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Seems dumb to post about this. But there are some things that people ask me about that I feel like I repeat myself over and over and it's just easier to email a link. So that is what I will do here similar to my post on baby wearing: http://coffmanfamily.weebly.com/1/post/2011/11/the-many-forms-of-babywearing.html So! Before I started the dreadlocks this is what my hair looked like: I typically straightened it with the chi. But this was the morning that I went to the Barber Shop to start the locks, so this was just washed and brushed. A bit wavy, never without body and if I put moose in it while wet then it looked a little more curly. Below is about a month after I cut the locks off. A couple days after I cut them off I realized that for whatever reason, my hair had entered a more curly season. So I started reading about how to deal with curly hair. I figured that with Robert gone I wouldn't be taking the time to straighten it and so the easiest thing would be to just let it curl. The more I read the more I heard that you must go to a stylist that is specifically trained in how to cut curly hair. Because typically they are not trained in how to cut curly hair. So I found one in Springfield, MO while I was visiting and got an amazing hair cut from her! Plus lots of tips. So here are the tips that I have learned and started doing. 1. Don't use shampoo. I don't want to spring for the extra money of chemical free shampoo but the chemicals are what dries out curly hair so bad. Evidently the main thing curly hair needs above all else is moisture. So if shampoo removes moisture then you shouldn't use it. So I wash my hair with a little bit of baking soda and Dr Bronner's soap about once a week. 2. Use conditioner a LOT! Every other time that I take a shower I just use conditioner. And a TON of it! Like, a lot. And then I barely rinse it out. And occasionally I add a bit of leave-in conditioner afterwards. 3. Never brush it or comb it. I put a pick through it after I apply conditioner in the shower, that is the only time I do anything relatively close to combing or brushing. 4. Don't use a towel on it. So the terry cloth is suppose to be bad for curly hair because it makes it frizz more. So you're suppose to use a cotton t-shirt or microfiber towel to scrunch your hair dry. So I keep a shirt hung up with my towel for after shower drying. 5. Don't touch it. So the idea is that you shouldn't touch your hair after you've styled it is because every time you touch it makes it more frizzy. Honestly, I've not struggled with this much because of how short it is, I think. But there it is. So with those new rules in mind here is my typical styling. I take a shower, do tons of conditioner barely rinse it out. I do a different type of gel or other product almost everytime because I'm still trying to figure out what works best. But lets assume I'm using spray gel. (I make it with two parts boiled water and one part gel mixed together) Before I step out of the shower or dry my hair at all I spray the junk out of my hair with the spary gel, while it's still dripping wet. Sealing in as much moisture as possible. Then I scrunch my hair up in the the tshirt to remove the extra dripping water. Then I start my day. I can use my diffuser but rarely have the time. So I typically let it air dry. Then a few hours later when my hair feels dry I go back to the bathroom, throw my head over and scrunch all the stiffness out from the gel. The stylist called this "breaking the gel cast". Basically you are making your hair movable. After I do this it doesn't even look like I put anything in my hair really. It doesn't feel like it, it feels normal, soft. Then I usually hair spray some and I'm done. Lots of changes but all the changes lead to less work. I usually take a shower every other day and I don't do anything to my hair the next day. I just get up and make sure it's not standing straight up, maybe put a head wrap on to keep it out of my face. All hair is different. The idea behind doing my hair like this is just letting it dry right where it is. Not pushing it or manipulating it into what I want it to look like. The left side of my head is always less curly than the right. In some places I have lovely little spirals and in other places my hair curls in one direction and then abruptly changes direction! And the longer it gets the more it is wavy and less curly. It's just embracing those differences and letting go of trying to control it so much. That's all! : ) And meanwhile I am working up enough nerve to make some homemade gel! Out of flax seeds! Still researching different ways of doing it so I will get back on that subject once I have a good recipe. : )
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Here is a link to the professional pictures of when Robert came home. We are sick. We have been sick for a few weeks, off and on. About a month ago three of the kids had ear infections and I was exhausted and agreed to antibiotics. Now all three of those kids are getting hit with everything. Antibiotics kill all bacteria causing a crippling affect on the immune systems ability to fight off illness. So now those three kids are having a really hard time during such a bad time of year for sickness. So we are hunkering down and working really hard at getting our immune systems back up to par. Robert and I are sick too. Robert isn't too shocking since his body is still adjusting to a different climate and environment. But I almost never get sick, so you know it's bad! Mainly we are dealing with drainage, sore throats, achey, and unproductive, painful coughs. This has caused us to cancel part of our trip and post pone the rest of it. : ( Which means we have very sad kids. So I thought I would share some of the things we do when we are dealing with illness. Namely, cough and immune support remedies. I typically use homeopathy, and I have lately, but because of dairy allergies and the lack of homeopathic remedies that don't use a base of lactose I have been learning other alternatives. The above picture shows the cough syrups I had simmering this morning. The one on the left is a recipe my friend Melissa taught me except I added one ingredient. And the one on the right is a super easy recipe that I learned on line. For simplicity sake I will call the one on the left Herbal Cough Syrup and the one on the right Onion Honey Syrup. Almost anyone can make Onion Honey Syrup with what they already have in the house! And I can definitely sing it's praises. The Herbal Cough Syrup cured Cal and I of pneumonia a couple years ago. And I make it a few times a year whenever one of the kids is suffering from a cough that needs a little help breaking up the mucous. Above is the end product! Below I will share the recipes! Keep in mind that I made more than usual of each because so many in our family need them. Typically I would make about half as much.
Herbal Cough Syrup (the one on the left in the picture) -1/4 cup of licorice root -1/4 cup of mullein leaf -1/4 cup of marshmallow root (for sore throat) Cover herbs with filtered water in a small sauce pan. Put over low heat and let simmer for 30-45 minutes. Drain the liquid and mix with 2 Tbls of honey (preferably raw, local). Sometimes I add cinnamon too. I didn't this time. *Give 1 tsp (for adults 1 Tbs) every 30 minutes or longer. It tastes like concentrated sweetened tea. Bryse loves it! Really, there are so many herbs that are helpful with coughs but I keep these herbs in my medicine cabinet all the time, so these are easiest for us. Onion Honey Syrup -One onion -Enough honey to cover the onion(preferably raw and local) -Optional: A few cloves are garlic chopped up Put the chopped onion and garlic in a small saucepan and cover with honey. Simmer on very low heat for 30-45 minutes, until onion is cooked soft. You can drain if you want, but I try to leave some in the syrup because it doesn't hurt anything and the longer the herbs are in the honey the more healing power you get from them! *Give 1 tsp (for adults 1 Tbs) every 30 minutes or longer. Deakin is a fan of this one! This one is very basic, helps for any cold or cough, and if you put the garlic in there then you are really helping your immune system. Below is another recipe. You can actually find lots of variations of this recipe all over the internet. http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2009/11/homemade-cough-and-cold-syrup.html We have not used allopathic cough drops or syrups or suppressants in years! The reason for this is because we learned that God gave our bodies the ability to cough for a very good reason. To get out what doesn't belong there! So suppressing the cough or trying to stop it does the opposite of what the cough is trying to do. So now we use remedies that sometimes make us cough more or make our coughs sound worse, but in the long run we get better much quicker! I have both of the cough syrups sitting out and am giving them to the kids all day today. Already Cal's cough sounds less dry and more moist which makes me very happy. Now I know that (Lord willing) nothing will settle in his chest causing a longer, worse illness. Now on to immune support and supplements. I have all the kids on probiotics. Trying to help their immune system restore some of the good bacteria that the antibiotics destroyed. Echinacea, golden seal, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc along with their normal multi vitamin. If we had elderberry syrup we would be doing that too, but I'm out. For the boys (who can't swallow a pill yet) I open the probiotic and echinacea capsules into a bowl, add some cinnamon and cover with honey. Stir it up and then feed it to them with a spoon. You can also mix those vitamins with applesauce or DF yogurt but I tend to forget unless I just do honey when I give them their normal chewable multi and gummy zinc/vitamin D. We also do a lot of garlic during illness. I take a cut up clove like a pill twice a day for a few days. And I use my neti pot every night before bed to help with drainage and congestion. Also adding a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar to a glass of water and drinking it throughout the day is very helpful for colds. I'm not even gonna touch essential oils today because it will take too long! Ha! During the summer we just do a mulit vitamin most of the time. But this time of year and during illness, we do a LOT of supplements! And when I'm pregnant, good grief! It's ridiculous! But good. Anyway, I didn't have any new pictures to share today so I thought I would post about this since it's fresh on my mind. Robert has block leave starting March 8th and it will last until April 9th. : ) We have a wedding to attend in Springfield on March 10th. After the wedding we will be going to Arknasas for two nights and then heading to Branson as a family for some low key fun. We are hoping to go to the Dixie Stampede and Silver Dollar City and mini golfing. Other than that, we will likely be out to eat or sitting on our bottoms watching tv!! So fun!
We should be returning home around the 16th, I think. Then we will be home, working on stuff around the house and hanging out without any responsibilities aside from education for the kids. On the weekend of the 21st, Lord willing, Robert and I will be going out of town for some time alone!! We don't know where we are going. We are hoping to find an affordable cabin to rent. I'm so excited and pray all the time that the Lord will orchestrate everything so that we are able to do this. Everyone stays healthy, Deakin sleeps well while we are gone, I have plenty of food ready for the care providers to feed them. There are so many variables here that could cause it not to work out. Or at least that it would be stressful on the kids (namely Deakin). We are shooting for 4-5 days!! The last time we were away from any of the kids longer than 1 night was when it was just Darby and she was 10 months old and we were going to check out a grad school for the weekend. So we have never gone away for longer than one night just for fun!! I'm so excited. The very last weekend of Robert's block leave is a Homeschooling conference that we really want to try to go to. But it doesn't look good for us being able to make it. If our weekend away doesn't work out then we should be able to swing it. We really enjoyed the homeschool conference in KC so much last year. So those are our tentative plans for this month! I will try to keep up with pictures on Friday. |
LindseyI'm the mama and wife. Updating you on our life! Archives
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