Announcing...drumroll...

...my Etsy shop! It's called All Things Birthy and is quite small at the moment. I wasn't going to open my shop yet, since I have so many ideas but SO LITTLE time, and I wanted to build my inventory and have some variety. I'm limited to necklaces and pendants at the moment, however there are several other non-jewelry items to come. The reason I started it up anyway was because of the Augsburger family. I've never met them, but they come from the community into which my second son was born, and anyone from there I hold dear to my heart. You can read about their story on Born In Sarasota's page. Colleen is home now and on IV antibiotics, but her husband is still having to take care of her and the kids and is unable to begin working again for at least a month. The folks back home have been bringing them food and pumped breastmilk for their new babe, holding fundraisers, etc. I have been wishing that there was something I could do. However, being pretty broke myself didn't really help and I couldn't bring anything...but wait! I have my clays...I have some ideas...true, I may not have everything together yet, but it's a start...I could open my shop! So I did. It's a humble beginning. But whatever money that comes in from sales will be passed down the line to the Augsburgers until otherwise noted on my shop's intro. So go have a sneaky peek. You might like something. If you don't like the color, ask for a custom piece. If you don't like anything, buy it anyway...it's going to a good cause!! I'm just kidding, but you catch my drift. After you pay a visit, let me know what you think. Should I change anything? Does my work suck? I know my picture quality is pretty crappy, but I'm going to work on that. Any other ideas?

Spring has sprung!

Well, not quite, according to the calendar, but it sure looks like it around here!

The mint is coming up in the front beside the porch...

...as are the dandelions in the front and in the planter in the back yard...

...and we have a tree just full of kumquats in the front yard! I guess it's time to make a little jam or jelly!

The peach tree in the back yard just started blooming as well, but I'll have to get some pics of that another day.

Spring, to me, means new beginnings and fresh starts. In light of that, I'm starting a project that I've been batting around for a while now. Once it's all ready, I'll post it on here. Yep, I'll hold you in suspense until then! Travis is en route home from Florida with a truck and trailer loaded with our stuff...I can't wait to have some of my "housey" stuff back! There is still some stuff back in FL, but we'll have about 2/3 of it here. Not bad!

Another giveaway!

This giveaway is for a Simple Wishes bra/bustier, specially designed for hands-free pumping! My pumping days have gone for Deklan and Gavin, but boy, do I wish I had one of these when I was doing it at least three times daily at work! I pumped at work for both of my boys, as I worked the night shift and went back to work after six weeks. Pumping for me was always on my breaks...my two 15 minute breaks and my lunch for 30 minutes...which generally meant that I either didn't eat at all for lack of time (when all I had was a manual pump), or scarfed my meal as fast as I could after pumping for my babe (after I got my Medela...woohoo for mechanical pumps!). Pumping was what allowed our breastfeeding relationships to thrive even though I was at work, and I ended up breastfeeding Deklan for over a year and Gavin for almost two years. Anyway, I believe that this would allow for easier and more discrete pumping at work and at home, as well as enabling you to multi-task. I remember the days of driving and hour or two home from a night shift in traffic and attempting to pump one side at a time in the rush-hour crawl. With this, I could have just hooked up before driving away, pushed the button, and pumped away! I am really glad to have found out about this. I had looked into pumping bras when I was pumping for Gavin, but just never found one that looked sturdy or comfortable enough. I even looked into DIY conversion patterns, and never did it. I know that, should God bless us with another little one (and I hope He does!!), I'll be getting one of these for my back-to-work and back-to-school days! Thank you, Talk Birth, for getting this giveaway out there!

Birth Days...

Ahhhh...eggs. Simple fare, good source of protein, versatile. And in my case, gorgeous!! I mean, aren't they just pretty? I get my eggs from a local lady whose young daughter is learning about money and savings. And meanwhile, I get these beauties for $2.50 per dozen! And what's really awesome is that I know that the hens they came from are well-cared-for, organically fed (mostly fruits from their orchard and veggies from the garden, plus the standard bugs, etc. that free-range hens eat), generally happy birds.

Seriously, does it get any better than this? The boys are really tickled about the blue-ish ones...

Speaking of the boys...one of my boys had a birthday today!!

My sweet, crazy little Gavin turned two years old on this day!

I love to look at pictures and read over his birth story and remember that awesome time in our lives. Where has the time gone? One moment his daddy is holding him for the first time, then *blink* he's running around the yard in his big brother's hand-me-downs, chasing the dogs and loving life.

I thank God for every day with my boys. Life is so fragile...we've seen this in our own lives and in the lives of others around us. There are days that they drive me to the brink of insanity, but I wouldn't trade those days for the world...I'm just so glad that they're here and they've been lent to me for a while...I cherish every day.

P.S. I won the afore-mentioned book giveaway for "Birth Space, Safe Place"! Woohoo! It's the first time I've ever won a giveaway!!

It's giveaway time!

Talk Birth, the personal blog of Molly (one of the ladies over at Citizens for Midwifery) is hosting a giveaway! We all love free stuff, and if you're even half as crazy as I am about anything even remotely having to do with birth, then you just might be interested! The book is called "Birth Space, Safe Place", and is about emotional well-being in pregnancy and birth. I know that, for me, there were a few things that played big roles in my emotional well-being during that time...the first few that come to mind are having family that were supportive of me, having a midwife who I trusted implicitly, and the overall sense of peace brought by being "in charge" of my pregnancy and labor this time and being educated about the options in birth. Even if I don't win the giveaway, I will be planning on getting this book for my library. I think that a lot of people either discount or don't realize how much your emotional state has so much to do with your progression in labor. I'll be interested to read it...and I LOVE the cover art!

We're famous!

Woohoo! Gavin's birth story has been featured in Born in Sarasota, a blog dedicated to all things birthy and that share birth stories of babies born under the watchful and loving eyes of the wonderful midwives in the Sarasota area. My midwife, Harmony Miller of Rosemary Birthing Home, touched my life in a very unique way. She not only took care of Gavin and me during pregnancy, labor, and after birth, but also challenged me as a person and introduced me to a new and wonderful world of cloth diapering, babywearing, co-sleeping, etc. Deklan's birth was very special...he was my firstborn, born healthier than we could have ever hoped with his heart problems, and one of the few loves of my life. I had wanted to have him in a birthing home, specifically The Birth Cottage, which was near the place that I lived at the time. Wanna know something crazy?? Harmony actually apprenticed at that very place, and was there at about the same time as I would have been there for Deklan! Anyway, shortly after I had contacted the midwife there, I found out that Deklan would be born at a hospital due to a congential heart deformity. His birth, though very special, left me feeling a bit violated and left to the mercy of "the system". I vowed that, barring health problems, it would be different for the babies following him. Harmony helped me to fulfill that vow. She also inspired me to go back to school. I had been wanting to be a L&D nurse since I was in nursing school, I had just never gone in that direction. But after Gavin was born, I was just left thinking "If I could do for just one woman what Harmony did for me, I'd be the happiest woman alive!" I knew I had to go back to school. We discussed the different aspects of midwifery, and she introduced me to Frontier. As far as attachment parenting goes, it was all stuff that I felt was right, but it just seemed so removed from everything that I'd known that I really never delved into it. If I could, I'd go back to Florida just to have my next babe with Harmony!

So read the story if you'd like. Beware, it has pictures! I only wish that every person who reads this story could read it and remember it with the same love and respect that I had, for my baby, my body, my family, and my midwife. Thanks again, Harmony. It was an honor to have you as our midwife!

A new year!

Hurray for new years and new beginnings! I have a few things that I'm happy about, a few things that I'm sad about, and several things I'm anticipating already this year...

I'm anticipating starting school this year. A co-worker and myself have decided to try a seven on/seven off schedule. Yes, seven 12-hour days in a row is a lot, but it's honestly not a lot different than what I've been doing. This last week of work was 3 on, 1 off, 3 on, 1 off, 2 on. How is seven in a row going to be much different than that? I think having a week off every other week will "give me my life back"...you know, give me time to be a wife and mom and do some of the crafty things that I like to do, etc. If it really helps and I find that it's working, I'm going to go ahead and turn in my application to Frontier.

I'm anticipating losing weight and getting healthier. Another lady at work and myself have put together a "Biggest Loser" competition on our floor. We have already had over a dozen people sign up! We're going to all pitch in $30 for an initial buy-in, then $10 per month for the duration of the competition. The $30 is going to pool together to be the grand prize, and the $10/month is going to be for a monthly first, second, and third place winner. I think we all need a little incentive and motivation! There are all types of people joining, and I think it's great! It's going to be for four months. I don't plan on doing anything drastic, just healthier eating and being more active. Wish us luck!

I'm anticipating having another baby this year. Well, I'm hopeful, anyway! The date that would have been my due date for the little one that we lost is less than a month away. I'm hopeful that losing some weight will help me get pregnant. Deklan prays every night for a baby sister, without my prompting and without us even talking about babies...he just wants one! He's such a sweetie.

I'm happy for my family entering this year healthy, together, and happy! We all have our bad days, but as a whole, our family is awesome.

I'm happy for a friend of mine, who is now about four months pregnant after having three early losses in one year! My heart broke for her as it did mine, knowing the loss that she felt and that compounded twice more...it was a definite answer to my prayer (and hers!) and I'm so thankful for it!

I'm sad for my best friend, Lolo. Her husband's father went to heaven today after having a massive stroke a couple of days ago. It was due to a bleed in the brain, caused by high blood pressure that he didn't even know he had. He was a healthy guy in his 60's, and nobody saw it coming. That brings to mind a couple of things for me. Check your blood pressure often. A physical once or twice a year may not be enough to detect an abnormal blood pressure. High blood pressure is known as "the silent killer"...most people have no symptoms at all until they have a stroke. Also, don't wait to get saved. Thankfully, Mr. Breaker was a fellow believer and nobody who knew him doubts where he is right now, worshipping at the throne of God, happier than he ever was on this earth. But there are people who think that they can wait until "later" to learn about eternity and salvation. They're young. They're healthy. They have time. But there are so many "what ifs"! You could be in an accident. You could have a stroke or a heart attack as a young person. You never know. Please, please consider eternity and where you'll be!

I know that this year will hold lots of ups and downs, hopefully more ups than downs! Happy New Year to everyone!