My New Favourite Cloth Diaper!

When Noodleman was quite small, I discovered the rainforest babies diaper. It is a diaper cover that comes with a snap in liner. Daddyman and I fell in love with this system. The diapers dried fast and so did the cover. I bought quite a few! My only hang ups with this diaper would be:

1) The company has gone out of business or stopped making them, or something. I only ever find them on Olivia Place, and then it's a nice discount.

2) They are a sized diaper. So Noodleman will eventually grow out of them.

3) The hemp liner that came with them (they also come with a microfiber liner), has gone all gross! It is thin and not soft and I don't like to use it unless I have too.

But all in all, they are still our go to diapers.

Now recently, the store has started selling Best Bottom Diapers. I will admit, I didn't try before we started selling them. I figured they are so much like the rainforest babies, I would love them. So, the other day I ordered the Hoot. Well it finally came and I prewashed it (which by the way is the thing I hate the most about all cloth diapers!). I hate having to prewash. I want to take it out of the package and throw it on Noodleman's bum. Anyways, back to the diaper, so I prewashed it, threw it on Noodleman and guess what? I frickin' love this diaper!! I love that when he needs changing, I just take out the insert and put in a new one (wiping down the inside of the cover too). When we go out, this is my new go-to diaper. I pack a couple cloths and a couple inserts and it takes up no space at all. I can even fit it in my regular purse! The most amazing thing is, the insert fits in a Ziploc bag, the sandwich kind! I have a wetbag, but I occasionally forget it :(. I also love that it is a one size diaper, so he can wear it for a while and then if we have another baby, I can use it for longer.

Here is the one I bought:

I don't have any pictures of it on, as we are also ECing part time, so Noodleman really only has a diaper on when we leave the house.  I bought 3 of the stay dry liners to go with this diaper and that seems to be a good number. I don't want to use it for more than 3, as I think it would get stinky in there! However, having not tried it, I don't actually know. 

Now here are the things I don't like about this diaper...there's only 2. First, the inserts are sized, so at some point I will have to buy more. However, this is nice because Noodleman is small and is currently in the medium size, so there is no bunching and it fits like a sized diaper. The second thing I dislike about it is, one day he will be out of diapers and I may have to sell it! 

There are so many patterns of the Best Bottom diapers, I might have to buy a few more. I am excited to try the over night liners. We have doubled up with inserts before, but it is so nice that these snap together. It would mean no more bunching and moving around. I will try to catch a photo at naptime, with his little bum up in the air, then you can see how incredibly cute this diaper is. I am excited to get a Moo-licious one as well. We have been in the solid colours for so long, I can't wait to explore more prints!!

**While I do sell them, this is a personal account of my experience with this style/brand of diaper. The company does not/did not pay me for this, I had to purchase this diaper myself for my son. 

Rainy day play!

Yep, it's true. I am THAT mom. It's pouring outside, and there I am in my raincoat, pushing a stroller to the park! I have always been a firm believer that children need to experience the outdoors. We live in Victoria, BC, and let me tell you it rains here. It rains more than anything; so instead of spending all our time indoors, sometimes we venture out. 

I believe that children need to have a connection with nature. I think they need to feel the earth beneath their feet and the wind in their hair, the sun or rain on their skin. I think, much like plants, they need this to grow. I think trips to forests, beaches, park and fields should be a mandatory part of growing up. 

But something happened today that made me stop and think about why I think being outside is so important. I have my beautiful little Noodleman to thank for this lesson in parenting. 

Today, I stood still. Instead of running around after my darling little man, I watched him. He was puddle jumping, and he stopped. He was looking down at his feet. He would stomp one foot in the puddle and then watch. Then he would do it again. I can only assume he was watching the ripples of water moving away from his foot. Slowly he looked up and stared at the puddle beside him that had rain falling into it. He stomped on that one as well, then stepped back and watched it for a minute. Then he ran to another puddle and did the same thing. Then he looked around at the court we were in and watched for another minute. And then as with all 19 month olds, he was off and running!

And this, my friends is why I think children need to experience outdoors. Today my son learned something that I may eventually have taught him, but would never have thought to. And you know what even if he wasn't learning about puddle ripples; he was learning that people don't melt in the rain!

Now we didn't spend the whole day outside, it is January and a little cold. This afternoon we made cookies! I love baking with my son. It requires a little extra planning, mostly because there is another child as well as Noodleman here most days, but also because they are toddlers. One of the great things about baking with toddlers is that you get to satisfy their need to dump thing, because that's really all baking is, dumping and stirring.

The best way (for me) to bake cookies with 2 toddlers, is to plan a little ahead of time. While the boys are sleeping, I portion everything out into easy pour containers. Here is the recipe I used...

Pineapple Coconut Drops

1/2 cup Margarine/Butter

1 Egg

3/4 cup Sugar (I only used 1/4 cup and they turned out fabulous!)

3/4 cup drained, crushed pineapple (I used canned, but would love to try fresh)

1 Tbsp. Pineapple juice (reserve from can or when you drain your fresh one)

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. Salt

2 cups Flour

3/4 cups Flaked Coconut (sweetened will only make them sweeter)

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add egg, beat thoroughly. Stir in crushed pineapple, juice and vanilla. Stir in baking soda, powder and salt. Gradually add flour. Fold in coconut and drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

I put the sugar, margarine, coconut, flour and pineapple into their own containers, but I mixed the egg with the pineapple juice and vanilla, and the baking soda, powder and salt all went together too. I split the flour into 2 containers, so each boy had one. It was so much fun watching them taste everything (except the egg), the sugar was a huge hit, but no one really liked the baking soda mix. When the dough was well mixed I let them drop a few cookies onto the sheet and then whisked it all away and replaced it with snack. Noodleman was a little upset that he didn't get to keep flicking cookie dough at his friend and Mama, but was happy when he saw soy cheese on his plate! Both boys were also excited to watch the cookies baking. The great thing about these cookies is you can place them close together because they hold their shape.

Maybe tomorrow it will snow!

DIY Toddler pants out of old sweater

I am addicted to Pinterest! I have some of the fullest board out of all my friends, and I frequently get annoyed that no one is pinning anything new! So I decided to actually start making some of the things I have pinned.

The first thing, that I thought would be quick and easy, was a pair of toddler pants of out of an old sweater. Daddyman and I had just gone through everyone's clothing to take to a clothing swap, and I have salvaged some of his old sweaters to upcycle.

One of the sweaters is thick and soft and Daddyman has had it forever. We have both worn it on sick days and very cold days. So I grabbed it and cut the arms off!

As you can see I used a pair of Noodleman's pants to measure how long the arms should be. I used a pair that are a little big on him, as lately everything I make him is too small by the time I am finished!

Next I cut open the inside seam of the sleeve, down to the crotch of the pants. The picture isn't any good, as the sweater is black. I left the pants in place to make sure the crotch was in the right place.

Next I pinned the seams of opposite sides together. 

Once it was pinned, I sewed right sides together. You can turn your pants inside out for this, but I prefer to leave them. This is what it looks like sewn.

Next I turned over the waist. I didn't iron it, as I didn't think it would make any difference, but it may have been easier! Once the waist was turned over and sewn, I measured Noodleman's waist and then fed the elastic through with a safety pin. Thankfully, the knit is fairly close on this sweater, so the safety pin didn't slip through! This is the finished product...

The great thing about using the sleeves is you don't have to hem the legs. These are still a little big for my Noodleman, but he has room to grow and they fit great over his fluff bum (cloth diapers).

Here he is, in them...

I am excited for the next clothing swap, I will be on the lookout for other peoples hand me down sweaters to make more of these!

DIY for the Toddlers!

Lately I have been experimenting with making things for Noodleman to play with. He is more interested in pots and pans, and spoons and bowls, than your regular run of the mill toys, so I thought I would test my crafty skills and see what I could come up with.

The first thing I had to come up with was new bath toys. Daddyman and Noodleman have a shower together every night while I clean up dinner. This is a little relax time for me (about 10-20 minutes), however lately Noodleman is bored with the selection of toys in the shower, so he is signing all-done after about 5 minutes. This doesn't fly well with me as I like having a couple minutes alone before bedtime, and Daddyman isn't getting the time to soap up. So after racking my brain for what we could buy him for "Christmas"(but he would get before the day), I thought about my days working in daycare and the water play toys we had. We were on a budget and had to be creative with our budget. I went to the dollar store and bought 4 sheets of fun foam for $1.25. When I got home (and Noodleman was sleeping), I used my Cricut paper cut outs, to draw and cut out some shapes for the bath. That night I got them wet and stuck them on the bath wall to see how Noodleman reacted. He loved them! He put them up and took them down. He put them on the floor and stomped on them. We used squirters to shoot them off the wall! I made some dinosaurs and fishies, so we used them like felt board stories and sang songs with them. The best part is, if he rips them apart (they are quite thin), I can make a ton more!

Now onto our play-space!
I am home all day with my little Noodleman and another little LO, that we hang out with. They are only 3 weeks apart, so have a lot of the same interests...and are cheeky in similar ways! Lately both have been into zippers, buttons, string, belt buckles, clips, and everything else that opens and closes. I wanted to make Noodleman something really fun to use/practice all these skills with, without having him cart one of my sweaters all over the house! So I was going to make him a pillow, but as my fabulously creative brain got started with all the things I wanted on it, the pillow became HUGE in my brain. So I thought about it for a while and decided to make him a block, but a big one, about 11 inches square. So far I have created 4 panels, one with a zipper that opens into a pocket:

Clips:

And then I sewed together 2 pieces of felt (green and blue) to make him his own felt board. The last one I have so far, is a piece of minky to cuddle. I am excited about the last 2 sides. Daddyman is making big wooden buttons, and I will sew flaps and string to one side for those. The last side, will have some kind of sensory play. I would like to find a piece of burlap, fleece and maybe a piece of vinyl. I will of course post pictures once it is finished!

My last project was so easy, Noodleman was able to help. Daddyman also helped...by drinking the pop inside the bottle. Next I cleaned the bottle and gathered all the ingredients. I put a spout of top and let Noodleman add all the things he wanted in it. We used a base of rice, then added sparkles, buttons, tiny alphabet pasta and some beads.

That's all we/I have been working on lately. Christmas is coming and I will be baking up a storm so expect more recipes coming your way!

My love affair with Oreos

It began years ago when I read the label of the box/bag and discovered to my infinite joy that Oreo's are dairy free (also egg free)! I have been known to sit down and polish off a bag all by myself, and while we were in Thailand I think I ate a bag a day. Now please keep in mind the bags they sell  in the corner store in Thailand are  equivalent to one row.

In Thailand I was addicted to the double stuff Oreo's. I am a big fan of the icing and feel the cookie is just there to keep the icing away from the other cookies and melting together. Soon after we came home I discovered the "vanilla" or golden Oreo's. OMG! I am not a huge chocolate fan, so these were my ideal! Don't get me wrong, chocolate has it's place, once a month in my life, but I find the perfect bar is hard to find. Now just recently while perusing the isles I found the double stuffed golden Oreo's!! OMG again!! The answer to my junk food prayers. The best of both worlds.

The other night Daddyman made Rice Crispie squares, without the rice crispies! We found a recipe at Sweet Pea's Kitchen. When I showed the Daddyman the recipe, he went and put his shoes on. Off he went to the store and about 15 minutes came back with Oreo's and marshmallows.

We decided to make ours a little different as the picture makes them look like little black bricks. Daddyman pulsed ours in the food processor until they were chunky. Once mixed with the marshmallows and butter, it was all I could do not to dive in. However, for those of you who have tried to eat the crispie treats before they cool, you know the sticky mess that ensues!

We used this recipe:

1 bag of regular Oreo's
1 bag of large/regular marshmallow
1/4 cup of margarine (Fleischman's as it's dairy free)

Pulse your Oreo's in the food processor until your desired consistency. Grease an 8x8 inch pan. Melt the margarine on low heat. Pour in the bag of marshmallows (minus one for your beautiful wife/yourself). Melt marshmallows, stirring constantly to ensure even melting and so they don't stick to the pot. Pour in your broken up Oreo' (yet again, minus one), and mix and remove from heat. Pour into your pre-greased pan and refrigerate until solid. These are amazing and heavily addictive so I suggest you don't tell anyone what you are making until you have eaten them all! We ate them too fast for photos, so I guess we'll have to make them again ;)

I have also found a recipe for making my own Oreo's. I am very excited about this as I can "granola" my favorite treat! I will post once I figure out how to make them dairy free. It will take a bit of work to make them Vegan, but I love a challenge! The recipe I plan to use is at Smitten Kitchen, so if you have the opportunity to make them Vegan before I do please post your results :)

I will fight for my right to breastfeed, co-sleep, use cloth diapers and feed my child only organic, local food that I have purchased from a farmer, butcher or baker. I will teach my child the ways of the world from my point of view, in my perspective. I will teach my child to have empathy for other people, animals and our planet. I will teach him to take care of our planet by reducing, recycling and reusing. I will show him how to observe nature, not destroy. I will show him, through our interactions with each other, how to interact with the world. I will stay at home and care for my child, I will facilitate his learning without the aid of "school". I will be his "teacher", as that is what I was put here to do.  In doing so, I will not judge what you choose to do as a parent. I will fight for your right to use formula or breast feed, use cloth or disposable diapers, and eat the food you choose to. You will also teach your child the ways of the world. They will be different from my ways. So I hope you will teach my child them as well, and if you want I will teach your child my ways also. I only ask that in doing so, you do not judge what I choose to do as a parent.

Our Diapering Dilemma...or not

While I was pregnant I decided we would use cloth diapers. It is the most eco-friendly choice, in my opinion. True I use hot water and an extra rinse cycle, but from June (when my son was born) until middle of September I was able to dry them outside. I think it's the thought of diapers sitting in a landfill that does it for me. I will be dead and gone, but the diapers will live on. They might even outlive Noodle! Another reason was the amount of chemicals in disposables and the fact that they don't (and don't have to) tell you everything that's in them! I just don't trust someone who doesn't give me all the info.

In my search for the perfect diaper, I have tried...Monkey Doodlez (AIO), Fuzzi Buns (Pocket, perfect size), Bamboo Baby (AIO, one size), Bumgenius 4.0 (AIO, one size) and a Tots bots (AI2), Rainforest Babies, a homemade option (bought from usedvic) and Kawaii (Pocket, one size). Below are my opinions of each:

We used the Monkey Doodlez newborn until my son was about a month old, and smalls until my son was about 4 1/2 almost 5 months. He was 7lbs at birth and they fit until he was about 14lbs. They are great! There's no pocket and with infant poop you can rinse or not and throw in the washer. They do take longer to dry, but that is the trade off when you don't have to take the liner out.  The drawback to Monkey Doodlez, they are sized. So after I spent about 25 dollars on each diaper, I then have to buy more when he outgrows them. This is fine as we are planning on having another child and then I will probably sell them, but not very economical when you are on a budget, which I am now that I am on Mat leave :) They also are not good overnighters unless pared with an added insert and at first I had trouble with the Velcro sticking to other diapers and creating diaper chains in my dryer. The Velcro then picked up bits of string from the clothes I use as wipes and then didn't hold as well. I have to clean out the Velcro every so often. This may not be the case for all the diaper because it didn't happen to all of mine.

The Fuzzi Bunz were a bust, right from the get go for us. I didn't like having to take out an insert when he was tiny and I was tired from carting him around all day. He slept so little at first during the day; I had little time to do diapers as it was.  The diapers were too big, although they say 15lbs plus, but then again I have a skinny little boy :) They seem like good diapers but are not for this family.

The Bamboo baby diapers are good I found them to be too big between the legs though, and with the insert being attached I just found the diaper too bulky. I have also found the Velcro has died from going in the dryer and now they stick to all my other diapers.  There are flaps to stick the Velcro to when putting them in the wash, however this never worked for me as they came apart and ruined all my other diapers. I used them as they have enough padding for overnight, but was not very pleased with them and replaced them quickly!

The Bumgenius 4.0 All in One, One size is on of my absolute favourites! It is small enough in the "crotch" area that his legs don't seem miles apart but is still absorbent and keeps him dry. I have used it overnight (6-8 hours) and had no problems when he was younger. It also has snaps instead of Velcro so it doesn't get stuck to other diapers in the dryer.

I didn't buy this diaper until he was 4 months old, so I don't know what it would be like for a smaller child; he was 14lbs when we started using it. I have found it dries as fast as my other all in one diapers but because the padding is only attached at the top and bottom I can turn it inside out and it will dry faster. I would love to sell all my other diapers and buy a ton more of these, but I will need the others for the next baby :)

The Tot Bots was a buy one get one freebie. I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise, however I have found it to be a good diaper. The insert is attached so while you do have to stuff it, you don't have to look for the insert that matches, and it dries faster than the other AIOs. The Velcro so far seems really good, and I have no diaper chains because of this diaper. I would buy more of these, they are also great because you can add other liners if need be.

I bought some rainforest baby diapers online, at a deal of the day site. I thought what the hay? They come in small, medium and large and have a snap in liner. They come with 2 liners, one thick one and one you fold to fit. We LOVE them! I bought 2 (that was the deal), and then bought 2 more, and have since bought 4 of the large. I love that the liner snaps out. It comes with two liners so when the cover is dry I don't have to wait for the other liner to dry. They recommend that you unsnap the liner before you wash. I have no desire to do this, so I unsnap it to dry and have no problems since we bought them.

We also have some Bummis that I bought discount (deal of the day again) and they are great. An AIO, but the liner is sewn at the top and bottom so it dries faster. We bought the medium ones, and they fit big! My only issue with these diapers is that they don't hold a lot of liquid and are definitely not a night-time diaper, although they come with a liner that fits under the sewn in ones.

I started selling the Kawaii diapers, so I of course had to try one…and then two and now I have had to stop myself, as our fluff stash is getting out of control! Currently at 14 months, the goodnight heavy wetter’s are the only diaper that can last a whole night without leaks. We use one of their bamboo liners and a microfiber one. It’s fabulous! Now these are a pocket diaper, but I don’t unload them when I put them in the wash. They come apart in the rinse cycle so I don’t feel the need and I flat out refuse!!

I bought some handmade cloth diapers with PUL on them from usedvic. They work, but are not our favourites. I paid $40 for 5 diapers, so really I can’t complain. The leg gussets are really big, so it has taken him a while to grow into them. They have become our backup diapers for when we do laundry.