Homemade 100% Natural Soap!

After I starting washing my hair with baking soda, I started thinking about making my own beauty products, particularly, soap! I thought, hey, I should look on Pinterest and find DIY instructions to make natural soap! What a great idea! I started searching on Pinterest and found several recipes and instructions. I got excited since it was very easy to find information on this project. The next couple days whenever I had a free moment I was reading online more and more about making soap. I had read so many different websites and blogs and tutorials and recipes that it actually started getting quite overwhelming. I had to buy a digital scale and a stick blender, I had to make sure the pots I would be using were stainless steel, I had to buy expensive oils, I had to buy Lye and a soap mold, I had to decide if I was going to do hot process or cold process, I had to use a Lye calculator... it was just getting to be a bit more than I had originally thought it would be. My fear started taking over.

But I reaaallllyy wanted to do it. So I decided to stop being a baby and just do it! And I'm so happy I did! I'll admit, it was scary. I had legit reasons to be afraid -- using lye can be dangerous and you need to take proper safety precautions. For this reason, I got Derek to help me for my first time, then I'll be on my own. So, thank you Derek!

Besides that, the process of making soap is actually quite simple. I decided to try cold process first. Even though technically the process is not "cold", it's less hot than hot process which is done in a crock pot. Basically you just melt your oils together on the stove top, then separately mix the lye with water, once they each reach a certain temperature you mix the two together and get going with the stick blender. You'll blend/stir for about 5 min, then pour it into the soap mold. Once hardened, which usually happens within 24-48 hours, you un-mold it and cut into soap bars! If you're doing cold process you should wait at least 3-4 weeks before using the soap so it has time to cure.

This is everything you need for cold process: stainless steel/heat proof bowls, stainless steel/plastic spoons, stainless steel pot, whatever oils you will be using, lye, soap mold, scale, stick blender, thermometer, gloves, safety goggles, measuring cup, and vinegar & towels to keep on hand in case of a lye spill.

Measuring out the oils carefully

I made a pretty small batch for my first time

I will probably write my own step-by-step instructions with more details next time I make a batch but for now this is the tutorial I followed...

http://smallnotebook.org/tutorials/beginner-soapmaking/

I didn't use her recipe though. I wanted to start with a more basic recipe using only olive oil and coconut oil. I found a simple recipe using only those oils but last minute I had to tweak it a little because my scale could not measure accurately the amounts I needed. I needed 1/5 on a measurement but it would only go from 1/8 to 1/4. And when you're measuring for soap it needs to be EXACT when it comes to oils and lye. Especially since I was making a small batch. So this is what I used..

13 oz   Olive oil (79%)
3.5 oz   Coconut oil (21%)
2.5 oz   Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
5 oz   Distilled water

** After your soap has gone through saponification (the reaction between these ingredients), there will not be any lye left in your soap when you use it.


I ordered the lye on Amazon and I already had the oils in my pantry. I also ordered the soap mold from Amazon. I borrowed my sister's scale and bought my stick blender and safety goggles at Walmart.  Everything else I already had.

Since my soap is 79% olive oil, it's going to be a softer soap. Instead of unmolding it the next day I waited 4 days because it was still soft. I might try making my next batch in the crock pot via hot process and see which way I like better. The nice thing about hot process is you don't have to wait weeks for your soap to cure.

The finished product! Aren't they beautiful? 100% natural, baby! Can't wait to try them.

I'm excited to make my own recipes and have fun trying new things. In addition to essential oils, you can add all sorts of stuff to soap - from oatmeal to lavender to honey. You can also use milk instead of water. I plan to make a goat's milk soap soon. It's really great for your skin apparently.

Happy soap making! As Derek would say, we're turning into a bunch of hippies! Haha.

Sickness!

Well, we had our first baby throw-up experience. We almost made it a year (and through flu season) without this happening. He had a few colds throughout the Winter but never had any flu - like symptoms. On Monday when I got him in the morning there were chunks of food in his crib.. I was like, what the heck? I wondered if he had thrown up.. While I was trying to figure it out, he started making pukey faces, I rushed to the bathroom and he threw up again there. After I nursed him, he threw up again, all over me. A few hours later he seemed like he was feeling better and kept pointing to food, so we thought we'd try to give him something to eat. After he was done eating, he threw up in his high chair. My poor baby!!! I didn't know what to do.. I felt so bad for my little guy. But thankfully, after lunch he seemed much better and didn't puke for the rest of the day. I was also happy that he at least seemed somewhat his normal self most of the day, he wasn't too distressed about being sick. It's like he didn't know he was sick.

Getting some needed rest. 

Whatever bug we caught is going around quick, Jared got sick last night and Elijah did as well (my mom went to Jessie's on Monday and probably brought it over there).

My stomach is feeling funny this morning, I really, really despise vomiting so I'm praying  I won't! This Winter has been the worst for sicknesses around here! I haven't thrown up from being sick since I was a kid and then this year I've had the flu two times and maybe going on number 3 now? Ugh. I guess this is what happens when you have kids and you babysit sick kids, and most people around you have kids. Lame.

Family Walk

Two nights ago we went for a nice walk over to the pond to see the ducks. Noah is so interested in animals so I knew he would love it. We brought some crackers to feed them. It was a beautiful evening. I love this weather!

We love going for walks :)

The 'No Poo' & Natural Movement!

A few people have been asking me exactly how I wash my hair now days. I've been meaning to write all about it anyways, so here are all the details!

Basically I am saying goodbye to commercial shampoo & conditioner! WHY? Because, well, have you read all the ingredients on this stuff? I am also saying adios to a whole lot of other commercial things.. beauty products, cleaning supplies & household products, one by one. Basically every time something runs out (laundry detergent, deodorant, dishwasher detergent etc.), I'm going to make a natural, homemade version of it. I'm super duper excited! I feel like this is becoming a new passion of mine.


// WASHING:

Baking soda! What you do is take about 1-2 Tb of baking soda and mix it with about a cup of water (more or less depending on how much hair you have). You can do this in a spray bottle, squeeze water bottle or a plastic cup. I mix the baking soda with the water once I get into the shower so I don't have to worry about the water getting cold and I just find it convenient. But you could make large batches if you'd like. Swish and shake it around to mix. The water mixture should feel kind of slippery/slimy if you put your finger in it. Once it's mixed, just spray or pour it on your hair and rub it in. Focus on your roots. And rinse, rinse, rinse!

It's not going to feel anything like shampoo. In fact, it may feel like nothing at all -- just water. I remember I was worried, thinking it wasn't going to work because there was no lather whatsoever. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see how clean my hair was afterwards.

// CONDITIONING:

You want to do pretty much the same kind of process except this time you will be using apple cider vinegar. Mix around 1 Tb with another cup of water in your bottle. Start spraying/pouring it onto  your hair. Avoid your roots, focus on the ends. Rinse!

The smell of apple cider vinegar is very strong, and I personally hate it. Although I'm getting more used to it. You will probably even still smell it once you're out of the shower. BUT, once your hair is dried, you will not smell it anymore!

Nice & clean! And shiny!

I have been doing this for over 3 weeks now and I am pleased with it. My hair is healthy, clean, and I don't miss shampoo or conditioner. I do this no poo method every 3 days or so. But I've always been the type to need to wash my hair a lot - if you're someone who already washes their hair only once a week then you're golden. There are a couple other things I wanted to mention...

// 1.  It could take a while for your hair to adjust. Your hair is not used to this and if you wash your hair every day, your hair will be very used to needing to produce a lot of oil -- because shampoo strips your hair of it's natural oils and tells your body you need to produce more than you need. My hair seemed a bit more oily than normal but it really wasn't too bad, after a week or so it was okay.  As time goes on, the longer you don't use shampoo, the less often you'll need to wash your hair with baking soda. If you're wanting to try this, you need to give it time before deciding it's not for you. For some people it takes a while before their hair feels better. Everyone's hair/hormones are different.

// 2. I ran out of apple cider vinegar for a few days so I tried white vinegar. Although it still conditioned, I didn't like it as much. My hair was more tangly out of the shower, and it became very dry. I went back to acv. But if you have very oily hair, white vinegar could work for you.

// 3. Your hair could also get very dry during the adjusting period. My ends still get a little dry sometimes, but mostly staticky. If I feel like it's dry then I melt a teeny tiny bit (JUST A DROP) of coconut oil, rub it between your hands and rub it through your ends. The first time I tried this I used WAY too much, and my hair was SO GREASY, haha. It was awful. So just make sure you only use a little.

// 4. On the third day I usually have to use some "dry shampoo". I guess it's not really dry shampoo but it does the same thing. If you are a brunette, you can take some cocoa powder and sprinkle some on your roots. I mix mine with flour or corn starch to lighten it up. If you're blonde, you don't need to add the cocoa powder obviously. This absorbs excess oil. And it also gives my hair some nice volume!

// 5. Not only do you need to give this time, you also may need to do some trial and error. If your hair is way too greasy, maybe do less vinegar or more baking soda. If it's too straw-like, try less baking soda. You get the point. The amount that worked for someone else may not work for you. So if you're not seeing good results after a while, fool around with the amounts and see what works better.

This is on day 3 after a no poo wash, not too shabby..

I have noticed that my hair is much less tangly. Since my hair is very soft and fine, I normally have to brush it a lot or else it will become like a rat's nest in the back. But not anymore! It's wonderful. Also, like I said, I find I have more body. Shampoo & conditioner actually soften my hair too much thus making it completely FLAT! Now, my hair actually feels thicker!

We are going to save some good money this year with not buying hair products! I was thinking, wow, the whole time I was pregnant I was using some really expensive natural shampoo because I didn't want to pass all those harsh chemicals to my baby boy. It was like $10 for an itty bitty bottle! I wish I knew about this back then!



// ONE MORE THING!

If you are not completely ready to go no poo all the way, here is a beautiful alternative. Another blogger called it, "Sorta Poo". I tried it once and it was really nice. I might do this once a month or something just for a treat. Here's what you do..

Go to a health food store and buy Castille Soap. It's made from natural ingredients and has far less ingredients than shampoo. This is basically just a natural liquid soap in a concentrated form. You can make all sorts of things with it. I already made some liquid hand soap for my kitchen using this (it's easy, I'll write about that in my soap post). While you're at the store, pick up some coconut milk if you don't already have some handy in your fridge.

See the ingredients? This is the brand I use -- Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

Mix 1 Tb of the Castille Soap with about 1 tsp of coconut milk. Shake it gently. Pour into your hair and LATHER up, baby! It creates an amazing lather which baking soda of course does not do. And who doesn't love the smell of coconut milk!? SO, if you're wanting to go more natural but still feel the need for a nice lather, try this!

Change the Way You Look at Food!

I wanted to post some pictures of the types of foods we have been eating. I've changed my diet a lot, and I'm eating mostly clean -- eliminating processed foods, sugar, junk food, high sodium, white flour, and ADDING more wholesome, nutritious food. I am focusing more on protein, since I don't think I was getting enough beforehand. I also try to incorporate vegetables into every meal of the day.

And I said *we* at the beginning of this post because Derek and Jared have been joining with me (and of course Noah too, but he was always eating healthy). Derek has still been eating some junk a few times a week but overall he has been making a lot of healthier choices, which makes me happy! 

One thing I wanted to point out was that I don't consider myself on a "diet". And I'm not trying to lose weight. I think this is the problem many people have. They have the mindset of, oh I'm on a diet so I can't eat anything that I want, only "healthy, low calorie" stuff.. so they eat a bland salad every day and load up the ranch dressing, or they drink lots of sugary juice instead of pop, or they eat all of those boxed cereals/snacks/bars that say, "only 99 calories & fat free" but they are loaded with sugar, sodium and preservatives!!! Instead of just having the mindset that I CAN eat what I want, and what I want to eat is food that is GOOD for my body. And if once in while, I'm at a family party, and I want to have a piece of cake, or a cookie, then it's not the end of the world and I don't need to count how many calories and grams of fat I just consumed. If you restrict yourself SO much then you'll eventually just binge. If you really crave a dessert, simply try making a healthier alternative version of it! That's what it's all about!

Eat healthy because you want to BE healthy, not because you want the world to think you're "skinny". If that's your motive, then that's why you've failed. Because at the end of the day, if you're not doing it for yourself, you don't care enough to continue on for the rest of your life. This is a lifestyle, not a fad diet. 

I'm far from a nutritionist or clean eating expert and in no way perfect at eating 100% whole food all the time, but I do believe that we really need to change the way we THINK about and LOOK at food. I'm only just beginning on my journey and I'm still learning new things every day. But I'm excited for this new chapter in my life. Two months ago I wasn't even cooking dinner most nights, and on the nights that I did it was mostly Kraft mac & cheese (gross!). Now I actually look forward to experimenting and trying new things!

Here's some examples of things we've been eating lately...

Brown rice, lentils, pinto beans with sautéed broccoli, acorn squash, & zucchini

Green smoothie with kale, spinach, peanut butter, banana, & almond milk 

Steel-cut oatmeal, almond milk, banana, blackberries & a drizzle of honey

Juice for everyone! Beets, carrots, radish, celery, orange, lime, lemon, kale, parsley & cilantro

Similar to the first dish but a little different - Quinoa with lentils, chicken breast, zucchini & acorn squash

My favorite lunch! Whole grain toast with avocado, swiss cheese, tomato, salt/pepper & oregano. Sometimes I add egg whites to this as well. And a berry banana protein smoothie blended with coconut milk, chia & flax seeds

Combination rice (5 kinds - including wild rice), red kidney beans, & a spinach salad with strawberries, almonds, olive oil/stevia, & sprinkled hemp seeds, 

This is Noah's version of that dinner ^^

Chocolate protein milkshake made with cottage cheese, protein powder, stevia, peanut butter, cocoa powder, & almond milk (and ice)

Energy balls made with peanut butter, honey, semi-sweet (didn't have dark) chocolate chips, oats, flax, chia & chocolate protein powder

Protein bars made with peanut butter, almond butter, almonds, craisens, dark chocolate chips, agave, chia, flax, choc. protein powder, & oats (would have been even better with coconut!)

Protein cookies made with chocolate protein powder, peanut butter, almond milk & agave (will use honey next time instead because it's better for you)

We always use natural peanut butter, natural almond butter & unsweetened almond milk. And I use olive oil and/or coconut oil when cooking. 

Polund Babies Special Day

On March 2nd my cousins, Nefer and Vagner both had their baby girls blessed. Nefer lives in the UK but they wanted to have both Lorena and Elizabeth be blessed together. We hadn't seen Nefer in 3 years and hadn't met her husbsnd, Javier yet. So we were really excited for them to come!

After the blessing was done at their church, we went to Jessie's new house for a get-together. Sarahi decorated the house really cute! It was so fun to spend time with everyone. I love my family! And I love those cute little babies!

Baby Lorena!

She has blue eyes!

Sleepy baby on the way home. What a long day for him. 

Kendra and Vagner had some other things going on that day so they weren't able to make it to Jessie's with us but here are a couple pictures of them that they took on Elizabeth's special day

Vintage White's Market!

Me and my friend, Jenny went to the Vintage White's Market last Saturday and had so much fun! Its a market that goes around to different cities selling antiques and vintage/distressed styled furniture, home decor, kids stuff, clothing, everything! We felt like kids in a candy store. There were so many amazing vendors. I think one of my favorites was Perfect Pallet. This is where I found my shelf. It's just what I needed for my dining room! I'll post some more pictures once the wall is completely decorated.

Just playing around with a few things I might put on it

Love me some old jars and bottles! 

I also got those cute earings, some wooden letters, wooden arrows for Noah's room, an old tool box thing, and an old bucket! Excited for some DIY-ing! And I'm excited for the Vintage White's Market to come back next year :)

Me & Jenny! I love her :) and I love the idea she had to leave our babies at home with the hubbies. 

Noah is 11 Months!

Only one more month and my baby will no longer be a baby anymore. I can't believe it. He's growing too fast. But he's just so cute! I love everything about him -- his hands, his feet, his belly, his skin, his eyes, his smell, his slobbery lips! And have you seen his CHEEKS!? They are absolutely delicious! I'm so lucky that I get to spend all my days with my little stinkbug!

NURSING:
I love being on a 4 hour feeding schedule! It's amazing how much of a difference 1 less feeding during the day makes at this point. Breastfeeding is going really well. My supply has not suffered at all with last month's drop in feedings. Most days we only have 4 nursing sessions in a 24 hr period - sometimes a 5th one if he wakes at night. I've almost reached my goal to breastfeed Noah at least until his first birthday! However I recently found out the World Health Organization recommends at least 2 years. Now I feel dumb for only making a 1 year goal. Also, in one of Derek's classes he learned that through studies they believe the optimal time to breastfeed is until 5-6 years old! Wow.  So now I'm likely going to keep nursing (but i'm not going THAT long! ha). I would feel very selfish if I took it away from him, because he loves it. I also love it. The only reason I would stop is basically to have more freedom (I know, i'm selfish, right?!) It would be nice if I could continue on with only 2 or 3 feedings a day after he turns 1. But I'm not sure if my supply would keep up. Oh and we stopped giving him that bedtime bottle with extra formula this week because he usually didn't drink it all anyways and he seems to be doing okay without it.

SOLIDS (BABY LED WEANING):
Everything is still the same here. He will occasionally have days where he doesn't have much of an appetite and doesn't eat much all day but I think it's when he's feeling some teething pains because he'll also be really cranky those days. And that's what happened last time he got his teeth. But overall, he's eating fantastically! His favorite foods right now are: chicken, beans, strawberries, kiwi, indian food, string cheese, and those squeeze on-the-go mixed fruit & veggie things. He loves water and any type of smoothie or drink I make in the blender. Oh, and actually there was one change this month - he started dropping food off his high chair and rubbing his messy hands in his hair! So we're in the process of teaching him not to do that.

Stir fry

Chicken and veggies

Squishing turkey chili between his hands - by the way, this was the biggest mess he's made. Ever!

TEETHING:
As I mentioned, he's had several days, particularly in the last 2 weeks where you can tell he's in pain but he hasn't gotten any new teeth this month.

PLAYTIME:
He still needs a lot of attention, and gets bored easily. Around the house, he constantly needs new things to entertain him. He likes to play around other kids. Although, sometimes he can be playing rather rough. We're focusing on teaching him to be nice, not to pull hair or grab people's faces etc. He's just such a stinker! He has a new favorite toy that he pushes around the house, like a standing walker kind of thing. I'm going to write a different post about all his favorite things one of these days.  He likes to play silly games with you. He loves the outdoors, he loves seeing new things, he's interested in holes, knobs, buttons, and anything tiny! He's obsessed with moving furniture around, and he loves to play with anything that spins! 

Loves this thing!

He's liking books more and more

Spying on him during independent play time. He does well in his Pack N' Play most days

He loves to crawl under the table and chairs - it's like an obstacle course for him. But sometimes he gets stuck :)

COMMUNICATION/SIGNING:
He's getting better at communicating but still does a lot of whining and fussing when he wants/doesn't want something. He's very impatient - especially when he knows he's about to eat and has to wait. I am really trying to explain to him that I'm getting his food or he just needs to put on his bib and his food will be coming. I am still signing with him but haven't been as consistent with the basic ones this past month.  He points to things that he wants and says "da" all the time. Basically everything comes out as "da" or  "dada" now days. He tries to say doggy, and it comes out as "dada". My mom said she heard him say doggy correctly but I haven't heard it myself. He claps his hands a lot and does it on command as well. It's amazing how much they actually understand. I had no idea he understood "clap your hands" (without me showing him) because I really hadn't said it that often to him, but one day I said it and he started clapping his hands and really surprised me. It just reminded me that he understands a lot more than we think he does. Whenever he is rough with someone, we tell him, "be soffffttt"and now he copies us and pats softly saying "waaaaaa" in the same tone. He can wave bye-bye. He also started picking up our phones or his toy phone, putting it up to his ear and talking into it. And copies me when I say, "hello". I love all the cute things he's starting to do.

Clap, clap!

WALKING/PHYSICAL
No walking alone yet, but he's cruising along furniture quite well. I guess you never really know when they are going to figure it out. He just started standing REALLY well all by himself, without holding onto anything, it's SO cute! He did it today for at least a minute before he chickened out and bent down. But we were cheering him on and clapping then he started clapping for himself and got all excited!

I love this picture - he always walks along the window peeking outside

DOGGIES!:
He's really into dogs right now! He is always trying to find our neighbors dogs when we go outside or look out the window. Or when we go for walks and see dogs he gets really excited, points to them and says, "dada dada dada" over and over again, haha. He's really trying to say it! The funny thing is that he hasn't had that many up close experiences with dogs. One day we went to Dustin & Leila's house, and their big dog came up to Noah and licked his whole face! Noah started crying, he didn't like that, haha. So now he's a little more cautious when they are super close to him. But he's still really interested in them. He's interested in all animals for that matter.

On a walk looking for doggies!

CHURCH:
Church has really been challenging the past couple months. We had to figure out a new church routine. We used to have 1:00 church and we had just gotten used to the perfect routine at church with him (as far as feeding & sleeping). But now with 9:00 church, sacrament is cutting right into his morning nap which makes him really cranky during the first hour. After sacrament I have to teach Sunday School so I can't even try to get him to sleep during that hour. So he's even crankier during that block. I nurse him right after my class and he instantly falls asleep. He dozes off for about 30 min and then we get to go to the last 20 minutes or so of Relief Society. Besides the fact that he's tired at church, he's also in that stage where he doesn't understand he needs to sit and be reverent. Of course he wants to crawl all over the place and get into everyone's things. I don't want to make it a habit of going out into the hall for him to play, so I've been trying really hard not to do that. I know you can only do so much at this age - as far as teaching church behavior - but I think it's better to start little by little now instead of having to correct bad behavior when he's 3 years old. But it's definitely been rough - he is really not a sit still kind of boy!

Snoozing in the mother's lounge - and don't worry, that's my light pink shirt by Noah's chin (I'm not that white!) But isn't he just gorgeous!?

SLEEP/SCHEDULE:
Sleep was again much better this month. He sleeps through the night probably 60% of the time. On nights where he doesn't make it through the full 12 hours without waking, he'll usually wake after 9-10 hours (so around 4:00 - 5:00 am). Then goes back to sleep until around 7:00 - 7:30. His naps are better as well. Although his naps aren't the 2 hours they used to be, he rarely has cat naps now and if he does (because of over-tiredness) it doesn't affect him as much as it used to. He can stay awake for much longer before his naps now, too. Even though his naps are better, he's been going through a phase for a while now where he cries for almost every nap - even if he's not over/under tired. He cries for a few minutes and then falls asleep. He doesn't cry at bedtime though which is nice. UNLESS something is different in his routine. I tried to change something the other day and it completely messed him up. He is sensitive. He goes through so many different phases too. Something I started doing this month which has helped lengthen out his naps has been to focus on drowsy signs. I always tried to do this before but he never showed them. I figured out I need to do something really quiet in order for him to show them. So around the time he usually gets tired we go in his room and read a few books. Once he starts rubbing his eyes I put him down. This has really helped! But if he's playing out in the living room or around other people, he will seem wide awake and energized so that's why I never caught them before.

Taking a nap in our bed today (a very rare occurrence) after a crazy morning - he had a rough time adjusting to the time change

More pics! These are some of the many faces of Noah...

He loves to get into this cupboard!!!

Love you Noah!

**Update: Hi Noah, I forgot to mention that this is when the tantrums started :) You love to throw tantrums.