Weather you have a house full of kiddos like me or just one, you've got crayons. I don't know about your kids, but prior to my making them all their own little crayon rolls, we had a crayon mess all the time. The box we kept them in got dumped out often and crayons got broken on a regular basis. Of course this doesn't happen anymore, but I still have a box half full of broken crayons collecting dust and I despise waste!

So I went in search of ideas for those crayon bits and after finding tutorials like this in about 100 different blogs I decided I'd try it.. my own way of course. I feel I must mention this tutorial though, because it was different. I would have done something like it but ended up not having enough crayon bits to make it work.

Everything I read said preheat oven to 350 and break out the muffin tin. But since I always put my oven on hiatus over the summer and use it as a storage shed for baking pans, I used the toaster oven instead and I didn't preheat it. I also used my mini muffin pan instead of the regular one.. sadly I don't use the mini much so I didn't mind getting crayon bits in it.

So I peeled, broke up and evenly distributed my crayon bits into my mini muffin pan. Only had enough bits to fill 6 little cups but that's ok. Slid it into the toaster oven, put in on 350 and about 5 minutes later I had little bowls of crayon soup that smelled .. well they smelled like something alright. Stuck the pan into the fridge and about 15 minutes later we had 6 little crayon cakes that resembled smallish peanut butter cups.

I must say, they are a big hit! This was an amusing thing to do on a rainy morning that ended up keeping them quiet and occupied for over an hour! (which is an amazing thing in momland!)

ETA 7/3/09: My almost 11 month old oddly didn't try to eat these! He actually sat at the table with us and was rubbing them on the paper!!

My youngest son will be turning a year old on August 6th, so naturally my insurance company sent him a birthday card yesterday. Since we are so close an all... Of course the card said he was due for a Well Child visit with his pediatrician and that he was in desperate need of some vaccinations. So, like all junk mail, I handed it over to the kids so they could play with it.

Later, while cleaning up, I gathered up all the junk mail and took it to the paper recycling box. As I tossed it all in though, something fell out. It was the Well Child Chart that listed all the appointments a child should have with all the vaccinations and whatnot listed under each age. I almost tossed it in, but I was struck by how long it was so I decided to take a closer look.

Even though I already know how insane the vaccine schedule is, it was still shocking to see it. According to this chart, Lucas has already missed over 20 shots! And he's only 10 months old! He's never even been to the doctor, aside from the doc that checked him over at the hospital when he was born. He's never had a reason to go since we don't vaccinate and like the other kids, he's never sick. Matter of fact, the last time we even saw their pediatrician was over 2 years ago when I made the decision to completely stop vaccinating. Now if anyone gets sick we go to a homeopathic center where our entire family can see a neuropath, homeopath and even a chiropractor.

More upsetting than seeing that vaccine schedule laid out was the addition of some new things on the Well Child chart. Not only do they now want children to get a flu shot 5 times by the time they turn one but they also have to have a verbal risk assessment at each visit starting at 9 months! What on earth would a 9 month old need a verbal risk assessment for? This is scary. I see how the "autism spectrum" is pushed in school to benefit funding and test scores, but now they want to push it on babies too? Why, so they can just weed them out of school altogether? I will never understand how they expect children to all fit in the same mold, and it was bad enough poor parents and children all over America are being told their children are less than perfect because they don't fall in line with those stupid developmental charts. This is ridiculous, children this young should not have to jump through hoops to perform! Verbal risk assessment my ass! All of my children did EVERYTHING at different times! And I mean everything, from crawling and walking to eating and talking. Each of them different in so many ways, but all of them perfectly normal developmentally.

I am so thankful that I question things and do extensive research when I don't understand or agree with something. I'm so happy that instead of looking through some doctor's developmental glasses I trust my maternal instincts and use intelligence and common sense instead to nurture my children as I see fit. Letting them grow and learn as they were intended to.

It is a scary world indeed that our government, the pharmaceutical companies and the medical field are trying to create for us. Living off the grid is now more savory than ever and I hope it is something we can accomplish before our children grow up.

After playing around with several of the prefold into fitted or 'prefitted' tutorials I found on the web, I decided I didn't care for any of them and developed my own! This can be done with or without a serger if you like and is much less bulky in the legs than some of the other non-sergered prefitted ideas! You will need a fun print for this, I have used both cotton weave and flannel, but find the flannel works much better and provides an extra layer of absorbency. And you only need a little more than you would use if you were just embellishing your prefold. Have fun! (scroll to the bottom if you'd like to see a finished dipe)

Start off by ironing your prefold. It's much easier to work when it's non-quilty.. or at least less quilty.

Next you want to fold your prefold in half longwise and trim it down a bit depending on what size prefold you are using. I have premium 4x8x4 (blue serging) ones and having used them already through 2 children I always end up folding them down about 2 inches, all the way to potty training! You may not need or want to do this if your prefolds don't need any folding. (nevermind my old ripped ironing board cover.. it was my grams, can't seem to part with it now that she's gone)

After you get the length you want, it's time to cut in the tabs. You can make a template or use a pattern you love, either way you want to make sure you leave at least 3/4 of an inch next to the center seams to encase the elastic and turn.

Take the piece you removed, which will become the soaker pad, and line the straight edge up with the opposite end of the prefold. Use the tab you made as a template to make the soaker and extended tabs.

Next you want to shape your extended tabs as you like, either squared or rounded. And here is where you can avoid serging on the tabs. Divide the layers of your extended tabs up and stitch as close as you can to the edge on both, leaving the end you will attach. Turn right side out, iron and set aside. OR just leave them the way they are, as I did and you can serge or zigzag the entire tab later.

Now take the remaining pieces which will become your soaker.

TIP: Before you start sewing change your needle to a heavy duty one, 90/14 or 100/16. These are thick in some areas to sew through and I broke a few needles before I actually walked over to my supply draw to get a heavy needle.

Stitch them up long sides together giving about an inch seam allowance. Open the seam, press and trim the edges. Lay the soaker down on your cotton print/flannel and cut. Line up your soaker and your print, right sides together and sew leaving an opening to turn. Turn right side out, press and topstitch the opening closed. You can topstitch the entire soaker pad if you like. You will most likely end up with a neater looking pad.. unless you are sewing with children running circles around you and sitting on your lap - like me :)

Ok, now let's go back to the tabs. If you left the extended tabs unfinished, just butt the edges together and zigzag. Then surge or zigzag around the raw edges. If you turned them; split the bottom edge of the tabs on the prefold evenly, tuck the raw edges under and press. Then butt the edges together, zigzag and then topstitch the entire tab.

Mark where you want your elastic, this will be different depending on how chunky of a thigh you are dealing with :). Use your favorite pattern or diaper for a guide.

Then split the layers of material evenly between your markings, just like you did if you turned your tabs, and "blind stitch" your elastic in - stretching tightly as you go. OR you can tack it down at the markings because once you add your decorative fabric it will create a casing. Before you put your elastic in you will want to cut a strip of your decorative fabric. Cut it the length of the prefold with an inch added and the width of the front with an inch added.

This is what it should look like when you are done if you zigzagged your elastic:

Next sew your soaker in. There are a few different ways you can do it. I opted for petal style, which seems to be best for faster drying times. But you can also stitch down the middle. Placement of the pad is totally up to you, I placed mine towards the front because rear end of my kids diapers are always dry (boy or girl), but you may want it more in the middle.

Take your decorative fabric and line the right side up with the inside of the diaper, fold your soaker out of the way so you don't sew over it and pin the fabric down to where you started your elastic or where the wing for the tab begins.

Make sure you pin and stretch it out evenly so you get the same amount of fabric overlap on each side. If you did not zigzag your elastic down then you will need to make sure it is tucked in good as not to sew over it. Then sew it up the sides and across the front, remembering not to go further than the wing. Go back over the edge of the seam you just made with a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying and create a stronger seam. Then turn it right side out and press.

If you want, you can add elastic to the back now. I normally don't because it never makes much of a difference for me. But I added it this time, just zigzag a piece down pulling tightly across the thick part of the prefold.

Take the flap of decorative fabric and fold it in about half an inch or however much overlap you have to meet the seam, press then topstitch.

And that's it! Your done!

Clear as mud? :) (one of my dance teachers used to say that all the time with new choreography)

TIP: When washing, make sure you use a normal or gentle spin setting. I accidentally left my machine on a heavy duty spin setting and frayed the 2 prefitteds I had in that load. They aren't ruined and I can fix them, but it could have been avoided.

Outside:

Inside:

All pinned up! (excuse the loose threads, my cat took it for a drag around the house while I was tending to something else.. haha)

And of course, the action shot of the elusive Lucas bolting through our bedroom curtain! (yes we have a door but these kids always open it!).. excuse the unvacuumed floor.. can't vacuum and sew all in one day.. haha

Here's a couple shots of one with a cotton print. I made this one without back elastic and the leg elastic was not zigzagged down. Also I used plain white flannel to cover the soaker pad instead of the Thomas print because it is softer and more absorbent.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I could live without even having a television in my house. I don't care for it, don't have cable and don't let my kids sit around watching all day long. Matter of fact it is only on when I'm certain something I (or the kids) want to watch is on. I learned long ago that the zombified state television watching produces is not good. My oldest son taught me that.

Earlier today I was reading threads over on CafeMom and came across something that struck me odd. Apparently the CafeMom team was announcing that they would be featured on a morning talk show and while reading through the comments I found myself getting angry. SO many moms said things like "well I'll try to tune in, if I can get the remote away from my child" or "I'll try to change the channel and hope there is no screaming". And I sat there thinking, "What!?".

When I want the TV off, I walk over to it and shut it off. I can't even imagine my kids telling ME when and what goes on the TV. Even when my oldest son was always watching TV when I said off, it went off. Any kind of screaming, ranting or whining results in a time out and nobody gets to change the rules.

Somebody please tell me that I'm not the only one teaching my kids good things. What kind of world will we have when the toddler generation that's been soaked in nothing but video games and television grows up. It's sad and scary and turns my stomach.

I just wanted to share my experience with Charlie's Soap. I had been searching the internet looking for opinions on it for certain things and could not find anything related to what I was looking for!

Previously for laundry I had been using Sun & Earth 2x liquid detergent for just about everything and I never use fabric softener of any kind, just a couple tennis/dryer balls in the dryer. For stripping purposes and other things (i.e. stinkies, buildup) I was mixing up my own detergent occasionally for diapers, wipes, mama cloth and nursing pads. Lately I had found I was stripping too often, it was becoming a hassle and I needed a change.

So after much online research filled with red-eyed forum reading I decided to try Charlie's Soap. I got a free sample down at my local Nature's Way and decided to start with a load of dipes. The sample contained enough for 4 loads.. but I had to run a washer cleansing load first which used up 2 loads worth. Then I ran a load of dipes with the recommended amount of detergent. After running that load I was convinced.

I washed my diapers as so many others suggested in the forums with one tablespoon (or one scoop that they so awesomely provide you in each little bag) of Charlie's Soap in a short cold wash followed by a short hot wash. Into the dryer they went and when they came out, the stinkies I had been battling for weeks were GONE! I smelled nothing but clean! In just one wash! I did a little shopping around and decided to purchase 160 loads worth of the laundry powder directly through their website (http://www.charliesoap.com/) since they had free shipping and a discount on bulk orders.

I used up the remainder of my old detergent, simply because I cannot waste things, and am happy to say that everything has cycled through and been washed with Charlie's Soap! My laundry has never been cleaner or softer! Of course I'll need to continue using it to see the full effects and be sure I never get build up, but at this point having tried just about everything else I've never been more satisfied with a laundry product!

Just a few tips though:
1. Test your water!
With Charlie's Soap you will need 2 scoops if your water is hard and it may not be worth it. Also, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for laundromat use since you'd have to clean out each machine before each use OR use 2 scoops with each load.. without getting as great results .. (but that goes with any detergent really, laundromat machines are skeevy.. I have to use them on occasion and I never feel like my laundry is clean enough)
2. Clean out your fabric softener cup!
When you run the initial wash to clean your machine of all the old residue, you will want to add a cup of vinegar to your fabric softener cup. Personally, I pulled it and it's entire housing out and washed it really well first. Then I added the vinegar and ran the washer cleaning load. You want to make sure ALL the fabric softener residue is gone, especially if you are washing diapers because fabric softener essentially will ruin them.

That said, Charlie's Soap is my hands down favorite detergent and I would recommend it to everyone!