Cloth Diapering

I cloth diaper. I know. I am a freak of nature. I wash them myself too. Huh? On a daily basis our laundry sink is full of a vinegar/water mixture with soiled diapers in it. At the end of the night, I throw them in the wash and hang them to dry. I can't wait until spring when I can soak them in sunshine outside on the line. Lots of people support my radical viewpoint to cloth diaper...and cheer me from the sidelines. Some are quietly guarded, thinking I may be a bit odd, and pitying me for the lack of normalcy. Others think I'm just down right mentally ill. I go back and forth between all three descriptions myself. Believe me, if you’re shaking your head reading this, I totally understand. If you think I’m a nutjob, I completely get it. If you think my kids will grow up to be weird because they had cloth on their bum? You’re probably right (I hope they are weird and abnormal in a good way...but I don't think cloth diapering will have much to do with it).

But guess what? I save our family about $900 a year for cloth diapering. If I would have known about this little money saver with Alex, that would mean I would have saved $900 a year, for two years x 5 kids...that would be a whopping $9000 worth of savings. WOW! And, do you know that the savings for BREASTFEEDING a baby versus FORMULA feeding a baby is even more enormous for just the first year of life??? Not weighing in the health benefits (fewer doctor visits perhaps?), and not putting in the cost of bottles, nipples, washing, etc. and just comparing OUNCE per OUNCE for the actual liquid...breastfeeding saves about $1800 for the first year. Even more savings if you continue to breastfeed into the second year. Wow. For all 5 babies that is a savings of, once again, $9000. $18,000 in our pocket just for breastfeeding and cloth diapering. Who'd a thunk it? :)

I actually don't cloth diaper just for the savings. It is just my way of trying to save the planet. I mean, I am not a tree hugger by any means, but it definitely was a plus to realize I am not contributing to the 2 tons per baby that disposable diapers contribute to landfills. Crazy numbers, huh?

And, if you have kept reading for this long, I commend you. Mathematical equations as to how much the Hasse's save and where they put it must be pretty boring. Not to mention the descriptions of the random acts of whackiness and social outcast I do to our family;) Oh well. They will survive.

Here is a photo of Kennedy when she was about TJ's age in her personalized cloth diaper. Too cute! The pictures above are of TJ sporting a jungle dipe!

homemade whole wheat noodles

The kids made the BEST homemade whole wheat noodles tonight for our chicken noodle soup. So easy, and so fun! I would put my chicken noodle soup recipe here, because it was delicious, except I don't really know what I did! :) I boiled chicken then shredded it. Oh yeah- and I put a couple pieces of left over lime chicken from last week in it. Then I chopped up carrots and celery. Added parsley, onion, salt, pepper, soy sauce (thought I would try it)...and I think a couple of other things. VERY tasty! Fresh noodles only need to cook for about 5 minutes, so I added them very last after I let the soup simmer for about a half hour.

Whole Wheat Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups 100% whole wheat flour
2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

Water, as needed

DIRECTIONS:Blend together flour, eggs and salt. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together, but is not sticky. Check after each tablespoon to see if dough has firmed. I used about 12 tbsp of water for this doubled recipe.

Roll dough as thin as you can, forming a rectangle (or, something that resembles a rectangle, if the kids are doing it!). If dough starts to spring back when rolled, let the dough rest for ten minutes and resume rolling.

Slice the dough as thick as you would like the noodles. I have heard you can roll it up in a jelly roll and do this too. For the kids it was easier to just slice it. We hung the strings over a bowl to dry.

Fresh noodles will only take about 4 minutes to cook — they are done when they float to the top of the water.

Makes two medium-sized portions of pasta...we, of course, doubled it for our brood.

went swimming today

We took the kids (everyone but Mackenzie...she went to the horse barn with friends) and Logan to the pool today. It is right across the street from us at Seymour High School. It is wonderful because it has a beach front entry pool for the little ones...and I swear it is 100 degrees in there. I really think the water is 90 or so...

Anyway, I didn't get any photos of Brian playing basketball with the boys in the big pool...wish I would have, but I didn't see how I was going to be able to keep my eye on three little ones and shoot a whole bunch of photos at the same time...so I guess I should be thankful I got what I did! :)

Zesty Lime Chicken

Great recipe! 2 ways to do it. Fix it up and throw it in the fridge for 4 hours to marinate (this is what I did today). Or, make it in a freezer container and throw it in the freezer. When ready, thaw it out and throw it on the grill! I used a George Forman grill tonight.

Put six boneless, skinless chicken breast in a container (obviously, I had to double the recipe for my brood!)
Add:
1/2 cup chicken broth
zest of one lime
1/3 cup lime juice
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon garlic
1 Tablespoon onion flakes
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon pepper

So good and yummy...and good for you! Everyone agreed this was a great one to share!

Finished crafts and bubble blowing

We finally finished our Valentines Day crafts...I know, a couple days late! But it was so much fun! My good friend Sara gave us these foam sets and Natalie learned not to touch the hot glue gun during the assembly process. :)

Also, it was nice enough today to spend a couple minutes blowing bubbles on the back deck.

Funnel Cakes

So cool...it was like being at the state fair! We had Family Home Evening tonight and had Funnel Cakes for our treat! So quick, easy, and oh so fun!

1. Heat three cups of vegetable oil over medium high heat until it reaches 350-375 degrees.

2. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well, then add 2 1/2 cups milk 3 large eggs. Blend until smooth.

3. Put batter in gallon sized bag. Remove excess air, and seal. Cut 1/4 inch wide hole in bag. Carefully squeeze 1 cup of batter back and forth into oil making a free form lacy web. Cook until golden on bottom, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, turn the cake over and cook until golden brown on other side, about 1 more minute. Transfer funnel cake to paper towels to drain.

4. Dust funnel cakes with powdered sugar and serve warm. I also did some with drizzled honey and powedered sugar. And another with freezer strawberry jam with large chunks of strawberries...and then of course, powdered sugar.

These were quick and easy, and got 2 thumbs up from everyone.

photo overload of TJ...

TJ looked like a little vintage boy today at church...so cute!

flower pot pancakes...so fun!

Today I surprised the kids with a new breakfast...it was so easy and so much fun! Set oven to 350 degrees. On the griddle, make 5 inch round pancakes - make sure they are on the thin side. Spray a muffin tin (make sure to do this!). After the pancakes are done mold them into the muffin tin. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Put them on a plate and dress them up with fresh strawberries (I used strawberry freezer jam from strawberries we picked over the summer), blueberries, or any other berries and then a dollop of whip cream! YUM! YUM!

The girls also had fun doing some valentine crafts this afternoon! We plan to finish those up tomorrow.

Dinner at Uncle Bob and Aunt Theresa's

We went to dinner in Algoma on Friday night...Theresa got some great photos in the studio and just of dinner in general...enjoy! :)