Relating to Ralph

You all know him- that beast of a dog that Kyle got while we were still in college. The Turner & Hooch Dog. And even though Kyle got the runt of the litter, this guy weighs 110 pounds. Yeah.

Before we had a child, I would say my relationship with him was very amicable. He is super fun to play with, and quite funny. He is there like any good friend would be there.

He keeps the bed warm for you when you get up for some water;



He helps you fix your hair;



He never lets you drink alone,



& he commiserates with you when you can't drink at all;



He'll keep you company on a long drive,



& be the look out when your husband is out of town;



He always loves my cooking,



& will share most of the time;



He is ALWAYS willing to play with you,




& loves a good swim with friends;



He always knows a good soul when he sees one, & he loved Big Bear,



and of course, Austin.




But lately, I have been just fed up with him. He is just so LARGE AND IMPOSING. When you walk in the door, he starts a one dog parade, sprinting back and forth in the kitchen 20 times, leaping, and running into furniture. This is fine and all until you walk in the door carrying a laptop bag, a purse, a diaper bag, and a 25 pound infant. And forget trying to look nice. Any parent knows that if you get out the door wearing a clean, pukeless, crumb-free ensemble, you are a golden god. But add in the drool factor equivalent to the slug that eats David's cap in Flight of the Navigator... Forget it! And if you think I am exaggerating, think again:



I am beyond sick of climbing over an abnormally tall gate that separates beast and baby. I am sick of scrubbing said drool off of our ceiling. I am tired of paying for a dog that eats- wait for it- a pound to a pound and a half of food a day.

& admittedly, I have lost it on him a few times, whispering that I am ready for him to go... as in go and be with doggie Jesus. And that is terrible, and I feel awful even typing it. I know I need to remember everything I have been though with him, and even though he got demoted one notch down the pecking order of the Richardson's- he is still a member.

Its so easy to forget how darn cute he was as a pup!



He reminded me of this sentiment just the other week, after I yelled at him for running down the hall with one of my bras. No matter how mad he makes me, he holds no grudges, and will still try to curl up like that lil' pup I once knew in the nape of my knees:

The Cloth Diaper-errrr

Yes, it's true. I cloth diaper our daughter. I feel like I need to say it out loud, like I am admitting to something. You would not believe how many side-eyed looks I get when people find this out. Like I'm letting my daughter play with paint chips or something. Is it because we live in the "Deep South" where cloth diapering isn't hip? And the comments! "You mean those things we were FORCED to cloth diaper our children in the 70s?" - all the while visions of dunking poop filled cloth into toilets swirl in their heads. I swear on cupcakes its not like that. And its not like I'm a dirty hippy or anything- though I went through that phase circa 2000-2003... but didn't we all? Turns out I really love handbags, and make-up, and David-Yurman... so it was obviously just a phase, but I digress.

So yeah- cloth diapering has come a long way since we were kids. And no, I don't use those foldy ones that required two inch pins to come within millimeters of your baby's wee little hip bone (called pre-folds... though they are still around, and are super affordable). The diapers I use look exactly like your basic Pampers diapers- except way cuter. The have velcro tabs, just like a disposable, but they are incredibly softer, and let me tell you, can hold a ton more crap.

Shockingly- or not- the reason I cloth diaper is not because I am being eco-friendly. The biggest reason is in the Benjamins; I'm no mathemagician, but I can tell you that I spent somewhere around $400-$500 on Austin's entire stash of diapers,wipes and accessories... and I bought some of the expensive ones. These are diapers that not only can she wear until the glorious day she is potty-trained, but I can also use them again someday for baby deux. On average, a baby goes through 3,000 diaper changes in the first year (I know, right? what the crap? LITERALLY), so disposables would run you about $600-$800- and this does not include the cost of disposable wipes (just for a reference though- without coupons, a pack of 64 is running $3-$4 at Publix these days) . Multiply these numbers by the number of years your kiddo is in diapers, then by how many kiddos you plan on having, and you will see there is genius in my madness.

The other two biggest reasons I have chosen to cloth diaper- pure cuteness factor, and reduced trash coming out of our house. I personally loathe "characters" on everything baby, and avoid them like WHOA. Why is Elmo on my newborn's arse? Can you please tell me why I have to buy a diaper with Mickey and Goofy picnicking between the velcro tabs? Mr. Man, can you not wait until she is at least two to bombard her with your marketing? Instead, wouldn't you want one of these adorable prints to grace your baby's bum?:



So, anyway, in short, I am admitting I am addicted. I plan to write a "part-2" post concerning the specifics of how the process works, i.e., what happens to the poop, how to wash, and how the hubs feels about it. I also want to credit some of the many interweb resources I used to make my decision and get our family started. Its a lot of information. But I swear cloth diapering is easier than beating Kyle at Rock-Paper-Scissors.

I leave you with a picture of the princess helping me fold up her freshly-washed fluffy butt stash:

Welcome to my blog & The Great Debate

Welcome to my blog, family & friends (and Internet strangers)! I am very excited about finally getting this page going. I have been stalking blogs for about three years now, thinking, things like, "Oh I have something to say about that", or "Wow, I could write an essay on that subject!". I'm really not sure what has taken me so long to write my own blog. In some ways, I really wish I had started sooner to chronicle my journey through pregnancy, but hey, better late than never right? And lucky for you, I'm not done on the whole conception front, so this time around, I can recollect my journey as a veteran.

Seriously though, I have been afraid to put myself out there. If there is one thing I have learned from reading blogs over the years, its that the best ones are chocked full of brutal honesty. If you are writing a blog for your church friends, or your grandmother, well, quite frankly, it bores me. I have tried to keep this in mind while I teetered back and forth on whether or not to write on a public forum, because, in all honesty, I am a pretty private person. I have a very tight group of close friends that I only open up to when its absolutely necessary for my sanity. The reason my husband and I are so close is because he is one of the few people I have "let in". But this year, I bit the bullet. One of my three goals for the year was to stop thinking about it, and just start blogging. So here I am... I am going to give it my best shot, and I would appreciate the feedback. If you disagree with me, let me know! If you have a comment, leave it. To me, the comments are the cream cheese icing on top of the perfect red-velvety blog entry.

So, now that we have my reasoning out of the way- let's get to business. This blog is going to be about my life as a wife and mother. A mom-blog, if you will... so I'm jumping right into it- "The Great Debate". The Great Debate in the Richardson Household these days is "when are we going to try for #2?". When I was pregnant with Austin, our plans were to start right away. As in maybe when the babe was six months old. I know you probably think I am crazy for going along with this plan whilst pregnant, but in all honestly, I was down. Kyle (hubs) and his sister were born 21 months apart, and were in consecutive grades. My sister and I were born 27 months apart, so again pretty close. And while we fought a lot during our teens, and I know Kyle and Meg had their differences, it has really been awesome being in similar places in our lives as adults.

So what happened to our plan, as our daughter is now 10 months old? Well, it just keeps getting put off. The truth is I despise being pregnant. Like, dislike with a passion. I am not one of those women who "glows" with happiness with a baby in utero. I just don't get those women. Frankly, pregnancy sucks. I enjoy drinking copious amounts of caffeine at my leisure, and consuming entire bricks of the stinkiest blue cheese you have ever laid your nostrils on. And, I can't lie, I enjoy drinking a few beers at Taco Mac during the playoffs, or a glass of wine with my steak. Also- maternity clothes- what is the deal with those? I feel like they are made for pregnant grandmas if that makes any sense. And the more fashionable pieces are so expensive! If I am going to pay a lot of money for a particularly cute article of clothing, I better be able to wear for more than four months of my life. B.) I am a very tall girl. Like a hair under six feet. Trying to find a cute pair of jeans that were long enough and embraced the belly was my personal hell. Lastly, I'm kind of scared to be pregnant with a toddler running around. This little girl wears me out as it is. When I was pregnant with her, I'm pretty sure I was asleep for 80% of my life. I would come home from work and take a nap. I would sleep until noon on a Saturday. It was glorious. I could not get enough sleep. I am just too fully aware that the kind of sleep I was getting just isn't in the cards. ever again.

Poor Kyle. I know he is beyond ready. I would be due in three months if it were up to Cap't Eager over there. But here I am, floating by.. putting it off for another month, then another...

What are your thoughts? Are you of the school of thought like us... get them in and out of the diapers. bottles and non-sleeping years all at once? Or are you the kind of person that thinks kids should be separated in age more to give yourself a little more time? Are you one of those psychos that loves pregnancy?

P.S. I write how I talk, so if you are the grammar police, you can kindly judge me, then exit. Kisses!