How high is your water temperature set?  I am not familiar with the brand of washer you have, but a urine/b.o. smell would tell me that I need a higher temp., either on my machine or possibly at the water heater.

You might also have luck with heated vinegar poured in at final rinse time.

I also second the suggestion for vinegar, but it is hard to use with a front loader.  Minw does not allow for a soak option like my old washer, and it also does not let you open it after a cycle has started.  I, too, have had a hard time with smells since I have made the switch to an energy star front loader.  Does anyone know if you can put vinegar in the compartment reserved for softener?

Try vinegar or baking soda. I do have an HE front loader and I dump it in with the clothes. It does seem to help.

for Jenny’s question - yes, you can put vinegar in the fabric softener compartment.  In fact, sometimes when I’ve let the wet towels sit too long before a wash (as in…a week or two…*ahem!*) I do a sanitize load with soap, then run everything thru again on the “whites” setting, but dump hot vinegar in every compartment.  Since we have hard water, hot vinegar is a must in all of our water-using appliances (coffee maker, dishwasher) to bust up all the mineral build-up.

I have a front loader and I pour vinegar in the bleach compartment. I also have hard water, and use a bit more detergent for smelly loads. Hope that helps!

I use a few squirts of simple green in my hubs’s work clothes. Among other things, it helps keep the dirt from settling back on clothes.

I use cloth diapers. And when the diapers still come out smelling stinky it is often because the detergent didn’t get rinsed out completely and is holding in some of the yucky stuff too.  For my stinky laundry-towels, diapers, clothes used during potty training- I prerinse to get the yuckies out, full hot hot wash and a final rinse to make sure the detergent is all out. You also may not need as much detergent as is recommended. Especially if your clothes already have alot of detergent stuck in them from previous washes.
If you know it’s not too much or too little detergent, vinegar or bleach might help. Also a few squirts of Bac-out or Kids N Pets into the wash would help when really needed. These products have enzymes that “eat” or neutralize organic matter. And for me they equal clean laundry no matter how stinky they were going in.

Is that the same as low-carb? Google recipes that are SCD or GAPS-legal. They are grain-free, sugar-free diets with LOTS of creative recipes. Good luck!

Check out this site http://bethany.preciousinfants.com/categories/Low Carb Recipes.aspx i don’t have experience with this way of eating but i like what bethany has to say about it. I think she links to karenhurd.com, another site i like that i think touches on this.

You can use arrowroot powder to thicken gravy and sauce… I’m pretty sure it is approved for low-glycemic diet or those with diabetes.  Or do a reduction sauce by simply boiling/simmering excess liquid out.

I enjoy just pouring off meat drippings & using that as a gravy.  It’s pretty thin (I don’t use anything to thicken it), but it has super-good flavor!

Christina, you can use garbanzo bean flour to make gravy.  I have been using it since I started a gluten free diet 3 years ago.  It comes out great!

I say keep the minivan for as long as you can. A bigger car may make everyone a bit more comfortable but in MHO it won’t be worth the extra expense of a bigger car. A bigger car means a bigger gas bill, and usually a higher car payment and a higher insurance cost. It’s not worth the extra financial stress. And you don’t need it yet. I had 3 kids in a Nissan Sentra because we coun’t afford a bigger car and many friends had 5-6 kids in a minivan. You may think, as I did, that the kids would behave better in the car if they had more space. But that didn’t happen. I had to teach proper car behavior and find a way to keep them all entertained. I could do that in a smaller car just as well as I could in a bigger car.  The kids can and will learn to get along, entertain and help each other in a smaller car.
You may need a bigger car eventually, so use the next year at least to pay off the mini van, and bank what you would spend in a car payment so you can get the best deal on your bigger car when you really need it.
I hope my experience helps your decision. Take your time and enjoy your car search.

I agree that you should keep your minivan as long as possible. I have seen people with four carseats in their van before. Either they get the Sunshine Radian which are skinny enough to do three in a row, or they sick the big kid in the middle between two carseats and have the other two in the row that only seats two. The Radians are expensive, but are WAY cheaper than buying a new car.

My fifth was born in April and my older 4 were all still in car seats/boosters. It was a tight but we fit…. we even traveled often (4 hr trips one way) this summer and they all did well. My oldest if finally out of the booster (last week) so for me it was worth driving the van fully paid for over purchasing a larger car. Congrats!

I have a question along this same line, so I’m adding it to yours, Kristina!  We’re expecting our third, and recently (before learning our exciting news!) bought a Trailblazer.  Our current two are still in carseats, but we’re trying to decide if we should keep the vehicle we just purchased, or try to trade it in for a minivan.  Why we just didn’t buy one in the first place is beyond me…oh, well.

Chloe - we’re in the exact same position! Two in car seats, one on the way, and we have a Rav4. I’m thinking we’re going to try to squeeze the three kids in one row… Christina mentioned the Sunshine Radian seats…I’m totally looking into that! Thanks, Christina! Are one of your little ones big enough to move to a booster, so maybe they can be in the middle? I’d like to stay with the smallest car possible at this point…less gas, less insurance, lower car payment. It just makes too much financial sense to me to keep the Rav4 if we can squeeze everyone in. Anyone else have experience with 3 kids in a crossover?

I like Skidders. They’re sock tops with rubber soles. Here are some pictures:

http://www.google.com/m/search?site=images&gl=us&client=safari&source=mog&hl=en&aq=1&oq=skidder&aqi=g6-k12d5t0&fkt=22275&fsdt=30456&cqt;=&rst;=&htf;=&his;=&maction;=&q=skidders+shoes

Indoors-only shoes.  Any pair works, but I particularly like the softer shoes—they just seem a little closer to slippers, except (of course) with regular shoe soles.

How about socks with the grippers?

Are you avoiding Robeez because they are expensive?  Target has a great knock-off and they hold up well!  I’ve even handed down a pair.

I can’t find the link now, but I saw somewhere that a mom took puff paint (remember the 80s? :>)) and made designs on the bottoms of little socks to make them non slip.  Not sure how well it works, but it looked cute, easy, and cheap!

try these! there’s also some cute designs. http://www.hannaandersson.com/style.asp?from=SC|34|3|24|56|9||&simg=32535_030