Getting Started With Coconut Oil

Coconut oil.  Sounds vaguely exotic at first hearing.  Makes me think of Hawaii.  Actually, I hadn't really thought about coconut oil much at all until a blog I follow mentioned it a while back.  She mentioned it in the context of oil pulling, which sounded kind of gross to me at the time.  But she's a blogger I respect, so I tried to keep an open mind.

Then I got into essential oils.  Some of which need to be diluted.  And I started hearing about using coconut oil to dilute them.

So when the chance to review Paradise Coconut Oil from TheraVita came up, I decided it was time to give it a shot.

When my coconut oil arrived, it was a hot day, and the oil was in liquid form from being in the back of a warm brown truck.  However, coconut oil is actually semi-solid at room temperature.  It's kind of like shortening.

It re-solidified after cooling off, and I set about trying out oil pulling.  What is oil pulling?  The idea is that you swish the oil around in your mouth and it helps remove harmful bacteria, as well as fighting gingivitis, and even helping to remineralize your teeth.

The first time I tried it, I used straight coconut oil.  It was... different, but not horrible.  I realized I was going to need a plan for disposing of the used oil after swishing.  I remembered that we had some leftover paper cups, so I brought some of those upstairs to expectorate the oil into.

Since then I've been adding different essential oils to the coconut oil, to change things up, flavor wise.  Peppermint would be the obvious one, for freshening one's breath.  I found one drop was not quite enough, but 2 or 3 was good.  Thieves oil was okay.  I like the smell better than the taste, though.  I've read that Tea Tree or Basil are good for owies in the mouth, but I haven't tried those.  Citrus oils are pleasant tasting.

As mentioned, you can use coconut oil to dilute essential oils before applying to the skin.  Coconut oil melts at body temperature, so it's easy to work with for massage.

I recently read about someone using coconut oil on their face.  I thought, "Oil??  On the face?  That's just asking for acne!"  But I had a rough patch of dry skin, so I tried a swipe of coconut oil on it.  It felt nice.  I put it on 2 mornings after getting out of the shower, and on the 3rd morning, I noticed that patch wasn't dry any more.  I went ahead and swiped some on anyway, just for extra moisture.

Luke's skin is dry and he's been scratching his legs and leaving marks on them (I noticed as I was getting him into his wheelchair to get on the bus the other day).  I'm going to try coconut oil on his skin.

Coconut oil can also be used for cooking and in smoothies.  I'm happy I got the chance to try out Paradise Coconut Oil, and I can see it's useful for a variety of applications.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Katie's Surgery

Remember how I just told you that Katie's surgery had been scheduled for October?  Well, Thursday we got a phone call from Shriners saying, "How about tomorrow?"  When they have a surgery cancellation, they try to fill it with a patient who is willing to be put on the short notice list.  So, despite the fact that I'm getting over a monster cold, it seemed like a good idea to get it done, since the original surgery date conflicted with one of Luke's appointments, and since Paul would be home.

Friday morning, Katie didn't even notice going without breakfast, due to the distraction of a morning bath.  Originally asked to arrive at 11:30 for a 2:30 proceedure, Shriners called early and said the patient before her was a no show, and to hurry in.  We set out at 10:30, and by 11:45 she was all gowned up, waiting for the anesthesiologist.

Child Life came by and gave her a movie to watch while we waited.

So Hello Kitty kept us company until 1 o'clock when she was finally wheeled away.

I had a really tasty grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and bacon, thanks to the recommendation of the Same Day Surgery guy.  While in the cafeteria, I ran into Mr. Rick, the girls' prosthetist.  There was a funny moment where the kid at the table behind me thought I had a child in the bag I was carrying, because Katie's prosthetic (with her shoe on) was sticking out of the bag.  After lunch, I settled down to wait.

Her 2 hour surgery took 3 hours.  The surgeon ended up using some of the skin from her leg on her little fingers.

Fortunately, there was another family in the waiting area, and I struck up a conversation with the mom and grandma who were waiting for their child to get out of knee surgery.  We chatted about adoption and I got to share how Hannah and Katie joined our family, and how well they've done.

It was after 4 by the time the let me in to Recovery.  I could tell she'd been in there a while because they'd already removed her leads, her IV, her O2, etc.  I wish they'd brought me back earlier.  She was asking for me when I walked in.  I held her for a bit and the nurse said, "You can get her dressed now."  I'd brought clothes and PJs, and I gave her the choice.  She picked PJs.  Despite the appearance of closed eyes in the picture, she really was awake here.  The nurse grabbed a wheelchair, and ushered us out the door.  We were in the car at 4:45.

I stopped at Walgreens to have her pain rx filled on the way home, and they didn't have the medicine that she was prescribed.  Fortunately, CVS also has a drive thru, so we went there and got it.  We got home at 6 o'clock.

She was limp and feverish last night, but is doing better today.  I brought her toddler bed into our room last night, and was able to medicate her without really disturbing her much.  She slept well, and is a perky little diva today.  She quite enjoys having us all cater to her every whim.  I have a feeling she'll be back on her feet again soon.

She's wearing one of Hannah's old sundresses today because it was easy to get around her hand bandages.  She's to keep both bandages clean, dry, and intact for the next 4 weeks.  That should be interesting.

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Everybody Loves a Pirate Story

It was such a treat for our family to get to review Under Drake's Flag from Heirloom Audio Productions!  What could be a more exciting way to kick off the new homeschool year with two boys than a pirate story audio drama?

We received the 2 CD set, which sells for $29.95.  This includes a study guide with comprehension questions.  This was a great discussion starter with Jack and Eli.  Some of the questions were very open ended and thought provoking, such as asking why do you think Ned and Gerald are willing to lie about their nationality but not about their faith.  Behind the study guide, a prayer by Sir Francis Drake is printed.  You know it's a good one when the first line is convicting!  "Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves..."  It was a beautiful reminder worth reading and discussing.

We also got access to a larger, downloadable study guide online.  This is great for a more in depth study, as it has vocabulary words that can be looked up or discussed, listening questions, and thinking further questions.  While we did not use the larger study guide, it occurred to me that it would be helpful to print the listening questions prior to each section and have the kids write down the answers as they hear them in the story, if they needed help focusing.  But we had no trouble paying rapt attention!  In fact, we ended up listening to the entire production in just 4 sittings, because they kept saying, "Keep going!  Just one more!" whenever we got to a chapter break.

Designed for ages 6 to adult, my boys, ages 10 and 13 loved this review!  They were delighted with the idea that listening to an adventure story was considered "school work."  How can I possibly qualify this as school work?  Simple!  Under Drake's Flag is based on G.A. Henty's book of the same name.  Henty was the author of more than 100 adventure novels.  Under Drake's Flag opened a new window into history for my boys.  Now, when we come across the Spanish Inquisition in social studies, they'll have a story to aid their understanding of the dry, historical facts.

I did a quick search on Pinterest for "draw pirate ship" and found instructions the boys could use to draw while we listened.  Under Drake's Flag would be the perfect compliment to a study of this time period, or a great foundation to build your own unit study around.

Does your family have a long car trip coming up?  Going to visit relatives over the holidays?  The high quality audio drama will captivate the whole family and make the miles pass quicker.  Check out the trailer on YouTube and you'll want to listen, too.  This is 2 hours of really nicely done radio theater.

You can follow Under Drake's Flag on Facebook for fascinating historical tidbits and information about coming releases.  Their upcoming In Freedom's Cause looks amazing, with an all star cast that includes actors from Downton Abbey, Lord of the Rings, Narnia (Edmund!), and Braveheart.  I watched the trailer and instantly knew we'll have to get that one when it comes out.  There's also a store, where you can find treasures for your own swabbies, such as t-shirts and wooden swords.



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Eric Carle Now At Gymboree

Remember the Very Hungry Caterpillar outfit I made Hannah recently??  Now Gymboree has a new line featuring the artwork of Eric Carle!  It's not very often that I come up with something on the cutting edge of fashion, so I was quite tickled to see this.

Gymboree is hosting an in store event tomorrow, September 5th, from 10am-12pm! Families are invited to visit any one of the Gymboree retail locations (outlets excluded) for caterpillar crafts and story time. Parents can find printable coloring sheets and activities inspired by The World of Eric Carle on http://www.gymboree.com/promo/campaign/ericcarle/eric-carle.html

My favorite for Katie is the Zebra top and I'm really loving the Iguana raglan for Luke!

Looking at these, I realize I've only read Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, but there are other books by him that I'm not familiar with.  What is your/your child's favorite Eric Carle book?

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Changing Table Upgrade

Luke can throw some impressive fits.  He straightens his legs and slams his butt down over and over.  One of these incidents broke the flimsy particle board changing table top.  Paul fixed it by screwing in a nice, thick, piece of plywood to make a much sturdier changing surface.

Plywood is, by nature, not a "finished" sort of thing, and it tends to be rather splintery.  Since Luke had pretty much outgrown the contoured pad we had on the top, I decided to use contact paper to create a smooth, easy to clean, surface.

And the finished project!  Now I can wipe it down easily, and it's much more stable.  Not sure what we'll do when he outgrows it, length wise, but I'm sure we'll figure something out when the time comes.

The bins on the top shelf are Katie's.  One with training pants and panties.  One with socks and her night brace.  And one that holds pull ups (for night time) and stump socks.

The bins on the bottom shelf (visible in the "before" photo) have Luke's cloth diapers and covers in them.  The organizer hanging off the right side holds disposable diapers and wipes, and some small odds & ends.  The box on the changing surface is stink sacks.

I'm so glad Paul is creative and handy.  I was having a hard time changing Luke in the crib while it was broken.  I kept forgetting to put my hair up first, and I'd lean over him and get hair in his face.  First world problems, right?  I know it's silly, but I'm so grateful to have it fixed that it's a good reminder to be thankful for all the little things.

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Fall/Winter Sewing

Looking forward to autumn and autumn activities seems to have put me into a sewing, crafting, embellishing mood.  

I got these for the girls to wear to Sam's football games.  Team colors are purple and gold, so I thought they could wear them without a shirt while the weather is warm, and with a gold/yellow long sleeved shirt when the weather gets cooler.

I added fuzzy iron on footballs that I found at Hobby Lobby.

And made a couple bows to match.

Last year, I made Luke a batch of pants.  This year, I decided to make another batch.  Won't these little cowpoke ones look cute with a tiny chambray button down shirt??

Here's the rest of the batch:  Sesame Street/ABCs, Pumpkins/Green, Owls/Christmas stripe.

Then I made a couple skirts with the leftovers.  Panda skirt for Katie, from the leftovers from Hannah's panda skirt, pumpkin skirt for Hannah, from the leftovers from Luke's pants this year.

I bought the red shirts.  Katie's penguin skirt comes from leftovers from Lukey's penguin pants from last year, and Hannah gets the owl skirt made from leftovers from Lukey's pants from this year.

I'm working on another project now that I'm very excited to share with you, once I get some pictures.

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Family Updates

It's time for some updates!

Our two biggest bits of news are that Zach came home from his deployment before we expected him to, and he and Heather have finalized a date for their wedding!  Our family will be growing by 2 at the end of the year, as we welcome Heather and her son Brayden into our clan.

Annaliese was recently in town for Brayden's birthday.  It was nice to see her.

Josiah is home from his summer in Nevada.  He's hoping to get his permit soon and start learning to drive.

Sam had a birthday!  Sweet 16!  Or stinky 16, as he's been wrapped up in football practice lately.

This kinda looks like Brianna just thwacked her head on the diving board, but there are two of them, and she jumped off the other one.  She's adjusting well to high school life.

That's Eli going off the high dive.  This will probably be his last year homeschooling, as he's in 8th grade this year.  Next year, he'll be off to high school, too.

Eli just had a birthday, as well, which means we now have 4 teenagers in the house again!

This picture of Jack was taken at the park recently while we were meeting new friends.  I love the way homeschooled kids get together and include everybody.  My kids had a really great time, and I'm still hearing about it, days later.

Hannah got her first second grade report card.  They have letter grades now!  Oh my!  She got all As and Bs, and we're very proud of her, but my goodness, does she have to grow up so fast??

Katie will be having surgery in October.  One of the docs at Shriners will be separating the little fingers on one of her hands, and releasing the band around her calf, as well.  So we'll have a full arm cast on one side, and probably just bandages on the other while she's healing.  We've been waiting for a surgery date since last September, so this is a very good thing.  I would have pursued getting a date a lot more aggressively if it were an emergent surgery.  As it is, someone dropped the ball, and with everything else we've had going on, I never followed up to see what happened.

School is going well for Luke.  He gets lots of attention, since there's a teacher and 2 aides, and only 2 students in the class.

Paul has been really great, carrying more than his share around here when he's home.  I know he'd appreciate your prayers.

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