Going Natural...Step 1 & 2

I'm learning that many of the things we buy are not healthy for us. So I've decided to share some of the things I've slowly been implementing into our lives. This week is step 1 & 2 of going natural and I will post a few more easy things that will benefit you and your health. At times I get overwhelmed, especially now that I'm a mom, because I want to try 10 different things all at once but it's too much and causes me to stress out. So step 1 & 2 are easy to make, inexpensive and natural: Homemade fabric softener and laundry detergent. Chet, Tru and I all have very sensitive skin and the store bought softener caused Tru to break out in a horrible rash.
I found both recipes on Pinterest and have to give credit to the women who made them. I'm just grateful to have found the recipes. On April 25th I posted the fabric softener so you can click the link below step 1 to check it out.

Step 1: Homemade Fabric Softener

http://smalltowncitygirls.blogspot.com/2014/04/homemade-fabric-softener.html

Step 2: Homemade laundry detergent
I've been making homemade laundry detergent for a couple years now. I started doing it at the bed and breakfast because it's drastically cheaper. This is a liquid laundry soap that can be messy at times, but I love it.

http://www.icanteachmychild.com/make-it-homemade-liquid-laundry-soap-1/

A note about my pregnancy!

Court here. The past few months have been truly amazing. I am overjoyed that the Lord has blessed us with a baby growing quickly inside my belly. It is such an amazing experience that I hope every woman (who wants to) can experience some day!

It has been such a relief and joy to tell family and friends our exciting news. We kept it quiet for 13 weeks, which was really tough for me.

Here is how we told my Mom and Ron the news, we sent them this picture. For those of you who do not know, they have a special relationship with Shiloh (on the left) because she is their dog Chloe's baby. My mom pretty much raised Shiloh for the first 12 weeks! 

So this picture seemed appropriate. 

Now that the news is out, I get random texts from family and friends, like this from my dad. I love it! Thanks dad, we will need to remember this. 

Here is our little baby at 12 weeks 1 day. We love him/her already!

Oh and I cried at my first ultrasound. It was an amazing experience and weird. So weird. It's happening.

Right now I am 15 weeks and the baby is the size of a large naval orange. Wow! Its crazy that there is something growing inside of me, the size of an orange and I cannot feel it. Pants have just begun to feel a little snug around the waist, but most everything still fits. I am excited to have a cute belly to show off, but until then I just have this little pudge. But it's a cute pudge.

So how has my pregnancy been so far?
Overall I would say pretty good. I am sooooo thankful that I have not had much morning sickness. There were a few weeks (weeks 8-11) where food sounded gross and I was nauseous in the evening, but nothing terrible.

I continue to workout and do even more yoga now, which has been helpful with some back pain. I'm trying to eat healthy, but vegetables just hardly ever sound good. But I eat them anyway, because I know how good they are for me and baby. Plus, we are starting to harvest lots of veggies from our garden (that will be another post soon).

I'm tired and I love my sleep. I'm just trying to get as much in as possible before December arrives.

Cravings so far include sour gummy candy -- great for you, right?

Nick has been amazing and supportive. He is always looking out for me, making sure I am resting and he taking care of things around the house I cannot do (like poison the weeds -- I hate weeds). I love when he rubs my belly and prays over the baby.

A bit overwhelming. 
This past week I started looking at nursery furniture, strollers, monitors, etc. And WOW! It is overwhelming. There is so much stuff out there and the prices vary soooooo much. I wonder if the more expensive car seat is safer or is it just some fancy brand that drives the price up?!?!?  There is so much to figure out, but I know that I have tons of friends with kiddos who have already gone through this process, so that is reassuring.

Lastly, our little Shiloh is no longer going to be the baby in the family. Here is a picture of her with Nick. Shiloh was convinced that there was a tennis ball sitting on top of a speaker so Nick had to lift her up to prove there was nothing there. It was quite comical.

I hope you enjoyed my update!
~Court

Ok yum...pasta salad to feed an army!

This pasta salad is amazing. Delicious. Ridiculous. I eat this for several days in a row when I make it.
The credit for this recipe goes to my momma.

This above picture is not how much the recipe makes. There is a huge container of it in my fridge to go along with what is shown here.

It takes a little bit of time to make this pasta salad, but is well worth the efforts. Plus it makes a ton. Once you've had this, you will crave it like I do. Its a great side dish for BBQ's, any summer parties you might be going to or on its own as a meal with some chicken added.

By the way, there are tortellinis in this salad. Yum!

So here it is, Christi's Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 red onion, chopped
• 2 cans artichokes, chopped
• 4 chopped tomatoes
• Fresh parmesan (or feta)
• 1 head broccoli
• 1 box round tri-color noodles
• 1 box cheese tortellini
• 3 prepared packages of good seasons italian dressing (make this with balsamic vinegar and olive oil)
*start by adding two packages on the dressing to the salad, then add more to taste

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions on box and let cool, toss with olive oil so it does not stick together. Make good seasons italian dressing with balsamic vinegar and olive oil according to directions on package. Chop all veggies.  Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Chill in fried. Add cooked chicken if desired.

And look at this picture you can see the bits of tomato, broccoli, onion and artichoke hearts. Delicious!

I hope you enjoy!
~Court

New mommies to be

   

   So I've realized some important things needed for your little ones room and items you'll probably end up needing right away. 

So here's a list of things I had or bought after Tru was born: 

Clock 

trash can

Night light 

Lamp 

Dirty hamper 

Baby monitor 

Sound machine

Changing pad

Syringe bulbs 

Glider 

Little end table next to glider for your water and such. You have to drink a ton of water while breast feeding!

Boppy

Burp cloths

Nursing pads 

Blackout curtains  

Things I found useful during the first few months. 

Baby books - I started reading to Tru right away and he enjoys it!

Breast Pump 

Dr brown bottles 

Nursing cover 

Activity play mat 

Baby bath 

Good nursing bras and sports bras 

Swing

Ergo carrier or moby wrap 

Newborn sleepers with zippers - I didn't think Tru was going to be 6lbs and we had no preemie clothes and only a couple newborn. I highly recommend buying some newborn zip up onsies and keep the tags on until you come home from the hospital. That way if you don't need them you can return it 

0-3 clothes 

Mittens - for scratching 

Newborn beanies 

Grooming kit 

Swaddle blankets 

Few different brands of paci's

If you're having a boy I recommend buying a lot of little baby washcloths and always keeping one on the changing pad because it happened one too many times of Tru either peeing on him, me, Chet, the wall and a few other crazy places. :-) boys will be boys! 

Cetaphil lotion or coconut oil. Tru had a little eczema and the cetaphil helped within days. 

I hope this has helped you and if

You have any questions please ask! 

Healthy Tuesday...Sweet Potato Quinoa Soup, Salad and Homemade Bread

It's healthy Monday again and I have an entire meal to share with you. I found the sweet potato quinoa soup on pinterest and just cpoied it below. The second part of the dinner was our homemade salad and bread.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Soup 

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free, Vegetarian & Vegan

Ingredients

• ½ cup quinoa
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, chopped
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth
• 2 large organic sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
• ¼ tsp. cumin
• ¼ tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp. organic dried cranberries
• ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa on stove top according to package directions.
2. Place a large stockpot over medium heat; add oil and onions. Sauté the onions until golden brown. Add the garlic; cook for another 3 minutes.
3. Pour in the vegetable broth and grated sweet potatoes; bring to a simmer and add cumin, chili powder, sea salt and pepper. Cook until sweet potatoes are tender, approximately 20 minutes. Then, carefully transfer mixture, in batches, to a food processor. Puree until smooth.
4. Return mixture back to the pot on the stove over medium heat, add in dried cranberries and cooked quinoa; cook for 5 minutes then remove from heat.
5. Serve warm. Garnish with parsley.

Homemade Vinaigerette Salad:

Romaine lettuce

red onions

tomatoes

walnuts

avocado

apples

red cabbage

Mix it all together with a vinaigerette dressing.

Vinaigerette dressing: I don't measure. I just go by taste.

olive oil

splash of water

vinaigerette

italian seasonings

sugar

mustard, any type will work

crushed garlic

garlic salt

Homemade Bread: I use my express 58 minute setting and it's so yummy! The best part is there's only 7 ingredients.

1 1/4 cup water

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cups bread flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp yeast

1/2 tsp salt

Put the ingredients in the order listed with the yeast in the middle and press the start button.

Stop. Pause. Rejoice

Stop, pause and rejoice is my new saying. My devotional last week was based on those three words. When your flustered or upset just stop, pause what you're doing, and rejoice. This is so fitting for me and Tru. Being a mommy is the most demanding, difficult, never ending and exhausting job BUT it is the BEST job in the world!!! I'm so priviliged to be Tru's mommy. It's truly the greatest gift! It amazes me just thinking that God blessed us with our perfect little boy, to be his parents and raise him up to be a Tru man of God.
Tru isn't the best napper and he's still getting up 2 times during the night. Yes, I said 2 times and he's 17 weeks. My boy likes to eat! So there's times when I get frustrated and just want him to sleep, but I now stop, pause and rejoice to our Lord Jesus Christ and thank him for our Tru.  It has helped me SO much and I wanted to share it to you in hopes that it will help you to.
Deuteronomy 26:11 "You shall rejoice in al the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household."
I continue to do the 'stop, pause and rejoice' and it has now become a habit (I even do it when I get frustrated with our dog Reagan). And that's the kind of habit worth forming.