Category: Health

trying somthing out…….

So, in an effort to, once again, simplify things…I’ve been reading…..about “no ‘poo” and I’ve decided that is the STUPIDEST name or title EVER!

But, I am going to try it out….

You can read for yourself here and here all about it – if you so choose.

I am not sure if I read it somewhere or if I just “brain-ed” it all by myself, but for a lot of things, I am trying to stick with 3 ingredients or less.  This doesn’t mean that I won’t make a dinner if it has 4 or 5 ingredients or that I’ll limit what goes into our food to 3 ingredients, but for things that come pre-made, I am trying to stick to items that have 3 ingredients or less….so Shampoo….we’ve already bought stuff that has no SLS and now I’ve been reading about going the No Shampoo route….basically you use baking soda and then you can rinse with apple cider vinegar or somthing else….

Today was the first time that I used the baking soda and while it was a little strange to be rubbing watery baking soda into my scalp and hair…I gamely continued on.  Hey, it won’t hurt anything and what’s the harm in trying it out….it would be a FREAKLOAD cheaper than buying our non-SLS shampoo.

I never did use the apple cider vinegar rinse, mostly because we don’t have any at home right now.

I was a little nervous to blowdry and do my hair, but I am quite surprised at how soft it feels AND it has volume and I’ve not put ANY product in it…yet.

I also found, in the bottom of that second link, a recipe for hairspray….and I need to go shopping this weekend, and I think I’ll be picking up some lemons, just to give it a try.

From what I’ve read,I might experience a bit of a nasty stage where my hair might be overly greasy and you can be sure that I’ll kep you posted on how all this goes, BUT if it does all work out gloriously, then I’ll be THRILLED because it means more “stuff” that we can cut down on buying and it’s cheaper…..LOTS CHEAPER….and I like lots cheaper.

Have any of you tried this, and if so did/does it work for you?

Working Out My List

It’s funny, (or maybe it’s not, but it is to me) that as I keep thinking about the “Important” things, that the list keeps getting longer and longer.

I’ve not actually written anything down, as of yet, and some of these are much more inclusive than just the word, but I’m just going to start with some of the things that I’ve been thinking about.

Family

This means both my immediate family of 6 and my larger family as well.  I want to be available for my kids.  I will only ever have this time with them once.  And I want to make it count.  I want to be present, here and now.  not just at home when they come home from school, but off the computer, and actually paying attention to them.  I want to be able to help out with their homework and to teach them how to cook and bake and to do crafts with them.  I want to not be so tired from half assed doing other things that all I want to do is foist them off on the TV so that I can sit and veg. on the computer.  I want to grow in friendship and trust with them and to teach them how to communicate their feelings and wnats and desires and how to effectively communicate even the negative emotions. I want to have time to spend with my extended family.  I want my kids to grow up knowing their grandparents, and aunts and Uncles and Cousins and even their great grandparents and great aunts and uncles and second cousins.  Family is so important and I really want to have a sense of closeness in what is rapidly becoming such an “Island” world….I want to cultivate (as much as I can) the sense of “Village”.

Health

This is a huge one including Food, cleaning, Exercise, and a buch of other stuff as well.  I want to be able to cook good healthy food for my kids and I want to train them to love to put healthy stuff into their bodies.  I don’t want it to be a fad…I want it to be a lifestyle.  Not so stringent that they feel the need to stuff their faces every time Mom or Dad isn’t looking, but I want them to be able to make good choices for the long haul.  I also want to make the healthiest choices regarding cleaning supplies.  At this point, the decision that slightly been taking out of our hands just because ‘Siah seems to have a reaction to SLS and so that means that we have to find alternatives, but now, I use things like vinegar for all my windows and mirrors and I think it works WAAAAAAY better than Windex ever did.  And I like the fact that my floor cleaner residue won’t get all over ‘Siah as he’s crawling around.  i could go on and on about this, but I’ll spare you.  Also, included in this section is exercise.  I HAVE to make time to exercise.  I WANT to make time to exercise and so it will be done.  It just hasn’t been done, yet….soon, though…soon!

Jon

I want to clearly set aside time and effort to put into Jon and I’s relationship.  I want it to be deliberate.  I don’t want to find out 20 years down the road that we wished that we had put the time it…..I want to continue to build on this GREAT friendship that we have and to be an example to our kids for years to come.

Me

I want to have time planned for me to do things like the different crafts that I like to do.  Already since just trying to slow my life down, but not being entirely purposeful about it, I’ve crochetted or knitted two kimono style sweaters, three vests, a hat and I’ve started a few other pieces.  I made a bead necklace.  I’d like to paint some more and to do some more paper crafts as well.  I also want to set aside more time to find and make more healthy baking for my family.  I enjoy baking and to find stuff that we can all eat and that tastes delicious, that makes me happy and brings a sense of satisfaction.

None of this is in any particular order of importance and there are still more that I’m thinking about and even more to flesh out in each particular category, but it’s a start.  To know what I want helps me to see what I shouldn’t be doing. 

I think that I’ll be taking stock regularly of where I’m at and what’s important to me and why?  See, life changes and things move up and down the importance scale, and I’ve lived enough to know and recognize that just because this is where I’m at and these are the things that are important to me right now, that doesn’t mean that I get to go on autopilot like this for the rest of my life…..NO!  What was important to me in the months and years before I had Josiah changed when he came and when he turns 1 or 2 or 5 – it stands a good chance of changing again…in September it might all change or over the summer months or when Geli goes to middle school.  I think that any big life shift or change necessitates a peek inside as to what’s important to me “NOW”!  and how can I accomplish that and what needs to be re-evaluated and possibly let go of…for a time or forever…..

It’s about what’s important to you……..asking yourself “What is important to me?” and “How do I accomplish that?” 

If you want something enough, you will figure out a way to make it happen.

I want a slower, more simple life.

Green Smoothies, Poop and Blood….that just about covers it all

So, here is part of my breakfast this morning…

Green Smoothie
Yummy looking ain’t it?  Actually it was delicious.  It’s Peaches, Banana, and Spinach and just for fun, I threw in some Calcium powder. 

It really is quite green……see…..

Green
And, can you see my baby standing at the gate in the background….YUP…standing.  Can you believe it?  He pulled himself up there all by himself…he’s growing up too fast.  it happens doesn’t it.

Anyway, I read about smoothies, especially green smoothies over here, and she got it from over here. 

I’d also like to show you our latest treat/cookie/yummy goodness also via here from here…

May I present you with what we lovingly refer to as Gorilla Poop.

Gorilla Poop
It’s soooooo delicious.  Tastes like chocolate….like beautiful yummy dark chocolate.  MMMMmmmmm Good!

You can get the recipe at either of the links up there, but just to note, that I added the sesame seeds and flax seeds all by myself….’cause I’m all creative like that.  Adds extra crunch (and fiber).

Also,

Today I will be giving blood for the first time in WAY TOO LONG.  It must be since before I got pregnant with Nathaniel back in July 2004, and then with the almost constant getting pregnant and then getting un-pregnant and just not wanting to “give” anything but only reveling in my misery, I didn’t give blood once, even though I’m sure there was at least one opportunity to do so in there some where.

So, When Canadian Blood Services called to book my appt I said, “Sign me up, Baby!”

So, today at 2:05pm, I’m headed in to see if they’ll let me do my part to give back.  I really don’t think I’m anemic, and I’m healthy, so it should just be business as usual. 

I did an excellent job of doing nothing yesterday and I’m proud of myself for it.  Things get a little bit busier for this week, starting with today, but hopefully nothing that I can’t handle.

See, I’m wanting to pare back and just “do life” at a slower pace.  I don’t want to be so busy that I’m too tired for the things that are important to me.

So, I’ve already been thinking of the things that are important, but I’m going to be writing down some of the things that are really important to me and working towards those things.  I know that it means letting go of some of the things that are “cluttering” up my life…not even in a bad way.  Lots of the things I’m doing are good things, but they are not helping me to accomplish the things that I find “MOST IMPORTANT”, and at the end of it all I don’t want to look back and think, “Man, I did sort of a little bit of a lot of good things, but I was so tired and I never really did a “great” job of the things that I really wanted to” and so I’m re-prioritizing.

I’ll keep you updated on that list.

How about you?  What things are really important to you?  Do you have “stuff” cluttering up your life?  Unnecessary stuff that you could let slide in order to really and truly focus on the things that you want to focus on????  Want to do a list – your list – with me?

I’ll leave you with one of my most important things…..Jeremy.

Here he is talking to Jon about the airport and going on the plane and can you hear the inflection in his voice?….too cute.  Does he has a future in Television????  I obviously don’t have a future in video recording….it’s a little dark, but it’s just so darn cute….

Finding it Difficult in so many ways and on so many levels, but not wanting to talk about it…..so much

edited to add…..get a coffee….it’s a long one…… 

I’ve said that I’d talk about what we found out at the Naturopath in regards to both Jeremy and Josiah, and yet I’ve still not talked about it.

I find that talking about our struggles with Jeremy is so difficult that I think that in some small or large part of my brain I figure that if I don’t talk about it then it’s not really there.  Denial is a powerful, POWERFUL weapon (of self-destruction).

Josiah is doing better, I think. 

Okay, starting all of this off….I’m seeing my sister’s naturopath because my naturopath had to take some time off for a family emergency.  The two Drs are practice partners and so it’s not a big deal to see one or the other as it’s in the same place and they have very similar and complimentary practise styles.

So, we met for a HUGE appointment because all four kids needed a follow up appt for different reasons.  The girls needed a wrap up appointment because I took them through the “process” of food intolerance testing and such just so that they would be healthy.  I do think that they have some struggles, but that they’re doing well.  I’ll talk more aout that in a moment.  They are basically healthy kids and we are just on what we’d call “maintenance” – no wheat, dairy, sugar or yeast on a regular basis, but I don’t stress if they go to a birtday party or somewhere else where they might cheat a little……if they “can” eat healthy then make good choices, but for a special occasion (as long as those “occasions” don’t happen every day or even a couple of times a week) it doesn’t matter.

Josiah is doing much better.  I’m still avoiding dairy like it’s the plague.  Soy seems to really bother him, and so do tomatoes.  I had chili the night that we went to the naturopath and he barfed ALL EVENING, and then ended up with a flare up of eczema.  So, I’m avoiding Dairy, Soy, Tomatoes, Wheat and Yeast. 

I thought the Dairy was brutal, but soy is even worse…..pretty much anything that doesn’t have dairy in it – has soy in it…..so I’m eating lettuce as it seems pretty safe.  Nice, eh?  It’s not that bad, but to say my diet is limiting is an understatement. 

I am willing to do anything, though, to be able to nurse.  I won’t force him to nurse when he’s ready, but I wanted to have this “time” with my baby for a long time and I’m happy to be able to do it even if it means working around things to make it work for Josiah.

I am struggling with all the food intolerances and the eczema and gastro-intestinal issues that we’ve dealt with for the past 6 months.  I basically thought that parents “made up” their kids food intolerances and thought that they were all a bunch of over exaggerators and that they were blowing things WAY OUTTA proportion.  Now, I am one of them and being on this end of it SUCKS!  I’m hoping that it’s all just intolerances and that ‘Siah will outgrow everything as he gets older and bigger and stronger.

He’s on some supplements to heal his intestinal tract and I think it’s working.  His poos are AMAZING….like liquid gold.  I almost don’t feel like I have to be inspecting EVERY. SINGLE. POOP. to be looking for blood.  It was hell to be waiting with a twisted gut for your kid to poo and hoping that this time you wouldn’t see blood, and then feeling like you’d been punched in the gut when you did see blood and hoping that this would be the last time and feeling helpless and not knowing what to do or what was causing it.

There is also some material out there that says that Dairy is a big culprit for causing eczema and other material that says that eczema is a surface level reaction to intestinal issues and tha tif you get your guts healed up then the eczema will clear up.  I’ve read about eczema coming on after you’ve had a vaccination and also about detergent allergy and how there is detergant in EVERYTHING now a days and that if you can get your home to be a detergant free zone that your kids will be able to get healthy and then when they come in contact with detergant outsome the home, they will better be able to deal with it.  Someone else told me that if you wash the eczema with saline that it will get better.  i’m willing to try just about everything, but the thing that bothered me the most was my family doctor just telling me to get some hydocortisone and use it….I’d have to use it every day and I have an issue with just treating the symptom and not the root or underlying cause.

The eczema is clearing up since we’ve been on the supplements for 2 weeks now.  I have a follow up appt and i want to know if this is something that can be healed forever or if we’re just in a preventative stage forever.

He still scratches and has little cuts and nicks in his head ALL OVER THE PLACE.  It looks awful, but it’s not rashed up.  i’m not sure if it is actually itchy or if it’s a habit.  I know that he will start scratching horribly when he is tired.  So, habit or itch – I do not know.  Bottom line is….

I think that Josish is doing WAAAAAAY better than he ever has, and this is a good thing.

I’m not going to talk aout Jeremy today.  I think that this has gone on long enough, and I think that I want a little more time to think about how I want to say what I’m feeling and thinking about the most wonderful little boy ever.

Jeremy is an amazing child and I only wish that others could see past some of the outward stuff and really grab a hold of the beauty that’s inside of this precious, gentle, creative, compassionate little man.

an Update

So His temp yesterday without Tylenol was around 39 degrees C or 102 degrees F…..not nice as far as I’m concerned.

It did  go down when I gave him the Tylenol, and so I gave him a dose at 8:30am, one at 12:30pm and then one last dose at 5pm.  After that last 5 o’clock dose, he didn’t seem to be getting terriblymuch hotter.  I checked his temp at 8:30 when I put him down for the night, and I was pretty conflicted about what to do.

Do I give him Tylenol to ensure that he doesn’t spike a super high fever during the night, or do I leave him and hope that it stays low grade or goes away?  What to do, what to do…..it was all vry distressing.  And then….I’m not nursing him in the night anymore, and he’s not needing it.  He goes from 8:00 – 8:30pm until 6:30am, and if he wakes up, Jon goes in and helps him back to sleep….BUT, now that he’s not feeling well…..Does he need the extra liquid or should we stick to our routine or what?

SO…I did nothing.  No Tylenol, and then I checked his temp at 10:30, ’cause I figured that it had been 5.5 hours since his last dose of medicine, and his temp was still at 37.7 – that what it was at 8:30pm  and 9:30pm, so it really wasn’t going up right then.

He did wake up whimpering at 1am, but he wasn’t too hot to the touch and he was only stirring, so I left him.  I think Jon got up with him at 2 or 3am, and then I just brought him to bed and nursed him at 4:30am, so it was a bit of a busy night, but he did good, and his temp this morning still with no Tylenol (since the last dose at 5pm) was at 37.6.

I realize that all of this is probably too much nit picky information, but I was surprised at how worried I was about it all.

I need to go and help the kids get ready for school, but I still want to update you all on our trip to the naturopath and the chiropracter….they were interesting appointments with some amazing information.

Questions for ya

okay, so it’sbeen a while since I had to deal with this…

Siah woke up with a fever this morning.  I’m really not into giving medicin to my kids unless its really necessary. 

My question is this, at what point do I worry for real……obviously I’m worried rght now, but when is it serious?

He isn’t coughing, and his nose is only running a little bit.  His temp got up to 38.5 in his armpit and so if you add .5 then it was up at 39 degrees.  At that point (8:30am) I did give him some Tylenol and now his temp is at 38.1  or (37.6 under his arm).  He was not very energetic before the tylenol, but now is just a little off from his usual self.

He’s pooped, peed, laughed, nursed and seems to be okay…..

Do I just wait and watch?  I hate dealing with this…He was 6 months old yesterday and this is our first fever……..it sucks!

So, what do you suggest? 

Frustration

‘Siah had a flare up of ezcema last night.  How frustrating is that? 

We have  an appt with the naturopath today and i’m hoping to get some answers and hopefully some “options” of things we can try to do.  We also should be getting the results of Jer’s Hair analysis and that might be able to offer some insight into his world as well. 

I’m actually taking all 4 kids AT THE SAME TIME into the Dr. office.  Nuts, eh?  I think that jon is coming with me although he seemed quite stressed out about it all this morning so we shall see.  I just cant fathom all of them at once in the little office.  Eeeeek!

The whole eczema thing is bugging me…..he also barfed ALL FREAKING DAY yesterday. So obviously something I ate hit him funny, but what..and why???  It annoys me that I was the healthiest with him and thathe seems to have it the hardest of the kids……maybe that isn’t really the case.  He’s the happiest, and most easy going of my kids, and he’s sleeping through the nights and nurses like a champ.  things are actually going really quite well.  It’s just the food intolerances and eczema….so frustrating.  And I’d really like a HUGE piece of cheese right now or a giant piece of pizzza.  Can you tell that I’m frustrated?  I want to self-medicate with food….not good.  Maybe this wohle food restriction thing is not  bad thing after all..I have to learn different ways to cope with my stress rather than just stuffing my face with food  it never makes me feel better anyway, but it sure tastes good.

Hmmmm….well, I’ll update ya if there’s anything good to update.  Later!

What???? What was That???

Oh Yah!  I was supposed to talk about New Years Day and share those pics and videos or something like that….yaaaaaahhhhh!  That ain’t happening!

Man,  I was so excited, and had serious plans to upload all those pics, and then today totally got away from me.  Although in my defense….well, it’s a crapy defense, so I’m not even going to ry……  I did nothing today.  Nope, actually not true!  I stayed in my pyjamas and then did some admin work early this morning and then watched the Transformers  movie…..it was definately a “down” day for me.  Much needed after 2 weeks of “holidays” *snort* yah, holidays with 4 kids.. ha ha ha ha Ha Ha Ha HA HA HA HA HA – plop!  That was me laughing my head off, just in case you didn’t get it.

So, tomorrow is a busy day and I have a ton to accomplish…..one of those things being to upload all my freaking New Years Day Pictures.

You know, I’d give anything for an egg and toast…..I know that this is just kinda coming outta left field, but I really like eggs and toast, and with Josiah having a sensitivity or intolerance or allergy or whatever it is that he has…..I can’t have any, and I’d really like one……Not being able to have one has really messed up my mornings….I started out most mornings with a nice warm egg and toast…Boo Hoo!  Now, my dry toast is really rocking it out big time, ’cause my non-dairy margarine has soy in it, and I can’t have that either……I’m having a pity party right now….just be on your way…and I’ll be okay….seriously I will!

“Caption This”………and other crap

I took this picture last night while Jon and ‘Siah were playing on the TV room floor.   Everytime I look at it I see another “caption” , so I thought we’d play a little game.

What would YOU caption this picture with?

And now for the “other crap………..”

Xandra’s glasses just popped off her head last Saturday and threw themselves onto the kitchen floor in a fit of rage.  So we had to make an “emergency trip” into Langley to the nearest “Lenscrafters” and picked up these beauties.

 Just in case you can’t tellthe difference between these ones and her other ones…. (don’t you all pay close attention to the eyeware of my second child?!?!?!?!)

Her last pair was red, and rectangular.  These ones are black on the outside, pink on the inside, and more oval-ish than rectangular……She’s just so cute, and thanks to the Healthy Kids program – the glasses only cost us $45 dollars.  Amazing, eh?

I’m totally jealous as I’ve had the same pair of glasses in the time she’s run through 4 pairs, but I’m hoping that I’ll be getting a new pair in the spring after I have my next eye exam.  Sounds thrilling, doesn’t it?  Aren’t you glad I shared that sweet bit of info with you.

 And one last bit of crap to throw at you (ha ha ha ha ha, I crack myself up.  I’m easily amused, can’t you tell?)

Do you have any idea what happens when you put a bar of Ivory soap into the microwave?

No?

I didn’t either until Monday afternoon.

I’ve been looking into health(y)ier alternative’s to chemical cleaners for both the house and body.  There is a lot you can do with baking or washing soda and vinegar….both very safe, and quite cheap…..and I LOVE ME SOME CHEAPNESS!

I came across this recipe for liquid hand soap.

It calls for a bar of Ivory soap (I believe it’s the smaller bars) and 3 cups of water, a pot and some essential oils.

I only had a larger bar of Ivory, but  figured “What the heck!  More is better, right?”

I also figured that instead of “shaving it” to melt it down like it says to, that I’d just leave it in one lump and……

……instead of cooking it on a pot in the stove, I figured that I’d just huck it in a measuing cup with some water in it, to melt it down.

I wasn’t following the recipe AT ALL………so basically I was following a recipe for a disaster.

I put the measuring cup with 3 cups of water in it, and the large bar of Ivory soap into the microwave, and turned it on maximum power for 5 minutes.  I figured that I’d check on it after a few minutes, as give it a quick stir or flip the bar over or something…..’cause seriously, what could go wrong.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!  Famous Last Words.  This is what I opened up the door to after 3 1/2 minutes.

At least it didn’t all blow up inside the microwave….It foamed up hard, and crawled up and over the edge of the measuring cup and over and down on to the plate, and kept on going. 

The kids were thrilled with my science experiment, and Jeremy wanted to stick it back in and make it foam some more.  I wasn’t sure it could be salvaged, so I didn’t want to put it back in anymore.It was hard, and crumbled easily so I dumped the water and what was left of the soap bar  into a larger container, and then crumbled the foam into the bowl.

Long story short, IT WORKED!I have enough mixture for 2 containers of liquid hand soap that smells like lavender Ivory soap.  It’s quite thick, and works wonderfully. 

So, that’s enough with the rambling for now….don’t forget to caption the picture of Josiah.

ps. Sorry if you got a million copy’s of this post.  I was having some “issues” with spacing and kept trying to fix them…all the while thinking that I would be annoying some of you….if you were annoyed – I’m terribly sorry, and if you have no clue what I’m talking about……..just go on with your day and have a nice life.

To Foam or Not To Foam

espresso-machine.jpgMeet the newest member of our family….

Ain’t she pretty?

Buying this little baby is turning out to be one of the BEST decisions that we’ve made recently.

I’d been thinking a lot about the kids calcium intake or rather the lack thereof, and wondering what to do about it.

I’d also been trying to figure out a way to cut down on the cost of our daily latte habit.

A few things happened all at the same time, and the end result is hapiness and joy all around.

We’ve recently decided that I will be handling the family finances.  I have the time, energy and drive to tackle that particular mountain…..in the hopes of turning it into a mole hill….it’s a work in progress and I’m sure you’ll hear WAY more about it in the not too distant future than you really care to.

Any way,….. for the same cost of one month of latte’s and coffee we bought ourselves an espresso machine.  The old coffee pot, which isn’t very old at all, has become an “office” machine in case Jon has clients come to the house to meet.  We fired up the machine, and made ourselves Americano’s the next morning in half the time that it took to run a a pot through, AND….it was fresh, and we didn’t have any coffee sitting around for half the day waiting to be thrown out ’cause it tasted like mud.  Bonus points for freshness and the time factor.

Then, I asked for a latte, and I was pleasantly surprised that it tasted pretty good.  That was a part of my concern.  I actually LOVE the taste of Starbucks Soy Latte’s, and didn’t think that I’d like a home made one – not the case AT ALL!  It was delicious. 

Being the frugal sort that I am, I didn’t want to go out and buy a bottle of sugar free hazelnut for two reasons.  ONE being the cost, and TWO being the chemical factor.  I’m trying to get further and further away from ingesting chemical’s and trying to stay closer to naturally sourced food.  So, I decided tojust have plain latte’s, and that was okay, UNTIL….we thought we’d try a bit of cinnamon with the milk……OH!  MY!  GOODNESS!

No flavoring needed!  It’s amazing!  Try it!

So, at the same time that all this was happening, Jon got a Costco membership through his company, and we went down to pick a few things up, and found out that they sell a 3 pack of SILK SOY for $7.99.  That breaks down to $2.66 per carton, and that is WAY CHEAPER than the $3.89 that the grocery stores are selling them for.

The kids were watching us make coffee’s, and I figured that I’d offer a cinnamon steamed milk….and they were hooked from the first sip.  They actually ask for a cup of milk now, and I’m no longer concerned about their calcium intake.  YAH!

Also, we are training our kids so that they have the option of being barista’s when they grow up – if they want to be…..