Raisinglittlegrays

As the time draws closer for Baby A to make her appearance, so does the need for my birth plan.     When I had Hasting, I didn't really HAVE a plan. I basically just went in, and did what everyone else did -- because it's all that I knew. I really don't even think that I knew natural birth was a possibility to be honest (woah right?) So after I had him, I met some awesome people. I was introduced to the concept of so many things I never knew existed. I began researching on my own, and here I am, almost 2 years later, planning my OWN natural birth.   I understand that natural birth isn't for everyone. Before I share my birth plan, I would like for it to be known that the options I have outlined in my plan are options that my husband and I have done extended research on. They are options that we have chosen to be best suited for our family. I hope that by me sharing my birth plan that it will help to empower women to know that they have a choice. It is their bi

When I first got pregnant with Hasting I knew that I had a lot to learn. I mean, a lot. One of the first decisions that I made as a new mother-to-be was to cloth diaper. Woah. Say what? Cloth Diaper? You mean like the old school diapers you fold and pin? THAT is the response I got from A LOT of people. They looked at me as if I had 4 eyeballs, told me I was insane, it would be too hard, and too gross. Oh the judgment! At one point, I even thought that I was in way over my head with my decision, and almost backed out. Not because I knew I couldn't do it, because I had SO MANY people telling me all these same things over and over.     Once you become a parent, it's like a whole different ball game. Not just because you are now responsible for another life, but also for the way that you choose to do things. I became extremely defensive towards others and their opinions on the lifestyle that I had chosen for my family. I was tired of being "criticized" for my out o

    Everyone has that point & time in their lives where they catch themselves saying "I wish I would have done that differently." When you become a mother, it's more common than you realize. You always hear that you learn a lot from your first child, and tis' true. Even if you aren't planning on having another child, you will still learn so much! Motherhood within itself is a HUGE journey, for mother AND father. I have learnt so much through the journey of being pregnant, and I have become a much better person than what I used to be. Before Hasting, I never imagined myself baby wearing, making my own wipes, using cloth diapers, or studying in to HALF the things I'm now much more informed on. Hasting was planned, and actually so was baby A. Of course when you get pregnant it's always a surprise, but we had planned it perfectly to have them exactly 2 years apart (although we weren't quite so sure it would happen!) Now that I am almost 21 weeks

This could { POSSIBLY } be the last baby Gray... Possibly. So we wanted to do something different, and something we never even thought of (our could have had the patience to do) with Hasting. I knew before I even got pregnant again that I wanted to do a gender reveal party. Nothing BIG , but just a fun celebration with closest family and friends.  We went to our gender scan on Tuesday, August 13th. I was so nervous sitting in the lobby. I'm not even sure why. I've been through it before, AND we weren't even finding out the sex! We decided to wait and find out the sex as the same time as everyone else in our family!  The whole time during the scan I kept thinking I was seeing little penises everywhere. BTW, chad thought  baby was female, and I thought baby was male. Our ultrasound tech was amazing, and got so many awesome photos for us to bring home with us! It's also always a plus when you can have a conversation with someone about natural birth, and the first thing to

It's obviously peach season, and I'm not sure about y'all, but I get really bored just eating a plain peach. Don't get me wrong, they are ABSOLUTELY amazing, BUT sometimes you just need something new to try. With dinner tonight, I decided to add some sugary spice to our dinner. Awesome baked peaches! The rad thing, they can still be healthy if you're trying to loose weight!  Super easy!  1. Half your peaches, and get the seed out!  2. In the pit where the seed was, add some butter & sprinkle some brown sugar!  3. Pop those babies in the oven for 30 minutes on 375. Once they come out sprinkle with cinnamon.  BAM. You just gave your mouth a heart attack!  If you're like me (and have extra calories to add) throw in some vanilla ice cream. Kid you not, it tastes just like peach cobbler & ice cream!  Enjoy! 

I'm behind on this post, like since April behind. That's ok. I'm still doing it.  We found out on April 26 that we were being blessed with another little bundle. I don't know why I tested, I didn't even FEEL pregnant. I was really doing it for the hell of it, and well... I had 2 test just chilling in the drawer, and I decided I wanted to take one, mid pee. So I got up, for the test, and finished peeing. Laid it on the floor (like I always do when I would test), and refused to look for a little while. It was faint, but it was there.  Funny, my first reaction was oh my god! Hasting and this baby will have such close birthdays. But that's ok, that's what we wanted... We just didn't expect SO soon. I text chad a picture of the test: this one actually:  And I got not response. It was delivered but not read. So I text again, saying OMG. Still delivered, but not read. So I called him. I was crying (happy tears of course), and that caught his attention. I said &

Composting can be as simple as you want it to be, or involved as you want it to be. What is composting? It's natures way of using recycled yard wastes and household wastes to create valuable fertilizer & nutrients!  There are FOUR basic ingredients to composting:  -Nitrogen  -Carbon -Water -Air  Good starting materials for a compost will include leaves, grass clippings, straw, veggie & fruit scraps, coffee grounds, livestock manure, sawdust, and shredded paper.  Avoid using: dead plants, dead animals, weeds, meat scraps, & pet poo.  When you add wastes from your kitchen it will naturally attract flies, so just make a hole in the center of your compost pile and bury the wastes :)  For best results, make sure you have an even ratio of green or wet material, and brown or dry material. This makes sure you have a good combination of nitrogen and carbon.  Rain provides moisture, but if it is really dry out you may need to water your pile. If it is super rainy, you may want to

Fruit snacks are awesome, if they aren't filled with preservatives, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), and all that other nasty crazy mess that's unknown. They're an easy snack, so it's something that's easily reached for. I always feel better making my OWN stuff for Hasting, because I know exactly what's in it. Even IF it isn't all organic ingredients, I still feel sooo much better knowing what's going in his and my (yes I eat these things too!) body!  A friend of mine made these a couple of weeks ago when we went to her house, and I'm pretty sure her recipe was the same! They are so good, and such a hit with Hasting! They won't last long in our home, and are good refrigerated OR kept at room temperature.  THE INGREDIENTS:  - 2/3C fresh lemon juice or orange juice (if you don't want sour/tangy I suggest using orange juice). I didn't have orange juice, nor FRESH lemon juice so I settled for what I had this go round!  - 2/3C of frozen OR fre

I'm a coffee addict, I'll admit it whole-heartedly. I guess part of that problem came from working at Starbucks for 3 years. Well, that was then.. When Starbucks was free. This is now, and I'd rather spend my $5 on Hasting.  I drink coffee, everyday. And while I may be pregnant, I switch it up. Most of the time it's decaf, but I do have my days where decaf just doesn't cut it, and I need a little caffeine fix to boost me just a tad. So sometimes I'll make half caf or all out caffeinated!  Since it has been rather hot, and I mean HOT recently, I've decided to start making my own frapps, for HALF (if not more) the price of Starbucks. Because, who are we kidding, if you're a parent you rarely have TIME for Starbucks, nor do you want to spend that money! The cool thing about the frapp is you can still make it 1/2 caf, decaf, or regular!  You can switch it up and make different flavors, but I choose to switch with vanilla because it is the less artificially s

Tried a million different deodorants and didn't like ANY of them? Tired of paying out the ying yang for deoderant? Worried about the chemicals that are a leading factor to cancer? Want to smell more natural without the "natural" smell? Well this is your lucky day!  After trying a couple of name brand deodorants and none of them working, and after becoming the naturalistic goo-too that I've become I decided to make my OWN deodorant! It's quite simple, and the ingredients are über cheap, and can be used for multiple batches of deodorant! This is just MY recipe that u use, but you can really play around with it to add your own "ump" to it :)  So what do you need?    I use:  - 3T coconut oil -  2-3 drops tea tree oil  - 2-3 drops lavender oil  -  5T baking soda - 2T RAW organic Shea Butter (if you don't have Raw Shea butter, no worries just use more coconut oil. I'll share that recipe as well!) How do you make it?  1. Melt your Shea butter & coco