Trip to New Orleans

This past week we went to New Orleans. I thought I would share some reviews on our trip.

Amtrak

We took the train from Atlanta to New Orleans. It took about 12 hours to get there. It takes less time to drive there, but we figured with all the stops we would need to take for Coleman and the cost of gas, we would come out pretty even. We reserved a roomette for our trip. It was a little room with two chairs that faced each other. The two chairs became a bed and you could lower another bed from the ceiling. All of our meals were included while we were on the train as well. On the way there, Coleman had trouble sleeping for any length of time. I think the most was an hour or so. This made for a cranky baby. On the way home, we figured out how to lay down the seats, so he took much better and longer naps.

Leaving AtlantaSleeping on the train

Pontchartrain Landing
We rented the cottage at Pontchartrain Landing and shared it with my sister's family. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen/living room. The downside was that Jason, Coleman, and I had to share a room. We brought a queen size air mattress for Coleman to sleep on since we wanted something easy to pack and set up. It worked fairly well, but I don't think any of us slept very well the whole time we were gone. The campground was fairly nice. It had a nice pool and good washers and dryers.

First time swimming

It seemed like most of the time we were there we were eating at different places. Here are some of the places we went:
Tujagues The rehearsal dinner was here. It is located in the French Quarter and is one of the oldest restaurants in NO.
Reginelli's Really yummy pizza.
Central Grocery Tasty muffalettas. They are located in the French Quarter really close to Tujagues. There isn't a whole lot of space to eat, but I think it was worth the wait in line.
Johnny's Po-Boys We shared a shrimp po boy. It was quite tasty.
Gumbo Shop I think this was probably our favorite place. It served Creole food and a really good praline sundae.
Cafe du Monde A trip to NO isn't complete without a trip to Cafe du Monde for beignets. Definitely a place to stop.
Plum Street Snoball This was a short stop for us because it was raining. Apparently snoballs are a pretty big NO treat. This was the place my friend recommended. Snoballs are kind of like sno-cones, but the ice is very fine. We got the almond flavor, but they have a ton of different kinds.

Beignets from Cafe du Monde

Almond Snoball from Plum Street Snoball

Traveling with a baby
We had no idea how this trip would go. We knew that we would get Coleman totally off of his regular schedule and routine. For the most part, he did very well. He definitely didn't get the sleep that he is used to, but with a wedding to attend and everything, we didn't have much choice. We definitely couldn't do a lot of what we would have probably done had we not had Coleman with us. We had to work around nap times and everything. Coleman is really a trooper though and, for the most part, did really well. He likes to see new things and new people and he did a lot of that on this trip. We didn't bring a stroller with us because I don't really like having to push it around places. It just seems more difficult. Most of the time I carried Coleman on my back in our BabyHawk. While it wasn't always the cool option, it was nice to be able to move through crowds and go in places without having a huge stroller to push around. All in all, I think we had a good trip. I don't think we will choose New Orleans again anytime soon, because it wasn't necessarily baby friendly, but I am glad that we got to go for a few days.

To Cloth or Not to Cloth

The other day a friend of ours asked us about our cloth diapers and since the email I sent him had so much information, Jason thought it would be good to post here.

Why do we use cloth?

I don't have any huge environmental reason to use cloth diapers, but my main reason is that I hate buying things to just throw away. That idea is kind of what started me down the path of cloth diapers.

What kind do we use?

Most of our diaper stash is one size FuzziBunz. We really like these because you can adjust the size at the leg and they have many snap options at the waist. They should also last us until Coleman is potty trained. We do have some sized FuzziBunz that we were given that he should be able to use a long time as well. They aren't as bulky as the one size, but they aren't as adjustable as the one size.

Where did we get our diapers?

I bought our most recent diapers here: http://www.cottonbabies.com/. You can usually find a coupon code of some sort for that site. Another good site to go to just to learn more about cloth diapering is here: http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/. Their new to cloth section has a lot of information. You can also do a diaper trial there if you want to take a little time and figure out what kind of diapers you like before totally committing.

A good portion of our stash came from craigslist. You kind of have to stalk craigslist for a while to find what you are looking for, but they are there. I just did a search for FuzziBunz and found some for $10 each. That is about half off the price of new.

Here are some terms I come across during my research:
pocket diapers: these are what we have. They have the diaper part and an insert that soaks up
the liquid. You need that insert to use a pocket diaper
AIO: all in ones. These are probably most like a disposable. They come all in one piece, but
because they are all in one piece they take longer to dry.
Pre-folds: These are like the old fashioned diapers that require a cover. We didn't use any of
these, because I wanted to go with something that was super easy for Jason to
do. They are probably the cheapest route to go though.

Some things I didn't think of until we were cloth diapering:
cloth wipes: for a while we just used regular wipes and that is what the sitter uses, but at home we have a bunch of baby washcloths that we use. We just keep a squirt bottle by the diapers and wet the washcloth and throw it in our diaper pail with the dirty diapers.

detergent: You can't just use any detergent. We use regular powder Tide. There are some all natural soaps out there, but I didn't really want to have to hunt for soap or spend a fortune on it.

What do you do with a used diaper?

When we are home, we have a trash can with a lid that has a cloth laundry bag in it. I probably should have bought a large wet bag that fits into the trash can, but this works for us. If the diaper has any solids in it we scrape them off into the toilet and then put the diaper in the trash can.

If we are out of the house or when Coleman is at the sitter's, we put soiled diapers in a wet bag. It is basically a plastic lined bag with a zipper. I have been known to use grocery bags, but that probably isn't the most environmentally friendly solution. I bought our wet bag at Target for $10 or so. It gets washed with the dirty diapers.

How do we wash our diapers?

We do diaper laundry about twice a week. Once I went back to work it wasn't feasible to do diaper laundry every other day, so we bought some more to add to our stash. I run a rinse cycle on the diapers first. Then I wash them with detergent in a hot/cold cycle. If my washer did it, I would probably do a hot/hot cycle, but it doesn't. I then rinse the diapers again to make sure all of the soap is out in either a cold cycle or a warm cycle. It just depends on whether or not I remember to turn the dial. Once the diapers have finished washing, I hang them up to dry. If it is sunny and warm, I put them outside. That is the best method for removing stains. Otherwise, they hang out in out guest room/office with the fan on.


I think I am going to stop here for now. I just wanted to share a little bit of what I have learned in the short time we have been using cloth. I like that we never run out of diapers or have to make a late night run to Kroger. Coleman rarely gets diaper rash and they are just so cute!

Good Old Betty Crocker

Have I ever mentioned what my favorite cookbook is? My favorite cookbook is this:I have no idea if the original "Big Red Cookbook" is exactly the same, but this edition has to be my favorite. My mother-in-law gave this book to me on my wedding day. I think she wanted to make sure her son was well fed. From the start, this has been my go to book when I need to learn how to make something. When Jason suggested that "we" needed to learn how to make mashed potatoes, I used this book. From it I learned that once you drain the cooked potatoes, you should return them to the pot on the stove to steam off any excess water so that your potatoes are nice and fluffy. This book includes pictures and helpful hits if your food doesn't end up exactly the way it is supposed to. I have cooked many things from this book. If there is ever something seemingly basic (like biscuits or mashed potatoes) that I don't know how to cook, I can be assured that this trusty cookbook will have it in it.

Well, now you know my little secret. I follow directions really well and if you have ever had my chili, the base of it comes from this cookbook. I just tend to add some other stuff in. :)

If you know someone getting married soon, definitely try to pick this one up. Unfortunately, I don't think it is in print anymore, but you can get it on Amazon for less than $10.

Without further ado, a couple recipes that I have made recently. (all from Betty Crocker)

Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBS sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk

1. heat oven to 450 degrees
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening using pastry blender or two knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs (Jason edit: make sure all of the dry ingredients are mixed well before adding the shortening) Stir in milk until dough leaves side of the bowl. (dough will be soft and sticky)
3. place dough on lightly floured surface. (I more than lightly floured mine, because the dough was so sticky, I'm not sure what Jason does) Knead lightly 10 times. Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 2 to 2 1/4 inch round cutter (we use one of our juice glasses). Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart for crusty sides, touching for soft sides.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes (longer if you are using stoneware) or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

*note on making biscuits. This is something I learned this week, because I made these for the first time. Jason usually makes our biscuits. Jason says that you want to roll out the dough to the thickness that you want the biscuits to be. They don't rise a whole lot. This may be something everyone else knows, but I didn't, so I made very thin little biscuits. We used them as the tops and bottoms of our breakfast sandwiches.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I used 1/8 tsp, because my nuts were salted and I didn't want my cookies to be too salty)
1 pkg (6 oz) white baking bars cut into 1/4 to 1/2 in chunks (I used white chocolate chips)
1 jar (3 1/2 oz) macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped (I had a bag of the nuts, so I measured about 4 oz in a measuring cup and then chopped those up. It seemed like enough)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. beat sugars, butter, shortening, vanilla, and egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt (dough will be stiff.) Stir in white chocolate and nuts.
3. drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
4. bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Cool 1 to 2 minutes, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Jason said these tasted like they should be in a bakery or that you could sell them. They really are good.

Kraft Budget Wise dinner

I finally got around to going grocery shopping and getting the stuff I needed for the 1 bag 5 dinners thing at Kraft. You can find it here. I did one of the chicken and beef bags. Since I am home alone tonight, I got to choose what I wanted to make and of course I did not start with Monday's meal. I didn't even do Thursday's because today is Thursday. I made Tuesday's meal of chicken fajitas. Before I talk about that though, I wanted to mention the grocery trip. I had a very short list, and if I hadn't had to buy anything else, my groceries probably would have fit into one bag. I was really proud of myself for this trip, because I had about $50 to spend and I spent $50.02. I saved over $12 with coupons and my Kroger Plus card. All in all it was a good trip.

Now to the chicken fajitas. The recipe called for stir fry veggies. I grabbed a bag from the produce section and I really think that what I had would be better for Asian stir-fry, but I don't like peppers and onions, so it worked for me. As I was cooking, I thought it smelled and looked more like an Aisan meal than a Mexican meal. I still liked it though. I put cheese and sour cream on my tortillas with the chicken and veggies. All in all, it was a decent meal for me. I have no idea what Jason will think about it.

Now I am off to either clean the kitchen or work on my portfolio. Neither one of these options sounds really good to me right now.