Zoo

I forgot to document Oliver's first trip to the Zoo. Cara invited us while we were in town and Derek and Aynna and kids came along too. It was a lot of fun. I'm not sure Oliver realized how cool the animals were but he was the best behaved baby of the day, so he gets props for that. But first some other items of business. Sometimes when Oliver sleeps he turns his head so far around. I don't know why or how he does it, but it is pretty funny.

 We ran out of clean pjs so he got to wear this to bed. It was fun to see his chunky legs.

 So here starts our zoo adventure.

 Oh yeah, Hayden came with us too.

 He never noticed the elephants.

 This was Quincy's model pose. showing some legs and diaper.

 And this is what Cambria gave me when I asked he to pose like a model. She asked what that meant and I told her to do a pretty pose. This is what she gave me.

 Derek always looks really good in pictures. Especially when near bald eagles.

 I didn't think they would want to pose so I had to take a candid shot of Cara and Aynna.

 I'll pose any day though!

 Oliver took a nap over at the new polar bear exhibit.

 Family photo.

 This was the first day he realized there is a design on his stroller. He likes to look at the monkeys now.

 This is the pose I got when I told Cambria to laugh.

 The water fountain from Eric's childhood is still there.

 Daddies pushing strollers.

 Quincy missed her nap.

Still looking at the monkeys.

This is the face I got from Eleanor.

 Eric is always entertaining the kids.

 Jonah with the hands in the pants.

Then it was Oliver's turn to pose.

 I think Oliver is doing a James Kannas face here.

 Although Indee didn't go to the zoo with us, we still got a good shot of her.

 Oh and you can't forget my hot model husband too.

Picniq

Today we celebrated the coming of spring, getting down to the last month of the semester, and corn dogs and macaroni salad. And a picnic blanket that Debbie made at quilting club which sounds like a spinoff of Babysitters Club, but the women at quilting club have no real adventures. They just sit around and listen to one woman talk about being pregnant. But Debbie is now a pro sewer (as in, sewing a quilt, not sewer where Ninja Turtles live). Debbie is ultimate pleased with how it turned out. Here is proof of the cute quilt and cuddable-to-the-max kid:

 Oliver took a nap on the quilt and he looked pretty confused when he woke up outside for the first time in his life. But he seemed to love the park--proof:

That's some pointy tongue, sharptooth. 

We strolled over to the nasty duck pond and took some pictures that had Oliver ROFLing all over the place. Proof:

Natural Allergy Free Hair Care

People who know me really well know that I am allergic to about every kind of shampoo out there. I get scabs on my head and it gets real itchy to the ones I'm really allergic to and extreme dandruff to the ones that I am only sort of allergic to. I first noticed it my junior year of college. I got some TRESemme shampoo and conditioner and after about a month of using it I started noticing that I was having a lot of dandruff and my head was itchy. So I started getting dandruff shampoos. (I don't know why, but sometimes buying dandruff shampoos is embarrassing because you have to admit that you are buying it to the cashier.) I still had the dandruff, but at least no itch. After a while I decided to try new shampoos. I tried Pantene- extreme reaction. Then I tried Dove. Dove went great. Then I went into the MTC and while I was there I finished my Dove shampoo. I started a new bottle and had an extreme reaction to it. No more Dove. In Romania my head was always itchy. I eventually found a place that sold Bed Head and things were good again. Since then I generally have 5 different shampoos in my shower and I would rotate every time or so to avoid reactions. But in the last year the shampoos that used to be good no longer are. So I started researching natural shampoos. I found a lot of things online saying that Sodium Laurel/eth sulfates cause a lot of reactions and so I started searching. But all the shampoos that I found that free of these chemicals were really expensive.

Then this summer, one of my employees stopped washing her hair. Yep, she just rinsed it and her hair looked great. I tried that for a while during the summer. At first it went well, but then I decided to use shampoo to get extra clean and after that my hair was greasy. Then I heard people talking about using vinegar. So I would put straight vinegar on my hair. It did nothing for the greasiness and I couldn't get the smell out. So I went back to shampoos. Then about 4 months ago I found online some people who used baking soda. My head was always irritated and so I gave it a try. 1 Tablespoon baking soda to 1 cup water. The baking soda takes out the grease and really dries out the hair, so then you use vinegar (diluting it is the key!) 1 Tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup water. I was really pleased. Although I still had flakes, there was no itching. But I did notice that I had extra dry skin around my hairline.

After about 3 months of using that I decided that there must be a way to get something better. I was tired of making up the solution every time I took a shower. So I did some research for natural soaps. I came upon Castile soap (a soap made from several vegetable oils). I found a liquid version called Dr. Bronner's Castile soap and saw that they made a peppermint version! So I went to the health food store and got some. This stuff is amazing! It can be used for really everything (even brushing your teeth! Although I did try it and it tasted pretty weird, so I won't be doing that again unless I have to). So I diluted it a 1:3 ratio (this stuff goes a long way and is very concentrated) and started using it. I love the peppermint because it tingles and smells good, and I love that the soap gives me a lather unlike the baking soda. Then after I rinse it REALLY well I do a diluted vinegar rinse (1T:1C water). The vinegar balances out the pH of my hair and acts as a conditioner. I have soft smooth hair every day. I then rinse the vinegar out really well and I am done!


I put the shampoo in an old hand soap dispenser and use about 3-5 squirts. (Eric even likes this new shampoo! He uses it now instead of the store bought stuff.) And I use an old ketchup container for the vinegar rinse. That way I only have to make up a new batch of vinegar about once every 2 weeks and soap once a month-ish.

 I even made a little travel size container so that when we travel I can keep using it!

The reason though that I wrote this post though is because I no longer have any dandruff! No unsightly specks on white on my shoulders! And no itchy scalp! And my hair is soft and pretty! Really this has been one of the best discoveries I have ever made. For the first time in about 6 years my head feels great!

So go grab some Dr. Bronners liquid soap and try it for yourself. It has really changed my life.