A day in the life of Bree

busting out the measuring tape again

2011-05-23T16:04:00.000-05:00

well since i started trying to loose weight in the last two weeks I've gone up in weight so I thought it might be a better idea to just do my measurements. so here they are:
weight:188 lbs
bust: 42"
chest: 34"
waist: 44"
hip: 43"
midway: 45 1/2"
thigh: 23"
knee: 17 1/2"
calves: 15"
upper arm: 13"
forearm: 9"
ugh I have a lot of hard work ahead of me just to get even close to my pre-pregnancy measurements. but I am determined to get back into a size that i'm comfortable with.

i've totally neglected my blog...sorry

2011-05-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

so lifes been a little busy since adding Javan to our family and this is one of many things i let fall to the side. hopefully that wont be the case anymore. So I finally decided to start working out since most of me feels recovered from the c-section. Along the incision line i still feel bruised when touched but just moving around it doesn't hurt. Also more days than not my hip and shoulder don't bother me. So I ordered this 24 day challenge kit because I figure spending money will help keep me motivated to actually work out. My starting weight was 185 lbs. yeah that was 9 days ago I now weigh 188 lbs!?!??? what the heck. ok this sucks but it doesn't mean i'm going to stop trying it just means I'm going to have to work harder. I just wish my legs didn't hurt so much ;-)
well Javan is crying so that's all i have time for right now!

Javan Hunter Edwards' Birth Story

2011-03-05T19:36:00.003-06:00

It all began on February 25th, 2011 at 7 am. We arrived at the hospital to be induced. I was very nervous because earlier that week when the dr had checked me there had still been no dilation. I was very worried about going from starting at nothing when being induced. So they got me hooked up to the baby monitors and started an IV. My dr came in around 8:30 and checked me and said I was at a 2-3 and broke my water. I was very relieved that I had already started to dilate, but he also informed us that the lab lost my test for strep b so they were going to give me the antibiotics just in case. Then they started my pitocin. Pitocin is the worst drug ever blah it makes contractions so painful. Any ways so then it was just a waiting game. We all thought I would progress fast and have Javan quickly since that's what happened with my last and this was baby #4 for me. By noon they were upping the Pitocin for the 4th time and I was in serious pain and only dilated to a 4 so I decided to get the epidural. We talked with the anesthesiologist earlier in the morning about how last time I had a reaction to something that made me itch so she left out the fentanil hoping that would help with the itching. I was glad that this time around we avoided all other pain meds so nothing would get to Javan. At this time they also realized Javan was face up instead of down and while I could still deliver him that way it was going to be harder and he'd yet to drop any. So after getting my epidural we started the fun time of flipping mommy around to flip Javan around. Every 30 min I swapped positions until I was dilated to a 10. We started off with me kneeling on the bed leading against the raised head of the bed, then on my right side with left leg in a stirrup, then left side with right leg up in a stirrup then sitting straight up like in a straight back chair. By 1:30 I was dilated to a 5 by 3 I was dilated to a 7 by 4:30 an 8 by 5:30 9.5 but 10 with contractions at this point the dr came in and I started pushing. After few contractions of pushing the dr realized he wasn't making it past my pelvic bone Javan would get to a certain point and just not move any further. So the dr tried vacuuming him the first one popped off and broke. He used the vacuum again through 2 more contractions and it didn't really help. At this point Javan heart rate dropped so we stopped pushing and rested for a bit and the dr ran across the hall and literally caught another baby and ran back in. Javan's heart rate had improved so we were ready to push again. I pushed like crazy which my dr informed me I pushed like a rock star and that was not the issue at one point while he had his hand up in there trying to get Javan past my pelvic bone when I push I smashed his finger between Javan's head and my pelvic bone. That gave us all a good laugh which we needed since things were getting kinda stressful. He tried the vacuum 2 more times and Javan just wouldn't move pass my pelvic bone and the dr said he was worried the cord was wrapped around something, and it was time now for a c-section. Oh and I forgot to mention around the time I was dilated to and 8 my epidural quit being so effective. I could feel everything that was going on down there and all the contractions. Ouch. My dr apologized to me and was probably more upset than I was that with my finally baby I was having to have a c-section and that we hadn't even discussed c-sections because neither he nor I thought that in a million years I'd need one! I'd already successfully birthed 3 kids with out any complications. So we were rushed into the OR at 6:40 and prepped for a c-section and I was numbed up better and let me tell you at this point I was glad about my decision to get the epidural. 1 I would have been really freaking mad to go through all that with out one only to end up with one and 2 since it was an emergency c-section I'm pretty sure they would have had to knock me out for the c-section and that would have really upset me. I was way more calm than I think most people are in this situation I didn't cry I think I knew during all the pushing and vacuuming that this was where it was all going to end. My dr made my incision nice and low according to him and the nurses who checked on it later also verified this by saying my dr must really like me because of how low and small my incision was.(I have no idea because I don't know where the incision is normally made so I just have their word to go by). At 6:59pm Javan was born 8lbs 3oz 20 inches with the cord wrapped 2 times around his neck and a little skin missing off the top of his head from the vacuuming. So nearly 12 hrs start to finish. Out of everything that happened came a beautiful little boy that I'm just so thankful is healthy. :-)

since I've been slacking lately....here is what's going on mainly in my head

2011-02-11T08:22:00.002-06:00

I know I really haven't been blogging lately but I kinda hit a blah stage with everyday. So I'm not really doing anything other than sitting around all day reading then get up and cook dinner and then sit back down. Hopefully this will all change soon since I believe Javan will be induced on the 25th of February. Not the most idea situation to be induced but it's better than what would happen should I go into labor in the middle of the night and I can't get a hold of Traci and I have to bring all 3 kids with us to the hospital. It would not be good for me and Traci might die the next time I see her if it were to play out that way ;-) This is my biggest fear that she will not answer her phone at all or that she does answer and is drunk. Neither way would do me much good. Thankfully Tasha has told me that should Traci fail to answer to call her and she'll come help. I really hope I don't need that and that everything can just work out but I feel better having a back plan! All that worrying aside I am so FREAKING EXCITED that Javan is just weeks away from being born. I'm so ready to hold him and cuddle him and see what he looks like and getting to know him!!

I just have to make it through the birthing part. Which I had pretty much convinced myself to do naturally with no pain meds. Well then of course I watched the new show One Born Every Min and I'm completely freaking out. I have no clue why. I had Brandon with no pain meds (OK i had 1cc of Demerol which did NOTHING for the pain) but I was hooked up to pitocin for most of my labor it HURT LIKE HELL, but I did it and lived. So I know I can do it and let me tell you when they turned off the pitocin I could totally handle the contractions. With Danika I was induced and wanted drugs from the get go and it was a breeze I played cards and napped and then pop that little girl out. With Lucas I labored for quite a bit at home and only went to the hospital once I was getting really uncomfortable. By the time we got there I was already a 5 and shortly there after chickened out they gave me stydol and I got an epidural like 30 min later. This time I had a reaction to the epidural and it made me itch from head to toe so they gave me benadryl. All the drugs mixed together pretty much knocked me out. It was not good. They had to put me on oxygen because I wasn't breathing deep enough for the baby, and I had a hard time staying conscious to let anyone know it was time. Thankfully a nurse came in to mess with the computer and i was able to get her attention to let her know I thought he was coming out. He was born so quick that he still had the stydol in his system and he had to be watched for 3 hrs and given meds to reverse it because he wasn't breathing very well. He ended up being fine in the long run but I'm so afraid of a repeat of that, but I really really am scared I wont be able to cope with the pain. BLEH OK I know this is all just a rambling but this is a lot that's going through my head 24/7. Who knows how Javan's birth will go I hope it just all goes smoothly and we both come out OK. That's really all I care about :-)

Time is just zipping by....

2011-01-26T20:43:00.001-06:00

I was just sitting here thinking about when I had Brandon since his birthday is in 2 weeks and he is going to be 10!! I have had 10 fun filled years with my oldest son and yes a few trying times but he is turning out to be a wonderful child. He is such a sensitive loving and helpful person (of course he complains but not very often). It really has just flown by it doesn't seem possible that he should be turning 10 maybe 5 or some smaller number but not surely 10!! He's already 4' 5" and his foot is nearly as big as mine. He is growing up and I just want to swaddle him back up and rock him to sleep again. He's still my baby and always will be. I'm extremely proud of who he is and the way he handles himself. I love him dearly just wish he wasn't growing up so dang fast!!

2/4/2001

Grilled Pears with Sweetened Sour Cream

2011-01-04T19:37:00.000-06:00

These were so yummy I wasn't sure if they would be since the recipe actually called for you to grill peaches not pears but peaches aren't in season right now so I just winged it with some pears :-) And I have to say we all loved them.

ingredients:
3 Bartlett Pears halved and cored.
2 TBS melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 TBS brown sugar
unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1. Heat a grill to high heat. Brush both sides of the pears with some butter.

2. Place the pears on the grill. cook until the pears are charred and softened. I did about 8 mins on each side

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and sugar.

4. Spoon the mixture over the pears and sprinkle with cocoa powder

This all probably took me 30 mins from start to finish!!

Carrot Cupcakes

2011-01-02T19:51:00.000-06:00

Makes 12 Prep time:25 min Total time:50 min

ingredients:

1 1/4 cups organic shredded coconut

1 cup Turbinado Sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for pan, if needed

2 TBS fresh orange juice

1/2 TSP vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup plus 2 TBS whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

cream cheese icing (recipe below)

1. preheat the oven to 350f. Spread 1 cup of shredded coconut out on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 5 mins. Transfer the coconut to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

2. In a bowl, combine the sugar, 1/3 cup oil, orange juice, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, allspice, and salt. Add the flour; mix. Stir in the shredded carrots, the walnuts, and the remaining 1/4 cup shredded coconut.

3. oil a standard muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners; distribute the batter evenly about 1/4 cup of batter for each muffin

4. bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting with cream cheese icing. Garnish with reserved toasted shredded coconut.

Cream Cheese Icing

ingredients:

8 oz low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, whisk the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Any left over cupcakes store in the fridge.

Homemade Facial Lotion

2010-12-22T10:52:00.000-06:00

So since I went all natural and homemade with my face wash, the only logical next step for me is an all natural homemade face lotion. So a lot of the green mommas on the forum I'm on swear up and down by Coconut Oil so I had to give it a try. Since I do have acne prone skin and eczema though I'm going to have to make it just 1 step at a time. The good thing about all this though is I'm learning lots about Essential Oils that I didn't know before.

Coconut Oil: The benefits of Coconut Oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti fungal, antibacterial, and soothing. It is also a rich source of Vitamin E (which we all know is great for skin) and it absorbs easily into skin. To use coconut oil in Acne, you need the very best one. Do not go for the unrefined, crude one, since it may be unhygienic and may contain dust particles. Go for the refined instead. The best choice will be Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for this purpose.

So I started with one week of using just Coconut Oil alone to see how it works with my skin. By the end of the week I must say I LOVE Coconut Oil. It feels kinda heavy when you apply it (which made me worry that it would cause me to break out) but with in a few minutes it's completely absorbed (and I've not had any new break outs since using it). It really has kept my skin moist but in of it's self alone is not enough for treating my eczema. While it's kept my eczema "happy" I still have some patches all though they aren't flaky and dry "looking" I can feel them. So onto the first doctoring of my lotion! :-)

Lavender Essential Oil: The health benefits of lavender essential oil include its ability to remove nervous tension, relieve pain, disinfect scalp and skin, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. The health benefits of lavender oil for the skin can be attributed to its antiseptic and anti fungal properties. It is used to treat various skin disorders such as acne, wrinkles, psoriasis, and other inflammations. It heals wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns rapidly as it aids in the formation of scar tissues. Lavender oil is added to chamomile to treat eczema.

So I bought a small metal bowl that has a lid to put my "Facial Lotion" in. I put about 2 TBS of Coconut Oil in the metal bowl and put the bowl in another bowl of warm water (so it would heat up the bowl containing my Facial Lotion). As the Coconut Oil heated it liquefied and I stirred it to help speed up the liquefying process.

heated Coconut Oil

Once it was all liquid I added 5 drops of Lavender Oil to the Coconut Oil while still stirring. I gave it a good mixing for a few minutes. Then I poured out the warm water and added ice and cold water to the bowl and added the metal bowl back in and continued to stir as the metal bowl cooled the Coconut Oil started solidifying.

cooling coconut oil

Once it started to go from clear to whitish I quit stirring and placed the lid on top to let it cool all the way. So now my Facial Lotion is a mixture of Coconut Oil and Lavender Oil. I will use this for the next week before adding my next essential oil to the mix.

Castor Oil: It is believed that most of Castor oil's benefits are derived from its high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids. Castor oil is a natural emollient that penetrates the skin and helps stimulate the production of collagen and elastin which can soften and hydrate the skin. Therefore, Castor oil is a wonderful natural treatment for wrinkles since it restores and rejuvenates skin's natural youthful appearance by making skin smoother, softer and pliant.

Sandalwood Oil: On the skin, sandalwood oil relieves itching and inflammation of the skin, and is most effective in relieving dehydrated skin - making it great for anti-ageing skincare - and the astringent action has a great toning effect and is also used with great results in oily skin conditions and to prevent the skin from forming ugly scars and for fighting dry eczema. When used in a lotion or cream sandalwood oil can assist with chapped, dry or inflamed skin and has wonderful moisturizing and hydrating properties, which are great for anti-ageing skincare. The toning effect is useful when fighting oily skin.

New formulation:
2 TBS Coconut Oil
1/2 TSP Castor Oil
6 drops Lavender Oil
4 drops Sandalwood Oil

I've been using this mixture now for 1 week and my eczema is so much better now than before I started making my own face lotion 1 1/2 months ago. I think I will add a few more drops of Sandalwood Oil in the next batch though and I have a few other Essential Oils I would like to try in the lotion but I can't because they aren't recommended for use during pregnancy so I'll have to wait to try them out after Javan is born.

finished Facial Lotion
It doesn't look like much or real fancy but it does an awesome job!

Goody Bag fun!!

2010-12-13T18:17:00.000-06:00

I lovingly hand painted a goody bag today for Lucas' schools winter party on Friday! I had so much fun doing it!

Update on Wool Dryer Balls

2010-12-09T09:26:00.000-06:00

I'm still using them and still can't tell if they are really helping with dry time. But I started having an issue with static since it's cold out now and the air is more dry so here are a few of the things that all worked to combat this issue.
1. A squirt bottle full of water! This was probably the most time consuming option but worked fine. Once everything was dry I put it on a hanger and misted it with some water. Once the items dried they were no longer static cling issues.
2. Changed settings on my dryer! On our dry you can set the dryer sensor to shut off at more dry, normal or less dry. I normally have it set to normal so I switched it to less dry and this kept all the shirts from drying completely so I didn't have to stand there misting them all :-) the only problem with this is that if I had jeans in the load I'd have to throw them back in and let them dry completely because I fold up all the kids jeans and they go in drawers and when hung up to finish drying they're stiff. So then I had to start sorting all the shirts from pants while not a big deal this added another step to my never ending washing.
3. White distilled vinegar as a fabric softener! I started using vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser in the washer and everything comes out of the dryer soft, fluffy and no static.

So while I'm still using the dryer balls I have now added white vinegar to our laundry routine because unlike commercial fabric softeners it doesn't coat the machine so I don't have to worry about residue that may or may not get on our cloth diapers.

i must have been in total denial

2010-12-06T18:10:00.000-06:00

so today I got on the scale and weighed myself just like I do every few days just to see how much I weigh (because I have this morbid obsession to make my self depressed lol) and today it reads 169.8 lbs so I'm thinking that's good so far I've only gained 10 lbs (followed by a mental high-five) even though 3 days ago it was 170.6 I'm happy it momentarily dropped below again lol So I get in the shower and am scrubbing away all happy as a clam when it hits me. Before I got pregnant I weighed 155 lbs and from all the morning sickness I dropped down to 149 lbs! Now I'm freaking out! OMG!! How the heck did this happen?? How did I put on 20 lbs and not even register it in my baby fogged up brain (this kid better be super smart with all my brain juices it's sucking away lol) because I'm sure if in my fuddled brain I had realized I jumped up 13ish lbs in 2 weeks I would have been more worried earlier. I was seriously trying to only gain 20 lbs this pregnancy and I still have 13 weeks left :-O I repeat how in the heck did this happen?? and where was I during all this (probably to busy stuffing my face to notice lol)?

A trip to the ER

2010-11-27T16:05:00.000-06:00

We spent 3 hrs in the ER today trying to get my heart rate back down to it's normal 100 beats per min. I've always been told I have an irregular heart beat by every new dr I see none have ever said I needed to see a cardiologist until today. I have had episodes before where I can just be sitting on the sofa and my heart rate just goes through the roof to something like 180 beats/min. but as soon as I lay flat it's like someone flips and switch and it goes back to beating normal. I've spoken to drs before about it had to wear a heart monitor halter thing for 24 hrs before and never anything further. Well I got up this morning and while sitting on the toilet bam my heart starts going like crazy so I finished my business and went and layed back down thinking it'd right it's self in no more than a min. Well 10 min later no luck so i went up stairs and got my DH's blood pressure cuff thing to check my bp since I wanted to know if maybe this was causing the issue since on a normal day I have borderline low bp. It said I was 117/78 with a heart rate of 188. So I informed DH and just took it easy laying on the sofa then back on my bed because when I was up right I had serious problems breathing. I hadn't felt the baby move all morning so I checked him with my fetal doppler and he was doing great, but after an hour of this I decided it was time to call my OB the on call guy said to get to the ER. So off we went! Once we got into the ER they hooked me up to the EKG machine and then put in a huge IV line oh my lord I hate IVs and this one was the biggest one I've ever gotten! While hooked up to the EKG machine we could watch my heart rate and the kids had fun cheering and being disappointed every time it'd go back up. At one point it was up to 220!! So they started off with Vagal Maneuvers. These are non-pharmaceutical techniques used to try and slow the heart rate. First the nurse had me hold my breath and strain like I'm pooing (she felt the need to thrown in just don't poo on my bed....yeah I'll try not to) this didn't work at all. So we tried coughing and that did nothing. So on to the really fun stuff. She brought in a bucket full of ice and water and had me stick my face down in it until I needed to breath it did nothing but freeze my face. Then she dumped all that ice and water in a big back and pulled my gown down off my chest, covered the rest of me with some blankets and stuck the bag on my chest. While Gary and the nurse said it was working (but only worked while the bag was on my chest as soon as she removed it my heart rate when right back up) I started crying because it hurt and I couldn't breath. Little did I know the next step would hurt worse. The nurse said the next option was medicine. So she left and came back with some stuff and turned to Gary and said maybe you want to take the kids down to our kitchen and get them some drinks or snacks. This is the moment I started to freak out a bit cuz I knew she only said that so the kids wouldn't be there in the room. So he and the kids left and 7 different ER Drs and nurses came into the room to "watch" while they gave me this medicine. The medicine was like someone crushed the life out of me slowly going from my neck down to my pelvic area and it lasted the first time about 6 seconds. The first dose had very little effect so they gave me another dose and I swear the second dose lasted more like 20 seconds. I cried after the first dose and bawled like a little baby after the second and I swear I had contractions too. I prayed that my baby didn't feel that like I did because that would have been horrible. The second dose got my heart rate down to 120 so enough with that drug and they gave me some kinda blood pressure medicine that was supposed to help bring my heart rate back down the rest of the way. Which by the time we were leaving it was back down to 105.
The dr came in to discharge me and said I have Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia (PSVT) and I need to follow up with a cardiologist this week. He wanted to start me off on a low dose Beta blocker but once he said it would lower my BP I had to tell him I normally have low BP so that's not good because I'd be passing out left and right. So we left with the directions that if it happens again and if it doesn't right it's self to come back to the ER! Yay :-( I hope after seeing a cardiologist we have some what of a better game plan. I'd love to stick around this place for at least 50 more yrs :-)

Going "Poo Free"!!

2010-11-24T18:00:00.001-06:00

So the ever curious person I am who's willing to try just about anything once (with in my limits because yes even I have limits) thought I'd give this a try to see if I liked it. By now your probably still wondering "what is she going on about? How do you go poo free?" Well most likely your thinking the wrong kinda poo! lol I'm talking about sham"poo" not "poo"poo!!
That's right and no I'm just not washing my hair that's yucky and I'd have dreads and I'm pretty sure my dear hubby would kick me out of our bed. Basically you use baking soda (BS) as your shampoo and apple cider vinegar (ACV) as your conditioner.
Baking soda helps remove natural oil build up with out stripping and removes the residue that styling products leave behind so your hair is cleaner and more manageable. Apple Cider Vinegar benefits as a conditioner are its acidity is close to that of natural hair and it's also an effective germ killer. From what people say there is a hair detox period of kinda manky oily hair for a few weeks. So in trying to avoid that phase as much as possible I have not been using any products in my hair for the past 3 weeks (to be honest this isn't hard for me I don't normally use products besides shampoo and conditioner) and have been washing my hair only 1 or 2 times a weeks. I was pleasantly surprised that my once a week washing hair routine didn't already cause me to have an oil slick for a head since I normally wash it every single day! The only thing I'm really slightly worried about at this point is 1. my hair color. yes pink is not my natural color or any other color that's on top of my hair at any given time but I'm not super worried about the color because I can always fix it :-) and 2. having a greasy head!! I touch my head probably over 100 times a day. It's just my thing I like rubbing my scalp and when my hair and scalp feel manky I can't stand it!! So time to get started!!
On 11/11 I mixed up 2 different cups for my shower! In 1 I mixed 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 1 cup warm water and the other 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 cup warm water. I dumped the BS mixture on my head rubbed it in for a full minute then rinsed. My hair did not feel clean at all lol. It felt oily but I went ahead and finished up. I dumped the ACV mixture in rubs it in and let it set for a min. My hair still did not feel clean but what do I know maybe my idea of "clean" is wrong. So I got out the shower and blow dried my hair. My hair does not look oily but it feels oilyish to me.
11/12 my hair still feels the same and looks the same to me as yesterday. I'll probably wash it with the BS and ACV tomorrow and maybe make the BS mixture a little stronger but not sure I'll have to think about it over night I guess. So far I'm not really impressed or unimpressed with it but I will give it more time. Supposedly once your scalp gets used to the BS and ACV wash you only need to do it once a week and have amazing hair. That would be awesome!
11/13 so I added a little more BS and my hair still feels "funny" to me lol but hubby says it doesn't look oily or feel funny to him so I guess i'm going to keep trucking along with this.
11/14 no washing it today it feels so nasty to me and kinda is slicked down to my head but still doesn't look oily. ugh I'm really finding it hard to not wash it with shampoo lol
11/15 bought a natural bristle brush today it kinda helped it not feel so yucky just got my hair wet in the shower nothing else to it today
11/16 my hair still feels the same...yucky...but no time to do anything to it today didn't even get it wet in the shower (today was one of those mornings where I just wanted to scream but settled for crying) but tomorrow is a new day and if I get around to it I'm bleaching my hair. I'm think this will most likely get my hair to not feel yucky anymore because it will probably strip all the oil back out but eh I got to color my hair!! I'm just a bit worried about the combo of using BS after coloring and maybe not all color being washed out. It makes me a bit nervous but I will just rinse really really well before dumping the BS mixture on (hopefully my entry tomorrow wont read scalp burns or hair loss :-O)
11/17 well the coloring went great no explosions and I stayed poo free
11/18 no washing today
11/19 I washed with BS with 2 drops of Tea Tree Oil (TTO) and rinsed with ACV I love the smell of TTO and it's great for my itchy scalp/eczema
11/20 no washing today and am going to try and go 2 more days with out washing it but will rinse it with water in the shower
11/21 didn't take a shower at all today since all we were going to do was clean and reorganize the garage and work in the back yard lol but I will be taking a shower first thing in the morning just not going to wash my hair.
11/22 just rinse and go
11/23 I did a deep condition with Coconut oil infused with some Lavender Essential Oil followed by washing with BS w/TTO and rinse with ACV then i put some more coconut oil in my hair before drying it to help with my less than stellar ends and let me tell you a little goes a long ways my hair looked like a cow snotted all over my head but it didn't feel like that it actually felt pretty nice and light not heavy and thick like it looked (none the less I was happy I had no where to go with my hair looking like that)
11/24 washed it again today to get rid of the cow snot look :-) this time I waited till my hair was dry and used a little coconut oil on my ends and it looks much better today

over all I'm very happy so far with going poo free and will continue on this journey of going a bit greener with my personal care :-)

*UPDATE*
12/1/10 ok so I'm giving up on going poo free because my hair I think is just too fried. It's breaking off so I'm going back to normal stuff to try and revive my hair. Maybe when my hair is a bit healthier I will try this again because it was awesome until I stripped the color out of my hair. So I'm not giving up just going to try it at a different time :-)

The Oil Cleansing Facewash Method

2010-11-21T20:08:00.003-06:00

So I read about how this was an awesome alternative to buying commercial face washes and it's a much healthier alternative for your skin. I am using Castor Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil and Tea Tree Oil. Castor Oil has potent anti-inflammatory properties, but is also healing and cleansing. Sunflower Seed Oil sinks into the skin better, aiding the Castor oil in transportation deep into the pores and allowing it to draw the dirt and grime to the surface of your skin where it can be wiped away. The essential fatty acids, though they are not naturally occurring in the body, are a necessity for the health of our cell membranes. These acids help restore the skins natural moisture balance and help prevent unnecessary dryness. Tea Tree Oil has beneficial medical properties when applied topically, including antiseptic, antibacterial, anti fungal,and antiviral action.

I mixed:
1 oz Castor Oil
2 oz Sunflower Seed Oil
0.1 ml of Tea Tree Oil

I used about a quarter size amount. I poured it into my hand and rubbed it together to heat it up. I massaged it in for a good i don't know 5 minutes. While doing this I let my sink fill up with hot water and stuck a wash cloth in it. After the 5 minute mini massage was done I wrung out the wash cloth and set it on my face to let the steam open my pores. I did this twice. Then I wiped my face down probably 3 times with the water and patted dry with a towel. My face didn't feel oily at all which I had expected since I was washing with oils. Instead it felt soft and velvety definitely not what I'm used to feeling after I wash my face. It normally feels dry and taut. I followed up with like the smallest of micro bits of Coconut Oil as my face lotion. So far I'm loving how my skin looks and feels just after this one go! :-) I'll add an update after using for 2 weeks.

*UPDATE* 12/30/10 my skin is doing great! I will never wash my face with anything else ever again! I haven't had really any break outs (like maybe 4 zits since i started using this and that like how many I used to get in 2 days) my pores are smaller and i have less black heads. They aren't all 100% gone but it's a vast improvement!

I even went out and got a fancy looking bottle for my new face wash!

(looks high dollar now doesn't it lol)

In this bottle now is:

3 oz Castor Oil

6 oz Sunflower Oil

15 drops Eucalyptus Oil

20 drops Tea Tree Oil

and unless my skin changes for some reason this is all that will ever be in this bottle. I love the smell of it too :-)

Gonna give wool a try!

2010-11-19T16:56:00.000-06:00

So after much thought I'm going to give wool covers a try too. I have chatted with several woman who live in either Florida or Texas who swear up and down that wool is awesome even in out hot temps. So I ordered some. I ordered 1 Sustainablebabyish knit wool cover in natural which is one of their new colors so I wont get it until mid December but that's ok since I wont have a baby to use it on until March :-) lol. While I was there I also ordered 2 of their snap less multi-fitted diapers (which are made with a heavy organic bamboo

cotton terry body with turned and top stitched leg elastic), 1 Organic Bamboo Fleece Doubler to try, 1 roll of Bummis Bio-soft Liners in small to try, 1 planet wise wet/dry bag (it has two separate pockets which I thought would work great for storing some wipes in one spot and dirty diapers in the big pocket), and of course some Eucalan no rinse wool wash. One of the reasons why I went with Sustainablebabyish is because of this: "sustainablebabyish/sloomb has partnered with Trees for the Future to offset the carbon generated in the production and care of each of our cloth diapers and knit wool covers. when you purchase a sustainablebabyish cloth diaper, a tree is planted in Southeast Asia. you know choosing cloth diapers keeps disposables out of landfills. now, your choice also reduces carbon emissions and helps reforest the planet." I love that this company does this!!
I just can't wait to get the new fluff in the mail! I only have a few more things that I want to buy for Javan that will go over his little bum so that saddens me but one of the reasons for doing cloth diapering is to save money so I can't really justify buying more than we need :-( so I guess I will savor these last few things that I need to buy (at least until he grows out of the ones we have :-D). I know I'm addicted lol

What's for dinner??

2010-11-15T07:52:00.002-06:00

Hopefully in 10 hrs it'll be a yummy Pot Roast! This will be my second attempt at using a slow cooker. The first attempt didn't go so well....yes I learned you can't use the pot that comes with a slow cooker as a dutch oven, the handle will melt in the oven and then I tried to salvage the dish by slow cooking it in the crock pot and everything just burnt up so I bought and ruined a crock pot all in one go!! This time I'm not sticking anything in the oven and I'm very hopeful that it will taste yummy! :-) The goal is to get good at least cooking with a crock pot so we can have healthy dinners every night that are to my style....easy! I don't so much hate cooking as I get no joy out of it, it simply bores me. Why I don't know and for that reason I've never really been any good at it because I simply don't put in much effort I guess. When I bake I still don't get much joy out of it either but at least most recipes are mix put it all in something pop in oven set timer and poof done. I can do that and am quite good at baking. It's making meals I lack at. So since my dad keeps informing me chili rice and cheese and tuna helper are not healthy acceptable meals for my family I'm branching out into a whole new world of unknown things that I can just dump into a pot set and walk away from and in 6ish hours have a healthy meal! Or at least that's the idea anyways :-)

Cloth Diapering Resources

2010-11-14T21:13:00.006-06:00

These are all places that I have found useful information!
*Useful tip for those that don't know and are using windows if you hold ctrl down while left clicking on a link it will open the link in a new window/tab so you wont navigate away from my page*

what the different types of diapers are general descriptions and functions
diaper definitions

some pics of how to fold Pre-folds

some more pics of different folds for Pre-folds

how to fold flat with video

Jaimee Gleisner's You Tube Channel she has a good Cloth Diapering 101 in a 7 part series.

next to each pic of one of these diapers is a link to see the diaper on a baby and on most of them they show how the diaper is actually put on and different pins or snappi uses

All About Cloth Diapers a blog I really like to read for opinions

Cotton Babies a company I love their products and they carry some other brands I love and they have free shipping!

Green Mountain Diapers If your looking for cotton that's all they carry besides a few hemp and wool items. The owner is very pro-natural fibers.

Detergent ratings for CDing

HE-Detergent ratings for CDing

My Favorite wool is from Sustainablebabyish great wool care instructions and I'm in love with their snapless multi-fitted cloth diapers too!

As I find more useful sites or info I'll add it to the list of resources or feel free to add your own favorites in the comments below!

Kawaii Cloth Diaper Snazzy Minky Giveaway!!

2010-11-12T16:49:00.002-06:00

O.k. so I have loads of CD friends who swear by these diapers! They are supposedly super cheap but super great diapers! So I'm hoping against all odds to to win this contest so I can get a free one to try it to see what all the hub-bub is all about :-) so fingers crossed! Wish me luck! I'm off to enter as many times as I can!!
And if you want to enter as well here is where you go http://audsbabydays.blogspot.com/2010/11/kawaii-cloth-diaper-snazzy-minky.html and good luck to you too!

a Hot Coco kinda day

2010-11-12T11:06:00.003-06:00

a warm bit of heaven to try and sooth my soul

It's been 3 weeks now of someone being sick in my house. It all started 3 weeks ago with Danika getting strep. By that weekend I had it. Then Danika went to school on Monday and called crying about her throat. I picked her up and took her to the dr the next day when her fever was 103. Tested for flu it was negative. So the dr suggested that we get some blood drawn to see if it was viral and mono. So I asked for the dr. to test Danika for Factor V Leiden since their dad has it. By the end of the week Lucas had strep (Yay) and we got the results that Danika's other thing was not mono but was a viral infection. She finally is all healthy and back at school this Monday. Tuesday me and Lucas had her viral infection while neither of us have had a fever he lost his voice other than that he's been fine. Me on the other hand I feel like someone took sandpaper and rubbed it up and down the inside of my throat! Today I seem to be slightly better! Yay I hope that this means I am on the up swing of this!

So last night the pediatrician called with Danika's results on the Factor V Leiden test. She has the heterozygous form of the mutation. So basically she is at higher risks for getting clots in veins and may cause deep vein thrombosis (DVT). But the risks aren't as high as someone who had the homozygous form of the mutation which is good news. The pediatrician stressed that she not ever be around cigarette smoke, start smoking when older or work in an environment where there is heavy cigarette smoke. She needs to stay on a healthy diet and it's important that she never becomes over weight. She will also be limited on birth control options later in life and will also have to most likely see a perinatologist as well as an OB if she ever gets pregnant. We will have to make sure any medicines she is given do not increase her risks of getting clots. There is a chance the boys have it to we will find out for sure sometime when they need blood work done.

I knew there was a chance she had it but knowing now is kinda hard it makes it a reality. Now I have to try and protect her from something we have no control over. She may live her whole life with never having an issue from the disorder. It just really makes me sad that she's not "healthy" and there is nothing we can do to fix her we just have to wait and hope she doesn't fall apart. I think probably in a few weeks the initial shock of the news will wear off and it'll just be one of those things to remember just in case but right now I want to hug my babies to me and keep them all safe even though that's not really possible.

my little princess

So I'm having a hard time copeing with knowing she really has this disorder. And as I sit here finishing my hot coco all I really can do is pray she will be ok and nothing bad will ever come to her, but it's hard to have that kind of faith in the unknown. Maybe I'd cope better if I didn't have my hormones outta whack from pregnancy but they are so I'm just sitting here waiting for school to be over so I can cuddle my little girl extra tight today because I think that's really what I'm needing right now.

Another Sunday Night

2010-11-07T19:24:00.001-06:00

Tonight we enjoyed a pleasant pot blending of Caribbean Breeze Herbal Tea (mix of strawberries, apples, elderberries, citrus peel, rose hips, hibiscus blossoms and rose petals), Apple Lemon Pomegranate Rooibos Tea (mix of green rooibos, apples, pomegranate seeds, lemongrass, cherry bits with pits, cardamom, red rose petals, & pomegranate blossoms ) with a hint of Peppermint Herbal Tea mixed in. This is one of my many favorite blends of tea it's especially yummy iced in the 100+ temps we get here in the summer. The boys spent their chill time messaging each other through their DSs. I love the brotherly bond they have and how they love spending time together sending each other silly messages instead of just vegging watching tv!

Woohoo finished ordering more diapers!!

2010-11-06T21:46:00.001-05:00

Ok so now that my credit card is smoking I think I've now got everything I need ordered! Today I ordered:
2 kissaluvs pail liners
12 kissaluvs bamboo/hemp doublers (the price was to good to pass up)
24 Organic Birdeye Flats
Snappis
A Gallon of Allens Naturally Laundry Detergent

So that's it! I still have stuff I want to buy but I got everything I think I actually need to successfully CD Javan onces he's born!!

100% Organic Cotton Vs. Plain 100% Cotton

2010-11-06T20:58:00.001-05:00

There are many options when buying cloth diapers (to say in the least) and while trying to sort through which ones I wanted to invest in two options kept coming up. Organic or non-organic cotton and bleached or unbleached. So I've been doing quite a bit of reading and will cover bleach vs unbleached in a different blog. So here is the skinny on Organic vs Non-Organic Cotton. This is mainly about the farming and harvesting part since that is where there is a big difference really. These are lists of facts I've gathered from all my reading compiled into one place for maybe better understanding and easier comparison.

Non-Organic Cotton:
*typically treats seeds with fungicides or insecticides
*uses genetically modified organism seeds for approximately 70% of US grown cotton
*Synthetic fertilizers are applied to the soil
*soil requires intensive irrigation
*Highly toxic herbicides are applied to kill weeds
*Highly toxic pesticides are used for pest control
*25% of the worlds consumption of insecticides are used for pest control on cotton
*use toxic chemicals to defoliate for harvesting

Non-organic cotton farming uses 2.03 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers (formaldehyde, sodium lauryl sulphate, parabens, chemical dyes etc) per year while only using 3% of the farmland.

Organic Cotton
*Uses untreated seeds
*Never uses genetically modified organism seeds
*Living soil is the basis of the organic farm
*Soil enriched by compost and other organic matter
*Builds strong soil through crop rotation
*Soil retains water efficiently
*Weeds are physically removed instead of chemical methods
*Uses beneficial insects, biological and cultural practices to control pests
*Maintains a balance between pests and their natural predators through healthy soil
*Relies mostly on the seasonal freeze for defoliation to harvest

Benefits of growing organic:
*protects surface and groundwater quality
*reduced risk insect and disease control by replacing insecticide with the manipulation of ecosystems
*long-term prevention of pests through beneficial habitat planting
*conservation of biodiversity
*eliminates the use of toxic chemicals used in cotton
*organically grown crops also yield soils with higher organic matter content, thicker topsoil depth, higher polysaccharides content, and lower modulus of rupture; therefore reducing considerably soil erosion
*saves lives pesticides & hazardous chemicals are believed to cause up to a million cases of poisoning a year and 20,000 deaths)
*no formaldehyde (used in the finished product) and according to NCI (National Cancer Institute) study, there is a link between formaldehyde exposure & cancer in the uppermost part of the throat
*no nickel is used which can cause skin rashes

USDA Organic Standards:(just a useful tidbit)
Four principal labels for organic cotton fiber products are:
1. 100% Organic Cotton. This must contain 100% organically produced cotton
2. Organic Cotton. This must contain 95% organically produced cotton
3. Made with Organic Cotton. This must contain at least 70% organically produced cotton.
4. Made with __% Organic Cotton. This must contain the percentage of cotton advertised.

So I don't know about you but for me it's an easy choice when buying my cloth diapers to go for the organic option when ever available because if your baby is wearing non-organic cotton diapers they are exposed to the pesticides and chemicals that were used to grow and manufacture the fabric. I find buying organic when ever possible helps send a message that I want a better place and cleaner environment. And this is one thing I can feel great about supporting!

Yay! Ordered more cloth diapers!!

2010-11-05T19:14:00.002-05:00

I placed another order today with Cotton Babies. I ordered:
3 Proraps classic in newborn
3 Bummis Super Brites in small colors blue, green and yellow
1 Bummis Fabulous Wet Bag size medium in yellow
2 Seconds BumGenius 3.0 One-size cloth diapers in white
1 BumGenius BabyLegs in William (got this item for free)

I've almost completed my stash! I just need to order my flats, my 2 laundry wetbags and laundry detergent! and hopefully get my diapers that I registered for :-) and then I'm good to go!

Duh

2010-11-04T20:28:00.000-05:00

So I've definitely hit that brain dead part of pregnancy. I am forgetting things left and right and can't remember stuff I've done the day before. This is so frustrating! Ugh! That and typing has become a challenge since I can't remember what I started typing about in the beginning lol! And I find myself just sitting around staring off into space! This is why i haven't blogged in a few days! Maybe I'll get some good sleep tonight and my brain will functions again!

AIO vs Pre-fold with Cover

2010-11-01T15:02:00.001-05:00

Someone asked me today what my thoughts on this topic were so here's what I told them!!

Good question! I have owned 1 AIO and never got around to using it, and let a friend have all my cloth diapers with the directions to return when done and 1 they never used them and 2 threw them away (needless to say it's a good thing he was one of my best friends cuz I wanted to kill him!!) . That being said at this point in time I have no plans to buy any AIO.

So from my readings this is what I think of AIO diapers:

Pluses!! They are the closest to a disposable diaper as you can get! They are a water proof cover, diaper and a liner all sewn into one, no stuffing just one thing to strap on to the baby. That being said you can buy diaper doublers, inserts or prefolds to add absorbency if you have a heavy wetter (in that case to me it seems like just as much work as a pre-fold with a cover).

AIO draw backs. They are like the ultimate diaper & so is the price! Also never having used one they seem like with everything sewn together it will take longer to dry and just like disposables you only get one use out of each diaper once used it has to be washed again. Lastly if something goes wrong with it that's a whole diaper gone :-(

Pre-fold/flats/contoured or fitted diapers can all be used with a cover. The reason I'm going to be using pre-folds and flats is because you are able to customize the fit as your baby as it grows and your baby's shape better than with an other diaper. The folding techniques are really really easy to do and with most covers you can just fold the pre-folds up like a newspaper and lay in the cover and go! Unlike AIO during every diaper change all you have to change out is the diaper not the cover unless it gets soiled so you need less covers. I also like the fact that if a cover does get dirty I can wash it in my sink really quick if I need it asap and they line dry in like 15 mins! The only cons I can think about for this type route of diapering is 1. not everyone knows how they work so you'll have to teach who ever might have to change your baby how to do it and 2 it takes maybe a few seconds longer than and AIO to do (I'm just assuming this since like I said I've never actually used and AIO but have used disposables before but with practice I'm sure prefold and cover will be just about as fast as AIO diapers).

And for an example I'm going to use BumGenius' products for pricing:

AIO (I was told you need 24 diapers to get through 2 days of diapering)

BumGenius 3.0 deluxe AIO (these come in x-small, s,m,l so you will have to buy more as your baby grows) $382.80

Organic option

BumGenius Elemental One-size AIO (fits baby from 7-35lbs) $598.80

Pre-Fold (you need 24) & Cover (you need 6)

BumGenius Flip One Size Diaper Cover (they are supposed to fit baby 7-35 pounds and I was told you need only 6 for 2 days) 6=$83.70

BumGenius Flip Insert Stay Dry (these aren't pre-folds but these are their non organic option) 24=$118.80

Organic option

BumGenius Flip Insert Organic (it's an actual prefold) 24=$190.80

Summary

AIO $382.80 vs Prefold & cover $202.50 and these AIO don't grow with the baby so you'll have to buy more as they get bigger! That's a $180.30 difference

Organic AIO $598.80 vs organic prefold & cover $274.50 with a difference of $324.30

So for me Prefold and Cover is a much economical option for me and I'd have less of a problem replacing them than an AIO if something did go wrong. I put in the two different price options because I plan to use as much organic products as possible and from what i've read organic cotton is more absorbent than regular cotton. So this is all just my personal opinion so take it for what it is lol bet you didn't think you'd get a novel for an answer :-D