Dirty Hair Update!

I am amazed at my hair right now! I haven't washed it in a week and today I decided it was time to wash it, but not with Shampoo, I used baking soda! It felt so weird as I poured the paste all over my head and scrubbed my scalp with it. After I rinsed my hair actually felt like I had just put conditioner in it and I also used the soda to scrub my face. It was a great exfoliator! The big test was what my hair looked and felt like after I dried it. I normally let it air dry but today I used a blow dryer because I was too impatient to wait and let's be honest, blow drying your hair just seems to make your hair look better in my opinion. So here are some pics of my new hair. So fresh and so clean and without the chemicals!

My pathetic sexy pose.

Oh so shiny! I love it. Now all I need is a good hair cut and it will look even healthier!

Need Help Moms!

OK! So I posted this on my facebook status as well and I have already gotten a few responses but I am up for more advice when it comes to helping me figure out how to transition Jake into an early bedtime routine. Jake is 4 months old so think back to when your kids were that age! He is a great sleeper when he is sleeping and I don't have to rock or nurse him to sleep. He goes down being swaddled and with a pacifier wide awake and falls asleep on his own.  No loud toys or bright lights are in his room when I put him down. He is in a dark room with a fan on low.
So far here is his whole routine throughout the day.
7am - Wake up and eat
7:30a-9:45a - Back to bed
9:45 - 11:15a - Eat time, play time for 1-1.5 hours
11:15- 12:45p - Nap for about 1.5-2 hours 
12:45-2p - Eat, play
2-3:30 or 4p - nap (1.5-2 hours)
3:30 - 4:30 or 5p - Eat/play
5p-6or 6:30pm - Nap
6:30 - 8p - Eat/Play
8p - try to put down for bed and he will fall asleep
9p- wakes up not acting tired or hungry so we get him up and wait until he acts hungry, feed him, and put him back to bed. He usually will sleep for another hour or little longer and wake up again and by 10:30-11pm will be out for the rest of the night.
I don't know if you see the pattern there.  He is asleep for 1.5-2 hours and awake for about the same amount of time. His wake time is usually shorter then his sleep time because he always shows signs of being tired at right about an hour of being awake. I then will change him, swaddle him and put him down without but more then a kiss on the forehead and he is out within 5-10 mins.
I feel like I need to shorten his morning nap and then he can have a longer afternoon nap, and a third, but short late afternoon nap and then try to get him down for the night around 8-9pm. 
What do you all think and what did you do with your 4-5 month olds?

Dirty Hair: cause I'm a hippy like that!

Well! Well!  Has it really been over two weeks since my last post?  The days pass by so quickly and yet, I complain about being bored. I must not be if time flies by like it has. We have been keeping busy.  Jake sure helps the days go by quickly but I find that after a couple of days with nothing planned my cabin fever creeps up on me and attacks viciously without warning. Even a trip to the grocery store keeps me sane. For some reason getting out of the house for an hour works to keep cabin fever symptoms to a minimum. 
To catch you up.  Last week I decided a couple of things. I decided I am not going to wash my hair for a while, or maybe never again.  "Why," you ask?  I knew you would ask.  Well, I have decided that I am not happy with my hair and that could partly be from having well water which dries it out even though we have a softener.  Two years ago I switched from washing my hair everyday to only every 3 days and that was helping.  Now, I just want to experiment with the no-poo hair and see what happens. I googled it and found several people that support the idea and have been poo-free, some for 6 months,  and others 12 months or longer. I also have a friend who tried it for a few weeks but broke down and used shampoo.  She says that there is a transition point that your hair goes through to get used to not being chemically stripped of it's natural oils.  So far it has been a week and it's not that bad... yet!  My hair obviously feels different.  Not dirty, but certainly not fresh.  Joe says that I'm a hippy!  Oh well, I did have my baby at home! So be it! I am a hippy in more ways then one. I will keep you updated on the process. Here is a link if you are curious: http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=365
The second thing I decided was to learn to knit. The same friend that didn't wash her hair for a few weeks knits and she has inspired me to start. She loaned me a set of needles, a book and gave me some cheap yarn to start with.  I haven't started yet. It is kind of hard to get it going with all the stay-at-home mommy things I do during the day.  I also tend to procrastinate when it comes to learning something new.  Don't know why, but I do.  I hope I learn quickly because I know I will give it up if I don't and I would love to be able to make things other than scarves and pot holders.
Well I am out of words to write. It is late, the baby is fed, I have watched Idol and The Bachelor and it's time for bed.  Hope you all are having a great day and not stuck inside like me.  Call me if you want to hang out!

Looking back and moving on

I have never been a New Year resolutions kind of person so don't expect me to write a list of goals for this new year. I think goals are important, but for me, the need to change a part of my life shouldn't wait until the start of a new year, it should start right away. I understand it makes it so much easier to wait until the New Year. Maybe just because it is easier to keep track of how I'm doing with the goals I set for myself. The only thing that I have decided to start this Jan 1st 2010 is to read the Bible twice thru. I have already read it once thru a couple of times in a year so I need a new challenge. Joe and I have set a financial goal for ourselves, but who doesn't. We all want to get a better hold on our money and not be stupid with it like we have been for the last 7 years of our marriage. We finally feel that we are going to be faithful to a budget which is exciting! We have never been in a lot of debt, but what little debt we are in we would like to get out of sooner than later.

Looking back on 2009 I would say that we lived a good one. We spent our first full year at Rainbow Christian Camp and we love being here. Of course the best part about 2009 was bringing Jake Owen into our lives! Other then that it was just another year for me. I don't feel like I accomplished a whole lot last year, but I am happy and content with where God has put us and I'm looking forward to another year.

One thing I would like to work on for this year would be to find ways to do more then just live and exist. Last year I didn't live outside of myself or comfort zone very much at all. I would like to find different ways to make more of a difference in this world then just go about my life being home most of the time watching TV or cleaning the house. I know that Jake is growing up quickly and learning a lot from the way Joe and I live our lives, so I want to do my best at teaching him that there are more important things in life than keeping his room clean. I hope that he can learn to love helping others and understand the importance of being generous as well as building others up. I feel our world is full of too much sarcasism and needs more affirmation. Sarcasism can be funny, but hurtful at the same time and makes people forget how to give a compliment so I hope Jake blesses others with his words.

I am excited to live out a different year and hope to follow the dreams God gives me.