Field Trip to Havana

On Friday last week, I met my friend Lindsey and her son Gabriel, in Havana for lunch and window shopping. Not real shopping, because now that we are both stay at home mama's, we are broke as a joke.  We had so much fun, I just had to share.

Here are the babes, refusing to sit still and smile for the camera.  Instead, Penelope is flashing her belly rolls to Gabriel.  

 











Then she tried to rip off his nose.














But even after all that, Gabriel still gave her a kiss. Such a sweet boy.

This is where we had lunch and then behind it is where I scored the mother of all fabric deals...I got all these sample squares for $10!! I know, I know, I said I was broke and we are but...they were .50 cents each and each one had three fabric squares, double sided!!  I can't wait to see what they will be made into.

Friday Link Love 8.6.10

I made refrigerator pickles this week.  Penelope is ga-ga for pickles and cukes are in season still, so I bought a bunch and whipped them up into pickles.  It was crazy easy.  And they are crazy yummy. I actually hate pickles but forced myself to taste them before feeding them to my child (I am a good parent, right?) and was totally surprised that I liked my homemade version. 

Lactivist Intactivist posted this video on her Facebook page.  It's a newborn latch technique I had never seen, very interesting!!

This post really got me thinking about my return to fertility.  It hasn't happened yet, I am going on 18 months of no period now.  I was dreading it, until I read her post and changed my attitude. My period's return will be a chance for me to have a belated menarch celebration...the one I never got as a young girl.   Not sure what I will do, but I will try to not meet my period with dread and instead, see it as a cause for celebration!
And on that note, did anyone see Mothering Magazine's article a few months ago about throwing celebratory parties and creating a rite of passage for young girls when they get their first period?  It was so good!  I can't wait till Penelope is that age and I can do something really special for her.  I love having a daughter.

And lastly, Penelope is still to young to play with playdough, but when she gets old enough I plan on making it from scratch. I found this recipe online this week.

Have a great weekend!

Homemade Diaper Wipe Spray

I am having some technical difficulties today, so the weekly yoga pose post is gonna have to wait...so instead, here is a simple tutorial on how to make your own diaper spray!

We have been using this recipe since Miss P was a newborn. While pregnant, I bought one package of 12 hemp wipes. After a few days, I realized I was gonna need more and ordered two more packages. By that time, Bum Genius stopped making the hemp wipes and I bought their flannel ones. I liked the hemp ones better, but the flannel ones still work great.  Using cloth wipes is not as easy as disposable wipes, but just like using cloth diapers, its worth the extra time. Not only are you reducing waste and keeping nasty chemicals away from your child, you are saving money!

This picture is of most of the ingredients I use. I say most, because in my foggy mommy haze, that is a constant these days, I forgot to include the organic baby wash we use in the picture.
Soooo, you will need a spray bottle (I got mine at Target, but you can find them lots of places), lavender and tea tree essential oil, baby wash soap (we use California Baby-see the link below) and water.

First, fill the spray bottle up with water (mine holds about 1 cup of water). If you do it after you put the soap in, its no big deal,  it will just foam over and take longer to fill up properly. Then put in some soap. The recipe originally called for 1 tablespoon of soap, but I probably use 1 teaspoon and its plenty.

Then I put in several drops of tea tree oil (about 10) and lavender (about 5). The original recipe called for less drops, but I am southern and I like to exaggerate. This is why I am not a good baker. If the recipe calls for a teaspoon of cinnamon, I think, well if a teaspoon would be good, then a tablespoon would be GREAT!

Tea Tree oil has naturally occurring antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties. It is most commonly used in a diluted form. It can cause skin irritation even after dilution so testing for allergies or skin sensitivities is recommended before use.  I use it in my homemade all-purpose spray (tute coming soon!) as well.

Then you shake it up and viola! Homemade Diaper Wipe Spray! Ready for use!

Here are what my wipes look like (if you like my diaper pad cover, check it out-I made it!). I leave them in tidy stack near the changing table and I just spray a couple of wipes before I take off P's diaper to change. Then I throw them in the diaper hamper with the rest of diapers and wash it all at the same time. Easy Peasy.


{Full Disclosure: I am apart of Amazon's Affiliate program, so if you buy something from the link below, then I get a few pennies.  I'm serious, only a few pennies.  But every penny counts right?!}

MBL Guest Post on Code Name: Mama Blog!

Check out my post today on Code Name: Mama's blog!  Its titled Sacred Time: Nursing My Daughter to Sleep.  Its also apart of the blog, Leaky B@@b, World Breastfeeding Week Carnival, "Perspectives: Breastfeeding From Every Angle."

Cornais Family Pizza

I found this recipe in a magazine several months ago and tweaked it a bit to make it our own.   It has become a family favorite and we make it at least once a month.  And now that Penelope is trying meat, she gets to eat a little bit of everything on the pizza, except for the goats cheese.  Remember the pizza I was talking about on my first post about Once a Month Cooking? Well, this is it.

It is so yummy. And healthy. And substantial. It will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied.  And it is EASY to make!

This is a picture of all the ingredients:
-pizza dough (I buy the pre-made dough at Publix, they have a white and multi-grain and we use the multi-grain. I have also used the sprouted whole wheat pizza dough from New Leaf, but its not as good as the Publix dough),
-a pound of ground beef. I almost always use organic, grass fed beef.
-mushrooms. I started out using only one container, but they cook down so much and I like lots of veggies on my pizza, that I started using two.
- a can of chopped tomatoes, or one big tomato chopped up.
- one onion, chopped.
- a package of goat cheese. Usually I use goat cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy, but this time I just grabbed a random brand from Publix when I went to get the dough.

First you saute the onions, then add the mushrooms, till they are fully cooked and tender. Then you set the onions and mushrooms aside and brown the meat in the same pan. I flavor the meat with a meat spice mix that we bought in Miami at Norman Brothers. Once the meat is browned, you add the vegetables back in and also add the tomatoes. Mix all together. Then put on top of your pizza dough. Lastly, add the goat cheese. I just drop little spoon fulls all over the pizza. Goat cheese does not spread when cooked, so fill in all the spaces of the pizza with cheese now.  I never put enough on, so be generous!  Bake in the oven, at whatever the directions on the pizza dough say. Usually at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

And enjoy!

Mimi the Sardine Spill Mat Review

Mimi the Sardine sent me their Spill Mat to review about a month ago, when they sent the Messy Baby Bib to giveaway.  I have been using it this whole time under her high chair when Penelope eats dinner with us.  It has really worked great.  Its a large enough of a square of fabric (42"x42"), that it pretty much catches everything that falls.  I lazily, wipe it down, after dinner or pick up the big pieces (ok, Peter does this) and then I fold it up and put in the little bin that is on the bottom area of her high chair till next time.   Once a week I wash in the machine for a good cleaning.  The Spill Mat can double as a art mat for letting the tots go crazy with creative time, but I found and even better use...

Just last week we starting doing Elimination Communication with Penelope. Half of our house is tiled and wood floors but the other half is carpet, and she spends a good amount of time playing on the carpeted areas.  We have our house on the market and just got our carpets cleaned, so I was not about to let her go diaper free over the carpets.  As I brain stormed about what I could do to contain any messes, I gazed at her Spill Mat folded up underneath her high chair.  And I thought, "BINGO!!"  I can spread her Spill Mat over the carpet and let her play with her toys on that.  And it worked perfectly! If I don't catch a pee-pee, I just wipe it and spray it down with my homemade all purpose spray and keep on using it.  Once, I missed part of a poo-poo, and I wiped it down and then through it in the wash with the cloth diapers.   I let it air dry in the laundry room and it was dry within a half hour and ready for use again.

The mat is made of organic cotton with a water based acrylic coating on it.  So no nasty chemicals!  And they have the CUTEST patterns and designs to choose from.

I really, really like this product and recommend it for feeding/art time OR if you are practicing Elimination Communication!

{Full disclosure: Mimi the Sardine sent me the Spill Mat to review and in return I keep the mat.}

Sunday Inspiration

I came across this blog yesterday and loved her pictures and quotes so much I just had to share. The author of the blog is Mormon, so I am pretty sure she is quoting the Book of Mormon, but I'm not Mormon (I'm Catholic, if anyone really wanted to know), so I am not sure.  Just beautiful.

I know this is a little off from what I normally post, but oh how I hope we raise Penelope in light and truth and to love and serve one another.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday.  :)