Friday Favorite & a Celebration!

First Friday Favorites post in quite awhile! I have to share a product that I absolutely LOVE with you today but first I want to share my excitement over a recent milestone:

The Good Life facebook page has reached and surpassed 100 likes! I know that this may seem like small potatoes to some bloggers, but for me it was really exciting. I feel like I don't even know 100 people in real life so to have SO many fans like and follow the page truly means a lot. Thank you all for sharing with your friends and for passing the word along! I will do my very best to keep bringing you tips and tricks for living a greener, better, simpler life!

One more thing before we move on to my Friday Favorite. It has been brought to my attention by my friend Kelly, a fellow blogger over at Healthy Revenge, that sometimes facebook makes it hard for people to see all of my posts on The Good Life page, including blog updates. So if you would, please head on over to The Good Life's facebook page and make sure your screen looks like this:

"Following" should have a check next to it. Also, if you click on the "liked" box it will also give you the option to "get notifications" which you can click if you feel like being notified every time I post in your notifications. Thank you! Keep sharing and engaging in The Good Life here on the blog and on facebook!

Now for my current Friday Favorite!

This one is especially for all the mamas out there, but all women (and maybe some men too...with long hair?) can definitely benefit from this one!

As a busy mom there are always days when Little Miss wakes up before I am ready and I am cursing the fact that I can't just leave the house with my hair wet and not done...I might scare the children in my class. And my mother, who has a peeve about wet hair would kill me. (I know she would probably never know but I would have lingering guilt that she'd find me out!)

Showering, makeup, dressing, and coffee can all be taken care of in a reasonable amount of time, but factor in drying and straightening my longish hair and it adds about 20 minutes. That is a great deal of precious time when you have to get a toddler out the door and want to actually spend a few minutes of quality time with her before you leave. I have to be to work at 7:25. I work 5 minutes from home....thank God. Otherwise I would never make it. And usually am walking in right on time!

I am a big fan of the IDEA of dry shampoo. A product that will help a busy mama on the go get ready and not have greasy looking hair? I'm sold. But I tried tons of other ones that just didn't work. They made my hair heavy, thick, gray looking, and some even more greasy. Not to mention the chemicals! Before I was pregnant with Little Miss I tried the Tresemme dry shampoo. It smelled atrocious. I actually would hold my breath when I used it! Just look at the EWG ratings!

Ingredient Concerns

Ingredient	Concerns	Score
FRAGRANCE	Ecotoxicology, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Miscellaneous, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)	Data: Fair
OCTINOXATE METHOXYCINNAMATE	Enhanced skin absorption, Biochemical or cellular level changes, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Endocrine disruption, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Persistence and bioaccumulation	Data: Limited
ISOBUTANE	Multiple, additive exposure sources, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Contamination concerns (BUTADIENE), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)	Data: Limited
BUTANE	Multiple, additive exposure sources, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Contamination concerns (BUTADIENE), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)	Data: Fair
PROPANE	Multiple, additive exposure sources, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)	Data: Fair
SD ALCOHOL 40B	Enhanced skin absorption, Cancer, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Multiple, additive exposure sources, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)	Data: None
SULISOBENZONE BENZOPHENONE 4	Enhanced skin absorption, Endocrine disruption, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)	Data: Fair
SILICA, AMORPHOUS	Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Persistence and bioaccumulation	Data: Fair
ALUMINUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE	Contamination concerns (ALUMINUM POWDER), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Use restrictions	Data: None
ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE	Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)	Data: Fair

The overall score is an 8 which is considered "High Hazard." No wonder I had to hold my breath!
Not to mention it didn't work! 

I gave up on dry shampoo. Until thankfully due to my short lived Birchbox subscription I discovered this awesome product! It totally comes in handy on days when I just don't have time to wash my hair let alone do all the other primping that comes along with it!

LuLu Organics Hair Powder is seriously a miracle product. It is talc free, organic, and made from completely all natural ingredients. Check it out:

I was not sure this stuff would work. After all the directions say that you only need a dime sized amount. Boy was I mistaken! A little goes a LONG way. And it doesn't leave your hair feeling weighted down or greasy, and doesn't leave a residue or look gray like other dry shampoos. It comes in four scents, the one I received which I LOVE is lavender and clary sage which is a nice fresh smelling scent. It retails for $30 for 4 oz which might seem like a lot but it will last FOREVER. The tiny sample amount that I received lasted me for a long time, and I used it a lot! If you aren't sure you want to commit to the larger size before trying, they have a 1 oz travel size that is only $9.50! I absolutely love this stuff. It's the perfect solution to those "days of unwash" where you still want to look, smell, and feel good! You can purchase it directly from their website or from Amazon as well! The best part about it besides the fact that it WORKS is that it is completely natural. Talc is controversial, being linked to carcinogens, and many powder based cosmetics contain talc. I don't know about you but I would much rather spend a little extra and KNOW I am getting a fabulous all natural product. Especially if I am putting it on my body where all the ingredients will be absorbed!




So if you are looking for a fabulous dry shampoo alternative, then look no further than LuLu Organics!

I thank you all again for reading and following, and hope you will continue to enjoy and share The Good Life!

Love and Laughs,

Danielle

Social Experiment

Last weekend I went to dinner with my sister and her two friends for her one friend's birthday. While we were waiting (30 minutes, ugh....not good for a pregnant mama!) in the bar area shoveling in peanuts and popcorn (which easily could have accounted for dinner by the time we were done!) I noticed something.

Instead of truly conversing with one another we were all on our phones. I was scrolling through my newsfeed, and the three others were sending snaps and checking winks or whatever it is the youngin's are doing these days. Compared to all of them I feel old. Facebook is old news in the social media world. Or so they tell me.

Anyway, sure we were chatting here and there but we weren't truly THERE.

It made me think about my last post and one of the goals I have for myself.

Put.Down.The.Phone.

Ironically then,  I happened upon this meme as I scrolled through my feed:



  

I have seen before and am pretty sure I have it pinned too. My mom and brother and I tried it once last summer but we gave up (well, my brother and I did) and we didn't take it seriously.

Have you ever done this? I told the group I had an idea for a game we could play during dinner but wanted them to agree without knowing what it was. Andrea agreed right away, assuming we were going to act weird in public or something. My sis figured out what it was and agreed, and CJ was in as long he would win. I told them either one of us would lose, or all of us would win! I told them it just involves us and our willpower!

I showed them the picture above and Andrea, a self-admitted phone addict immediately said she knew she'd lose. I said, well since it's your birthday it's more incentive to not have to buy us dinner! We were all excited and also nervous. I was totally in, after all, I have to work on my goal of less phone time, but wanted to make sure my ringer was on with a special ringtone for Hubs in case he called with an emergency. But still, we were in! Andrea had to turn off her phone because it gave her such anxiety. But after a few minutes we all realized that she was defeating the purpose! So we turned it on and stacked our phones in the center of the table.

I wish I had a picture but I couldn't use my phone! Just shows how much we rely on our phones every minute.

For the first few minutes we giggled and laughed about how hard it was going to be and then the amazing happened.

We stopped talking about our phones and conversed.

Truly conversed with one another for almost three hours!!!

I got to know Andrea and CJ a lot better, which was really cool. I found out so much about them that I didn't know. I realized that my sister picks some pretty good people to be around. 

We talked about careers, schools, parenting, my little one, nieces and nephews, pregnancy, pedicures (we had all gotten them that afternoon) the weather in Buffalo, how delicious our food was, etc. etc. etc. It was the first time in (I'm embarrassed to admit) I can't even tell you how long that I truly sat down and was present with the people I was with and wasn't distracted by my phone. I think it was the same for the company I was with as well.

By the time the bill was delivered, we were all paying for our own meals. No one had touched their phones and we all agreed it needs to be something that people do much more often. For the betterment of society.

And then we all opened the iPhone calculator to figure out the tip.

Such is life! 

Try it sometime. You will feel as liberated as we did, I promise.

Love and Laughs,

Danielle

Living Simply and Living Well

Happy New Year!

It's 2014...by now our parents and grandparents thought we'd have flying cars and robot servants, yet here we are. Although we aren't too far off. I consider Siri a pretty important part of my day-she schedules things on my calendar, sets my alarm, looks up things for me, sends texts, calls people...so she's KIND of like Rosie! And Amazon is working on these little drones that fly your stuff to you and deliver it in less than 30 minutes...like a pizza! So I guess we are getting close.

We have technology that does everything for us. I can remember a time where I had to look up information in an encyclopedia or a phone book...now I can just "google it." We don't have to think for ourselves anymore! And while having so much information literally at our fingertips is often a good thing, I think it has also helped contribute to a disease that most everyone I know has these days...TMSD.

Too
Much
Stuff
Disorder.

Stay with me here.

In this world where we can facebook and pinterest to our hearts content, all we are seeing is STUFF. Stuff that advertisers want us to see, stuff that our friends have, stuff that complete strangers have. And we think, why can't I have that too? I want more STUFF. Because in our society these days, all we are bombarded with on a daily basis is commercialism.

I am guilty of this. But most likely, so are YOU.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately for two reasons.

First of all, the nesting is starting. I come home and freak out because I feel like WE ARE SO NOT READY FOR ANOTHER BABY IN THREE MONTHS. How can this be? I ask myself? I have everything I need from when Little Miss was a baby...and because we didn't find out what we were having, everything is gender neutral. We are set. So how can I feel we are not ready? Because it's ingrained in my mind that we need stuff to have a baby. Then I remind myself that babies need 3 things: Love, food, shelter, and more love. And if you're my kid then you need a binky too. THAT'S it! I have plenty of love to give, a roof over my head, and all the milk in the world that I produce myself. Kick ass. I am ready.

The second reason is of course the Christmas season. While we are TOTALLY and COMPLETELY grateful for everything we received for ourselves and Little Miss this year, the hubs and I came home last week completely overwhelmed. Where would we put all of the shiny new stuff?! We live in an 1100 square foot cape with two bedrooms. We have a living room/dining room and a tiny kitchen with one small counter. That's all folks. No playroom, no office, no attic for storage because we just turned it into a third bedroom for Little Miss because once the baby comes she needs to be in her own room. We have one small linen closet. Where to put everything? My house was built in '39, so I think to myself, how did they survive with such little space? Well, think about how our grandparents lived back in the day...the reason houses were small was because they only had what they truly NEEDED. Do my husband and I need 25 towels? Absolutely not. But that's about how many we have!

Then I stumbled across this blog post.

This woman took her kids' toys away! All of them!
At first I thought, "What a meanie, how can she do that to her kids?" Then I read more and realized she was echoing the same sentiments I mentioned above. When there are too many things around us, we can't truly focus on what's in front of us, and what is truly important.

Which leads me to my next point.

When I was in what I like to refer to as my "pre-adult" life (the years prior to turning 25). My mindset was still in the egotistical phase. I made resolutions like "This is the year I will get skinny" or "This year I will start eating better" or  "This year I won't take crap from anybody." Etc. etc. etc.

Here's what's wrong with those "resolutions." First, they don't contribute to making anyone better but YOU. Of course I think that people should focus on improving themselves and their lifestyle, after all that's what this blog is all about. But why do you need to wait until January 1st to do so? Anyone ever walk into a gym during the month of January? By March it's the same old clientele. What's wrong with making one small change at a time to better yourself? For example: "In January I am going to commit to drinking enough water every day." Followed by, "I am going to cut down to one cup of coffee or tea a day." Small goals are better on the road to success, that's what I have found in my "adult" (post age 25) life.
Secondly, I don't think people should make resolutions-I think people need to make goals that they can stick with. Make goals that will make your world and the world around you a better place for you, your family, friends, and others. My goal last year was to slowly start becoming more "green." It has been an ongoing goal though. Am I where I want to be yet? Not completely. Have I made HUGE gains that I am totally proud of? Heck yea! But I am not done. Because I don't believe you are ever done improving yourself or your world. I think it's something you do over time, not just on January 1st. That being said, if that is the natural "do over" time that works for you and your timetable, by all means, start today! But just remember to make more attainable small goals that will lead up to your overall goal!

Before I get into my goals, I want to share what I am proud of from last year. Here are some things I am really happy that I have worked on and maintained in 2013.

• Every night that we are all home, my family and I sit down for dinner around the table together. There's no TV, just the 3 of us spending quality time together.

• I have successfully kept my promise to myself that schoolwork stays at school, and have not brought anything home which might interfere with family time, which is #1!

•  As a family we have successfully kept our promise to recycle more than we throw away. Our recycling bin is always overflowing and we only have to put garbage out once every other week.

• I have really gotten better about starting to get rid of things we don't need. It's still a work in progress but I have gotten a lot better!

• On the whole, I have made many changes to "greenify" our house in almost every area, from cleaning products to toiletries, and while this too is a work in progress, we are much improved from a year ago.

That being said, I would like to share my "goals" for 2014. Partially because I want to write them down so it makes me more likely to work hard at them, and also because I'd like you to follow on my journey if you are so inclined! Together we can work to make our worlds better for ourselves and our families!

Goal 1: Three nights per week will be dedicated to turning off the TV/other screens and accomplishing things around the house.

I am making this goal, because at night, as soon as Little Miss is in bed, Hubs and I find ourselves in front of the TV and/or computer/iPad vegging out. We're tired from working all day and then coming home to spend what precious little time we have with the little one, and all we want to do is veg. But then on the weekends we find ourselves overwhelmed with the sheer amount of housework that has piled up. (I make it a rule to not do any work around the house when Little Miss is awake. They are only little for so long and I like to dedicate that time to to spending quality time with her.) Of course I do the things I have to do to get ready for the next day like pack her bag, pick out clothes, laundry, etc. but other than that we are plopped on the couch post 7 pm. Which is ironic, considering we don't believe in screen time for Little Miss! So, after bedtime for Little Miss, Monday and Friday are my designated veg out nights, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be dedicated to household chores, organization, blogging, or crafting. It's my hope that carving this time our for myself will really improve my ability to get things done that I might otherwise put off!

Goal 2: Try our first ever "spending freeze."

For 31 days starting this Sunday (we have to grocery shop first!) Hubs and I have decided to take a page from Ruth over at Living Well & Spending Less, and try out her plan for spending zero for one month. There are exceptions of course such as necessities, but you can read more about what the Ground Rules are at her blog. I am really excited to try this. I think it will be a huge challenge for both of us, but for me especially. While I don't have a Starbucks habit, I do tend to spend a little here, a little there (especially at Target!) which just leads to more STUFF. Precisely what I was talking about earlier, and what leads me to my next goal.

Goal 3: Cut the CLUTTER and SIMPLIFY!

We have too much stuff. And our house is overflowing with it. Our junk drawer has turned into a junk closet. Or that's what it seems like. We have good intentions, but it seems like we never get anywhere because more stuff keeps coming in but not enough goes out! So I am going to start the process one room at a time. (Actually, I started this past week, organizing and cleaning out all of our kitchen drawers....we had about 30 extra pieces of silverware that don't match our set. Where did they come from? But that proves my point about not waiting for the New Year to start on a goal!) Again, the blog I mentioned above has great ideas for this, including pretty checklists and everything. I plan to make it my own and do it a little at a time, because after all I need to start with small, attainable goals that I can actually reach! One closet, drawer, or  room at a time and I will get there! And no, I am not going to take all of my toddler's toys away and not give them back. But when she moves into her big girl room I am going to be very selective about what enters the room, how things are stored, and how we organize the new playroom/former nursery. Toys will be rotated in and won't all be readily available all the time. I am planning on this now in hopes that it just becomes the culture around here.

Goal 4: Put the cell phone down in one spot when I get home and don't pick it up unless it's an important call (or if my baby is doing something cute and I have to take a picture). ;)

Good Lord this is going to be the hardest one. I am addicted to my iPhone. Seriously. I know I have a problem. And it's rubbing off on my Little, who hands me my phone if I am not holding it. I find myself mindlessly scrolling through e-mails, pinterest, facebook, you name it, just because it's there. I just don't want it attached to me 24/7 at home like it is now. It's not healthy and I want to set a good example for my daughter before she's asking for an iPhone for her 2nd birthday!

Goal 5: Hang more pictures!

I have a 2 TB hardrive. That's a lot of storage. I take pictures like it's my job. Seriously, I have over 1,000 on my phone as we speak and another 11,000 on the computer. But I have maybe 5 hanging in my house. That needs to change! And it will this year.

So there you have it. My goals for the new year. I think all of them will be really important as we embark upon this new journey of having two under two in a few months, but I also think it will improve our quality of life as well.

I hope that you too will think about what the new year can bring in terms of change, but don't bog yourself down with one huge goal that in a few months will be long forgotten. Start small and see what you can accomplish that way. A year from now you never know how far you might have come!

Happy New Year!

Love and Laughs,

Danielle

"Green" Cleaning and ditching those yucky chemical cleaners!

I'm back!

I have had many requests to get back to blogging and I have been so bad about it!

I have been pretty busy with a lot of great things though, so I hope you will all understand!

We are welcoming baby #2 in April of 2014, and let me tell you that this pregnancy has NOT been easy! I have been sick, sick, sick! Thankfully I am starting to feel better at just over 20 weeks, but for heaven's sakes, it was a rough go for awhile!

Little miss is back at school this year, as are the hubs and I and things are going pretty well! I finally got my tenure after 9 long, hard years of trials and tribulations in the teaching profession, so it was definitely something I was and am very proud of receiving!

With the the upcoming addition we *almost* moved! We were thisclose to selling our little house and moving to a bigger one, but in the interest of saving money and also not RUSHING to find a house in 8 short months while getting ours ready for sale, we decided to stay and do a few updates! So we have been busy turning the attic into a bedroom for little miss, and soon will start renovations to partially finish the basement for an office/extra family room/man cave.

So needless to say I haven't thought about blogging much!

Well scratch that, I totally HAVE, it's just that I am usually passed out pretty soon after little miss goes to bed, and on the weekends there is always something going on. I vowed to never let schoolwork, housework, chores, errands, etc. get in the way of spending time with my family, and blogging is no exception. But now that I am feeling better, and things have calmed down a bit (the calm before the two kids storm, I KNOW!) I figure I can hopefully be better about it here and there.


One of the things I am frequently asked, and was asked to blog about, is what I use to clean my house with. There is this silly notion in our toxin-laden world that if it doesn't have chemicals or a strong chemical smell then it must not be getting your house clean enough. The opposite is true! Think about it. All of the chemicals that are "disinfecting" are now seeping into the surfaces of your home. So every time you or your loved ones touch those surfaces, you are getting those chemicals on your skin and in your mouth. Not to mention breathing in all those fumes!

One of the first things I did before I had little miss was go through all the gross cleaning products that were under my sink in the kitchen and DITCH them! I really wish I had a picture of the before, because I had a ton of stuff under the sink! It looked a lot like this:
 

Now, it looks like this:




Ok, I don't really keep lemons under the sink, but I always have some in the refrigerator!

Going "green" in your cleaning routine isn't hard at all. It's really very simple. And it's cheaper too! Here is what you need to do:

Throw away any and all cleaning supplies. Recycle whatever bottles you can. I dumped out the products in the stationary tub and recycled the bottles. I kept and cleaned out a bottle from the glass cleaner and that's what I use to keep my cleaning solution in. If you are using essential oils it's better to use dark glass bottles, but those are hard to come by, so just do the best you can! My plastic spray bottle will suffice until I can be bothered to order a glass one!

I fill up the bottle with equal parts vinegar and water, and for good measure I will sprinkle about a teaspoon of baking soda in as well. Not too much, because otherwise you'll have a volcano on your hands! Then, I drop a few drops of essential oils in and shake it up a little bit. Recently I have been cleaning with doTerra wild orange and LOVE how fresh and citrusy it makes my house smell!

That's it! Start cleaning! I use this spray to clean pretty much everything in my house. All surfaces, including counter tops, glass, cupboards, etc. See this website for lots and lots of great ways to clean with vinegar!

Here are some other ways that I clean using cheap and natural alternatives:

To freshen and clean out my drains I sprinkle baking soda right into the sink and drain and let it sit for awhile. Then I pour straight baking soda in and enjoy the show. This time it's ok for a volcano!

For a carpet deodorizer that really freshens nicely, I shake together baking soda and a few drops of whatever essential oil I want my carpets to smell like in a container. Then I sprinkle over the rug and let it sit for about an hour (do this during nap time mommies!) then I vacuum it up and my rug is refreshed!

For bathtub cleaning, sprinkle a good amount of baking soda into the tub and let it sit for quite some time (about and hour or two). You can also do this for toilet cleaning. Then just scrub and rinse as you normally would! For both, I like to make a vinegar volcano just because it's fun and I like how the fizz works to help give it a deeper clean, but this is not neccessary.

This is a great shower head cleaner that I found on pinterest. I did this and it REALLY works!

You can also try this one for cleaning the gunk off of your faucets! Gotta love pinterest!

The moral of the story is...

You don't need all of this:



To get results like this:                           

You just need a TON of money because DAMN that's a nice kitchen.

But in all seriousness, it's true. You don't need all those fancy-schmancy cleaners to clean your house. Even cleaning supplies that are marketed as "Green" aren't always completely natural and are often more expensive than regular cleaners.

I for one can tell you that I always feel comfortable knowing that if my child happens to get into the cleaning supplies, there is nothing in them that can hurt her if anything is ingested.

Isn't that enough peace of mind to make you get rid of all the other yucky stuff?!

Love and Laughs,

Danielle

A Vacation of Sorts

Whew...it has been quite a while since I have posted.

Let me bring you all up to speed!

Being a teacher the end of the year is crazy. Packing up the room, doing report cards, organizing, cleaning, end of the year activities, gifts for students, checklist for administrators, etc. etc. It was all I could do every night to come home an decompress, and the very last thing I wanted to do was sit at the computer and type any longer.

I know my teacher friends understand!

At first I felt really guilty. Here I just got the blog up and running again and was doing well with posting weekly and then I was off taking a break again.

But then I got to thinking....

This blog is MINE! I get to call the shots. And if I want to take some time off it is OK! (See how I had to talk myself into that?!)

You see, I am an overachiever. I feel like I need to jump into everything I do with both feet and both hands. If you know me, you have probably witnessed this first hand.

Case in point: Haven't worked out since I got pregnant (well that's a stretch, but haven't worked out consistently) First attempt to get back on the work out train is training for a 5K. See what I mean?

I just can't do anything unless I am committed 150%.

The problem with this is I always bite off more than I can chew. So here I was getting this blog going and doing really well but then I felt like I was focusing a lot of energy here, and a lot on school, and the two people who are the MOST important in the world were getting less of my attention.  So I decided to take some time off to be a mom and wife for awhile. And it has been fabulous.

I recognize that I can't always do everything all the time and that is ok. So I will be blogging again from time to time but I am just not pigeon-holing myself into a weekly post. I hope that is ok with you too.

That doesn't mean The Good Life is going anywhere, I am just going to let it be a little more organic in nature (haha that was a good one, I crack myself up!) and let the posts come naturally (again-hilarious) instead of seeking out ideas to post about. When a good idea for a post comes up, I will share it with you.

I am working on getting my logo together for The Good Life which I hope I can share with you soon, and if you haven't already done so, please "LIKE" the facebook page. I tend to get over there more, plus you will always know when there is a new post up.

Thanks as always, for your support. I hope this blog and the facebook page are helpful in your quest to live a greener and more natural life.

Love and Laughs,

Danielle

Being a mom-The best and the worst

Being a mom is hard work. It's the hardest job I have ever had BUT it is also the most rewarding job in the world. I have never once complained about my new job. I wanted it so much and it's everything I expected and sometimes unexpected too. I never expected to love someone this much. I knew I would love my baby before she was here but I never could have imagined how much I would love her. I knew I would be more selfless once she arrived, but I continue to be in awe of how much I am happily willing to give up every day if it means she is happy. Do I miss sleeping in on the weekends? Sure. But I would never trade it for what I have now: unlimited snuggling on the weekends! Do I miss being able to hop in the car and run errands all by myself? Sometimes. But now I get to watch my daughter take in the world wherever we go and enjoy every minute of it. This kid LOVES Wegmans! The point is that for every thing I will miss about my old life, there are 100 more reasons I love my life as a mom.

The best part of being a mom is knowing you are needed always. 

Feeling that little hand creep up to find your finger and hold on tight. Seeing that little face search for you in a room and see it light up with joy. Hearing that little giggle because whatever you did was absolutely hilarious to that sweet little bundle of love.

But the worst part?

...is watching your child go through what we endured this weekend. There is nothing scarier and nothing that hurts more than when your baby is sick. Except when your baby is sick AND has to go through a ton of medical procedures.

Little miss was doing fine. Earlier in the week we had her at Children's for a GI to look at her tummy. She's been spitting up more than normal and has developed some eczema, so the doctors have been trying to rule out a few things. Thankfully she doesn't have reflux or any other terrible stomach condition! This summer  next week! we will see an allergist to rule out a possible food or environmental allergy...did you know that eczema is more often than not caused by an allergy or sensitivity? But otherwise she got a clean bill of health because other than the spitting up she is still gaining weight and is the happiest baby around.

Friday evening she went to sleep at her normal time and was fine. Around 2 am she woke up crying. Sometimes she does this and I usually help her find her binky or pull her out of her co-sleeper and in bed with me and she goes right to sleep. She will either stay there with me or I will put her back in her co-sleeper once she's out. Well as I held her I realized she was burning up (score +1 for co-sleeping!) so I used the temporal thermometer to take her temperature. If you don't have one of these, GET ONE! It's a lifesaver. Want to take your child's temperature while they are sleeping? No problem! Such a wonderful invention! Her temperature was 101. Not too high, but enough that she was uncomfortable. I chalked it up to teething, because let's face it, at ten months this kid really needs some teeth soon! She was still pretty fussy though, so I gave her some Motrin to help her get some rest. She eventually calmed down and slept in my arms all night.

I woke up around 7 am and realized she wasn't up yet...not like her at all. She usually wakes between 5:30 and 6 to eat. I took her temperature and it was 101 still. The Motrin hadn't brought it down. She was sleeping soundly though, so I just held her and waited for her to wake up. Around 7:30 she woke up and waned to nurse. After she ate she fell back asleep until 10:00 am! When she woke up she was really lethargic and fussy...not at all like herself. I changed her and took her temp and it was 102.5. High enough to call the doctor who sent us to urgent care. They didn't open until noon, but we wanted to be the first ones in so we got there around 11:45 and walked in as soon as they unlocked the doors.

I normally wouldn't be so freaked out by a fever...after all in the past little miss has had fevers and has played and laughed right through them. I knew this was different because she was NOT herself. She was clinging to me and crying for no reason. And was SO sleepy. Once they got her admitted they took her temperature and it was 105.8. Tell me that isn't the scariest thing you have ever heard. In a 17 pound infant that fever scared me more than I have ever been scared. In that moment I went into survival mode. Thankfully the nurses were extremely calm and kept me feeling that way too. A high dose of Tylenol was administered and then we were brought to a patient room. I will say that Pediatric Urgent Care is phenomenal. If you live in the Buffalo area and your child is sick I highly recommend there over an ER. Comfortable rooms to wait in with beds and cribs, TVs, books for the kids, coffee, and the staff is wonderful.

What came next was about two hours of attempting to get a pic line in to get a blood draw and give IV fluids, a catheter, and more attempts at getting a blood draw. It was awful. My poor baby just cried and cried and there was nothing I could do because they had to find out what was wrong. I felt like the absolute worst mom in the world knowing she was going through all that. I know it was necessary to find out what was wrong, but still it was heart-wrenching.

Finally we found out that what was bothering my little one was a bacterial infection. Her white blood cell count was extremely high. She received a high dose of antibiotics with the directive to return on Sunday to get another dose. Finally, finally after several hours we got to go home. I spent the rest of the day and evening on the couch holding my baby in my arms. She was exhausted and drained and was not having any part of being put down. And because I'm her mama I put everything else aside and held her all night because that's what she needed.

After a horrible weekend my little one is finally starting to feel better. She's playing and laughing but is still very clingy. She's still not back to normal but she is getting there. I have been on edge for three days watching her every move just praying that she will get better.

This has definitely been the worst part of being a mom. Knowing your little one is sick and in pain and there's literally nothing you can do. There is nothing else about this job that compares to the fear and pain you feel for your child in that moment. But I think it makes you a better mom. When you feel that way it shows you how strong you can be. In that horrifying and scary moment you become someone you never thought you could be-a strong and unwavering spirit for your child.

So I embrace the good and the bad, and as hard as it is, I accept the hard parts because it makes me the mom I want to be. I am learning to be strong and fight for whatever my child needs because of those fleeting moments of fear.

And I am thankful for that.

Love and Laughs (and lots of prayers too),

Danielle

 

Friday Favorites: Produce Bags

Ok ok I know I already posted a little bit about these here but I am so in love with them that I just HAD to do a Friday Favorites about them!

Produce bags ROCK!!!

Whenever I go shopping I always bring my reusables, but it always bothered me that I had to put my produce in those plastic bags. It seemed counterproductive and so wasteful. Not to mention who knows what kind of chemicals are seeping into my fruits and veggies from the yucky plastic! Even when I went to the farmer's market they would use plastic bags because what else could they use?

Enter the produce bags.

They're made of almost a mesh like material that allows the produce to breathe (makes sense, since the plastic DOESN'T!) and they have a drawstring to close. They are a pretty good size too. As you saw from last week's post, that's a bag of avocados, a bag of cilantro, a bag with a giant yam, and a bag of lemons and limes. I did not buy enough the first time and was very sad that I couldn't put my bananas in one, but I figured they'd be ok on their own. I was kicking myself for only buying four of them!

So then I went back to Target and of course they were gone. If you ever want anything from the $1 section at Target buy it IMMEDIATELY. Because if you change your mind and go back it will almost always be gone forever. Which is very sad. So my trip to Target ended the way every trip to Target ends...I left without the produce bags but with $50 worth of stuff I had no intention of buying. I cannot be the only person that this happens to.


Then today I had to go to the Target on Transit near Maple and lo and behold there they were, like a beacon in the night.

 

A whole stack of them!!! I will have you know I was not at Target to buy these but I ended up with 5 more because you can never have enough of these! Now my lemons and limes can each have their own bag! The yams and regular potatoes don't have to share! Even the bananas can have a bag! No more cold bananas! 

I hope you can find these at Target in the $1 section nearest you. However, if they are gone you can always get them for a very reasonable price on Amazon. It is definitely worth the price. Think about how much waste is created by bags for produce. I really wish that more people would understand how important it is to use reusable bags when they go grocery shopping. And I sometimes forget my bags! I am not a perfect resuable bag user, but I always recycle them after I use them. The important thing is to do your best to remember to bring your reusables and now include your produce bags too! I keep my reusables hanging on the door that we leave from, and keep the extra produce bags inside those bags. That way I always remember to grab them when I head to the market.

I hope you will try to make this small change in your shopping and storing produce routine! 

Oh! I bet you are wondering how they work at keeping my fruits and veggies fresh? Check out my limes and lemons after a week! Still fresh, still firm, and no soft spots! So I give these two thumbs up! I hope you will too!

Do you use resuable produce bags already? What do you think of them? 

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Love and Laughs,

Danielle