So happy... my kit from Young Living Oils came today

Ahhh isn't she pretty? My kit came today and I have tried Valor and Peace and Calming at two separate times. I am hooked. The sound is soothing and I love the soft light at night since I get up with the baby. The cool mist humidifies wonderfully... I just want to close my door and listen to its hum and rippling water but the kids keep coming in and trying to borrow my calm. Hey, it works on them too... They are all smiles and ready for bed.

After a really long trying day this is exactly what I needed....

And if you want one too I can get you one since I am a distributor for Young Living Oils now. Their products fit so well into any family wanting a more natural approach to wellness.

They even have a oil that helps with snoring and just about anything else you can think of.... 

Daycamp for Lyn and Evan

They had a blast. Swimming, hiking, and games... They are exhausted.

My hummus turned out great

OK, I just have to say. Not only is pretty, it tasted great... Fresh rosemary and lemon balm sprigs from my yard on top with a sprinkle of cayenne.

Getting ready for an Herbalist house call..

I am going out on a house call today to talk to a family about some natural detoxification routines or rather regiment. I try to tailor make the kit for whatever the family needs. As a Family Herbalist I cannot diagnose conditions but if you tell me what ails you I have an herb, salt, or other natural remedy for what ails you. Young Essential Oils have been added to my treatment array also. Just contact me and I will start a brewing....

Yum, baked chicken in the Dutch oven and beans soaking for hummus tomorrow

 

The chicken looked great even raw and it cooked so fast in the Dutch oven. So good with a sprig of fresh rosemary from the yard on top.

We will see how the hummus turns out tomorrow. I have garbanzo bean flour to make falafels with too. That will be a first....

Nature is Magic!

Now doesn't that just say it all?

8 kids at the playground... normal for every family right?

Everyone takes 8 kids to the playground right?

A cloth diaper in hand...

Elaina's "blankie" is just a plain prefold cloth diaper. Could she be any sweeter?

Essential Oils and More... Young Living Oils

Ok, sometimes you just have to jump on a band wagon. I have become an independent distributor for Young Living Oils. They are therapeutic grade essential oils and more. I have seen life changing things happen for many families because of these oils. I have met families who no longer have chronic conditions like pain, anxiety, depression, asthma, and even snoring because of these oils. They are not your run of the mill essential oils that you can get at a health food store. There is more to them than just their scent. The way they are made actually affects the body in positive ways internally. You just have to research them for yourself to get the full gist. Well, with that being said. Fell free to contact me as your local distributor and I can order oils and all the accoutrements that you could use that go with them or if you are interested in becoming a distributer yourself let me know and I can help you become independent and earn your own money as your own boss.. It is a win win situation....

 

Click on the photo above to visit their website

 

My distributor number is 1487160 to order under my name.... 

Time to season some cast iron...

I use cast iron skillets to cook on the stove top and I greatly attribute this fact to my children's good iron levels. I love my iron tea pot and use it all the time. I have had this big Dutch oven for a while but it need seasoning. Since my small cauldron and a cast iron pot to be used over open fire needed to be seasoned I just worked on all of them at once. It heats up the house to use the stove a lot in the summer and my crock pot is cheaper energy wise but I just love cooking with cast iron. If I could only find a cast iron crock pot and a cast iron electric skillet for the counter top I would be on cloud nine....

More Homeschooling or Unschooling as you wish

Playing board games are a great way for children to practice reading skills and following directions. Not to mention those wonderful getting along socializing skills. Wild Craft is one of their favorites. It is simple and teaches them about the healing properties of herbs...

That was some rain today...

 

 

Rain and more rain!

The gutter behind the house rose pretty high...

Our bedtime story tonight

 

 

Eliot and Elaina read me a wonderful bedtime story tonight. This book is very girl empowering. The words are uplifting and the artwork is great. The message it portrays is a positive one that what a girl's body is capable of as she grows is natural and beautiful....

Full Moon Magic and Fennel

 

The full moon last night was so beautiful. I took the opportunity with Evan and Eliot's help to use the magical night to separate the seeds from the stalk. We had our Fall harvest Mother figure helping even though it is still summer. That just seemed appropriate. We also charged three moonstones in my thistle cup. I really felt called to buy that glass cup carved with thistles. Thistles are a plant that talks to me. We also lit our Chalice and had a mini circle of lights to share our concerns and joys. Overall we just plain had fun under the full moon. Eliot even made up a wonderful song. I wish I had recorded it. Everyone fought to wear my new purple scarf. Even though it was a warm night they claimed they were cold just to snuggle in it in my lap and that was just fine by me....

 

After we collected and ground up some of our seeds Evan really enjoyed burning some of the stalks in the last embers of our chalice. Teaching a respect and proper use of fire is a skill I think every child should be taught. We didn't burn every stalk. there were a few seeds left on some of the stalks. Along with the garbanzo beans in the Chalice used to hold up the candles in the Chalice we tossed the fennel stalks into a wild part of the yard. We shall see what grows....

 

 

The fennel seeds are you see in the bags are available for sell in my Etsy store. Pop over.. Free shipping for my local shoppers.

 

 

Dried fennel flowers and rosemary are next on my to do list to place in the store.

What begins with "B"?

Well, Ben, ball, and baby of course....

He requested his picture be taken. It is so hard to get him to look at the camera I take every advantage I can get.

Time for a fennel seed harvest... and man, do I like fennel!

 

I have fennel still lowering, almost in seed and some already in full seed. These I will be collecting and placing in sachets to either sell, make into tea, or use in concoctions and potions of all sorts. Plus, they smell so great!

 

 

Elaina got in on the fun too. All the kids like to pull small stalks off of my huge fennel plant ant chew on hem. Tastes just like licorice and their breath smells so sweet afterwards.

 

 

And just to take it a step further I have fennel toothpaste. And when I don't have any of my own seed to make tea or am just feeling a bit lazy I have my favorite store bought brand of fennel tea on hand. Fresh cream and a touch of sugar and all is right with the world....

Another year at camp..

Lyn had a blast this week. She won an archery and rifle award. My sharp shooter...

At the swimming hole again...

Cooling off with no mosquitoes... Eliot is really learning to swim naturally. The boys not so much.

Getting started on some homeschooling activities..

Eliot picked out the page she wanted to work on today. Beltaine has already past but she remembers the Maypole and wanted to color the picture shown. She did a little math as she spread out her paper and picked which color she wanted. She had to count and subtract and she got it correct. We named the letters and she copied them all in a naturalistic way. We then realized Beltaine was a compound word. Belt and Aine. For those who don't know Aine (pronounced Anya) is an Irish Goddess and the name of one of Eliot's friends. Good catch big girl!

Fresh Lemon Balm Tea

Wow, so good. I have grown lemon balm for years. As I was weeding around my lemon balm and collecting fennel seeds Eliot asked if she could eat a leaf. I said sure. I asked her if she wanted to make some fresh tea. I am always so proud of how easily most of my kids try new things.

39 years old today...

My choice of activities today? Take kids to the playground. Choice of playgrounds? The one with the Babywearing International meeting at it. The kids had fun. They wore themselves out at the playground and at the creek...

A picture I like

I am not so glamorous but Eliot took the picture so of course I have to post it.

Passionflower I do believe...

After the MUUMs meting  spotted a flower on the side of a patio on our way out. I do believe it is passion flower. I may need to get permission to transplant some to my home...

MUUMs meeting today... a broken Mother

I wasn't going to go participate in the meeting today but after a really bad night emotionally and the fact that Lyn was working as childcare I had to at least drive her there. I usually invest a little time in making up a center piece for visual ambiance in the room during the meeting but I did not feel like putting too much effort into it all. I noticed one of my Mother figures around the house and she seemed perfect. She has always been one of my favorites but months ago the shelf she sat upon fell down. She broke in half and a chip is missing from her back. My husband is pretty good with super glue and put her back together. She is still broken but with all that I have been going through lately it seemed appropriate to have a "broken " but mended figure in the room. She is still beautiful. I shared a few of my feelings with my friends and newcomers in the group but no one except a really GOOD friend really knows my anguish...

Here she is in all her glory.

My homemade laundry soap

 

It has rained so much lately that I haven't had a lot of chances to sun my cloth diapers. Also, I bought some cheap detergent and have been using it for about 3 weeks. I have used all kinds of detergents for my diapers both higher end kinds that were gifts and homemade ones that I have loved. The urine and frankly poop smell just would not go away no matter how I rinsed or washed my diapers so I drew a line. I made my own detergent with what I had on hand. I make all kinds of "potions" and "concoctions" as my children say from soap, herbal oils and remedies to more exotic items. Today I just happened to make detergent.

This is what I put in it... grated plain Castile soap (yes I have a grater for soap only!), lavender EO, borax and baking soda. I stirred it all up with a wooden spoon and it worked like a charm. The diapers smelled great and are out on the line right now!

Problem solved....

My latest sale...

Calendula, lavender, arnica infused oil....

Now don't you need that to sooth some bug bites, scratches, poison ivy, and any other summer uh ohs? Works great as a soothing massage oil or added to the bath also. Helps with pain relief and itching.

Always available in my Etsy shop.... Motherly Creations

Lost children

I made a very hard decision today. I am going to tell part of the story here. I spent the morning in court finalizing joint custody of Annika with her father. The trauma of dealing with him constantly for visitation and trying to "fix" her after she returned to my house was more traumatic than anyone could imagine. Her father was very abusive to me and on a lot of levels just being within 10 feet of him for drop offs could put me in a negative emotional state for days. And then the cycle begins again. I thought that because Annika was a girl and needed me more than my older sons who have been living with their father for years I could just stomach the anger, disgust, and loathing towards her father. After 9 years of raising her myself and dealing with her diagnoses, unpredictability, and trying to reverse the emotional damage her father inflicts on her at every visitation I broke and gave up. I hate her father. That is a strong statement and my life will be forever changed by letting Annika go. Her life may be better it may be worse but I have to think of the health and safety of my other children and myself. I may be selfish but I cannot sacrifice my emotional well-being to the point that I cannot take care of my other children.

I feel like a woman who has given up a child for adoption. I legally can have visitation with Annika but I do not believe I will take advantage of it unless I know Annika needs me. My mother wants to still see her. If her father allows her she can take my visitation times I don't use but it is stressful on her too. Who knows what the future holds but at this moment Annika is not part of my future or daily life but I will always be there for her and her brothers if they need me.

I let Danny and Connor go years ago on a daily basis. I recently tried really hard to reconnect to them. Danny actually attacked me and the police had to be called during one of his visitations. He has Autism, is 17 years old, and over 6 feet tall. This all happened in front to my other children. I drew a line then. Connor cries and begs never to come to my house. He is a troubled depressed boy who has stated that he wishes he could just disappear. He does not want to be with me and his father is blind to his needs. I have no control....

I cannot sacrifice the 5 children that live with me and my marriage and any future children for the sake of lost children. I have responsibilities and it is a hard day when a mother has to choose between her drowning children......