Ok, enough with this costume! Where's the Milky Way?
(Ha! Get it? Milky Way? No? Ok, lame humor...)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Happy Halloween!
It's been years since I've really celebrated Halloween. However, Toys R Us had a 50% off sale on costumes, so I couldn't resist. Watch out for James the Dinosaur!
Ok, enough with this costume! Where's the Milky Way?
(Ha! Get it? Milky Way? No? Ok, lame humor...)
Ok, enough with this costume! Where's the Milky Way?
(Ha! Get it? Milky Way? No? Ok, lame humor...)
Friday, October 30, 2009
A is for Apple
The Ryan family took a trip to the apple orchard this month to pick apples and meet up with friends Sean, Sarah and their new little guy Owen (2 months younger that James). Sarah and Megan handled the kiddos while the guys climbed trees to grab apples. Most of the trees were well picked, but each family managed to fill a half bushel in about 2 hours of wandering around. More importantly, both children were able to witness their fathers providing a history demonstration as they were knocked on the head a few times with apples falling from the tree (or, from the person above them in the tree) above them.
It was kind of tricky to use all those apples. I made a no-sugar-added batch of crockpot cinnamon applesauce and some apple crisp. Some apples were delivered to my parents.... What else?
PIE!
I love pie. I love to make pie. Could I make pie for a living, or at least a side job? Maybe that's something to ponder down the road, because I really enjoy this. Anyways...
I made a pie for my parents, for Dan's new work office (which, he reported, disappeared in under 5 minutes) and pie for church... and I have one more ball of dough sitting in the fridge, waiting for me to use. But thankfully, I am out of apples and need to get more from the store before my last apple pie goes in the oven!
Pre and post photos of "Crummy" Apple Pie.
(Gotta love the hat and James' facial expression!)
It was kind of tricky to use all those apples. I made a no-sugar-added batch of crockpot cinnamon applesauce and some apple crisp. Some apples were delivered to my parents.... What else?
PIE!
I love pie. I love to make pie. Could I make pie for a living, or at least a side job? Maybe that's something to ponder down the road, because I really enjoy this. Anyways...
I made a pie for my parents, for Dan's new work office (which, he reported, disappeared in under 5 minutes) and pie for church... and I have one more ball of dough sitting in the fridge, waiting for me to use. But thankfully, I am out of apples and need to get more from the store before my last apple pie goes in the oven!
Pre and post photos of "Crummy" Apple Pie.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon
Well, Dan has completed his fourth marathon (and possibly last...or last for a long time). And since my family is fitness savvy (or fitness crazy, depending on your point of view), my mom and brother also joined him for a fun Sunday run for 26.2 miles.
The course starts at Grafton High School and runs all along Lake Drive down to the Art Museum area of the Milwaukee lakefront.
Being the awesome supportive wife I am, I drove the runners up to the start line. James & I cheered at the sound of the gunshot. Then what better way to support your runners than by eating a really big breakfast? :) Eggs Benedict from Trocaderos, to be precise.
With a full stomach, James, my dad and I headed to the finish line to cheer. Joel came flying in under 4 hours. My mom (who's competing in the Madison Ironman next September!) was just over 4:30 and Dan was under 5 hours with a strained hamstring. The worst part? Driving the runners back to our house for showers---it smelled like a sweaty football team in the car!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
BumGenius is genius!
As I mentioned we have been using BumGenius cloth diapers for James and (strangely enough) kind of enjoying it. Here's my most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) for your learning pleasure.
James in his stylish BumGenius diaper
Q: Ummm, are you crazy?
A: Nope.
Q: Ok. So are you doing cloth diapers to help save the environment?
A: Not really. Yes, it's a perk, but we got into this to save money. Most websites say you'll spend $1,500 to $2,000 on diapers for one child. We spend about $700 for diapers, pail and a few other accessories. We will continue to spend money for wipes (I just wasn't interested in doing the cloth wipes.) and an additional $2 per month for laundry water use in the newborn months. The bonus: This is a one-time investment because our next child can also use these diapers. Sweet!
Q: That's nice for you, but won't your kid be laughed at because he has to wear those loud plastic pants?
A: There are no plastic pants and no pins! The diapers look and function similar to disposables but there's Velcro to fasten the tabs in the front. There's really 2 pieces to these diapers: the colorful shell and the microfiber insert. There's a "pocket" at the rear of the diaper that we stuff the insert into. Voila! Ready to wear! Here's a picture---click to enlarge and read more.
Also, our diapers can be adjusted so as James gets bigger, the diapers "grow" with him. There's 3 different sizes and the diaper snaps make it easy to go from one size to the next.
Q: Ok, let's talk dirty. Do you have to rinse dirty diapers in the toilet? Do they sit in a pail of water? Is it smelly?
A: Well, since James is still exclusively nursing, the smell is nonexistent. We're not complaining, but that will probably change once he starts eating solids.
We don't rinse his diapers in the toilet. It's not necessary. And the dirty diapers sit in the pail without water (dry pail method). Seriously, there's no smell.
Q: How do you wash them?
A: Washing is easy. Dump the diapers from the pail into the machine (no need to touch dirty diapers---they just slide right in because we have a top loading machine) and do a cold wash. We use Trader Joe's powder detergent and you only use 1/4 of the recommended amount. Then wash again on hot, again with 1/4 of the detergent. Do an additional rinse to get any detergent residue out. Then we hang the outer shell and machine dry the microfiber insert.
Q: And then you wash your regular clothes in the same machine?
A: Yep. I intend to get a new machine once all children are done with diapers, but until then, we're sticking with this washing machine unless it dies prematurely.
Q: This all sounds kinda complicated.
A: It's not that bad. I like to think of the money we're saving. :)
Q: Any other perks you want to share besides the cost savings?
A: First, my diapers are colorful! Second, many families that use cloth report that their child begins potty training faster because they feel wet more so than disposable-diapered babies. I'm crossing my fingers that we experience this too.
Q: Any last thoughts to share?
A: Two things: Some people might be irritated when they change a diaper and baby immediately fills it within 30 seconds. What a waste of a good diaper, right? For us it's no big deal, because it just goes in the wash to be used again!
Second, if any of my readers want more info, here's a few links:
http://www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php (Info about the BumGenuis diapers)
http://www.fill-your-pants.com/pdf/bumgenius (British PDF with great info!)
If you are kind of considering cloth or know someone else who might be open to this, I'm happy to talk more.
Do you have more questions that I didn't answer? Just post a comment and I'll respond.
James in his stylish BumGenius diaper
Q: Ummm, are you crazy?
A: Nope.
Q: Ok. So are you doing cloth diapers to help save the environment?
A: Not really. Yes, it's a perk, but we got into this to save money. Most websites say you'll spend $1,500 to $2,000 on diapers for one child. We spend about $700 for diapers, pail and a few other accessories. We will continue to spend money for wipes (I just wasn't interested in doing the cloth wipes.) and an additional $2 per month for laundry water use in the newborn months. The bonus: This is a one-time investment because our next child can also use these diapers. Sweet!
Q: That's nice for you, but won't your kid be laughed at because he has to wear those loud plastic pants?
A: There are no plastic pants and no pins! The diapers look and function similar to disposables but there's Velcro to fasten the tabs in the front. There's really 2 pieces to these diapers: the colorful shell and the microfiber insert. There's a "pocket" at the rear of the diaper that we stuff the insert into. Voila! Ready to wear! Here's a picture---click to enlarge and read more.
Also, our diapers can be adjusted so as James gets bigger, the diapers "grow" with him. There's 3 different sizes and the diaper snaps make it easy to go from one size to the next.
Q: Ok, let's talk dirty. Do you have to rinse dirty diapers in the toilet? Do they sit in a pail of water? Is it smelly?
A: Well, since James is still exclusively nursing, the smell is nonexistent. We're not complaining, but that will probably change once he starts eating solids.
We don't rinse his diapers in the toilet. It's not necessary. And the dirty diapers sit in the pail without water (dry pail method). Seriously, there's no smell.
Q: How do you wash them?
A: Washing is easy. Dump the diapers from the pail into the machine (no need to touch dirty diapers---they just slide right in because we have a top loading machine) and do a cold wash. We use Trader Joe's powder detergent and you only use 1/4 of the recommended amount. Then wash again on hot, again with 1/4 of the detergent. Do an additional rinse to get any detergent residue out. Then we hang the outer shell and machine dry the microfiber insert.
Q: And then you wash your regular clothes in the same machine?
A: Yep. I intend to get a new machine once all children are done with diapers, but until then, we're sticking with this washing machine unless it dies prematurely.
Q: This all sounds kinda complicated.
A: It's not that bad. I like to think of the money we're saving. :)
Q: Any other perks you want to share besides the cost savings?
A: First, my diapers are colorful! Second, many families that use cloth report that their child begins potty training faster because they feel wet more so than disposable-diapered babies. I'm crossing my fingers that we experience this too.
Q: Any last thoughts to share?
A: Two things: Some people might be irritated when they change a diaper and baby immediately fills it within 30 seconds. What a waste of a good diaper, right? For us it's no big deal, because it just goes in the wash to be used again!
Second, if any of my readers want more info, here's a few links:
http://www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php (Info about the BumGenuis diapers)
http://www.fill-your-pants.com/pdf/bumgenius (British PDF with great info!)
If you are kind of considering cloth or know someone else who might be open to this, I'm happy to talk more.
Do you have more questions that I didn't answer? Just post a comment and I'll respond.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
James: 6 week update
Yep, I'm way behind on news and updates. It kind of happens. Between 3-4 hours stretches of sleep and feedings, my life has changed 100%. Everyone said "You're life is about to change with a child." I always mentally responded with "No kidding. That's an understatement."
Correction: My life has changed 110%.
Life is good these days. Yes, I'm looking forward to the first night of straight 8 hours of sleep, but the little moments like smiles and bath time make his cries at 3 a.m. more bearable.
At his 1 month appointment, he weighed 11 pounds, 10.5 ounces and was 22.75 inches long! Wow, this kid is growing like a weed! Here's the growth chart (click for a bigger picture). He around the 70th percentile for weight.
I've created a public site that houses our pictures and videos of James. http://jamesdanielryan.shutterfly.com/
Next post will be about our fabulous diapers. I will be raving for an entire post about them, guaranteed.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Excuses
Ok, it's been almost 4 weeks since the last post. I am very sorry, but I have a few good excuses:
1. A newborn. Enough said, right? No? Ok, onto number 2.
2. Our computer broke, so we had to purchase a new one. Bummer. Good news is that we were able to salvage all our documents and pictures, so no major harm done, except to the bank account. ;)
3. New computer runs on Windows Vista, which our camera isn't compatible with. Bummer again.
4. Did I mention the time necessary to care for a newborn baby?
I promise something by next week. We have his 1 month appointment to report back about, plus some big Ryan family news, Labor Day at the Corn Festival in Randolph, WI, plus a review about our cloth diaper experience so far!
So stay tuned!
1. A newborn. Enough said, right? No? Ok, onto number 2.
2. Our computer broke, so we had to purchase a new one. Bummer. Good news is that we were able to salvage all our documents and pictures, so no major harm done, except to the bank account. ;)
3. New computer runs on Windows Vista, which our camera isn't compatible with. Bummer again.
4. Did I mention the time necessary to care for a newborn baby?
I promise something by next week. We have his 1 month appointment to report back about, plus some big Ryan family news, Labor Day at the Corn Festival in Randolph, WI, plus a review about our cloth diaper experience so far!
So stay tuned!
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