Category Archives: homemaking

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Meal Planning

Posted in Health/fitness/nutrition, homemaking, Living on a budget, Online scrapbooking

I am trying a lot harder to work on meal planning. Not only to be more organized, but also to cut down on expenses. I am trying harder to create meals out of food we already have at our house. Here is a sample of some meal planning: Tuesday-Spaghetti Wednesday-Chicken Veggie Pasta Homemade bean burritos...

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Posted in Health/fitness/nutrition, homemaking, Living on a budget, Online scrapbooking

6 comments

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adrienne w - February 9, 2013 - 9:19 am

We’ve actually been pretty vigilant about meal plans over the last year and it has made a big difference in my life. I don’t have next week’s plan made yet, but last week was:
Monday- (I don’t remember, but stuff we had on hand because we hadn’t shopped)
Tuesday- Lemon Chicken and rice, steamed carrots
Wednesday- Breakfast for dinner (fruit, muffins, coconut rice pudding- Denver wasn’t home for dinner so we often have something like this when he’s away)
Thursday- Tostadas with homemade refried beans
Friday- homemade pizzas on pita shells (we had 2 sets of missionaries over for this)
Saturday- Chilli (crockpot) and biscuits
Sunday- Roasted chicken(crockpot), mashed potatoes, and green beans

Denver will be gone for work for the next 2 weeks, so I’ve got to get a meal plan together and have him go shopping for me before he leaves. When he’s gone, it’s harder in some ways, because I don’t want to make things the kids won’t eat. But I also use it as a time to try things I know he’s not interested in.

Kris - February 9, 2013 - 12:42 pm

Wow! I am impressed. I have to admit I really only cook on the weekend. Week nights are left overs, sandwiches, or anything I can throw together is 10 minutes or less. I do really want to commit to more sit down together families now that our schedules allow.

Sara - February 9, 2013 - 1:11 pm

Will you share your Thai Dragon noodles and Kale soup recipes? Those are great ideas to add to the rotation.

Our kids’ favorite weekly staples are rice and beans, pasta with red sauce, and quesadillas.

kara - February 9, 2013 - 1:42 pm

Adrienne,
I always forget about breakfast for dinner. THat would be a great thing to do once a week.
Kris,
You are welcome to come up here for dinner any night of your choosing. NOw that you know what’s for dinner, just choose the night that looks best :) .
Sara,
Yes, quesadillas are big around here. We go through way more tortillas than bread. So the Thai Dragon Noodle recipe comes from the rebar cookbook (which is really good, but some of the recipes are time intensive.. this one doesn’t take too much time). Here is a link I found with it:
http://www.food.com/recipe/thai-dragon-bowl-399408

For the Kale soup, I don’t follow a recipe, but here is the gist:
*I cook some chicken italian sausage and onion in one pan. In a pot, I cook chopped potatoes and kale in chicken broth (with some garlic, salt and pepper). When they are cooked, I add the meat/onion and then at the very end I add a little cream. My kids really like it.

Carrie - February 11, 2013 - 9:37 am

When my husband was growing up, his mother referred to evenings when leftovers were served as “nights to remember.” We still use this terminology and so when I plan to serve leftovers and my husband asks what’s for dinner, I reply, “we’re having a night to remember!” :-)

kara - February 11, 2013 - 8:17 pm

A night to remember… I love that and will henceforth be using that phrase.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cloth Diapering 101

Posted in homemaking, Parenting, Question for the Mamas

I am currently a cloth diapering mama probably 75% of the time. I am coming to the end of what I like to call “the honeymoon stage” of cloth diapering. The honeymoon stage lasts from 0-6 months before baby eats major solid foods. Cloth diapering is pretty easy right now, because I just throw all...

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Posted in homemaking, Parenting, Question for the Mamas

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EmmaJ - July 14, 2011 - 3:32 am

I used Bum Genius Organics One size with the snaps with Betty starting after she was 14 months (I think). I really liked them and didn’t mind the toddler poo. I used them at night, but not when we traveled. I liked the organic ones because there was not liner to deal with, it is built in. I haven’t used them with Oscar, I think they are too bulky for a little boy. I’ll probably start using them with Iris when she is 6 months old. I think the yellow newborn poo is grosser to deal with than solid food poo, so I am not going to start using cloth until she make the change.

Michelle - July 14, 2011 - 5:42 am

Thanks for the tips! I’m planning to cloth diaper my little one starting around 1 month (I figure she’ll just poo too much at first, plus I’ve heard that it’s hard to find cloth diapers that don’t bother the umbilical cord).

I’ve been trying to figure out which brand to go with, so I’ll def check out FuzziBuns (I was a 9 lb newborn… so who knows how she’ll come out!)

I found this really cool spray device that attaches to your toilet plumbing so you can just spray the poo off into the toilet before washing. Just google cloth diaper sprayer and a ton will come up.

Audra - July 14, 2011 - 8:46 am

I love cloth diapering! I mostly use unbleached indian prefolds with snappies. sometimes I use the organic bum genius. I have good mommas not my Favorite. the good mommas are too bulky. Ok so for me what I think are the most important are the diaper covers. My favorites are little beetle wool covers, green acre designs,imse vimse. I use disposables when we travel too. Makes my life so much easier when were on the road! Now if I could figure out how to wash my diapers in my new he washer I would be happy. So much easier to wash them in a traditional water wasting washing machine:)!

Kelly Hesselgesser - July 14, 2011 - 8:57 am

I use the same ones you do! I love them. My 22 month old wants to wear them too right now and I don’t have enough to have both of the in the cloth. Too bad! I do the same thing you do with disposable at night and on the road.

kara - July 14, 2011 - 9:54 am

Emma,
I’ll switch you. You can wash all of the toddler poo cloth diapers, and I will wash all of the little baby poos :) .
Michelle,
I have the diaper sprayer. It is really helpful. I will probably set that up in the next month for Miriam’s diapers.
Audra,
I also have to admit that I didn’t love our he washer at our last place for washing cloth diapers. I feel like my water waster now does a better job, because you don’t want to use scarce amounts of water when washing poo out of something :) . You’ll have to show me your wool covers some time. Are they hot in the summer? I have usually done pocket diapers, so I definitely don’t know as much about prefolds and covers.
Kelly,
Ahh… I remember the days of two kids in diapers. Maybe you could just put kid #1 in 1 or 2 cloth diapers a day and supplement with disposable the rest?? It may be helpful when you are potty training, as people say that cloth diaper kiddos generally potty train a little earlier than they may have in disposable.

Kara - July 14, 2011 - 11:27 am

I agree about using diapers with snaps instead of Velcro. The velcro always wore out before I could justify the $20 to buy the diaper.

Rachel - July 14, 2011 - 2:24 pm

I think of cloth diapers like I do reusable grocery bags–every once in a while, it’s nice to have plastic, but for the most part they are a great choice. I use a disposable during naps and nighttime because as you know, I will do ANYTHING to help my kid sleep longer.
But, every time I walk past the baby aisle at the grocery store without buying anything I feel like I have won. I also love that feeling of putting away a huge load of freshly folded diapers. It makes me feel self sufficient. I also like that I don’t ever worry about running out of diapers.
I have often read that front loaders aren’t recommended for cloth diapers, but I have felt like mine does a great job. I have a “sanitize” setting on mine and it makes washing diapers really easy.
As for the chunkier toddler poop–you can buy these flushable tissue liners that catch most of the solids. They come in a roll and are basically like strong toilet paper. It’s worked for me since I don’t have a sprayer.
Rachel

Sunny - July 14, 2011 - 4:18 pm

I’ve only used cloth diapers when I was potty training Liam, and then we only needed them for a couple of weeks. What is the start up cost? It always seemed pretty expensive. We live on one income and in the beginning that income was pretty small. When I had Grace I kept expecting the diaper costs to be huge because everyone always said how expensive diapers were. That expectation was never fulfilled. At first I used coupons that magically appeared in my mailbox then I found the Mom to Mom diapers from Safeway! They are good quality (not leaky) and I spend $15-$20 a month on them. I know they are not the best for the environment, but I try my best to contribute in other ways.

Elizabeth - July 14, 2011 - 4:33 pm

Kara you are awesome. Thanks for blogging on this, I was thinking of you and this last night, trying to figure out the time difference and wondering when the best time to call would be. Some of my questions: Can someone explain the difference between the tri-fold ones (like my mom used) and the liner ones? I’ve heard that tri-fold are still used? How do the liner ones work? I’ve started looking online at different brands and can’t figure out what I’d need to get started. How many covers do you need? How can a cover be 1-size fits all – doesn’t this make for lots of bulk for an infant?
I also have an HE front-loader, I do have a sanatize option but is this going to be a problem getting them clean? How do you get totally clean without using bleach or other chemical?
I still have 2 months to figure this out… :) Thanks for any advice!

kara - July 14, 2011 - 5:14 pm

Rachel,
Maybe you could give Rachel more info on the process you go through on your front loading washer?? Also, I do have those liners, and I reserved them with Gabe for when we would be out and about and I didn’t want to deal with poop (because you can just flick the whole thing in the toilet). Has anyone had problems with them clogging sewers?? Just wondering. I read online that certain brands “dissolve” in the toilet better than others.
Sunny,
It was realistically at least $300 to get started. It is a lot to get started, which makes it hard for some people (although I definitely don’t cloth diaper the cheapest way). The nice thing is that if you use them for more than one kid, then it ends up being really cheap. Also, if you keep your diapers in decent condition, it is amazing what you can resell for!
E,
I am going to need help from other people answering all of your questions.
1)I am thinking that the tri-folds you are referring to are the same as “prefolds.” Prefolds and diaper covers are a cheaper way to cloth diaper, because you can reuse the diaper cover. After you put the prefold on the baby, you use this elsatic band (in place of what used to be safety pins) to keep it on, and then you put the diaper cover on top of that. A person who wants to cloth diaper this way would need a ton of the prefolds, but less covers (the expensive part) since you can often reuse them before washing.
2) Okay, so the pocket diaper system is totally different. The pocket diaper looks pretty close to a regular diaper. The back has an opening where you stuff in an “insert” (you could also stuff in prefolds if you want too). I really like pocket diapers, and in my very limited experience, they are a little less bulky.
3) Since diapers like Fuzzi Bunz One size can change with growing baby (with adjusting the elastic in the inside), they defnitely are a little bit more bulky on a small baby, but really not too bad at all. Just say goodbye forever to baby jeans or fitted pants, because leggings just work so much better with cloth diapers. Buying the size that adjusts obviously makes the expense cheaper, because you can ideally use the same cloth diaper from about 2 months (that’s when Miriam fit into the smallest size well)-potty training. Hopefully that helps and didn’t confuse you more :) !!

kara - July 14, 2011 - 5:24 pm

Oh, and one more thing :) ,
Regarding using bleach for cleaning. There are different levels of what people feel comfortable doing in cleaning. I personally am not opposed to a tiny bit of bleach every once in awhile once you get to those stinky toddler diapers (Miriam’s diapers have no stink at all now). Some people wouldn’t ever use bleach, and it would break down the diapers a little if you used it often. I will probably put a tiny bleach in every few months to help keep diapers fresh when Miriam is 1. Also, this is an easier option for you in Ohio than Oregon, but the sun bleaches diapers and takes away stains and stink. Hanging diapers outside does wonders. I wish that option were available here more.. .although I could probably do that in the sun room in our house now. I usually do in general use homemade laundry soap or more natural soap on the diapers, though.

Camille - July 14, 2011 - 5:34 pm

I hope this isn’t too spammy, but I did a little write up about our cloth diapering system on my blog here http://waywardspark.com/?p=1556

I don’t want to sound like a martyr because that’s definitely not the way it feels, but we cloth diapered from day one with two kids, and we used a lot of prefolds/covers mixed with a few pocket diapers.

I’ve got to say that the few times I’ve had my kids in disposables, I’ve been totally grossed out by that weird chemical pee smell. gross. I’d take straight up pee smell over that any day.

Camille - July 14, 2011 - 5:38 pm

One other thing about newborn cloth diapers…It really makes a world of difference to have well-fitted, high quality covers for tiny babies even though they will grow out of them in a matter of weeks. For a tired, stressed new mom, getting pooped on multiple times a day is no fun (I can attest to that.), but it can mostly be avoided with good covers.

To avoid a huge expense, try to find other moms with kids slightly older/younger than your newborn will be and invest in good equipment together.

Camille - July 14, 2011 - 5:40 pm

and…
I use unscented Arm and Hammer detergent. I know that there are specific soaps out there for cloth diapers, but I have not found buying any fancy soap necessary.

Elisabeth@SimpleGreenishLiving - July 14, 2011 - 11:25 pm

Whenever anyone asks about cloth diapers I will pretty much talk their ear off…and that’s saying a lot considering I’m not a very talkative person :) Here are all my posts on cloth diapering with lots of tips and great links that I think would be helpful for a newbie: http://simplegreenishliving.blogspot.com/search/label/cloth%20diapering

PS – Nice to see you at the library the other day, Kara! Thankfully I made it to my car in time to not get a parking ticket :)

kara - July 15, 2011 - 7:55 am

Camille,
What kind of newborn covers did you use?
Elisabeth,
I lived on the edge again and let my parking meter run out again, but no ticket.. so lucky me :) . It is funny when anyone is passionate about something and they talk your ear off. I wish we could do Waldorf school but can’t afford it, but wowsa when you ask a passionate waldorf parent a simple question, plan on listening for 1/2 hour to their excited tale of waldorf :) .

Amanda N. - July 16, 2011 - 9:15 pm

Ok…I didn’t read all the comments, but when you are done with yours…and ready to sell, think of me!! I feel way too intimidated to try to search the internet for deals, etc and figure out what I’m doing, but with you as my mentor…I think I could give it a go. Now…convincing Jeff might be another story.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Strawberry Picking and Freezer Jam

Posted in Gardening/outdoors, homemaking

Don’t those strawberries look amazing? Isn’t that girl a cutie? We picked at Fairfield Farms south of town. Their strawberries are organic and delicious. Gabe is a big helper. Especially when it comes to taste testing. He is an expert. Those of you who know me well know that I spend a good portion of...

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Posted in Gardening/outdoors, homemaking

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Anita - July 1, 2011 - 7:09 am

I do, I do!!

Wendy M - July 1, 2011 - 2:53 pm

I would love to pick with you again! I have 12 jars of strawberry freezer jam so far…saving room for blueberry and logan/marion/blackberry jam in my freezer, too! (The last type I created because I couldn’t tell with certainty which berries my kids had put in their buckets. Turns out it is delicious to combine all of those into one jam!)
I’m trying to go berry picking at least once a week…call me if you want to go!

kara - July 1, 2011 - 4:52 pm

Anita,
There will be lots of berry picking when you visit.
Wendy,
You are one of the only people that I know who likes picking as much as me. Yes, I will want to go next week and the next and the next…. :)

Adrienne - July 3, 2011 - 7:21 pm

We need to pick again. My kids ate all the strawberries by nightfall after picking. How can they NOT get sick from that?! Its a mystery to me. SO when you and Wendy go, you gals best be callin’ me.

kara - July 3, 2011 - 9:30 pm

Would you ladies maybe want to go to Twedts Tuesday at 12:00??

Amanda O. - July 6, 2011 - 10:10 pm

Hey Kara, do you know if Twedts is Organic, by chance? I’m on the hunt for more strawberries too :) Do you put baby on your back while picking? I’m wondering how to manage my 2 kiddos at the same time…

kara - July 7, 2011 - 9:14 am

Amanda,
The only place that I know of that for sure has Organic is Fairfield Farm in South town. We have picked there as well as Twedts (not organic). As far as taking the babe… I actually have had her sit in a bumbo seat while I pick. She has been pretty content that way :) .

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