am sharing what I use these items for, and am not prescribing or diagnosing anything. 

2014, the Year of the Fence

For us, this year is the year of the fence.  I started working on enclosing the remainder of our field in a warm spell in January.  A snow storm moved in while I was working on it, so we left it partially completed and got dumped on.  It's now 3 months later and the snow is finally gone, and ground finally thawed.  I'll be finishing enclosing the field tomorrow. 
After the field is completely enclosed I need to put fence openings in the right areas, and come up with a solution so the horses can drink from the river.  After those tasks are accomplished I'll be stepping back from pasture fencing for awhile. 
Next up is upgrading the chicken enclosure.  I have very naughty chickens who like to pick through the gravel on the side of the road.  This annoys my neighbors who in turn call animal control to complain, so we try to keep them penned up.  Last year's attempt was a big flop.  I'm hoping to use 2x2 posts that we already have on the farm to keep the budget low, then staple chicken wire up, top with thin boards and run hot wire along the top.  I'll also be clipping their wings this year, as the Aracunas like to fly out. 
After the chicken run is finished I need to tackle fencing in the backyard.  Before I know it I'm going to have to running boys to chase, so a fence to keep them away from the road is necessary.  I plan on putting one fence, with a large gate between the stone foundation from the summer kitchen, and the stone fence that borders the pasture field.  Another fence will be placed between the corner of the house and the corner of the barn.  Before that can go in I need to level off the ground.  There is a 2.5 foot drop from yard to where the garden is, and that just isn't safe or pretty.  After that I need to work on fencing in along the rock wall and the pasture, but I haven't come up with a solution for that.  At least with the two boundary fences in they won't be able to run towards the road.

Lastly, we need some sort of privacy fence put up along the foundation for the summer kitchen.  I have a vision of a backyard patio where our family can hang out, cook, and relax.  However, those aforementioned neighbors? They drive back and forth staring onto our property, instead of watching the road.  It makes me uncomfortable to be observed so often, so I'm dreaming of something to put up to block their view of us when we're having family hang out time.

Color sorting, Cursive letters, and Japanese

The other day Braeden had a bit of cabin fever, and Kelan had a cold.  I didn't like the idea of dragging Kelan out into the below zero wind chills so that Braeden could burn off energy.  Instead I thought up something to occupy his mind for a little while after nap.  I combined color sorting, cursive letter recognition, and Japanese.  I wrote both the color names in romaji, so that anyone can pronounce it, and katakana so he can see the symbols.  I feel equally rusty in writing both cursive and katakana. 

 

I started off with a pile of pompoms, an empty egg carton, colored pencils, scissors, glue, and construction paper.  I had 8 colors of pompoms, so I cut off two rows of the egg carton.   

 

To close up the egg carton, I cut off the top with an approximate extra inch and a half. 

Cut two slits into the top, folded them in and taped it.  

 

 Cut the center out of each of the bottom sections next.  This egg carton was set up perfectly to accommodate this.    

 

Each section was then covered with a color of construction paper that coordinated with the pom poms. I glued the papers on, then reopened the holes.  Doing it this way ensured that I wouldn't make the holes too big.  

 

To make boxes I cut rectangles from the construction paper, slit the corners about 1 inch in, 

 

glued each corner, 

 

and patiently held them until they were dry.  

 

On more construction paper I wrote the color in English cursive, romaji which is the romanized version of the Japanese language, and then in katakana at the bottom.  I glued each of these sheets onto the bottom of my boxes and filled them with their coordinating pom poms.  

I managed to get it set up just before he woke up. 

Here he is after he matched all the colors, sorting them back into their boxes to start over.