Dirty Life wrap up

I recently finished The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kemball. At first I reluctantly fell in love with the book. I didn't expect to like but I delved in delighted with my findings. The author recounts how she (a journalist from the city) met & fell in love with her husband (a farmer who believes in a self-sustaining-little-to-no-electricity farm). There were almost at opposite ends of the spectrum. The came together and started/built a farm together. As I read more of the book, I found myself getting a little frustrated with the author's ADD-like style of writing. She tended to jump around from one topic to another too much and it took me out of the story. I believe the jumping around was meant to add more depth or explanation of events and feelings that took place, but it ended up becoming increasingly annoying for me. For the most part, I did like the book but don't know that I will recommend it to many people and I wish I had checked it out from the library as opposed to buying it. I don't think I'll read it again.

A Million Miles Wrap up

I finished A Million Miles in a Thousand Day by Donald Miller. I fell in love with this book and its message. I also must say that I am intrigued about his memoir and the movie (based on the memoir) that is  coming out in the next month. The book is basically about creating a better life story or stories; more memorable scenes with your friends and family.

Through co-writing the screen play for the movie, Donald Miller, in essence re-wrote his life and in more ways than one. Through this venture he found that any good story is about 'a character who wants something and must overcome conflict to achieve or obtain his/her want'. Miller states that most anybody loves a great story but there are not many who want to put forth the effort and work to obtain it. However, "joy costs pain." How true this is. You can plan and plan all you want but without putting it into action the plan is meaningless. I am a good planner but I often have a hard time acting on my plans, I always have good intentions but that just isn't enough. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years inspires you to live the stories (life) you want to live. Have adventures and take time to be silly!

"We teach our children good or bad stories, what is worth living for and what is worth dying for, what is worth pursuing, and the dignity with which a character engages his/her own narrative." This statement really hit home. Am I living a good story that show my children what is worth living, dying and pursuing? Am I engaging my own story with dignity so that my children can learn from me? Children always learn more from actions than words. If you are saying one thing but doing another, they're going to follow what you do more often than not.

God has graced Miller with a great deal of wisdom in the experiences that he has had and through the people he has met and I think the wisdom shared in this book is valuable beyond measure and should not be taken lightly.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for more to life. May you make many, many memorable scenes!

Quiet Beauty Before the Storm

As I sat down to eat dinner, my grandfather calls me to come with him on an excursion through the fields of the farm. "You need to see this," he says, "and bring your camera!"

As we arrive at the of a hill, I see the reason for this mirthful adventure. It's evening and just before a storm; the clouds are beginning to roll in. The sky is filled with the steel blue of the on coming storm, though a drop has yet to fall. There was an excitement in the air as the darkness of the sky seemed to kindle a brilliance in the trees that made their new spring coast glitter with excitement. It was as if the trees were trying to tell you a secret before the darkness caught up with them.

Yet there was also a calmness in the air the that breathed peace into your very soul as the steel blue contrasted with the beautiful iridescence of spring. The sun kissed the earth as if God reached down to caress His creation just before sending the cleansing rain waters. The scene cried out to me and I felt God's strength and love through my grandfather and in his voice while we sat in his John Deer Gator riding around the farm witnessing God's majestic canvas! It was a surreal moment filled with quiet excitement.

Then drop by drop the rain came to soothe the soul and quench the earth so that it could give birth life and bring forth more beauty of spring. Thank you my Saviour and my God for this day and the  many blessings You have given me!

Body Clutter Wrap-up

I finished Body Clutter and I must say that I did enjoy the read and the journey. I learned many things about myself and I appreciated both authors and their honesty. Body Clutter isn't a diet book; it is more about understanding yourself and your relationship with food so that you can make better and healthier life choices by making small changes and taking baby steps. The three main areas of Body Clutter discussed in the book: food, attitude, & movement. The ultimate goal is to FLY (Finally Love Yourself).
I will share a few quotes with you from the book that I enjoyed and/or found helpful:
"It's [your attitude] either a good one that blesses your families, or a sticky one that reeks and smells up the whole house."
"An unexamined life is not worth living." -Socrates
"Life is difficult." -Ben Franklin

I would definitely recommend this book. It is a helpful and I believe it will work for anyone. It is not asking you to make drastic changes and deprive yourself, but instead to take slow, steady and consistent baby steps to a healthier and happier you. Happy reading all!

Monthly Reading Post

This month I being rather ambitious! I am trying to read four books (one left over from last month) all while  working part and being a mom and wife full time!
So the books I am reading this month are: Tempted by the Cast girls, Body Clutter by Marla Cilley and Leanne Ely, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, and 48 Days to the Work you Love by Dan Miller.

Tempted is written by a mother and daughter team, which I think is pretty cool anyway, and it is the 6th in the House of Night series about vampires. The authors are P.C. and Kristin Cast. In the series, some people have a "vampire gene" and will inevitably become a vampire. The person is "marked" as a teenager and have a short amount of time from the time they are marked to get to the closest school of night where there are adult vampires to help them through the "change" from human to vampire. The heroine (Zoey) of the story has been blessed with great powers and has all kinds of crazy conflicts to overcome not to mention a good bit of teen drama. Zoey is also a bit boy crazy which often gets her into trouble. I like the authors' take on vampires and the fact that it's kind of a mesh of vampire and witch lore melded together. At any rate it is a fun read. In this book Zoey has some serious decisions to make and some really serious temptation to overcome, including the allure of a dark immortal. That fate of the world or at least her world and her friends lives may rest on her courage to resist temptation.

Body Clutter is written by Cilley and Ely who are maybe more commonly known as the FlyLady and the Dinner Diva or Dinner Saving Mom. I actually started this book at the end of the month last month but didn't finish it. I am almost finished with it now and I must say it had opened my eyes in many ways. It's not just about getting into a better lifestyle and making better decisions about what you are eating but it is also about understanding why you have made previous decision so that you can correct them going forward. Both authors emphasize using baby steps get to a healthier you. You didn't get to the weight you are over night or even within a day or week, and you can't make it disappear overnight or even within a week. It is about taking small steps and changing your relationship with food to a healthy relationship. This book has been very helpful and I have come to some new understanding about myself.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller is the book of the month for the BOOKING IT CLUB organized by blogger of Life as a Mom. I am only about a quarter of the way through this one, but I am really liking it. I think this is a book that I am going to LOVE! It is about a guy who has wrote a memoir that a couple of movie producers think will make a good movie but they need to tweak it. At first the author is a feeling jilted because his life is too boring as it is, but then he realizes through the process of making the movie he can "edit" his life and make it a better story. Like I say I still pretty early in the book but it is bringing to light so many things that I either didn't realize or that I've taken for granted. I and excited about the rest of the book!

The last book I am reading is Dan Miller's 48 Days to the Work you Love. I literally just started this one today but I am looking forward to it and what things I might learn about working and myself. I am a big DR (Dave Ramsey) fan and he not only recommends this book but also wrote the forward!

Enjoy reading everyone!!

Tried "No-Poo" & Oil Cleansing

So I tried out the "No-Poo" method for my hair. This is where you use a water and baking soda mixture to wash your hair and a apple cider vinegar and water mixture as conditioner. It's cheap and easy and works for many people. However, I tried it for about two weeks and my hair went from being in okay shape to horrible. It was wiry, rough, and dry with no shine at all. I decided that I had had it and this method just didn't work for me. Before trying this method I had switched to Avalon organic products and wasn't happy with the result. After trying the "No-Poo" method I was almost hating my hair.
I have since tried Giovanni Organic Hair Care. I have been using this for about three weeks now and I LOOOVE it!!! I am current using the tea tree shampoo and the leave in conditioner. I also use the frizz hair serum, but only when I straighten my hair. My hair feels light and healthy. There is also a softness and a shine to my hair that I haven't seen in quite sometime! I will admit though that the Giovanni Organic Hair products are a bit on the pricey side at about $8 to $9 per bottle for the shampoo and conditioner (8.5 ounces each). The no frizz serum was about $12 or $13 (I think) for a 2.75 ounce bottle. However, I am willing to pay a higher price for good quality hair products that don't have a bunch of crap in them.
Now for the oil cleansing. This sounds crazy and I got the recipe for Tsh Oxenreider's book. Her recipe uses a mix of olive oil and caster oil; I also add a few drops of essential oils.  Depending on how oily or dry your skin is you adjust the ratio of olive oil and caster oil; for dry skin you add more olive oil and less caster. I have been doing this for about a month and I really like it! It is simple and makes my skin feel surprisingly clean and great. Some days I do have to add a little bit of virgin coconut oil as a moisturizer but most day I just oil cleanse.
All in all I am glad that I tried both of these methods they are both relatively cheap, however, only one of them worked out for me. I am always willing to try something new though especially if it happens to be both healthy and inexpensive! I highly recommend trying these, just because the "no-poo" method didn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for you (many people love it).

Book review on Money Saving Mom's Budget

The Money Saving Mom’s Budget by Crystal Paine is the second book in the BookingIt Club from the Blogger LifeAsMom. I have enjoyed Paine sound advice, occasionally I found myself saying, “Of course!...I knew that!” or “Why didn’t I think of that!” I also found some of her previous experiences she wrote about in the book parallels some of my current experiences. This has given me a renewed strength just knowing (or reading about) someone who has overcome some not-so-fun situations in life.

I agree that you have to organize your house and your finances before you can implement other practices to save money. Like you can’t organize your bills if have can’t find them in the clutter of your house.

I have been couponing on and off for a few years now and have been researching strategies and ‘how tos’ but I felt like the advice she gives about integrating coupons and the “drugstore game” into your budget and shopping is more helpful to me than most other strategies and advice I have found. Basically don’t jump in over you head. If you drown yourself in saving money strategies then after you have factored in your time you are not really coming out ahead. Instead you just end up burned out and frustrated then you go back to spending more money or too much money, which is the opposite of your original purpose. Speaking of coupons, has anyone tried the Couponizer? It sounded and looked like a great tool!

I also really like Paine’s last chapter on finding contentment in your current situation not matter what it is. It is hard to get into a better situation in life if you are so caught up how bad you’ve got it. It’s like not being able to see the trees for the forest. If you can find contentment it is easier to relax a little and then when your are relaxed you can think more clearly about how to find/make a little extra money here or there, which leads to more enjoyment and encourages more creativity. It’s like a positive cycle.

I have really enjoyed this book and will definitely recommend it to my friends!

Book Reveiw on Untamed

This month I also read Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast. This is the fourth book is a series called House of Night. It is kind of a teen type series about vampires written by a  other and daughter team. I like the fact that it is written collaboratively by a mother and daughter. While there is a good bit of "teen drama" in it (that is the audience it is written for though), there is an interesting story line and they have an interesting take of vampires.
So far the main character is Zoey Redbird who is a fledgling vampire (young teenager going through the "Change" from human to vampire) and her group of friends that come to the rescue for various calamities and tragedies. There is some surprising character developments as well. The character you like and/or hate in the beginning may not necessarily be the same characters you love and/or hate as the series progress.
In this book, Zoey and her friends enlist the help of her grandmother and some new characters (nuns!) to help her as she tries to unveil an evil at her school (The House of Night). However, as it would seem the evil stays a step ahead of them and tries to pose Zoey as the instigator and bringer of evil to school. Zoey begins to run thin on allies, but and her powerful band of friends ultimately have to "save the day". I am not give away the ending of the book but I will say the the last few chapters are a bit intense!

All in all this is an interesting and fun read. I would recommend this book to both teens and adult who want an interesting, fun, quick, guilty pleasure type read.

One Bite at a Time Book Review Part2

I finished One Bite as a Time by Tsh Oxenreider and I have to say I did enjoy it. There are many projects I have already begun to incorporate into our schedule and family life. In addition to the before mentioned projects in my previous post, I plan to incorporate dates with my hubby and dates with the kids. Right now we have 2 small children (toddler and preschool age) but I think it's good to start this one-on-one quality time early. My husband and I decided that we would switch off every other week, so that we each get one-on-one time with each child and it's special and individual to that child. I am already looking forward to these "dates".
I am also working on a chore system for my kiddos (future posts on how it all turns out).

I am also trying out the no "poo" shampoo system & the oil cleansing method for my face. I let you know my thoughts on this later as well. I really like her downloadable "to do" list which I also may try out.

All in all I would definitely recommend this book to any mom and maybe even interested dads. Hope you enjoy it and find it as helpful as I did.

Book Review on One Bite at a TIme

I am reading One Bite at and Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simple by Tsh Oxenreider as part of the Booking It 2012 book club with Life as a Mom. One Bite as a TIme is full of projects (52) to help simplify your life. The book has the option of doing one project a week if you prefer and/or taking them on in order at you leisure. The table of contents is a checklist so that you can check off what you've accomplished, which means you don't necessarily have to go in order. Each project is in a category, so you could even do the projects according to categories if you wish. I like the set-up of the book and each project has a page for notes following the project with helpful links.
I have made it through project 27 "Streamlining Your Email". I have already started unsubscribing to unnecessary &/or unwanted emails this morning and it felt really good.
Some of the projects I have already begun to put into place but still enjoyed Tsh's take on the project. I really liked Project 1 and its concept "Eat Your Frog First Thing Everyday"! I think Tsh and I have the same frog so I am going to seriously work on that.
I am working on downsizing my magazine collection through scanning important or wanted articles/recipes. I have also started having family meetings with my husband which has really helped us stay on the same page and tackle things together (households tasks, budget, bills, etc). Two really important projects that I definitely want to get going is the Essential Papers File (project 17) and Organize Your Files (project 21). I really like the rotate your children's toys idea.
I also really like her thoughts on the Staycation. We may try this in 2012. I also want to work on turning the TV off more and encouraging my children to play without the TV. We don't have cable and use NetFlix for kids shows so I don't really worry about commercials so much with them but they probably watch too much and half the time they are playing it is just running with no one watching anyway.

Some other resources that I can add for some of her projects that didn't see or would like to restate are:
Flylady
Dave Ramsey
Sophie Uliano Gorgeously Green

I am looking forward to the next half of the book!

2012 Blog "Face Lift/Update"

I originally started this blog when my oldest babe was still in CD (cloth diapers). Now she is no longer in diapers (YEAH!) and my son is becoming interested in the potty. While I am still learning daily in the life of a parent, my babies are growing and learning as well and...well there not really babies anymore (even if they'll always be my babies). My daughter is a preschooler and my son is a toddler (and a one man wrecking crew all rolled into one).

So I am changing the focus of my blog to reflect that of my changing life. One thing I plan to do this year is blog more often and actually keep it up. I have been rather sporadic the the last few years. I am going to share my food experiences, healthy experiences, family experiences, crafty experiences and my book experiences. I hope to make this next year all in all more productive and fruitful in all aspects of my life.

For starters I am joining an online book club headed up by the blogger from Life as a Mom called BOOKING IT 2012. The first up is One Bite at a Time: 52 ways to Live Simply by Tsh Oxenreider mom blogger of Simple Mom.

Ergo Giveaway

MMB (Mommy's Milk Boutique) is giving away an Ergo carrier!!! I am really excited about this, as I have REALLY wanted to try it but have been hesitant due to the price. However, I have heard really GREAT things about them. They are durable and better for baby and momma/daddy, because they distribute the wait more evenly for both baby and the parent carrying the baby. With a 400 count thread count is should be super soft and the shoulder straps have high density foam! Not to mention the versatility of carrying your baby front or back.

Here is the giveaway link (good luck!):

http://www.breastfeedbabywearclothdiaper.com/7000-facebook-fan-babywearing-giveaway-celebration

Smartipants New Smart Fit Cover Giveaway

Smartipants has recently come out with a new diaper product the Smart Fit Cover. It is an adjustable one size, wipe clean cover that is supposed to be able to fit babies from 7 to 40 pounds. It not only has a rise snap adjustment but a velcro coupled with snaps for the waist adjustment. The cover is also affordable at just $13.95. Kim has a video review of the Smart Fit on her DDL blog (Dirty Diaper Laundry). You can now enter to win a new Smartipants Smart Fit cover from DDL check out her blog to enter:

http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/smartipants-smart-fit-one-size-cover-giveaway/

Giveaway ends October 18th!

DDL Little Comfort OS Bamboo Nappy Giveaway

Little Comfort is an Irish company. The owner wanted to cloth diaper her daughter for many of the same reasons that other cloth diapering moms. She couldn't find a diaper available that had what she wanted at an economical price so she decided to design her own, thus the Little Comfort Nappies and covers were born!

The bamboo nappy is a one size snap fitted that is super soft and made of bamboo. Since it is a fitted it does need a cover. It comes with 2 boosters and runs about $20.

Dirty Diaper Laundry gave Little Comfort Nappies a great review:

http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/little-comfort-fitted-review/

You can purchase the diapers from Otter Babies:

http://www.otterblotters.com/i_94/One-Size-Bamboo-Fitted-Diapers.htm

The Dirty Diaper Laundry and Otter Babies is hosting a giveaway that will be open until Sept. 27.

http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/little-comfort-giveaway-sponsored-by-otter-babies-927/

Check it out and good luck!

DDL Bottom Bumpers Giveaway

Dirty Diaper Laundry (http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/) is having a Bottom Bumpers giveaway! The giveaway is for the new multi-size adjustable diaper. It is a one size all in one side snapping diaper. I personally have not yet had the opportunity to try out Bottom Bumper but would love to. A really unique feature with the Bottom Bumper diapers is adjustable rise is on the inside and unseen. Like Booroi diapers, Bottom Bumpers are also side snapping. I really like this feature as well. I also like their cute colors.

Kim with Dirty Diaper Laundry gave it an awesome review on her blog. Maybe luck will be in my favor and I will win one! Please check out her blog and enter to win the contest end the 20th so hurry and enter your comments for a chance to win!

Loving the Smartipants but nights are still wet

I am still loving the Smartipants they are working great for both of my little ones during the day. However, my daughter is a heavy wetter and she is waking up wet even with the diapers double stuffed. I really do not think that the Smaritpants covers can take three inserts, as it is really snug with two.

I have heard many different solutions, and successes with different types of diapers. I am wondering if moms have a day time and a night time stash. As I am still fairly new the the cloth diapering , this had not occurred to me before now. I am getting a Bum Genius 3.0 pocket from Kelly's Closet and give it a try. Maybe this will help with out night time situation. If it does I may buy a few more for just night time use. Though as our funds are currently low that may have to wait.

Skip Hop Bag Review

My Skip Hop bag arrived in the mail! I purchase the ocean stripped Duo Deluxe Edition, so it was gender neutral and could be used for both kiddos. I love all the pockets! There are 2 outside front pockets; one mesh pockets that could be good for water bottle, sippy cup or bottle; another side pocket that could be good for a cell phone; two zippered pockets at the top; a back pocket/pouch for a changing pad and four inside pockets. The bag it made of a canvas like material on the outside and a nylon like material on the inside so it should be fairly easy to clean. Since my son is in disposable diapers currently (until he is big enough for the cloth diapers we have (which mainly consist of Smartipants), the diaper bag will be great. However, when he can fit into the cloth diaper bags I am not so sure that I'll have room for everything because cloth diapers ten to take up more room.

But right now I have room for the following: 3 to 4 newborn disposable diapers; 2 Smartipants cloth diapers; a changing pad; a sippy cup; 2 extra outfits for each (newborn & toddler); small hand sanitizer; a mini first aid kit (band aids, thermometer, Little tummies, saline solution, nasal aspirator, antiseptic ointment, lanolin ointment, teething ointment); cell phone & wallet.

Booroi Diapers

I came across a new-to-me daper: Booroi. Booroi is an Australian cloth diaper company. Booroi actually means baby in the language of Australian Aborigines. The Booroi system consists of a sized Nappi Cover (in various colors) and a Pre-fold Nappi which are sold separately. Nappi is an English (England/Britain) term for diaper. The cool thing about this pre-fold system is that the diaper cover has an elastic area that you can simply tuck a pre-fold folded into thirds into. This "pouch" for lack of a better explanation also provides extra leg gusset to hold in leaks and messes better. You do not have to worry with the folding on the baby. For me, it made pre-fold much less intimidated and you can reuse the covers! The covers are made with a soft breathable PUL, are side snapped, and come in the sizes: small, medium, & large. Booroi covers run about $15. The pre-folds are made with bamboo fleece on one side and Bamboo terry on the other and an inner layer of thirsty bamboo fleece. You can get a six pack of Nappi pre-folds with a zipper wet bag for about $60 & some sites offer one at a time purchases of about $10 each.

My sites offer a trial version of : one cover, one pre-fold, three wipes, & a wipe bag for $20. I decided to try this system out and I needed a wipe bag anyway.

I found it takes a little bit of an adjustment to fit the diaper on, but I love it! The are absorbent and the leg gussets hold in mess and leak very well. I got a small so it fits my son but not my daughter. My husband refuses to use this diaper because he says it's too intimidating but it really is simple. I would definitely recommend this diaper.

http://www.booroi.com.au/home

http://www.babyhopesclothdiapers.com/

http://www.momsmilkboutique.com/

http://www.otterblotters.com/

Diaper Bag

With two little ones I decided I needed to upgrade the diaper bag. I decided to buy a Skip Hop Duo. I order it from Jillian's Drawers. I am looking forward to it coming in, I only wish I could find a store near me that sold it. I would like to look at it in person before buying but from what I have about it (including reviews by other parents) I think it will work.

Skip Hop is a company that strives to make the lives of parents a little easier. They sell diaper bags & accessories, diapering caddies, feeding tool and accessories for infants and toddlers, home and nursery items, bath stuff for babies and toddlers, and toys.

There diaper bags come in a variety of colors, have many pockets and an added feature is the "shuttle clips" that allow the diaper bag to be attached to the stroller leaving the bottom cargo available for other items.

Conall has arrived!!

Conall arrived on his due date (February 28th) at 3:06AM! I woke up to use the restroom and my water broke at 1:30AM. I was staying at my parents house because my husband works night and incase I went in to labor I would have someone to take me to the hospital. The good thing was I had someone to watch my daughter and take me to the hospital, since my grandparents and parents live next to each other. My husband was going to meet us at the hospital. The bad part was I was about two hours away from the hospital. With my daughter, I was in labor for almost two days. It was very long and she got stuck on my pelvis, and I ended up having to get an epidural. My son was complete opposite! I had hoped to have a water birth.

My dad drove and my mom rode in the back seat. As my contractions got closer and closer we were all afraid that we not make it to the hospital in time. My mom kept asking to let her know when I was having a contraction so she'd keep up with them. My dad realized that she was driving just little crazy, and just told her to listen 'isn't it obvious' I think is what he said. By the time we got the hospital I had both feet on the dash and my knees practically glued together and hanging onto the handle bar above the door for dear life!!! My husband beat us to the hospital and had a wheel chair waiting for me. I fell into the chair and he rushed my to the labor & delivery area with my mom trying to get doors open along the way. He had time to get me in the room, I got my jeans off and my midwife cam into the room to check me. She stopped the the nurses fussing with monitors and told me to push. Two pushes and he was out. My father had did not even have time to park the car and get to the labor and delivery area before Conall arrived. In fact he called mom to make sure he remembered how to get the LDR and when he heard Conall he said in disbelief, "That's not my grandson is it?!"

Needless to say I did not have the planned water birth. Conall was 8 pounds 4 ounces and 20 inches long. Mom nick named him "Speed Racer"!