green update

Ok, ok, I think its about time for a green update. I have lots to report on.

Cloth diapers:
First off I am proud to say that I am still using my cloth diapers. I think the biggest hurdles with using them is when someone else watches Chloe for me it is difficult to ask them to do something like changing cloth diapers. For me, it has not been hard. It is a passion of mine to reduce my waste. Its hard to ask someone else to do something just because its important to you. BUT I will say that my mother gets the "Best supporting mother" award. She has done a great job with the cloth diapers. We do occasionally use disposables, like when she is going over to my grandparents house and at night but overall she is mostly using cloth diapers. Here is what I have learned.
1. Cloth diapers need to be changed more often since the cloth comes in direct contact with the skin.
2. Poopy diapers are not fun but tolerable if you are well prepared. Have a towel ready to lay under the baby for those thrashing moments when poop gets every where. I was spoiled by my diposable since I would fold it over and let her poopy butt touch the outside of it. Since I will be touching the cloth diaper when I go to drop the poop in the toilet I dont exactly want poop all over it.
3. IMO disposables are easier at night. I bought extra absorbant inserts for the diapers for nighttime but they get very bulky and Chloe was not happy with me when I put them on. So what is 1 disposable diaper a day. Not much in the big scheme of life.
4. Reusable wipes are amazing. I highly recommend you trying these even if you have absolutely no desire to try cloth diapers. Basically all they are is wash cloths. You store them in the same container you would your wipes. (mine are in my wipes warmer) with a little bit of water. I add a small amount of baby wash to the water too. I had gotten some fancy recipe for a wipes wash using lavender and tea tree oil but all in all it got the be a pain mixing it up every time. I find water and baby wash work just fine. Just squeeze them out and use. Its great. I do keep disposables for traveling though.
5. Cloth diapers do tend to give baby the J-Lo look so be prepared for a booty that may not fit in every thing her size.
6 Oh yah, one last thing. sprinkle a little bit of baking soda in the storage container of dirty diapers and do not put the dirty diapers in a sealed container. They need to breathe. I also found that they smell much much less if I do not put them in a laundry bag. I actually just use a trash can and wash it out every time. Strangely enough the smell seemed stronger when I put it in the laundry bag that came with the package I bought.
So bottom line is (no pun intended) I am very happy with the cloth diapers. I dont have leakage problems (during the day) and Chloe seems very comfortable in them. 2 THUMBS UP!!

My Garden:
Its doing great. All organic. I have 27 tomatoe plants (if this surprises you, you dontk now my grandfather), corn, squash, watermelon, honeydew, peppers, carrots, mesclun & green beans. I use only chicken poop (yes I said poop) as fertilizer.

I have some new things going on right now that I am very excited about. One is that I am trying my hand in some jewelry making. Earrings is what I am interested in. Most of you know that I love my funky earrings. Well I plan to make some using all recycled materials. I dont want to divulge too much since this may be a flop. I promise to share pictures (if they are not an embarrasment).

Lastly, I have started making my own dog food. I was watching an episode of my favorite show WASTED on planet green and got the idea. I heard that it was cheaper but also there have been so many recalls on pet foods it puts me in more control of my food. As you all know I rescue dogs (sometimes they rescue me) and my tally is now up to 6 with the recent addition of my dog Roxy. So saving money on dog food was definitely appealing. We calculated that we were spending approximately 125.00 per month on dog food. I estimate that making my own food is going to cost us half of that. I'll know more by the end of the month and I promise to share!

Thanks for reading!!!

cost of painting my living room....

10 hours labor (mine) to paint the living room, hall way & breakfast nook - FREE

Moving furniture and sweeping up the scary stuff living behind the couch - BACKACHE

5 gallons of bear paint from a sealed bucket bought at the Habitat for Humanity Store - $15.00

Feeling great about only spending $15.00 and saving something from a landfill - PRICELESS!

My chickies....

I chuckle when I look at this picture now because these chicks looking nothing like this anymore. They almost 4 months now. I lost my 2 hens a couple of months ago. One to natural causes one to not so natural causes. So now I have my full grown rooster and my two baby chicks that my momma hen hatched. It was pretty amazing. I am sad that I lost my two hens but these three seem to be getting along great. Only problem is, one of the chicks is a boy. I am working on a plan. I am looking for more hens. Basically right now I am feeding three mouths and getting nothing in return. LOL.

first harvest`

Wow have I been slacking on my blog... its because I have been so darned busy. I took this picture probably a month and a half ago. This was the first of my mesclun mix of spinach, arugula and some various lettuces. If you could see it now!! Thank God it survived the heavy rains.