Friday 30 November 2012

Diaper Review and Upcoming Giveaway!

Lately I have been on the hunt for some new cloth diapers. Wee piglet seems to be terribly hard on the ones that were passed down to us, and they just do not cut it. The elastics on the legs are shot, the pocket no longer has working elastic, the snaps are falling off, the velcroe no longer sticks, they are leak-proof no more and the fit is all wrong.

We were down to the wire, only four truly workable diapers left. Of course, we're making do until our diaper shipment comes in but those precious few that are left we save for bedtime ONLY.

I recently sampled a Comfy Rumps diaper, and I'll tell you what I thought.


The very absolute first thing I noticed was of course the super cute pattern! We now call it our "Moo Diaper." Wee Piglet is already trying to say "Mooo" everytime we get it prepped for wearing.

The fabric is super soft, and this diaper reminds me a lot of the Alva Baby diapers. Though the snap design is unique to all of the other diapers that we currently own.



I quite enjoy the way that this diaper snaps up, because I can do it up snug around the waist and the single lower snap makes the Comfy Rumps diaper more custom fit than some others. So once I finished oogling the "Mooo" print, caressing the material, and snapping the diaper in place we put it through the (big scary announcer voice here) ultimate diaper test!

Which really just means that Wee Piglet wore his Comfy Rumps diaper to bed! And would you believe it? NO LEAKS! Thank you, Comfy Rumps, for keeping my sheets dry at night.

Within the next week I will be posting a Comfy Rumps giveaway, so come back often!


Thursday 15 November 2012

Some Reasons to "Not School"

That's what I am going to call it, "not school." As of June 2013, my children will be done going to conventional school. And I could not be more relieved and excited. While I don't have all of my reasons lined up in neat little rows, I wanted to share a few just for fun (and in no particular order).

Reasons to Not School:
1. Can't find that missing sock? Tiny Twirler stained that brand new, nice shirt? No problem! We can hang out in our pajama's all day long!

2. Peanut Butter. Our current school has banned all peanut butter AND peanut butter replacements, like soy butter. Which means I can't send Ape Boy's favorite snacks to school.

3. No more lunch stress, period. No more searching for just the right sized containers, worrying about what in the world I should send in their lunch, or if anybody (ie THE TEACHER) is going to make a snide comment towards my children about what they have to eat.

4. Bullies be gone. If I hear of one more boy calling my wee Tiny Twirler "Fathead" or "Fateyeball" or FAT anything, or any other word in the freaking dictionary for that matter... this Mamma just might lose it.

5. Broken Bad Habbits. Seriously, every school day my children come home behaving like somebody elses kids. I don't know who these wild animals are. These kids that say "poop this" or "poop that" or "I'm going to toot on your ear".. who are THEY? Then I spend two days getting my children back, and they go to school again. Restart.

6. Freedom! So often we miss out on community programs, because Tiny Twirler and Ape Boy are too exhausted and stressed out from school to go anywhere. Sometimes it's just because a program runs too late, and they would not get enough sleep for school the next day. We can set a sleep schedule that works for us, instead.

7. Time to do, well, anything. The world is our classroom. If Tiny Twirler wants to do a craft for three hours straight, all the more power to her. When Ape Boy doesn't want to leave his activity, he doesn't have to. They can jump around as often as they like, or focus for longer. I have more time to spend taking them to the grocery store and learning about food, costs (math), buying local, organic vs gmo vs conventional (science lessons, anyone?), or what the bag boys name is because all people matter equally.

8. Trips to the bus, in a snowstorm, at 8:00 am (muahahahah bye bye!). I really despise snow. Another thing I despise? Early mornings. But what bothers me most about getting Tiny Twirler and Ape Boy on the bus each school morning is having to bundle up Wee Piglet in 8 layers of clothing, and strapping him on over my big bulky winter coat, and trying to walk down the stairs to the bus stop in those pesky snow shoes. I'm kidding, there are no snow shoes.

9. More time to persue their passions. Right now Tiny Twirlers (age 4) passions are Hair Styling and Fashion. Ape Boy (5) is passionate about his lego, star wars, and a Ninja career.

10. Sunny Days Never Wasted. It is a huge bummer when spring rolls around and you get that odd week full of beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures. You think to yourself "oh, the fun we could be having right now at the park" (or having a picnic, jumping in puddles, etc). Only, you can have all of that fun without waiting for the kids to come home from school. Take off to the beach on a Monday morning? Why not!

Spring Days 2011








Sunday 11 November 2012

I'm Tired (Adrenal Fatigue)

This day and age, it seems that every itch has a name and a slew of medication to go with it. So when I read up on things like adrenal fatigue and thyroid issues I did not take it seriously. To me, adrenal fatigue was a fancy way of saying "hey, I'm tired. Diagnose me, so I can get some sleep." So I was talking to my friend about how tired I always seem to feel and she asked me if I have ever had my thyroid checked. No, I haven't. Though it seems that thyroid issues are also becoming more and more common.

I knew one thing, I needed answers right away. If I was snippy with my children for being what they are (kids) one more time, fall asleep in the afternoon one more day, or have any more hair fall out I was going to just maybe lose it. So I went to google (which is a very good friend of mine when I am looking for answers). I started to read up on the thyroid and various issues that some people might have. I checked out the symptoms list for thyroid problems:

  • cold intolerance
  • confusion or forgetfulness (often mistaken for dementia in seniors)
  • constipation
  • depression
  • dry, scaly skin
  • fatigue, or feeling sluggish
  • hair loss
  • increased menstrual flow (women)
  • irritability
  • muscle cramps
  • slower heart rate
  • weakness
  • weight gain
  • coarse and dry hair

  • (the above is from this link on hypothyroidism)

    I realized that I have all but two of those symptoms (dry skin and increased menstrual flow). That was interesting, but it wasn't convincing enough. I started to dive into the causes and cures of hypothyroidism. And something stuck out. On only one of the websites out of several, adrenal fatigue was listed as a possible cause of hypothyroidism.

    Because I had only seen it pop up once, adrenal fatigue stuck out. So I searched it, and looked at the symptoms. Every. Single. One. Matched.

    Then I took a survey found here. The most interesting thing about the symptoms is that they were almost the same as hypothyroidism.

  • excessive fatigue and exhaustion
  • non-refreshing sleep (you get sufficient hours of sleep, but wake fatigued)
  • overwhelmed by or unable to cope with stressors
  • feeling rundown or overwhelmed
  • craving salty and sweet foods
  • you feel most energetic in the evening
  • a feeling of not being restored after a full night's sleep or having sleep disturbances
  • low stamina, slow to recover from exercise
  • slow to recover from injury, illness or stress
  • difficulty concentrating, brain fog
  • poor digestion
  • low immune function
  • food or environmental allergies
  • premenstrual syndrome or difficulties that develop during menopause
  • consistent low blood pressure
  • extreme sensitivity to cold

  • (http://thyroid.about.com/cs/endocrinology/a/adrenalfatigue.htm)

    When I took the survey in the link above (survey here) my scores were not good. They give you four possibilities; no adrenal fatigue, low adrenal fatigue, high adrenal fatigue and severe adrenal fatigue. The numbers scored for a high adrenal fatigue situation was 132 at the highest level. Anything above that was severe. My scores were 173 on the adrenal fatigue "scale."

    The reason I am blogging about adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism is because I feel more and more people suffer from it. I hear from mothers all the time about how exhausted they are, they are becoming depressed and anxious and can not make a decision to save their lives. I really wanted to touch on that connection between adrenal fatigue and thyroid issues. Maybe it can help somebody.

    From various sources, this is what I gathered as a method of helping heal adrenal fatigue (which for a severe case, can take up to 24 months).

    1 - Sleep until 9:00 am when possible.
    2 - Nap during that low energy dive (around 3:00 pm)
    3 - Eat at least 6 kinds of vegetables a day (and juice them)
    4 - Vitamin C, licorice root and kelp can aid in healing the adrenals
    5 - Avoid caffiene, sugar and fats (the main go-to's for coping with adrenal fatigue)
    6 - Avoid stress!

    Adrenal glands are the "stress" glands. They process your stress, emotional and physical. In times of high stress, your adrenal glands are working overtime. If you are under high stress for a prolonged period of time, it is easy for your adrenal glands to burn out. This is why a juice fast is not recommended as a way of healing the adrenal glands. Juice fasts are stressful on both your body and your emotional well being, and putting alrealdy burnt out adrenal glands under that kind of pressure is redundant.

    I need to heal so I can be there for my children. As a devoted Mom of three wonderful beasts, who need me completely (all day, everyday), I can not sit by and let this situation become worse. This is a situation where putting myself first benefits my entire family. I don't want to feel sick anymore, tired, with my hair falling out and my patience short. When a stressful situation comes up no matter how large or small, I want to handle it properly without feeling like my chest is going to explode and crumpling into a ball of overwhelming panic. This is where I am at. I have to make changes. Those will include dietary adjustments and taking care of ME. Taking time for myself without feeling guilty, and letting go.

    So, there you have it. This is just one of the many changes I will be dealing with in the next few weeks.
    

    Saturday 10 November 2012

    Twisted Coconut Curry

    I love coconut curries, and so does the Cave Man. But it's time to branch out. I really want to try new types of curry dishes, experimenting with ingredients and so forth. Tonights twist was merely out of necessity (what do we have in the fridge that needs used up?) so I added black beans. Traditionally a mexican meal ingredient, it still worked lovely in this simple curry.


    Coconut Curry:
    1 can coconut milk
    6 small potatoes
    1 1/2 cups frozen organic peas
    1 onion
    2 cups black beans
    curry powder (to taste)
    Oil (for frying)

    Side of Spiced Rice:
    2 tbsp garam masala (spice)
    2 cups of rice
    4 cups of water
    2 cups chick peas
    1/2 - 1 tsp fenugreek seeds

    For the Curry..
     1. Fry up the onion until well carmalized.
    2. While the onion is frying, chop up the potatoes into bite sized pieces and put them in a casserole dish. Add the coconut milk, frozen peas, cooked black beans, and curry powder.
    3. Stir the onions into the casserole dish, put the lid on and stick it in the oven on 400 degrees until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked.

    For the Rice..
    1. Fill a pot with four cups of water, and add garam masala and fenugreek seeds.
    2. Once the water has boiled, put in the rice and bring it back to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is almost absorbed. *You can turn off the burner, but the leave pot on it to keep it warm*
    3. Stir in the cooked chick peas, and put the lid back on for about ten minutes to finish absorbing the water and heat up the chick peas.

    Serve side by side and garnish with leafy stuff of your choice! I used celery leaves, because that is what we had on hand. It's simple enough, and it was really yummy!

    As a bonus, fenugreek is known to boost the milk supply in nursing mothers.


    Functioning at 50%

    I am still here, but I am not fully awake. I know, it has been quite a long time since I have posted! Life has become one big blur of crazy. With my current state of health, and insomnia to boot, I am only able to function at 50% or less. But here is what I can say:

    Changes are happening. Internally I have come to many realizations. There is a shift in my thinking, and in my heart. This change is beautiful. I am tired of running from myself, for fear of putting myself first. It is time to embrace all that is me, get on the road to recovery (curing my low energy issues), and free myself from the expectations of others and the unrealistic expectations that I put on myself (that really, have nothing to do with me and who I am).

    For now I will leave you with that. Soon I will explain what I have been up to. Probably on a day that I have been able to catch more than one hour of sleep.