{this moment} water garden

A Friday ritual. A single photo, without words capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, wonderful moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. -via soulemama.

It's Not (Always) Easy Being Green

Welcome to the June 2012 Simplicity Parenting Carnival: Green Living
This post was written as part of the monthly Simplicity Parenting Carnival hosted by The Lone Home Ranger and S.A.H.M. i AM. This month we are discussing how we find ways to be more natural parents and stewards of the environment. Be sure to read to the end to see a list of the rest of the excellent carnival contributors.
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A few months ago I wrote a post for BlogHer about "Green" living. I listed 8 simple things you could right away to make your lifestyle more eco-friendly. Even though I listed things that we actually do at our house, I have to confess, it's not always easy or simple.

{this moment} watermelon

A Friday ritual. A single photo, without words capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, wonderful moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. -via soulemama.

Also, check out this post to see a picture of this same watermelon last Sunday. It's grown so much in less than a week! 

Strawberry Cornmeal Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake makes me happy. Strawberry shortcake makes summer feel real. It conjures up memories of warm summer afternoons and my mom's birthday. Her birthday is the 4th of July and growing up we almost always ate strawberry short cake to celebrate the occasion.

I've been looking for a good gluten-free alternative to strawberry shortcake for a few weeks now and I finally decided to take a regular recipe and try making it gluten-free. The strawberry cornmeal shortcake you see pictured above was the wonderful result. Not that you can even see the shortcake under all the whipped cream and strawberries...I like mine served heavy on the toppings! 

Using Organizational Resources (or Not)

Last night I dreamed I was back in high school. Somehow I'd forgotten an assignment that was due and I'd failed to bake cookies to share. Apparently we were all supposed to bake cookies and bring them to class. My current status of mommyhood never fails to reach my anxiety dreams.

I'm sure I had this dream because I knew I needed to write a post about staying organized today. I knew I should have done it last week but I didn't. I procrastinated. We were busy. We were out of town. Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Hence the anxiety dream about missing assignments.

Father's Day and Other Happenings

Happy Father's Day weekend! I realize I've been a bad blogger this week. The days just sped by! Here's a peak at the happenings around our casa. We've been...

Planning and creating Father's Day gifts...

Accepting the Unexpected During Birth

Welcome to the June 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Embracing Your Birth Experience
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about at least one part of their birth experience that they can hold up and cherish.
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While I was pregnant with my daughter I imagined a beautiful, peaceful birth and it was exactly that--beautiful and peaceful just didn't look like what I had envisioned beforehand.

I'd pictured myself calmly relaxing on a birthing ball while my husband massaged my back...

In reality I spent nearly 6 hours sitting on the toilet.* Seriously, I spent almost my entire labor on the toilet. 

And it was perfect. I laugh a little when I tell people about it now.

Happy Weekending!

I hope you had a lovely weekend. I know most everyone was finished with the weekend yesterday but our weekends run Sunday-Monday so we were still weekending today. Here's a little peak at how we spent our time... 

{this moment} beach

A Friday ritual. A single photo, without words capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, wonderful moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. -via soulemama.

Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie

Let's take a moment to talk about chicken pot pie. I happen to love chicken pot pie. It's comforting and delicious. It makes the house smell wonderful. Many people might think of it as a winter meal but I could eat it year round.

Back in the day my husband and I used to make chicken pot pie regularly. We used ready made pie crusts, two cans of cream of chicken soup, a can of mixed veggies, and a can of cooked chicken. It was quick, easy, and not terribly healthy. We considered it a guilty pleasure.

At some point I realized that I could create a much healthier version fairly easily by making more of the ingredients from scratch.

June Simplicity Parenting Carnival: Calling for "Green" Submissions!

We were so inspired by and learned so much from the participants in our first carnival! We hope you'll join us again, Justine at The Lone Home Ranger and Emily at S.A.H.M. i AM, for another simplicity parenting carnival!

June 2012: Green Living

Do you strive to be eco-conscious? Do you want to raise your children to value the planet? Does being Green make it easier to live simply or does it add additional challenges?

We want to hear about how you incorporate Green living into your everyday life. What steps have you taken to reduce your footprint? How do you set your Green priorities? Do you find yourself making compromises? Do you use cloth diapers and still drive an SUV? Regardless of where you are in your journey to be Green, we'd love to hear your perspective on Green family life, raising children to be eco-conscious, and how it impacts simple living.

Yes, I'm Still Pregnant (catching up on weeks 11-14)

Yes, I'm still pregnant. I know I haven't really mentioned it for a while. I totally didn't get around to posting belly pictures the last few weeks. We've reached the second trimester and I didn't even write a celebratory post. But I haven't been posting much of anything lately. I've been busy and, honestly, a little unmotivated. In addition to trying to accomplish one thing a day (so that I don't go crazy in a disorganized house) I've been spending time with my family, canning peppers, and playing with our new ice cream maker.

11 weeks

I've also haven't been able to make it through a day without laying down...so I've been sleeping while my daughter naps instead of blogging. It hasn't been an optional thing and I've accepted it.

{this moment} chickens

A Friday ritual. A single photo, without words capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, wonderful moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. -via soulemama.