Natural teeth whitener!

Make your own natural teeth whitener! Cheap and healthier way to whiten your teeth with stuff you probably already have sitting around!

2 Tbsp Baking Soda

2 drops lemon oil (lemon juice will work too)

1 drop water (enough to make it into paste)

Get your teeth as dry as possible and gently brush the mixture onto your teeth. Let it sit for a minute and then repeat until desired whiteness is achieved!

The cost of a stamp, 40 days of give it away!

Here I am about 18 days into the 40 day give it away challenge and even though I still have 22 days left to go I am still amazed at the changes I have made in my thinking. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit and I can see how this has already proven true. Throughout the last 2 and a half weeks I have made an effort to give something away no matter what. I have paid for peoples drinks in line behind me at Starbucks, done a little volunteer work, made cupcakes for the neighbor, and somedays I just gave someone a compliment for no reason. Giving is a mentally not just an action. I am now constantly thinking of ways in which I can give to others. I am not proud to say, this was rarely on my mind at all before.

                   (Bre at the Feeding the Children Everywhere volunteer event, in her lovely hair net)

In the last couple weeks Dustin and I have had a few financial blows that had me discouraged. I was starting to wonder if maybe I should postpone this challenge until we were more stable, but I got the reassurance I needed to keep going...

It was later in the day, the kids were cranky and Hazel was exhausted and screaming in the back seat. I needed some stamps for mail Dustin asked me to send that day. I went to 7-11 and asked the lady if they sold stamps and she said no. UGHGH!!! They used to sell stamps! How annoying, I was already in a bad mood and just wanted to get home and this didn't help. As I was leaving, another lady was going out the door the same time as I was and told me Publix had them. I told her thanks and went to go drag myself and screaming kids over to Publix to get the stupid stamps.

Just as I was closing my door the lady came back over and asked me how many stamps I needed. I counted my letters and told her, "four." She said "Oh I will just give them to you" and went back to her car to see if she had that many. She had exactly 4 stamps left, which she gave to me. I thanked her oohhhhh so much and went back to my car. God bless that lady.

I know a stamp is only about 44 cents, but it was not the point. That lady had never seen me in her life, but she was generous enough to give me stamps and save me the hastle. It made me realize that even though somedays when I only have 4 stamps to give, it still makes a difference. It encouraged me and made me realize that its not about the money, it is about the gesture, the kindness, the outward thinking.

I have learned a lot about myself in this process so far, but the biggest thing I realized is how desperately I needed to think outside my four little walls. Imagine how different this world would be if everyone looked after others and took the focus off of themselves? I never plan on going back to my "old ways" and will continue searching for opportunities to give whenever possible..... Even if it is just a stamp.

40 days of give it away!

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how I want my kids to be givers, not receivers. I want them to think outside of their four walls about other children who are less fortunate and may even go to bed hungry.

While everyone likes to receive things, there is a difference in receiving and being a receiver. I personally want myself and family to be the people who GIVE to people in need. With that said, I have come up with a little challenge for anyone who wants to participate. For the next 40 days we are going to challenge ourselves to give something away every single day. I am not talking about donating stuff we don't need to the poor, because we should do that anyways. Giving something away that is valuable is what this is all about. It could be as simple as paying for the persons drink in the line behind you at Starbucks, or donating some of your time volunteering. You reap what you sow and while some days you might find if difficult to give when you barely have yourself, do it anyway.

I am going to keep a log of the cool experiences I have along the way, and I encourage you to do the same! See you in 40 days!

Bye bye baby belly!

As parents, we want to do our absolute best for our children and often times neglect ourselves in the process. We don't have time to exercise or eat right because we are so busy taking care of everyone else. The problem with this is that our children will follow in our footsteps. If we live an unhealthy lifestyle our children will also. After having Hazel I found myself to be constantly exhausted, I felt like everyone was sucking the life right out of me. I have always worked out, but in the last month or so I have gotten serious about making it a priority.. These are the things I have done to get myself healthy:

-Eat when I wake up (usually a hard boiled egg.) I like to do my workout first thing in the morning so this gives me the protein I need to get my through it.
-Eat a lot of small meals throughout the day. I go grocery shopping every weekend and stock up on healthy snacks (granola bars, lunch meat, nuts, fruit, veggies, and cheese.) If you don't have healthy things available to munch on throughout the day you may be tempted to go through a drive thru and get a burger or something. Most people eat bad out of convenience.
-No food after 7pm! Water only!
-Jillian Micheals 30 day shred- best workout DVD ever! After 20 days I am on the hardest level and getting amazing results (and I can do it in my pjs!)
-Drowning myself with water (at a minimum, 12 cups a day)

I now have the energy to keep up with two kids and sleep better at night than I have in a long time. I am not going to tell you it is easy, but the hard work definitely pays off!! I am more confident than ever and motivated by my results.

(Please excuse my messy closet)

I  also suggest picking a date that you want to achieve your results by and when you feel like giving up, remember that date! Even if it means planning a night away with your significant other as a reward to yourself, that can be your motivation! In the process you will become a better parent because you are leading by example and setting your family up for a healthy life! Good luck, and I would love to hear about your success!

Getting Started with Healthy Living!

Recently I have had a lot of people ask me for my sources of information for vaccine information and natural medicine. I decided to compile some of the info I have in one spot for people to reference when searching for answers.

Books:
Vaccine Epidemic by Louise Kuo Habakus MA, Mary Holland
Vaccine Illusion by Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D. in immunology
Doctor of the Future by Dan Yachter
Louder Than Words by Jenny McCarthy

Websites:
http://drtenpenny.com/default.aspx
http://www.naturalnews.com/vaccines.html
http://www.nvic.org/
http://novaxdoctors.webs.com/doctorlist.htm
http://www.novaccine.com/
http://www.know-vaccines.org/

This is a good well rounded start, but believe me there are plenty more resources!!!! The most important thing about this subject is doing your OWN research and not just taking other people's word for it. Even your doctor or pediatrician may not have very much detailed information. There is no doctor better than a parent. Do not be motivated by fear but rememeber knowledge is power. It may seem overwhelming, but just take one thing at a time and make the best decision for your family.

:) Courtney

Baby Boundaries

I don't know about everyone else, but when it comes to my job as a parent I take it very seriously. Almost too seriously. I get stressed out about the dumbest things, and want to make the absolute BEST decisions for my kids at all times. I spend hours researching random stuff, looking for fun crafts, shopping for the healthiest food, reading parenting books and looking for answers to every question that pops into my head. It gets to a point where I become overwhelmed and if a kid is sad or mad or bored for any reason I feel like I am failing as a parent. I know that may sound ridiculous, but being a parent is my most important job and I want to give my all.

In the last couple days I came to the realization that in order to be the best possible parent I can't be stressed or overwhelmed. I need balance. For me this balance comes in the form of setting boundaries with my kids. I have put together a little list of things that I think are important in order for parents to keep their sanity. Everyone knows, if mama ain't happy, nobody is happy.

1. When going to the bathroom close and LOCK the door- What a concept, huh? I promise you, they will survive out there.
2. Consistent bedtimes- Putting kids to bed early is not only beneficial to them, but you will be amazed how nice it is to have some "you" time.
3. Quiet time- During the day when you are going to lose your mind, send everyone to their room (or playpen) for at least 30 minutes so you can catch your breath.
4. Demand a regular date night!- My husband can tell when I need a night out because I get super cranky. It is a wonderful thing to get dolled up and spend time with the one you love.
5. Take a shower!!- I make a point of taking a shower and doing a little makeup every single day. After all, I am a woman too, not just a mom.
6. Make this list longer!- Don't be afraid to put yourself first once in a while. Set boundaries with your kids and stick to them.

While your world does revolve around your kids most of the time, it is important not to lose sight of who you are and what you love! Make time for hobbies and friends, and the end result will be a more fulfilled parent who can live up to their fullest potential!

Victim or victorious?!

We have all met "that" person. The one who doesn't want anyone to rain on their pity party parade. The one who doesn't want you to offer a solution because they enjoy being the victim. A victim always gets screwed and someone else is always in the wrong. They feed off the attention they get from a "horrible" situation or circumstance. There are two types of people, victims and those who are victorious.

At some point in our lives we are all victims. Bad stuff happens to everyone, and you are defined by how you handle this bad stuff, not whether or not it happens to you. Victims will wallow in a pool of self pity forever until the next bad thing happens to wallow in, but a victorious person gets mad, cries, yells and pulls them self together. Being a victim is a mentality. If you consider yourself to be one, then you always will be.

To be perfectly honest, today I had a crappy thing happen to me. Someday when it is a closed case (literally) I will elaborate in my step parenting diaries but for now we will just call it a crappy thing. When said thing happened I was mad as hell. Here I am putting my heart and soul into being the best possible parent and step parent and not only is it unappreciated, but it is threatened. I know, I know poor me. Woe is me, I do my best and still don't get anything for it except for government officials knocking on my door. NO! I cried, got mad, but then I realized that none of that was going to change anything. I know in my heart that I am doing what is right for my kids and on THAT I will stand. I am taking victory over this situation. I will NOT be threatened or fearful, I have given God the control and I know that yet again he will pull through for me. I am victorious.

Many times we are in situations that will make us or break us, and how we react is what decides the outcome. It is ok to be mad or sad, but at some point you have to pull yourself together or you will always be the victim. I don't know about you, but I know I would much rather live victoriously. I used to hate when people would say that you choose your own destiny, but it is true! If you have pity parties nobody wants to come, but a victory party is a lot more fun!!!

Thank you to all my friends and family who love and support me, I could never fight this battle without you and NEVER have I been more grateful!