Earth Day

I know that Earth Day was three days ago, but I still wanted to write this post.

First HAPPY BELATED EARTH DAY! [/end of using undesirable all-caps]

And secondly, I thought it would be nice to show a picture of the cute cake Quinn made for the occasion! It was really yummy...

So, that's about that!

Ttyl,
!caroline!

It's Not Luck, It's a Choice

I hear your pain, girls. It's very maddening when someone finds out you're a stay-at-home mom, then says, "You're lucky, I wish I could stay home with my kids." Do you want to scream?

Where does luck come into this? I didn't just wake-up one day with the lucky-card that said, "You May Stay Home Now, Pass GO and Collect $200." No, staying home, or otherwise known as "not leaving the kids & home for 40 or more hours a week" was a decision.

Now, maybe you could say that our family (my husband's) income was somewhat a luck-of-the-draw since his chosen career turned out to be unreliable and frustrating in terms of pay and advancement. So, we had to make do with the hand we were given.

Oh, there were times during the past 26 years that I wished I was one of those moms who could quietly slip out of the house to go to work; do something interesting and important, get paid for my efforts, know that someone else was caring for the kids (feeding, educating, and referring), then go home to appreciate their sweet faces for a few hours before they went to bed.

Okay, there were years when that sounded good.

Thank goodness I'm a stubborn person. We decided when Sara was a baby that I/we would raise our children, ourselves, and that was that.

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cheryle

Recycle Those Briefs!

Ever wonder what to do with undies the family has outgrown, or are a bit worn out? I've never known what to do with them; can't give them away, and tossing them into the trash bin seems sinful.

So, I came up with a solution. A recycling solution.

[photo]

I made door stoppers by stuffing undies into a sewn cylinder. Works beautifully!

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cheryle

Protecting The Gift -- Book Review

Finally, Protecting The Gift came in at the library, so I've quickly read a few chapters. I can tell already, this is a very good book. Thanks, Amy and Melanie for the recommendation, I wish I'd known about this author years ago. ;-)

So far, I'm happy to say that I've used my intuitive brain, or "wild brain," throughout my years of parenting. I thank La Leche League for building the foundation for my intuitive parenting skills; they're true masters of the philosophy.

I'm going to continue reading, then write more about this book; what, why, how, when.

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cheryle

O! the Cacophony!

Hi there.

We've been woefully behind on blogging lately, have we not? I would like to formally apologize to... whoever reads this? Mother and I have been busy working and watching movies - very tiring cycle, you know, because we are forced by our inner selves to watch that old television set until 1:30 am every night. Or should I amend that and instead say that I am forced by my inner self.

Of late we have been watching season one of Alias. *GASP CHOKE* So GOOD! Lots of kicking and punching and killing and plot twists and scandals and lovely gadgets. And outrageous costumes. It's like eating potato chips. You obviously know what they say about potato chips. I don't like to spread their tagline, so I'll keep it to myself. :)

There really is so little to say that I know exactly why we haven't been blogging. I mean, I'm going to have to work off of random thoughts, such as the fact that "blog" is one of the most cacophonous words I've ever heard.

Cacophony and euphony. I learned about these in my English book last week, so you probably already know all about them, but see, cacophony is words or a group of words that displease the ears. And euphony is just the opposite. Random fact: the words "cellar door" are widely known as the most euphonic word combinations, especially if pronounced with a British accent.

I find that very interesting.

Well, anyway, I'm going to toddle off about now...
Arrivederci!

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~caroline

Reusable or Disposable Diapers?

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Choosing how to diaper a baby is simple, really. I remember when I was faced with this decision 26 1/2 years ago, everyone just assumed I would use disposable diapers. After all, they were the most amazing things since

sliced-white-bread-in-a-plastic-bag-from-Kroger's.

Just buy a bag of diapers, tape one to your baby's bum, then (here's the best part) toss the smelly thing into the trash bin. Never to think about it again.

(unless the trash bin sits too close to the house)

But, I didn't want to use disposable diapers on my baby. First of all, I couldn't imagine having a chunky plastic and paper thing taped tightly to my waist and bum. ACK, that sounds seriously uncomfy. So, why would I tape this plastic thing to my tiny, soft newborn baby?

Oh, that reminds of how I went crazy when I heard that La Leche League International agreed to take $$ from Proctor & Gamble? Yeah, it was extremely horrible. P&G made these butt-ugly (of course) plastic (of course) bags with their sickening information plastered all over them, then stuffed the stupid things with some of their sickening pamphlets. We were expected to give these horrid bags to new mothers! I thought I would die.

Anyway, plastic diapers were not happening for my baby.

Besides the uncomfy-factor, I was pretty creeped-out by the chemicals used in plastic diapers that turned to a heavy, stinky gel after it got wet. More fun for baby.

Then, I was extremely weirded-out by the fact that plastic diapers sit in landfills (full of human feces, full of disease, leeching into soil/water) for more than 500 years! Didn't think I could handle that responsibility.

Oh, that reminds me of the time when I wrote to P&G about their horrid products and what they're doing to the planet? I was pretty upset. This was way before it was popular to worry about our pitiful environment.

So, when my sweet, little (6lbs 11oz) baby girl was born, her soft little bum never felt those nasty plastic and paper and chemical diapers. I can't imagine.

We used reusable, breathable, cotton diapers.

Sure, we had to learn how-to use cloth diapers, how-to pin them onto baby without poking a finger or the baby, and how-to clean dirty diapers.

It was worth it.

All five babies were given the same gift.

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cheryle

etsy etsy

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ladies and gentlemen, monsters, children & margie!

i am delighted to announce to the whole world (or whoever reads this blog)

that i made an new etsy shop! i decided to make a separate account for graphics, photographs & telegraphs. just joking, the latter was a joke. let us replace it with "paper goods." i think that "paper goods" sounds like diapers and toilet paper, but i guess i just have a primitive mind. :) i won't deny it. but i don't mean hand-made, hand-designed, hand-painted toilet paper & diapers (doesn't that sound like something Chinese emperors might have?). i really just mean boring things like greeting cards & calendars.

here is the link to my shop:
www.barbiegraphics.etsy.com

and here is a sample of the greeting cards...

this is a blank greeting card. i have a whole series of animal cards, call "All the Wee Creatures." i already have some photos up, and i'll eventually upload a calendar, more cards, stuff like that. :P

so yay!

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i have something kind of funny to post, though. huzzah, because i think we've been kind of monotonous.

as you know, mother and i started obsessing over old movies back in november, and we're still on a roll. we've been borrowing them from the library, which is so convenient. mom can just go online and put holds on movies that are in the same region, so we have like twenty libraries to choose from. then the movies are sent to our library here in town, where our lovely librarians then deal with them. (we love you for it too!)

well, the other night, mother went on a movie reserving binge and ended up reserving about nineteen movies.

nineteen.

the maximum amount of movies you're allowed to check out on a single library card is six. :D they just kept coming in, first eight, then three, and now we're waiting on eight more. hehehe

anyway, it was all very amusing and we laughed more than we probably ought to have (habit), and that's about that.

thanks for reading another adventure of....
the one who commits
DISCOMBOBULATION!
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arrivederci!
~carikubo
(i'll have you know that name there is a typo that just grew on my heart, and so i couldn't hit the backspace button...)