Vaccine for the Chicken Pox?!

So as my kids are getting older I'm noticing all the new vaccines kids have to get. Is it just me that finds this crazy?! I mean I didn't have that many vaccines and I'm fine. Take the chicken pox vaccine for example. When I was younger this was just a normal thing that everyone went through. You had the chicken pox and got out of school for a week. Now people look at it as a deadly disease compared with polio and measles.
I know there are people who can become very ill if they get the chicken pox but it was few and far between. With the vaccine now being mandatory for pretty much everyone in every state it seems to me that this could become like the measles where kids are getting vaccines which will protect them for a couple years but then college aged kids were getting measles years later and having re-immunizations for colleged aged people was required.
My other concern with this vaccine is that it is a live virus vaccine. So, your putting this live virus straight into your blood stream when if you were to just get the chicken pox your body has ways to defend itself against the virus before it gets to your blood stream. You would obviously get the virus still but to me thats just the natural course something like this should take.
What are the long term side effects this will bring to an individual and to the rest of the population? Is this going to become mandatory for everyone? I still have so many questions and I'm not finding the answers yet.

Cloth Diapers Part 2

So everyday I think I learn more and more about cloth diapers and everything that makes it easier. If this your first time using cloth diapers don't expect to know everything from the beginning you have to find what works for you and your baby.
I have found a website that has helped me so much! http://www.diaperjunction.com/ has helped me tremendously! And I would definitely tell anyone using cloth to check out their selections especially the hemp liners that make it possible to go all night in a diaper! They also have swim diapers which I just recently purchased that are absolutely adorable and you won't be spending all the money on disposable swim diapers. The flushable liners help with keeping the diapers clean and also not throwing the mess in the trash keeps it out of the landfills.
Seriously, anything you could want for cloth diapers can be found here if you are wanting to purchase. However, some items are able to be made by hand if you would rather go that way. Just having the options there make it easier! They even have more than just diapers such as breastfeeding, baby carriers, items for mom, wipes, wetbags and many more.
Have fun learning!

Baby Food

As you all know I am all about saving money and doing what is healthiest for my family. Well, as we are getting to new stages with our little one I now get to explore a little bit more in my money saving tactics.

We started baby food! Of course I have decided to make it all myself which really isn't complicated at all! You simply puree the fruit or veggies in a blender and store for either the day or for the next week depending on how much you want to make at once.

Fresh of course is always best. With vegetables you will just need to cook them and remember steaming them will keep more of the nutrients. Also, you will want to keep the water you cooked/steamed the vegetables in to help thin out the veggies (except for those high nitrate veggies such as carrots). Place the veggies in the blender and add the water until it is to a good consistency for your child. The fruits usually have enought natural juice to make it easy for your baby to eat.

To store you can pour the food into ice cube trays then covering it with foil and placing in the freezer. With that process you are able to take out and thaw only what you need. I have been using those small rubbermaid containers that are so small you really don't know what they are suppose to be used for. Well apparently I figured out what they are to be used for because these are perfect for if you are on the go.

We had baby food given to use which we will still use so that I can reuse the containers to store new food. We were also given a lot of baby cereal but it is also possible to make this yourself too! Maybe next time around I'll try it out!

Paper or Plastic?

So, we all get this question everytime we go grocery shopping, paper or plastic? Which is best for the environment? This is actually a trick question. Plastic can kill wildlife from it blowing around and animals eating or suffocating on the bag. Paper uses more energy to make. They both take about the same amount of time to break down in a landfill. Both can be recycled but it takes more energy to recycle plastic than paper. We use 12 million barrels of oil to make plastic bags in one year but we use 14 million trees for paper bags.

Now that you know a few facts its really up to you on how you want to impact the environment. The best option is obviously reusable bags and you can watch for sales on these and the price keeps going down. Also, some stores give you a discount or money for bringing back the plastic bags from their store.

What to do when you have those random plastic bags that end up at your house? Reuse if at all possible! I use them for trash can liners and always keep an extra in the diaper bag in case the wet bag gets full from the cloth diapers.

Organic Grocery List

While trying to stay healthy and away from pesticides many people are going organic. The prices however are sometimes stopping many other people! How can you decide what is worth the money and what you can go without? I have talked about the dirty dozen before but you should also keep in mind the clean fifteen. Write them down on a note card and keep it with you when you do your grocery shopping to keep your family healthy but still following your budget!

Dirty Dozen (keep in mind that they do update this list every year so it can be different then what you have seen before)

1. celery
2. peaches
3. strawberries
4. apples
5. blueberries
6. nectarines
7. bell peppers
8. spinich
9. kale
10. cherries
11. potatoes
12. grapes

Clean Fifteen

1. onion
2. avocado
3. sweet corn
4. pineapple
5. mango
6. asparagus
7. sweet peas
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon
13. broccoli
14. tomato
15. sweet potato

Tidbits

So I know I have been completely off of my usual schedule since the move but I have just been amazed at how much more there is in a larger city and how many more opportunities there are to save on your environmental impact and money.
I'm really excited to check out the many farmers markets in the city. Maybe not all of them but atleast two or three! Which is a great way to give back into your local economy. Along with the many road races that I plan on running. Again, maybe not all of them but atleast a couple to help out local charities and businesses. It gets me motivated to run with a deadline and the fact that I don't want to look horribly out of shape in front of people!
The recycling is everywhere! I was so excited to see how easy it is to recycle! They have drop offs all over the place. Did you know that recycling one pop can, can then provide enough electricity to power a television for three hours!? That just made me want to recycle even more!
I have also been making our place a little greener making sure we unplug as much as possible and even spending a little extra on powerstrips to put in certain areas like the t.v. to save on that electricity. TV's and anything else that use a remote are actually on standby and not turned off so its slowly using energy that doesnt need to be use by turning these off it save you some green! On average these appliances use up 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually which is enough to power a house for two months!
Just a few tidbits to chew on! New posts of crafts, food, and vitamins to come!

How To Save Money During a Move

We recently moved and while in the time leading up to the move began to realize how pricey it can be to relocate. You have so many things that just add up plus bills at both places and things don't get back to normal for a couple months. This is from my experience on how you can save some green in a major relocation.

First of all, your going to have to pack up all your things and this is also where you start realizing you have added alot more stuff to your collection of things. Don't throw these things out! We are in a recession and there are still plenty of people out of jobs. Donate your items that you don't need anymore to Goodwill or any kind of charity. This helps you get rid of things, someone now has that one item they haven't had the money to buy, and also helps you on your taxes for the following year (keep the receipt!).

Your going to need boxes to put the things that you can't part with in. Don't go out and buy new boxes when your going to just turn around and recycle them when you move. There are plenty of grocery stores or restaurants that you can ask if you can reuse the boxes that items are shipped to them in. This saves you money and them time from breaking down boxes.

Next is the vehicle that your going to move all those boxes in. Most of the major moving truck companies can get really pricey. You might want to look into small local companies that rent out trailers. I know this really isn't reasonable for all people but if it is it can save you $600 or more. Rent a truck from a local company and then rent a truck or borrow a truck from a friend. We were even so lucky to have a couple friends able to drive out and drive the truck and trailer back. That was just gas money and trailer rental for us.

The small things add up too! So remember to keep your overnight bag with you and pack a cooler for your meals in the travel. Just buying water or coffee can be $3-$5 in one stop. The biggest time and money saver is to plan ahead! Also, sell what items you can before you move to save on the amound that you are moving plus some extra money is always good. You can always replace items later on. Happy moving!!

Rheumatoid Arthritis Cures

Rheumatoid arthritis can be very painful for those that suffer from this autoimmune disease. This disease causes chronic inflammation in joints. No one knows the exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis.

There are many different ways to try to ease the pain. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties. You can take Ginger in capsule form, tea, or fresh. Even a dish prepared with ginger would give you a reasonable dosage. Garlic and Ginko Biloba helps with circulation which will help bring oxygen to the affected area.

The one that is definitely worth looking into is Nettle Tea which has been used for hundreds of years. This is one amazing plant and deserves its own blog which will come. It is painful to the touch due to the hairs on the stinging nettle plant but it is known to decrease the original pain. It is believed to reduce levels of inflammatory chemicals in the body. You can find nettles in a tea, extract, cream, tincture, and dried leaves.

Most people take painkillers like Tylenol, aspirin, NSAIDS, or ibuprofen which can cause ulcers and kidney damage. These painkillers tend to destroy cartilage and prevents new cartilage. The natural substance glucosamine sometimes combined with chondroitin is known to be the most potent or the miracle drug. Glucosamine is made by cartilage cells in the body which is also necessary to rebuild cartilage. It has been used to treat arthritis in racehorses and many other animals and has also been used in Spain and Italy for treating osteoarthritis since the early 80's. You can follow the recommended doses on the label or if you want more exact for your weight check out a book by Jason Theodosakis, M.D. , called The Arthritis Cure.

Thai massage is another thing to look into. This was developed by Buddhist monks in Thailand as a healing modality. This uses stretching and pressure along the body's energy lines to relieve muscle and joint tension. Thai massage is compared to yoga without any effort since the therapist will use their body to contort yours into different positions. Its purpose is to heal a person physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Baby Time

I have taken a little break due to our new addition finally making her appearance and the holidays right after. But since baby has arrived I can now test out all these ideas I have been throwing out at you.

I am really enjoying the amount of money we have saved using the cloth diapers! Even though some people gave us disposable diapers we haven't used them. I'll probably use them for someone else, for their baby shower. The diaper pail and liner that we have been using is awesome! It's waterproof and the lid to the pail keeps the smell in. The washing of the diapers hasn't really been that difficult either. I have just been putting them on the rinse cycle twice, wash regular, then on the final rinse cycle put in a cup of vinegar to take away the smell. Also, I found out that if your baby starts to get a diaper rash you can boil clean diapers to get the detergent out that is causing the rash.

Thankfully we just bought used clothing off of www.craigslist.com and received some outfits as gifts because she was a big baby and didn't fit into newborn clothing anyways. I'll continue to buy used since babies just grow so fast and will be saving her sisters clothes for her.

Now, I'm just waiting to recover completely to get to my detox program and exercising to get the little weight that's left off. You always learn with your first child so I have made huge changes this time around. I will keep you updated to what you can do to help yourself save money even if it is your first child, or your trying to live healthier, or you just need some advice to make it through a tough economy.

Wet Bags

Since I have made the decision to go with cloth diapering and save tons of money I figured I might as well save on all of the other products that I will need for cloth diapers. This includes wet bags. I just got a new sewing machine (early Christmas in our house) and was very eager to try anything out so besides my nursing pads this was to be another one of my projects.

I wanted one to have in the diaper bag for on the go and of course one to go into a trash pail for easy moving to the wash. For those of you that don't know what it is, it holds your cloth diapers from the time you change diapers to the time you do your washing of the diapers. However, these bags are even useful to those that don't want to use cloth diapers. They have a waterproof liner and can be used for wet clothes from accidents or going to the beach.

I used PUL fabric which is waterproof and really isn't the easiest to find. I had to go to a local fabric store instead of Walmart which was a little more costly. I also picked out cute fabric that was cheap for the outside to make it look better since the PUL selection at the fabric store was just white. You can close the bag many different ways like zipper or drawstring. I chose drawstring as I haven't done much with zippers. I looked at many different websites for patterns and kind of just came up with my own style. However, one of my favorite sites now is www.make-baby-stuff.com which was very helpful in making my to go bag. I just finished it today and still need to do my one for at home but I just had to share since I'm extremely excited about it! I think I'm even going to make one for a friend who is expecting in a couple months.

Just updated the pictures to show my at home bag which was a little bit more difficult but its all done now and ready for baby.