Silas Is Sick

It feels like once every two months or so my son has mocos (Spanish for boogies) and seems to feel like crud. Since we can’t chat about his symptoms quite yet, I’m never really sure what to do and it makes me feel horrible. I don’t know if he aches, just has a runny nose, has a sore throat, or what. Sometimes he wants to sleep it off, sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes he’s just glassy eyed and quiet. After his 15-month appointment at the pediatrician’s office, I’m pretty sure that’s where he got some sort of cold something that involves cranky, tired, and mocos.

Today’s a sleepy, glassy-eyed and quiet day. He’s taken two naps and the first one was three hours long (not normal). We’ve already gone through one pack of Boogie Wipes (yesterday and today) and he, again, hates having his nose squeezed. I wish he would learn to blow his nose. Yesterday I showed him how to and he wouldn’t do it, but then three minutes later he was wandering around the house blowing snot out his nose. Perfect. We use our electric nose sucker and that seems to help as long as he’s participating (and not running away from the sucker). You know he’s done when the arms go up and the face goes as far away from you as possible. *Sigh* Child.

This stinks. Other than these things, I feel as if I have nothing else available to me except the occasional baby fever reducer. But if you’ve got a little one or are expecting a little one soon, these are the things I’ve found the most useful when mocos strike.


FYI **The products described in this story are things we have found help us when Silas is sick, and I am in no way compensated for using them or describing them here.**

Let's Get Social - Sunday Link Up!

Welcome to those of you visiting from the "Let's Get Social" Sunday. Please be sure to leave a comment if you follow us so that we may follow you back. Also, be sure to "like" our Facebook page (and leave a comment there as well) and enter the giveaway that ends Monday (8/1)! Thanks for your support.

Thanks Oikology!

Thanks to Carrie at Oikology for helping me figure out how the heck to create my own button for the blog. She gave great and CLEAR instructions for how to do it and voila! It's done!

Blog Hop Friday

Welcome all you blog hoppers! Thanks for coming by, I really appreciate your support. Be sure to leave a comment and I will follow you back! Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and enter the contest that ends Monday for "green" grocery bags (scroll down, on the right for the link).

My Little Boy Is 15 Months Today

Silas is 15 months today. It’s crazy how much he has changed in the last 15 months. We went from a newborn who slept all the time to a roller to a crawler to a walker to a toddler. Obviously this is how the whole process goes, but it’s amazing to think of the things that he can do now.

- He can walk well and even runs pretty well (his own version of running without bending his knees yet). We practice running around the house by playing Chase Me until he gets tired.

- Silas has learned to play well with the puppies. He’ll play Tug-O-War with Jasmine and he and Ivy have seemed to make peace, at least some times. He and Jasmine play chase but Ivy will still growl at him once in a while. But he has learned to pet Ivy’s belly which she appreciates.

- He’s moved into the “toddler throws a tantrum” stage of life and telling him “No” actually can be pretty entertaining (although we don’t do it just for fun). You say “No,” and this child gets on his hands and knees and (safely) gets himself flat on the floor and turns into a starfish, screaming.

- Words words words. There are lots of them. “Dipe” (diaper), “I-ee” (Ivy), “Jaja” (Jasmine), “Mo” (more), “bahh" (ball), “mine,” “soo” (shoe), “go” (usually with an exclamation to the dogs).

- He likes to watch Olivia the Pig on Nick Jr. He’ll even dance to the show’s song.

- He loves to dance in general. Any music with a beat he’ll bop to, and he’ll even bob his head in the car. If you don’t have any music on in the car he’ll bob his head until you put some music on.

- We’ve moved from two naps a day to just one at daycare. There’s no more evening napping which is ok because he now goes to bed earlier – dinner at 7, bath at 7:30, and bed at 8:15 (whereas previously it was bed at 9:30 or later).

- “Boo” is one of his favorite games – he hides somewhere and then I ask, “Where’s Silas?” and he slowly comes out and has this HUGE grin and cries, “Ooh!”

- Who pees in his closet? My kid. Twice already. And once in the doorway to his room. We need to get a lot faster at diapering him after his bath.

- This fruitcake is a climber. Already. He can get himself onto the couch, and even gets up on the outside coffee table (but knows not to try to get down by stepping, he waits for you to come over and catches a ride down). And he’s a daredevil. He’ll try climbing over the couch and stop himself before he gets too far.

- He loves to eat. My god he loves to eat. And he’ll eat almost anything you put in front of him. Raviolis and Chic-fil-A nuggets are some of his favorites right now. Ravioli face (who am I kidding, body) is hilarious and requires a quick bath.

- Mr. Bubble is his favorite bath time friend. Bubbles are very helpful when it’s ravioli time.

- Forward rolls. Headstands. We can do them all.

And this is just a sampling of what he can do. Crazy little boy. I love him so.

"Be Green Rather Than Go Green" - Green Child Magazine Article

If you haven't seen it yet, check out my article in Green Child Magazine this month - see page 65 (and be sure to check out the rest of the issue for "green" nutrition for your kiddos and some fantastic pictures of "green" kiddos.

GroVia All In One (AIO) One Size (OS) Review

I’m a sucker for trim diapers. Bulk is definitely one thing that I dislike about cloth diapering because it makes dressing (or at least pant/short dressing) more difficult (usually we size up). Thus when I hear a diaper is trim, I think, “Well, I want to try that!” GroVia OS AIOs are definitely trim – they have an outer shell, a sewn in liner, and a snap in doubler, and that’s it. It’s not a pocket, so there’s no stuffing required, the liner simply lays in to the cover (and the doubler snaps on that). The snap down rise (two levels) allow these to be OS, and the snaps on the wings are actually hidden (they don’t snap on the outside of the diaper, they snap on the inside of the cover). These also come in cute prints, which is a plus! So let’s talk about some benefits and drawbacks of the GroVia OS AIO.

Benefits:
- Super trim
- No liner to lose in the wash
- Easy to use
- Can last from birth to potty training (about 35 pounds)

Drawbacks:
- Short rise even on open setting – my son has a 20-inch rise (from belly button to top of the butt) and he can no longer wear these (insert sad face here)
- They seem to take a while to get to full capacity in terms of absorption (even after 5 washings they still leaked sometimes)
- No exterior leg gussets to catch leaks – the elastic on the cover is it, there’s no other barrier

Would I suggest these to parents? For sure. Just make sure that your child’s rise is compatible with them. It makes me sad that this is the second one we’ve tried (we tried a sized one when they were called something else as well) and this is the second one I maybe got 5 uses out of. I would definitely suggest them for smaller babes and for younger babes, but I’m not sure how much use older children (close to the 35 pound mark) would get out of them.

*This review is solely my view and experience with this product, a product that I purchased. I was not paid to complete this review, and simply wanted to give my unbiased opinion of the utility of this diaper for other parents*

"They Do The Hop - The Monster Hop"

What's a blog hop you might ask? Well, it's a group of folks with a blog who link up and visit each other's pages (and allow you, our lovely readers, to do so too). If you look to the right, you'll see two buttons for blog hops - feel free to click and be taken to the next dimension err...blog.

If you're here from a hop or stalk, be sure to comment and say "Hey!" Thanks for stopping. I really appreciate it. If you like what you see, follow us via Google Friend Connect and on Facebook (both buttons on the right). Be sure to view the Current Giveaways too!

I Flat You – Attempting Flat Diapers Just Like Yo’ Momma (#1)

Before I ramble, I have to say that I love cloth diapering. And it’s addictive. For me, being someone who likes to learn “stuff,” I am constantly on the lookout for new diapers, new covers for the diapers, new things to try, new new new. I want to learn everything there is to know or everything I have the time and the money to learn. We’ve done pocket diapers, we’ve done fitted diapers, and we’ve used some prefolds with covers, so I decided, “Heck, let’s try flats.”

Flats are the diapers everyone thinks of when they think “cloth diapers.” Large squares of fabric are used to cover your baby’s bum, and they’re secured with pins (or a Snappi which have little teeth to dig into the fabric and hold it all together). If you want it to be waterproof, you have to cover the flat with a waterproof cover. If you look around online you can find an amazing number of different types of folds to try with flats, and so I decided I wanted to try. I got some birdseye cotton 27x27 flats, a couple of Snappis, and my Dirty Diaper Laundry (DDL) iPhone app (they have videos of “how tos”), and I prepped the flats. They came out looking like they may fit one of Silas’ butt cheeks. For real. So I found a fold (kite fold) that would fit him even with those. I also found a fold that I could use for larger squares (the origami fold) and would put the most fabric where it needed to be for my super soaker. Then I ordered some hand crafted flats from Crafted by Cassie and she sent me some amazing tye-dyed flats made of upcycled jersey bedsheets (so they’re stretchy too). Rock on.

One Sunday I decide, “We’re going to try flats today.” Silas agreed, so after the first diaper change we were on. We used a large receiving blanket (yes, you can use them in this capacity) in the Origami fold and a Gen-Y Classic cover, and that worked well except I am not Snappi proficient and the diaper kind of drooped in the front (thank goodness for waterproofing). Next we did the birdseye cotton with the kite fold, and again, Snappi was not my friend. I didn’t spread it out far enough; I understand that now. Also it seemed like Silas peed so much that the entire 27x27 was wet, all the way up to the cover even in the back. I felt badly for him. Later in the day we tried the diaperbag fold and even used a prefold in the “bikini fold” that a CDing friend had told me about. All worked well. All could be done again (and I could spread the Snappi out). I think that if I did the birdseye cotton again I would put in a doubler in the wet zone so that the wetness didn’t spread to his entire bum.

I think we’ll try it again this weekend. I have a better idea after some research of Snappi placement, and I have better ideas of what works and what doesn’t for my heavy wetter. I also have Cassie’s awesome looking tye-dyed flats to work with and I’m looking forward to seeing how those work out.

If you want to try – I suggest getting a bunch of waterproof diaper covers (I’m partial to Gen-Y), some flats (Crafted by Cassie, Orange Diaper Company, and Zabi Baby have been suggested to me), some Snappis, and some video tutorials from Dirty Diaper Laundry. Learn how to prep them (you can boil rather than wash and dry numerous times like other diapers), and take off! I’ll keep you updated about how me and Snappi are getting along…

**FYI - The retailers I described here were chosen by me freely - I was not paid to "advertise" for them but simply believe that their products are awesome and should be shared.**

New Facebook Only Feature - Daily Rules of Life With a Toddler

A new feature is going up on the Facebook page for the blog - a daily dose of "Rules of Life With a Toddler." While sometimes funny, sometimes darling, and sometimes sad, these rules will definitely keep you entertained and help you see that "it's not just you." Make sure you're a Facebook "liker" in order to see these daily gems. If you don't follow the blog on Facebook, use the button on the right to "like" the FB page.

Me, the Guest Blogger Over at Rockin' Green!

If you cloth diaper (CD) or use natural laundry products, check out Rockin' Green Cloth Diaper Detergent . Today they posted my guest blog post about going back to work when your babes are in cloth - there are some suggestions for how to find a daycare and how to do some community education about cloth diapering. Show RnG some love!

My Littlest Best Friend’s Back – Kiddos Mirror Your Emotions

For eight days in June (June 8-16) I went to Kansas City for work. Before I left, Silas was my super best friend. He laughed at my silliness, he followed me around, and even called out to me sometimes. We always had a good time and I got lots of hugs and snuggles (except when he was teething but that’s a different story).

When I went to KC, I called the first night and Mike put me on speakerphone. Silas cried because Momma was in the phone. The second night he cried again. The third night he went to the front door when he heard my voice, and THEN he cried. So by day 4 we quit doing speakerphone because it upset him and he didn’t understand what was going on. Then I started worrying (ok, I was worried from day 1 that he’d be pissed at me when I got home). When I got home on a Thursday, Mike and Silas picked me up from the airport. I got in the car, Silas looked at me, and looked out the window. I was super excited to see him. I got an, “Oh, it’s you, ho hum” response. I just about cried on the spot.

For the next few days he cried when I left him at daycare in the mornings and he tried to follow me out the door. In the afternoons he ran to me when he saw me, hugged my legs, then went on his way playing again. If I picked him up, he’d scream and throw himself on the floor if I put him back down. At home if I asked for a hug or a kiss or a cuddle at night, he would ignore me, not look me in the eye, and go find Daddy. Ouch. Even as educated as I am about this stuff, I was still worried that I had hurt our relationship, and I was worried.

Apparently this worry showed on my face, and he was seeing it and mirroring what he saw in me back at me. So if I approached him tentatively, then he did the same (or moved away). If I half smiled or wasn’t silly momma (because silly momma was trying to figure out how to get her best friend back), then he didn’t grin big at me or play silly with me at dinner.

So after thinking about this for a while, I quit. I decided he would be fine with me at some point, I just had to be fun and funny and consistent and we’d be best friends again. So when I was with him I tried to push all the stress of work and everything else out of my head and just enjoy my time with him. I sat with him and taught him how to pet the puppies (which he is very good at now – “Soft, that’s right, soft”). I helped him put on his shoes by sitting him in front of me and asking him, “Does this shoe go on this foot? No way! Silly! Do we eat it? No way!” Just small silly stuff. I started making him give me a bite of his dinner (and he feeds it to me). Now he grins and shoves a piece at me while he’s eating (even if I just had one).

Last night Daddy came in and Silas offered him a piece of fruit (with chicken with BBQ sauce attached). Mike scrunched up his nose and said, “No, thank you.” Silas’ face turned inside out and he CRIED like you would not believe. He reached for me and gave me a hug (and patted me on the back) from his seat a few times, but even when Daddy came back in to the kitchen he still cried. When he got down from his seat he followed me around or yelled, “Mama?” from wherever he was to find me.

Apparently my son is sensitive to you not taking his gifts? And I’m pretty sure that we’re back to being BFFs. Yesterday he came and sat on my lap while I was sitting on the floor. He can also crawl up on the couch, and crawled up on the couch and got himself into my lap on the couch, head back on my shoulder. He was napping as I wrote this, but he woke up and I just heard, “Mama? All done!”

I have to go. My BFFs calling. I have to get all the best friend time I can before he’s an adolescent and thinks I’m not cool or something.

First Giveaway – Your Reusable Bags

After reaching 50 Facebook “likes” for the blog’s page, I would like to thank you for hanging out with us. And since it’s me, I’ll thank you in an ecofriendly sort of way!

For this giveaway we have four reuseable shopping bags – two artsy ones and two nature-y ones.

How do you enter? Well, let me tell you…

1. Make sure you’ve “liked” us on Facebook.

2. Fill out the entry form.

3. A winner will be chosen randomly on August 1st, so that gives you a whole two weeks to enter. The winner will be emailed for their shipping information once the giveaway ends.

4. Shop eco-friendly!

Thanks for all your support you guys.
Love,
Liz

Thirsties Fitteds – New vs. Old

Thirsties has recently updated their fitted diapering options – previously called the Thirsties Fab Fitted, it is now called the Thirsties Duo Fab Fitted. Besides the name change, there have been other changes as well. The previous Fab Fitted came in four sizes – extra small (6-12 lbs), small (12-18 lbs), medium (18-28 lbs), and large (28-40 lbs). The new Duo Fab Fitted comes in two sizes with snap-down rises – small (6-18 lbs) and large (18-40 lbs). The Duo also comes with either snaps or Aplix closures whereas the older version only had Aplix.

Let’s take a look at a side-by-side comparison. Since I’ve used both, I can tell you the benefits and drawbacks of each as well. On the left is a large Fab Fitted (color: Melon) and on the right is a large Duo (color: Meadow).

The older version Fab Fitted (left) is longer, even though they’re both supposed to fit up to 40 lbs. The older version is a AIO (all in one) diaper, while the Duo has an opening so that more layers can be added for extra absorption. Both require a waterproof cover to be waterproof. There is also a price difference – the older version is about $20 while the newer one retails on Amazon.com for $17. It seems as if Thirsties is trying to streamline their product line while also decreasing the overall/lifetime price of cloth diapering, which is fantastic.

But for those of us with babes with long rises, the new Duo size large just isn’t long enough. My son barely fits in the Duo while the Fab Fitted fits him well and is a great naptime or nighttime diaper (and you can simply layer additional layers on top of the diaper before closing it, so the pocket on the Duo really isn’t necessary for us).

For babies with shorter rises, I think that the snaps or Aplix option of the new Duo is awesome, and I definitely suggest it for folks who can fit their little ones into it. But for us we’re going to have to try to find some Fab Fitteds before retailers run out and replace them only with the Duo.

It’s Very Quiet Here…Shh…

The dishwasher is humming.

The washer is washing diapers.

The child is asleep.

Mike is lying in bed playing with his iPhone.

The dogs are relaxing on the couch.

And I finally have some quiet. This past week has been rather crazy. I’ve been teaching two online courses this summer, and on Monday I added in two face-to-face courses (2 hours each with a 20 minute break in between). I started the dissertation portion of my Ph.D. program Monday and I don’t think I’ve done anything differently since then – I haven’t had a free minute really. Silas has been working on new teeth, and refuses to nap after we get home around 4:45 p.m. from daycare/work and then he’s a crank ass at bath time and bed time (but he’ll go directly to sleep, so that’s good). Mike’s taking a new class as well (Weight Training 2) and has already injured himself (he did the same thing the first day of Weight Training 1 if I remember correctly).

So by the end of a day of waking up at 6:15, taking the Monkin to daycare, doing office hours, teaching four hours straight, doing more office hours, and then picking up the Monkin and going home, I am dead tired. And he’s been screeching. All week. I want to say, “Buddy, I know your teeth hurt. I know they do. And I do everything I can to help. But just STOP SCREECHING.” I keep reminding myself that it will pass and I’ll have my lovey little boy back. It’s a phase. This whole thing (work, Mike’s classes, teeth, dissertation), they are all phases and they all shall pass. At some point.

Sooner rather than later please.

But I have done everything that needs to be done around the house – dishes, laundry, kitchen, it’s all ready for tomorrow. And I’d really rather not think about all the things I have to do like grade my online classes or prepare syllabi for the fall (especially for the new statistics class I may be teaching if enough students sign up for it). I’d really rather just go to bed to be honest. A glass of wine doesn’t even sound enticing. If that’s not tired, I don’t know what is.

But the not wanting wine thing, that’s a phase too. It’ll pass.

So go do something productive. And then do something relaxing. And then go to bed (if you can).

We’re Getting There…Where Are We Going?

Slowly but surely I’ve been moving the blog into the realm of social media. First a Twitter account, and now a Facebook fan page. All this social networking has made me contemplate where exactly all of this is going, and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to maintain the “mission statement” of the blog as I wrote originally. Parenting. Environmentalism. Balancing life and work. These are still our main topics. And we’ll keep on keeping-on.

What’s next? I figure a giveaway is in order since I personally love blog giveaways (especially winning them). Here’s the plan – once we hit 50 fans on the Facebook page, we’ll do an eco-home giveaway. The first one? Reusable shopping bags. Because everyone can use those!

So if you’re a fan via Google Friend Connect (GFC), make sure to become a Facebook fan as well in order to help us get to our first goal (and to be able to enter into the contest!).

Disturbed. (Not the Band).

Sometimes I feel like I live in a bubble because my brain has so many things going on that I can’t pay attention to every detail that passes by. I used to be able to, but then I started my Ph.D. program, moved, had a kid, got foreclosed on (and worried about money), etc., and yeah, my brain’s a little shot to you-know-what right now. So sometimes things stick. Sometimes they do the proverbial wash – in one ear and out the other. Or as psychologists talk about, lack of concentration on stimuli leads to lack of storage. My husband talks a lot about different things (this morning was…oh what was it…oops lack of storage), so the next time he asks me if I remember him saying something I’ll have to tell him, “Lack of storage, sorry.”

But I do remember one thing he was talking about a week or so back. Some guy in NY, he said, lit his tap water on fire. Don’t ask me how or why (why would you have a lighter near your water unless you were looking for it to light on fire), but his tap water literally lit up. Mike (my husband) didn’t know why but he was sure it was due to chemicals in the water, which makes sense.

Now I’ve been trying (TRYING) to keep up with life outside this house (and my office) this summer because I have a little more time, and I’ve been blogging (as you see) and reading a lot of other blogs. A week or so ago Diane at Big Green Purse wrote about “fracking” and I read her post and thought, “WTF is fracking?” My educated brain said that from the looks of the word it had something to do with fracturing land perhaps. After that, I got nothing.

Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing. I won’t go into the details of how it works because you can learn more from Josh Fox’s movie “Gasland.” But what I will tell you is this – companies dig wells and pump large amounts of water, sand, and chemicals into the well. This creates pressure which fractures the Earth, sending the oil and natural gas up into the well. Sounds kosher so far (well, I guess). But then those chemicals end up seeping into other areas, such as, oh, the water table and into wells. That water flows to where? Eventually, your house (and that guy who lit his water on fire, his house too obviously). It waters the plants that animals eat (that eventually become your food). Hell, it even waters your produce. *Awesome* <<-- sarcasm (I hope you got that). So what chemicals are involved you ask? Good question. It’s a secret (shh). No really. According to Barry Estabrook, the chemicals used are considered a trade secret. Really? But animals who have drank contaminated water have foamed, bled at the mouth, and died. So there’s something more than, oh, sodium going on in that water. Are you pissed yet? You should be. I am.

Over 35 states allow fracking while certain countries including France are talking about banning it or have banned it according to Theodora Filis. The Environmental Protection Agency is now looking into certain counties in the US and some of the practices, and will include a pre-test/post-test design of sorts to study the environment before and after fracking occurs in an area, according to The Huffington Post. Texas recently became the first state to require (starting in 2012) companies to disclose the chemicals used in fracking (according to The Huffington Post), and hopefully this will start a trend in other states. While it’s not stopping the entire process, at least it’s a step (right? Kind of?). States like NY are currently battling over this issue, and I encourage anyone who lives in a state that practices fracking to petition their leaders against it.

What do I see here? I see money. I don’t see people and their welfare. Humans, animals, ecology, the Earth, I don’t see those things as being important in many of these decisions. I see money (and natural gas and oil, hence money). I am well aware that our current economy and ways of life need these things. But continuing this behavior, even though we know it’s detrimental to animals, the Earth, and humans, indicates to me that money and resources have gained the stronghold in many decisions, and that disturbs me.

Well, I’m off to try to light my water on fire. Got my fire-resistant gear on and fire-extinguishers at the ready. Wish me luck.

This is ridiculous.

A Fun Fourth

This past weekend we spent Friday through Monday with Mike’s Mom, step-father, sister (Missy, my BFF)

and her husband Jerry, brother (CJ) and his fiancé, Christina, along with Missy and Jerry’s daughters Ember (19 months) and Brinley (4 months) and CJ and Christina’s son Logan (18 months). Plus of course Silas, our 14 month old. As you can tell, it got kind of crazy.

On Saturday Mike’s mom Bettie had offered to take care of all four grandkids so the “adults” could go out. We didn’t know what to do (and didn’t know what to think of being called “the adults”), so we went to Chili’s for dinner and ended up being “those loud people” in the back corner. We had a lot of fun though, and then we played pool for a bit until 11. Mom texted us that all of the kids had fallen asleep. When we got home Logan and Emmie were asleep in the “big kid bed” (the bed Mike and I sleep in) while Silas was sleeping in his Pack N Play.

Mom said they were up for at least an hour giggling and tickling each other (well the bigger kids were) until they passed out from exhaustion. I’m betting Silas was standing in the PNP watching them and wishing he could play. Once he learns to be able to get off the bed safely, he’ll be up there playing.

Sunday the “boys” pulled and repaired a well while Missy, Christina, and I hung with the kids by the pool.

Silas had his first ice pop while Ember was a pro.

Silas practiced stairs with Grandma’s suggestions of holding on to the railing.

The boys ran around in their diapers until we threw them all in the pool (Logan still with his clothes on).

We finished the afternoon with some watermelon.

The kids had a blast and we got to relax and hang out for a bit.

While we didn’t get to stay to see the fireworks (they were after dark and we needed to start the 2.5 hour drive back to San Antonio before then), hopefully we’ll get to see them next year and Silas will be able to enjoy them. We did show the kids some sparklers and they enjoyed that. The most important part, for me, was the fact that the kids got to play together. They had a fantastic time. All of the “adults” said they wished we all lived closer so that we could spend more time with the little ones together. Watching the kiddos hang out and have fun was definitely better than any fireworks.

Organic Food Poll Closed

66% of respondents last week said they look specifically for organic foods but can’t find everything they need in organics. 33% said food’s food whether it’s organic or not.

At our house we are the “I look specifically for organic foods but can’t find everything we need in organics” type. My husband would love to be able to grow all of our own vegetables at least, but we have a hard time doing that with the soil in San Antonio. One of my goals for the summer is to get him a composter (the round bucket that you can rotate) which would help with the soil problem.

I think another difficulty with buying all organic is that since the food isn’t treated with chemicals, it doesn’t last as long. I don’t know about everyone else, but I hate to grocery shop (and farmer’s markets usually are Fridays here when I’m working). So when I do shop, I try to buy for the week (or longer if I could). If I get organic fruits and veggies, a lot of them end up going bad before they get eaten because they don’t last as long as the other stuff. So it’s hard, and I think it’s especially hard for some folks because the organic stuff is a lot more expensive – thus it doesn’t last as long and it has a higher cost. I can see why people wouldn’t always buy organic.

I do wish that more people would grow their own produce though. What do you think holds people back from doing that?

Feed Your Stash Friday?!

Diaper Junction does a giveaway each week starting on Friday where you can win diapers to feed your cloth diapering stash. It's called Feed Your Stash Friday (or FYSF). This week they're giving away a Flip system (2 covers and 6 inserts). Rules for entering are here. I don't know about you, but I'd love to win some free fluff and try a new diaper out. Plus the Flip covers can be used as covers over other things (such as flats which I'm trying out soon), so winning would definitely be useful.