Categories
Current Events Household Shopping

Happy Earth Day- Save Some Green

I know there is a lot of information available on how to be “greener,”and the benefits to the environment.  For instance, last year around Earth Day, I vowed to stop using the plastic grocery store bags, and I purchased these Envirosax reusable bags.  Most of the stores in my area started offering plastic bag recycling as well, so there are many places now I can take the plastic bags when they start to accumulate.

This Earth Day I thought it would be interesting to cite some financial information on how much “green” efforts can save you.  Again, all these are good for the Earth too, but it can also be a motivating factor when you see how many “green” backs your “green” efforts are saving you.

  • You can save money by using cloth napkins, and paper towels.  If an average family goes through a standard 250 package of napkins a month, and they are $2.50 a package, in a year the savings would be: $30.  Paper towels are about $3 for a package of two, and assuming you use a package a month, the savings in a year would be: $36.
  • If you can use cloth diapers, (even some of the time) the savings really start to add up and are enormous- especially if you invest in cloth diapers and use them for a second and or third child. 

There are tons of spreadsheets on the Internet breaking down the costs of disposable diapers versus cloth diapers.  Basically in summary, if water is cheap (and in the US it is), there is less of a toll on the environment by using cloth diapers.  The savings seem to work out on average, by the time your first baby is about 10-12 months old, you would have spent the same amount on cloth diapers as you would disposables.  At that point you have broken even, and after that, you have recouped your costs, and are basically diapering for free (minus the cost of water to wash them). 

If you have bought diapers recently, I don’t have to tell you how much of a savings this can be.  Especially if you have two children in diapers at the same time!  If a family uses a case of diapers a month and on average they are about $30 a case, in a year on the low end, that is $360 a year.  If you invest in cloth diapers, after 10-12 months, you will have saved $30-60+, and after that you are saving at least $30+ a month!

  • Buy energy efficient appliances.  Energy Star has a list of qualified products.  Here are just two examples of how much money you can save with Energy Star appliances: Energy Star Refrigerator: $10.82, Energy Star Front-Load Washing Machine: $50.50 (just on the electricity- not counting the savings in water!)  Total for these two appliances: $61.32
  • Unplugging appliances when not in use, can help save on your electricity bill too.
  • By paying your bills on-line, you not only save the costs of stamps to mail your bills, you also save on the costs of checks, by not having to re-order so many.  On average my estimate is you would save about $50 a year by doing this. 
  • Make one meal a week, a vegetarian meal, and save on the cost of meat.  If the average package of meat or chicken costs around $7, in a year you would have saved $364 on meat! 

Just these few tips would save the average household about $574 a year.  You can add to that if you are a family using cloth diapers!  These saving could be several trips to the grocery store, several tanks of gas, several meals out, or even a nice weekend away!

Join me in the coming year to try to be as “green” as possible, and save yourself some “green” at the same time.  If you have any more money saving tips that are good for the Earth too, I would love to hear them.

Happy Earth Day!

Categories
Fun Stuff Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival

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This is the first time I am participating in this carnival, and I am so excited. I am giving away a delightful onesie from my store, Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs.  The onesie is one of my fastest growing products, and it says, “I Love My Aunties.”  Here is a picture:

 

This is perfect for the baby who has more than one aunt that they love.  Which aunt is he/she talking about?  Problem solved with this adorable design that proclaims your baby loves all of his or her aunties! No more guessing which aunt baby loves!  This is a wonderful item to give as a gift, to your niece or nephew and since it is white, it is unisex- great for a boy or a girl!

The onesie is white, in size 18 months.  You can see more detail and a sizing chart by clicking on the picture of the onesie or here on the I Love My Aunties product detail at Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs. 

All you have to do to win is leave ONE comment after the post (duplicate comments will be deleted).  I would love to hear if you win the onesie, if it will be for your own baby or for a friend or relative.  I will pick a winner through random.org on 10 PM Eastern time on Sunday April 27th. Make sure to leave your comment before then for your chance to win.  This giveaway is only open to visitors who have a shipping address in the United States or Canada.  (sorry, but I am unable to do international shipping right now).

Make sure you head over to the Bloggy Giveaways site, (by clicking the button at the top of this post) for chances to win tons of other cool prizes. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Categories
Fun Stuff Make Me Laugh Monday

Make Me Laugh Monday- Real Women

 

(This was sent to me by a friend on my parenting board- thanks Tara!)

Ladies- If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it’s still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it  will absorb the excess salt for an instant  “fix-me-up.” 

Real Women – If you over-salt a dish while you are cooking, that’s too damn bad. Please recite with me The Real Women’s motto: “I made it and you will eat it and I don’t care how bad it tastes.” 

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Ladies – Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away. 

Real Women – Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink. You might still have the headache, but who the hell cares? 
  
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 Ladies – Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips. 
    
Real Women – Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete’s sake. You are probably lying on your ass on the couch, with your feet up anyway.   

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 Ladies – To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes. 
 
Real Women – Buy boxed mashed potato mix and you don’t have to worry about the potatoes growing arms and legs. 

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 Ladies – When a cake recipe calls for flouring the  baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won’t be any white mess on the inside of the cake. 
 
 Real Women – Go to the bakery – they’ll even decorate the damn thing for you. See! I’m not the only one!   

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 Ladies – Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish. 
    
 Real Women – Sara Lee frozen freakin pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over them, so don’t do it.  

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 Ladies – If you have a problem opening jars, try using latex dish- washing gloves. They give a non slip grip that makes opening jars easy. 
 
Real Women – Go ask the very HOT neighbor guy to do it.

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And finally the most important tip…. 

   
Ladies – Don’t throw out all that leftover wine.   Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces. 
 
 Real Women – What Leftover wine?? Amen! 

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Categories
Current Events Health Mothering Parenting Pregnancy & Birth

Does Having A Baby Boy Cause Post-Partum Depression?

I saw this article called, How Depressing: It’s A Boy, today on MSN.  I only had time to scan over it briefly at the time, but being a mother of two boys, and having had suffered from post-partum depression (PPD), three months after Cole was born, of course I was interested in reading the study in detail.

After I read it, I was really upset for a variety of reasons.  For starters, this study only had 17 French women in it.  That is not enough of a sample to say for certain, what this study is suggesting.  Even the article pointed out that the “since the study was conducted on a very small group of women, it is possible the findings are just a statistical quirk.” 

The study also never even asked the women if they were hoping for a particular gender, yet they speculate that at least French mothers may prefer daughters to sons.  This is based on what?  Personal feelings?  There is no science backing this speculation up at all. 

I have known at least six women (myself included) who have suffered from various degrees of PPD over the years.  Four of them have been mothers of girls, and myself and one other mother, have been the mothers of boys.  If this French study studied my circle, they would have the opposite findings. 

For this study to hold any merit whatsoever, they would have to study a variety of women, on a MUCH larger scale, for several years, to see if the statistics they had,  (out of 17 mothers with severe depression, 13 of them had baby boys,) proved to be consistent with different and larger study groups.  I think this study was flawed and didn’t include enough subjects to draw a conclusion like they are claiming- that boys cause PPD. 

Personally, I think a major cause of PPD, is hormonal and a nutrient imbalance.  As soon as I started replenishing my levels of nutrients, especially the B vitamins and Omega-6’s, my depression went away.  I know that isn’t the case for everyone, but I think it is a really far stretch and drawing at straws to say because you have a boy you are at greater risk for PPD. 

I also think the temperament of the baby has a lot to do with it too.  Whether the baby is a boy or a girl, if a baby is a high needs baby, is a fussy baby, or cries constantly, obviously a mother’s stress level is going to increase, which could put her at a higher risk for developing PPD.  These babies are harder to take care of.  Not every mother with a baby like this has PPD, but if they want to find causes, certainly this could be another factor contributing to PPD than simply saying the gender is the cause of PPD.  How many of those mothers in the French study had babies that had colic, or cried constantly, or screamed if they weren’t being held at all hours of the day?  How many of these depressed mothers were severely sleep deprived, which can be another contributing factor to PPD.

I also have a MAJOR problem with another part of the writings in this study which claim that women want “mini-me’s” (daughters) not sons.  I find that VERY offensive, and how shallow and condescending is that to the millions and millions of mothers who have sons?  Suddenly we are all secretly longing for daughters so we can have our “mini-me’s.”  Absolutely insulting!

It gets worse- the study goes on to theorize that when a woman doesn’t get the gender (boy or girl) that she was hoping for “she is more likely to suffer from decreased quality of life or severe depression.”  Again, how insulting to every mother who may have hoped that she was having one gender over the other?  That doesn’t mean that every woman every time, who doesn’t get the gender of baby she was hoping for, is more likely to suffer from a decreased quality of life. 

Usually, the mothers who I know, (myself included), who were hoping for a boy or a girl, and then had the opposite gender they were hoping for, couldn’t imagine their life without their baby, and would not give him or her up for their “desired” gender in a million years. Their quality of life improves with their baby, not decreases.  This study paints women and mothers as so shallow- as if having a boy or a girl-your desired gender- is the key to happiness, and not having your desired gender causes mothers to suffer from severe depression.  I just don’t believe that is the case with the majority of mothers.

I also have to respond to the study’s claim that women really do prefer girls over boys, because girls are requested more often in overseas adoptions from couples in the West- especially in America.  I don’t think this claim is true at all,  just because girls are being requested to be adopted in overseas adoptions over boys. 

I believe the reason more baby girls are requested in adoptions outside the US, is in these countries, THEY (parents in these countries) don’t want girls and put them up for adoption more often than sons.  In many countries where Americans are allowed to adopt, sons are the preferred gender, and parents will abandon girls more often than sons, bringing them to orphanages. 

It seems to me that this is common knowledge, and women in the US, who want to adopt a baby from these countries know that.  They know they will have a shorter wait, and a better chance of adopting a baby if they request a girl, because there are more girls waiting to be adopted than boys.  It is a simple supply and demand situation.

I wasn’t even going to blog about this study because I think this study is complete nonsense and just something else to make mothers of sons worry needlessly about.  I didn’t want to “publicize” this study any more than it already has been.

My sister suggested I write a post about it, so if mothers who do read this study are troubled by it, and seek additional information, there would be something else- another viewpoint- to consider.  That is the only reason I am blogging about this. 

I believe most mothers love and cherish their babies, no matter what their gender is.  Post-partum depression does happen, but for it to be contributed only because a mother is depressed because she didn’t have a boy or a girl, is just so far fetched.

It is irresponsible for this study to be published  and publicized as it is, because there is no other studies that can back it up.  It can cause more harm and grief to mothers who may be suffering from depression- now they have to wonder if their baby’s gender could be causing their depression. 

Until there is evidence and several more mothers studied in this case, these types of studies serve no valuable purpose to mothers.  When the statistics in the study have a real possiblity of only being a “quirk,” don’t publish these types of “findings” until there is scientific evidence to back it up- with real, fact based, statistics. 

Now I am getting off my soapbox, and going to go tuck my two, loveable, sweet, adoring, sons who have brought me so much joy and happiness- whom I’d give my life for- into bed. 

Categories
Health Mothering Ryan

Keratosis Pilaris

When Ryan was about four months old, we noticed his skin started having what I referred to as the dreaded “goose bump skin.” I was mortified.  I had these bumps, which were very noticeable on my arms and legs while growing up.  I still have them somewhat on my legs.  I remember my mom taking me to several doctors in my teens, because I was so self-conscious about them.  No doctor ever gave us a diagnosis on what the condition was.  I resigned myself to live with these bumps on my skin. 

I was very happy in my early twenties, when they started to disappear on my arms. They also started to fade on my legs.  

Fast forward ten plus years, gazing at my firstborn’s sweet, perfect, smooth skin, only to realize he is developing the same condition I had.  What are these bumps, and would my son have to go through his life with them too?

I immediately took Ryan to a dermatologist, who told me right off it is a “harmless” skin condition called, Keratosis Pilaris, or KP. Harmless in it often looks worse than it is, but I knew first hand, how self conscious it can make you about parts of the body that KP appears on.  She told me there isn’t anything you can do, but a person usually will outgrow KP as they get older.  She also said it is genetic (my dad and sister had KP too), and about 50% of the population has some form of KP, somewhere on their body.

She gave me a prescription cream for a steroid and told me I could use it in case of flare-ups, or if the KP got really bad.  What really was troubling to me was unlike myself, Ryan had KP on his face, especially on his cheeks.  His cheeks were rough, and people were starting to comment on it. 

I used the steroid cream a few times, when Ryan’s face had really bad flare-ups. Dry weather can aggravate KP.  We live in a very dry climate, and interestingly I remembered as a child, when we visited more humid places, my KP went away entirely.  At 7 and 18 months, we visited my sister who lives in a very humid area, and within 2 days of us being there, Ryan’s KP disappeared.  It reappeared however, after we returned home.

I didn’t like using a steroid cream on my baby, so off to the Internet I went, in hopes of discovering something, anything, that would at least reduce the KP on Ryan’s face.  There is no “miracle” cure- at least not one that I have found.

What I have discovered is there are several things that will help reduce the chances of flare-ups, resulting in less noticeable bumps.  I did learn that KP can be so different for everyone- what works with one person, will only aggravate the flare-ups in others.  Our pediatrician gave us some good tips as well, and here is what I have discovered helps Ryan:

  • Keeping our environment as humid as possible. 

Our pediatrician actually wrote us a prescription for a whole house humidifier.  Since we are planning on moving soon, we opted not to buy one yet.  However, we keep a humidifier in Ryan’s room at night.  This helps a lot, especially in the winter.  We have an evaporator cooler in the summer, which is almost like a humidifier.  Ryan’s skin is almost KP free in the summer. 

  • Adding pure, organic, flax seed oil to his milk every day. 

I add less than a teaspoon, but I have noticed it helps a great deal.  Flax seed oil is rich in the essential fatty acids, especially Omega-6, which is the Gamma Linoleic Acid.   Our doctor told us flax seed oil has the highest concentration of Omega-6’s, more than what you would find in a capsule. 

Some research suggests that a lack GLA contributes to eczema, and when eczema patients increased their GLA intake, their eczema went away.   However, eczema, and KP are not related, but I liked the theory, since GLA is very soothing to the skin, and can promote healing.  Since most people can’t utilize GLA properly (due to environmental factors), adding GLA’s into Ryan’s diet, seemed like a natural thing to do. 

I never told Ryan I was adding flax seed oil to his milk.  I would stir it in, and he would drink it.  As he got older, he started to ask me what “that yellow stuff” was.  I told him it was flax seed oil, and it helps keep us healthy.  Ryan reminds me and asks for his flax seed oil now, and once I asked him why he likes it so much.  He said, “It keeps my skin smooth.”  I was amazed.  I have never told him that, but I think he started to notice a difference in his KP when he takes his flax seed oil.  About a year ago, I saw him running his hands down his arms, and talking to himself.  He was saying that his skin was bumpy and he didn’t like it. That about broke my heart, so I am thrilled that he seems to have noticed a difference in his skin.

  • Keeping his skin moisturized

This has been such a journey for me.  I have tried probably every cream, lotion, and balm on the market in hopes of one of them reducing Ryan’s KP.  I have tried everything from the lotions promising to cure KP, to basic Vaseline, to herbs.  I have tried everything from the steroid cream to the purest and most organic moisturizers I could find.  Nothing has been that miracle, but I have noticed that the more natural lotions, seem to lock in the moisture after Ryan’s bath better.  Right now,  Shikai Borage Dry Skin Therapy Lotion is doing a very nice job. It keeps Ryan’s skin moisturized for a full 24 hours, and I haven’t found anything that has worked as well up to this point.

  • Using Natural Skin Products

This has been a real change for me, which I will write more about in the next post.  So many ingredients in products that I had previously been using are so drying to the skin, and weren’t helping Ryan at all.

With these changes we have made, I am very hopeful that Ryan’s KP will continue to lessen as he gets older.  It has gotten better even from when he was two years old. 

I think education is so important on KP as well.  So many people don’t really know what it is, and out of concern they ask you what those bumps are on your child, or if he has a rash.  I have even had people tell me after I have explained what it is, say that they used to have bumps on their skin when they were young, and they are happy to have finally found out what those bumps were too. 

Maybe one day science will finally have a cure for all the sufferers of KP.  Until then, I plan to keep trying to eliminate the flare-ups, and at least “cure” it the best I can for Ryan.