Thursday, October 28, 2010

Cutie in Cloth

Before Peanut was born, I had full intentions on cloth diapering. It seemed so eco-friendly, not to mention cost effective. But then, I discovered the drugstore diaper deals, and I realized that I could get packs of diapers regularly for under $4 a pack! It's been wonderful to not have to spend too much money on disposables, but since I did purchase some basic prefolds, I figured I had better at least give them a try.

So below is Peanut modeling a basic pre-fold diaper fastened with a snappie. So cute! She is also wearing a nylon cover (this is very BASIC cloth diapering folks!). I know there are many other all-in-one cloth diapers out there, but at $10-20 a pop, these prefolds just fit our budget much better. I tried to time this first attempt after she already pooed, so we'll see how it goes!


UPDATE: Cloth diapering is much easier than I thought it would be! Peanut didn't seem to mind her new diaper at all! The cover, although very basic, didn't leak at all and I was surprised to see how wet the prefold had gotten in the 2 or so hours she wore it. It was really easy to just toss it all in the wetbag and put another one on her. I resued the cover since it was still dry. The only downside was that I think she wasn't used to feeling a little bit wet, and this might have cut the one nap she took while in it a bit short. Other than that, I loved it! It's a great feeling knowing you don't have to run out and get diapers at the last minute since you always have some on hand!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Droughts and Debts

We've been busy these past few weeks over at the Campbell Castle. Now that we've paid off our first student loan, we are anxious to knock out the second one and so have been re-evaluating our budget, selling some unwanted furniture and brainstorming opportunities to save more money. Meanwhile, our pantry and fridge are getting a makeover as we hit up local farms weekly to stock up on local grown food and produce. And, as I'm sure many of you are busy doing, we're savoring the bit of fall that has finally come our way!

For months we've been in a drought around here with excessive temperatures breaking records daily. In fact, even though it is nearing the end of October, we have yet to turn on our heat and have even had the AC running quite a few days this month! But after nearly 6 months of summer temperatures, it seems the air is finally settling down to a more reasonable level, and I am so thankful for that!

Friday, October 15, 2010

On a Roll... with Butter!

For the past month or two, Peanut has been unsuccessfully attempting to roll over. There were times we were sure she would do it, but then she'd put her head down on the blanket and give up. A couple of times, the attempt wore her out so intensely, she would fall asleep right there on her tummy!

Friday afternoon (Oct. 8), however, she gave me a nice surprise, and I almost missed it! As I was preparing lunch in the kitchen, I poked my head around the corner to check on Peanut. I saw her supporting herself on her arms all the way up with one foot high in the air, I cheered her on, saying 'you almost have it!' but thinking she wouldn't actually do it. Then with a plop! she was on her back!

Of course I immediately started screeching with excitement, and she began giggling at my reaction. It's so wonderful to be able to see her firsts, however little they may be!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A Camping Baby

This past weekend we were finally able to go camping with Peanut. Daddy C and Mommy C were particularly excited, especially since our last attempt to go camping ended up being a 2-hr trial after she started crying her eyes out and would not stop. But now that she's a bit older (3.5 months to be exact), we figured she might be able to handle the great outdoors a little better.


We found the perfect camping site just 40 minutes from where we live, so if things did indeed turn sour, we could always turn right back around and be home pretty soon. In our city, there's a forest just on the outskirts of town with peaceful, wooded, primitive camping - just what we love! Our site was well secluded from other sites, and there weren't any RVs, large bathhouses or busy roads to distract us. Just nature and the Campbells. :D
Almost as soon as we got there, Daddy C started collecting firewood and got a fire going. He has become quite adept at getting a fire started after many failed attempts! We decided to have hot dogs, zucchini and tortilla chips. Because what's camping without junk food like hot dogs?
Peanut loved the fire. She just kept staring at it like it was perhaps the most fascinating thing she had ever witnessed. I guess, considering the girl has never seen fire before, it probably was!
The weather was perfect in the evening - not too cool but not warm enough that you couldn't enjoy sitting by the fire. Just the right temperature for a light jacket. Peanut was cozy in her blankie and later we put her in her sleep suit, which was even cozier.

After she finally went to sleep, Mommy C and Daddy C got to enjoy the fire by themselves for a bit until the last ember finally went out. Then we snuggled into our spacious new tent with a blow-up mattress and a snoozing Peanut. We all slept well that night.
Until about 4am. When the planes came.
Why didn't someone tell us we were only a couple miles from the airport?! The planes must have been coming in for the day, since one takeoff after another lasted for about an hr and half straight. I got little sleep during this time, but Peanut was sleeping, dare I say, like a baby! Even Daddy C managed to roll over and ignore the hard sounds of plane engines.

When we woke up at 7am, like usual, we were all relatively well-rested though and ready for an adventurous day. Peanut woke up smiling as if to say, "I guess I'm a camping baby after all!"

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Sew Pretty and Chic

It's officially been years since I've touched my sewing machine. Although I was the girl who made her own prom dresses and delightedly dabbled in designing, sewing took a backseat once I left for college.

But this last week, I did sometime wacky. I dusted off that baby and ripped some seams! In effort to make our home decor more seasonal appropriate, I crafted up some pillowcases for my throw pillows. Cost per pillow? $2. Cost per Hobby-Lobby pre-crafted pillow? $25. Time spent sewing after years of rustiness? 3 hours. Savings per hour? $38. Huzzah!


This was even accomplished amongst a frantically fussy Peanut, who had no idea what her Mamma was doing and why she was being confined to her bouncy seat. Behold, the lengths one woman will go to in effort to save money for her family and still have a nice looking home!

And since my readers may be wondering how we're doing on paying down our pesky debt, I'll let you in on a little secret:

We paid off our first student loan!

Double huzzah!

Although we still have 3 other loans looming on the horizon, paying off that first one, no matter how small, feels fantastic.

And so, I think I just might whip out that sewing machine more often!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Peanut and Pumpkins!

This weekend, Peanut got to experience for the very first time in her life, how pumpkins are grown and picked fresh from a working farm.

She loved the smell of the hay on the hayride over to the pumpkin patch. Everyone thought she looked pretty cute in her jeans. Don't you just love babies in jeans? And hoodies?!

While there, Mommy C got quite a few gourds to decorate her porch with, as well as some mini pumpkins and a large pot of brilliant purple colored mums.

Peanut enjoyed watching Mommy and Daddy C chow down on grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. We caught her eyeing the tractor, so she went on a tractor ride too! Good thing it was all free!


The weather was perfect, and Peanut managed to find the best pumpkin in the entire patch at the farm! She had her Daddy cut it though, since it was a little heavy for her little arms.