5 Minute Easter Basket

Used some leftovers supplies...

 ...to create an new basket when I suddenly realized that her old basket was too small to use for the Easter Egg hunt I had promised we would go to in 45 minutes...

This'll do!

Inexpensive Cloth Diaper Liners

(l-r: dollar store dry wipe, Imse Vimse liner (washed a couple times), and Up & Up wipe)

Recently, someone left a comment on my previous cloth diaper liner post, asking about the dollar store dry (washable) wipes that I have used for diaper liners.  My mother-in-law purchased these for me.  While I have a good stash left, I am no longer able to find them at our store.  I need to check a few more places.

Along with those dollar store dry wipe liners, I am also continuing to use the Imse Vimse flushable liners.  They can usually handle making it through a wash cycle to be reused if not soiled.  I still use the infant size on my almost 20 month old.

By chance, I happened to stumble upon a third option that is working well for us, too.  Up & Up wipes, washed and dried.  While my favorite disposable wipes to use straight out of the box are Huggies, I have found that the Target Up & Up brand baby wipes are great to use, and then wash and reuse as diaper liners.  The don't shrink in the laundry cycle, but come out soft and durable.  (Note: All other wipes I have tried this with shrink like crazy.  Let me know if you find another brand besides the Target ones that work well, too.)

With the wipes as liners, the super messy ones that aren't worth the trouble of rinsing in the toilet go straight into our garage trashcan with the dog stuff.  Since they are uber cheap, I don't mind tossing them into the abyss.  I realize that it might be better ecologically to rinse them and flush the waste down the toilet to be properly treated at the sewage plant and then launder the liner, but sometimes something's gotta give.  At about 2 cents or less per liner (for the Up & Up wipes), it is a lot cheaper than throwing away a disposable diaper!  The Imse Vimse liners get flushed of course, waste and all, since that is what they were created for.

Now that we are well into the toddler phase of diapering (past the breastfeeding infant phase), I am no longer making my own cloth wipes.  Why?  Because I guess I am lazy and some used wipes are so nasty that I just want to toss them in the trash with the liners.  So, buying the Up & Up brand wipes to use for faces, hands, and bottoms, and then laundering (when not too nasty) and reusing them again as diaper liners makes me feel a little better.  It is a second use for something I was going to buy anyway and throw away.  It feels like getting diaper liners for free!

I hope this is helpful to some of you out there... feel free to share any other diapering tips or suggestions you have!

Coffee?

Coffee has been on my mind ever since I read this post called 30 Reasons to Quit Coffee by Cheeseslave.  If you are a daily coffee drinker, you may not want to read it.  Or maybe you do.

I am not a habitual coffee drinker.  But I could easily become one if I am not careful.  It is in my genes :)

Lately, probably due to the cold weather, I have been having a cup of coffee every week or so, always with milk and sugar.  I have always felt guilty about the sugar part, but now that's not my only concern.  Reading the post by Cheeseslave has scared me away from that slippery slope of habitual coffee drinking I was getting close to sliding down.  Thank you, Cheeseslave.  Her list contains a lot of information that pertains to caffeine in general, not just coffee.  Stuff I probably had an inkling about, just didn't want to face.

What's ironic is I started writing this post over the weekend, and on Monday, I read two more blog posts on coffee, one in favor of, and one against. I am surrounded by coffee drinkers in real life; most of those who are near and dear to me are coffee drinkers. One even makes a living via coffee. So I really don't know what I think. I just know that for me personally, coffee could become an addictive "drug", and I don't want to put myself in a position to become addicted.

Will I still drink coffee?  Yes.  I will just be even more careful to treat it as a special treat, just like a decadent chocolate dessert.

My husband?  He doesn't get a racing heart, sleep problems, or the craving to chug as much as he can (unlike myself).  He will probably still drink it nearly every day.  There are worse things.  In fact, according to this WebMD article, it may make him the healthier one....

Thoughts?

Handmade Dolls

I LOVE these dolls from Warm Sugar.  I happened upon them by a link from another blog this evening.  I have never seen one in person, but still, they are adorable!  I love that they are handmade, using many re-puposed and vintage materials.  I was into dolls as a child and am hoping my daughter is, too.  So far, she seems to be.  At 3 years old, I think she might be a little young for these - I'd hate for something to happen to one.  But maybe someday I will be able to get her her own!

My Current Reading List

Ha ha.  I don't think these really count as reading - more like looking or browsing through to enjoy the inspirational pictures before I conk out to sleep for the night.

One Yard Wonders (Comes with sewing patterns, even from the library! Not that I have used any.)

 

The New Traditional

And, I have this book on hold:

The Naturally Clean Home

(PS - these are not affiliate links because I am too lazy to do that.)

One a completely different note, if I were going to scrapbook (which I am not - because I do not need another time suck or money sucking hobby), I would totally do it on the computer Sarah's way.

AND, I am trying out a friend's breadmaker this weekend.  I think I'm going to give this Light Oat Bread a shot.

But, first, I am going to give the soaked version of the healthy pumpkin muffins a try in the morning.  Not with the breadmaker.

No big grocery shopping trips this week.  Spent $6 at Whole Foods on apples and canned pumpkin.  Spent $10 at Super Target on peanut butter, bread, and Halloween candy (save for the 31st).  Spent $4 at Costco on bananas and milk (to tide us over until the next carpool to the farm).  $20 total.

The laundry is calling my name...  See you later.

Divided Lunchbox Container

I think I'm gonna like these...

...considering I pack 4 lunches somedays.

I've been wanting something like these for awhile, so when I found out Ziploc is making some that are approximately $1.25 a pop, I got a couple.  Now I am thinking, "Why oh why did I only get 2, instead of 4?"  I don't know where my brain was at the time.

Thanks to Jessica at Life as Mom for the heads up on these containers.

A Review and Giveaway: The Eco-nomical Baby Guide

This review and giveaway is overdue.  I was hoping to do it the end of March... I actually skimmed the book cover to cover when I first received it at the end of February, and have been waiting around to get to read it thoroughly and well, you know how things go...

Here's my short, honest, and a bit scatterbrained review of The Eco-nomical Baby Guide by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelley.

• I liked that it is written by 2 real life moms who practice what they preach (and most of the advice they dole out was self-taught in the first place).
• Very tasteful layout and presentation.  Made me eager to delve into it.
• Advises toward a thrifty, green parenting lifestyle (hence the title), which is "attainable" for just about any income level.
• Shares lists of specific product recommedationsat the end of each chapter, much like Baby Bargains, only with an emphasis on environmentally-friendly and baby-healthy.
• Covers the bases: sleeping, baby gear, food, diapering...
• As a parent of 2 children, who has researched a LOT on the internet, I didn't find any groundbreaking new information.  BUT, I would have studied this book extensively had it been given to me 3 years ago, before my first child.  And, while compared to some mothers, my practices may already be considered quite crunchy, while to others, I may be very mainstream, I did find myself encouraged to stretch even further towards a green family lifestyle.  So, all that is to say that I feels this book has something beneficial/thought provoking for you no matter where you stand on the spectrum.
• Some of my favorite green items were left out of the product recommendations... just goes to show that everybody has different preferences.
• Respectfully leaves room for making your own judgement calls in regard to family priorities (financial, time, etc.)
• This would be a great book for an expecting parent who is interested in penny pinching OR raising baby in a environmentally friendly manner.  I really appreciated how Joy and Rebecca explain that it is possible for these two to go hand in hand.  Thanks, ladies!

I've never hosted a giveaway before. But, in the spririt of being eco-friendly as well as passing on the graciousness that Joy and Rebecca shared by sending me this book to review, here we go!

The prize: The Eco-nomical Baby Guide by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelley

Leave a comment to enter.  If you leave an anonymous comment - which I have opened just for this special occasion so my lurker family and friends can also enter :) - be sure to leave your name, too.  One entry per person. Share the love and tell your friends to come enter, too.

You can win this for yourself, to give as a gift, or simply to read, review, and pass along, just as I did.

Winner will be drawn and announced Monday, April 19th.  Good luck!

If you don't win, look for it in a bookstore or request it at your local library...

In the meantime, you can visit Joy and Rebecca over at their blog, The Green Baby Guide.

View Food, Inc. for Free

PBS will be broadcasting Food, Inc. on April 21st.  Check your local listings and mark your calendar!

Cloth Diapering: Works For Me

I've shared several posts related to cloth diapers over the past 2 years of this blog.  Here are some of them...

Washing and Detergent Instructions
(Antifungal) Baby Wipes Recipe
Diaper Liners
Nighttime Diaper for Toddlers

These are my latest observations on cloth diapering the second child...

The whole cloth diapering process has been less experimental this time around with my second child.  At least, so far.  I imagine there are at least more 2 years of diapering my boy, so there's still time.  But I feel like I know what I like and am just trying to utilize what we already have from my daughter's diapering days.  Therefore, I haven't researched or tried many new things (and it seems there are a lot of new items that have been introduced in the past year!)

For the first 7 weeks after he was born, we borrowed homemade newborn fitteds and covers.  Since then, we have been using prefolds (first the infant size, and now the premiums) with a snappi and covers with him.  I still really like the Imse Vimse covers, but the Thirsties cover and Thirsties Duo wraps are my new favorites for his chunky build.  I am a believer that the build of your baby can affect what fits them best.  If you are new to the game, don't completely commit to one kind before your baby arrives.  When the prefolds and covers aren't cutting it anymore, I plan to switch to our BumGeniuses.  For nights, we are using FuzziBunz One Size. Although, he has started to leak through with the newborn and regular inserts, so I should get some large inserts to replace the newborn sized ones.  This combo still works for my daughter at night, so I am hoping it will work for him.  He also has one of the Thirsties Duo pocket diapers that works great for long outings.  I really like it, so maybe I should try that one at nighttime...Hmm...

When we have diposables on hand (which is almost always, as backup, because I tend to get behind on laundry), we use those for in the diaper bag and/or when someone else might be changing him.

I still enjoy cloth diapering and am glad I chose to do it.  What about you?

Food Revamp

Well, since I tend to write a lot about food on this blog, and from what I can tell, that is what some of you are interested in when you visit here, I'll just go ahead and give you my thoughts. I confess I feel a bit frivolous putting such thought into such a basic thing (food) that we take for granted when so many are without... so I have been trying to not obsess. I guess it is just kind of my hobby of mine to learn about healthy eating and trying to be a good budget-er at the same time. Not that we are unhappy with how we are eating or anything, but I just feel like we are at a point to reassess things with the new year and all. OK, enough with the rambling disclaimers.

Milk
My raw milk idea is a no-go. The one dairy close by that sells raw milk is completely booked with shares. They even have a completely full waiting list. Must be good stuff! I was kind of bummed because I had figured out (on paper) how to fit it into the budget. My husband was relieved though. He was not into it. So the next best alternative is organic milk that is pasteurized, but not ultra-high pasteurized. I am checking prices on this... I think it might be Whole Foods store brand? There has been much drama in the organic milk business these past few years I have learned after a little (OK, a lot) of googling. I can't explain it all here, but basically, there has been some fraud regarding which suppliers are adhering the the organic standards. So I don't think I will be buying Horizon or Costco brand "organic" milk.

Organic Produce
I am going back to Door to Door Organics on a biweekly basis (we had quit for the winter). I just love their company. It will be a challenge with this back in the budget, but having the delivery come every 2 weeks instead every week will keep it $65 per month cheaper, though. (We wanting to stick with the $300/month grocery budget for now. That may increase when our baby boy starts eating food in these next few months. I'll keep you posted.) On the in between weeks I plan to fill in with frozen organic fruits in smoothies, bananas from Costco or Aldi, local fruit when in season, and organic salad and frozen vegetables from Costco. I am freshly motivated to stick with organic produce since I plan to make some homemade baby food from it. (If you are a local friend and want to try Door to Door, email me and I will give you a coupon code for $5 off.)

Meat
I am going to continue buying beef and any pork from Whole Foods. It is just so much better, in my opinion. And if it is $3/lb. instead of $1.50/lb. (my old target price for beef), that is only a difference of about $6 - $10 a month which I think I can swing. I want to look for the whole organic chickens at Costco... I don't know if they carry them in our part of the country?? I found some Smart Chicken ground chicken on sale for half price at HyVee today, so I snatched up two packages . I've never used ground chicken before, but I am guessing it is similar to ground turkey?

Egg & Cheese
We have not gone organic here, yet. I would like to know from anyone who has tried it, is there a big difference in the eggs? Aldi eggs are hormone free and pretty inexpensive, so I usually buy those. But we don't eat a TON of eggs, it seems to go in phases, so I would be willing to try some more expensive ones. I just don't know that it would make a huge difference when that main thing we use them for is baking. And cheese? Yikes. We eat a lot of cheese. Organic cheese seems SOOO expensive. Any recommendations there?

OK, I don't care if you aren't interested in organic foods. I still have some more questions about things myself ... I'll save those for another day. I just get into it because I feel like it is an area where I feel like I can make choices that make a difference for my family and for others. Stewardship.

Thanks for humoring me.


Oh, and one more thing:
Personal Care
Any easy/affordable tips in this area would be appreciated.
Is there a natural soap or shampoo out there that works? As in, soap that cuts the man stink and shampoo that lathers? I used to love the reasonably priced Whole Foods store brand stuff but they have changed it some, I think, and it is just not effective anymore. Lately, I have been buying the cheapo toxic antibacterial stuff from Wal-Mart because I don't care, B.O. is not acceptable. We are sweaters and require something strong. I have done some research and read the best review on Burt's Bees Men's Body Wash so we will try that next. I love the Burt's Bees Baby wash for our kids. Don't worry, I am sticking with conventional antiperspirant/deodorant. I will not take that risk. And I think we'll go back to conventional shampoo because that doesn't concern me as much since it doesn't sit on your skin.

Safe Sippy for Older Toddlers

I was looking for a new cup for my girl. I love her Klean Kanteen sippy, but she no longer needs to drink out of a baby sippy spout. She can handle a regular cup. But I want something spill proof since she walks around with her drinks a lot and also has them in the car.

I could get a sport cap for her Klean Kanteen to replace the Avent sippy spout that it currently has, or get her a kid's Sigg, but those aren't spill proof, and I can just imagine her playing with the spout and the water or milk going everywhere. We will soon use the Klean Kanteen for her baby brother, anyways.

Reading Z Recs reviews on cups for toddler to pre-k led me to check out the Playtex Coolster Tumbler.

Plastic? Yes. BPA-free? Yes. Spillproof? Yes, if you use the valve (optional). Looks more grown-up? Yes. Inexpensive? Yes. At just $4 a pop and easily available at Target or Babies R Us, I don't have to feel a great loss if we lose it or leave it somewhere.

Why did I want to ditch the sippy spout? I don't know if this is true, but I have heard that a more natural drinking motion is better for speech muscle development. I am no specialist, but I would think that it has got to be better for teeth, too.

Plus, using the "sparkly purple big-girl cup" was good motivation for her learning to go #2 in the potty! :)

Green Toys

Another toy that I think is worth the money is this environmentally friendly tea party set. Our daughter got if for her 2 year old birthday. She loves the colors and that it is just her size. I like that it is made from recycled materials and is safe for her to put in her mouth (and even eat off of!)



We also have the sand play set. It is very durable.



Check out even more American-made, eco-friendly toys from Green Toys!

The Newborn Diapers

My little Scottsman!

I just had to show a picture of these diapers. The photo is not the greatest, but these plaid, flannel newborn diapers are just adorable. My sister-in-law got them off of craigslist. (12 diapers for $18.) She is expecting her first in February*. They are homemade and work wonderfully on my almost 7 week old son with snappi and a Thirsties cover. I am preferring to use these rather than my newborn prefold/BG infant insert combo. Thanks for letting us use them, Steph. We will return them soon since he is growing like a weed!

Sharing cloth diapers is definitely a finer thing!

*Steph is going totally frugal and green by sewing the rest of her diapers using this one-size pocket diaper pattern. I told her she better post about it sometime on her blog!

This post is linked to Finer Things Friday.

A Nighttime Diaper for Toddlers

Problem:
Over the past two months, I have had issues with my daughter leaking at night. The triple stuffed Happy Heiny's and Mommy's Touch just don't fit her right anymore, and she leaks out the legholes. I've tried less stuffage, but she needs the absorbency. (We still love BumGenius for daytime, but they've unfortunately never cut it at night for us.)

Solution?:
I am not for sure what is going to work best yet, but my friend Morgan is letting us try out one of her FuzziBunz One Size diapers. (I read Nicki's advice which promted me to ask Morgan how she liked her FuzziBunz and she offered to let us test one out...) So far, after 2 nights, no leaks! We've been using 2 FuzziBunz inserts inside. I can definitely tell it fits my daughter better around the legs. That might be due to the fact that the elastic around the legholes is adjustable. Brilliant! If the FuzziBunz continues to do the trick after a few more nights of testing it out (*crossing our fingers*), I will be investing in at least 3 for ourselves.

I always shied away from FuzziBunz because they were pricier than the alternatives. But if I had to do it all over again, now that they have the One Size adjustable diaper, I might've gone for a complete set of those. Just my thoughts - for if you are just getting started into cloth diapering.

Coconut Oil has Arrived!

It's here! I ordered it last week. I wasn't forseeing any leftover money in the grocery budget for June, but I was almost certain that barring no emergencies, we wouldn't be overbudget. I felt like I did decently, even if not amazingly, with my goal. So I went ahead and placed my order since we hadn't used any of our clothing/entertainment/miscellaneous money for the month (Are we really that lame? I hope not... We did go on vacation! And we spent a boatload on truck repairs - ugh! Anyways.) With shipping, it was about $50. I wonder how long it will last before we use it all?

Thanks for putting up with all my lists of food this past month. It has helped me to see things written out and has reassured me that while watching every penny, we were still eating well, at least in my opinion. I won't bore you with as many details of our shopping and eating in July, but I will still be working hard to stick within the same budget!

Also-

My find at Costco today that I was excited about: Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Sugar...10 lbs. for $7.xx. It cost twice as much as the conventional sugar, but it is not as expensive as I see it online. I have never seen this carried before at Costco. I don't know if it is going to be a product that they regularly offer, but I hope it is!

Why Coconut Oil?

If you are wondering why I am wanting to buy a gallon of coconut oil, read on...

Ever since I read this article (and some of it's enclosed links), I've been intrigued. I have bought some small jars of coconut oil occasionally at Whole Foods, but that really isn't very economical in the long run. I have found good results using it as a replacement for vegetable or canola oil. I'd like to have enough to use it as a skin moisturizer, as well. So, after trying it out in small portions, I like it enough to go for the gallon, which is a better price in the long run. (Yes, there is coconut oil at Wal-Mart. But I tried it once, and it just wasn't the same quality. It made me want to barf. But maybe that's because I had morning sickness.)

Additionally, what I've learned from these books also supports the use of coconut oil over other more processed, manufactured oils.

Basically, it is another step our quest to eat more whole, natural foods. Or another step in being weird, as my husband says :)

(And if any of you that know you live close want to go in on an order with me, let me know, maybe we can save on shipping??)

Thank You, Cotton Babies!

I was thrilled to receive a $25 gift certificate (unsolicited) from Cotton Babies for blogging about their bumGenius diapers!

How thrifty and green is that? A coupon for cloth diapers!

Although I continue to love their bumGenius's, I decided to try and maximize it's usage for what I really "needed". So, here's what I purchased for the whopping total of $6.50 after applying the gift voucher:

1. Bumkins Superbib - My daughter has used the same bib everyday for nearly a year now and since it has been washed SO many times (3 x a day) it was finally starting to mildew in the seams. Time for a new one. These bibs can't be beat!

2. Newborn diaper cover - a LiteWrap. Seems like a good deal, and similar to the Imse Vimse which I love, but we will just have to wait and see. Will fit large.

3. 1 dozen preemie Indian prefolds to fit in our newborn diaper covers. We'll just try them and see. I can always double them up with the newborn size inserts from our bumGeniuses.

I had never ordered directly from Cotton Babies before, but was very pleased with their prices, service, and quick shipping!

Thrifty Green Facewash

I have not had perfect skin for at least 3 years. Actually never. But I will say that my skin has been probably it's worst in the past 3 years due to all the hormone fluctuations of quitting the pill, getting pregnant, breastfeeding, weaning, and becoming pregnant again. However, having perfect skin is not the most important thing to me right now. As long as it is clean and ungreasy, I am okay with it. During this time of nourishing another being, I am more concerned with not absorbing a bunch of dangerous toxins.

I am using Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Facewash, which I wrote previously about here. I got it on sale for $6.99 at Whole Foods and it lasted me 4 months. When I went to purchase more, I noticed they sold refill bottle. This refill bottle contains 4 times the amount of the little pump bottle but only cost only 4 dollars more! I bought it. I expect it to last me over a year. $11 dollars for 1 bottle of facewash that lasts for a year+? That is thrifty and green to me.

Cloth Diaper Liners

I am planning to use cloth diapers with this next child (a boy!) due in August. My debate right now is whether or not to try the newborn size prefolds and covers. I don't currently have any newborn sized diapers, only infant/smalls, which my daughter didn't grow into until she was over 2 months old. Although the bumGeniuses (which I love) do have a newborn setting, I am planning on my daughter still wearing those until sometime next winter or spring when we will hopefully do potty-training. So I need something to get by until this new guy will be big enough to wear the infant/small prefolds and covers that I already own. I want to do something economical and easy. Hmmm. Thoughts?

Anyways, on another related note: diaper liners. I started using these once my daughter started foods other than breastmilk. There are two kinds that I have found that work well for me.

1. Imse Vimse Flushable Liners

Pros:

• Flushable - makes it easier to change a dirty cloth diaper when you are not at home.
• Reusable 1 more time (Holds up for one washing in my front loader if not soiled. Makes me wonder on the flushablility... no problems yet, though.)
• I can get by with the baby size on my 25 lb. daughter. (Slightly cheaper than the toddler size.)

Cons:

• You are paying for the convenience of "throwing something away". Will need to buy more.
  

2. Dollar Store Washable Wipes - dry, from the cleaning section

Pros:

• Cheap. If you have to throw a nasty one away, the cost is negligible. You can get several out of one package.
• Soft after washed.
• "Endlessly" reusable.
• Rinses well for a reusable liner. Much easier than rinsing the diaper itself. (It is perforated so stuff doesn't stick to it that much and the water flows through it when you swish it in the toilet.)
• You can cut them to the size you want.

Cons:

• If you want to use them when you are out of the house, you would need to dispose of a soiled one in a ziploc or other sealed bag (out of courtesy) just like a disposable diaper. (If I am throwing away a really bad one at home, I put ours where we put the dog poop. Gag.)
• Probably not made of eco-friendly material.

My compromise:

I use the Imse Vimse liners when we are out and about. (You still need to change the child near a toilet, though!) I use the Dollar Store Washable Wipes for liners when we are at home. (Thanks to my husband's mother for telling me about the washable wipes that she used to use for liners on her kids back in the day!)

As for baby wipes, I use disposable ones for when we are out and about, and I use flannel wipes with my homemade wipes recipes when at home. Sometimes, I will get caught without some flannel ones ready at home and have to use disposable ones. Then I will toss them in with the diapers to be washed once and they come out nice and soft and clean and great for wiping runny noses!

Visit the Green Baby Guide for more thrifty, green tips!

Happy Earth Day!

Here are a couple of semi-related movies/documentaries that are thought provoking. If you haven't seen them before, you should watch them sometime. (The links take you to them on Hulu, where you can watch them for free.)

Super Size Me

The Future of Food

Enjoy! And make informed choices!