"Working" at home...

So I've decided to make teething necklaces, but not the typical amber teething necklaces you see online. The one I made for Natalie has worked so much better than the amber one I have. At least in my experience it has. I made sure by doing my own experiment using one for a few weeks then the other, and what do you know? Mine works better. I made it with magnets and tigers eye.

I always heard that magnets were good for arthritis, which is inflammation of the joints. A joint is where bone meets bone and held together by ligaments. So, I took this knowledge and applied it to teeth! It's bone too, right? Well, yeah! And as it turns out, it works! She had no signs of teething when wearing my necklace. This thrilled me. I was beginning to think I was on to something.

I offered to make one for my husbands friend who had a new baby. He said his baby was having a rough time cutting her teeth and causing a serious fuss. No one in the house was sleeping. I made the necklace and brought it to him. When my husband spoke to him again, he said the necklace seemed to work IMMEDIATELY! As soon as he put it on her she was happy. No more crying, no more pulling at her ears, no more sleepless nights. He didn't even notice she cut more teeth as time went by, until they saw them already poking thru her gums. This made me very proud to have helped not only a friend, but a sweet baby in pain, too.

So, to keep that warm fuzzy feeling going, I'm making some and hoping they sell at the local cloth diaper store. My only setback is what to charge. I spent $50 buying the materials I needed to make them and I didn't get far. So I don't know how to go about picking a price for my necklaces. I know the stones I use have healthful benefits and some are much more expensive than others. So how do I go about deciding a price? Any suggestions would be very helpful! And I need a name for my "small business."

Thanks for reading! I hope to be back soon, but not because I have nothing to do. Hopefully I'll be swamped with orders! Wish me luck!

Is it the best? I hope to find out!

Ever since I saw the infomercial for the shark steam mop, I've wanted one! I've never been satisfied with the cleanliness of my floors unless I'm down on my knees, constantly retrieving fresh water and scrubbing the floor by hand. And the carpet? I will never be satisfied that my carpet is clean enough for the hands, knees and feet of my baby. I HATE it when my 9 yr old gets on the carpet. I have her use a blanket to lay on if she MUST be on the floor. I think all carpet is just plain nasty. All that dust and bugs you can't see....eww. One day I plan to make my home carpet free!

So I'm making it a personal goal of mine to get one and let you know how it is. When will that be? Not anytime soon, unless we get some serious windfall of money out of nowhere. But I can see the benefits of it already. No more buying floor cleaner, mops, rags or swiffers! Just me, water and the shark! Ahh how nice it will be to see my baby on the floor without worrying of what nastiness may come into contact with her precious sensitive skin.

The Big Money Saver

Ok, so this is it! This is what saves me the most money out of all my greenness. You ready for it? You sure? Ok...it's... CLOTH DIAPERS! Yeah, that's right. Those expensive little butt covers that get pooped on and peed on all day, everyday. You may have to wash them, treat them, strip them, etc. But they save so much money! If it weren't for cloth diapers, I'd have nothing to cover my childs bum right now! So thanks mom! The math for how much money you save by cloth diapering is astronomical! It's unreal y'all! Once you start, you're hooked. You look for other, more natural ways to pamper your precious little one, and ENJOY IT! Seeing the difference in diaper rash instances alone makes it worth the initial drop of cash. There a few tricks to it though. For instance, you can't use diaper cream if your baby does happen to get diaper rash. You'll have to use a medicated powder. You cant bleach them, but you can bleach the inserts. If you get stains on your covers then you can sun bleach them. There's so many benefits from cloth diapering, not to mention the super cute colors and designs! There's even patterns to make your own online! I would so try that, but I'm just not that crafty anymore. So since I started cloth diapering, I've found other ways to be green. I've made some baby washcloths into cloth wipes, made my own wipe solution, and baby oil. I've found uses for things in an unconventional way. Like A&D, for baby acne, for example. If you look around and see all the things you throw away that can be made by you and reused, Youll see the money you're throwing away too. Take my advice, reduce, reuse, and recycle!

The Olive Oil Experiment

So I've noticed some patches of dry skin on Natalie's scalp and I guess it's due to the cold weather. So I read online that I could use some olive oil on her scalp to help. So last night before her bath, I covered her head with olive oil. I let it soak for about 10 minutes then washed it out. Although it worked a little bit, I did notice a huge difference in her hair! It's super soft and actually manageable now! No more fly-aways! It may be because I didn't get it all out, but hey, it's olive oil, it won't hurt her. So since it's natural and has a pretty nice smell, I thought I'd add it to my wipe solution instead of using baby oil. So far so good. It's a nice natural addition to it. What's the next step? Well, Natalie has some sort of rash that the nurse at her pediatricians office said was eczema, after I described what it looks like to her over the phone. The lotion she recommended isn't helping, so it's either not eczema, or I have to try something else. I'll try olive oil! Tonight after her bath, I'm massaging her with that instead. We'll see how it goes. I'll be sure to update on her progress.

A&D Ointment? Really?

I never knew A&D Ointment would work for baby acne! I've always used it for my tattoos but never dreamed it would work for baby acne. Although it doesn't do much for diaper rash, it works wonders for the face!

So when my daughter was a few weeks old I noticed some little pimple looking blemishes on her face. I knew they would go away on their own but i just couldn't stand the sight of them. I tried washing her face every few hours, but that seemed to dry her face out and make it worse. I tried putting breast milk on it and that helped but not fast enough. I wanted something that would moisturize her face, not dry it out. So I grabbed my trusty A&D ointment and dabbed it on her precious cheeks. I made sure I kept her face looking a little glossy, applying it every hour or so.

The next morning they were so improved that I really had to search to see any sign of them. So I continued my applications. By the next day, they were gone! Out of sight! I was so relieved! After that, I just applied it a few times a day to keep her skin moisturized.

She doesn't get baby acne anymore, but every now and then she looks like her cheeks are chapped so out the A&D ointment comes and her cheeks get glazed. And by the end of the day her skin looks rejuvenated.

I got this tube of ointment at her baby shower, and it was a large tube. Since I use it so sparingly, I still have it. Natalie is almost 7 months old now and the tube looks unused. A&D ointment is not expensive and a little bit goes a long way!

If you're having issues with baby acne, dry skin, even for yourself, give this stuff a try. It doesn't smell the greatest, but who cares?! It works!