A candle for a friend

A friend of mine asked for a candle to be lit to give her and her family peace, clarity, growth, and patience. My daughter Lyn helped me with this lighting. I hope my friend feels better soon....

The tools I used were a neutral yellow candle, my cauldron, a spiral handled spoon, a wooden bowl, dried fennel, fresh sage, powdered chamomile, and dried comfrey.

And of course it was all blessed under the moon.....

Lammas is tomorrow and it came!!!

I ordered a candle, stalk of wheat and a spell from a lovely Etsy store. I can't wait till tomorrow. We have a lot planned stay logged on to find out!

Oh the storm last night....

The storm sent my 10 year old to climb into bed with me.... The water level at the waterfall in Helena was incredible....

Hair color?

OK, as a child I had blond hair. It started to turn a dark blond between kindergarten and high school graduation. Then I started to dye it a light strawberry blond for years. Around the time I met my husband I dyed it to my natural color which I did not know was so dark. Since 2004 I had one break down and went a bit red but have kept it pretty much natural for years. But what color is it? I see some reds. I see some browns. And from the front I have a nice grey streak that I sort of like. I am not sure what color it is but I am happy with it.

Toddler stuff again?

I am enjoying working with toddlers again in a classroom setting. They will move up soon with the new school year and I will be nurturing much younger children but for now here is a look at teaching math and science to toddlers.

Check it out. They have to figure out which end the rings will fit over and keep everything positioned just right so all the rings don't fall off . That's physics baby!!! By the way, All you need are some napkin rings that you know never get used sitting in a drawer and a wooden spoon. Voila, instant toddler fun!

When you need a little cash

Some people pray when they need money. Some people hope when they need money. Others burn candles that have been infused with prosperity (oh yeah, they are green candles). I bought a money / prosperity candle to burn for my friend Kate's adoption fundraiser in hopes she could get closer to the financial goal that will bring her daughter home. And you know what happened? I got a part time job that practically fell into my lap that fits perfectly with my professional and family needs and I can now afford to help some with the fundraising....

Pretty cool huh?

Click on the above picture to visit the Hogeland's blog and chip in to help them bring their daughter home. Every dollar counts and is tax deductible!

My shelf

It fell today. And, you know... I knew it was going to happen. Before i set up my working corner of the kitchen and was constantly sending children into the living room to fetch this herb or that essential oil I knew a change needed to be made. The shelf had just become too heavy with items and ideas. Plus being knocked down accidental by my husband didn't help matters. So now all of my jars of herbs and sachet tools are in a box till I can have a re-purposing ceremony and set the shelf in a more functional area closer to my work station.

Click on this picture to read the original post it went with....

This is how it looked in the very beginning. It changed and received many new items and lost a few. Now I will begin anew with its purpose.

Jelly bracelets... seriously?

I was buying school "stuff" for my 13 year old and passed by these in the store. Have they been here since I was 13? It is amazing how styles can come and go and come back again....

My porch

My front porch has been out of hand for a long time. It has been a catch all for bikes, strollers and children's shoes. Frankly it gave me bad vibes and negative energy even before I stepped into the house. I finally cleaned it and got new herbs to replace the ones the heat from a few weeks ago killed. I hung a yellow hanging plant and even placed some lavender petals from last year in remembrance of the lavender plant that died. (I could not find any lavender plants in the store.) As the sun went down I lit my elemental candles and burned a little rosemary to fire up the atmosphere and enjoyed the threshold to my home like I haven't for a long time.

Getting organized

When your bead collection gets out of hand call in the teenager who doesn't have cable at her house to organize them all for fun!

Thanks Lyn

And how do I find time to blog and create jewelry?

Well, I baby wear of course. At this moment Elaina is sound asleep in a ring sling half in my lap and half on my hip. Of course playing on the floor at my feet tired her out enough so now she is fast asleep. As for the other children? Well, I hear some screaming from the other room so I guess they are all still alive. Just kidding, big sister Lyn is in charge of the chaos.

New beads!!!! Need I say more?

NEW BEADS, NEW BEADS, NEW BEADS!!!!!

I am so excited to start working on some new pieces. I will offer them in my Etsy store Motherly Creations and on consignment at some local and not so local shops. Aren't they just lovely though? The energy I felt while holding the hand knapped crescent moon shaped pendants was incredible. The red, yellow, and white Goddess pendents feel so alive in one's hand. I can't wait to get started on some new pieces. 

In my shopping cart....

Look closely.... I see a crystal ball (solar powered), herbs of all kinds, elemental candles, and a terra cotta tray. Who is having a come to nature moment later?

And yes, it all came from Wal-Mart!

One of my favorite flowers...

Gardenias are one of my favorite flowers. The scent alone will liven my mood. As I walked into a home to provide EI today I spotted several bushes in bloom around the home. As I finished my session I asked the mom if I could pick a few blossoms. (Never take plants form someone else's property without permission.) She said no problem so i picked two blossoms. I knew they would make my car smell so good so I stuck them in the air conditioner vent. Needless to say, I had a pleasant drive....

Green Goop to the rescue

OK, this may be too much information..... Breastfeeding has been going "differently" this go around. Elaina latches on OK and I pump 2 to 3 times a day for her. She gets the bulk of her milk from a bottle. I was having some problems with my right nipple and an injury I think was caused by a flange that was too big. Seriously, it looked like a ring of fire around my nipple. Well, I am leery about putting any creams or ointments on my nipples. But, I tried my homemade green goop on it and WOW! it healed almost completely overnight. Way to go comfrey green goop!

My Magic World

We sat outside in the heat to read this book. It is awesome. It draws simple connections between science and magic. I have a video of me reading it on my YouTube channel on the sidebar.

My Magic World

He likes Star Wars and flowers

A man after my own heart....

What a cool book...

We found this book the other day at a craft store. It shows you how to make cool journals using materials from nature. The concepts in it are really cool. A journal can be made about an ecosystem, a day at the beach, or a weather event. I just have to get it. I can see how we could use it for homeschool.....

Trying to find peace and not finding it

Is it selfish of me to want to find some time to myself? I have a new baby and other children that need me and I have work obligations. I just need to focus my thoughts and get some direction. After working my evening job at a daycare I decided to take the children minus Elaina on a walk to our circle. I knew it would not bring me peace when one of our lanterns broke in the driveway. We continued on and made it to our circle. I lit the chalice and tried to focus on thankful thoughts. The kids were  all scattered like me and Ben just wanted to blow the chalice candle out. In other words I have no peace within me. I will need to stay up tonight and read meaningful lifting words and focus on the positive....

Not our family chalice but I do like it...

Look what I won!!!

Yes,  it is a baby hat that looks like a boobie!!! Go check out the online auction going on to help my friend's adoption fundraising. Go to this auction link to see what else is available....

Annika's new glasses

Annika was helping me add some sandalwood scent to this awesome new candle and it gave me a chance to show off her new glasses. Apparently she has been walking around nearly blind. Isn't she lovely?!?

Eliot's candle

We found a great candle holder at a yard sale. Eliot cleaned it up and she ground some lavender to add to it and voila... beautiful candle for a girl's room.....

Trying to put pen to paper

I used to write in a journal everyday... I literally had stacks of journals that had entries for every day. At this time I cannot find them since we moved but they are really interesting to read. I wrote in them when I was investigating the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the whole time I was an active member. Journal writing is an important part of their teachings. They chronicle the first years of my first marriage. Maybe it is a good thing I can't find them. I use this blog to journal about some things but sometimes you just have to put pen to paper and that is what I am going to try to do....

Story Stones

Annika is a child that seems to always need outside direction. Just for  her I got her some stones so she could make and design some story stones. It took a lot of energy to explain to her what they actually are. I finally got our little netbook fixed so I pretty much turned it over to her so she can become engaged in some new activities where she can use the netbook computer to help her. She constantly has questions and she needs to learn how to find her own answers. I enrolled her in 5th grade this week. She has a male teacher. That will be interesting. With her attachment disorder issues this year will be interesting. I already have meetings set up with her teacher and school nurse. Now, if only I can keep my cool.

Boys' Day

We had a busy morning. Ever since I took all of the girls out for a girls' day Evan has been eagerly awaiting our boys' day. We went to the book store, the dollar store, and the pet store. Ben did really well. It is hit or miss sometimes if he will do well in public places. He gets overwhelmed sometimes. Danny did well too. He had some stereotyping behaviors but he handled himself well. Connor was so mature helping with the little boys. He helped Evan go to the restroom and helped me keep an eye on Ben. Mama was tired but it was a good boys' day even if it was just a morning...

Dry erase crayon fun

Look, Lyn drew some of the family. I see me holding Elaina, Lyn with her newly hennaed hair, Annika, Evan, Eliot, and Ben..... I guess everyone else didn't make the cut. I made a video of everyone coloring. Check out my YouTube channel to see it. A link to it is on the sidebar. These crayons are great. I brought out some of my old white boards I used in my class and they all had fun coloring. No smell like from markers and no waste with a lot of paper...