How Our Garden Grows

The beginning of our garden this year...

our garden a couple weeks ago...


our garden now...

I LOVE the fresh, organic produce we get from our garden, but everyday I swear I'm done gardening because it's just so much darn work!

Mmm Mmm Mmm

Last night for dinner we had one of our favorite dinners, Strip Steak & Candied Walnuts Salad. (not from a recipe, just a thrown together mix)

fresh lettuce from the garden
organic grass fed flank steak - seasoned, grilled & then cut into bite size pieces
feta cheese crumbles
Girard's Light Raspberry Vinaigrette
candied walnuts - in a skillet cook walnut pieces & butter for a couple minutes until golden brown. then add brown sugar, cook a couple minutes on med-high until melted & browned, then pour onto wax paper, let cool & break up into bite size pieces. Use approx 1 1/2 tbsp of butter & 2 tbsp brown sugar to every 1/2 cup of walnuts.

Mix it all together & enjoy!

What else is cooking in our kitchen...

Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Grapes & Almonds, this is an awesome dish, we liked it so well, when my mom had Bunco I made this & it was a HUGE success.

Another current favorite is Apple-Cheddar-Squash Soup from the Food Network. Very interesting taste & sooo addicting! Of course I've tweaked it a little bit, I use 6 golden yukon potatoes, 6 apples, 1 cup of apple cider, 1 cube of butter, veggie broth vs. chicken broth & I add a giant zucchini.

My mom's friend Robin turned me onto some new vegetarian cookbooks, so I've been visiting the local library & checking out different Moosewood Restaurant & Mollie Katzen Cookbooks. I've really enjoyed the recipes in these books & they have given me more confidence to try new things.

For more simple, kid friendly meals try Deceptively Delicious or The Sneaky Chef. Most of my family is picky, including myself, so a few years back I stumbled upon The Sneaky Chef on amazon & thought to myself, when I have kids, I'm going to need this book. So onto my wish list it went, it's still there by the way(I love books & have quite a big wish list of books to add to our already overflowing bookshelves). Anyways, my sister-in-law Rose got the Deceptively Delicious cookbook & raved about it, so one day I was at Marshall's & found it for a few bucks & decided what the heck. We've tried a couple different homemade chicken nuggets(I baked them instead of frying) & they turned out very yummy. I also love the Sweet Potato Pancakes & the Cauliflower Eggs, such a delicious & filling breakfast.

Anyways, I have to go cook now, because this post made me hungry!!!

Changes...

Over the last year we have made a conscious effort to become more green. Okay, really it was mostly me making decisions & the rest of the family willing to going along with them, but I know Jon believes in & whole-heartedly supports these changes. We strive to be green for the environment, our health & most importantly for our daughter's future. So I've decided to celebrate Earth Day I would like to share some of what we do to try & live a more environmentally responsible life. I hope this inspires you to make changes in your home & please share with me how you are living green, because I know there is sooo much more we can do.

Some of the stuff we've been doing for awhile is separating recyclables from trash, composting & using reusable grocery bags. One of our biggest changes this last year & a catapult towards many others was switching to cloth diapers.

Instead of disposable wipes & paper towels after meals, we've switched to Bummas wipes. You can just use wash clothes, but I really like the small size of these & the different color stitching, I change them out daily & each kid gets a different color for the day.

After watching Oprah's Earth Day special last year & seeing how many plastic water bottles are floating in the Pacific Ocean, I knew we had to make a major dent in the amount we used. So now we use our PUR Water Dispenser & our stainless steel water bottles!


To cut back on energy use, we dry our clothes outside on sunny days...

inside on a drying rack on rainy or cold days...

and then to fluff the clothes & cut down on drying time when we do use the dryer, Buddha Bunz wool dryer balls.

We try & buy foods that are organic, natural & range free.


And of course, our own organic garden!

We've started changing our personal hygiene products to be more natural & safe. It started with just products for Haley & then the love spread.

I LOVE natural remedies!!

We started replacing chemical filled cleaners with ecofriendly, natural cleaners. I really liked reading the label of the 7th Generation cleaner that said it is not for consumption, but it was not toxic if swallowed!! Makes me feel a little safer.

Happy Earth Day!!!

Online Shopping

In the past couple years I have found I prefer shopping online. Being able to order all of Haley's bath products while she's next to me napping, instead of having to drag her to the store, makes me feel good. I also like being able to price shop easily & I feel I have a larger selection of products online. Here are some of the sites I use to find good deals online.

DAILY DEAL WEBSITES
Some of these websites offer better items than others, but they all can offer great deals on great products. The top three sites listed are my personal favorites.

BABYSTEALS.COM

KIDSTEALS.COM

BABYHALFOFF.COM

ECOBABYBUYS.COM

GREENBABYBARGAINS.COM

MAMABARGAINS.COM

KIDSWOOT.COM

SHNOOP.COM

DODTRACKER.COM - This website shows a ton of other Deal of the Day websites


MEMBER/INVITATION DISCOUNT SITES

ZULILY.COM

GILTGROUPE.COM

HAUTELOOK.COM

BTRENDIE.COM

TOTSY.COM

THEMINISOCIAL.COM


A COUPLE OTHER FAVORITE SITES

6PM.COM - Here you can find some great deals on awesome brands. I love shopping for kid clothes here!

LUCKYVITAMIN.COM - This site is where we buy most of our health care products & household cleaners. They have a huge selection of natural products at amazing prices. They carry many brands Wholefoods carries, but for a fraction of the price.

Sales! Sales!

Just wanted to let you know about sales on a couple of my favorite items.

from ClothDiaperSale
Blueberry Minky One-size Pocket Diapers regularly $32.97 are now just $25 for TODAY ONLY 8-28-09 at PinstripesandPolkadots.com

from {Natural Mommie}
25% off your purchase at Bravado.com with coupon code EOS-172 this offer expires this Monday 8-31-09. I own 2 Bravado Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bras & I have to say they are by far my FAVORITE nursing bras, I also own the Original Bravado Nursing Bra, but in my opinion it's not nearly as comfortable. I actually took advantage of this deal & purchased another Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra, because now I can't stand having to wear any other nursing bra. EXTRA: {Natural Mommie} is giving away 1 of these bras, so check out her blog.

Also, many cloth diaper stores are currently offering buy 6 get 1 free of the bumGenius 3.0 One-Size Pocket Diaper. Some of the places you can find this at is Kelly's Closet (1 of my favorite places to purchase diapers from, because you can earn points towards free diapers!), CottonBabies, Banana Peels Diapers & PinStripes and PolkaDots.

AppleCheeks

AppleCheeks
style: pocket diaper

AppleCheeks diapers are so cute! They have great colors, have a SUPER soft fleece inside & are so adjustable on baby. Applecheeks come in 2 sizes, size 1 for babies 7-20lbs & size 2 for babies 18-40lbs. These are a pocket diaper, but what makes them different from some other pocket diapers is that the insert opening is located toward the middle of the diaper & the insert doesn't have to be manually removed, it will agitate out in the wash. Out of habit, I still shake the insert out into the diaper pail, but I have left it in before & the insert did come out in the wash.

I have 2 different inserts for these, the AppleCheeks One-Size Bamboo Insert and the Applecheeks One-Size 3-Layer Hemp Insert. The hemp insert is larger, thicker & more absorbent than the bamboo.

Because of the different sizes of the inserts & how they fit the diapers, I fold the bamboo insert in half and the hemp insert in thirds.

I like the trimness of the bamboo insert, but I have found I have to change Haley more often with this insert or I will have problems with wicking. Below you can see the difference in bulkiness between the AppleCheeks One-Size Bamboo Insert(in the red diaper) & the Applecheeks One-Size 3-Layer Hemp Insert(in the blue diaper).

Overall, I'm really fond of these diapers because they're super cute, oh so soft & they seem to fit Haley very comfortably.

Karen Katz Lift & Flap Books

We LOVE these books, they're some of Haley's favorites, she reads at least 5 of them at least once a day, usually more. These are great sturdy little board books perfect for her chubby hands to turn the pages. She currently can open about half of the flaps on her own, but needs assistance for the others it just depends on the size of the flap & how many times that particular flap has been opened. You can definitely tell her favorites! We've had these since she was 3 months old, but it wasn't until about 7 months that they became a major hit & now at almost 11 months, they're still going strong.

Here's a page from Haley's favorite "Peek-A-Baby"

bumGenius

bumGenius, one of our favorite brands of diapers! These diapers are well designed & super easy. The bumGenius 3.0 one-size & all-in-one are Daddy's all time favorite cloth diapers because the aplix closures are sooo easy! Haley loves these too, but we have to make sure she's wearing clothing over these or now that she's figured out the aplix we will end up with a NAKED baby!

Here are the 4 types of bumGenius diapers that we currently have in our stash, the bumGenius One Size Organic Cotton All in One Diaper with snaps, bumGenius 3.0 One Size Diaper with Fleece(limited edition), bumGenius 3.0 One Size Diaper & finally the bumGenius 3.0 Deluxe All in One Diaper

bumGenius 3.0 One Size
style: pocket diaper

This diaper has a suede cloth inside & PUL outside. The suede cloth is great for poopy diapers, because it is a smooth surface, the poop sprays off SUPER easy & the stains come right out. This is a one-size diaper that has 3 levels of snap adjustments on the front of the diaper & it comes with a 3 size microfiber insert. We have never had any leaks with this type of diaper & it fits Haley great.
bumGenius 3.0 One Size with Fleece
style: pocket diaper

This is pretty much the same as the original bumGenius 3.0 One Size Diaper except it has a fleece inside instead of the suede cloth & in my opinion this diaper is a tad bit bulkier.
Here are the 3 settings of these diapers and the 3 settings of the microfiber inserts.


bumGenius 3.0 Deluxe All in One Diaper
style: AIO diaper

This diaper is great, no stuffing required unless you want added protection. We use it at night with an extra insert added and we've only had one leak & that was overnight after a day of swimming & swallowing lots of water. So now we add a Super-Do Insert on swimming lesson days & no more leaks. This diaper again is lined in suede cloth, but unlike the other bumGenius diapers, this is not one sized, so you will have to buy different sizes as your baby grows. Also, because the insert is sewn in, this diaper takes longer to dry versus a pocket diaper.

bumGenius One Size Organic Cotton All in One Diaper
style: AIO diaper

This bumGenius is the only one that you can currently get in either snaps or aplix. I like this because I prefer snaps as they hold up longer. Because this diaper is Organic Cotton you need to wash it in hot water at least 6 times before using it to get the material absorbent. If not, you will have leaks & I know from experience! It also takes a little longer to dry than the average diaper. I love that this diaper is super trim, one of the thinnest in our stash. What I don't like, is when Haley has a not so pretty poop in this diaper, when I go to spray it off, the poop gets in between the layers & just makes cleaning up a little more difficult.

Haley in a bumGenius Organic Cotton All in One

Quick Tip:
I've heard to help keep the aplix tabs lasting longer you should fold over the back flap of the diaper to cover the tabs before you wash & dry them. I'm not sure how much of a difference this makes, but I do it & I think it's worth a try.

Haley's Very Own Photo Album

So, I wanted a personalized board book for Haley, a book she could look through by herself & recognize the people in the pictures. I originally had bought a little Baby Einstein's Photo Book, but it only held 5 pictures, which is not enough room for all of our family. It did have a little teething handle which I thought was great & Haley loved to chew on, but then I found out the pages are made with pvc which can leach chemicals, so there went that book. Back to the Internet I went & I came across Board Book Albums. Here they have little board books that you can insert your own pictures in. They come in 4 different colors, I picked white, so if Haley wants to decorate it when she's a little older, she has a blank slate. I loved that this was a sturdy little book perfect for her to look through & each page has a little notch, to make it easier for her to turn the pages. Perfect! Haley & I both give 2 thumbs up!

SmartMom Teething Bling

When Haley started teething no necklace was safe. I was constantly worried she was going to break the chain & end up choking on whatever pendant was attached. So, I was sure there had to be some kind of safe teething necklace out there & guess what, I found SmartMom Teething Bling. These necklaces are MADE FOR TEETHING, they're non-toxic, have break-away clasps & are just perfect for teething. Both Jon and I wear the necklace when we are wearing Haley in a baby carrier because she just loves to chew on it. They come in donut & heart shaped pendants & you can also get matching bangles. I just went with a lapiz donut pendant & we really like it. I wear it everyday regardless if it matches my clothes, because Haley likes chewing on it so much & it keeps her curious fingers busy & out of MY mouth.

KimzKreations Solarveil Ring Sling

So a couple weeks ago I received my KimzKreations Solarveil Ring Sling that I had won at Adventures In Babywearing & I couldn't wait to try it out. I immediately pulled it out, put Haley in & off we went to water the garden.
Now, before I tell you anymore about how it went, I want to tell you about the sling itself. First, this sling was custom made just for us! When I won the sling Kim let me know the rings for the sling were pink & I could pick whatever solarveil material to go with them. After consulting with Hubby, since he wears Haley too, we chose green. I also was able to decide how long or short I wanted the sling, I went a little longer than normal so Jon could wear it too & I like a little extra to cover Haley when she's sleeping. Now, for the best part, Solarveil material blocks UVA and UVB sun rays & it's a very lightweight, breathable fabric which really helps keep you cool. It can also be worn at the beach or pool & if it gets wet it dries quickly. Isn't that so cool!
Anyways, how do I like it? Well, let me tell you, I LOVE it! It's super lightweight, super comfy & pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. Another major plus, Haley seems to like it, everytime I put her in she giggles & smiles at me.

FuzziBunz

FuzziBunz Diaper
style: pocket diaper


FuzziBunz diapers are one of our most regularly used diapers, we have several & we use them everyday. I love FuzziBunz because they are so cute & easy to clean. Jon will even rinse off a poopy FuzziBunz because the fleecey inside cleans so easily. FuzziBunz come in 2 types of diapers, a one size fits all and a perfect fit. We have both. Now, they've made 3 versions of the one size we have the older versions, version 1(no hip snaps) & version 2(with hip snaps), but hopefully soon we'll get to try out the 3rd & newest version(hips snaps with more adjustable levels). So far we love all the FuzziBunz we own & the only problem we've had is if we leave Haley in them too long & they get too full of pee, they will wick around the legs, so we just make sure we change her every couple hours & we're good.
Here are a couple of the one size FuzziBunz we have.
One Size version 1

One Size version 2
What's nice about the one size is they have adjustable elastic in the legs, so you can make the legs fit just perfect on skinny or chubby legs. The only thing I'm not crazy about versus the perfect fit diaper is when the one size diaper is set on a smaller setting, the microfiber insert sticks out the back, you can tuck it in & it doesn't diminish it's effectiveness, it just annoys me.

Here is 1 of our perfect fit diapers. Sorry the picture isn't great, Haley was playing grab & throw the diaper while I was trying to get a picture.

Perfect Fit size medium
The perfect fit diaper is great, the only time the one size worked better, was when we first started Haley in cloth diapers. We started with the medium size, because she was toward the top of the weight range for the small size & in the bottom for the medium size & I wanted her to get the most use out of the diapers. The problem was her legs were a little skinny, so we had a couple leaks because the diaper didn't fit her legs great. Now that she's a little chunker they work perfectly!

soft fleece inside

fluffy microfiber insert

Can you tell I adore the Daisy print!

Blueberries & Swaddlebees

Okay, so I wanted to try & occasionally share with you my opinion on different diapers I've tried, why I like & dislike them. I'm pretty happy with all our diapers, but I do have favorites & I do use different ones for different occasions. I decided to start with one of my favorites.

BLUEBERRY DIAPERS
style: pocket diaper

Oh, how I love my Blueberries, they are sooo soft & super absorbent! Whenever we are going out for a long period of time we use these diapers because they just hold sooo much pee & we've never had any problems with leaking. They've also held in some pretty major explosions with no problems! Blueberries clean up very easily & poop rinses right off the fleece inside. The only negatives with this diaper is it's a little bulkier than some of our other diapers & they are kinda expensive compared to some other pocket diapers. But, in my opinion they are totally worth it & oh so cute!

Blueberry Deluxe One Size Diaper


Blueberry Minky One Size Diaper - SUPER CUDDLY!!!
adjusted to the 3 different sizes

Soft fleecy inside

One Size Microfiber/Hemp Combo Insert - Super Thirsty


Blueberry One-Size MINKY BAMBOO Velour Diaper
2 layers of bamboo/cotton velour
a little thinner than the other diapers mentioned above & possibly a little less absorbent

Swaddlebees are made by the same company that makes Blueberries. These diapers are very similar, but a little cheaper & in my opinion they are a tiny bit less absorbent
Swaddlebees Econappi One Size Diaper
with inner layer of organic cotton velour
one-size insert made with organic cotton velour and hemp