Baby's first foods, while cooking dinner for family of 4

Sweet Potato Puree for Baby

Grilled Chicken, Stove Top Stuffing, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes for the rest of us.

Preheat oven 400 degrees.  Wash and half lengthwise 4 sweet potatoes, 2 for family and 2 for baby puree enough for freezing.  Place flesh side down on baking sheet with 8 ounces of water.  Roast for 60 minutes.  Potatoes will be perfectly fork tender.  Let cool until safe to handle.  Scoop out flesh of 2 potatoes into blender with 16 ounces water.   Puree.  Baby food done!  Great for freezing in handy ice cube trays.  Serving size for baby is 2 cubes.

Meanwhile, marinate chicken pieces in your favorite marinade for 30 minutes plus and then grill them up.  I used a grill pan on med high for 5 minutes each side.  Cook the Stove Top according to package directions.  Dress the remaining sweet potatoes to your liking.  Butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, marshmallows, chocolate chips, whatever.

You have dinner for the family and a dozen or more servings of baby food.  Done!

Stay tuned for Pasta Carbonara and Sweet Pea Puree.

In my blogging absence...

I've been doing one thing, and one thing only.  Waiting on this baby to come out already.  Yes I have 2 weeks until my due date, but I'm ready now.  Supplies have been gathered, washed, organized, and reorganized.  Food and toilet paper has been stockpiled.  House has been cleaned and cleaned again.  I think that she is waiting on me to clean out this one thing, and then labor will start.  I tackled the bakers rack in the kitchen, which led to moving things and scrubbing walls and floors.  Maybe it's the top of the refrigerator that she's wanting me to get to?

I had a spontaneous clean fest in the bathroom one evening at 8:00pm.  Since then, had to clean it again.  The distance two little boys have with their toothpaste on my mirror amazes me.  The shower walls could use some scrubbing.

I've decluttered our bedroom/nursery countless times, mostly because I get to play with the baby things there. I could spend a day or seven in the boys' bedroom and the playroom, but that would be pointless.  Takes them 5.3 seconds to undo all that work.  We did just change their bedsheets this afternoon, again in the hopes that's what she was waiting on.  When SuperGeek, my darling husband who may want a different nickname even though that one really does fit, gets home we can change our sheets.  That will do it for sure.  Baby Girl will spend plenty of time there, I'm sure.

Ultrasound today estimated that she was 7 lb 11 oz.  It's really time for her to come out now.  I have got to tickle those toes.

Keepin' it clean. Keepin' it green.

Laundry Detergent:

My litmus paper for laundry detergent are my cloth diapers.  Are my inserts crunchy or not?  Do they still smell like a baby's bottom?  Are there stains on covers, pockets, or inserts?

With my second born son we started cloth diapering with BumGenius pocket diapers.  For the first year we used Purex Free and Clear.  It was recommended for use on cloth diapers and economical.  How well did it work?
Test 1: Inserts were a little crunchy, and "stripping" had to happen once a month to prevent leaks.  They were crunchy due to detergent residue build up.
Test 2: I didn't think they smelled too bad.  My husband, however, didn't think they smelled enough.
Test 3: It didn't get rid of stains at all.  My diapers spent some time in the sunshine for stain removal.

After "Diaper Diva", unless she'd rather be "Diaper Guru," opened up Green Bambino (shameless plug), we started trying new things.  First Charlie Soap.
Test 1:  Inserts remained soft significantly longer.  Some stripping was needed, though less often, to prevent leaking.  Now we know that simply an extra hot rinse every now and then does wonders.
Test 2:  Again, I thought they smelled fine, but hubby wasn't convinced.  He digs that flowery aroma.
Test 3:  Most staining was removed, but not completely.

Next we tried Tiny Bubbles.
Test 1:  Inserts were consistently soft and leak free.
Test 2:  The smell seemed to satisfy the hubs, or at least he didn't notice enough to say anything.
Test 3:  Honestly, I don't recall.  It must have worked then.

Now as I prepared my diapers for Baby Girl, and Diaper Diva had a new Rockin' Green Hard Rock formula she wanted me to try, I tested it with clean/unstripped diapers that had been sitting for 6 months and infant inserts for 2 years.  I was very impressed with the results.
Test 1:  They went in crunchy, and came out super soft.
Test 2:  I certainly hope that I didn't pack them away stinky.
Test 3:  2 year old infant inserts went in with some discoloration, and came out white as the day they were new.

My plan is to use old reliable Charlie Soap for my diapers this time around, but will keep the Rockin' Green in mind when I need to get rid of some staining.

Happy washing!

Community Consignment Sales

If there is anything I love better than a consignment store, it's a community consignment sale.  Tomorrow begins one such sale at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Norman, OK.  Its the Just Between Friends Consignment Sale, and I am so there.  Hundreds of consignors bring up to 200 items each to one location.  Oh the possibilities at 30% retail (if they are priced right).

Racks and racks of clothing from preemie to tweenie, as well as maternity clothes.

Toys, toys, and more toys.

Lucky finds in furniture, if you get there before they are all gone.

And baby gear galore.  With 3 weeks and 6 days to due date, I'll be headed to that section first.

This sale has had a consistent place in our family's life.  I've been a loyal shopper, a consignor, and a volunteer.  Then at the Spring 2008 sale, as I was urgently searching for the perfect Boppy pillow, I found myself in early labor with our second son.  Our first son and I walked the aisles in search of my pillow and a toy or two for him with contractions 4 minutes apart.  Labor or no labor, I would not be deterred from getting that pillow nor my son his toys.  Even as I got to the cashier only to find that the tag on my beloved pillow was missing, and I had to go back to the table to find it in order to purchase the pillow.  Thankfully, it didn't take long to find the tag, and they let me at the front of the line when I was ready.  Of course, Little Brother didn't arrive until 40 hours later, but that is another story no one wants to hear.

If you are in the market for great quality slightly used kid items, this is definitely an economical and green option.  If you are close to your due date, please take a driver.

*Pictures care of the JBFsale Facebook page.

Why I love cloth diapers-Round 1

Hint:  It's a lot like girls clothes.

Look how cute they are!  All the colors and prints.  There are a couple up there with ruffles on the baby bum.  It's a whole other branch of the fashion tree, of which I never thought I'd climb.  I hadn't ever been very girly until now, and I embrace it.  Must all be the extra estrogen, but we'll go with it anyway.

How much is too much?

I went into this third pregnancy with a very minimalist attitude.  We would care for this baby with as little as possible out of necessity of space.  No need for a fancy crib when an all-in-one "care station", i.e. pack n' play, would do.  We weren't going to go crazy with the clothes when we could just do an extra load of laundry every other day or so.  Don't need a baby gym when a blanket and a few toys are stimulation enough.  Well, that was all good until we found out it was a girl.

Now as I wash everything I wonder where I'm going to put it all.  She has no less than 10-15 outfits in size 0-3 months, as well as another 10-15 outfits in size 3-6 months.  In addition to that there are sleepers, onesies, and whatever my sister is hoarding at her house.  I'm not even sure why I think she will even be able to wear the newborn clothes for 5 minutes.  My boys were born into size 3-6.   But I have them in the hopes that she will be tiny for a little while.  It's time for us to have a tiny baby.

Just where did all these clothes come from?  Oh, yeah.  Kids consignment stores.  It only took 3 trips.  I was so weak.  I went in and going around only one rack, came out with 10 outfits.  In my defense, this is my first girl; and where I used to fuss at the lack of diverse clothing in the boys section that is not the case with girls clothing. It is all so cute, how do people pick just a couple of items?  There also may have been a factor of shopping therapy.  Again, that is another post.  I did, however, find solace in that I was at a consignment store.  I helped the planet by buying used, and I helped our bank account at the same time.  My husband would argue that buying less would have helped our bank account more.

I love consignment stores for the kids.  You get really nice name brand stuff for 30% the price.  It's like a 70% off sale everyday.  Then when the kids outgrow it, you just sell it back to the store.  This works really well with baby clothes, because they don't use them enough to wear them out.  With this I still think that I am sticking with the mission.  Economic and Ecologic.

I have done well with resisting the crib and fancy bedding.  We have a fabulous pack n' play with some very nifty storage.  No separate bassinet, so far.  We have a small bouncy seat, a small box of toys, and a few blankets for playtime.  I just have to figure out how to resist all those cute girlie clothes.

Sunshine!!

Spring isn't for 5 weeks or so, but it sure felt like it today.  I felt it my obligation to get the boys out to run around silly.  My favorite place to go is our local zoo.  In all honesty, I like it the best for several reasons.

First I majored in zoology, and really wanted to be a zoo keeper when I grew up.  I was a zoo keeper for a little while in fact.  They hired me as a temp for one whole month.  It was pretty great, but my kids are way better.

Secondly and more importantly, you have to pay to get in, which makes it slightly exclusive.  It has all the playground and running trails without all the unruly tweens and teens (and other questionable characters) hanging around the local parks.  Call me a snob or say I shelter them, but there are somethings I'd rather not explain to a 5 and 3 year old.  Safety is important to me.  Additionally, if you lose a kid at the zoo they call the code, and the whole staff is looking for them.  That does not happen at the park.

Thirdly, even though you have to pay it is affordable.  For an acceptable membership fee you get admission to the zoo as many times as you want for the year.  You could go every single day if you wanted.  After my first was born, we nearly did go every single day.

Now before we all get upset, I do take my kids to normal city playgrounds from time to time.  They just aren't my favorite, and I have much more fun at the zoo.  Where else do they have bronze gorillas to climb on?