Happy 18th Birthday Danny!

Can you believe 18 years ago I gave birth to my first child. I was 21 years old and didn't know what I was doing. Danny has taught me a lot. When your first born has Autism every day has a new light shed on it.... Happy Birthday Danny!

We had brunch before I went to work with Granny at Panera Bread. He was in a very talkative mood. I am so proud of him.

Oola Balance bath salts

Wonderful salt mixture

Grey Celtic Sea Salt
Himalaya Pink Salt
Epsom Salt
Course Sea Salt

With Oola Balance essential oil from Young Living added.

Awesome!!!

No pump break at work....

Because of the weather work closed early which meant no one got a break. I didn't even bring my pump because I live 3 miles from work and planned on going home to feed Etta. After more than 7 hours of nor nursing and over 12 hours on one breast I was in pain. Guess which bottle holds the milk from the engorged side which happens to be my side prone to blocked ducts. My supply will tank for a day but it should be back to normal soon.....

Growing things...

Blackberry vines are spreading on the porch and my rue is flowering....

Free stuff is cool

At church someone was giving away wild mint and some seeds. Time to get planting....

Enjoying the afternoon rain

Since it is Sunday we left the Chalice burning after we went inside.

Might be a good read

Lyn is interested. ...

Painting with water and a little gardening

The sun was shining today so it was perfect for soaking up some sun and painting with water on the sidewalk. The flowers are blooming and life seems a little brighter.

Lyn

Lyn is my eldest daughter and the keeper of a very special place in my heart. She is going through some very troubling times. Her birth father came into her life and then left again. Boys tend to always cause 15 year old girls drama and life itself can be stressful. She was so lucky to get a scholarship to attend The Mountain which is a camp for Unitarian Universalists. She had a blast meeting new friends who share some of the same ideals. We lit candles tonight and the purple one was for healing for Lyn...

Some of the candles and especially the smudge were lit for my own emotional healing.

Tiny baby is so cute...

That is what Ben says

Positivity

Positivity....

I need to think of what I do have.. A JOB not what I don't A JOB USING MY FULL POTENTIAL

I need to be positive about my children. I can't be with them all day but at least I can hold the little ones all night and talk to the big ones.

I am thankful to breathe.... sometimes that is all we feel like we have at times.

The Earth and I Are Friends

 

Elaina and Eliot snuggled down for story time tonight. Since Earth Day is this week we read The Earth and I . It has a Mother Earth feel to it. Great read!!!!

5 months old today

 

Etta did not want to pose at all for pictures today. This is the best one I cold get. I would say the cliché "she is growing so fast" but she is still tiny baby. About 11 pounds and petite. She is still wearing 3 month clothes.... Sweet baby.

 

Earth Week in class

 

Having fun learning about the Earth. We made pictures of the Earth and played with my ball that opens and has little people from around the world inside....

My new Etsy find

My new Goddess keychain.... isn't she pretty?

Cleavers, rosemary, and rue

Some of the herbs in abundance in my yard up to dry. I mainly dry them for esthetic and ritual use but they have welcome uses in the kitchen and in tinctures. ..

Don't pull it up by its roots!!!

Lesson learned.... Eliot now knows not to pull so hard on flowers. Cut them next time....

What to do with all the left over flowers...

I brought the flowers we didn't use at church home and left some in the vase on the front  porch and the rest got added to our wreath. I won't call it quite our Spring wreath since I usually make that one around the equinox.  This year it was really stressful then and it didn't happen. So this will be our Flower Communion wreath. Tonight I will light the yellow candle on the table for wisdom and the beeswax one on the wreath for peace.

Flower Communion

It is Easter day so at our Unitarian Universalist church we celebrated Flower Communion. I had 7 of my 9 kids with me. Danny and Connor were at their dad's home. As always with more than a handful of children it was a hectic day at church but not too bad. Lyn got to hang out with some friends she met at The Mountain. They were all asked to light the chalice.  She was wearing her new Chalice necklace today. Little things like that make me happy.

Etta wore her amber necklace for the first time today.

Collecting flowers for Flower Communion

Easter Egg hunt at UUCB...

Girls....