The one about Thanksgiving

Yep, the time has come... my thankful Thanksgiving post. And since we all know just how much I love a list, I'm going to attempt to condense my thoughts into one. This year I am especially grateful for:

Indoor plumbing

My calling with the young women

My sweet husband, who has stuck with me through all of my crazy this year

A wonderful and supportive family

Soft, fuzzy socks

A career in a field I love
The ability to help provide for my family



That I can read
My good health



Supportive friends and neighbors
My talents, and the opportunity I have to use them



My ability to impact changes around me
All-natural beauty recipes



Fantastic coworkers that I look forward to seeing at work, and away from work
A walking buddy



Financial stability
A house that I don't have to remodel



And most especially: A sweet Sharkbaby who loves to give me kisses, read stories with me, and help me play the piano
What can I say? I am truly blessed.

And then there were 10

My most wonderful munchkin,

Today is your first Thanksgiving, and I can't begin to express how grateful I am for you and the joy you bring me everyday. On this day you hit your 10 month mark. I can't believe how much you've grown and changed in the past few weeks.

You have hit a ton of milestones recently. You are crawling all over the place. You can pull up on furniture, but haven't figured out how to walk along it yet. You can go up stairs, but not down. You wave bye-bye anytime someone opens or closes a door. You know the signs for "more", "finished", and we're working on "thank you." You now say dog (a-da), Ruby (woo-wee), uh-oh (uh uh), dad (dada), mom (ma), num (dum), and all done (a-dun). You love to sing songs with mommy in the car. You especially love the song Skid-a-ma-rink.

This week you slept your longest stretch yet, a whole 13 hours. It was a great night for both of us. You still love stories. Your favorite right now is "Moo, Baa, La, La, La". You love it when we make the pig snort for you. You also love noses. You think it's the funniest thing in the world when you grab Daddy's nose and he makes a noise like a siren.

You seem to have a thing for feet, and socks especially. We can't keep socks on you to save our lives. Anytime we leave you unattended you take them off your feet to play with them. You love to chew on Mama's toes, too. You also love your knit blankies. You get angry if we leave the house without one. You want to have it in the car, in the stroller, near you when you play on the floor, and just in general reach.

Speaking of chewing, you have 3 and a half teeth. Two on the bottom, one on the top, and a second on the top getting ready to poke through any day now.

I am so excited to see what the next month will bring for us, Monkey. I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Mommy

The Plunge

Well, after much research, a lot of thought, and some good old-fashioned bravery, I finally jumped head first (hee hee!) into a new way of "washing" my hair.

Yep, I've gone completely shampoo-free. I'd been kicking around the idea of going no 'poo for quite a long time. I'd read that it was really great for curly hair. Basically, real shampoo is made to strip oils from your hair. That's it's job, it's what the chemical combination is meant to do. Well, that's a problem for me. I have incredibly dry hair, naturally. It's a curse of curly hair. Anyway, I noticed that after using traditional shampoo I was having to condition the hell out of my hair to make it feel even a little bit normal. Add to that all of the product I was having to use and you have yourself a hot mess.

So back to my story: I was already only washing my hair once a week and using baking soda once a week. So I figured the time had come. I was taking the plunge into no 'poo.

Let me share with you a few observations and then I'll give you my recipes:

1. My hair has changed color. It's true, I haven't dyed my hair in several months, however in the last three weeks it's become a richer brown with quite a bit of red in it.

2. I did experience a weird phase about 2 weeks in where my roots were extra-oily and my ends were extra-dry. This only lasted about a week. Apparently, it's a normalizing phase where the scalp produces more oil for some reason. It goes away, I promise.

3. It styles much more easily. I don't know if it's healthier, or stronger, or what, but it's breaking less and takes to the flat iron much better.

4. It has lost some of it's body. I've never had to tease my hair before to give it volume, however when my hair is straight now it's s-t-r-a-i-g-h-t. I'll have to work on this for awhile.

And now, the recipes.

First, I use a 1:3 ratio of baking soda to water. I put this on my dry hair just at the roots. I massage it into my scalp and comb it through to the ends. I let it sit for about 2-3 minutes and then rinse it out.

Next, I use a 1:4 ratio of apple cider vinegar to water. I saturate the ends of my hair and leave the roots alone. I'll let this sit about a minute or so and then rinse it well. I promise, your hair won't smell like vinegar. Just watch your eyes. It stings like you wouldn't believe.

Anyway, if any of you out there give it a go let me know how it works for you. Personally, I love it.