When he wants to sleep with mommy.

At two and a half he is not as little as he once was, but sometimes it still happens. Sometimes as I walk with him to his bed his big eyes look up at me. "Mommy? I don't wanna 'leep in baby bed." he cries out."I know buddy, but it's nap time and you're tired. I promise you will feel better after your nap". I try to explain"No, Baby 'leep, mommy 'leep, mommy bed. Oh-tay?" he corrects me.This doesn't happen often, usually he just tries to avoid going to sleep at all costs like most toddlers would. Usually he likes his bed, it has his pillow with his special pile of 4 or more blankets, a sleep sheep that hangs above his head (he loves to listen to the rain), and his doll but sometimes... Sometimes all he wants is me.I pick him up and cradle him in my arms, he doesn't fit like he use to, but he loves it still. He smiles at me as I carry him into my room. I drop him and myself soundly onto the the bed and he lets out an excited squeal. In a rush he crawls around in circles like a dog trying to find a comfortable place to lay down. I pull the blankets over his tender body and slide in next to him. At first he is so excited for this time he wants to talk to me about everything. How daddy is at work and sister is at school, how he was riding his bike today, and that mommy took a shower. That the dogs came into the room and there is a light on the ceiling. While enjoying his free spirit I remind him to calm down. He rolls away from me and pulls the blanket over his head "Baby hide" he tells me, I can hear him taking deep breaths, and he hugs my heavy arm closer to him. As we lay there my mind drifts, I start thinking about what workout routine I'm going to to do, how much water I drank so far today, Should I go for a bike ride later? I hate how my body looks.Then he pulls the blanket down and turns to me. "thank you mommy""Thank you for what?" I say bewildered"Thank you mommy bed, mommy 'leep" he responds. He closes his eyes tight and pillows his head against my swollen breast. His breathing begins to match mine as his head raises and lowers with my breath. He strokes my round face, says he loves me and gives me the tightest squeeze his little arm can give. This is important to him, and important to me as well. As he begins to drift to Slumberland, his hand caresses my soft belly, I am reminded that choosing to be a mom changes what perfection looks like. My body is perfect for times like this. The times when he wants to sleep with mommy.

Beat the cold season tea

School is back in season, so naturally you know your kids are going to be covered in germs from hundreds of their classmates. So I thought I would tell how I prepare my tea during this time of year. Of course the

Of course the best way to deal with cold season is to take care of your body before you get sick. A healthy diet, good sleep, exercise and keeping your water intake is a good start to keep you body functioning at optimal performance. This will make it easier for you body to fight off illness.

Here is my Tea: I Like to do peppermint and chamomile tea, with lemon juice, local raw honey, and some cinnamon.

Peppermint tea: Is an anti bacterial, and it's soothing quality is effective against both stuffy noses and an upset stomach

Chamomile tea: Is really effective in calming your body and promotes sleep.

Lemon juice: Is packed full of vitamin C and is said to decrease the strength of the common cold.

Local raw honey: Soothes sore throats, and is a great immune booster

Cinnamon: Is both a powerful anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant. 

Crayon Lip Gloss

I made myself some crayon lip gloss.

Just a few broken crayons of your color choice, some beeswax, and coconut oil. Melt and mix and your done.

On stovetop slowly melt together in a small pot

1 Tablespoon of coconut oil

1/2 inch slice off of a 1oz bar of beeswax

add broken crayons till you receive  desired colored

I added 1 drop of Theives essentail oil and 1 drop of sweet orange essential oil after pouring into container. 

Apple cider vinegar rinse

This is the recipe I’m using for my no poo challenge

Ingredients

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Green tea bag
3 drops of rosemary essential oil
3 drops of lavender essential oil
1 1/2 cups Water

Steep the tea in hot water then and pour all the ingredients into a bottle.

Use: Wet hair then apply rinse to scalp and run fingers down through hair to the tips. Some people prefer using a spay bottle.

ACV has a similar acidic pH balance to hair. Shampoo is alkaline and upsets your natural pH balance wich is why we have to shampoo so often.

Green tea can help reduce shedding, help with dandruff and psoriasis, and increase hair growth.

Rosemary essential oil is good for hair growth as well. For the men rosemary slows down premature hair loss.

Lavender essential oil is great for keeping hair strong and prevention of dandruff.

DIY Body wash

Ingredients

1 cup Castile soap ( I used Dr. Woods)
1 cup water
3 Tbsp coconut oil ( I used Better Body)
1/2 cup olive oil (I used Organic ’ s extra virgin)
5-7 Drops of essential oils ( I used peppermint and lavender from Fabulous Frannie)

Add all the ingredients into your container using a funnel, give it a good shake and your ready to go.

This body wash is thin but lathers really well so you only need a little bit. It rinses clean and leaves skin soft.

Wool Dryer balls

First grab some wool yarn from your craft store. I was able to make 4 dryer balls with just one skein.

To start the ball wrap around three of your fingers 20 times

Then wrap another 20 times around the middle.

This should allow you to pinches the sides together to make a circle.

Keep wrapping yarn around until it's the size of your palm.

Once all your balls are made stuff them down a leg of old nylon stockings. You need to separate the balls I just tied knots in the the stocking between each ball. You can use an acrylic yarn but don't use wool.

Now to felt your balls you need to run them through your washer and dryer at the hottest setting. Once done just remove from the stockings and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to each ball and leave in your dryer for the next time you do laundry.

Your new dryer balls will save you money by reducing dryer time, but still leave your clothes static
free soft and smelling great!

Circumcision

I have had a really hard time finding the right way to talk about this very important topic, but today I decided to find those words share my opinions.

First off it is probably best to let you know that I did circumcise my son. My husband and I regretted our choice to circumcise almost immediately. It was a hard decision to make and I personally believe it was one we shouldn't have had to make. During my pregnancy I already knew that my hormones and my feelings where running high, and my husband being the sensitive guy he is knew he was more emotional as well. So when it came to making a decision about whether or not we would circumcise our son we set out to only look at the cold hard facts, no moral code or emotions where allowed in this decision. So we set off to find as much scientific facts on circumcision as we could. We saw a lot about how circumcision reduces STDs, UTIs, and promotes cleanliness to reduce infections due to poor hygiene. We decided not to risk those and decided circumcision was the right choice. To be honest the idea that a little boy would be responsible to carefully clean himself to prevent infections terrified me so much, I think that was my breaking point. Circumcision isn't that simple tough.

Your moral code should be considered when making this choice. The moral implication that you have the right to cut part of somebody’s body off of them without their consent and without a life threatening emergency just because you are their parents is unethical. You shouldn't be able to mis-treat your child and your role as their parent because of a slight possibility of health complications. We don’t remove the appendix or tonsils from children as soon as they are born because it isn't okay to remove a part of somebody’s body just because it might become an issue. Luckily it was never routinely done but there was a time when it was okay to circumcise women as well. In 1996 this practice became illegal, but un cut women are far more likely to have an UTI than a uncut man. So why do we do this to our sons?

The anti RIC (routine infant circumcision) community gets under my skin even though I agree with them. Why? They go for very aggressive terms trying to guilt people or shock them into not doing circumcision. Terms like genital mutilation, torture, and sexual violence. I understand that they are just trying to make their message clear and shocking enough to help you understand how big this issue is.  The problem is that it scares people away from listening to you. It also makes people feel like anyone who does circumcise is a monster but in most cases they are just misinformed, or not informed enough. I personally think these terms imply that intent of these parents were to harm their children. The majority of the United States is honestly convinced that circumcision is healthiest for their child. If you want to people to listen to you, you need to have a kind heart.

Like I said before this decision shouldn't be in the hands of parents. The average parent is not a medical expert, they don’t have all the information regarding circumcision and there is only a few short emotional  months to figure it out.  We need to ban this barbaric custom, medically there is no reason for RIC and the risk to the infant can be deadly. The fact the hospitals have been doing this unnecessary procedure for decades without any need makes me sick. We are suppose to be able to trust them with our health not fight them to keep our sons healthy and intact. I know some people would like to argue for those that do it for religious reason. I don’t think parents have the right to force religion on a child especially in such a permanent way. If an adult man wants to be circumcised, he can make that choice for himself nobody has the right to make that choice for him. You do not have the right to claim somebody else’s body.