Day 31: Bonus Post

It was bothering me to not have a post for every day of the month.. so I'll just overload you with baby pictures!

I'm sure I must have complained posted about how much I don't like halloween at some point on this blog. It's not that I think it's inherently evil, I just think it's silly and over commercialized and has bad potential. In college it was just an excuse for people to dress inappropriately and be irresponsible, which has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

So we knew the day would come when we'd have kids and we would have to decide what we were going to do about halloween. Blake thinks it's harmless fun (and I agree, it can be) and, really, I think it's dumb. Okay, I said it. Dumb. I hate that candy and sugar are so addictive and are EVERYWHERE. And I hate that halloween just encourages candy consumption. As if the battle against sugar in our lives isn't hard enough. And there are the icky parts of halloween like poisoned candy, predators, those people that actually believe in witches etc, the history of halloween and really, people decorate with spiders, ghosts, tombstones, death etc. ... good clean fun? Not in my book. When I think of Philippians 4:8 halloween just doesn't seem to fit into any of those categories (lovely, pure, commendable etc). I know, I know. Bah humbug.

Okay. With that off my chest, I know that halloween can also just be as simple as cute kids in cute costumes playing games. We dressed up for halloween as kids and I don't remember it being any big deal. We lived in the middle of nowhere, so trick or treating involved a 20 minute car ride between grandparents houses and family friends. It really was harmless and my mom has fond memories of us and our costumes.

We still aren't exactly sure what our halloweens will look like for us and our kids. Obviously this year Emerson truly has no idea, and probably for several years to come. We have Bible study on Thursday nights, so that's what we did (but it was game night since our church has a big harvest party and lots of families were there). I'm okay with harvest parties and costumes and even limited trick-or-treating... but I'd also be more than okay without them. We'll find a compromise when we need to and we'll try to honor our families and our Father in whatever we end up doing.

If we end up doing the costume/halloween thing.. it would kill me not to have a picture for every year.. so we took one just in case. For the record, we actually put her in her costume and took pictures last weekend. Let the Fall baby pictures begin. And yes, I did prop my four month old up with pumpkins :)

(We tried a few with the Bumbo too, but she leans in it anyway.)

Our Pumpkin sittin' pretty with the pumpkins. There was a lot of this... not looking at the camera

What are those things?

I got one...oooh look, there are lots more!

And even more over there! (or maybe she's looking at her shoe)

Oh hi mom, I forgot you were there.

You want me to do what? Smile? I'll think about it.

Pumpkin and her first pumpkin

A little mid-photoshoot poop, keepin things real.

Aaand, dad came home... look who's all smiles now!

And two seconds after we smile.. we like to throw ourselves backward.
You get one smile picture and then several falling backwards pictures.

I save my best smiles for dad.

A quick family photo.. Now she's all about the pumpkin.

This was also my costume when I was a baby :)

She really nailed the pumpkin look. 

And a little blooper for you. 

Day 30: Anything You Want to Post About

This is the last of my 30 day blog challenge posts. It's been fun! I'm glad I did it. It has shown me that not only do I have things floating around in my head to post about, if I make posting a priority then I'll make the time to get those ideas in writing. Blogging, in my case, is mostly for myself. A way to remember the ins and outs of daily life.

I've noticed that when I have discretionary time, if I don't accomplish something or do something semi-productive, it makes the time harder to remember, like it didn't happen. Like when I worked and had a day or more off, if I didn't have something to show for it, it felt like it didn't happen. As much as I like lounge days, it makes my vacation days disappear if I don't balance lounging with productivity.

It feels like blogging is the same. If I don't blog, I look back a year later and think.. what did I even do that month? Not for October, 2013 though! A year from now this month will be a memory, and it will be a memorable memory... you know what I mean?

And what is a month of blogging without a cute baby picture to wrap it up!?

Day 29: A Picture of Yourself

No one Most people don't want to seem conceited (I had to change that after recalling my last browse through the general public on Instagram) but lets be honest - it's fun to take a selfie now and then. I'll also be the first to admit, I like having pictures of myself.. not just of myself usually, but I do like to be in family pictures.

Sooo.. here you go. My just got out of bed (at 11:00 am), combed my hair and made a cup of tea selfie:

Day 28: Personal Entry - Pintoxication

Pinterest is an interesting place where ideas are gathered and to-do lists are filled to unrealistic proportions. A survey done by TODAY reported that 42% of the moms surveyed experienced Pinterest stress. We all know those moms, they go all-out with matching outfit family pictures, elaborate themed birthday parties and wonder woman DIY projects. Everything looks perfect and easy. It's no wonder that some women really do get stressed out by Pinterest. I, however, am not one of them. You know why?

I'm lazy.

I have absolutely no drive to browse Pinterest for ways to make my life harder and my standards higher. I also have absolutely no drive to have themed birthday parties or themed any kind of parties for that matter. Honestly, I hardly have the drive to have a party, period.

Now, that's not to say that I don't use Pinterest, but I certainly don't abuse it, or get abused by it. I think this is largely a personality thing. The TODAY survey also showed that for 75% of the moms surveyed the pressure came from themselves. I may put pressure on myself in other areas.. but social media isn't one of them!

There are probably months at a time that I don't even remember that I have a Pinterest account, and then I have an idea but I'm not sure how to carry it out and suddenly I remember that I can look on Pinterest. For the most part, I get on Pinterest for a specific purpose, I filter through the junk, I get inspired and I get off. I just don't have room for information that I don't need. That's not to say that I think all my stuff is awesome and I couldn't use a DIY project or two.. but that's just not how my brain works. I might see a few projects that look neat, but until I have a specific need for that information (e.g., I have a blank wall and decide I should fill it, or I want to redo my living room but can't decide how) it's all in one ear, out the other. I'm too lazy to aspire to crafty greatness, unless I've already decided that it is something I want to tackle.

That is not to say that those moms that get overwhelmed by or feel inadequate from Pinterest have something wrong with them, probably I'm the one that should care more about what people think! It goes back to something I said in my Crunchy Things post, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Pinterest perfection isn't my weakness. Now if there was a Pinterest for all things crunchy and healthy ('10 ways I boosted my families immune system for under 10 cents', 'how to sprout your grains and clean your house at the same time', 'healthy first birthday party with pastured egg yolk and liver ice cream that your kids want to eat', 'DIY matching compost bins') I'd probably be one of the 42%!

Also, I know that I don't have it all together, and neither do the people that put their best foot forward. I look at someone that looks like they have it all and I know that there is something that they're still working on too. I don't need them to pin a picture of their messy bedroom to make me feel better. I'm happy to see their pretty living room when I want ideas for decorating and I don't assume that their entire house is photo worthy. And if it is, then I don't expect their entire heart to be photo worthy, no one's is. We all have strengths and weaknesses.

I kind of think of Pinterest as an addictive activity. I enjoy the occasional outdoor challenge, but I'm no adrenaline junky. I like wine, but I have no desire to overindulge, in fact, I'd avoid it at all costs. I think working out is good, but I'm not even slightly tempted to run a marathon. I like Pinterest, but I have no desire to be Pintoxicated by it. I'm just not bent that way. And, I'm too lazy for it! Perfection is just too much work!

**Please note that this post is not meant to insult anyone or make them feel inadequate. The view expressed in this post are mostly out of desperation for a topic since it is day 28 in a row of posting. No animals were harmed in the writing of this post. 

Day 27: A Picture of Your Handwriting

Oof. I have horrible handwriting.. or rather good handwriting takes considerable effort from me and I can't keep it up for very long without hand fatigue. I'm pretty sure that if entrance to med school was based on 'doctor handwriting' I'd totally get in. I can write fairly legibly if I try/take the time... but I know if I wrote something for this I'd make sure it was neat.. to the point of redoing it several times! I'd try to do something artistic and meaningful.. but that isn't really very realistic. I have been cleaning and organizing my desk this weekend and came across this list of recipes:

Day 26: Warm Fuzzies

Full prompt: What are some things that make you feel warm and fuzzy.

I love warm fuzzies! Here are a few things that come to mind:

• Of course Emerson makes me feel warm and fuzzy, and most other babies too. She has certain looks or mannerisms that make me stop and just smile, hug her and get all warm and fuzzy and emotional.
• Foggy mornings that don't include going anywhere
• Pathways. Especially those lined with trees and winding.
• Nostalgia and positive memories
• Seeing other people, especially close people, love and enjoy Emerson.
• Blessing other people. Even if this is just stopping and talking to an elderly person (this is one of my favorite things about being a SAHM, shopping in the daytime and taking time for elderly shoppers. Be it stopping for them to see Emerson, just saying hi and how are you nice and slowly or maybe helping them out with something.. I love having the time to be patient with them and I hope that the attention blesses them), doing something for another person with the intent of showing Christ's love to them (even if I don't label it as such) just sends warm fuzzies from my head to my toes.
• Hot beverages and fireplaces, either individually or together.
• Looking through pictures of memories with Blake.
• The color gray... okay and white too.
• Knitting
• Sentimental items like quilts people made Emerson or the baby clothes my mom made me or a little gift Blake brought home.
• Love notes on the mirror

Day 25: Personal Entry - The Crunchies

A little over a year ago, I found this quiz after reading this post from a friend's blog. At the time I scored a 'Pretty Crispy' (based on my assumed choices later in life). Now that I've actually had a baby I could answer more questions for real (there were still a few about weaning and tandem nursing that I have to guess on) and I came out as 'Super Nutty, Ultra-Crunchy, Granola Earth Mama!' (175). I'm not saying that I'm proud or that my goal is to be super-granola or anything.. it's just funny the difference that a year makes. 

Four years ago I was just health conscious. Up to a year-ish ago, I hadn't even heard the term 'crunchy' until I google searched it and found that quiz. I used to refer to crunchies as 'granolas', which was strongly associated with the people from Fairhaven at WWU. My family growing up was pretty down-to-earth and healthy but not in any way what you would think of as crunchy/granola/hippy. I've realized that over time, like the association or not.. I am crunchy. However, I do try to be what I am without looking too much like it on the outside. As in, it is what I do but not 'who I am'. I'm not wearing advocacy tees or hoping that people know I make my own deodorant.. the point is to be all of this that we label crunchy but still live a normal life and hopefully look fairly normal. If I'm going to 'look like something' or be an advocate for something, I hope it's representing Christ well. 

Even though all the extensive and sometimes conflicting information can be overwhelming, I try to take it all in stride. My priorities go like this: God/faith, health, frugality, sanity, planet, fun (I know... fun last, but at least it made the list!). Now, Blake's priorities go a little differently (probably God/faith, fun, frugality, health, sanity, planet) ;), but we make our compromises where we need to, and he trusts me to be the keeper of our home and family. We balance each other out well and our kids will be so thankful that daddy puts 'fun' way higher on the list than mommy ;).

I try to just adapt new changes one at a time and of course, I try to do my research too. My one-at-a-time philosophy has been adapted a little lately because sometimes with a baby things come at you faster than that. However, when it's in my control I try not to take on too much at a time. I'm not too worried about when I get to the next things, but I just try to keep working towards being a little healthier, day by day. If I can incorporate one thing into our daily lives before adding another, it helps to keep living natural actually feel natural instead of burdensome. 

I guess I sort of break it into categories: personal care/household items, food, baby, healing/medicine (or lack thereof) and other. So right now I'm trying out no shampoo for personal care (using baking soda sparingly and ACV rinses), I just started making (growing?) kombucha for food, in baby we're cutting back on soap baths and using just water more (we just use baby castile soap, but I used to use it every other day and really she doesn't need soaped that often) and in healing/medicine I'm figuring out a realistic or practical (i.e. keeping my sanity) way to deal with our MTHFR and trying to replace OTCs/mainstream remedies with essential oils or natural remedies. There are several things in each category that I want to try or incorporate, but I just can't do it all at once and that's okay. Sanity trumps at some point ;) (and so does our budget!). 

These projects might take me weeks to move on from, or they might take months. And if at some point any or all of this starts to take precedence over our relationship with God or showing Christ's love to others, then these things take a back burner. God wants us to be good stewards and treat our bodies as temples, but He also wants us to put Him first, trust Him and be others-centered. If I get cancer because I was serving God and didn't have time to keep up with fighting free radicals.. well then I trust Him to get me through it. God trumps everything.

So, all that said.. here are some of the projects I hope to take on eventually (in no particular order):

  Dishwasher detergent

  Monthly menu planning/fewer shopping trips 

  Oil cleansing method of skin care

  Homemade toothpaste (either this one or I'm leaning more towards clay toothpaste)

  Sprouting grains/sprouted grain flour

  Makeup makeover.. make my own vs finding better brands

  Fermenting foods

  Green juicing as part of vitamin supplementation (or being more consistent in juicing anyway)

  MTHFR supplementation regimen streamlined

  Essential oils in cooking

  Reduce our energy consumption

  Unpaper towels

  Incorporate liver into our diet (!!?!) for its high vitamin content

And really, the list goes on.. but that's a taste of it. I won't give you a list of the things we've changed or accomplished because that just feels like bragging :). 

It's kind of like a life-long hobby to see how I can make us healthier, while hopefully saving money (isn't it crazy how so many of the healthy alternatives are cheaper - like baking soda is super cheap but has a billion uses). I don't let it control our lives and I try to keep it from overwhelming me. It's not a contest, it just what we can do with what we have. It's our story being written as we live it. Sure, I may look back and realize that something I thought was healthy really isn't so healthy, or maybe I'll never quite get to that simple change that other people have been doing for years.. it's okay. I can only do what I can do, and I'm okay with that. 

I know sometimes it's easy to compare ourselves with where we're at in our journey to where other people are at in theirs, but remember - we all have different strengths and weaknesses. For everything that intimidates me about another person, I remember that {usually} they feel intimidated about something else in other people and everyone has something their working on (whether they know it or not). My to-do list might be longer than some in this area but maybe it's shorter in another area. At least that is how I navigate the Pinterest driven world we live in ;) and in thinking so, I can just be happy for and learn from other people. No pressure, lots of grace!

Day 24: Seven Things That Cross Your Mind A Lot

Oh boy... only seven!? Here goes:

1. Man I am blessed. How is it possible to be this happy and taken care of? Thanks Lord! Praises!
   
2. Ooohh my baby is so cute. I could just kiss, hug and hold her forever. LOVE HER!
   
3. Health related topics such as which vitamins are better, which foods we should or shouldn't be eating or are eating too much of and I should really start sprouting my grain to make sprouted flour (really there are like 8000 health topics that go through my mind, but I'll lump it into one. I'll also lump in my thoughts about weight in this one).
   
4. Vaccinations. They make me crazy and the more I read about them the less I like them. Don't get me started.
   
5. Travel dreams. I know it isn't in our budget for awhile (like at least until we buy a house.. maybe longer) but I miss having a trip to plan or look forward to.
   
6. Toxins. Because of our MTHFR gene mutation, I'm constantly looking for toxins and ways to avoid them. I successfully switched to homemade deodorant (it really does work!) and my next project is homemade shampoo/conditioner.
   
7. Photography - I should really capture this moment; could I capture this moment? I want to capture this moment but I'll just make a mental picture instead and enjoy it. I wonder if I could learn how to do this photo technique. I should edit those photos.

Day 23: A Picture of What You Wore Today

After our hike and a big girl bath/shower, this is what I wore:

• Capris - because they're one of the few pairs of pants that I can fit into
• Nursing tank
• Gray cardigan that I got in Italy and wore once prior to today (before I was showing, then I couldn't wear it because I would look pregnant before I was telling people. Then when I was telling people, I was big enough that it didn't really fit. Now it FINALLY fits again!)
• Flats
• The other Ergo (Ergo Performance - which I decided to bust out since I keep the PPB Ergo in the car mostly. This Ergo is really comfortable, and that's saying something because all Ergos are comfortable. It's made of more breathable material and the straps are curved to stay on better. It's a very secure fit and I like it for hiking uphill. I feel really spoiled to have two Ergos, but both together cost lest than one new one, so I sleep okay at night. ;) This one is also nice because it has a real pocket with zipper and the sun shade/rain fly pocket zips closed.) 
• Sleeping baby. She slept on me during our hike, after book club today and again before the OBCW class. I love it when she sleeps on me :)

Day 22: Personal Entry - Friends Visit

We had the special treat of a visit from our friends Whitney and Lincoln yesterday and today. It's funny how quickly the time goes when you're chatting the day away with feedings and naps woven in. What a simple but wonderful visit! We sure love these guys!

Lincoln is a little grabby. 

He's also a happy, smiley guy! Full of wonder and loves to explore everything
around him, which as seen above, includes Emerson.

She doesn't seem to mind

Just chillin :)

Lincoln is SIX months now (!) and gets to enjoy some solid food tastes.

He's not overly impressed with avocado but it's still pretty new.

Mommies and babies.