Natural hair: Let's talk Products for healthy hair: Vatika

My personal experience with Vatika
I started using vatika since my college days at Purdue University! I was introduced to Vatika and to Amla oil by an Indian woman who used to work at the Cafeteria in the Union Market (On Purdue's West Lafayette campus)! I was always complimenting her long, healthy and shiny hair when she introduced me to these two products she called the 'secret to beautiful Indian hair'!
At the time I was not natural and already had healthy hair but I was curious about trying something new and loved the idea of treating my hair with authentic Indian products! Vatika is not a product just for naturals, it's a great product for any type of hair.

Ways to use Vatika
There are many ways to use Vatika, it's all a matter of personal preference but I have enjoyed the product

• as an ingredient to homemade deep conditioners,
• as a styling aid
• as a leave in conditioner
• and recently in my prepoo

Vatika get challenging to squeeze out through the little hole so I always do without it and use ample amount! Since the oil tend to harden during colder months I just put some in a small ramekin and place it in one containing hot water. I also run the whole bottle under hot water at times...Whatever works and fit my fancy to make it more fluid!

Why is Vatika so good for your hair? The Ingredients!

What make Vatika so enriching for (natural) hair are the amazing natural ingredients. Please note that as I list below the ingredients present in Vatika, I will share some interesting facts about some of those ingredients because it's great to know that the benefits of these ingredients is not just limited to hair care and I want you to be more informed about their other benefits.
The ingredients in Vatika are the following:

• Coconut oil.  The phenomenal health benefits of coconut oil will require a post of its own on the subject. The least that can be said is that in hair care coconut oil nourish and promote hair growth. It's health benefits include weigth loss and natural healing of certain conditions. 
• Neem benefits hair by preventing hair loss and promoteing hair growth. Neem is anti-microbial!  For gardening, neem oil provides a great natual alternative to insecticides! ( I used it on my plants)
• Brahmi which is used as an hair revitalizer is an herb grown in marshy areas of India, Nepal, Viet nam, China, Shri Lanka and areas in Southern American States like Florida. It's also grown in Hawaii. Brahimi is grown in damp conditions! The herb has many medicinal used thanks to its antioxidants and other health properties!
• Fruits extract of Amla. According to my Indian friend amla keeps the hair dark therefore delaying graying. It also nourish the hair and prevent from breakages
• Henna mostly known as a hair colorant also provides nourishment to our hair! In Guinea henna was used as a beauty product for enhancing the soles of women's feet! In India henna seems to be mainly used to beautify women's hands especially for special occasionssuch as weddings. I grew up in Africa and many Moroccan friends also used henna to create beautiful designs in the palms of their hands!
• Bahera and harar. Bahera has many health proterties. As far as hair care is concerned it's known to rejuvenate hair. In terms of overall health benefits, Bahera can be used to fight many physical ailments, it's a sedative and it also helps with vision.
• Kapur kachri. This herb is actually an antiseptic used to treat a wide range of conditions such as nausea, hiccup, local inflammations, bronchitis, asthma etc. The rhizome of the plant is a tonic and stimulant! I am not personaly sure about how it benefits our hair but can't argue with Indian wisdom! If it's in it there got to be a great reason!
• Cow's Milk provides nourishment.
• Rosemary oil promotes hair growth, prevent hair loss, treat lice.
• Lemon oil is a hair tonic, it helps get rid dandruff, promotes strong healthy and shiny hair. It's health benefits extend from weight loss to asthma treatments, skin care, stress relief etc.  Lemon oil has just too many benefits to name here...

Benefits of Vatika Oil
I can attest to the following benefits of Vatika

• Strenghten the hair
• Prevent breakage
• Good stylying aid
• Stimulate hair growth
• You DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE NATURAL HAIR TO ENJOY the benefits of Vatika

Have you use Vatika before? What do you like about it?

Natural hair: Let's talk What's prepoo?

Hello friends.

It's been a while since we talked hair, natural that's it! Well today briefly wanted to talk about hair!

If you are a new natural or juts becoming more acquainted with the world and lingo of naturalistas, you have probably heard the term prepoo and wonder what in the world that was!

The first time I heard the term prepoo I almost thought it was a mixed dog breed. You know like shipoo,maltipoo....but no! Here prepoo is not about a cute dog breed it's about a hair treatment that many naturalistas adopt to maintain healthy hair and protect their hair from the stripping effects of shampoo.

So prepoo is simply what they do to their hair before shampooing! It's applying oil and/or conditioners to your hair for a given period of time before shampooing!

How long do you prepoo?
The amount of time is subjective! Some people do it for at least 20mns to half an hour, others for a couple of hours and some might go longer! It's just a matter of choice and convenience.

What to use?
There seems to be no set rule or no set ingredients to prepooing as most people use products they like best on their hair. A lot of time it's through trial and errors that they get to make final conclusions on the products that are best for them.

The most common product is coconut oil as many natural will testify to its benefits on their hair!
Some go with the kind you get from the grocery store others would select a brand such as Vatika because it's a blend of fantastic natural oils and ingredients.

Here is what a few people report using on their hair:

Honey + olive oil
Aloe juice+jojoba oil covered with coconut oil and left for a couple of hours before shampooing
Mayo + olive oil
Coconut oil
Castor Oil
EVOO
Grapeseed Oil

Many people mix any of the oils above, adding other ingredients as well or use them as the sole ingredient for their prepoo.

I have used coconut oil and EVOO on mine and I am pretty content with this mixture!

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

 However, my favorite natural product has been Vatika! Which I have used for 13 years now, well before ever knowing about natural hair, prepoo etc. Before getting into prepoo I used Vatika for deep conditioning and for styling my hair.

Vatika Coconut Indian oil

Do you prepoo on wet or dry hair?
This is another subjective questions. Each time I ask naturalistas if they prepoo on wet or dry hair I realize that half would say dry and the other half would say wet. So I don't think that there's a right answer to this question. It's all a matter of preference, after all that's what hair styling comes down to!Isn't it? Just a matter of preference!


How often do you prepoo?
Most people prefer to prepoo each time they shampoo their hair! I fall into this category unless I shampoo my hair at the gym right after swimming!
So...have you prepooed your hair  before? What did you like about it? What's your favorite prepoo ingredients. Do you do it or wet or dry hair? How long do you keep it on?


Update: Wednesday July 27
I have been thinking about a comment made earlier this week about prepoo not being necessary in one's opinion and I have concluded that prepoo is beneficial and worth it especially if someone has dry hair. A friend of mine explained that she actually prepoo for hours and DC after her shampoo as prepoo is a must for her due to her having very dry hair.

I think prepoo is like marinating meat or fish! It might not be mandatory but when you cook that meat or fish it's so infused with flavor and so tender that there's just no comparison. I also view prepoo as something my mom used to do when my twin and I were kids. She would apply shea butter on our skins before we shower even though we  would washed away most of the shea butter it would still leave our skin smooth and babylike.

So prepoo is a matter of opinion and necessity to some, at the end of the day we have to listen to our hair. The way I see it having rich ingredients penetrating our hair before shampoing or cowashing can only be good for our hair!

So what about you? Do you prepoo? Why or why not? If yes what do you use and how long do you prepoo? How do you think prepoo benefits your hair?

N'na

Natural pregnancy week by week : listening to your body~week 14

Hello dear,

I hope you all had a pleasant week, it's Friday but I have a busy week-end ahead of me...I hope to have the chance to relax tomorrow evening by watching a Movie in the park with some friends I haven't seen in a while.

Anyway, I just wanted to "chat with you" and share briefly how my pregnancy is going.
Today is week 14. If you read my previous article with the same title " Natural pregnancy week by week" I explained how my first doctor's visit went last week!  http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/07/natural-pregancy-second-trimester.html

I had a pleasant and easy going week but Wednesday was a boring and slow day. I spent the majority of my day in bed. I felt so tired it was insane. I am not used to staying still but I am learning to LISTEN TO MY BODY. Thursday I was once again full of energy and got out of bed with a mind made up for productivity! By bedtime I was happy to have accomplished all that I had set to do.Today I am dragging again! I am doing better than I did on Wednesday but I am far from being as active as I want.

I am learning to rest because I have a lot of caring friends who are making sure that I take good care of myself and the baby! Talk about holding me accountable!
I don't like to be sick so I better learn to rest than exhaust myself and regret it. So... if you are pregnant and reading this, from one pregnant woman to another: take heed to sound advices, ask for help when you need help and 'obey' your body!

So I have been like a switch: one day on (full of energy) one day off (moderate-slow energy)!

Pregancy and exercising
I haven't been able to exercise much this week and haven't gone on any walk the whole week.  My left ankle has been hurting me and it's annoying! I had a foot injury last summer that totally slowed my activity level as far as running and exercising was concerned. My ankle was not fully healed when I resumed exercising (running and walking).  I did not run as intensely as I did before my ankle's injury but I managed to maintain a routine that helped me loose some of the weight gained during my injury.

The only form of exercise I have done this week is stretching and lifting some light weights. I also walked a little around some parking lots on days I was out and about!

Little update: 10:45pm I finally went on a walk, just 20 minutes. It was 9:45pm with my hubby by my side! It was so hot, not even a breeze, no breezy summer night (pouting face)...oh well!

Pregnancy and Supplements
I made a change in my supplements. I was doing some reading online 3 days ago and learned that Cod liver oil is not good during pregnancy because of the high dose of Vitamin A. So even though fish supplements can be beneficial, Cod liver oil is not good for pregnant women...livers actually have high level of vitamin A, I think that we are not even supposed to eat liver during pregnancy!

So that you know, I will post next week an article on seafood consumption during pregnancy and talk more about Vitamin A, mercury and other contaminants to be concerned about!

Eating right and weird pregnancy's dreams about food!
As far as my diet has been this week, most of my meals have been vegetarian meals. I actually had a dream on Monday about meat. I shared the dream with some friends/neighbors. We were meeting at the park one morning and talking about what we would get for lunch once we all get home. I had the tact of sharing the dream with them and one said that the dream was making her lose her appetite!  Ha ha ha!  I rarely eat meat but the dream just sealed the deal!
 I have been told that it happens to have crazy dreams about food when we are pregnant. Have you had crazy dreams about food?

Pregnancy's food cravings and aversions
Aside from my stronger aversion for meat at the moment, I don't have any particular aversion. I don't have any weird craving either! I do crave for tropical fruit juices like mango juice or ginger-pineapple juice so it's common to find me laboring in the kitchen on any given evening just making a batch of juice for the next days!

I have noticed that I enjoy cooking more and that my body craves more for vegetarian meals and for natural juices! I enjoyed them before but I seem to want more! So listening to my body as far as eating right is a blessing! I am just glad I don't crave for weird things or for sweets!

Occasional unhealthy food
Wednesday night I splurged on 2 honey buns. My hubby and I spent a little bit of time having a "late snack date" eating honey buns and drinking milk while chatting around 11pm. I haven't had any honey buns in over a year so I figured it would be fun to enjoy some that night.! I was breaking my "no late eating" rule but I figured it was worth it! When we are very disciplined about our diet it's okay to enjoy a 'forbidden' snack once in a while!Don't you think?

Pregnancy's morning sickness, nausea and vomittingI get asked a lot if I have any morning sickness or nausea. No! I have never had morning sickness, nausea or vomitting during any of my pregnancies. So week 14 of pregnancy #4, so far so good! No morking sickness, no nausea, no vomitting!Thank You God!


Learning to listen to my body is forcing me to take it easy, honestly the time resting is driving me nut! I spend that time going through some magazines, reading a bunch of health articles online, listening to some songs, writing some posts for next week ...yeah, I might be resting but that doesn't mean that I am doing 'nothing'!  My daughter has been playing some funny movies in my room (she enjoys her time doing things away from her brothers) and it was good to get some good laughs! I have also spent a lot of time mentally designing the future nursery and my new craft room! (See http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/07/breaking-newshun-i-got-some-news-for.html to know what I am talking about!)

Oh...today I had time to research some old songs. I 'found' a song I looooved during my childhood! 'Grovin' by UB 40. I was crazy about their voice when I was younger so I added some of their songs on the main music playlist on this blog! I did add a few other songs on the playlist today, hope you will enjoy them...

That's about it for the updates on week 14! Thanks for stopping by!
~Whether you are pregnant or not please keep in mind that listening to your body is very important! So take care of yourself!~

 Stay tuned for more updates, please share your own stories and talk to you soon!
 I added this song to my playlist today and I pray that life is wonderful to you...

Thanks to you all for your love and your support, to the pregnant women reading this: Happy pregnancy!





N'na

Good eat: Homemade quick dinner : A vegetarian dish with mushroom and herb pasta dish

Hello dear!

Today I wanted to talk food! If you are a regular around here you already know that tasty food and meaningful eating is one of my passions (smiles)! So I simply wanted to end this week by sharing a simple dish that I find myself making quite often lately, and for good reasons!
1) My husband and children love it!
2) The ingredients can easily be "prepped" ahead of time!
3) Most of the ingredients can be precooked and refrigerated or even frozen!
4) Either I cook it from scratch or precook some ingredients, the dish is simple and quick to make!
5) The dish is versatile and can include any meat/seafood of your choice or nothing but herbs.
6) This dish is an excuse for me to use my fresh herbs and fill the house with the natural and wonderful aroma of nature's best culinary herbs!






The dish I am sharing was made with:
oil
precooked pasta
1/2 pack of mushrooms
1/2 tomato
1/2 green pepper
some fresh and dried herbs such as basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley,oregano,cilantro
garlic
salt


Off to a great start: Culinary herbs from my kitchen garden!
I selected the following from my herb garden: Basil,thyme,rosemary,oregano. It always smells good when I chop them...

 I am getting things set up by having sort of a " Mise en place"! I have already washed my tomato and green pepper with a mixture of water and white vinegar. I actually rinsed my herbs with the same solution even though my herbs are from my own kitchen garden I still rinse everything! No E-coli in this kitchen because I am a stickler on rinsing everything I use! Even if what you purchase is prepackaged you should still rinse before cooking/eating because you don't know how well it was rinsed! Better safe than sorry!

I put a little bit of oil in the wok, once it's hot it's time for my mushrooms...

Mushrooms

Oh...dear... it already smells so good around here....

Mushrooms and fresh herbs

 Under normal circumstances I would have added some fresh garlic, everything taste greater with garlic, if you ask me. I held off on the fresh garlic because I am pregnant and I am taking it easy on the strong flavors!

Mushrooms with herbs, green peppers, and tomatoes.

 I throw in the pasta, spice them with some more herbs and add a little bit of salt. I mix it all up and work it really good!
The herbs I selected are dried herbs from my spice cabinet that I also call my natural medicine cabinet. They are : dried parsley, Italian seasoning, dried oregano and dried basil, humm...the food looks so colorful and will taste pretty flavorful.

The pasta were precooked a few days before and refrigerated! Thankfully I saved time that night.
A few evenings prior to fixing this dish I actually fix the same dish with just a minor difference. Days before I used some precooked onions,mushrooms and green peppers.

 I did not add tomato to the dish on that night so I added some oil to the pasta as I was mixing my dried herbs. This time around, by having some tomato in it, it created some 'juice' to my dish and kept me from adding olive oil when mixing the dried herbs in.
Here, even though I saved time on the pasta, I still had to make everything else from scratch!

 Spicing things a little with a touch of chili pepper from my kitchen garden!

Chili pepper

Voila! Ready to chow! Like we say in French ..." Bon appetit"!

Mushrooms and pasta

Scrapping the wok for some leftovers....I want to cry...there's no more!

" C'etait trop bon" ( It was too good)

Try it and tell me what you think! There's nothing like some fresh herbs to take a simple dish to the next level!
Like I mentionned earlier, I fix some variations of that dish quite often for my husband and oldest son who love the fresh herbs in the pasta. Some days I add meat, or shrimp ,most days it's just herbs alone in the pasta. We rarely eat meat so we are cool with a pescetarian or vegetarian version! With the right seasonings the dish is still very tasty! I just use whatever ingredients I have and adapt my dish to what's available! I can do without any meat or seafood as long as I have the fresh and dried herbs! Thanks to my kitchen garden I no longer lack fresh herbs!

There was a time, years ago, when I would easily get  frustrated for not having any herbs while cooking. I would be cooking something and need some herbs for a dish but lacked the time to run to the store or would have to spend a lot to buy a bunch when all I need was a few leaves! Having a herb garden for the past 4 years have made cooking more fun and delightful! During the winter I cut most of my plants and freeze some herbs to make sure that I still have some to enjoy during the cold weather.

Do you have a simple mushroom and pasta recipe you would recommend? What's your favorite culinary herb?
Happy and healthy eating!

N'na

Eco-friendly living & Green decor~Ideas for natural decorating with baskets

Hello dear!

I hope all is well with you as you read this today! In a recent article I talked about simple ways to an eco-friendly lifestyle http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/07/simple-ways-to-eco-friendly-and-green.html. Today I want to talk about Green decor and share a gallery of pictures of some of my favorite items.

With all the interest nowadays in living an eco-friendly life and implementing Green concepts even in our decor I find that there's one element that make our decorating lives very simple and versatile. I am talking about...

Bolga Baskets

Yessss! Baskets!

I have noticed that no matter what our decorating skills are or no matter what our decor style is, baskets are the one thing that are always incorporated in our decor. We seem attracted to them, if not for their styles, for their purpose as superb organizing/storage items.

The Bolga baskets, (the first picture above), are nice for shopping but I can see them storing items in a guest bedroom, keep a few magazines tidy, host some children toys or hold some beach items etc. Well, there's no rules for using baskets! What I love about them is that they can so easily change functions.

One day they serve one purpose, another day the same basket can be used for something else! Not too many items can boast such versatility don't you think?

 ~Green fruit basket~

Having a fruit basket on a kitchen counter is not just pretty it's also a great reminder to eat healthy!

Fruit basket

 ~Green bathroom basket~
This basket below keep some bathroom items and my homemade bathroom cleaner (in the green spray bottle).  My Green bathroom cleaner has for ingredients water and white vinegar! Now that's truly eco-friendly!

Bathroom basket

 ~Green kitchen basket~
This tiny basket was hard for me to use until my middle son cleverly started using it to harvest some herbs each time I will send him to collect some  for cooking or for making teas!

Small basket!

I use baskets in my pantry to store cookies' packs, onions, potatoes, plantains bananas etc...

~Green treasure chest~

Storage basket a.k.a my treasure chest!

Baskets in form of trunks are probably one of my favorite type of baskets! I call them my treasure chests because I always keep very sentimental items in them, my favorite books and my jounals! Yeah that might not sound sentimental to you but I love books and there are some that I like going through very frequently so I keep them very accessible! I also love journaling in cute journals!I tend to buy them and just store them for future occasions or even as gifts! When you have a lot of books and/or journals, they can easily turn to clutter! I like to keep mine neatly organized...

Storage basket for journals!

Storage baskets a.k.a my treasure chests!

The baskets below are on my wishlist! They are sold at the World Market! I love the colors!

Below is a short video showing how versatile they are and how they fit in my personal life!

 Enjoy!

As you can see baskets are beautiful and resourceful and there's not just one way to use them!

~ Green gift baskets~

Baskets are not just great for storage and decorating, they are also awesome for giving!

We all love to receive a nice gift basket! I for one love to make them as well! It's great to make something special for others! Isn't it?

 I made the basket below on Valentine day for a customer! The wife was so excited! She said it was the best gift basket she ever received! Most items were secented with lavender and eucalyptus which are great for inducing relaxation. There were also little touches that make my giving meaningful!

The basket was truly loaded!!! Now here's a basket that's sure to remind you to just "Enjoy life and Chilllax as much as possible"! Please read this article for more pampering ideas http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/01/pampering-yourself-is-good-for-your.html ....

Pampering  basket "Just for you"!

That's it for today dear! Thanks for staying around and hope you enjoyed this post! If you are new here please join the circle of friends! It would be a pleasure to see you here and hear from you often!

So that was my spin on baskets! What about you? How do you use baskets in your daily life and in your decor? Happy Green decorating!

 

N'na

Natural pregnancy week by week

Hello you all!

How are you? I know I promised you some updates on the 'breaking news'!
http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/07/breaking-newshun-i-got-some-news-for.html


So I had my first prenatal doctor's visit.
Took me half a hour to fill up some paperwork, thank God I went early!
My appointment was for 9:00 am and I was at the office by 8:30! It took so much time to answer all the health history questions etc...

                                                                  The lab works

So I did the usual urine test, (right on time...)
Weight in: 5 lbs gain!
Blood pressure test, my BP was perfect!
Did the blood work, (She took like 5-6 tubes )
Got the physical and went ahead and got a Pap smear done,  heard the baby's heartbeat yeaah..(it sounds like a galloping horse)!

The urine test came first
I then waited a few minutes to get them to weight me and take my BP.

                                         Prenatal visit and a woman's right to pretty shoes...

When I first got called the first thing the nurse asked was how to pronounce my name, the second thing she said was " I love your shoes"! I thanked her and told her that I have 3 pairs of these shoes! ( I know it's crazy but I just love them.) She explained to me about the urine test and then left. I waited a few minutes before moving on to the rest of the tests that my visit entitled!
When a different nurse called me to take my weight,her first comment was about my shoes, the nurse taking my Blood Pressure asked where I was from and she kept checking out my shoes and complimented them, then a third nurse stepped in and noticed my shoes right away and complimented them and commented that they match well my dress and even my nail polish!

We don't expect a fashion revue when at a doctor's office but I must tell you it felt good to get these compliments! When you are starting to feel frustrated, challenged and limited with your wardrobe comments like those help a whole lot! Like I told them I have three pairs of those shoes, because, as one of them assumed, they are very comfortable in addition to being very pretty! I love pretty things and I love comfort! I am not the type of girl you will catch in pretty shoes that cause a lot of pain!
(I will add a picture of the shoes later on! I am writing in a rush!)

Picture update

Prenatal doctor's visit!

After my time with these fashion critics/nurses I waited in a private room (pictured above)...I waited like 15-20 mns before I was seen by the midwife. Thank God I had my crosswords puzzles book with me or I would have lost patience like a fly trapped in a small space. I never go anywhere without a book in my purse and my puzzles book have kept me sane at many occasions when my patience was running low!

                                                              Pregnancy and exercises

The midwife came in. The first thing we did was go over my paperwork. She had some questions naturally! She was curious about the fact that I do work out more than 3 times per week. (The paperwork does require to specify how often you work out).
She asked me what kind of exercises I do and I explained that I normally run on the treadmill but haven't done it in the past 3 weeks. I still walk one hour most days, I stretch daily for at least 20 minutes. I did not care to tell her that I do squats and lunges every other days.
 She asked if I plan on working out as the pregnancy progresses, my answer " Of course! Exercising and staying healthy is more important now" I said! I went on to say that I am very much aware that it's thanks to exercising that I have had some healthy pregnancies in the past and some prompt recoveries!
She was also interested in the kind of supplements I take, (the paperwork inquires about medication, supplements etc) I am not under medication, haven't been since the pain killers of my last C-section!
                                                   
                                                               Details about my supplements
The midwife was curious about my supplements and I explained that they do include the prenatal vitamins I started taking recently and they also include the following:  B12, Folic Acid, Fish oil, and Magnesium. I have been taking all these supplements daily or weekly for months now and I continue to take them in spite of the fact that some of them (B12 and Folic Acid) are present in the prenatal vitamins that I now take.
Magnesium keeps you regular and believe me I am seriously sticking to it because pregnancy causes constipation and constipation is BAD if you plan on being very healthy! The midwife seemed surprised that I knew the benefits of magnesium as a supplement to prevent constipation.
 B12 is already present in the prenatal vitamin but I still take that supplement because B12 is the 'energy vitamin' and I need energy now more than ever!  Please check the following article for more info about the importance pf vitamin B12
http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/02/little-introduction-to-benefits-of.html

 Folic Acid is the most important vitamin during pregnancy, as a matter of fact it's very important even before pregancy!

After the questions and answers session and sharing some general info, I got a physical and I got to hear the sound of the baby...Aw www so sweet!
I told my midwife that my hubby and children would love to listen to it so after I got dressed a nurse gathered them from the lobby and we crammed that small room while I laid once again for a sonogram! It was great to share this with all my children but the best was saved for last!

                                                       Ultrasound and more shoes talks
I got my blood work done while waiting on the ultrasound to determine how far along I am in my pregnancy! I was so glad to get the ultrasound done because they were not sure that they could fit me in in the schedule since they were only working half day today! I said a little prayer on the subject that God graciously answered!
After getting all of us set up in the ultrasound room, I was about to lean back on the bed when the lady doing my ultrasound said " Oh you are the lady with the pretty shoes!" It caught me off guard...

Picture update

Here are my favorite shoes!

I was surprised that words have gotten around about my shoes. My hubby made a comment on the way home that only us women would do things like that, check people from head to toes and talk about them "and their shoes" (lol).

                                                              Special moments
Having my children watch the ultrasound was a special moment! They had tons of questions, made their smart comments about their little sibling in my tummy and found that it was the best part of the visit! I agree with them! I feel so grateful for this blessing! It's so amazing to be able to see a baby at such an early stage and it's awesome to be 'chosen' to carry a new life! I have always respected the gift of 'fertility' because I am so aware of others 'misfortunes and I spend so much time praying in secret for others less fortunate, to experience that gift!

                                                             Still guessing how far along I am
So... we had the ultrasound and my hubby was surprised to be wrong in his estimate!
He thought I was just 8 weeks. I have been telling him how many weeks I thought I was, but he acted like he knows my body better than me, (making a face).
 It turns out that my prediction were pretty close, the ultrasound revealed that I am actually at...umm let's make you wait...

       I will give you some hints

• in 2 more weeks I should be able to feel the baby move,
•  in 7 weeks we will know the sex of the baby

      So how many weeks am I?

Picture update:  me after my prenatal visit

Got to rush out of here, will be back with pictures and will update this post sometimes tonight or tomorrow! Have a great week-end and thanks to you all for your love!

To any expecting woman reading this, I wish you too a Happy Pregnancy!
Okay got to go, hubby is ruuushing me!
~Hugs~

N'na

Breaking News!Hun I got some news for you!

Hello readers!
I hope all is well with you as I write this update!
If you are like most Followers you have probably noticed that I have written less frequently last month and the month before than I did months ago! Yes, I went from like 12-13 articles a month to 6 then 4...wow! No I am not slacking...Something happened and it slowed me down a little...

Some friends and readers have emailed me on facebook and made the observation that they have noticed that I was writing less...I did not want to break the news for a while because it even took me a while to realize what was going on...what was going on in my body!

I was feeling constantly tired and my best friend in New jersey was intrigued that someone like me would
 " suddenly" be lacking energy and be so tired!
She detected that something serious must be going with me...humm...she then started inquiring about my health, asking quite frequently and with insistence if I was pregnant! " Noooo" I kept saying!!!

Knowing me to be energetic and healthy her quick and only diagnosis of the situation was that I was suffering from a pregnancy!

Diagnosis I strongly rejected and denied, not just to her but to myself as well...until she finally sent me a text one day asking me to " just take a pregancy test and we will know"...


Okay...So I did take the test...
   .

and it was   POSITIVE!!!!

OMG I am pregnant! I am pregnant!

I got to tell you the truth I was not jumping up and down on this one!

My last child is 4 and pregnancy means things like...
"Gosh got to put aside all those summer capris I finally squeezed myself in with much comfort! Oh nooo the sleepless nights feeding a baby...Lord have mercy I will have to change some stinky diapers again, and another child to potty train! For real after training my last child and then my dog I was hoping to retire from potty training! I don't want to potty train EVER AGAIN ( sounding like a child with a temper tantrum). What's more I will have to carry around those obnoxious car seats! I don't like carrying around car seats and strollers( In a pouting voice)  ...

Well... that was my internal dialogue the days I was in denial, the night I found out that I was indeed pregnant and do I have this dialogue once in a while!

Thankfully...yes...thankfully my internal dialogue has improved ! I am more and more excited! Now I think more about the fact that  I will once again experience a baby moving in my belly, seriously that's one of the most beautiful thing about pregnancy! Oh and I will have a new decorating project, how fun! Oh my I will get another child to hold against my chest till we fall asleep and another baby to cuddle and have goofy talks with! There will be cute irresistible little hands to hold and little feet to kiss!!! Babies' feet are so cute! (You all know that pass a certain age, feet are not always kissable material)!
I am so grateful that I will marvel once again at the beauty and mystery of life...

 So yes friends, my health goals, my wardrobe and my living spaces have to be totally redesigned and some of my short and long term plans as well! But it's okay, I am okay!!!  A baby is quite a beautiful change ...umm okay I just had to play referee between my two boys...what was I saying...beautiful? Umm... might have to rethink that statement at the moment...

But you know what? I did not plan this pregnancy like I did my other ones, so since it's here, and it was a total surprise I might as well make the most of it and enjoy it! Don't you think? Yes, I plan on enjoying this special blessing and I will take you and other " kindred spirits" along this journey...journey of a new life...
So that's the news...friends, I am pregnant...



Oh if you want to know how far along I am...All I can say is that....I don't even know!!!
Ha ha ha! My first doctor's visit is tomorrow...So you have to return for the updates....

If you like guessing games you can try guessing...how far along do you think I am?

pregnancy (belly) picture

N'na