Cloth Diaper Reviews from Mommies Who Know

Well, the midwife was here this week with good news that all is going well. Of course she isn't in my shoes feeling the heart burn, sore back, sore arm (baby must be pinching a nerve that is causing my arm to hurt), big belly, and sleepless nights. But really all we want is a healthy baby, so according to her, we will have that. We are thankful for that for sure!



With 8 weeks to go, I am starting to get things around and think about how we are going to do things with this baby. I would like to do cloth diapers some. I have used cloth diapers before but did the pinning and used rubber pants like in the olden days. Call me old fashioned if you'd like but it worked. However, now I am seeing all these amazing cloth diapers - one size fits all, all in one dealies, bamboo, wool, inserts, snaps, velcro, etc. I am feeling a little overwhelmed at what is out there. And the prices can vary so much!



So here is the call - I need your input on what is good quality, yet still affordable. Any of you mommies out there that have great words of wisdom on this are very much welcome to comment with what you have done and what brands you like and what styles you like best. Pass the word because I need all of your help! If anybody out there makes cloth diapers, and would like to send me one to try out, feel free to do that as well. Simply leave your name and email address or you can personally e-mail me (you'll find my address in my profile). I would be happy to write a blog just for you and do a review of how I like them.



Thanks in advance for everyone's help! Now let the commenting and suggestions begin.....

Maple Syrup and Birds

Maple Wood - Maple Syrup Days

And

Rum Village Nature Center -

Raptor Review Bird Program

*Field Trips*

Yesterday we had a family day of field trips and fun. It seems the end of the year gets here and school work is not looked at happily, so we try to do other things that would be just as educational as workbooks if not more.

We got up early and headed to Maple Wood in LaGrange for the Maple Syrup Days. We have never gone, so this was new to all of us. We enjoyed a wagon ride out in the maple woods to learn the process of tapping and gathering the syrup. Maple Woods has 300 and some trees tapped and 500 and some taps out. That's a really big job!

After taking our ride, we headed to the sugar making shack where we watched them boiling, stoking the fire, and getting that syrup made to bottle up and serve. Another big process! We enjoyed seeing old friends, Jim Carr and Mike Troyer working away and entertaining those of us taking the tour.

Then we stopped and picked up some friends to head to South Bend to Rum Village Nature Center for a program called Raptor Review. The lady doing the program is a bird rehabilitator and brought two owls with her. This picture is of a great horned owl. The children loved learning about the owls and getting to see real ones. We, of course, had to share with her our sighting of a bald eagle in Mongo, but I don't think she believed us. I guess I never blogged about that story. Well, we saw one anyways, and it was extremely neat!

After the program we decided to take a walk on two of the many trails in the park. We will have to come back here in the spring or summer to see all the plants, and take advantage of the great trails that they have. I think I should find out if there are any letterboxes in this park.

What a lovely day it turned out to be! Here are the children (from left to right) - Diella, Alegra, Zekaryah, Josiah, and Eliyahna. They had so much fun walking on trees that were laying down, running along, and eventually taking the walk slower to see what great things they could spy.

We took lots of pictures of the children, as you can see, and they had fun posing and being silly. What good friends!

Here is Eliyahna and Josiah taking a break along the trail enjoying the sunshine. Couldn't miss this cute photo opportunity.

And the group of them finding the best pose on this rock. I think it took them 10 minutes before they had figured out where everybody should be and how they should be posed for it. Funny! But it turned out quite cute and will be a good memory down the road. Now, when they get older where will baby Amalyah Brothers and baby ? Bovee be? Oh, we'll find room for them.

A giveaway on cloth diapers

Hey, my good friend over at Farmstead Organics is doing a great giveaway. If you are interested in clot diapers, you will want to check this one out. Go visit her here and comment to get in the drawing to win! You can be sure I'm on the list. Hope you all check her blog out and what she has to offer.

Shipshewana Field Trip Fun

Diella, Alegra and Josiah Bovee

Yesterday the children had a field trip to the Davis Mercantile for their Homeschool Event that they are hosting all week this week. If you are a homeschool parent in the Shipshewana or nearby area, you'll want to check it out. Several families from our church came out to take advantage of this fun time. There were a total of 23 children (and 3 babies) that attended from our group. We had so much fun!

If you want to participate, go to the third floor and register at Aunt Millie's Candy shop. From there you will be given the instructions for the scavenger hunt that sends you all over the building. This will take from 1-2 hours depending on how old your children are and if you husband comes along. Jonathon and the other guys I think forgot every now and then that this was for the children not them. :) There is alot of counting and estimating, learning new things such as candle making, an old fashioned button game, pretzel making, making music with your nose, and The Red Wagon let each family pick out a book of their choice under $10 (that was my favorite part). You'll enjoy it and so will your children!

Haley Booher and Zeky and Elli Brothers at JoJos Pretzels where they watched them make pretzels.

And some enjoyed eating them too, like the Wren family.


This was the nursing station. We all enjoyed good fellowship!

The Booher family looking for clues during the scavenger hunt. Elli joined in the drama too.

At Simple Sounds music store, the children learned how to make music with their noses. Very interesting.

And they took a shot at making music with other instruments too. What a great hands on activity for them all. Even Grandma Deborah joined in the fun.

The Danberry family getting ready to hear the nose music.


In this store the children loved seeing all the statues, but they also had to find how many USA made products there were. We did a lot of looking as this store was pretty big and there was so much to look at.

Finding soft blankets on their way out of the store. What a lovely feeling...I just want to snuggle with it.

At Lolly's Fabric Store they had to buy a button with the coin they were given at the start of the day. Then at the end, the lady at the Scrap Yard made an old fashioned button game with it. Great lessons!

This was the end of the scavenger hunt and the children (and some adults) got to ride the carousel. Most of the men just hung out and visited.

Here is Zeky and Alegra waving to the crowd.

Me and Diella.

Zeky, Alegra, Diella, and Eliyahna all at the end of their ride.

Waiting for everybody to get finished and take their turn on the ride...and figuring out lunch plans.

Here is the picket posse. All the children loved watching everybody take their turn. Loved how they all peeked over the fence to watch their friends having fun!

We packed lunch and walked to the park. What a beautiful day to picnic and play.

After lunch we went back to the Mercantile to watch Horton Hears a Who in the theater. Everyday at 2:00pm they are showing a different movie in the theater. After the movie, if you signed up, you then would go to the Daily Bread to decorate a cookie. They had sprinkles and all different colors of frosting. They really had fun with this...

Everybody was creative, making pictures or just piling the colored frosting high like a mountain.

But the end results were pretty and delicious. Here is Diella with her cookie...

And Alegra with her cookie....and a little brother wanting to taste her cookie. :) We finished up around 4:00 and were all whipped when we left, especially the mom. It was a full day, but the fellowship, fun, and learning were wonderful during that gorgeous day with friends.

A Baby Is Born...Not Mine Though!

Last night was such a great night...getting to be a part of the birth of a beautiful baby girl. I had no intentions of being that much a part, but after being there, it sure makes me ready to see what our little one is going to look like and how the whole process is going to go. Everyone keeps asking me if I am going to have a water birth. Well...I don't know. My friend had her first water birth and my biggest question which I asked her shorty after it was all over with was, "Is the water still warm?". With choosing to have a home birth this time around, leaves for so many more options of laboring other than the typical lay in bed and wait for it all to happen. I am one who likes to walk outside for a lot of the labor. With this baby being due in May, we could have some beautiful weather to take a good walk in, and I am considering laboring outside. It seems the most natural place for me who loves nature and hearing the birds sing and feeling the cool breeze. Last night, there were cool breezes, but no birds singing....only dogs barking. So, as people ask me how my birthing experience is going to go, well I just don't know. I guess we will wait and see when the time comes.

For now though, I am super blessed by last nights experience, and so thankful that I could be a part! There are not too many births where the soon-to-be dad is praying and thanking the Father for the baby who will be soon joining them. Blessing the One who gave them this life in the first place even before she was born. What a sweet picture of giving back to the One who gave to them. And what a sweet time after the birth of pure celebration of this life...no machines, no gadgets, no interferrences of what should really take place after every baby is born...worship, praise, and sweet adoration for new life!

Can't wait til it's our turn!

A Sunday Evening In Our House

Well, this evening we have nothing major going on, as most Sundays are. Here is the picture in our house...sit back imagine and try to feel like you are a part of our Sunday evening...

-Jonathon is sittng on the couch, playing his guitar. So relaxing and worshipful. Listen to the strumming, listen to his soothing voice. "I am Yours, I am Yours, everything I have, everything I am. I am Yours, I am Yours, my heart and soul, my mind my strength. I am Yours, I am Yours." That is our prayer this evening!
-The children have pillows all over the kitchen floor pretending there is water below the pillows.
-For this moment they are playing on our bed, pretending to have a hideout. You can imagine what our bedroom looks like because that is what I am doing as I'm scared to look and see for myself what it looks like. :)
-The windows are all open and it looks cloudy and the wind can be heard blowing through the trees. A very dreary evening, but it's amazing how the fire keeps it a little warm despite the fresh air blowing in the windows, and the singing and the giggles coming from my room warms up this tiny house.
-Josiah just ran out, rubbed his nose on his dad's and ran back to our bedroom. So sweet, and perfect. Some nights they sit and sing with us, but Jonathon must want to just sit and play on his own. It's enjoyable that way as well.
-All the children are out here now, laying on the floor and sitting on the couch. They are ready to sing and enjoy the music too.
-Well, I should go and join in the singing. Kind of hard to type and sing both.

I hope you have all had a great first day of the week. We got much done around here and are enjoying the evening before we go to bed. And I'm enjoying hearing my children singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. " Nothing better than hearing those little voices in worship.