a favorite poem

Blood and Milk
by Sharlee Mullins Glenn






I dreamed of Oxford . . .
(spires, a thousand spires, endless lectures, musty halls
a solitary self in a Bodleian expanse
A good life my dear Wormwood. An orderly life.)

then awakened to laundry
and things to be wiped
(countertops, noses, bottoms)

How did this happen? And when, exactly?

Time flows, it flows, it flows
and there are choices to be made:

left or right?


paper or plastic?


blood or milk?

There's freedom in the bleeding;
bondage in the milk—do not be deceived.

Ah, but it's an empty freedom; a holy bondage,
A sweet and holy bondage.

Five times I chose the chains, those tender chains,
(though once will bind you just as well!)
and checked the crimson flow.
Suckled while dreaming of Trinity Term
but awakened, always awakened, to the laundry
and to that small and cherished captor at my breast.

*Motherhood is the ultimate expression of nature to me. Happy Earth Day

watch out, i've got a plan!

found here

this is my mantra for the week as i clear out junk from my home and my mind.

focusing on completing the book of mormon, finishing some projects for babies and mamas i love, and making time for important things like eating at the table and snuggling.

(usually eating at the table and working on projects are a contradiction in terms, but i have a plan!)

oh and a little p.s. we have a tooth! it sprouted yesterday and little max's tounge is all over it, exploring.

pps this made me snort, i mean laugh right out loud: Amish Enemy Bread

have a great week!

books!

I spent WAY too much money on books at Amazon last week, but I am so excited to dive into them. Not one is a novel, because I have a pile of those waiting for me to give the sewing machine a break. But that's not likely to happen soon with this book in my hot little hands:


Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching

and this one on the way in May:

Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby: 20 Easy Projects for Newborns to Toddlers

I preordered Soule Mama's next book and it should arrieve in the height of my nesting, so that's exciting!!

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures

...and for those moments when I can't park it in front of the sewing machine, I can get my baby fill with the following:

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method

See what I mean. Way too much moola on books, but I checked for used locally first and no luck.

Are we Good Reads friends yet? See my side bar>>>>>>>>>

*Update: I have devoured Ina May's Guide to Childbirth over the past few days and it is truly life changing. I knew I wanted to do things differently this time. I just didn't know how to go about trying to have a natural birth in a hospital. Birthing at home holds no appeal for me, at all. This book is so common sense, but it's things we have shoved so far to the back of the closet, that generations have past by thinking the medicated, induced, c-section births are 'normal.' After reading this book I can see the problems with Spanky's birth were that I was uninformed and too trusting of what strangers were telling me to do. I am thankful that I have a healthy, perfect boy...but I believe there was unnecessary trauma due to my lack of education. In no way do I think that the L&D staff is evil or uncaring, I just think our whole society has rearranged the process of birth and it's not better. I am so excited for my next OB appointment to really discuss with her the things I've learned and my vision for a safe, healthy birth!

Popcorn Words!

Yet another fabulous Hybrid Kid download.....Popcorn Sight Words!

Check them out in action>>>

Spanky made his own list of words.

Not sure why et, I don't think he's even seen the movie, but hey...works for me!

I added a Velcro dot to the envelope for storing the letters and put everything in a page protector for easy storage.

Mel includes a blank page in the download, so I googled more words and now have a set of six pages that get progressively harder. There are also blank flashcards and what I am doing with those is when the child can name the word on the paper all by themselves, they get that word added to their 'book.' I'll laminate it, hole punch one corner and put it on a binder ring...soon they will see one of these words and POP ~ they'll know just what it is!

day two

*sleep in........i didn't have to get up until 6am today, so nice.

*spanky is taking advantage of his vacation!

*easy reading, ha!

*classic t.v.

*batman lego game

*and still knitting (bibs!), baking (sour cream bread in the bread machine, yum!) and crafting with the kids(today's project: fall wreath!)

Sour Cream Bread (medium loaf~this bread came out with a nice crunchy crust and soft on the inside, best eaten up right away with some earth balance spread, yum!)

2 tbs. water

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1 tbs. sugar

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp. yeast

in my machine, i used the light crust setting. enjoy