MommyCoddle

why we have children

When I got home from exercising last night, I was met at the door by Mary :

Mary : Do you go to the Arena Club to lose weight?

Me (weighing my words carefully, wanting so much to protect them as long as I can from every body conscious thought ) : Well....I go there to exercise.

Mary : Oh. Because boy! Do you ever look skinnier! 

And that, my friends, is why I have children.

Did I ever tell you that Mary is my favorite child?

(Emma, if you're reading this, I'm JUST KIDDING.)

In light of THAT good news, here's some other goodness from around the web...

✽  Kristen Chase interviewed me about homeschooling on The Pioneer Woman

✽  Scratch Baking Co.'s Baker's Notes Issue No. 1 : bagels!! my weakness.

✽  Miss Moss : Farm Fashion ( via amanda ) : I want to look this good chopping wood. (cue my husband's laughter)

✽  Soulful Mothering with Tara Thayer : I'd like to carry these words around in my pocket

✽  Dandelion gone to seed : the anticipation makes you hold your breath 

✽  morning light : I favorite all her kitchen pictures

✽  These shoes, in green.

✽  Grapegruit Sangria (do you have a good recipe for red or white? Share?!)

The weather is sticky here again. The three H's of summer : hazy, hot and humid. Once the baby wakes up, we're headed to the pool! Happy Wednesday, friends!

some things you might like

Good morning. It is March, people! The sun is shining. All my girls are at the barn riding horses. The baby is napping. And I have a few exciting things to share with you before I slip upstairs into their bedroom to surprise them with new curtains, hung and ready to go when they return....

**When you stay up too late, once your children have gone to bed and the house is quiet, you do crazy things like make a facebook page for your blog. Kidding, it wasn't crazy. I actually have been meaning to do this for quite awhile. My hope is that it will be a space to connect with all of you a little more--since I'm sure you can't get enough of me, right? But late that night as I was working on it, I knew that I wanted to give a little something from me to you. So sneak over there, "like" me, if you do, and check out the discussion. There's something waiting there....

**As if I wasn't asking for enough already, I have another favor...will you vote for me? I have been nominated for Circle of Moms Top 25 Creative Blogs. And right now, I have 5 votes (and ashamedly, one of those is mine, the other is probably my sister...) I know bloggers often ask for votes, and I know it takes some of your precious time, but I promise this one is quick and easy. Would you, please? I would be both honored and grateful. 

** TO VOTE FOR MOMMYCODDLE CLICK HERE **

**A few blogs I've been enjoying lately:

the kitchen generation

modern parents messy kids

likely stories : this may be biased because Tiffany is a "real life" friend. But there's something about her blog and her outlook on life that makes me smile.

interior photos : sometimes reading this motivates me to clean. some times, it makes me think my house will never be clean.

L'E Dans L'A: i know i've mentioned this one before. it's how i keep my french fresh. (not really). but it is a beautiful simple blog. it will make you want to take lovely photographs of your children, just being children. (and dress them in bloomers, tights, and little leather lace-up boots.)

sally j shim blog : sally has a beautiful new blog + website. the design is clean and fresh and very "sally". i loved perusing it last night.

** bluegrass on the tube : i LOVE bluegrass. i feel like i grew up on it, riding in my dad's car listening to 88.5 on the radio. and it was my dad who turned me on to this site. a new bluegrass video in your inbox daily. the website is a little plain and uninviting, but the videos are so good. here's proof below: (and if you don't like bluegrass this is probably what you think all bluegrass sounds like, which is exactly why you don't like it. and if you like bluegrass, you'll appreciate why this is so good.)

**Do yourself a favor, let your children get on polyvore. It's like internet paper dolls. And it is hilarious what they come up with when given free rein to create outfits at will. With just minimal instruction my children were creating "looks" in minutes. And let's just say, if shown in a lineup of polyvore sets, I could have picked this one among thousands as little Mary's. That's my girl. In the sets she created after this, she became obsessed with finding legs for all the dresses. Now that makes for some interesting outfits. The only downside? Everyone on polyvore now thinks mommycoddle has some really wacky taste in clothes and has a serious infatuation with ponies and princesses.

alright. If I'm ever going to get these curtains done, I need to walk away from this computer. Thank you friends for visiting here, for taking your valuable time to sit and share and read and say hello.

 

on a kick in the kitchen

I'm the kind of person who gets on "kicks" in the kitchen. Last winter I was on a "chicken and dumpling" kick, there was the shortbread kick during Summer of '09, tomato-basil-mozarella-balsamic this summer, again. 

 Once I get to the point of being able to make something without any recipe, and I'm making it more than once-a-week, I officially declare it a "kick". This fall it is chocolate chip meringues. 

Really, I blame my sister. She introduced them to me over a year ago. And upon first taste they got stored away on that list of "must figure out how to make" in my brain. 

Of course, when I was ready to make them I couldn't get her on the phone, so I had to go to the internet for research. And I found this recipe at smitten kitchen. It was my starting off point, and now that I'm feeling like a seasoned meringue-maker, I've been bold enough to eek back the sugar and go with the flow. 

Seriously, do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of these. Don't be intimidated by egg white stiffness or foaminess, or perfect meringue done-ness. 

Even better, they're low-fat. Right? Right!

Molly's Mini-chip Meringues (with a nod and tip of the hat to my sister, and 'smitten) :

2 egg whites, room temperature (or straight from under the hen's rumpus in our case)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 ounces mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put two egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and whip until it holds stiff peaks. Fold in mini-chips.

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, drop spoonfuls of the sticky white clouds onto your baking sheet. Bake at 300 for approximately 30-35 minutes. (there are also long-methods for making meringues, which I've never tried. but this is what I've been doing.) Personally, I check the meringues as I near the end of the baking time. Once they begin to get firm on the outside, I remove them from the oven. They will continue to crisp up a bit more as they cool. 

When you are done, you'll little pockets of goodness, crispy on the outside, a bit chewy on the inside. Whatever doesn't get eaten in the first feeding should be stored in an air-tight container. 

Enjoy!

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Did you know, I'm back over on the MOMformation blogs again? They've done a complete make-over and there is some pretty good stuff happening. They've added lots of great bloggers to the already standard favorites, like Jon and Sherry from Young House Love, Kristen Chase from CoolMomPicks, Alison Czarnecki from Petit Elefant --just to name a few...

I'm part of the Products & Prizes channel, and I'm writing a weekly article about great finds for your kitchen. (how fun, huh??!) And I'll soon be adding some regular posts on children's music, as well as product reviews and giveaways (some GREAT giveaways). 

To find me you can click on the button in my sidebar, or go to my bio page and SUBSCRIBE to my posts. You can find all my latest here. (Lately, I've been talking about making baby food...not to be confused with making babies.)

Hope you'll click over and check it out. 

 

dear baby, and other goodness

Dear Baby,

My house is clean. All the laundry is done and folded and put away. And you should know, that never happens in this house. I have had my little bag of packed toiletries sitting on the bathroom counter for so long, I'm almost out of deodorant and my chapstick is just about empty. I have made so many lists that they are stapled together on my desk. And if you don't come soon, once again, all these things will be undone...again. The house will get messy, again. The laundry will pile up, again. I'll need that pair of black yoga pants that I just packed in the hospital bag, again. The midwife is back from her spring break. My family is back in town, poised and ready to watch your sisters. All the farmers at work know your Daddy may suddenly disappear for a few days, even in the midst of the busiest time of year. Maybe you'll come out a very content baby, because you're obviously happy where you are. Or maybe, you're stubborn. Either way, I'm ready for part two to begin. Come on out. Spring is here. The sun is shining. We're ready to meet you. 

Love,

me.

In the meantime, some spring loveliness to see, do, read...

this front entry : the bench, the quilts, the artwork, the hooks, the baskets

this dream pantry/shelving :( via Molly Irwin )as Molly said, "this is what everyone woman wants." 

these beautiful printable alphabet letters : my girls have been meticulously working their way through their names. (except E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H) Thank goodness.

this quilt and this wallpaper : (via bloesem )i love them both, but the wallpaper i love the most. 

Early Reading Strategies for Little Learners : I can't remember where I found this! Sorry. But thank you! This article is PACKED with great ideas and strategies.

This Mom Story on Bloesem:Kids. I really liked what she had to say about life, parenting, living, faith.

berry bowls

Pssssst. Melissa's selling a few berry bowls in her shop.

progress reports + inspiration

++Eyes are open. They are tumbling and tackling all over my mudroom floor, constantly underfoot. But so cute.

++We checked off exactly, um, let's see ZERO!! days since we started the chart! Out of sight, out of mind....

++As of today, we've collected, (though I think we've forgotten to count a few) 257 eggs. Wow. I gave four dozen away today, just to make room in my refrigerator. And I've officially burned my family out on quiche. Time to move on to the frittata.

++A hello and thank you, to those of you who are wandering over here from National Wildlife's Green Hour blog. I was honored to be included in their round up of "blogs that inspire" I've mentioned it before, there are some great activities on their blog worth checking out. They even have a weekly podcast.

++I also wanted to let you know that Gina of LetterGirl, one of my May sponsors is having an anniversary celebration on her blog, with giveaways all week. I hesitate to tell you, because I don't want more competition in the giveaways!! but her work is too good not to share.

++Last but not least, I remember catching the tail end of a commercial about this company Toms shoes. Here's a video that shares the founder/owner, Blake Mycoskie's story and is definitely worth watching. It is these kinds of stories and passion that inspires me.

showered with inspiration

I guess you never know when something as simple as disappearing for 15 minutes can inspire such creativity. The other day, my children had one of those blissful days where they seemed to get along all day--they played, they sang, they drew pictures, they went outside, they dressed up. It was magical.

So when I told the two of them I was slipping away for a quick shower, they must have realized this was their chance to sneak into the kitchen and get creative. A few weeks ago, Emma created this little snack, and she's been riffing off that idea ever since.

But they really outdid themselves this time:

pretzels, sandwiched around peanut butter sprinkled with brown sugar, chocolate chips and sprinkles.

I won't discuss the mess, or how hard smashed sprinkles are to remove from white kitchen linoleum floors, or how mysteriously empty the chocolate chip bag was, or the ring of wet chocolate around their lips, or how much brown sugar was sprinkled across the table top, or how they reached into the pretzel jar with fingers covered in peanut butter, or how I'd mopped the kitchen floor on my hands and knees that morning.....

I will say, they tasted pretty good, in small doses.

Meanwhile, I've had a little list of things I've wanted to share with you burning a hole in my back pocket. And now, this morning, I can't find that list anywhere....but I do remember a few:

Have you seen the new Lotta Jansdotter, Simple Sewing For Baby book? Lotta + babies + crafting? Be still my heart. Be watching here for a little review/giveaway coming up soon. Meanwhile, if you're lucky enough to be close, Lotta is hosting a Launch Party in her Brooklyn, NY studio, Friday, May 8th from 6-9pm.

Also, the people at Peek, who so generously donated a Peek to giveaway on this blog a few months ago, emailed me and asked me to mention their new promo for mother's day. And since they're such nice people, and really this Peek is just right for someone like my mom, who wants to be connected but is better with a scaled down version of this fancy-schmancy smartphone stuff, this could be a great little Mom's day gift. Just puttin' out the word.

And because it's been a really long time since I've shared some flickr favorites. Here's a little photographic inspiration for your Thursday morning. Hoping it's sunnier than mine! C'mon sun. Show your face.

(click on the photo for photo credits)

protein + whole grains

For some reason, my eldest child seems to always give me a rough go of things for several weeks right around her birthday. I remember it when she turned six. And it happened again this January when she turned seven. Maybe it's coincidence. Maybe not. But this year, to be honest, it was a particularly tough several weeks.

It was one of those parenting seasons where I began to question all the decisions I was making for her, wonder if I was somehow "wronging" her, and how I'd failed as a parent. I found myself faced with situations where there was nothing in my parenting bag of tools and tricks that seemed to work.

Eventually, things began to settle down. I think a big part of it, was my change in perspective, which seemed to have a calming effect on our home.

Dan and I also began to notice a pattern. Many of our tough episodes with her seemed to be related to food--whether she was flat-out hungry or coming off some sort of sugary-high. So my focus began to shift, and I realized that I needed to start making some eating habit changes around our house.

On one particularly rough evening, I called Emily and we talked about all this. By the end of the conversation, she encouraged me to focus on two things: getting protein in at every meal (and snack), and making the transition to more whole wheat and grains.

I also started counting points, like I mentioned before, which always helps me be more mindful of where the calories are going, and keeps more filling foods in our diet.

And I have to tell you, the changes have been really good. The rough season appears to be behind us. And on the rare occasion that it shows its ugly head, she's in a much better place to be able to deal with it, and move on.  Me, too.

So I'm back to meal-planning. I'm getting very familiar with my Cooking Light magazine again and delving into out my grandmother's old Moosewood Cookbook.

But you all never fail me...what are some of your best high protein snacks, or whole grain meals and dishes? What's your favorite way to cook with beans? What resources, magazines or cookbooks do you like best? (have you seen this super natural recipe search?? It's great!)  I'd love to have some more recipes and ideas in my repertoire, I think most of us would. Share a link, a post, a recipe. And hopefully, I'll have some time to combine them all into one place so that they are easily accessible for all of you, too.

Thank you, friends.

last week's stars

All these pictures were taken from my front porch over the past few days. There was also a picture of several turkey vultures picking through a bit of roadkill, but I'll spare you those pictures. It was fascinating to watch though. At one point, all the girls were standing in the window making gagging noises--but unable to pull themselves from the action. The vultures didn't let me get very close, but I was close enough to be in awe of how big they are and how ugly their heads are--which I suppose is kind of ironic coming from a guinea owner.

I do admit to wondering where it puts me on the country-bumpkin scale to be photographing turkey vultures tearing apart roadkill. Hmmm.....

Anyway...my whole reason for this post is to share some of my google reader "stars" from last week--posts not necessarily written last week (I'm very behind) but good things to share with you nonetheless.

It's been a long day. And I'm trying to get to bed earlier so that I'm up earlier. But sometimes these quiet evenings are my time to unwind--but maybe they don't need to be quite so loooong.

Oh, and before I forget...thank you for some amazing music suggestions. I've been working my way through the list. So much good stuff I forgot, or discovered. Thank you!

Some starred items from last week, for your perusal:

* soft pretzels, refreshed at Smitten Kitchen
* Grace's baby bunting...now if that baby would just arrive!
* roasted cabbage at thekitchn...dan has requested cabbage in the garden this year. i'm collecting recipes.
* good tip: why you should keep your oven door closed.
* a sneak peek at kristin's new fabric design. (I see mollybirds in there!)
* Lori's thoughts on the perfect homeschool curriculum
* Molly joins the club.
* I want to make my own version of these for the girls. I love them!
* Leslie's latest pattern has me dumping my current project to get started on this.

What's catching your eye in blogland these days?

Glimpses of Reality, Followed by Inspiration

I believe a few glimpses of reality are nice every once in awhile. Healthy, even. Here are a few glimpses of reality from my day:

I am making grilled cheese sandwiches while I write this post. My laptop is sitting on the counter beside the stove.

My girls are watching a movie about penguins. And I'm okay with that. Because our morning was full or play and creativity.

I'm listening to Diana Krall on the radio show Art of The Song which reminds me of a boyfriend in college. Which I didn't think of until just this instant. (this is a new-found favorite on the radio and gets my inner singer, songwriter stirred up.)

This is where the girls spent most of the morning. A secret club meets under there. In order to get in, you must be wearing a tee shirt with the name of your favorite sport on it. Mary's says horseback riding. Emma's says soccer. And you must bring a sketch book. If I could fit, I'd be in that club, too.

Later, the girls commandeered the bathroom. Which, when the door is shut, is the warmest spot in the house--when the furnace is working, of course. Which isn't something you can count on.

That's Elizabeth, trying to get into the club. Yes, she's wearing underwear, over her clothes, which is another post to come. Yes, you'd break an ankle trying to get into that room. You should try to navigate it in the middle of the night. Yes, their beds are unmade. Morning "chores" were postponed this morning.

That's my kitchen table yesterday, about thirty minutes after I should have been elbow-deep in dinner prep. Instead I'm up to my elbows in red and pink and hearts and cupids and fancy paper and pipe cleaners. I'm working on some crafts for a new section on babycenter's website. They need 10 crafts, designed, instructions written out, and shipped to be professionally photographed in 7 days. Am I crazy? My deadline is tomorrow.

And now some inspiration to balance out my reality:

**Molly's photography in this post about her new restaurant, Delancy.
**Ali Edward's office tour. I'm getting Dan to build me some of those wooden bins on the wall, asap!
**Kristin's handmade doll clothes, which I think would be great to make for the girls' new dolls. I've already reserved the book from the library.
**This peek at Heather's new work. Stunning.
**Cassi's button clips.
**This post over at Ordinary Courage. It's actually her take on Oprah's latest magazine cover, but her thoughts on addiction, body image are really eye-opening. I'm not sure anyone could read the post without taking something positive away from it.

And back to reality......I burned the second side of the grilled cheese. Bummer.

Baking with Kids, (and the answer to a question many have asked)

My kitchen is getting crowded. There is a little girl in this house who is nudging me out in order to let her give the world of baking a try--solo baking.

And no, contrary to this first picture, it is not Elizabeth--who finds my ailing KitchenAid Mixer very mesmerizing. Rather, it is Emma.

So I've begun the search for some easy, starter recipes. Recipes that require a few ingredients and simple instructions. Eventually, I'd like to pull them all together into her own recipe box.

To help her have complete independence, I've been "illustrating" the recipes for her. Don't laugh at my crude drawings, please. At least Emma knows what they are!

This recipe is one of her favorites--Peanut Butter Kiss cookies--and she can make them completely on her own except for a little help with measuring the sticky peanut butter. It may be time to add a WonderCup to our kitchen supplies.

If you'd like a copy of Emma's recipe card, be my guest:::click to get the recipe card::. Meanwhile, I'd love to hear some of the simple recipes in your repertoire, or the recipes that your children enjoy making by themselves in the kitchen. I  love the idea of Emma being able to enjoy baking and preparing things by herself. I know she loves that rush which comes with doing something "so grown-up" all on her own and it also gives her a way to do something special for her family.

As our recipe collection grows, I'll do my best to share them here. And please, share yours as well. I'd love more to add to our bank of recipes. And it will give me a chance to work on my drawing skills. :)

++++++++

I also wanted to point you in the direction of Amy's blog, doobleh-vay. She asked me to take part in her "Inspire Me" series, sharing three things that inspire me, along with a few inspiring links. Be sure to stop by and  take a look. Amy is also behind the great etsy shop Little Alouette. She and her husband make beautiful wooden toys that are classic, simple and adorable. Thank you, Amy for including me in this series. It was good for me to take the time to put some of my inspiration into words.

Also, if you follow my Bushel and A Peck posts on babycenter you'll know that two weeks ago, I (bravely, I might add) wrote a post about some homeschooling frustrations. The post got a lot of comments--some well-meaning, off-base advice, some support, and some attack. Someone even told me that they thought homeschooling should be outlawed. Hmmmm...

Anyway, a number of people who left comments asked me to address why I homeschool. Honestly, I was pretty hesitant to share. In fact, I'm pretty hesitant to talk about homeschooling much at all on the babycenter blogs. I just don't want to hear all the negativity. (though there were a lot of supportive comments on my first homeschooling post.) But when I thought about it more, I decided to go ahead and share my reasons for homeschooling. It's easy to talk about it here on my personal blog--so many of you homeschool and those of you that don't, don't give negative reactions to the fact that I do. And I'm really, REALLY thankful for that. But in the end, I decided that these are MY REASONS for homeschooling, not some philosophy on how schooling should be handled for all children, not some mindset I'm trying to shove down the throats of anyone who will listen. There will always be nay-sayers and furrowed-brow onlookers. So, for those of you who have sent me emails in the past and asked for me to share my reasons for homeschooling you can check out my post, "A Bushel and A Peck: Week 22: Why I Homeschool."

two good things

I found this first "good thing" through a "tweet" on twitter which led me to this video about the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm.

Watching the video stirs up all kind of emotion and excitement for me--for one, my sisters and I grew up raising lambs and I have a sugary sweet spot for them. And if I ever hear of someone giving grants for fencing, you can guarantee that a handful of lambs will be the next thing kicking up their heels around this little farm. Someday...someday. (And now I think I'll go google "farm grants for fencing". You never know....)

Susan Gibbs is a city girl who transplanted to the country and now runs a yarn CSA. Isn't that an amazing idea!? Wouldn't you love to have a little yarn CSA in your area? Just watch the video and be inspired. If nothing else, it will remind you how important it is to pursue what you love.

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm is also
on flickr
on etsy
website
blog

The other thing I wanted to share with you is that steph has finally gone public with her new project called The Boys Almanac. If you've never been introduced to Steph's photography, artwork and amazing writing, you're missing out. This new site chronicles her boys' journey through The American Boy's Handy Book (And yes, girls are allowed on the site even though we apparently have cooties.)

And tomorrow, I will tell you what I made for dinner two nights ago (and had for lunch yesterday and leftovers last night)...it was so good! ack! I could make it again tonight. And I'll also get back to that bean question....get out your recipe boxes, please.

election day

I have to admit I feel a little  gypped. My polling place ran out of stickers. My kids were disappointed, too. All I got was this piece of paper vouching that I voted, "in case I want my free Starbucks". Maybe I'll just pin it to my chest. I feel this nervousness in my stomach today. Feel like we're all "on hold" or something. I cannot imagine what McCain and Obama feel like on a day like today. I think I'd want to lock myself up in a room with a TV.

Meanwhile, I'm embracing the seasons. The girls and I carved pumpkins last week, of course. And if you notice a certain someone who has been very shy in the past, is quickly overcoming his fears.

As far as I am concerned the girls can carve all they want, I just want the seeds.

I get a little crazy about it. Picking through, making sure they don't miss any. Even picking up the stragglers that fall onto the ground. Oh so good.

I'm also slowly burning my family out on apple crisp. I never follow any real recipe, just throw in a bunch of stuff that sounds good. Last night I got a little heavy-handed with the cinnamon, which made the apples get very dark and, well, cinnamon-y. It was good. I needed a little success after the caramel incident. And by the way, thanks to those that pointed out the recipe called for butterscotch chips *not* caramel. Oh those stinkin' little details.

And on a more serious note, I also wanted to remind you to check out two new important links. The first, is Amanda's new project at Mama to Mama. I love Amanda's thought behind it, " to make a small but meaningful difference in one person's life through a simple act of crafting with intention." If you have a moment, spend some time reading about what Amanda is doing. It is wonderful.

The other link I wanted to point your attention to is from a new to me site called Mom Advice. Amy and I follow each other on twitter. (Do you use twitter? You should. I am newly addicted. Get on there, let me know you're there. We can follow each other.) And I heard about her new Big Give. It is an amazing example of using your presence and influence online or in blogging for good. Amy, your post and your work for the Faith Mission is inspiring.

I have some new ideas I'm working on for the coming months. So stay tuned. One involves an amazing giveaway. I can't wait to tell you!! :) More to come soon....

a morning routine

It used to be that I would have a "make up" day when it came to house cleaning and laundry--a day when my sole purpose in life would be to make a dent in (notice I didn't say finish) the laundry, get everything put away properly, things wiped down and mopped, and prettied up. I was making up for all the previous days when I ignored the spaces and piles around me.

But I'm realizing lately that my time is not completely my own. I can't put things off for tomorrow or let things go so easily as I used to. It's taking more of a daily effort, little spurts of cleaning and puttering when I can find them. I'm trying to streamline, especially my time in the mornings. There are things that need to be done: the chickens and guineas fed, children fed, a run of the dishwasher, a load of laundry, a quick tidy, things watered and picked, before I thrust myself into the meat of my day.

I read a post on Simple Mom about your morning five. Making a list of the five things you need to accomplish each morning. (At least I think I read it on Simple Mom. Am I making this up? Nope found it here.) The recommendation is to have five things you do the same every morning. Your routine. I love this idea and I need to really put what's swirling around in my head into a tidy list on a piece of paper.

I love routine and crave it more in my life. Living on the farm with my grandmother the past two and a half years has made me realize how much wisdom and peaceful simplicity there is in routine.

Of course, all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. Or me a frazzled, weak, tear-stained pile of stress on the floor.

Enter my sweet little bag of knitting. Knitting is bringing me more comfort and peace these days than it has in a long time. Not only does it calm me, I find it also calms my children. When I sit myself down in a comfy chair in the living room to work and be still, my children seem to always wander in to the same room and find a place to play. They pick up a book and climb under blankets and pillows on the sofa, they lay on their bellies and disappear into a land of make-believe with their toys.

As much as it is important for them to see me as industrious and organized, caring for our home. It is important for them to see me still and quiet and creative. It's an equally important memory and "skill" to pass on to my children.

How are you finding stillness and quiet these days? Are you knitting something? Sewing? Reading? I'd love to hear how you find your peace each day...

Postscript:
And just another word about SimpleMom....if you're not subscribing to it, you're missing out. Every blog post that shows up in my inbox is something I find practical and helpful to my every day. Be sure to take a moment to visit.

And another (shameless) thing...if you happen to click out of your feedreader and actually visit my blog today, there's a little button over there on the left-hand sidebar to vote for my blog. It was nominated for "best parenting blog" in this year's Blogger's Choice Awards. And I have only one vote. And I'm pretty sure it's from my sister. Vote here.

going green and healthy:: with my laundry:: part II

The heat wave has moved on and my brain has finally awaked from its heat-induced coma. Man! that heat and humidity just sucked all the life out of me....but storms rumbled through last night bringing sweet relief, better attitudes and a beautiful day.

I've been meaning to get back to the discussion about my pursuit of healthier and greener laundry practices. So finally today I want to share a few more things I've found and I have a giveaway!!

One of the other products I tried from the Gaiam catalog, (which I love) was the Wonder Ball. The Wonder Ball claims that you can eliminate all laundry soap from your wash, which is good for the water supply, good for the environment. And by eliminating laundry soap, you obviously eliminate any chemicals or dyes that might be irritating to your skin. Apparently, there are some petrochemicals and minerals inside the ball that change the surface tension of the water in your machine that make the water "wetter" and allow it to penetrate your clothes fibers and wash more deeply.

Did I lose you on that one? I'm not sure I completely understand it myself.

But here's why I am liking the Wonder Ball: I have to confess that I have not been brave enough to try it sans all detergent. But the other claim it makes is that you can use it with less detergent. So when I ran out of Nellie's Nuggets and had to go back to regular detergent for awhile, I was able to use about one third of the detergent I normally would.  This made everything seem less harsh and perfumey, it was still making my water less chemical-laden and it was saving me money. The wonder ball may seem a bit pricey, but it lasts 3 years or 2000 washes and if you can cut back on the amount of detergent you are using, it would save you money in the long run. So if Nellie's Nuggets or other green laundry detergents are out of your price range or inconvenient to come by, this might be a good option.

The other laundry product that I'm really excited about is for the dryer. When the temperatures start to warm, most of my laundry goes on the clothesline which is the ultimate in saving money, energy and avoiding sticky dryer sheets. But in the winter months (though I've been known to hang out laundry with my mittens on) and for those personal items that I don't like to hang on the laundry line--I am now in love with dryer balls.

Two of these little blue-spiked beauties go in with your laundry and work to separate and soften your laundry. This also allows more air to pass through your clothes and speeds up drying time. Once again, I was skeptical, but I was proven wrong. I definitely noticed a difference in length of time it took my clothes to dry. I would estimate they were drying about 25% faster--which ironically is what it claims to do. The other thing I like about the dryer balls is no more dryer sheets which make my clothes feel sticky and slimy--a difference I did not notice until I stopped using them. But what a difference it was! And I also like the fact that when I put just a few things in my dryer--not exactly "green", I know--the dryer balls help to keep things fluffed and moving around instead of all clumping together in the corner--and those few things are dried so quickly.

The dryer balls are inexpensive. And they will last two years--as long as they don't get lost in the same land where socks disappear to. And thankfully, they are made from non-toxic materials because my teething babe really enjoys chewing on those bumpy spikes. And before your children chuck them across the room to see how high they will bounce--they really don't bounce. Oh, and one more thing--they aren't noticeably noisy--at least not to me. And remember, my washer/dryer is in my kitchen, which is in my living room, which is in my bedroom. And I really don't notice it.

They sound good, don't they? Good! Because the lovely people at Nellie's All-Natural (thank you, jackie!) sent me a set to giveaway!! Yippee!

So leave a comment and let me know you're interested and I will draw a name at the end of the week. But do me a favor...would you mind telling me your secret to stain-removal? Do you have a product you love? Or a technique?--besides not letting the stained clothes sit in the laundry bin for a week. Guilty. I'd love to hear it. And if you don't have a secret, no big deal--I have no special secret either.

But did you see those strawberry stains???

********THE WINNER IS: MARYBETH! Send me an email with your address and I'll pop them in the mail!*****