Why yes, I DO still PhotoHunt!
It’s been awhile since I participated in a PhotoHunt Saturday. Just had other things my hot little fingers wanted to throw out there, I guess. I’m back in today, though!
Today’s PhotoHunt Theme:
DARK
I have to admit to you that, in true Emo form, my first thought at the word, “Dark” was the emotional kind. And it made me think of these photos, which I feel characterize my pain around the time of my miscarriage:
But right on the heels of that, I thought about the natural kind of dark. And about the grand beauty that can be witnessed when “dark” starts to happen…
And while I would wish you all lives filled with far more of the second kind of dark than the first kind, sometimes the first kind helps us admire and appreciate the beauty in all other things that much more. And if it does not, we should surely remind ourselves to look for it.
We need it.
Because I’m long-winded, even in Haiku. Geez.
[Written Thursday night.]
Ugh, I am so beat.
It was a very long day.
So ready to crash.
[Please ignore my zit.
Stop looking at it, I said!
My skin is 'teh suck.']
This afternoon, John
left for the road once again.
Only home two days. 
But, you know, at least
he was home for those two days,
and we had some time. 
On Tuesday we went
to this really cool lake beach
and we had a blast!
Recommended by
Meredith, and we owe her
big thanks – we loved it!
But today, John left.
Then Braden took a twenty
minute nap going home.
Car naps suck so big.
Someone should tell these dumb kids -
THAT DOES NOT SUFFICE!
He also gave me
another Scatastrophe.
I’m used to it now.
Lawn mower would not
cooperate with me, argh!
I kicked its ass, though.
Mowed most of the lawn.
Do not mow lawn in flip flops.
I know this… but, duh.
This one was not bad
once it was cleaned up, but first
there was so much blood!
I’m often reckless.
It’s probably the reason
I get hurt so much.
Anyway, to make
a long-winded ‘Ku series
a lil’ bit shorter…
Ugh, I am so beat.
It was a very long day.
So ready to crash.
Oh! Almost forgot!
Project Support Beauty in
Nature post up soon!
Next one will publish
Monday, April 14th, so
get your posts ready!
Mr. Linky will
be waiting for you to put
your U-R-L in.
Now, I crawl away…
time to sleep and prepare for
yet another day.
His Butt is Toxic, and Yet, Eco-Friendly!
We did a handful of things differently this month to be kind to Mother Earth, but this month’s big “Green” effort was really exciting for us: we decided to take the Cloth Diapering Plunge!
Braden’s gone “Clean And Green.” 
Disposable are NASTY.
One child produces large amounts of them, daily – It is estimated that children using disposables create almost 6,000 during their diaper-wearing years. And those will sit in a landfill for an estimated 250-500 years. That is DISGUSTING. And have you seen the icky, jelly crap inside them? I’ve had them bust open on us (not often, but it happens) and it’s really pukish when I think about how that Yuckification in there was always up against my kiddo’s little, soft hiney. I’m sure it contributed to his rashiness.
Ever since last month’s PSBN post and all the excellent advice from you guys, I dove in and did some hard-core research online about cloth diapers. This site is a great resourse (but you can find lots out there). I didn’t really want to spend the big bucks, but I knew I HAD to find something that John and I would stick with. Let’s be realistic here: If you can’t hack it, you’ll give up on it. We didn’t want to give up on it! I tried really hard to want to use the cheapest option: prefolds. But. Just. No. (Forgive me, I know so many of you have done/do this, but it just isn’t for us.)
All the “fitted” diapers seemed so great, but buying new sizes constantly would really get expensive! Yeah, Braden is on the last leg of his “Diaper Journey” but we wanted to invest in something that we can use again with additional kiddos we have (imagine that, we want this to be an Earth Saving AND Money Saving venture!)…
Enter the 3.0 Bum Genius One Size Cloth Diaper.
*big sigh*
Yes. They are expensive. You look at the price of a single diaper and you go OHHOLYCRAPANDCRACKERSTHAT’SWHATIPAYFORAWHOLEBOXOFDISPOSABLESEEEEEK!
BUT.
Work out how much you spend on them for your child’s entire “Diaper Journey,” and you’ll see that you’re just hemorrhaging the cash slowly instead of all at once, and the disposables will end up costing you WAY more in the long run than even the expensive cloth diapers, yo!
UPDATED:
Maybe this will help you see why you’re NOT spending more when you use even the “expensive” cloth diapers:
If your kid wears disposables until age 2 (and most wear them longer, FYI) that will produce an estimated 5800-6000 diapers. This is going to cost you approximately $1000 – $1600 (depending on brand). Yup. And I didn’t even include the price of wipes or butt rash cream – that’s extra, my friends! And if the kiddo goes past age 2, you can just keep adding to that price. For about $400 you can purchase 24 (more than enough at any age!) of the “expensive” Bum Genius 3.0 One Size (the newest one available) and you can use them on an endless number of children.
So, this means:
Have 3 kids? Disposables until 2: $3000 – $4800 (depending on brand). BG One Size: $400 (plus laundry costs).
And don’t forget to add wipes, creams, and anything past age 2 to that disposables price.
Do you still think it costs too much?
So I did a little of my own math. I figured out how much we’d spend from now until Braden turns 2 on the disposables we were currently using (Walmart brand, so they are cheap). And I decided that if I can spend that much or less, it would be economically logical as well as YAY for Mother Earth.
And guess what? I spent exactly that much on 9 Bum Genius One Size diapers/inserts (will fit from newborn up to a 37 pounder),
2 Hemp Babies inserts (extra absorbency for nights)
and a Mini-Shower (if you cloth diaper, you want this, seriously – thanks for the tip, Heather!) to spray out The Dook.
Which means that in the $ department, IF Braden would be Potty Trained by 2 (which I think is a nice, hopeful assumption) then we break even. If it takes him longer, we save! Hurrah!
Now, if you consider the fact that we can use these with the next child(ren), that’s where we REALLY save $$. We’ll need to purchase extras to handle the excessive Poopification during the beginning of life, but we’ll still save boatloads over using disposables. And we’ll never contribute another 500 Year JellyPissShitSack Diaper to the landfills!
*Does an insanely happy dance of JOY!*
“But Lotus, you are totally spending more in laundry!” Yes, yes, I am, My Kind, Loving Reader. But check it: We’re cutting water usage elsewhere to help with that a bit.
Here’s how:
We took Sandy’s really great tip, and we bought a bucket to collect the cold water that we used to waste at the beginning of the shower. (You know, when you’re waiting for it to warm up?)
Now we use that water for other things like refilling our aquariums and putting into Braden’s humidifier when he’s got a cold. It can also be used to water plants and the garden, mop floors, clean appliances, etc. How cool!
Next:
“If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.”
Yup. We’ve severely reduced the number of flushes in our home.
I’ll spare you the photo evidence on this one. And that’s really unlike me, you know, to pass up the chance to flash something excretory at you. (If that’s not a word, it is now.)
Things we’ve already done in the past that help: no water running while teeth brushing or hand washing, use hand sanitizier in place of washing if your hands aren’t grimy, but just need disinfecting, and restrict the length of showers and the size of baths.
A few “technical” notes about using Bum Genius One Size:
Care Instructions (click it) You will want to follow these to make sure the diaper never leaks. The material is really great – the fleece lining truly wicks the moisture away and into the absorbent liner inside.
It’s freakin’ amazing. But you have to treat it nice so it keeps performing! We already used Purex Free and Clear for laundry, and that’s approved. You should read all the care instructions before you buy – if you’re not willing to follow them, you should probably go with something else.
They’ll “Grow With Kiddo.” They come with newborn size diaper doubler and regular insert, and have cool snaps to change the size as your lil’ one grows. I am so excited to use them exclusively on our next baby.
There will be a learning curve when changing from disposables, but it really hasn’t been bad! You have to get used to how to insert the liners without bunching them, but you’ll get into the groove of it after some practice.
We got the Hemp Babies inserts for nighttime because Braden needs extra absorbency overnight.
I did my research and they were highly recommended. They did not disappoint. We just add one in at night on top of the regular insert. He has only leaked out at night once so far, which is excellent!
And, did you notice… They are freakin’ adorable!
It has been a really exciting month for us with this change! And we have lots of other things up our sleeves – some that we’ve already started doing, and some that we are planning for the future. But this is it for this month’s installment. Stay tuned for next month, my pretties! We have so much more in store. 
Next post is scheduled for Monday, April 14, 2008.
Now link up with your monthly posts, and visit other participants! I can’t wait to read what you’ve got for us.
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