Meet Me on Monday Week 13

Gosh! I can't believe this is week 13 already! That means I've been blogging even longer than that which is surprising. Time sure does fly and the faster it flies, the older it makes me feel. Hmmmm....

On to the questions for this week! Feel free to share your answers as well. :)

Questions:

1.  Do you have a fireplace in your home?

No, I live in the desert and luckily don't need one. I do like sitting by the fire pit outside though, but it's hardly ever cold enough to use it. I like it that way!

This is obviously before we added sod.

2.  Can you drive a stick shift?

Yes, I learned how to drive on one-it was an old Toyota Tercel. My first car was an old 75 Volkswagon Beetle. It was older than me. I loved that car!

This is not the exact car, but it looked just the same.

3.  How many computers are in your home?

I have a desktop and a laptop, plus my husband has hooked up a really old desktop in the garage-I'm not really sure why. We also both basically have computers as phones. Technology is a major part of our lives.

4.  Are your taxes done yet?  Do you do them yourself?

Since MMOM is taking a hiatus for the summer, this is obviously an old question. I do not do my own taxes in our personal life. My hubby does them. My work taxes are done by me so far. I need to submit Junes. I am running out of time. I am quite the procrastinator.

5.  What is your favorite meal of the day?

That is such a hard question! Does dessert count as a meal? If not, I would say breakfast. Well, maybe dinner because you can have breakfast for dinner, but I choose not to have dinner for breakfast. Well, obviously my favorite meal is not lunch! 

Holy Suds!

In my neighborhood, the HOA does not allow clotheslines. I live in the Phoenix area though, and I have to take advantage of the sun to dry my diapers and keep them nice, white, and stain free. Plus, I save money on gas (we have a gas dryer.) So for as long as I've cloth diapered, my patio furniture has doubled as drying areas.

Baby J loves to be outside. However, now that she's older, she is destroying everything in her wake and the nicely laid out cloth diapers, inserts, wash cloths and wet bags are victims in her path. 

One of Baby J's favorite things to play with is the Chloe's, our yellow lab, water bowl. She used to just sit by it and splash in it, but now she wants to put things in it and soak up the water. She grabs handfuls of the inserts I have put out to sun and dunks them in the water. Then she goes for more until all the water is sucked up. After that, she just throws them around to pick up all the dirt sitting on the patio. Yes, I watch as this all happens. She's happy, entertained, and soaking wet which in the triple digit temperatures is a relief to me knowing she must feel good in her wet clothes and won't overheat. I also think it's super cute when she tries to put everything back out to dry.

Yesterday she decided to repeat this routine. I wasn't as lenient at first and started taking out the inserts and ringing them out to put them back in the sun. Oh my goodness! Holy suds! My inserts are full of detergent. :( Crap! Now I have to strip. 

I have never really found the perfect washing routine. We have a high-efficiency front loader and although I love it for washing almost everything, I would rather have an old top loader for my cloth diapers. That way I could see the suds and determine an appropriate amount of detergent and rinses to know I was getting my diapers clean and soap free. I use minimal detergent, or so I thought, and rinse at least twice, but I guess I need to use less. Which is always good because then the detergent lasts longer!

We haven't had any real ammonia issues since my last stripping fiasco, except on those nasty nighttime diapers. I always think to myself that having a diaper on for that long is bound to be a bit stinky from the pee, but I must be wrong.

My goal today is to boil all my inserts. I did a boil a few weeks ago on half of them and that made a huge difference in the way they feel. It was way easier than using Dawn to strip and saves a ton of water and energy. Wish me luck! I will be reporting back on this experience soon.

Meet Me on Monday Week 12

Questions:

1.  What jewelry do you wear 24/7?

I wear my wedding ring 24/7-really my engagement ring. I have 2 wedding bands-one for each side because I like things symmetrical, but I haven't put them back on since having Baby J. I love wearing jewelry, but I'm allergic to certain metals and can't wear anything for long periods of time.

2.  Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?

I twirl it usually, but if it's a big bite, I will cut it.

3.  How many siblings do you have?

I have two brothers and a half sister. I am closest to my older brother, although growing up my younger brother and I were close. We all live in different states and usually keep in touch through Facebook.

My younger brother.

My younger sister.

My older brother.

4.  Were you named after anyone?

No. I'm an original.

I wanted to add a cool pic of my name, but I found this book instead. I will have to find it and read it now.

5.  Coke or Pepsi?

Neither. Water is my choice of beverage. 

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Caught with my pants down

Yesterday my husband and I took our daughter to her one year doctor's appointment. I really love her doctor and I enjoy learning how she is doing from an outsider's point of view. My husband was updating paperwork as I took Baby J to get weighed and measured. 

Baby J was hesitant to stay on the scale without holding on to me; she's just recently become super clingy in strange places and around people she doesn't know. It took a bit of maneuvering to get her weight, but lying her down to measure her height was easy. Go figure. For those curious: she's in the 80th percentile for height and in the 50th for weight-she doesn't get either of those stats from me.

As I pick Baby J up and carry her back to the private room, something terrible and horrifying happens to me. My shorts fall off. No, I am not kidding. They just fell straight to the floor. I couldn't believe it. First, we are still in the hallway, and the door to the lobby is wide open. My bare buns are hanging out because *TMI alert* I'm wearing a thong which is my usual undergarment. As I realize what has happened, I shimmy to the room (luckily it's the first one so I didn't have to go too far) and put my bare buns to the wall. I tried to pull them up as inconspicuously as possible as I backed into the examination room. It was not easy with Baby J in my arms and while trying not to bend over and expose more of my nakedness. The poor nurse-she was probably just as horrified, but laughed with me during this horribly embarrassing moment. 

Now, you might wonder, "Bridget, why would your pants just fall off?" Well, here comes the cheapo side of me. I have lost a good deal of weight since two summers ago. Last summer I was a very pregnant woman who only wore her husband's basketball shorts which fit on her big belly around the house and just nice cotton undies after baby arrived. I didn't go out much last summer. Even though I lost a ton after Baby J arrived, nothing really fit right, so I was super excited to have clothes that I could put on and not see a muffin top over the edge after getting them zipped. Actually, most of my shorts I'm able to pull up without unzipping at all now. I like it that way. I'm not lazy, but it makes me feel better. 

Anyway, I knew this particular pair was big, but not 'fall off my butt in the middle of the doctor's office' big. I know I need to buy some new shorts, but I need to lose more weight and I don't want to buy a pair I can only wear for a short time. (Not that I'm having any luck losing the weight as my obsession with chocolate and sweet treats has overcome this need.) I am just super cheap. After my husband got a good laugh, he said we should go shopping afterwards. Score! 

Did I buy the shorts I tried on? No. They weren't even on sale.

Not the best picture of me, but here I am two weeks before this event occurred in my baggy shorts.

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Meet Me on Monday Week 11

Another week has gone by and it's Monday again! I like Mondays because it's my husband's Friday. He is off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I didn't like them much when I was teaching though! 

The normal blogger who does MMOM skipped this week and last, so I just borrowed some of her questions that she asked before I began blogging. 

1. Crunchy or soft tacos?

Crunchy beef tacos! Yum!

2. Do you scrapbook?

No. I wish I had the creative touches to do this, but I did not get that gene.

Maybe I should try a digital scrapbook!

3. Do you take any daily medications?

Yes, I have hypothyroidism and have had to take daily meds since docs diagnosed it when I was thirteen. 

4. What is your favorite sound?

Laughing. It means someone is happy:)

5. Where were you born?

Lima, OH but I grew up in the DFW area so I'm really a Texas girl at heart!

This is where I was born, but I haven't been to Ohio since I was four years old.

I love the Dallas skyline!

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