Bubbles!

Bubbles.....simple, yet beautiful. My mother says, "Bubbles bring people together!"
I laugh but there's something to that.

I recently purchased some lovely bubbles for a dollar at Wal-mart. They are the ones hanging up in the package with the big wand. The come in different colors: pink, yellow, orange, green, blue.
At first, I was blowing bubbles with my nephew for fun at a garage sale. Then, I noticed that the new package of bubbles was so colorful & the bubbles seemed to have a sort of "thickness" to them. I decided to go on a bubble quest to find the very best bubbles. After purchasing various packages, only one had the same quality. The only other one was the lovely 32oz dollar general brand that is $1. They are suppose to be scented with cotton candy, sour apple & some other flavor, I can't remember. (Truthfully, they stink to me but they are indeed the quality I was searching.)

I began by blowing bubbles while I had some down time outside of my parents studio. The studio is on a busy through fare & people were braking to see the "bubble show." I couldn't believe it. They were actually slowing down because of the bubbles.

I decided to take my bubble blowing to another level; the drive thru. There we sat, my mother, my daughter & I, waiting for our drinks at happy hour at Dairy Queen. A long line of fellow happy hour visitors sat in their cars as well. I rolled down my window & began to blow. Suddenly, I noticed the children in the cars ahead of ours, had taken off the seat belts & were pressing their faces against the glass to watch. Then the windows were rolled down & the children were hanging out to get a peek. The lady in the Honda in front of us, gave me the two thumbs up! Such a simple thing, blowing bubbles. I felt delighted that I could make people happy & the time go by for just a few minutes.

So go out & get some bubbles. Some say, "take time to smell the roses."
I say, "take time to blow some bubbles." :)

Delightful new adventure

My life is filled with goodness! I am constantly learning something new or embarking on a new adventure. Recently, I have become passionate about cloth diapering. I speak to every stranger I can about it & gladly offer what I know. I savor every bit of info I can regarding cloth diapering. There is so much to learn & cloth diapering is a world in itself.

Unfortunately, we have no resources here in Waco, Texas for cding. You would have to drive to Dallas or Austin for cloth diapering supplies.
But not for long.....
I am thrilled to announce that I am the "Heart of Texas" Hip Green Baby Representative. I service the Waco, Temple, Hamilton, Kileen, Ft Hood, Hamilton, Corsicana, Hillsboro & surrounding cities.

I will be offering cloth diapering classes beginning in mid to late May here in Waco. Please contact me if you are interested in attending a class or hosting a home cloth diapering party.
Visit my direct Hip Green link to purchase your cloth diapering needs. Feel free to suggest items you may not see. I would love to hear what type of class schedule you'd like to see.
Submit questions & I'll find answers!
Looking forward to hearing from you all,
~Sara

I stumbled across some great websites today. I wanted to quickly share one.
Please visit this website for a Mei Tai baby wrap giveaway. Today is the deadline!

Cloth Diaper Laundry Soap Recipe

I finally got around to actually making it! I made some new laundry soap for both my cloth diapering needs as well as our family laundry. It was easy, fast & inexpensive. All traits I was looking for.

After a ridiculous amount of hours searching for the perfect recipe for soap/detergent, I discovered the best bet was to make one & try it for myself. There is a wealth of information that I gratefully came across. However vast, it became more conflicting the more I read.
I have read that; borax is bad for cloth diapers, good for cloth diapers, doesn't make a difference, makes all the difference. I read that soap such as Fels-Naptha, Ivory, Zote, Castie,& Sunlight is both bad due to buildup and great for cleaning action. Although after much thought, I voted to leave it out of my CD recipe.

I was using All Free & Clear for my cd needs. I noticed & read that I must have been using too much detergent, as the diapers started smelling like a wet dog. Yes, it was yucky smelling! I was using such a small amount that I thought was appropriate. Upon my stinky discovery, I knew I had to do something quick. I have never had this problem with our clothes before so this was new to me.
It only took ONE soap free, detergent free soak, hot wash & double cold rinse to get the odor out. Some people use 6+ hot washes....but I escaped the "never ending soak, wash, rinse till it smells better" cycle.

I have a top loading washing machine by Maytag that is only 4 years old. The appliance repair guy just visited to do a checkup & says my washer is in tip-top condition with years of life left.
I explained that I cd & he says my washer is great for those heavy duty needs.

This recipe, as well as the Family recipe, has been approved for HE washers.
Both are low sudsing as required for the HE brands.
Be sure to use the appropriate amount of laundry detergent or soap if you decide to venture to the homemade side of laundering.


Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe for Cloth Diapers:
(Powdered, 3 minutes to make)
If you desire a fragrance, add two drops of your choice of essential oil to the water before adding diapers

2 cups of Borax
2 cups of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda!)
2 cups of Oxygen cleaning powder, such as Oxyclean (I used Sun brand from walmart)

Mix well. Use 1 Tablespoon (15ml) for small loads & 2 Tablespoons (30ml) for large loads.
Store in recycled, air tight containers.

The Borax, 4lb 12 oz, cost around $3, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 55 oz $2.50 & Sun brand oxycleaner 30 oz $1.96. I had more than enough to make multiple batches of this recipe & decided to make my family laundry detergent with some of the extra.

Everyday Family Laundry Soap Detergent Powder Recipe (10 minutes to make)
Add 2 drops of essential oil for fragrance to water before adding clothes
1 bar finely grated Fels-Naptha Soap (you may use other bar soaps such as Ivory, Castile, Zote)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Oxygen cleaner powder, such as Oxyclean

Mix all ingredients well. It will look like yellow & white granules. Use 1 tablespoon for light, small loads & 2 tablespoons for large loads.
Store in recycled, air tight containers.

The cost addition for this recipe was for the Fels bar, $1.29. I searched all over town, Waco Texas, & finally found the Fels Bar. It was located at the Keith's Ace Hardware (254-666-2520) across town, in Hewitt. I called before I loaded up the baby & they knew what I was talking about & how much it cost. I was so glad! None of the stores, HEB, Wal-Mart, Brookshires, Sam's knew what I was talking about or where to get it. I had been looking for it for a while.
The man who helped me said he keeps it stocked & can get it any time. He also said there are 7 Keith's Ace Hardware & they can have some transferred to any of the other stores for those of you who live elsewhere. I bought 5 bars, to save on gas. I figure they should last me a couple of years. :)

For grating my Fels-Naptha, I used my Pampered Chef grater that looks like the kind they use at an Italian restaurant to grate parmeasen cheese. I do not use the fine grating blade much & figured if I did, it is ok because I'm grating SOAP. Lots of rinsing of the blade was involved.

I used Mason Jars with lids to store my completed detergent. I wrote on a piece of paper the instructions & taped it to both the inner lid & outer ring with one piece of tape.
I had some measuring spoons that I no longer use & put a tablespoon next to my jar in my laundry room.

So far, so good. I am pleased with the washing & will keep you updated on the results. Feel free to ask questions. I will do all I can to answer them. If you live outside of the states & need a conversion recipe for the metric system, let me know.

The Adventure of Cloth Diapering Begins

Cloth Diapering. Yes, I finally started it on January 16th. I am so excited as my friend, Rachel, has been offering so much information to help me along. I find myself shopping online for all sorts of items. Cloth diapering is not as bad as people perceive it to be. I get comments like, "ooohh, are you sure? Doesn't that involve dunking in the toliet?" I quickly & excitedly tell them, "no." Then I go on to tell them how wonderful it is, how easy it is & affordable.

I have found that I am disappointed with the lack of cloth diapering resources in our town of Waco, TX. There is no diaper service, no cloth diaper store, no one in the retail stores to ask & no cds in resale shops. I have simply found the gerber cloth diapers, however, no gerber covers.
Ironically, how does one expect to cloth diaper if they do not have a cover? I'm sure people would be turned off by cloth diapering if they thought the baby stays wet & gets everything wet & poopy without a cover.
I hope to see some better resources in the near future. Maybe with all the "green" talk, Waco will come up with something. The nearest cloth diapering locations are either in Austin or the Dallas/Fort Worth area. So for now, the wonderful world wide web shall meet my cd needs.

I have found since starting my cd adventure, that my darling Kinsley is better at alerting me when she is wet. After doing some research, this is common & often leads to earlier potty training. (I am so thankful to Rachel for making it easy for me to always ask questions & she offers info on everything she knows. She's so great!)

So here are some pictures of our first day to begin cloth diapering. The Mandarin wrap you see is a Wonder Wrap purchased from the terrific online store of http://www.hip-green-baby.com/
You will get all the help you need as I did when I place my order. I was impressed with the quality of products, the special attention Krisiti gave me & the speed of shipment.


Also, the cute legging you see are the ones I learned to make with a free online tutorial. Kinsley is much to long for the pant of her size. She tends to look like she has capris on when she should be wearing long pants. Since I don't sew much, so it took me a little longer to learn how to do it. However, now I am able to sew them with confidence & offer suggestions, advice & where to buy materials.

I'm off to bed. Breastfeeding fulltime, my husband is out of town & helping my mother with twin nephews, today is exhausting.
To all a good night!

Ready, Set, Here we go.....

So I am working on several projects all at once. I find that there is no real balance of things sometimes. I am delighted that I have a show coming up this Saturday at the Burleson High School from 9am to 4pm. My fingers have been dancing on the keyboard all day, getting my Etsy shop spruced up with new products. www.AikoArt.Etsy.com
The lighting was just right today for product photos.
I accomplished all I had set out to do on Etsy today. It's not quite midnight yet.

My project for tomorrow will be to complete some more baby leg warmers aka babylegs. I don't even sew that often & they turned out great. You can find a great tutorial on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/babyhopes/237396880/in/set-72157594274454468/
Step by step tutorial & much cheaper than the likes of Baby Legs. I am thrilled, as my little one is so tall, her pants are all too short. These little jewels make diaper changes easy & her legs stay warm all day. Target had the best selection of knee high adult socks. Currently this week, 3 pair for $5.99 vs. the brand name costing at least $11.99 a pair.

Pictures to follow soon

The Beginning of a New Day

It's really early in the morning or some would say really late at night.....2:07am. My family is sleeping as I begin the ever so popular Blogging episode/chapter of my life. My birthday is coming up this Friday & I feel this is a great way to kick things off for me.

I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, confidant & friend to so many. My stay at home adventure began in August & I am loving every minute of it. I must say time is flying & I feel like I lose my grip at times. I realize the house will never be the same as it was, don't be in a hurry with a baby, talk to my Mama every chance I get & love my husband with every ounce of my being. He is my Rock & supports us with all of his heart.

My blessings are many. My tribulations, few. I reflect on what surrounds me & decide that I can't really say, I want for much. I do however look forward to my favorite restaurant, Texas de Brazil. Thanks to the lovely email I received, two of us can eat for the price of one. That excites me.

Thru my blog, I visualize: helping others where I can, offering tips/advice/thoughts, challenging the every day to a little creativity, providing Optimism & making new friends to add to the extraordinary amount I am blessed to have.

So thus, I shall devote what time I have to Blogging when I can. In the mean time, please visit & support my little Etsy shop at www.AikoArt.Etsy.com


Love to you All,
~Sara