Not what I expected! YUCK!! Weird thing is, the dog doesn't appear to have fleas. My couch doesn't have fleas. Both her beds, upstairs and down, don't have fleas. The rest of my house doesn't have fleas. But my upstairs bathroom where she rarely resides? I caught and flushed 2 fleas this morning! To be fair, in early September Lola was outside in a known flea friendly area and I hadn't treated her before or after. So the plan for today: run to Walmart and get a spray bottle. Then I am making a natural flea repellant for the dog and the house. This is supposed to work on ticks and mosquitoes as well. I sure hope it works on those horrible little black biting bugs that are out enmasse right now.
Essential oils to use in a recipe I found:
Lavender
Citronella
Cedar - I have cypress, that should be close enough
Peppermint
Eucalyptus
Lemongrass
I think I'll add some tea tree, oregano, geranium, and rosemary. Depending on the scent, I may add some sweet orange, but the lemongrass and lavender should react nicely with the oregano essential oil. That one, while highly useful, in my opinion, stinks!
I gotta say though, this is a benefit of raw feeding. With all our other dogs, they were all on kibble and every one of them had dry flaky skin and could definitely use a bath at least once per month, preferably more often. They would get that greasy buildup and dander - but Lola? Not since switching to raw feeding. Her skin is beautiful, no greasy buildup, and even better - she smells rather pleasant and not dog-like! This is probably why I found only 2 fleas and not 1,000. :)
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Evolution or De-Evolution?
More from my "I'm wide awake in the middle of the night" thoughts . . . Is the human race continuing to evolve, or are we de-evolving?
With all the advancements in modern medicine (hey, I don't hate it ALL) look how many people are able to lead happy healthy productive lives and produce children of their own . . . people that without medical intervention would never have survived to procreate. Since we value people so highly, most people think this is a wonderful thing! And it is. :) But thinking about it strictly from a Survival of the Fittest approach . . . what kind of genetics have those people passed on to the next generations? Some genetics don't seem to matter too much while others do.
Look at all the kids born in today's world that become autistic, have Down Syndrome, ADD, ADHD, or any number of other issues that I can't remember the acronyms for. Looking back at the last 100 years or even further, we didn't use to have THAT many of these kids with issues. So . . .what's causing this? Is it strictly genetic, strictly environmental, or both? Well, with the discovery of autism related genes and we know that Down's is the extra 21st chromosome (that most agree now happens at conception but still don't know WHY it happens) . . . let's go genetic.
But, seeing how going back to the basics of GFCF, Specific Carbhydrate, and nightshade free diets, along with the help of therapies and supplements, has helped so many kids recover significantly if not fully recover . . . it has to be environmental too since they get worse on today's Standard American Diet that doctors so highly recommend.
So how did we get here? Did we evolve to have those genetic predispositions by way of helping those to survive that under "Survival of the Fittest" would otherwise not have survived? Is it that the older generations adapted to the new processed foods, but it changed their genetics giving rise to these new genetics? And can you really call it "evolution" thinking it means moving forward when we have to go back to basics to heal our kids . . . should it be called de-evolution because we need simpler, unprocessed foods?
Yeah, this is the kind of thing I think about when I'm wide awake at night . . .
With all the advancements in modern medicine (hey, I don't hate it ALL) look how many people are able to lead happy healthy productive lives and produce children of their own . . . people that without medical intervention would never have survived to procreate. Since we value people so highly, most people think this is a wonderful thing! And it is. :) But thinking about it strictly from a Survival of the Fittest approach . . . what kind of genetics have those people passed on to the next generations? Some genetics don't seem to matter too much while others do.
Look at all the kids born in today's world that become autistic, have Down Syndrome, ADD, ADHD, or any number of other issues that I can't remember the acronyms for. Looking back at the last 100 years or even further, we didn't use to have THAT many of these kids with issues. So . . .what's causing this? Is it strictly genetic, strictly environmental, or both? Well, with the discovery of autism related genes and we know that Down's is the extra 21st chromosome (that most agree now happens at conception but still don't know WHY it happens) . . . let's go genetic.
But, seeing how going back to the basics of GFCF, Specific Carbhydrate, and nightshade free diets, along with the help of therapies and supplements, has helped so many kids recover significantly if not fully recover . . . it has to be environmental too since they get worse on today's Standard American Diet that doctors so highly recommend.
So how did we get here? Did we evolve to have those genetic predispositions by way of helping those to survive that under "Survival of the Fittest" would otherwise not have survived? Is it that the older generations adapted to the new processed foods, but it changed their genetics giving rise to these new genetics? And can you really call it "evolution" thinking it means moving forward when we have to go back to basics to heal our kids . . . should it be called de-evolution because we need simpler, unprocessed foods?
Yeah, this is the kind of thing I think about when I'm wide awake at night . . .
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Serious stuff for the day
I was reading a blog interview with the creator of Crappy Pictures (which are totally hilarious, by the way!). She talked about seeing that "perfect mom" in the grocery store who is always put together; her kids are spotless and well behaved. Huh. This just made me think a little since Kaiden is getting much more mobile and is very store-shelf grabby. Right now I think he's fun to shop with . . . although I'm sure that's going to change and soon I'll be begging people to babysit just so I can spend a few peaceul moments by myself at the grocery store!
Sometimes I feel like I try to project that Perfect Mom image. When I get dressed for the day, I try to look "put together", I like it and it makes me feel like I can accomplish more . . . I don't know why, but everyone likes to look good, right? So when I think Kaiden's going to be messy, I don my apron to save my clothes - which really is just because I don't care if the apron gets stained, but I don't want to have to do special laundry for a stained shirt. I'm lazy like that. And my apron is pretty, so of course I like wearing it. I do make sure Kaiden is clean before we head out the door anyway. Or at least in a clean diaper with a clean face. And Kaiden is fairly well-behaved in the stores . . . as long as I keep the cart moving.
But this isn't my point.
My point is, back when Kaiden was having seizures and wasn't doing much of anything at all . . . it was easy to look like that Perfect Mom. But little did anyone that saw us know how frustrating life with a special needs child can be. While that was a really rough time, I am thankful for it since it makes me REALLY appreciate how Kaiden is now.
So, the next time you see that Perfect Mom and think she's got it all and you sometimes wish you had that life . . . remember that things aren't always what they seem.
Sometimes I feel like I try to project that Perfect Mom image. When I get dressed for the day, I try to look "put together", I like it and it makes me feel like I can accomplish more . . . I don't know why, but everyone likes to look good, right? So when I think Kaiden's going to be messy, I don my apron to save my clothes - which really is just because I don't care if the apron gets stained, but I don't want to have to do special laundry for a stained shirt. I'm lazy like that. And my apron is pretty, so of course I like wearing it. I do make sure Kaiden is clean before we head out the door anyway. Or at least in a clean diaper with a clean face. And Kaiden is fairly well-behaved in the stores . . . as long as I keep the cart moving.
But this isn't my point.
My point is, back when Kaiden was having seizures and wasn't doing much of anything at all . . . it was easy to look like that Perfect Mom. But little did anyone that saw us know how frustrating life with a special needs child can be. While that was a really rough time, I am thankful for it since it makes me REALLY appreciate how Kaiden is now.
So, the next time you see that Perfect Mom and think she's got it all and you sometimes wish you had that life . . . remember that things aren't always what they seem.
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