Thankful Sunday

1. The library. We just went for the first time this week! Ethan had fun "reading" and I had fun keeping him from chewing on all the books and pulling all the other kids hair.

2. "Cool" weather! Ethan and I got to go outside yesterday before bed time and we didn't have a heat stroke!

3. Clean Cars you washed yourself feels good. Not only do you save $ but you get a good workout. I should do it every weekend!

4. Naps. I hope to get one soon.

5. Spongebob Squarepants marathon. Enough said.

8 Months Old!

Doesn't he look like Pooh with his head in his honey pot?

Today Ethan is 8 months old! He loves to play with his toys. He looks at them like he is about to take them apart! He is still chewing on everything. New foods: squash from Jee Jee's garden, peaches, nectarines, crackers (graham, saltine and Ritz), peas, ginger added to his cookies.

We have a new tooth (left front) and the right front is coming in now. We are still working on the sleep training. It's a guess everyday how he is going to sleep but for the most part it is going well.

I like to call this next move the crab crawl (or the Linda Blair, depending on your movie taste!)

We start on our tummy.....Then on our side.....Reach back and get foot up under us........All the way back.......And PUSH with the foot to move forward an inch or so!!!! Then start all over again. Soon you will be right where you want to be, next to mommy! This is the funniest thing ever. I laughed at him trying so hard to get to me. And he did!

It's Official!!!!

We will be staying in Texas for a few more years (2-3)!! Eli will be working in his same department just a few floors up. We are so happy to not have to move! We love our house, being near family and love it here in Texas (except for the no rain and HOT sun!). The next job will have to be near a coast so a move is necessary, but not for now.

We took a trip up to Eli's lab to see the coral he brought home with him from the Gulf Coast. Ethan loved looking into the tanks! I think we might have to have a day at an aquarium to get the whole fish experience.

Ethan wearing his kangaroo tshirt that his Daddy brought back from Australia for him before he was born! We have kangaroo hide shoes, too, but they are still too big.

Some of Ethan's Firsts

First time to ride in a shopping cart. He loves the frozen food isle.
First time in his swing at home. What fun! It's still so hot outside that we can only swing in the early morning.

First hand print across the face. He must have been sleeping really hard!

First time at the park.

First time discovering dirt.First time to play in the dirt.First time to eat dirt!!!

Messy, dirty house: I'm not worried

When I got back from OK last week, I told Eli the house seemed really messy and dirty to me. I felt like it was getting overwhelming and piling up around me. He told me it was because I had just come from my mom's house where it is always clean (except when Ethan and I are there!). I told my mom what he said because what women doesn't want to hear someone thinks her house is always clean?

Mom said to me: Don't worry about what your house looks like. You will have many years after your kids are gone to keep a clean house.

So I have made the decision to not worry. I will spend less time cleaning and more time with my little man. I will do what I can and need to do to keep the house livable. But I will not worry! Thanks, Mom.

Mamma's Group

Last week Ethan and I went to a friends house for a Mommy and Babies group. We had a lot of fun! We meet a lot of great mom's and cute babies. The group is going to start meeting twice a month and we will try to go to as many as we can. It's always great to meet new moms, be able to share stories and learn how different people solve problems. Ethan made lots of new friends and can't wait to go back. Thanks for inviting us!

Eli so kindly made his Dad's cheesecake for me to take. I made the blueberry topping. It was yummy and everyone enjoyed it!




Family Cheesecake (modified)

4 packs cream cheese

6 eggs

1c sugar

1t vanilla

Mix well together (Eli uses the food processor in batches). He uses graham crackers and butter mushed together to make the crust. Use a spring form. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, until top is golden. Chill overnight.

I made the topping just like the strawberry syrup but with blueberries. You could use any fruit for your topping.

Meal Plan Monday

Sunday- Spaghetti made by Eli:)


Monday- Crockpot Roast, potatoes and carrots. I'm also going to attempt Grandma's Cake with buttermilk this time! I need to make Ethan some more cookies, too.


Tuesday- Charro Beans



Wednesday- Chicken and Dumplings Cooking the chicken on Tuesday and finishing it up on Wednesday. This is the first time I've ever made chicken and dumplings. When I was looking for a recipe, I kept finding ones that had celery and carrots in it. My grandma and mom made them for me when I was little and they never had celery and carrots! So I found one without.

Thursday- Beef Stew. I got a great deal on stew meat at Target on Sunday. Sometimes they put $off stickers on their meat. I found 2 packages of stew beef with $3 off stickers on them. It was like getting them Buy one/get one Free!
Cut the beef into bit size pieces. Brown outside in pot with olive oil salt and pepper, adding cut up onion about half way through. When it is brown on all sides add a bit of flour and mix. Pour in 2 cans of beef broth and scrap the bottom of the pan to get all the good stuff. Add cut up potatoes and carrots. Cook low until all is tender. Add corn and green beans. Remove lid for last 15 mins to reduce liquid and thicken.

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- ?????

Thankful Sunday

What I'm thankful for today:
1. I don't have to work outside the home.
2. I get to work outside the home at least once a month!
3. I get to spend my "extra" money how I want.
4. I have "extra" money to spend on groceries when we need it.
5. When I do work outside the home, my husband does the dishes! (maybe I will work more;)

The Reality of Cloth Diapers

There's nothing like the sight of a poopy diaper to catch your attention!


Sure, cloth diapers are environmentally friendly, cute to look at and easy on the pocket book (in the long run). But the reality is: they have to be washed. And washed. And washed. Again. And Again.

Only second to the search for the perfect cloth diaper is the search for the perfect wash routine. All cloth diapering mommas are looking for the best wash order/temp, soap and drying to keep their cloth diapers looking, feeling and smelling just like new. Will we ever find it? Only with time and a lot of mistakes and still it won't be perfect. We just have to find how to fit it into an already busy day.

I am lucky I stay at home. Some mammas work outside the home and still find time to cloth diaper and wash!

Everyone has their own way to wash and dry their diapers. On Cloth Diapering Bloggers, created by Dirty Diaper Laundry, we are having our 2nd Cloth Diapering Carnival and the subject is, you guessed it, "What is your Wash Routine?"

My wash routine is ever changing. It depends on many different things: how dirty are the diapers, how much soap did I use, how stained are the inserts, when did I last strip them, just to name a few. This process can take as little as 2 hours to all day. It just depends on what I'm doing and if I remember I am washing!

Let's start with the diaper coming off the baby. I toss them and my cloth wipes all in the pail with a laundry bag to line it. (Hopefully some day I may buy a waterproof wet bag.) If there is poop on the dipe it may or may not get rinsed of with my handy diaper sprayer. (This has to be the grosses thing I've ever done.) I don't have separate pails for the covers, inserts or the wash clothes. Some do but I'm not sure why.

Every other day I drag the bag into the garage. I pull out the liners from the BG's and toss them in the cold water along with any covers or fitteds I may have. (The whole time I'm doing this I have a look of disgust on my face. This last until I finish putting all the diapers in the washer and leave the garage. Then I have to stretch my face back out to normal.)

The diapers get a cold wash/rinse with no soap. Then they get a hot/cold with a little Planet soap. I have tried several different types of soap on my diapers; starting with Tide Free then homemade and now Planet. I am happy with it but some say you need to strip them more often so every few weeks I replace my Planet with Dawn.

The last step is another cold wash/rinse without soap. Our water is so hard that I sometimes just do the rinse on this step.

I mostly line dry in my back yard. While I'm hanging diapers I start another load with the wipes, micro fleece liners and any prefolds I may have. I wash these separately because I use California Baby diaper cream on Ethan from time to time and don't want the oils to transfer to the BG's. Also, the velcro on the BG's picks up EVERY loose thread from the wipes and the prefolds. On the hot wash I will add any extra laundry I may have sitting around like towels or underwear. I usually use Tide or my homemade soap on this load.(Save the Planet!)

Most of the time I toss the dried inserts and fitteds in the dryer for a few to kill any ants or fireflies that may be creeping around. And yes, I have woken up in the middle of the night to see my son's bum blinking green!

So the harsh reality is: Cloth Diapers are great but cleaning them is time consuming, frustrating at times and stinky. Very, very stinky.

But I wouldn't stop using cloth for anything! It is worth all the time and effort to have my baby in a cloth diaper that is chemical free and saves us money.

Happy washing!

Pics of Ethan in Grands front yard

I couldn't pick just one, so I will post them all!