The Cheap and Choosy

An Adorable Hold Up

2011-12-08T16:26:00.001-05:00

I was due with out second child, a boy, on November 22 of this year. He, however, decided that November was NOT a cool month to be born in, just like his older sister had. The last day of September, I found myself at the birth center confirming with the midwife that I was indeed contracting, and from there went to the hospital. After receiving steroids to help baby's lungs develop more quickly and magnesium for the brain, which also can slow down contractions. I left the next day only to wind up there again 2 days later to stay after dilating to 4 cm and still having rythmic contractions on and off. I am so thankful to report that we made it to exactly 34 weeks, and our son was born on October 12 at 3:23 in the morning. His birth was followed by a little over two weeks in the NICU, which was one of the hardest things I've ever experienced. My heart goes out to all mommies who go through this, especially those who are there much longer than we were.

There truly is so much I could write about how God prepared us for this and provided for us in it, but it will have to wait for now. Needless to say I have not been doing much sewing or making progress towards starting an Etsy shop. I've realized it's going to be a slow road, and just praying for guidance, but for now, let me give you a peak at what's been holding me up!

Meet James Daniel Walker:

One CRAZY Day...my first freezer cooking experience

2011-11-17T15:45:00.001-05:00

*Check out Money Saving Mom's new ebook, The Money Saving Mom's Budget! Today is the last day to win your own free copy of her ebook on Freezer Cooking!!

What you are about to witness is purely supernatural. That may sound trite and you may think that I'm joking, at least to some extent, but I assure you I am not in the slightest. If you know me well, you will not be hard to convince. If in doubt, just ask my mom or my husband!

I was just starting to think "meal plan" for the first time in at least 2 months, when
I happened to notice that my friend, Julie, had posted about bulk cooking on her awesome blog. I'd heard of freezer cooking or monthly cooking over the previous year but the mere thought made me sweat. I felt like such a rookie at cooking in general (the practical side of homemaking does NOT come naturally to me) that it seemed like this huge, super-organized, impossible for me to do. We also did not have freezer space at the time. All that struggling over daily cooking was not in vain, because I finally have a number of recipes I feel fairly comfortable making, which makes this new endeavor much easier.

When I read Julie's post it suddenly sounded so practical and doable. I really believe it was just purely God's timing when I was ready for and NEEDED it! Suddenly a plan began to take shape in my mind. I started grouping my common recipes into those made with hamburger meat, those made with chopped chicken, those made with no meat, and those made with cut meat.
Then I started grouping them in threes so that I could have one going primarily on the stove top, one in the oven, and one in the crock pot. I told Tom about this, and I could tell yesterday that he was surprised that it actually came to pass (though he did not say so ;).

Yesterday was recipes that use ground beef. I quadrupled my spaghetti sauce recipe for spaghetti and two pasta bakes, I doubled my Crusty Mexican Bean Bake recipe, and made a crock pot of chili (2.5 quarts). It was a crazy day and literally took all day between feeding and caring for my little ones but it was so worth it. Here's what I ended up with. We had spaghetti for dinner and there is enough sauce for two more family dinners (2 more quarts).

Reasons I'm excited about bulk cooking:

1. The most obvious is that it will make daily prep. time for dinner just a matter of re-heating and preparing simple sides, except for one day every 2 or 3 weeks or more.

2. We'll save a lot on dining out because it will be when we want to, not because mommy didn't get dinner together in time or hasn't been able to get to the grocery store yet.

3. Trying new recipes will be without pressure and "for fun" since feeding the family won't depend on it.

4.Preparing meals for other families will be much easier.

5. We'll have leftovers from even the individual meals for either another night and/or lunches.

6. I'll have more flexibility with visiting, having visitors, errands, or anything we may want/need to do besides cooking, except on the big cooking day of course.

I am so thankful to the LORD for this idea and the ability to get it started, and to my husband for putting in an extra freezer for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Graco Carseat Swing Frame - One Stop Shopping

2011-11-15T20:37:00.000-05:00

This is the coolest contraption. It's so simple and practical. It's a frame for a swing...only the seat is the car seat. It vibrates and plays classical music or nature sounds as well. I'm so thankful to have discovered it. If the baby is asleep in the car, you can just plop the car seat into the swing when you get home. We always had to put the carrier somewhere anyway so now it has a place. I'm using this so much and highly recommend it if you have a Graco car seat. I can't speak for its durability as we haven't had it long but it also folds flat for travel. There are so many things out there marketed as though you need them all...bouncers/rockers that vibrate, swings, travel swings, etc. It is very helpful to have a small safe place to seat your baby while doing chores and working with other children. We also found the borrowed swing we had last time very helpful for soothing our first. This covers both of those things while giving you a place to store your car seat/carrier! Genius.

Choosy Reusables coming soon on Etsy...

2011-08-08T14:29:00.003-04:00

and it's all for water!

When I had the idea of starting a shop I was deeply convicted that I should use this shop specifically to support the digging of wells in Africa. It was one of the clearest directions from God I've ever received in my life. I've struggled since then with doubt that a little Etsy shop could really make a difference, and how I would find all the time to sew while taking care of small children, but three times I have felt convicted by God, and He has helped me get on top of housework so that my mind and time are more available, and I am plunging ahead in faith! To start, 60% of profit of this shop will be donated to a charity organization working specifically with providing clean water specifically in Africa. I have been looking into different organizations and have settled on The Water Project. I will be starting with giving 60% because I'm not yet sure of all the costs of running the business, and need some wiggle room for new products. However, my desire and conviction that all of the proceeds go to Africa, and therefore hopefully the percentage will increase as the shop is established.

It's going slowly, as I have approximately 2 hours a day to work with as my lovely little toddler naps, but I am not discouraged. It doesn't have to be big, I just have to obey! I'm starting out with selling my own unique cloth wipes, while working on developing a pattern for cloth books, which I am really enjoying! Here is a sampling of what I'll be starting out with:

Introducing "Choosy Wipes!"

Months ago, when I had been using cloth diapers for a while and had experimented with different kinds of cloth wipes, I found that the straight flannel and even special cloth wipe materials just did not compare to the smoothness and efficiency of whenever I just grabbed one of our micro-fleece stay-dry liners to wipe our baby with! So much so, that I started throwing away all our plain flannel wipes and made a new type of wipe with designer microfleece on one side and flannel on the other. Now I can simply spray and wipe with the soft fleecy side and pat dry with the flannel side!

Some are backed with solid flannel (first image above, and others, which I will be calling Choosy Wipes Deluxe, are backed with matching designer flannel (second image above).

Right now I'm working on sewing up an "inventory" to get started with, figuring out pricing, and waiting on some adorable fabric I ordered! I'll keep you posted on progress and certainly when the shop is finally up and running!

Homemade Play-Dough

2011-08-08T13:41:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been trying to find some more structured activities for my 22 month old. I have a strong desire to teach her, even at this age, and take initiative in that area and not just let our time happen to us. I was looking for ideas and came across this website called Joyful Learning, that seems to be made by a mom who had the same desire. I love how simple it is. I have started using the monthly Bible memory verse, the play dough recipes, and hope to use the sensory tub ideas in the future months. Our first batch of play-dough turned out nicely, though I just used a flavor of JELLO that we happened to have, and though my daughter's little hands cannot yet manipulate it very much she enjoys "squishing" it and having me make a bear, car, cat, or whatever. I try to encourage her to make things as much as she can and so far she enjoys making pancakes and tacos! :) Here she is talking on her play-dough phone! Hope this website is helpful to someone else!

Simple Summer (No Bake) Meals

2011-07-26T22:17:00.000-04:00

Food has not been fun for me lately due having aversions to most of it during pregnancy, but little by little I'm able to tolerate more tastes and smells. I'm trying to find simple meals that I can prepare for my family that require minimal use of the oven in the summer,as it shoots up the cooling bill. Here are a couple that are working so far. I'd love to hear more ideas on this!

1. Get bagged frozen chicken breasts on sale and (have hubby) grill all at once. Use over the next week for sandwiches (toasted bread, sliced chicken, lettuce, tomato and mayo), or mix cube and mix in with stove top pasta dishes or Rice a Roni.

2. Boil entire bag of said frozen chicken and chop while it's hot. Store in a sealed container in fridge to use for chicken salad ( just mix in mayo and sweet pickle relish to taste), or though it requires the oven, chicken crescent rolls though I will definitely be using Pillsbury right now! Try these chicken patties as well. They're a little messy to make but don't require baking.

3. BLT's! (Though we try to keep the bacon to a minimum around here.)

Any ideas??? I'm desperate!

From Chaos to Clean with Time to Spare

2011-07-13T09:20:00.000-04:00

I've been through such a transformation when it comes to housekeeping. I give all the glory to God because I have tried and tried for years and always failed. I wanted to share because if it helps anyone else as much as it hs helped me then it is worth the time! I'm just in unbelief and excited about this change in my life.

I didn't realize how much my struggle with "staying on top of the house" was making me feel cluttered mentally. I constantly felt like "I had so much to do," and would not make plans or be afraid to make plans, especially if they involved having people over to our house because I was so overwhelmed already.

Months ago I was convicted about how my worry and stress about housework was a hindrance to abiding in Christ and staying in step with the spirit and I was convicted to just let it go, and seek Him every day. That brought so much peace and things were much better than before, but when first trimester of pregnancy struck I was unable to do much of anything, and since emerging from that I believe God has provided this method to help me get back "on top of the house" and better yet, to stay there. (My husband always picks on me for putting it like that and warns me not to fall off because I might hurt myself!)

Second thanks go FLY LADY, who has been the practical means of this change. I had seen the website before and even briefly tried to give it a go, but quickly became overwhelmed and shut it out, which is why I am writing this post. Somehow suddenly I had the urge and the will to look at it again and sift through the abundant information to find out what is the BOTTOM LINE. I personally need to see the big picture FIRST, or the details will confuse me to death. I recently wrote an email to a friend describing the BIG PICTURE as I understand it, and how it has worked for me, so that's what I'll share with you! Again, I hope this will be a help to someone else! To a naturally neat person, this may all seem obvious...but those of you "messies" like me will appreciate it!

Here's my simplified explanation:

First, you start with baby steps which are a few routines you establish.

The first is shine your sink every night. (AKA don't leave dirty dishes...start dishwasher before bed...you probably already do that generally.)

These are the morning and evening routines that I've adopted (there are more I ignore because I don't think they'd help me.)

Morning routines:
1. Make bed
2. Reboot laundry (one load a day THIS HAS HELPED ME SOOOOOOOO MUCH...keeps it from piling up!)
3. Empty dishwasher (this one has also helped SO much! Now I can put dirties in throughout the day and keep it neat!)

Evening routines:
1. Shine sink. (Tom helps with getting dishes away)
2. Spend five minutes decluttering what she calls a "hotspot" (place that gets piled up quickly...for me it's our kitchen table...this one has helped me a lot too! I find if you do it every day you don't need 5 minutes...just a few seconds because it doesn't get so piled up.)

I started with just these and expecting nothing else from myself and found that it helped keep away the piles of dishes and laundry so I was free to think about other things. My house was relatively neat and I had time to spare!

I added one more after I got those established that I do either morning, midday, or evening depending on when it's most convenient. She calls it a "Swish and Swipe" (I had to look it up in FAQ). It is a quick spray down and wipe down of mirror, sink/counter, and toilet in the bathroom. It only takes one minute it because if you do it every day nothing builds up. I use my vinegar/water all purpose cleaner and start with the mirror and work my way down and toilet last and this way I only use one wad of paper towel. I wasn't sure if I could do this every day but the results were so gratifying that I've found it easy to continue almost every day. Never thought I'd enjoy cleaning toilets, but if you KEEP them clean, they never get gross!!!!!!!!

With just the above my house has stayed neat and presentable so that if anyone came over it would be over it would be OK.

As far as weekly stuff, I have made Monday "floor day" where I vacuum and mop the kitchen. Flylady does something unique for this...a one hour once a week once over vacuuming/dusting and such but not moving furniture because she has another strategy for more detailed cleaning (described below).

For de-cluttering and more detailed cleaning each week you are in a different zone. The idea is that sometime during the day, after you've done you morning routines, you spend 15 minutes de-cluttering in just that zone. She has a link to tips on decluttering on the above linked page. Once the area is de-cluttered, then you can spend 15 minutes a day in whatever zone doing the more detailed cleaning/organizing. I personally haven't started implementing this regularly yet, as I've had obvious organization tasks to tackle, but think it is a great way to stay on top of things without spending gobs of time!

The nice thing about it is that you can do what works for you. I just adopted the routines that really helped me and when I start doing zone work I may not use her list of cleaning tasks but I'll just try to spend a few minutes each day doing something that I think needs doing in that zone. Since you're working you could try to just do the zone work a couple of days a week or just an hour on Saturday or something like that.

Hope this isn't overwhelming. It was just TIME for me and it works with my personality because it's a little at a time, and I don't have a long attention span when it comes to such tasks so this works for me! :)

...and I hope it works for someone else too!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Realistic Simplicity

2011-06-14T15:06:00.002-04:00

It's been a while! I have a most wonderful reason for not blogging over the past few months. We are expecting baby #2! The first trimester (plus) has not been kind to me. Pregnancy last time was a very difficult experience, and this time it has been so far as well, though things have been improving over the last few weeks as I am now on two medications and have found some "rules to live by" (aka eat anything you can stomach that has protein...ALL DAY) that have helped me get back to functioning "normally". I've even started cooking dinner again this week (not eating it...just cooking it...that's progress)!

In spite of all, it has been a great time to get my priorities straight and I've honestly quite enjoyed the reprieve from blogging and even from the things that I blogged about like...simplicity? I have definitely realized that thinking about simplicity too much, or rather thinking about anything too much (besides Jesus :) makes life everything but simple, at least inwardly. Was it taking the trouble to blog about it it that made it so "un-simple" that I needed a break? I'm not really sure, but I have to say, I had long stopped enjoying blogging, and it had definitely become a burden. I'm in a new season now, and this blog will reflect that, whatever direction it takes.

Passion plays a part in it for me, because I have many interests, but only one that remains the same over time. I enjoy trying different things, and usually don't master any of them...I wouldn't call myself a "Jack of All Trades" by any means, but DEFINITELY "A Master of None." My ONLY interest that doesn't change is my relationship with God...because He is my life, my purpose, my everything!

All this is to say, though I still like finding ways to be frugal and simplify my life, it's not the most important things in my life, and therefore, having a blog primarily about that just doesn't work for me, at least not long term.

I went a little overboard the past year trying to make EVERYTHING from scratch, eliminate EVERY unnecessary item from our grocery and shopping lists. It was a little too extreme to be realistic (for me), at least all at once. Life is short.

Winner!

2011-04-15T14:47:00.000-04:00

Winner of the Juppy Baby Walker...

Congratulations

aperry !

I'm about to email you!

Winner- Choose Boba!!! ;)

2011-04-06T07:21:00.000-04:00

Thanks for your patience on this one everyone. I have been quite sick and chasing a toddler around!

Winner of the choice of Boba or Ergobaby Carrier from CSN Stores...

Out of 1237 entries including early extra entries... Comment # 627 was a tweet by...

eek031880@hotmail.com

Congratulations winner! About to email you!

The Boba Carrier - At Home and Abroad {A Review}

2011-04-05T12:42:00.002-04:00

I was blessed with the opportunity to review the Classic Boba Carrier in Breeze during our recent trip to Brazil.

The Boba Carrier is a soft structured carrier, ideal for wearing babies from 15 to 45 pounds. It is an attractive and extremely comfortable carrier. The wide shoulder and waist straps are sturdy and comfortable made with high density foam. The military grade waist buckle is easy to snap and extremely easy to adjust. My husband and I found it very easy to adjust the waist back and forth when we took turns wearing Lydia. All you have to do is snap and pull on one strap and it tightens easy and centers itself on your waist.

One of the the things that make this soft structured carrier stand out among all the others is that it has removable foot straps. The foot straps have given me so much peace of mind. We have worn Lydia for very long periods of time and I did not have to worry about the carrier cutting into her dangling legs because I could easily slip her feet into the straps.

The other outstanding characteristic of the Boba is that the back is designed to be a bit higher than others. This is another key to making the Boba the absolute best carrier available. Even when Lydia tried to lean back, I did not feel the pull uncomfortably in my back AT ALL. I had briefly tried using another soft structured carrier that a friend let me borrow before I received the Boba, and I had found it a bit uncomfortable because Lydia was leaning back and it was pulling on my shoulders. With the Boba I have not felt that even once. It is so perfectly comfortable for myself and my baby! Actually, the whole reason the Boba came into being was because the creators were experiencing this problem with other popular carriers, along with leg discomfort for their baby and therefore the Boba was invented with a higher back to prevent the "leaning back" feeling, and foot straps, to prevent the problem of leg discomfort for toddlers and larger babies. You can read the story here.

I am busting at the seams with wonderful things to tell you about my experience with this product! Whether at home or traveling abroad I have come to see the Boba as an absolute essential, and you know me...I love finding things that I don't need to keep it simple. THIS, however will simplify your life in the having of it. I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to test and review the Boba for this trip. It was priceless.

Even before our trip to Brazil the week before we left I started using the Boba. It made getting ready for our trip so much easier. I had to make so many quick trips in and out of stores for last minute things. It would have been a pain to have to get the stroller in and out and in and out and in addition to that to not have my hands free in the process. Using the Boba made it go so much more smoothly. I quickly discovered that Lydia LOVED being on my back and that I loved having her there. Learning to get Lydia on and off of my back went a lot more quickly and smoothly than I thought it would. I found these videos very helpful!

As we embarked on this trip I was a little nervous because I have a history of back and hip problems that is usually aggravated by travel. I was hoping that carrying a toddler would not make that problem worse. I am here to tell you that I had almost none of the hip or back pain that I've had on previous trips and I wore Lydia a whole whole lot. We carried her everywhere in the Boba. We didn't even take a stroller with us. It was AMAZING how easy it was to get around this way.

The verdict is that traveling with a toddler is easy IF you have a Boba Carrier. I cannot imagine our trip without it. I seriously don't think it would have been possible. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. When we weren't walking, we were in and out of taxis, combis, buses, metros, trains, etc. We developed a system where we would wear her on the front for metros and buses and such forms of transportation so that we could protect her as those can get pretty crowded. We could also sit down while wearing her on the front. Invariably whichever of us was wearing Lydia would be offered someone's seat! Then, when we were walking long distances, we'd put her on our backs as this seemed overall more comfortable with a toddler. Our friends' baby is 10 months old and a good bit smaller, so she is more comfortable on the front all of the time.

In Brazil we spent two weeks in Belo Horizonte with our friends who are missionaries working with the children in that city's largest slum at a place called The Lighthouse. We also took a few days with our friends to go to Rio de Janeiro. While in Belo, at the Lighthouse, we were trying to help out as much as we could with the ministry there. Even there we wore her a lot to help us be able to do more things and because she just loved it!

I mostly took care of Lydia but was able to help out with one group of girls a couple of times and to do a little work in the kitchen. How was that possible? The Boba! Here's a picture of me kneading bread for well over 20 people with Lydia on my back! Honest truth: It did not hurt!

I had to take various trips to the store for food, milk, etc. and I always went walking with Lydia on my back. It was such an adventure. It's a very hilly place too so it was a great workout.

In Belo Horizonte on the weekend we visited a local park to see the monkeys. We took a bus most of the way and walked the rest. Lydia napped in the Boba for a good part of the time but she woke up in time to see the monkeys!

Also while in Belo Horizonte, we went out for Acai, as it is served very deliciously at a little shop near the Lighthouse. There we discovered a FABULOUS use of the Boba that ended up being a LIFE SAVER throughout the whole trip, especially when we went to Rio. In spite of the fact that Brazil is incredibly baby friendly, there are many small stores and shops that do not have baby chairs, and if they do, they do not have straps. They are just a smaller, higher chair. We discovered, however, that we could keep Lydia perfectly secure by strapping her into any chair with the waist buckle of the Boba. Here's Lydia enjoying acai this way. More pics of this to come...

Then came the trip to Rio. As I've said, I don't think it would have been possible without the Boba. We required a good deal of luggage as we were carrying a pac n' play. How we would have managed with all that at the bus station and to and from if we'd been using a stroller or our arms, I have no idea! Then while in Rio, of course we were walking an incredible amount, out and about seeing the sights, and eating out of course since we were away from our "home away from home." Here are some pics of Lydia at the famous Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio de Janeiro!

Under the Christ the Redeemer Statue.

Here we have the hood attached and hanging because Lydia had just been napping. Normally we kept it attached and neatly rolled up. I love how easy it is to do!

Just a little happy! ;)

This typical high chair at a nice restaurant did not have straps. Never fear...

The Boba kept her nice and secure!

Sleeping baby ready to leave Rio. This hood snaps on and off and if you want to leave it on it has attached bands that make it easy to roll up.

The verdict after a very thorough trial of the Boba is that of all the baby equipment available today, I think it is the most practical and the most worth investing in. It's right up there with the crib and changing table in my opinion, especially if you plan to do any traveling. Even here in the States, there are so many places where a stroller is cumbersome to use. I find that Lydia is much happier in the Boba than in a stroller as well.

I recommend the Boba over other popular soft structured carriers. My friends in Brazil have another brand, and they tried the Boba and found it to be more comfortable and simple to put on. As I mentioned before, I had tried another kind of carrier briefly and felt a bit uncomfortable with Lydia leaning back. I also find the waist much easier to attach with the Boba. The buckle is mega quality and easy. And again, no other carrier as adjustable detachable foot straps!

Back at the Lighthouse in Belo Horizonte when Lydia and I were resting in our room, she started whining and I asked her what she wanted. We had the Boba laying on top of a suitcase. She walked over to the suitcase, picked up the Boba, walked over to me with it and lifted it up to me with a grunt. When I didn't immediately do anything about it because I was trying to find the camera to catch the adorable moment in a picture (at which I was unsuccessful), she sat down and started trying to put it on herself!

Please take a moment to go to Boba's website and learn more about this product! If you're trying to decide what kind of carrier to get, I recommend you stop your search here! If you are not sure about investing in a carrier, I encourage you to do it. It will be money well spent!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Family in Brazil

2011-03-30T08:46:00.000-04:00

Our friends Laura and Felipe Matias that we spent the last three weeks with in Brazil blessed us with the our first professional family photo shoot! I had hoped we could have this done when Lydia was a toddler. Not only is Felipe an amazing missionary and leader, but he's also a gifted photographer! You can see more of his awesome photos here and here! Thanks so much Matias family! We miss you!

More Than This Monday: Rules of Contentment.

2011-03-28T14:40:00.001-04:00

There's something about spending time in a foreign country that awakens the senses to the reality of life, both the beautiful and the challenging. Perhaps it's unique to this time and this experience, but today I've felt a heightened sense of the fragility of life. That can be a good thing when it leads one to seize the day and take nothing for granted, but it can also breed fear which is what it has threatened to do in me today as we are leaving this lovely country tonight. Then I happened across number one of this list of rules for contentment and searched online for more information. I found that it was written in written by E.B. Pusey (1800-1882). This could not possibly have come at a better time. I really needed this today. I hope it challenges and encourages you as it has me! I want to try to memorize this list.

Rules of Contentment:

1) Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even the weather.

2) Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou are not.

3) Never compare thine own lot to that of another.

4) Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than that doest thyself.

5) Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide".

Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy .

Not so Wordless Wednesday: Lydia Loves the Lighthouse!

2011-03-23T14:17:00.001-04:00

The Lighthouse

She loves the people, the food, and especially the dog. We will miss this lovely community when we leave here. There is truly LIGHT in this house!

Brazil So Far...

2011-03-21T19:42:00.000-04:00

We've had a week in Belo Horizonte now at the Lighthouse having a great time seeing the work there, trying to help out in some practical ways and having a good time with our friends, Laura and Felipe who are leaders at the Lighthouse. You can look at their blogs here and here see more of what's been going on here in their last 2 or 3 posts.

Lydia walking with girls from the Casa Refugio (Refuge House). All of these children have HIV. Please pray for them as there is a new law and such homes are no longer allowed to exist, and many adoption possibilities have fallen through.

This is on a soccer/basketball court at the Lighthouse that kids from the slum love to play on!

We are on a hill and can see much of the slum from our windows.

There aren't too many ways I can help, but I can definitely knead bread, though this was a much larger batch than I've ever made.

Hanging out on Laura and Felipe's front porch.

Getting ready to go visit a local park on Saturday...

where we saw lots of monkeys...

and fed them crackers!

Lydia started walking almost as soon as we got here!

We're now in Rio de Janeiro at the end of a short trip along with Laura and Felipe. We've had a nice time so far seeing some of the sights and relaxing at a local bed and breakfast with a fantastic view of the city. We actually saw Obama fly down from the Christ the Redeemer statue earlier yesterday We went to Copacobana beach yesterday and it turns out he was staying in the Marriot there. There were tons of army men and trucks and police. The street was blocked off. People were crowded around waiting for him to arrive. We had to eat and get home and did not wait. So strange that we'd happen to be here at the same time as our president!

Here are some pictures from Rio de Janeiro:

Laura and I with our girls at Christ the Redeemer Statue.

And we're off right now to head back to Belo Horizonte and get back to work. These are really random pics and really random info. as I have had very little time to think about blogging! Just wanted to share a little.

Guest Post by Tom.com: Frugal and Natural Garbage Disposal Cleaning

2011-03-18T01:00:00.006-04:00

If your fridge is anything like ours, sometimes you have interesting science experiments going on after a few weeks. Whenever we clean out the fridge, a lot of old food goes through our garbage disposal before hitting the sewer system. A commonly suggested way to keep the disposal clean is to throw ice chips into it every so often. To keep the disposal smelling nice, throw in some peels from a piece of citrus.

We will sometimes buy lemons for other cleaning around the house, but we don't use the whole thing. We used to keep the rest of it around until the next major usage of the garbage disposal, but they would go bad.

To reduce the wast, what we did was slice up the leftover lemon and put it into a container in the freezer. Whenever we start smelling the disposal, we pull out a slice of frozen lemon and throw it in to the disposal. It takes care of both the ice and citrus suggestions while reducing our waste of lemons.

(In case you didn't know, Tom.com is my hubby. :)

The Juppy Baby Walker- Review and Giveaway

2011-03-11T06:00:00.005-05:00

About the Juppy Baby Walker

"The Juppy Baby Walker is a non traditional, parent-assisted baby walker used to teach babies how to walk sooner while minimizing dangerous falls. The baby is placed in the seat of the Juppy while mom or dad simply holds on to the straps, while standing upright, to give support to the baby. Typically parents tend to hold their babies by the hands or under the arms to teach them to walk. This causes stress and strain on the lower back of the parent and could cause injuries to the child's arms or joints. The Juppy Baby Walker reduces your pain and eliminates possible injury to your child."

I had the opportunity to try the Juppy Baby Walker for review. I was glad for the opportunity because my then 16 month old, now 17 month old is not yet walking, though seeming quite ready to walk. I was not worried, as she was 5 weeks premature and even regardless of that all babies develop at their own pace. I did, however, wonder how I could help facilitate the process. She was pulling up and gliding along things, and loved walking while holding on to our hands. She had just started standing up on her own without holding on to anything when I received the Juppy.

My Experience With the Juppy

The thing that I like most about this walker is how much my daughter has enjoyed being it! As soon as she sees it she starts begging me to put it on saying, "Walk, walk, walk!" which sounds more like "Wa, wa, wa!"

Since the warm weather has begun I started taking her outside and letting her walk around in it. She is very unhappy when it's time to come in!

The first time I used it, she did well walking in it, but occasionally would just plop down. At first I would hold her suspended when she did that, which was tiring, but I soon realized that she was seeing things on the ground she wanted to touch and grab, so when she stopped, I would loosen the straps and let her sit and play (while still holding onto the straps) until she was ready to get up and walk again.

Eventually she started leaning forward too much. I kept pulling back with the straps to help her straighten up, but then I realized that in order for her to learn to balance herself, I could not do that. It was tiring for me and did not help her. Instead I began to walk in a grassy area and loosen my support with the straps a little. If she leaned forward, I would not keep her from falling forward (gently of course). This really did the trick and made her start working at balancing herself. For a younger baby, more support would be needed of course, but I needed to offer a little less support for my toddler who is not quite yet "toddling"! With the Juppy you can give as little or as much support as is appropriate for your baby.

After just one session of doing this, she was beginning to walk on her own in the Juppy. She has now walked 2 steps independently without the Juppy, but this weekend she walked and walked in the Juppy with no actual support. My mother was holding the straps very loosely, essentially giving her no support, and she walked for a good 20 minutes! I am certain that she will begin walking totally independently during our trip to Brazil. We will take the Juppy with us and continue to use it for practice.

I have enjoyed using the Juppy. I think it is a wonderful idea and my baby loves it! I did find myself still bending over a little, especially when my baby was leaning forward and I was trying to pull her back. Once I relaxed my hold, it became more comfortable, as you can see in the pictures below of my very tall brother walking my baby in the Juppy, the straps are sufficiently long. I just tend to bend over unnecessarily out of habit!

I love the fact that you can carry the Juppy with you easily wherever you go because it is so small. The bag that comes with it is attractive and convenient!

The material is very strong and durable and it fit my baby well over both thick and light clothing! Not too small, not to big!

Overall, it is a lot of fun and has helped me facilitate my daughter on her journey to walking!

Here are some action shots!

My brother was visiting and enjoyed walking Lydia in the Juppy!

Here she is leaning forward as I explained above. This was sometime back. I have since learned to adjust my support to encourage her to balance herself.

***GIVEAWAY***

Juppy is offering the opportunity for one of my readers to win their very on Juppy Baby Walker!

***HOW TO ENTER***

Mandatory Entry:

Go to the Juppy Baby Walker website and come back and leave me a comment telling me something you learned!

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address if it is not easily accessible through your blogger profile. You do not have to have a blogger profile to enter, as long as you leave a valid e-mail address.)

Additional Entries:

Like Juppy on Facebook.

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Subscribe to Life as a Global Mom via email. (right sidebar)

Like Life as a Global Mom (formerly The Cheap and Choosy) on Facebook!

Follow me on Twitter.

Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet about this giveaway using #win, @TheJuppyWalker, and @cheapnchoosy (up to 3 times daily):

Link this post up to any Giveaway Linky and just leave me a comment with the link! (3 entries per linky entered!)

Share about this giveaway in whatever social media venue or forum you wish. (One entry per venue.) As long as you can provide a link to it, it counts!

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only until April 11, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will post and email the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are completely my own! You can see my full disclosure here.

Winner!

2011-03-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

The winner of the Tiny Tush One Size Pocket Diaper is....

Congratulations Katie S !

More Than This Monday: A Cry from the Streets

2011-03-07T10:40:00.001-05:00

We're going to Brazil to visit a dear friend of mine and her family who live in the city of Belo Horizonte and work with an organization called YWAM (Youth With a Mission). I wanted to tell you about what they do there and share their blog with you!

First of all, the YWAM base in Belo was started by Johann and Jeannette Lukasse, and Jeannette has written a book about their story called, A Cry from the Streets. I highly recommend reading this book no matter who you are or where you are in life. I am certain that it will warm your heart, inspire you, and just altogether enrich your life. To follow the adventure of a young dutch couple just wanting God to use their lives, not having the slightest idea just how much He would, and how they were miraculously led and provided for step by step is simply thrilling. I pretty much cried my whole way through the book.

The ministry that they began now is comprised of several unique types of ministries. Some work directly with children living on the streets in rescue houses for kids on the streets. The kids go through a program teaching them life skills, and since many of these kids do actually have living parents, much work is done to reach out to their families and seek to help them get back on their feet and love and take responsibilities for the kids as well. The goal is restoration of families and helping kids be able to function in society and get off the streets. There is also an refuge house for those who have no home, many of whom are victims of AIDS. Some of these children have been adopted by staff workers and it is so beautiful to see. These are just a couple of the types of work going on.

My friend that we are going to visit and hopefully help works at a ministry called "The Lighthouse." As I said before, many of the children living on the streets do have families, but are forced out because their parents do not care for them, their homes are simply not safe, or a variety of other reasons. Most of the street kids also come from the slums, or poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. The Lighthouse is located in the largest slum in Belo Horizonte. They work with the kids in the slum to teach them life skills, give them productive and safe ways to spend their time, and of course share the love of Christ with them. This is a program aimed at preventing kids from ending up on the streets. They also put an emphasis on reaching out to the parents of the children and helping the whole family. They seek to help the children spiritually, academically, physically, and socially.

You can get a personal glimpse into this ministry by following my friend's blog, Let Them Come. You can also click on the image below. Please take a moment to look at her blog!

Winner!

2011-03-05T12:46:00.000-05:00

Winner of the wool dryer balls from the Willow Store...

:karen:.

Congratulations Karen!! About to email you...

CLOSED Your Choice of classic Boba or select ERGObaby Carrier GIVEAWAY!

2011-03-02T22:07:00.004-05:00

CSN Stores carries a great variety of baby carriers including Boba, ERGObaby, Catbird Baby, Sleepy Wrap, Moby Wrap and more!

In honor of our trip to Brazil, traveling with a toddler, CSN Stores is generously agreed to offer one of my reader's the chance to win a...

Classic Boba Carrier ($100 value)

an original or sport ERGObaby Carrier (of $105 value)!

I had been working with CSN Stores to plan an ERGObaby carrier for some time in anticipation of our "Traveling Toddler" mini event. Then I received the exciting opportunity to review a Boba carrier from Nap Inc. which I have just recently received and begun to practice using for our trip.

I'll be posting a full review of the Boba with tons of photos and information after we return from Brazil but I have to go ahead and say that the Boba makes carrying my toddler more comfortable than I EVER imagined possible! I have been amazed so far and my daughter absolutely loves it!

I wanted to offer my readers a chance to win a Boba carrier once I realized that CSN Stores also carries them and what a wonderful company they are to work with and now how wonderful the Boba is. However, since I'd been advertising a coming ERGObaby giveaway, I knew I had to follow through with that. SO, I asked CSN Stores if I could give my readers the choice of a Boba Carrier as well and they willingly agreed! I am ecstatic to offer you this unique giveaway! A big thanks to CSN Stores for their generosity!

***THE GIVEAWAY***

CSN Stores is offering a free Classic Boba Carrier or an original or sport ERGObaby Carrier valuing $105 (your choice of camel, black, or black sport or any other Ergo up to value $105 that may become available at CSN Stores before the end of this giveaway.)*

*This giveaway is for a Boba or Ergo carrier that CSN Stores carries up to a value of $105. CSN Stores is offering a gift code of $110 which as stated will cover the cost of a classic Boba or the above mentioned Ergobaby carriers totally free. However, CSN Stores has assured me that the gift code worth $110 can be used toward a carrier of greater value if the winner so desires.

***HOW TO ENTER***

Go to CSN Stores and come back and tell me which Boba or Ergobaby carrier you would choose if you won!

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address if it is not easily accessible through your blogger profile. You do not have to have a blogger profile to enter, as long as you leave a valid e-mail address.)

Additional Entries:

Follow Life as a Global Mom via Google Friend Connect (Right Side Bar).

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Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet this (up to 3 times daily):

#Win a @BobaCarrier OR @Ergobaby carrier from @CSNStores at Life as a Global Mom (@cheapnchoosy) http://tinyurl.com/4vfv8fc

Link this post up to any Giveaway Linky and just leave me a comment with the link! (3 entries per linky entered!)

Share about this giveaway in whatever social media venue or forum you wish. (One entry per venue.) As long as you can provide a link to it, it counts!

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada until April 3, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will post and email the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are completely my own! You can see my full disclosure here.

Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot!

2011-02-25T16:50:00.002-05:00

Boy, have I learned a lot in the past 48 hours or so! First of all, I've been back and forth about whether to bother making my own yogurt or not because all the recipes that I could find that were supposed to be "easy" did not look so "easy" to me! Why? Because checking the temperature and keeping it just right for hours is something that this "global" mom would never be able to stay on top of. Yes, I always have multiple things going on at once but that level of attention to detail is beyond my ability and makes me nervous! I would have to stand there the whole time. I would never remember to check otherwise. I know that you can get a system down with trial and error and find a way to incubate yogurt without having to check, but I was dreading the trial and error and all the potential waste of milk and time in the process. I even have my mom's old yogurt maker that works really well, but we go through it SO FAST that I would have to make it so often since that makes a pretty small batch compared to what we use.

I saw a recipe once for making yogurt in the crock pot, but so many of the comments were negative, saying that it had come out runny, that it discouraged me. I lost my motivation.

Until this week. The fact that we go through yogurt so fast had gotten me thinking about really doing this some way in which I can make bigger batches.

Then I discovered, "A Year of Slow Cooking." I know, I know, I'm way behind the times, but I'm SO excited! That blog will become one of the three cookbooks I'll be using for a year starting in April. (I'll share the other two in a later post.) Stephanie's enthusiasm and results along with the many positive results shared in the comments motivated to try this, and as she would say, "It works! It really really works!"

My daughter and I enjoyed the tastiest most perfectly textured yogurt today that I have had in a long long time...if ever!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU STEPHANIE! My fingers aren't quite shaking, but I'm very very excited, which is why I'm writing this post right now when I should be doing a lot of other things!

I won't repeat all of Stephanie's recipe, you can just check it out here. I will describe how I "sorta kinda" adapted it.

1. I heated a half gallon of whole milk on low fro 2.5 hours as the recipe called for.

2. The next step was to unplug it and let it sit for three hours. I didn't exactly follow this because I have the thermometer that goes with my mom's old yogurt machine that is perfect for global folks like me and doesn't even have numbers! It just has an arrow signaling, "When the temperature is here, mix in the starter!" Love it!

Therefore, I took off the lid and let it sit a while and checked a couple of times...not sure how much time went by, I think it was about an hour, but the temperature was just right the second time, so I scooped out two cups of it into a separate bowl and mixed in a half cup of store bought yogurt.

3. Then, since I knew it was at the perfect temperature, I put the lid on the pot and wrapped that sucker in TWO HUGE towels as airtight as I possibly could, because I knew it needed to not get any cooler.

4. Then I just forgot about it. The this morning, around 7:30, I remembered. I hadn't been in the kitchen yet because my dear husband brings me a mug of coffee as I stagger to a chair in the living room in the mornings where I remain with my coffee until Lydia wakes up and/or I remember that yogurt is incubating on the counter! For this reason, it was incubating for about 12 hours. I'd meant to leave it for only 10.

When I opened it up I saw clumpy yogurt with liquid separating it a little. I was excited because I knew this meant "not soupy." Yay! This was after stirring a tad:

This is where I reveal what a rookie I am, but it wasn't until yesterday that I learned that you call that "liquid" whey. I had tried to print out Stephanie's post, forgetting there were 400+ comments, and needless to say, it ran out of paper before even finishing the comments. I did scan the comments and that is where I learned what whey was and that you could use it for other things, like baking bread.

I did a quick search on uses of whey and got some great information really quickly. I knew I wanted to get some of that whey out for a bit thicker consistency of yogurt, so first I tried using our coffee sieve and scooping out a bit at a time and letting the whey drip off. I quickly learned that this was not going to work.

I thought I needed cheese cloth but I tried using one of our buffet style cloth napkins that we use as kitchen cloth because it is thin. I wet it, wrung it out, and laid it in a colander which I sat on a bowl. I emptied the crock pot of yogurt into the colander and sat it in the fridge for an hour or two. I know that's a broad range, but that's just how I work.

I was so excited when I pulled it out. The yogurt was just right, and I had about 2 cups of whey. Exactly the amount that I needed to substitute whey for water in my easy homemade bread recipe (which I'll be posting some tips on soon). I learned from my earlier search that using it instead of water to prep the yeast would make the bread moister and add some protein. I'm excited about all of the potential uses of whey, a great list of which you can find in this discussion on Chow Hound. It led me on a search about how to make mozzarella cheese, which I might just try after our trip to Brazil!

So finally I had a big bowl of yogurt in the fridge and a nice bit of whey on top waiting for the bread baking, which happened to be today since we just ran out.

I was distracted and left out a couple of important steps in the bread making and we were short on yeast. It's cooling now, but I don't expect the results to be stellar. I will try again and let you know how it turns out!

All in all, I can see this EASILY becoming a weekly routine! Set milk in the crock pot on low for a couple of hours around dinner time. Take the lid off and let it cool, keep check, but it should be ready in an hour or so to mix in a tad of last weeks yogurt. Then wrap it up in two towels and forget about it until the next morning. Save the whey and make bread for the week as well. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scratch yogurt off my grocery list! Woo Hoo!!!!

Tiny Tush Elite {One Size Pocket Diaper} Review and Giveaway!

2011-02-22T11:40:00.007-05:00

I have been blessed with the opportunity to review the Tiny Tush Elite, one size cloth diaper for you!

First off, here's a bit about the company:

Tiny Tush began with Charlene Foster, a mom who was searching for a better way to use cloth

diapers. Over the course of diapering her five children, she’d tried everything but had yet to find an

optimal cloth diapering system. With her unique flair for textiles and clear vision of her ideal diaper, she

knew she had developed a great idea that would help her - and many other moms – to successfully cloth

diaper....Tiny Tush was born!

Now a decade later, Tiny Tush, a family owned business, is fulfilling customers’ diapering needs

with excellent products and knowledgeable, courteous, and friendly service. Tiny Tush is dedicated

to providing the highest quality products (many made in the USA!) at affordable prices, and to giving

customers the best experience possible. Plus, Tiny Tush offers a generous 90 day money back guarantee

on all new products and a 30 day return on used products.

The Tiny Tush Elite One-Size Pocket Diaper

● This unique cloth diapering system is the easiest system available today. With a reverse envelope
pocket opening in the rear of the diaper, the inserts are easy to install. This opening also
prevents stool from getting caught underneath the flap, making cleanup easier and yuck-free.
● The exterior of the Tiny Tush Elite One-Size Pocket diaper is a waterproof PUL. The inner layer is
a non-piling polyester micro-fleece that keeps the diaper looking like new, even wash after wash.
This diaper is available in either snap or Aplix closures.
● Tiny Tush Elite One-Size pocket diapers are designed to fit babies from 7-35 lbs. The snap-down
system for sizing is similar to the popular Tiny Tush Trim fitted, except there is an extra fourth
row of snaps for increased adjustability. There is also an extra column of snaps to keep this
amazing diapering system secure and trim.
● The four row snap-down system (that comes with both the Aplix and snap closure diapers) allows
the rise of this diaper to be adjusted incrementally from newborn, infant, crawler, to toddler.

Let's take a closer look at the diaper:

Note the FOUR possible rise settings!

Plush micro-fleece inner fabric. Two microfiber inserts for smaller and larger settings. They can also be used together for overnight stuffing!

Notice that the flap for the pocket goes under the fleece layer. I have come to value this for spraying purposes! It helps prevent poop getting stuck or icky back splash. Also notice the extra snap on the right for crossing over for smaller babies.

Here it is on baby:

Trim fit!

It's still hard to get a front shot since she's usually crawling or pulling up on something. I later found that I can adjust it to the next smaller setting in the rise for an even trimmer fit!

First Impressions:

My first impression of this diaper was, "Wow! The material feels really sturdy!" I know that's a strange way to say it, but that is what stood out to me as unique from other diapers I've tried. It was plush, thick and it just felt sturdy!

The second thing that caught my attention was the FOUR possible rise settings. This is more than most one size diapers I've tried.

The micro-fleece seemed especially thick and soft.

Fit:

It fits my baby wonderfully. No gaping around the legs which equals no leaks. It looks and seems comfortable on her. It was easy to find a perfect fit because of the many snap options (they are close together all the way across the top) and rise options. There is NO question that it will fit until potty training!!!!!!!! Great range of sizes!!!

Final Impressions:

This is a great pocket diaper. I highly recommend it for its quality. The inner fleece is really durable and effective, and is made to last. It seems very comfortable and is easy to spray off from either direction because the pocket flap is under the inner layer and will not catch anything! This diaper is on my list of those which I will put on my daughter when I'm expecting her to have a poop any minute because it is easy to spray out without making a mess.

It truly fits a very wide range of sizes and is soft but snug around the legs. The inserts are absorbent but not bulky. I definitely feel comfortable going "out and about" in this diaper. It's on the highly dependable list in that regard. There are those that I will only use around the house when I know I'll be able to change her more quickly and those that I trust while out running errands or visiting that might have to stay on a bit longer. Tiny Tush is on that list!

I honestly have nothing negative to say about this diaper. For it's quality, the price is great, especially since it includes inserts!

GIVEAWAY!

Tiny Tush is offering one reader their very own Tiny Tush Elite one size pocket diaper in winner's choice of color and closure!

How to Enter:

Go to Tiny Tush and leave me a comment telling me what other product you would love to try!

Additional Entries:

Follow Tiny Tush on Twitter!

"Like" Tiny Tush on Facebook!

Follow the Tiny Tush Blog!

Like Life as a Global Mom on Facebook!

Follow Life as a Global Mom via Google Friend Connect (Right Side Bar).

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Grab my new button!

Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet about this giveaway using @TinyTush and @cheapnchoosy. (Up to 3 times daily)

Subscribe to Life as a Global Mom via email. (right sidebar)

Link this post up to any Giveaway Linky and just leave me a comment with the link! (3 entries per linky entered!)

Share about this giveaway in whatever social media venue or forum you wish. As long as you can provide a link to it, it counts!

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents 18 years of age and older until March 7, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST (14 DAYS) The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will post and email the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. I will post the winner when the selection has been made and confirmed by the recipient.

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are completely my own! I received the product reviewed free of charge. You can see my full disclosure here.

More Than This Monday: Have you every been dissapointed?

2011-02-20T20:00:00.011-05:00

I have...both in big and small ways, in my heart ways and in my mind ways. Ways that irritate and ways that break...

Speaking of ways that irritate, last week we had a check up scheduled for Lydia. My very lucid and intelligent husband had called and made the appointment. The day came, he got off work, I left things undone, Lydia un-fed and napped, we got there, and lo and behold there was no such appointment in the system. I was struggling with my attitude. I thought they should have tried to work us in. I thought they should have at least apologized since it was more like that they forgot to click "save" than that my husband had imagined the whole conversation.

As we left I was acknowledging my wrong attitude to God, not quite at the place of true repentance, when my husband and I both thought and said, "Well, there may be a reason we don't know about yet."

Sure enough, a day or so later, Lydia starts running a fever, and is sick for several days. The shots that she would have had that day, coupled with the germs she already had, could have made her very very sick.

Turns out it was all mercy.

That is a minor example. Such disappointments and frustrations are quickly gotten over. Those of the heart, however, are a different matter. The loss of a loved one, the falling apart of all our hopes and plans...can "these things" be mercy too?

I've been hanging out in Luke 24 some lately. Three days after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, two very disillusioned, dejected, and dissapointed men were leaving Jerusalem and headed toward a town called Emmaus.

Things had not gone as they'd hoped, expected, or desired. This Jesus- in whom they'd placed so much hope, was dead. They had heard rumors from the women that He was no longer in the tomb...that an angel said he had risen. Obviously they did not believe it because they were packed up and heading home...it sounded just to good to be true...and a little bit crazy.

They were talking about "these things" as they walked, and suddenly a stranger showed up and asked them what they were talking about. Dubious that anyone could have missed these headlines, they told him when he inquired further that they spoke of Jesus. When they finished, the stranger explained to them that "these things" had to happen for the word of God to be fulfilled. Jesus had to die, but why? IN ORDER TO CONQUER DEATH AND THE GRAVE FOREVER.

The very "things" that led to their abject disappointment, were the very mercies of God that would bring them a hope and a future beyond what they had ever or could have ever hoped or dreamed.

Are you disillusioned in any way, big or small? Has anyone or anything let you down? Behind the smallest to the largest hurt, misfortune or closed door...maybe...just maybe...Mercy waits.

Do you know who that "stranger" in the story was? It was Jesus himself! After he explained to them how all the scriptures pointed to these events and the fact that that Jesus would die and rise again, He revealed Himself to them, and then disappeared. Needless to say, they packed up and headed back to Jerusalem as quickly as they could to tell the others. When they got there and were still telling their story. He showed up again, and revealed Himself to everyone.

What has touched my heart more than anything in this story is that Jesus, sweet and merciful Jesus, was about to reveal Himself to his followers...but He knew that two of them, so utterly disillusioned had given up and headed home. He loved them so much...He didn't want them to miss His appearing...He went and got them, and then, almost as soon as they got back, He appeared.

Maybe, my friend...maybe Mercy isn't just waiting behind those hurts...maybe if you turn around and look...you might just see that Mercy is following you...coming to get you...because He doesn't want you to miss Him. He just loves you too much. Just look...He is there! Ask him to open your eyes.

Love as Strong as Death

Looking back, now I see

It was you wooing me

In the midst of everything

It was you not letting me

settle for loving anything

or being loved in any way

that would lead my heart astray

Dissapointments, weakenings

Rejection, failure, hurts, pains

Joy, sorrow, loss and gain

Everything had one sure aim.

Now I see Your sovereignty

Waiting Oh so patiently

Blocking my way so mercifully

Until the time that I could see...

Your ravished gaze so full of love

your eyes as steady as a dove's

Your love unyielding as the grave

For this joy your life you gave.

Looking back I realize

You stood with longing in your eyes

With patient love that never dies

Waiting for me to realize...

No love I could attain on earth

Could ever begin to give me worth

But your love is my life itself

Never ending, glorious wealth.

I wrote this poem when I realized that so many disappointments that I had experienced were nothing but God's mercy...that were what it took for me to see His ravished love for me...and truly...they do pale in comparison.

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" ~Matthew16:26

Easy {Two Ingredient} DIY Wrinkle Releaser!

2011-02-18T01:00:00.001-05:00

Ironing is problematic with a toddler on the loose! I have a really hard time remembering to turn off an iron...even before Lydia came along! Thank God for the automatic shut off! I *rarely* am there to get clothes out of the dryer as soon as they are finished. Laundry is going on during the midst of many other things! I also have a hard time doing ironing all at one time because I usually have multiple chores going on at once. It's just the way my brain works and I'm learning to work with my personality, not against it! (That is why I call myself a "global" mom. See here for an explanation.)

The fact that an iron may be set up for extended times, and that though I *intend* to close the door to my bedroom when the ironing board is set up and Lydia is playing in the hall while I shift laundry, sweeping, or -you name it-, I cannot trust myself to remember. That's just a fact! Therefore, I was super excited when I saw this post on Somewhere in the Middle via the Raising Homemakers' Wednesday link up a few weeks ago.

Turns out that one teaspoon of liquid fabric softener per one cup of water in a spray bottle equals perfectly effective wrinkle releaser, fabric relaxer, whatever you want to call it! I used to buy this stuff during my single overly busy teaching days, and I have to admit, I almost feel silly using it! I feel a bit lazy, but now that we have a toddler around, I do think it's a pretty handy thing!

When I pull the clothes out of the dryer (wrinkled, of course), I'm spraying, stretching, and shaking out the shirts that matter and hanging them separated so that they can dry. Voila!

As I've been getting out wrinkled summer clothes to pack for Brazil I've realized that taking a bit of this along will really come in handy as well since ironing will be out of the question!

I bought a spray bottle and liquid fabric softener at Dollar Tree. However, the spray bottle only shoots a single stream of liquid, so I had to use a different one. In the future, I will also look for a fragrance free fabric softener because we are not used to smells and it's a bit overwhelming!

*Image Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

A 'More With Less' Valentine

2011-02-15T21:55:00.002-05:00

Both my daughter and I are dealing with pretty bad colds, and were unable to go anywhere on Valentines day. My hubby and I aren't really big holiday people in that we don't think about them very well in advance. We love giving gifts and cards but tend to enjoy it more spontaneously than due to established holidays. For that reason and because Lydia and I have been sick, we had no plans, no cards, no gifts, 'no nothin' for Valentines day.

I had a surge of energy before Tom came home for lunch and wanted to make him something sweet. The cupboards are pretty bare as it's time to re-stock on some essentials, but thanks to More With Less cookbook, I was able to throw together a couple of sweet (but not too sweet) treats.

The first was "Date Oatmeal Cookies" on page 286. We don't keep dates around, but we did have some raisins and made them Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. We had all the essential ingredients and they came out yummy. At first they were looking questionable when I peaked into the oven so I made a back-up of some "No-bake Cereal Cookies" on page 287 with rolled oats in place of the dried flake cereal.

I made two very last minute cards with card-stock and crayons. One for Lydia to scribble on and one from me. Lydia's got taped to the door for Daddy's (aka "dah tee") arrival. It was the first time she'd held a crayon or scribbled! Double special!

It was simple and fun and didn't' require buying anything we didn't have! Thank you More With Less!!!!

Why "Life as a Global Mom?"

2011-02-13T15:12:00.004-05:00

It's not so much what it may seem. I'm sure something like this comes to mind....

and it's true, I am an internationally minded person and have enjoyed spending time in other countries and time with people from many different cultures over the years. I am an ESL teacher by trade, and all of that is definitely a huge part of who I am and will be reflected in this blog.

However, that is only one side of the duel meaning in the term "global" that inspired the title change. If you've been following my "More Than This Mondays" posts you may remember me posting about a popular trend in ways of viewing personalities or ways of thinking sometime back. I gave a general description of two kinds of thinkers: "global" and "analytical." Global thinkers being the "big picture" folks, not so in tune to details and analytical thinkers being the opposite of that. Since then I've heard these two types referred to as "random thinkers" versus "linear thinkers." I think those terms speak pretty well for themselves!

No matter what you call it, I can tell you fall into the "global" or "random" category all the way. (Some people would just say I'm scatterbrained, but I prefer to think of it this way ;) You can read about how I realized I needed to stop trying to make myself be a "linear thinking" or "analytical" person here.

I started this blog just as a place to journal my experiences in cooking from scratch and frugal ideas, and will continue to do that. However, though I am "cheap and choosy" in that I get a kick out of finding ways to live more simply and frugally, that is not at all what I'm most passionate about in life. My biggest passion is knowing God and making Him known, and he's teaching me (and I'm learning *slowly* but surely) to not just survive, but thrive as a "global thinking" person in this season of being mom and homemaker.

Ironically, we do happen to be taking off for Brazil soon, so the international side of the coin may be more heavily represented for a time. None the less, no matter where my family is, I hope to share with you my journey as a "global" mom!

As for the picture I chose, it means a lot to me. That trip to Peru at 21 years of age was life transforming. I spent most of my time there on the coast, where life is not so different from here with all our modern conveniences, but I had several opportunities to travel into the high Andes, where this picture with taken (with permission). It was like turning the clock back 300 years. I'm sure that the experience had an influence on forming my desire for a simpler life. I don't plan to start making my own wool yarn by hand, but it sure is inspiring to realize how little of what we have we actually need!

I want to at the end of my life know that I invested myself in things that matter...things that last forever. God and people.

*Image Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

Winners!

2011-02-08T22:40:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay everyone, my comment numbers are back and I just pulled some winners! I normally do this as soon as possible the morning after the giveaway closes.

Winner of the Eco-Felt Owl from Pixiekids Toys and Gifts....

Congratulations DrewsMom1998 !

Winner of the $25 GC to Kiki's Fashions is...

Congratulations Nikki !

Getting ready to email winners...

The Traveling Toddler {Sponsor Highlight and Early Extra Entries!}

2011-02-07T18:05:00.003-05:00

I believe I have mentioned the fact that our family will soon be heading south to Brazil. It's going to be quite an adventure, and our first traveling experience with a toddler! I have arranged a couple of reviews and giveaways surrounding this trip.

One wonderful sponsor of this event is CSN Stores. CSN Stores has 200 + stores offering -you name it- from cloth diapers, to anything you might need in the kitchen, or any room in the house for that matter. Do you love the modern style? One of CSN's stores, ALL MODERN offers all kinds of trendy stuff for every place and occasion, including the oh so popular Eames lounge chair!

You may wonder what this may have to do with a traveling toddler....WELL, this particular toddler weighs just over 20 pounds, is not yet walking (but is *very* close), and LOVES to be carried! I've enjoyed our wrap style carrier, but now that our little one is much bigger and more active, I've been realizing that a soft structured carrier is in order, especially since we'll be doing lots of walking around in Brazil!

A friend of mine has an ERGO Carrier, which she let me try while we shopped at a consignment sale the other day. It was a great experience. I was so pleased with how well Lydia did in it. She was as happy as a lark in spite of the fact that she had missed her usual nap time.

Did you know that CSN Stores carries a great variety of baby carriers? Here's a sampling of just a few! Can you figure out what they are?

Can you look around my site and guess which one CSN Stores is going to be offering to GIVE AWAY in honor of our trip abroad? Which one will I be testing out on the trip and posting a review for afterward?

EXTRA EARLY ENTRIES

If you can identify 4 of the 6 baby carriers pictured above by browsing the baby carriers at CSN Stores and leave me a comment with your answers you can earn 5 extra entries into the March ERGObaby carrier giveaway!

Leave me another comment with a link to the baby carrier that CSN Stores carries that you'd most like to try and earn 5 more extra entries into the March ERGObaby carrier giveaway!

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. This is the second of a series of two posts including a link to CSN Stores that will enable me to offer you an exciting giveaway in March!

More Than This Monday: To be a Tree...

2011-02-06T21:54:00.003-05:00

I've posted this poem before. I'm very slow to post my poems, as they come from my heart and are something that I don't feel like is always appropriate to make public, but I feel compelled to share this one again. It's something come back to again and again. We must abide, rest, remain, stay, be - IN Christ. Striving in our own strength may produce some "results," but only that which is the very life of Christ flowing through us will produce real, lasting fruit. It is my heart's desire to let Him live and flow through me. What sweet surrender to just yield and trust Him, and experience being what we were created to be...

I Just Want to be a Tree

I just want to be a tree.
But not just any tree, you see.
Bearing fruit in its season
with roots that go deep.
This is the tree I want to be.

For the fowl of the air
It's a cozy space.
For the victim fled
It's a hiding place.
And the weary lean
on its solid base.

On a scorching day
it's a shady spot
To the hungry it offers
the fruit it has wrought

For the weary mind
it's a peaceful scene
that calms the soul
with beauty serene.

With all of this,
there is so much more
that a simple tree
was created for.

It absorbs pollutants
that in the air abound
And breathes out clean air
to all that surround
It does all this
without a sound.

Without labor or strife
it lives its life
But from where does
the power proceed?

From beneath the earth
where the seed gave birth,
deep under the ground
a quiet stream is found.

There it firmly stands,
Raising its hands
Pointing to the sky
to God on high.

He is the source of the
light shining down
His life the cool stream
running under ground.

His life within and His
life poured out,
keep the abiding tree safe
from every drought.

Through every gust
The tree steadily trusts
Swaying, not breaking
Bent but not crushed.

And so the tree
not in words, but in deed
Points toward the One
who created the seed,
for all His glory to see.

And so my friend, I hope you see
Why I just want to be a tree.

Inspired by:

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he mediates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."~Psalm 1:1-3

"...They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting from the Lord." Isaiah 61:3

"Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed." Isaiah 55:13

"I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener...Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me..." John 15:1-2

*Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy!

Wool Dryer Balls from the Willow Store {Review and Giveaway!}

2011-02-05T07:30:00.001-05:00

You may remember my review of the Willow Store's Sprout Change reversible hybrid reusable diaper a couple of months ago! Well, as wonderful as it is, cloth diapers are not all the Willow Store has to offer.

Willow Store offers organic kitchen cloth, known as "forever cloth," reusable bags, feminine care products, and natural laundry products and more! Today It's my honor to review for you Willow Store's wool dryer balls!

These wool dryer balls are natural wool felted, and handmade right here in the USA! These dryer balls last for many years and are effective in reducing drying time for all laundry, and naturally softening clothing.

If you use cloth diapers like me, especially in the winter when it is too cold to hang laundry outside (for me anyway), I appreciate anything that can help me keep the electric bill down by reducing the drying time especially of absorbent loads of towels or cloth diapers.

I have enjoyed having this set of three wool dryer balls. They are extremely soft and are very light. Therefore they do not make loud thumping sounds in the dryer! As a matter of fact, I can't hear them at all. This is wonderful for me because the dryer is normally a nice soothing background noise when my daughter is sleeping, but dryer balls can make enough thump to wake her up or keep her from sleeping.

I had also been having a problem with a lot of static this winter, especially with my cloth diapers after pulling them out of the dryer. I kept shocking my little one! I have not had that problem at all since I started using these dryer balls! They really help reduce static electricity!

Aside from their functional use, these balls are the perfect size for my toddler's little hands (about the size of a tennis ball). She *loves* balls, and these are super soft and easy for her to throw! She loves playing with them between loads! Not only that, but she's become my little helper with the laundry. She helps me put things in, close the door (her favorite part), turn the knob, and then press the button and watch it go. Now we've added the step of her putting the dryer balls into the dryer each time. That one she can *truly* do by herself and makes her feel super proud!

I definitely recommend Willow Store's wool dryer balls!

***Giveaway!***

Willow Store is offering one very blessed reader their very own set of wool dryer balls!

Here's how to enter:

Go to the Willow Store website and come back here and leave a comment telling me something you learned or which product you'd most like to try.

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address if it is not easily accessible through your blogger profile.You do not have to have a blogger profile to enter, as long as you leave a valid e-mail address.)

Additional Entries:

Subscribe to The Willow Store Newsletter! (right side of home page)

Like The Willow Store on Facebook.

Follow @TheWillowStore on Twitter!

Follow The Willow Store Blog GFC.

Like Life as a Global Mom on Facebook! (Right sidebar)

Follow Life as a Global Mom via Google Friend Connect (Right Side Bar).

Follow me on Twitter.

Grab my new button!

Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet about this giveaway using @TheWillowStore and @cheapnchoosy. (Up to 3 times daily)

Subscribe to Life as a Global Mom via email. (right sidebar)

Link this post up to any Giveaway Linky and just leave me a comment with the link! (3 entries per linky entered!)

Share about this giveaway in whatever social media venue or forum you wish. As long as you can provide a link to it, it counts!

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open to everyone everywhere until March 4, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will email the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. I will post the winner when the selection has been made and confirmed by the recipient.

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are completely my own! I received the product reviewed free of charge. You can see my full disclosure here.

Title, NOT Content Change!

2011-02-02T17:18:00.002-05:00

The "Cheap and Choosy" is now, "Life as a Global Mom"! I will soon provide an explanation of the new title and picture! For right now, I'll just tell you that it is a picture I took on my first trip abroad to Peru in the year 2000. It represents three aspects of this blog in unique ways. More about that to come...

This is the first step in a gradual transition. For now my web address, Facebook page, and button will remain the same. I will keep the same twitter handle permanently.

I don't have time to tell why I chose, "Life as a Global Mom" right now, but I will say I've for some time been unhappy with the title, "The Cheap and Choosy" which I thought of on an impulse when I started my blog that at the time I did not intend to take very seriously.

CONTENT WILL NOT CHANGE. I'm still "SIMPLE. FRUGAL. REUSABLE." with weekly thoughts on matters of the heart and occasional reviews and giveaways!

Thanks for your patience while I make this transition. Feel free to let me know what you think!

More Than This Monday: Saying "No."

2011-01-30T20:00:00.031-05:00

Once again, what's on my heart to write is not the direction I'd "planned" so the Part Two of Two Kinds of Contentment will have to be postponed.

Recently, I was asked to do something for someone that I couldn't do, largely because of a soon coming trip abroad, but also because I could not have done it without forsaking my responsibilities in my home, as well as specific things the Lord has clearly led to do outside the home.

Saying "no" is very hard, isn't it? It takes grace to say it, grace to receive it, and grace to deal with one anothers' responses to it. As this post at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee! so transparently describes, it takes nothing less than grace for us to give it.

Then there's the other side of the coin.

Saying , "Yes," when it is the right answer can be hard too! Though there is no question that there are many times when we have to say "no" to people and things, this has made me think a lot about how I can take "the boundary thing" too far. I've been asking myself, "Am I willing to be inconvenienced for others?" I think of the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Ironically this has been the text we're focusing on this week for our small group.) I think, rather know, that I have been guilty of "passing by" in the name of "drawing boundaries" at times, probably more times than I'd like to think. I can remember a couple of times at least (I know there are more but I'm remembering a couple of specific occasions) when I missed what God really wanted me to do because it was not what I thought He wanted, and seemed to "get in the way" of what I wanted his will for me to be.
I am more and more convinced, that it is necessary, not just a good thing, to live every day seeking God's guidance moment by moment, and being willing to obey even when it is not "convenient" to us. I have a long. way. to. go.

It's helpful to keep in mind that God will not call us to do something that would cause us to shirk our God given roles as wives and mothers, but that doesn't mean our routine won't be interrupted, or dinner might get made a little later, peanut butter might not get slapped on bread instead of a home cooked meal from time to time, a nap won't be missed, or that the house won't have to just stay messy for a while...

Whether it's answering, returning, or making a phone call, answering a knock at the door, standing in a parking lot or driveway with hands full of kids or groceries in order to talk to someone (all things I've been guilty of avoiding), or -fill in the blank-, may we (especially me) be made willing to be made willing to walk in obedience-not striving to do good works in our own strength to make ourselves feel useful, but just having ears to hear, eyes to see, and mouths, feet, and hands to obey.

Very Easy {Two Ingredient} Homemade Liquid Handsoap

2011-01-26T10:05:00.002-05:00

A while back I wrote about how using bar soap over body wash for bathing helps avoid waste, saves money, and saves unnecessary packaging. I guess this is again where the "choosy" wins out over the cheap, because when it comes to hand soap, I prefer liquid. I don't like the grunge that inevitably builds up on the soap (or so it always seemed at my grandparents' house growing up).

I read on a forum somewhere a few months back that you could make your own liquid hand soap by grating up a bar of soap and boiling it in 6 cups of water. I finally got around to trying it last week. I was concerned when I "Googled" it because I almost always saw glycerin as an essential ingredient in most recipes. If you follow my blog you know I like things uber simple with as few and as "common" ingredients as possible. Glycerin is very cheap and would last a long time though so I'm not knocking it. However, since I didn't have it around, I asked a fellow blogger if it was necessary and discovered that if you use regular bar soap, rather than castille soap, the glycerin is not needed because it already has it.

It worked REALLY well, and was simple enough to make it worth doing again. I was treating it as an experiment, and doubtful that I would do it regularly because of time constraints, but I definitely will continue because it's very easy to do while cooking dinner or any time for that matter. Here's how:

1. Grate bar of soap. (I used Ivory because that's what we typically have around.)

2. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add bar soap. Stir until soap is dissolved.

3. Turn off heat and let cool for 15-30 minutes or long enough to be cool enough to put in soap dispensers.

4. Put in dispensers and let sit until it thickens up. With Ivory it turned a whitish color.

Scratch liquid handsoap off my shopping list! Yay!

*Added Note, 2/18/2011
When I went to make another batch of this I realized that a good bit of soap was still clumped together in the dispensers. I just added a bit of warm water to each one and shook them up and they started shooting out soap again, a bit more liquid, but plenty of soap to do the job!

More Than This Monday: Two Kinds of Contentment, Part One

2011-01-24T10:39:00.001-05:00

There are two kinds of contentment. There is that which is necessary to live at peace with God and experience His power. That is the kind of contentment that Paul spoke of when he said, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phillipians 4:12) It's the kind of contentment spoken about in the book of Hebrews that says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5).

It's even deeper than that. It's the contentment, or should I say "rest" that knows deep within that "there is no good thing in me,"(Romans 7) and that Jesus IS my "clean hands" and my "pure heart." (Psalm 24:3&4) That He "accomplishes all things for me." (Psalm 57:2) The peace of knowing that we are in Christ and He is in us, and that we cannot nor do we need to DO anything in our own strength or initiative. It's the rest that knows we are the tree, and He is the life. (Psalm 1) We are the well, and He is the water, we are the branch, He is the vine (John 15). There is a rest that we should seek to find in Him, that keeps us undisturbed and secure from every storm, whether it's a teething baby ;), a person trying to tear us down by criticizing us, a sickness, a financial crisis, a -fill in the blank-. Whatever the storm, we can be at rest.

Do you remember or have you heard the story of Jesus and his disciples on the stormy sea? (Matthew 8) It was a horrible storm. It seemed totally and completely impossible that the little boat would survive. Everyone was totally freaking out, and rightfully so...except one. Jesus. He was ASLEEP. Let that sink in a minute. We're talking *big* storm here. Major thunder, lightning, and humongous waves knocking the boat around and splashing with tremendous force on the deck.

The story tells of how the disciples woke him up, how they couldn't fathom how He could possibly be sleeping at such a time. The lovely, wonderful thing was that He got up, went on deck, held out His hand and said, "Peace. Be still." The storm immediately ceased. Just stopped. Just like that. In an instant. The disciples marveled. Who must He be that even the wind and the waves obeyed Him?

Friends, it is so wonderful that He stopped the storm. I love Jesus. He loves us so much. He meets us where we're at. He knows how much we can handle. He is so merciful.

But let me tell you, I want to be so wrapped up in Him. I want to be so aware that I am hidden in Christ in God (Col. 3:3), that I can just cuddle up with Him and rest, and not be afraid of the storm. As it is, I think I probably would have been right there with the disciples, shaking Him and pleading for Him to wake up and DO something.

It must have been amazing to see His hand and see Him display His control of nature with a single word, but how much more amazing would it be, to know Him enough and trust Him enough to have already known that He had it under control, and to have been asleep with Him? How awesome would it be to have never been gripped with fear and panic and hysteria? He loves us so much. He doesn't get ruffled because of our fear, panic, and hysteria. Trust me I know, as an expert in all three, but He tells us again and again. Do. Not. Fear. I think He would love for us to curl up with Him and rest, and maybe even be the ones to speak peace into the lives of others in the storm.

Let's let our striving be for rest...for entering into HIS rest. He has accomplished everything for us! All He asks is that we trust and obey. That is a good kind of rest, a good kind of contentment.

This didn't go the direction I'd planned, but it's been encouraging to me as I've written. I hope it encourages someone else.

Simplifying and Creating Space with Hanging Jewelry

2011-01-21T14:45:00.000-05:00

I love getting rid of things. I like getting rid of clutter. It takes a lot of effort as I'm not the most organized by nature, but it's so refreshing to travel light. Less is definitely more in my book.

Some time back I saw a friend's bedroom and noticed she had all of her jewelry hanging on pins on a corkboard beautifully covered with fabric and ribbon.

I had my jewelry in a medium sized jewelry box on a small shelf in our room. Since we have a big closet, we'd already moved our desk and desk top computer in there to create space in another room, and I was ready to get that little shelf into the closet as well since there was a perfect spot for it that was otherwise unusable space. The only problem was where to put the jewelry box. I knew it was time...jewelry on the wall, jewelry box out of here!

I was going to make a fancy one, but I found an attractive one for 8 bucks or so at Wal-Mart that matched our color scheme well. Yet again, less is more! Here it is:

I should also make a rule that if it can't fit attractively on this board, I shouldn't have it, or should get rid of something else!

More Than This Monday: De-resolutionizing, Part Two

2011-01-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

Because there is so much more to this life than this...

Last week I began to write about why I didn't make any resolutions this year. I got a little off on the "linear" and "global" concept, that though interesting, really is only a minor part of what I am trying to communicate. The principal point was that I spent too much time this past year worrying about perfecting the balancing act of motherhood and that God showed me that I was trying to be something that I was not. For me, it was time to stop, rather than start, trying to "get it together."

Galations 2:20 says, "I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live. Yet not I but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

That verse has been my theme because I keep coming back to it again and again and again. It puts in a nutshell what is revealed all throughout the New Testament which is that Christ did not only die to be our substitute in death, but to be our very life as well. All throughout scripture we find that God is not pleased with our striving to do things in our own strength, but by our absolute trust and dependence on Him and His life within.

I realized that I was not trusting Him or depending on Him in this new season of being at home. I missed having a schedule imposed on me through a job, and was seeking to create structure for myself. I was striving to accomplish all that I thought I should in the way I thought it should be accomplished.

It dawned on me that the only way for me to live in this season is to seek Him moment by moment to show me what to do, and to do it. It was such a relief, such a peace, such a hope. I knew that if I lived this way, the important things would get done.

Now before I wax poetic I must state that I have by no means walked in perfect obedience nor am I saying that everything I've done has been led by God. There have been plenty of times I've been distracted and made the wrong decisions, more so than not I'm afraid. However, the marvelous thing is that just letting go of my own agenda, and asking God to show me His instead even as it relates to menial daily tasks, the mere turning of my heart and mind in that direction, making it my goal and desire, has turned my world inside out and upside down.

Suddenly, my heart has been burning in me with desires that God's been laying on my heart. He's been leading me to do things and filling me with the desire and passion to do them, so much so that when to do laundry, dishes, or sweep the floor are no longer a big deal.

He's helped me let go of my unrealistic expectations for the state of the house, and yet *most* of the time, things have been more in order than before, and chores have been getting done for the *most* part in a more timely manner. Even more amazing is that when this is not the case, it has not been been a source of stress because I know He cares about those things too and will help me get it all done. He's also helped me let go of my stress about when to spend time with friends outside of the home, because I know He'll lead me day by day in the matter, and He has. Mornings have been smoother and believe it or not, more "routine" than they have been for a long time.

"You will keep in perfect peace

all who trust in you,

all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"

~Isaiah 26:3 NLT

Homemade Ranch Dressing: Good News for the Tastebuds, Not so Good for the Waistline

2011-01-14T01:00:00.013-05:00

Do you love Ranch dressing, but would like to know what's IN your Ranch? You can make your own just about as quickly as you can whip up a batch out of a pre-prepared packet!

Some time back, I posted about my deliverance from my Ranch dressing addiction brought about by an equally yummy homemade olive oil and garlic salad dressing. That was all well and good until recently.

We had baked chicken the other day, which made me really crave some Ranch because I LOVE it for dipping baked chicken in. I decided to look on line and see if there was a recipe for homemade Ranch. I was doubtful, but my husband told me that there was. He follows Hallee Homemaker's blog and had seen it there.

I went and found it and within 10 or 15 minutes, had a cup of the most delicious Ranch Dressing I'd ever tasted! That's how quick and easy it is, and yes that means you don't need fancy ingredients because obviously we already had everything needed!

I couldn't believe it was that simple. Now I'm really happy because if God ever calls us to another country, I can make Ranch Dressing! I've already shared it with one friend living overseas and plan to share it with more. That is so exciting to me. Yay!

Here's the recipe:

⅓ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup plain yogurt (or sour cream)
⅓ cup buttermilk (I just use whole milk because that is what we keep around)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
½ tsp dried parsley flakes
½ tsp dried dill

Stir it together and store in whatever you please. Chill and serve on whatever you fancy. :)

Yum!

Wordless Wednesday: Snow!

2011-01-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

More Than This Monday: De-Resolutionizing, Part One

2011-01-10T11:15:00.006-05:00

More than This Monday, Because the Heart Matters Most...

I did not make any resolutions this new year. I had a sort of epiphany mid-December that led to a change in my way living in this season of being at home that has pretty much turned my life upside down and inside out. That will be explained in the next installment. First, some background.

You see, a good part of this first full year as a mother, in spite of many good things, I must tell you when it came to house keeping and balancing that with relationships both inside and out of the home and out, I stressed a lot.

It was the big thing that kept creeping in and stealing my joy, my focus, and keeping me from practicing the presence of God and being a channel of His love to others. I was not applying truth that God had shown me in other seasons, about other things, to this area of life.

Let me explain where I'm coming from. First of all, I am no expert on personalities and hope to do some reading on the subject this year as it is of great interest to me. That being said, please humor me as I majorly over-simplify a couple of things on the subject to make my point.

Somewhere, I heard an explanation about two personality types, or rather, ways of thinking. One I've heard called a "global" or "random" way of thinking, and the other I've heard called "analytic" or "linear."

Basically a global thinker works from the big picture, or abstract, to the details. An analytic thinker works the other way around, starting with the details to work toward constructing the big picture. Needless to say, an analytic thinker is more tuned in to details while the global thinker notices details less readily, as they relate to the big picture.

The first time I ever heard the description of a "global" person, I could not believe just how accurately it described me and the way my mind works. My mother was the one who shared it with me. She definitely falls under the "linear" category, and she testifies that when she heard it, she understood her daughter (myself) for the first time.

Now that I've established that I am, hands down, a global thinker, let me begin to explain what this has to do with making or not making New Year's resolutions.

I am not a linear thinker. "Does it really have to be a, then b, then c? I mean, can't we do c first today because that just makes sense at the moment. When you look at the big picture, c is more important right now. That may not be the case tomorrow, but it is right now!"

The problem lies in my having been continually trying to be like a linear person. I've always been a type A wanna be. I want to be the woman who keeps a consistent schedule, a neat house, and always seems to have it together. Plan, plan, plan. Order, order, order.

Don't get me wrong. Discipline is a good thing, and I need more of it. I'm not saying that routines and schedules are bad. I still have a strong desire to establish a good one, and I'm seeing that begin to happen in this season for the first time, now that I've stopped trying. Confused? Keep reading.

A few months ago, on a typical day, I was trying desperately to stick to the latest and greatest "schedule." It wasn't going well. Lydia was teething and the "normal" "do this task while Lydia does that task" was not working. We needed to go to the library, and that was scheduled to happen later in the day, but I felt at that moment that Lydia might benefit from the distraction and in the brief car trip I might be able to gather my frazzled thoughts. In the car, I thought, "Well, there goes the schedule. Clean dishes are still in the dishwasher and dirty ones in the sink, and now, who knows when it will get taken care of!" Why can I not stick to a schedule? To quiet my own thoughts, I turned on the radio.

It was on a station that I hadn't normally listened to, and since it was at a time that I wasn't normally in the car, there was a program on that I didn't normally listen to either. I'm a great respecter of James Dobson and Focus on the Family. That radio program was on, and I heard the guest speaker, a personality expert, discussing with the hosts the importance of not trying to make our "random thinking" children think and behave like "linear thinkers." I was amazed at the direct way in which the discussion applied to the thoughts I'd just been having, only about myself, not my children.

I felt like the Lord was saying to me, "Stop trying to be a linear person. That's not the way I made you, and it's O.K."

Trying to be someone you're not only brings frustration. That day was not the end of my stressing over these things, but it was the beginning of God's answer to my problem. Stay tuned to find out how this mom is finding grace to deal with life's demands and beginning to thrive in God's will again while being who she is, a moment by moment, random thinking "global" mom.

What's your "more than this?" Link up your post about matters of the heart. What matters most to you?

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*Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

Making Homemade Babyfood Easy: The FoodMill by Kidco. at CSN Stores

2011-01-10T10:18:00.001-05:00

As you may already know, CSN Stores features more than 200 stores where you can find anything you can imagine from a new kitchen appliance, to a new bedroom set, to an ERGO Baby carrier, or a laptop messenger bag if that is your fancy!

I would like to highlight a product available at CSN Stores that I highly recommend. Has your baby been introduced to enough foods to be able to join you in eating what you're having for dinner, if only it were mashed or pureed?

The Food Mill by Kidco. made life much easier for us at that stage. Instead of preparing Lydia something totally different at dinner time, most of the time we could grind up a portion of what we were eating with this handy tool. When I first saw the aparatus, I have to admit I was skeptical of how much it could handle. However, it went above and beyond my expectations and efficiently ground up rice, meat, pasta, you name it!

It was great to not have to haul out the mini food processor, plug it in, make lots of noise to upset the baby, and then disassemble it's parts and hand wash the parts that cannot be washed in the dishwasher.

This food mill is a small, simple machine. We always washed it in the dishwasher, putting the smaller pieces in with the silverware.

I also noticed that CSN Stores also carries the Deluxe Food Mill, which I may want to try as it also comes at a great low price.

They also carry a small electric food mill! I highly recommend trying these products if you are embarking on the adventure of solid foods with your little one!

*This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are mine and mine alone. It is one of two posts including a link to the CSN Stores website that will enable me to offer an exciting giveaway to my readers during the month of March. :) You can see my full disclosure on my PR/Disclosure page above.

Winner!

2011-01-10T09:52:00.000-05:00

Winner of the large PlanetWise wet bag:

Congratulations SCMOMOF2BOYS!

Winner has been emailed!

Winner!

2011-01-07T11:19:00.000-05:00

Winner of the bumGenius! Elemental from Natural Pure Essentials:

Congratulations ♥Mama of the Littles♥!

I'm about to email you! :)

Eco-Felt Owl from Pixiekids Toys and Gifts - GIVEAWAY!CLOSED

2011-01-04T15:00:00.002-05:00

Pixiekids Toys and Gifts

Pixiekids Toys and Gifts on Etsy specializes in handmade toys made of eco-felt, which is felt that is manufactured from recycled plastic bottles. How cool is that??? I'm sorry, I just had to let the professional writing style go for a minute there to express just how very excited I am about this shop! Is the picture of the tea set pictured above not enough? I don't know about you, but I'm sold. I just love the details like the swirls on the tea. Absolutely genius.

I was particularly excited to hear from Melisa, because I had just discovered the concept of making pretend food out of felt, and had *attempted* to make Lydia some cookies for Christmas, but barely got started, and they do not even ever so slightly begin to hold a candle to the cuteness and coolness that are the toys available at Pixiekids Toys. Let me just give you a sampling of some of my favorites. It will be hard because they are all very cool! I just love the sushi and cinnamon rolls with icing. They look almost real!

Couldn't you just EAT them?

Not only does Pixiekids Toys and Gifts make play food and groceries, but she also makes adorable eco-felt stuffed animals, games, and more! I especially love the eco-felt owls!

GIVEAWAY!

Pixiekids Toys and Gifts is offering my readers a chance to win their very own eco-felt owl!

Here's how to enter:

Go to Pixiekids Toys and Gifts on Etsy and come back here and leave a comment letting me know which eco-felt toy you'd most like to have!

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address if it is not easily accessible through your blogger profile.You do not have to have a blogger profile to enter, as long as you leave a valid e-mail address.)

Additional Entries:

Like Pixiekids Toys on Facebook.

Purchase a product from Pixikids Toys.

Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet about this giveaway using @Cheapnchoosy, and #giveaway. (up to 3 times daily)

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Follow The Cheap and Choosy via Google Friend Connect.

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Grab my blog button and leave a link to where I can find it in your comment.

Subscribe to The Cheap and Choosy via email.

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open worldwide through Feb. 5, 2011 at *11:59 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will email and post the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

*Note the change in my usual ending time of the giveaway. I will not be at the computer at midnight, but any entries after 11:59 PM EST will not be included in the drawing.

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are completely my own! You can see my full disclosure here.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese on the Stovetop

2011-01-04T07:00:00.012-05:00

*Disclaimer: I realize this is nothing new to the rest of the world, but please humor me. I began this blog originally by logging my experiences in learning to make things myself that I was used to buying pre-made. It's a little challenge I've been enjoying. Please don't think badly of my mother. I wasn't the least interested in these things as a kid and didn't pay attention. It's not her fault! :)

I spend time with my friend Rachel on Thursdays, and the last time I was there, she made some mac' n cheese with...you won't believe it...CHEESE! I was pretty excited because I hadn't seen it done that way, that I *remember.*

Yet again, I was surprised to learn how to make something simple from scratch that I'd only ever known to come out of a box. I must say, my mom did make homemade macaroni and cheese when I was a kid, but it was in the form of a casserole, and I never thought of it as an option for a quick, stove top meal.

I haven't got measurements because she just eye balled it, and so did I. It's pretty hard to go wrong.

1. Start about 2 cups? of macaroni noodles boiling.
2. In a saucepan, melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter.
3. Add about 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
4. Stir in "a little" milk (sorry for the vagueness.)
5. Continue cooking and stirring on medium low heat until blended.

6. When I realized I was just making a white sauce with cheese, I added a tablespoon of flour to thicken it a little.

7. When noodles are done, strain them and then mix them into the sauce.

This is where the "choosy" wins out over the "cheap," because cheese is expensive. That's why I'll just make this every once in a while. I'm not at all opposed to a good ol' box of Kraft Mac n' Cheese every now and then either. I'm just glad to know I can do it myself. This way a comfort food becomes a healthy food...relatively speaking.;)

Scratch boxed Mac n' Cheese off my grocery list!

Winner!

2011-01-03T22:24:00.000-05:00

Winner of the Sprout Change one size reusable diaper:

Congratulations Nikki!

Winner has been emailed.

More Than This Monday: A New Year

2011-01-03T01:00:00.005-05:00

We were thinking of putting a family update letter in our Christmas cards, and I even wrote up a little summary of the year, but we decided not to send it. Partly because of the ink it would cost, somewhat because of the time it would take, and ultimately because we didn't have peace about it. I was a little sorry I'd taken the time to write the letter, but then I realized that it had been good to look back and remember. I have a tendency to be too retrospective, but some level of looking back is quite healthy. I decided (with peace ;) to post our year in review here...a little remembering before starting a new year...

"This has been a year of much learning for us! From first tooth to first birthday to first baby sign to first spoken word, it has been fun to watch Lydia grow and learn. We've been learning right along with her! These days Lydia loves books, finger food, pulling up and walking while hanging on to things. We're expecting her to let go and walk by herself any minute as she's begun to let go and stand unsupported a little!
It's been a year of learning in many ways besides just learning to take care of Lydia. Tom has been learning Portuguese using Rosetta Stone and is doing quite well. I've been picking up a good bit from him. He also learned to put up a privacy fence, and accomplished the huge task of putting one around our hilly back yard (with much help from his dad which we greatly appreciate)!
Tom also spent a week in Haiti during the month of June and Lydia and I stayed with my parents. It was an eye opening experience for Tom in Haiti and it was good for the family to get some extended time with Lydia, but we definitely missed each other a lot!
I have been learning to cook and sew (or trying to ;) and all kinds of "domestic" things, trying to master a mom's balancing act, as well as learning my limits in this new season, and consistent with my nature, learning the hard way in some things!
We've learned a lot about handling finances through a course we took early in the year that not only impacted our lives practically but also spiritually and relationally. Tom's company, along with most, has experienced some rocky times and we're thankful that things seem to be going better there at the moment. These things have been constant reminders of where our security does and does not lie.
We've seen answers this year to our prayers for God to lead us where he wanted us connected more deeply to the Body of Christ in our community. He led us to fellowship just a few minutes away, where we are thankful for the warm, Christ-centered, and missional community we've become a part of. His timing is perfect! There also happen to be a few Portuguese speakers there so maybe we'll get a chance to practice before our upcoming trip to Brazil!
We have tickets for a three week trip to visit Laura and Felipe on the YWAM base in Belo Horizonte coming up this year. We hope to be of service there and get a feel for what life on the base is like. We went on a short trip last year for Laura and Felipe's wedding, and since Tom has felt that we should return for a longer stay. We're pretty excited and can't believe that it's just a few months away! Please pray that God's purpose in having us go would be accomplished both in us and through us, and for smooth travel with Lydia.
For my birthday, a week before Christmas, we went to Ashville, NC for a weekend away now that Lydia is fully weaned. Lydia stayed with my parents. It was the first time we've been away from her for more than two or three of hours. My parents had a wonderful time with her and we had a great time visiting the Biltmore House, a first for both of us. We also took advantage of the opportunity to go see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as well!

Well, those are some of the highlights of our year! We hope your New Year is filled with joy and peace! "

And now...

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." ~Phillipians 3.13

*Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

Happy New Year and Another Winner!

2011-01-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

Winner of the one size Whamies pocket diaper:

Congratulations Kat!

Winner has been emailed.

*Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

Winner!

2011-01-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

Winner of the Nifty Nappy PeachyKeen Pocket Diaper:

Congratulations Cali!

Winner has been emailed.

Pregnancy Tests for $1!

2010-12-31T01:00:00.010-05:00

Recently, I shared the news that Dollar Tree had microfiber towels, which are great for dusting, swiffing, and stuffing cloth diapers. That was the first time I'd been to a Dollar Tree in ages. What I didn't tell you is that the reason I made that trip in the first place.

I went because a good friend told me that she got her pregnancy tests there, for a dollar of course. The awesome thing is that either her doctor or a nurse told her about it! Turns out, that is where at least that doctor's office gets their tests. I don't have any cited source or research, just word of mouth. However, I don't doubt it since I found that Dollar Tree does have a website from which you can order in bulk!

I've been using these, and they seem to work fine. This is great news if you're hoping to have a baby and want to be able to check more often without throwing away $15-$20 every time!

Winner!

2010-12-29T20:34:00.000-05:00

Winner of the AMP Duo, one size pocket diaper:

Congratulations caedmen !

Winner has been emailed.

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Where we've been...

2010-12-29T08:39:00.001-05:00

Snowed in with Mimi and Pa! We didn't have to settle for just dreaming of a white Christmas this year, which for central/eastern North Carolina is quite unusual.

This was special because it was our last Christmas in the little house I grew up in. My parents have lived there since I was born. A house that was a true home. A home where I was rich in love, rich in family, rich in Christ, and as happy as a child could possibly be. A home I wouldn't have traded for all the riches of the world, because I learned there what really mattered in life....faith, hope, and love...but the greatest of these is love.

Thank you Lord for the years we spent in this old house.

Watching the snow with Mimi.

We only stayed out a few minutes, but she had a blast romping in the snow!

We weren't prepared for snow...an old hat that Mimi had and a pair of socks for gloves!

It was a fun few lazy days...now we're back and trying to find our way back to a "normal" routine! I'll be working on responding to emails today!

Winner!

2010-12-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Go Green Pocket Diapers Winner:

Congratulations Jen!

Winner has been emailed.

Every Good Gift...

2010-12-25T06:00:00.005-05:00

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

~James 1:17

*Another special thanks to Shutterfly for the lovely photo cards!*

Comfy Rumps Winner!

2010-12-23T21:26:00.000-05:00

Winner of the 2 Comfy Rumps One Size Pocket Diapers:

Congratulations Chany!

Winner has been emailed!

Wordless Wednesday: Wishing You and Yours a...

2010-12-22T10:31:00.000-05:00

*Image Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

More than this Monday: Ripping Razors

2010-12-21T10:25:00.000-05:00

I realize that it is Tuesday, but we just got back from our trip, and it feels like Monday to me. I also had a little something I wanted to share...;)

Tom and I enjoyed a weekend away this past weekend in Asheville, NC while Lydia hung out with my Mom and Dad. It was fun, and I think absence made the heart grow fonder...made me more aware of the blessing that Lydia is. When we got back last night we were loving on Lydia and talking with my parents.

I was letting Lydia play with a paper that seemed unimportant. She tore it and my mom said that it was something she wanted to hold on to. I almost grabbed the paper out of Lydia's hand, but then remembered my resolution to not yank things out of her hand that she shouldn't have, but to ask her calmly to give it to me. When I did so she handed me the paper me without hesitating. I said "thank you," and she went on chattering and playing happily.

I told mom how I'd realized that she may not understand why I grab things out of her hands. I thought at that moment how kids are so prone to yank things out of others' hands and it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps we train them to do that without even realizing it! Then we turn around and scold them for "taking away" and not sharing.

I shared these thoughts with my mom and it reminded her of a story told by a teacher years ago, which I have embellished a little...

A family and friends were sitting around enjoying each others' company when someone realized that the baby on the floor in the middle had a sharp razor blade in his hand. Expecting the mom to grab it instantly from his hand the guests were surprised and nervous to see her run to the kitchen. The mother briskly, but calmly walked back into the room, quickly approaching the baby with something in her own hand. She reached out with a loving hand and offered to baby a cookie. The baby in turn instantly dropped the razor, which was immediately grabbed up by wiser hands and enjoyed nibbling on the cookie. The relieved family paid no mind to the crumbs falling all over the floor and all sighed and relaxed back into their seats with relief.

How often do we rip razor blades from the hands of others, young and old alike, only leave them wounded and bleeding, instead of offering them something better.

The wrong things we see in our loved one's lives, that may indeed be harmful to them, perhaps would be forgotten and abandoned if we would instead of trying to take those things from them, just showed them the love of Christ...

I needed to hear that. I can't tell you how timely it was. God show me how to just give your love, and leave the razor blades to you!

Winner!

2010-12-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

Winner of the Rockin' Green 45/90 bag:

Congratulations, Trophy Wife!

Winner has been emailed!

Winner!

2010-12-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

Winner of the Fuzzibunz Perfect Size Diaper from Thanks Mama!

Congratulations Kris!

WINNER HAS BEEN EMAILED!

Taking the Surprise Factor out of Christmas

2010-12-17T12:24:00.001-05:00

We only buy gifts for immediate family in order to keep it simple, and I *try* to make handmade gifts for extended family and friends each year. (This year I've made a few, and the relative silence on the blog is me trying to make some more!) In spite of all this, Christmas came as a surprise to us last year, and the year before, and the year before, and...

We ended up buying gifts using a credit card, and ended up carrying a balance for a couple of months, because we didn't think about it until...December!

My husband and I both have always had frugal "tendencies," better said,"intentions." Neither of us would make big purchases without serious thought and prayer and would always look and wait for an amazing deal. Neither of us enjoy shopping. As a matter of fact, we both rather loathe it. We don't feel a need or desire for a big house and new fancy everything. My motto is "less is more." I've always wanted to travel light, and not accumulate a lot of "stuff". I'm the opposite of a pack rat, I go through closets and drawers periodically looking for things to give away, throw away, or sell. My mom used to go through the trash cans after me and pull things back out. (It's really amazing that I still struggle with being messy in spite of this. I've been wanting to get rid of all furniture that provides a place to put random things and get cluttered up, like our dresser. I don't think we need it, but my husband is not convinced! He definitely will not let me get rid of the kitchen table. I can't imagine why! ;)

All this said, because of our lack of need to "keep up with the Jones," we fancied ourselves quite frugal, but in reality, in spite of my husband's disciplined attention to our finances and wonderful organization, we still managed to only be able to save very little relative to what we should have been able to and we would regularly "get in trouble" come Christmas or any other totally "unexpected" need or occasion.

This year we took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and gleaned a lot of ideas and insights that have pretty much revolutionized the way we handle our finances. We learned that in spite of our mindset, we were still not living frugally. This will be the first in a series about some of the things we've learned and practical examples of how it works for us.

As a result of that course, this year we started a "Christmas Envelope," putting a little in each month since. It has been WONDERFUL to have that envelope and know exactly what our limits are and to be prepared. It has made this season much more peaceful so far, and most of our gifts are wrapped and under the tree in record time! :)

I will discuss in coming weeks the four essential things that have changed our lives in more ways than just finances:

1. A new perspective on debt and credit.

2. A zero based monthly budget.

3. What I like to call "The Envelope System"

4. A bigger than ever desire and passion for giving.

Stay tuned!

Winners!

2010-12-16T10:21:00.000-05:00

Winner of the Kawaii One Size Pocket Diaper from Sweet Bottoms Baby Boutique:

Congratulations JustCorey!

Winner of the $5.00 GC to Nature Bumz Co. (a redraw) out of 608 valid comments:

Congratulations Caedman!

WINNERS HAVE BEEN EMAILED!

More Than This Monday: All the Way...

2010-12-13T09:21:00.002-05:00

This is the song I end up singing every time I sit down at the piano lately. I'm so full of thankfulness for the many ways I've seen God guiding us lately...answering long groaned prayers and fulfilling longings much awaited...surprise blessings unimagined by us and glimpses of a great weaving together of threads of our lives...ordinary things made extraordinary. I am thankful.

(I wouldn't have chosen all these pics in the video but most of them I love. Thanks to whoever put it together!)

Happy Heinys and $5 GC from Nature Bumz Co. Winners!

2010-12-13T09:06:00.000-05:00

Out of 608 valid entries...

Winner of the Turquoise Happy Heinys Diaper from Nature Bumz Co.:

Congratulations Kris!

Winner of the $5 GC from Nature Bumz Co.:

Congratulations Madeline!

WINNERS HAVE BEEN EMAILED AND HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND! :)

Winners and a Procedure Change!

2010-12-11T10:44:00.000-05:00

Baby Legs Winner!

Congratulations Joan!

ChicoBag Winner!

Congratulations Michele!

I had chosen to confirm winners before posting them in order to prevent having to post and re-post winners if they did not respond. My motivation was wanting to keep this kind of non-content posts at a minimum. However, I've yet to have a winner who did not respond within 48 hours, so I've decided that it will be simpler to go ahead and post winners and email them at the same time. That way everyone knows right away, and I can post while it's fresh on my mind.

I also chose to close giveaways at 8:00 p.m. because of a note from a reader one time who was very anxious to know who the winner of the giveaway was. When they close at midnight, obviously I cannot do anything about it until the next day, and mornings with my little one are busy. Sometimes I can't get to the computer until her first nap, or even later. However, lately I'm finding evenings are just as busy, and am having a hard time pulling winners right away even then. Therefore, I may return to the standard closing of giveaways at 11:59 p.m., and just get to it when I can get to it the next day. I'll decide by the next giveaway and make sure to accentuate the change if I do decide to do that.

Thanks for your patience while I figure these things out! :)

Swiff and Fluff on the Cheap!

2010-12-10T08:09:00.002-05:00

As we have all hard floors I had become quite a fan of the Swiffer Sweeper. I also used the Swiffer cloths for dusting. We went through them very quickly until some time ago I saw an article on the Diaper Pin about using microfiber cloths (typically sold the auto section of most department stores) in the place of disposable Swiffer sweeping cloths.

This is my most recent microfiber towel that I haven't cut yet.

While at a discount store I picked up a super cheap microfiber cloth and tried it out. It was amazing, doing exactly what the Swiffer cloth did only...it was reusable! I just shake off the excess dust over the trash can and then toss the cloth in with the dirty towels.

The microfiber cloth was a little large for my purposes so I cut it in half and did not sew the cut side to see if it would fray and after washing it for months, it has not frayed at all!

Later, I received a Nykibaby One Size pocket diaper for review from Monkey Toe Diapers that came with a microfiber towel as an insert. I discovered that it was a very absorbent and trim insert. I didn't even realize how cheap the towels were at the time, but was seriously hoping to find more to use as inserts!

I didn't have to wait long! On a recent trip to Dollar Tree and discovered that they have microfiber towels for a dollar each!

I snatched up a few white ones for dusting and sweeping and a few pastel ones for stuffing and fluffing my pocket diapers. They work SO well and are so cheap. PERFECT for adding serious extra absorbency to an overnight diaper!

And yes I did match them on purpose...pitiful I know! I also have a purple diaper and a purple cloth but it was dirty! :)

Thank you Dollar Tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Making Christmas Cards Easy with Shutterfly!

2010-12-09T19:56:00.002-05:00

I've always been one to plan on sending Christmas cards, and even buy some most years, but never get around to writing them, much less sending them. I wanted to send a greeting to people I loved, but I think I felt the need to write a long letter to everyone and as a busy teacher that was never a realistic goal. Then, when our little Lydia came a month early in October of last year. It was such a shock and we were so overwhelmed with keeping her fed and warm and growing strong that we never sent out a special announcement. I was sad about it, but at Christmas, when she was two months old and we were a little better adjusted, we had the great idea of doing Christmas photo cards and making them like a late Christmas birth announcements! With a beautiful Christmas red background and picture of our little treasure, it read, "A late announcement of our early arrival....(insert birthday, height and weight here)...Merry Christmas!"

It was really special and two goals were met in one! It was a very satisfying experience which as it turned out it was super easy, so we decided to photo cards again the following year...which would be NOW!

If not for Shutterfly, perhaps I would have regressed into my old ways of good intentions and lack of action in the way of Christmas cards! However, when I found out from a fellow blogger about this promotion, and took a look at their HUGE selection of Christmas cards and Holiday cards, I got really excited and motivated about doing it. I immediately started picking out pictures we could use with the different designs.

I'm having fun looking through the HUGE selection of more than 800 cards! There are so many that I love. It's really hard to choose! Here are a few of my favorites:

These were just from the first few pages! When I realized that the pages went on and on, I knew there was no way I could post all my favorites here, but this gives you a little taste. I love reds and browns, but they also have lots for those who love black and white or that that holiday icicle blue!

We would like to choose a few pictures of Lydia throughout her first year, so probably I will end up choosing one of the designs that has several small frames. What a tough (but fun) decision!

I also got a fantastic Christmas gift idea for the grandparents! How cool would it be to make your own photo calendar for the doting grandparents!? What a wonderful gift that would be...

Thanks Shutterfly, for the nudge I needed to get into the Christmas spirit! Christmas cards are in the works, he tree's going up this weekend and plans for cookie baking and gift wrapping are being made. Maybe it will happen after all!

Merry Christmas!

(a little early ;)

Disclosure: Thanks to Shutterfly for the chance to receive 50 free Christmas Cards by blogging about their wonderful holiday selection! Bloggers hurry and apply for your chance to participate by tomorrow, 12/10/2010! Look here for details.

Large Planet Wise Wet Bag- Review and GIVEAWAY! CLOSED

2010-12-09T12:16:00.002-05:00

Planet Wise is a family owned corporation that strives to provide the highest quality products while maintaining responsible environmental and social business practices. From an environmental standpoint, all of their products are reusable and designed to replace disposable items. They are also PVC-free and lead-free. I learned from Planet Wise's website that many zippers manufactured today still are being painted with lead paint. Planet Wise bags are totally safe and responsibly made, and even the packaging is made from recycled or recyclable paper using soy based ink.

All Planet Wise products are made in the USA, in a women owned and run facility near to the home of the owners, in fact. This provides jobs for neighbors and the local community, and everything is on a personal level. Family and community needs are priority.

Planet Wise offers diaper pail liners, wet bags in three sizes, wet/dry bags, hanging wet/dry bags, MINI wet/dry bags, and swim/diaper bags!

The award winning Planet Wise wet bags can be used not only for cloth diapers but for shoes, swim wear, dirty clothes, toiletries, gym clothes, and more. They come in small (holding 1-2 wet diapers), medium(8-9), and large(16-17). Large Planet Wise wet bags come with a convenient strap with a snap for hanging. This is ideal as the large wet bag holds 16-17 diapers it can easily serve as a hanging diaper "pail" as well.

All Planet Wise wet bags feature sealed seams to prevent wicking. Nicki had used and sold many kinds of wet bags over the years and had found that people often complained of leaks. After much research, she found quality materials and an innovative way of sealing the seams so that no moisture could get through. All Planet Wise wet bags have hidden seams and an outer layer of designer cotton fabric. Here's a labeled diagram of the Planet Wise wet bag:

I received this large Planet Wise wet bag in "Playful Paisley" for review: (The diaper is for size comparison, of course I had to use one that matched, lol!)

Invisible seams and cute Planet Wise Tag

Matching inner PUL and zipper (I love matching colors! :)

And speaking of...

Color coordinating strap with snap!

My Review:

This is by far my favorite wet bag yet, and no surprise, one my favorite things about it is the great print and colors of the designer cotton fabric. This extra liner also helps to keep odor in, makes it cute in the diaper bag, and just makes for a sturdier bag! The strap is great too. It has a sturdy snap which allows you to hang it on a doorknob or hook it around something.

I chose the large bag because my family goes on weekend trips pretty often as my mom and dad live about an hour and a half away. My mom is an advocate for cloth diapering. She had always kept the diapers she used on my brother and I, telling me I could use them someday. I thought the idea was disgusting, but here I am doing it (and it is not disgusting)! This means that we don't have to buy disposables every time we go visit my parents. I haul the whole stash and paraphernalia with us, and mom even washes for me while we're there!

When I received this bag I knew I had my weekend (2 day) traveling bag! It's perfect. It holds a lot of diapers and is easily transportable. It worked out that we went on a trip to my parents' the weekend after I received the bag so I got to test it out.

I ended up taking our clean diapers in it with plans to empty it there or throw the dirties in smaller bags that I had. It made me realize that two of these would make a perfect system.I would recommend a couple of these, one for the clean stash and another to throw the dirties in and you've got a simple, cute, practical traveling storage AND diaper pail for your short trips away from home, that you can hang on a bedroom and closet doors. Hang the one for the dirties to whatever door handle is closer to your changing station, of course. Then you can continue to use the bag that held the clean diaper throughout the week as your regular wet bag in the diaper bag while the other is being washed with the diapers.

All the "idealness" (to coin a new word) of this bag for weekend trips being expounded upon, I also use this as a regular wet bag in the diaper bag (because it's so cute), and found that it works great. It doesn't take up too much space in the diaper bag. As it holds more, obviously it would be ideal for a day trip or a day when you're going to be out of the house a lot. We have a lot of those!

All in all, I think this is the perfect wet bag. It works great, looks cute, and is super practical. I will stick with these from now on!

Where to Buy:

Here is a list of Planet Wise retailers!

***GIVEAWAY***

Planet Wise is generously offering a large wet bag to one very blessed reader!

Here's how to enter:

Go to the Planet Wise website and come back here and leave a comment telling me something you learned or which print you like the best!

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address if it is not easily accessible through your blogger profile.You do not have to have a blogger profile to enter, as long as you leave a valid e-mail address.)

Additional Entries:

Like Planet Wise on Facebook and tell them thanks for the giveaway on the Cheap and Choosy!

Follow @planetwise on Twitter!

Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet about this giveaway using @planetwise, @cheapnchoosy, and #giveaway. (Up to 3 times daily)

Like The Cheap and Choosy on Facebook! (Right sidebar)

Follow The Cheap and Choosy via Google Friend Connect (Right Side Bar).

Follow me on Twitter.

Grab my blog button (top right) and leave a link to where I can find it in your comment.

Subscribe to The Cheap and Choosy via email. (right sidebar)

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada until January 9, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will email the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. I will post the winner when the selection has been made and confirmed by the recipient.

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are completely my own! I received the product reviewed free of charge. You can see my full disclosure here.

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Another Warning!

2010-12-08T08:36:00.000-05:00

WARNING:

THIS could happen to YOU (if you let dad take over!)

Winners!

2010-12-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

AppleCheeks Winner:

Congratulations Chany!

Thirsties Duo Wiinner:

Congratulations Mariah!

Winners have been confirmed.

Easy Improv: Creamy Italian Chicken

2010-12-06T21:33:00.001-05:00

I've mentioned before that one of the most helpful things I've learned from More With Less cookbook is how to make a simple white sauce, thick enough replace condensed cream of ____ soup, or thin enough to be soup. We have chopped chicken frozen in one cup portions in the freezer and I was feeling like something creamy. We also had macaroni noodles. In the past, a craving of creamy pasta led to the opening of a box of Pasta Roni! But now that I know how easy white sauce is, that didn't even occur to me!

I'm pretty excited because this "throw together" meal ended up being a new recipe! The impulsive tossing in of slivered almonds really set it off! This is huge because I am not a cook. I've been learning to cook, and using More With Less as my guide since it's simple and from scratch.

As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure this is my FIRST "original" recipe! (Though influenced inspired by similar things in More With Less.)

My new recipe is hereby dubbed:

"Creamy Italian Chicken"

Here's how to make it:

1. Put water for pasta to boil and continue with recipe, but add pasta and boil when ready.
2. Melt 2 TB of butter in a saucepan.
3. Add a crushed garlic clove, 1/2 tsp of salt, and basil and oregano as much as desired.
4. Stir in 2 TB of flour until it's all mixed.
5. Stirring with a wisk, add about 2 cups of milk.
6. Keep stirring at medium heat until thickened. (You can add milk if you want it thinner.)
7. Add 1 cup of chopped or pulled chicken.
8. Add a half cup or so of slivered almonds.
9. Drain Pasta and put in serving dish or dishes.
10. Top Pasta with chicken mixture.
11. Garnish with dried Parsley and/or slivered almonds.

I used to be a Pasta Roni Aholic! But now... who needs it???? Seriously, this was just as easy to prepare, and much better!

Scratch Pasta Roni off my grocery list forever!!!!!!!!!! ( I told you there would be more :)

(It's been a while so if you're new here you can click on my "cooking from scratch," and/or "simplifying" button on the left to see more things I've enjoyed scratching off the list!)

bumGenius! Elemental GIVEAWAY from Natural Pure Essentials!CLOSED

2010-12-06T09:14:00.002-05:00

Natural Pure Essentials is a special on line natural baby store. It was begun by a loving mother who, after having issues with diaper rash, started researching and discovered that many widely used and popular baby products contain harsh, toxic chemicals that can irritate the skin and that are hazardous to baby's health. While searching to find gentler and safer skin products she found that products labeled as natural often only have a couple of natural ingredients.

This family has searched through many so called natural products to offer you truly natural essential baby products!

Natural Pure Essentials therefore offers mommy tested and approved ALL NATURAL products for baby!

For baby's skin you can find a large selection of Earth Mama Angel Baby products, The Homestead Company products, and more! Not only this but find products for mom, baby wearing, sippy cups and water bottles.

You can also find organic one size cloth diapers such as bumGenius!, GroVia, and Bottombumpers, organic hybrid cloth diapers such as the Flip, and GroVia, and high quality Chinese Prefold cloth diapers and diaper covers!

The Bumgenius Elemental Organic Diaper is luxuriously soft, 100% organic cotton against your baby's bottom. Bumgenius Elemental Organic One-Size Diapers offer an industry first -tabs that stretch for a perfect fit. Stretchy tabs combined with our brand-new snap fasteners make cloth diapering easy.

Bumgenius Elemental Diaper is an ideal solution for families with a child in day-care or family members resistant to cloth diapers! Use the snaps on the front of the diaper to adjust the size. Fit most babies weighing between 7 and 35 lbs

Highlights

Absorbent layer integrated into the waterproof outer layer.
One step cloth diaper - no stuffing!
Now also available in snap closures!
Two rows of snaps ensure a trim, bumGenius fit everytime!
Ultra-absorbent, certified organic cotton inner.
Gentle leg elastic contains the mess

***GIVEAWAY***

Pure Natural Essentials is offering my readers a chance to win a bumGenius! Elemental organic all in one cloth diaper in winner's choice of white, bubble, twilight or grasshopper!

How to Enter:

Go to the Natural Pure Essentials website and come back here and leave a comment telling me something you learned or another product that they carry that you'd like to try!

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address if it is not easily accessible through your blogger profile.You do not have to have a blogger profile to enter, as long as you leave a valid e-mail address.)

Additional Entries:

Subscribe to Natural Pure Essentials Mailing List! (right side of home page)

Like Natural Pure Essentials on Facebook.

Follow @NaturalPureMama on Twitter!

Like The Cheap and Choosy on Facebook! (Right sidebar)

Follow The Cheap and Choosy via Google Friend Connect (Right Side Bar).

Follow me on Twitter.

Grab my blog button (top right) and leave a link to where I can find it in your comment.

Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet about this giveaway using @NaturalPureMama, @cheapnchoosy and #clothdiapers. (Up to 3 times daily)

Subscribe to The Cheap and Choosy via email. (right sidebar)

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open to the U.S. until January 6, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will email the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. I will post the winner when the selection has been made and confirmed by the recipient.

This is not a paid post. You can see my full disclosure here.

Katydid Winner!

2010-12-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Rebecca!

Winner has been confirmed.

Sprout Change One Size Reusable Diaper System- Review and Giveaway! CLOSED

2010-12-03T07:37:00.001-05:00

The Sprout Change is a one size custom fit reusable diaper that is truly unique and easy to use. The REVERSIBLE shell has adjustable elastics not only around the thighs but in the back as well, allowing you to find a perfect fit from birth to potty training.With a Super Saver Insert it's a hybrid diaper combining the attributes of different styles of diapers.

Reversible Shell

Similar to a pocket diaper, the insert comes in a SoftSleeve available in stay dry or organic fabric that is soft against baby's skin and makes things spray off easily. You can add an extra insert or whatever you want for more stuffing.

Like an AI2, You simply lay the insert (in the sleeve, or "pocket") in the shell and put it on!

The perfect fit that you create with the adjustable elastics holds it in place! This allows you to reuse the shell multiple times, unless it is soiled of course.

The 2 layers of PUL that make the shell reversible along with the ability to use usually 2 to 3 times between washings, makes it long lasting! It also means that you spend less, since you can reuse the shell by adding another insert.

These things PLUS the fact that it is one size make it a truly economical route to cloth diapering.

I received this reversible shell in Gooseberry along with the Super Saver Insert in organic cotton fleece over organic hemp/cotton fleece and an organic cotton fleece SoftSleeve:

The reversible shell is my absolute favorite thing about this diaper. I love fun colors and it's so cool to have two options in one diaper. I picked Gooseberry because the lavender side looks more girly, but the celery side can go either way. I always try to get gender neutral diapers for practical purposes and this diaper gives the opportunity to have a girly color and gender neutral color in one. Here are the wonderful color choices.

It also gives you a choice between front snapping and side snapping as you'll see in the pictures on baby. When putting the shell on baby you only have to close two snaps on each side, making it really easy to put on, because the size is adjusted in the elastic which only needs to be done every once in a long while when baby grows and you realize it's time to loosen it a little.

The third snap you see is how you open the shell to adjust the elastic as you'll see below.

This shell is basically a reversible diaper cover. You can use it with anything you want! I haven't tried it with prefolds since they are so bulky but since you can adjust the elastics I have no doubt it can be done. I prefer a more slender insert like the one provided by Sprout Change.

Here are both sides of the gooseberry shell:

To adjust the elastic, you open the snap pictured above. Needless to say, the elastic for the legs comes up through the side seam and the elastic for the back emerges from the seam along the back of the diaper. You will see a button in each of those spots on either side of the shell, and will notice that the elastic has evenly spaced button holes all along it:

Here you see the two strands of elastic and the button for adjusting each, the back and the leg.

Here you can see the button holes by which you can tighten and loosen the elastic.

First I tightened it just a little and it fit Lydia comfortably but I thought it would be better if it fit a tad more snugly, so I adjusted it a little tighter in both the legs and back and found a perfect fit. This way you can get a TOTALLY customized fit. You don't have to settle for close enough!

Here's the first almost perfect fit:

Here I am tightening the elastics a couple of notches:


Here it is ready to put on baby.

And here's my perfectly customized fit:

Notice that on this side you "front snap."

And then I decided to try the celery side:

Notice that on this side you "side snap."

The verdict: My opinion is already threaded throughout the review, but I will reiterate it in summary.

This diaper is awesome. It provides so many options in size, color and snapping. I LOVE the reversible shell and great color selection. I love the fact that you can get a truly customized fit. I found it easy to adjust, and actually enjoyed playing with the elastic. I like the fact that since it is one size AND can be used more than once before washing most of the time, you don't need many which makes it a super economical option, along with the fact that it is very durable. You can have gender neutral or girly all in one cover too!

I like the insert and sleeve. I wasn't sure how it would be on absorbency at first because it seemed small but it has proved itself very absorbent and more than sufficient. Poop sprays really easily off of the soft sleeve. I especially like that there is a stay dry option as my little one seems to need that.

You can't loose with this! I'm seriously considering these for our next baby as I hope to sell off most of my small size prefolds and covers, and I'd like to cloth diaper starting at newborn next time, but the cost of a newborn stash is a major deterrent. This system would allow me to do that at no extra cost! I can see this diaper working really well for a newborn. It is now at the top of my list of future options!

***Giveaway!***

Willow Store is offering one very blessed reader their very own Sprout Change reusable diaper!

Here's how to enter:

Go to the Willow Store Sprout Change website and come back here and leave a comment telling me something you learned or which color combo you'd most like to have.

(Leave a separate comment for each entry. Include your email address if it is not easily accessible through your blogger profile.You do not have to have a blogger profile to enter, as long as you leave a valid e-mail address.)

Additional Entries:

Subscribe to The Willow Store Newsletter! (right side of home page)

Like The Willow Store on Facebook.

Follow @TheWillowStore on Twitter!

Follow The Willow Store Blog GFC.

Like The Cheap and Choosy on Facebook! (Right sidebar)

Follow The Cheap and Choosy via Google Friend Connect (Right Side Bar).

Follow me on Twitter.

Grab my blog button (top right) and leave a link to where I can find it in your comment.

Earn 2 entries for placing my "Fluff Your Pockets!" event button on the main page of your blog.

Blog about this giveaway.

Tweet about this giveaway using @TheWillowStore, @cheapnchoosy and #clothdiapers. (Up to 3 times daily)

Subscribe to The Cheap and Choosy via email. (right sidebar)

Comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. (One entry per post commented on.)

This giveaway is open to everyone everywhere until January 3, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will email the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. I will post the winner when the selection has been made and confirmed by the recipient.

This is not a paid post. The opinions expressed are completely my own! I received the product reviewed free of charge. You can see my full disclosure here.

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Large Planet Wise Wet Bag- Review and GIVEAWAY! ***CLOSED***

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Another Warning!

Winners!

Easy Improv: Creamy Italian Chicken

bumGenius! Elemental GIVEAWAY from Natural Pure Essentials!***CLOSED***

Katydid Winner!

Sprout Change One Size Reusable Diaper System- Review and Giveaway! ***CLOSED***

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Large Planet Wise Wet Bag- Review and GIVEAWAY! CLOSED

bumGenius! Elemental GIVEAWAY from Natural Pure Essentials!CLOSED

Sprout Change One Size Reusable Diaper System- Review and Giveaway! CLOSED