Feminine Products Review

One of my dear friends and I went to a theme park this last weekend. To find out, she almost had to cancel on me. It was the second day of her cycle. During the first 3 or so days of her period, she normally declines any outings because she is normally a heavy bleeder and cramps pretty bad. However, when she was out to my house this last time, I told her about the Soft Cups and gave her one of my disposable Soft Cups to try.  She sang me praise while we were at the theme park because on a typical period, day one and two she would always have to change her tampon every hour and a half! With the soft cup, she was liberated for a whole 7 hours! Also, she said she is surprised to find out that she doesn't feel bloated or cramped in the first few days of her period. She thinks now that it was more tampon related problems than menstrual problems. 
Now, I have actually not used the Soft Cup for that long either. I've used it for maybe a year. I didn't have anybody recommend it to me. I saw it on a store shelf and decided to try it. I loved it. I run with it and I don't feel a thing. Unlike my friend, I'm actually a light bleeder so I can wear the cup a full 12 hours without needing to worry about it. The only time I would ever have to adjust it would be after a bowel movement because that seemed to tweak where the cup was sitting. So after my friend and I had compared our experiences, the only difference that we came up with it was: I've had four children and so insertion was never a problem for me. However, she has never had children and found the first insertion to be a bit snug but still comfortable. Her only complaint was taking it out was a bit messy but I recommended her using latex gloves to help aid that. In a public place that can be wonderful so you don't have to come out of the bathroom stall with a bloody hand! Imagine if someday the makers of Soft Cups put a single disposable latex glove in with each cup-- that would truly be handy!

Just so you are aware, I am not getting paid by anybody or any company to review or recommend this product. I decided to write this blog because my friend had said that she can't believe she had never heard about it but decided it was probably because most women would like to ignore anything related to menstruation. Yep, we try to avoid it like the plague! 

Check out this link to see for yourself: www.softcup.com

So after trying and loving the soft cup, I went and bought the Diva Cup. I thought, "What would be better than only having to pay for the cup once and never again?" So after I pleasantly found it on sell on Amazon.com, I ordered it and actually was excited for my next cycle to begin. When the big day came, I took it out of the box and took a good look at it. Compared to the Soft Cup, it was much more narrow (it was like comparing a quarter to a dime circumference), but it was really deep. So, I got ready to put it in because I had already done my YouTube video research on the best fold methods for insertion. Putting it in took a few tries, but once I got it in I could still feel it. I knew it was in correctly because I wasn't leaking and it had a good suction. So, with some advice, I cut the tip of the cup off and tried again. Still too long. If I ran on the treadmill I could feel it just inside my vagina. So after a few more times of trying it, I always went back to the Soft Cup because it fit me better. I read several reviews on both products and the Diva Cup had one review in particular that cracked me up. This reviewer had gotten the cup lost inside of her! I was trying to imagine that as a possibility. I kept trying to shove it in further and I had nowhere for it to go! So it seems maybe my vagina is not as deep as somebody else's? That could be one reason why the actually delivery of my children took only 3-4 pushes where as some of my friends took *gasp* hours to deliver their children!

Check out this link for the Diva Cup: www.divacup.com

Even though I am a short two weeks away from not having a uterus anymore, I hope to help all women out there that do! So with all of this nice graphic information that needed to be put out there, I hope you find what works for you because like my friend, all women should not feel tied to their houses just because of their periods! *Can I get an "Amen!" for that?!?*

Update on my well water that turns everything orange

So I had posted earlier about my well water turning my skin and clothes orange. It is my most read blog. We had put in a Whirlpool brand whole house water filter inside the house. At first we put the mid-range filter in. It was more cloth style filter. It didn't work. Stained more clothes. I was really bummed. So after more research on the web I was even more convinced that we needed a water softener. As you can see in the photo of the first filter we used, there is like orange flakes caught in the filter. What is that? I don't know  if it's rust, mineral or something else. However, I did the research on the web to see what we could do if it was rust and the answer was again a water softener. 

Our next step before we put in the water softener was to try to higher priced filter that went with the Whirlpool filter. It's supposed to be a charcoal filter. So far I'm not turning as orange and I haven't seen really any clothes turn orange, but that's not really saying much as most of them are already spotted orange. Just the other day I threw out this really cute summer dress of my daughters because it was 3/4 orange. It was hideous because of what our water did to it. If it hadn't, I probably would've been able to resale it. My toenails are growing out whiter. Either that or they got a good cleaning and exfoliation when I spent all day at the lake which is very possible. A few days before I went to the lake, somebody commented on my "hip" toenail polish color I was spotting. They were utterly shocked when I said I haven't painted my toes in years and that was the result of my well water. 

So if you have any  recommendations or advice based on experience or qualifications, please please let me know as we are just trying to get this figured out. Thanks!

This next photo is the best orange remover stuff ever! What I love about it it's septic safe! Just pour it on the effected area and it turns from orange to white! I found it at Fred Meyers or Wal-Mart and i runs around $5 a bottle. 

What to do at the end of a rough day when you don't drink?

Today was a rough day. The kind of rough where you knew that not only did you yell too much, you screamed too much. Today was the kind of day that I realize My behavior and attitude was so bad, if I was the mother of me, I would be appalled at how I acted today. Today was the kind of day where I wondered, "Was my anti-depressant a placebo or dud today?" It was the kind of day that I'm thinking, "Has tomorrow started yet?"


The funniest thing about today is it was not that bad of a day. Looking back, I think the worst part, was  that I couldn't get my kids listen. Why does that bother me when that's a typical thing? Don't get me wrong. My kids listen sometimes but I feel that lately has been more of a struggle. I have been working with a student in my home so my attention is not on them as much as it used to, but having this student does not stop me one bit from disciplining them. 


So what does a mother do at the end of such a day? There are some days I wish I drank. Sadly for me today, I don't. :D There's certainly enough reason for me to shove my face full of delicious unhealthy food, but unfortunately, my fridge is bare. I would work out to relieve some stress but I can't do that either as I have an injury. So what is a mom to do?


I guess it leaves me to vedge in front of the TV. Maybe I can get drunk off of the bad moments that happened today. Hopefully I'll be sober for tomorrow. ;)

Journaling

The photo above is a page from my journal. I think that it's really important to journal. It has really helped me as a mother and a wife.

As a mother, I get to make a timeline and illustrate my kids' childhoods in words. Hopefully some day I can make them each a separate book sharing my thoughts on their developments, cute sayings, etc. I think that they will enjoy it someday. Hopefully it will also help them when their mothers and hope that it will give them moments in their motherhood where they can say, "wow, I'm not the only one that thinks this way."

As a wife, it's a way for me to vent. A lot of times I know that I'm only emotional due to reasons that have nothing to do with my spouse. That doesn't mean I don't take it out on him. So writing in my journal with all the honest things I'm feeling make me more level headed and less emotional. 

I've been journaling since my early teen years and I am now learning more ways that I can journal besides just writing down words. Above, I cut out a whole bunch of things that I loved from magazines. The words are from a lot of advertisements or articles. The frame that I used was from like JC Penney's photo studio advertising. I think this collage gives any reader a look into what is in my heart. 

I just hope that anybody would try to journal. I don't write every day or even every month, but I do write when the inspiration or emotions hit!

Mom's on Anti-depressants

I recently just got a message from a friend saying that she was sorry she hadn't been able to keep up on our communication. She is having a "hard time" and is on anti-depressants. Much like her, I know the problems that lead to being on anti-depressants. More so, it's the stigma that goes with being on them.

I never had postpartum depression until after my 3rd child was born. It's not the normal depression symptoms that hallmarked the diagnoses. Sure I was tired, but doesn't that come from having 3 kids ages 3 and under? What got me was my irritability. I had this mood that just would explode at any time. I knew it was there, I tried to help it, but it seems somebody else was controlling my outbursts. When I finally lashed out at my oldest child for what I even knew was not a good excuse, I went to the doctor. I saw the look in my child's eyes that mom was kind of scary. I didn't want her to look at me that way. 

After visiting the doctor, I've tried 2 different anti-depressants. Of course we looked for other reasons as to what was happening to me, but all my blood work came back normal. Choosing to go on anti-depressants was hard because Joe's family is pretty against prescription anything. Even Joe struggles with depression at times, whether he wants to admit it or not. I've asked him if he would ever take an anti-depressant just to help get him through the tough times so he can continue to function instead of huddling in a room reading a book. He adamantly said no. I wonder why because that's why I got on the pills. I figured somebody was saying, "Look, all you have to do is take this little pill once a day and you have a better shot at being a better mother." Who would refuse that?

According to WEBMD they said, "There's such extensive literature about the potential negative impact of a mother's depression on her children," Hendrick tells WebMD. "They don't do as well in a variety of factors - scores on IQ tests later on. They don't have a secure attachment with their mother. As they grow up, they tend to show more aggressive behavior toward peers."

I understand everybody's not me and doesn't look at their choices in such a light, but don't you want to have a better shot at being a better parent? I don't mind sharing the fact that I'm on anti-depressants. There's nothing wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with my personality. I have a chemical imbalance. www.psychcentral.com stated so nicely, “An important aspect of our advanced monoamine model is that individuals with depression lose chemicals like serotonin and dopamine at different rates based upon transporter density. This helps explain why one person with depression may experience loss of appetite while another may not. And some people have more severe symptoms than others,” said Dr. Meyer."

So to be a better mom, I am on anti-depressants and I would encourage anybody that balancing out hormones to be a better mom, dad, brother, sister, citizen or whatever is worth a shot. I mean, could it be any worse than where you might be right now? If you don't like being a statistic, throw that out the window. You're a statistic no matter which side your on. The question is, do you want to be a part of this next statistic?

According to www.psychcentral.com,
"The next step for researchers will be to investigate why MAO-A levels are raised in the brain and consider prevention strategies. Prevention strategies are critical — according to the World Health Organization, major depression is currently the fourth leading cause of death and disability and is expected to rise to second by the year 2020."

UPDATE:
The supplement I use to help with my depression-- Click that and it will take you to the Solaray Adrenal caps that I use to help aid my depression. I felt amazing one time when the doctor put me on steroids. I got a glimpse of the mom I want to be. So I did some research on a natural way to get that feeling. A lot of the ingredients that I found are in this supplement. Try it, can't hurt!

Reviewing Rug Doctor

I recently bought a Rug Doctor from Costco. Our rugs were nasty when we moved in the house and our pets have made them even nastier due them trying to cover up the markings from the previous homeowners pets. I know at this point we should just replace all the carpet but 1)we can't afford new carpet at this point and 2) did you not read I have 4 kids under the age of 6?! So, I invested in the Rug Doctor. My idea, since it was $400, is to rent it out to my friends for $15/day since renting it at a store is $25/day. 
I cleaned Serenity's carpet a week and a half ago. I was really pleased with the results. It is waaayyyy better than before. It smells better in there too. So tonight, with the impending visitation of my in-laws coming up, I wanted to clean out the basement living room. A few hours worth of work later... and it is so much cleaner! Compared to my old steam-vac, I give this one 4 1/2 stars out of 5! I really only have two dislikes out of it. The first dislike comes from the upholstery attachment. The design of the attachment does not seem to be very efficient in scrubbing then sucking up the water. It seems to do both simultaneously. It seems to work adequately though. I will discover more on this when I have to do the stairs but for a mattress it seemed to work okay. The only other thing I wish they would've done with the design of the Rug Doctor was to put the catch tank on the bottom. The soap holding tank holds about a gallon and a half of water but the catch tank holds probably 5 gallons. So to me, it would be very beneficial to keep filling the machine without having to take out the catch tank every time. 


For your amusement, I took before and after photos of the carpet I was working on. Notice the stain on the left side of the photo. That is old paint and I knew that would not come out, but the rest turned out nice. 

The best way to use the machine I found is to: Push forward while releasing soap, then pull to pick up the water, then push forward without releasing soap to pick up more water. The second push forward pushed the carpet pile and made a huge difference on drying time and picked up a surprising amount of water. So thank you Rug Doctor for giving my carpet a bit more life! :D

What are the grounds for finally letting friendships go?

I hold onto my friends forever. If you make me your friend, you've made a wise choice. I am a good, fierce friend. I treat them well and bend over backwards to do anything for my friends that are within my control. However, finding even one friend to do that in return for me is seeming to be a challenge. 


I have stories upon stories of friends disappointing me:


 After Rowen was born, I cried out for help because Joe was repairing our water line. I came home from the hospital less than 12 hours of giving birth. I needed help inside the house caring for my other children while I had no running water. However, nobody come to help. Nobody. I begged. I cried out for help. Nobody came. 


I went across the country to visit a friend, putting my family on hold for a week and putting up with a cost we really couldn't afford. This was last year that I went. I took Rowen with me when he was 6 months old. Then this year, she's 4 hours from me and I told her I would do anything to make sure we could connect. Drive the 4 hours to see her, even if it was for one hour,  I would do it. I guess I'm not a good enough friend to make that happen on her end. It was a huge disappointment because I thought this was the one friend where we would always do anything for each other. It's frustrating because she is single. Lives a single life so if she even came up to visit me for a weekend I would take it and she was just 4 hours away and didn't want to see me. It hurt. 


For my birthday this year, all I wanted was friends to come over, have a potluck and just play games. I had about 17 people that chose to come over. Only 3 people ended up coming. 3 people! The rest of the people texted me or sent me Facebook messages saying that something came up or they were too tired, etc, so they couldn't come. I was really hurt that people chose to come over on my birthday to honor me and chose to back out. 


So as you can see, I have lots of disappointments. The question is is when do you finally let "friends" go that no longer are worthy to be in your life? How do you let people go? I'm still "friends" with people from elementary school, my first job, my second job, my third and last job, high school, mothering groups. It's exhausting being "friends" with everybody that wants to just be acquaintances. 


What's more difficult is dealing with family that say your family and furthermore, friends, but their actions contradict that statement. Hell, if they weren't family, they would've been long gone with the way they treat me. 


I find people that are habitually late or change their plans last minute to be very disrespectful for me. I do not like it and will not have those people in my lives. Saying that you will be at the park to meet me at 10 and then showing up at 10:20 is not respectful or courteous. When did texting people "I'm not going to be there" and flaking become normal? How, as a society, do we combat this? 


I understand emergencies come up. Life happens. I get that. I'm the first person to forgive somebody for saying that they will meet me at the mall at 10am. I show up at 10am and then at 10:15 they text and say an emergency came up. I forgive that, but not being able to get their crap together and bagging it is not forgivable. 


Does anybody else deal with these problems? What do you do? How do you give somebody the boot out of your life? How do you deal with the boot that they should receive but don't just because they're family?