Daycare or no daycare

Sad news...... I received word that Evan and Eliot's daycare will be closing in two weeks. What to do what to do? Should I look for somewhere for them to go or should I let them join Ben at home? Evan is preparing for kindergarten  so I feel I need to keep him in the "school" mode because of his unique personality. Eliot just plain likes to play with friends. And frankly Dad cleans and cooks more when the big little kids are at daycare. I wish I could be the one at home and not have to be the working mom. Balance... I need to find balance. To be continued........

Annika helping make homemade baby powder

Here we go again. I was trying to make a natural healing baby powder. What we came up with is crushed calendula petals, crushed arnica flowers, chamomile powder, slippery elm bark powder, crushed comfrey, and a little cornstarch. The herbs all have skin healing properties or calming properties. the cornstarch is just a small filler and for moister control. I tried it out on Baby Ben and it worked great.   

A new blossom

My evening primrose bloomed...

My favorite book for today....

This book came in the mail yesterday. I absolutely love it. As a mom who is breastfeeding and a Certified Lactation Counselor working with families I plan on using this book as a gentle way of decreasing night time nursing in a toddler. All of the little kids climbed in the bed last night as I read it to them. Eliot kept adding "and Daddy" when I read each page. The daddy in the story was represented in the pictures very well but he wasn't mentioned in the text. Eliot gave him props though. Lyn commented on one picture in the book and said it looked like a friend of mine and her daughter. And you know what? It does. That particular friend is raising money to bring her daughter home through adoption. Pop over and see her blog and enter to win one of the giveaways she has going on.

This picture reminds me of a friend of mine and her daughter...

The sun is trying to shine

Yesterday here in Alabama was an emotional stormy day. My family is fine but I have a lot of families that I work with that have touched in the worst way by yesterday's storms. It was unbelievable how many tornadoes were in the air and on the ground. Even the meteorologists said it was a once in a career weather moment. All my thoughts and energy sent to all of the families touched by the storms.

What Danny received for his birthday

Danny is really into languages right now.  To mix it up a little I got him a book about Irish culture and language. Never hurts to know more about your roots.

The moth I saved today....

He was hanging out near a doorway. I knew he did not have too long before he expired but I saved him anyway. As soon as I placed him in a protected area the door opened and if he had been there he would have been squished.....

Annika's new book

We celebrated Danny and Annika's birthdays early today. Everyone was in the house at the same time after church so it just made sense. Annika received a wonderful book from her Granny. Annika sometimes has a hard time realizing her worth and her achievements. She is a pretty cool kid but she needs some reinforcement along the way to take that in. Granny knew eactly what she was doing when she gave her this book. Go check it out.

Making tinctures

What in the world does that mean? Well, you add alcohol to herbs, let them sit for a while drain off the liquid and there you have it. A tincture of your favorite herbs at a fraction of the cost from a mainstream store. Well, there is a little more to it than that. Check out this video for more information.

Getting ready for Gwyndolyn's Closet

Lyn is gearing up for her opportunity to showcase some of her art work and other homemade cool stuff. Tonight we made some mini bath salt bottles. They contain sea salt, crushed dried geraniums, Epsom salt, and dried lavender flowers with a drop of essential oil.  Now, what should she charge for them?

All 7 kids hanging out after church

The church service went OK today. Danny made it through most of it. The little kids all behaved themselves. I was a proud Mama. We all added our flowers to the communal baskets and received other flowers in return.

Lyn's homemade lip balm

A little grapeseed oil, coconut oil, beeswax, and some essential oil goes a long way. Lyn used a recipe out of the book pictured above. It is an interesting book filled with all natural recipies and activities for girls aged 8 through 13. Check it out if you ever come across it.

Getting ready for Flower Communion

Tomorrow is Easter and Flower Communion at church. On my way home I picked some wild flowers. I just could not resist. Two of them are Thistles. They were a little difficult to pick but they are one of my favorite flowers / weeds...... The kids can pick one of these flowers to take to church tomorrow or they can pick one out of the yard.

All in perspective

I was a little early yesterday to a home in Chilton County for a home visit. I stopped at a nearby cemetery and just walked around. It was fairly old. Most of the dates on the stones were between 1865 and 1999. As I was looking at the birth and death dates I realized a vast majority of the graves were children. Some very young children. At that moment I sat down and was very grateful for all of my own children and for all of the children I see and work with on a daily basis. One special child I knew passed away before his first birthday. His parents were blessed recently by the birth of a second son. Pop over and check out their story. Again, our world is a strong and fragile place. This post is dedicated to all of those lost little ones I never met and to the one I had the great privilege to know for a short time. 

Bird nest in a bush out in the backyard..

We think these are robin eggs. We aren't sure. The nest is actually fairly low and we can sneak a peek easily... I hope all the eggs hatch.

Tuna pinroll

Lyn made dinner tonight. It was tuna pinroll. My mother used to make this all the time. It is cheap and easy to make. I like to use Bisquick mix to cut corners. I use it to make the dough. Just add milk and knead it and roll it out. Then add one or two cans of drained tuna and roll up like a jelly roll. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add a little olive oil to a pan and place the roll in the center. As it is baking start the sauce. I heat some milk and some flour with a little butter and pepper added. Stir till it thickens and coat the pinroll as it is almost finished baking. Bake a few more minutes and enjoy!!!!

Faith

I received my now favorite piece of meaningful jewelry from Wild Mother Arts. It is so cool. A lot of people use objects in meaningful even spiritual ways. My co-worker and friend who happens to be Catholic shared her rosary with me for this post. Religious, spiritual, and just plain meaningful philosophies use all kinds of objects to reinforce meaning to their users.

My Mother beads have 13 beads to represent the 13 lunar months. I use it to meditate and just be. I can understand how a thing can help guide one's thought. This also gave me the opportunity to learn more about Catholicism and the use of rosaries.


And of course a perfect way to end this post is to listen to Faith by George Michael......

Wild Mother Arts

I ordered these and they came in the mail yesterday. Check out the artist's site for your own.....

A soothing bath concoction for a mother...

The girls and I made a soothing bath concoction. We are planning on giving it to a very special mother that we know. The bottom layer is sea salt. The second red layer is dried geraniums. The third layer is Epsom salt and the top layer is dried lavender with a drop of lavender essential oil for extra umph. The whole thing is supposed to be added to a single hot relaxing bath. Oooo, I think I am making one for myself next!!

Lemon Balm Tea

I had to work this morning but when I got home we spent some time outside. There were a lot of thunderstorms last night and some tornadoes. Everything was fresh, clean, and wet. We checked out all of our newly planted flower, herbs, and vegetables. Everything made it through the storm OK. The sun was bright so we decided to make some lemon balm sun tea. Lyn collected fresh lemon balm, mint, and stevia. We  bruised the leaves and put them in a large jar. We added a fourth of a lemon to the jar and let the sun do its work......

Every mom keeps this many toys in her trunk, right?

I was ready to play outside and eat chocolate when I got home. Ben helped me with both. For my job there are times that I need all kinds of toys for children under three years old. I was playing outside with Ben and Eliot and I opened the trunk to get some toys out for Ben. Eliot took the chance to just climb in the open trunk and play with EVERYTHING at once in there. She really enjoyed herself. Of course I was right there so there was never any chance of her being left in the trunk. Ben is growing up so fast. Of course I can't help but evaluate him all the time. His communication skills are very well developed. Honestly, I know I am biased but the boy is really smart!

My baby's E

Look how well my 3 year old can write her Es. She is doing so well recognizing letters and words in the environment.

Bunny Giveaway...

Just in time for Easter. A friend of mine is raising funds for the adoption of her daughter. Check out this link to enter and win!!!!

My little spider monkies

Evan and Eliot have put a new definition on the kids are climbing the walls!!!!

Making homemade paint

The kids and I made some homemade paint. Lyn has been working on a lot of different art projects lately and wanted to try some natural pigments. We used crushed annatto mixed with oil for the light orange. The yellow was from fresh crushed dandelion. The dark orange was from crushed red clay mixed with water. I used my finger to paint with. Some kids used brushes or paint brushes. I want to add a natural  green tint when everything dries. I am not sure what the end product will be. Who knows.....

 

Bless This Child

I bought this book to use in child dedications and frankly just for inspiration to express myself as a mother. The author is well know within Unitarian Universalist (the church I attend) circles. The publisher publishes a lot of books geared for the UU congregations. I shared this book with a friend of mine. She is in the process of adopting the wonderful special little girl seen on the sidebar of my blog. Please take a moment to click on the text below her picture (grab this) to go see the mother's blog detailing more about Sharon. Or just click directly on her picture to see her and other children available for adoption overseas. Or you can check out the group facebook page for Sharon to learn more about helping her reach her family. Comment her if you want more information on how to help bring Sharon home.

Here is one of the quotes from the book......

Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!

Lydia Maria Child

The stars of the show!

Lyn is seen here holding Seamus. He was the youngest of my friend's kids and still breast feeding so he was along for the ride

I am so proud of my daughter.  I will add to this post..... OK, I am back. All last week I drove from Birmingham, Alabama to Columbus, Georgia every day. A friend of mine and I completed our formal training to become Certified Lactation Counselors. (Well, we took our tests and I am sure we passed.) So pass the word around if you are local and are in the need for support breastfeeding or are pregnant and just have questions. My friend has a website that you can go visit. Mother Nurture is it's name. I can be contacted through this blog if you need support.

Lyn was amazing. She learned a lot by listening to our training. She also grabbed the attention of the employees at the conference center. Of course everyone thought Seamus was her little brother. His mom has long red hair and honestly, Lyn fits in her family really well. I have added a slide show on the side bar to show off our week long training. take a look at the pictures if you like.

Autism Awareness