I get asked a lot of questions about laundry by people wondering about cloth diapers. Personally, I think the whole how you wash your diapers is made way way too complicated. And just for the record (because I was discussing this with someone recently) I've never touch poop.
Just be warned… I break a lot of rules in this department. If you are concerned about keeping a warranty on your diapers then don’t listen to me.
The biggest deviation I’ve taken is with laundry is detergent. When I started, I ordered Charlie’s Soap online and use it in to wash all clothes & diapers. Looking back I think that was silly. I wanted to follow the rules, but I didn’t see why I had to order detergent online and sometimes our clothes didn't seem clean. I now use whatever I can find at the grocery store that has the least amount of additives. I don’t stress if it has a brightener or a fragrance. I try to avoid it, but I just need to wash poop off of diapers not spend 55 extra minutes in the grocery store stressing over laundry detergent. We now have clean diapers and fresh smelling clothes. Honestly, (this is just an opinion but) I think some of our yeast issues can be contributed to not using a strong enough detergent to wash diapers. I may not be right, it’s just a theory, but I feel better about the way we have been doing laundry for the last 7 months or so.
So how do I do laundry?
1. Pre-rinse. (makes sense it removes solids… you or your dishwasher pre-rinses your dishes before washing them)
2. Wash.
3. Extra rinse. (protects against detergent build up. Detergent build up messes up absorbance.)
4. Dry.
-I do 'generally' spray off soiled diapers in the toilet before putting them in the diaper pail. I say generally because I don't always do this even though John is formula fed and I'm supose to do it all the time... we haven't had any issues so I break the rule sometimes.
-I do wash on the largest load setting, even if the diapers only fill up a third of the machine. The extra water helps them get clean.
-I don't fill my machine completely up with diapers. I leave extra room so they can swish around in the water and get clean.
-I don’t wash on hot. Overrated. Drying will kill germs. Washing on hot waste money.
-I do add the amount of detergent that the laundry detergent bottle suggests. Based on actual load amount not the load setting amount.
-I do bleach. I talked about this yesterday. I don’t do it with every load, but I’m not afraid to use bleach if needed. (This will void your warranty and fade any cute diaper patterns you have, so if you are concerned about that then don't use Bleach)
-I do use vinegar… but not with every wash. Vinegar helps rinse out any extra detergent and it disinfects.
-I do machine dry my PUL (Not recommended if you want to keep your warranty). Usually on low, but I’ve dried them on high before when in a rush. Truth be told, I hate line drying.
-I don't use drier sheets. I hated these before cloth diapering but I thought they were just a part of doing laundry. You don't actually need them. We haven't used drier sheets in 18 months and we don't have static-y clothes. We have three tennis balls that stay in the drier, instead.
There are a lot of do & don’t out there, but the only two that matter are that you do what works and don’t get overwhelmed. This is what works for me. Something I have to remind myself is that I’m maintaining diapers, not John’s college fund. It’s more important that I actually use my diapers than it is to stress about how I'm going to do laundry.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Cloth Diaper Update - Yeast
Unless I’m baking I pretty much curse yeast every time I see it. What I have concluded thus far is that John is more prone to yeast infections when teething. Our first flare up was with his first round of teeth. He cried a lot and I cried a lot and he cried some more and I tried different remedies and I cried a lot and teeth popped up and we made it through it. With the second round of teething, I had a bit more knowledge and we handled it better… at least with a whole lot less crying. A lot of things will suggest starting your baby on yogurt, but that is the one remedy I didn’t try because our Pediatrician strongly suggested that I wait on all dairy (even yogurt) until a year… and I’m a go-by-what-the-Pediatrician-says-kind-of-gal.
My swift yeast combating skills involve preventing poop from touching baby. I do this by generally know when he’s going to go. Then I cake on (literally cake on) diaper rash cream and put on a disposable diaper. If I do hear him/notice him poop without diaper rash cream protection I change him immediately! I also like to use baby powder (actually corn starch). I figure our Grandmothers used it for a reason. Yeast thrives in moisture so the better you keep your baby’s bottom dry the less likely yeast is to have a home to thrive. That being said, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can put baby powder on your kiddo and it will keep him dry for 5-6 hours. I use baby powder occasionally and I use a little amount when I do use it. And I use it with cloth, not disposables.
And after that if I’m still struggling then I result to naked man time and lots of baths. When John wasn’t mobile this was easier. I put him on a towel in the kitchen with a few toys and yeast was defeated. I could see/hear very easily when he went so I cleaned up and he continued to play. Once he got more mobile, I really couldn’t do naked time unless it was outside… or I followed him around with a towel & a few prefolds all day.
I used everything from Grapefruit Seed Extract to Bleach to ensure that yeast didn’t stay in my cloth diapers. Grapefruit Seed Extract seemed to work initially but the yeast persisted. I tried a whole list of essential oils, in addition to prescription creams (on John with disposables), all to no avail. Bleach (in laundry) worked great… even after the yeast persisted, but the problem with bleach is that is hard on PUL. What I do now is make sure I’ve used enough laundry detergent (cloth diapering sites warn about using too much, but I think they scare you into not using enough) and then I like to do a vinegar rinse and a nice long dry on high. If he’s having a bad outbreak I will pull out the bleach, but only sparingly now because I get nervous about the PUL.
I’m not sure we’ve seen the end of our yeast days and I know our methods for removal aren't typically found on cloth diapering sites, but this is what works for us. I feel significantly more empowered than I did the first time John had an outbreak, but it was a steep learning curve... and I pray that you never have to deal with yeast.
My swift yeast combating skills involve preventing poop from touching baby. I do this by generally know when he’s going to go. Then I cake on (literally cake on) diaper rash cream and put on a disposable diaper. If I do hear him/notice him poop without diaper rash cream protection I change him immediately! I also like to use baby powder (actually corn starch). I figure our Grandmothers used it for a reason. Yeast thrives in moisture so the better you keep your baby’s bottom dry the less likely yeast is to have a home to thrive. That being said, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can put baby powder on your kiddo and it will keep him dry for 5-6 hours. I use baby powder occasionally and I use a little amount when I do use it. And I use it with cloth, not disposables.
And after that if I’m still struggling then I result to naked man time and lots of baths. When John wasn’t mobile this was easier. I put him on a towel in the kitchen with a few toys and yeast was defeated. I could see/hear very easily when he went so I cleaned up and he continued to play. Once he got more mobile, I really couldn’t do naked time unless it was outside… or I followed him around with a towel & a few prefolds all day.
I used everything from Grapefruit Seed Extract to Bleach to ensure that yeast didn’t stay in my cloth diapers. Grapefruit Seed Extract seemed to work initially but the yeast persisted. I tried a whole list of essential oils, in addition to prescription creams (on John with disposables), all to no avail. Bleach (in laundry) worked great… even after the yeast persisted, but the problem with bleach is that is hard on PUL. What I do now is make sure I’ve used enough laundry detergent (cloth diapering sites warn about using too much, but I think they scare you into not using enough) and then I like to do a vinegar rinse and a nice long dry on high. If he’s having a bad outbreak I will pull out the bleach, but only sparingly now because I get nervous about the PUL.
I’m not sure we’ve seen the end of our yeast days and I know our methods for removal aren't typically found on cloth diapering sites, but this is what works for us. I feel significantly more empowered than I did the first time John had an outbreak, but it was a steep learning curve... and I pray that you never have to deal with yeast.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Cloth Diaper Recomendation
So, what would I recommend to someone thinking about cloth diapering?
6 Bumgenius (for night time or baby sitters)
2 sets of Econobums Full Kits
3 Snappies
2 dozen wipes
1 wet bag
Grand Total $270
Now, don't be overwhelmed by that number. It is compared to about $600 to diaper a child in disposables from this post. And the supplies listed will allow you to very easily diaper your child the entire time he/she is in cloth diapers.
If you are still overwhelmed by the $270 AND you have about an ounce of craftiness in you, you can save some money. Wipes are the simplest thing to make. If you hit a nice flannel sale at your fabric store (or have some old flannel around) you can save some money. However if you are rushed or just don't want to stress about it... it is only $24 to get 2 dozen wipes. Depending on how adventurous you are feeling you can very easily make a prefold... especially cost effective if you use old clothes you were going to donate to Goodwill. As far as covers go, you can make wool covers... but they aren't as leak proof as the PUL covers that come with the Econobums. When it comes to wet bags, I say leave it to the professionals. Keeping moisture in is vital to your sanity when cloth diapering. The only thing I have yet to re-create at home is the stay-dry liners that come in the Bumgenius. Bumgenius are amazing…
Bumgenius… If I were to do it all over again, I would buy all Bumgenius. Why? The stay dry liner. The fleece-y-suede-y-type-stuff they use in their diapers keeps John as dry as using a disposable, yet still allows moisture to pass through to the soaker. John staying as dry as possible is crucial to preventing diaper rash (& yeast). If the thought of changing a diaper every 1 to 2 hours doesn’t seem like a big deal then order 3-4 full kits of Econobums and go to town. Me? I like sleeping a lot… so I use Bumgenius at night and whenever I know I can’t get to his diaper that quickly. In a Bumgenius I feel comfortable letting John got a good 3-4 hours during the day and 12 hours at night. And magically, a Bumgenius over night (11 hours) will clear up the majority of John’s diaper rashes. So, what would it cost if I were to buy all Bumgenius? About $570. You would break even with your first child, but the start up cost is high. Since I know I like Bumgenius I keep an eye on sales and only buy a few at time ($600 hurts less that way).
Econobums… Now don’t think that all the praise over Bumgenius means that I’m ready to throw out my Econobums. I still like Econobums a lot too. A few reasons… newborns, back-ups & I love the covers. With a newborn, you really don’t sleep longer than 1-2 hours so changing a diaper that often comes with the territory. And when you exit the newborn stage, it’s really nice to throw a few prefolds and covers in the car/diaper bag just in case you forget to pack diapers. Prefolds are simple and they’ve been around forever, so go with Econobums to build the base of your cloth diapering system. I love the Econobums Full Kit that Cotton Babies has put together. What you get for $50 is unbeatable. Even if you bought one kit with each child and used it when you could (even while using disposables to fill in the gap) you would be saving a lot of money.
Snappies & Wipes... I have found that snappies help a lot when it comes to keeping poop off of your reusable covers. They aren’t totally required, but they are like $2 a piece so it’s not the end of the world if you buy one and decided you didn’t like it. I think cloth wipes are a great investment. I use a ton of wipes… and it doesn’t hurt that I essentially have an endless supply if I keep up with laundry.
Wet Bag… I started with the traditional pail and pail liner and after a year of cloth diapering, I don’t like that system at all. Once I started using my Plant Wise hanging wet bag I decided the diaper pail was stupid. First of all, with the hanging wet bag your entire pail system gets washed each time you do laundry…. with a traditional pail you have to wash out your pail about once a week. The hanging bag is smaller, but I view that as a good thing because it forces you to do laundry. And why do I recommend one instead of two? It forces you to follow through with laundry. If you need to change a diaper while your laundry is drying then you can use one of the small wet bags that come with the Econobums Full Kits. If you don’t like being forced to do laundry, buy more wet bags :)
From Birth to Potty Training… One thing I love about Cotton Babies is the One-sized thing they are so big on. My Econobums fit John’s skinny little legs when he was a newborn and they fit him today AND there is still more growing room! Same with my Bumgenius. Now that being said, I didn’t start cloth diapering until John’s umbilical cord fell off and I will probably do that again. You can buy diapers to fit newborns … but I like having one set for the whole way through... just my preference.
That’s my recommendation and I’m stickin’ to it!
(I did not receive any form of payment for recommending these products)
6 Bumgenius (for night time or baby sitters)
2 sets of Econobums Full Kits
3 Snappies
2 dozen wipes
1 wet bag
Grand Total $270
Now, don't be overwhelmed by that number. It is compared to about $600 to diaper a child in disposables from this post. And the supplies listed will allow you to very easily diaper your child the entire time he/she is in cloth diapers.
If you are still overwhelmed by the $270 AND you have about an ounce of craftiness in you, you can save some money. Wipes are the simplest thing to make. If you hit a nice flannel sale at your fabric store (or have some old flannel around) you can save some money. However if you are rushed or just don't want to stress about it... it is only $24 to get 2 dozen wipes. Depending on how adventurous you are feeling you can very easily make a prefold... especially cost effective if you use old clothes you were going to donate to Goodwill. As far as covers go, you can make wool covers... but they aren't as leak proof as the PUL covers that come with the Econobums. When it comes to wet bags, I say leave it to the professionals. Keeping moisture in is vital to your sanity when cloth diapering. The only thing I have yet to re-create at home is the stay-dry liners that come in the Bumgenius. Bumgenius are amazing…
Bumgenius… If I were to do it all over again, I would buy all Bumgenius. Why? The stay dry liner. The fleece-y-suede-y-type-stuff they use in their diapers keeps John as dry as using a disposable, yet still allows moisture to pass through to the soaker. John staying as dry as possible is crucial to preventing diaper rash (& yeast). If the thought of changing a diaper every 1 to 2 hours doesn’t seem like a big deal then order 3-4 full kits of Econobums and go to town. Me? I like sleeping a lot… so I use Bumgenius at night and whenever I know I can’t get to his diaper that quickly. In a Bumgenius I feel comfortable letting John got a good 3-4 hours during the day and 12 hours at night. And magically, a Bumgenius over night (11 hours) will clear up the majority of John’s diaper rashes. So, what would it cost if I were to buy all Bumgenius? About $570. You would break even with your first child, but the start up cost is high. Since I know I like Bumgenius I keep an eye on sales and only buy a few at time ($600 hurts less that way).
Econobums… Now don’t think that all the praise over Bumgenius means that I’m ready to throw out my Econobums. I still like Econobums a lot too. A few reasons… newborns, back-ups & I love the covers. With a newborn, you really don’t sleep longer than 1-2 hours so changing a diaper that often comes with the territory. And when you exit the newborn stage, it’s really nice to throw a few prefolds and covers in the car/diaper bag just in case you forget to pack diapers. Prefolds are simple and they’ve been around forever, so go with Econobums to build the base of your cloth diapering system. I love the Econobums Full Kit that Cotton Babies has put together. What you get for $50 is unbeatable. Even if you bought one kit with each child and used it when you could (even while using disposables to fill in the gap) you would be saving a lot of money.
Snappies & Wipes... I have found that snappies help a lot when it comes to keeping poop off of your reusable covers. They aren’t totally required, but they are like $2 a piece so it’s not the end of the world if you buy one and decided you didn’t like it. I think cloth wipes are a great investment. I use a ton of wipes… and it doesn’t hurt that I essentially have an endless supply if I keep up with laundry.
Wet Bag… I started with the traditional pail and pail liner and after a year of cloth diapering, I don’t like that system at all. Once I started using my Plant Wise hanging wet bag I decided the diaper pail was stupid. First of all, with the hanging wet bag your entire pail system gets washed each time you do laundry…. with a traditional pail you have to wash out your pail about once a week. The hanging bag is smaller, but I view that as a good thing because it forces you to do laundry. And why do I recommend one instead of two? It forces you to follow through with laundry. If you need to change a diaper while your laundry is drying then you can use one of the small wet bags that come with the Econobums Full Kits. If you don’t like being forced to do laundry, buy more wet bags :)
From Birth to Potty Training… One thing I love about Cotton Babies is the One-sized thing they are so big on. My Econobums fit John’s skinny little legs when he was a newborn and they fit him today AND there is still more growing room! Same with my Bumgenius. Now that being said, I didn’t start cloth diapering until John’s umbilical cord fell off and I will probably do that again. You can buy diapers to fit newborns … but I like having one set for the whole way through... just my preference.
That’s my recommendation and I’m stickin’ to it!
(I did not receive any form of payment for recommending these products)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Cloth Diaper Update
John is ridiculously close to turning a year old (it goes fast) and I thought I would be a good time for a cloth diapering update. I’ve written a few post and scheduled them for this week. Keep checking back for more information about how we cloth diaper.
Here are my other post in case you want to look back...
Explanation & Cost Comparison
Cost Comparison Corrected
How We Cloth Diaper (very detailed)
Homemade diapers (first post, second post)
The verdict after a year???..... I still really like cloth diapering.
However, I don't hesitate to use disposables on harder than normal days. What qualifies as a harder than normal day? Sickness (both him and/or me), Diaper Rash, Traveling, occasionally at Mops or Nursery & the dreaded-evil-most-horrible-thing-to-deal-on-a-baby's-bottom-YEAST INFECTIONS!
That sounds like a lot of excuses to not use cloth diapers, but even so, we still use them the majority of the time. John has really only been sick enough for me to not use cloth once and he rarely gets diaper rash (Praise the Lord). Traveling? I used to be better about using cloth but decided that the extra hassle was too much to stress about... plus we really don't travel that much so one purchase of disposables (~$35) will last us a few months. And yeast infection.... well, yeast infections are pure evil and are in fact the worst thing ever to deal with when it comes to a baby's bottom, BUT despite the extremely steep learning curve we are now highly skilled in swift yeast removal skills!
I don’t want to go into too much detail just yet. Tomorrow I’m talking about my ‘recommendation’ for Mom’s thinking about cloth diapering. I get asked enough that I’ve decided to write it down.
Here are my other post in case you want to look back...
Explanation & Cost Comparison
Cost Comparison Corrected
How We Cloth Diaper (very detailed)
Homemade diapers (first post, second post)
The verdict after a year???..... I still really like cloth diapering.
However, I don't hesitate to use disposables on harder than normal days. What qualifies as a harder than normal day? Sickness (both him and/or me), Diaper Rash, Traveling, occasionally at Mops or Nursery & the dreaded-evil-most-horrible-thing-to-deal-on-a-baby's-bottom-YEAST INFECTIONS!
That sounds like a lot of excuses to not use cloth diapers, but even so, we still use them the majority of the time. John has really only been sick enough for me to not use cloth once and he rarely gets diaper rash (Praise the Lord). Traveling? I used to be better about using cloth but decided that the extra hassle was too much to stress about... plus we really don't travel that much so one purchase of disposables (~$35) will last us a few months. And yeast infection.... well, yeast infections are pure evil and are in fact the worst thing ever to deal with when it comes to a baby's bottom, BUT despite the extremely steep learning curve we are now highly skilled in swift yeast removal skills!
I don’t want to go into too much detail just yet. Tomorrow I’m talking about my ‘recommendation’ for Mom’s thinking about cloth diapering. I get asked enough that I’ve decided to write it down.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Getting The Gardens Going
I'm so excited about our yard/gardens this year. I think I'm most excited because I'm not going to be pregnant or have a newborn this year so I will be able to do more in it. And of course we have big plans!
I use our Producers Co-op schedule for planting, and just browsing it you can pretty much be growing something year round down here. March is pretty active on the schedule so we jumped into gear and grabbed a few plants from the Co-op. Then with a little 'trading/exchanging' with some friends we ended up we a good garden this year.
Here is a video I took the weekend we planted everything. I've decided that videos are a great way to document our yard... I'll have another update later on this summer with the progress.
Since the video I've done a bit more planting. AND this weekend we were blessed with FREE t-post to stake our tomatoes. I prefer cages, but since I'm at home more I'll have the time to tie up our tomatoes. I've read that if you keep the sucker shoots trimmed on your tomatoes the plant will grow bigger tomatoes... I will test that theory this year.
Here's a picture (that I drew in five minutes) of our yard and a list of what we've got (or hope to get) growing this year.
Front of House
-pansies (soon to be done)
-day lilies (just emerging)
-perennial grass
-dwarf dahlias?
The Pansies and Perennial grass was purchased with fun money (gift card from Christmas). However the Day Lilies were planted last year. They didn't establish as well as I would like so I might fill in with Dwarf Dahlias.
Deck Area
-obedient plant (invasive)
-gerber daisies
-dwarf dahlias?
-honey suckle
The goal for the deck is shade & pretty color. Steven found honey suckle on sale last year and we have been training them to grow up to cover the deck. They are native to this area so they are doing great. Along the path from the gate to the back yard are some transplants I planted last year. I planted just a few (6-7) and watered semi-regularly and they TOOK off. If you are looking for a good tall invasive plant, Obedient Plant is the one for you! And finally I have some very faithful Gerber Daisies that I think I got three years ago. They continue to come back and I continue to welcome them. I've had trouble with other plants in this area so I'll probably throw in some dwarf dahlias to fill in around the Gerber Daisies.
'Pepper Garden'
-peppers
-easter lilies
-zinnias
We call this area our pepper garden because it's where our peppers have lived the last few years. I need to rotate something else there, but was lazy this year. The Easter Lilies are established next to the AC... courtesy of Steven's family and their church! Like I said in the video it's a deep bed so it's hard to weed in the back. I planted zinnias this weekend to fill in. Zinnias are annuals (have to be planted every year) but like the Gerber Daisies if you crush the spent flowers and leave them in the bed they will come back year after year. I hope to get Zinnias going really well in the Pepper Garden.
Free Rangin' Yard Plants
-sunflowers
-purple hauled peas
-bush beans
-squash
-watermelon/pumpkin
Some things I can grow right in the grass; sunflowers, squash & pumpkins for sure. And some things I'm not sure if I can grow in the grass, but I have seed (which are inexpensive) and I don't mind experimenting. I think the real key with "free rangin' yard plants" is lots of water... and no needy plants (like say corn that needs lots of nitrogen & tomatoes which can be high maintenance). I haven't done watermelon in the grass and have a feeling it won't do well, but I'm still going to try because I simply don't have room to do it any where else. Hopefully my water theory will come through for me on this. The Peas & Beans are legumes (take nitrogen from the air) so it should work out well... provided I keep up with watering. Watering is HUGE for Texas.
Box Garden
-spinach (almost done)
-tomatoes
-carrots
-radishes
-eggplant
-cucumber
And my beloved box garden. If you don't have at least one raised bed you should... unless you have enough land to till up the soil in mounds... I can't wait till we can do that! I love to grow spinach. I think I counted like 9 plants for this year and we still can eat it as fast as it grows! Sadly I had to pull out two plants this past weekend due to flowers forming... sad sad day... but September will be here soon and we can plant more spinach! The tomatoes & eggplant are doing well. Last year I had the eggplant over with the pepper and kinda forgot about it till the fall... we had a great fall eggplant harvest, though. The tomatoes are slightly rotated... but only slightly because we just don't have that much room. The carrots are just for fun, so I'm not really upset that Miss M & Zuzu went through them while in the back yard. :) The radishes are also for fun. I don't like radishes, but they grow quickly and are fun... they are like the instant gratification of gardening. And cucumbers are kinda an experiment. I think two years ago I tired cucumbers and failed. I got close, but failed in the end. I'm growing them from seed so the failure won't hurt as much.
I love gardening! Can you tell? But seriously, as soon as you get used to fresh home grown tomatoes it is too hard to eat over priced bad tomatoes from the grocery store. I also love gardening because it just helps me feel closer to God. We have such great bonding moments in the yard. It's quite and a great time for me to think/meditate. And of all the times I've heard God speak directly to me it happens most while I'm working in the gardens. And with all the agricultural references in the Bible I have a lot to think & meditate on.
Happy Gardening!
I use our Producers Co-op schedule for planting, and just browsing it you can pretty much be growing something year round down here. March is pretty active on the schedule so we jumped into gear and grabbed a few plants from the Co-op. Then with a little 'trading/exchanging' with some friends we ended up we a good garden this year.
Here is a video I took the weekend we planted everything. I've decided that videos are a great way to document our yard... I'll have another update later on this summer with the progress.
Since the video I've done a bit more planting. AND this weekend we were blessed with FREE t-post to stake our tomatoes. I prefer cages, but since I'm at home more I'll have the time to tie up our tomatoes. I've read that if you keep the sucker shoots trimmed on your tomatoes the plant will grow bigger tomatoes... I will test that theory this year.
Here's a picture (that I drew in five minutes) of our yard and a list of what we've got (or hope to get) growing this year.
Front of House
-pansies (soon to be done)
-day lilies (just emerging)
-perennial grass
-dwarf dahlias?
The Pansies and Perennial grass was purchased with fun money (gift card from Christmas). However the Day Lilies were planted last year. They didn't establish as well as I would like so I might fill in with Dwarf Dahlias.
Deck Area
-obedient plant (invasive)
-gerber daisies
-dwarf dahlias?
-honey suckle
The goal for the deck is shade & pretty color. Steven found honey suckle on sale last year and we have been training them to grow up to cover the deck. They are native to this area so they are doing great. Along the path from the gate to the back yard are some transplants I planted last year. I planted just a few (6-7) and watered semi-regularly and they TOOK off. If you are looking for a good tall invasive plant, Obedient Plant is the one for you! And finally I have some very faithful Gerber Daisies that I think I got three years ago. They continue to come back and I continue to welcome them. I've had trouble with other plants in this area so I'll probably throw in some dwarf dahlias to fill in around the Gerber Daisies.
'Pepper Garden'
-peppers
-easter lilies
-zinnias
We call this area our pepper garden because it's where our peppers have lived the last few years. I need to rotate something else there, but was lazy this year. The Easter Lilies are established next to the AC... courtesy of Steven's family and their church! Like I said in the video it's a deep bed so it's hard to weed in the back. I planted zinnias this weekend to fill in. Zinnias are annuals (have to be planted every year) but like the Gerber Daisies if you crush the spent flowers and leave them in the bed they will come back year after year. I hope to get Zinnias going really well in the Pepper Garden.
Free Rangin' Yard Plants
-sunflowers
-purple hauled peas
-bush beans
-squash
-watermelon/pumpkin
Some things I can grow right in the grass; sunflowers, squash & pumpkins for sure. And some things I'm not sure if I can grow in the grass, but I have seed (which are inexpensive) and I don't mind experimenting. I think the real key with "free rangin' yard plants" is lots of water... and no needy plants (like say corn that needs lots of nitrogen & tomatoes which can be high maintenance). I haven't done watermelon in the grass and have a feeling it won't do well, but I'm still going to try because I simply don't have room to do it any where else. Hopefully my water theory will come through for me on this. The Peas & Beans are legumes (take nitrogen from the air) so it should work out well... provided I keep up with watering. Watering is HUGE for Texas.
Box Garden
-spinach (almost done)
-tomatoes
-carrots
-radishes
-eggplant
-cucumber
And my beloved box garden. If you don't have at least one raised bed you should... unless you have enough land to till up the soil in mounds... I can't wait till we can do that! I love to grow spinach. I think I counted like 9 plants for this year and we still can eat it as fast as it grows! Sadly I had to pull out two plants this past weekend due to flowers forming... sad sad day... but September will be here soon and we can plant more spinach! The tomatoes & eggplant are doing well. Last year I had the eggplant over with the pepper and kinda forgot about it till the fall... we had a great fall eggplant harvest, though. The tomatoes are slightly rotated... but only slightly because we just don't have that much room. The carrots are just for fun, so I'm not really upset that Miss M & Zuzu went through them while in the back yard. :) The radishes are also for fun. I don't like radishes, but they grow quickly and are fun... they are like the instant gratification of gardening. And cucumbers are kinda an experiment. I think two years ago I tired cucumbers and failed. I got close, but failed in the end. I'm growing them from seed so the failure won't hurt as much.
I love gardening! Can you tell? But seriously, as soon as you get used to fresh home grown tomatoes it is too hard to eat over priced bad tomatoes from the grocery store. I also love gardening because it just helps me feel closer to God. We have such great bonding moments in the yard. It's quite and a great time for me to think/meditate. And of all the times I've heard God speak directly to me it happens most while I'm working in the gardens. And with all the agricultural references in the Bible I have a lot to think & meditate on.
Happy Gardening!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Video
I posted this on facebook and forgot to post it here. It's not that exciting of a video, but it shows off John's goofy ball-ness emerging (see last 20 seconds of the video). Enjoy!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Playset
So this is really fun and, honestly, I think I'm more excited than John is.... haha.
We got a playset for the backyard this weekend! It's not new, but it is new to us!!!
Some friends originally bought it at a garage sale a few years ago. They gave it to some friends when their kids outgrew it. And those friends gave it to other friends when they move. And we got it when the last group of friends moved this weekend. So, if you followed that correctly, we are the 4th owners of a set bought at a garage sale. I think we definitely get points for re-use in this situation.
The reason this excites me so much is that John now has a 'positive' place to play in the back yard... something to distract him from my gardens. Did I share this photo?
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So after we went to pick it up we worked on assembling it. The first photo is of Steven working on the lawn mower... which could be an entire post on it's own, but we are going to go there.
Ah! Done! Next we needed a baby who thinks he's a toddler.
Found one!
Like every child in the world, he must try to go UP the slide...
I'm sorry I'm camera happy and I'm not ashamed. John is only going to be 10 months old once, right!?!
I took a video as well. Warning: I say 'John' and 'Cutie' about 100 times in this video. I love my kid. Enjoy!
And yes, you are welcome to come over and drink tea with me while our kiddos play in the backyard.
We got a playset for the backyard this weekend! It's not new, but it is new to us!!!
Some friends originally bought it at a garage sale a few years ago. They gave it to some friends when their kids outgrew it. And those friends gave it to other friends when they move. And we got it when the last group of friends moved this weekend. So, if you followed that correctly, we are the 4th owners of a set bought at a garage sale. I think we definitely get points for re-use in this situation.
The reason this excites me so much is that John now has a 'positive' place to play in the back yard... something to distract him from my gardens. Did I share this photo?
So after we went to pick it up we worked on assembling it. The first photo is of Steven working on the lawn mower... which could be an entire post on it's own, but we are going to go there.
Ah! Done! Next we needed a baby who thinks he's a toddler.
Found one!
Like every child in the world, he must try to go UP the slide...
I'm sorry I'm camera happy and I'm not ashamed. John is only going to be 10 months old once, right!?!
I took a video as well. Warning: I say 'John' and 'Cutie' about 100 times in this video. I love my kid. Enjoy!
And yes, you are welcome to come over and drink tea with me while our kiddos play in the backyard.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Baked Oatmeal
I follow this blog called "eat real." I started following it about a year ago when I was dabbling in making everything from scratch. And while I do still enjoy making most things from the basics, I have come to realize that it's more important to get dinner on the table... so every once and a while I grab that can of cream 'o' fill-in-the-blank soup and get dinner done.
I have still found my 'from the basics' blog useful. I find that she has creative ways to get a wider variety of food in your family's diet... even if they are strange at times. Last week she posted a recipe for Baked Oatmeal. I was intrigued. So I mixed up some for breakfast for Saturday morning.
It was DELICIOUS!!! I loved the texture! 'Soft not gloppy' just like she says on her blog! I'm an oatmeal fan, but a bowl of the mushy porridge doesn't always make my appetite do a back flip. However the baked version was like happiness in my mouth. The top is kinda like a soft granola and the inside is warm, soft and moist like an oatmeal cinnamon brownie. Delightful!
We put 'cream' (well, half & half because it's what we had) on top of it like the website called for, but it didn't really add much to the dish.
The recipe made about four servings... really 3 if you have a large husband... but needless to say we had left overs. So I thought it would be a good experiment to see how well it re-heated.
The next day (today) I reheated the oatmeal (~1.5 minutes in the microwave)... and 'Oh My!' still happiness in my mouth! I was SHOCKED that it reheated as well as she said it would. Even better we spotted some yogurt in the back of the fridge and dolloped some onto our spilt left over serving of baked oatmeal. AMAZINGNESS!!!!
YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS RECIPE!!!
I'm planning on making some to store for the weekdays. This will give us another option instead of the whole wheat apple muffins... which get old after a while. So excited!
Eat Real is the website where I found honey-butter popcorn. Really similar to kettle corn. I made this for homegroup once and we decided that honey and butter were made for each other. God created honey and said, “It is not good for honey to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (p.s. God didn't really say that)
However, eat real is also where I discovered Kale Chip. I've tried and tried to like Kale to a no avail. I've since given up on kale and decided that spinach is good enough.
Happy Experimenting in the Kitchen!
I have still found my 'from the basics' blog useful. I find that she has creative ways to get a wider variety of food in your family's diet... even if they are strange at times. Last week she posted a recipe for Baked Oatmeal. I was intrigued. So I mixed up some for breakfast for Saturday morning.
It was DELICIOUS!!! I loved the texture! 'Soft not gloppy' just like she says on her blog! I'm an oatmeal fan, but a bowl of the mushy porridge doesn't always make my appetite do a back flip. However the baked version was like happiness in my mouth. The top is kinda like a soft granola and the inside is warm, soft and moist like an oatmeal cinnamon brownie. Delightful!
We put 'cream' (well, half & half because it's what we had) on top of it like the website called for, but it didn't really add much to the dish.
The recipe made about four servings... really 3 if you have a large husband... but needless to say we had left overs. So I thought it would be a good experiment to see how well it re-heated.
The next day (today) I reheated the oatmeal (~1.5 minutes in the microwave)... and 'Oh My!' still happiness in my mouth! I was SHOCKED that it reheated as well as she said it would. Even better we spotted some yogurt in the back of the fridge and dolloped some onto our spilt left over serving of baked oatmeal. AMAZINGNESS!!!!
YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS RECIPE!!!
I'm planning on making some to store for the weekdays. This will give us another option instead of the whole wheat apple muffins... which get old after a while. So excited!
Eat Real is the website where I found honey-butter popcorn. Really similar to kettle corn. I made this for homegroup once and we decided that honey and butter were made for each other. God created honey and said, “It is not good for honey to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (p.s. God didn't really say that)
However, eat real is also where I discovered Kale Chip. I've tried and tried to like Kale to a no avail. I've since given up on kale and decided that spinach is good enough.
Happy Experimenting in the Kitchen!
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