Mamatography 2013 - Week 4

Day 20 - January 20

Started my Compost Bin!


And created a satisfying meal for my family!

What a load of garbage!

After doing lots of research and waiting for our move and then getting settled... I was excited to have finally purchased a trash can to use as a compost bin! Then a friend brought over a ½" drill bit so I could prep the can. There are holes all down the sides and 4 holes in the bottom.

Mamatography 2013 - Week 3

Day 13 - January 13

Monster Smoothie the day before, and then a Fruit Salad today.
It sure is looking healthy around here!

Baltic Amber for Teething

Please note that I am not a doctor. I am posting from my viewpoint as a parent, about my experience with using Baltic Amber Teething Necklaces.

Since getting involved (even reading) in the natural parenting / hippie community online, you start to see lots of babies wearing Baltic amber necklaces.

All the hippie kids are sportin' the amber!

So... why? My go-to site that seems to have the most information about Baltic amber is Amber Artisans. They even have an Amber Education Room full of articles about amber and its benefits / uses, history, how to identify it, etc.

In case you're not familiar with the idea, these are not made for chewing! The idea is that body heat causes the stones to release healing oils, though there is a newer theory about the electromagnetic properties of amber. The point is, though, it absolutely reduces inflammation! Amber is not only an anti-inflammatory, it is also an analgesic. So it is a wonderfully natural option for babies as well as adults.

This was right after we received his necklace.

Will I ever live naturally... enough?

Welcome to the January 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Green Confessions. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our members have written posts about areas of their life where they aren't as "green" as they may want to be.

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I am feeling pretty darn good about my hippie rank these days.

Mamatography 2013 - Week 2

Day 6 - January 6

I made some favorite cookies...
I swear I hadn't intended to make them so Lactivist!

Getting Back to the Basics

Welcome to the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy, and Joella at Fine and Fair. Continue your reading read on at the bottom of this post by clicking the links to the other participants' posts.

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I like to think of my minimalist lifestyle like Fight Club, I don't let my stuff own me. I have certainly gotten rid of a few things I regretted (several by accident), but I've also learned the hard lesson that "stuff" doesn't have to be special. I can hold on to the special memories without holding onto the items.

I used to have so much stuff. Now I'm starting into some focus on cooking and gardening (and composting!), getting back to the simple basics. I want to provide healthy food for my family and I want to be good at getting it from the dirt to the table.

Minimalist Holidays

Welcome to the January 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting:
Recovering from the Holidays

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about how their families get back to normal after the holidays are over.

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In my previous marriage, we both had divorced parents. This made for a mess come holiday season. Of course 2-3 households wanted us to come visit at 2 o'clock Christmas day. And at least 2 households had gatherings Christmas Eve. Its one thing when its just you and a partner, but add babies and then there is all this supposed obligation.

Now? I'm remarried to a man who is from Florida. (We're in Oklahoma.) I've never met my in-laws and don't actually expect to meet them. I used to think we'd travel there, but right now... I don't see it ever happening. Then my mother passed away and I wasn't in the habit of going to see the rest of her family. That leaves only one place we have to visit for the holiday.

Snack Shelf

I love the idea of having a snack cabinet / drawer / shelf for kids that they can access themselves. So once we got into our new kitchen, I put all the kid-friendly snack food stuff that we keep on hand on the bottom shelf of the pantry. Sasha can open doors now, so when she is hungry I can send her in there to see what looks good.

I've had an issue, though. Sasha loves to eat frozen peas. Every time I serve peas at dinner lately, she insists on having some frozen on the side. And I don't keep the fresh fruit in the pantry. Then there are the grapes in the fridge... So I had an idea.

Mamatography 2013 - Week 1

This post is part of the Mamatography 2013 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

Day 1 - January 1

Dining Room Corner with Signing Time Poster

Mamatography - Week 52 PLUS

I'm posting this final 2012 edition of Mamatography early so I can get caught up and start on Mamatography 2013!

Day 358

(12/23/12)

I managed to get some Arnica on this when it was fresh.
The "egg" itself never bruised, but the bruising moved down to the eye.

Mamatography - Week 51

Day 351

(12/16/12)

10 minutes til 5, Sasha slipped and fell into the corner of a wall.
She cried, hard, for about 10 minutes - in which time we discovered a HUGE lump on her head, gathered up the babies, and darted out for the ER.

While she was still sad on the road, within 15 minutes of the initial bump,
she was chipper and excited about getting to see a doctor.