Reusable Swim Diapers

Summer has arrived and I've been thinking about how I can finagle some water play time. I'm planning to get a little kiddie pool for Daniel ASAP for fun at home. Then of course there is the sprinkler, which I'm not sure if Daniel will go for that, but we will surely try it a some point. Some friends down the street have a pool that they have graciously given us permission to swim in. I'm super excited about getting Daniel in the water. While on vacation the other week we stayed at a lake front property and Daniel loved splashing and swimming around. He is a true water baby after his mommy's heart!

Along with swimming comes swimmy diapers of course which whether soiled or not must be thrown out. And that is seeming rather wasteful to me, not to mention expensive. Thanks to BB's and Hunter's I sometimes find the swimmy diapers for cheap, but come this summer I'm sure that they will be at a premium and hard to find also. That's why I've been considering cloth swim diapers. Ever heard of them? I hadn't until I started cloth diapering Daniel a few months ago. There are two different kinds that I am aware of, first are Bummis swim diapers which are very similar to the Bummis covers in that they are velcro. And then there are Imse Vimse swim diapers which have snaps. The Imse Vimse seem more convenient to me because frankly Daniel has learned how to undo the velcro and you don't want that happening at the pool!!

So I haven't tried the swim diapers yet, but I'm seriously thinking about it. Also, I entered in the contest above to see if maybe I can win one too. That would be sweet. So check them out and let me know what you think!

The Garden is in!

I am happy to announce that our garden is in! I have been looking forward to planting a garden on our property for some time now. Last year when we moved in it was past time for planting and there was so much else going on that we didn't even try. But this year we were more prepared.


I debated for a long time about where to put our garden since we have so many trees and thus it is difficult to find a spot that gets enough sun to support a garden. The spot we chose is on the left side of the house (garage side, facing the road) and I am hopefull that the sun it recieves will be sufficient. There is one side of the garden that gets more shade so we will see how that end does compared to the rest.

We decided to try "no till" gardening this year. This was a new method for me, my family always tilled the garden in the past to prepare it for planting. However, since this is a brand new plot it posed some challenges, primarily, what to do with the grass? We would have needed a really heavy duty tiller to till in the grass and lifting the sod first was something that we really didn't want to put the back-breaking sweat into! So my dad suggested the "no till" method". So what you do is mark out your plot, then spray the entire area with Round-Up. Which kills everything!! (Eventhough they claim it won't kill the grass.) Let it sit for a day or two and then plant. Within a week all the grass and weeds have died creating (in time) fertilizer for your plants and also protecting somewhat from future weed growth. And then (hopefully) in about two weeks your vegetables start growing.

So this year we have a lovely array of vegetables selected. First off is "Silver Queen" sweet corn. Corn is a bit complicated because you have to have at least four rows for pollination. However, I am (as my husband says) a corn snob, and prefer to have mine fresh off the stalk. I'm always declaring that corn on the cob from the store is "old" and so I decided I must have a least a small amount of corn to satisfy my craving for the freshest available! Then there are green and yellow beans of course, also at their very best when fresh. Roma tomatoes, great for sauces and salads. Green peppers, absolutely a must for the wife of a Cuban husband (most cuban recipes call for green pepper). Also red peppers for salads and other deliciousness! Then yellow squash and zuchinni. Daniel and I are huge, huge fans of squash, Josue meerly tolerates it. So Daniel and I will be eating a lot this year, but that's ok, I'm all for healthy veggies even if I can't get Josue to eat more than a child's serving. Then, let's see, butternut squash, excellent because they keep well, they should last us into the winter. Butternut are great for "pumpkin" pie, you can hardly tell the difference. And then finally, cucumber, which I do not like at all, however Josue loves them and hopefully Daniel will too because there will be a lot of them! The seed packet said that this particular plant is very prolific! Yikes!

So there you have it. Right now, except for the tomatoes and peppers (for which I purchased plants rather than starting from seed), our garden is just a patch of long grass with sticks stuck in the ground to mark the rows. We're super excited to see how it grows and also for all the money that it will save us this summer in produce!!

Do you have a garden? What are you planting this year? (Leave a note in the comments.)

He's officially walking!

So for those of you who don't know, we are currently on vacation at Lake Anna, VA. We're enjoying a lovely time relaxing, reading, boating and playing with Daniel and our nephew, David. Uncle Ryan is home from college and so that has been a wonderful blessing too.

Today Uncle Ryan has been very diligent with Daniel helping him walk around the house and practice his steps. He's been taking steps for some time now, but hasn't really started walking. I thought he would be a early walker as he has always been so active and curious about everthing. But time has passed and he hasn't really shown an interest in it. My theory has been that since he crawls so well, gets around so fast, and is pretty much able to get into anything he wants to, that he hasn't felt any urgency to walk. But with Uncle Ryan's help practicing he has become much more confident in his balance and today has been taking 10-15 steps in a row, and smiling and loving it. He gets this little look of concentration on his face that is so adorable!

So, I guess when we get home from vacation I will be baby proofing to a new level now. Everything will have to go up higher!