keelyblog

Disposable diapers should definitely have a sin tax attached to them. A high one! And those yucky gel things should be banned from use! This way, a family may consider using only disposable diapers for 1 or 2 children, but if you start having more kids it will be financially unfeasible to use anything but cloth. The economic value of cloth if you plan to have more than a couple kids is HUGE. A one time expenditure of $300-$500 can last for 4 or 5 kids! Maybe with a booster purchase of $20-$50 just for new cute covers or supplies for each kid–just for fun. :) It definitely seems like a sin for parents with lots of kids to put all those awful disposable diapers first on their poor babies, and secondly on our earth. Of course, the diaper company lobbyists would be against this….

It was a beautiful winter day today in the “Eastside”, although most locals would probably call it spring or summer… Sunny and 70 degrees! :) It’s almost impossible for me not to smile at those conditions. We tried to enjoy it while it lasts.

Mark left us with the car again today. We really enjoy going to pick him up after work, as it is a motivator to get out of the apartment. Before picking him up today, we first went to Michael’s to get some needles and embroidery floss to finish revamping the orange fuzzy. Then we went to one of the older playgrounds nearby. I have discovered that the snoody moms tend to gather at the newer playgrounds. The playground we were at was totally vacant for at least 30 minutes. Then a French lady and her boys showed up. I am not sure they spoke any English, so that was fine. However, my kids started to get shy and hover around Mama. Then a big dog, a set of twins in carseat buckets, and a couple of girls showed up and that was are limit. Still too early to go get Mark, we wandered along the path back to the car picking up things. There were a bunch of these really cute, tiny pinecones I intend to share amongst my crafty friends in the fall :)

We ended up getting to MS way earlier than I intended, but Mark was able to leave about 15 mins early. So we only had to wait about half an hour. And since it was sunny and 70 degrees, we ran around the grassy field across from his office building. T dug up some rocks. We definitely enjoyed the afternoon.

Things I have noticed that are making these sunny days easier than the sunny days last “summer” here:
1) kids are both potty trained! hooray! and M is even using public restrooms :)
2) we didn’t spend the last 6 months in grey. I am kinda thinking that by the time the sun came out, I was already too sick. Sunny and 70 degrees was too little, too late.
3) kids are front facing and there is substantially less car screaming! :) they can even have snacks and beverages in the car!
4) sharing a car and having to pick Papa up forces outings. So far the worse days have been the ones when we don’t have the car. Getting out of the prison cave apartment is basically essential for a sane day. I am working on setting up more, easy access, easy clean indoor activities. However, my wild kids need more freedom than are inside these walls! Plus, sunshine puts us all in a cheery mood!

We have had a rocky start to our return to the PNW. Here is a breakdown:
Not nice things:
1. Apt in sub-human living state after leaving it in the care of my husband for 5 months. Urine encrusted toilets–need I say more?
2. Several crying jags since coming back. After feeling pretty okay with the idea that some people enjoy this climate, I have found myself dreaming of “I Hate Seattle” bumper stickers again. Sometimes I feel like this climate is killing my soul.
3. Had 4 drinks (3 beers and 1 cocktail) since getting here less than a week ago. Lonely and missing my freedom to tool around town whenever and hang out naked in our back yard and see friends and have friends visit.
4. The cold sunshine still depresses me. My husband walked to the bus stop and let us have the car all day on Tuesday. We took advantage and went on long adventures both in the morning and afternoon. That morning was only mostly cloudy. Anytime the sun peaked through I ran over to try and stand directly in the rays. Nothing. No warmth. :,(

Trying to improve:
1. We ordered a reptile light for me to stand under 5 minutes at a time a few times a day. Hopefully this will help my mood as well as my bodies reluctance to process vitamin D supplements.
2. I cleaned the apartment.
3. We made tortillas this morning and had quesadillas for lunch!! I used this recipe: http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-end-to-my-quest-flour-tortillas.html
4. My husband has been talking more about next year when we will all be home in Austin. I love our home in Austin. Also, we are talking about home remodels and improvements to our land there :)

A friend and my husband’s colleague recently had a son. Great, I thought, this will give me a chance to make one of those Cute Asian-inspired outfits from Ottobre. I found out that they plan to use only disposable diapers (I know–Bleck!). I would make one of the patterns with snaps at the crotch. When I sat down with the magazines and tracing paper, I just couldn’t do it! So strong is my aversion to crotch-snapping! I settled for a little robe/jacket and knit pants that can be paired with the hideous onesies and went to find some good fabrics in my stash.

I picked out a very nice cotton/lycra French terry that is blue with white stars and, of course, bamboo velour to sew and LWI. What I didn’t think about ahead of time is that if you combine LWI and stars with an Asian-ish pattern, you get HIPPIE! See for yourself:

Oh, well. I am going to send them anyway. The outfits work equally well as separates. The pants alone are just plain pants, and the jackets paired with jeans won’t look so…. well, so like the perfect accessory is a chain of dandy-lions :)