Green Living Giveaway ($200 value)

Green, crunchy, healthy, hippie, granola, environmentally friendly, natural, and sustainable are all words you could use to describe the items in this giveaway.  I decided to sum it all up with three words: Green Living Giveaway.  I am doing this giveaway to mark the milestone of reaching 1,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel!  Thank you to all of you who have subscribed to my channel and for those of you who are about to!  Good luck to everyone and I am excited to see who wins!  I will announce the winner on April 2nd.  Everything will be done via Rafflecopter so it will be very well organized and the winner will be chosen at random.  The thingy to enter the giveaway is near the bottom of this page. Now for a look at what is included in this giveaway! (over $200 in value)

 3 Sets of Cloth Nursing Pads: Made with a top layer of flannel, a soaking layer of unbleached cotton batting, and a backing layer of anti-pill fleece.  The fleece keeps the moisture in the batting and prevents any milk from leaking through to your bra or shirt. ($12 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.

Set of 3 Wee-Wee Wigwams:   They are made with soft flannel on the top and an inner layer of super soft terry cloth.  The terry cloth is very absorbent and helps to soak up any pee that your little indian may shoot.  These make a perfect baby shower gift for a expectant mother of a baby boy. They are saving face one wigwam at a time..... literally! ($10 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.

Set of 3 cloth pads: These super comfortable pads are made with a top layer of super soft flannel featuring three different prints: Celtic, Red&Purple, and Owl, followed by two layers of unbleached cotton batting, and backed with anti-pill fleece providing a water-resistant back They are made for regular to heavy absorbency and measure approximately 10" long. These feature two snaps, one for snapping during wear, and the other to snap closed to keep clean while in your bag or to enclose it once it is dirty.  These pads have surged edges with a reinforcing topstitch.  The middle vertical stiches only go through the top three layers, so there is less opportunity for leaking. ($24 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.

Carrying Case for Cloth Pads: This adorable flower carrying case is perfect for your cloth pads.  It helps to keep the clean and organized while you are on the go.  The case also makes it discrete when you are carrying your pads to the restroom.  Is made with an outer layer of cotton flower print material and an inner pink layer also made of cotton.  The case has three snaps placed on cotton bias tape.  This case can fit several pads and is the perfect size for my regular/heavy cloth pads.  This case is a MUST HAVE for any cloth pad user! ($15 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.

A Dozen Cloth Baby Wipes: This reusable wipe set is made of super-soft durable flannel. Wipes are made of TWO layers of flannel with serged edges and reinforced corners. Wipes measure 8 x 8 inches each. This is a mixed set with all girl and boy prints. In addition to wiping little bottoms, they work great as washcloths at bath time. You can keep a few in your pocket, purse, or diaper bag for those runny noses and messes while out and about.  They make great cloth napkins for those little hands and faces too! These are great for adults too! Perfect for the family cloth system, makeup removal, or washcloths. When folded in half, these wipes fit perfectly into a standard wipe container or travel wipe container! ($16 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.

Set of 6 Family Cloth: These super soft flannel wipes measure approximately 5" by 7" so they are the perfect size to use as toilet paper or tissues.  These are the ideal family cloth.  They are made with two layers of super soft flannel featuring owl print and fish print.  The wipes have serged edges with a reinforced corner. ($7 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.


5 Packs of Shakeology: Two packs of vanilla, two packs of chocolate, and one pack of strawberry.  Also included is some helpful tips for Shakeology, recipes to use with them, and some other helpful papers put together from Meredith. ($25 value) Donated by Meredith at Beginning New Chapters.

3 Newborn Alva Cloth Diapers:  These diapers come with 2 inserts for each diaper.  There are 3 homemade terry cloth inserts and 3 Alva inserts (two cotton and one bamboo).  So there are six cloth inserts in total.  ($18 value) Terry inserts made by The Sustainable Mama.

Nursing Necklace: Made with woven cotton material and organic wood free from chemicals or finishes.  This is the perfect necklace for your little nursling to play with during breastfeeding sessions or even use as a teething ring while babywearing. ($12 value) Donated by Kasondra

Muscle Ease Herbal Bath: Ingredients are arnica flower, lavender flower, comfrey leaf, Epsom salt, and ginger root. To use this hebal mix for the bath all you have to do is simmer for 30 mins in 4 cups of water then strain and add to your bath water.  Then soak in the bath for 20 minutes and you will feel your muscles loosen up as you relax in the tub. ($8 value) Donated by Kasondra.

Booty & Body Balm: Safe for use on newborn-adult, safe to use on diaper rash, eczema, and even as a nipple butter. Ingredients: Organic Coconut oil,  Calendula oil , comfrey oil, beeswax, aloe, therapeutic grade melalueca and lavender essential oils. ($10 value) Made by Burba's Botanicals.

Healing Salve: Made with herbs that aide in rapid healing such as comfrey leaf, calendula flower, lavender and various other healing elements! This is a must-have in a house with kids and during the super dry winter months! Ingredients: Organic Comfrey Leaf, Organic Calendula Flower, Organic Lavender, Aloe, Melalueca, Olive Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, Coconut Oil, Organic Beeswax ($10 Value) Made by Burba's Botanicals.

Magnesium Lotion: Transdermal magnesium therapy is a form of magnesium supplementation that is easy, convenient, and affordable. Transdermal, or “topical” magnesium is particularly helpful for those seeking a safe method of increasing magnesium intake beyond that possible with oral supplements, which can cause diarrhea or other intestinal complaints. Ingredients: Organic African Shea Butter, Organic Coconut Oil, Magnesium Chloride Flakes from Dead Sea, Lavender Flower Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Therapeutic Grade Lavender Essential Oil, Olive Oil. ($10 Value) Donated by Burba's Botanicals.

Talc Free Baby Powder: Safe for use on newborn-adult, safe to use on diaper rash. Ingredients: Organic arrowroot powder, umbrian clay, organic corn starch, therapeutic grade sweet orange essential oils. ($3 value) Made by Burba's Botanicals.

Dreamsicle Lip Balm: Ingredients- Oragnic African Shea Butter, Coconut oil, Calendula oil, beeswax, therapuetic grade sweet orange and vanilla EO. ($2.50 value) Made by Burba's Botanicals.

Young Living Citrus Fresh: Citrus Fresh is an exclusive Young Living essential oil blend. The single oils used in this blend are: Orange, Tangerine, Lemon, Mandarin, Grapefruit and Spearmint. It may be diffused, used topically or ingested as a nutritional supplement.  Denise is also including a roller-ball attachment for ease of application should the winner desire to use it. Citrus Fresh stimulates the right brain to magnify creativity and well-being and may be used to decrease anxiety. It is also a great air purifier. ($20 value) Donated by Denise at A Heart for Oils

To learn more about Citrus Fresh watch this video:
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the video of all the items in this giveaway!

Weight Loss: Week 5 Results

Not much to say today.  I weighed myself this morning and I weight the same as last week. Wah Wah.  Oh well, at least I didn't gain weight.  This just means I better find time to exercise this week and try to eat a bit better.  I am not going to post a picture or my weight because I am sure I look the same as last week and I know I weigh the same so if you want to know just go the week 4 blog post.

Don't mess up your kids mind because you are uncomfortable with breasts.

No I am not talking about being uncomfortable with a woman showing off her cleavage for attention.  Sadly too many people are completely comfortable with that but are perturbed when they see a baby, or God forbid a toddler, suckling on a breast.  This week a dear friend of mine was ridiculed..... by another mother.  My friend Kasondra was at a children's museum with her husband, toddler, and newborn baby.  They sat down to have a snack in the area for such purposes and Kasondra began to feed her baby because, you guessed it, the baby was hungry.  Kasondra fed her baby as God intended, with her breast.  Completely normal if you ask me.  But for some reason another woman, actually another mother in the room thought that this was not only abnormal, but gross.  She proceeded to tell her children to not look in Kasondra's direction and that Kasondra was "being gross".  Now, we know as parents that our words can stick with our children and that they are watching our every move.  This woman really did her children a disservice.  She told them that breastfeeding was gross, not just with her words but also her body language.  Now her daughter might not fully understand this now, but when she comes of age when her breasts start developing and she starts to wonder why and what their purpose is, she might subconsciously come back to this moment.  I mean, she is already being told from every other angle that breasts are for sex and the enjoyment of men.  She is being told by the media that women's bodies are to be looked at, mocked, picked apart, and played with.  That woman telling her daughter that breastfeeding is gross, that doing something with her body that is good, healthy, right, and down right near sacred is instead disgusting is setting her daughter up to completely devalue herself and her body just like the rest of the world is already telling her to do.  And that is coming from her mother, the most influential woman in her life. 

This woman did not just do a disservice to her daughter, but also to her son.  Because everything that she just told her daughter, with that one statement, she also told her son.  Her dear son is going to grow up in a world where he is pressured to see women as objects and not the amazing, powerful, beautiful, creations of God that they are.  If you don't believe me, seriously just look around you at the billboards and commercials you see.  I just saw a Hardee's commercial that primarily focused on a woman in a bikini very slowly and sensually attacking a fish sandwich.  They were selling sex, not the sandwich, because they know that sex sells.  Those advertising executives know that if they sell sex they will sell their sandwich.  It's appalling really.  And that is the world that her son is going to grow up in, scratch that, is ALREADY growing up in.  The comment so quickly made by his mother will stick with him.  That breastfeeding is gross.  When the time comes he will make the connection, he will think, "So if breastfeeding is gross, then what else could breasts be for.  Oh yeah.... for me, for men, for sex.  Just like I saw on t.v., just like my friends told me, just like that magazine showed me." And this thought will be innate in him.  It will be so easy to confirm all the bull crap he is being told by the world because his own mother taught him at a very young age that "breastfeeding is gross."

But the disservice doesn't just end with her children, this woman also was teaching all of the children within earshot of her voice.  Her disgust which was simply fueled by her discomfort was heard by all the other little boys and girls (about 15 in total) within hearing distance, including Kasondra's own 2.5 year old, Nate.  Thank God the little guy still nurses himself and he has parents who are going to correct the damage that woman could have done to his very impressionable mind.  So he won't be easily swayed, but who knows what impact her words could have on Nate.  What if now all the sudden he starts to wonder if he and his baby brother are being gross by drinking milk from their mommy?  All because of one women's discomfort and quickness to judge and mock.

Now I am not going to go into all of the advantages of breastfeeding.  I don't care if you breastfeed or formula feed your kid.  That's your business.  But don't completely screw up your kids mind about a woman's body and it purpose just because you are uncomfortable with breastfeeding.  If your kid asks "Mommy (or Daddy), what is that lady doing?" Just simply state what she is doing. Just tell them that she is feeding her baby milk.  Then you can go on to remind them that other animals feed their babies milk and this is how human babies eat too.  If they proceed to ask about bottles and why do other babies eat from a bottle then you can go on to explain that some mommy's can't produce milk or they choose to use bottles but this is the way that God designed or nature intended for babies to eat.  Just answer their questions, that's all they want.  They don't want to know your opinion on the matter, they just want to know what's going on.  Children are not as opinionated and judgmental as we adults are, and thank God for that.  So just tell them what's going on.  That's all they want anyways.

P.S. Praise the Lord another mother heard what was going on, came up and told Kasondra she is doing a good job, sat down next to her and started nursing her own baby.

Weight Loss: Week 4 Results

This morning when I weighed myself I was excited to see the numbers 213.6 on the scale!  I am getting so close to being under 200lbs again.  It is really encouraging to see that number on the scale go down a little bit more each week.  I feel better in my clothes and in my skin.  We are all starting to feel better and the weather is getting nicer.  Tomorrow I am meeting up with a bunch of natural minded mama's at the zoo for some fun mama and kiddo time.  I am so excited to see Elijah's reaction to the animals!  The last time we took him to the zoo he was only a little over a year, so he wasn't too impressed with the animals.  This time he knows the sounds different animals make and I think he will be quite excited to see them in person.  The weather should be super nice so it will be great to have the kids outside and walking around.  I will have Micah on me in a carrier all day and I will be pushing a stroller too so I should get a good workout.  I am loving the nicer weather.  As it continues to warm up we will be outside doing gardening, playing, going on hikes, and going on bike rides.  The spring and summer bring some great family time.


                                                                                    Starting Weight: 224.4
                                                                                    Weight this week: 213.6
                                                                                    Total weight loss: 10.8

Weight Loss: Week 3 Results

This week has been very challenging to say the least.  My son had been dealing with a fever, cough and runny nose and I caught what he had.  He seemed to progressively get better as the week went on.  I was getting slowly better, still dealing with intense coughing and some labored breathing when all of a sudden on Friday night my body completely broke out in hives.  It was the strangest thing and I still don't know why it happened.  So I had to take some Benadryl to try and lessen the hives.  They were off and on for about 2 days and then they finally went away.  On Friday Elijah had been doing really well and I thought he was almost well.  Then on Saturday morning his fever returned and he was very lethargic and whiney.  I noticed that he had some fluid draining from his right ear.  It was then that we decided to take him to urgent care.  We found out that he not only had an ear infection, but also had a ruptured ear drum.  I asked the doctor if it were bacterial or viral.  She stated that their was pus in his ear and that is normally indicative of it being bacterial.  So we got him on antibiotics for the infection and children's Tylenol for his pain and fever.  Since we started giving him his medicine he has been doing exceptionally better.  It is so nice to hear his little voice and see him smiling and playing.

So because we have been dealing with sickness I knew I probably lost a bit of weight from the stress, loss of appetite, and focusing on the kids needs more than my needs.  When I get sick I tend to loose a bit of weight, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.  For where I am at right now, I look at it as a good thing. This morning I weighed myself and was happy so see that I weigh 216.2, which means I have lost 3 pounds since last week!  It is so nice to continue to see my weight dropping and for me to get closer to a healthy weight for me. I hope this week continues to bring healing for us and I pray my family has great health from here on out.  I don't want to deal with sickness again.    Starting Weight: 224.4
                                                                                        Weight this Week: 216.2
                                                                                        Total Weight Loss: 8.2