So I was reading back through some recent posts and I realized that there is no post introducing baby girl…?  There used to be one but somehow it is no more, so 6 months after the fact, I’m going to repost what once was, as best I can remember.

Introducing…

Bryna (Bre-na) Hope

October 15, 2008 @ 3:12pm

7lbs. 15.6 oz.

there’s the sweet baby girl.. all better now. *grin*

Just a little update to say we are still here and doing well.. just busy with a move.  That’s right.. we’re likely moving to Lafayette, IN.  Which means we need to get things in order to put the house on the market and well, that’s as far as my mind has gotten.  So, another bullet point update:

Me- Spending more time in the Bible, spending more time journaling… I think God’s healing me from that perfectionism thing, but uh, maybe a little too much (*insert picture of my horribly messy house*).  But honestly, I’ve focused just on reading a section here or there and journaling about whatever is on my heart at the time.  I still need to spend time being still and quiet before the Lord, that’s going to be a tough one with my mind stuck in overdrive, but it’s doable.  The Lord’s brought me to my knees a couple times too.. Wahoo for submitting to His prompting, instead of instantly picking up that fussing baby!! 

Hubby- busy busy busy, working in Lafayette for half the week, trying to finish up his second Masters (finished first in January, one class left for this one- YEAH, so so proud of him!).

Little girl- rolls around everywhere, nurses a little less (only every 3 hours now thankfully), has eaten some baby food here and there, has “loveable” thighs and cheeks,  has two bottom teeth (sharp little boogers), hollers at her sister when she takes a toy away (oh yes, big sis likes creating drama, bless her for constant entertainment *grin*), still chatters, is starting to sit up pretty well, bounces up and down when she’s happy (especially when Daddy talks to her). 

Big sis- well, let me see, drama drama drama.. really, she spends all day pretending, acting out things.  it is always fun to see what she is going to come up with next and the stories are great!  she loves her little sister sooo much that she takes things away from her to get her attention, because that’s how it’s supposed to work right?  *grin*  

Ok, so I’m sure I could share more, but I have one on the potty hollering for more toilet paper and another one that just woke up from a nap fussy.  What a journey..  I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Be blesssed friends!

Hey all!  Just thought I’d take a quick second to share with you a website I came across called Storynory.  Awhile ago one of my fav websites, Zrecs (yes I constantly plug them but honestly I’m not being paid, they’re just that good), got me hooked on the idea of audio stories when they mentioned that their daughter listens to audio stories when she eats breakfast.  At the time I was researching digital music players for kids and thought it would be a great idea to include audio stories into my music loving child’s life.  I wondered how easy it would be to find audio stories for kids and simply forgot to look into it any further.*  So lately we’ve been having some mealtime battles of the “less talk, more eat” variety.  Well, leave it up to Zrecs impeccable timing to introduce their first original audio story and it’s downloadable for free, brilliant!  So far they only have two in the vault, but we’ve enjoyed them so much that it prompted me to look for more free audio stories.  So I googled and came across the Storynory collection, featuring Original Stories, Fairytales, pieces from Classic Authors, as well as Educational and Junior Stories (for younger children and those just starting to learn english).   Not only are the stories great, but a british-accented narrator (Natasha), makes them even better.  Now we enjoying spending our lunchtime listening to audio stories, in peace, and we’re able to talk about the story when we’re finished.  Woohoo!  We’re celebrating a small victory over here! *grin*  So far her favorite is a Zrecs original, The Two Bears and the Carousel.  Zrecs has plans to share more stories in the future from the Audio Archives on their Punnybop site… can’t wait!

Happy listening!

*EDIT: So apparently I was not paying very much attention when reading the above referenced article since they mentioned Storynory as a source of free audio stories.  Or most likely it was one of the many tabs that has succumbed to my well meaning husband’s “I had to close the window” explanations, as he lovingly resumed counseling me through my “tab addiction” (it’s for real people)… Now, why doesn’t Safari have the much-loved “restore session” feature that Firefox has?  Or does it? (googling) Ok, so there is a way to restore your previous session in Safari afterall.  Thank you iamdigitalman!  And thank you google!.. and thank you little tabs, you make it so easy to indulge in frequent mind-numbing tangents!

It’s been awhile (and it’ll probably be awhile again *grin*) so I thought I’d do a little bullet point update of what I’ve/we’ve been up to for the past 3 months (background sobbing.. babies grow too fast!).  Here goes..

• With the wee one: nursing, rocking, singing, changing diapers- lots of poopy diapers (thank goodness for the diaper shower!), “saving” her from the extreme outpouring of love bestowed upon her by big sister, and oh.. listening- she is a real chatter-box!
• With the big sis: reading, being read to (I love how she points at the words but tells you the story from her memory) dancing, playing games, encouraging independence (oh the glory when they dress themselves, wipe themselves and wash their own hands… victory!), and helping her play nicely with wee one (who honestly isn’t so “wee”)
• With my knight: making him lunch (sometimes), ironing his clothes (sometimes), watching TV together, taking a parenting class together, and rooting him on as he finishes his two masters degrees (yes he is crazy, but we our SOOO proud of that crazy guy)
• With the cozy abode: purging, throwing out.. recycling as much as I can, organizing- which I believe is a never ending process, packing up Christmas decor (which will have to wait a little longer until we do Christmas with the girls.. I know, it’s almost the end of January)
• With myself: reading about parenting and sustainable living, experimenting with water only hair washing (this deserves a post of it’s own at a later date- it’s been an interesting journey) and with new recipes (such as carob Walnut Brownies from allrecipes.com- another highly recommended website), working on the committee for our church’s Children’s Clothing Resale, endeavoring to start prayer journals for the girls and get back into the Bible daily- which means laying perfectionism on the back burner here, God doesn’t really require perfectionism does He?! (also deserving of its own post)…

Ok, so that was an interesting experience for me.. READ: screwed up priorities!  The neglect towards my relationship with God and my husband and even my oldest daughter is glaring harshly in my mind..  And this isn’t a news flash really, just something I try not to think of until the Holy Spirit sabotages me under the guise of writing a quick update for you all and “whamo!’ I start seeing the truth in my life.  I just can’t seem to get passed the guilt (not of God) of not doing things right so that I can actually DO things even semi-right?  Anyone else experience this sort of rut?  Ideas of getting out.. and for good?  I feel like I’ve been here forever, long enough that it’s starting to feel normal, albeit unpeaceful.

Maybe God needs to audibly cry at me.. that is a horrible joke isn’t it, but it feels so true right now.

I think I always knew this… but researching things, anything really, is sooo intriguing to me. I love to keep digging and digging for information and learning more and more… until I realize it’s 10 am and I’ve spent 2 hours “learning.” Eek! I could feign the excuse that I’m due to have Baby Bump ANY DAY and my energy stores are depleted, but honestly this is a vice (or is it?) that I have had for a very long time. So, I just had to confess that because it seems I often don’t have anything original to share with you. At any rate, go check out these two sites I was pointed to today (by none other than the care2.com newsletter, yes I know, I’m a little obsessed with that site lately. *grin*)

From this article about sustainable items for your bag:
Orikaso- makers of the original fold flat tableware

From this article about candy:
The Natural Candy Store- a family owned and operated natural candy business. And be sure to click on the “Feingold” tab at the top to learn about Feingold candy-approving program.

One more thing, I do have another slightly funny Beanie Girl story.  A couple of nights ago when we sat down for dinner she said she wanted something other than what I was serving for dinner.  (Side note: Beanie Girl is going through the “I want to eat only my absolute favorite foods- namely snacks such as bread, crackers, cookies, rice cakes, peanut butter and celery, etc.) and I started to respond, “Well, I’m sorry.”  But before I could get that out, upon hearing me say “Well” she interjected “Is that too bad?” with a little grin.  We all had a good laugh as my husband sat shaking his head.  He’s always pointing out how much she repeats the things I say.. I guess he’s right, I’ve definitely been overusing the phrase, “Well, that’s too bad.”  

have a great day!

Just thought I’d leave you all with a chuckle this morning… I know I needed it.

For a little back story.. it seems that when Fall hits my daughter gets itchy bumps on her legs. I have skin allergies myself that aren’t life threatening but just bothersome, although thankfully I’ve grown out of them for the most part. Anyways, I’ve been keeping a close watch to see if I can pinpoint a specific allergy so that we only give her those items sparingly. At this point, I’m not sure if she is allergic to apples, since we seem to consume large amounts of those this time of year, or if it is weather related. So here’s how our little encounter went this morning as I noticed her digging at her legs:

Me: Your leg is really itching you isn’t it?

Beanie: Yes, we will have to cut if off.

And there was no “maybe” about it folks. Just plain and simple- “cut if off.” Haha.. it’s amazing how many characteristics (it’s black or white) she shares with her daddy. *grin*

Have a great day!

..I knew I shouldn’t have let my husband throw out his grimy, dilapidated work shoes… I’d been spending so much time researching how to recycle odds and ends of junk in our house (cds, dvds, furniture, electronics, etc.), I decided I just couldn’t spend one more minute looking for shoe recycling info. And wouldn’t you know it, a few days later this article showed up in my email inbox. Fooey!! Instant regret.. the garbage had already been toted away so there was no chance of reclaiming those lifeless shoes for a better purpose. But at least now, thanks to Annie at care2, I have some great future referencs for recycling worn-out shoes. I especially like the Croc initiative Soles United… now that makes me excited and willing to buy the real deal instead of a knock-off!

You know what else makes me excited?.. going to a movie that you know won’t have foul language, nudity or any other offensive material. Add ice-cream- PUMPKIN PIE ice cream- to that and you’ve got a great recipe for a date night. Which is what I was blessed enough to have on Saturday night. My husband and I went on a much needed date, probably the last before Baby Bump arrives (39 weeks on Tuesday, it’s go time!), and it was so relaxing. So what’s that movie we watched? Fireproof. I cried watching the trailer, and cried even more watching the movie. Now I’m a drama fan and enjoy watching Hallmark movies so I won’t give my review because honestly they don’t normally hold up well with the general public. However, my husband- my movie-loving, past theatre performing husband- even enjoyed the movie. His response was that the acting and filming were better than Facing the Giants, made by the same creators, that they did a good job of showing both sides of what was going on in the minds of the husband and the wife, and that it showed how Christians aren’t perfect, revealing issues that happen in everyone’s lives but no one talks about- i.e. people yelling at each other, losing control, blaming others, trapped in addictions… Oh how I yearn to be a part of a Christian community that is for real and truly open with one another instead of hiding behind a “holier than though” front. Ok, so I’m not going to get all whiny and negative, I know I’ve just got to be prayerful and patient. But it ticks me off people! Sometimes I think I should wear a t-shirt to church that says: “I yell at my daughter sometimes. I’m not proud of it. I’m praying that I will stop interfering and let God work in my heart. Will you pray for me too?” That could be interesting.

…gotta go remove a spider from my house. Love to all!

Ha, the new commericals put out by the Corn Refiners Association are laughable! Have you seen them? Check them out here and here if you haven’t. I’ve only seen the first one but I honestly did laugh when I heard it on TV. Granted they are right.. it’s all about moderation, but what can you buy at the grocery store these days that DOESN’T have high fructose corn syrup in it? As I said, I agree most things are okay in moderation, that’s why when we’re some place other than home I don’t make it a huge deal. So, no I’m not going to single my child out at the birthday party or let them go hungry if there’s nothing else to eat than high-fructose corn syrup laden drinks and food. But I am going to make sure they’re eating well at home and educating them in the process. Here’s a great article with some quick facts (as the commericals do suggest you “get the facts”) from one of my favorite websites on health and green living. Sign up for a customized newsletter, they are a great way to keep up-to-date on the topics you care about most.

have a great day friends!!

I’ve not been so great at submitting posts consistently and wondered if it’s because they’re just too long.  I am not a natural writer so I write, delete, write, delete.. you get my drift.  So, here’s my first attempt at a short, concise and yet still interesting post.

I’ve been making my own hand soap for a while now and it’s so simple I thought I’d share it with you all.  It’s simply diluted Bronner’s soap, which comes in several scents and can even be found at Meijer- woohoo!  I’ve looked up the dilution amounts literally every time I’ve made it, and somehow failed to make note of it for future reference.  So today I found one that intrigued me because it also calls for vegetable glycerin, which I learned from one of the comments on that post, is used as a humectant, or natural moisturizer.  That’s something I’ll definitely have to try during the upcoming dry winter months. 

So here’s what I do:

Fill a 2 cup liquid measuring cup with 1 cup of water and add Bronner’s castile soap up to the 1 1/4 mark- adding the soap TO the water reduces any foaming.  (*In the future I will also add 1 tsp. of vegetable glycerin.)  Mix with a spoon and pour into a (re-used) foaming hand soap dispenser.

Currently I am re-using a couple of Bath and Body foaming dispensers, but they are hard to clean being so strongly scented and the labels are also hard to remove.  I learned today, again from the comments on this recipe, that Method makes a foaming hand soap. I think I’ll pick some up at Target to use for the hand soap and retire the Bath and Body ones for homemade carpet cleaner. I originally used a regular soap dispenser, however the runny diluted soap is hard to control and would squirt in all directions; I’ve had it on my face, clothes and even the wall.  

I use Bronner’s peppermint scented soap because that’s what I use for my household cleaner recipes, but I’m looking to try something different for the hand soap- maybe citrus, almond or lavender. What scent would you suggest?

So much for a SHORT post today huh? *grin*

When I found out we’d be welcoming another little one into the world, I gradually started sweeping through the BPA-free, etc. minefields thinking I’d better get updated on all the current safe parenting info.   It’s been almost three years since Little Bean arrived and honestly I didn’t do much parental research before her so what better time to start. *grin*   Plus, even if you’re not in baby land these days who doesn’t have the need for some great SAFE baby gift ideas for those anxious first time parents? Initially I thought I’d share a list of safe products with you all because it sure beats doing the leg work yourself.  Fortunately I was pleased to find some great websites that have done some incredible upkeep on just this sort of thing.. so, rather than re-invent the wheel… check these out:

Z Recommends    What’s Fun. What’s Smart. What’s Safe.

Check out their Product Guides (right side) for quick access to safe products.  Also sign up for their monthly ZRecs Network newsletter and you’ll have a chance to win a great prize every month (if you live in the US and are 18 or older).  On September 1 they’ll draw a winner for a Britax Frontier car seat and booster!

The Soft Landing Blog    Safer Baby Gear News & Reviews

Subscribe to their newsletter by Aug. 31, 2008 to win Bambu: Mini Me Bowl, Kids Utensils, Bamdino Plates! And check out their shop while you’re at it. 

Safe Mama    One-stop child safety, product recall, health, well-being, eco-conscious, for parents

Check out their Cheat Sheets (left side) for a quick guide to safe products, such as their BPA Free Bottle and Sippy Cup Cheat Sheet.  Also features a shop and participates in giveaways and discount coupons. 

Coming up, my favorite kid products..

cheers!    tara