The warm mid-January weather had us looking forward to spring and we started planning our garden. One of the things we needed was a composter so we could turn our kitchen scraps into rich compost for our garden. John David researched and decided to build a compost barrel. He purchased a barrel for $10 via Craiglist and within four days had turned it into a compost barrel.

He mounted the barrel on two 4x4s which are buried and concreted in the ground.

A close up of the opening, he cut this out and then mounted the hinges and closure.

The opening to the barrel.

Dumping in the very first bucket of scraps!

The contents of our compost barrel, kitchen scraps and a little bit of garden soil.

The barrel is designed to be spun to help mix the compost. Once the scraps are added, we close the door and then give the barrel a spin. Paxton enjoyed helping out by spinning the barrel.

Once the compost has ‘cooked’, we’ll simply place a bucket underneath the barrel, spin it to where the door is facing downward and open it to get compost for the garden.

 9:00 :: I wake up to two sleeping boys, Paxton snuggled up beside me and Weston in the bassinet. I move Weston onto the bed to snap a picture. Paxton hears me moving around and wakes up. I go get breakfast for Paxton and myself and then come back to bed to nurse Weston. After Weston nurses, I change diapers and dress everybody!

10:00 :: Time to start a load of laundry. I do a load of laundry almost every day to keep up with it! {It should be noted, there’s no fancy sorting, just colors, whites & the occasional delicate load!} After the laundry is going, I head to the kitchen. I start white beans in the crock pot for dinner and to freeze, red beans that will be frozen, cook rice and make bread crumbs. I move the laundry to the dryer and then head to the office to edit my blog post for the day.

11:00 :: I finish editing and publish Tuesday’s post. As soon as it’s published, I nurse Weston. After he’s finished eating, he’s very fussy so I just hold him, after a few minutes, he falls asleep. Paxton is playing in his room and then comes into the office where I am updating finances. He brings his instruments in there so I strum a little on the guitar and then he plays drums.

12:00 :: I have a content, sleeping baby on my chest. Since Paxton is playing happily and not begging to eat, I continue with working on finances, closing out January and updating our budget. I run out to the mailbox to mail a card and am surprised it has already run. I come back inside, fix Paxton’s lunch and make rice milk. Once I finish the rice milk, I fix my lunch.

1:00 :: We’re still at the table! Paxton is still eating and Weston is hungry so I nurse him. When Paxton finishes eating, I wash his face and hands, read him a story and put him down for a nap. I start washing dishes but Weston is fussy so I attempt to console him. I finally put him in the Baby K’Tan.

2:00 :: Once he’s in the Baby K’Tan, he settles down within 2 minutes and then falls asleep. While I’m wearing Weston, I finish washing dishes, make snacks and go dump scraps into the compost barrel.

3:00 :: Paxton’s naptime is over and I take Weston out of the carrier so I can nurse. Weston quickly realizes he’s hungry and starts crying while I grab  a few books to read with Paxton while nursing. We read three stories together and Paxton actually sat still and listened to all three! After Weston finishes eating, I put him in the bassinet and Paxton and I go get a snack. While I’m in the kitchen, I chop up an onion to put in the white beans. I finally go get the laundry out of the dryer and fold it.

4:00 :: I bundled up the boys and we headed outside. It was just slightly cool outside and we all needed some fresh air. Paxton enjoyed running and exploring and Weston seemed to settle down from his fussiness. After 15 minutes of playing, we go back inside. I start a load of diapers and then reply to a few blog comments. Weston is napping and I let Paxton play on the iPad while I finish up my study for Mom’s Group.

5:00 :: Daddy’s home! Paxton eagerly and excitedly greets his daddy! Daddy takes Paxton outside to play and help him work. While they’re outside, I nurse Weston. While I’m nursing, I check my Twitter stream, answer e-mails and just relax.

6:00 :: I get the diaper covers out of the wash and hang them on the drying rack. I start washing the diaper inserts and prefolds. Paxton is asking to eat so we eat dinner. {How nice it was to have dinner ready with little work thanks to the Crock Pot!}

7:00 :: After dinner, I begin cleaning the kitchen. I put away clean dishes and wash the dirty ones. When I’m finished cleaning, I nurse Weston. While I’m nursing, John David is getting Paxton ready for bed. Once his teeth are brushed and he’s in his jammies, they come into our room where I’m nursing and John David reads Paxton’s Bible story to him and we pray together.

8:00 :: Paxton is in bed and Weston’s belly is full and his daddy is holding him so I take a nice, long, hot shower! After my shower, I join hubby in our room and just relax. We chat and play Words with Friends.

9:00 :: Both boys are sleeping! We talk about our budget, Craigslist sales and chickens {we’re seriously considering getting a couple}! I put the inserts and pre-folds into the dryer and begin picking up the house. Weston wakes up and I nurse him. We then head to our room for the night, talking some more while I do a little blog work.

That’s how I spent 9 am to 9 pm on January 31, 2012. A lot of laundry, fussy babies, feeding and time in the kitchen. During this season in my life, I’m focusing primarily on keeping up with the laundry, keeping diapers clean, preparing meals, keeping the kitchen clean and making sure my children are clean, dry and loved! You’ll notice I didn’t note any diaper changes, that’s because they happen all day long, it’s just part of life with 2 babies!

This was somewhat of a typical day, I normally don’t spend quite as much time in the kitchen but on this day, I was prepping a few things for the freezer which meant more kitchen time. My husband is off on Mondays so Tuesdays through Friday are typically very similar, with the exception of attending Mom’s Group on Wednesday morning and a late night for my hubby at church on Thursday night {he typically arrives home around 9 pm on Thursdays.}

My life certainly isn’t glamorous, it’s full of dirty diapers, lots of laundry, an endless sink of dishes and fussy children but I’m honestly living my dream. I’ve always wanted to be a mama and I am so thankful that I’ve been blessed with an amazing husband and 2 beautiful sons and that I am able to stay home with them!

Linked to: A Day in the Life of… at Simply Rebekah

A few weeks back, I came across How We Montessori. It’s a blog about incorporating the Montessori Method at home. I had heard of the Montessori Method and basically thought of it as allowing children to play by imitating things in real life {like play sweeping, cooking, etc.} However, it’s much more than that!

As I was reading through the blog and learning more about this method of education, I realized that it’s right in line with our parenting philosophy. 

Montessori supports adapting the environment to match children’s interests and needs. When Paxton was very young we noticed that he had a love for music. We decided to purposely foster this love by making sure he had musical instruments as toys, exposing him to real instruments and to different genres of music.

Young children also have a need for order. A Montessori approach is making sure you have a ‘place for everything and everything in its place.’ We’ve always kept Paxton’s room neat and tidy and all of his toys have a specific place that they go. When he turned 1, we started involving him in the process of cleaning his room and putting everything back where it belongs. Now, he definitely knows where each and everything goes and most nights he picks up his toys by himself when we ask him to. {Of course he is a 21-month-old and many nights we deal with his strong will and a few tantrums during clean up!}

We started researching more about Montessori and are convinced it’s an excellent approach, we want to make learning constant, practical and fun for our children!

Here are some ways we’ve started applying the Montessori Method at home:

• We purchased a wooden kitchen for Paxton. {It was $18.99 at our local resale store, purchased with store credit!} We’re storing his dishes in his kitchen and of course he’s playing like he’s cooking and washing dishes!
• We moved his clothes to the bottom two dresser drawers so he can be more involved in picking his clothes out.
• We’re paying more attention to his desire to help. When he drags a stool over the the sink while I’m washing dishes, I’m allowing him to ‘help’ even though it means more time and more work for mama!
• We’re beginning to let him help with some cooking. Right now that’s just been stirring {tea, brownie/cornbread batter, etc.} and washing potatoes.
• We’re trying out the Montessori Floor Bed. Right now we just have his crib mattress on the ground, it’s working wonderfully at night but nap time has been a bit of a struggle.

As of right now, we’re still researching more and finding small ways to incorporate this lifestyle of learning into our lives. We’re making small changes as we find things we want to apply in our home.

Have you heard of Montessori? Do you agree with the philosophy? Have you or your children attended Montessori School? 

We spent quite a bit of time planning a garden last spring. We bought supplies for four raised beds and built one. That’s as far as we got. A few weeks later we found out I was pregnant and soon after morning sickness followed and the garden was abandoned.

This year is going to be different. We’re already making plans and looking forward to gardening as a family and fresh vegetables!

Here’s our garden space:

The garden as of yesterday. Nothing much to look at, there’s one raised bed and that’s it.

The one bed that was built last year. We’re going to be getting the weeds and last years dead plants out and adding more soil!

We purchased this barrel via Craigslist for $10. John David has plans for it, I’m not quite sure exactly what he’s going to do with it {he has the mechanical mind!} The plan it to put this out in the garden space, although we’re not sure where exactly it will go.

As we work in the garden, I’ll keep you updated on the progress!

Are you looking forward to spring time and gardening? Do you do raised beds, a traditional garden or use some other method? 

Rebekah and 3-day-old Emerson

I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant.  I had just started my sophomore year in college and it was a nightmare.  Not only was I pregnant, but I was not in a relationship with the baby’s father; this was not exactly an ideal situation.  I was so scared about what my parents and friends would think and say.  I think I was even more nervous about going to church pregnant and unmarried.  I told my parents and they were pretty supportive, upset of course, but supportive.  My mother and I did get into a few arguments and she said some things that really hurt my feelings, but I know she was just as upset about everything as I was.

So many people that I talked to acted like it was no problem at all.  “You can take care of it” or “just get it fixed” were common remarks and an abortion seemed to be a simple “solution” to the problem.  Even though my parents already knew I was pregnant it would be so easy for me to just tell them I had a miscarriage.  But I couldn’t do it.  I had never even considered having an abortion if I got in this situation and now that I was in it an abortion was certainly not an option for me.  I knew things would be hard and some people would think badly of me, but I had made the decision to have sex and this baby was not something I could just get rid of like it never existed.

Each month was difficult for me.  Often I felt like no one cared and that I was a loser and a screw up.  I kept wishing that things would go back to normal, but I knew that realistically this was my life.  I was going to be a single mom and I needed to prepare for it whether I wanted to or not.  During my pregnancy my relationship with the Lord actually improved.  I had been a Christian for several years, although I had made poor decisions on many occasions, but I felt like I was closer to the Lord than ever.  Even though I was in a bad situation I knew that everything would be ok and towards the end of my pregnancy I was actually happier than I had been in a long time.

Emerson Alexandria was born on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 9:54 am.  I couldn’t believe that this little bundle was actually my daughter.  It took a few months for me to realize that I was a mommy and the “unconditional love” didn’t set in for a couple months either.  I felt like something was wrong with me and that I wasn’t going to be a good mom.  After a while, however, I continued to fall more and more in love with my little girl.

Today I don’t know what I would do without her.  I love holding her in my arms and my favorite thing to do now is take naps with her lying on my tummy.  She has made me become a better person and has made me realize that I need to enjoy life and what I have and not take things for granted.  Although my situation is certainly not ideal and what God intended, I know that this happened for a reason.  I am so glad I made the decision to keep my baby and not “fix the problem” like I was encouraged to do.  Babies are not choices, they are a life.  We should not have the decision to terminate a life that God has created.  All people are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and seeing how every person starts off as a baby, this applies to them also.  Emerson is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I know that every other baby can bring just as much joy as she has.

Celebrating Emerson’s First Birthday!

I found out I was expecting baby number two when Paxton was 12.5 months old and I knew I’d be cloth diapering two babies. I spent several months thinking about diapers and trying to figure out how many I would need, how often should I wash and on and on!

One of the big questions was whether or not to invest in a stash of newborn diapers. Paxton was 8 pounds 8 ounces at birth and was in our one-size cloth diapers within a month {and probably could have been in them a few weeks earlier, this first time mama was just intimidated!} I figured our new baby would weigh about the same as his big brother and newborn diapers would be a waste.

Weston arrived 9 days early, weighing 6 pounds 14 ounces! He was teeny tiny {at least to a mama whose first baby was 8 pounds 8 ounces!} While in the hospital, I began thinking about cloth diapers and how many weeks it probably would be before Weston could fit into our diapers. I was ready to order some newborn diapers then and there! My wise husband asked me to wait and ask one of my friends if I could borrow her newborn pre-folds and covers to see if I liked them before investing in our own stash.

When Weston was 11 days old, I started cloth diapering with the borrowed pre-folds and covers as well as a few of her different brands of one-size diapers. After seeing how bulky they were, I decided to try a bumGenius 4.0 with the newborn insert on Weston and it fit the best! I was so excited since our diaper stash is almost exclusively bumGenius pockets with a few Econobum pre-folds/covers for Paxton.

At Weston’s 2 week check up, he was up from 6 pounds 14 ounces to 8 pounds 3 ounces {which is an amazing weight gain for a breastfed baby!} So, he was right around 8 pounds when the bumGenius One-Size diaper started fitting.

3 weeks old in a bumGenius 4.0 {he probably weighed around 8.5 pounds}

3 weeks old in a bumGenius Small All-in-One {he probably weighed around 8.5 pounds}

The bumGenius 4.0 fits wonderfully! In fact, snapped on the smallest setting and with the newborn insert it actually fits a little trimmer than our bumGenius Small All-in-One!

A newborn sleeper over a bumGenius 4.0 with the regular insert

These diapers are quite a bit bulkier than newborn disposables but I’ve not had any blowouts in them which actually is saving on laundry since I don’t have to change Weston’s clothes 3 or 4 times a day! At 4 weeks, I’m still able to snap newborn bodysuits and sleepers up with the cloth diapers on him, even with the regular insert in {he’s getting to be a heavier wetter and the newborn insert isn’t cutting it!}

Newborn diapers are precious but think long and hard before investing in them! Pre-folds and covers are very bulky and some of the trimmer fitting ones will probably be quickly outgrown! We saved a ton of money by not purchasing newborn diapers since these bumGenius diapers will fit until he’s potty trained!

My two sweet cloth diapered boys

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

Paxton loves the toddler water play area

One of the gifts our family received for Christmas was a membership to our local children’s museum. This was one of our favorite gifts and is a gift that will keep on giving all throughout 2012!

Gifts of experience provide an opportunity to make family memories, spend quality time together and learn! And, for those who live minimally, there’s no clutter that comes along with the gift of experience.

Playing in one of the music rooms

We’ll definitely be requesting more gifts of experience when asked what we want for Christmas and we’ll probably be giving the boys experiences for their birthdays instead of gifts!

What gifts of experience have you received? 

I’m Rachel, a wife stay-at-home mom to two boys, Paxton who’s 21 months and Weston who is 3 weeks old! I blog about various aspects of living a simple and debt free life!

Some topics covered include:

• Living Green
• Organizing
• Cloth Diapering
• Finances
• Raising Kids on a Budget
• Gardening
• Living Minimally

Thanks for visiting Frugal and Simple!!

Living a ‘green’ life is often portrayed as being more expensive than mainstream living. The reality is that being ‘green’ often is quite frugal and can save you a lot of money!

Here are some small steps towards living green that can save money:

• Recycle :: The more you recycle, the fewer trash bags you use! We only use 3 or 4 bags a month and buy trash bags once a year or less! Of course, if you live in an area where you’re charged by bag of trash or pay for weekly trash service, the more you recycle means the less trash you produce and the less you have to pay to get rid of it!
• Compost :: Once again, this helps save a little on trash bags for us! We compost our food scraps which produces rich compost for gardening. Another benefit, our trash rarely smells so we only take a trip to the dump every month or two!
• Cloth Napkins :: Never buy paper napkins again! We’ve been using cloth napkins throughout our entire marriage. We were given a few, bought a pretty set of 6 at a yardsale for $.50 and I’ve made several! We’ve spent less than $3 -4 on napkins. They just go in the wash with our clothes and they’re so small they don’t make a huge impact on laundry.
• Replace Paper Towels :: We haven’t purchased paper towels in 3 or 4 years. Instead we use kitchen towels and dish cloths for typical kitchen uses and use rags made from my husband’s old white t-shirts for messes and tasks like disinfecting countertops, cleaning the bathroom, wiping up spills from the floor and so on. We store the used rags in a small trash can in a closet and wash about once a month.
• Programmable Thermostat :: You can set the temperature to automatically lower at night as well as when you’re out of the home, saving electricity {and money} without putting much effort into it!
• Conserve Electricity :: Turn off lights when you leave a room, turn off electronics that are not being used, unplug kitchen appliances when they’re not in use and unplug electronics when you go out of town or if you rarely use them.
• Shop at Thrift Stores :: Not only do you typically spend less when you shop at a thrift store but you are also ‘recycling’ and giving an item a new use!
• Combine Errands :: With a little planning and organization, combine all of your errands so you don’t have to run to town multiple times in a week. Also, if you’re tempted to spend when you are running errands, only going once should cut down on temptations and save you money!

What green steps are you taking? Are these steps saving you money?

While organizing the nursery closet before Weston’s birth, I emptied out a small diaper box and decided to challenge myself to fill it up with clutter throughout the day!

While putting away clean dishes, I took a few extra minutes and went through the cabinets and drawers finding cookie cutters, baby spoons {we don’t need 10}, skewers and a creamer that’s never been used.

There were a few toys that Paxton never plays with that were added in and a shirt he doesn’t wear from the boys’ room.

I quickly went through my closet and dresser and I found a sweater, 2 shirts and a skirt that I don’t love and haven’t worn often.

And there were other odds and ends found throughout the house like a water bottle, a lanyard and some yarn.

I really didn’t put much time or effort into ‘de-cluttering’ but another box of stuff is leaving our home!

Living clutter free involves small steps. Start with one box, it won’t take much effort to fill up but you’ll feel great once you see that stuff leave your home!

During the summer of 2008, I found Crystal Paine’s blog, Money Saving Mom. We were already living frugally since we had just gotten out of college but, like most college graduates, expected our standard of living to increase upon graduation. Thanks in part to Money Saving Mom, we were inspired to continue living on basically the same budget we had in college and start saving money for a house downpayment! Over the years that I’ve been a Money Saving Mom reader, I’ve been inspired by Crystal {she and her husband paid cash for their first home!}

I was excited to hear the news that she was writing a book and even more excited when the book came in the mail for me to review! I immediately started reading The Money Saving Mom’s Budget and finished it within a day.

This book is full of all kinds of practical information for getting your life in order. It begins with a chapter about goal setting which I found to be very inspiring. We already set financial goals for each year but haven’t really put much thought into long term goals. She poses the question, “where do I want to be financially five years from now?” This question prompted thinking more long term in regards to our finances.

The second chapter is devoted to clearing out clutter and streamlining your life. Practical strategies for getting rid of physical clutter as well as commitment clutter are mentioned. She poses questions to ask about your clutter such as “do I use this item regularly?” and “is this item taking up space I don’t have?”

As the title implies, budgeting is covered. The book outlines baby steps to take towards budgeting. She suggests during the first month  establish a grocery budget, the second month use bare-bones budget which covers basic necessities and by the third month you’ve worked your way up to a full-fledged budget. Taking these baby steps is a great way to not get overwhelmed with budgeting and give up!

One chapter is titled “Twenty-Five Ways to Lower Your Grocery Bill Without Clipping Coupons.” This chapter is full of money saving grocery tips such as have a meatless night once a week, stick with simple meals that use inexpensive ingredients and don’t throw out your leftovers. Just applying one or two of these suggestions could cut quite a bit from your grocery budget.

The final chapter is “Embrace Today” and Crystal writes about contentment, which I believe is a key to living a frugal life! You have the power to choose contentment, “a cheerful attitude can go a long way in less than ideal situations; you can either complain about the thorns or you can savor the roses that bloom in their midst.”  Ways to cultivate contentment are listed, including create a gratitude list, choose to stop comparing yourself to other people and choose to be  a giver.

There are helpful worksheets in the back covering financial goals, priorities lists, time budgets and budget sheets.

This really is a book that anyone  can benefit from. If you’re just starting out on a journey to get your finances in order, this book is full of valuable information that will help you! And even if you’ve been living a frugal and debt free life, there are things you can learn from saving on your grocery bill, being inspired to set lofty goals and focusing on contentment.

Pre-order The Money Saving Mom’s Budget.  The release date is January 10, 2012.

Disclosure: I received this book to review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

I’ve been thinking about my goals for 2012 for a few months now. Knowing that I’m starting the year as a mama to two, I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with a ton of goals. I decided to keep things very simple this year but if I achieve each and every goal on my list for 2012, that will still be quite an accomplishment!

Goals for 2012:

Personal:
1. Read 1 book per month.
2. Memorize 1 verse/passage of scripture each month.
3. Write at least 8 blog posts per month. {I want to be more consistent with blogging this year!}

Family:
1. Read 6 parenting books with my husband.
2. Daily family devotions and prayer.

Financial:
1. $8,000 towards the principal of our mortgage.
2. $1,750 towards car savings.
3. Set up a legal will. {I believe this has been a goal for 3 years now! 2012 will be the year!}
4. Start college savings accounts for the boys.

So that’s it, they’re fairly simple this year and completely do-able! The financial goals make me a little nervous. Mathematically paying $8,000 towards the mortgage and $1,750 towards car savings, doesn’t work with my husband’s salary but with my transcribing, selling things and being creative, we hope we can achieve these goals!

Weston is definitely our surprise baby! With Paxton, everything was planned, we were trying when we got pregnant with him and he was induced according to our plan. With Weston, from the beginning he’s been a surprise! We weren’t planning on getting pregnant with him {although we were thrilled when we found out} and his entrance into the world was quite a surprise too!

I was due December 31 but hoping I’d be a day or two overdue so he’d be born in 2012 {Paxton was born in 2010 and I liked the thought of even birth years!} I just knew since he was my second baby that I’d be miserable around 32 weeks to the end of the pregnancy but I was wrong! I felt fabulous throughout the entire pregnancy, I had quite a bit of energy and I was still able to do everything as normal with Paxton {including putting a sleeping 20-month-old into his crib at 38 weeks pregnant!}

Since Paxton’s birth was so fast for a first time birth {5 hours from the time they broke my water and started pitocin until the time he was born}, I was convinced that my second baby would come quickly and one of my fears throughout this pregnancy was not making it to the hospital on time!

On Tuesday, December 20, I was 38 weeks 3 days pregnant and I had quite the day! I cleaned our home thoroughly, did some pre-Christmas de-cluttering and a lot of laundry! By the end of the day I was tired from all of the ‘nesting’. That night when I laid down to go to sleep, I felt what could best be described as a burrowing sensation. I could feel his little head moving further down. I had never felt anything like that with Paxton! I didn’t sleep very well that night and then Paxton woke up around 2 am and he slept the rest of the night with us. I had trouble sleeping, I kept tossing and turning and just couldn’t get comfortable.

Wednesday morning I woke up feeling really good especially considering the rough night I’d had. I did decide to take the day easy though since I didn’t want to do anything that could put me into labor, especially since John David was working late that night. Paxton and I stayed in our jammies well into the morning. I updated our finances, scheduling our mortgage payment so we wouldn’t have to worry about that on January 1! The day was pretty typical except for John David being gone all evening. I put Paxton down around 8:00 and I was feeling tired too so I decided to go ahead and get in bed after starting a load of diaper laundry.

I stayed up waiting for John David to get home and he finally arrived around 10. We stayed up talking and playing Words with Friends until 11:30. Once again I felt the burrowing sensation when I laid down. I was having an occasional contraction but they were typical Braxton-Hicks. I went to sleep fairly easily.

Between going to bed at 11:30 and 1:30, I woke up 2 or 3 times having a mild contraction. While I was having the contraction, I’d walk to the bathroom, pee and then walk back to bed and go back to sleep. They were slightly uncomfortable but nothing painful. After the contraction I had around 1:30 I was unable to get comfortable so I got out of bed, went to the bathroom again and then turned on my lamp.

I had another contraction at 1:40 and decided to start timing them since it was appearing that they were getting closer together. I had contractions at 1:40, 1:48, 1:54, 1:58 so they were very quickly getting closer together. I wasn’t incredibly uncomfortable as long as I was standing so I could sway my hips and move around with the contractions. I had a little bit of back labor with Paxton and these contractions were very similar, the contraction would start in my back and move around to my belly and my back hurt more than anything! I decided to run out to the laundry around 2 to run the final rinse on diapers and I came back in and my contractions were still 4 minutes apart.

I still wasn’t sure if I was really in labor or if it was false labor. I knew you were supposed to go to the hospital when contractions were 5 minutes apart but I really wasn’t in horrible, unbearable pain. Around 2:30, I woke up John David and started packing the hospital bags. I still wasn’t convinced I was in real labor even though the labor book we were referring to at this point indicated that I was in active labor. Finally, we decided it was labor and we needed to start really preparing to go to the hospital.

John David called my friend Ashley around 3:20 to see if she would come stay with Paxton. While we were waiting on Ashley, I was packing a bag for Paxton and gathering stuff for our bags while John David was loading the car. {I should add here that John David got the clean diapers out of the wash and hung them on the drying rack. I had been very concerned about leaving dirty diapers at home when I went into labor so this was a relief!}

Ashley arrived around 3:35 and we gave her a few instructions for Paxton and we left after I had a contraction while attempting to get into the car. At this point, contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and I had about 3 contractions which were so uncomfortable since I couldn’t move much. Riding in the car made the back labor even worse!

We arrived at the hospital around 3:30 and got a front row spot so I was able to walk in. We went into the registration room where I had 2 more contractions. After I was checked in, they sent us to a waiting area and I had 3 contractions which were very intense and I had the urge to push.

A nurse came out and we went to an admitting room where I changed into a gown through another contraction. I was checked and was dilated to 10 centimeters! I was wheeled into a delivery room while having contractions lying flat on my back which was so uncomfortable. At this point I also was fighting the urge to push.

We got into the delivery room and I was moved onto the bed. I was hooked up to a monitor at 3:58, had my blood drawn and an IV put in. At this point, I had an overwhelming urge to push and was begging to be allowed to push. The nurses kept telling me to just breathe through the contractions and not push because the midwife was not there yet. {I should add that this period of not being able to push was the worst part of the whole labor and delivery. My body was ready to do what it was supposed to do and trying not to was so hard!}

While waiting for the midwife to arrive, John David ran out to the car to grab our camera and while he was gone and as our midwife was arriving, I couldn’t fight the urge to push anymore. I pushed and my water broke. Then John David got back and the midwife was there and I was finally able to start pushing! It was such a relief to be able to push. It didn’t feel good nor was it easy but it was so wonderful to be able to do what my body needed to do.

I pushed about 4 or 5 times in a period of 5 minutes or less and Weston was born at 4:16 am! It was such a relief to feel him come out. I was so excited that I had delivered without any medication but a bit embarrassed at how loud I was while delivering him!

Weston weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long! {Paxton was 8 pounds 8 ounces, so he was considerably smaller!}

Unfortunately I did rip at the site of my old tear but thankfully it was only a second degree tear instead of a third degree which I had with Paxton. Finally, after stitches {which to me was almost worse than the delivery even though I had local anesthesia} I was able to hold him again and count his fingers and toes.

I unwrapped him for skin to skin and nursing, he latched on perfectly and started nursing right away, it was completely natural for both of us. It was amazing how much more confident I felt nursing him, I suppose 15 months of breastfeeding experience gives a mama confidence! After Weston finished nursing, we moved to our postpartum room around 6:30 am.

We’re still in disbelief that labor started at 1:30 and Weston was born at 4:16! That’s only 2 hours and 45 minutes of labor!

Around 2:30 that afternoon, John David went and got Paxton and brought him back to the hospital to meet his new brother and spend some time with us! He noticed Weston right when he walked in the room and was thrilled to see ‘baby’!

We’re adjusting well as a family of four. Paxton has not acted jealous of Weston and is taking his role as big brother quite seriously!

We feel so blessed that I had a quick and easy labor and delivery and we have another healthy and beautiful son!

Weston Clark Boreing

December 22, 2011 at 4:16 am

6 pounds 14 ounces, 20 inches long

We like living a clutter free, somewhat minimal life and due to this, it seems we’re constantly de-cluttering. {I really don’t know where the stuff comes from!}

Before:

The day we switched rooms. A blank slate to work with!!

After:

A clutter free, organized closet for our boys! I love that there is plenty of free space, it makes me feel like we have plenty of room and that we don’t have too much stuff!

The bottom shelves contain linens. The top shelf currently holds the boppy, Weston’s bag which is packed and ready to go to the hospital, the basket contains outerwear and Paxton’s shoes! I’ll probably store some toys on the floor in here, after Christmas I’m doing some toy de-cluttering and organizing {if I have the energy and Weston hasn’t arrived yet!}

Weston doesn’t have many hanging clothes at this time since his wardrobe is primarily made up of bodysuits, sleepers and gowns. I do have a few of his new outfits hanging up though just because I love to look at sweet baby clothes! The only clothes of Paxton’s that I hang are his khakis, button ups and sweater vets and jackets.

The top shelf contains newborn diapers, baby slings and wraps, swaddle blankets, educational games and disposables for Paxton {for Sunday mornings!}

My wonderful hubby built an additional top shelf so we’d have room to store clothes:

On the left side I have Weston’s clothes that he’ll be growing into.

I purchased 4 sweater boxes {2 for each child} and that’s how I’m storing these for now. I also have a medium size tub that contains Paxton’s clothes he wore from 8 to 16 months, once Weston grows into the clothes in these boxes, I’ll rotate the clothes in the larger tub into these.

I’m trying to keep clothing fairly minimal and for the most part, the contents of these boxes are enough to fully outfit him through each of these sizes. And I know the sizing seems odd, 3-4 months and 5-7 months but that is based on the age and season that Paxton was when he wore that size. If Weston is smaller or larger than his big brother those age ranges definitely won’t apply…we’ll see soon!

On the right hand side are clothes for Paxton to grow into. I haven’t done much buying ahead but we’ve been blessed with hand-me-downs that we’re storing for him to grow into. He’s currently wearing some 2T items but most are too large and I’m anticipating 2T to be his size in the spring. We also have been given some 3T, 4T and even 5T items which we’re storing for him too.

The boys’ closet is neatly organized and should be easy to maintain!

Thankfully, I found an amazing and easy tutorial on repairing bumGenius leg elastic!

I followed the tutorial step by step and over the course of about 2 weeks I fixed the elastic in my 10 oldest hook and loop diapers. {Working on them at night after Paxton was tucked in bed!}

Here’s the results:

The left side is has been repaired, you can see the difference in the length of the elastic!

An inside shot. {I’m really amazed that these are 18+ month old diapers, they really look almost new…and no, I don’t use any liners!}

Here’s a close up of the inside of the elastic. Again, the left side is the new elastic and the right is the ‘shot’ elastic’.

The first diaper I repaired took the longest and from there on it was easy, just took some time! It was completely worth the time invested to get some more life out of these diapers.

They fit Paxton so much better! There’s no gaping around the legs and I’m confident they’ll fit Weston too. We’ve had no leaking issues with the PUL after the repairs {I was a bit worried about that but it hasn’t been an issue.}

If your diapers are in need of a little repair, check out the tutorial! It’s really easy!

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

Now that I’ve been cloth diapering for 18 months, you’d think adding a new baby into the mix wouldn’t be a big deal and I’d be able to jump right in! However, I almost feel like I’m starting over completely since I have no idea what to expect with cloth diapering two!

About 2 months ago, I did a diaper inventory and we had 24 diapers total including pockets and pre-folds which lasted 3 days. I wash every other day and having a full day’s supply when I wash which is nice, I never have to worry about running out and that gives my inserts plenty of time to line dry!

Since Paxton is going through about 8 diapers a day, we need to have at least 16 for him for every other day and Weston will probably need from 10-12 a day so that’s about 24 diapers we’ll need bringing the total up to 40! That sounds like a ton of diapers and if I was going to be washing every other day it would still not be enough to give the diapers time to dry. The fact that I’m currently washing just 16 diapers per load every other day means if I was to wash diapers every other day for 2 babies, I’d have about 40 diapers in the wash which I believe would be way too many. With that said, I believe my wash routine is going to be every day and a half! I should only be washing around 26-30 diapers at a time which I think will not be too large of a load to get everything clean.

So, if I wash 30 diapers every day and a half, I still will have 10 diapers left which is half a day’s diapers for the boys, giving my others time to line dry and if the inserts are not dry when I need them,  I can always throw them in the dryer.

Here’s my diaper stash as of today {after the purchase of new diapers} ::

• BumGenius 3.0 (hook&loop) :: 10
• BumGenius 4.0 (snaps) :: 11
• Kawaii Goodnight Heavy Wetter :: 2*
• BumGenius Small :: 1**
• FuzziBunz Small :: 3**
• Pre-folds :: 12
• Covers :: 4
• Total: 39 diapers

{33 that both boys can wear since they’re one-size diapers, 2 that Paxton* wears overnight and 4 small diapers for Weston**}

With 39 diapers, I’m almost to that ‘magic’ {at least I think} number of 40! So, at this time we really only need 1 more diaper and any more than that will just give us some extra wiggle room!

Of course, this is my plan on this side of having 2 babies…we’ll have to see how it’s going in a few months!

{And we’ve been so blessed already with a gift certificate which we used to purchase more BumGenius diapers which are our favorite & money for diapers and a new larger diaper pail…which we’ve yet to find but we’re on the search for the ‘perfect’ one!}

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

If you’re looking for a deal on cloth diapers this weekend or other ‘green’ gifts for your children or friends, check out Sweetbottoms Baby ! They’re offering 10% off a $30 or more purchase through Monday night when you use discount code ‘BLACKFRIDAY2011′!

Diapers on Sale*:

*GroVia: Buy 2, Get 1 FREE  (applies to AIO, Newborn AIO, Shells, & Bio Diapers)

*Rump-a-rooz Pocket Diapers: Buy 4+, Get 1 FREE; Buy 8+, Get 2 FREE; Buy 12+, Get 3 FREE; Buy 20+, Get 4 FREE

*Bottombumpers AIOs: Buy 6 solid or 4 prints, Get 1 FREE

*Econobum: Buy 1 Prefold/Cover Set, Get 1 FREE

{*If you purchase the sale diapers, the 10% off doesn’t apply.}

I took advantage of the discount code twice this weekend purchasing a few items for my boys and a few gifts!! 

{Note: I am a Sweetbottoms Baby Affiliate}

We’ve been using cloth wipes since day one of our cloth diapering and love them! They can be quite frugal too. Most of my cloth wipes are baby wash cloths which are inexpensive.

However, since we’re having baby #2, in addition to needing a larger diaper stash, we also needed more cloth wipes! I’ve been looking around for wash cloths I like {without edge binding and a cotton blend} and the cheapest I’ve found is $8 for a pack of 12! I’d rather not spend that much on wipes!

Thankfully before I made a purchase, one of my cloth diapering friends showed me some cloth wipes she’d made out of old flannel receiving blankets. I immediately liked them and remembered I had some flannel in my fabric stash. She gave me one to test out and after using it on Paxton, I was sold! Time to break out the sewing machine!

These wipes were so simple to make. I cut squares out of flannel fabric and then sewed the fabric inside out {leaving a small hole to flip it}. Then I used a zig-zag stitch to top stitch and was done! Easy.

There really is no right or wrong size, just choose a size of wipe that you think will work best for you! Mine are a little bit smaller than the baby wash cloths I’m currently using as cloth wipes.

Lovely stack of 9 new cloth wipes! And yes, I have pink ones even though I have boys! But, who cares since these are going to be used to wipe their bottoms!! The flannel was free since I already had it!

After making the 9 blue and pink washcloths, I was sold on them so I decided to make more! The fabric this time was an old pair of my pajama pants! I was able to get 10 cloth wipes from the pajama pants and I love the red and white stripes.

Using cloth wipes is easy and frugal and making cloth wipes is too! If you don’t have any flannel already, look at resale and thrift stores for old receiving blankets or ask your friends, I’m sure you can easily find someone who has a ton of extra receiving blankets they’d be more than willing to give you!

Do you use cloth wipes if you cloth diaper?

This year my whole mindset about consuming has changed. We’ve been on a path towards rational minimalism. While we’ve certainly not ‘arrived’ our lifestyle has changed. I now think about the environmental, financial, and space impact of purchases and seriously question every thing we bring into our home.

I am intrigued by consumer culture and people seeking to acquire more and more stuff. Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We Don’t Have in Search of Happiness We Can’t Buy,  by James A. Roberts, was a thought provoking read. I read through the book in a few short days and with each chapter I felt like I was gaining more insight into our culture as well as myself.

“Our current consumer culture is best understood as an environment in which the majority of consumers avidly desire, pursue, consume, and display goods and services that are valued for non-utilitarian reasons such as status, envy, provocation, and pleasure seeking.” 

This quote from the very beginning of the book sums up, in my opinion, our consumer culture quite well. So many people {myself included in my past} have sought after things thinking they’ll make me look better or they’ll make other people think I’m somebody or it’ll make me happy. None of these are true, we so easily buy into lies of consumerism.

Of course since we’re committed to living debt free, driving 10 year old cars and living in a small home, we’re living a non-traditional, somewhat counter cultural life. However, that’s not to say we also don’t get caught up in materialism at times. Understanding that we are susceptible to falling for the lie that consuming more will make us happier is the first place to start.

In Shiny Objects, after presenting facts about consumerism and making the reader really begin to evaluate their lifestyle, Roberts gives the reader tools to help them succeed at letting go of consumerism. He lists 25 tweaks to financial tranquility in chapter 13, including build a budget, just say no to the mall and rent or borrow, but don’t steal.

Using just these 3 suggestions out of the 25 can make a huge difference:

• Building a budget- This is the first step to financial success. If that’s not a big enough reason to create a budget, consider the fact that a budget makes you evaluate your spending and can help control your frivolous purchases, putting you on the path towards overcoming consumerism.
• Just say no to the mall- If you can’t go into a store without making a purchase, avoid it at all costs!
• Rent or borrow, but don’t steal- Renting or borrowing saves you money, not to mention it gives you more space because you’re not acquiring items you will only use a time or two!

Another negative of materialism is how it undermines relationships, “Materialists tend to opt for work over family when pushed by time constraints; we’re a national of overworked souls, and the family is a major casualty.” Most people say that their family is the most important priority of their life but when it comes down to it, they often give stuff or the desire to obtain more stuff, priority over their family.

“It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” -Henry David Thoreau

I know I don’t want to be preoccupied with possessions and spend my life working to obtain things, ignoring my loved ones and the people around me.

Reading Shiny Objects will give you insight into your behaviors whether you are pursuing the American Dream of bigger, better, faster, more or, like my family, working towards minimizing and living a simpler life that’s not preoccupied with stuff.

Disclosure: I received this book from TLC Book Tours.  All opinions expressed are my own.

My grandma gave me several beautiful Christmas fabrics a year or two ago and they’ve just sat in my craft chest. I realized it would just take a little bit of time and effort to turn the Christmas fabric into cloth Christmas bags that can be used for years to come!

Making these bags was so simple. They’re not super fancy and the edges aren’t serged {due to the fact that I don’t own one} but they’re adorable and I love that they’ll be reused over and over in our family!

Step 1: Cut out your fabric in a rectangular shape. The size doesn’t matter, just base it upon how big you want your finished bags. I made several bags of varying sizes to hold both large and small gifts.

Step 2: Hem the edges of the fabric that will become the top of the bag. This step makes them look much neater!

Step 3: Fold your rectangle over with the hemmed edges touching and sew up the sides.

Step 4: You’ve sewn a cloth Christmas bag! All that’s left now is finding the perfect gift to place in your bag!

Isn’t this cute? I used scrap ribbon {mostly ‘recycled’ from gifts I’ve received in the past} to tie up my bags!

I love these colorful cloth Christmas bags!! { The larger bag is holding a 12×12 children’t book to give you an idea of the scale}.

I made about 10 bags already and have plans to make a few more. I’m using a few as gift wrap for gifts outside our family so I won’t personally be able to reuse them. The rest will be used in our little family so we’ll be able to reuse them for years to come!!

The best part of these bags, they were completely free since I already had the fabric on hand! Look in your fabric stash and see if you have any fabric that would work, reds and greens would make wonderful traditional colored bags but don’t forget blues and whites too! And of course any color or print would work because there are no rules that say your gift wrap has to be a certain color!!

Are you taking any steps towards a ‘green’ Christmas? If so, what are you doing? 

What’s the solution? Snack Bags!!

Planet Wise has a Bag Your Snack Stuff line which includes snack bags, sandwich bags and even a sandwich wrap! These bags are perfect for on the go.

Sandwich Wrap, Window Bag & Snack Bag

We have a sandwich wrap, window bag and snack bag.

The sandwich bag is great for sending sandwiches and bread to work with my husband. It folds out and makes a nice little ‘plate’ too! One or two of these would be perfect for sending lunches to school with kids!

Around here the snack bag and the window bag get the most use! Just about every time we leave the house, one of these bags is in my purse or Paxton’s backpack {and many times I’ve got them both packed!} We pack cereal, crackers, small cookies, dried fruit, just about any snack in these. They keep the food fresh and we’ve never had any leaks.

One of the best parts is the fact that Paxton can easily hold these bags and eat his snacks out of them on his own.

Each bag is $7.99 each which may seem a little pricey but when you consider that you won’t be purchasing {and throwing away} snack bags or bringing heavy snack containers {we use glass containers, not plastic} with you on the go, they’re a fabulous investment! After several months of use, mine are showing no signs of wear and I know they have years of life left in them!

These bags would make wonderful first birthday gifts or Christmas gifts for toddlers, kids or even your eco-friendly friends and family!!

They’re useful, they’re easy to carry with you and they also come in adorable prints!

Giveaway:

Win a set {sandwich wrap, window bag and snack bag} in your choice of prints!

Mandatory Entry: {leave a comment telling me you did}

• “Like” Planet Wise on Facebook

Additional Entries: {leave a separate comment for each entry}

• Tell me which snack bag you like the best
• Visit Planet Wise and tell me which print is your favorite
• “Like” Frugal and Simple on Facebook

Giveaway ends Monday, November 21 at 12 pm EST.

*Giveaway restricted to Continental US and Canada.

Disclaimer: I was provided the Planet Wise Bag Your Snack Stuff bags to review. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed in this post are my own!

*This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to commenter #67, Kate! 

Back in August while my husband was out of town, I began making over our bathroom! I painted the bathroom vanity, replaced the curtain and added in some decor.

Here’s the result:

The black cabinets turned out wonderful and the small touches really make the bathroom look wonderful!

I made the curtain using fabric I had on hand and simply tacked them up over the window using the ‘window mistreatment’ philosophy!

Since the color scheme is black, white and tan, I thought this Rolled Paper Africa Art was perfect! John David traveled to Ethiopia this past June and we have a Compassion child there so it’s a reminder of that trip, the wonderful people there and our sponsored child. I purchased it from Mercy House Kenya, a maternity home in Kenya.

And here’s another angle of the bathroom. I put a scripture verse on the wall and we bought a new soap dish that’s easier to clean!

Cost ::

Paint & Supplies: Free (used what I had on hand!)

Africa Art: $50 (with shipping)

Scripture Art: Free (I’ve had it for years!)

Soap Dish: $4 at Ikea

Curtains: Free (used fabric I already had!)

Total: $54

I think that was $54 well spent making the bathroom look wonderful!

• Our Financial Story: Before Marriage
• Our Financial Story: The Wedding
• Our Financial Story: Married in College
• Our Financial Story: After Graduation
• Our Financial Story: Single Income, No Kids
• Our Financial Story: We’re Expecting
• Our Financial Story: Stay at Home Mama
• Our Financial Story: We’re Moving
• Our Financial Story: Our New Home
• Our Financial Story: Currently