18. something you made

Photo of the Day for the month of may

Day 18 Something I made

Well this is fun I make lots of things and share it with you. My children, my food, my mistakes, my poems, crochet wait it has been awhile since I posted a crochet project that I made.

The mermaid purse. I used this as a welcome gift when my mother in law came to visit.

I put a handmade soap from my favorite soap maker Hanson Family farms, half pint of home made jam, a small jar of homemade vanilla, and something else I can not remember. Anyway the point is it held all of that stuff perfectly.

I am thinking of making another one for me or another lucky friend but in different colors.

I wanted to show you the handle because it is so awesome. But I haven't learned all the functions on my camera. Thanks to my dear friend Erin I now know that little plant setting is a micro setting for close up detail shots. Thanks for the tip friend!

I hope your day is filled with creativity, Love, and laughter. Be well my friends.

17. snack

Photo of the Day for the month of May

I can not believe we have made it this far. Today is the day of the snack. I had no clue what to take a picture of. After all I already did a whole post on Marshmallows. So I opened a trusty cookie cookbook and decided to make peanut butter cookies for an afternoon snack with a cold glass of milk of course. A close friend of mine has been raving about pickled eggs and telling me how much my boys would love this tasty snack. Cough, cough, I have my reservations but I went ahead and made a small jar of them to try out. If they are better then what I think they will be (personally I have always been kind of freaked out by the idea of pickled eggs. I mean really, eek. Which is funny because I love to put pickles and the pickle juice in egg salad. We will see.) I might be persuaded into making a bigger batch.

On to snack pictures kind of...

I love this scooper.

Makes my drop cookies all the same size

I used to make giant cookies but then there would be who got the biggest war.

Same sized cookies makes me happy

And you get a lot more out of a batch.

I have no shame at all really. Why do I need all of these pictures on here? I just like when I take a good picture of something and then it needs a home. So I hope you don't mind to much.

That is right I use my handy dandy coffee cup to squish.

Oh, right here are the pickled eggs with some homegrown jalapenos

Since my cookies are in the oven and they are basic peanut butter cookies these are almost snacks. It still counts right. Well I am off to help the kids with their daily school work and maybe get dressed.

I hope you have a sweet day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

16. what you're reading

Photo of the day for the month of May
Day 16 What you're reading.

Today's photo is of what you're reading. Believe it or not this one is the hardest for me. I am always reading at least one new cookbook as if it is a mystery or romance, I am constantly referencing The Well-Trained Mind to see what we need to be reading, I have religious books I look at when I have a minute, Poetry Books that are being opened at random, and then there are the books I am trying to follow through with before my classes start again. At our house reading is everything and everything is reading. So how am I to decide where to begin. So I decided my nightstand will have to do.

I think I really love how this picture turned out.

This is the first junk book (simply meaning for enjoyment only. We started calling these fun books junk when we couldn't get Damian to stop reading goosebumps. Like junk food once you start you can't stop. Oh man I should stop explaining.) I have read since I started college two years ago.

These are the books that I want to read more of. I have read the five love languages 3 times. It never hurts to remember that we each show love differently. The journey to God is about finding God in Christianity; Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox leader coming together in this book. Now for the record friends I believe that God shows us where we are meant to be. So I believe in Christianity but I know that all religion is a reflection of God's everlasting love. There is no wrong way to Love. Mostly I like to read about the Mysteries of faith from all perspectives.



I hope that you are reading a great book and you day is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

15. Love

Photo of the day for the Month of May.

Day 15 Love

Rob learned to play a song so he could teach James. I love this.

I love the piano.

This is my baby's first Piano recital.

I have always loved the piano. Now I get to enjoy it as my children continue to learn to play.

I hope your day is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

14. grass

Photo of the day for the month of may

Day 14. Grass

Well I have to admit that I never thought I would make it to day fourteen, but I am having fun trying to pick a subject. Today of course the grass is in my backyard.

I laid in the damp grass (as today was the only day this week with out rain) to take this picture.

This is the grass that my peppermint is at war with.

Personally I am on the side of the mint.

Even mowed over it smells wonderful.

I just hope the next owners love mint as much as I do.

I hope that you have a sweet smelling day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

13. mum

Photo of the day for the month of may
Day 13. Mum or mom or in my case a mother-in-law

Happy Mother's Day Friends!

That is because she braved I35 to come see us for the week. Lucky us.

This is my mother in law Sue. Hi Sue!

She is having fun playing with the boys and our animals. We enjoy having her come to visit.

I hope you are having a wonderful mother's day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Breastfeeding in the news.

Today I want to spend a couple of minutes talking about breastfeeding.  I saw the Time cover and at first I was taken back a bit but then I thought why not.  Breastfeeding is hard and also wonderful. For me the hardest part of nursing my children was the looks I got from other women. Damian was 9 pounds six ounces when he was born and he was an eater.  He was a big baby and those women would stare at me trying to nurse this big baby and sometimes they would even say something hurtful. I was doing the best that I could for my child. My first child I wean him the night before his first birthday. Because I thought that is what you do and I had been taught that if they can ask for then they are too old. I was sad and hated just saying okay you are one now. Then I had James and I decided to let him self wean and he stopped nursing at eighteen months. It was easier and we were both ready.

All of these judgments that we make about other people is normal but saying awful things about each other is wrong. That woman on the front of time probably just wanted to help raise awareness. That picture is not child porn! They are fully dressed and there is nothing sexual about breastfeeding at all. Those people who are saying that this falls in to abuse need to reevaluate what abuse really is. Abuse is not a nurturing mother comforting her child. This issue is a nonissue.  Really we are all just trying to do the best we can for our children. I cannot tell you how many parenting books I have read, or how much I have researched so that I can be a better parent then the one I had. I had not heard of attachment parenting until recently even though I practiced most of those theories on my own. I held my babies all the time, co slept with them, and of course breastfeeding that first year. It is not our business if the mother has a hard time weaning because her child cries for it and it breaks her heart to say no. Breastfeeding is good for the child and you know that The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mother and baby desire. The World Health Organization recommends continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.

Also this battle of breastfeeding doesn't end with how long you do it for. No, the woman who chooses not to breastfeed, can't physically nurse their children, or decides to stop early for whatever reason are hit hard to. There is no reason for us to try and tear each other down.  As long as we are trying to be the best for our children then what mothers need is support, not criticism. All of us are in the same muddy water trying to see where we are headed in a storm.  There is no way to see how our actions will affect our children until they are grown.  No one is perfect, everyone worries.

 What it comes down to is please mind your words, and be kind. Isn't hard enough to raise our own children without pushing judgment on someone else? I know friends that you are good kind people. So I am not judging you but this subject was weighing on my mind and I wanted to share my thoughts.  Thank you for reading.

I hope that you have a glorious week filled with Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.