~~Pagan Parenting in February!~~ - Page 4

[wombatclay]

YAY Lioness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Congrats and huzzah and joy joy joy!  :)

mythbusters- we love them... we would get them from netflicks for the kids, and now we have 50+ episodes recorded.  DD1s 6th birthday party was all about mythbusters, and we're hoping to see them live some day. 

Thanks for the house love... I'm really not thrilled with our living arrangements so it's always nice to sort of "borrow" other eyes for a while.  We bought it 3 years ago (no heat or hot water, no bathroom, no floors, etc) and have been working on it non-stop since then doing all the work ourselves.  We added a bathroom, a kitchen space (after a year of doing the dishes in the shower stall), a real bedroom to go with the existing sleep loft, a living room (we put on an addition that raised the house from 800-900 sq/ft to our current 1000-1100 sq/ft).... we've built coops and sheds and storage barns and rock walls and gardens. We've cut down trees and cleared playscapes.  And we just learned a few weeks ago that the house is worth less than we owe.  And it's still not a "real" house (long story, but the house we bought wasn't the house on the legal paperwork... the previous owner didn't build the house he had code approval for.  He built the detached garage and stopped, living in and then renting that space for 10 years before selling it to us.  The error wasn't found till we'd been here a year and we've been in litigation since then with the "we can evict you any time" threat hanging over our heads)  :(  There is so much still to do, it's discouraging!  So I really do appreciate those borrowed eyes.  It helps me remember what I saw in the space!

We have a new evening candle verse!  DD1 and dd2 came up with one last night (still london bridge):

Seeds are sleeping under ground, under ground, under ground

seeds are sleeping under ground, dreaming of spring

[vydalea]

Lioness!!!!  Weeee!!  hooray hooray!   I just love babies.  You guys need to keep having them so I can see all these cute babies!!  heehee.  

Clay: I agree with 3x (as I often do!) - it's nice to see other altars that are more in line with my way of being.  If that makes sense.  I also have seen some that are AMAZING and beautiful but so intimidating.  :)  

Speaking of altars, Z and I were outside yesterday tooling around the backyard.  And we found 2 triangle stones that seemed to point us to a great place to make our outdoor altar!  It really was like the universe was pointing us in the right direction.  We have an old trellis/arch thing that used to have a climbing rose on it.  I was thinking about covering it with different colored ribbons to start with.  It's kind of large, but I think I could carve it out as a sweet little cove of solace.  Yay!  

ktg: what do you start from seed?  if you don't mind my asking.  Every year I threaten to do it but I am so intimidated.  I buy our starters from a local garden center but last year the starters were miss labeled adn I had 3 pickling cuke plants instead of yellow summer squash - bummer... 

csa: the one I was looking at sent me their info.  I sooo want to support them but unfortunately they listed a large variety of veggies on their local harvest page but they don't put them in their shares.  Which is totally fair, if they can get good $$ from the farmer's market I'll not begrudge them that...but what they do put in the share is pretty much everything we grow plus beets.  So I made DH promise me that we would go to the farmer's market every saturday with our budgeted amount in our pockets and an idea of what we were looking for.  These guys are at our local FM so hopefully we can get some of their tasty asparagus and fresh fruits!! :) mmm... did i mention I'm dying for super fresh veggies/fruits?  

MonkeyPrincess: with the ice lanterns, do you just let the container float on the top so the candle goes there?  I'm trying to envision it in my mind.  I guess I could google it...

hey does anyone know of any good yoga dvds for tiny kids?  i love how full of great information the mamas on this board are. 

[MonkeyPrincess]

Lioness, congratulations on your little boy! How exciting!

vydalea, yes...it floats. Or sinks down into the water as low as the heavy thing you put inside takes it. You can change that depending on what kind of candle you want to use...like a tea light could fit in a smaller dip, but if you wanted to use a votive, you would put something heavier to bring the inside container down further. Does that make sense? I will try to post a picture.

[MamaInTheDesert]

I wish I knew more about what a CSA was. I don't have a lot of space at my current house to do a lot of food gardening. But, I do work the farmer's market in the summertime. Canning is getting super expensive these days though without growing my own fruit. It seems like every year the prices just go down and down until I don't really feel like 12 cents profit on a jar is really worth it. I think I may stick to crafts this year. I've been knitting a TON of baby hats since Christmas, and I macrame jewelry. Cost out vs. Cost in is definitely more favorable with those things. Plus, my dad has been letting Hubby use his compucarver, and I think we could make some bank with that. If you've never seen one of these things, it's awesome. You put a picture in, and it carves it out of wood. I think some really pretty celtic knots, and some silly sayings plaques would go over well. Anyway, since I do farmer's market every weekend, it's really hard not to take a break from my own booth and run around spending on all the delicious looking produce there. Plus, as I've said, the prices on everything are ridiculously low.

As far as the gardening goes, I do have some flower beds in front. For Imbolc DD and I ran to the store and picked out some pretty flower seeds, and started them in the kitchen window. It'll be a couple of weeks before they sprout, and by the time we're able to plant, we may even have some flowers. It'll make the kitchen a little more cheery until then. I do have an apple tree, a plum tree, and a pecan tree in the front yard. The apple and plum are still young and not producing yet. The pecan has done really well this year though, and I really need to get on picking them up. I'm just disheartened right now, because DD was going out and picking up 20-50 at a time and putting them in a box. And one morning last week I woke up and the box was gone off the porch. I can't believe people would steal our pecans. It makes me sad. At some point I'd like to put up a raspberry bush, a blueberry bush, and a blackberry bush, but the only places for them are right by the fence... that I want to tear down and replace. Haha. With everything going on this year, I don't know if that project will get done this year.

I've been really inspired by everyone's prayers that they've been using daily. So I pulled out one book that I have, and I think I'll start doing one a day at dinner time. The book is called Earth Prayers and it's edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon. If I can remember I'll come back and post which one we choose.

Lioness - I'm so excited about your 20 week scan. I'm getting mine done on Monday and it feels like time is just dragging. Everyone has said they feel like it's a boy, but I want to know for sure! I have a ton of questions about his/her health in there, but I'm trying to stay positive and think about the good exciting part of the scan. I too have been feeling more energy all of the sudden. It's like instead of feeling sick and bloated, I'm now finally feeling sassy and pregnant. But, I also feel like I need to get on the ball and get some things DONE while I'm feeling up to it. I think I'll get to work on the mountain of clean laundry today. Thanks for the motivation!

[MonkeyPrincess]

Originally Posted by MamaInTheDesert 

 I'm now finally feeling sassy and pregnant.

I LOVE this!

[3xMama]

Lioness--Congratulations!!  Lil baby boys are just so darn sweet!!

I'm impressed that you are working on staying offline. I keep telling myself I'm going do that and it doens't work. I get on to turn on Pandora and end up checking my email. Then I get excited about an update on Mothering. So I have to check it and post. Then, wth, might as well check out FB. And then its two hours later, my motivation is gone and the littles are hungry. LOL. I need to work on this. 

Drains-Yuck! I think we are going to need to snake our bathroom sink. DH insists upon shaving over the sink and rinsing the hair down. Not just little whiskers, no, like shaving an inch of hair off and washing it down. I keep trying to tell him it doesn't work that way but he continues to do it. Hope it gets cleared up for you easily, Maia!

Originally Posted by wombatclay 

mythbusters- we love them... we would get them from netflicks for the kids, and now we have 50+ episodes recorded.  DD1s 6th birthday party was all about mythbusters, and we're hoping to see them live some day. 

Thanks for the house love... I'm really not thrilled with our living arrangements so it's always nice to sort of "borrow" other eyes for a while.  We bought it 3 years ago (no heat or hot water, no bathroom, no floors, etc) and have been working on it non-stop since then doing all the work ourselves.  We added a bathroom, a kitchen space (after a year of doing the dishes in the shower stall), a real bedroom to go with the existing sleep loft, a living room (we put on an addition that raised the house from 800-900 sq/ft to our current 1000-1100 sq/ft).... we've built coops and sheds and storage barns and rock walls and gardens. We've cut down trees and cleared playscapes.  And we just learned a few weeks ago that the house is worth less than we owe.  And it's still not a "real" house (long story, but the house we bought wasn't the house on the legal paperwork... the previous owner didn't build the house he had code approval for.  He built the detached garage and stopped, living in and then renting that space for 10 years before selling it to us.  The error wasn't found till we'd been here a year and we've been in litigation since then with the "we can evict you any time" threat hanging over our heads)  :(  There is so much still to do, it's discouraging!  So I really do appreciate those borrowed eyes.  It helps me remember what I saw in the space!

We have a new evening candle verse!  DD1 and dd2 came up with one last night (still london bridge):

Seeds are sleeping under ground, under ground, under ground

seeds are sleeping under ground, dreaming of spring

I think I may be the only person to not like Mythbusters. IDK what it is about that show, I just don't care for it. Maybe its because I don't really like watching crap blow up? 

Dang, Clay, what a PITA. I've got to give you credit, its really a very nice looking place! What needs to happen to get things taken care of so you no longer have the threat of eviction out? I'd say its pretty obvious you've made the home livable and I'm quite sure you wouldn't live somewhere that wasn't habitable with your kids running around. 

Your kiddos' verses are so cute!

Originally Posted by vydalea 

Lioness!!!!  Weeee!!  hooray hooray!   I just love babies.  You guys need to keep having them so I can see all these cute babies!!  heehee.  

Clay: I agree with 3x (as I often do!) - it's nice to see other altars that are more in line with my way of being.  If that makes sense.  I also have seen some that are AMAZING and beautiful but so intimidating.  :)  

Speaking of altars, Z and I were outside yesterday tooling around the backyard.  And we found 2 triangle stones that seemed to point us to a great place to make our outdoor altar!  It really was like the universe was pointing us in the right direction.  We have an old trellis/arch thing that used to have a climbing rose on it.  I was thinking about covering it with different colored ribbons to start with.  It's kind of large, but I think I could carve it out as a sweet little cove of solace.  Yay!  

Hehe, I agree, I want to see more babies! Do you plan on having more, vydalea?

And thanks! I'm blushing! 

That's really awesome how you were led to the perfect place! Its amazing how the universe will pull together to point something out.  

Oh, ladies, I'm almost done with the kitchen deep clean!! I washed the floor and now all I need to do is scrub it with ammonia (per my landlord's wish...gah...) and wax the floor! I'm thinking I am fill a bowl with some water, salt and rosemary and sprinkle it around everywhere once I'm clompletely done to spiritually cleanse the space and put something over the door to draw in blessings and keep negative energy out. I know I've seen some spells for this in a book somewhere, I just need to look it up. 

Then on to the dining room! 

[wombatclay]

csa- community supported agriculture.  Basically a farm sells "shares" in their harvest for an up front fee.  The farmer benefits because they are paid for the harvest regardless of what happens so they have more financial security and can explore the craft of farming instead of just doing whatever it takes to make a profit (instead of hoping/praying that they'll be able to make X amount come harvest and using any chemical trick in the book to get a marketable crop into stores).  And the members benefit because they have a weekly box/basket/bag of fresh, local, often organic, produce.  Some CSAs are hard core with options to add fresh breads, eggs, free range meats, and so on to overflowing boxes of produce.  Others are pretty slim with not a lot of bang for the buck.  And any CSA is something of a challenge because you get what the farmer has... so if tomato blight trashes the crop, you don't get tomatoes.  And there is generally a month or so where all you get are greens.  We've belonged to two different csas and one was totally slim and really annoying for us but we know people who LOVE it.  The other csa works better for us (pickup at the farm, unlimited u-pick items, free u-pick flowers, etc).  So sometimes what one person loves, another doesn't.

yoga- my kiddos like the Yoga Kids dvds and the Wai Lana dvds.

fingers crossed everyone gets wonderful pregnancy news!

an arbor altar sounds fantastic!  check out "pimp my altar" for other real world altar pics.  There are a few altar books that I found inspiring but in reach... I'll have to see if I can find the titles again.  :)

[DaughterOfKali]

Lioness- A boy!  How wonderful!!

Originally Posted by wombatclay 

yoga- my kiddos like the Yoga Kids dvds and the Wai Lana dvds.

My son likes the Wai Lana dvd's, too.  Her voice drives me nuts but Roo isn't bothered by it.

[wombatclay]

I find her just a touch creepy... I think it's because in the earlier dvd she isn't used to being on camera.  Her line of sight and the camera are just a bit off.  And her voice is sooooo breathy, an the animation a bit odd.  But the kiddos love it and the songs are horribly sticky (they stick in my mind in a horrible way I mean lol)

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by 3xMama Maia-You mentioned something previously about someone who's school of thought you agreed with...something about diet and exercise just make you hungry and don't help. What was that person's name? I think I could easily fit into that mold. 

That would be Gary Taubes. You can check him out on Amazon. The new book has this catchy title similar to "Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It". He's really a scientist but he backs up all his stuff with real footnotes and studies that aren't funded by lobbies and such. He really just validates what Atkins has been saying for 30 years...and what I found out by taking A&P twice. Carbs make us fat. They do, they really do. NOT dietary fat. And it is turning out that saturated isn't the big bad boy we thought it was, either. So YAY. Soon I will be living on heavy cream and fatty meats again, and lots of eggs with real butter

Originally Posted by wombatclay Maia- Celtic Devotional Daily Prayers and Blessings by Caitlin Matthews. 

Thank you! Although I wasn't raised Catholic, I am a regimented sort of person, too, by nature-- even though I don't always adhere to it Right now my morning routine consists of a daily affirmation that comes out of a little book by Louise Hay, and they are similar to these: http://www.louisehay.com/affirmations/ (HOW do you make a link here without C&Ping the actual link? I know you showed me once, but I didn't get it...). And the other reading is from a Daily Meditation book for people in recovery.

I am going to try to post a pic of my very simple Imbolc altar. Which has hearts on it for Valentine's Day, and will soon have things for St. Patrick's Day.

Wow, that's huge...sorry

Originally Posted by LionessMom my sink started doing that too. when it started getting all the time smelly is right before it got clogged. i tried baking soda and vinegar down the drain, bleach down the drain, draino, etc. when it finally clogged all the way up he had to rent a snake and snake the drain. we live in a trailer that is not all the way level so it happens at least once a year. plus i tend too drain the burger in the sink and forget to run the hot water 

Oh, ew, really? I hope that doesn't happen here. He wasn't able to show up today because he was running way behind, so now it's tomorrow or Saturday. I hope tomorrow!

And YAY on the bitty boy!

Originally Posted by 3xMama I'm impressed that you are working on staying offline. I keep telling myself I'm going do that and it doens't work. I get on to turn on Pandora and end up checking my email. Then I get excited about an update on Mothering. So I have to check it and post. Then, wth, might as well check out FB. And then its two hours later, my motivation is gone and the littles are hungry. LOL. I need to work on this. 

OMG, are you my conscience? t\This is SO me. Which is why I rarely listen to Pandora anymore, much as I love it, because I know myself too well and I know this will happen! I have decided to back off on technology on Fridays for Lent, though. I will be "fasting" from the computer on Fridays. Or trying to I will still check email because that's a major way of getting in touch with certain people (my friend who hasn't got a phone, my son's teachers) and I will still cam with M, because that's communication, but no fooling around. No time-wasting. I am going to fill that time with drawing and some crafty stuff I want to do.
 

We were in a CSA at one point. Their first year, the asparagus crop got totally flooded out, so no asparagus but they mostly had a metric ton of winter squashes and lots of potatoes, and I don't eat those anymore. I do eat lots of greens, though! Wish I could trade!

I am sick as a dog all of a sudden It came on me really fast in my drawing class this morning. I went down hard and had to leave before my drawing was finished, came home and took a nap. I am off to bed, but here is my drawing in progress:

[DaughterOfKali]

Maia- How are you feeling today?  I like your drawing so far!

[MamaInTheDesert]

Thanks for the info on CSAs. I'll have to look into that and see if there's any around here and what costs are.

Last night for dinner we picked at random a prayer from that book Earth Prayers I mentioned upthread. Here's the one we got:

I will sing of the well-founded Earth,

Mother of all, eldest of all beings.

She feeds all creatures that are in the world,

all that go upon the goodly land,

all that are in the paths of the seas,

and all that fly;

all these are fed of her store.

Through you, O Queen, we are blessed

in our children, and in our harvest

and to you we owe our lives.

Happy are we, who you delight to honour!

We have all things abundantly:

our houses are filled with good things,

our cities are orderly,

our sons exult with everfresh delight

and our daughters with flower laden hands

play and skip merrily over the soft flowers of the field.

Thus it is for those whom you honour,

O holy Goddess, Bountiful spirit!

Hail Earth, mother of the gods,

freely bestow upon me for this my song

that cheers the heart!

HOMERIS HYMNS XXX, ADAPTED BY ELIZABETH ROBERTS

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali Maia- How are you feeling today?  I like your drawing so far!

Like shit. Thank you for asking and thanks for the compliment on my drawing.

I am hanging around the house in footie jammies and probably going back to bed soon. I just have so much trouble getting myself to sleep in the day, but I really need to.

I am trying out the dehydrator that my friend got me for Yule. I can't wait to have more jerky! We are jerky fiends in this house but I can't have a lot of the yuck that's in commercial jerky, like any kind of sweetener.

Only problem with the dehydrator is it's freaking noisy. My head is pounding anyway, but this thing would make my head pound if it didn't already!

[_ktg_]

Originally Posted by vydalea 

ktg: what do you start from seed?  if you don't mind my asking.  Every year I threaten to do it but I am so intimidated.  I buy our starters from a local garden center but last year the starters were miss labeled adn I had 3 pickling cuke plants instead of yellow summer squash - bummer... 

For this year - I'm trying everything!  Onion, cukes, squashes, peppers, corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, lettuce, kale, beans, peas, carrots, brussel sprouts, lots of my herbs (parsley, cliantro etc), flowers (mostly periannuals, maybe some annuals), and even some grasses I want to plant on my southside to give me a bit more privacy for the yard.  I just need to plan the rotation of what I need to start sprouting now for early spring planting/harvesting, to summer planting, fall planting and finally a winter cover (hairy vetch!)

Also I'm planning on giving any seedlings I start to my friends for their gardens instead of us always buying our seedlings, and we're talking to start our own little 3 family garden co-op to swap among ourselves with veggies and reduce the variety we all plant and increase the amounts.  I'm crossing my fingers it will happen :)

I started seeds last year with a few things (carrots, peas, squash, corn, sunflowers, watermelon, pumpkins) and I did well in get everything sprouted, I just left them too long in the germination containers, and not getting them moved into a larger container before attempting transplantation.   Now I have collection of plastic containers, so my plan is sprout them, move them into larger containers (first with plastic covers to keep them warm) and then larger containers before putting them outside to start making them hardy.

The only ones I'm nervous about are the apple trees which I'll be doing from seed, because I just want the trees & fruit for cider and to keep the genetic diversity alive for apples.  I'm crossing my fingers on that one and hoping my blueberry bushes & raspberry bush will come back from last year.

[wombatclay]

Love that drawing!  I'm always in awe of people with sort of "free form" artistic talent.  I mean, I can belly dance and play piano, but in a performance way (not creating a "new" artistic work).  Not in that free form start with nothing end with beauty sort of way. 

Shifting diets, food choices, etc... just a word of warning.  Many of these diet/lifestyle changes DO WORK and CAN lead to improved health.  But it's important to know how/why a certain change works and decide if that is going to be a good choice for you as a unique individual.  For example, a high protein/high fat/low carb diet will shift the body into a state of ketosis that generates weight loss and the positive hormonal changes that go along with that.  But if you have diabetes, osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, or a personal/family history of elimination/absorption disorders (involving the kidney, pancreas, liver, etc), you don't want to put your body into a long term ketotic state.  At least, not without close medical supervision (especially for diabetics... the weight loss and hormone shifts can be more beneficial than harmful but insulin/blood sugar levels will need to be monitored closely to make sure things are moving in the right direction).  On the other hand, a ketogenic diet can be amazingly powerful for individuals with specific types of seizure disorders, fibromyalgia, autism spectrum, and neuropathic pain disorders (weight changes are secondary to the medical benefits in those cases and the diet can often reduce or even eliminate the need for medication).

I guess the thing is... there is no one size fits all food way since there is no single standard issue human person.  Each person has to consider their personal health history, the types of foods they know they enjoy and will eat without exerting a significant amount of willpower (I ADORE grapefruit and love cottage cheese and would probably love the grapefruit diet because dang! permission to eat nothing but grapefruits and cottage cheese for a week would be heaven... but my mom HATES those and I remember her attempts to follow a diet of grapefruit and cottage cheese and the absolute misery she put us through because she was not only malnourished, she was hungry and angry and destined for weight loss failure too boot), the needs of their family and loved ones (allergies, that sort of thing), impact of religion and philosophy (vegetarian, traditional foods, locavore, specific foods required for ritual, etc) and their budget (for instance, can you /afford/ the raw milk and grass fed butter or the nutritional supplements or the herbal extracts or whatever it is a specific diet is asking you to incorporate).

Speaking of nutrition and ritual... any suggestions on growing hair quickly?  DD2 has started pulling her hair out (well, rubbing her head over and over, it's not an uncommon symptom for kiddos with her condition) and it's getting to be a real problem.  :(  Especially since she is so rapunzel/tangled/long hair focused right now.  She isn't doing it on purpose, but she gets hysterically upset if we try to redirect her hands.  We're waiting for a referral to a specialist (probably wont get in till June) and we're saving up for a visit to a local doctor who uses TCM, NAET, and Cranio along with Chiro and Acupressure to treat a variety of conditions... he's really good with kids, and has special rates for families with multiple kids (he wants everyone to have access to holistic modalities), and I know a few families who swear by him.  But till then I need ideas for helping keep what hair she has ON her head, and for growing the rest of it back quickly.  I'm thinking maybe I can make a doll sort of like the Dancing Goddess dolls (with the loooooong hair) and make a little "Ro's hair altar" with Tangled stuff, and Rapunzel books, and that long haired doll... maybe a spray bottle of something herbal for hair and a special comb?  Then some sort of bracelet that she could twiddle with and that might have, I don't know, bells or something that would distract her/catch her attention before she starts playing with her hair.  But any ideas?  Foods to try, herbs to spray on?  Hair rituals you've used or rituals you've used to break habits?

thanks!

[revolting]

Originally Posted by meenajo 

Subbing and new here. Enjoying the conversation

Originally Posted by _ktg_ 

Merry Meet Everyone

You have reminded me I need to put this book on hold at the library.    Anyone else getting excited about starting their garden?  I have to finish picking out my seeds and then off to the garden store for starter materials (soil, peat moss etc) as I've been collecting plastic containers to serve as small greenhouses for my seeds (apple packs, berry packs, milk cartons etc).  My poor kitchen table is about to be taken over in March with all the seeds I'll be starting.

It's been so warm for winter here in WI that I probably could start turning over the earth to expand my garden right now.  Unfortunately I know that this warm weather might mean a nice late April/May blizzard for us.
 

This full moon energy has been crazy or bringing out the warrior in so many!  I'm pooped from it already!

We're working on moving. I'll probably starts some herbs indoors and use it as the base of my altar, but living in a large apartment complex (and having children too little to behave at a community garden), my gardening efforts have always been modest. Maybe some day...

Originally Posted by 3xMama 

As for CSAs, I hated the CSA we had. Maybe it was because it was a bad year, but all we got was a TON of greens which no one in my family eats, a few very small beets, a crap ton of shallots and a ton of green beens which were given away (I was pregnant w/ DS2 and green beans made me vomit massively, even just smelling them...I still can't stand the green things ). That was it. I was not impressed, esp for the price that was paid. I hear so much good about them that maybe it was just that one CSA or the year was bad, but I'm hesitant to go back. I'd rather spend the  money at a farmer's market and get what I what, kwim?

I think it depends. Where I live, the farmers' market is SO expensive, compared to a CSA share. With my CSA share, we got basically all the vegetables we needed for a week, even when we were vegan (though only a family of three - and one of the three being a toddler - at the time).  With that same amount of money, I would have gotten very little at the farmers' market.

Originally Posted by Maiasaura 

That said, I am having someone come over tomorrow to find out why the heck my kitchen sink (and only one side of it) has been increasingly smelling like mold/mildew for the last month. It was a complete conundrum at first, because it was only when I drained pasta that it would do that. Now it is all the time, and very gross.

Good luck. My partner's a plumber, so if you need some thoughts on cheap at-home ways to deal with that problem, I got some ideas, if your peep doesn't work out.
 

Originally Posted by LionessMom 

i went in for my 20 week anomaly scan. i know lots of people dont get them but i wouldnt have felt comfortable with the rest of the pregnancy or with a homebirth unless i knew everything was where it belonged. kwim? and everything looks good. heart, brain, spine etc. no sign of spina bifida. i was afraid of that bc my older brother had that and he died by 5 months old. so i always get screened for that. and bc of our genetic issues i like to make sure bc it can cause heart issues and stuff. but baby is healthy... and a ..... BOY!!!! i cant believe it. i saw his little turtle at least 8 or 10 times. this will be my husbands first bio son. my girls wanted a little brother so bad. i got to get on the ball and get clothes together. all i have is girl stuff. i ahve lots of people giving me clothes though so no worries. i just need to make diapers and buy a car seat. 

there was only one concerning thing. well concerning to me. the tech said it was common and nothing to worry about.but there was a calcified spot in the baby's belly area. the best guess i can find for it is calcified meconium. that should dissolve. i will go back in for another us to make sure later down the line. my gut feeling is that everything is ok. 

i have been trying to not be on the computer as much lately. i have been wanting to get stuff done and i feel like i have the energy lately. my house is clean, the laundry folded, and the kids are helping. now i need to start decluttering things to get ready for baby. i think i nest early bc i know i wont feel like it later when my spd hits. lol. 

Yay for healthy babies!

Originally Posted by wombatclay 

YAY Lioness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Congrats and huzzah and joy joy joy!  :)

We have a new evening candle verse!  DD1 and dd2 came up with one last night (still london bridge):

Seeds are sleeping under ground, under ground, under ground

seeds are sleeping under ground, dreaming of spring

I love it!

Originally Posted by vydalea 

hey does anyone know of any good yoga dvds for tiny kids?  i love how full of great information the mamas on this board are. 

I second Yoga Kids. Also, my kids like a few of the youtube videos: this sun salutation one is my favorite;
My kids also like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzL1UIoiHRw&feature=related

There are also a lot of great books on it, too.

Originally Posted by MamaInTheDesert 

Thanks for the info on CSAs. I'll have to look into that and see if there's any around here and what costs are.

Last night for dinner we picked at random a prayer from that book Earth Prayers I mentioned upthread. Here's the one we got:

I will sing of the well-founded Earth,

Mother of all, eldest of all beings.

She feeds all creatures that are in the world,

all that go upon the goodly land,

all that are in the paths of the seas,

and all that fly;

all these are fed of her store.

Through you, O Queen, we are blessed

in our children, and in our harvest

and to you we owe our lives.

Happy are we, who you delight to honour!

We have all things abundantly:

our houses are filled with good things,

our cities are orderly,

our sons exult with everfresh delight

and our daughters with flower laden hands

play and skip merrily over the soft flowers of the field.

Thus it is for those whom you honour,

O holy Goddess, Bountiful spirit!

Hail Earth, mother of the gods,

freely bestow upon me for this my song

that cheers the heart!

HOMERIS HYMNS XXX, ADAPTED BY ELIZABETH ROBERTS

I love Earth Prayers and other books in that series, and I keep wanting to get it for my own devotions. There's no way my kids would sit through all that, though.

So, my husband hasn't been working a lot lately. We need to move, and I'm kind of nervous about applying for apartments with no income for the last couple weeks. We've applied for unemployment - he technically is still employed; his work is just not giving him any hours. I'm pretty stressed about the whole thing. He's still gone a lot though. He's taking the time to spend a lot of time at school, which is good, I just wish if he wasn't contributing income wise, he was contributing in terms of childcare/housework.

I've been trying to find time to do more yoga. A friend of mine is working on her certification for becoming a yoga instructor, so I get a free class every week. Yay! I've also been focusing on playing my banjo more. My youngest just turned two, and my oldest is going to turn five in a couple of weeks (and I know my parents are getting her a ukulele for her birthday, and I'd really like to remember how to play my banjo well enough to play with her).

That's life here!

[wombatclay]

good luck revolting... I hope you find the perfect place!  And that's really cool about getting a free yoga class each week :)

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by wombatclay just a word of warning.  Many of these diet/lifestyle changes DO WORK and CAN lead to improved health.  But it's important to know how/why a certain change works and decide if that is going to be a good choice for you as a unique individual.  For example, a high protein/high fat/low carb diet will shift the body into a state of ketosis that generates weight loss and the positive hormonal changes that go along with that.  But if you have diabetes, osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, or a personal/family history of elimination/absorption disorders (involving the kidney, pancreas, liver, etc), you don't want to put your body into a long term ketotic state.  At least, not without close medical supervision (especially for diabetics... the weight loss and hormone shifts can be more beneficial than harmful but insulin/blood sugar levels will need to be monitored closely to make sure things are moving in the right direction).  On the other hand, a ketogenic diet can be amazingly powerful for individuals with specific types of seizure disorders, fibromyalgia, autism spectrum, and neuropathic pain disorders (weight changes are secondary to the medical benefits in those cases and the diet can often reduce or even eliminate the need for medication).

I guess the thing is... there is no one size fits all food way since there is no single standard issue human person. 

But till then I need ideas for helping keep what hair she has ON her head, and for growing the rest of it back quickly.  I'm thinking maybe I can make a doll sort of like the Dancing Goddess dolls (with the loooooong hair) and make a little "Ro's hair altar" with Tangled stuff, and Rapunzel books, and that long haired doll... maybe a spray bottle of something herbal for hair and a special comb?  Then some sort of bracelet that she could twiddle with and that might have, I don't know, bells or something that would distract her/catch her attention before she starts playing with her hair.  But any ideas?  Foods to try, herbs to spray on?  Hair rituals you've used or rituals you've used to break habits?

There is a difference between keto-adapted and keto-acidosis. I can't remember the particulars right now, and to be honest, Mary3Mama has been doing the research and I've been piggybacking on her reading but you are talking about ketosis, as in ketoacidosis, which, YES, can be a big problem. IIRC, keto-adapted means that my body is burning fat efficiently for fuel. I do love not having to worry about what or how much I eat, though! As long as I remember: NO STARCH NO SUGAR I am good to go. I have to scrutinize labels for hidden sugars (dextrose, for instance) and I am limited a lot-- like, I can't just go order sausage or bacon at a breakfast place, because almost all bacons and sausages are cured with sugar or brown sugar or HFCS or dextrose. I have to be very careful out at restaurants, which besides economics, is why I don't eat out much.

M is supposed to be taking me out for our handfasting anniversary this coming visit, and in my secret self I am kind of freaked about hidden ingredients, so I suggested why don't we grill out T-bone steaks instead. He loves those and hasn't had them in years and years, so he jumped on the chance (plus it'd be cheaper than eating out) but I have to admit I have a hidden agenda-- my diet-- I do not want to eff this up again! If I did, it would be the 4th time, and I can't afford that. I feel like I am being dishonest with him, and I am, but he doesn't understand the diet, really, and I just want to avoid all the stuff that comes from a place of misunderstanding. I need to be absolutely scrupulous till I have this down and my weight is stabilized.

Ro-- I don't know if anything at www.CreativeTherapyStore.com would help. Also, ds had a chewing toy necklace made for sensory "older" kids, but I was really, REALLY disappointed in that company-- the necklace was wonderful, but he chewed it UP within two weeks, and the company didn't answer any of my attempts to contact them-- not by email, nor phone-- nothing. I was SO MAD about that, and still am. I don't think many other people make those kinds of things and I really want to get him another one, but I will NOT patronize them any more.
 

Originally Posted by revolting Where I live, the farmers' market is SO expensive, compared to a CSA share. With my CSA share, we got basically all the vegetables we needed for a week, even when we were vegan (though only a family of three - and one of the three being a toddler - at the time).  With that same amount of money, I would have gotten very little at the farmers' market.

Good luck. My partner's a plumber, so if you need some thoughts on cheap at-home ways to deal with that problem, I got some ideas, if your peep doesn't work out.

Our farmer's markets are wicked expensive, too It's awful-- they are so prolific, and there are a ton of local organic farms that I would die to support-- I hate to say it, I can't afford to! Walmart is cheaper!

The only thing we could figure out about the sink, is that M said the trap needs to be deeper because the only thing he could figure the smell was, is sewer gas backing up into my house. Rob, the handy-guy, only has limited experience with plumbing, and he got under there, took everything apart-- nothing was in the trap at all, and the part of the pipe that goes from the trap back into the back wall was lined with icky black gunk, but the icky black gunk did not smell like The Smell at all. The Smell was definitely, no doubt, for sure a mold/mildew smell. See if your partner has any experience with that? Rob is coming back later today with a deeper trap to install.

I am feeling very lightly better today-- my head is not leaking copious fluids out of every orifice, at least, and my nose has stopped the infernal itching, thank the GODS-- but I have a wicked headache. I don't know how to treat it, cause I don't know if it's caused by lack of coffee, sinus, or just a headache.

[vydalea]

Originally Posted by MonkeyPrincess 

vydalea, yes...it floats. Or sinks down into the water as low as the heavy thing you put inside takes it. You can change that depending on what kind of candle you want to use...like a tea light could fit in a smaller dip, but if you wanted to use a votive, you would put something heavier to bring the inside container down further. Does that make sense? I will try to post a picture.

Thank you, Monkey Princess.  It makes a lot of sense.  Sometimes I need things spelled out for me to see them in my mind's eye so I thank you. 
 

Originally Posted by 3xMama 
 Do you plan on having more, vydalea?

Funny you should ask, 3x.  I DO NOT plan on having any more.  I love my Z-girl to pieces and we feel complete just having her.  My step-mother's psychic, on the other hand, does not agree and told her last weekend that he foresees me having another, a boy.  No joke, it took me 2 days to stop freaking out.  My DH finally got me to calm down and take off the chastity belt I had strapped on for fear of impregnation (haha) and I'm just going with it.  Hopefully he misread the energy and we'll end up adopting a male puppy or Z's future partner will be like a son to us or something.    I'm also in the early childhood field so perhaps I will be close with one of my students??  Who knows what the Universe has planned for us...but I am happy with just Z.  

Originally Posted by _ktg_ 

I started seeds last year with a few things (carrots, peas, squash, corn, sunflowers, watermelon, pumpkins) and I did well in get everything sprouted, I just left them too long in the germination containers, and not getting them moved into a larger container before attempting transplantation.   Now I have collection of plastic containers, so my plan is sprout them, move them into larger containers (first with plastic covers to keep them warm) and then larger containers before putting them outside to start making them hardy.

Thank you for all of this information... what size are the two different containers that you use for sprouting?  I think we'll try a couple from seed this year and then, like you and if I feel confident in my skills, try more next year.  
 

Originally Posted by revolting 

I second Yoga Kids. Also, my kids like a few of the youtube videos: this sun salutation one is my favorite;
My kids also like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzL1UIoiHRw&feature=related

There are also a lot of great books on it, too.

So, my husband hasn't been working a lot lately. We need to move, and I'm kind of nervous about applying for apartments with no income for the last couple weeks. We've applied for unemployment - he technically is still employed; his work is just not giving him any hours. I'm pretty stressed about the whole thing. He's still gone a lot though. He's taking the time to spend a lot of time at school, which is good, I just wish if he wasn't contributing income wise, he was contributing in terms of childcare/housework.

I've been trying to find time to do more yoga. A friend of mine is working on her certification for becoming a yoga instructor, so I get a free class every week. Yay! I've also been focusing on playing my banjo more. My youngest just turned two, and my oldest is going to turn five in a couple of weeks (and I know my parents are getting her a ukulele for her birthday, and I'd really like to remember how to play my banjo well enough to play with her).

That's life here!

thank you for the links!  Apartment hunting is stressful in itself without added stressors.  I hope things even out for you.  Hooray for the free yoga class, that's got to give you at least a little bit of solace!  AND what an awesome birthday present! :) 

Maia: Hope you're starting to better...I love the idea of eating in for your anniversary!  YUM.  the thought of a grilled steak is making me VERY hungry right now.  Also, thanks for sharing the picture of your altar.  If I think of it I will snap a photo of mine and load it up.  The drawing is also coming a long nicely, have you worked on it more?  Would you be willing to post pics of the finished product?  I am working through a list of "30 days of drawings" which I am NOT doing in 30 days since I do not have the time (more important things like MDC need to get done! haha) - I am stretching it out when I find long periods of time I can work on drawings.  

MamaintheDesert: *sassy and pregnant* awesome.  I found my local CSA through localharvest.org - perhaps that site can help you also?  

Alright, off to order YOGAKIDS.  woohoo!!  thanks, ladies, for the suggestions! 

[revolting]

Maia - My husband says that if the changing the trap doesn't work (if it is, the odor should be gone in a couple of days) and there isn't a leak in the visible piping, the next stop would to open up the wall. More often that the trap siphoning is that there is a broken or leaking pipe (or moisture not from the plumbing - but if it's a wall with plumbing, your first guess would be the plumbing) inside the wall. Hope the deeper trap helps!