DYI Cloth Wipes and Solution

I finally managed to do what I've been wanting to for some time. Make cloth wipes. I already use cloth diapers so it just seemed that cloth wipes should go along with them. At first I thought it wouldn't be worth it to make wipes since they aren't all that expensive. After a year of using them, however, and with a new baby on the way I began to rethink the idea. I'm not conservative with how many wipes a use at one time, a pack of 80 wipes lasted me a week and a half. Why not just throw the cloth wipes in with the diapers and save a little money? Duh. Now with all that extra cash I have laying around I can plan a trip to New Zealand! Well, maybe not, unless I'm super good with our money every where else. A trip to Starbucks once in a while would make me just as happy. :)

So here is what you will need:
Container to hold wipes ( use your plastic wipe container or just a container with tight lid)
Absorbent material of your choice: flannel*/ terry/fleece
Sewing machine
Thread
Wipe Solution (recipe below also)

Cut 6"x6" squares of fabric
Fold over 1/4" and hem all four sides using a zig zag stitch
Bazinga! You have a wipe!

*I used a couple of flannel receiving blankets because I was given a boat load and hardly ever use them. One 24"x 24" flannel blanket made sixteen, 6"x 6" wipes.
If you use fleece it won't fray so you can make a "no sew" version if you aren't into sewing and use fleece!

There are a ton of different wipe solutions you can make for pennies. The one I made was simple because I had all the stuff already.

Solution
1/2 cup of baby oil ( I used Johnsons Lavender oil)
1/2 cup of baby wash ( Johnsons Head to Toe wash)
2 cups of water
I mixed all the ingredients in a large beaker and poured just enough over the wipes to make them nicely moist. The rest of the solution I will store in a mason jar.
Don't store your wipes this way for an overly long time or they could become musty. I go through mine fast enough that it's not an issue. If you'd prefer you can put the solution in a spray bottle and spray the wipes as you need them. You could also keep your solution in once container and dunk your wipes right before use. Whatever is easier for you and comfy for your baby.

Dive into Something new for Dinner...

Sometimes thinking about what to make for dinner is my biggest challenge of the day.
You know what I mean, you've been there too right? You're tired of the same old things.
Monday's rotisserie chicken that became chicken and rice the next day, and essence of chicken soup the day after that is getting...well...old. My sleep deprivation from sleep training our little man has finally tipped the scales--and thankfully I don't mean literally. With precious little slumber under my half forgotten mind- the creativity portion of my brain has begun to flicker. Faintly. So tonight's dinner is going to be not only good and hopefully on time...but different! Hoorah!
So far I have  french egg bread in the bread machine - ( no one judge me for this--I do love making bread by hand but the need to knead is killed by the clock ticking quickly, away today).
Rest of the dinner menu is looking something like this:
             Roasted rosemary chicken thighs
             Stuffed zucchini
             Baked butternut squash
             Mashed red potatoes (with gravy?)
Dessert:
 Blueberry Tart thanks to good ol' Martha...
  +http://www.marthastewart.com/341017/blueberry-tart


Eat, drink, and be creative! 

True Identity in living with Fingerprints

" To live a life of perfection is not to make all A's or to never miss a Sunday at church; rather. it is to live a life true to our identity." - Melissa Moore

Dishes in the sink
       
           Crumbs that seem to never end

                                        Fingerprints on the french doors
                                             
         Stereotypes of what a mom's world is like- little mole hills that notoriously turn into mountains for those of us who want or think we need to be "Supermom." I've had  ladies tell me to enjoy every little smudge in my freshly Windexed french doors, to think how quickly these stages go by, and how one day I will miss the madness of dashing from one chore to the next with a little one toddling behind leaving yet another trail of toys to pick up.
    Admittedly, this is not easy for me do. I don't want to ignore smudges. I don't want to be tired. I don't want to complain. I don't want....blah blah blah. Oh, and I don't want to make dinner either.
 It's a little embarrassing really- forced to be human- to say " I can't always" and be "okay" with it.
Perfection is not really me- that is what makes me laugh about this whole thing. Many of my friends and family know that if it works fairly well- it's good enough for me. So why this struggle to perform like a super woman?  The quote above kept coming to my mind and the question, "Am I living in my true identity" barraged my thoughts. What is my true identity? Identity defined by Webster's Dictionary summed up is " sameness in all that constitutes the objective reality of a thing "  (With definitions like that, it's no wonder I didn't think it necessary to mention in my 5th grade book report that Noah Webster wrote the dictionary. Totally didn't deserve that C.) Anyway- as I thought about my identity this verse came to mind, "Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts..."
(Colossians 3 ESV)

Suddenly all the mountains become mole hills. I am a chosen child of God. His Son gave me the only necessary identity there is. The pressure of perfection has wasted away into the beauty of the cross. Absorbed into the rough, cracked wood- blossoming into peace-- by the living grace of Christ. I am free to live unchained to the mediocre expectations of what this world calls perfect. Living a life wholly leaning on the One who is perfect and who delights to see me living in the freedom He died to bring me. So, the quote at the beginning- for me becomes this: " To live a life of perfection is not to have a sparkling house every day, or to always have a five star dinner; rather, it is living in the wholeness of Christ's love for me in my human-ness and in my mistakes. It's knowing that I can enjoy my identity as a mother because that is Christ's calling for me. That my identity is perfection- it's Christ--and that is perfect.

Fingerprinting...