Cheap Home Cleaner and Deodorizer

For those of you who are trying to cut costs and go green, I have a simple recipe for you that will smell great and work wonders in your home. Here it is:

*1 small box baking soda
*6 - 8 drops essential oil(s)

You can combine scents of essential oils, using a total of 6 - 8 drops. I used rose and lavender. Stir it up, making sure to mash the little bits where you dropped the oils, to get it all through the baking soda. If you don't think the scent is strong enough, you can add a couple more drops. I did the first time and it was a little too strong.

I store this inside an "all purpose shaker" I've had in my kitchen for years and never used. Any kind of shaker can is a good place. Failing that, store it in a plastic container with a lid.

What are the uses for this? Lots!

*Sprinkle on metal bathroom fixtures and rub to shine it and make it smell nice at the same time
*Sprinkle in the wetbag to contain cloth diaper odors
*Place in a decorative container with holes to use as deodorizer and "potpourri" for a bathroom
*Use in the diaper laundry to help diapers get cleaner and smell nice

Pretty much anywhere you'd use baking soda, you could use this! If you vary the EOs, you could do even more with it. Put a few drops of lemon EO in it and use it to deodorize the fridge. Use some eucalyptus and put it in a sick person's room to aid breathing (of course, you could just put the eucalyptus in a humidifier, too). Whatever you can dream, you can do!

And -- the best part -- this is super cheap, customizable, and totally chemical-free!

Let me know what you think if you try it!

Apple Pie Filling

The problem with most desserts is that they're full of sugar. If they're not, they use chemical sweeteners. Neither is good! So, I came up with a new option to make a fairly healthy and tasty dessert. This apple pie filling is yummy, but has NO sugar or chemical sweeteners!

Ingredients:
4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 - 2 tbsp. lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cover it. Simmer on low heat for about an hour, until apples are soft. Stir occasionally. If you wish, add a bit of whole wheat flour or cornstarch towards the end of cooking (mix with cold water first) to thicken the juice surrounding the apples. Use for apple crisp or pie or simply eat as is!

I did try to make this into crisp, and I used whole wheat flour, agave nectar, and cinnamon for the topping. It didn't quite work. I needed a tiny bit of brown sugar and butter to make it good. But if you start with the whole wheat flour and agave nectar, you won't need as much butter or brown sugar and it would still be healthy. :)

Cloth Diaper Pictures in Action!

I promised they would come, and now that I finally got my camera at the same time as I happened to be changing my baby's clothes, I got some pictures! I have some pretty funny shots actually.
This is Rebekah (6 months; 26.5" and 14 lbs. 10 oz. as of yesterday's check up!) modeling a size small. The rise is just below the belly button and fits well across the hips.

Rebekah's sitting up here to see a different view of it. The cloth tabs stretch with her.


Here's a back view. The diaper is a little off center and isn't quite covering her on one side. And that's because....
She was trying to do THIS the whole time! lol. She did not want to be on her tummy. Of course, as soon as I dressed her and tried to get pictures of her on her back, she tried to roll back onto her tummy. She wants what she wants! (I was getting pictures of her dressed because she is wearing 12-month shirt and 18-month pants today and they are NOT big...well, the pants are too big in the waist but they aren't too long. Sigh.)

If you have any questions please let me know!

Feeding Mommies: Organizing Meals

One of my awful habits is skipping meals. Whenever I am busy, I tend not to take the time to eat anything. Whatever I can grab is usually okay (as we don't keep junk food in the house), but not great. This is a huge no-no, especially when you are breastfeeding (which I am). The good news is at 6 months postpartum I am 10 lbs. below pre-pregnancy weight; the bad news is this is affecting my mood, energy level, and more. So what's a busy mom to do?

I've found a solution! It comes from my need to be turbo-organized. I know that if there is something healthy that is easy to grab, I'll get it and eat it. I also know that if I decide in advance exactly what I'm going to have, I'll have it. So there is an easy solution....

When I was still in college and working, I always packed my lunches. I would spend Sunday making some yummy, homemade soup or pasta, salads, fruit, bread, and some kind of drink (often tea). These turned into very well-balanced meals filled with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables (I usually managed all 9 recommended servings in a day). Once I started staying at home with my daughter, though, I stopped doing this. Why bother when I was home to cook something everyday?

Please! What kind of woman with little kids has any time or energy to cook anything during the week? I sure don't. So, back to the way I used to cook for myself when I worked. I do it all on Sundays, while the little one sits and eats crackers and bangs on her highchair tray, or while she's sleeping. (Which I should just do during the week...but somehow don't.) This weekend I prepared salads (4 servings of vegetables in each), 100% juice in bottles, tea, and chocolate milk. This covers maybe 25% of my daily required calories, has plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and vitamins, not too much fat (though fat isn't so bad for a breastfeeding mom). To this I can add any of the following items that I have on hand to "make" last minute:

*Tuna fish sandwichs on whole wheat buns (fresh baked over the weekend)
*Chicken or cheese quesadillas
*Lasagna (meat or vegetable; homemade and frozen)
*Spaghetti or cheese/spinach tortellini
*Chicken chili
*Ham and swiss cheese on whole wheat
*Omelets
*Whole wheat waffles (homemade and frozen, toasted to eat)
*Turkey burgers
*Meatloaf (ground turkey)
*Chicken noodle soup (lots of veggies)

There are more choices but I can't think of them. I do prepare and freeze MANY meals that only need thrown in the oven before I eat them. It is very convenient! But I need those staples ready NOW so that I don't have an excuse to eat nothing because I don't have even 5 minutes to let the baby play in her exersaucer while I grab lunch. Oh well -- I'm working on it!

I recommend this system to busy moms. Prepare your meals (and your kids' meals) in advance. For you it may mean cutting up fresh fruit and vegetables for snacks, putting crackers in small baggies, or whatever else you like to have. But have something healthy and easy to grab because you WILL snack on whatever you've prepared. If it's healthy then you're that much further ahead in a day. And now it's late, and the baby's new wake up time is between 5:30 and 6 so I should not be awake right now....

My Ideal Cloth Stash

The thing about cloth diapering is, it's addicting. So is the sewing of cloth diapers, in particular. Once you start, you can't stop. It also makes you think more about the environment. How much good are you doing by CDing instead of using disposables? That's thousands of diapers (for multiple babies) that are NOT in landfills because of you! So that makes you think (or at least, it makes me think) about all the other stuff that can be made from cloth...hmm.

So, I'm writing about my ideal cloth stash. I'll start with diapers, but that's hardly where I'll stop. I've got all kinds of projects in mind. My goal is to finish them all ASAP (hopefully within a month) so that from here on out, my sewing projects are fun (like clothes) and a little less frequent. My ultimate goal is to have most things in my house be cloth, but to be complete so I can spend my time on really fun projects, like making messes with my daughter! Oh, I can't wait until she is big enough to "help." I don't care how much more time it takes or how much mess she makes, it's going to be great!

Enough procrastinating. Here is my ideal cloth stash:

Cloth Diapers
2-doz. newborn prefolds
4 newborn covers (PUL with FOE and touchtape)
20 small pockets (to be stuffed with NB prefolds)
1-doz. infant prefolds (we use these as night diapers)
5 infant covers
Misc. small diapers (I have 10 fitteds, 4 pocket fitteds, a handful of AIOs...all part of my evolution in CD sewing)
18 medium pocket fitteds (still can't decide if I like real pockets or pocket fitteds better)
4 medium covers
Large diapers as necessary (so far my daughter is extremely skinny so I doubt we'll need them)
1-doz. pairs of pocket-style training pants per kid (each kid will get to choose his/her own fabric as part of our motivation to train. They'll also get to pick their potty. When we decide it's time...it's TIME!)
2 doz. cloth wipes (so far I'm using scraps of terry cloth, but I'm thinking of making some 2-layer terry-flannel wipes)
1 large PUL wetbag (to be near the changing table)
2 small PUL wetbags (1 to travel; 1 to stay on the other floor of the house for random changes)

Kitchen
2-doz. cloth napkins (more as the family expands...not sure what to make them out of yet)
1-doz. dishcloths
6 large reusable grocery sacks

For the Adults
2-doz. large mama pads (to be used PP and during heavy days)
1-doz. small mama pads
4 doz. cloth "wipes" for family cloth (haven't totally come around to this one yet...and DH really isn't sure...lol)
1 medium wetbag (for family cloth and mama pads)

Misc.
4 large rice-filled heating pads
4 small rice-filled "cool" pads (these are made of flannel and they stay in the freezer...they get cool but not too cold, and if you rotate between them every 15 - 20 min. one is always cold)
1 giant denim blanket (DH calls it the "magic blanket" and has been begging for one for a couple years)
Random quilts and blankets (I like at least 4 light and medium flannel blankets for babies)
Fun toys or clothes or whatever I can dream! lol

So that is my ideal stash. I have completed my rice-filled heating and cool pads. I have completed part of my cloth diaper stash (I need to finish my small pockets tonight, then finish my medium fitted pockets and covers, and NB covers, and that's it). Most everything else is still in the dreaming stage, though. Something fun about me -- I am TURBO ORGANIZED, but not at all neat. My stuff is everywhere but I always know where it is. A little mess doesn't bother me, but I hate not having things streamlined and easy to clean, grab, fix. So soon enough I'll post on my obsessive need to have things organized and how I'm managing with a 6-month-old.

I'll also post a pic of my new pocket diapers in action, just as soon as I finish them all. I meant to do it awhile ago, but just when I thought I was done with at least one, I noticed there was a small stitching problem on one of the tabs (easily fixed). Plus, I needed cross over tabs added since my daughter is so thin. It's done, it's been washed, and as soon as they are ALL complete I will post that pic, I promise!!

Cloth Diaper Tutorial

Interested in learning how to make a cloth diaper with nice cloth tabs? You're about to learn! With this pattern, I was able to get 11 diapers out of less than a yard of fabric. Yes, really! They are a size small (fits 8 - about 20 lbs.). I chose Alova suede cloth for my inner fabric and PUL for my outer fabric. My tabs are made of a stretch knit, with Aplix as a closure. You can use this pattern actually for any type of diaper you want -- AIO, AI2, fitted, pocket fitted, or PUL pocket. This one happens to be a PUL pocket. The instructions for a pocket fitted would be the same, except for the fabrics used. The instructions for any other diaper would be slightly different due to sewn in/snapped in soakers. There are plenty of other resources on the internet for those, though!

You can also choose to use your own pattern with these instructions. If you like the look of this pattern in particular, I am willing to sell it fairly cheaply. :) Just send me a message!

Materials needed:
*Inner fabric (Alova suede cloth, minkee, lightweight fleece, flannel, etc.)
*Outer fabric (PUL, Procare, Windpro fleece, anything else if you're doing a fitted)
*Cloth tab fabric (stretch knit, cotton, really anything)
*Elastic (about 1/2 yd.)
*Thread (100% polyester)
*Hook and loop (2" hook, 8" loop)

First, the pattern itself. Here it is, laid out so you can see it all:

The easiest way to cut the fabric, though, is to fold the pattern in half and cut it on the fold. This way you're cutting less (two layers at once) and you know it's going to be symmetrical. So, here it is folded:

Now, remember that this is the pattern for the WHOLE diaper, not just the body. You'll have to cut the body first, leaving off the tabs. The next picture is the body of the diaper, cut, laid on top of the pattern so you can see how much to leave. It's about 3 - 4" and doesn't matter too much really.
This is just one layer. You need to now use the piece you've already cut (the piece in the picture, the magenta, is PUL) to cut any other layers you will need. You will definitely need at least an inner and an outer, probably more if you're doing a fitted. What matters most here is that your two pieces match, so use the one you've just cut as a pattern for all the other layers.

Then, you'll need to cut the tabs. Lay the cut piece on top of the pattern as shown above. Pick up your tab fabric and fold it. The folded section needs to be AT LEAST as wide as the uncovered area on the pattern, but can be wider. Lay this part on top of the pattern with the fold on the outside edge of the tab. The idea is, you're going to cut it so it slightly overlaps the body of the diaper. You'll need two of these, one for each side. Here is a picture of the tab, folded and by itself:


Once you have cut the tabs, set them aside. You won't need them until after the next few steps.

Place the two body layers on top of each other, right sides together (for suede cloth, the soft side; for PUL, the not-shiny side). These layers will face out later. Pin it carefully. Alternately, use a glue stick to baste the two layers together. Here it is:



Now, you will sew a seam around the diaper, avoiding the tab areas and the back of the diaper. Here is a picture of where to start sewing:



Once the diaper is sewn it looks like this (ignore the kitty paws!):



Notice where it is sewn and not sewn. The back of the diaper and the tabs are not sewn yet. Now, clip around the area that is sewn to even the edges. The seam allowance should be around 1/4" when you are done, and it will look like this:



Now that the body of the diaper is sewn, it's time to pin the tabs to the diaper. Lay the tab next to the diaper like this:


The top half of the tab will be pinned to the top layer of fabric; the bottom half of the tab will be pinned to the bottom layer of fabric. Remember that the tab is folded, with the fold on the outside, facing away from the diaper. It will be sticking up when it is pinned properly. When it is pinned, it looks like this:

When you're sewing it, open up the tab so you sew one side at a time. It will look like this:


Carefully sew each side of the tab, being careful not to sew the diaper closed where the tab is pinned to the body or you won't be able to turn the diaper. Once it is sewn to the diaper, it will look like this:


Just one more step with the tabs, and then we'll sew in the elastic. Remember that the tabs are closed on the outside due to the fold, and they are now sewn to the body of the diaper on the opposite side. But, there are two remaining sides that aren't sewn yet. The tabs need to be sewn along the curve (bottom of the tab) and along the top (which connects to the back of the diaper). Make sure, when you are doing this, that you sew all the way from the folded edge of the tab onto the body of the diaper. For the back of the diaper, start about an inch away from the tab, then sew all the way across. Here is where you should start:

Once this has been sewn, trim the tabs the same way you trimmed the seam allowance on the body of the diaper, so it looks smooth.

Now, we need to mark where the elastic will go. Fold the diaper in half so that you can mark the same thing on each side. The bottom of the leg elastic should be about 3" above the bottom of the diaper. The top of the leg elastic should be in the curve just before the tab (about 2 - 3" away). Here are two pictures to show you where these marks should be (slight pinkish marker):
Bottom

Top

Set the elastic (I use 1/4" Lastin, but you can use polybraid or whatever you want) at one of the points. Tack it down by sewing forward slightly then backward. Then, switch to a zig zag stitch and sew the elastic down (stretching it out until it is taut but not as tight as it will go) into the seam allowance. I don't measure my elastic, but I would think it's 4 - 5".

Here is the tacking and starting the elastic:
When you're done, it will look like this (the picture is one leg):


For the back elastic, I like to do both the inside and outside of the pocket opening. Some people prefer to do only the outside. I think doing both gives a better fit, helps the diaper stay stuffed, and looks better. You can choose though.

At the point where your stitching ends (remember sewing about an inch onto the back of the diaper? The rest of the back is open still), clip the seams towards the outside of the diaper. This will leave a higher part of the diaper (the unsewn part). That's where your elastic goes. It will look like this after the clipping:



Sew one layer at a time. You will probably have to remove the tray on the sewing machine in order to put the pocket opening over the arm to do this. Once it is done, the whole diaper should look like this:



You can choose, at this point, to fold down the extra fabric at the back above the elastic and hem the pocket opening. In this particular diaper, since it is for home use and these fabrics don't fray, I am not going to bother. Then, turn the diaper right side out. It will now look like this:



Some people prefer to just leave the diaper like this, and sew on their hook and loop (or snaps). That's fine. Others, like me, prefer to topstitch. Start the needle about 1/4" from the edge, right next to the opening of the pocket. Stitch around the diaper, just inside the elastic (it'll be about 1/2" from the edge there). This will form a casing for the elastic, and mini-gussets around the legs to keep in the messes. When you sew around the elastic, stretch it out. It will look like this as you are sewing that part:


At this point (whether you've top stitched or not), attach your hook and loop. About 6" of loop tape goes on the front of the diaper. About 1" square of hook goes on each of the tabs. It's also a good idea to add 1" square of loop tape to each tab (just a bit away from the hook) to function as laundry tabs so your diapers don't turn into a giant chain in the wash. Once you have done that, here is your finished diaper!

Cloth Diaper Picture

Here is a picture of the cloth diaper I'm going to show you how to make tomorrow! There will be a complete tutorial with pictures from the pattern itself through the finished diaper.

Updates in our World...

Wow, the life of a new mom is busy. Of course, my tiny baby is now 5 months old. :) We are firmly entrenched in cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and lots of other stuff around here. It's been pretty exciting!

My current project (and actually, my project in an ongoing manner since right before Rebekah was born) is making and sewing my own cloth diapers. I started with free patterns I found on the internet, and modified them as I went along. I just didn't like the way they fit, and I thought I could get a better fit.

Success! My latest design fits very well. It even fits other babies very well, as I've had 7 other people try it out, on all different size babies. That's right -- product testing! I'm looking to sell, I think.

Here are the modifications I made: I shortened the rise (I like the diaper to fit below the belly button, around the hips), narrowed the crotch, narrowed the front (I don't see any reason for the front of the diaper to tuck in around the baby -- it only needs to be wide enough that it fits well), and squared off the tabs. I think all of this give me a better fit. Rebekah's pretty long and thin (she as 24.5" and 12 lbs. 2 oz. at 4 months, and I am estimating she is close to 27" and 14.5 lbs. now) and the diapers fit her great (to be fair, this design also fits my friends' very chunky babies too!).

In the next week or so, I'm going to share a tutorial about how to make my diapers. You'll be able to see the general pattern, and also how to attach cloth tabs. I'm pretty excited about it! And hey -- if you'd be interested in buying one to try out...we're almost there. :)

Welcome, Rebekah!

I just wanted to let everyone know that on January 26th, at 9:13 pm, Rebekah Christine arrived. She weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20" long. She did very well and was healthy in the hospital, and we went home only 24 hours later (I don't sleep well in unfamiliar places).

Life is going okay. We've had some rough nights, some fussy times, lots of tears (hers and mine), but everyone is settling in and getting to know one another. My husband has been a huge help. In fact, he has been asleep for almost 7 hours now, and is about to get up to relieve me of baby duty. Which is great, because she screamed from 6 - 9:30 with only some rests. It was not fun, and his "shift" is going to be a heck of a lot easier than mine was!

Things will slowly get back to "normal" for us over the next couple of weeks, as we all keep getting to know each other and figure out our new routines. Soon it will be better...only the beginning is hard. :)

Autism Speaks...Shame on You!

I know this is really supposed to be about domestic issues, but as I may have mentioned, I'm a part-time WAHM who works with special needs kids. Most of those kids have autism, so I like to keep up on recent research and news within the autism community. This post is addressing a very recent and appalling issue.

First some background: Autism Speaks is a charitable organization founded by Bob and Suzanne Wright. It was created when their grandson was diagnosed with autism (their daughter, Katie Wright, is his mother). The goal of the organization is to further autism research in search for effective therapies and/or a cure. You can learn more about this organization here: www.autismspeaks.org.

While this organization is very large, has the support of a lot of prominent people, and has done good work, there are some major problems with their philosophies. Last fall, there was a major family blow-out in response to Katie Wright's appearance on Oprah. Katie made reference to the fact that she believes that vaccines caused or at least contributed significantly to her son's autism symptoms. The general party line among researchers right now is that vaccines do NOT play any role in autism (that is a post for another time, though), and Bob and Suzanne Wright issued a media statement following Katie's appearance saying 'Katie Wright is not a spokesperson for Autism Speaks and we do not believe vaccines play any role in autism.' (That is not a direct quote, merely the gist of what was said.) Subsequently, it was known that Katie had trouble with her relationship with her parents for awhile.

This situation appalled me, because Autism Speaks was founded based on Katie's son, yet Katie's opinions about what caused/augmented her son's symptoms was not only unimportant, but FALSE. How could parents come out and say such a thing? Of course, the likely reason is that if major organizations do not uphold the current party line, they will lose support and funding, which they do not want to do. While there's something to be said about 'falling in line' for this reason (continuing funding in order to do more good), there's something much more important about being willing to stand up for the minority. In this case, the minority happened to be Bob and Suzanne's daughter, and they couldn't even stand up for her.

It's been about six months since that occurred. But very recently, Autism Speaks has been in the media again. This time, a young (14-year-old) girl with autism has started her own parody website, encouraging people with autism to speak for themselves. Her message is that people with autism do not have to be silent, but should stand up and fight for cures and therapies and acceptance on their own. Although the site never achieved incredible popularity (the girl stated that she received about one hit a day, and I never heard of it until this all came out in the media), Autism Speaks took great offense to it.

In fact, Autism Speaks is now SUING this 14-year-old girl for copyright infringement, loss of traffic and revenue (they are claiming they lost up to a million supporters), and other charges. How incredibly ridiculous is this?! Autism Speaks, an organization that is supposedly furthering the voice of those with autism, will not let a person with autism speak for herself. They seem to think they know better what autism is about than any family with a child with autism, or any person who herself has autism. This is absolutely outrageous.

So, Autism Speaks, listen up! Your charitable organization is now doing more harm than good. You aren't allowing anyone who actually experiences autism on a daily basis to speak up about what is really needed in the realm of autism research. Your organization is more political than helpful, and should seriously reexamine its motives...or disband.

If you are as appalled by this as I am, leave comments or go to their website and send THEM comments! Let everyone know about this terrible battle over the voice of someone with autism. Thanks for reading.

Raspberry Hot Chocolate

Cooking is one of my very favorite things. I don't like recipes very much (like in cookbooks) because they usually involve ingredients that I don't really like, such as sour cream and mayonnaise (sorry to those who really enjoy those things). Instead, I find my favorite tastes and dishes at restaurants and I create my own recipes. I usually enjoy these a lot more than any recipe I can find in a cookbook, and I hope you will too!

A word of warning: I really feel strongly about using homemade ingredients and giving food time to "blossom" in flavors. I don't like short cuts (very often) and so if you want things done quickly, you probably won't get that from my recipes! However, they are also "easy," in that once you've done the chopping and the mixing, they usually can be ignored for several hours.

This one, however, is pretty quick and easy, despite everything I just said. :)

Raspberry hot chocolate is a great winter drink. It's warm, soothing, and the mix of the chocolate and raspberry is just wonderful. It can be made very easily for a nice bedtime snack or a group of friends.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
4 tbsp. water
1 tsp. raspberry extract (or to taste)
1.5 cups milk

Directions:
Mix together the first three ingredients in a medium saucepan. Let it cook until it bubbles gently. Then, add the extract and milk and heat on low until warm. Serve! It's that easy.

If you don't really like raspberry, you can use vanilla, strawberry, mint, or whatever kind of flavoring suits you. Or none at all. Mix and match!

Welcome to Domesticity: Meet the Family

Although in today's world it's much cooler to have a "real" job, the most important job is still the one you do at home: keeping your house and family safe, healthy, and happy. There's a lot that goes into that, including cooking, cleaning, gardening, and making decisions for your family. It might not always be the most exciting thing in the world to do these things, but they sure are necessary! And for some of us, they are pretty exciting!

I'm Kate, and I'm a young wife and soon-to-be mother. My first baby is due Feb. 1, which means she could be born any day now! I'm kind of hoping for tomorrow...but I've also been kind of hoping for everyday in the last week or so. :) If you've ever been pregnant, you know how hard it is to wait at the end, when the baby is so big and squirmy that you can't eat, sleep, or get comfortable in any position. Oh well!

Getting ready for a baby means that I am doing a lot of sewing, cooking, cleaning, and organizing. I've totally redone my daughter's room, I've made her a blanket, I'm making her some cloth diapers (more on that later), I've been cooking tons of food and freezing it, I've been cleaning and organizing, I've been working on all kinds of things! I'm also kind of a WAHM (or I will be when I'm a mom), and so I've been working on my business, too. I'm a music teacher, and I work with a bunch of different kids, including kids with autism.

My husband, Ben, works for a major health company, and also runs his own business from home. We both really love business! He actually has a technology blog, too. (I'll put a link to it later.) He is excited about us having a daughter, too. And, when he's home he helps me a lot with household things (I know, I'm lucky to have such a great husband).

My current obsessions? Cloth diapering (especially making them), natural cleaning products, writing my own recipes, cooking lots of food, researching issues of interest in relation to childrearing (especially vaccines), and...I don't know! There are too many things going on right now to write about them all.

So, if you're interested in any of these things, come back again and read more! I'm going to try to post about my adventures pretty frequently. :)