Phthalate free home made lotion

In light of all the recent updated studies on phthalates in, oh EVERYTHING here is a homemade recipe for skin lotion that is very cheap and easy to whip up.

To begin, for a lotion base all you need is water, oil and an emulsifier. An emulsifier is simply an ingredient that blends the water and oil together. Here is the base that I begin with to make my lotion:
* ½ cup distilled water* ½ cup oil (I usually use olive, almond, macadamia nut, or grape seed)* 1 TBS liquid lecithin
You can experiment from here by adding essential oils, combining other oils; you can steep beneficial herbs into your water before you add your oil, etc. . .

For more visit here.

You want me to what?

The last few days Dom has been talking to me about going back to work...ARE YOU CRAZY, I ask.
I don't want to leave our kids with strangers that could never appreciate them like I do, let alone love them.
Secondly, doesn't he remember I was only working to pay for day care for 4 kids and fuel?
Is school really where the 2 eldest children need to be learning? I don't like what they are teaching in those buildings.
Dom is also talking about going on another deployment. Which, once again, apparently I have no say in.
It is hard enough on everyone with him being gone let alone for me to have to go back to work.
When he was on the last deployment and the twins were born, I was a wreck. I was screaming @ the kids, never sleeping, and I gained 25 lbs after I had lost all the baby weight! My family helped when they could, but come on, people have a life. Mady had 2 hours of school work after being @ school for 7 hours plus after school activities and I was breastfeeding. Niki is almost school age and I cannot imagine having to sit down and force her to learn to read plus help Mady with homework and take care of the house, bills, yard, an outside career and the kids! While I am telling Dom all this, as if I need to justify not having a "paying job," he sits on the sofa shaking his head.

It all began, I think, when he visited a friend he rarely talks with these days. The "friend" in question had just purchased a new street bike. First of all, how old are you? Secondly, this friend has no children and a girlfriend that makes an average salary contributing to bills as well. Dom's friend also owns a new home and a few vehicles. They are in debt up to their...well frankly over their heads. If someone doesn't get paid something will be repoed soon.

Dom mentioned that it would be nice to have extra money. For me it would only be nice to have extra money if I can come by it without having to leave the kids. I do not believe there is anything the kids can learn @ school that they cannot learn from living day to day life. Then Dom says, "What if you screw them up more by keeping them home?"
I have confidence the kids will grow to be well adjusted contributing members of society...and if they don't, I will love them anyway. I am their mom. My head is spinning just trying to think of some way to earn a little money from home to offset some bills so we can have some "extra" money.

When it comes right down to it though, will that really make us happy? I don't think so. I am so incredibly tired of outside sources defining how my family think and behave. I feel I have very little influence on Dom. I read constantly and when I mention something I am concerned about he seems uninterested and can only regurgitate things he has been told (military) or heard on the news (censored.) I suppose the only answer is to look for a part time job on the weekends.

I have a picture in my mind's eye of how things will be around here...but I suppose we all have to compromise sometimes.

How do you tell your children...

you, as a parent believe that "BIG BROTHER" tries to control the masses by manipulating our unconscious desires? How do you communicate to your 4 year old that the reason her favorite cartoon character is plastered all over any unhealthy food and plastic toy on every isle of the local Wal-Mart is to have her want to purchase it? Well, don't ask me, I haven't been able to help her to understand it yet!

More and more lately all I have been feeling is how I hope my kids will do a better job than me @ taking care of Mother Earth. I hope I can help them learn to take less and give more. Maybe I am rambling. I have been slowly moving toward a more natural lifestyle for sometime. Once in awhile on our journey, something will spur me along, an article, an ad or commercial or billboard. Today one of my relatives made a comment that Christmas was all about spoiling the kids. I highly disagree with that. I love the relative very much and made no argument with the comment. It did start me thinking that I certainly hope our children do not think Christmas is about being spoiled and recieving all their hearts tangible desires. How to know? Ask.

I did ask Niki what words she thought described Christmas for her. Here they are in the order they were given:
FUN
JOY
GREATNESS

What is your favorite part about Christmas?
The whole part! I like to play with all the presents too!

So, I think she sees some of what I see @ Christmas time...or she has already heard too many Christmas songs this season!

Here is a link to more about control over the masses from the Information Liberation site.

Controlling the Masses

A Sabbatical

What is a sabbatical? A year of rest.

My mom and I were speaking about what I am actually doing with the kids...as far as school is concerned. I was trying to convey to her I believe once you take a person (a child for instance) from a familiar environment (school for example), they need time to adjust, time to remember who they are, time to enjoy participating in activities instead of just rushing to and from activities because that is what you are "suppose" to do. I have been home for about a year now. I feel I am only beginning to feel like myself. There are many things I want to do, I just don't have the time! I am not certain how long it will take Mady to feel like she doesn't want to go back to the daily sit @ your desk and do busy work schedule. I am trying to have her involved with as many children her age or close to her age as possible. She thrives on being sociable. She feels like she doesn't have any friends. I don't see how, she is constantly on the go. I think she is somehow feeling pressure from my parents. My mom is forever asking her what she is learning. I believe children are naturally curious. I also believe public schools stifle curiosity. Some people that have not researched the public school system may believe me to sound like a loon or someone with a conspiracy theory for everything. While it is true, I despise the mainstream, I do not despise it because it is mainstream. I despise it for the kind of people we have allowed it to turn us into. No matter how much I talk with my family about how Wal Mart has run all the caring Mom & Pop shops out of business and how all they care about is the bottom line, all my family can see is Wal Mart has the cheapest prices. I say, @ what cost? Does anyone read labels? Maybe purchasing from the local Farmers Market costs a few cents more, but @ least one can speak with the farmers right there and find out what is on the veg one is purchasing. One also knows that since it is a local Farm Market, the veg is local and it didn't travel across the world and use who knows how much fuel and then pass through who knows how many hands or what kind of poison or disease it is riddled with. When you purchase something locally you become familiar with the farmers and if you do have a problem @ least one may go back to the source for help and answers.

My dad may not agree with everything I say about the public school system or Wal Mart but he agrees with me about moving out to no-whereville and growing or raising and hunting food yourself. This would eliminate reliance on the national corpocracy.

What does all this have to do with a sabbatical you ask? These are only a few things I have read about in my year of personal study. I am on the verge of discovering a career that will allow me to maintain the home life we are growing to love as well as earn some money to help support our beautiful family.

One year can change a person. I wonder where I will be in ONE more year?

A little on child development

"Observe your grandson's spontaneous play. This will give you the best clues to the developmental tasks that are important for him to learn next. Children tend to be most excited about skills they are on the brink of mastering. If you try to engage him in an activity that is beneath his developmental level, he will quickly get bored. If you try to interest him in something that he is not yet ready for, he will become upset. (Note: babies don't tend to cry when they fail, but rather when the activity isn't at the right developmental level). Our task is to find that zone of moderate challenge -- where learning is fun. Provide situations where he can teach himself through playful exploration. Forced teaching hinders development. These principles apply equally to "gifted," "average," and "special-needs" children."

Entire Article by Dr. Greene

Dr Greene

On his quest to educate and inspire parents about their children, Dr. Alan Greene has become one of the world's most trusted and beloved pediatricians. His acclaimed book, From First Kicks to First Steps (McGraw-Hill, 2004), is an inspiring resource for parents around the world. It's no wonder that Intel named him the Children's Health Hero of the Internet. A practicing pediatrician and father of four, Dr. Greene has devoted himself to freely giving real answers to parents' real questions -- from questions about those all too common childhood conditions to those that address the most rare childhood illnesses. His answers combine cutting edge science, practical wisdom, warm empathy, and a deep respect for parents, children, and the environment. He is also an electrifying public speaker, and has become a go-to expert in children's health. He has personally touched many during his talks in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Dr. Greene is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of California at San Francisco. Upon completion of his pediatric residency program at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Northern California he served as Chief Resident. He entered primary care pediatrics in January 1993. In 1995, he launched DrGreene.com, cited by the AMA as the first physician Web site on the Internet. His award-winning site receives over 50 million hits a month from parents, concerned family members, students, and healthcare professionals. In addition to being the founder of DrGreene.com, he is the Chief Medical Officer of A.D.A.M., a leading publisher of interactive health information. He also teaches medical students and pediatric residents at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and is an Attending Physician at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. He is the President of Hi-Ethics (Health Internet Ethics) and helped URAC develop its standards for eHealth accreditation. He serves on the board of directors of The Organic Center.
Dr. Greene is the Pediatric Expert for Yahoo!, Rob Reiner’s ParentsAction.org, and NPR’s The People’s Pharmacy. He is the author of From First Kicks to First Steps (McGraw-Hill, 2004), The Parent's Complete Guide to Ear Infections (People's Medical Society, 1997), and a co-author of The A.D.A.M. Illustrated Family Health Guide (A.D.A.M., Inc., 2004). He is the medical expert for three additional books, The Parent's Soup A-to-Z Guide to Your New Baby, (Contemporary Books, 1998) The Parent's Soup A-to-Z Guide to Your Toddler, (Contemporary Books, 1999), The Mother of All Baby Books, (Hungry Minds, Inc., 2002).
Dr. Greene is a frequent keynote speaker at important events such as the first Green Power Baby Shower, held in Hollywood, the first European Internet health conference, held in Maastricht, and the first International eHealth Association Conference, held in Jeddah. Dr. Greene also appears frequently on TV, radio, websites, and in newspapers and magazines around the world, including such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Parenting, Parent, Child, Baby Talk, Working Mother, Better Home's & Gardens, and Reader's Digest.
Dr. Greene was named a "Community Hero" for his heroism during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and selected to carry the Olympic Torch in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Torch Relay.
He loves to think about challenging ideas, he collects encyclopedias, and he wears green socks.