Saturday, July 21, 2012

On Sleep Deprivation

There are in the world various government agencies and terrorist organizations that have practiced or continue to practice the torture of prisoners.

The means of torture are horrifically painful, psychologically debilitating, or just plain mean.

While there is no doubt that pulling finger nails or water boarding are terribly painful means of torture, I now believe that one of the worst forms of torture a person could be subjected to is sleep deprivation.

From the wikipedia page on sleep deprivation (a very reliable source, right?), Menachem Begin (Prime Minister of Israel) described sleep deprivation like this:

In the head of the interrogated prisoner, a haze begins to form. His spirit is wearied to death, his legs are unsteady, and he has one sole desire: to sleep... Anyone who has experienced this desire knows that not even hunger and thirst are comparable with it.


After experiencing three weeks of life with a newborn, I can attest that this is true.  I was a prisoner.  I lived in a haze.  My spirit was wearied, my legs were unsteady, and I had one sole desire: to sleep.

One morning after waking up from a mere hour's sleep, Matt said to me, "I'm so exhausted.  There are no words to describe this exhaustion."

He was right.  There are simply no words to describe the extent of exhaustion that new parents experience.  But I will try.

Have you ever travelled overseas?  Somewhere that is experiencing day while we are sleeping at night?  And then it's time to come home and you're so excited that you can't sleep so you get on the plane but you can't sleep in those terrible seats and then you land and it's morning and you have meetings to go to and friends and family to see and you know you won't be able to sleep until late at night but you're absolutely miserable and no matter how many cups of coffee you consume your head just keeps bobbing up and down as you struggle pitifully to stay awake?

As miserable as that day is, at least you know that when night comes, you can lay down and close your eyes. And even if your internal clock won't let you sleep well that night, you know that you can sleep the next night, and surely within 3 days you will be sleeping somewhat regularly and by day 5 you should be sleeping more soundly than you have ever slept in your life, for 10 hours straight.

Imagine that feeling of misery after the long trip with no sleep and the bobbing head, only there is no end in sight.  You don't know when you will be able to sleep again.  There seems to be no hope for a restful night of sleep.  It could be weeks, or it could be months.  That is the case for the father.

For the mother, imagine that not only did you take that long trip without a wink of sleep, but you did so after running a marathon.  When you completed the marathon, you were hit by a semi leaving every muscle and bone in your body aching in excruciating pain.  Even your forehead aches.  And all you want to do is sleep, but there is now a small, helpless little baby the depends on you for it's every need, and your job is now full time, 24 hours a day.

Of course, that precious baby in your arms makes it all better, right?

Well he may be just the cutest most precious, adorably loveable little munchkin you've ever seen or loved, but he's still not letting you sleep!  And just when you think he's going to give you an hour or two of dreamy silence, he starts screaming bloody murder until you put him on your sore, cracked, scabby nipples for the next hour straight (you can read about my breast feeding experience in my next post).

As much as you love him, you long to close your eyes and rest.  And every time he cries, you cry.  Why is he crying again?  I just fed him!  I don't know what to do.  He won't sleep, his diaper is clean, he just ate, and I haven't slept for days.  Now all I can do is cry uncontrollably while I hold my screaming (albeit precious) baby in my tired arms.  Why would anybody continue having children after this??  What about twins?  When do they ever get to sleep?  The thought alone makes me shiver.

But now, after three weeks, I am finally averaging about 6 hours of sleep a night - not continuous sleep, of course, but at least it's sleep.

And I can finally see the light.

Now, when he screams bloody murder for my boobs, his cries don't drive me to unstoppable tears (and my nipples don't hurt anymore!).  I calmly get ready to feed him, and then do so in peace while I gaze lovingly upon his face, and then scroll through my facebook newsfeed on my phone.

Now when I lay down at night, I have hope that I may be blessed with 3 or more hours of uninterrupted dozing.  Those without children may scoff at 3 hours.  I would have just a few weeks ago.  But I never knew just how incredible 3 hours could feel, until now.

Now, I can safely say, the torture has ended.  It is over.  I think so, anyway.  I hope so.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

2 Weeks: Finding the New Normal - Not Quite Yet!

Little T is now two weeks and three days old.  What an incredible journey the past two weeks have been!

I have cried more than I have ever cried in my life (with the exception of when my father passed away), M and I both have been exhausted beyond what we thought was humanly possible, I have been immeasurably happy followed by instantaneously sad (the hormones!  but I'm starting to get a grip on things), and we have been pushed to the brink of what we thought we could handle.

M is an AMAZING father.  He loves T so much and so well.  Every time T wakes up from a nap, M can hardly wait to go pick him up and hold him.  Een when T needs to eat, M just wants to hold him for a minute before I feed him.  There was never a more beautiful picture than this tiny newborn resting on his father's chest!

We are still in "survival mode" but life is starting to feel more manageable now.  The past two or three nights, T has slept for about 3 hours at a time, which is a huge blessing when compared to his previous one hour naps between feedings!  

And who knew that such a tiny, adorable little newborn could pass gas like that?  What are those sounds coming out of his rear end??  What is that shade of green?  Is there a name for that yellow?  And how does he manage to ALWAYS pee on me, even with his diaper on??

In case you didn't know, T is a hairy little man.  That was one of the first things we noticed about him.  He has hair on his ears, shoulders, arms, and back.  Please tell me the hair will go away!  I don't want my poor child to be made fun of for having hairy ears in kindergarten!  But then again, we are planning on homeschooling so I guess the only ones making fun of him would be us, and we wouldn't do such a thing!  :)

Little T has such a strong neck already!  When we put him on his tummy on the boppy he can pick his head up and turn it from right to left.  If I put him on his back and pull him up with his arms, he can bring his head up with him.  Of course, he gets tired after just a few minutes and starts to look like a bobble head, but he is certainly the cutest little bobble head I've ever seen!

Every new mom thinks her baby is the most adorable baby ever, and I am no different.  How can you not love something so tiny and precious?

More pictures to come shortly.  :)

Monday, July 9, 2012

My (almost natural) Birth Story!

I've not done a good job lately of keeping up with the blog... oops.  I can't promise I'll be better about it since I now I have an ADORABLE newborn, but I will try.  :)

Meet T!

Excuse the exhausted looking mother in the photo...surprisingly I don't have any good close ups of T except for a few on my phone.  But I think the look of exhaustion is pretty fitting...

For those interested in T's birth story, here it is:

I had planned and prepared for an all-natural, drug-free delivery.  My doctor was very supportive, the hospital was equipped with natural delivery rooms complete with birthing tubs and birthing balls, I read as much as I could (I highly recommend the Bradley Method!  Even though I couldn't take the class, the book was great preparation!), I did stretches, exercises, practice "contractions," received chiropractic care to make sure my hips were in line...I was as prepared as I could have been without having actually taken a class.

Almost two weeks after his due date, my doctor determined that we must induce.  So we had an induction scheduled for Thursday, June 28th at 6am and I started looking up natural methods to induce.  I tried acupuncture, walking, ahem...the other....everything that I could feel safe doing (I did NOT drink castor oil or any herbs - I wasn't quite willing to go that far).  Tuesday before the induction she stripped my membranes, another method of natural induction.  I won't elaborate what that means since it's kinda nasty, but that's what google is for.  :)

 And we got busy praying.  Of course, we had already been praying but for some reason God decided to delay his response.  But if anybody could give me a natural delivery, it would be God.

Around 11 or 11:30 on Wednesday night I started feeling what I thought was really bad gas.  I would go sit on the toilet, try to get something out, and after an unsuccessful few minutes get back in bed.  Ten minutes later, I was back on the toilet.  At some point I realized, "this pain is really intense, and it fires up about every 10 minutes...maybe I'm in labor!"

Sure enough, labor had started.  Knowing that early labor can last for hours and hours, we decided to just try to get some rest (ha! what were we thinking??) and wait for things to get intense before calling anyone.

We didn't have to wait long.

I got no sleep whatsoever and by 12:30 the contractions were so intense there was no way I could lay in bed any longer.  I started trying to breath though the contractions like I had learned in the Bradley book, and I found that the most comfortable position was on my knees, leaning over our own birthing ball.

By 2am we decided we should call my mom - it would take her 2 hours to get here.  We figured that we should just let her know but she could still stay in bed a little longer.  But she decided to go ahead and get on the road, and it was a good thing she did because things only continued to get more and more intense.

We thought it would be a good idea to fill the tub up with water and get in (after all, that's what they do at the hospital.  Why not at home?), but unfortunately our tub is so small that it was ineffective at relieving the pressure.  M tried to sleep as much as he could (he had stayed up all night the night before studying for a Hebrew exam) while I labored alone.  I knew I would need him more at the hospital.

Mom arrived a little after 4am and took one look at me, asked how far apart the contractions were, and said "we need to go to the hospital."  We weren't timing the contractions consistently, but they were very close and very intense.  It took a while to get things together, but we made it to the hospital a little after 5am.

I was already 6 cm dilated.  We were thrilled!  All that work my body was doing all night long had given us great results!

My sister arrived soon after (but I have no idea what time - I was just focusing on making it from one contraction to the next) and I spent a few hours in the birthing pool.  But the pain in my back was so intense and the pool made it very difficult for anybody to give me a back rub so I decided to spend most of my labor sitting on the birthing ball instead.  By 11am I was 9 cm and we thought, "we're going to have a baby soon!!"

But the hours passed and while I had a few urges to push, there was nothing significant.  The nurse and doctor examined me several times and thought maybe he was "sunny-side up."

After a few more examinations they determined that he was not just "sunny-side up" but sideways - transversal.  That meant that the widest part of his head was trying to make it through the narrow birth canal...not an easy trip.  In other words, OUCH!

We tried method after method of getting him to turn.  I labored on my side for a few hours (which was extremely painful - I preferred the birthing ball) in hopes to facilitate him turning with the contractions.  I labored on all fours in the bed to use gravity to bring him down, they tried turning him manually (and every time he would turn right back), and yet my contractions started getting farther apart and less intense.

At this point, I was watching the clock.  My contractions were 5 minutes apart.  Every time a contraction would hit I would look at the clock and think, "has it only been 5 minutes??  Will this ever end??"

The doctor broke my water to try to get things going again, and after 6 hours at 9cm, she told me that in situations like this, the delivery almost always ends up in a c-section.

I had some choices to make.

She encouraged me to try getting the epidural to relax my body (I would need it for a c-section anyway) and use some pitocin to bring on the contractions again.

I was devastated, but after discussing it with M and my mom and sister, they encouraged me that I was making the right choice for my baby.  6 hours at 9 cm...lessening contractions....and we had done everything we could to bring this baby down naturally.  It was time to let modern medicine intervene.

Tearfully (bawling, really) I accepted the epidural and pitocin.  The worst part was sitting still through two or three contractions while he put the epidural in.  I couldn't move even an inch while that needle was going in.  I don't know what I would have done without my amazing nurse encouraging me through it.

After that, I was confined to the bed.  But I felt better knowing that we had tried every method to get this baby out naturally.  I could do it.  I didn't "give in" to the pain, which as silly as it is had been one of my fears.  I made an informed decision, without regard for pain.  It wasn't how I had wanted things to turn out, but it was what we felt was best for my baby and that is what mattered.

I was thrilled that the epidural wasn't so strong that I couldn't feel anything.  With help, I could roll over (which got easier as the time went by) and after about an hour I could feel the contractions again (and since I had been falling asleep between them earlier, it was nice to have nearly an hour to rest!), and I still felt more or less in control of my body.

Soon I felt the urge to push.

So I started pushing.

And pushing.

More pushing.

Nothing.

Eventually the nurse could see a little bit of his head.  We thought that surely this would be over soon.

More pushing.

Nothing.

The doctor kept coming back in to check on me.  The first time, when she asked how long I had been pushing and the nurse said "about an hour and 15 minutes" immediately the look on her face told me that she was not pleased.  We couldn't even see any of his head!

More pushing.

Doctor checks back.  She mentions c-section, but that we still have plenty of time to push.  I start crying.  Again.

More pushing...we can now see a little sliver of his head, and I reach down and touch it.  I touched my baby's head!

The doctor came back...I had been pushing for over 2 1/2 hours and there had been no progress since the last time she had checked on me.

Now she tells me directly, that we are coming up on three hours of pushing.  Her personal limit is three hours and she feels that anything beyond that is getting to be unreasonable, especially when we see so little progress.  She tells me that some women just don't have the strength to push hard enough, but she can see that is not the case with me.  She can see that I have been pushing with great effort, which is why it concerns her that there is so little progress.  However, since it appears that the baby and I are both in good health, she can't (or won't) force me to have an unwanted c-section.  She will let me make that decision.  Yet another reason why I love my doctor.

So I decided to push for 20 more minutes - I wanted to reach the three hour mark and decide from there.

Not that I hadn't already been pushing with all my might, but now I knew we had to beat the clock.  I had until 9pm.  My mom and sister texted family to ask them to pray for us, Matt prayed with me by the bed, and I pushed some more.

The nurse began to mentally prepare me for a c-section: what would happen in the room, when I would get to see the baby, etc.

So I cried some more, and then I pushed even harder.

Finally we started to see some progress!!

We were so thrilled when that little sliver of his head became more visible with each push.

The doctor came back in and took one look and said, "now that's progress - I can work with that."

I was so relieved!  I knew that she would let me go past three hours if there was evidence of good progress.

I pushed through one more contraction and suddenly his head was on the verge of coming out.  Boy, did it burn!!  The epidural had faded enough that I could feel very strongly everything that was going on.  Suddenly everybody was moving around, talking loudly, and all I knew was that it burned and I needed to push!  Apparently they were telling me to wait so the doctor could get clean gloves on, but I didn't hear anything.  It was all just noise in my ears and all I knew was that I had to push that baby out!

One more big push and he came out, sideways and all.  Once his head was out the rest of his body just sort of fell out.  Talk about a crazy feeling!  The doctor told me afterward that usually the shoulders take some time to maneuver out, but since my baby was already sideways and the widest part of his head had already pushed through, the shoulders just slipped out on their own.

T was 8 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long.  Born at 8:59 pm, one minute before our previously designated time-out.

I heard him screaming and immediately they put him on his chest.  I remember the look on M's face, of love and amazement.  He was yelling, crying, laughing - I can never forget what my husband looked like in that moment.

After it was all over, the nurse and doctor both just kept telling me how amazed they were, and that they didn't think it was going to happen.  The nurse especially just kept repeating, "I'm just so proud of you!"

And I was proud of me, too.  I felt SO empowered.  Almost like Wonder Woman.

But most of all, I felt so very blessed.

None of this went how I had hoped it would, but M reminded me that God showed us that He is the one in control.  Everything happened in His perfect timing.

I had wanted T to come early (what pregnant woman doesn't?), and really thought he would be.  He gave us several signs of an early arrival.

I prayed and prayed and prayed.  And yet God delayed.  He delayed until the night before I was set to be induced, as if to say, "see?  I'm doing this in my time.  I didn't forget about you - I'm still the one in charge.  And THIS is my time."

I know there was a reason...if nothing else it was to teach me patience.  I'm not sure I learned patience (I would say that I was forced into patience), so I'm sure there was another reason.

We thought we would be having a fairly reasonable labor...a little after 11pm it started, and 11am I was at a 9.  Surely he wouldn't take much longer.

And yet I delivered at 8:59pm, one minute before the 3 hour pushing mark - the minute we had decided that if there was still no progress, we would need a c-section.

At 8:50 we still thought we might have a c-section.  At 8:55 we thought we would probably get this baby out naturally.  And at 8:59 we had a baby.

It was as if God was saying again, "see?  This is MY time.  There is a reason for this."

Maybe it was so the doctor and nurse would see us praying, and see God answer our prayers.  Maybe it was to teach me more patience (can we stop with the patience??  It's no fun!).  Or maybe there are other reasons unknown to us.

Whatever the reasons for what seemed to us as a delayed response, God made it clear that HE is in control.

And now we are blessed with an extremely adorable, EXTREMELY hungry newborn.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Update: Deodorant, Chocolate, and Laundry Detergent

Today I will be updating on two previous posts, as well as adding my recipe for laundry detergent.

First: Deodorant

After making my homemade deodorant and using it for several days in a row, I am now completely OBSESSED with this deodorant.  Seriously, it is the best deodorant I have ever used.  

I smell great all day.

I have no body odor at evening time.

Each night I try to make Matt smell my pits.  Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't, but he always agrees that I still smell great, even after my trip to the gym.

Sure, it's non-toxic and 100% natural, but even better than that, it WORKS!  I've never had a deodorant work all day like this.  And I've not had a single white streak on my clothes!

If there is one "crunchy" recipe you should try, this is the one.  It will change your life and you will never want to go back to store-bought deodorant.


Second: Peanut Butter Cups

Recently I posted about my attempt to make my own peanut butter cups.  I must say that it went well and they were delicious, however I did learn that JIF (the natural kind) is probably not the best peanut butter to use.  It's just too smooth.  Next time I think I will try a different brand, maybe even the Justin's brand (they make peanut butter cups as well as jars of peanut butter).  Also, Central Market and other grocery stores (even Kroger!) have a grind-your-own-peanut-butter-machine.  I might give that a try as well.  Getting the right texture is key.  

Third: Laundry Detergent

A lot of crunchy websites give recipes for homemade laundry detergent.  Whether you like liquid or powder, there is a recipe for you.

What if you're lazy? 

Good news: so am I.  So I use the easiest method possible: powder and castille soap.

I mix equal parts washing soda (slightly different than baking soda, however I'm not sure of all the chemical properties so I'll avoid pretending like I actually know...I buy the Arm and Hammer brand) and borax, both of which can be found in the laundry detergent aisle at most grocery stores.  I mix the two in a plastic bag and put a tablespoon scoop in it.  Then I just drop two tablespoons in each load, but before I put the clothes in its important to let it dissolve a little bit if your washer doesn't have a special place for detergent.  Since we are currently using cheap washers on campus, we just have to dump the detergent into the washer as is.  

Then I add a squirt (teaspoon?  tablespoon?  I dunno) of castille soap.  Boom.  I'm done.

You can buy a big box of washing soda and borax for about $2, maybe $3.  Castille soap is more pricey, but I buy a big bottle and I use it to make my own face wash, body wash, household cleaners, etc so it more than pays for itself.  

Have you ever washed clothes and then felt a soapy film on them?  Yeah, I don't get that anymore with my super cheap, all natural, "mix it yourself" stuff.  

Even my really smelly gym clothes come out smelling fresh, but not perfumed.  I don't like the fake perfume smells of regular detergents.  I just want my clothes clean, not flowery sweet.

Give it a try today!  You'll be pleasantly surprised.  :)

Friday, April 6, 2012

Homemade Deodorant

Most deodorant has aluminum in it to work as an anti-perspirant agent.  "What is the problem with that?" you may ask.  Well, aluminum is toxic to our bodies, clogs the pores to prevent you from sweating and thus prevents your body from releasing other toxins.  Sweat doesn't smell - bacteria smells.  Aluminum is also linked to cancer, especially breast cancer in women.

That's not a risk I want to take, however small it may or may not be.

So today I made my own homemade deodorant by modifying a recipe that I found on www.passionatehomemaking.com.

Here's what I used:

About 4 table spoons of coconut oil

An ounce of beeswax (I didn't measure it exactly)

1/4 cup baking soda

1/4 cup arrowroot powder (a thickening agent - from what I've read on other websites you could also use cornstarch)

Essential oils: tea tree oil, lavender oil, and some rosewater

First I melted the beeswax and coconut oil on low heat, then I whisked in the baking soda and arrowroot powder.  I added about 5-6 drops of each oil, and wa-la!  It was as easy as pie!

For my dispenser, I took a cardboard toilet paper roll and lined it with plastic wrap.  I just poured the warm goo into it, stuck it in the fridge to solidify, and within 5 minutes I had myself a neat little stick of deodorant!  Each time I use it, I can just pull it up with the plastic wrap, and then cover it back up when I'm done.

I wore it for the first time today and I'm so impressed!  It's 6pm and I still smell fresh!

Tea tree oil and lavender oil are both anti bacterial, so while I still sweat, they kill the bacteria that smells bad and make me smell great in the process.  Rosewater just smells good, and supposedly it's good for the skin.

Try it yourself!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Peanut Butter Cups

I love peanut butter cups.

No, I don't mean that I like them a lot.  I mean I love them.  I'm borderline addicted.  No...maybe I am addicted.

Chocolate and peanut butter is the perfect combination.  Whoever invented it should be given a Nobel Prize.  He/she has made millions of women (and some men) very, very happy, and occasionally a little bit chubby.

In college, I used to buy a bag of miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and keep them by my computer to munch on while I worked.  Unfortunately, that resulted in a bit of weight gain as I just could not stop munching.  One time, I went through an entire bag in a day.  That was when I realized I had a problem.  But of course, I just went out and bought a new bag the next time I went to the store.

At Easter time they always come out with Reese's "eggs" - giant egg shaped blobs of peanut butter wrapped in chocolate.  They usually sell them individually at the check out line or in packs of 6.  I would buy a pack of 6 and it would be gone by the end of the day.

But about a year or two ago, I found out about the role of child slave labor in the chocolate industry.  This is not a post about "slave chocolate," but in case you were unaware, approximately 40% of the world's chocolate is produced (as in, the beans are cultivated and harvested) by child slave labor in West Africa.  Not child labor, but child slave labor.  As in, unpaid labor.  Often times, these children were kidnapped or sold into slavery.  Most major chocolate companies purchase their beans from producers that use slave labor, whether directly or indirectly.  They often claim ignorance so they can continue to purchase the cocoa at reduced prices.

After doing a little research (I recommend a book called "Bitter Chocolate," however you can find tons of information on the internet), I decided that I just can't buy chocolate anymore without knowing that it is either Fair Trade, Organic, "ethically sourced" (as Starbucks calls it - by the way, you can view a contract for cocoa suppliers on the Starbucks website), Rainforest Alliance, or one of the many other labels used to indicate that no slave labor was used in its production.*

That meant no more peanut butter cups.

I was heart broken.

One time, last year, I gave in and bought a Reese's Easter egg.  I felt terrible.  I may not be able to stop the slave industry on my own, but at least I can stop contributing to it.  And in my own selfishness, I gave in to my craving and purchased something in full knowledge of who made it.  Two or three other times I have given in to a craving on a whim and purchased "slave chocolate."  Each time I felt like the most despicable human being on the planet.  I couldn't even enjoy the chocolate.  I promised myself I would never do that again.

So until recently, I thought that my days of enjoying peanut butter cups were over.

Until...

I discovered these!! Justin's Peanut Butter Cups!!




Not only are they organic and fair trade, but they are DELICIOUS!!!  Like, really, really, REALLY delicious!  Even better than Reese's delicious!!

I could just sit and eat these ALL DAY LONG.

But since they're a bit more pricey than Reese's (which makes sense, since the laborers were actually paid), as well as difficult to find, I can't afford to eat them all day long and even if I could, where would I buy them?  I've only ever seen them at Central Market and a random kiosk in the Chicago airport.

So I'm on a mission now.  A mission to make my own peanut butter cups.  Central Market sells organic chocolate drops by the pound, so next time I go grocery shopping (which will probably be tonight or tomorrow night), I'm going to buy myself a big bag of milk chocolate drops, melt them down, and make myself some peanut butter cups.

I've been trying to think of what I can use for a mold and so far the best I can come up with are my silicone muffin/cupcake liners.  I thought about using the muffin pan but I'd be afraid that I wouldn't be able to get them out.  The silicone cups should just pop right off after they have chilled in the refrigerator.

I'll keep you updated how my little experiment works out.  Hopefully I'll be enjoying tons and tons of homemade peanut butter cups later this week!



*Sadly, slave labor is used in the production of many of the products we use on a daily basis.  It's nearly impossible to avoid entirely, but the more educated I become about the matter, the more I try to find the areas where I can cut back on my "slavery footprint."  A helpful website is slaveryfootprint.org/survey. You can find out about the products that you use on a regular basis and who and where they were produced, and how much slave labor was involved.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Enchiladas!

I know, I know...I'm not off to a good start when it comes to keeping up with the blog.  I promise, I'll get better!!

In my first post I promised a recipe for enchiladas - healthier enchiladas, that is.

The problem with enchiladas is that the tortillas are usually fried and they are typically stuffed with a ton of cheese and greasy meat.  Not that I don't love the highly caloric gooey mess, but there has got to be a better way to take enjoy a tasty meal without clogging our articles.

So without further ado, here is my step-by-step to yummy, mostly healthy enchiladas!!

First, we need some ingredients!

Tortillas - Whether you like flour or corn (I like flour), it's super important that they be FRESH.  I always buy mine freshly baked at Central Market.  If I'm not using them that day, I put them in the freezer and they're still just as delicious for up to a week, longer if you're lucky.

Veggies - I like zucchini, red onion (however I'm converting to shallots!) and red bell pepper

Cheese - experiment!  This time, I used Monterrey Jack with salsa mixed in.

Beef - Matt likes beef.  So I make it for him.

Tomato sauce - it's important to get the right kind.  My favorite one is the Central Market Organics line, but we bought a different kind (organic) at Costco and it's almost as good.  One time we used a cheap grocery store brand and we both thought it was yucky.  So don't buy the cheap stuff just to save 20 cents.



First, brown the meat.  I didn't take a picture of this step.

While the meat is browning, chop the veggies.  I find that smaller is better.



Then, set the meat aside and it's time to start the sauce.

For my sauce, I use cumin...LOTS of cumin.  It's my favorite spice EVER when I cook Mexican food. Cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.

If I'm just making veggie, I start by heating up a little bit of olive oil, and then dumping the spices in.  When I make beef for Matt, I use the left over fat from the beef.  Letting the spices brown a bit before you add the tomato sauce brings out the flavor more than if you just mix it in with the tomato sauce.


Then in a tad of olive oil, lightly sauté the veggies.  I add a little more cumin and a pinch of salt, and I really only sauté them for two to three minutes.  I like them to still have a little crunch.




Add the tomato sauce, and stir occasionally until perfect!  Sample and add spices as you see fit.



Shred the cheese!!



As soon as the sauce is ready, spread a little bit in the bottom of the pan that you're using and start assembling the enchiladas.  Scoop beef or veggies into the tortilla, spread a little sauce, and then sprinkle with a little cheese.


When you roll the tortillas and put them in the pan, make sure you put the "seam" on the bottom of the pan.  It seems obvious, but it's easy to forget the first time.

Once you have all your enchiladas lined up, smother the rest of the sauce all over it and sprinkle the cheese on top.


Pop it in the oven at 375 for about 15-20 minutes and enjoy!!


We love the recipe and make it at least twice a month...sometimes more!

I also like to make a tomatillo sauce, but Matt doesn't like that as much, so I usually do the red sauce.

If you want to try the tomatillo sauce, all you need are: tomatillos (2-3), onion, and a pepper with the heat factor of your choice.  Blend it all up in the blender and then heat in the pan with some salt, pepper, lime juice, and of course, cumin.

Enjoy making something yummy for dinner!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Random Splattering of Crunchy

I promised I would post my enchilada recipe, and I will, but I decided it would be better if I had pictures (for the visual learners) so I'm going to make enchiladas this week (probably Tuesday) and then post my recipe.

In the meantime, here's a crunchy way to wash your face:

Put a little hot water on a washcloth.  Put half a teaspoon or so of honey.  Then sprinkle a little baking soda.  Start rubbing it around and enjoy!  You don't have to scrub hard because the baking soda will be exfoliating on its own without much pressure.  After you have thoroughly rubbed it all over and are satisfied that all the gunk is gone, rinse with warm water.

This method exfoliates, removes make-up (except for eye-make up - don't use it on your eyes!  It's too scratchy!), and moisturizes.  Honey is naturally anti-microbial and moisturizing, and the baking soda has other properties that make it great for your face.  I should really look those up so I can be more specific.

Then, put a drop or two of apple cider vinegar on a cotton ball and rub around.  This neutralizes the baking soda.  I like to also add a coule of drops of tea tree oil, which is also naturally anti-microbial and, because it's an oil, it picks up any extra residue.  Tea tree oil is a bit strong, as is apple cider vinegar, so also add two or three drops of water OR another oil (olive, grapeseed, almond, castor...I've tried them all and love them all) to dilute it.

Some newbies to the crunchy world might be shocked at the thought of rubbing oil all over your face, but it's actually far more effective at cleansing and moisturizing than most store-bought (even the "natural" ones) cleansers.  Your skin produces oil on it's own - oil is natural!  Most cleansers strip your skin of its natural oils, then the "oil-free" moisturizers attempt to replenish moisture in an unnatural manner.

I've completely removed "moisturizers" from my facial routine and use grapeseed or, currently, almond oil.  I'm still experimenting to find my perfect match.  Olive oil works great as well, but you have to be careful not to over-indulge.

And since I'm talking about oils, they are the best eye-makeup remover you will ever use!  I've tried various brands of the famous blue soapy liquid, and yet there is always a residue left, and if you get the soap in your eyes it stings (albeit not as much as other soaps).

But a little dab of olive oil on a cotton ball works wonders.  Or grapeseed oil.  Almond oil doesn't seem to do the trick quite as well for me.  And not only does the oil remove the mascara, but it also leaves my eyes and eyelashes feeling moisturized and soft.

Speaking of soft, exfoliate your feet and then rub them in olive oil and then put on some cushy socks before bed.  You'll wake up to super smooth skin!

There you have it.  A completely random splattering of several of my newly crunchy habits.

Try them out.  You'll be surprised how effective (and cheap!) they are!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Our Gassy Mistake

This weekend I was craving a chile relleno.

I may be converting to crunchy, but I'm still a Texan and I will ALWAYS love Tex-Mex.  Greasy, cheesy, spicy, artery clogging Tex-Mex.  So we try not to eat it often, and I even try to choose somewhat healthier options or else I cook it myself at home so I know exactly what I'm consuming and have more control over what I put in my body, but it's just....I could taste the chile relleno in my mouth.

Cheesy, spicy, with that slightly crunchy fried batter on the outside.  MMmmm...

I knew I should have had a salad or even some veggie enchiladas, but I just really, really, really wanted a chile relleno.

So we gave in to the craving and went to On The Border.  I haven't eaten at On The Border in YEARS.  Since I started slowly converting to a healthier lifestyle, my husband and I have been giving up most chain restaurants (however I just cannot convince him that Chili's is gross, no matter how many times we leave there feeling miserable).

The first sign that we were in the wrong place was the massive throngs of teenagers.  I hold nothing against teenagers since I used to be one and currently I'm the math teacher for approximately 130 of them, but in general teenagers are not known for having a refined taste in food, fashion, or....anything, really.

Just as I avoid wearing the same fashions sported by my students (they're horrid, really), I also avoid eating at the same places.  No self-respecting adult should be wearing Aeropostale.

But the craving for the chile relleno was so strong, not even noisy teenagers in short skirts wearing too much make up could convince me to go anywhere else.

My husband ate beef and cheese enchiladas...3 of them.  I ate half a chicken enchilada, a cheese chile relleno stuffed with more monterrey jack cheese than any one human should ever consume, and a little guacamole tostada.  I don't even want to think about how many grams of fat or calories must have been on that plate, but my pregnant hormones told me it would be okay.

It wasn't.

Not only did I feel as though a nuclear war was battling inside my intestines, but I could smell the war inside my husband's.

All

night.

long.

I don't know why we continue to do this to ourselves.  We know how to eat healthy...we like to eat healthy...we insist that we are on a mission to be healthy, and yet we continue to sabotage ourselves all because of cravings or convenience.

We walk away feeling bloated, gassy, gross, and fat and swear we'll never do it again, and then a week or two later, we find ourselves in the same position all over again.

Filling up the car with some serious gas, and not the petrol kind.

Next time I crave a chile relleno, I'll just make my own.  Stuffed with veggies and a reasonable amount of cheese (because really, who doesn't love cheese?), baked in the oven, not fried.

My husband even said that the enchiladas I make at home are better than the ones at On The Border, because I "use better ingredients."  I felt so encouraged by his compliment!

So to help my readers avoid a potentially hazardous gassy situation, I'm going to post my healthier enchilada recipe later this week.

I make enchiladas one of two ways - with a red sauce or with a green tomatillo sauce.  My husband prefers red, and I prefer green.  I make everything from scratch except the tortillas, but even those I buy freshly made from Central Market (or the local Mexican shop).  I usually use beef for him and veggies for me, and we NEVER leave the table feeling heavy or gassy.  We usually feel full, satisfied, and fresh.

So get ready!  Coming later this week is my super-yummy and super-easy enchilada recipe.  So easy anybody could make them, and so delicious anybody would eat them.  :)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

First Post!

Welcome to our blog!

We're the Tiptons!

You may have previously followed me (the wifey) on BrunerAbroad.blogspot.com

But then I got married.

After I got married, I became a teacher.  Therefore, I became uber-busy.  I'm still uber-busy, but I miss blogging.  I didn't feel right blogging on BrunerAbroad because I'm not longer Bruner and I no longer live abroad (but hopefully not for long!).

So I finally decided to start a new blog with my new name, and the occasional input from my hubby.

You may be asking yourself, "Why are they converting to crunchy?  What's 'crunchy'?"

Well, we are slowly but surely converting to a more natural (i.e. "crunchy") lifestyle.  I've been following the blogs of some ladies far more crunchy than myself and learning from their wealth of wisdom.  I've started making my own laundry detergent, household cleaners, face/body soap, etc.  I try to buy mostly organic produce and all-natural animal products.

I also stopped using medication as much as possible.  I used to be at risk for diabetes.  The endocrinologist put me on diabetes medication when I was 19 and told me I would be on it for the rest of my life, weather I got diabetes or not.  The damage to my body was already done and the medicine (combined with weight loss) would keep the diabetes at bay.

After 7 years, I had lost approximately 85 pounds, ran 3 half-marathons, learned to tolerate and then even enjoy salad, and got my blood levels under control.  After some lab-work my doctor told me that it was up to me if I wanted to stay on the medicine or not.  I chose not.

So we're working towards a natural, non-medicated, chemical free lifestyle.  It's not always convenient and my husband doesn't always like it (and sometimes I just crave Chik-Fil-A!) but we're making healthy, natural living our goal.  We'll probably blog about that a lot.  Recipes for food, soap, laundry detergent, and all things natural can be expected on this blog.

My husband is in seminary working on a seemingly never-ending Master of Divinity (I was too, but then I started teaching this year).  So we'll probably post about seminary life, church, and what God is teaching us lately.  Which is a lot.

And I'm pregnant!

Yup.  Married 6 months...5 months pregnant...you do the math.

Our first baby is due June 14th, 2012.  Gender to be confirmed this week.

My goal is a natural, unmedicated hospital birth.  My doctor is a D.O. and super supportive.  True Crunchy ladies might scoff at me for having a doctor and not a midwife, and going to a hospital instead of a birthing center, but I love my doctor so much that I just can't hold it against her.

So don't be surprised if I post about a lot of icky pregnancy and birth stuff.  :)  Maybe I shouldn't say "icky" because it is a natural process, ordained by God, but let's be honest - it's icky.  Beautiful in a "wow I can't believe that just happened" sort of way, but still icky.

And since I'm a teacher, I'll probably make carefully worded comments about the education system.  But nothing too edgy, since I'd like to keep my job.  Maybe I'll mostly stick to funny stories about my students and the absolutely ridiculous things they say and do.

We're glad you stopped by our blog, and we hope you find it fun, educational, inspiring, enjoyable, thought provoking and occasionally a tad bit uncomfortable.

Thanks!

The Tiptons