Update on my lack of interior design skills

Remember when I didn't know what the hell to do with our fireplace?

This is what I looks like currently, although The Good Daughter's first birthday photos are now replaced by Christmas ones. However, it is still basically the same stuffed mantel and boring white walls.

before

Since I have no creative bone in my body, I have been searching and searching for ways to make my mantel pop. Then last week I was over at The Good Aunt's and she suggested whatever we do, make it an odd number so it would be more interesting. I dismissed that right away since I am way too anal to have anything but even numbers.

I thought I would find four photos, maybe of mountains or a field and group them into one large rectangle. Then I couldn't find any prints I wanted and a poster of an Ansel Adams photo just seemed too tacky.

Then a combination of things fell into place to inspire me into the perfect grouping. Check out this idea:

please imagine this completely centered and everything even

The Good Husband and I were watching The Last Picture Show on TMC the other night and I just happened to catch this as the layout over the couch in the living room as Ellen Burstyn was talking on the phone. It had everything. An odd number to keep your eye interested, but matching end features to appease my anal ass. I even made TGH pause the show on the DVR, so I could sketch the design. We also learned a cousin in the family is taking photography lessons and we saw some of his work and loved it.

The plan now is to commission three black and white photos to be the same size as the actual fireplace (black part only, not the title or trim) with one large photo and two smaller ones. They will most likely be farm fields, so we will have to wait until summer to get a beautiful shot of corn swaying in the breeze. I want to find to small silver oval mirrors for either side of the smaller photos and I already have some sconces for either side of the larger photo. Then I can clear the mantel off and move the photos to another wall, as yet determined.

We are also going to paint the wall with the fireplace red and the rest of the house tan. I will update as soon as our lazy asses paint since we are both too scared to do it and then hate it.

Go Green - Baby

I started my Go Green series while I was still pregnant so there were things I didn't think of until after The Good Daughter was here to be more green.

I will say, right off the bat, that the hardest thing for me and everyone in my family, is to resist the urge to buy everything and anything for the new baby and only buy new stuff every time.

~Don't buy everything Babies R Us says you have to have
What I did need:
Infant Car Seat OR Convertible car seat

Booster car seat

Travel System OR Full-size stroller OR Lightweight stroller

Bibs

Burping cloths

Breast pads, shields & cream

Breast milk storage

Bottles

Bottle brush

Training cups

High chair

Gentle shampoo & body wash & baby lotion

Stand alone potty seat

Nail Clippers

Grooming kit

Teethers

Brushes & comb

First aid kit

Digital thermometer

Humidifier/vaporizer

Pain relief products

Ear thermometer

Gas relief drops

Diapers

Diaper pail

Diaper ointment

Baby wipes

Cradle, bassinet, portable crib OR crib

Cradle, bassinet, portable crib OR crib sheets

Mattresses

Crib mattress pads

Crib bedding

Blankets

Clothing hangers

Outfits

Outlet covers

Safety gates

Smoke & carbon monoxide alarm

What I did NOT need:
The other 80% of BRU registry checklist. Seriously. I didn't buy a changing table so I didn't need a changing pad or covers. I didn't buy a monitor since TGD slept in our room and still sleeps with us. I didn't buy any carseat toys or highchair toys or a gym or bouncer or walker. While I did have a swing, TGD was never in it. She also only used her pack and play once. She got far more clothes than she needed and since she was a summer baby, spent most of her days in just a diaper anyway. I didn't get a bottle or wipe warmer. So just rethink the impulse to buy buy buy.

~Shop consignment and yard sales

I love going to the store and buying new clothes for her but I have to remember that it shouldn't be my first option. I told you here, I was able to get a ton of clothes for cheap for TGD by shopping yard sales. But I have also had some success with places like GoodWill and consignment stores. Luckily there are two great consignment stores for children in my area so, I will check those places out first when TGD needs new clothes, which is still about every 3 months.
 
~Buy wooden and earth friendly toys
Another major snag is finding toys that are not plastic. I had requested no presents for TGD's birthday but she still got toys from everyone. I plan on donating the ones that require batteries once she (and the next babies) outgrow them so they won't end up in a landfill but eventually they will and that does make me upset. I love Plan Toys. TGD has the activity blocks, the shape and sort it out, the xylophone, the stacking ring  and animal memory. There is not a day when she doesn't play with one of them.

We also have some stacking cups from Green Sprouts, which also offers clothes and feeding products for your baby but we haven't tried any of those. We also bought 100% organic plush fruit and veggies (grapes, green bean - TGD's fav-, banana, strawberry) from Under the Nile. We also bought two rattles - happy caterpillar, cherry tree rattle - from Sassy Earth Brights. And finally we bought two teething toys from Vulli, makers of the famous Sophie the Giraffe. We bought the Chan Pie Gnon Soft Chew Toy, which was nicknamed Obi Won and a teething ring that has been since discontinued. To complete our hippy list of toys, TGD also got vintage letter blocks, which I totally saw on Mad Men this season (baby Gene was playing with them).
 
~Cloth diaper
 I talked about that here, here and here.

~Use chemical free body product
sI love the California Baby line of products. Their diaper rash cream is cloth diaper friendly and I have used about everything in their baby line and love them. I can find them at my local Target and Babies R Us.

~Use an organic mattress pad, sleep contour and/or sheetsWe have this organic mattress from Serta along with this mattress cover and sheets. It was important for us the place TGD spent most of her time in the beginning was free of chemicals and pesticides. Even though we have a full crib for her, she slept in an Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper until 7 months (I found some organic sheets and a mattress at my local Target). After that, we put her to bed and naps in her crib and bring her to bed with us when we go to bed. Yes, she sleeps in the bed with us now. I told you we are crazy hippies, who also sleep on an organic mattress and sheets.

~Use organic swaddling blanks and regular blankets
We swaddled TGB for almost 7 months as well, since she loved it. We also swaddled her all day for about 3 months. Again, I picked up some organic cotton swaddling blankets from Target. There are also sleep sacks that are organic but we never used those.

~Buy books from a used book store or library
Twice a year our library has a used book sale and I have gotten a ton of books there. No they are not in mint condition, but they were only 50 cents each and TGD doesn't care about a bent page.

~Use gender neutral clothes, accessories and bedding
This harder for clothes since once everyone knew we were having a girl we were flooded with pink shit. Now if the next babies are boys, we will have to buy mostly new clothes. We did go gender neutral for the nursery and the car seat, high chair and travel system so they can easily be used again.

~Feed your baby organic food
I talked about making homemade food here. If you don't or can't make your baby food at home Earth's Best, Ella's Kitchen, Plum Organics, Happy Baby and Yo Baby are all great products. I used the Earth's Best glass jar baby food for meals containing meat. TGD also loved all the puffs and yogurt bites. I also love the pouches of organic food since they are super easy to take with us when we are out and since TGD can squeeze them herself, she can feed herself mess free. She still loves them now at 19 months and it is a good way to get her to eat a wide range of foods. With the exception of the Yo Baby, I found all the organic food at my local Babies R Us.

~Use wooden or BPA free feeding tools
We use the Tommy Tippie line of products and like them.

~Use glass bottles
We used Born Free glass bottles for 15 months and only broke 3. The only down side is they are heavy.

~Breastfeed
Since this is the most controversial one, I saved it for last. You might not want to breastfeed or find that you can't and I sympathize. The first night in the hospital when I sent TGD to the nursery so I could sleep, only to be woken up every 3 hours to nurse her, I thought then it would be so much easier to formula feed her. But I stuck with it, even with latch issues and breastfed exclusively for four months. Then I switched to pumping and feeding her expressed breastmilk until she was 11 months old. I pumped every two hours for 8 months to maintain my supply until it crashed at 11 months out. So I understand how much of a pain it can be. However, it was cheap. I got a free used pump from my cousin (I know you aren't supposed to do it, but there is no way I got the milk into the pump, which is the main concern of sharing, so I didn't think she did either. I did buy new tubing, bottles and shields). Other than buying fenugreek to keep my supply up, a nursing bra and milk storage bags were the only other investment I made.

~Use reusable nursing pads

What are your favorite green baby items or tips?Please note that no company I linked above paid me for this post. It would have been sweet if they did, but I bought all this stuff on my own.

Fat Camp - Day 14: Results

It has officially been two full weeks into fat camp and I have lost 6 pounds which is a miracle considering there were two days in there when said, "fuck it" and ate everything in sight including friend chicken strips and chili cheese fritos with ranch dressing.

But I am being "good" this week so far and eating all my fruits and veggies and taking my vitamin, so here's hoping to continued weight loss.

Fat Camp - Day 5: What the hell to eat?

I've fallen back into eating a whole wheat english muffin with cream cheese and a glass of milk for breakfast. But now I can eat a banana with it too. That's a breakfast of 9 points.

For lunch today I had tuna salad (2 oz tuna packed in water, 1 tablespoon light mayo, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon pickle relish, 1 hard boiled egg, seasonings) on whole wheat toast, with lettuce and onion with an apple and celery. That's 8 points.

Dinner might be salmon and brown rice and veggie or an organic baked potato but I'm not sure yet. The sushi at the fish market might call to me.

Oh and yesterday was a day where I drank all my points.

And now for something totally different

Instead of struggling with getting good photos of the food I cooked last week, I thought I would just show you how well The Good Daughter enjoyed eating it.

Please skip this post if you don't want to see photos of my kid. I won't be offended. I promise.

Monday - Venison Sloppy Joes, Cole Slaw and oven baked organic french fries

Tuesday - Spinach and Bacon Frittata (Did.Not.Like)

Wednesday - Sweet and Sour Chicken and Shrimp Potstickers

Thursday - Veggie Beef Soup

Fat Camp - Day 1: Own worst enemy

The Good Husband had a work meeting this morning and bless him, brought donuts home for The Good Daughter and I.

You are your own worst enemy.

But I only had one.

I'm going to fat camp!

Yay! I wonder if it will be a camp like Salute Your Shorts?

Probably not, since I'm not going to an actual camp. What I am doing, along with The Good Husband, is participating in a 90 day weight loss challenge sponsored by TGH's work. We have been assigned a group and the group that loses the most weight at the end of the challenge will win $50 each.

I bet I will spend more than $100 in the next three months on healthy food. ::sigh:: Eyes on the prize, fatty and enjoy any weight you lose.

The challenge officially starts tomorrow but I have been warming TGH up all week by making smaller and healthier meals, packing his lunch and making him eat breakfast. We plan on following Weight Watchers, walking when the weather permits and doing P90X (yes, because we are crazy).

So far the menu has been:
Breakfast - one whole wheat english muffin, 2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, 1 medium banana and 1 8 oz glass of milk

Snack - granola bar

Lunch - Sliced turkey sandwich with onion, 1/4 avocado, lettuce, light mayo on whole wheat bread, 2 celery stalks with peanut butter, 3/2 cup grapes, 1/2 baby carrots and 1 gram cracker

Snack - 8 oz V8

Dinner - 4 oz salmon fillet, 4 peel and eat shrimp, 1 cup brown rice and broccoli

I haven't totaled the WW points on all this because, frankly, I am not stressing out too much about it at this point. I will save all the point counting for the next 90 days. At the end of the 90 days, I get to go dress shopping so I can watch my BBF from high school marry her boyfriend of the last 5 years. Hopefully I won't have to shop in the Woman section for that.

Wish me luck.

Cloth Diaper Update, Con't

Before I almost doubled my diaper stash with new Thristies diapers, I decided I wanted to try BumGenisus organic all-in-one, one-size diapers. I was able to get them on sale so I picked up an additional eight diapers to my previous stash of 15.

There are pros and cons to these diapers.

Pro - As you can see from the photo below, these really are an AIO, so there is no need to stuff these like you would with a pocket diaper. I can pull these off the line and wrap them around The Good Daughter and everything is gravy.

Con - The organic cotton sits right next to baby's skin and the wetness stays there. TGD can't wear these overnight since it will make her skin too red.

The inside of a BumGenis organic diaper, click to enlarge

Pro - These come in snaps. TGD hasn't quite figured out how to get these off of her compared to the hook and loop version. So they stay snug and on her.

Con - The snaps are a little funny in terms of sizing. With the hook and loop closures, you can place one tab on top of the other. With the snaps, the sizes are more defined so if you have less room to get a perfect fit

BumGenisus organic diaper, snap closure in grasshopper

Pro - These are 100% organic cotton, so no nasty chemicals next to baby's skin like in a disposable and they come in both snap closure, pictured above, and hook and loop closure.

Con - However, they are more expensive than BG3.0s

BumGenisus organic diaper, snap closure and hook and loop closure in (l-r) white, grasshopper, clementine, moonbeam

Pro - These are more trim than the BG3.0. I can fit more into the diaper bag and pants aren't as tight in the butt when TGD wears these.

Con - It is easy for the inside cotton to peak out from under the covering, especially around the legs. This will cause leaks, so you have to make sure all of the lining is tucked into before dressing baby.

Again, I wasn't paid for this post. I bought this stash out of my own tiny paycheck.

Holiday Farmer's Market

This was only the second year for the holiday farmer's market. It was in a smaller location this year and I really hope they move it back to the original location next year. Everything was so crowded and even with The Good Daughter in her umbrella stroller, it was hard pushing her through the crowd and carrying all my bags.

It was also bittersweet for me since the HFM was the last thing TGD and I did with my mother-in-law before she passed away last November.

But I did walk away with a good amount of food.

I walked away with salad greens, organic beef jerky and beef sticks, cabbage sprouts, 'taters, cheddar blue cheese, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, radishes, cauliflower, and french bread rolls.

I ended up making roasted cabbage sprouts and crisped buttered 'taters. Everything else went into a salad.

Since the HFM is just before Thanksgiving, maybe next year I will buy a turkey and have a local feast.