Cutting costs and teeth. Awesome.

So, first can I just say, that teething is an ugly whore.  My normally happy, sweet baby is now a slobbering, snotty, fuss pot.  We have an amber necklace and some natural remedies.  It isn't as bad with those things and I get my normal baby back.  OH and he has learned to sit by himself.  Yeah, we are moving on up.  Developmentally he is on a 9 month old level at 6 months old.  He is a bit of an over achiever.  That means I need to step up the game on baby-proofing our death trap of a house as he will probably start crawling OR walking anytime.  That is an adventure for another day. 

Here is a picture that his Aunt Sarah took of him today after all of our shopping adventures.  We are lucky to have her around :)

Today I decided to continue with the "money saving plans".  We have been meal planning and building a shopping list around that.  So far, we have spent under $100/week for all meals, snacks and extras along with the base parts of meals for the next 3 weeks.  So essentially, we are spending around $40/ week on food when you break down all of the Costco stuff.  Also wine.  Wine is a grocery item that must be budgeted for.  For sanity purposes.  

Anywho, today I found a recipe for a make your own laundry detergent that is based around cloth diapers.  For a $30 investment I now have a TON of detergent that I will only use 1-2 tablespoons per load.  Here is the link: The Eco Friendly Family Cloth Diaper Detergent.

I got the ingredients 

Then proceeded to make my detergent

That is a 24 quart tub.  I am super excited to try this and let you know how I like it.  Yes, it contains Borax which has some controversy around it.  I have done some research, and as long as you double rinse it should be ok.  I will rate it after some use.  

I am really looking forward to the changes we are making in our everyday lives to help cut costs and live a little more responsibly.  We want to raise our kids a certain way, and this will help make that happen. 

On a side note, I am not 12lbs away from goal weight.  I have stopped weighing myself everyday, and cut down to once a week.  I am much happier now that I am not pressuring myself.  It's frankly, just not worth it.  

I am making a lovely Autumn Chicken and Pumpkin soup tonight for dinner that I must go see to now.  It looks very promising.  I spent $11 on the ingredients today so that makes it super awesome.  Here is the recipe for that: Autumn Chicken and Butternut Squash Stew.

  Also, there is a glass of wine calling my name.  Relax time.  

Until next time