I just know that one day I won't need to check my hair brush and claw clips for toothpaste before using them.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
In which I publicly declare "It's time to lose weight!"
Dear Nikki and Danny friends, followers, and family,
I'm on a mission to eat healthier and lose weight. Visiting my family for the past week and a half plus attending two weddings and three receptions has not helped. No indeed.
My family, bless their hearts, have a comfortable relationship with food.
Please do not blog your delicious brownies because I will have to make my own-- complete with cream cheese-- and proceed to eat half the pan by myself.
Please do not blog horrible in-laws stories or potty-training nightmares-- because it will give me anxiety and I will return to the pan of brownies and proceed to drown out my anxiety with another piece.
Don't tell me about the deals you got on Cheetos using a coupon or whatnot. I'll have to "save" too by adding to my waistline.
You may:
Choose to follow me in my journey and leave comments filled with awesome low-fat meals that are frugally minded too
Leave encouraging comments that will boost me up and keep me going
Come visit me so I feel the "omigosh my bestest blogging pal is going to meet me in real life and now I seriously need to lose weight" encouragement.
So, now that you're all curious, and likely will go back through 800ish posts to find a picture of me (good luck), I have 85 pounds to lose. 85!
Even if you don't need to lose or maybe just want to lose 10 lbs. or less, I appreciate all encouragement and LOVE to hear success stories and what worked for you, or your neighbor. ;)
Sincerely,
Chubba-Me.
I'm on a mission to eat healthier and lose weight. Visiting my family for the past week and a half plus attending two weddings and three receptions has not helped. No indeed.
My family, bless their hearts, have a comfortable relationship with food.
We're happy. Have some food!
I haven't seen you in ten years. Have some food!
It's a wedding. Come eat food!
It's a party. Eat! Eat!
Aunty said you're looking chubby. Eat some food to drown your sorrows!
Strawberries are on sale. Let's make pie!
You're on vacation. Eat some food!
Please do not blog your delicious brownies because I will have to make my own-- complete with cream cheese-- and proceed to eat half the pan by myself.
Please do not blog horrible in-laws stories or potty-training nightmares-- because it will give me anxiety and I will return to the pan of brownies and proceed to drown out my anxiety with another piece.
Don't tell me about the deals you got on Cheetos using a coupon or whatnot. I'll have to "save" too by adding to my waistline.
You may:
Choose to follow me in my journey and leave comments filled with awesome low-fat meals that are frugally minded too
Leave encouraging comments that will boost me up and keep me going
Come visit me so I feel the "omigosh my bestest blogging pal is going to meet me in real life and now I seriously need to lose weight" encouragement.
So, now that you're all curious, and likely will go back through 800ish posts to find a picture of me (good luck), I have 85 pounds to lose. 85!
Even if you don't need to lose or maybe just want to lose 10 lbs. or less, I appreciate all encouragement and LOVE to hear success stories and what worked for you, or your neighbor. ;)
Sincerely,
Chubba-Me.
Monday, June 13, 2011
To whom it may concern at my local Wal-Mart pharmacy:
I am immensely annoyed that my hubby waited the whole hour you said it would take for my prescription of eye drops (while I prepped for vacation at home with all seven distractors helpers), only to be told after said hour that you are out of the eye drops and to return tomorrow. You can bet your boots that if I am the one to return tomorrow, you are going to hear it.
Oh yessirree. Are ya scared?
You should be.
Sincerely,
me
Thursday, June 09, 2011
How to procrastinate and vacation prep at the same time
Are you waiting anxiously for the "Homemade Reusable Baby Wipes" tutorial? Well, my serger is on the fritz AND I'm going on vacation next week. So, it will be post-poned until after my vacation. In the mean time, you can re-read these tips for vacation prep that we will be reviewing as well.
What did I learn from last year's family trip?
2. Traveling at night means using less air conditioning. This means saving on gas. Here in the Golden State gas is $4 a gallon. Traveling at night in a 12-passenger van like Brutus (that's his name the kids gave him) over 800 miles, cutting back on the use of AC could save $100+.
What will be different on this year's trip?
What did I learn from last year's family trip?
- Take more water than we think we need.
- Travel at night.
- Bring Playaways for the oldest four kids.
2. Traveling at night means using less air conditioning. This means saving on gas. Here in the Golden State gas is $4 a gallon. Traveling at night in a 12-passenger van like Brutus (that's his name the kids gave him) over 800 miles, cutting back on the use of AC could save $100+.
What will be different on this year's trip?
- We have another child, almost 7-month old Peach.
- The twins, who are almost 22 months, are not rear-facing anymore. But maybe they should be for the trip so they can sleep better.
- No caffeine. Remember, I gave up caffeine right before Christmas?
Water.
Playpens. Just one playpen this year for Peach.
diapers.
Music, not just this kind.
Games.
Magna Doodles and probably Magnetic Letters.
picture from this post.
Audio Books to listen to and real books to actually hold.
...and maybe chew on a little.
Pre-rationed snacks inziploc bags. I'm thinking we'll probably use peanut butter containers this year since we have so many, and so the snacks don't get crushed.
So, that's what I've got. Vacation prep. I might just start with the Cheerio and Goldfish eviction from the van.
Am I missing anything?
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Make your own Whole Wheat Bread with your KitchenAid
Whole Wheat Bread large loaf (like Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan size)
1 package or 1 tbsp. active-dry or instant yeast
1-4 tbsp. nonfat dry milk (more= finer texture)
1/3 cup white or brown sugar OR 3 tbsp. honey
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. gluten
3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (hard white wheat is great!)
2 tsp. dough enhancer (consider this optional-- don't worry if you don't have any)
1-3 tbsp. vegetable oil (ie. safflower, canola, olive)
1 1/3 cups very warm water (approx. 110 degrees)
1. Mix yeast, nonfat dry milk, sugar, salt, gluten, and about a third of the flour together. Add vegetable oil and water; blend with electric mixer on low speed for about 5 minutes. Slowly mix in more flour with wooden spoon until too stiff to stir.
2. Knead dough 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly greased bowl; turn to coat top; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. (High-altitude will rise faster-- do NOT let overrise!)
3. Form into loaf for 9x5-inch pan. Grease pan. Push dough into pan; pull out and turn over (greasing top). Press back into pan. Cover with clean towel or greased plastic wrap. Let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. (High-altitude will rise faster-- do NOT let overrise!)
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaf is hollow sounding when tapped on bottom, or bottom of a metal pan sizzles when touched lightly with a damp finger.
1 package or 1 tbsp. active-dry or instant yeast
1-4 tbsp. nonfat dry milk (more= finer texture)
1/3 cup white or brown sugar OR 3 tbsp. honey
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. gluten
3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (hard white wheat is great!)
2 tsp. dough enhancer (consider this optional-- don't worry if you don't have any)
1-3 tbsp. vegetable oil (ie. safflower, canola, olive)
1 1/3 cups very warm water (approx. 110 degrees)
1. Mix yeast, nonfat dry milk, sugar, salt, gluten, and about a third of the flour together. Add vegetable oil and water; blend with electric mixer on low speed for about 5 minutes. Slowly mix in more flour with wooden spoon until too stiff to stir.
2. Knead dough 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly greased bowl; turn to coat top; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. (High-altitude will rise faster-- do NOT let overrise!)
3. Form into loaf for 9x5-inch pan. Grease pan. Push dough into pan; pull out and turn over (greasing top). Press back into pan. Cover with clean towel or greased plastic wrap. Let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. (High-altitude will rise faster-- do NOT let overrise!)
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaf is hollow sounding when tapped on bottom, or bottom of a metal pan sizzles when touched lightly with a damp finger.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
In which I give thanks for my diaper pail
Another nice thing about cloth diapering is having a diaper pail to throw poopy underwear in.
I was all sorts of distraught when Hammy announced (just 3 minutes short of my cupcakes timer going off), "I think that's poop I put there."
"Where?" I asked, naively.
"There," he said, pointing to his rear-end.
"You need to poop?" I asked, hopeful.
"No, I accidentally did it there."
On the way to the bathroom with a spray-bottle of Quick Job in one hand and a rag in another, I mentally prepped myself for what the toilet seat might look like when I remember, Hey! I have a diaper pail to toss that underwear into.
I was all sorts of distraught when Hammy announced (just 3 minutes short of my cupcakes timer going off), "I think that's poop I put there."
"Where?" I asked, naively.
"There," he said, pointing to his rear-end.
"You need to poop?" I asked, hopeful.
"No, I accidentally did it there."
On the way to the bathroom with a spray-bottle of Quick Job in one hand and a rag in another, I mentally prepped myself for what the toilet seat might look like when I remember, Hey! I have a diaper pail to toss that underwear into.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Cloth diapering: Basic Supplies
When switching from using disposable diapers to cloth diapers, here are the basics you need:
diapers
wipes
You could still use disposable wipes if you wanted. But if you're washing cloth diapers, why not wash cloth wipes? Cloth wipes are strong and durable and since they're reusable you'll save money. I'll have a post for making your own cloth wipes within the week.
As far as the diapers go, you need to keep two things in mind:
1. Something needs to absorb what comes out.
2. A cover needs to keep it from leaking through to clothing, furniture, YOUR clothing, bedding, etc.
When we started, we opted not to invest in fitted diapers or all-in-ones and go with the less-expensive, but definitely reliable combination:
1. prefolds (and doublers for night)
2. waterproof covers
If you want to go the el-cheapo route you could use plastic pants and diaper pins and flat diapers. But I don't personally recommend it. I think plastic pants are too varying in size and tend to leak. But my mom did it, Danny's mom did it, so did many people for ages. So you could survive. ;)
I don't want to stick my baby with a pin either. There are alternatives to pins called Snappis. I have a couple. They work quite well with contoured diapers or flat diapers. But it's an extra piece to remember. and not lose.
Starting out we purchased 4 dozen prefolds and about 8 waterproof covers and doublers. I also bought three polar babies covers-- which I've determined are lame and bulky. And I made my own flannel wipes.
Why did I purchase so many prefolds? Because I didn't want to wash everyday. Of course, then I had to deal with the stink of the wet diaper pail. or the stains that result in the dry diaper pail.
If I did it all again, and was only diapering one at a time instead of three, I could easily do with just 2 dozen prefolds.
New cloth diapering vocab for the week.
Prefolds: rectangular diapers (that are thicker in the middle) that you fold and insert into a diaper cover.
Diaper covers: waterproof material that fits over the diaper to be used with prefolds, flat diapers with pins or snappis, or fitted diapers. You can pre-fold the diapers and put them in the covers in advance and just have a stack ready.
Doublers: A rectangular (usually fleece and terry cloth) piece about 4 x 11" that adds an extra layer to the diaper absorbency usually for car trips, overnight, or just heavy wetters.
That's all for now from me. Check back for the flannel wipes tutorial.
Amy at themombot is starting her own series on cloth diapering 101. Click here to visit her.
And 'Becca wrote a great piece too. Click here to read her story.
If you want to read what I've written about cloth diapering in the past, click the tag under my post labeled cloth diapering.
diapers
wipes
You could still use disposable wipes if you wanted. But if you're washing cloth diapers, why not wash cloth wipes? Cloth wipes are strong and durable and since they're reusable you'll save money. I'll have a post for making your own cloth wipes within the week.
As far as the diapers go, you need to keep two things in mind:
1. Something needs to absorb what comes out.
2. A cover needs to keep it from leaking through to clothing, furniture, YOUR clothing, bedding, etc.
When we started, we opted not to invest in fitted diapers or all-in-ones and go with the less-expensive, but definitely reliable combination:
1. prefolds (and doublers for night)
2. waterproof covers
If you want to go the el-cheapo route you could use plastic pants and diaper pins and flat diapers. But I don't personally recommend it. I think plastic pants are too varying in size and tend to leak. But my mom did it, Danny's mom did it, so did many people for ages. So you could survive. ;)
I don't want to stick my baby with a pin either. There are alternatives to pins called Snappis. I have a couple. They work quite well with contoured diapers or flat diapers. But it's an extra piece to remember. and not lose.
Starting out we purchased 4 dozen prefolds and about 8 waterproof covers and doublers. I also bought three polar babies covers-- which I've determined are lame and bulky. And I made my own flannel wipes.
Why did I purchase so many prefolds? Because I didn't want to wash everyday. Of course, then I had to deal with the stink of the wet diaper pail. or the stains that result in the dry diaper pail.
If I did it all again, and was only diapering one at a time instead of three, I could easily do with just 2 dozen prefolds.
New cloth diapering vocab for the week.
Prefolds: rectangular diapers (that are thicker in the middle) that you fold and insert into a diaper cover.
Diaper covers: waterproof material that fits over the diaper to be used with prefolds, flat diapers with pins or snappis, or fitted diapers. You can pre-fold the diapers and put them in the covers in advance and just have a stack ready.
Doublers: A rectangular (usually fleece and terry cloth) piece about 4 x 11" that adds an extra layer to the diaper absorbency usually for car trips, overnight, or just heavy wetters.
That's all for now from me. Check back for the flannel wipes tutorial.
Amy at themombot is starting her own series on cloth diapering 101. Click here to visit her.
And 'Becca wrote a great piece too. Click here to read her story.
If you want to read what I've written about cloth diapering in the past, click the tag under my post labeled cloth diapering.
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