Sponsors
My dad is a gastroenterologist. We grew up around the house, car, soccer game, hearing about stomach lining, perforated colons, and of course, poop. No part of the human digestive system went unspoken of. You can imagine this has naturally translated for the kids with their grandfather “Baba” as they call him. I overheard my son explain to my daughter the other day that poop was the lining of the colon sloughing off. This was while he allegedly was prepping her for a procedure {!!}. Her response? I want to keep it. Lots of body talk around here. Along with all that for me came a fascination with the gut. Gut bacteria, in particular, and how this world of microbiology and each individual person’s microbiome that is as particularized as our palate. Enter probiotics. A field of medical supplements aimed to help repopulate your gut with the good guys of bacteria. I’ve been adding them to our kids’ food off & on since they were babies to regulate poop and boost health. We are working on eating more fermented foods that contain helpful bacteria (working on that thanks to my dear friend Mary’s expertise!). AA loves the fermented taste. The kids are getting used to it. I’ll forever not love but force myself to gulp it down. Speaking of health foods: Wellness Media, a service of Wellness Mama, run by a lovely friend, is offering an e-bundle of over 50 ebooks, ecourses and meal plans this week. This once a year sale ends…
Read More
So how many posts can Nell do about housework? Oh, I don’t know. How much time do you have? Bear with me. My friend Rachel wrote an ebook. A what? An e-book. That means you can read it on your smartphone or ‘puter. That also means you can’t lose it and no child can teethe actively on it and destroy it. Win-win. She addresses simplifying your home in six chapters. I may or may not have devoured all six as soon as she was kind enough to email me a review copy. Declutter, embrace less is more, purge. All sounds great. BUT HOW I HAVE SMALL CHILDREN?! Then she hands you an actual strategy and game plan. Winning again. First, I implemented it with my already (I thought) purged wardrobe that I’m still working on the photos for an adult capsule wardrobe. Well it turns out I had not completely truly gotten up the gumption to giveaway what I’m not using and wearing. Sniff. Goodbye, college jeans. Second, I had to believe that “I might need it later” is not a valid reason to have a basement full of odds & ends for entertaining. Things my mom used in the 80’s for a Santa-themed cocktail party? I am never throwing that party. Sorry, mama. Third, I branched out into the books, the thousands of books, we have. I have two big bins of board books alone. Many of them aren’t that fabulous. GONE. Fourth, I went through our bathroom cupboard. It’s…
Read More
my face, that is. My faulty eyes. New glasses. Because mine snapped in half. The day I was going out of town. Wearing my contacts and then glasses (old prescription!!) from college for a few weeks was brutal. My eyes weren’t used to not having the ease and peace of glasses (current scripts, that is, too). I kinda loathe my contacts. Literally the day my glasses broke, Firmoo emailed me and asked if I wanted to review a pair. They also graciously offered a few things for you, too. Skip past me wearing my glasses, as I do every day, looking awkward in my yard. Earrings: vintage from my mom. Top: clothing swap with girlfriends, Max Studio, similar one here. Jeans: Seven for All Mankind: NEW and they actually fit. Remember my complaints about muffin top? Back in business here with these. They’re on sale here. Shoes: Cole Haan over here. Bought them as a bridesmaid and loved them ever since! Dress: hand-me-down from Molly from Three Dots. Similar one here. Necklace: birthday gift from Molly from Reverie Drift, a high school friend of ours! Hand crafted beauties. Shoes: Hermes, used from a consignment in Paris available on eBay. Why is there a scary bug on my arm?? I selected these ones but was kinda wondering about these too in brown until I thought for a second second and realized black looks better for a big forehead & nose like me 🙂 There’s a feature where you can upload your mugshot…
Read More
Confession: I’m a birth story junky. I just can’t help it. I love reading about the fear, the joy, the trauma, the drama. So many late nights of all three pregnancies have involved reading other moms’ journeys on the interwebs. {Tell me you’ve read through the linkup over at Grace’s!} I just celebrated my daughter & my birthday. We share a birthday! How awesome is that. I love writing mine as well, processing the sorrows and triumphs. {SuperBoy’s || SweetPea’s || BabyLove’s}. So when Jill contacted me to tell me about her project Yellow Light, Write, a Twin Cities based writing workshop that guides women to write their journeys of motherhood and birthing, I was all um LOVE THIS KINDA THANG!!! So we did a little Q&A to tell you about what she’s got going on, because it’s really really wonderful and a real asset to our birthing community! Find her on the web || Facebook || email {jill (at) yellowlightwrite.com} You began this writing workshop for parents to understand their journey into parenthood and tell their tale. Who comes to the workshop and what do you see happen to them while working through this journey? The workshop is for mothers of all ages. I’m often asked if it’s “too late” to get a story down on paper…because 2 or 10 or 20 years have passed. I can not be more emphatic about the fact that, if this is something that resonates with you in the slightest, you are welcomed with open arms. The workshop is not…
Read More
I love meeting ladies who are makers, doers, and creatives. It seems like a lot of us are. There’s a special kinship in my heart for these ladies so I bring you a little spring giveaway of products made by woman-owned small shoppes. Even if you don’t win, I hope you can support these ladies with your business. We have to help each other and when you buy from a local, woman owned business, you are supporting her love, passion, and hard work! 1. Store credit at Faberie. etsy * website * fb * pinterest * instagram I bring you Nadya and her sister Anna who co-founded Faberie, artisenal crafted goods. Yarn work, bead work, and pattern design are their passions. They sent over this merino wool hat & scarflet for the kids. How cool is this scarflet? It stays on because it pulls through a little opening so it can be as snug or loose as desired. I’m a fan. Weather-wise, needless to say March is in like a lion and staying like a lion here in the great midwest so the scarflet has covered those parts of BabyLoves I can’t really cover when we’re out for a walk in the sling. The baby wasn’t feeling like being held. Hardcore ab workout squiggles. And my kitchen is loving these cotton washcloths! The nubby parts make scrubbing at our granite countertop (no harsh scrubbers allowed, much to my constant annoyance due to crusty banana or oatmeal) easy. I’ve been using one…
Read More
My oldest sister gave her this for Christmas. We read it. Every. Single. Day. Sometimes twice. Bridget selected it because she knows I love yarn and she thought the messaging was good. Bridget always researches her gifts and makes great selections. And this one is a real winner. It’s literally a winner of the Caldecott Award. And the illustrations are to die for, and the tale a wonderful one. The story is about a little girl in a dismal town who finds a box of yarn. What she knits with that yarn changes the whole town. Even the trucks and trees get sweaters. Her box keeps giving and giving more and more yarn. There’s an evil archduke (don’t worry, he doesn’t win) who hires three robbers to steal it but for him? No yarn. It’s the triumphant message that you need love in your heart to share love. And yes, she gets the box back. I contacted the author and said I love your book so much–can I give some away to my blog readers?? Very kindly, HarperCollins Children’s division sent me two copies for you! And check out Mac’s website for other books. I can’t wait to get this one. And maybe this one. So hop over to instagram to win one, or enter the raffle below to win the other. USA only, sorry to say. And if you don’t win, please go and buy this for the children in your life. It’s a fabulous book! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Read More