Tired of Swimming

When it comes to most things parenting, and even food, these days I don't swim in the mainstream. In fact, more often then not I find myself swimming against the current. And I'm tired. I understand that I have different opinions on a lot of things, but having to constantly explain and justify my parenting choices has begun to wear on me. I used to want to open the eyes of everyone I talked too, but now, more often than not, I find I prefer to avoid such topics all together. 

I can only listen to "wow, a home birth? You're crazy!" so many more times before I'm going to crack and smack some poor girl in the face for what she thought to be a humorous comment with a hint of awe.
Does everyone really need to tell me how "they could never do that," or "I just couldn't ever put up with that" every single time I mention cloth diapers or co-sleeping? Sure, most the time it's meant as a sort of compliment, but when you hear it as often as I do, it all starts to sound like  "you're just to darn weird and out there for me to take any thing you say seriously."

Believe me, I understand that there is no one right or wrong way to raise a child, just as no two children are exactly a like. But despite this knowledge, just once, I'd like to be able to casually mention something from my life of motherhood without feeling like I need to launch into a defense for how I do things at my house and how their really is lots of research that supports delayed vaccination, and "extended" breastfeeding.

Oh breastfeeding...I don't even want to get started on that one.

I'm sure I'm not the only mother that feels this way. Even parents that do swim mostly in the mainstream can get worn down sometimes. Motherhood, like swimming, will tire you out no matter how you do it. So why can't we all make things easier on each other and accept each other's choices with the knowledge that we've all taken a personal journey to where we are as mothers/fathers and that the journey continues to go on.

I'm not a crunchy mom because I woke up one morning and decided I wanted to shock the world with my antics. I'm the mother that I am because I love my daughter with all my heart and am trying desperately to keep as both afloat by doing what I hope, and sometimes know, to be best for my dear sweet Tali girl and me.

So please, if you're paddling down stream, could you try and keep your oars from whacking me in the head? :P

Bye, Bye Chemicals, Hellooooo Organic Face!

Pregnancy turned me into a crazy birth activist and has made me fall in love with all things natural.  I recently read a book called “Green Made Easy: The Everyday Guide for Transitioning to a Green Lifestyle” by Chris Prelitz, and I learned soooo much!  I’m taking baby-steps towards a greener, more eco-conscious life.   
My new obsession that grew out of it is  all natural organic, homemade (if possible) products.  I’ve been washing my face with nothing but water and ground oatmeal for a week now!  Who would of thought something so simple, easy and cheap would be THE best face wash I have ever stumbled upon?  I follow the oatmeal up with a rub down of  lemon juice and then put on my lavender face and hand cream I bought at pike-place (not home-made but it does contain all natural ingredients).  On top of this I also switched to all natural mineral make-up from a very Eco-conscious company called Alima Pure.  They use recycled/recyclable material for everything they can and they have a jar return program for your used up make-up containers. So far I’ve only ordered their samples, but I’m already in love.  Good for the environment, good for my skin, and they make me look awesome!  You can buy their makeup at AlimaPure.com.  Thanks to these easy changes, those pesky blemishes I’ve been trying to get rid of for WEEKS are finally starting to fade away. 

This got me thinking, if eliminating chemicals from just my face has had so much change for the better, what would happen if I cut chemicals out of the rest of my life?  I started obsessively reading product labels and was appalled at how many chemicals we rub into the largest organ of our body ever day! This thought led me to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now: make my own hygiene products! I have my jar of ground up oatmeal that I use every evening, but I needed body wash, shampoo and conditioner to complete my organic hygiene collection. So that's exactly what I made! 

Well, save for the conditioner, I've since learned that coconut oil, if allowed to soak in your hair several times a week before bathing, makes a great conditioner. 

I'm now moving on to eliminating chemicals from my cleaning supplies. Did you know that vinegar is just about the BEST cleaning product out there?  It's great for removing toilet stains.  Just poor some in your toilet, allow to soak over night, and Presto! Beautiful, clean toilet.  The best part of eliminating chemicals is how much money you save, and you don't have to fear your toddler downing a bottle of spot remover (But no one would ever do that! Obviously you haven't met my brother...)

 

*Stay tuned for details on my one Month Vegan Experiment that I'm starting in exactly 

1 hour and 6 minutes.*