Parents and Kids

Go to the "GG and SG Home" link at the top of the page! : )

2010-06-24T15:01:00.003-05:00

I am not writing on this blog anymore. It WAS the kid section of the Going Green & Saving Green blog but was too much keeping them separate (and really isn't necessary). I am now posting everything on the main Going Green & Saving Green blog. I will eventually merge this blog info back into that blog, but in the mean time, feel free to search this blog for any old posts you'd like to read.

Click on the "GG and SG Home" link at the top of the page to get to the blog from here. To go there directly go to: http://goinggreenandsavinggreen.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to seeing you over there! Thanks for reading! : )

-Christina

Weelicious

2010-04-27T13:50:00.000-05:00

My current favorite website for yummy toddler (& everyone) food ideas is Weelicious. They have LOTS of healthy recipes that are baby, toddler, & kid friendly. She uses lots of healthy ingredients! They even have videos for some of the recipes which I love watching. I'm very much a visual/hands on person. So getting to watch exactly how she does it and then do it myself is way easier then just reading a recipe. My favorite part about the videos though is that she's almost always enlisting a little helper (her son Kenya) which reminds me how easy it is to get my little ones involved in the kitchen. So far we have tried the banana bites which O loved! I used the rest of the batter to whip up some pancakes and to toss in the freezer for later. Go check them out and let me know what your favorite recipe is.

Giveaways 2/14 - 2/20

2010-02-12T17:15:00.006-06:00

Cloth Diaper Blog is giving away two Fuzzi Bunz One Size diapers. One red and one white. Ends: 2/18/10
The Cloth Diaper Whisperer is giving away three Tot Bots Easy Fit one size diapers. Ends: 2/18/10 @ 7pm EST
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a $35 GC to Mountain Green's website. These are green cleaners. Ends: 2/17/10

Giveaways 2/7 - 2/13

2010-02-06T18:44:00.005-06:00

The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a Smartipants One Size Pocket Diaper in Cocoa Bean. Ends: 2/12/10
Cloth Diaper Blog is giving away 2 Bumkins One Size Contour Diapers, 1 Bumkins Diaper Cover, and 1 Bumkins Dirty Duds Bag. Ends: 2/11/10 @ 3 pm EST
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a $20 GC for CrunchyClean.com. Ends: 2/12/10
The Cloth Diaper Whisperer is giving away TWO 45/90 load bags of Rockin' Green Cloth Diaper Detergent! Ends: 2/11/10 @ 7 pm EST
Dirty Diaper Laundry is giving away a Rocky Mountain OS diaper. Ends: 2/22/10
Monkey Tales is giving away a Three Monkeys AI2 diaper in It-A-Zoo pattern - size L/XL. (This would actually be a M/L in other diapers, these are sized smaller) Ends: 2/22/10 @ 4 pm CST

I won a giveaway!!! :D

2010-02-06T16:16:00.002-06:00

I have officially won my first giveaway! : D Yay! Thanks so much toddler mama!

I finally have a button!!!

2010-02-02T03:41:00.004-06:00

Yay! I finally created a button for this blog! Thanks so much to Oikology 101! Go here to learn how to do your own button as well!

And here's my new button:

Giveaways 1/31 - 2/6

2010-01-30T17:25:00.004-06:00

The Cloth Diaper Whisperer is giving away two Babykicks Bumboo one size diapers. These include one Joey Bunz insert a peice. Ends: 2/4/10 @ 7 pm EST
Cloth Diaper Blog is giving away two Kiwi Pie one size bamboo fitted diapers in your choice of pattern. Ends: 2/4/10 @ 3 pm EST
Dirty Diaper Laundry is giving away a Cocoa Bean Smartipants one size pocket diaper. Ends: 2/8/10
Dirty Diaper Laundry is giving away a Thirsties Duo Diaper. This is a pocket diaper that comes in two sizes. These have a snap down rise like one size diapers do. Ends: 2/8/10
Familylicious Reviews and Giveaways is giving away an Urban - Locked Donut Mommy Necklace. These are great for breastfeeding mothers (or any mothers!) because they are made to withstand the abuse that little children tend to give jewelry. Ends: 2/6/10 @ 11:59 pm PST
Take Time to Smell the Rose is giving away an AMP One Size Duo Diaper in your choice of color. This is a pocket diaper that can also work as an all in two. There are videos on the giveaway page and here. Ends: 2/12/10 @ 9 pm CST
Toddler Mama is giving away a set of bummas cloth wipes. Ends: 2/7/10 @ 11:59 EST
Dirty Diaper Laundry is giving away an Apple Cheeks cover & bamboo insert. Ends: 2/4/10
Toddler Mama is giving away a 3 pack of Removeez. Ends: 2/5/10
Dirty Diaper Laundry is giving away an AMP one size Duo pocket diaper. Ends: 2/1/10
Happy Green Babies is giving away a bag of Rockin' Green laundry detergent (diaper friendly). Ends: 2/4/10 @ 5:00 pm EST
Mommy and Me Giveaways is giving away a Thirsties Duo diaper in your choice of size & color. Ends: 2/7/10 @ 11:00 pm CST

Toddler Mama Giveaway Blast

2010-01-23T02:15:00.001-06:00

I am adding this giveaway button to the right side of the blog. Unlike the other giveaway events listed on the blog, this one is not specifically "green". I am adding it though because I have noticed a lot of "green" & "disposable replacement" type items in her giveaways so far. Go check them out!

Giveaways 1/24 - 1/30

2010-01-23T01:54:00.003-06:00

Toddler Mama is giving away a set of bummas cloth wipes. Ends: 2/7/10 @ 11:59 EST
Dirty Diaper Laundry is giving away an Apple Cheeks cover & bamboo insert. Ends: 2/4/10
Toddler Mama is giving away a 3 pack of Removeez. Ends: 2/5/10
Dirty Diaper Laundry is giving away an AMP one size Duo pocket diaper. Ends: 2/1/10
Happy Green Babies is giving away a bag of Rockin' Green laundry detergent (diaper friendly). Ends: 2/4/10 @ 5:00 pm EST
SUPER Fluff Friday 63 - The Cloth Diaper Whisperer is giving away a Gro Baby intro pack (shell & 50 Gro Baby bio soakers), a Gro Baby organic cotton soaker pad, & a Gro Baby organic cotton booster. Coolest part, there will be TEN winners!!! Each winner will win their own intro pack, soaker, & booster. Ends: 1/28/10 @ 7:00 pm EST
Cloth Diaper Blog is giving away two Tweedle Bugs one size diapers in your choice of color & print. Ends: 1/28/10 @ 3:00 pm EST
Mommy and Me Giveaways is giving away a Thirsties Duo diaper in your choice of size & color. Ends: 2/7/10 @ 11:00 pm CST

New Layout

2010-01-19T19:35:00.000-06:00

I've changed the layout again. I wasn't satisfied with the "Read More" function. It was messing up some of the posts. So anyway, here's the new layout! I hope you enjoy it! : )

Giveaways 1/17 - 1/23

2010-01-16T14:11:00.013-06:00

Cloth Diaper Blog is giving away a Kissaluvs Marvels one size fited diaper and a Kissaluvs Marvels one size diaper cover in the color or print of your choice. Ends: 1/21/10 @ 3pm EST
The Cloth Diaper Whisperer is doing something special this week. They are having a raffle to help the people in Haiti. They are giving away TWELVE one size diapers! Retail value of $269+

     * 3 Goodmama THE ONE
     * 3 Fuzzi Bunz one size
     * 3 Gro Baby Shell Sets
     * 3 bumGenius one size 3.0

They are also drawing out 4 more names for $100 gift certificates to diapershops.com stores!
Ends: 1/21/10 (drawing on 23rd)
Happily Domestic is giving away an Urban Fluff iCandy AIO diaper in your choice of size & pattern. Ends: 1/21/10 @ 8pm
My Silly Monkeys is giving away a GoodMama Fitted in your choice of in stock patern. Ends: 1/26/10
Happy Green Babies is giving away a diaper of your choice by The Eli Monster. You have to check out this diaper! So cute! Ends: 1/21/10 @ 5pm EST
Take Time to Smell the Rose is giving away a Haute Pocket from Nicki's Diapers in your choice of color & closure (snap or aplix). Ends: 1/18/10 @ 9pm CST
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a Tiny Tush one size fitted diaper. Ends: 1/21/10
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a Tiny Tush one size pocket diaper. Ends: 1/21/10
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away an iCandy by Urban Fluff AI2 Diaper. Ends: 1/23/10
Suburban Saving Mama is giving away a Mother-ease introductory package (fitted, snap in booster, & cover). Ends: 1/25/10 @ 11:59
Sugar Pop Ribbons is giving away a Mod Mum baby sling. Ends: 1/23/10 @ 11:59pm PST
Emily's Latest is giving away a bottle of Skin MD Shielding Lotion. Ends: 1/28/10 @ 11:59pm EST
My Silly Monkeys is giving away ANY one item from Fundawears! Ends: 1/30/10
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a one size Rumparooz pocket diaper in root beer. Ends: 1/25/10
Familylicious Reviews and Giveaways is giving away a ReThink Crafts Diaper Cover in your choice of size & print. Ends: 1/30/10 @ 11:59 pm PST
Familylicious Reviews and Giveaways is giving away a $25 Sprout Baby gift card. Ends: 1/30/10 @ 11:59 pm PST
Familylicious Reviews and Giveaways is giving away a Fresh Baby So Easy baby Food Making kit. Ends: 1/30/10 @ 11:59 pm PST
Familylicious Reviews and Giveaways is giving away a Fields Organics Toy Cleaner. Ends: 1/23/10 @ 11:59 pm PST
Familylicous Reviews and Giveaways is giving away a bag of Rockin' Green Laundry Detergent (cloth diaper friendly) in your choice of scent. Ends: 1/30/10 @ 11:59 pm PST
Take Time to Smell the Rose is giving away a Bum Genius 3.0 one size diaper in your choice of color. Ends: 1/23/10 @ 9pm CST

Giveaways 1/10 - 1/16

2010-01-12T23:37:00.010-06:00

I'm going to try something new that should alleviate some of the craziness around here. Starting this week, I will be doing one weekly post with all giveaways happening during that week. I will update this post throughout the week with any other giveaways I find.

Fluff Friday 62 - The Cloth Diaper Whisperer is giving away a GoodMama AIO and a GoodMama Fitted. These are both one size diapers. Ends: 1/14/10 @ 7pm EST
Feed Your Stash Friday - Cloth Diaper Blog is giving away a Mother-ease OS diaper, a Mother-ease doubler, & a Mother-ease Air Flow Cover. Ends: 1/14/10 @ 3pm EST
Happily Domestic is giving away an Urban Fluff iCandy AIO diaper in your choice of size & pattern. Ends: 1/21/10 @ 8pm
My Silly Monkeys is giving away a GoodMama Fitted in your choice of in stock patern. Ends: 1/26/10
Happy Green Babies is giving away a diaper of your choice by The Eli Monster. You have to check out this diaper! So cute! Ends: 1/21/10 @ 5pm EST
Take Time to Smell the Rose is giving away a Haute Pocket from Nicki's Diapers in your choice of color & closure (snap or aplix). Ends: 1/18/10 @ 9pm CST
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a Tiny Tush one size fitted diaper. Ends: 1/21/10
The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a Tiny Tush one size pocket diaper. Ends: 1/21/10

$300 store credit to Diaper Junction Giveaway!!!

2009-12-19T01:37:00.001-06:00

GIVEAWAY IS OVER!!!
If you're interested in trying cloth diapers or are already a die hard fan, this is the mother of all giveaways! The Cloth Diaper Blog is giving away $300 dollars to spend at Diaper Junction! This is such a huge giveaway it will last for three weeks, so you have plenty of time to share it with your friends!

Green Toys Giveaway

2009-12-18T17:33:00.003-06:00

GIVEAWAY IS OVER!!!

Giveaway Ends: 12/21/09.

I realize it's a little late for Christmas gifts, but if you have any other gift giving oportunities comming up or just want to get a start on next year, this is a great giveaway for you. The company is called Green Toys. They make toys from recycled food safe plastics. Right now The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a chef set by Green Toys!

ReThink Crafts Diaper Cover Giveaway

2009-12-18T14:25:00.004-06:00

GIVEAWAY IS OVER!!!

Giveaway Ends: 12/21/09 at 10pm CST.

As you guys know, I only use gDiapers with inserts from Nappy Shoppe so far. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE these! They work great for my needs, especially for my son with eczema. However, I'd like to try some other diaper styles on my littlest one (who doesn't have eczema) just for fun! he he. I have to say that these covers from ReThink are the cutest ones I've ever seen! You see adorable fitteds everywhere, but adorable covers...not so much. If you head over to Confessions of a First Time Mom right now, you can enter to win one of these great covers in whatever print you want! While you're there, check out the other items featured in her ditching disposables event. She's got lots of great giveaways!

Kissaluvs giveaway!

2009-12-17T16:16:00.002-06:00

GIVEAWAY IS OVER!!!

Giveaway Ends: 12/20/09.

The Cloth Diaper Report is giving away a Marvels One Size Diaper Cover and a Marvels One Size fitted diaper by Kissaluvs.

About Me

2009-12-14T15:49:00.006-06:00

It occurred to me today that I have not mentioned very much about myself on this blog. I would like to semi-introduce myself to you today! : )

My name is Christina, I am in my 20's, and live in TX. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Edward. I am a stay at home mom to our two little boys: 23 month old "C", and 10 month old "O".

I have always loved the idea of recycling and taking care of the planet God has given us. As I've become a mom, the responsibility to take care of the world they are going to inherit has further motivated me to find other ways to "go green." The one major kink in this plan is that we don't have very much money. That is why Going Green and Saving Green was born. I wanted a place to share my ideas of little ways we can do good things for this earth (and our families) without spending very much money. I also wanted this to be a place where others can come and share their ideas. A library of "cheap ways to go green" if you will. Since I am a mother of young children, naturally most of the ideas I'm going to be thinking of are going to be about parents and kids. That is why this section of GG and SG is the most active. I still post on the home page of GG and SG but not nearly as often as the Parents and Kids section.

Right now, I am switching my boys over to cloth diapers. This has taken longer then I wanted it to because of various things getting in the way in our lives. I am not giving up though. I have been actively searching for cloth diaper giveaways to help me build up a stash quicker. Right now I use gDiapers with G-Flappers from Nappy Shoppe exclusively. I am very happy with them! I take the time to share these giveaways with you so you too can have the chance to build up a cloth diaper stash (or just try them out) without forking over a lot of money.

I am also not the best speller and unfortunately blogger took away the spell check feature. I will run what I type through a separate spell checker when I have the chance and I also have my husband proof read my posts. Sometimes errors still slip by though. I apologize ahead of time for my spelling mistakes. Hopefully there won’t be too many! I know that can make things annoying to read!

I will tell you more about me and my family in the future. I am not able to write as often as I'd like because my two little boys take up a lot of my time. I am so happy to be able to stay at home with them though!

Vegetable & Fruit Baby yogurt (like Yobaby Meals)

2009-12-01T00:49:00.003-06:00

If you don't have time to mix up different flavors of yogurt for your little one, I would highly recommend any of the Stonyfield Yobaby yogurts. They are organic, made from whole milk, have several flavor options, and my son LOVES them. I would especially recommend the Yobaby Meals! They are the 6 oz. cups of whole milk yogurt that have vegetables & fruit mixed in.

I love feeding my toddler Yobaby Meals! He loves it and it's an easy way to get extra vegetables in his day. Only thing I don't like about it? The price. If you're like me, you get a little sick feeling in your stomach every time you pick up one of those yogurts and see the $1 price tag. As much as I hate paying so much for jarred baby food, the yogurt gets to me more. I don't even like having to pay $0.50 for yogurt for me! I have wanted to make it myself but couldn't find whole milk yogurt & I don't have a usable blender or food processor right now.

I did find out that Stonyfield makes a plain whole milk yogurt. It's called "cream top" and comes in the big 32 oz. tub. But I still didn't have a way of getting the fruits & vegetables pureed.

Well, the other day I was in the baby food isle at Wal-Mart and got an idea. Parent’s Choice brand baby food has three varieties of vegetable & fruit baby food. It comes in packages of two snack cups (like what applesauce comes in) with lids for about $1. I knew I could get at least one flavored yogurt out of each snack cup, so I decided to give it a try. I had already tried those as applesauce type snacks for my toddler in the past and they were a hit so I knew he'd at least like the flavors.

So I decided to make the yogurt the other morning and see how it turns out. I ended up getting two yogurts out of each snack cup so that lowered each servings baby food cost to $0.25. I figured that wasn't so bad and definitely was cheaper than the Yobaby Meals. I used 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1/4 cup baby food, & 1/2 tbs. of sugar to make 6 oz. of veggie/fruit yogurt. My son definitely enjoyed it! :) The baby food doesn't have any sugar added and neither does the plain yogurt. The sugar I included only added 6 g of sugar so I felt pretty comfortable with this recipe despite the fact that I try to feed him as little sugar possible.

Of course you could make many flavor combinations easily from any baby food. But, if you do have a blender or food processor, you can make unlimited combinations with your foods from home. That would cut down on the price and make it even more nutritious. Not to mention delicious! I will hopefully be getting a small food processor soon and start making my own baby food. I am very excited about this! I will let you know how it goes once I get it.

Another option to make this even healthier and cheaper would be to make your own yogurt. Although I have never done this myself, I have eaten some at a house I nannied for in the past. It was pretty much like what you get at the store, but not as thick. Just as yummy though! :) I suggest goggling homemade yogurt for more info. As for me, making different flavored yogurts from the big tub of organic whole milk yogurt is enough homemade for me right now! he he. One green baby step at a time.

Green note: The Parents Choice baby food comes in #5 plastic cups. Depending on where you live, those may or may not be recyclable. My solution to non-recyclable yogurt/snack cups is to wash them out and let my son play with them. He is quite happy to do so! :)

Win $250 gift card to Baby Universe

2009-10-02T15:06:00.002-05:00

Go here and enter your e-mail address to be entered to win $250 gift card! Baby Universe has lots of items including some earth friendly items (including gDiaper starter kids and flushable inserts!). Go here to check those out. What better way to go a little more green then for FREE!

They also have the Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food Kit. This is a "starter kit" type set to get you on the road to making your own baby food. Included are a cook book, instructional dvd, freezer tips card, & containers for freezing the food you make. Look below the description for this item to see the other Fresh Baby items they have.

FYI: By entering your e-mail, you are agreeing for them to send you e-mails.

Jeep Wrangler Unlimited "g" Edition Stroller giveaway!

2009-09-30T20:52:00.002-05:00

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER!!!

Ok, so what's so green about this stroller? Are you ready for this?! It's fabric is made from recycled plastic bottles! Yes, I've heard of shopping bags and book bags done like this before, but not a stroller!

It retails for $139.99! It is an umbrella stroller with a basket underneath and a pouch on the side to hold diapers & such. Looks really nice! Click on the button below (and on the side bar) for more information and to enter!

I'm back...well, sort of

2009-09-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

I appologize for not posting in a little while. We unexpectedly had to put our cat Mindy down. It was really heart breaking as we had no idea anything was wrong with her. Her kidneys were failing. They said she must have been born with bad kidneys so it was unavoidable. We have had her and our other two cats since we rescued them from our neighborhood in GA. We have had them since the begining of our marriage 3 1/2 years ago and it feels odd without her.

Here's some pictures of Mindy:

***I will add a couple more once we find my camera card. This one was on my phone.***

Go hug the people & animals you love! You never know when they'll be gone.

I have to check back on all the sites I usually do for all the great giveaways so I might not be back fully for the next week or so, but I am back. : )

Subscribe via E-mail

2009-09-14T02:13:00.000-05:00

I have now added the option to subscribe to this blog via e-mail! I personally find this a much easier way to follow a blog then just following them via blogger; although, I enjoy doing that too.

Important note: Now that I have split up the "Parents and Kids" info from the other green info, you will need to follow &/or subscribe to each groups of info seperately, if you would like to be updated on it. Just click on "Home" at the top (or bottom) left of the page. You will see the options to follow &/or subscribe on that page.

Construction Dust

2009-09-14T00:54:00.000-05:00

Please bare with us, this site is still under construction. If you have any problems with glitches, please refresh in a little while and hopefully I will have cleared whatever problems you encounter by then. Hopefully not too much dust will fall on you while you're browsing!

If you have or notice any lasting issues, please let me know by commenting here. Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon!

GIVEAWAYS!!! - Baby friendly giveaways

2009-08-31T21:42:00.000-05:00

As you know, I'm a mom, so I'm always on the lookout for baby giveaways. I have recently started cloth diapering using gDiapers so I'm interested in trying out other cloth diapers, preferably organic. We don't have a lot of money so giveaways are my ticket! he he. I found this blog the other day that is really good. It's called The Cloth Diaper Review. She has several giveaways going on always and they are for different baby friendly (earth friendly too, for the most part) giveaways. Some past giveaways include Charlie's soap (earth friendly, biodegradable, non-toxic, hypoallergenic, and cloth diaper friendly laundry detergent), lots of different types of cloth diapers, pail liners (for cloth diapers), & wet bags. I have added her button to this blog to make it easy for you to keep up with her giveaways.

Green Factor:

Gives away cloth diapers regularly
Also gives away other eco-friendly products (wet bags, biodegradable detergent, etc.)

Saving Green:

FREE!!!

Attention All Diapering Mamas (and Papas):

2009-08-25T23:02:00.001-05:00

THESE SITES HOST NEW GIVEAWAYS EVERY WEEK. THE ITEMS MENTIONED IN THIS POST ARE NOT NECCISSARILY THE ITEMS GIVEN AWAY THE WEEK THAT YOU READ THIS.

Okay, now that I got your attention...

I know some people are avid disposable users and some are avid cloth users...some are in the middle, BUT I'm pretty sure we all have something in common...

WE LOVE FREEBIES!!!

So, I have found two sites I thought might interest all "camps".

First, I found The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. Every week they have a giveaway of cloth diapers & baby items called Fluff Fridays. This weeks is for one Bumgenious diaper and 3 pairs of Baby Legs. Everyone can use Baby Legs, even in summer! I have had to throw a blanket on my 7 month old numerous times in the grocery store...which of course he just pulled right off! These would have been great!!! As for the Bumgenious, It's a great night time diaper for anyone using cloth or considering even using it part time. It also is a one size which means it will fit the baby from a little older then newborn until potty training! So you could use it as your night time diaper for the life of the diapering years (if you like it, you would want to buy a couple more though unless you want to wash it everyday)! Even if you don't want the cloth diaper, I'm sure you can find another mama who would, and if not, you could always sell it! (Obviously though, the idea is to use their giveaways, not sale them, I'm just sayin'.) 98% of their giveaways are cloth diapers [shocking I know! ;)]. If you've ever considered even trying cloth diapers, this is a great way to do it!

The second one I found is Diaper Discussions. They are having their second ever "Pimp Your Stash"giveaway. This week they are giving away a wet bag by "Wet Happened?" ANY parent can use these! They are not only for storing cloth diapers while out, but they make great re-usable bags for any wet things. Ever been out swimming and put the bathing suits in a plastic bag...and still ended up with water where it didn't belong??? Wet bags would be great for this purpose! They would also work well for toiletries that you don't want to leak onto everything else. Diaper Discussions will be holding these giveaways every week so keep your eye out for items you might can use whether you are cloth diapering or not.

Green Factor: They giveaway reusable baby items including wet bags & cloth diapers.

Saving Green: FREE!!!

I put their buttons on this blog, in the far right hand column, to help you keep up with them easily.

Make Yourself - Popsicles

2009-08-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

Instead of buying Popsicles in the store, make your own! Obviously, it will save you money, but it also gives you the ability to control what and how much goes in them (Organic, sugar, etc.). Not to mention, it is a good way to keep from wasting food. In our house, wasting fruit is a big problem, since the fruit sits in drawers in the fridge, so it's "out of site, out of mind". This way, if I realize something is going to go bad before we can eat all of it, I can just make up some pops!

Go read this great post with some tips and also some interesting ideas to help you get started and think out of the box in terms of ingredients.

Green Factor:

Can be made with organic produce.
Making them yourself cuts out all the unnecessary fillers.
You can control how much sugar (if any) goes in them resulting in a healthier treat.

Saving Green:

Cheaper to make yourself then buy pre-made.

Homemade/Natural cleaners - Vinegar

2009-08-23T01:12:00.000-05:00

I have been learning about homemade/natural cleaners lately. My current favorite is Vinegar.

My favorite use for it is de-stinking. It works wonders for clothes! I have a bad habit of forgetting about the laundry in the washer OR the wet clothes in the basket waiting to be hung up to dry. The clothes are left smelling mildewy and it takes A LOT of washes to get the smell out. Honestly, most of the time the smell wont completely come out. However, I have been using vinegar to get it out and it works in the first wash! I rewash the clothes with the regular temperature and amount of detergent. Then after they are done washing & rinsing, I turn the washer on for another rinse cycle and throw a downy ball full (not just to the fill line) of vinegar in with it and when they are done they smell like perfectly washed fresh clothes! Don't worry, no vinegar smell is left behind. I have used the same amount of vinegar for a small load of cloth diaper inserts and it worked perfectly!

It also works well for smells on hard surfaces around the house. I had a corner of my house my kitties had decided was their litter box! I used 1 part vinegar to 1 part water in a spray bottle and it got a LOT of the smell out. It would have gotten all of it, I'm sure, if the pee hadn't gotten under the flooring. It will smell like vinegar for a little while, but the smell with go away after a while. I used it on painted walls, baseboards, Pergo flooring, & concrete.

Green Factor: Replaces harsh chemical cleaners

Saving Green: MUCH cheaper then chemical cleaners

Reusing/Making Crayons

2009-08-16T01:49:00.000-05:00

This is my 19 month old enjoying his new crayons. These are the first ones he was able to color with! (He made the horizontal marks, I made the vertical ones)

Have kids? Have bazillions of random broken crayons?? (Can you have one without the other??) I have a GREAT solution for you! Instead of throwing them out, recycle them! Turn them into new cooler ones! These are GREAT for little fingers (toddlers)...and super easy to do!

Chica & Jo is where I found this first. They have a great rainbow (or any other multi colors) crayon idea. They utilize various shaped silicone ice cube trays. Very fun for older kids!

Make & Takes has another spin on the idea. They used two colors and swirled them together & utilize baking tins. This is the better idea for toddlers I think (unless you can find larger sized of the above mentioned trays).

I was very excited about trying this because my toddler can't color with regular crayons or the Crayola ones specifically for toddlers ("Tadoodles"). He turns them on their side so he can't get them to color. These have no "wrong" side and he can hold them any way he likes and still make color. Yay!

He also likes to hit them together and throw them on the ground while he's coloring. They are pretty sturdy, they haven't broken or chipped (yet)! That makes me feel good knowing he's not going to be putting little pieces of crayon on everything...or eating them! Especially because his baby brother is at the point of putting everything in his mouth now!

So I finally made them the other day and they turned out great! I ended up using the instructions from here because it suited what I wanted better (no oil spray, using muffin pans). Here's some pictures of the process:

First I de-wrapped the crayons and broke the larger pieces up a bit. I decided to sit some muffin papers out to put the wrappers in to keep from going back and forth to the trash can or dropping the crayons in there accidentally. I filled the holes up about 1/2 - 2/3 full. I decided to divide them by types: Crayola & cheap. ;) I was curious how the quality would affect the outcome. You can divide them by color families or however you like.

Then I pre-heated the oven to 275° F. Stick the pan in for around 10 min. Keep an eye on it though. You want the crayons to melt but not turn completely to liquid or you'll have one yucky colored crayon. Once you take it out, let it sit until the pan is cool to the touch. Then put it in the freezer to cool them down the rest of the way. **For those of us with mommy brain, that doesn't mean once it's cool enough to touch. It means when it actually feels cool to the touch. Hence why my crayons are all cracked down the middle. ;) ** Once they are finished cooling, pull them out of the freezer and they will pop right out.

In the next few pictures, the top two are made from cheap brands of crayons and the bottom two are made from Crayola crayons. The crayola made a little bit better mixture of colors on the bottom of these, but they all turned out colorful. Side note: I think I left these in a little two long so they might would have had a little less color mixing going on.

Now that I've flipped them over, you can tell that the oranges/reds rose to the top for some reason. This could be due to leaving them in a little longer then we should have though. The Crayola's still look more vivid on top.

Here's the cracked open side. Notice anything unusual? I found it interesting that the cheaper crayons actually mixed the least so there is more varied color "spots" on the inside of the crayon. The Crayola's made more "lines" of color.

Crayola crayons used this way do make a little "richer" color, but the cheap ones work great for this project. I was concerned that the cheaper ones would be to waxy and wouldn't color right, but they worked very well!

Let me know if you make them and how you did it. I think I might try it again sometime using a whole box of Big Lots brand crayons (most of the cheap ones I used were this brand) and make crayons of one color family. This is a great time to purchase cheap crayons (or any kind for that matter) since it's back-to-school season so don't shy away from this project just because don't have "stubs" to use. Enjoy!

Going Cloth - gDiapers with cloth inserts

2009-07-30T02:49:00.000-05:00

I have recently begun switching to gDiapers with cloth inserts. I am using the Hemp & Bamboo G-Flappers from Nappy Shoppe. They are VERY absorbent!!! They fit the gDiapers perfectly! And dry in a regular length of time in the dryer. I haven't hung them outside to try yet, since I've been washing them at night, so I don't know how long that would take. I haven't had any leak problems with them. The only leaks I've had were when I didn't take the extra half a minute to check the fit of the gDiaper and didn't have it quite right.

A few tips:

*I think it's worth the time, while you're looking into gDiapers or while you're waiting for them to come in the mail, to watch the videos on gDiaper's website about fit. I watched them multiple times, watched multiple other videos about them on YouTube, and read fit tips on the gDiapers website and also on other blogs/forums. I did all that while I was looking into them. Because I took the time to educate myself on proper fit, I put them on correctly from the beginning. And when I did have a leak, I knew exactly how to prevent it next time.

*Make sure you get the G-Flappers pre-washed a few times before you rely on them for great absorbency. It took 2-3 hot washes & hot drying before they were as super absorbent as they are now. I've gone up to 5 hours on my 18 month old and 4 hours on my 5 month old (by mistake) and they didn't leak!

*If you use gDiapers with cloth inserts, they come out to be much cheaper then most other options. If you want to use prefolds with covers, then those would be cheaper I believe. But otherwise, gDiapers come out cheaper then all-in-ones, pockets, or disposables. As for electricity an water, they save that as well. GDiapers and their snap in liners can be washed with the regular baby laundry. Then the inserts just take up a SMALL load. I just run a pre-rinse (in cold), wash in hot (standard cold rinse), and then rinse again in cold if you can smell any detergent left (most of the time I don't need this though). You can line dry them and save the electricity from the dryer too.

*Want to save even more money with gDiapers? You can buy gDiapers second hand or even new on Craigslist or Ebay. You can also do what I did and cut the price down a little by buying the starter kit. It gets you two outer pants, 3 snap in liners, and 10 flushable inserts for $26.99. This cuts the price down per gDiaper to $13.49 instead of $16.99. Plus you get an extra liner and the flushable inserts which are great to practice getting the fit right. I got mine at Babies R' Us to save shipping. I'd also advise keeping an eye on their website (even better, join their mailing list) for specials. They seem to be always offering some kind of special.

*If you want to save money on the G-Flappers and know how to sew, you can order the fabric straight from Nappy Shoppe and sew them yourself. I priced the fabric at a couple online places (only a handful for 4 types of fabric total) and from the few I checked, Nappy Shoppe seemed to have GREAT prices. If you happen to live in the Dallas area, you also have the option to save the shipping and pick up from her.

If you have any questions about using G-Flappers and gDiapers, don't hesitate to e-mail Sharni. She is the owner of Nappy Shoppe and is VERY friendly and helpful. I sent her multiple e-mails for probably about 2 weeks before I ordered my G-Flappers from her. She has always responded right away and with more information then I even asked for (good thing!).

Organic Food

2009-07-15T17:23:00.002-05:00

Want to know more about organic food and why it's better for you? Go check this out. It also tells you how you can cut back on the expense by knowing which fruits and vegitables you can buy conventional (not organic).

Update on FREE bag

2009-07-15T13:55:00.001-05:00

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER!!!

Yay! They are going to send me one! If you haven't already done so, go to her site and request a free bag! :) They said they had a good amount of them so you very well may get one.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go here.