Dubious Impetus

I bet that anyone who bothered to read about what I had for breakfast last week, maybe the week before,  is wondering; "what?" or "who cares?"

Well, there was a reason behind the folly and menu. I heard a man's voice on the radio saying something idiotic like: "Statistics state that a woman over 40 has to work out for one hour every day just to maintain her current weight. One hour a day at the gym, to not even lose weight? That's crazy! That's why I want to offer you the opportunity to try my super-weight-loss-smoothie. For just $5 a day, you can eat and lose weight too...blah, blah, blah."

With all of my love and respect for people who sell nutritional shakes that truly help people recover health and well-being (and a comfortable weight), I just don't see the point if you know how to eat a balanced diet, or make your own smoothie from fresh ingredients. When one goes from eating hot dogs, soda and chips 3 times a day to a nutritionally balanced shake full of vitamins and good things, it is an improvement. An expensive improvement, but nonetheless better than the aforementioned diet.

So that was my response to the trend of paying someone else to mix up a blend of vitamins and stuff for you: DYI is really not just something you can do, but something it is easy and healthier to do.

This is true in many areas that are taken for granted today as having one way of being done; diapering and cleaning baby bottoms; no wipes? Try running water over the area in a pinch or when the mess is big, (don't forget to take off the socks). Keep a small baggie with a couple of cloth wipes moistened in lavender water for your purse.  Add a little tea tree oil to keep fresher longer. Think outside the box and our current time frame for anything disposable; paper towels, how about a rag drawer or bag? People did clean 100 years ago, and their environmental footprint remained microscopic compared to today. In France, homemakers and janitors still keep "la serpiere", a big, all-purpose, thick rag that can be pushed on the end of a mop to wipe up spills. Rinse, ring and wipe again.

When in doubt, just ask yourself; "What would Ma have done in her little house in the big woods?"

I have many friends who inspire me with their "from scratch" and "make it yourself" lifestyles. I know people who make everything from bread to clothing to pizza ovens. What sorts of things do you do yourself?

Here is another smoothie recipes for you, should you be so inclined to try one:

Collard greens, ripped up; fill the blender
1T frozen orange juice
a handful of frozen berries
1 scoop of protein powder
2 canned pear or peach halves
milk of choice

And the Winner, of the Mother-Ease Cloth Diaper Cover, is...

Jen, of Ancient Hearth, a really great Waldorf homeschooling blog, full of ideas, information and written with love.

Thank you to all who participated, and to all who support cloth diapering. And here is to those who are thinking about trying cloth; go ahead, you will love it!

Mother-ease Cloth Diaper Cover Givaway!!!

I am excited and over-joyed and, and...soooo pleased to announce this blog's first-ever givaway, a chance to improve one baby's comfort and give the environment a little extra boost. Mother-ease Cloth Diapers, http://www.mother-ease.com/ is offering readers of A Homeschool Story a chance to win a free diaper cover. Since these are the only cloth diapers I have ever used, I am quite partial to Mother-ease. They are the only ones I have ever used because they are the only set of diapers I ever needed. Frugality played an important role in my decision to use cloth. Convenience played the next biggest role. Mother-ease promised a one-size, 0-2 -years diaper and they delivered. They attach with snaps; nice, solid, no-scratch, no-rip snaps. Snaps do not snag on other family members' stockings or favorite sweater, ever, they are way easier than the pins I was expecting to have to use with non-disposables. Mother-ease are sturdy and bleach out pure white when hung in the sun. Since cover and diaper are separate, they dry quickly and the covers do not wear out because they do not need to be washed each change. You can even rinse them out quickly by hand and hang them to dry in a convenient spot. I am not a "housekeeper", ask my mother or my grandmother-in-law. I still can say, that, really and truly, cloth diapering is not a hardship, not difficult, not a big deal, just another load of laundry, no more, no less.

I purchased one set of 24 when my third baby was two months old, and besides the few Toddler-ease I bought for night time for my three, four and five-year-olds,  that has constituted our entire cloth diaper collection these past nine years. I do buy fresh covers as little bottoms grow larger, so I know that this is a givaway that will benefit just about anyone who uses cloth, or is thinking of using cloth, because whether you have prefolds or fancy duds, a new cover is always welcome. No more babies at home? Sign up to win one for a grandchild, niece or nephew! Just leave a comment on this post to enter, make sure your email address or website is indicated so that I can contact the winner. I monitor all comments, so I will keep your email address to myself, it will not be published if you send it in your comment. The winner will be drawn by the  time-tested French method of the youngest child sitting under the table pointing to the piece of cake for the next person...or maybe the good old American method of the drawing a name from a hat. Bonne chance!

Here is a link to the air-flow cover that will be given away: 
https://usshop.motherease.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=10&cat=Air+Flow%99+Snap+Covers

Cloth for Buns in France

I just read the great news that cloth diapering is gaining popularity in France these days. The good news came from this blog: http://theglobetrotterparent.blogspot.com. 

When my first two children were born, I was interested in cloth diapering as a way to leave less of a carbon footprint on the planet, save money and as a nicer, more natural way of baby care. There was nowhere to turn, no diapering service, no cloth diapers for sale, no one I knew used them. I moved to the US while expecting my next baby and before she was two months old, she was 100% cloth diapered. I have used that same set of diapers for three children, (they are Motherease one-size diapers, good from birth to two years, here is the website: http://www.mother-ease.com/ I just passed most of them on to a new mother to use. What a great investment, what a great comfort measure, compared to the non-stop redness and soreness of disposable-clad bottoms! I even traveled to France with that set of diapers twice,