This is like tutorial part 2, where I give you more specifics (and more opinions) on what covers, inserts, and accessories are best. Every one's opinions will differ, but mine are the right ones (LOL) so I thought I'd share.
Covers:
I love designer cotton printed covers with wipe clean PUL inners, but even my best ones wick a little of the moisture to the outside when the diaper gets really wet (like every time with Julian). Check out The Eli Monster, Brookiellen, or Diaper Circus of course, all on Etsy.
For a really basic cover to solve the wicking problem go with all PUL. Our Flip covers are great for this, but I the snap down rise is just a mess. I am dying to try Bummis Super Lite, because they are sized.
Inserts:
I like Mini Diapers, which go by many names. Chelory has one she calls an elasticized contour, but they are pretty small. I think they'd be a rockin' newborn insert. Bumkins have some, but they are enormous. The one I have that hasn't shrunken to half its original size has to be folded over on all sides. Loveybums has a "snap-in diaper" for their Loveybums-in-One, but I haven't tried it. Personally I think my own pattern is the best.
I also really like Trifolds. This is like a Prefold only it's made out of a stretchy, fluffy material like sherpa, french terry or fleece, in hemp, organic cotton, or bamboo. This sounds like a lot of options, but they really aren't that different. AMP has several varieties. Green Mountain Diapers has a Cotton Sherpa one, which is by far the cheapest available. There are several hemp brands at mainstream diaper shops, but they can be a little pricey, and the measurements seem iffy to me. Again I think mine are best; Hemp Fleece, or Bamboo Double Loop Terry 14x14" for $5. They are as simple as a prefold, but a lot softer, and more trim.
Wipes:
I bought some plain 9x9" 1 ply cotton terry baby wash cloths, and I like them loads more than any other type of cloth wipe I tried. Simple, cheap, you can get them anywhere. Forget the fancy wipes potions and spray bottles, just wet them with water.
Pail Liner:
The first pail liner I tried was a Bummis Large Tote for $16 from Cotton Babies. It has been perfect from the beginning and I've never felt the need to try anything else. End of story.
Wet Bags:
Bummis Fabulous Wet Bags have all of the qualities I like for a good price, but I've never actually tried them. I have one from a precut kit on Wazoodle, and a WAHM made one from American Country Designs on Etsy in a cute print. This is pretty flexible. You just need something made of PUL with a zipper that will fit in your diaper bag. It can be as simple or as fancy as you want.
If you must have an All-In-One:
Envibums are the best! I don't really think it's more convenient, because I have to stuff it out of the wash anyway, and most babies will need more absorbency than is attached, but the small fact that the stuffing goes in between layers makes it a lot less intimidating for parents and nursery workers. The bright minky is adorable, they are one size (and actually fit well) and $2 from each purchase goes to a charity.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
my super basic cloth diaper tutorial
There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of cloth diaper how-to's, and while all of them claim their purpose is to show you how simple it is to cloth diaper, I am scared when I finish reading them, and I already know it's not that hard. So this is the true simple cloth diaper story:
You basically need 6-8 covers and 24 diapers. If you want it a little easier, and have room in your budget up that to 12 and 36. If you have a tight budget and don't mind a little more work you can get by with as little as 4 and 18. You also need about 24 wipes, 2 or 3 travel wet bags, and 1 or 2 pail liners. Again you can go up or down depending on your budget to convenience ratio. I also like to have about 6 fleece liners for when we use diaper rash cream.
When you get your diapers wash and dry them 3-5 times on hot to "prep" them. Most natural fabrics have oils on them that repel water and this removes them.
Now, stuff all of your insides into covers and arrange them in a basket or something. Fold the remaining inserts and set them aside. Wet wipes and stack them in a used disposable wipes container. Put your pail liner inside a small trash can (with a lid) in a convenient place, and put your wet bag and a smaller wipes container in your diaper bag.
When baby needs a change, you change them the same way you would with a disposable. If it is dirty you dump solids into the toilet, then put it in the pail. Exclusive breastfed poo (EBP) is water soluble and goes straight into the wash. If it is only wet put the absorbent part into the pail and hang the cover to air dry.
When you run out of stuffed diapers, or just as you go about your day, stuff the air dried clean covers with new inserts and put them back in your basket.
Every other day dump all of the dirty diapers from your pail into the wash, add 1/4 Allen's Naturally Biodegradable detergent, super easy with the gallon pump, and wash on hot with a high water level. Tumble dry inserts, hang dry covers. Stuff. Repeat.
Disclaimers:
This is per size. If you really want to save money you can go with a one size system, but be warned you may have babies like mine that they never really fit very well. Most babies will wear small and medium their whole diapering time (depending on the fit of the particular brand).
There are also diapers that come with the absorbent and waterproof components attached. These are called All-In-Ones. Or there are pocket diapers where you stuff the absorbent piece between the waterproof cover and a stay-dry layer. These brag of being more convenient, but are a lot more expensive, and don't save much work in my opinion. I still stuff them all when they come out of the wash, but I can get by with a lot fewer covers.
These wash instructions are for a top load washer. Apparently front loading high efficiency machines can be a little trickier. There are several places with more instructions, like The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. I am not qualified to advise, since I have a simple old fashioned machine.
If you pin your inserts you can use wool covers which are natural and breath. They are rather expensive, but you need only a few. They only need to be washed every 3 or 4 weeks. Melt 1/4" Lansinoh into 2 cups hot water and them pour into a sink full of water. Briefly soak wool things, pat them dry (don't wring), and lay to finish drying.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Haha Try Again
I just realized my last post has a 1. with no more numbers in the catch up section.
Let's try some quick takes
1. I just went to my first MOPS meeting this morning (Mothers of Preschoolers) it was really great. We talked about making "me time" count so you don't lose yourself in being a mom. It's not that most of us don't have some moments free from babies, but we do stressful things and so still feel deprived when it's over. You have to "work" to make sure you are getting what you need out of the free time you have. I can elaborate on this maybe if I have time this week.
2.Last Saturday we went to my grandparents for the family birthday, and Papa had us go through his books, since they are moving into a smaller house. It was hard for him to say goodbye to so many, but he knows they need to downsize. He said he was happy for us to have them instead of people at a garage sale who would pay very little and not appreciate them. It was better than Christmas. I have not only many wonderful contemporary books for reading, but several theology books and 2 sets of commentaries which are like family heirlooms from my forefathers in ministry, including my Gramma's father Russell Dennis whom Julian is named for (Julian Russell). We also got the boys some Summer clothes on the way home, which is good since Julian is too big for Efrim's clothes from last year.
3. Before that I thought that I was so spoiled when my Thirty-One bags came in the mail the day before. I have two diaper bag sets, with little matching zipper pouches, an overnight bag, and a terrific wallet that fits everything, but is super trim. I love these products, and hope to become a consultant when the recruiting freeze ends this Summer. It will be another way to supplement our income with less investment and growing time than my own business.
4. We have a turtle again! Her name is Lola and she lives with six silver minnows in our living room. We have missed having one so much. She is such fun to watch, and Efrim will just stand by the tank and stare for the longest time.
5.Efrim is starting to say words, finally. Uh-oh, Dog, Ball, Pa, Dad, Hi.
6. Lent. The short story is I'm giving up my lack of self discipline, but my specific rules are; no junk food (especially no sugar)- this mostly has to do with bored mindless snacking all day at home alone, getting into a homemaking routine again, disciplining Efrim more consistently, and bible study.
7. Which brings me to number seven. I found this terrific Bible reading plan on Passionate Homemaking. This gives me the structure I've been needing, and has been such a blessing the last few days.
Ahhh. That's better.
Let's try some quick takes
1. I just went to my first MOPS meeting this morning (Mothers of Preschoolers) it was really great. We talked about making "me time" count so you don't lose yourself in being a mom. It's not that most of us don't have some moments free from babies, but we do stressful things and so still feel deprived when it's over. You have to "work" to make sure you are getting what you need out of the free time you have. I can elaborate on this maybe if I have time this week.
2.Last Saturday we went to my grandparents for the family birthday, and Papa had us go through his books, since they are moving into a smaller house. It was hard for him to say goodbye to so many, but he knows they need to downsize. He said he was happy for us to have them instead of people at a garage sale who would pay very little and not appreciate them. It was better than Christmas. I have not only many wonderful contemporary books for reading, but several theology books and 2 sets of commentaries which are like family heirlooms from my forefathers in ministry, including my Gramma's father Russell Dennis whom Julian is named for (Julian Russell). We also got the boys some Summer clothes on the way home, which is good since Julian is too big for Efrim's clothes from last year.
3. Before that I thought that I was so spoiled when my Thirty-One bags came in the mail the day before. I have two diaper bag sets, with little matching zipper pouches, an overnight bag, and a terrific wallet that fits everything, but is super trim. I love these products, and hope to become a consultant when the recruiting freeze ends this Summer. It will be another way to supplement our income with less investment and growing time than my own business.
4. We have a turtle again! Her name is Lola and she lives with six silver minnows in our living room. We have missed having one so much. She is such fun to watch, and Efrim will just stand by the tank and stare for the longest time.
5.Efrim is starting to say words, finally. Uh-oh, Dog, Ball, Pa, Dad, Hi.
6. Lent. The short story is I'm giving up my lack of self discipline, but my specific rules are; no junk food (especially no sugar)- this mostly has to do with bored mindless snacking all day at home alone, getting into a homemaking routine again, disciplining Efrim more consistently, and bible study.
7. Which brings me to number seven. I found this terrific Bible reading plan on Passionate Homemaking. This gives me the structure I've been needing, and has been such a blessing the last few days.
Ahhh. That's better.
A not so "7 quick takes Friday"
I didn't want to do this, quick blog on a set day of the week thing. During my good times I can post nearly every day. However, I'm afraid I have to do this, or I will continue to be a feast or famine type of blogger.
So, a lot of people are doing this 7 quick takes Friday thing. And I don't want to do that per say. For one thing I don't really want every post from now on to have the same title. So I guess what I'm doing is setting a minimum. Part of my routine should be to post every Friday with some important things for the week.
So, here's today's quick catch up.
1. Just because I haven't blogged since I posted goals doesn't mean I didn't do them.
I did pretty good with the organizational tasks, but this is definitely an area with on-going room for improvement. I like to think of it as an "extra" task every day. I keep up with laundry, dishes, feeding and clothing boys, and general tidying up. The goal would be to accomplish an additional task each day that looks more like making progress than maintenance; sewing projects, organizing some area, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping, etc.
I ended up breezing through Your Money or Your Life, to get the general principles, but haven't done all the tedious steps. We are going our own way in this area. Saving what we can, investing in home businesses, and praying for the day when we can afford for RJ to work from home, or when we all spend our days at a Non-Profit Coffes House, which is our dream.
Chris Smith no longer works at the Credit Union and they didn't get grant funding this year, so it looked like the business would be on hold, but thanks to our tax refund we are making some nice progress.
Breakfast Church is growing nicely and organically, although I still miss the other young couples with kids we saw when we were going to Midtown Sunday mornings. Incidentally the girls and I are working on a modesty study, but this happens at different times.
Lent has helped with the no sugar thing, but that deserves a post of its own.
I have continued a heavy reading streak, which has fueled a really refreshing time of growth. My grandfather just gave me a huge load of books so this will continue, Yay!
So these are the things I want to keep you up to date on week by week:
1. Homemaking. This is so important. I really want to chart my growth as I go through the "mommy at home coping/thriving" journey. I'm not sure exactly how this looks, but the main thing is to keep making progress in how our home develops, and be really transparent about my journey. This will include; cute baby anecdotes, diet reform, organizational strategies, and so on.
2. Spiritual life. That is part and parcel with #1 for me, since I feel very certain right now that this is t ministry God has been preparing me for all my life, I only say it separately, to insure that it isn't overlooked.
3. Business. This is such a big part of who I am, and I really want to use this blog as a home base for that. The big picture goal is for this business to be a real community for ministry and helping people shape their lives around obedience to Christ and making families that honor him. This blog is the human face of that.
Anything else I need to talk about? Let me know!
So, a lot of people are doing this 7 quick takes Friday thing. And I don't want to do that per say. For one thing I don't really want every post from now on to have the same title. So I guess what I'm doing is setting a minimum. Part of my routine should be to post every Friday with some important things for the week.
So, here's today's quick catch up.
1. Just because I haven't blogged since I posted goals doesn't mean I didn't do them.
I did pretty good with the organizational tasks, but this is definitely an area with on-going room for improvement. I like to think of it as an "extra" task every day. I keep up with laundry, dishes, feeding and clothing boys, and general tidying up. The goal would be to accomplish an additional task each day that looks more like making progress than maintenance; sewing projects, organizing some area, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping, etc.
I ended up breezing through Your Money or Your Life, to get the general principles, but haven't done all the tedious steps. We are going our own way in this area. Saving what we can, investing in home businesses, and praying for the day when we can afford for RJ to work from home, or when we all spend our days at a Non-Profit Coffes House, which is our dream.
Chris Smith no longer works at the Credit Union and they didn't get grant funding this year, so it looked like the business would be on hold, but thanks to our tax refund we are making some nice progress.
Breakfast Church is growing nicely and organically, although I still miss the other young couples with kids we saw when we were going to Midtown Sunday mornings. Incidentally the girls and I are working on a modesty study, but this happens at different times.
Lent has helped with the no sugar thing, but that deserves a post of its own.
I have continued a heavy reading streak, which has fueled a really refreshing time of growth. My grandfather just gave me a huge load of books so this will continue, Yay!
So these are the things I want to keep you up to date on week by week:
1. Homemaking. This is so important. I really want to chart my growth as I go through the "mommy at home coping/thriving" journey. I'm not sure exactly how this looks, but the main thing is to keep making progress in how our home develops, and be really transparent about my journey. This will include; cute baby anecdotes, diet reform, organizational strategies, and so on.
2. Spiritual life. That is part and parcel with #1 for me, since I feel very certain right now that this is t ministry God has been preparing me for all my life, I only say it separately, to insure that it isn't overlooked.
3. Business. This is such a big part of who I am, and I really want to use this blog as a home base for that. The big picture goal is for this business to be a real community for ministry and helping people shape their lives around obedience to Christ and making families that honor him. This blog is the human face of that.
Anything else I need to talk about? Let me know!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wannabe
Does anyone else have a huge list of labels for themselves that they don't actually live up to?
On diaperswappers, and other forums I read, everyone has a signature that is tagged on to the end of their replies. It usually has names of husbands, and names and birthdays of kids along with a list of things this woman advocates: cloth diapering, breastfeeding, cosleeping, etc.
It's a new way to define oneself. It's also a bit like girl scout badges. There are little emoticons for several popular categories. "Have you earned your co-sleeping badge?"
Some of these titles I feel I have earned, in other areas I have a long way to go. With a baby who cries when put down, and a house that's a wreck, I really want that babywearing badge, but I have a long list of failed attempts.
The same is true for other areas of my life. I feel more and more called to modest dress, but my sewing time is beyond limited (by aforementioned clingy baby). I have the fabric and pattern making know how for a whole new wardrobe, if only I had a time turner.
I put my Etsy shop on vacation last night. I just can't imagine selling covers to others, when my homemade ones are still the last I reach for with my own boys, and Bekah's are being finished in 5 minute increments. it looks like they will miss my shipping goal of tomorrow.
There's theologian, real food chef, tidy housekeeper, playful mom, fertility awareness expert... I could go on and on.
What do you "wannabe"?
On diaperswappers, and other forums I read, everyone has a signature that is tagged on to the end of their replies. It usually has names of husbands, and names and birthdays of kids along with a list of things this woman advocates: cloth diapering, breastfeeding, cosleeping, etc.
It's a new way to define oneself. It's also a bit like girl scout badges. There are little emoticons for several popular categories. "Have you earned your co-sleeping badge?"
Some of these titles I feel I have earned, in other areas I have a long way to go. With a baby who cries when put down, and a house that's a wreck, I really want that babywearing badge, but I have a long list of failed attempts.
The same is true for other areas of my life. I feel more and more called to modest dress, but my sewing time is beyond limited (by aforementioned clingy baby). I have the fabric and pattern making know how for a whole new wardrobe, if only I had a time turner.
I put my Etsy shop on vacation last night. I just can't imagine selling covers to others, when my homemade ones are still the last I reach for with my own boys, and Bekah's are being finished in 5 minute increments. it looks like they will miss my shipping goal of tomorrow.
There's theologian, real food chef, tidy housekeeper, playful mom, fertility awareness expert... I could go on and on.
What do you "wannabe"?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Belief: What am I doing wrong?
I feel like this is my whole life story.
In high school our pastor preached that in order for God to answer our prayers we must believe that he will answer them when we pray.
I started going to youth camp that summer and saw all around me people so passionate about God that it oozed out in everything they did. You could see, like I'm sure it is said somewhere in scripture, the Spirit of God on their countenances. I came home praying for this desperately, believing that of course, since it was God's will that I be closer to him that he would answer this, but pray as I might, nothing came. After a year of praying this way, I began having a serious crisis of faith that lasted for years.
Repeatedly during my life, people have told me that they were praying for my healing, and that God would heal me. Yet for some reason God has chosen to let me live with my illness.
Eventually I reached my breaking point, and God revealed to me that it wasn't my ability to believe intellectually in who he is, but my willingness to continue following him anyway. (John 6:69, played a huge part in this.)
I continue to pray for healing and closeness, but have learned that in some mysterious way, God is glorified more when I am weak, and so it does not mean he doesn't care for me when he does not say yes to these prayers.
But still something is missing. I believe that God is powerful, and I see him acting powerfully in other people's lives. I believe intellectually that God loves me and can do incredibly powerful things. I would say I even believe this in a deeper way, in my heart, but I have never experienced it.
So right now at our church we are talking about inviting he Spirit to work among us. We are talking about becoming a believing people.
and I want this so badly.
I have been praying again for months, seriously, and hungrily, for that power of the Holy Spirit in the things that I do. For him to be visible on my countenance. I pray often that, like 1 Corinthians 10:31, I will do all I do for God's glory, but not only that that will be my intent, but that my life will actually bring glory to God, like it was created to do. We are created for his glory, and I believe that he has orchestrated the circumstances of my life to give me the exact ministry he has intended for me to do, but it will only actually bring glory to God if people see in my life that he is the reason for it all.
So I pray for this, but I never feel or see anything happening.
So tonight at Planning Meeting we talked about how this study of the Holy Spirit was introduced, but there has been a lack of response and feedback, just a feeling that the congregation was hesitant about this. And while this is exactly what I have been dying to do together as a body, I can't help wondering, is this hesitancy me? I don't really know how to respond, what feedback to give.
I want the Spirit more than anything, and I believe that if the Bible says he will give it to us freely, which it does, that it is true, beyond any doubt, but I don't see it. I want to be a believing person. I am starving for this; to feel his power and glory showing through my life, but where is it?
My deepest belief is that God has the power to do all things, and because he loves us infinitely he chooses to do those good things in our lives, but my experience is that he repeatedly chooses not to do them for me. Whether this is in some ironic way also to his glory or not, where does that leave me as a person of faith? What am I missing. What am I doing wrong?
In high school our pastor preached that in order for God to answer our prayers we must believe that he will answer them when we pray.
I started going to youth camp that summer and saw all around me people so passionate about God that it oozed out in everything they did. You could see, like I'm sure it is said somewhere in scripture, the Spirit of God on their countenances. I came home praying for this desperately, believing that of course, since it was God's will that I be closer to him that he would answer this, but pray as I might, nothing came. After a year of praying this way, I began having a serious crisis of faith that lasted for years.
Repeatedly during my life, people have told me that they were praying for my healing, and that God would heal me. Yet for some reason God has chosen to let me live with my illness.
Eventually I reached my breaking point, and God revealed to me that it wasn't my ability to believe intellectually in who he is, but my willingness to continue following him anyway. (John 6:69, played a huge part in this.)
I continue to pray for healing and closeness, but have learned that in some mysterious way, God is glorified more when I am weak, and so it does not mean he doesn't care for me when he does not say yes to these prayers.
But still something is missing. I believe that God is powerful, and I see him acting powerfully in other people's lives. I believe intellectually that God loves me and can do incredibly powerful things. I would say I even believe this in a deeper way, in my heart, but I have never experienced it.
So right now at our church we are talking about inviting he Spirit to work among us. We are talking about becoming a believing people.
and I want this so badly.
I have been praying again for months, seriously, and hungrily, for that power of the Holy Spirit in the things that I do. For him to be visible on my countenance. I pray often that, like 1 Corinthians 10:31, I will do all I do for God's glory, but not only that that will be my intent, but that my life will actually bring glory to God, like it was created to do. We are created for his glory, and I believe that he has orchestrated the circumstances of my life to give me the exact ministry he has intended for me to do, but it will only actually bring glory to God if people see in my life that he is the reason for it all.
So I pray for this, but I never feel or see anything happening.
So tonight at Planning Meeting we talked about how this study of the Holy Spirit was introduced, but there has been a lack of response and feedback, just a feeling that the congregation was hesitant about this. And while this is exactly what I have been dying to do together as a body, I can't help wondering, is this hesitancy me? I don't really know how to respond, what feedback to give.
I want the Spirit more than anything, and I believe that if the Bible says he will give it to us freely, which it does, that it is true, beyond any doubt, but I don't see it. I want to be a believing person. I am starving for this; to feel his power and glory showing through my life, but where is it?
My deepest belief is that God has the power to do all things, and because he loves us infinitely he chooses to do those good things in our lives, but my experience is that he repeatedly chooses not to do them for me. Whether this is in some ironic way also to his glory or not, where does that leave me as a person of faith? What am I missing. What am I doing wrong?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January Goals
I am copying this idea from Jessica on Making Home. Instead of making large sweeping resolutions for the year, I am going to make about 5 measurable goals/month, since short term goals are usually easier to keep than long term ones. I may elaborate on some of them, and at the end of the month I will report on how I did. Even though January is half over already I will start there.
1. Tackle at least one organizational project each day.
Our house has become more and more messy since the addition of a cute boy November 4th, not helped by several illnesses and the Holidays. Today I finally organized and put away all of the gift wrapping things, which were scattered across the end of our room, before I sat down to write this.
2. Calculate our gross lifetime earnings, and current net worth as per chapter one in Your Money or Your Life, a book given to us by our special friends the Kimery family, who have become so dear to us as mentors. This is supposed to start us on a path of changing our perspective on and relationship with money.
3. Meet with Chris Smith, the Small Business Grant manager at a local credit union who helped my sister, Rebekah, get a $2000 grant to kick start her Mary Kay business, and who thinks I will be eligible for the next round of grants available in July.
4. Start developing the worship aspects of Breakfast Church, the small group hosted at our church's community house, where RJ and I live.
5. Get back on the (mostly) no sugar wagon. The holidays through me for a loop, and I am so addicted to sweets, but I know it is poison for me, and I want to teach our boys better habits.
6. Finish reading A Generous Orthodoxy.
Okay, I realized as I typed the above that these all pretty much have to do with larger resolutions, only this breaks it down into manageable chunks. So I will also share what my long term goals are for this year.
1. I realized when reading the Duggar's Book, which my mom got me for Christmas, that I have to quit riding the fence about organization and simplicity if we are open to the possibility that God might give us many children. He may choose to give us only the two we have already, but since I believe that simplicity is best, now is the time to get it together. This isn't so much a new year's resolution, but wake up call to quit procrastinating.
2. Your Money or Your Life has nine steps to becoming more financially solvent (or having a better relationship with money as they say). My plan is to take it slow and tackle one per month so I don't get overwhelmed. I wonder if later down the line it is going to say "Step _- Get a job that does not involve selling fast food for near minimum wage, you dummy."
3. I have little assignments like this every month to help be get my business up and running by July. The strategy keeps changing, but most of the important tasks stay the same.
4. We really want to be the best stewards we can of this resource for our whole church, and use our time here to really develop our own philosophy of ministry and getting our hands dirty (which will be literal once RJ starts digging the garden).
5. The first goal I thought of for this new year was that I wanted to take baby steps in reforming our families diet, meal plans, and shopping. I have done lots of real food research, but am alwys lazy when it comes to applying it. There are things we don;t have access to, like raw dairy products, and it can be overwhelming on the whole, but I hope I can take little baby steps to improving our nutrition. I so wish I could afford this E-Course by Kristen at Food Renegade. No doubt my boys will have her book for home school curriculum one day.
This idea first struck me when I read Jessica's article about how her homemaking skills have improved gradually through the years. It was really awesome to realize that it takes time to master the whole house, but I can make constant progress.
6. We have a lot of theology books I haven't read yet. Usually I have read to unwind, so these are the ones I skip over when looking for a new book to start, but I am ready to start stretching my brain in these ways again, and think about something besides cloth diapers and breastfeeding. Maybe I'll be able to read one a month?
Anyway, Efrim is waking up so I'd better go.
1. Tackle at least one organizational project each day.
Our house has become more and more messy since the addition of a cute boy November 4th, not helped by several illnesses and the Holidays. Today I finally organized and put away all of the gift wrapping things, which were scattered across the end of our room, before I sat down to write this.
2. Calculate our gross lifetime earnings, and current net worth as per chapter one in Your Money or Your Life, a book given to us by our special friends the Kimery family, who have become so dear to us as mentors. This is supposed to start us on a path of changing our perspective on and relationship with money.
3. Meet with Chris Smith, the Small Business Grant manager at a local credit union who helped my sister, Rebekah, get a $2000 grant to kick start her Mary Kay business, and who thinks I will be eligible for the next round of grants available in July.
4. Start developing the worship aspects of Breakfast Church, the small group hosted at our church's community house, where RJ and I live.
5. Get back on the (mostly) no sugar wagon. The holidays through me for a loop, and I am so addicted to sweets, but I know it is poison for me, and I want to teach our boys better habits.
6. Finish reading A Generous Orthodoxy.
Okay, I realized as I typed the above that these all pretty much have to do with larger resolutions, only this breaks it down into manageable chunks. So I will also share what my long term goals are for this year.
1. I realized when reading the Duggar's Book, which my mom got me for Christmas, that I have to quit riding the fence about organization and simplicity if we are open to the possibility that God might give us many children. He may choose to give us only the two we have already, but since I believe that simplicity is best, now is the time to get it together. This isn't so much a new year's resolution, but wake up call to quit procrastinating.
2. Your Money or Your Life has nine steps to becoming more financially solvent (or having a better relationship with money as they say). My plan is to take it slow and tackle one per month so I don't get overwhelmed. I wonder if later down the line it is going to say "Step _- Get a job that does not involve selling fast food for near minimum wage, you dummy."
3. I have little assignments like this every month to help be get my business up and running by July. The strategy keeps changing, but most of the important tasks stay the same.
4. We really want to be the best stewards we can of this resource for our whole church, and use our time here to really develop our own philosophy of ministry and getting our hands dirty (which will be literal once RJ starts digging the garden).
5. The first goal I thought of for this new year was that I wanted to take baby steps in reforming our families diet, meal plans, and shopping. I have done lots of real food research, but am alwys lazy when it comes to applying it. There are things we don;t have access to, like raw dairy products, and it can be overwhelming on the whole, but I hope I can take little baby steps to improving our nutrition. I so wish I could afford this E-Course by Kristen at Food Renegade. No doubt my boys will have her book for home school curriculum one day.
This idea first struck me when I read Jessica's article about how her homemaking skills have improved gradually through the years. It was really awesome to realize that it takes time to master the whole house, but I can make constant progress.
6. We have a lot of theology books I haven't read yet. Usually I have read to unwind, so these are the ones I skip over when looking for a new book to start, but I am ready to start stretching my brain in these ways again, and think about something besides cloth diapers and breastfeeding. Maybe I'll be able to read one a month?
Anyway, Efrim is waking up so I'd better go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)