In the interest of saving time and money.....

Ever since becoming a stay at home mom a year ago, I've been doing everything I can to stretch our dollars and become more organized. A household runs much more smoothly if it's organized and neat. Of course, getting everyone on board is another task all together! I've always planned the weekly menu and made my shopping list from it, but now I'm going to try to take the extra step and actually PLAN out a weekly menu. What I mean is, I'll actually put thought into it, like: what would my family like to eat? how can I balance the meals so that they are healthy and yummy? I also have to plan around such things as days when I watch my nephew. I don't think I'll attempt to make beef wellington with baked Alaska on a day when I have two babies to take care of :) Another, important part of planning that I hadn't been doing is writing down the weekly menu. I think this will make me much more accountable and organized. So, here is the dinner menu for this week: I'd love to hear thoughts, advice and suggestions, I really would!

Monday: sloppy joaquins (a Rachel Ray recipe) and salad

Tuesday: chicken rolls (an old family recipe) and green beans

Wednesday: balsamic chicken (another Rachel Ray), french bread and sweet potato casserole

Thursday: Ziti with tomato cream sauce (my favorite vegan recipe) and broccoli
Friday: baked potato soup and salad

Saturday: basil cream chicken pot pies (another R.R.)

Sunday: probably leftovers, or if I'm feeling energetic then curry chicken with coconut rice

So, would you like to come eat at my house this week????

Rockin Green rocks my world

As most of you know, I recently started using cloth diapers exclusively. Well, in order to keep the diapers clean and in good condition, it's necessary to use a detergent without a lot of the ingredients in typical laundry detergents. I've experimented with a couple and my new favorite is: Rockin Green. It's so many good things: vegan, non-toxic, biodegradable, yummy smelling and guaranteed to get the ammonia smell out of the diapers. So, I got to thinking...if it cleans my daughter's pee, why wouldn't it clean my dog's pee as well. The little stinkers had peed on my daughter's pink princess tent and I was furious because I thought I'd have to throw it out. But...I just soaked it overnight in Rockin Green, rinsed and it's as fresh as can be. Thank you Rockin Green, I love you!

Wondering where to start with cloth diapers?

I'm still a newbie in the CD world, but have been turned on to a really cool resource by my good friend, Camille. Diapershops.com offers all you'll ever need to diaper your little one forever! They offer a huge variety of products, packages and accessories and the best prices around. And the best part: the corresponding blog, The cloth diaper whisperer, has been one of the best information sources I've come across so far. The contributing writers are so knowledgable and they cover every possible thing you'd ever need or want to know about cloth diapers. Oh, and my favorite feature is Fluff Friday! Every Friday, diapershops.com gives away a super cool cloth diaper prize!

Catch up

So, I realize it's been a while since I wrote an update on our family. A whole summer has gone by without me writing about Emma's growth and progress. Well, as you can imagine a lot has happened.
She went swimming for the first time:


She started sitting up:


taught mom why using blankets as crib bumpers is not a good idea:



started eating solid foods and drinking from a sippy:



met her baby cousin, Alex:


had her first airplane ride:


met nana's chickens:


met cousin Hailey:


met aunt Cari:


met her great-grandma Yancy:


attended her first wedding:


started crawling:


and then prompty pulled herself up in the crib, good thing we had lowered it the day before :)


got to sit in daddy's boat:


Emma is now 8 months old, crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything, eating crackers and pasta along with all the pureed veggies and fruit. She has enought hair to actually justify using shampoo and brushing. She's a happy, healthy little girl. And we couldn't be happier with her!!

a learning experience

So, we've been cloth diapering for a couple months now and I must say that it is going well. Not great, not terrible, but well. My for-now stash contains 3 Smartipants, 2 Bum Genius (thanks to my awesome friend, Camille) 4 diaper wraps and a TON of prefolds (thanks to my MIL). I LOVE the Smartis and BG, but since prefolds make up the bulk of my stash, that is what Emma's in most of the time. They actually work great, are simple to use and don't leak as long as they are changed frequently. And the wraps are a HUGE improvement over the old school plastic pants. If the diaper is just wet, you just wipe the wrap and put in a new prefold, easy, right! I reserve the BGs for night time because with the two inserts we haven't had any leaks. Using disposables at night, I'd say they leak about 1 in 3 times, so the BGs are awesome! I also like the Smartis because you don't have to touch the inserts, they come out in the wash on their own. So, that's why I say it's going well. I certainly have enough diapers to get the job done, but they are not my preferred ones. One day I'll have my dream stash! Just look how cute she is in her Smartis:

New adventures in cloth diapering

I must first give a HUGE shout out to my college/post college roommate and friend, Camille! She's been so supportive, informative and encouraging. I consider her my go-to girl for all things cloth!

Even before I got pregnant I thought I wanted to use cloth diapers. I really like the thought of being kinder to the environment and my child's behind, not to mention the cost-effectiveness of using cloth. But, actually getting started was a whole other thing. I started doing research and asking around only to discover that cloth diapering is like it's own world. The users are fiercely loyal, there are networks, blogs and websites totally devoted to cloth diapering and all it's accompaniments and, the most confusing of all is the language: there are all kinds of acronyms, terms and slang. AIO's, prefolds, fitteds, CD, ahhhhh, I must confess: it was a little intimidating and almost caused me to throw in the towel.

This past week, I finally put thoughts into action and ordered my first cloth diapers, a three pack of Smartipants. I was so excited and anxiously trekked to the mailbox each day until, at last, the diapers arrived. They were so cute! I washed them immediately and put one on Emma for nap time. I guess I'm brave, but I really wanted to give 'em a good try. I'm glad to report that she woke up happy and DRY! We weren't so lucky with the overnight try, but I wasn't able to double stuff (something that knowledgeable cloth diapering mamas do) and her disposables leak most of the time anyway. So, for now I'll use the cloth only during the day until I'm able to build up a better "stash".

So, I'm really glad that I've finally gotten started and wish I would have sooner! I would definitely recommend cloth diapers, they've come a LONG way since the old, scary pin/plastic pants combo that I grew up in! There's such a huge variety that anyone who wants to, can find something to fit their lifestyle. I'm now a CD mama and can't wait to try some BG's, FB's and get rid of those nasty sposies!

Cloth Diapers!

Yes, that's right, I'm about to begin the new adventure of cloth diapering for little miss Emma. I've been doing research, following blogs and cruising websites looking at all different brands and varieties. Thanks to my good friend, Camille, I've also gotten some real-life, mama-tested advice. I'm really excited to be making a choice that benefits the earth and my little girl and I'll let you all know how it goes. Two of my favorite websites I've found so far are diaper discussions and the cloth diaper whisperer. They have great advice, cool moms and awesome giveaways!!