Organizing kids' clothes: A way to Excel at it

Garage sales, hand-me-downs, resale and other sources for kids' clothes have gotten us through the last few years. The challenge is keeping tabs on my finds.

Whether it's my daughter tearing apart diaper-size boxes of clothing in her closet out of boredom or my accidentally stockpiling 20 (yes, 20) short-sleeve T-shirts in a size for my son, remembering what you've acquired can be a challenge.

My solution? It's a simple one: Creating a spreadsheet to track numbers.

I track each kids' clothing pieces by size and type, and I have it uploaded so that family members who are Christmas shopping or hitting sales to splurge know what we have. My hope is it keeps us from wasting money and space, and freeing us from having more than we really need.

Want to start this simply? Create an Excel or Google Docs spreadsheet with a column for size and a row for each clothing type. For example:

uniform shirts
uniform skorts or pants
sweater
sweatshirt
fall/winter weight PJ's
spring/summer weight PJ's
jeans
yoga/dance pants
t-shirts (long-sleeve and short-sleeve)
sweat pants/athletic pants
winter coat
swimsuit

I could expand this to include shoes I've picked up (such as at clearance or soccer cleats from garage sales), but those for now are much easier remembered.

I update the spreadsheets after purchases, and reprint the well-folded sheets as needed. It's an easy reference at a garage sale and has kept me from at least one unneeded purchase.

Super Undies cloth overnight training pants review

Cloth overnight pull-ups: Were they our answer for our bedwetting preschool boy? Absolutely.

Fed up with traditional pull-ups that leaked through each night (even with buying the overnight varieties), three months ago I decided to check out whether cloth alternatives were out there. We'd had success with cloth diapers, and even in a working home, found it was a manageable and more financially friendly option for us.

The challenge was finding a pull-up alternative. After some research, I checked out Super Undies, which was a little more expensive than some other varieties but sold definite "overnight" varieties. I ended up purchasing three cloth overnight pull-ups and what they call "soaker pods" through the company.

Three months into it, I've more than made my money back, and I have a more confident boy. He happily wears his "super boy undies" and "potty pads" (when I know he's had a lot to drink at night) each evening, without complaint. I really believe that having the cloth on has made him more aware at night - and we're having more and more incidents of "dry" mornings!

I love the fact that I don't have to do a bedding change each morning, that the Super Undies washable and dryable (though I've more than broken the rule on no fabric softener!), that my kid is comfortable using them and putting them on without mom having to help.

Yes, the cost gave me pause at first; but if you do some research, you may be able to find "seconds" (often returns, which they can't resell at full price). And if you factor in the cost of disposables - and of washing and rewashing laundry - it was well worth the investment. While I'm hoping to be through the bedwetting phase before he outgrows these, I'd comfortably reorder the next size if needed!

Disclaimer: I received no discount, payment or any other renumeration for my Super Undies, though I did my cloth seconds.

Parenting efficiency?

Efficiency as a parent?

I had to chuckle this morning reading Sweet Eventide's column on her rough adjustment to life as a working mom. Is there such a thing as efficiency as a parent?

Yes I know there are super moms out there, like my former coworker, a single mom, who juggled four kids, a job and nursing school. But chaos lately seems to rule my life.

Take the other morning, so typical of my week.

My daughter wakes me up around 6 a.m. by snuggling in my bed. A few minutes later she goes back to hers. I eventually get up.

By 6:45, I've showered, dressed and asked her to get her uniform on.

By 7, I've done diaper duty, dressed the toddler and have gently reminded my daughter that while the Barbies are now dressed, she needs to be too.

By 7:15, I have a toddler begging for breakfast and am praying for patience over my daughter, who's figured out how to get a shirt on but that's all. I order her to get dressed (which she mostly does) and head downstairs for breakfast negotiations. Negotiations fail. I get a confirmation of what the toddler wants to eat, only to have him get upset when he doesn't get the same cereal as his sister. (Nevermind that he finished off the other box.) I try to remember my own breakfast while I fix breakfasts, get refills on milk and fix a lunch despite my daughter's insistence that this week she should have an additional day of hot lunch beyond the Mondays already promised.

By 7:45, I realize I've lost my morning, despite best attempts. We scramble upstairs, attempt to locate where the Elmo toothbrush has snuck off to now, let my toddler spit into the toilet, then race back downstairs.

There, I realize that our systems have once again broken down. My daughter has no socks on. One or both kids failed to put their shoes on the shoe tray last night. The backpacks have been relocated from their spot. Somehow we make it to school on time, and I just thank God for those days I don't have to be there at a specific time.

Evenings, however, are more relaxed. We benefit from the down time offered by after-school care or the daddy-daughter time on his days out of class, but the toddler is ready to eat by the time he hits the car door on his way home. Thankfully, we've worked out a meal system to feed the beast by the time he gets home. Evenings are filled with long walks, homework (yes, even the toddler gets "homework," coloring on the backs of old school papers), story time, library visits and the occasional Thomas movie. Now that the garden is largely to bed for the season, that's one thing off the worry list.

Bedtimes, like for most parents, are a challenge, and I admit there are more days than not where we're exhausted by the time little ones are asleep! (By then, my husband is in bed as well - the result of a 4 a.m. work schedule.)

Those quiet hours (or hour) is usually spent with laundry or other "quiet" chores, but more often that not it means catching up on a growing workload.

Weekends are treasures. And while I don't offer people exciting news of travels or big nights out at the start of my Monday, I get 48 hours to savor my family without the burden of schedules. And at this age, a little less adherence to the clock is just what they need.

I admit I envy those parents who work from home (and can just pop in a load of laundry while they're working) or are at home full-time (and are exempt from the harriedness of getting young kids to and from daycare and mealtime madness at the end of the day).

But for now, our chaos works. Would I like to streamline it and remove the daily headaches? Of course! But that's what makes us real.

Cucumbers are not guns...and other realities of 2-year-old boys

Boys are different. I never really truly appreciated how much so until I had one.

My daughter, oh, she was easy when she was little. No tantrums, mild temperment, generally behaved in public. My son, he's an independent spirit. Fiercely so. He drenches himself in the baptimsal font each Sunday, and he's dripping wet despite my best attempts by the time the readings are done. He has one speed: Fast. And he knows what he wants. So much so that people recognize me by my son's wail.

So I should only have guessed that those same everyday activities I do with my daughter would take on its own bent with my son. Farmers market? It's only been in the last week that he hasn't melted down the minute we stepped outside. Nevermind that I'm constantly putting things back like the "balls" - melons or gourds - he finds or alleviated bruised egos on the days there aren't apples for sale.

And yes, this week, I uttered words I never imagined:

"Honey, cucumbers are not guns."

And he agreed, instead munching on it like an ear of corn.

Or when we garden, which should really mean creating mud puddles and soaking mommy with the hose while he cackles hysterically. Take last Thursday, when we grabbed some peas from the garden. He eagerly ripped the first few off the vines, then went to play with his toys. A few minutes later, I noticed he was grabbing the peas out of my bowl...and throwing them on his teeter totter. Repeatedly. Good thing those things can wash!

What are some of the quirkier things you've had to endure with your kids?

Save the animals

Save the animals.

Really. As a parent, that's one of my greatest pleas this holiday season.

Just about any mother of a little girl can tell you that they're swimming in stuffed animals. Small ones. Fluffy ones. Musical ones. Ones so large that can wear their child's clothes.

If these were real animals, the codes people would be in force.

The problem with these fluffy friends is they're cute. Look at their sweet faces. The soft furr. The just-right-for-snuggling size.

And then they join the herd, forced to a lifetime of being squished in their corral of the parents' choice, largely forgotten until the day mom or dad decide they have had enough and attempt to clean out.

And what can you do with stuffed animals who have lost their love? Parents don't want them. You can hardly donate them. Instead, many of them meet the same fate as one Build-a-Bear, casually tossed on the curb down my street.

This holiday season, save the animals. If you think your family's or friends' children need someone to cuddle, there are little arms waiting for real hugs.

Cloth diapering: One year of dissing disposables

Cloth or plastic? It's a question I considered with the birth of my second child. Was going cloth worth it if you could only do it part-time?

One year into our family's experiment, I can say that yes, it is. I'm saying as a mom who's juggled cloth through wiggly babies, tumbling toddlers and, now, the start of potty training, all-in-ones are a great resource for moms to have on hand!

When I first seriously considering going cloth at home (our day care insists on disposables), I did the math, and found out that if I went conservative on quantity and washed each night (which I was doing anyways on weekends), I'd break even in 26 weeks. And that's with using them twice a week.

I have had to buy new diapers as the little guy's grown, but I've found that by shopping around you can find brands of diapers that stretch longer across the sizes. Luckily, I found great resources like Toasty Baby, which even delivered the diapers to my home, Zwaggle, and Craigslist. Granted, the latter two required a lot of visits to the sites to find cloth diapers, but when I found them, the prices couldn't be beat. I got 5 cloth diapers for $20 from one and a set of 6 new diapers for the cost of shipping with the other! So for the cost of three packages of disposables, I was set for another six months or longer.

Soon, I got braver and added cloth wipes into the mix. And you can even get by without those, in all honesty. How many infant washcloths do you have lying around your bathroom?

Sure, I may have a little bit more laundry to do, but I simply toss dry diapers and cloths into a box in the bedroom. No folding's required.

As potty training has approached, I've actually found cloth diapers are easier to manage than disposable. He responds to wetness faster, and the cloth diapers don't tear or get ruined after multiple times of opening the velcro to use the bathroom. And my laundry load has dropped as well as we're having more success!

Would I go cloth again? Absolutely. Investing in all-in-one diapers are easy, and, after the initial expense, well worth the hassle!

When is a cow not a cow?

When is a cow not a cow?

When it looks like this:

Let me explain.

Saturday we visited Traders Point Creamery's open house and free ice cream day. We'd been bothered by our oldest about going to the "cow farmers market" (they have a Friday evening green market), and we know the highlights are not just the four-legged kind. They also come in the amazing ice cream cones found in their dairy barn. So Saturday, we went up to enjoy them all.

We had an amazing time on the farm. Both kids were impressed by the cows, who were "eating cow grass." We loved seeing the newborn calves, some just two weeks old, who were hidden in the shade of the barn.

My little guy was so impressed, he added a new word to his vocabulary, even when it meant the two-legged kind, which he wanted to chase.

Yes, to a 17-month-old, these are "cows" too. Spoken like a true city slicker!

Sowing the seeds with your little sprouts

Gardening in itself is a challenge. Gardening with your little ones, well, that just makes things interesting.

I consider myself nearly a veteran now, this being my third season of gardening in some capacity with a little one. And while as a parent you're likely thinking of all the ways those trowels or rakes can become a weapon in a child's hands and imagination, gardening with your children is actually a fun experience.

This weekend, I had a blast digging in the dirt, sowing seeds and planting vegetable starts with not only my oldest child, but the baby (who ate his first dirt, I guess, at least it was organic!) and four of the older neighbor kids, who were wholly impressed by what a sprouting bean looks like. I sent home several small pots as souvenirs...What does it hurt?

Gardening with your little ones - even toddlers - can be a fun experience. They want to be like mom and dad, and they are attracted by things popping up and the thrill of mud. Face it - you can control the circumstances or they can find it on their own.

Still, gardening with your little ones requires patience, as I can attest. I've lost count of the times my daughter flooded areas of my garden, dug out something she shouldn't, ran off when she was supposed to be "helping" or picked things before they were ready. But I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

I've discovered a few tricks along the way that might help you out, especially if you have children in preschool or younger:

Get their own equipment. They're going to use a toy shovel, or they'll try yours. Decide which does the least damage. My daughter is thrilled with her own equipment, down to her own set of Dora garden gloves, garden hat (which a friend bought her two autumns ago), watering can (which she's used since she was barely walking) and garden tools.

Start small. The first two seasons in my home, we opted not to put in our raised beds. With our schedules, a pregnancy and a little one, we had no time to start gardens. Instead, we started with container gardening and some strawberries and herbs mixed in with our plants. Buying plants from the farmers market is a relatively inexpensive way to go as well.

Appeal to their senses. Gardening from seed is a painstaking process, but you can liven it up from your little ones. Start seeds indoors in peat pellets - which can speed up the process, not to mention is easier to find the sprouts than in a large bed.

"Paint" a little to get started. I found a great idea in Organic Gardening magazine recently. It was on how to space seeds, particularly small ones, easily. Simply tear your newspaper into strips, and "paint" spots with a mixture of flour and water at the distance the seeds need to be spaced. Then put the seeds on the "paint" spots. Allow to dry, then bury at the depth the seeds need to be painted. This was a quick way to get my seeds planted, allowed me not to waste seeds, and gave my daughter a great outlet. What kid doesn't like to paint?

Go for a quick reward. Strawberries and beans are easy to grow and appeal to kids' tastes. Sometimes you just have to go easy!

This weekend, consider stepping out to the farmers market and letting your little one pick out a plant or two. Getting them to help in the garden is a fabulous way to help them connect to the earth, realize that food doesn't come from a store shelf and just unleash some energy. Whatever this season brings you, enjoy the ride!

Peat pots and preschoolers: A smart combination?

Last night, much to my preschooler's delight, we started work on our "garden."

I figured she had been tortured enough in having seeds in our home for a month now. I broke out the peat pots and container I'd saved for a special occasion, and we got to work on our kitchen counter.

Being a little rusty in this regard I did the unthinkable: I read the directions. It started with "add warm water to the bottom of the container." Hmm... Lots of water plus preschooler equals potential for a huge mess. We got off the kitchen table fast and settled onto the floor.

My daughter oohed and ahhed as the "dirt grew" in the tray. She was ready to begin.

As I've been a procrastinator this year, I only have the six packets I won from Botanical Interests on hand, the rest are waiting to arrive. Of the six, only one recommends starting indoors. I grabbed the leeks.

We pulled out a bowl to pour the seeds in as I worked to get the peat pellets ready. I sprinkled a small amount of seeds in to show her how tiny they are; in her excitement she dumps the rest unceremoniously into the bowl.

She stared at them quizzically. I jumped in: "Look at how tiny they are, and look how big they'll get," as I grab the leeks I found at the grocery store this week. She looked impressed.

I poked the holes in each pellet; her job was to add the seeds to each. I got admonished in a way that only 3 years olds can do when I slacked off and didn't keep up with her expectations.

Finally, after wandering attention and questions like "Why are your fingers dirty?" we finished our initial leek project. We covered our tray and set out to find a spot with indirect sunlight. Except with our home's orientation, it's a challenge. In fact, the few places that might work are in the direct path of baby brother.

So whether these poor leeks will make it until mid-May for planting is anyone's guess. But I think the two of us, regardless, will learn a lot!

(photo from muranakafarm.com)

Back to school! Our weekly writer wrapup

It's back to school time, and time to learn a few tips on how to make your life a little bit greener. Here's a sampling of what's out there in the blogosphere.




Home ec:

• Going Local shares a "local" 1877-era beverage called shrubs.
• Green Parent Chicago discusses meatless meals for kids.
• Chile explains how to can and shares some quick meal tips.

Art:

• Green Baby Guide writes about carbon-free entertainment ideas for your toddlers or older children. Looks like I'll be coming back on a rainy afternoon.

Political science:

• Surely You Nest blogs about Bush's attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act.
• Onearth.org writes about how political conventions are going red, white, blue and green.

Economics:

• UK's The Green Parent reports on how the credit crunch is impacting organic dairy farms.

Critical thinking:

• Green Sheeep posts a great essay on her evolution toward sustainability.
• Crunchy Chicken weighs in on whether there are benefits to rising food prices.
• Ecoburban banters about the battle over toilet paper and whether cutting off is in order.

P.E.:

• Parenting Examiner writes about the need for unstructured play outdoors.

Have a great weekend!

Blending for baby

Homemade baby food? It must be for stay-at-home moms or granola types. That was what I used to think. After all, what working mom has time to make their children baby food?

After reading a magazine article touting funds like tuna and blueberries for young toddlers when my first was very young, I was intrigues. After all, there are only so many baby food combinations available in stores, and we eat far more variety than oatmeal, green beans, applesauce and peas. As my daughter wanted to explore ‘big” foods and tastes, I started to explore with her.

By a year, our little foodie was enjoying broccoli, salmon, blueberries by the half-pint, even asparagus. I firmly believe that little ones, if exposed young, will be very open to exploring new tastes. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a short order chef, with one meal for adults, another for the toddler and a third for the baby. I’ve found it’s just as easy to blend or mash a “baby” version of what you’re eating – just chop, microwave to soften, and blend. As for our little one, he’s become quite found of squash, zucchini (which I’ll sometimes add some fresh oregano to) and cantaloupe, things I’ve yet to find in even on the organic aisle. And at not quite eight months, he covets our grilled asparagus spears to knaw on while teething!

Ease isn’t the only reason why I encourage you to at least try making baby food on at least one occasion. Variety, cost and waste are other great reasons to try this. Consider: $1.40 for a 4-ounce pack of organic baby food (nearly $6 a pound) – or blending a few ounces of a new vegetable from the farmers market. The waste is a factor; few companies still package baby food in glass jars, which are recyclable. Gerber packages its food in #7 plastic – not recyclable at all in many markets. If your little one if eating multiple containers of food each day, that’s a lot of plastic waste.

If you’re still a little wary of making your own baby food, here are some tried and true recipes my kids have enjoyed. These are from Annabel Karmer’s The Healthy Baby Meal Planner.

Biter biscuits
My oldest couldn’t get enough of teething biscuits. Then I realized why. Looking at the ingredient labels, I was shocked about the added fat and sugar – they are the nutritional equivalent of an infant candy bar! Both of my children have loved this homemade version, which uses breads of your choice. Healthier, less waste and definitely cheaper.

Slice bread into three strips. Place on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Going Bananas
1 tsp. butter
Small banana, sliced
Pinch cinnamon
2 tbsp. orange juice

Melt butter in small skillet. Stir in sliced banana. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Sautee for 2 minutes. Pour in orange juice and cook 2 minutes. Mash.