I’m walking aimlessly up and down the aisles of the grocery store. My eyes are kinda glazed over and my cart is basically empty.

I feel paralyzed. Overwhelmed.

My family needs food to eat, but I have no idea how to buy healthy food at the grocery store. Most of this food doesn’t fit into my vision of feeding my family only real, whole, organic, non-processed foods. And many of the foods that do fit that vision, don’t fit into my food budget.

I really don’t know where to start. I wish someone would just tell me. I wish someone could hold my hand up and down these aisles and tell me what healthy food to buy.

This was me several years ago as our family first started making the switch to more real, whole foods. I was quite overwhelmed and intimidated. There’s A LOT of great information out there about how to feed your family real food, but honestly, some of it can seem very all-or-nothing.

You feel like you have to change everything you’ve ever known about food and eating overnight. You wander through the grocery store thinking basically all the food is bad, for one reason or another.

It can even be so discouraging it keeps you from making any changes at all.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are simple, easy switches you can make the very next time you go to the grocery store that can have a positive impact on your family’s diet and health. And many of these changes can also have a positive impact on the environment as well.

All it takes, is just a little tweaking to your grocery list. I’m here to walk you through those simple changes today!

5 Simple Yet Healthy Foods to Buy on Your Next Trip to the Grocery Store

1. Butter

If you usually reach for margarine at the store, it’s time for you to stop! Margarine is made of trans-fats, which have been found to be extremely harmful to our health. And while much conventional nutrition advice says to avoid saturated and animal fats, like butter, the truth is, that’s bad advice. So make sure you grab butter, instead of margarine, on your next trip to the grocery.

Good: Salted Butter – any grocery store brand of salted butter is a better choice than margarine. I tend to avoid unsalted butter because it contains natural flavors and you never really know exactly what that means.

Better: Butter made with milk from cows not treated with rBST/rBGH is the next best choice. Our family likes and uses Challenge Butter often because I can usually get it on sale and each box includes a coupon that I can use for my next purchase. Buying organic butter would even be one step better. If you have access to a store brand of organic butter, like Whole Foods or Trader Joes, they are reasonably priced.

Best: Grass-fed butter is the best and healthiest choice. Kerrygold is a popular grass-fed butter that’s widely available at chain grocery stores now. I can find it at Aldi, Meijer, and Costco. But, it is pricier, and you will probably notice a difference in taste.

2. Oats

While cereal, cereal bars, and instant oatmeal packets are standard breakfasts foods, you can (and should!) replace them with one simple, versatile ingredient: rolled oats. Having rolled oats on hand gives you so many options for healthier, nutritious, and affordable breakfasts!

Stovetop oatmeal is so simple and only takes about five minutes to make. It’s a staple in our house on weekday mornings. My kids love it with cinnamon, vanilla, and coconut oil mixed in while cooking and topped with frozen blueberries.

With oats you can also make homemade granola to replace boxed cereal, or to put on top of yogurt with some fresh fruit. There are also so many options for make ahead baked oatmeal, refrigerator oats, oatmeal in the crockpot, and even oatmeal pancakes! Just do a quick Pinterest or Google search!

Good: Basic Rolled Oats – any store brand rolled oats are a healthy and economical choice.

Best: Organic Rolled Oats – especially when purchased in bulk to save on packaging.

3. Whole Chicken

Most of us are likely to grab boneless, skinless chicken breasts at the grocery because that’s what we’re familiar with. If you’re anything like me, the idea of cooking a whole chicken either scares you, grosses you out, or both! But I promise you, it’s really not scary at all!

Cooking a whole chicken is actually a super easy and affordable way to feed your family high quality protein and then save even more money by making delicious and nutritious homemade chicken broth!

Once you have your whole chicken, it’s super easy to cook it in the crockpot! Or now I use my instant pot! Then when it’s finished cooking, you can also make your homemade chicken broth in the instant pot or crockpot too! Pick out a whole chicken the next time you’re at the grocery store, and see just how easy it can be!

Good: Whole Chicken raised without antibiotics – Many chain grocery stores now carry more naturally raised chicken. I can find this type of whole chicken at Aldi and Meijer.

Better: Organic Whole Chicken – Definitely a little more expensive then chickens raised without antibiotics, but the organic label also means they’ve been raised on organically certified land, fed a non-GMO, certified organic diet, and had access to the outdoors. I can find organic whole chicken at Costco for a decent price.

Best: Pasture-Raised, Local Whole Chicken – Although this is not a grocery store option, if you have the time and resources it’s a great idea to find a local farmer who raises their chickens on pasture and with organic practices, whether or not they are certified organic. You may be able to find this type of chicken at a lower price than organic whole chickens at the grocery store!

4. Real Salt

Salt might seem like a strange item to end up on this list. But the kind of salt you use matters. Did you know that most conventional table salt has been stripped of the necessary trace minerals naturally found in unrefined sea salt? And it often contains additives like anti-caking agents, and sometimes even sugar (dextrose)!

Choosing unrefined sea salt instead of table salt is one of the easiest switches you can make. Just use the sea salt the exact same way you use your table salt – in cooking, baking, and flavoring your food. I use and love Redmond’s Real Salt and can find it at all my local grocery stores. If you have leftover table salt you don’t want to waste, check of these effective ways to clean your home with salt!

Best: Unrefined Sea Salt that contains natural trace minerals.

5. Whole Milk and full-fat dairy

Like butter, full-fat dairy has gotten a bad rap because of its saturated fat. But fat in your diet is definitely not something to be scared of, eating fat does not make you fat. In fact, you need to have some fat in order to retain the fat-soluble vitamins A & D in the dairy products.

Another issue with low or no fat dairy products is that they contain a lot of additives in order to make them taste like their full-fat counterparts.

Here’s a look at a national store brand’s fat free sour cream ingredient list: Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk, Modified Food Starch, Contains Less Than2% of: Whey, Cream, Artificial Color, Propylene Glycol Monoester, Sodium Phosphate, Agar, Xanthan Gum, Cellulose Gel, Locust Bean Gum, Cellulose Gum, Vitamin A Palmitate, Polysorbate 80, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Enzymes.

Besides the artificial colors and flavors, and chemical additives, even though it’s supposed to be “sour cream”, cream only makes the list after the “Contains Less than 2% of”. Something about that is just off to me.

Compare that to a highly recognized national brand’s ingredients in their sour cream: Cultured Cream.

Well then.

So skip over the low-fat dairy products and choose the full fat versions instead.

Good: rBST/rBGH Free Whole Milk and dairy products – rBST/rBGH are hormones given to cows to increase their milk supply. I personally don’t trust artificial hormones in my food, and don’t want those hormones to be passed on to my growing kids. Read the labels to make sure your milk and other dairy products are rBST/rBGH free. Fortunately, you can easily find hormone free milk at the grocery store, and there are national brands committed to using hormone free milk in their dairy products too.

A note on milk: organic milk is not necessarily a better option in this case, as most organic milk is ultra-high-temperature (UHT) pasteurized. This basically allows the milk to be shelf-stable, meaning it could sit unopened in your pantry, and voids it of much of the nutritional value. Here’s an article that discusses the different pros and cons of choosing organic milk.

Better: Organic dairy products like yogurt, sour cream, cheese, etc. When available, organic dairy products can be a great choice. These products must be made with with milk from cows not treated with rBST/rBGH, not given antibiotics, fed organic, GMO-free, feed, and given access to pasture. I have been very happy to find more and more organic dairy products available at Aldi!

Best: Local, grass-fed milk. If you have the time and resources, try to find a local dairy that produces grass-fed milk and other dairy products. Even better if you can purchase that milk in a local grocery or health food store!

I was pretty proud last week, as I was checking out at Aldi, my cart full of natural and organic products and lots of produce, the cashier exclaimed, “This is the healthiest cart I’ve seen in a long time!” Now that I know what to healthy foods to buy, and what foods to avoid, grocery shopping is no longer stressful or overwhelming!

Making these simple changes to your grocery shopping is a great start to feeding your family healthier, real food. Now you’ll be able to fill your cart at the grocery store with confidence, knowing you’re making good choices for your family and for the environment!

Next week we’ll talk about five more simple changes you can make for an even healthier shopping cart (this post was getting a little long)!

What are your favorite healthy foods to buy at the grocery store? How have you made the switch to buying real food at the grocery store? Share with us in the comments!

The post 5 Simple Yet Essential Changes to Make at the Grocery Store appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

It’s funny how things change as we get older, isn’t it? From high school through my early years of marriage, I relished sitting down in front of a fresh white piece of paper to write detailed, lengthly resolution/goal lists between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Things like keeping my room clean and making the varsity soccer team evolved into organizing my entire house and finding a new job I was passionate about.

I had lots of time to focus on myself and what I wanted, and just as much time to spend achieving my goals.

Then a baby, followed by more babies, burst onto the scene over-flowing both my heart and my time, and turning my plans and goals upside down in the process.

No longer could I look forward to uninterrupted hours ticking by on the clock while I organized my sock drawer or knit myself a scarf. But, I still had big goals and dreams, and so for the first few years after having babies I continued to write out detailed resolutions at the start of the new year.

As time went on though, the blank check-boxes on my list glared back at me month after month, and even year after year, as I failed to achieve more and more of my big dream goals.

Maybe resolutions weren’t such a great idea after all! I had young kids, a home to manage, and work to do. I was just trying to make it through a day without losing my car keys, or my mind. What mom has time for such big ideas and dreams when so much of her day is spent wiping noses and butts? Could I really make a resolution just to take a shower at least every other day?!

I thought my days of setting New Year’s Resolutions were over.

Set Goals You Can Actually Achieve

And then my kids got a little older, and I started to have time to do things like go to the bathroom by myself again. And with that little extra time, I was able to start setting goals for myself again too.

When I was younger it was easier to dream big and set long term goals I could work on over the course of a year. But now that life was filled with changing diapers, keeping up with the laundry, and school carpool, I decided I needed to set shorter term goals. These goals we’re more realistic and achievable, and would eventually lead to the bigger changes I was looking for.

For me, as a busy, easily overwhelmed, working and stay-at-home mama of young kids, setting three month goals was the way I got myself back into the goal setting groove. I want to encourage you to try short term goal setting to see how it can help you to set goals you can actually achieve too!

Should you set shorter-term goals?

If you find yourself overwhelmed by long term dreaming and planning, struggling to know what you’ll make for dinner next week, much less what your life will look like 6 months from now, then short-term goal setting is for you!

Or if you have big dreams and plans, but are having trouble actually implementing those plans and achieving your goals because of your family and home responsibilities, then short-term goal planning can help you too!

3 Benefits of setting short-term goals:

1. It takes less time and mental energy than trying to plan for a whole year at a time. I can sit down with my blank piece of paper and set 3-5 goals for the next three months, in 15-20 minutes.
2. There’s more time to reach your goals then when you set monthly goals, but not so much time that you can get distracted and forget what you’re supposed to be working on.
3. You’ll stay inspired and motivated as you’re able to achieve your goals and cross them off your list, and then set new goals for the next three months!

What are your goals for this year?

I hope that one of your resolutions for this new year is to make changes toward a greener and more natural lifestyle.

I think we’d all like to be healthier and for our families to be healthier this year, and I think we’d like to know that our choices are making an impact on the world around us. We’d like to do our small part in making this world a better place.

Making the switch to green and natural living in different areas of our lives is a great way to do both of those things at the same time: live healthier and make an impact on the world!

The choices we make matter, and this can be the year that we are more intentional about the impact of the choices we make every day. In our own homes we can reduce our family’s exposure to toxins, make changes to the food that we eat, and conserve resources, all of which will also have an impact on the world that we live in.

There are always more green and natural lifestyle changes I want to make then I have time for, though!

Can you relate? 

And other times I know what change I’d like to make, but I don’t know where to begin and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

So, I want to encourage you to set 2-3 goals, or commit to 2-3 changes, over the next three months that will move you and your family toward the greener and healthier lifestyle you’re looking for. And I have some simple ideas to help you get started.

Once you achieve those goals you’ll be excited to set more goals and pursue even more changes in the following three months!

12 Natural Living Goals for a Healthier Family

• Make your own homemade green cleaners

• Turn your thermostat down (or up) a degree or two

• Make recycling easy for your family

• Quit buying paper towels and other disposable cleaning products and replace them with cloth

• Make simple changes at the grocery store (we’ll talk more about this next week!)

• Switch from plastic to glass in your kitchen

• Start a simple compost pile

• Conserve water around your home

• Switch to non-toxic personal care products

• Start using natural remedies

• Declutter and simplify your stuff

• Reduce toxic products in your home and replace them with safer alternatives

Let’s Do This!

Decide which areas of your life are most important for you to start making changes and choose 2-3 ideas from this list to work on over the next few months.

To help you get started, I put together a quick six day green living challenge. Each day you’ll receive a new step to take toward a green and natural lifestyle. These steps are incredibly simple and easy, they’ll take you less than 15 minutes each day, and most of them are included in the list above to help give you a jump start on your goals!

By the end of the week, you will have made six important changes toward a greener home and lifestyle giving you the inspiration and motivation you need to keep going. You’ll see just how easy green and natural living really can be!

Click here to sign up for the Simple Steps to Green Your Life Challenge today, we’ll be starting on Jan. 2nd! I can’t wait to have you join us!

You’re Invited!

I also want to invite you to my first Facebook Live event on the Live Renewed Facebook page! I’m a little nervous, but also super excited to discuss how to set goals you can actually achieve and green living goals with you guys. We’ll be chatting on Tuesday, Jan. 3rd at 2pm, so mark your calendars and check it out!

If you have any questions about green goal setting, please email them to me at emily@liverenewed.com, so I can answer them during the Live event! I’ll try to get to as many questions as I can!

Until then, I hope you can find some alone time in a quiet place this week, preferably not the bathroom, to sit down with your fresh, white piece of paper and write down some short-term goals and resolutions for yourself! Happy New Year!

The post The Mom’s Guide to Setting Goals You Can Actually Achieve! (+12 Natural Living Goals for the New Year!) appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

It’s important to maximize after-school time with our kids in order to encourage free play time and enjoy quality time together as a family.

I stare down at her smooth skin, her blonde hair flowing across her shoulders, her eyes closed tightly, and I realize that even though she’s right here in front of me, I miss her.

This is the first time I’m seeing, truly seeing her today. The hours since she got home from school have been jam packed and overwhelming. Seeing her so still and peaceful makes my heart flutter a little bit faster.

As I’m tucking my kids into bed at night, I often think back over the day and wish I had been more intentional with the time we had together after school.

Watching them smile as we played a board game or card game.

Seeing the pride in their eyes over their latest art masterpiece instead of their eyes glued to a screen.

Squeezing their little hand in mine as we kick up fallen leaves during a walk after dinner.

My husband and I have made the intentional decision to send our kids to public school, so we accept that they are away from us for a good chunk of the day.

And as my kids are getting older, we’re also getting busier after school. We have soccer practice and dance class and church gatherings. The time can seem to slip right through our fingers.

So the hours when we are together are precious, I want to maximize after-school time to actually enjoy that time with my kids. I also want my kids to have time and space to reconnect with the family, and to benefit from playing and just being kids.

How To Maximize After-School Time With Your Kids

1. After School Snacks

As my kids stumble through the door after school, backpacks and shoes flying in all directions, the very first thing they need is a snack.

They’re hungry, right on the edge of being hangry, if we wait too long to eat.

In order to avoid the serious meltdowns and poor behavior that make me want to hide in my closet with chocolate, I give them a healthy snack to fill them up and fuel their bodies, as soon as they walk in the door.

I’ve found the best way to give my kids a snack is to just set it out on the table and let them discover and eat it on their own. When I ask them what they want for a snack it becomes too much of a struggle for them to make a decision.

So I usually set out fruits or veggies with a healthy dip. And they devour them all on their own!

But, a few nights a week we have the mad dash to get out the door to soccer practice or dance class on time. So we’ll grab a CLIF Kid Zbar® on our way out the door. These have become our go-to snack for fueling up on the go.

CLIF Kid makes nutritious snacks with organic ingredients that are perfect for active and growing kids. My kids love the delicious flavors and I love knowing they’re getting nutrients they need.

See how CLIF Kid continues to encourage kids to get out and play.

2. Free Playtime

We’ve avoided the blood sugar crash so we can all enjoy our time together for the rest of the evening. I want to encourage my kids to use their time for free and active play. I don’t want them to miss out on playing even though they’re in school for most of the day.

I’ve shared before about how I manage after school screen time for my kids. But after too many doors slamming when I’ve told my kids screen time is over, I’ve decided to discourage screen time as much as possible on weeknights.

It takes too much time away from other things we could be doing.

Time we could be enjoying together as a family.

Time my kids need to use to be active and playful.

With a little planning and creativity, we’ve established a good routine that will help my kids to be healthy and thrive throughout the school year.

It includes:

• Playing outside. As often as the weather allows I get my kids outside to play. Practicing soccer or basketball in the backyard, riding bikes, or swinging on our backyard swing set.
• Creative play. We value toys that encourage open ended play in our house. Building with LEGO, playing with wooden blocks or magnetic tiles, or creating art are favorite after school activities. My kids can do these either together or alone, depending on how they’re feeling.
• Guided play time. Playing a board game or card game together is a great way to teach our kids how to follow rules, to be good winners and losers, and how to get along with others. It also allows me to spend quality time talking and playing with them.

For more on the importance of play, check out the book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul* by Stuart Brown M.D.

3. Family Time

After dinner, we have one last chance to connect with our kids before bedtime. On evenings when we don’t have other activities, we enjoy a family walk around our neighborhood. We often stop at a place for our kids to play where they can run laps on the track or play a pick up game of soccer with neighborhood friends. It’s a great way to keep our kids active and playing outside, even on busy school nights.

Other nights we might stay home and savor our time together by getting involved in play time with our kids. As often as we can, we make the extra effort to stop and simply delight in our kids and spend special time with them.

It’s incredibly fulfilling to see the contentment of the day in my kids eyes as I’m tucking them into bed at night when we’ve been intentional about our after-school time together. They enjoyed healthy food, played, created and stayed active, and reconnected to the family.

They’re filled up physically and emotionally and ready to tackle the day that awaits for them the next morning!

*And just in case you’re thinking that my family is perfect and you want us to adopt you, please know that this is just the way we try to intentionally maximize after-school time. But, our kids are still just kids, and we are still imperfect parents. We definitely have our fair share of crying, fighting, tantrums, and meltdowns even on our smoothest of days.

How do you intentionally maximize after-school time with your kids? What are your kids favorite ways to play, or your family’s favorite activities to do together? Share your ideas with us in the comments!

Then, if this post has been helpful to you, please Share It with your friends, or Pin It to read again later!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through a link I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

What would you like to read next?

Encouraging Your Kids to Love Reading

12 Ways to Make Your Day Better When You’re Feeling Down

7 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Clean

The post 3 Essential Ways to Maximize After-School Time with Your Kids appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

You’ve made it through labor and delivery and are snuggling your sweet babe. But, you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck! You’re exhausted, you’re sore in places you didn’t know could be sore, and you find yourself crying and have no idea why.

I’ve been there too. I’m now eight weeks postpartum and want to share with you how this has been my easiest recovery and postpartum period yet! Because it hasn’t always been this way. I remember breaking down in the bathroom at 3:00am after my first baby was born because I was so exhausted and overwhelmed. Thankfully, my recovery has gotten easier each time I’ve had a baby, but after four babies, I’ve also figured out what helps the most, including something I’ve never done before!

8 Postpartum Self Care Practices for the Natural Mama

Drink a lot of Water!

My mom gave me this advice when my first daughter was born: never sit down to nurse without a glass of water. Even better, drink a glass of water before you sit down to nurse, and also bring another glass with you. It’s so important to stay hydrated when you’re recovering from your delivery and establishing your milk supply. Drink lots of water, all day long.

I realize that drinking water is not necessarily a magic bullet that will solve every mom’s low milk supply issues. But, if you are struggling with your milk supply, I want to encourage you to increase the amount of water you’re drinking and see if that helps. At the very least, it will boost your energy levels and also help to keep away at least one dreaded postpartum side-effect, constipation.

Belly Wrap

Quick tip if this is your first baby: leave your pre-pregnancy jeans at home. You may be surprised by the size of your belly after your babe is born. And if you’ve had a baby before you know how stretched out and weak your ab muscles are after delivery. I think it gets worse with each pregnancy and delivery, at least it has for me!

I had a large diastisis recti with this pregnancy, (which is when your ab muscles separate from each other – read more here) so I knew I would need some extra support after delivery to strengthen those muscles again and help to shrink my belly back down. (In case you’re curious, at eight weeks postpartum I’m still not even close to a pre-baby belly, it’s a long process, and that’s okay! But my diastisis is almost closed!)

I’ve been using a Belly Bandit when I’m at home to support my belly and my back. It’s especially helpful when I’m also wearing Griffin. You should only use a belly wrap for around 6 weeks postpartum though. Any longer and it can cause your ab muscles to become weaker by supporting them instead of allowing them to strengthen themselves.

Bottom Spray and Balm

Ditch the pain relieving spray with less than ideal ingredients they give you at the hospital and soothe your sore bum and girl parts with these natural and organic products from Earth Mama Angel Baby instead: Mama Bottom Spray and Bottom Balm. I applied the bottom spray each time that I used the bathroom and and the balm after my showers. These make such a difference! They soothe sore parts, helping you to feel so much better down there, and also help to speed up healing.

Showers

As a new mom, it can be so hard to feel like you can leave your baby for the 10-15 minutes it takes to shower. But those minutes can be magical quiet time and really help to improve your mood.

Whether you hand your baby off to your husband, partner, or friend, or you pull the bouncy seat into the bathroom for your babe, make an effort to shower regularly! And if, like me, your postpartum hormones cause you to sweat and stink more than usual, you’ll probably feel better if you try to get in a shower every day. And showering is usually followed by getting dressed in something other than pajamas. Unless your getting dressed situation is similar to mine.

Pick out clothes the night before

Am I the only new mama who finds herself still in pajamas at lunch time many days? Sometimes that’s perfectly okay. But other times it really does help to get dressed and ready to feel more prepared for the day.

Our baby sleeps in our bedroom, so I miss my chance to get dressed if I don’t do it before he goes down for his morning nap. I don’t want to risk waking him up by sneaking in the room to pick out clothes (especially because that can be a whole thing – see the next idea). So I find myself still in my nursing nightgown at noon!

I’ve started picking out my clothes the night before to help myself get dressed easily and quickly in the mornings before the baby’s nap, or to easily grab my clothes to get dressed in another room. But, the real question is, what do you actually wear after having a baby?

Postpartum clothes

For most of us, getting dressed after having a baby is not as easy as just pulling out our pre-pregnancy clothes and throwing them on! And maternity clothes aren’t any better after a week or two postpartum.

I’ve come up with a uniform that works pretty well for me, and as a bonus I was able to wear some of these pieces when I was pregnant too. My daily outfit usually consists of leggings, a nursing tank and a loose fitting top. And even though I’m totally not trendy, these pieces are really popular right now, so it’s easy to find lots of options at affordable prices.

My favorite nursing tanks are Bravado (a little pricey, but SO worth it), and my favorite leggings are a pair of compression leggings from Fabletics, the fabric is nice and thick and they really do help to hold in my jiggly belly. I also love LuLaRoe leggings. In fact, LuLaRoe clothing is basically perfect for wearing both while pregnant and postpartum! Their leggings are the softest ever (although not as belly-smoothing as the Fabletics ones) and their tops are generously cut to help cover up the postpartum belly. If you’re not familiar with LuLaRoe you can check out my friends’ groups to learn more: Meg and Alicia.

Getting out of maternity clothes and investing in a few items you can easily wear postpartum can help you get back to feeling like yourself after delivery!

But no matter what you end up wearing, if you only do one thing postpartum, it should be this: 

Placenta Pills

Want to know the best way to eliminate that postpartum hit-by-a-truck feeling? This is absolutely my #1 recommendation for an easier postpartum recovery! I will admit though, I had a hard time getting on board with this. I didn’t even know it was a thing with my first two babies, and then with my third, I knew about the benefits of taking placenta pills, but I still couldn’t really handle the idea.

When my sister had twins in February, she had her placentas encapsulated and raved about how the pills helped her c-section recovery and made her transition to life with two babies and a toddler so much better. She called them her superwoman pills and really encouraged me to try it this time around. I knew that having my 4th baby at 35 years old, with three older and demanding kids, I was going to need all the help I could get!

My midwife’s assistant took my placenta the evening that Griffin was born, encapsulated it for me, and brought the pills back 3 days later at my postpartum visit. I started taking them and noticed a difference in my energy levels and emotional well-being right away. I didn’t feel like I needed to take naps every day and didn’t experience the roller coaster of emotions (tears pouring down my face but having no idea why I’m crying), the way I did after my other deliveries.

And so far, I also haven’t struggled with the mild baby blues I experienced with my other three babies. The difference they have made for me is incredible. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to take placenta pills after every delivery!

But since I can’t, I just want to encourage you – whether your having your first baby, your fourth, or your sixth. If you’ve never encapsulated your placenta and taken it for postpartum care and recovery, you really should. You will be amazed at the impact it has on your recovery! 

If you’re nearing the end of your pregnancy, or have recently had a baby, incorporating these self care practices into your day can help you feel better and recover more quickly. As moms we often give everything of ourselves to our kids, families, and homes. Your body and emotions have been through so much, it’s okay, even important, to take time to focus on your postpartum recovery!

These are the self-care practices I’ve found to be most helpful to me in my postpartum recovery this time around. Be sure to also read about the natural remedies for the postpartum baby blues I recommend. Again, I’d definitely add placenta pills to that list – they are truly superwoman pills!

When you have a new baby you are sacrificing so much – your body, your sleep, your time – so be intentional about taking care of yourself during the postpartum phase mama! You deserve it!

If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends who could also use the encouragement! I’d love for you to Pin It or Share It on Facebook using the buttons below! 

What did you find most helpful during your postpartum recovery? Have you taken placenta pills? Would you ever consider it?

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Live Renewed! 

The post 8 Postpartum Self Care Ideas for the Natural Mama appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

Griffin Lee was born at home on Sunday, August 7th at 10:11pm.

However, this story actually begins on Wednesday, August 3rd. I woke up early in the morning, around 4:45am, with what I thought could be contractions, like I have had with each of my labors. As I got up and started going about my day, the contractions stayed pretty regular, but weren’t very strong or getting any stronger, I could manage them fairly easily. But they continued throughout the day, and I tried some home methods to try to get them going stronger.

Because all my other labors had basically happened this same way, I was convinced this was the real thing. By early evening, I felt like it was getting a little more serious. So Jer’s brother picked up our kids, and Jer and I headed out for a walk where my contractions seemed to get a lot stronger and closer together.

When we got home, I called my friend and birth photographer, Meg, to come over and also let my midwife know that things were progressing. Meg helped me get our bed prepared for the home birth, and she and Jer set up and started filling up the birth tub.

My midwife and her assistants arrived around 9:00pm or so, but things had settled back down by then, and I was managing the contractions easily again. My midwife didn’t check me to see how far along I was, but just said she was watching how things went. At this point I started to feel like I wasn’t really sure what was going on, I felt like things weren’t progressing the way I expected them to, and the way they had with my other labors. Jer and I went for another walk, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference in the strength or timing of the contractions.

When we got back from the walk, I broke down because I was so discouraged and finally asked my midwife to check me, because I needed to know what was happening. She did, and determined that I was not actually in labor, I was only 3 cm dilated and the baby’s head was not really engaged and was not in a very good position to make the contractions productive or to really make progress in labor. She said that things could change quickly and I could end up having the baby the next day, or it could be several more days, or even a week or more.

All of this was extremely hard for me. I felt so discouraged and embarrassed that I had thought I was in labor when I really wasn’t. That the midwife and her assistants had come out and set everything up and now they were packing up and leaving. This was my fourth baby, I should know when I’m in labor and when I’m not, right?!

Thursday I woke up and just decided that I was going to ignore the contractions I was having until they were so strong that I couldn’t ignore them anymore. I had been having regular contractions on and off since Sunday, July 31st, which kept making me think that the baby was going to be born soon, but it just wasn’t happening the way I thought or expected. I had never experienced this kind of pre-labor, or prodromal labor, before.

So we kept ourselves busy for the next few days. I worked hard to relax and let go of control about when the baby would arrive. On Saturday, Jer took down the birth tub that had still been up in our dining room, and I jokingly said, “Now that you finally took that down I’m going to go into labor!” That’s how it always works, right?!

That evening, we headed to New Buffalo, MI to grab dinner at one of our favorite summer restaurants and spend a few hours at the beach, just to relax and spend some quality time together as a family. I thought it might be our last chance this summer to get to the beach before the baby was born.

Well, it turns out I was right about both the birth tub and the beach. But I really had no idea how quickly things would progress.

Sunday morning, the 7th, I again was awakened by contractions around 4:30, but I tried to ignore them and didn’t let myself think that the baby could be born that day. They were coming about every 30 minutes, but I stayed in bed and tried to get as much rest as I could.

I got up around 8:00am and was curious if the contractions would get any stronger, but, of course, they didn’t. My friend Meg asked if I wanted to go for a walk, and so we took our youngest girls down by the river and walked for about an hour. I didn’t have one contraction during the entire walk, so I told myself, this is definitely not happening today.

I did have a few more contractions as the day went on and then later in the afternoon our family snuggled up together to watch the Olympics because it was so hot outside. I fell asleep on the couch and took a nap for about an hour, and the contractions stopped again. See, the baby was definitely not coming today! 

When I woke up, Jer told me he was going to take our van through the car wash and would take the kids with him. I sat on my birth ball, continued to watch the Olympics, and tried to do some work on my computer while the house was nice and quiet. While they were gone, I started having contractions that were about 10 minutes apart. And they were strong enough that I had to stop and stand up to breathe through them.

I was thinking these were definitely contractions I couldn’t ignore, but I still didn’t really believe it was serious labor. After all, I hadn’t been having contractions all day, the way I had with my other labors.

Around 6pm, I decided to get in the shower to see if the contractions would continue or go away. I told Jer I would call the midwife after my shower. I was really worried about jumping the gun and calling her too soon and having it not be the “real” thing, again.

My shower took longer than I expected because I had several more strong contractions in the shower and after I got out they kept coming hard and strong. So around 7:30 I finally let my midwife know I was having contractions, but told her she didn’t need to come yet, that it wasn’t serious enough. But a little while later I did call my friend Meg and ask her to come over and help, because Jer was still taking care of the kids, feeding them dinner, and our bed and bedroom weren’t ready and the birth tub wasn’t set up. She got to our house around 8:30. Also, Jer had called the midwife around 8:15 and told her that he wanted her to come because he felt like it was more serious then I realized.

(You can tell by my face that things were definitely getting more serious!)

I had been laboring by myself in my room or the bathroom most of this time because I couldn’t handle the craziness of my kiddos. At one point I realized that the women’s gymnastics qualifying round was on and I was trying to watch the floor routines but couldn’t because I had to go into my room every few minutes to work through my contractions.

My kids were watching and I told them, “I’m so mad I can’t watch the Olympics with you!” Ha! At this point I still thought I wouldn’t have the baby for several more hours. I was honestly expecting a middle of the night baby.

Once Meg arrived she helped me double make our bed, the way you do to prepare for a home birth. She also helped my two younger kids pack overnight supplies in their backpacks because Jer’s brother was coming to pick them up again. Kaelyn really, really wanted to stay for the birth, so Jer talked to her about the reality of what was going to happen. She said she understood and wanted to be here, so he told her she could stay.

Within the next 15-20 minutes, I started to feel like I was in transition and started freaking out that I was going to have the baby before the midwife got to our house. I tried to relax and slow down the labor as much as I could, but it was still coming on strong. I was telling myself and the baby to just wait until the midwife arrived. I was feeling a ton of pressure and felt the baby moving down.

I asked Jer and Meg to meet the midwife at the door and ask her to bring in the birth stool right into the bedroom because I really thought I was going to have the baby as soon as she got to our house.

The midwife finally arrived around 9:20, and I was so relieved! She joked with me that I was cutting it a little close by making sure it was the real thing this time!

I sat right down on the birth stool and the contractions were strong and super painful and overwhelming. I was trying to push, but the baby’s head was in a bad position and still was not completely down. So the midwife helped me move into different positions to try to help the baby move down and through the birth canal.

This was some of the hardest and most painful work I have ever done in labor – or at least it felt like it at the time. I’m sure my other labors were just as hard and painful, but it’s amazing how those memories kind of fade and become softer over time, isn’t it?!

I laid on my side on the bed, I was on my hands and knees on the bed, I sat on the birth stool leaning back against my midwife and pulling on a towel that Jer was holding the other end of in front of me, I laid on my back on the bed with my knees pulled up and back, all to try to get the baby to move down and into position.

My midwife checked me, and as is the theme with each of my deliveries, I was about 9 1/2 cm and had a small lip of cervix that the baby’s head still had to move past. She helped to push it out of the way during the next few contractions. The whole time I was just saying over and over, I can’t do this! And complaining about how bad it hurt. But Jer and my midwife and her assistant just kept encouraging me to try to relax and to keep going because soon I would be meeting my new baby.

Finally, after I was fully dilated, my midwife suggested I do a supported squat using Jer and the birth stool. Jer sat on the birth stool behind me and I rested my arms on his legs and he held me under my arms while I was squatting down. This was the position that finally moved the baby down and he was ready to be born!

I pushed and could feel that the baby was crowning. My midwife told me to relax and breathe and wait, but my body literally would not let me. I continued to push the baby down and out and all of the sudden, he was born!!

I was so relieved and also a little in shock. The whole thing had really happened so, so quickly and was such a blur. Earlier in the day I had definitely not been expecting him to be born that quickly. It was 10:11pm, less than an hour after the midwife had arrived!

After he was born I just sat down on the ground where I was, resting back against Jer who was still sitting behind me, and just stared in awe at our new baby boy. I really couldn’t believe he was actually here!

Although I really hadn’t been aware of her at all, Kaelyn had been there taking in the whole thing. I guess she had pulled up a little chair from the dining room and was sitting in front of me as I pushed. As soon as the baby was born she just burst into tears. They were definitely tears of joy and I think also a release of the emotional stress of the situation.

She handled everything so amazingly! She had been giving me sips of water in between contractions and had helped the midwives since they had come in so quickly and hadn’t had time to set everything up. She stood over my shoulder looking down at the baby and just sobbed. It was one of the the sweetest moments of my life, and I was so glad that she had been able to be there and experience the birth of her little brother. And after the placenta was delivered, Kaelyn was the one to cut the cord!

We moved up into the bed to check out the baby and me, and everything was good. They asked if I wanted to get settled in the bed, or move out to the couch. I asked if the Olympics were still on, I really, really wanted to watch the Olympics! Ha! They said yes, so I moved out to the couch, and snuggled up with my new baby to nurse him for the first time.

The rest was the beautiful and magical first hours after a new baby is born. I couldn’t believe that my baby was actually, finally here! It had been such a long process that ended quite dramatically!

And this surprise pregnancy that I was not thrilled about at the beginning has given us a beautiful baby boy that we are so in love with. I know there are hard days ahead with sleepless nights, cluster feedings, endless diaper changes, toddler tantrums, potty training, and everything else we thought we were done with as parents.

But now, when I look down at him in my arms, I realize that he is a dream of my heart that I didn’t even know I had.

If you’re curious about our decision to give birth at home, you can read Why We Chose to Have a Homebirth. 

The post Griffin’s Homebirth Story appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

It’s still a little hard for me to believe, except for my hugely bulging belly, but I’m 31 weeks pregnant and in the final countdown to sweet baby boy’s arrival! If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this fourth and surprise pregnancy, it’s that you can never be fully prepared for all of the side-effects and symptoms of pregnancy that you will experience.

As you strive to have the healthiest pregnancy that you can, some of your symptoms will be the same as previous pregnancies, some will be worse or more intense, and some will be less intense or you won’t experience them at all. Just as each baby is unique, so is each pregnancy.

That being said, there are always those must-have items that can help you to manage your pregnancy and have the healthiest pregnancy possible, with all of the good and the bad that comes along during those nine months.

I am not shy about sharing how I do not enjoy being pregnant. Of course, there are the moments of amazement at the life growing inside me, and wonder and awe in the strength and ability of the female body, but there is not a lot of enjoyment in pregnancy beyond that for me. Mostly I’m just trying to make it through to the other side, and these 10 items are absolutely things I could not live without during this pregnancy!

10 Healthy Pregnancy Items I Can’t Live Without!

1. Papaya Enzymes

If you’ve never experienced pregnancy heartburn then I am both happy for you, and extremely jealous. With each pregnancy my heartburn and acid reflux has started earlier and gotten progressively worse. This time it was one of my very first pregnancy symptoms, and at this point in my pregnancy it is a daily reality of my life that I have to manage somehow.

After eating conventional antacids like candy during the third trimesters of my first and second pregnancies, I learned about papaya enzymes during my third pregnancy and they were a total game changer! They are a natural alternative to antacids that helped my digestion and calmed my acid reflux during the first few months, and that I now use in combination with other treatments, including OTC medication, to help keep my heartburn under control. I keep one bottle next to my bed and one in my purse so that I always have them on hand when I need them!

2. Support Belt

Let me just be honest here about how everything is a little more stretched out this time around, including my ab muscles, and my growing belly could really use some extra support. I started experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions around 20 weeks, especially when I have been on my feet for long periods of time.

So, I wear a support belt when I know I’m going to be doing a lot of walking, or just a lot of up and moving around – like cleaning, running errands, etc. in a day, and it helps to support my belly and my back, and reduce the intensity of my Braxton Hicks.

3. Apple Cider Vinegar

Along with the papaya enzymes, a daily dose or two of apple cider vinegar helps to control my heartburn and acid reflux, and also boosts my energy levels. When my heartburn is raging I will pour about a teaspoon of ACV into a cup with a little water and basically take it like a shot. Yes, it’s a terrible taste, but it’s only for a few seconds, and the relief of my heartburn is totally worth it.

Also, while I would love to nap every afternoon, that’s not realistic at this point in my life, so I sip on my natural energy-boosting drink instead and it helps to get me through the rest of the day.

4. New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Vitamins

It is really important to me to take a high-quality prenatal vitamin throughout my pregnancies. This time around, I started out with a well known, high-end brand of vitamin, but I realized after a few weeks of taking it that the vitamin was making me extremely sick. I thought I had the worst morning/all-day sickness that I’d had with any of my pregnancies, but instead it was that brand of vitamin that was totally upsetting my stomach!

I had used New Chapter Perfect Prenatals during my last pregnancy and loved how I could take them anytime, even on an empty stomach, and never had issues with them upsetting my stomach. So I ditched the other brand, ordered New Chapter Perfect Prenatals from Amazon, started taking them again, and I couldn’t believe the difference in how I felt!

I love that New Chapter Perfect Prenatals incorporate targeted nutrients for healthy pregnancy and fetal development, including fermented folate, 100% daily value of iron, and whole-food fermented B vitamins to help naturally produce energy*. New Chapter vitamins are also uniquely formulated with individual vitamins and minerals fermented with beneficial probiotics and whole foods to transform the multivitamins into whole-food fermented nutrients. I know I can trust the quality of the vitamins and nutrients I’m getting with New Chapter vitamins and I’m so glad I’ve found a brand that works so well for me!

5. Supportive, no-underwire Bra

My husband actually picked out this bra for me when I was newly pregnant, based on a recommendation from the sales lady, but as soon as I wore it for a day, I knew I had to go back and get another one! I usually wear underwire bras for the support when I’m not pregnant, but you know how completely uncomfortable those get when your belly is protruding right below your bra! And yet, since the girls get bigger during pregnancy, a supportive bra is extremely important. This bra has molded cups and supportive straps without the pain and discomfort of an underwire.

6. Slip Shorts

While we’re on the theme of undergarments, let me take this opportunity to mention how awesome slip shorts are. Because of being (very) pregnant during the summer this time, skirts and dresses are a staple of my maternity wardrobe. I can wear non-maternity ones throughout my pregnancy and after, and they are about the most comfortable thing you can wear while also still looking well-dressed and put together. But, the thigh rub and chaffing that usually happens when wearing skirts and dresses is neither welcome nor enjoyable.

Enter the slip short, these are saving my life this summer! I wear them under all my skirts and dresses and they provide coverage and save my legs from rubbing together in the normally sweaty and painful way that happens on hot summer days. Also surprisingly, they are extremely comfortable and don’t make me feel any hotter than I already am. I think these will remain a staple in my wardrobe even after I’m done being pregnant!

7. Leggings

This one is similar, and yet a bit different, than the slip shorts. I’m so, so glad that leggings are a thing again and that I can rock leggings under dresses and skirts, and even leggings as pants, because there is no way I could handle actual maternity pants at this point in my pregnancy. I have a few pairs of maternity leggings that are great, but I also bought some non-maternity leggings and I might love them even more. I wear them below my belly and they are just as awesome and comfortable as the maternity ones and I’ll be able to wear them after my babe is born too!

8. Pregnancy Pillow

We all know how important getting enough sleep is, and this is especially true when pregnant. But it can be hard to really feel comfortable enough in bed to get a good night’s rest. This is the first pregnancy that I have used a special pregnancy pillow, and only because my awesome sister lent hers to me. In the past I have used one, and then two, body pillows, but I had no idea what I was missing!

This pregnancy pillow is like a full-body cocoon that envelopes your whole body in comfort and support! I feel like I’m always in the correct position for sleeping, on either side, and I sleep SO much better since I started using it. It is amazing.

9. Mama Natural’s week-by-week natural pregnancy updates

Although this wasn’t launched until I was about half way through this pregnancy, I absolutely love the resource of Mama Natural’s week by week pregnancy guide! I’m so thankful for the natural slant that she brings to pregnancy and birth that is often missing from the more well-known week-by-week pregnancy guides. I like to see how my baby is growing and also read well-researched and detailed articles that will help me to have a more natural and healthy pregnancy.

10. Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

And finally, no natural pregnancy should be complete without reading this classic birth book. This time I’m skipping or just skimming some of the birth stories and diving into Part 2 of the book where she talks about women’s bodies, labor, delivery, and natural childbirth. Even though I’ve done this three times already (!!!), I still think it’s so important to prepare myself mentally for the work of labor and birth. The more educated and informed we can be about childbirth, the better we can advocate for ourselves and work through our labor and delivery in the most natural way possible!

So if you’re expecting your first sweet babe, or you’ve been around the pregnancy block a few times like I have, you know there are those items that you just must-have to make it through these amazing and exhausting nine months! I hope by sharing my favorites with you, I’ve given you some great products that will help you have the most natural and healthy pregnancy that you can! All the best to you, Sweet Mama!

Please share with us in the comments – What are your must-have items for a natural and healthy pregnancy?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

What would you like to read next?

5 Strategies for Coping with a Surprise Pregnancy

4 Easy Steps to a More Natural Pregnancy

A Summer Self Care Plan for Moms

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, care, or prevent any disease.

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase through one of these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Live Renewed!

The post 10 Healthy Pregnancy Items I Can’t Live Without! appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

My husband and I went on a date night a few weeks ago, and he brought out this list of questions he had put together to inspire our conversation. I thought it was one of the sweetest and most romantic things he could have done to make our date an intentional and fun time.

We took turns randomly picking a number between one and twenty-five and then would read the question and both of us would answer. The conversation was funny and light-hearted at times, and then deeper and more intimate at other times. It was a great way to spend our time talking over dinner without the interruptions and distractions of our kiddos!

Being intentional about making time for dates and for actually having meaningful conversations is not always the easiest thing to do. Especially when you’re in the trenches of raising littles, pregnancy, and managing a home and jobs. Or when you’ve been married for 12+ years and have fallen into a comfortable, but predictable, relationship.

But, I was so inspired and encouraged by our conversation and this list of date night questions that I wanted to share them with you! Hopefully they can help to inspire a meaningful conversation between you and your spouse on your next date night too!

25 Inspiring Questions for your next date night!

1. What is the silliest fight we’ve ever had?
2. What’s the most romantic thing we have done together?
3. What is your favorite trip we have been on?
4. How has the world changed the most since you were a kid?
5. What are the Top 4 places you want to go?
6. What do you want us to be like in 5 years? 10 years? 25 years?
7. What is your favorite childhood memory?
8. What things do you daydream about?
9. Of all you have done in life, what makes you most proud?
10. We should talk 15 minutes a day without being interrupted. How can we make that happen?
11. If money did not matter, what would you do? Where would we live?
12. What is your favorite thing about me?
13. What do you miss about when we were dating?
14. What is your favorite thing I do to your body? (sexual and non-sexual)
15. What turns you on the most?
16. What is your favorite memory of me?
17. What about me are you most attracted to? How about when we were dating?
18. If you could be an expert at anything, what would it be?
19. How would you spend a perfect day alone?
20. How would you spend a perfect day as a family?
21. Name an item you own that you should get rid of, but know you never will?
22. What is something positive about me you don’t say often enough?
23. What is something you need from me that I always seem to not understand?
24. What is your biggest fear? Regret?
25. How have you changed since we first started dating, or were married? How have I changed?

And the best thing about this list? We didn’t get through all of the questions in one night! So we have more questions to go back to and use for future date nights too!

How often do you and your spouse have date nights? How do you make your date nights intentional and fun?

Read more of my thoughts on marriage: 

On Marriage as Mutual Submission

6 Lessons We’ve Learned in 12 Years of Marriage

She Said, He Said – Why I Love the Green Changes We Have Made!

The post 25 Inspiring Date Night Questions (Written by my Husband!) appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

My kids are done with school in just over a week, and I know some school’s summer breaks have started already! While I’m definitely looking forward to sleeping in and lazy mornings, not having to wake my kids up every morning and get them out the door, I also realize it’s going to be an adjustment for all of us to be home together all day. Every day.

So, I’ve been putting together a plan for things I can do to intentionally take care of myself over summer break. Especially with being pregnant and entering my third trimester, I know how important it is for me to fill up my own cup and prepare myself for the longer days of mothering ahead.

Here’s how I’m planning to take care of myself this summer, hopefully you’ll find some inspiration to create a Summer Self Care Plan too! 

*Image from Seeking to Glorify

Summer Self Care Plan for Moms

A Morning Routine

I have found that having a morning routine is one of the most important things I can do to prepare myself for the day ahead. Especially in the summer when I know I’m going to be with my kids all day, I need that quiet time in the morning that’s just for me. Here’s what I usually try to include in my morning routine.

• Getting up before the kids

I admit that I’m a pretty lucky mama when it comes to this one. My kids like to sleep in. Most mornings I have to wake them up for school, so in the summer they are more than happy to sleep until their bodies wake them up – usually around 7:30 or 8:00am.

This gives me the opportunity to wake up a little earlier then they do and have some quiet moments to myself in the morning. I know this isn’t possible for every mama, but if you can make it happen, waking up before your kiddos can give you a great start to your day!

• Coffee

Oh how I love my morning cup of coffee. It’s something I look forward to when I go to bed the night before. In the summer I love iced coffee with my homemade vanilla coffee creamer.

• Refocusing Time

I don’t subscribe to daily “quiet time” or “devotion time”, because it had turned into a legalistic and guilt inducing thing for me. But, I still believe in the importance of a daily spiritual practice that helps to refocus my mind and my heart. So for me, this might be reading my Bible, meditating, praying, journaling, or just listening to some worship music. There are no rules here – just enjoying God’s presence as the Spirit leads me.

Make Showers a Priority!

Okay, we’re all friends here, so we can be honest that as moms of little ones we don’t always get to shower as often as we would like to, right?! Sometimes it’s just not high on the priority list.

But this summer, I think it should be. So, whether we get up and shower before our kids wake up or our husband leaves for work , or we put on a Netflix show while we jump in, showering can help us to feel better about ourselves and ready for the day ahead!

Get Dressed and Ready for the Day

It can be so easy to stay in pjs or yoga pants all day, everyday, when we’re at home in the summer. Instead, taking the time to getting dressed can help us to be prepared for whatever the day throws at us. Along with showering regularly, make it a habit to get dressed in clothes that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen in at the grocery store. And maybe even put on a little makeup too.

I always feel so much better when I’m dressed and ready for the day. I think it helps me to be more productive too! And then, when it’s 1:30pm and you’re not sure how you can handle the noise for 5 more minutes, you’re all set to load the littles into the car and head out to the park, a friend’s house, or even a surprise trip for ice cream.

Work Movement into Your Day

This is such an important one for me as I approach the end of my pregnancy and preparing for a new baby. I know I won’t be able to work out, in the traditional sense, with my kids home all day. But my growing belly does turn just about any task into one where my breathing is rapid and my heart is pounding!

So, I’m thinking about intentional movement, like going for a walk, squeezing in a quick barre workout, simple strength training moves with my 3 lb. weights, or even just stretching or doing yoga for 15 minutes. Making sure to fit this kind of movement into my days can help to boost my mood, increase my energy, prepare my body for labor and postpartum recovery, and relieve pregnancy aches and pains. How can you fit movement or exercise into your days this summer?

Time for Inspiration

In the midst of the daily and mundane things we so to keep our homes running smoothly, we can still find ways to stay motivated and inspired! My biggest secret to actually enjoying housework and cooking is to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. 

I love the feeling that I’m learning, or engaging, or getting inspired while doing things I would have to do anyway like vacuuming, washing dishes, folding laundry, or cooking dinner. It makes that time seem doubly productive!

I listen to audiobooks using Audible (you can get two free audiobooks when you sign up!) and this bluetooth headset. This is the main way that I “read” books these days!

But, I’m also planning to make daily reading time a regular part of our summer plan and routine. I want to continue to instill in my kids a love for reading and I think it’s so important for them to see their mama taking time out to just sit and read! 

Bullet Journaling

I recently discovered bullet journaling and I am hooked! I keep kicking myself that I didn’t check out this method of daily planning and journaling a year or so ago when I first heard about it. It fits exactly with the way my mind works, and helps to keep all of my crazy thoughts and lists organized in one place in an easy to use format.

If you haven’t tried bullet journaling yet, I just want to encourage you to check it out. I love planners and making lists, but have always been frustrated by their limitations and inability to fit my needs as a work at home mama that has to juggle homemaking, family, and working tasks and schedules simultaneously. But bullet journaling is completely customized by you to fit your life and your needs! I’m telling you, it’s amazing. And it’s going to help me get through this summer without losing my mind!

Check out this video for an overview of bullet journaling, and I love this post and video for more details about how you can customize it to work for you!

So that’s my basic self-care plan for the summer, these six things will help me to be ready and prepared for making the most of these summer days, and allow me to fill up my cup so I can pour into my kiddos and enjoy our days together!

How are you planning to care for yourself this summer? I’d love to hear your self-care tips and ideas in the comments!

*Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase through one of these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Live Renewed! 

The post A Summer Self Care Plan for Moms appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

Reading is one of my very favorite pastimes. I love to get lost in the characters of a novel, or explore new topics and learn new things from non-fiction books. Lately, most of my reading is done in the form of listening to audiobooks on Audible, but I also love discovering new books at the library and reading on my Kindle too.

When I was just starting out on my green and natural living journey, I wanted to learn as much as I could, so I got inspired by reading great green living books. I looked for books on general green living, as well as more specific topics on cleaning, gardening, children and families, and green beauty and personal care.

Here’s the best green living books I have read, or still want to read, to learn even more about green and natural living!

14 Inspiring Green Living Books to Read!

• Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action by Matthew Sleeth

This was the first book I read that introduced me to the importance of caring for creation as a follower of Christ. It helped me to see and understand the link between being a Christian and being a good steward of the environment, and that loving my neighbor meant being conscious and aware of the choices I was making and the impact they were having on the world and the people around me. This book was life-changing for me because it inspired me to begin my green living journey with my family.

• Green Your Life: A Guide to Natural, Eco-Friendly Living by yours truly 

Okay, so I’m tooting my own horn here, but I couldn’t write a list of the best green living books to read if I didn’t include my own book, right?! But in all seriousness, I wrote this book because it is the book I wish I had when I first started out on my journey. I know how overwhelming all of the new information you’re seeking, and all of the changes you want to make, can be. So I put together everything I have learned over the years in one place, and made it super practical and applicable so you can make small changes, one at a time, that will have a big impact.

• Sara Snow’s Fresh Living: The Essential Room-by-Room Guide to a Greener, Healthier Family and Home by Sara Snow

I got this book from the library several years ago and read it cover to cover. Some of it is pretty basic green living information, but I definitely learned a lot of new things from it, and got a lot of ideas I could implement in my own life and home. So, I went ahead and bought the Kindle version for myself so I could always go back to it as a resource.

• Go Green, Save Green: A Simple Guide to Saving Time, Money, and God’s Green Earth by Nancy Sleeth

This book is a complete and thorough resource for those who are interested in green and frugal living. She covers just about every topic you could think of, along with great research and statistics. This is a book I reach for often as a resource for my own life and when I’m researching topics to share here on the blog.

Homemaking and Gardening

• Clean House Clean Planet by Karen Logan

Making the switch to homemade green and natural cleaners was the first step I took on my green living journey. This book is full of useful recipes and great information for green cleaning all around your home!

• The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! by Carleen Madigan

I think I’ve checked this book out from the library at least three times, and kept it past it’s due date each time. I’m sure with the library fines I have accrued I should have just bought a copy for myself! This book is just such a great resource for gardening all different types of fruits and vegetables, especially in small spaces, like we have in our front yard raised beds. I also love reading about raising animals and many other things the book includes, things I dream about doing one day!

• Make Your Place: Affordable & Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs

I have heard really great things about this book, and am looking forward to picking it up from the library this week! I feel like I’m already in nesting mode with this pregnancy, so the tagline speaks to me!

Family and Children

• Raising Baby Green:The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care by Dr. Alan Greene

I think this is one of those classic green family living books, but I’ve never actually read it. I’m planning to dive into it this summer while pregnant and looking forward to another baby to care for in a eco-conscious way.

• Healthy Child, Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home by Christopher Gavigan

I picked this book up on a bargain book table a few years ago and am really glad I did. Of course, the Healthy Child website is an amazing resource for reducing our children’s exposure to toxins and chemicals in their environment, and this book gives specific and practical ways for families to green their homes and their lifestyles.

• Smart Mama’s Green Guide: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Child’s Toxic Chemical Exposure by Jennifer Taggart

It took me a few years into my green living journey to feel ready for this book. Although Jennifer’s work and writing is really important, I think it can be a little overwhelming and intimidated to those who are just starting out. Once you’ve made small changes that have become second nature, then you may feel ready to take it to the next level of reducing toxins and chemicals in your home and this book can help you do that.

• Green Mama: The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet by Tracey Bianchi

I recently added this book to my Kindle library and am hoping it will give me some new ideas for teaching my kids about green and natural living and why it’s so important.

Green Health and Beauty

• Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products by Sophie Uliano

I follow Sophie on twitter and have interacted with her as a part of the #healthychild twitter parties and she always has great tips and advice. I’m really looking forward to reading this book and diving into making more of my own beauty products at home.

• Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health: 175 Teas, Tonics, Oils, Salves, Tinctures, and Other Natural Remedies for the Entire Family by Rosemary Gladstar

I picked out this book from a list of recommended books by Stacy at A Delightful Home. I’m still relatively new to making natural remedies at home, and I think that this book would be an awesome resource to have on hand!

• Green Beauty Recipes: Easy Homemade Recipes to Make Your Own Organic and Natural Skincare, Hair Care and Body Care Products by Julie Gabriel

I’ve heard good things about this book, and am hoping to find it at the library so I can check it out for myself. I’m really interested in learning more about and expanding my repertoire of homemade personal care products this year.

What green living books have you read and loved that I should add to my list?

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Live Renewed! 

You might also enjoy:

Why I’m a Huge Audiobook Fan (and think you should be too!)

15 Classic Children’s Books for Every Family

5 Books to Read this Year!

6 Books that Changed My Life!

The post 14 Inspiring Green Living Books to Read! appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.

It’s hard to imagine living in a world without fragrances. They are an ever present part of our lives, found in so many products that we expose ourselves and our families to every day.

Or maybe our families are exposed to these fragrances without actually choosing to be. I always knew when my babies had been loved on by some sweet older woman in the church nursery because they came home smelling like her perfume.

But fragrances are not something that we want our family to be exposed to on a regular basis. They are something we want to avoid as much as possible because fragrances can cause some serious health effects.

The problem with fragrances or “parfum” in conventional products today is that these terms are not regulated by the government. According to the EWG, “When you see ‘fragrance’ on a personal care product’s label, read it as ‘hidden chemicals.’ A major loophole in FDA’s federal law lets manufacturers of products like shampoo, lotion, and body wash include nearly any ingredient in their products under the name ‘fragrance’ without actually listing the chemical.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the idea that companies can sneak ingredients and chemicals into our products without telling us what they actually are.

Most fragrances contain phthalates which are known hormone disruptors, and can lead to reduced sperm counts and reproductive malformations. They have also been linked to liver and breast cancers, and fetal exposure has been linked to neurological disorders including autism and ADHD. (source)

So, for our family, we’ve chosen to ditch synthetic and conventional fragrances as much as possible, and replace them with unscented or naturally scented products in our home. Here’s a handy little guide to help your family get started ditching those fragrances too.

7 Synthetic Fragrances to Ditch Today and What to Use Instead

Plug-in Air Fresheners

Get rid of those plug-in air fresheners and use essential oils to help your home smell it’s best instead. There are many different ways you can use essential oils around your home:

• Include them in your homemade cleaning products
• Use a diffuser or just steam them in water on the stove
• Make your own natural gel air fresheners
• Or simply fill a small jar with baking soda, add 20 drops of essential oils, cover and shake. Top with a lid with holes and set it in a discreet place. Replace every week or so.

Fabric Softener

Our family has ditched the idea that we need to walk around smelling like fake sunshine and fresh mountain breezes all day long. We want our laundry to be naturally clean and scent free, or only very lightly scented. So instead of conventional fabric softeners, we use: 

• Homemade Fabric Softener Sheets
• Wool dryer balls to help soften clothes and eliminate static
• All-natural unscented dryer sheets
• Hanging our laundry out on the line as weather permits

Laundry Scent Booster

Okay, I have to admit that this product is a head-scratcher to me. Don’t we already have enough scents in our laundry with scented laundry detergents and fabric softeners? Seems like quite an unnecessary product to me. But, if you’d like a little scent on your laundry and are using natural and unscented detergent and softeners, you can easily, and cheaply, make your own homemade laundry booster with just salt and essential oils.

Scented Candles

We’ve talked before about the dangers of conventional paraffin candles, so I just want to encourage you again to ditch your conventional candles. Replace them with safer soy (good) or beeswax (best) candles, either naturally scented or unscented.

Our favorite beeswax candles are from Big Dipper Wax Works, they come in a great variety of sizes, colors, and scents!

Fabric Refresher Sprays

One way to save water and energy on laundry is by wearing clothes a few times before laundering. But sometimes they could use a little freshening up. But Febreeze is not the best choice here. Fortunately, you can simply and affordably make your own fabric refresher spray.

Bathroom Air Fresheners

Oh man, those lovely bathroom scents that we all wish didn’t exist, but unfortunately do. Instead of the typical aerosol air freshener spray can, try one of the ideas under the plug-in air fresheners above, like the homemade gel or the baking soda and essential oils.

You can also try a homemade “No. 2 Spray” to help eliminate odors before they begin, or use a simple and effective homemade air freshener spray that’s certain to keep those unwanted bathroom odors at bay.

Perfume and Cologne

I get that most of us want to smell nice for our significant others or just when we’re out in public. But I’ve become really annoyed by being able to smell other people’s perfume as I simply walk past them in the grocery store or sit across from them in a coffee shop. We don’t want to stink, but we also don’t need to share our preferred perfume scent with everyone around us.

My hubs and I have ditched perfume and cologne all together, and honestly, we don’t miss it at all. We still use lightly and naturally scented soaps, shampoos, and lotions that give us a clean and fresh scent. I also will use just essential oils from time to time, mixed with a little carrier oil, like almond or avocado, and dab it onto my wrists and neck. I’m also eyeing these roll-on natural fragrance oils for when I want something a little stronger and long lasting.

I hope this got you started thinking about how you can ditch the chemical and toxic fragrances around your house and replace them with safer and natural scents that will keep your home smelling good and your family healthy!

How have you ditched synthetic fragrances around your home and what have you replaced them with?

*Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase through one of these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Live Renewed! 

What would you like to read next?

5 Reasons to Avoid Chemical Cleaners

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality with Houseplants

31 Days to Green Clean Series

5 Ways to Green Your Bedroom

The post How to Ditch Synthetic Fragrances (and why you should) appeared first on Live Renewed. Copyright 2016 LiveRenewed.com.