The Great Laundry Adventure- Dirty Sorting Tips

The first step in cleaning my clothes, is putting the dirty clothes somewhere. Currently, my dirty clothes end up in a couple places. Dirty diapers, wipes, and uh-oh panties (thank you, Miss Imogene) go into the dirty diaper pail. That is simple. Dirty clothes and towels (everyone’s) end up overflowing out of a 3 compartment hamper in the doorway of my room. It is 3 compartments, so you’d think it was a sort as I go system, but typically I just throw clothes over into it without paying attention to which compartment it falls in. Then, I have to dig through and pull out what is to go in each load, inevitably leaving something behind that should have been washed with this load or that load.

So, obviously this part of my laundry system does not work. From my research, I’ve decided a sort as you go method makes more sense. The benefit would be that it removes the sorting step, saving me time.  Also, it will hopefully prevent my problem of leaving one or two items out of the load. (How annoying is it to keep forgetting that one white shirt in the bottom of the hamper every single time you wash whites?!) There are a couple sort as you go methods.

Sort By Instructions

In this method, you would sort each clothing item by the instruction tags. Things with like instructions go together. I’m not too good at following the washing directions on tags and we don’t own a lot of special care items, so I’m thinking this method is not for me. It would also take me way too long to sort by this method. I know I would eventually memorize most of the tags, but I would never memorize all the tags, we have far too many clothes for that.

Sort by Color

Clearly, most of us sort by color. Whites, lights, and darks. That is my typical sorting system plus towels go off alone. (For some reason I do not like my towels to wash with clothing. Odd, I know.) This system leaves me with 5 piles. White clothes, light clothes, dark clothes, light towels, and dark towels. I could use my regular system as a sort as you go system. I think this will be my fall back if all other things fail.

Sort by Room

In this system, you sort your laundry by the room in goes in, taking no interest in the color or instruction tag. (Exceptions would be clothes you know bleed, or whites that you are wanting to bleach.) This way, it is sorted by where it belongs the entire way through the process- eliminating the after wash sorting! Genius. I typically wash most everything the same way anyway (exceptions are towels and diapers). The downfall of this method would be for households with smaller amounts of laundry. You’d either have to wait a while to get a full load, or combine loads- eliminating the sorted advantage. Clearly, I have plenty of laundry, so that shouldn’t be an issue for me.  I’m going to try this method first. If it works, I’ll stick with it! If I follow this method strictly, I’ll have 4 piles. However, I am going to make a slight tweak and put Emery’s stuff on his own rather than with mine, so I’ll have 5.

No Sorting Method

In this method, I would not sort a thing. I would wash each day what we wear and dirty each day. Somehow, I end up with multiple loads each day, so this method wouldn’t provide me with enough organization. I yearn for organization. However, this method would be great for people that accumulate piles and piles of dirty clothes- instead of sort as you go, it is wash as you go. With this method, you could eliminate the hamper if you only accumulate one load a day. Off your back and into the washing machine awaiting you to turn it on in the evening. Once again, you’d ignore instructions and colors and just wash your stuff.

Upcoming: The Great Laundry Adventure

I do an unbelievable amount of laundry. I know no one is really surprised by that. And I know what you’re thinking, “You’re whining about laundry, yet you willingly choose to use cloth diapers.” (If you weren’t thinking it, you would have been.) But my diaper laundry is really only a very small fraction of the laundry I do each week. Really. Don’t believe me? Today is Tuesday and I have done 6 loads of laundry in the last 2 days. Only 1 of those loads were diapers. My laundry monster is really out of control! I need to do SOMETHING to take my house back from this menace.

So, for the entire month of November, I will be having the Great Laundry Adventure here in my house and sharing it with you, my world. If you’ve got your own laundry monster, you can participate with me if you’d like. I’ll be rounding up laundry sorting, washing, folding, hanging, putting away, etc. ideas for the next week and a half and then- we’ll be off on our adventure! And for fun, I will keep track of how many loads of laundry a family of 5 with 3 under 3 go through. I’m sure that count will be interesting.

So, if you need laundry tips, check back in! If you want to see the Adventure, check back in! If you just have an odd fascination with how in the world a woman with 3 small children could ever be what would even remotely be considered organized, check back in! We’ll see how this goes. I very well may completely fail in front of my entire world, but it will perhaps get me over my fear of failure. (Or fear of failure will be enough to catapult me over each hurdle in the adventure!)

Double Trouble Kind of Week

I know what you are thinking. You’re thinking that sweet little man could not possibly be a handful. No, really. If his mother says he is, she must be lying. That cutie is not capable of mischief. No, not that sweet guy.

And that beautiful girl could not possibly be devious. Oh no! That just can’t be true about such an angelic little princess. Her mother must be mad to say such things. Her mother must not appreciate the creative genius of that little lamb. Really. That girl is a saint! I’ll vouch for her, she’s perfect.

That is what you’re saying, I know it. But I, their mother, am not misled in thinking these two are trouble! Yes, it is usually a hilarious kind of trouble. But they are trouble, nonetheless. I’ll give you a taste of what I’ve dealt with this week:

That beautiful girl changes clothes constantly! Seriously. She takes off whatever outfit I have helped her pick out in the morning and proceeds to don whatever she fancies at the moment. In this particular moment, it happened to be her brother’s pants. Now, this adds to the already massive amounts of laundry I must do each week. (So far this week, I’m well over 15 loads. Yes, I said 15. And the week isn’t even over yet!)

Aidan won’t leave his pants on. He has decided this week that he is completely capable of changing his own diaper. He has taken an interest in using the potty, demanding I take him and sit him on the toilet several times a day so he can tinkle in the bowl. He feels he is too big for Mommy changing his diaper. This has resulted in at least 2 incidents of poo smearing. (At least he only smears it up his arms or down his legs and not in the carpet.)

Then there is the Burt’s Diaper Rash Cream incident. I had already told each of them at least once not to touch anything in the baskets on the changing table. (This included several baskets containing shoes, bibs, burp cloths, cloth wipes, cloth diapers, big girl panties, and diaper rash cream.) They chose to smear it all over one another. When they heard me coming (I tend to announce my presence.) they grabbed cloth wipes and bibs and tried to quickly clean up. It didn’t work.  (Their “punishment” was to clean it all up. Wipe it off every surface, remove their clothing, put all soiled washables into the washing machine, and into the bath the two went.)

As a side note, I know from previous experience (no, this isn’t a first) that the easiest way to remove unwanted butt cream is to wipe all excess off with a dry towel, then bathe in dish detergent. (You’ll never get the stuff out of their hair if you try to use regular shampoo.) So, they smelled like clean dishes afterward.

The beautiful girl also dresses her brother on occasion. Thus the flowery yellow and pink shirt. He is covered in soot. Why is that adorably toddler covered in soot? He climbed into the fireplace and sat on the log holder (or whatever the technical or proper term for that metal rack is).  And not only did he climb in there, his partner in crime was so kind to shut the fireplace screen behind him.

They also learned they can drag the dining room chairs all over the house so they can better reach the things I put too high for them. I caught them stealing bubble gum (Aidan was stealing, Imogene was coaching). They also attempted to steal vitamins, but they couldn’t figure out how to get past the sink.

Imogene also bathed Aidan in their bathroom sink with his clothes on. She was supposed to be in there pottying, but when the water ran longer than it took to wash her hands, I found a fully clothed Aidan in the sink while Imogene bathed him.

Aidan was a super big helper and picked up Lucas’s “accident” with his hands. Yeah. Really helping his Mommy out. Someone’s gotta be the man of the house, right?

They took a cardboard bolt that fabric comes on and used it as a sled to slide down the climber’s slide. Very inventive. It took about 5 minutes before they were both hurt and crying.

Aidan busted a Chick-Fil-A container of Polynesian sauce and poured it one himself. He got mad when Lucas (our dog) started licking him clean.

And to the double trouble we add the third little trouble maker. He threw up in his sister’s hair once, my bed three times, his Daddy’s belly once, and Mommy’s shoulder/shirt too many times to count.

I’m sure I missed some other mischief, but you get the idea. It has been one crazy week! Aren’t toddlers fun?!

One Size Cloth Diaper Re-Review

** I am currently working to create a much more reader friendly system of diaper reviews, so you don’t have to read these SUPER long review posts! I am working to get each diaper their own post under the category “Off the Bum.” Check out that category on the sidebar for more cloth diaper reviews! And if you have any cloth diaper related questions, feel free to ask! **

 

Now that I’ve used my one size cloth diapers longer and on growing kids, I felt like I should re-review them. I’ve gotten to know each diaper a little better and can now add a little to the endurance of each diaper.

Here are the stats on the diaper users:

Imogene- 3 years old. Size 3T – 4 clothing. ~35 lbs. ~39″ tall. Average 3 year old. Difficult fit issue: very large thighs. Currently potty learning and only wear diapers at night.

Aidan- 2 years old. Size 24 month clothing. ~25 lbs. ~36″ tall. Average 2 year old. Difficult issue: heavy wetter. Currently potty introducing, but still wears diapers all the time.

Emery- 2 months old. Size 6 month clothing. ~15 lbs. ~22″ tall. Difficult issue: newborn poo. Difficult fit issues: Very large thinghs. Currently EBF infant in diapers all the time.

Haute Pocket One Size Pockets. This photo is the “breathable” version. I also have a few of the “traditional” version. The newer version (traditional) is slightly bigger than the breathable version. I do love these diapers, but have found fit issues. The inner fleece is still so soft even after many, many washings. I did have the PUL mess up (bad) on one of the green “breathable” diapers. Not sure why, but the laminate layer pulled away from the polyester layer and melted/stuck to itself. (PUL “peeled” I guess.) It is unusable. It only happened to one so far, though they are all washed together daily. Despite that, I still like this diaper. I do have to use the doubler (comes with the diaper insert) all the time for Aidan. Fit issues: Too small for Imogene. The thighs are too tight and the waist is very snug on its loosest setting. The “traditional” version do fit her a little better, but I only use them on her when I have no other option. On Emery, when the rise is at its smallest (which it has to be) the inner fleece has a tendency to flip to the outside, wicking urine to his clothing. I can sometimes tuck the fleece in really well when I am putting it on him and avoid this, but if he wiggles too much or is passed around obsessively it will work its way out and he’ll leak. (Could make a fun “hot potato” style game. Whoever is holding the bay when he leaks has to change him!) I would say the realistic fit of these diapers is 7 lbs. to 30 lbs. I would still buy more of these diapers, though I think Emery might outgrow them before potty learning. The price is good for the diaper!

Blueberry Deluxe and Swaddlebees Econappi One Size Pocket Diaper. These are good quality diapers. I have had one back seam on my Econappi unravel a bit, but nothing that has yet made it unwearable or required me to fix it. I imagine it will require fixing in a month or so. The Blueberry has nice thick fleece. It does pill over time, but still feels comfortable. I tried these as all-in-twos as the manufacturer says you can, but it didn’t work out. The  ”cover” always got soiled with the insert. I really only use them as pockets. With the older two, these leak when they are running around playing. The absorbency is great for Aidan, if he doesn’t wiggle the insert around too much. These are good for long car rides and even bedtime if the kids don’t move around too much or play too much before going to bed. Over time, the cotton velour interior of the Econappi isn’t as soft. It can sometimes feel pretty stiff, but the kids never complain about it. They do feel wetter with the cotton velour. (It doesn’t wick moisture away as well as fleece, but that aspect doesn’t bother me or the kids.) These fit all three kids just fine.  The realistic fit on these diapers is 10 lbs. to 35+ lbs. I do like these, but I think they are overpriced for what you get. Overall, they have held up well.

Happy Heiny One Size Pocket. Functionally, I like this diaper. Overall, this diaper is the thorn in my flesh! Good first? Okay. This diaper has the most generous fit of any we own. So, this is the diaper of choice for Imogene and her thunder thighs. This diaper is absorbent and works well for overnight with a doubler. The fit of Emery is good. It doesn’t seem to squeeze his thighs too much. The back elastic seems tight on all the kids. The inside fleece pills, but is still soft. This diaper is a terrible fit on Aidan. The best fit on him is with one row of snaps down, but even then it just seems off. The laundry tabs on this diaper never hold the velcro tabs. It grabs and snags my other diapers in the wash. Often, I have to carefully pry it off something before putting it in the dryer (re-securing the laundry tabs) and then prying it off something else in the dryer. You definitely need the HH insert for this diaper, it will leak because of the shape with anything else. It looks terrible now after being washed so many times. The Velcro tabs just look ratty and I have to pry strings and lint out of them all the time. I doubt I will ever buy another HH. However, the size range is impressive. Realistically, this diaper will fit from 8 lbs. to 40 lbs. (possibly more) I would maybe like this diaper with snaps (and they do make them), I’m just not willing to purchase another one to see.  (If a free one came my way, I’d give it an enthusiastic try!)

bumGenius 3.0 One Size Pocket. I have the version with the suedecloth interior. They did have a special edition of fleece. (Fleece would be a good improvement to this diaper. So would SNAPS!) I am not a suedecloth fan. None of my kids have reactions to the suedecloth (have heard of some kids being allergic) but it is not the nicest feeling stuff to have on your bum. Feels like polyester felt. My second problem with this diaper is the velcro, or aplix as they call it in the cloth diaper world. I’m very anti-aplix. The aplix tabs looks terrible. The laundry tabs on this diaper work fairly well. The few times this diaper has grabbed onto something in the wash, I’m thinking SOMEONE forgot to fasten the tabs before throwing it in the diaper pail. But the tabs still look terrible. They don’t hold as well as they once did. (I may have another 6 months on it before the aplix fails completely.) I have had to hand pick strings and lint out of the aplix on several occasions. Also to note, don’t put pantyhose or tights over this diaper. The aplix will snag and run the pantyhose or tights. These fit all three really well. I somehow lost the insert that came with it (not sure how that happens) but was able to easily replace it with a Nicki’s Diapers insert. These work well overnight with a double. I don’t have problem with these leaking. These diapers are cleverly made! When they are on the smallest setting, like all diapers, the interior tends to peek out a bit. These have a strip of PUL all around the interior waist, so they don’t leak! Good thinking guys. Realistically, these fit from 8 lbs. to 35 lbs. I won’t buy any more of these because of the aplix, though. If they made one with snaps and fleece, it’d be a dream come true! But the lifetime of the aplix gives this diaper a short life span, and I need diapers that last!

bumGenius One Size Organic All-in-one with snaps. So, though my first reviews of this diaper were less than favorable, I have since seen the light.  To be honest, this is now my favorite diaper. I wish The Pastor could see the light and buy more! My main complaint before was the drying time. Well, I have since found diapers that take MUCH longer to dry. (Fitteds and some WAHM AIOs.) These barely take longer to dry that pockets, which is pretty good for something so absorbant. I love the cotton interior. (Though I am often at a loss of where to put the doubler on the rare occasion Aidan wears it to bed.) I only need a doubler if Aidan wears this diaper to bed. This diaper has held up beautifully. The interior is pretty stained (the cotton stains more than fleece or suedecloth) but the exterior looks like I just bought the thing. I haven’t tried to get the stains out because they don’t really bother me (it is a diaper, you know). It has the nifty PUL band around the interior waistband that prevents the insides from peeking out and leaking. (Genius!) The snaps are still holding up well, despite many uses. (This diaper gets used and washed at least once a day!) These diapers are a little more expensive, but well worth $25 (unlike the Blueberry & Econappi). Not that pockets are difficult, but on super busy days, I think to myself, “It’d be nice if every diaper I owned was ready from the dryer like this and could just be tossed into the diaper pail with no extra anything.” Honestly, if I were rebuying my entire stash right now, I’d buy 2 dozen of these and call it a day. The Pastor has still not seen the vast awesomeness of this diaper. The realistic fit of these diapers is 8 lbs. to 35 lbs.

Rocky Mountain One Size Pocket. I really wanted to like these. I would love to tell you I fell in love with them after my negative review, but I did not. They have the stiff suedecloth interior that I don’t like. (Although, it is a color, which is cute and fun and doesn’t show stains quite so badly.) I bought a Nicki’s Diapers insert for this diaper. It fits well and works fine. This diaper is tiny! It does not fit Imogene at all. It adjusts to smaller rises by pulling and snapping the elastic in the leg casing. It is a pain in the butt to do. The elastic sticks to the PUL while you’re trying to pull it through. You’ve also got to count and recount to make sure you’ve got them even on both sides. Then you have to tuck the excess into the “wings” on the diaper, where the bunch up on baby’s hips. Not a very convenient feature when you’ve got various sized kids wearing the diaper. Emery has large thighs, but he’d still a little guy, so the smaller leg opening to smaller rise thing doesn’t work well with him. They are expensive diapers for what you get. ($18 for the diaper plus $3 for the insert.) The snaps in the leg casing can also put too much pressure on fat thighs. This diaper does still look just like it did when I bought it, but I hate using it. It gets used last, if at all. This diaper is a waste of money. (The only way this diaper would be remotely worth buying is if it was $10.) The realistic fit on this diaper is 8 lbs. to 25 lbs.

Smartipants One Size Diaper. We recently bought 4 of these to try. They are really cheap, so we were hoping to find the perfect diaper at the perfect price. (They were $39.95 for a 3 pack, including inserts.) I have to say, I like these. I don’t love them, but I like them. They have suedecloth interior like bumGenius diapers. The fit is very similar to a bumGenius or Haute Pocket. They would realistically fit from 8 lbs. to 35 lbs. I love that it has snaps. I like that they are made in the USA. The weird thing about these diapers, is that they aren’t exactly a pocket. These diapers have a “sleeve.” It is a rectangular “sleeve” sewn onto the diaper that opens at the front and back of the diaper. You slide an insert into the sleeve. This is a little difficult to make sure the insert stays inside the diaper at the smaller rise settings, but it can be done with a little practice. The benefit of the “sleeve” is that you don’t remove the insert before throwing it in the diaper pail. (Once again, pocket diapers are not difficult in the least, but the removal of a small step can be big when you’re busy! It is also fabulous when you’ve been out all day and come home with your wet bag of dirty diapers to just be able to toss them all in the pail and not have to pull the inserts out of the cold, wet diapers.) I have only had these for a few weeks, so I’ll update you later when I get all the kinks worked out with them. At first, I loved them. Now, I’m not as sure. We’ve been having leaking problems with all the kids. I’m not sure if the inserts just don’t hold as much as I would like them to or if the “sleeve” design creates room to leak from the sides. I’m also not a suedecloth fan, so these are starting at a slight disadvantage. Hopefully I can work through the leaking issue and these will be wonderful diapers. I haven’t given up on them just yet!

Newborn Cloth Diaper Review

Emery is our first little one to have a fluffy bum from birth. I chose to go with mostly fitteds and covers for the newborn stage.  I also ordered some all-in-ones for this stage. I love the fitted option for a newborn! Those explosive newborn poos never leaked with our fitteds and covers. If the poo somehow managed to make it out of the fitted, which was rare, it was still trapped in the cover. So, no up-the-back-and-into-the-hair poo messes with Emery. And his little bum was oh-so-adorable! Here are the reviews of the newborn diapers and covers we used for Mr. Emery.

These are super awesome fitted diapers. They were made by Graham Bear Wear. These are my favorite fitted diapers we bought for Emery! In fact, after he was born, I ordered 6 more of these because they were so perfect! The fit is perfect for a newborn. These fit Emery from birth (6 lbs. 13 oz.) (and I think they would have even fit a smaller baby than that) through about 13 lbs. They came with liners, so my liners are stained, my diapers are not. (Makes it much easier to sun out stains when we are talking about liners.) They have velour interiors. She even hand dyes some of her velour so you get a perfect match! They are also very trim, but very absorbent. They dry very quickly for a fitted! I love, love, love these diapers. Plus, it was great to pick the fabrics I wanted and have these custom made just for me. And the price can’t be beat- $50 for 6 diapers! These fit perfectly under newborn Prowrap covers.

Nancie also sent me some cloth wipes with my order! (Sweet lady that she is.) Her wipes are great! They are made of the same soft cotton velour as her diapers, some of which she hand dyes- how cool is that? They are square, and when folded in half fit perfectly in my wipes warmer! They are great at messes big and small! I’m seriously jealous that I don’t get to wipe my bum with such lushness! If you don’t see what you are looking for on Graham Bear Wear, message Nancie. She is a pleasure to work with on customizing your order!

I also bought 6 custom made Nanipoo fitted diapers. These are really great diapers. I would have been happy with an entire stash of these. They are so afforadable ($8.50 – $10.50 a diaper) and so cute. They also have cotton velour interior. The newborn size have a notch for the umbilical stump. They fit perfectly under newborn Prowrap covers. They are a bit more bulky than the GBWs, and they take a bit longer to dry. They also don’t have liners, but the liners are just a bonus for me, not a necessity. It did take quite a while for me to get them because Shannon (owner of Nanipoo) had a death in her family right after my order arrived. They made it in time, though. These fit Emery from birth to about 12 lbs. There were a couple that were a cotton knit exterior, rather than a woven cotton and the knit ones fit until about 13 lbs. You can also usually find these used here and save yourself a couple bucks. These last through many, many babies! Shannon makes these things to last.

I purchased three custom made newborn covers from CoCo Star Creations. The covers themselves are adorable. Shipping from Canada takes time and costs quit a bit more. These covers worked fine for daytime wear. They work especially well when worn without clothes over top. And they are so cute, you’d want to do that. They do leak if you leave them on for more than 3 hours, so night time wearing is out. They also leak if you’ve got tight clothing on top of them. They fit Emery from birth to about 13 lbs. I had one with a woven cotton, and it only fit to 12 lbs. She had lots of great fabrics to choose from. She offers both side snapping and front snapping. The newborn size she also adds a snap down front for the umbilical stump.

Because of the leaking issue with our custom made covers, I ordered some Prowraps. I ordered both the colors and the classic Prowraps. I prefer the colors. The inner material is thicker on the colors and the exterior is softer. Although, the colors do snag with the Velcro. The classics don’t snag themselves. I really do like the Prowraps. No leaks with these at all. I love the ability to wipe out the cover and use it again. I am usually not a Velcro fan, but these didn’t bother me. They don’t have laundry tabs, instead you fasten them like there is an invisible baby in there and wash them. They never let go! I also can say that I’ve got no complaint with the Velcro rubbing on Emery’s tummy. These fit Emery from birth to 13 lbs. I think they would have fit for a little longer, but we had no diapers that fit under them beyond 13 lbs.

I purchased a dozen of these all in ones from Wild Child for Babies. I ordered the newborn size. They were not exactly, well, small. These would be the equivalent of a size 2 sposie. They started fitting Emery around 9 lbs. (I guess some newborns are that size.) I could get them on him at birth by not using all the snaps (no crossover snapping) but they were too high for his umbilical stump and they leaked because they weren’t snug. Well, at 15 lbs. they still leak. Every diaper. Every time. I got a good deal on them, so I’m not too disappointed. I just purchased a couple Prowrap covers and use them as fitteds. They are bulky and they take FOREVER to dry. Seriously. I will never complain about diaper drying times again after these. No joke- 4 cycles in the dryer. Try to hang them dry and they’ll be there for days! They also have the nice cotton velour interior. At 15 lbs., my short and chunky fellow has many fit issues with this diaper. His thighs are fatter than his tummy, so I can’t seem to get a good fit- which could contribute to the leaking. They do fit Aidan and don’t leak as consistently with him. (Crazy that a “newborn” diaper fits a 25 lb. kid.) So, I am not giving up hope entirely for these. I think when Emery hits a year and starts getting taller, and not just rounder, these diapers may perform as they should. I’m still hoping. I’ll let you know.  Right now, these are my least favorite diaper because of the crazy fit issues. They are also not fitting perfectly under the Prowraps I ordered. (I ordered a medium, but probably should have ordered a small. The diaper comes down lower on the thigh than the cover, so they sometimes wick wetness out.

Edited: After trying and trying to make the Wild Child for Babies “All-In-Ones” work for me, I’ve given up. Emery’s little thighs were constantly red from the elastic being too tight on them. The waist never fit well, no matter what I did to try to get a good fit. I managed to keep them from leaking by using medium Prowraps to cover them, but they just didn’t look comfortable on my little guy at all! Plus, they take FOREVER to dry! My laundry was constantly being held up with me waiting for these things to dry. Even though I got a good deal ($100 for a dozen), I do NOT recommend these diapers. I won’t buy more.

I am always willing to try new cloth diapers and cloth diaper products. If you have something you’d like to send me to try just contact me! I’d be happy to share your product with my world.

Lentil Soup

First, I apologize for the lack of pictures. I am blogging from my BlackBerry. I think it is cool that there is a WordPress Application for BlackBerry. It is really easy to use, but I’d much rather blog from a computer! Hopefully, we will have a new computer soon. Fingers crossed!

On to the reason for today’s post- lentil soup! Although, you may call it stew. I would, but soup sounds more elegant and appetising than stew. You expect bad, unidentifiable things in stews. Lentil soup is so ridiculously cheap to make! And while it does take a little time, it doesn’t need much petting. This recipe makes a lot of soup! You’ll want to cut it in half (or fourth) or prepare for lots of leftovers if you aren’t feeding several very hungry people!

The Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion, chopped
Half a bunch of parsley, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 T of butter (or whatever you want to use to sautee your celery and onion)
1 bag of dried lentils
2 quarts vegetable broth
As much bacon as you want (If you want, you can omit the bacon and you’ve got a hearty vegetarian meal.)
Small pasta (I actually just use whatever dry pasta I have leftover. I’ll break up leftover spaghetti or put in those half containers of macaroni or penne.)

First, you’ll want to soak your lentils overnight. It’s really no big deal to do so. Just put your lentils in a stockpot. I generally sift through them a bit to make sure there is nothing odd in there. Put plenty of water over the lentils and cover. If you don’t want to soak your lentils, or if you forget, it isn’t a huge deal. It will just make your cook time longer. (An hour or so longer.)
Strain your lentils. Remove all the water from your stock pot. Pour both quarts of vegetable broth and cook over mediumish heat. Add salt and black pepper to your taste. You want to get it up to a boil, then simmer. In my experience, you’ll cook them for about 30 minutes if you soaked them or about an hour and a half if you forgot. While the lentils are cooking in the broth, chop up your veggies. In a separate pan, sautee the onion and celery with the butter (you can also use olive oil if you prefer). Once your veggies are tender, dump them into the stock pot with the lentils and broth. Check and see if your lentils are done (eat one). When they are done, toss your small pasta in the broth to cook. While your pasta is cooking in the soup, cook the bacon if you’re putting it in. (I bake mine in the oven. Just lay it flat on a baking sheet and into a 400 degree oven it goes. My mom microwaves hers. You do it your way.) Add the parsley to the soup just before serving! I add the bacon to each person’s bowl before putting it on the table. (That way if someone wants none, fine. If someone wants lots, okay.) That is it. Enjoy! It really is good, just ask the Pastor.

He Killed It!

As some of you know, our beloved Mac crashed a few weeks ago. (It has been with us since 2005.) Well, by the grace of God, the Computer Chick saved all our files from our completely dead hard drive. She replaced the hard drive and we were back in business. That is, until yesterday. Yesterday, that cute loveable two year old decided to perform a little science experiment.
I had the laptop on and open. I had been interacting with some of the ICAN ladies while enjoying a cup of hot tea. (My tea was getting to the lukewarm area. Why can’t I ever finish the cup while it is still at the hot but not scalding stage?) Emery started crying. I knew he wanted to eat. (What else does a 2 month old milk monster do?) So, I picked him up and ran upstairs with him to quickly change his diaper. The tots were enjoying watching a show, so I figured they’d be fine. (And getting them from one place to another is like herding cats.) They were fine in the sense that they didn’t harm themselves or one another. However, Aidan, being the “terrible toddler” that he is decided to work on the laptop for a minute while I was away. In the two minutes that it took to change Emery’s diaper and bib, Aidan spent the time spooning lukewarm tea onto the laptop. Yes, he did. Now, he didn’t manage to get much liquid onto the computer, but apparently he got enough on it. The computer went black and has not turned back on since. (I’ve tried, but it refuses. Perhaps it is just scared of Aidan.) Surpringly enough, the pastor did not seem too upset at his son’s distructive nature. I wasn’t too mad at him, because really, what intelligent person leaves a $1200 machine unattended with a toddler nearby. If it were a movie, I would have seen it coming. However, it is my life, so I completely overlooked it.
I keep praying the thing will magically work. I mean, I’ve been wanting a Mac desktop computer, but I can’t afford one right now! I really just need this one to work. Perhaps I’ll try laying hands on it. It worked for the washing machine.

**Edited To Add: It is still dead. All dead. (The only thing left to do is empty his pockets and look for loose change.) I took advice well and let the thing sit at an angle and dry out. I skipped the rice, only because we didn’t have enough to cover the laptop and the world around me flooded and I was unable to go to the store for more rice. After sitting and drying all weekend while everything else was flooding, it still didn’t work. A side note, the pastor’s wife and family are fine despite the floods. Our house did not flood, we are on a hill. Our backyard did become a rushing river (it was several feet deep) and about 20 feet of our privacy fence have way to the rushing rapids. We had quite a bit of debris come down, too, but the river carried it off. (Sorry to whoever’s yard it ended up in.) We did spring a couple roof leaks. One should be an easy repair, but the other is probably going to require extensive repair. We’ll see. On Tuesday after much of the flood waters parted, we took our beloved Mac to the Computer Chick. Since we had just replaced the hard drive, they bumped our baby to the top of the list. We got the call today that he is indeed dead. They are going to buy back our barely used hard drive and refurbish it. But the “mother board” is completely shot. I’m assuming that is some part in there and it was not a little queen ruling the insides of my computer. That would be cool, but I would feel much worse about her passing. We are looking into our options. We cannot currently afford to replace our wonderful Mac, but do not want to attempt to find a cheap PC to fill such big shoes. We may be able to go this new Net Book route until we get the money saved for a new Mac. That may be the sensible thing to do for now. I did lay hands on the Mac and pray for his recovery, however he was already in glory at that time. I’m okay with it. He is in a better place.

Kitchen Quotes

I won’t say what I’m making, but in making something, I had to look up quotes related to kitchens. Here are some that I found fascinating.

“The way one eats is the way one works.” Czechoslovakian proverb

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll

“Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven.” Yiddish Proverb

“Chocolate is a perfect food, wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power.” by Baron Justus von Liebig, chemist

“laughter is brightest where food is best” Irish proverb

"Skinny cooks can't be trusted"

“A smiling face is half the meal.” Latvian proverb

“Tell me what you eat, And I will tell you what you are.” by Brillat-Savarin, a French writer and gourmet of the 1800’s

“There is no such thing as a little garlic.”

“The pleasant hours of our lives are all connected by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table.” by Charles Pierre Monselet.

“Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers” by William Shakespeare

“Meals and Memories Are Made Here“

“Life’s Uncertain…Eat Dessert First“

“No husband has ever been shot for doing the dishes.”

“Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.”

“Broken cookies don’t have calories.”

“Dessert…too much of a good thing is wonderful.” –Mae West

“My mother’s menu consisted of two choices; Take it or leave it. “–Buddy Hackett

“Cooking is Love made visible.”

“I like hugs and I like kisses, but what I’d love…is help with the dishes!”

“Lord…bless this kitchen, and those who labor in it…”

“Eat your peas.”

“Countless number of people have eaten in this kitchen and gone on to lead normal lives”
Unknown

“Have you any idea how many kids it takes to turn off one light in the kitchen? Three. It takes one to say, “What light?” and two more to say, “I didn’t turn it on.””

Erma Bombeck “If you can organize your kitchen, you can organize your life.” Louis Parrish “The only thing that I have ever successfully made in the kitchen is a mess. And several little fires.” – Carrie (Sex and The City) “Happiness is Homemade…” “A waist is a terrible thing to mind.” “Home is where the cookies are.” “Life’s too short to drink cheap coffee!” “If you accept a dinner invitation, you have a moral obligation to be amusing.” “I’m creative you can’t expect me to be neat too!” “A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.” “Dull women have immaculate houses.” “County cooking makes you goodlooking.” “Candy solves everything” “Here at Barb’s kitchen, guests eat for FREE!” “Did you want ketchup with that?” “I love a man, with dishpan hands!!” “My favorite kitchen appliance, the phone for take out!” “Chocolate is an essential nutrient.” “Dinner is ready when the smoke alarm goes off.” “I just ate my willpower.” “Life’s two best comforts good food and a hug.”

Blog Stalker

Some of you, maybe all of you, are aware of my stalker tendencies. Well, I have been stalking this blog and I thought I should share it with you! You’ll find great, simple craft ideas! There are plenty of ways to use up all your scrap fabric or just something cute for you to whip up in your free time. So, head on over to Make It and Love It and see what you can make to love!

Two Years

Two years ago today, Aidan was born. Aidan was born via c-section because he was breech. They told me he was double footling breech, but I’m not too sure he was a true double footling. (A true double footling has knees and hips straight- like jumping into a pool feet first.) I have a feeling he may have been a frank breech with his knees bent (cannonball!). I didn’t know at the time that it was possible to deliver a breech baby vaginally. My doctor said your certainly could never deliver a double footling vaginally (when prodded, she said the baby would die) and even if baby was frank breech, that was even too dangerous to deliver vaginally. I fully believed her. If the doctor said it, it must be true, right? Wrong. What she really should have said was, “Your baby is breech and I am not comfortable delivering a breech baby because I just don’t have the skills to do so.” I tried the ECV in the OR first. The nurses at the hospital told me I was the first person they’d ever seen try one. I should have known then it wouldn’t work. They didn’t have any experience doing it! But I refused to just sign up for a c-section. I went in that morning for my 37 week check up. To my surprise I was in labor when I went in without knowing it! I was 4cm dilated and 80% effaced. That meant the entire early part of labor was over (which can be quite long for many people). However, since my doctor was not comfortable delivering my baby vaginally, I was immediately sent to L&D where they prepped me for my c-section. I was upset. I was excited to meet my little one, but I was scared to death of being cut open to do so. Labor was not so scary to me. It was natural. The c-section was not natural. It was not normal. It was frightening. My nurse told me I would LOVE having a c-section. She told me I would find it so much better than “natural birth” and would never want to have it any other way. She was wrong. She could not have been more wrong. (3 days after my c-section, I found her and told her so.)

They rolled me back to the OR, a place I am all too familiar with. However, I was not happy being on the patient side of things. After they had me all hooked up, numb, and draped out, they let the Pastor come in. He sat up near my head and I warned him not to peek. (He doesn’t have a very strong stomach and c-sections are extremely gross to watch.) They held up the baby and we saw it was a boy! We later found out his presenting part was his testicles. (Which made me extremely upset later when I found out one risk of a c-section was that they could accidentally cut the baby! How terrible would that have been?! Luckily, it did not happen to Aidan. They didn’t just leave out this c-section risk, they left out all risks. They told me it was the only way and never mentioned a single risk. Of course, I was not so naive that I thought there were no risks. But no one gave me options. They never said, “Here are the risks of a section and here are the risks of delivering this baby breech.” They just said they were not willing to let me take the risks of delivering him vaginally, so I would have to take the risks to deliver him via c-section.) We have no pictures of him right after birth. No cameras were allowed in the operating room. The Pastor asked me about his name. We had been going back and forth on boy’s names. I wanted Edmund, he wanted Aidan. Though I had to originally talk him into Aidan (easy when it is the name of a missionary saint), I became wishy-washy about it toward the end. I had said that he could pick the name if it was a boy and I would pick if it was a girl. I was so convinced I was having a girl. Wrong! We did stick with the name Aidan, despite the popularity of the name. I knew Aidan fit his name, which means “fiery”, because he was such an active and easily agitated baby in utero. (I find it impossible to argue that he was not yet a person when he was so clearly showing some aspects of his personality before birth!)

I didn’t get to hold Aidan until he was 5 days old. Poor guy had to spend 10 days in the NICU. It was a combination of factors. He was breech and I had a c-section plus the fact that he was a little early made it difficult for him to breath. His lungs were slightly immature. He had fluid in his lungs as a result of not being properly squeezed through the birth canal. He was 6 lbs. even. He was such a cute little baby!

And now that little baby is two! Can you believe it? He is a ninth of the way raised. He is still fiery. He is very persistent. I can’t wait to see the man he grows into.