Vinegar tinctures.....

Some people are just put off by alcohol tinctures so I am making some vinegar tinctures. Kids and those who choose to skip alcohol or just don't want to ingest the very small amount that is in tinctures are fans of vinegar tinctures. This one is a liver detox and a general health combination....

If you want more details and the actual recipe head over to my Magical Mothering blog to read more.....

Lyn's new haircut.....

My big girl looks so grown up now. She wanted a pixie haircut and that is what she got. Thank you so much Kate for doing such a good job. Lyn got her hair cut in between cuts Kate was doing to help raise money for her family's upcoming adoption. Please visit her blog and help her bring those two wonderful girls home. They are special needs and their futures are very bleak if they stay where they are.

Babypalooza was a success!

If you measure success by having fun and making a lot of new contacts in the community Babypalooza rocked! I was able to introduce myself to the mothering community. Hopefully my services in lactation support, herbal training, Blessingway leading, and jewelry making will be put to use.....

A beautiful expecting mom of two showing off her new necklace and her friend showing off her new henna

Of course I had to get a henna too

Some of the lovely baby slings one of my partners had available

Just some of my herbal concoctions and my homemade jewlery

Of course Lyn helped out and demonstrated the use of the slings with a baby doll

And let the volleyball season begin!

Lyn is playing with the big girls!! 8th graders that is.

Nettles, who knew?

Actually, I knew but just haven't gotten around to using it much. I have some dried nettles and I think I am going to start with an infusion.....

Nettles are a very common herb but most everyone sees it as a weed. It can't be beat by what it has to offer nutritionally. Vitamins and minerals abound within it. Give it a try. Just adding it to smoothies or cooking or in a tincture is easy....



Homemade Bug Off Oil

The little girl above is one of my friend's daughter. She had a bad reaction to some mosquito bites. I have been meaning to make some natural mosquito repellent and this was my final inspiration. Poor thing. I wish I could send some to her right away. Hopefully my batch will work well. It is an oil blend consisting of coconut oil and almond oil infused with calendula and arnica. To this I added the following essential oils: spearmint, rosemary, geranium, lavender, and the most important, citronella. I put this batch in a couple of clear glass spray bottles. I dosed my kids and it seems to work  fine. You can always order some from my Etsy page....

Making bags for Babypalooza...

They turned out pretty good. Thanks to Jenna for sewing them and Lyn for stringing and stamping them. Now, all of the jewelry and herbal items we sell at Babypalooza will have cozy little bags for their trip to their new homes.....

It is a Chinese tallow tree

My dear friend, Jenna, identified the tree right away. It is definitely a Chinese tallow tree. Now, how do I get one to grow officially in my yard and should I? It is an invasive species. I like the way it looks but should I plant a local tree instead?

What kind of tree is it?

OK, my quest for tomorrow is to identify this tree. It is big enough for a 9 year old to climb. It has spade shaped leaves and some sort of fruit / seed. Hmmm any guesses?

Ahh, Comfrey again....

Click on the picture to learn more about comfrey....

Comfrey can really smell but it can't be beat for its healing properties. It's not called knitbone for nothing. I usually add it to other oils and lotions I make for healing reasons. Today I set out some oil to be infused with comfrey alone. I set it outside in the hot Alabama sun. I know it will come out very green. Since I am getting ready for Babypalooza my crock pot is taken by other oils being infused. I will add some lavender essential oil to the comfrey to help mask the smell. It may make the best ouchy medicine yet.

(By the way, I never recommend comfrey for internal use. It can cause liver damage. Externally though it ROCKS!)



Story time!

Our bedtime story tonight is brought to you by Eliot by way of the Hogelands. (By the way go check out their blog and see how the adoption fundraising is going.) This was a great read. I am ordering this book as soon as I can!

Womb Wisdom

This book is going on my favorite list. It even comes with a CD of life cycle soundscapes. It has so much depth that it is hard to describe. Just go to Amazon and take a closer look......

School has begun!

Lyn started school on the 1st but Evan, Annika, Connor, and Danny started public school this week. Eliot wanted to get on the bus so badly. Since she has a late September birthday she has 2 more years to go before she starts kindergarten. Even Ben took it all in. Since I am working part time now I was able to put Evan on the bus and be home when he got off. Annika seemed ready for 4th grade. Summer vacation seemed so short this year.

Babypalooza here I come!!

OK here WE come! Me and two friends of mine are participating in a booth at the baby extravaganza August 27th that is Babypalooza. There will be a wonderful henna artist, Heera, there promoting her art and applying henna designs of your choice then and there.Think about it. How cute would a mom to be's beautiful belly look with a henna design on it? What about matching small henna designs for mom and baby.... I know you can't wait! I will be there promoting my in home Lactation Support Services and my Motherly Creations items. You can't miss us. My other partner and crime is our business and sewing guru. She will be luring you to our table to see all the things you never knew were missing in your life.

Natural Baby Rash Salve (yes it is supposed to be green)

Henna Design on Pregnant Belly

Mother Meditation or Worry Beads

Breastfeeding Meditation Beads

Spirtual lesson at home

This past Sunday we did not go to church but we decided to have a lesson at home. Annika picked out one called We are all connected... I like using the book Nurturing Spirituality in Children. It has simple lessons to

help children develop character and morality. In this one we all picked out buttons and strung them all together. Everyone said why they picked the ones that they did and what it means to them. We then tied the string together and we talked about how even though we are all different and sometime don't like the same things we are all still family and belong together.

Henna and Autism

Danny really surprised me on Saturday. I took the big kids to International Day downtown. We stopped by a friend of mine henna booth. He showed some interest and picked out a simple design. I was so proud of him for allowing a stranger to touch him and paint the henna on. Heera did a wonderful job. You can check out her site to see some more of her work. I was so proud of Danny. He was not verbal till he was about 6 years old. He has always had difficulty with social situations. He has come a long way. He will still talk on and on about video games but he also is reading and writing Russian. I am hoping that some of his interests now at 15 years old will turn into functional skills in adulthood. Autism is a multi-faceted diagnosis to live with and challenging but Danny has taught me so much and has helped mold me into the mother that I am today!.  

Yes, I am encapsulating my own herbs.....

It really is not as hard as it seems. And it is so much cheaper than buying a bottle at the store or online. It is actually therapeutic to grind the herbs yourself by hand. I use my mortar and pestle but I really need a nut or coffee grinder to grind the herbs to powder.

Off to the thrift store

I do believe our new rule will be that if we go to the thrift store we have to bring bags of donated stuff in exchange. We found a lot of good stuff. And to top it off it was tax free weekend so people would spend more before public school starts next week.

Reading Mother Rising

The kids are playing on the playground. I have a moment to myself. I am reading a book that I have had for a while. I may not have any more babies myself but birth will always be a part of my life. I feel called to support mothers in their journey through motherhood. Maybe starting a woman's circle and helping organizing and offiating at Blessingways will help me support mothers in my community.

Hanging out at the waterfall....

Well, with record temperatures we had to go cool off at the waterfall in Old Towne Helena. The kids had a lot of fun. I only had 4 with me so my hands were not too full. We caught a crayfish by hand and a man was there with a net catching all sorts of animals. He caught a fairly large red eared slider and a lot of fish of all sizes. We took a fish home to dissect (one of Lyn's homeschool projects). It is such a nice place to spend the day. I remember tubing down the creek into the Cahaba River more than 20 years ago. Sometime everything changes and yet it stays the same. I added a slide show on the side bar to show some more pictures....