This website says that Elly looks like me…wow! Since the day she was born I have heard how she looks just like her daddy, but the internet doesn’t lie, right?

MyHeritage: Family tree – Genealogy – Celebrity – Collage – Morph

I just learned that Burt’s Bees, of which I am a huge fan, has been purchased by the ever dreaded CLOROX company.  I have worn their fantastic lip balm for years, even before I became a fan of natural products.  Eric just bought me a new tube last weekend, however, I will wear it no more!

Here’e the kicker…

“The Burt’s Bees brand is well-anchored in sustainability and health and wellness, and we believe it will benefit from natural and ‘green’ tailwinds,” said Clorox Chief Executive Donald R. Knauss.  

Might this be a ploy to momentarily divert attention for the fact that they produce INCREDIBLY toxic products that have been linked to cancer and are certainly harming the environment.  I’m afraid I no longer trust that I am using a natural product, when its production is in the hands of this type of company.  No, no, not me. 

Read more for yourself here: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/11/burts_bees_sell.php

So far, I have made my own laundry detergent, automatic dish washing detergent, “all-purpose” cleaner and glass cleaner.  The only store bought cleaner I still use is liquid dish soap, simply because I can’t buy the ingredients locally.  So I settled for Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid, purchased at Target.  If any of you do make your own dish liquid, please share your information and where you purchased your ingredients!!

For my laundry detergent, I used a quick and easy recipe that I found on the InspireCompany Blog.  I’m not going to go into the details, just check their blog out.  Although this is a natural detergent, it is not fragrance-free.  If you need to make a fragrance-free detergent, let me know.  You can also add an essential oil (I recommend lavender) to this recipe to customize the scent, found locally at Garners. 

For my all-purpose cleaner I used an empty  plastic spray bottle.  You can use one you already have, or I purchased mine at Walmart.  Combine 1 tbs. borax, 1tbs. baking soda and 1/4 cup of white vinegar and fill the bottle with warm water.  If you need to cut grease, use a drop of liquid dish soap with your cleaner.  If I have a tough mess, I will sprinkle baking soda, spray my cleaner and let it sit for about 5 minutes.  Then it comes right up! 

For my glass cleaner, I used 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water in another spray bottle.  You should know that the smell of vinegar goes away instantly when the mixture dries.

For my automatic dish-washing detergent, I use one part borax and one part washing soda (already purchased when I did my laundry detergent).  Mix them together and store in a dry container.  Use 1 tbs. per load.  I also add vinegar for a rinse aid.  I don’t have an exact measurement, I just add. 

And for those of your who are still nay-sayers, here is another link with detailed information on the potential hazards of household cleaners. 

So can you tell that I love free stuff??

The winner gets a wrap, pouch, Becco Butterfly, Mei Tai, and a sling!  WOW!! 

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/birthathome/index.html

I’ve been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.  When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they’re welcome.  Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.  She holds up a snapshot of an infant. “This is Luke, my baby brother, and I’m going to tell you about his birthday.”  “First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom’s stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.”  She’s standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I’m trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.  “Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, ‘Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!’ Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. “She walked around the house for, like an hour, ‘Oh, oh, oh!’ (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)  “My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn’t have a sign on the car like the Domino’s man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.” (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)  “And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!” (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)  ”Then the middle wife starts saying ‘push, push,’ and ‘breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom’s play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there.”  Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I’m sure I applauded the loudest.. Ever since then, when it’s show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another “Middle Wife” comes along.

Too cute not to pass along!

http://yesboleh.blogspot.com/2008/05/chinese-policewoman-helps-quake-effort.html

Here you are looking at a rope out of Eric’s junk, tied around the posts on our back porch.  Thankfully, no one can see in our back yard besides some strange people that live behind us.  Everything else is woods. 

I’m really proud of my clothes line and I think it will be even better when we get our next power bill.  Our dryer, which we bought only 2 years ago, has been acting up and you have to put everything through 2 cycles before it is dry…which uses too much power!  So this is my alternative.  As long as the weather permits, I plan to hang everything out, and then just fluff them in the dryer, to get the crispiness out of them!  This is even more green than Energy-Star appliances!  YAY!

And aside from saving energy, Elly’s cloth diapers and wipes (which is what you see hanging out to dry) are smelling great!  No more zoo-smell for us!  And I have been told that the sunshine helps to get stains out.  So they will be bright white and bleech free!  I’m not sure why I didn’t do this sooner…

This is Elly with Ben followed by Elly with Ben and Abby.  Notice Abby’s eyes turning as Jennifer tells her not to push Elly. 

Unfortunately, none of the pictures with the Birthday Girl, Emma, turn out.  Sorry Emma.  My camera was having issues that night, and these are the only two I could salvage.