Leaky Cloth Diapers

Over the past month I've had to deal with leaky cloth diapers. It's NOT fun when you hold your child and pee gets on your hip! It never happened until now (and still never happens with #2). I did trial and error on a lot of different things! I got some great help and advice from some friends, but the best ever came from a store/website called Jillian's drawers. Their customer service is phenomenal and their advice is spot-on!

So I thought I'd write for the record what I did on here so that I can refer to it later, and maybe help anyone else if they have the same issues and is as ignorant as I was going into this.

Things I had to change to get my pocket diapers to stop leaking in chronological order:

1) My detergent. All Free and Clear is NOT good for cloth diapers. It only has about a 25% success rate in cleaning cloth diapers without stink or buildup. Here is the detergent guide that aided me in my search for a new detergent. The first one I tried was Rockin' Green Hard Rock, but as the detergent guide says, I definitely definitely had some major stink issues with this detergent. I got a refund :) Next I tried Charlie's Soap along with Charlie's hard water treatment. This has worked great so far, but only when I use both.

2) Soften my water. Hard water also causes stink and leak issues with cloth diapers, and as our water softener is broken beyond repair, I had to order water treatments to put in each load. The difference in my cloth diapers is very noticable!

3) Strip the diapers. Since I'd been using the wrong detergent with hard water for so long, it was time for all that buildup to go. RLR Laundry treatment did an awesome job, and the diapers were as soft as if they were new when I was done! Actually, you're supposed to strip your diapers once a month! Bumgenius just said to bleach them once a month, but this did not help with absorbancy.

4) Put the diaper shells (I have pockets) in the dryer. Both the PUL (polyurethane liner) and the elastic in the diapers were starting to go. The PUL was not repelling liquid, allowing it to go straight through the cover! YUCK! Sticking it in the dryer (again, not in the bumgenius washing routine instructions) reseals the PUL dots (or beads, or something). But apparently most cloth diaper manufacturers use the same kind of polyurethane for their PULs. Drying also tightens up the elastic. The elastic around the legs always needs to be snug.

5) Bought new diapers. The one year warranty is up, so I tried another brand, Fuzzibunz, using some Christmas money (that's how much I love cloth diapers, haha!). They work great!!! Plus, they have adjustable elastic even though I got the one-size, which helps it last longer by not over-stretching it.

I'm still learning and maybe some of what I typed above isn't accurate. But it sure has helped for me, and I hope it helps anyone else! If you, reader, have any further ideas, comment on this so I know! Thanks

Homemade Meatballs

I almost fainted last night. When I put my first ever homemade meatball into my mouth, that is! 

blurry cell phone picture and marred the beauty of the meatballs

Recipe picture... you just smash it all by hand!

I found it here on Pinterest. It looked to me like one those trashy, fake recipes that never really work or tastes really odd (for some reason Pinterest has a lot of those). But not this one, oh no! Not only did it make only 1 pound of ground beef go really far, but it was relatively quick to prepare as long as the ingredients are on hand!

I had one problem though. Either 30 minutes on 350 is too long, or I need to cook them on parchment paper or spray the tray. I had to pry them off with a fork and scrape the pan. I should know better, right? (oh look, the recipe picture has parchment paper in it...) What would you do? 

Here it is:

Incredible Baked Meatballs. 
1lb hamburger, 2 eggs, beaten with 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan , 1 cup panko or bread crumbs, 1 small onion, minced, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, freshly ground pepper to taste, 1/4 cup minced fresh basil.

 Mix all ingredients with hands. Form into golfball sized meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Lost Bible

the squiggles are frilly flower patterns

It's been 10 days since I lost my Bible and journal! This really impedes my New Years resolution to be in the Word (aka study the Bible and pray) more. I think I took it downstairs because I was really excited about the past post about Genesis 34. Maybe not. Whatever happened, I moved them and can't find them! I've looked everywhere! 

I really feel the need to be in the Word today because some days are harder than others, you know? Some days you wake up on the wrong side of the bed of contentment, and you have to be reminded of what's true and ground yourself in who God is. And you have to renew your mind and free it from being conformed to this world. 

Joke

This is a hipster zombie! two trends combined.

I saw this on Pinterest and couldn't pass it up.

Some recent pics

My son was 13 mos old Jan 14!

David assembled our wheelbarrow and put Carson in it :)

We got a compost bin for our garden. David doesn't like getting photographed, but he'll be thankful someday :)

We borrowed a friend's truck to pick up some mulch for the garden

Aunt Sue and Carson doing the mouth punch (new years)

My parents and Carson

Carson and the popper I got for my first bday

bathtime, of course

this is the only recent picture with me in it! haha

Love the face, not so much the boogers

This past week

Stomach bug germs

Well I really hope this week is better than last! Last week I got what Carson had twice. First on Sunday and then it returned on Wednesday. I thought Wednesday's was indigestion from something I cooked, but now David has it too as of last night (Sunday). So it must have been contagious. Last week I didn't get any housework done, so it's a mess. I just laid around getting better. And I'm sorry to say this, but I have never been so glad to see solid stools! And to actually be hungry! For a whole week I didn't want to eat but made myself. Appetites and normal stools are something to be thankful for :) 

Anyhoo, a highlight of this week was doing the emceeing for a friend's baby shower at church on saturday, when I was all better. I was asked to because the other lady who usually does them for church showers didn't want to. I wasn't really brave enough to volunteer to and I was honestly pretty nervous, but wanted them to have a good shower. I got more confidence though when I found some funny games online, and laughing at the thought of people I know at church doing those things really helped. I also prayed about it. I think it turned out ok, though honestly I don't think emceeing celebrations is for me! Is 'emcee' even the right word for that?

But while feeling bad I also spent time online (surprise) and I've always loved the funny pictures and memes on pinterest. But they are filled with bad words and I have to weed through the immoral ones. Anyway, I've always thought the one below was really funny, so I edited out the bad word! :)

 

Carson's face-punching

I don't know what Carson is thinking behind his latest 'trick'. He takes his fist, opens his mouth into a gigantic smile, and hits his fist on the roof of his mouth and top teeth. His hand is actually getting red from it. 

Carson loves to show off, and I'm trying to tell him that this is not impressive. But knowing him, he'll keep doing it anyway. He doesn't really understand what I'm saying, and probably not what he's doing either!

Downton Abbey Season 3 (revised post)

Oh. my. word. 

I just finished Downton Abbey season three, because my mom, who has a special membership with PBS, got me the DVDs for Christmas. So of course I finished the season within 2 days! (I was also sick, so I had time to lay around ;) )

Since I don't want to spoil it for my friends, I will use words to describe how I feel. 

UGH. Frustrated. Shocked. 

None of those above words are shocking because, well, it's Downton Abbey. They always want to shock. :P

A TV show is a TV show, and I was thankful to see a real life sunset tonight, knowing that real life is much different than Downton Abbey.

I will say, they have changed some of the characters' personalities. They have an agenda to communicate, so they made Carson and Lord Grantham more intolerant and bigoted to prove their point. People love having bigots to scowl upon, because it always makes someone feel good to have someone else to look down on!

But both Carson and Lord Grantham, from the beginning of Downton, were kind, sweet and fatherly. Now they are harsh and cold-hearted, at least much of the screen time. Suddenly upholding even the most minute of traditions is more important that kindness. This was not the case at first. I hate that they sacrificed the fatherly figures of the show just to make a social point. And it doesn't make the point for me, sorry! It only muddles social issues and makes them more messy. 

However, that change is the only thing I didn't like about the season! I love how redemptive the show is as a whole. Each character goes through a kind of personal redemption (without naming Christ of course). The most inspiring redemptive story for me was Mary's story through seasons 1 and 2.  

And when it comes to tolerance, I will say that they made a great point about it when Thomas makes a new friend (not 'lover') at the end of Season 3. Bravo for that. It makes a point that all evangelicals I think mean at heart: that though we disagree with any immoral actions, showing general kindness to others is one way we desire show Christ's love. Yes, Christ's love has a tough side. A very tough side. But He's God and we're not. :)

My encounter with the nasty passage of Genesis 34

For years now I have really loved the book of Genesis. I love the narrative, the snapshots into ancient culture and customs, and how God revealed himself so plainly...

But today I hit a bump in the road. It's been over 8 years since I've really studied this, and since then I've usually swerved around this bump in the road, but there is a time to face your doubt head-on and deal with it! Gen. 34 is just nasty. The whole situation and every player in it is just nasty. The nastiest thing is what Jacob's two sons did. Cruel, heartless, mass-killing! 

And the voice in my head, a voice I am convinced was nurtured by all the anti-belief trends I marinated in while growing up in the Seattle area, the voice that dominated my being until I met Christ at 14... this voice questioned, "What kind of 'good' faith would have patriarchs like these? " or, "How can the Bible be God's Word with such horrific acts?" or, "How can God approve of this?"

These questions have heavy presumptions. The core presumption being that everything set forth in biblical narratives, including the choices of key people, is (or should be) approved by God and is considered holy even today. That patriarchs were perfect, holy people and should be our example. 

Psh! 

This is why it's important to get education in the Bible. This is why it's important for pastors to explain the whole Scriptures to their congregants. I'm so blessed to have gone to one of the best Bible colleges around, Moody Bible Institute. But again, I hadn't gone in-depth into a study of Genesis for 8 years now!

Luckily we still have our textbooks, plus more from David's seminary classes. I'd been reading a few things on Genesis (like commentaries and Bible encyclopedias) but the best thing I read on this has been James Montgomery Boice's commentary Genesis: An Expositional Commentary, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.)

Boice's chapter (117) on Genesis 34 is entitled, "A Shameful Incident". The first thing he points out is that many influential commentators have not dealt with the passage, by either skipping it completely, telling readers to figure it out on their own, or sometimes even telling pastors there is no valuable lesson to preach from the passage (p. 829). Boice insists that there is, especially in the area of how not to live!

But the main encounter I want to focus on with Gen. 34 is bibliology (doctrine of the Bible) and even the inerrancy of Scripture, not so much the Christian life. The latter is a cake walk in this case...

Anyhoo, Boice says, 

"Whenever the Bible contains material that reflects so badly not merely upon the sins of humanity in general but also upon the particular wickedness in the hearts and lives of God's people, this is evidence of the divine and not merely the human origin of the Scriptures... Human writers would have suppressed these events, just as commentators sometimes seem compelled to suppress them today... As we study this chapter we find the words of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to be true; "All Scripture is [indeed] God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man" [i.e. person] "of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (pp. 829-830).

If you were transcribing the ancient scrolls, would you not want to leave out Genesis 34? I would. Yet the Jews have included it in the Torah from the beginning (829). Our natural shame wants us to suppress things like this.

That's the point of the passage! We should be horrified by what we read. It was wrong. 

Moreover this passage touches on the roots of the Good News: Man cannot save himself. All other religions/spiritualities involve man reaching out to the divine somehow, but Christianity is God reaching down to man. The Good News is that all have sinned, that the wages of sin is death, and that the gift of eternal life is for all who believe in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, not their own imperfect and perpetually tainted good works. (Romans 3:23, 6:23-24, Ephesians 2:8-9, Ephesians 1) 

Look at this pretty graph I made!

I first learned this from my youth pastor, and then learned all the amazing details from the Bible

Even before Christ, God told the Israelites that he chose them not because they were better than all the other nations around them, but because of his own goodness and sovereign plan (>>>Deuteronomy 7:6-9). And it is clear that regardless of all the stupid things God's people have ever done (like the Crusades, etc) God will still work out His plan. People will still believe in Jesus Christ. 

God's love is relentless. There's nothing we can do to stop Christ from doing his work on earth. People saying that Judaism or Christianity is false or the Bible is false can't stop it either. And pointing out Gen 34 as a reason to reject God is only an excuse masking deeper, tougher issues. 

Of course God hates what Simeon and Levi did. Their shame is our warning and our reminder that we are all capable of such evils, and such evils are in all our natures, and that God is the only one who can save us from ourselves and from His wrath against evil.

This week's highlights

Do those fingers taste good?

This week actually had highlights so I thought I'd write 'em here! 

The biggest blessing for our family this week was David's job at Sacred Heart being made year-round. God continues to provide work for him and one of the results is that I continue to be a stay-at-home mom :) The best part is, though his job is in a different part of the school, they are honoring his current wage and even letting him work the same hours in the afternoons. Sacred Heart has always been very good to David and has honestly been the best employer ever. 

Other than that, I sought fellowship with ladies from church and we spent some time together this week! I enjoyed seeing Becca and Angela. I also enjoyed helping Beth out after she got a root canal. I love her kids. 

But while me and Carson were there we shared the stomach bug germs. (But honestly, I'd rather get sick a little more often and be involved in each others' lives than be healthy but home alone. ...Though I'm pretty sure we were the carriers of the germs, which I still feel bad about.) For all these things David graciously either watched Carson or dropped us off before going to work.

The downside of this week is missing Elsbeth's baby shower :( I had a gift (well, gift(s)) all prepared for her, but as we are not in the clear with the stomach bug, there was no way I was gonna risk it. I just hope the next time I write here doesn't include the words, "Then I got the stomach bug" or, "David got it too". I used lysol, bleach, and all the laundry is done. One can only hope and pray.

Oh and by the way, cloth diapers hold in diarrhea way better than disposables ;)

Plans foiled

I had plans today to clean the whole house, but instead it will be getting messier (and germier!). I hate the stomach bug, but it does bring our family together! haha.

So while Carson naps and David catches his sleep after UPS, I'm working on one of my little side jobs - editing papers for an international seminary student. I met her while we worked together at Southern almost 2 years ago now, and she pays me to edit her papers for grammar and clarity of thought. 

It's a really interesting perspective, doing this. I get to see into the mind of someone who is not American and someone who has a huge heart for missions. But also from the perspective of translation. I have to be very careful to not impose the meaning I gather from what she writes over the meaning that she intended to write. Not only would this be unethical, but it would change her meaning, perhaps without her realizing it! The meanings of words can be so subtle at times. 

7:25 am

Funny snapshots of Carson's toddlerhood

Eating like a champ...

...until Mommy keeps me waiting 3 seconds too long!!!

I make beautiful photo albums of Carson's sweet and quiet spirit

Clears everything off of the box

Clears everything off of the couch

Knocks over the drying rack

"Outta my way"

Drying rack fail #2 (why did I even try?)

Carson usually is pretty sweet, I promise :)

Milestones

Today my precious son made big leaps in his development! First, he stood up without holding on to anything for 5 to 10 seconds. That caught me by surprise! Second, he said "UhhhhDuh" ("all done") in conjunction with finishing a meal, which I have said/signed to him for months now with no response!

A Good Day!

Today has been a good day so far! It's only about 7:30, but it's been great.

First. Instead of being jerked awake much sooner than desired (usually 5:30) by cute cooing, I woke up on my own at 6:40! That would be enough in itself to make a good day. (Please don't feel sorry for me)

Second. I had a good dream last night. It included people I knew from Moody and Women's Choir, but also David and Carson, and even Maggie! A dream with lots of people I love in it is always better than the stressed-out, missing-a-deadline nightmares I usually have. (Weird thing was, Carson and Maggie were the same being. You know, one of those weird transitioning cases.)

Third. I not only had a good dream, and woke up before Carson, but I woke up knowing that I won't have to change a leaky cloth diaper. This is because he's in disposables because the cloth diapers are being stripped by RLR Laundry Treatment. And I got some detergent that is better for cloth diapers and is even compatible with hard water! (I won't talk about our old, broken water softener in the utility closet. Oh wait I did)

Fourth. I woke up on my own after having a good dream and knowing I wouldn't have to touch PJs with pee on them, but I woke up excited because I get to spend time with a friend from church at Olive Garden tonight. And this is all much easier to do because, Fifth, Carson is finally taking to liking soy milk and is really close to weaning. 

Sixth. Carson is abnormally non-fussy today. Usually, as I write this, he is screaming and whining through eating breakfast and my patience is already being tested. But right now he is eating eggs and cheerios quietly for once!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! and thanks for sharing in these blessings with me.

I love Paint

Can't change!

copyright 2013 Bethany Guthrie (jk) This is what the clams I remember from the beach look like growing up. But I haven't been to a beach in over two years so my memory is fuzzy.

I've tried to be content at home, just me and Carson, without a car most of the time. I do chores, go online, play with Carson, watch netflix, do projects or crafts, etc. Then I sit down as Carson crawls all over grabbing things, and I just watch him. I just sit there. I ignore the urge to call someone up. I keep sitting there. I ignore the creeping feeling of loneliness and I sit there.

Granted the above occurrence can only happen once a day and lasts about 2 minutes. That's because I'm pretty busy. But still, I can't change! I can't change the fact that I am extroverted and have this need to see other adults and share our lives together!

What makes this problem worse is that David comes home from long hours at work all tired and worn-out and sick of interaction with others. He always makes an effort with us and he's an awesome husband and father.

But God has wired each person differently. I know tons of people that would be happy as a clam to stay at home and see no one else all day.

I don't know how they do it.