Get Clean!

I thought that title would get you in here! Well, here we are and YES there is a giveaway, but first read on.....

Who here loves to clean?!?!

Ok, let me rephrase that...Who here HAS to clean?!?! This momma!

Yep, it is the truth, cleaning is just part of our nature. Cleaning for the hubby, cleaning for the kids, heck, just cleaning for yourself. The older I got, the more I wanted things clean. Food on the floor, soap scum in the bathroom, I just want it to sparkle.

Lysol here, bleach there, cleaner everywhere. But then came the issue: how is it that everytime I used one of these cleaners I had to leave the room because it would give me a headache? And ppppeeeeew that smell of bleach in the toilet was KNARLY. I thought, this can't be good for anybody in this family, especially Hayden.

So I started to research, and the truth was frightening for me. Did you know that common chlorine bleach is the number one household chemical involved in poisonings? That common cleaners give off fumes that can potentially increase the risk of kids developing asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease? OR that organic pollutants that are found in many common cleaners are 2-5 times higher inside your home than out?

So I changed. EVERYTHING. (and I mean everything) I couldn't bare to think that the things I was doing to keep Hayden safe were actually harming her. From my cleaners, to detergent, to dishwasher soap- it was all toxic.

So where did I find all of these things to replace my toxic cleaners?

A friend introduced me to Shaklee. A company that is ALWAYS SAFE, ALWAYS WORKS, and ALWAYS GREEN. And it changed our lives, forever.

So because I love their products so much, I thought I would have a giveaway. I am giving away 5 samples of the H2 product. The sample is enough to fill one bottle of all purpose spray and and one bottle of window cleaner, yowza!

Read on my friend...

The Basic H cleaner is:

• Natural
• Nontoxic
• Superconcentrated
• No phosphates
• Biodegradable surfactants

The clean clincher? One bottle of Basic H2 equals the cleaning uses of 5,824 bottles of 26 oz Windex. UUUmmmm, hellllo, did I just hear the dollar bill signs go down? Money saved peoople!

You can use it for thousands and I mean THOUSANDS of household jobs- removes dirt, grease, grime, walls, windows, countertops  mirrors, bug guts, barabecue grill grunge, carseat goobers, you name it! Plus it is a no-rinse, no-residue, streak-free, patent pending formula.

The biggest perk besides the fact that it is safe? It cleans almost everything, now I only use a few of spray bottles for cleaning, not 20 different things.

Here is how to enter for the giveaway:

Required- Leave a comment on my blog about what you would be most excited to use the H2 cleaner for.

Optional- To enter your name for a second time, share my blog on your facebook page.

I will pick the winners by Sunday at 9pm central time using a random drawing system.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the cleaner, or just Shaklee in general.
schlipf@gmail.com

We voted!

WATCH OUT LADY WITH A BABY!

Or isn't that always what us mommas want to shout when we are stuck in traffic with screaming children or last in line for the bathroom. Seriously, mommas should have special privelages for moments  like that in life. At least my grocery store has parking for mommas with kiddos (mental note: write them a thank you).

As the election is nearing, I put on my sharp momma cap and the lightbulb went off: VOTE EARLY. That's right, if I vote early, then on election day I don't have to deal with the crazy lines. Because while most people just vote on their own, I have my sidekick with me. So if you are a momma with your sidekick(s), you want to make the most of your time outside the home.

So off we went, Hayden in the front carrier, license in hand, ready to go. Because at the maximum I was pretty sure this event would only take 10 minutes. Easy peasy lemon squeezy right?!

WRONG. Apparently every body else in Harris County had the same idea as me....yikes. The line looked like it went on for at least an hour, and for 2 whole seconds I thought about turning back. But if you are a mom, you know that once you get the kiddo out of the car seat and into the apparatus, you most trek on.

So we did. And we waited in that line for 30 minutes, while chatting with multiple other voters (ooooo, look at the baby!)

Personally I would not recommend voting with your kid strapped on to you. It sounded like a brilliant idea but by the time we got to the voting booth  Hayden was in the get me out of this kangaroo pack lady I want to go home stage. At that point, to at least attempt to calm her, I took her out of the front carrier. While voting with my one hand, crying kid on hip, I attempted to read the incredibly long instructions on the computer: not easy to concentrate whatsoever. Then add your child trying to press the buttons for you while everybody stares at you because you aren't "all together and your child is upset". At that point you just end up voting one straight party because you don't have the time to sit there and read everything while your child is crying and all you want to do is make her happy.

The conclusion to this experiment? Next time, Dad is babysitting while I go to vote. Then Mom and baby are both happy!

Solids of Mass Destruction

When is that baby going to start eating REAL food?......is the question I get asked all of the time, as my 7.5 month old is still nursing. It's a funny question, so I often answer, this IS real food.....as I nurse away. As most kids start to eat these so called solids, I constantly wondered when it would be time for Hayden. One doc says this, the other says another, and we never know the real answer. Is it 4 months? 5? 10? What time was right?

The right time is science experiment time.

As Hayden's sixth month rolled around, our pediatrician recommended  to start on some rice cereal. Of course, that was not liked by the wee little one, so I moved onto oatmeal for about a month. It went ok. At month 7, I introduced a big whammy, AVOCADO! It sounded so yummy, and I loved making it from scratch. She loved it so much she squealed and squealed for more, we were on a roll!

I think one of the biggest reasons why I was so excited to feed Hayden solids was because I made everything from scratch using the blog Wholesome Baby Food, and have had fun doing it. Hayden's next food in line was butternut squash, and boy she loved it so much I gave it to her twice that day! (which as some of you may know, that is quite the no-no when introducing a new food, but who can say no to that face?!)

And that is when solids of mass destruction started. That squash created 3 days of monster madness up all nights. I could take a picture of the dark circles under my eyes, but really, who needs to see that? Poor Hayden's lil tummy couldn't take what that butternut squash had to offer! I then tried applesauce ( by the way, tastes amazing, you should try it yourself!)  in which I thought would possibly curb the crazy effects of the squash- but to no avail, it was yet another 3 night monster mash madness. I felt AWFUL. How is it that the world is telling us we need to start solids at 4-6 months but my 7.5 month old can't even handle it?! That was really telling for me. I even tried giving her avocado again or oatmeal and she  refused that knowing her body wasn't feeling quite so normal. Smart cookie. Good thing babies can survive on breastmilk for at least 12-24 months!

The conclusion to this science experiment? Just because your pediatrician tells you it is time for your baby to take solids does not mean your baby can handle it. And also, if it tastes good, that doesn't mean our bodies will enjoy it (sheesh, I should probably remember that one when I eat a gallon of ice cream and do not feel good afterwards....) The only way to know is experiment.....Alas, back to nursing it is!

THE experiment.

Ok, I will admit it, having a kid is a science experiment. My mother once told me that, and I finally believe her. I mean, hey, let's go to bookstore, buy all the books we can about parenting and thats EXACTLY how it is going to go. Or so I thought.

I remember when my husband and I decided we wanted to get pregnant. Oh, the dreams if our sweet lil babe laughing and playing, going to sleep at 6 o'clock while we got to revel in our time together, watching movies and living the dream. C'mon, isn't that what we all have pictured? No matter how many times our parents and friends told us to get ready for the "up-all-night-feedings-I-want-to-be-held 24/7/365-life-will-completely-change-because-of-me," I just didn't think life would change that much. I was prepared, I GOT THIS, I would think knowing that my career was working with kids.

And so here I am, trying to make it through life one experiment at a time. There is no book, no guide, no yellow brick road to tell you where to go or what to do, just you and the decisions you make. Hence the blog. Everytime I chatted with my best friend about our adventures in raising a family, she said, you should write about this. I thought, why not, even if only parent reads it and thinks, hey, I'm not alone....


Science Experiment #1

Pickin cute right?

Well, I suppose I am super biased since I am the one that carried the belly monster around for 9 months.  I have decided that God made babies so adorable to help get us through the crying, the all night parties  at the breastaurant, and lots of dirty diapers. Because you can't get mad when you are looking at that face. Just sayin. More anectodes to come.