finding a lost thing

My Grandma Sara taught me that if you loose something...

you should just start cleaning.

She stayed summers with us...

and sometimes winter breaks.

Grandma liked all house work done by lunch.

It used to drive me nuts.

Teenage me was not a early riser or a cleaner.

And when my shoe was missing, I wanted to dump drawers and raid the closet.

Definitely did not want to clean my room!

But that was what Grandma would do to help me.

She would start cleaning.

And when your grandma is cleaning your room...

it is impossible to do some drawer dumping or closet raiding.

So I would clean too.

Soon one of us would find my shoe.

 And as a bonus, part of the floor would be visible again.

But even when you don't find what have lost...

at least your life is a little more tidy.

I also was a slob.

So I am not sure if this was her method...

 or her method of dealing with me. 

But the cleaning trick has stuck.

After a morning and afternoon cleaning session...

the bedroom is clean, the living room is spotless.

I moved couches and the bed.

Dusted under dressers and used every vacuum attachment...

and today the lost thing was found.

Sun tea is brewing in the window...

(my winter solution for our ice tea requirement)

and even the floors under our bed are shiny.

(Kids are still in their pj's but it is real life.)

So even if it was for slob-teenage me...

thanks for the lesson Grandma.

If something is lost, clean it up.

Our day

morning sparkle

shredding

lunch

simmering lentils

parking lot

sink full

practicing


TV time

clean laundry

Her favorite shoes... her ballet shoes.
Or tap shoes or princess shoes.
Very multi-functional.

Shredded veggies - I sneak them into everything.
Chili, spagetti, lettuce wraps, mac and cheese.
These carrots were destined for a curry.

I cooked a lot yesterday, since we stayed in.
Made triple batches and filled the freezer.
and pureed carrots for the little man.

He is trying.
Knees and hands up.
So far it is either a face plant forward...
or a big slide backward.
Both tend to make him pretty mad.

When Mike is overnight in the hospital, bedtime is about timing.
Getting Theodore asleep or at least happy...
So his sister can have her bedtime story and song.
Sometimes TV saves the day.

Abundance

Our not-so-great garden from earlier this summer...

has made a huge comeback.

After the drought left, the tomatoes have arrived in abundance.

A crockpot full of skinned fruit...

with a little garlic, onion and a bay leaf.

8 hours later there is a pot of stewed tomatoes ready for the freezer.

I have a few more rounds to go and there are more ripening.

I see a lot of chili and sauce in our future.

Yummy.

Baby Clothes: Letting Go

**This is a long post.**

If you don't care about kids clothes then skip it.

 But I like reading what other people do...

so I thought I would write down what I did.

And I think it will help me stick to my plan this way too!

I have been sorting through baby clothes.

Deciding what to keep and what to give away can be tough.

Since we kept the sex of Eva a surprise...

we gathered a stockpile of unisex baby clothes.

Tons of stuff.

No one wants to not have enough things for their baby...

and when you are a first time parent - you have no idea what you will need or like.

So we had piles - t-shirts, onesies, pants, sleepers, sacks...

In every size all the way up to about 12 months.

Then Eva was born...

We were giving clothes as gifts.

Little girl clothes.

And she grew so fast and out of things so fast.

I sorted and cleaned her things and packed them away.

The only things I really let go of were things that had stains or I just didn't like.

If it graced her sweet little baby bootie and it was in decent shape...

I packed it away for our future baby #2, with a sniffle and teary eye.

Fast forward to being pregnant with Theodore.

I cracked open those boxes of baby clothes and started to get ready for him.

As I was on my third load of laundry... I realized I had a lot of baby clothes.
Maybe too many baby clothes.

Some of them I remembered Eva wearing and they made me cry a bit.

Seeing those tiny baby girl clothes made me hope for another girl... 

just to see them on a little one again.

Then Theodore was born was born.

He only wore the newborn size a few days...

and all of the little girl things were replaced with little man gear.

Reality, common sense and hormonal balance finally caught up with me

 when he started growing out of the 3 month clothes..

I was drowning in baby clothes.

I had some big realizations...

I put my babies in the same favorite outfits over and over - the rest just sat.

20 onesies, 15 sleepers, and 10 pairs of pants are way too many.

Babies are not born in the same season often, and Eva's things were the wrong size for Theodore.

Family and friends will give you cute clothes that are the right size for the new baby.

I rarely dress babies in clothes that I wouldn't sleep in myself.

Tastes change and the trendy things aren't worth the space.

For the unisex clothes...

I sorted everything by size and type. 

Immediately getting rid of anything Theodore didn't wear, that was stained or wore out.

Then I set a number for each item that seemed reasonable to keep.

I picked out of the pile my favorites until I reached the set number.

Making sure that things were mix-and match color wise.

In newborn size:

6 onesies

3 t-shirts

4 pants

4 sleepers/gowns

In 0-3 month size:

10 onesies

4 t-shirts

6 pants

6 sleepers/gowns

3 sweaters/sweatshirts

For the bigger sizes my unisex stash is less plentiful.

But I am keeping the same "rules" and ditching the rest.

If it is season-less, in good shape and worn a lot, it makes the cut.

But no more than what a baby could wear in a week.

Now for the gender specific clothes:

At first I wasn't going to keep anything.

We are planning on having another baby sometime...

but that would be years from now.

But my heart just needed to keep a few things, 

so I set a number.

3 outfits in each size... 

that I loved to pieces.

That was it.

The things that have already accumulated for Mr. Theodore I also went through.

I made sure it was the right season and something I would dress him in.

Then I made a list of the items he needs in each size on my phone.

I was very specific... 3-6 month sweater in tan or white - 6-9 month green pants.

I went from 7 bursting at the seems storage totes to 3 that aren't half full.

A unisex/maternity/general baby tote that will also hold blankets/swaddles and the like.

Then a boy tote and a girl tote.

For Eva's clothes...

She is wearing a 3T-4T now...

so the 2T stuff has to go.

I donated everything girly.

Everything.

If Theodore can't wear it, it was donated.

At first I thought about keeping a few girly outfits.

But then, I realized that if our possible next baby was a girl...

it would be over 4 years until these clothes would be worn.

If it was a girl.

So away it went.

I took notice of the things that were barely worn...

I will not be buying Eva jeans or really dressy clothes.

She doesn't wear them.

I also made note of the things that were so wore out that I couldn't donate them.

Those items were added to a list of things to buy for this year.

I know she will wear it.

And that it it...

There are bags and bags of donations and some empty totes.

Now I need to tackle my closet... EEEK!

Home day

Brewing coffee.

Early laundry to beat the rain.



Updated calendar.

Awake monster... "napping"

Reading a bit before breakfast.


 
Eva drinks her "coffee" too.

Adding and marking off my big to-do list.



Lunch.

Water the baby garden.



Deedle wakes up when Eva naps.



Sun tea brewing.



Trying not to turn on the air, it is suppose to rain.



Laundry off the line, inside and bed made just in time for the thunder.



A bit dizzy, so I lay down for a minute and enjoy the storm.



Clean closet and something to check off my list.



Reading and watching the rain while mommy does more laundry.



A little snack as I get dinner ready.

Once a week I do my best to schedule a "home day"...

no errands, play dates, work, meetings, trips or commitments.

I like to aim for Monday.

Just because the weekends can be so hectic... 

and it gets the week started on the right foot for me.

It is so easy to run around all the time.
Have something planned every single day.
Race around and slide in right before dinner time.

But we don't read as many books.
I don't get as many snuggles.
And my list never gets shorter that way.

On "home day" I can clean and play.
Hang up a laundry and collect dandelions.
So I say no and stay in.

Joining: Communal Global and Sweet Shot

Cloth Diapers for Beginners by a Beginner - Part 4

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)


Lets talk money!

So I used pretty cheap disposable diapers... Target brand.

They averaged 16 cents a diaper.

That is a club pack - on sale.

Currently Eva gets a diaper change about 6 - 7 times a day.

I am not sure where this lies in the scale for other toddlers, but that is average for us.   

 As a newborn it was about 12 to 14 times a day.  

Then around 6 months or so it was 8 to 10 diaper changes a day.

Based on 30 day months - here is the average cost for us:

14 to 12 diapers a day: $67 to $57 a month

10 to 8 diapers a day: $48 to $38 a month

6 diapers a day: $29 a month

$67 a month at the high end to $29 a month at the low end.

Starting out with a newborn...

I would want to have enough diapers for 12 diaper changes a day...
with time to wash and dry diapers.

That would mean I would want at least 24 inserts and 8 shells.

A Flip day pack, that comes with 6 inserts and 2 shells is $50.

To get the target amount - 4 Flip Day Packs for a total of $200.

This is the regular price - not a sale price and they do go on sale.

Extra inserts are $16 for a 3 pack or $9 for an "imperfect" 3 pack.

So a few extra would be nice in case you hit that 14 diaper changes a day mark.

That works out to...

Low end - 6 diapers a day = 7 months of disposables.

High end - 14 diapers day = 3 months of disposables.

This all depends on the diaper.

The cost of Gro-via and BumGenious 4.0 diapers would be higher.

The cost for Econobums would be lower.

Adding boosters or doublers would be things you would add as baby grew.
Also, since you would have extra inserts as diaper changes went down,
you could double insets for nap or bed time

Right now...

 I don't have that many Flip diapers...

but with my Gro-via and Flip purchases, I have spent around $330.

If you excluded the ruining of 1/2 my Gro-via diaper stash...

I would have only spent about $215 for what I use now - diapers and accessories.

That includes wet bags, doublers, sprayer, diaper safe detergent and cloth diaper safe cream.

I did purchase both the Gro-via and Flips on sale.

Eva is 26 months old... 

and although she has shown interest in the potty - it is a few months away.

At this point I have broke even and moved into saving money.

I did not start cloth diapers from the beginning or even early on...

if I had it would be a gigantic money savings.

I will be saving all that money again when Deedle comes along.

I plan to add some more diapers as we get closer #2 arriving.

But the ones I have used for Eva, will work for the little one as well.

Aside from the cost savings, there have been these benefits...

Eva rarely has a diaper rash, and when she does it is barely there
...before it was a constant battle.

We produce a lot less trash.

No more runs to Target just to get diapers and leaving with a lot more than that...

(that is another HUGE money saver for me - seriously!)

I love how the bright covers look under skirts and dresses...

 so a diaper cover isn't necessary.

I found Charlie's Soap which per load is cheaper than my regular detergent...

and I love it.

Since October...

I have been using one small pack of disposables that we had...

for traveling out of town,
for babysitters and my dad who can barely work a disposable...

 and for nursery care at church/Bible study/MOPS.

I still have 10 or so left.

When those run out...

I am going to try the Flip biodegradable disposable inserts.

Overall - I am really happy with cloth diapering.

I only wish I hade taken the leap sooner.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

Linking with Simple Lives

Cloth Diapers for Beginners by a Beginner - Part 3

(Part 1 and Part 2)

The extras...

Aside from the diapers, here are the other things I use and love.

Charlie's Soap
This soap was the second I tried.
I first tried Rockin Green and liked it but it had a pretty strong smell.
Then I tried Charlie's - mainly because a store down the road sold it and it was safe.
It is awesome.
It makes clothes just smell clean.
It gets out wicked stains - fruit punch from a white quilt - for example.
I have used it as a pre-soak/stain treatment on regular laundry.
I like it so well that when our normal detergent is out, I am switching to using all the time.
I use a half of the tiny scoop for a load of diapers, and a full scoop for regular laundry loads.
You can find Charlie's Soap here.

Baby Bum Drops
I figured that since I was using cloth diapers, I would try cloth wipes.
I found these drops that you dissolve in water.
You can fill a wipes container and have them pre-moistened...
but I have found it easy just to use a spray bottle.
I spay the cloth wipe or directly onto Eva if I want her to giggle.
I carry a tiny travel spray bottle in the diaper bag with some wipes.
I wash the wipes with the diapers.
You can find the Baby Bum Drops here.

Wipes
I made cloth wipes from thrifted flannel receiving blankets.
I cut them with pinking shears and then put a quick zig-zag stitch around the edges.
There are plenty of wipes out there you can buy too.
We still use some regular disposable diaper wipes...
Michael isn't a fan of the cloth ones...
 and when we are out and about with ice cream faces and stick hands...
the regular diaper wipes are still really handy.

GroVia Magic Stick
Eva is a rashy baby.
Her skin turns red in an instant.
Although, cloth diapers have solved so many of our rash problems...
she still will get a little red sometimes.
Especially after eating fruits.
This diaper stick was the only one that I tried since going to cloth.
It has worked great and lasted a long time.
It has a herbal fragrance that I like, but it is different.
 I love the application.
Cap off, swipe it on the bum and cap back on.  No messy mom/dad hands.
You can find the GroVia Magic Stick here.

Wet Bags
I have three.
We don't use a pail for our diapers, just because it takes up room we don't have.
I use one bag at home, one in the diaper bag and then one back-up for washing.
I already had a Planet Wise wet bag from my baby shower.
I received a GroVia Wet Bag as a free gift when ordering my first round of diapers.
I like both, but I bought a second GroVia bag when I decided it would be good to have a back-up.
The Planet Wise has a zipper, where the GroVia is a drawstring.
The GroVia was cheaper and that is was the decision maker when I decided to pick up a third.
You can find the Planet Wise Bag here and the GroVia Bag here.

Diaper Sprayer
This is a sprayer that attaches to the side of your toilet.
It makes spraying off dirty diapers easy-peasy.
I installed it myself in 10 minutes with normal tools.
I have used it to spray out Eva's potty chair.
I used it the other day when cleaning the toilet.
I have read that it works great for moms during post delivery care also.
It hangs on the side of our toilet, and most people never know it is there.
You can find the one I bought here.

The BIG Disclaimer...
I am still really new at this.
I know no one in my real life that used cloth diapers.

I have never used cloth diapers on a newborn...
although I will in a few months.

But, I just figured that I would share what we are doing.

First of all, because I was so overwhelmed with all the choices out there.
SO many people on the internet used SO many different things.
There are AIO's, Hybrids, Pre-folds, Wool...
it goes on and on.

When I read about someone online...
it seemed like they had a HUGE stash of so many different diapers.
They like this kind for this reason and that kind for that another.

I realize how it happens now.
They used what they were given, what they bought, and what they found for a great deal.
Some of the diaper sites give you a free insert or diaper when you spend so much.
Before long you have a one of these and one of those.

Secondly, I hadn't found anyone online that was starting out with an older baby.
Most people started out registering when they were pregnant.
They received a mix from people as gifts and decided on what worked for them early on.

The best advice I can give anyone really wanting to try cloth...
and is paralyzed with starting like I was...

Buy a few and use them with what you regularly use right now.
You don't have to go 100% cloth starting tomorrow.

Also, read the diapers instructions carefully...
before you buy and after.
Silly me.

Aside from the detergent to wash them...
you don't need anything special just to try a few.

Use a ziplock as a wet bag if you don't have one.
Use them on a day your are home so you don't have to worry about being out and about.
Find a store that sells a selection of diapers and take a look.

We have a store near us and I didn't go...
until after I made my first big purchase.
The people working there were so knowledgeable and I could have learned a lot.

You could end up hating the diapers I like.
You could know someone that uses something great.
You could try cloth and hate them all together.

But if you are curious...
just give a shot.

Here are some places that I read just to get an idea of what there is...
Diaper Junction
Simple Mom
The Nurtured Family

In Part 4...
I am going to share the money part of cloth diapering.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 4)

Cloth Diapers for Beginners by a Beginner - Part 2

SO...

I left off where I ruined half our diapers.

(For part one go here.)

I knew what I loved and what was annoying.

So I started searching.

And I was feeling really stupid for not reading directions...

wasting diapers and money.

I hate wasting money.

I searched and read and read some more.

I ended up deciding on the Flip system.

I started with the day pack to try them out.

I loved them, Michael loved them.

We went back for more.

Right now I am using 2 day packs.

Knowing that we had a heavy wetter...

I also researched solutions for that and found the Thirsies Hemp Inserts.

Love those guys too.

For nap, bedtime, car rides and long trips 

I put the Thirsties insert/booster under the Flip Stay-Dry insert and it does wonders.

The great...

The Flip system is really economical.

You can wipe out the inside of the cover or completely wash it out and it dries in no time.

I thought since the insert just sits in the cover that the inserts would move around a lot...

not the case.

Once the diaper is on - things have never slipped.

We have had one leak since since using them...

and it was after a cup of juice, a huge cup of water and some of grandma's soda.

The inserts dry a lot faster than the Gro-via.

You can use pre-folds in the Flip covers too.

You can wash the covers and insert in hot water.

They also recommend using bleach once a month on the inserts...

I haven't done this - but the fact that I can makes me comfortable with their durability.

The not so great...

So far there isn't much.

Aside from having to use the Thirsties as a booster...

which I think we would be needing regardless
these are great.

We also tried the Econobum Diaper System.

It was cheaper to buy a trial of the Econobum Diapers and get free shipping on an order I placed.

I really like them too.

Their inserts aren't as absorbant as the Flip's 

and a little more bulky because they are pre-folds.

But we use their covers and inserts interchangeably with the Flips.

They are really economical and a great choice.

I also have one BumGenius 4.0.

It is a great diaper.

But when it is dirty - you have to wash the whole thing.

Price wise...

the cost is quite a lot more than the Flip.

If I were to start from scratch...

I would have just bought the Flip system.

Not that the Gro-Via is bad.

Just that for us, simpler is better.

Right now, I am looking at getting more Flip inserts.

And going to only using the Gro-via when I don't have time to wash a load of diapers.

Part 3 to come...

with the accessories and some other things I have learned long the way.

(Part 1, Part 3, Part 4)

Cloth Diapers for Beginners by a Beginner - Part 1

So, we started using cloth diapers after Eva turned one.

When she was born, we were in a one bedroom apartment.

We only had a coin-op laundry in the basement of the building.

So washing cloth diapers when laundry was already a huge pain wasn't happening.

Then we moved, and had our own washer and dryer.

I thought about it for a long time...

but I knew no one personally that cloth diapered and was really overwhelmed.

Finally, one day I just did it.

One of the diaper systems I had been thinking about went on a great sale...
 And I jumped.

Head first.

Now that it has been a while and I have learned a lot...

I thought I would share what we learned and what we love.

I am not expert or even a seasoned cloth diaper user.
But I love them more than I thought, and wished I would have done it a lot sooner.

I first bought Grow-Via diapers and inserts.
We use the snap covers and the stay-dry inserts.  

I also used their boosters for nap and bed time.

The great...

They are really easy to use... even for grandma and grandpa.

I love that the inserts snapped in and stayed in place.

Reusing the covers was great - less diapers to buy.
The covers are soft and pretty.
The inserts were slim and contoured between the legs.
Staining has been very minimal.
A good dry in the sunshine and I think the faint stains would disappear.
Diaper rash almost completely disappeared since we switched from disposable.
The covers dry quickly - I have hand washed a few and they dry in an hour or so.
I have made my money back and then some with not buying disposable diapers.
Our trash load is at least half if not a third of what it used to be...
all those diapers not in the landfill.

I started with 8 covers and 14 inserts.

That was plenty to only wash diapers every 2 or 3 days.

The not so great...

As Eva started drinking a lot more, I had to use boosters for every diaper change.

Messy diapers were really messy - overflowing the insert onto the cover.
The liners have mesh insides and mess got stuck down in the mesh.

The washing recommendations said to use only warm water.  

It bothered me not to wash at least the inserts in hot water.
Drying the inserts takes a long time...
on medium heat it takes an hour and 45 minutes.
Line drying inside takes over 24 hours.

The bad...
I made some big mistakes.
I didn't read the instructions carefully.
I soaked a few covers and inserts in Oxiclean.
Yeah, that will ruin them... and it did.

You shouldn't use Oxiclean on any cloth diapers...
but there again I just dove right into this.
I figured it out when Eva started leaking everywhere.
Then I started reading the instructions carefully.
Ooops.

So, I was down diapers and washing diaper loads everyday.
I went searching for some replacements.

(Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Still

This toy has always been one of her very favorites.
It was the "stay sane on a long car ride toy" at one point.
Then it got ignored.

A few months ago, I started rotating Eva's toys.
I put a ton of her toys away - out of sight and out of mind.

I separated her toys into similar things.
Big toys, toys that sing, stuffed toys, puzzles, blocks - all in separate piles.

Then I put about 2/3rds of each pile away.
Only one or two things from each pile stayed - the rest were hidden away.

I was hard core.
Some of her very favorites went into the closet.

It has worked great.
When I see she is getting bored with toys - about once every week or so...
I swap out her toys.

On this day I swapped...
she sat still for 30 minutes playing with her once favorite toy.

The entire kitchen was cleaned and dinner finished.
Have you tried rotating toys?

Joining: Project52 : Be Still
Week 10 of 52

Styleberry 

Firecracker Mama • Wicked Kate • What We're Saying
Love & Life • Finding Joy

Paper-less

Going paper-less.

I am not talking about technology here.

Really, it is the opposite.

Slowly, over the years we have been using less paper and disposables.

We are getting better and better over time but...

it all started with not using paper towels.

We were in our very first apartment.

And one of our wedding gifts was a stack of microfiber towels.

They worked great for cleaning up everything.

We were newly on our own...

and a little scared and really broke.

We were saving for a washer and dryer...

 so we didn't have to take our laundry to my parents.

We were running on a tight budget.
So we didn't buy extras.

It was Michael's idea, not mine.

He voted to get more cloth towels and stop using the paper ones.

So I found some more towels at the dollar store...
and that is how it began.

I put a basket under the sink and took down the paper towel holder.

We never bought paper towels again.

Under my sink, almost 8 years later, there is still a basket.

Full to the brim with microfiber towels.

I buy them when I see them cheap.

The "One-Spot" at Target is a great place to get stocked up.

I wash them in hot water and hang them to dry.

They dry in almost no time.

I never use fabric softener or dryer sheets.

It makes them absorb almost nothing.

But that is it - easy-peasy.
The little pile of towels makes me happy.
(I am kinda strange about folded piles.)

We still don't use other paper/disposable products... plates, cutlery, swiffers.

We switched to cloth diapers and use cloth wipes part-time.

We still use Charmin for the big people...

I don't think that will ever change.

Doing these things saves money and the landfill.

But really it all started with not using paper towels.

Joining: Thursday Thoughts and Happiness is

Oatmeal Muffins

The monster loves apple cinnamon oatmeal.

She orders it up first thing in the morning...

"apple cereal please!"

Sometimes, before she is even out of her crib.

I made it from scratch last year.

Cooking small batches and keeping it in the fridge.

Storage was always a problem...

and making it a couple times a week just wasn't a great plan.

So I would end up using the instant pouches.

They are more expensive and just not as good for you.

The healthier ones with less sugar cost even more.

And it was still time consuming...

I would have to cook it and then let it cool enough to eat.

The monster doesn't like to wait that long for breakfast.

Now that I have all the freezer room in the basement I could ever want...

I hatched a plan.

I made the oatmeal...

a huge batch.

Then I froze it in my muffin pan.

Popped them out and they are ready in the freezer.

Perfect little "muffins" of oatmeal.

One minute in the microwave and they are just right to eat.

Here is the recipe I came up with...

It made 24 muffins and a little extra for breakfast in the morning.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal "Muffins"

4 1/2 C • old fashioned rolled oats

8 1/2 C • water

1 quart • unsweetened applesauce or 32 oz. jar

2 T • vanilla extract

2 T • cinnamon

1 C • honey

2 t • salt

Bring water and salt to boil.

Reduce heat to medium/medium-low and add oats.

Cook 6-7 minutes stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to low and add applesauce, vanilla, cinnamon and honey.

Stir until heated through, about one minute.

Remove from heat and cover.

Let cool and spoon into muffin pan.

Freeze until solid.

I dipped the pan into warm water to loosen the muffins.

Popped them in a freezer bag and in the freezer.

15 minutes of hands-on time

I had 24 pre-made breakfasts.

I love that.

Joining: Project52 : Made with Love