Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Cloth Diapers? Not Yet.

Note: I started this post on June 8th but was interrupted. Parts of it are now outdated.

I just started using cloth diapers. Two days ago. I have enough diapers for two days. That meant that this morning I needed to wash diapers.

I live in an apartment, and my laundry facilities consist of a laundry room which is shared by 15 other apartments. And the washing machines are the type where I stick quarters in and choose a cycle; I can't choose a pre-wash or a double rinse. From what I understand of how to care for cloth diapers, you should wash them in cold water, wash them in hot water, rinse them in cold, and rinse again in cold. That would mean three times through the washer for me, which would defeat my pecuniary purpose of cloth diapering.

Eldon is still on only breastmilk, which means that I could just throw the diapers in the washer without rinsing them out. But I thought that to eliminate the need for the pre-wash, I'd rinse the diapers before washing them the first time. I don't have a diaper sprayer yet. So this morning I rinsed my dirty diapers in the toilet.

I'm not sure why I thought it would be a quick little job and then I'd be done. I'm really not sure why I thought I wouldn't need a shower afterward; in fact, before attempting this feat, I got dressed--in clean clothes. I'm sure anyone who knows me is also wondering what I was thinking.

Not only did this task require that I shower afterwards, but I also ended up cleaning the whole bathroom. It took all morning to do the job.

Since beginning this post, I have purchased a diaper sprayer. I haven't hooked it up. I'm using disposable diapers. I'll try cloth again when I move in a few weeks to a house that has a washer and dryer.

Such is life.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Creative?

I have a new calling. I'm the ward publicity chairman or something like that. Basically it means I update the bulletin board. When I was extended the calling, I was told that I could decorate the board. I said that I'm not very creative and that I'm sure it was fine the way it was, but I would be happy to update the calendar that showed ward events.

Then I saw the board.

It didn't even have our ward's name on it!! I figured I could at least fix that. So I went to the craft store and bought some butcher paper to put on the background (so I could be sure that the paper that I chose for the words wouldn't clash; besides, I didn't like the flaggish look) and some scrapbook paper for the ward name. But I had to buy the paper before I could use the die cutters, and I bought one page too many. Since Eldon was sleeping--in the carrier Karma made; thanks!--I used the extra sheet of paper and the scraps from the letters to make little other shapes.


Then yesterday after church I updated it. The calendar still said March. Of the 5 papers posted on the board, 2 were for events that were past. I trashed those. One of the others was an advertisement for the Church's radio station, which was also posted on the other half of the bulletin board for another ward. I felt that was redundant. So it's gone, too. And whether it's very creative or not, I like it better than when I started.

Ta-da!

Friday, June 4, 2010

The Best Part

After my mission, I bought a housing contract from a girl who was getting married. This was one of the most influential happenings in my life--it gave me Megan M. as a roommate, who, besides being one of my best friends, is also the reason that I went to work for Anasazi, which is where I met Joseph.

But that's beside the point. :) Megan was a great roommate; in fact, she was the only one of my dozens of roommates that I arranged to live with twice. She was preparing for her own mission at the time we became roommates, and her example helped me to keep some good habits from my mission.

After the lights were out and we'd gone to bed, we'd often lie awake talking before succumbing to sleep. At the beginning of the semester, she suggested, as a way to focus on the positive, that we ask each other what the best part of our day had been. It was a simple little ritual that I loved. It made me think through my day and identify blessings I'd received.

I carried this tradition into my marriage, and at night before we go to sleep, Joseph and I share with each other what the best part of our day has been.

Thank you, Megan!