Today, Yehoshua (3), Eliyahu (1) and I made some homemade edible play dough!

I have had the recipe saved for over a year, but either didn't have the ingredients, the time, or the energy to actually try it. I have been going through my mountains of torn-out "must try this one sometime" recipes, trying to save only the ones that we'll actually try someday (which is a big folder full, even still!).

When I found the play dough recipe, I decided that today would just have to be the day. Read more...

I'm finally getting around to answering some of my email... so stay tuned if you've emailed with a question for me in the past, oh, about 4 months!

Today, I am yet again bringing up the topic of cloth diapering... yes, on a food blog. ;) Two readers have written with questions, and so here are my replies! Feel free to add your own cloth diapering experience and tips at the end, as well! :) Read more...

One of the things I try to do as a parent is to involve my children in everyday things. I can tell a remarkable difference when I live and work beside my children, and not just give orders. Children are so much happier and well-adjusted when they know they have important responsibilities in the home! Constant guidance and direction with our children also keeps them busy and focused.

Back when we made waffles for a new-baby gift, I took photos of Yehoshua as he helped me in the kitchen. He had such a great time getting to help with every step!! Click here for the tutorial! :)

Yesterday and this morning, as we were cooking, I had been telling Yehoshua about how we were making food to take to my aunt, "because they have a new little baby". I was trying to help him understand what had changed since we last saw them (e.g. the round tummy was gone and now a new little baby).

As I put the waffles into a bag, I said, "Now, don't touch these. We're taking these with us. Do you remember why we're taking food along?"

Yehoshua said, "Because they have a new little baby. Mommy, is the baby really hungry?"

I laughed! "Yehoshua, new little babies don't eat waffles! What do new little babies eat?"

"Mama's milk." ;)

To each item, I taped an index card with the name of the food and instructions for baking or re-warming. No one likes mystery meals. ;)

One thing that helps me "find the time" to make food to share with others is simply making extras. I made a double batch of Italian bread rather than a single loaf, so I could give away one loaf and have another left for us. It's a little more work (okay, basically any major cooking right now is "more work" than I'd be doing!") but it's still less time than making a whole meal just to give away. :)

I actually ended up making a triple batch of waffles this morning. Joshua made strawberry and apple toppings/sauces, which we sent along with this bag of cooked waffles. Homemade waffles are a great quick breakfast when warmed in the toaster. And making a triple batch allowed enough for our breakfast, a few leftovers for us, and 20 squares to share. :)

Last night before bed I stamped a quick congratulatory card to tuck in with this lavender-floral baby bath towel. :)

P.S. If you haven't already read it, Michelle has a great post of tips for providing food for others! :)

I'm excited about this week's podcast, Cooking with children! In the podcast, I try to give helpful tips for having fun times in the kitchen with our children, including specific examples as well as general guidelines. I also talk about why I feel so passionately about involving my children in everyday things, like work in the kitchen.

Cooking with children is about 10 minutes long (3.3 MB). Right-click and then click on "save target as" to save the file to your computer (do this if you have dial-up, especially!), or just click to stream and listen. :)

On a related note: For fun, I thought I would dig up some of my older blog entries that related to children helping in the kitchen!

• One of Yehoshua's favorite and most memorable experiences was when we dehydrated a whole lot of bananas! Read all about it and see photos here! :)
• I took pictures of Eliyahu's first time to help wash the dishes, at 10 months of age. He has the most fabulous time!! :) Helping with dishes is still a huge attraction in my kitchen, and my children never refuse soap, water, and dishes. ;) I know, Yehoshua's only 3... I'm enjoying it while it lasts, though! :)
• Yehoshua made cupcakes, muffins, and wood-black stew... :)
• Here is a picture of Yehoshua helping me wash cherries. This was from last year's sour cherry harvest. :)
• Yehoshua's first soup-stirring experience... he felt so privileged!! :)
• Here is a photo of Yehoshua helping me make brownies. :) Eliyahu was still only about 6 months old at the time.
• Last fall's tomato crop... Yehoshua was kept busy washing tomatoes for us! :)

Potty Training! Oh, the fun. ;) I'm certainly not an expert when it comes to potty training, since I've only potty trained one child thus far, but I'd like to share a little tip that helped us with night time potty training. (Read more...)

Jennie left this comment today on the Confirm Clearly post:

My husband just returned from Iraq this past november, & we have been trying to concieve ever since. Imagine my excitement last week when I took a confirm clearly pregnancy test & got a positive result! Just like the original story, told our children, told family, & friends. Only to have the dissapointing news 3 days later that we were indeed not pregnant! I was, & still am devestated! These tests are still on the shelves! This is so heartbreaking!!!!!!!!!!
Jennie Thomas
Ft. Wainwright, Alaska

I'm still getting comments from ladies who received false-positive test results using the Confirm Clearly tests. Comments like Jennie's just break my heart!

False-positives with home pregnancy tests are known to be very rare, only occurring after a miscarriage or due to medication. Women, like myself, are trusting a home pregnancy test, only to be shocked and disappointed to find out it was all a joke.

I haven't felt like even taking a home pregnancy test after our experience back in early November. I guess if we have another baby, I'll find out when I feel it moving. :) I didn't have a miscarriage, because I was never pregnant, but the experience causes lasting emotional scars.

Besides telling everyone I know about these horrible tests, I wonder what I can do? I feel like calling the company again tomorrow and complaining some more... even though they refunded my money. A refund doesn't make up for the devastating news that you were never really pregnant. And these tests are STILL being sold. Grrrr.

Flannel receiving blankets can often be purchased very inexpensively at thrift stores or garage sales. Read more for a photo tutorial of making pre-folded cloth diapers using receiving blankets!

I know this is primarily a cooking blog, but can we have just one more laundry-related post this week? Thanks. ;)

One of the things I love about cloth diapers is that they're so adaptable. There are about as many ways of storing, folding, covering, soaking, rinsing, washing, and drying cloth diapers as there are cloth-diapered-babies! When I had my first baby, I thought cloth diapering was just done like my mom did it. Browsing websites and reading articles about cloth diapering made me quickly realize that I could tailor the basics to fit our house, my supplies, etc.

Cloth diapering is simple, but it seems my method is constantly changing, depending on the baby, the age of the baby (i.e. food type intake ;D), the time of year (yay for sun!), and even what goodies I can get for free/cheap (yay for baking soda!).

I've tried fleece diaper liners in the past, but didn't think they were worth the extra bother. After all, the more "pieces" I put in a diaper, the more things I have to hang on the clothesline! A couple of my friends had praised fleece liners, particularly for babies who are eating solid foods. The liners are also soft (much softer than line-dried diapers, most days!) and feel "dry" on the baby's bottom.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try fleece liners for Eliyahu. Now, here's where the frugal part comes in. You can make fleece liners from old fleece blankets. No sewing is required; just cut into rectangles. You can make the liners fairly narrow (like the one pictured) or as wide as your diaper.

In my recent de-cluttering efforts, I came across a number of unused fleece baby blankets. Being the type of mom who prefers cotton clothing and blankets for her babies, I had four or five fleece blankets and certainly wouldn't miss a few of them if they got "converted". ;) So, I made diaper liners! It's actually nice to put those blankets to good use. :)

Robin wrote to me and asked,

In your post on housekeeping, you mentioned that you do full loads of laundry, and you also said that you wash cloth diapers 2-3 times per week. Do you have full loads of diapers 2-3 times per week, or do you wash small loads? I am new to cloth diapering, and I am unsure what to do. I only have one child in diapers, so if I wait until I have a pretty full load, it will be at least a week, and the diapers will be very smelly. But, I don't like to do too many small loads because of the waste in running the washer for a small load. Can you tell me what you do?

Hi, Robin! Thanks for asking! I do usually have a full load of diapers after 3 days. I'm sure it depends on how frequently the baby/child needs changed, and my boys have always needed changed frequently. :)

When I had two in diapers, I had a completely full load every 2 days. Since we observe a day of rest each week (Sabbath), I washed diapers 4 times a week -- usually including both Thursday and Friday, even though I didn't have a full load on Friday. That way, I didn't have to wash them on Sabbath and I didn't run out of clean diapers.

I don't like to wait longer than 3 days simply because of the smell. Another thing I take into consideration is the weather. I prefer line-drying my diapers since the sun keeps them so fresh. If I have to do a slightly smaller load on one day, because rain is predicted for the next day, I usually go ahead and wash.

I try to conserve water, etc. but I guess using cloth diapers and hanging them out to dry is saving money, even if I have to wash a smaller load every week. I love cloth diapers, anyway, and my youngest gets a rash from disposables, so I guess I don't really have a choice, either. :)