Switching Gears

I recently thought through the flow of our communication over the years  of our marriage. Not the communication between Thomas and I, but the communication to keep the whole world up to date on our lives. Because apparently I think our lives are that interesting. Welp, here is a run through our last 11 years.

For years I sent emails to keep everyone posted about Thomas military stuff and his deployments. 5 actually. I was nuts.

I finally got smart and moved it to a blog format.
Long Sleeves in a Short Person World (right here!)
This blog was more about every day life such as good food, freezer cooking, gardening, books, adventures and travel.

We then Moved to a different blog.
The Invention of Tiny Toes
This was the years of our lives when we were in the thick of infertility and you all lovingly walked the road of treatments and appointments with us. 

I came back here to Long Sleeves in a Short Person World for a season to track Adlers first 11 months. I never did get that 12th month written. 😂 Maybe some day? Probably not.

Honestly, most of our daily life is lived on Instagram or Facebook. Seriously the easiest platform for a young mom! So you can join us there to see all the Kucera adventures!

It has been so fun looking back at the seasons of communication I have had with you all. And I wanted to tell you about the next season I am moving in to that aligns naturally with the way we have been leaning.

The 5 years it took for us to grow our family, we intentionally cleaned up the way we ate to more whole non processed foods. We aren’t perfect and strive for an 80-20 balance. In our homes we are intentional about what we eat. (Guys I have been meal planning for the first time ever and love it!) The 20% consists of eat some out, eating some organic sugar (I made a chocolate cake with coconut sugar and flaxseed today!!), and eating things we don’t normally eat in our home, at other people’s houses. Because of our intentionality we feel awesome and can definitely feel a difference when we eat crappy food too often!

The other thing we intentionally researched and cleaned up, were the toxins in our homes. Yes these are cleaning products. And so much more! Not just the shampoos and toothpastes, but the toys Adler plays with, plastic ware, microwaves, chlorine in our shower water, and even the pillows we sleep on! There are so many toxins in our homes you all! 

We started using Young Living almost 5 years ago. It has made a world of difference for us! Honestly is has saved us so much money because I never go to Target any more! 😂 How do these 2 things tie together? Young Living is a company that started with just the purest of pure essential oils and moved to adding in all the pruducts that we used to use that were full of toxins that are now toxin free and boosting our immune systems! 

That being said, I am switching platforms again. With intentionality of living, another part of simplifying our lives was realizing that I only have so many hours in my day! And this is something that I want to share about. Yes, you will still get some pictures of my kiddo mixed through out it too! You probably won't see me over here on this blog much any more. If ever. Ok maybe if we have another kid I can do a full 12 months for them. Or maybe I will only make it to 6 months. Stretch goals!!!

I am so close to getting my website SimplifyLifeandOil.com up and running! And a part of it will be where I can blog again! Yes I will be sharing about how to incorporate young living oils into your daily routine to give your body the extra boost it needs to live your very best life. I will also be sharing why to switch out the current soaps and cleaners you use now, with YL. If those two things haven’t already reeled you in, I will also be sharing how to switch out the toxic things in your home with non toxic things like cookwear, tampons (yep ladies, even those!), paper towels, and air fresheners. And I will be sharing about how I use oils on Adler, which products Thomas reaches for daily, and of course little bits of our lives as well. All the things I have researched over the years and wish someone shared with me!!

So head on over and sign up for my free guide to which oils I use daily. SimplifyLifeandOil.com It will keep you connected to me to hear all the random thoughts you have been listening to for the past 11 years. 

Just another way to stay connected and share what is on my heart these days to my favorite people. 

And here are a few pictures of our day, because most of you are probably reading all the way to the bottom in hopes that you will see Adler's face. Hehe.

Thomas' Green Thumb

Remember back in March when Thomas decided he wanted to be an urban farmer?

Well, his work has paid off. We had the greenest lawn in the whole neighborhood.

I decided to plant some Fuchsia from little starts. And my goal is to winter them. We will see if they come back next year!

This is the evidence that Thomas is outside working.

We started our garden from seed and at least half of it is growing!

Strawberries in the hanging baskets.

My very own kiwi vine!

And that my friends is a kiwi!

These buddies came back from last Easter.

And this is our apple tree.

You have to have words of encouragement right?

Rhubarb, that I think I have now killed. I need to figure out something better for this stuff. I LOVE rhubarb!

My 1 asparagus fern in all my herbs.

The sunflower just didn't quite want to give up his seed.

Need a little help here. Grow budies! Grow!

My oregano has survived for 2 years now! And this poinsettia is left over from Christmas! What!?!?!

I only have 3 aloe plants now, but they are going strong!

And this is what it looks like 2 months later in July.

Green onions, spinach, carrots, lettuce, parsley, and way at the end, brussel sprouts.

Sunflowers, green beans, sweet peas, radishes, onions, turnips, and our little bit of color, marigolds.

Cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, rosemary, cilantro, and a whole barrel full of herbs with an asparagus fern.

I just love these bulbs! I only had them on half of the bricks last year, so I added them in the spring. And they attract bees for the veggies!

Grape time!

My favorite little hiding place in my backyard. And yes, we inherited a palm tree.

It is a good thing Thomas is around, because let me tell you how often I remember to water. This garden would not survive with out that man and his green thumb.

And by the way, can someone please get it in my head that I need to thin out my garden? I have a really hard time with that concept. I seriously need it hammered in my head.

Chemical Free Laundry and Dishwasher Soap

Thomas and I have been trying to find replacements for all the chemicals (shampoo, conditioner, bar soap, laundry, and dish washing soap) we have been using. But at the same time, we are already making all of our own food and quite frankly I do not have the time to make our cleaning products as well. So far I have found a laundry soap alternative that I don't have to make. 

They are called soap nuts. They are my new best friend.

Well they would be if I did laundry. 

So really, they are Thomas' new best friend.

You use about 4 shells in a bag for 5-6 loads until they turn grey and then you compost them!

From Naturoli's website

"Very simply, soap nuts are the dried shells (or husks) from the soapberry (or soap berry nut). These berries are the fruit from a quite unique tree species. These shells contain a substance called saponin that produces a soaping effect. Saponin is a 100% natural alternative to chemical laundry detergent and cleansers. It can replace many chemical detergents such as those containing sodium laureth sulphate (SLS) that are becoming well known by consumers for being a skin irritant and health hazard."

If you want to try them out, I would suggest getting the trial size for just $5. 

Simply go to the website here.

And they will send you enough for 15-20  loads with a little muslin bag.

No I am not getting paid. I just love them.

I mean really? I get to wash my clothes without chemicals and I get to compost the little buggers as well? Dream come true in the Kucera house.

Of course I had to buy them in bulk and make a fun little bag to store them in.

The second thing we ran out of so I had to come up with a replacement quickly, was dish washing detergent. I could not find a one to one replacement like the soap nuts, but I did find a relatively simple recipe. I already had the Borax from a desire to make things naturally years ago, and I also already had the kosher salt from Thomas' bacon making days. The Washing Soda (yes, it is different from baking soda) I found at Winco, but I believe you can also find it at Walmart. The only thing I could not find in a store was Citric Acid, so I made sure I bought food grade Citric Acid online. I figure if I can eat it, it will be find on my dishes.

So here you are. Simple.

Dishwasher Soap

1 Cup Washing Soda

1 Cup Borax

½ Cup Citric Acid

½ Cup Kosher Salt

Use 1 Tablespoon per load.

Approximately 48 loads worth

So I made a double batch so I don't have to think about it for ages now.

2 less chemical inducing items in my house.

Love it.

Do you have a favorite homemade recipe you make? 

I would love to hear about it!