Summer Blog Challenge Day 28 - June 28--How do you do your laundry??Give your laundry tricks.

This post was submitted by Erin @ For Him and My Family

Wow, I've really fallen off this Summer Blog Challenge wagon!  It's been a rough couple of weeks! I haven't been feeling well or sleeping well, my husband went up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to play in the woods with his man friends, and my job switched us all to 7:30 - 3:30 hours.  The time change is only an hour, but it always knocks me for a loop.  My body doesn't adjust to the difference in time and I just can't seem to make the rest of my schedule work an hour earlier!  This summer is the hardest since I've also got a little one who still wakes frequently in the night to nurse.  Thank goodness I've put away the pump though, that's one less thing to take up my time and energy!

Now on to the blog prompt!

How do I do my laundry? I throw it in the wash and wash it!

Well, that's not entirely true, I have a system that my dear husband likes to completely ignore.  Since my pregnancy that caused my skin to be super sensitive, I wash my and my baby's clothes together on delicate with a mild detergent.  It used to be Tide Free & Clear, but I've since started using Rockin Green.  I then usually wash my husband's clothes and my workout clothes together on a delicate cycle.  We throw a little of Rockin Green's Funk Rock in the pre-wash  compartment to get the smellies out.  Towels by themselves on a sanitary wash (it keeps the towels fresh and unstinky). Sheets and blankets by themselves. Rags separate and on sanitary. And finally the diapers and bathroom wipes on a special wash we programmed into the washer. Occasionally, this wash gets a quick wash as an extra pre-wash.

Now my husband often likes to throw everything together so that the rags, baby clothes, towels, other delicates are all in one wash. I wouldn't have a huge problem with all things washed on delicate mixed or towels and rags mixed, but when everything is mixed the towels and rags don't get that good sanitary scalding hot water wash. I love trying to be green, but I also want nasties KILLED on the things that I use to dry my clean body and wipe my counters with. I also don't want my clothes picking up the germs and cleaners that were on the rags. But wait, what I am complaining for? My husband actually does laundry!!! And lots of other cleaning around the house. I just wish he'd keep the rags separate from our clothes and towels. That's all. I'm sure he wishes I'd put my clothes away more often! ;-)

What about you?

Summer Blog Challenge Day 16 - June 16--Fitness guru or couch potato? Talk about your fitness habits.

I'm a fitness guru couch potato! Yup! I see myself as both. When I move, I MOVE! When I sit, I SIT!

For example, I once rode my bike 100 miles in one day. But I've also spent hours watching movies and TV.

What about you?

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Summer Blog Challenge Day 15 - June 15-- Post a photo you took thatyou're proud of.

Well, there are other pictures I'm proud about, but unfortunately they are not on my phone or in one of my facebook albums. So, I chose these two instead.

I chose them because they capture so much of the gigantic personality in my little guy and they are beautiful pictures. One day when I have more time to use a real computer, I'll post some of those.

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 14 - June 14-- Give your followers 15 tipstoget through life.

Today I'm supposed to give you 15 things to get through life.  I'm no expert, but here are some things that have worked for me:

1. Breathe!  No matter what, stopping to breathe always helps. Yoga is great for helping to concentrate your mind on your breath.
2. Take time for yourself. Recharging helps you help others.
3. Do your homework. It really pays to research things beforehand so you can make better decisions in the moment. This includes everything from becoming a parent, to buying cars and houses, and almost everything else.
4. Go with your gut. So, do your research, but listen to your instincts. They usually won't steer you wrong.
5. Change your oil in your car regularly.  It will save you a lot of headache.  I know, I've been there!
6. Don't care about what others think.  This is a hard one for me, but I've been improving.
7. Moderation is a good thing, but don't forget to let loose every now and again.
8. Follow the 80/20 rule for food.  80% of the time eat well and balanced meals, enjoy the other 20%.  Oh, and remember that we are NOT designed to eat 24/7.  The media and food companies have convinced us that we must eat every 2-3 hours, 6 times a day or our metabolisms will come to a screeching halt!  This is so not true.  Frequent eating is for babies, children, and (perhaps) pregnant and nursing women.  Our parents and grandparents ate 2-3 meals a day with maybe a light snack and they were far less overweight than we are.
9. No one is perfect.  Yes, even me and you! Give ourselves a break and watch how everyone flourishes.  (I swear I try George!)
10.  Don't judge.  You never know what the other person can handle, where they've been, what their values are, and exactly who they are on the inside. I try and try and try on this one.  Some days I'm better at this than other days.
11. Loose the guilt.  If you did something you didn't like, take note and work to do differently the next time.  Guilt won't help you move ahead and will only keep you stuck.  And no self punishing!
12. Love your body.  Love it exactly as it is.  Love what it can do and what it's done.  Stop looking for the flaws and admire the beauty and strength.  And move that body!  It was meant to MOVE!!! It will do wonders for you, your children, and your relationships if you can be comfortable in your own skin and love your body.
13. Don't compare yourself to others.  Do improve yourself, but only compare yourself to yourself.  You are not your spouse/partner, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, neighbor, coworker, enemy, etc.  You are you and if we were all the same it would be one boring place.
14. Expand your horizons and push your limits.  Read a different kind of book, try a new food, travel to a new place, try a new exercise or activity, or anything else new and/or challenging.  You might just surprise yourself. ;-)
15. Finally, laugh, play, and enjoy the little things!

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 13 - June 13-- How you see yourself by theend of the year.

I don't know quite how to answer this one. I do tend to plan ahead and have vague dreams for the future, but the older I get, the more I find it beneficial to take everything one day at a time. I'm trying to live in the now and not worry so much about what ifs and where I should or shouldn't be in 6 months, a year, ten years, etc.

I'm much less anxious this way and I find myself catching the magic of each day more. I'm not saying I want to blow all my money and not care about the security of my future. I just find that if I think too much about all the details, I miss the now. I do want to have started graduate school by the end of the year, but otherwise I'm enjoying the ups and downs of the journey too much to plan too much.

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.

What's in a Name?

Some of you may have noticed that I changed the title of my blog. I had named it on a whim and no longer liked the name. It was clunky, cumbersome, and frankly not all that unique. I had hemmed and hawed over what to change it to. I don't know why it didn't hit me earlier, but I had already chosen a name when I chose the domain name! So, without hesitation, I renamed it to Green Mama Katie.

I think it's short, sweet, to the point, and I didn't have to change my links! I hope you like it and I haven't confused you too much!

P.S. A blog description is useful to describe your blog without making your title long and weird. Yup, I said it before, I tend to be absent minded and miss the obvious!

Summer Blog Challenge Day 12 - June 12-- Worst injury you've had & how it happened.

Luckily I haven't had many injuries at all in my life.  I'm not the daredevil type and I tend to play it fairly safe.  Now, I do tend to be absent minded and clumsy, so I have had quite a few occasions where I've bumped into things.  Frequently, I have bruises that I cannot explain.  I think it's most likely that I've gotten so used to bumping into things that I pretty much forget I did by the time a bruise shows up.  I had such a hard time coming up with something, that I originally just thought, "Can I count my c-section as an injury?"  It truly was the most painful thing I've even had to recover from, but eventually I remembered two things that would count.

The first was a car accident right before Christmas of 2008.  It wasn't a major one, we just got side-swiped by a drunk driver, but we were in pain after it.  I've (knock on wood) never had a broken bone, but I sure can tell you that muscular injuries of the neck and back are horrible.  I was in so much pain after that accident, I couldn't type.  It literally almost brought me to tears.  And since there weren't any broken bones, you don't get any kind of brace, cast, etc.  It also meant many, many weeks of 3 days a week being in the chiropractor's office.  Not fun at all.

The next was way cooler!  I told you I'm not a daredevil, but I've been told I can be a beast when it comes to pursuing things.  In May of 2010 I took up riding a road bike.  I LOVE my road bike! I love going fast, I love riding through scenic areas, I love the wind in my hair, but I tend to be fairly cautious about it as well.  I also told you I'm absent minded and clumsy at times.  Well, it was late August or early September of that same year and I was riding the rail trail near me that is 26.2 miles round trip in preparation for the century (100 mile bike ride) I was riding in a couple of weeks.  I was doing the usual entire trail with my father.  We were probably 3-5 miles from the trail head (I start from the trail end) when I fell.  We were waiting to cross an intersection when some cars decided to stop for us.  I got back on, stood up to peddle, and then raised my hand to waive my appreciation.  Yeah...that last part was the bad idea.  See you either sit and raise your hand or you stand and keep you hands firmly on the handle bars. Before I knew it, I was skidding across the pavement (I managed to steer to the end of the intersection) and fell on the trail.  I scrapped my arm and my leg pretty bad, but I rinsed my wounds clean, took a few minutes to regain my composure, and continued to the rest of the way before turning back around.  Little did I know I bent my handle bars and rode a century with bent handle bars.  When the pain from riding wasn't going away from chiropractic adjustments, I decided to schedule a bike fit.  It turns out I actually discovered the handle bar damage two days before I found out I was pregnant.  I actually planned to ride, but took a test instead.

Here's some pictures from my bike accident.

 My scraped up arm.

 The leg wasn't as bad.  The worst part was where my hip and upper thigh hit, but it was just deeply bruised.

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 11 - June 11-- Best day of your life.

Hmmmm.... Best day of my life? I don't think I could pick just one. Honestly it's probably 3 or 4 best days of my life.

The first would have to be the day my husband asked me to go "steady" with him. No, we are not 60 years old. It was June 29th, 2000 and I was between my sophomore and junior years at college. We were supposed to go to the shore, but my husband had a terrible sinus infection. I went over to his place to take care of him. He was so touched, he asked me to "go steady" with him. Yes, he really did say that.

The next would have to be our wedding day. It was a gorgeous day in early May. I made him cry with my vows. It was so sweet. We had a splendid time celebrating with friends and family. We spent the night in a hotel far from our guests and talked about our dreams as newlyweds.

The third, by far, was the day I found out I was pregnant. We had tried for so long with no luck. We were both adamant about not wanting to pursue IVF, but had just started to consult with a fertility doctor for testing and minimal assistance. Turned out we didn't need any. I got pregnant while we were being evaluated. I found out on a Thursday. It was Veterans Day and we were off from work. My husband took the car to the dealer and I slept in. I only tested because I was off and I had realized the day before that blue cheese tasted rotten (I LOVE blue cheeses!) and I had NO symptoms unlike every other cycle. I took the test and walked away as I just expected it to be negative. Imagine my shock when I walked back in and saw a very faint pink line!!! I immediately grabbed the test, drove to Target to get something that said daddy (it was some baby towels), wrapping stuff, and headed to the car dealer. My husband was definitely confused when I showed up there. When he finally came out to the car and opened the present, all he could say was, "Are you sure?" After buying and taking three more kinds of tests, including a digital one, it finally sunk in for him and he was just as thrilled!

The fourth day for me was the day I finally met my son. It was such an awesome feeling to see his tiny little face and hold him in my arms after the many months of him growing inside me. He really did look so much like his ultrasound pictures from about 20 weeks before. Hearing him cry for the first time was just amazing. Holding him and inspecting his tiny fingers and toes was just so very awesome. Realizing that he was our son was the best feeling in the world.

I look forward to many more best days with both my husband, son, and any future children (most likely just one more even though my husband jokes about twins!).

Click HERE to quickly find the rest of my Summer Blog Challenge posts.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 10 - June 10-- Cost aside, famous artpieceyou would have in your home.

I was so excited to write about this as soon as I read the prompt. I love art, I've always loved art and I was lucky enough to meet and marry a man who loves art as much as I do. One of our early Valentine's Day dates was to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I had never been since I had grown up outside D.C., but he had been many times since he is a South Jersey boy. It was at this museum that I discovered and fell in love with the art of Jasper Johns. Don't know who he is? Here is a wonderful article that I think truly captures what his work is about. I'll let you "Google" him if you want to know the usual age, birth place, etc.

This is the piece of his that I would love to own if cost were not an issue. It's called CATENARY (I call to the grave).

I know, it looks like mostly a bunch of gray, but it's not. There is so much more to this painting than can be seen in a picture of it. I literally stood and stared at this for at least 15 minutes when I saw it. It called to me and I could not stop analyzing it.

If you ever get to the Philly area, I recommend you stop at the art museum and check out this masterpiece. There's so much great art at that museum. Plus, you can stand on the top of the steps and pretend you're Rocky.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 9 - June 9-- Your worst cooking disaster.

Let me preface this by letting you know that I am an excellent cook and baker. I take a lot of pride in my cooking and delight in providing friends and family with tasty dishes. I have a knack for knowing just what flavors to combine and how to combine them. I rarely use recipes unless I'm cooking something new and even then I'm often tweaking things. My husband loves my creations and jokes about a couple of my cooking disasters that I've had with boxed food.

I don't remember all of the details, but I know for sure it involved a boxed product that is supposed to be idiot proof. You know, follow the directions and you have yummy food. Well, no one ever said idiot proof isn't smarty pants, dyslexic proof. (My husband also likes to kid with me about the fact that I can do calculus, but can barely add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a calculator!) I believe it was a box of Zataran's (sp? Oh yes, I struggle with that too!) or some other rice dish. I set about prepping and setting up to make this dish. I read the directions, measure out my water (I'm anal about this kind of stuff. Did I tell you I spent half my college career as a chemistry major before switching back to computer science?), put everything in the pot, and start cooking it. About half way through I start to realize something is wrong. There's just too much water. I'm not talking just a little extra, but a massive amount extra! I pick the box up and reread the directions. I'm stunned to discover the amount of water is drastically less than what I added. I can't remember now, but I'm pretty sure it was either I doubled the water or I misread the unit of measurement! It wasn't the first time I've done this, I used to take tests in school and swear that the test said one thing only to discover it was a completely different word after I got the test back. I know we laughed then and still laugh about it! I'm not sure any longer whether we ate it or scrapped it.

I'm pretty sure I have a few other disasters. I know the first time I made bread I didn't check the temperature of the water and ended up with something more like a pretzel than challah bread. On that note, I'm going to leave you with a picture of the SECOND loaf of challah bread I made.

It was as good as it looks!

Summer Blog Challenge Day 8 - June 8-- Not including blogging ;) yourfavorite guilty pleasure.

I want to start off by saying that I don't think of blogging as a guilty pleasure. I feel absolutely no guilt in blogging to express myself and stretch my creative muscle. I would hope most bloggers don't see it as a guilty pleasure, but s worthwhile one. So, on to my favorite guilty pleasure.

My favorite guilty pleasure would have to be either playing games on my phone or vegging out to TV. I classify these as guilty pleasures because I do feel a little guilty doing them. I feel guilty in that I should be doing something worthwhile and that they tend to suck me in and make me disconnect from my friends and family. I don't feel guilty for eating things I like or going to the gym (although sometimes a little since I now have a baby) or other things like that.  I feel those are necessary to allow one to feel like a whole person and not just a mom. I guess disconnecting is also important, but I always feel guilty.

What about you? What's your guilty pleasure?

I'm so over this...

I'm sitting here attached to a machine, plastic parts held up with a hands free device, the pump whirring away sounding like it's saying "le pump, le pump" over and over to my ears, and I just can't stop thinking about how OVER this I am!  I'm so tired of toting the bag, having my husband clean the supplies, being locked away for 30-60 minutes a day, not having lunch with my co-workers, and the whole deal with pumping.  It is one of the most unnatural and isolating things I've ever done and I'm ready to be done with it.  Continuing to nurse my son is very, very important to me, but as I draw closer to his birthday, my time at the pump is becoming more and more of a hated activity.  I think it's time to wean, after all, the pump has no feelings!

In the beginning I didn't love pumping, but I loved knowing that I was continuing to provide that magical food that is breast milk to my son while I was away at work.  I happily strapped myself to it and played games and caught up on Facebook on my phone while the machine thoughtlessly and coldly did it's thing.  The pump and I actually had a very successful relationship in the beginning.  I actually came home with more milk at the end of the week than at the beginning of the week.  Often 2-3 oz more!  But it quickly became a love-hate relationship as I soon discovered this abundance of milk was causing upset for my dude-y pie.  When I cut back on pumping, I started getting plugs! Oh so fun! There was no easy way for me to taper off since I only ever pumped twice while I was at work.  The best I could do was pump until I hit a certain amount between my two sessions and cut them early.  Thankfully after 6 months, my hormones calmed down and the plugs were mostly a thing of the past.

But now, with less than 2 months to my dear baby's first birthday, I'm contemplating when to throw in the towel on pumping.  Once a day is my current practice unless things seem to be dipping too much.  I know I can go a whole work day without pumping.  I often do on Fridays when I'm busy and/or don't feel like it. My freezer stash is almost gone now.  I think there are 4 bags in my mom's freezer and that's it.  I can build it back up in a heartbeat if need be.  The other thing is my dear son just isn't taking milk during the day as much.  He loves his food and lets you know when he wants food and not milk! He left at least 3 oz of the 7 oz I sent yesterday. He prefers his milk from mom when I return home, through the night, and during the weekends at nap time.  As much as I hate the pump, I am conflicted and want to make sure I'm providing properly for him.  Formula during the day just isn't an option with his sensitivity to milk products and I probably won't be introducing cow's milk after his first birthday.  What's a girl to do?!?!

Anyone else have some BTDT experience? If you did pump, when did you stop pumping while at work?

Summer Blog Challenge Day 7 - June 7-- Picture of something that makesyou happy.

This is so obvious, but of course my picture is my son. Just his presence makes me happy! I chose this picture because I love his expressions (he's quite the ham!) and what's better than a messy faced baby!

That is Oreo cookie on his face. Don't judge! I try to be green and healthly, but you gotta live and enjoy life too!

Summer Blog Challenge Day 6 - June 6-- Nicknames you have & why you have them.

Whew! Finally caught up! I like this challenge. I have a few nicknames, so this will be fun.

My name that I go by is actually a nickname. My mom named me Kathryn, but did not want me to be called Kathy. Because of this, I have always been called Katie. I like it. It fits and it certainly was the beginning of me being different. My mom also called me pumpkin as a baby, but thankfully doesn't anymore. My sorority nickname is Fidget. Reasoning? Yup, you guessed it! I fidget! My husband calls me K Wifey.

That's all, I think.

On a completely unrelated topic, I can hear my husband watching Chips. Such a terrible show, but he loves it. I can't talk though, I secretly love Gilmore Girls and Even Stevens!

Summer Blog Challenge Day 5 - June 5-- Short term goals for this monthand why those goals.

Ugh! Goals! I am downright terrible at making goals. I guess. That's not really true though. I made a goal to ride a century (100 mile bike ride) and did it. It's the making plans for hitting goals and then sticking to them if I actually make plans.

So for this month, my goals are to get invites out for my son's first birthday party, plan a graduation party for my husband, and get to the gym three days a week each week. They are my goals because I have to. Yes, I'm a big baby like that. Well, the last I don't have to, but I want to win that contest (or at least place) so I have to do the workouts. Anything else is just icing on the cake.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 4 - June 4-- Meaning behind your blog name.

I chose my blog name because I wanted to convey the sense of adventure and lack of ability to know what each day brings as a parent. I also wanted to emphasize the fact that I try to parent in a very green/natural way as well as in an attachment parenting style. However, lately I've been feeling that the name is cumbersome and uninspired. It speaks nothing of my uniqueness or quirkiness. It doesn't even touch on my very multi faceted personality or interests.

Please any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated. If you know me in real life, feel free to make suggestions.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 3 - June 3-- 15 interesting facts about yourself.

Hmm...this could take a while.

1. I love to ride my road bike. I rode 100 miles in one day back in 2010.

2. I can touch my nose with my tongue and my son has a freakishly long tongue as well and will most likely be able to do the same.

3. I am a sucker for anything with chocolate and raspberries. If it has dark chocolate, I'm powerless!

4. I am a terrible, terrible speller.

5. I am a total nerd. I work on computers and geek out about science books and shows.

6. I love Star Trek so much, my son is named after a character from the show.

7. I have a tattoo of a tree frog and plan on getting more tattoos after I have my babies.

8. I love to read. One of the last books I read was about genetics.

9. I am currently doing a weight lifting program and signed up for a tranformation challenge. I want to be buff.

10. I am terrified of spiders and insects, but LOVE snakes!

11. I dabbled in Tarot reading. I still have my deck.

12. I took French in high school and still occasionally dream in what seems to be French.

13. My family thinks I'm a hippy. I admittedly am, but know I'm definitely not the crunchiest out there.

14. I love frogs because I often feel comfortable in many different environments, but at the same time am sensitive to my environment.

15. My favorite flower is the tulip. Both because I was born in Holland and I love their simple elegance. My wedding flowers were tulips.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 2 - June 2--Post a picture of you smiling.

This is an easy one! I love doing things in pictures instead of words. I've taken a couple of photography classes in my day, back before digital really took off.

This was from this weekend when my son and I played in his new kiddie pool.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 1 - June 1-- Why are you doing this challenge?

I've signed up to be part of this blog challenge. I signed up late, so I'll be doing days 1-6 all on the same day. That is assuming I can finish all six in one night!

I signed up to do this challenge for a few reasons. First, it just sounded like fun. Second, I do like challenges. I rode 100 miles in a day on my bicycle. So why not nearly 90 days of writing everyday. Third, I need ideas. I started a blog, but lately I've had a bit of writer's and a lack of inspiration. Fourth and finally, I'm hoping it gets my blog some traffic and followers. I want this thing to grow and the sooner I make it happen, the more likely I'll continue to see it through.

Coming up in about 10 minutes...the post for day 2!