...with the Willow Sprouts hemp diaper insert review.

As you probably know, Elena is a cloth diapered baby. Using cloth is great. It saves us a ton of money and it's earth friendly! Most of the cloth diapers we use are pockets...which is exactly that - it has a pocket built in the lining, which we then stuff with an absorbant insert to soak up the pee. Most of our diapers come with microfiber inserts, which are highly absorbant.
Another option however, is hemp. Inserts made of hemp are trimmer and therefore less bulky, and they are very absorbant as well. Hemp is naturally antimicrobial and more breathable than cotton. It will also last longer than cotton inserts, because it is stronger and more durable; yet, it becomes softer and more absorbant with each wash. Hemp is very popular for heavy wetters, because you can add more layers without the bulk. It is also popular for nighttime diapers, as baby wears the diaper for much longer than daytime diapers.

I decided to try out hemp, in hopes to switch out our microfiber inserts with hemp.
I chose the Willow Store's Organic Hemp Pocket Insert. These hemp inserts are ultra thin, organic/hemp material and the inserts come in 3 sizes. I chose the small size.

What I like:
1. These are much trimmer than a microfiber insert! I almost felt like I didn't have an insert inside her diaper!
2. Soft....even softer once it's been prepped and washed several times!
3. Super soaker! For overnight, I paired this with a microfiber insert and it worked great. No leaks and her diaper wasn't so bulky that she looked uncomfortable.
4. Fit great in a wide variety of diapers. I have used this insert in Bum Genius diapers, Fuzzi Bunz and Rumparooz pocket diapers and it is wide enough to fit the width of the diaper, so no chance for leaks!
5. The price! Hemp inserts cost a bit more than microfiber, so I was definitely looking for something more economical. Willow Store's hemp inserts are priced reasonably.

What I don't like:
1. In order to prep hemp for use, you have to do multiple hot washes before using. Of course, this is for ALL hemp, not just the Willow Store's hemp. I hate prepping hemp unless I have enough a large enough laod to make it worth the water usage!

The Willow Store also has many other products you should check out!
Their main product is WillowPads, reusable cloth pads. If that's not your thing they also make organic hemp/fleece nursing pads, Forever cloths (reusable "unpaper" towels) and many other things!

Stay tuned for a giveaway right here on my blog for......the hemp/fleece nursing pads!
I can't wait to tell you about them!
Okay...sneak peek.....I love them. Softest.things.ever.

...with the weekend in photos.

Spent the weekend with my sister in law for her bachelorette party. She took these pics of Elena, who had a blast hanging out with her Titi :)

...with the weekend in photos.

It was a pretty lazy weekend. Nothing too exciting, but sometimes that's a good thing!

~Elena is the Easter Bunny~














~Replaced all of our plastic storage containers with glass~









~watched a lot of NCAA basketball~














~I cleaned out the flower beds while Elena played on the lawn~

...with the cloth wipes solution.

In addition to using cloth diapers, I also use cloth wipes. I purchased some really cute cloth wipes from Etsy. They are rectangular in shape, and fit perfectly into one of those travel wipes containers. I keep them dry inside the container and have a small squirt bottle that I fill with my own homemade wipes solution to clean off the baby's bum.
When it's time for a diaper change, I grab one wipe, wet it using the solution, clean off baby's bum and toss the dirty wipe into the wetbag along with the dirty diaper. No need to look around for a trash can to throw a disposable wipe into!
There are many different wipe solution recipes available. I found a great website that listed a recipe for anyone's needs! Some are very basic, others have many ingredients.
Take a look for yourself!

...with the homemade dishwasher soap.

The one thing I love about becoming more "green", is that it also saves me money!
I recently noticed I was running low on soap for the dishwasher. Instead of scouring the ads for dishwasher soap coupons, I instead looked online for recipes to make my own soap. Not only is it eco-friendly, but it is also much cheaper!
There are several recipes out there for dishwasher soap. I chose the simplest one I could find...I figured I'd start with this, and if it didn't meet my needs than I would try another recipe later. So far, this recipe has done the trick!
Here's what I am using:
1 cup of washing soda (made by Arm and Hammer....you can use baking soda too)
1 cup of borax (buy this in the laundry detergent aisle)

Mix thoroughly. Put in a recycled jar (I used an old candle jar!) to store.
Use 2 tablespoons per load.
Use vinegar in the rinse compartment as a rinse aid to help prevent residue buildup.

Voila! That's it. Easy. Green. Cheap!

...with the vacation in photos.

Well, we survived our first trip traveling with an infant! I must say, it couldn't have gone any better. I am now jinxing myself for every future trip we take with our child!
We left on a Friday early in the morning and were in Puerto Rico by 4pm local time. Our flight consisted of a 1.5 hour flight into Baltimore with a 2 hour layover followed by a 4 hour flight into San Juan. I must confess, we did upgrade our seats to Business Class on the 4 hour leg of the flight. Completely.worth.every.penny! The extra room to move about in our seats with an infant was priceless, especially since the flight was full. Elena was an absolutely fantastic mini-traveler. She nursed on take-off and landing. In between, she played, napped and made a few friends :) On our return flight, we upgraded once again on the 4 hour portion of our flight!
Our time in Puerto Rico was precious. Elena was introduced to many family members and she loved the attention and was very social!
I don't want to give too lengthy of a written synopsis of the trip, so I will do so in pictures! Enjoy!


~Bird's of Paradise~














~Coqui frog is native to Puerto Rico....that's a water bottle cap to give you an idea of how tiny he is!~















~Elena's first day on the beach~















~taking it all in with mommy~






























~beach baby~










~listening to daddy's iPod~

...with the eco-friendly mama

The other day at work a co-worker asked me "how are you green?". She was curious as to how I am eco-friendly in my everyday life. I immediately thought of the most obvious ways I am eco-friendly and shared them with her. Later as I sat back and thought more about her question I decided I should make a list here and share it with you all. Now, many of these aren't difficult or earth shattering, and I'm certainly not the first and only person to do them! Maybe some of the things I do might inspire you to make small changes in your life as well!

Here are 10 things I currently do:

1. I use "reusable" grocery bags/totes for grocery shopping etc. (See, I told you it wasn't earth shattering!)

2. I recycle paper, glass, aluminum and plastic (it's part of the city's waste management program in which I live)

3. I cloth diaper my daughter and I use cloth wipes.

4. I make my own cloth diaper detergent using borax, washing soda and oxy-clean.

5. I make my own all purpose cleaner for cleaning the house/dusting/etc.

6. I make my own dishwasher soap.

7. I use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets in the dryer.

8. In the summer months, I hang dry our clothes, instead of using the dryer.

9. I replaced all of our light bulbs with CFL bulbs.

10. I use "unpaper" towels instead of papertowels (roller linen!).

Here are a few things I am in the process of doing:

1. Composting - I will start this in the spring. I already have the countertop compost pail. I will be ordering my outside compost bin from the city in which I live.

2. Installing a rain barrel. Again, I will be ordering it from the city in which I live.

3. Replacing all my plastic food storage with glass food storage containers.

4. Joining a CSA (produce) for the summer/fall.

5. Purchasing more of our meat products from local farmers.

...with the Swiffer make-over.

I hate buying new swiffer refills. They are expensive ($4 per box) and I almost never manage to find them on sale. So this past weekend I decided to give my swiffer a make-over and it reduces waste too!
I purchased a package of 6 microfiber cloths from Marshall's for $2.99.












Brought them home, ripped off the old swiffer cover and recovered it with pretty microfiber cloth! Then I took it for a test drive and it worked like a charm!













Throw it in the wash (I wash mine with rugs and other "yucky" wash) and it's ready to use next time! By having six in rotation, I will never need to buy a box of swiffer refills again!