Garage Sales, Goals & Eleven

Great garage sales this weekend!  I had the kids, and surprisingly, they did not put up too much of a fuss, which made it a lot more enjoyable.

We hit one where books were .25 cents each.  I got all 4 of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for N when she is older.  I got The Recipe Club for myself.  I have no idea if it is any good or not, but I judged the book by its cover  - ha ha- not that I have any time to read novels lately.  I also found a tin pig that is actually a tea light holder, but I have it out on my deck.  Plus, this sale had some awesome free stuff.  I got a massive box full of paper!  Coloured paper, lined paper, spiral notebooks full of paper.  Free.  Great for N's art supplies!  N picked out a figurine for herself and a sweet dog figurine for A.  The lady gave her this ceramic basket, which N loves.  She had 4 random wooden letters, so I got an A & D.  All free.  So, I spent $3.25 for all that.

At another place, there were kid's books, many of which had not been read.  He wanted .5 cents a piece.  I got 15, including Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan chapter books for when the kids are older!  I almost scored another of the awesome animal ones ( not the same one, I don't thing, but similar) we got from Costco, as N had it in her hand, but before I knew the price, I said we already had one like it and put it back.  Another lady snatched it up.  I also found unused Wilton Easter cookie cutter, which I may use, or may give to the daycare, and a toy airplane and jeep for A.  Well, the kid's toys were free (great condition).  He only asked for $1 for the rest.  We put the stuff in the car and came back to get a galvanized metal bucket, a Tonka truck and toy drill that makes noise, 2 Melissa and Doug wooden puzzles that A did all by himself for part of the afternoon.  Again, he said the toys were free.  I offered him $2 and he gladly took it.  I think he would have taken .25cents for the lot, but I felt like I had gotten enough already.

Spent $4 for a barbie princess carriage, a horse, a Please Mum sweater and pink Please Mum splash pants.  N was miffed that I didn't get her the Snow White lamp thingy, but I honestly did not want her to have it.  I try to limit licensed stuff.

Ran into a friend at one sale.  I ended up spending $2 on what I thought was a movie, but was a DVD of a TV show called Penguins of Madagascar.  Oh well!  That garage sale brought on a meltdown from N because I didn't get her a castle or a Sleeping Beauty lamp thingy (funny, I often see similar items at garage sales).  We had to have a chat about how she can't always have everything she wants and that she already got some nice things.  

Kids had fun with their new things.  A's toys are for outside (love getting outside toys at garage sales...saves his nice indoor trucks, etc, getting ruined outdoors).

Looking forward to next weekend when G is home and I can go sans kidlets!

Okay, checking in on my summer goals.

Getting house in order...did kitchen cupboards (some), spare room, storage room, N's room.  Not bad, but not great.

Today's Parent..this is coming along great.  All of 2006 & 2007 read.  Missing Dec 2006 and Jan & Feb 2011.  I am reading 2010 and have about 5 issues left in that year.  Then, just my current Aug 2011 issue.

Read 3 books ... didn't you just read about how many magazine's I have been reading :-P

Sort through stuff in storage (NOT the same as storage room as previously mentioned). Most likely, NOT going to happen.  Unless, I get my mom to help me when she is here.

Mailed baby & birthday gifts...DONE!!!

Healthy eating...yeah, not so much.

Cloth Diapers...excellent!  A has been in them pretty much all the time, except one night when G got him ready for bed when I was out getting groceries, and for the last 2 nights in disposables as his wool covers were in a desperate need of cleaning and were either too stinky or not dry after washing.


Do taxes...um, yeah...got to get on that one....

So, I would give myself a C+...well, maybe a C...

Just learned that my favourite brand of kids' shoes, Eleven, has gone out of business :-0

I just ordered 4 pairs for N from kidsteals, and then another pair today (in archives, no longer sold out).  Now, I want to order many more to have both A & N outfitted in those shoes until they outgrow the available sizes.  Part of me wants to wait until they have a good shipping deal happening again. But, part of me is worried that they will sell out before that.  Hmm, what to do, what to do?  At least, See Kai Run is starting a Kai line that goes up to size 13, but Eleven went to size 3.  Would rather pay half the cost on KS....

Okay, so that is all for now...didn't even mention our new truck and selling the old one...

Tea Biscuits

The slow cooker chicken stew was a hit, though N was not impressed that I added spinach.  Funny, if I hid the spinach on the fork with other food, she had no problem with it at all.  As soon as she sees it, refuses to eat it. 

I made tea biscuits and, well, they didn't really look like the tea biscuits in the picture.  Could have been the fact I used spelt flour?  Or, maybe I over mixed? I used butter, rather than shortening, and the butter wasn't cold, so another possible factor.
N and G liked them, so I guess that was good.  I wasn't overly impressed.

Last night, my new recipe was Brown Rice Pilaf.  I was not a fan.  I love brown rice, and the thought of it was good (onions, chicken stock, roasted almonds (I did Pecans, too) and parsley).  It may have been the chicken stock...Western Family organic reduced salt.  I think if I had used home made stock, it would not have had as strong a flavour.  The recipe also called for flat leaf parsley, and I only had curly leaf.  The parsley flavour was a bit much.  I would have used cilantro, but thought G might not like it.

Cloth Diapers

My goal is to only diaper A in cloth this summer.  I bought one pack of disposables (we use the PC Green brand...nice fit, no leaks), and I hope that they, and the partial pack we already have, last until the end of summer.  That will be for times when Dad does diaper changes (not often), or if we go camping.  I would be willing to do cloth while camping, G would not, and that is a headache I will gladly avoid.

My diaper stash includes a variety of brands and styles.  I was not one for stocking up on only one type.  We have:

9 or 10 Fuzzi Bunz (Pocket) (older style than exists today...this is the style we have most of).  Most elastics were changed last summer when my mom was up.

3 Bum Genius 2.0 (pocket) (I sold the pink one that was number 4)

1 Happy Heiny (Pocket)

1 Mother Ease one-size fitted (fitted)

6 or 7 Ecobumz (pocket, though they say can be used without the insert, but you would have to change much more frequently)

1 Yo-Yoo baby (pocket)

3 Bum Joy (pocket)

6 Earth Mom & Baby Bumboo (fitted, and my favourite)

3 wool soaker covers (aristocrats =excellent for night time with a bumboo; one handmade from continuum-family.com and one reconstructed from a sweater that I got from etsy.  neither of the last 2 are enough to wear at night, but work if I double them up)

3 Bummis super whisper wrap covers

1 Mother ease air flow cover

A number of prefolds, which I use mainly for inserts in pockets.  I didn't mind using inserts as an infant, but now I find them a pain to use with a wiggly, moving baby.  Plus, they are really bulky.  But, they are a great option as they are really inexpensive and absorbent.

I also have a number of wet bags, of varying sizes.

I almost gave up on cloth because I could not figure out a good washing routine.  First, I tried the suggested advice of using less detergent to avoid build - up (I gave up on that right away, as it didn't work, and really, using less detergent for dirty diapers...c'mon!).  I was afraid of ruining the PUL (waterproof outershell) and elastics if I used too hot water.  So, I was left with stinky diapers ( mostly the microfibre in the pockets), and I would run them numerous times through washes with just water after I had washed them with detergent.  The breaking point was when A got a rash from the diapers.

Well, after stumbling across this thread on Diaperswappers.com, I haven't looked back!

http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1040786

This is my washing routine:

Pre-wash with vinegar (combats the ammonia from the pee)
For the wash, I use detergent (Nature Clean liquid or Country Save... I think I prefer the Nature Clean); a scoop of oxyclean and some Washing Soda (to combat our hard water)
I use the Sanitary cycle, which is extra hot, and I use extra water, extra rinse and the stain option.

The cycle is near 3 hours, but that is all it takes and every time the diapers are clean with no stinkies!

So, there you go!

The Joy of Pumping

No, not breast milk pumping.  There is no joy in that.  Best thing I did was have no breast pump when I had A.  Pumping for an hour and producing less than an ounce of milk is not my idea of fun.

After constantly asking me for pushes and pulls on the swing, and insisting that she doesn't know how to pump her legs to keep swinging, N decided to give it a try.  And, now there is no looking back.  She can start swinging by herself and gets going pretty high.  She is so proud!

Now, I am able to relax on the deck, close to the door to hear A when he wakes up from his nap, and with a perfect view of N swinging to her heart's content.  Though, every 30 seconds she is calling to me:

"Can I pump?" - yes

"Can I pump higher than you?" - well, I am not sure about that

"Am I going high?" - yes

"Am I pumping?" - yes

"Am I going higher than Christopher?" - yes (who is not even here at the moment in question)

"Do you like how I can pump?"  - yes

"Am I higher than the road? - um, yes...though, I don't bother telling her she always is!

Pumping brings freedom to both her and me.  She can swing whenever she wants without needing me to push.  I can relax, read my magazine.  On the other hand, she no longer needs me to push, and that  truly is bittersweet.

Summertime Goals

This is my first post of my second attempt at a blog. That one was started 5 years ago when I was pregnant with my first child and has a total of 3 posts.  So, based on past experiences, I am not expecting much from this one, as now, while I am not pregnant, I am the mother of 2 active children and not a lot of time for much, let alone a self-indulgent activity such as a blog!

So, I have some unrealistic summer goals, above and beyond being a mom and time with my kids!

1.  Get my house in order! 

I am not sure why this is here, since as soon as I get anything in order, a little tazmanian devil that I call my son hits and complete chaos strikes again!  But, so far, I did a good clean of the living room, including washing baseboards and cleaning behind the TV.
I also tidied up the entrance way.

2.  Finish reading my backlog of Today's Parent magazine...dating back to 2006.  I am almost done 2006, have some from 2007, and 2008 & 2009 are completely finished! 

3.  Read 3 books...The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and Room.  Like this is going to happen, what with reading all the above magazines and all.

4.  Sort through the stuff in storage...this probably should be at the bottom of the list

5.  Do my taxes (hmm, perhaps this should be number 1 on the list)

6.  Mail birthday and baby packages  --- easy one!

7.  To eat healthy, balanced meals and get fit...not off to a good start, but trying

8.  Cook a new recipe each day

So, last night, I made Penne Pesto Pollo from a recipe I found in Today's Parent magazine.  It was not a hit.  Admittedly, it was a little bland.  But, A and I ate it.

I also made a Chicken Stew that I got from one of those free Kraft magazines with all the recipes.  It was a slow cooker recipe.  It called for 2 cups of mushrooms, but I substituted corn and broccoli instead.  That is for supper tonight.  I am also going to make Tea Biscuits.  We will see how that goes.