When I initially created this blog I thought it would be a fun creative outlet for me. What I forgot is that it takes a bit of time, and life happens. So, between my last post in uh.... April... I planted my garden, tended my garden, spent summer vacation with my kids. Harvested my garden, preserved my garden, and winterized my garden. There have been a million things I could have blogged about, but... Eh. Such is life. Not sure my 5 followers even missed me.
So what made me break my silence you ask? Well, this week we had our monthly MOPS meeting, and the topic was once a month freezer cooking. Now, most people will agree, that if I can make something more difficult on myself I will. But our speaker seemed to have over complicated the whole thing to such a degree that even I couldn't follow her. It involved excel spread sheets, color coordinating, a 3 ring binder and a white board. What the hell? My way is SO much easier, and after the first initial weeks, our menu is basically on auto pilot.
Last august I got sick of menu planning. No one could ever decide what they were hungry for. We kept forgetting about favorite meals, we would eat the same things over and over again. My family got sick of me hounding them for dinner ideas and started answering my " what do you want to eat this week" thing things like, " Legos" Enough is enough.
I sat down with a notebook and listed out about 30 things that we really like to eat, and organized them into categories. We have Time consuming meals, left over meals, easy meals, and soups. Then I listed them all out on a old school paper calendar. I scheduled easy meals on mondays and tuesdays because those evenings are the busiest for our family. I scheduled time consuming meals for the weekends, and leftovers in between. Every week we have one soup night. Once I had everything planned out, I plugged it into my Google calendar, and told it to repeat every month. I will never have to plan another menu again! This method has allowed me to make better use of my left overs. We have way less food waste, and have managed to shave about $100 off our grocery bills monthly.
So, here is a sample of our monthly menu:
Monday-left over chili
Tuesday-Macaroni and cheese
Wed-spaghetti
Thurs-Gumbo
Fri-tacos
sat-pizza
sun-brats
Mon-left over Gumbo
Tues-Gezpacho Cube steak
Wed- garlic potato soup
Thurs- Ham
Fri-Sandwich night
Sat- Margaritta Pizza
Sun-Enchaladas
Mon-Hot Dogs
Tues-Sloppy Joes
Wed- Augratin Potatoes
Thurs-Pancakes
Friday- Mac and cheese
Sat- sushi
Sun- Ravioli
Mon-Grilled cheese
Tues-Left over ravioli
Wed- Fried rice
Thurs-French onion soup
Friday- Alfredo
Sat- Turkey
Sun-Pork loin
Mon-left over turkey
Tues-Left over pork loin
wed- chili
Thurs-lemon chicken
Fri-Tacos
Sat-Left over chili
Sun- seafood chowder
Cooking each meal in bulk and freezing helps me cut down on prep time. I usually double a recipe and freeze half for next month.
What method do you use for meal planning?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Making Yogurt at home.
So it is Earth Day 2011. How will I be spending it? Well, since the high is 50 degrees, and its raining, and the ground is so saturated that our sump pump is running, I am pretty well confined to the indoors. And since today is also Good Friday, I am also stuck with my 2 school age children, and the baby. Sounds like the perfect time to clean out the laundry room. And make yogurt.
I started off on my home made yogurt making adventure about a year ago, after reading about a dozen blogs about how easy and cost effective it is. Now I will be adding one more blog.
Making home made yogurt really takes nothing more than milk, a little starter mix, a kitchen thermometer, a heating pad, and a lot of faith. And no matter how easy the other blogs try to make it seem, its way easier than that.
The basic procedure I follow is, heat 1/2 gallon of organic 2% milk slowly stiring occasionally, be careful not to boil, until it reaches 180 degrees, and let it sit at that temperature for 5 minutes. This sterilizes the milk. Then let it cool to 110-112 degrees.
While your milk is cooling, you need to sterilize the container you are going to be making your yogurt in. I use my pampered chef batter bowl
To sterilize, I boil water in a large soup pot and submerge my bowl for a few minutes.
When my bowl is cool, I add a little starter to it.
Starter is the gift that keeps on giving. I have heard that you can use store bought plain yogurt, but I have always used starter powder that you can get at the coop or at the health food store. Once you have plain home made yogurt, you can reserve some back to use as your starter next time. I usually save about a half a jelly jar full or so, keep it in the fridge and it will be ready for you the next time!
So, now your milk is cool, add it to the bowl containing your starter, and mix it up gently with a wisk.
Now your work is done. All you have to do is keep your yogurt at the right temperature and wait for it to ferment.
This is where people make it way more difficult than it needs to be. I have heard of doing it in the oven, in coolers, dumping out water, adding water, using special expensive yogurt making machines... I use a heating pad. Similar to this.
Just wrap it around your bowl, and then I wrap large bathroom towels around it for insulation. Don't forget to insert your kitchen thermometer before wrapping everything up, so you can monitor the temp.
Then you let it sit. At least 8 hours, keeping it around 110-112 degrees. The longer you let it sit the better. I usually let mine go over night. When the time is up, just unwrap everything, and put your bowl in the fridge. You are done. Nothing to it! Your end product won't be quite as thick as the store bought version, but what ever. Its way healthier. I usually eat mine with frozen berries and a bit of honey to sweeten it up.
So, lets analyze a little bit.
ingredients in yoplait yogurt: Site your source! :-)
Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Low Fat Milk, Sugar, Strawberries, Modified Corn Starch, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Nonfat Milk, Kosher Gelatin, Citric Acid, Tricalcium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Pectin, Colored with Carmine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3.
Yummy! If you know what Tricalcium phosphate is, please let me know. Acutally, don't. I don't care. I'm not eating it. Oh! and look! Sugar AND High Fructose Corn Syrup. Nice.
One Cup of Yoplait yogurt comes complete with a plastic container, foil lid, and goes for the whopping price of $.79
Ingredients in Stonyfield farms organic yogurt: Site your source! :-)
CULTURED PASTEURIZED ORGANIC LOW FAT MILK, NATURALLY MILLED ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC BLUEBERRIES, PECTIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, ORGANIC ELDERBERRY JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE (FOR COLOR), VITAMIN D3. CONTAINS OUR EXCLUSIVE BLEND OF SIX LIVE ACTIVE CULTURES: S. THERMOPHILUS, L. BULGARICUS, L. ACIDOPHILUS, BIFIDUS, L. CASEI, AND L. RHAMNOSUS.
One cup of Stonyfield farm Organic yogurt, complete with plastic cup and foil lid is about $1.29
Cost of home made yogurt,
1/2 gallon organic milk = About $3.50
Starter: Free! It was waiting for me in my fridge! But, if you have to buy starter you can get it for about $11. for a whole bottle that will last you for forever, or at least a good long while.
Ingredients in homemade yogurt?
Milk. My starter powder contains nonfat milk solids, whey, and 3 kinds of the probiotic bacteria.
1/2 gallon is 64 ounces, and a typical cup of yogurt is about 6 ounces, so I will have about 10 servings of yogurt per batch, for a grand total of about $.35 a serving. And since I am not a math wiz, I will spell it out. That is about 1/2 the cost of conventional yogurt, about 1/4 the cost of organic. Talk about bang for your buck!
I started off on my home made yogurt making adventure about a year ago, after reading about a dozen blogs about how easy and cost effective it is. Now I will be adding one more blog.
Making home made yogurt really takes nothing more than milk, a little starter mix, a kitchen thermometer, a heating pad, and a lot of faith. And no matter how easy the other blogs try to make it seem, its way easier than that.
The basic procedure I follow is, heat 1/2 gallon of organic 2% milk slowly stiring occasionally, be careful not to boil, until it reaches 180 degrees, and let it sit at that temperature for 5 minutes. This sterilizes the milk. Then let it cool to 110-112 degrees.
While your milk is cooling, you need to sterilize the container you are going to be making your yogurt in. I use my pampered chef batter bowl
To sterilize, I boil water in a large soup pot and submerge my bowl for a few minutes.
When my bowl is cool, I add a little starter to it.
Starter is the gift that keeps on giving. I have heard that you can use store bought plain yogurt, but I have always used starter powder that you can get at the coop or at the health food store. Once you have plain home made yogurt, you can reserve some back to use as your starter next time. I usually save about a half a jelly jar full or so, keep it in the fridge and it will be ready for you the next time!
So, now your milk is cool, add it to the bowl containing your starter, and mix it up gently with a wisk.
Now your work is done. All you have to do is keep your yogurt at the right temperature and wait for it to ferment.
This is where people make it way more difficult than it needs to be. I have heard of doing it in the oven, in coolers, dumping out water, adding water, using special expensive yogurt making machines... I use a heating pad. Similar to this.
Just wrap it around your bowl, and then I wrap large bathroom towels around it for insulation. Don't forget to insert your kitchen thermometer before wrapping everything up, so you can monitor the temp.
Then you let it sit. At least 8 hours, keeping it around 110-112 degrees. The longer you let it sit the better. I usually let mine go over night. When the time is up, just unwrap everything, and put your bowl in the fridge. You are done. Nothing to it! Your end product won't be quite as thick as the store bought version, but what ever. Its way healthier. I usually eat mine with frozen berries and a bit of honey to sweeten it up.
So, lets analyze a little bit.
ingredients in yoplait yogurt: Site your source! :-)
Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Low Fat Milk, Sugar, Strawberries, Modified Corn Starch, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Nonfat Milk, Kosher Gelatin, Citric Acid, Tricalcium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Pectin, Colored with Carmine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3.
Yummy! If you know what Tricalcium phosphate is, please let me know. Acutally, don't. I don't care. I'm not eating it. Oh! and look! Sugar AND High Fructose Corn Syrup. Nice.
One Cup of Yoplait yogurt comes complete with a plastic container, foil lid, and goes for the whopping price of $.79
Ingredients in Stonyfield farms organic yogurt: Site your source! :-)
CULTURED PASTEURIZED ORGANIC LOW FAT MILK, NATURALLY MILLED ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC BLUEBERRIES, PECTIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, ORGANIC ELDERBERRY JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE (FOR COLOR), VITAMIN D3. CONTAINS OUR EXCLUSIVE BLEND OF SIX LIVE ACTIVE CULTURES: S. THERMOPHILUS, L. BULGARICUS, L. ACIDOPHILUS, BIFIDUS, L. CASEI, AND L. RHAMNOSUS.
One cup of Stonyfield farm Organic yogurt, complete with plastic cup and foil lid is about $1.29
Cost of home made yogurt,
1/2 gallon organic milk = About $3.50
Starter: Free! It was waiting for me in my fridge! But, if you have to buy starter you can get it for about $11. for a whole bottle that will last you for forever, or at least a good long while.
Ingredients in homemade yogurt?
Milk. My starter powder contains nonfat milk solids, whey, and 3 kinds of the probiotic bacteria.
1/2 gallon is 64 ounces, and a typical cup of yogurt is about 6 ounces, so I will have about 10 servings of yogurt per batch, for a grand total of about $.35 a serving. And since I am not a math wiz, I will spell it out. That is about 1/2 the cost of conventional yogurt, about 1/4 the cost of organic. Talk about bang for your buck!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Garden Plans
Gardening.
This time of year the dirt starts to call to me. I have this desire in my soul to get out in the yard and play in the garden. It is usually to frozen / muddy to do much of anything, but I go out there anyway, get messy, and dream of the summer time and the food that I am going to grow in my garden.
In my quest for more sustainability, I have commandeered my flower beds, and turned them into vegetable gardens. I am planing carrots, and onions where my morning glories and sweet peas grew last year. When my bulbs are finished blooming I will be planting peas, and watermelon I planted blueberry bushes in the landscaping in my front yard, and my garden... oh its gonna be a treat!
This year I will have strawberries, raspberries, and rhubarb. Can anyone say jelly? Yum! The rhubarb is already peeking up through the mud. I can barely stand it!
Sitting in my south window are rows and rows of seedlings, just getting ready to go. Beef steak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and acorn squash.
I have visions of rows and rows of home made garden fresh canned goods lining my laundry room walls next winter. If anyone knows how to can... let me know. I have a pressure canner on my wish list.
The winters are so long in this area of the country. I have to make the best out of the 3 1/2 months or so of nice weather we have!
This time of year the dirt starts to call to me. I have this desire in my soul to get out in the yard and play in the garden. It is usually to frozen / muddy to do much of anything, but I go out there anyway, get messy, and dream of the summer time and the food that I am going to grow in my garden.
In my quest for more sustainability, I have commandeered my flower beds, and turned them into vegetable gardens. I am planing carrots, and onions where my morning glories and sweet peas grew last year. When my bulbs are finished blooming I will be planting peas, and watermelon I planted blueberry bushes in the landscaping in my front yard, and my garden... oh its gonna be a treat!
This year I will have strawberries, raspberries, and rhubarb. Can anyone say jelly? Yum! The rhubarb is already peeking up through the mud. I can barely stand it!
Sitting in my south window are rows and rows of seedlings, just getting ready to go. Beef steak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and acorn squash.
I have visions of rows and rows of home made garden fresh canned goods lining my laundry room walls next winter. If anyone knows how to can... let me know. I have a pressure canner on my wish list.
The winters are so long in this area of the country. I have to make the best out of the 3 1/2 months or so of nice weather we have!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Family Garden Coop
It is 35 and rainy out today, so of course I have gardening on my brain. Soon it will be time to plant. I am planning on Mothers Day, 25 days, but who's counting?
I have been rolling this idea for a Family Garden Coop around in my head for a few weeks now, trying to form a vision of how I would like it to go, and I came up with a brilliant idea! It stems partly from the rise in food costs, partly from my desire to avoid chemical additives in my families food, and partly from the book I read that prompted my Tech free week, Better Off
I am looking for 4 or 5 families, that live locally, who are willing to plant a garden and share their surplus harvest with the group, in a weekly produce exchange. You know, all those tomatoes and cucumbers that you have no idea what to do with, that just go bad because you can't eat them all. I would like to meet on Friday evenings this summer, to do a produce swap. If you bring some produce, you can take some different produce back home with you. Fridays are the day before the farmers market, so we can swap for free, and then buy what we still need the next day at the market. We can meet at different parks around town so the children can all play together.
In order for this to work, we would each have to plant a few extra one or two items with the intent of having a surplus. Something you are especially good at growing. I can keep a list of who would like to plant what.
In addition to a produce swap, I would like to offer up my kitchen for mass canning production. I think it would be great to all get together and put up our produce for winter. If you have a clue on how to do that, I would like to be mentored on how! Ideally I think it would be fun to do a Jelly making session, a vegetable canning session, and apple sauce/butter/pie filling session.
So, if you are interested in my experiment of FREE local organic foods, and increased sustainability, please let me know!
I have been rolling this idea for a Family Garden Coop around in my head for a few weeks now, trying to form a vision of how I would like it to go, and I came up with a brilliant idea! It stems partly from the rise in food costs, partly from my desire to avoid chemical additives in my families food, and partly from the book I read that prompted my Tech free week, Better Off
I am looking for 4 or 5 families, that live locally, who are willing to plant a garden and share their surplus harvest with the group, in a weekly produce exchange. You know, all those tomatoes and cucumbers that you have no idea what to do with, that just go bad because you can't eat them all. I would like to meet on Friday evenings this summer, to do a produce swap. If you bring some produce, you can take some different produce back home with you. Fridays are the day before the farmers market, so we can swap for free, and then buy what we still need the next day at the market. We can meet at different parks around town so the children can all play together.
In order for this to work, we would each have to plant a few extra one or two items with the intent of having a surplus. Something you are especially good at growing. I can keep a list of who would like to plant what.
In addition to a produce swap, I would like to offer up my kitchen for mass canning production. I think it would be great to all get together and put up our produce for winter. If you have a clue on how to do that, I would like to be mentored on how! Ideally I think it would be fun to do a Jelly making session, a vegetable canning session, and apple sauce/butter/pie filling session.
So, if you are interested in my experiment of FREE local organic foods, and increased sustainability, please let me know!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
My Tech free week 4-3
Day 7. I made it. I was very unsure about this whole thing just a week ago. It amazes me how far I have come.
I have found that I simply can't live without the internet. Its where I have my fun. Its where I go to learn, socialize, and I have some work on there too. On the other hand, it is a incredible distraction. I have also found that it can bring people together, but if you aren't careful, it will come between you and those you care about.
I have caught a lot of grief from friends and family this week. In my experience, if you are being made fun of, you are on the right track. They say that I have to live, I can't deprive myself of everything I enjoy. So, I thought on it for a while. (Lots of time for thinking this week)
Is vegging out in front of a TV really living? I feel like I have lived so much more this week. TV is such a distraction. Not to mention the fact that there is so much on there that I don't care to have my family exposed to. All the advertisers trying to turn my children into mindless consuming machines. There is also the subject matter. Even on prime time. Too much sex, and other adult themes I don't care to have to explain to my 8 year old. There is just to much ICK out there. I know they are going to be exposed to this crap at school and other kids houses, but that doesn't mean I have to invite it into my home.
If you are what you eat, then are you also what you feed your soul? I don't want to feed my soul garbage.
I have found that in this week of no TV or internet that I feel like I have lived more purposefully. I have been more in tune with my family. Less distracted. I have been less frustrated with my children, and more satisfied in my roll as a mother, and wife. I have moved closer to God, partly because I am more in tune with my thoughts and feelings, and partly because if my increased time for prayer.
So, now that the week is over, I find myself as scared to turn the tech back on as I was to leave it behind.
I am scared that if I let it back into my life, I will slowly become more and more lax until I am right back where I started. So, now the time for negotiations begins. I am not the only person living in this home. I also have to take my husbands feelings into account, and he is not as into this as I am.
While I am full on ready to get rid of the TV completely, he would like to watch it occasionally. The one in the bedroom is definitely going. The one in the basement will stay off, except for an occasional family movie night, maybe once per month or so.
Computer games are a thing of the past. no more farmville. No more cityville. Facebook will be limited. I will allow myself to check it in quite alone moments, but the computer will remain off until the kids are in bed. I need to always maintain my focus on my family.
There have been a few events in my life recently that remind me that life is just to short. I don't want to waste a single second of it. I want to live intentionally, enjoying every last second!
So, there it is. My Tech free week. as of today, 4-10, we are still TV free. We did have a family movie night last night, we watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It was fun. The kids loved it. It was the first TV we had watched in 13 days, and it went right back off afterwards. I have been able to cut my internet use way down, and have gotten a lot more odd jobs done around the house. We are settling into a routine, and it seems to be working out nicely! I have to say, that giving up the TV is one of the best things we have done for our family! And it really wasn't as hard as I feared it would be.
I have found that I simply can't live without the internet. Its where I have my fun. Its where I go to learn, socialize, and I have some work on there too. On the other hand, it is a incredible distraction. I have also found that it can bring people together, but if you aren't careful, it will come between you and those you care about.
I have caught a lot of grief from friends and family this week. In my experience, if you are being made fun of, you are on the right track. They say that I have to live, I can't deprive myself of everything I enjoy. So, I thought on it for a while. (Lots of time for thinking this week)
Is vegging out in front of a TV really living? I feel like I have lived so much more this week. TV is such a distraction. Not to mention the fact that there is so much on there that I don't care to have my family exposed to. All the advertisers trying to turn my children into mindless consuming machines. There is also the subject matter. Even on prime time. Too much sex, and other adult themes I don't care to have to explain to my 8 year old. There is just to much ICK out there. I know they are going to be exposed to this crap at school and other kids houses, but that doesn't mean I have to invite it into my home.
If you are what you eat, then are you also what you feed your soul? I don't want to feed my soul garbage.
I have found that in this week of no TV or internet that I feel like I have lived more purposefully. I have been more in tune with my family. Less distracted. I have been less frustrated with my children, and more satisfied in my roll as a mother, and wife. I have moved closer to God, partly because I am more in tune with my thoughts and feelings, and partly because if my increased time for prayer.
So, now that the week is over, I find myself as scared to turn the tech back on as I was to leave it behind.
I am scared that if I let it back into my life, I will slowly become more and more lax until I am right back where I started. So, now the time for negotiations begins. I am not the only person living in this home. I also have to take my husbands feelings into account, and he is not as into this as I am.
While I am full on ready to get rid of the TV completely, he would like to watch it occasionally. The one in the bedroom is definitely going. The one in the basement will stay off, except for an occasional family movie night, maybe once per month or so.
Computer games are a thing of the past. no more farmville. No more cityville. Facebook will be limited. I will allow myself to check it in quite alone moments, but the computer will remain off until the kids are in bed. I need to always maintain my focus on my family.
There have been a few events in my life recently that remind me that life is just to short. I don't want to waste a single second of it. I want to live intentionally, enjoying every last second!
So, there it is. My Tech free week. as of today, 4-10, we are still TV free. We did have a family movie night last night, we watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It was fun. The kids loved it. It was the first TV we had watched in 13 days, and it went right back off afterwards. I have been able to cut my internet use way down, and have gotten a lot more odd jobs done around the house. We are settling into a routine, and it seems to be working out nicely! I have to say, that giving up the TV is one of the best things we have done for our family! And it really wasn't as hard as I feared it would be.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
My Tech free week 4-2
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
Day 6
Today is Saturday. Our first day stuck at home as a family. A normal Saturday would involve some sort of sports programing while my husband naps in the afternoon.
Lucky for us, the weather was beautiful. Shortly after breakfast was cleaned up, we all poured outside. We got the bikes out and cleaned out the garage. I took the opportunity to organize my garden stuff. That is about all I can do at this point since it will be to cold to plant for another 6 weeks at least.
It was fun to watch the kids play outside. We have been cooped up in the house since October. They were in absolute heaven! Riding bikes, skateboards, flying kites. The Boy even made his first ever bike ramp , and The Girl, not wanting to be outdone, promptly followed on her pink sparkly barbie bike.
At the end of the day we read books, did baths, and were so exhausted we didn't even think about the TV. This week has just blazed by!
Day 6
Today is Saturday. Our first day stuck at home as a family. A normal Saturday would involve some sort of sports programing while my husband naps in the afternoon.
Lucky for us, the weather was beautiful. Shortly after breakfast was cleaned up, we all poured outside. We got the bikes out and cleaned out the garage. I took the opportunity to organize my garden stuff. That is about all I can do at this point since it will be to cold to plant for another 6 weeks at least.
It was fun to watch the kids play outside. We have been cooped up in the house since October. They were in absolute heaven! Riding bikes, skateboards, flying kites. The Boy even made his first ever bike ramp , and The Girl, not wanting to be outdone, promptly followed on her pink sparkly barbie bike.
At the end of the day we read books, did baths, and were so exhausted we didn't even think about the TV. This week has just blazed by!
Friday, April 8, 2011
My Tech free week 4-1
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
Day 5
Boredom has set in. I have managed to find time for some of those little odd jobs now that I am not wasting my life online. Today I cleaned the cupboards in the kitchen and set up a table in my living room so my seedlings can catch the south sun. We also ventured out into my mud bog / garden to work on cleaning that up a little and getting it ready to plant.
We started emptying out the compost bin, a lot of it is still frozen solid. We also pulled up past years corn stalks.
When we still had time left in the day, I managed to bake 2 loves of pumpkin bread, read to the kid's, prepared and cleaned up a meal, and played a few games as a family before bed. Its amazing the time I have found!
At day 5, I already pretty much know the outcome of this trail, but I will keep you in suspense for a few more days.
Day 5
Boredom has set in. I have managed to find time for some of those little odd jobs now that I am not wasting my life online. Today I cleaned the cupboards in the kitchen and set up a table in my living room so my seedlings can catch the south sun. We also ventured out into my mud bog / garden to work on cleaning that up a little and getting it ready to plant.
We started emptying out the compost bin, a lot of it is still frozen solid. We also pulled up past years corn stalks.
When we still had time left in the day, I managed to bake 2 loves of pumpkin bread, read to the kid's, prepared and cleaned up a meal, and played a few games as a family before bed. Its amazing the time I have found!
At day 5, I already pretty much know the outcome of this trail, but I will keep you in suspense for a few more days.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
My Tech free week 3-31
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
Day 4
There isn't really much to say about today. We are settled into a new TV free routine. I quit reaching for the remote control first thing in the morning to catch the weather, and last thing before bed we have been talking instead of mindlessly watching Letterman. What a concept. Communication.
There was one really neat even this evening. The Baby took his first step! We were all goofing around at bath time, instead of watching TV when My daughter opened the door the little ones was balancing on, leaving his hands free, and since he has been walking on by, he continued to walk, taking 1 full step before falling. Since we were distraction free, all 4 of us saw it. What a special moment!
Day 4
There isn't really much to say about today. We are settled into a new TV free routine. I quit reaching for the remote control first thing in the morning to catch the weather, and last thing before bed we have been talking instead of mindlessly watching Letterman. What a concept. Communication.
There was one really neat even this evening. The Baby took his first step! We were all goofing around at bath time, instead of watching TV when My daughter opened the door the little ones was balancing on, leaving his hands free, and since he has been walking on by, he continued to walk, taking 1 full step before falling. Since we were distraction free, all 4 of us saw it. What a special moment!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
My Tech free week 3-30
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
3 days in , and I am starting to see and feel some differences in my life.
I can hear my children more. I could always hear them, as muffled sounds under the sound of the TV or radio, but now in the silence of the house, I can actually HEAR them. They way they interact with one another. I am really enjoying listening to them. These are little moments that had been there all the time, I have been missing it!
My husband came home from his business trip and entered a TV free zone. He has agreed to try to conform with the spirit of my experiment, even though it is impossible for him to go internet free. He has agreed to no TV and no gaming. He considers reading his blogs to be the same thing as reading a book, so he will continue to do that.
I have had less desire to cheat. Today my email activities didn't take the full allotted 30 minutes and I find myself thinking I could get away with just getting on the computer once a day. I'm with the twice a day plan though, since my correspondence needs to be done in a timely manner.
As for the TV, I am ready to sell it now. I don't miss it a bit, neither do the kids. I could watch it go out the door and not batt an eye.
I finished my book "Better Off" which was my inspiration for trying this experiment. It was everything I expected. I highly recommend it. It drives home the point that we strive for convenience in our lives, but in our quest to make things easier, we actually make things harder. How the things we use to save time, actually end up costing us more time in the long run. How our lives are driven by our possessions. We work long hours to buy things that we can't take with us when we go. How true! At the end of the day what matters is our relationships with each other. I would sell all my things , move to a smaller house, if it meant I could have more time with my family. In a society that is so driven by consuming, I hope I can teach my children what is really important in life.
Don't get me wrong, I dig some of my conveniences. I won't be getting rid of my electricity or running water any time soon. There sure are a lot of things I could do with out though. In fact, doing without some things can actually strengthen our relationships. Before giving up my dishwasher I never spent tie time after dinner singing and dancing with my children. Now the memories of my baby bouncing in his highchair, my oldest shaking a tambourine and my daughter spinning in the living room are some of my fondest memories.
3 days in , and I am starting to see and feel some differences in my life.
I can hear my children more. I could always hear them, as muffled sounds under the sound of the TV or radio, but now in the silence of the house, I can actually HEAR them. They way they interact with one another. I am really enjoying listening to them. These are little moments that had been there all the time, I have been missing it!
My husband came home from his business trip and entered a TV free zone. He has agreed to try to conform with the spirit of my experiment, even though it is impossible for him to go internet free. He has agreed to no TV and no gaming. He considers reading his blogs to be the same thing as reading a book, so he will continue to do that.
I have had less desire to cheat. Today my email activities didn't take the full allotted 30 minutes and I find myself thinking I could get away with just getting on the computer once a day. I'm with the twice a day plan though, since my correspondence needs to be done in a timely manner.
As for the TV, I am ready to sell it now. I don't miss it a bit, neither do the kids. I could watch it go out the door and not batt an eye.
I finished my book "Better Off" which was my inspiration for trying this experiment. It was everything I expected. I highly recommend it. It drives home the point that we strive for convenience in our lives, but in our quest to make things easier, we actually make things harder. How the things we use to save time, actually end up costing us more time in the long run. How our lives are driven by our possessions. We work long hours to buy things that we can't take with us when we go. How true! At the end of the day what matters is our relationships with each other. I would sell all my things , move to a smaller house, if it meant I could have more time with my family. In a society that is so driven by consuming, I hope I can teach my children what is really important in life.
Don't get me wrong, I dig some of my conveniences. I won't be getting rid of my electricity or running water any time soon. There sure are a lot of things I could do with out though. In fact, doing without some things can actually strengthen our relationships. Before giving up my dishwasher I never spent tie time after dinner singing and dancing with my children. Now the memories of my baby bouncing in his highchair, my oldest shaking a tambourine and my daughter spinning in the living room are some of my fondest memories.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
My tech free week 3-29
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
48 hours in
I am a big fat cheater. I have to put it right out there, because I have been catching hell from my friends. They will totally call me out on it. I have no defense. Only excuses. Although, I feel they are valid excuses.
I had to google a phone number. Since going green, I have removed our address from the phone book delivery list. Why kill a tree when you can look up any number you want online? I also popped onto Facebook to get a friend a copy of an email I had written to proof read before I sent it. These were "work" matters and not for fun, so I don't feel so bad about it. In interest of full disclosure, I also caught myself accidentally googling for VBS costumes, which I was told we need by our director, and also spent a few minutes on amazon.com trying to figure out how to lend a kindle book to a friend. *hangs head in shame*. Tomorrow is another day. All addicts fall at times right?
I don't seem to be getting anymore done around the house. I'm not sure why that its. I should have tons more time now. Maybe my kids were just especially needy today. Could be that each daily activity takes more time because I am not rushing through it, and I am taking time to interact with the kids while I am doing it.
I also found that when my evening allotted email time arrived I actually dreaded turning on the computer. Could be because I knew that my e-mail business tonight was a work activity, and not for fun.
All in all, I didn't miss the TV a bit today. The kids haven't asked to use the computer or watch TV at all these past couple days. My daughter even said she likes it better because she doesn't have to watch boy shows. This is an unfortunate result of being in a family of mostly boys. Daddy and The Boy have enjoyed watching Night Rider, Magnum PI and the Incredible Hulk in the evenings. Lame. Dang retro TV.
Now, for the past 3 nights I have been alone with the children, so being tech free has been relatively easy. Daddy came home from his business trip today. He makes his living on the internet so he HAS to use it. This will be an interesting transition in our experiment. I have a feeling there will be lots of negotiations!
48 hours in
I am a big fat cheater. I have to put it right out there, because I have been catching hell from my friends. They will totally call me out on it. I have no defense. Only excuses. Although, I feel they are valid excuses.
I had to google a phone number. Since going green, I have removed our address from the phone book delivery list. Why kill a tree when you can look up any number you want online? I also popped onto Facebook to get a friend a copy of an email I had written to proof read before I sent it. These were "work" matters and not for fun, so I don't feel so bad about it. In interest of full disclosure, I also caught myself accidentally googling for VBS costumes, which I was told we need by our director, and also spent a few minutes on amazon.com trying to figure out how to lend a kindle book to a friend. *hangs head in shame*. Tomorrow is another day. All addicts fall at times right?
I don't seem to be getting anymore done around the house. I'm not sure why that its. I should have tons more time now. Maybe my kids were just especially needy today. Could be that each daily activity takes more time because I am not rushing through it, and I am taking time to interact with the kids while I am doing it.
I also found that when my evening allotted email time arrived I actually dreaded turning on the computer. Could be because I knew that my e-mail business tonight was a work activity, and not for fun.
All in all, I didn't miss the TV a bit today. The kids haven't asked to use the computer or watch TV at all these past couple days. My daughter even said she likes it better because she doesn't have to watch boy shows. This is an unfortunate result of being in a family of mostly boys. Daddy and The Boy have enjoyed watching Night Rider, Magnum PI and the Incredible Hulk in the evenings. Lame. Dang retro TV.
Now, for the past 3 nights I have been alone with the children, so being tech free has been relatively easy. Daddy came home from his business trip today. He makes his living on the internet so he HAS to use it. This will be an interesting transition in our experiment. I have a feeling there will be lots of negotiations!
Monday, April 4, 2011
My tech free week 3-28
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
24 hours without technology.
Today was very interesting.
When my alarm went off this morning, the first thing I did was roll over and grab my phone. I had an alert saying that I had 25 new emails waiting for me. I had to stop myself from checking them just out of habit. I had to wait until the allotted 1/2 hour, which didn't actually come until after lunch. It killed me to have to wait to check them. They weighed on the back of my mind the entire morning.
I managed to avoid checking my facebook. I counted 6 times between when I woke up at 6:30 and and 8:30 that I felt the need to check it. I have the Facebook app on my phone, as well, and I generally check it when I am out running errands. I counted another 6 or 7 times I would have logged in before noon. I am sure I check facebook at least 50 times on any given day. I never realized how often I did it until I had to start stopping myself from doing it. I also took my phone out of my pocked 4 times to google something. Clearly I have a problem!
I did have to check Facebook a few times just because it is my only way to contact a few different people,but I am proud to say that I spent less than 10 minutes on, and never once looked at my own wall.
I found that even though didn't have the TV on and wasn't using the computer, I am still technology obsessed. I kept finding moments that I should post as status updates, I continuously dictated this blog in my head.
I also found in the quiet of my house, little things that I hadn't noticed before. The sun streaming in the windows, my children interacting with each other, the words and tones they use. It is really incredible to hear them together, when I am listening. I mean really listening.
I have been allowing myself the luxury of a radio. I have been listening to our local Christian station. As I was listening this afternoon I heard the words " you never know the moments your children will remember forever."
This is very true, and it was exactly what I needed to hear to drive home the whole point of my efforts. I want my children to remember me as a happy, hands on, responsive, active, plugged in Mom, who always puts them and their needs first. In order for them to know me that way, I have to BE that way.
I survived day one. Tomorrow is another day.
24 hours without technology.
Today was very interesting.
When my alarm went off this morning, the first thing I did was roll over and grab my phone. I had an alert saying that I had 25 new emails waiting for me. I had to stop myself from checking them just out of habit. I had to wait until the allotted 1/2 hour, which didn't actually come until after lunch. It killed me to have to wait to check them. They weighed on the back of my mind the entire morning.
I managed to avoid checking my facebook. I counted 6 times between when I woke up at 6:30 and and 8:30 that I felt the need to check it. I have the Facebook app on my phone, as well, and I generally check it when I am out running errands. I counted another 6 or 7 times I would have logged in before noon. I am sure I check facebook at least 50 times on any given day. I never realized how often I did it until I had to start stopping myself from doing it. I also took my phone out of my pocked 4 times to google something. Clearly I have a problem!
I did have to check Facebook a few times just because it is my only way to contact a few different people,but I am proud to say that I spent less than 10 minutes on, and never once looked at my own wall.
I found that even though didn't have the TV on and wasn't using the computer, I am still technology obsessed. I kept finding moments that I should post as status updates, I continuously dictated this blog in my head.
I also found in the quiet of my house, little things that I hadn't noticed before. The sun streaming in the windows, my children interacting with each other, the words and tones they use. It is really incredible to hear them together, when I am listening. I mean really listening.
I have been allowing myself the luxury of a radio. I have been listening to our local Christian station. As I was listening this afternoon I heard the words " you never know the moments your children will remember forever."
This is very true, and it was exactly what I needed to hear to drive home the whole point of my efforts. I want my children to remember me as a happy, hands on, responsive, active, plugged in Mom, who always puts them and their needs first. In order for them to know me that way, I have to BE that way.
I survived day one. Tomorrow is another day.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
My tech free week 3-27
This week of blog entries was written as a daily diary, the old fashioned way, in a spiral notebook, to be entered into the computer when my tech free week ends.
The night before
"things just get worse and worse". This is a quote from my 8 year old son. My husband is gone on a business trip. These are the times when the kids and I would enjoy kids movie night, so they were expecting to watch a movie when I broke the news about this weeks adventure in tech free living. Things just keep getting worse and worse, that is about the truth.
I have had 12 full hours now to analyze how this week is going to go. I realized my life is way more plugged in than I thought. This is going to be harder than I ever expected. I have obligations to friends and church, both of which make email necessary. I plan to keep it limited to 30 minutes twice a day. I am also in charge of posting a daily bible verse on our church's Facebook site, so I will still have to do that. Already, I realize it will be impossible for me to completely unplug.
So, now it is the night before. I spent it by catching up on my last "off the map" episode on Hulu. I double checked my facebook, checked my email, and turned off the computer. I am really surprised at how much anxiety I have over turning the computer off. I sat and stared at the screen for a few minutes before I could bring myself to do it. I went from being excited about this adventure, to being scared. My heart is racing right now. Could this be a sign of my addiction?
Next I prepped my phone for the week. I hid all the apps I deemed inappropriate, leaving behind my calendar, weather app, and kindle, because it has the book I am currently reading and my bible on it.
The TV in my bedroom is still on in the background. I don't really want to turn it off very badly. I know when I do, the house will become dead silent. That is scary to me for some reason. I am not even watching it, but I know once I turn it off, it will have to stay off.
My new mantra is "life is to short" I keep repeating it to myself. I can do this!
The night before
"things just get worse and worse". This is a quote from my 8 year old son. My husband is gone on a business trip. These are the times when the kids and I would enjoy kids movie night, so they were expecting to watch a movie when I broke the news about this weeks adventure in tech free living. Things just keep getting worse and worse, that is about the truth.
I have had 12 full hours now to analyze how this week is going to go. I realized my life is way more plugged in than I thought. This is going to be harder than I ever expected. I have obligations to friends and church, both of which make email necessary. I plan to keep it limited to 30 minutes twice a day. I am also in charge of posting a daily bible verse on our church's Facebook site, so I will still have to do that. Already, I realize it will be impossible for me to completely unplug.
So, now it is the night before. I spent it by catching up on my last "off the map" episode on Hulu. I double checked my facebook, checked my email, and turned off the computer. I am really surprised at how much anxiety I have over turning the computer off. I sat and stared at the screen for a few minutes before I could bring myself to do it. I went from being excited about this adventure, to being scared. My heart is racing right now. Could this be a sign of my addiction?
Next I prepped my phone for the week. I hid all the apps I deemed inappropriate, leaving behind my calendar, weather app, and kindle, because it has the book I am currently reading and my bible on it.
The TV in my bedroom is still on in the background. I don't really want to turn it off very badly. I know when I do, the house will become dead silent. That is scary to me for some reason. I am not even watching it, but I know once I turn it off, it will have to stay off.
My new mantra is "life is to short" I keep repeating it to myself. I can do this!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Going Amish
There has been a small voice in my head for a while urging me to turn off our tech. But I don't want to. It tells me that I spend way to much time in front of a screen, and not enough with my family. It tells me that My children are growing way to fast, and I miss way to much of their childhoods, because I am spending time online. 2 years ago I tried to quiet that voice by getting rid of our DVR and cable. Who knew that you could find pretty much anything you want to watch online? Between Hulu and Netflix, we didn't miss a beat. We just started watching TV on the computer instead. And, while that saved us some cash, it didn't really change anything.
At lent the small voice started to get louder. I was trying to decide what to give up this year. "give up Facebook! " it urged me. But, I didn't want to, so I gave up swearing instead. That lasted all of about 18 hours by the way.
The voice got even louder last night when I was reading one of the Blogs I follow, The Crunchy Chicken. She was talking about a book that she had read, Better Off by Eric Brende. Its about a man and his wife that go to live with the Amish for 18 months. The book intrigued me, and I went directly from her blog to Amazon.com where I promptly downloaded it onto the Kindle on my Iphone.
Now, in my life, and I have blogged about this before, I have found that when I ignore that small voice in my head long enough, it gets followed by a shove. That came in church this morning. We had a guest speaker, who talked about how God did not put us on the planet for us to be consuming all the time. We are here to enjoy his creation. This made me start to think. I have been truly blessed. I have 3 beautiful children, and wonderful husband. How would God want me to be spending my precious time with them? Tending imaginary fields of crops in farmville? Not really.
So, I am going Amish, and I am dragging my family down with me. It will be a one week experiment in tech free living. I'm going to take it one day at a time, because there is a very real possibility that this may actually kill us. Turning off my computer feels a bit like sawing my own arm off. Was there even life before google? How did we find recipes? How did we find the answers to all the random questions my kids ask?
At bedtime tonight, or midnight, which ever comes first, I will be unplugging the TV's. The computer will be turned off. My phone will be used for calls only. No angry birds, no Smurfville, and absolutely NO checking facebook. I may have to actually uninstall a few apps, because I don't think I can resist temptation.
Because I have a few important prior obligations to friends and church, I will have to check my email, but I am going to limit that to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night.
My plan is to do a daily blog entry about my adventures, which I will write on paper, (gasp!) and then enter onto the computer when my experiment is over.
This should be very interesting to say the least.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Give me space!
This past week we flew the whole family down to Washington DC to visit my sister who moved out there with her husband recently. We did the whole sight seeing thing, walked for miles and miles. It was wonderful. Spring has sprung there, the cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom. The grass was green, and the smell warmed my heart.
Out of all the places we visited, Mount Vernon was my favorite. What a beautiful place! I was positively inspired by The Washingtons, and their colonial way of life. Ok, I know that it was all made possible by slavery, but lets just kind of forget about that part, I am talking about their sustainability.
I walked along the banks of the Potomac, where they fished for their food. I walked along the barns, and fields where they raised the cattle for their milk, butter, and meat. I walked past the smoke house where they would preserve everything. They had huge gardens for the foods prepared in the kitchens, and fields for the wheat grown for the animals and for making beer. I want it! And realistically, if I don't need to worry about providing for the 184 working slaves, I wouldn't need nearly as much space.
I spent the entire day daydreaming of the possibility of me living more sustainably. Then I came home. To my 1/2 acre city lot, with its 24 ft x 24 ft garden, which is just barely large enough to be considered a hobby garden. There is no way the produce I grow there could sustain my family of 5. Barely enough room for our 2 dogs, raising chickens are out of the question.
I want space. I want to look out my window, and not be able to see directly into my neighbors window. I want my kids to be able to run. Get me out of this city!
I have been looking at acreages in my area, and it has filled me with excitement. Maybe these dreams aren't as far out of reach as I thought!
Out of all the places we visited, Mount Vernon was my favorite. What a beautiful place! I was positively inspired by The Washingtons, and their colonial way of life. Ok, I know that it was all made possible by slavery, but lets just kind of forget about that part, I am talking about their sustainability.
I walked along the banks of the Potomac, where they fished for their food. I walked along the barns, and fields where they raised the cattle for their milk, butter, and meat. I walked past the smoke house where they would preserve everything. They had huge gardens for the foods prepared in the kitchens, and fields for the wheat grown for the animals and for making beer. I want it! And realistically, if I don't need to worry about providing for the 184 working slaves, I wouldn't need nearly as much space.
I spent the entire day daydreaming of the possibility of me living more sustainably. Then I came home. To my 1/2 acre city lot, with its 24 ft x 24 ft garden, which is just barely large enough to be considered a hobby garden. There is no way the produce I grow there could sustain my family of 5. Barely enough room for our 2 dogs, raising chickens are out of the question.
I want space. I want to look out my window, and not be able to see directly into my neighbors window. I want my kids to be able to run. Get me out of this city!
I have been looking at acreages in my area, and it has filled me with excitement. Maybe these dreams aren't as far out of reach as I thought!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
No time to eat healthy!
Its Sunday! Time to sit down and plan out my families meals for the week. Looking at our schedule, this week is going to be insane, and really, I can honestly say that I don't have the time for us to eat healthy. Well, maybe a better way to put it would be, I don't know how to feed my family quick and easy, budget friendly healthy meals. So, I will revert to "conventional meals" Stick me head in the sand and pretend like I don't know what is in the foods I am feeding my family. You see, sometimes as mothers we just have to do the best we can to get by, and this week, I will be doing just that, getting by the best I can. In my quest for parenting perfection, this week will be a massive dietary failure.
So, Monday, cub scout day...
Hot dogs, and baked beans. I will at least get bakery made whole wheat buns that are HFCS free. That makes eating the hotdogs ok, right?
Tuesday, ballet day...
( meat free)
Alfredo with steamed broccoli, roasted red pepper, and sundried tomato. Ok, well, this sounds ok-ish at first, but the sauce will be from a jar, (HFCS free). So, not my finest hour, but better than hot dogs.
Wed. Ash Wednesday!
Our church will be serving a meal before the service. I will be spared cooking a meal, buy my family will be at the mercy of what ever church group is serving that night. We will get what we get and we won't have a fit!
Thursday, My free day!...
(meat free)
Ravioli night! Home made sauce from scratch, cheese ravioli from the freezer section. This is a meal that is really easy to double or triple, and freeze in batches, which I will do, because I am already making the dishes dirty, may as well save myself some time and effort later!
Friday Date night! ...
(meat free)
The kiddos will be enjoying an ultra easy meal of Mac and cheese. Since they will be at the mercy of the baby sitter, it will even be the *good* stuff, out of the blue box. *shudder* They are so excited.
Saturday...
there is another event at our church, so we again we will be served a meal there. It will be a surprise!
Sunday, My day of rest. Well, my day of having time to prepare my family a meal before I run out the door and leave them to it. ...
(meat free)
Now this I am excited about! I am going to try a new soup, courtesy of a blog that I follow http://www.servesfourblog.com/2011/03/01/mid-winter-nom-roasted-potato-and-garlic-soup/
This sounds so yummy and I can't wait to try it!
So, obviously, I am in need of some quick healthy meals that my children will eat. Think, 10 minute prep, 10 minute to eat, minimal clean up. Help! what do you serve your family when you are on the go?
So, Monday, cub scout day...
Hot dogs, and baked beans. I will at least get bakery made whole wheat buns that are HFCS free. That makes eating the hotdogs ok, right?
Tuesday, ballet day...
( meat free)
Alfredo with steamed broccoli, roasted red pepper, and sundried tomato. Ok, well, this sounds ok-ish at first, but the sauce will be from a jar, (HFCS free). So, not my finest hour, but better than hot dogs.
Wed. Ash Wednesday!
Our church will be serving a meal before the service. I will be spared cooking a meal, buy my family will be at the mercy of what ever church group is serving that night. We will get what we get and we won't have a fit!
Thursday, My free day!...
(meat free)
Ravioli night! Home made sauce from scratch, cheese ravioli from the freezer section. This is a meal that is really easy to double or triple, and freeze in batches, which I will do, because I am already making the dishes dirty, may as well save myself some time and effort later!
Friday Date night! ...
(meat free)
The kiddos will be enjoying an ultra easy meal of Mac and cheese. Since they will be at the mercy of the baby sitter, it will even be the *good* stuff, out of the blue box. *shudder* They are so excited.
Saturday...
there is another event at our church, so we again we will be served a meal there. It will be a surprise!
Sunday, My day of rest. Well, my day of having time to prepare my family a meal before I run out the door and leave them to it. ...
(meat free)
Now this I am excited about! I am going to try a new soup, courtesy of a blog that I follow http://www.servesfourblog.com/2011/03/01/mid-winter-nom-roasted-potato-and-garlic-soup/
This sounds so yummy and I can't wait to try it!
So, obviously, I am in need of some quick healthy meals that my children will eat. Think, 10 minute prep, 10 minute to eat, minimal clean up. Help! what do you serve your family when you are on the go?
Friday, March 4, 2011
Cloth Diapering!
Really, those of you that know me in real life know that it was just a matter of time before this topic showed up.
In my quest to personally save the planet, I discovered the wild world of cloth diapering. And guess what? It isn't that bad! Its actually pretty easy, and fun! If you can believe it. Even my poor husband who was dragged into cloth diapering kicking and screaming will admit that it is so completely not a big deal.
I am going to give you a very basic run down on the TRUTH about cloth diapering.
There are many different types of cloth diapers. I will only cover a few, because it would be impossible to list all the different kinds, and brands, its nuts when you start to research it.
The basic types are:
A-I-Os or All in ones.
These are one piece diapers, that are basically exactly just like disposable diapers. They have a fuzzy cloth inside, and an outside that is made with a polyUrethane Laminate fabric, or PUL, that is basically a plastic lined fabric. They can have velcro fasteners, just like conventional diapers, or snaps. These come in fitted sizes, so you will need to buy more diapers as your baby grows.
Fitted diapers
These are kind of like disposable diapers, They are a soft absorbent fabric that have elastic around the back and legs, and fasten with velcro or snaps. But they don't have a waterproof outer shell, so you have to use an additional diaper cover with these.
Prefolds
These are the burp cloth diapers. The ones that come in packs of 12 that you buy at Target to use for burp cloths. These are the cloth diapers that your grandma used to use, that everyone thinks of when they think of cloth diapers. They need to be folded to fit the contours of your baby, and fastened with pins or a "snappi" which are these clever little plastic thingeys that someone came up with to eliminate the need for pins. These need to be used with a Diaper cover also, since they aren't waterproof.
Pocket diapers
These are like the All In Ones. They go on just like conventional diapers, with velcro or snaps. They have the waterproof shell, the super fuzzy absorbent inner layer, but they also use absorbent cloth Pads that you have to manually slip into a pocket between the outer and inner layer. Think, big cloth maxi pad. When its time to wash, the pad is removed, and washed separately, then the diaper is re stuffed after laundering. They come in only one size, with snaps that you use to make the outer shell bigger and smaller, so one diaper can grow with your baby from 8 lbs to 32 lbs. Full disclosure... this is the type that I use.
This is how I deal with my cloth diapers.
I keep a 5 gallon bucket in my bathroom, about 1/2 filled with water, and a couple table spoons of borax, and a couple table spoons of arm and hammer washing soda. Now that my baby is pulling up, I keep the bucket in the bathtub so he can't get at it and accidentally drown. Also, you can pull the shower curtain closed, so no one has to look at your poo bucket water.
So, when baby pees, I just take the wet diaper into the bathroom, hold onto a corner of the absorbent pad, shake a little over the bucket. The water proof cover slides right off, into the water, I drop the pad into the water after, and thats all there is too it.
But what about the poo? This is what people find to be the scariest part of cloth diapering. Well, guess what, its not that bad. So, when it comes time to change the poo diaper, I take it into the bathroom, hold it over the toilet, shake the turd off, then shake the diaper over the diaper bucket until the inner pad comes free from the water proof shell, drop the pad into the bucket and I am done.
About every other day it is diaper washing day. I take the whole bucket, water and all down to the washing machine. Dump it into the washer, water and all, and wash it using an extra rinse at the beginning and end of the wash cycle. Guess what? My hands never actually touch the poo!
After being washed, I like to hang my diapers out on the line to dry, the sun helps remove any stains. But since I live where there is cold weather 3/4 of the year, I have to dry my diapers in the dryer most of the time. So, people ask, what about all the extra water and electricity I use to clean these diapers? Seriously. Don't even start with me. Its 3 loads of laundry a week. I haven't noticed a change in my water or energy bill at all. And I am doing laundry anyway.
After the diapers are dry they need to be re stuffed, which I do while sitting in front of the TV, or while visiting with my husband, which are both activities I would have been doing anyway, so I don't consider that to be taking any extra time, but for those of you who care, it takes about 15 minutes to stuff my diapers and get them ready for baby to wear. That equals all of about 45 minutes a week.
Lets talk money.
Cloth diapers can be very expensive, depending on how you do it. This is how I personally do it, so these are my personal numbers.
If I were to use disposable diapers, I would be buying large boxes of pampers at Target.
Today, a 30 day supply box of pampers would have cost me $45.
That works out to about $540 a year, and if my baby doesn't potty train until he is 3 years old like my other 2 children, over the 3 years I will have spent about $1620 on diapers.
Now I have 20 cloth diapers. That is enough for me to do laundry about every other day without having to worry about running out of diapers. The Diapers have a very wide range of prices, from as low as $1 a piece if you are brave enough to order them from china, to $25 a piece if you need to have name brands. I prefer to use an off brand called bububibi, they are bamboo, and cost an average of $7 a piece. I have some that I bought new, some that I bought used, and some that I bought from china. (yes I was scared, but it ended up being completely fine! )
I figured my grand total for all my diapers was about $150. These are all diapers that will grow with my baby, that fit him from 8 pounds to 32 pounds, and will be the only diapers he will ever need.
So, lets do the math. That's a savings of about $1470. That's not pocket change people, that's real cash.
If you want more information, there are tons of online resources, some of my favorites is,
http://www.diaperjungle.com/index.html
And if you are local to me, a really great place is Elegant Mommy. They offer used diaper sales, classes on cloth diapering, and are super helpful.
http://www.elegantmommy.com
In my quest to personally save the planet, I discovered the wild world of cloth diapering. And guess what? It isn't that bad! Its actually pretty easy, and fun! If you can believe it. Even my poor husband who was dragged into cloth diapering kicking and screaming will admit that it is so completely not a big deal.
I am going to give you a very basic run down on the TRUTH about cloth diapering.
There are many different types of cloth diapers. I will only cover a few, because it would be impossible to list all the different kinds, and brands, its nuts when you start to research it.
The basic types are:
A-I-Os or All in ones.
These are one piece diapers, that are basically exactly just like disposable diapers. They have a fuzzy cloth inside, and an outside that is made with a polyUrethane Laminate fabric, or PUL, that is basically a plastic lined fabric. They can have velcro fasteners, just like conventional diapers, or snaps. These come in fitted sizes, so you will need to buy more diapers as your baby grows.
Fitted diapers
These are kind of like disposable diapers, They are a soft absorbent fabric that have elastic around the back and legs, and fasten with velcro or snaps. But they don't have a waterproof outer shell, so you have to use an additional diaper cover with these.
Prefolds
These are the burp cloth diapers. The ones that come in packs of 12 that you buy at Target to use for burp cloths. These are the cloth diapers that your grandma used to use, that everyone thinks of when they think of cloth diapers. They need to be folded to fit the contours of your baby, and fastened with pins or a "snappi" which are these clever little plastic thingeys that someone came up with to eliminate the need for pins. These need to be used with a Diaper cover also, since they aren't waterproof.
Pocket diapers
These are like the All In Ones. They go on just like conventional diapers, with velcro or snaps. They have the waterproof shell, the super fuzzy absorbent inner layer, but they also use absorbent cloth Pads that you have to manually slip into a pocket between the outer and inner layer. Think, big cloth maxi pad. When its time to wash, the pad is removed, and washed separately, then the diaper is re stuffed after laundering. They come in only one size, with snaps that you use to make the outer shell bigger and smaller, so one diaper can grow with your baby from 8 lbs to 32 lbs. Full disclosure... this is the type that I use.
This is how I deal with my cloth diapers.
I keep a 5 gallon bucket in my bathroom, about 1/2 filled with water, and a couple table spoons of borax, and a couple table spoons of arm and hammer washing soda. Now that my baby is pulling up, I keep the bucket in the bathtub so he can't get at it and accidentally drown. Also, you can pull the shower curtain closed, so no one has to look at your poo bucket water.
So, when baby pees, I just take the wet diaper into the bathroom, hold onto a corner of the absorbent pad, shake a little over the bucket. The water proof cover slides right off, into the water, I drop the pad into the water after, and thats all there is too it.
But what about the poo? This is what people find to be the scariest part of cloth diapering. Well, guess what, its not that bad. So, when it comes time to change the poo diaper, I take it into the bathroom, hold it over the toilet, shake the turd off, then shake the diaper over the diaper bucket until the inner pad comes free from the water proof shell, drop the pad into the bucket and I am done.
About every other day it is diaper washing day. I take the whole bucket, water and all down to the washing machine. Dump it into the washer, water and all, and wash it using an extra rinse at the beginning and end of the wash cycle. Guess what? My hands never actually touch the poo!
After being washed, I like to hang my diapers out on the line to dry, the sun helps remove any stains. But since I live where there is cold weather 3/4 of the year, I have to dry my diapers in the dryer most of the time. So, people ask, what about all the extra water and electricity I use to clean these diapers? Seriously. Don't even start with me. Its 3 loads of laundry a week. I haven't noticed a change in my water or energy bill at all. And I am doing laundry anyway.
After the diapers are dry they need to be re stuffed, which I do while sitting in front of the TV, or while visiting with my husband, which are both activities I would have been doing anyway, so I don't consider that to be taking any extra time, but for those of you who care, it takes about 15 minutes to stuff my diapers and get them ready for baby to wear. That equals all of about 45 minutes a week.
Lets talk money.
Cloth diapers can be very expensive, depending on how you do it. This is how I personally do it, so these are my personal numbers.
If I were to use disposable diapers, I would be buying large boxes of pampers at Target.
Today, a 30 day supply box of pampers would have cost me $45.
That works out to about $540 a year, and if my baby doesn't potty train until he is 3 years old like my other 2 children, over the 3 years I will have spent about $1620 on diapers.
Now I have 20 cloth diapers. That is enough for me to do laundry about every other day without having to worry about running out of diapers. The Diapers have a very wide range of prices, from as low as $1 a piece if you are brave enough to order them from china, to $25 a piece if you need to have name brands. I prefer to use an off brand called bububibi, they are bamboo, and cost an average of $7 a piece. I have some that I bought new, some that I bought used, and some that I bought from china. (yes I was scared, but it ended up being completely fine! )
I figured my grand total for all my diapers was about $150. These are all diapers that will grow with my baby, that fit him from 8 pounds to 32 pounds, and will be the only diapers he will ever need.
So, lets do the math. That's a savings of about $1470. That's not pocket change people, that's real cash.
If you want more information, there are tons of online resources, some of my favorites is,
http://www.diaperjungle.com/index.html
And if you are local to me, a really great place is Elegant Mommy. They offer used diaper sales, classes on cloth diapering, and are super helpful.
http://www.elegantmommy.com
Thursday, March 3, 2011
I hate my body
Ok, well, maybe I don't exactly, hate it, but there are definitely things I would change if I could, (and I am trying). Things that bother me on a daily basis. Things that cause me to say negative things to myself.
Yesterday on the early show they were talking about how 97% of women have at least one negative thought about their bodies per day. PER DAY. I know I personally have way more than that. Why can't we just be happy with what we have?
The other day I was looking through pictures and I came across one that was taken of me probably 4 years ago when I visited my sister in Las Vegas. I remember the picture being taken. I was totally sucking in my gut, worried about my posture and smile. Later when I saw the picture I could only see my lovely mommy muffin top and big thighs. Today when I look at that same picture I think "Wow! I was hot! Why can't I look like that now?"Why can't we appreciate what we have when we have it ? I think about the extra 20 pounds I need to loose, the inches I am carrying around the past 10 months since my baby was born, but as bad as I look now, I bet its pretty darn good compared to what I am going to look like in 20 years!
I think that society in general has a really sick sense of what a healthy body should look like. Julie Chen is 5'4 1/2. The exact same height as me. On her new show " The Talk" she was brave enough to admit her weight. She tips the scales at 135 pounds. She whispered it as if she was fessing up to her deepest darkest sin. She wants to loose 12 more pounds. Her Sinful weight is my goal weight, and a completely healthy weight for her height.
Why can't we just love ourselves for what we are? Always striving for something more, when our own personal perfection is right under our noses.
Yesterday on the early show they were talking about how 97% of women have at least one negative thought about their bodies per day. PER DAY. I know I personally have way more than that. Why can't we just be happy with what we have?
The other day I was looking through pictures and I came across one that was taken of me probably 4 years ago when I visited my sister in Las Vegas. I remember the picture being taken. I was totally sucking in my gut, worried about my posture and smile. Later when I saw the picture I could only see my lovely mommy muffin top and big thighs. Today when I look at that same picture I think "Wow! I was hot! Why can't I look like that now?"Why can't we appreciate what we have when we have it ? I think about the extra 20 pounds I need to loose, the inches I am carrying around the past 10 months since my baby was born, but as bad as I look now, I bet its pretty darn good compared to what I am going to look like in 20 years!
I think that society in general has a really sick sense of what a healthy body should look like. Julie Chen is 5'4 1/2. The exact same height as me. On her new show " The Talk" she was brave enough to admit her weight. She tips the scales at 135 pounds. She whispered it as if she was fessing up to her deepest darkest sin. She wants to loose 12 more pounds. Her Sinful weight is my goal weight, and a completely healthy weight for her height.
Why can't we just love ourselves for what we are? Always striving for something more, when our own personal perfection is right under our noses.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
When God talks to me
This is a Faith post. I wanted to push it off a bit, fearing that it was to heavy to start out with, and that it might turn people off, but I decided that I am going to write it anyway.
My journey into faith has been a bumpy one. I went from having really negative experiences at church as a child, to basically no faith at all, and then after meeting my future husband at college, I started my journey back.
Our church has been offering a small group study on faith, and different ways that people experience God. Joe and I are taking the class. It has been very interesting. My whole reason for going was because I sometimes feel like God is pushing me to do things, but I tend to resist Him. I am never sure if its really Him, or something else. I want to learn to recognize his voice, because there is no doubt to me that he is working in my life. I also want to learn to be excited about Him working in me, because frankly, right now when it happens, it freaks me out.
I heard on the radio yesterday that one of the most powerful things you can do as a Christian is to share your testimony. Non believers can dispute history and doctrine, but they cannot dispute your personal life experiences. Well, I have had a few. They aren't profound miracles, just little things.
For example, 2 years ago I felt that our church would benefit from having gardens to promote fellowship and outreach to the community. I ignored that feeling. I ignored it for weeks. Then one day the sermon was about stewardship of our earth, and growing things and I really felt that our Pastor was talking directly to me. Freaked me out. So, after I went to visit with him, and he got me pointed in the right direction, and that summer we had church gardens. It was the beginning of my road to involvement in my Church.
I am now on the missions committee. Now when an idea pops into my head I am less scared to share it.
Another example just happened to me last night. I was asked to do the devotional for our missions committee meeting this month. Two weeks ago I looked around the internet and found one that I thought would be good to share, I printed it out, and didn't really think about it much at all. The title was "God's Guidance" and it was about lifting your troubles to God.
"trust in the Lord with all your heat, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct your paths. " -proverbs 3:5-6
After the meeting I came home, I was contacted by a friend who was asking for prayers for his wife who was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. It sent me reeling. That is just not something was expecting to hear. In addition to that, another friend of mine has a newborn baby who is struggling with illness right now. I felt overwhelmed with worry for these families.
Then someone pointed out to me that the devotional that I had picked out 2 weeks ago to be read today had the exact words that I needed to hear. Some may say that it is coincidence, but I believe that it is God working in my life.
It is amazing to me. So amazing that I felt led to share it in a public forum which is another thing that I don't do. Hopefully some day I will quit being scared when I see God working in my life. For now I am just glad to have my eyes opened up to it.
My journey into faith has been a bumpy one. I went from having really negative experiences at church as a child, to basically no faith at all, and then after meeting my future husband at college, I started my journey back.
Our church has been offering a small group study on faith, and different ways that people experience God. Joe and I are taking the class. It has been very interesting. My whole reason for going was because I sometimes feel like God is pushing me to do things, but I tend to resist Him. I am never sure if its really Him, or something else. I want to learn to recognize his voice, because there is no doubt to me that he is working in my life. I also want to learn to be excited about Him working in me, because frankly, right now when it happens, it freaks me out.
I heard on the radio yesterday that one of the most powerful things you can do as a Christian is to share your testimony. Non believers can dispute history and doctrine, but they cannot dispute your personal life experiences. Well, I have had a few. They aren't profound miracles, just little things.
For example, 2 years ago I felt that our church would benefit from having gardens to promote fellowship and outreach to the community. I ignored that feeling. I ignored it for weeks. Then one day the sermon was about stewardship of our earth, and growing things and I really felt that our Pastor was talking directly to me. Freaked me out. So, after I went to visit with him, and he got me pointed in the right direction, and that summer we had church gardens. It was the beginning of my road to involvement in my Church.
I am now on the missions committee. Now when an idea pops into my head I am less scared to share it.
Another example just happened to me last night. I was asked to do the devotional for our missions committee meeting this month. Two weeks ago I looked around the internet and found one that I thought would be good to share, I printed it out, and didn't really think about it much at all. The title was "God's Guidance" and it was about lifting your troubles to God.
"trust in the Lord with all your heat, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct your paths. " -proverbs 3:5-6
After the meeting I came home, I was contacted by a friend who was asking for prayers for his wife who was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. It sent me reeling. That is just not something was expecting to hear. In addition to that, another friend of mine has a newborn baby who is struggling with illness right now. I felt overwhelmed with worry for these families.
Then someone pointed out to me that the devotional that I had picked out 2 weeks ago to be read today had the exact words that I needed to hear. Some may say that it is coincidence, but I believe that it is God working in my life.
It is amazing to me. So amazing that I felt led to share it in a public forum which is another thing that I don't do. Hopefully some day I will quit being scared when I see God working in my life. For now I am just glad to have my eyes opened up to it.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Menu planning
Now that I am officially a blogger, I find myself constantly thinking of all the different things that I can blog about. I had 3 choices for today. One was a rant, and one was pretty deep, and I think it is a bit to early in this process for either of those options. So, today I am blogging about my menu for the week. Thrilling, I know.
I have been menu planning for as long as I can remember. I sit down on Sundays, plan out what we are going to eat for the week, and make out a shopping list for Monday, which is always grocery day. For a long time it was 10am sharp at the walmart, and believe me, I caught plenty of crap from friends and coworkers for being on such a tight schedule. Now that I am boycotting Walmart, (and no, that isn't what the rant was about) it is 9:20 am at the locally owned grocery store.
I am really trying to rein in my grocery spending. Food prices are climbing , and we are trying to live on a budget, so I have been trying to put a lot of thought into the meals that I prepare for my family.
This is what our week will look like
Monday: brown rice with sauteed vegetables.
Tuesday: Left over turkey dinner
Wednesday: Special retirement dinner for my mother. Lemon rosemary chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and for dessert , lemon pound cake! Can't wait!
Thursday: Turkey gumbo. made with Left over turkey, and my home made stock. I only had to buy a green pepper and the andoullie sausage!
Friday: Mac and cheese
Saturday: Left over Gumbo
Sunday: taco dinner at church!
What meals do you serve when you are on a budget?
I have been menu planning for as long as I can remember. I sit down on Sundays, plan out what we are going to eat for the week, and make out a shopping list for Monday, which is always grocery day. For a long time it was 10am sharp at the walmart, and believe me, I caught plenty of crap from friends and coworkers for being on such a tight schedule. Now that I am boycotting Walmart, (and no, that isn't what the rant was about) it is 9:20 am at the locally owned grocery store.
I am really trying to rein in my grocery spending. Food prices are climbing , and we are trying to live on a budget, so I have been trying to put a lot of thought into the meals that I prepare for my family.
This is what our week will look like
Monday: brown rice with sauteed vegetables.
Tuesday: Left over turkey dinner
Wednesday: Special retirement dinner for my mother. Lemon rosemary chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and for dessert , lemon pound cake! Can't wait!
Thursday: Turkey gumbo. made with Left over turkey, and my home made stock. I only had to buy a green pepper and the andoullie sausage!
Friday: Mac and cheese
Saturday: Left over Gumbo
Sunday: taco dinner at church!
What meals do you serve when you are on a budget?
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Adventures in Turkey making
Today is one of those days when I realized that I am truly an adult. It happened when we bought our house, bought our minivan and it happens when ever I find myself sitting in the waiting room at the dentist. Only an adult drives themselves to the dentist. No child would do that on their own.
Well, this morning I baked my family a turkey for the very first time. Well, not the very first time, there was that one time, just after we got married, when I tried to do thanksgiving all by myself, and it was a total disaster. That day was erased from the record books, making today the first. Baking the turkey is the mom's job. It's MY mom's job. She does it every year. Well, at some point I was going to have to figure it out, because some day that job will fall down to me.
I used a recipe handed down to me by my favorite sister in law, that was handed down to her by the internet, and it turns out that making a turkey really isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be! It turned out brown , crispy skin, juicy meat... Yummy!
Now, carving it was a different story. After watching instructional videos on youtube, ( you can learn how to do ANYTHING on there) I proceeded to mutilate my beautiful bird. Guess I will still need my mom for some things!
Baking the actual turkey was not the only adventure of the day. I carved it, reserving enough meat for 2 meals, I deboned it, reserving more meat for a large pot of turkey gumbo that I plan on making later in the week, and right this very moment I have my very first pot of stock cooking. No more canned stock for me!
Tonight I will feed my family a home made feast, with ingredients I can identify and pronounce. It feels so good to know that I am giving my family the best!
Well, this morning I baked my family a turkey for the very first time. Well, not the very first time, there was that one time, just after we got married, when I tried to do thanksgiving all by myself, and it was a total disaster. That day was erased from the record books, making today the first. Baking the turkey is the mom's job. It's MY mom's job. She does it every year. Well, at some point I was going to have to figure it out, because some day that job will fall down to me.
I used a recipe handed down to me by my favorite sister in law, that was handed down to her by the internet, and it turns out that making a turkey really isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be! It turned out brown , crispy skin, juicy meat... Yummy!
Now, carving it was a different story. After watching instructional videos on youtube, ( you can learn how to do ANYTHING on there) I proceeded to mutilate my beautiful bird. Guess I will still need my mom for some things!
Baking the actual turkey was not the only adventure of the day. I carved it, reserving enough meat for 2 meals, I deboned it, reserving more meat for a large pot of turkey gumbo that I plan on making later in the week, and right this very moment I have my very first pot of stock cooking. No more canned stock for me!
Tonight I will feed my family a home made feast, with ingredients I can identify and pronounce. It feels so good to know that I am giving my family the best!
Friday, February 25, 2011
So, I guess I'm cool now
Blogging. All the cool kids are doing it. I'm not sure what I need to blog about, not sure who cares to read it, but here it is, and here I go! If you are inclined, let me know what you would like to hear about!
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