Cloth Diapers

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Originally uploaded by tybythomas

Save money while you help the environment!
I think I have a lot of soap boxes that I try not to spend much time on, but what is a blog if not the chance to spout my point of view. I want to put a plug out there for cloth diapers.
I grew up thinking I would use cloth diapers on my children and then lived in Davis, CA while I was pregnant the first time. Davis has a huge population of cloth diaper users and that helped me see the logistics of how I might actually do the cloth diaper thing.
I have used cloth diapers with both of my children and have been really happy with the experience. I made a conservative estimate that we save at least $500 a year using cloth diapers and washing them at home. This number uses 5 diapers per child per day with diapers purchased at Costco. I also subtracted the water and electricity required to clean the diapers. For us, $500 is a significant sum and well worth the two extra loads of laundry a week. Plus, I like to dry the diapers outside on the clothesline in the summer. I love looking outside and seeing the diapers on the line knowing that the sun is sanitizing the diapers even more. I feel connected to all the families before us that didn't have the disposable option.
I realize cloth diapers aren't for everyone, but if you are at all interested I strongly encourage you to explore the option. Happy diapering!

Lack of pictures

Argh! I broke our camera by dropping it smack on the concrete sidewalk. It no longer takes pictures, but at least I can get the old pictures off. Fortunately, we have a stream of grandparents visiting over the next few weeks, so we won't leave our fans completely without photos. Hmm, anybody want to get me a really special Christmas present:).

Outer Banks, NC

Finally, I am posting pictures from our trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

More pictures from the Outer Banks, NC

This got me thinking...

"We have not got far enough if we play a game of cards with the children "merely" to amuse them or to show that they are forgiven. If this is the best we can do, we are right to do it. But it would be better if a deeper, less conscious, Charity threw us into a frame of mind in which a little fun with the children was the thing we should at that moment like best."

C.S. Lewis in The Four Loves

Pie Eating Contest

Tyler finished second place at the Sebastapol Apple Fair pie eating contest. The man to his left in the white shirt ending up winning and in this picture it looks like he is sizing up Tyler's progress so he can pass him on the home stretch. We figured the free pie Tyler consumed offset part of the cost of going to the fair.

My Chum

One of my best friends, Karen, came out for a visit from North Carolina. It was her husband's 30th birthday present to her, but ended up being just as much of a present for me. We had a great time hanging around Sonoma: the plaza park, picinic at a winery, chasing two little boys, etc. We were able to spend one night in San Fran sans kids thanks to Tyler and the generosity of our friend AJ who let us stay in his family's apartment in North Beach for free. These are a few of the touristy spots we hit while in San Fran: cable car, Ghirardelli Square, the Fishersmans' Wharf, beat poet Cafe Treiste, Golden Gate Bridge and then Sausalito.

We crammed a lot into 5 days. We walked through the redwoods in Armstrong park and drove along Highway 1 with the boys on Monday. We stayed up late (for us) talking every night and kept swearing we would go to bed early the next night to no avail.

It was so refreshing to catch up face to face. We have been pretty much "phone friends" since high school except a couple summers we had together during college. We could reminisce middle school and share the light and not so light about life since marriage and kids. Definitely one of the highlights of my summer if not my year.