A Natural Way To Correct Dark Spots

Summer is coming to an end (booo) and lets face it, I didn't wear enough skin protection. Did you? After pregnancy and the summer sun my face is suffering from a couple dark spots. First thing I did was go to a local thrift store and picked up a dark spot corrector. I've never used one of these before and thought this has to be simple. The smell was terrible! OMG. Which led me to look at the ingredients (thinking I was putting pure bleach on my face.) Little behold, it had hydroquinone in it. For those of you who don't know what that is let me tell you... In most skin lightening creams it is their most common ingredient. It has been linked to cancer and, ironically, ochronosis, which is known as SKIN DARKENING. Yikes! With a little research I came across a natural way to get rid of sun (dark) spots.

With two kitchen cabinet ingredients and about five minutes, you can start the skin lightening process to naturally reduce dark spots for good! Probably one of the easiest and simplest natural beauty DIY I've tried and it really works!

Ingredients
Lemon
Raw organic honey

Instructions

1. After you wash your face with your normal face wash, cut your lemon in half. 
2. Remove any of the sticking out seeds
3. Hold half of the lemon with your hand and rub the juice all over the sides of your face. (Avoid your eyes!)
4. Leave lemon juice on your face for 5 minutes or less. Much less if the stinging is too much.
5. Rinse off
6. Because lemon will dry your skin, apply honey. (You don't just want to reduce brown spots, you want to help fade the end-of-summer dry skin wrinkles too, right?)
7. Leave the honey on for as much as 20 minutes.
8. Then rinse off. 

Honey has antiseptic qualities as well, which means it helps to clear up breakouts. Bonus!! You will see a big difference after the first use, with how soft your skin will feel. I started to see a difference of my dark spots within a week. Depending on the damage it might take a couple weeks. Oh and try not to eat the honey off of your face... Just kidding! (But no, really, don't eat it). Hope this helps!

Resource credit to mommygreenest

Everyone Should Oil Pull!

This new thing called "oil pull" is becoming very popular and more people are hearing about it. But what they don't know is oil pulling is an ancient method for detox and rejuvenation. Very simple, with quite remarkable results! So what is this mystical and exciting vibe around it? What is it exactly? And what does it do? I'm going to tell you in a (coco)nut shell:

Oil pulling is not what you are probably thinking. It involves coconut oil. To oil pull, simply swish coconut oil in your mouth; similar to the way you would use a mouthwash. This can be done anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. The process attracts and removes bacteria, toxin, and parasites that live in your mouth. And also pulls congestion and mucus from your throat; which loosens up your sinus (which is amazing!!!) With the help of your saliva, all these scary undesirables bind with the oil, ready to be disposed of.

I'M NOT DONE YET! Pulling also helps re-mineralize your teeth and strengthen your gums by thoroughly cleansing the area. AND whitens your teeth naturally!

How to start? Scoop 1/2 to 1 full tablespoon of oil into the mouth; if it's cold, allow the oil to melt. Now push, swirl, and pull the oil between your teeth. Allow it to touch every part of your mouth except your throat. You don't want the oil getting in contact with your throat because it is now carrying somewhat toxic material. Do NOT gargle! Then spit into the toilet or trash can, not the sink; it can clog the sink!

You will experience a result after the first time you oil pull. You will be blowing your nose and clearing out your throat; you will be amazed how quickly this happens! I began pulling to benefit my gums and teeth. My gums strengthened, and teeth became so much whiter! In the past, no matter how much I would brush, or floss I would always end up with 'bad' teeth. The dentist hygienist actually recommended looking in to this. It has been about six months and the dentist confirmed how much healthier my gums are! The first week it did make my teeth sensitive but then quickly got used to it. Some actually help with the sensitivity, and some said it made there skin clearer and more vibrant. (Which my acne cleared up and haven't had an outbreak since.) Everyone MUST try this!

Resource credited to mindbodygreen

Homemade Natural All-Purpose Cleaner

Having a baby really changed my views on what chemicals we are using around the house and foods we are eating. Every time I would spray the 409 I would cringe thinking of all the chemicals my newborn was breathing in. Freaked me out! So I am slowly finding new ways how to make homemade all natural products. I want to share with you this natural all-purpose cleaner that is even safe for GRANITE OR MARBLE! Super easy to make and has actually saved us money. 

Ingredients
1/4 cup alcohol
3-5 drops of dish soap
5-10 drops of essential oils (optional)
2 cups water

Container
Spray bottle (you can get one at Walmart or Target for no more than $2. Or use an old cleaning product spray bottle, just make sure you thoroughly wash it out.)

Instructions

1. Add alcohol, dish soap, and essential oils to spray bottle. Swirl to combine
2. Add water and shake to mix thoroughly
3. Ready for use! Make sure you shake it good before use, just to make sure all the ingredients are mixed well.

So simple! My counters look great and I know my daughter isn't breathing in harmful chemicals.

***Tips*** If you are having problems with it drying, even after you wipe it up, try using 1/3 cup alcohol instead. Also, I recommend using a soft cloth instead of a paper towel.

DIY Children's Learning Book

Olivia has been so fascinated with books. Honestly she would prefer to have her book than any other toy. Which is great! But I noticed we had a lot of story time books and not really learning books. Which gave me a fun idea. I love doing crafts and now I can share that passion with my daughter. Instead of buying a normal learning book, I decided why not make one? It is a work in progress but I wanted to share with other moms a fun idea, super easy/cheap, and keeps the child entertained. Also, it makes it personable and super cute!

Here is Olivia's Learning Book.

Here is the inside of the book, this is all I have gotten done so far. Eventually I will add a color page, animals, fruits, veggies (you get the idea). Simple for a toddler. I put the print paper in a 3 ring page protector from 'opps' that kids have.

For The front page of it, I wanted it to be creative and personable for Olivia. So I stripped her down to only her diaper, gave her paper and some blobs of paints. At first she was very unsure about this paint (make sure it isn't toxic, she did eat some...) but after a few touches, she LOVED it! Once it dried I added some sparkly letters for the title. 

To keep the pages from sliding out, I sewed the corners and it works perfectly. To bind the pages together, I found some cute ribbon and just doubled knotted it. Easy, cheap, and down right adorable!

This seems so simple, almost too simple, but my toddler is obsessed with this book. She constantly brings it over to either my husband or I and points to everything. The best feature is that she is learning but having fun! If you aren't artistic, find some photos online to print or cheap kids magazines you can cut and paste. Use your imagination and make it your own! Don't forget to have fun!

Making Most Of A Small Workspace

I've always had a small work area for crafts and other fun projects, as in sewing, but today I needed to prepare my work space for attending school. It still feels so surreal that I am going to be a student again. Nervous, yes... But so excited! This time around it will definitely be harder because I am a mom. Challenge accepted! Anyways, I went to Target today to get a cork-board and little behold, they have a huge going back to school sale! Perfect. My husband is also in school (this is his last semester), so I ended up getting him a couple things too. I'll probably end up on going back for more things, but right now I am focused on organizing and making more room for my desk.

Here is some of the haul that I got. The two bins (which I ended up getting more of) were only $1! Perfect for a kids play room too. The pens, high lighters, pencils, and markers were only $1-$4 at most. Even the cork-board was on sale for $5. Also I got some notebooks, binders, paper organizer all for so cheap! Even if you aren't a student nor have a child in school, I would still check it out to restock the hobby/craft pile.

Here is the before and after! (Small space, I wasn't kidding). The husband has the bigger desk for his accounting work and school. Just adding those small storage's, shelf, and corkboard frees up so much more room. And it is all nice and tighty! Use your imagination and get creative when it comes to reorganizing, and making most of your small (or large) space.

The famous cork-board. This always keeps me right on track, along with my daily planner. Reminds me of important dates, and any other crazy stuff that is going on in my life. I'm seriously in love with these things! (If you couldn't tell already). Well this is my short, fast and easy how to make use of a small work space. Hope this gets your brain thinking of ways how you could get most of your space!

Coconut Oil For Diaper Rashes

The title speaks for itself! My daughter doesn't normally get diaper rashes but since she turned one she has an outbreak almost every week. Yesterday she woke up with the worst one yet! I felt SO bad. Lightly trying to wipe her, she screamed in pain. (I definitely cried with her). I have tried so many things, thinking of what was causing these out-breaks. We have changed diaper brands and wipes, journal the food she is eating. Even the pediatrician couldn't give us an answer. Also, we had tried many different types of ointments. The ones for treatment and prevention. Nothing works for this little girl, and putting all these different chemicals on her was driving me nuts.

I'm trying to become more and more eco friendly/all natural, but lets be real here. Some stuff is expensive to start and/or it is time consuming. At this point though I was desperate to give Olivia some type of relief, and I was whiling to try "odd" things. I came across an article about how much coconut oil works for diaper rashes. Being a home cook (I even make my own dressings) I knew I had some coconut oil laying around. I was very skeptical about it. I used it twice and this morning it is nearly all cleared up! Ladies, she had blisters and they are gone! Not even 24 hours. Also, when your little one breaks out in a rash, stay away from wipes (even the sensitive ones). Only use a soft wash cloth and warm water. If there is poop, use a bar of Dove's sensitive skin soap with the wash cloth and warm water to clean. Don't forget to rinse the soap off afterwords.

So now that I know this is a miracle for diaper rashes, I have mini mason jar that I filled with coconut oil. I keep it next to her changing table and now use it every time I change her diaper. It is even small enough that I can place it in the diaper bag and takes up little to no room. Healthy, cheap, and effective! I highly suggest giving it a try.

Black Out Curtains To The Resue

My daughter, Olivia, has always been a great night sleeper. Since two months she would sleep through the night, maybe got up once if her diaper was that full. Nap time has been a whole different issue. Unless you were moving (like the car or stroller) she would only take 30 minute naps. Frustrating for me and her. People would always say to me "be thankful she sleeps at night." So annoying! She needs to sleep during the day because babies are supposed to. It is essential for there mental and physical development.

Olivia has been sleeping in her own room and crib since 3 months. For some reason this caused stressed mentally for me and now (to this day) I suffer from insomnia. Which led to our investment for those expensive baby monitors that you can watch and talk to your child. Never thought I would spend that kind of money for something so simple. It did ease the anxiety I had though, so completely worth it! I noticed during her nap times she would toss and turn A LOT! So I started to research about uncomfortable crib mattresses and I came across light sensitivity.

Our bodies produce Melatonin which is your biological clock telling your brain when it is time to sleep. Melatonin is produced primarily in darkness and inhibited by light. Pretty much if it is too light for some people their bodies keep them awake. So I read this other moms blog who bought some inexpensive black out curtains from Walmart. Her son began to take naps and actually helped him sleep better at night. At this point, I said I would try anything. LET ME TELL YOU! Genius! My daughter takes naps like a champ now. We are talking about 2-3 hour naps every time (unless she is teething or feeling unwell). I wish I would have came across that from the beginning. Also, they totally made her room way cuter! If your little one is struggling nap wise, I would highly suggest trying this out first.