68.4 days of diapers

here's my photo for day 9

i was out on a long run this afternoon - trying to think of my photo for day 10.of my 365 days of photos project... and as my last baby has been recently hitting a lot of milestones... standing up... starting to feed herself.... having the crib lowered for the last time.... i couldn't help but wonder (approximately of course) how many diapers i have changed over the last 7 years and how much actual time i've spent doing this!

so here's my rough estimation and calculations:

1. assuming approximately 10/diapers per day (i have been using cloth diapers since graham was about 2 so before i switched to cloth... the number of paper diapers was probably less - but i also did not take into account that jayden and graham were both in diapers at the same time for a while - phew! - i mean PU!)

2. assuming that graham was in diapers for 3 years, jayden for 2.5 years, helen for 2.5 years, and jillian has been in diapers for almost a year.

at 10 diapers per day - that's 3,650 diapers per year (WOW! - that's a lot of diapers!)

that makes 32,850 diapers that i've changed for all 4 kids

i'm approximating that each diaper takes about 3 minutes to change

which makes 98, 550 minutes that i've spent changing diapers (so far 'cause i'm still changing jillian's diapers)

= 1,642.5 hours of changing diapers

that converts to 68.4 days worth of changing diapers - WOW!!!!!!! and i still have at least 1.5 years to go with jillian

oh and adding in the wash time - 2,920 loads of diapers

it takes approximately 15 minutes of my time to "process the diapers" - putting them in the washer, switching them to the dryer which includes separating out the covers and hanging them up to dry, and then folding them and putting them away (ross is very good about the folding part - i must admit)

43,800 minutes of "processing time" for the cloth diapers = 30.4 days

ok - if you made it this far in the post - you will know that the enginerd in me really came out tonight!! :)

hope you like my big calculator in the photo too (it's an app i downloaded for my iPad) : )

the crib

day 8 photo

in the last week or so - jillian started pulling herself up to a standing position. she is so proud of herself -she will even turn around and wave to whoever will acknowledge her at the moment :)

as ross lowered the mattress in the crib for the last time - i wanted to have a little ceremony - i'm both happy and sad all at the same time. sooooooo happy to finally be nearing the end of the infant baby stage..... but saaaaaaad that jillian is my last baby.

a blast from the past - day 7 photo

keeping with the theme of hair - i was digging in a bin of sheets for the kid's beds last night and i found these hair bows. i have no idea how they got in this bin - but they are actually hairbows that i wore in my very own pony tails. i bet putting those ponytails in included a lot of "ouch! ouch! your pulling my hair too tight, mom " :)

i wonder if they make those alligator buttons anymore?

i feed me!

official picture for day 6
......and just like that jillian will not eat mushy baby food from a spoon anymore! my sweet baby girl is growing up...... i really think she wants to be just like her brothers and sister :)

she wants to feed herself now - which means 2 or more outfits per day - but this mama can finally have a (somewhat) warm meal again! yea!!

the spinning ball and day 5 photo

do you ever feel like you are running behind a giant spinning ball?.... some days it's an easy pace and other days it feels like the ball is nipping at your heals.

anyway..... here's my picture for day 5

helen is 3 years old and has NEVER had her hair cut... well - technically for the first year she really didn't have any hair..... but now it's pretty long. lately it's been a struggle for her (and ME) to get her hair combed. (i am sure my mom can remember similar "discussions" with me).

lately it seems as soon as i pick up the brush and walk towards her - she is telling me "no mom, that hurts, your pulling my hair, ouch, ouch, OUCH!!!". so my friend, anne, suggested that i just buy some conditioner for her hair. now why didn't i think of that sooner - sigh.

my 365 pictures project

day 1 - dallas airport (January 1st, 2011).... on our way back to chicago... this is how much stuff we had AFTER checking 5 bags of luggage!

day 2 - schiphol airport (technically january 3... but we lost some "time" in the airplane)

day 3 - unpacking all 10 suitcases after our trip to the USA

day 4 - my sweet jilly is so proud that she can feed herself now :) i, however, am not proud of the mess she makes when she feeds herself :)

a few of my photographer friends have been working on a project that envolves taking a picture every day for 1 year. i'm not sure of the details of their projects but i have decided to tackle my own version.... i'm going to try to take a picture of something in my life each day for 1 year! this could be interesting!!

here's days 1-4

tea party - American Girl style

galleria mall in dallas

jillian dancing to the music in the galleria mall

helen gets her doll all set up at the table (a few days later she said her favorite part of the tea party was having her doll sit next to her)

helen and jillian get ready for the tea party

yum!

ya-ya (grandma) buys helen a special outfit for her doll - a raincoat and boots (perfect atire for Holland)

my mother, sister, and i took the girls to the American Girl Doll store for a tea party and some shopping in Dallas