Happy Halloween

I am putting this up as a fun Halloween decoration for my blog. Scroll down for new posts.

I am in love!

Awhile back I switched to Firefox as my primary browser. I had heard that it was much better than Internet Explorer but had been too lazy to find out on my own. I now wonder why the heck it took me so long. Firefox is awesome!! It has tons of extensions ready for download so that you can completely customize your browser with tools that are useful to you.

As if that was not cool enough a new version of Firefox came out. It has spell check! So when you are typing a comment on someone's blog it automatically checks your spelling for you! No special spell check program needed. Now you can look like a spelling genius. So if you are still using the ultra lame Internet Explorer you really ought to give Firefox a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Star Trek

I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with my family. I was and still am a huge fan of science fiction because of this show. My husband is a big fan of science fiction TV shows too. I thought this was a match made in heaven. Then he started watching the original Star Trek.

I can not believe that this is the show that kicked off the whole Star Trek series. The corny lines, the horrible science, the lame plot lines, and the bad acting, it all befuddles me. I spend most of the show just mocking it. It is just too horrible to watch, kind of like a train wreck. Sadly my husband does not take too well to my mocking so here I am mocking him and his show where he doesn't know I am mocking him.

Pics from the party

Here are some pictures from the ward party. My husband entered the chili cook off and sadly did not win an award. Personally I think he probably made the chili a bit too hot for most people's taste. Evan had fun playing the games and Harry had fun being cute.

Evan the kitty and Harry the frog.

My husband only plays a doctor on TV

Awesome Mom the lame last second costume holding a super cute frog

This was Evan's favorite game, throwing balls into the water and hopefully getting one into a cup

Evan fishing with a bit of help from daddy

Sigh

I am feeling so frustrated with my sister L right now. In June I bought a bunch of fabric and notions so that she could sew me a really neat Scottish dress for Halloween. It was supposed to be a late birthday present for me. She managed to fritter all that time away and send the dress at the very last moment. If we were going out on Halloween then it may have arrived here in time but instead I threw her slacker plan for a loop by wanting to dress up for the Ward party that is tonight. Imagine that dressing up BEFORE Halloween.

Everybody dresses up for this and everyone takes pains to be creative. I was going to wow everyone with my really neat costume. Now I am stuck here at the last second trying to decide if I want to be the same thing I was last year (a pregnant witch, only this year I am not pregnant so I guess technically I will be something different) or dig out my trusty lab coat that my mom stole from work for me one year when I was in college and be some sort of medical personage. My husband is already going to be wearing his scrubs and all that but I am just not sure if I can do it.

Gah!!! I should have listened to my sister E's warnings about L's inability to finish projects until the last second. Next time I get her to make something for me I guess I will have to lie about when I need it so that I will be able to have it on time.

I was going to be the one on the left, sigh.

The painting of the pumpkins

The process of painting the pumpkins that were so precisely picked proceeded yesterday but due to a persnickety toddler it was not completed until tonight.

Harry's pumpkin is on the left and Evan's is on the right.

Mommy helping Harry get the hang of the whole finger painting thing

Evan dove right in

Evan also decided to see if the paint was something good to eat, hence the blue on his lips

I am not sure that Evan is really cut out for the whole artistic thing. He seems to peter out pretty quickly when provided with any sort of art supply (note the scarcity of paint on his pumpkin). He is not a kid that will sit and color for hours.

Puzzled

My kids get to sleep in as late as they want. Very rarely am I forced to wake them up early. They have a great thing going. So why is it that they are the crankiest and most whiny in the morning? Harry has been an absolute pill and as a result is back up in the room napping now. He was barely up an hour before he was ready for a nap. What gives? I wish I was a baby sometimes. Evan is only happy right now because I have a video on for him and I have not yet attempted to dress him. I am building up my fortitude for that task. Wish me luck.

Holiday madness

Note to self: do not leave getting a Halloween costume until right before you actually need the costume.

My sister L called me a few weeks ago with the bad news that I would not be able to pawn the work of making Harry's costume on her. I of course proceeded to put off costume purchasing until today. I only did it today because the ward party is on Saturday and I am really busy on Friday. So as soon as my husband got home from work we went out on our search.

It was wild and the stores were packed with late shoppers like us. The selection was slim but we managed to find a cute frog costume for a cute little boy. We also picked up a fun double headed ax that Evan had a blast with all evening.

Cloth diaper update

You may remember that I recently made the switch to cloth diapers. You may also be wondering how things are going. Have I gone nuts, drowning in laundry? Do my kids smell of pee all the time? Read on and all your pressing questions will be answered.

Things are going very well. I had to work out a few kinks in the system but now things are smoothing out. I had to get used to changing diapers more often. I had a bad tendency with disposables to not change them until they almost fell off. I bought more diapers off of a friend that was switching to a different kind of diaper so we stopped running out and I could wait longer between washings. I also bought some fleece and hemp (hee hee hemp) doublers for nap time and the times when we are going to be out of the house for longer periods of time. The fleece helps keep the skin dryer and the hemp is incredibly absorbent and it also make cleaning the poo much easier.

I had to figure out a diaper pail system. We ended up using a really nice diaper pail liner in a regular trash can. I soak the super stinky poos in a bucket upstairs in the laundry area. The pail liner is nice because you can wash it with your diapers instead of having to wash out the pail every time. It also doubles as a handy bag to bring the diapers upstairs and back down again.

Laundering is also a little more tricky than regular clothing. You can't use a lot of detergent as it will build up and reduce absorbency. I also use a vinegar rinse to help get the pee smell out. Fabric softeners are a big no no as it reduces absorbency. The wraps are hung out to dry. I only have to do a load of diapers every other day so my laundry while a bit more tricky is not excessive. When I was not so careful about frequent changes I did have to change clothing a lot but now that I have it down my laundry load has settled down.

I must say that I actually like cloth diapering a lot. How else can you have ultra cute customizable diapers? I love that if you are handy you can make everything yourself. I also like that if you are not handy then there are loads of choices out there at good prices. I also love that my diapers will last through many kids and still be going strong. I am thinking about picking up a few fun diaper covers in the future. I am also having one of my sisters knit me some wool covers as a Christmas gift. I sent her the wool and pattern. She is a student and short on cash so I thought it would be a great way for her to help me out and I would get something that I really wanted. She is a better knitter than me and does not have to deal with little kids interrupting her all the time. I really can see how some people have actually become addicted to cloth diapering.

It's snot funny

We have our first cold of the season here in the Awesome Mom household. Harry had a stuffy nose yesterday morning so I shot some saline up it and sucked out an obscene amount of snot out. I was worried that his head would collapse because of the large volume. He then proceeded to sneeze snot slugs and blow snot bubbles all day. Of course we only had one tissue left in the entire house so I resorted to using wet wipes (easier on the tender nose than toilet paper).

Harry is doing a bit better today, not so much snot is coming out. I now have a large box of super soft tissues with lotion in them. I am just hoping that Harry is not going to share this cold with the rest of the family. I really don't feel like being sick and Evan sure does not need to get sick. I am wondering where this cold came from as we have been hermits for over a month now. I guess that is one mystery that will never be solved.

Pediatric Grand Rounds

Pediatric Grand Rounds is up over at The Wait and the Wonder. It is a very scary read! (not really but that is the theme for this edition)

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch to pick out perfect pumpkins. Enjoy the pictures!
Evan the scarecrow.

Posing on the pyramid of straw.

The view from the top is lovely! Evan was actually more interested in looking at the cars go by than anything else he could see.

Evan trying to cheat in the corn maze

Hmmm I wonder if this one is too big for me to lift


Get your hand off of MY pumpkin!


Helping Daddy get the pumpkins to the car.

Change of Shift

Change of Shift is up over at Emergiblog. It is yet another wonderful collection of great nursing posts.

Rude people

I live in a rather kid poor area. Due to the high cost of housing young families are often unable to afford to live here. The school districts county wide are shrinking as people move to more affordable areas to raise kids. What I don't get is what gives the remaining people the right to comment on my reproductive choices.

Today I was out walking with a friend who just had her second child. We were each pushing double strollers with a baby in the back and a toddler in the front (her kids are exactly the same number of months apart that Evan and Harry are). We were happily chatting when we passed a group of people. They all stopped talking to stare at us as we passed and started whispering comments before we were even out of earshot. The comments were not kind and really ticked me off.

I know that here the accepted mode of having children is to have two, each one years apart. I get lots of comments about how full my hands must be because Evan and Harry are so close in age. There is no reason to be rude about it however. I don't make snide comments about childless couples or people with a school aged child and a baby in tow. I smile at all the well behaved ones and mentally tisk at the wild ones never saying aloud what I am feeling, because that could be me in that parent's place.

I am happy with the spacing. I love that Harry and Evan are growing up to be friends. I like that I am still in baby mode so I don't have to adjust back to things. What is one more diaper when you are already changing them? I am also hoping to have at least four kids, although that will be on a kid by kid basis. I am even open to having more than four. I can't wait to have number three (but I am going to, I am not crazy........well very crazy any way). It is going to freak out everyone here and when I get looks I plan on just smiling a huge happy smile with my big happy family.

Cardiology appointment

Evan had an appointment with his cardiologist today. We went for what I had been told would be a pacemaker interrogation and a blood draw. It ended up being a chest x-ray, a blood draw and another Holter monitor.

The chest x-ray went like it usually does. Evan all excited about looking at the lights and buttons on the x-ray machine then freaking out while he was being held in position and then happy again when he got to look at the lights again. The blood draw was not so fun. His veins are always terrible after a hospital stay so he was a difficult stick. Eventually a male tech held him in a bear hug (I was pooped by then) and was able to keep him still enough that they could hit a vein. I soothed him by letting him drink a lot of juice. Due to Evan still being on fluid restriction liquid is like gold to him. He will do a lot for a drink.

Having to deal with another Holter is a bit annoying but at least I will not have to make another run down to the city. I was graciously allowed to mail it in, at my expense of course but still cheaper than the cost of gas, bridge toll and parking. If the Holter looks good we will get a month free of cardiology appointments. Of course I am still working on getting Evan's teeth taken care of but that is another head ache that I don't want to get into right now.

Time sure flies

Lately I have been feeling like I have not been giving Harry the attention that he needs. Evan's issues have really been taking a lot of my time and energy. Today I decided to spend a little extra time with him because as the poor overlooked second child he needed a bit of mommy time.

I really can't believe how big he is getting. I keep thinking of him as a not so tiny infant but he is not so tiny any more. He is hitting a growth spurt because my back is killing me. He was so thrilled when I sat down on the floor and played a game with him. He giggled and laughed as he tried to throw a ball to me so that I would throw it back to him. It was a wiffle ball so his tiny little fingers kept getting caught in the holes.

It was strange the other day when I was thinking about how much formula to buy while I was grocery shopping at Costco. In a few short weeks Harry will be one year old and officially a big boy. No more formula for him he will be drinking cow's milk like his big brother. I have to start thinking about weaning him from bottles and getting him more interested in a sippy cup. Finger foods will be the order of the day.

I have been pretty lazy in that regard. The mess factor in feeding an almost one year old has put me off of trying to get him to eat more solids. Harry is trying to foil me however. He is not so eager to sit still long enough to drink an entire bottle. I have had to cave in and let him have more high chair time.

Another sign of Harry's maturity is his current transition from two naps to one nap. I actually welcome this change as it makes it more likely that I will get a nap too. No more nap tag time. I hardly know what to do with myself any more.

There is still a little bit of baby left in Harry. He woke up a little while ago (very unprecedented since both kids are top notch sleepers) possibly due to teething pain. I can feel the molars that have been trying to come out forever now really starting to poke through. After giving him some Motrin we had some wonderful cuddle time. Normally he is too busy for that, so it was extra sweet to rock him in the living room. He is still a tricky little boy. I had thought that he was asleep, since that is the only time he is actually not moving, but when I reluctantly went to put him in bed I noticed that his wee little eyes were still open. He settled quietly into bed, ready for more sleep.

A warning!

I am sure that many people already know about this but I am passing on the warning just in case you have not heard. There is a website out there called bitacle that is stealing people's blog content and making money off them with out permission. Dr. A has a great post up about the whole thing and what you can do to stop the theft.

Shoot!

After reading the blogiversary post over at the Laundress I decided to go back and see when mine would be. I missed it! October 8th was my first post and I totally missed it. Of course Evan was in the hospital so I will just have to excuse myself this year.

I must say it sure has been interesting writing this blog. I have been horrible in the past with journal writing and this is the closest thing to a journal that I have been able to keep going. The added fun of having readers comment on my thoughts has helped make it that much more addicting. The simplicity of keeping friends and family that are far away notified of things that are going on in my life adds to the appeal of continuing this blog. It has been a fun time and I hope that I will be able to continue this for many more years to come.

My thoughts on the election

Today I got a call from Al Gore. A week or so ago I got a call from Bill Clinton. It was nice of them to personally call me to inform me about things that are going on during this election. I fell all warm and fuzzy now and will certainly be taking into consideration what they have to say come voting time. OK, so they didn't really call me personally, it was a recording but I can pretend can't I?

The one thing that is really bothering me about this election is the sheer number of bond issues that are on the ballot in California. Why is it OK for this state to go into debt for things that our taxes should be covering? Why should our kids and grand kids pay for our refusal to prioritize the issues that are most urgent and important? I don't run my house that way why should the state be allowed to do it?

I think that poor Phil Angiledes has a tough go of it. He is running against a guy that could kick his butt and looks it. I really don't think he has much of a chance because of that. Seriously, if you have a Governor that was Mr. Universe and was the Terminator don't you think that the people will go for him instead of the guy that looks like he was in the chess club in high school?

This:

Versus

This:
You decide!

Wierd

I am so very not pregnant but I am having an odd craving for fried eggs right now. While I am on the topic of food I think I will discuss Evan's new eating habits.

Since Evan's surgery his taste in food seems to have changed pretty dramatically. Things that he adored before are now out. Things that he would not have touched before he gobbles up. He is also able to eat more in one go than he did before. Snacks are out now because when I try and give him one it will ruin his appetite for an actual meal a few hours later. Breakfast one of his favorite meals is now picked at. I am going nuts trying to figure out new breakfast ideas for him since usually at that time my brain is not quite awake any way.

Protein is a top food for him. I guess that makes sense since he is recovering from a surgery and the body needs them as building blocks to help in that healing. Today at dinner he ate 3/4 of a rather large chicken breast. Normally we only make two for dinner, one for my husband and then most of one for me leaving the remainder for Evan. I guess now we will have to start making three.

Strong flavors seem to be preferred as well. When we were at Trader Joe's the other day I let him pick out some dried fruit. He pulled candied ginger off the shelf. He actually ate it when we got home much to my surprise. To me candied ginger tastes like burning and it is not a very pleasant taste. Evan gobbled it down. He also is enamored of salsa, just like his father.

I think I am going to head to bed now before I suddenly decide to fry me an egg.

Moments in the night

In the course of Evan's life I have had a chance to meet some amazing nurses. In general they are all a bunch of caring people but there are many that stand out more and who remain in your heart long after you leave the hospital.

One of my favorite night nurses is Nurse H. She has been taking care of Evan off and on since he was first born. I am a bit of a night owl so there were many chances to have interesting chats with her. When she saw how confident I was placing Evan's NG tube after only having just learned that afternoon she strongly encouraged me to think of nursing as a possible career.

Nurse H also discussed her joy in raising her children, helping me realize that all the scariness and worry that attended Evan's infancy was not the norm. She was right, Harry's first year has been a joy. I was glad that I did not let the worry and pain stop me from knowing the sweetness than can come.

I will never forget the look on her face when I told her that Evan had suffered his stroke. She looked as if someone had punched her in the chest. I had to reassure her that he was in no immediate danger and that his prognosis looked good. It was nice to know that she really cared about how Evan was doing.

It was with joy and happiness that I was able to give here a bit of comfort during Evan's recent hospital stay. Evan had awoken rather early in the morning so he was raring to go when she came in to check his vital signs. The baby (and parents) in the next room had been stressing her out so she welcomed the chance to hang out a bit in our room. Noting my knitting that was laying at the foot of the bed she asked a favor of me. She wondered if I would let her knit a bit to help relieve the stress of the evening. Light conversation about knitting and the exchange of tips helped the tension melt away.

Wooohoooo!!!

At long last we are finally home!! Surprisingly we were able to leave the hospital shortly before nine in the morning which is a record. Generally we have to wait until late afternoon to see the doctor and get the final send off.

This is a very good thing because I was becoming increasingly hostile. The night nurse Evan had last night got on my last nerve. She woke him up while taking vitals which is number one no no. Then she wondered is Evan normally had his temperature taken orally (umm no!!!! he is a toddler and would only chew on it at best. At worse he would end up with is jammed down his throat because he was squirming so much). Then it turned out that she had not brought all the equipment in with her that she needed so I was left to comfort a distraught and annoyed toddler. The final straw came when she wanted to change his diaper an hour before Evan normally woke up, just so she could chart his urine output (her words) before she left. There was no way in hell I was going to let her touch him that soon before he woke up. I knew that he would not go back to sleep and I would be the one that had to endure a cranky toddler. I was polite about it, but I was ready to tell her that if she touched him one more time she would die.

The pacemaker interrogation showed that nothing really had changed. That means Evan's pacemaker only has 3-8 months of battery life left. He is going to have to be closely watched to make sure it does not go out too soon. Evan's cardiologist is arranging for us to meet with a pacemaker specialist (who of course is not exactly near us) to discuss the possibility of a special kind of pacemaker that is supposed to be superior to what he has currently. I am still a tad fuzzy on the details but apparently this kind of pacemaker had been studied in kids that have single ventricles and transposed arteries like Evan.

It is good to be home but my homecoming certainly different than when my mother-in-law was over to help watch Harry. I know that my husband and sister did exactly one load of laundry because it was still sitting on the floor when I got home. There was no gleaming kitchen or picked up living room to greet me. At least now my husband can't claim that he keeps the house spotless all the time, I have proof that he is a worse housekeeper than me.

Pediactric Grand Rounds

Pediactric Grand Rounds is up. As usual there are a lot of great submissions. Great job Kim!!

Another day

Today has been a day of sleep deprivation. Evan decided that 4:45 was a great time to wake up. Later in the day he decided that naps were for suckers. Now he is refusing to go to bed early despite the fact that he is obviously exhausted.

Good news is that his INR is down low enough that we will be able to go home. Another good thing was that we got a great phlebotomist who managed to get the blood with one stick. I thanked him for doing such a good job. One of the nurses on the floor that was helping me hold Evan said that he was very good and after the stick I believed her.

Today my sister and I took a nice long walk while Evan was pretending to nap. It was good to get out into the sunshine. Afterwords Evan gooed up my only clean shirt with cookie drool. I am so ready to go home and get some clean clothing. The last hurtle is the pacemaker interrogation in the morning.

Boring

Not much happened today. The weather was super nice out or so it seemed by looking out the window. We are both rather bored and tired of being in here. One nice thing about us being in here but not being sick is that the nurses don't harass us nearly as often for vital signs. Evan is actually starting to warm up to them and not be so skittish.

My sister is coming for a visit and I am hoping that I will be able to actually get out of the hospital for a nice long walk. I hadn't before because I was worried I would miss being able to talk to a doctor. I hate it when they talk to my husband because he is horrible at communicating what they say to me. He is a typical guy in that regard.

Tomorrow night Evan will be having a blood draw to check his INR. Please keep your fingers crossed that it will be low enough that we will be able to go home on Monday. I am also hopping that we don't get a digger because if one more person digs in Evan's veins I am going to throw a fit. He has the worst bruises on his poor arms because of digging. I know that they would not be doing that if Evan was an adult that could hit someone for vein digging.

Frustrations

Well all my hopes for us getting out of here today were dashed when the Cardiologist finally made it in to see Evan. She wants to keep him in the hospital because of his high INR. She also wanted to have Evan's pacemaker interrogated one more time before he left but can have the people come in during the weekend unless it is an emergency. Apparently me not wanting to still be in the hospital is not considered an emergency.

I am not horribly thrilled at this turn of events. I am really tired of being in here with a crazy bored toddler. I just want be at home where I can have my own space and not be at the mercy of other people's schedules. I am missing the Super Saturday that my ward is putting on. I really need a day of crafting and relaxation. I wanted the chance to get a bit of a jump start on my Christmas gift list. I also need a decent night of sleep. *sigh* Maybe I will not feel so grumpy and resentful tomorrow.

Limbo

We are still in limbo right now. I have no firm answers about what the final plans for things will be but it is looking like maybe they will not be replacing Evan's pacemaker just yet. All of the tests they did this morning turned out fine except for Evan's INR which was quite high. Apparently the steroid that they gave him interacted with it driving the number up way high (he is a 6 when he sohould be 2-3). The Holter monitor results were very late in coming in because the machine that they used to run the test was brand new so there were issues with getting the information downloaded off of it.

Evan's cardiologist has been super busy all day so we have not seen her yet and will not see her until tomorrow. We were assured that we would hear the final plan from her then. I can't help but be frustrated even though I know that she has many demands on her time. It is looking more and more like we probably should have not been admitted in the first place and that the cardiologist that admitted us (one who does not regularly follow up with Evan) was over reacting a bit.

On a lighter note we have enjoyed seeing glimpses of the Blue Angles practicing in the air, getting ready for Fleet Week. Evan oohs and ahhs when I get him to the window in time to see then fly over. He is also enjoying his Thomas the Train DVDs and will not watch anything else right now. I am not so thrilled with them and am going a bit mad because they are playing in my mind even on the rare occasions that the DVD player is off. I miss his Baby Einstein obsession because at least then all I would have running through my mind was pleasant classical music.

Update

Well, we were admitted today but to the hospital that me normally go to which is nice. The other hospital has it set up so you have to share, this one has it so that each kids gets their own room. Very posh. They put yet another Holter monitor on him and he is telemetry monitoring but at least we are not in the PICU. As we walked on to the pediatric floor one of the nurses asked us if our ears had been burning. Apparently moments before she had been talking about Evan and then bam there we were.

We have had a bit of a scramble trying to have Harry taken care of. My husband had taken off a lot of time for Evan's surgery so he is needed back at work. They have been pretty understanding but he still has a job that needs doing. My sister is flying out for a week and hopefully that is all the childcare that we will need.

There is a strong possibility that Evan will have to have his pacemaker replaced which is why we were admitted. They did not want to have it suddenly fail on us. It is already cranked up as high as it will go and was still missing beats. I guess I should not be too surprised about this sort of thing happening. Evan has a horrible post op curse. He ended up with the pacemaker when a day after his first surgery his heart rate plummeted. His stroke happened after his second surgery. Evan's cardiologist even told us when we were first talking about scheduling his surgery that she was not too worried about the actual surgery, it was the recovery that she was worried about. At least this was caught before things got too bad.

Argh!

I just got a call from the cardiologist and they want us to come back in today with the possibility of admission to Big Medial School Hospital where there is a specilist in this type of issue. ARGH!!!

Cuteness pays

Of late I have noticed a very interesting trend. People seem to really enjoy giving Evan things because he is so stinking cute. Today he received some yogurt raisins and a really neato pen. The raisins came from the pacemaker guy that interrogated Evan's pacemaker on Saturday. He had remembered that the first time he interrogated the pacemaker (during Evan's pre-operation check up) he was chowing down on some yogurt raisins. When Evan flipped out royally on Saturday he decided that he would bring some raisins for this visit in the hopes that he would not be so mad. It didn't work but the thought was nice. The pen was also an attempt at distraction from the guy that was helping train the pacemaker guy.

This sort of thing has been going on pretty much his entire life. I think there is also a tiny bit of pity (because of Evan's heart defect) added in there because Harry is pretty dang cute too but has not been given anything from strangers. I guess it is a good thing that Evan is not a teenager right now or this could go to his head.

Today

The appointment went well today. The steroids are working and his threshold is lower now. We will be keeping the already scheduled Cardiology appointment on Thursday for yet another recheck of his pacemaker. It is still going to have to be replaced sooner than anticipated but will probably not be as urgent as it would have been.

I think I may be a little bit crazy

This weekend I started a grand experiment. It all started when my husband mentioned that the cost of diapers shot up a whole ten dollars per box at Costco. I was shocked that they would do such a huge jump in price. My brain reeled and while I was still stunned from the shock I went out and bought a bunch of cloth diapers.

I had been toying with the idea for some time but the start up cost and thought of the extra work kind of put me off. The cheap woman that lives inside of me liked the fact that I would not be throwing money away with each disposable that I used. She also loved the fact that we could use the diapers for other babies. While my brain was reeling Cheap Woman came out and took over.

So far only Harry had been changed over to cloth diapers. We have fewer disposables for him, plus we have diaper covers for him. Awhile back I picked up a bunch of them from a local recycle group. I had intended on keeping them as a sort of back up diaper plan in case of some awful calamity (this is a bit like my food collecting thing). The lot only included small and medium covers so there were not any big enough for Evan. Truth be told, all Harry has to do is gain a few pounds and even those will not fit him. This led me to bid on some diaper covers on Ebay. I got a pretty good deal on a huge lot of large and extra large covers I am patheticaly eager to be getting them in the mail.

You may be wondering how the experiment is going. Well so far not too bad. Harry did pick this weekend to poop up a storm again. Some of the covers were not as water tight as I would have liked, but I did get them for free so I can't complain too loudly.

When I told my mom I was making the switch she had a bit of advice for me. It was sweet but simple: don't put the diapers in the toilet to soak. She tried cloth diapers with my sister H who was number three of four, but number four had yet arrived. Back then it was common to put the diapers in the toilet to soak all the poo off. My sister E and I were given strict instructions not to flush when there was a diaper in the toilet. One Sunday morning my sister E forgot what my mother had told her and flushed a diaper.

I actually remembered the incident. I clearly remember having to use the potty training potty when I had to go to the bathroom. I was quite embarrassed. The savings of using cloth diapers was quite literally flushed down the toilet since my poor parents had to call a plumber in on the weekend to get things fixed.

I have figured out that I am pretty much going to have to stick this out for at least six months. Hopefully by then I will have all the kinks worked out and I will be happily saving money with my cloth diapers.