Or maybe Tuesday/Thursday......

Alright, well......I have a LOT on my plate right now and so maybe I'll post on Tuesday/Thursday instead of Monday/Wednesday/Friday.  I think that is a much more realistic goal.  And even that we may have to cut down, but we'll see.

So today's different thing that we do....

We make our own shampoo!!  Tis true!  It can be done!  :)

I am really enjoying it.  It is very easy and works well.  It all started when I began to notice a build up on my hair brushes.  I had just been using whatever budget shampoo I could get my hands on.  It didn't matter what it was, if it was cheap, I'd use it!  Let's be honest, I have a LOT of hair and not a lot of money!  So, it was working.  But when I noticed the build up, I really didn't like it.

I started checking into making our own, and it is EASY!

I mix-
1 cup Dr Bonner's castile soap (I have used other brands and they don't work as well)
 2 Tbs apple cider vinager
1/4 cup water
a few drops tea tree oil & vitamin e

We keep it in a spray bottle in the shower, all four kids use it and I do too!  It's great :)

See you Thursday!!

three and a half weeks......

And just so you know I am real....truth is I don't have a post today.  Oh, I am know of things that make my family different and I could post that I suppose, but I just don't have the brain to do it today.  I'm a bit tired, (well more than a bit--a LOT!) we've been BUSY this week and last week and well, I'm just off.  :)  I know that never happens to any of you.  ;)  I'll be back to it soon, hopefully by Monday.  But in true Jess fashion, I have to skip a day, lest you think I am able to blog regularly!!  :D

Along those lines.....

Another thing that makes our family a bit different from the norm is that we don't rush to the doctor or antibiotics to heal our bodies.  As a matter of fact, in the past two years since our youngest son was born, we (a family of six) have only had 3 antibiotics, total.  My son, the baby, ended up getting some right after birth, LONG STORY, for preventative care.  My husband has had one for a sinus infection right during Thanksgiving/Christmas.  He only did this b/c he is a produce manager and could NOT afford to be sick, so he went the easy way!  And I have had one, b/c I had a staff infection on my leg.  We didn't know there were other ways to treat that, and so we paniced and I took them.  Just after that my daughter got a staff infection that we were able to treat without antibiotics.  We also believe that we have fought off strep throat, pink eye, tummy bugs, colds and who knows what else with herbs and homeopathic medicines.  :)  It is fun, challenging and extremely rewarding to see your kids fight something naturally, knowing that you are able to help them strengthen their immune systems.

I also want to add that, I am very thankful for modern medicine!  I know that it is needed and that God has used it to heal many, MANY people.  I do not think it is all bad, I just try to use more natural, wholistic/holistic ways before we go the modern medical route!!

No Hospital?

SO.....with that last post, the one Friday......I told you that my fourth son was delievered by a midwife, at least I think I told you that....well, he was!  He also was NOT born in a hospital!

When we found out we were pregnant with our fourth child, we knew we wanted things to be a bit different this time.  We had a bit a drama that seemed, well, unneccissary with our two middle kids, and so, we wanted things to be different.  We also did NOT want to be in the hospital for any amount of time.  We had three other kids who we wanted to be with and we did not want to have our time divided.

So we started looking for other options and found that the Birth Center was our best option.  They offered the care that we wanted/needed and they didn't require us to stay any longer than six hours after the birth of our baby!  It was GREAT!  We had a wonderful experience at the Birth Center.  We feel confident that had our fourth son been born in a traditional OB/GYN's care he would have been a c-section and that our midwives care is what spared us from that!

I truly could type for hours and hours about this topic.  I am SO thankful for the Birth Center and that God placed us less than an hour away from the ONLY ONE in the state of NC.  

Midwife?

So, in the last post I mentioned that my midwife was the one who gave me some pointers as to what to do about my health issue.  And I am sure that raised an eyebrow or two.  I totally see midwives for my annual check up.  It was actually midwives who delivered my fourth child!  I have chosen to see midwives as my healthcare provider because I feel like they listen to me and understand a womans body better than most.  They are quick to offer solutions that don't require medication and surgery and they listen to my concerns better than any doctor I've ever been to.....except maybe my children's pediatrician!

SO, for that reason I drive an hour once a year to see my midwife.  I enjoy my two hours alone in the car AND I am thankful for the time and care I get! 

One more cloth......

I can't imagine why any guy would read this blog.  I really can't imagine why anyone would read it, but anyway.  IF YOU ARE A GUY.....DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

There.  You have been warned.  This is a very girlie post.  But one I am pretty excited to share.  This has REALLY changed things for me....in a VERY good way!

So....another thing that I no longer buy to throw away is...are you ready for this?  It's kinda gross.....feminine products.  Yes, I reuse my feminine products.....no, not my Always and Playtex, my Diva cup and my "Party In My Pants" pads.  Yes, I have PIMP pads....LOL!  I can't help but laugh everytime I say it.  I am so glad I wrote this post this morning.  I needed the laugh!

So, I know you are wondering why.....and fair enough.  This is another item that I thought I'd NEVER even try.  Just too far over the edge.  I mean we're crazy, frugal, a bit different, but this is just too much, or so I thought.  So the back story......

I have always had very heavy monthly cycles.  To the point that since our fourth was born, it's really been bad.  Like stop the world, change the schedule for the next two days, mom has to stay home kinda bad.  My hubby couldn't stand it.  It was really taking a toll on us and how active we are and he sent me to my midwives (we'll get back to that).  They gave me some suggestions (magnesium and ibuprofen) and said they really didn't think it would help and that I would likely need surgery. 

I don't jive with surgery.  That wasn't (isn't) on my radar and I really was not thrilled.  So I started to do some homework.  I found out that many traditional feminie products contain chemicals that actually encourage heavier bleeding.  You knowthat way you buy more products.  So, I decided I needed to get away from that as much as possible.

That's when I found my Diva Cup.  I LOVE it.  I have some friends that still struggle with it, but overall I love it.  It took me a few months to figure it out and get good at it, but once I did, I fell in love.  It is super easy to use....anywhere.  I was still using traditional pads as back up and overnight and such.  And I decided that too had to stop....and I found PARTY IN MY PANTS.

For the past two months I've been using these, with NO traditional products at all, as well as taking my "meds"....and guess what?  My cycles have been VERY managable!  :D  YAY!

I also have to tell you it's really nice when there is NOTHING to throw away.  Nothing to hide in the trash so the kids don't find it.....and.......they are really cute & comfy!

By the way, I bought my Diva cup from Vitacost.  If you are interested in one, you can buy it through this link and get $10 off (and I'll get $10 off my next purchase too!)!!

Now feel free to ask me any/all questions.....I totally am expecting it :)

Cloth napkins.......

My guess is by now you have come to expect this.....but yes, we use cloth napkins!  I m not sure exactly  when/how this got started but it seems to fall into line with how we roll.  The most common argument I have heard for not using cloth is the extra laundry.  Welll friends, I have four kids...we have a LOT of laundry.  A few cloth napkins ain't gonna change a thing.  They don't even add an extra load a month.  And as for folding them......that's what the four kids are for ;)

Cloth WIpes

Now, I must say that there are a lot of things I never really thought I would do.  But cloth wipes is RIGHT UP THERE with the top few.  (I can only think of one other thing, which we'll get to later!)  It just seems like the GROSSEST thing ever to use cloth wipes.  GROSS!  However, when we started with cloth diapers, cloth wipes was just the most logical thing to follow!  Seriously, think about it with me......you wipe babies bottom, you stick the wipe in the diaper and throw it all away.  If you have a cloth diaper and a disposable wipe, you have one item going to the trash and one going to the wash.  As lazy as this sounds that is MORE WORK!  Once you have cloth diapers, it just makse sense to go to cloth wipes.  Now you can get all fancy and BUY specific cloth wipes, or like us, you can just use baby wash rags.  They are a bit cheaper!

We cloth diaper.......

Do you see that orange diaper?  :D

I always LOVED seeing my diapers on the line!

When my oldest (who is now ALMOST 8!) was about 18 months we switched to cloth diapers!  We were expecting our second child and knew that we would have two in diapers.....for a while!  I hosted an informational party where a lady came and told us all about cloth diapers and one of my BFFs and I started in on researching.  We both decided on and bought cloth.  One of the main reasons I decided to go cloth was cost.  I sat down and did the math and back then, when there weren't near as many options, it would cost the same price to cloth a baby from birth to potty training as it did to put them in sposies!  Since we knew that we would have at least two (we were for sure hoping for more) we went for it and have LOVED it!

Truth told we don't cloth diaper now, as sad as that is :(  But we have enjoyed it and LOVED it with all four!  We gave it up for MANY reasons, and occasionally we go back to it, but the baby is thinking about potty training, so we may.....just may be done with diapers soon.....  :O

TRASH BAGS.....

Another strange thing about us.....we don't buy trash bags.  Why would we?  We get them free at target :) 

When we moved to NC, a few years ago (really more like 10!), that was one thing we realized right away we didn't need.  We've always lived in small spaces and so a trash can seemed like a waste of space.  Therefore we've just been using Target bags.

The benefits-

it's small and easy for the littles to take out.
it doesn't take up much room
it's FREE
it never stinks, it fills up and gets taken out LONG before that

the downside-
it fills up fast (esp when you have company)

One Room

We recently bought a home.  We were very VERY excited to be able to do this.  When we bought our home we promised the kids, who had been sharing one room that they could divide out and the older two could have one room and the younger two could have one.

This was great and lots of fun.  They were thrilled to each have their own space.  However, it wasn't long (less than 6 months) and the kids were asking for our "old house" back.  I was stunned and disappointed.  My hubby and I LOVE our new house and we wanted our kids to as well.  When we asked them more about it, they revealed that they missed all sleeping in one room!

There you have it!  That is why all four of our kids share a room.  They love each other THAT much!  :)  I must admit it is fun and nice to have the extra space!

Hammocks

SO.....one of the newest "different" things in our home is our hammocks.  We (yes, we) sleep in hammocks.  The kids do EVERY night, my hubby and I sleep in our randomly.  But we all enjoy swinging instead of bed sleep.  So......WHY?

Well, my hubby and I were out on a date one night (yes, rare, but it does happen occasionally) and we began talking about our kids and their need to have new sleeping arrangements.  The baby was quickly "outgrowing" his pack-n-play and so, we had to find something different.  At that time, our boys were in bunk beds and the girl was in a day bed.  We were thinking two bunk beds, that would just be the easiest....we thought.  When we began looking into it we decided that two bunk beds would be VERY crowded in one room.  We didn't really like that idea.  We aren't really big on furniture...and that would have been a LOT.

So......we began exploring our options.  We looked at building beds that would be custom fit for that room.  We looked at lofts in the ceiling....you name it, we explored it.  Then we thought, why do they have to sleep in beds?  We started looking into hammocks and fell.in.love with the idea.

We asked the kids how they felt about never making their beds again.  They eagerly agreed that would be nice.  We asked them about hammocks and they were sold. VERY excited :)

We searched and searched and then bought four hammocks.  The ones we chose were fairly cheap, about $40 each.  We were happy with that since we likely wouldn't have found bunk beds for less thatn $160.  We bought them they came in and the were nice.....a bit small, but nice.

We quickly decided that our eldest needed a bigger hammock.  Once we got his we liked it so much we exchanged them all.  Then bought an extra....just in case we had an emergency in the middle of the night and needed it!

The good things about hammocks are-
-ALL the extra space
-EASY cleaning, just throw in the wash/dryer
-no pressure points on your body
-very inexpensive
-no bed's to make
-just plain fun!

The bad things about hammocks-
-no bed to bounce on (my kids always say they want their beds back to bounce)
-have to hang it in the morning, we have nails where they hang their hammocks, so that they have the room free.
-I am drawing a blank......

Mommy & Daddy's hammock

The first hammocks

Our newest hammocks

I'd be happy to answer any and all questions you have about our hammocks.  We love them, they are a perfect fit for our family, but I would totally agree that they are not for everyone.

About me........

I've been noticing lately, that my family is a bit, um.....different.  We don't typically do things the way MOST people do.  I've decided to share some of the things that we do different and tell why we have chosen this route.  I am not sure how long this will last or even how many things there will be, but I thought it might be fun!  Now, some of you who know me well might have a thing or two that you'd like me to explain.  If you do.....I'd be happy to!  Just let me know!  I *think* I will post Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a while and we'll see what happens!  Stay tuned Wednesday to see what the first thing will be :)