No more blog

Not that I get a whole lot of traffic on this blog anyway, but now that I am working I just don't have time to mess with this. I do have a blog for teaching and will attempt to keep up with that. 

It's been fun but I feel like I've put a lot of effort to post and I'm just not getting anything out of it. 

 Of course the blog will still be here if anyone wants to look back for recipes or ideas.

BYE!

4 ingredient "cookies"

This is another Pinspired recipe that I added my own little twist to.

The basic recipe called for two bananas and one cup of quick oats. As I started I quickly realized this was going to be way too small of a portion so I doubled it. Then added a couple handfuls of chocolate chips. After I got two batches loaded into the oven I had a little left over for a couple more cookies so I. Threw in a handful or so of coconut flakes. PERFECTION!

So here is how the final recipe would look:

4 ripe bananas

2 cups quick oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup of coconut flakes (maybe more depending on how much of the coconut flavor and texture you want)

Mash and mix the ingredients together then spoon onto a greased cookie sheet (well, I prefer parchment paper). Then press them down to make a more solid cookie. If you don't shape them they will come out looking just like little lumps! (Yes, I did that with the first two sets I made lol)

Bakes at 350 for 15 minutes

They aren't EXACTLY like a cookie but they are really tasty and with out all the sugar a healthier option.

No-Poo UPDATE

I wanted to give an update on my progress with the No-Poo method! Honestly, I was pretty close to giving up recently. I didn't want to go back to regular shampoo so I started too look for other options and quickly realized that it was just way too expensive to go with organic shampoos. Luckily while I was searching I came across a blog, which of course I can't find now, were the blogger described her first attempt and used the term "waxy" to describe the feeling she had of her hair. I realized that was EXACTLY how I felt. My hair didn't feel greasy like it once did but it definitely didn't feel CLEAN either. The conclusion was that I needed to get more of the baking soda/water mixture into my hair. This was difficult with the spray bottles I started out with. I'd found myself taking the spray top off and dumping the mixture on my head... But what a waste! Then, it dawned on me! A water bottle! I could still basically dump as much was I needed but I would have more control. So I bought a new water bottle and set to work on the mixture, added bonus it is much bigger so I can double the amount I was making at a time, and haven't looked back! I still used the spray bottle for the ACV mixture and I have the water bottle for the cleaning portion and it's been great! I am so glad that I took the time to trouble shoot instead of just giving up. Now I can keep my hair healthy and not spend an arm and a leg on organic shampoos!

Ok another update on this. I came across a recipe for doing no-poo with just a honey mixture and decided I wanted to give it a try. So I mixed a batch up yesterday and today is night number two. I think I'm loving this even more and added bonus, my hair SMELLS awesome! Now, I read there may be another transition type period. The baking soda and ACV can over strip your hair and the honey is more conditioning. I did notice that today but it wasn't a greasy or waxy feeling, just different. My hair looks way more shiny too which was something I felt I had kind of lost with the other method.

This recipe is similar to the baking soda, 1tbs of honey to 1 cup of water. I made sure it was hot water to aid in mixing with the honey. 

I also don't have to used the ACV which is nice since that stuff, even diluted, smells horrid. 

I will update again soon on how this honey recipe works on a more long term basis... Right now I'm pretty sold!

Frozen banana peanut butter bites YUM!

I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided it looked too good not to try it! Not to mention it's super easy! 

So here's what you do:

Grab some parchment paper and slice one banana onto it

Grab some peanut butter (we used all natural) and scoop it onto the banana

Grab another banana and slice it up on top of the other banana slices with peanut butter to create a sandwich

Toss it in the freezer and eat when you want! I took mine off and put them in a container to save for later!

Done and Done!

Going Green: No-Poo

Ok so I know what you are thinking.

"What is No-Poo?!?"

Or maybe you have heard of it and are thinking "EWWWW!! That is so gross!"

Before you run away in disgust, hear me out, because I thought the same thing. And to be honest, I woke up this morning sure that I was going to have to take another shower to try to clean my hair. However, I was pleasantly surprised!

Ok so to answer your first question, what is No-Poo. It's kind of what it sounds like, you stop using shampoo! Ok go ahead and get the EWWWW, grosses! out of the way. This method does NOT mean that you don't WASH your hair, you just don't use chemical filled shampoos. When you use shampoos that you purchase in the stores they strip your hair of oils. Wait, that's the point, right?!? Well, yes and no. You don't want your hair to be greasy and oily so you wash it but then these shampoos strip so much that your hair then fights back to produce the natural oils that you hair needs to be healthy which makes you overly oily! Really what you are doing is making your hair get oily faster by washing with these shampoos! 

Who knew?! No wonder I HAD to wash my hair every day!

Ok, but if I don't condition my hair it gets too tangled! Well, you can use a no-poo method for conditioner as well! 

Trust me, I was hesitant too. I thought it was disgusting at first but as I read more and more about it, it really started to make sense. So here I am, giving it a try!

It's been about 3 days since I used shampoo. I washed my hair one night and the next night decided to skip it. Of course when I got up that morning my hair felt incredibly greasy and gross. Up in a pony tail it went! Last night I made the washing and conditioning mixtures and set to work when I took my shower. I got up this morning expecting the worst, but so far, so good! There is a transition period for you hair to adjust to not being stripped of its natural oils so I expect for a while I will still be washing my hair every day but I know it is just in the healing process. I really think I am going. To be happy with this change!

So, if you want to give it a try, here is the mixtures I used.

Washing mixture:

1tbs baking soda

1cup cold water

Shaken up in a spray bottle. Just spray it around the roots of your hair and massage in. Rinse as usual.

Don't expect suds, I've heard that is one of the hardest parts for people to adjust too. You don't have to bet all soapy and sudsy to be getting clean!

Conditioning mixture:

1/2cup apple cider vinegar

1/2cup cold water

Shaken up in a spray bottle. Spray it to the ends of your hair and put your hair up in a clip while you finish your shower. Rinse as usual. 

I hope you will give this some consideration and if you try it let me know what you think! If you already use no-poo share your recipes and experiences!

ADD Adventures

There is a growing trend of learning disabilities being diagnosed, I've seen first hand as I have gone through getting my masters degree in special education. When my boys were little, ok they still are little but when my oldest was younger, I always thought he was so smart and would just breeze through school. We enrolled him in the dual language program at his school so he wouldn't get bored and would be more challenged. He just finished second grade and this year proved to be a very trying one.

First we thought he may be slightly dyslexic or dysgraphic as he was prone to saying small words backwards when reading or writing many letters backwards. However, through the course of this year we have noticed a great improvement so that went out the window. Then it stared to click. Reading over all the notes in his conduct folder there was an overwhelming pattern.

"Not finishing work"

"Not completing tasks"

"Needs to pay better attention" 

Suddenly visions of all the inattentiveness flashed through my brain. It dawned on me. Logan likely has ADD, attention deficit disorder. This learning disability is more often referred to as ADHD where in the H stands for hyperactive, however I haven't observed much hyperactivity in my son so I intend to leave that out. Logan is very inattentive and had extreme difficulty in focusing. This is where his difficulty in reading comes into play. As he reads a sentence by the time he has finished the sentence he has forgotten what he has read. 

Disclaimer: I am no diagnostician and this is just from my observations and opinions of what I see in my son from research I've done. My son has NOT been formally diagnosed.

Through more research we decided to attempt to combat this in attentiveness through diet. Unfortunately there is a lot of conflicting information in this area, however there is a strong consensus that eliminating artificial colors and flavors and maintaining a more organic diet is helpful. This website also has some other information http://www.connorstest.com/tag/attention-deficit-hyperactive-disorder.

While we haven't determined if this will work we decided that it wouldn't hurt us to eat healthier and more organic. This journey has been an expensive one. We have been spending a lot of money and more frequently shopping for food. Once we get a better hold on this we hope that we will be spending less money. 

I think Logan has taken to it really well. Fortunately we have been an overall healthy family but this has limited a lot of our snack and breakfast foods. I have adopted a new "have a piece of fruit" philosophy when the boys are "still hungry" or want a different snack that isn't as healthy. They love fruit so it's working pretty well.

What an amazing feeling today, after going shopping at a farmers market, organizing the fridge and seeing almost everything fresh and organic. I know that while we started this adventure to help with the possibility of ADD in Logan it is an amazing step in transforming the health of our entire family.

Can I get a "woot woot!" ?!?

Let us just go ahead and make it official... ORC day... Wait for it... 2!

Go ahead...

"WOOT! WOOT!"

Granted, my husband was home and taking care of bed time, which causes most of my stress yelling but they still count! Now I am bound and determined to make it through longer. This should be an interesting task as tomorrow is the last day of school and then it will be all day, everyday, with all four boys. On the plus side, I will be home and should be able to get my house clean.

Now I have two challenges to get through. 

1. Keeping up with the Orange Rhino Challenge and no yelling

2. Cleaning and organizing the entire house while implementing a plan to keep it clean when I am working

Yes, working... I haven't officially been offered a job yet but I have had two interviews and will likely be a full time working mom come next fall. Two kids in school and two in daycare. Hopefully no one being home will make it a little easier to keep things clean but it also means I won't be home as much to actually do much cleaning. I am nervous but I am sure we can figure it all out, it will just take time and all of us working together. 

But for now, we focus on the important things... No yelling... Two days.... Here we go for number 3!!!