Dear Ryan Lochte, your hair deserves better than that

I stumbled upon an article today about Ryan Locate's hair. I know, I know, out of everything going on at the Olympics, and I choose to write about this?! Yes. I love Ryan Lochte. I believe he is the hottest Olympian in Rio, but when I saw his hair, I cringed. I cringed because I knew that if he didn't take care of that beautiful mane, it would soon be brittle, damaged, and green. Turns out, I was right. Just as his events end, his shade starts to turn a light green.

I was born with bleach blonde, platinum hair. As I grew up, it naturally darkened to the last shade of blonde you can be, without actually being a brunette. From ages 13 - 26, I died my hair every shade of blonde in between. My hair is now it's natural color after two years of having horrible roots, but thats a whole other topic. I have also spent many summers in a pool, wether it be my own or working at a Park District pool.

I have been scolded, year after year, by my stylist/aunt for not taking care of my hair during the summer, so I have decided to share all my anti-chlorine tips. These were directed at me because I am blonde, but chlorine is super damaging to any hair color, so these tips will work for all.

My many shades of blonde

So, why does chlorine turn blonde into green?
"If you've ever dyed your hair (especially platinum blond), you likely know that taking a dip in the swimming pool can alter your hair color. Copper compounds in the water get absorbed deep within your strands and attach to your hair's protein, causing it to take on brassy — or green — undertones." -Popsugar article

What does chlorine to other hair colors?
"Short, occasional exposure to chlorinated water really won't damage your hair. It may make it feel dry for a day or so, however.

Regular exposure to chlorinated swimming pools can cause significant damage to your hair. Disinfectants in general are used to break down and remove dirt, oil, and bacteria. Our scalps naturally produce oil to protect hair from damage and daily wear. Stripping the oil from your hair in a pool on a regular basis can cause over drying, increased porosity, and in some cases pretty significant damage if you don't take steps to prevent and treat your hair for chlorine exposure." - Women's hair about.com article

My tried- and - true methods for protecting my hair:
Basically, the goal here is to prevent the chlorine water from being absorbed into your locks.

1. Prevention: My aunt recommends using a conditioner on your hair before taking a dip. Any regular conditioner will work. If your hair is dry, it's easier to absorb the chlorine. I like to keep an extra conditioner bottle just for swimming in my vanity. I've noticed that using a conditioner with avocado or keratin (proteins) in it, leaves my hair extra soft afterwards.

Lately, I've been been mixing coconut oil in with my pre-swim conditioner, and I LOVE IT. Coconut oil does amazing things for hair, and oil doesn't mix with water. I would recommend adding coconut oil to the conditioner if you swim regularly.

There are also products you can buy that will protect your hair, but if you're on a budget, just grab your usual conditioner.

2. Clean-up: Always use a chlorine removing shampoo within a few hours of swimming! Again, these can range in price, but I like the brand they have at Walgreens. Plus, if you buy for the next year in October, it's usually 2 bottles for like $5.

3. Maintenance: Since chlorine gets absorbed into your hair, leaves residue on your scalp, and strips hair of all natural oils, this is just as important as the first two steps

Cleansing to remove built-up chlorine: After I use the chlorine shampoo, or just once a week to keep my hair feeling fresh, I mix a little bit of my favorite shampoo with apple cider vinegar and use that instead of shampoo. I do this year round cause it keeps hair light, soft, and build up free, but it's even more important during summer.

Replenishing oils: You can find hair masks at your favorite drug store that will work for this too, but I like using a mixture of oils. My 3 favorite oils to mix to create a super awesome hair mask are grapeseed oil to strengthen hair, coconut oil to soften hair, and avocado oil to replace protein stripped by chlorine.

A quick search on Pinterest will give you many more ways to prevent chlorine from wreaking havoc on your mane, but here are a few of the good ones I found.

  < Natural, not pool damaged hair >

So, with all that taken care of, Ryan Lochte, please fix your hair so I can go back to staring at you longingly, not being disturbed by your minty hair.

Ryan with the green hair
How chlorine damages hair
Kids don't want green hair either!

Urban gardening for everyone!

I do not need to tell you that the urban gardening trend has taken off in the past few years. There are community gardens on small plots all over the country. People are more interested than ever in growing their own food, and knowing what they are putting into their bodies. I'm just going to tell you my gardening journey, why I think it's beneficial to my family, and give you some ideas, or a starting point for next year.  Just a disclaimer: I do not know a thing about growing plants that you can't eat. I'm terrible with "pretty flowers", but for some reason, if it's useful, I'm good. That being said, I'm also no expert at any of this. Just learning as I go. 

I was talking to my therapist in April of 2013, almost a year after I had my son & a year before I graduated college. She asked what I do for fun. I said cleaning, cooking, keeping a human alive, homework, and running errands. Apparently, that didn't count as fun and she suggested I get a hobby.

I was dirt poor at the time, but the Farmer's Market in my city had this great program where people could use SNAP (food stamps) to purchase fresh veggies and fruit. My excitement grew even bigger when I was looking at the veggie sprouts longingly, knowing I couldn't afford them, and the vendor says, "You know, if you can eat it, you can use food stamps for it." These peppers?! Those tomatoes?! "Yup. If the plant is already started, so you can't get seeds, it's yours to eat and grow." WHAT?! I found my hobby. I wasn't even going to let living on a third floor apartment with a tiny, covered, balcony stop me. There was a lot oftrial and error, there still is, but I'm slowly figuring it out. 

My first attempts at urban gardeningI also tried the mason jars with herbs and it worked terribly. There is no drainage with the mason jars, so that could have been expected. One thing that I found that worked great for container gardening, were old baby formula cans. The tall, cylinder shaped ones work great, especially for onions and garlic 

I didn't paint mine and just put them on a table, but this is the same idea

There are ideas all over Pinterest about gardening in small spaces; there are how-tos, tips, inspiration, anything you want. I've attached some of my favorites at the end of blog post.

If you have the space, companion planting is a great idea. Some plants help other plants grow! How cool! More information about that below as well.

Since our days in that tiny apartment, we have moved back in with my parents and have much more space. This is much more than space for me to practice my hobby. This is a family project and even my four year old loves it. 

As the years have passed, I have also become very interested in native plant gardening. I have incorporated this into all my mom's exisisting landscaping. I have also built a butterfly garden using native plants.

These are all my gardens, prior to planting being finished this year. They look much better now, I assure you. The top right, with the pallet, is my butterfly garden filled with native mint, fennel, and lavender. Caterpillars seemed to love my fennel last year, so I'm hoping it will work that way again. 

The top left in the above picture is my son's "garden" when it started to bloom. He grew spinach in a pot and was SO excited to have his own garden. He explains to anyone who comes to visit, how plants grow, what they need to grow, and all that good information. He goes out and checks it every day to see if they've grown, he helps me harvest, it's really awesome to see him so into it. He also painted a bird house because he didn't think it was fair that I was making the butterfly's a garden and not a bird garden. There are also a ton of kid gardening ideas on Pinterest. It is also an awesome lesson in patience for him, which to be honest, we both could use. 

 

While I LOVE that it's a good hobby for my son and I, my FAVORITE thing is that I can grow and provide enough veggies for my family throughout the Summer. We try to eat healthy year round and spend about $50-100 a week on fresh fruit and vegetables. With our garden, that amount is slashed in half during the summer. If we are having dinner, and forgot to stop at the store, we can just go outside and grab a zuchinni. In my large plot, I grow tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, and have native sunflowers in the back. In my cement blocks, I have herbs & peppers. I'm growing mint, lemon balm, chives, coriander, oregano, banana peppers, habanero peppers, green bell peppers, and purple bell peppers. I accidently bought the purple ones, but they are so colorful and cool! I love them!

Typical daily harvest

So this is how much I've harvested of most of my plants. My veggie plot is not that big, it's 10x10 feet, but so far I've gotten 7 lbs of zucchini, more than 4 lbs of tomatoes, and all sorts of herbs. It's still early, I predict my zucchini and tomatoes will be producing even more. Any garden is capable of producing food. It is just a matter of finding what works for whatever you are able to do, what your family likes to eat, and what works in your climate. Don't let these restraints hold you back though. Everyone told me that gardening in Missouri was different from gardening in Illinois. These people told me that I would not be good at growing peppers in Illinois, that the environment was not good for them. These people were wrong. Yes, my peppers may not be huge, but they are plentiful and very tasty. Everyone also told me that broccoli would grow great in Illinois. Well, I haven't had any luck with it. I encourage you to try it though!

So, you have an abundance of veggies and herbs at the end of the year. What do you do with all the extras?!

My favorite thing, at the end of the Summer, is to gather all the veggies/herbs that need to be used quickly or aren't so perfect. I put all the veggies on a broiler pan, broil them for a little bit, then throw everything together in a food processor & make FANTASTIC salsa. I even use extra cucumbers and zucchini. They add to the nutrients in the salsa, and nobody even knows they're in there.

I also use the roses, lemon balm, and mint to make lotions and lip balms. I dry them out and then let the leaves sit in essential oils for a few weeks to make mint & lemon balm infused essential oils. You can find some great recipes at one of my favorite websites: The Nerdy Farm Wife

Below are some pretty infographics to help you get started & all the sources I used in this post. Happy gardening! Get growing!

xo Jen 

Year round gardening!

  Plants in small spaces

Veggie growing cheat sheet   

Gardening for toddlers

*SIDENOTE: Being able to use SNAP at fresh markets is taking off. If this sounds interesting, look up markets near you. I'm sure you'll find one. 

What a great idea!

My plea for playtime in childhood

School is starting back up. That means that after-school activities are being scheduled again. I think after school activities and sports are very important for kid's development, but I've recently been running into kids who are always scheduled, and I don't think that's ok.

This is a convo I recently overheard between a mom and her 9 year old daughter:

Mom: When should you do gymnastics this school year?
Daughter: Idk. what day do I have free?
Mom: Well you have soccer and dance on Monday, swim team on Tuesday and Thursday, cheerleading on Wednesdays and Sundays, choir practice on Fridays. 
Daughter: Do I have to do gymnastics?
Mom: Well what would you want to do instead?
Daughter: Can't I just do nothing on Saturdays? Maybe play with my toys and see my friends
Mom: No sweetie. That's how you grow up to be a failure. 
Daughter: But maybe we could do some fun things as a family
Mom: We do fun things in the car between practices.
Daughter: I don't think that counts, but ok. I guess I'll do gymnastics on Saturday. 

After talking to my mom and sister, who are both teachers, my mom had a very interesting point. If this child is never allowed to make decisions, she will have no idea how to make a decision of her own when she is put in a situation with the things her mother is trying to protect her from.

Before I talk about the importance of play, I want to stress that no way of parenting is proven to be right for everybody. If something like above is better for you and your kids, far be it from me to tell you you're wrong. I just think some of this, needs to be toned down a bit.

My mom had a rule for me & my siblings when we were growing up: 1 sport, 1 extra curricular (like scouts or a club), and 1 creative class per kid, per season. I hated this rule as a child, but now that I'm a mom, it makes sense, especially when you have to get three kids to all these separate activities. I realize she did this more for her sake than for ours, but I get it.

I've compiled a little bit of the research I've done on this topic below. 

Disclaimer: I focus a lot of my posts on OUTDOOR unstructured play. This is not going to be the same post in different words. This is unstructured play in general, indoor or outdoor. 

So, I've looked at researched and read some blogs. Below is a beautiful picture that describes the benefits of free play.

This comes from a blog on the Melissa & Doug website, written by THAT Melissa herself. In the post, she argues for the importance of free play in the lives of young children. She says that we need to "Take Back Childhood" & she couldn't be more right. 

"Play leads to brain plasticity, adaptability, and creativity.

Nothing fires up the brain like play.—Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play"

I also found an article on the website CityLab about a literature review that was done of all the studies that have been done about the importance of play. I have included the highlights of that review below.

• “Risky” play encourages kids to think critically, and appears to have a positive impact on child health. "We found that play environments where children could take risks promoted increased play time, social interactions, creativity and resilience," Mariana Brussoni, lead author of the study, and assistant professor in University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health and Department of Pediatrics, said in a press release.
• The term risky here is used to denote a situation whereby a child can recognize and evaluate a challenge and decide on a course of action
• 
  
• “Risky” play encourages kids to think critically, and appears to have a positive impact on child health. "We found that play environments where children could take risks promoted increased play time, social interactions, creativity and resilience," Mariana Brussoni, lead author of the study, and assistant professor in University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health and Department of Pediatrics, said in a press release.
• [We have] an idea that children are too fragile or unintelligent to assess the risk of any given situation. Now our working assumption is that children cannot be trusted to find their way around tricky physical or social and emotional situations.

They even weighed the positive and negatives associated with risky play. 

• The authors weigh the benefits against the risks that can be associated with high-octane play, such as bone fractures. (Falls send as many as 3 million kids to emergency rooms in the U.S. each year.) They conclude that “play at height was not related to fracture frequency and severity,” and that wild recreation does not appear to be correlated with other measures of aggression.

So, since we know WHY it is important, how do we go about encouraging free play? I have included a pretty infographic below, but I know from experience that a child will practice this on their own if left alone. Just today, I watched my son turn a lion from one toy into a Captain America cause we don't have that action figure. 

Enjoy playtime. Let's take back childhood!

xo Jen 

Sources: 

Citylab article

Melissa & Doug blog