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Showing posts from August, 2010

Quantum Cleanse

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Starting on Sept. 13, Seth and I are joining a few of my friends and doing a “Quantum Cleanse” for 21 days. It involves avoiding the following: - Caffeine - Sugar - Alcohol - Gluten - Animal Products *We are making an exception to include free range eggs. “This Jump-Start Cleanse will eliminate sources of toxins and allergens, giving the digestive system a break from working overtime to process the substances that inhibit optimum performance the most. Again, increased energy, better digestion, and relief from various aches and pains (including headaches, muscle aches, and joint pain) are just a few of the known benefits.” - www.oprah.com This cleanse is based on a book by Kathy Freston.  Quantum Wellness Cleanse: The 21-Day Essential Guide to Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit What we hope to gain from this is less of a dependency on these things, especially meat. We eat only humanely raised, grass fed meat for the most part, but we eat them almost every meal and it would

The T.V. Broke :(

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Every so often when I notice that the kids are a little too dependent on the television or I’m using it as a crutch too much, we “break” the tv. The more they complain and beg for it, the longer we keep it off because clearly the privilege has been abused. After they get over it initially, they usually play better together and are much more well behaved. This morning instead of breakfast in front of the tv (yes we do that,) the kids ate breakfast on the big swing in the backyard. They flew their balloon “kites” and Maggie played (tortured) her caterpillar, Jessie. After playing outside, Brighton asked if we could do some school worksheets. It was a very nice start to the day.

Has it really been a year??

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Owen turns 1 next week. I absolutely cannot believe it has been a year. I remember his birth like it was yesterday. After the midwife informed me that “breathing the baby down” was no longer an option because he was having some pretty decent decels, I flipped on my back and pushed like there was no tomorrow. He was born at 4:57am after being admitted to OU at 8pm the previous evening. Most of my labor was spent in the shower with Seth holding the shower head on my back while the midwife knitted in the other room. For me, giving birth is such a life changing and empowering moment. It is such a gift from God to us mothers. Owen weighed 6lbs 5oz and peed all over me the second he was out. He spent over an hour naked on my bare chest getting acquainted with me face to face. There were no heel sticks, no baths, no yucky eye ointment, shots or circumcision. It was as perfect an entrance into this world as it could be for a hospital birth. It was what we believe God really created birth to be

Spa day with Mimi

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Somehow on Mimi's birthday she got roped into taking Maggie to the salon for a haircut and some toe painting. I think they both had a pretty good time. Thanks Mimi! We love you! Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Zoo pass = always having something to do

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Our little biter. With the weather being as nice as it is, we went to the zoo twice this week. We buy a zoo pass every year and go all the time. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful zoo to visit. They have done so much to it since I was a kid. We could probably go a couple times a week and not get bored. Seth took off early today and the kids and I were so happy to have him with us! We were very "lucky" to catch two of the tortoises mating on our first trip this week. I had to explain to the kids that they were trying to give each other a "piggy-back ride." lol We are making our own picture reference book of the animals at the zoo, so we had fun letting the kids pick the animals they wanted to include in our book. The kids had a great time with the Lorakeets. I chose to stay outside the big cage because I'm not a huge fan of birds flying all around me. We had a great time and we definitely got our exercise this week! They LOVE the carousel.

Cherished moments this week...

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Holding Brighton’s hand while he falls asleep with a beautiful contented smile on his face. Watching while Brighton gives Maggie a reading lesson. Watching Owen speed crawl to greet Seth at the front door when he gets home from work. Watching Owen bang on the front screen door like the gorillas at the zoo when Seth leaves for work. Having nightly bedtime chats with Maggie about her day and her telling me that I’m the “best mama.” Maggie checking on Brighton when he cut his finger, asking him “Are you okay baby?” Laughing with Seth when the kids are asleep. Cleaning out the organic apple section at Target with my mom b/c they were on sale for 79 cents/lb. We each bought close to 30 apples. Maggie picking the bathroom door lock with her hairclip. Maggie and Bright painting the dog.

I’m a probiotic pusher, I admit it.

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I think they’re one of the greatest supplements on earth. There are no negative side effects, you can’t overdose on them. In lay terms, probiotics are the good bacteria in your gut that help fight off all the bad bacteria. 80% of your immunity is in your gut. Adults, if you have health issues and want to boycott natural remedies, your decision. I’m mainly writing this entry for parents who have kids on prescription laxatives, steroids, allergy meds, antibiotics every month or just want their kids to be healthier in general. Probiotics can help your children in so many ways. My mom has a friend whose baby never slept through the night because he had eczema so badly that he was always up itching. As soon as they started probiotics, this poor baby finally slept and his eczema cleared up. I have a friend whose little girl was on steroids for her asthma and is fully off of them now after being on probiotics. I’m hopeful that some of my friends with success stories will post here because it

Wordless Wednesday :)

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Simplify

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While putting laundry away today, Owen’s in the hall closet and the kids stuffed in plastic dressers in their closets, I was thinking about how amazing it’s going to be to have an extra 700 sqft to store all our crap! I really don’t want to have all this extra stuff that needs to be stored though. I read in a magazine recently that we only use 20% of our things, 80% of the time. That’s about right. I have favorite outfits for the kids that they pretty much wear every week, same for me and Seth. We have toys galore even though we take a donation to Goodwill every month. I want to simplify our life so badly and hope that this move is an opportunity to do so. I am a hoarder deep down though. When I go shopping, I have to fight everything in me to not buy a shirt I like in every color or 3 months worth of organic mac n’ cheese. I even bought two different books on simplifying your life. Must remember that the library is down the street! I’d love to be one of those families that doesn’t hav

Becoming a "doula" is harder than I thought...

“The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period. Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.” www.dona.org During my doula training in April, my wonderful trainer told us that as a doula, when you walk into the room, you must carry yourself in a way that everyone relaxes when they see you. For those who know me well, you know that my personality usually isn’t a calming and relaxing one. I definitely believe God is waiting until this characteristic is perfected in me before sending me off to a doula client. I am a work in progress. For those of you that know my mother, you k

Frozen Yogurt Saturday

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We ran out of clean normal sized spoons, so Mags took full advantage of the tablespoon I gave her. Different as night and day, Brighton is always clean as a whistle. Love these crazy babies.

If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans...

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This is our house! (Picture yellow siding and a red door!) July of this year, Seth and I decided to start looking for possible land options to buy and live on in the future. Over the past few years we have developed a strong desire to become more self-sufficient and “live off the land” as much as possible. We strongly believed that this probably wouldn't happen for 5-10 years.We prayed beforehand that God would give us clear answers either way and that if it was meant to be, doors would open easily. Seth knew about a government assisted rural development loan that we were going to try to qualify for. He called me later that week to tell me that we qualified for a 30 yr 1% interest rate mortgage for up to $142,000. That makes the monthly mortgage payment on that amount only $425! Definitely a BIG yes from God. There is just no other time in our lives that we will ever have that kind of opportunity again. We had a couple of land possibilities we were looking at, but would only be