Mommy/Daughter Weekend (Part Two)

Today we continued our Tour de Cincinnati and support of local businesses. Thankfully the severe weather missed our area of town last night. I still didn't sleep as well as I do when Eric was home, but at least I didn't have sirens or thunder or anything that might have made Cate wake up to worry about. The only bad thing is that no rain meant no cool down. By 6:00 this evening, it was 82 in our house with all of the windows open. Poor Cate was fussy and uncomfortable, so I broke down and turned on the air.

Anyway...so I thought the rain would end up coming today. But again it missed us. So Cate and I were able to enjoy lots of outside time. :-) We started out the morning by walking up to our local coffee shop, Pleasant Perk, where yummy Belgian waffles are available on Saturday and Sunday mornings. They make theirs a little differently, so you don't need syrup (although whipped cream and strawberries would have been yummy). And I actually found it easier to eat with my hands like a pastry. Cate played for a little bit in her stroller while I enjoyed breakfast. The O-Ball is quickly becoming a favorite.
We took a quick pit stop at the library afterwards to pick up a book that had come in for me. If you're not familiar with the libraries book ordering system, I recommend checking it out. You can get on their website at www.cincinnatilibrary.org, browse the catalog to find the book, CD, or DVD (only works for documentaries and TV Series), put in your card number, and select the branch where you want to pick it up. They'll call or email you when it comes in. Even if the website shows the book you want is available at your local branch, you can still request it and they'll pull it for you. This has made going to the library a little more efficient for me, especially since I usually have Zoey in tow (she stands outside and guards the stroller while we run in real quick).

We came home for lunch and then headed downtown to a place I've been wanting to check out for awhile. Park and Vine is Cincinnati's Green General Store. They sell a variety of eco-friendly products for you and your home. This weekend was their one year anniversary (we got a free candle).
While I've always wanted to check them out, my main reason for going today was to investigate a particular brand of cloth diapers- BumGenius! Having Cate has really put into perspective the things going on in our environment- the world Cate is going to inherit. We've been trying to walk more places (the grocery store, Wal Mart, Lowes, Blockbuster, Home Depot, the library, the coffee shop, and a smattering of local stores and restaurants are all less than a mile from our house) and Eric plans to ride his bike to work this summer since his work is only 2 miles from home (he can't right now because he drops Cate off in the mornings). We use reusable grocery bags at the store (which we walk to...unless we're already out). We try not to leave things like our computer or microwave plugged into the wall when they're not in use. We don't turn on lights unless we need them. You get the idea.

Anyway, we recently read an article that talked about how disposable diapers take at least 120 years to break down in a landfill. Yikes! Those diapers will still be decomposing long after Cate's gone. Now, I realize that Climatecounts.org did rate Proctor and Gamble, who makes our beloved Pampers Swaddlers) as an eco-friendly company. So that made me feel a little better. But I still felt like we could do more than just continue to throw diapers away. I'd love to use g-diapers, but our nearly 100 year old plumbing just can't handle the flushable liner. Enter BumGenius! These cloth diapers are all one piece and require no pins. You just insert a cloth liner or two depending on how much you want them to absorb. And they wash in the washing machine. The diaper actually has snap adjusters, so it will fit a baby from 8 lbs. to 35 lbs. The reviews on several websites have been nothing but positive. You used to be able to only order them online, but now Park and Vine is carrying them (the only place in the city that does). I picked one up to try with Cate tonight. I figure if it's going to leak, it'll do it when it's on her overnight. If it works and is easy to clean, we're planning on making the investment (they're not cheap unfortunately) to have enough of them for Cate to wear at night and on the weekends when we're home with her. I'll try to use them all summer as well, but the disposables are still necessary for church and the sitter in the fall (we don't want them to have to deal with putting the diaper in a bag, etc.).

I apologize for the eco-rant...but here's a picture of Cate in the new diapee!
It's a little thicker than a disposable, but otherwise easy to use. And really really soft.

After Park and Vine, we went up to Findlay Market to check out what local growers and crafters had to display.
It was really crowded, but fun. I was really surprised at how affordable a lot of the produce was (some cheaper than the grocery store). I picked up oranges and organic (I've been trying to buy more organic products while nursing) cherries. I've had both since we've been home and they're yummy!
All the looking around at things made Cate sleepy.
It was definitely an afternoon well-spent.

Thanks for putting up with a long, rambling post. Cate has been in bed for about an hour now and I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that the new diaper is a hit. I'm looking forward to a little ice cream and finishing On Chesil Beach tonight. After talking to Eric this evening, we definitely want to try and make breakfast at Pleasant Perk and Findlay Market part of our regular summer Saturday routine.

Thanks also to everyone praying for Cate and I while we're on our own. I am gaining a whole new respect for single parents and military spouses (who are left on their own with their kids for months at a time).

~Melody