Inside my Heart

Wild Egg dying!

2012-04-09T02:47:00.000-04:00

OK so I know there are SO many blogs about dying eggs naturally. But as I mentioned in an Earlier Blog I had made some violet jelly for the first time and when I saw how vibrant that violet water was, egg dying was the first thing that came to my mind!

After seeing this I decided to take natural egg dying a step further then most....

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Spring love and craftiness!

2012-04-09T01:03:00.000-04:00

Not only has the spring melted the non existent snow ;) but my heart is melting too. It is melting with the love from my boys and the things we or I do every day that brings laughs, smiles, hugs. kisses and excitement.

I swear I won't be buying toys anymore. We really don't buy that much and I suppose on special occasions I do let them get something. Like zoo trips I let them bring back a "zoovenir". ;) Watching the reactions time and time again when they get something I made or we made together is THE BEST THING EVER! This kind of joy does not come off of a shelf in a store.

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Celebrating and some sweetness..

2012-04-06T23:45:00.000-04:00

So it is almost Easter time and I wish those who celebrate a Happy Easter. But unfortunately I am kind of disappointed I started bringing this holiday into our house because now I kind of want it out. See for me growing up holidays weren't about religion they were about family. And that is great! But as I have gotten older and realized what these holidays are all about it makes it really hard to want to continue celebrating them.

I consider myself Pagan with a strong attraction to Buddhism as well. I saw someone call themselves a Buddhagan the other day and I thought that was great honestly! So why on earth would I be celebrating things I don't believe in? It makes no sense at all. But I do love the excuses the holidays give (not that you need any!) to do fun holiday related things especially with your children.

This has all really started to bother me recently more then ever because now my 6 yr old is asking me what these holidays are about and sometimes I realize I don't even know the answer! Like St Patricks Day. I really had no clue I just "knew" it was Irish and leprechauns and clovers and what not. Really now that I have actually done the reading why in the world are there leprechauns and heavy drinking by Irish loving people on this day? Seems to me it has nothing to do with the actual meaning. And why on earth would I celebrate someone who tried to make the Irish Druids become Christian (Catholic? i don't even know the right answer from conflicting reads on the net)!? As a Pagan celebrating someone who tried to make Druids history is ridiculous!

And then we have Easter now... Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs? Really what is the Christian significance behind those and a reason they are a part of this day? They aren't. They are from pagan centered stories.

Image Designs By Willow How beautiful is that?!

The story of Eostre and Ostara. There are many versions of this story but I liked this one best as it is child friendly.

Eostre, the Goddess of Springtime, was bringing Spring to the land when she happened upon a young girl who was weeping in the forest. The girl had found a bird who had frozen to death in the snow. Taking pity on her, Eostre went to the girl to bring the bird back to life but Eostre could not save the bird's wings so she turned the bird into a rabbit instead.

Having once been a bird, the rabbit retained its ability to lay eggs and every Spring thereon the rabbit would lay eggs in all the bright colors of Spring as a thank you to the goddess Eostre for saving its life.

And that is the story of the Easter Bunny and the tradition of why we decorate eggs in bright colors. Eostre was the Goddess of Springtime and fertility hence the further symbolism of rabbits (procreation), eggs (fertility) and chocolate (aphrodisiac).

Lovely story isn't it? And this resonates much more with me then anything the Easter holiday has to offer. I am still having a bit of a time struggling with being prepared for certain Pagan holidays as the Christian holidays are so ingrained in me from growing up with them.

I did make sure we had a nice little day for Ostara this year but I forgot to prepare eggs for dying and Ostara baskets before it was too late! So since I love seeing my boys faces light up we are doing our egg dying and baskets on Easter this year.

So it is clear I love everyone. I don't care what your religion is as long as you are good to others. These commercialized Christian holidays are just not for me. Although I will admit we will probably still celebrate Xmas in the usual traditions just with a more Yule feel (although it is already pretty Pagan to begin with, without changing anything!). Same with Valentines day which we will be calling Love day! We are full of that and I am happy to make a day even more filled with love then the rest of our days already are.

I just had to get that off my chest because it has been bothering me! I certainly was not trying to offend anyone. <3

We have been thoroughly enjoying this spring weather and have been trying to make the most of it. Just the a few days ago we decided we would make Violet Jelly. It was such a fun thing to do and boy I have never worked so hard for some jelly in my life! Picking violets out of the grass in our yard with a 30 pound baby on my back was quite the workout! But worth the fun! This was our first Violet Jelly ever and we weren't sure what to expect.

2 cups of violets. Big L helped me pick some too!

This was immediately after pouring boiling water onto them and the first thing that came to my mind was wow this might make an excellent natural egg dye! So I told myself if I was up to picking some more we would try that as well this year! And we now have violets sitting in the kitchen waiting to do their thing, so stay tuned for that probably being posted tomorrow!

After sitting in the fridge for 24 hours. So beautiful!

Big L stirring after adding lemon juice. What another beautiful color!

Getting ready to put into the water bath.

Waiting...

Only thing bad that I can say about this fun experiment is that this IS NOT healthy. It is pretty much pure sugar and naturally colored water... I am hoping to come up with a better recipe because you might as well be eating candy with how much sugar is in these! And it is white sugar at that, which we never use or eat.

OH! And in case you are wanting to make your own Violet Jelly this is the recipe we used! :) VIOLET JELLY! <3

All kinds of cloth and reusable goodness!

2012-03-15T02:34:00.000-04:00

I am breaking my blogging silence again with a post about women's menstrual products. I have been meaning to write this for awhile but did not get to it untill today!

Anyway tax time came around again and I was able to make my "mama stash" a little bigger. :) I thought I would share my honest opinions again. If you would like to read my first post about menstrual related products including some brands not mentioned in this new post click ---> HERE! :)

As you can see from the picture above it may look like I went a little crazy BUT for a woman products to keep us clean and sane are VERY important and a necessity!

First up are my new mama cloth from Homestead Emporium! I have been wanting some of her mama cloth for a while now and I am in love! First I'll point out the obvious. Look at how AMAZINGLY beautiful these are!!!These are made by a WAHM and she hand dyes her fabric as well. These are SO soft, comfy and well made. No leaks even without my diva cup. LOVE them!

And this beautiful duo came from MotherMoonPads (also made by a WAHM!) and are my second purchase from her. Of course I bought a second time because they are wonderful, soft, well made and great against leaks as well! Look at how cute they are, owls and pink piggies! :D

Now I just threw these nursing pads from bamboobies in here because they arrived around the same time as everything else and are cloth and reusable. They were actually free for shipping! They are thin and work well for small leaks. Of course these were freebies and are meant to be very thin, they aren't made for major milk leaks. If you need more protection you are obviously going to need a breast pad with more then 2 thin layers. They are so cute. :D

Now look at these! I will not pass up rainbows anytime I can find them! I have been looking for the right rainbow wipes for a long time now. And these wipes from Hazelbee Baby were it! But what is the purpose of all those wipes because there sure is a lot?! Family cloth. Yep I have finally joined the "gross hippie bandwagon". ;P Although as I am writing this I have not done anything but wash them yet.. But I did get them with the full intention of using them, and I will! It is just one more thing to add to my routine and have not fully jumped in yet. My goal at the very least was to use them for myself for #1. Nothing gross about that and considering I now have a wetbag for my mama cloth, they can be tossed right in too.

Look at how beautiful these are! Ahhhh the colors! :D She had them in neutral colors and girly colors. I got the girly for me (obviously!) and the neutral for my oldest boy. What about the husband and my youngest boy? Well I am all about saving the earth and making less waste. BUT my husbands "waste" is not something I can deal with yet. For a long time I said no way I could do family cloth and here I am trying to do it. But if my husband ever wants to jump on board he will have to wash his own.. Who knows maybe someday I will not be freaked out by that but for now, no thank you. And as for my littlest boy he is still in cloth diapers and has all those wipes I made for him already awhile back. :)

And I super love that the other side is black on half of them. I figured these would be perfect for #2 wipes as stains would not show nearly as much! I know family cloth sounds ridiculous to some but it makes so much sense. And just the same as my mama cloth if there is some strange shortage of toilet paper someday, as long as I have my washing machine I can provide my family with a nice way to get clean.! Or even one of those rare days that you need to use the bathroom and realize you have no more TP! No worry grab some cloth.

We will still be buying paper toilet paper as I mentioned for my hubby so I am not too worried about anything. I just love the fact that we can reduce our household waste even more by doing this.

And now for my first personal wetbag! Since my mama cloth journey I have just been throwing my cloth in this little fabric bag with a drawstring. This is so much nicer! I got it HERE! It is well made and works great. And I love the print as well! Not pictured in this blog is the smaller wetbag I bought for my older sons family cloth. It has cute little dinosaurs on it and is very well made just as the others! And to add for the family cloth I just feel better keeping everyone's cloth separate so we all have our own wetbags now. :)

And last but not least a new cup! Pretty huh? It is the Lunette cup. Well prettier then plain white I think (white is really not on the list of things I like). I am not sure on it yet though. I hear lots of people say they like this brand better then the diva cup. But I actually tried it for a day or 2 and went back to my diva.. I am going to give it another chance but maybe for my body it is just not right. It is stiffer then the diva. Or maybe the diva has gotten softer with use and I just don't remember it being that stiff? I leaked worse with the Lunette.. I felt because it was stiffer it didn't mold to my body right. But maybe with use it will get softer. I am definitely going to give it some more time. Just hard when something else works better for you...

I try to buy handmade products as much as possible if I don't make it myself. Stop feeding the corporations and start feeding the people! Now obviously there are no WAHM menstrual cups (that I know of, feel free to let me know if there is!) but buy from families when ever you can!

Switching to cloth may seem like a big scary issue at first but it really isn't hard once you have nice things that work for you! And I would NEVER go back to anything disposable ever again by choice! Any questions, feel free to ask and I will answer to the best of my knowledge/experience or direct you elsewhere that I may know of! <3

Old post...

2011-08-07T23:15:00.000-04:00

I did a guest post review for Diaper Junctions blog waaaay back last year but I had stopped blogging for bit so this never got posted. If you would like to read my full review for what used to be my FAVE cloth diaper just click on over HERE!

These diapers I love so very much. The only reason I have issues with them now is because Little L has figured out how to take off diapers made with aplix closures. Which is very frustrating and sometimes messy. :/

As a previous post of mine states I am now on the search for our next favorite cloth diaper but you should definitely read this post if looking for info on cloth diapers! ♥

World breastfeeding week!

2011-08-07T22:41:00.001-04:00

OK so it is the end of the week now but I will never stop loving breastfeeding. BreastMILK is one of the greatest things in world and breastFEEDING is too! Nothing like being able to nourish your baby and keep them full and happy all by your little self. :)

I have so many fond memories of both my boys nursing. I am so blessed that I have a mom who showed me the way and was so helpful. I love my mom so much, she is my best friend and always will be. If only everyone was that lucky...

Lughnasadh!

2011-08-03T00:23:00.000-04:00

Lughnasadh is the first of the 3 harvest Sabbats and is typically celebrated on August 1st. It honors the Celtic Son God, Lugh and is a grain celebration. Certain grains such as wheat, corn and barley are ready to be harvested in August and many other grains too. The Old Irish word "Lunasa" means August as well.

There are a lot of similar celebrations around this time too from what I have read. For instance Native Americans celebrate early August as a grain festival in honor of the Corn Grandmother and called it the Festival of Green Corn.

What a lovely day it was. I woke in the morning to go pick some fresh herbs from the garden to make special herbal ice cubes for our grape juice later in the day. We don't normally buy or drink juice but on special occasions we do. :)

When I walked out to the garden with Little L on my back I noticed that the garden was covered in white butterflies! They were flying around playing with each other and sitting on the dirt and plants flapping their wings. I tried to get some good pictures but I guess I lack picture skills with the butterflies... I tried taking a picture from further away to show them all but you couldn't even seem them and taking them up close when they are moving is hard too!

Three little butterflies♥

There are other names for this Sabbat, the most common probably is Lammas, meaning "loaf-mass", it is an Anglo-Saxon word. It is also sometimes known as the Feast of Bread. And feast on bread we did! :)

We made honey wheat bread. And Little L now seems to think it is funny when I am kneading bread. He is on my back in the baby carrier and every time I punch down the bread he laughs! :D I am glad he thinks its fun cause my wrists sure don't think 10 minutes of kneading is!

One perfect little ball of dough turned into two yummy loaves of bread. Using this recipe HERE. And we have been eating it smothered in apple butter ever since.

We made blackberry pie.

Shh I know It is a premade crust but I was running out of time making stuff. I think we all survived. :)

We had THIS as well, it was pretty yummy although I had to leave out the spinach and tomato as I didn't have any...

Topped with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream, it was like bowl of burrito.

We tried to have a picnic on the floor in the living room but Little L decided he wanted to fling beans from all of our bowls so we made our way to the table.

Big L seems to think you can't have any kind of a picnic without hot dogs so I made them each one. Don't worry they are organic, nitrate free and all that good stuff. :) Little L also thought their cups were better for food then for drinks...

Last to mention but certainly not least was the food altar we created outside before we ate. We burned some sandalwood and frankincense in my little cauldron. I really wish it had kept the mosquitoes away, but they were awful and the reason we tried to picnic indoors...

I have to thank Spiritrunner and her post at Hearth-N-Home for this wonderful fun idea for the food altar this year!

That orange thing in the middle is a cucumber from our garden that started changing colors so we picked it and added it to the center.

He was so happy to leave some food for Mother Earth and the animals to eat too :)

I hope those who celebrate Lughnasadh had a wonderful day! And if you don't I hope your day was great too! ♥

Guest blog post!

2011-08-02T15:13:00.000-04:00

My yellow polka dot gardening boots. ♥

Kimberly at Hartke Is Online asked about anyone who might like to have a guest spot on her blog Hartke Is Online last month at the Sowing Millions Tweet chat. And of course I waved my web hands saying "Oh me me!".

I am very honored she used my post, her blog is fantastic and you should go check out my post there (AND the rest of her blog!!!!) when you have a min! ♥

http://hartkeisonline.com/backyard-gardening/gardens-expand-as-space-allows/

Christmas in... almost August?

2011-07-30T01:43:00.002-04:00

Well it's not really July much longer and every month it is getting closer to the holiday season. I have been wanting to blog about this for awhile so I finally decided to JUST DO IT! :)

What is one thing millions, maybe billions of people spend money on every year? Well yes gifts, presents, whatever you call them. But how about what those gifts go in?

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The Diaper Blues.... And Yellows!

2011-07-28T19:24:00.000-04:00

Even though I have been cloth diapering for over a year now I feel as though I find myself back at the beginning a bit. The reason being is the diapers that have been my absolute favorite are unfortunately not working as well for us these days. That would be the Bummis Tots Bots Easy Fits. These diapers have been amazing. So much so I stopped buying other diapers all together. But the times they are a changin'...

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Moon Cycles

2011-07-26T01:45:00.000-04:00

So I guess I am going to do what every other blogger does and tell the men to skip this post now if they can't handle or don't want to talk about a woman's monthly cycle. There said!

WARNING LONG POST! XD

Before I begin I would just like to say this is all pretty new to me. As of this year actually. For a long time I always told myself no way I would do cloth pads, menstrual cups or anything of the sort. The words that came to mind were ewww, gross, I don't want to, too much work, etc. But I changed my mind. Quickly. It was like cloth diapers. Just all of a sudden I had to try it. NOW. And I tried to make it happen.

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Magic is in the air!

2011-07-24T16:32:00.003-04:00

Or at least in our fingertips!

I decided to make a short post to show all the people who were asking what I meant by making magical dragon eggs!

Big L and I made some magical dragon eggs last night.

Zucchini Brownies!!

2011-07-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh so yummy!! OK I know it is not the healthiest recipe ever and I still really want to get us grain free, BUT we are not there yet so might as well enjoy right?

Recipe:

1-1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. coconut oil
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. zucchini, shredded
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Mix sugar, oil and vanilla; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Blend in sugar mixture, zucchini and nuts.

WARNING
The mix will be so dry you will think there is no way it will make brownies like I did! So I did some researching and figured out it was fine. But I didn't get it into the oven till an hour after I mixed it and I could see how much it was getting moist.

WARNING 2
The batter is so yummy you may have a hard time not eating it right then and there and actually cooking it! ;P

Pour into a lightly oiled 13"x9" baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Cut into squares. Makes about 1-1/2 dozen.

If any of you have a healthier version I would love to try it! Maybe replace the sugar with honey and a different kind of flour like almond or coconut? I'd love to make a successful version like that too!

Thoughtful Thursday a little late?

2011-07-22T00:58:00.000-04:00

Well it is still Thursday somewhere! :)

So I have been in my kitchen quite a bit today and there is something that is kinda sorta bothering me.... The compost pile on the counter. There really isn't much of an issue with it. In fact this year has been better then last year with fruit flies and there is definitely more food laying around (picture below).

But um yeah. Look at it. You don't see that in any nice kitchen. I am not really sure what else I would do with it. People have suggested in the past putting it in the fridge but I DO NOT have any extra room in my fridge. Ever. So not happening. In order to put it under the counter I would need a bucket, which I don't have yet but may be what I will do once I get one. Although having to clean out a big bucket all the time doesn't thrill me either. Those pretty counter compost crocks don't hold very much and are usually pretty expensive... Decisions, decisions...

What do you do with your compost before you take it outside?

Growing

2011-07-19T23:27:00.001-04:00

Life is all about growing. Growing up, growing old, growing is a wonderful thing. And growing a garden is awesome too! I know last year I was talking about getting a garden going but it took a little longer then expected. This year I am happy to announce I DID get my garden started.

This is my first year having a good size garden outdoors and it has been so fun and exciting. It is certainly a learning process though, there have been amazing surprises and failures. And I hope to have an even better and BIGGER garden next year.

Looking at pictures from when I started and where my garden is now makes me so happy. It has come so far and even for the plants that didn't make it or the things I didn't do right I am so happy to have had the chance to do it.

My goal is to grow enough to feed my family and then some. To really get into canning and fermenting and help support us from the dirt in our yard.

The beginning of our food! :D

Very beginning raised beds!

Bed 1

Acorn squash, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, lavender, thyme, broccoli, cabbage and marigolds.

Bed 1

Growing.

Bed 1

Growing more.

Bed 1

Latest pic but a week or two old.

Bed 2

Started out with rosemary, radishes and carrots.

Bed 2

Made room for some lettuce.

Bed 2

Harvesting our radishes which honestly didn't do that well... but we had fun anyway! :)

Bed 2

Put in some sage, basil and watermelon.

Bed 2

Growing! Tomatoes added and some little critter killed almost all of the basil.. :(

Bed 3

Started out with a lonely but amazing lemon balm plant I found growing wild on the side of our road!

Bed 3

Lots of potted tomatoes and peppers. I don't think any of our peppers are going to make it.

But look at that lemon balm!

Bed 2 & 3

Lots of tomatoes now! And a strange plant/weed I was hoping is mugwort but I am not sure yet.

Special herb garden

Special herb garden present day..

So we weren't able to work anymore on the herb garden yet. And unless we find some free decent quality fill dirt it is going to have to be finished next year. Can you see it? It is to the right of the logs and COMPLETELY over grown..

Some garden yummies :)

And more :)

Lots of lemon balm this year, yay!

I am hopeful next year I will do even better! I plan on adding a few more beds and finishing the herbal garden as well. I am happy about that for another reason too. Yards except for kids to play in are a waste of space and resources. So we will be able to cut down more on mowing. Good for the earth and my husbands back!

♥

The yummiest of yummies!!!

2011-07-19T00:58:00.000-04:00

Ohhhh mamas and papas and everyone in between! I had to blog this new recipe I tried today! Avocado pudding! And it is divine!

Recipe HERE!

Thanks so much to Guggie for sharing it !!
Seriously I am lost in a chocolatey avocado world right now!

Even Little L had some of his very first chocolatey goodness today. :) And typical me hanging around with my bra hanging out... I know you nursing mamas do it too! Right? lol

And no we are not eating pudding in the living room, on the furniture.. O.o

Hope you enjoy! We sure did! ♥

This mama GETS it!

2011-07-05T23:21:00.000-04:00

I loved this post so much I had to share. Just 2 posts ago I was talking about baby wearing. Athough this post takes the cake on the subject! Seriously one of the best blog posts. Ever.

Aura joon Why I choose to wear my baby

I have been a follower of Aura joon for awhile now and her blog is beautiful. Check it out :D

OhEmGee mamas! Free stuff today only!

2011-07-04T14:37:00.000-04:00

First off happy 4th everyone! Hope you are having a marvelous day! And 2nd if you are a part of the Mothering.com Community check your emails!! DO it! Now! lol. Free baby carriers and nursing covers minus the price of shipping! GO look! I have never tried either of those products but for that price I am now!

These are the baby slings:

SevenSlings

And the nursing covers:

UdderCovers

The nursing covers all say on backorder but I was able to buy one with the discount anyway so we will see what happens but the slings seem to be in stock still!

♥

Do you GET it?

2011-07-04T02:31:00.000-04:00

*Waves out to the masses in cyberspace* So tonight I sit here tired and bored. I really should be going to sleep. But my sleep schedule is off because everyone in the house has been sick this week :(. The boys are asleep behind me on the bed and my "thinker" won't stop thinking (what's new?!)!

The longer I go being a "crunchy" mama the more alone I feel. Even though I know you mama's are out there I just never come across you.... And if I did how would that change anything? I am not super social usually, at least with strangers.

It saddens and frustrates me to go out in public most of the time. There is always so much disrespect to children from their own mothers and fathers. So much yelling, so many hurtful words. So many missed opportunities. Where are my peaceful mamas? Not saying I have never raised my voice but I certainly do regret it! And maybe those mothers do too.

We took the boys out to see "Day Out with Thomas" the other week. They enjoyed it although we were more rushed then we would have liked. Everywhere I looked were strollers though. I know strollers aren't evil but I just want to see some baby wearing mama's! I mean I have chronic pain issues and I still try to wear Little L as much as I can (most certainly during outings). I understand everyone has their own set of circumstances too but I just want to see all those babies lovingly attached to their parents.

After we had visited the petting zoo and were cleaning up hands, there in front of me was another mama with her baby in a soft structured carrier! We both gave each other big smiles and the dads smiled too. She made a comment about her sleeping baby (of course he was comfy and happy!) then we went our separate ways. As we were walking away I said to my hubby "She GETS it!"

I just have to interrupt this post to say how much I want chickens! We all do really! It is just something we have to work on.. Maybe next year!?

I am just having a hard time being away from everything I know I guess and never even SEEING anyone remotely like me in my parenting. It would be truly awesome to find some mama's like me. Non judgemental (I really try anyway!), crunchy, hippie types who wear their children, breastfeed, who are respectful and nurturing to their kids. Some real life mama support from moms who GET it really makes days easier.

I had found a spot I "fit in" on Facebook but that spot was another mamas personal page and she needed a break from FB so now I just feel lost. It is funny how you can feel a connection with someone or something and how it just brightens your days a little more. Even through the Internet.

I ended up creating a community page for anyone who might be interested, I know it will never be as full as the place I was a part of before but I was hoping it might help fill the void a bit. If any of you who read this are interested I JUST made it and could use some like minded mama's to get it going a little more :)

The Healing Earth Village

Little L on the train :)

Big L on the train :)

It really would be so much easier to clean with Clorox (spell?), eat pre-packaged prepared foods, do exactly what the doctors say and generally just not care nearly as much. But I do and I AM thankful for what I have learned and am learning still to try to give my children the best life I can and that they deserve.

Hugs to all the mama's who have strayed from the mainstream norm. And hugs for everyone else too because the world needs more hugs.. ♥

Hello world! :)

2011-06-06T14:38:00.001-04:00

OK so this is for any of my readers who actually wondered and for myself just to explain why I have been MIA!

Short and simple. I love blogging BUT I love my family more! Blogging was new to me and I felt I needed to be on some kind of schedule with it. And I decided that I would rather be spending time with my boys then worrying about writing a blog post!

I have however been thinking a lot about it lately and decided that I do still want to blog sometimes with no pressure on myself how often.

I constantly have stuff I want to blog about its just getting the fingers moving on my keyboard. But times like right now while I have a sweet little nursling falling asleep on my lap and making it impossible to move, I figure is a perfect time to type away! :)

So stay tuned for whenever I get around to posting! I have lots to catch up on since I have been "away".

It is mulberry picking time again in our yard today and I am hoping we can get enough berries off of the branches we can reach to make some more pie! Yay! I just might post a few pictures. :)

Just thought I would add a current picture of my boys that I love! ♥

EcoMom and Revolution Foods Giveaway Winner

2010-07-03T09:43:00.000-04:00

And the Winner is..... Ashley! with comment # 9

Thank you to all who participated! And a big Thank you to EcoMom for providing great products and discounts to both me and my readers! I hope to be able to do more giveaways here soon so keep checking back :) !

A last attempt to win something for my baby boy...

2010-06-28T23:59:00.001-04:00

If any of you are up and could so kindly spare a minute. I need some "Likes" on a picture of my boy for a contest. It would mean so very much to me. The contest is open till 5 am est time. Thanks mama's xo

You need to like the Tots Bots page and then like the picture of my boy. Link below

Tots Bots Facebook Page

Yay cloth wipes!

2010-06-27T11:38:00.001-04:00

So I FINALLY finished my cloth wipes and I am FINALLY getting to posting them! I swear all you mama's with great blogs must have super powers! Because my stay at home self finds getting the time and energy to write up a blog a bit hard sometimes!

But anyhu here they are, a short and simple post about simple wipes. They are not perfect but I didn't try to make them so. I figured I am not selling them and they are being used on my babies bottom so who cares if they are perfect! As long as they are soft and get the job done! This is my first time making wipes and I am completely satisfied with the results.

All I used was some old receiving blankets, a ruler, scissors, thread and of course a sewing machine. Oh and I used a fabric marker.

My Big L's sweet little hands seem to end up in a lot of my pictures. :)

I want to make more someday but for now these will do!

A Crappy Energy Alternative....

2010-06-22T15:57:00.001-04:00

Picture by Roger Chouinard

In the midst of the Gulf Coast oil crisis there are many many people who if weren't thinking about it before are thinking about it now, other ways to fuel our country and the way we live. Unfortunately there are issues with just about all alternative energy sources but this was brought to my attention today, energy fueled by our body waste. Yep you heard me, running things from our poo. Now I know absoloutely nothing about this but if this could be accomplished on a big scale, I only see good things coming from it. Because not only are we hurting the earth with our energy sources, we are also polluting it greatly with our own filth.

I mean the fuel out of our other ends isn't stopping anytime soon and seeing as how it already is waste, using it and having it turn out into any kind of waste again, whats the difference? Besides lowering our dependency on things like oil! I mean how many more times do we want to be doing this?

Makes me cry :(.

Now I hadn't heard of this till now but I am sure it is not new news to some of you. And today I read that Michigan is actually working on this very idea right now. This article "Make Sewage, Not Disasters" talks a bit about it.

Heres another article "Poop-Powered Hydrogen Cars Show Promise" about the Japanese testing this. It also mentions some stuff that has been being used in California for years now.

And this doesn't just apply to human waste either. How about animal waste. There is a flower right now that is being researched for biofuel and it grows off of animal waste. It is called Duckweed.

I really hope people can get their "shit" together and make it happen! (sorry for the wordage here but I can't resist!) Or the world we see in futuristic movies is going to be ours very soon...

And just for a little humor on a not so humorous subject....

EcoMom and Revolution Foods Review/Giveaway & Discount Code!

2010-06-16T21:01:00.001-04:00

It's always nice to come across great new websites. This one I found through a twitter party I "attended" a little while back. The website is called EcoMom and it is great! They have many awesome and safe products to offer anyone who is Eco-friendly and concerned about what goes in and on their family. There is literally something for everyone! From baby food to mens shaving products, to composters and high chairs!

Eco-friendly Baby Products - EcoMom sent me a great Sampler package of Revolution Foods to review and is doing a giveaway for my readers as well!. Oh and did I mention they are giving my readers a discount code too? :)

First off the review! Now I really like making as much food as possible from scratch but there are times when I just don't have the time and or energy to do so. Finding nifty little snacks for kids these days that are not full of bad things is hard to do. Of course you can do the usual fruit and crackers and such but it's nice to have a little change. These seem really great for travel too. And they are all Organic of course!

Now my son, Big L (the real reviewer) LOVES getting things in the mail (even if they aren't for him! lol) and he was jumping up and down waiting for me to open the package. When I got it opened there was an "Oh wow food!" Of course it could have been dirt and he still probably would have been excited because it came in the mail!

He pulled it all out of the box and lined them up.

So then for the test... taste test that is! First up the little Sammies.

Making his way around the plate...

He tried them all and seemed to really like them.

Nom, Nom, Nom...

Big L will not eat anything he does not like so it was a thumbs up on the Sammies!

Now on to the Mashups. He opened up the first one (Strawberry Banana) "It's Yummy and squishy" he said.

He really liked the Mashups but I think he liked Strawberry Banana best..

Ok I don't think I have ever seen him do this before and since it is our table and I had just cleaned it (with water and vinegar no less!) I didn't halt that tongue from hitting the table. He obviously didn't want to waste any!

Big L eyeing the last of his prey....

You had no chance for survival little Sammy!

Mama tried to steal the extra one (he had already had one of the same flavor...) but he spoted it, grabed it and I chased him around the house till he laid down on the floor laughing that it was his. Guess I miss out on that one (not that they were for me anyway!)!

I think Little L wanted some, look at that face as Big L gobbled up the last Sammy!

Just packages and crumbs left....

What I don't have pictures of, is all the times he put something down and picked it right back up to have another bite or sip! He was such a good little reviewer (must have been because the food was good! mama can vouch for that as she tested a bite and sip of everything too... ) So these were definitely a success!

If you would like to get your own just hop on over to EcoMom! And use the discount code (good till June 30th, 2010) just for my readers for 15% off your first purchase with EcoMom!

DISCOUNT CODE: SBBL415

EcoMom also has a new program called EcoPass that allows you to purchase a $99 annual membership, which provides a 15% discount on every order, as well as free shipping with no $75 minimum requirement!

You can enter the giveaway below for $15 worth of Plum/and/or Revolution Foods!

Here's how to enter: The first entry is mandatory, you may do as many or as few of the rest as you like (extra entries means more chances to win!). Leave a comment for each entry and be sure to leave your email address in each comment. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner.

Mandatory Entry!

Visit Eco-friendly Baby Products - EcoMom and tell me something else you would love to have from the website.

Extra Entries!

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.

2. Like EcoMom on Facebook

3. Follow @EcoMomCEO on Twitter

4. Follow @InsideMyHeartt on Twitter

5. Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. One tweet per day!.

Win #giveaway for Organic Plum and/or Revolution Foods from @InsideMyHeartt and @EcoMomCEO http://tinyurl.com/29odam4 for your munchkin/s! .

Then post a comment here with your tweet URL.

6. Sign up for EcoMom's newsletter.

7. Blog about this giveaway. Please be sure to link back to this post and leave me a link to your blog post.

This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only. I will be accepting entries until Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at 10:00 P.M., Eastern. I will select a winner using random.org's true random number generator, and contact the winner by email. S/he will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and another winner chosen. Once the winner responds I will send EcoMom the winners contact info and email so they can set up shipment of the prize!

ECOMOM provided the review Sampler to me at no cost, and is providing the winner's item as well. The sample product was provided to me for review purposes, I was in no way compensated for reviewing the product. The opinions expressed in this post are strictly mine & not influenced by the company in any way. Your results and opinions may differ. Thanks for participating & Thanks to EcoMom for sponsoring!!!