Diapering Excitement

Is it wrong to get super excited about diapers? I don't think so. Especially when the excitement means I get to continue being eco-friendly, but potentially have to deal with less mess! We have been using gDiapers since Baby Bunny was born. Well, technically, since she was about a month old and could actually fit into them since  she was less than 6 lbs when she was born and the small Little gPants go from 8 - 14 lbs. (They didn't have the tinyG's until she was about 4 months old.) While I/we love the look of them, and the fact that they are incredibly eco-friendly, and that she does NOT get diaper rash with them, and does NOT need diaper cream with them, they present a bit of a problem when it comes to poops. The poopy mess easily gets on the "waterproof" liner inside of the fabric shell. Especially since the soaker insert shifts around and bunches between her legs. I know we aren't the only family that has had a problem with this, as I've read other gDiaper users complaints about this problem.

Cute little gBooty

 I recently went on the Snikiddy website to buy some of their snacks directly from them. This led me to Alice.com (Which, by the way, was a great experience! I highly recommend that site!). Alice.com requires you buy 6 things to have free shipping. It doesn't matter how big they are, or what price they are - there just has to be 6 of them. So I decided to look for the gDiaper soakers (what they call inserts) since we needed more anyway. They didn't have any. But something called GroVia popped up. They had biodegradable soakers. hmmm. I decided to look them up!

The package of soakers - half of them are out and put away at this point.

 The soakers looked like they would fit in the g's we use from the little cartoon of seeing one in one of the GroVia diapers. Since the 50 pack of the GroVia soakers was only $19.99, versus the 30 pack of gDiapers soakers for $15 at Babies R Us, I decided it was worth a shot.

This is how they come  out of the package. They are tri-folded, and don't seem like they are big enough.

GroVia soaker unfolded. Definitely big enough! - Sorry for the bad pic it was taken with my phone.

See the tab looking things? Under those is where the stickyness is.

The soaker has a two-layer elasticized side part that's very similar to a disposable diaper. This by itself made me VERY excited. Hopefully this would mean no more poopies escaping from the side of the soaker and getting on the liner. The back of the soaker at either end in the middle has about a 2" square of stickyness. This made me even more excited. Hopefully this would mean the soaker won't shift about! Especially with a baby that's super active like mine.

All the pieces together - medium gPant, gliner, and GroVia soaker. Ready to wear!!

Last night I used one of the new GroVia soakers and it seemed to work out just fine...but I think I waited too  long to change her this morning. She was fine when we got up, but after I went to the bathroom, she had soaked through the soaker, the "waterproof" liner in the g, and the two layers of cloth outside. Granted not very much came all the way through, but it was enough that when I picked her up I noticed that her butt had some dampness to it and it shouldn't have.
Changed her diaper to a fresh gPant and fresh (GroVia) soaker. About an hour later there was a nice poopy present. And guess what! It was contained within the elasticized sides!! There was NO poopyness on the "waterproof" liner!! YAY! SO happy about this! Then again a couple hours later, a peed in one - again, no mess! YAY! Even more excited!!
So, is it wrong that I'm this excited about a diaper? I think not. Especially when it can biodegrade, flush, compost, or just be disposed of. If I have another child in the future (or maybe I should say when?! ;) ) I just might have to buy a GroVia all-in-two diaper or two to see how theirs compare to my beloved g's. Or maybe GroVia should send me one to compare. ;) A mom can wish, right?

Fall Festival Fun!

I absolutely ADORE taking pictures of my family. My husband has dubbed me "The Japanese Tourist" because I take so many pictures. And since Lil Blue Boo has been doing a series of postings about how to use your camera in manual mode, my obsession has gotten even worse. Yes, I did say obsession. Oohhhhhhh how I love to look at my beautiful girlies all day. And by all day, I mean that when I'm at work, or school, I can look at them on the computer, or on my phone, and see their pictures.
Yesterday we went to a fall festival that was lots of fun, and of course I took tons of pictures! Here are some of the highlights:

 

Homemade Lasagna Roll-ups

About a week ago (ish) I was watching the Today Show in the morning and one of the guests was making lasagna roll ups. I thought this sounded like a fun way to eat lasagna, and I've never made lasagna before...but it looked so easy! So I figured I'd look it up and get the ingredients and make it when I had the chance. I looked it up earlier this week, then bought the ingredients we didn't already have a few days ago. And today/tonight Mary and I worked together to make it! I adjusted the ingredients slightly, and doubled the recipe since we have a lot of people to feed. The prep time was approximately 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 extremely large carrot*
1 very small head of broccoli*
6 oz thinly sliced prosciutto**

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (15-ounce) container skim milk ricotta cheese***
2 1/2 cups grated parmesan
4 cups grated mozzarella
4-5 cloves garlic
2 eggs, beaten to blend
2 lbs uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cans of spaghetti sauce
2 cans of alfredo sauce

Directions:

Cook lasagna noodles according to box directions. (Cook only one box worth at a time though!)

Into large mixing bowl put: Peeled and shredded carrot, finely chopped up broccoli, and shred some of the stem portion. Add both containers of ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella, and 1 cup parmesan. Chop up the thinly sliced prosciutto into tiny pieces and add to mixing bowl. Grate the garlic and add to mix. In a separate container beat the two eggs together until blended (we used one of the now empty ricotta containers to save on dishes) then add to mixing bowl. Take off whatever rings/bracelets you don't want to get dirty and mix with your hands (works WAY better than using a fork or whisk, or hand blender).

Mixture blended together should look similar to this

Now preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put a 13x9 baking dish near your work area.Pour enough of the tomato based sauce to have a thick coat on the bottom of the dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle.

Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the spaghetti sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture.

Pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls.

Cover tightly with foil.Repeat in a second baking dish for the alfredo sauce.

Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes.

And EAT! MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm Such a wonderful dinner. :-D

*I substituted a large carrot and very small head of broccoli for the spinach the recipe called for.
**I used 6 oz of thinly sliced prosciutto ... but you really couldn't taste it. I'm thinking it might have been tasted better if I had cut it into pieces just the right size to cover (or nearly cover) the spread out mixture on the noodle before rolling. I'm going to try that next time.
***The original recipe  only called for whole milk ricotta ... but I decided to mix whole milk and skim milk. It tasted great. :)

Spazmatic adjustable family

Some days I want to run from my house screaming and flailing. Let me rephrase that: Some days I want to run from my PARENTS house screaming and flailing. My husband, myself, our 9 year old, and our recent addition have been living there for the last two years now. Well, the recent addition the last 7 months... but you get the picture. Aside from us living there, my nephew does as well. Full house? Yes. And we don't exactly all get along as one big happy family. Not quite the Brady Bunch. Or the Partridge Family. More like Everybody Loves Raymond, but in ONE house, not two. And the parentals are mine, not my husbands. And my nephew is added in for extra drama/action.
At least that was the situation two years ago when we moved in. Well, technically, when we moved in my niece (the sister to my nephew) was living there as well. But she moved out within a very short time period and is now married with a baby of her own on the way. Now fast forward two years and my niece is moved out (like I just said) and my best friend and her two girls have moved in. Yikes... more people. And we still aren't exactly like one big happy family. Still more like Everybody Loves Raymond.
I love my family. I really, truly, honestly do. I just can't stand them. I can't live with them. I despise being at home. I relish going to school and work because it means I'm not in that house. I should not feel that way. I want to be with my husband - whom I love dearly - and my children - whom I cherish and love dearly - but don't want the rest of the crap that goes along with being at home.
Disagreeing with my parents means I'm "arguing" and "talking back". Really? I'm not allowed to differ in my opinion? And when my mother is rude to myself, or my husband I'm supposed to just "put up with it"? I don't get to be mad that we are being talked down to, or get mad when she tells my baby "It's ok, your daddy doesn't hate you" because he was forcing her to turn her head towards her food when he was trying to feed her. No, I'm not allowed to be mad at that, or say anything about it, because then I'm being "disrespectful".... Well, maybe I am. And maybe I've had enough of being disrespected. Enough of my husband being disrespected and treated like crap. Of my mother going behind our backs and trying to give things to my kids that we've said "no" to, and not only have we said "no" to the kids, we've told her "no" as well. Or having my mother go behind our backs and try to tell our 9 year old that we don't hate her. (because she was punished for doing something she shouldn't have, and knew that she shouldn't have) Or have my mother tell US that our 9 year old is going to hate us when she gets older...why? Because *gasp* we make her do chores (aka, "treat her like a slave" I'm sorry, but in what way is making her feed the animals, put the clean silverware away, put her own clothes away, and clean up after herself treating her like a slave?! I'm pretty sure it's not.)
Even worse? My nephew's behavior. The things he gets to get away with because they are "getting too old" to deal with it (my dad's words, NOT mine!). And it's not just his actions, but also what he says. And it's not just what he says to my parents, it's what he says to me, my husband, and my kids. It's also what my 9 year old witnesses and then maybe thinks in the back of her head (or the not so back of her head) that it's acceptable to act this way. That breaking a $700 t.v. that isn't yours is alright. And that the worst that happens is you have to pay it back by doing chores, that you can continue to have your cell phone (a privilage) and play computer games (a privilage) and go hang out with friends (a privilage) and go to theme parks (a privilage)...and instead of getting your allowance, the allowance goes to pay it back. Well, maybe that would work if he actually ever did his chores himself. But it's extremely rare that that happens.
Am I disgruntled? Maybe a little. But frankly, I think I have a right to be. The only reason we are still living there is because we need enough money to be able to move out. Hard to do when I have a part-time job that doesn't pay very much because I'm still in school, and my husband's job doesn't pay a whole lot. I'll be done with my AA in May, but that doesn't mean that I'll be able to get a good job. Instead that means that before I graduate I'll be able to apply to nursing schools. And continue going to school for another 22 months. Here's hoping it goes by quickly, and that our living situation can change very soon.... before I have to be hauled away to the pillow rooms and wear a nice white jacket all the time. :-P

Upcycle, Reduce, Reuse

My latest love? Upcycling. What is upcycling?! It's taking something that you would throw away, or deem "garbage" or "unusable" or even just "ugly" and turning it into something else. My favorite things to upcycle right now is sheets and (fabric) shower curtains. Not only is it reusing something that already exists, but I'm turning it into something that either I, or someone else, needs and/or wants.
I made a baby carrier for myself that I could/can/will use from the time my baby was born, through toddlerhood. I made this carrier out of a gray sheet and a green shower curtain. Both of which I bought at Goodwill since I did not have a spare shower curtain or sheet to make it with.

The gray side with a green pocket

The green side with a pocket.

I added batting to the top part of the carrier and then quilted on it to keep the batting in place. You can see the quilting on the gray side. I also made a button-hole in the sides to adjust the length of the straps.

I've also made clothing using sheets, ribbon I've had around forever, and some new fabric to mix in.

Close-up of the giraffe I appliqued

Can you tell which fabric is the sheet and which one is the bought fabric? If you can't tell, I'm not going to!

I've also made items for caring for your baby - baby towels, burp cloths, bibs... Is there an end to what I can/will make? I'm not sure. If so I haven't hit it yet!! I'm definitely loving this form of recycling. It's not just something I put in a recycle bin, and wonder what ultimately happens with it. I'm making things into something else myself - so I know exactly what's happening with it!

Time flies when you're...

busy up to your eyeballs. It's that time of year again - school has started, and I'm back to having not even close to enough time on my hands. There needs to be more hours per day, and more days per week.
Xarry started 4th grade this year - insane! Means next year is 5th grade (with the grade school version of senioritis), and then after that middle school. I'm not ready for that! And now she wants to quit swim team and do cheerleading. Well a couple problems with that - it's on the days that I work late so I can't take her, it's more expensive than swimming (at least up front - over all it seems to be nearly the same price), and her daddy is not wanting her to do it. Oh, and guess who gets to be the bad guy and say it's not going to happen! ... YEP! You guessed it - me! ... yaaaaayyyyy.... .
Adi is now 6 months old. Hard to believe that just 6 months ago I was still carrying her around in my belly. She's commando crawling all over now - kind of a cross between a scootch and a crawl, and getting pretty darned fast too! And in the last few days she has pulled herself up to a stand (that I have witnessed) 3 or 4 times. She shouldn't be doing that for another 3 months at minimum!! Not that I'm not grateful she's progressing FAR BEYOND ahead of schedule - because I certainly am! But it would be nice if she would just kinda... chill? I guess is the word I'm looking for. You know, master one thing, and hang with it for even a few weeks before trying to do something that's far beyond where she should be. Her physical therapy is going great - when she is in a good mood and cooperates. It's still up in the air as to whether or not she'll need speech therapy, or any other anything. I'm happy with accepting "baby steps" of progress, and she's blowing through the baby steps and trying to do everything. Oh the courage of a 6 month old!
I've started school again. I'm taking two classes this semester - Anatomy and Physiology 2, and U.S. History to 1865. Hopefully there are two A's in my future! I've also started work again. I didn't work for the entire 3 week break between the end of my summer classes, and the start of my fall classes. It was a MUCH needed break from doing mandatory work of any kind. I tried to spend many hours with my girls, and husband, and be creative (I made two large paintings!!), and I cooked and cleaned too! Now that school is back in session my crazy schedule is just too crazy to get to do all the things I want to do. As a matter of fact I'm writing this from work. Which is fine since my job just entails me monitoring the use of 65 computers to make sure people aren't doing what they're NOT supposed to be doing on them. I typically do homework while I'm here. ... Which I'm actually going to start doing in a few minutes. I seriously cannot wait for next summer. I'll have my AA done, and will hopefully be looking forward to starting the nursing program in the fall, so I will have TONS of free time. Which is good because I have so many creative ideas swirling in my mind and I likely won't have much time to do anything about them until then. So sad. Sometimes I wish I could be a stay at home mom and not go to school or work. But I know that I would go crazy if I did it full time. I need interaction with other adults on a regular basis to stay sane. I'm hoping that once I'm "done" with school I can work part time so I can at least be a part time stay at home mom. That would be fantastic.

Baby poops!

When Xarry was a baby she never really gave signals that she was pooping, or peeing in her diaper. Not until she was over a year old. At a year and a half I weened her off of breast feeding and put her on the toilet. We did a wonderful routine of sitting her on the toilet after she woke up in the morning, after she ate breakfast, before her first nap, after her first nap, after lunch, before her second nap, after her second nap, after dinner, before bed, and then a pull-up at night. And add in extra potty time when necessary. Tons of work since even though she had started giving signals that she was going to the bathroom, she still wasn't super verbal about it. And she didn't do many physical signals.
Now we have Adi. Adi started out her life projectile pooping (usually on ME!) whenever we changed her diaper. And when I say started out, I mean the first non-meconium poop was a projectile-poop (onto me). About a month ago Adalina started making stiffening legs/grunting noises when pooping. J and I briefly discussed that maybe she should be put on the toilet when we realize she's doing it. Maybe it would work. So tonight, she gave the signals....and I rushed her to the bathroom. As soon as I scooped her up she stopped with the stiffening and grunting. When in the bathroom I took off her diaper and  there was a little bit of poop in it already. But I stuck her on the toilet anyway. Why? Because I knew she wasn't done. After *nearly* 6 months of changing her diaper, I know my child's pooping ability!
So I put her on the toilet and she was super confused. She looked at me like "What in the world are you doing you crazy milk lady!?" After sitting there holding her for a minute saying to her "Go ahead! You can finish pooping!" She did! She finished in the toilet! Then had huge smiles and laughs at all the fuss that was made because of it. Maybe she won't give me a "You're insane" look next time! hahahaha
I'd include pictures, not of the poop, but of Adi. But none were taken. Which is really too bad since it was super cute the way she was smiling and playing with her rattle while on the toilet, and even cuter after she was done and enjoying the fuss that was made.

Picture taken the next time she did it. :)