Crunchy Peas

Tip of the Day

Here is a little tip that I picked up since I have been cloth diapering. (Many of you may already know this.) I never use fabric softener.  It just creates build up on our clothes (especially towels) and some of us have really sensitive skin.  Instead I use vinegar in the rinse cycle.  Because I don't hover over my machine and have the ability to catch the rinse cycle, I have relied upon this little downy ball to do the job for me. (Find it in the laundry soap isle next to the Downy that you are supposed to put in it.)  I just fill it up to the line and drop it in.  Through the magic of symmetrical force, the vinegar is released during the rinse cycle.  It works great, you don't have to mess with those dryer sheets hiding in your clothes, and no- your clean laundry will NOT smell like vinegar.  It it passed the smell test with Carl, I can assure you it doesn't.  Happy washing!

spool snake

I had a lovely Mother's Day that included pancakes, bacon and coffee made by the Mister.  I also stole away to the fabric store for a few hours.  Alone.  The girls gave me sweet cards that they made in school, and Carl and I went out to dinner on Friday night.

As much as I love my girls, the occasional dinner without them is a real treat.  I like eating out like adults.  Wine, appetizers, foods that you cannot pronounce.  Very tasty.  We were also celebrating Carl's birthday. 

(brownies and ice cream, when you get older cake and frosting are not a necessities)

Today he is 34!  I like older men.  Not only do they have more money, but grey hair can be very distinguished.  Besides, you have to marry someone older than you if you want to be in a relationship with someone who's maturity level is equal to that of your own.  He is four years older than me...and those four years help.  In all seriousness, I love you Carl and Happy Birthday!

I made Laurel a little toy yesterday.  My grandma gave me one of her craft books (which would make it vintage) and it had all kinds of simple ideas for homemade toys. All the necessary supplies are ordinary things that you find around your house.  I just love toys that don't have flashing lights, make beeping sounds, or have a screen.

I have been saving all my empty thread spools in a jar hoping that I could, at some point, put them to good use.  This little project was just the thing.  A spool snake.  Just tie a knot at the end of a ribbon and thread them on.  I did tie a knot in between each spool in order to make it lanky enough (is that a word?).  Also, it was a bit plain so I cut some patterned paper and taped it on each spool.  You could glue it on, but I used tape because I am lazy like that.  Then, at the other end of the ribbon I tied a little loop for pulling.  See, here it is in action.

And here the snake is slithering up the stairs.

Two warnings come along with this little snake.  First, if you are going to take your snake for a walk down the stairs, be sure that the little snake doesn't slither under your feet and get tangled up under your pink cowboy boots.  This may result in doing approximately three somersaults down the stairs and ending up with some slight resentment and disfavor to your spool snake.  Also, beware of kitties who love to chase these types of snakes. 

So, there you go.  Don't throw your spools away, make a snake.  A little person or a kitty might thank you.

friends are good

The last few days, I have to admit, I have been feeling a bit bogged down, overwhelmed, frustrated.  Do you ever feel like you are spinning your wheels?  Like you are in a dream where someone horrible is chasing you but you are stuck- can't run?  There is so much that has to be done around here that I can't seem to find enough time to do what it is that I really want to do.  Who wants to be doing dishes or folding heaps of laundry when there is yarn and fabric waiting nearby. And then there are the children.  Since the beginning of the holidays I have been preoccupied.  With all the gift-making and entertaining that we have done, I am afraid my attention towards them has been less. Yesterday, Emma asked me (with her big blue eyes) "Mommy, why don't you ever play with us anymore?"  Ughhh, balance is so hard for me to achieve.

What we needed was a play date.  Some time with friends.  That always seems to do the trick, puts things back into perspective.  So, we were lucky enough to have my sweet friend Saci over this morning.  She moved from Hungary 6 years ago, and I was fortunate enough to have her in my childbirth classes 2 years ago.  Even more fortunate was I to see her beautiful daughter be born.  We've been friends since.

And now, she is expecting baby #2.  Unfortunately we don't get to see them very often.  Silly really, seeing as how we live a mere 30 minutes from each other.  But, you know how it goes....kids, and schedules and such.  Also, she lives up one of the canyons here, and some days the snow makes for difficult travel out.

I tend to get a bit nervous when she comes.  I love cooking for other people, but Saci and her family are Vegan- we are not.  Wanting to respect that, I always have to think a little about what I can make her other than lettuce :).  This book is so wonderful.  All the recipes (with the exception of maybe two or three are vegan). There are so many family friendly, yummy, healthy things to eat inside.  It is definitely one that I recommend.

So, I decided upon the Three Sisters Stew.  The recipe says that Native Americans used to grow corn, squash and beans (the primary ingredients) all together.  The beans would climb up the corn stalks, and the squash grew on the ground in between the corn.  It was so tasty.  Perfect for a cold winter day like today.

I also made some pumpkin muffins with banana/tofu frosting.  I know it sounds unappetizing- but even my kids devoured them.  Seriously, get the book.

I love that Saci is so simple. She sees through all the disgusting materialism we have here in the US.  She reminds me that we over complicate most things. I always feel more focused on what is really important after she leaves. Whenever she comes, she always brings me a gift. (reason enough to invite her more often :)

This time she made me a bag for knitting and crochet.  Oh how I have been wanting something like this!  I like to crochet while I wait for the girls to come out of school or piano, and I never have an organized way to transport all my projects.  She included some knitting needles and some cotton yarn along with a pattern for dishcloths that I have been begging her for. (I barely know how to knit- so she assured me that this would be a great start).  I was so thankful, pretty don't you think?

While we chatted the girls had fun playing, er jumping on the bed.

Why don't grown-ups jump on the bed?  Perhaps it is because we can find no one willing to look silly enough to jump with us. I vow to do it more often- it seems I would have lots of willing participants.

Friends are good, and I was thankful for a visit from one of mine today! Feeling better now.

looking back, looking forward

2007 You were lovely, a platform for many fond memories.  Looking back, my favorite moment was watching my girls put their feet into the pacific ocean for the first time ever.

The image is of pure joy as they felt the salty water around their ankles and the sand wiggling under their feet. Forever it will be seared into my mind... almost as blissful as the moment I first laid eyes on each of them at the moment of birth.  Our time spent at the beach was truly a highlight for me.

Looking forward to 2008 brings several emotions. First -there is disbelief. I cannot believe that we are standing on the brink of another year!?!  I am sure that time is speeding up. Second- there is bittersweetness. Where have all the babies gone?  Three young ladies live here now.  My children are growing so fast.   And thirdly- there is anticipation.  I like fresh starts and new beginnings.  Perhaps that is why I tend to be a morning person.  I like aiming higher.

My New Year's Resolutions could best be divided into three categories (yes, I have really spent that much time thinking about it :)

* TAKING BETTER CARE OF MYSELF (This one is always hard to write, I prefer taking care of others)

+ In terms of nutrition, be a "do as I do" kind of mom.  No more sneaking unhealthy food when the kids aren't looking or after they go to bed. They are starting to figure it out.

+ Find fun ways of sneaking in exercise.  Just because I don't make it to the gym doesn't mean that I can't find some other way of fitting it in (ie. dancing with the kids, or playing tag, building a snowman, etc.)  It doesn't have to be so grueling, so scheduled...just heart rate raising!

+ Floss at least once daily.  I don't know why I have such a hard time making this a regular habit!

*TAKING BETTER CARE OF MY STUFF  (I am blessed with a lot of nice things...I need to take better care of what I have.)

+ One word, laundry. Treating stains, delicate cycles, hanging dry, DOING IT.

+ Be diligent about cleaning, tuning, and regularly scheduling maintenance on all appliances and automobiles.

 

+ If something breaks- Can it be repaired? Can we find another use for it? Stop using the "throw it away and buy a new one" philosophy.

*TAKING BETTER CARE OF OUR EARTH (reduce, reuse, recycle really does describe it best)

+ Cut waaaaaay back or totally eliminate plastic. Already I use fabric shopping bags, and mesh bags for my produce...but I am addicted to zip-loc sandwich bags. A solution?  I ordered this to help me. Yep, I am really going to start washing and re-using them.  Go ahead, laugh now.

+ Use cloth napkins over paper towels. I am in the process of making more. Besides, they are prettier. And, funny enough, our manners seem to improve when we use them.

+ opt out of several catalogs that come my way.  I shop online anyways.

It shouldn't be that hard right?  Pretty simple, now keep me to it! Thank you to all of those who have left little snippets of your thoughts here along with mine.  I love your comments and it means so much to me that you peek your head in here every now and then to say hello. 

Happy New Year to all of you, here's to a great 2008!

Fluff

Ahhhh, nothing like a stack of fresh, clean, fluffy diapers.  I really love them, and if you know me at all--you had to know that this post was coming! 

I think this time around with Laurel, I was confident enough in the basic mothering skills that I wanted to take on a new challenge- cloth diapering.  A lot of my students inquire about it, and I thought that I should have some first hand experience.  I researched and researched until finally when she was 8 weeks old- I bought my first set.

Doesn't she look cute at 2.5 months in her first wool soaker?

It is really not that hard.  I bet it only adds 2 extra loads of laundry per week.  Even my older girls (who did not get cloth) call disposable dipes "scratchy diapers". They have turned into diaper snobs. You wouldn't believe how far cloth diapers have come.  No more folded diapers with plastic pants...times have changed mamas!

They are really quite cute and trim. It is just a simple little thing that I can do to reduce my family's impact on our environment. (Pretty sure that my dad is rolling his eyes right about now.)  I haven't ventured into the land of sewing my own...not sure that I will get their either.  I would imagine that Laurel will begin toilet training next summer. 

Until then, I think hemp, fleece, cotton and wool wrapped buns are pretty cute!

Green Clean

My house is a mess.  I take that back.  My house is dirty.  I am pretty good and picking up and making it appear clean.  When it comes to deep down clean...not so good.  I think that maybe it is a time issue.  I remember the days when I could clean my whole house in one day.  From top to bottom everything would be done.  Then, I could sit back and enjoy the sparklyness (I have 3 girls I am allowed to invent words like that).  Nowadays, I have to clean in bits and pieces.  If the girls are soaking in the tub...I wipe down the sink, mirror and toilet etc. But I usually don't have huge blocks of time to really cover the whole house.  Knowing that I won't get very far prevents me from getting anywhere at all. Lame, I know.

Sometimes the only thing that will inspire me to "deep clean" is making my own cleaner.  "Making" inspires me.  (I love the post that Amanda wrote about her daughter's one word sentence.)  Even my husband remarked that he liked my cleaner better than one of the bottles he bought at the store.  This is saying a lot because my huband is the king of using massively toxic bleach laden "be- sure-and- have adequate- ventilation" cleaners.

I have tried lots of recipes for homemade cleaner.  Here is the one that I like the best for all-purpose cleaning (from sew green)

1tsp baking soda

2 tsp borax (in the laundry soap isle of the grocery store)

1 tsp liquid soap-  I use this (weird writing on the bottle, great soap)

2 cups hot water

10 or so drops of favorite essential oil- I like grapefruit or tea tree oil

Mix together, pour into spray bottle, shake before each use.

I actually double or triple this recipe and fill a spray bottle for the kitchen, and all 3 bathrooms.

For scouring or scrubbing I love using baking soda and lemon juice.  Just sprinkle the baking soda in the tub or sink or whatever.   Then, pour a bit of lemon juice in too.  Your kids will love how it "fizzes".  That is the great thing about using homemade cleaners- they are safe for kids! Great, because I can fill a spray bottle with their name on it!!!!   Happy scrubbing.

Not Plastic

A few weeks ago my Grandparents came for a visit.  Usually they bring gifts for the girls, but this time I was the one on the receiving end. In they walked with this perfect wooden contraption.

They bought it at a garage sale from an older gentleman who lives across the street from them.  His wife had just moved into a nursing home- and this was her sewing basket.

When you open it up there are layers upon layers waiting to be filled with trinkets..

I suppose it should be used for notions or embroidery accessories.  I don't have much of either (maybe an excuse to buy more?).  Not quite big enough for my yarn stash, it still sits empty.  Well, that is not entirely true.

Laurel has made good use of it.  Any other ideas about what I could fill it with?

I just love wooden things, they last so much longer and stay so much nicer. We are not really into electronic, flashing, buzzing, beeping toys here ("gee dear I am not sure where that dollar store cell phone went, it must be lost- sorry").  Plus, being a bit crunchy, there is that whole plastic/toxic thing.

   

It seems like the toys that are wooden require more imagination. I'll admit we have some purging to do. That is a project that will be done more thoroughly when the girls are away at school.  Funny how they don't even seem to miss what has gone missing.  Not plastic (in the words of Martha) "its a good thing."