Diapers

Is there anyone out there who uses/used or knows someone who used/uses cloth diapers. The new cloth diapers of today? Not the ones my mom used with the pins.

I have always thought that redusing, reusing, and recycling waist is the best way for our lives. It might have started out with my packrat tendencies, but it has evolved since I have been living in Germany. The Germans are ahead of the States in their recycling programs. They have much smaller trash cans here and in place of the large trash bin is a large recycling bin. Depending on where you live you might have to separate plastic from paper. They also have a Bio bin where you place biodegradable products like food waste and yard waste. ITS GREAT!

So of course when I got pregnant I started to think about all the diapers the new baby would use in its short little diaper life. Turns out its hundreds. I think an average of 500 diapers per child till they are fully potty trained. GROSS! Eww.. Diapers take more then the life of the child (*hundreds of years) to breakdown. SO they are just sitting there rotting and taking up space in the overfilled landfills. I know recycling seems hard for lots of people but to me its so easy here. You already have the right bins! YOU DONT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING! Glass is another story.. but still. I can't throw it in the trash either.

I have been researching and reading about all the different ones out there. These ones to the left are Kushies brand. They seem to have good reviews. These are an All in One Diaper. Meaning you shouldn't need a cover and a cloth diaper. They have some that are meant to have the cover over top of the coth to prevent wettness from leaking through. This brand also has a cloth diaper that needs a cover too. They also have this VERY cool disposible insert that goes in the diaper and is easily removed when the baby has a dirty diaper. You just pull it up and put it in the toilet and Viola! Mess is gone. They also have washable inserts to soak up more. There are a few other brands out there like these all in ones.

Since they dont have the expandable beads that are found in throw away diapers I am pretty sure they are not going to keep the baby as dry, however its been stated that this also leads to the baby potty training sooner. You have to be on top of changing diapers too and of course it does create some more laundry to do. The cost overtime is less even with the water and detergent cost. So reasons for wanting to use them also come from the cheapo in me too. It is a larger cost upfront but I feel like its better for my baby and the world in the end.




There is another type called GDiapers that has a disposable lining that is more diaper like in its appearance. They have the disposable insert that you place in the diaper before you put it in the child then when you are done you rip it in strips and flush down the toilette. Then you are just left with the shell to wash when it needs it.





Then there are these diapers that don't sit for years and years before they break down. These diapers break down in much less time. I read on a website a woman who even put them in her own backyard! The outer plastic-like layer is made of a compostable/biodegradable corn Bio film. The corn Bio film is composed of cornstarch and biodegradable polyester. The corn used in the diaper is 100% non-genetically modified. The inner tissue is composed of natural tree pulp. It is also Totally Chlorine Free (TCF). Not all Chlorine Free Diapers are biodegradable though, so do your research if you want that. This diaper seems like a good option for people who don't have a washer and dryer in home or like the convenience of the disposable diaper. I have read that many of the cloth diapers don't fit newborns, so I am going to try these out for my infant.

No bake cookies

No bake cookies
1/2C peanut butter

3 tsp cocoa

2 C sugar

1/2 C butter

1/2 C milk

2 C or 3C of oats

1 tsp vanilla

Stir all ingredients except the oats and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook till bubbly. Only a few minutes - keep an eye on it. Take off burner and stir in oats and vanilla. Line pan with wax paper to make drop cookies or line whole pan with foil and make one big pan to cut into bars later. I topped part of mine with dried cranberries and part with chocolate chips and left the last part topless. Let sit overnight then cut.

The recipe I found on my cousin in laws blog had called for 3 cups of oats but I only had 2. This is her blog http://deannasstuff.blogspot.com/ and she posted on July 10th. I looked at a few other recipes too and decided the world would not end without that last cup. I have a feeling they might end up falling apart easier but we will see. So after being in the fridge for an hour they were still too soft. SO I put them in the freezer to cut some of them and then I left them out on the counter overnight and they were so much better. So in the end I suggest leaving them alone overnight before you cut them.

KMC Mall

This is the Hotel side of the Mall

In case you didnt know (Not many people do) There is this GIANT new mall on Ramstein Airbase that is about 10 minutes from me. I would guess the project has been in works for about a few years. It was supposed to be done and open in 2006. Very important high ranking people have been fired because of the poor management on this project. Here are two articles about the mall. http://www.stripes.com
/article.asp?section=104&article=60737
http://www.kaiserslauternamerican.com/article.php?i=10590

Today is the opening day of 1 of the 3 parts that will open next month and the following month. This means that the closest BX (Walmart like store on base) to me will be closing in September. It is less then a mile down the street. I wanted to go this morning but I plan on going after lunch. It should be crazy. I think they will give free stuff away. Who doesnt like free stuff? Some people are very pissed off about this Mall.

People get all freaked out with change and I know its hard to deal with. I am not going to spend my life at the mall but its a cool option. Living in Germany things are closed on Sundays so the current BX is very packed on Sundays. People are worried about the mall being even more crazy since it will be combining the traffic from two base exchanges that will be closing. It's set up like a real live mall. There is a food court with 10 places to eat a theater with 4 screens. Even real stores like Victorias Secret, The Body shop, and Nintendo Store (there are about 50 more if you dont like those). Nothing like I am sure most people in the DFW area are used to, but I am excited about it.

There is also a new MWR that is HUGE its a recreation store that has some indoor climbing walls! Its pretty cool. They also have a Romanos Macaroni grill that Tony and I ate at on Sunday for FREE when they were doing training. I had left overs from that trip for 3 more meals. There is also going to be a Johnny Rockets! I cant wait to get a shake. We saw one in Dubai.. but its was over 13 dollars for one.. I sure hope its less then that.

I am sure you might think I am crazy for being excited for "american" things when I live in Germany. I have been off the base to experience Germany, Europe, and some of Asia since I have been here for more then 2 years. There are some people who never do anything off base and it still shocks me. I think its very cool that the military has things like this and brings them from "home" to the military communities abroad. This is the largest concept mall in the military. It even has some new food stores along with the new stores that will be in the mall. There is also a Hotel conected to the mall too and its all right across the street from the Air Terminal where you can take Space Available. Wahoo.. those hours and hours of sitting there could be so different now! I will try to post pics when I get back.

Fabric Store

My friend Whaley took me to this fabric store that she found here in our town and it was AMAZING. I am sure not many of you care about a fabric store in Germany. However I didn't know a store like this even existed here! They have so much fabric it's awesome. I bought two kinds of fabric to make two projects. One I bought a jersey knit water color looking fabric that I want to make a skirt out of and two I got a blue cream and green stripe that I will use to cover our rocking chair. I took pics that I will post soon. Then I will post the finished projects.

Baby Update

22 Weeks

22 weeks 1 day

Things have been going very well for Roman and me. I feel great still sleeping most of the night not in too much pain anywhere. Notice I have a slight lower back pain that will get worse I am sure. I am feeling him kick a bunch. I love it. Its so great. I like knowing he is there still. My stomach is getting bigger, as Tony likes to point out with a smile. This week is my 23rd week. (Next week -week 24 is my 26th Birthday. YAY I LOVE birthdays)

I learned from my baby emails that he should be able to be startled by outside noises. Like for instance if I were to clap my hands in front of my stomach it should make him jump. Its the same reaction that babies have to loud noises. I tested it out but didn't feel anything. He also had the ability to have the hiccups now too! I think I have felt those. I thought they were repetitive kicks.

The kicks are the weirdest yet coolest part of being pregnant (besides having a baby growing)! I liked the beginning moves I felt where he would turn over, but this is better. He is getting stronger daily but the kicks don't hurt. They are just a slight tap from the inside. I assume they will get harder as he grows and I am sure I wont like it too much when he lodges his foot in my ribs, or keeps me up all night, but for now I like it! I feel him kick most when I am leaning over while sitting on the couch. He seems to be saying I need more room! MOVE! I have some pics to post I just have to get them off my camera.

Pizza!!!!!

I like to cook and more then cook I like to create things that are pretty simple and taste good. Last night I made some pizza from pizza dough in a bag. From the last time I used it I remembered there was more dough then I wanted to make it as thin as I like. On the bag was a recipe for Parmesan Bread sticks so I decided to use half to make the pizza and half the bread sticks.

For Pizza Heat oven to 475F/240C
Need half of pizza dough recipe
Rolling pin
Flour to make rolling out easier
Olive Oil
Crushed Tomatoes from can or pizza sauce
Toppings - Jalapenos, Green Onions, Basil, Ham (for mine)
Cheese - about 2 cups of Mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan

So I halved the dry ingredients and the water I added to it to make the pizza dough. I then used a rolling pin on a floured board to make it as thin as I could. I use aluminum pans because I my oven is so small I don't have a "real" one to fit. (Next time I am going to use a homemade recipe I found online.) So after I had it as thin as I wanted it I transferred it to the pan and I topped with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil then crushed tomatoes instead of pizza sauce I didn't use very much about a half cup to a cup of sauce. I used some green onions, jalapenos (from the jar not fresh), ham lunch meat, fresh basil, and some mozzarella and a little bit of Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven ( 240 C/475 F) for 15 to 20 minutes till the cheese and crust is brown.


Bread sticks same oven temp
Half bread stick recipe from back of pizza dough recipe
Recipe includes Water, Sugar, Italian Seasoning, Parmesan cheese

The Bread was pretty simple too Following the directions on the package I used half the water 1/6 cup of water 1 tbs butter/margarine 1 tbs sugar, I used around 1 tsp of Italian Seasoning, but I added more Parmesan cheese then it called for and mixed and formed into a block and cut 4 instead of 8 bread sticks. Let rise for 10 minutes and top with melted butter and more cheese. It baked while the pizza was cooling for around 10 minutes. I am sure if your oven was bigger you could do it all together just be sure to watch it.

Dubai Day two

Day two in Dubai we went back to another hotel we had gone to the night before that was a maze of shops and restaurants. They had tons of things there including a nice view of the Burj Al Arab (the giant sail hotel aka the worlds only 7 star hotel). Going there I knew you had to have a reservation to see the hotel, however I thought you could make one at the hotel itself. Turns out you have to make it in advance. FYI. So we went to The Atlantis walked around and then went to the water park then on to the Mall of the Emirates. It is also cool like the Dubai Mall. It has indoor ski slopes and other snow sports. A games places with tons of video arcade games and bowling and lots of table games too. Also two food courts and a row of sit down restaurants too! Along with a few hundred shops. It was a long day that ended with a flat tire and we got back to the hotel around midnight only to repack and go to bed to leave the next morning.

A cool bunch of clocks inside the hotel mall

A video I recorded from a tv that shows The Palm. Its pretty cool.

Fish Tank in Atlantis Hotel

Tony in front of the glass. Its him I promise.

The Shark Tank! Tony is inside oh no! This was pretty cool

Their version of the Lazy River. It wasn't so lazy. Lots of waves and waterfalls

The Hotel in the background

Video I took of a boy riding the water slide that has a huge drop. You can hear Tony in the background saying "That kid is so fat" over and over again...

Video of us inside the Shark Tank!!! What a cool ride. You go down a dark spiral tunnel and are shot out into this tank then down into a small pool to exit.

Sunset off the Palm
The Ski Slopes inside the mall
The outfit we bought for Roman at H&M! So cute.
Tony's Man Dress
View of Dubai as we leave.