15 weeks

At fifteen weeks I am starting to show, just a little bit.  We are starting to buy a few things for the baby.  The first things we bought was a couple books for the nursery including One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and The Lorax. And we have decided to go with the theme of One fish Two fish for the nursery.  We got this to put in the nursery 

We plan to put it above the crib.  

Then today I ordered our first two or three cloth diapers!  Yes I know some people think that I am a little crazy for choosing to use or even try cloth diapers.  I have done my research.  Not only is it much healthier for our baby's skin, but it keeps diapers out of the landfill and keeps money in our pockets.  If you are interested in learning more about cloth diapers I encourage you to look here http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/newtocloth There is a ton of information.  

The first diaper that I ordered was off of Baby Steals dot com.  It is a Bum Cheeks Diaper. It is shown on the right. It can fit babies from 8 to 35 pounds, changing the snaps from small to large as shown below.

The second diaper I ordered is a Bum Genius.  These are the diapers I know the most about I "think" we will really like them but ordered one to make sure.

The final diaper I ordered is more to make some cute burp clothes for blueberry but can also be used as diapers.  I got 6 of the traditional Indian Prefold cloth diapers.  Although these days they do not need a safety pin, there is a little devise called a Snappi that you can use.  Unlike the Bum Cheeks and Bum Genius diapers a Prefold diaper requires a cover to waterproof it, the other two diapers have built in water barriers.

Finally in baby news I had an appointment on Friday.  The heart rate was 154, my blood pressure, weight, and urine were all good!!  Our next appointment is October 6th and it is the big one!  We get our ultrasound.       

Happy Earth Day

Happy 40th Earth Day.
Here are easy things Mike and I do to be more Green, that you can do too:

• Bring your own shopping bags to all store not just grocery store.
• Change your light bumps to the longer lasting ones.
• Have a clothes line, even though we can not have on outside, we have on at the back of our garage.
• Only run the dish washer when it is full
• Give away, swap or donate items you no longer need or want vs. tossing them.
• Use a reusable water bottle vs. one time use plastic bottles.
• Buy in bulk, it uses much less packaging.
• Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) This not only forces you to eat healthier there is not all the waste of plastic bags like at a grocery store produce area.
• Bring a Plate, Bowl, and set of silver ware to leave in our office at work, instead of using disposable plates and plastic ware.
• Use Cloth Napkins for eating and towels/rags for cleaning vs. paper products.
• Think about what is in your food before you eat it, homemade is always better for you and taste wise than boxed, packaged or eating out.
• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• Keep the heat at a minimum, we have ours set at 60-65 all winter
• I no longer use Tampons/Pads instead I use a Diva Cup www.divacup.com (Sorry to the Guys who are reading)

I have been thinking a lot about being greener lately here are a list of things I would like to say we are doing next year:

• Making our own cleaning supplies with vinegar, baking soda etc. vs cleaning our home with chemicals.
• start a planter garden with herbs and a few other things
• make most if not all our bread at home
• Bike to work
• buy more "new" things at 2nd hand stores (I am really bad about clothes especially, addicted to Kohl's)
• Eat more veggies and fruit and less Meat and dairy
• Eliminate most Plastic in the kitchen
• Eliminate our use of Paper Towels.
• Buy 100% organic

(now I just have to get Mike to sign off on the list...)

Busy Weekend

Mike and I have had a super busy weekend. Friday we went out to dinner with our dinner for nine group at church. We went to the restaurant at the end of our street called Rays Place, it serves Vietnamese food. I had vegetable fried rice and Mike Teriyaki Steak. After dinner we went to the Aces game. It was a good game but we lost 3 to 2 in Over Time. Then we went to Kohl's since they were open until midnight. We spent $65 and saved $175. We got a heating mattress pad for our bed... it is so nice.

Saturday we went to an Open House for a my coworker. It is a beautiful house in south Anchorage with an amazing kitchen. Then I had FLL where the girls did an awesome job programing the robot! Saturday night Mike and I went to the Aces game again. They won 7-1! It was a good game with 6 of the goals scored in the first period. We had to leave 1/2 way through the 2nd to go and pick up Samantha, Hans, and Jacob from the Airport. They came back from the sun and the fun in Arizona and Nevada.

Today we went to church this morning. It was youth Sunday. They did a great job leading the service. For the Sermon we had a Nooma video that we have seen with the youth before. Mike and I highly suggest watching some here is the web address Nooma.com, you can also find some on Youtube. This afternoon I made Cream of Mushroom soup, a red kale/ bean soup and prepped the Brussel Sprouts for dinner. Then I went to Bible study. When I got home we had Steak and Brussel Sprouts. They were very yummy. Here are links for the recipes that I used for the soups.
Cream of Mushroom

http://homecooking.about.com/od/soups/r/blss2.htm

Red Kale and White Bean Soup

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/02/rustic-red-kale-and-white-bean-soup.html

and the Brussel Sprouts

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/goldencrusted-brussels-sprouts-recipe.html

Todays the Day!

First off Happy Veterans Day! A huge thank you to all the men and women serving our country!

Today I got our first CSA Box from Glacier Valley Farms (http://glaciervalleycsa.com/). After work I went to One Family Birth Center and Natural Health in Anchorage as it is one of the drop off locations for GVF. I loaded my veggies and fruit from the box with my name on it into my reusable shopping bags and headed home.

Here is what I got for $35.

From Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm, VanderWeele Farm:

5-Alaskan beets

1 stock-Alaskan Brussels sprouts

4-Alaskan onions

5-Alaskan parsnips

1 bag-Alaskan carrots

From Outside:

3-certified organic Red Canal pears

2-certified organic Cameo apples

16- certified organic cremini mushrooms

2 bunches-certified organic red kale

3-certified organic Honeyboat delicata squash

1 bunch-certified organic parsley

The Kale and Brussel Sprouts
This is one Giant Parsnip

Mike and I are going to be eating health now!!

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

I just ordered our second box from the CSA. I am really excited about this one since I know how to cook and we like almost all the food, and there is more fruit! Only one more week till I pick up my first order!!

To be delivered 18th November 2009
From Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm, Vander Weele Farm
Alaskan Yukon potatoes
Alaskan carrots
Alaskan onions
Alaskan garlic
Alaskan celery root

From Outside
certified organic Pinova apples
certified organic Concord pears
certified organic Valencia oranges
certified organic red butter lettuce
certified organic frisee (a type of lettuce)
certified organic Jewel yams

Whats in the Box?

Just got an email for Glacier Valley CSA. For the box I ordered here is what we will be getting
11 and 12 November 2009
From Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm, VanderWeele Farm:
Alaskan beets ***
Alaskan Brussels sprouts ***
Alaskan onions
Alaskan parsnips ***
Alaskan carrots

From Outside:
certified organic Red Canal pears
certified organic cremini mushrooms
certified organic red kale
certified organic Honeyboat delicata squash
certified organic parsley

If anyone has some good recipes for the ones with *** next to them please let me know. Some I have never cooked before.

I already plan on making cream of mushroom soup with the Mushrooms, since that is the only way Mike and I will eat them!

Community-Supported Agriculture!

Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a "green" or some could say a "Granola" concept.

According to Glacier Valley Farm (GVF) CSA (http://glaciervalleycsa.com/) a CSA is
"a community of people who pledge support to a farm operation so that the community feels a sense of ownership of and responsibility for the farm. The growers and consumers support each other and share the risks and benefits of food production. Subscribers to the CSA program pledge some amount in advance to cover some of the anticipated costs of the farm’s operation. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from connecting with the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By selling directly to community members rather than selling their produce wholesale, the growers receive better prices for their crops and gain financial security, because they have a guaranteed market for their vegetables."

I have been researching this for a while. Most CSA you have to buy a "share" for $500 for the summer and you get a bag/box of veggies every week. However I love the GVF concept where you can decide when you want to buy a box and that the program is mostly year round. It only Costs $35. Another cool thing about GVF is that they deliver to a ton of places around Anchorage. So you choose the drop off location and then each week or whenever you order you just go pick it up at a convenient location. Here is the list of food that will be in the boxes delivered on this week:

From Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm, VanderWeele Farm: Alaskan potatoes (these will be a colorful combination of purple, red, and yellow!) Alaskan Brussels sprouts Alaskan onions Alaskan garlic

From Outside: certified organic Red Delicious apples certified organic Bartlett pears certified organic pomegranate certified organic Romaine lettuce certified organic radishes certified organic Fuyu persimmons

As you can see everything is also organic, which is a huge plus, especially here in Alaska. The grocery stores do not have a good selection of organic fruits and veggies if you ask me. GVF also supplies recipes on how to bake some of the more "foreign" vegetables

The next pick up date is on November 11th. I think we are going to try it. I will report back on how we like it.

To find one in your area look at this web page http://www.localharvest.org/

Edit: After writing the post I emailed GVF asking how much you get. Nancy with Customer Service has already emailed me back ( less than a 1/2 day) saying that the box averages between 18 to 20 pounds. So it costs 35 dollars for 20 pounds of organic fruits and veggies, that is less than $1.75 a pound!! CRAZINESS!!! I cannot wait until November 11th now!!!

Blog Give Away: Eco- Friendly Family

Like I said in posts before Mike and I are trying to be greener. I follow a number of Blogs that talk about green living including The Eco-Friendly Family. They talk a lot about baby's and cloth diapering, along with other green topics. When we have kids, I plan on Cloth Diapering. The initial costs are pricey but once you have the diapers you never have to buy more, no matter how many kids you have. It is much more eco friendly and nicer to the pocket book. Plus now days they are as easy to use as disposable (no scary pins), you just have to wash them...Any who. The Eco-Friendly Family is having a give away on there blog for "3 BumGenius One-Size pocket diapers and a quart of Allens Naturally detergent, all in a, too cute, reusable shopping bag." (http://theecofriendlyfamily.blogspot.com/2009/10/cloth-diaper-giveaway.html) And to have an extra entry I could blog about it.

If you want more information about cloth diapers I suggest you look here https://www.jilliansdrawers.com/newtocloth for more information, I promise they are not extremely gross.

Attn: No we are not pregant! Or even close! But I have been trying to convince Mike on this issue :)

Tut Tut Looks like Rain,

Rain, rain, and more rain. That is what we had this weekend and the forecast is for the week. Fall in Alaska, at least there is not any snow yet!

This week is the start of hockey season! The Aces first preseason game in on Tonight! Hopefully they have as good of a goalie as they did last year. Jacob will be going to his first hockey game! Well unless you count all the games he went to last year in Samantha tummy! They got him little earmuffs for him to wear so the noise does not injure his ears.

Sunday after church Mike and I cleaned and winterised the condo. We put up plastic on all the windows except the big solarium one. We might try to put plastic on at least one section of the solarium, because there is only one pain of glass in a section.

I also made a door draft guard for the door the goes out to the porch. And it only cost 4 dollars to do it! (what you need- one leg of an old pair of jeans, some quilt batting/ stuffing ( I had some laying around at home, thread, and 1.5 bags of pinto beans.) I took and old pair of jeans that had a hole in one leg and cut them in half. sewed the bottom of a leg closed. Sewed the edge of the leg so that the tube was one width. Then I took 3-1 quart ziplock bags and filled them about 1/2 full of pinto beans (about a 1/2 a bag each). Dropped one of the bags into the pant leg/tube. Filled the leg to the knee with left over quilt stuffing. Dropped another bag of beans in, filled to almost the top with stuffing, dropped the last bag in and sewed the top of the pant leg closed. Your done! If you wanted to you could fill the entire leg with beans but that seemed a little excessive to me. You can also fill it with sand or kitty litter, but I really did not want Java using it as a little box. The door draft guard will help to keep the cold air out of the Condo and to keep the warm air in. I will post a picture of it all done!

Wetbag

Mike and I, well more me, have been trying to be more "green" lately. We have bought extra cloth napkins vs. paper towels but I hate when our dirty wash cloths, towels, and napkins laying around before laundry day. I read up on some solutions and I found a pattern online and alerted it a bit. Here is the web page http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/wet-bag.html This is what the website says a wetbag is

"A wet bag has a thousand uses! Okay, I'm not going to list all of them but I do use my DIY waterproof bags for dirty diapers, dirty clothes with spills on them and wet beach clothes. I keep one tucked in my diaper bag when I go out and it comes in handy. Often.

Even if you don't use cloth diapers you will still use one! You can keep a clean change of clothes inside of one, ready to be swapped out if your baby spills, spits up or has a poop explosion down to her toes. Take out the clean clothes and put the dirty ones inside...all zipped up nicely, protecting all the other stuff in your bag. Wet bags are also fantastic when it comes to beach and pool trips! Toss in the wet swimsuit and all the other stuff in your bag stays dry. These are much prettier than a plastic bag, re-usable and washable too."

So I added a couple of buttons and some straps so that I can attach it to my oven door. During the week we can throw the dirty dish rags, napkins and towels in the bag. Then on laundry day all I need to do is grab the bag and throw it along with my rags in the washer along with the bath towels and we are good to go.

I pretty proud that it looks ok. I have never a) sewed a zipper on, b) I have never sewed with PUL (http://www.celticclothswholesale.com/pages/PULFabric.htm), the water proof fabric on the inside, and c) I taught myself how to make button holes with my sewing machine.