Happy New Year! 2024

Inhale and exhale.

2023 was quite a ride, ...wasn't it? 

Furlough Foodie Fun

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So, there's a lot of reasons to be angry about the government shutdown, but I'm not going to get into them. What I am going to get into is gushing a bit about some of the marvelous things we've been making from scratch.

On Being the Snaileyest Snail

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We have a game called Snail's Pace Race that I remember loving as a child. 

It's a simple dice rolling game where players advance whatever color of snail they roll. Players "win" by guessing which will snail will cross first and last. When we play we cheer all the snails on and whichever snail crosses the finish line last gets to be the Snaileyest Snail. 

5 Things That Are Saving My Life Right Now - 2017

Five Things That Are Saving My Life Right Now - 2017

Most of us know what's killing us, what's worrying us, what's weighing on our souls. Few of us remember to look for what's saving our lives, what's bringing us light.

Top Five Posts of 2016

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As 2016 comes to a close, many people naturally find themselves looking back at the year. These darkest days are marvelous for reflection as we light our way through the winter. 

Farewell to Nursing - And some things that helped us wean

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I've been writing and editing this post in my head since before my older daughter stopped nursing, more than two years ago. 

Now that my younger daughter has ended the portion of our life where we share "mama milk," I find the end more bittersweet than I'd expected. 

I was ready.

I was really ready, and it was time.

Turns out, even though she would have happily continued nursing for more of her young life, she was pretty well ready too. 

Once we passed the age where her sister stopped nursing (right about when A was born) I started the process of weaning. 

"Don't offer, don't refuse." 

When babies are little, soothing connection, a little something in their bellies, skin contact, warmth from mama, are some of the best things to care for a tiny being. 

Bathtub Laundry - WIP Wednesday, May 11th, 2016

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Creating is my passion, my sanity, my sense of being "up to something", my way of contributing a little bit. I always have a few projects going, many left to the side for months or even years before I pick up the best and carry on. Here's some of what I'm working on this week:

What do you do when your washer dies, you have two toddlers (one of whom is sick) and a mountain of dirty clothes? 

Bathtub Laundry. 

Here's how:

1.) Add clothes

2.) Add water, soap, and children.

I decided to use our eco dish soap instead of the laundry detergent as we would have some sensitive skin involved.

Look at the dirt! Must be getting cleaner!

4.) Drain tub, rinse, repeat.

Another helper. We rinsed twice before hand rinsing each item.

5.) Rinse, squeeze, hang.

After these drip dry for a couple hours we will (somehow) get the whole caboodle outside.

Perhaps we should do laundry instead of bathing the children from now on. I think the girls got cleaner.

What are you working on? What are you excited about attempting? What are you proud to be working on? Take a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link in the comments.

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What's Working Really Well Right Now - May 9th

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It's been a little while since our last What's Working, so here are five things that are working really well right now:

1.) Belly Cream 

also known as Fermented cod liver oil beauty balm

 After bath, both girls now request "belly cream!"  This soothing, connecting, densely nutritive ritual is now a vital part of our nighttime routine.

Our skin is a living, permeable organ. This lovely, preservative free, way of adding the nutrition of fermented cod liver oil for even the pickiest of eaters, has been a boon to the health of our girls.


2.) Pottying on the go

We starting Elimination Communication with C when she was a couple weeks old. She would pee all over the changing table every time we took her diaper off so, instead on getting peed on, we got a little potty and held her up on it.

Here's C, at four months old, on a potty that is propped between my knees.

With A we started when she was only a few days old.

The biggest challenge at such a young age is figuring out how to hold them securely so that they feel comfortable - which gets a lot easier when they can hold up their own noggins.

C stopped wearing diapers during the day at 18months, A at 19, but that's mostly because I wasn't really paying attention. She could have stopped earlier.

Now we have a potty in the back of the car and offer before and after every leg of a ride. I dare say we have fewer accidents than when they were in diapers!

Because this is widely considered "early" in our country, we've enjoyed "catches" (in a potty or toilet) or "misses" rather than "accidents."

The idea of thinking of "potty training" mainly as the practice of getting the girls comfortable using a potty or toilet instead of a diaper has been so helpful.

On our way into the dmv, with a to-do basket.

3.) Busy bottles and other activities for an upcoming road trip.

We've made Velcro-building-sticks, calm-down-bottles, splurged on some tegu blocks (let me know if you'd like a $20 off coupon), some new (old) books, and snacks. Lots of snacks.

C saw what I was doing and so, rather than putting them together and then away, to save them for the trip, I let the girls assemble their own. And then do it again. And again. :) 

4.) New digs for the chicks!

We've (almost) decided to convert part of an existing shed into a coop rather than build or buy a new structure. $800 for a 4x8 shed seems like awfully expensive eggs (and that's low!). As we will let them roam free a lot of the time we need to worry less about palatial digs. They're so happy with the new space even if the girls are thwarted in their attempts to climb in. At least so far.

But they can go in, with some help. 

Room to roam, to jump-and-flap, and to see (again) who's actually taller, this time.

5.) C's Favorite Poem

In my research on homeschooling, how schooling used to be done, the modern options, etc. I repeatedly come across the concept of children learning language through long form poems, stories etc. Hearing words they might not know, in context, greatly improves their vocabulary, understanding, even memory. 

More than a year ago I started reading poetry to the girls. This has been one of C's favorites from the start. She even recited part of it when my mum asked her if she wanted to go to the brook. And yes, they then collected a pail and a can.

Dandelylions.

You know what's great about dandelylions? Aside from their incredibly nutritious leaves, their sunny cheery blooms, and the fact that just about nobody minds of you pick them? ALL of them?

Blowing the seeds and making wishes.

One of the thing that always make my heart sing is tiny hands, filled with flowers, running toward me with beaming faces and twinkling eyes of their bearer saying "Mama! For you!" 

Few things are better.

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6 Tips for Solo Parenting with Toddlers

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Six (Media Free) Tips for Solo Parenting with Toddlers

Solo parenting (not to be confused with single parenting) is when one parent is gone for a period of time, often due to work trips. 

Military families (like ours) experience this often - between trainings, regular drill weekends, long schools, and deployments. Add in work trips for weekday jobs and there's lots of time when one parent is flying solo.

Here are some tips for getting through. These also work for older kids,  difficult days, or when your spouse is home:

1.) Get them outside and active

Even if it's just a tiny toddler playscape, let them burn off big energy outdoors. 

Things That Are Saving My Life Right Now

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Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers (and another of my favorite bloggers):

"Most of us know what’s killing us, and can articulate it, if asked. But few of us pay attention to what’s giving us life. "

Here are the Things That Are Saving My Life Right Now:

1.) Snow

I can handle the cold winter as long as there's snow. The crisp, clean beautiful, sparkling view from our windows and the serene motion of the flakes falling downward sooth my soul and add restoration to these cold dark days.

2.) Nap time 

What's Working Well Right Now - January, 2016

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NEW FEATURE! Occasionally, I'll post some things that are working really well. The similar post I did in July is one of the all time most popular posts on this site.

It's almost February, one of my hardest months of the year. The winter is no longer fresh, it starts to feel dingy instead of crisp. Even though the dark months are coming to an end, I'm weary of them.

Here are a list of things that are going really well this week:

I'm finally getting some admin stuff together! 

If you look on the left hand column of the blog, you may notice a few changes - you can now subscribe to my blog through email, and more easily into your feed reader. 

If you read this blog on facebook, you may be missing posts! Sign up and make sure you get every single one. 

Love and support from nearby grandparents - I got to go and get my hair cut for the first time since April. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! 

Things that are going really well this week

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I'm not going to sugar coat the truth. Life right now is really hard, but there are so many things that are going well. Here are some of them: