Meet Baby Jones

UPDATE (5/30): Tried the boiling water method - effective but not very efficient. Ok, we have like Amazonian weeds around here, weeds that are taller than me, so I should’ve known that boiling just a pot of water (and actually expecting that to be enough) was not going to be sufficient to tackle a problem as big as ours. On to the next…
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Since moving into a home with much larger outdoor space, our family has been spending a lot of time outside. Avery especially loves to play outdoors now, and because of that, I’ve been putting off weeding because I did not want to use toxic chemicals that he might come in contact with, but did not know what else to use. We also now use water from a well so we’re more conscientious about what we put in the ground, further turning us off to using store-bought weed killers.

Thankfully, I ran into a website that lists natural weed killers. I’ve not tried any of them because I’ve been too busy to weed, but upon talking to several people, it seems that some of the natural ways listed to kill weeds actually do work! Here are some that I intend to try:

Boiling Water - Supposedly a very effective way to kill weeds, but the website warns that it’ll also kill your good plants, so be careful.
Vinegar - Kills the plant but not the root. Works best on young plants.
Salt - Will kill the plant and make the ground unsuitable for future growths. Perfect for those pesky weeds that’s growing between the flagstone on our patio.
Corn Meal - Doesn’t kill the weeds, rather it stops weed seeds from ever developing. Not selective either, so make sure you put down in area where you don’t plan on planting seeds. Perfect for areas where grown plants are going to be planted.
Newspaper - Lay down newspaper at least 4 sheets thick to essentially suffocate the plants.

I’ll hopefully get to tend to our garden this weekend, and then I’ll post how this list of natural weed killers has worked (or not). Hope this helps!

This is Melvin’s idea actually, but I love it so much that I’m writing about it.

Instead of disposable products such as paper towels or baby wipes, use washcloths instead to clean up baby during feeding. This way, they can be wet and re-wet many times over. Such a great way to reduce household waste

Probably the most valuable advice I have ever been given by anyone is to have weekly family meetings with Melvin. We meet as co-CEOs, not husband and wife, and feelings and all the other emotional garbage are left at the door. When we convene, it is strictly business, and I gotta tell ya, it has made a world of difference.

This includes any soft bedding such as pillows and stuffed animals.

Simply put, they could kill.

This particular plastic container is what Whole Foods uses for their take-out food, but Chinese restaurants use a similar kind for their quart-sized soups.

I keep these containers around for a variety of uses. As you can see, it is the perfect size for warming up an 8 ounce baby bottle. I also use them for:
*Storing grease, leftovers, ribbons, beads
*Watering my indoor plants
*Keeping my drawers organized

Be kind to our earth. Please reuse or recycle.

Avery’s pediatrician recommends that we always have Benadryl handy in case of an allergic reaction. She says that this is especially important in the summer when Avery is outside more and the risk of insect bites are higher.

Places we have Benadryl are: in Avery’s medicine cabinet, both of his diaper bags, both our cars and downstairs in the kitchen. It seems a bit much, but a child having an allergic reaction is a pretty scary sight and one that we hope to never experience.