M+K
Korben
Frankie
Lola
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Our visit to the hospital...
Tuesday night, October 12...
When I got home from school, Mike told me he was having some pain in his lower right abdomen. He said it wasn't too bad though, so I told him to let me know if it got any worse. Of course, it got worse at 1:30 in the morning!! He woke up with quite a bit of pain and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and tried a couple of tests on him that I learned in Nursing school. They were positive for appendicitis. So, off to the ER we went!
Mike's WBC count was 13,700 (a little high) so they decided to admit him and have the surgeon take a look at him. We were in a hospital room by 3:30. Mike's pain went away a little and we were both exhausted so we tried to catch a little bit of sleep (nearly impossible in a hospital!). The surgeon came in about 9:30 and said Mike would be heading to surgery right then. I asked if I could watch the surgery. The Dr. said "Oh yeah, I heard you were a Nursing student. That's wonderful." So about getting to watch the surgery? "No. No way." A girl has to try, right?!?! Mike was transported downstairs and was in surgery by 10:45. It took about an hour and went very smoothly. He was out of recovery and back in his room by noon!
The nurses and doctors were all wonderful! Mike spent Wednesday night in the hospital and got to come home Thursday morning! We're very happy it all went well and that we caught it before he had a ruptured appendix. He is healthy again and happy... except for the part where his Dr. said he is done with softball for the season.
When I got home from school, Mike told me he was having some pain in his lower right abdomen. He said it wasn't too bad though, so I told him to let me know if it got any worse. Of course, it got worse at 1:30 in the morning!! He woke up with quite a bit of pain and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and tried a couple of tests on him that I learned in Nursing school. They were positive for appendicitis. So, off to the ER we went!
Mike's WBC count was 13,700 (a little high) so they decided to admit him and have the surgeon take a look at him. We were in a hospital room by 3:30. Mike's pain went away a little and we were both exhausted so we tried to catch a little bit of sleep (nearly impossible in a hospital!). The surgeon came in about 9:30 and said Mike would be heading to surgery right then. I asked if I could watch the surgery. The Dr. said "Oh yeah, I heard you were a Nursing student. That's wonderful." So about getting to watch the surgery? "No. No way." A girl has to try, right?!?! Mike was transported downstairs and was in surgery by 10:45. It took about an hour and went very smoothly. He was out of recovery and back in his room by noon!
The nurses and doctors were all wonderful! Mike spent Wednesday night in the hospital and got to come home Thursday morning! We're very happy it all went well and that we caught it before he had a ruptured appendix. He is healthy again and happy... except for the part where his Dr. said he is done with softball for the season.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Essential Oils
Some people have been asking where I get my essential oils, what brand I use, etc. So, here is the link to the kind I bought from Amazon. I use Plantlife. You can buy them individually or you can buy a group of them, like the picture here is showing. I just bought individual bottles, based on the smells I like. I use citrusy smells in the kitchen and laundry, lavendar in the bathroom, and citronella when I dust. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Other safe cleaning ideas
Here are a few other tips we use around here that are non-toxic:
1. Use baking soda in place of Cameo/Bartender's/whatever your scrubber is. I use it on our stainless steel pans to clean them up regularly. Use it for anything you need a little extra scrubbing action on. Be careful on marble or things like that. Don't use it on a surface that you wouldn't use those other scrubbers on. We don't have things like marble around here :)
2. Use fresh citrus to clean your garbage disposal. Whenever we use lemons to cook or eat a grapefruit, we put it down the disposal. Cleans it up and smells WONDERFUL!
3. Use Hydrogen Peroxide to whiten your whites. Use a cup or so of Peroxide in place of bleach. Use it just as you would use bleach by putting it in the bleach compartment on your washer. Don't pour it directly on clothes. Also, don't use it if you're using vinegar in your Downy ball. The combination of them can create a mildly-powerful acid. Just alternate using vinegar one wash and Hydrogen Peroxide the next. Also, always leave the Hydrogen Peroxide in the bottle it comes in. It's one of those things that will break down if exposed to light (hence the brown bottle!).
4. See the bottom of the blog page for how to make a simple detergent using Borax, Washing Soda, & Fels Naptha. (2 words: CHEAP. WORKS.) Okay, a few more words: No petroleum is involved!
5. If you haven't already, get a steam mop. They're expensive up front ($70-$90) but wow, do they save money in the long run. Especially if you are using one of those sprayer mops with disposable pads and cleaners you have to replace all the time! These mops come with re-usable pads that you wash in the washing machine. The steam works on pretty much all floor types. We use the Shark mop, but there may be other out there. We love it!
6. Another option for cleaning windows: rubbing alcohol & water. Give it a wag on the mixture and put it in a spray bottle. You can try a 1:1 ratio to start. Cuts through grease and the grime the commercial window cleaners leave behind and creates streak-free windows. If I'm out of vinegar, I mix this up and use it instead. Both work wonderfully!
Okay, that's all I can think of that we use off the top of my head. I'll add more if I think of others or if we find any new ideas that work!
1. Use baking soda in place of Cameo/Bartender's/whatever your scrubber is. I use it on our stainless steel pans to clean them up regularly. Use it for anything you need a little extra scrubbing action on. Be careful on marble or things like that. Don't use it on a surface that you wouldn't use those other scrubbers on. We don't have things like marble around here :)
2. Use fresh citrus to clean your garbage disposal. Whenever we use lemons to cook or eat a grapefruit, we put it down the disposal. Cleans it up and smells WONDERFUL!
3. Use Hydrogen Peroxide to whiten your whites. Use a cup or so of Peroxide in place of bleach. Use it just as you would use bleach by putting it in the bleach compartment on your washer. Don't pour it directly on clothes. Also, don't use it if you're using vinegar in your Downy ball. The combination of them can create a mildly-powerful acid. Just alternate using vinegar one wash and Hydrogen Peroxide the next. Also, always leave the Hydrogen Peroxide in the bottle it comes in. It's one of those things that will break down if exposed to light (hence the brown bottle!).
4. See the bottom of the blog page for how to make a simple detergent using Borax, Washing Soda, & Fels Naptha. (2 words: CHEAP. WORKS.) Okay, a few more words: No petroleum is involved!
5. If you haven't already, get a steam mop. They're expensive up front ($70-$90) but wow, do they save money in the long run. Especially if you are using one of those sprayer mops with disposable pads and cleaners you have to replace all the time! These mops come with re-usable pads that you wash in the washing machine. The steam works on pretty much all floor types. We use the Shark mop, but there may be other out there. We love it!
6. Another option for cleaning windows: rubbing alcohol & water. Give it a wag on the mixture and put it in a spray bottle. You can try a 1:1 ratio to start. Cuts through grease and the grime the commercial window cleaners leave behind and creates streak-free windows. If I'm out of vinegar, I mix this up and use it instead. Both work wonderfully!
Okay, that's all I can think of that we use off the top of my head. I'll add more if I think of others or if we find any new ideas that work!
Cleaning with white vinegar
Well, it has now been about a year and a half since we started using vinegar to clean the house, rather than chemical cleaners. Before the vinegar, we were using 7th Generation products (which are terrific btw!). But when we switched to vinegar, it was basically an economics thing. So now, we are cleaning our house with something that is non-toxic AND super cheap! There are so many uses for vinegar and so far, everything we have tried it in/on has worked! So, I thought I'd list a few uses for vinegar that we use around here for you:
1. Use it in your dishwasher. You can either use your regular dishwasher detergent and dump a cup or so of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher before you run it (this is what we do) or you can use just the vinegar in place of the dishwasher soap. Again, we use 7th Generation (I swear I have NO connections to them other than loving their products!) dishwasher soap so the whole process is non-toxic.
2. Put it in your Downy ball! We now fill the Downy ball to the 'Fill' line with a mixture of white vinegar and a few drops of essential oil (whatever scent you love!). Just don't go overboard on the oil - it is oil after all and can stain. Just 3 drops of a strong scent like lavender or sweet orange works! Once the clothes are dry, there is NO trace of a vinegar smell and you really can't smell the essential oil either. I am longing to move to a house with my own yard so I can put up a clothes line and dry things out there (just like my mama used to!)
3. Clean your bathroom!! Dump some white vinegar (a cup or so - I don't really measure the vinegar out every time I use it. As my Nursing instructor says 'Give it a wag'). Let it sit (overnight if you can) for a while and it will neutralize any odors that might be lingering. When we clean (the bathroom is my chore), I start by dumping the vinegar in the toilet and go around and clean the rest of the areas in the house and I finish up in the bathroom. But, if you have a house full of boys or if you just need to deodorize your bathroom, let this vinegar sit all night and it will really work! Also, I use a 1:1 vinegar:tap water ratio with a few drops of essential oil to clean the rest of the bathroom.
4. Use it in the microwave. Dump some vinegar into a microwave-safe bowl and let it steam all that gunk off the inside of your microwave. Set the timer for 2 minutes to start and once it is done, check to see if the gunk has loosened off of the microwave. If not, just do it again. The steam the bowl of vinegar creates will loosen all that gunk and make the awkward job of cleaning that cooking box much easier!
5. Use it as a pet stain odor remover. Trust me, I know all to well that this works! I just dump a little vinegar/water mixture onto the carpet if (when!) my dogs have an accident or vomit. Blot it with a rag and repeat until the color (of the stain) is removed. Depending on the type of carpet you have, you may want to test this in a hidden area first. Our carpet is beige and it doesn't bleach out the carpet color when we use it. But test it to be safe (always do this, please!).
6. When I clean the kitchen, I just fill the sink up with really warm water (as warm as I can stand it) and dump some vinegar in. Not only is it easy to clean the entire kitchen with the water from the sink, but it is cleaning the sink at the same time!
7. Clean the windows with it. I remember from back when I worked at A&W that cleaning windows with vinegar and newspaper is the best way to get a clean, streak-free window. Now, I have to say that we don't get the newspaper because we read it online (I'm not into the waste of a daily/weekly newspaper) but we do clean the windows with a vinegar/water mixture (give it a wag!) and a cloth. I just use any old rag but definitely one with less lint is the best.
8. Clean up your grill. Spring is on its way (FINALLY!) and we found that a really easy way to clean up the grill and get it looking nice for all those summer nights of grilling, is to clean it like we clean things inside. Put some vinegar and water in a bucket and grab a few rags (or more, if your grill is really dirty). We clean the outside of the grill first by just wiping the entire thing with the vinegar/water. Then, get your grill brush out, dip it in the solution, and scrub the inside. Bonus: when you're finished, let that grill brush soak in the vinegar/water for a while and you'll be amazed at the amount of that black crap that comes off!! Double bonus: This is outside so we're not dumping a bunch of Windex or grease-cutting toxic crap into our yard.
9. Unclog your drain. Get out your teapot, fill it with white vinegar and boil it then dump that down your clogged drain. Let it sit for a while and rinse. Should help clear out the blockage! Cleans the teapot too!
10. Your coffee maker is a hot mess of crap if it is anything like ours. About once a month, I 'brew' vinegar through it and it helps clean it up. I just fill up the maker to the 12 cup line and let it brew as if it were coffee. We have one of those where you put your cup underneath the spout, rather than pulling the pot out to pour the coffee. So, once the vinegar is 'brewed', I then run water through it a couple times to get the vinegar smell/taste out. Coffee always tastes better then next morning!
Okay, for the summary: These are things we actually use vinegar for. I'm sure we've tried it on other things, but these are the 'regulars'. I have heard of TONS of other uses for vinegar and in fact, if you google it, I'm sure you'll find a million more uses (GO FOR IT!!) I'm by no means an expert and I'm just stating these things from my experiences. If you decide to switch to vinegar: YES, the smell is a lot at first (I get asked that all the time). But, trust me, it isn't burning the nose hairs right out of your nose like bleach, ammonia, or all those name-brand chemicals out there. PLUS as soon as it dries, the smell is gone. Our clothes never smell like vinegar. (I have friends who would tell me if they did, trust me!).
GOOD LUCK if you decide to switch and let me know if you have any other suggestions or great uses for vinegar!!
--K&M
1. Use it in your dishwasher. You can either use your regular dishwasher detergent and dump a cup or so of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher before you run it (this is what we do) or you can use just the vinegar in place of the dishwasher soap. Again, we use 7th Generation (I swear I have NO connections to them other than loving their products!) dishwasher soap so the whole process is non-toxic.
2. Put it in your Downy ball! We now fill the Downy ball to the 'Fill' line with a mixture of white vinegar and a few drops of essential oil (whatever scent you love!). Just don't go overboard on the oil - it is oil after all and can stain. Just 3 drops of a strong scent like lavender or sweet orange works! Once the clothes are dry, there is NO trace of a vinegar smell and you really can't smell the essential oil either. I am longing to move to a house with my own yard so I can put up a clothes line and dry things out there (just like my mama used to!)
3. Clean your bathroom!! Dump some white vinegar (a cup or so - I don't really measure the vinegar out every time I use it. As my Nursing instructor says 'Give it a wag'). Let it sit (overnight if you can) for a while and it will neutralize any odors that might be lingering. When we clean (the bathroom is my chore), I start by dumping the vinegar in the toilet and go around and clean the rest of the areas in the house and I finish up in the bathroom. But, if you have a house full of boys or if you just need to deodorize your bathroom, let this vinegar sit all night and it will really work! Also, I use a 1:1 vinegar:tap water ratio with a few drops of essential oil to clean the rest of the bathroom.
4. Use it in the microwave. Dump some vinegar into a microwave-safe bowl and let it steam all that gunk off the inside of your microwave. Set the timer for 2 minutes to start and once it is done, check to see if the gunk has loosened off of the microwave. If not, just do it again. The steam the bowl of vinegar creates will loosen all that gunk and make the awkward job of cleaning that cooking box much easier!
5. Use it as a pet stain odor remover. Trust me, I know all to well that this works! I just dump a little vinegar/water mixture onto the carpet if (when!) my dogs have an accident or vomit. Blot it with a rag and repeat until the color (of the stain) is removed. Depending on the type of carpet you have, you may want to test this in a hidden area first. Our carpet is beige and it doesn't bleach out the carpet color when we use it. But test it to be safe (always do this, please!).
6. When I clean the kitchen, I just fill the sink up with really warm water (as warm as I can stand it) and dump some vinegar in. Not only is it easy to clean the entire kitchen with the water from the sink, but it is cleaning the sink at the same time!
7. Clean the windows with it. I remember from back when I worked at A&W that cleaning windows with vinegar and newspaper is the best way to get a clean, streak-free window. Now, I have to say that we don't get the newspaper because we read it online (I'm not into the waste of a daily/weekly newspaper) but we do clean the windows with a vinegar/water mixture (give it a wag!) and a cloth. I just use any old rag but definitely one with less lint is the best.
8. Clean up your grill. Spring is on its way (FINALLY!) and we found that a really easy way to clean up the grill and get it looking nice for all those summer nights of grilling, is to clean it like we clean things inside. Put some vinegar and water in a bucket and grab a few rags (or more, if your grill is really dirty). We clean the outside of the grill first by just wiping the entire thing with the vinegar/water. Then, get your grill brush out, dip it in the solution, and scrub the inside. Bonus: when you're finished, let that grill brush soak in the vinegar/water for a while and you'll be amazed at the amount of that black crap that comes off!! Double bonus: This is outside so we're not dumping a bunch of Windex or grease-cutting toxic crap into our yard.
9. Unclog your drain. Get out your teapot, fill it with white vinegar and boil it then dump that down your clogged drain. Let it sit for a while and rinse. Should help clear out the blockage! Cleans the teapot too!
10. Your coffee maker is a hot mess of crap if it is anything like ours. About once a month, I 'brew' vinegar through it and it helps clean it up. I just fill up the maker to the 12 cup line and let it brew as if it were coffee. We have one of those where you put your cup underneath the spout, rather than pulling the pot out to pour the coffee. So, once the vinegar is 'brewed', I then run water through it a couple times to get the vinegar smell/taste out. Coffee always tastes better then next morning!
Okay, for the summary: These are things we actually use vinegar for. I'm sure we've tried it on other things, but these are the 'regulars'. I have heard of TONS of other uses for vinegar and in fact, if you google it, I'm sure you'll find a million more uses (GO FOR IT!!) I'm by no means an expert and I'm just stating these things from my experiences. If you decide to switch to vinegar: YES, the smell is a lot at first (I get asked that all the time). But, trust me, it isn't burning the nose hairs right out of your nose like bleach, ammonia, or all those name-brand chemicals out there. PLUS as soon as it dries, the smell is gone. Our clothes never smell like vinegar. (I have friends who would tell me if they did, trust me!).
GOOD LUCK if you decide to switch and let me know if you have any other suggestions or great uses for vinegar!!
--K&M
Monday, March 1, 2010
key west... a little piece of heaven
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Freshening the Air
I made a simple, quick air freshener... literally, it took about 1 minute to make. I bought some little aluminum spray bottles online to keep the air fresheners in. I made one for the bathroom and another for the rest of the house. Here are the 'recipes':
Bathroom Spray:
Equal parts vodka & water - my bottles are only 4 oz. so I used 2 oz. of vodka & 2 oz. of water
10 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil
5 drops Lavender Essential Oil
Kitchen / Living Room Spray:
2 oz. vodka
2 oz. water
15 drops Citronella Essential Oil
I know what you're thinking.... but the Citronella Oil smells like Murphy's Oil Soap, not bug repellant so each time you spray it, it smells like you just got done dusting! Well, it will smell that way to you if you grew up in a house that cleaned with Murphy's Oil Soap, like we did in our house.
The best part is that they are light and the fragrance stays in the air for quite a while. Not to mention, they are not toxic to our dogs (#1 most important reason for us to switch to no chemicals in the house).
These recipes can be modified to use whatever scents you like in your home. I'm going online to amazon to buy some 'wintery' scents to make for the holidays!
Enjoy!!
--M&K
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