Little by little...Step by step

I recently bought a book from Green Smoothie Girl called 12 steps to eating whole foods.  I have wanted it ever since I went to that first class.  I have been waiting for it to go on sale or a special or something.  It never did so for my Christmas present to myself I bought it... a little early.   I should have waited because its on clearance now.  Goes to show patience is waiting longer than I thought.  Oh well it was still worth it to me, but I would have liked to pay half.   I have learned so much from this book.  There are 12 different steps to teach you how to have better eating habits and yummy recipes.  I was already doing the 1 quart of green smoothie a day so I had that step down.   The next step is making salads your main dish.  There were a lot of different recipes for new salads to mix things up so your not always eating the same green salad.  I have loved learning new things to put in salads and eating new foods.  I have tried things that I have always said I didn't like and come to find out its not so bad after all.   One of those is zucchini.  I sauteed it in coconut oil with some sweet potatoes and it was delicious.

I always thought eating healthy would be a lot more expensive but its really not because veggies really aren't more expensive than buying processed food.  There are so many veggies and fruits to eat, and so many ways you can eat the same ones.  I cant' wait to grow my garden this next year and grow enough to overload my freezer.  That is my goal to have it full of garden produce instead of processed foods.  I do have to go to the store more often to get the fresh produce.  I also participate in a co-op every other week that gets me quite a bit of fruits and veggies for a deal.  I always end up getting stuff that I wouldn't normally buy, that helps me to try new things.

Cooking has never been my strong point.  I am getting better at getting dinners ready and making them healthy but there are some days that are just hard and then my husband is home before I know it and I have nothing prepared.  Its those days that I just think ok as long as its a little healthier than it used to be we are doing good.   Little by little I will make it.

That is what I love about this book is that it is set up to take you 12 months.  One step each month and if you catch onto one quick or you are already doing one or partially doing one, then you can skip ahead.  Some months will take me longer and some months will be faster.   I am just trying to do a little more each day to be a little healthier.

Shower? Oh ya I would like one of those.....

Some daily tasks really become quite a challenge when you have small children.  One of those being taking a shower. My kids are 4, 3 and 10 months old, so they are all small and home all day with me, except for the 2 hours my daughter is at preschool.  Generally they are pretty good to play and let me take a quick shower, but most times I am hurrying so too much wont be destroyed before I get out.... or I just don't get to shower.

 Today I got the kids some breakfast and hurried and jumped in the shower. I figured I had about 5 min before someone would come in wanting something.   I was right.  I had two kids in the bathroom saying they needed something.  I would have had a third as well but he was strapped in his high chair.   Normally I wait until nap time to jump in the shower.  Then usually at least two of the three are napping.  This just doesn't pertain to showering but eating a meal, being able to go to the bathroom by yourself, or reading a book.   It really makes me laugh when I'm not in the moment.... and sometimes even in the moment depending on the day.  I thought this summed it up nicely.

  I would never change my life and how it has played out.  I love my kids and how close together they are.  They play so well  together most of the time and they say the cutest things sometimes.  My daughter will randomly come up to me and say "I love you mom"  and that melts my heart.  Being a mother does change your life and its for the better. Even if you don't get a shower.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions

I can't believe it's Christmas tomorrow.  The years are going by faster and faster.  It is so much fun with kids in the house to celebrate this fun holiday.  They get so excited about everything.   We took them shopping the other day at the dollar store for each other.  Daddy took Max and I took Lexi and Sawyer.  They kept picking things that they would like and we had to keep reminding them ok What do you think they would like? not what you want to play with.  They had fun picking stuff out and I had fun watching them.

We had a lot of fun traditions in my family growing up but one of my favorites was Straw in a manger.  We had a small wooden manger that we set up next to our fireplace and we had a bowl of straw that we brought in from the barn. Don't worry it was clean and new.  The idea was to get the manger full of straw for baby Jesus to lay in by Christmas Eve.  In order to be able to put one piece of straw in you had to do a service for someone.  It could be anything, picking up someones socks, toys, or help them do their chores.  Any act of service worked.  It was amazing how quick things got done in December.  I'm sure my mom wanted to keep the manger all year round.  We also would draw names to have a certain person for a week.  That whole week we would focus on doing nice things for them, and not let them see or figure out who it was.  Then the next week we would guess who had our name.   We could also do nice things for other family members but this way everyone was sure to have service done for them.

As a kid I would love to look for things I could do to be able to put straw in the manger.  It creates a great atmosphere for the Christmas season.  It helps us remember the real reason for Christmas.  I am excited to be able to share this tradition with my kids.  

Either my dad or my sister made me a little manger a few years ago.  I haven't ever done it with my little family.   I bought some yellow craft pipe cleaners since we don't have any straw available right now.  I also need to make a baby Jesus doll so the kids can put him in the manger on Christmas eve.

We did this for a few days and then the kids kept getting it down and playing with it and it got all over.  Baby got a hold of it too.  So we put it up.  The kids were pretty excited to be able to put a straw in.  They were willing to help out more.   I think next year we will get real straw and try again.  They will be a little bit older and maybe understand it a little bit more and it will give me time to make a baby Jesus doll that will fit just right in the manger.  

I really just want my kids to know that Christmas isn't about getting presents.  Its really about the Saviors birth, and I think this fun tradition will help with that.   I love this time of year and how giving people get.  I wish we could remember this and be giving all year round.  I know I need to work on that as well.  

I can't Mom today anymore......

The day started off like any other day except that my baby wouldn't sleep.  Your guess is as good as mine teeth, sickness or being cold (my kids like to play with the vents and will randomly close them).  I "slept" most of the night in the recliner that is in his room with him laying on my chest.  So not much.  I proceeded to wake up for work at 5.  The other kids woke up about 7:30 like normal and we started our day with cereal and a green smoothie.

The kids played with every toy we have it seemed like and didn't pick any of it up... I mean why would they its fun to step on toys when they run around being goofy.  I was trying to get baby down for a nap in his room and I hear the kids laughing hysterically so I think oh good they are getting along well, but I wonder if they are doing something naughty.  Its like the silence thing with toddlers.... Something must be up. So I finish feeding and rocking baby to sleep and go out to the kitchen.

   Oh.... My..... Word.....

 There was milk spattered everywhere on the floor, all over the kids faces, and clothes.  I was not happy as I have told them numerous times that we do not spit and especially not milk on each other.  So they went to time out....together.  That was a terrible idea.  So I left one in time out in the garage while the other went to their room.  They were still laughing thinking it was hilarious.  I was still fuming.  I thought well for sure now I need to mop the floor, I had been meaning to do it for weeks but hadn't gotten around to it.  I made them wipe up the milk they had gladly spit on the floor and then I put Max to bed and told Lexi she could read books.

I was doing laundry that day and I had put one of my newly dyed sun yellow kitchen towels in the wash with a load not thinking and the white items came out yellow.  I just yelled at myself for not thinking that one through.  So then I thought well the others are probably going to do the same thing so I better wash them all again.  So I did, I put all three of my colors together sun yellow, denim blue and gray together...... I know I know.  Think about this.   I didn't though because I was still flustered and mad about the last batch of clothes and the milk.   I went to put the towels in the dryer and I see the pretty sun yellow is a disgusting dingy yellow now.  DUH!?!  Didn't I just make this mistake an hour ago?  Seriously what is my problem.  I just wanted to throw all of the towels away I was so mad. I had spent a lot of time dying these and I loved how they turned out.....before my lovely idea to wash them all together.

At that point I decided I am done I just need to stop today.  I can't do anything else I just can't Mom today anymore.  Who knows what else I would screw up.

Days like this happen more often than I would hope they do.  I just have to remember that country song that goes something like this " Your going to miss these days"  Very hard to see how I would miss milk all over my floor but I try to keep my thoughts positive.  I go to bed and I think tomorrow is a nice fresh day.  I can make it a great Mom day, it has to be better than today at least.  Right?!?

"Mom can I lay by you?"

When we first got married in one of our conversations I had said  "I will never let kids sleep in my bed."  Then we had my nieces sleep over and one of them came in our room in the middle of the night and crawled into bed with us.  The next morning my husband said I thought you said you would never let kids sleep in our bed?  what happened to that?  I felt bad for her and I was too cold and tired to get out of bed to go put her back in her sleeping bag.   Oh well it will be different with my kids.

Fast forward a few years and it is a frequent occurrence now sadly.  I never realized just how tired I would get.  Like last night for example my son who is 3 was on my husbands side of the bed and at some point during the night my 4 year old was sleeping on my side of the bed.  During the night one of the times I was up with my 10 month baby I even tried to get him to sleep in my bed with me because I was so tired I just wanted to sleep.  He would have none of it.  Oh how things have changed.  I just want to sleep.

Funny how a few years and kids change those statements and ideas I had as a young newlywed.  I have to admit sometimes its nice to cuddle and have your little ones close.  But in general I prefer they sleep in their own beds, because usually I don't sleep well with them wiggling around, poking, hitting and kicking me. My daughter is a mover so she will kick me or end up moving sideways making it impossible to sleep at all.  I remember when my husband used to work out of town I would want my daughter to sleep with me to feel better.  I felt like she was safer to be with me and I hate sleeping alone.  This is my daughter when she was little and she would sleep with me.

I now realize that you just never know when or how things are going to happen and my "plans" are going to change.  My idea of parenting has changed and evolved a lot since I actually had kids of my own.  I had all sorts of fun ideas of how life would be when I had my own little family.   Things are not always what I plan.  Some things are so much better than I ever imagined and some are...... well different, harder, and unexpected.   Welcome to Parenthood.

Kids say the funniest things.... and I have to write them down!!!

My little two year old has said the funniest things lately.  We were at our great aunt Darces house who is 81.  She is like a grandma to my kids, we go to visit her all the time.  We used to live 2 blocks away from her, so my kids know and love her a lot.  We were eating dinner and he said "Do you have a dad?"  She explained to him that yes but he was in heaven.  A few days later we were there visiting again and he asked me " How did Sawyer get in your belly?"  I was caught off guard because he is two years old and he is asking these questions.  He is a thinker.  We told him Heavenly Father put him there.  That answer makes sense to him right now.  He just amazes me at how he thinks about things.
We went to my parents house for thanksgiving and we were helping set up chairs and this same little two year old asks my mother "Where are your kids?"  We all chuckled and then I explained that I was her kid.  That didn't make sense to him because I am not a kid.

These funny questions are normal for him. I love that he is curious and that he asks questions.  I love writing these things in his journal to read back over later.  I have started a journal for each of my kids when we found out we were pregnant with them. I would write about the pregnancy with them.  What I craved,  how things were looking from the outside looking in.   I try to write as often as I can about the progress and steps they make.  I love writing about the hilarious things they say or do.

I remember when I had my first baby I would ask my sister all the time when her daughter did this or that and she couldn't really remember, she had two at this point.  Somethings she could remember very clearly others not so much.  I was baffled that she couldn't remember.  Then when I had two and three kids I understood that they all blended together and you just forget small details.  This is why I wanted to write stuff down to remember the hilarious things they have said or done.  I want to remember their little quirks and their individual personalities as small kids, because they grow up too fast.  Like my daughter is obsessed with animals.  She has these small plastic animals and she plays with them all day long, everyday.  I want her to know and remember those memories.

Sometimes when I am writing in their journal they want to "help" me.  I let them draw pictures and its fun to look back and see how they have improved in their drawing skills.   It goes from scribbles to shapes to people.  They love helping and I think they will love to look back and see pictures they drew.

My mother wrote in a journal for me until I was old enough to write in my own and I love reading the things she wrote down, because I, for sure don't remember any of it.  So I wanted to preserve those memories for my children as well.  Even if its just for me to remember when they sat up or walked or talked first.

I will also have my mother, so the kids grandma write in it to get a different view.  I also like to encourage Daddy to write for them. I find it funny to read what they write about the kids too.

Embarrassing grocery trip

I love everything about Winco except this one minor detail that seems to keep kicking me in the pants.  They don't accept credit cards....... You would think I would learn.   We used to live less than a mile from Winco and I LOVED it.  I frequently would forget my debit card and have a basket full of groceries and go to check out and realize all I had was my credit card.  Yes I use a credit card even though Dave Ramsey says not to.  It works for me and we pay it off every month no matter what!  Personal choice.   Anyway, so I would have to run home and they would "save" my groceries for me.
Today we were down visiting our Aunt Darce and I thought great we are so close to Winco I'm going to go grocery shopping while I'm down there and I can go alone.... a rare occurrence with three small children.  It has become a treat to go grocery shopping alone. I know who would have thought.   I parked the car to walk in and I get to the front doors and realize I left my debit card in the car like always, so I run back to the car and grab it.   I got everything on my list and I usually pick up a small treat for me when I shop alone but I didn't this time because I'm really trying to be healthier.
 I get to the check out stand and I am bagging my groceries and I swipe my card and put my pin in...... Your card is expired.  What?!?  I knew it was expiring soon because we got new cards a while ago that I activated.  Apparently this isn't that card.
 So she tries to run it again with the new expiration date.... no luck.   So I'm stuck with groceries and no card, and I'm a long way from home.  I never carry cash, I just don't like having a lot of cash.   So I luckily have some cash but not enough for what I had. So I embarrassingly start putting stuff back on the conveyor belt and she starts subtracting.
After getting about $20 of stuff back out of the cart the guy behind me says  keep the milk here is $2.  At this point I am beyond embarrassed and just want to shrink down and melt away.  I say thank you so much.  He just says pay it forward.  I proceed to pay for what I have enough cash for and walk out to my car.    I have never been on the receiving end of the pay it forward at the grocery store and man its hard, but so appreciated.  Even if it was just $2  Thank you to the man in line behind me at Winco today.  I will pay it forward.

You use cloth diapers?!?!

Yes I cloth diaper my children and no its not gross.   Well not any grosser than disposable diapers.   I get both amazed and disgusted looks when people see that I cloth diaper.  I love to wait and watch for the reactions.
 I had talked a little bit about how I got started on cloth diapers, but I'll tell the whole story.
When I was potty training my daughter she was 2 and a half and I had a 9 month old baby so we were going though a lot diapers.   I had gotten some training pants that have more absorbency than just normal underwear.   I got blueberry trainers and best bottom training system.

These were my first purchase in the cloth diaper world.  I got them from a site Nickis Diapers, they sell all sorts of fun stuff.  I then decided since these were pretty much cloth diapers I would give the real cloth diapers a try on my then 1 year old baby.   I ordered a package deal of pocket diapers where you put an insert in the diaper.

The package came with everything to start cloth diapering.  It had 20 diapers and then probably 30 inserts to put in the diaper for the absorbency.  I was excited to try it out and see how they worked.  I joined a bunch of groups on facebook to try to educate myself.  These diapers worked great for probably 6 months and then they started to stink.  It was the microfiber inserts I was using.  Come to find out they aren't the best choice for absorbency.  They are the cheapest and its true in this case that you get what you pay for.   So I started trying other kinds of diapers and finding different things I liked. 

I think I have tried almost every type and brand of diaper out there.  I tried different systems of cloth diapers, I had no idea there were so many different ways to cloth diaper a baby.  Finally after a year I thought I had found what I loved and worked well for us.   This is one of the things I love about cloth diapering is that you can buy and resell diapers at pretty much the same price.  So I didn't feel like I was losing money to try a different brand or type of diaper, because if I didn't end up liking it I could resell it for the same price.  

Then we had another baby a year later so my first son was 2 and still in diapers and we had a newborn.  I figured out what I liked in newborn diapers because that is a whole different story trying to keep that newborn baby poop in a diaper.  haha.  Side note that cloth is so much better with blowouts. I think I had maybe one with my third kid, where with my first in disposables I had them all the time.  Another one of my selling points on cloth diapers.  

I loved the gmd workhorses for newborns with a cover.   They can have snaps on them or you get them without and use a pin or a snappi.  I preferred with snaps.  

   

We also tried the thx and rarz all in one and those did not absorb much.   They are really really cute but not worth the money and they leak a lot.

Then I found Grovia and I loved these.  They are a newborn all in one meaning its all in one piece, no attaching anything its just all there.  The closest you get to a disposable. I loved how easy these were and they seemed to absorb quite a bit until he got about a month old.  Then I had to add an insert in to help with leaking.  

  

We tried fitteds at night to absorb more and these are made out of bamboo so they are so soft.  We used these for a while.  We had to put a wool cover over them to make them water proof.  Yes he looks funny but they are soft and comfy.  We never had any leaks out of these, they are bulletproof.   I also used this type of diaper with my older son at night as well.  

Then when he got to be probably 4-5 months old he started to fit into the one size diapers.   Those are supposed to fit 8-35 lbs  but they did not fit an 8 pounder very well.  He was probably about 13-14 pounds here I think.  He started to wear the same diapers his older brother was wearing.  Those are the Nickis all in one bamboo.  So soft and they absorb a ton.  They just have a snap in insert so easy as well. 

Well my second son started to get stinky diapers.  The dreaded ammonia smell.  I had never had problems with my older son.  It was getting bad so I consulted with some people online and tried to tweak the wash routine and bleach them.  It  just keep coming back and only in his diapers.  So it had to be his urine is just more potent than my other son.  For months I fought this battle with ammonia.  I didn't want to give cloth up for this guy, I love cloth diapering and I didn't want to have to buy disposables again.  So I tried yet another type of cloth diaper.  

 Flats...... These had always seemed so crazy to me you take a flat piece of fabric and fold it up to fit in a cover.  It always seemed like a lot of work.  The benefit to flats is that they are one layer and they wash out easier. They are about 32 inches by 32 inches and you can fold them however you want.  

This is a close up picture of the fabric.  They come in cotton and bamboo.  I knew my son was a heavy wetter so I opted for bamboo and bamboo is so much softer than cotton.  I absolutely love these bamboo flats.  They are so absorbent.  I mostly use Grovia hybrid shells.  They fit so well and I love the quality of Grovia. They seem to be better made, I don't know what it is they just do.  I also use some rarz and nickis covers.  I have never had a leak in these and they don't stink like ammonia because they are easier to get clean.  

I can use these on my almost three year old now and they work well for him too.  I use the Grovia ONEs with him.  They absorb A TON.  They are the best diaper I have ever used.  SERIOUSLY!!!  They are totally worth the money. I would have both kids wearing them if I could.  The have fleece lining so its easy to spray out the diapers.    I really like grovia for their cute prints as well.  

I also use a diaper sprayer that hooks onto the toilet so you can spray off the poop into the toilet.  I tried without one for a few months and then just bought one it is well worth the money.  

This is how I store my diapers, they hang just above my changing table.  I love that they are up out of the way so the kids can't get into them, and I can still see them all.  I think they are all cute.  

I love cloth diapers for many reasons.  They are fun and cute.  Its money saving as long as you don't collect and buy too many expensive diapers.  Its environmentally friendly, and it save you from all the chemicals in the disposable diapers.   Now don't get me wrong I still use disposables on my kids when we go camping or out of town, I am not a die hard yet!  I am glad they are there for those times. I do enjoy doing it and putting cute diapers on my babies.     

Ultimate minerals

I went to a Green Smoothie Girl presentation probably 9 months ago and I loved it.  I learned so much about being healthier and was very interested in changing some of the things I do.   The first thing I wanted to do was add the minerals they make and sell into my daily routine.   They were running a buy 2 get one free special that month.  So I bought it and have loved supplementing with it.  

This mixture has fulvic and humic acids.  Between the two of these  they provide every mineral and trace mineral that we need in our bodies.  They also increase the permeability of our cells so that our nutrition that we eat can be absorbed and used better.  It also helps the cell push those toxins that we have out of our cells. 

One of the things I like about Green Smoothie Girl products are that they use plant based products.  They are so much healthier for you that other supplements out there.   

  I have had insomnia for as long as I can remember except on my mission (just one of the benefits I received from serving a mission).  Since I have been making sure to drink this before bed I have slept better.  I am still waking up at night with my 9 month old baby but I find that as soon as I hit the pillow after nursing him I am alseep.  I have also noticed my finger nails grow a lot faster and  I have more energy.  The kids even want to drink my "dark water."

I love babywearing!!!

I have always been an active person.  I like hiking, biking, swimming, riding horses and just in general being outside. I married an active guy too, we love hiking together. I knew having kids would change that a little.  We had our first little girl and we still had an active lifestyle.  We went camping and hiking.  We would pack her around.  I started out with just a baby bjorn and it worked well from what I knew.  We also had a structured hiking pack.  

Then when I had my son 19 months later I seemed to wear him a little bit more than I wore her.   I upgraded to a imitation Ergo.  It worked great and I felt like it was more comfortable for both of us.  It wasn't as bulky as the hiking pack.  I liked it.  

When I had my third baby another boy  I need to wear him a lot more.  It was just harder to get things done with three kids.  He also is much more of a mommas boy than my other kids.  He loves being held.

  I also had a baby ktan I don't have a picture of that one.  I used the ktan a lot when he was a newborn.  It kept him super close and it supported his little body.  Once he was about 12 lbs it started to hurt my back to wear him in it anymore. So I got the ring sling and I just never liked it much and couldn't get the hang of it.  I preferred my fake ergo, until.....

My sister in law introduced me to the Kinderpack.  We had been talking packs and about the Tula and Kinderpack.  I had gotten a tula off a swap page and it was nice but I didn't like the hood on it, and I felt like it was stiff.  So then I made the leap to Kinderpack...... I say leap because they were quite a bit of money and harder to come by.  

I have LOVED the kinderpack.  It has koolknit as part of the fabric so its breathable in hot weather. You can see in this picture there are three panels and one is the breathable stuff.  It makes it a little bit cooler to wear your kiddos in the summer heat.  I really like the design of these packs.  They have 4 different sizes.  Infant, standard, toddler and preschool.  They also have super cute designs and fun patterned prints,  that just adds to the fun of these packs.  

  

My son loves being in this he will fall asleep so fast.  He has never been much of a cuddler so I can't rock him to sleep.  I can wear him to sleep though.  This makes my life so much easier with three small children.  I don't go anywhere without my kinderpacks.  I also will wear my almost three year old son in the standard size pack when we go grocery shopping so I can keep a handle on him.  He is at that independent stage where he wants to walk by himself.  So its nice to be able to wear him and then have my baby sit in the cart.  It makes for some fast shopping trips.  

I love wearing my babies and wish I would have known about kinderpacks back when I first had kids.  I feel like its even more helpful now with three kids and I will continue to use it a lot as we continue to add to our family.  I love keeping them close and still being able to do my daily mom stuff.  

We recently went to Disneyland and being able to wear my 9 month old was a life saver.  He is used to being down and crawling around all day long.   Having to hold him all day long at Disneyland was easier when I could wear him and he still felt close.  

I have tried a lot of different carriers and I love what I have tried and learned from them all.  I would never wear a bjorn again knowing what I know now.  I think the nicer packs are well worth the extra  money to be able to get my stuff done and yet tend to my kids needs as well.  They are a lifesaver for moms.  

Recycle your halloween pumpkins

Growing up we never did anything with our pumpkins after halloween.  I take that back we did........... we fed them to the pigs.   This year I decided to recycle my pumpkins and use them again.   This is the process of how I did it.  

I washed them and made sure all the dirt was off.  

Then I cut it open and gutted it.  I found that it was easier to take the seeds out before you gut it and then use a spoon or ice cream scoop to get the slimy stuff out.   

Then I put it in the oven at 350 degrees I think that putting them flat on the cookie sheet they cooked more evenly and faster.   This one took probably 2 hours to cook to where the skin just peeled off nicely.   This was a larger pumpkin.

You can see how the skin bubbled up and pulled away from the meat of the pumpkin.  

Then the skin just peels off and you put all of the meat into the blender.  I have a blendtec and it worked wonderfully. 

Then I poured the pureed pumpkin into my freezer cartons.  I let them cool for a while then put them in the freezer.  I measured them out to freeze in the amount I need to make my pumpkin muffins.  So all I need to do is let it thaw and then its ready to add.  I don't have to measure or anything. 

Then I took the seeds and washed them off, patted them dry.  I put them in a bowl and put a tsp of olive oil and then added some garlic salt in one batch and I did some ranch packet mix on another batch.   There are so many options of what you can season them with.   It does make a difference to add the olive oil so that it doesn't stick to the wax paper if you coat them in olive oil.  On one of my batches I just added the seasoning and they stuck to the paper more.  

I spread them out on a cookie sheet with wax paper down to make for easier clean up.  I put them in the oven at 300 degrees for maybe 15 min and stirred them around a bit.   When they start to get browned I took them out.  They taste so good.  They are pretty healthy depending on what you season them with.  

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What I loved about doing this is that the kids loved to help get the seeds out.  They love getting dirty and playing in slimy guts.   They even liked eating the seeds because they had helped make them.  It was fun.  It was also something we already had and used now we were recycling it.  It was a fun thing to try and they are delicious everyone loved them. 

Colloidal Silver and how I use it

My mom being the smart person she is she gave me some colloidal silver that she had made because my son would get ear infections a lot.  She said this will help kill the bacteria in his ear.  I was skeptical of this Silver..... it looked like water.  I knew my mom wasn't crazy or wouldn't tell me something if it weren't true.   I didn't actually use it on his ear infection because he had already gotten his antibiotics and it was a pretty severe infection.   Not to mention my skepticism about it.   I did use it on my sunburns though and WOW!  talk about amazing.  The morning after being outside too long and getting burned I would put the silver on and when I woke up it was a little pink maybe.  This is no excuse to not put sunscreen on.  I was amazed at its ability to sooth the burn.   I soon after burned my arm on the oven and I immediately grabbed my silver and applied some right on the burn.   It still burned and hurt like burns do for a while. I kept applying it every 10 min or so when it would dry out.  In just a few short hours it didn't hurt at all anymore and the next morning I woke up to an almost normal skin on my arm it was a little hard and scaly but no red or continued burning.  We have also used it as diaper rash cream and it works wonders.  I keep finding new ways to use it and its cleansing abilities.

Another Silver encounter I had:

I normally hate attending those parties people throw for distributors like Mary Kay, Tupperware,  Scentsy, pampered chef or any of those I just don't like them.   I just feel like they are pushy and I hate that feeling.   We have recently moved and so we are new in the area.  Well one of my friends from my church had invited me to a Norwex party and I thought oh boy I really don't want to go but this is a good way to meet some new people.  I knew nothing about Norwex except that its cleaning supply products.  I really hate cleaning..... I love what it looks and feels like after my house is clean but the actual process................ not so fun.

 So I ended up going and I was pleasantly surprised when the lady talked about her cleaning cloths and how they were lined with Silver. That caught my attention......the same silver that is used to make the colloidal Silver I already use in my home. She went on to talk about how silver has self purification properties.  I found that very interesting because of my experience with the colloidal silver.  I have ordered my cleaning cloths and I will let you know what I think.  

This is not a plug for Norwex I am just sharing my new found knowlege of Silver and Norwex happened to be a part of it.  I am anxious to try them out and see how I like them.  Anything to make cleaning with three small children easier is a friend in my book.  Also to have less chemicals in my house is another bonus. 

Where my crunchiness began

The other day my mom was over and she asked me what made me start to be healthier and more natural about the way I do things?   I stopped and thought..... Where did it start?

I had always considered myself pretty healthy and natural in some ways.  I rarely ever take medications and I used the essential oils that my mom had around the house.  I tried to eat somewhat healthy and I exercised.

I thought back and I came to the conclusion that is was a lot of small things that built up.  First I would say it was my Gallbladder acting up and causing issues.  I went to a natural herb person to try to get some herbs to help me.  They didn't seem to relieve my pain.  I eventually got it removed 2 months after I had my second child.  I just began thinking about all of the remedies this lady had given me. I still took some of those herbs she suggested I take to help my overall digestive system.

When my oldest child, my daughter was potty training I bought some "trainers"  they were part of the cloth diaper world.   I liked them ok but I also had a son that was about a year old at that point.  I was going though a lot of diapers before she got potty trained and I hated going through so many diapers.  So I decided to give the cloth diaper route a try.  I remembered my mom doing it and helping her....... those were not very good and positive memories.  My sister in law had said she was going to do cloth diapers with her son who was born about 9 months after my son.   So I thought I will give it a try since its pretty much the same as potty training with cleaning up anyways.    I just ordered a bunch off a website and it was package deal so it came with everything I would need to start.   After months of using them I decided its not bad at all I like it.   After two years of cloth diapering I love it.  I really don't think its bad at all, and I actually kind of liked it.  I feel like I had to touch a lot more poop and wet things with disposable because we would have blow outs or leaks.  That is a whole different post on its own about my cloth diapering journey.

Cloth diapers just got me thinking more about other ways to save and be more environmentally friendly. Be more natural.   Then I was pregnant with my third child and my dr had surprisingly retired in the middle of my pregnancy.  So here I was 20 weeks and I was having to look for a new Dr.  I decided I wanted to go the natural route.   I chose a few midwifes in the area and interviewed them to find out more about them and how they practiced.  I decided to go with one that seemed like a good fit.   I think this is really where I began to be a little more passionate about natural and healthy living.  I began to socialize with more naturally minded people.  I joined groups on Facebook that I could learn more about living and being natural.   I had my third child without medication and I loved it.  It was so different than my previous two.  I had always wanted to deliver my babies natural.   This was another huge step in my crunchy journey.

This past summer I was diagnosed with a more aggressive type of basal cell carcinoma.  I had had a bump on the back of my head for years. I just thought it was a weird zit that I never paid much attention to.  Then it began to bother me a little bit more and one day it was numb and the whole part around it was numb as well.  I though I had better go get this checked out since we already met our deductible for our insurance. haha.    So I went into a dermatologist and he excised it and sent it off to the labs.  He said it looked just like a cyst.   A few weeks later I got a letter saying the cultures came back normal and its all ok.    This was a picture after the dermatologist had taken out the small part and cauterized it.

 Then a days later I got a call from the Dr. asking me to call back.  I just forgot and never called him back I was a busy mom with three kids and we were in the middle of buying and selling houses.   Then he called again and this time I answered and he said that the pathology came back positive for cancer.  CANCER?!?!  A million different thoughts run through your mind when a Dr. tells you you have cancer.  So he referred me to a specialist and I went in and they removed my skin cancer.  They got it all in two rounds of MOHS surgery and then they had a plastic surgeon fix up my head.  I will spare you the picture of the actual cut out part.   This is the bandage after the plastic surgeon had fixed me up.

This scary experience made me A LOT more aware of my health and my life.   When they told me I had cancer I automatically thought the worst and I thought my poor family I have three small children and a wonderful husband I will be leaving behind.   Thank goodness it really wasn't  that aggressive of cancer and we got it all taken care of fast.  I decided ok I need to really be healthier and make sure my kids eat and have a healthy lifestyle.

I have tried to be more aware and learn of other ways to be healthier and not just diet but change my lifestyle to be healthier.   I want to have more energy and have a happy healthy life.  I want my kids to know and learn about eating and living right.  I love finding new things to try and ways to be healthier and happier.  I am grateful for those small steps that have brought me to where I am today.

Breastfeeding vs bottle feeding

I thought I would write a post about this because I have experienced both.  Everyone has their own opinion and thoughts about this...... This is mine.
 My first daughter I exclusively breastfed for 11 months and then she self weaned.  I then realized I was pregnant so I don't know if that had anything to do with it.    She was a great nurser and I never had a problem making enough milk for her.  I went back to work at 6 weeks.

I would pump and send the milk with her.  I just have the simple hand pump because I didn't use it a whole lot.   She did fine on bottles, she actually had a hard time at first nursing again after she had a whole day of bottles.  I only worked one day a week so she only had bottles for that one day a week.  She did great otherwise.  I thought to myself why would anyone want to bottle feed if breastfeeding was pretty easy and inexpensive.  Little did I know.......

Then I had my second son and he was a whirlwind of his own since he was born.  His cord broke while he was being born so he lost a lot of blood.  They kept him in the NICU for a few hours to monitor him so I didn't get to breastfeed him as soon as I wanted or even have skin to skin time.  They told me he needed fluids so that I should get some formula in him.   So I did.  I was still nursing him and pumping extra to try to get my milk to come in sooner.  I continued to supplement him as we went home.  Two day after being home he still just wasn't getting a good latch, so I went back to the hospital to get some help with a lactation consultant and they suggest I used a shield.   So I did and he would eat a little better but still not very well.  A lot of the time I would just pump and then feed him a bottle because it was so draining to try to feed him.

I had gallbladder issues start up when I was 27 weeks pregnant and I had tried natural ways to help reduce the pain.  Nothing worked I continued to have the attacks and after he was born I thought it would go away but 2 weeks after he was born they started up again. I literally could not eat anything.  I lived on muffins and apple juice.  I noticed my milk supply was dropping drastically.  I decided after a 48 hour attack it was time to remove my gallbladder.  I couldn't go on living like this.   So I had the surgery and 2 days later my milk was pretty much gone.   I was exhausted from the surgery and trying to keep up with my 19 month old and my newborn it was just too much. I had decided I would just formula feed my baby. Yes I felt like a failure......I couldn't feed my son.... I had done it so easily with my daughter.   So I shopped on ebay and our local classified sites and got the similac sensitive formula for relatively cheap.    He was such a happier baby because he was getting enough food.  He had always been fussy and wanted to eat ALL the time.  Come to realize that was because I wasn't producing enough for him, without being able to eat much myself.   I blame my low milk production on my gallbladder.

There are definitely some benefits to formula feeding your baby.  Dad can now help.   This was great on weekends I would have him help on the nightly feedings.  I didn't have to worry about pumping if I wanted to leave him with someone for more than a few hours.  It was fabulous.   Then we went camping and I thought how am I going to get warm water to make his milk?  That complicated things a little bit.  We are big campers so I had to figure something out or we would have a rough summer.  I bought a thermos and would put boiling hot water in it.  it would last at least 12 hours.  I would add cold water to his bottle and some of the boiling water to make it just right.  This was quite complicated in the middle of the night in a tent.   Overall the year went by and he thrived on formula so we were all happy.  That is what was right for that situation and I was ok with that.

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Jump forward to my third baby.  He nursed within minutes of being born and has nursed like a champ ever since.  He is now 9 months old and he loves nursing.  He nurses way more than he probably should at this point but I figure he likes it and its so easy.   I love nursing and find it so much more convenient than formula feeding, now having experienced that side of things.  Its always there and ready.  Its always the right temperature.  I get quiet bonding time with my baby.   Yes it "ties" you down  a little but I don't mind.  I love my baby and he needs me.  I am so happy that I am able to produce enough milk for him and that he likes to cuddle.

Overall they both have their perks and downsides.  I guess it comes down to what YOU feel is most important for YOU and YOUR BABY.    That is really what this is all about, is if you and your baby are happy with what you are doing.  Some moms are not able to produce enough milk to sustain their baby and I am so grateful that we have formula for those situations.  Also some moms just don't want to breastfeed and that is fine too.  Everyone has their own opinion and their own family.    I am not opposed to formula feeding and in no way do I look down on those moms.  I have been there... I was once one of those moms.    We all have our reasons for doing things and we shouldn't judge other moms for their decisions about feeding their baby.  We are all just trying to do our best and we need support from other moms.

   I love breastfeeding and I really do think its healthier for baby if we are able and willing to provide that for our baby.  Our bodies know just what our babies need and they adjust the milk to the needs of our babies.  I will continue to breastfeed my babies but if something comes up again that makes me not able to for whatever reason and I have tried and tried and it just doesn't work out.   That is ok.   I am ok with formula feeding too.  Its not the end of the world like I once felt and thought it would be. The overall goal is to have a happy and healthy baby.

Green smoothies and Milk Kefir

I have been into green smoothies lately.  I started having them probably a year or so ago, but they were mostly fruits and yummy stuff with a little bit of spinach.   I recently went to a class from The Green Smoothie girl and learned a lot.  I read her book "The Green Smoothie Diet" and I loved it.  There is so much good information in there not just about smoothies but about gardening and composting.   I highly recommend this book.

They also talked about how eating healthy can help cure cancer and prevent it from reoccurring.  This hit home because I was recently diagnosed with the more aggressive type of basal skin carcinoma.  (A whole different blog post)  So I decided it was time to take action and do the challenge of a green smoothie a day.   It has been 4 months since I started and I do feel much better and healthier.  I feel more alert and not so tired all the time.  

I use and eat a lot more veggies than I used to because I feel like I can throw anything in my smoothies.  My staples in the smoothie are spinach, milk kefir, chia seeds, banana, carrots, and then some sort of fruit either peaches or mango.  If I have anything going bad I throw it in like pears, celery, radishes, apples, literally anything.  Here is my smoothie today.

                                               

My sister in law introduced me to Milk Kefir.   I had heard about it before but never really researched it much.  She gave me some grains to start my own and I LOVE it. 

                                                 

 Its a natural probiotic that you can make yourself and it continues to grow. I love that as long as you "feed" the grains you will always have plenty of it around.  I put my grains in a quart jar and then fill it up with milk.  I cover it with a coffee filter because it has to be able to breathe and then 24-48 hours later I have kefir ready to use.  I put that in my smoothies everyday and I feel like I fight off colds better.  I really try to get the kids to drink it as well.  I will do anything to fight off the colds all winter long.   

I used the kefir to make some corn bread last week. I replaced the sour cream with kefir and it tasted the same.  So I am excited to experiment more and substitute it for sour cream. I love this use of it because I rarely have sour cream or cottage cheese around unless I buy it specifically to make something.  I want to make lasagna with it because we are big lasagna fans at our house.  

I love finding new things to try that are healthy and taste good as well.  So if you have any good recipes to make with kefir or just your favorite healthy recipe leave a comment.