Make your own wetbag! A tutorial (my first!)

I am doing this for a friend because explaining the process with words wasnt working out. I am a bit worried about letting a pattern I created (with ideas from other places) get out. So if you are in the same circles as me please dont sell this specific bag. BUT if you are on etsy, etc, then go for it. ;)

First I have my fabric. You can make it whatever size you want. I wanted mine to be a square so I did a giant rectangle. But keep in mind that the width (the top where the zipper goes) has to be SHORTER than the zipper is long. So if you have a 20 inch zipper then your fabric should be around 17 inches across. I think I have a 15 inch zipper and this fabric is 12.5 inches by 24 inches. I also cut a piece for the strap, it is about 2 inches by 9 inches. You can make this as long or short as you want. I make my bags with longer straps.
First you need to sew the strap. You CAN NOT iron PUL, so you basically have to make the fold with your hands. I try to pin this fabric as little as possible because I dont want to pierce the fabric more than necessary. So here I am holding the fabric with no raw edges showing.
Here is the strap on the machine. It is not necessary that no raw edges are showing as PUL doesnt fray. But it looks better if you have it doubled. Sew from one end to the other.
And then you have your strap.
Next you need to sew your zipper on the edge of the fabric. Always remember FACE TO FACE. So the face of the zipper is facing the face of the PUL. This is not an easy task. PUL is slippery, so dont expect to get it right the first time. YOu may need to try this more than once.
NOTICE I AM USING MY ZIPPER FOOT! Sewing the PUL onto the zipper. FACE TO FACE.
Sew all the way to the end.
Next you need to sew the other end to the zipper. . Ignore the cut fabric, I had to trim that off. And again, sew it face to face.

When you are done it will look like this. Its like a giant tube. You can stick your arm inside of it (I tried to get a picture but my camera wasnt cooperating).
Slide the zipper down to where you want it to be. I usually do it 2 or so inches from the top. Here it is. Next take the strap and side it where you want it. I do it above the zipper.
Pin it in place.
Now sew both sides. So that you are closing the "tube". Sew over the zipper (notice I went back to my walking foot). Be sure you dont sew over the tiny metal piece of the zipper, it will break your needle (trust me I know!).
Its a bit more difficult to sew over the strap but you can do it! Pull out the needle holding it in place right before you get to this spot. If your machine is having issues with the PUL (as in skipping stitches) then you probably need to change out the needles. I wish I could remember which needle is best (a higher number or lower) but I cant..so try out different ones. Maybe a middle size one.
So then you are almost done. Lay the bag down.
Trim off the ragged edges. Just cut the zipper off, make sure the zipper pull is not on the part you cut off! lol.
This is where a serger comes in handy. You would just serge the edges. But since I dont have a serger I do a zig-zag stitch with the foot half on and half on the fabric so that the thread wraps around.
Turn it inside out and you are done!! A beautiful wet-bag!
I had issues with this particular PUL de-laminating. I am hoping that that was just a bad batch and that this will be fine.
If you make one post a pic for me to see!
;)

Laundry...and more laundry!

So, I never expected an extra child to bring SO MUCH DARN LAUNDRY! I have a system, I usually wash about one or two loads a day, then on Thursday I fold and put away our (mike and I) laundry and then on Friday I fold and put away the kids laundry. But this particular Thursday we were putting in the floor so I had to skip this laundry day. So the next week laundry was piled to what seemed like the ceiling. So I had to do laundry on Tuesday and Wednesday. Oh my word there was so much! Below is a picture of ONLY the kids laundry (its folded, each a basket, and ready to be put away)! I was folding so long my eyes started to hurt! Anyways, so goes life.

On the topic of more laundry...I had noticed that my diapers seemed to be leaking. I was changing Sage's pants every time I changed his diaper (oh the laundry!). Anyways, I looked inside and realized that almost all of my diapers were de-laminating (which means that the part that makes it water proof is coming off of the fabric side). I just so happened to complain to the right person and she told me that Fuzzi-bunz now has a life-time warranty!! So I went through this week long process and WA-LA! A complete new stash of diapers! They are the new kind too so the inserts dont stink as much and they dry faster, they also fit much better. I had been using the other fuzzi-bunz for 2.5 years solid..so they really had served their time so I am really grateful!!!
In other news, Sage has 6 teeth and is sleeping much better (although now he is sick and miserable). I on the other hand, cant stop waking at 5:30! The kids dont usually wake until 7:30ish and know that if I get up I can take a shower, get dressed, and chill before they wake. But then Im tired!! But my mind wont let me go back to sleep. But today I slept till 6:30 (woke at 12 bc I think Mike hit me in the facee?? and then 2am with Sage)..so not bad. I dont feel as tired.

Oh, Im also going to organize/help organize MOPS (mothers of pre-schoolers). I LOVE Mops, so if I need to help out to keep it going then so be it! The pastors wife is taking over the children ministry in church and she cant do it anymore. I have a few good ideas..we will see how it goes.

I cooked a meal enough for 10 people this week! We got a ham for christmas so we did that and some other sides, it went off without a hitch! We are doing this thing at church where we meet with a few families of the church at diff. houses each week. We hosted this past week. Fun!

We took away Ness' pacifier, it has been two weeks. The first week we was horrible!! We waited way to long I think. We will do it when Sage is 2 I think. But it is getting better, it had taken him 1 hour to fall asleep and then he would sleep for 1 hour max, but thats all getting better. And hes much happier now that he isnt as sleep deprived.

Ok, gotta go tend to little Sage who is licking my arm getting snot all over me....poor baby...

:)

Mission of the week: Healthy Breakfasts!

Above is not breakfast obviously, its Chinese stir fry. I make the sauce in the vitamix (easy stuff like sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, corn starch) and then just toss it with veggies. Its good!

So this weeks mission is for us all to have healthy breakfasts. I have always done well with dinner and ok with lunch but have fallen short with breakfast. I always had eggs and toast and de-caf. coffee but Ness and Michael had cereal and milk. I was worried most about Michael because he eats breakfast so early and then gets no more nutrition until lunch. Sooo, after talking to a friend I decided to make him 5 broccoli quiches that I could freeze and pull out and then he toss into the toaster oven while he takes a shower. (He wont eat something microwaved). Anyways, if Sage hadnt been sleeping from 7 to 5 am (nurse then go back to bed) the quiches would have been forgotten. So this week when I was up at 5 am I would wake for Mike to wake and then remind him about his quiche. After about 3 days, he remembered on his own (yay!). Anyways, it has been successful! He likes them and I will make another batch for next week.
For Ness I switch between eggs and toast with Oatmeal (with almond butter and "real" chocolate chips..crazy I know). But he always begs for Oatmeal and Cereal. So I switch it up. Here is his on our new divided corelle plates for the boy that doesnt want his food to touch.
This week was my birthday so I made a Chocolate Chocolate cake from scratch for myself. And I am 10 because those are the candles that were already used. ;) We are still enjoying this cake by the way.

So I got THE BEST birthday present this year...New Floor!!!!!! My second best was a gift card to Ann Taylor and a date night out with my ol' husband. Third best is that Sage started MOVING AROUND THE FLOOR! He is army crawling, but moving none-the-less!
Before, this carpet was so nasty, even worse under the carpet..ugh!
After beautiful wood-ness! Its way easier to clean because we moved some furniture out. ANd look how lovely it is!
Here are some random photos for your enjoyment! Ness and Miles talking "bikes".
Daddy playing with Sage.
This boy is so darn handsome!
Look at him!
This is some fish (that mike caught) with kale, with edamame and Israeli couscous (this plate is for Ness).

:)
On other words, our church has a church garden and we are hoping to plant soon! I am excited, the church is literally 3 min. away. I am hoping to be able to feed our family from produce we grow. Fun right?

Food!

So I will now try to post our meals weekly, but these are a few from the past months that were successful. Above is Mike's favorite, its coconut chicken. Its WILDLY delicious! I just take chicken breast, cut it up, and then coat it with coconut (if its not sweetened add a bit of sugar), flour, and Tony's seasoning. Then bake. Make sure you melt some butter in the pan first, that adds to the deliciousness. And this is just some rice stir fried with various vegetables (including kale, my new fav. veggie).
This is a typical meal for Ness. He really likes his food to be "organized", the more "organized" it is the more he will eat. So these foods dont mash together, I think he ate everything on this plate. Its pineapple, grapes, cheese, bananas, and then carrots in almond butter (CHEAP at Sams) and honey.
My typical breakfast. It is a huge pain to make myself a decent breakfast, usually because I have to feed to kids too. And clean the kitchen (from my breakfast and Mikes) and get ready for the day. But when I do eat a nice breakfast I dont get hungry very fast and it def. gives me more energy. This is decaf. coffee with buttered toast (real butter) and fresh eggs.
This is another of Mike's favorites. Its roasted beets and stuffed green peppers. The peppers are just stuffed with dirty rice (ground beef, onions, seasoning, rice). And then topped with home-made bread crumbs.
This meal was actually a plesant surprise. That in the top right corner is Israeli couscous. It was REALLY good (in fact I may make some tonight), and then its just a normal salad with various veggies.

Organization 101

So I love Whole Foods, LOVE em! I dont get to go often by when I do go I spend about 20 min. in the bulk section getting tons of goodies. I usually end up with this:
This drives me insane. I usually forget half the stuff I bought and if I remember getting it I forget where it is (fridge? freezer? cabinet?). SOOOO I did this!
I bought some baby food for Sage on Amazon (subscribe and save REALLY saves!), well it was sort of gross, so I didnt continue the subscription (I make his food) but that meant I had jars! Also my mother-in-law had given us some jars. I have jars from Elderberry Syrup, Jams, Spaghetti Sauce (three organic sauces for $7!) and other various things. So now my cabinet is nice and neat! AND I know where all my stuff is.
Make sure you save your glass jars, they came come in handy for almost everything. Like the other day I made some bone broth for a soup, I made way to much, so I put it in a jar and froze it. I use jars for putting Sage's baby food in the fridge, and for taking it on the go.
Good way to save money!

Another good way..I made us some un-paper towels. It took forever to make (surger would be handy). But now if we make a sandwich we just pull out one of those (they are in a plastic bag dispenser I made).
Fun eh?

Its a new year!

(A bird! I couldnt get either of them to look at me because both were looking for a bird)

So now its 2012 and our minds are FILLED with New Years Resolutions!
Here are a few (just to humor you):
1. Learn Spanish (by Mike, so far he is doing well/Rosetta Stone)
2. Learn to play the guitar (by Mike, also doing well, practices everyday)
3. Stay within our budget, no savings! (its Jan. 15th and not looking good)
4. Get a new floor (in living room, wood, next friday!)
5. Stay within $350 a month on groceries AND eat healthily (yeah...)
6. Buy local as much as possible (started this last year)
7. Be positive
8. Keep the house clean
9. Organize all spaces that are a mess (so far we did the kitchen, laundry, my closet, shed, we have Mikes closet, Sage's closet left)
10. Sage will start sleeping 12 straight hours through the night (he is now down to 1-2 times waking)
11. Take away Ness's pacifier (ugghh)
12. Convert Ness's bed to toddler bed (double uggh)
13. Get Ness potty trained at night (not sure how this will go)
14. Read the bible every night (well it hasnt been a TOTAL bust)
15. Can I stop?

So yeah, we have been busy. Mike got me a Roomba for Christmas that is AWESOME! He cleans up almost every night, I am amazed at how much garbage he picks up, what is even more amazing is that used to be on our floor ALL the time, gross!

This little cute is now 9.5 months old. He is a total sweet heart (and look at that adorable face) but he is a stubborn little lad. And is not an "easy baby" like his big brother was. But, 9 months later, its getting better! He now has four teeth (which caused lots of pain)
This was Ness's first time to attend a friends birthday party. And what a way to start! Jack got a huge bouncy house perfect for energetic toddlers!

Daddy taking the boys "ridin on da boat" (as Ness says).
Look! We match! Momo L. got us matching shirts for Christmas!
Ness playing with his Christmas present from us. He LOVES it!