Coupon Virgin?

I am a couponer. There ... I admitted it.

And it has been a really good thing for our family. We really don't save a ton on food, because there aren't many coupons for produce or organic food. But it is worth every minute of my time because of all the money we save on personal care products (soap, makeup, deoderant, toothpaste, etc).

If you want to try your hand at saving big dollars, head to RiteAid this week!

See in the top right corner where it says those toothbrushes/toothpaste/mouthwash cost $3? Well, it also says that you get $3 in +UP rewards for every purchase. Translation? Free stuff.

Just sign up for a free +UP card and amaze your family. No coupons required for this trial run.
I usually do multiple transactions, so that I don't end up with a bunch of rewards to a particular store. Buy some toothpaste, then use those rewards for a toothbrush. You walk out with two items, having only spent $3, and you have $3 in rewards to use next week (when there are new awesome deals).

Find out what it it's like to get free stuff! If you have a coupon for those things, even better! Then you MAKE money off the transaction!

Someday I make post more about how I coupon for our household ... but, for now, this is an easy in!

New Job

Guess it's time to update my small blog following on something new in my life ... a job! Well, it's really not all that new anymore ... I accepted the job about 6 weeks ago.

I am working for 12Stone® again, but this time at our Flowery Branch campus. The existing administrative assistant at the campus didn't have the margin in her schedule for all that was being asked of her, so I am taking some stuff off her plate (about 15 hours/week). In other words, I am doing data entry, check requests, corporate card reconciliations, errands, etc. Thrilling? Well, no. Not really.
But I have several reasons to be thankful for this job:

• No matter how menial the task, it is extremely life-giving for me to contribute to the world outside our home. I love being at home with Phoenix and all that entails, but it is good for my spirit to have tasks and accomplishments not related to her. Plus, I get to have adult conversations more often ... thank the Lord!
• I can do most of my work from home ... which means we don't have to put Phoenix in daycare. Translation: I can continue to fight for no TV, lots of quality time, snuggles, healthy food, and all the other things that matter to us at this stage in her development (and working mostly from home means I can go on looking like a hot mess 80% of the time). However, this does mean I have to find around 10 baby-free hours in my week ... which means waking up a couple hours before Phoenix. Maybe when it's all said and done, I will have turned into a morning person.
• It pays money. This may seem like an obvious one, but having this extra income is a game-changer for us. We were pretty much just making it month-to-month, and now we will actually be able to save! This has lifted a lot of financial pressure from our little family, and Josh and I are both breathing much easier.
• I love the people I work with. Obviously, I love being around 12Stone®, but I especially love the Flowery Branch team. Several of them are friends that I see regularly, and everyone that I have more recently met seems awesome! Being on the bottom of the totem pole isn't so bad when you get to serve amazing leaders/ministers.

To check out my HEINOUS staff picture and profile, check out http://12stone.com/staff-member/emily-cash/. And no, I don't have a snaggle tooth ... it just looks like it.

Birth Mother Panel

I would like to begin this post with a public service announcement: I LOVE BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES. That is all. (No, they didn't pay me to say that. I wish ...)

The reason we love Bethany so much? The adoption classes that we're taking are mind-blowingly awesome. When we left on Monday night, Josh and I agreed that everyone should attend theseclasses. I am conscious of how my world view is expanding and deepening, and we are growing in compassion, empathy, passion, excitement, and awareness.

This week the class was a panel of birthmothers ... four women who had made adoption plans and trusted their child with another family. I have never sat in the company of more courageous people in my life. For whatever reason, birthmothers are stereotyped as teenage drug-addicts who give their children up for adoption out of selfish motivation. But, while I'm sure the occasional birthmom fits that bill, these women blew up any of those preconceived notions. Each of them made an adoption plan precisely because of their parental love, knowing that they couldn't provide appropriately for their child (because of lacking finances, maturity, father figure, etc).

Three of the four ladies had their moms sitting beside them, and that was hands-down the coolest part of the experience. Obviously, none of those mothers were thrilled to find out that their daughters were pregnant -- one admitted to feeling angry and ashamed. But each of them had such a profound respect for their daughter's courageous decision to make an adoption plan ... you could hear it in their words and see it in their eyes. One of the girls hid her pregnancy from her mom until 9 days before the birth, because she knew her mom would encourage an abortion. That mother, with tears in her eyes, said "Noah is alive because of my daughter." I pray that Phoenix will surpass me in faithfulness, courage and obedience ... that she will continue to teach me about God like these women inspired their moms (though, admittedly, I hope there is no teenage pregnancy involved).

We also peeked into the window of their grief, and it was overwhelming. As a mother, I can't imagine the immense hurt and healing involved in making an adoption plan. Interestingly, though, our journey with Phoenix gives me an ounce of understanding and empathy that I would otherwise have missed. For example, one of the girls was talking about being in birthing room at the hospital without a baby. I do know what that feels like. I teared up when while she spoke, because I vividly remember laying in my bed (when I first came home from the hospital) and realizing that I left without my baby. She also mentioned being surrounded by other women receiving balloons and congratulations, when she was in the midst of grief. Yup, I've been there too. It was days after Phoenix's birth before anyone said congratulations to us (I don't blame anyone, because it would have been inappropriate to congratulate me on the trauma we were navigating), and it was unbearably hard to see happy mothers and babies. And, let's be honest, I know what it feels like to get pregnant when that's the last thing you want. Like I said, I still can't imagine what it's like to live where these women do -- but I have at least set foot on the property of their pain. Hopefully, the suffering that Josh and I experience will translate into an appropriate compassion for our child's birthmother.

Apparently it is typical for this particular class to be moving ...  our social worker told us to intentionally remember everything we were feeling. Because, at some point, it is easy to see the birthmother as a "threat" of sorts when she wants information/communication.
Pray that God burns this class on our hearts and minds, so that we can be sensitive, confident and excited about whatever level of openness our birthmother desires.
We are both so thankful that God is taking us on this journey, and for the many ways he has already begun to prepare us!

This Week in Meals

We had a pretty successful week in meals here at the Cash household, with one fairly giant exception (don't worry, I will elaborate).

Here are the things that rocked:

• Roasted Salmon with Lentils -- This has been a favorite for a (relatively) long time at our house. This week was Phoenix's first time trying it, and she loved it! Sister ate her body weight in lentils. Easy, delicious meal with pantry staples? Yes please.
• Italian Breaded Pork Chops (and I can't remember what we ate with it) -- Again, super easy and really good. Josh championed this particular dinner effort, and it was great. I don't make pork a regular part of our rotation, but it is nice to mix it up every once and a while.
• Red Curry Chicken with Rice Salad -- The chicken was good, but the rice salad stole the show. Josh ate all the leftovers. At one point he said, "Is it ok if I eat the rest of the salad?" Who knew such a question would ever come from my husband's mouth. I used a little more serrano than the recipe called for, and it was the spicy factor that really won Josh.
• Carrot-Pistachio Pesto with Bulgar and Chickpeas -- Love this. Fresh, light, healthy ... savory with a touch of sweetness from the currants. So good. We also added some chunks of chicken sausage (from the Dekalb farmers market) to make it more Josh friendly.
• Homemade Pizza -- This is a pretty standard meal in our house. Josh is a pizza addict, and it is an easy way for me to use up whatever veggies we have sitting around. This week, I used olive oil and garlic instead of sauce, loads of spinach, mozarella, feta and lots of black pepper. It was glorious. We just make one big pizza and divide it between us, with Josh getting a substantially bigger half.
• Refried Beans and Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas -- I am kind of embarrassed to admit that I LOVE refried beans. I can't be the only one, though, since they are a standard side at Mexican restaurants. This version is so easy, and there is no nasty lard involved. Josh was not involved in this meal ... he ate his leftover pizza. But Phoenix and I ate the beans and the (delicious!) tortiallas with tomatoes and avacado.

The fail?
I made "Spinach, Ricotta and Parmesan Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce" from The Meat Free Monday Cookbook. I spent an inordinate amount of time making this, especially because I started by making the ricotta from scratch. When it was all said and done, the gnocchi fell apart, I was in tears and Josh and I got in a fight. We will never make this again. But the cookbook is really cool ... you should check it out.
Anyone had a successful go at making gnocchi?

We Are Really Doing This!

That's right ... Josh and I submitted our formal application to Bethany Christian a couple weeks ago! Honestly, it is a little surreal. Anyone who has just started to see a long-awaited dream realized probably knows the feeling -- I have wanted this for a long time, so it is strange to see the gap between the vision and our reality slowing starting to close.

I have heard so many horror stories of adoption paperwork, but this wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be. I'm sure we have barely scratched the surface of filling out forms and signing our names, but it feels like a major milestone to be considered an officially adopting couple.

The hardest part of the paperwork? Signing this form:

That's our fee contract. We officially committed to pay the $12,500 in fees ($550 of which we have already paid for applications) without having any idea how we are going to do it. When it's all said and done, our adoption will cost $15,000, which includes legal fees and birthmother medical expenses. That is a big, scary number.
And we believe two seemingly contradictory things:
1. God wants us to adopt.
2. God doesn't want us to incur any more debt.
Seeing that we don't have the $15,000 sitting in our bank account, we signed this form on total faith that God will provide for Cash baby #2 just like He did for Phoenix. We should be over $30,000 in debt from Phoenix's birth/hospital stay, but we are debt free. If God can handle thirty grand, I am sure fifteen ain't no thang.
I recently read "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson, and it was a perfectly timed read for me in light of this leap of faith. Batterson suggests that we should make huge requests of God, and that He is honored in their fulfillment. When our adoption is finalized, it will be undeniably a work of God's provision alone. Josh and I are fighting in prayer for this, and claiming God's promise to us. Please continue to partner with us in prayer!

We have also started the 6 weeks of adoption classes at Bethany. I missed the first class last week (because of a staff retreat), so last night was the first one for me. There was a panel of three couples who had already gone through the adoption process -- it was simultaneously encouraging and terrifying! Encouraging because they were all holding their babies, and each couple said that everything difficult about the process becomes a distant memory once you hold your child for the first time. Terrifying because we more deeply understand the difficulty of the road ahead. Each of the couples had walked away from a potential match, and had their hopes dashed by at least one birthmother. And one of the couples waited three and half years to bring a baby home -- that is a horribly long time.

It's going to be an emotional roller coaster, for sure. Thankfully, we have had a little practice surviving the unknown.

Here are a couple snippets from the blog while Phoenix was in the NICU:

"I was talking with Miles (a friend and mentor to both Josh and I) about the time that he and his family spent battling his wife's cancer. He said that it would have been easy to feel like they were on a roller-coaster, since her progress was always tainted with periods of regress. But they chose instead to let their emotions be defined by the stability of God's presence and kindness -- and this is what Josh and I are choosing to do. We have no faith in diagnoses or predicted take-home dates, but we have all kinds of faith in the God whose timing is perfect."

"There is this very real part of my subconscious that is raining on my baby's homecoming parade ... what if it doesn't happen? Her healing has certainly not gone according to plan, so why get excited about a date if it might just get changed. I allowed this train of thought for a while ... indulged my pessimism by calling it 'realistic.'
Well, screw that. At the end of the day, I would much rather hang my hat on hope. I am not talking about a flighty, faithless kind of hope, but the bold and virtuous breed. I put my hope in God and in his Word, and I know that He has a wild, intricate and boundless love for my girl. And that doesn't change, no matter how long she is in the NICU.
So I am allowing myself to champion hope ... and to let the goofy grin spread across my face"

I can already see so many ways that God is using Phoenix's birth to prepare us for the adoption road ahead. Just another example of His kindness in molding us.

We have an amazing opportunity ahead to operate out of that kindness and His promise, and will keep updating you on the journey!

Cloth Diapering with the Cashs

This post has been a long time coming ... mostly because I have been asked so many questions about CDing, but haven't had the energy/time to thoroughly answer them.
So for all the believers, haters and wonderers .... here is what cloth diapering looks like for us.

Phoenix when we first switched to cloth

Cute little cloth booty (Taken this AM)

Why do you cloth diaper?
1. It is WAY cheaper. Our little family functions on a ministry salary, which means every dollar we save is a victory. Cloth diapers are especially economical for us because we registered for them, so we were gifted most of the diapers at showers. (a resounding "THANK YOU!" to anyone who bought us a diaper ... not a glamorous gift, but we are so grateful!)
2. It is WAY better for the environment. Granted, the extra laundry isn't the greenest thing in the world. But disposables (or, as we call them around here ... "sposies") are pretty much the worst thing you can do for the environment. It's fun to know we are doing our little part for Mother Earth, and we have less trash to haul to the curb each week.
3. It is better for Phoenix. No weird chemicals near her skin ... just soft fleece. She has only had diaper rash maybe 3 times in the past year, and its usually because of an all-night poopy diaper. We use cloth wipes too, so I'm not wiping things I can't pronounce all over my baby's skin. It makes a mama feel good.
4. It is so freakin cute. Ok, so that's not really a motivation ... just a side benefit.

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it?
I would do it again in a heartbeat. For all the reasons listed above, and because it's really not that big of a deal. For whatever reason, people seem to think that it is a huge time commitment - lie. Unless the 10 total minutes it takes to throw stuff in the wash, switch it out, and stuff diapers is time you don't have to spare. And it's not much grosser than sposies. Come on, people ... a dirty diaper is a dirty diaper.

How does Josh feel about cloth diapering?
Admittedly, it was a hard transition from disposables to cloth once Phoenix was big enough. But, when I just asked him if he would make the choice to do cloth again, he said yes. In his words, "Sometimes its grosser, but it's not a game changer. It's really not a big deal." Most of the men I meet are terrified by the idea of CDing ... if your man falls into that category, just have him talk to Josh.

Does Phoenix seem to prefer one way or another?
Because our diapers wick moisture away from her skin, she doesn't feel any wetter than she would with a sposie. So she really doesn't seem to care ... she doesn't fuss any more with cloth or disposables.

What kind of cloth diapers do you use? What would you recommend?
We have 3 Bumgenius and 11 Charlie Banana diapers -- all of them are one-size, snap, pocket diapers. It didn't make a lot of sense to me to buy sized diapers ... that just means more money. One-size diapers are meant to carry your baby from birth to potty training, which means they are really versatile. We chose snaps over Velcro because they hold up better in the long run ... Velcro (or "hook and loop") are a little bit easier to get onto a wiggly baby, but we are going for longevity. And we chose pocket diapers over all-in-ones (which are the most like disposables) because they are SO much easier to launder and you can customize the absorbency. During the day, she only has one insert/soaker in her diaper ... at night, sister has a serious booty with 3 inserts.
We really like both the Bumgenius and the Charlie Bananas, just for different reasons.

Bumgenius on the left, Charlie Banana on the right

Charlie Banana:

Pros -- They have adjustable elastic around the legs, so they are very trim under clothes. The pocket is at the front, which makes removing the insert much easier with a poopy diaper. The diaper itself has  little bit of stretch to it, which makes them fit really well (just like jeans with a little stretch).
Cons -- They aren't as big as the Bumgenius, which means you can't stick as many inserts inside (we almost never use these for nighttime). And Phoenix is almost to the largest setting on the leg elastic, so I am just hoping that they will be big enough to see her through potty training ... although, she does have some seriously chunky legs, which I imagine will thin out at some point.

Bumgenius:

Pros -- These are a workhorse diaper, for sure. We have never had issues with leaking ... they are incredibly absorbent. They adjust solely with snaps, which makes changing sizes a breeze. The pocket opens really wide, which means I can just shake the insert out into the diaper pail. And we have some cute prints.
Cons -- Biggest con? They are bulkier. Which means Phoenix has to be wearing stretchy pant/shorts in order to fit the diaper. And they don't seem quite a comfortable -- the lining isn't as soft, and the snap-sizing results in folding that seems like it would be bothersome.
We also have one "itti bitti tutto" diaper, but we don't like it. At all. Just don't buy one ... they are insanely expensive anyway. We bought it when we were trying to solve some nighttime wetness issues, but it was a massive fail.
When Phoenix was really small, we also used some old school diapers (prefolds with waterproof cover). Freshies poop ALL THE TIME, and our pocket diaper stash couldn't keep up with her. I really didn't mind prefolds at all, though it is a little bit more complicated to get them on and they don't wick moisture. But they are by far the cheapest way to CD, or a great way to pad your stash. We got sized prefolds and covers, so we don't use them anymore because they don't fit. (But, if you are wondering, we LOVED our Thirsties covers).
Whew.
When baby #2 comes closer, I will probably buy a lot of Kawaii diapers. They are a lot cheaper (around $7/diaper as opposed to around $17 for Bumgenius and Charlie Bananas), and I have heard good things about them.

How often do you do diaper laundry?
About every day and a half. When we are down to 4 clean diapers, we start the laundry process. You really don't want to leave dirty diapers sitting around for more than 2 days anyways, so having 12-18 diapers is great for one babe.

What is involved in washing the diapers?
After I take a dirty diaper off Phoenix, I:
1. Dump poop into the toilet (which, by the way, you are supposed to do with disposables too). Now that Phoenix is eating solids, it usually will just fall right off of the diaper. If not, we have a diaper sprayer/bidet attached to our toilet (we have THIS one, but I am sure they are all pretty similar). If your baby is exclusively formula/breast fed, than you can skip this step. Sorry to be graphic, but their liquid poop just dissolves in the laundry.
2. Pull/shake the insert out of the pocket into our diaper pail, and then throw the pocket in too (at this point, the cloth wipe is already in there) We just use a regular trash can and a Planet Wise Pail Liner, which we just throw into the wash with the diapers.
3. When we are down to 4 clean cloth diapers (which is just what works for us), I take the liner out of the trash can, dump the diapers into the washing machine, turn the pail liner inside out and throw it in too. We do a cold rinse, a hot wash, and a cold rinse. I tried to skip the rinses in the early days, but the diapers didn't get as clean and it affected absorbency. I promise, our water bill is totally reasonable!
4. When the washes are done, I put the inserts in the dryer and lay the pockets on a drying rack (preferably outside, if the weather permits). This is why pockets are so much better than AIO's (all-in-ones) ... the waterproofing layer is damaged by the dryer, but inserts take forever to air dry. So if they are stuck together, you are talking about a really long drying time. I also use wool dryer balls, which cut down on drying time for all our laundry, and thus save us more money.
5. Theoretically, I then stuff the dried diapers with clean inserts and bring them upstairs to Phoenix's changing table. Sometimes they never make it upstairs, and we just grab a diaper from the basement when we need one.
See? Not that hard.
Just make SURE to use a clean-rinsing detergent ... most regular soap leaves residue, which will seriously hinder the absorbency of your diapers. We use Charlie's soap powder for all our laundry (which I order from Amazon), and LOVE IT. It's biodegradable, non-toxic, clean-rinsing and good for sensitive skin. And cheap, because a tub lasts forever.

Why do you use cloth wipes? How do you wet them?
We use cloth wipes just because it is easier. Instead of having a separate trash can just for disposable wipes, everything goes straight into the diaper pail. And, as I mentioned earlier, I don't have to worry about what is coming into contact with my baby's skin. You can wet them with just water, but I make a solution of mostly water with a tiny squirt of Burt's Bees baby soap, some olive oil and a few drops of tea tree oil. The soap gets her real clean, the olive oil helps the wipe slide across her skin (and leaves it soft) and the tea tree oil is antibacterial and it smells amazing. After the CD laundry is done, I just wet all the wipes and place them in a regular wipes container.

Other tricks of the trade?
- Make sure to give new diapers a few hot-water washes before using them. I learned the hard way that they are not absorbent until they have been stripped of any oils.
- You can't use regular diaper cream with CDs ... because the oils make them repel wetness (bad thing). Since cloth is so good for baby skin, you might not ever need diaper cream anyways. But the few times Phoenix has has diaper rash, we just use disposables until it clears up.
- Cloth diapering on the go is really easy if you have a wet bag, because you can just wash them with the diapers. THIS Itzy Ritzy one is my favorite that we have, but our Planet Wise ones work well too.
- The sun is magical. When you leave wet diapers or inserts (or any clothing, for that matter) outside to dry, the sun bleaches out stains. This has been invaluable knowledge since Phoenix has started some self-feeding ... I just put her clothes outside to dry, and they end up stain free (unless the stain has been set in the dryer, or it is a grease stain)!

Do you ever use disposibles?
We make life easier on the nursery volunteers at church by putting Phoenix in sposies on Sunday mornings. We also use them when we go out of town (and I am thankful to come home to cloth), and on the occaision that we fall behind on diaper wash. So we probably use around 4 disposables a week.

The fact that this post was so long probably makes cloth diapering seem really complicated. But once you get into a rhythm, it is so easy!

Culinary Adventures

I have been meal planning for a while now ... really, ever since we got serious about our budget. The first several months of marriage, we ate out A LOT and purchased whatever we really wanted from the grocery budget. It is kind of embarrassing to admit that we were somehow spending around $450 a month on groceries while simultaneously eating out for quite a few meals each week.
Now, we are down to $300/month (not including formula ... thank goodness we are almost done with that!), and being intentional about our grocery list is the only thing that makes that happen for us. Especially because I have really started to prioritize organic produce and dairy, hormone-free meat and nothing overly processed. Having a baby and realizing that I will be the one to choose her food and form her eating habits has given me a whole new perspective on what we eat. Especially now that she can eat a lot of our "table" food, I have really overhauled a lot of what is in our pantry.
I finally finished this book at work last night:

There was a lot of interesting history about how Americans relate to and talk about food, and it served as a sort of expose of food science and its shortcomings. In the end, he advocates for "whole foods," providing a set of helpful tips for navigating the modern market. If you want to skip the history and get right to the practical advice, you could read this instead:

And you have to take it all with a grain of salt ... for example, he spends much of the book suggesting that speaking in terms of nutrients and not whole foods is a destructive, while simultaneously suggesting the importance of omega-3s over omega 6s. I know that we can't do everything he suggests -- we have a budget, I have a husband who hates vegetable and I don't have the time to track down food that is all local and organic. But it is definitely worth reading, if for no other reason that to help identify the ways that you have bought into an improper perspective on food.

Sorry for the long tangent.

Back to the meal plan ... I usually only meal plan 7-10 days at a time. The fact that I plan at all is a feat for me, so the ideal of having a monthly plan is overwhelming and stifling to me. I get recipes from cookbooks, magazines, blogs, random internet searches, and Pinterest. And Josh and I both have an aversion to leftovers, so I usually plan 6 meals/week (something usually comes up at least once a week that steals us away from dinner at home). We will either half the recipe, or I will eat the leftovers for lunch (takin' one for the team, people).

I always appreciate when other people share their recipes/strategies, so I figure I would try that as well!

This past week was an epic meal-planning fail in our house, because our blender died. Several of our recipes required its use, so we ate some weird/lame stuff as a result.
But we did have a few big wins:

• Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Dipping Sauce (click HERE for source/recipe) -- neither Josh or I are all that into meatballs, but these sounded good ... and they were! We served them over brown basmati rice, and had quite a few leftovers for lunch the next day.
• Avocado Basil Pasta (click HERE for source/recipe) -- I used some fresh, pretty red pasta from the farmers market and this was AWESOME. Josh told me his mind was blown ... in his words "This looks like something I wouldn't like, but it's actually pretty darn good." And, considering there is very little meat in this recipe, that is quite the compliment from my carnivore.  

• Jerk Chicken and Snow Pea Salad -- Josh loves Jerk, but usually uses a bottled sauce. This recipe came from the "Everyday Food" magazine, and was totally from scratch ... and ridiculously good. The snow pea salad (from the same magazine) is the only form of vegetables that has Josh coming back for seconds. It's just thinly sliced snow peas, Dijon mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and shallot. 

 Other cooking wins this week:

• Lemon cupcakes with blackberry frosting (just randomly searched recipes and didn't save them. Bummer, because they were very tasty)
• Homemade baked potato chips, from this book (which is my new favorite purchase ever):

•  Cinnamon ice cream, with the ice cream maker that my sweet husband got me for my "birthday" (recipe HERE) -- Really rich, and somehow warm (even though it's frozen).

 Hope you enjoy!