Wool Soakers

With all that cloth diapering talk yesterday, how could I not follow up with my soakers? Wanting to stay away from synthetics, I chose to knit my own wool soakers to go over the newborn size fitted diapers. They are so expensive to buy, ranging from around $35-$65 each. Considering you need at least 3 for each size (or so I've been told), I had to make my own. I used two different patterns, as well as two different brands and textures of 100% wool (it has to be 100% to work correctly). Since again, I really have no way of knowing what will fit and work for this baby, I am playing it safe and potentially saving myself from hours of wasted time. Whichever style works best, I'll just make more as I need them. Both patterns were free, but I'm having a difficult time locating the pattern for the style above. As soon as I do, I will update this post with a direct link.

You can find the pattern for this one here. I used the suggested yarn/roving for each pattern. Each skein was around $7 dollars, and I only needed one for each soaker. That's a whole lot of savings.

Have a great day everyone!

-Lisa

Going Cloth - Diapers That Is

After not too much debating, Chris and I decided to cloth diaper this next baby of ours. Between the cost savings, garbage reduction (which we pay for the removal of), and lack of chemicals on the babes bum, it was kind of hard to not at least give it a try. I had thought about it a lot when I was pregnant with Hannah. The overwhelming amount of information left me too scared and intimidated to give it a go. Thankfully, this time when I started my research, it was a little bit easier. The big difference this time was finding an online community of cloth diapering momma's to take my hand and walk me threw the process.

Once we finally made a decision to do it, it seemed silly to keep spending money on disposables. So, for the last three weeks, Hannah has been in cloth. With the exception of one slightly crazy, eh 'hem - gross, experience (I'll spare you the details - just use your imagination) it's been great.

Even though the diapers I bought are one size fits all, they will most likely be too big for the baby for the first few weeks. So I decided to make a few of my own from materials we had around the house. I obviously have no way of knowing if they will work well until the baby comes, but they are just too darn cute to not share. You can find a ton of diaper tutorials all over the web, and the materials you choose are a personal preference. I didn't want synthetics on my newborn's bottom, so I used flannel and cotton for these. Based on the recommendations of some more experienced momma's, I followed this free pattern and tutorial.

I love this one! It's amazing how small it is too. I forget how tiny baby's are in the beginning.

Take care and have a great day!

Lisa

Homemade Natural Deodorant that Works!

For the last six months or so, I've been searching for a natural, aluminum free deodorant that will actually work.

Saying I tested a lot would be an understatement. I actually ended up going back to my non-natural Dove for a little while because I thought it was a lost cause.

Then I came across this super simple (so simple in fact that I thought it would never work) recipe and was shocked. Not only at how well the deodorant actually works, but also how simple and inexpensive it is. I'm hooked!

**This recipe is not mine, however, I've found it in numerous places all over the web, and have no idea who actually created it. If you know, please tell me, and I'll make sure to credit the author**

I have put this to the test, and it has passed with flying colors. It lasts ALL day, has no scent AND keeps me dry. I've worn it during very intense work outs, and all night waiting tables, and so far, I love it.

A little goes a long way, so just use a little bit, or it will feel greasy. It does need to be kept in the refrigerator as well.

What you need:
1/4 C Baking Soda
1/4 C Arrowroot powder (you can purchase this at most health food stores or online)
5-6 Tbsp Coconut oil

Simply mash everything together until you get a solid-like consistency. The mashing will warm up the coconut oil so that it will not be a complete solid until it's placed in the fridge.

I emptied out an old deodorant stick and just filled it up with my mixture, and it works just the same. Love it!

How to Make English Muffins

I've been wanting to make English muffins for a long time, but kept avoiding it because I was intimidated. Well, I finally decided just to go for it, because really, is it that big of a deal if it doesn't work out - of course not. Thankfully though, they were surprisingly simple, and turned out a lot better than I had anticipated. ** I have not provided a bread recipe here, the one I use is copyrighted, however, any bread dough will work as long as it's made with yeast. You will also need a griddle ** To make these, you will need to use a yeasted bread recipe - whichever is your favorite. I can't share mine, because it's really not mine. I use the Tassajara Bread book for our sandwich bread. The recipe yeilds two loaves, so instead of the two, I made one loaf, and used the rest of the dough for the english muffins. That gave me enough dough to make 12 muffins. Here's how to do it... After your dough from your bread recipe has been punched down, and then given time to rise again, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough, and roll it flat to about 1/4". To cut out my ciricles (you want them about 3" in diameter for standard size, but it really doesn't matter) I used the rim of a large coffee mug. Place the cut out circles on a wooden board or parchment lined cookie sheet that has been lightly dusted with either flour or cornmeal, and then sprinkle more flour or cornmeal on top. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size (about 20-30 minutes). Heat your griddle to high and cook the dough circles one side at a time. Reduce the heat to medium after a minute, and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Repeat the same process for each side. After this, I couldn't tell if my muffins were cooked all the way, so I placed them in my oven for about 10 more minutes at 350 just to be sure. They turned out fantastic! If you've ever had the desire to make your own english muffins, try it! You'll be surprised at how simple it really is. Have a great day, Lisa

Planning Ahead Series - Part 2 - List Making

Photo Credit

The most important thing I do each week to stay on track and get everything done is make lists. I make about 3-4 depending on the week.

The first list - Meal Plans (I've written about this in more detail, you can view it here). I've simplified the process down to just figuring out what to make for dinner Mon-Fri, and two different breakfast options. Hannah and I are the only ones who eat lunch at home, so we just eat leftovers typically.

Why this works for us: Not having to figure out what to make for dinner every night during the week saves me a ton of wasted time. Compiling it all to one sitting saves lots of time. I do this on Sunday mornings because I can always count on the whole family being together and can get their input. I write the week's menu on a dry erase board on our fridge, and during the week, all I have to do is take a quick look, and make what's written down. This helps my husband too, I work nights, so he just has to look at the board, and knows what to pop in the oven or make.

The Second list - Groceries. Once I know what we're eating for the week, making the grocery list takes 5 minutes tops and again, saves wasted time from wandering around isles in the store, and saves money - we only buy what we need. I also use the dry erase board for this as well. If we run out of something during the week, either myself, or my husband quickly jots down the item, and that's the end of it.

The Third list - What to bake. I try to get most of my week's baking done on Sunday's during my "Catch-Up" day. Though Hannah and I like to make bread during the week sometimes too - but that's usually "extra" bread, like a braided loaf or cinnamon raisin. Every week I usually bake 2 loaves of bread, some sort of muffin and a batch of granola bars on Sunday.

The Fourth list - the odds and ends. I only shop for this list once a month, sometimes less. It includes staples that we use on a regular basis and that I usually buy in bulk. The reason for this is because I have to go to a handful of different places (both online and driving) to get the type of food I want for our family. We do shop at Costco for bulk goods, and they offer a lot of healthy and organic options. During the winter, in order to get local food (ex. ground beef, honey, eggs and so on), I have to drive to a handful of different places around town. I hate driving in circles, so again, I condense it to once a month, sometimes less.

This seems like a lot to do and time consuming, but really it's not. With the dry-erase board, most of the list making gets done on it's own over the course of a few weeks or so, and the actual amount of time I spend on the first three lists, is probably 10-15 minutes a week tops. Those 15 minutes save me hours (allowing me time for more enjoyable things, eh em, knitting), and a lot of money.

Give it a try, see what works for you.

Plan Ahead Series - Part 1

I often get asked how I manage to get so much done. In reality, I don't. I really think that part of the reason it seems like I do so much, is because the things I do are not really mainstream. Making most of our food from scratch, for example. Or having the time to finish a lot of knitting projects, or sewing or crafting. I do have two children, with one more on the way, and yes, I do work outside of the house too, although part-time - about 20 hours a week. So, with that said, I thought it might be fun to give you a little glimpse into my "system", if you can call it that. It really just boils down planning ahead and making lists -which not only saves me a ton of time, but money as well....

Part one of this series is about having a catch up day.

My catch up day is Sunday. First thing in the morning, I start a load of laundry, and I don't stop until all of it's done. I've done up to 8 loads in one day - yes 8. This allows me to only have to wash one or two loads during the week. I think the only nice thing about laundry is that you only have to pay attention to it randomly during the day, and a lot of other things can get finished at the same time.

I also bake my brains out on Sunday. Today for example (yes, this is also the day I do most, if not all of my blogging - after the little ones go to bed), I made two loaves of bread, a batch of banana crunch muffins and a large tray of granola bars. I could have baked more had I started earlier, but we had family stuff to do in the morning, so I had to start at 2pm. But now, I have bread for sandwiches and toast for the week, muffins for breakfast and granola bars for lunches and snacks. I still need to make tortillas, but I decided I'd rather blog tonight instead, and save the tortilla making for Hannah's nap tomorrow afternoon instead of the other way around. She's much more likely to want to help and hang out in the kitchen than she is by the computer.

This brings up another good point. I do all this on my own. My husband was at work while I did everything, and the kids were happy as can be helping me out in the kitchen, or jumping in the pile of clean clothes. When they got bored with that, they played with each other, and then on their own. The whole time they were right by me, and we never once turned on the t.v. or plugged in a game system. We still had time to play outside while the bread was rising, and sit down for dinner together.

I also managed to sneak in small cleaning projects, like the windows, a quick microwave and dishwasher wipe down and things like that. It might not seem like much, but every extra little thing I can do during my "catch-up" day, frees up more time for me during the week - when life is a bit more rushed.

And, last, but most importantly, I make all of my lists on Sunday... More on that soon to come...

Have a great day!

-Lisa

Bread Pudding Our Way

I just started making bread pudding a couple months ago, and it has been a huge hit in my house. I found an incredibly easy recipe for it at allrecipes.com, but have adapted the original enough that I think it's safe to share my version here.

What you need:

4-6 slices of bread (fill to 1/4 from the top of your dish - I use 8x8")
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Cup raisins
4 eggs beaten
2 Cups milk
1/2 Cup raw sugar plus 1/4 for topping
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Vanilla

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and tear the bread into small chunks and place in an 8x8" pan

2) Add raisins and pour melted butter on top

3) Mix eggs, milk, 1/2 C sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a separate bowl until well combined.

4) Pour mixture over the bread and push down on the top to make sure all of the bread gets wet.

5) Sprinkle remaining sugar on top and bake for 45 minutes.

That's it!
This makes the house smell incredible, and, like my other bread recipes I've shared this week, I always use stale or leftover bread that I've saved in my freezer. So I guess it's like a free breakfast/dessert too.

Enjoy!
-Lisa

Easy Homemade Breadcrumbs - Honest!

This is hands down, the easiest way to make bread crumbs. It only takes minutes, and anyone can do it. No ovens involved!

Plus, if you have bread on hand, it practically costs nothing. I get such a thrill out of little things like this - I know, I'm a dork. But really, it maybe adds up to a nickle and it's so much healthier than the standard store bought crumbs which are filled with additives. I make all of our bread, and save the bead ends in the freezer for recipes just like this. I have two other stale bread end recipes for you this week - so be sure to check back.

Ok, that's enough jabber from me - see what a few non-blog days will do to me? Yikes!

What you need:
Bread (2 slices is usually enough for us)
Toaster
Blender (if you don't have a blender, you can just use a bag and a rolling pin or your hands)
Seasonings (optional and to taste)

1) First, toast your bread. You want it really toasted and dark brown (but not burnt), so set your toaster to a higher setting.

2) Place toast in a blender and pulse until your have breadcrumbs.

3) Add whatever seasonings you'd like to add a bit of spice or flavor. We usually add some parmesan, basil, garlic powder and onion powder - but feel free to get creative here.

Enjoy!

-Lisa

Turn Your Old Sweater Into Leg Warmers - Tutorial

I accidentally felted one of my sweaters the other day, and it shrunk so much I think it would have been small on my 5 year old. Then it dawned on me. The sleeves were the perfect size for Hannah's legs. She loves to wear skirts, so now she can wear them during the winter and stay warm - yay! I ended up making a pair for myself too, and my goodness do they make a difference. I wear them under my jeans, so you'd never know they were there. If you have ever experienced cold jeans on bare legs - here's the fix...

First find an old sweater. You don't have to felt it, but doing so will make them warmer (you can only felt sweaters that are at least 80% wool - acrylic will not felt). To felt a sweater, just put it in a pillowcase (so you don't end up clogging your machines with fuzzies), tie it closed and wash on hot for 1-2 cycles, then toss in the dryer (still in the pillowcase - trust me).

1) Lay your sweater flat and then cut off each arm like the photo below.

2) Snip off the slanted edge by the arm pit so that you have a straight edge, like the photo below.

3) Turn inside out and fold over half an inch on the cut end and stitch along the edge.

4) Turn right side out and you're done! The wrist end is already finished for you.

This may not be the prettiest leg warmer, but like I said, I wear them under my pants, so no one can see them anyway. My daughter's are a bit cuter...

Give it a try! The whole project takes about 10 minutes, start to finish. What have you up-cycled lately?

Table Runner / Trivet

Last Thanksgiving, which was the first time I ever hosted, I had trouble finding places for all of the hot food. I won't dare place hot dishes directly onto the table itself. So I was left with the options of either putting towels under everything (which we don't have enough of anyway) or leaving the dishes on the counter. We did the later, but I didn't like that everyone had to keep getting up from the table.

This year I came up with an idea. Why not make a super long trivet for all the food? So, that is what I did. I pretty much followed my trivet/pot holder tutorial, but just kept the bottom part. Our table can very comfortably seat 10 when the extensions are in place, so I made sure it was long enough to accommodate that. I quilted the insulated batting straight up and down so that the ends would fold over neatly, and so that it would roll up nicely for storage (see the photo above).

This really came together pretty easily - aside from the biased tape. I swear, I hate the stuff. I just can't ever get it to look nice. The fabric, again, was from Granny Grace, so the total on this project set me back I'd say about $5 or $6.

The photos below show how it's used. Unfortunately, I decided to start making this the night before Thanksgiving, and was still working on it when my family arrived. Thankfully they're pretty laid back, so the fact that it still had pins in place, and long threads hanging off the sides didn't phase them :)

I finally sat down and finished this yesterday afternoon.

Have a great day!

Insulated Coasters & Upcycling

First and foremost, I just want to say, I'm not too proud of these. I was a little bummed with the bias tape and how cruddy it handled (eh, "I" handled) the corners. I'm sure all it boils down to is that I put it on wrong - I'll have to search that.

But, what I am happy about, is that we had a small problem, and I was able to fix it for free, using materials we already had around the house. I get sooo excited about doing things like that.

We recently purchased a lava lamp for my 2 year old daughter. She has been having trouble sleeping at night, and I thought the slowly flowing globs of color might soothe her a bit. If you have ever owned a lava lamp, you know that the bottom gets very, very hot. So hot, that it made me nervous to leave it on at night for her (which was the reason we bought it).

My solution?

Insulated tiny hot pads!
I made six, even though we only have one lava lamp. I just can't help myself sometimes. But we have found other uses for them. They fit perfectly under my coffee and tea mugs - yea! And if you ask my children, well, they are quite possibly the very best flying saucers they have ever owned.

It was really simple to do. I used one of Hannah's old flannel baby blankets for the outer material. Then, as batting, I took a stained old towel and sandwiched it in between the flannel fabric, pinned it down and quilted the three pieces together following the pattern on the flannel fabric. You could also just do straight lines every inch or so. Using a compass, I drew circles directly onto the quilted piece and then cut them out. I pinned on some thrifted bias tape, sewed it on, and wah-la!

What have you thrown together in a pinch lately? Please share in the comments section!

Take care!

Playing Dress Up

Both of my children love to dress up, and not just around Halloween, but all year long.

So a few years ago, I started picking up Halloween costumes a few days after the Holiday, when they're priced super low. Say, around 2 or 3 dollars. If I were better at sewing, I would most likely make a bunch of dress up outfits for them, but I'm still a work in progress in that department. So at least this way, I'm not breaking the bank, and the kids get a lot of creative, imaginative play out of them. At some point, I want to put together an inexpensive clothing rack to hang them up on for easy access. Of course it would have to be low to the ground too, so that they could help themselves to the clothing and accessories. I want to have it resemble something close to what you might see behind stage at a musical or what not, and made of wood. I think it will require a design by myself, and some gentle persuasion from Chris :)

Hannah is still under the weather, and has shared whatever it is she has, with everyone in the house. So, on that note, I will be taking a little break from blogging. I should be back on Friday with a Right Now post.

Take Care!

Holiday Napkins

I'm hosting a very tiny Thanksgiving dinner this year (my second ever), and I don't think my dinner guests - even though they're family, and pretty laid back at that - would appreciate my toddler stained bed sheet napkins. Hmmmm... I wonder why?

Soooo, I needed some new ones. Or shall we say, "new" to me. I'm pretty excited about these, as simple as they are. The fabric is yet another gift from Granny Grace (I do know how lucky I am. Thank you, thank you!), and the serger I used was my own grandma's. The whole experience has me dangerously teetering on finding myself a serger to call my own. My goodness, I made eight napkins in less than an hour. And the contrasting stitching? Love it!

Oh! And I can't forget to mention the silver napkin rings. Oh how those made my day! Such a great thrifting find. They came, still sealed in the original packaging, priced at a dollar. Seriously, all eight of them and just one dollar. So really, I guess that's how much this whole project set me back.

I think maybe I get too excited about this stuff. Or maybe I'm just really a big dork. But either way, these look nice. In fact, nice enough that I think I may have to make a new table runner, or place mats, or both. Let's go with both!

Have a great day!

Meal Planning

Today I'm linking up to a site called http://www.fitmomsfitkidsclub.com/ to share our weekly menu plan. A lot of you know I do my best to have our family follow a Real Food diet, but we're not perfect (who is?!), and I'm always looking for new (but fairly quick) recipes. I thought it might be fun to share my meal plans with all of you, at least for a few weeks anyway. I have to admit, things do get a bit repetitive around here, and I need to branch out. So I'm hoping a lot of other blogs link up to that post so I can get some more inspiration.

Every Sunday morning, I sit down with my coffee and figure out what we're going to eat for dinner for the week. I don't worry much about lunch because we usually just eat leftovers or sandwiches. For breakfast I typically have some sort of baked muffin or scone, or pancakes I pull out of the freezer and thaw to eat. I like to bake in huge batches and then freeze, it saves time and money. So, I give each family member a chance to pick one meal for that week, and then fill in the rest.

Making the list takes the guess work out of the week, and saves us a lot of money on groceries because we only buy what we need. We do our weekly shopping for produce and milk on Sunday's after the list has been made.

**Please note that all of the ingredients we use are typically organic, homegrown, handmade, local, or raw - which would be super expensive if I didn't plan ahead and make most of our own meals. We stay away from processed food as much as possible.**

Week 1

Monday: Mac 'n Cheese with a side of broccoli - Austin's pick for the week, we use Annie's Homegrown. Not really a real food, but better than the blue box ;)

Tuesday: Stuffed Shells, garlic bread toast, and green beans - Homemade - my pick

Wednesday: Grilled Chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots - Chris's pick

Thursday: Soft Tortilla Tacos and cheesy rice - we make the tortillas, and the taco seasoning, which I also add to the the hot rice and sprinkle cheddar over it. Our ground beef is grass-fed from a local farm.

Friday: Garlic Bread Pizza - we have this almost every Friday because it's easy, and everyone likes it, and I consider this Hannah's pick.

Have a great day!

Squash Soup and Scones - and a great recipe site

When the temperature starts dropping, I instinctively start wanting to cook, simmer and bake all day. Really, I think it must be instinct, because even back when I pretty much lived off of toaster pastries and boxed cereal, once fall arrived, I was more than willing to put whatever "agenda" I had aside, and cook up something new and savory. This year is no different (well, it is in the sense that I've advanced quite a bit in my cooking since those tart days).

And so, that brings me to this soup. This incredibly delicious, and packed full of good stuff soup. Yum! It's butternut squash soup, and next to that in the photo is a cheddar scone. I found the recipes for this on mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com. I love that site! I get tons of recipes from there. I must warn you, it is a bit over-whelming when you first look at it. There are just soooo many recipes. Mennonites have been known for turning almost nothing into incredible, delicious, meals. Which is how I came across this blog, and boy am I glad I did!

The veggies before they went in the pot...

I made two batches of this soup to freeze. The little jars will serve me well for lunch (my kids won't go near soup - I'm working on that), and the larger quart jars will be enough for my husband. I've already tried reheating it, and it turns out great. Click here for the recipe.

Take Care!

Tutorial: Pot Holder Mitt - not a glove

It dawned on me this afternoon, that for the last six years, I've never once purchased or used a pot holder, seriously. Maybe that's one of the reasons I always end up hurting myself in the kitchen, hmmm... Anyway, I decided it was time to finally start using one. And because I'm quite certain I would never be able to find exactly what I wanted for a price I was willing to pay, I decided I must make my pot holder mitt. I wanted to be able to slide my hand inside of something, but I didn't want it to be one of those big bulky gloves - I just don't like those. I also wanted it to double as a table trivet, and use up some of the insanely large mistake purchase of commercial grade insulated batting. That batting is the reason I had such a hard time with the lunch bag project (well one of the reasons at least). I also didn't want to spend a dime. Wow, what a list of demands! I did it though, and this is what I ended up with....

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The super thick batting made it a bit tricky with the biased tape, but other than that, it was pretty easy. If you would like to make one for yourself, this is how I did it...

What you need:
plain paper (to make your pattern)
Insulated batting (or a couple old towels)
Cotton fabric of your choice, and enough to cover both sides
Biased tape - 1 pkg
Quilting Pins
Fabric marker or chalk
Coordinating thread

Ok, here we go!

First make your pattern with the plain paper. I used one 8" x 9" and one 8" x 3.75"(you will cut two of these). You don't have to make the pattern, but it will make things a lot easier later on.

I just wanted to share with you the incredibly LARGE piece of insulted batting I bought a while back. Definitely the wrong stuff, yup. But, it still works and I'm determined to use it all up. Ideas anyone???

Lay out your pattern pieces on the batting, and draw around them, adding a half inch to all sides. You will need enough for 1 of the large pattern pieces, and 2 of the smaller ones.

Next, place your batting on top of the wrong side of your fabric.

Fold the fabric over the batting so that the wrong sides are touching. Cut out the fabric around the sandwiched batting.

Using quilting pins, pin the material to the batting, all the way threw, and make sure it's still sandwiching the batting.

Now you need to make your stitching lines to give it a quilted look, and to hold everything in place. I made diagonal lines every 1.5" and used my clear ruler as a guide to keep it even. Do this over the entire piece.

Now sew along the lines, removing the pins as you go. Just a word of caution, as you get further down your fabric strip, don't rotate the direction that you're sewing in, or you could get fabric bunching that just wouldn't look so pretty.

This is what it should look like when you're done.

Now take your pattern pieces, and cut out 1 large piece, and 2 of the smaller pieces. It should look like this.

Next, grab your biased tape. I took a picture of mine because it made me a little sad to open it up. This and the striped fabric were gifts from Granny Grace. Thank you!

Pin and then sew on the biased tape to the meeting edges on both small pieces.

Line up the edges of the smaller pieces with the large piece so that it looks like this.

Sew along all of the outer edges. You're almost done!

Pin and sew your biased tape around all of the outer edges. Be sure to add half an inch extra when you start so you can fold it under at the end and there won't be exposed seams.

That's it! It does it's job as a pot holder, and as a trivet when placed flat on the table. And, I didn't spend a dime. Again, if you don't have batting, just grab an old towel and make 2 to 3 layers depending on how thick it is, and use that as batting.

Take Care!