My grandmother recently told me that she saw a newspaper article about today’s parents overprotecting their children.  She was saying that it was so different when she was raising her four children. This is something that Jason and I talk about all the time. There are somethings that have changed over the last 40 or 50 years that I agree with 100%. Things like seat-belts and using car seats. When my mother was growing up, car seats were unheard of. Even 20 years ago when my youngest brother was a baby, car seats were very different from how they are today. The car seats that my brothers used would never pass the current safety tests given to car seats today.

I am sure that the stricter safety standards have helped to save children’s lives in car crashes, but how far is too far. There are people out there who will tell you that any child less than 100 lbs should still be in a 5 point harness car seat. I know 13, 14, and 15 year old teenagers who don’t weigh 100 lbs yet. They are petite and probably will be for most of their lives. Should they still be sitting in a 5 point harness car seat? The same goes for very small toddlers. I have seen a few 2 year old who are not quite 20 lbs. So you have this 2 year old who is still sitting in an infant car seat rear facing.

The same thing goes for childproofing your house. Some things are obvious, put good electrical outlet covers over all the outlets, but do we really need to put pads over every corner in the house. Yes children are going to fall. Alex did, and yes he hit his head on a corner and needed to have his cut glued.  Falls happen, we can’t protect our children from everything.

I can’t tell you the number of people I see trying to germ proof their children and their houses. Only to wonder why their children get sicker than the kid who is allowed to be around germs. Children need to be exposed to some germs and viruses, and bacteria. It is how they develop their immune systems. Yes it is a pain to have to take care of sick children, but that is what being a parent is all about. Eventually they will develop immunities to the viruses and germs, and in the end they will be better for it.

There is a women who’s son is in Alex’s gym class. The little boy has a severe egg allergy. She protects him from any kind of egg to the point that it is actually becoming harmful to the boy. I was always told that the only way to overcome an allergy to something is to gradually expose your immune system to the allergen. This women is keeping egg completely away from her son. His allergy has only gotten worse. It is to the point that they have a tarp up in their hallway and you can’t pass that point without changing your clothes. At some point protecting your kids goes to far, and you actually are prohibiting them from being children.

Children need to play, and run, and yes sometimes they need to fall and get hurt. It is how they learn. A few weeks ago Lizzie burned herself on our oven. Up to that point I have having a hard time keeping her from playing with the oven door. Now she doesn’t touch the oven. She learned that that is not something you do. She has no permanent scars, physically or emotionally from getting burned and she will not be burned that way again, because she learned not to.

How far is too far in the protection of our children?

Heather

I found a great group of bloggers who all post their menu for the week. Since I am trying to be better about not only menu planning but actually cooking what I planned for the week, for that matter cooking at all during the week, I thought I would give it a try. So every Monday I am going to be posting our menu for the week.

So welcome to my world of learning to cook Casein and Soy free. If you didn’t already know both the kids are Casein and Soy intolerant. Which has posed quite a dilemma for me with dinner. I found that when I meal plan and stick to it the task is not quite so overwhelming.

This week we are having,

Day 1: BLT, Curly Fries, Apple Slices

BLT’s
1 package bacon
Lettuce leaves, torn
2 Tomatoes, sliced
8 Hamburger Buns (or 16 slices of toast)

Cook the bacon slices according to package directions. Assemble the other ingredients. Make the sandwiches yourself, or serve ingredients separately so that everyone cam make their own sandwich.

(Serves 4-6 )

Curly Fries
4 Medium Potatoes
1/8 cup canola oil
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp. onion salt

Peel, core, and slice the potatoes to make long spirals. (Slice the cores and use them too.) Place the  potatoes in a large shallow baking pan. Combine the oil, garlic powder and onion salt and drizzle over the potatoes. Then bake at 400 for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(serves 4 )

Apple Slices
3 or 4 apples, washed, cored, and sliced.

Serve sliced apples on a plate  so that everyone can help themselves.

Hamburger Buns
1-cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. canola oil
About 2 ½ cups flour

Pour the warm water into a warmed mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water, and then sprinkle the sugar and salt over the yeast. Let set a minute or two to proof the yeast. Add the oil, and stir in as much of the flour as you easily can, about 2 cups.  Work in enough of the rest of the flour to give you dough that is easy to handle, turn it out onto a floured counter top and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Round the dough up into a ball, cover it with the upturned mixing bowl, and let set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and form each part into a ball. Set the balls of dough slightly apart on a greased baking sheet and let rise until doubled in bulk, again about 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, until done.

(Makes 8 Hamburger Buns)

Day 2: Sliced Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Corn

Sliced Ham
One precooked ham, 3 lbs.
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp. ground cloves
½ cup coke

Combine the dry mustard, brown sugar, and ground cloves in a small bowl. Add 1 Tbsp. of the coke to moisten the dry ingredients. Rub the entire Ham with the mixture, then place the ham in a crock pot, and add the rest of the coke. Cover and cook on low for 6-10 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours .Slice before serving.

(Serves 10 )

cube any leftover ham and freeze in zippered bags, 1 cup cubed ham per bag, for future recipes.

Sweet Potatoes
3 yams, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
½ cup marshmallows

Bake yams in a covered 2-quart casserole dish at 350 for 45 minutes. Drain off about ½ of the cooking liquids, then add remaining ingredients, layering the marshmallows on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes at 350

(Serves 6 )

Corn
1 10 oz. bag frozen corn or 4-5 ears fresh corn

Steam frozen corn in a stove top steamer for approximately 10 minutes.
Boil Fresh corn for approximately 10 minutes.

Day 3: Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Chips

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
1 lb. deli ham, sliced thin
4-8 slices cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns

Layer each sandwich with several slices of deli ham and one or two slices of cheese. Arrange the four sandwiches on a plate, and cover with a kitchen towel, and microwave on high for about 90 Seconds, or until heated through.

(Serves 4 )

Chips
1 bag favorite chips

Open bag and pour into a serving bowl. Place on table for everyone to help themselves.

Hamburger Buns
1-cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. canola oil
About 2 ½ cups flour

Pour the warm water into a warmed mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water, and then sprinkle the sugar and salt over the yeast. Let set a minute or two to proof the yeast. Add the oil, and stir in as much of the flour as you easily can, about 2 cups.  Work in enough of the rest of the flour to give you dough that is easy to handle, turn it out onto a floured countertop and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Round the dough up into a ball, cover it with the upturned mixing bowl, and let set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and form each part into a ball. Set the balls of dough slightly apart on a greased baking sheet and let rise until doubled in bulk, again about 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, until done.

(Makes 8 Hamburger Buns)

Day 4: Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Long Grain and Wild Rice,  Grilled Veggies

Grilled Pork Tenderloin
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. olive oil

combine all ingredients and rub on the surface of the tenderloin about 30 minutes before grilling.
Grill the tenderloin for approximately 10 to 15 minutes per side, then broil for another 5 to 10 minutes per side (until the internal temperature reaches 160) Slice crosswise to serve

(Serves 8 )

Long Grain and Wild Rice
Cook according to package directions

Grilled Veggies
1 Pepper
3 Carrots, peeled
1 yellow squash
8 Cherry tomatoes
1 – 2 cups mushrooms
1 bunch green onions
2 garlic cloves
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. seasoned salt

Wash and cut all the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. In a mixing bowl, stir them
together with olive oil, kosher salt and seasoned salt. Wrap the vegetables up in an aluminum flil pouch, with tow ice cubes, then fold to seal the pouch. Set the pouch on the grill along side the meat; cooking times will depend on the grill heat, so check every so often, until the vegetables are crisp-tender. These can also be cooked in the oven (375 for about 40 minutes) or stir-fried in a skillet

(Serves 6 )

Day 5: Chili, Cornbread

Chili
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 can red kidney beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 10 oz. bag frozen corn

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.

Cornbread
Cook according to package directions
I plan for 5 days rather than for a specific day. That way I can mix and match days if I need to. For the most part I start with day one on Sunday and go in order, but not always. If I forget to take some meat out of the freezer I may push that day back by one and pick another day. This is what seems to work the best for us. We usually have dinner out one night a week. Most days it is Friday, but not always. Last week we went out on Tuesday because of a Fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A. Saturdays we almost always have leftovers or Jason and I order something in after the kids  have gone to bed and have a semi date night. That leaves five nights that I need to have something planned.

Enjoy

Heather

There are always things that you wish you had done differently with your kids. I can’t be the only one who sometimes second guesses themselves. Sometimes it is the big stuff. If I had delivered Lizzie naturally maybe she wouldn’t have been in the NICU for her first week. But mostly If you are anything like me, it is the little stuff that you think about the most. For me the one I think about the most is using the cloth diapers. I knew about cloth diapers when I was pregnant with Alex, and for a short time, very short time I even considered them. Then I found out that there was no longer a diaper service in our area. The little exposure I had with cloth diapers was with my younger brother. My mom used them with him, and she was lucky enough to have a diaper service available to her. I realized that without a diaper service I would be washing all the diapers myself, and I wasn’t really a big fan of the pre-folded diapers and covers. At that time I wasn’t aware that there was anything else available. So like almost everyone else I just went with disposable diapers, and didn’t think much more about it. I was an overwhelmed brand new mother, who could barely keep her family in clean clothes, much less keep diapers clean.

When I was pregnant with Lizzie, I was watching a friend’s little boy, who is about the same age as Alex, twice a week. She used cloth diapers, only she had a kind I had never seen before. All in one diapers. They were cloth diapers that worked like disposables. WOW!! I had never seen such a thing. They were easy to use and cute to boot. So I started thinking again. The one thing I kept coming back to was the laundry issue. Laundry has always been difficult for me. I really dislike laundry. I can never seem to keep up with it. I felt like I was crazy for thinking that along with adding another persons regular clothing to the mix, I would be adding diapers as well. And since infants go through a ton of diapers I knew that would mean washing diapers every day, just to keep on top of them. I thought there is no way on earth I can do that. So I stayed with the good old disposables.

Then along came Lizzie. Lizzie can’t do anything easy. She has a very sensitive bottom. Lizzie developed a yeast rash that never really went away. It started when she was about 6 weeks old. It caused her to have problems sleeping through the night as she got older. She would constantly wake up to have her diaper changed since it hurt when she had a wet or dirty diaper. She fights constantly to be changed since it hurt her for so long to have her diaper changed. When she was a year old and we still had not completely gotten rid of the rash, despite constant doctor visits and medication, I decided we needed to try something else. I had never really forgotten about the cloth diapers. And seeing my baby in pain was just enough of tho motivation I needed to try them out.

When I first started I didn’t want to spend more than what I would have spent on a months worth of diapers. So I searched Free-cycle for diaper covers and I bought the cheep diapers from Gerber. I though I would try it for a month and then see what I liked and disliked about them. Almost overnight Lizzie’s rash went away!!!! At the end of the month I was a believer. I had a whole new baby. The laundry was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be, and I still wanted to try out the all in one diapers. I found out that Whole foods sells Bum Genius one size fits all, all in one diapers at our local store. I bought a few to try them out. I loved them. Not only that but Jason liked them as well. They are very husband and baby sitter friendly. When we realized that we preferred the all in one diapers over the covers and pre-folded diapers. We spent the extra money and bought enough diapers to last about 2 days.

I now wash diapers every other day. It is not nearly as bad as I once thought it would be. I try to wash them either first thing in the morning, or last thing at night. I have a HE washer so I put in a tiny amount of detergent and run the super wash cycle. That takes about and hour and a half. When that is done I run another super wash cycle with no detergent. Into the dryer they go, unless it is a nice day, in which case they go out on the line. About once every other month or so I need to strip the diapers of extra build up.

I also use cloth wipes. I have about 3 dozen baby washcloths. I mix together 5 cups boiling water with 1/2 cup California Baby Diaper Area wash. I pour that over my washcloths and let them cool. I keep them in a container with a tight locking lid. They last me about 2 weeks, and I just wash them with my diapers.

I have also started using diaper liners to make clean up easier. They are rice paper liners that catch any solid waste and it all flushes down the toilet. It makes clean up easier, but does add to the cost each moth. Not much but a little.

I can’t believe how easy it has been. Lizzie is doing so much better, and we are saving a ton of money on diapers every month.  Jason wrote a blog entry on how the cost compares between the disposables and the cloth diapers, check it out.

We love our new diapers. If we were to have more children, I would use the diapers from the start. That is the great thing about these diapers. They can be used from birth until your child is out of diapers, with a little adjusting. Since we already have the diapers we would be ahead of the game from the get go.

I buy my diapers and other accessories through Cotton Babies. Their prices are the same as other sites. Plus they have a great grant program for out of country missionaries.

That is our story of how we went from a disposable diaper family to a cloth diaper family.

Heather