Real Simple. Real Diapers.

Did you know that this week is International Real Diaper Week?

Even the toys wear cloth at our house!

The purpose of Real Diaper Week is advocacy and education about cloth diapers. It has been over a year now since I switched my oldest daughter from disposables to cloth, and my new little one has been in cloth now from the start (8 months now!).

I read a really great blog post about the dangers of disposables this week: Why Disposable Diapers are Dirty and Dangerous. I think that it has a lot of great information about why everyone should consider using cloth diapers.  I definitely don't think that choosing cloth makes me a better parent... and I understand why many people use disposables (I even use them occasionally!)... it's just another thing parents should educate themselves about before making the decision that best suits their family.

Right now I am in love with my prefold diapers - they are my go-to diaper for both my girls... and I can't praise my favorite new diaper cover enough: FLIP covers are awesome (which really surprised me since I am not a huge fan of the Bum Genius diapers from the same company).  I might spend some time later this week gushing about prefolds...

To commemorate Real Diaper Week, here is a recap of my cloth diaper journey:

December 21, 2010 - Research: Cloth Diapers
January 8, 2011 - The Cloth Diaper Experiment
March 25, 2011 - Research: Wool Diaper Covers
September 12, 2011 - Cloth Diapers and the Newborn
September 19, 2011 - About Cloth Diapers Size Small to Large
October 10, 2011 - Cloth Diapers: My Wash Routine
October 25, 2011 - Cloth Diapering Products I Love
November 8, 2011 - Econobum - your secret is safe with me...

I started cloth diapering mainly because I wanted to save money. Now, even if I had unlimited funds... I would STILL CLOTH DIAPER. Though, I might splurge on some really cute expensive diaper covers!

Spring has come to Texas

I promise I have been knitting... and crocheting too!  However,  I can't seem to finish anything... so I need to get an "On My Needles" post together soon.

In the mean time, we are enjoying spring.  And, lots of winter rain means lots of spring flowers this year.


Purple Salvia, reseeded for a third year on its own!


One of our newest rose bushes, rescued from the Walmart clearance rack two falls ago.


Forgot its name "fire-bush-thing".


Very exciting BABY PEARS!!!!


Just starting to bloom amaryllises.


And, a really nice place to swing my babies. Love that tree.

Easter at Our House

Today we celebrated the Risen Christ with family, sunshine, and apricot-bourbon glazed ham.
Happy Easter.

Keeping a List Journal

I have started keeping a journal.

It is not a real journal, but a list. I love lists.

Many stay-at-home moms swear by having a day planner with their list of goals and activities. I have tried this. It does not work for me. Something happens during the day that changes all our plans, or I plan to do three loads of laundry and end up only washing one load and forgetting to switch it to the dryer... then when I look back at my "plan" at the end of the day I shake my head and wonder what happened.



My List Journal is just a record. A record of our activities. A way to look back at the day and say, "hey, we really did a lot today!"

I really want to use it to write down the little things... like what books we read, or something funny Helen said, or how Clare fell asleep - since that changes everyday! I also like using it to keep track of what we ate or what type of activities we did. And since I keep it on the kitchen counter (yes, that is my messy counter!) and add to it in little bits throughout the day, I don't have to set aside time in the evening to reflect... and that is a good thing as I am usually only in the mood to sit and knit by then!

Try it! You might like it!

Cooking for Baby: Pureed Pears

Baby Clare is now 7 1/2 months old. I have been very slowly introducing a few solid foods into her diet as she shows a lot of interest in dinnertime activities. She has now had occasional little tastes of brown rice cereal, oatmeal, banana, avocado, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, and ice cream (oops.).

Today I pulled out my absolute favorite baby food cook book: Cooking for Baby by Lisa Barnes. You will find the newer addition of the book here: Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months.

           

I always recommend this book to new moms who are interested in preparing homemade foods for their babies because the recipes are simple, the information is solid, and the pictures are beautiful.

Pureed Pears were on the menu today since we have some absolutely lovely and sweet pears right now. I quartered and cored two pears (keeping the skins on). Steamed them for about 5 minutes. Let them cool and used a spoon to remove the skins. Then it was into the food processor with them and in moments we had Pear Puree!

2 pureed pears filled 1 1/2 ice trays leaving just enough for Clare to lick the bowl clean :) I use these special "Baby" ice trays: Fresh Baby Trays. I like the ice-cube size because it is easy to customize... one cube of pear mixed with one cube of green beans or some other puree. After they are completely frozen I just pop the cubes out of the trays and put them in a labeled freezer bag so that I can use the trays again.