Thursday, October 29, 2009

That was then, this is now

I was talking with a mother of three the other day, and it made me remember the days when I had three little ones, instead of six...


Then: My kids all took their naps at the same time, so I could have some "me" time.


Now: Remind me... what's "me" time? I've even learned to blog without concentrating!

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Then: My kids all went to bed nice and early, so Daddy and I could have peaceful, quiet evenings together.


Now: Who wants to miss out on those extra hours together as a family?!! We've all adjusted to teen time... late nights and sleeping in!

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Then: We could fit into a sedan. Going on a trip? Throw that family of five's stuff in the trunk!


Now: Extended SUV for us! Going on a trip? Attach those luggage holders! There's not much storage space in the back of an eight-seater.

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Then: It was such a good feeling when all of the laundry was done.

Now: Laundry... I actually love doing laundry, but there is always more waiting. There is no such thing as being done.

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Then: All my little ones gathered around to hear The Trumpet of the Swan.

Now: I read Hop on Pop in the mornings, The Lightlings in the afternoon, and discuss Sproul's Essential Truths of the Christian Faith in the evening.



I love my life! It's a little crazier than it used to be... a little busier and a lot noisier. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Never say never

I remember the day I said "I'm not a cloth diaper person."

Look what's hanging to dry in my laundry room......



And look at this sweet diaper! If you could only feel how soft it is. It's made of cotton fleece.



And diaper cover...



I was talking with one of my sweet friends the other day. She is a mom of four little ones. We decided that she could be described as a "homeschooling, home-churching, home-birthing, breastfeeding, baby-wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping mommy". After discussing her description, she asked me how I could be described. My first reaction was just to say I was very 90's.

I had my first baby in the 90's. I was young, inexperienced with babies, and armed with my faithful, What to Expect books. Everyone in my circle of friends at the time was doing the same thing as I was. I had never heard of homeschooling, or home birthing or churching for that matter. I had never seen anyone wearing their baby in a sling. Cloth diapering seemed old-fashioned and unnecessary. And I was warned not to put my baby in bed with me or I might smother it.

Well, the things that seemed old fashioned then are in vogue again now. OK, they have been for some time now, but I'm slow to change. Yep, that's me! I started mothering my babies a certain way, and just stuck with what had worked for me. I had switched to Seventh Generation disposable diapers on my last few babies. So, I felt good enough about that. I really don't like thinking of bleached diapers on my sweet little newborns.

But after seeing some of my new friends using cloth, I asked them some questions about how much work it is. They assured me it was as easy as using the sanitary cycle on my washing machine. So, I got on youtube, watched some videos about cloth diapering, and decided to go for it! The cuteness of these little diapers alone was hard to resist. And here I am now, with Bum Genius and Kissa's hanging in my laundry room.


I'm not a die hard. I use my chlorine-free disposables when I leave the house and overnight. But I am having a blast! Who would have thought that I would love cloth diapers!



Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Flu season

Here is a great link to a Shonda Parker's blog, which has a great article about flu prevention and treatment. She is a very knowledgeable lady, who's advice can be trusted...

Shonda Pedia: Swine Flu Update

In addition to this great article, I'll mention a few things we are doing at our house:

Since it takes a day or two for the virus to make a home in our bodies, we do these things after we have been out around other people ...
1.) Swab out our noses with salt water on a cotton swab, or do a nasal wash with Xlear or our netti pot.
2.) Gargle with salt water or Listerine.
3.) Rinse our eyes with saline drops.

I have also heard that colloidal silver (be careful what you use is made by a reputable company and taken in proper doses) is knocking the swine flu out successfully and is also being used as a preventative treatment.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Favorite Green Household Products




I've tried just about all of the more environmentally safe automatic dishwasher liquids, and this is my favorite. Mrs. Meyers gets my dishes the cleanest and has the best fragrances. It is important to me to go green in the dishwasher because a soap residue stays on the dishes, so I'd rather the soap that I use not contain harmful toxins. I order mine from amazon.com.




I like Seventh Generation laundry detergent. We always have clothes on, so we tend to wear the laundry soap we choose. Besides the old reasons for avoiding the wrong surfactants and detergents, I just heard a report about the ingredients in typical laundry detergents bringing on puberty prematurely.




I love Dr. Bronner's soap! Our favorite fragrance is the almond. It's great to feel good about using this soap on the little ones, besides the rest of us.





I was ordering other brands of dish washing liquid on amazon.com until Walmart started carrying this. I read a consumer report on the different green brands and whether or not they really were green. They gave the Clorox products a thumbs' up. I also use the glass cleaner and bathroom cleaner pictured below.






Reality Check: We do not use ALL green products at our house. We just try our best. The healthy alternatives are not as easy to find at the store and are generally more expensive. I just treat each good choice as a victory. It's easier to stay positive and encouraged when I allow myself to fall short of perfection and just do the best that I can.





Thursday, October 15, 2009

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

This week we had another family reunion featuring our favorite birthday girl, Grandma. Janie gave Grandma plenty of smiles and baby coos for her birthday.


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