8.23.2010

crunchy

i admit it. 
sometimes i just bite my tongue and don't always share things about myself on the internet.

you know, the different things. 

pathetic, i know.

it's sorta like hiding my light under a bushel i guess.
 
the crunchier(more natural) i get, the weirder and weirder i become. 

but whatever.


today, i decided to share something i learned when my dear friend angie asked on facebook,

"Ok granola girls out there...I have been reading Dr. Oz's books You the Owner's Manual and You on a diet and learned about how the ingredients in antiperspirant are not good for you. Links to hormone mess-ups, breast cancer, alzheimer's ...on and on. The problem is...I don't want to stink! I tried a tea tree oil typ...e-no luck. I can handle the soggy armpit feel, but not the b.o. factor. Any suggestions?"

here's my reply....
many, many moons ago i had heard enough junk about the junk (like aluminum, parabens and propylene glycol) in antiperspirant/deodorant that i began a quest.
the quest to find a natural deodorant that actually works. 

the quest was long....and stinky because, well, i realized that bottle after bottle, that i all i had acquired was a LOT of barely used bottles of deodorant stashed under my sink and flowery smelling b.o.

i'm here to report to you from my own experience that NONE of those natural deodorants worked very well...

for some unknown but dumb reason {probably because i intended to return them SOMEDAY} i have chosen not to part with a portion of my experimental purchases. here they are. several years later.
can you imagine the dismay i must have felt when time after time, my quest was thwarted?!? 

(o.k. i'm probably being a bit melodramatic about deodorant, but i spent a pretty penny on this little quest of mine over the years.)

i do know that what i decided to do back in 2008 has changed my life forever.


only problem is that even with the best of intentions,i never got around to making it. 

too forgetful to run to the store and buy shea butter i suppose?

another good intention gone to waste, right?

oh contraire. 

when reading her recipe, i realized that the main deodorizing agent was something i had in my very own kitchen cabinet. 

yup, you guessed it.

good ol' baking soda.
the other ingredients seemed to simply be a catalyst for applying the stench fighting sludge. 

sooo i created my own "recipe" for homemade deodorant:
1-slightly wet the tips of your fingers
2-dip them into dry baking soda
3-smear it on your underarms.

fancy. i know.
 
i've been hooked ever since.

true story.



here is where i list some of the perks to using this pretty white power:
1-COST- a 99cent box will last for a full year {as long as you don't drip too much water in it and make it turn into a rock like i do periodically.}that's cheap!
2- AVAILABILITY- ever been to a grocery store or corner market that didn't carry baking soda? i think not! 
3- IT FIGHTS ODOR- even when i forget to wear it all day and i start to smell not so fresh, i can put it on and the not so fresh is gone in a matter of seconds.
4-IT IS NOT TOXIC- you can eat the stuff....and of course it's all natural. it's baking soda by golly! 
5- IT WILL NOT STAIN- my white textiles have been yellow and buildup free for years.

here are some of my experiences from over the years.
*it's weird, but my when i first switched from conventional d.o., my armpits turned black. it was a bit shocking, but i kept on using it and it shortly went away....which i imagine happened AFTER the toxins from the other junk were pulled out of my armpits. 
**baking soda is NOT an antiperspirant.you will sweat. it's something the body is SUPPOSED to do {even if it's not all that cute.}
*** the only time it fails to work for me is when i have failed to put it on....so, if you've smelled my b.o. before that's probably because i'm one of the most forgetful creatures on this planet.
**** when my diet is squeaky clean perfect i don't even have to use deodorant...but i'm not so good at that as a pregnant lady.


so that's my 2 cents worth (as opposed to my 5.99 cents worth which is a common cost for natural deodorant}... for angie and for anyone else out there ready to stop clogging your underarms with chemicals.

c'mon, all you've got to loose is a few pennies (and maybe a friend with a sensitive nose or two) if it happens not to work for you! :)

why not give it a try (or not,) and let me know what you think ?!

8.16.2010

already!?

I know everyone says it. 

But it's true. 

I don't know where the time went! 
I just can't believe that
Dallin is 2!

----------------------------------------------

 It's seems like yesterday I was so excited for him to be here....especially since he waited 40 hours to come out after my water broke. 
Dallin, 30 minutes old, and some proud, exhausted parents.
 He was born at 11:07 p.m. on August 15th, 2008
15 hours old meeting the sibs. :)


--------------------------------------------------------------------

To celebrate his arrival, we started the day out with our traditional birthday breakfast:

cold cereal.

It's a bit unusual, but boxed cereal is a special treat here.
The kids spend months trying to decide which kind they want. 

He loved my cornflake choice...boogers and all. ;)


 Dallin didn't know any different so he just got what I was craving as I walked the cereal isle....cornflakes of all things. Dang they were yummy!

----------------------------------------------
It was Thursday and I figured I should do something for Dallin's birthday. My poor 3rd child.

I threw a last minute gathering together. We had some in town family there + good friends whom live close by, the Salazars, since I knew they'd be o.k. with a same day invite.


Dallin thoroughly enjoyed himself and was shocked to realize that he was finally allowed to eat the cake Patrick had made the day before.

I loved to see his excitement opening a few gifts. His favorite gift was a fake birthday cake set.

I am just glad Angela could help me take some lovely pics. :)


To make his big day even more special, he kept underwear dry all day for the first time ever.



That's a big to do around here because he has been potty trained for 2 months.....

{BUT}


Underwear usually only stays on for 20 minutes because he just treated it like a diaper.

Consequently, he's usually neeked OR wearing pants commando style.

Yeah, that gets awkward for folks.

I'm so pleased he's ***HOPEFULLY*** done being the underwear-less wonder! ;)

Happy Birthday
to my sweet little Dallin!