Green Thrifty Thursday

A while back, Sparx posted about recycling/re-using her son's baby wipes. She would wash them after using them and gets at least a dozen uses out of them before throwing them away. At first, I just read it and moved on, but it stuck in my head. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try it for myself.



Reading the fine print on the wipes packaging, did you know that most wipes are partially made of cotton and/or polyester? When I think about all the wipes we have gone through with 4 kids, that's a lot of cotton being used only once and then thrown away, piling up in the landfills.



I told the husband what I wanted to do, and he was all for it. So we took an old ice cream bucket and labeled it 'DIRTY WIPES' and started throwing used wipes in there. Really poopy wipes went into the trash, but the pee-pee wipes and lightly poopy wipes went into the bucket. It was filled up in about 2 weeks!



When it was full, I took the wipes and washed them with the laundry. I separated out the wipes from the clothes and then packed them in another clean ice cream bucket.

I added about 1 1/2 cups of water with a few drops of baby wash soap mixed in. After I got it as wet as I wanted, I labeled it 'CLEAN WIPES'.
I compared the washed wipes with a new wipe and they are still thick as ever, although a little bit furry from being washed. I can definitely see myself doing this permanently and getting more uses out of each wipe. This is good for me in several ways: I am helping to keep trash out of the landfill (reduce); I am buying less wipes and saving money (re-use); I am using the same wipes several times and using an old ice cream bucket (recycle).

Thanks, Sparx, for the great idea!

At last...

...the tomatoes are ripening!! Eeeee!!! I'm so happy and my mouth is watering! My mind is going crazy with ideas on how I should eat this lovely tomato: In a sandwich? On a salad? Alone? Do I have to share it with Hubby???

I'm going to eat you my pretty, and your little friend, too! ah-hahahaha! (ok, poor wicked witch imitation, but that's what is going through my head!)

We have these lovely flowers growing outside our dining room window and it makes for a lovely view and a show of different butterflies and hummingbirds that come to feast on the nectar. I'm not sure what the name of these flowers are, but they come back on their own year after year. Anyway, this huge moth comes around a lot and looks a lot like a hummingbird so I've been calling it a 'hummingbird moth'. Lo and behold, after a little research, that's exactly what it is called! Actually, their proper name is Sphinx moths but the nickname is hummingbird moth. Turns out it is what those horrible hornworms turn into-- hummingbird moths! Ack!!
I've managed to get a pretty good picture of it in action-- they are constantly flying from flower to flower-- so here the wings look almost transparent. They are large moths, about 2 inches in length and kind of neat to watch. I've been keeping a constant watch on my tomatoes for hornworms and I haven't seen any.. so I'm hoping the moths came from someone else's garden, not mine. After last years' infestation and losing most of my tomatoes to the hornworms, I've been pretty protective of my tomatoes this year. I'm determined to preserve at least 24 quarts of tomatoes, if not more.

Gardening Limbo

I feel like I am in limbo right now. My garden is in the 'in-between' stage; that time where everything is on the verge of ripening but nothing is ripe right now. The pears are growing nicely, but it'll be a few more weeks before they're ready. The blackberries are ripe and I'm picking them, but only about 2 cups worth at a time, so it takes a few days to get enough to do anything with them. The tomatoes-- oh the tomatoes! Hundreds of green ones, and finally, a single pink one on the verge of turning red. I'm hovering and watching and as soon as it is a nice, deep, red, I'm gonna pluck it and eat it! The green peppers are growing slowly, the corn is only 2 feet high, the potatoes are growing...

My hands are itchy to can and preserve stuff, but there's nothing to be done right now. Peach season is in full swing, but after checking my stores in the basement, I see that I still have plenty of canned peach halves and peach jam. I don't want to add more peach items if I still have a lot left from before. I just found a recipe that I tried last week that uses about 1/2 a cup of peach jam and it was SO good! It made 13 muffins and it barely lasted 24 hours. I'll be posting more about that the next time I make a batch. They got eaten up before I remembered to take a picture of them.

The tomatoes are looking like they will all ripen around the same time, so I'm gearing up for making salsa, tomato relish and sauces along with whole canned tomatoes.

I made the dumb decision not to plant any cucumbers because I wasn't going to make any pickles or relishes this year. I have several cases of both in the basement and I don't eat pickles and relish-- I made them for my husband and family. But now I am wishing I went ahead and planted at least 2 or 3 cukes, because I keep sending Hubby to the farm stand for cukes to put in the salads. I won't be making that mistake again!

I am looking forward to when the pears are ready. Last year, we had a late frost that killed all but 2 pears on the 2 trees we have. I was so disappointed! I have been eating the pear butter I made sparingly and have only 2 precious jars left of it. I am happy that the pear trees have plenty of pears this year and I hope to make at least 2 or 3 batches of pear butter. If I can keep the girls away from the pears and they don't eat them all up before I get to them!

For now, all I can do is get the jars washed and ready. Make sure I have everything needed to make this or that. Stock up on vinegar for the relishes, sugar and pectin for the jams, etc.. This is canning country and I have since learned to stock up on canning items. It isn't unusual to see the sugar shelves at the store empty and the spices needed to make pickles and relishes sold out. Sometimes I have to ask my mom to pick up certain canning spices I need, because where she is, in the city, almost no one cans, or at least not enough to sell out.

In the meantime, I am enjoying this 'in-between' time and using it to play with the kids, weed the gardens, nurse the baby and looking for new recipes. Speaking of recipes-- Do any of you have a good brownie recipe? We try to avoid buying the mixes at the store and prefer to make things from scratch, but none of the brownie recipes I've made have that nice flaky top that the mixes have. They are either cake-like or all come with frosting or toppings. I would like to find a plain and simple recipe that gives a flaky top. I'd really appreciate any recipes you can pass on to me!

Count Your Blessings

Just when you think you have it rough, when you think you are down to your last dollar or you've eaten your last scrap of food, or you're feeling sorry for yourself and you're moanin' and groanin' about life, along comes someone who has it far worse than you, and still manages to smile and laugh and enjoy life.

I crossed paths with an old acquaintance today, someone I hadn't seen in over 10 years. A lovely girl who has fallen onto hard times and has found herself in the hands of bad luck more times than I can count. Abusive relationships, drugs, health woes and more health woes. She has cleaned up and straightened up her life, but the damage has been done. She faces permanent blindness in a few years and has already had her driver's license taken away which equates into her independence being taken away.

She is traveling now, taking in all the sights and faces of old friends before she cannot see them any more. She asked me if I could show her around the property, saying she likes the trees and nature. She asked me to describe the scent of pine, because she has no sense of smell. When the sun hit her face, she said she likes the feel of the sun, the warmth on her skin. She knows that's one thing she will still have after she loses her sight-- the warmth of the sun.

She cannot hear, and said the one thing she wishes, is to be able to hear the voices of her children. She is so proud of her kids and told me that they accept her the way she is, that they love her as she is. I know it will be hard for her to not be able to see their faces and only use her hands to know them.

She has learned to accept herself as she is, though she is self-conscious of her "flaws". Once you get to know her, those flaws fade into the background and all you see is her wonderful, bubbly personality. You can't help but like her and want to keep the conversation flowing.

My problems seem so small compared to hers. I have my family. We have our health. We own our home. We can see and smell and drive our cars. There is no abuse here. My childhood is not one of pain or suffering. I can hug and kiss my children good night, every night. I'm counting my blessings and saying my prayers. I am thankful and grateful for what I have and I know there are reasons beyond my understanding for what I dont have.

I wish her all the best in her life and I hope her health will improve. I hope that she can see the love she has given to her friends and family has multiplied tenfold and that she is a beautiful person, inside and out. I hope that she stays full of hope for herself and her life, always.

Growth Spurt, Right?

When I look at this picture...
I marvel at the size of my two babies. Before I came home with Baby, Youngest was my baby. She was my 'mini me' and she stuck to me like glue. Youngest followed me around the house, always wanted to " 'elp me" and wanted me to put her to bed or change her diaper. I would pick her up and swing her and kiss her and eat her up.

Then Baby came home and all of a sudden, Youngest turned into a big girl! Whoa! Did she grow 28 inches since I was in the hospital? Where did my little baby girl go? She gained 30 pounds since I was gone, didn't she? She got heavy all of a sudden and my aching back (which is still a little sore) can't pick her up and swing her like I used to. She had a growth spurt while I was gone, didn't she? I mean, I swear when I left, she was wearing size 2T/3T and now, the 2Ts seem awfully tight and 4Ts are looking perfect on her. She even sneaks into Middle's drawers and steals her clothing! Middle complains until I point out that she does the same thing to Oldest!

I look at that picture and my baby girl looks like a giant next to that tiny baby boy.

Funny how a little baby can change your perspective on things.

Baby Magic

I have ventured out 3 times with the baby and the rest of the family to the stores. Every time we go out, I pop the baby out of the car seat, and nurse him under a blanket while we shop. And every time, I get stopped by a fellow shopper that has spied tiny baby feet peeking out from under the blanket.


I realize that newborns are a fascination with people. How long do those tiny baby feet stay so tiny? It won't be long before that tiny baby becomes a crawling, walking, running toddler. But I do wish that people would admire from afar. I don't know who you are and I really don't want strange people reaching out to touch my baby's feet or to try and pull the blanket off. I wrote about this happening before, with my other children.

Today, while in line to pay at the food store, the lady behind me asked me if she could touch his feet. Why? What would you get out of touching his feet? Do you really need to touch them? Can't you just look at them and keep your hands to yourself? I have never felt compelled to touch a strangers' kid. I might smile or wave if the kid is looking at me, but usually I keep my hands to myself. I wish people would do the same for my kids.

I think, as much as I want to go along, I'll be sending Hubby off to the stores and staying home with the kids. It is easier, and less stressful on all of us, to have one of us go alone than to bring the whole family to the store. When we go to the big, super Wal-mart, it is so big that by the time we get near to the end of the shopping, the girls have had enough. They are getting tired and we all know what happens to kids when they're tired-- they get cranky and go deaf. Then when the kids are cranky, the parents get cranky.

We were maybe 6 or 7 aisles away from the end of the shopping trip, and the girls were not listening very well anymore. They were running up and down the aisles and keeping an eye on 3 little ones while shopping is not very fun. Hubby gets cranky quicker than I do in the stores, so I am trying to rush things along and when I rush, I usually forget a thing (or 5) on my list. Right in the middle of this, an older lady spotted the baby on my shoulder and stepped in my path, stopped me and put her hand on his head and back. She started trying to guess how old he was and saying she knew these things about babies and blah blah blah. I'm not a rude person. I don't like confrontations. I'm trying to be polite and backing up, but there's a wall of food behind me so there's no where to go. Meanwhile, I have Hubby behind me who is getting worked up with the girls and this lady just doesn't get it. After I told her I had to go, we all rushed past and into the next aisle. Of course, I didn't get what was on my list in the previous aisle because of our rushing away.

Yes, I think I'll just stay home, away from the stores for awhile, at least until the baby is older and his tiny baby feet don't peek out from under a blanket and entrance strangers.

Stitch Itch

I've had an itch to stitch lately, but with a baby that I need to nurse every so often and 3 little girls that also need my attention, it's hard to carve out some sewing time for me.

I finally stole some time today to work on the sewing machine on a quickie little project I've had awhile. Some time ago, I found some cute strawberry fabric with the elastic at the top, on clearance and I knew that it would make a great summer dress for the girls. I whipped these up in about 30 minutes (would have been quicker if I didn't keep getting interrupted with "Are you done yet, mama? Now are you done? Is it ready?") and the girls have been wearing them ever since.

I used some cute ribbon for the shoulder straps and oldest wanted her dress to be strapless, but she compromised and accepted straps that tie behind her neck, halter style.

I've got my sewing fix and the girls get dresses out of the deal. I'm happy, they're happy, we're all happy! Except baby, who started crying the last 10 minutes of my sewing and Hubby had to soothe and comfort him until I finished. Thanks Hubby! :o)