Put Down that Bottle of Soy Sauce!

I caught you!  Did you know most soybeans are genetically modified and your soy sauce is most likely made from those beans?  Also, the soy sauce you're using might also contain a preservative called Sodium Benzoate which is suspected to have skin or sense organ toxicity hazards.

As a FANTASTIC alternative, use Bragg's Liquid Aminos!

Here is some info from their site:

Bragg Liquid Aminos is a Certified NON-GMO liquid protein concentrate, derived from healthy soybeans, that contains the following Essential and Non-essential Amino Acids in naturally occurring amounts:

16 Amino Acids
Alanine Arginine Aspartic Acid Glutamic Acid Glycine Histidine Isoleucine Leucine	Methionine Phenylalanine Proline Serine Threonine Tyrosine Valine Lysine

Great on Salads & Dressings, Soups, Veggies, Rice & Beans, Tofu, Wok & Stir-frys, Tempeh, Casseroles, Potatoes, Meats, Poultry, Fish, Jerky, Popcorn, Gravies & Sauces, Macrobiotics. Ingredients: Our Bragg Liquid Aminos are made from health-giving, NON-GMO soybeans and purified water. They are an excellent, healthy, gourmet replacement for Tamari and Soy Sauce. Not fermented or heated and Gluten-Free. Bragg's has a small amount of naturally occurring sodium. No table salt is added. If less sodium is desired use a 6 oz. Bragg's spray bottle and dilute with 1/3 distilled water or to taste and then either add in or spray on food.
Health Benefits: A source of delicious, nutritious, life-renewing protein. Taste you'll love - Nutrition you need. Great on salads, veggies, dressings, soups, rice, beans, Wok foods, tofu, gravies, jerky, poultry, fish, popcorn, meats, casseroles, potatoes, etc Contains important healthy amino acids		Bragg Liquid Aminos contains: no chemicals no artificial coloring no alcohol no preservatives no Gluten Certified NON-GMO

Find Me on Etsy!

Guess what?!  I make homemade baby ring slings and you can find me on Etsy!

Click Here to Visit the Smiling Seamstress on Etsy

Here are three examples of slings I have made:

You will find a sling to be extremely useful! I put mine on each time I take the baby to the grocery store. It's quick and easy and I don't have to carry in her infant seat. It's also great in public; strangers are less likely to want to touch your baby because she is snuggled up to you. Finally, it creates less bulk. You won't always need your stroller because you can just put your baby in the sling. It folds nicely to fit in the diaper bag so it's always handy. I even use mine around the house when my baby is fussy and just wants to be close!

Look me up on Etsy and ask me about custom orders!  I would be happy to sew one for you in your favorite colors.

Homemade Baby Wipes

I don't think I have blogged about this before so I thought I would let you in on a secret.  Store bought baby wipes are for the birds!  :)  There is a cheaper and HEALTHIER way.

Here goes:
Use a quality paper towel like Brawny (I have also found that Walmart's Great Value brand is fantastic).  Cut the roll in half so you have 2 short rolls.
You will need a container with a lid that one of the rolls will fit into.
Simply put 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol in the bottom of the container.  Now, place one of the cut rolls in the container.  Let it soak for 30 mins then pull the cardboard out of the center.  Remove the wipes starting from the center of the roll. 

Why so much trouble?  Why not just buy baby wipes?

Here are the ingredients of a certain name brand wipes:
water
Paraffinum Liquidum
Propylene Glycol
Oleyl Erucata
Phenoxyethanol
Glyceryl Oleate
PEG-40
Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Cetearth-20
Methylparaben
PEG-75 Lanolin
Cetylpyridinium Chloride
Butylparaben
Perfume

Do you know what all that is?  I didn't think so.  I'll break it down for you according to my research.
Paraffinum Liquidum- mineral oil
Propylene Glycol- Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=705315#
Oleyl Erucata
Phenoxyethanol- According to a warning by the FDA of 2008 "Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that is primarily used in cosmetics and medications. It also can depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in infants". 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenoxyethanol
Glyceryl Oleate
PEG-40- http://www.thesmartmama.com/understanding-labels-peg-40-hydrogenated-castor-oil-greenwashing/
Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Cetearth-20- Ceteareth-20 is the polyethylene glycol ether of cetearyl alcohol; may contain potentially toxic impurities such as 1,4-dioxane. Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Not safe for use on injured or damaged skin
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=701225
Methylparaben- Methylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=703937#
PEG-75 Lanolin- This ingredient is a chemically-modified form of lanolin, a fat-like sebaceous secretion of sheep. (Limited information available)
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/721898/PEG-75_LANOLIN/
Cetylpyridinium Chloride- It is an antiseptic that kills bacteria and other microorganisms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetylpyridinium_chloride
Butylparaben- Butylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors.

Human endocrine disruptor - strong evidence

Human skin toxicant - strong evidence

One or more animal studies show effects at very low doses

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=700868#
Perfume


Long story short....homemade baby wipes are cheaper AND healthier!  It's not hard.  So, get a roll of paper towels and a knife and get started!

Hot Temps and a Cooooold Freezer

It's super hot here.  We're doing all we can to keep our plants alive....and our chickens alive.  However, this heat is good for something!  Defrosting your freezer!  If you've read the "In the Kitchen"tab, you know that we have a tiny frig/freezer combo.  It's not an auto defroster so the little freezer section froze to a solid ice block.  Since it's tiny, we just wheeled it to the front yard and let it sit in the heat with the door open.  Several hours and a few hammer poundings later...we had a defrosted freezer.
Now, here's the purpose of this post...  We had lots of ice hunks on the sidewalk and we thought, "What could we do with these that would be purposeful and not let them go to waste?"  So we put ice hunks in our flower pots and around trees & bushes.

No matter what you are doing, try to think of ways you can re purpose things...even ice!

Our Garden Tomatoes

Amazingly, in this heat and drought, we have be able to get a few tomatoes out of our garden.

We planted heirloom varieties so they won't get as big as some of the hybrids but they sure are tasty.  You can't buy anything like this from the grocery store!  They are deep red and juicy inside.

Mr. Right is faithful to water them about every other day.  Otherwise, they probably would have scorched by now. 

If you don't normally plant a garden, I would encourage you to plant just a few tomato plants next year.  Homegrown produce is priceless!

Using the Sun instead of Bleach

As you can imagine, cloth diapers get stained really fast.  Mr. Right saw my basket of clean cloth diapers one day and thought they looked terrible because they were so stained.  They were clean, they just didn't look like it.  He told me I should bleach them....well, I had bleached them.  Then I remembered being told (and reading) that the sun would bleach them and disinfect as well.  So that day, I hung a load of cloth diapers out to dry.  Within hours, they were dry and bright white!  It was like magic!

I couldn't believe it.  I never thought the sun would do such a good job.  From now on, if I need to whiten my whites I will hang them outside.  Plus, as a bonus, anything hung outside gets that nice outdoor smell! 

Keep this in mind...the more bleach you use in your washing, the more bleach that gets put in our water system.  The sun is free and non toxic so take advantage!