A year ago this morning...

I've been MIA lately because I'm working on something amazing and I am so excited to share it!  Lots of you have seen my store site: http://diapersolutions.org  I'm also working on a 13 week class curriculum to teach young girls about childbirth, nursing, baby wearing, cloth diapering and general parenting.  I'll bring details over here now and again, but it's taking just about every spare moment right now, so I don't have a whole lot of time for recreational writing.  I have something on my mind today, though.

A year ago this morning I got up before the kids, as usual.  It was a Sunday and Allan was already at church since he is the sound guy.  A small voice in my heart nudged me to take a pregnancy test, since it had been over a month since I stopped nursing our son and still no period. 

Allan had been scheduled for a vasectomy in May and even after days on the phone with all the necessary people and having all our ducks in a row, when we got to the clinic to have the procedure, they turned us away citing insurance problems.  The next available date was not until August.  We kinda knew then what was coming, but we prevented and *I* truly did not want anymore children.  I did not think it was possible for my heart to hold anymore children.

So I peed on that stick and, of course, saw a second line.  I am not ashamed to tell you that I was shaking and shed some tears.  I put my head in my hands and asked God WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO!?  The house is already chaos, I am not a good mother to the children I have...the littany of negativity was oppressive.  I heard Him say, "be still.  and know that I am God." 

I scrambled to my phone.  I needed Allan to be home RIGHT.NOW.  I was terrified of what he'd think.  Would he be angry, would he become depressed?  He hadn't even expected to have 1 more child after Rhiya, let alone FOUR.  He was being generous by allowing me 3 kids, but surely this would be too much.  I dialed his number and pressed call.  Then I heard a familiar ring downstairs.  Of course...Allan had left his phone at home.  He does every Sunday.

So I came downstairs with the pee stick in hand and sat at the chair in front of the computer and cried some more, wondering how I would get Allan home so we could talk before church.  The kids were all three upstairs, asleep.  I thanked God for that, since I was a wreck.  I really could not figure out how this was going to pan out.  Even though it shouldn't have, this caught me so off guard.

It dawned on me to call someone who would also be at church with him, so I mentally went through the list of band members and decided Beth would be the most respectful of my need and the most likely to not talk about the call after Allan left.  I called her phone and prayed that she would pick up.  She did and I tried so hard to sound brave, but my voice broke as soon as I started to talk.  I asked her to please tell Allan I needed him home now.  She asked if everything was okay and I told her "it will be.  I just need Allan."  She relayed the message and hung up and I waited for 5 minutes with baited breath.  I was sure he'd be angry and yell.  I can only attribute my apprehension to the devil playing mind games with me.  My husband has never, EVER been upset when I've announced a pregnancy, not even the first time when I pulled him away from a family reunion and changed all his plans.

He walked in the door and I was still sitting in my chair in the kitchen.  The stick was long dry and sitting on the keyboard table in front of me, with its two lines blazing pink back at me.  He was noticeably concerned, wondering if something had happened.  Was I hurt?  Were the kids okay?  yes...yes...everything is alright.  I handed him the stick and cringed, like he might throw it at me and he looked at it, seemed relieved and asked what was wrong.

I broke into sobs and blurted "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!?"  He seemed surprised by my outburst and I will never forget what he did next.

He smiled a broad smile, opened his arms to me and said, "I guess this means I have to be nice to you now."  And I laughed through my tears.  And my heart opened up.  And my life changed.  And now I wish I had that moment back and that baby and a half a dozen other babies.

I am so grateful for my loving husband, who breaks down all my barriers and surprises me daily.  I am so grateful for my loving God, who gives me good gifts I am not entitled to and even when I might not go on, reminds me that He is there to comfort me.  I am so grateful for each baby that has graced the inside of my womb...all 5 of them! even if only for a little while.  The doctors told me I would probably not even have one and knowing that I've carried FIVE is a huge testament to me of how big my God is.  I am so grateful for this place He has brought me to.  Right here.  Right now.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRACIE-RAYNE!!

Today our sweet girl turned 7.  Where does the time go??  I didn't have a lot of time to plan a party this year, so we told her that we would just take her to Build-a-Bear and Justice to pick out an outfit and that would be her birthday party.  She was good with that, but didn't know we had a small surprise waiting.

First stop was the mall to Build-a-Bear.

Or in this case, a bunny.

Vi took one off the shelf already stuffed and we had to let her carry it around with her and pretend it was hers.  We didn't need any melt-downs until afterward.

Then we all kissed the heart and sang happy birthday to it.

Note the bears above Allan's head.  CUTE!

The girls washed and blow dried their animals.

Little man tried on the bears' duds...

...while big sister put her bunny's new duds on.

And she even got spoiled with the birthday cupcake especially for BAB.

And then we had the staff embarrass the crud out of her by gathering the whole store around and singing to her.  We had 2 other birthday kids in there while we were there, too.  June 15 is an awesome day to have a birthday!

While we were at Build-a-Bear, my battery light started blinking, so I had to choose the absolute best moments for a picture.  Here they are:

Since we told her she wasn't getting a party, we got a cookie at a bakery instead and shoved a candle in it and sang happy birthday again.  She loved her cookie and so did the little ones!

And then we went to Justice, where I thought she might be able to get a SHIRT with her $30 g/c, but everything she wanted was on sale, so she scored a shirt (complete with horse...as requested!) and pair of jammie pants, a cupcake pillow for birthday guests to sign, (unplanned, but worked out VERY well!) and a necklace with a couple of magnetic charms.  Since I got off scott free there (thank you Aunt Trish!) I got the kids a Jamba Juice to share. 

For dinner, "Chinese food" was requested.  I put that in quotation marks because her idea of Chinese is white rice, sweet & sour chicken without the sauce and little Chinese donuts.  HA!  But it made her very happy.  Then we had to get stealthy and head on over to church.

The kids went out to do their summer play-time thing and Livia and I got busy decorating for the horse party that was originally requested.  It was spur of the moment, but Livia made it look fantastic!  We have the neatest group of people at our church.  The kids usually have devotional after play-time, but tonight they came in and SURPRISED my girl.

She hid in that bucket when they first came in and everyone yelled SURPRISE! but she was so excited.

Everyone lined up around her and sang and it was great.  I couldn't have done any better if I had planned it in advance.

Can you see the cake?  I laughed when I went to order it because the horse is a Build-a-Bear horse.  I assure you, that irony did not escape the 7-year-old.

See the adorable table settings?  Livia has serious talent :)  She made it all up with stuff we had laying around the church, as usual.

And her balloon bouquet.  And that's all the pictures I got, but during the time everyone was eating cake and ice cream, my sweet girl ran up to me and gave me HUGE hugs about 5 times and kept saying "Thank you SO MUCH, Mommy!"  And she finally told me at the end of the night "This was the BEST birthday EVER!"  I've heard that every year she's been able to talk and I pray I keep hearing it every year from now on.

We love you, Gracie-Rayne.  You make our lives interesting and keep us laughing!  Thank you for your joy and your heart and your amazing ways of looking at life. <3

Dog Woes

Do you have pets?  What is your favorite kind of pet?  For me...ducks are my all-time favorite.  They're easy, they're hilariously entertaining, they don't need me to give them their sense of identity.  Second favorite is cats.  Cats are a step above ducks because they sit in your lap and purr and let you pet them, but they're a step down because they crap in a box I have to clean up. 

But lots of people are "dog people."  Hubbs included.  I never have been...not ever.  I see the benefits, I do!  They can be cute, they certainly offer a high level of companionship (I call it being up my arse, but whatev) they can be trained to keep watch of the house or to do awesome things like herd sheep or cattle or save little boys from the well.

Despite all the amazingness dogs can offer, I have done well to keep far, far away from the desire for one.  Sure, the *idea* of a family dog appealed to me from time to time, but I never let the idea lead to desire.  But even an icy heart like mine can be softened...enter a lost baby and an inability to "replace" that baby and when my eldest CRIED tears as we left the WalMart parking lot in Arkansas without a puppy, I choked up and I asked Hubbs to turn back for that sweet, calm white puppy.

Then there were the vet bills-which amounted to about as much as we spend on gas in a month because he was eaten up with fleas and worms and needed shots out the wazoo.

Then it was too cold outside for him (he was not allowed inside full-time until he was trained to stay out from under Hubbs prosthesis.  It is better for the dog this way, I promise) and we had to buy a dog house.

Then it thawed and his poop turned our oasis of a backyard into a mine field of funk.

Then the humping and the next ginormous vet bill of having him neutered.

Then the digging holes in the yard, which led to spankings, nose rubbings and a general dislike on Hubbs part.

Then the chewing of EVERYTHING.

Which led to me feeling bad and asking for 6 weeks, while I took the dog to training (another massive expense we really didn't need) to whip him into a Lassie.  But here we are...5 weeks later...

Why yes...that *is* the insulation they JUST blew in with the new gas pipes.  That's just the latest in Johnny's insulation eating career...he's also eaten the insulation to the water pipes in the guest house (which caused the pipes to freeze) and the insulation off of the a/c units outside.  And yes...he has MANY chew toys.  I've spent a small fortune on dog toys.

What is your breaking point?  At what point do you say, "it's over, dog.  You must find a new place to live."  Is it after he runs away 2x in one week?  Is it after he snaps at your husband or herds your children by nipping their ankles and wrists?  Is it when he eats your kids' toys?

Nah...I prayed through all of those things.  I've begged and pleaded with God to give me compassion and love for Johnny.  He has come through with flying colors (of course!).  He has heaped it on me and despite my serious irritation with Johnny over the last 9 months, I've always bounced back, determined to "make it work."  I've rationalized and conceded and spent way more money on that dog than I've even spent on myself.

But I can't rationalize this:

Note the giant hole and the mud streaks.
That one is completely unsalvageable because, near as I can tell, Johnny ATE the piece of fabric that belongs in that hole.  It's nowhere.  Not in the yard, not in his house, nowhere.
This one I stitched back, oh yes I did. 

See the stitching?  I used a brown thread because it's what I had and I needed to fix it so I could stop crying over it.

It would be different if it were the first time.  Or the second time.  It'd be different if we hadn't been specifically training him to NOT do this for the last 3 weeks.  It'd be different if he didn't destroy things I can't replace.

So here I am-left feeling guilty and awful because every dog-lover's criticism I've ever heard is playing in my head OVER and OVER.  Rhiya's plea that we "CAN'T get rid of THIS ONE."  Pat's considering him such a family member that she included him in her Christmas letter for GOODNESS SAKES!  Gracie-Rayne's tears when he ran away last week, Vi's smile when the dumb dog comes in the house.  And mostly...Little Man.  Johnny is the brother Little Man should have.  They wrestle and play and do things that boys do together.  And it breaks me.  And maybe that's what I'm *really* crying about. 

I feel like I'm losing another dream and it sucks.  Something inside me is begging, "just wait until he's a year old.  Just wait a few more weeks.  But I don't know if I can handle losing more to this dog.  He's eaten the straps out of Little Man's swing, he's chewed the mirrors off of the power wheel, he got into our garage and ate my stockpile.  He's run the grass down and killed my flowers.  ARGH!

This is getting an abrupt stop right now.  I'm not sure what else I can say. 

What a weekend!

What do you mean it's only just begun?  The last couple days have been SO busy my brain is just totally fried right now.  On the PRAISE GOD front, the plumbers finished up giving us all new gas pipes yesterday.  We were a week without hot water, but now we're back up and running.  All things considered, we didn't get very far behind.  Like I said before, we actually really enjoyed handwashing the dishes and the diapers with hot water from the coffee pot.  There is something very calming about doing what you have to do.  Of course, now that I've been able to use my dishwasher and my washing machine for the diapers, I've been extra sure to shoot up thanks over and over for how blessed our lives are.  Here's how the house looked for a few days:

Keepin' muh boy outta there?  Not fun.

We were really a little nervous about the bill, but he had given us a slight fore-warning and God pressed on someone's heart to help us (I would love to get into details, but I won't for our angels' sakes...if they give permission I will tell the story publicly) so we were mostly just praying that it wouldn't be more than the amount he quoted us.  We braced ourselves, though, because the workers were here an extra day and had to replace all the upstairs piping, too.  They didn't think they would have to.  So suffice it to say, as the supervisor came up my walk this morning, my spirit was a little oppressed.  But he handed me the bill and it was $50 less than what he had quoted me!  PRAISE GOD!



Everything was put together again just in the knick of time because this weekend is the annual historic district garage sale in our town.  We usually go all out (I used to coupon and would have tons of stockpile stuff to sell with my friend Amy) but this year we toned it down.  I set up today, but only with the leftover bows from our Haiti fundraiser and the cupcakes in a jar I'm making to sell at Farmer's Market tomorrow, too.  All the money raised will go to send the 3rd missionary to Haiti.  I updated the ticker above and will update it again after tomorrow.

These are the S'more flavor with marshmallows rolled in cinnamon, graham crackers and the cupcake crumbs.

I made S'more, Mocha-ccino and Lemonade Angel Cake this time.  If they sell well this weekend, I'll make other flavors later on. 

And then of course there's the usual busy-ness of Saturdays with taking the dog to training.  Gracie-Rayne is ever the lucky one and gets to go to Hawaiian Falls with the other kids from church because she volunteered to help with a banquet earlier in the year.  She is super stoked.  We also plan to drop off about 4 huge boxes of books to Hastings to see if we can sell them.  As usual we're on a mission to down-size even more.  Someday we'll have a house with nothing in it but beds. (and diapers...LOTS of diapers.  HA!)

I had a great laugh today when Vi and little man were running into the kitchen begging for bites of cold turkey.  Violet took a bite and said, "DUH-LISH-US!"  Most of the time when she speaks you have to be *really* listening to her to understand.  She is incredibly intelligent and understands everything you say, right down to inflection...she even uses phrases you'd never imagine would come out of a 3-year-old's mouth, but she mumbles a lot.  Lately, though, she's been popping up with words that sound more like they came out of the 6-year-old's mouth, and you can't help but smile when you turn around and realize who it was.  Anyway, she said it so much (I was getting her to say it so Hubbs could hear!) that little man started saying "ISH-USH"  (Cue: AWWWWW!)  It was so sweet!

They light up my life!

Unfortunately I don't have anything amazingly witty or insightful tonight.  Like my mom would say, "not everything has to be dramatic."  I do have a couple more pictures to share, though, because he's just about the most precious creature on planet earth.  (Just about...we have 3 others)

We might have problems with this kid one day...WOO-HEE!

For the record, the t-shirt slung around his shoulders was totally his own idea.  That's  his idea of fashion.

 See the eye shape??  That is ALL Maynard.  None of my kids have ANYTHING of mine (uhhh....except my witty charm) except Corbin who is 99.9% Daddy--BUT THAT EYE SHAPE!  Oh yeah!  I snuck something in there somewhere.  I bet when we get to heaven and meet those 2 babies we lost, they will look just like their Momma.  But if not, that's okay, cuz they come out pretty darned precious lookin' like Hubbs ;)

Wordless Wednesday

I've never participated in one of these before.  Here goes:

Day 8: Final Thoughts

Wow, Kim over at Dirty Diaper Laundry wrote an amazing post about her end thoughts and how she intends to move forward after this challenge.  It's amazing.  I'm going to join her in it.  Read about it HERE.

If y'all have been following, you know what my opinion was of handwashing on Days 2 and 3 (in short, I hated every second of it-until it was time to hang the dipes and that made me feel better.)  By the end of the week my opinion was much different.  In fact, by days 6 and 7, I was in a groove and very grateful for my camp-style wash bucket.  I still have to use it until the gas guys get the work done (they were here this morning already and it's not looking so promising, but we know God has it all worked out already!) so in a way, the challenge continues for me. 

I'm going to write my thoughts as Kim did..."If I were doing this out of necessity" (and I am...HA!) here are some of the things I will be telling my "clients" as tips I learned over the course of the week.

1. Minky covers take 3x longer to dry than the flats...get regular covers.
2. Use a plastic handled plunger in the wash bucket and buy quality products-especially if you need to use it a lot.
3. When draining the bucket between washes/rinses, click the lid on the sides, leaving it partially open.  Tip it on its side in the tub and walk away for about 10 minutes.  It will be well drained when you come back.
4. Snappis don't like to grab recieving blanket materials, but those work great as diapers.  Ergo, it's good to have some pins for back-up.
5. The flour sack towels at Target or WalMart are far more square than most flats, cheaper and work great.
6. Most things we have to do are about perception.  Understand that you are doing your baby, your pocketbook and your earth a favor and take cloth diapering in stride.  There are lots of fun covers to make it enjoyable and you can take a lot of pride in the process.
7. When you only have a $20 investment hanging on the clothesline and the dog takes it down, you are far less angry than when you have hundreds of dollars hanging there!  (Maybe no one else will need to know that, but it came in handy for me last night...)

Things I want to find out to help more people locally:

1. Which daycares in the area are cloth friendly, if any.
2. How to be a "distributor" of certain products we can't get locally (i.e. snappis, covers, CD friendly creams, cloth wipes)
3. Who in our area helps with diapers so I can drop off a "business card"
4. If the local laundromats will allow people to wash cloth diapes in their machines.

Moving forward I want to do some things with the end goal being to eventually teach the Childbirth & Beyond class I talked about here.  First I will print some business cards like Kim talked about in  her post.  After I read that I checked my email and had a LivingSocial deal in my box to buy $50 worth of VistaPrint stuff for $10.  (Click HERE to purchase one for yourself today only) How's that for God saying "Yes...this is what I want you to do."?  I'll drop the cards off at the local Women's Resource Center and hopefully at the WIC office and I'm not too proud to drop some on the diaper shelf at WalMart.

Then I have a pile of diapers to sell that I wasn't absolutely in love with but kept because I needed them to be able to only do a load of laundry every other day.  Now that I have flats and know how to use them, I can get rid of these.  I'll use that money to buy supplies to help out local mommies who need supplies but can't afford to go buy them.  (The stuff is now up for sale at Spots' Corner link HERE)

It would be great to be able to be a "distributor" of the things I listed above, so if some of my friends who own shops read this, please let me know who to contact and how to go about that.  I will also look for donations of the items needed. 

Well, there are the touch points.  I am so grateful for the challenge.  I truly am sad it's over.  I pray the commraderie I felt this week will continue!

Happy Memorial Day!-What's it all about?

Happy Memorial Day to you and yours!  I pray you had an amazing day with family and friends.  I wanted to pen a few words about this holiday and it will probably get buried quickly because our next blog topic for the Flats & Handwashing Challenge will be up soon, but hopefully someone will see it and appreciate it.

So why do we celebrate Memorial Day?  We all know what we get on Memorial Day: a day off, an excuse to grill out with as many family members and friends as we can muster, a chance to watch the kids run and play while we sip cola and visit.  Maybe it's a family tradition to go camping this weekend every year.  After all, the weather is usually perfect blending from spring into summer. 

But really-WHY do we celebrate Memorial Day?  We hear a lot of very special Memorial Day wishes due to my husband's service.  We are always very grateful, but he only left his leg in Iraq...his day is Veteran's Day.  What about all the men and women who gave up their lives in service for this country?  The families left behind to mourn?  THEY are the REAL reason we celebrate Memorial Day.  And it sounds so cutesy because we've heard it a million times.

The sobering fact is, this should be a day for mourning the lives lost to afford us the freedoms we have.  Do we think about those freedoms very often?  The freedom to worship as we choose without being hunted down and murdered-the freedom to write our opinions on our blogs for all to see and not be shot over them-the freedom to elect and subsequently kick out whomever we deem fit/unfit to represent this nation.  *Insert your favorite freedoms here*  Fact is, most countries in the world do not experience these freedoms.  We should be somber and prayerful as we consider those who've lost their lives so that we can have our own.

So why do we CELEBRATE??  The answer to that is one that continues to cut deep into my heart.  My wonderful friend Karie from EBV-F, who writes at Wife [widow] of a Wounded Warrior knows the cost of this day and she also knew her amazing husband, Cleve.  And I think she would agree that the reason we celebrate is because each and every one of the men and women who gave their lives for us wants us to move forward, continuing to be Americans and continuing to do what Americans do in their memory-because *that* is how we'll avenge their deaths.  The enemy sees us celebrating when they think we should be mourning and they shudder, wondering what secret we have.

But what are Americans?  We can say a lot of things but it could be argued that it comes down to 2 outlooks. 

1. We are a Blessed nation, under God, who uses its collective knowledge, resources and overall unity to overcome all obstacles. 
2. We are a rich, arrogant nation who only care for ourselves. 

Which are you celebrating today?  Today I went outside with my loving family and uncovered the grill and ate burgers, hot dogs and drank soda while the kids played in the sprinkler and drank juice from pouches.  Later we may roast marshmallows and make s'mores because we are just that kind of Blessed.  But the brave soldiers who have given their lives and can't be here to do these things are not far from my mind and I want to continue to honor them tomorrow and the next day by being sure I remember that we live in the most Blessed nation on earth, because of God and I will strive to use my knowledge, resources and brotherly love to create the unity necessary to keep overcoming obstacles. 

I was going for Normal Rockwell with my limited photo editing capabilities.

Day 7: In awe

Find the rules to the Flats & Handwashing Challenge I'm participating in HERE.

Today...how can I even begin to describe today?  God's grace is so evident to me through this week.  I think that sounds crazy, but it's true.  This morning Hubbs and I were standing side by side in front of the sink, me washing the dishes (with water from the coffee pot, read why in yesterday's post) him rinsing them and putting them on the towel to dry.  We had been talking, but fell silent for a few minutes and I noticed a peace that I feel more and more frequently this week.  I paused with my hands in the soapy water and reflected and said to Hubbs, "No wonder families aren't close anymore..."  The statement hung in the air a moment and then he asked why.  I said, "I dunno...there's just *something* about this."  And he said he had been thinking the exact same thing. 

Not here for any reason except that it was a part of how God blessed us today and is precious and should be shared!

What does that MEAN?  I'm not sure.  I know I have to keep up the challenge until the pipes are fixed because there's no hot water to the washing machine.  That means at a minimum until Tuesday evening and I'm considering even continuing a load of handwashed diapers every few days after that.  I absolutely adore my flats and we will definitely be bringing those into our rotation.  In fact, I will even let go of some of the other dipes we have that I'm not *in love* with since I have so many other options now!

I also found the best drying spot for my wool.  It dried in 24 hours!  My son wore his blue soaker this afternoon!  For the record, it was in the hallway where our return vent is for the air conditioner.  I think it must have been the constant motion of the air being sucked into the attic and then being blown down.  If you want your stuff to dry faster, try putting it in the room with the return vent.  I was stoked! 

I <3 Texas!

Super boo, though, the nursery worker was sick today and there was a sub.  When Little Man was wet, she changed him into a sposie.  As soon as I saw it I ran to the bathroom and changed him back into a flat and cover.  I pray that doesn't disqualify me.  I did leave her the diapering materials!!

I don't have a whole lot else to say today.  Truthfully, I am speechless. (which if you have read this blog much you can see is not a typical condition I suffer from!)  I have found some amazing friends through this challenge and it has been fabulous to feel like a part of a bigger community.  God has blessed me and my family through this over and over and I'm so very grateful for it.  We've been eating a lot of humble pie lately and sometimes being alone can make it go sour in your stomach.  But then to have all of you fabulous people reading my blog and loving it just makes it very evident to me that the sour taste is just my pride and when I set it aside the purpose of the pain becomes clear. 

I'm sad that the challenge is over tomorrow.  I'm so glad for the things it has taught me-much more than just another diapering option-that people have enormous good in them, that I have a place in writing and in a ministry for young mothers, that I *can* be sure that my family is cared for, even in less than stellar circumstances.  So much of the feeling of helplessness has dissipated because of a simple, flat piece of fabric. 

Wow.

Day 6-12 cups of hot water

Check out the rules to the Flats & Handwashing challenge I'm participating in HERE.

Today's post is a little late because we have dog training and then usually run like crazy people on Saturdays.  We did well out and about and-SCORE!-I forgot to pack dipes when we went up to the church to fix some stuff so I searched around the nursery and found an old recieving blanket.  I love that instead of panic and a return home or a prayer that we make it through the hour, I can now improvise.  It's a very proud feeling.

So...if you read yesterday's later post, you saw that we had the gas turned off. (due to a leak.  It's off until we get the pipes repaired-after the holiday weekend) I did one last emergency load of dipes last night before our hot water heater went cold and this morning had a few dipes to do.  I can only do about 6 at a time in the sink, so I made sure I rinsed them in the wash bucket really well until the water was clear.  Then I wrung them all out and came downstairs to wash them.  My husband, in his brilliance (must be all that Army secret squirrel training!) suggested we brew 12 cups of hot water in our coffee pot and use that to wash.  It worked out perfectly.  So how do you wash diapers in a situation where you have no hot water but you have electricity?  This is how:

First rinse your diapers in cold water until the water runs clear.  It makes less work for you later.  While you're rinsing, have 12 cups of water running through the coffee pot.  Be sure your sink is very clean and plugged.  Put a little tepid water in there-the water that comes out of the coffee pot is too hot to stick your hands in.

Put in about a teaspoon of your laundry detergent.  I put some of mine in a small container to keep at the tub/sink while I'm handwashing.  I use Seventh Generation Free & Clear.  It works great for us.

Pour in your hot water and test the water.  If it's still too hot, add a little more tepid water.  You want it to be hot enough to wash, but not so hot you can't touch it.

Then agitate with whatever you have.  I used my hands so I could scrub them really well and I don't have dishwashing gloves.  Now you see why I rinsed until the water ran clear.  Then you drain the hot and wring the diapers out and rinse them in cool water again.  A lot of the other ladies blogging about this challenge have been repurposing their babies' bath water into rinse water for the dipes, and they inspired me.  Since the munchkins were so filthy last night, I couldn't re-use that water, but today I salvaged our diaper rinse water (the later stuff...not the first) and took it to someone who would appreciate it:

Yepp...my corn stalks were quite happy with the 2.5 gallons of repurposed water.  I'll have to start thinking to do that more often. 

I've done 2 wash cycles like that today and I anticpate one more tonight after the kids go to bed.  I really don't mind half as much as I thought I might.  It's almost calming.  Little man wore his Pitterpat custom shorties today.  Check out the link for some really, truly amazing hand made items.  Use the code MDAY for 15% off anything you order from her.  She is an amazing retailer and has become an amazing friend, too.  This picture does not do them justice, but here it is:

How does one eat with no stove/oven? Well, this morning, Hubbs made pancakes on our electric griddle for the kidlets.  We all loved it!

This afternoon we were out of town for dog training, so we drove thru Chick-fil-A and got lunch as cheap as possible.  We haven't gone out in a long time, so it was enjoyed.

Dinner I've been worried about because I hadn't put anything out to thaw and I can't boil rice or pasta due to the no gas thing, (in fairness, I could do it on the camp stove, but I was short on time after we got home.  Tomorrow will be better thought out) so I had Hubbs run me to the store real fast (remember that one car thing?  The one car is his stick shift and I don't know how to drive it yet.) and I grabbed some Top Ramen noodles.  Oh yes, I introduced the kids to the taste of college.  It's much nastier to me now that I've grown up and learned what real food is, but they sure liked it.

The package says 3 minutes, but it takes more like 5 when you add frozen peas to it.  I *had* to redeem it somehow!

Yumm-O!  Mom must be Rachael Ray. 

He's so stinking cute...I love how much he loves *anything* I make.  He turns his nose at fast food (I think he ate 2 nuggets today) but he eats anything that comes out of my kitchen.  I hope my future daughter-in-law can cook or else I'll just have to teach him to keep his mouth shut about mommy's cooking being best :P ;)

You know, through all of this, I am reminded today that so much of life is how you look at it.  I could be angry, freaked out, ticked off, etc. right now.  But I'm trying to take the added challenge with a grain of salt.  After all, how many people don't have electricity OR gas?  How many people don't have homes?  How many people don't have amazing families like I do?

If you click on the picture and view it larger you can see my amazing men in the truck.  They were both so happy and Hubbs was smiling a reminiscent smile.  I almost cried tears of joy watching them.

How many people have such a calming yard and a beautiful garden?

And...err...such a stupid lovely dog

Today's harvest.  I've slacked on pictures, but we've been picking anywhere from 5-7 fresh strawberries every morning.

Plus, we have a BIG God who sees what is going on now and hears our every prayer and answers them.  He knows our needs and He is providing in a very real way.  I am beyond speechless and in awe.  I pray you're having just as wonderful a day!  Gas or no ;P