Poor Woman's Weight Watchers

I used to be skinny.

Like, really skinny.

I had size 2's in my closet skinny.

*sigh*

Then, I found out I was diabetic.

(Hence, why I was really skinny)

Then, found out I was hypothyroid.

And promptly gained a bunch of weight.

I knew I should eat better.

But food was comforting.

I had these diseases that controlled a lot of my body.

But, I could choose the food I ate.

Thank goodness for insulin pumps and carbohydrate sliding scales!

(Dorky diabetes talk...)

So, I let myself eat what I wanted.

I used to be able to with no consequence.

Not anymore.

But, food tasted good.

(And still does)

With Levi I gained 25 lbs.

I was pretty happy with that gain.

Didn't go bonkers while pregnant.

After having him, I easily lost that weight plus an extra 10 lbs.

Bonus.

I went on eating what I pleased.

Then decided I needed to change.

I have now lost an additional 10 lbs.

I've lost 5% of my body fat.

Still have another 10 to my goal.

How'd I do it?

It's what I call the "Poor Woman's Weight Watchers".

Many people I know have had great success with the program.

But our budget is tight, so it wasn't really an option.

Then, I perused the ol App Store on my iPhone.

Bingo.

Enter, the Pts Plus Diary app.

Best $1.99 I've ever spent.

It is a fantastic app.

Basically the entire Weight Watchers program at your finger tips.

You enter your info and it calculates how many points you get per day.

You also get 49 weekly bonuses (which I love!)

You can then look up foods to see how many points it has, scan food items or look at restaurant menus.

It is very thorough and incredibly easy to follow.

I will admit, the first couple of weeks I was hungry.

I definitely used those "unlimited fruits and veggies".

But now, my appetite has definitely shrunk.

And Diet Coke is my new best friend.

I've been on the program for about 5.5 weeks and lost 10 lbs.

No working out.

(Which I will add soon).

Another great resource I have found are healthy, weight watcher food blogs.
My current fave is Skinny Taste.www.skinnytaste.com

Then program is very do-able.

I still eat goodies.

Like tonight?

Ate chocolate cake.

And had the points to do so.

So if anyone is looking for an easy, realistic way to lose some poundage,

I totally suggest this app.

And if you can afford it, go for the real thing.

I just can't. : )

Weekly Home Blessings

As I strive to be better at organizing our home and lives, I decided to come up with a more efficient weekly planner.

I had seen on someone's blog (I'm not sure where now...) that she called them "weekly home blessings". 

I loved this perspective.

Much more motivating than "chores".

I wanted to include a weekly menu, prayer requests and a week-at-a-glance.

{Plus a little verse to help keep me motivated}

Here it is!

And better yet, you can download it here free!

Hope this helps bless you and your organizational goals!

The lie of Pinterest perfection

My best friend (and new Mama) and I were discussing last night the ill side effects of Pinterest (and the internet, social media, blogs and Facebook).

But more specifically, Pinterest.

Now, first of all, I love Pinterest.

It has given me some great ideas and is a great way to organize the little things I found amongst blogs so that I can find them again when I need them.

However, there is a bad side of it all.

A feeling like every other woman, mom and teacher has their lives all put together, and I don't.

But, my friends, Pinterest is a lie.

People never "pin" the real life.

They pin the fantasy.

For example, I've pinned pictures of our basement remodel.

Here's the pic I've pinned for the world to see:

Ah, organized, straightened up...perfection.

But here's how it looks now (and how it looks about 70% of the time...)

Tada.

Hopefully many of you can relate.

I now have a mobile, very curious son, a busy life and a hatred of laundry.

But do I pin or blog with these images? No.

Why not?

Because I want to look like I have it all together.

But I don't.

Who is that helping?

I've pinned more than 1700 items.

I've *maybe* only actually tried about a dozen or so of them.

Do I make my own cleaners? No (except for laundry detergent...I do actually do that!)

Are all our dinners organic, clean and from scratch each night? Heck no.

Do I use 20 coupons per single item so I get paid to shop. Nu-uh.

Have I crafted a dozen things from a single sheet of scrap book paper? Well...close. But no.

Here's another humbling example.

An absolutely gorgeous kitchen I had pinned.

Reality?

Dirty dishes in the sink and crud on the counter tops.

I say all this as an encouragement.

I strive to keep my home in order, food on the table, planning creative activities all while saving money.

But, the perfection projected onto Pinterest simply isn't feasible.

Our children know we love them by the quality time we spend with them. The memories we make.

Not by whether we did every one of the 101 Activities with Toddlers we had pinned a year ago.

Guests know we care for them by the climate of our home as we greet and minister to them. Not by always having fresh-cut roses on the dinner table and perfect appetizers waiting for them.

Our husbands know we love them by praying for them, helping raise their children, laughing with them, running errands, working, throwing dinner together and clipping coupons. Not by an immaculate house that has never seen dust, gourmet dinners and a rockin' 6 pack.

I love to learn from other women and their strengths, but be encouraged that God has created you as a unique woman, mom and wife. You bless your family and others in the way that He created you.

So let's not beat ourselves up or hide behind the mask of perfection. 

The only perfect one is our Lord and Saviour. Pretending to be perfect ourselves is minimizing his Lordship in our lives.

As a reminder to myself, I often read this short little story about Mary and Martha in Luke

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feetlistening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

                                         Luke 10:38-42

So often, I find myself trying to be Martha. Having everything perfect, and not having my focus being where it should. I should be resting at the feet of Jesus. Not running around with the world searching for perfection. Only with the correct focus on life can I truly be happy.

Cloth Diapers 101

SO many families are choosing to cloth diaper now!

I have had many inquiries lately as to what we use, how we launder, etc.

I thought, now nearly a year into cloth diapering our son, I'd give some tips and tricks and what-to-buys.

So welcome, my friends, to Cloth Diapers 101.

Types

There are many types of cloth diapers.

You can do prefolds with covers (the cheapest option), pockets, all-in-ones, all-in-twos, hybrids, sized, one-size, etc.

For us?

We use one-size pockets.

It works for us.

These diapers you stuff yourself, for the absorbency you need for your child, and they have snaps to adjust as your baby grows.

They work from 10-35 lbs.

We use disposable diapers when he was first born until he fit into his cloth.

Some buy some extra small cloth diapers and use cloth from the git-go.

For us, it was more cost effective to not invest in an extra-small stash and just use disposables.

Inserts

For pockets, you stuff the diapers yourself with inserts.

(All-in-ones have the inserts sewn in....hence the name, all-in-one. These are more $$$ and can take longer to dry)

There are a few insert options, but here's the two we use

Microfiber and hemp.

Microfiber is the most common, and most cloth diapers will come with 2 of these inserts with the diaper.

Hemp is lighter, thinner and more absorbent than microfiber.

For stuffing, when Levi was a newborn, we were able to use just one insert.

Now that he's a bigger boy, we double stuff him during the day, and triple stuff at night.

The hemp are great because they are thinner and makes the diaper trimmer.

Snaps or Aplix?

In the beginning, I was all about the snaps.

I had read they held up longer, harder for older babies to undo, etc.

So...initially we got all snap diapers.

Then, on a whim, I got an aplix (velcro) BumGenius diaper.

We loved it.

The middle of the night changes were much easier.

The aplix was easier for newbies (church nursery, grandparents, sitters, etc.)

So we picked up a few more.

Looking back, I wish our stash was 50/50 between the two.

What brands are best?

BumGenius is probably the most popular.

They are readily available (can purchase them in store at Buy Buy Baby with your 20% off coupon!)

These diapers are around $17/ diaper

Then I found some diapers online that were much cheaper.

They are made in China and cost around $5-7/diaper.

So we got a few BumGenius as presents (we registered for them), bought a few in store, and ordered the rest online from Kawaii.

We got 12 diapers for like $60.

So much cheaper.

And we honestly like them just as much as the BumGenius.

Other brands that are popular are Apple Cheeks, Charlie Bananas, Kushies, SwaddleBees, Fuzzi bunz, Bummis, Alvababy (chinese) and Sunbaby (chinese).

I have no experience with these brands, so can't really give an opinion one way or another.

How many do I need?

My suggestion would be 18-24 diapers for one child.

If you plan to have children close together and could be diapering 2 at the same time, you'd obviously need to double that.

We have 24 diapers and do laundry about every 3rd day.

Laundry Routine

When we change Levi's diaper, we first unstuff the dirty diaper, and if its solid, we then take the diaper to the toilet to spray it.

We have the BumGenius diaper sprayer

It attaches to the tank of the toilet and is like a little shower head, that you can rinse off the diaper right into the toilet.

We love it!

 When he was exclusively breast fed, you didn't need to rinse of the diaper. It would dissolve in the water.

Once you start feeding solids, you must rinse off the diapers before laundering.

We use a white trash can with a planetwise diaper pail liner to hold his dirty diapers in.

It's done a great job of containing the smell.

So on laundry day, we take his liner full of diapers and dump it all (liner included) in the wash.

I first do a hot rinse to get any yuckies off.

Then a hot wash with my homemade detergent.

Often, I will do an extra rinse after.

I then dry in the dryer on air fluff.

(Drying outside is magical as the sun bleaches the diapers back to white!)

Once a month I will put regular bleach in to kill any bacteria.

(This won't harm the colors..I promise!)

And if we notice an ammonia smell, we put in a little original blue Dawn.

So, here's my detergent recipe:

1 c. baby oxyclean

1 c. borax

Mix together.

Boom. Done.

You can also use any cloth diaper approved detergent (Country Save, Rockin' Green, BumGenius), Original Tide powder, or a Free and Clear detergent.

Diaper Creams

You can't use just any diaper cream on a cloth diapered baby.

Most regular creams will build up on the diaper and cause it to repel liquid (which you DON'T want)

Safe ones include:

Burt's Bees

California Baby

Angel Bottom Butter

CJ's Butter

Mother Love

Coconut Oil

There have been times where Levi was rashy and I needed to pull out the big guns.

Desetin, Butt Paste, the works.

When this happens, I simply put a liner in his diaper to protect it.

You can buy disposable liners, or what I did, was buy a bunch of fleece (can be any color) and cut it into strips to fit the diaper.

No need to sew as fleece won't fray.

And just lay it in the diaper to protect it.

Another bonus with fleece is that it helps wick away moisture from their little bottom!

What about wipes?

We use cloth wipes mostly.

Many people still use disposable wipes.

For us?

We are already doing the laundry, it's easier to clean with, so why not?

We got some BumGenius flannel wipes from Buy Buy Baby and have also sewn our own.

(You can find many on Etsy or sew your own!)

I have a little squirt bottle of water I squirt on his booty, then wipe him clean.

So, what all do I need to cloth diaper?

18-24 diapers

36-48 inserts of choice (most diapers include at least 1 insert with it)

Diaper pail 

Diaper pail liner

Travel wet bag

Diaper-safe cream

Diaper sprayer (optional)

Cloth wipes (optional)

Fleece or disposable liners (optional)

A lot of cloth diapering is trial and error. 

What works for us, may not work for you.

Have patience and try things out.

It's a great choice for your pocket book, the environment and is simply adorable.

If you have any questions or further wisdom, please share!

2012 Rewind

2012 has been a fabulous year.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

Septemeber

October

November

December

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." -C.S. Lewis

28

I'm now 28.

Yesterday was my birthday.

It was perfect.

I don't feel 28.

Honestly? I feel about 19.

Anyways....

My birthday consisted of:

Sleeping in

Snuggling with my boys

Coffee

Shopping

Dinner date

27 was an amazing year.

Probably the best yet.

God has sure blessed me.

He has given me my perfect partner in life.

Who is incredibly hot by the way. : )

He blessed us with an amazing son....who we fall more in love with each and every minute.

We have a home that we are constantly making our own.

We each have jobs...and I'm able to be mostly home with our son.

I've been able to be creative with my sewing and even bless my family financially by it.

We have an incredibly supportive and loving church family.

We have the best family and friends we could ever dream of.

27 was fantastic and I am so excited to see what He has in store for us for Year 28.