An Interesting Sunday

On this Sunday
1. I had a pomegranate for the first time. Yum! I made a salad with the pomegranate (only $1 at Aldi this week), cut apples, fresh spinach, and greek vinaigarette (I like Aldi's "Grandessa" brand best!).  Yum times two!
2. Ada had peanut butter for the first time.
3. Ada broke out in hives for the first time.  I called my Mom (an RN) and she told me to call First Nurse. Turns out, she's mildly allergic to peanuts.  (I bet she will outgrow it though)  No more tasting peanuts until she is a wee bit older.
5.  Ada had baby benadryl for the first time. Yucky.  You know how when you drink yucky tasting medicine, you kind of do a spastic shiver and shake because it's so gross?  She did that, and it was pretty cute. :)

Children's benadryl and a pomegranate on the chopping board.

Ada, Chris, and Charlie (our dog) are all snoozing, and I'm listening to "early jazz" station on Pandora, will be reading books and pamphlets about breastfeeding (learning SO much!) for my job, and flipping through these magazines I borrowed from the library : Mothering (all about natural, simple, and healthful parenting!), Real Simple (Nov. 2009), Martha Stewart Living (Nov. 2009), Better Homes and Gardens (Nov. 2010), and Everyday with Rachael Ray (Nov. 2009).

Fellow moms, what do you like to do when your family is snoozing on a slow Sunday afternoon?

An Ada update!

It has been a very long time since I've blogged, and here is an update on what is happening in the life of Ada and Mommy!

She drinks out of her sippy cup all by herself like a big girl!  She has also recently loved snuggling with me in our recliner and reading books together.  It is one of my favorite activities every day!

Ada has 3 teeth, with her fourth ready to pop any day.  People still comment (literally, everyday) on her gorgeous blue eyes and sweet spirit.

I made her a Halloween costume...can you figure out what she is???? 

  

A candycorn!  I had to choose something simple because I am a very amateur sewer (or seamstress?).

Ada started saying "mama," "dada," but not always at the right time.  She also looks for Charlie, and when she finds him she says "DA! DA! DA!" (yes, it does sound different from "dada") She loves to chase Charlie and play with him.  Charlie is very tolerant of her.

  

I'm an Aunt!  My beautiful niece, Olive Adele Tittle, was born on October 11, 2011.  She is a miracle baby, born premature at 34 weeks, but she has some great loving parents that are pouring their hearts and lives into her.

Lastly, God brought me a new job opportunity!  I will be working as breastfeeding peer counselor for WIC!  With this job I will support, encourage, and educate fellow moms about breastfeeding their babies!  Yay!  This job is a maximum of 6 hours per week, and Ada is allowed to be with me for most tasks, so being a homemaker is still most definitely my full time job.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Bye Bye Butt Wipes

Diaper wipes or socks?  Diaper wipes or hat and gloves?  Diaper wipes or book?  Diaper wipes or shoes?

These are the questions that have been running through my mind the last few months.  As Ada has gotten older, she has also gotten more expensive.  Ten months ago all she needed was a warm blanket and her mommy.  Now she needs socks, shoes, booster seat, baby gate, bigger clothes, toothbrush, etc.  We have a baby budget of $30 per month to spend on all things baby.  We are able to do this because we cloth diaper (we buy disposable diapers every 2-3 months).  Now, diaper wipes only cost $5 to $7.  Big deal, right?  It's not that we can't afford to buy wipes, I'm annoyed buying them.  I mean that $5 could make a bigger, long-lasting investment--like socks, or a hat, or a book, or a cute outfit, or potty training seat I found at a garage sale.  I like investments, not throwing my money away.    So began my adventure in cloth wipes.  

Even if you don't cloth diaper, YOU can use cloth wipes!  So easy!

What you need: 

Old t-shirts, undies, onesies, any old smooth cotton cloth

squirt bottle (one that has a misty-spray nozzle, not a super-jet pressure nozzle)

water

baby lotion (optional)

1. Cut old clothing into  square-ish shapes.   You can cut them into any size you want, but I cut about 4-5" squares.  You will need about 30 or so if you wash your little one's laundry once per week.  

2. Fill the squirt bottle with water.  If you like a little scent, add 10-20 squirts of your baby's scented lotion to the water and shake.

3.  When it's time to change baby's diaper, give baby's bottom a few sprays, then wipe and pat dry with the cloth wipe.

4. Throw the cloth wipe (which will be hardly damp) into the hamper to get washed with baby's clothes, or in the diaper bucket if you cloth diaper.  

I don't use cloth wipes for poopy diapers.  Poopy messes are much easier to clean with wet disposable wipes and you can toss them in the trash when you're done.  Another alternative to cut back on wipe usage is to cut your cloth wipes in half.  I did this for awhile, and I went through a package of wipes much slower.  Switching to cloth wipes you will probably save about $40 a year.  Not a huge amount.  But think of it this way, $40 is about 2 jumbo packs diapers, 4 adorable dresses, 6 board books, or a yoga class for yourself.  

After reading this, you might be worried that I've given up on all things disposable--like toilet paper.  Let me reassure you, we will definitely continue to use toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, and q-tips.  In fact, I bet my husband will say this to me after he reads this post: "If you dislike disposable products so much then why don't you cut back on the amount of toilet paper you use?!"  It's true, I tend to be a little wasteful with toilet paper, but I'm getting better at it, OK?! 

Playtime with Baby

I love hearing Ada giggle.  Let me say that again.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing Ada giggle, seeing her flash a big gummy grin lights me up, and I think it's adorable when she chases me down (army crawling) and pulls at my toes to play with me. Playtime with my daughter is one of my favorite things about my job.

Sometimes though, I have no idea what to do with her!  I can't wait for days when we can play the Wii together as a family, spend Chris' money at the mall, paint our nails, do arts and crafts, play hide and seek, etc.  But right now, she's a baby.  Our options are very limited.  And TV is not an option for entertainment for her at this age.

This book, "Brain Games for Babies, Toddlers, and Twos" by Jackie Silberg has come to the rescue!   It is filled with very intentional brain-development games that coordinate with their milestones and abilities.  It is organized like a reference book and contains games from 0 months to 3 years you can play with baby.  It also gives a brief description of the science/research behind the purpose of the game. Currently I have the book checked out from the library, but I am DEFINITELY going to buy this book sometime this year.  Amazon is selling it for $3.99 (older versions for cheaper).  I wish I would have known about this book when Ada was just a newbie!



But I've found that when all my tricks and games are exhausted (or I'm just exhausted), sticking Ada in front of the mirror keeps her entertained for quite a while!

Nuffin but a Muffin

I'm not a big believer of muffins or fruit breads for breakfast.  With all the sugar and oil that's in them, they are actually cupcakes with fruit.  And you just shouldn't eat cupcakes for breakfast, unless it's your birthday.  I'm not saying to never enjoy banana bread or blueberry muffins, but they are more suitable for dessert or a treat. Don't feed you or your kids junk for the most important meal of the day!

 It is possible to tweak the recipe in muffins and fruit breads, to make them more healthy, filling, and acceptable for breakfast.  Many muffins and bread call for a LOT of sugar.  Try adding HALF (or eliminate completely) of the sugar the recipe calls for, and add a little more fruit instead, and you'll notice that the bread or muffin is still pretty sweet and enjoyable.  In fact, fructose (sugar in fruits and vegetables) is actually sweeter than sucrose (table sugar)  Use whole wheat flour, oat, bran, or add flax seeds to add more fiber, iron, folic acid,  protein, etc.  It is also good to add nuts, unless your baby or toddler will be eating the treat too (choking hazard).  Nuts are full of protein and good fats for your heart.  Nuts can be expensive, but buy them when on sale and freeze them to extend their life.

I came up with this recipe (part of it is adapted from a Quaker Oats recipe) after Ada and I were so sick of eating Cheerios for breakfast.  Ada doesn't eat a lot for breakfast in the morning, and will usually just eat about 1/3 c of Cheerios.  I wanted to feed her something that was more healthy and hearty to start off her day.  You can totally eliminate all the sugar from this recipe and your baby would still devour them.  I kept some of the sugar (though I reduced the sugar about 90%) because Chris and I may enjoy one from time to time too.  There is less than 1 teaspoon of sugar per muffin, so I feel comfortable letting Ada eat it.  Your baby is ready to eat this muffin if they are self-feeding with finger foods, and has no allergies to wheat, eggs, or dairy. These muffins would also be great for a preggers lady who is experiencing morning sickness.  Eat one of these with a big glass of milk before you go to bed to help hold you over until the morning.

Baby Breakfast Muffins

Topping (optional):
1/4c oats (quick or old fashioned)
1/2T brown sugar (or less!)
1T butter or margarine, melted (or less!)
1/8t ground cinnamon

Muffins:
"Dry" ingredients:
1/2c oats
1 1/4c whole wheat flour
1t baking powder
3/4t baking soda
3/4t cinnamon

"Wet" ingredients:
2 4oz. jars unsweetened applesauce (or about 3/4c unsweetened applesauce)
1 4oz jar pureed banana (or 1 mashed very ripe banana)
1/2c grated carrot or zucchini (optional)
1/2c skim milk
2T brown sugar (optional)
3T vegetable oil
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 12 medium muffin cups with baking cups.  Combine ingredients for topping and set aside.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in medium bowl, then add to the dry ingredients all at once.  Stir just until moistened, do not over-mix.  Fill muffin cups almost full.  Sprinkle with the topping, patting gently.  Bake 20-22 minutes.  Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.  Remove from pan.  These muffins freeze well.

Enjoy! Ada sure is!

Bootylicious

As I'm writing this, Ada has become infatuated with my feet.  She crawled over from the other side of the room, pulled off my warm slippers, tasted them, then started tickling my toes and putting them in her mouth! Then we play a little tug of war with my foot, while I try to tickle her with my toes.  She's like a little playful kitten!  Even better than a kitten!

Anyways, today's post: diaper rashes.  Thankfully, Ada doesn't get diaper rashes very often, thanks to the breathable cotton cloth diaper.  Prevention is the best remedy for diaper rashes.  To prevent them, change a wet diaper every 2 to 3 hours, and change a poopy diaper immediately. Here are some things I've found helpful in treating a diaper rash:

Naked time!  Get your baby butt naked!  That rash needs to dry itself out and those buns need fresh air.   And, babies LOVE being naked!  Ada is twice as smiley and giggly when she gets to play naked, wouldn't you be??  If it's winter time, crank up the heat in your house for a few hours.  If the weather is nice, lay her on a towel outside, when the sun's not too intense (morning) and in a little bit of shade.  The sun is very effective in treating all kinds of skin diseases.  Rashes hurt when things, such as diapers, rub up against them.  So getting baby naked makes the rash much more bearable. If your baby can't move yet, lay out some thick towels and lay them naked on their back or tummy during their play time.  If your baby is a mover like Ada, don't bother getting out any towels.  Just get out a rag and maybe carpet cleaner to clean up any pee-pee or poo-poo messes she'll make.  You might be horrified to think about your baby peeing on the carpet, and are shocked that I let her do it.  First of all, baby pee is waaaay easier to clean up than dog or cat pee.  Baby pee is nearly clear and odorless (unless it's like 3 pees on top of each other).  Secondly, the end justifies the means.  I don't mind cleaning up potty messes (you're saving yourself some diapers!) because I know the naked time is really helpful for her booty.

Mommy's milk!  I am always fascinated with how amazing God made our human bodies.  Breastmilk contains living antibodies which do search and destroy missions against anything harmful (viruses, bacteria).  If you are breastfeeding, pump a little extra milk to put on baby's buns.  This soothes and helps quickly heal the rash.  If you give baby a nice warm bath, add some breastmilk to the water.  One time Ada woke up with a rash on her face and her buns (probably something she ate).  So in the morning I got her naked, put some breastmilk on her face and buns, and we sat outside on the deck in the shade.  Within an hour, the rash on her face was 80% gone, and the rash on her buns was 60% better!  I then gave her a bath with breastmilk added, which not only made her skin even softer but continued to aid the rashes.  Her face rash was gone by the afternoon, and her diaper rash was gone the next day.

Ditch the wipes.  When a baby has a diaper rash, they dread diaper changes because that's when mommy wipes their painful rash with a cold wipe!  Ouch!  I hate hearing Ada whimper in pain when this happens, so I don't use wipes at all.  Instead, fill a squirt bottle with warm water, or 1 part baby lotion (preferably unscented as perfumes can be irritating) and 2 parts warm water and shake to mix.  Under baby's bottom lay a towel or rag.  Remove the diaper, spray (more like a gentle mist spray) buns clean with the warm water.  If you don't have a squirt bottle, get a wet wash cloth with warm water and wring out the water over the buns.  Gently pat baby's buns dry with the towel or rag you placed under her.  Before putting the diaper back on her, use the diaper to fan her bottom dry.  If your baby has a messy poopy, just stick her in the tub and spray her bottom clean.

Diaper rash cream.  If your baby has a rash, always cover the rash in cream before putting on a diaper.  You want to keep that rash "waterproof," and the cream helps make a barrier between the rash and the wet diaper.  I really like A+D ointment cream.  It works better on Ada than a zinc-oxide cream.  Try different creams to see what works best for your baby.  And here's a tip on applying the cream: use your ring finger to apply the cream.  Your ring finger is your weakest finger, usually making it the most gentle when applying the cream.  Also, when you use this finger, you are keeping your other  fingers (pointer, middle, thumb) clean that you will use to secure the diaper on your baby.

Prayer! Lay your hands on your baby and pray for God to heal her tush.  We've experienced and witnessed and believe in God's healing touch that we know we'd be silly not to ask God to heal her.  He is so good and loving that He even cares about diaper rashes!

Lastly, these pictures are totally unrelated to diaper rashes, but I always like including pictures in my posts.

Here's a picture of us with Mrs. Hannah Al-Saygh, Ahmad Al-Saygh's (our good friend) mother.  She came all the way from Qatar to visit Ames.  We were so blessed to meet such a wonderful woman who was full of sincerity and life.  She has a granddaughter Ada's age.

This is Ada with Melinda Diehl and Vanessa Peterzen, some very good friends from my college days.  They came to visit us and we had a girls' night this past weekend.  So much fun!  

Accomplishment

This past weekend we finished our bathroom remodel! Who doesn't love before and afters???

Before:

This is our main bathroom.  The tub is light blue, walls are stark white, and the bathtub doesn't have a shower.  It created an awkward situation when we hosted overnight guests because if they wanted to shower they had to use our shower in the master bedroom (we have a 3/4 bathroom in our bedroom).  Also, with Ada getting bigger, we needed to transform the tub to be shower accessible so that it's easier to bathe Ada.  Not to mention, I hate trying to shave my legs in the stand alone shower in our bedroom!  

During:

We are sooooo fortunate to know Kyle and Sarah VanGorp.  They came all the way from DES MOINES to help us!  Kyle knows how to fix, remodel, rebuild, install anything and everything.  Sarah has got very good taste and an eye for color complementing, interior design, and decorating. Chris and I wish we were like them! Together they have totally transformed their old, worn out forclosure house into a beautiful, updated and modern home! Check out their blog here. So, Kyle helped and taught Chris how to do plumbing stuff with the shower, and Sarah helped me with painting, decorating ideas, and etc.  She was also great company while the men poured blood, sweat, and tears over the tub. 

The After:

Taa-daahh!!! Dark fern green walls, dark chocolate covered trim and painted vanity, new shower hardware with a wall surround, the tub is painted white (with a tub and tile kit), and the mirror has a tile border.  Total cost of everything: $361.09.  And this included the pizza we ordered.  Every time I step into the bathroom I feel like I'm stepping into a different house!  This is the only room in our house that has color in it right now.  The rest of the house is egg-shell white, with hardly anything on the walls.  

I super-glued tile to make a border for this flat mirror.  Stole this idea from my sister.  Luckily, I found a tile pattern at Menard's that matched our color scheme perfectly! Total cost for this was about $30.

How does posting these pictures relate to this blog about motherhood?  As a stay at home mom, I work all day, but feel like I have nothing to show for it at the end of the day.  For example, I clean the kitchen, it gets dirty, I clean it again, after lunch its dirty, clean again.  Or, clean diaper on, dirty diaper off, clean diaper on, dirty diaper off.  Family's hungry, feed the family, family's hungry, feed the family. With my job, nothing is ever completely forever "done."  In any other job outside of the home, you have task accomplishments.  For example, with Chris' job, he talks to a customer, designs a playground, sells the playground, organizes the installation, and it's done.  He has something to show for it.  I don't regret my job or despise the nature of it.  I do believe that the tasks I do to take care of our home and my family are important and meaningful, but I do miss having "accomplishments."  Now, I don't have a need for "accomplishments" to justify my profession of being a stay at home mom.  I feel really secure that this is where God has called me to be for this season of my life, and I love my job!  But I miss the feeling you get when you have done something, and it's done forever, and you have something tangible to show for it.  Even that piece of paper you receive after four years of college feels good to look at, doesn't it?  That's the sense of accomplishment that I miss.  That's one of the reasons I loved doing this project.  It breaks me out of the mundane, is an outlet for my creativity, and I can say, "Look!  I did this!"  Through this I've discovered my need to do fun projects, be it a bath remodel or a sewing project or painting, for the sake of enjoyment in breathing out a long sigh, wearing a proud smile on my face, and saying "I'm done!"

The Self-Cleaning Microwave

Don't you wish your microwave had a self-cleaning function like your oven? I mean, microwaves get dirtier and more quickly than ovens, and are used twice as much. One thing I can't stand is a dirty microwave. I feel so yucky when I open up a microwave and get punched in the face with the smell of popcorn and garbage disposal, and then have to set my food in a box that looks like someone blew their chunks into. Of course, the best way to keep a microwave clean is to clean it after every food explosion. But sometimes the baby's crying, the pot's boiling over, the phone is ringing, and you're running late to the doctor's office, and you just can't get to it right then. Then, by the time you are able to get to it, the splattered food is plastered-stuck on to the walls of it. Bending 90 degrees over the counter with a scraper and a bowl of soapy water is not something anyone enjoys doing. Couldn't you just scream, "You made this mess, YOU clean it up!" at your microwave?

Fortunately, your microwave can help you with the hardest part of restoring it's cleanliness. Here's how:

After you're done washing dishes or wiping down the counter with your dishrag or sponge, rinse the remaining crumbs or grime off of it, then wring most, but not all, of the water out. Stick the dishrag in the microwave, and microwave it on high for three minutes. This sanitizes your dishrag and prevents it from getting smelly.

When the microwave beeps, carefully remove the dishrag (it will be very hot) and drape it over the faucet to let air dry. You will notice that your microwave is steamy and a lot of moisture has accumulated, thus soaking the hardened stuck on food.

Get one sheet of paper towel, and begin to wipe all the walls of the microwave (starting with the ceiling wall) and the microwave plate. You will notice that the messes glide right off. If needed, you can dampen the paper towel if some food is really stuck. Done!

So, there you go. You handed your microwave a wet rag and told it to get to work on cleaning up the mess it caused. AND, you sanitized your dish rag.

This Is How We Become Millionaires

This is how our family economy works: Chris brings home the money, I spend the money. A millionaire's wife once said "you can't become a millionaire without a good offense and a good defense." Chris plays offense: he seeks ways to acquire wealth, and I play defense, I seek ways to maintain wealth. Most people are really good at bringing in money, but few people are good at saving and maintaining their wealth. Good defense comes down to two things: vision and budgeting.

What's your vision? Do you want to pay off your school debt in 12 months? Do you want to pay off your credit card debt? Do you want to remodel the kitchen? Do want to retire with ease? Write out your goals and plan how you will meet those goals. Have a conversation like this: "We want to do A, B, and C. First, we will work towards A. We will set aside x dollars every month for the next 12 months to reach goal A. When we reach goal A, we will work towards goal B. We will set aside x dollars every month for the next 36 months to do this." Work towards only one goal at a time, otherwise you will become overwhelmed and may never reach any of your goals. If you need help getting a vision or goals, check out Dave Ramsey's website here for some help. Post these goals on your fridge, and remind yourself of them when you want to purchase something your budget can't handle.

Budgeting is the vehicle that enables you to meet your goals. Make a written budget and follow it. Here's what we do:

A Recipe for a Great Budget:

Ingredients:

1 calculator

paper and pencil (or excel spreadsheet)

two envelopes, one marked "recorded receipts" and the other marked "unrecorded receipts"

1. Make a list of all your expenses and their amounts for a month-long period. Some things, such as mortgage/rent and insurance, are the same amount every month. Other things, such as groceries or supplies or baby items, you aren't sure how much you spend on every month. For those items just write down an estimate. These are some of our categories: tithe, mortgage, cell phone, car insurance, utilities, trash, babysitting, netflix, gas, food, supplies, home improvement, baby, gift, automotive, fun, and miscellaneous.

2. Save all evidences that verify your spending. Save all your receipts, bill statements, and check duplicates. On our fridge (underneath our financial goals list) we have a magnetic clip that holds two envelopes. One envelope says "unrecorded receipts." Your receipts, bill statements, and check duplicates go in this envelope. The other envelope says "July 2011: Recorded Receipts," which I will talk about next.

3. Schedule in one hour each week to sit down and do what I call "money management." During this time, I pay any bills that need to be paid, check all bank and credit card statements online (even if your credit cards aren't being used, check them to guard against identity theft), and record our spending through the receipts we have saved. For each week, record how much you have spent in each category. After each receipts has been recorded it goes in the envelope marked "recorded receipts."

4. At the end of the month, get out your calculator and type in this equation: the amount of money that came in this month (total income) MINUS the amount you spent this month EQUALS the amount you put towards your goal! woo-hoo!

5. After each month, review your budget and your spending habits. The first three months of your budget will mostly be monitoring your spending habits. After month three, you will be able to see where you are spending too much, and where you can and should cut back. This is also the time where tell yourself, "Good job! It wasn't easy, but I'm getting closer to my goal!"

To some of you, this might sound like the most tedious and boring thing in the world. It might be. But you know what? It works! Is one hour of boring tediousness worth having greater control over my money and becoming more financially free? YES! Chris and I started following this budgeting plan in May, and started making payments towards my school loans in July. Because of this, we've been able to pay off 34% of our student debt in just two months! That success is what prompted me to write this. I finally feel we are making some major headway in being financially responsible and achieving financial freedom. One more secret about budgeting is, it's FUN! Every month, Chris and I play this game called "Stick to the Budget." Every month is a fun challenge for us to find creative ways to stretch our money further. We try to outdo each other in finding great deals, we find ways to stretch the use of something we own, we find cheap new ways to entertain ourselves and go on dates, etc.

My motivation to be a responsible money manager is much stronger now that I'm a mom. I have dreams to help pay for Ada's college, give her the wedding of her dreams, leave an inheritance, be able to retire and spend lots of time with grandkids..... but most of all, I need to teach my kids how to be good money managers as well. Chris and I can only instill in our kids the importance of good offense and good defense if we teach and lead by example.

Recycling Adventures

One more thing I love about Marshalltown, Iowa is there is a recycling ordinance. When I lived in Ames, there was no recycling plant or ordinance, and it was extremely inconvenient if someone wanted to recycle. Having this ordinance makes it convenient to recycle, because I just set my recyclables outside with the trash and someone picks it up and takes care of it (for a reasonable price). Now I love to recycle!

I know I should use my reusable grocery bags more, but I usually realize I forgot them in the closet halfway to the store. Going grocery shopping once or twice a week, we use a lot of grocery bags. I don't mind saving them, but where do you neatly hide grocery sacks??

In an empty kleenex box! Empty kleenex boxes work great for storing those plastic bags. You would be surprised how many you can cram into the box! I will also use these bags as trash can liners for our small bathroom trashcan. I will hide some of these sacks in the bottom of those trashcans so there is always a handy bag available to replace when the trash goes out.

Moms, I've also been saving the sacks newspapers come in during rainy days, bread bags, and the small sacks you put your produce in at the supermarket. I always keep a few in the diaper bag because they are great for throwing a stinky diaper in if you don't have a trashcan nearby or you are at a guest's home. They would be great doo-doo bags for dog owners too!

I've discovered old yogurt containers (which can't be recycled like other plastics) make great baby food bowls, too. The AE brand is best because they come with lids. I only had 4 purchased baby bowls to begin with, but now that Ada's eating more, I usually use 2 bowls per meal. Nail polish remover will take off the ink on the yogurt cup so that it doesn't get confused with your other yogurts and you have a space to label if you want.

Lastly, Ada has her first teeth! Congratulations Ada!

The Most Helpful Baby Book

This is the most helpful baby book I have found. It's called "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. The book cover says it all, "Super Baby Food: Absolutely everything you should know about feeding your baby and toddler, from starting solid foods to age three. Includes more than 300 quick, easy, delicious and nutritious recipes and thousands of money-saving and time-saving child care and kitchen tips. Highly recommended by new moms and dads!"

Like the author, my philosophy on the care and feeding of my baby is to do what's natural, healthy, and affordable, (consequently, natural and healthy means of caring for your baby are usually the cheapest). When I started feeding Ada solid foods, I had no clue what to do (and I ended up making some big mistakes)! I got different advice from different people, but I really needed a handy reference that would say "do this, not this, and this is how you do it." That's what Ruth Yaron does in this book. She covers things from what to feed your baby and how, how to make your own baby products, recipes, crash course in nutrition, arts and crafts, homemade non-poisonous cleaning products, food preparation and storage, detailed information on nearly every fruit and vegetable, I could go on and on. The author gives very practical advice and speaks from her own experiences from raising twins.

I keep this book next to my cookbooks in the kitchen and refer to it probably three times a week. If you are a new mom, a mom with children under 5, or are pregnant, I strongly recommend buying this book. If you are a friend of someone who is pregnant, this would make a wonderful baby shower gift. I would even buy it even if you don't have kids, or aren't planning on having kids for a while, because it is full of helpful homemaking and problem solving tips. I bought mine off of Amazon for $2.00! You can't beat that!

this is good pizza...WOW

This is how dinner went last night:

Chris: "This is good pizza.....WOW"

Me: "I think I have my next blog post"

Homemade pizza tastes great, is cheap, and easier that you think to make! It is also very filling, makes for great leftovers, and is healthier than any pizza you could buy. In the cold months you can bake it in the oven, and during the warm months you can GRILL it! If we could, I would grill our pizza every time, it truly makes a perfect pizza.

Let's start with the sauce, here's an easy recipe:

In a sauce pan, add 1T olive oil and 5 cloves of garlic. Over medium heat, cook the garlic until tender. Then add 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes, and 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes. Add whatever seasonings you want, until you get the taste you want. We usually add crushed red pepper flakes, some Cavendar's Greek seasoning, some fresh or dried basil and oregano (or an Italian blend of dried herbs), and sugar. Simmer on low heat, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Use whatever you need for your pizza, then freeze the leftover sauce in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop the pizza sauce cubes out and store in a freezer safe bag. When it's time to make a pizza, take out 6-8 cubes and microwave them until they melt.

While the sauce is simmering, get out your breadmachine for the Very Best Pizza Dough. If you don't own a bread machine, you can use this recipe still, but will need to mix, knead, and let rise (for an hour) yourself.

The Very Best Pizza Dough:

1c water, more or less

2 1/2c whole wheat flour

1c bread flour

1T sugar OR 3T honey

1t salt

3T olive oil

1 3/4t yeast

If you aren't going to grill it (you'll be missing out), then roll out the dough, bake it in the oven for about 5-8 minutes before putting toppings on. I usually bake my pizza at 375 or 400.

To grill, you need this pan. If you or your honey likes to grill, I HIGHLY recommend investing in this pan. This pan is perfect for grilling stir fry, fish, and pizza. However, my husband grills everything in this pan because it keeps the grill clean. When you're done, throw it in the dishwasher. We bought ours at a Cook's Emporium (Ames, Iowa), and it has a removable handle. Just make sure you spray it with oil before you use it.

After you roll out the dough, place it in the pan. Then, get your man and say, "Come on baby light my fire...."

You gotta love a man who knows how to grill! Chris loves to grill, and one of the great things about Summertime is that he gets to grill a LOT, which means I spend less time cooking (though I do love cooking) and more time relaxing. Also, grilling gets us both involved in the meal preparation and we have a lot of fun doing it! Anyways, when the grill is hot and ready, start to cook the dough without any toppings. At this point, you just want to be cooking the bottom of it.

Remove the dough from the grill when the bottom is brown and crispy on the bottom like this. Then bring it inside, and you need to flip it so the uncooked side now faces the bottom. Press the dough so that it forms the pan.

Spread your homemade sauce and add your toppings. I think adding the cheese last, while the meats and veggies are buried beneath, and then sprinkling fresh or dried herbs such as basil or oregano on top of the cheese makes it taste better.

After you put the toppings on, return the pizza to the grill. Grill until the cheese is gooey-melty, and the bottom is crispy again. This picture really doesn't do it justice, but what you get is probably the most fantastic pizza you'll ever have.

So, what kind of difference does grilling do to the pizza? The crust is crispy on the outside, but chewy on the inside. When cooked in an oven, the crust is more bread-like, without any dual texture. Also, the cheese is more gooey-melty than it would be if it were cooked in an oven. I think the cheese tastes more dried out when cooked in an oven. Lastly, you get a hint of charcoal and smoke flavor, which an oven can never do for you. Enjoy!

Five Ways We've Learned to Save

With a single income, a mortgage, a baby, and student loans to pay off, Chris and I are constantly looking for new ways to save money. Here are five habits we've picked up the last year or so that have saved us a lot of money.

1. Get a library card. We've discovered that reading is a form of fun and relaxing entertainment for us. Why buy books, dvds, and magazines when you can have total access to them for FREE??? Many libraries now have Inter-Library Loan (ILL), which means if your library doesn't have a book (or dvd or cd) you're looking for, your library can borrow the book from another library and lend it to you. In college I got most of my textbooks from the library (and using ILL) and saved thousands of dollars.

2. Ditch cable TV. I know this might be hard to believe, but I guarantee you that if you never watch Jersey Shore ever again, you will have a more fulfilling life. I’m serious! The basic channels are all free. Try watching only the free channels for one month. Either you will find new favorite shows, or you won’t like any and will give up TV completely and find yourself doing things you actually love more than TV. The other way to go is Netflix. Chris and I don’t have any TV reception at our house, so we bought Netflix ($7.99 per month) to have access to tons of movies and tv shows commercial free.

3. Get to know the people who can give you discounts. The right contacts can save you a lot of money. For example, when we bought our washer and dryer from Lowe's a year ago, we got them for 70% off. They were on clearance (because the washer was blue and the dryer had a dent), and because Chris had favor with the department manager, he gave us an additional discount. At Hyvee, the best person to get to know is one of the leaders in the liquor department. The last few months Chris and I have been buying beer for half of the price because the department manager will show us where the crazy discount deals are that weren't advertised. Department managers in retail stores are the best people to get to know because they know their department well enough to know where the best deals are, and they may have more authority to add extra discounts. When I say "get to know them," I mean be friendly, nice, courteous, and genuinely acknowledge them. Chris and I have both worked in retail and it made our day when customers would just ask, "How are you today?" or have a conversation. Those are the customers that we didn't mind going the extra mile for and loved to help.

4. Ask for help from your friends. If we depend on our friends more, we could save more money. It's hard asking for help, not because my friends aren't willing to help, but sometimes it's hard to admit I need help! Real friends are willing to help you out for FREE. Don't pay for babysitting, ask you friends if you could watch their kids one night and another night they could watch your kids. Ask your handy friends for help fixing the toilet or remodeling the kitchen. Find out what your friends are good at, and let them use their strengths to help you. Additionally, offer your help to your friends for FREE. Imagine, if a whole neighborhood was friends with each other, every household would not own a lawnmower. There would probably be only 3 lawnmowers for the whole street to use when needed. We didn't own a sod-buster or a rototiller in order to get our garden started this year. When we saw our neighbors using a rototiller and sod buster, we asked if we could pay them to use it. Our neighbors didn't want our money, instead, they came over to our yard and sod-busted and rototilled a garden plot for us!

This is my friend Satomi and her daughter Airi (11 months). We frequently will babysit each other's babies for free so we can have date nights, run errands, or get some time alone. Ada and Airi love the time to play with each other too!

5. Tithing. How does giving your money back to God save you money? I don't understand how it works, but it does. One of those miracles. Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the window of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." Chris and I have experienced this firsthand, that when we give 10% of our income back to the LORD, He blesses us even more financially.

Potty Mouth

Disposable diapers are pretty amazing. They've really made the butt-wiping experience easier on today's moms. We're so fortunate to live in the times that we do, that there are so many products available that make taking care of babies easier and more convenient.

Based on my personal values system, I can't justify myself purchasing a product that is used for only 2 to 3 hours, pooped in, then thrown away. For you, maybe convenience trumps affordability, and that's okay. Chris and I have decided to use cloth diapers on our kids. Originally, we committed (and it really is a commitment) to cloth to save money. Or rather, to have more money to pay off loans, go on dates, kitchen remodels, etc. After using them for the last 6 months, I am can honestly say that I prefer cloth diapers over disposables for reasons other than money. Here's a few:

--With cloth diapers, poop goes in the toilet and is flushed away, where it belongs, and you never see it or smell it again. With disposable diapers, poop (probably multiple poops) sits in the trash inside your clean house all day long. That's too weird for me.

--Less diaper rashes. When we go out of town for the weekend or on vacation, Ada uses disposable diapers. Towards the end of the trip, it is guaranteed that Ada will get a bad diaper rash. When at home and using cloth diapers regularly, Ada rarely gets a diaper rash. I haven't confirmed this with other moms, but for us consistent disposable diaper usage means diaper rashes.

--What would you prefer to wear? Soft cotton that smells like fresh laundry, perhaps still warm from the dryer, or crinkly papery-plastic? I take great pleasure in knowing Ada's precious tush is wrapped in soft cotton.

--It's earth friendly. Let's be good stewards of the world God created for us; this is a way to do that.

This post isn't about converting you to cloth diapers, you should make the decision that works best for your family. If you are on the fence about it, considering it, or maybe fearful of it, I want you to know that cloth diapering is easier than you'd think. If we can do it, so can you! Here's how I do it:

1 cloth diaper (Gerber Prefolded Birdseye. $10.98 for 12 pack at Walmart or Target. I have 36 total), 2 pins (could only find at Babies R Us, $1.99 for 6), 1 diaper cover (Gerber, about $5 for 3, could only find at Babies R Us).

Put the diaper on your super cute baby. You're probably thinking, those pins look sharp and dangerous! They are. So be careful. I've only poked myself 4 times, and Ada once. Don't cloth diapers look so cute?? They remind me of cupid.

If the diaper is poopy I spray the poop off with this high-pressure squirt bottle (Walmart $3) into the toilet. Some poopy diapers get rinsed by hand in the toilet. Pee-pee diapers don't need any rinsing. Then I put the used diaper in the diaper bucket. It's a Kingsford Kaddy for storing charcoal (Hyvee, $10-$14). I love it because it can hold up to 30 used diapers, has a handy easy flip lid, and is air tight (no stinkies!).

If it is a pee-pee diaper, then I rinse out the cover with warm water and hang it to dry. Yep, that's a hanger with 4 wooden clothespins. They dry faster if I hang it outside. If the cover has any poo on it then it gets rinsed and thrown in the diaper bucket.

This is what makes cloth diapering so easy. Once a week I plug my nose, hold my breath, and open up the diaper bucket and throw the used diapers into the washer. I wash with Dreft baby detergent and bleach, and do an extra rinse and spin. My high-efficiency washing machine (Frigidaire Affinity, bought on clearance at Lowe's) has a 2 hour sanitary cycle which gets my diapers very clean. In fact, none of Ada's diapers have stains. NONE! When I take them out of the dryer you would think they were brand spanking new.

All in all, remember that poopies, sharts, and pee-pee will always be messy. Caring for a baby is a dirty job. Regardless of what kind of diaper you use, you will get poop on your hands, clothes, and maybe the carpet, you will have diaper explosions that forever stain those brand new onesies, the smell will make you gag at times, and you will get grossed out. But you will live. And you will focus on how much fun you're having snuggling with your baby, hearing her giggle, and getting lost in her eyes and smile. And you will remember that all the hard work is worth it, and doesn't seem that hard when you are in love.