Lactation Cookies

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For Christmas, we got sick. Hubby, Baby Boy and I all had colds. It was pretty rough. Getting sick while breastfeeding means a lot of asking "can I take this medication?" And even when it's a "yes," it's really "yes, but..." And the "but" is almost always that it decreases milk supply. Considering that I don't pump and therefore don't have extra mom milk in the freezer, I was concerned about keeping my little man well-fed while trying to clean out my sinuses. Despite my best efforts taking meds sparingly and keeping my water consumption up, I noticed that my milk machines were looking less full than before. So I decided to step up my game and see if lactation cookies are all they're cracked up to be.

They are. I made the cookies last night and had one before bed. I had another one with breakfast (not for me, for the baby). Not only are my milk machines back in high production, but these taste just like my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with an added hint of peanut butter. Does it get any better? 

This afternoon I wrote myself a reminder on the bag:

The recipe I used was basically half of this recipe from Simplistically Living, with a few modifications, mostly to simplify the process.

Here's what I used:
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
2 tbsp water
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 splash of vanilla
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp brewer's yeast
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Combine water and flaxseed meal in a small bowl. Mix butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a stand mixer (have I mentioned how much I love my KitchenAid stand mixer?). Add watered flaxseed meal and peanut butter and mix again. Add brewer's yeast, flour, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix again. Add oats and chocolate chips and stir (by hand) to combine. Drop by the spoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until cooked through.

The Simple Truth About Climate Change

I'm tired of people saying that climate change isn't real, or isn't caused by human actions, or is too sciencey for their non-sciencey brains to understand. The truth is that the climate is changing, it's our fault, and the people who say otherwise don't want to admit that their actions are fucking up the only planet we have. It's really not complicated.

Granted, I am a scientist. I have a B.S. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution from one of the top ten public universities in the country and a Masters in Zoology. But you don't need that to understand climate change. Below, you'll see some of the anti-climate change arguments I've heard, and why they're incorrect.

For starters, "I'm not a scientist" is a total cop out. A scientist is someone who knows science. Science is facts supported by observations. Who wouldn't want to be someone who knows things based on their own observations?

"There's no evidence that the climate is changing." Scientists have been tracking the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere since 1958 in what's called the Keeling Curve. The Keeling Curve shows that CO2 levels have gone up every single year since they started tracking it. Why is that important? Because CO2 is a greenhouse gas, which means that it traps heat from the sun in our atmosphere instead of letting it bounce back out into space (like a greenhouse). In other words, CO2 levels going up mean Earth is getting warmer.

"But the climate changes every day." No, it doesn't. The weather changes every day. The climate is the overall pattern of weather over time.

"But it's freezing right now!" This is why scientists have generally stopped referring to what is happening as global warming and started calling it climate change instead. Even though, around the world, the last 15 years have been 15 of the 16 warmest years on record (the 16th year was 1998).

"But there's no evidence that it's our fault." Again, there actually is. Scientists have been able to look at ice from Antarctica that is 800,000 years old and get an idea of climate changes over that time (How amazing is that?). What they found is that we're overdue for an ice age. Except, when the Industrial Revolution started, people started burning a lot of coal, which started releasing a lot of CO2, which started trapping more heat in the atmosphere. 

So there you have it. Observations showing that the climate is changing in ways that are being caused by people. But all hope is not lost! Stay tuned for things we can do about it. 

New Mom, New Mom, What Do You Do?

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Last night, Hubby came home from work. I gave him a kiss and asked him about his day. After giving me the gory details, he asked me, "what do you do all day? I'm not trying to criticize; I genuinely want to know." I believed him. I've told him that being a new mom isn't easy and doesn't leave me with a lot of free time. 

He always asks me if I'm "sleeping when the baby sleeps." At night, yes. During the day, no. Then what am I doing when the baby sleeps? I'm running to the basement to do a load of laundry. I'm running back to check on the baby. I'm running outside to get firewood. I'm running back to check on the baby. I'm running into the kitchen to find something to eat. I'm running back to check on the baby.

And when the baby isn't sleeping? There is no "I." There is only "us." When the baby isn't sleeping, we do baby things. We breastfeed. We read books. We breastfeed. We do tummy time. We breastfeed. We sing songs. We breastfeed. We have baby dance parties. We breastfeed. We go for walks. 

Sometimes we even breastfeed while we're reading or singing or walking around the neighborhood. Yeah, we have mad skills.

And that just about sums up a perfect day as the new mom of an exclusively breastfed baby.

And the baby just pooped himself awake, which means this post has reached its end. Back to doing baby things.

The Great Diaper Debate

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As a new parent, there are so many decisions you have to make, including whether to use cloth or disposable diapers. If you're considering cloth diapers, there are a few things to consider. 

Cloth
The good: less expensive, better for the environment
The bad: endless laundry
The ugly: you have to try to remove the poop before washing

Disposable
The good: more convenient
The bad: endless trash
The ugly: diaper rash

For Baby Love, I've decided to use both cloth and disposable diapers. We didn't start using cloth diapers right away--they didn't fit until he was about 9 pounds. Now, we use cloth diapers when we're at home and disposable for going out and for going to bed (they seem more absorbent, which means fewer overnight diaper changes, which means more sleep for me). And I'd rather be able to throw out dirty diapers in public versus saving them in a wet bag and bringing them home. We do have this wet bag at home, and it's great for keeping diaper smells and messes contained.

Not all cloth diapers are created equal. I have two brands that I like, Charlie Banana, which seem to be the premium brand, and LBB, which is cheaper and doesn't have as nice of fabric but is similar in style. I've also tried Apple Cheeks, which are more expensive and you have to buy in two sizes (the first two I mentioned are one size and adjust with a bunch of snaps). I was given one GroVia diaper, too, that I haven't used because you have to line dry it, and who has time for that nonsense? There are other brands, but I haven't tried them. Are there any that you especially do (or don't) like?

If you want to try cloth diapers but baby poop grosses you out, you can buy disposable liners to keep the poop off of the diaper. I'm not at all bothered by baby poop (I'm not at all bothered by my baby's poop), so I have no idea how well they work. 

The most important thing to remember for all baby decisions is that the only person who can decide what is the right thing for your family... is YOU. And what's right for your family now might not be right next week. And that's okay.

Bonnie's Best Banana Bread

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We've all been there: you see a perfect bunch of bananas at the store, take them home, and overnight they get brown and gross. 

Luckily for all of us, brown bananas make the best banana bread! Over many years and many overripe bananas, I've perfected my recipe so that it's light, hearty, not too sweet, and requires minimal effort and cleanup. Whenever I have a perfect recipe like this, I prefer having an actual recipe card over trying to scroll through my Pinterest account looking for what I want. I've found my perfect recipe box that comes with customizable dividers, recipe cards, and a holder so the cards don't get gross sitting on the kitchen counter while you're baking.

I use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour and add pecans when I have them (or chocolate chips, depending on my mood). And this is my favorite bread pan--it's Pyrex, so you know it's durable, it's the perfect size for so many things (especially when cooking/baking for one or two people), and it has handles for easy oven removal and a snap-on lid for keeping leftovers fresh.

Hold the phone! Want to know how to make this delicious recipe even better? Use creamy peanut butter instead of vegetable oil. The peanut butter not only increases the healthfulness of the bread by adding some protein and lowering the amount of fat, but it also improves the consistency and eliminates some of the crumbles you always get when slicing homemade bread. And it doesn't make it taste like peanut banana bread, for any banana bread purists.

I love having a nice warm slice of banana bread for breakfast with a cup of coffee and my homemade creamer--it's the perfect way to start a crisp fall day!

7 Steps to Planning Your Garden

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The last several days have been a gross combination of rainy, snowy, foggy, and cold. This is the kind of weather you try really hard not to go outside in, or at least I try really hard not to go outside in. Instead, I'm sitting by the fire planning what to do with my garden in the spring to maximize productivity (and minimize effort and cost). By following these steps, I should be more prepared for spring gardening, which will help me be a more efficient gardener.

First, what do I already have? When Hubby and I bought our home, it came with several apple trees, a rosemary shrub, and a bathtub on the driveway. I've used the rosemary for cooking a handful of times, but we have yet to harvest any apples--what the late snows haven't gotten, the blue jays have. Since moving, we've added 8 hop bines, 5 blackberry bushes, 2 pomegranate trees, a nectarine tree, a passionfruit vine, and the smallest fig "tree" you've ever seen. And we filled the bathtub with strawberries. The only fruit we've gotten to enjoy have been a handful of blackberries, several handfuls of strawberries, and one tiny nectarine. They say a plant's harvest should be better each year, right?

Second, how do I improve what I already have? One of the biggest problems for me is having time to water everything. If I set aside time early in the season to re-vamp the old drip watering system that the previous owners left behind, that will help tremendously. I also have to figure out how to keep the critters at bay. Putting up a super cool owl nest box might help with the rodents, and I might have to try some sort of netting around the apple trees to help with the blue jays.

Third, what usable space do I have? We have a pretty big property. But it's in a forest, which means that there are 80 foot tall trees between the sun and a majority of our garden. 

Fourth, what are my garden goals? Do I want to supplement the fruits and veggies I buy at the store? Do I want to produce enough to be able to stop buying fruits and veggies? What about canning? 

Fifth, what have I learned from past experiences? I've tried buying plants bare-root from the internet. The only plant I've ever bought this way that grew at all was hops. I've learned not to get sucked in by the promises of the seed catalogs that show up in the mail. I've also had extensive personal failings with seeds (nasturtiums being the lone exception in this case). Strawberries have been my biggest success so far. I may want to get a journal like this one to keep track of what works and what doesn't work so I don't keep making the same mistakes year after year.

Sixth, what is my budget? This is the hardest part for me, because I pretty much want all the plants. I know that buying bigger, more established plants will result in bigger harvests sooner than buying smaller, bare-root plants from Home Depot. I've decided to save my Swagbucks rewards until springtime, and then use those for my garden budget.

Seventh, how do I prioritize my goals based on what I have, what I know, and what I can reasonably spend? This part may have to wait until the spring thaw comes and planting season arrives. But at least now I have an idea of what plants I plan to purchase and where in my garden I think they'll thrive.

How would you plan your dream garden?

Reading to Babies

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We've all heard that reading out loud to babies and children is good for them. I remember my dad reading to me every night before bed when I was growing up--he'd even take whatever book we were reading with him on business trips and read to me over the phone if he couldn't be there in person. My mom would read to me, too. They had different styles of reading and different tastes in books. Reading was a huge part of my childhood, and I believe reading has had a huge impact on who I am. So, naturally, I wanted to be able to give that same experience to my children. I decided to start right away with Baby Boy. Being that he's just a month old, I figure that it doesn't really matter what I'm reading to him as long as I'm reading him something.

The first thing I read aloud to Baby Boy was this scientific paper. As soon as we finished that, I started reading him one of my favorites:

Harry Potter was something my dad read to me and we both loved. I'm sure this will not be the last time I read it to Baby Boy. 

What are your favorite books for kiddos?

The science of cosleeping

When Hubby and I were getting ready for Baby Boy's arrival, we built the crib in our room so he would be close for night feedings and such. Once we got him home, I realized that even getting out of bed to get the baby to feed him and put him back in the crib after was too much effort to be going through every hour or two all night. I wasn't planning on cosleeping; it just happened. 

Like most moms in the US, I'd heard about how dangerous cosleeping is for babies. But that wasn't enough for me. I wanted to know the science behind this blanket statement that I should never fall asleep with baby. Lucky for me, I found a really interesting paper that summarized current research on just that topic. And what it said wasn't at all what I expected. (The whole article, Mother-Infant Cosleeping, Breastfeeding and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: What Biological Anthropology Has Discovered About Normal Infant Sleep and Pediatric Sleep Medicine by J.J. McKenna, H.L. Ball, and L.T. Gettler (2007) can be found here). If 24 pages from an anthropology journal is more than you'd care to read, here are some highlights:

Our (Western) society has an abnormal reliance on "expert advice" that leads people, in this case parents, to trust the advice of others above their own instincts. Research has shown that the rate of SIDS is much lower in cultures where moms and babies typically breastfeed and cosleep. 

A baby's whole world revolves around mom, specifically her ability to nourish him by providing breastmilk. There is a direct relationship between cosleeping and breastfeeding, specifically cosleeping moms and babies do more breastfeeding.

Separating mom and baby for sleep is more about our cultural desire for babies to become independent than what is best for baby. However, one study showed that children who sleep with their parents are less demanding of their parents' attention (read: more independent) while playing than children who don't.

Studies in other primates have shown that separating babies from their moms leads to all sorts of physical and emotional problems.

"Many researchers believe that arousal deficiency--the inability of an infant to arouse and breathe following an otherwise 'normal' breathing pause or apnea--may play an important role in SIDS." Moms and babies who cosleep are more sensitive to each other waking up and tend to experience less deep sleep, which is the stage of sleep when babies are most likely to have a pause in breathing. Being near mom's breathing may help stimulate baby's breathing and help prevent SIDS.

Even though, like me, most new moms don't plan on cosleeping, 70% of new parents do it at least occasionally. There are lots of reasons for cosleeping: it makes breastfeeding easier, it's enjoyable to spend time close to baby, it's comforting to keep baby close to keep an eye on his health and safety, it's easier to calm baby when he's fussy, etc. What's your favorite reason?

Dear America,

I've been trying to stay out of this and let you make up your own mind. You're a grown-up, after all, and entitled to your own opinions. 

But seriously: what the fuck were you thinking?

If you really wanted to play the rebellious teenager, couldn't you have thought about that during the primaries and made it official with Bernie? 

As one of my friends says, "you're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts." Regardless of your opinions about the other candidate, the fact is that you've just selected someone to lead the free world who has been endorsed by Russia, North Korea, and the KKK. 

Don't get me wrong: I'm not mad. What I am is disappointed. I thought you were better than that--than dictatorships, racism, and hatred. I am disappointed that I will have to teach my son to be better than the nation we live in, because our family is not a dictatorship but I will not have our home filled with racism or hatred. I am disappointed that there are so many people in this great nation who don't see that this is a great nation.

And yet, we will go on. In time, I will teach my son to rise above adversity and to be a good person. But first, I will try to live every day to be the change I wish to see in the world. Which means doing more. Living more, loving more, adventuring more. Trying more new things, and most likely failing more as a result. Keeping my sense of humor. And changing lots of poopy diapers.

Why You Can't Hold My Newborn

People love babies. I get it. But that doesn't mean that everyone gets to hold every baby whenever they want to. 

I've been hearing a lot of this lately: "I need to hold your baby!" 

No, you don't. I need to hold my baby. If you want to invade our bonding time, you'd better be prepared to do something useful. Dishes, laundry, sweeping, cooking, etc. 

To repeat: Just because you know someone who has a baby DOES NOT mean that you are entitled to hold the baby. 

Baby's First Week

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I'm not going to say that I have this whole Mom thing figured out. After all, I've literally been doing it for a week. But I've already found several things that have helped tremendously. 

Nursing bras. I've been wearing ones like these pretty much 24/7. They're super comfy, unfortunately they have zero support. So when your milk machines are engorged, they're all freaking over the place. Not a problem if you're hanging out at home, but I would suggest something more like a sports bra for excursions. 

Nipple cream. I legit have bruised nips. Just because babies don't have teeth, doesn't mean they can't bite you. I have no idea what this stuff is or why it works, but I seriously don't care. It's super awesome. Stock up. 

Prepared food. A few weeks before Baby Boy's arrival, I made some freezer meals. We've already run through most of the fully cooked stuff, but we also have a bunch of stuff that's halfway prepped. At this point, the less effort I have to use to feed myself, the better. 

Newborn diapers. Even if you want to use cloth diapers (we do), they have a minimum weight suggestion of 8 pounds, so it's going to take awhile for most babies to grow into them. They're cheaper online and you will use LOTS of them unless you want baby stewing in his own pee. 

Receiving blankets. So far, Baby Boy has only worn clothes twice. Once coming home from the hospital and once when we went to his first doctor's appointment. Otherwise, he's swaddled in a receiving blanket (we definitely didn't steal any from the hospital... maybe) and enjoying lots of skin to skin time. The ones from Carter's aren't the cheapest, but they're very soft flannel and bigger than some other brands.

Helpful hubby. Hubby has been great. He's been taking initiative on things like laundry, cooking (microwaving totally counts, at least right now), doing dishes, and reminding me to sleep when the baby sleeps. He's also good at diaper changes and other baby stuff. Even though he can't directly help with breastfeeding, he brings snacks and water while Baby Boy and I are having boobie time. If Hubby isn't available, try to find someone who loves you, doesn't add any stress to your life, and cleans--key here is that you have to be comfortable with them seeing you topless. Baby's first week is pretty much all about boobies (if you're breastfeeding). 

Patience. You're not going to instinctively know everything about your baby right away. There will be times when your baby seems to be crying for no reason. Make sure his needs are being met (clean diaper, not too hot, not too cold, not hungry), then try rocking, walking, swaying, singing, dancing, etc. You'll get through it. 

Birth Story

This may take me a while to type because I'm using my left hand and holding a sleeping baby with my right. My sleeping baby. Before I tell you how we got here, I want to mention that I wholeheartedly believe in having several versions of your birth story ready to go. The same level of detail is not agreeable to everyone you've ever met. 

1: The short and sweet version.  This is the version you tell the mailman, the UPS guy (the good one, not the one who couldn't find your house), and other acquaintances. 

Shortly after getting in bed on Wednesday night, I started having contractions. Hubby and I drove to the hospital and 16 hours later, the doctor put our new Baby Boy on my chest. 

Actually, there's probably an even shorter version that would work for casual acquaintances: finally had the baby! He's healthy, I'm healthy, and we're all figuring this out!

2: The touchy-feely version. If your friends haven't asked for intimate details about your cervix, DO NOT tell them. They don't want to know. In my case, this was actually a fairly small number of people. I guess I'm lucky the UPS guy didn't mention it. 

After several weeks of me being ready (especially once our due date came and went without Baby Boy), I finally went into labor on Wednesday night. Hubby drove me to the hospital in the middle of the night, which was great because a) no traffic and b) a fox crossed the road in front of us, and we'd agreed early on that we wanted a fox-themed nursery, so that was neat. Maybe we should do a Yeti theme if we decide to go for baby #2... Anyhoo, back to the story. After awhile in the hospital without much progress, I decided I was ready to stop being in pain. I was shaking from adrenaline and trying not to cry by the time the cute anasthesiologist got the epidural set up and my left leg turned into pudding from the drugs. Once I was able to calm down, we waited for awhile. When the nurse came in to check on me in the afternoon, she said "push" and I started trying to push even though I couldn't feel a damn thing. I'm glad I got the epidural even though it wasn't part of my birth plan, because it allowed me to relax enough to stop (inadvertently) fighting what my body was trying to do. Once I pushed out Baby Boy and Hubby cut the cord (which was the main thing on his birth plan, along with raiding the hospital's hubby snack area), someone put the little boy on my chest and said "here's your baby" and I said "holy shit."

3: The juicy version. This one you share with your closest family, friends, and anyone who works in the medical field. Medical peeps love hearing all the gory details. (Warning: gory details ahead. Read at your own peril.)

Hubby and I got in bed Wednesday night, and I had my first contraction at 10:41. We left for the hospital at midnight, when they were 9 minutes apart and we were sure it was baby time. By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions were 5 minutes apart and my cervix was 4cm dilated. The doc came in and broke my water to help move things along. I alternated between laboring on a birth ball in the shower (which felt awesome except for the terrible water pressure... highly recommend) and in various positions on the bed. Hubby slept for a couple hours. By the time the nursing staff switched out for the day crew, I was still only at 6cm and ready for drugs. I wanted to avoid an epidural, based on what I'd read about its effect on labor and recovery times, but whatever they pushed through my IV was bad. It made me dizzy and loopy and didn't touch the pain. So that sucked. And once it wore off, I said yes to the terrifying epidural (have I mentioned I don't do well with needles?). Then we waited. Not being able to feel much of anything, I took a nap, which helped a lot. At 3:30, the nurse decided it was time to check my hooha again. She poked around and called to Hubby: "do you want to see the head?" Then she told me to push once, for shits and giggles. Then we waited for the doc to finish another delivery. When she finally showed up, we did several more rounds of pushing until I somehow pushed out a baby at 4:07 Thursday afternoon. And I didn't feel a damn thing. Hubby cut the cord, just like he'd wanted to. Then the baby nurses sucked a bunch of goo out of baby's lungs. Then someone put him on my chest and said "here's your baby" and I said "holy shit." 

Feeling Ready For Baby

Today, we had our 38 week prenatal appointment. Even though, based on our ultrasound yesterday, we're way closer to 39 weeks than 38. Either way, little man could make his appearance any day now. And I'm ready. I don't mean I'm ready because our hospital bag is packed (it is) or because the car seat is installed (it is), or even because I'm so excited to meet this tiny person who's going to depend on hubby and me for the next 18+ years (I am). 

At this exact moment, I'm ready to be able to say that my body is MINE again. At least partially. I'm ready to stop having acid reflux 24/7. I'm ready to stop getting kicked in the ribs at all hours. I'm ready to eat whatever I want. I'm ready to walk like a normal person instead of a duck. I'm ready to wear whatever shoes I want to, not whatever shoes don't require my hands to come into contact with my feet. I'm ready to not be congested and uncomfortable all the time. I'm ready to feel like me.

What part of returning to non-pregnancy were (or are) you most ready for?

Apple Crumble

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What do you have for dinner when you're home alone, pregnant, and the fridge is almost empty? Apple crumble sounded good, so that's what I made. It was quick and easy and made me feel a little bit better about watching this evening's debate. 

Who wouldn't want a nice big bowl of this for dinner? Or dessert, if you want to go all traditional. 

I started with a recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch and tweaked it and it was delicious. Here's how:

First, make the crumble. You can mix together the butter, flour, oats, cinnamon, sugar, and baking powder with a fork or a pastry cutter. Or you can do what I did and use your fingers, which is either way more fun or a way to justify not having a super cool pastry cutter like this one that I kind of totally want. 

Then, slice the apples and put them in a greased loaf pan. This would also be a good time to start preheating the oven. 

Next, mix up the sauce for the apples. I used the same coffee mug for melting the butter and making the sauce. Because I hate doing extra dishes. 

Pour sauce over apples, stir to combine. Then pour the crumble over the top of that and toss it in the oven for 25 minutes, or longer if you like soggier apples. And you get this beauty:

It's crisp, crumbly, and makes about 2 dinner-sized portions. Or more if you're going for dessert-sized portions. 

Ingredients

Crumble:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp butter, softened

Apple goodness:

3 medium apples (I used granny smith)

1 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp flour

1 1/2 tbsp water

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Mix together all crumble ingredients. Set aside.

Thinly slice apples into loaf pan. 

Mix together all other ingredients for apple goodness. Pour over apples and stir.

Pour crumble over apples and bake at 375◦ for 25 minutes.

Enjoy with vanilla ice cream, if available.

Make Money on a Rainy Day

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It's raining! For the first time in months, it's raining! It's been raining all day today, and it's supposed to continue raining through the night into tomorrow. So far we've gotten over an inch of rain at our house! I love being able to keep track using my rain gauge, which seems so much more accurate than what you see on the news. When you live in the woods, what do you do on a rainy day? You can't cut firewood, or stain the floors, or work on cars (unless you have a garage, you lucky duck). 

You can, however, make a little extra cash without ever leaving home. Keep in mind, you aren't going to get rich doing any of these things, but if you're going to be on the couch all day, why not get paid for it? Here are some of my favorite easy ways to earn money from home:

Are you crafty? Set up a shop on Etsy. If you like to make things (and are reasonably good at it), chances are there is someone out there who will want to buy it. Plus, if you set up a shop by using this link, Etsy will give you 40 free listings; they're usually $0.20 each, so that's like saving $8.00 while also helping you make more money by selling stuff.

Take surveys online. There are several survey sites I've used successfully. I use SurveySavvy on my laptop and Surveys on the Go on my iPhone. Each of these sites offers a few surveys a week, typically paying $1-$3 each. It's not much, but it might be enough to cover a Starbucks habit.  

Swagbucks. I know you've probably heard this one before, but just in case: Swagbucks will pay you $3 just for signing up, and then continue paying you for farting around online through their site, doing things like searching the web, watching videos, and taking more surveys. And here's a trick to getting more bang for your (Swag) buck: 1 swagbuck equals 1 cent. Except that they offer a "deal" on your first $25 gift card every month, which you can get for 2200 swagbucks. So in the 3 months since I've started using Swagbucks, I've earned 6600 swagbucks and gotten $75 in Home Depot gift cards. Not too bad for someone who has traded their Starbucks habit for a Home Depot/home

improvement habit. If that's not your thing, they have a bunch of other gift cards, too. 

Scan your receipts. The key to rebate apps like Ibotta is the same as using coupons while you're shopping: it only works if you don't buy extra stuff just because you have a coupon for it. I started using Ibotta around the beginning of the year and have earned over $60 in rebates. If you sign up using this link, Ibotta will give you a $10 bonus when you redeem your first rebate. For some rebates, you need to buy a specific item (sometimes I'll use Ibotta to decide which beer to buy for hubby), but they also have "any brand" rebates for things like fresh fruits and veggies.

Sell your old books. There are so many websites that buy used books, it can be hard to know which one will give you the best price. Which is why I use Bookscouter. They show you which sites will give you the best prices for your books--and they don't just do textbooks. You can also sell stuff on eBay, of course, although I've had mixed results with them. If you've discovered the secret to successfully selling on eBay, I'd love to hear it.

Now, here's my favorite way to earn money with very little effort. It's called OhmConnect, and it's currently only available in California. You connect your  Ohm account with your electricity bill and they literally pay you for not using electricity. During what they determine are peak usage times, they send out a text or email and, if you use less electricity than they think you will, they give you money. If you don't want to save electricity at that time, you can decline to participate. You also save on your electricity bill if you use less electricity (of course). Through this month, if you're a SoCal Edison account holder, they will give you $40 just for signing up and participating in your first "Ohm Hour." How awesome is that? If you have another electricity company in California, you get $20, which is still pretty nice. You can sign up for OhmConnect here. I earned $3 because there was an Ohm Hour while I was on vacation. It's quite possibly the easiest way out there to pay for that Starbucks/Home Depot habit.

Saturday Night Mystery

For this evening's adventure, hubby and I saw a bat flying around our living room while we were watching tv. Then the kitties saw the bat. One kitty caught it (fortunate, as it wasn't flying out the doors we'd opened for that purpose, and unfortunate, as bats are very good neighbors and I hate seeing bad things happen to them). Another kitty stole it from the first one. I stole it from the kitties (wrapped in a washcloth; never touch wild animals) and took it outside. I was debating whether it was alive enough to warrant calling a rescue, when hubby decided to poke it with a stick (such a boy thing to do) and it flew away into the darkness. The question is, how did the bat get inside the house?

The Strawberry Experiment, part 2

Hello, friends!

If you read the previous installment of The Strawberry Experiment,  you may remember that phase one (rooting runners while attached to mama plant) was supposed to last 2-4 weeks. Being somewhat impatient, I decided to see if we're ready to move on to phase 2. The results were mixed. Some of the baby plants could hold onto their tiny lots while being picked up. 

Some overachievers already had roots popping out the bottom. 

And some had gotten dislodged and hadn't rooted at all. Yet. Those slackers I stuck back in the soil with a little encouragement to do better next time. Of my 12 baby strawberries that I started with, 7 were ready to go and 5 needed more time. The ones that seemed ready got snipped and carted off to a different part of the yard for replanting and a thorough watering. 

They might not look like much now, but this is just the beginning of phase 2: plant them and see if they keep growing despite the wildlife. Stay tuned for the result of phase 2 in (hopefully) a couple months!

Thanks, baby!

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One of the things I was so excited about getting yesterday was the baby thank you cards I ordered. You know how Amazon has everything? They even have thank you cards themed to coordinate with your baby shower! How cute are these woodland critter cards to go with our woodland critter nursery theme? 

I'm trying to stay on top of my to-do list, so I decided to get as much as possible done before our baby shower this weekend (6 more weeks until baby's due, so I'm freaking out a little (lot) about not getting all of our baby essentials already). I wrote the return addresses on the envelopes, folded all the cards, and finished the first few thank you's for baby gifts that have already trickled in. And they're ready to go now that I picked up some cute "Celebrate!" stamps from the post office, for which hubby laughed at me: "what's wrong with the stamps we already have?" 

"They didn't match. Duh." What's the point of having a theme if you're not going to use it? Silly hubby. 

ATV

Having an ATV is great, especially when you live on a dirt road and the UPS guy can't find your house. That's right, folks: 

Today, I chased down the UPS guy on my ATV. 

It was a (thankfully, temporary) guy who had marked our packages down as "undeliverable" since Tuesday because he couldn't find our house. Even though he literally drove past our house on Tuesday and not since, because he thought he was going the wrong way. Even though we have a number in front of our house. Anyway, the dog, my ATV, and I fixed the problem, so we're good now. 

And it is MY ATV. My hubby got it for me for Valentine's Day last year. And the next day while I was at work, he rolled it over on himself. He still has the scars. 

How ridiculous did I look 7 1/2 months pregnant, being chased by the dog, riding an ATV up to the UPS guy? I can only imagine. 

Nesting

If "nesting" is NEEDING to sweep every leaf and speck of dust off the stairs in your yard (which is about 3 normal flights of stairs because you live on the side of a mountain and which haven't been swept once all year) to the point where you feel the urge to tell your hubby that your yard may soon resemble your crazy neighbor's yard (which is 100% bare dirt because she throws every leaf that falls inside her fence straight in the trash), then I've started nesting. These could be a very long, very OCD next 7 weeks. 

The Strawberry Experiment

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a little money if you make a purchase using these links.

Our house came with so many interesting things. There were all the paint colors (I really do mean ALL, and 50+ cans of paint, mostly from the '90s), and the flower pots buried in the yard, and this, and the bathtub at the end of the driveway.

What would any sane person do with a bathtub in their driveway? I planted strawberries in it, of course. And watered them, and harvested a few little berries here and there, and that was about it for 2 whole years. I've finally paid them enough attention to realize that our five little strawberry plants from Home Depot (Bonnie Plants brand, of course) have more or less outgrown their bathtub. 

Right? 

I'm pretty impressed, actually. I shouldn't be, because strawberries are perennials and like chilly winters (have I mentioned it snows here?). And the other cool thing about strawberries is how they reproduce. A strawberry plant will send runners out that are clones of itself, like this: 

Now, ideally, the runner would root into some nearby dirt and not just hang sadly (and, yes, spiderwebby) down the side of a bathtub. It should start to grow roots and become independent if there's dirt to put roots in. Since I would rather move my strawberry babies to other parts of the yard than let them grow down the bathtub, I decided to see if they're willing to grow in pots. After all, some of them already have roots. They want to grow so much. I'm really just giving them what they want. 

I happen to have some little compostable pots that were 20 for 99 cents at (where else?) the 99 Cent Store. Or you could get these from Amazon (they're basically the same). Throw in a little soil, position the strawberry runner in the middle, secure in place with a railroad staple from the toolshed (why do we have railroad staples?), and water.  Now, in theory, these little guys should root in 2-4 weeks and be ready to be separated from their mama plant (see how I left the "runner" stem attached?). 

The reason I'm calling this an experiment is because I've never done it before. I have no idea if it will work, or, if it does work, if the baby plants will survive replanting in another part of the yard, or if they'll be sturdy enough to survive the winter. But I'm totally willing to give it a try (one of the benefits of strawberry runners is that they're free). And I'll gladly keep you posted on how they're doing. In the meantime, see if you can find all 12 baby strawberry pots in the bathtub: 

Click here if you're ready for what happens next!

Sappy Anniversary Post

It's crazy to think that exactly three years ago, my hubby and I were walking down the aisle. That was actually supposed to be the end goal of this blog. 

A quick recap of the last three years:

We've both left longtime jobs. 

We've both gotten more educated. 

We've been on three international trips. 

We've moved from a condo by the beach to a kick-ass cabin in the woods (and they're only 50 miles apart). 

We've been happy together and sad together. 

We've made each other laugh too many times to count. 

And we're less than two months away from becoming parents together. 

That's a lot of adventuring and a lot of awesome for not a lot of time. Now, let's raise a glass of something nonalcoholic to many more years of adventures to come!

Bump Books

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People who know me probably know I enjoy reading. So, of course, when I found out I was growing a human inside me, I decided to read up on this new (to me) subject. 

The first bump book I got was one that was recommended by someone I was in a class with, while she was pregnant, and I was not. It was The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. I was underwhelmed. The book didn't have all the factual info I was hoping for, and it felt like it was trying too hard to be cute. For example, every time the author talked about how you're pregnant for nine months, she put (ten) after. Exactly like that. Every time. Which might have been cute or funny the first time, but it's not even accurate. 40 weeks does not equal 10 months... it equals 9 months and 1 week. And you're not even pregnant when the doctor starts counting; it's 40 weeks from the start of your last period, and for the most part you're not fertile until about 2 weeks after that. Sorry if that's too graphic or too technical for anyone, but I really needed to get it off my chest. Speaking of which, the other ongoing theme that annoyed me throughout this book was the references to the "titty fairy" and how small-breasted women were always so excited to have their boobs grow during pregnancy. I miss having small boobs. A lot. When I went shopping for new bras and the saleswoman wanted me to try on a DDD cup, I literally started crying. Which was probably partly due to my raging preggo hormones, but still. Stop trying to tell me I should be excited about needing to wear a bra 24/7 or risk permanently damaging myself.

I wish I had gotten the second book first. I actually started reading Expecting Better before I finished reading The Girlfriends Guide, and finished it first. Expecting Better is the pregnancy book I would have written if a) I hadn't finished grad school recently enough that the thought of reading another research paper makes me want to puke, b) I hadn't finished grad school long enough ago that my access to the university library has been revoked, and c) a brilliant author named Emily Oster hadn't written it already. This book cites actual research that's been done by actual researchers on the various things you're told to do (or mostly not do) while pregnant. And then... she doesn't tell you what to do. Oster assumes that pregnant women are real people with brains and can make their own decisions when given actual information and data instead of just rules. It's a freaking miracle, and I would recommend this book not only to anyone who is pregnant, but to anyone who has ever thought about whether or not growing a human is something they might be interested in. 

Are there any other pregnancy books you would recommend? Or baby books, since I should probably start reading up on what to do when you have a small human in front of you and not just inside you?