this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Neglect for a perfectly good blog... boo

Dear Blog,

I think of you often.  I am on the computer constantly but still neglect you.  I will be back I promise. 

For now... a walk in the woods on a beautiful day!

I would say this belly is about 26 weeks...

Truly,

BFree

The Chicken part 2 (the chicks)

I really don't know where to start.  These chicks are so darn cute!  The weather is so cold and windy.  So needless to say they are in the comfort of my bathroom with a warm light, not beneath a chicken under the porch.  I didn't even try. So I may just get 'the chicken' some fertilized eggs and see how much longer she sits.   I am going to check the chicken forum again for some more advice...
and my pictures won't show... damn it!

cupcake, diapers, and fun.

For the past few weeks we have been exited waiting for the opening of P. Pants and re-opening of Penny Lane. They are a wonderful duo of stores with the finest owners. P. Pants is a new cloth diaper store in Nevada City CA and Penny Lane relocated with them to a beautiful new location.

It was my pleasure to make a few cupcakes for the opening. Their hard work was showcased in their beautiful store opening.  They did a magnificent job!

Penny Lane

P. Pants

Our handsome boys Dylan and Beau.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the front of the building, but you get the idea (the place is super cute).  Check out the store in person if you're local. Farmers market through October on Saturday mornings.  We love them and hope that you will too.  

Much Love -B

breastfeeding

things I wanted to share... (mostly related to breastfeeding but not all)

- its not easy.

- these are the best times of my life so far!

- i would never have changed my decision to breastfeed, pump, breastfeed, co-sleep.

- i will go long periods of time having to pee, but hold it for that sleeping/feeding baby.

- wishes i'd had more confidence in the beginning, it's okay to      breastfeed in public.

- i cant read a book or get online while we nurse, that is unacceptable to Beau. (I would see these cute little baskets for mommy while she nurses.)  Mine was/is water.

- eye contact, the best eye contact in the world.

- its not easy.

- it all works out.

- drink LOTS of water!

- be kind, we all have a story.

- we all make our own decisions.

- everybody has an opinion.

- cherish every moment.

- when you have trouble go back to the basics. (thanks alison) 

just a few things that come to mind i wanted to share.

b.free

My Diaper Boiling Experience.

Today we start our trip to cloth diapers.  We have dabbled in the past.  We started with 3 pocket diapers and really like them (happy heinys).  But I wanted to try out prefolds.  When we bought our prefolds I had forgotten about the breaking in process.  I did an online search and read a little. I hope my experience is helpful.


My Diaper Boiling Experience.


- I started with 8 Apple Cheeks Bamboo and 8 Under the Nile prefolds. (*This will work for any prefold)

- I set a water bath canner 2/3 full of water to boil.  This took awhile.

- Once the water has boiled you can add about 6 diapers (depending on water bath size).  There will be air trapped in the prefolds and they will float around a little. Stir them in.  I used a pair of tongs and moved them around every few minutes or when I checked on them.  They are VERY HOT!   I boiled them for 15 minutes each batch.


* You can use the water twice, I just added more water form a boiling tea kettle to refill the loss of water.  The second time around the water was a little yellow.


I did 3 batches.  I used the same water twice then started over again on the third.






- After 15 minutes of boiling I CAREFULLY removed the diapers doing my best to squeeze out some of the HOT water with the tongs.  I had a laundry basket lined with a towel at my feet.

- Let the diapers cool in the basket.  Then transfer them to the washing machine no detergent, wash them HOT. Dry them and start washing machine process again*.

*So, with prefold diapers you are suppose to wash them at least 6 times and dry them so they will become more absorbent.  The directions that came with mine recommended to wash them in HOT water 4-6 times, then once more without detergent. Dry in dryer on high heat.
Boiling diapers is suppose to eliminate some of those washing steps.  I washed and dried my diapers 3 times after boiling.  I did a water roll off and absorbency test in between, but the pictures were not clear enough to show you.  They were definitely more absorbent after several washes.


These are the pics from the washes.

-First wash and dry.

-Second wash and dry

    - Third wash and dry, this is where I stopped.  I felt like they were absorbent.

I hope this helps,  we are just getting started. There are so many different options for cloth diapering.  Each option is individual to you and your baby.  Don't be afraid.  I will add my washing routine once I get one.  I think I am going to like wool covers, I need to get some.

-This months Mothering Magazine is great it covers all the basics on cloth diapering and why to cloth diaper. 

-Askmoxie.org is always another great place for advice she has two great threads about cloth diapering.

ask moxie cloth diapering part 2.

Best of Luck to you all!

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. Maya Angelou 

to do today or not

One project a week, that should get me caught up so that I can buy new ones. I am officially on restriction from buying. My New Years resolution was to stop my compulsive shopping habits or at least use what I have before I fill my tiny little house with out of control projects.

My garden is started. Weeded. Carrots, Leeks, Beets, Chard, Peas, Cabbage and Potatoes are planted. Now if I could only tell my cats that there are precious seeds and to stay away! Additional fencing to come.

Sourdough starter (Mother) is ready to go. I should have a fresh baked loaf tomorrow at some point. So thankful to have friends to remind me how simple it is to do these things. All the mother wants is the be loved a little and she will provide years of love. Hopefully I will be ambitious enough to keep her kicking that long.

My mind is always flooded with a to do list. The good things and the bad. I sometimes feel like it is so overcrowded that I am going to forget something great and I often do.

I started a sort of "bucket list" or what ever you want to call it. But for me it was more of a way to sort my thoughts. I always want to go somewhere or learn to do something new. So it is a way for me to sort my want to dos from my have to dos. The stuff I may not get to right away but I will sooner or later. Like when all of that other stuff I need to do is done.

Any whoo, Magazines, I can't seem to get rid of them, I heart them.

time is never lost

As the days pass I often worry about my accomplishments. Not my life accomplishments, but my day to day or week to week. I have come to realize I am just messy and disorganized no matter how hard I try. It is not realistic for me to think I can change over night. Change is a process. I will start slow so I don't hurt myself.

I have these worries... then I sit down holding my son to nurse and all of my worries fall away. As he naps in my arms I forget about the day to day. I live for the moment. I remember I don't have to rush, these are the best times of my life. All of my worries wash away when he is in my arms. This is the time I will cherish, he can nap the house can get messier, it is okay. Time is never lost.

Creativity comes and goes for me. I don't often find time to dedicate to a project. I buy new patterns, fabrics, yarns with every intention of completing the project. I buy flower seeds and plants that never get planted. This is my Spring. I am going to walk, be creative, love my family and mostly likely neglect my house.

Rough and Tough

As a new mom bumps, bruises, and bleeding are all still hard on me. I always worry and think I could have prevented it? Beau has had at least 3 falls in the last 3 weeks that have made him bleed or swell. One brought me to tears. He's a great sport, a little sniffle and he's off to make more trouble. I have to prepare myself for the future falls and the potential that they could be worse. Boys are rough and tough, they get hurt. Darn it. So on that positive note.

A good friend told me a frozen wash cloth was her best teething tool. For me it has been a savior when Beau has fallen and bumped his mouth. He love to chew on the frozen wet cloth and it helps with any swelling. Bravo! Just thought I would pass that on.

On another note... I started a good book. The Lost Symbol Dan Brown. Good book so far, now I just have to find the time to read it. Being a grown up brings such responsibility laundry, dishes, mortgage, blah.

Cheers, Have a great weekend. Do something fun. Take a deep breath.

Can you believe people really say these things...

Have you ever found yourself pointing things out to others that you felt they need to know. After which you think, maybe I shouldn't said that. As a mom I find myself doing the opposite, I try to mind my own business. Since I've had a baby more people stop and talk to me in the most random places. For the most part I don't mind a little quick conversation, you know about being a mom, my baby carrier and the weather. What I do mind is people who feel they have to give me parenting advice, like I asked for it.


Example:

I was in Baker CA, at a popular restaurant enjoying my strawberry milkshake with my 10 month old son Beau. Mind you I had stopped especially for this milkshake. I was waiting for the rest of my order and gave Beau a taste of the straw from the shake, which he LOVED. As I gave him the sip I could feel eyes watching me. The employees smiled and continued to coo at Beau from across the counter. "Order up." I walk to the counter to get my food, the lady behind the counter smiles, I smile back and she says "You really shouldn't give you baby milkshake, I know he really likes it, but you are going to give him pneumonia." I looked at her with a puzzled look. She continues "I gave my baby ice and she got really sick with pneumonia..." I really didn't know how to respond. I walked away in shock. Really lady that is the advice you needed to give me. I don't want to question my parenting decisions because some random person in a fast food joint said so.

If it is raining and I am inside of the supermarket please DO NOT tell me that my son needs to be wearing a hat. I am inside for goodness sakes, are you wearing your hat? On that note, why do I feel I have to justify myself when this perfect stranger says this to me. I now chose to smile, nod and say nothing. The damn hat is always in my pocket or purse anyway.

I am sure I am not the only person in the world this happens to and I am sure you have more outrageous stories. I would love to hear them.

Happy Weekend -Mama B

the first step

When I was pregnant with my son Beau I wanted to have all the best for him, as all parents do for their children. I read reviews and researched every product I bought for him. I wanted to be, and have been as earth conscious as possible. I wanted to do cloth diapers and save the environment, it has not worked so far:o(.

I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. So I wanted to buy things that would last, things I could pass on to friends and recommend with confidence. While I was doing all of my research I had to look on website after website, which I did because I wanted to know, I bookmarked pages and read reviews. For the most part I made good purchase decisions, but I wanted help. So, that is what I want to offer to others. If I have not used a product there is someone out there who has. I want to create a place where us earth friendly parents can buy a product in confidence and trust! Cheers. -MamaB