Let The Nesting Commence.....

Picture this...

It is early on a chilly morning.  You wake up and realize it is Saturday.  Woo Hoo!!!!  Then you look down at your obviously pregnant belly and gasp!  I'M ONE WEEK AWAY FROM MY THIRD TRIMESTER!!!!!!!!!!!! 

How did this happen so fast?  I just got over the 1st trimester sickies and now I need to start getting things in order before this kid shows up.  Crap....now I am having a Braxton Hicks contraction.  Heartburn too?  This kid is gonna kill me.  Well, not really but I think all women who have been pregnant feel that way at some point.  And most, not all, get that crazy OCD nesting urge at some point. 

We make our lists, check them 100 times, inventory our kid stuff and/or tweak our registries.  That is the process I am currently in.  And really, we are in great shape.  There will be one difference however this time around.  We are going to cloth diaper.  We started with the cloth diapers for our son when he was around 18 months or so.  It is something I am believing more and more in for many reasons and the direction I plan to take for this soon to arrive baby.

If you are not familiar with cloth diapers, there are sooooooooo many different options out there.  Not to mention, they have come a long way from what they were when we were growing up and disposables really were not an option.  This is why I'm blessed to have my good friend Nicole.  I call her my cloth diaper guru.  She runs a cloth diaper business out of her home and is a fabulous teacher and resource. 
http://clothconvert.com/

I have decided at this point to stock up on prefolds, snappi's, diaper covers and a few fitteds.  I'm going to be trying out different brands and products and I will come back to report exactly what I have and how I plan to use them.  Then, when baby comes late February or sometime in March, I'll be sure to report on what I like and what is/is not working for us. 

I'm really excited about this.  I don't hug trees.  I eat meat and don't really buy into what we have been told about climate change and global warming.  BUT.....I do believe we are to be as good of a steward of the planet as possible.  This is one way to do that for our family.  Not to mention, cloth diapers are super cute and they reduce the amount of chemicals that come in contact with your child.  For me, that is a total win even when you consider an extra load of laundry 3 times per week.

Let the online holiday snowball fight end NOW!!!

Picture this....it is a couple of days after back to school and already your local Walmart is filing away school supplies on the clearance racks and beginning to put out Halloween decorations and costumes.  Each year, the Christian holiday wars begins at about this time.  Halloween is pagan, satanic and EVIL!!!!  If you dare carve a pumpkin, hang a skeleton, watch Harry Potter or say "trick or treat," you can kiss salvation goodbye as you can not POSSIBLY be a born again believer in Jesus Christ. 

Sigh.....where to start.  I suppose the answer would be simple if it were just a Halloween issue.  But alas, soon after Halloween is Thanksgiving.  How could Thanksgiving be controversial in the American Christian community?  Ha!  We Christians have a knack for, as I like to put it, Jesusifying EVERYTHING.  Online communities get into debates on questions such as this one I stole off a FB board:

"If you don't accept the notion of a God who created you, loves you, wants a relationship with you, will forgive you, wants the best for you, provides, sustains, and gives you hope for the future and true peace and joy in this life. Then why celebrate THANKSGIVING? To whom are you thankful? Your lucky stars? I know i'm preaching to the choir here...but it mystifies me how people put so little thought into what they practice."

Does this attitude end with Thanksgiving?  OF COURSE NOT!  Why would it?  We have the wonderful Christmas season to contend with.  What?  You don't believe me?  It is after all the celebration of Jesus' birthday for goodness sake.  Just take a look around again at the online Christian community.  Christmas is a pagan holiday.  It is sinful to celebrate it.  Jesus wasn't even born in winter.  Santa Clause is a demon and causes you to lie to your children.  St. Nicholas was ok, but only if you are Catholic.  Christmas trees are also a pagan symbol and should never be found in a Christian home.  Blah Blah Blah.....

Like clockwork, every year, we have these same conversations.  People give the same answers they did the year before and yet, the arguments continue on all sides of the equation with equal gusto.  Of course, then we add in those who are not professing Christians. 

AHHHHH...my.head.is.going.to.explode.

Let's start with the basics about Christmas that everyone should be able to agree on.  Nobody knows the exact birthday of Jesus Christ.  The day we celebrate Christmas now is based off an ancient pagan celebration that recognized the winter solstice and the return of longer days.  Christmas is one of the three best times in the Christian calender, back to school and Easter are the other two, when seekers are most open to hearing the Gospel story.  In most societies that celebrate Christmas, it is more a cultural holiday and not a faith based one regardless of the CHRISTmas name. 

My solution?  It is a simple one, are you ready?  No matter what your faith beliefs are or are not, you get to choose what you believe and how you will act based on those beliefs.  So, if you feel Christmas is pagan and Harry Potter and Christmas trees are evil, then don't celebrate Christmas or read/watch Harry Potter.  If you are a Christian believer and grew up with a Christmas tree and want one for your family now, enjoy the holiday and festive atmosphere that a beautiful blinking light tree will provide for you in your home.  If you are in the Charlie Brown camp and feel Christmas is too commercial, act accordingly.

We all have different convictions, even if some of us have the same basic faith beliefs.  How about we choose to love our neighbors and our differences, and celebrate or not celebrate a specific holiday or such according to our personal convictions and leave it at that?  Why do we worry so very much about other people and take their choices as an attack on ours? 

With that, I'll be off to bake some cookies for our upcoming Christmas open houses.  I may even turn on some evil Christmas music and....don't fall off your chair....our pagan Christmas tree. 

Falalalala, lala, la, la........

The World Does Not Revolve Around Sharon

Picture this.... It is 8:00 am on Sunday morning. Most people are sleeping, but not you. You wake up, take a shower, throw down some fast breakfast and go to....CHURCH? You walk in, feel joy as you enter a beautiful sanctuary and see friendly and familiar faces. You hug and laugh and even on a rare occasion, cry. It is wonderful. Then you pick up the bulletin.

Introit ... call to worship .... hymn .... passing the peace .... announcements ..... prayer .... hymn .... psalter ..... offertory .... doxology ..... sermon .... hymn .... benediction .... hymmmnnnn ...... hyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................

Oh, it's over? You ask yourself, was I really drooling? Shew, my hour this week is done. Score!

I grew up in a Methodist church which held VERY liturgical worship services. What I termed, BORING snooze fest; only good for playing games, writing notes to your neighbor or thinking about what you plan to do for the rest of the day. And, as time went on, I really grew to hate them. So much so that when I eventually left that church, I went to a non-denominational contemporary mega church. And, I loved it. LOVED IT! The freedom to try new things and not get stuck in a silly routine which only made sense to people from 200 years ago did not appeal to me. And drums! Drums in church!!!! Rock on!

But, as is known to happen when we belong to God, He often has other plans for us. Not only did God move me from that church, He moved me from that time zone. I now find myself married to a wonderful man of God, who on August 1st will be starting a brand new career as a pastor in the United Methodist Church. A long awaited career that has been over 15 years in the making. And, have you guessed it, his (and the churches) first preference for worship? Liturgical. Ugh. Are you KIDDING me God?

This morning, I felt convicted during worship. Here I am, pouting and throwing an inward temper tantrum because I don't enjoy this particular style of worship. And with that, I am missing the point about corporate worship in general. It isn't about Sharon. It isn't about any specific style of music or how prayers or said or what specific songs are played nor on what instruments. It is about coming together to worship and praise God as a community. It is ALL about God, and only God.

So, will I enjoy liturgical services from this point on? Probably not. But it does not matter. I will worship with joy and thanksgiving anyhow. Period. Why bother? Because being a born again Christian requires discipline and is a reminder that Earth simply does not revolve around me. And like I think most of us, that is a wise reminder and kick we often need as human beings.

Crunchy Mama - Cloth Diapers

Picture this....


It is 3:30 in the morning. Your infant informs you it is time to get up and feed him and change his diaper. So, you get him something to drink and snack on. When that is done and sleepiness ensues, you go in for the diaper change. As you are removing those fancy disposable diapers, the smell of concentrated urine combined with the perfumes and plastic in the diaper hits you like a brick; only to be multiplied by thousands when you open that diaper pail to throw it and the wipes away. EWWWWWWWWWW..... I won't throw up, I won't throw up.....

As convenient as disposables are, they smell. At least they do on my son. So, my wonderful friend Nicole introduced me to the world of cloth diapers. I'm not going to lie, it took some convincing. But, once I got up the nerve, I immediately fell in love.

Did you know there are fabulous and easy options that do not include folding or pins? Washing them is no big deal. Now that I have figured out the right mix of detergent and such, it is a breeze and the diapers DO NOT smell after many uses. Once I learned and accepted that less is more in regards to detergent, we were on our way. The best part? They do not stink like disposables when they are waiting to be washed.

Lil' D is a heavy wetter. That kid drinks a lot of milk and water. So, we do have to watch that his cloth diapers do not get so wet that they leak through the outer PUL layer. Especially at night. He pretty much sleeps all night long. So normally, even with a disposable he is wet on the outside in the morning.

I tried several different kinds of cloth diapers to figure out what combo of diaper and insert will work best. And, thanks again to wonderful Nicole, we eventually tried the Fuzzibunz (FB's) Hemp One Size diapers.




As you can see, they are not in super fashionable colors. I guess to hang with the "green" look, they are a natural color. And, they only have one insert instead of the two that FB's normally come with. I will admit, I was worried at first. Is Hemp really that much more absorbent and will it really hold on to as much or more fluid than two of the thicker, cotton inserts?

YES YES YES!!!!!

In full disclosure, Lil' D will still wet through them for an entire night's wear. However, they are more comfortable since they are only stuffed with one instead of two inserts. They still wash up great and the part of the diaper that is next to his skin is still super soft cotton.

It is a win/win for all. These FB's Hemp One Size diapers rock! With realistic expectations for what cloth diapers provide in terms of waterproofing, I don't think you will be disappointed if you tried them. And, Lil' D's clothes fit much better under them because they are not as bulky as the cotton inserts.


Want more information on cloth diapers? Check out http://clothconvert.com/ Nicole would love the opportunity to help you figure out the best options for your family.

The Difference A Month Can Make

Picture this.....

...you own a house and property located 5 miles from the Missouri River. 5 miles should be far enough away to keep you high and dry in the case of flooding, right? Well, most years, the answer to that question is yes. This year however, record rain runoff, huge snow caps that are melting slowly, untested levees at record level flooding and potential mismanagement of dams up north have changed the scenario.

Here is a video we took less than a month ago.

The video starts off as we are heading east over the Hwy 2 bridge from Nebraska City, NE towards the I-29 interchange. Today, the bridge and the Hwy and the Interstate are closed and covered with water. The river was just too much for an earthen levee about 2 miles north of this area. All the buildings you see in the second half of the video? Well, the unprotected ones have about 4-5 feet of water in them at this point.

The water is not forcasted to fully recede until September or October. This kind of flooding is happening all over the area and up and down the Missouri River. Omaha for instance is fighting hard to keep it's airport dry as well.

**Don't worry mom. All will be well by the time you fly in come October.

Water is an interesting substance. We need it to live. And too much of it can destroy and even kill. I suppose my grandmother was right, everything in moderation. Too bad we can't tell the river that.

Succession Planting

Have you ever thought you knew all you needed to know about a subject, just to figure out in the midst of it that you still have much to learn?

Picture this...

It is February and you are in the midst of a cold spell. Feeling the need to do SOMETHING warm weather related, you begin to collect seeds and supplies so that you can begin to start some vegetables indoors that you will be able to plant when warm weather finally arrives. You read directions, 3 books and 10 websites about how to start them correctly.

Finally, a few days later, you see the first few shoots. So exciting! Green!!!!! Oh how you missed seeing GREEN! Shortly, the small shoots develop into seedlings and the countdown to spring begins. Being in Zone 5, May 15th is the no frost date. That is a long time to keep seedlings alive and thriving.

The day comes and you can finally harden off the plants and plant them in the garden. You water and fertilize. Then, well, they die. THEY DIE! Not all of them. But sheesh!

Fast forward to June 17th. I have peppers that are starting to look alive, lettuce that is also trying. Tomatoes that I don't think are going to make it. What's growing well? The bush beans, squash, broccoli and swiss chard are doing very well. They of course were plants where the seeds were sewn directly into the soil outside. Thankfully, I'll have SOMETHING to show for my 2011 garden adventure. It's a good thing we have wonderful farmer's markets in the area as well as a few orchards where you can pick your own fruits while also offering veggies.

At this point, I'm already starting to plan for next year. I'd love to build some raised beds for my veggies and herbs. However, I don't know that I'll get around to it. The yard is almost tamed, but this fall I will still be busy tilling and getting grass planted and started. I'll have to see how things look in the spring. What I have figured out is:

• Considering the poor soil condition this year due to the vast amount of weeds competing for soil nutrients, I am going to have to get some great compost and till it into the garden this fall and again in spring.



• I will most likely NOT start tomatoes from seed next year. I'll simply buy good heirloom plants from the nursery and call it a day. I did that with the broccoli and it was a great decision.
  


• I need to fertilize the rhubarb in the fall to help insure a better early harvest next spring.



• Once I start the garden next year, I am going to have to be on weed patrol pretty much every other day to stay on top of it.

So, now it is time for you to share. What gardening lessons have you learned that the rest of us can learn from?

Spring Has Sprung!!!

If it were not so misty and drizzly outside today, I would take some pictures of my garden coming to life. I'm so excited I can barely stand it! So instead, today I did my first "planting" and also set up my seed starting nursery in the basement. Bring on Spring....I'm soooooooo ready!

Here is my brand new blueberry plant! Derrek loves blueberries so much, so why not grow them? We also have strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and gooseberries in the yard.

It may not look like much....but there is life and there will be berries! And all for a $5.00 plant.

The work bench was already here when we moved in. I'm sure the prior owners used it for seed starting since they so kindly left me tons of flats. During the week of March 20th, I'll start my first seeds here. I have a heating mat to make the environment ideal for growing temperature and have a plant UV lamp to provide the light.

Now all that is left to do is decide what exactly I am going to grow!

Week 2 Pantry Challenge

I'm not going to lie, this challenge is harder than I thought it was going to be. Especially the $40/month budget. This week our purchases were:

1 lb Turkey lunch meat $2.15
4 fresh apples 1.91
5 bananas .88
blueberries 2.50
mushrooms 1.09
pineapple 1.99
5 naval oranges 1.08
1 gallon skim milk 3.49
1 gallon whole milk 3.49

Total week 2 purchases........$18.58

If I add last weeks purchases, we end with a total for 2 weeks of......$22.37 That means I'm $2.37 over my budget so far. I think I can make it up this week. I still have fruit left over from last week and I still have plenty of everything else I should need.

My meals this week included:

Curry Baked Chicken
Grilled Salmon
Pasta salad
Broiled Steaks with a teryiaki marinade
Sandwiches for lunch
cereal or eggs with fruit for breakfast

I do have to admit, my normal freezer (not the deep freeze) is becoming more and more empty. Like I said before, this is going to become more and more interesting as time goes on.