Don't Be Rash

Just so you know: Before I begin this, I'll tell you the end of the story. I hate reading stories that make me nervous, so I'll tell you the end of the story. They believe that what Logan has will go away by itself and it clearly doesn't hurt. Alright.... now that that is cleared up....

Logan has this..... rash. It seemed relatively harmless looking when it started out. In fact it looked like just one tiny little blemish below his eye. The next day, while I was drying my hair, Logan came up to me and asked, "What's this, Mama?" as he rubbed his elbow. I looked at it. It looked like a couple of bumps. Being the ever diligent ball of anxiousness that I am, I decided to immediately inspect the rest of his body. A couple more on his arm, one on his face, and a couple on his leg. I'm not patient when it comes to medical things, so I phoned up the doctor and procured an appointment for as soon as possible.

At our doctor's appointment the doctor spent a great deal of time examining it. He then looked up and said, "I'm not sure what it is. I'll need another opinion." We wait for a while, and I try to distract Logan with a bead maze in hopes that he will stop trying to jump off the examining table (for fun, of course). Finally, our normal doctor comes in and I get all excited. He's been a doctor since 1986 (yes, I googled him), and he was even my doctor growing up. He spends time trying to look at it. Logan, on the other hand, has lots of plans to talk to him.

Logan: "Hi Dr. F... I have a tattoo. It is Mickey and his best friends.... Pluto and Minnie. Minnie is starting to come off. She is wearing a blue dress..... I don't know why...... Minnie wears a pink dress."

As Logan is talking his ear off, the doctor is examining his arms. He stops for a moment and says to Logan, "Wow, I didn't know that you joined the navy since I last saw you." Logan cracks up, acting like he knows what that means. Anyway, Doctor #2 still doesn't know what it is. They say it looks like chicken pox, but since it is not itchy and not on his trunk, it can't be. I'm sent home with no answers and the instructions to watch him for a couple of days.

The second day, he wakes up and at first it seems like it's all the same. By the afternoon though, it had spread more to his face and his arms and legs. I call back again with the request to have someone call me back and they say we need to come back in. I make an appointment for the next morning.

The third day.we go back and we have another doctor. He looks all over Logan as the rash has spread. He is silent the whole time. Finally he stops, and says, "I'll be right back." Five minutes later he comes back and says he thinks Logan has a Gianotti Crosti Syndrome from the result of a viral infection. It is rare, but it will go away after a couple of weeks, with no lasting side effects. Fingers crossed, that this is what it is!

I'm just glad that he's energetic and happy. He actually has lots of energy. Just today he unrolled all of the toilet paper while I was in the shower, tried to jump off a flimsy Mickey chair, and did so many somersaults that I don't know how he can see straight. I love this little boy, spots and all.

30 Day Shred: Trying to get motivated

So it's been a little while since I last posted. I've been in sort of a blogging rut. First Logan was sick and then I just slipped into a funk and couldn't seem to shake it. But alas, I'm back, and on my way to hopefully being better than ever. Within the last week, I purchased a new DVD player, and dusted off a DVD I had purchased with money from my birthday all the way back in December.

I haven't actually started it yet, but it's there every day reminding me that I should. I have hopes that in no time at all Jillian and I will be BFFs/ frenemies.  I have tried the 30 Day Shred in the past, but it was before I had a baby. I think I'm procrastinating, because I am less in shape and I know how sore I was at the beginning of the journey. I thought by officially writing it down in this blog, that this will get my booty into gear. Tomorrow, I'm busting out my tape measure. Pray for me. 

A Little Something Strange

Do you ever have your pet stare at something off in the distance for a long time? When you turn around and look you don't see anything there? My cats do that on occasion, often when I am alone in the dark. I'll turn the light on, thinking there is a bug (which is scary enough for me) and when I look..... nothing. Nothing, at least that I can see. I think I've watched one too many shows about hauntings!

My Garden the beginning (in pictures)

Sunflower

Lilies

Daisies

Mysterious clearance flowers that were dead and came back 

Justine Going Green: Making detergent

At the beginning of the year, I wrote out a list of my resolutions. Throughout the year, I have slowly been attempting to tackle them. One of my resolutions was to live more frugally. I have started to use coupons. Definitely not to the level of TLC's Extreme Couponing, but I am trying to drastically reduce our grocery bills.

One of the more expensive things that you can buy without using coupons is laundry detergent. Once I started using coupons I was able to get it significantly cheaper, but I was still thinking about the chemicals that go into the detergents, especially with a little guy who has sensitive skin. I started looking for a effective way to wash laundry minus the chemicals. I came across this post, from my friend, Andrea over at Jada Roo Can Do. (Awesome blog, by the way, you should totally visit her)! I had read a couple of things about making your own detergent, but when I got a testimony to it being just as effective, I was sold. It was just a matter of going out and getting my supplies.

You can view the recipe I used here, at the Duggar's website. The supplies consist of borax, super washing soda, and Fels-Naptha soap. The hardest part of this whole process was grating the soap. Once it was done, it looked like this:

I had a hard time convincing Logan that it was not cheese. He kept asking, "Can I have some?" He seemed quite perplexed that I would not give him any. I offered him some string cheese instead, which he took, but he still looked at me skeptically.

Next I melted the soap into four cups of water over heat.

I didn't take any pictures of the next bits, but I just directly followed the recipe. The hardest part besides grating the soap was waiting 24 hours to see what it looked like in the end. When I looked at it today it was like gelatin. I filled a clean detergent bottle with half of the mixture and half water. I'll only use about 1/2 a cup since I have a top loader, and I still have an almost full five gallon bucket left to use when I run out. This whole thing was so inexpensive. I got all of my supplies at Walmart, and I think it was around five or six dollars total, but it will clean a zillion (yeah, I know that's not a real number) loads of laundry. I've never been more excited to do my laundry tomorrow morning!

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Face vs. Sidewalk

The fourth of July was a family filled day for us. We went to the husband's parent's house where they were hosting a barbecue. The kiddo was able to play with his cousins all day, much to his complete and utter delight. He swam in his pool and even got to bounce around in a bounce house. As the day was winding down, the little guys all got their after dinner burst of energy. They were chasing each other and laughing. Logan went to run down the sidewalk, and just as the words, "Use your walking feet," were sliding out of my mouth...... BOOM!

He landed face first onto the sidewalk. No hands were ever put out to try to soften the blow. There were a few seconds of complete silence and then the scream. Anyone that is around kids for any extended period of time knows that they have all different types of cries. This is the kind you hate hearing.

I felt so bad that he was hurt that I let him eat Popsicle after Popsicle to bring the swelling in his lip down. Once we got home I sat with him and let him watch a television show he never watches, eat M&Ms, and stay up late to watch some fireworks. He forgot about it long before I did.  But that could be because I am looking at this face all the time:

My poor baby. Extra hugs and kisses are in order. And maybe a new toy. 

Naked walls

Commitment phobic. I don't really think most would describe me that way. But I have a deep dark secret.  I have commitment issues when it comes to decorating. All my walls are bare. We have lived in our house for almost three years, and we only have one thing on the walls. That's right...... just one thing. I hope to soon change that. 


Meet blank wall #1. It is a small wall in my dining area that separates the area from the kitchen.

As you can see, it's beige and boring. Please pretend that you don't see those cluttered mismatched frames. But fear not, my friends, I have ideas. Fantastic ideas, because someone else thought of them.


I have a huge love of family photographs. But, I've yet to find an effective way to display them. A wall gallery would solve this problem. 


Here's a smattering of gallery walls that I have been crushing on lately. 


This one? I heart that it adds an accent color. Plus, the chalkboard frame? I wish I could marry it, I adore it so. 

Source: Nesting Place

This picture is from the first home decorating blog, Young House Love, that I started reading. This photo makes me wish for a nice long hallway where I can do this. 

Source: YoungHouseLove

I like this one because all the frames match......

Source: Flickr

and I like this one because they don't. 

Source: House of Turquoise

Finally, for something a bit different and more uniform, I love that these are all equally spaced. 

Source: Parlour

So, what do you think? My mission for the next couple of weeks is to shop around at yard sales to find some really inexpensive frames I love.  Well, to look for frames and for farm related stuff. But that, my lovelies, is for another post.