Dipes & Wipes on the Go...

...Again!

Asher and I are about to make another long haul. I'd attempt to explain our crazy travel plans for the next couple of months, but they're so complicated that not even Thane and I have it all figured out yet. So lets just say that we'll bouncing between states like a ping-pong ball gone haywire. And I have to admit that at the thought of all of this car seat time with our four and a half month old baby is scary. Very, very scary.


This next trip will be our fourth big road trip with Asher and his cloth diapers + accessories. So since this is becoming quite the "routine" I thought I'd share a few simple tips for cloth diapering on the go.




It's simple. All you need is the following:


-Your clean diapers
-A wet bag and/or plastic bags from the store to hold dirtied diapers.
-A wipes case- large or small/travel size, depending on the length of your trip.
-Your wet cloth wipes stored in the wipes case, or dry wipes + your spray bottle filled with solution (depending on which method you use).
-A changing pad.

These are the methods that work well for us:

For Long Road Trips:

-Make sure that as many of your cloth diapers and wipes as possible are clean before hitting the road. Store the recently-dirtied ones in a wet bag that you plan on taking with you. We own two medium sized wet bags, one is Planet Wise's "Meadow Tweets", and it's a C.D. must have!

-If your diapers need to be prepped (inserts snapped in, pre-folds folded, etc), do this before leaving and put them all into a diaper bag or backpack- wherever they can be conveniently stored and easily accessed during your trip.

-Fill a large empty disposable wipes case with your cloth wipes. If you use a spray bottle solution to spray your wipes individually, pack your spray bottle in a plastic bag or wherever it won't possibly leak onto other things. If you dampen all of your wipes at the same time (like we do), prep them before leaving and store them in an empty disposable wipes case. Worried about mold and mildew while traveling with damp wipes? Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion Concentrate prevents this (more info here)- even up to a month, as I "accidentally" learned by leaving a damp wipe in a disposable case for that long. You can imagine my surprise when I opened it up expecting a green fuzzy wipe, but instead found no mold whatsoever. It even smelled good! (But don't worry, I washed it before using it all the same).

-At each stop we make along the road, I use a changing pad to change our baby on the seat of the car, (it seems to be easier than using the gas station bathrooms). It's as simple as this- off with the dirty one, and on with the clean one. The dirty diaper and the dirty wipes go into your wet bag or a plastic bag that can be tied shut. You don't want those smells wafting in your car!

For Short Outings

-Put a clean cloth diaper (or two) into a plastic grocery/store bag.

-Put a couple of clean cloth wipes into a small travel size wipe case.

-When you're out and it's time for a diaper change, take your clean diaper out of the plastic bag and then use the same bag to hold the soiled one. Tie the bag shut with the dirty diaper and dirty wipes inside, and store it in your diaper bag or vehicle until you're back home.

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We haven't traveled by plane with our baby and cloth diapers yet, but I assume the same system would work. And we might find out! We're considering a flight at the end of the month, depending on how the rest of our plans pan out. And in that case, since we'll be staying in a hotel for just a couple of days, we may only use disposables. Which (to me) is a scary thought after getting so used to using cloth...but we'll see what happens!

Cleaning Your Cloth Diapers Away from Home

Asher used his GG's port-a-crib during our visit in Virginia. It doubled as a really great changing station!

He also fell in love with his Grandma's toy when she was a baby.

How you clean your diapers away from home depends on a couple of factors. Will you have access to a washer and dryer? And will you be staying in a house or in a hotel?

We've done both. We are currently living in a hotel (on a temporary army assignment that's almost over), where we use a shared laundry room to wash our diapers. We brought our BumGenius diaper sprayer with us and hooked it right up to our hotel-room toilet. If you're going away on a shorter vacation where you wouldn't bring your diaper sprayer, the sink works just fine (if necessary) for rinsing out those messy diapers before throwing them into the washer.

Likewise, when we visited family for a week, I used a utility/mud-room sink to rinse out our messy diapers before washing them.

As a new mom and a newbie to cloth diapering, I've been pleasantly surprised to see how easy it's been. I believe the key is having a good system, which means not being afraid to go through a little trial and error to get a good system down. It doesn't take long to figure out which methods will work best for you, so just jump in and don't be afraid to "get your hands dirty" (because you will, ha!)

*As much I don't like to use them, (they give Asher terrible diaper rash) having a few disposable diapers and wipes on hand is always a good idea. As well as an extra outfit in the event of an explosion! We've learned that one the hard way...twice.

What about my fellow cloth diapering moms? Have any tried and true tips to share? Have you ever C.D.'ed in a hotel for a weekend trip? What do you think, should I try it?

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The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psalm 121:8

Arhaus for Our House

When the three of us need to escape from Hotel K for the day, we pile into the Escape (no pun intended) and zip up to Louisville. We usually peruse the mall and then treat ourselves to the Cheesecake Factory. It's an hour away, but it's worth the trip. Well, last time we discovered a home furnishings store called Arhaus. Ever heard of it? We hadn't. And we (well mostly I) was blown away to see what beautiful things they had. Remember my post a little while back about "ranch chic" decor? And the search mission for the mounted cattle horns? And the Deer Valley fabric I love so much? Well, Arhaus encompasses that ranchy-lodge-chic style to the core. It's too bad that everything totes such a hefty price tag. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy looking at it!

I've always loved hide rugs, and this place has a beautiful selection. Cow hides as well as Zebra hides. And they're real. I'm not entirely sure what to think about that, I guess I always assumed that if we ever came across one we could afford it would be fake. And it'll have to be, cause the real ones are about $600+.

I just can't help but love animal print chairs! We have a zebra chair in our living room now, but it doesn't compare to this one.

The neat thing about the store was that all of its pieces embodied the rough, ranch-heritage feel (think Legends of the Fall) without falling into the country-cowboy kind of theme. There were some really neat mid-century modern throwbacks that stood out as well, like this chair:



 As well as some romantic, eclectic pieces that are a little less masculine, like this sofa:

And these candlesticks...on clearance for a dollar, by the way!

 Check out the curvy, natural wood look of this table. Very unexpected.

See the green and black print on that accent chair? Love it. Not to mention to hanging glass light.

You could call this "window shopping", and I think I enjoy this more than the real thing. To be honest, actually purchasing one of these pricey items would stress me out. It's much more important to live within our means and handle our finances in a way that's responsible before God- after all, it's His money, not ours. So for me, it's much more satisfying just to see nice things like these and then be inspired. That's where the real fun is, when you can take on the challenge of creating the same look for less, using what you already own and spending very little to no money. Obviously I couldn't "DIY" an entire couch. But thrift stores, antique shops, and spray paint go a long way when it comes to sprucing up your decor! 

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Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

-Mathew 6:19-21

Spruce Up Your Walls with Custom "Art"

Anybody out there have a bare wall that needs a little love? We do. It's in our dining room. And it's the first wall of the dining room that you see when walking into the house. So, the focal wall, in other words. It's been left bare for the day that I got around to painting another 30x40 oil on canvas, and that could be a while. So in the meantime, why not put something temporary up? After all, it will probably be months before that painting gets done, and then it'll be time for us to move again (the army keeps rolling us along...). Might as well seize the day.

Here's a picture, the only one we have for the time being. The wall to the left of the tree is the bare one.

Being that we're not actually living in our home at the moment (but will be soon, woo-hoo!), this was a super simple little project done in anticipation of getting back.

You might remember my post on framed fabric, (as well as some examples in Asher's nursery)- well here it is in action! But first let me give you the 411 on the supplies.

Rugged Wearhouse was selling these nice 12x12 frames for $2 a pop, so I picked up three. I like to stock up on frames when I find them on sale. (I picked up a batch for $1 each the trip before that-even better!)

I didn't have any specific plans for the frames until I found these gorgeous napkins at Burlington Coat Factory. For only $2.50 each, they'd make great art for our dining room. We already have black and cream damask curtains hanging, so this print would compliment them nicely.

This has got to be the easiest kind of wall art to make. Period. But I'll give you the step-by-step just to prove it.

Iron the napkins. Thank goodness for the steam function in this (and every other) iron, those were some tough creases.

Take the backs off of your frames, including the cardboard inserts.

Lay your fabric face down onto the glass of the frame. Make sure your print is lining up parallel to the edges of the frame (if it's a symmetrical print, like this one).

 Tuck the cardboard "filler" back into the frame, over the fabric.

 Get those corners nice and snug!

Fold your fabric neatly over the "filler" cardboard so that it won't stick out of the back of the frame once the backing is put back on.

Replace the backer just like you would with a photo. But before securing it into place, peek at the front to make sure you don't have any big creases or wrinkles in your fabric.

Double check it...and there you go!

Here's the whole set, should make some nice dining room wall decor until that painting (or another better idea) comes along.

So let's talk cost. Three frames at $2 a piece equals $6, and three napkins at $2.50 a piece equals $7.50. So, all in all these three pieces of "art" total up to $13.50. Not bad!

I'm thinking about painting them off-white, to go with our white furniture theme in the dining room. In which case, they'd look something like this:

Stay tuned, these little pretties should be hung in the White Elephant in a matter of days! (Assuming they make it back to Georgia in one piece...that's another story.)

By the way, Burlington Coat Factory has got some great stuff! It's been years since I've lived in the same town as BCF, and now that I've discovered one in Kentucky it's almost time to move. Ain't that how it goes... But anyway, here are a couple of other noteworthy items I was tempted to take home...

Would this candleholder make a great centerpiece, or what?! It came in red, green and black, but after seeing the $30 price tag, I think I can get the same look for less. (Watch out thrift stores, here I come!)

Then there was this Ikat pillow that happens to match the curtains of another blogging family over at Young House Love. So that was a fun little find!

Anybody else know of any simple and cheap decor projects? What are your favorite discount retailers?

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Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
Philippians 2:14-17 (NKJV)

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White Elephant Wish-List

As the move back to Georgia gets closer (just a matter of days now!), I can't help but get excited about the projects I want to tackle once we're in our own home again. I'm not going to call it a "To-Do" list, because that implies work. Things that you have to do rather than things that you'd like to do. Which is why it's more like a "Wish List" instead. And being that my plans are usually more ambitious than my time and resources, all of it may very well not happen. But it's fun to dream! And just so I don't forget any of the random ideas that pop into my head, I'm going to jot them all down. Since this blog has sort of become a journal for me, it'll be safer here than on some piece of paper that will likely be misplaced in the move. (Story of our lives- "misplaced" family, friends, homes, items, and certainly papers- but praise Jesus that He's always a constant in our lives.)


My White Elephant Wish-List

Note: When you see a task high-lighted yellow, it means it's DONE!

Re-purposing & Re-Organization
-De-clutter our fireplace mantel and built-in shelves in the living room, (which includes taking down all the baby cards- see them?).

-Put up some sort of graphic print or color on the back wall of our built-ins, to make them pop.
-Sand and paint our sofa table that's currently standing in as the TV console and make the dining room its new home (I'm thinking of painting it a shade of yellowish-green. Or chartreuse. That's the one).
-Paint our Italian stone dining table (it's ugly with a capital U). And touch up the scuffs on some of our dining room chairs.
-Bring in an extra desk from the office to use as the next stand-in media console. (I'm starting to think we'll never actually own a real TV stand, but that's okay.)
-Move one of our new white love seats down from the attic room and put it into the office/guest room. Pretty please, Thane and Ted/Bryan (our wonderful neighbors)? (Speaking of the neighbors, we can't wait to get back and be neighborly again! All four of us have new babies- two boys and two girls, one of which I have yet to meet! We're so blessed.)
-De-clutter the living room bookcase.
-Hang our framed photography in a nice arrangement.
-Mix-up the decorative pillows in the living room, using the two new Pier1 beauties I picked up here in KY on clearance.

-Find some cheap- maybe thrift store- candle sconces to (possibly paint) and hang in the spaces on each side of our fireplace (above the built-ins). Or grab the chunky gold ones I have at the ranch during our trip and paint/hang those!
-Find a ceramic "white elephant", or possibly a wooden one that could be painted white, to be a fun piece of decor and a memory-piece that reminds us of our Georgia home over the years. Which reminds me, I need to find a horse before we leave Kentucky for the same purpose. Although maybe we could consider the cattle horns to be our "souvenir" from this state.)

-Pack up the baby's 0-6-sometimes 9 month clothing that no longer fit him.

Art
-Paint a set of graphic fabric-inspired paintings to hang in the dining room.
-Frame some fabric that goes with (or doesn't, who knows) the fabric-inspired paintings. Can you guys guess which fabric I have in mind? (You're probably thinking please, not the deer print again! But yes. The deer print again. As my Grandmother pointed out, this might have stemmed from my childhood love of Bambi.)

-Design, print, and frame graphic bible verses for nursery and kitchen.

Sewing
-Make a new cover for my bible- this time without fabric scraps that were meant for a quilt. (See the current one here).
-Find cloth napkins at a good deal so that we no longer need disposables, and possibly dye them to match our dining room theme. "Green" and pretty! Just like cloth diapers. (Haha, you knew I was going to throw that in there.)
-Sew a dining room table runner and possibly place mats using a neat, graphic fabric.
-Sew (or buy) some bright, fun window valences for the kitchen.

Photos
-Make a photo wall using my many framed but un-hung pictures (which will help to de-clutter the shelves).
-Print some photos to hang. Can you believe that in four and a half months we don't have a single printed photo of the baby?
-Speaking of which- start a photo album with all of Sweet Pea's weekly photos to date, that we'd continue to add to every couple of months as we periodically ordered prints.

-And another thing along that line- make a wedding album. We still don't have one and we've been married four years! (Thane will argue that our book full of 4x6 proofs is our album. I like to argue otherwise, ha!)

Landscaping
-Maybe do a little planting and mulching. We've been inspired by beautiful Big-Wig yards here. (We go on walks through the Colonel's neighborhood most evenings). And I remember hearing a great idea from another military wife once- if you leave your plants in their pots, you can plant them and then pull them right up and take them with you when you move again. (Thanks Sherri! I may have to get more details from you!)

I think that's it! For now at least. I'll keep you updated on what does and (more likely) doesn't get done!

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For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ...
Philippians 3:20 (NKJV)

Happy Fourth! And the Winner Is...

4. Mr. Contemplative! -Thanks to our tie-breaker, Janelle.

 And here's a big thank you to everyone else for voting. Happy Fourth of July! Jump over to Sweet Pea Weekly to see the winning photo donned with the "19 Weeks" graphic later today.

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Vote on Asher's 19 Week Photo!

1. All Smiles

2. Do the Twist

3. Yipee!



4. Mr. Contemplative

See last week's winning photo here. Thanks for sharing in the fun, everyone!

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