To Cover or Not to Cover...while nursing, tis the question.

Rixa's post about nursing covers got me thinking about something I've become somewhat subconscious about; nursing in public, especially at Mass. It's very strange that while we lived in Texas, then Kentucky (for a short period) and then Southern California I grew more and more confident in nursing in public. I was quite comfortable with it by time my 2nd and 3rd children came along. I nursed them just about anywhere I went, and I took my babies with me nearly everywhere (including a military Ball).

However, once we moved to Virginia I started feeling more self conscious about it. When we first arrived I wasn't nursing anyone and was expecting baby #4, and we elected to attend a church that seemed very conservative and traditional. There are always many pregnant and new mommies at our church, lots of little children keep the pews energetic and lively. Mother's often nursed their babies too, but usually, the women at this church used nursing covers. I began to feel sort of peer pressured. I hadn't seen anyone nurse at church without one of these covers.

Now, I know from my early days nursing my firstborn son, that covering his head while nursing wasn't going to result in a smooth and easy session. And surprisingly enough, trying to cover up wouldn't guarantee total discretion. Usually, tossing a blanket over the babies head results in a struggle that takes away all discretion, as baby is pulling and tugging on the blanket, and my hands are distracted from holding a shirt (for quick cover) to trying to keep the blanket cover in place. I had already learned that it's best to just dress for easy  nursing access and make latching on quick and flashless. I knew how to do it without showing boob, yet for some reason I felt like I was expected to use the extra cover up since that's what everyone else was doing.

And now I'm 6 months into baby #5 and I'm finally built up enough courage to just nurse the baby in church without the ridiculous udder cover. I'm not really sure what anyone else thinks about that, but I've decided to just not ask or look around to find out. Perhaps it's true, more women need to see how it can be done, and I need to just stop being a coward about it and just nurse the baby already. I know how, and I don't need the cover, never did.

And I suppose if anyone ever bothers me about it I can tell them the story a Priest told me once, long before I had kids or was even Catholic. We were talking about his experience giving Holy Communion to a woman crawling on her knees, while nursing her baby. This image of her represented the humility with which we should come to the Lord. And anyhow, I'm pretty sure the Virgin Mary nursed the baby Jesus, so I doubt he would have a problem with me nursing my babies at Mass.

Tell Me, Tree: all about trees for kids

We found Tell Me, Tree: all about trees for kids at our local library. It's written by Gail Gibbons. I picked it up because it had an attractive shiny hardcover copy. The lessons on the inside didn't disappoint.

 Gail writes about the various parts of a tree. She touches on the life cycle of seeds, leaves, and roots. In addition to a brief introduction to photosynthesis, she explains the difference between evergreens and conifers, and identifies about 19 different trees in her book. Obviously,this book is geared towards kids of elementary age. However, I enjoyed it too. I never read a book specifically about trees when I was a kid. Tell Me, Tree is a nice introduction to the study of trees.

My favorite part of the book is the instructions on how to make our own tree identification book. Gail gives examples on how to press leaves, make leaf and bark rubbings, and drawings of the various types of trees. My kids and I want to run outside and get started.

The leaves are starting to change outside our door, so we'll have to get started soon.

The new dishwasher

well, it isn't really a dishwasher at all. The dishwasher has been an epic fail at our house. Half the dishes come out still dirty, and I end up having to hand wash practically all the bowls and cups after each load. That's not very helpful at all.

When I was five years old I washed dishes three times a day...all by myself! Surely, I can teach my children (ages 2 to 10) to wash dishes once or twice a day. The younger ones can't reach the sink very well, so I decided to get them their own sink...a la Montessori style. It's educational, so it's cool! 

Now instead of a chore, it's an "activity." We can run two washing stations at once. The kids break up into teams. Each time has a washer and a dryer. The little kids get to help in a very real way. They learn fine motor skills, attention to detail, how to cooperate with others, and hopefully organizational skills. These are activities of daily living task from which they can gain a sense of pride in their earnest accomplishments. Who needs a dishwasher anyway?

This table was made by Junior at Midwest Woodworks. It's assembles using pocket screws which gives it a smooth "no hardware showing" look. However, it does take a while. It took a little more than a month for our table to arrive. Now that it's here, I can say it was worth the wait.

Flybaby

Take a picture, it will last longer...than this shined up sink. Indeed, it was much less shiny within half an hour.

I've heard a lot about the Flylady's book, but had never read it. Last week, I just happened to walk right by it and spotted it on the library shelf. Yes, I suffer from chaos (can't have anyone over syndrome). So I brought home the book, Sink Reflections.

Now, I know she recommends you start by shining your kitchen sink, but I decided that my AC air filter was in much more dire need of cleaning, as it's gone all summer and hasn't been cleaned in a couple months. Surely, I would feel loads better if my air filters would actually start filtering the air. And indeed, I've sneezed a lot less today. Also, I won't suffer the heartache of watching my hard work come undone within the hour. No, that air filter won't need to be cleaned for another month. The sink, however, already dirty.

Roofing

Our house needs a new roof. There are two layers of shingles on our roof at current. The top layer is 15 years old, and the bottom layer is any one's guess. Double layers decrease the life on the top layer because any defects or faults on the first layer will cause disruption to the second layer. Also, the double layers result in twice the weight on the roof, leading to breakdown of the wood structure supporting it, or so I've read. I've noticed that when it rains it smells like wet wood in my bedroom. So I think we should replace the roof as soon as possible.

However, we haven't saved enough money to replace a roof yet. Up till last night I wasn't sure just how much a roof would cost us. We've been getting phone solicitations for free estimates, so we took one company up on their free estimate. It was only suppose to take an hour. It took two. The price was about twice what I'd hoped to pay. I really wasn't interested in picking out shingle colors, but the guy was rather insistent we look at the exterior of the house for a bit before getting to the fiscal details. Finally, they quoted us for over $16,000 for 30 year asphalt shingles, with a complete tear down, not including any wood replacement should we have any rotting wood underneath.

Sure, we "could" finance a new roof with the contractors, or do 6 months same as cash, or go to our bank. However, we just bought the house a little more than a year ago, and the prices in our neighborhood have only gone down since we moved in. We have zero equity in the house. Financing seems imprudent. For those reasons, I don't think the bank would be willing to loan us the money. At any rate, the thought of taking on more debt to replace the roof sickens me.

No, I'm thinking we'll just have to come up with another plan...savings. We've got to start saving a LOT more. The days of credit are done.

Bowling can be educational

Shhhhhh...don't tell my son he's doing math. My latest Montessori inspired "activity" is bowling. Using a chalk board we keep score, using tally marks we reinforce our addition skills. Nobody is crying over a math book. Win, win for everyone.

 

We bought our pins online and painted them with non-toxic watercolor paint, and sealed them with olive oil. I won't have to worry if somebody decides to nibble on the pins.

This small tool box was just floating about in my laundry room. My son has made two such boxes in cub scouts, and this is the smaller of the two. He didn't have much need for this small one, so I've commandeered it for our bowling activity.

Now, it is very important that they not throw the balls in the house...or ever, since they are solid wood and could hurt somebody. So this is a strictly supervised activity for us right now. We however, had the perfect hallway for an alley, and the ball rolling down the hall makes a nice sound which is kind of cathartic for me. I have always enjoyed bowling. I only had to demonstrate placing the pins once, and even the toddler understood. They are learning to take turns, and seem to enjoy setting the pins for their siblings.

Dressing Board

I intended to make a large button dressing board today. However, as I was digging though my scrap fabric stash, I found three pairs of Lands End tumblers. These pants had the knees blown out, and my intention had been to repurpose them into shorts. Clearly, I never got around to it. My eyes locked onto the buckles and inspiration was born.

Here's my version of the Maria Montessori Dressing board. I need to find more old discarded picture frame and then I can make more. This frame used to be faux wood colored. I tacked on a ribbon to hang the board because I have another idea. I'm thinking of using my colorful dressing boards as both learning tools and interior decorating.