***** Cloth Diaper Giveaways!!!!!********

 For all my cloth diapering friends out there- add to your cloth diaper stash and enter these giveaways!!!

Visit:

 Audrey's Give Aways to win a snappy nappy from La Petite Knott Creations 
(ends 11/6)

Canadian Natural Mama to win a Bummis cloth diapering package (ends 11/14)

Dirty Diaper Laundry to win a Baby Beehinds  Minkee Magic cloth diaper (ends 11/9)

The Eco Friendly Family to win a FuzziBunz One Size diaper (ends  11/5)

The Eco Friendly Family to win a Thirsties Duo and Fab Fitted diaper ends (11/1)


The Cloth Diaper Report to win a Nifty Nappy cloth diaper (ends 11/3)

And check out the Bottom Up Baby Wipes Kit (cloth wipes) at Happy Green Babies
(ends 11/16)

You can't win if you don't enter!!!! Good luck :)

Wordless Wednesday- Birthday Girl

Happy 1st Birthday Sophie!!!!!!

Cloth Diaper Carnival 4 - How it all started......

Welcome to Cloth Diaper Carnival 4 organized by Kim over at Dirty Diaper Laundry, who also happens to also be our Cloth Diapering  Bloggers'  head honcho ;) .

This months topic is:
Where did you first see or hear about cloth diapers?

Honestly, the first time I ever heard of cloth diapers was from my mother. I remember her using old school pre-folds with safety pins and rubber pants on my little sister, and yes, this was in the late 70's. When I was preggers with my son over three years ago, I just knew I was going to use cloth diapers, and this is how I thought I was going to do it. Imagine my surprise when I got on the internet and saw how different cloth diapering is now!!!  No longer is there the need to use pins, when Snappis can be used. I am an accident prone klutz, so not having to handle sharp pointy objects is a plus!! No longer is there the need to use pre-folds when fitted diapers with snaps and Velcro can be used. And rubber pants? What a surprise when I saw some diapers didn't even need a cover at all!!

Cloth diapering was a whole new world to me. I knew NO ONE who cloth diapered, besides my mom- over 30 years ago. And she used a diaper service, which are now non-existent in my area. Everything I learned about cloth diapers I learned from the internet, from sites like Diaper Pin, and Diaper Hyena. I did research, research, and more research. The more the research, the stronger the feeling that cloth diapering was for me. 

Actually, now that I am thinking about it, it's amazing how much has changed in cloth diapering in just the 3 years since I have started! There are now even more styles and brands of diapers and covers, and a gazillion more sites to get information from! I can even go to a store and buy cloth diapers today, which I couldn't 3 years ago! The use of cloth diapers is spreading. Several mommas have caught the fever from me. Who knows, maybe 30 years from now my daughter will laugh with disbelief when I tell her that once something existed called a disposable diaper!

Until I get the Linky up, please visit Dirty Diaper Laundry to connect with other blogs participating in this carnival!!

Kids Konserve Coupon Code

It was brought to my attention that the coupon code earth was not working at checkout to get 15% off orders over at Kids Konserve.  Christy, from Kids Konserve has fixed this. If anyone ordered anything and did not get the 15% off, let me know and she can issue you a credit. Sorry for any inconvenience!  The coupon is good until this Saturday, and don't forget to enter the Stainless Steel Snack Container giveaway!!

Wordless Wednesday- Family Picture

Ok, almost Wordless Wednesday. Logan needed a family picture to bring with him on his first day of school (which was last Thursday, YAY!!!). Well, I remembered the night before, after the kiddos where already in their jammies. Oh, and did you notice the lovely cat butt shot?! Good thing there's photo crop!

Join the Million Baby Crawl

Check it out!
Seventh Generation has launched the "Million Baby Crawl" campaign to get Washington to take notice and reform toxic chemical policies. Go to this site, and create your own crawler to say "no" to toxic chemicals in our homes. Also, support other crawlers by clicking on their baby and sending an encouraging message.

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

These HANDMADE costumes are absolutely beautiful!!!! I really wish the Queen costume was my size......

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Bag Lady : Sewing a Trick-or-Treat Bag

In my "spare time" (aka:  late at night when the kiddos are sleeping), I am a wild and crazy crafter.   I find an idea I like and I work with it 'til I'm sick of it. Right now, my obsession  is bags.  I have decided to start a series, titled "Bag Lady", to share my creations. Conveniently, this will also help in managing my time wisely (see post here), as I will be working on a blog post AND a project simultaneously!

So, with out further ado, here is Sewing a Trick-or-Treat Bag. These are the bags I have made so far, as modeled by my little guy. They turned out to be fairly large, but hey, he'll grow! If you are making it for a little one, and are worried about the safety factor, the pattern size can easily be adjusted, or the handles made shorter.

What you will need:
material for front and back
material for sides and bottom
sturdy ribbon or webbing for handles
thread, needles, scissors, sewing machine, iron
***idea- recycle old fabric by using old tablecloths, sheets (for the back and front panels) and jeans (for the side and bottom panels)

Step 1- Make the patterns.
Front and back panel- 20x16 inches
Side panels- 22x5 inches

Bottom- 16x5 inches

Step 2- Cut the material.

Step 3- Pin, with good sides together, a side panel to the right side of the front panel,  and a side panel to the right side of the back panel, like this:

and sew.

Step 4- Pin good side of back panel to good side of the side panel that is attached to the front panel, then pin the good side of the front panel to the good side of the side panel that is attached to the back panel (this makes sense in my head, if it is confusing let me know)

(my assistant is pointing to pins) and sew.

Step 5- Pin the bottom fabric to, well, the bottom (in my experience I have found it almost impossible to line this up perfectly, but that's me...)

and sew (heads up on this- when running through sewing machine pay attention to what is getting sewn together).

Step 6: Pin down and iron top hem

and sew.

Step 7- Turn bag right side out. Should look something like this:

Step 8- Turn up, pin and iron ends of handles

and sew.

Step 9- Pin one handle to where you want it on the front of the bag, and pin the other handle to the matching spot on the back of the bag

and sew.

Step 10 (optional)- Tack all of the corners to make the bag more shapely. Sorry for hard to see pictures!
Bottomed pined to tack with about 1 centimeter stitch:

 Top pined to tack with same size stitch:

 

And here again is the finished product:

And with my lovely model and assistant:

Ciambotta (Italian Vegetable Stew)

Fall is perfect stew weather!! I made a great vegetable stew this week, and would like to share the recipe. I suggest making it the day before, as stew always taste better the second day, and the third day. This makes a HUGE batch!! It took me almost 2 hours to chop all the veggies. Hey, I was interrupted a lot by the kiddos ;)  I also added some extra spices - basil, parsley, red pepper flakes, and more salt and pepper then it calls for. I think I will omit the red pepper next time, however, because it was a bit too spicy for the kiddos.  Oh, and I also peeled the eggplant because I'm not a fan of eggplant skin.  I found this recipe on Epicurious.com, which is my current favorite recipe site.

Ciambotta (Italian Vegetable Stew)
recipe by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez from Gourmet Today Cook book.

* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 3 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1 1/4 pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 (28-ounces) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained, juice reserved and tomatoes chopped, or 1 3/4 pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped
* 2 red bell peppers, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
* 3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
* 1 1/4 pounds zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 3/4 pound boiling potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces


Preparation

Heat oil in a 7-to 8-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Add eggplant and water and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is slightly softened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes with juice and bell peppers, then reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook green beans in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan of well-salted boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add zucchini to boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to bowl with green beans. Add potatoes to boiling water and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and add to beans and zucchini.

Add boiled vegetables to stew and simmer, stirring, until all vegetables are very soft, about 15 minutes. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

I served the stew with a home made cheese bread. YUM! Enjoy!

A Loss of Innocence

The kiddos and I were at a birthday party last weekend. Logan was having a blast playing with the other kids, mostly girls. I was in a bed room nursing Sophie. I heard the thunder of little feet on wood floors and the laughter as the kids came running down the hallway, past the room I was in. Suddenly, I heard the girls yell "NO BOYS ALLOWED!!", followed by a door slamming, followed by my little guy crying, "NO, let me IN". He was crying, really sobbing, and when he came into the room where I was, my heart broke. His tear streaked face showed the hurt and confusion he was feeling.

This reaction of his is new. He is used to being the only boy. He has older girl cousins that boss him around and exclude him all the time, as girls of their age do. He was always oblivious, innocent to their words and actions. Not anymore. He has become aware- aware of his feelings, and aware of the actions and words of others. He has lost a bit of innocence that is making him more of a boy, and less my baby.

Wordless Wednesday

This is my living room when I spend too much time on the computer :)

Using Time Wisely

I made it all the way to second grade before I received my first bad mark on a report card. I remember seeing the "U" for "Unsatisfactory" next to "Uses time wisely" (I have a freakishly weird long term memory, but can't remember anything from yesterday), and having no clue what it meant. I remember writing in my journal  that I needed to improve in Using time wisely. I thought of it as a subject, like reading or math. Even when explained to me, it didn't click. Twenty plus years later, I still find my self struggling with this!

Since I discovered the Blogging world in July, I have become obsessed- reading and joining blogs, entering every contest, just to get free stuff (like I need more STUFF!).  Meanwhile, the kiddos have caught up on all the shows on Nick Jr, the house has turned into clutter central (as the hubby has frequently commented on), leading to the hubby and I not jiving,  leading to Logan misbehaving. Everything has been off balance. In all fairness, this can not be blamed JUST on blogging. The INTERNET is my time thief; Facebook, email, the blogging networks, Cafemom. 

I have lost my way. I have not been living in the present moment with my family. I have not been spending my time as a stay at home mom playing with and teaching my children, like was our plan. I have neglected my sewing, reading, and all the projects I have started around the house. I am getting a "U" in "Uses time wisely".

I had to step away from the computer for a couple of days and get my priorities straight. Of course the kiddos and my family's (hehm, HUBBY's) happiness are numero uno. I still want to blog. I like connecting with long lost friends and family on Facebook. Heck, I talk to my mom more in Facebook chat than on the phone! So here it goes again, working on using time wisely.....