Mind the Important Things

Our son, Braxton, loves to play his video games.  Especially Mario!  We carefully select the games we play for content and have a time limit each day.  We try to make sure he understands why we do these things the way we do, but sometimes it takes a while for a child to understand the value or their parent's teaching (especially an energetic, enthusiastic 5-year-old!)

Last night, the issue came to a head.  Braxton was playing Mario, and his Mom called him to quickly get a wet washcloth because Aarilyn had made a mess.  Braxton's attention was consumed by his game.  Jana had to call him several times (though he knows to respond and obey the first time). Even when he went to do the job, he was so distracted by his desire to return to his game that he did not pay attention to his task.  It took longer than it should and was done sloppily.  Needless to say, Mommy did not get her wet washcloth 'quickly' by any stretch of the imagination.

Braxton knew what was expected of him, and didn't follow through.  There had to be a consequence:  The game was turned off immediately and his time for the day forfeited.

Make no mistake, discipline isn't (and even shouldn't be) easy, much less enjoyable.  My son wept over his lost game time.  I do not like to see my child cry or disappointed.  It was easy to be tempted to let him return to his game.  But the discomfort of the moment was not as important as the lesson that must be learned.

We sat down to talk with my (highly valued) son to explain why:
The games are unimportant.  Especially when compared to his Mom and sister, which are truly important.

This is part of an ongoing conversation with my son about the things that are truly important, and the things that are not.

God, family, health, friends, and people in general are truly important.
Games, phones & tablets, any kind of entertainment, self-fulfillment (or selfishness), etc. are not.
It shouldn't even be a contest.

It is for this reason that his time with electronics is limited to about 30 minutes.  To help my son (who cannot do this for himself... yet) to learn how to keep a right balance in his life.  When the unimportant things become more important than the truly important things, we always lose.

But children are not the only ones that struggle with the important and unimportant.  We, as adults, labor to keep our life properly evaluated and rightly balanced.  And in this balance, the trivial does not get to share with the paramount a 50%-50% split.  Many times, it must be a 90%-10% or better.  This is a critical part of maturity.

Mario isn't 'bad' (I rather like Mario myself!)  But even in the most innocent of self-indulgences, I need to be mindful of the important.  To keep selfless over self.  To keep the truly important, truly important.  God, Family, Health, Responsibilities, Friends, Community.  Then the rest can have what's left over. When the unimportant becomes more important than the truly important, we always lose.

1 Corinthians 6:12 "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."

Action, Action, Read All About It!!

Recently at the funeral of a very dear friend an elderly gentleman randomly gave my son "The Action Bible." We as a family are very picky about children's bibles. They must be accurate accounts of bible history.  They must be as close to correct as possible with pictures. They must be something the kids will actually use regularly, treasure, and learn to respect. We had previously seen The Action Bible but I had dismissed it because of the comic book style layout. Now that my son was given one I was forced to truly look it over for content.

To my great surprise...SO FAR IT HAS PASSED OUR TESTS!! The pictures are very realistic in style and rendering. It has been quite accurate in retelling bible history while also using wording children can more easily understand. But, even though the language is better understood, the message remains clear and the same.  I'm really excited about it and even have one of my summer school students reading it for reading practice.  I also gave my friend's son one as a birthday gift. It's that good!

Go check it out!

Some Call Me a "Crunchy Mama"

I didn't set out to be one of "those" moms.  You know, the weird ones that cloth diaper, make their own formula and baby food, drive a Smart car ,etc.  OK, well, so far I'm holding out on the Smart car.  They are just too small!

My son (now 5) was fed conventional store bought formula, wore disposable diapers, used disposable wipes, ate all the nasty-tasting store bought baby food, and was in every way the "conventional" baby.  Not so with my baby girl.  And not because I woke up one day and decided we were going to be more green. It actually went a lot like this:

Last October my husband lost his job when I was 28 weeks pregnant. [Can you say EEEEK!!]  So, while he was looking for another job, I began researching ways to cut down on expenses for the coming baby. We went from "We really don't have the money for this" to "We DON'T have the money for this."  I knew very little about cloth diapering. I, like most of my friends, thought it was too expensive.  I might as well use disposables if I wasn't looking to be "green."

Wow! Was I wrong!  I found that while disposable diapers cost around $1000 for just the first year of diapering, many of the more budget conscience forum moms cited a cost of $300-$400 for birth through potty-training. And then they could reuse most of those diapers on the next child too, making it even cheaper.

Through a God-provided miracle, my husband did end up getting a job that started a week after baby Aarilyn was born. Even with my husband's new job, we decided to continue with our plan to cloth diaper.  Money saved never hurt anyone. :D

The dreaded Diaper Duty...
I have had several friends comment that they couldn't cloth diaper because it is so a) expensive or b) difficult. It doesn't have to be!  I've spent exactly $274 and I wash one extra load of laundry (diapers) every second day.

So, How?
I use what the cloth diapering world calls flats (washable diaper inserts), some pre-folds (also washable inserts), and a conglomeration of second-hand pocket diapers and some new inexpensive covers.  I actually don't like the pockets much and only use them at night because they can hold a doubled up diaper to get her through the entire night without leaking.  However, it would be no hardship to use only regular covers and flats. That is what I prefer.  Here is a breakdown of what I've spent:

$48 - second-hand pocket diapers - I think I have 8 of them
$40 - 24 indian pre-fold diapers
$42 - 8 tiny diaper covers for the newborn stage - up through about 12 or 15 lbs
$67 - 7 regular one-size diaper covers, 3 rolls of flush-able liners, and two wet bags (to put the dirty diapers
          in for washing later)
$13 - 12 pk. flour sack towels from Sam's..these serve as my favorite flats and they are big
$13 - 24 12"x12" washcloths (also Sam-'s)...these have replaced wipes...Just wet, wipe, wash/dry, repeat
$9 - 10 flour sack towels from Walmart....more flats, though not as well liked
$42 - 2 Thirsties Duo Size One diaper covers, and 2 Small Dappi Diaper covers

I usually keep a package of disposable, flush-able wipes with me just in case I have to change her somewhere without nearby access to water.

Most cloth diapering sites recommend washing every 2-4 days.  I wash diapers every other day.  Even with my frequent wash schedule, I spend maybe $5 more on my water bill every month, about $10 more in detergent every few months or so. Many moms use the same laundry detergent for the diapers as they use for the rest of their clothes.  This was my choice for simplicity sake.  However, finding a detergent that no-one in the family is allergic to was a challenge. I finally found Tide Liquid to work for us after having tried at least 6 other detergents. Important note: Do not use fabric softeners in washing or drying your diapers.  Fabric softeners put a barrier/film of chemicals on your diapers, making them unable to absorb.  I throw in a dryer ball, which acts as a non-chemical fabric softener. Some insist on using detergent specifically made with cloth diapering in mind.  I have not found that to be necessary.  You can use anything that will get them clean. I use Oxi-Clean and Tide Liquid on my diapers in a long wash cycle (HE washer) and then do one, sometimes two rinse cycles. I hang up the covers and toss the rest in the dryer on a regular dry cycle, spend 5 minutes folding and putting away, and I'm done. So far, it has worked quite well.  My hubby even likes it.  He changes diaper too.  He also LOVES the money we don't spend on diapers every couple of weeks.

Here is a list of links to help you:

My favorite flats are the 30" X 30" Bakers brand flour sack towels from Sam's.

Inexpensive diaper covers: http://www.assuntastore.com/
I like these because a) they are inexpensive compared all others I have found, b) they have double-gusset leg openings, so they are less likely to leak, c) they have the tiny covers for the little bitty newborns through about 12 lbs. (most one-size options say they work for newborns, but they are truly too big in actuality, so its nice to have something that actually does fit those first several weeks) and d) they're cute!!  I promise I'm not in any way affiliated with this company. I just REALLY like their diaper covers!

All about cloth diapering: http://www.diaperswappers.com/
This forum has everything you would ever want to know about cloth diapers, plus some!

More Info: http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/home.php
This site is actually a store that sells cloth diapering supplies. I never bought from them, but I did learn a lot about how cloth diapering works, sizing, etc.

You can also make your own cloth diapers, both the inserts and covers:
http://clothdiapermakers.com/diaper-making-fabric-notions
http://www.diapersewingsupplies.com/
I did consider this option, but wasn't brave enough to try it!

Trouble-shooting when your diapers may not be getting clean enough:
http://www.cloththatcounts.com/?p=997
I read this thoroughly a few times before starting our wash routine to try and avoid the pitfalls. So far, so good!

I am by no means an expert on cloth diapering. I do enjoy saving the money and being just a bit more of a "earth-friendly" household. If you choose not to cloth diaper, that is your choice and I'm certainly not bashing it.  I didn't cloth diaper my son.  However, if you are in need of cutting some expenses or just really want to be a bit 'greener' in you living, here is one way a household with babies can do it!

Happy Diaper Duty! :-)

Newbie, Newbie, New.....

Hi! I'm Jana. And, I've officially decided that I may or may not be just a little bit crazy and disorganized. So this blog is my place to 'dump' everything. (Don't worry, no airing of laundry or pity parties...just a dump of all the fun, wacko, interesting, helpful-to-me, and just maybe helpful-to-you sort of things.)

My husband Aaron (the brawn and most of the time the brains too) and I are in ministry, specifically children's ministry, though he does evangelize and do youth ministry as well. Our everyday jobs (the paying ones) are software engineer (him) and teacher (me). We are also parents to the two smartest, brightest, sweetest, and all those other 'good' -est words, kids in the universe. Yes, you can tell all of that in a 5 months old. :) And our 5 year old son has already proven it too. 

Let the blogging adventure begin!