Loving the Little Years

As I write this I my three little monkeys are noisily attempting to go to sleep in the other room. The fourth little monkey may only be the size of a raspberry, but from a cozy position in my womb he or she is making his or her presence felt (headache, queasiness, fatigue...). I have 60 nails on 60 fingers and toes to keep trimmed, not counting my own! There are toys in the Tupperware cupboard and Tupperware in the toy box. And yes, I probably could recite Green Eggs and Ham. I know what motherhood in the trenches looks like.

Loving the Little Years is not a book to make you feel good about how long it's been since you cleaned your bathroom. This book won't tell you to hire a babysitter so you can have a day off with your girlfriends and keep in touch with the real you. This book doesn't say that the answer to all your stress is to spend two hours with the Lord at four in the morning. There are no suggested schedules, no spanking formulas, no pity parties. This book is real.

With wisdom and humor, and in 20 short, punchy chapters, Rachel Jankovic reminds us mothers that we are sinners too. Sometimes when the attitudes are bad and everyone is crying the first person who needs to repent is Mommy. As mothers we pour everything we've got into "training them up in the way they should go" but we have to remember that our own journey to sanctification isn't over. God is using these mischievous little imps to make us more like Him.

When all they seem to do is make messes and all that seems to come out of their mouths is mostly unintelligible gibberish, we can tend to see our children as little bothers. But throughout this book Rachel encourages us to remember that they are little people, eternal souls, personalities in the making. She urges us to study them, know them, learn their needs, hopes, strengths and weaknesses. And she reminds us to see the individuals in the half-sized mob. The Jankovic family is fabulous at coming up with creative imagery and catch-phrases for helping their kids see their sin and to remind them to do better. From selfish dragons to Cranksters to picky chickens, Rachel has shared many of these helpful ideas.

When I bought this book I immediately took it home, put the baby down for her nap, turned on Baby Signing Time for the toddlers and read it cover to cover. Literally, I laughed and cried. I will be reading it again soon, chapter by chapter, taking notes and absorbing ideas. In fact, I will probably read it every year.

Charlotte's Web

Today I finished reading Charlotte's Web to the kids. I managed to do it without crying, though I was sniffing a bunch and had to stop to "cough" a few times. What a beautiful book!

I didn't grow up on a farm or in the country and I find farms to be pretty messy and stinky. But books like this make me wish I had some barns and animals and hay and manure and cherry trees and ponds in my life. I guess that's the beauty of reading. For a little while, I did have those things.

I used to think this was just a cute story about a pig who didn't want to be made into bacon, but it's much more than that. It's about the joy of living and what makes living joyous. Wilbur is not very clever, not very handsome, and not very talented. Charlotte is an ordinary gray spider who sucks blood and has an impressive vocabulary. What can a spider do to save a pig? And why would she even bother? In Charlotte's own words:

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."

Advent Log

This elegant, handcrafted Advent log is available for sale at Exodus this year. Handcrafted from birch logs by Josiah, my sister-in-law, Leah, provided the 5 PartyLite votive candles in traditional colors with glass candle holders. Exodus is selling them for $30 and proceeds will support a special adoption this Christmas. Limited quantities available!!!

After the Christmas season is over this lovely candleholder would look pretty with any season's decor. Use it in the spring with blossom colored candles or in the fall with your favorite autumn scents. If you prefer to keep it special for Advent, its compact shape makes it easier to store than a bushy wreath.

Decorating

Yes, Thanksgiving is still a week away. Yes, December is still a couple weeks out. No, I'm not one of those people who turns on Christmas music as soon as summer is over. However, it's been dark and chilly enough that I thought some cheery Christmas lights would be nice to have around.

So, today I put up our Christmas decorations. The days may be getting darker, but our home is only getting lighter and more cheerful as we begin to anticipate the celebration of the birth of the King of Light!

Soup

I have made soup a few times since we've been married, but mostly they've turned out watery and bland. Last night I finally made a soup worth eating - nothing worthy of a five star restaurant or anything, but it was savory, creamy, and warming on a cold fall evening.

Here are four essential elements to a successful soup:

1. A savory meat broth. I was able to simmer two bone-in chicken breasts for an hour or more for this one.
2. Sautéed vegetables. Yes, the sink was piled with pans when I was done, but the flavor was worth every one.
3. Fresh herbs. I don't usually have any on hand, so my soups end up tasting like salt. This time I used fresh basil.
4. A roux base. The fried butter and flour is the most flavorful way to thicken soup and mixing the milk into it keeps it from separating. 

Served with whole wheat artisan bread, that was a soup fit for a king! And my tummy is happy knowing that there's still half a pot left in the fridge.

*MY* Ergo Carrier

Last night Eli called and asked, "You were interested in trying an ERGO Carrier, right?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," I replied, confused.

"Well somebody read on the website that you wanted one and they stopped by here to give you theirs."

I was so excited! I felt like I had just won a prize or something! And when he brought it home I couldn't believe it was mine. I just had an ERGO carrier dropped into my lap!

Of course I tried it on last night and I could already tell it was going to be both easy to use and quite comfortable. And Esther loved it too! Now I can't wait to take Esther shopping or hiking or just on a walk around the neighborhood.

I will still use my Moby Wrap for cuddling my infants, but after the baby is about six months I have a feeling I will quite frequently use the ERGO to carry him or her on my back.

Diaper Talk

My brother is having a baby (!) so I was talking diapers with my sister-in-law. Like me, Hannah likes to keep things natural and cheap. But if natural isn't cheap then both of us tend to say, "Why bother?" I was convinced that cloth diapers are indeed cheaper than their pumped-full-of-chemicals, bad-for-the-environment alternatives. After our conversation I looked back through our records and let the numbers speak for themselves.

Joshua was born in 2006 and I began buying the Wal-mart brand of diapers. They worked pretty well for me, only leaking when the size was wrong or if the blow-out was particularly huge. Also, I didn't change his diaper very often because I was too cheap to throw away a half used diaper. If I was to go back I would probably be spending about 30% more because I'm now used to keeping the children's bottoms fresh.

2006 - For Joshua’s first year we spent $300 on disposable diapers. That’s really not that bad for the convenience of just throwing them away. And it’s a lot less than pro-cloth diaper people will tell you that disposable diapers cost.

2007 - The next year Joshua was a toddler so he wasn’t changed nearly as often, but we did have Lucy in diapers too for the last three months of the year. We spent about $250.

2008 - The year after that Joshua and Lucy were both in diapers for the first five months and then Joshua potty trained. Lucy continued to use disposables until August. We spent $220.

In August that year I made my first cloth diapers purchase which totaled $80.50. Esther is using those diapers now. Cotton prefolds and waterproof wraps are the most economical option and I find them easy to wash and dry.

Including that purchase, I have spent a total of $380 on cloth diapers (wraps and wipes too) and most of it is still going strong. I will be using all the diapers themselves for at least one more child and possibly another after that. The waterproof wraps that I buy are about $12 each and I use 4 for each of the three sizes.

I did buy some used wraps that I didn’t like and I ended up getting rid of them. I used other wraps when Lucy was too big for them so they stretched and wore out early and I had to replace them. I also spent a bit more on one wrap (wool to breath better since Lucy got such terrible diaper rashes). The wipes that I’ve gotten aren’t worth the extra money. If you want to do cloth wipes (disposable wipes are easy and cheap) just buy cheap flannel to cut into squares. The number above also includes the aloe that I bought to make wipes solution.

I have looked at our water bill before and after diapers and it did not go up significantly.

Realistically, if you wanted to do cloth diapers, here is what it could cost:
Infant diapers: $1.50 each x 36 = $48
Regular diapers: $2.00 each x 24 = $48
Wraps: $12.00 each x 12 = $144 (this is for three sizes so you don’t need to spend this all at once)
Total (good for about 3 kids): $240

Anyway, maybe this is more information than ant of you are interested in, but these are real numbers from our experience.