Monday, May 10, 2010

Clap On. Clap Off. My Lil' Clapper.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

And Lo, the Angels Sang

I am nothing if not obsessive.
There.
Now we can all say that the elephant in the room has been addressed. OK? Ok.
When I think of a solution to an issue, I don't stop until I find the exact, precise, perfect thing to make it work. I do not buy something that will do in the mean time. I go without until I have what I want. This isn't because I am spoiled or a diva. I just don't believe in having to buy things multiple times. I'll just work without the perfect thing until the universe deems it time for me to have the perfect thing. Like Alden, for example.
For those who are wondering what I have obsessed about in the past, here is a little list of items that I have researched, sought after, and ached for (all to Dustin's chagrin):
Curtis' dog bed
Y'all water feeder
Car floor mats
Towels for the bathroom
Face lotion (for both Dustin AND myself)
Fleece lined thongs
Ear gauges
Chalk board paint
Lunch bag systems
Thermometers
Cloth diapers

This last item is finally hitting it's stride. I use cloth diapers pretty much all day, every day now. I have the cleaning and sanitation down now and don't find myself grimacing when I discover that Alden has gone number two. A lot. But, in the mean time, when I am containing those cloth diapers to be washed, I was lacking a smell trapping system. I asked every modern mom I know and was directed several places. Where I landed was the Baby Trend Diaper Champ. It is a wonderful device that locks in the scent of poo, is curious baby deterrent and proof, and doesn't take a special bag which is important for the cloth option. Trouble was that the Diaper Champ model I was looking for is no longer made. Yes, the Diaper Champ 4100 is touted to be the best in smell lockage but was made obsolete as it was rather expensive and was losing the battle to the Diaper Genie which is excellent in it's own ways. So to compete, the Diaper Champ Deluxe came out at a lesser price and a lesser quality. Looking on Amazon, I could see that they had a limited supply of the 4100 model left. One, actually, in girly pink and white for $90. Ebay offered a used one which I bid on several times only to be outbid by the seller who probably knew the gold she had and wasn't willing to give it up for less than $90. I don't blame her. So. I quietly gave up and decided to keep the cloth diapers outside or in the washer. Not fun. Not easy. Not perfect. But ok.
As I continue this novel, bear in mind that I haven't truly forgotten about the Diaper Champ 4100. I would pause daily as I dumped a cloth diaper into the pail, a waft of ick coming out of it, and think about the glory of the 4100. But I was resigned. Until two past weekends ago when, visiting my sister-in-law in Portland, we went to the Goodwill bin warehouse. She calls the act "Treasure Hunting" as we paw through counter height bins of random items that have not been cleaned or priced or anything but dumped off for resale. You buy your treasures by the pound. It is awesome.
We'd been there for a little over an hour and hadn't come across much to call a treasure. Bored, I glanced around me to a few bins over to see if anything grabbed me. Oh, something grabbed me alright. There he was, like a shiny, beautiful beacon bathed in a pool of dingy Goodwill light. The Diaper Champ 4100. Furtively, after making sure I wasn't going to run over any children, I raced to his side to receive him as my very own. He is blue and white and relatively clean considering his job. I really had to suppress a shout of glee. Really. As I did, I ran over to Megan and stage whispered, "Do you know what this is?" She's like me in that we get focused on finding the best solution for any given issue so she was very happy for me, too. Even better? I only had to pay $3.50 for it. The sales girl almost sounded apologetic that it cost THAT much.
Now that I've been using it for over 2 weeks, I have had nary a scent o' diaper in the house and I shout in my head thanksgiving every time I turn the handle.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Laughing Can Be Stressful


Watch his eyebrows... he seems a bit worried that the laughing will never stop. Never.

Rub-a-Flink-Dink in Da Sink


This house went from washing dishes in the tub to washing babies in the sink! Next we'll be showering under the rain gutters!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Four Generations of Nut Ball


Here we have, at my dad's prompting, a picture of four generations of the Gade lineage.
My Opa (Ray), My Oma (Lola), My father (Eric), My Aunt (Sally), Myself, and Alden.

Saturday, May 1, 2010