What a delightful day. It was half price day at Value Village, and I needed to get some vintage pants for myself, some pj's for Little R (as well as a coat - this guy is a lot bigger than last year). It was perfect timing; I just breastfed the Little S to sleep, dressed Little R up and took off. Don't worry: DH was in the basement listening in case the baby should awake.
To my pleasant surprise there were not as many people as I had anticipated at the thrift store, but there were long line-ups for trying on clothes. I hurried to the active pants aisle. Little R excitedly grabbed pants and threw them behind himself in the cart. I had to put more pants back than I actually chose to try. I managed to take six hoping that at least one pair would fit!
The pj's were not so abundant for Little R. After several rounds of browsing, I ended up picking up a white pair of cotton (yes, I know, pesticides galore!) long johns. There wasn't a coat that was a suitable, but we did manage to find a pair of snow pants that did fit.
I somehow managed to find a mirror (that others were also using) and a space to try on the vintage pant candidates over my slacks (you do what you have to do when you have kids). Can you believe it? Three pairs actually fit and looked decent (of course I had to imagine wearing them without my first pair pants on). Hurray! The total came to less than $30.00 divided by two. So, I managed to save almost $15.00 and give old clothes a new purpose. :)
Dinner was almost a flop, I'd say. I was very excited to try a cup of amaranth for the first time... but what would I make with it? Well, as usual I just took out what was available in the refrigerator, looked in the pantry and made combinations that might be tasty as well as balanced (such as always completing proteins by combining legumes and grains). Okay, we ended up with mostly a mushrooms and coconut milk dish. Then the moment of truth: I unlidded the pot of amaranth. It was mush! Oh, dear. What would DH think? (Well, there was still butternut squash and split pea soup in the fridge.) Luckily, it was a hit with Little S. She just gobbled it up, baby spoon after baby spoon. I, on the other hand, decided to make some white rice (yes, there is still more to eat before we go solely whole grain rice).
Next time I think I will make amaranth as a cereal. Because of it's shape and size, I was expecting it to cook up like quinoa. Does anyone know if I can make amaranth fluffy like rice? Or is it supposed to starchy like tapioca?
Our transition from our old life-style into our new life-style is very exciting, but it's not an overnight process. For starters, we've purchased high efficiency washer and EnergyStar qualified dishwasher. We loved them! We use the PC Green 3x laundry detergent (it's made to use with cold water) and the PC Green dishwasher pouches. The former cleans clothes as well as the Tide Natural detergent but is cheaper, smaller jug size and uses unheated water. The pouches also clean dishes as well as the Electasol 3-in-1 (that came with the dishwasher), but my only complaint is that they are hard to squeeze into the detergent compartment of the dishwasher (I really don't want it to break!).
Aside from the detergents, we also use PC Green toilet paper (one square at a time ;)) and PC flushable kitty litter. The last time I bought this toilet paper, DH complained that it wasn't soft; maybe it'll be softer this time. As for the litter, it's been good. DH says that he smells the cat wastes more since switching from the clay (as I'm typing, DH is pointing out that H Cat is dragging grains [made from corn] litter all over) litter, so he does empty it into the toilet every day :). Thank goodness! Another couple of reasons we like this litter more than the clumping clay one is that it's light weight and we don't have use plastic bags to throw out the dumps.
This evening we let Little S see Little R's bedtime routine so to warm her into her new bedtime routine starting in two days time. As I watched DH wash little R up, I couldn't help but show my dismay in how much Colgate Kids he was putting on our toddler's toothbrush. Toothpaste, in general, is toxic (read Ecoholic for more info or type in "toxic toothpaste" in a search engine). So, I really think a little goes a long way. We still have to finish what we have before opting on "natural" toothpaste solutions.
Next time I'll touch upon our food situation.
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