Frontier Dreams

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two, post it on your blog, on Instagram #craftingon and/or Flickr and then share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.

Apparently I have had a theme with my knitting lately - silver and gold! I finished up a test knit for Baby F, and a hat for myself. Now I am on to K's requested birthday knit - a new shawl.

What are you working on? Happy creating!

My baby boy is growing up. 😭 I'm not crying, you're crying. Okay, okay, the truth is I am uncontrollably sobbing. Why must they grow so fast?! Snuggling with him every night is just one of my most favorite things to do and I am so thankful for the gift of co-sleeping. He is not quite ready to sleep on his own just yet, but we wanted to go ahead and get him a bed of his very own now. That way, when he is ready to move in to big brother's room it will be ready and waiting for him. *sniff, sniff*

Finding a bed locally was easier said than done. The downside to our beloved small town living is that there are not a whole lot of eco-friendly, health conscious stores. A natural mattress store is unheard of here whereas in Portland, Oregon you could find them nearly everywhere.

All of my children have mattresses made out of natural materials. It is something I feel very strongly about, especially for growing little ones. One third of your life is spent sleeping. Think about it, that is eight hours a day (or more if you are a child. My younger ones average 12 hours), every day you spend on your mattress breathing in all the chemicals that are constantly off gassing. Some chemical vapors are odorless, so you aren't even aware that you’re breathing them. A typical mattress could contain a variety of different materials that off-gas such as polyurethane, benzene, formaldehyde, along with chemical flame retardants which have been linked to a variety of serious health issues, including cancer, infertility, obesity and developmental brain disorders.

Knowing all of this, I couldn't allow myself to just pick out any old mattress for my baby boy. Thankfully, that is when I stumbled upon Joybeds. Joybeds is an American based (Grand Rapids, Michigan to be exact) natural mattress company. Their mattresses have jacquard organic cotton covers, and are made with responsibly farmed wool, cotton, cotton padding and Nano coils. They are free from chemicals and synthetic additives and meet fire protection standards using all natural materials. And because they're natural, they also improve sleeping comfort by enhancing the breathable airflow through the bed.

You can pick the support you want from firm to plush, order it online and have it shipped to your door. No need to worry over local mattress options. Phew! I can understand how you might be skeptical, but if you feel nervous about ordering a mattress online without trying it out first, Joybed has you covered! They have a 120 Night Trial. Try Joybed in your own home for 120 nights. If for any reason you change your mind, they'll give you a full refund.The Joybed mattresses also come with a 10 year warranty.

We knew straight away that Joybeds mattresses were just what we were looking for. We chose the Joybed LXP for Baby F. This is their softest luxury mattress. We couldn't believe just how quickly it arrived and were pleasantly surprised that it was compressed in to a tight little box that was easy to transport to the boy's bedroom. The children all had a blast watching the mattress open in full after we unsealed it.

Baby F climbed on it instantly and then let the rest of us test it out. I admit I was rather impressed by how comfortable it is. Since its unboxing, we have all been drawn to it, using it for resting, reading or just relaxing. Even our rascally dogs and cats are constantly on it.

I think it is safe to say we made a great choice with choosing Joybeds and will be enjoying this mattress for years to come. Thank you Joybeds for making such a wonderful product!!