Actually, it's pretty easy being green

"Green" has become big business in the last few years. Which is good and bad. Good in that being environmentally friendly is, well, good. And bad because some products that claim to be "green" are not.

But if you want to go green, it's not really all that hard.

One way to go green (and save green) is to buy used/refurbished. We bought a refurbished washer on Tuesday after our washer died. B had fixed the beast, but it broke again and he was pretty sure it was the transmission. So off we went to Appliance Warehouse, where we found a 7 year old washer (energy star!) that was 1/10 of the price of a new washer. Score.

So they recycled our old washer for us and we have a working washer that cost less than a student loan payment.

Another way we save (a LOT) is cloth diapering. A lot. Sooooo much.

How much?

Well, the average household spends about $3,000 on diapers per child. So for two kids, that's $6,000.

Six THOUSAND dollars.

We have spent about $600 on cloth diapering supplies, overnight disposables, and travel wipes. That's an OVERestimate of cost.

So by cloth diapering, we save approximately $5,400.

Yeah. You read that number correctly.

PLUS, some of our diapers have pretty good resale value. After Griffin is potty trained we may recoup some of our cost by selling our used cloth diapers.

So we'll save even more. I know people who have saved more than us - using prefolds is cheaper than buying the pocket diapers. It is entirely possible to buy ALL your cloth diapering needs for less than $200.

And we haven't seen an increase in our water or our electricity (a small increase in electricity, but you get that when you have kids anyway). We do 2-3 loads a week. It's pretty easy.

And for a savings of over $5,000 - it's worth it. For us anyway.

It's pronounced "tu-tu", didn't you know?

For years I have been mispronouncing the word "tattoo". Apparently it's pronounced "tu-tu". Thank goodness I have Penelope to correct such egregious pronunciation mistakes. Thank you Penelope.

We went to a friend's 1st birthday party last weekend and the take-home prizes were temporary tattoos. Poe immediately wanted to wear one, but then freaked-the-f-out when I actually attempted to put it on her. So her butterfly was missing a wing. She didn't seemed to mind, and showed off her brand new "tu-tu" to anyone with eyes.

She then proceeded to try and rub it off with a paper towel... and then she tried to do the same to mine & my mom's wrist tattoos.

Even now, almost a week later, she asks where her "tu-tu" went. When I ask her if she wants a new one she quickly says "no thank you mama".

I will remind her of this when she's 18 and wants her first real tu-tu.

Also? We have entered the phase of "I do it myself" which is fun and exasperating. So now I budget extra minutes of getting ready time so Poe can put on her own shoes and climb into the car seat. After she successfully (or sometimes unsuccessfully) completes a task she says "yea! I did it!" very proudly. It's cute.

AND Griffin took two steps Wednesday at Kim's house. She is the queen of getting babies to walk.

Oh yes, Poe is better and now Bryan is sick. He seems to be feeling a bit better after sleeping most of today and a good part of yesterday. I hope tomorrow he's well again because it is no fun for anyone when ANYONE in this house is sick.

And? I lost a dress size.

She's a maniac, maniac

If you read the title without getting the song stuck in your head then there's no hope for you. You will never be as cool as Kathy.

Although the maniac to which I am referring is actually Pah-pooh-pea.

This is what she picked out to wear today:

Rainbow babylegs, a polka dot dress, and a striped sweater

Two days ago we had an argument over clothes. Our first. She wanted to wear her tights and a jacket. And that's it. Um, no. I realize I'm a hippie and all, but we don't live on a commune and there's no way I'm going to let my two year old dress like a flasher.

Anyway, I took the munchkins to the zoo today. Poe woke up at 5am & G was awake at 6:30 so we didn't stay as long as we normally do... they were exhausted by the time we left.

But we had fun. Got there early and had the run of the place for almost an hour. Met up with some friends and had a nice morning. I even brought G-funk's walker so he could join in on the fun.


Orson & G-man


Griffin and Lu-Lu


G, P, & O


The big kids on the crocodile

Hello, I (sorta) have an M.Ed.

Hello, my name is Jessica and I have a Masters. Sorta. I have completed all my coursework, got an A on my Thesis, and have petitioned for Graduation. So all that's left is paperwork (not on my end) but I don't technically have the Masters until the paperwork is completed.

This should all happen rather quickly. As will getting my Credential - I have all the paperwork in for that and am just waiting on the CTC to process and send me my credential #.

And then it's continuing to look for a full time classroom position.

In kidlet news, Griffin took a step today! He's getting braver and stronger each day. We are definitely close to walking and no one is more excited about it than Griffin.

Here are some pictures of the beast-man:







I don't have any recent Penny pics. I'll try and take some tomorrow. She's had an on-again-off-again fever with no other symptoms. Weird. She's fine during the day and feverish at night. Weirder.

He really is like a drunk

My Dad called Griffin a "belligerent drunken midget" (sooooo NOT PC) the other day.

And he is.

Right now he's crawling around the floor picking up various sippy cups - and when he finds them empty he shakes them and throws them violently onto the floor. Like a drunk.

He's also tossing things out the dog door. Which is just obnoxious.

What is Penelope doing? Coloring. And ignoring her brother.

Also? G is drooling and mumbling to himself.

A damn drunk I tell you.

Lets Pretend

Pah-pooh-pea loves to play pretend. She plays it everyday... practically all day long. She pretends to be her favorite characters, she pretends to make food, she pretends to be a baby (she calls herself "baby Pah-pooh-pee" and crawls into my lap and says "I nurse Momma, I'm nursing").

But today she decided to pretend to be one of her own friends. While jumping around on her bed she turns to me and says "Mama, I'm Orson!" then promptly falls down on the bed.

She's a silly goose.

A silly goose who now does full somersaults. See:

Lasagne with half the noodles

Today has been productive. I finished the major edits of my Thesis, it's currently out for proof reading, and will turn it in Saturday at the latest. I also assembled a new walker-thing for Griffin (see video), did laundry, wrote 3 blog posts, and made lasagna (from scratch) for dinner.

Only I only had 5 lasagna noodles. I need 9. Noodles are like the spine of a lasagna. They are essential to the process. I don't know if I can technically call what I made a lasagna. Haven't tasted it yet... so we'll see.

G is experimenting with walking. So far the results are positive. He books with his mail-walker-thingy and took 2 naps today, one for TWO whole hours. So maybe walking will help him sleep. I also picked up some children's Calms Forte today. It's a homeopathic sleep aid.

So onto the video (which, if you're viewing this on Facebook you won't be able to see, so click here to come to the blog).



Also? Penelope said this today:

Mommy: Here, let me fix your hair. (put's Poe's hair into a rather messy pony). There.
Penelope: (looking at herself in the mirror) I'm a GIRL!
M: Uh, yeah.
----
Penelope: I have tiger blood, I'm winning!
----
Penelope: (holding up a balloon inflator-thing) Look, it's Buzz's spaceship!
---
Penelope: (drops a toy) Oh Monkeys!

Also? She's been saying "oh crap" lately. She didn't get that from me. I say "Oh Monkeys" or "Sweet Mother of Abraham Lincoln" (thanks Jessie doll). So whoever is cursing around my child needs to stop.