Christmas giving

I bought two wooden puzzles today for Hannah for a Christmas present. As I was leaving the store, I was thinking about wrapping them and putting on a tag that says TO: Hannah FROM: Mommy. I got all teared up thinking about that! How lucky I am to have a child this Christmas! It makes me teary even now thinking about it! I just think to-Hannah-from-Mommy and I cry. I started thinking about Christmas gift giving. Sure, it's annoying sometimes to have to shop for people you don't know all that well, or for people who just buy what they want whenever they want it, and any other shopping that is out of a sense of obligation. I don't intend to even talk about out-of-control materialism and consumerism. But, today I thought this: at least once a year we take the opportunity to intentionally give someone a gift. All of a sudden Christmas gift-giving became a beautiful thing to me!

This year I got presents for the little ones in my family- my cousin Ian, my nephew Michael, my niece Bridget, my niece Cassandra's kids, Jennifer and Daniel, and also my parents. And of course my precious daughter Hannah! She's getting the two wooden puzzles and a handmade giraffe I bought from an etsy.com store. I am in the process of making some cards for my mom's favorite game, too. Her cards are all worn out and they don't make replacements anymore. It's taking me a little longer to stencil 0-99 on cards, but I am enjoying each and every one! It's nice to really feel a Christmas spirit!

Picture with Santa

 


Yes, we had our picture taken with Santa! The ones with Hannah and Santa came out the best, of course! As we stood in line, I was thinking about how Christmas is a special time, and I'm looking forward to this Christmas and many future Christmases with my baby girl!

ten fingers, ten toes

When I was pregnant and when Hannah was first born, I got a lot of cards that had pictures of baby feet or baby hands. They are pretty amazing! From the beginning, I noticed that Hannah has beautiful hands! Her feet are pretty neat, she moves them a lot and spreads out her toes. My mom says she has expressive feet.

The other night I had Hannah in the Moby wrap (for the first time in about four months, it felt nice) and her toes were at the perfect level for me to cup them in my fingers. All of a sudden I was completely mesmerized by the feel of those toes! They are amazing! They are exquisite! The next day I felt her fingers, too. All I can say is that they are incredible. Now I understand why people think baby toes and baby fingers are so cool.

Cloth diapering

I just put a diaper cover on Hannah that I bought when she was one week old. She's 8 months old today. I love that! I don't know how cloth vs. disposable in terms of economics is even open for debate! Particularly if buying them used and/or reselling them, and with multiple children. The cover I'm using this morning is over a pair of training pants, not full cloth diaper, which is why it still fits after 8 months. That's because we're doing EC, which I will post about later!

I also love that I'm not buying diapers every week. I invested in some cloth diapers a few months ago (for her current size) and won't need new ones for awhile. I also like that she's not seeing me throw something away after just using it one time.

I decided to use disposable diapers on our trip to Arcata last month, one of the reasons being the weight limits on the airplane. I figured that wet diapers would be heavier coming home than on the way there, and I was already at my limit. I much prefer the cloth, but it worked. I used the diapers given to me at my baby showers up until she was three months old (with a combo of a few cloth dipes and the occasional nakey bum time) and then at three months I just couldn't use them anymore. I still have one package that I never opened. I do use the Nature Baby Care diapers from Target on rare occasion, our rate of use of those is about one pack every three months. That's what works for us.

As for the laundry, I don't mind doing laundry, and since I don't have time to take a bath anymore, I don't think I'm using any more water than I was before! (Especially now that we're going to take out the front lawn and put something else in, yippee!!)

So yes, I'm an eager cloth diaper convert! On the subject of organic cotton, I have an organic cotton diaper made by Under the Nile that I bought from Marija at EC Wear and I use it just about every night! It is so nice! She's about ready to outgrow it, but that under a wool cover has solved our recent leak situation. I only bought one of that particular diaper to try it out, but if I have another baby I will get some more! I also like the bamboo diapers for night time, and the one Thirstie's diaper I have that just BARELY fits! What is it about diapers???

Autumn leaves

I raked leaves this afternoon. I spread out three blankets and Hannah sat and watched me for a little while. It used to be one blanket was enough! I know she only sat and watched because she'd never seen me rake leaves before, next time I'm sure she'll be crawling off the blankets immediately. I filled up a bin, and then sat by her and kept her company while she moved the blankets around and played with the grass. She was laughing almost the whole time! I think she likes being outside. It was a nice day, too. I was thinking about how next year when I rake leaves she'll be 20 months and probably wanting to jump in the leaves. It will be different, for sure. We might make some pretty cards or something with the leaves, or at the very least look at them together and enjoy the pretty colors. I am loving this journey of motherhood, that's for sure.

That was fast!

I applied for a resale number last week. I thought I faxed my application to the board of equalization on Wednesday, but maybe it was Tuesday. Thursday was Thanksgiving and I had a packet with the resale number and some information in my mailbox on Friday! I guess there aren't a lot of new businesses starting up right now!

Why am I starting a new business when everyone is all worried about the economy? There are a couple of reasons. One, I don't read all the news stories, so I don't have the fearful messages coming at me all the time. Two, I'm following my heart, and for that the economy doesn't matter! I'm not trying to "make a buck"- I'm already in business so I wouldn't need to start another one if that were my goal. I'm starting something that is exciting to me!

I registered my domain name, www.thesoxclub.com this evening. I have a "this page is under construction" message at the moment! Tomorrow I'll work on my fictitious business paperwork.

Unconscious Shopping :-(

I was just at the department store looking for toys for Hannah and her cousin for Christmas. While I prefer to buy Hannah's clothes from the consignment store, or Good will, or wear hand-me-downs, I couldn't resist taking a look at the new baby clothes at the department store. They are so darn cute!!! I bought a few things on clearance, including a long-sleeved onesie that says "Baby's First Thanksgiving." When I got home, I noticed that the "Baby's First Thanksgiving" part was sewn on upside down. Then I noticed the onesie was made in Thailand. Then I got really sad. I have no idea if that item was made in a sweat shop or not, but it made me think of people working in sweat shops, and I was no longer happy with my cute little purchase.

I made a renewed commitment to be a conscious and conscientious shopper, no matter how cute the clothes are.