What Safe Co-Sleeping Looks Like

Well, at least for us.

Its been quite the process for us to finally figure out something truly safe once Penelope became mobile. When she was a tiny baby, and couldn't move, we never thought twice about leaving her in our bed alone to nap.

When she started rolling over, I made a wall of pillows on one edge of the bed. I tucked pillows along the entire side of the bed under a fitted sheet. And that worked for awhile.

Then when she first started crawling, I thought the wall of pillows would be enough of a barrier to keep her from crawling off the bed, since she always made noise when she wakes up and I come in the room before she is fully awake.

But all it takes is one time.

And one time when she was about 7 months old, she woke up and didn't make a peep and crawled right off the damn bed and fell, oh, about 3 feet to the floor. She cried hysterically for about a minute, but she was totally fine. She crawled off the side that didn't have pillows- I had only done one wall of pillows because when I am in bed with her, I am the "wall" to the other side. It hadn't occurred to me that she would ever wake up without a peep and crawl way over to the other side of our king size bed and keep going.

Parenting Fail #1.

So then I thought, well I just need to do a wall on the other side, problem solved.

Then she woke up again, without a peep and crawled OVER the wall. This time hitting her head on the side of the bed on the way down, giving her a deep blue/green bruise on her cheek.

Parenting Fail #2.

After that we took the bed apart and put the mattress on the floor. At the time our house was on the market and I needed to keep the house show ready at all times, so we left the box spring underneath to make the bed look not so much like it was a mattress on the floor. So with the box spring and the mattress, the height of the bed this way, was about a foot and half. Then I lined the floor surrounding the perimeter of the mattress with pillows, so in case she crawled off she fell onto a pillow.

Then she crawled off the bed and hit the floor and managed to miss the safety pillows entirely. She screamed hysterically, because this time she fell on her back and it knocked the wind out her and scared the crap out of her.

Parenting Fail #3.

So then we took the box spring away and truly just had the mattress on the floor. If you know me, you know I like to keep a perfect house. Things must be in their place and tidy. Having a mattress on the floor, is so not my style. But I have given up in name of Safety. We also immediately started teaching her how to get on her belly and slide off the bed if she wanted to get off. I still worry she is going to take a nose dive, even though its only 6 inches off the floor, but most of the time she gets on her belly and scoots down like a pro.

But then she started being able to stand by herself and she wanted to practice her skills in the middle of the night. At 3am, she would crawl to a spot and stand, then crawl to another spot and stand. In my exhaustion, I just didn't feel like wrestling with her to keep her in one spot, so eventually she crawled off the bed.

Again.

This time, even though, its was a very short distance to the floor, she hit her head on the night stand, that was still butted up against the mattress in my futile attempt to keep our bedroom looking like a normal bedroom, as she tumbled off the edge.

Parenting Fail #4.

Now the night stands are on the far corners of the room. And there is two feet of space in between the mattress and the night stands on each side.

If you are co-sleeping, save your self a whole lot of trouble and Parenting Fail moments and just put the mattress on the floor, with no box spring, with nothing close by, as soon as the baby starts rolling over!

P.S. There are lots of other ways to co-sleep safely, like side car-ing a crib, but this is what works for us. I am by no means an expert on safe co-sleeping, just simply sharing our experience.

For more safe co-sleeping tips check out Attachment Parenting International's website.

Current Giveaway: 5 Class card for Baby/Tot Yoga!!

If you haven't heard, Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes are back!  Baby Yoga starts September 13th and Tot Yoga starts September 9th.

In honor, I am giving away one 5 class card ($40 value)!!!

You can enter up to SIX times in the following ways, but remember to leave a COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY.  1) add MBL to your blog roll (1st timers only) 2) become a fan on facebook (1st timers only)  3) mention the giveaway on your blog, or 5) on facebook, or 6) on twitter.  If you don't have a blog, you can enter two additional shares on FB or Twitter.  A winner will be randomly selected on September 8th 12p EST.  Good luck!

Friday Link Love: 8.27.10

I came across an amazing non-profit this week.  Its called MamaBaby Haiti.  Its a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of mothers and babies. Their mission is to lower the maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality rate in Haiti. MamaBaby Haiti is formed by a group of midwives and naturopathic doctors who serve women and families out of their birthing center and clinic in Haiti. They provide free prenatal, birth, postpartum, and pediatric care, in addition to education and other life saving services.

This is a great website to keep up to date on food policy and issues.  I signed up to get email alerts and I am so glad I did.  I learned about the recent Salmonella outbreak in eggs that has sickened thousands so far and resulted in a recall of more than half a billion eggs.  Really glad I get my eggs straight from the farm.

Click here if you want to fight back. Tell your grocery store to stop buying from any company that does business with these 'bad eggs' and change our rotten food system.

I have some crafty holiday ideas up my sleeve if I can manage to find the time, between taking two science classes, teaching three yoga classes, starting my new business, keep up the blog, and oh yeah, take care of miss P.  But IF I can find the time, this tutorial on the basics of Applique is gonna help me out!

Baby Footprint Memories

Since Penelope was two days old, we have been creating ink stamps of her sweet, little feet.

It all started because the second day she was born, our midwife came over and stamped her feet for our birth records. It was so cute, it inspired us to keep going!























I haven't been doing a baby scrapbook so this is a nice, simple, crafty baby memory thing to do, if you don't want to deal with a fancy baby scrapbook. I do keep a journal of all her milestones and exciting information. I started that when I was pregnant. I write to her in it, in hopes that she will read it one day when she is pregnant for the first time.



























Right now I am not quite sure what to do with all them or how to preserve them for the long haul. I would also love to incorporate them into a decoration for her 1st Birthday.

Anybody got any ideas??

Baby and Tot Yoga are BACK!

This is a video of Penelope learning how to take a deep breath and say Om!  She JUST figured this out.  All it took was one hour of yoga with older toddlers (This week I starting teaching a local preschool, one hour a week) doing it and she figured it out.  I am constantly amazed at how quickly babies learn and how much yoga they can actually do.

To do this with your child, simply take a deep breath.  I exaggerate the breath for her now, but when she is older, I will be less dramatic and more "yoga like."   And you say something like, "Mama is taking a Deeeep Breath!  It makes me feel calm and happy.  Can you take a deep breath?!"  For an older toddler, you can add, "Put your hand on your belly and feel it move up and down when you take a deep breath."

Below is the description and information about my new yoga classes I am starting the beginning of September.
So if you are local, come on out!  If your not local, don't worry I am still going to keep doing a yoga tutorial every Wednesday here at the blog.

Join Stephanie Brandt Cornais, and her tiny assistant, as they share their yoga journey with you. Stephanie has been a yoga teacher for 10 years and teaching kids yoga for the last 5. She previously owned Mama and Baby Love yoga studio. She is a new mom to Penelope was born on 11.11.09. You can find her at her blog, MamaAndBabyLove.com

Class will be in her home (in Southwood. 3801 Piney Grove Drive), in her dinning room turned yoga/playroom!

Baby Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes contain dozens of unique yoga postures designed to support baby’s development. Each class is filled with calming, nurturing ways to enhance bonding and improve baby’s sleep and digestion among other things. During a Baby Itsy Bitsy Yoga class, babies enjoy yoga while on their backs, tummies, or held in loving arms. For parents, this class is a special opportunity to meet other moms, get support, and learn about baby's emerging personality. Most of the yoga we do in Itsy Bitsy Yoga is for baby, but you will also learn breathing and relaxation techniques as you practice a bit of yoga yourself. No yoga is experience required.

If your baby is not yet crawling being with our Baby Itsy Bitsy Yoga class. Baby Itsy Bitsy Yoga class is Mondays, 9:45 to 10:30a.

Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Tots is a supportive, fun-loving, and active yoga class. As tot’s mobility increases, classes offer tot-centric poses that encourage and support their physical explorations. Tots become more confident in their moving bodies as they practice yoga both in and out of class. During a Tots Itsy Bitsy Yoga class crawlers and walkers playfully practice yoga postures while they are standing, sitting up, walking, and jumping. Parents also get to do a little yoga, but no yoga experience is required.

If your tot is mobile but less than 24 months join the Tot Itsy Bitsy Yoga. Tot Itsy Bitsy Yoga is Thursdays, 9:45 to 10:30a

**Tot Yoga starts September 9th.  Baby Yoga starts September 13th.**

Registration not required. Just show up! Price is $10 for a drop in, or you can purchase a 5 class card for $40 ($8 a class).

If you have an older toddler, they are welcome to come. They are welcome to watch, participate, or we can set the older kids up in the living room with age appropriate toys or even some cartoons.

If you are pregnant, most all poses are safe, gentle and appropriate.

For questions or more information please email Stephanie Brandt Cornais at Info@MamaAndBabyLove.com

I look forward to sharing yoga with you and your family!

Lactation Cookies

I made these Lactation Cookies last night.  My supply is still bountiful, thank God, so I didn't make them to boost supply, but because I was craving some yummy cookies.  And I figured I may as well make some lactation cookies, because the way I see it, you can never have too much mommy milk!  I also like to make these, because Peter tends to steer clear from them, because God forbid he get caught eating a lactation cookie, leaving the yummy bounty all to myself.

Speaking of mommy milk, yesterday I had the awesome pleasure of nursing Penelope in a room full of 2 and 3 year old's, while I was teaching yoga.  The little boys were so cute. The stopped cold from doing yoga and came over to peer and asked "What's that?"  "Whatcha doing?" "What dat baby doin?"  "What is IN there??"  Why mommy milk of course!  And amazingly Penelope sat there and nursed for the longest time she has ever nursed in public.  It happened at the end of an hour of us teaching yoga to  about 30 rambunctious toddlers and she was so overwhelmed she didn't give a crap that we were not laying down with the lights off and the sound machine on!

But I digress, below is the recipe I used, or you can find it here.  A sweet friend of mine brought me this recipe when Penelope was one week old (along with a great book called Making More Milk and an SNS).  I also had some awesome friends bring me lacation cookies they made I so I didn't have to.   This is the perfect desert to add to a post partum dinner delivery!

Oh and if you are not in the mood to bake, I found this great site where you can order Lactation Cookies and they will ship them to you!

1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
1 C butter very softened
4 tbls water
2 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 C flour
3 C oatmeal
4 Tblsp flaxseed meal
2 Tblsp brewer's/nutritional yeast
1 cup chocolate chips, or raisins or chopped almonds, or all three!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream sugars and butter. Then add eggs, vanilla, and beat well.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Form into 2" balls then flatten each ball onto a cookie sheet.
Bake 9-11 min or until edges are browned. Cool on cookie sheet.

New Possibilities, New Business

Yesterday I asked you to empty your cup.  Because today I want to fill it with something.

Something, that when I was first introduced to it, I had a knee-jerk reaction to it.    I thought, "oh jeez, hear we go, another pipe dream."

Luckily, my father was gentle and persistent and waited patiently for me to empty my cup.  And for me to walk slowly out of post partum land to have a clear enough head, to even think about this new possibility.  

So what am I talking about?  I am talking about something that has the possibility to increase your income like you have never dreamed.  Take a deep breath.  What knee-jerk reaction did you have just now when I said that? 

Empty. Your. Cup.

Ok, so it might not make you a millionaire, at least not at first.   But what if it can make you become a stay at home mom, or dad?  What if its true and all of sudden you can afford to send your kids to the amazing private school, or ivy league college you have always wanted them to attend?  Or what if it can help you travel as family and show your kids the world? Or what if it just takes the edge of the financial stress your family feels in this economy?  Or what if it simply becomes your fun shopping fund, where you have the freedom to buy what you want and know you wont have a fight over the purchase with your husband or feel guilty because that money should have been going to your kids college fund? 

What if it did all that AND helped people live healthier, fuller lives?

Check out this website to see what I am talking about. 

I am the only distributor in Tallahassee. The ONLY one!  This is an opportunity to get in on the ground level.    I am excited about this opportunity because I have owned a traditional business before.  I have owned a brick and mortor business, where I was a slave.  I worked 100 hours a week, had no life and was phsycially and mentally exhausted.  And after all that hard work, I was only breaking even. Paying all the bills and paychecks but never able to pay myself.  This is a business where you have no overhead.  This is a business where you can put in as much work as you want to put in. 

And because I am the first person in Tallahassee to be a distributor, when it takes off like Monavie did, I will be at the top. 

And so could you.

Please join me in my home to learn more.  I am having two meetings one on August 25th at 6p and on August 26th at 10a.  It will only take 1 hour of your time.  1 hour!  It will be worth it!

Children are welcome and there will be food!

You can RSVP for the 6p one here or for the 10am one here.

The first 2 people who RSVP will receive a bottle of the True Science Anti-Aging Cream ($85 value).

The next 5 people who RSVP will receive a bottle of Protandim ($50 value).

* You will have to come to the meeting your receive your giveaway.

I will also being giving away and additional bottle of Protandim if you share this post via Facebook or Twitter.  Please leave a comment below telling me that you did and a winner will be randomly selected on August 31st.

Email me at Info at Mamaandbabylove dot com if you have any questions.

Empty Your Cup

When I attended my very first Birthing From Within training, one the first things they taught us was how to empty our cup.

How do you empty your cup, you ask?  Well,  first let me tell you a story.  

A Zen student was having tea with his Master.  He held out his cup to be filled with tea.  His Master began filling his cup. 

And filling. 

And filling.

And filling.

The student cried, "that's enough, its almost full!"  But the Master didn't listen, and he kept pouring.  Till the tea was over flowing the cup and pouring over the sides. The student cried, "Stop!"  That is enough!  It's spilling!!"  The Master replied, "How am I to teach you anything, if you come to me with your cup already full?"

You must empty your cup.  Then you can learn from me.

So what's in your cup?

In your cup is everything you think you know about anything and everything.  You can apply this to pregnancy, birth and parenting.  You might have come to pregnancy, birth or parenting with your cup so full you can't even begin to learn from your experiences.  Or you may have quickly emptied your cup upon arrival to these events, because once you entered you realized you knew nothing! 

Have I lost you yet?

You could also apply this to learning anything new.  A new idea, a new concept, a new way of living.  If  you empty your cup, you can begin to open your mind to learning something new or imagining a new way of living.

When you have a knee-jerk reaction to something it's because your cup is full.  When you make a judgment too quickly its because your cup is too full.

What can you learn if you throw out everything you "know"?  Who are you, if you empty your cup?  What kind of parent would you be if you could throw out everything you "know" and be open to receive something different?

Maybe its not good to throw out EVERYTHING.   Maybe just de-clutter your cup by 75%?  50%?  Experience is helpful.  So keep some of your experience in your cup, but empty it enough to still be able to receive new information, new ideas and new possibilities.

What new possibilities, you ask?

That story is coming tomorrow!

Friday Link Love 8.21.10

Beautiful story of a mother who lost her baby and instead of letting her milk dry up, she is pumping and donating her breast milk. 

Here is the story from the above mom's own words.  Beware its hard to read and there is a picture.  If you are pregnant or very newly post partum, I would skip it.  But I think its important to "listen" when a mother tells her story.   And even though I was afraid to look at the picture,  the first words out of my mouth were "what a beautiful baby."

On a lighter note, I found this recipe for pizza dough.  I have attempted to make my own pizza dough several times and they have all been a disaster.  Sigh. But I am gonna pick myself back up and try again with this recipe.

Fantastic article about pumping in the work place.  This is the perfect article to print out and hand to your fellow employees, supervisor and boss. 

I want one of these so bad!  It would have been a perfect 1st anniversary gift to myself for our 1st anniversary last week, IF we had money right now to spend on silly things like art.

She makes ones for a new baby too!

Have a great weekend!  And congrats to all the mama's who's babies are heading off to school next week!

Baby/Tot Yoga VIDEO: So Big!

 This is a video of Penelope doing her first yoga pose all by herself!  It's called So Big.

The way you do it is you sit on the floor with your legs together and feet pointed up towards the ceiling.  Make sure both sits bones on are the floor (your sits bones are the bony bottom part of your pelvis).  You can feel those bones better by rocking side to side slightly.  This pose is a modified from the adult yoga Staff Pose.

Then raise your arms up over your head, as if you are trying to reach the ceiling.  Your spine is nice and straight and you are looking straight ahead at your child.  When you raise your arms, you say "SOOOOO!!!"

Then you bring your arms down and try and touch your toes and say "BIIIIIGGGGG!!!"  I do it pretty dramatically, as you can see in the video and make a thump on the floor when I bring my hands down.

It's a great stretch for Mama's.

For a baby Penelope's age (9 months) or older, till about 20 months, you alternate between showing them how and helping them by raising their arms for them and bring them down for them, as you say
"SO BIG!!"

If you have been doing yoga with your baby since they were born, like us, this the time yoga gets really fun and exciting.  You can really start to play and interact with your baby at a different level.  Its so amazing to watch them learn.  Their little brains are like sponges!   They are just so smart and absorb everything you do and say.

Penelope will do So Big if I prompt her or she will just randomly do it when she is playing the floor with a toy.  All of sudden she busts out the yoga and makes her mama proud!


Check out the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyVxwHkWJys

And let me know what you think about the video!  Do you like it better than pictures for our weekly yoga tutorial?


The one today was kind of haphazderly planned.  She was doing it and I grabbed the camera real quick.   If you guys like it, I can do more videos, but spend more time on the explanation of the pose in the video.

Just FYI, most of the baby yoga poses I post, I learned at my Itsy Bitsy Yoga training. The founder and creator, Helen Garabedian, has a great book and dvds that you can purchase to help your home practice. Or you can go to her website and try and find a class near you!

Elimination Communication

We have decided to try Elimination Communication in our house.  Err...I mean with Penelope (although Peter and I do communicate about our elimination, it goes like this, "I need to PEE! Right NOW! Can you PLEASE hold the baby!?!")

I never dreamed I would be participating in something like this.  I am about as crunchy and earthy of a mama as it gets, but EC seemed like too much. Too gross for one. I had images in my head of what it would be like, similar to the scene in the recent movie, Babies, where the African mom is wiping poo from her newborn's butt on her knee, then scraping the poo off with an old corn cob.

Um, no thanks.

I will stick to cloth diapers, thankyouverymuch.

And when my dear friend approached me and said she would be doing it with her daughter. I thought, well good for you, but its not for me.

Insert foot in mouth and today I have done a 180.  I am falling in love with EC.  Also known as Early Infant Potty training, or Elimination Timing,  or Natural Infant Hygiene. It's basically learning to communicate with your child about when they need to go.  Just like you know their signs for when they are hungry or tired, babies give "tells" or signs that they are about to eliminate.   Don't get me wrong.  Its hard work.  And requires absolute 100% attention to your child.  But just like anything that is hard work, the rewards you reap from it make it worth the while.

What sold me on the idea was idea that doing EC makes you more in tune with your child.  I practice Attachment Parenting (ie, breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping) and I thought I was about as attached and in tune with Penelope as I could be.  Once I started doing EC with her, I realized how much I tune her out and become un-aware even when I am sitting on the floor and doing nothing but playing with her.  It forces me to practice being in the moment and not think about anything else.  Notice, I said practice.  Because even though I am yoga teacher and have been using mediation in my life for quite some time, it is still very difficult for me.  My mind is constantly racing in a million directions and thinking about what I need to do next.

Instead of being in this. moment. right. now.

So that realization was pretty profound.    I realized that I had no idea what Penelope's "tells" where before she poo'd or peed.  I knew when she was pooping, but had no idea what her behavior was just before.  I am still learning her tells, but I am finding that she usually farts about a minute before she actually starts pooping or peeing.  And she tends to poop about the same time each day.  She also gets real quiet and still right before.  And I have even noticed a couple of times, she will crawl to the same spot.  I don't have it down pat AT ALL, sometimes she pees while she is getting breast milk (either through a bottle or nursing) sometime she pees 5 minutes after getting milk, sometimes as much as 25 minutes.  She seems to pee a whole bunch in the morning, after "sleeping" all night, and not as much in the afternoon.

Since I don't have her tells down pat yet, that means I am cleaning up a lot of messes.  Which doesn't really bother me, actually.  With cloth diapers I need to spray it off in the toilet before putting in the dirty bin, so its almost as much time to do that, than it is to clean up a little puddle on the floor.  It also means I have been peed on.  But I just throw the clothes or the spill mat in the laundry and go on about my day.  It does get frustrating sometimes.  I will be on the floor with her, intensely staring at her or constantly putting her on and off the potty and making the "ppppsssssss" sound and NOTHING.  Then the second I get up to do something, and I am not 100% paying attention, she pees all over her mat!!!  Not only do I have to clean up the mess, but I missed an opportunity to say "pppppsssss" while she was peeing to help her with the word/sound association (which will help her pee on command later).

We have the best success just after she gets up from a nap or in the morning.  I put her on the potty right after she gets up and make the sound.  I am usually on the potty as well and saying things like "Mama's going potty too!" I am also making the sound, and signing the sign for potty at the same time.  When she goes on the potty, she gets lots of praise and joy!  Then I dump out her little potty in the toilet, spray it down with water and then spray with an all purpose spray to kill any germs. 

I am not going to be hard core about it and I don't have a goal of being diaper free.  Instead we will do it part time, when I have engery to do it.  We will keep using cloth diapers for when are out and about, during sleep, and anytime during the day when I can not give her my full attention.  I think any little bit of EC is good, there are so many benefits to doing EC.   It's less time she is sitting in a pee diaper, and she is learning to be able to tune into her own body and notice her movements.    Hopefully, it will set the stage for real potty training and maybe make it easier or happen sooner.  There is no goal for me except to learn more about my daughter, and be more in tune and connected to her.  As long as that is happening, I am a happy mama.

Fig Pie

Remember the blueberry pie post I did a few weeks ago? Well, I did fig version recently and it was AMAZING! The figs were from a local farm.


















peeled all the figs and that took forever! Then I chopped them up like so. I only sprinkled a bit of sugar on them, like the recipe calls for, so its a very naturally sweet tasting pie.

I am still learning how to roll out the pie crust made from scratch. So my pie crust topping is a little kooky looking. Whatever. It was delicious.

Link Love 8.13.10

Great news!  Circumcision rates falls to 33%.

This blog is entertaining, but sad at the same time.  It's a compilation of all the ridiculous and rude things OB's/Midwives/Doulas say to pregnant women at appointments. 

There is a new radical online magazine about birth, midwifery, etc called Squat.  How genius is that?
Check out this online giveaway to win a free year subscription.

My new favorite traditional foods blog.  Her how to videos are like gold to me.  Next week I am making Kombucha at home for the first time. She gave me the courage!

It's our 7 year together and 1 year married aniversary on Sunday. 
So here's a shot out to my hubby:
Seven year itch my ass!  I love you more every day.  Congrats on making it through the first year of marraige to me!  If we can get through this one, the next 60 will be a peice of cake.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Current Giveaway: Green Toys Feeding Set!

Green Toys sent me a set of their BPA Free Feeding Bowls, Feeding Utensils and Plates.  They came just in the nick of time.  Penelope has been doing really great with Baby Led Weaning.  She pretty much eats whatever we are eating for dinner now.  She is not eating a ton in general, and sometimes she just chews the food and spits it out.  Some nights she eats a bunch, it just depends on her mood.  Every night, she eats one egg yolk.   I use the bowl to pour the egg yolk in after I boil the egg and break it open.  And I use the plate to put a few bite sized pieces of food on it and let her go to town eating whatever she chooses.  I spoon fed her the egg yolk and use the spoon that came in the utensil package.  It's so tiny and cute!  Penelope loves to grab it and take it from me to try and feed herself.

I am thrilled with all three products!  And I love having several of each to use.  The look so freaking cute stacked in my cabinets. 

The company is oh so crunchy and green, um hello they named it Green Toys for a reason!  They use recycled milk jugs to make everything.  They are made in the USA, California to be exact.  All Green Toys products are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties, and are 100% recyclable.   And most importantly, the products contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA. They are also designed without any external coatings, eliminating the fear of lead paint.

Since I love the bowls, plates and utensils so much I am being a little stingy with my giveaway this time around.  Green Toys sent me one package of each and each package has four items in it.  I am keeping three and giving away one.  The giveaway will be a little starter set of one plate, one bowl, one spoon and one fork! 


You can enter to win by leaving a comment below!  You can gain SIX additional entries in the following ways, but remember to leave an ADDITIONAL COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY.  1) add MBL to your blog roll (1st timers only) 2) become a fan on facebook (1st timers only)  3) mention the giveaway on your blog, or 5) on facebook, or 6) on twitter.  A winner will be randomly selected on August 28th 12p EST.  Good luck!

And p.s. the company makes the most adorable tea set out of the same material.  I actually purchased a set last December when I found it on sale.  It's been in our closet ever since, waiting to be wrapped for Christmas.

Liquid Gold: Homemade Chicken Stock

A few weeks ago I made chicken stock from scratch. While I was making it, I was thinking how similar homemade stock is to breast milk. You know how people say breast milk is liquid gold because its so nourishing? Well, homemade chicken stock is like that as well, and it really looks like liquid gold. The cookbook, Nourishing Traditions, quotes Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen, when describing chicken stock, saying it "heals the nerves, improves digestion, reduces allergies, relaxes and gives strength.



















Its also very tasty. Just yesterday, I was doing my Once A Month Cooking and I made Chicken Pot Pie with some of my broth. I have made the dish before, but this time using my own broth, it was much more flavorful.

When I made stock before, I froze it in large mason jars and it was really cumbersome to store, defrost and actually use the stock. Back then we didn't have a deep freezer so that was part of the problem. This time I went about it differently and stored them in plastic bags.  That way, you can freeze them flat like bricks and they take up less room in the freezer.   I did several 3 cup bags and lots of 1 cup bags, so I could just pull them out as needed and not waste any stock.

Here is the recipe from Nourishing Traditions:

1 whole free range chicken or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts ( I used pieces from 4 chickens and doubled the recipe)
4 quarts cold filtered water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 celery sticks, coarsly chopped
1 bunch parsley

Place chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley.  Let stand 30 minutes to an hour.  Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 24 hours.  The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be.  About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add the parsley.

Remove chicken pieces with slotted spoon.   Strain the stock into a large bowl and put in the fridge till the fat rises to the top and congeals.  Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your fridge or freezer.

Oh Snap! Snappy Baby Dress

I am so excited this dress turned out. Remember my very first post? This is the kind of neckline I was trying to accomplish back then.  And now three months later, I have figured it out! All thanks can be given, to my all time favorite blog, Prudent Baby, for showing me how.

I could not get a good picture of Penelope in the dress, but you can imagine the cutest of the front. I made it pretty short, because she has a hard time crawling in long dresses. I am hoping I made the arm holes big enough, that she can wear it over a long sleeved shirt this fall.





















Here she is mowing the lawn with her Papa in her new dress. She was not too sure about the lawn mower. She had this scowl on her face the whole time. She would smile at me for a second, when the mower came close to me and she was able to see me, but as soon as she remembered she was on a mower, she went right back to her scowl.

The fabric is Amy Butler. My very first designer fabric purchase! It's from her LOVE collection.

Field Trip to Havana

On Friday last week, I met my friend Lindsey and her son Gabriel, in Havana for lunch and window shopping. Not real shopping, because now that we are both stay at home mama's, we are broke as a joke.  We had so much fun, I just had to share.

Here are the babes, refusing to sit still and smile for the camera.  Instead, Penelope is flashing her belly rolls to Gabriel.  

 











Then she tried to rip off his nose.














But even after all that, Gabriel still gave her a kiss. Such a sweet boy.

This is where we had lunch and then behind it is where I scored the mother of all fabric deals...I got all these sample squares for $10!! I know, I know, I said I was broke and we are but...they were .50 cents each and each one had three fabric squares, double sided!!  I can't wait to see what they will be made into.

Friday Link Love 8.6.10

I made refrigerator pickles this week.  Penelope is ga-ga for pickles and cukes are in season still, so I bought a bunch and whipped them up into pickles.  It was crazy easy.  And they are crazy yummy. I actually hate pickles but forced myself to taste them before feeding them to my child (I am a good parent, right?) and was totally surprised that I liked my homemade version. 

Lactivist Intactivist posted this video on her Facebook page.  It's a newborn latch technique I had never seen, very interesting!!

This post really got me thinking about my return to fertility.  It hasn't happened yet, I am going on 18 months of no period now.  I was dreading it, until I read her post and changed my attitude. My period's return will be a chance for me to have a belated menarch celebration...the one I never got as a young girl.   Not sure what I will do, but I will try to not meet my period with dread and instead, see it as a cause for celebration!
And on that note, did anyone see Mothering Magazine's article a few months ago about throwing celebratory parties and creating a rite of passage for young girls when they get their first period?  It was so good!  I can't wait till Penelope is that age and I can do something really special for her.  I love having a daughter.

And lastly, Penelope is still to young to play with playdough, but when she gets old enough I plan on making it from scratch. I found this recipe online this week.

Have a great weekend!

Homemade Diaper Wipe Spray

I am having some technical difficulties today, so the weekly yoga pose post is gonna have to wait...so instead, here is a simple tutorial on how to make your own diaper spray!

We have been using this recipe since Miss P was a newborn. While pregnant, I bought one package of 12 hemp wipes. After a few days, I realized I was gonna need more and ordered two more packages. By that time, Bum Genius stopped making the hemp wipes and I bought their flannel ones. I liked the hemp ones better, but the flannel ones still work great.  Using cloth wipes is not as easy as disposable wipes, but just like using cloth diapers, its worth the extra time. Not only are you reducing waste and keeping nasty chemicals away from your child, you are saving money!

This picture is of most of the ingredients I use. I say most, because in my foggy mommy haze, that is a constant these days, I forgot to include the organic baby wash we use in the picture.
Soooo, you will need a spray bottle (I got mine at Target, but you can find them lots of places), lavender and tea tree essential oil, baby wash soap (we use California Baby-see the link below) and water.

First, fill the spray bottle up with water (mine holds about 1 cup of water). If you do it after you put the soap in, its no big deal,  it will just foam over and take longer to fill up properly. Then put in some soap. The recipe originally called for 1 tablespoon of soap, but I probably use 1 teaspoon and its plenty.

Then I put in several drops of tea tree oil (about 10) and lavender (about 5). The original recipe called for less drops, but I am southern and I like to exaggerate. This is why I am not a good baker. If the recipe calls for a teaspoon of cinnamon, I think, well if a teaspoon would be good, then a tablespoon would be GREAT!

Tea Tree oil has naturally occurring antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties. It is most commonly used in a diluted form. It can cause skin irritation even after dilution so testing for allergies or skin sensitivities is recommended before use.  I use it in my homemade all-purpose spray (tute coming soon!) as well.

Then you shake it up and viola! Homemade Diaper Wipe Spray! Ready for use!

Here are what my wipes look like (if you like my diaper pad cover, check it out-I made it!). I leave them in tidy stack near the changing table and I just spray a couple of wipes before I take off P's diaper to change. Then I throw them in the diaper hamper with the rest of diapers and wash it all at the same time. Easy Peasy.


{Full Disclosure: I am apart of Amazon's Affiliate program, so if you buy something from the link below, then I get a few pennies.  I'm serious, only a few pennies.  But every penny counts right?!}

MBL Guest Post on Code Name: Mama Blog!

Check out my post today on Code Name: Mama's blog!  Its titled Sacred Time: Nursing My Daughter to Sleep.  Its also apart of the blog, Leaky B@@b, World Breastfeeding Week Carnival, "Perspectives: Breastfeeding From Every Angle."

Cornais Family Pizza

I found this recipe in a magazine several months ago and tweaked it a bit to make it our own.   It has become a family favorite and we make it at least once a month.  And now that Penelope is trying meat, she gets to eat a little bit of everything on the pizza, except for the goats cheese.  Remember the pizza I was talking about on my first post about Once a Month Cooking? Well, this is it.

It is so yummy. And healthy. And substantial. It will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied.  And it is EASY to make!

This is a picture of all the ingredients:
-pizza dough (I buy the pre-made dough at Publix, they have a white and multi-grain and we use the multi-grain. I have also used the sprouted whole wheat pizza dough from New Leaf, but its not as good as the Publix dough),
-a pound of ground beef. I almost always use organic, grass fed beef.
-mushrooms. I started out using only one container, but they cook down so much and I like lots of veggies on my pizza, that I started using two.
- a can of chopped tomatoes, or one big tomato chopped up.
- one onion, chopped.
- a package of goat cheese. Usually I use goat cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy, but this time I just grabbed a random brand from Publix when I went to get the dough.

First you saute the onions, then add the mushrooms, till they are fully cooked and tender. Then you set the onions and mushrooms aside and brown the meat in the same pan. I flavor the meat with a meat spice mix that we bought in Miami at Norman Brothers. Once the meat is browned, you add the vegetables back in and also add the tomatoes. Mix all together. Then put on top of your pizza dough. Lastly, add the goat cheese. I just drop little spoon fulls all over the pizza. Goat cheese does not spread when cooked, so fill in all the spaces of the pizza with cheese now.  I never put enough on, so be generous!  Bake in the oven, at whatever the directions on the pizza dough say. Usually at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

And enjoy!

Mimi the Sardine Spill Mat Review

Mimi the Sardine sent me their Spill Mat to review about a month ago, when they sent the Messy Baby Bib to giveaway.  I have been using it this whole time under her high chair when Penelope eats dinner with us.  It has really worked great.  Its a large enough of a square of fabric (42"x42"), that it pretty much catches everything that falls.  I lazily, wipe it down, after dinner or pick up the big pieces (ok, Peter does this) and then I fold it up and put in the little bin that is on the bottom area of her high chair till next time.   Once a week I wash in the machine for a good cleaning.  The Spill Mat can double as a art mat for letting the tots go crazy with creative time, but I found and even better use...

Just last week we starting doing Elimination Communication with Penelope. Half of our house is tiled and wood floors but the other half is carpet, and she spends a good amount of time playing on the carpeted areas.  We have our house on the market and just got our carpets cleaned, so I was not about to let her go diaper free over the carpets.  As I brain stormed about what I could do to contain any messes, I gazed at her Spill Mat folded up underneath her high chair.  And I thought, "BINGO!!"  I can spread her Spill Mat over the carpet and let her play with her toys on that.  And it worked perfectly! If I don't catch a pee-pee, I just wipe it and spray it down with my homemade all purpose spray and keep on using it.  Once, I missed part of a poo-poo, and I wiped it down and then through it in the wash with the cloth diapers.   I let it air dry in the laundry room and it was dry within a half hour and ready for use again.

The mat is made of organic cotton with a water based acrylic coating on it.  So no nasty chemicals!  And they have the CUTEST patterns and designs to choose from.

I really, really like this product and recommend it for feeding/art time OR if you are practicing Elimination Communication!

{Full disclosure: Mimi the Sardine sent me the Spill Mat to review and in return I keep the mat.}

Sunday Inspiration

I came across this blog yesterday and loved her pictures and quotes so much I just had to share. The author of the blog is Mormon, so I am pretty sure she is quoting the Book of Mormon, but I'm not Mormon (I'm Catholic, if anyone really wanted to know), so I am not sure.  Just beautiful.

I know this is a little off from what I normally post, but oh how I hope we raise Penelope in light and truth and to love and serve one another.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday.  :)