Mommy Octopus

Quiet 2 year olds can never be a good thing.  I went looking for my 2 year old and found her hiding…. with the canister of sprinkles!  Happy as could be, though!  And no mess, just quietly chomping away at each little colored star at a time.

(and ignore the dirty face – she had been playing outside right before she found the sprinkles!)

What kind of mischief have your quiet children gotten into?

Ready for a bug free summer? Homemade bug spray is a natural alternative to conventional sprays. It’s safe and effective, and all the ingredients are natural. The essential oils lemon, lavender, rose geranium, mint, clove, thyme, sweet orange, rosemary, eucalyptus, tea tree, sage, oregano, cedarwood, citronella, and basil are all very effective in repelling insects. Try a few and see which one is right for you. Add a little Vitamin E oil to your bug spray and it last longer. Here’s my favorite recipe that I use for my family.

Homemade Insect Repellent

• 85% percent witch hazel
• 15% distilled or boiled water
• 10-15 drops essential oil
• 1-2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 capsule Vitamin E oil (optional)

Combine witch hazel, water, essential oil, and apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle. Pop open the Vitamin E capsule and squeeze the oil into the bottle. Shake to combine. Spray on and reapply as needed.

This totally made my day today.  I must be doing something right! I walked into the kitchen and my 6 year old son proudly told me that he was doing the dishes this morning. Yay!  What a blessing and surprise!

And yes, that’s a rainbow band-aid on his head – mosquito bite!

It’s that wonderful time of year again where fresh veggies are starting to appear in the farmer’s markets and road side stands. If you are like me you love to eat local and buy produce from local farmers. Sometimes organic produce isn’t available so to be sure that I am giving my family the most natural, chemical-free produce I can I ordered the Fit Fruit & Vegetable Wash, Combo Pack, 7.5 Pound Box to try. It’s a nifty little kit that came with a bowl and strainer, two big bottles of wash, and a spray bottle of wash. It strips off preservatives so you want to eat whatever you wash in a couple of days. Gross, huh? There are preservatives on vegetables. Right now you can get  the Fit Fruit & Vegetable Wash, Combo Pack, 7.5 Pound Box on Amazon for $21.32 when you select the Subscribe and Save option.  So far I have used it to wash celery and carrots and I was amazed at how they came out. You simply soak your veggies in 1 capful of wash and 1/2 gallon of water for a few minutes and rinse in the strainer.  It definitely stripped off some wax and residues. This is going to become something I keep on hand all the time.

Speaking of fresh produce here’s a quick list of conventional produce items that have the most pesticides and a list of conventional produce items that have the least pesticides.  You can learn more about the “Dirty Dozen Plus” and “Clean 15” here and there is a handy printable version here. I keep a copy in my purse that I can pull out and reference when ever I am shopping.

The Dirty Dozen Plus:

• apples
• celery
• sweet bell peppers
• peaches
• strawberries
• imported nectarines
• grapes
• spinach
• lettuce
• cucumbers
• domestic blueberries
• potatoes
• green beans
• kale, collards, and leafy greens

The Clean 15:

• onions
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• avocado
• cabbage
• sweet Peas
• asparagus
• mangoes
• eggplant
• kiwi
• domestic cantaloupe
• sweet potatoes
• grapefruit
• watermelon
• mushrooms

It’s yard sale time and with that comes the reminder of things that you should never buy used UNLESS you completely and totally trust the person selling and you have done your own research regarding reviews, recalls, etc.

1. Carseats – If you don’t know the history, you don’t know if it has been in a wreck or not.  Carseats also expire!  Err on the side of caution and buy new.

2. Cribs – These are constantly being changed, recalled, modified, etc.  Again, do your research or buy new.  It’s not worth risking your baby’s life.

3. Underwear – Enough said.

4. Helmets – These wear out and like carseats, need to be thrown out after an accident.

5. Mattresses – Bed Bugs.  Mites.  Body Fluids.  Ick.

6. Baby Bottles – Older ones may not be BPA free.

7. Hats – These are rarely washed so be prepared to be buying lice, sweat, dead skin cells, etc.

What else would you never buy from a yard sale?

Yes, we are potty training.  Again.  Kid #4.  This might be the last time we potty train unless God blesses us with another little blessing.  Can I get a Hallelujuh we are almost done with diapers?

Kid #1 was easy and completely trained by her first birthday.  Things are much easier when you only have 1 kid in that aspect.  Kid #2 was a little bit slower but he was done by 2 and 3/4.

With that being said, I thought kid #3 was going to be the death of me with potty training.    She seemed to be easy from the beginning.  I thought we were done.  Until.  The.Stomach.Bug.Hit.  In the midst of everything that comes with a stomach bug, she ended up being scared to use the potty.  It was a disaster.

I finally read the book It’s No Accident: Breakthrough Solutions to Your Child’s Wetting, Constipation, UTIs, and Other Potty Problems and it opened the door to finally us getting done!

I wanted to share a few of our “favorite things” since again, we’re on round 4.  I hope this kid will be easy.  She seems to be.  The past few weeks, she’s been taking off her diaper on her own and taking herself to the potty.  In all honesty, she’s been ready, I just haven’t been!  Here goes:

We have 2 Bjorn Potty Chairs.  They are available in lots of fun colors.  With my first 2, I had different potties that I wasn’t fond of but on a recommendation of a friend, we bought this one and love it.  One of the potty seats is in the bathroom and the other is in the van!  You wouldn’t believe how many times that has come in handy.  We like taking car trips and getting 4 kids in and out of the van isn’t very easy when one has to go potty RIGHT NOW.

Next, we watch Sesame Street – Elmo’s Potty Time.  A lot.  Enough to where I know pretty much all of the words.  Sad but true.  The potty training child loves it and it helps get them more used to potty being natural.

Another essential for us is the Folding Potty Seat with Handles.  This is great if you don’t want to take the potty chair to Grandma’s house or to Disney on Ice.  It folds up nicely and fits right in the diaper bag.

For underwear, we always use the padded Gerber Training Pants.  When we venture out and about, I normally put a plastic liner on as well just in case.

Of course with everything, there’s an app!  I highly recommend the Potty Baby app.  Click here for apple or here for android.  I like this app because it’s FREE and it alerts your phone whenever it’s time to take the child to the potty.  You set up the intervals.

I also recommend the Summer Infant Deluxe Piddle Pad.  It fits right in the carseat and absorbs wonderfully!  We leave it in her carseat and then wash as needed.  Nothing has leaked onto the carseat cover at all!  I love products that make my life easier!  Right now, it’s priced on Amazon for just $8.65 (compare to $12.99 at Toys R Us) and I highly recommend it if you have a little one like me!  This would also work great for babies that are prone to blow-outs.  Nothing worse than having to take apart a carseat with a mess in it.  This just gets thrown in the wash!

When it comes down to actually potty training, we believe in positive reinforcement, consistently taking the child to the potty, and M&M treats for successful trips.

Wish us luck!  What are your best tips for training?

Here’s a quick and easy recipe for keeping your lips looking luscious.

1 tsp. aloe vera gel

1/2 tsp. coconut oil

1/8 tsp. vitamin e oil (I usually just pop open a few capsules and squeeze out the oil.)

You can flavor it with a few drops of vanilla extract, or coconut, or whatever flavor you like.

Simply mix them all together and you have an easy moisturizing lip gloss.

I’ve decided to give up fast food. Nope, this isn’t an April Fools. I’ve seriously decided to give up fast food and change my family’s habits. So, I have set a goal to not eat fast food for the next 30 days. I actually started this almost 2 weeks ago. My family loves to eat out. Everytime we hop in the car the first thing I hear is, “Where are we going to eat?” Since we live almost an hour away from everything, we inevitably end up at the drive thru. It drives me crazy because I strive so hard to eat clean at home and we just blow it with fast food. Not to mention the impact eating out frequently has on one’s wallet. I could buy those Jimmy Choo wedges I’ve been eyeing for what we spend on fast food every month. So, how have I managed to keep us from pulling through the golden arches for almost 2 week? By being prepared! I started packing a small cooler full of snacks when we travel anywhere. The trick for me is to pre-package snacks into portion size containers long before we leave, usually as I am putting away my groceries, so I can grab and go. Just in case you want to join in and give up fast food for a month here are a few snacks ideas that have worked well for us. I have to say I’ve lost about 5 lbs. since I gave this up!

• On the go snacks:
• Cheese sticks
• Celery sticks with peanut or almond butter
• Rice cakes
• Hard boiled eggs
• Yogurt
• Trail mix
• Bananas
• Dried fruit
• Yogurt covered raisins
• Carrot sticks
• Almonds
• Broccoli
• Granola bars
• Grapes
• Sandwiches
• Pretzel sticks
• Berries
• Bagles
• Egg Rolls