We Start 'Em Young

No, she didn't actually get to drink any Coca-Cola. But she sure did enjoy carrying around Daddy's bottle. However, the same cannot be said for chocolate milkshakes.

I don't think Daddy's milkshake ever had a chance.

Recipe Finds

I've found a few new keepers recently to add to my regular rotation and thought I would pass them on. I think coming up with meals that satisfy the whole family, meet reasonable nutrition guidelines, and don't consume vast quantities of money, time or energy is one of my toughest jobs and I always need fresh ideas. Please share yours.

Very Easy and Tasty Pasta with Tomato and Feta - name says it all. I have made it without the feta and it's just as good. Beats Carino's and is super easy. Will fumigate your house with garlic, though.

Take-Out Fried Rice - cheap and easy. I usually make a big batch of rice any time I cook it and put leftovers in the freezer. Then I can combine the leftovers into one fried rice meal.

Crock-Pot Cowboy Beef & Baked Beans Stew - for the meat and potato lover at your table

Easy Cubed Steak Crock Pot Casserole - I did not use nearly as many potatoes as the recipe called for or we would have been up to our ears in potatoes. But that's an easy way to stretch the recipe.

Sesame Peanut Noodles - another cheap one. I didn't care for the cucumber called for, so I omitted it. I substituted yellow squash once and that was good, but it didn't keep very well for leftovers. Next time, I'll just use the carrots and do squash on the side.

Bon appetit!

Lists

I like lists. Here's a few neat ones I came across in my blog-hopping recently:

8 Things People Never Tell You About Having Kids

10 Things You Can Do For A Mum With A New Baby

5 Simple, Natural Ant Control Remedies

Enjoy!

Hair Update

So I know you're all dying to know how the 'poo-free routine is going. I know this because it is the most frequent question I get from my loyal blog readers...all seven of you. But you keep asking and I keep waiting to answer because I'm hoping to arrive at my final answer. But I don't think I'm going to have one, so here is what I've learned.

I am still using the baking soda/water shampoo. I started in February with one tablespoon of baking soda per cup of water. I was also doing an apple cider vinegar (acv) rinse every time I shampooed that consisted of one tablespoon of acv per cup of water. I quickly realized that this combo turned my hair to straw. Fluffy and soft, yet very much straw. Naturally curly hair does not look good when fluffy.

So I did some research and decided to try a tablespoon of honey in a cup of water for my conditioner instead of acv. Bad idea! It did help with the straw hair, but I had really gross filmy build-up on my scalp. Then I discovered that honey water left in the bottle will grow huge black balls of mold. Even nastier! So that combo went down the drain.

Keep in mind through all of this that each new attempt takes several trials to determine the change it will render. It takes even longer when you accept the reality that mothers of littles don't get a shower every day. I knew going in to this that it was a trial and error process, and a very individual process. I am dedicated to finding the right mix because I like the positive side effects I've seen (more on that later).

The next thing I tried was half a tablespoon of baking soda in a cup and a half of water. That didn't seem to do the trick because my scalp got oily very quick. Now I'm doing half a tablespoon of baking soda in a cup of water. I've also cut back on the acv rinse, keeping the ratio the same, but only using it once every 3-4 washes, and only applying it to the ends of my hair, not my scalp.

My saving grace has been the natural replacement I found for leave-in conditioner. After I towel-dry my hair, I smooth a finger-full of coconut oil onto the ends. Lots of testimonies I read encourage the organic, pure-pressed coconut oil; but you know me...ever the cheapskate. I paid about $5 for a vat of Louanna coconut oil at HEB. So far, so good. It works wonders on frizzies! And seriously, the tiniest amount is sufficient. Too much produces stringy hair, or so I've been told. It comes solid, but if you scrape a little out of the container and rub it between your fingers, it melts on contact and then you smooth it into your hair. No, it doesn't smell like Hawaiian Tropic; I can't detect any fragrance.

Another factor in the equation is the change in seasons. Now that winter is over and I'm finding cool showers more refreshing than hot showers, I think my formula needs to be a little different. It only makes sense that as my skin and hair get more oily with the heat and humidity, that I would need to take care of them differently. This had never occurred to me before. Why would the same products work year-round when my skin and hair change with the seasons? I like the natural alternatives because they are easy to adapt and if one recipe isn't working for me, it's so cheap that I can pour it out and start over.

I'm going to give a little more information in the name of thorough reporting, so I hope I don't cross a line. I was hoping that going 'poo-free would eliminate my itchy scalp problem. I have had problems with my head being itchy for as long as I can remember. I've tried special shampoos, but never experienced much change. I chalked it up to having sensitive skin. Each new ratio of baking soda/water that I try, I hope will help more; but that has not been the case. Granted, it isn't any worse. I think I am more tuned in to it now than I have been in the past because I am trying to pay attention to degrees of difference with each change in formulation. I'm having a hard time believing that my head is still itchy because the rest of my body is not. That has been the greatest surprise side effect. I think commercial shampoos were stripping the moisture from all the skin downstream of my head. I've noticed that my arms and legs are not nearly as dry as they used to be and don't require as much lotion. So why doesn't that translate to my scalp?!

This is why I have waited so long to give an update. Because I still don't have a solid answer. I still feel good about the cost savings and the simplicity of baking soda and acv. And I really like that I'm in control of what goes on my scalp and how it is helping with the rest of my skin. My hair also feels really healthy. I like the softness when combined with the manageability of the coconut oil. And it seems to behave very well, too. My conclusion thus far is that the natural solutions work as good or better than the commercial solutions. So I'll keep tinkering and trying to find the right mix.

If you're committed to making the switch, you might want to check out a few of these links for more troubleshooting info:

Babyslime (what a blog name, huh?!) - incredible details and helps!

Keeper of the Home - notice she uses a different ratio of ingredients

Sorta Crunchy - she uses a paste of ingredients instead of liquid

You can also get great ideas by reading the comments on these blogs. Be warned, though, that you could easily get sucked into the loathsome Bermuda Triangle of Time.

Let me know what you are trying. What's working? What's not? I know you're trying it, don't be embarrassed. Speak up and maybe we can figure it out together.

C's gonna need a wipe

Tonight I did one of the dumbest things I think I have ever done as a parent. We had a very spontaneous, relaxed day out on the town today and ended with a quick trip to Home Depot. We had promised A a special dessert, so we grabbed candy bars at the check-out. She was thrilled when we handed it to her in the car. Of course, C is cognizant now of things like this and wanted her rightful share. So, I obliged. I handed a big chunk of sticky, stringy, warm Twix bar to my toddler in her car seat.

J kept an eye on her in the rearview mirror to make sure she could handle it and it didn't seem to be a problem. When A had finished her portion, she dutifully cleaned her hands and mouth with a wipe. Shortly thereafter as we approached our street, A announced, "O-o-oh, yeah, C's gonna need a wipe!" Her tone was so incredulous that J and I just busted out laughing.

Sure enough, when we got home and I surveyed the damage, I realized that a trip to the kitchen sink was in order. And at least one baby doll will need a run through the washing machine. Since tomorrow is church, I don't really have time to wash the car seat cover, so I did the best I could with wipes. I realized it was a dumb move on my part as I was picking caramel out of the canvas buckle strap.

One day, hopefully soon, I will come to terms with the fact that I have two very different little girls. One would almost prefer to dispose of the chocolate bar if it presents too high of a messy risk. The other will go looking for tactile experiences and submerse herself fully in any mess so as to absorb all possible sensory information. I know this somewhere in my head, but sometimes it just doesn't translate to my actions. And when that happens, C's gonna need a wipe!

Well, I Never!

I'm so ashamed. My sweet neighbor had to bring the following monstrosity to my attention.

I'm referring to the weed, not the child about to be eaten by the weed. For some perspective, J's boat is 4 feet wide and the shadow at the top of the pic is from our eaves!! Have you ever seen a weed that big?! My neighbor really was so sweet about it. Poor friend had to look out her kitchen window at that for how long? Patience of Job, I tell ya.

The bad news is that was the mother weed. It was not alone.

That's the other side of the house. And this was the back:

You feel better now about your lawn, don't you? The good news is that these pics were taken almost a month ago, the day before six students showed up to help rescue us from our land of woe for The Big Event. They worked about three and a half hours and pulled most of the weeds, raked all the leaves in the front yard, and painted a bench in the back yard. Hooray for free labor!

It looks much better now, I promise. You'll just have to take my word for it because it took me this long to get the pics up that I already had; I'm not waiting to post them for another month while I procrastinate on taking "after" pics.

Never enough pink

I was happy to help out a friend who needed child care early this morning. It's a good thing that J had to leave for his weekly men's prayer coffee about the same time our little friend was arriving because the pink level in this house just exploded. Shortly after I turned off the morning tv show, I heard K ask A, "Let's go get dressed. What kind of clothes do you have?" They then disappeared into A's room and all I could hear was,

"What about polka-dots? I like the polka-dots."

"I think I'm going to do the flower shorts."

"Ooh, yeah, I like those."

"Let's find some shoes, too."

"I have two pairs of crocs...pink and purple, my favorites."

"How about sandals? I like the sandals."

"Oh, those are pretty!"

Too funny!

I called them to breakfast and after they finished, they asked if they could go outside. I told them I thought the neighbors would appreciate it if we waited until at least 8 am to take this show outside. "Okay, we'll go brush each other's hair." Good luck with that, K, cause it usually causes fits of holy terror when I try to brush A's hair. I give 'em six more months before they're asking to paint each other's toenails. Pink, pink, pink, pink, pink!