"Carnival of Natural Parenting" via Lauren in Google Reader

Giant Metal Bubbles

2012-05-27T21:30:44Z

It’s a bit of a mystery how boats float if you think of them as big lumps of metal or wood. But change the focus and think of them as giant metal bubbles and it’s suddenly clearer.

Buoyancy

When you have a column of water, the pressure at the bottom is higher than the pressure up the top. Imagine there were 100 people standing on each other’s shoulders – it’s a lot harder being at the bottom than being on top. Because of this stronger pressure at the bottom, there is a general upward force.

Modified from Peter Southwood

Floating comes down to a battle between two things – gravity pulling down and buoyancy pushing up. Gravity and buoyancy both work on mass, which is the amount of matter in an object. If the buoyancy pushing up is greater than the gravity pulling down, the object will float.

Density

Density is a way of measuring how much mass is packed into a given size. If lots is packed in, like a box filled with books, it will be heavy. If things are only loosely packed in, like a box of jumpers, it will be light. Boats aren’t just made out of the shell – they include the air inside them as well and the density averages out, making them lighter than the water.

Same size but different density, the denser one (right) is heavier.

Floating

Going back to our column of water, an object in it will replace the same mass of water. But if it is our boat which is mostly air, the low density means it is much bigger than the same mass of water, so it only replaces a little bit and will float. As you put more and more into the boat, you are increasing its mass and increasing the amount of water it is pushing out of the column. This makes it float deeper and deeper. Eventually it won’t be able to push away enough water and down it goes.

The light blue shows how much water would have been there, but has been replaced by the red boat.

We will be doing this I just wanted to get the explanations out of the way first.

two months.

2012-05-27T20:27:00Z

my little marian ostara. two months (well... 7 days past that at this point). i can't believe how fast she is growing. she still breastfeeds like a champ, of course. she smiles so much now too. tyler has figured out how to make her giggle. i'm not sure how he does it but i don't have the giggles down quite yet.

i'm glad her rash went away. for most of the first month she had a terrible, horrible, awful looking diaper rash and i thought we'd have to stop cloth-diapering her. it was like... blisters. that bad. but we tried a couple different things and apparently one of them worked! tea tree oil took care of most of it. i think her chamomile and lavender herbal baths helped a lot too. and now that it is gone we make sure to lather her a lot with coconut oil and give her lots of naked time. honestly i think she just grew out of the rash.

she still sleeps through the night wonderfully. she wakes up about once (maaaaybe twice) to nurse. but luckily since we co-sleep all i have to do is roll over and nurse her. super easy.

things are definitely different the second time around. i feel guilty about it a lot of the time but then just keep reminding myself that things have to be different. it would be impossible to do it the same way as i did it with my first. eden never had the opportunity to cry and we got to take naps together every day. poor starry sometimes has to cry while i'm preparing a meal for eden. and i almost never get to nap with her because when she's asleep i have to take advantage of that time to read books to eden.

things change, i guess. and it's not necessarily good or bad. just different. it's odd to get used to.

i love getting to know this little girl as she morphs form a newborn to a baby. she's so sweet and the three of us couldn't be luckier to have her.

xo, mrs. stone

p.s. i know i was supposed to have her birth story posted this month and i still plan to. i'm hoping to have that up within the next couple of days.

Late May Gardening

2012-05-27T19:01:39Z

I love my garden! It is so fun to go out every day and see all the new things that are happening.

Petunias & Peas

The ripe strawberries are the star of the show right now. They are absolutely delicious, melt-in-your-mouth berries. You have to be very careful picking them because they are so soft they can melt between your fingers. We buy organic strawberries all the time, but even they taste like a mild strawberry flavoring in comparison to the real thing grown right outside your front door.

So simple yet so incredible

The peas are beautiful too, sending out curly feelers to grow and climb toward the sunshine. Little peapods are forming in between their closed leaves, beautifully ripening each day.

Reaching Pea

I think I missed the kale this year, which is a HUGE bummer, because I ate that every day last summer!!!! The garden center I relied on for my early veggies (lettuce, onions, kale, leeks) didn’t have any kale. Now there’s none to be found in the other garden centers. But I haven’t given up – I still have two spots dedicated to it and am hoping I run across it somewhere. Now that I think of it, they also didn’t have any leeks or onion sets to transplant. I might have to go to a bigger center next year.

Box of Carrots

Since it’s Memorial Day weekend I decided it was OK to start planting my warmer-weather friends:

Basil
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
Cucumbers
“Waterlemon” (as Pip calls it)

And I also threw in some celery for good measure. A few more squares of carrots were added, too. Unfortunately, the edamame we planted didn’t take – not one! We replanted them last weekend but I’m not sure they’ll grow or not.

Nearby, the potatoes are absolutely thriving!! After being uncertain if they were even going to sprout, they have just taken off in leaps and bounds. In fact, I’ve hilled one corner of the box as much as I can possibly hill it! They are very eager growers. My husband’s already planning what to make with them. :)

18″ of Hilled Potatoes

Here’s how the layout looks now. Things change as the season progresses, and I find different things to plant or other things are not available. Everything is planted except for 8 of the 9 tomatoes. I will be going on a tomato plant hunt this weekend for the ones I want. :D

I wish I had written down when I planted each veg, so I know for next year and so I can track days to harvest. I’ll have to be more conscious of doing that next year.

Another exciting development is that I’ve inspired one of my neighbors to garden! They said they like seeing what I’m growing and started their own in their yard! YAY for gardening neighbors! I am going to bring them my extra basil to see if they want to plant it. :)

My flower beds are also thriving. Things are blooming, every day surprising me. I love it!

front bed roses

May Night Salvia

Smelling the roses

What does your garden look like this month? What are you most looking forward to eating? :)

Sunday Surf: Sexy Dreams of Dolls & Other Art

2012-05-27T17:12:00Z

It was an averagely busy week. Here are the links I enjoyed this week:

Scientists Reconstruct Brains’ Visions Into Digital Video In Historic Experiment

This is fascinating and cool while also being terrifying. They've found a way to monitor what happens in your brain and make it into a video! Its very rough right now, but only in its beginning stages. I could see where this might be neat for sharing your dreams with a partner (or, more likely, a therapist), but... yeah, this is scary.

JLRae Creates Awesomeness

My friend Joni Rae of Tales of a Kitchen Witch makes some gorgeous art! She paints, draws, sews... she rocks! Everything in her shop is 20% off right now if you use this code: NEWJOB!

She also has a sale going on for some goddess dolls from a discontinued pattern: All Cut Out and Nowhere to Go. They're so pretty!

Can Children Know, At Age 2, They Were Born The 'Wrong Sex'?

You see more and more articles about kids who identify with a different gender than their physical sex. I find myself wondering about environmental possibilities - maybe it is something we eat. This article brings up some very interesting points! What if we didn't have an A or B concept of sexuality? Some cultures don't share our rigid division.

The article also discusses the possibility that we don't come to one sexual identity that sticks with us for our entire lives. It can vary - which may prove to be a problem for people who are treated with hormones and surgeries at a very young age, if they basically change their minds later. I would think that there would be some pressure not to "change your mind" after having to fight for yourself as it is.

Very though-provoking article!

I'm joining Authentic Parenting and Hobo Mama for Sunday Surf. Share your best reading of the week, and link up your post at either blog!

For more great reading, visit Hobo Mama or Authentic Parenting for the latest Sunday Surf and linky.

Happy Surfing!

In Honor of Those Who Have Served and Have Passed: Simply Things Sunday

2012-05-27T16:15:12Z

It feels a little strange posting pictures taken in a cemetery. We were placing flowers on my grandfather and great grandfather’s graves for Memorial Day with my 92 year old grandmother. The moment was special and represented something significant to me, and my grandmother. I wanted to capture it. I also wanted to honor Memorial …

A Holiday

2012-05-25T18:54:20Z

We are going on our first family holiday tomorrow. I am excited but also a little nervous. I haven’t packed anything yet! We are staying in a cottage near the New Forest. It’s a barn conversion and it looks gorgeous in the pictures. They have a cot and high chair so that’s two less things to try and cram in the car. They also have a washing machine so we’ll be trying out cloth nappies on the road for the first time. This might sound like extra hassle but we always find disposable nappies leak so we’d have to do some washing while we’re away anyway!

I’m really looking forward to having some time just the three of us. In our pre-baby days we used to go on holiday all the time, usually going camping or staying in cottages around the UK, but the last time we went away was when I was pregnant, which is nearly 2 years ago now! We’ve been to stay with my mother-in-law a couple of times, and although she is lovely and I get on very well with her, it’s not the same as a holiday really. It will be nice to get away from it all and just relax.

K is now an age where she really enjoys days out going to different places so I think it will be lots of fun. We’ve been doing our research on places to visit and we’ve got a long list of activities for good weather and for wet weather, although the forecast at the moment is really good so fingers crossed we’ll get some sunshine! Our shortlist includes Beaulieu Motor Museum, Bournemouth for the beach and the aquarium, bike rides, steam trains, walks in the forest, Stonehenge and more, in fact we’ve got more ideas than we can fit in to our week away!

PS Don’t forget to enter my Groupon giveaway, which closes on the 3rd June.

Sunday Surf: Contentment and Mothering

2012-05-27T16:00:00Z

I'm catching up on Sunday Surfing today (translation: this is a long one—hope you're ready to do some reading!), as I've been not feeling as inclined to write the past few weeks. Things have been busy and kind of complicated lately...which is a post for another day. I will say that we're all enjoying this long weekend together, taking it easy while also taking small steps to continue to get more settled into our new house.

The past two evenings have been punctuated by quick after-dinner thunderstorms, a rare occurrence in Portland (aside from the past two nights, I only recall one other thunderstorm since we moved here five years ago). I've really enjoyed getting to be a spectator to the energy in that kind of storm, observing and drawing on it, feeling the vibration of the thunder move through my body. Nature really is awesome.

I recently participated in the Carnival of Weaning, reflecting on my experiences with Daniel's weaning just a few months ago. I wrote up a quick tutorial for how to make a photo book like the one I made for us to commemorate the occasion. Daniel loves this book. He asks me to read it to him at least once per day, and he enjoys talking about what we're doing in every photograph, pointing out our hands and eyes and discussing drinking mama's milk. I'm really glad I took the time to make this opportunity for us to share this story together!

There are so many thoughtful and informative posts to read from this carnival—I encourage you to browse through the list at the bottom of my post and learn more about others' personal experiences with weaning.

A big Thank you! to Rebekah and Chris of Liberated Family for their recent guest post on how our families can work toward reducing household waste. I'm very impressed that this family of four manages to only produce half a paper grocery bag of garbage per week! I I think my family does fairly well in our continual efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, but Rebekah and Chris inspire me to try even harder to lessen our impact on the environment. I hope you'll check out their post for some helpful tips, then head over to Liberated Family and poke around—they've got many excellent green living resources which I know you'll find helpful! (If you feel so inclined, you could also check out their Etsy shop, Born at Home Toys, where they feature gorgeous handmade wooden toys. Daniel loves his cherry hatchback!)

Have you entered to win my latest giveaway yet? Patricia Sereno is offering Anktangle readers a chance to win one of ten Moonrise Lullaby Celtic harp CDs, a collection perfectly suited to soothe a fussy baby into a restful sleep. I truly love this music, and I know you and the little one(s) in your life will too! I hope you'll check out the giveaway to learn more about the artist and her mission, and then use the easy Rafflecopter system to enter to win. (Open Worldwide; ends June 9th at 11:59PM Eastern.)

Here are a few of the great things I've read lately:

The Sexuality of Breasts: Keeping Women in Their Place – living peacefully with children

Love this one from Mandy about a conversation she had with her son about the over-sexualization of breasts. Great read!

Fatsronauts 101 – Shakesville

This piece is part of an interesting series which aims to debunk myths about fatness in an effort to reduce fat shame. This is so very necessary these days, and I am thankful for this author's efforts to further the cause.

My son pushed your child today: from one mother to another – The home of Lisa Hassan Scott

I really REALLY appreciate this candid, heartfelt letter from one mom to another: asking for compassion, understanding, and mutual understanding.

Your Baby Isn't Trying to Annoy You; She's Crying to Communicate – BlogHer

From the moment a child enters the world, they are trying to communicate. Crying, grunting, making eye contact, mirroring expressions: all of these things are the instinctive tools built into infants to reach out into a brand new world and make contact. They can do no more. It is entirely up to the parent to make the connection, to respond, to build those all-important "lines of communication" that will be so vitally important to parents in later childhood.

Are you Damaging Your Child by Demanding Obedience? – Authentic Parenting

A very interesting read from Authentic Parenting on the potential consequences of obedience. What do you think about the ideas presented in this article?

An open letter to Jamie Grumet and ALL the other mums who have spoken publicly about sustained breastfeeding Dispelling – Breastfeeding Myths

This is just lovely. ♥

The Liberation of Mothering Instinctively – the Little Leaf

I could really relate to Kim's thoughts in this article about Attachment Parenting. I agree completely that it is women and motherhood that is being devalued in many of our current societies, and that our babies shouldn't have to bear the brunt of that.

Rebirth: What We Don’t Say – The Sage Mama

This is such a beautiful piece from The Sage Mama about the transition of becoming a mother...and then getting to know herself again.

Triandem Nursing: Three is a Happy Crowd – The Guggie Daily

I'm happy that more people seem to be writing about breastfeeding lately in an effort to help normalize it, including breastfeeding older nurslings, tandem nursing, and nursing through pregnancies. I enjoyed reading and learning through this article from The Guggie Daily, in which the author discusses her experiences with triandem nursing—breastfeeding three!

The Little Guide to Contentedness – zenhabits

There has been little in my life that has made as much an impact as learning to be content — with my life, where I am, what I’m doing, what I have, who I’m with, who I am. This little trick changes everything.

Recently at Natural Parents Network:

What have you read lately that I shouldn't miss? Let me know in the comments!

I'm joining Authentic Parenting and Hobo Mama for Sunday Surf. Share your best reading of the week, and link up your post at either blog!

For more great reading, visit Hobo Mama or Authentic Parenting for the latest Sunday Surf and linky.

Happy Surfing!

Website Review - EatingForBreastfeeding

2012-05-27T14:17:00Z

Few months back, I have the opportunity to review this wonderful website which is aim at providing information such as recipes, news and more to nursing mothers as well as giving the avenue for mothers to interact with the professional staff on the site with regards to food intake and breastfeeding matters. So here goes my review for the "EatingForBreastfeeding " website:

Description from the product page:
"We have a free video series we are offering right now. To access the rest of the content, a viewer has to purchase a membership. With that, they get life-time access to the site. We have video interviews with our Registered Dietician talking about the foods they should and shouldn't be consuming while nursing, meal plans, recipes, shopping lists, etc. We also have a section where members can ask questions directly to our Registered Dietician. Our goal is to be their personal nutritionist while they are nursing, so mom and baby get the most out of breastfeeding."

Note from sponsor:

"We are adding a section that will provide nursing moms with 5 recipes a week for a full year (plus a shopping list each week)! We want them to get all the nutrients we recommend, so we have brought a chef on board to provide original recipes containing the foods nursing mamas need :-) We will be rolling that out within the next month."

Feedback for "Home" section:

The website is easy to navigate, with the following sections on the menu tab: Home, Ask Stacy, Recipes, Meal Plans & More, News and Resources. I like the list of videos provided in this section such as Breastmilk Basics. A very informational video clip!

Feedback for "Ask Stacy" section:

I like that members of this site can get to ask questions directly to the registered dietician! The Q&A layout makes it easy to see the questions and replies but I would prefer if there are categories for each questions asked so that it is easier and quicker to search through the topics we wanted to look for instead of scrolling up and down each Q&A.

Feedback for "Recipes, Meal Plans & More" section:

I like the recipes provided though I'm not sure whether it's my Firefox setting or what but the bulleted list of recipes is not aligned properly with the recipe names. I'm just a bit particular with alignments hahahah... I also appreciate the meal plans in PDF format provided as well as the shopping list and more. I totally love the freezer fridge guidelines in this section!

Feedback for "News " section:

In this section, there are news relating to pregnancy, baby, formula and more which may be of interests to mothers. I would appreciate if there are more news being added to this section as there are currently not much articles in this section.

Feedback for "Resources" section:

In this section, there is a list of websites which members can check out to get more information on other resources. I think it would be great if websites such as Kellymom.com or LLL are being included into this section as well.

Summary of feedback:

I think there are a whole lot more potential for this website as I don't get to see many websites which has information with regards to eating healthily for breastfeeding mothers, what more with a registered dietician on site to answer any questions you may have!

I do however think there should be more information and articles provided to keep members interested and to stay on to this website.

You can find out more info from http://eatingforme.com/

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the member access by EatingForBreastfeeding.com in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

Making Whey Protein and Cream Cheese: Try These Unique Food Products

2012-05-27T12:30:00Z

Today I am pleased to present a guest post on "whey." This little powerhouse is simple to make and has so many health benefits! Enjoy a great post!

**************

When the word “whey” is mentioned, you probably think about whey protein powder, a product that many athletes and health enthusiasts rave about. However, whey protein powder is already a processed product. It’s ready to be mixed or added to protein drinks and smoothies.

But just because whey protein is very popular doesn’t mean it’s the only pure protein source you can try. There is another natural product that you can try: raw whey protein.
What is Raw Whey Protein?

Raw whey protein, sometimes called the “gold standard of protein,” is a byproduct of cheese and milk. Even in the early times, whey protein was already consumed for its many uses. Hippocrates, called the “Father of Medicine,” even advises his patients to consume whey protein.

It’s easy to go into a store and purchase a canister of whey protein, but did you know that you can enjoy a more natural, homemade version of this food? In fact, you can make homemade whey in the comfort of your kitchen!

Making Homemade Whey is Easy

Many natural health enthusiasts are fond of homemade whey, since it is very useful for traditional cooking. Whey can be used to make:

fermented vegetables, such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles
probiotic drinks
healthy and delicious smoothies
fermented condiments (ketchup and mayonnaise)

The good news when you are making whey is that you will be creating another delicious product: cream cheese! This delicious cream cheese can be used as a spread, an addition to different desserts, sauces, and salad dressings, and as a baby food.

Making homemade whey is no sweat – all you need is raw milk, yogurt, or milk kefir. Just remember that milk kefir or raw milk will give you whey with a slightly cloudy appearance – this means that there are milk solids in the finished product. If you want clear whey with no milk solids, though, then buy store-bought yogurt instead, made from whole milk. You will then get a very clear whey product.

You will also need a strainer material to separate the whey from the cheese. Cheesecloth is the best choice, but if you don’t have any in your home, just use small cloth napkins or a dish towel – anything with a fine weave will suffice.

Follow These Steps in Making Whey (and Cream Cheese)

Allow your milk to curdle. If you are using raw milk, let it to sit on the counter for one to seven days, until it separates into curds and whey. If you are using yogurt or milk kefir, though, you can skip this step.
Get a colander or strainer and put it over a glass bowl. Using your cheese cloth or napkin, line the strainer. Make sure that no part of the cloth or napkin hangs outside the colander. Otherwise, your whey will drip out of the bowl.
Get the separated raw milk, yogurt, or milk kefir and put it in the cloth. Leave it at room temperature for four to eight hours. The whey will drip out of the cloth and directly into the bowl. Afterwards, push the cloth over the top and transfer it to the fridge. Allow this to sit overnight.
Enjoy your whey and cream cheese! The next morning, you will find whey in the bowl and cream cheese in the cloth.

Make sure you properly store the whey and cream cheese in clean, separate containers. Keep them in the refrigerator to make them last longer. You can use the whey for at least six months, and the cream cheese for at least a month. Enjoy making delicious foods with these two unique ingredients!

About the Author

A lover of traditionally fermented foods, Mishka Thomas is a nutritional expert, freelance writer, and mother of two. She has recently discovered the methods of making raw whey protein and cream cheese, and hopes to share it with other natural health enthusiasts who want to improve their diet and overall quality of life. Aside from taking care of her adorable kids, she loves going to the gym, participating in marathons, and swimming at the beach. Mishka currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

Sesame Chia Green Apple Salad

2012-05-27T12:00:23Z

A nourishing Summertime salad that combines crunch and tang. Kids love it just as much as adults!

Ingredients – Salad

1 cup fresh green beans
2 medium carrots
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
2-3 slices red onion, finely chopped

Ingredients – Dressing

2 TBSP sesame oil
1 TBSP chia seeds
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

Trim ends off 1 cup fresh green beans and cut in thirds.
Julienne 2 medium carrots.
Place in a medium saucepan with 2″ boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. When done, drain hot water, and cover with cold water and some ice. Set aside.
In medium-sized bowl add the apples, celery, cucumber, and red onion. Gently mix together.
Add the green beans and carrots and stir to mix.
In small bowl, mix together the sesame oil, chia seeds, and lemon juice.
Drizzle juice mixture over green apple mixture and stir to coat evenly.

_________________________

Nourishing Treasures was founded in 2006 by Lea Harris, just a mom passionate about her family’s health and well-being. Lea is now a Certified Health Coach graduate from Beyond Organic University. Encouraging others to take baby steps in the right direction of health for their families, Lea believes education is power, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Thanks for subscribing to the Natural Parents Network RSS Feed.
Feel free to share your thoughts on this article, Sesame Chia Green Apple Salad

Weaning Video Series #2: Support During the Weaning Process

2012-05-27T12:00:17Z

If you have not had a chance to check out some of the posts from the Carnival of Weaning, you can see a full list at my Carnival post: Weaning Video Series #1: Preparation for the Weaning Process. You can read about a few of my favorite Carnival posts underneath today’s video.

Today I’d like to share with you the second video in a series that we created to talk about weaning. Many women have shared with me that they did not feel like they could talk to anyone about their emotions and anxiety due to the weaning process. In other words, they wish they’d had more support. In this video, several of my breastfeeding friends talk about support they had (or wish they had) while weaning.¹

One of the most important things I have taken from this Carnival and this video series is that we are not alone – every breastfeeding mother experiences a loss and accompanying emotions after their nursling has weaned (and/or anxiety before and during the weaning process). Reach out to someone to talk about weaning. Working through your emotions can do so much to make you feel at peace with the end of your breastfeeding journey.

And if you do not feel like you have anyone to talk to, you can email me: Dionna {at} CodeNameMama {at} gmail {dot} com. I am always here to listen and commiserate.

Here were a few of my favorite post from the Carnival of Weaning:

Kym at Our Crazy Corner of the World shared her story of how she thought about weaning several times, yet it still happened on its own timeline. I love the way she wrote her post – I’m sure there have been moments that every one of us have thought about weaning.

Amy from Presence Parenting (guest posting at Dulce de Leche) shared her experience and approach of embracing weaning as a continual process in parenting, not just breastfeeding. Amy’s wise words about weaning as a “ripening” and as love changing forms really hit home for me.

With two self-weaning children, Jennifer at Our Muddy Boots does not know when the end will come, but that it will be natural and without regrets. I appreciated Jennifer’s thoughts about not purposefully marking weaning – as much of a milestone as it is, I feel like making it a big deal might make it even harder for me and Kieran.

What was your favorite post from the Carnival of Weaning?

Thank you to the wise and wonderful mamas who contributed to these videos. They are:
Amber of Strocel.com
Amy of Me, Mothering, and Making It All Work
Gretchen of That Mama Gretchen
Kat of Loving {Almost} Every Moment
Kym of Our Crazy Corner of the World
Lauren of Hobo Mama
Shannon of The Artful Mama ↩

Thank you for subscribing to my RSS feed at Code Name: Mama! I would appreciate your comments and feedback on the entry you just read, Weaning Video Series #2: Support During the Weaning Process. If you write about similar topics, I would also like the opportunity to link to your blog or have you write a guest post. Contact me for details!

Pre-Order My Book!

For My Children: A Mother's Journal of Memories, Wishes and Wisdom

Click the cover to order now!

Pizza Toasts, including Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce (GAPS : primal : grain-free : gluten-free)

2012-05-27T12:00:00Z

I have yet to make a grain-free, GAPS-legal pizza crust that I think is worth the time and effort, so my family usually eats pizza casserole instead. But, with my new grain-free sandwich bread recipe, we are now eating pizza toasts, and they are delicious! The key is to dry out the bread a...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Sunday Surf: Holiday weekend

2012-05-27T09:14:00Z

I need a week off, my dears. But feel free to link up still if you're surfing, and have a restful and honoring Memorial Day if you're celebrating.

No particular reason for this photo.
Just: How could I not share it?

Giveaway

A reminder to enter my $100 giveaway, because there are only a few days left:

Big smiles and homeopathic teething treatment from Baby Orajel Naturals — $100 Target Gift Card from BlogHer {5.31; US}
A review of a new homeopathic teething solution and a chance to win $100 to Target just by answering a simple question: What's your favorite new mom moment?

Surf with us:

We love following along with fellow Sunday Surfers. If you have your own post of reading links to share, please link up your post on Hobo Mama or on Authentic Parenting. The linky will go live every Sunday, and you can link up any day that week. If Sunday doesn't work for you but you do a links list another day, feel free to play along. You only need to add your post to one of the sites, and the linky will automatically show up on both sites.

You can get the Sunday Surf button by Jenna Designs and some code to add to your post from my Sunday Surf page.

Check out previous editions for good reading, and you can find more shared items during the week at my Tumblr blog, Hobo Mama's Shared Items.

Thanks for subscribing to Hobo Mama. Please feel free to comment on the post & share it with friends by clicking the links below. If you also write about natural parenting, I'd love to have you consider writing a guest post!

Sunday Surf

2012-05-27T08:00:00Z

Continue your reading through the linky below. If you're surfing too, add your link below or over at Hobo Mama. The linky will go live every Sunday and you can add your link at any time during the week.
If you have a great post that would look good in Sunday Surf, feel free to email a link to mamapoekie at yahoo dot com.

Entrepreneurs: 5 Things to Un-Learn From School
"Toxic Grandparents", a very interesting post for people living on difficult terms with parents or inlaws, and on the same blog: "Top 10 Dysfunctional Statements", read them and make sure they don't cross your lips.
"How to make wheat paste", really interesting and cheap way to make glue, and could be a cool and eco-friendly activity for the kids.

If you're surfing, add your post to the linky at the bottom of this Sunday Surf. You can do that here or at Hobo Mama, your link will show up on both sites. Make sure to grab the new button either from the left sidebar or the Sunday Surf page, where you'll also find a little blurb about Sunday Surf you can copy for your post.

Little Cooks – Amazing Apple (Or Berry) Cake

2012-05-27T07:00:21Z

Issue 4 of the Little Cooks Dora the Explorer magazines brings us the Amazing Apple Cake. Unfortunately, by the time I got to actually making the cake, the black spot on my apple had turned into a gaping big hole inside. I didn’t stick around to find that worm. Instead, I found a half a cup of frozen berries in the freezer, and topped them up to a full cup with boiling water. The result was a delicious, moist berry cake that didn’t last the day – we gobbled it up in one sitting!

Ingredients:

150g self-raising flour
65g soft brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon
1 cooking apple (or 1/2 cup frozen berries, topped with boiling water)
1 small egg
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
65ml milk

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3

Directions:

1. Put the flour, sugar and cinnamon into a mixing bowl and mix it all together

2. Ask an adult to peel the cooking apple, cut it into quarters and take out the core

3. Carefully grate the apple slices into the bowl, (or pour the berry mix in) then mix well

4. Crack the egg into a small bowl, then add it to the mixing bowl

5. Add the oil and the milk and stir it all together

6. Use your spatula to spoon the mixture into your cake mould filling it nearly to the top. (With this issue of Little Cooks we received a butterfly cake mould. There was more than enough batter for the mould so we also filled four cupcake cases from one of the previous issues.

7. Put in the oven for around 45 minutes, then cool.

And finally, I topped it with a simple icing sugar, vanilla essence and water drizzled over. The recipe recommends topping with banana and strawberries or small sweets.

Pin it

Delicious. I’ll definitely try it again, and with apple next time!

First Haircut

2012-05-27T07:00:00Z

Product Review - Shielo Haircare Products

2012-05-27T04:36:00Z

I was blessed with another opportunity to review a range of hair care products after reviewing some beauty products by the sister company of Shielo. So here goes my review for the "Shielo Haircare Products":

Description from the FB page:
"Shielo Hair Technology & Care was created in New York City in 2001 when salon industry leaders modernized the hair care industry by providing new technologies in the first voluminous technologies. A need was identified among top salons in New York City and their clientele for more voluminous styles, while including the effort to enhance and fortify hair care products with volumizing and color protecting elements.

Our philosophy is to create products with integrity and ensure that we preserve the future well-being of our environment. Shielo is against animal cruelty and proud to use post-consumer recycled and recyclable packaging."

I received a total of 3 items for my review: VOLUME Volumizing Shampoo, VOLUME Volumizing Conditioner and ANTIOXIDANT Leave in Protectant.

The reason why I requested to review the VOLUME range of hair care products is because this range gives hair volume and greater strength and flexibility while nourishing my hair with Protein and Vitamin B12 (based on the product description).

FYI, I have been shedding hair like crazy for the last few months now that my hormones are stabilising back after delivering Alyson back in September 2011.

Picture above taken 3 months ago

I love the lemony citrusy smell of the shampoo and conditioner and actually look forward to shampooing my hair more often nowadays!

After testing the products for a month, I realised that my hair is bouncier and looks thicker as well. I love the new feel of my hair as well. As for the Leave in Protectant, although my hair is not colored, it helps to protect my hair and minimize my frizzy hair. I just spray on some on the palm of my hand few minutes before I plan to go out and then I'm good to go!

Picture above taken early May 2012

You can browse all the hair care products at http://www.shielo.com/

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the product by Shielo in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

Our Play Space: Outdoor Fort/Playhouse

2012-05-27T03:15:45Z

A peek inside a reader’s play space…

We are a family of three with a three year old daughter. Last year we bought her a swing set and I made her some cloths and bought some large clothespins at Michaels on clearance to make the fort part of her swingset into a house, or whatever she imagined!

She loves it!

Often when it is nice out we will put them up and bring her pillow pet and a blanket out so she can rest on the top and not have to go inside.

I love that Carrie of Crafty Moms Share has found such a simple way to revamp a piece of fixed play equipment, I imagine her daughter enjoys all sorts of imaginative play in there…and how cool would it be to have rest time outdoors!

Do you have a play space to share? Submit your play space here and you too could be featured on Childhood 101. Be sure to visit the previous Our Play Space posts for more playful kids decor inspiration!

You just finished reading Our Play Space: Outdoor Fort/Playhouse! Consider leaving a comment!

Thank you for subscribing to Childhood 101, why not pop over to the blog to really see what's new, subscribe to our newsletter or to share this post with your friends.

Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.

Christie blogs at http://childhood101.com.

Big Ducks 2012

2012-05-27T01:43:37Z

The ducks are about 12 weeks old now! It’s time to sex them and slaughter any excess males. I’m about to find out if I like duck meat! In the meantime, cute:

Duality of Dealing With Loss

2012-05-27T01:21:00Z

Two friends and I talked about my miscarriage at a "let's have drinks" get-together a few days ago. Maybe it was the irreverent atmosphere of the bar, the fact that my one beer was long finished implying that everyone else had moved on to subsequent drinks or maybe it's just because I have really amazing friends but this conversation was completely different than any other concerning my miscarriage.

One friend told how her mother had two miscarriages and the way her mother spoke of those losses was so positive that even as an adult with children of her own, she has a hard time remembering miscarriages are emotionally difficult for women.

Another friend speculated that our culture's obsession with abortion and pro-life vs. pro-choice debates has created an environment making it even harder to overcome the emotional burdens of miscarriage. During Mississippi's Personhood Amendment debacle, we were asked to decide if we believe life starts at conception. Everybody in my circle, including myself, agreed that yes, life starts at conception. Of course, I did *not* vote for the Personhood Amendment for a vast number of reasons but that doesn't change the fact that for months the hottest topic in my state was the discussion of whether or not life begins at conception. And, that's just my local little tip of the iceberg.

We talked about how I really am doing okay. How I believe my baby was not compatible with life. How I believe everything is for a purpose. Perhaps Baby Tomas's purpose was to teach me compassion. Maybe not. At this point, his purpose isn't clear and maybe it never will be. But, his short little life certainly had a purpose.

And as strange as it seemed to say out loud, it felt really good to talk about how our loss has been immensely freeing for me. No more physical hardships of pregnancy, no more worrying about how I would take care of a newborn and still give my very needy children the attention they desperately crave, no more rushing through my doula certification just to put everything on hold for a year with a new baby, no more worries about money. The list goes on and on.

The duality of being thankful for the benefits of a miscarriage while at the same time mourning the loss of what could have been -- a beautiful round belly, a peaceful homebirth surrounded by my family and women who love me, a precious newborn, first steps, first words -- is a tribute to the spirit of life, especially the life of Baby Tomas.

And for those of you who are dealing with these conflicting emotions and the aftermath of infant loss, I found this speech a huge inspiration for peace in my heart. Spoken at a "Spirit Babies Ceremony" on the winter solstice in San Francisco in which women came together to honor babies lost through abortion, miscarriage and stillbirth on the longest night of the year, I hope it will grant you the same peace and perspective it gave me.

And now I am off to do non-pregnant activities....like mentally plan a Spirit Babies ceremony in my own little town, prepare for my first doula birth, and obsess over how excited I am to attend a CAPPA Childbirth Educator course this fall.

And, I really am okay with that.