Break is Over....Hope to make 1 post a month at the very least!

After my short break away, and many requests from fans, I feel like I might be ready to share my life again through blogging! I'm sure many of you will rejoice at hearing those words. :)

I have not stopped journalling things that I do and I still take lots of pictures of each new project or craft I am working on. I do think I will have to just aim for one post a month because my internet access is very limited and with spring, summer, and fall on the way I will be busy with gardening, raising my son, and several fun projects we have lined up (plan to redo our kitchen/dining rooms and the laundry room this spring!).

I have had a lot of life changes going on recently. Good things for sure, but different for us. I'll just go through some of it as it comes to mind:

1. I've discovered a love for natural living! We are currently working through daily things and finding healthier, less toxic options. Maybe one day I'll share a post on some of the changes we've made.
2. We have been cleaning up our diet for at least 6 months now. Finding healthier, non-GMO options, even buying many USDA Organic foods. I think this has been a great change for us health wise though we will probably see better results once we change our diet completely... which brings us to the next point:
3. We are looking into doing a modified Paleo diet. I can't live without dairy (at least not at this point!) so we are going to buy raw milk from a local farmer and make our own cheeses and butter and things like that (well... over time that is! lol. can't do it all at once.)
4. I've been using essential oils for quite some time now, but just recently signed up through doTerra to receive wholesale prices on their oils. At this point I dont feel comfortable making that a business opportunity for me since I am not educated enough on using oils to give advice to people I barely know or dont know at all!
5. I am looking into becoming an Aromatherapist! Unfortunately thats super expensive... so it'll be awhile before I'm able to do that, but I am learning what I can through internet research and books in the meantime.
6. I have also become extremely passionate about breastfeeding in recent months! We made it to my original goal of 1 year and are still going strong at almost 14 months now. I am just so impressed that we have made it this far. I also donate 100oz weekly to another little boy who has many intolerance and does not do well on formula and his mom was unable to breastfeed. Donating is such an amazing thing in and of itself!
7. Along the lines of my new found breastfeeding passion... I took an admin position on a breastfeeding support group in January and have been able to help many moms there with what I know from my own experiences, and what I've been able to research through the internet on things I've not experienced. This has sparked another interest in me:
8. I'm currently working towards becoming a Le Lache League leader! I've not sent in a request yet since I haven't completed everything required, but I'm working through their list of requirements and hope to one day start a group in my area (which is sadly lacking in brestfeeding support!).
9. Future children? I was dead set against having more kids once Little Man was born. We had a really rough pregnancy and a rough delivery and healing took months longer than I had anticipated. I've had many conversations with my Doula friend over my fears of having more children. She has helped me work through a lot of that and I'm now considering that possibility. I know I'm not ready for that yet so it may be a ways down the road, but it is certainly in my thoughts.
10. With LM we have been using cloth diapers, babywearing, breastfeeding and now extended breastfeeding, we do not vaccinate, and it was actually hubby's idea to homeschool... turns out this style of natural parenting is labeled "crunchy". So I'm a crunchy mama! Who knew? lol. I've joined many crunchy mom groups on facebook and have learned so much about natural parenting and living. That has made a huge difference in our lives recently (the last 6+ months). I even started a local crunchy moms group on Facebook and have been able to connect with like minded mamas near me. (I have a post on 'what is a crunchy mama' that I posted back in September you can check out to learn more!)
11. I have been making crochet baby blankets for friends who have babies for several years now. I've been asked if I've ever considered selling them.... and I hadn't, but I think I will make up a few and put together an online shop and see where that goes. I love making them and they are perfect for babies/toddlers. LM loves the 2 I made him!
12. I have become passionate about vaccines lately as well. Anyone on my friends list on Facebook would know that! lol. I have done HOURS of research now. Just recently though I was transferring files to my external hard drive and lost probably 100 hours worth of vaccine research. I was, and still am, very upset to have lost all of that hard work. Fortunately I didn't lose everything, and I know where to go to find the information again, but it even with knowing where to find the information it will take me hours upon hours to make new files again.
13. When we moved to the country in 2013 one of my dreams was to get chickens. That dream is very close to coming true! A lady up the road a ways has organic chickens and is willing to show me her set up. I am planning to build a chicken house and get organic chickens of my own going in the near future as well! This may also be something that pays for itself as we live on a busy highway and could sell what we cant use.
14. Once I get chickens my new goal is to get a goat to have raw goatsmilk. Hubby is not completely on board with this idea, but we have time to convince him that this would be a worthwhile thing for us.
15. I do want honeybees of my own eventually as buying local raw honey has made a huge difference in my allergies the last few years (last year I was able to go almost the full spring and fall seasons without taking over the counter allergy medication which is a really huge deal for me!). Hubby brought of the valid concern of raising bees and children together. This might be a dream for the far future instead of the near future.
16. Last fall I created a wholesale account through Frontier Co-op. Through that I have been able to order a lot of organic products and spices I might not otherwise be able to afford. It has really been a good thing for our family! I am looking into a local food co-op to buy bulk organic foods like wheat berries and oats. I haven't signed up with them yet but probably will in the near future.
17. We have been planning our 3rd year garden. We ordered organic, non-gmo seeds this year and are looking for organic seed starter from a good company so we can get those babies growing. I have good hopes for this years garden since we have 2, rather rough, years under our belts now.

I'm sure I could come up with more, I always do! That gives you a glimpse of what is going on and what we are seeing for the immediate future. As I said, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to blog here, but I'll try to aim for once a month at the very least. Internet access is sketchy at best so I have to take it when I get it and thats never consistent. Hope to hear from you readers! ~Helen

The End

Well ladies. I think I've come to the end of my blogging. At least for now. I am just finding it really difficult to get up to the library to schedule things and I cant do anything for my blog from my phone so I think it's time to have an end here. Its not that I don't want to blog! I still write posts all the time, I just NEVER have time to come up and schedule things and its really frustrating.

So, until further notice... this is the end of Blue Eyed Beauty Blog.

I have decided to leave the blog up because there is SO much on here. Of course you can always contact me through the Blue Eyed Beauty Blog facebook page by messaging me on there (I'm not able to access my emails either from my phone).

Maybe one day the county will see fit to install decent internet in our area and I can resume blogging. Until then know that I will miss blogging and interacting with you!

-Helen

What Is A Crunchy Mama?

Facebook groups are my new favorite thing lately. I have learned SO much by the many groups I've joined. I have my favorites, and then I have those I like to browse on occasion. After joining the first few groups I kept seeing the term 'crunchy mom' on posts I was interested in or on things I would comment on to help a mama out. I had a feeling I was a 'crunchy mama' and didn't know what that was so I decided to Google it. Yup, I was right, but I only consider myself "semi-crunchy".

Here are some of the links you can check out:

Urban Dictionary: Crunchy Mom
Blog Post: The Stir: 20 Signs You're A Crunchy Mama
Fun Quiz: The Morals Family: How Crunchy Are You? (I got 123!)

This is a general idea of what things make you 'crunchy'. I've collected the different things from several sources, but most everyone agrees on these topics:

Crunchy Parenting Topics:

• No birth control/Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness Method
• Unmedicated childbirth/Homebirth
• Placenta encapsulation
• No Vaccination
• No Circumcision
• Breastfeeding/Nursing in public/Extended nursing/Tandem nursing
• Exclusive Breast Feeding for 6+ months/Baby Led Weaning
• Attachment Parenting
• Gentle Parenting
• Bed Sharing/Co-sleeping
• Babywearing
• Extended Rear Facing Car Seat
• Homeschooling/Unschooling/Montessori Method

Crunchy Living Topics:

• Homesteading/Gardening
• Eating Clean/Non-GMO/Organic foods/Natural foods/Raw milk & foods
• Vegan/Vegetarian/Paleo
• Holistic/Complimentary Medicine
• Herbal/Homeopathic remedies
• Wear little or no make-up/uncut hair
• DIY Body Care Products
• No Poo
• Cloth diapering
• Menstrual cups/Mama cloth
• Family cloth
• Natural cleaning products, etc.

I only call myself semi-crunchy since I don't do even half of this stuff, but I still like following the Facebook groups because I think there are some interesting things to be learned from them and because, on the things I DO, I can learn or share my experiences with others.

So in my post from the end of August I mentioned I had new topics for you. THIS is one of them. But if we are being honest...I've made 'CrunchyMama' posts thought the life of my blog so it's technically not a new topic, BUT it does have a label now so all the posts related to the list above can be found in a much easier way. Not everything is under that label yet (takes time to add that to all the previous posts) so do check out the links/labels below!

*Some* OF MY 'Crunchy' POSTS

Check out my Homemade Laundry Recipe. (DIY PRODUCTS LABEL)

Read about my experience with the No Poo method: Beauty Tips | Hair. Baking Soda Shampoo/Vinegar Rinse. Lets Talk About Hair | Back to Using Baking Soda. (LETS TALK ABOUT HAIR LABEL)

Read about my Cloth Diapering experience (CLOTH DIAPERING LABEL): My Thoughts at 2 Weeks In. My Thoughts at 2 Months In. 5 Things for Using The Wet Pail. Getting the Stains Out.

DIY Body Care recipes or posts (DIY BEAUTY LABEL): DIY Shaving Cream. Baking Soda Shampoo/Vinegar Rinse. DIY Facial Toner. Olive Oil Sugar Scrub. Homemade Whitening Toothpaste. DIY Healthy Hair Oil. Lavender & Lemon Lip Scrub. Lavender & Peppermint Foot Soak. DIY Microderm Face Scrub. Yogurt Face Scrub. Olive Oil Hair Treatment. DIY Scented Vinegar Rinse for Your Hair. 3 Ingredient Homemade Body Scrub.

I share occasional posts about my GARDEN. No gardening tips or anything, but if you're interested in my garden then check out that label. I also do some CANNING. Again, no recipes, just posts on things I've done previously.

I was homeschooled from the beginning, all the way through high school. This has greatly affected my opinions on homeschooling. My Little Man is still much too small for hubby & I to make a decision on whether or not we will homeschool or allow him to go to public school, but until he is of age to attend school I plan on teaching him as much as I can. (HOMESCHOOLING LABEL)

BABYWEARING. This is a new one for me. I actually am getting ready to make my own ring sling carrier. I am waiting for the rings to arrive so I can put it together! I'm sure this is a future topic for this blog.

I am very thankful to be able to say my Little Man was exclusively breast fed (EBF) though 6 months (a little over actually!). We are currently doing a version of Baby Led Weaning (BLW), but also do homemade baby foods with him too. I have yet to write on BLW, but check out the BREASTFEEDING label. I have more posts in the works for both of these topics.

Close
So there you have it! These are the topics I write or will be writing about that just so happen to also fall under the 'crunchy' label. I'm looking forward to sharing with you some of the things I've been working on writing for these different topics. Hopefully it won't be too long before they are posted for you to read! (Not all of these posts have been tagged with the "CrunchyMama" label on my blog. It takes time to do that and I haven't had a change to add that label to all the above posts.)

Gearing Up For Another Great Blog Season!

Summer is just about over and I wanted to write a quick update for all of you lovely readers!

I have had quite a busy summer and am honestly not ready for it to be over. I am trying to enjoy the last of these days before it turns cold again. I have been working on quite a few posts and have several new topics to add to my reader list for you all! I am excited about the future posts for this blog and hope you all will enjoy them as well!

Over the summer I have worked on yet another room makeover, two actually! My living room & hallway. Still haven't finished decorating ANY of the previously made-over rooms, but I have been slowly working on them as I find the things I'm looking for to complete the 'look' of each room. I will be sharing living room renovation pics when I come back from my summer break.

I have been back at making and canning homemade jelly this year! I already made two batches of Strawberry Vanilla, and a batch of Blueberry jelly. I have plans to make more strawberry, more blueberry, plus grape and blackberry jellies too! I probably wont have recipes there to share, but I might share some pics of all the canned goods! Our apple trees have not done well so I probably wont be doing much canning with them, but I did get a gallon of cherries off our trees and want to attempt homemade cherry pie filling! Homemade spaghetti sauce (canned) is another canned item I want to try and make soon too.

Our gardening experience has been less than good this year. Not only did I get started late, but I also ended up spending 2 weeks on a blueberry farm, and then two weeks on the living room/hallway makeover, and then some time on vacation to see my best friend & my sister. Needless to say, I am grateful for the green beans we have gotten out of it so far (3 quarts and counting!) and there are plenty of green tomatoes that are just needing to turn red so I can make some homemade spaghetti sauce! Our okra is not doing well at all. The plants are barely knee high and there are only a few pieces of okra all together. My corn looks terrible as well, but it might surprise me in the end. I really think we will get nothing there either. I planted sweet onions in the main garden...they have since been transplanted into the organic bed where the dirt is looser to hopefully help them grow.

Cloth Diapering is going really well! I have written an update post to share more details about that with you. We are pretty much full time cloth now. In the beginning we did cloth only at home. Now I am brave and do cloth on the go, and on all-day times away from home. Still not brave enough to do cloth while on vacation, but that's okay. :)

Breastfeeding is going well too! Little Man is a pro and is getting so big. I cant believe how fast he is growing, but it is exciting and I'm happy he is getting big. I recently discovered that I can donate breastmilk and have donated 206oz. so far! I'm working on getting together more to donate again. It is such a wonderful feeling! (I will also be sharing more details on this!)

I've been into healthier eating lately and have come up with a few yummy recipes which I plan to share with you all when I come back. Oatmeal is a main food for me right now with pumping to donate milk. I make oats for breakfast, muffins, cookies, put it in smoothies...its a huge part of my diet so I've had to come up with many ways to eat it in order to avoid burning out on it! I've also got a new Cajun recipe to share with you as well! Hubby has been cooking in the kitchen this summer!!

Our cat Demi is doing SO well with LM. They are good play mates and LM crawls after him all over the living room and hallway. Its quite entertaining to watch them play.

I have quite a bit more that I plan to share with you during the fall months!

See y'all soon!

-Helen

Posts on Hold

I am having laptop issues again. I do believe that my hard drive is about to crash (it's caused problems in the past). I am really not happy that I've had to have it fixed so many times this past year. I'm really hoping that this next fix will be a final one as it is quite annoying to try and do stuff when it keeps breaking down.


I have been writing posts or starting post ideas and saving them on my external hard drive, but don't have anything really finished enough to post on the blog. I do have stuff to share, but its not ready yet and laptop issues make it next to impossible to get them finished.


I hope to resume posting at the end of June, but I might wait til August if things in life get too busy the next few weeks (I have a lot of stuff coming up that I have said I would help with) so just bare with me as I get through summer! :)