The Real Dirt on Clean

You know that good, healthy feeling you get when you’ve just cleaned house? Sorry to spoil it, but you may have just made your home dirtier.

Think of it this way…

How dangerous? Just take a look at these statistics.

• Over 90% of poison exposures happen at home.
• Common chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisoning.
• Organic pollutants, found in many common cleaners and even air fresheners, are found at levels 2 to 5 times higher inside your home than out.
• A person who spends 15 minutes cleaning scale off shower walls could inhale three timesthe “acute one-hour exposure limit” for glycol ether-containing products set by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
• Common cleaners give off fumes that can potentially increase the risk of kids developing asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease.
• 1 in 13 school-aged children has asthma. Rates in children under five have increased more than 160% from 1980 – 1994.
• Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight, children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air than adults. The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food, or air.
• If your home is anything like the average U.S. home, you generate more than 20 pounds of household hazardous waste each year (the EPA designates toilet cleaners, tub and tile cleaners, oven cleaners, and bleach as hazardous waste).

To find out what’s lurking on your shelves, go to the National Institutes of Health Library of Medicine Household Products Database. You can search almost any brand of cleaner you use, find out what’s in it, and uncover its links to health effects. Or search by chemical ingredients (see list below for some examples) and discover what brands contain it. The information may shock you.www.householdproducts.nlm.ni h.gov/ingredients.htm

Chemical ingredients to look out for:

• Sodium hydroxide
• Hydrochloric acid
• Butyl cellosolve (2-Butoxyethanol)
• Formaldehyde
• Bleach (sodium hypochlorite)
• Ammonia
• Sulfamic acid
• Petroleum distillates
• Sulfuric acid
• Lye (potassium hydroxide)
• Morpholine

4 Simple Ways to Get Clean

Your home should be the safest, healthiest, cleanest place in the whole world.

So we’ve put together some pretty easy things you can do to make your family safer and your home healthier.And, as it turns out, what’s good for your home is good for the earth and everyone else on it, too. So let’s make our homes healthy. Let’s clean our hearts out. Let’s Get Clean.

1. Get the dirt.

Educate yourself about what you bring into your home atwww.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm

2. Have a clean-for-all.

Put on the gloves and get rid of the nasty stuff in your home. Responsibly, of course. Your local waste collection service has guidelines for proper household hazardous waste disposal, as well as collection sites for things like paint, batteries, and cleaners. Whatever you do, please don’t toss this stuff in the garbage.

3. Welcome healthy into your home.

Commit to carefully considering everything that crosses your doorstep. Here are some safe, healthy things to have in your home:

• Cleaners that are truly cleaner. Get Clean offers product choices that are: nontoxic, natural, biodegradable, concentrated, and hypoallergenic.
• Fresh air. Open your windows to reduce indoor air pollution.
• Essential oils. Use these instead of air fresheners.
• Plants. Besides being nice to look at, they can absorb harmful gases and help clean the air.
• Organic cotton bedding. Avoid standard bedding treated with chemicals.
• Floors made of recycled and renewable resources.
• Healthier paint. That new paint smell can be as nasty as it smells. Choose low VOC paint instead.

4. Clean up our collective home.

Make the earth healthier for all of us who call it home by using these things in yours:

• Energy Star-rated appliances. Save money and energy.
• A low-flush toilet. Replace the largest user of water in your house. Ultra low flushers cut water use by one-fifth.
• Low-flow showerheads. Same pressure. Less water.
• Your flicker finger. Turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them.
• Gray water system. Install one to recycle used household water for your lawn.
• Tankless water heater. Save money, energy, and space in the broom closet. Use it to store your new Get Clean Starter Kit.

Print this out here: Get Clean Handout

I recommend starting with:

Get Clean Starter Kit

Basic G & Spray Bottle

Scour Off

*Thanks Bonnie Donahue for this awesome post. 

What We Did Wednesday

Painting, pictures, packing, and pork chops! Wednesday was a busy busy day this week; I guess to make up for last week's rainy day. Waking up at 9:45 and realizing my kid is still fast asleep (kind of get nervous when that happens) is pretty awesome, but I had to get her up and get the day going. Raleigh did not like me waking her up at all.

Me- "Raleigh, it's time to get up" (peeks up from the covers)
Raleigh-"No. Momma, out"

I couldn't help but laugh and cuddle up with her for a few minutes. We went over to our friend's house to paint and play. We got the whole room done while she napped and even snuck in some grilled cheese and soup. Which was perfect because holy crap is it cold out there! It is very cold up here in Chicago today! Luckily I brought a few scarves, gloves, and comfy cozy coats. I am super excited because my Shaklee conference starts tonight! YAY!

We headed home after painting, ate a yummy pork chop dinner with the family, and then she ran around like a crazy person. Screams and giggles can make anybody grin ear to ear. She also found a red hat that she had been wearing all day and now calls it her "hobo hat". Thanks to daddy. In her plaid shirt, scratched up nose, and knit hat she looked a little ruff this morning so he called her a little hobo. Now she thinks that is the hat's name. Raleigh is such a happy girl that it reminds me to enjoy the small things in life. Enjoy your kids while they are young, crazy, and fun. They really do say the darnedest things and I started writing those sayings down so I will never forget the good times.

Look at that pouty lip!!!

Hope y'all have a great weekend and stay safe. 

One Pot Cheesy Sausage Pasta

Have you ever had a night where you had to just rummage through your fridge and find something to make quickly for dinner? That was last night for me and the only meat thawed was some smoked sausage. I figured I could find some pasta recipe on Pinterest to try out. I found this one from Yellow Bliss Road and went for it. It had everything I liked in it so why not?

It was delicious, fast, and very filling. My husband couldn't even eat a second helping (that's rare) and I couldn't even finish my bowl. We stuffed our faces while watching Dancing with the Stars & 2 Broke Girls while Raleigh kept asking "more momma. Raleigh eat."

Here is the recipe from Yellow Bliss Road's website:

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 pkg Hillshire Farm Smoked Turkey Sausage, sliced
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about two fresh cloves)
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
• 8 oz dry pasta (any small pasta will do)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions, for garnish

Instructions

1. Add olive oil to a 4-5 quart saute pan over medium high heat. Add onions and sausage and cook until lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, milk, pasta, and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
3. Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover for about five minutes to allow cheese to melt. Top with sliced scallions and serve.
4. Makes about 4 servings.

I followed it closely but did change a few things just because it was what I had one hand. I always use to keep boxes and boxes of pasta in my pantry, but since we have moved I don't have my stockpile anymore. I had to scrounge up some pasta and luckily found 2 boxes of the same pasta both almost empty! SCORE! 

I loved how this is all in one skillet so less dishes for me to clean at the end of the night. SCORE 2! 

Tomorrow is a day for painting and packing. I am so excited to be heading on a road trip to Chicago with some of my Shaklee partners. It will be an inspiring, fun-filled, and cold weekend. Stay warm everyone a cold front is moving in! 

Get it off with Scour Off!

Cooking delicious, yummy, mouth-watering food can be a fun, but cleaning is always a hassle for me. This house had a very dirty griddle that was begging to be cleaned. It had been caked on there for awhile because even my fingernail couldn't get under all the grease and grime. I knew I had something to fix it though. It was screaming at me from under the sink…"USE ME! USE ME!". Scour Off came to the rescue.

This little jar can make even the grimiest messes sparkle like new. Bonus: I don't have to take a break from cleaning because the smell is giving me a headache. Scour Off smells like cherry lip balm! No joke! I also never have to worry about mixing ammonia and bleach (this mustard produced isn't the good kind you put on a hot dog) ever again. Scour Off is made from cherry pits. Yes, you read that right…cherry pits. It's an amazing paste that can handle even the toughest jobs. Flat-top stoves, grills, ovens, griddles, crayon/pen markers on tables/walls, wheels, scuff mark on cars, etc… I have seen this used on all those plus more. It is a generous size container, but you don't need a lot for each project.

If you're interested in trying Scour Off yourself, or replacing your cleaners with all natural non-toxic ones, I highly recommend starting with one of the Get Clean Starter Kits! (The kit does not come with the Scour Off now but if you order the Get Clean Starter Kit before January 2015 then I will personally send you a Scour Off. This kit will last you a really long time, about a year. So no more running to the store because you ran out of dish soap, all purpose cleaner, window cleaner, etc…

Hope y'all have a great week. Check back Wednesday for a new post :D

What We Did Wednesday

♫ Rain rain go away…♫ that was the song we sang most of the day. We had a cold, rainy lazy day in this house. I hate rainy days and love them at the same time. I hate that we are stuck inside trying to stay occupied with every puzzle, book, play-doh, and coloring book we have. However, I love cuddling up on the couch with a blanket and watching a movie or listening to the rain hit the tin roof. That is one of the best sounds.

Country life definitely has it perks. Fall is the prettiest time of year. I love all the colors, smells, and weather. Raleigh always says "oooo pretty" when she sees the trees.

Raleigh has been obsessed with watching Mickey Mouse lately. She immediately asked for it when she got up this morning. While she danced to the hot dog song, I made her a Mickey themed breakfast. She will eat anything so this strange combo didn't phase her. This kid is a bottomless pit! Per request: "biscuits, awwberry, badada"

While terrorizing the house & emptying out the toy cabinet, she found this Homedics massager. She could not stop laughing. It tickles like crazy on my feet too. Thank goodness she is so easily amused or I would be drinking a lot of wine tonight to de-stress. 

This is the chalkboard I made today for the Shaklee booth this Friday. If you're in the area {Pleasant View, TN} stop by 24church for their Christmas Extravaganza! Or you can shop online if you can't make it.

Y'all gonna check out the CMAs? I have it recording on DVR right now :D

Have a great rest of the week y'all! 

Football Frenzy!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?! (It's already week 3! WHAT?!)

That is one of my favorite things around this time of the year. Along with: tobacco barns, candles, pumpkin patches, leaves changing colors, and boot weather. I grew up in a big football family. We watched NFL games every Sunday, ate yummy unhealthy food, and kept track of our fantasy football scores. I want to pass on all those good memories to my children too. I don't do fantasy football anymore but I still love going to games or enjoying them at home while cooking food.

We have to deck ourselves out in football gear. We are in Tennessee so we go for our local Tennessee Titans. My parents are from Iowa, but they never kept up with college ball as much.

Football Baby Legs ~ White Jacket ~ Pom-Pom Beanie ~ Converse ~ Jersey ~

 NFL Logo Shirt ~ Titans Thermal 

Last week my little one and I missed lounging on the couch for that long awaited noon game. That didn't stop us from dressing up for game day and rooting on our team. After we went outside to look at the fish in the pond (her fish face is too funny), running out some energy, and trying not to get licked to death by our dog then we finally got to nap time. This girl still loves her naps…thank goodness. 

Football Sunday isn't complete without some great food. One of my go-to cooks is the awesome Ree Drummond- The Pioneer Woman. I watch her show all the time, then I have to eat immediately after it ends. This is one of her recipes that I love and you can never go wrong with…potato skins! I mean look at those. Don't they make your mouth water? 

Well that's it today. I hear my little love waking up from her nap and I have to make a huge pot of white chili tonight for the whole family. Have a great week y'all! 

Go Titans! ;)

Wood & Wire Photo Boards

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been gone for so long. July has been a stressful month, but I have more free time now to focus on HWTH so be prepared. I hope yall are surviving the heat and staying cool. We have been stuck in the house getting stuff packed so thankfully we have avoided it some. I do have a fun new project for you to try to keep your mind off this sticky, hot summer.

One thing that I love and it's displaying pictures. I wanted to find a new creative way to display them on this nice blank wall in my kitchen without being overwhelming in such a small space. A little rustic wood feel was what I was going for, but did not want to make a lot of picture frames from scratch or buy $15 4x6 frames at the store. When I came across this post by Liz Marie, I fell in love. It's so different and eye catching.

Supplies
2x6x12
Stain
Foam Brush
Old sock or Rag
Eye Hooks
Picture Wire
Command Strips

I rummaged through the wood at Lowe's to find the best piece while the hubby was off entertaining Raleigh in the lighting aisle. Once I found the perfect piece, I had the guy at Lowe's cut it into (3) 4' sections since it was free. I got right to sanding each piece so there were no splinters trying to stab me. If you haven't stained anything before then I have a few steps here.

Measure and mark the exact center of the board on both ends so you know where to put the eyes. Take the eye hooks and screw them in where you marked. Next, twist the picture wire connecting both ends. Make sure it is as tight as it can get. 

Finally you can start clipping your cute pictures, sayings, or kids artwork up on the wall. Now I have to find a spot on my wall for it ;) It's a lot easier to change these pictures out rather than A regular collage frame.

 Please ignore the grainy pictures. A little girl I know stole my camera and hid it that day. Hope you like me little project. Until next time. 

Florida on My Mind

I love Florida. It's an escape from humid, stuffy, allergy filled Tennessee. I love Tennessee don't get me wrong, but sometimes a girl needs some sand and ocean. It was our first family vacation and I was thrilled that it turned out so well. Koby hasn't been out of middle Tennessee in 2 years so he was overjoyed to get time away. We went to Daytona Beach Shores and thanks to some family friends got to stay in a condo right on the beach. Koby's mom and granny also made the trip because they were in need of some good ole family vacation.

I was so safe not to get burn on vacation, but it never fails that I burn the last day and have to deal with a red scorching hot burn the whole way home.

This trip definitely seemed like a turning point for Raleigh. She has always been a good talker but in Florida she seemed to pick up every word. I mean what 21 month old knows the word chocolate or pelican. That by far was her favorite word while we were there. She would get excited seeing one go by and say "pelkin". However, she HATED the sand. I tried to set her down in it and her legs came up. Man that kid has some crazy strength in her legs to hold them up like she did…like a baby spiderman.

We soaked up the sun, ate lots of seafood, splashed in the water (while avoiding stingrays), and awed at the sunsets. It was a perfect vacation with some people that I love.

Of course she liked seafood too.

I love that her hair can go into a pony now. It's so cute. The wind had its fun with it though.

Playtime Pictures

This is gonna be just a fun picture post. I love taking pictures of Raleigh playing or making messes. She is all over the place and loves to run around outside. I know sometimes I just like to look at adorable pictures from the blogs I read so here are some cute ones of my little munchkin.

Raleigh is adventurous. She has always been very independent. Heck she has been able to hold up her own head since the day she was born…scared the crap out of me. She will go right for the big slide and not need your hand. I can't believe my little baby has gotten so big. It's bittersweet to see her learning words (she repeats everything we say…and it's difficult to watch what we say). I am amazed at how she picks up stuff so fast. I know she gets that from me ;) ;) I wish I could slow down time and enjoy these moments more. I guess that's what pictures are for. Check them out. I hope they make you smile like they do me.

"MOM! Why isn't this thing moving?!"

 NO! NOT YET! Please it's too fast :(

Shaklee- A New Beginning

I bet a lot of people have heard about this company before but for those of you who haven't then here's the down low. I have just recently started selling a brand called Shaklee. They've been in business for over 50 years but I guess I wasn't in the loop before now. They've been featured on Rachel Ray, Oprah, used by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gwyneth Paltrow, over 150 Olympic medalists, and is the only cleaning product used in The White House. Heck it's even gone to space. Awesome right?

I was skeptical of it at first because it's all natural and I've tried some cleaners in the past that were all natural but didn't clean very good. I had my doubts about Shaklee too, but man was I wrong. I had a spot on my counter that refused to come off (heck it was more stubborn than my husband). I sprayed the all purpose Basic H on there and POW! It was gone. After trying half dozen other products on there and finally this did it. I was amazed. I of course then went through my house trying to find anything and everything to clean with this magic cleaner. It's also great because it's a concentrate, so that 16 oz bottle you get of basic H is equivalent to 5,824 bottles of Windex (26oz). Oh by the way did I mention it's great for windows too. ;)

(that middle picture. That's Coke that got spilt down the wall awhile back…no judgement…it was 

hidden behind my desk)

Then there's laundry detergent (also has fragrance free) that is great for people who have allergies to detergent. I am pretty sure Raleigh has an allergy to ours because she gets little bumps. I just ordered some dish washer detergent too. I think I might become a little OCD on cleaning. UH OH ;)

Cleaning products aren't the only thing that we sell at Shaklee. We have a lot of vitamins! Pretty much any vitamin you can think of. I started on the Vitalizer which is a daily vitamin pack that has everything you need in it (omega 3, vitamins ABCD, probiotics, antioxidants, minerals, and anti-aging nutrients). I know I wasn't getting everything I needed in my daily diet so I was thrilled to be able to get the Vitalizer. Plus I don't have to worry about having a dozen pill bottles laying around that I have to remember to take 2 of this and 3 of that to get a full daily dose. I couldn't tell a difference until I missed it for 2 days and I lost all my energy and felt like crap. Now I won't miss a day. I will definitely get the Stress Relief and Gentle Sleep next because honestly who doesn't want those too.

I haven't tried any beauty products yet but I am already making a list of what I am going to get. I also got some Shaklee 180 products in which are weight loss products. However, I am not the one who will be using them; Koby will be the one using them. The 180 products are high protein smoothie diet. It burns fat but not muscle so you can keep the good stuff. There are so many success stories here with before and after pictures. They are great for on the go if you forgot or want to skip a meal or snack (also have snack bars). We do the strawberry banana smoothie recipe that I found on Bonnie Donahue's blog here, but I've tried the Chocolate Banana and that's a good one too.

I will definitely get the baby products when they come back in stock. I know those are always popular because every mom wants their child to be safe. Raleigh loves to help me clean around the house and now I can let her because everything is okay. I don't have to worry about her breathing in harsh chemicals or touching the counter when its got clorox on it. It's nice not having to worry about that.

Shaklee does tests on all the ingredients coming into their site and test all the way through production to make sure it stays pure. All the products are all natural so the same Basic H you use on your counters, you can also use as a bubble bath or to clean your kids hands. There are so many great products that can make your daily life so much easier and healthier.

If you love the products and want to earn money by selling them to your friends and family then we can set you up easily. Head over to listen to a free webinar about some of our wonderful ladies and their stories and if you're still interested then let me know. Being part of Project Dream is going to change my life and I can't wait to experience all it has in store for me. Thank you Jaima for introducing me to this amazing company.