John Deere Birthday Cake

Euan had a John Deere themed birthday for his 2nd birthday. I bought a cake topper set off eBay for $9. It's an actual John Deere tractor rolling toy, which was a bonus! Except, I later bought Euan a couple of John Deere sets and probably could have used those for the cake. Oh well.... the trees and fence added something to the cake!

I made the 4 Yolk Gold double layer cake recipe from the Joy of Cooking cookbook. Before I filled the layer pans, I divided the batter into 2 bowls and colored one with green dye and the other with yellow dye. You can see what the inside looks like here.

I was going to filled with the whipped ganache recipe, but didn't realize that it needed to be refrigerated for several hours, and the party was later that night! So I used store bought whipped chocolate icing for the filling and the "dirt".  The rest of the cake is iced with the Quick Icing recipe, dyed green for the grass and border, and yellow of the font piping. I used a little bit too much butter in the green icing. The result was a more runny icing... BOO! It still tasted delicious!

Newspaper Seed Starters

I saw this and thought it was an awesome and cheap way to start seeds. I have SO MANY newspaper from couponing and thought this was a cool way to re-use them. Although, it only used like 4 sheets :) It will break down in the garden when transplanted.

Here is the tutorial I followed: http://www.instructables.com/id/Biodegradable-Seed-Starters-From-Newspaper-anothe/

I used old cereal boxes to hold the starters and lined with saran wrap to try and keep the cardboard from getting wet. (I was being super cheap, this was a free starter!). I see some moldy spots... yikes! But just on the paper, so not too worried about it. I think I would try a waterproof container next time, just didn't have anything lying around that would fit on my window sill.

The tomatoes did great! Basil did well, as well as some of the other herbs. Some didn't germinate at all. I did have Ethan plant the seeds :) So I will do another starter set soon.

I want to try making seed blocks next time. No need for paper=no mold. I can get the plastic clam shells from my husband's work (hopefully!). Here's where to find that tutorial: http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Super-Cheap-Seed-Starters/http://www.swagbucks.com/?t=w&q=&p=1&b=1

Happy Birthay to Matthan!

In the spirit of being frugal and healthy, my husband requested a carrot cake for his birthday (hence the orange piping). Cake recipe from Joy for Cooking cookbook (my cooking sidekick), quick frosting recipe, and I finally broke down and spent $3 on a piping bag and tips. A friend of mine said ziploc bags work too. Just snip the corner. (I do this when I make devilled eggs).

I halfed the recipe given below, was still about to make 2 thinnger layer and had tons of leftovers after feeding the 4 of us! It turned out great. A little lopsided, not so perfect piping... but it was DELICIOUS! And I was so proud of it.

Carrot Cake
Two 9 inch round layers, two 8 inch square layers, or one 9x13 cake

Have ingredients at room temperature. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pans.

Whisk together thoroughly in large bowl:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon grated/ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk together well in small bowl, then, using rubber spatula, stir into flour mixture until just combined:
2/3 vegetable/canola oil
3 large eggs..

Stir in:
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts
(1 cup golden raisins)
(1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, lightly drained)

Scrape batter into the pans and spread evenly. Bake until fork comes out clean, 25-30 minutes in small pans, 30-35 minutes in large pan. Let cool on a rack.


Quick White Icing
Makes about 2 cups

Combine in a medium bowl and beat together on medium speed:
4 cups (1 pound) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Add and beat until smooth:
4-6 tablespoons milk or coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing should be spreadable, but firm enough to hold it's shape when piped. Add sugar/liquid to achieve correct consistancy. Keeps 3 days at room tempertaure, 3 weeks in fridge, 6 months in freezer. Spoon a little bit into a bowl and add some food coloring for piping.

All Purpose Cleaner

I got this recipe from a Green Convention. I got a big Home Depot spray bottle with this recipe. It broke before the solution was used up. Get bottles at WalMart for a buck! Half the recipe if you have a smaller spray bottle.

30 oz. water
4 Tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons borax
(10 drops fragrance)

I haven't used this recipe in a long time, because I never had borax around. I just mixed equal parts water and vinegar, it works great! Vinegar has some disinfecting properties and also kills nasty smells. I use vinegar for lots of household needs. I just made a batch of laundry detergent, so I am going to start making this recipe again since I have borax on hand. But if you don't have it, vinegar and water is fine. It costs just pennies to make. I used to buy 409 all purpose cleaner, haven't bought a bottle in 3 years.

The 5 S's - The Cure for the Fussy Baby!

I read a lot of books when I was pregnant and post-partum. One that I read was called The Happiest Baby on the Block. There was a lot of interesting points, but the one that stuck out to me was the 5 S's; swaddle, side, sshhh, swing, suck.

Swaddle. This was a life saver for me! My midwife was the first to show me swaddling. Being a new mom and not knowing much about babies, I found this fascinating! But Ethan always seemed to get out of his swaddle, startle in his sleep and wake up. Happiest Baby has an awesome step by step diagram on how to swaddle. I've been teased by friends on how tightly I swaddle. But neither of my son's ever wriggled out! I've tried the Swaddle Me velcro wrap, never worked. I liked the larger thin flannel receiving blankets. Here's a video tutorial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4SnaQ1DVJM
Swaddling was awesome for me because both kids flailed around while eating. This calmed them down, and they slept better.

Side, Swing, Sshhh. These I usually did together. Even when I hold newborns, I find myself instinctively doing the side, swing and sshhhh.

Suck. This is the cherry on top for a baby. It can be a finger, pacifier, or food source.

This totally work for me to calm my babies. My second is naturally sensitive, so there was no curing his innate fussiness. But this calmed him enough to have a meal and give him moments of happiness.

Baby Food

My first son had hardly any store bought baby food. Mostly because I was really cheap!

I just cooked down veggies (carrots, peas, green beans) or fruits (apples, pears), blended with a little bit of water, and froze them in ice cube trays. Easy! Ice cube trays are great. I popped themout and stored them in gallon size ziploc baggies, labeled; carrots, peas, etc. That way I could as many or little as needed. (I also do this same system with homemade chicken stock!)

I sometimes added a little more water and rice cereal. With canned fruits, I just mashed them up and served. It's super cheap to make baby food. A friend of mine owns a restaurant and she made her son all kinds of gourmet baby food. There are such great books out there too. I've gotten great recipes from books for toddlers that have become some of my favorite meals for the entire family!

Converting to Cloth

This is my cloth diaper journey...

Growing up, all I had ever known in diapering were disposibles. I knew when first dating my now husband, that his mom was still using cloth diapers, but I didn't really grasp the idea of it. At 15 years old I had no interest in babies or diapers! So I never gave it a second thought. It wasn't until after I had my first son that I realized how expensive diapers were! And since he was a breastfed baby, he went even more! Even with the abundance of gift diapers, we were constantly going to the store to buy more diapers. I had thought about cloth diapers, wondering if they would really save us money... but I read things that said it's not really that much cheaper when you factor in the water costs and detergent and the investment of the diapers. Plus the thought of poopy diapers soaking in water grossed me out. From what my husband told me about cloth diapers, they were disgusting and stinky.

I was reading a parenting magazine and came across an article about the evolution of the cloth diaper. They were totally cute! And from what I was reading, they were easy. I took baby steps in trying cloth diapers out. I was given used prefolds and covers at my local kids consignment shop. So far it seemed ok, but it was a hassle to do part cloth, part disposible. There was a lot to store, 2 diaper pails, AH! My husband thought I was just going on one my crazes, getting obsessed with learning about cloth diapers and trying to convince him (and myself) that they would be a good investment. Not only would they be free diapering once they paid themselves off, but they are better for the child and the landfill. I'm not a major environmentalist, but I do think about my carbon footprint. I try my best to be a good steward.

This website helped me a lot with an array of products and links to cloth diapering information. It was my local cloth diaper store at the time.

http://www.simplecloth.com/Home_Page.html

From what I gathered, a pocket-type diaper with a cover and insert or prefold would be easiest and most cost efficient. The covers can be used over again with wet diapers (and poopy ones too if the mess doesn't get on the cover). I went into a diaper shop in a nearby town and told the owner what I was looking for. She suggested the Flip diaper system made by BumGenius. I slowly added more to my stock, as needed. I also added things that I needed over time. A pail (which is a tall kitchen garbage can) and 2 liners (which I made from 1 yard of water proof fabric, $9.99), a dry/wet bag (Planet Wise, $20), doublers ($3 each) and a diaper sprayer (bumGenius $45). Almost 2 years later, I ended up with about 30 inserts, 9 doublers and 11 covers.

I did some rough calculations on my start up costs, we spent about $250 on cloth diapering, for everything. (Of course I have added things over time, and each day they pay themselves off!) Because I was diapering 2 in the beginning of this journey, we spent over $100 a month on bulk diapers and wipes. So the cloth diapering paid itself off in less than 3 months! Wow! We have a well now, so water is free. No guilt or cost for washing diapers. I usually line dry, and in the summer I like to hang them outside. My house never smells like diapers, and it's not any harder, really, than using disposibles.

Another thing I contemplated was making my own inserts. And I spent many hours on the computer looking at different patterns and fabric choices. For a pattern that had similar fabrics as my StayDry inserts, it would cost about the same to make as it would to buy. So I thought I would save myself the trouble and buy them from CottonBabies.com. Plus, they have a resell section (which I didn't know about until AFTER I bought 2 dozen inserts). So you might be able to save a little money there. Even though homemade patterns may seem easy or less expensive, I find assurance in the quality of the fabrics used in store bought inserts, prefolds and covers.

When Euan was about 1 and a half, we were just using disposibles at night since he was a heavy wetter. I was almost out of disposibles and I dreaded the thought of buying another pack of diapers to use at night. I figured there had to be an answer to overnight diapering. I stopped by Cotton Babies and Hurrah! Hemp diaper doublers, used for naps and overnight wetting. I bought enough for 3 nights worth so I can have a set even when washing diapers. Since Ethan rarely wets at night, he would wear one Stay Dry insert and cover. Even if he tinkles, it's sufficient. I use 2 doublers and an insert for Euan and so far so good. He has nights were his cloths are a little damp. He wets SO much! His overnight diaper weighs a ton! It really absorbs.

I still use disposibles when we do date swaps and I don't want people to have to bother with cloth diapers. Or if we go away for a weekend. I used to use them for diaper rashes too. Rash cream and create a lot of build up in the cloth diapers. They make a disposible fleece insert for that purpose. They are cheaper than disposibles too! Some people like to use them regularly so that their diapers won't be a mess when baby poops.

I plan on being 100% cloth from here on out. It's become a part of our routine now. And I love that I am doing the best for my kids and for our wallets. Any way I can help out with saving money, I'm eager to do it.