Tired but still cooking…

Cole slaw was better without the carrots, brussel sprouts were perfect, crab cakes were salty and oily. Not my best!

This brisket, pickle, cheddar, bbq panino was sooo good

This banana bread was delightful!

This week we have done pretty well, though we ate out one night and I bought tamales instead of making them (because I was hanging with a friend). We still have really only spent about $80 on groceries so far this month, which is sort of amazing. We spent about $30 eating out. Not awful.

My crab cakes didn’t turn out well and my soup last night turned out more like pasta (alphabet pasta really puffs up!)

Tonight is leftovers and tomorrow is tuna noodle casserole. Not sure what the rest of the week holds. I better look it up! We probably have some fresh veggies and a few things to buy this week. Overall, I am really enjoying cooking more.

Oh and I just saw the show Easy Bake Battle starring Antoni from Queer Eye. It is about home cooks making easy meals fast and learning hacks from them and getting new ideas. It is giving me awesome ideas! If you are out of ideas, I recommend checking it out on Netflix!

Any cooking experiments lately? If so, share below!

First Time Mom: Adventures in Cloth Diapering! (Part Three)

In my last two posts about cloth diapering, I share how I got into cloth diapering and the pros and cons of the diapers I have. Today I’m going to talk to you about how I clean the diapers. Now I’m no expert so if anyone has any advice, I am happy to learn more!

So, for starters, if you have brand new diapers (not hand-me-downs) you need read over instructions on how to “prep” the diapers. This pretty much involves washing and drying them lots of times (like 5) so that they can absorb stuff better (an important diaper quality!). 🙂 I skimmed a handout out through Green Mountain Diapers on how to prep different types of diapers, so that was super helpful!

Then I would place all your diapers together where you can get to them easily and have a wet bag nearby to put them in when they are dirty. You can use rice paper inside the diapers so that poop comes off easier (but my little one is still too small for his poop to be solid enough for this to be effective).

For wet diapers

• Separate the inserts and the covers
• Velcro the Velcro in on itself so it doesn’t stick to other diapers in the wash
• Toss them in the wet bag

For poopy diapers

• Put the cover in the wet bag (unless it’s dirty, then follow the instructions below)
• Take the dirty diaper parts to the bathroom
• Either use the dunk and flush method to get the poop off or a diaper sprayer
• To get it extra stain-free and clean, use Zote soap (a large pink bar) and rub it on the diaper (I do this in the sink) with some water (I keep the soap on the bathroom counter in a small plastic container and make sure to rinse off the soap before putting it back in the container)
• Toss them in the wet bag (make sure not to drip!)

For washing

• I’ve just been throwing everything into the wash together on warm with an 2nd rinse and it seems to be working so far (we’re about 3 weeks into it)
• I use a scoop or so of bumGenius powdered diaper laundry detergent

For drying

• Line drying outside is the best because the sun naturally bleaches the diapers so it gets rid of stains!
• If it’s rainy or I’m feeling lazy, I’ll throw them all in the dryer on the delicates cycle (I usually use cotton regular heat). Be careful with diapers with elastic not to stretch them when they’re hot!
• I usually have to do the dryer several times, taking out dry diapers and covers each time (the prefolds, fitted, all-in-ones, and all-in-two inserts take the longest)

Well, that’s about it! Not really much different than regular laundry, except that I usually do it about every 2 days, because we don’t have many diapers. I hope you enjoyed my three-part series on cloth diapers! More fun stuff to come! 🙂

First Time Mom: Adventures in Cloth Diapering! (Part Two)

In my last post, I shared about how I got into cloth diapering and how, for the most part, it was much easier than I anticipated. Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about the different types of diapers that I have, and the pros and cons that I have seen with them.

I have a whole host of different types of diapers. I have some handmade, some store-bought, some bought online, and other hand-me-downs. Within those, though, there a few main different types of cloth diapers. Now, I am no expert, but here are a few different kinds and, what I have found to be, the pros and cons of each type.

 (handmade all-in-one cloth diaper)

1. All-in-Ones – I have two different brands of All-in-Ones. I have one that is homemade and tends to leak a bit more, and another three that are bumgenius, which work better.
   1. Pros
      1. Very quick – the diaper is already put together like a regular diaper, so you just snap/velcro it on, and you’re good to go
      2. Simple – even a diaper novice can figure these suckers out. As long as you know how to put on a regular diaper, you can put on one of these.
      3. Cute – they come in lots of different patterns and colors
      4. Less to touch – after the diaper is soiled, you can just toss it into the wash. No parts to separate out. It is “all-in-one.”
      5. 
   2. Cons –
      1. Trickier to clean/rinse poop off of – since it’s all put together, you have to put the whole diaper in the sink/toilet/bucket to rinse off the poop, which makes it a bit messier
      2. Takes a bit longer to dry – especially the handmade one. The bumgenius ones have flaps that open up, so that makes it way quicker with drying!
      3. Very fluffy/big – I had to move to a bigger size pant and onesie and readjust the straps in Miguel’s car seat! They take up a lot of space, both on the tushy and the diaper bag!
      4. Need more – with some of the other cloth diapers, you can snap/put out the insert and reuse the cover if it isn’t wet, but since this is all together, when it’s wet/dirty, it’s done.
      5. 
      6. 
2. All-in-Twos – I have Grovia brand, and they are my favs! (they are shown in the very first pic on the clothesline)
   1. Pros
      1. Easy – all you have to do is snap in the pad and on it goes!
      2. No leaks – I haven’t had any leaks with these diapers yet! They are great!
      3. Cute – the covers come in pretty colors!
      4. Possibly less expensive – you can reuse the covers if they didn’t get wet or dirty
      5. Easy to wash – you can snap out the insert if it gets poopy so you don’t have to stick the whole diaper in the water
      6. Stays in place – it has snaps so it doesn’t move around
   2. Cons
      1. Trouble with fit – When you use the snaps to make the pad smaller, the pad stays the same size and doesn’t quite fit as well. I fold it on the top but it’s a bit awkward
      2. Takes longer to dry – the covers dry very quickly but the inserts take forever to dry! Both in the sun and the dryer. Oy vey!
      3. Slightly more prep – there are two parts to this, so it takes a extra few seconds to snap on the insert
      4. Also fluffy – these diapers are big, too, so get out those bigger sizes!
      5. 
3. Fitted diapers
   1. Pros
      1. Cute – there are lots of fun types of covers!
      2. Reusable covers – you can take out the inserts reuse the covers if they aren’t wet
      3. Easy to clean – it separates out, so it’s easier to clean poop off
      4. Not as big – these don’t seem quite as fluffy as the other diapers so that makes them easier to fit into clothes
   2. Cons
      1. Leaks – I find these to leak more because the insert and the cover aren’t really the same size, so if the cloth part sticks out, it’ll leak when the diaper gets wet
      2. Less absorbent – I find they don’t absorb quite as well as the all-in-twos, so it usually gets the covers wet
      3. More prep – these take a long time to get ready, because I need to tuck in the inserts so they don’t leak onto his clothes
      4. Takes long to dry – the covers are quick but the inserts take a long time to dry!
      5. Expensive – someone told me these are the most expensive of all the diapers
      6. 
4. Pocket diapers – I have the bumgenius brand but haven’t used them yet
   1. Pros
      1. Separates – you can take them apart for quick cleaning and drying
      2. Cheap – these are some of the most inexpensive cloth diapers to buy because the inserts are not very expensive and you can double up, so it last longer
      3. Easy to clean – it separates for easy cleaning (also I think it might not take too long to dry, though I haven’t used them yet!)
   2. Cons
      1. Too big – okay, so it might be that mine are hand-me-downs but they are way to big for my little one still!
      2. More prep – takes a long time to put together
      3. 
5. Pre-folds
   1. Pros
      1. Cheap – the inserts are inexpensive, though the covers might be pricey
      2. Easy to clean – separates and makes things easy
      3. Reuseable – I literally have prefolds that were mine when I was a baby that we use as dust rags to this day
      4. Dries kinda fast – this dries faster than some others
   2. Cons
      1. More prep – you have to fold it and then get it to fit into the diaper
      2. Leaks – like the fitted, you have to make sure all the cloth part is tucked in otherwise it leaks when wet
      3. Complicated – this is not a diaper for someone who likes things to be simple

Well, I hope you enjoyed this second part of my three-part series on cloth diapers! Stay tuned for my post on how to clean them! 🙂