I’m so excited to tell you Suzette’s amazing name and birth story today. She is our precious sixth child, and we are thrilled that she had a safe delivery and is now here with us!
Category Archives: Mommy Stuff
How to Clean Your House With Norwex (non-toxic cleaning)
When it comes to cleaning, I’ve noticed people tend to settle into two different camps. They love it or they hate it. They let it build up until they can’t stand it anymore (or they have guests over), OR they have a militant cleaning schedule and can’t do anything for the day until the cleaning is done. Learning how to clean your house with Norwex products brings a joy and simplicity to cleaning that I’ll talk about in this post. 🙂
Since we were both raised in a stricter cleaning environment, my husband and I tend to lean the other way- towards TIDY but “oh, there’s a pink mold ring in the toilet? Ok, I’ll get the toilet brush…” mentality.
We have always struggled with maintaining a cleaning schedule because with the little amount of downtime we have, we don’t want to spend it cleaning!
Until now. Cleaning is SO MUCH EASIER and FASTER and I love Norwex. 🙂
**GO STRAIGHT TO NORWEX CATALOG HERE**
Post updated November, 2022. Originally published March, 2017.
EASY Homemade Elderberry Syrup (with Instant Pot option)
Elderberry syrup is an essential I keep in my family’s natural remedy-based medicine cabinet, especially during the winter months. Unfortunately store-bought elderberry syrup can be incredibly expensive for how much you get and also mixed with some yucky ingredients and sugars. If you haven’t learned how to make homemade elderberry syrup yet, you are in the right place. This guide is quick, easy, and fool proof.
Review of Truly Free Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent (Five Year Update)
Welcome to my updated review of Truly Free (formerly “My Green Fills”) nontoxic laundry detergent. 🙂
I am updating this post after FIVE YEARS of using Truly Free, and I’m happy to say that with years now of baby and kid-stained shirts and smoothie and grease splashes of my own, I am even more grateful for a nontoxic, natural laundry detergent that works!
I remember the first time I switched to “natural” laundry detergent in 2008, shortly after my cancer diagnosis. It seemed pretty decent and not much different than my old Tide or Gain (except a lot less toxic!) Then I had kids and…YAH. This is where my “natural” laundry detergent was put to the test.
At first, I doubted myself at times- that perhaps I just forgot to put the detergent in the washing machine?? That’s how little of a difference the detergent made on my baby’s stains! It had nothing on diaper blowouts and dried, day old spit up. Onesie after onesie was ruined, even after pretreating it.
And over the years it had just gotten worse and more frustrating as my kids grew and stains became more fierce.
Thankfully, with Truly Free I’ve finally found a non-toxic laundry system that works, and I’m going to talk a little about that today. 🙌
My Grocery Shopping Routine and A Look Into My Anti-Cancer Fridge
This week has been a busy one with a teething baby and revising the HealingStrong Group Leader’s Guide, but we did manage to knock out our family’s monthly grocery trip to Atlanta’s Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market. I thought my fridge looked worth sharing with you, thinking I would loved to have seen what other cancer thrivers were eating when I was newly diagnosed! So here it is in all of its overstuffed glory and a glimpse into our grocery routine as a family of 5.
Last Minute 2015 Healthy Holiday Gift Guide and Stitch Fix Review
This could also be titled “My Last Minute Christmas Gift Hustle- 2015 edition!”
It’s the minimalist in me- I like practical stuff that you can USE and has a PURPOSE. Gift buying has never been my love language. I more so like helping people with healthy advice or even helping to relieve their stress and worry over their health. Things like a Homemade Wellness Basket or Homemade Deodorant are more my thing…and writing this blog. 🙂
So here are a few fun ideas I have for my friends and family this year, many of which are healthy, helpful and practical.
My Home Birth Experience with Samaritan Ministries and Review of Samaritan Ministries- Alternative to Health Insurance
Here’s another beautiful story of why Samaritan Ministries rocks my socks.
A few weeks ago I shared the home birth story of our third daughter, but today I’m going to explain the details of how 100% of our costs were shared by members of Samaritan Ministries.
I’ll also go into detail about what it’s like to be a member, starting with the monthly SHARE (which is comparable to a “premium” in insurance terminology,) to submitting a NEED (similar to a “claim”,) and what it’s like to go through the maternity process with Samaritan Ministries.
Tips on Unmedicated Childbirth and my First Natural, 48 Hour Hospital Birth
Whether I ever put much thought into it or not, I always knew I would try to have natural, unmedicated births. Growing up my mom talked openly and simply about her three natural births as my two sisters and I would probe her about what it was like. She would say something sweepingly underwhelming like:
“Sure, it hurts a lot, but then it’s over and you have a beautiful baby and you forget about the pain!”
So this is the mentality that was passed down to me when it came to pain, birth, and babies and I am incredibly grateful to my mom for raising me to see the big picture and to not fear a natural process.
When I became pregnant with my first daughter in 2009 (while I had cancer but that’s another story you should read about,) I began my search for a doctor who would be encouraging to my wishes to have an unmedicated birth with very little interventions. I didn’t know anything about midwives or midwifery at the time, but through some chance meetings with like-minded new friends, we actually found a midwife practice who would deliver our baby in a hospital setting.
My husband and I researched natural childbirth in a similar fashion to how we approached treating my cancer naturally: with serious intent. We learned the statistics of the cesarean section rates in our area. Most of our local Atlanta hospitals had c-section rates over 30% so we made sure to stay clear of those hospitals and learned that the hospital my midwife was affiliated with was friendlier towards mother-led birth decisions and birth plans.
Similarly to how we viewed the ability of the body to combat cancer when it is brought back to its optimal condition and health through nutrition, detox, and emotional healing, we believed that leaving the laboring mother’s body to move naturally and labor without intervention was the way we were designed to have children and best for mother and baby as long as there weren’t emergency complications.
Our Home Birth Experience
Our daughter is almost 6 weeks old and I have gotten what seems about 6 minutes of sleep since she was born. <smiles.> I have some hardcore Mommy Brain going on which of course is why (along with having two other children,) I haven’t blogged about my home birth experience yet. And oh yah, it was either write this blog post or shower, so let’s just say I’m thankful for my wonderful coconut oil deodorant.
I know all of the moms reading this will know where I’m coming from. 🙂
I’m excited to share how wonderful our home birth was and contrast it a bit with my previous two natural hospital births. I will also be blogging soon about our experience with our health insurance alternative, Samaritan Ministries and how they financially covered our home birth, maternal care, and newborn care 100%! (Update: Read that post HERE.)
My Non-Toxic Cleaning Routine
I’m due to have a baby tomorrow. And well, I’m still pregnant. Yesterday my nesting instincts really kicked in and what started as me only cleaning the toilets resulted in me cleaning the ENTIRE house. I have barely been able to keep the kitchen clean this entire pregnancy and today I was able to mop, dust, scrub, vacuum, and polish practically everything in my two-story house. There is surely a baby on the way soon!
When you’re treating your cancer naturally, it is essential that you detox not only your body, but also the chemicals you keep in your house and clean with. When I began treating my cancer naturally 6 years ago, I did this immediately knowing the strong ties that chemical exposure has to a lymphoma diagnosis. And although I started with buying “green” cleaning supplies from Whole Foods, I now make all of my cleaning supplies at home. Here’s a rundown of my non-toxic cleaning routine.