Cleaning

I try to keep myself from telling you every time I clean something in my house but this one I have to share. I don't have pics but I think you can get the idea.

When Eli and I first moved here we bought a shower curtain. We got the cheapest one they had at Target. It had mold on it with in a few months. So back to the store we went. This time around we went for the more expensive "mold free" curtain. Well, it was, up until a few months ago when I started to see the signs of mold arriving. In my effort to save money I thought surly there is a way to clean this thing. Well, there is! Put it in the washing machine and wash with soap, 1/4 bleach and hot water and hang to dry (I put mine outside but you could just put it back on your shower.)Good as new!
Now that I've done it, it seems so obvious that you should just clean it when it gets dirty. I've always just thrown mine out and bought a new one.
Here's another cleaning secret I've discovered: White Vinegar. My mom has always raved about using it to clean her windows and mirrors. But do a google search on "how to clean...." and pretty much every item in your house can be cleaned with vinegar! It has so many uses that will replace almost all your cleaning supplies. Here is a great site all about Vinegar Tips. Who knew one product could have so many uses?

7 Months Old

Today Ethan is 7 months old! Here are some things he is doing:

Sitting up on his own.

Watching Winnie the Poo all the way through.

Chewing on everything he can get a hold of.

"Creeping" that's what the baby book calls it. He mostly goes backward. He can creep on his belly and his back. When I put him in his crib at night I never know where he will end up!

Sleeping through the night in his own bed. Sometimes 9 or 12 hours straight without waking to eat. He might wake but will put himself back to sleep within a few minutes.

Taking 3 naps a day, most days.

He is starting to sleep on his belly. When I put him down in his crib he will grab his blankie, roll over and go to sleep.

Eating 3 "meals" a day.

I am starting him on some finger foods this week. I don't want him to get too use to me feeding him!

Fame!!

Fame is one of my all time favorite movies! Every time I watch it I have to dance around the house singing the theme song. Sometimes I even put on my character shoes and do a little jazz dance! I can't believe I'm telling you this.

The new movie comes out September 25th and I can't wait. So what better to make Ethan then a pair of leg warmers! (Eli's going to kill me, by the way.) Janell over on My Boho Baby made a tutorial to teach us all how to make them out of socks.

I started with these:And I made these:

Are they not the cutest things you've ever seen!!! I can't wait to buy more decorative socks so Ethan can have leg warmers to match all his clothes!

A few weeks ago I bought this on ebay:

Scary, isn't it? Its an Even Feed Walking Foot. I thought it would help me when sewing pieces together on the edge with a zigzag stitch. Well, it helps keep the pieces together but my needle sometimes goes over too far and breaks. I've broken 3 needles so far. I'm running out! I've also been making washcloths out of flannel and terrycloth and it is too thick to fit under the foot. I'm going to keep playing with it but if any of you have used one of these and can give me some pointers I would really appreciate it!

What I wish I knew......

When I bought my first cloth diapers before Ethan was born I didn't know how many great options there were. I bought 15 BG 3.0 in white. I thought I could keep them cleaner if they were all white. Don't get me wrong, I love my BG's. But there are so many great diapers that I would love to get my hands on! And so many colors and prints that I just can't wait to see on my little guy. I also love snaps because the velcro tends to wear out very quickly even if you line dry your covers. I tried prefolds and still use them from time to time but like fitteds much better.

Over all I wish I would have bought a lot of different styles to try in the beginning. But it is fun now to tryout all the different types in search of the perfect stash!

Now my stash is:

10 white BG 3.0

1 green BG 3.0 (used)

1 blue FB one size (used)

1 cleaver clover smartipants

2 Tiny Tush Elite one size yellow (second)

1 Tiny Tush Elite one size butter (second)

1 Goodmama fitted spellbound

1 Bubbylicious Creations monkey face (Heather-that's what I named it!)

4 Tiny Birds Organic cotton prefolds

Countless # of Gerber prefolds (I like them! I just have to change him more often)

4 bummis covers S (put up for next baby)

2 thirsties covers S

1 thirsties cover M

1 mudshrimps cover w/ pears

1 Winkydinks fleece cover

I can't get the link to show, but if you go to dirtydiaperlaundry.com you can read all the post!

Chrismas in July

I bought some Christmas cookie cutters for $1 at a garage sale last weekend and had to use them.

I broke out Eli's family recipe book and found these cookies.

1 1/2 c butter or margarine- 4 sticks

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

2 egg yolks

4 c flour

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and continue to beat. Add sifted flour and stir until well blended into mixture. Roll out very thin on floured board. Cut out with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 until barely golden, about 8-10 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

Helpful Hint: Use lots of flour to roll these out! If not, it will stick to everything.

These are sooooo good!!! But of course they would be with 1 whole pound of butter! They taste just like Pepperidge Farm's Chessmen cookies.

These cookie cutters are just like the ones my mom has. Making these cookies reminded me of making cookies at Christmas time with my cousins (you know who you are) at my Grandmother's house. Such good memories and I can't wait to share the fun with Ethan! He did "help" by staying pretty happy in his walker for most of the time.

My favorite cutter was always the angel. She is holding a song book but I always thought it was an "M" for Melissa :)

Meal Plan Monday

Well, I did it. I made Pizza!!! Well, Eli helped because I killed the first yeast by making the water too hot. Then I set the dough to rise on top of the stove that was on so it didn't rise very much. And I was told that I didn't kneed it enough so I didn't get the gluttons to start working or something like that. But it was good! Eli told me to treat bread like I would a baby. Nothing too hot. Oh well. The pizza was still good and we had a good time making it. The sauce was really good too. See here for the recipe.

This week we are going back to some of our classic and favorites.

Sunday- Crockpot Roast, potatoes and carrots

Monday- Chicken pot pie

Tuesday- Light Polish sausage w/bell peppers and brown rice

Wednesday- Crockpot pork?

Thursday- Spaghetti, homemade sauce, wheat noodles

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- Eli cooks!

Thankful Sunday

1. Plums. We had to "unstop" the little guy. These work great!
2. Breastmilk only poo.......those were the days.
3. My husband. He continues to be good and sweet to me.
4. Pretty Butterflies in my back yard.
5. My crockpots. They are fun and simple.

Highchair, Homemade Baby Food and Teething Cookies

I have been making Ethan's baby food homemade. So far he has had:

avocado

banana

sweet potato

green beans

carrots

applesauce

peaches mixed with banana

lentils- Here's his face:

So I mixed them with sweet potatoes and he ate them up! Peas are next. It is so much cheaper then buying those little jars and produces less waist. It's also better for the baby because you know what is in it! Here's a great web site that tells you what foods to feed at what age and how to prepare them. I prepare most all of the food the same. I steam it until soft then blend in my food processor. Add a little of the cooking water to make it smooth. Then I put it into my ice trays to freeze. Each cube is 2 teaspoons of food. Once frozen I transfer to zip top bags and write the date on the outside. Ethan started out eating 1 cube at night, then 2. Then we started giving 1 cube in the morning and 2 at night. Now he is up to 2 in the morning or sometimes 1 with a 1/3 of a banana, 2 at night, sometimes adding a fruit. Just yesterday I gave him 1 cube in the early afternoon. The only thing I don't like about feeding him solids is all the poo!!!!

As you can see we got a Highchair! Jee Jee and Grandpa Scotty got us the one from Wal-Mart. We love it. The whole thing is wipeable, you can remove the tray with one hand and it has a mini tray under that. Not sure what it is used for but I'm sure it will come in handy at some point. Eli likes it because it keeps Ethan confined. We were feeding him on the floor and that was sometimes a big mess. We are very happy to have our new highchair!
Ethan enjoys looking at the animals on the pad behind him. In between bits he has to turn around to make sure they are still there.
This is it with the tray removed. See the holes on the side? The tray really grows with your baby. It is not too big to fit in our kitchen without getting in the way.

When I ran out of his Gerber teething cookies I thought "I should make some!" So here goes:

1c quick oats

1c ground oats

1/2 t salt

1/4 t cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, nutmeg

1t baking powder

2 over ripe bananas mashed

1t vanilla

3 T oil

I replaced the quick oats with wheat germ, I had it in my cabinet for the pizza dough. Ethan hasn't had any spices yet so I only put in cinnamon. I put all the dry ingredients in my food processor to grind up the oats and wheat germ. Then I added the vanilla, oil and bananas. I formed them into finger shapes with a spoon so they would look just like the Gerber ones and will fit in Ethan's food net.

I'm going to store them in an air tight container in the freezer. I think it will keep them fresh and be a nice cool treat for Ethan! He loves them just as much, if not more then the Gerber ones.

He gets one a day after his first nap while watching Winnie the Pooh.

White Sugar Cookies

This recipe comes from a book I "borrowed" from my mother. It is called: A book of Favorite Recipes. Compiled by The Women's Association of the First Presbyterian Church, Hometown, OK, 1970.

I love this cookbook. Please, Mom, now that you know I have it, don't ask for it back!

White Sugar Cookies- Dolores

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c confectioners sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c butter/I used crisco

1/2 c margarine

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Mix in order given, add flour sifted with soda and cream of tartar. Roll in balls. Dip in sugar and flatten with glass to make quite thin. Finely crushed pecans may be added.

*This woman cooks like my Grandmother! She doesn't tell you how high or how long to cook them. So I cook them around 350 for about 7mins or until the bottom start to get brown and the top is still white. Don't over cook them! They taste better soft. In fact if you take them out a little under done and let them cool on the pan for a bit, they will be perfect. I used parchment paper under mine. Cool on a cooling rack.

My new favorite ingredient is ground ginger. I have been trying it in everything. I added a little to these and there is just a hint of flavor. Next time I will add a lot more. I also doubled the recipe. There's always room for cookies!

Eli says these are awesome! And we've almost eaten them all.

Grandma's Cake

UPDATE: Mom tells me that this recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter milk. I guess Grandma forgot to tell me about that one! This should make it more moist. For those of you who know my Grandmother, you know she is a great cook and rarely divulges her secret recipes. I think this is for a few reasons; one of them being she doesn't know the amount of each ingredient she puts in! If you ask her "Grandma, what do you put into this cake?" she will answer "Oh, a little flour and a little sugar and an egg or two"!! Well, that's not always everything that goes in.

When I was there in November I finally got her to give me the correct (or as correct as she could remember) recipe to her wonderful cake that she makes. This is the second time I have made it. It's not as good as she makes, of course, but good non the less.

I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I shared it with you.

Cake:

Melt 1 cup of Crisco with 1 cup of water. If you want your cake to be chocolate add some cocoa into this while you melt the Crisco.

2 cups of Flour

2 cups of sugar

1 tsp baking soda

dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

I forgot to add the vanilla:( It wasn't as moist as Grandma's but still good. I made a Strawberry Syrup to go on top and we ate it with ice cream. Yummmmy

Strawberry Syrup:

5 or 6 strawberries- I used frozen ones

2 cups of sugar- I think that's how much I used. I used about a cup and then it wasn't sweet enough so I added more.

ground ginger- I just bought some today and had to use it! It gives the syrup a kick.

1/2 cup of water

Heat the above until boiling.

Add corn starch to thicken- Remember: when you are using corn starch to thicken dissolve it in COLD water before adding it slowly to your boiling sauce. I always have to add it twice because it is never thick enough the first time I do it.

Do I sound like Grandma? A little of this, a little of that.......

My mission is to get at least 1 new recipe from her every time I visit. Last time I was there I got the recipe for her yeast rolls. I will attempt those soon. If any of you have a recipe of Grandma's please email it to me so I can try it out. Enjoy!

Recycling Toys

I am a big fan of recycling toys. Not only is it cheaper for you but you're not adding to the trash in the landfill. It's a good idea to do it as much as you can while your child is still young enough not to know the difference between new and used! One day they will.


So far we have gotten used:
Kick & Play- $10 garage sale
Walker- $20 craigslist.com
Swing- gift from friend
Stroller- gift from friend
Shopping cart cover- $5 garage sale
Fisher Price Car- $3 garage sale
Leap Frog Baby play center- $5 garage sale
Countless number of books for the whole family- thrift stores, garage sales, half price books (I never pay more then $1 for any of Ethan's books and they are all in very good used condition, no writing or tears.)
And of course cloth diapers! Although I think I'm going to stick to new for the one size so they will last through the next few babies.

Here are my 2 new great finds:

After a quick scrub down with some Lysol and a rinse with the water hose, staying away from any battery operated parts, these look good as new.

Here are a few things to look out for when shopping for used items:
Removable and washable fabric parts. Babies make a mess and it is very important to be able to wash the fabric. As I have found with Ethan they also like to chew on everything and you want to be able to get any other babies germs off before your baby chews on it.

Plastic that can be washed and rinsed without damaging any electronic parts. For the same reason as above.

Electronic parts in working order. If the person selling it really wants to sell it they will make sure it has batteries and works. You want to play around with it to make sure it works.

Books need to be in good condition. No chewed corners, torn pages or crayon marks. I'm a big fan of keeping books in good condition. I hope to teach that to Ethan!

With clothes I make sure they don't have stains on them or they are not torn. Unless it is a really cute outfit and I can fix what ever is wrong.

I have lots of thrift stores here and some are better then others. Some have a great selection of books, some are really big on clothes. I only shop at Goodwill for books because their prices are too high for everything else. Some of the prices are as high as if you bought it new. You just have to be careful and know your retail prices. This comes from years of shopping experience!!

There is only one thing I have found so far that I will not buy used: Car seat! It is very important to know that your car seat is in excellent condition. They say that after 6 years the plastic in the seat starts to break down and doesn't protect as well. Also, if you are not the original owner then you will not find out about any recalls that your car seat might have. Here are a few great web sites I found that have excellent reviews:

http://www.consumersearch.com/car-seats

www.CarSeatData.org On this one you can type in what car you have and see what seats work best. This helped us out because I have a really small backseat and I want Ethan to rear face until 33lbs.

Happy Shopping!

Change to Cloth Diapers, Earn $$$

The Savings...How changing to cloth earns you $15 hourly! (Found on bananapeelsdiapers.com)

Your baby will go through an astonishing 6000 diaper changes from birth to potty. Choosing disposable diapers and wipes will add up to nearly $2000! In contrast by purchasing cloth diapers and wipes, you will actually earn in savings an hourly wage of $15 an hour in the time spent laundering your baby's reusable diapers.

Here is a breakdown of the savings:In 2.5 years of diapering...

Cost of disposables: $2000

Cost of disposable wipes: $800

Total cost disposables: $2800

Cost of cloth diapers: $840

Cost of cloth wipes (24): $42

Total cost of cloth: $882

Savings: $2000!*

Figure washing time as 15 minutes every other day. That adds up to just over 60 hours a year. With a savings of $800 a year, the time you spend laundering diapers equates to an earnings of $17.50 an hour. If you hang dry your diapers, you are spending more time...but saving more $$ in utility costs.

*The savings will go up even more if a family chooses a more affordable cloth diapering option such as prefolds.*

Disposable Diaper Costs:In a baby's first year, new parents will have brought home an average of 2,788 diapers for a total cost of $557.60...that is just for the 1st year! On average, you will spend between $2,600 and $3,000 on disposable diapers per child. That is per child! Buy cloth just once and you could potential have to pay ZERO for your next baby's diapers.

Harry Potter!!!!

Eli, Ethan and I went to see Harry Potter, Half Blood Prince last week. We had a great time and Ethan did really well during the movie. He fell asleep as soon as the movie started, woke in the middle and fell asleep at the end. Eli and I enjoyed going out together, as it rarely happens any more. Ethan wore his Goodmama Spellbound fitted diaper and his HP Tshirt I made him. It was such a good movie and I can't wait to see it again!

Meal Plan Monday

It has been 100+ here for the past few weeks. It's hot. Outside and in. So I will be using my crockpots as much as possible.

Sunday: Chicken cooked on the grill...Thanks Eli. Broccoli, black eyed peas
Monday: Crockpot- Cowboy Beans- This recipe comes from "A year of Slow Cooking" I have found so many great recipes there. When I began looking for recipes for a slow cooker they all seemed to have the same few ingredients: Cream of something (chicken, mushroom, celery), Chicken or beef, and a packet of some over salted chemicals. Stephanie has brought a new life to slow cooking! She uses fresh, natural ingredients that are tested on her own family. So you know they have got to be good! I will be using a lot of her recipes over the next few weeks. Or at least until it cools off.
1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey (optional)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins, made in the USA is gluten free)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1(10-ounce) can Rotel, or traditional chopped tomatoes, your choice
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
7 cups water
sliced jalapenos, optional
The Directions.
Serves 8-10 as a side dish, or 5 as a main course. Sort pinto beans, and soak overnight in lots of fresh water. If you live in a climate where the house gets terribly hot overnight, put the beans in the refrigerator to soak to keep icky bacteria from accumulating.In the morning, drain your beans, and pick out any that have split open, or look discolored and shrively.Pour into a 6 quart slow cooker. Brown hamburger and onion on the stove, and drain fat. While the meat is cooking, add the rest of the ingredients into your slow cooker. Start with 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar. Add the meat, and top with 7 cups of fresh water. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for about 6. My beans took 6 hours on high to tenderize, and then they sat on warm for another 3 hours. We're at sea level. If you live in a higher altitude, your beans will take longer to soften.Taste the beans. If you'd like your beans to have more of a tang, add some more Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar. Top with sliced jalapenos, if desired.

Tuesday: Pork loin Crockpot
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder
1 onion, sliced in rings
2 cups ketchup (a 24oz bottle seems to be exactly 2 cups. weird.)
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
The Directions.Use a 6 quart crockpot. Trim meat, and place into your crockpot. Add sliced onion. Squeeze in 2 cups of ketchup, and then pour 1/2 cup warm water into the ketchup bottle and shake. Pour the ketchup-y water into your crock. Add vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, Tabasco and salt.Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until meat shreds easily with a fork.Serve over rice, or make sandwiches on rolls or sliced bread.

I got a great deal on Pork Loin at HEB ($1/1 lb) I've never cooked Pork Loin before. Eli is going to cut it for me. I couldn't handle it :~(. I found this recipe on A year of slow cooking. I'm going back today to get more pork! Eli says it is the best cut of pork and we have already eaten 4 pieces of it. For this recipe I will be halfing it because I don't want to use all my pork at one time.
Wednesday- Charro Beans made in the crockpot, cornbread- I love Jiffy! It's just the right amount and just the right sweetness.




Thursday- Crockpot Chicken Adobo- from A year of slow cooking

--3 to 5 pounds of chicken meat

--1/4 cup soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat free are gluten free)

--4 cloves garlic, chopped

--1 tsp black pepper

--1/2 tsp salt

--1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (can use regular white)

--4 bay leaves

--1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

--1 yellow onion, sliced in rings

The Directions.

If you have the time to assemble the chicken in a plastic zipper bag with the salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar the night before, do so. The chicken will be much more flavorful if left to marinate overnight. Then dump out in the morning on top of the vegetables.I used a 6.5 quart crockpot. If you use 3 pounds of chicken, everything will fit in a 4 quart or larger.


Rub the chicken with salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Set aside. Slice the onion in rings and place the rings at the bottom of the crockpot. Add in the shredded carrot. Put the chicken on top. Pour in the soy sauce and vinegar. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and has reached desired tenderness.





Friday- Leftovers





Saturday- Homemade Pizza.......For the last 2 weeks I have been planning to make homemade pizza. I still haven't done it. So this week, I will plan on doing it on a weekend day and maybe I'll do it this week!

Thankful Sunday

1. Coffee.....Eli would never wake up without it.
2. Sleeping babies....Ethan is supposed to get up at 7am but he was sleeping so soundly I don't have the heart to wake him. It is now 8:15 and he is still asleep!
3.Cool weather.....Will we ever have any? It's already 80 here.
4.Fraggle Rock! I had forgotten how much I liked it until I put the DVD in for Ethan and started smiling as soon as the opening song came on. Oh, and Ethan likes it too!
5.Garage Sales. I got 5 books, Christmas cookie cutters and 2 huge toys for Ethan all for $14 yesterday. I have found the key is to go to neighborhood garage sales. Then you can park your car and hit 5 or 6 at one time. Oh, and go to the better parts of town; they have the good stuff!

Leave a Comment and tell me one thing you are thankful for today.

The Wonders of Washing Soda

A few months ago I started making my own laundry soap. It is a mix of Borax and Washing Soda. It is really cheap, you don't have to use very much and I can use it on my cloth diapers if I'm out of other soap.

I read the back of the boxes when I got them but didn't really think much of it at the time. They list all the things you can do with each of them.

There are a few oil like spots on my carpet right at the entry way of the living and every time I walk by them I think "I wonder if that washing soda would get that out? The box says it will.". Well, I can now confirm it will! No more black spots!!!! Just mix with hot water and scrub away. I patted it with a dry cloth in between scrubbing to absorb the water. I wish I had before and after pics.

The only problem is while I was on the floor crawling around I kept finding other spots to scrub! I got out another black spot in front of the TV and a grape jelly stain that has been there forever. The person who dropped grape jelly will not be named to protect our marriage:)

UPDATE: It does tend to get your carpet so clean that it might leave it a little lighter then the carpet around it. It's not really noticeable unless you are looking at it from an angle. It doesn't bother me near as much as the black spots did.

WOW!

Ummmm......Hello???? $400.00!!!!!!! What??!!!!! Check it out here. It doesn't even feed your baby for you. For that price, all I should have to do is strap him in it and walk away!
Not sure what makes this one different but the color. It's $500.00!

UPDATE: A friend of mine told me this was the highchair Angelina Jolie bought for her children.

Harry Potter Tomorrow!

Here's Ethan's HP outfit! I couldn't find a plan T to buy so I took an old onesey and cut the bottom of it off. I had some HP material from forever ago and cut out different pics from it and sewed it on with a purple background. The diaper is a GM I got off the swap. I'm so excited to put it on him. I just want to wait for tomorrow so he doesn't get it dirty before we get to the show.

Sitting up!

Here he is in his green turtle suit Jee Jee made for him!

Ethan is now sitting up all on his own! The last few days I've really been working with him: leaning him up against things like the couch and my leg and a little time not supported. Today he took a few good falls backward but can sit unsupported for quite awhile. He can even reach forward to pick up toys without falling over. I'm amazed at how quickly it happened. Just two days ago he was falling without support.

Cookbook Giveaway

Recipes of a Cheapskate is a cooking blog that I follow and she is giving away 2 cookbooks! Most of her recipes are very easy to make and also cheap. I love to see what other people are cooking up:)

Sleep Training

For the last few nights, Ethan, Eli and I have been doing sleep training. That means none of us have been getting very much sleep! I have been reading and re-reading the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. It has been a real help to guide us along this really hard road. He focuses on healthy sleep:
1. Sleep duration
2. Naps
3. Sleep consolidation
4. Sleep schedule
We have started to see some big improvements! Ethan is now sleeping in his crib for all his naps and at night time. We decided to go "cold turkey" with him. I started by trying it only at night but the first night he ended back in bed with us by 4am. But for the past 2 days he has had his schedule of:
Wake at 7am
In bed napping by 9am for at least -1-1 1/2 hour
Awake for 2 hours
In bed napping by 1 for at least 1-1 1/2 hour
Awake for 2-3 hours
In bed napping between 3-5 for at least 1 hour--Can be a shorter nap but should be at least 1 hour
Then we do our bed time routine: Eat solid food, bath, book, nurse, bed
The last one is the hardest. He really fights it because he is so tired. As he starts taking his naps better then he won't be as tired for the bed time and it should get easier and he should go to sleep quicker.
I think the main point of the book is that sleep is learned and if your child doesn't learn how to put himself to sleep and stay asleep for a good amount of time then he will have sleep problems all his life.
Eli and I both loved him sleeping with us. But it was really hard on me during the day because he would not sleep unless I was right next to him. I would even try to slip out after he was asleep but he would wake within a few minutes. He would also stay awake really late at night, sometimes till around midnight. If I wanted him asleep earlier then that I would have to go to bed with him. At my age, I don't think I should have to be in bed while it is still light outside! I also don't think he was getting enough sleep. He would get really grumpy around 5pm everyday and it was a fight until I nursed him to sleep and was with him for the rest of the night in bed.
I think this is the hardest thing we have done as parents so far. You can ask Eli, I have not been the nicest person the last few days. But I'm doing much better now!
Ethan is doing well with it all. He is smiling when I go to get him from his naps. His first nap this morning, he woke up and started playing in his crib instead of crying!
I recommend this book highly to all parents.

Monkey Diaper and Smartipants

Last week I got new Dipes!!! (Shocking, I know)
I participated in a GDE (great diaper exchange) on my baby board. We each got paired with another mama (secret) and sent her 1 diaper we love or wanted to try. We then left clues so she could guess who we were. It was fun and it took my mama a few clues to guess me and took me a few to guess who I had. My mama who had me sent me this:

It is a fitted, which means it has to have a cover if you want it to stay on for a while with out wicking out. I love the monkey print and it is so soft. I let him wear it around the house with out a cover because it is so cute and absorbent. It is one she made herself and will soon be selling in her esty shop . Ethan was only the second bum to wear one!

Here's Ethan in his new smartipants! I only bought 1 because I have been reading mixed reviews. The legs do gap a bit but I tend to change him before anything leaks out. It is a one size so it adjusts on the front like the BGs but has snaps instead of Velcro. I have tried it on the small setting, on the med setting with the waist tighter, and nothing helps make the leg holes tighter. I think I will keep using it and see if he grows into it. I wish it fit him better. It's so cute! Oh, and the liner comes out of the pocket in the wash so I don't have to pull it out while it's poopy. Great feature. I am looking at some others that do the same but don't have the leg problems.

I'm still waiting on my sassycloth AIO pocket, 2 fitted and 1 cover. I also have 2 used coming- one size FB (fuzzibunz) that I've never used before and 1 BG in green, just like the white ones I have already.

And the most exciting one of all.........A spellbound Goodmama!!! This one I have been looking at for a while. Goodmamas are fitted one size that are very absorbent and very popular. They can go up to and past $30 each. Well, I'm not paying that for something my baby poops in no matter how cute it is. But this one I had to have for the opening of HBP. I finally found it used for a good price and jumped on it! It should be here before we go see the movie on THURSDAY!!!!! I'm also making Ethan a shirt with HP on it.

Now you ask: With all this buying are you still saving money? The answer is "YES"!! I only buy when I have "extra" money from things other then paycheck money. And I buy most in very good used condition and that cuts the cost. Plus, unlike disposables, I can use them with the next baby or 2;)