Reusable nappies-Modern Cloth Nappies

Something I could have never imagined entertaining the idea of 6 months ago is Modern Cloth Nappies (MCN'S). For my baby shower my clever brother gave me 2 brand new reusable nappies of the Pea Pod brand. I am a little bit sick of throwing out nappies and buying new ones every single week. One of the lovely ladies in my mothers group has been using MCN'S since her baby was born so I got onto our app (Group Me is a free app you can use on your phone and group chat for free) and picked her brain about them. Her favourite brand is Itti Bitti. Since I had already used the Pea Pods a few times and was happy with them I thought I would mix it up a little. I bought a couple of Itti Bitti 'Tutto's' from their website while they were on sale and I jumped on eBay and started hunting for some new Pea pods.

Basically they work by having an outer 'shell' and an absorbent fold up cloth that either slips in a pocket or clips on, depending on the type of MCN you have. After baby has gone to the bathroom in them you are instructed to 'dry pail' them. I prefer to rinse and soak in plain water. You then wash normally, with half strength detergent, no hotter than 30degrees (I use cold water mostly to save electricity costs). You can also buy Eco friendly laundry detergent and use that at half strength. I have some that I alternate with. Btw-the sun bleaches EVERYTHING!

 It turns out there is actually a massive following for these nappies with lots of pages on Facebook!

Shopping online from your iPhone at 2am requires much discipline, but the aim of the game is to save time in the long run so I started with just two Itii Bitti's

I also purchased a number of nappies of different brands coming from different parts of the globe (I have to admit, some of them did come from China).

Some of my other new nappies, aren't they cute?

The above pink MCN is handmade by an Australian women, it was only $14.97 and is SO SO cute. Have a look at her eBay site here:

Bountiful Bubs

 

After a bit of trial and error with leaking and whatnot I think Husband (him begrudgingly) and I have finally got it down pat. I am finding however, that the inserts dry very slowly so I may have to get a few more just to speed things up.

 

All good MCN users also need a wet bag! They are made from the same waterproof material.

Time eases up-mothers group and seeds planted

In what is hopefully my new fulltime life as a mum, and business manager (Husband and I both have our own business') I have been flatout!
 I started going to a mothers group when baby was first born and we have kept meeting up for the last 5 months.
We meet up about once a week. I LOVE my mothers group. Some people have bad stories about bitchy experiences but our group is fantastic. I know I wouldn't have been able to thrive as well as I have if it wasn't for that group of women that I could call on for advice or just to ease my worries at times throughout the last 5 months.
 Between that, catch ups with my other friends, looking after the business' and our little property I haven't had much time left over for blogging!

 Everything on the manor is coming along nicely. I now have a little bit more time since baby sleeps regularly during the day and when she is awake she's happier to sit and play for a little while.
So my garden beds that have been laying dormant have been churned up and I have planted some seeds. The seedlings need to sprout before it starts getting too cold. We get frost here and no seedlings like frost!

Today I planted:

Zucchini
Mint
Pak Choy
Rocket (I am a bit concerned about the expired use by date on these seeds)

Rain rain go away...Just for a little while

We wish it would stop raining so that we could do something productive!

 

(Even though I can almost hear my water tanks filling up)

 

Doza, the oldest Fur man, ready to go for a run in the rain.

Lavender Araucana comes home and the girls get a new home

Last weekend, after 2 nights of no Araucana we had already said our goodbyes-after all, no one feathered walks through the valley of the shadow of death and lives to tell the tale. Even the fur men (Doza & Diesel) shy away from it. Husband was minding his own business on the perimeter of our yard weeding or something, and lo and behold he spots a certain Lavender Araucana that used to belong to the Manor on our henny girl fat farm. He jumps the fence and recruits a passer by to scoop up the dastardly beast and plopped her back into the pen. The other ladies huddled around eager to hear stories about what went on 'on the other side of the fence'. N.B. In truth, they had actually forgotten who this henny was and thought she was a new intruder to be hen pecked to the bottom of the order.

While Miss Araucana was gone we thought it high time to improve their surroundings. Thanks to Bunnings and the clever Husband we purchased an aviary and adjusted it to suit our hennies.

Doza-foreground- and Diesel-the white dog- checking out the new digs.

Dark Browny inspecting her quarters.

 

 

 

They get a flash new house but they don't get it levelled.

 

 

The bread maker

Mmmmmmmmmm

Nothing smells better than freshly made bread! Wholemeal and enticing (and maybe a little taller than I had expected), this stuff is good! For now I'm using the bread premixes you can get from local supermarkets, just until I can get the hang of it.






Talk soon, I hear bread calling my name...

New bread maker & a missing araucana

Ok so I don't have any sort of willpower or patience for waiting for these things so rather than going through the bidding war on eBay I just went out to our local Target and purchased a brand new Breville Bread Maker. Who has time to wait for these things? Besides, it was only $50. How could I NOT buy it?



Meanwhile 'back on the ranch' we have an escapee. Someone clearly wasn't enjoying the fat farm as much as the other girls and has jumped the literal fence.

Our property backs onto a nature reserve and Miss Araucana was last spotted on the other side of the fence.

Husband spotted her over there, gave chase and then off she went burying herself into the brushes that house all sorts of feral cats, foxes and whatever else finds itself walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Hopefully she survives the night and comes home!

Taking stock

Soooo, I thought I would take stock of what this manor already has and what we need to add to it to help us cut costs. Hmmm spend money to save money?

We have the hennies-all 3 of the ladies lay an egg each day
A mango tree-lorikeets are loving THAT
A mulberry tree-a reliable but only seasonable fruiter
Veggie gardens-empty but ready

Inside we have a yoghurt maker and a mummy who knows how to make yoghurt with milk and a few tablespoons of yoghurt (culture)
Cheese that can be made from yoghurt

And that's about it. I might have to work on that list. I'm watching a bread maker on eBay right now. Would prefer to get a brand new one but think I should save my $. I'm going to the shops today so will try to resist purchasing a new one. Good luck to me!