Growing Up

We moved both kids to big/bigger kid beds last night. Dee still woke up twice, but no worse than normal! She *loves* that she can get in and out of her bed by herself. J still slept like a rockstar, as he always does. He loves his big bed! We got his bedding and bed from Ikea (bed frame, duvet cover, sheets). Dee has her old mattress and moved into the toddler bed that my father-in-law made for J when he turned two.

           

J's bed is sort of temporary. I will (this summer) be making him this bed (from Ana White's website) so that he and Dee will have more room in their shared room. He will be keeping his mattress since it's brand new and we just dropped a small fortune on it. It's important to us that our kids' exposure to outgassed, manmade chemicals be minimized when possible (lots of reasons why, but a good summary is given in Breasts, a Natural and Unnatural History), so we went with an organic cotton mattress for Dee (from Munchkin, got it at Target) and the Sultan Heggedal natural material mattress from Ikea for J. I figure he's going to be using it til he moves out, so it was worth the investment. He said it's a little too "hard" but it should soften a bit with use, and if it's still too firm we can always get a topper. Although the way he's been jumping on it, it might get softer really fast...

October 10, 2012 - Creative Repurposing of a Baby Hat

We had a Broncos hat that never really fit any actual babies, so I turned it into an outfit for J's smallest baby (which he decided was a boy and had been wearing the pink sleeper gown it came with). J was thrilled this morning when I gave it to him.

September 17, 2012 - Ghost Feet!

Thanks, Pinterest, for this idea!

I covered a shoebox lid with black fabric (that I already had), used a fabric leaf painted white to stamp out the tree pattern, and painted the kids' feet with white poster paint. The moon was done with white poster paint and a foam brush.

Total cost? $3 (including the orange ribbon around the outside)

September 16, 2012 - Leaf Wreath

I made this with silk/fabric leaves purchased on clearance last fall, a paper wreath (made myself from salvaged packing materials and twine), some ribbon I already had, and my trusty hot glue gun. Total cost? $2. Booya! J picked which leaf I glued as I went, so that contributed to the awesome randomness that happened. *Love it!*

I made pillows!

I made the purple and the green pillows for our new couch. :-)

They were the pillows from our old couch, and I recovered them using scrap fabric and an old t-shirt. 

Yay for free plants!

My work does an Earth Day thing every year. This year I scored a free flower! It's a cerastium tomentosum "snow in summer" if you're curious.
I also scored a free water mug, a toy truck, pencils, and coloring book for J (can we say stocking stuffers?), a reusable grocery bag, and some barely used batteries.

Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diaper Giveaway!

As you know, we primarily use cloth diapers in our home. However, we do use some disposables (like when we just haven't had a chance to wash diapers yet and L needs something to keep her dry for the night...) so when the folks at MyBlogSpark offered me the chance to review Seventh Generation Diapers again, I was pretty happy! We try, as a family, to stay on the greener side of things, and Seventh Generation really helps us do that. I am also a huge fan of their dish soap. It smells lovely. I also really, really like their laundry detergent, especially since it's available without fragrance. 

L getting in touch with her inner Barbaloot

The biggest difference I noticed is that, because Seventh Generation is partnering with the new Lorax movie, they have limited edition Lorax prints on the diapers! They are really cute, and still super absorbent. In addition, they now have *overnight* diapers! I really wish they'd had these when J was a toddler, because seriously? That kid could pee through nearly everything. I have to say, though, that the regular Free and Clear dipes are plenty absorbent for L overnight, which is saying something. I think we had one night where she shifted out of her diaper slightly and peed all over me and herself, but she's done that with cloth ones just as rarely. I was really, really impressed by how much pee those could hold! I swear, most mornings the diaper felt like there was much more capacity left.

Here is some more information about the changes made to the Seventh Generation Diapers:

• NEW Overnight Diapers are absorbent enough to keep your baby and bedding dry through the night or during prolonged travel

• Free & Clear diapers have improved more flexible tabs that provide even better fit

• Free & Clear training pants have an absorbent core made with more renewable, plant-based materials.  They also feature stretchy, tear away side panels for a better fit and added convenience, as well as inner leak barriers for superior leakage protection (I wish they had these when J was potty training!! We had some serious leakage issues.)
• Seventh Generation Free & Clear baby care products do not contain chlorine, fragrance, petroleum-based lotions or latex, and all Free & Clear products are also hypo-allergenic
• Starting March 2, you can register for a free The Lorax scrapbook with the purchase of any three Free & Clear diaper products, until supplies last

Did I mention that I was also sent a copy of The Lorax? and it was printed on RECYCLED MATERIALS? That made me super happy, and J LOVES that book. L is a little young, but J had us read it to him about a dozen times. I really wish that all Dr. Seuss books (or hell, all books...) would be printed using only recycled materials, but I guess it's a start.



Now, the fun (for you) part! Two of you will win something here!

I'm giving away one prize pack consisting of the new Seventh Generation Free and Clear diapers, as well as a copy of The Lorax! (This part is sponsored by MyBlogSpark in conjunction with Seventh Generation.)

I am also giving away one coupon good for $5 off a copy of The Lorax with purchase of 3 Seventh Generation products! (This part is all me.) Bonus is that if you are buying 3 packs of Free and Clear diapers, you can also get the scrapbook mentioned above! So lots of money-saving goodness is going on there!

How to enter:
Mandatory Entry:
Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Dr. Seuss book, and your favorite character in that book. You must include your email address in your comment, preferably in this format (to keep spammers from getting your info with their spambots): mamasmockingbird at gmail dot com

Optional/bonus entries (up to 6):
You may do one or all of these, just make sure you leave a comment each time to let me know you did so. You only have to include your email address with your first entry, but please leave your name with each comment so I can figure out who is who!

1. Follow my blog, or, if you already do, let me know you do. 
2. Tell me one way in which you have gone green, especially if this is a money saving way to go green!
3. Blog about this giveaway, and link directly to your blog post. 
4. Follow me on Twitter (@simplytena) and leave a comment with your Twitter name; if you already follow me, just let me know.
5. Tweet about this giveaway, and link directly to your tweet.
6. Share this on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so. For privacy's sake, you don't have to link to your FB post.

That's all! This giveaway will run until April 1, 2012, at 11:59pm MST.


Disclaimer: The Seventh Generation Diapers prize pack and information have been provided by Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark. I was given these so that I could review and give away a prize pack, but opinions expressed here are my own and cannot be bought. 


The coupon was not provided by MyBlogSpark.

My Sick-Day Project: Snap Conversions on Cloth Diapers

As you know, we cloth diaper. We are using the same diapers (with some additions) for L as we did with J, and some of them have aplix that is, at this point, beyond useless. Last week I picked up snaps and a snap press from Joann Fabrics (which now has a cloth diaper section, SQUEE!!). While I'm home sick from work, I might as well take care of those diapers! I'm using Fred's tutorial, found here. She is a clever one!

Note to self:
Make these.

http://floralshowers.com/sewing/ruffle-pillow-tutorial/

Seventh Generation Diaper Giveaway!

I've been kicking this post around in my head for a while, trying to figure out how to go about it. We do primarily use cloth diapers (and did with J too), but on occasion, disposables come into the mix. With J, we ended up using disposables a lot more once he was over 2, because our cloth diapers were not keeping up with how much pee that kid produced at naptime and overnight. Anyway, we experimented with a variety of brands, and in the end our favorites actually happened to be Seventh Generation. So when the folks at MyBlogSpark teamed up with Seventh Generation and contacted me about trying the newly relaunched Free & Clear Seventh Generation diapers, I jumped at the chance. They have reduced the amount of plastic used in packaging, and the packaging is recyclable where plastic bag recycling is available (check your local grocery store). The new diapers also have a lighter-weight core, and the entire manufacturing process is chlorine free so that no chlorine is released into the environment (click here for more information).

Seventh Generation does make newborn sized diapers, but they aren't very widely available in my area (and were not available for this giveaway).The size 2 are for 12-18 pounds, but we tried them anyway. I was amazed that they actually fit my little skinny girl (who even now at almost 4 months isn't 12 pounds). Their diapers are chlorine-free, and not scented (like some other brands) and they absorb incredibly well. I still loved them, and they even contained messy breastfed baby poop explosions better than the other disposable diapers we had on hand (we'd gotten some as gifts). The diapers are a beige color, and reasonably soft on the outside (quite soft on the inside). I remembered them being softer on the outside, but they still work fantastically well, so it isn't really a big deal if they aren't as soft as the old version. Plus, L looked cute in them :-).

These diapers tend to be a little expensive compared to other brands, but there are frequently coupons available either from http://www.seventhgeneration.com/ or in your local Sunday paper.

Seventh Generation and MyBlogSpark not only gave me the opportunity to try the cereal and get a prize pack, but one of you will win one too!


One lucky reader will win one pack of Seventh Generation Diapers, in size 2, 3, or 4. 

Here's how to enter:

Mandatory entry: Respond in a comment here telling me one way you and your family are environmentally responsible; this could be using earth friendly cleaning products, recycling, or anything else you do. You must include your email address!

Additional entries (please leave your email address in each additional entry so I can contact you if you win):
1. Follow my blog and leave a comment telling me that you've done so, or that you already follow my blog.
2. Blog about this giveaway, and leave a comment linking to your blog post.
3. Visit and "like" Seventh Generation on Facebook, and leave a comment telling me you did so.
4. Tweet about this giveaway, making sure to include @simplytena in your tweet. Please leave a comment telling me you've done so that includes your Twitter name so I can verify each entry.
5. Follow Seventh Generation on Twitter, and leave a comment telling me you did so.

Good luck!

This giveaway is open to residents of the United States only. The giveaway will close at 11:59pm MST on Wednesday, August 31st, 2011. Winner will be drawn by random.org.

Disclosure:
I was provided with a pack of size 2 diapers and information from Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

My Grocery Awesomeness Continues

I'm going to have to come up with a better name for this. Perhaps I will just stick with Grocery Guru. Anyway, this week's grocery shopping (everything, not just food):

King Soopers (Kroger):

• Bread - $1.99
• Colorado Proud Milk - $1.48
  
• Kroger Distilled Vinegar (not pictured, for laundry) - $2.99, on sale for $2.49
• Kuner's canned veggies - reg. $1.09, on sale 4/$3
• Fage greek yogurt (individual cup) - reg $1.99, on sale for $1.49, plus $1/1 coupon, final price $0.50!
• Oikos greek yogurt (individual cup) - $1.99, plus $1/1 coupon, final price $0.99
• Kroger CanJel (pectin) - $1.79
• Cheerios - $3.08, plus $0.55/1 coupon doubled to $1, final price $2.08
• MultiGrain Cheerios - $3.19, plus $0.75/1 coupon doubled to $1, final price $2.19
• Kellogg's Special K Blueberry - $3.49, plus $1/1 coupon, final price $2.49

Tax was $0.22, and I got $0.05 off (whooptie doo...) for bringing my own bag. Grand total at Kings? $19.27, with $7.25 in savings. Pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Albertsons:
I already mentioned this before, but whatever:

• Blueberries - reg $3.99 per pkg, on sale for 5 lbs for $5 (almost half what King's has theirs on special for...)

I got 5 1-lb containers, and with tax, spent all of $5.05, and saved almost $15 (though really, that's debatable, because had they been $3.99 each I would not have gotten them at all). These will be made into jelly/jam and syrup. Yum!

Sunflower:
Here's where I got kind of spendy, but that's mainly because we splurged this week so I could make lots of enchiladas:

• 3 green bell peppers - reg $0.69 ea, on sale for 2/$1, total $1.50
• 1 anaheim pepper - $0.48
  
• 1 package of 3 dozen corn tortillas - $2.19
• Nanita's Enchilada Sauce (local and YUMMY) - $3.99
• Dreyer's Ice Cream - reg $5.99, on sale for $3.99
• 0.9 lb Sunflower brand organic coffee (not pictured)- $6.29
• 1 large sweet onion - $0.77
• 5 Fuji apples - $0.99/lb, total $1.48
• 6 nectarines - $0.88/lb, total $1.47
• 4 pork Polish Sausages (surprise for C, not pictured) - on sale for $1.97/lb, total $2.17

In all at Sunflower, I spent $24.23, and saved $5.67 by shopping for sale items and bringing my own bag ($0.10 here per bag). Not so good for budget, and the ice cream wasn't necessary, but the enchiladas I made using the more expensive ingredients will be good for lunches for me all week, plus a meal in the freezer, plus were dinner for J and I tonight. They were a hit, too.

I also made a trip to Whole Foods because I heard a rumor I could get Santa Cruz Lemonade for $0.24 (on sale for $0.99, plus the $0.75/1 coupon). Well, they were on sale, but for $1.50. In all the lemonade ended up being $0.80. Not too shabby!

My final purchase tonight was Country Save laundry detergent. The only place that sells it in my area is Vitamin Cottage, but it is well worth the special trip, plus it's on the way to King Soopers. We don't buy anything else there because we can get better deals elsewhere and we don't buy supplements, but the detergent is about the same price as the cheap stuff at the grocery store (per load) and it cleans cloth diapers like wow. All Free and Clear is worse than just washing the damn things with water. Never use it on diapers. It sucks ass. Ok, enough of that rant. I love my Country Save, and I will never try to use anything else on diapers again. Never. NEVER. I am washing J's diapers now, actually, with the nice wonderful best detergent ever. Anyway, the detergent was $8.36 after tax.

My grand total? (Honestly, I'm kind of scared to add this all up...) $57.71. Yikes. Not awful, especially considering that last week we were under budget by $11. Also, if I drop the non-food items the total goes down to $46.86, which is really quite good! Sweet. We won't need to buy quite as much next week, but we will need to make a trip later this week to Costco for goat milk for J (since they have it for $6 or less per half gallon, versus close to $8 per half gallon at grocery stores).

My grocery trips this week also contributed to my Things to Do list, since I brought my own bags which is both "green" and helping reduce our dependence on plastic bags! Yay!

Whew. That was a long post!

Small Successes Thursday

It's that time again! Every Thursday (ideally) I will post three small things that I have done either that day or that week. The purpose of this is to remind myself, and women/moms in general, that the little things we do can and do add up to big things. Here goes!

1. Copied my Fertility Friend chart to a spreadsheet version more like the paper charts from TCOYF.

2. Got cash so I can take the train and bus in to work tomorrow.

3. Updated my Goodreads page and my to do list to reflect the most recent book I've read (Bel Canto).

Not so very exciting this week, but then, it's the little things that count!

Recycling In Your Neighborhood

Go to Earth911.com to find a recycling location for anything you can think of in your area! This website is a great resource, and I was able to quickly find a number of locations in my zip code within moments. The information for my particular area is old, as in, hasn't been updated since 2005, and it may be similarly dated for your area as well. Be sure to call the number of the company running the recycling (listed conveniently on the individual location pages) to verify that they still have a drop-off at the address listed.

Also, this allows me to scratch off #54 on my to-do list!

Top Questions About Cloth Diapering Answered!

Jillian's Drawers sent out a fantastic newsletter recently featuring the top 10 questions about CDing. My favorite part was the cost analysis, which showed that you save anywhere from $1300 to over $4000 using cloth vs disposable diapers. The $4000 savings is using the same diapers on two children. The overall savings vary depending on which way you do cloth diapers. The cost factor was the main reason we chose to do cloth diapers, and with options like pocket diapers, it's really as easy as disposables!

Here's the link to the article, part 6 is about the cost factor:
http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/newtocloth

However, the velcro/aplix on our older BGs is wearing out, and the velcro I am using to replace it isn't exactly perfect. It works better than trying to use worn out aplix though. I only have 13 more to fix. Haha. I think as these wear out we'll buy any replacement BGs as the newest ones that come with snaps.

Baking Soda is a Wonderous Thing

I have discovered, in my quest to improve my housekeeping skills and to decrease spending as well as increase my environmental-friendliness, I have come across the many, many uses of baking soda. As an aside, you can buy a 4lb bag at Costco for something like $4.50. Compared to buying a small box at the grocery store for $3ish, that's a phenomenal deal!

Here are some of my favorite uses for baking soda:

Microdermabrasion:
For literally almost nothing, you can have a first-rate microdermabrasion experience using baking soda. I recently attempted a career in selling cosmetics for a Texas-based company (rhymes with Kary May) but failed miserably. However, in that foray into a strange world, I discovered microdermabrasion. I fell in love with how smooth my skin became, but at $30 a bottle for the exfoliant there was no way it was a truly affordable option for me. I happened to accidentally pick up a container of baking soda at the store that was in a shaker bottle rather than a box, and while reading the label noticed that it suggested using baking soda as a facial exfoliant. I was skeptical, but it works as well as the pricey stuff. Plus, you have the option of mixing it with whatever you want (no acid peels though, bad idea!) with no icky chemical additives. The container suggested using just water to make a soft paste, but I actually prefer using a dab of aloe vera gel. I am still working on perfecting this, and am going to explore adding it to a good facial cleanser gel, but since I am using a Dove facial cleansing bar at the moment so that idea really wouldn't work. Anyway, make up a paste, rub it gently into your skin, and wash it off. I do recommend using a light facial moisturizer afterward, appropriate to your skin type, as this can be somewhat drying. Mahvelous, dahling!

De-stinkifying Cloth Diapers (or laundry in general)
We use Bumgenius One Size cloth diapers, as I've said before. One downside to these particular diapers is that they cannot be bleached, so they can have a bit of residual smell even after several washings in a row. We use CountrySave detergent, which is a fantastic price and works great, in addition to being Earth-friendly. Turns out adding 1/8 to 1/4 cup of baking soda to the first diaper wash, in addition to the detergent, eliminates the poop smell! This is my wash cycle for diapers:
Hot soak cycle, with 1/2 scoop detergent added.
Hot wash cycle, 1/2 scoop detergent plus slightly less than 1/4 cup baking soda.
Cold wash cycle, 1/2 scoop detergent. -Smell the diapers, if they have any residual odor, add another wash.
Cold wash cycle, no detergent (this serves as a thorough rinse) but add 1/2 cup vinegar via the bleach dispenser.

Works great!

Cleanser!
Instead of using cleanser, try baking soda! It won't scratch your pots and pans, or your sink. Bonus effect in the sink is that it eliminates odors.

Fridge/Freezer Freshener
Put some baking soda in a small Gladware (or similar) container with holes poked in the lid. Place on a shelf in the fridge or freezer to cut down on odors!

That's all for now!

The 3 Rs

Recycle

We don't have recycling at our house, unfortunately, because the HOA has decided not to pay for that along with our regular garbage pickup. I need to find a recycling center near us, because the amount of waste we produce as a family is pretty grotesque at times.

Reduce and Reuse

As far as reducing the amount of waste we produce, we are trying to cut back on our use of plastic grocery/carrier bags. I need to just keep reusable ones in the car, and maybe buy some of the really cute ones from BabiesRUs for non-grocery shopping. We buy things in bulk when we can, to reduce packaging, but sometimes that doesn't work (for example, things that need to be frozen get packed into the size we will use in one recipe, so we end up using baggies for that). I am going to follow Amy's lead and start reusing jars when I can. I already spent part of yesterday, while waiting for dinner to cook, transferring spices from the baggies that we bought them in to jars that we had saved from old spices. The spice cabinet is so much more organized now! We buy animal crackers at Costco, and they come in these huge tubs. C suggested we reuse them to hold some of J's toys, and for some reason I said no, and now I regret that because I've come up with a lot of useful ways to reuse them. Oh well, the next time we use one up we'll reuse the container.
Another really good way to reduce waste when you have a baby is to buy wipes in bulk packs, rather than individual tubs. That way you only need one tub, and you just keep refilling it rather than throwing a tub away every time you use up the 80 wipes. Alternately, you can use cloth wipes, which many people who cloth diaper do. Baby washcloths also work well for this purpose, and you just spray a little water mixed with lavendar oil (or this) and wipe away! Of course, cloth diapers are also a great option for reducing waste. There is a ton of information for cloth diapering at DiaperPin and DiaperHyena. Yes, you use more water with cloth diapers, but it really amounts to about 3 extra loads a week, and that water goes through waste-water purification in most places and gets reused. Gray water generally gets reused, one way or another. This is the water from your sinks, showers, and laundry. Sewer water, from toilets, does not get reused.

If you have any other tips for ways to reduce and reuse, please share!