Happy Samhain / Happy Halloween

In a few minute I will be heading home to hopefully hand out candy to lots of trick-or-treaters and I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Halloween and/or a Happy Samhain

The Mad Scientist/Homemaker

Vs.

I have been on a kick to rid my home of most if not all toxic/noxious chemicals, especially cleaning products. I do the vast majority of my cleaning with Simple Green and Sun and Earth. I was having trouble though, coming up with a replacement for toilet bowl cleaner. This is probably the most noxious of all the chemicals I have in the house, but haven't ever seen a safer, more natural replacement. I got to thinking about what natural cleaning products might work and I started to think about white vinegar. "But will it work as well?" I asked myself.

So I set up an experiment to see if white vinegar would clean a toilet bowl as well as lysol toilet bowl cleaner. Two weeks ago I cleaned by upstairs toilet with white vinegar and the downstairs toilet with the lysol cleaner. I let them both get used as they normally would for a two week period (yes, this means I didn't clean my toilets for 2 weeks... please don't condemn me!). Last night I took at look at the staining/mold/mildew/crud buildup in each toilet to see if there was a difference. Low and behold the toilet cleaned with the Lysol had MORE staining/mold/mildew/crud than the toilet cleaned with vinegar.

That kinda settled it for me. As soon as the lysol toilet bowl cleaner is used up I will not be replacing it. Instead I will be using a safer, less noxious, less corrosive, CHEAPER cleaner... white vinegar,

Oh white vinegar... is there nothing you can't do?

Gluuuuuuu-Cola!

http://www.daisy-online.net/blog/archives/146

Copyright: Daisy weblog

So this morning I had my glucose challenge test which meant I had to down a bottle of super sweet gook and then have my blood draw precisely 1 hour later. I have heard HORROR stories about this test. About people chocking on the Glucola, about almost throwing up the gGucola, about getting dizzy and light headed and nauseas from the Glucola.

Needless to say I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to drink it, that it would make me sick, etc. Well now that I drank the stuff I have to say that all of those other people were WIMPS!

It was no where near as bad as they made it out to be. It wasn't really thick at all (not the consistency of cough syrup which is what I thought it would be like) and it tasted like flat orange soda. Since I have a weakness for orange soda I didn't find it objectionable at all.

Now, heres hoping that the results are good! Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Free Rice

If you're bored at work, pop over to http://www.freerice.com/ to test your vocabulary and do something good to stop world hunger.

I donated 1580 grains of rice and topped out at vocab level 40.

A Good Day

I knew that when I got pregnant I would, for the most part, be unable to wear my regular clothes and that was ok by me because it gave me the opportunity to get a few new and cute pieces. What no one told me was that I would be unable to wear my old shoes!

Over the summer this was no so much of a problem because I spend most of the summer months in Birkenstocks and they accommodate all sorts of foot swelling, stretching, etc. As it started to get colder and when I was going to work my Birks weren't really appropriate and I reached into the closet for some of my more sensible heels. Oh, I should mention that before now, I didn't own any flat shoes, it was heels or nothing for me!

So I picked out a pair of kitten heeled spectator pumps and slipped, er... um.... jammed a foot into them. Frantic flalying ensued while I tried desperately to get the thing, er... shoe off of my foot. My feel were either too wide now, or simply too swollen to wear those shoes. I then spend the next 20 minutes trying every pair of shoes on that I own and deciding that they all were too small now.

So, the next stop was to buy some shoes. I got a cute pair of black flats at target. I borrowed a cute pair of brown flats from my mom, and I bought a pair of chocolate brown Uggs from Zappos.com.

So.... this morning when I was getting dressed I decided on wearing my tan skirt with a black sweater (since it is finally sweater weather) . I would have opted for my black flats but I donlt have any tights/pantyhose that will come close to fitting, so I grabbed my black suede, knee-high boots. I hadn't bothered to try them on so I didn't know if they would actually fit or not, but, low and behold, THEY DO FIT!!!!!

These boots are my pride and joy and I talk to them in the same loving voice that I talk to my dogs in. I was ever so excited! I knew then that I was going to be a good day (oh, that and I only have to work 4 hours today, but it was mainly the boots :) )

My Boots:

Staying up-to-date on recalls

I can never remember to check the Consumer Products Safety commission's website recall.gov on a regular basis and as someone who rarely watches/listens to the news I feel like I am missing a lot of important recall information. So, today while writing the previous post about the Bumbo seat I found this page where you can sign up for email alerts about recalled products.

Ah... I love it when the news comes to me.

Bumbo Seat Recalled

Hubby found this recall notice today for the Bumbo seat.



The Bumbo seat was one of the top things on our baby registry. I guess it's coming off now!

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08046.html

Best Grocery Store EVER!

My mom and I recently made one of our semi-annual trips to Lancaster, PA to do a little outlet shopping. We did get some good deals at the outlets but the best deals of the day were to be found at Kaufman's Market. Kaufman's is an Amish market known for their apples and their special Bird-in-Hand blend apple cider. What they are not so well know for are their stupendous deals on bulk items like spices and grains. Neither mom nor I needed a whole lot of anything, but we were able to snag a few deals:

1. Cinnamon -- .62 pounds for ... get this... $1.90 (I thought I was going to fall over). Now I know Meredith did a comparison of cheap cinnamon v. Watkins cinnamon and found no discernible difference so I feel confident that this was a good deal. Regardless, if I found the cinnamon had less flavor I would just add more to the recipe.

2. Wheat Bran -- .50 pounds for .$39!!!! I have a recipe for whole wheat muffins that call for either wheat germ or wheat bran. I looked at this at my regular market and it was between $4 and $5 a container with less than .50 pounds on them.

Since we do not have "salvage grocers" in this area, we have to winnow out deal where ever we can. Kaufmans was well worth the trip. If you are ever in Bird-in-Hand, PA stop by and check them out!

Kid to Kid

I have been talking about the baby/child resale shop that I like to frequent thinking that it was just a local store, but low and behold it turns out that it is a chain of resale shops!

Kid to Kid is the store I love so and it turns out that there might very well be one in your own neighborhood.

http://kidtokid.com/

Reasons I LOVE kid to kid:

1. Great selection (clothes, toys, furniture, you name it)
2. Great prices (better, in some instances, than my Goodwill which has recently raised its prices)
3. Two words... maternity clothes! (cute, stylish, and cheap)
4. Frequent Shoppers Club (spend $10, ten times and they give you a $10 gift card)
5. 5% discount for paying with cash. You have to ask for it, but they will give it to you.

Layette Update

So thanks for the advice. I was able to add a few items to the layette including 4 pairs of pants, 4 long sleeve onsies (pint/color), 4 long sleeve onsies (white), two more sleep and plays, 1 short sleeve onsie, and three more pant/top or jacket outfits. I am not too worried if there are gaps as I haven't had a baby shower yet and some of the basics are on my registry.

Also I washed and prepped all the cloth diapers and out them in the dresser/changing table. It is nice to know that we are ready to go with cloth diapering when we need to be. Of course, we also have some disposables in newborn size to get us started.

Layette

Slowly but surely I have been amassing a layette in preparation for the baby's arrival in February.

Here is what we've got so far:

	Size	Quantity
Blanket Sleepers	0-9	3
Bassinet Sheets		3
Bibs		8
Blankets		2
Booties		3
Burp Cloths		10
Crib Sheets		6
Gowns	0-3	8
Hats		6
Hooded Towels		3
Jacket/Hoodie	6~9	1
Onsie (Color/Print)	NB	1
Onsie (Color/Print)	3~6	6
Onsie (Color/Print)	6~9	3
Onsie (Long Sleeve)	6~9	2
Onsie (Long Sleeve)	NB	3
Onsie (White)	3~6	5
Pants	6~9	1
Pants/Hoodie outfit	NB	1
Receiving Blanket		7
Robe		1
Romper	0-3	2
Sleep & Play	NB	10
Sleep & Play	3	1
Sleep & Play	3~6	1
Sleep & Play	6~9	2
Socks		10
T-Shirt	3~6	1
T-Shirt (Side Snap)	3	7
Wash cloths		2

So, my question to all of you who have babies... what am I missing? What do I need more of?

Belly Updates

(What I imagine is going on inside my uterus)

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and all is well. My blood pressure is low (for me). The baby's heartbeat is still going string at 154 bpm, and I am measuring right where I should be at 25 weeks. All is well.

Hubby was able to actually feel the baby kick last weekend which was really cool for him.

Lat night I was lying in bed watching TV while hubby was at a hockey game when I thought I saw the covers over my belly move. I wasn't sure so I kept watching and low and behold they moved again. So I moved all the covers away and was really still and watched the belly vibrate and bump and move in all direction. It was truly one of the most bizarre things I have every seen my body do.

It was very exciting.

My Cloth Diaper Stash

After the baby arrives and after the newborn stage is over, I plan on using cloth diapers. I think that they are better overall. Better for the baby, for my budget, and for the environment. I like o plan ahead so I have been assembling my diaper stash slowly. Here it it:

-- 5 Kushie All in Ones (although I think I am returning these)
-- 2 Green Mountain Diapers fitted
-- 2 Under the Nile fitted
-- 2 snappies
-- 7 microfiber doublers/inserts
-- 4 Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers
-- 2 Happy Hiney pocket diapers
-- 2 Bumkins covers
-- 10 Bummis whisper wraps
-- 9 contours
-- 24 Chinese Prefolds

Here they are in pictures:

Prefolds and contours

Bumkins covers and Bummis Whisper Wraps

Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heiny Pocket Diapers

Doublers/Inserts and Snappies

Fitted Diapers


Kushies All in Ones

Turtles, Frogs, and Noah's Ark oh my!

I had a dentist appointment today and after it was over and in celebration of the fact that I had no cavities nor did I have any evidence of "pregnancy gingivitis" I stopped at the kids resale shop across the street for a little shopping.

Noah's Ark set, new with tags and still on the original hanger. Oh, it has a fuzzy whale on the butt!


Two sleep and plays, one with turtles and one with frogs



A terry towel, robe and booty set, new with tags and still on the original hangers.

I also got a blue long sleeve T-shirt for me, but that isn't nearly as cute as the above items. 9 items total for $30.00. I didn't think that was bad at all since none of the items show any wear whatsoever and most are brand spanking new!

Baby's First Pictures

Here you can see a profile view of our little one's face with a hand/thumb in his/her mouth

Here you get a more inclusive profile with a body attached (still sucking on his/her thumb)


It looks like we have a self soother! :)

Please Excuse This Rant...

First of all I want it known that I do NOT watch the news because it makes me mad, consistently. That being said I had a local morning program on this morning before I left for work and they were promoting a talk show type show and the hook they were using to get you to watch was "Should sex offenders who are parents be allowed inside their children's school?"

I just have to clear up this little misconception... Not all sex offenders are child molesters or "child predators." Generally speaking, serial sex offenders have a certain age group or profile that they are (for lack of a better word) attracted to. If their target group is adult women, then they aren't necessarily a threat to children. Along those same lines if they did prey on children then you need to make the distinction between pedophiles (those attracted to children under 12) and ephebophiles (those attracted to children over 12). Generally, they don't switch from one group to an other.

This is, of course, a very sensitive subject and that I completely understand. I have the same visceral reaction when I hear about "sex offenders" or "child molesters" but the news media and the masses need to understand that not all sex offenders are child molesters although all child molesters are sex offenders. And, inside of the category "child molester" there are subcategories that SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED!!!

That is all.

When daddy isn't around....

snuggle with your brother!

Final Bedroom Renovation

So hubby and I finally finished renovating our bedroom... YEAH!! Our furniture was delivered on a Saturday and here is the end result.

We kept the bed we ad, but here is my dresser and in the corner you can see part of a nightstand. Oh and Jax on the bed too!

Here is a nightstand.


Here is hubby's armiore and our new mounted TV.

Sunday Morning Puppy Lovin'

Beo (blue) and Jax (purple) snuggle with their Daddy.





Hubby is UNDER Beo.

Pregnancy Update

This is pretty exciting. Hubby was able to feel the baby move. I have been being kicked for about a month now but hubby had to live vicariously though me until this weekend when I felt a good hearty kick from the outside and called him over to fee it too. And to put finally post a belly pic...



This huge white moon-shaped object in the bottom of the picture is the belly. You can see my feet, so far away now, for comparison. On the upside, I've only gained 6 pounds!

White Whole Wheat Challah

So I have been raving about the white whole wheat flour for a few weeks now, but have yet to post any pictures of things I made with said flour. Until today... here is what is left of a loaf of challah made with white whole wheat flour. This loaf is a little denser than I would like because I didn't think about stuffing 1.5 pounds of dough into a 1 pound loaf pan. Oh well, it still tastes good!

Updates coming...

There are blog updates on the way I promise... with the bonus of lots of pictures. I will post when I get home from work!

Topics to include:

--Finished Bedroom Renovation
--Other Home Improvements
--Baking with White Whole Wheat Flour
--My Cloth Diaper Stash
-- Banned Books Week

3 Years Ago Today...

We were married.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!