More Childbirth Stuff

I had some inquiries about natural birth and so I thought I would post a couple of website of interest so here it goes

http://www.spinningbabies.com/ Learn about finding baby's position during pregnancy. I love this site!

http://www.birthingfromwithing.com/ This is a childbirth education method that I personally like. Learn what exactly you are fearing about birth and pregnacy and ways to conquer that fear.

http://www.birthworks.org/ Birth works because it is Ancient. Need I say more!! This is another childbirth education site to look into.

http://www.southwestdoulas.com/ Finda a childbirth prefessional in your area. This does not cover the entire US, but it might give you a good place to start.

Looking for books on Childbirth? Let me show you a few to check into.

                                                                                              

I hope that you find these books quite helpful as you prepare fore your big day!

Thinking out loud about birth mostly

I was part of a study group tonight whose study topic for the night was Childbirth Class Options. During our conversation this website came up
Click here to visit GivingBirthNaturally.com.
I had to take a peek! Wow, what a great resource this website is! If you are pregnant, plan to be or are just a birth junkie like me you have to visit this website. Catherine Beier, CBE has done a fabulous job putting together a very comprehensive site regarding natural childbirth. You will find everything from Childbirth Classes, to birth videos, even a newsletter and study room (womb as she coins it) to talk to other moms or get your questions answered by birth professionals. I must say that I am in awe at the information on this website!! Just go look, really, go look!! As a midwifery student I am excited to get to see some birth videos and I may even sign up for Catherine's childbirth class to fulfill some of my study requirements! Okay enough gushing over that!! I have another site that I just learned about tonight! This one is on a slightly different topic--reflexology. I have been a reflexologist for about 10-15 years now! I love the work, when it comes around. I received an email about a new online reflexology course. This site offers a very affordable way to learn reflexology, whether it is for your own use or to receive a certificate. Go check them out http://www.healthynewage.com/blog/healing-art-of-reflexology/. I wish I could say that I have experienced their curriculum, but just looking at the website it looks quite intriguing! I hope that you enjoy learning about some of my favorite subjects! Of course if you are in my area and you need a good foot rub or any childbirth related questions you can always call. I love to talk shop!!

More Gardening

My sister at http://www.savvystephie.com/ will be posting some awesome fall gardening sales sometime today on her blog. One is from Gurney's and the savings will knock your socks off! Gurney's is one of my favortite seed company's with so much to offer that I find myself looking through their catalog over and over, shoot our family fights over who gets it first!! I want spoil the surprise for Steph, so you better check her blog today. You won't believe your eyes!!!

Cub Scouts Tonight

With everything else I do I am also the Cubmaster for our Cub Scout Pack! Tonight we are having a Pack meeting so today is full with going to get awards, filling out forms, and organizing and decorating for the pack meeting! Whew! Wish I had some helpers, my kids will work with me today to get everything ready and then hopefully we will pull off a fantastic Pack Meeting tonight!!

Wish me Luck!!

I have recieved my first award!!!

Wow, I am surprised and honored--really I am!! I am glad that my blog is considered worthy!!
Thanks Mo, for the recognition!

I received my first blog award from Melanie at 2 Boys + 1 Girl = One Crazy Mom Thank You So Much!!! http://tifanis-mom.blogspot.com/






On to the rules for accepting this award…


1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they’ve been chosen.
 
I will get back to ya  on my my top 15!!

Fall Gardening

Not that I know very much about gardening, some years I get lucky and other years I don't! I am determined, however to have a garden in order to save money on my grocery bill!!

This Spring the grass kicked my behind!! I don't think any amount of weeding would have gotten rid of it all! I found myself writing a Rodney Dangerfield movie in my head about a gardener that was less than successful. Picture this, a man stands guard over his garden day and night a spray bottle in one hand and a hoe or rake in the other. He is ready to pounce at the first sight of a weed. In his mind taking even the shortest break would be the end of his garden. (I hope no screen writes are reading this, because I would hate to lose the royalties on this one!)

You get the idea I'm sure! Well I came across a book called All New Square Foot Gardening (choirs of angels sang) I knew I had found my answer! 

What? You never heard of square foot gardening? Oh, honey, let me tell you!! You make a simple raised bed (bricks, railroad ties, whatever works for you), fill it with Mel Bartholomew's special soil mix that is easily made by mixing several thing found at your local nursery, lay down a ground cover (the kind that keeps weeds out mwahahaha--oh sorry) then put your 'garden' sides on top of the ground cover and fill with the soil mixture. Divide your 'garden' into square foot sections and start planting. Ok there are a few more details but that really is the basics of the square foot garden.

The book is easy to read and really you can skim it and get a pretty good idea how to do it! Now get busy, if it is too late in your area for a fall garden then get started for spring. Go check these books out on Amazon!! You won't be sorry (but your weeds might be)!!!

Grapes on Sale

I ran into WalMart this morning before going to the chiropractor, (I needed flour and I thought it best to get it BEFORE the adjustment), as I was heading to the checkout I noticed what I thought was cherries for $1 a pound--that got me excited so I looked a little closer and it was actually grapes. Disappointment set in momentarily but I got over pretty quickly, grabbed 2 bags and headed straight to the checkout!

If you live in my area run over to WalMart and grab some of those grapes!!

I am off to can peas and apples with a friend! I still need to stop by the pear tree on the way to the van to pick a few more pears. Check back to see the fruits of my labor!!

Business2Blogger

I just discovered Business2Blogger. Where businesses meet bloggers. Looks like it could be a great tool for getting content on your blog.

Giveaway Scout

I found this on another blog and thought I would try it out. So look over in my sidebar and checkout some of the giveaways from Giveaway Scout!!

Have Fun!!

Today's Ramblings

Wow I have 28 followers?!? My goal was to have 30 by the end of September, with 2 more I will have reached my goal for the month!!

I was thinking today that it would be fun to have some sort of swap or contest. I think I have it figured out. I like to journal, but I am not real consistent though. When I journal I find that I am more motivated when I use pretty papers and stickers. I make my own scrapbook journal pages. The pages reflect my mood or whatever I am writing about. I also seem to write more when I have topics to write about, and I don't mean 'What is your favorite childhood memory?' BORING!! I know those are important experiences to write about, but come on people how many times have you written a journal entry on your favorite childhood memory? I want some good meaty topics. Something interesting, different, creative.

Here is the challenge--
1. Post a journal entry topic (really think about this one)
2. Tell me how you like to journal
3. Follow my blog
4. Have a friend follow my blog (list friends blog and/or name)

That is 4 entries! I will draw 1 entry to win a journal package from me. I don't know what it will be yet, probably some of my favorite papers, stickers, page protectors, a nice pen--stuff like that! There is plenty of time to enter, I think I will do the drawing on October 31, 2010.

I can't wait to see the topics everyone comes up with. After the drawing I will compile all the topics into one post for everyone to see.

I guess I should have added 'leave a comment for each of the four entries and you will be entered in my drawing'.  I am knew to this, so your patience is greatly appreciated!

What a week!!

I am sitting at my computer hoping I can last long enough to write one post. On Monday I was truckin' through my day. The kids had their schoolwork done and I was gathering canning supplies to take to a friend's house. We were going to can apples and pears. I had located a box of canning jars and was just ready to pick them up when my hips went out. I was not in the mood! I called a friend and went and laid on her massage table with jade rollers and far infrared heat. Then it hit me--I couldn't get up. My oldest daughter and my friend had to help me get off the bed! I have spent the rest of the week lying around with ice packs and pillows propping me up. I did call a chiropractor friend Monday night and he came over to the house to give me an adjustment. That helped some but I had too much inflammation for it to give 100% relief. I will probably go see him again on Friday. Needless to say that the canning didn't get done, but I am getting caught up on some reading!

The massage table that I used is from therasage at http://www.therasage.com/. I love this thing! It works wonders on your everyday tension that builds up in your back. And though it didn't give instant relief, last night I used it again and found some more relief. If I could afford one I would be laying on it several times a day right now!

I do hope everyone is having a better week than I am!!

Savvy Stephie

You gotta check this out!! Savvy Stephie works really hard to bring you great deals! I think her blog is one of the best I have seen so far on bargains, freebies, mystery shopping, and those little extra money making deals. Ok so she is my sister, but seriously she does have some great stuff posted. She got me started blogging and I must say it has been fun working together finding new things to blog about.

Stephie has posted some great deals from a local market there in Georgia, but she has also posted some great resources on how to start mystery shopping, (now that is fun!) and freebies you can get in the mail. She knows her stuff and you can bet that if she is blogging about it then the deal is legit.

Visit her blog http://www.savvystephie.com/ , leave a comment, follow her and tell her that her big sister sent you!!

Bargain Mom

Bargain Mom is giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card.
Visit http://www.bargainmom.net/2010/08/400-followers-400th-post-equals-100.html to enter and let her know that I sent you!! Good Luck!

Shhhh, Mom's studying

I have registered for a Midwifery School and I am having great fun taking my study time once we get through the kids' school assignments everyday! I am also thinking that maybe me taking a study hour is also helping to motivate the kids in their schoolwork.

In the midst of my studies I have gone on a hunt for easy to use curriculum and have found, through Internet searches and talking to friends, some really great resources to make my life a little easier.

A dear friend of mine told me about http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/. This website connects homeschoolers to curriculum companies and offers discounts to home schooling families much like the school systems get from companies. Through the co-op I purchased an online phonics program called Explode The Code Online for my reluctant reader. We have used Explode the Code workbooks for many years so this was a no brainer when I found the online version!! My reluctant reader is finding that the computer doesn't really care if he whines about reading and I have had some stress and worry taken off of me. As my friend Jaimie said "It is worth the money just to not have the stress of the kids fighting you to read."  I love this program!

Home school Buyers Co-op also offers freebies that are pretty impressive. You just need to check it out--you won't be sorry!!

Discoveries

I never profess to know everything, but I do enjoy learning new things and sharing what I know. I don't know of anything I love more than a good conversation with like minded people. Well tonight that happened (the good conversation part). I learned about another website that I am really excited about it is http://www.bulkherbstore.com/ . It is a wealth of information, and amazing prices!! Check it out!

About 20 years ago I was introduced to the idea of herbs having healing properties, (or maybe I already knew that, but just hadn't really thought about it). I was so amazed by the idea that I just devoured all the information I could get my hands on. It wasn't long before I had our family on the fast track to natural healing. We have our favorite remedies and recipes. I created a wonderful herbal ointment that was so effective that my kids named it 'Mama's Magic Ointment'. I make a cough syrup that everyone just raves about (and it tastes good). I have treated flues, earaches, sprains, and many more ailments quite successfully. There is one thing that still puzzles me, why did I get away from doing these things in the last 4-5 years? Who knows!!! Temporary insanity---sounds good to me!!

If you are interested in learning about natural medicines you will enjoy looking into some of these books as well as the bulk herb store.

If you would like to try some of my magic ointment, just let me know! Have an herbal question? Ask, I might know the answer and if I don't I probably know where to find it!

Home schooling for Free?

It is possible!! I did a little research last night and found some interesting free curriculum for our home school!

LearningPathways is a free online curriculum for K to 5th grade. Lots of great stuff here! I actually started using this site just this year and the kids are loving it. They are doing really cool projects and experiments as well as watching really fun videos online. A lot of work was put into this site and anyone who has tried to research a topic on their own knows what a gem this is! http://www.learningpathways.com/

Another website I found was learnLatinonlinefree. This was a video and worksheet Latin curriculum all online with no textbook needed. I think it is best suited to high school kids, but would be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about Latin. http://www.learnlatinonlinefree.com/

Music lessons is always a hot topic at our house. They are just so expensive and add up quick when you have a large family. I looked around and found pianolessons online for free. These are video lessons with music reading and ear training. Plenty of lessons to keep anyone really busy on the piano for a long time. http://www.pianolessons.com/

Reading is a huge deal in our house. Most of my kids love to read. We have used a wonderful website called starfall for phonics and reading for several years and the kids love the animations and games. http://www.starfall.com/

Last night I came across another free reading website simply named learntoreadfree. It looks to have some fun games to engage the kids. The concept is Montessori based and is quite repetitive. http://www.learntoreadfree.com/

BookAdventure is another great reading site that is sponsored by Sylvan Learning. Book Adventure provides grade appropriate book lists. The kids choose a book, read it , then take an online test over the book to earn points which they can redeem for prizes. Parents can customize the prize board, which makes for some fun incentives in our family. http://www.bookadventure.com/

Stay at Home mom musings!

We visited some friends for the Labor Day Holiday and had a blast!! When we got home yesterday I had a surprise in my mailbox! VocalPoint had sent me a fullsize Bounce Dryer Bar!! This thing is cool! You just stick it to the inside of your dryer and forget about it for about 2 months (they say)! No more dryer sheets (never used them anyway because I always forget to put them in).  I have to tell VocalPoint what I think after using the DryerBar but hey it was free I can give my opinion for a freeby.

I enjoy VocalPoint. They will send samples with some awesome coupons. If you haven't discovered their great offers go check them out http://www.vocalpoint.com/ register for an account and start getting coupons, samples, and survey opportunities immediately. The more you participate the more offers you will get! Have Fun!!

This is my most recent yummy dinner!

Wine-Poached Salmon with Tomatoes and Zucchini
This is another recipe from the $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook page 189!

This was so delicious and so easy to make! I must say that even a person who has never cooked before could follow the recipes in this cookbook. The picture above was actually my dinner plate. I have been working toward at least 50% of my meals being raw foods. Some of you may know that recently I had to switch my diet to gluten free. I have also found that the less meat I eat the better I feel. When I found this cookbook I was very excited. Most recipes that I had looked at were extremely complicated and work intensive. Susan has included several varieties of recipes including vegetarian meals. The book is divided into sections to make it easy to find exactly what you want for dinner. Chapters include Poultry, fish, sandwiches and wraps, vegetarian, breakfasts, and more. Meal planning is a cinch with this cookbook. I am finding most of the meals are low carb and gluten free wish suits my diet great.

We are also finding that many of these recipes are also family friendly which is a big plus in a family with a couple of picky eaters.

Our next recipe to try? Page 144 Pan-Grilled Pear-Stuffed Pork Chops!