Diapers, Figs, and Church Bureaucracy

 

1.) Cloth Diapers 

Bitty Baby finally got big enough (and has decreased poop frequency enough) that I felt it was time to make the switch. We aren't cloth diaper purists mind you, we use disposables at night and when we leave the house, but during the day at home, Bitty Baby is now peeing and pooping in something I wash instead of toss. 

I spent some time re-arranging the changing table/baby stuff central and got my stash of diapers and covers in a place I can easily access them. I found four "Thirsties" brand covers that I have vauge memories of buying used off of someone even though they were too small for Little Girl. 

I've been using them on Bitty Baby and I LOVE them. Enough that I looked up buying them new...and nearly had a heart attack. They cost $20 new. PER diaper cover! And cloth diaper "inserts" cost $10! 

I get that they're still cheaper in the long run, but DANG. You've got to invest some bank into these things if you're not lucky enough to know people willing to sell or give you hand me downs. 

I have now decided to treat these things with a caution usually reserved for delicate fabrics and formal wear. Beyond, you know, letting my kid poop in them. 

2.) Cloth "Wipes" 

After the sticker shock of casual diaper cover window shopping, I didn't even look at what cloth "wipes" cost. At the same time, the stash of baby washcloths I used on the last two kids are getting so threadbare that some of them are see through. 

So I waited until baby was down for a nap and whipped out the sewing machine. Someone gave me a whole bunch of used receiving blankets that I've been using for various projects (so far I've made burp cloths and a doll dress). I got scraps leftover from a previous project and cut out a couple new squares, then dug into the scrap bag and found some more textured cloth. 

What were once a thick, textured men's t-shirt, a tank top with a ribbed weave, and an old athletic sock are now married with the blankets. I now have a collection of mismatched, uneven, but hopefully sturdy homemade "wipes" I'm going to pair with a squirt bottle of water. Should do the trick. 

3.) A Collection of Hoops For Jumping

We've been trying to make arrangements to get Bitty Baby baptized, and it is turning into a bit of an ordeal. 

The parish wants $50 for a "stole fee", a birth certificate for Bitty Baby, the sacrament documentation for the godparents (including marriage), and a mandatory class for the parents on the sacrament. 

Just a lot of hoops to jump through. 

I get the mentality behind some of it. Especially the class, lots of people aren't well catechized, but it is a bit much to take it three times in six years. Luckily the deacon basically waived it after a simple conversation with us (helps to have a husband who spent four years in seminary). 

The rest of the paperwork has been stressful though, and it turns out you have to order a birth certificate copy a month in advance from the state of Texas. Which we didn't find out about until three weeks out from the baptism. After some phone calls, the parish agreed to accept a letter from the midwife saying she delivered baby as a stopgap until we can get the actual document.  

 So...that's been fun. We're going to be able to get the sacrament, but I totally get why so many people put it off for a long time. 

4.) Pool on Life Support

Our poor $25 pool is showing some signs it may not be long for this world. 

We've woken up several times only to find it in various states of deflation, and it has several patches at this point. It now -mostly- holds air; it still looks a little saggy a few hours after inflation. 

I guess it's just as well that summer is starting to come to a close. 

The little hard plastic kiddie pool we've had for five years is giving up the ghost too. I guess fall will find us pool-less, which is a bigger deal than you might think since it doesn't start cooling down until October. 

5.) Figs 

Our fig tree is still overenthusiastically producing.

I haven't made another cake, but I'm considering experimenting making homemade Fig Newtons, and Chris has decided to try and make wine. 

They're honestly not very good figs, they're oversized and not very flavorful, but it just feels wrong not to make some sort of use of them. Past experiments in making fig preserves were moderately successful last year, but I'm just not going to be able to do that this year. Baking is a slightly less arduous commitment, as it turns out. 

6.) Biscuits

Did you know that if you make biscuits from scratch, you can make flaky layers by shredding chilled butter onto the rolled out dough, folding it over, rolling it out again, and then repeating a couple times? You chill the cut out biscuits in the fridge for a few moments, pop them in the oven, and ta-da! Flaky biscuits. 

Now you know. We made biscuits and gravy last night, and it was quite good. 

7.) Last Week's Takes

If you are so inclined, you can see what I got up to last week.  You can check that out here. 

I recommend it, last week was substantially more interesting (I think). Though I did give kind of a long description of a high pressure sales presentation we were compelled to attend. Poor guy. We were NOT his target demographic. 

See the rest of THIS week's takes here.