Juicing: Yum yum yum!

I must say that Justin has great ideas! One of his great ideas was to purchase a juicer. We decided that juicing was a great way to consume more fruits and veggies. We also would be able to experiment with different flavours. He did some research and read lots of reviews and the one he wanted to get was a Breville Juice Fountain. (Which we found out later also appears on the documentary Hungry for Change) So during Boxing Week we found a decent deal on Amazon and a few days later this ginormous box appeared on my doorstep.

Of course, I waited for Justin to come home to open it up (after all, it was his idea) and then the fun began! This machine is a beauty! It has a giant hole at the top where fruits and veggies go in and vroom vroom! Juice comes out one side and pulp comes out another. Not to mention it is very easy to clean!

I love juicing! I try to make one everyday and they taste dee-lish-us :) My favourite is a green juice made with cucumbers, kale, celery, apples and lime. I also like a tropical treat once in awhile so I mix oranges, pineapple and apples to make that. Sometimes I'll throw in a carrot to give it a veggie spin.
And of course who doesn't love fresh orange juice?

The amazing part about juicing is that you can never really mess up because there aren't really recipes. It is fun to play with different veggies and fruits that make different creations! I find 90% of our grocery list consists of just fruits and vegetables just so we can juice. This looks great when you're walking through the grocery aisles with a colourful shopping cart... :)

Green Juice:

2 stalks of celery

2 stalks of kale

1/2 cucumber

2 apples

1/2 lime, peeled

Magical Coconut Oil

I just had to tell about coconut oil! Of course you can use this oil for cooking (and it is delightful), but I have also been using it on Ella's skin.

It is also safe for my cloth diapers. Clothies cannot have any zinc oxide creams put on them because it ruins the absorbency of the fibres. Coconut oil has anti-fungal, anti-viral and antibacterial properties, so it works great as a diaper rash cream. Not only great, it works FAST! The winter here in Alberta is DRY and Ella has really dry skin. So I just plop it all over her body in the morning and she is good for the day. It also works for her cradle cap too!

It is solid at room temperature, but liquifies in literally seconds when body heat touches it. And I find it's fairly cheap! I found this jar at Superstore for $6.99.

Homemade Wipes

As well as saving on diapers, we figured we could save on wipes too! So I found this recipe here, modified it a bit, and created a solution that has organic ingredients that are safe for my baby's precious skin. I found the ingredients at well.ca which has free shipping. As for the wipes themselves, I use regular baby face cloths. (You can purchase cloth wipes from local cloth diapering stores, but they are the same price and this was more convenient for me as I just bought a bunch from Superstore and Walmart.

The Recipe:

• ~ 4 cups of water
• 2 tbsp of Dr. Bronner's Mild Baby Soap
• 1 tbsp of Thayer's Unscented Witch Hazel

I put the solution in a spray bottle and voila! Homemade wipes!

The other way I do it is fill a wipes container halfway with water then add the soap and witch hazel and fill the container with the cloths until all the water is soaked up.

Cloth diapers!

At the beginning of January, on our quest to become greener, Justin and I decided to start using cloth diapers. The thought that it takes over 200 years for one single disposable diaper to decompose completely is both shocking and, quite frankly, disgusting. What we as human beings are doing to this beautiful planet is horrific. And I'm not just talking about diapers. Garbage and pollution are destroying the habitats of millions of precious life forms. So Justin and I figured that cloth diapers is one way we can help our environment out.

Now the clothies made today are designed way better then they were way back in the day. Although they do still make the ones with the pins, they have far easier options out there. A LOT of options. So naturally, I found myself searching and questioning the different brands, forms and styles of clothies.

I went to a store in Edmonton where I could physically touch and play with many styles. It was a lot more informative then just looking at them on a website. So out of a lot of time (so much time that the lady at the store asked me four times if I was "still doing okay") and experimenting, I decided to go with Flip by CottonBabies. These are a type of hybrid diaper or all in two (AI2). They consist of two parts: the cover and the insert. So when the insert gets soiled, it gets replaced and the cover is reusable so it can be used many times throughout the day. This is unlike other kinds of diapers like all-in-ones (AIO) or pocket diapers because once one of those gets soiled, the whole diaper has to be thrown in the laundry pail.

(This is my Flip stash! )

I purchased most of my other supplies on Kijiji- things like a diaper pail and liner, and a spray hose. With a rough initial investment of $350, we were off!

I must say that I love my clothies! Not only are they better for the environment, they are easy to use and are absolutely adorable. In the long run, they are cheaper too. In about four months of use they will be paid off and after that I have many more to go!

Welcome Ella

Ella Mae Boisvert arrived on November 13th 2012 and this is our birth story:

On the night of November 12th, I couldn’t sleep because of contractions that were very infrequent and happening every 10-20 minutes. I called Jen my midwife and she said to wait it out till morning. I called her again the next morning and reported that there was no change so she said to go ahead with the scheduled appointment I had later on in the day. So Justin and I went to the appointment and I was 3 cm dilated. So she swept my membranes and she gave me a verbena "cocktail" to help induce real contractions. This cocktail consisted of lemon verbena, almond butter and apricot juice. By the time I got home at noon I had more frequent contractions. Then the verbena concoction started to kick in around 2 pm. I had a shower to help ease the discomfort and around 3:30 my husband heard my moaning and called Jen. We arrived at the birth center at 4:10 and I was fully dilated. So I got into my birth tub, (my spa!) and I pushed for about 40 minutes and little Ella was born at 5:22 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 19 inches long.

We would have been able to be home that night except I had fourth degree tearing in which my under area had to be reconstructed so we went to the hospital and I had to have surgery and had to stay overnight. Little Ella just popped out way too fast.... that's why I tore so bad. Other than that, everything went perfectly!

My Birth Plan

I strongly believe that we all have the power to choose our directions in life. On the same note, I believe that I had the ability to choose the outcome of the birth of my daughter.

Something that saddens me is knowing that a lot of pregnant women do not realize that they have options for childbirth. Safer options. Options that allow the child to enter the world in a peaceful manner. I wish that every woman was properly informed on this subject. Afterall, information is power.

Now I do not suggest that the medical system is at all bad. But (given most circumstances) it is unnecessary. Birthing a child is not a disease or a problem but I find that in most hospitals it is treated as such. And I realize that in some special circumstances, medical attention is required, but it should only be addressed if absolutely necessary. In fact, the word "obstetrics" comes from the Latin word "obstare" which means to stand by. Therefore, obstetricians are actually only supposed to "stand by" just in case any rare emergencies occur.

Now saying that, I had a very strong idea of how I wanted my birth experience to be:

No drugs and no hospitals.

No induction, no pain killers and especially no epidurals. All of these things contradict what the labouring body is designed to do. They cause more complications and more risk for the unborn babe. I intended on having a water birth and the water birth would be my epidural, my birthing "spa."

The idea of continuous beeping and things poking into my body did not sit well with me. The bright lighted rooms are too alarming and those hallways that have that foul hospital smell made me feel sick to my first-trimester pregnant stomach. I wanted to labour in peaceful, comfortable environment.

I pictured my "perfect" birth every day. I wanted to do most of my labouring at home. I also wanted the most pain-free experience as possible. I enrolled in Hypnobirthing classes where I learned about the power of the mind and how it affects the body.

I found myself registered at the beautiful Lucina Centre in Edmonton. At this birthing centre, my birthing goals could be achieved. It is a beautiful facility, with everything that I needed: A comfortable atmosphere, heated floors, a birthing tub, a huge shower, dimmed lights..... and they even served waffles with fresh fruit as a victory meal! The midwives at the center took the time to provide me with information that I deeply valued. They answered all my questions with honesty and gave me options and respected my decisions.

After my brain was packed with priceless knowledge, I felt ready, and definitely excited, to have my baby.

About Me

I am Holly Boisvert and I am 23 years old. I am married to a wonderful man, Justin. On August 30, 2011, we got sealed to each other for time and all eternity in the Cardston Alberta Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a simple ceremony. Simple yet beautiful.

On November 13, 2012 we gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Ella Mae Boisvert. She is definitely a light in my life. Everyday she brings a smile to my face!

As a family, we are striving to live the gospel as best as we can in order to come closer to Christ that one day we will live with Him again.

Introduction

Hi! I am Holly and I love being a momma! To be a stay-at-home mom has always been my dream and I don't plan on going back to work until all my babes have learned all that they can from me. I strongly believe that it is my duty as a mother to provide them with the care and nurturing that will provide them with the right direction for their lives.

My goals for 2013 are to:
1) Become more healthy and active
2) Become a little bit more environmentally friendly
3) Learn a new skill

Justin and I have been wondering how we can become more healthy and more self-reliant. I enjoy learning about the different ways of becoming greener and becoming healthier so I wanted to start a blog to demonstrate how I am trying to raise my daughter Ella (and my future babes) in a more natural way.