Apples Galore!

This past Saturday Trey and I went to the farmer's marker. We stocked up on local eggs, butter, soap and tons of apples! Trying to carry two bags full of apples and have a toddler follow you to the car (when he wants to go to the playground) makes for an interesting trip! I had wanted to go to the apple orchard to pick apples one Saturday, but I didn't know if that would line up with our busy fall schedule, and I was not attempting to take Trey by myself. This was the perfect solution- fresh, local apples, way cheaper than the grocery store, and it took less than 5 minutes to purchase them!



I have many plans for the bags of apples! I bought 1/2 bushel of golden delicious and 1/4 bushel of gala apples. Gala apples are usually my favorite to the eat, but the golden delicious taste even better than the gala ones this time. So far I have made apple cinnamon muffins and am in the process of canning 6 jars of apple pie filling.




I have also used this as a great excuse to buy that food processor I have been wanting forever. Hopefully once that is purchased I can get more apples to make applesauce.


Trey loves to just walk by the bag, pull out an apple and start eating it. They are his favorite snack. One time he decided he needed an apple in each hand to snack on and took one bite out of each one. We are working on that...


After we got home from the farmer's market Trey wanted to eat some apple pieces. At first he walked around holding the piece while he wandered. Apparently this caused him too much difficulty with playing, so he decided to free up his hands and put the whole piece in his mouth, well at least all that fit into his mouth.

Fluffy Bum!

I absolutely love Trey's cloth diapers! We had never known anyone who had used the "modern" cloth diapers so after a lot of internet research we went out on a limb and bought 2 dozen Bum Genius 3.0 one size diapers before Trey was born. We got a lot skeptical responses when we told people we were planning to use cloth. We have used these same diapers since Trey was 3 weeks old! Here is a picture of Trey in his green diaper for Earth Day last year. Isn't he so cute and little!! Despite his lineage Trey has always had very skinny legs- thus making the diaper look a little big, but it was a perfect fit with no leeks!



Originally the idea for cloth diapers was Jay's and not my own. I told him I didn't mind, but that it would be hard with us both working to keep up with the laundry. 17 months later and it has not been a problem at all. Plus Jay is always willing to stay up late to put the diapers in the dryer for the next day. No you read that correctly, he has never complained if I forget to start the diapers until 8 and he has to stay up. I know- I am very lucky!



This picture was taken last October when Trey was six months old. The diapers are on the medium setting. I love all the colors! So much cuter than big bird or elmo in plastic!

I have no walking, toddler pics of the Trey in his diapers because sadly, he can take them off by himself (such a clever little one!) and so we quickly have to pull up his pants or snap his top when we do diaper changes.

This past week we have had a bit of a problem with a rash on T's bottom. This has never happened before this summer. I prided myself on choosing cloth because my child has always had a rash-free bottom! Well- no longer. I thought it was just the heat for a long time and during his 15 month appointment in July the pediatrician said diaper rash was common during teething and Trey has been cutting new teeth whenever the rash appeared (off and on all summer). However, after doing lots of research on what can cause a rash with cloth diapers I realized we had a detergent buildup and that my detergent (which I thought was free of everything!) actually had enzymes in it, causing the rash on my child's bum.

I bought new detergent and have spent all day washing my diapers in REALLY hot water over and over again until all the suds are gone and the diapers are completely free of any build up. Despite the rash and the whole day of diaper stripping (that is the word for this in the cloth diaper world) I still love my cloth and can't wait to go back.

We have been using disposables since Wednesday so I could figure out the best way to strip these diapers and get them ready for wear again. I cannot stand disposables! They stink for one thing. I don't want to smell the diaper before I even put it on my child. They hold an insane amount of liquid, which constantly reminds me of the amount of chemicals on my child's bum that are holding in the liquid. They make Trey's room stinky (even in a diaper pail!) way worse than used cloth diapers before they are washed.

To all those people who told me we were crazy for using cloth or that we would never stick with it- I would never go back to disposables! And you bet we are using cloth for baby number 2!