My All-Purpose Cleaner

When I first went crazy and threw away all of our household cleaners, my husband hated the fact that I used white vinegar for everything. 

My first all-purpose cleaner was just vinegar and water.  Simple, no junk.  Worked well, too.  I use this in my kitchen, bathroom, in the car, pretty much everywhere.

Now I use something that I am in love with!  Water, Tea Tee Oil, and Grapefruit Seed Extract.

Why Tea Tree Oil and Grape Fruit Seed Extract? Well, let me tell you.

Tea Tree Oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and anti-microbial properties. Tea Tree Oil is one of the strongest natural antiseptics (how awesome!). Tea Tree Oil is said to be 4-5 times stronger than household cleaners that have harsh chemicals. It's totally natural, meaning it's not bad for the environment, either. Win! 

Grapefruit Seed Extract is totally not necessary in this recipe as Tea Tree Oil does the trick.  However, I fell in love with Grapefruit seed extract with my son's cloth diapers and finding out how amazingly it kills yeast spores that even bleach doesn't touch. What an awesome, natural disinfectant! Grapefruit seed extract kills so much junk: Strep, Staph, Salmonella, E. Coli, Candida, Herpes, Influenza, parasites, and fungi. It's awesome for sterilizing things your kids put in their mouths--and you don't even have to worry about the chemicals that are left on the toys since this is not harmful!

Both Tea Tree Oil and Grapefruit Seed Extract go a long way. I get them both at my local health food store. I use a few drops here and there most every day. I am in love.  But mostly, I love them to clean cloth diapers and to clean my house!


All Purpose Cleaner
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 16oz Water
• 10-15 drops of Tea Tree Oil
• 5-10 drops Grapefuit Seed Extract
• Optional: Add in some essential oils that do not stain or leave marks if you do not like the smell of Tea Tree oil.  I think it's a pleasant smell and does not stink around for too terribly long. 

That's it.  You'll love it, I promise.

Sneaky Companies.

I should start this post out by saying that I'm only a half-freak when it comes to chemicals.  For some reason I hate fabric softener (seriously, it's not good for you), but I can eat McDonald's (seriously, that's really not good for you either).  I have started paying closer attention to what is in everything we bring into the house.  My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I think a bit of him knows that this is a good thing.  Anyways...

I'm not a fan of buying something that I think is not toxic for my kid and then finding out that it has horrible chemicals in it. Part of this is my fault for not doing better research before buying things.  I trust the labels that I'm reading.  Well, I used to. 

I bought some BabyGantics brand shampoo, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, counter top cleaner, etc.  Look at that website, it's green (to make it look natural? The home page says this when you first go there, "You don't want to build a bubble around your baby...but is a safe, healthy environment too much to ask for? Hint: we don't think so". 

Then I read this article by the Environmental Working Group. It's from 2012, I had plenty of time to get myself informed. Why didn't I? I don't know. Yes, it is for the cleaning products, but what is in the rest of my products from that company that they aren't telling us about?

Click on consumer guides at the top of the web page. You can type in any product you're wondering about and it will tell you the grade the product was given and then tell you why.  There are ton's of categories: baby-safe bottles and formula, sunscreen guide 2013, good food on a tight budget, back to school, EWG's guide to BPA, healthy home tips, guide to produce pesticides, and the EWG's guide to healthy cleaning are just a few.    Better to know than to not know, right? right.

I have found out that my beloved Borax, which is in my home made laundry detergent and my cloth diaper detergent is more than terrible! It got an "F"! Crap! I know lots of DIY household cleaners are made with Borax, they even just changed the box they had for years to a more "green" and natural looking box. fail.

I'm off to find some new recipes for my laundry and cloth diaper detergent. It's amazing what all of these chemicals affect in a body...amazing and terrible.


Just wanted to let you all know that there is an easy and quick way to get informed about the products you're using daily. 

My Super Awesome Guide to Surviving Bed Rest

When I was pregnant with our son, I was put on bed rest at 30 weeks for high blood pressure and low fluid around the baby.  A few of those weeks were spent in the hospital.  When I did get to go home, I was on what my OB called "strict bed rest".  I had to lay down pretty much 100% of the time. I could only get out of bed to pee and shower.  Going to the OB's office for my Non-Stress Test twice a week was a fantastically fun event when on strict bed rest. Fresh air and traffic had never been so exciting.

This time, I am on "modified bed rest", meaning I can sit on the couch or in bed, but I need to spend 3/4 of my time sitting or laying down. I can do light cleaning, small loads of laundry, prepare "easy" dinners, etc.  If contractions start up, I have to lay down.  When my husband is home, he hardly lets my foot hit the floor before yelling at me to sit/lay down.  He's pretty awesome.  

Modified bed rest sucks with a busy two and a half year old.  I can't take him to the park, go to the mall to play, hit the Children's Museum, not even a trip to his beloved Target.  I'm pretty bummed about missing out on fun summer type things with him. This has me worried, but we will make it through.  

When I first found out I freaked out and some friends gave me awesome advice about being on bed rest with a 2 and a half year old!

• "...come to terms with the fact that this is a temporary situation and that you very well may have to do "temporary" things to entertain your son. Things you wouldn't ordinarily want to do or like to do. Like... more screen time, not worrying about toddler messes, etc."

• "...it's a perfect time for your son to start becoming more independent! Not sure what you're used to doing for him at this age as my son was about a year younger than your son when I was on modified bed rest with my daughter, but we had to buy a couple of collapsible step-stools so he could climb up to things on his own (we moved him out of a crib into a bed, car seat, etc...) without me lifting him. He got used to walking on his own and me just holding his hand, etc.."

 Two awesome calming tips! I know some smart people! 



I'm not going to worry so much about the kid in this post (honestly, it's a free for all here) and I'm going focus on the momma on bed rest and taking this time to rest and have her (you?) not go crazy!

•  Since you're on bed rest now, you need to give directions.  First direction, have your husband totally clean your room, change your sheets, dust, vacuum, light a candle, whatever.  This will let you relax and get into a clean bed without looking around wanting to touch up and clean everything when you're supposed to be resting.  Make sure that your bedside table has everything you could even possibly think of needing! Lotion, nail file, extra batteries for remotes, phone/laptop/iPad chargers, medications/vitamins, paper and pen, etc.

•  When someone asks what you need, tell them! When they offer to bring you dinner, let them. When they want to do your dishes and you feel embarrassed because they've been in your sink for a while, sit down and let them do it.  They obviously came over to help, so let them.

•  If your husband pays the bills, take over for him.  This will give you something to do for 3 minutes and will give him more time to clean the house, do laundry, cook dinner, and not say things about how your hair looks these days. 

•  Do your nails.  Maybe no one will see them aside from your OB, husband, and random visitors, but you will know they look good! You'll spend time painting them and it's something that can make you feel good about yourself.  Also, keep lotion by your bed. You've got ample time to get your feet and skin looking and feeling nice!

•  Get okay with eating meals that may not be what you're used to eating.  Maybe you're typically a gourmet cook? Well, not anymore.  My husband is amazing with the grill.  Thankfully, it's May, so I can take meat out and marinade it in the morning and it's ready for him to take care of when he gets home. Simple side dishes, fruits, and veggies are also easy and obviously good for you.  When your husband looks tired and beat down, suggest ordering pizza or Thia food. He's got a lot on his plate, not having to cook or clean up after dinner is a nice treat for him.

•  Read.  Read stuff you typically wouldn't. You've got time to kill, there is a new Dan Brown book out, ya know. Who doesn't love Robert Langdon!?  It has to be better than 50 Shades of Gray.  Plus, if you're on bed rest, you're probably also on pelvic rest, so you might as well not read porn-ish books. There are all sorts of online book clubs that you could also take part in!  Read pregnancy books!  Confession: this pregnancy, I have picked up all of those baby books a total of 3 times. Once was when we got them out. Poor baby #2. 

•  Trashy TV.  So far today, I have watched Bridezillas, Boy Meets World, Golden Girls, some Bachelor episodes I had on the DVR.  I also threw in some educational crap from the History and Discovery channel.  You don't want to totally rot your brain before starting to take care of a tiny human. 

•   Thank you notes.  With people coming to bring dinners, help around your house, calling to try to brighten your day,  or tell you they're praying for you and babe, you need to tell people thanks!  And seriously, people don't write thank you notes enough anymore, so just do it.  If you don't have any, you can order super cute ones online, which leads me to...

• Online shopping! This one can get me in trouble, but Amazon is my favorite, especially with the Prime Shipping! You can get pretty much anything in two days! Two days is quick in a normal paced life, but it can feel like a long time for a person on bed rest.  Just think, two more episodes of Price is Right and your stuff will be to you!  Etsy.com is also addicting and awesome. If you haven't, check it out!

There are many more things I could add to the list, but honestly, I'm getting a little bored, so I am sure you are too-and you can get up and leave!  

Pretty much,  have a good attitude, let people help you, tell them thanks, and try to keep yourself busy. Understand that your husband may be overwhelmed and give him the benefit of the doubt.  Make sure to tell him how much you love him and appreciate what he is doing to help you and baby.  Be thankful that for now you and your baby are healthy, pray that you can stay on bed rest for weeks to come, it's a blessing! 

Modified Bed Rest

So, I'm 25 weeks and my OB has put me on "modified bedrest" for some preterm labor symptoms that I am having.  Maybe I'll actually blog now?  Don't get your hopes up (ha!)

My husband just took the kid to the park.  I don't remember the last time I was home alone, but I'm itching to turn off the Boy Meets World and start cleaning things!

Gumpy Waddler

This morning started out like every Thursday morning.  The boy and I got ready (super fast, because of course we didn't move fast enough) and headed to church for my Women's Bible study and his play time.  I love Thursday mornings with the women from our church. It's always a great way to start the day!

On our way home, we hit some pretty flooded streets.  Thankfully, I only had to cross one and there were police officers there. The water only came up 1/2 way up my tires, so I felt pretty okay about driving through it.  All of this rain plus the thunderstorm/sever weather/tornado watches and warnings stressed me out and had me pretty distracted in bible study. 

So, I did what I do when there are storms. I had a minor freak out, sort of like this and maybe even this, too.  I went down in the basement and got the "baby closet" which held all of the baby gear that we haven't used in over a year and a half (ya know, because we don't have a baby) and got the baby gear out (ya know, because we will have a baby in 20 weeks). 

I made the baby gear closet into a storm closet.  Okay, I didn't. And that is because I got side tracked and took pictures of the baby gear that I didn't use and decided i would sell them on a Facebook garage sale site or Craigslist. I'm sure next time we have a sever weather alert I will finish that project. Even if I don't, we can go in there and grab the crib mattress which is down there. Win? yep.

I did something dumb today, I didn't take my 2 hour nap.  Yes, I still nap every day.  If I don't nap, I get grumpy around 7pm. I decided that I would post pictures, descriptions, and prices of baby things on a few Facebook garage sale sites instead of napping.  By the time I was all "holy crap, I better go to sleep rightthissecondoriwontgettonap!" the kid woke up.

Kid woke up in a good mood though, so that is a plus. I hate when he wakes up on the wrong side of the Corvette bed. We ran a few quick errands, came back home, did some crap around the house, then that awesome part of the day happened: My husband came home.  Doesn't the house feel so much more lively with your husband home? I love it!

I made dinner (breakfast--always a great idea!) and then it happened.  I was walking from the kitchen to the table and I felt it.  I took a few more steps.  Yep. I was waddling.  I'm only 20 weeks! Why is this happening?! Am I being punished for not napping?

So, I'm grumpy and waddling = grumpy waddler.


My guys are pretty darn fun though. I love listening to them while I'm being grumpy in our room or while I'm soaking in the tub.  The little girl makes me pretty happy, too.  She moves a whole lot more than her brother did at 20 weeks.  She's a strong little lady!

Rock A Soak

When I first started using cloth diapers (a whopping 2ish months ago), that majority of the diapers that I had were from a very dear friend and were used.  This is a normal thing in the CD world.  Diapers can be washed and sanitized easily.

The friend who I had gotten the cloth diapers from told me that she had not stripped the diapers in a while, so I decided that is where I would start.

I got some Rockin' Green from Amazon and read the directions on the back to "Rock A Soak".  Rocking A Soak helps get rid of any mineral build up, detergent that has not been fully rinsed out of the diapers, and gets any stink out of the diapers.  Stink is usually caused by left over detergent, mineral build up, or ammonia from diapers sitting too long in the wet bag before getting washed.

The Directions on the Rockin' Green to Rock A Soak are:
1. Fill your washer with water and 3 tablespoons of Rockin' Green along with clothing/diapers.
2. Let soak for approximately 30-60 minutes, then launder as usual, skipping the soap. Follow up with several rinse cycles.

I had so many diapers that I wanted to Rock A Soak, I didn't used my washer. I used two huge tubs.  I filled both with super hot water, 3tablespoons of Rockin' Green, and I let them sit for an hour.  I then laundered the diapers on a normal hot cycle and did a few rinses.  They came out sparkly and clean.  (note, there was no stink or anything causing me to rock a soak, I just wanted to clean them really well. 

Cloth Diaper Detergent

We have super hard water.  Cloth diapers are high maintenance.  These two things do not mix well.  However, after doing a lot of research, I found a good cloth diaper DIY recipe.

Previously, I spent about $18 on Rockin' Green.  I really liked the detergent, but hated how much it cost. I will keep some in the house for times when I need to strip (aka, super duper clean) the cloth diapers.  When you use Rockin' Green for stripping diapers, it's called "Rock A Soak".  I did it, I liked it. I'll write about it later.  Anyways, $18 for 45 loads of diapers was not a good deal. Especially since I throw a load of diapers in the wash each night before bed!

My recipe that I settled on includes Borax, Washing Soda, and Oxy Clean.  These three things mixed together is a magic combination that should work wonders!  The Borax breaks down into hydrogen peroxide when it hits the water, this makes an awesome cleaner.  Washing Soda is great for making hard water soft and is a good degreaser.  Oxy Clean becomes  Sodium Carbonate and Hydrogen Peroxide.  This helps remove stains, soften water, degrease, and cleans amazingly!

The Recipe
1 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Oxy Clean

I made a huge batch (filled up a 7.7 quart plastic container with a locking lid) but made it by the exact recipe a few times.  This let me mix the ingredients together very well.  I also opened a window, turned on the ceiling fan, and protected myself with gloves and a mask since the borax and washing soda aren't the greatest thing to have on skin or in lungs.  (however, both are totally safe to have on your clothes!)

I use 2 Tablespoons of the detergent for each load of laundry. Holy cow, this will last for-eeev-veer!

My washing routine goes like this:
1. hot rinse, no soap.
2. hot cycle, 2Tbsp of detergent. I also add 15 drops of both Grapefruit Seed Extract and Tea Tree Oil to help disinfect.
3. hot rinse to make sure all of the detergent is out of the diapers.

I hang the diapers up to dry.

I used so many different resources, I don't remember them all.  However, Fractured Fairy Tales is who really made this make sense to me!