From the Archives: 10 Tips for Healthy Cleaning and Living

Whether you have kids or not, its good to be (Im so sick of this word )"green". Its mainly good for you - which is most important. Lots of cleansers & household products are extremely harmful - which is why the companies never post the ingredients to their formulas; they don't want you to know you're buying something that's quite toxic. Well, here are a few ideas from the past that I've revamped :

1. Fix a squeaky hinge; door, box, wheel, etc. How do you do this? Easy, just spray the hinge with cooking spray like PAM or whatever type you use. Olive oil will also work, but it can get a bit runny.

2. Freshen up a room: Option A - get a small spray bottle -say 2 oz. - fill with water and a lovely smelling essential oil. (tip: use peppermint oil to really get the stench out of the room. My sister, who is a nurse, says this is what they do at hospitals when ...accidents happen). Shake it and spray til the room's scent is to your liking. Option B-Just get a small decorative jar and fill it with baking soda and a few drops of essential oil till its scent is to your liking - this works great in the washroom. I love the lemon/eucalyptus blend. God knows what is in Febreze!

3. Get a large spray bottle 16+ oz., fill with water and about 25 drops of Lavender & Tea Tree essential oil (its a combo oil). This should kill any mold and mildew thru out your home, just spray on surfaces and let air dry. It also smells great and works well as an air freshener too.

4. Use 1/4 cup vinegar during the rinse cycle when your doing laundry. It will work as a fabric softener without all the chemicals but with all the softness. And no, your clothes won't smell like vinegar.

5. Clean your windows, mirrors, glass with a spray that 50/50 water and vinegar (add an essential oil to tame the vinegary smell if you like) - but the smell goes away very quickly.

6. Try not to buy things new. If you can find them at the GoodWill or Salvation Army, do it. You can always find Target's clearance items at these shops so you can buy things 'new' too! You help others as well as finding cool stuff.

7. Used coffee grounds work to keep pests away from your plants. Make sure your plants can tolerate the acidity the grounds may add to the plant soil tho!

8. Kill weeds by spraying them with vinegar - careful not to spray what you want kept healthy in your yard/plant/garden. Vinegar can kill the important stuff too! Its better to use this then items like Round Up, which is very toxic.

9. Use baking soda to scrub just about anything - the oven range, toilet, bath tub, sinks, your teeth, etc. Dab some mixed with a bit of soap to get stains out of clothes as you would with Shout.

10. If you do buy any cleansers I highly recommend Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds. Its like an all-purpose miracle cleaner! Use it to wash your laundry; floors; bathrooms; counters; walls; dishes; car; fruits & vegetables; plus its mild & gentle on the skin. I swear it gets our hardwood floors looking cleaner and better than Murphy's Oil Soapdoes. And it lasts a LONG time - so its totally with the $9 - $12 for a 32 oz bottle - a little goes a long way.

Ok, thats all 10! I hope it helps anyone who needs it!

Image above from The Economist

Read More

HOLIDAY HANDMADE GIVEAWAY by Gifts Define!

Not long ago, I stumbled upon a super cute site with super cute handmade birds, mobiles, party favors, personalized gifts and more. At first I saw the GiftsDefine blog and then their Etsy Shop and it was over. I have a soft spot for uber-cuteness...which I think evolved after having children; I would see things that we're so adorable and instantly want them even for a 1 year old who would just chew, gnaw and drool all over it. So now they are having a giveaway for 2 lucky people who will win their Baby's First Christmas 2010 keepsake you see above (no Santa hat, though). But you can also find them on Facebook where they give great updates of all that they got going on. You will not be disappointed! 

Read More

Craft Room: Before and After

I said I was going to make a project out of my craft/sewing room and I sorta did. I didn't get to paint it but honestly, I just needed to get my little sanctuary up and running. It was cluttered and not even close to being organized but I just locked myself in there and got to work. This is what it looked like before:

As you can see - just a  huddled mass of stuff. Some stuff didn't belong in here so my room was becoming a catch-all. I had to put a stop to that (even though I was a contributor ). So here is the room now...

Sewing a shirt, presently

Some supplies as well as my daughters' old dresser to hold my vast amount of fabric and yarn

More stuff to keep me somewhat organized.

So there it is. Im finally being more productive these days... though it has been tougher to do much with 3 kids. The newborn is not even the hinder-er; its my 2 year old Lucy. That kid is a wrecking ball I tell you what. Look at that face...you know she's about to do something sinister... 

Read More

I love Levi!

Of course I love this kid, he doesn't bug me when I want to scarf down a bag of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms... while I have send the other 2 to play in their room at times like this. Its funny being a parent. Its also funny when you wonder how the baby will be while you are still pregnant. I mean, you always have those friends or family who tell horror stories of how they hadn't slept in a year or how they can't leave the house or the kid will throw tantrums and destroy an entire city block. I had the 'perfect baby' who slept wonderfully and never threw a fit. Heck, we could take her to the movies without a problem. But all kids are one of a kind. My second is the city block destroying type. I also never slept until she decided she was ready to sleep thru the night...at 19 months...and it was still quite shaky. But this lil guy...he is a gem. He is just so sweet and cute and lovable and snuggable...ok, I'll cut that out. 

Now that I have 3 under 5 yrs old I'm noticing the biggest challenges. Like simple things that become complex...like going shopping - they all cant go in the cart with the food and I aint pushing 2 carts!! We need a bigger car, bigger living space (check!), more arms, more hours in the day, more everything. And on top of it all we're moving, painting, priming, fixing, working several jobs and trying to keep our wits about us...especially when these kids refuse to nap! But, as I hold Levi as he sleeps in my flabby arms, to heck with everything else. Its nice to relax and look at his sweet little face. ♥

Read More

Family Trees: The Many Options!

Creating family trees can be a daunting task, especially for me, who has 16 people on my immediate side alone - that's just parents, siblings and kids..then adding my husbands side is easy since its just 5. But hope exists! Its how creative you can get with it. Here are some great ideas I found around the interwebs that look WAY better than those cheesy ones they had you make in school.
I particularly love this Balloon Family tree - well, I guess its not really a tree, but you get the idea. Its fun for a kids room..or any really. but I'm sure mine would want it in their room. I love that its in a shodow box, which makes it easy to add new additions to the family... we have those a lot!

This literal tree is a bit more sophisticated and grown up. Its great if you have a big family or include more than just immediate members. Its a bit of trickery too since at first glance you probably would not notice what it is exactly until you got up close and personal.

Here is another fun one; simple, geometric, colorful. Great for small-ish families or just condensing yours.
Here is a clever tree that has pics of family members - visualizations are always great. This would be a fun one that you and your little one(s) can do together.

Well, I hope to delve into some Family Tree fun now that I have some inspiration!

Read More

Ah, Babies!

Just when you think your baby is sleeping so peacefully....

Last night Lucy really needed a diaper change. She was sleeping but I decided to change her anyway - she sleeps 18 hours of the day so I doubt im intruding on her beauty rest with a 3 minute diaper change. Now, breast-fed newborns have very runny poop -gross, I know! Not very smelly, but it sounds quite 'explosive' everytime it happens. So i get her from the other room and put her on the couch to change her. As soon as I get her all cleaned up, I reach for the new diaper when (insert explosive diarrhea sound here)! Baby poop shot literally 6 feet. All over the couch. ugh... So next time you see a sleeping baby, remember what they are capable of.

Read More

Now with 2 of them!

I thought having 2 kids would be crazy, demanding, tiresome, and overall overwhelming. So far I've been let down - which is great. Lucy sleeps and sleeps...she's so easy to deal with. Maddy is a good girl who can entertain herself by reading, playing, or watching Pee Wee Herman shows/movies. She also loves helping me with Lucy. One thing is that Morgan has been and will be home for the next 2-3 weeks or so, so when he returns to work, I may be singing a different tune. I sure hope not tho! This time around, recovery has been a breeze. #1 was a c-section (as was #2 - and neither was by choice, believe me!) but recoveryof #1 took a really loooooong time. Like weeks before I could even sit up in a chair on my own. This time, I was able to do that in a few days after surgery. In the hospital nurses would come in and ask "so, do you need something for pain?" When I'd say no, they looked so puzzled, like I was lying or having residual epidural side effects. I had some pain, yes, but no where near what I anticipated. The most pain was the numbing drug they injected before the epidural. But it was all worth it to have that sweet little girl to hold in my arms after waiting a grueling 9 months.

Read More

Goings ons

Man, I've been a busy bee...I've been sewing, mothering, wifing, domestic engineering, and so forth. Im ready to burst with this baby. IM still 2 months away and im the size of Violet on Willy Wonka when she turns into a blueberry. The plus side is that I havent gained nearly as much weight this time around. I gained 50lbs with #1! Im only up to 25 at this point. I doubt I'll gain another 25 in 9 weeks....I better not! So far, Ive been sewn for baby#2: a boppy, a sling, oh shoot...thats it?? well these are on the list:

• burp cloths (about 6)
• boppy covers (at least 2)
• bibs (dont know, its easier to just buy these cuz they can be a pain to make)
• a nursing cover (or I'll win one from a seller on etsy! its SO cute!)
• blankets (2-3)
• booties (3 pairs in 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 month stages)

I think thats all I know how to make at this point. Most of them start with the letter "b" - wierd. Anyhoo, I have A LOT of stuff to make for this baby, its exciting. It BETTER be a girl cuz thats what im making! GIRLY stuff!

Read More