Homemade Tooth Paste

Home made tooth paste? Really? Yes, really. And simple too! I have found many different ways to make it, but I ended up doing it this way, because it just made more sense to me. After some trial and error I feel have reached a mixture I am happy with.

Just mix equal parts coconut oil, xylitol, and baking soda. I did 1/4 cup of each. Then I added about 18-20 drops of spearmint oil to take the edge off the saltiness of the baking soda as well as to make my mouth feel fresher.

COCONUT OIL:  Has anti microbial and anti viral properties.

XYLITOL: Is an all natural sweetner, and is helpful in reducing plaque, has antimicrobial properties, and helps prevent tooth decay.

BAKING SODA: Plaque remover, whitener, cleans teeth and gums, helps prevent infections, and neutralizes acids in your mouth.

SPEARMINT/PEPPERMINT OIL: Adds to taste and helps take away the saltiness of the baking soda. It is also and antiseptic and helps remove bad breath.

As you can see it has a consistency similar to mashed potatoes. Just scoop onto your tooth brush to use. I will say, it takes a little getting used to. If you expect the same sudsy bath you give your teeth with regular store bought tooth paste you will be disappointed. But your teeth will feel clean after using it.

My husband was a little unsure at first, but soon was on board. Our son, well, not so much. But we'll keep working on him. If your kids still swallow their toothpaste I wouldn't really recommend the use of essential oils until you have researched them and are comfortable in doing so.

Enjoy!

Milestones

December was a productive month for our family. In the way of milestones that is. We are very happy to say Wyatt is officially, yes, OFFICIALLY completely potty trained. What I mean by that is no more pull-ups, no more wet bedding, no more wet jammies! It has been over a month with only one accident! I couldn't be happier. It has been several months that we cut out the pull-ups, but after a few weeks of progress we put Josie in Wyatt's room and then regressed.  But once you take away pull-ups, there is no going back. So day after day, for about three weeks I was cleaning bedding while my regular laundry piled up around me. Boy am I glad we finally made it!

Our incentive this time around, instead of prizes, we did "outings". It started off five days in a row, then six, and so on. We have been to the Call of the Wild a lot lately. I am glad we have a free pass until March!

Josie had the other major milestone. In December she turned seven months. Yes, that is a milestone, but not the big one: She is finally sitting up all by herself! Whoo hoo! She has been a little wobbly, but now she has a more sturdy foundation. Such a big girl!

She has also started forming sounds: Da-da-da-da-da-daaa. She's blowing spit bubbles, squeals, and laughs so hard at her brother.

Thursday she turned eight months old. Seems hard to believe. She loves watching people talk, loves TV, loves baths. She is scooting, more like pushing herself backwards, all over the living room. I can foresee child proofing in my near future. I have to admit it has been easy not having to make sure she isn't getting into anything. I packed up the bouncer and play gym a couple days ago, which freed up a lot of much needed space in the living room.

She isn't sleeping well at night, but she was sick for a good week and that effected her appetite. She wasn't eating solids and would only nurse, so I have been up multiple times at night to nurse her. Exhausting! Good news is since she is feeling better her appetite is coming back, and I am hopeful she will start sleeping longer between feedings again.

The cliche` is true. Time goes fast. But it goes even faster with two kids than it does with one. And I am sure the more kids you have the faster time goes. But, I am loving every minute of it.

The Truth About Santa

Late this last summer my husband and I started a discussion about Christmas. We had some concerns relating from the previous Christmas that weighed on us. That Christmas our son and only child then, believed in Santa. It was his first year he "believed." We did reindeer food, cookies on the plate, and discussed how Santa would visit homes without fireplaces. Santa, of course, left the "cool" gift as well. It was fun and exciting for him.

Then we asked him, "What is Christmas about?" His response was not what we wanted to hear, "Santa Claus!" Our hearts sank. In our house we try our very best to keep Christ in the center, everyday. And when Christmas, the holiday set aside to celebrate our Saviors birth, becomes more about someone else instead of who it is really for, we have a problem.

Our solution: The truth about Santa.

There were other reasons we had for not doing Santa besides keeping Christmas about Jesus. Another, and a big one, was truth. Here we were as Christians, lying to our child. We teach our kids that lying is wrong, yet here we are telling a whopper! With truth comes integrity and crediblity. I want my kids to be able to come to me with anything and know that I will be upfront and truthful with them everytime.

I have to say, the truth has set us free! No more keeping Santa gifts separate from ours, no more keeping track of which wrapping paper is Santa paper, and no more using Santa as a way to get our kids to behave! We have the same expectations on behavior at Christmas as well as the rest of the year. It is a lot of work keeping up the charade!

Not only that, Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, are all fictional characters that we tell our kids are real. Yet, we still want them to believe in God, who they can not see or touch. Once they find out the truth, we have successfully instilled doubt into their little minds. What else has mom and dad told me that isn't true? If Santa isn't real, then God must be made up too!

We never did the Easter Bunny. So that was never an issue for us. We do Resurrection Eggs, and make Resurrection Rolls. We watch movies and read  books that tell the story of Jesus' resurrection. Why it was so easy to eliminate the Easter Bunny, but never thinking about Santa, I don't know, but I am glad we finally did before our kids got too old. Better late than never, I suppose.

Many may think we totally deflated the Christmas spirit in our kids. Not at all! If anything, I think we we made it better! Christ's birth is made the focal point, we learn the true story of Saint Nicholas, we make giving more important than getting and our son enjoyed this Christmas just as much as he did last year. When asked what Christmas was about this year, he answered, "Jesus' birthday!"

We still let him watch the Polar Express and other movies that include Santa, but he thinks of Santa no differently than Sleeping Beauty, or any other Disney movie. He knows that Santa is a tradition based on a real man named Nicholas who was honored as a Saint because he gave generously to those in need. Do we take him to see "Santa", no. That is another subject to be left for another time.

When we told Wyatt the truth, he took it very well. He wasn't heartbroken by what he heard at all. We also told him that other kids still believe and it isn't our place to tell them so, we told him not to bring the matter up, but if he was asked if he believed he should not lie. Most of the time it is the adults that bring up Santa, not the kids.

I am very happy with our decision and am finding a lot of other families have already or will be taking the same approach. It is something worth considering and I hope more families do.