These things rock! They're way better than sponges because sponges hold tons of residue and absorb makeup into them instead of applying it to your face . buy here and decide for yourself :http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WVKBZF8
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We love this silicone placemat for several reasons! It doesn't slide around, it separates the food, it has nice edges unlike plates to prevent spills, and it's adorable!!! Get one here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1RHTK5
My mattress needed a pick-me-upper today so I mixed up some natural mattress freshener because I CAN'T mess with Febreze. Here's why, see these ingredients the NRDC found....
Air fresheners can contribute to increased allergies and asthmatic episodes, cancer, and are neurotoxic. Yikes. Toss that ish girls, I don't mind if I visit and your house doesn't smell like Tahitian Hibiscus.
All you have to do is take two or three common household products and make your own natural freshener.
Mix 1/2 cup baking soda with 2 drops tea tree oil, and 4 drops lavender essential oil. Stir it and sprinkle on the mattress, carpets, wherever. I swept off any excess with a hand broom but you can vacuum it.
My house smells so good!
Here are some great documentaries on nature, for kiddos and adults. Each one below is a button you can click, then hit "+ my list" in netflix to save for later! I am cutting the kids off these senseless, educational content-less cartoons and I will be presenting them with this cumulative list below, pre-listed in netflix, as their only option. I personally love documentaries and all the earths wonders so I'm pumped up.
any further recommendations? Pesticides are not meant to wash off, guys, a quick rinse under the tap just doesn't suffice. Look at the findings from a study by University of California. "The tap water washing ended up removing between 39-81% of the one pesticide and 18% of the other. The tap water plus vegetable wash process ended up removing between 6-9% more of the one pesticide, and 21% more of the other." (Source: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=258 )
So here's a great recipe to help clean fruits and veggies of their pesticides, dirt, and waxes. This spray bottle was $0.88 at Walmart, baking soda is 2/$1, you can use white vinegar but I used apple cider vinegar because I had it, plus a couple drops of lemon essential oil (optional). Because this bottle is big I made a double batch but you can make half of course. • 2 cups water • 1 cup vinegar • 1 tbsp baking soda • 8-9 drops lemon EO (optional) It will fizz and bubble when you add the baking soda, allow this to disburse before closing the sprayer lid. Spray produce and allow to sit 5-10 mins before rinsing. You can also fill your sink with warm water, add 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 tbsp baking soda , and the 6 drops of E0 to make a produce cleaning bath for large quantities. For berries a quick dunk and rinse will suffice. Rinse and gently clean off after 10-15mins. This calls for less vinegar because it's going to be submersed and on the produce for a longer time. BRAIDING: Tori loves this one and uses her skills on daddy's hair! SWEEPING: This one is for Emerson! He loves to mop and sweep, using these colorful balls makes it extra fun MEASURING RICE: This one can be for any age child, for either fine motor skills, pouring and scooping. Or for bigger kids learning measurement increments. To color the rice simply put the desired amount in a baggie with about 5-6 drops of food coloring, seal it and then shake it around until it's covered. Then I open the bags and allow them to air out for a couple hours so they're dry. WASHING THE TABLE: This one is super helpful and a good way to teach them how to clean up after themselves. They LOVE this one, all 3 kids SEWING: Tori has done embroidery for fun for a couple years now, such a great life skill. WATERING: Tori, Maddox, and Emerson all enjoy the responsibility of watering the plants. I let them use an old French press glass as a pitcher.
When we sold our house in Florida we got rid of everything because we were supposed to be permanently living in a house that was already furnished (with the exception of our master bedroom bed, we wanted that to be new). So when we found ourselves pressed to move after 6 months and finally bought our house (that we are in now) shortly before our 1 year Maine anniversary, we had nothing to fill it. Also, because we had just closed, we were flat broke. Luckily because of an unexpected occurrence, we got back $600 at closing. That $600 furnished our house! The master bedroom bed had already been purchased when we first got here, but I've included that expense to give a perspective of overall costs. Also, the total cost is for living essentials not decor, however in the images below I showed you the prices of decor so you can really see how frugal I am!
The biggest costs were the washer and dryer, instead of just getting a Home Depot card, we wanted to pay cash. However, because of our family size and frequency of laundry loads, I felt it wouldn't be smart to buy one from a person off the Internet and then have no recourse if it quit working. So... we went to Home Depot and got a dented one for $220 and had a friend bring it to our house to avoid delivery fees. I was hell bent on NOT buying a dryer because we needed so many things and line drying was a valid possibility. As it got colder, line drying became nearly impossible, so I went to Habitat for Humanity and got a used dryer for $80. At least with habitat I would have been able to hold them accountable if it quit. Shortly before I bought the dryer we bought the furniture at Habitat as well, coincidentally during their half off sale. When buying a used couch it was important to me to focus on it being structurely sound and comfortable, a good shape, and sanitary of course. Pattern is NOT a deal breaker, however we lucked out and got a couch that was the perfect color, the accent chairs--- not so much. That's where slip covers come in, and they make really nice ones these days. So I got two former hotel room arm chairs and two covers. They're awesome. If you're buying a house, tell your agent you need furniture! They see people move all the time and get offered furniture or know of people parting with furniture. Our agent gave us a beautiful solid wood desk and bed with matching headboard and footboard. Tori's whole room of furniture was free. Her blanket came from goodwill. Maddox's room was also all free. These old-school metal bunk beds came from a local lady who helps families buying homes get all the things they need. She also gave us a dresser, not pictured. You have to ask around and be open with people that you are trying to get things to furnish your house, people love to have old stuff hauled away so they don't have to deal with it. This lady also gave us plates and lamps. Our dinner table came from a friend who sells things on Craigslist/ EBay for a living. I just told her I needed a table and anything she came across would be considered. She sold me our table with no chairs for $20. The chairs came from Habitat as well, $24 each but half off, all four for $48. My friend also sold me the papasan chair for $40 and threw the rocking chair in for free. These papasan chairs go for over $300. My mom gave us the Turkish rug and my dad let me borrow a chair that goes to the desk that I refurbed. The desk was $10 from my friend and paint was also $10. Our massive bed (that is also very comfortable) was $299 on Amazon and I got a metal frame for beneath it that had metal slots (no box spring required) for $89, it comes with two twin frames that connect. In the pics below you'll see that I listed some prices with "for review" , which means I got them at a discounted cost to write a review about them on Amazon. You can sign up here if you'd like :
For a period of about 5 months Emerson consistently had at least one canker sore. Not your average canker sore either, some were massive, larger than dimes, which even warranted a doctor visit and allergist appointment (that instinctually I didn't keep). I withheld eggs, I withheld milk, the poor kid was treated different than everyone in the home while I was trying to figure out what was going on. He would scream in pain while nursing when they were close to latch-on areas, he'd scream from acidic foods, it was terrible.
Now you probably know Maddox had severe pediatric tooth decay, a problem with his enamel, that resulted in major dental work, totaling more than 7k to date. When his baby teeth erupted that had NO shine. No natural remedies could halt it, it happened so fast and we were strongly anti-fluoride but the only thing that caused seemingly momentary deceleration of the decay was fluoride. So, considering the benefits vs dangers, we opted for it. Because starving my baby to go under anesthesia when he was 1 year old sucked ass.... Tori and Emerson use a natural toothpaste now and Maddox uses natural alternated with regular. So the purpose of that tangent was, toothpaste. Namingly Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. It causes a foaming effect while brushing and is a surfactant, that also disrupts soft tissue. It's been repeatedly linked to canker sores. Now, you're probably saying, "shoulda used a natural toothpaste"... well looky-looky what's in a major name brand natural AND fluoride free toothpaste.
So if you or your kids are experiencing canker sores or lesions in the mouth, check for this asshole ingredient asap. If that doesn't solve it, definitely start working on dietary stuff and consult with your doctor or naturopath!
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AuthorI am wife and mama to 3 beautiful kiddos. We live in Maine on a bunch of land where we homeschool. |