Educate Yourself: Natural Family Planning and How It's Healthy

I'm sorry i haven't posted in a while.  We are in the middle of packing up to move and so life has just been a bit hectic for me to write anything super indepth.

so, instead i'll post the 3rd article written by me friend about Natural Family Planning

Educate Yourself: Natural Family Planning and How It's Healthy

Greening Up

For a while now i've been wanting to "green up" my life when it comes to my beauty products.  The more i've been reading about the toxic things in our beauty products (what am i saying, in pretty much everything around us...) and the effects it has on our health the more i've been saying NOT FOR ME.  If you want to know what i'm talking about, i suggest this article:

Chemicals In Cosmetics: What You Need To Know

 I think the first step i took in trying to "green" myself up was when i found out i was pregnant with DD2 i decided i was not going to paint my nails anymore (EDIT: now that i think about it, my first step was to stop using traditional menstrual products and get a cup, but that is another post!).  There are some nasty things in nail polish (as you can probably tell by the smell).  You can read a bit about it here:

Toxic Nail Polish

Pretty nasty sounding isn't it?  I didn't want to be putting that stuff on my nails for my body to absorb to be passed on to my growing baby.  So i haven't painted my nails in over a year now.  And honestly, i don't miss it too much.  Yeah...it was fun to have hot pink or lime green nails in the summer, but at what cost? 

My next step was to stop using so many toxic things in the shower.  The first to go was shaving cream.  This was easy because i just stopped shaving.  Yep, you read that right, since the beginning of the year i have not shaved once.  And i don't think i will anymore.  1.  it's a pain in the underarms for me (i get HORRID ingrown hairs), 2. i barely have time to wash my body let alone shave anymore, 3. my legs aren't that hair anyways and my husband thinks they are soft even when i don't shave, so what's the point, and 4.  why should i have to?  I have given myself permission that if i feel the need, i'm allowed to trim my underarms, but no shaving this year at least :)

Then after giving up the shaving cream i decided that next to go is my shampoo and conditioner.  Now this is where most people think i have really gone nuts.  Sure, they could let the no nail polish go with no problem, and shaving...well, that's not too horrible either.  But not using shampoo or conditioner!?!  Oh how will my hair ever be clean???

Easy.

For one, just water and my hands will get most of the grime out of my hair.  But for now i'm washing my hair using baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  You see, washing your hair with a detergent all the time (which is what shampoo is) strips away all the natural, GOOD oil from your hair.  This oil works on a supply and demand basis.  The more you wash it away, the more it makes (works the same as breastfeeding).  So if you stop stripping the oil away and instead try to work *with* your body, your hair will (in most cases) make only enough oil to keep your hair healthy. 

I am already a person who doesn't wash her hair regularly.  Yeah, that's right, i only wash my hair maybe once a week!  And it's NEVER been overly greasy :)  So i figured making the switch to not using any shampoo would be easy.

So i decided to start after i had a procedure to get a mole removed from my scalp, since i wouldn't be able to wash my hair for a while anyways.  The day before i washed my hair for the last time and then went 2 weeks before ever actually using anything on my hair.  This was because my scalp was VERY tender around the stitches site and i didn't want to use anything that would irritate and such.  So for 2 weeks i just rinsed my hair with water and i used a washcloth to kinda pet my hair in a downward motion to distribute the oils to the rest of my hair.  And that worked fine.  Then after 2 weeks i finally did my now normal wash routine.  I took one tablespoon of baking soda and rubbed it into my scalp and then rinsed it.  I then took one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and slowly poured a bit at a time on my scalp and rubbed it into the roots and shaft of my hair.  Then i rinsed and that's it, done. 

When i got out of the shower and towel dried my hair it was SO SOFT!!  My hair has never been that soft before!  All day i couldn't stop running my fingers through it.  I think DH was getting tiered of me saying 'i can't believe how soft my hair is!!!!'.  It's now been over 3 weeks since i've last traditionally washed my hair and i've done 2 of these "treatments" and my hair is still doing great.  I'm tossing my shampoo and conditioner and never looking back! 

Not only is this so much healthier for me, but it's also healthy for my wallet.  I mean, how expensive is baking soda and vinegar???  Awesome i know!

If you want to learn more about this "crazy" topic, read the articles below:
All about 'No Poo'
The No Shampoo Alternative- No Poo
What is No Poo?
Don't use shampoo again!
How to No Poo
The no poo do

So this is it for now.  My next step is body wash, then toothpaste and then deodorant.  Then we'll see where i go from there.

What about you, what are things you've done to "green up" your beauty routine?

How to bring a "tree" into your home: Craft/decoration idea

So i think i need to post something other than information about car seats :)

I was lurking on crafster today and i found this awesome post by a woman to put a "tree" in her foyer.  It looks like a super easy craft and something very fun!

I've got a tree growing in my foyer and it's bringing in SPRING!!

Why I Do What I Do: Car Seat Safety

Today my friend who is a CPST shared a blog post that has been going around the internet.  It is a powerful post about WHY car seat and seat belt safety is SO important!  It takes just 5 minutes to read, but it's a good reminder to make sure your seats are in right!

Why I Do What I Do

Kids say the darnest things

I have a nephew who is 3 and boy, does he say some great things.  I was going over some things he's said (that his dad posted) and i wanted to share them since they are so funny!  My nephew's "name" is "Buggaboo" and he is 3 years old.

~

buggaboo quote of the week: (After just leaving Ikea) Me: What's wrong Boo? buggaboo: "I'm sad." Me: "Why are you sad?" buggaboo: "I want to LIVE at that store!" Me: "I think everybody does boo; I think everybody does."

~

buggaboo quote of the week: "hey, there's my friend!" Me: "Do you know that kid?" buggaboo: "All little kids are my friend." Me: "Well that's cool." buggaboo: "You... you're not a kid... you're not my friend." Me: "That's right! I'm not your friend, I'm your Dad."
Buggaboo: "But you're like a little kid. You play hide in go seek, and hide in giggle (Not sure what that one is?), and you play games with me." Me: "Well buggaboo, you can grow old, but you can always be young at heart."
~(We enter the scene with BuggaBoo, Doozer, and Mommy watching Daddy play "Heroes of Might and Magic 5", a fantasy game...)
BuggaBoo: (seeing some minotaurs) What are those?
...Daddy: They're half bulls, half people, they're called minotaurs.
BuggaBoo: Are they like cows?
Mommy: Yes, they're like cows.
BuggaBoo: I'm talking to Daddy.
Daddy: Yes, they're like cows.
BuggaBoo. Oh. (to Mommy) They're like cows, Mommy.
Mommy: Oh, really...

~buggaboo quote of the week: "I don't like stores!" Krista: "Well that's good because we're not going to any more stores we're going home." buggaboo: "I don't like houses either!" Krista: "Well what do you like?" buggaboo: "Ummm... TOYS!" Krista:" Well that's also good because you have toys at home." buggaboo: "NOOOOOOOOoooo!"

~

another one between him and his mother:
Me: Hey, put this diaper in the bathroom trash for me. BuggaBoo: The diaper has pee in it?
Me: It sure does, you peed in it!
BuggaBoo: There was pee in my body?
Me: Yep, but not anymore, because you peed it into the diaper.
BuggaBoo: And there is poop in my body.
Me: Probably.
BuggaBoo: And there are feelings in my body!
Me: Well, yes, but not in the same way as poop or pee...

~

buggaboo quote of the week: buggaboo: "Why is sister crying?" Krista: "I think she's jealous." buggaboo: "Peanut... peanut butter... and JEALOUS!"

 ~

bugga quote of the week: "Ahhhhh! MY EGGS ARE MELTING!" Krista: "That's just the yoke buggaboo; they're fine." buggaboo: "I don't like it."

 ~

buggaboo quote of the week: "Eew, this tastes like winter!" Krista: "Did you just say it tastes like winter?" buggaboo: "Yeah, I don't like it."
he was eating Coriander seeds.

 ~

buggaboo quote of the week: me: "buggaboo what are you throwing around?" buggaboo: "Horse's nuts!" Me: "Ummm... do you mean horse chestnuts?" buggaboo: "Yeah!" Me: "Ok... just wanted to clarify that."

 ~

buggaboo quote of the week: Krista: "Is buggaboo T-I-R-E-D?" buggaboo: "I AM NOT!" Krista: "Do you even know what T-I-R-E-D spells?" buggaboo: "... ... STOP SPELLING!"

 ~

buggaboo quote this week- Krista: "Hey buggaboo, you want some cake?" buggaboo: "I DON'T WANT CAKE!" Krista: "It has frosting on it." buggaboo:"I WANT CAKE!"

 ~

     The scene opens with the family making a dinner of doughnuts. I have not shame...
Me: Do you want some of this apple fritter, BuggaBoo?
BuggaBoo: No, I'm eating this one (motions to his old-fashioned doughnut)
Me: Oh, do you like that one?
BuggaBoo: Yeah! It tasteses like....mustaches.

~
 quote of the week: (While taking a walk) "Mommy I need to take a hot shower. I can't breathe good." Krista: "Well being outside will also help your breathing." buggaboo: "Really!? .... What about swallowing bugs?" Krista: "Um.... I don't think swallowing bugs will help your breathing." buggaboo: "Oh... okay."
~
 quote of the week: "Mommy?" Krista: "Yes Boo?" B: "No it's not me, it's sock puppet!" K:"Oh... yes sock puppet?" B:"NO it's the stripey sock puppet." K:"YES stripey sock puppet?" B:"NO it's the purple and green stripe..." K:"BOO! Sock puppet is good enough!" B: "Ok... .... .... Mommy?" K:"Yes sock puppet?" B:"I'm ready to go now."

~
quote of the week: "Daddy look at me!" Me: "That's cool Boo." -Not looking. Buggaboo: "No Daddy, Dad, Dad, Dad, look." Me: "I see ahuh." -still not looking. Buggaboo: "Daddy LOOK AT MY FACE!"

~
quote of the week: Me: "Geez boo you sure are getting heavy; you're a growing boy." Buggaboo: "Yeah, I'm a growing up into a cowBOY!" Me: "Did... did you just say cowboy?" Buggaboo: "YEAH!"

~
quote of the week: After listening to a song on his pirate CD: "Dad why are there piglets on a pirate ship?" Me not listening correctly: "Well Buggaboo, some pirates just have them." I showed him a picture. B: "No Daddy!" he then goes and gets his picture book to prove me wrong, "Daddy THIS is a piglet." Me laughing: "NOT Pig Lets Buggaboo, PEG LEGS!" B: "Ohhhhh"

~

What are some fun things your kids have said?

'The Orphan Seat' - Another article on the new recommendations

Just sharing another article that i thought was worth reading.

"It's a horrible term, but EMTs call the rear-facing seat 'the orphan seat'' because in a bad accident, that child is often the only one who survives."

— Alisa Baer, a pediatrician at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in New York, in The New York, also known as 'The Car Seat Lady'

'The orphan seat'

 

 

 

 

Answers to Your Car Seat Questions from 'The Car Seat Lady'

Just wanted to share another link that i found today.  It is a short article where 'The Car Seat Lady' answers some of the most common questions about rear facing car seats, from the size of your car to your child's comfort.

Answers To Your Rear-Facing Car Seat Questions