Mama Moments: That Hurt Mama More

When I decided to become a parent, nothing could have prepared me for just about everything that has to do with being a parent. If you think it stops at simply raising a child to be the best that they can be -- you're wrong! And what's more is that you'll never understand until you bring a tiny little life into the world.

Today it struck me a little hard that now, for the rest of my life, I will not just be worried about the potential harm coming my way, to my mind or to my body. I have two daughters to think about now, too. Every little bit of pain they feel, I feel too. It's almost overwhelming to even think about pain they have experienced or that they will experience in the future.

I accidentally clipped not one but two of Squishie's fingers this morning while I was trying to trim her nails. I have done this to Tiny before but even though it made her bleed a little she didn't mind at all. However this morning Squishie did cry out and had a few tears. It was unbearable to me! And then -- I accidentally did it AGAIN! After that I quit. I can't help but feel so guilty. Of course she only cried for a few seconds before reaching for a toy and forgetting it completely. But the sadness has stuck with me. I don't want my baby to hurt, ever. There is so much truth to the often-said phrase, "That hurt mama more than it hurt baby!"

We will never be able to protect our children from everything. It can be so easy to live in fear of the things that will hurt them far more than nail clippers. Even when I look back to my dating days, it enrages me to think that some day my daughters' hearts will be broken by boys! But such is life. I just need to make sure they know I will be there for them always.

Growing Green: SodaStream

I got this for Christmas... A SodaStream!



Now I can make all my own soda. As a soda addict I am enthusiastic about this because it's much better than store-bought soda for a couple of reasons:

It's green.
Reusable bottles and no electricity required. This means significantly less waste and I don't have another appliance that needs to be plugged in to operate.

It's healthier.
I can still get my fizzy fix without high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or aspartame. Many drinks on the shelves these days use HFCS as the sweetening agent. It's very damaging to tooth enamel and has been linked to various health issues. Granted, too much sugar period isn't a good thing, but you want to especially avoid HFCS and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame (found in "diet" or "low/zero calorie" variations). SodaStream mixes do not contain either of these.

It's less expensive.
After the initial investment the only costs you'll have are soda syrup and carbonating cartriges. Based on how much we spend monthly on beverages, it won't take long before we start seeing a huge savings. Plus I'm already ahead since I received my SodaStream for Christmas and didn't have to buy it or a starter kit :)

It's fun and tastes great.
I love injecting bubbles into my drinks haha! All the flavors I've tried so far are very close to the taste of leading beverage brands. I'm rather excited about the "ENERGY" flavor - which is very comparible to Red Bull.

Read more about the SodaStream by visiting their website.

Growing Green: Switching to Eco-friendly Household Products

I have decided that I'm going to slowly transition as many items in the house as possible to healthier, eco-friendly and/or biodegradable products. These types of products are becoming much more readily available and at very decent prices too. Wal-Mart and Target carry plenty of eco-friendly products at reasonable prices.

First I must issue a fair warning. No matter what the big print says - "Organic", "Eco-friendly", "Natural", what have you - READ YOUR LABELS! I have a couple rules of thumb... first of all, I look for limited ingredient products. Simple and safe. Second, I review each ingredient thoroughly and try my hardest to steer clear of anything I can't pronouce. Avoid parabens, sulfates, additives, and preservatives.

If you are more concerned with environmental impact, obviously just stick to things made from recycled materials and/or can be recycled, and look for biodegradable products. Do your research on certain products or ingredients you may want to avoid. One ingredient I try my hardest to avoid is PALM OIL. They destroy rainforests to grow palm trees because there is a huge demand for palm oil. It is found in a lot of cosmetics and some food items such as pudding snacks. It's just an example of something I know has a negative impact on the world so I try not to support it by purchasing products that use it.

Here is an article regarding food additives and dyes that should probably be avoided: Which Food Additives Make Children Behave Badly.

That's helpful as far as food goes but I'm looking at the big picture too, to reduce our carbon footprint. Here are the items I've switched over to in recent weeks, as my supply of the previous products has run out:

1) Carefresh Healthy Pet Cracked Pine Litter
This kitty litter clumps and is flushable and biodegradable. At $12.99 for 15lb, it's not that much more expensive than the clumping clay litter I usually buy. It's also dust free and will be softer and healthier for my cat.

2) Earth Friendly Products Dishmate (Grapefruit)
Earth Friendly is quickly becoming my favorite line of affordable biodegradable products. A 2-pack of these is $7.40 and it is readily available in many grocery stores. They are limited ingredient too - Water, Coconut oil surfactants, and Grapefruit oil (for scent in this case). Can't get any better than that!

3) Earth Friendly Products Ecos Liquid Laundry Detergent
Another resonably priced biodegradable product by Earth Friendly. I use the free-and-clear version. To save even more, I have adopted the method of using about 1/3 the amount of soap that the manufacturers usually suggest. My laundry is still as fresh and clean as it ever was.

4) Full Circle Be Good Dish Brush
Made from bamboo and recycled plastic, I bought this brush for $4 to replace my dish brush that was getting old and dingy anyhow. Full Circle products are very reasonably priced and I will be looking into them from now on when I need a new cleaning tool.

5) Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap
These castile soap products have been a favorite of mine for a while now. I use them everywhere. I have Peppermint, Orange, and Lavender. Most recently I have discovered that 1 part castile soap and 3 parts water make a great refill for my foaming soap dispensers. The lavender will also make a great baby wash once I finish my California Baby. The best thing about Dr. Bronner's is it's cheap! A large bottle of the ultra-concentrated soap will last me months. If you have a cleaning need, whether it's face wash or scrubbing pots and pans or laundry... it's likely castile soap will be of use to you. You can google huge lists of ideas on how to use it.

6) Florida Crystals Organic Cane Sugar
I switched to organic natural cane sugar for about a buck more than I'd pay for regular sugar.

Basically, if I need to restock or replace something at home, I now always explore my eco-friendly options before automatically just grabbing what I used to use. It isn't always cost effective so I can't switch everything, but I'm doing my best with what I can. I have found that it's a lot easier to replace everything slowly as my old products run out. This way I'm not being unnecessarily wasteful and I can spread the (minor) extra cost out.

STTN Again

The babies (or Squishie, in particular) have been STTN (sleeping through the night) again. I think they went through a 4-month "phase" and a change in sleeping patterns caused them to rouse more often in the night.

Needless to say I'm very happy that one of them isn't waking up every 1.5 hours now!

A mama I respect and admire told me that she believes STTN has to do with good sleeping habits and not so much the fact that they're "ready" for solids. I got so desperate I began trying everything! I have been resorting to crying-it-out but I'll admit, I'm uncomfortable with that and I feel like a very un-nuturing mother when I let them cry. I'm not saying that parents who choose this method are not nuturing. I'm just admitting how it made me feel. I don't think it's going to work for me much longer, and I'll only use it when I absolutely need a break.

I've decided to take a more aggressive role in soothing them to sleep for naptime and at bedtime. So far all I can think to do (and the only thing that works) is nursing them until they're sleepy enough to go down.

The "Santa Issue"

It's so exciting to get in the spirit of the holiday season this year. Since it is the first for the twins, I feel like there's some kind of new magic in the air. Everything is a little more happy.

Papa and I were pondering last night about how we would handle the "Santa issue". We were both raised believing that Santa brought gifts to us if we behaved. When we were old enough to realize that Santa wasn't real, it wasn't traumatic at all. For me it was more like an "Oh. That makes sense" moment.

We talked and decided we'd still like the magic of Santa along with the Christmas season, but will put a little more emphasis on the Christian aspect of the holiday so that our girls understand that it is more than a day that you receive gifts. We also feel it is very important that they understand that the gifts they receive come not from someone imaginary, but from friends and family who love them, and who work hard to put those presents under the tree for them.

To us, Christmas isn't about being good so that you don't end up on Santa's naughty list. It's about time with family, being thankful for what we have, and enjoying Christmas spirit. There isn't anything like a snowy Christmas day, hot chocolate, apple cider, and peppermint mochas. Like sitting by the fireplace and Christmas tree just enjoying each other's company while listening to holiday music. I want my daughters to savor those moments like we do, and understand how blessed we are.

Blog Design: Thank you, Wintersmith Creative

So I have consulted the designers of Wintersmith Creative to help me out with a blog banner and logo. Depending on the traffic I receive over the next few months, I may just have them dazzle up the entire page.

Feel free to visit them:



They would be happy to assist you with your graphic design needs.