no 'poo

lately, ive seen this "no 'poo" trend floating around pinterest and facebook, and given the relationship i have had with my hair ever since willow was born (see this post), i was desperate for something different. and short of chopping my hair completely off, i was willing to do something drastic.

"no 'poo", means no more washing your hair with shampoo (or using conditioner for that matter). its meant to make your hair fuller, and livelier and all around healthier/better. there are loads of bad things found in commercial hair "care" products, that for me, i think outweighs the good. now, i know im probably a bit late to jump on the whole "no 'poo" bandwagon. after all, it has been a trend since the beginning of mankind (im talking eve in the garden!) and considering commercial shampoo only became a thing at the turn of the 20th century, what did they do before all that? im betting, nothing!

now, before you get all "ewww" on me, i do wash my hair still. about every three/four days i wash with baking soda and apple cider vinegar. 1tbsp baking soda to 1 cup water for the "shampoo" (scalp only!) and 1tbsp apple cider vinegar to 1 cup water for the "conditioner".  easy peasy!

anyhow, im three weeks into it and i must say that day 9 was the hardest. it was itchy itchy itchy.
so much so, that on day 10, i had my husband do an inspection for creepy crawlies. (negative results, btw! phew)
and on day 12, when that crow pooped on my head as soon as i walked out the front door on the way to church, you bet i was WISHING i had a bottle of proper shampoo to lather up with.
and also, how on every day since the first wash, i realised how terrible apple cider vinegar smells in the steam of the shower? i feel like i should be eating a cucumber.

day one

day twenty-one

okay, a couple things:

one, i apologise profusely for the unprofessional/awkward/terribleness that is the quality of these pictures. what can i do when i have a fussy babe whose top teeth are about to emerge any second?

second, from even the quickest glance my hair looks a million times better on day one than three weeks into this little experiment. i definitely did not brush/prepare for these pictures.  

third, it might look worse on day twenty-one, but my hair feels much better than before. it feels thicker and fuller. and okay okay, i promise to brush it now and then.

fourth, i mostly just like the fact that i don't have to buy shampoo and/or wash my hair anymore. 

in conclusion, we will see how long i stick with this. i really like that fact that i wont have to worry about bringing/buying shampoo anymore (which will make travel and staying as guests at houses, etc. super easy), and i love the fact that i can save money on shampoo that really isn't doing anything good for my hair in the first place. i also love that i can do anything in regards to my hair/skin with just the things i have in my kitchen. 

also, a big thumbs up to my husband for doing all of this with me.

on being willow worrells mother: month 4 & 5

being willow worrells mother means learning a whole new language with which to speak because i know that willow likes to communicate like a grown-up infant these days. (you know, plenty of "moomoomoomoo"'s and "ma ma ma ma"'s and "eeeeeeee"'s and such)

being willow worrells mother means making myself look like a crazy person, just to get a giggle or smile out of that little girl, because i know that that smile or giggle is the best thing to happen to me all day.

being willow worrells mother means speaking in the first person the entire day, a narrative of sorts, because i know that willow likes to feel a part of it all, and it also reminds me that I'm never alone.

being willow worrells mother means never having to say "me" or "i" ever again, only "we" and "us" from now on.

being willow worrells mother means always being on the look out for that something that willows little hand will reach out and grab, because i know that she can pull something out of nothing.

being willow worrells mother means coming back into the room, after only having left it for a minute, to find willow trying her hardest to wiggle her way out of some impossible/embarrassing position/predicament that she had gotten herself in.

being willow worrells mother means making sure her bedtime bath is juuuust the right temperature, because i know that if its a tiny bit too warm for her liking, she will give me the strangest look, as if to say, "hey what do you think you're doing?"

being willow worrells mother means always ALWAYS having the next bite of mashed banana ready and on the spoon, because i know that she will have a proper meltdown if one bite isn't swiftly followed by the next.


(month 1)
(month 2 & 3)

winter

as of yesterday, winter is officially here. i woke up, and immediately felt the change, im telling you! there is that (ever haunting!) chill in the air.

its a dang good thing we're going to america in four+ (count 'em!) weeks! and we will be there for six (count 'em again!) weeks. let the sushi and sunshine begin!

family day (antique-ing)

we went for a family trip out to county wexford on monday. we took the ferry over (just the one in our village here) and along the drive we stumbled upon this quaint little tucked away antique shop/salvage yard. whose only indication of existence were a few signs with arrows to show the way. it took my breath away as we drove up. we didn't find anything we couldn't live without, but we did have a great chat with the owner, patrick. and we will indeed be back!

swings

sometimes, before all the kids come out to play (and the weather is suitable), we sneak into the play park and hang out on the swings. we cant go very high, or swing very long, but i sure enjoy the view.

home improvement

i've been in a sort of crazy flurry of home improvement over the past few days. well, more like feng-shui, since i haven't went out and bought anything, just a lot of moved (and improved!) furniture. when we moved in last year, we kind of just found a place for it all and hunkered down for the winter/expected arrival of the babe. in fact, the only room we actually thought out was willow's. ive been looking around our house and wondering why things were the way they were. just because they function well that way? why was this here and not there? why is that here at all? does this home reflect our family? so i have decided to put a bit more thought into the rest of our home. maybe its my way of avoiding the yearly itch to move house? (yes, its that time again...) or, like a friend said, a late nesting instinct? (reallllly late, NOT EARLY.)

anyway, we are renters, so there isnt much i can do. i dont even know if i can paint our bedroom walls. can't put any more nails in the walls, so im stuck with those "sticky but doesn't leave a mark" hook thingys and the nails that are already there. and most of the furniture that is here belongs to the landlord, so i have to work with what ive got. plus, i have a close to zero budget...but!

so far, I've rearranged my kitchen countertop space/cupboards, put some pictures on the pre-existing hooks on the living room wall (is it terrible that its been a year, and there are NO pictures of our family on the walls? must take good pictures!), took down the TERRIBLE curtains that belong to the landlord (whyyy did i leave them up for so long? oh yeah, nosy neighbours. must get more soon!), painted the white brick walls in the backyard (need to do the opposite wall, must buy more paint!), sanded and cushioned an old painted pine chest and turned it into a window seat for our entryway (well, im working on actually making it a proper entryway, not just a catch-all for shoes and car seats!), and loads of other re-arranged items/knick-knacks/furniture/goods.

anyway, will promise to take before and after pictures and post. (maybe. only if im proud of my shoddy work.) there is still so much swimming around in my brain that i want to do (bedroom, please?!). but for now, thank you pinterest for all your lovely ideas found so efficiently in one place!