Welcome to Baby #4! & News Interview: More women in utah and the nation are choosing to give birth at home

Ready or not, get set, go!

Yesterday afternoon I got an unexpected phone call from channel 5 news asking to be interviewed about my home birth experience as they were doing a story on the rising number of women in utah choosing home birth.

Apparently the number of women choosing this option here has doubled, though that does not mean much statistically since it was only 1% in 1990 and has only risen to about 2% in the last 2 decades.  They also cannot differentiate the data to know which home births were planned vs. unplanned which is a huge difference in safety.  They wanted to do the story because a report was just released by the health department stating which facts they did know about the rise in which the health department said that it just wanted women to become more educated about their decision and in choosing a qualified caretaker to prevent any risks.  This is so important no matter where you give birth as safety is most mother's number one concern.  Choosing home birth for me made sense because I came from a family that has experienced planned home births safely for generations, however my first I had in the hospital to appease friends and relatives on my husbands side of the family.  For me the hospital was a place full of fear and protocols that led one to another until I left with one very traumatic experience and a beautiful baby.  I am not against hospitals, but for me they have their time and their place.  As long as all precautions are met as well as everything is flowing just the way it should with an experienced care provider, I feel I have less risks for complications in my home births, which is why I have chosen home births for all the following kids (though I still like to see a medical doctor during and after the pregnancy on top of my midwife visits when possible).


It is quite funny that I was called because I had a dream just before, that I was on a tight deadline to put together information on birth for a large group of people.  When I awoke I thought this meant I needed to finish the short book I have been writing on "Christ Centered Hypno-Labor" that helps women who are preparing for a calm, safe and peaceful birth and who are either using or considering using hypno style methods or any other type of meditation (hypno is highly recommended by me as my 3rd was completely pain free from using these methods of working through labor).  I had just had enough time to get the kids breakfast and pull out the computer to start writing when I got the phone call asking to come in only 45 minutes!  I quickly showered, picked up the front room, got all the diapers changed, dressed the kids, threw on some eye shadow, and before I knew it the news reporter we always listen to on the radio was there... what a rush!  My voice was shaking a bit and I was so nervous.

I have not actually felt ready to talk about my fourth birth to very many people yet even though my sweet baby is over 3 months old now.  The birth was a good birth but a few things happened that I wasn't happy with and so its been hard to process.  I guess I was meant to process it in front of the world, because now its part of the news.  Since they typically only use the clips that spin things the way they want even if out of context I thought it might be time to tell my birth story in whole here, where I've been asked for it anyway.

Right on the due date, September 15th, a sunday night, I awoke in the middle of the night with some contractions.  It was a beautiful moonlit, peaceful night and I am used to having contractions before labor actually starts for at least a month before birth with all my kids.  I got up to work through them, put some relaxing essential oils on my belly and potentially go back to bed.  When I got up I realized that the waves I was working through were every 8 minutes apart regularly and there was this intense peace that just filled the air, like you could feel angels throughout the home there to await and support our little Bonnie Jane's arrival (I was told by my midwife that this feeling is very common in all the births she assists in).  I became very happy and excited to see my little baby.  As long as I stopped as I felt the contraction starting and supported my weight on the counter or some other place while doing a very low squat and rocking through them I was in no pain at all.  It was work, like an intense exercise routine that lasted a couple minutes every ten minutes, but it felt more like waves.  I felt a wave coming in, prepped my position, and then worked with my body to ride the wave until it fizzled out.  Much like a surfer catches and rides their waves through.  After a little over a half hour of timing them I woke my Hubby up to tell him I was in labor.

I was cherishing the calm serenity of it all and knew I had a while to go so I told my husband not to have the midwife come yet.  He wanted to call her and so I told him to just tell her she didn't need to hurry, that she could take her time and put off coming for a bit but that it may be that morning sometime.  I knew I needed more time that morning, but she had assisted another midwife at the birth of my 3rd and remembered how fast that was (I had Daisy an hour after I awoke in labor and called).  Nervous about being late to a birth she rushed over as did a doula and a secondary midwife (they work in groups so that there is extra support to keep things as calm and safe as possible).  Well, when I knew I wasn't ready for people, I was right.  Even though she was my midwife and I trusted her the distraction of having her preparing her stuff along with the quiet whisperings in the background from her helpers and the occasional tinctures between contractions was too much for me.  I needed to be going within myself to follow the waves and when assistants came it became harder to catch the waves, but also I became nervous about how I would look while I caught the waves in front of them.  I also almost felt the need to host them, though that sounds really silly since they were there to help me, not the other way around.  When the beautiful sunrise came up the contractions became further and further apart and eventually stopped, that angelic feeling also slipping away with them.

I do believe that had I insisted we wait until I actually needed my husband to help with pressure points during the waves, or even just insisted that she not set up and wait in the car until that point, I would have had Bonnie Jane on that day.  I've read many instances of labor halting like this but have never known anyone personally who experienced it, so it was interesting to experience first hand.  I also believe it would have been similar to my painless and very calm birth experience with Daisy 2 years ago.  After labor stopped I did many very empowering fear release exercises for both me and the baby that helped me come to new understandings of the spiritual nature of birth, so it isn't all bad that I had to wait two more weeks.  In a book called "Orgasmic Birth" it actually talks about how to have that calm, safe, and beautiful flow of birth that I had experienced previously in my 3rd babies birth, but also why some don't have that ability.  When my labor stopped I read a section of that book that explained the hormone progression in labor that would actually cause what had happened to me.  It was so nice to understand why.  By the way "Orgasmic Birth" is by far my favorite book on birth and preparing for birth right now (no matter where you're planning on delivering), though "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" follows closely behind.

When I was nearly rounding out 2 weeks later I was having contractions on and off but nothing was really sticking.  Just as a hospital doctor doesn't want a birth to over-extend, my midwife didn't want me to have complications from too long a gestation period either (although she always factors in that there is many times a lapse by 2 weeks in the calendar date set and I usually am just under 2 weeks later than my due dates).  With all my stats and the babies stats the way they were we decided it may be best to kick labor into gear instead of just wait.  She gave me some homeopathics and essential oils to use together (I waited 15 minutes between the use of one to use the other so that there would be less risk of them not working, but she said these specific ones tend to work whether or not they are used at the same time).  I took them quite often for the rest of the night and nothing happened beyond me having what felt like the same old inconsequential pre-labor contractions.  The next day I kept taking it with the same result.  We skipped church as my contractions were about 10 minutes apart and we tried going for a whole bunch of walks but nothing like that angelic feeling of the baby coming soon was really kicking in.

I was getting a little agitated around lunch time because when I'd close my eyes for a contraction the kids would get really close to me and try climbing through my legs or some other really distracting thing.  I thought I'd be maybe another 10 hours out, judging by how things had gone in my 2nd birth that was 18 hours long at home.  Well, I called my mom to ask if she'd just come play with the kids in the basement playroom while I just relaxed and tried to take a nap, because I was tired and thought I could sleep through the contractions ok if the kids would let me be.  Turns out when she took them off my hands and I tried to sleep that I couldn't sleep too well.  This was a point at which I just couldn't understand the waves that were coming (this has never happened to me in labor before and I think it was because of pushing the labor to start with herbs rather than letting it kick in on its own, similar to the way the waves change unnaturally when pitocin is taken).  Instead of a smooth wave coming in to ride it felt like an unrideable rocky mess, but I tried to work through it as I would a wave as much as was possible.  This took a lot of support from my hubby doing counter pressure on my hips and back while I rocked back and forth.

I finally thought maybe I could calm the waves with water and maybe slow the rockiness of it down a bit.  Little did I know that water can speed up labor when your body is actually in gear, to have the baby faster.  I was still 10 minutes apart on the dot when I got in the tub.  I really wasn't trying to have the baby right then as it didn't feel like she'd be coming for a long time still, but we called the midwife anyway to update her as to what was happening.  As soon as she heard I was getting in the tub she started getting her tools together and jumped in her car.  Honestly I felt like the birth was only 10 minutes long because time feels different during a birth, however that is not how long it really was.  I was in the tub for maybe 10 minutes before my water broke and my contractions quickly became only 3 minutes apart and then on top of each other.  Then we let the water out of the tub and I very reluctantly got out of the tub where I had great counter pressure on my back and we made our way to the front room where I had a plastic sheet with towels and pads on top, my exercise ball for me to kneel against while rocking with the waves of pushing, and of course the blinds shut for the dimmer lighting effect.  She was crowning with the midwife in the car and on the phone with us 10 to 20 minutes after getting out of the bath. All in all I think the point when it became true labor to when she came was around 40 minutes start to end, feeling like only 10.

I think the part that made this part difficult for me was the fear.  Fear is what causes pain as well as most complications.  Fear causes you to work against your body, so your muscles are pushing against each other instead of working together as well as tightening areas that are meant to be loosening, and naturally loosen easily when fear is eliminated.  My midwife told my hubby over the phone to try not to have the baby till she got there so that we could make sure I was fully dilated before pushing.  She is an amazing midwife, but I do wish she had just said "good.  You're doing great.  Just remember to breathe that baby down.  Don't push.  Just breathe and trust your body and your baby."  Or maybe I just wish that is what my husband had said, since I never actually talked to the midwife directly; either way, that's what I really wanted and needed to hear.  Those words would have helped me more than anything because I needed to trust all of my experience and research and just trust myself, but in that super vulnerable state of birth where every woman is so susceptible to comments and guidance I couldn't do that after being told to try to hold her in, even though in the hubby's defense he did also tell me to breath her down (problem is you can't breath the baby down at the same time as trying to hold them in so it didn't do much for me to hear both).

My hubby was a little frantic checking the door quite often for the midwife when I wanted him right there and I relieved much of the intensity of it all through low animal like groans.  I told my Hubby that she was coming and trying to help my skin smoothly slip around her head, though the fear of tearing and the midwife not there yet was making it tighter than I wanted.  Before I knew it she slipped out right into his strong arms and belched out a beautiful loud cry with some very strong lungs.

The midwife pulled up to the house just after that and then I finished the after birth and fed my new angel while getting checked out and waiting for another midwife that specializes in stitches to come.  Even though this birth was a bit rockier than the last one, those stitches were far more painful than the birth itself.  My preparation paid off by making the skin and previous birth scars more elasticized for this birth and stitches, so the tears were not as extensive.  The tearing this time was less extensive, but where it did tear was quite deep still making recovery difficult.  The recovery has been even more difficult because of the NICU stay for high biliruben levels due to an unexpected blood incompatibility 2 days after her birth for a week along with trying to move and sell our home shortly after that, which is a whole other story.  One word of caution to those out there who are expecting, try to move before having your baby if you have to move.  Moving while pregnant is hard but doesn't mess with the hormones and recovery nearly as much as moving shortly after.  Give it 3-6 months before any big changes if at all possible for the sake of your health.  She is happy and healthy today and is as cute as a button.

Here is that news story and interview I told you about.  Its short and simple but changed my entire day yesterday.  Enjoy!  ksl news story : home-births-in-utah-doubled-since-1990-health-department-says

We're Raising a Family of 5 (almost 6) on a Teacher Salary?

Have you ever wondered how teachers can have so many kids at home when it is so well known that they don't get paid enough, or even what they're actually worth?

I would even argue the point that teacher's families get more "income" while in school through grants, loans and a part time job than they do once starting their actual career.  So how do we families of public school teachers make it all work?

The History & Why:

When I was younger my Dad always talked about the career of teaching as if it were one of the best because it was stable.  In public school it is funded by the state, meaning that there will never be a mass firing due to inadequate funds from an economy flop.  This sounded cool to me so I always kept an open mind about it.  My list of experiences and jobs I wanted to pursue was long and sometimes felt endless though.  I wanted to learn and experience so much and placing all my eggs into simply teaching was never really in the cards for me I guess.

I met my husband while we were still both going to college and we were not one of those couples to wait till events finished in order to start new turns in life.  So, we got married.  We also believe that "God will provide a way" as many others believe about having children.  I think my children are up to the Lord's timing, not my own.  I do have preferences, but would rather focus on what the Lord would give me, and when, then my own plans.  His plans seem to pan out better for me than my own ever did.  So, you guessed it, we had our first baby.  Yes, while we were both still in college.

I was unable to continue my education or my job nearing the end of the pregnancy and after the baby was born.  That was ok though.  It was a big transition and felt like a huge job to take care of a new life instead of focusing on those other things.  This left my husband to both work and go to the University full time.  Together we had grown dreams of creating art through video and photography.  Opening a digital media center and then expanding into other business opportunities, like running a reception center and art gallery.  They were big dreams and we had started the first classes to get a degree toward that purpose.  After I couldn't go with him anymore, he decided he needed to switch from where we had been going to school, back to the University we met at, and go into some type of stable degree like teaching.  We decided the most stable and most enjoyable degree for him would be the generalist art teaching degree because that degree allowed for him to teach any type of art.  It could be drawing, painting, printmaking, video, photo, ceramics... all the fun stuff.  Specializing felt like it would be limiting his potential for getting that future teaching job, so we veered away from that, although he did get a bunch of extra certifications in his favorite topics, like video editing.

Ok, so we had our first baby in college... well, by the time he switched programs he had 5 years of additional schooling he would need to do.  About a semester of that his old credits counted towards, but this decision basically started him over.  We also had him do summers and squeeze in the max limit of class credits to finish in around 4 years instead.  I've had a baby every 2 years so far.  Our second baby was born during one of his busiest semesters.  He'd wake up early to work at an elementary, go straight to class, do homework at the campus, and make it home most nights by 2am.  Thank heaven this wasn't every night, and thank heaven his work was flexible with his school schedule.  Our third baby arrived just a couple months after he graduated.  He was called with his job acceptance to teach video, photo, and drawing at a high school in a very nice east side neighborhood while we were in the hospital with our 2 day old little one.  He is in his second year of teaching now and we are expecting another little spirit at the beginning of next school year.  Wow that is coming up fast now.

The Finances:

Ok, so that is the history behind why and how we got here.  Now for the nitty gritty finances.  We have 3 kids ages 5 and under.  We love entrepreneurial projects so we like to do those, but we did much more of those while my husband was still attending college courses.  Time is a hard commodity to come by for a good teacher, and when he does have time our kids love and need him so much that those other things are hard to get to.  Our personal video business used to do about $10,000 a year, and then what we needed to live beyond that in school we budgeted per semester for and used grants, scholarships, and student loans to pull off.  We felt tight, but in control.  When I was pregnant I was able to get the government assistance program called medicaid to help pay for anything that went wrong (I barely used it though, because 2 of my 3 were home births).  Food assistance was also offered to us.  We felt very blessed, but wanted to be self sufficient as soon as possible.  We couldn't wait for my hubby to graduate and get into his career so that we could have enough extra income that we wouldn't need to ask for help anymore.

Actually dealing with finances once we didn't have semester by semester loans coming in, and instead had a monthly income, has been tough.  It is far easier to budget 4 or 6 months out at a time and just stick to that than it is to budget per month.  We thought our income would feel like much more, so we bought a house at the very tip top of our qualifying range within a mile or so of where my hubby was working.  Its a cute little house (small for having a fourth one on the way, but it'll work somehow).

Now, I know teachers in each area make different amounts of money and then that changes according to how many extra pet projects they do for the school, as well as extra certifications, and extra years of teaching experience within a district.  My husband does a lot of random projects, and took on an extra class period, so he is barely above base pay right now.  I tried to calculate what his take home pay was after all the deductions that they make for both taxes and for medical.  Take home pay is just over $28k a year.  No wonder I feel more poor now than I did while we were in school.  No one is helping us with food or co pay expenses anymore, we have almost double the housing costs (a little more than $1350 in mortgage a month with a little less than $250 in utilities), we have bigger stomachs to feed as the kids grow, and there is no more income now than there was with all those loans coming in.  We are on a repayment plan that allows us to not pay anything toward our student loans unless we want to, thankfully.  With this as our primary income and only maybe $400 coming in from our side projects a year now, its interesting to try to find a happy financial medium for raising kids.

What we're doing to survive:

We try to buy everything we can in cash, this includes small and big things alike, from books to cars.

We try to cut medical expenses by prevention.  Eating healthy, taking vitamins, using natural solutions and remedies to help with anything that comes up.  For example, it is much less expensive to use a drop of Lavender essential oil on a cut than it is to use something like Neosporin.  Though I have used both. Essential oils and natural solutions have taken care of most of the problems with health, first aid or hygiene my family has faced and has been much less expensive and usually is more quickly effective than the co-pays and doctor prescribed remedies I also tried many times.  This has saved our family hundreds, if not thousands of dollars (not to mention the saved time).  When we have a little bit more income, like we did in school, I like to go to a chiropractor that specializes in pregnancy and children once a month for each member of the family.  This keeps the nerves properly aligned so there is better behavior along with better health and immune function.  It also helps the kids recover faster when they do get sick or when they fall.  We have to live without this chiropractic perk for a bit but will continue it once we get a small raise or find time to do more entrepreneurial work (hard to come by lately).

We have never purchased a new car with car payments.  We usually purchase cheap used cars that seem like they would be reliable.  Some have been more reliable than others, but it has been cheaper to fix up a $2,300 van and spend $2,500 to fix it up that year, than it ever would have been to purchase a new van and make payments for both principle and interest.  We plan to purchase new one day, but only when we have the cash.  We will never have a car payment.

There have been moments where we have to use credit cards, but we try to pay these off within the month that we use them so that no interest is able to accrue on our purchase.  We try to avoid ever having a balance or even spending on our credit lines when possible though.

As of now our only debt is the student loans and our mortgage.  The mortgage is close to what we'd pay in rent for the same size home, so I think of it more as investing in a rental to ourselves.  A forced savings account for the equity is how my husband puts it.  Even if we built no equity, we've been able to stay here without a landlord looking over our shoulder, and paying the same price for our size in this area.  So the mortgage was worth its title of debt for me.

The student loans however, I do regret.  We needed them to get through school, but they are hanging over our heads now and we do not make enough income to even touch them.  So they are just there accruing interest until we get a raise in a couple years or we come up with some other inventive income stream.  They also have made it so we qualify for a much smaller home than we would have without them.  Even though we could earn a substantial equity by selling our house now, because of the student loans we don't qualify for the type of home we feel would best suit our kids.  Without those loans we would be able to qualify easily, and ironically our payments would go down drastically even though we'd be moving up.  Too bad the decision to take these loans gets in the way.  It does help us with getting more inventive every day to make life comfortable for adding a fourth to the home we are in now.

I laugh when people want to sell us things on a payment plan (big or little).  Really, we can't afford the extra payment for anything.  If we could, it would just come out of our food money, and I would rather eat.

For food it is easiest to stay in budget when we use a meal plan and buy our vegetables and fruit in bulk.  Meats are best bought on sale.  We love the bulk case lot sales and the year round case discounts we can get.  Buying bulk looks more expensive up front, but is cheaper in the end.  Produce can be cheaper at local farmer's markets as well as through co-ops too.

For the kids clothes it is rare that we buy them new clothes.  Instead we accept hand me downs from friends and family, gifts of clothing in every size, and if we need something that no one gave us (which happens occassionally), we make a trip to a local thrift store and find it for only a couple of dollars.  Even my oldest is in gifts and hand me downs regularly.

When the kids have outgrown their clothes I do not get rid of them.  Instead I have a system of bins, labeled by size.  When the next kid gets to that size I have clothes for them.  So we are always cycling through clothes.  Some clothes get more worn than others and aren't useable anymore, but luckily we can either replace those cheap at the thrift store or someone jumps in to give us more hand me downs.

One of our key values as a family is to be close in proximity to everything we need to be doing.  This helps us in many ways.  One way is it saves us when the car is broken or we want to not waste gas money.  My husband rides the mile bike ride to work in these times and most days that works out great.  There is a grocery store just down the hill from our home, about a block away, that we have used our bikes to shop at as well.  The kids ride in a bike trailer and we put the food in the back of the trailer to bring it home.  Another reason I value this centralized life is laughed at by many, but it is important to me.  I love knowing that if there were some major calamity, like an earthquake (which we are supposed to get here), then it would not be far for us to reunite as a family.

We started to do public school for our oldest, but due to a very long story of experiences and a very difficult transition of decisions in prayer we have turned to homeschooling.  This year we were enrolled in an online public school since I didn't really know where to start as I had never considered this for our family.  For our homeschool lessons I created a couple fun things along with finding materials that can be used and re-used for each child as they grow into needing the material.  I don't do the programs that I have to buy each year, but save money by buying entire programs that will last me multiple years at a time.  I regretted a few purchases, but was able to return those easily.  My lessons have to be next to no pre-planning (I just don't have time) and they have to be very interesting to keep my kids attention.  Most of it is literature based, as my daughter learns best that way, but my son learns best with kinesthetic learning styles, so for him we read it and then have to have an activity to reinforce what we learned.  Life has become much easier with teaching them at home.  I learn right along with them from their curriculum and it is just fun and easy to do school as time to learn & play together.  Without the right program in place both public and home schooling is challenging, but when you find what your family needs, no matter where that is, things just start to flow better.  It costs a couple hundred dollars a year for me to homeschool with my own choices of curriculum, but that is not per child, that is per family because the curriculum is reused for future kids.  There are lots of fees associated with public school, so I figure its not too big of a price difference, just a lifestyle difference.

Conclusion:

We have made a lot of mistakes and have a long way to go, but I still believe that when you have kids in the Lords timing he somehow makes the finances work, even if it feels really challenging to do so.  I am excited for the day that we feel like we have some financial wiggle room, but right now it just works out somehow, and that's ok.  If you have kids and are worried about finances like I was, you probably only found what I did.  People sharing stories like this, but they only had one or 2 kids, not 3 or 4.  It is possible.  It can be an emotional roller coaster if certain unexpected expenses pop up or when people respond to you in hurtful ways for having more kids with "that income."  In the end kids can get by with very little, and so can we.  The most costly portions of living are food, housing, and then whatever lifestyle choices your family deems necessary.  If you are satisfied with a very conservative lifestyle than this may be an easy feat for your family.  Every family is a little different, but somehow it all works out for the better.

I look up to women with husbands and kids and don't feel sorry

Recently, actually at church, I was informed of a blog post that seemed completely rediculous to me called "I look down on women with husbands and kids and don't feel sorry".  I had one child, then two, now three, and I know there will be more.  They are each two years apart, leaving me with a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a one year old.  I love my kids, but I have to say that I had no idea how much harder 3 would be than 2.  Two was easy comparatively.  Yes I still had to work very hard to keep up with the daily tasks and challenges before, but now I have a tornado of destruction following me as I clean up.  Women who are mothers and striving to be the best at what they do with multiple young kids  understand this well no matter how many kids, I believe.

I live next to many 90 year old women.  I am in their book group.  They are so very accomplished in so many ways.  Most of them have raised on average 7 kids.  Some speak of remembering great events from our history books that I can't even imagine living through.  These women have many great things they will be remembered for when they pass away, but I don't think their jobs and corporate successes are what will inspire and be remembered most.  I think the way they lovingly endured through children throwing food on the walls and all kinds of other drama while teaching their kids how much they are loved by a father in heaven is most memorable.  When there is love as a basis for everything things flow so much more smoothly.  Love pushes us to show great moral character as well as to serve those around us.  No amount of titles and clout can top these mothers service to their community and family.

Our families are all different, and what works one place may need to be different for another family.  When taking on the role of a stay at home mom I don't feel like I gave up anything, in fact I had to learn to become even more accomplished than I was before.  I took much of what I learned as my myriad of "supervisor" and "assistant manager positions" and have to use proper management skills on a day to day basis, among an onslot of other skills and positions I have never held.  

Over the years I've had to learn to take on the skills of a doctor - to take proper care of my kids whooping cough, injuries, measles, and every other thing that has come up.  If I didn't study for that role than my kids would probrably be at the hospital a lot because I couldn't do the preventative or immediate care needed without the right skills.  

A Judge - Kids fight and get in trouble all the time, you can't pretend that training, defending, disciplining, and monitoring kids is a piece of cake.  No, I don't have the same credentials or go to a physical court, but there is a lot that goes into the monitoring and forming of behavior, as well as deciding how you will enact this part of the family.  It takes a lot of self control and patience.  An amount of patience that most of us are not born with (even as women), but that we have to learn.

An interior designer, a cook (creating non-processed food recipes that taste good), a maid.  To be honest the job of maid is hardest for me with 3 little kids who essentially undo all the cleaning right behind me.  I feel like I have to apologize for mess all the time, but people don't realize that each area I clean has a very short life span of staying that way.  Its rediculous to judge a mother by her ability to keep up with the disasters her kids lay before her.  Sometimes kids are angels and helpful and when they are shown that they are loved and that there is security for them in their parents hearts, they learn to be more and more helpful as they get older.  When they are so young it is more important to lay that foundation for them emotionally, and very challenging to prevent the animalistic dirtying of the home.  

I personally feel like a better mom when I pay attention to what ingredients come into my home through both food and other products.  I like the simplicity of buying pre-made "green" products, but prefer to just make my own simple, cheep and effective formulas.  I want to be and teach my kids to be self sufficient in as many skills and from scratch products as possible.  I like going back to basics and find a lot of joy in it.  This includes more skills needed than I care to write right now.

I also ended up feeling that I needed to do more than just raising my kids, but didn't feel like it was right to do day care in my family situation.  This led to my hubby and I becoming entrepreneurs.  When the kids are asleep I write books or work on one of our family home businesses.  I help people learn about natural solutions for healthcare as a wellness coach and also run a photo & video studio with my husband.  The rare babysitting for a job gives me time to recoup my perspective of my kids importance to me as a mother.

The point of all this, no matter how people choose to parent or what the skills needed specifically in their family.  We are all accomplished.  When I've hit those hard days and wondered why I became a mom I always hit a point of knowing... I wouldn't be anything without my family.  They are what makes me accomplished in the end.  When I die others will actually have things to admire me for.  I would not have anything significant to write about in an obituary, no matter my accomplishments, if I had not had my kids.

On that note I want to send a little love out to all those I know that have tried for years to have kids without success, who have had the amazing ability of adopting, and also to those like myself who for each of their children endured overwhelming sickness during those long 9 months.  Those with traumatic births as well as those who have discovered hypno-labor for smooth pain free births with much dedication and work.  It may not be hard for some people to get "knocked up" or "hitched" but to create a marriage that lasts and a home that feels like a little piece of heaven on earth is monstrously hard work, and I think that is what most of us deep down are working toward.  Don't fret.  I know its hard but keep plugging away and you'll get there.

Why even doctors are starting to use essential oils for care in America...

Ok, so we all are very glad that when we get a really severe wound we are able to get to an emergency room for stitches.  I'm sure we're also all glad that doctor's know how to measure things like our blood pressure and test for intense or chronic conditions.  Doctor's are an important part of our society.  It's a big deal when the best in their field see the value of alternative therapies such as using essential oils.

Most doctors I know don't know much about "preventative or natural health care" unless it's being promoted by the latest pharmaceutical company, so has it in fact become more like "sick care" when visiting a doctor?  However true that may be, it is now evident that times are truly changing.  It's about time too.  In France all the major pharmacies and doctor's consistently use essential oils in their patient care.  For good reason too, when they are pure, there is really nothing I've found that works better at alleviating health frustrations and concerns.  Because our bodies understand how to absorb the non-synthetic molecules of pure essential oils there are very few side effects if any.  Most people claim that essential oils don't have any side effects at all when they are pure.  I however think that people all react to things a little different and what some may deem as normal for a given situation, another may not.  This video I found talks about the concerns many have with the common American health care model and what many families and physicians are now turning to in an effort to take control and get past those problems.  I especially like the quotes in this clip from the doctors that were interviewed.

To see more videos on essential oils and their use see my post : 

Essential Oils Class 101 Favorite Videos

If you also want to see a video on how essential oils are now being used in medical facilities here it is.

Essential Oils Class 101: My Favorite Videos On Essential Oils For Beginners

Learn some ways essential oils have helped so many families in these awesome videos!

This first video is of how much pure essential oils are helping in a hospital setting, how cool is that!?!

This video introduces what essential oils are, how they work, and a brief history of them.  Its an amazing video and I learn something new every time I watch it.  Enjoy it!

This next video is from a bunch of people that are so excited about some great experiences they've had by using self informed healthcare.  By that I mean that they obtained the knowledge they needed so that they didn't have to go to the doctor for the small stuff (although doctors are very much appreciated for the big issues).  Knowing how to help yourself and your family is an empowering thing that I invite all to feel.

This one is an interview with Laura Jacobs, an amazing business woman.  She is very knowledgeable about the use of essential oils and herbs and has been in the industry for over 17 years.  She talks about how she found what works, why it works and how important purity is to an essential oil actually doing its intended job the way its expected.

Wow... you won't want to miss this last one.  It is the story of a family who's niece had seizure's and was able to overcome them.  It's an amazing story! 

Link to Discount Form

I know, this is a lot of videos but this last one is kinda cool cause it talks a little about how essential oils are distilled from plants and what it means to have a pure essential oil.  I can't tell you how important it is.  Not only will you not see the intended results from a synthetic or diluted essential oil, but they could be toxic!  It took me years of using essential oils to realize that the label saying 100% of an oil didn't mean anything because there are so many loopholes in the laws and industry standards.  Then I found out how many toxic results that can stem from improper use of impure essential oils.  

I decided I needed pure essential oils for my family and not only did it solve the majority of our health concerns and first aid needs, it very quickly started to save us money.  We didn't need to buy products with additives but could "go green" in our cleaning and hygiene supplies which are much healthier, cheaper and simpler when homemade.  We also saved money because I redistributed the money I was spending on our other supplements every month and using the loyalty rewards program we got an extra overall discount on top of wholesale pricing discount with free product credits.  In the end we will get up to 55% off retail along with some free and discounted products based on monthly promotions they do.  Way to maximize my dollar!  I love saving money, and I have found an amazing way to do just that in most of the categories of my families care.  It's Awesome! 

My mission is to serve those around me so that they may be able to find solutions that will help them in their lives in the most affordable ways possible.  Please, don't be weary.  If you have a question, I am happy to help.  That's why I'm here.  There are no stupid questions or stupid problems.  Love to you all.  Kim

Why do I use essential oils for my family care?

Essential oils are soooo cool!

I started using them when I was pregnant and on bed rest with my 2nd and that led to diffusing to kill bad bacteria, which became learning how to kill my kids viruses.  Thank heavens, cause the doctor just sent us home and told us to wait it out even though it was pretty severe.  Its been an incredible journey of learning and testing, with different oils and theories for care.

Now that I have discovered the proven purity in DoTerra oils I use them for nearly everything.  There are essential oils for cooking, for cleaning, and for nearly all ailments, conditions, and quick emergency situations (which happen consistently with 3 kids).  What is really amazing is that once we started using them for everything we stared saving tons of money.  We didn't need to buy so many specialty products for our hygiene, our hair, our cleaning supplies, our first aid kit, and for our arsenal of cooking spices.

We started feeling healthier, calmer, happier, and empowered.  We didn't need so many expensive doctor visits and were able to easily educate ourselves for how to handle our own needs quickly, safely and effectively.  Not only did I save money by replacing less safe and functional items, but I found out about a rewards program that can get me up to 55% off retail!  That with the monthly sales and free product specials makes the pure essential oils cheaper than the low quality oils, but they work 10x better!

It truly has been a win-win scenario for my family to start using truly pure and potent essential oils daily.  Using these along with good eating and lifestyle choices, I lost 85lbs in 9 months and my little boy doesn't throw his 45 minute tantrums every day anymore.  Life is about finding what works and what we each need to help us progress.  I truly feel like I have found that for my family.  It's amazing!

Kim   :)

A road trip to share and teach healthy living

My post tonight is a bit different.

At this very moment, I am across the country on a road trip with my family.  I was feeling such a need to connect with my hubby's family.  I have had very little chance to get to know them since they live so far away and most of them I met once on our wedding day.  I am so grateful for their amazing influence on Kirk and am very happy to have the opportunity to really get to know them better.

I wanted to connect so badly but knew I couldn't come all this way unless I also had a more logically based approach as well!  I was very excited when my hubby and I came up with the same idea at once to teach classes on natural solutions while we're on the road.  We are so excited about this and sharing how our family has benefited so much.  I love to teach and really it isn't about selling products or pushing others to choose a certain way.  What they really are to me is a way of sharing what has become a delight in my life.  Ways that I take care of problems or simply ways that spice up life to make it more enjoyable in a safe and healthy way.

So we are teaching some classes along the way as we truly and deeply enjoy connecting to his family along with some of my family too.  These are our first classes together on the benefits of essential oils.  We've taught together before, but that was other health topics, so I am very nervous.  Its so funny because when its not an official class its so natural to talk about but with our other topics we've always felt most comfortable teaching groups of 20-40 at a time.  Oh well, I guess its just a matter of preparation, confidence, and practice.  That is what it really takes to succeed at anything.

Announcing: Hypno-Labor Video Class Coming!

I am excited to announce my new Hypno-Labor Video Class Series.  I am so excited to share this with you!  The videos are still in production and take quite a while to put together, but will be available soon.  Here is the way I am planning on having it work.  Whoever needs the class will pay for it and then get the classes which they can watch and re-watch as they feel its needed.  They will also get my awesome audio's to put on an ipod, cd, or computer to listen to daily.  Then, once a week I will have a webinar where everyone in the course that is able to attend can come and share their stories, get extra tips and tricks, and most importantly get more support from me personally as well as others in the same place.  I'm thinking for those that are able to come a once a month support party would be a great addition to this as well.  

Those of you who are interested in this... PLEASE either leave a comment or send me an email (at momof3livingsmartly@gmail.com).  I would love to hear from you and send you some tips and tricks for completely free.  Birth is such a magical thing to me and it is so fulfilling to me to help and give how I can.  

Teething Kids

So right now I have 2 teething kids.  My 4 year old girl is getting her big kid teeth right behind her baby teeth instead of under them and my 10 month old is getting her first baby teeth in front on top and bottom.  Every time a new tooth for my baby breaks through the gums she bleeds and cries.  There is also a lot of crying from the pain in between breaking through and that's not to mention the runny noses that come with the teething.

I went to a class on babies, pregnancy, and birth using essential oils about a week ago and learned so much.  The care provider teaching talked about how something like 90% of early childhood ailments were from teething and some things to prevent those conditions.  I took what she said to heart and decided to try a few new things.

In the past I've given my babies homeopathic teething tablets I got from Target, homeopathic Roman Chamomile from the health store (which I loved but am out of), and gum numbing cream (which just made my kids mad).

I ended up using an essential oil blend called Serenity that has Roman Chamomile, Lavender, and Vanilla; which smells divine.  It was actually really soothing for Daisy and really fun for me.  :)  I added a drop to a a small amount of carrier oil (fractionated coconut oil) in my palm and then rubbed it along her entire jaw line and chin, all the way to behind her ears.  I also rubbed a little on the base of her neck.  Then, to help with her teething runny nose, I put 1 drop of the essential oil blend called Breathe on the base of her neck with a little carrier oil.

This new trick is awesome.  It helps her pain so much and her symptoms go away for much longer spans of time than with any of the other things I've tried.    

Review of New Sedona Dehydrator Purchase

This video is our family opening the dehydrator.  We were so excited when we saw the FedEx guy pull up with it.  Kirk ran out to meet him at the truck with the kids and surprised him when he came out of the back with the box.  He said "We have been waiting for you!"  It reminds me of the Mr. Postman song by the Carpenters.  The FedEx man laughed and gave Kirk this monstrous package.  I really had no idea that it was this big.  Its about 2 inches wider than my toaster oven and double the height.  Its bigger than our microwave too and I was expecting smaller because of the videos I've seen.  Because of the size the trays are actually about the size of a typical cookie sheet I use for baking.  That makes it really nice because we can make more with it.  I am now gonna have to pack up my toaster oven though, cause I don't have room for both in my kitchen like I thought I would.  Oh well, this is cooler anyway, right?  :)

Here is the video of me going over the individual parts of the dehydrator and how they work.  I thought it would be useful for anyone thinking about getting the sedona, excalibur or any other food dehydrator on the market for that matter.  Enjoy!

Paper or Plastic? Both! When I get baby food in bulk with my groceries :)

About once a month we buy the baby food for that month in bulk so that I'm not always running back and forth to the grocery store and then I can take advantage of sales as well.  Its a nice system that saves me a headache and produced my personally developed bagging system and storage system for the baby food jars.  When we go to WinCo I bag anyway, cause that's their system, but at other grocery stores I usually get flak for even wanting to put the food in bags.  It was exciting this past trip to Dan's Market because the bagger was so excited to learn my system and wanted me to share it with the world.  Most importantly she wanted me to share it with other mothers who could use it.  You may love it or you may hate it, either way its been very useful and I will keep doing it for as long as I am buying baby food.

I do want to note that most of what I feed my 10 month old baby is actually breastmilk still, and then it is mostly fresh veggies.  She really likes heavily steamed carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.  I also give her juiced veggies and fruit like beets, celery, carrots, and apple.  She can have nutritional yeast as well, which she loves; and then she likes raw pears and avocado.  Since starting to buy baby food I've found a lot more allergies with bum rashes and upset tummies, and.... lots of tears.  She can't handle banana, grains of any kind, or any of the typical bad food that kids love that I wouldn't give her at this age anyway.  If she has much of those things she not only gets a rash, it turns such a deep red its almost purple and sometimes starts to bleed.  I have a special cream I get from target and buybuybaby.  It's from a company called "Shea Moisture" is made from shea butter and has frankincense and myrrh essential oils in it that works better than any other cream I've ever found, though its hard for anything to help when its due to a negative reaction to food that's in the body still.

The baby foods are super exciting for my 4 and 2 year olds to eat as well.  I like to get a lot of applesauce because it makes a really fun snack for the older kids if I need something to tide them over while I'm preparing lunch, or while we're out running errands.  The jars are awesome to keep and re-use.  There are hundreds of fun things you can do with them, so subscribe to my blog or youtube.com uploads to be able to see a bunch of those as I get them done.

Campout Dinner In Backyard - No Electricity or Gas

Our electricity went out a bit ago and it inspired our Dad of 3 from DadOf3LivingARTly.blogspot.com to practice what preppers typically call "Bugging In".  It was very fun.  To cook we only used found things for starting the fire.  No grill, sun oven, or any other appliance, and it was bricks and wood that was left in the garage from who we purchased our home from.  The food is some from our pantry and some from the freezer and from the fridge, so a good mix of what you'd probably use both in normal conditions and in a power outage or other disaster situation.  It is nice to become more self sufficient and build more experience and skills every chance we get.