diapers

I am teaching a class on cloth diapering next week, so I am getting some random things together to share with the class (hopefully there will be at least one person interested!) One thing I am doing is taking pictures of the process I use with caring for my cloth diapers. Here are a couple photos...

My stacks of "good" and "temporary" diapers.... the temps are just for short periods of time because they don't soak up a lot (or I just don't like them!)

The stacks of diapers after they are stuffed! I found out that I have over 30 diapers... but having the two in diapers it doesn't seem like enough some days!

And of course, a pic of the kids: Colton trying to go in for a kiss, and Ayla playing defense!

PS.... Colton went on the potty chair for the first time! It is a step in the right direction!

Quick reminder...

Just to let you all know that I switched it so ANYONE can leave comments... please... leave some comments! I like to know what you think...

Our Valentine's Day

This is the view from our neighborhood. We are surrounded by beautiful mountains that remind us each morning that we are alive and living in one of the prettiest places in the world! We really love where we live and are sad that we only have a little over two more years here... but maybe we'll come back... maybe, quite possible!

Valentine's day was a couple weekends ago, but I forgot to post pics or our wonderful day. We drove to the local burger shop (Frugals) and got our lunch and then headed up to our backyard state park, Lonepine. The kids just love to go up there and explore and it was a great day weather wise, so we decided what the heck! Ayla is getting so independent and likes to go everywhere by herself. Not to mention Colton... that boy likes to wander ahead and then wait for us. Both such cuties!

and then we ate our heart shaped pizza's and had a little piece of cheesecake... great day. Oh, and Tyler did get me chocolates and tulips, and we all made each other cards.

and, stay tuned for more info on the 1/2 marathon Tyler and I will be running in September!!

Our wonderful weekend

We had such a great weekend, and it is sad to see Sunday evening happen so soon! We had beautiful weather for the whole thing, and although 40 degrees doesn't sound like much, it is a lot here! I hiked up our backyard mountain (actually pretty steep!) State park both Saturday and Sunday, and was SO glad I did! The views were spectacular and the air so refreshing... Saturday was a spur of the moment trip to a local place called Norm's News... where we had some great hamburgers and shakes. It is a candy store also, and we told the kids they could have a piece, and out of all the varieties, they chose Tootsie Pops! Funny... then we also went to the Home Depot and got some planting materials and did some early planting of our garden this year and the Black Eyed Susans that we are putting in our backyard.



Sunday morning we packed up the kids and headed out to Whitefish Lake which is completely frozen over. We brought the sled and and hauled the kids around and went and said hi to some ice fishing folks who had just caught a nice lake trout that was still flopping around! The kids loved it!

Some things I've done and want to do...

I got this from Simple Sparrow blog and thought it was interesting...
Here are my answers:

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch-hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michelangelo's david in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies.
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the alamo in person.
96. swum in the great salt lake.
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

So now you know a little bit more about me....

Finished sweater.... well, almost!

I started a sweater for Ayla while Roxanne, Danielle and Aiden were here in the beginning of February, and I did just finish it... well, the knitting at least. I still have to put a button on it, but it is ready enough for Ayla to wear until it is completely finished! She looks so cute in it, and soon, I hope to start a pair of leg warmers to match!


Tonight we made a really yummy chili, inspired by the bread and honey blog. I plan(?) on trying to make a soup every week... it seems to be a filling and cheap meal, that has the ability to last for a couple of meals (even better!)! I think corn chowder will be my next endeavor.... we will see.

Pictures of the beautiful tulips (my favorite) that Tyler got me for Valentine's day... I am a lucky woman!

Coupons, coupons, coupons...

I have been trying my hand at actually using coupons around here... they actually do save money! Imagine that! Especially when you are trying to feed your family the "good" stuff, meaning the organic and such... Why is it that THAT stuff is the most expensive, but obviously the best for us? It doesn't seem quite fair. So I have found a couple ways to get the coupons for the products that you actually use.
The store ads are great, and should be looked at weekly, so you can see if there is a staple that you use on sale. Most stores offer their weekly ads right on line. Just google your store and look for the info. For example, I usually go to Smith's , so I go to their website and look under the "In Store" pull down menu and there are the store ads and coupons. Just last week, we saved over $20.00 by buying stuff that was on sale and planning our menu around that! If you can save $20 a week, that is $1040 A YEAR!!! Amazing! There are some sites for your store that will actually load up coupons on your store loyalty card... that is pretty handy.
Another way to get coupons is to actually go to the products website. For instance, Seventh Generation is the manufacturer of most of our cleaning products and the diapers we are trying to use when we are not doing cloth, so I googled them, went to the website, and signed up for their newsletter. When you sign up for the newsletter, you get updates from the products you use, and you get to use coupons for the products! Win, win! I did this for many of the products that we use consistantly, like Newman's Own, and Stonyfield Farm, Horizon Milk, Silk, and oh so many more... it is limitless!
I keep a folder with pockets in the kitchen cabinet, and I put all the coupons I print out in there, and before I go grocery shopping, I grab my coupons that I want to use, and go. It is something you have to think about, and it isn't completely easy, but hey, things are never easy when you want to save money, right? It is like using your reuseable shopping bags... just something you have to remember.
I hope these tips will help someone.... I am leaving some links below for anyone that might be interested.

http://shortcuts.com/home
http://www.horizonorganic.com/coupons/coupons.php
http://coupons.stonyfield.com/signin_coupons.cfm
http://www.annies.com/home
http://www.silksoymilk.com/
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons

Happy Valentines Day!

Hope everyone is having a happy Valentines Day so far! We finally got some good sleep last night, as the kids slept almost all night without waking up! Only once for each! Colton woke up with two arms... for the last 3-4 days he has been keeping his right arm limp at his side, and doing everything one-handed. We were so happy for our little two armed boy!
So, Tyler and I watched the "Kite Runner" last night, and were pleasantly surprised with the way they followed the book. Tyler had been setting himself up for disappointment beforehand because good books usually never make good movies, but we thought they did a really good job.

Last night the kids were being crazy (as usual). They decided they wanted to be naked and run around like banshees! Then Colton stole Ayla's boots and Ayla was very unhappy... but it was cute at the same time.

These are my latest project... and if you're a guy, you probably don't care... but I made a whole bunch of cloth pads out of the diaper remnants... they turned out pretty nice and colorful.

A giveaway and foster care update

Sofa in a cute pose... (just thought I'd share!)

So I was cruising around looking at different blogs and I came across a wonderful one called Blue Corduroy! She has such beautiful pictures and makes really wonderful crafts. I love finding crafty people. So I am writing about in my blog because she has a giveaway for a beautiful crochet hat that some might find irresistible.

We had another interview for foster care today, and despite the sleepless night last night (and I mean pretty much sleepless!) we were pretty talkative and the kids just love showing off. I go through days where I am so excited to do foster care and then the next, I am doubtful that I will be able to give people their precious children (who I will undoubtedly fall in love with) back! But ... I have high hopes and try to remain positive, and remind myself that every foster parent or prospective foster parent goes through the same exact doubts!

Days around here

We have been having a lot of indoor days around here, so the kids have become pretty creative. They decide that they are going "bye, bye" and proceed to get their jackets and shoes and hats on and head out to the laundry room saying, "Bye, Bye Mommy (and Daddy if he is home!) " It is really quite adorable. Ayla has taken quite a liking to her new rain boots (which are huge on her), and insists on wearing them pretty much all the time.
Colton is definitely the instigator and he has decided to enter the terrible two's a little late. He is very headstrong, and likes to boss us around on his terms. Most of the time it is hard to keep a straight face because he is just so darn cute! He spend 45 minutes in time out the other day because he decided he didn't want to say he was sorry for kicking me in the face (not hard, but enough to need to say sorry for), so he sat... and sat... and sat.... it was a tough lesson.

A couple of monkeys!
As for me, I have been busy trying to do our taxes, and getting into the habit of using coupons and buying sale items. I know it sounds like easy stuff; but I have found it is not. We (meaning I) usually try to buy organic stuff, and most of it just isn't on sale. So I have taken to going to each individual website and printing off coupons. And it actually adds up. Also using the store ads to plan meals seems to working pretty well too. I am trying to save us the most money possible, which is a goal worth trying for.

Fun in the sun (and the cold)

We had a really great weekend just hanging out! It was kind of cold (as it usually is in Montana in February!) but the skies were blue for most of the weekend, and we were really itching to get outside. So our neighbors, Justin and Shana, invited us up to Shana's parents place in Columbia Falls for some sledding. The kids had a great time, and we had a great time! Their (Shana's parents, Chuck and Judy's) driveway was snow and ice covered and was perfect sledding. It is about a 1/4 mile long so it was enough to get our blood pumping. To top the day off, Chuck and Judy invited us to stay for dinner, which was homemade spaghetti and salad. It was wonderful, and then chocolate chip cookies for dessert! Can't really get any better!

Hank, the dog, seeing what Colton is all about! (above) and Shana and Justin sledding with the dogs (below)

Heading back up the hill after sledding, and us all taking turns sledding below.

Ayla riding the horse (again!) and a really good shot of a chicken (the kids got to help collect the eggs, too!)

Close ups

The two sweetest kids EVER!!

Sometimes it seems during the winter, especially in February, it is hard to think of what is to come. Most of the time we are focused on the snow and the cold and the dreariness of it all. But I look at these two cuties and remember that the future is bright with lots of color and full of fun... I am so excited to see what the future brings. But for now, I am trying ti focus on the today, so here is my list of things I am grateful for today...
1. Great family... we had such a great visit with Roxanne, Danielle and Aiden. Can;t wait to do it again hopefully sooner than later!
2. My mom! She is such a fighter... she just received results from her CT and MRI scans, and it shows practically no changes from when she was first diagnosed! Yeah! She is amazing to have gone more than four years with this cancer thing, and NOT letting it grow!!!
3. Snotty kisses... cause that is all I'm getting (well, Tyler is not snotty, but the kids are!)
4. Icy roads today, cause Tyler doesn't have to work until later!
5. Knitting... I did a lot of knitting this past weekend, just visiting and knitting, and I got pretty far on a sweater for Ayla (poor Colton never gets anything cause girl stuff is just so cute!)
6. A wonderful husband who does such a great job putting up with my craziness and cleaning so much better than I do!
7. The way my kids say "beep beep" when they are backing up or riding their bikes backwards... it is so darn cute!
8. Leftovers; it makes it so easy to make a good dinner and not have too much stuff to clean up.
9. Soulemama's website for reminding me to enjoy winter for all IT'S glory.
10. Almost being finished with the licensing process for foster care... we are excited and nervous all at the same time!

What are your top ten things to be grateful for?

Grammy, Auntie, and cousin Aiden!

We had such a great time with Grammy Roxanne, Auntie Danielle, and cousin Aiden! It snowed one of the days, and we went sledding, which was great! The kids had some fun times reading and "fixing" the trucks in the house. The kids had some potty chair time (Ayla went potty for the fourth time!! Colton still hasn't!)... We mostly spent our time sitting in the living room visiting and either knitting or crocheting (Tyler was not involved in the crafts :) ) We were very sad to see them go last night, but we stopped at the ice cream (gellatto?) shop on the way to the train station, so it made it a sweet goodbye! We miss you guys!