Mindful parenting

As a parent, I feel one of my most important jobs is mindfully choosing what our children are exposed to. This comes in the form of food/diet... media/screen time... social experiences and peer interactions... books.. play and toys... language... The list goes on endlessly. But the process of thinking through each of these avenues of exposure has allowed us to create a home where nothing is off limits. It doesn't feel restricting to the adults - rather it feels freeing as our girls can "free range" their entire natural environment. And it is that very environment that I believe should be the foundation for a A and E's perspective on what is right/wrong, good/bad, happy/sad, boring/entertaining. 

No screen time has virtually eliminated unnecessary desires - without the bombardment of commercials and disney characters and animated action figures, the girls do not see those objects as necessary to play. By being a "maker" and taking so much pride in the things I personally create, the girls already take tremendous pleasure in giving and receiving homemade gifts (I couldn't have been more proud watching the excitement on Abby and Elise's faces when they gave handmade bracelets to two of their cousins for Christmas). I have to believe that listening to John play the piano is an influence in Abby saying just yesterday "Mom, I really am ready for piano lessons to start again". 

As mentioned previously, we're enthralled with the Little House on the Prairie books right now. I cannot stress enough how wonderful I believe these books are for children. It may seem old-fashioned, but it exemplifies a family unit who works and plays together, respects one another, and finds great happiness in the little things life brings. The girls in the book each receive a piece of candy for Christmas one year and our girls' faces lit up while reading that chapter - A and E recognized how amazing that gift was and never once commented on it being nothing more than a simple piece of candy. The picture below speaks to what we are doing - Christmas morning, our girls received books, a new shirt each, and a candy cane (thank you to The Merc, as usual, for supplying candy canes made with real cane sugar and no artificial dyes!). It was sheer happiness over a simple piece of candy. I don't think our girls are deprived; I think their world is rich with everything a child should have and that which they are deprived of are the things we have mindfully left out.

We've been busy...

Busy making pictures...

Busy making covered wagons to go with our Little House on the Prairie books...

Busy making music...

Busy making craft show goods...

Busy making... A BABY! Introducing Baby Lawrence... due to join the family in May. We are OVER THE MOON with excitement!

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #18: Number

Number 12... 12 books recorded on the library's summer reading challenge. 12 books read independently. 12 books written down independently (with a word or two squeezed in by Momma because the lines just weren't long enough or spaced far enough apart). These 12 books do not begin to represent the gobs of books read by the girls, but it is so exciting to see. We've done this at the library every summer - but this is the first summer that the girls could do it on their own. Proud, proud Mom.

Almond Milk

It's Saturday night. I am:

A) Making almond milk
B) Drying a set of homemade wool dryer balls
C) Religiously checking on my chickens
D) all of the above

Yes, yes, and yes. The answer is D, all of the above. And clearly I am neither ashamed nor embarrassed about my nightlife as I am also E) blogging about it to my dear 18 followers, which doesn't include my dedicated blog-reading grandmothers (Hi Grandma and Bubbe!).

The thing about my brain that I've learned is that, upon seeing something, the first thought shoots through and says "I like that/I'm intrigued" or "I don't like that/I'm not interested". The "I like that" response is immediately followed by a response that says "How can I make that?". Household items, food, accessories - it doesn't matter what category it falls into. I just like to make things. It's actually not only a "like to". It's a "have to". Being productive and creative gives me a sense of peace - it uses energy that I happen to have in abundance, it is fulfilling, it allows me focused "me time", and it gives my world a sense of balance. I recently read a book entitled The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule (you can also follow her blog here):

I highly recommend this book - it is an easy read with a lot of "oh, yeah!" kind of ideas or statements. She also talks about, after becoming a wife and a mother, how important it became for her to find creative outlets. Oh, yeah. Doing, making, crafting, creating, cooking, baking, planting, building - something every. single. day - bonds me to my family and my family  to me while simultaneously making me a better, more balanced wife and mother. Oh yeah.

Almond milk. "Mmmmm... I like that". "Hmmm.... How can I make that?". And now we have come full-circle back to my brain and the Saturday night almond milk making. I have switched over to using almond milk entirely as the liquid for our daily smoothies.  I've also baked with it and used it in tea and coffee drinks, instead of cow's milk. (And yes, I've wondered about fresh milk - a goat seems like a better option and I do like goat's milk... chickens first.). Making almond milk is insanely simple and the girls and I all agree that the homemade version is the way to go.

Homemade Almond Milk
courtesy of The Detoxinista

• 1 C organic raw almonds
• Water
• Organic real maple syrup
• Organic vanilla extract
• Soak almonds for 4-6 hours (I use a glass canning/mason jar which you can purchase at Hobby Lobby for next to nothing; I use these glass containers for everything)
• Drain almonds and discard water
• I have a regular Oster brand blender - many recipes use something high-powered like a Vitamix. Since mine isn't of the insane-blending capabilities, after soaking the almonds, I do pop them all out of their skins. It only takes a few minutes and they slip right out.
• Place skin-less almonds in blender; add:
• 4 C water
• 1 T vanilla extract (optional, and can do more/less depending on preference)
• 1-2 T maple syrup (optional...)
• Blend on high for 1-2 minutes
• I haven't purchased a nut milk bag yet, so I line a large strainer with a coffee filter and run the mixture through - it takes several filters; I only fill it about halfway, let it drain, then squeeze the remaining liquid out of the filter. Once I've squeezed it out, with only almond pulp remaining, I just put in a new filter, fill halfway, squeeze, repeat...

Wordless Wednesday: Today's library selections