I like reading these blogs because they’re so sweet and pretty and inspiring for the “moments in between” as I’d like to call them.  For me, at least, I call their daily posts the “moments in between” because I truly feel that moments that are posted aren’t the nitty gritty moments of motherhood, but the very best of the best.  The best pictures of kids in their best attire and with the best smiles and happenings.

But motherhood is NOT like that.  In my experience, motherhood is mostly about chaos and dirty kids, running late, shooing kids out of the kitchen because as I say “too many knives and hot pans… go play”.  Add in a job, hobbies, more kids, nursing school (for me), a new move, sick relatives, church groups, etc. and your perfectly captured “blog” motherhood had changed.   It becomes realistically chaotic!

But sometimes, we have the “moments in between” when we actually rack up some GREAT mommy points!  Sometimes we make something so special and so memorable that it trumps the other mothering moments.

This past week has been full… TONS of preparations for a test I had today (thank God it’s over… 1 test down 8 to go!)  But there were two moments (yes… I said two… only two) we managed to squeeze in.

One was when we made the impromtu call to go ice skating downtown… and I’m so glad we did now that it’s 50+ degrees!

It was fun/really hard!

And today, to make up for the busyness of the past week… a little tea party with my little ladies.

Of course, today’s tea party ended in F not wanting her nuts, and then playing in her tea – making a huge mess.  E ended up throwing a big fit in the evening at bedtime.  Chaos returned not even 10 minutes after our tea party had ended.  But… for that moment, it was SO worth it!

I’m calling their bluff. I do not NEED nor want this:

Ok, so I cannot have the Gracie Mansion of New York (above picture).  But you get the idea.

I have always said that I never wanted a house so big that I alone could not clean it.  I don’t want a maid to regularly clean.  I want to enjoy being a steward of my things.  (I don’t judge, btw, maids or those people having them… I just knew it wasn’t for me.)

This home is more like something I’d like to squeeze my family into:

This is a Tumbleweed tiny home!!!

This particular home is one of the largest of the tiny homes at 557 square feet (for the 2 bedroom plan that is)… isn’t it darling??????  I know it sounds a bit crazy and most people have vehicles larger than this abode… but one day I’m gonna just buy me one – as my starter and finisher home!

]]> http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/2012/01/mmmmaterial-girl/feed/ 2 http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/2012/01/garlic-and-ginger-oh-and-lentils/ http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/2012/01/garlic-and-ginger-oh-and-lentils/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:31:25 +0000 Lauren http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/?p=847 I have been minimizing lately like nobody’s business and it’s kinda amazing to see some bareness in our home.  I have shed the kitchen of many gadgets (but none that I have purchased from Pampered Chef from my pal Robin ) and feel more versatile and more like a real chef in the kitchen!  Seriously, I’m really interested getting more done in the kitchen with less.

On that note, there is one thing I could not bring myself to minimize:

Yep, that is an entire, little dish completely devoted to holding garlic. I have no wine rack, no fruit bowl and no garlic press but I have an entire little bowl for my beloved garlic. i LOVE garlic!

I’m a believer that sometimes you feel whatever food you need to eat. If you listen to your body, it will tell you “I’m thirsty! Stop drinking pop and give me water!”  or in our home often, “Please stop feeding me Whole Foods ‘Buy one get one free pizza’… it is good, but it’s still pizza!” And sometimes my body screams “GIVE ME GARLIC!!!!!”  And since garlic is great at boosting immunity, I believe it is because my body is smart enough to know that it needs some help!  So I’ll bake myself a loaf of bread and drizzle it with freshly pressed garlic (not the powdered stuff… the real deal) and olive oil and I’m a regular bad germ fighting machine.   Or I make up my all time favorite dressing recipe (cannot remember where I got it from) and drizzle the heck out of a salad:

Squeeze one lemon, add a few cloves of freshly smashed garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil and either 1-2 TBS. honey or agave nectar

I wish I knew even more about herbs and foods as healers than I already do but I guess for now I’ll impart my own resources and knowledge with you that will be helpful during pregnancy.  I just found this great site with info on herbs such as garlic and using them during pregnancy.

And… some more tidbits:

-Something I know about Red Raspberry Leaf  Tea is that it helps your uterus to work efficiently.  It is great to drink during pregnancy to work up to the big day and post-partum when your now enlarged uterus is shrinking back down to a more manageable size.

-Ginger was extremely useful to me during my pregnancies.  I had the kind of morning sickness that made me queasy all day but I never could just vomit and get it over with.  I loved REAL ginger sodas.  And now I have incorporated ginger, an amazing GI boosting herb, into my regular diet.  I love a smoothie with frozen bananas, grated ginger, pineapple, mango and fresh spinach leaves.   The ginger just adds enough bite to it to wake you up in the morning!

-Also, i LOVED teas that promote milk production (sold at Mother Nurture in Lexington) and online elsewhere.  You can also buy a tincture of fennel seed oil which promotes milk production or cook you up some fennel root.  I took a trip (without my baby) to the West Coast for 4 days when my youngest was just 9 months old and still nursing 4-5 times a day… I had to pump 4-5 times a day to keep up my supply and I truly believe that it would have been harder had I not taken with me my fennel oil to increase my milk supply.

***If you’re interested in learning more about using herbs and foods in your pregnancy, please please please consult your Dr. or Midwife for more information.  Do not self “herb-icate”.  Herbs can act as medication and need to be closely monitored in your pregnancy or in combination with other meds. Here’s a good site on teas during pregnancy.

-Lastly (but not leastly), just yesterday I just read that lentils are fabulous for the pregnant woman.  This awesome food blog states that you get 90% of your folic acid from 1 cup of lentils a day.  So… I decided even though I’m not pregnant that I could benefit and made up this lovely salad... and it rocks! If you are pregnant or do plan on becoming pregnant, uping your folic acid is a MUST to prevent diseases in your baby like spina bifida.

Picture from mynewroots.blogspot.com

]]> http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/2012/01/garlic-and-ginger-oh-and-lentils/feed/ 5 http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/2012/01/too-many-socks-in-my-basket-to-pray-and-how-to-prepare-for-your-birth/ http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/2012/01/too-many-socks-in-my-basket-to-pray-and-how-to-prepare-for-your-birth/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:36:54 +0000 Lauren http://www.birthisfun.com/blog/?p=840 So, I’ve been blogging a lot lately about minimalism and what a relief it has been for me to get rid of excess stuff.  But this idea isn’t just about clearing out a space in my closet but about the effects this freedom presents on the other aspects of life. Sometimes with all the clutter and noise, we forget to stop and pray.  Sometimes there are so many socks in the basket to fold that we don’t have time to pray.  That ain’t right!

Of course, with most things, this makes me think about birth and how we can get bogged down with all the noise of preparation for baby and all the rules of society when birthing that we are too busy-minded to indulge ourselves in our births. Some of the societal expectations that are placed on expectant mothers are: new expensive crib, perfectly adorned nursery, a slew of diapers, stressing over the baby showers, carseats, stroller systems, what to name baby, etc. etc. etc.

But if you think about what you really need to prepare for baby it is this: a great healthcare provider, prenatal care, support, nutrition, and EDUCATION!  It pains me when people put off childbirth preparation classes but their baby room is stacked to the ceiling with diaper genies, stuffed animals and more clothes than any adult could ever dream of for themselves!  Really one of the most important things to do while pregnant is to prepare for birth and the time immediately following pregnancy; to educate yourself!

If you’re guilty for putting off classes, I don’t judge – not at all.  But I do strongly recommend that you take a class and learn about pregnancy, the anatomy of the pregnant body, things like “how does the baby actually come out?”.  Educate yourself on your OPTIONS in birth and WHICH Provider will give options (this varies greatly).

A good place in Lexington to start is: Baby Moon for your childbirth education needs and if that doesn’t meet your needs, msg me and I’ll get you hooked up with something that will!

Best of luck to you in your pregnancy and remember EDUCATION about your birth is more important than ANYTHING you can get at a Baby Super store!

*It reads: SIT STRAIGHT. NAPKIN IN LAP. THANKFUL ATTITUDE. ENJOY.  And at the top: PLEASE. THANK YOU. MAY I BE EXCUSED.

I didn’t laminate but taped it up with packing tape to keep it clean! Pretty innovative, I know!

When I was newly-wed, we had very little… and thus the story begins and every old married couple can finish the sentence by saying “… and those were the good old simple days…”  But as we added children too our brood, we added things – some that were necessary and some things that were spontaneous and tricked me into buying to fill a fake “need.”  Now that my children are kids and no longer “babies” I look around and see a house full of stuff and it makes me kinda sick. It makes me sick because I know that it is just that – suff – and yet we strive for it, work for it, clean it, fix it, move it, break it, fix it, loan it, store it, fix it, move it… on and on.  I’m considering all of the thought that goes into their stuff and my stuff and his stuff and her stuff and it makes my already over-loaded head start to spin.  I’m so excited about reading miss minimalist because her style of living offers a freedom from consumerism that is against the “norm” and yet, in this time of economic recession might become the new black.

Mr. M and I have tried our hand at minimal living in several ways but have yet to throw ourselves into this lifestyle.  We still have our bad habits.  But I’m feeling refreshed and excited about the new, much emptier house that will soon be filled with memories and more time for play and leisure.  I still love to redo furniture and do projects and make crafts but the thigns that don’t bring me such joy are outta here!

So take a minute to peruse her blog and let it help you understand something new about yourself.  As Christmas approaches, I cannot think of a better time to bite the bullet and commit to a minimalist lifestyle.  There is truly nothing more that we need.

Sometimes I feel that having every single possible food item I might need in the pantry or 3 dozen pairs of socks it will help me to prepare for a busy lifestyle where I am equipt to handle everything that may come my way.  In reality, it means BIGGER laundry days and more unmatched socks and more possibility to waste food (which really is painful).

So, these days, as I get back into a busy routine of study, be mama, cook/clean, clinical days, study, work in the Mother/Baby Unit!, clean, cook – I am wondering if I can streamline my life and eliminate some extra work.  It might not be possible to do right now… but I’m thinking sometime soon I might just go minimalist.

Here’s a new blog I just discovered and some great pictures of beautiful ‘minimalist’ rooms.

Pictures from style-files.com

Pictures from style-files.com

Pictures from style-files.com

Looking at the pictures of these rooms makes me just go “ahhhhhhhh” and relax just a bit more!  Hope you enjoy them and get inspired!

But it definitely makes me think about the evolution of moms throughout history and it makes me SO happy to be a modern mama.  The kind of mom that can work and/or stay at home.  The kind of mom that can vote, lead a church, go to college and run for president.  I’m only a little bit feminist but mostly practical and reasonable.  To me, women doing everything that we now do is practical and right, not feministic.

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/sixties-fashion-w.htm

But… but… when considering how many moms in this world, I’d say the greater percentage of mothers in this world,  have made homes of un-homely places I think that I also can consider streamlining my own living space.

The guy in the video is right, having more space = having more things.  And while having things seems to make life easier, it can also make it more expensive and more cluttered and for me, more stressful!!  I hope that you enjoy this video:

Architect lives and works in 78 square foot apartment!

And I’m pretty certain that his apartment is the size of my home office, which I have been working hard this last month to tidy up to prepare for the long nights of study by lamplight!  Enjoy the pictures!

Found these plastic containers for $2.50 each at Target in the 'Back to School' section. I lined only the outer end with cute paper from a magazine article so that it didn't look so cluttered.

um... yes, those are all my Nursing books! My daughter calls them the disgusting books because there are some pretty disgusting pictures in them. I hung this drape so she won't be tramatized.

Tidy!

A little side table that I covered with vintage maps of Russia from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Crimean War to Soviet Union. Yeah, pretty rad, I think!

That’s it! It’s definitely not my entire living space but I can guarantee that I’ll be spending LOADS of time in this little room for the next year as I wrap up my RN degree!  So glad I revamped in time for the semester to begin!