I had a very interesting conversation with one of my closest friends the other day. During it, I discovered that she thought I was all natural and into saving the environment. Although now I am definitely more eco-friendly, I didn't start out becoming that way to save the earth! The real reason we do the things we do is to save money, plain and simple. However because of the changes we've made to our lifestyle, we've come to realize that we are indeed nicer to the environment than most and we're kind of liking it now!
How did it start? We had a baby. We realized we didn't want to put baby into daycare. However we could not live off of my husband's salary alone, so we were forced to cut where we could. First change - cloth diapers. I know, I know, but they are not like the cloth diapers of yesteryear, I promise! In fact, they are now ridiculously cute. So much so that at one point I thought I was actually going to be spending more than if we were to have used disposables! I am a bargain shopper so I scored some great deals off of eBay for brand new cloth diapers. I bought 10 of them for $11 each, which was a savings from the $16.96 regular retail price! The best part about that purchase - I sold them a few months ago for $10 each on diaperswappers.com!!!! Isn't that fantastic? I've also bought several off of diaperswappers which is the best way to try out the different styles of cloth diapers. I'm telling you, these aren't the white squares that you use pins for. They are CUTE and easy to use. So after switching to cloth diapers, we learned that the average disposable diaper takes up to 500 years in a landfill to decompose. 500 years. Think about all of the disposable diapers you've thrown away....yeah, it adds up. Then you add in the poop in the diaper. That's not good. We're throwing poop into our landfills which means the birds and flying bugs that frequent our landfills could be contaminated with the bad stuff that happens with poop. Yuck.
So, that's what started us off. With the cloth diapers came a clothes line. The diapers last longer if you don't blast them in the heated dryer, so we started hanging them to dry. And imagine my surprise when the sun got rid of the stains! Wow, who knew? So, we started paying attention. If our diapers would last longer, then obviously our clothes would last longer, so we started hanging our clothes out too. If you have an "old-fashioned" electric meter, go take a look at it spinning around super fast when your clothes dryer is running and then look at it when it's not. That look helped us realized we needed avoid the dryer as much as possible. Since we moved back into our house the last week of March, I think we've used our dryer maybe 10 times and part of that was because we had tons of laundry we had to do and it was raining!
Other things we do:
- unplug things that we don't use all the time - toaster, cell chargers, coffee pots, hair dryer, etc. WAIT, did you just say coffee pot, hair dryer and cell phone charger? Yes, I did and yes, we use them every day, however we don't leave them plugged in when not using them. It really wasn't that difficult to get in the habit. Now, as soon as I pour the last cup of coffee, I unplug the coffee maker. When finished drying my hair, I now automatically unplug the dryer.
- Use the quickest setting on the dishwasher and turn it off as soon as it hits the dry part of the cycle. I certainly don't need to pay for 20 minutes of electricity just to have heat setting not even dry my dishes all the way. I open it up and slide the racks out and let them air dry.
- We don't fill up both areas in our dishwasher with the soap. We only use the main one and only fill it halfway up. Good for us, our dishes, the environment, and our wallet!
- We keep our air set at 78. I think we turned it on once in April, but we've had it on recently because it has gotten quite stuffy. We keep the blinds closed where the sun shines in so the heat from the sun isn't working against our a/c. And we use ceiling fans to help circulate the air better
- We eat real food. I know you are wondering how this is friendly to the environment. Well, we don't throw away tons of packaging anymore like we did when we were eating processed stuff. We don't even throw away our vegetable scraps anymore. They go into a freezer bag for when I make vegetable or chicken stock.
- We now grow our own food. Again, cheap and we know what's going in our food. We are therefore not buying food that has been shipped using fuel to get it to it's destination. We buy local as much as we possibly can.
- We use cloth napkins and try to use plates more than once. Obviously if either gets too dirty, then we get a new one! But if I have a plate that I've just eaten a sandwich off of, then I'll brush the crumbs away and put it on the counter for the next meal.
- We buy used clothes. Especially for our growing son! We love consignment sales and stores. I love paying $1-2 per clothes item for my son and love it even more when I'm packing them away again in 4 months because he's outgrown them! We have recently discovered Goodwill and love the prices! Although, my friend has told me that once I start going to yard sales, that I'll think Goodwill is too expensive. :) Still haven't managed to drag my butt out of bed early enough to hit them up yet! I think this friendly to the environment because we are using second hand clothes that could have easily been thrown away and we are not buying new things to add to things that will eventually end up in the landfills.
- We have no TV. Yet more electricity we are not using. And we get to spend more quality time together and use our imagination and find things to do. It's nice. And we do not miss TV at all.
- Oh, I forgot dryer balls! We no longer use fabric softener sheets. Again, it wasn't to save the earth, although we do feel good that we are helping to reduce waste by not using 1-2 dryers sheets per load! We are saving lots of money there...dryer sheets are expensive!
So the bottom line is everything we do is purely selfish! We need to save money and by doing that, we are in turn saving our earth. We are realizing with every choice we've made we are being "earthy" people. We certainly didn't start out that way, but we kind of like where we've come!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
My beautiful little urban garden....
This is just a post of pictures of my garden that I love! It's tiny, it's perfect. Next year will be even better! I'll have my seeds well ahead of time and start them inside early and plant, plant, plant until I run out of room to plant things! Hopefully I'll learn a thing or two this year about gardening that I can build on for next year.
My little raised bed using free bricks, the chain link fence as a trellis for the peas was free as well!
STRAWBERRIES!!! However, this is an early picture taken a couple days ago. Since then, my son has bitten the ends of two of them off and I'm guessing birds got another two?
My little raised bed using free bricks, the chain link fence as a trellis for the peas was free as well!
Below are peas growing in the same bucket as a sunflower. The sunflower provides support as a trellis for the growing vines of the peas!
STRAWBERRIES!!! However, this is an early picture taken a couple days ago. Since then, my son has bitten the ends of two of them off and I'm guessing birds got another two?
My cucumbers! This is supposed to be for a small garden, but it's apparently very happy and wants to take over the world...
3 buckets of strawberries! They were given to us, so I'm hoping they produce a little more on them this year.
Eggplant! Very exciting!
Red bell peppers
Go peas, go!
I think these are radishes...
Cucumber!
I'm not quite sure what this is. It's not happy though. I'm thinking it may be red cabbage?
Tomatoes!!!!
Again, I'm not sure what this is. Cauliflower perhaps?
No problem growing mint!
My dill looks sick!
Parsley isn't that happy either...
Poor, poor basil. I know nothing about how to grow this stuff.
Sooo excited about my gutter system that is growing my lettuce!
Yellow squash
This is a corner of the yard with banana trees. I've planted peas there to grow up the banana tree stalks.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Fat and calories welcome here....
ONLY IF they are REAL fat and calories.
We are trying to change our eating to all real foods as you know and although we slip on more than one occasion, we are doing fairly well. One great thing that has come from our change of eating lifestyle is the weight loss. OH YEAH!
I've lost 13 pounds since changing the way I eat. And believe you me, I still eat! Again, I am in no way a perfect eater (says the woman who just made cake pops last night with a box mix and canned frosting) but the bulk of our eating is now real food. Many are amazed to learn that I've lost 13 pounds by simply changing my eating, but it's so very true. And the best part - I now eat bacon...and real butter....and full fat dairy. I love every bit of it!
The best book I've read so far is Nina Planck's book "Real Food." It tells in plain language (except when it comes to the meat section - kind of lost me there) the benefits of eating real food, including fats. I recommend it as an easy read to introducing you to real food again. She has also come out with a new book about real baby food that I can't wait to read. Although my son is no longer a baby *sniff*, I still am very interested in food in our society today.
So, we have switched to full fat dairy. Raw milk is SO good. We still have to get our raw milk from South Carolina though. It's our turn to drive the 2 hours each way to get it tomorrow for our small group. We drive once every 5 months, so it's not bad. We have come to learn to enjoy milk as a food and not a beverage. We use only full fat cheese and yogurt, although the yogurt is a bit tough to find and you have to be careful not to grab the "light" yogurts because they have even more fake stuff because there is no sugar added (not that I'm saying sugar is good). I did find that Stonybrook has an organic cream-top yogurt. So freaking good. Of course, I should be making my own yogurt from my fresh, raw milk, but that's another learning project for another day. Oh, and butter. How could I forget wonderful butter? Again, no margarine for us. We want the real thing. That does not mean that we eat a stick of butter a day, but if I want to butter my toast, I do it. Again, I should be making my own from my raw milk, but I need 4 more hours per day please!
We eat real meat.
Meat is one of those things that we believe you should spend money on. You have GOT to buy pastured meat, period. Obviously look for meat that has not been given growth hormones as well. I've recently discovered that we have a farm near where I grew up that the beef is $3.50/pound and you don't even have to buy the whole cow! Many places that sell this type of beef sell a whole cow, a half or a quarter. Usually the smaller quantity you buy, the more per pound you pay. But not this place! It's $3.50/pound even if you buy a quarter of a cow!
Chickens also must be pastured and let alone to feed on their natural diet. I grew up in chicken country with long, stinky chicken houses at every turn. I knew it was how the farmers made money but it never sank in until recently that those chickens were the ones that were processed and sold in our local grocery stores for us to eat. I wish I had pictures to post of these absolutely horrible living conditions for the chickens. They see no sun, no grass, no bugs. They are pumped full of feed and I'm sure full of hormones. After a shorter than should be maturity cycle, they are then shipped to the processing plant to be made ready to put on grocery shelves. After my realization that those same chickens that I knew we smashed into those chicken houses wing to wing with no room to move were the same chicken packages we bought to bring home and eat, it was definitely enough for me to rearrange my budget and add more to the grocery column.
Wild game. Mainly venison. Yes, deer. We eat deer. And we like it. After my husband shot his first deer this past fall, he was amazed at how lean the animal was. We then realized that although we live in a polluted world, that deer is probably the most natural meat we've consumed in a long time. The deer had not been caged without access to fresh air, grass, water. It had not been fed supplemental "fattening" food. It was as it should be. And if you are a meat eater, which I'm sure most of you are, you should start paying very, very close attention to the type of meat you are buying and consuming. I'm not saying become a hunter and go shoot your own. But perhaps make friends with a hunter! Pack your freezer full of ground venison that is easily interchangeable for beef in all the recipes I've ever tried.
The one issue we are having is sugar. I love sugar. I know how bad white sugar is for you. I'm really trying to cut it out. I've even tried alternative sweeteners and so far nothing is working for me. However, I am getting better. I used to go by McDonald's for the giant sweet tea for $1 several times a week. Now, I cannot drink the stuff. It's like syrup to me. I haven't had one in months. And at Starbucks, I used to get a grande vanilla latte and add 2 splendaewww, fake stuff that we do not touch anymore). Now if I get a grande vanilla latte, I ask for only 2 pumps of the syrup instead of 4. I think I'm to the point I can now ask for only one! This is a challenge area for us and we are constantly working at it.
So after my success at losing the weight by simply eating real food, I'm even more of a believer of READING THE LABELS! I've become quite good at it and although we aren't perfect and still buy crappy stuff (hello...boxed cake mix and canned frosting) we have definitely changed our eating lifestyle and love it.
We are trying to change our eating to all real foods as you know and although we slip on more than one occasion, we are doing fairly well. One great thing that has come from our change of eating lifestyle is the weight loss. OH YEAH!
I've lost 13 pounds since changing the way I eat. And believe you me, I still eat! Again, I am in no way a perfect eater (says the woman who just made cake pops last night with a box mix and canned frosting) but the bulk of our eating is now real food. Many are amazed to learn that I've lost 13 pounds by simply changing my eating, but it's so very true. And the best part - I now eat bacon...and real butter....and full fat dairy. I love every bit of it!
The best book I've read so far is Nina Planck's book "Real Food." It tells in plain language (except when it comes to the meat section - kind of lost me there) the benefits of eating real food, including fats. I recommend it as an easy read to introducing you to real food again. She has also come out with a new book about real baby food that I can't wait to read. Although my son is no longer a baby *sniff*, I still am very interested in food in our society today.
So, we have switched to full fat dairy. Raw milk is SO good. We still have to get our raw milk from South Carolina though. It's our turn to drive the 2 hours each way to get it tomorrow for our small group. We drive once every 5 months, so it's not bad. We have come to learn to enjoy milk as a food and not a beverage. We use only full fat cheese and yogurt, although the yogurt is a bit tough to find and you have to be careful not to grab the "light" yogurts because they have even more fake stuff because there is no sugar added (not that I'm saying sugar is good). I did find that Stonybrook has an organic cream-top yogurt. So freaking good. Of course, I should be making my own yogurt from my fresh, raw milk, but that's another learning project for another day. Oh, and butter. How could I forget wonderful butter? Again, no margarine for us. We want the real thing. That does not mean that we eat a stick of butter a day, but if I want to butter my toast, I do it. Again, I should be making my own from my raw milk, but I need 4 more hours per day please!
We eat real meat.
Meat is one of those things that we believe you should spend money on. You have GOT to buy pastured meat, period. Obviously look for meat that has not been given growth hormones as well. I've recently discovered that we have a farm near where I grew up that the beef is $3.50/pound and you don't even have to buy the whole cow! Many places that sell this type of beef sell a whole cow, a half or a quarter. Usually the smaller quantity you buy, the more per pound you pay. But not this place! It's $3.50/pound even if you buy a quarter of a cow!
Chickens also must be pastured and let alone to feed on their natural diet. I grew up in chicken country with long, stinky chicken houses at every turn. I knew it was how the farmers made money but it never sank in until recently that those chickens were the ones that were processed and sold in our local grocery stores for us to eat. I wish I had pictures to post of these absolutely horrible living conditions for the chickens. They see no sun, no grass, no bugs. They are pumped full of feed and I'm sure full of hormones. After a shorter than should be maturity cycle, they are then shipped to the processing plant to be made ready to put on grocery shelves. After my realization that those same chickens that I knew we smashed into those chicken houses wing to wing with no room to move were the same chicken packages we bought to bring home and eat, it was definitely enough for me to rearrange my budget and add more to the grocery column.
Wild game. Mainly venison. Yes, deer. We eat deer. And we like it. After my husband shot his first deer this past fall, he was amazed at how lean the animal was. We then realized that although we live in a polluted world, that deer is probably the most natural meat we've consumed in a long time. The deer had not been caged without access to fresh air, grass, water. It had not been fed supplemental "fattening" food. It was as it should be. And if you are a meat eater, which I'm sure most of you are, you should start paying very, very close attention to the type of meat you are buying and consuming. I'm not saying become a hunter and go shoot your own. But perhaps make friends with a hunter! Pack your freezer full of ground venison that is easily interchangeable for beef in all the recipes I've ever tried.
The one issue we are having is sugar. I love sugar. I know how bad white sugar is for you. I'm really trying to cut it out. I've even tried alternative sweeteners and so far nothing is working for me. However, I am getting better. I used to go by McDonald's for the giant sweet tea for $1 several times a week. Now, I cannot drink the stuff. It's like syrup to me. I haven't had one in months. And at Starbucks, I used to get a grande vanilla latte and add 2 splendaewww, fake stuff that we do not touch anymore). Now if I get a grande vanilla latte, I ask for only 2 pumps of the syrup instead of 4. I think I'm to the point I can now ask for only one! This is a challenge area for us and we are constantly working at it.
So after my success at losing the weight by simply eating real food, I'm even more of a believer of READING THE LABELS! I've become quite good at it and although we aren't perfect and still buy crappy stuff (hello...boxed cake mix and canned frosting) we have definitely changed our eating lifestyle and love it.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Slacker has a new menu plan....
Yes, I am a slacker. But I don't want to be! I've been so busy in real life that I cannot seem to find time to even say hi! It's a good busy though, so I'm not really complaining!
I'm not even sure if I've mentioned this earlier and I'm too lazy (and busy) right now to go look! My husband and I are watching a friend's baby girl during the week while she is at work. We've been watching her for just over a month now and so far, so good! It's also given my husband and I a glimpse of what it would be like if we had two children. We're so torn on whether or not our son will be an only child or not!
So between watching the baby during the day, spending time with our son and cooking dinner in the early evening, working on my two part-time jobs during the evening, I've not found the time to blog recently! However, we did manage to come up with our next menu plan. Seriously, will it ever get easier? This is definitely a challenge that we want to overcome because it makes life SO much easier to have a menu for us! I love being able to look at our menu each day and knowing what's for lunch and dinner and I love the fact that all of the groceries are in the house to make those meals!
Here is our menu plan for this week (yes, sorry I'm a day late in posting for Monday!)
Monday
L - Grilled tuna salad sandwich
D - BLAT wrap (again, one of our absolute favorites). Just crispy bacon, lettuce, avocado and diced tomatoes wrapped up in a wheat or whole-grain tortilla!
Tuesday
L - Avocado Bean Wrap - new recipe for us. We omitted the chiles. It was really good! Our son wasn't too wild about the cabbage as I knew he wouldn't be. He has a tough time chewing it up raw. So he just got the other fillings!
D - Salmon Patties with Creamy Dill Sauce, jasmine rice and Baby Bok Choy The Salmon patties were great the last time I made them. Usually the recipes I've tried are too dry, but this wasn't. The dill sauce is sooo yummy! Bok choy - never ever made it or even ate it, so big experiment for us! I will probably omit the cashews because I don't want to spend the extra money!
Wednesday
L - Leftover salmon patties (maybe on a sandwich or in a wrap) and probably some roasted carrots and broccoli
D - Chicken en papillote - from The Sonoma Diet cookbook. SO good!
Thursday
L - Quesadillas - whatever we have goes in it. Typically leftover chicken, black beans, artichokes, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc. We'll probably use leftovers from dinner on Wednesday
D - Turkey burgers, probably roasted veggies again since I'm sure we'll still have broccoli, onions and carrots and we'll also have some baked sweet potato rounds.
Friday
L - Pasta Salad - haven't decided which yet. I want to try a new recipe.
D - Roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and probably a side of cabbage
Saturday
L - leftover pasta salad - will be good since we're traveling to SC to pick up our raw milk for the month (again, isn't that ridiculous that the farms in SC can't sell in GA? Crazy laws)
D - Carry out from our favorite Japanese place!
Sunday
L - leftover roast and veggies
D - Mexican casserole - we do not put the tortilla chips on the bottom. We did the first time and did not like the weird thick crust it made.
I'm still working on what I can do ahead of time. For example, today's lunch of the Avocado bean wrap - I could have already had the carrot, cabbage and cheese shredded. I could have already made the creamy dill sauce for tonight's meal, etc. So I'm working a little at a time on it. I think I'm going to have to devote an hour on Sunday evening to looking at the menu for the week and figuring out what I can do to prepare ahead.
I'm not even sure if I've mentioned this earlier and I'm too lazy (and busy) right now to go look! My husband and I are watching a friend's baby girl during the week while she is at work. We've been watching her for just over a month now and so far, so good! It's also given my husband and I a glimpse of what it would be like if we had two children. We're so torn on whether or not our son will be an only child or not!
So between watching the baby during the day, spending time with our son and cooking dinner in the early evening, working on my two part-time jobs during the evening, I've not found the time to blog recently! However, we did manage to come up with our next menu plan. Seriously, will it ever get easier? This is definitely a challenge that we want to overcome because it makes life SO much easier to have a menu for us! I love being able to look at our menu each day and knowing what's for lunch and dinner and I love the fact that all of the groceries are in the house to make those meals!
Here is our menu plan for this week (yes, sorry I'm a day late in posting for Monday!)
Monday
L - Grilled tuna salad sandwich
D - BLAT wrap (again, one of our absolute favorites). Just crispy bacon, lettuce, avocado and diced tomatoes wrapped up in a wheat or whole-grain tortilla!
Tuesday
L - Avocado Bean Wrap - new recipe for us. We omitted the chiles. It was really good! Our son wasn't too wild about the cabbage as I knew he wouldn't be. He has a tough time chewing it up raw. So he just got the other fillings!
D - Salmon Patties with Creamy Dill Sauce, jasmine rice and Baby Bok Choy The Salmon patties were great the last time I made them. Usually the recipes I've tried are too dry, but this wasn't. The dill sauce is sooo yummy! Bok choy - never ever made it or even ate it, so big experiment for us! I will probably omit the cashews because I don't want to spend the extra money!
Wednesday
L - Leftover salmon patties (maybe on a sandwich or in a wrap) and probably some roasted carrots and broccoli
D - Chicken en papillote - from The Sonoma Diet cookbook. SO good!
Thursday
L - Quesadillas - whatever we have goes in it. Typically leftover chicken, black beans, artichokes, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc. We'll probably use leftovers from dinner on Wednesday
D - Turkey burgers, probably roasted veggies again since I'm sure we'll still have broccoli, onions and carrots and we'll also have some baked sweet potato rounds.
Friday
L - Pasta Salad - haven't decided which yet. I want to try a new recipe.
D - Roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and probably a side of cabbage
Saturday
L - leftover pasta salad - will be good since we're traveling to SC to pick up our raw milk for the month (again, isn't that ridiculous that the farms in SC can't sell in GA? Crazy laws)
D - Carry out from our favorite Japanese place!
Sunday
L - leftover roast and veggies
D - Mexican casserole - we do not put the tortilla chips on the bottom. We did the first time and did not like the weird thick crust it made.
I'm still working on what I can do ahead of time. For example, today's lunch of the Avocado bean wrap - I could have already had the carrot, cabbage and cheese shredded. I could have already made the creamy dill sauce for tonight's meal, etc. So I'm working a little at a time on it. I think I'm going to have to devote an hour on Sunday evening to looking at the menu for the week and figuring out what I can do to prepare ahead.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The end is here....
My nursing relationship with my son is quickly coming to an end.
It is so very bitter-sweet. I am going to miss this look.
He is now 22 months old and my joy. He has grown up so fast and although I was told by a million people that time would fly by, I really didn't believe them. I knew it would pass quickly. I had NO idea that I would literally blink and it would pass.
I knew back in December that my milk supply was getting lower and lower. When my husband and I took vacation without our little guy in January, I was convinced that when we returned that my son wouldn't want to nurse anymore, but he surprised me. He still nursed every morning and most evenings before bed.
When we moved from my mother's house back to our house at the end of March, I never thought that he would want to stop nursing then. I figured that such a big change would prompt him to ask for "nurse" more. So I was surprised when he only asked twice the first week we moved back home. He's nursed a few more times since and actually nursed this morning, but I don't think I have any milk anymore at all.
I cannot believe I breastfed my son for over 22 months. As I posted before, I thought people who nursed longer than a year were nuts. I'd simply never heard or seen it. When I got pregnant, I knew I'd breastfeed...for the first six months. That time came and went so quickly and I was so amazed that I had completely nourished my son, another human being, for half of a year. How huge is that? My body produced what my son needed to sustain and flourish. How miraculous and wonderful is that? Once that six month period passed, it never occurred to me to abruptly stop nursing him simply because I'd reached a time deadline. I was still his food source and doing well at it, if I don't say so myself! Again, like I've mentioned before, it is said that babies need breast milk or formula for the first year of life. Why in the world would I give my baby something processed and manufactured when I was producing the best food in the world for him? My milk was customized for him. Period. No other source of food I can ever give him will be made just for him.
Breastfeeding is such the norm for us in our family now that I'm surprised when others are shocked to learn my son nursed as long as he did. I had a salon appointment today to get my hair cut and colored (yay, I feel like a woman again) with a new stylist and was telling her that my hair was thinner than normal since I'd recently been nursing and had the gobs of hair fall out (which by the way, no one prepared me for!). She asked how old my baby was and when I told her he would be two in June, I thought she was going to fall over. To me, it's now become normal to know many women who nurse even beyond two years, so I think I'm on the earlier side of the weaning! She told me that she nursed her children for six weeks and then switched to formula. So I guess to her, making it to my original goal of six months would have been shocking too!
I know that the weaning means I am raising a confident son who is beginning to make choices already in life. He is assured that his father and I are there for him and love him so much that we can barely pay attention to the world around us because our focus is him! I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to experience this special relationship with my son for as long as I was able.
We have now moved forward to other special bonding times. One of my favorite times with him now is before bedtime, after we've read our many books, when we rock together. He lies in my lap with his head and back on my chest and stomach and wraps both arms up over his head and around my neck to stroke my hair. That has been his thing since he's had control over his hands! He always played with my hair while nursing. I'm so happy that it's continued on and it helps me know that he is content.
I know this isn't a very exciting blog post to many, but it's such a blessing I've been able to experience and although I am very sad that it has reached the end, I know it just means we are on the edge of experiencing ever more wonderful things with our son. I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us!
It is so very bitter-sweet. I am going to miss this look.
He is now 22 months old and my joy. He has grown up so fast and although I was told by a million people that time would fly by, I really didn't believe them. I knew it would pass quickly. I had NO idea that I would literally blink and it would pass.
I knew back in December that my milk supply was getting lower and lower. When my husband and I took vacation without our little guy in January, I was convinced that when we returned that my son wouldn't want to nurse anymore, but he surprised me. He still nursed every morning and most evenings before bed.
When we moved from my mother's house back to our house at the end of March, I never thought that he would want to stop nursing then. I figured that such a big change would prompt him to ask for "nurse" more. So I was surprised when he only asked twice the first week we moved back home. He's nursed a few more times since and actually nursed this morning, but I don't think I have any milk anymore at all.
I cannot believe I breastfed my son for over 22 months. As I posted before, I thought people who nursed longer than a year were nuts. I'd simply never heard or seen it. When I got pregnant, I knew I'd breastfeed...for the first six months. That time came and went so quickly and I was so amazed that I had completely nourished my son, another human being, for half of a year. How huge is that? My body produced what my son needed to sustain and flourish. How miraculous and wonderful is that? Once that six month period passed, it never occurred to me to abruptly stop nursing him simply because I'd reached a time deadline. I was still his food source and doing well at it, if I don't say so myself! Again, like I've mentioned before, it is said that babies need breast milk or formula for the first year of life. Why in the world would I give my baby something processed and manufactured when I was producing the best food in the world for him? My milk was customized for him. Period. No other source of food I can ever give him will be made just for him.
Breastfeeding is such the norm for us in our family now that I'm surprised when others are shocked to learn my son nursed as long as he did. I had a salon appointment today to get my hair cut and colored (yay, I feel like a woman again) with a new stylist and was telling her that my hair was thinner than normal since I'd recently been nursing and had the gobs of hair fall out (which by the way, no one prepared me for!). She asked how old my baby was and when I told her he would be two in June, I thought she was going to fall over. To me, it's now become normal to know many women who nurse even beyond two years, so I think I'm on the earlier side of the weaning! She told me that she nursed her children for six weeks and then switched to formula. So I guess to her, making it to my original goal of six months would have been shocking too!
I know that the weaning means I am raising a confident son who is beginning to make choices already in life. He is assured that his father and I are there for him and love him so much that we can barely pay attention to the world around us because our focus is him! I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to experience this special relationship with my son for as long as I was able.
We have now moved forward to other special bonding times. One of my favorite times with him now is before bedtime, after we've read our many books, when we rock together. He lies in my lap with his head and back on my chest and stomach and wraps both arms up over his head and around my neck to stroke my hair. That has been his thing since he's had control over his hands! He always played with my hair while nursing. I'm so happy that it's continued on and it helps me know that he is content.
I know this isn't a very exciting blog post to many, but it's such a blessing I've been able to experience and although I am very sad that it has reached the end, I know it just means we are on the edge of experiencing ever more wonderful things with our son. I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Frugal?
frugal?
Cloth diapers - we cloth diaper our son and we bought about 15 Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers with inserts for $20! It was from someone we knew and they had potty trained their youngest and was just trying to unload the diapers! Retail is $17.95! Plus I can re-sell these if I choose and probably make the little money back that I spent on them!
There are other ways we are frugal - like the different ways we save on electricity, etc. That can be another post though as this is getting rather lengthy. Basically we are all about deals. We try not to pay retail for most things because there's usually a way to get them discounted or even FREE!
resourceful?
cheap?
I say we're smart!
I'm not sure when it started, but we have become quite frugal. I think it may have begun around the time I was newly pregnant with my son. A friend of ours was selling all of her baby things and we went to take a look. We got a pack and play, stroller system with car seat and base (disclaimer - be extra cautious when buying used car seats, only buy from people you know so you'll know if the car seat has been in an accident and always check for past recalls), swing, travel swing, johnny jump up, bathtub, papasan vibrating chair, a front carrier, and about 15 pieces of maternity clothing which included a really nice wool coat. Total price - $200. It was all in excellent condition! We definitely got a great deal. The travel system alone is nearly that! Thankfully I didn't feel the need to have all brand new things. Most of the stuff is so temporary that I hated to pay retail for it!
We are huge fans of Dave Ramsey . We've been on his plan since last April and love it. That's another blog though! He talks of bartering and asking for discounts, but the key is being able to walk away. In our society of instant gratification or nothing, that was a hurdle that was difficult to get over. However we've realized that there are very few things that we MUST have. Once we got that into our mindset, it's become much easier to save money and get better deals on things we want because we've learned patience.
Here are some other ways we've saved money by being frugal....and patient!
Moving boxes - free at retail store (actually it was behind the store and they were already flattened so it was so easy to get a ton of them in our car! I refuse to pay money for boxes that are just going to get beat up and taped and re-taped, so we go to the liquor store for the smaller boxes - they are the perfect size for packing small things that may be heavy! But we found some larger boxes that we needed behind a sports shoe store)
Newspaper for packing - recycle bin - don't worry, we will recycle back when we are finished!
Jeans (2 pair) - at Goodwill - $10 total (Retail price for one was $150!!! The other was $20 retail)
Sewing machine - $25 (not sure how much it was retail, but I'm guessing around $150) This is another way for me to be frugal. However, I have NO idea even how to sew a button on, so this will be an interesting challenge. But one I'm certain I can do. Especially for me....I mean, how hard can it be to sew a simple dress or skirt? We'll see :)
Belt - for $0.99 (for my husband -since he's slimmed down from his CrossFit workouts! Normally he'd pay at least $20 for a belt)
Basketball goal for our son - faded, but free (We had just looked at these at Wal-Mart the week before and then a friend told us she had one she was giving away! This retails at WalMart for $45!
Dining table - $85.00, solid wood. I'm very excited about this one! I found this on Craigslist and it was gorgeous. Very simple, but exactly what I wanted. AND it's solid wood. I wouldn't even know how much something like this would cost retail...maybe $150 or $200?. I need chairs to go with it, but I'm not in a hurry because I have some I can use for now. I also know I can get wood chairs at IKEA for $20 each, so if I can't find any, then I'll get those!
Pull behind cart for bike - FREE!!! I saw several of these on Amazon for $85! A man who works with my husband was going to throw it away! We'll take it, thank you very much! Now our son will enjoy going for bike rides with my husband. I, on the other hand, rode my bike right into a bush the last time I went a couple years ago, so I'll stay home!
Coffee grinder - $3 My husband was SO excited to find this at Goodwill. He's been wanting one for almost a year now. I have no idea how much one costs. But I'm sure it's more than $3!
Boots - $3 We've wanted these particular boots for our son for a year now. However, they aren't boots he'll wear often, so we hated to pay even $15 for them at Wal-mart, so we were happy to find them at Goodwill!
Pedestal sink - $20 Brand new off of Craigslist!
Filing cabinet - FREE. Our neighbors behind us in the alley were moving and they were putting things in the alley they didn't want. A little paint and it looked brand new!
Cloth diapers - we cloth diaper our son and we bought about 15 Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers with inserts for $20! It was from someone we knew and they had potty trained their youngest and was just trying to unload the diapers! Retail is $17.95! Plus I can re-sell these if I choose and probably make the little money back that I spent on them!
There are other ways we are frugal - like the different ways we save on electricity, etc. That can be another post though as this is getting rather lengthy. Basically we are all about deals. We try not to pay retail for most things because there's usually a way to get them discounted or even FREE!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Menu planning
So I took a little time off from writing anything, huh? That's what moving will do to you!
We are all moved back in our house in Savannah and have settled in for the most part. We are waiting on delivery of our IKEA wardrobe system today and once that is put together and our bedroom is unpacked, I'll definitely feel better! The yard will take some work. There are tons of weeds and we've been pulling and raking them out for the past week!
We did start a few vegetables. My husband built me a raised bed along a portion of chain link fencing we have for our peas. We used bricks we already had and the trellis (chain link fence) was already there, so FREE! I also planted a cucumber plant that's supposedly good in small gardens and one red bell pepper plant. I have some other things planted but I think they will probably die in the heat because they are cooler weathered vegetables! Arugula, swiss chard, red cabbage.
We planted 4 tomato plants in self watering containers that my husband made. I'll post pictures on that later. Everything except for the soil and the tomato plants were FREE!
Now, on to making my life feel organized after the move - menu planning is the key! I absolutely despise not having a menu planned out. It makes things so difficult. It's such a pain to sit down and actually plan out the menu, but not really when you think about getting up in the morning, looking at your menu and know exactly what you are eating that day. Such a time saver and saves the hassle of deciding 30 minutes before meal time what you are having!
I'm not good at it yet. I want to be able to build my menu off of what is on sale at the grocery store and what is in season as far as vegetables and fruit. I'll get there! It helps save money too. When going to the grocery store, you have a definite list. You know exactly what to buy. Vegetables won't go bad before you decide to use them. Meat won't sit in your freezer for 6 months before you finally get around to cooking it. You won't have 20 boxes of pasta in your freezer because every time you go grocery shopping without a plan, you buy the pasta that's on sale, just to have on hand for a quick meal! :)
Here is my menu plan for next week. We used to only plan dinners but now that our son is here it's much easier to add lunches too!
Monday 4/12
Lunch - Tuna apple salad
Dinner - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green veggie or two
Tuesday 4/13
L - Meatloaf sandwich (add lettuce and tomato for veggie servings)
D - Leftovers from dinner last night (yes, meatloaf 3 times in a row, but I don't mind!)
We'll probably slice up a fresh tomato to add to our veggies.
Wednesday 4/14
L - BLAT wrap - one of my FAVORITES! Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato wrap! You take a wheat tortilla, chop up crispy bacon, add lettuce, tomato and avocado. The secret is a tiny amount of ranch dressing. SO good! We don't eat ranch dressing except for on this wrap! I'm sure there is a substitute out there I can whip up if I took the time to look!)
D - Roasted chicken, roasted carrots, potatoes and a side of green beans
Thursday 4/15
L - Artichoke chicken salad
D - Quesadillas - using leftover chicken from dinner the night before, artichokes leftover from lunch, black beans, roasted red peppers and mushrooms if you have them. Monterey Jack cheese and YUM!
Friday 4/16
L - Leftover quesadillas
D - Spaghetti with a side of green peas and salad
Saturday 4/17
L - Grape chicken salad (using leftover chicken if any left)
D - Oyster Roast at a friends house - whoohooo@
Sunday 4/18
L - Spaghetti leftovers, whip up a veggie side with whatever we have left (always keep frozen peas and beans on hand)
D - Baked Ziti, salad, something else green
We are all moved back in our house in Savannah and have settled in for the most part. We are waiting on delivery of our IKEA wardrobe system today and once that is put together and our bedroom is unpacked, I'll definitely feel better! The yard will take some work. There are tons of weeds and we've been pulling and raking them out for the past week!
We did start a few vegetables. My husband built me a raised bed along a portion of chain link fencing we have for our peas. We used bricks we already had and the trellis (chain link fence) was already there, so FREE! I also planted a cucumber plant that's supposedly good in small gardens and one red bell pepper plant. I have some other things planted but I think they will probably die in the heat because they are cooler weathered vegetables! Arugula, swiss chard, red cabbage.
We planted 4 tomato plants in self watering containers that my husband made. I'll post pictures on that later. Everything except for the soil and the tomato plants were FREE!
Now, on to making my life feel organized after the move - menu planning is the key! I absolutely despise not having a menu planned out. It makes things so difficult. It's such a pain to sit down and actually plan out the menu, but not really when you think about getting up in the morning, looking at your menu and know exactly what you are eating that day. Such a time saver and saves the hassle of deciding 30 minutes before meal time what you are having!
I'm not good at it yet. I want to be able to build my menu off of what is on sale at the grocery store and what is in season as far as vegetables and fruit. I'll get there! It helps save money too. When going to the grocery store, you have a definite list. You know exactly what to buy. Vegetables won't go bad before you decide to use them. Meat won't sit in your freezer for 6 months before you finally get around to cooking it. You won't have 20 boxes of pasta in your freezer because every time you go grocery shopping without a plan, you buy the pasta that's on sale, just to have on hand for a quick meal! :)
Here is my menu plan for next week. We used to only plan dinners but now that our son is here it's much easier to add lunches too!
Monday 4/12
Lunch - Tuna apple salad
Dinner - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green veggie or two
Tuesday 4/13
L - Meatloaf sandwich (add lettuce and tomato for veggie servings)
D - Leftovers from dinner last night (yes, meatloaf 3 times in a row, but I don't mind!)
We'll probably slice up a fresh tomato to add to our veggies.
Wednesday 4/14
L - BLAT wrap - one of my FAVORITES! Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato wrap! You take a wheat tortilla, chop up crispy bacon, add lettuce, tomato and avocado. The secret is a tiny amount of ranch dressing. SO good! We don't eat ranch dressing except for on this wrap! I'm sure there is a substitute out there I can whip up if I took the time to look!)
D - Roasted chicken, roasted carrots, potatoes and a side of green beans
Thursday 4/15
L - Artichoke chicken salad
D - Quesadillas - using leftover chicken from dinner the night before, artichokes leftover from lunch, black beans, roasted red peppers and mushrooms if you have them. Monterey Jack cheese and YUM!
Friday 4/16
L - Leftover quesadillas
D - Spaghetti with a side of green peas and salad
Saturday 4/17
L - Grape chicken salad (using leftover chicken if any left)
D - Oyster Roast at a friends house - whoohooo@
Sunday 4/18
L - Spaghetti leftovers, whip up a veggie side with whatever we have left (always keep frozen peas and beans on hand)
D - Baked Ziti, salad, something else green
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