Cloth Diapers - Are You Kidding?

Most of my friends have the same reaction when we discuss diapering options and I reveal my secret...I used cloth. Between sensitive skin and a limited budget it became clear early on that this was a better choice for our family. There is lots of research out there about why cloth is a better choice environmentally and why it should be the politically correct choice for everyone. It's not for everyone.

But it was definitely the right choice for our family. My mother encouraged me to check out this option and I am eternally grateful for the information.

There are two questions that I always get when I tell my friends and colleagues about my cloth diapering choice. Number One: Isn't that gross to clean out the poop in the toilet? Number Two: Did you use those awful pins?



Number One Answer: Truly. You wipe your child's bottom when you use a disposable don't you. It's the same poop. And, technically you are supposed to unload the poop from a disposable down your toilet as well. This water goes through a wastewater treatment plant. The purpose of this plant is to deal with the disposal and treatment of wastes and properly treats the water so that it may be safe again for the general public.

Number Two Answer: Pins haven't existed in cloth diapering for decades. Cloth diapers now come in a huge range of styles, sizes, colors to properly fit your child and your lifestyle. There are some great options out there.
It's pretty funny to me that the vast majority of those asking have no idea how far cloth diapers have come. They are convenient, cheap, and much easier than their disposable counterparts.

My pros list:
Convenience - It's much more convenient for me to throw a load of wash in my machine than it is to put three children in the car to drive to the nearest store that sells diapers.

Money - Even while accounting for electricity, water and the initial investment of the diapers themselves I found that cloth diapers were a much cheaper choice than any disposable on the market.

Comfort - My children seemed so much more comfortable and experienced very few rashes overall in the eight years total that we diapered in my home.

My cons list:
I couldn't think of any, but I always make my important decisions by making the pros and cons list.

The Leaves Aren't The Only Things Changing Colors Around Here

Autumn seems early this year in my neck of the woods. In fact, I had hoped for a few more blissful weeks in my garden. It was not meant to be. But the irony is not lost on me that my one lonely Cubanelle Pepper seems to be in tune with the leaves.

Minimum Maintenance

While my children are in the heart of the new school year and I am losing my mind trying to return all of the paperwork to school in their designated backpacks in the background I am practicing the art of "minimum maintenance." It is a philosophy from a book I read long ago about spending at least a minimal time everyday on your home.

It's like the keeping up with the dishes instead of keeping up with the Jones'. Every day no matter how many practices, work, school, games, appointments, etc. I try desperately to accomplish the following two things. Number one: Keep the dishes going and Number two: Keep the laundry going.

Every day if I just unload and load the dishwasher and unload and load the washer and dryer the rest seems to come. On the weekends when I am home more I sweep and clean floors, sweep and clean bathrooms, and other heavy types of cleaning.

But for now, on the weekdays, it's minimum maintenance.

The Great Juicing Experiment

This year's harvest includes an overabundance of tomatoes. The wrong kinds for making sauce, salsa or anything useful like ketchup.


I am eating any number of lovely salads with them but they are coming at an alarming rate now. What to do? My fellow blogger told me to juice them.

Today is the day. I own a juicer but must admit that I have never taken it out of the box.


So first and foremost, I took it out of the box. I washed in soapy water and rinsed. I rinsed the tomatoes.


I read the instructions. Which of course told me to wash first in warm soapy water. Such marvelous common sense, don't you think?


Then I put the tomatoes in five at a time and utilized the food pusher to deliver them to the juicing area. It was fun at first but got tedious as the container now seemed to hold a lot of groups of five.



Success! I then got to take the entire unit apart again and wash again in warm, soapy water. It felt good to finally try it out though.

-- Post From My iPhone

I'm Too Sexy For Your Garden

My friend and I tend to have conversations composed entirely of lyrics to songs we know. Even when she and I are not in the middle of a conversation it is easy to slip into this mode of thinking. I was serving lunch to an old friend last week and couldn't help but sing Right Said Fred's iconic verses in my head.


-- Post From My iPhone

Watch Out Cheese Makers, Let's Hear It For The Wisconsin Pickle

Fabulous surplus in a jar. Pickles are an easy food to hone your old-fashioned canning skills on. I love the feeling of making all of those jars full.


Somehow it is very fulfilling and peaceful. I had a great time this year with a bumper crop of a variety called "Wisconsin Pickle." With how impressive these cukes


are it is lucky for those cheese folks that they got their ads in early. This is one spectacular pickling cucumber. A must grow for next year.




-- Post From My iPhone

True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes

Boy they are better than candy. Homegrown tomatoes have to be one of the most inexpensive pleasures on the earth. I grew three varieties this year. Early Girl, which has not turned red and is now two weeks past the harvest date. Sweet Zillion, a cherry tomato, that was an experiment this year and brand new to me but will be number one on my list next year. And ?, a grape tomato that I failed to write down the name of when I planted them. Please feel free to chime in if you can name it from the picture. Happy Summer!



-- Post From My iPhone