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You’d think I’ve got it down. Meal planning. Simple enough, right? You write down what you’re going to eat. Then you write down your shopping list. Then you buy the ingredients and make the dammm food. Simple but oh-so-elusive. I’ve tried for years to be consistent about it. Often in a frantic panic Sunday nights (that, and staring down a huge pile of white dress shirts that firmly require ironing out their set wrinkles for AA’s work). I’ll scream to my husband I DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE GOING TO EAT THIS WEEK??!!! Of course, I could pay for a meal plan to have all this sent to me. I tried that. Of course, I could just defrost some meat every night so there was something to eat the next day. I tried that. Of course, I could order a lot of takeout + organic frozen pizza. Yup. Guess who’s done that. But what I’d like to do is a meal planning link up. Saturdays. If you don’t have a blog, no problem. Just comment with your meal plan for the week with either the link to the recipe, or if you are a chef (Mary, Cynthia, Laura, I’m looking at you girls) maybe share your secret recipe with us. If you have a blog, link your post up. It will be open the whole week long. Saturday is a family day, and some people don’t waste time on the internet that day {ahem can’t pretend I don’t}. So anytime during…
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My belly cast that my sweet doulas & best friend did when I was 38 weeks with BabyLoves. I LOVE it and am so glad they did it. The kids helped me paint it, finally, many months post partum. But I have something heavier I want to share about today. I came across an online forum that had some negative comments about my blog, and people who I’m friends with that also blog. I will spare you the details, but some of what I read really hurt my feelings. But more importantly, made me think that maybe the people who have followed my journey of familyhood no longer think I’m writing anything of real value because I’m doing giveaways and working with brands. Gosh. I don’t know what to say. I really love that I can approach a company and ask for free quality products for my friends. I know that’s not every reader’s cup of tea. Totally get it. And my etsy shop and my sister’s organic skincare products? I do talk about them a lot. They’re both a big part of my life. And some of the comments talked about my Catholicism and how it’s masked or veiled, or I’m not trying to be up front about my beliefs because I’ll then get more sponsors. Confused about this. My ad bars on the side? They’re friends of mine. People who are mostly in the natural parenting world, helping families and moms. I charge a very small fee (compared…
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Because I’ve had three babies and I know what I needed afterwards . . . I present to you the NEW MAMA gift set! I give you the tour, from the bottom to the top: Witch Hazel Spray I told you about my sister Molly and her organic skincare products before, remember? A distillation of Witch Hazel leaves and bark infused with Organic Lavender buds and Rose Petals to provide superb herbal comfort. ((giving away the bigger one!)) Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) has been used for many centuries as an astringent and general body toner. This amazing formula takes it one step further, tincturing Organic Lavender buds and Rose Petals to provide even more herbal goodness. Each batch is tinctured separately and macerated for at least 6 weeks in the shade. Saturate cotton pads with witch hazel to soothe tired eyes. It has also traditionally been used to relieve hemorrhoids (Amazing!) and varicose veins. Visit her on the web or etsy or in her shoppe in Brooklyn! Lactation Consultation I told you about my friend Leah and her Guiding Star Project before, remember? She’s an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and is donating either one hour online lactation consultation via Google Helpouts (Value $55) or a one hour Phone Consultation (value $35). Because new mamas often need a little professional help (or for me with my second a LOTTA help for cracked//bleeding//screaming pained nipples) with nursing. IBCLCs help with the management of diverse lactation issues. They can help answer simple questions related to…
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Lily Jade. Did your heart just make an audible quivering gasp? It’s the bag. THE bag, people. The prettiest (diaper) bag in the world. Landon and Meggan were generous enough to send me the Madeline in Red Canvas to share about with you all. Should I go on and on and tell you how the quality of leather and stitching is truly of the highest caliber? Should I tell you that I’m putting my hand-me-down Alma in blue monogram Louis Vuitton in the closet and using this instead? Should I tell you it holds everything like Mary Poppins’ bag? Maybe part of that is the organizer that sneaks inside. No more lost anything. You will not believe how many more things you can squeeze into your purse with the help of this “baby bag.” Should I tell you you can hold it like I am here, or with a single shoulder strap, or like a backpack? Should I tell you I now feel like part of a secret club whose members can joyfully wink at one another and give a head nod? I’m just going to let the pics say it all. Go shop their store. Now. This model is on sale for a limited time. $40 off! We bought my mom this one. Because grandmas need stylish purse bags too! And because they’re so super sweet, they’re running a giveaway of THREE of my bandit bibs on their instagram account. Run to it! Oh, look, I got dressed! (Don’t worry, it was momentary.)…
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— 1 — It’s been a wild week with some health problems for me (in the never ending saga of still healing from my 10 pound baby) and my etsy shop getting really busy with a bunch of new offerings. And so many great articles around the net! And the Wellness Family Summit that was a free online conference all about health. Wild. I tell you. Wild week. — 2 — Me: let’s just say the hits keep coming with another round of infections and a new problem that hopefully won’t require surgery. Because no one wants to know about my lower regions, we’ll keep it to that. If I’ve not emailed you back or been slow on the responses, it’s not you. It’s me. Thank goodness for dear friends who come over for a playdate, bring the lunch, bring a dinner, clean up, and hold my baby so I can just lay there and yak yak yak at them while the kids play happily in the driveway. How blessed? So blessed. — 3 — etsy, not regretsy! Should I even tell you about regretsy? Just google it. It’s a hilarious site about things that people regretted buying on etsy. Let’s just hope none of mine ever end up there. So new offerings–or should I tell you about what’s been hot lately? I’ve mailed so many little boxes of love out! New offerings. We’ll stick to simple. British wool scarves! Simple double wrap scarf that will take the place of your…
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I recently took stock in all that I’ve written on the blog over the past 3.5 years to see if there was good material for a book. I mean, the very original idea that a mommy blogger who’s a crunchy Catholic could schmoosh her posts into a book. Well, 170 pages of posts that generally fall under “parenting” had me convinced I am the next behavioral expert. Until I started re-reading it all. Yes, there are a few gems in there, but . . . big boy battles, 2 under 2, 3 under 5, taming your toddler’s tantrums, feeling powerless with your preschooler, power parenting: why force & fear don’t work, helping emotional boy find his voice & ears, clearly I’m just another mom with limited knowledge, time, energy, and yet unlimited opinions. Book may have to take a different form. But I digress. Right now we’re dealing with the fine line between threats and explained consequences with our budding four year old boy. Mr. SuperPants SuperBoy. He’s so sweet until he’s terrible. He loves to take directions until he doesn’t. He is never cross until he’s crossed. You know how it is. I’ve found a few things work and don’t work with his temperament. His sister’s already shaping up to be a completely different person (shocker!) with acute needs of her own. I share not because I’m an expert but because maybe your child is similarly situated and what is working for us might work for you. Or might…
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