A Lesson in Dirty Dishes

As I stand here for what feels like the millionth time doing dishes, I feel the weariness settle in.

Today being like most days passed by in a blink of an eye. The night is closing in fast and I feel the urgency to hurry up and get done so I can go on to the next task. I sigh deeply and think about all that still needs to be done before I get to lay my head down.

I straighten up and crack my aching back and I find myself feeling jealous of all those other lucky moms that have a working dishwasher. Money is so tight that some things just have to wait their turn to be repaired or replaced.

I feel so alone and while I listen to my husband and son watch TV and relax, I feel the anger start to creep up. I feel angry over how I never get to “clock out” of my job. I feel angry over the fact that I worked hard to put a nice dinner on the table and no one bothered to say thank you. I feel angry at all these dirty dishes I have to wash by hand. I plunk another wet plate down into the dish drain.

It was at that moment that I heard it – the thought. The thought, those words that only can come from Him, God. And he said, “It could be like before, you know. Quiet, dark, lonely and not as many dishes to wash. Remember?”

I remember, Lord. I remember that emptiness, the loneliness, the sadness. Thank you for reminding me. Thank you for the many dirty cups, plates and piles of crumbs under the table. Thank you for the constant interruptions and endless messes to clean up.

I smile with wearied joy as one of my messy interruptions trots in to tell me about one of his toy cars. He turns to walk away as I put one more wet plate in the dish drainer, this time with a more gentle hand. Then I hear him say, “I love you, Mama.”

Then I feel the warmth of love poor over me from above and from below from my sweet little one. I reply my, “I love you , too honey.” With a sense of gratefulness that had been lacking just moments earlier.

Funny how fast chores go when you look at them in the new light of being grateful for having so much to do and the ability to do them.

Are You Ready for an Emergency?

I got stung several times on the lower leg yesterday while at the park. A wasp crawled up my pants leg and got me a number of times before I was able to get him out. I tried my best to get him! Luckily I am not allergic, but it sure made for a painful walk home.

It's that time of year again, so if you or a loved one is severely allergic to stings, make sure you always have an Epi pen or at least some Benadryl (or some other doctor approved allergic reaction medication) to keep on hand in case you are stung and your throat begins to swell. Learn what to do and be prepared.

My mother said she feared no disaster as long as her purse was within reach.

My father always said to hope and pray for the best, but be prepared for the worst.

I always like to be prepared for emergencies. 

How prepared are you?

First aid kits, allergic reaction supplies, food and water carried in the car with you or in a backpack if you are hiking, are all very important to have on hand. I also have a change of clothes for everyone in the main car in case we get stuck out somewhere or need a change of clothes if one of us falls in the creek! Ha ha.

But how prepared are you? We laugh about needing to change wet clothes if we fall into a creek, but true accidents or disasters are no laughing matter and how prepared we are can make a huge difference in how we come through those incidents or disasters.

What about severe weather? Do you have supplies such as, flashlights, batteries, radios. Do you have a plan of action like knowing where to go? Do your children know what to do if severe weather breaks out and you are not with them?

How about a different sort of disaster? Could you and your family be packed up and ready to leave in 5-10 minutes if disaster struck your area and you were forced to leave your home? That is often all the time you will have to get out. Many people think it could never happen to them where they live, but it can and you just never know. You need to be prepared. 

You can go to any one of Internet sites out there that can tell you how to build a kit. FEMA's site, http://www.ready.gov/ is one of them. On that site are instructions on how to build a disaster kit, how to make a family plan and tips on what to do before, during and after a disaster strikes.

It may be time to get the information, sit down to a family meeting to discuss the how’s and what to do’s and then get the necessary items. As a family you need to discuss the plan on each possible scenario and do drills at least once a month to make sure everyone, even the youngest child knows what to do automatically.

Remember, during an emergency cell phone access may be limited or cut off completely, so you cannot rely on that form of communication.

I thought about going into detail all the different things we should do for each possible scenario, but there are many good places you can go to get this information. Print it out, go over it with each family member, pin it to your kits and practice it.

So read up, learn what to do and how to do it. Build disaster and readiness kits. Take a class in CPR and first aid. Get prepared. God willing, you may never need those skills or supplies, but if you do, you will never be sorry that you made the effort.

Knowledge is power. Preparedness is confidence. Knowing what to do can be lifesaving.

Are you ready?

Shaklee April Newsletter

Welcome to our Celebrating Earth Day April 2013 Newsletter!

Shaklee has always celebrated Earth Day everyday and we are always excited to share how much the Environment means to us.

Home should be the safest, healthiest place in the whole world. But, today’s insulated air-tight homes are filled with chemicals that have never been tested for human toxicity - in the air, the walls, carpets, and in the household cleaners, which can carry some pretty scary warning labels.

Below is some information on how cleaning products affect you, your children and your environment. See how these products affect you, what the EPA and what pediatricians have to say.

What’s in your cleaners?

Sodium Hydroxide – Inhalation is immediately irritating to the respiratory tract. Contact can cause severe damage to the eyes, skin, mouth and throat. Can cause liver and kidney damage.

May be found in:

• Dishwashing liquids
• Laundry products
• Oven cleaners
• Scouring cleansers
• Tub & tile cleaners

Hydrochloric Acid – Can cause severe damage to the skin. Can be harmful to health if inhaled. Can be fatal if swallowed.

May be found in:

• Odor eliminators
• Toilet bowl cleaners

Butyl Cellosolve – Can cause irritation and tissue damage from inhalation. A person who spends 15 minutes cleaning scale off shower walls could inhale three times the acute exposure limit.

May be found in:

• All purpose cleaners
• Cleaning wipes
•  Degreasers
•  Floor polish
•  Rug shampoos
•  Toilet bowl cleaners
•  Tub & tile cleaners
•  Window cleaners 

“We are conducting a vast toxicologic experiment in our society, in which our children and our children’s children are the experimental subject.”

~Dr. Herbert Needleman - Pediatrician and professor at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center

Get Clean^® gives you cleaning choices that are nontoxic andnatural and do not contain any of these harmful ingredients.

 We believe cleaning house shouldn’t involve dirtying the earth.

Earth-Friendly Product Choices

Sustainable ingredients from natural sources

Biodegradable surfactants

Recyclable packaging

Recyclable wipes

Recyclable dryer sheets

No chlorine bleach

No phosphates

No nitrates

No borates

No volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Shaklee does not test  on animals

For more than 50 years Shaklee has created products that improve the health of people and the planet.

 

Get Clean® products offer solutions that are not only safe, but powerful. We worked with an outside independent testing lab to conduct performance tests with major brands and found that Get Clean performs as well or better than over 20 competing brands.

Watch this short video and see why concentrated Get Cleanproducts are a real value, for your home, your health, the planet, and your wallet.  

Cool Video: Healthy Home

Think Cleaning With Green Products Don’t Work As Well As The Toxic Cleaners? Well,

Get Clean Out Cleans National Brands! And can save you money!

You would need to spend over $3,400 to get the same cleaning power from major name brands!*

Get Clean Starter Kit is equal to:

•  60 Bottles of Fantastik^®, 32 oz.
•  32 Bottles of Mop ‘n Glo^®, 32 oz.
•  728 Bottles of Windex^®, 26 oz.
•  1 Bottle of Woolite^®, 50 oz.
•  1 Container of Clorox^® Wipes
•  1 Bottle of Soft Scrub^®
•  2.5 Boxes of Cascade^®, 45 oz.
•  2 Boxes of Tide^®, 50 oz.
•  3 Bottles of Downy^®, 20 oz.
•  1 Box of Bounce^® 

And the cost of a Get Clean Starter Kit is a fraction of what these toxic products cost!

When it comes to pollution, we are all either part of the problem or part of the solution.

What part do you want to play?

Contact us today for more information or to get your safe products today.

To Your Good Health,

Julie

Find us Online at:

Product Info & Ordering Website: To Be Healthy

Our Health & Wellness Blog: youtobehealthy.com

Like us on Facebook: To Be Healthy

Twitter: You To Be Healthy

Pinterest: YouToBeHealthy

Google+: Shaklee ToBeHealthy

Always Safe, Always Works, Always Green - See why we work when others don’t – The Shaklee Difference

*Based on number of uses per label directions

Did You Send the Text to the Right Person?

There is nothing like that feeling of panic when you send a very personal text message to that special someone, only to realize in horror that you may have sent it to the last person who called instead of the person you meant to send it to.

You then find yourself frantically checking the "Send" section on your phone to double check you picked the right person.

Has this ever happened to you? 

Did you find sweet relief, or did your face turn hot red with embarrassment as your fingers start flying, texting your apology to some bewildered person?

Join Us for a Fun Night!

Joins us Friday evening, February 15^th at 7:00 p.m. for our annual Quarter Auction/Raffle.  

A fun night of prizes, food and shopping!

Open to the public, no RSVP required.  Pizza, soft drinks and desserts will be available.  

Prizes from many vendors and other awesome donations for quarter bids!

Fairfield Child Development Center

140 Donald Drive

Fairfield, Ohio 45014

513-858-6999

fax 513-829-3213

www.fairfieldcdc.org

Finding Friends

If you are searching for deeper, more meaningful friendships, check out Sally Clarkson's I Take Joy Post -  The Secret of Finding a Mentor! Working diligently at friendship.

I, too have felt "left out" of many women's lives as I waited for friendships to find me. Sally talks about how she did the same and didn't make the connections till she reached out to others and invited them into her life. I encourage you to read her story and others she has written. She writes as if she is talking straight to you. Amazing.

Head on over to Grace Laced and see her wonderful post, 

5 Ways To Encourage Your Kids

Then link up you own story to share. 

I am a woman who knows fear. 
I know what's it like to have your heart skip a beat. 
Like in the middle of the night when you go to the bathroom and find out the hard way someone left the toilet seat up. 
Yep, I know that startling feeling.

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via I'm Not a Supermom on Pinterest

FaceBook and the Who Has More Likes Issue

If you have a Facebook page and you post things about your life, your kids and such, do you get many likes or comments?

Do your online friends seem to get more responses than you do? How does that make you feel?

I have a personal page along with my business ones, but I only have about 115 “friends”. Now in the real world, not the virtual one, 115 seems like a lot. However, I notice that in the virtual world of Facebook, 115 is a pretty sad number. When I look at the number my online “friends” have I am blown away. I ask myself, “Are they really, truly friends with all these people? Do they really physically talk with these people ever in public? Do they even know all these people?”

I admit I have refused friend requests on Facebook from people who won’t even give me the time of day in person. The only reason I can think of that they want to be “friends” is to either be nosy or just bump their friends counter up on their page.

See, the people I have on my list are people I have actually stopped and talked to. Many are from the racetrack where we race, some are old work acquaintances, but most are people I like and enjoy talking to and spending time with….in person. They ask about my family or racing or work and I ask about them. They are nice people. They are people I would feel comfortable inviting into my home.

I have noticed that on Facebook I see people who have a gazillion “friends” and they can sneeze online and they will get 50 God bless you’s, but most of the time when I post something important or a cute picture of my son, I’m lucky to get 2 likes and on occasion 1 or 2 comments.

What’s up with that? Should I worry that my friends don’t think as highly of me and my posts as someone else’s constant online babbling? Is it because I don’t feel the need to comment on every thought that passes through my head, (I thought that’s what Twitter was for? But that’s a whole other talk show) or is it just a law of averages? The more that see the post means the more that comment.

I like to think that it’s the latter. At least that’s what I am telling myself so as to not get a complex about not having friends who care. See, what I have found out is my friends on Facebook are nice people, with busy lives offline. They don’t need to get on Facebook every waking moment to share they have a headache, nor to comment on someone else’s headache.

They are real friends in the real world living real lives. The kind of friend that would be there if you called them up on the phone and asked them for real help, not a thumbs up online or a smiley face behind an abbreviated sentence. They would be ringing the doorbell, with hands out and I feel so blessed that 115 of them is pretty close to the number of those who would be standing outside our door.

Where do you rate on Facebook? Do you get a million responses to your comments and photos or do you slide in under the radar for most friends and are you OK with that?