Flats, Poop and Tornados OH MY!- Flats Challenge Day 3 Recap

Yesterday was an "interesting" day for us.  It started out perfectly normal.  There was even sunshine out.  I tried to get the diapers washed quickly so I could hang them out in the sun as I knew we had a slight change for severe weather later. 

I put them in to wash and got sidetracked with other things and completely spaced them off.  I only remembered them when I looked outside and saw the dark clouds rolling in.  Just as I got done rinsing them out and hanging them up around the house I got a phone call from the Hubs making sure we were ok.  I had been stuck watching Disney Jr. all morning and apparently the "slight chance" for severe weather had turned into Tornado Warnings with 16 different spots around us (and too close for comfort to where friends and family were at, including Ted!) of reported rotation, funnel clouds and a few touch downs.

storm rolling in!

I turned the news on and once again forgot all about the diapers.  The next hour or so was a blurr of watching the news as the rotation and circular patterns were 30 minutes out, 20, 15, 10 and then we took cover.  We have no basement but our home is an earth contact home so half of it is like a basement.  I took all 4 kids into our bedroom, propped the mattress up against the corner 2 walls that are made of concrete and waited.  There we prayed and prayed and PRAYED!

We lost TV signal (we live in the sticks with satellite TV, it goes out every time it sprinkles!).  No weather radio, thank goodness for my phone and Facebook!  We were only in there 10-15 minutes but it felt like forever. We are only a few hours from Joplin, MO so the fear I had in those moments is indescribable.  The winds got so strong at one point that I was convinced there was a tornado right outside.  Thankfully I was wrong.  The people in nearby Sedalia, MO were not so lucky, our thoughts and prayers go out to them today.

As soon as it hit, the storm was gone and there was sunshine once again.  I was so freaked out still that I didn't even think to move the diapers outside.  I spent about 45 minutes iron and oven drying my diapers again later in the afternoon.

storm rolling out-it appears to be going in the same direction because
the storm literally made a big circle over us!

Yesterday was also a "poop day" in our home.  I had done 1 poopy diaper each day since we started the Flats and Hand Wash Challenge but yesterday was one of those days were all 3 girls went at least once.  I ended up changing 5 poopy diapers.  I guess the storm and the adventure of hiding from tornado's "scared the poop" out of them?

When I first started cloth diapering back in August I was very intimidated by the poop factor.  I did not want to touch it and I most certainly did not want to dunk and swish it in my toilet.  I came up with, what I thought, was a pretty ingenious strategy.  I took the diaper to the side of our house and used the hose.  I did this through November and then it was just too cold and I had to get over the ick factor of it all (thank goodness a few months later I discovered the Blissful Booty Boosters that made poop a breeze for me!)  Yesterday I once again employed this method for poop duty.

I actually had someone from Instinctual Mamas suggest another rather genius way of getting rid of poops without having to dunk and swish:
"For non-ploppable #2 dipes, I will soak in the toilet. You make sure the dirty part is in the water, then keep a "clean" corner sticking out and anchor it from falling in by putting the seat down on top of it. By the time you remember you left it there, you will be able to grab the "clean" corner, flush a time or two, then throw it in the pail with practically nothing left on it. More effective than a sprayer!"
-Laura Ostrowski
A few more ladies in the group suggested the hose method.  I KNEW I couldn't be the only one who did that!

So yesterday was an exciting day for us full of lots of flats, poops and possible tornados OH MY!  I ended up wearing my shirt inside out all day.  I realized it was this way right before the storm but in light of all that happened after that its no wonder I forgot to correct it and only realized it was still that way at bedtime.  Oh well, as Mama Jorje said that just means I can wear it again today the right way!

Day 4, BRING IT ON!

Love,
this grateful mama,
Christy