September is here!

September is here. It seems that summer flew by and I could use another month or two of it!

We have been doing school stuff through the summer at our convenience so, school is nothing new for September, however, we will probably do a lot more now :)

I am happy to get back to it but I am exhausted so it isn't easy keeping up with everything.

We are expecting a new baby in February 2014!!! This means we will have to try our best to get as much as possible done before that day comes. The last thing I want to be doing is stressing about school and house work when we have a new baby in the house. Wish me luck as I try to get everything taken care of as well as possible.

We are quite behind in school.. it doesn't bother me too much. My kids are smart and pick things up quite easily, we just have a very relaxed attitude toward school. I would rather them love learning than anything else. If you teach a love of learning, they can learn anything!

So even though they are registered in grade 2 and 3, we still need to catch up on their grade 1 and 2 stuff! I do hope we can really get serious about this and have them studying at grade level. I do like to know they can keep up with their peers.

Just a little update on my new plan for health. I stopped at a 30 pound loss and now I hover around 220. I am happy with this and hoping that I can hover there as long as possible and not gain too much pregnancy weight :)

In this picture, we couldn't figure out what to write on the chalkboard. We went with "and baby makes 7" (5 kids plus mom and dad) and then the photographer sent this one to me. It says "and baby makes 5" for 5 kids. I'm not sure which I like better. 

Almost 9 weeks now

Almost 9 weeks on my new plan and here I am! I wasn't doing waist measurements before but I have now started. My waist has gone from 45 inches down to 44.5 inches since I started measuring. I sure wish I would have a starting point for that because my stomach has gone down so much since I started the plan! My weight is now 227.5, so I have lost a total of 23.5 pounds in almost 9 weeks. Not bad.

I almost ate a piece of cake a few days ago. We were at a birthday party and I have been feeling really down about the eating plan lately. I was so close to eating it, I could taste it! Then I looked around and I saw my other friends who are hoping to become healthy and eat better. I see them struggle just like I have in the past. They were making the choice to eat the hot dogs, the chips and the cake. Maybe there is no room for eating these things when one is an addict? I have been in their shoes many times, and it never served me well to eat like that when trying to make a change.

Sure I want to believe that I can eat a piece of cake, or have an ice cream cone here and there... maybe I can in the future, but for now I am an addict and it would just be the start of a downward spiral. It does make me feel depressed sometimes. I miss and love the taste of those foods! But as many people who have been successful with food say, skinny feels better than food tastes! 

It really does. There are no words for how good it feels to be comfortable in your own skin! I have been there before and it is really a whole new world. I am excited to get back to that feeling. For now though, I will enjoy the journey and appreciate the small victories along the way! Life is about the journey, not the destination, right?

7 weeks!

It has been 7 weeks on my new plan. I am sticking to it and things are going good. My test results did show some improvement, although I was hoping for a bit more dramatic improvement. I guess I didn't become unhealthy overnight, so I won't heal overnight either right?

My weight has stalled now and is hovering around 235. I am happy with this weight but I would be happier with more physical results. I haven't been eating many vegetables, so I think I might have a goal of getting my veggies in each day and maybe that will help move the scale a bit. If the scale doesn't move for a while, I am still incredibly happy to be treating my body better and getting healthier.

People notice now that I look much healthier in my skin and face. My stomach is not out further than my chest now, and I am eating zero junk food.

As you may be able to tell by my blog, I love pictures and I don't really like to post with out adding a few! Here are today's pictures:

Our strawberry patch, which grows bigger every year!

Our new deck and garden. I will have lots of fresh vegetables to choose from this summer!

Here is a drink I have been having daily to help my liver out. It is lemon juice, half a full lemon, a table spoon of olive oil and a cup of water. I blend it for a minute and then strain the solids out. It isn't too bad, but it isn't great either.

I have been making stew often. I make it from scratch and it is amazing! I sometimes eat it for 2 meals per day! This one has yams, chicken, vegetables and barley. It is delicious!

and here is a current picture of me. The lighting isn't great but I may as well take pictures of myself so that I can see the changes. I already notice the swelling around my eyes has gone down and my skin has cleared up.

I hope to keep the happy updates coming!

Hope you are well,

Michelle

I've made some changes!

6 weeks ago, I began a new plan that will help me to return to health.

I quit dairy, sugar, flour products and fried food.

I began drinking 80oz of water per day, squeezing fresh lemon into almost all of them.

I began enzymes and homeotox.

275 was my highest weight. This was when I was pregnant with my youngest baby Talia, who is now almost 2 years old. Here are some pictures of that time. This change I am making is not about weight, it is entirely about health and wanting to have energy and full range of motion so I can participate in life with my children. However, since weight can be an exciting part of the journey, here is my "before" pictures. This is me in 2011. I have had the baby, and I have dabbled in weight watchers between then and now so my start weight for this new plan is a bit lower than my all time high.

 

I started this plan weighing 251. My highest non-pregnant weight was around 260. My weight went up and down while doing weight watchers since I would be on and off the plan. Weight watchers is a great program, but you have to stick to it, which I wasn't doing for longer than around 7 weeks each time.

I went to a local lady who has qualifications such as blood analysis, urine and saliva analysis and iridology. The first thing she noticed was that my blood cells clump together and I had bacteria in my blood. She suspected leaky gut. She found some things in my eyes which I don't recall the details of and my test results as a whole showed that I was not digesting food properly, I was not absorbing nutrients and my kidneys and liver were struggling to do their jobs.

I have kept to the plan for 6 weeks now and I had my follow up appointment today. She changed some of the supplements up according to my new test results, but the eating plan will remain the same. The only thing that will change is that I can now introduce one to two servings of fruit per day.

Some of the major changes I have noticed are that I can actually sleep and I feel well rested and I am not so weak and tired. The first week was very painful. I had an intense pain in my lower back/bum/upper legs. After researching it, I have learned that it is very common with detoxes and also when a person begins a raw food diet. I am not eating a raw diet, but I am open-minded to it. I have more energy and I am able to get so much more done around the house. I have more feelings of well being and more energy. I have had almost no cravings for junk food which has really surprised me since I literally felt like a slave to it before.

I could go on and on about this plan, but I will sign off for now. Also, even though health and vitality are my main focus, I will end off by telling you that my current weight, after 6 weeks is 235. That is a total loss of 16 pounds. It feels great to move toward a healthier weight and body size! It feels even better knowing that I am beginning to reverse the damage I was doing internally with my previous lifestyle choices.

Much love and light,

Michelle

Flats and Hand washing challenge 2013 Day 7

                                            

I am taking part in the Third annual flats and hand washing challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and hand washing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all.  You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post.  This year there are over 430 participants from all over the world!

What have I learned?

I learned I really don't like hand washing. It's very hard on my back and hands. The diapers get super clean, but it is hard to rinse them properly. Over the week, my daughter developed a rash, so I have been using the non-hand washed flats instead of re-using the ones I have already used this week. Luckily there is only one more day and I have a lot. I'm sure over time if I had to hand wash, I would come up with tricks and methods for this, but for now I will just be glad when the challenge is over.

I have been reminded how much I love using flats and pins! I love thinking of generations before me and the connections we have through mothering and babies. I learned that the diapers got more clean during the challenge than they did in the washer and dryer before we started the challenge. One of my diaper covers had a large dirt stain from playing at the park, even after being washed in the washer and dryer. One time through the camp washer and it is almost as good as new! Instead of the stain covering her whole bum, it is now a spot smaller than a dime!

Thankful for my camp washer, and my husband for taking the time and energy to make it for last years challenge.

Thankful for my drying rack, which is the perfect size for one day's worth of flats/covers and wipes.

And, especially thankful for my sweet little daughter who was 100% co-operative through the whole week with no complaints.

I am glad this year's challenge is over and looking forward to any future challenge I may be able to participate in!

See what other participants learned this week by clicking here :)

Flats and Hand washing challenge 2013 Day 6

                                            

I am taking part in the Third annual flats and hand washing challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and hand washing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all.  You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post.  This year there are over 430 participants from all over the world!

Today I thought I would show my favorite folds and some pinning.

This is how I arrange my flats. I have the kite fold on the left and pad fold on the right. I might skip the pad fold since I love working with pins so much, but my husband and daughter like me to keep it easy for them. I really appreciate their help, so I taught them the easiest way to change her during the challenge. I told them to lay one or two pad folds into a pul cover. Everyone is happy with this arrangement. When I change the baby's diaper, I use the flats folded into a kite fold with a pad fold inside the diaper.

My daughter is a toddler, almost 2 years old, so I don't make the receiving blanket smaller before folding it into the kite fold. I start with a full size receiving blanket.

Then I fold it into a diamond.

Then I fold the top down to form a triangle.

and fold up the bottom a bit, so the rise is just right for my little girl.

I set this to the side and get started on my pad fold to lay inside. I start by folding a flat in half.

and again.

From here, it depends on the size and shape of the receiving blanket. I may fold it in half, or in thirds... just depends. I like it to be about this size.

I then lay it in the diaper.

I fold it so it is ready to go when I need it.

 When baby is ready for a change, I place it under her. I then put the pad fold in the right place.

 

Then I pull the diaper over that.

 

Normally, I can pull the two sides in and use only one pin in the middle, but this one is not going to work that way so I will pin both sides.

 

 I poke the pin in, with my fingers holding the diaper up just enough to make sure that the pin doesn't poke baby, then I stick it back through being careful not to poke my fingers.

At this point, it looks like a pretty poor job. It isn't my best, but it will do.

I tuck in the material, rolling it in so it holds in the waste properly.

I put the cover on and then make sure none of the flat is peaking out. If it is, I just tuck it in.

 Check out what others have to say on open topic day (day 6) by clicking here :)

Flats and Hand washing challenge 2013 Day 5

                                            

I am taking part in the Third annual flats and hand washing challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and hand washing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all.  You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post.  This year there are over 430 participants from all over the world!

Today I am going to talk about what is working for me and what is not. 

The wind is working for me! The first few days of the challenge were super windy and my flats were drying in around a half an hour! The last couple nights, I have had to bring my flats inside from the car port to dry overnight because it has been gloomy, a bit rainy and absolutely no wind! Here are my flats after drying overnight in my room:

Here is my load of flats today! It is the biggest load this week! Working with a camp washer in the tub is working very very well for me. Many of the flats/covers are getting cleaner than they have been getting in my washer and dryer!

Something that is NOT working is using fleece longies. It won't happen again. They are very hard to properly wring out. I guess I should have thought a little harder about that one!

It is working super well to let time and water do the work for me. Soaking the diapers as well as agitation has been allowing me to do less work with great results.

I love this rubber glove! It really saves my hand from a lot of abuse! I would not want to do this challenge with out it!

It is working very well to scrunch and move my flats around to get the stiffness out of them. Here is a before and after photo of a wipe fresh off the drying rack.

Another night of indoor rack drying :) This is my largest load of the week at 10 flats, several wipes, a swim diaper, fleece longies and a wet bag.

Another thing that is working very well for me is to do one load per day. Washing this way allows me to know that once I am done, I am done for the rest of the day. It is just nice to know that you don't have to worry about something for the remainder of the day. I wouldn't want to do this if my baby needed too frequent of changes, but at this point, it works very well for me :) 

See how others are doing on day 5 by clicking here :)

Flats and Hand washing challenge 2013 Day 4

                                            

I am taking part in the Third annual flats and hand washing challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and hand washing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all.  You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post.  This year there are over 430 participants from all over the world!

Today, I will be sharing my thoughts about hand washing and how I am doing.

I dislike hand washing. I don't find it gross at all though, which was my initial worry when I first learned about the challenge over a year ago. What I dislike is that it takes time out of my day that I could be doing other things. I also don't like the feeling of wringing out the water before hanging to dry. It makes my skin raw and hurts my hands in general. 

I do enjoy participating in this challenge though! I love learning how to hand wash and I am so happy I have learned to use flats! I have really been enjoying pinning the diapers and finding what works for us! This year is a breeze compared to last year! I figured out what works and what does not work and it has been going really smoothly!

I have a great routine going, I have found a fold I love. I found a detergent that works super good! I'm happy! In fact, I have been able to easily (with out even trying) get stains out that the washer and dryer could not!

Here is today's load washing up. It's bigger than yesterday's.

The weather wasn't great. I put the flats in the car port to avoid rain, but there was zero wind so they didn't dry very good. I decided to bring them indoors to dry over night.

Over half way done now! See how others did on day 4 by clicking here :)

Flats and hand washing challenge 2013 Day 3

                                            

I am taking part in the Third annual flats and hand washing challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and hand washing them in an effort to prove that cloth diapering can be affordable and accessible to all.  You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post.  This year there are over 430 participants from all over the world!

Today I figured I would show you my routine during the Flats and hand washing challenge.

I keep a bucket in the bathroom, about half way full of water. This is where I store the flats/covers and wipes waiting to be cleaned. I thoroughly rinse and scrub poopy diapers in the toilet before putting them in here to soak. I leave the plunger in there so I can agitate the diapers a bit when I am in the bathroom.

I dump out the water and diapers into the tub... not too many today :)

I squeeze them as good as I can with one hand against the wall of the tub.

I put the squeezed flats/covers and wipes back into the bucket.

I fill with cold water for the first rinse.

I agitate with the plunger for 3-4 minutes.

I pour out the water and diapers into the tub again. I squeeze out the excess water the same way I did before and put the squeezed diapers back in the bucket.

Now I get the water really hot for the hot wash.

I put in a teaspoon of Tide free and clear liquid HE detergent.

I agitate for 5-6 minutes.

Now I let it soak while I go eat breakfast/lunch (depending on what time I get to them).

Once I come back to the diapers, I agitate a bit more and then dump/squeeze and put squeezed diapers back in the bucket. I then fill up the bucket with cold water while agitating with the plunger. This is just a super quick rinse. 

As soon as the bucket is full, I agitate a bit more and then dump/squeeze and put diapers back in the bucket for the final rinse.

After the final rinse, instead of dumping the bucket, I pull the flats/covers and wipes out and leave the water in the bucket.

This will now be my soak water for the rest of today's diapers :)

To dry the covers, I roll them in a towel and they come out almost dry!! It is great!

For the final squeeze, I first squeeze out down the length of the flat.

Then I fold in half and repeat.

and again :)

Then I squeeze and twist until there is little to no dripping of water into the tub. They end up looking like this. As I get them squeezed, I lay them on the bucket lid. When I am all done, I can just carry the lid over to my drying rack! :)

Here is my drying rack, I have just hung my flats/cover and wipes.

I then check out the weather forecast to see if I should dry inside or out. Looks like a great day to dry outside!

However, it is super windy so I decide on the car port so that my rack doesn't blow over!

The flats were dry in no time thanks to the very windy day! I then fold them so they are ready for use :) The top is pad-folded and the bottom ones are folded in a kite fold.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! See how the others are doing on day 3 by clicking here :)