Six Months Old…..

Right after my twins were born, someone said to me…the time is going to fly by….it will be crazy..you’ll wake up and your twins will be six months old and then they’ll be one year old before you know it!!  Well, that happened.  Each day goes by so quickly…with barely enough time to do the essential stuff, let alone any extra stuff.  I can’t believe they are already six months old.  I’m not getting much more sleep than I did when they were first born…but they are darn cute!  They just started eating cereal and they seem to be enjoying it.  Escher is rolling here and there and scooting all over the place.  Little shy Grey has done about four roll overs.  She’s slowly getting there.  I’m afraid Escher is going to be leaving her in the dust soon!  So, here are some photos….It seems like just yesterday they looked like this….

 

 

Embrace the Camera…

Tuesday and I have been doing a lot of late night walking.  When I say late…I mean about 8:30 or 9:00…after I’ve put the babies to bed.  When I say to bed…I mean that they are in their cribs and staying asleep for hopefully a few hours!  Grey has gotten really good at sleeping at night, but Escher can’t seem to get the concept..unless he is in bed with me!  Last night, though…Grey didn’t seem to be feeling well and she just wouldn’t settle down. So, we took her on our walk. It was fun getting her all bundled up and in the baby carrier.  I don’t know why I thought she might fall asleep during the walk.  She stayed alert and wide awake the whole time!  Half way through our walk, we switched and Tuesday started carrying her in the carrier…She just looked so cute all snuggled up….

Embrace the Camera…..

I’ve been “trying” to exercise each day.  Usually, I just run around with with babies doing the every day chores..that ends up being my exercise.  But Tuesday has been walking with me each night.  A few nights ago she wasn’t feeling well, so Quinn took a walk with me.  There are some woods near where we live..the magic forest.  It is one of my favorite places to walk at night.  It is also a great place to take photographs….at night and during the day.

Camera apps……

Tuesday has introduced me to the world of camera apps on my phone.  I have been having so much fun playing around with them.  The photo above I stole from Tuesday.  I love it.  She showed me a site called mytubo.net.   You can upload your photos, add filters and share them with others.  I also found a site called picyou.com.  Some of the photos I take with my phone and others I take with my camera.  It really is incredible how many neat things there are on the internet to enhance our photography.

 

Making cloth diapers….the inexpensive way…….

When I became pregnant with my twins last year, I realized I needed to get some inexpensive cloth diapers.  Then, I thought, why not make them myself.  Though I have a lot of sewing experience, I think making your own diapers doesn’t have to be daunting!  I wanted to make a total of 40 diapers.

First, I needed to find a pattern and style of diaper.  There are many patterns out there, some are free, some are a few dollars.  Here are some of the sites I found helpful:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FECLujiyoHoJ:www.diapersewing.com/+how+to+put+snaps+into+a+diaper&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com

http://mayna.livejournal.com/198548.html

This site offers all kinds of diaper making supplies:  http://www.assuntastore.com/cart.html

This site has kits that INCLUDE everything  you need to sew your own diapers!  How cool is that!  You don’t have to do any of the prep work!

http://www.kaylasclothkits.com/catalog.php?item=1&ref_catid=3

I wanted to make my diapers as inexpensively as possible, so I opted for a free pattern.  I found it here at cloth revolution.  Their directions were a bit confusing, so I used a combination of some of the other sites to figure things out.

http://themafiatutu.blogspot.com/search/label/Pattern

Once I had figured out the type of diaper I wanted to use and I found a pattern…then I had to decide on my material.  Again, since I wanted to spend hardly any money, I went to my local Goodwill store and I found lots of inexpensive flannel sheets.  I spent approximately forty dollars on the flannel sheets.  I decided this is what I would use to make my diapers!

I also decided that I would make my diapers with four layers, and use a liner.  I figured that way they weren’t too thick and would dry quicker.  For my liners, I went to my local dollar store and bought wash clothes.  They were two for a dollar, so for forty dollars, I got eighty liners.   Each diaper change, I use two liners.

I had to decide between Velcro or snaps.  I had never made diapers before, so I decided not to make the investment of buying a snap press.  Though I have been told this is the best one to get:

http://www.kamsnaps.com/Snap-Press-amp-Dies/Snap-Press-Dies-not-included-Free-US-Shipping-p112.html

So next, I needed elastic and Velcro.  The patterns tell you how much Velcro and elastic you will need.  I went online to do some price comparisons.  I figured out that I could get the elastic cheaper by going to my local sewing shop with a 50% off coupon.   The Velcro I found here:

http://www.itapestore.com/velcroand174brandsew-onwhiteloop1x1yard.aspx

http://www.itapestore.com/search.aspx?find=VELCRO+ONE-WRAP+Roll+-+White+1%22+X+25+yds

For the Velcro, you need a lot more of the loop than you do the hook, so buying it separate is best.  If I made the diapers again, I would not use this type of Velcro because it started to curl.  I think instead I would buy it from another site.  For the Velcro, I spent about thirty dollars.  For the elastic, I spent around fifteen.

I cut out all the diapers first.  Since I was making forty diapers and they each had four layers, that was a lot of cutting!  Then I was ready to get started on the sewing.  The first diaper took me a long time.  I got confused and had to redo some things, but I looked at the different sites and figured things out. I loved how it looked and I was quite proud of myself.  I did the diapers in an assembly line routine…first all the edge sewing, then all the elastic, then all the inside out flipping, then the closing sewing, then the Velcro.  It probably took me about a week to make forty diapers!

All in all, it cost me approximately $125 for forty diapers…that’s about $3 per diaper.  They aren’t perfect..but they work and I did it myself!

I would be more than happy to answer any questions you had about making your own cloth diapers.  It really was a fun experience!!

Embrace the Camera…with River and Grey…..

I was working with River on some homework for her preschool…not easy with little ones about! Of course, Grey wanted to get in on the fun….so we decided to take some photos for Embrace the Camera…..even trickier…..especially when I discovered my camera was on Macro mode…oh well….go embrace the camera….

Stuff…..

Having two babies requires a lot of stuff……and stuff can get expensive.  I finally got around to joining the SJMOM club….South Jersey Moms of Multiples club.  They meet once a month and I’ve only been to two meetings, but I’ve already met such wonderful women!  It is great to talk with a bunch of people who know exactly what you are going through….when you are going through it.  Everyone is always so helpful about sharing advice and tips.  Also, I have been able to buy, exchange and borrow so much wonderful baby equipment, clothing, supplies, etc.  It has really been great.  If anyone out there has twins or is having twins….join your local twin mom group!!