Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real ..everything Green

I love link-ups, so today I'm linking up with Cari over at Clan Donaldson  for Theme Thursday--Green and the lovely ladies over at Like Mother, Like Daughter for Pretty, Happy, Funny Real.  

Every picture has something Green (in honor of upcoming St. Paddy's Day)_..and shows something pretty, something happy, something funny and something real.

In the interest of full disclosure, I don't have one drop of Irish blood in me...my husband does however..so I do by marriage.  As the story goes, he even has an ancestor with a sordid past in Ireland..but we won't talk about that, because that is his story to tell..not mine.  Besides, I promised not to reveal all our family secrets to all of bloggy-land. 

{pretty}

A pretty picture of the swamp...with lots of beautiful green ferns! 

{happy}

Well, we're super happy about the new Pope..but I don't have a picture of that... never-mind one with green..so instead I'll just show this picture, because this was a happy day in Household Bentrup.  Especially for the mama..because I WON, our miniature golf game and I'm just immature enough that I still like to gloat if I win!

{funny}

Not exactly sure what Greta is doing in this picture..but it's a funny picture..with loads of green grass.  You can thank the law school's sprinklers for that super green grass..they come on every night at 3 AM...rain or shine!

{real}

This is John's favorite activity.....digging in the dirt.  You can see just a bit of a green bush in the background.

Now go visit Cari and Like Mother, Like Daughter for more great link-ups.

Five Favorites vol. 1

Joining up with Hallie at Moxie Wife for Five Favorites on a cloudy Wednesday morning.

1.

My pillow.  Yep, dorky as a favorite five, but, so, so, so comfortable.  I used to get neck pain from sleeping..but no more!

2.

They're not much to look at, but they taste, so, so good.  My recipe for homemade, gluten-free, peanut-butter patties (or tagalongs) made with both milk and dark chocolate.   I'm keeping the recipe a secret..for  now.

3.

Melaleuca Oil.  I'm fighting some sorta of allergy/cold congestion and bit of Melaleuca Oil rubbed on my nose/over my sinuses really helps.

4.

I LOVE this salt.  I cook EVERYTHING from scratch, so we don't eat hardly any foods that already contain salt.  I add this liberally to everything..and it makes everything so yummy!  Plus, it's healthy!

5.

Magnesium Oil...because I love getting my vitamins (er...minerals) while I sleep.   I spray this on at night before bed and it does help me sleep better. 

No go visit Moxie Wife, for more 5 Favorites.

Catholic Woman's Almanac..in which St. Anthony hangs in our crib

Linking up with Suscipio for CWA..a Day Late and possibly a Dollar short as well. Scroll down to see St. Anthony hanging in our crib.

 Praying
...currently doing a super, long, with Latin,  St. Joseph novena for Ben to get a full-time job by the time we need one. Poor St. Joseph..I feel like I'm always hounding his ear...I'm sure he's sick of me by now.
 ...for all the Cardinals at the Conclave..especially the Cardinal from Chile who I "adopted"
...for numerous friends suffering from numerous health issues.

  Reading
...nothing worth mentioning...a total fluff, entertainment book.
...The American Frugal Housewife. This was a free kindle book from like the 1800's. For some reason, I derive a great deal of enjoyment from reading old-fashioned housekeeping books. Plus, I've always wanted to know how to make a feather fan out of turkey feathers.

  Wanting to Read
...Baby-Led Weaning. Elsa turned 6 months old yesterday, so we "just" started giving her tiny tastes of food. I tend to skip baby food and just start with table foods..but I hadn't actually read THE BOOK yet.

  Wandering .
..over to Camp Patton. I just discovered this blog and have been enjoying it immensely. The writer/owner, Grace, has 3 children that are remarkably close in age. My children are all spaced fairly far apart, so I tend to have this fascination with families with closely spaced children. Plus, I just really enjoy her writing and humor..it's a fun blog.
  Wondering
...about the next Pope
...what happened to my nice, happy, content babe. It seems that overnight, she turned into this wicked grabby girl that whines and cries if she can't grab and mouth everything in sight.

  Trying
...a new recipe for Morning Glory muffins. Gluten-free of course. They have coconut, dates, carrots, apples, and almonds in them.

  Capturing
...those baby blues. Notice the toe photo-bomb! Classy..huh?

...St. Anthony hanging in our crib.  Go here  if you want your very own St. Anthony doll to sleep in your crib.

And go visit Suscipio for more CWA.


 

What I Wore Sunday. Vol. I

 

Joining up with the fine ladies at Fine Linen and Purple for the first time ever, for the weekly What I Wore Sunday.

Lemme just tell you all..that posting this particular post is an exercise in humility for me.  I generally HATE pictures of myself and heaven knows I'm not a fashion plate.  But, I am trying to get noticed for that What Not To Wear Show and I figure this is my best shot.  (kidding, kidding, I've never even watched it).  Actually, I just really enjoy reading and seeing what everyone else wears, so I figured I might as well join the fun.

Plus, my entire outfit cost me practically nothing..so that's pretty cool...I'm all about a great bargain.

So, here goes nothing..

 Shirt:  Thrifted from an awesome thrift store up North.  I can't remember what I paid for it.
Tank top: $2 on clearance from Wal-mart
Skirt:  Given to me by a friend who "would never fit into these clothes again."
Shoes:  Given to me by someone..can't remember who or the circumstance

I'm sure it's like so 10 years ago or something, but I really like the layered look of tank tops underneath button down/ fitted shirts.  It makes breastfeeding in public much easier, and I just personally really like the style.

So, that's my first volume of What I Wore Sunday.  Go visit Fine Linen and Purple for more fashion ideas.

7 Quick Takes Friday..I'm Traumatized

--- 1 ---

You guys..I'm totally traumatized over here.  On Wednesday, we were sitting down to eat dinner.  I had made a salad using all sorts of healthy ingredients...kale, romaine lettuce, real salt, Parmesan cheese, dried oregano,extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.  When I went to take a bite, I saw a dead, dried up one of these..

I apologize to any readers, I have traumatized with this picture.  Send me the therapy bill.

inside a lettuce fold.   

--- 2 ---

The lettuce was just from a plain, sealed bag of Publix brand Italian Blend (romaine and radicchio) and the roach was just folded up in a piece of lettuce.   And, you know what Ben had the nerve to say.

 That's the last time we buy organic.   

--- 3 ---

And, all I could do was cry.

It's not organic!!!!  It's pesticide-ridden lettuce from a sealed bag and it STILL had a HUGE  bug in it.  I can't bear to throw it away and I can't bear to eat it.  Waaaaah

--- 4 ---

So, finally, Heidi threw it away for me, and I called Publix to complain, and they said they'd call me back.  When they do, they better be offering me a nice Publix Gift Card.  Either that, or offering to pay my therapy bills. 

--- 5 ---

I'm no stranger to bugs in my lettuce.  I grew up with crunchy parents who grew organic before it was cool.  I've seen bugs in my lettuce before.  Let me tell you, there is a WORLD of difference between seeing a bug on fresh, from the garden, organic lettuce and seeing a dead, cockroach in your bagged, pesticide ridden lettuce from the store.

--- 6 ---
  Lemme just tell you though, this was way worse than the time I found a tailless lizard running around in the bottom of one of my pots.   The lizard was inside a strainer, trapped underneath a lid, running around like crazy...with it's tail just lying there separate.   And, I didn't even find that traumatic..and we still use that strainer and lid..after sanitizing the heck out of those things.

--- 7 ---

And, I think I've stretched this traumatizing story for enough quick takes..but speaking of traumatizing things...have you seen that Catholic Meme with the cat staring at a bunch of mice crawling around on his head and the caption reads:

Is Lent Over Yet?

 Every time I see it, I want to run screaming from my computer and bleach my eyes out.   I'd post it here, but I can't bear to look at it.   Mice are worse than cockroaches. .

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real.... Piles of Gifts from Spain

When Ben was in college, he spent a semester in Spain.  While, there, he met a dear friend, Rosa, with whom he has continued to keep contact.  A few weeks back, we were surprised and delighted with a lovely package from Spain..chock full of gifts and goodies for all of us along with a lovely, long, handwritten letter detailing the story of the Three Kings and the traditions found in Spain.  Ben translated it and read it to us one night, and we all heartily enjoyed it.

So, to you, Rosa, many, many thanks!!  Muchas Gracias!!    This edition of Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real showcases those wonderful gifts!

{pretty}

For me, there was a lovely bath, soap set!  It was so pretty and smelled so wonderful!  There were many more soaps included, but some are already in use!

                                                                            {happy}

For Heidi, there was this cute little store-front treasure box, and this darling cat, who she named Cecile.

Greta was super pleased with her little bull piggy bank and cute marionette.  They were both perfect for her.

She needs to work on keeping those strings untangled..but she loves it.

John got this super, fun, double-sided puzzle, which he really loves.

Elsa, got this adorable, super, sweet sheep..that we named Shelly. Because really..Shelly the Sheep sounds adorable.  Elsa loves her!

{funny}

For a funny picture, I piled all our wonderful gifts together and snapped a picture! Linking this one up with Cari, from Clan Donaldson for Theme Thursday.  And, Cari..you are so right...the red really does make a difference!

{real}

Last, but not least..we can't forget a real picture.   Ben's gift was a real(ly) awesome guidebook from Segovia, Spain.  If we ever make it across the Atlantic..we'll be all set to visit Segovia.

Now, go visit Our Mothers, Our Daughters for more Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real. 

Why we've stuck with attachment parenting

I just love Facebook. Seriously..I love it...I get exposed to so many blogs and ideas and links...and since I have carefully selected my "likes" to correspond with my interests, a lot of interesting articles show up.

This morning, an article entitled: Why we ditched attachment parenting showed up in my newsfeed.  So, I said to myself, Hmmm, that looks interesting, I think I can waste a few moments of my life reading that.  So, I did..because I love reading blogs and wasting time.

While the author was careful to state that different parenting styles work for different parents, she also seemed to say that co-sleeping turned her son (and lots of other children she knew) into a clingy, sleep-deprived mess, while her sleep-trained daughter was happy and content and slept well and everything was all rainbows and butterflies.   And, while I have no doubt that is true for her, I don't by any means think  it is a universal experience.

I think the real issue here is that new parents can get so caught up in parenting "styles" or labels, that they lose sight of the real focus and don't just do what works.   While we follow many of the "tenets" of attachment parenting,  I don't  consider us hard-core followers of any parenting style.

Love my Kozy!  I think it is my favorite baby carrier!

I'm all about baby-wearing..I have a too big, nice little collection of slings...everything from ring-slings to mei tais, to pouches (never could get into wraps though), but Elsa still spends plenty of time in a stroller, or the exersaucer or bouncy chair  or just on the floor.  Floor time is becoming limited though because Miss Grabby Hands has this amazing ability to reach and grab things that I could have sworn were out of reach when I put her down.   She doesn't crawl yet..she just sort of wiggles and stretches and somehow manages to grab things and the next thing I know, I'm all, Aaack, the baby is chewing on the computer cord,  and then I have to take it away from her, and well..she's not too fond of that.  I need to get the kids to keep the floor better picked up with their toys, because most of the time, it's one big, baby booby trap.

The baby in this picture is Heidi.  And, I have no idea why there is no sheet on that mattress??  This picture was taken in RI, while we were on vacation one summer, visiting my family.

And, yes, we do co-sleep and yes, she does *have* to nurse to fall asleep, and yes *all* my kids did that as babies and none of the older ones do that now.  They all fall asleep on their own, just fine, in their own room, and you can't even tell that when they were babies they had to nurse to sleep.  It's true..they do all eventually wean and potty-train and move into their own bed...and it even happened before kindergarten!

Yes, my not-quite 6-month old still nurses during the night...but. really..it's super easy when she's in bed with me.  I just latch her on real quick and go right back to sleep.  Hardly any sleep disturbance at all.  And, lately she's been giving us a good chunk of time when she first falls asleep for the night, where she sleeps alone in bed..which is wonderful.  And, all my kids did that as babies..they'd fall asleep around 8:00 or so and give us about 2 hours where they slept alone, before waking up around 10:00 ish..which is when I go to bed anyway.

Now, you may remember that last Friday, I posted about how I was sleep-deprived and tired, due to Elsa.  But, that wasn't totally true (ok..I admit it..I sorta lied... I better go to Confession now).  The reason I was sleep-deprived wasn't so much that Elsa was keeping me up, but that *I* had stayed up too late a few nights that week (and especially the night before), and it had caught up with me.  Yes, Elsa does wake up to nurse, but the real reason I was so tired was that I hadn't gone to bed early enough the night before or a few previous nights that week as well. Ever since I was a kid, I have had an inability to "sleep-in".  I'm totally wired to be a morning person, so when the sun starts peeking through the shades, I wake up..and can no longer sleep. Which means, that I can't make up lost sleep from the night before, by sleeping later.

Which brings me to my next point..the reason I was so sleep-deprived last week.  It's because the night before I had gone to a fun Mom's Night Out with friends...with baby in tow.  And, it was totally fine.  I held her some, a friend held her some (and showed her off to the snowbirds at the next table) and eventually she nursed and nodded off and I just held her in my arms while chatting with my friends, relaxing, and having a great time NOT being at home, while my wonderful husband dealt with the older kids and put them to bed and all that.  You see, having a baby that always nurses to sleep does mean that *I* always have to nurse her to sleep,  but it also means that she is totally and completely flexible and portable.  She will fall asleep anywhere..we don't have to worry about cranky baby while out, or having to take her home so she can nap.  Saturday night, we were also out with her past her bedtime...(at a wonderful friend's house for a lovely First Saturday Rosary and social time) and she was passed around and held by lots of friends, and then when she got tired, I just nursed her and she fell asleep and was still passed around while asleep. Lately, it's worked out that Sunday Mass happens to fall during the time she would nap, so I just nurse her in the pew, she falls asleep and we just hold her for the duration of Mass, and all is well.

You see, I value social time, and outings and getting out of the house and being with friends.  It would drive me CRAZY, to have to schedule my life or our outings around a baby's nap or bedtime.  Seriously crazy.  With 3 older homeschooling kids, I need to be able to take them to activities or coops or field trips without worrying about a baby's nap.

The one time she slept in a crib..I think it lasted about 10 minutes.

I totally realize that a different parenting style works better for other parents..and for some families, the baby always sleeps in crib, lifestyle works for them.  However, that type of life would not work for me.  I would much rather baby was dependent on *me* for nursing and sleeping and just drag them along wherever I go, than have to schedule around feedings or naps or get babysitters (because heaven knows, babysitters are NOT in our budget).  This is what works for us.  And, that totally dependent stage does not last forever.  My baby will be 6 months old next week...and honestly it feels like she was just born yesterday.  I know, that before I even know it, she'll be even more independent.

I don't follow attachment parenting because I think it is "better"..but because for the most part, it is what works for our family.  And, I think really..that is what parenting is all about.  It is about finding what works for each family and baby.  So, for some families, co-sleeping may be an absolute disaster and lead to sleep-deprived parents and babies, while for others, it may be blissful and lead to happy parents and babies.  It's all about finding what works, and then letting go of labels and styles and preconceived notions.