Fruit of the Sea Bento

This lunch was a big giant scoop of joy for me.  My amazing friend Julie from Washington State sent me those adorable Japanese picks that I've been eyeing for a long time.  They are so precious and my boys loved them!

The main dish was the Shrimp Primavera leftover from dinner the night before.  Thankfully the boys have a microwave at school to warm it a few seconds.  I got the shrimp for $4.99 in a bag of 50 jumbo shrimp a month ago at King Soopers.  I'm almost done with the bag.  We've probably had 3 meals from that bag, so that was a good protein value.  The upper right box was a mish mash of the end of bags in our pantry.  There were some leftover peanuts, multi grain crackers and goldfish.  Goldfish seemed to go with the theme.  The berry salad was a total steal from Target.  They had berries on sale and even though the strawberries were a little pale and sour looking, the boys ate them up.  The yogurt was a coupon deal and I think I got the yogurts for $.20 a piece and I'm able to get two servings out of it.

Here is Coopers breakfast treat.  He is so picky, but he will eat pretty much anything that is served in cute containers.  He was mystified and adoring of the picks.  All hail Julie's picks!

Now that I've pretty much emptied out all the fruit and pantry of crackers etc., it's time to go grocery shopping!

I wish I was my Mom

This was a fun and super easy way to feed the boys today.  The salad on the bottom of the turkey rolls was leftover from last night.  The turkey was rolled with mild cheddar and held together by a new plastic pic I bought at Hobby Lobby last week.  The Chex Mix was on sale with a coupon again (yay!)  The fruit salad was a little splurge.  I normally just buy what is the weekly loss leader, but they were $.99/lb for the grapes and $3.99 for the strawberries.  The blueberries were $2 a pint which felt really high, but oh well.  My children love berries and they are the best fruit around.  The pistachio's were $3.99 a bag and I had a coupon.  I'll probably get 6 lunch sides out of the bag.

I make 3 lunches a day just in the Laptop Lunches.  Sometimes I make one for Cooper, but usually he just eats off a large plate that I doll up a bit.  Gryffin is still eating like a savage, so I don't bother with him.  I really should treat myself to a lovely lunch.  Isn't it a Mother's way to take care of everyone else and then grab a bite of whatever you can scavenge in the fridge usually while standing.  Then while you are standing over the sink, a little person comes by to mooch off of you?  This is just life for me right now.  I'm sure I'll be eating at a table one day with no one mooching off of me, but for now, I got little mooches.

Happy Turkey Day Bento

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In honor of turkey day, I made a turkey bento for my kiddos:

The turkey was a lot of fun this morning.  It's a plain old PB&J and I used my new square shaped cutter for the body and the circle shaped cutter for the head.  So it's two mini sandwiches.  The cutters I got at Hobby Lobby for $3.77 each with 3 cutter sizes per package.  So while it wasn't the best deal, I couldn't resist!  I could have easily made the square sandwich with a knife and the circle with a shot glass (I've done that before) but these were quick and easy enough.  The wattle was made with a strawberry bit and the beak was a fruit leather piece.  The eyes were made with food safe black marker and the "feathers' are just apple slices.  The upper right hand corner is my attempt at a "Nutri Grain" bar.  I made it with all purpose flour and teff flour and strawberry preserves.  It turned out well and if you would like the recipe, just comment at my blog and I'll post it for you.  I found some turkey toothpicks at Hobby Lobby for 50% off and I'm getting excited for Christmas stuff, but I'm going to wait until closer to black friday when they really discount a little better.

I'm trying to figure out how to make hot lunches in a thermos for the boys.  They love hot lunch, but hate the contents.  For instance, they love Mac & Cheese, but after a few hours in a thermos, it's pretty mushy and unpalatable.  Same with any pasta or noodle concoction.  Hot dogs in the thermos are fine (if I cut it in half or squish it into the thermos,) but then I need a baggy for a bun and a container to keep it from squishing and I don't think the kids want to take two thermos's each or two containers just for one meal.  We also have a condiment issue with my oldest.  He has sensory issues and has to have hot sauce on the hot dog.  Not a big deal, right?  Well, it's Chalulu sauce and gets everywhere because it's so thin and drippy.  Trust me when I tell you that hot sauce is not my friend.  So back to hot lunches, I'm looking for a container that does it all.  A one stop shop.  I'm going to fill out my wholesale license for Citizenpip because it looks as though I can have it all with that system.  Comment below if you know of another containment system that would work even better!

Shark Attack!

I love love love this one!

How else can you jazz up a turkey and cheese sandwich?  Turn it into a shark eating Chex Mix of course.  The turkey was Foster Farms $2.50 a pack turkey special with $1.00 clearance bagged lettuce and colby cheese I got with a ridiculous coupon.  The Chex Mix I can't remember exactly but it wasn't more than $.50 for the big bag with my coupon.  The bell peppers were clearance and the blueberry and strawberry pints were $1.50 each.  I made the teeth with my slivered almonds and the eyeball is a blueberry with a Chex Mix pretzel circle for the iris.  In the small container, I have ranch for dipping.  Riley was very excited to eat this lunch today.

Leaks not Leeks

The one question I get more than any other question since the beginning of my professional cloth diapering career is that of leaks.  Leaks are a part of the diapering experience, but particularly troublesome with cloth because there is often a reason behind it and figuring it out can be frustrating.

Cloth diapering is not paper diapering.  In cloth, you can't keep a child in a pee soaked diaper for hours on end.  It's the dark side of the equation on choosing to use cloth vs. paper.  The chemicals in paper diapers are pretty caustic to the body, but they do absorb a crazy amount of liquid.  Most cloth fanatics like to gloss over the problems of cloth diapering, but I think it's good to get it out in the open along with solutions.

I change my guys every 2 hours approximately.  But I don't think I'd let a child sit in a soaked diaper regardless of the textile choice.  Of course, I change soiled diapers immediately.  And changing a heavy diaper is crucial to leak prevention.

Why is it still leaking when I change them often enough??  It could be one of a few things.  Check your diaper for repelling.  If you pour a little water (just a few tablespoons) does the water soak into the diaper?  Or does the water run off?  If the water runs off, it means that it could be detergent build up, which I'll explain later.  If it absorbs effectively, then it could be your diaper cover.  The diaper cover is pretty much bullet proof, but the gussets that allow for stretching, contain a lot of bumps and grooves that can detergent can cling to as well.  

How to fix detergent build up.  Stripping.  No, you don't have to get naked.  You just need the blue Dawn dish detergent (1 T will be plenty) and add it to the hot wash with your diapers.  Rinse, rinse and rinse until all the bubbles are gone.  

To prevent build up in the first place, use a good detergent recommended for your diaper.  I know a lot of people who go for diaper covers for variety, but unfortunately, it creates more work for you.  Figure out the brand you use the most and go to their website for laundering instructions.  I know that Bummis has an extensive list of detergents that work really well on their diapers.  My favorite is Rockin' Green Detergent and I've never had a problem with it.  I just use the recommended amount of detergent for my diaper load and no repelling ever.  I know some people who use Sports Wash you get at Walmart, with rave reviews.  Country Save and Charlie's soap are usually recommended detergents as well.  

Also, a good rule of thumb is to dry the cotton, line dry the plastic.  So if it's an absorbing textile?  Go ahead and dry it.  If it's a plastic/rubber/PUL material?  Hang dry to keep it from wearing out faster.  Again, check the manufacturers recommended suggestion for laundering and you can't go wrong.

I have two in diapers currently.  I pretty much stick to Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heiny's because they both fit my children the best.  I love love love Rocky Mountain Diapers and Whamies and Kanga's etc. but the two fit on the same setting for the FB and HH it's just easier to stick with those.  I have about 35 in rotation and wash every 2 days.  I use the microfiber insert from FB mostly because they are a 4 layer insert as opposed to the usual 3 layer from most manufacturers.  I have a HE front loading machine from LG.  I wash in cold with an extra rinse to get off the extra stuff I can't spray off into the toilet.  Then I put 2 T of Rockin' Green Unscented Hard Rock into the detergent receptacle.  I do the sanitary cycle with a prewash/extra rinse and that has always worked for me.  I put the inserts and prefolds I use into the dryer and take the covers and line them to dry out in the sun on the back porch.  The sun bleaches out any leftover stains.  When the diapers are done line drying (it's usually as quick as the machine drying cycle out in the Colorado sun) I stuff the diapers with the inserts and put them in a pretty cloth cubed bucket.  My other bucket has wipes and wipe solution at the ready.  When I need to change a diaper, I separate the insert from the cover and put them into the laundry tote in the laundry room.  If it's a poop, I take the laundry tote into the bathroom, toss the wipes and remove the insert and throw them in the tote.  Then I spray the cover into the toilet and toss into the laundry tote and then take the laundry tote back into the laundry room.  My laundry room is adjacent to the toilet.  I should probably just put a door hanger on the bathroom door for the tote, but I only have 2 poops a day and hate to open and shut the bathroom so much to keep the baby from running in there (he is addicted to playing with the toilet paper, sprayer and plunger!)  

That's it!  If you have any questions, just ask and go see my laundering 101 at www.diaper-dash.com for more details!

School Halloween Party

Here we are ready to rock and roll for school parties today.  My lovable nerd Jack:

Riley looks better in makeup than myself!

Please bento, don't eat me!

This bento probably broke the bank by being closer to $1.50, but still much cheaper than buying lunch.  The apples I squirted clementine juice over them to keep them from browning.  I stuck almond slivers in them for the teeth.  Yesterday I fried up some pumpkin seeds, so that is what I used for fingernails on the carrots with cream cheese for glue.  The ghost was my big project yesterday.  It's crispy rice with marshmallow rolled out and cut with a ghost cookie cutter, dipped in white chocolate bark and the face is from melted dark chocolate.  The cheese and crackers were filler because I was running out of time because I was in charge of makeup for the rock star.  Jack was a nerd and the only thing I did for him was tape his glasses.  On Sunday they will be zombies, but school wouldn't let them be zombies.  The zombie night will be so much fun because I get to play with makeup!

A Hauntingly good meal!

OK, inspiration hit me this morning finally, whew!  It's been a bit of a drab week, but I feel like today's lunch was really fun.

First off, Frankenstein.  He is a peanut butter sandwich with all natural strawberry fruit leather cut out for the eyebrows, mouth and neck plugs.  The M&M's for eyes and nose were "glued" on with a little peanut butter.  I have a Yoplait yogurt container with a scrapbook paper cut out spider web.  The grapes are just plain with a little Frankenstein stick to give a hint as to the sandwiches true identity.  The carrot "toes" are almond slices glued on with cream cheese (cream cheese used was less than a teaspoon for 3 lunches worth.)  The finger is a cheese stick with food safe markers.  The $1/lb. grapes are officially gone (thank goodness because I was getting bored with them!)  The yogurt was a 4 pack for $.90 (with coupon.) The carrots were $1 per bag and the bag of cheese sticks with coupon was $2.  The almond slices were in a bag for $1.25 on sale and the fruit leather was $3.99 for a box of 8 (I used 1 for all face parts for 4 sandwiches.)  The paper was found in my scraps of scrapbook paper. This meal was easily under $1!

Uninspired Bento

I love the Laptop Lunch Bento 2.0, but it's not always feasible to be creative at 6:30a.m.

Here is a very normal, boring lunch that still makes my family happy:

The turkey was Foster Farm at $2.50 for a package that made 6 sandwiches worth.  The cheese was American I got with a $5 off coupon for 5 at $1.50 each, so approx $.50 per package that has 16 slices.  The peanuts were just $2 per can and the pretzels were $2.50 per 1 lb. bag.  The bread was on special for $1.49 a loaf.  I got the DanActive for $.88 for a 4 pack and the clementines were $2.99 per bag.  The eggs were boiled from the last day of the freshness date at $.95 a dozen.  So the grand total for this meal was around about $1.28.  My goal is to spend $1 or under per lunch, but it's so hard sometimes.  It has to be high protein and no red or yellow dye because of my son's allergies (the marker is a red dye, but he doesn't eat the decoration one :-P)

Mac & Cheese for lunch

This was a sick at home lunch, so I had a little more leeway.  I used the Annie's Shells and had a spider stuck in it.  The raspberry yogurt had sprinkles and the grapes had their usual monster sticks.  Nothing too crazy, but the price of this lunch was outstanding.  The box of Annie's I got for $1 and it fed three boys.  The yogurt was in a 4 pack of Activia I got with coupon for $.88 and the grapes were $1/lb.  So for the price of about $.70 for each lunch, it was a crazy bargain!  I rounded up for the milk usage and the pack of halloween decor I got on clearance last year.  I'll be shopping clearance again this year and I usually wait until its about 75% off and take the last of everything.

Wasteful Lunch

No pictures today.  No bento.  The big boys came home with their field trip flyer with instructions for only a "sack lunch."  Rich pulled out an old lunch bag of ours to use and I laughed.  I had to explain to him that "sack lunch" meant something to trash like paper and baggies.  It's so funny how our normal now is to reduce, reuse, recycle and any idea to use something tossable is so foreign!  But that's a good thing.

I did use my Pampered Chef pocket sandwich maker for some PBJ and drew a Jack O 'Lantern face and then stuffed it in a sandwich bag.  I tossed some Wheat Thin sticks in a sandwich bag too.  My clementines were peeled and tossed with some grapes and while it was a whole lot quicker, it felt awful and awkward.  I had no joy this morning with lunch making.  I threw everything into the brown bag and closed it with a sticker, but still just nothing.

So I guess bento making isn't really about my kids as much as I thought. It's my morning latte that gets my creativity flowing.  Sometimes making lunches gives me a giggle when I think of a particularly clever idea.  It's also fun to imagine the joy my boys feel opening the Laptop Lunch box.  That thought fills me for the day because I can't control anything that happens at school.  If Jack gets his feelings hurt, I can't be there to give him a hug.  If Riley gets an A on his math test, I'm not there right away to give him a high five.  But my lunches are there whispering words of love and encouragement right in the middle of the day.  If the lunches could talk they'd say, I see you and I value you.

It reminds me of the feelings I had when Jack was born early and had to be in the special nursery with the oxygen hood and wires all around him.  I just stared at him and touched him and worried about him.  When they gave me the breast pump, it gave me something to do.  It made me feel empowered that I wasn't completely useless to him.  If I could pump and produce enough milk, that could help him get out of the nursery sooner.  So it was with his nutrition then that demonstrated my love, so it is now when I make the silly lunches.

Mummy and the Blob

Here at Diaper Dash, I am just having a ball with Halloween and Laptop Lunches!

The "Mummy" is a hot dog wrapped up in a crescent.  While it looks more like a doomed hotdog with an oversized sombrero and parka, I found it to be a respectable enough Mummy for the occasion.  The clementine could be a pumpkin with a Frankenstein popping out OR a Frankenstein with an orange hoop skirt, you choose.  The blob was raspberry yogurt and some orange and purple sugar sprinkles and three frozen blueberries for a spooky effect.  I was watching Sandra Lee on the Food Network showing off her hilarious attempt at "scary" cupcakes and it really did make me feel like a professional chef.

Dear Sandra Lee, no matter how much you attempt to use icing for brains, it really is not scary.  Please describe it as cute or sweet or silly or seasonal but your cupcakes will never be scary or spooky.  BTW, I truly did enjoy the brains icing, but just know that hardly anyone owns teeny tiny miniature cookie cutters the size of a fingertip to cut the eyes and nose out of a sheet of fondant for a pumpkin face.  If I had all your  kitchen supplies in my kitchen, my kitchen would basically be the size of a small village outside of Boulder.  Think about your audience and try to limit your supplies to what is most doable for your audience.  Sincerely, Kathy Long.

Dirty finger

Here's a Bento that sure to totally gross out your kiddos.  I took a cheese stick and shredded the joints with a knife and then carved out space for the fingernail.  Painted it with the food safe markers and voila, a dirty finger!  I wished I had some almond slices because those make fabulous fingernails for carrots "glued" with cream cheese.  The "pumpkin" clementine has a little cucumber peel to be the stem.  I couldn't figure out what to do with the Nutter Butters as the kids were begging me to put them in the box.  If I had more time, maybe they could be bat wings, or a mummy, but I need some white or tan something to wrap around the cookies.  In any case, Happy Thursday!

Frightningly Delicious Bento!

It's October, and what better way to have fun than to make beautiful fun bento boxes for my boys!  We have a ghost sandwich with peanut butter and he is laying on top of a Fall hostess type cake.  Next to him is a blood moon (a peach slice) with bloody eyes (eggs) and a chocolate eyeball for fun.  I skewered the leftover peach parts and put a pumpkin ring on top.  The popcorn is covering a haunted house made of cheese.  I found a house cookie cutter from Hobby Lobby for less than $.20 so I snagged it and made it scary with food grade dye (the same stuff that made the mouth and eyes on the ghost.)

If I were to calculate the cost of this meal, it was easily under $1.00.  The Cheese slices came in a big pack of 12 slices and I had a coupon making each slice $.08.  The popcorn was pennies, the peach was $.20, the eggs were on clearance ($1.48 for Free Range organic) so I boiled them at $.12 each.  Peanut butter was organic store brand for $1.00 and I had a coupon for the bread making it $1.49 for the whole loaf.  The hostess cake was a special for a $1 a box with 10 in a box I think.  So about $.10 per cake.  So around about $.60 or so for the entire meal.  The kids ate every bite and they think the theme is awesome.

The Bento is made in California by Laptop Lunches, I sell it at www.diaper-dash.com for $39.99.  These are durable and sizable and I even can pack a full adult sized lunch that satisfies.  I love doing these and I'll keep posting!

Mini Shower Review

Installation was very easy and each piece and part fit perfectly.  It was so quick and easy that I failed taking pictures during the install. I opened the package, read the directions and without any tools assembled it in 10 minutes with a 1 yo and 2 1/2 yo trying to climb into my lap and put everything in their mouth.  My biggest struggle was keeping the baby from flushing the toilet during this install!

After installation I was gifted with a package from Gryffin, my 1 yo.  It was a fabulous mixed consistency blessing that for once made me giddy to dispose of it.  For full disclosure, I use Fuzzi Bunz One Size diapers lined with microfleece and a cotton/terry 4 ply insert.  I turned the water on just a tiny bit to test out the powerful sprayer action.  You really don't need to turn on the water more than a crack.  The sprayer hit the diaper with such power that I had to back off the trigger a little so that the spray didn't go anywhere.  At this point, I wished for a higher toilet bowl as this toilet bowl is somewhat inadequate for the turbo spray.  So I kept the diaper low in the bowl without touching the bowl water and I sprayed in a downward direction to keep the contents heading in the right direction.

My thoughts?  While I do think the flushable liners are less messy, they are a bit sticky on the tushy and wasteful.  After several poops, I started to get the hang of the sprayer and now I'm picturing myself spraying off muddy Crocs in the toilet too!  Let's face it, nothing makes changing a #2 any more pleasant, but the sprayer does make it more efficient than if I had nothing.  While it's not as great as a flushable liner, I now will save myself a ton of time and effort from tearing off flushable liners and lining a diaper and then unsticking the liner from the baby's bottom in order to flush them down the toilet.  The sprayer is wham, bam, boom, done.  It doesn't soak up the water leaving you with a dripping diaper.  The water sprays the gunk off and runs off the microfleece.  So for a part that costs $44.95, I'd say it's worth it especially if you have more than one in diapers!

Flushable Liners

I used to have a love affair with flushable liners.  I loved the fact that it goes right into the toilet and I never have to dunk or swish.  But after many years (I don't remember when I started using them) I'm tired of them.  I'm tired of stuffing my diapers, lining them perfectly and then having to readjust them when I put them on the baby (aka squirming toddlers.)

So I'm about to embark on a whole new era of diapering.  I'm going to attach the mini shower sprayer that I sell.  I have several of them and I've heard great things and I'm just ready.  Since I have to dump the poop in the toilet anyway a quick spray will be less time consuming and spendy than buying liners and lining them up every laundry session.

I'll take pictures and post on my next blog piece.  Check out the sprayer at www.diaper-dash.com for more info!

Flushable Liners

I used to have a love affair with flushable liners.  I loved the fact that it goes right into the toilet and I never have to dunk or swish.  But after many years (I don't remember when I started using them) I'm tired of them.  I'm tired of stuffing my diapers, lining them perfectly and then having to readjust them when I put them on the baby (aka squirming toddlers.)

So I'm about to embark on a whole new era of diapering.  I'm going to attach the mini shower sprayer that I sell.  I have several of them and I've heard great things and I'm just ready.  Since I have to dump the poop in the toilet anyway a quick spray will be less time consuming and spendy than buying liners and lining them up every laundry session.

I'll take pictures and post on my next blog piece.  Check out the sprayer at www.diaper-dash.com for more info!

For Ladies Only

If you are male and the mere thought of a woman's menstrual cycle gives you the vapors, just look away now!

For those that have stayed for the bloody blog, welcome.

I hate getting my period. I really do. Before kids, it wasn't too bad, after kids and heading towards menopause? Oh just knock me out once a month because that's about as good as it gets.

But I have a secret to make it less horrifying. Years ago, I had terribly painful periods about right after I had my 8yo. I ended up having surgery for an endometrial mass wrapped around my ovary, la ouch. I went to a homeopath and started researching ways to fix what had seemed so suddenly awful. It isn't really all that common to develop endometriosis in your early 30's. You usually have it your whole life. So what went wrong?

I started using Grapefruit Seed extract, about 8 drops a day in orange juice. I did that for 3 months with some probiotics. I went gluten free after finding I had Celiac. I started feeling amazing. I also did another thing, I stopped using tampons and disposable pads. I read that they are bleached with dioxin which is hormonal interrupter to put in mildly.

I bought cloth pads and started using a reusable Diva Cup. The Diva didn't really work for me and someone suggested Instead Cups--magic! So at night, I'd use these cloth pads and during the day I'd use Instead. I will never go back to paper. All my female issues have completely disappeared. I no longer follow my Celiac diet rigidly and I no longer do the Grapefruit Seed Extract. So it has to be the feminine protection sans bleach and polyacrylate. It really isn't as gross as it sounds, trust me! The pads I use have snaps with wings, just like the paper ones. It protects my panties way better than the paper ever did. I throw it in a cold wash with no detergent and then a sanitary/hot wash with a little bit of detergent and dry in a dryer. I throw mine in with the cloth diapers I use for the babies, so it's not a big deal for me. If I didn't have a diaper pail, I'd put them in a small wetbag. It feels like I'm wearing a little thicker underwear it is so soft. I used paper after Cooper's birth and never used paper after Gryffins, it was so nice. What a comfort, what a difference.

Now the Instead Cup is probably one of my most favorite things in life. It allows me to pretend I'm not having a period at all--talk about the "have a happy period" slogan. It takes a few months to really get it adjusted correctly and *ahem* feel your way in the dark, but it's so worth it.

My favorite cloth pads are from Fresh Moon and they are bamboo/velour. So soft, so absorbent and yes, I carry them at www.diaper-dash.com. I carry others too, but those are the Fan Favorites and I highly suggest them. I won't give out names, but most everyone I've given a sample to has ordered more and one particular person close to me in my family who is the anti-crunchy female in my life loves hers and she is post menopausal. I have so many converts.

They are expensive at about $8-$12 depending on size, but they will last you the rest of your fertile life and beyond. I still have the pads I bought back in 2004 and they look exactly the same as the day I first bought them.

If you want more info, just contact me at diaperdash@gmail.com and I'll give you a special coupon code and answer any questions you have. And yes, you truly can "have a happy period" I promise.

Potty training saga with Cooper

Cooper is so ready, but boy is he stubborn. The more I suggest it, the more he has accidents. He totally has to own this. He can go a day, even two without an accident. But then he starts getting annoyed with me for reminding him and he doesn't care if he sits in it.

Jack took 7 months to train, but looking back, he wasn't ready until he decided in his head he was tired of diaper changes. Riley trained himself at almost 2 years to the day.

My new strategy is bribery to the older boys. They are usually there laughing when he pees/poos his pants. So I just annoyed that they could get a $50 toy (I'm thinking Mario Galaxy 2 that Rich has in his hot hands waiting for a moment of necessity) if they can keep him dry and train him. They were so flippin' excited. Since Cooper looks up to his brothers, and this could keep them serious on the adventure...I'm hoping this works.

If this does work? Watch for the potty training book for boys to come soon! LOL

Earth Day Celebration

I feel at one with the Earth. It is firm, raw, powerful, ever changing, round, fragrant and rocky.

My eco journey started in college. Before that I lived with my parents who were the antithesis of green. Styrofoam plates, Lysol happy, plastic cups, velveeta cheese loving people. So when I joined the S.E.A.C. (student environmental action coalition) it was to protest the garbage on our campus, and inside of me something sprouted. I started seeing the connection that we all have to this one Earth of ours. It is ours and if we don't take care of it, we will live in garbage if we get to live at all.

Years went by and I started recycling, how novel an idea! Having children, I got to make several environmental decisions and I chose wisely. I chose to nurse (no plastic containers to dispose of, no manufacturing process to purchase,) cloth diaper (no polyacrolate, no pesticides, plastics or dioxin or large scale manufacturing and disposal and ground water contamination,) and purchase organic dairy, fruits and veggies for my baby.

Having a child with neurological issues and major behavioral challenges several years later, led me down the road of processed food elimination. Reading books like Fast Food Nation, Skinny Bitch, Crazy Makers and watching flicks like Food Inc. challenged me to a better life for my kids.

I am responsible for the health and safety of my kids. I take that job so very seriously. Grocery shopping makes me wince at the check out, but when my kids made their lunches this morning? I smiled. They were so very excited about taking a BLT school. That's organic, uncured, no antibiotic, no pesticide, humanely treated pork. Add the organic lettuce from California, the organic tomatoes from Mexico (ok, that one makes my eyebrow go up,) and the organic, no HFCS 100% whole wheat bread made in Colorado with cage free mayo. They had to pack the grapes (Chilean, non-organic but were so cheap and so huge and juicy, I couldn't resist) along with the organic carrots (whew, another good one,) and some chili peanuts from the bin at the natural food store.

While I watched them pack their lunch I was drinking a cup of coffee from Intellegentsia (Fair trade coffee) with some silk soy creamer (made in Colorado.) The baby was sitting in his exersaucer of plastic made who knows where by children in a third world country (cringe) and Cooper was still sleeping in his hand-me-down crib and non-organic mattress with thrift shop sheets. The boys grabbed backpacks from Lands End and thrift store, hand-me-down jackets and rushed out the door.

My washer machine is washing a load of unbleached prefold diapers with PUL covers (cringe) in an HE washer (yay!) and using Classic Rock Rockin' Green Detergent (yay!)

So as much as I try to be as green as I can and I've evolved tremendously. Just living in this world, it's hard to be as eco friendly as I would like to be. I challenge myself to continue to do better and be that example I'd like to be for my kids. I watch my friends and family do the best they can with what they have. My Mom can't always find a health food store locally with what she wants. She does buy the organic soap I sell, so she is heads and shoulders above what she used to be! I celebrate her!

But at the end of the day, we all do the best that we can. We can't get all our goods and services locally. We can't always eat perfectly, but we can try. And try I will. Happy Earth Day :-)

It's been awhile

Nursing, diapers, cleaning and fundraising. Oh and soccer season is beginning. So busy!

Lately I've been trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up. I'm 37 and I have so many years of work ahead of me. I love being home with the boys, but soon they will grow up and I will have an empty home to some degree. Jack is 9 1/2yo and Fin is now 6 months and starting solids. Cooper is potty training and Riley is running wild in the neighborhood most warm days (OK, just the park next door, but still without me staring at him every minute!)

The other day I went to pick up Jack and Riley from school. Jack had CSAP testing a few days in row and Thursday was the last day for the school week with a teachers work day on Friday. Of course since Cooper was potty training, I was super paranoid about an accident because he had been so successful the entire day. He was in training pants, so he could afford an accident, right? I even brought his little potty along with a change of clothing and an emergency diaper. And did I mention the dog? Yeah, that was a bright idea for me that day. So we get to the school and Cooper is fussing. I then think it's potty time and have him sit on his little potty. He of course starts pooping before he sits down and the poop is now smearing the back of the pants, ugh. Then Jack jumps in the car sobbing hysterically and the dog decides at that very moment to get excited and stomps on my diet soda (full can) sitting in the drink holder. Soda everywhere, sobbing 9yo and poop smeared toddler. So I'm scowling while cleaning up the toddler and the mess that that brought and trying to figure out why my 9yo is crying. He's screaming that his legs hurt really bad. That he feels sick and that he's felt sick all afternoon. He is like Niagara Falls at this point only take it a few decibels louder and you get my drift. Everyone is cleaned up and the soda is mostly mopped up as best as I could. Thankfully the baby didn't decide to vomit or decide to nurse immediately at that moment, or it could have been even more fun.

So we get moving and as we are driving, I'm getting more concerned about Jack. He is shrieking that his legs hurt. His legs have been hurting off and on for a year and we are on the waiting list to see a Neurologist in a few weeks finally (we've only been waiting for 2 1/2 months at this point, but I digress.) I ask if he thinks it's serious enough to go to the Urgent Care and he says yes. At this point, Cooper decides he wants to use the potty again. And the dog decides that maybe since I'm mad at her, she needs to be in my lap so I can remember how great she is (all 45lbs. of her.) We pull off to the side of the road, I help Cooper out, put him on the potty and he laughs and says that he is all done, except he poops the tiniest of the tiniest turds. So I wipe him and now just throw him back in the backup diaper as the day is going to shit, literally. I rush the dog home, grab some quick drinks and snacks and yes, another diaper and backup outfit. I ditch the potty because I'm so done at this point. We head to the Urgent Care and now the baby poops. So I take Cooper and Gryffin into the restroom and change Gryffin. Cooper decides he wants to potty, so I let him and he tinkles, yay! I'm so flippin' frazzled and just throw him back in the dry diaper. We clean our hands and head back to the waiting area with Jack and Riley to eat some snack. Within 5 minutes Cooper poops (during which Gryffin needed to be fed, thank God for my milk filled breasts.) Who knew that child could poop that flippin' much??? So I grab Riley since Jack is super out of it in pain and have Riley sit on the floor of the bathroom holding wiggly Gryffin while I change Coopers diaper. I get that taken care of just in time to see Riley lay Gryffin belly down on the floor of an Urgent Care bathroom. Germ horror abounds in my head and I try not to do the howler monkey scream and grab Fin immediately and disinfect everyone's hands.

We leave the restroom and Jack is playing with my iPhone app with his legs curled under him and totally animated with delight. Hmm. I'm thinking the leg pain is gone. The nurse comes out at that moment and I ask Jack if his legs hurt and he says, nope. So I tell the nurse we are leaving and we head out of there. They'll just refer me to the neurologist we are about to see in a few weeks anyway, so why bother.

This is why I want to go back to school. This is why I need "me" time. I am so overwhelmed being a Mom some days it will be nice to get to know myself again after all this time. I love my kids and I love my adventures and after the day I had? I laughed. So now it's time to do some research and figure out what else can bring me some personal joy to share with my family in a positive way. Wish me luck!

Laptop Lunch Review

Several years back I had received a link to www.laptoplunches.com Jack was starting 1st grade and I wanted to save money, so I put aside my laptop lunch wish list and went to Target for something cheap. I spent $15 on the container and another $5 in ice packs. I bought a thermos for $4.99 and some juice drink bottles for about $2 a piece. After about $30 plus tax, I was totally ready to go. At the time, the laptop lunch system was $37.99 for the original bento system, so I saved $8 + shipping, right?

Within two months, Jacks Target container started ripping, I had gone through a box of plastic spoons/forks and countless ziplock type baggies. He broke one of the juice drink bottles and I think I used the thermos maybe two times before he lost it. I ended up replacing the container twice that year and by the end of the year, remembered all about Laptop Lunches. Hmmm.

So with Riley starting 1st the following year with Jack in 2nd, I decided to buy two Laptop Lunch systems. They looked more sturdy and had easily replaceable containers and silverware with bottles that fit all in one. I crossed my fingers and took the plunge.

When I received the Neoprene case with a rubber attachable ID tag, I was immediately impressed by the quality of the casing. I opened the case to find the bento box and had Jack and Riley try to open it. They opened it without any trouble at all. Inside were the containers (two of which have lids) and a set of fork/spoon reusable silverware. Accompanying the case, box, containers and silverware was a long rectangular water/juice bottle and a book with lunch ideas. The containers were the perfect size for small appetites. It allowed me to put in the four food groups and a snack. There was a learning curve with sizing food to accommodate the smallish containers, but the presentation was inviting and the kids were always happy with the laptop.

Fast forward this year to Jack in 3rd grade and Riley in 2nd. It has been 1 1/2 years with the Laptop Lunch system and the neoprene containers still look new. The bento box is in perfect condition and the inner containers are still in tact. I did buy an extra set for each kid in case they lost them, but with writing on the containers with a sharpie, we haven't had any replacement issues. The silverware have had to be replaced by the 100% stainless steel Laptop Lunch silverware (the old version had a plastic handle, the new version is all stainless, so it is just holds up better.) They have never lost a set of silverware either! The juice/water bottles have had to have one top replacement from Jack biting it too hard, but that's a small price to pay. So all in all, it has been far economical to purchase the Laptop Lunch system.

Now Laptop Lunches is phasing out the original Lunch System and introducing Bento 2.0. I bought a Bento 2.0 to try out at home for my husband Rich because the original system was on the smallish side for a grown man. I am pleased to say it is perfect and often, I have extra space in the box because it is roomy enough for the four food groups which Rich doesn't necessarily always have time to eat. For an even bigger option, they have the Power Lunch box which is perfect for two original bentos or a Bento 2.0 with a large thermos of coffee or hot cocoa or whatever. This would also be perfect for a lunch outing with my four boys with room for plenty of snacks, drink bottles and wipes.

The new colors they've introduced are gorgeous. Purple Party makes me wistful for a girl while the Aliens are on my sons wish list. Unfortunately for them, the laptop lunch system they have now is going so strong they probably won't be getting a new one for a long long time!

We have a school fundraising program for the Laptop Lunches that give 10% from the sales of the products back to the school. Plastics are a health concern and for this reason, they manufacture the lunch containers in California using plastics (polypropylene and polyethylene that are FDA approved for food use. None of the products contain phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA) or lead. So you can feel good with this product.

If you would like to order a Laptop Lunch, mention this ad and I'll send you an ice pack free with your order! If you are wanting more information on the school fundraising program, contact me directly at diaperdash@gmail.com. I give discounts to groups orders as well, so contact me at my email for any and all questions regarding this product or any other I sell.

www.diaper-dash.com

Rockin' Green Laundry Detergent Review

I've been hearing about this new laundry detergent for some time, but I thought a lot of the sensationalism was maybe overblown or people just excited about a scented detergent safe for cloth diapers.

Oh.my.God.

I washed a load in my HE washer today using the recommended detergent amount from Rockin' Green. I used Fresh Linen scent. Opening the bag was an experience. It made me happy. Just smelling the lovely clean scent really was refreshing compared to all my unscented laundry detergent I normally use. I did a cold wash, then used 2 Tablespoons in a hot sanitary cycle with an extra rinse. When I pulled the covers, inserts and diapers out of the washer, I thought I was seeing things. I thought maybe my husband changed the lighting on me. My stained diapers were clean! I wouldn't say the stains are completely gone, but way reduced and I know if I soaked them? They would probably look even better! The stained inserts are no longer stained and we are talking some of the stuff is 9 years and 4 kids worth of nasty. I held the diaper up to my nose and I smelled absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. I wasn't disappointed that the Fresh Linen smell dissipated in the wash, but I was impressed because I smelled no smell. No smell! One more time, NO F'IN SMELL!!!!!!!!

This was where the clouds parted and the sun shone on my diapers and I felt such a happiness that I'm disappointed I don't have any more time to play with the detergent and diapers for today. Now I totally want to soak and try again to see the stains go away, but I'll have to wait until after the weekend. I'm going to attempt to do a few loads of the boys grass, oily, fruit and the Lord only knows stains this weekend. Who knows, I might actually start to enjoy doing laundry.

I do sell it now and I'm so happy that I get to sell yet another product I totally believe in, life is great!

Cloth Diapers to Haiti

Pass along this message to everyone you know!

On behalf of Happy Heinys (one of my accounts) I am gathering donations for the babies and toddlers in Haiti.

Happy Heinys works with a few orphanages in Haiti and the facilities have been decimated by the earthquake. They have direct contacts on the ground in desperate need of new or used reusable cloth diapers (in good condition,) new or used baby or toddler clothing and small baby and toddler items that we can distribute. A lot of donations are being sent and used directly in Port Au Prince City, but the outskirts (where the orphanages are) will get the help last.

These supplies will be delivered to California where Missionaries will take these items in suitcases when they are able to enter the country to help. I will take any monetary donations and send it directly to Happy Heinys to purchase new diapers and childrens clothing at cost to send to that area.

Cloth diapers are essential to the area because without them, they sit the babies on the chamber pots from anywhere to 10-12 hours a day!

So please consider helping. I need donations no later than Monday evening so I can ship these out on Tuesday to the missionaries to distribute. I have a Paypal address for my company that I will use to collect diaper donations and pass along to Happy Heinys.

Happy Heinys is an award winning company known for their charity work and responsiveness to needy families.

Kathy