Life With The Crew

Sharing some thoughts from a South African blogger

http://cisforcapetown.blogspot.com/2013/12/we-are-all-meant-to-shine-as-children.html#comment-form

More Exciting News!

Some of the photos featured on my blog are now available for sale as prints from the on-line shop Society6!  I have received wonderful feedback from readers about my photos, so I decided to make them available for purchase.  You purchase the prints directly through the Society6 website and they produce and ship the print to you.  All of the prints are available in four different sizes.  I'd love for you to visit the shop and check them out!

They are currently running a promotion through December 8th (that is this Sunday) for FREE shipping and $5 off, but you have to purchase through THIS LINK.

Have a happy day!

 

Ramblings From This Week...

-You know you are an animal lover when...you crawl back into bed at 3am after having a little computer time (have to do it when the babe is sleeping on her own) and there is only about 4 feet of space to squeeze into because there is one little babe sleeping in the middle of the bed, one fat Corgi who has crawled onto the other side of the little babe, one 50 lb Romanian dog below her at the foot of the bed, and then one scrappy Sheltie mix next to him - right where my feet should go.   I cram myself into my designated spot with blankets that only come up to my waist because of the dogs pulling them down.  Then I shiver a little before I get up to get another blanket to throw around my shoulders, which is easier to do than kicking off the dogs.  (some observant people might notice that I didn't mention my husband in that furry huddle - that is another post!)

(Wallace - King of the Bed)

 

-I am trying to keep Christmas decorations simple, cheap, and more natural this year and have been getting inspiration from some great Etsy shops like The Sitting Tree and The Vermont Branch Company.  The weekend before Thanksgiving my brother stopped at our house asking to borrow our handsaw and said that he was going on a "birch tree hunt".  He wanted to make those cute votive candle holders out of a birch branch.  The problem is that here in suburban Pennsylvania, most birch trees are planted in people's yards as landscaping, not growing in the wild free for the cutting.  We have one in our front yard, but the branches that were the size he wanted were the main parts of the tree, so I wasn't giving them up!  We racked our brains trying to think of where we had seen some and I don't know if he ended up finding any.  Today I was walking the dogs up the street past the building for the local water well, so technically municipal property.   What did I see?  The perfect sized birch branch just lying there for the taking!  I was so excited I actually exclaimed out loud!   It must have fallen from the snow and ice we had last week and since we were away for the holiday and then I was sick, I didn't see it until today.  I gave it a little feel to see if I could lift it by myself and then quickly finished my walk with the dogs, hoping that in the next 15 minutes no one else came and took this large tree branch lying on the side of the road..  After throwing the dogs inside, I headed back up the street with my little babe still in her carrier and hoping that all the neighbors were at work, I picked up that branch and hauled it down the street to our driveway.  Luckily since we do have the birch tree in our front yard, it just looks like it broke off from that.  I can't wait to tell my brother what I have for him.  He has to split the bounty with me though!

 

-About 3 weeks ago we got a large cheese pumpkin in our CSA share.  I was intimidated by it and it just sat in the front hall, on top of the hat and glove basket, so I had to use two hands to move it everytime I needed to get in the basket.  When I was sick this weekend, my husband finally decided to take the plunge and whack it open.  He made a winter couscous with it, and that barely made a dent in it.  So I have to take the time in the next couple of days to bake the rest of it and then puree it.  I am happy we got it, but it is just SO BIG!

 

Hope you have a warm bed to stretch out in, some seasonal decorations to make you happy, and some good food to fill your belly!

Hump Day Give-A-Way 12.4.13

Today's give-a-way item is kindly being donated by Spiritwind Farm, which is located in Lebanon, Maine.  My husband and I stayed there several weeks ago on our trip to New England and had a really nice time.  I wrote about our trip in this post.  Spiritwind Farm is run by Kathy Ossinger and includes two large Shire horses that are used for hay and sleigh rides, pigs, chickens, and goats.  We are very thankful to the goats for providing the milk used in our give-a-way item today - two bars of goat's milk soap, Lavendar and Black Amber, handmade by Kathy.  The soaps are made with natural ingredients and essential oils.

(photo courtesy of Spiritwind Farm)

I was interested to know how Kathy became involved with milk goats and how much milk goes into a bar of soap.  Here is Kathy's response:

 "My ex brought home two Nubian does (babies) and I fell in love with them.  I didn't do much with them at first then I bred them and milked them and enjoy it to this day.  When the does freshen (give birth) they are full of milk and I keep the babies with their Mom for 2 months then I start "stealing" it and milk the mom in the morning after separating kids at nite.  I usually get 1-2 qts at each milking, some people milk twice a day then get 2-4 qts a day.  I am not that greedy (yet) and still have plenty of milk just milking 2-3 goats.  I am going to be breeding 5 goats this December so in 5 months they will deliver hopefully lots of kids and there will be lots of milk.  It takes (the way I make soap) 20 oz of milk to  make one batch of soap which is approximately 16-18 bars of goat milk soap.  It really depends on what oils you want to use and the amount of oils.  I use something called the lye calculator to balance everything.  I love the freedom and beauty of my farm.  I am lucky to have a lot of land and I am getting to make a living and am able to sustain a good life here.  I love my animals, from my German Shepherd dog Rue, to my Shire horses, Abby and Lucy, to all the goats, the pigs and chickens."

Kathy participates in Farm Stay US, a organization that farmers can join if they are interested in providing travel lodging for people on their farm.  That is how we discovered Spiritwind Farm.  Kathy is also looking to expand her goat milking operations and will soon be starting a campaign to raise funds to build a creamery where she can make cheeses to sell.  

If you are interested in winning the two soaps offered today, please leave a comment below.  I will assign a number to each comment and draw a winner.  The contest will close at 7am on Thursday.

CONTEST CLOSED 

Thankful Tuesday - 12.3.13

Things have been pretty crazy over the holiday weekend, but since I try to keep things positive, here it goes.... (not many pictures - once you read the post you'll know why!)

Even though my daughter woke me up at 2am on Thanksgiving night by vomiting next to me in bed, I am thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving day that we had with both sets of parents and family.

Even though my daughter potentially infected more than 20 people with the Thanksgiving stomach bug, I am thankful for all of the love and attention that she received.

Even though my daughter threw-up on all of her outfits, including the brand new set of pajamas that were still in the gift box, I am thankful that she was still a happy camper saying "Hi" to everyone she saw.

(in between throw-up sessions in the hotel)

Even though my daughter threw-up in my face and down my shirt, not once, but three times at the dinner table with about 15 people looking on in horror/amusement, I am thankful that we will have that memory to laugh about in coming years.

Even though my daughter then passed on the stomach bug to her loving and dedicated mother (yep, that's me folks), I am thankful that this is the first time since she was born that either of us have been sick.  That's a pretty good track record for a baby - three cheers for breast feeding!

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who turned into a radical homemaker for the weekend and took care of me, the still sick babe, all of the pets, ran a gazillion loads of laundry, kept the woodstove going (his normal job), AND cooked and baked.  Though I don't know why he made his "Dad's Best Brownies" when I couldn't eat them!  (recipe to come later this week)  

I hope that the stomach bug does not crawl your way and that you have a great week!

 

Swiping Before Wiping?!

I know that I might offend some people with this post and make others think that I am a technophobe.  Looking at the definitions below from thefreedictionary.com, #1 does sort of fit me.  

1. (Sociology) someone who fears the effects of technological development on society and the environment

2. someone who is afraid of using technological devices, such as computers

 

However, #2 does not, for the simple fact that I am blogging about this right now, as opposed to writing an op-ed piece for the local newspaper.  I have this pet peeve and have been dwelling on it for a while now and after reading the following statistics in "Parents" magazine, I felt compelled to get on my soapbox.  

 

-39% of all 2-4 year olds have used mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones, says Common Sense Media

 

-40% of kids ages 6-8 own a internet-enabled mobile device

 

So what is my pet peeve?  Why do babies, toddlers, young children, need to know how to swipe a smart phone or tablet device before they can wipe their own butts?  Is swiping now another developmental marker that will be checked off at my daughter's next doctor visit?  And is it bad if I would be happy if she failed that test?

 

Technology is all well and good in the adult world and for children when they are of a certain age.  But it just seems wrong to me that some children will learn to read on an ipad instead of a board book.  And some kids will interact more with a fictitious character on the computer than real people in their lives.  And why does my kid need to turn on my phone with a swipe when she can't even talk yet?!  

 

So call me old fashioned, hippy dippy, out of touch with reality, but I want my daughter to be able to stack some wood blocks before she can play Tetris, to crawl into my lap with a thick paged board book, and for me to have to yell for her to come inside and stop chasing the chickens rather than yelling at her to get off the computer.  

 

Okay, I'm stepping off the soapbox now.  I'll go back to surfing the web for natural wood toys for my little babe.

 

 

A Big Welcome To My First Sponsor...

Little House of Colors!  I am SO excited to announce that Little House of Colors (LHoC) will be sponsoring me for the next two months and will be offering my readers (that's you folks!) a 15% discount on all orders placed between now and January 31st, 2014.  I ordered a pair of booties from LHoC's shop on Etsy for my daughter's first birthday and they are just adorable.  There are several reasons why I was happy to purchase these shoes.  First, I like purchasing items for my daughter that are unique; they weren't mass produced for a big box store.  Second, I like supporting individuals who are trying to make a go doing what they are passionate about.  Third, being a vegetarian, I wanted shoes that were non-leather.   And last but definitely not least, these shoes are just super cute!  I love the print combinations and colors!

Lauren is the designer and seamstress at LHoC, she is also the mother to two little girls and a newborn baby girl!  This is Lauren's story in her own words:

 "I tinkered with my mother's old sewing machine here and there as a kid (i.e. I thread it a bunch of times, but never actually made anything!), and decided to buy my own just a few years ago. With a new baby girl in the house, and friends that were popping out kids all around me, I really wanted to start making fun, colorful, and most importantly, useful items for all! I gave a few pairs of my handmade booties away as baby-shower gifts and instantly knew that I had something special...something you can't find in a big-box retail store."

In addition to all of the booties in adorable prints for girls and boys, Lauren also makes bibs, burp clothes, and other baby acccessories.  I am excited to be helping to promote a talented and crafty stay-at-home mom and I am super excited that she will be supporting this stay-at-home mom for the next two months!  So if you have a little one in your house and are still looking for a gift idea for  Christmas or if you have a friend that is expecting, Lauren's products would be perfect!  Check out her store and don't forget to redeem your 15% discount using the link on my sidebar.