My 12 Days Early Bundle of Joy

Last Wednesday started out just like any other normal pregnant day. I got ready and worked in the morning at my desk job. I had stopped walking to work a couple weeks earlier because being full term pregnant, it took me double the time it normally would to get there and it tires me out way too much. That afternoon around 3:30 I laid on the couch to take my nap when all of a sudden I hear almost like a 'woosh' sound and had water coming out, immediately I run to the bathroom. I-was-shocked! I contacted my husband who luckily was working close to home that day so it didn't take him long to get back. We went in to see my midwife to just make sure that it indeed was my water that broke (since it wasn't much water). As she was talking she confirmed that it was my water and that because I am strep positive I need to get started on anti-biotics until my baby comes. At first I was thinking it was some medicine that I could take home until I need to go to the hospital. But she confirmed that no, I was going to the hospital right now and when I leave the hospital I will have my baby in my arms. I think the shock of that is what made my contractions start in the room just then. 

I was not prepared for this. My sister and mom both told me that the doctors usually broke their water for them, so I was expecting my labor to start with contractions. I had it all planned out; walks, certain labor positions, and then when I get to the hospital, I planned on getting in the jacuzzi until I was fully dilated. I was going to have my baby all natural. Then reality happened...

IV with anti-biotics, electrolytes, and pitocin. Two straps over my belly, one to monitor contractions, another for the babies heart beat. No walking around, no jacuzzi, I was stuck. After a short time I was dilated to a 3 and my non stop contractions went from predicting my baby being born Thursday afternoon to her expectancy to be that night with only just the bare amount of pitocin being given to me. Because I was strapped down since the beginning of labor, it wasn't difficult for me to change my mind about having an epidural. I felt great afterwards! And at 2:33 AM after pushing for just 30 minutes, my baby girl, Brigitte Jodell Ayama was born. I even watched the birth with a standing mirror! It was so cool! Overall, labor was not bad and I joked in between every labor pain before I got the epidural. For having my labor plans ruined, I couldn't have been more pleased with how it turned out. I was always scared of what it would be like but ultimately, it felt so natural, instinctive. And lets be honest, the epidural at the end helped too! :)

She came out and I instantly fell in love. At 12 days early she was born August 15th, 6 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long. She's healthy, a great nurser, doesn't cry much and really just a great joy in my life. I feel so blessed!

Manna Bread

"Today's modern mass-produced bread is a far cry from the original bread of the ancients, consisting of bleached and demineralized white flour,...hydrogenated vegetable oil, yeast or baking soda, lard or butter, and chemicalized table salt -all injurious to the health. While healthier whole-grain breads have been re-introduced into the mainstream market in the past few decades, they still cannot compare to essence or manna bread."

http://www.librarising.com/health/essenebread.html

 

This is what I have been reading mostly about. So I decided to try making my own manna bread after reading up on a few recipes online. Here's what I came up with:

• 2 cups of wheat berries, soak overnight and for 2-3 days sprout them by rinsing 3 times in the day until the sprout is about the length of the grain, (no longer or it will start to taste 'grassy'). 
• Place in a food processor until you get a smooth sticky paste. You can also incorporate spices, nuts and seeds, salt, dried fruit. Whatever you'd like at this point.
• Put in the oven at 225 degrees F for 2-3 hours, depending on how moist you want it.

I put pumpkin and flax seeds on top of my manna bread. Now that I have tried a basic recipe of just wheat, I think I will incorporate more sprouted grains and more flavor with salt and spices, as well as dehydrate for only 2 hours so it's a little moist. Sprouted grains are super good for you. Did you know that wheat berries ground up into flour has no vitamin C in it, but if sprouted you can get 2% of your daily amount per serving? I am excited about the endless possibilities to this simple ancient bread recipe and hope you venture to try it as well!

Photos by: yours truly

How Others Live...Happily Ever After in 351 Sq Ft.

 Ren and Natale on October 13, 2007, were at a restaurant celebrating Ren's 31st birthday with some close friends. They came home that night, in rural Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, to their house in flames. They had just recently renovated the 1,400 square foot ranch house. After a sleepless night at a friends, they came back to find that their entire house, as well as Natale's shop, where he worked from, was completely destroyed. Personal belongings, like wet and tattered wedding photos and files were blowing everywhere on their property. Ren described the seen as, "...nauseating to have all your personal stuff blowing around. You feel so exposed."

 After weeks of clearing out their home and throwing almost all but what they had with them that night at the restaurant away, they discussed what they should do next. Build? Move? Run off to a different country? But they liked their jobs, and ultimately just wanted to be able to get back on their property as soon as possible. The solution? combining two 1940's cottages on their property that someone gave Natale back in 2003. They spent the next 9 weeks combining and renovating them into a 351 sq ft house. The adjustment took some getting used to but they both have agreed that this trial and downsizing has brought their relationship even closer.

To get the full story visit: Real Simple Magazine
Photos by William Waldron

DIY: Lotion for Sensitive Skin

Do you think that your beauty products are safe because it has the word 'pure' or 'natural' on it? Think again! Many of our products have toxic chemicals in them that pollute our environment and are absorbed into our skin. When I say toxic, I mean things that are linked to cancer! And since only about 10-15% of cancer is genetic, the rest being environmental reasons, it's so so SO important that we are careful what we are putting on our bodies. Our skin is our biggest organ and absorbs everything we put on it, I learned this out when I was putting progesterone cream on my skin to help balance my hormones. I have a hard time trusting products so for the most part, I just choose to make my own.

If you don't believe me, check out this website: Skin Deep
And please take a few moments to watch this YouTube video: The Story of Cosmetics

So if you are looking for a great alternative to lotion, and if you're like me, with dry skin living where there isn't much humidity, try this recipe that I have found from the book: My Home Pharmacy: How Foods and Herbs Can Be Your Medicine

Ingredients:
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon emulsifying wax or beeswax
1/8 teaspoon lecithin (I don't put this in because I don't have it, but it helps with emulsifying too)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup aloe vera gel (don't just buy what ever is on the shelf because it's not pure aloe vera gel)
a few drops of an essential oil (I use lavender)

Directions:
Blend the coconut oil, olive oil, wax and lecithin in a double boiler, heating just enough to melt and mix the ingredients. Add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir thorougly. When the mixture cools to room temperature, add 1/2 cup aloe vera gel. Mix well by hand or with a hand blender, then add the essential oils.

Don't stress about the cost of ingredients, this lotion lasts a good while, plus nothing in here is toxic and won't make you ill over time.

(Click on this picture so you can actually read everything on it!)

If you are looking for something more convenient, or are looking for some of these ingredients and don't have a natural foods store near you, check out: Vita Cost it's a discount online store for natural products.

Enjoy!


Pictures by: Mind Body Green & Toxic Beauty

The Light at The End of The Tunnel

 I only have a few more weeks until I am due! Which means that my baby could come anytime from now until then!!! Just a couple of weeks ago my amazingly talented cousin Myra took some pregnancy photos for my husband and I. They turned out beautifully, couldn't be more happy. Love the picture of my European husband at the bottom! It's been getting me thinking of all the things I still need to do before my baby gets here, like pack my hospital bag, deep clean my house, finish washing baby clothes, the list goes on. Since I have been trying really hard to not surf the internet this week (which I will talk more about later), one of the things I wanted to do this week was finish preparing for my babies arrival, but somehow, I've still filled the time up with other things. Mostly productive, but I haven't yet got that 'nesting' boost of energy women talk about and am still so tired by the time noon hits. In the meantime, I hope all who visits my blog enjoys my pictures.

Photos done by: Myra Merrill at myrakjer.blog.com

DIY: All Purpose Cleaner

Many of our cleaners contain petrochemicals components that are harmful to people, animals, and the environment. Not to mention that the production of these products requires a massive amount of energy. Living a simple life, means doing what is right for our bodies, homes, and the environment. It means using basic products that are not harmful. This means ditching the bleach. Why? Chlorine bleach is poisonous gas. If cleaner can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs just by it being in the air, stay away from it! Here are the top 8 best things to be using that are effective cleaners and not harmful:

1. White vinegar-can be used as window cleaner, drain cleaner, bathroom cleaner, the list goes on. Not to mention you can drink it, in other words, it's very safe.
2. Baking soda-eliminates odors and is good to use as scrubbing powder, an alternative to Comet cleaner.
3. Borax-removes dirt, is antifungal
4. Hydrogen peroxide-nontoxic bleach, antibacterial agent, and stain remover.
5. Lemon juice-cuts grease and a good stain remover as well.
6. Liquid castile soap-all-purpose cleaner, grease cutter, and disinfectant. Castile soap is vegetable based soap, not animal fat-based. Can be used as shampoo too!
7. Olive oil-can be used as furniture and wood cutting-board polish.
8. Essential oils of lavender, geranium, and tea tree oil-antibacterial and adds a nice smell. Tea tree oil is a natural solvent, cuts grease, and excellent at killing germs and bacteria.

So instead of using toxic, costly cleaners, (costly on your wallet and the environment), try this all-purpose cleaner. You will need:

16-ounce spray bottle

1 cup water

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1/2 tsp pure castile soap (I used lavender but peppermint is really nice too)

little less than 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

10 drops tea tree oil

10 drops lavender or lemon oil

Mix all the ingredients in the bottle and you're ready to go! Can be used for acrylic, ceramic tile, wood, marble, and granite. It's my main cleaner.

Living Simple to Me Means.....Mental Clarity

I was going to write about something else today, but there has been something pressing on my mind. Yesterday as I was getting ready for church, I thought to myself, "now what am I going to take with me to church to keep me occupied?" Right after that thought came, "I shouldn't be taking anything with me to keep me occupied. If anything paper and a pen to take to write down any impressions I have, that is it!"

That got me thinking about how I have been wanting to live a more simple lifestyle but that it goes much deeper than just the stuff that I own. What about the stuff that preoccupies my thoughts? Call it ADD that I am always doing multiple things at the same time if you'd like, but I think to an extent as a society we have made ourselves this way. For myself, what is the one thing that distracts me more than anything else? Answer: the internet! Since we don't own a TV, this is where all my distractions come from, since you can watch anything online anyways. When I wake up in the morning, I check the time on my phone, and then on my phone, I go on Facebook. If I need to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or eat (remember I'm in my last month of pregnancy), I watch something on Youtube before going back to sleep. When I take my afternoon siesta I watch something on the internet. I check my e-mail, Facebook, blog page views in a day more than I can count. And that doesn't even include the amount of time I surf the internet, go on Pinterest, or even look up something productive, like the definition of propriety! I find myself online longer than I planned, and while I am still looking random things up, I am thinking in my head, "ok you really need to get started on...X, Y, Z," but I'm not doing it.

There have been somethings that I really wanted to do but still haven't gotten to them because I've been "too busy." Somethings that have to do with personal growth, that are personal enough I won't share on my blog. So, starting last night, I have made some rules for myself this week, from now until next Monday, as well as some goals.

Rules:
Will only go online this week for the following...

1. Check my Facebook, e-mail, and blog only once a day (this includes when I write a blog post)
2. Will go online to plan my meals for the week (which is a one time thing)
3. Balance our 'checkbook'
4. Since my husband doesn't have texting, I will be on chat, in case I need/want to communicate with him while he's working.

Instead of being online, here are some goals I want to make:

1. Keep my house in order, as well as the other essentials
2. Go on a walk
3. Take the time to ponder, meditate, etc.
4. Draw one thing everyday
5. Start and finish a book, this week I've decided on reading Blink. This will be great for me since I always have at least 4 books I'm reading at once and it takes me forever to finish any of them.
6. Finish my 'to do' list before baby comes
7. Spend quality time with those around me

So far I have almost gone online for other than what I have written, 3 times! But I hope to find more fulfillment and meaning in my life this next week, as well as a chance to clear my thoughts and be more in the presence. Wish me luck!