Oh-Bla-Di

I know, I know, I know…this post is WAY over due. (28 days overdue for those of you who may have been counting.) Ava and I visited San Antonio just over a month ago so that Ava could spend some quality time with her Grandparents and Great-Grandparents before she grows up and moves off to college. Unfortunately, Sally had to remain in Vegas and go to work, so Ava and I travelled to San Antonio—just the two of us. Ava and I missed having Sally with us on the trip, but the trip was a nice opportunity for Ava and I to get to know each other. The first stop on the trip was of course the “Big House” at Air Force Village II for dinner with Mahgie and Poppie. The following day Mom and Dad hosted a party so the Great-grandchildren could meet each other (and be photographed together.)

The party was good fun and I think that everyone would agree that the fajitas were spectacular!

During our visit to San Antonio, Mahgie and Poppie were gracious hosts to Ava and I for an overnight stay at Air Force Village. Ava and I had a great time playing at the AFV—there’s a pond near Mahgie and Poppie’s bungalow with a walking path. In the morning, we all went for a walk to feed the fish; Ava made sure to remind us of the importance of pausing to smell the flowers along the way.

The heat and humidity kept us all inside most of the week playing either McDonald’s or Fischer-Price Little People. The F-P Little People Farm Ava was playing with was the same farm I played with when I was her age. Of course, there really is no substitute (at home or on the road) for casting a toy aside in favor of its packaging. In the end, I think Ava settled on the VW Beetle car as her favorite San Antonio toy. (I’d have to agree with Ava. If I recall, the VW car was the source of many sibling scuffles between Maureen, Michael, and me.)

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say we’re going green, but we’re making definite strides here in our house to be more eco-friendly. You already know we do cloth diapers and love them, but I’ve felt ready to really step up to new changes in the last few months.

First, we ran out of most of cleaning supplies this week. I have been wanting to switch to homemade household cleaners for a while, but wanted to use up what we had first. Well, that was this week and this weekend I made a whole new set of stuff.

In order to get the house disinfected and smelling good, we’re relying on plain vinegar, essential oils (lavender and tea tree), and a little bit of pure, unscented castile soap. I picked up some cheap spray bottles at Wal-Mart during my Friday grocery shopping and filled them with the following:
-Plain Vinegar
-Half-and-half plain vinegar & water
-Delicate All-purpose cleaner (see #14, but the others are great ideas too!)

The vinegar & water solution is perfect for glass cleaning, the all-purpose cleaner is really all-purpose, and the plain vinegar is for toilets. We’re using the all-purpose cleaner minus the soap plus 1/2 cup vinegar to mop. After a round this weekend, our house smells & looks clean. Plus, I’m on a natural, do-gooder high – as opposed to the chemical high housecleaning usually brings with it.

I will admit that we have one new homemade household cleaner which isn’t quite as environmentally friendly, but is really working wonders. Mix 1 tablespoon liquid fabric softner with a spray bottle full of water and use to dust surfaces. I’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks and it’s been awesome. It’s a way better dust repellant than Pledge and doesn’t make the TV screen streaky. Loving it!

In other green progress, we’ve decided to not use papertowels anymore, opting instead for cloth napkins (which we already had) and rag towels for spills. So far, we’re not missing them.

I’m also currently campaigning for a clothesline. We’ve got a difficult backyard and a budget, so finding a workable solution has been a challenge. I think I’ve found our resource, so thought I might share here. I’d like this one and will likely hang it in the garage, but other great options are here also.

I’ll post an update in a few weeks to let you know how all the changes are going, but I’m excited about this new direction!

…Ava peed in the potty for the first time tonight! Just wanted to be sure that got documented somewhere.

We’re long overdue for an update here in blogland, but I figured Matt ought to write about his and Ava’s trip to Texas. Look for that soon. I was busy here, but didn’t do anything that merited picture-taking.