DIY - me? Yep!

When you live in a big house with small spaces and a lot of people, you have to get very creative. Sadly, that is not my gift. Therefore, my big house with small spaces is cluttered with massive amounts of stuff.  Some of the stuff includes kids' shoes.  Each of my kids has a lot shoes. This causes trouble, as I cannot stand to see shoes all over.

I bought the most ridiculous remedy for the shoe issue. I bought a shoes under bag. Yuck! Not a good idea for kids' shoes. This contraption has no form at all, so it literally becomes a floppy bag that gets squished under the bad.

Last week I finally had enough of looking at that shoe bag.  My kids pretty much refused to use it anyway. There are always shoes strewn over the floor.


I found this picture on pinterest. The concept seemed so practical. The shoes were contained and they really don't take up that much space. The problem was, I could not find any instructions.  The only information available was that this was made from PVC piping. That seemed simple enough. My dad is a water guy. Well, after talking to Dad, it became too overwhelming trying to find 6" PVC pipe. I came up with my own plan.

Enter, buckets from Dollar Tree! Score 1 for the dollar store. I got a piece of 2x2 plywood from Lowes for $3.48. That makes $9.48 for one shoe rack... I love it!

Next came the hot glue gun.  After Mom and I plotted out the design that we wanted for this shoe rack, we glued the buckets onto the plywood.

I let the glue dry for about 30 minutes.  I stood the rack up and was so pleased that it stood on it's own. I did not have to prop it up against the wall.  I left the ropes on the buckets just for the fun of it.  I might get creative and think of something to hang on the ropes.   

For the youngest of the babies, I was able to fit 2 pairs of shoes in each bucket.  For the biggest of my littles, I was only able to fit 1 pair of shoes.







Regardless of how many shoes I was able to put away, I am very pleased with my project.  And now the kids' shoes are off of the floor and out of those ridiculous shoe bags.  They will be able to put their shoes away on their own now.  They can no longer complain about the zipper being too hard. I say this is a "Woohoo" for Mommy!

Time to Rehydrate

We have all been sick since Thanksgiving. That is a terrible way to feel, as we're into the second week of December. Most of us are coming out of it, but a few of the Hurd are still coughing up yucky stuff and carrying around wads of tissue.

The littlest of us probably got the worst of it this past week. He had some stomach bug that had him out of commission for about a week.  Anything that he ate was coming out from both ends. That was not pretty. It was hard to tell if it was actually a stomach bug or if it was his allergies. The Monster is the one that is allergic to milk, eggs, and soy, among other things. We tried not to give him too many new things; just keeping it simple for the week.  I will say that we tried a cheese replacement when we had pizza night, but he was not too interested so I doubt that affected him too much. And it was made of rice! What?! Yeah, rice. So he should be good with that when we try it again.

A friend of ours came over and mentioned that she had a stomach bug recently and drank Pedialyte for a few days and felt so much better. I figured we could try that for the Monster; afterall it's a kids drink. He was not impressed by the taste so we had to mix it with apple juice. On the second day, the Monster broke out into a crazy rash with hives and red cheeks.  This is a very rare occurrence for my Monster. Needless to say, I was in a bit of a frenzy.  

Another friend with an allergy baby helped me regroup and think a little.  She reassured me that this itchy phase would pass.  There was no breathing issues; I could stick with the allergy meds and hydro-cortisone   As I talked to her, we talked about the new things that I had given him recently. The only new thing we could really think of was the Pedialyte.  In her daughter's case, sometimes it takes days for the reaction to come to a head.  I had never experienced this because the Monster usually throws up anything that he can't handle. So, no more Pedialyte for the boy was the determination.

I still needed to rehydrate him though because he was having diarrhea and throwing up.  I remembered that coconut water is an excellent hydrant.  This thought made me excited. The Monster has no problems with coconut. In fact, I put coconut milk in his oatmeal and he drinks coconut milk as his milk.  I was ready!

The next morning, Dad went to the store to get his baby some coconut water.  This one is sweetened and has pulp in it.  I put it in a shake bottle with a filter. I added a little pineapple juice and ice. We were in business.  It took the Monster a few tastes to adjust to the change from apple juice, but he enjoys it now.  Today, my Monster is back to his old monster self.  He's eating full meals again, singing, and running around the house.  I am so pleased that we were able to get through that adventure. Today, we're ready for the next one.  

More Gladness?!

Ever been filled with so much wonderful joy that you had to share it? Well... that's me today! I'll bet sometimes people do wonder how I can be so "happy" all the time. "More gladness?" (That's a line from one of my favorite movies.)  That would be the question in my mind if I saw me coming around the corner as cucumber cool as I tend to be.  But here is the thing: I serve a God that's GOT THIS! Worrying about things like a reduction of force at my husband's job just seems pointless. We pray about it. We save our dollars. And we go on with our days.  Dwelling on the unknown would serve no purpose.

So here is what has changed in my life thus far: I got interrupted!! My super wonderful husband woke me up one morning at about 4AM. It was not intentional, but when a person stalks around the house and turns on lights, what else can you expect? So, what happened when I woke up at 4AM? I decided to go to the gym. I had recently joined a local 24 hour gym.  I figured I'd better start using that membership. That early morning has changed my life.

Some of the other things that have changed are: (1) My house is more organized than it has ever been. (2) My kitchen is regularly clean.  (4) I am not fussing at my children nearly as much as I think I was before.  (3) I am energetic and HAPPY with life as it is.

Ok, Althea, why are you posting all this sappy happy stuff? I want to encourage you to find that thing that you need to make positive changes in your life. If you feel tired all the time.  If you feel angry all the time.  If you just want the days to end.  Make a change.  For me, it was getting organized (with the help of a most wonderful cousin that is a wiz at organizing).  That was the first step that changed everything for me. I felt physically free after this change was made. This was the weight that I was carrying around every day (but that's another post).  I was no longer going to bed with the thought of what room I needed to clean up in the morning or what dishes I needed to clean just so I could cook breakfast.  Now I can go to bed with bed on my mind only.  And would you believe, now I'm getting up six days per week at 4:40AM. WHAT?!!

Plantains - Fry Baby, Fry!

Today I discovered THE way to fry plantains. I have been pretending to fry them for years. This time it was real! I actually coated the plantain with rice flour, sugar, coconut milk, and coconut. I love coconut, so naturally this was terrific for me. 

 

Monster Essentials

Just some of the things that this Monster has to use every single day:

G Diapers are an alternative to disposable diapers and cloth diapers.  They are flush-able and biodegradable.  After switching to cloth diapers, we wanted to go with something that would not be too harsh on the environment.  

 

ScrathMeNot: Flip Mitten Sleeves
"For occasional newborn scratching to the constant scratching of those with skin irritants like eczema, chicken pox and more!"

The Monster scratches like crazy.  When I met the owner of the company, I knew that God had placed her right in the same space as me for a great reason.  Since that meeting, he has worn one everyday.  From their colorful sleeves, to the silk mittens, these flip mittens are excellent.  ScratchMeNots were ideal for our family during the time that it took us to get the hang of taking care for a baby with severe allergies and severe eczema.  

Shea Butter Mix Created by Mommy

I just love it when I meet someone that tells me something new that I never thought of. I started mixing shea butter and oils when I talked to a friend at church.  She doesn't like lotion, but suggested that oils were the way to go.  She suggested grapeseed oil.  I always keep grapeseed oil in my cabinet, so I decided to go home and try it. Score! I have been mixing shea butter, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, and other essential oils for months now.  This combination of products has worked quite well for the Monster. We apply to his skin after a bath, on damp skin.

Coconut Milk 

At birth, the Monster's birth weight was very normal.  He was thin, but many babies are and we had no initial concerns about his size.  We just figured he was our thin baby.  As he got older, his doctor decided that he was not gaining weight at an average rate.  The doctor sent us to nutritionists, an allergist, and a dermatologist.  As milk is one of his allergies, one of the nutritionists suggested a milk supplement.  I read the ingredients and was highly unsatisfied with this choice.  I decided to try coconut milk.  Coconut milk has fat, fiber, and iron that the Monster needs. He was not able to get these essential nutrients from cow's milk and we did the research to find another option.  

It brings us such joy to see our Monster thriving. He is a major talker. He walks like a champ now. And he is FAT! Our entire family has been waiting for the day that we could say that about this Monster.  He has gone from an under nourished, skinny baby, to a thick, healthy Monster.