A perfect gift.

Well, I am finally making a little time to blog! We have had a crazy past couple weeks, and it's about to get even more crazy! Eric starts teaching again on Monday- incidentally, the same day that my baby girl turns 4 YEARS OLD.

4 YEARS OLD. I can't believe it. It seems like not that long ago, I was changing her tiny diapers. Singing songs about her piggies. Nursing her to sleep. Playing peek-a-boo with her. So how in the world could she possibly be turning 4??!!!

She is my heart, beating outside my body. I love her with all my heart, from the DEPTHS of my heart. I cannot believe how big she is getting. She loves to help with Trevor, especially when she senses that I'm getting stressed out. She knows JUST the right time to come over to me, wrap her arms around me, and say, "Mommy, I love you SO much. Can I snuggle with you?" Her little heart is as pure as gold and her personality is sweet as honey. She has her moments, but really- God has blessed me with the most precious, tender-hearted little girl. Such a perfect gift from Him. I know I am not worthy of this amazing gift.  I pray that He would give me the strength to be a better mother to her. A better example of a God-fearing woman to her. A better example of a Godly wife. I have a long way to go. A LONG way. But I know God will be faithful to complete the work He has started in me! My daughter deserves the very best mom in me. Lord, please help me to be Your very best! I am nothing without You!

I also have some exciting news! I am now a Nutritional Consultant and Independent Distributor for Nature's Sunshine Products! Nature's Sunshine makes the VERY best in vitamins, supplements, and other health related items. I LOVE the company so far and the products are amazing. Kassidy loves her Sunshine Heroes multivitamin/whole food complex! And I love it too, because on the days I'm not able to get broccoli, asparagus, spinach, pomegranate, tomato, and MORE in her diet, the supplement's got me covered! 

Here's a link to my personal website. Check it out sometime! I'd love to answer any questions or point you in the right direction for supplements for your family! :) Health is a blessing!

Here's my Nature's Sunshine website!!

This Is Me. This is where I am in life right now.

Out in right field. On a remote island with a few other people.  Off the deep end. And I am perfectly happy to be here.

I have come to the realization that my way of thinking or my way of doing things offends people. I'm not really sure why, but it seems to be true. I guess it's to be expected. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

The choices I make for me and my family are just that-- they are for me and my family. I never intend to force my beliefs or my way of thinking upon others. And in no way do I consider my choices or my way of doing things to be superior to anyone else's. We're all different. And I'm more different than most.

I breastfeed my children. I rear-face my children in their carseats until they have exceeded the height and weight limit. My daughter will be 4 in two weeks and she is still rear-facing. I love to wear my baby in a sling. I don't like prescription medication, except as a last resort. I don't like c-sections; I'd rather push my baby out without the help of drugs or anything else. I have decided to stop vaccinating my children indefinitely. I don't like making trips to doctors unless it's absolutely necessary. I'd much rather treat an illness at home with vitamins, supplements, a good diet, and rest. Better yet, I'd rather just prevent illness as much as possible in the same way.  I prefer that my family does not drink fluoridated water. We don't use fluoridated toothpaste. I like to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Yes, we still eat them. Just not as much as we used to. I like to buy organic whenever possible. I stay away from anything containing high fructose corn syrup. My kids don't drink juice. They drink water. Sugar is not a large part of their diet. In fact, it is a very small part. I use plant-based cleaners, detergents, and soaps. Chemicals are not my friend.

Just to name a few ways that I am different.

It's not convenient. It's not cheap. It's not easy. But in my mind and in my heart, my family is worth the extra effort. Because I have done my homework, spending hours and hours researching the things that I have adopted as a way of life. A year ago, I would have thought I was crazy. CRAZY. But being a mom changes things. Circumstances change things. And because of that, this is who I am. I will tell you all about the circumstances that changed the way we live in the next post.

This is who I am. I am unconventional. I am striving to be the best mom and wife that I can be. And I make no apologies for the way I think or what I believe. I do however apologize if I have ever come across to any of you in a hurtful way. Please know from the bottom of my heart that I respect each and every one of my friends. I respect who you are, what you do, how you live. The choices you make are your choices, and although I may disagree, I still respect them. I just ask that you do the same for me. J

More Random Ramblings about Summer, School, and the Dreaded FLU Season

Ok, I'm not going to lie. I'm a little excited that summer is nearing an end, only because that *hopefully* means that the 100+ temps are going to be declining as well. I have lived in Texas my whole life, and I still HATE the extreme heat. I guess I never got used to it... But, I mean, is it even possible to *get used* to highs in the 110s?!

Aside from the heat, though, I am really, REALLY sad that summer is almost over. Since Eric is a school teacher, he is home with us all day, every day during the summer. And I LOVE it. It's Kassidy's favorite time of year too.. the never-ending *keep daddy* days, as she calls them. It's always a sad day (or week) for her whenever Eric does have to go back to work. Trevor has been LOVING his bonding time with daddy too. They have become the best of buds! I love watching my husband be a father. He does it QUITE well. :)

The other reason I'm sad that summer is coming to a close? Because after summer, it's cold and flu season. And I hate germs. Yeah, I'm a germaphobe. Just the thought of Eric going back to school and being around all those sneezing, coughing, sniffly-nosed junior high kids is enough to raise my blood pressure. The first year Eric taught, we were all sick, a lot. Kassidy was around 15-18 mos old, and she had croup at LEAST 3 times, 2 stomach bugs, 3 ear infections, LOTS of colds/coughs, and the flu. I blame 3 things.
1. Eric bringing everything home, being a first year teacher. Not that it was his fault at all, but it's a pretty widely known fact that first year teachers get sick A LOT. And then it gets better.
2. Kassidy was young, so her immune system wasn't real mature.
3. Vaccines. She was vaccinated on schedule from birth through 18 months. (ugh) I wish I knew then what I know now. But now that I DO know what are in vaccines, what their side effects are, and what they do to the immune system, I can definitely trace back all her long spurts of illnesses to the time frames when she was vaccinated with sometimes up to 5 different things in one visit. Vaccines KILL the natural immune system for up to weeks at a time. Ever noticed how you might get the flu shortly after getting a flu shot? It's not because the flu shot "gave" you the flu. It's because the flu shot totally assaulted your immune system, and then when you did encounter the virus, your body wasn't able to respond the way it normally would. So you get sick. Same thing with kids' vaccines. Except the harm it does to their bodies is 10x worse. Ok, end of soap box.

Anyway, I am happy to say that last school year (2010-2011) Kassidy didn't get sick at all. Neither did my newborn. Eric got the full-on flu, I got a little *low grade fever* with no other symptoms, and the kids stayed completely healthy...even though they were in the same house (and car, and room) as their coughing and sneezing,  feverish daddy. Thank you Lord for natural, strong immune systems!

Vitamin D does a body good. If you are leery of flu shots (which you should be) the best way to prevent the flu in your house is by dosing up on Vitamin D. The RDA for kids right now is 600 IU per day. NOT. NEARLY. ENOUGH. My 3 year old has taken 1800 IU a day for the past 18 months. This past spring I had her Vitamin D blood level tested at our pediatrician's office. It was 59 ng/ml. Most kids in the US have Vitamin D levels between 15 and 30 ng/ml. Did you know that 7 out of 10 children in the United States actually have INSUFFICIENT or DEFICIENT vitamin D levels? So, chances are, unless you supplement your children with MORE than just the 400 to 600 IU in a multivitamin, or your child spends a lot of time exposed in the sun between 11am  and 2pm, your kiddo is low in Vitamin D.

The fix? Not hard! Start by giving your child 1000 IU per every 20 pounds of body weight, per day. It'll take a couple months, but their levels will increase, and they will be much, MUCH healthier. But start supplementing NOW, so that when flu season hits, your child will have optimum levels to keep their immune systems at 110%! Not only is Vitamin D good for flu prevention, it's also great for reducing asthma-related problems, preventing some cancers, preventing heart disease, strengthening bones and teeth, reducing symptoms of rheumatoid diseases, and MUCH more. So you see, we could all use a little more Vitamin D!

That's all for now! :)

Hi, my name is Laura, and I'm a Craigslistaholic. And also a rebel.

I *heart* Craigslist. Anyone else? It's really addicting, too. I'll go for long amounts of time without checking it, and then I get the itch. I'm mostly looking for Little Tikes stuff. Whether I need it or not, if it's a good deal, I have a hard time passing it up. Today, though, I really did have good use for what we bought. I found a Little Tikes Hideaway Art Desk for $20! And I didn't have to drive to Plano or Frisco or Rockwall or Sachse (where it seems the majority of Craigslisters live). It was in Arlington! SCORE!

I'll be starting Kassidy in preschool this fall (we are going to homeschool-HOLLA!) and I needed a place for her to sit and work on her *schoolwork* (which consists of counting, mazes, tracing letters and numbers, etc). Kass and I are both really excited to start this adventure! She loves LOVES her new desk. She really is an artist in the making. She loves to color and draw, and she does so great for an almost-4-year-old (yeah I'm biased but she might just be the next Picaso)!

So purchasing the awesome desk was the fun part of our day! I spent another part of the day fretting about pediatricians. Kassidy will be 4 this month, and Trevor will be 9 months in a few days. He hasn't seen our pediatrician since his 4 month well check (totally skipped over the 6 mo. check) because I'm just dreading the *scene* I'm going to have to make over not getting him vaccinated. Kassidy is due for boosters too (which I'm not going to get her anytime soon) so we are just rebels. Luckily we are rebels WITH a cause. ;) So all that to say, I think I need to find a new one that will be more supportive (or at least less vocal) about us choosing not to vax our kids right now. I'm a RN and used to work for another pediatrician in the same practice, so our pedi does trust my judgment and knows that I research things like CRAZY when it comes to my kids' health. But I just don't want to be *frowned on* every time we see the doctor because I'm not supplementing her income with vaccines doing things the conventional way. I. AM. UNCONVENTIONAL. :)  Didn't used to be, but being a mommy changes you in major ways!

Well, considering I'm about to fall asleep sitting here at the keyboard, I better sign off for the night. My sweet hubby is still up, installing a new garage door opener. I don't envy him. But I sure do LOVE him! 'night y'all!

My Story (and I'm sticking to it!)

I married the most amazing man (Eric) in May of 2006, got pregnant with my first child in December 2006, graduated from nursing school in May of 2007, and welcomed Sassy Kassy into the world in August 2007. What a whirlwind! We took some time to establish our family roots, and after a miscarriage in 2009 (love you, my angel baby!) we were blessed to welcome Mr. T into the world in November of 2010. So there's a quick recap of my little family unit.

Nursing school was one of the worst best things that ever happened to me, and also the source of 95% of my anxiety for a long time. Don't get me wrong- I love helping others and studying medical stuff was really cool...and I am truly grateful for the knowledge and experience I have today, especially as a mommy. BUT. My life as I knew it changed for the better the day my daughter was born and I had an incredibly traumatic, unnecessary cesarean section. Don't get me wrong, it was one of the hardest, scariest things I have ever been through. The anger and bitterness I carried around brought me down the road of depression and there were days that I wanted to set fire to Arlington Memorial Hospital I swore I'd never have another baby. But through that experience, I have learned SO. MUCH. about health. More than I EVER learned in nursing school. And this knowledge I've gained through hours and hours of reading and researching has taken me places I never dreamed I'd go. Like having a VBAC with my second child. Like actually caring about the food that I put in my body and my family's bodies. Like de-brainwashing myself from the years of nursing school and working as a pediatric nurse, and finally realizing that health does NOT come from needles or medications. And there's more. But this post is getting long, and I gotta get dinner on the table. :) So I'm gonna pause here. Don't worry, I'll be back!

Here Goes Nothin'!

Well, here it is. My blog. Although it's rather empty now... I am going to attempt to fill this space up with nonsense ramblings  all kinds of information, anecdotes, funny stories, and everything else that a blog is supposed to be. :) So hop on board this motherhood train and let's enjoy this ride together! Who knows, we might even learn something along the way! :) Be blessed, and stay tuned!