Saturday, 30 January 2010

  • My Laundry Arsenal has a new weapon!

    My journey to clean clothes and diapers has always been a struggle. As most of you know, the traveling alone makes me want to throw a blanket over my head and cry! Finding detergents that clean well, leave no residue and don't cause irritation or allergic reactions has proven hard as well. Couple all that with all the trials and tribulations associated with the alchemy of water softening and laundry becomes a full time job.

    This journey has taken me through testing every detergent that got 4 stars on every safe list, trying every homemade recipe and every WAHM brand as well! At one time I was washing diapers in my sink with baking soda and vinegar. Another point in time I was using original powder Tide, then Sun & Earth, Purex Naturals, Arm & Hammer Essentials, Charlie's Soap - till I finally found Lil' Outlaws for the win! All the others worked well too though, particularly the Arm & Hammer Essentials unscented and the Sun & Earth - both of which I still keep around and would use with no problem if my fav were depleted. Unfortunately Tide irritates both Luke's and my skin, Charlie's Soap actually burned him and the Purex Naturals were ok for the clothes, they took too  many rinses to remove from dipes no matter how little I used!

    For water softening I have tried vinegar, baking soda, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, RLR, Ecover and Borax until the right alchemy with Calgon/Oxyclean was achieved! Even though some of these things have the same ingredients and would seem to all do the same thing, they DON'T! It took a series of different tests over a couple years to perfect it. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda comes close to the water softening results I get from oxyclean but it's not as good in the hard water I'm using at the moment.

    Oh and killing bacteria? Tried/used it all: tea tree oil, lavender essential oil, bleach (bleck! I only keep a tiny amount around now for my stubborn dirty toilet), BacOut and baking soda. Tea tree oil is my preferred choice, a drop or 2 in the offending washload, paired with an extra rinse cycle, does the trick for me.

    The actual washing routine changed mightily as well. From pre-rinsing and double or triple washing to 2nd 3rd and 4th rinses after washing - I've done it all. I now have it down to a science that is pristine where I now do laundry. Lord help me when we move and I have to do all this again! For now though, it is simple but time consuming, inconvenient and somewhat expensive.

    For our regular laundry I use 1 tablespoon of Lil' Outlaws with 2 tablespoons of (offbrand) Oxyclean in a full hot wash, no fabric softener in the wash or dryer - only my handmade wool dryer balls. For my diapers, mama cloth and heavily soiled rags/towels I use 2 tablespoons of Lil'Outlaws with 2 tablespoons of Calgon in a short cold wash, then run a full hot wash with nothing an dry on hot with the wool balls. This has been working for me perfectly for some time. I haven't had to strip dipes in months and months and our clothes have never been softer or cleaner - so I'm satisfied. But as I said, there are inconveniences and they are getting to be a bit much for me. So I began searching threads looking for something new...

    Well thanks to the suggestion of some of the wonderful ladies over on the CWCB board I have successfully added a new weapon to my laundry arsenal!

    Arm & Hammer with Oxyclean (powder, not liquid)!

    I was obviously a little skeptical at first, since I've done SO MUCH testing and research to get to currently perfected laundry alchemy that I didn't want to mess with it and end up having to strip dipes or something!

    So I went out the other night and picked up a box to check it out. The fragrance was STRONG straight through the box, which was a little disturbing. More disturbing though was the size of the scoop you are supposed to use for one load of laundry! I measured it out and it fit 14 tablespoons of the powder in it! 14!

    Assuming I might need double what I'd normally use considering two products are combined here I used 6 tablespoons in my first try. I just happened to have a loads worth of stinky rags waiting to be washed which I thew in with it on a single hot wash! They came out of the washer seemingly stain and stink free, which doesn't always mean they are clean... but on inspection of the final rinse cycle I saw no suds or residue floating on top so I was really excited! Out of the dryer they smelled as fresh and clean as they normally do with Outlaws!! Next I did towels, the kids clothes and our clothes - same result!

    This means I can save my Outlaws stash strictly for washing dipes!

    Out of curiosity I had to test it on diapers, but first I had to test it on Luke's super sensitive butt! I trifolded a flannel wipe (that I just washed with the A&H w/Oxy) and laid it in his diaper. Next diaper change I found a nice smooth, non-red butt! Yay! Now onto the diapers!

    After much deliberation, I decided on 8 tablespoons (or 4 scoops with the Oxyclean scoop) for a full load and ran through my regular routine. A 'full' wash load to me is 3/4 of the way up the agitator with plenty of room for everything to move freely through the wash. I took a peek into the machine during the final rinse/agitation of the cold wash to find NO SUDS! That means I most likely could have skipped the hot wash, but I wanted to be sure all the enzymes were rinsed clean so I ran the hot wash as well.

    The result? Fresh clean dipes, with one exception - microfiber. Anyone that cloth diapers knows how well microfiber can hold stink when you are dealing with hard water, and I'm no stranger. I have a couple microfiber inserts that are 3 or 4 layers thick, sewn together, and upon using one of them in a pocket last night I found out that after one use on Luke - it REEKED! But the insert in Raven's nighttime pocket did not. Now, I generally always rinse inserts of this type prior to tossing them in the wetbag - weather they were poo'd on or not - but I occasionally forget, which would explain stinkage. I'm going to chalk it up to user error because some of the rags I washed initially stank to high heaven prior to washing and didn't even retain an inkling of stench.

    I will of course do some more testing to satisfy my own idea of laundry perfection, and in the meantime I have quite a Lil' Outlaws stash to keep my dipes awesomely clean. For now though, the fact is, Arm & Hammer plus Oxyclean powder gets things clean, rinses away well AND is safe for sensitive little buns!!

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

  • Lukie's New Coat! (update with action shot)

    Originally posted: December 07, 2009 4:53 PM

    That little bit of snow we got here in Jersey a couple days ago brought quite a chill with it! The weather was pretty mild prior to that and we'd all be surviving just fine in sweatshirts - but not anymore!

    Lucas was the only one without a good fitting coat so I decided to remedy that today! Some fleece scraps and poly batting were all it took to throw this together.

    newcoat01

    I only had a few scrap pieces of this awesome blue Tonal Skull print polyester fleece - that I was saving for a possible diaper but after measuring the pieces I realized I had just enough for the jacket outer! So I pulled out the rest of my materials and got to work. The lining is a white polyester polar fleece and sandwiched between in the bodice is a nice squishy layer of batting.

    I used one of Willow's old sweatshirts in 24 month size as a pattern. I just seam ripped the entire thing and used the pieces as a pattern.

    I only had 3 navy snap caps and I really wanted 5 so I held off on the snap closures and used a few pieces of touchtape instead. I'll swap it out when I pick up the navy snap caps I need.

    newcoat02

    Aside from the touchtape, I'm extremely happy with the outcome, it will be perfect for the rest of winter! I'll try to get an action shot later.. Lukie is napping! Thanks for looking!

    Since originally posting I've added standard metal snaps and managed to get an action shot! It looks like the hood is too small, and while Luke DOES have a huge head, it's just the angle - it fits his big head perfect!

    actioncoat

Sunday, 17 January 2010

  • Best Interest

    What is a child's best interest? and what would you do to protect it?
    It is making sure that child is in the very best place they could be with every need met, Right? A parent would do anything to protect their child without considering their own selfish needs, Right?

    What does that mean really? Anything? Would you lie? Would you commit crimes and break the law to protect your child's best interest? I concede that a person would not have to break any boundary to complete this task, and if they do then surely they are no longer even considering a child's best interest and only focused on their own.

    Let's say you were entrusted with the very important task of protecting the best interest of a child that was not yours? And just for giggles let's say you work for a corrupt and failing agency hell bent on doing anything to further it's own political gain. Would you still even be capable of protecting the best interest of innocent children?
    No, you would not.
    Yet people fitting this description are abundant within our judicial system. It is a scary world we live in.

    You may be able to lie with such conviction that you could convince an entire courtroom, or an uninformed judge, of anything; but you are still lying. Your actions would put innocent children into the care and supervision of very dangerous people. Your actions would destroy families. To further your own agenda you would do unspeakable things and you would know it. You can't lie to yourself. At the end of the day you will always know that what you are doing is wrong. If you knew you were right, there would be no need for lies and underhandedness. Fact is, the truth can stand on it's own but your lies will not hold water when the burden of proof in upon you. You cannot just continue to lie and expect everything will just land in your favor. Eventually it will all fall down on you.

    I wonder if people like this ever cared about the best interest of the innocent. I wonder what the karmic repercussions will be like for them. I wouldn't even want to guess what's in store for people whose lies hurt innocent children.

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

  • PreFitted Tutorial Lux Edition!

    I finally found the time to update my PreFitted Tutorial with all the bells and whistles! This is the luxury edition, complete with velour! haha

    This is a very simple and inexpensive way of turning prefolds you already have into adorable fitteds without using a serger. Several things have changed with this new tutorial and I will try to explain everything in full detail, so it's picture obese! If I've left anything out or you have any questions, please let me know!

    To start, get your materials together: prefolds, elastic, decorative print (anything goes here ie: flannel, cotton weave, knits and if you use poly fleece you will essentially end up with an AIO), velour (for the lux edition, haha) and your pattern.

    You may also want to add touchtape or snaps. Personally I prefer pins or snappi's. If you are planning on using snappi's make sure your decorative print is snappi-friendly (ie: knits, velour, stretch terry, some flannels, etc.).

    Just a tip: wash all your fabrics (I even wash my elastic!) before cutting to avoid shrinkage issues and to remove any yukky residues left behind from dying, manufacturing and shipping.

    01 

    Disclaimer: Yep, the prefold I'm using here is stained.. I'm not a stickler for stain removal in dipes, they all eventually come out in the wash and this one has already gone through 2 kids so it's old to boot. And yes, I'm still using my grams ironing board complete with the ratty old stained cover I can't seem to part with - it's clean, just looks crappy.. nevermind it. :)

    First, iron your prefold (and the rest of your fabric) - they are so much easier to work with once ironed. Then cut the serged edges off - OR you could seam rip the edges. Any prefold will work, even gerbers (which don't turn out half bad either, I did half a stash for my bud Suzie and she loves them) but here I'm using a premium unbleached chinese one.

    02

    Lay your pattern down over the ironed prefold and trace it out with a washable marker. Make sure to mark your elastic. Trace it out on your decorative print as well and cut both out. I'm using the final edition of the one-size pattern I drafted.

    03

    When I draft patterns I don't add seam allowances. Instead I trace it out and cut a quarter inch or so outside the line. This way I can just sew down the line for perfect edges. If you are using or have drafted a pattern with seam allowances cut right on the line.

    Just a tip: when cutting apart an old prefold you may find lint buildup stuck along seams and in corners, sweep it all out to maximize bulk reduction.

    04

    The excess will make the soaker, lets start here.

    05

    Open it up on the fold and press.

    06

    Depending on your pattern, you may have more or less than I do here. Define an even rectangular shape out of the scraps, stack them together and stitch down one of the short ends.

    07

    Open it up, lay flat and press. Here's your soaker panel.

    08

    Time to break out the velour! Or whatever fabric you have handy, but lets face it - velour is softest and squishously yummiest to use - hence the Lux! Cut out 2 rectangles the same size as the soaker panel.

    09

    Place the velour right sides together and top with the soaker panel, pin three sides together and sew.

    10

    Trim off the excess, anytime you are going to turn and topstitch you wanna reduce the bulk as much as possible. Turn it right side out.

    11

    I like to do a 3-step zig-zag stitch down the center of the pad to avoid shifting during washing, then topstitch.

    12

    Center the soaker panel where you want it on the right side (or the side without the pattern lines) of the prefold.

    14

    Attach it with a tight zig-zag stitch twice over.

    15

    Depending on your pattern and the size/brand of your prefold, you may want or need to extend the wings. Since I am using my one-size fitted I want the wings to match so I'm adding some velour and you can do the same. Just lay the prefold over the decorative diaper cut and cut the excess out of velour making sure to account for seam allowance.

    13

    Pin them on and stitch right sides together.

    16

    Press the seams toward the velour and stitch down for added strength.

    17

    You can use straight stitch, but I think a zig-zag stitch will prevent fraying better.

    18

    Next you'll want to trim away some excess bulk at the back of the prefold where the elastic will go.

    19

    Just separate the layers in the center, clip about 3/4 of an inch on each side and trim away.

    20

    Center your decorative print over the prefold and pin. I've used a snuggle flannel here with an awesome print that was graciously sent to me by my friend Suzie!

    21

    You are not going to stitch down the front, instead leave the entire length open for turning. I always pin to prevent shifting while sewing, especially with knits. Stitch down the line, unless you used a pattern with a seam allowance. In that case, use whatever seam allowance the pattern calls for.

    22

    When you are done stitching, trim away the excess outside the marks you made for the elastic. This will leave seam allowance only where the elastic will go.

    23

    Separate the layers of the remaining seam allowance leaving only 2 or 3 layers of the prefold and trim away the rest. This will remove the bulk and allow the elastic to stretch and relax to it's full extent when tacked down. I find 2 layers is sufficient, but if you are using something very old and worn you may want to use 3.

    24

    Here is what it should look like when done trimming.

    25

    I like to tack elastic down the seam allowance using the 3-step zig-zag stitch. Tack the end down by going back and forth a few times then stretch it pulling tightly to the end of the exposed seam allowance. Be sure to go back and forth over the opposite end as well.

    26

    Here is what it should look like with both the leg and back elastic in place. This is also what it looks like when my cat refuses to get off the ironing board. :)

    27

    Turn it out, press if you like (and I do like to because I find I end up with crisper edges) and topstitch around the front and back wings. I do not topstitch around the leg elastic in this particular design because the bulk of the prefold will end up hindering full usage of it.

    To finish, lay the front opening flat, press and trim any uneven edges. Then just close it up with a tight zig-zag stitch twice over.

    28

    Here is the inside, you may end up with a shorter or longer soaker panel depending on your pattern. I find longer is better because you can fold it up in front for boys or in half for girls!

    29

    Here is the outside laid flat.

    Just a tip: Never wash using a heavy duty spin cycle. Diapers can fray and get ruined. (Found that one out the hard way!)

    30

    All pinned up in front.

    31

    Side view. If you notice, one of the benefits to not topstitching around the elastic is that the decorative print ends up rolling in creating a softer leg casing in most cases!

    32

    Top view.

    33

    A very grumpy Lucas in need of a nap did not want to model for me so the action shots are limited and crummy! Hopefully I'll get better ones after it's washed again.. and of course since it's a one size, I can use it on Raven too! It will look better on her anyway! haha Luke can rock the girlie prints though!

    34

    35

    and here it is folded down in front and snappi'd on my 2 month old 16lb chunker Raven!

    36

    Talk about a versitile design! (toots my own horn.. haha)

    37

     

     

     

     

Monday, 04 January 2010

  • Theives

    My domain name has been stolen from me. I am devistated over it. With the obvious distraction of Raven's birth, I somehow missed one tiny detail in renewing it and some shady person from another country scooped it up in hopes of scamming me out of way more than it's worth to get it back.

    I sent them a friendly email:
    Hi,
     
    I just found out you recently purchased my domain name,     www.hatcherbee.com. I had a baby in November and accidentally missed the renewal. I have used this domain name since 2004 to run my business, is there any way I can get it back?
    Please let me know.
     
    Thank You,
    Nicole Dahlberg Evans

    Their reply:
    Hello,
    we are planning to use it and already ordered web design and texts from copywriters.
    If you would like to buy it you can provide your offer and it will be reviewed
    Thanks

    Yeah, no - I'm not going to bend to that nonsensical pile of crap but I am going to get it back. After doing many many comprehensive searches, I've discovered (as I suspected) that NO ONE one this earth has ever used that name for anything and no one ever will! The law says I'm covered under a Common Law Trademark and I am going to enforce that.

    Protect your domain! Make sure you keep up with renewing it or someone could be waiting to snatch yours up too!

    This is the person that stole my domain, from www.whois.net, feel free to give him your 'two-cents':

    Registrant:
    Alexey Mihaylov
    Kalinskaya str 7-43
    Kiev, Kiev 23423
    Ukraine

    Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
    Domain Name: HATCHERBEE.COM
    Created on: 18-Nov-04
    Expires on: 18-Nov-10
    Last Updated on: 30-Dec-09

    Administrative Contact:
    Mihaylov, Alexey support@joeseb.com
    Kalinskaya str 7-43
    Kiev, Kiev 23423
    Ukraine
    16043571391

    Technical Contact:
    Mihaylov, Alexey support@joeseb.com
    Kalinskaya str 7-43
    Kiev, Kiev 23423
    Ukraine
    16043571391

    Domain servers in listed order:
    NS27.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
    NS28.DOMAINCONTROL.COM


    Registry Status: clientDeleteProhibited
    Registry Status: clientRenewProhibited
    Registry Status: clientTransferProhibited
    Registry Status: clientUpdateProhibited

Thursday, 31 December 2009

  • Anniversaries

    I was thinking about this ritual of celebrating the passage of time and how it really means very little to me. Much like celebrating my own birthday, all I'm really doing is praising the passing time. This becomes an odd thing to do when you dissect it into oblivion, but I did realize that there are some significant anniversaries upon me.

    It will be 4 years this January that my maternal grandmother has been gone from this earth. I really shouldn't say that though because I've felt her presence and smelled her perfume many times - most notedly during the births of Willow, Lucas and Raven. Her leaving us left a big hole in me that has never been filled. I always notice her absence and it pains me still. She was only 83 and never seemed old to me, I still do not know what took her from us and I think about it often. For a long time I used to pick up the phone and dial her number without even thinking.. I am just now realizing I stopped doing that.

    This January also marks my parents 37th wedding anniversary. I will also be turning 37 about 8 months later. Do you know how long it took me to see a correlation between those two things? WAY longer than it should have.. specially considering my father's mother told me once, years ago, that they only got married because they were having me. But she passed away long before I put it together and was able to question her on it. I know she would have had some interesting thoughts on the subject. Not that it really matters, but since I came to this realization I've wondered if they thought I was a blessing or a burden. Considering how my life unfolded from that point, I'm leaning toward burden.. but I suppose I'll never really know.

    The beginning of 2010 will also have me celebrating 4 years of being smoke free! After about 17 years of smoking, I put my cigarettes down in January of 2007 and never picked them up again, cold turkey (as it were). I can't even imagine myself smoking anymore. When I see others smoking it looks alien to me, and so ridiculous I don't even understand how I ever smoked at all. For that matter, I can't understand how anyone smokes anymore - between the insane pricing per pack and the blatantly obvious health risks to yourself and everyone around you - well it just doesn't make much sense to me anymore. Maybe it would if I were still smoking.. who knows?

    The year of 2009 will be over soon and is leaving a quietly as it came. For me, the only significant thing that happened during this particular passage of time was the birth of my beautiful Raven. This year flew by, that pregnancy flew by and most of it all was ruined by one despicably unjust and undeservedly selfish person.

    Tonight I will raise a glass and toast 2010, for I know the passage of time to come within is already decidedly better!

    Happy New Year everyone! Be safe!

     

Monday, 28 December 2009

  • Meet Dr. Barbie, the pediatrician/stripper?

    Let me preface this by saying:

     a) I adore Barbie. My daughter Willow loves this toy I'm about to bash, I have no problem letting her play with it and

     b) please excuse my messy Play Doh filled kitchen floor.. I had mere moments to snap these pictures (with my son's video camera) and post this while Luke and Raven napped.

    I am in the process of cleaning up the holiday explosion that ensues every year. Usually I wait till after New Year's but last night while Lucas was pulling the lights off the tree for the umpteenth time - I snapped, took the tree down and boxed everything up to go back into storage. Today I am thankfully only left with finding homes for all the new toys - which is what I was doing when I noticed something odd about Dr. Barbie.

    dr.slut01

    She comes complete with 2 parentless babies (I don't judge) and everything she needs to weigh, rock, pamper and feed those babies into oblivion. Also there is a small possibility she might toss them out a window? (I've no other explanation for the inclusion of a window with this toy). This barbie also has a peg sticking out of her back which, when pushed up and down causes her arms to rock back and forth.. I personally find it disturbing.

    dr.slut02

    Her 'doctor' attire is pretty decent. Aside from the fact that the skirt is a little short, nothing inappropriate is exposed.

    After not finding any of that odd (sarcasm), I looked at her shoes - and then I looked at them again.

    dr.slut03

    (please excuse the crude pictures of the shoes, I just wasn't able to get a good close up with Tre's video camera)

    dr.slut04

    Is it just me or do these things TOTALLY not fit into this picture?

    Is she just prepared for her night job as a lapdancer or did someone make a mistake when outfitting this particular doll?

    I am most certainly baffled by this..

    So how was everyone elses holiday celebration? Good I hope!

Tuesday, 01 December 2009

  • ThanksMama.com

    I was recently contacted by Helena, the owner of www.thanksmama.com, to pass along some special offers to my readers!

    You can get 5% off with the coupon code: "mama" and they have free shipping on orders over $60 all the time!

    They are also having a great sale on Thirsties Pocket All-in-One Diaper v2, only $12.95 a piece!

    I personally find Thirsties brand diapers and covers to be the best commercial diapers out there.

    Check out www.thanksmama.com today!

     

Thursday, 19 November 2009