Embracing Minimalism

Minimalism has always appealed to me - perhaps because I always felt overwhelmed by the need to pick up so many things I owned which I wasn't really fond of. Toys, books, clothes, makeup, and the list goes on. When I married, my husband and I lived in a tiny apartment which we managed to barely fit ourselves into, and part of that was deciding what our essentials were, though we weren't living with the minimum.

About two years ago, I threw away or sold the majority of my clothes and started using a capsule wardrobe (just before I became pregnant, which was terrible timing, as most of what I wore was tailored). It has only been in the past month I've been able to finalize it so that almost every piece is high quality, can be worn year-round, is maternity-friendly, and can be worn while nursing a baby (I am still nursing and hope to have another baby soon).

DIY Handwash

I remember once seeing an interview with a doctor where he stated that professionals in his hospital were required to wash their hands a ridiculous number of times. When they walk into a room, when they're leaving, right after drawing blood, etc. I'm not sure an actual number is that helpful but guidelines outlining when you're most likely to have come into contact with infectious contagions.

That being said, I worked in two settings, before I became a stay-at-home-mom, where washing my hands frequently was a requirement. I hated it - mostly because my hands would get so dry.

The High Needs Child

I have a high needs baby, and that's one of the big reasons it's been so long since I've written. It's stressful. Some of you know exactly what I mean. Here are some of the signs you have a high needs child:

• No one gets consistent sleep
• It's nearly impossible to have a set routine
• People frequently say your baby is “so alert!” or “takes in everything!”
• Your baby is much more interested in adult things than baby toys
• Your baby nurses a lot – and may not sleep through the night until well after being a year old
• Your baby wants to be held and have face-to-face interaction constantly
• Your baby is slow to warm up to unfamiliar people

Milk Drunk

There is nothing quite as sweet as the contentedness and silliness of a baby who just finished nursing.

My Baby Won't Sleep Through the Night Anymore

At three months, my little girl slept through the night for the first time. A proud mommy moment followed. When she did it a couple more times, I was ecstatic. It seemed so early! How lucky I was to have a three-month-old sleeping through the night without nursing

After she did this, I asked my husband to take over in the evenings, should she wake up – so that she wouldn't think she was going to nurse if I picked her up. He agreed. She woke up every night; he would soothe her back to sleep. She really fought going back to sleep, and it could take nearly two hours, some nights, to get her settled. Then she started waking up more than once. She was upset, Daddy was grumpy, Mommy was confused.

All-Natural Living - How's it Going?

A month ago, I made the decision to go all-natural and make my own hygiene and cleaning products. There have been a few bumps, a lot of nice surprises and changes, and overall, myself and my husband are loving it. Here are a few things we experiences that I thought would be worth sharing.

Deodorant: this was going well. For three weeks, there weren't any problems. I figured I was safe, but then my underarms turned really red. A couple days after I noticed this, when I was showering, skin came off in clumps. I'm serious. I did more research and read that baking soda can be too irritating for some people. I remembered reading this before, but I've never had sensitive skin, so I didn't think it would be a problem. I changed it up and now am using deodorant made up of equal parts cornstarch and coconut oil, with 2-3 drops of essential oil per 1/2 cup. I'll update this post when I've been using it awhile so you know how that's going.

It's also good to note that you should store your deodorant in a dark, cool place. I forgot to tell my husband this, and his deodorant melted all over our dresser. Despite the fact that we ended up with a nicely polished dresser, it wasn't the ideal situation. Store properly (in your fridge, if you keep your home warm - because coconut oil liquidates at 76 F) and you shouldn't have this problem. Additionally, essential oils can lose their potency in sunlight, so you want to avoid that all well.

Exhaustive List of Date Ideas

Dressed up super fancy to eat at a local burger place

When it comes to date nights, my husband and me are not the best planners. For special occasions, we can plan really excellent days, but from week to week, our time together can seem a little uninspired. This is mostly because we aren't too good at coming up with ideas on the spot. I decided to put together an exhaustive list of things we can do. Some things I found ideas for elsewhere, many I came up with on my own. I will sort them by ones to do at home and ones that mean going out.

If you want cheap, free, interesting, kid-inspired, kid-friendly, intimate, flexible... it's all here :).

I am chronically ill, so a lot of things many active couples would do aren't on this list. Also note that some of the home dates require getting things beforehand.

Right now, there are 99 ideas; I may add more on as I think of them or they are suggested. Have fun!