This is why past blogs die.....

....because I do a week or two of regular posting, then I get lazy *blush* Back on track, though....

We are switching day care providers next week. Our current/soon-to-be old one gave us her two weeks' notice last week. Honestly, it was a blessing. I have had some pretty major issues with how she was caring for our children. She was open to using cloth diapers, which was not only fabulous, but also enabled me to know exactly how many she was going through. Do you know how many times a day she was changing my children (who are 17 mo. and 4 mo.)? Twice. I send her 10 diapers every day, and every day she uses four. My kids bottoms are constantly red.

Additionally, she seemed to think that PopTarts five days a week was a nutritious breakfast. Don't get me wrong: I'm not anti-PopTart. I like them as well as the next girl. But I do not think that my year-old son needs them as a regular component of his diet.

I am also pretty certain that Leah spent a good portion of her day in the swing in front of the TV.

So, like I said, I wasn't horribly said when she said she was giving up daycare. To my delight, the sitter I wanted all along had openings. She is everything I want in a sitter: state-licensed, at-home, she genuinely loves kids, well-balanced meals, plenty of time outside, story time, songs, crafts, etc....

Of course, there is one down-side: she will not do cloth diapers. I can't say I was shocked, but I am disappointed, for a couple of reasons. First, diapers are expensive! I bought some tonight and holy crap (pun only sort of intended)! Second, I'm pretty sure that Leah is allergic to disposables. When she was first born, we did not use cloth right away, and used a variety of disposables: Pampers, Huggies, Luvs. Every brand caused her to break out horribly. When we put her in cloth, the rash disappeared.

I expressed my concern to some of my "My Girls" (see the sidebar) and one (I think it was one of the Jens) suggested Pampers Sensitive. So tonight I went to Walmart to pick up diapers. For Darren, I got the Walmart Brand: 92 diapers/$14.00. For Leah, I got the Sensitive--and nearly had a stroke. First of all, they don't come in case; the largest package I can get is 34. And do you know what that package of 34 cost me? $11.00. I could NOT be more pissed off. But my options at this point are not vast. I do hope that she is not allergic to them, but seriously. Those are spendy!

And okay, I'll admit it: part of me hopes that she IS allergic to them, so I can get a doctor's prescription for cloth diapers. I'm actually pretty sad that we won't be using cloth diapers. Sure the laundry isn't fun, but all in all, I kind of enjoy it. And seriously: even if you forget about the environmental impact (which is HUGE!), is there a bigger waste of money than disposable diapers? You're buying something with the sole purpose to throw it away. Other than cigarettes, I can't think of anything more wasteful.

I don't know how all you "normal" moms who have always done disposables do it!