I'm Back!!

I know I know, I have said a million times that I am going to pick back up on this blog. Well this time I am REALLY REALLY gonna try!!! Now that crafting is huge part of my life, I decided I need to share my adventures with everyone! :) I will also be sharing some home organization and other mommy stuff like that.  Of course there will also be living green topics as well!

It's Official! I am opening a store!

Hey everyone! Long time no talk I know! Life has been very busy!
I constantly have people sending me messages about cloth diapering and all my other "green" tendencies! A lot of the time they are looking to purchase some stuff....so I decided....why not open my own store? So, my newest adventure in life is.....

Green Humbug...Reusable Products for Mama and Baby!
I will be making cloth diapers and covers, mama cloth(cloth menstrual pads), nursing pads, and whatever else I feel like honestly!
I am drafting my own diaper patterns now so hold tight! I will have testers available in the next couple weeks. I will be selling sized diapers because honestly I like them better. I may end up offering a One-Size pattern in the future but probably not overly soon.

Now to get everyone excited...check out my AWESOME new logo. Made by the amazing Chris Teeter at Chris Teeter Design! (If you ever need a graphic go to him! This was the first thing he sent me and it was just too perfect!)

It's perfect, right? I KNOW! I love it!

Ok I have a lot of work to do! Go "like" my page on FB! Green Humbug

Amber Teething Necklaces

Amber teething necklaces are the greatest! Basically you put the necklace on your baby and leave it! The warmth of their skin allows the amber to secrete an acid that is a natural pain reliever. THE BABY DOES NOT CHEW ON THE NECKLACE! These necklaces are basically like a choker..so that baby cannot put it in their mouth. 
Bryson has had one on for probably 6 months or more. I never take it off. It is not long enough to choke on or anything. When he first started cutting teeth it was miserable! He did not handle it very well. Since he has had the necklace he has cut most of the teeth he has now and I don't even notice most of the time. I seriously I go to brush his teeth and find new teeth in his mouth! It's amazing! It really works great for him!
You can use Amber for other things as well....they come in bracelets for arthritis and longer necklaces for adults for migraines and other pains.
So here is why we are discussing this today: I have had a few friends interested in trying these out.  The thing is, they retail for about $18 & up. I am extremely cheap and will not pay that.  I got mine from a co op on a cloth diapering group for a great price! I decided to go ahead and host a co op so my friends can try these amazing things too. If you are interested please comment on this post or send me an email: devynhummer@yahoo.com. As soon as I have an idea of how many people want them I will be able to give prices. I am estimating we can do it for about $10-12 each including postage to me and you. The more we buy the better the deal we get! So tell your friends!

DIY - How To Make Your Own Diaper Sprayer

I came across this video in one of my cloth diapering groups. This shows you how to make your own diaper sprayer so you don't have to buy one at the ridiculous price of $40 or more. The Mama that posted it said her hubby made their sprayer for about $12!!!
If your lost, a diaper sprayer attaches to your toilet making it super easy to clean poopy diapers off. You do not need to spray them off if you EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed...this means baby does not receive ANY baby food, table food, or formula. Breastfed poop is completely water soluble and will rinse away in the wash. Formula and baby food poop will not rinse well in the washer and you will have small clumps of poop lingering around (trust me I know this, I didn't spray a diaper off very well once LOL)
A diaper sprayer makes dealing with poop sooo much easier! I wouldn't live without one. Bryson eats all table food now so his poo is mostly solid and I can just plop it in the toilet but sometimes it won't be so solid and we need to rinse it off...this takes about 10 seconds and is really not that big of a deal!

Vinegar!!

I have been neglecting this blog...yet again! I apologize! I am going to really try hard and work on it more often.... Today I would like to talk about vinegar! I know I discuss it on my Chemical free cleaning page...but since I started this blog I have learned new ways of using it....and want to remind you of another great use!

Toilets: Put about a TBSP of baking soda in your toilet...then pour in about a cup of vinegar. You can use less vinegar if you would like just make sure you pour enough in to get some good foam going! Let it sit for a few and scrub with your toilet brush.....and VOILA! Perfection!!!
Our toilets can get a nasty ring around them pretty quickly and this method takes about 2 seconds to get them pearly white again! I will never use toilet bowl cleaner ever again!

Whiten Whites/Brighten Colors: I already discuss this on the cleaning page but it works so well lets talk about it again! Put some vinegar in your downy ball and throw it in the wash....it works amazingly well!! Since Bryson has started walking...his socks are no longer white! They get pretty dirty and it was bugging me! So I started using vinegar again and they look a lot better!

Diapers: I was having some serious stink issues recently and talked about it with many different cloth diapering mamas! One of them gave me a suggestion and it has worked like a charm...so I thought I would share it with ya'll! Now...I use mostly fitted diapers with a few pockets...they say vinegar can eat at the PUL...I have never had a problem with the pockets I throw in but if you don't want to chance it, I understand. If you are a pocket diaper mama....throw your inserts only in for this soak.
 Fill your washer with hot water on a medium sized load setting. Pour an entire gallon of vinegar into the washer(go to Sam's Club! I have bought so much vinegar from there). Then add about a TBSP of baking soda. Throw all your stinky diapers in...if you would like you can let the washer agitate for a few seconds to mix well. Then pause the machine and let them soak...either overnight or for several hours. I typically throw mine in first thing in the morning and let them soak till the afternoon. Once you are done with your soak...un-pause your machine so it can finish it's cycle. I then wash them normally and add an extra rinse or 2 with hot water.
This method has worked SOOO well! My diapers got some serious buildup when I was visiting my mom and this fixed them right up!! Bryson's skin looks so much better since we have been doing this. I do it about once a month or so. If anyone has any questions about anything natural/green please ask away! Chances are I know the answer or can figure it out for you!

I am gonna do it!

Everyone knows I am a HUGE natural birth believer! Some of you know I started my journey to become a midwife in 2007 but have taken a break.....well break no longer! I have found a route that works perfect for me and plan on finally fulfilling my goal of becoming a midwife! I have pushed this aside for too long and I know I need to get back to it! There are not enough midwives in this country so I am going to do my part and add one more!! I am so excited that I can hardly stand it! Wish me luck!

I'm Back!!

It has been FOREVER since I have done anything with this blog! I am so sorry about that! We had Bryson's first birthday and then we moved up to New York! Hopefully things are settled enough for me to get going with this again!!! UPDATES: There have been some changes to our cloth diapering lives lately. I have recently decided that I like fitteds and covers much better than pockets....so all pockets are gone and we only have fitteds now! Yes they have 1 more step but they hold more pee since the whole diaper can absorb instead of just the insert! As most of you know, we are pregnant again with baby #2! I am 18 weeks and due in March. And of course I already have tons of diapers for the new baby! :) Lots of new stuff going on! I have a few pages to work on so I will get going with that as soon as possible!