Shaklee - All Natural Cleaning, Nutrition & Beauty products {Guest Post}

Today’s post was written by my friend and fellow nurse, Carolyn. Carolyn is an amazing mom to two ADORABLE boy/girl twins Eleanor and Trey. She has taken on the new adventure of being an independent consultant for a company called Shaklee. As she will explain, this was important to her while looking for kid-safe products to use around the house as her little ones began to explore their surroundings! I encourage you to contact Carolyn if what she talks about below interests you at all. 

Hi there everyone!

I'm Carolyn and I have known Kristen for about 5 years now since we were in nursing school together at the University of Cincinnati. She has so graciously allowed me to have a guest post on her blog today to share some great things about a company called Shaklee.

Within the past year, I learned about a company that has been around for more than 50 years, Shaklee. This company is an all natural health and nutrition company that is #1 in the world right now. I started my quest looking for a more "green or natural" company that sells cleaning products when my two little ones (two and a half year old twins) started to get a little more mobile. It would always make me nervous that they would come up to the freshly washed windows or counters and put there sweet little hands on something I just sprayed down with who knows what. Through the wonderful website of Pinterest and other blogs I found out about Shaklee! A company that offered non-toxic cleaning products but also vitamins, nutrition products, and beauty products-something for everyone! What's best about all the products Shaklee offers is that they are always safe, always work, and are always green.

I wanted to share some quick facts about two of my favorite cleaning products. Basic H and Basic G.

Basic H is an organic super cleaning concentrate that is a nontoxic, natural way to clean just about any surface in your house. It is super concentrated so one 16 oz bottle is going to last you a longggg time! You can use it as an all purpose, for windows and mirrors, or for tough jobs as a degreaser all depending on how much you dilute it with water.

-one bottle of Basic H = 5824 bottles of windex

-natural -nontoxic

-super concentrated

-no phosphates

-biodegradable surfactants

Basic G is a concentrated germicide that disinfects, cleans, and deodorizes all in one. It tackles over 40 different microbes and animal viruses which makes it perfect to use in the kitchen, bathroom, pet areas, wherever. It too is super concentrated with one bottle equaling 500 12 oz bottles of Lysol or Clorox. Also, this stuff has a residual effectiveness of up to 3 days, versus regular chlorine bleach which is effective no more than an hour after being used as a disinfectant; perfect to use as we enter the dreaded cold and flu season as winter approaches!

So that is just a little about two of my favorite products that Shaklee has to offer, I could go on and on and on about others like the VITAMINS but I'll save that for another day :)

If any of this sparked your interest at all and you would like to learn more or order please please please email me any questions at carolyn.burk@yahoo.com. And as always, everything they offer has a 100% money back guarantee, so of you try something and if for any reason your not completely satisfied, no questions asked, Shaklee refunds you 100%. That's a win win if you ask me!

Thanks so much!

Carolyn

24 Weeks!

How far along? 24 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3.5 (125.5 lbs)
Maternity clothes? A mix of maternity and non maternity shirts still, all maternity pants unless they are sweats or yoga pants!
Stretch marks? None, lathering up with my stretch mark cream these days!
Sleep: Still sleeping okay, I get uncomfortable halfway through the night.
Best moment this week: More work on the basement got done and we are slowly also getting things for the nursery! =)
Miss Anything? Nope, really enjoying this second trimester! Lots of energy!
Movement: Lots of rolls and kicks! Love it! Her kicks are so strong!
Symptoms: I get super uncomfortable after eating. I can't eat very much at one time!
Cravings: Halloween candy!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Belly is getting big!!
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Almost flat, but I'm gonna say still an innie!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to this week: More work on the basement and nursery! Also, we have another doctors visit. I have to drink that nasty glucola (1 hr glucose test) that I've heard so much about, not really looking forward to that!

Basement Renovations: Fireplace & Doors

A lot more progress this week on the basement! 

My dad came over and knocked out the fireplace wall in about 5 minutes, like it was no big deal! I LOVE it! The mantle still needs another coat of stain and a coat of clear, that's why it's a bit lighter than the shelves. Eventually, Chad wants to paint the vent to blend in more. 

We got all the doors primed and 1 coat of paint on them! Just one more coat to go!

The bookshelves and wine cabinets have their final coats and are looking fabulous. The glass shelves for the wine cabinets have been ordered and should be in next week. 

The stair railing got finalized and it looks great!

The carpet has been ordered. As soon as we have word it's been delivered to the warehouse we can set up installation.

I installed a couple door knobs and the closet light is in.

Dad built the shelves for the bar and he's working on staining those.

Chad hung the mirror and the towel/toilet paper roll bars hung in the bathroom! Bathroom is done! =)

My dad got started on the counter top. He built the frame and put the wonder board down. This is what the tile will go on.  He also got a little bit of the tile started =)

We did two MAJOR Lowe's trips this week but I'm pretty sure we have purchased nearly everything we need to finish this basement off. (I'm sure there will be small things here and there we will need) But for the the most part I think the large expenses are done! I'm not sure if we should do a dance or cry....

What's next? 

Hang bi-pass doors

 Paint trim and doors

 Finish stair railing.

 Bar counter top, sink, faucet

Finish stairs: backs, trim, caulking & paint

 Hang mirror

Finish electrical & lighting: fireplace, bookshelves, face plates, closet light, outlets..etc

 Finish fireplace wall: stone and mantle

 Touch up paint

 Carpet install

 CLEAN!!!

 Back splash

 Bar shelves

 Covers for the holes in the wall for the water shut off and circuit breaker. 

 Fan in playroom. 

 Bar shelves

 Glass shelves for wine cabinet

Pulls and knobs on cabinets

Door knobs

Paint vent

This Weeks Costs

Door knobs & cabinet pulls - $200

Paint/Stain - $25

Lighting & Electrical - $115

Counter top - $425

Back splash - $450

Misc - $60

Wood for Shelves & Mantle - $55

Bathroom Mirror- $35

Towel Ring/Toilet paper holder - $13

Bar Faucet & Sink - $162

Fan - $85

Fireplace tile & air duct - $35

Returns - $67

This weeks total - $1,592

Project total - $11,942

I am not a professional and all my advice and tips are purely from my own experiences. 

23 Weeks

We've been super busy this week and I'm just getting around to this with merely hours left at 23 weeks! Better late than never! 

How far along? 23 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3 (125 lbs)
Maternity clothes? A mix of maternity and non maternity shirts still, all maternity pants unless they are sweats or yoga pants! Even my scrub pants won't fit anymore, guess it's surgi-scrubs for me from here on out....
Stretch marks? None, lathering up with my stretch mark cream these days!
Sleep: Still sleeping okay, I get uncomfortable halfway through the night. 
Best moment this week: So much got done on the basement this week, this made me very happy. Also, the nursery is getting assembled, the changing table is back in the room now that it's painted and Chad's parents came down and bought us our crib! We also went on a tour of the maternity ward which was very informative, I'm glad we did this. Now I just hope Chad can remember the directions to L&D! 
Miss Anything? Nope, really enjoying this second trimester! Lots of energy!
Movement: I felt the coolest & weirdest thing ever the other night. I usually feel her moving around a lot at night and I was laying on my side just about to fall asleep when I nearly thought she was going to push through my belly. She must have been stretching. It wasn't a quick kick or movement like I've been feeling, It was a very slow and intentional movement. So, I stuck my hand on it to try and see what the heck she was doing, and for a second I swear I felt a tiny little foot/hand/something! It was so cool, I screamed for Chad but as if on cue she tucked back in and I haven't felt that particular thing again. Lots of other movements though, I can tell she is getting bigger, her movements are a lot stronger!
Symptoms: Oh, hi sciatic nerve pain, welcome! 
Cravings: I am craving sweets like crazy lately!! I really need to cut back on the amount of junk I am eating or I'll be 400 lbs before I know it!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Belly is getting big!!
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but looking super weird and flatter every week!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to this week: More work on the basement and nursery! Trying to get as much done now so we can enjoy the holidays! 

Basement Renovation: Stairs & odds and ends

It was a productive week at the Blackburn house. 

Chad spent most of the week painting trim and doors. He got all the trim hung, caulked and puttied, it just needs painted!! He still is working on the doors but it's a big job. 

This weekend my dad was able to work on the stairs which is a HUGE job. They look amazing. He hand routed all the decorative edges and then stained everything himself to match the rest of the stain in the basement. All the backs are on the stairs and the risers got painted.

We also trimmed out the bookshelves, which look awesome. The "secret" door is fully functional.  Don't mind the layer of dust! Chad also organized the storage room back there.

Some more work on the electrical was done, it's not finished yet though. The fireplace and TV are wired now. I put up a couple of the face plates that were missing. 

We laid out a pattern and plan for the counter tops, which we have decided to do in this awesome tile we found. Tile will be MUCH cheaper than granite or even laminate because we have so much surface area to cover and so many custom angles and edges.

We installed the can light covers (which I left off the to-do list).  Also, the closet light has been installed in the playroom and the bi-pass doors are half way hung!

We picked up some carpet samples and made some preliminary decisions. Hopefully we can get a final quote this week and set up an installation date!

Then we did a massive clean up since there was an inch thick layer of saw dust from the stair construction. 

Overall, it was a really productive week and I'm super excited that it's moving right along. Less than 4 weeks until D-day and it's looking do-able!

What's next? 

1) Hang bi-pass doors

2) Paint trim and doors

3) Finish stair railing.

4) Bar counter top, sink, faucet

5) Finish stairs: backs, trim, caulking & paint

6) Hang mirror

7) Finish electrical & lighting: fireplace, bookshelves, face plates, closet light, outlets..etc

8) Finish fireplace wall: stone and mantle

9) Touch up paint

10) Carpet install

11) Organize storage room

12) CLEAN!!!

13) Back splash

14) Bar shelves

15) Covers for the holes in the wall for the water shut off and circuit breaker. 

16) Fan in playroom. 

17) Can light covers (yes I added this just so I can cross it off, I'm crazy!)

18) Bar shelves

19) Glass shelves for wine cabinet

This Weeks Costs

Stairs - $450

Bi-pass doors treads - $27

Paint/Stain - $49 

Lighting & Electrical - $194

Fireplace stone & adhesive - $175

Counter top - $90

Back splash tile sample - $12

Misc - $14

Plumbing - $14

This weeks total - $1,025

Project total - $10,350

I am not a professional and all my advice and tips are purely from my own experiences. 

22 Weeks

Change of scenery since we are painting the nursery! 

How far along? 22 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +1 (123 lbs)
Maternity clothes? A mix of maternity and non maternity shirts still, all maternity pants unless they are sweats or yoga pants!
Stretch marks? None, lathering up with my stretch mark cream these days!
Sleep: I've read conflicting things online about sleeping on your back while pregnant. My normal routine is to fall asleep on my left side and I usually make it a good 5 hours like this then I want to roll on to my back and sleep. Since, it can be harmful to the baby, I've been rolling over to my right side, and I just don't sleep as well... oh well I guess, it's better safe than sorry!
Best moment this week: I don't know if I would classify this as BEST but I'm very glad that we got the nursery painted this week! It's ALMOST finished, just needs some touch up! (Don't worry, I wore an AWFUL, HOT, GROSS respiratory the whole time I was painting with windows open and fans on) Nursery painting post to come soon.
Miss Anything? Breathing....
Movement: Love feeling her move around, kick, punch, roll, etc...
Symptoms: My back is killing me from painting all weekend. My belly is feeling heavier everyday. Breathing has become harder, especially after a meal. But overall, I'm really feeling great. I'm enjoying this stage of pregnancy a lot!
Cravings: At this point, I'll pretty much eat anything that's edible! I ate a huge bowl of cereal at 11pm the other night because I was starving.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Belly is getting big!!
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but looking super weird and flatter every week!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to this week: Finishing painting the nursery! We have our maternity ward tour tomorrow, it will be exciting to see where we will be delivering in a few short months!

Basement Renovation: Trim, Cabinets, Bathroom & Shelving

It has been so long (4 MONTHS!) since a basement post that I don't even know where I left off! After a LONG hiatus, we are back at it and hauling ass to get it finished in the next month or so before the holidays and baby shower. 

Let's see what was on the To-do list back in June when I last posted. 

1) Finish trim

2) Hang bi-fold doors

3) Caulk nail holes & trim

4) Paint & hang quarter round

5) Paint trim and doors

6) Set Cabinets

7) Install Vanity, Mirror and Toilet in bathroom.

8) Finish and install window boxes and frame windows

9) Build and install shelving units 

10) Install stair railing.

11) Build and install the bookshelves

12) Install fireplace

13) Counter top

Okay - well that is quiet the list! Where to begin... I guess #1!

1) Finish the trim - Check! We have "finished the trim" and I use the quotes because all the trim is hung that can be hung at this time. We will still have to put up trim around the stairs once those are finished (I guess I should add that to the to-do list....)

2) Hang bi-fold doors - Not so much, still waiting to be hung... 

3) Caulk nail holes and trim - Check! Again, this is "finished" until more trim goes up around the stairs! 

4) Paint & hang quarter round - Check! This is actually really finished not just "kinda" finished! 

5) Paint trim & doors - Another fail, but this is on the MUST DO THIS WEEK list! The trim is half painted and the doors are half painted. We just have to finish it up. In my next post, which I promise won't be 4 months from now, this will have a big fat check next to it! And we will be doing a major happy dance because this trim has been the devil's advocate this summer and I fully blame it for our 4 month break! (until we have more to do on the stairs.... AHH!)

6) Set cabinets - Check! And they look amazing! 

7) Install Vanity, Mirror and Toilet in bathroom - Check, kind of! The bathroom is officially done except the mirror still needs hung and framed!

8) Finish and install window boxes and frame windows - Check! These also look awesome! I am really glad that we went with the glass block windows! I think that it looks really nice! 

9) Build and install shelving units - Check! These are my absolute favorite! My dad made these from scratch and stained them himself with a special stain that he had matched to our bar cabinets. They look absolutely amazing and with glass shelves and the lights shinning down on them it's going to be stunning! 

10) Install stair railing & finish stairs - Not done yet, it's on the needs to be done soon list though, but isn't everything at this point?!

11) Build and install the bookshelves - Check! These are super cool! not only do they look awesome but the hide-away door is sweet! Again my dad built the top portion of the bookshelves from scratch and matched the stain to the cabinets. He's awesome... 

12) Install fireplace - Check! =)

13) Counter top - Not done yet! =(

So after reviewing this list, we have gotten more accomplished this summer than I thought! There still seems to be sooo much more to do still though! As you can tell, everything is really, really dusty but I'm not even thinking about cleaning anything at this point because it will end up dirty again exactly 4.6 seconds after I clean it! We also need to spray for bugs before carpet goes down, there are SO many spiders! Yuck I don't even wanna think about it!! 

Here is the new to-do list with the deadline of November 17th! Once all this is done, I THINK we will be finished with the construction and just need to furnish, which is far down the road, once the finances replenish themselves! 

What's next? 

1) Hang bi-fold doors

2) Paint trim and doors

3) Install stair railing.

4) Bar counter top, sink, faucet

5) Finish stairs: backs, trim, caulking & paint

6) Hang mirror, frame: caulk & paint frame

7) Finish electrical & lighting: fireplace, bookshelves, face plates, outlets..etc

8) Finish fireplace wall: stone and mantle

9) Touch up paint

10) Carpet install

11) Organize storage room

12) CLEAN!!!

These next ones don't necessarily have to be done by November 17th but it would be nice! 

13) Back splash

14) Bar shelves

15) Find/install covers for the holes in the wall for the water shut off, plumping access and circuit breaker. 

16) Buy and install fan in playroom. 

This Weeks  Summers Costs

Misc. Bar Cabinetry things - $370

Bathroom Vanity - $170 

Bathroom Sink - $120

Faucet - $70

Caulking things - $19

More trim - $26

Misc things (I'm sure I've lost a couple receipts over the last 4 months)- $100

Electrical & lighting - $85

Built-in cabinetry - $490

Free Things that were we already had

Labor

Nail gun

Nails
Saw
Much, much more!

This weeks total - $1,450

Project total - $9,325

Things I learned this week summer:  I JUST WANT IT TO BE FINISHED ALREADY!!! 

I am not a professional and all my advice and tips are purely from my own experiences. 

21 Weeks!

Board inspiration

How far along? 21 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +1 (Finally in the positive! I've gained the 6 lbs I lost back +1)
Maternity clothes? A mix of maternity and non maternity shirts still, all maternity pants unless they are sweats or yoga pants!
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Sleeping great for like the first 5 hours, then I get restless & uncomfortable.
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat again at our doctors visit, Baby girl got her first gift this week from her soon-to-be friend Elizabeth. Some adorable headbands and the cutest pink outfit with a ruffle butt!! OMG I can't even handle the adorable little girls clothes...we are in trouble!
Miss Anything? Shaving my legs has become a real challenge....
Movement: Lots of kicks and movements, everyone this weekend got to feel her kick! It was exciting for other people to feel her little movements.
Symptoms: I'm really feeling great! My belly is feeling very stretched and I already feel so big! I can't image how it will stretch anymore! Bending over gets harder and harder everyday! Sometimes it gets hard to breathe, usually after I've scarfed down my second third helping of food, but that's probably due to my horrendous posture.
Cravings: I just want to eat anything and everything that is considered "junk" and lots of it especially chocolate! Chipotle is officially edible again and boy have I missed it!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Raw chicken and the smell of ground beef cooking... blehh
Have you started to show yet: Oh yeah!
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but looking super weird
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to this week: Painting baby girl's room this weekend! =)

Gender Reveal

By now most of you know that Chad and I are super excited we are having a little girl! We found out this past weekend and shared it with our family and friends at a Gender Reveal Party! Everybody had so much fun! 

This past weekend was one of the most anticipated weekends for Chad and I so far this pregnancy. We absolutely could not wait to find out the sex of the baby! Neither of us could sleep Friday night and we both had crazy dreams about the baby. 

So, we woke up Saturday morning anxious and tired. We headed to the doctor to get our ultrasound and waited what seemed like hours (it was probably minutes) for them to call us back. I was prepared to do jumping jacks, handstands, animal sacrifices whatever it took to get a look at the gender. Thank goodness, baby girl cooperated nicely and the tech was able to get "very convincing" photos of her "girl parts" as she so eloquently put it. We got some great pictures of her sucking her thumb and staring right at us. 

Most importantly, she said that her heart, kidneys, brain and other organs all checked out and everything is perfect and normal! =) She weighed in at about 12 oz. 

20 Week Ultrasound: Baby Girl sucking her thumb.

After leaving the ultrasound we had to keep quiet until our Gender Reveal Party the next day. This was harder than you would think! Especially with everyone trying to trick it out of you all day!

For the Gender Reveal I wanted to do a Boy vs. Girl theme. I demanded instructed that all the guests either wear pink or blue to cast their vote. I decorated a table, half blue, half pink and we had pink and blue balloons hanging around. 

I also did a cute little poster that had several old wives tales on it that claim to predict the babies sex. Since you can't really read it, here is what mine said. 

Chinese Calendar - Boy

Mayan Calendar - Boy

Baking Soda Test - Girl (no fizz)

String Test - Girl (Back and forth)

Cravings - Boy/Girl (Salty & Sweet)

Skin - Boy (dry)

Morning Sickness - Boy (a little)

Daddy's weight gain - Boy (none)

Carrying the baby - Boy (Low and in front)

Sleeping - Boy (Left side)

Heart rate - Girl (>140)

Acne - Girl (Worse)

We went back and forth as to how to reveal to everyone the sex. I eventually decided on the balloons-in-a-box idea. I got a huge box from Home Depot and decorated it. I had Party City fill up a bunch of both color balloons with helium so they would float and then at the last minute I stuffed the pink ones in the box and taped it shut!!

Before the big reveal we had our "Team Boy" and "Team Girl" teams get together for a picture. Team Girl was all women (and the cutest baby ever!). 

Team Boy was full of men that claimed they didn't own any pink.... doubtful.... as well as a couple ladies. Needless to say, Team Girl was out numbered! 

Then it was time for the big reveal!! I was so excited! 

     

   

Everyone was so excited and surprised! It was so much fun sharing it with everyone this way. Again, thanks to everyone that shared with us what they thought baby was going to be and played along. We had a ton of fun. And thank you all for following along with us on the blog and all the sweet things that we hear from everyone. It really makes our day =)