Life on the Road

And now for something totally different…  You come to my blog never knowing if you’re going to read about hot political debates or poopy diapers.  Just part of the “keep you on your toes” service we offer! 

I have a bunch of people in my house who have trouble finding clothes that fit:

• I am far too tall for most women’s clothing.
• Wolf is also too tall for most average men’s clothing, and also thin (so proportions on larger swizes don’t work out).
• Jewel is very tall for her age, compounded by the fact that we prefer her skirts longer than the current “norm.”  She’s also very thin.  So at age 3 1/2 she correctly wears about a size 4… except that many of her dresses and skirts are size 6 or larger for length.
• R.T. is quite the opposite.  While he is, actually, tall for his age, he is still much rounder, percentile-wise.  Think Gerber baby.  Think rolly poly.  So my 8 month old child is wearing his sister’s recently castoff size 3T pajamas; the arms and legs are far too long, but it just fits acround his torso and thighs.

I was delighted to see a topic get started on ParentHacks recently about how to tighten pants waistbands.  The original poster wanted to do it without sewing, but of course it grew outwards from there.

It seemed worthwhile to collect and review the various suggestions offered.

Good old safety pins, of course, works for a non-permanent and non-sewing fix.  Diaper pins were also mentiond as an even kid-safer alternative. 

It was even suggested that you can draw the belt loops in with all those linking toy rings that are floating around in the toy box!

And hey, what about good old-fashioned suspenders?

A couple of people recommended a commercial product called Dapper Snappers.  These look quite handy if (a) the clothing in question has belt loops, and (b) your child is still in diapers (otherwise a belt is just fine). 

There are also magnetic belts, if easy-off is the issue (again, onyl good for clothes with belt loops)

A couple of people had minimal-sewing type ideas - from iron-on tape to secure the waist tighter, to tacking some elastic right on the inside of the waistband (easily removed later).  An adjustable variation on this was also illustrated by Just Deanna.

Then there were some more sewing involved ideas:

• Whosies has a great tutorial on inserting elastic into the back casing of the pants, with optional buttoning adjustment.
• Organized Mommy’s tutorial is for insterting a drawstring. 

Since I just can’t help inserting a LITTLE controversy:  Another Parent Hacks comment decried the idea of drawstrings in children’s clothing as dangerous.  Wow.  Sweatpants?  Hooded jackets?  Knitted diaper covers?  Baby bunting nightgowns?  I guess I feel the same way about that as I do about a lot of things like bath ring seats:  Yeah, it’s dangerous - IF you’re planning to go watch soap operas and leave your toddler alone…   AHEM.

A lot of the clothes that I need to alter for Miss J have elastic waistbands, so it’s simple to just open up the seam and take a little tuck.  (I always leave the original elastic intact, though, for her later growth, or hand-me-down-ing).

Some things, though, just don’t lend themselves to an easy fix.  A dress that’s too big, for instance, not only has a waist that’s too large, but also a neckline that’s too low.

For the girl clothes, especially, I’m seeing more and more clearly the need to sew from scratch.

Visit Miss Jocelyn’s blog, A Pondering Heart, and you’ll be treated to the thoughts of a mature young Christian woman.

Click the graphic above to go directly to the post with a drawing for a $25 Gift Certificate to Christa Taylor’s modest clothing website.

Please mention that tiffanyblitz referred you when you leave your comment/entry! 

This is a cool event coming up this weekend.  It’s being orgaized by my great friend and dedicated La Leche Legue leader, Kristin Jayd.

Tickets available at the gate $6 per person, kids 12 and under are free.
For more info call 305-247-5727 or visit www.myspace.com/greatgreenfamilyfestival or www.REHSonline.com

Bring a blanket on Saturday to lay on the lawn and enjoy live music by Groove Kitchen, Psychadelic Mist, Usual Suspects.
On Sunday, sew your own cloth grocery bag from Morsbags: Sociable Guerilla Bagging.

Special Presentations include Green Trends Fashion Show
Soul Full Eating by Maureen Whitehouse Reducing Household toxins by Migule Cisneros Abreu

Buy local, independent, & handmade, from over 40 vendors including:  Arnica Spa to go Bee Heaven Environmental Productions First Choice Pet Food Going Bananas Green and Beyond Green Energy Products Green Veranda Hortitech Kypie Tzexoba Mama Kanga Mandala Art Mansura Stoneware and Raku Mindy & Lola Naturally Naked Nature’s Love Nature’s Natives Richard Lyons Nursery Romney Farms Suriya Thai Spa Tea N Sanity The Potluck Craft Collective featuring Bella Ella Boo Ehbip Arts Cheri’s Naturals Kristin Jayd Motherpath Ropa Vieja Vintage And MORE!!

Eat yummy food from the Crepe Maker Juice Blends Jamaican Organics Thai Donuts & More

Feed your Brain with Biscayne National Park DERM Earth Save Miami Everglades National Park Family Chiropractic Florida Energy Forum Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary La Leche League Patches Soil & Water Conservation Division Sunrise School of Miami the GREEN Party the Mustard Seed Initiative TREEmendous Miami Tropical Everglades Visitor Center and others!

Sounds more like a physical exercise, eh?  And it’s that, of course.

If you’re unloading the moving truck into your new place, it’s all about the brawn.  BUT…

We live in a too-small house that is packed full of stuff.  So what do you do when you decide to shuffle the contents totally?

• Jewel’s bed and armoire were already in our bedroom, but her books, toys, riding horse and other things were still occupying half the room.  Papa’s comicbooks and other collectible stuff were living in the other half.
• Now that room is going to be Nick’s room.
• The room that used to be Nick’s room is going to be the “TV Room,” with some of the Living Room furniture, as well as storage for most of Papa’s stuff.
• The former Living Room is now the little kids’ play room, with all of Jewel’s stuff, plus R.T.’s growing stash.

But where do you start?

We had a lot of discussions that went something like this: 

If we can clear the comics off this rack (shelf) and stuff them somewhere temporarily, and move the rack out to Nick’s old room, then we can move Nick’s bookcase into his new room.  Then we’ll be able to put the DVD rack from the Living Room into the TV room.  Then we’ll be able to put Jewel’s bookcase in the spot where that was…

It felt like one of those slide puzzles, where each piece had to be shuffled around to make way for another piece to move…

It’s more complicated, though.  More like this one:

I think the furniture moving is now complete, but it seems like there’s an awful lot of displaced “STUFF” laying around now.  <sigh>

It all started out as a simple transaction at PaperBackSwap. 

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy that site?  We send off the books we’ve read, and get a constant fresh supply coming in - and you even get free credits just for signing up!  (If you check it out, tell ‘em tiffanyblitz sent you)

But anyway, along with the last book I received was an intriguing thing.  Titled “Informal Book Club,” it’s what we used to call a Chain Letter - in a good way.

You remember the deal, right:

• I send a book to the person whose name is first on the list.
• I remove their name, and add my name to the bottom of the list.
• I send the letter and the revised list to six people.
• Before long I have a mailbox full of books!

This is a pretty mild version: You only have to send it to six people (not ten or something), and there are only two names on the “list” (meaning you don’t get the promise of “856 books!” but that you’re more likely to get some before it dies out).

I haven’t committed to it yet…

I think it’s a great idea, and works out to be a good deal no matter how you look at it.

Shipping one book that I no longer want, using Media Mail rates, is cheap and easy.  I’ll get at least some new books from it, and possibly up to 36!  I can read the ones that interst me, and all of them can be swapped for PaperBackSwap credits to get the books I really want.

The letter could just as easily be sent out as an email, saving even the printing and mailing cost and hassle of that part.

But I’m not sure I know six people that would want to participate - at least not well enough to feel right about asking.

Would you like to join the Book-O-Rama?  Just comment or email me (tiffany (at) tiffanyblitz (dot) com) with your email addy, and you’re in! 

Sorting and unpacking revealed a treasure-trove of girl clothes I was saving for the next one…  But since I don’t think *he* will want them, I want to sell or trade them.  After posting to one group and contemplating posting to another, it occured to me that it would be far easier to post the info here and just refer to it from other places.

Soon-to-follow posts will include the gender-neutral and boy clothes R.T. is so speedily outgrowing.

I’ve photo’d them in size groupings, mostly (click thumbnail pics to see a larger view).  I’d love to get rid of whole chunks rather than piece by piece, but will take whatever I can get.  We can negotiate a price, and/or see my “ISO” list at the end.

Obviously, I can give you more details about anything, as needed. 

Thanks!

Cute winter things.  Snowsuit says 6-12 mos.  Reversible jacket has no tags - I want to say 2T?  Cute suede/furry boots (Ugg knock-off).

Newborn:

12 mos.

18 mos.

24 mos./2T

TAKEN:
Pink turtleneck

TAKEN:
Black longsleeved dress
Blue longsleeved dress
Pink w/bows dress

TAKEN:
Sleeveless floral dress (top center)

3T

TAKEN:
All 3 dresses

Shorts overalls with hat, 5; 2 pairs of pants, 6

Girly socks

Shoes - new & like new - I got rid of the ones she actually wore…

In Search Of – Just a random list of things I’d be willing to trade for.  Try me on others! 

• Medium-long or Large Diapers, gender-neutral or boyish (fitteds, wool covers/shorties/etc.)
• Cool diaper bag
• Family cloth?
• Modest swimwear / swimwear fabrics (lycra, Taslan (?), ??)
• Wool for dipes (fresh or recycled)
• Handcrafted gifts/toys/household goods
• Modest apparel – clothing for a tall mama & girl (size 6-ish); papa & son (men’s L) and baby (12 mos. and up)
• Modest apparel – fabric & patterns for the whole family
• Fabric & notions
• Snaps (ployacetyl resin (”plastic”), size 20)
• Crochet supplies ? (we’re just learning)
• Books (kids ages 0, 3, 14; Christian fiction)
• Fun food stuff / kitchen stuff
• Old-school homemaking stuff

Nick turned 14, and we haven’t really had a party, but…

We spread out the fun by allowing him to open one present each hour.

We took him to Cici’s for an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, which is pretty much his idea of nirvana.

And Papa got up to his cake decorating tricks again.  I baked a cake using the same Wonder Woman cake pan we’d used for Jewel’s birthday cake, but he decorated it up as Nick’s bud, Wolverine!

Pretty clever guy, eh? 

It’s hard to believe Nick is 14 and starting High School…  Where does the time go?

One thing I’ve been persuing in my quest to be thrifty is changing our laundry soap.

The first thing I tried was a make-your-own-detergent kit from Soaps Gone Buy, to make this recipe:

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup 20 mule team borax

Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light loads, use 2 tablespoon. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons.

Obviously the pre-grated soap and all is more expensive than buying everything totally from scratch, but it seemed like the best compromise for trying it out - and it’s still cheaper than the brand name stuff.

I liked it, especially at first…  But I had the feeling it was just not doing all it could be. 

Did I mention that the water here is disgusting?  It’s very hard, and it’s also nasty well-water with all kinds of yuck in it…

Miss J was still in diapers during the early parts of this quest, and we were having trouble with an amonia smell whenever she wet, as well as varying degrees of diaper rash that looked almost burn-like. 

The consensus of opinion was that this could all be attributed to detergent residue.  Too much detergent, or a “bad” one (for the siutation, at least), so it wasn’t getting rinsed out completely - in spite of a complete extra wash/rinse cycle to re-re-RE-rinse the diapers.

Home-made detergent, as I’d made, is one of the common “good” choices.  Rats.

So I tried ordering some Charlie’s Soap online.  Again, I liked it; again, especially at first.  Over time it seemed to still build up.  And by “over time” here I’m talking about two to four washings, not months or years…

Then I tried Purex, another popular cloth diapering choice.  Same result.

By now I was very frustrated.  I guess that’s not bad, since probably nothing but that level of frustration would have gotten me to shell out for Allen’s Naturally (although it is still supposedly a good value, since you use so little).  And…

It works!

Jewel is out of diapers, so R.T. may just have different chemistry.  But we’ve been using this for over a month now, and I’m still happy.

I also just found another option, though.  Someone from a cloth diapering online community discussed diaper laundry wuth a friend who is a chemist.  She (the chemist) looked at what was out there, then created this recipe:

1 55 oz. box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Mule Team Borax
2 Cups Oxygen Cleaner-She recommends Sun ($5 @ Dollar General)
1/2 cup Simple Green
1/2 cup Calgon Water Softening Powder

Empty all into a bucket and mix together with your hands. Use 1 heaping scoop (1/8 cup) for diapers, 2 scoops for regular laundry. After we’ve used this for a while some have had to increase to 2 scoops for diapers, 3-4 for regular laundry….you will probably have to experiment a bit to see what works best with your water.

I chuckled when in her comments she said “this should work comparably to Allen’s.”  Made me wonder if I shouldn’t just stick with Allen’s…  But someone sent be a baggie full to try, so what the heck. 

With a new baby in the house, and having been quite ill lately, I haven’t been able to do anything with my home businesses.  I’ll go inactive with Tupperware at the end of this week if I don’t get $250 worth of orders in.

Would you consider helping?  There are lots of great sales and promotions going on…  Check it out at:  Tupperware Blitz (a company site - orders are shipped direct to your door!).

As a thank you for helping me out, anyone who orders before 12 noon on Friday, May 30th will be entered in a drawing for a terrific F.R.E.E. Tupperware package

And anyone who orders $25 worth or more will receive a F.R.E.E. gift directly from me!

Thank you!!

- Tiffany
——————————
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
                      - I Corinthians 10:31. NKJV

Let me start off by saying that my local La Leche League leader is just really cool!  (Check out her website: Kristin Jayd - belly masks, organic produce, photography…).

She recycles old wool sweaters into the most gorgeous diaper covers…  She sells her “booty sweaters” on her Etsy site, Booty Boutique, but check out the one she made for RT (and his Papa, Wolf!):

And furthermore, I also always thought of wool as hot…  maybe that’s just because I’ve typically seen it in sweaters.  :)  Actually, as a breathable natural fiber, it keeps R.T.’s skin much cooler in our tropical weather than the modern “waterproof” fabric diaper stuff we have.

In case you missed it, I am now a huge fan of wool.  I tried raiding our local Goodwill for wool sweaters, to learn the “booty sweater” craft for myself, but I guess in this climate people just don’t have ‘em.

If you happen to be cleaning out your closet, remember us!