Same old, same old

Same weather, different day.  Actually Thursday night we had such terrible thunderstorms that we had a flash flood.  Hubs, Bear and I were headed to Toys R Us to get Bear his birthday present...shHH don't tell
I'm just a little bit excited about giving it to him!!!...So back to the story...
We headed North on our road to find that both drainage ditches on the sides of the road were flowing over, it actually took out the end of our driveway.  We get about 200 feet up the road and see that the water has covered the road.  A man is walking around in galoshes and the water comes up to within 2 inches of the top of his boots. 

No way we were going through that.

So we head South.  We go about 1/4 mile and see the road is once again covered but it's not too deep, maybe 6 inches.  So we head South, and then head back North on the next road over (our roads here are pretty much a grid).  At one point there is a farm on the right hand side that's about 4feet about the roadway with an embankment.  The water is bubbling out from the bottom of the embankment from this field.  It was so surreal. 

So we make our quick trip and by the time we return the water has receded. 

Come Friday at lunchtime I see a state trooper (we live in a rural area, state troopers are unusual in these parts) with lights and sirens on, then I see the firetrucks go by.

I think nothing of it and go on with the day.  Hubs comes home and says "Why is the road closed?" Turns out a township truck was driving down the road and it collapsed under him.  The same part that we drove through the other night.  Apparently the water ran over the road so hard, and it has a drainage pipe under it, that it pulled all the rocks and dirt out from under it till it collapsed.

We are so lucky and grateful that we made it safely through.

We are also so thankful that we've been so fortunate.  All of our neighbor's basements have flooded.  We've been very lucky with the grade of our land and our drainage that only our barn flooded.  Thankfully the barn is equipped with a drain (that couldn't keep up) and it only made it about 2 inches deep in half the barn before it ran out. 

The Lord has spared us from these trials in our own home, but it means that we, more than ever, must serve our neighbors.  We have been lending our dehumidifier out, Hubs has helped clean up, and we're always willing to come clean.

The rain has been so bad here that the RV dealership down the road is having a "Noah's Ark Sale".  Hubs has joked about building an ark. 

Praying for sunshine...

But I have been crafty again!!! To help a foundation for a family struggling in the NICU.  I'm making two quilts and two sets of cloth wipes. 

I love having Bear napping in his crib, I have so much free time.

Cloth Wipes Begets...

Family cloth.

I made a bunch more 8"x8" flannel squares to use.  Initially I was just planning to use them for myself because I doubted Hubs would ever be sold on the idea.

But much to my surprise he was!  So now we use cloth wipes instead of toilet paper, any extra dirty ones we use the diaper sprayer to clean off and throw them in the diaper pail.  Come wash day they go in with the diapers and get nice and clean.

This was less about the Eco-Friendly aspect and more about the cost savings aspect.  I used more of the flannel I had left over (I told you I had a LOT of it, I probably still have 2 yards left) so it was only a matter of using some time to zig-zag the edges.

So far it's been an adjustment, but our toilet paper with a small amount left on it is still hanging on.

Oh, and don't worry, we don't expect guests to join in with the family cloth. 

I've been neglecting my blog for something so much bigger...

THE SUN!!! It has made it's appearance for the past 3 days....

I took time to mow half the lawn last night, put Bear in the swing yesterday and today, we went for a walk in the park yesterday and my laundry smells like sunshine!

And back to the rain we go with a thunderstorm tonight and rain everyday in the rest of the weeklong forecast.

For your viewing pleasure...
My cute cats, Hubs and Bear (well they're technically in the photo)

Cloth Diapers Begets

Cloth Wipes.

Thankfully, 90% of our diapers and wipes have been gifts.  My mother is extremely generous and has bought us boxes upon boxes of diapers and wipes.  However, we're down to our last few packs and I've decided to start making our wipes.

I have yards of flannel left over from a project.  Embarrassingly enough, that project was 3 years ago.  Since I haven't used it up, or used it again for that matter I figured I couldn't screw it up.

I cut out 8x8 squares of flannel and used my zigzag stitch around the edges.  This is time when a serger could really come in handy.

I then rocked a soak with Rockin Green or Eco Friendly Family cloth diaper detergent.  This is cheap flannel from Joann's and it repels water like crazy.  So in order to get the chemicals and soften it up I soaked them for about 4-6 hours and some overnight (uhmm overnight MAY have been accidental because I forgot about them).  Then I just washed them with my next load of diapers.

I used an empty wipes box and folded them so they would pop up using this tutorial. 

I do not pour my wipes solution into the case.  I just put it in a spray bottle and spritz as needed.  I usually spray half the wipe, wash Bear's rear and then use the dry half the dry him off well.

Wipe solution:
I'm currently using wipes cubes I got for free as part of the promotion at the Great Cloth Diaper Change.  I love the way it smells, you simply add one cube to 2 cups of water.

But I'm way too cheap to keep buying them. So once it runs out I'll have to investigate.  Probably just water, baby soap and some olive oil.