My happiness project

2016 Update: My happiness project had to be put on hold for a few years as I couldn't take it on as all my focus was on getting our son better and I also had some health issues. 
I will be resuming it in the near future as I still think it would be a great thing to do, so I'll keep ye posted :) 

A few months ago I came across this book named The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and I put it onto my amazon wish list, but left it there and forgot about it. Then, just over a week ago I felt like life needed some changes so I went looking for it again, bought it, and voila! I was hooked!

What a wicked book! Some chapters were a bit tedious, which is understandable as everyone's happiness project is specific for themselves, and some aspects of her project weren't relevant to my life, but I took the ideas I needed from it and have decided to start my own Happiness Project for 2014. 

As the title of this blog suggests, I am a happy person, surrounded by people I love, living in a place that gives me comfort and peace, but there is room for improvement. I'm not quiet the bubbly, confident, outrageous Kathie I used to be, now I understand the majority of that comes from sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and just life, but I am determined to get my mojo back :) Bearing in mind I will be turning 30 in two weeks, I think this is the perfect project. I'm loving the fact of being nearly 30. I've learned so much over the last few years, and had my two babies, who are growing up so fast, and now I feel like a new lease of life, a fresh healthy start, with more wisdom is underway. I have an amazing fiance whom I can share this all with, the idea of a new number gives me a clean page - energy for a fresh start. I'm loving it!!! :)

So, right, my happiness project...I'll use Mrs. Rubins steps as a guideline...ie. I'm going to keep some mantras at hand that I love, and set myself goals. One for each month of 2014. Of course I'd love to do all of them at once, but I know me, so at the risk of getting nothing achieved at all, small steps have to be taken. 

Over the last few days I've been wondering what I need to sort out to become a happier person, of course Mr. T's health issues to go away would be my first and foremost, but we are already doing the best we can there, so here goes my new years resolutions if you like;

January - Catch up on sleep! I haven't had a full nights sleep since Morocco in January 2011! 
February - Be healthier. There's always room for improvement, and ailments can be made better. 
March - Time management. I'm such a spacer at times!
April - Be a better mum. I know I can and should do better.
May - Tom time. After a difficult year we need to have a bit more fun and time together. 
June - Accept my post baby body. A stumbling block for my usual confident self. 
July - Spend more time outside. A great healer for all sorts. 
August - Be a better friend/family member.  I love them all, so it's worth it :)
September - More me time. Where did that go?
October - Attitude. Find my crazy old self and take some new risks. 
November - Career. I don't want to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. Make decisions. 
December - Did it work? and enjoy Christmas. 

Then, I'm going to try hang up these mantras somewhere and hopefully they'll sink into my brain...

- Lighten up.
- Yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery, but today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. 
- See the sea.
- Behave as you want to feel
- Laugh when you can, apologise when you should, and let go of what you can't change. 
- Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength. 
- Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, body thoroughly elated and fulfilled, worn out, and screaming: 'WOO-HOO! what a ride!"

Well I'm excited about this. Even since deciding to do this I'm happier :) I may seem a bit self indulgent and boring to write a blog about my own happiness project, but if Gretchen Rubin hadn't written about hers, I wouldn't be full of excitement and determination now to do my own. A happier me = a happier family & more happy memories. To be happier is healthier, and better fun!

Thank you 2013 for the lessons I have learned, but 2014, I am glad you are nigh, please be kind, and lets have a blast. Have a great new years eve, and good luck to all in 2014! 

Happy Christmas!

I would hereby like to wish all my readers a merry Christmas and a really festive holiday season. Thank you all so much for following my blog, and fingers crossed the next year will bring more good news and experiences. 

As I realised today, Christmas can be a challenge for severe eczema/allergic babies with wrapping paper, plastic, egg filled cakes and biscuits, and plenty of visitors but thanks to Tom and my mother we managed it well and enjoyed the rest of the day. Stay strong folks! Our most wanted Christmas present of a healthy, itch & irritated free baby may not have been granted, but with will, work and wisdom we will get there. :) I've tried to just tell myself to stay focused, calm and strong. It seems like a mind boggling endless puzzle at times but we have come far in the last year. 

May 2014 also be a brilliant year for all. I am hoping to blog more about my ramblings, I find myself 'mentally blogging' a lot. I just have to get it on screen. I have a few projects in mind for the new year, and will hopefully be able to share more gardening stories as well as the usual infantile eczema ideas and updates. A little more positivity and fun! So if you're interested, keep an eye out. 

Well have a good one guys, cherish whom you have to share this time with. Most of us are very lucky to be with such loving family, with such abundant food and warmth. Have fun! I'm off to bed. Christmas dinner leftovers & Jamie Oliver's mulled cider is on the cards tomorrow. Yum! 

Infantile eczema update - December 2013

(I will provide links & better editing on this post in the morning when at the computer. For now, this is all that's possible via my phone)

Hey folks, 

I haven't given ye an update in a while as to how our little Mr.T is doing. I've been trying to get life a little more normal over the last few months. It's hard going when you're constantly fighting to keep your little baby (toddler now!) from being ill, and keeping the rest of the family sane and happy too, as well as myself,..... Must not forget! 

I had been warned about the colder months having a bad effect on Mr.T's eczema, but now that it's happening it's still difficult to watch. The winter winds make his cheeks drier and more prone so I try keep him greased up when he's outside.. But the warm air inside also makes his skin drier. The first weeks of winter this was very apparent and even the skin that had been healed under his organic clothes over the last 6 months got dry. Tom suggested we try the oatmeal baths. I had been cautious before as some people are allergic to oatmeal, but we decided to give it a try. He didn't react, and it definitely helps. 

For anyone wanting to try it here goes:

- Put a cupful of organic oat flakes into a muslin cloth, tie together with a hairband to keep it nice and secure. 

- Put it into your bath as you fill the hot water first. What is recommended is that you only run the hot water and leave the oat flakes steep until the bath is the correct temperature for your child. ( the same temperature as your elbow when dipped into the water.) Usually though we don't have that much time as it's either bedtime soon or Mr.T is itchy and needs relief fast. So we run the hot water, leave it steep a while, and then run the cold until it's at a suitable temperature. 

- the muslin bag will feel slimy and squishy. We use this as a sponge to wash him down, and then just have a bit of play and splashing until he's ready to get out. 

The oatmeal baths leave his skin lovely and soft, and after that we've been applying the itchy baby balm or Vaseline on skin that has been thoroughly dried with a clean soft towel. (Yes, I know, I'm not a fan of petroleum products, but when you're seeking anything at all that can give your child relief, then sometimes needs must, even just for a little while. ) I generally leave his good skin alone now after a bath, why try fix something that isn't broken eh? The skin thats healthy seems to be happy doing it's own moisturising. 

On the contrary, I can't say the same for his cheeks, ears, and hands. If I left them moisturise themselves Mr.T would have itchy bleeding sores. After his oatmeal baths we dry these areas as best we can, and then,....well I haven't found a solution. We've been trying alsorts. Here's some that spring to mind immediately:

- homemade lard - we're lucky enough to live on a small holding where we had our own two pigs for the freezer (appropriately named 'Rasher' and 'Chop'). Thanks to Toms geniusness as I call it we now have our own pig lard, homegrown, without antibiotics and GM food. I usually use it for cooking when olive oil, grape seed oil or rapeseed oil aren't called for, but we decided to try it as a moisturiser. What harm could it do? At least we know what's in it,.... Well, it wasn't the miracle cream. It moisturised, and I still use it on him sometimes, but it didn't ward off more sensitivity. 

- sudocreme, works well sometimes, but I feel it can be quiet harsh when he's badly inflamed. 

- cumin seed oil/ coconut oil/ beeswax, all do the same as the lard really, good for keeping the skin moisturised, but does nothing for being inflamed. 

- steroid cream, yes. At our wits end we tried it. I didn't want to go back using it as I feel in the long run it makes Mr.T more susceptible, but we did try a course of it. I thought maybe our house was detergent free enough that maybe his skin just needed a helping hand to heal. Maybe it would kick start a cycle of stronger skin cells that would in turn be stronger against mild, occasional, unavoidable detergent exposure, but no. We tried the steroid cream, thinly, for about 4/5 days and though it stopped Mr.T itching and the redness might have faded slightly for an hour or two, it would be back. It wasn't worth staying on it. Needless to say, I still have detergent in the house, but where? It's heartbreaking. 

- Since my own face is super sensitive I now use organic chamomile tea as a toner. We're also trying to dab this on Mr.T's sore areas after washing, then dab that dry again, and either moisturise or leave air at it if it doesn't look dry. 

- Hopes relief intensive moisturiser, this seemed great for a while but it seems Mr.T is like me and builds up intolerances to skin creams after a while. Hopes relief is one of them. I tried it on my face to test and my face didn't like it. Lol. Sounds strange I know, but if my face can handle a cream, then it's MILD! :)

So yeah, that's what springs to mind. I must have detergent in the house. It baffles me. We had a week in September where I thought we might have crossed the final hurdle but no. Then we've had someone stay with us that was secretly smoking, and made Mr.T exposed to perfume which set us back again. We've also had wintery weather. I keep going through it in my head, what are we missing? We've been at this for 9 months now since we discovered Mr.T's reaction to detergents, and we should have gotten to a stage of maintenance rather than detective work 5 months ago. Instead we're exhausted and not thinking clearly, running round in circles. Don't get me wrong, we have achieved masses, Mr.T has skin on his body now, soft, baby skin, and he sleeps without having to be 'restrained' by us from scratching, and he hasn't got infected bleeding sores anymore, but this last hurdle, grrrrrrr,.... It's invisible and we haven't managed to combat it. 

His cheeks, hands and ears are what still give him away as being a child with severe infantile eczema. I am trying to figure out step by step what is causing it. 

There is a forum from the solve eczema site, that I haven't yet had a chance to look at. I think this will be my next port of call when I get a chance over the next month. 

I put Mr.T to bed tonight and looked at him and thought what a strong little boy. How special is he. I just wish he wouldn't have to go through this. I just said sorry, for not having combated it so far. He doesn't know what a carefree life is yet, but it is my mission as his mum to provide him with a loving, balanced carefree childhood. I just have to try stay focused,....... The answer is right in front of me - somewhere.