Homemade Facial Lotion

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

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

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

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

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

heated Coconut Oil

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

cooling coconut oil

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

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


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

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

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

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

Goody Bag fun!!

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

Update on Wool Dryer Balls

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

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

i must have been in total denial

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

A trip to the ER

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

Going "Poo Free"!!

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

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

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

The Oil Cleansing Facewash Method

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

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

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

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

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

(looks high dollar now doesn't it lol)

In this bottle now is:

3 oz Castor Oil

6 oz Sunflower Oil

15 drops Eucalyptus Oil

20 drops Tea Tree Oil

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

Gonna give wool a try!

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

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

What's for dinner??

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

Cloth Diapering Resources

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

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

some pics of how to fold Pre-folds

some more pics of different folds for Pre-folds

how to fold flat with video

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

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

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

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

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

Detergent ratings for CDing

HE-Detergent ratings for CDing

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

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

Kawaii Cloth Diaper Snazzy Minky Giveaway!!

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

a Hot Coco kinda day

a warm bit of heaven to try and sooth my soul

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

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

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

my little princess

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

Another Sunday Night

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

Woohoo finished ordering more diapers!!

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

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

100% Organic Cotton Vs. Plain 100% Cotton

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


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

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



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

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

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

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

Yay! Ordered more cloth diapers!!

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

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

Duh

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

AIO vs Pre-fold with Cover

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Organic option

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

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

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

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

Organic option

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

Summary

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

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

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

totally geeking out over cloth diapers and swaddle blankets

lol I don't think I've ever been so excited to receive a package! I got my order from Cotton Babies today and it's full of fluffy stuff for my babies bottom!! I got a bunch of Indian Prefold Diapers, some Flip diapers with organic cotton inserts, some Hemp Babies inserts, Bummis snap diapers, and I can't wait to order more!! lol and I don't even have a baby yet to put them on! Also while at Target today I went in the baby section and found they carry Aden + Anais Swaddleplus blankets!! OMG!! I almost did  a jig right there in the store. They are made out of 100% Cotton Muslin. They are so soft and airy (which is a big deal here in Texas). They were only $30 for a package of 4!! I bought some other cute outfits too that they had! My husband thinks I've lost my mind with how completely giddy these few items have made me!! lol I probably have lost some of my sense from lack of sleep but I'll take this warm dopey feeling I got right now for a bit of sanity!! Just thought I'd share my joy!!

Gary's Birthday Celebration

We ate at Bucca di Peppo it was so much fun and super yummy

Happy Birthday GARY!!

<3 <3 <3 <3

Gary's Birthday Dessert

it was eatten so fast this was all that was left by the time I got my camera out!! 

Hormonal Upheaval

So this is what's been bothering me lately a lot.
 Like most people who have kids or are planning to I want to be the best parent I can be. It's not like when you think about it anyone goes yeah I'm ok with just being an O.K. parent or I'm fine with not putting in the effort or time to make this little person the best they can be (or at least I hope people don't think that way). Normally most days I find it easy to be at my best but some days it is a struggle (we all have those days). That being said this pregnancy has played havoc on my hormones and I've not felt well most days. I was nauseous 24-7 for nearly 4 months and have been having hormone headaches almost daily since I got pregnant. Not feeling well and trying to parent at the same time is hard. It's manageable in small bursts like when you have a cold but this has been 5 months. Not feeling well and not sleeping well has made me extremely irritable which ends up causing me to snap at my kids.
Brandon seems to kinda understand that this is just something we have to get through but Danika and Lucas just don't get it. Don't get me wrong I am so thrilled to be pregnant again and can't wait to meet my new baby, but I am so ready for him to be born just so I can be me again. All of my other pregnancies have been symptom free so they were easy to go through this one I feel like invasions of the body snatchers has happened lol and I just want my body back! ;-)
I feel so bad for the way I treat my family lately but it doesn't seem to be under my control. I try really hard to not get frustrated or angry at the little things but everything just irks me. Parenting has been a strange balancing act for me lately. It's been me snapping at my children followed by me trying to show them I love them. It's like I'm constantly trying to play catch up. All the while trying to make them all 3 still feel as important as the new baby is.
I really am trying to keep things even I always have between the 3 kids trying to not treat the oldest different than the youngest but treat them what's appropriate for their age and keeping the same rules for them all. I know once the baby is born that they might feel, I don't know, replaced but I'm trying my hardest to make it not that way. We are going to make an huge effort to still get one on one time with each kid so no one gets lost in the shuffle!
I just wish it didn't seem most days to be such a struggle to get through but I do know it wont always be this way and I will get back to being the fun loving strictish parent I used to be :-) not the grumpy old lady who crawls out her cave to growl at everyone every day!

Baby Cardigan

So while at Jo-Ann fabric & craft store I touched this yarn and decided I just had to make something with this!!! Oh my gosh if you've never used this stuff it feels sooooooo soft like halfway melted butter soft! It's 30% silk 70% viscose from bamboo!

Here is a pic of the cardigan I'm going to make with the yarn.

 Except the two blues they used I'm using the brown in place of and the white will be the green yarn (and I'm not putting the anchor on the cardigan). I'm ready to get started on this new project :-) I think it might take me a week, two at tops to complete! We'll  see!

Just another frustrating day...

Ugh allergies suck! Thankfully the wind has died down now so maybe by tomorrow this headache will be gone. The more annoying thing is the fact that I'm supposed to be watching my niece mon-fri and I haven't watched her in 2 1/2 weeks. This is such a pain since I'm stuck waiting around because I don't know if my sister is going to bring her around or not. I have to schedule appointments around when I'm supposed to get her but it all seems pointless since more times than not I don't even get her, but I still must be available for the days that Traci manages to be I don't know ready on time, feel like going to school or not hung over. It's so very frustrating to be put in this position every single day. Probably the most frustrating part is that Traci doesn't care either that this effects my day every day. I don't know if she's going to school or not but I'm so fed up with it but the only thing I can do is tell my dad but I HATE the fact that I'm always the one to "tattle tail" on her. I know this all seems so silly or small but this is just on going and it's been this way since August it's just getting old.  I can only think of twice where she has managed to bring Lily for 2 weeks straight. It seems like she has no care about her life or future and can just keep retaking classes or stay in college for ever. Well she can but she's going to have to put Lily in daycare because I didn't sign up to watch her daughter for the rest of my life!! or sit around waiting every day for her to never show up or bother to text or call to say hey I'm not bringing her at all today go ahead and do whatever you wont or hey I'm not going to bother at all this whole week! ugh!! And and and ugh I feel like I'm whining away over something that shouldn't even be bothering me but it does. She also got ANOTHER dog!! Really she needs another dog whatever. I'm sure my dad wont be to happy with it she's like well maybe I'll give dad and Iza Buddy and then he'll be ok with it. No he's not going to be ok with it she never takes the dogs to the vet and she barely has the money to feed the 2 she already has!
*sigh* I guess I'm just feeling very unappreciated and worthless in her eyes today but I'm done now with her today I've gotten this all out of my system and now I can smile and sing and dance around my house while I do laundry :-)

Wool Dryer Balls




So I went to my local Jo-Ann Fabric and bought 8 skeins of



 Patons Classic Wool.

I opted for this one mainly because of the way it felt. I personally know nothing about wool but it said it felts up and that's what I needed it to do :-) It was also a step up in price from LionBrand Fisherman Wool but like I said it felt nicer. Also there were these signs that said buy 5 skeins of Patons yarn get a free Patons tote :-) These totes are actually pretty nice and will be awesome for carrying around projects in!!



So let the wrapping begin! I started winding up the balls like the instructions said and let me tell you by the second one I was 1. bored and 2. while the ball was small had major issues with my hand cramping!! :-( I hung in there and wound up 6 balls in total! Here's where I changed things instead of tucking in the ends with a crochet hook (because if I'm going to go to that much trouble the least I could do was really anchor those ends) I threaded the end through a blunt needle and wound it back and forth about 6 times through the ball so I'm hoping it never unravels ;-)



I don't own a pair of pantyhose :-O so I used a pair of leg warmers and some old shoe string to tie up the balls to wash them and then dry them!

Then back to more wrapping!! I'll be ok if I never have to wrap yarn again ;-) or at least for a while! After finishing wrapping all 6 there is very little of the 8 skein left so I'm glad I did buy what I thought would be to much. Then back to the washer and I guess we'll end with the dryer and see how these bad boys work out once set loose on a load in the dryer :-) I've got my fingers crossed that all goes well and they work like they are supposed to!

Ok so I finished with the second wash and dry and here's the crappy part. I have like a bionic sniffer right now because of my pregnancy. Well the directions said just wash them with a load of laundry so I washed them with a load of my tops. Yeah my tops smell like a wet sheep now. I'm hoping once they cool down they'll not smell as bad (they smell fine now) because I really don't want to wash them again. So I'm going to toss the balls back into the wash once more but this time with somethings I wont be wearing :-) to give them another wash and see how they smell once they are all dry this time around.

(my finished dryer balls)

So far I can't really tell if they are helping cut down on dry time since my dryer has a sensor that shuts off once the clothes get dry so it's always a different time when my dryer shuts off but so far they are keeping everything soft and no static. So, so far I'm happy with the wool dryer balls I made but only time will tell. 

Excited about Cloth Diapering

Well since I seem to be stuck in a rut of doing nothing but sitting on my butt which is expanding and my husband lovingly laughed at when i pointed out the new dimples (hey at least someone finds it funny) and watching tv I thought maybe I'd try blogging again. I love writing but prefer paper and pen but you know what when my daughter picked it up and said what does f-u-c-k spell I figured it's probably better to not write on paper that's left around my house! So here we go.

So since our new baby is due in March I've been doing lots of research on which cloth diapers to buy. (which has lead to many weird vivid dreams involving cloth diapers i mean I'm dreaming about reading about cloth diapers and buying them and it's just stupid but it wakes me up and i don't feel rested bleh) So after much debate I've decided to finally start buying them thanks to info from my sister Tara who uses cloth diapers and my many hours of reading. Granted I'm going to have to buy a few every month to get all that I want and think I need (and some I don't need but just want to try :-D). I placed my first order last night! I'm super excited and can't wait to get them (I know I have nothing to use them on yet but I'm still excited to get them) I'm buying them off http://www.cottonbabies.com/ since they carry the ones I'm interested in and they have FREE shipping! Woohoo! So here's what I ordered yesterday:

1. 1 Flip Organic Day Pack $59.95 it comes with 2 one-size diaper covers (i got the Bubble color) and 6 organic inserts. It also comes with 1 free package of flip disposable inserts
2. 18 Indian Prefold Cloth Diapers in Infant size $27.00
3. 3 Flip Covers in Moonbeam $29.85 (these were listed in their seconds/clearance section)
4. 2 Bummis Super Snap in Small $23.90
5. 3 Hemp Babies Diaper Doublers $9.00 size large they are 55% Hemp, 45% Certified Organic Cotton

This is only a portion of what I plan to buy because I also want to use the Bummis wraps so I'll be buying their Organic Kit they put together next time around. I love the fact that Cotton Babies is the company who actually makes one of the brands, BumGenius (Flip diapers), that I think will be a great diaper. So I had no problem with buying the 3 covers from their site that were "seconds" and the reviews from people who bought them said the "flaws" were undetectable. I hope this is true since I bought 3 of them ;-) I love to read and learn and have found that Autumn Beck's blog http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/ is full of tons of info and her readers are also great about sharing their experiences. I have also been reading up on some sites on how to make cloth diapers yourself (since 1. I know how to sew and 2. I got a kick-butt sewing machine 2 years ago and have used it 3 times) but I'll need to do quite a bit more reading before I jump into that but am really interested in it.
Speaking of projects I really need to get back to making and doing things. I've been so bored lately and now that we know for sure we are having a boy I need to get busy making things for him!! but I found my first project last night while reading on Bummis blog. http://blog.bummis.com/2010/10/make-your-own-felted-wool-dryer-balls.html So this is going to be my project for this week making Wool Dryer Balls. I'll also try to remember to post how these dryer balls work out for me. Hopefully this gets me back into the swing of things, and through out this week I'm going to hit up my huge collection of crochet patterns for baby stuff to start making. Because while dimples are cute on your face they aren't so cute on your butt!!

since no one reads this i can type what i want anyways!!

So I found out June 30th that I'm pregnant again! Yipee! Except I kinda figured it out earlier since on June 21st I threw up and ever since then it's been a continuous fight daily to keep my stomach contents down. We're holding off on announcing it to everyone until the end of the first trimester which is soooo hard for me. I want to tell everyone but since last time I had a miscarriage we figured it'd save a lot of awkward moments if I didn't tell all of facebook. So until September mums the word. I quit drinking sodas which along with the pregnancy is kicking my butt! I'm soooo tired. I've been going to sleep the last two weeks at like 9pm! I'm very excited about being pregnant I just hope and pray everything goes right this time around and I should be able to go to the doctor in like 2 weeks when we get our new insurance cards! I just wish I didn't have morning sickness I've never had it before and it sucks big time!

probably just drunkin ranting

i'm not so much drunk as i had a few beer but thought that was a good header. Well so far I've mainly used this blog for keeping track of my weight loss but i think I'll also use it more as my journal. OK so today we had the people from Lowe's come out that are supposed to build our shed. they said OK it's level front to back but side to side it's sloping over 2" we can fix this by building a wood foundation. we payed over $5,000 for cement work by olshan this slab included and we told them we were using this spot for a shed. Olshan came out and said this is sloped for draining duh. OK so we call the manufacturer of the shed and they said any more than and 1" of slop with cause screws to pop and all kinds of bad things. called Olshan back and no return call as of yet. On top of all this LawnMasters who is building our Pergola called to say the city said in order to get our permit to build it we have to attach it to our house (which i think voids the brick work on our warranty with kb homes? don't know for sure) we told them to go a head with attaching it to the house if not we had to move it 3' away from the house..not going to happen. Then the lawn company who takes care of our community turned on the water to our sprinkler system turned it on. We called 3 weeks ago to tell them a pipe burst during the last freeze and was flooding our yard well they never fixed it! Well the guy who fixed it was like "oh it burst when they built the fence but we couldn't enter the property because you owned it." The fence was built before we bought the lot! LIAR! OK but now that is fixed (we hope). Good news Lucas only needs one more shot to attend school next fall and all my seeds I planted are sprouted and growing. We just need to get the watering situation under control. Started installing a drip irrigation in the bed of vegis but we are converting the whole zone to soaker and dripping so we can run it all summer long. As far as I know Gary, Tara, and Toni read my blog if you read my blog let me know some how cuz then I wont talk crap about you :-P I am also looking for ideas for my next art project if you have something you like let me know...i'm doing stuff in the medium of wood burning, glass engraving and yarn/cloth/thread

playing catch up

OK so i haven't posted in a while...that's because i kinda quit working out. I just can't really seem to get motivated enough to do it lately. That and i got sick again. I still have a cough but i think I'm getting better now. But these are all just excuses i just need to get up and do it. We did quit drinking alcohol a little over a month ago. That's been nice no more waking up hung over just waking up really sleepy still. We now have our garden planted and going in full swing! Peas, carrots, cucumbers, onion, garlic, strawberries are all sprouting up and growing and the plum tree looks like it will have fruit this summer to. These things all make me really happy! I tried counting calories and ended up gaining more weight so I've now stopped doing that and the 5lbs that came back on went away. Other than that it's all pretty much the same I'm at around 148lbs but I'm going to get my butt on that elliptical and make it go down now!

measurements

it's that time again so here we go!
weight: 152lbs
bust: 36"
chest: 30"
waist:35"
hip: 39.5"
midway: 38"
thigh: 22"
knee: 16"
calves: 13.5"
upper arm: 11.5"
forearm: 8.5"
well i'm surprised that the numbers have gone down and i'm also not suprised since my pants are not as tight these days. Hopefully it will keep going steadly down :-) we've also started taking pics which i probably wont post until i've hit my comfort level but we are taking pics of my progress :-)

Valentines

I'm so glad I have a loving husband who asks what i want for valentines instead of doling out money on stuff i don't want or need. I wanted an office chair not sparkly things and that's what i got! and i love it! I also love my new desk and the new sofa in the kids game room! I'm loving our house and how it's all coming together. I have the most awesome best friend, lover, husband and partner. We rock! I thank god every day that we met and are together! I couldn't want or ask for someone better!

Sinus Infection

So I haven't worked out in almost a week since I've been ill. I apparently have a sinus infection plus i had a stomach virus. So I've taken some measures to make sure this never happens again since it hurts like hell almost as bad as my migraines and I'm sure this also plays apart in my migrains. Today we bought a steamer so I can inhale that twice a day and we got a neti pot, nasal irrigation system, from SinuCleanse. Hopefully these two things together will 1 help with my allergies so i don't need to take pills for it (this is what it says) 2 help clear my sinus infection faster since it's not really seeming to budge with the antibiotics. I really want to feel better so i can get on with working out (i really miss it) and function in my daily life because since i got ill I've haven't really been up to par.

coming to the end of week 2

Well here i am I've worked out almost every day now for 2 weeks! Go me! I for one didn't think I'd ever manage to do 20 minutes sweating on an elliptical but that's what I'm up to now. For the most part it doesn't even feel like working out until i get off it and every muscle in my body screams at me say what the hell did you just do to me. At the beginning of this week my weight had dropped down to 153lbs but has gone back up now to 155lbs? they do say muscle weighs more so that's what I'm going with. So far the benefits from working out aren't that great. 1. all my muscles ache pretty much all the time 2. i seem to poo way more than i used to (i guess this is a plus except when I'm try to hurry and leave the house and it's like uh oh got to go again ugh...and yes tmi i know) 3. (even more tmi) something I'm taking, which i think is the creatine drink that with out I'd be crippled, is giving me some seriously foul gas. i mean like clear the freaking room gas that makes you gag. no a plus at all. Gary says he can see a difference in my body I just don't see it I guess I'm being to judgemental on myself. I did my yoga/palates DVD today on top of my elliptical work out and holly cow i can tell a difference from when i used this DVD and was skinny to now. I can barely do any of the things like i could before. How did i ever getting things this bad. Oh well at least instead of just complaining about it I'm actually doing something about it now. A huge step in the right direction. I may just bust out the measuring tape to see if there is actually any change in that? Maybe not don't want to be disappointed if there is no change. Oh well it's 2:30pm and i stink so i need to get in the shower :-)

Sore

I worked out hardcore this morning then went walking around target for 3 hours then vaccuumed and scrubs all my hardwood flooring. Ugh I hate pain it makes me bitchy and i'm pmsing on top of that. Oh joy. happy days!

Starting stats

Ok so i'm busting out the measuring tape and doing all the measurements today. I'll be doing this once a month.
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 155lbs
Bust: 37"
Chest: 30.5"
Waist: 35"
Hips: 40"
Midway: 39"
Thigh: 24"
Knee: 16.5"
Calves: 14"
Upper arm: 12"
Forearm: 9"
some of these measurements seem stupid to take but what i've read they're the best to take to keep track. so now it's off to work out!

Brandon's birthday party

we had a wonderful day today. we spent 4 hours at bonkers while the kids played. I've weighed myself but still haven't measured myself. maybe I'll get that done tomorrow since it's going to be freezing and we're not really wanting to leave the house. I'm extremely lucky and blessed to have found my husband. He's so extremely encouraging and thoughtful. I know i wouldn't have the drive i have in getting healthy if it wasn't for his positive attitude and support. He's such a constant source of positive attitude. I love him with all my heart, being and soul. I'm blessed to have a best friend, partner and lover that's an equal on all levels. We have such fun together. it's very late but i wanted to put something on here for today, but I'm headed to be bed now.

a quest

my quest right now is to get into shape. i'm not looking to be super skinny again or anything like that. i just want the flab gone and everything nice and toned. I will keep track of my weight and measurements because i'm interested in that for the sake of being interested in it. not because i actually have a goal of a weight or going for or a certain size. i just want to be happy with the way i look and feel and at the moment the gut over the top of my jeans doesn't exactly make me think "damn i look good" :-)
i quit smoking 16 months ago. it's one of the best things i could have done for my health since my dad's parents both died from lung cancer. And after watching my Granny die slowly from it i never want to go that way. So the next thing i can do for my health is get rid of the extra weight that i'm carrying around because at the moment all my blood and body chemistry is where it should be but who knows in a few years of packing on pounds how that will be.
i started saturday 1/23/10 working out with my elliptical and doing situps and calf raises and such. I'm not striving at this time to really lose any weight because my body is so out of shape just working out for 10min on the elliptial has me saying ouch. so my goal at the moment is to just get my body used to working again. using the muscles i've really not ever used because lets face it, i have never worked out in my whole life. i've never needed to!
so sometime tomorrow i'll bust out the measuring tape and scales and see what it's got to say and i'll try to keep up with this blog as well.
peace!