Today’s Harvest

Part of today’s harvest:

Gardening with Kids 101

The one and only instruction you need for gardening with kids (or gardening at all, really) is this:

1. Get started.

Think I’m being a smarty-pants? I’m not, honestly. The truth is I know almost nothing about gardening (but learning more every day). No matter how much or how little you know about gardening, just get started and figure it out along the way. That’s what we’re doing.

Sure, it’s nice to have fancy-schmancy gardening books, shiny new tools and trays full of plants at your disposal, but you don’t need any of that to get started.

We moved into this house nearly two years ago (it will be two years in October). When we bought, the house and gardens were impressively maintained by lovely Mrs. H, who owned the house for 50 years. There were beautiful perennial flowers, shrubs and roses – all perfect; not a weed in sight.

Our lot is 40 feet wide. I’d guess our backyard is about 40 x 40. There are three large gardens in the back – one of which is the width of the yard; another one is the width of the house – as well as one in the front. I have never been into gardening so when we moved in I declared that the gardens were Mr. Family Nature’s responsibility and ignored them at first.

Then the spring came, and lots of nice little flowers started popping up and I became moderately interested. There were so many things coming up in the garden that I didn’t know what was what, so we left it all to see what it was. Before long we had a garden full of invasive weeds. We’d pick at it here and there but I always felt like we weren’t very good gardeners. I thought poor old Mrs. H would die on the spot if she ever saw what became of her gardens.

This year we’ve been a bit better. I have to admit, Mr. Family Nature still does most of the dirty work when it comes to gardening but I help out and I give lots of instructions. We certainly wouldn’t win any awards, but I’m pretty happy with how our gardens look. We still have lots of lovely things but we also have some wild flowers and still (probably always) some weeds. I see it as more of a family-friendly-it’s-okay-if-the-soccer-ball-breaks-some-of-the-plants kind of garden.

Also new this year, we’ve put in a small vegetable garden. This is where the kids get super excited. We’re growing beans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, some kind of squash and pumpkin. The kids LOVE it. I mean, they run out every day to see if there is anything big enough to pick. Or, they’ll be playing in the backyard munching on beans. Our oldest, Yo-yo, teaches and shows the younger ones which tomatoes are ripe and ready to pick. I never thought I’d say this about gardening but I love it!

All of this has lead to something: the kids’ natural curiosity and endless questions have made us *gasp* gardeners! Kind of frugal-fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants-accidental-gardeners; making lots of mistakes along the way; teaching ourselves and the kids as we go. And you know what? We’re having a blast. Stay tuned for pictures and updates.

What does your garden look like?

Wordless Wednesday: Ravine Clean-up

Here We Go! My Very First Giveaway.

Here it is friends: my very first (and probably only one for a long time) giveaway! Boring details are near the bottom, here’s what you can win:

Tupperware Lunch Set

This set includes: an insulated lunch bag, CrystalWave® Soup Mug, one 16-oz./470 mL tumbler and a CrystalWave® 4 ¼ cup/1.1 L container. $44 value

Thanks to Lisa Marie Fletcher, who gave me a discount for this item. Lisa is an Independent Tupperware Manager and a homeschooling, WAHM to 3 busy boys. She’s my go-to gal for Tupperware. (One day, I will have organized cupboards!)  Go check out Lisa’s website.

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Shannon’s Irish Bliss Gift Set

This set includes: Lavender Vanilla Body Butter, Natural Rose Facial Moisturizer, Rosemary Mint Shea Butter Soap, Earth Tones Solid Perfume and Mint Julep Lip Balm. $31.75 value

My sister has been raving about Shannon’s products for a while now, so I bought some stuff from her Etsy shop. I loved everything. One of the products I tried is the Lavender Vanilla Body Butter. Oh. Em. Gee. People, I swear, every time I open the jar I want to eat it. Seriously, that’s how yummy it smells. It really reminds me – both in texture and in smell – of my Vegan (or not) Vanilla Icing. And it’s wonderful for dry skin; I especially love it for the winter. If you like natural body products, you’ll love this stuff. Thanks to Shannon for giving me a deal on this gift set.

Take a look at Shannon’s Irish Bliss Etsy Shop, also check out Shannon on Facebook and on Twitter.

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Charmed Frog Ring

I love this totally funky, handmade, beaded, wire wrapped ring by Charmed Frog on etsy. The Czech glass and glass beads are shades of pinks and purples. The ring is adjustable and will fit about a size 4 to a size 6. $24 value

I’ve been drooling over this awesome jewellery lately. I love to support Canadian businesses and even more so when they are WAHMs. Charmed Frog is a WAHM to two in New Brunswick. To see more of Charmed Frog’s funky jewelery check out her Etsy Shop. She’s also on Twitter.

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Cupcakes for Haiti Cookbook

This book is currently at the printer. The mastermind behind the whole project, Susana, wanted the cover image to be a surprise, so I don’t have a picture for you yet (what you see here is the poster from the event). BUT as soon as the book is ready, the winner will receive a copy, hot off the presses. $20 value

Have you read about Cupcakes for Haiti? If you haven’t, go and read about it now – it’s quick! Susana and friends raised just under $12,000. The cookbook is a continuation of those efforts. Proceeds from the book will be divided equally between MSF/Doctors Without Borders and FINCA. The book was put together entirely with volunteers and donations. Not a penny was spent in the production of this book so that all the proceeds can be donated to the cause. Pretty cool, eh?  If you don’t win, I’ll be selling copies on my blog so stay tuned!

You can read Susana’s blog and follow her on Twitter.

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Autographed copy of Bearing Witness: Childbirth Stores Told by Doulas

Dr. Lisa Doran, ND, and Lisa Caron, CD & PCD (DONA)

This book is a lovely collection. It includes stories by Lisa Doran, Lisa Caron, Sam Lesson, Jennifer Elliot, Shawn Gallagher, Tara MacLean-Grand, Toby Neal and Rean Cross, just to name a few. $20 value

Lisa Doran is a mum to 3 boys; a midwifery, homebirth and breastfeeding advocate; a doula; and a naturopathic doctor who specializes in fertility, pregnancy and birth. Years ago, when I was still a relatively new mother, Lisa responded to something I posted on a mum’s group. Most certainly unbeknownst to her, her words had a strong impact on me and my confidence as an attachment parent. I’ve been a fan of hers ever since. Since then our lives have crossed paths a few times, and most recently, we connected through our kids.

Find Bearing Witness at Chapters.Indigo, Amazon.ca and Amazon.com. Follow Lisa Doran on Twitter.

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Autographed copy of Isobel’s Tree

Written and Illustrated by Dawn Potter

This is a sweet children’s book suitable for young children or beginner readers with themes of nature and family. The artwork is beautiful and the book is made entirely of recyclable materials. $10 value

For more information about the book, see the publisher’s website. If you’re in the GTA and would like to buy an autographed copy, contact Dawn directly at isobelstree@yahoo.com. The book is also available at Chapters.Indigo, Amazon.ca and Amazon.com

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Why?

Why am I doing a giveaway? Partly because I’d love to see more of who my readers are. Lots of you have commented before but I know lots of you haven’t. I’m hoping that I’ll see some new names in that comments box.

I also want to say thank you to my readers. When I started this blog I had no idea how much I’d love it. I also had no idea how many people would read it! Seriously, I know I don’t have an enormous following but there are enough of you reading that it makes me want to keep writing. So I want to say thank you. Thanks for reading. Thanks for waiting patiently (and then coming back to read) when my writing has been scarce. Thank you so much for your comments; I love reading the comments. Thank you for following me on Twitter. Thank you for “liking” my Facebook page. Thanks.

Full Disclosure

I paid for all the prizes I’m giving away. I decided a while back that I wasn’t going to accept freebies in exchange for reviewing products, and I wanted to be consistent. I’m giving away these products because I really like them and the people from whom I got them. Some of the prizes I paid full price for and for a couple I received a discount (see prize details for more information).

How to Enter

It’s actually very simple. All I ask is that you leave a comment. I would love for you tell me what your favourite post is, or why you read my blog, or how you found my blog in the first place but the comment can be as simple as “hi”. The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents. One entry per person.

You must leave your comment before midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on Sunday June 20th, 2010. Winners will be announced within two days.

By the way, when you leave a comment, you’ll be asked for your email address but don’t worry, nobody but me can see that and I’d never use/sell/give away anybody’s email address.

Good luck!

Wordless Wednesday: The Most Beautiful Piece of Art I Have Ever Owned

I received this lovely painting, made by a friend, as a surprise gift yesterday. I just had to share it.

The New Me

So, what do you think of the new look? I like it. I like it a lot.

Way back when my SIL was helping me set up my blog, she put up the header with the duck family. I thought it was cute and appropriate for this blog but I always knew that I’d eventually change it.

You’ve probably also seen my old Family Nature logo – it was on my Twitter profile and my Facebook page. I drew that out on a scrap of paper about 7 years ago when I only had one child and he was a baby. Someone I knew at the time put it in a format I could use on the computer. I liked that one too but it just didn’t seem to suit me anymore. I have four kids and none of them are babies anymore.

I’ve been thinking about a new look for ages but without the proper program or the skills to put one together, it’s been on the back burner.

Last year I was in touch with a mum that I’d found on my mother’s group. She’s a graphic designer who agreed to barter with me; she’d make me a logo and I’d do something for her. She told me that she’d do the logo and then we’d work out what I could do for her after – that was a huge mistake. She ended up designing a logo that I didn’t like at all (think hearts and stars and rainbows) and then she suggested that I help her paint her apartment to pay her – this was totally not what I had in mind. Here I’d been thinking that I could sew her or her daughter some nice clothes or make something else for her. It ended pretty badly. I didn’t really know how to tell her that I didn’t like the logo and that I was not going to paint her apartment. Plus it was the beginning of school and there was just so much going on, so I didn’t get back to her right away. She ended up thinking that I had taken advantage of her. Not good (and not true).

I finally just decided that I was going to have to pay someone to design a logo for me when I had some extra money.

Haaaaaaa, ha ha!

So anyway, even though I don’t really know what I’m doing and I don’t have the proper programs to change or add to pictures, I figured that I was going to have to give it a whirl if I wanted a new look any time soon.

For the last few weeks I’ve been searching istockphoto for something that I thought represented me and my blog. I searched and searched. I thought that I’d see something and think “this is it!” The problem was that I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something that represented family and nature. I also hoped to find something that represented a six person family, but not a family that had a dominant “male” figure.

I found it.

I love that it’s six different plants; all different shapes and sizes. Because it amazes me sometimes that four little people that all came from Mr. FN and me, are so different. Yet there they all are, six unique plants all together as a little “family”. I love the colours and the simplistic style of the image. It just really jumped out at me and appealed to me as a nice representation.

I still don’t have the program I wish I had to change the image slightly but I still quite like it. Maybe I’ll fool around with it a little bit over time but this one, for sure, is “it”.

Journey to the Dark Side

For the first time in nine years I am neither pregnant nor breastfeeding. I weaned Moonie, our youngest, a little over two weeks ago.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after she was weaned. At 2 years and 7 months, she nursed the longest of my four kids. I had been ready for her to wean for a long time. At first I waited patiently for her to be finished. As more time passed I became less and less patient. I was all done. I wanted her to be done too.

I’ve been thinking for a while now about my needs and hers. I’ve always believed that my kids had a right to be breastfed; that as their mother I have an obligation to tend to their needs, to provide nourishment and love the best way that I possibly can; the way that is the most natural and normal. Sure, I had some difficult times but overall, I never viewed breastfeeding as a chore, or as a nuisance.

So at what point did my need to be finished breastfeeding outweigh Moonie’s need to breastfeed? I don’t think there is a definitive answer to this. What I do know is that it was starting to feel like a chore, and I was starting to resent it; to me that was a sign that the end was near. I didn’t want her to remember breastfeeding in a negative way. I didn’t want her to see me gritting my teeth as she latched on. I didn’t want her to see my frustration.

I eventually realized that I would have to wean her. She was not going to self wean like her older brothers did; at least not anytime soon. So I did it. I weaned her. There were a few nights that were rough; little Moonie shed a few tears. It felt strange to refuse her requests but the fact that she was usually very easy to distract told me that it was okay. She may not have been entirely ready but she was mostly ready.

Moonie is our last baby and so I thought I’d be a bit sad once she’d weaned. I’m not. I thought I would miss it. I don’t really. I do miss the closeness and the cuddles but I get and give affection in other ways.

One thing that I did find a bit of a shock – although it shouldn’t have been – is that Moonie doesn’t need me as much now. Last week she fell off the couch and ended up with a big goose egg on her head. I rushed over to comfort her and she wanted Daddy. Daddy comforted her while I fought off tears.

As Mr. Family Nature said, “Her journey to the dark side is complete.” The boys all did it too. All my kids adore Mr. FN. He’s a wonderful attached and involved dad. They want Daddy to do everything: Daddy ties their shoes, Daddy gets them snacks and they follow Daddy around like he’s the pied piper. Once each of them weaned, it has become all Daddy, all the time: Daddy consoles them when they’re hurt, Daddy puts them to bed and Daddy is the one they call for in the night.

I’m interested in seeing what happens to my body – all mine for the first time in ages. I don’t even remember what it used to look like before I had kids. I’m sure it will never be the same and I feel mostly okay with that; the battle scars will fade over time. I don’t mind that I had to share my body for a while, but I’m glad to be moving on to the next stage.

Happy Belated Bloggiversary

Way back in February was my one year bloggiversary. It seems almost silly to write about it now, three months later, but I just couldn’t let it pass without a mention altogether. Sooo, happy belated bloggiversary to me!

When I originally started this blog, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be. With my youngest boy, See-see, having multiple food allergies (dairy, egg, banana and tree nuts) people would often ask me for recipes. I was forever emailing people with them so I finally just thought that it would be easier if I wrote them down on a blog. That’s what got me started, a couple of recipes. I knew from the start that this would be more than just recipes and so I just started writing about what was on my mind. A few of those early blog posts were things I’d been thinking about for a long time.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I loved writing. Who would have thought? Me, a writer. I find it very therapeutic. Sometimes I go crazy agonizing over things in my mind and I just need to get things off my chest. It’s not that I don’t have people to talk to these things about, I do. But when I write things out, I go back and read them, and then I edit and re-read. I repeat this over and over again, if necessary, until it sounds just right. This whole process is cathartic. It allows me to process things more thoroughly and profoundly that I have otherwise been able to do.

One of my early posts, One Decision. An eighteen year old adoption still fresh in my mind, is something that I thought about for years before writing it. In writing that post, and contacting V for her permission to post it, I did more than just get it off my chest. I also found out the name of V’s son and that that she doesn’t cry on Mother’s Day anymore. I still think of her on Mother’s Day, but I feel a sense of closure about it now that I didn’t feel before.

Not only did I learn that I love to write, I was shocked when I realized that people were actually reading my blog! I really get a kick out of this. I love it when people comment; different perspectives are so interesting and watching my blog stats are so much fun! People subscribe to my blog. People list my blog on their blog and I am surprised and flattered every time. People talk about my blog. By no means am I a famous blogger but seriously, I had no idea that I’d have more than a handful of my closest friends read my blog. I love it.

I don’t blog nearly as often as I would like to, and at times I am rather inconsistent, but readers, I really want you all to know that I am flattered that you read. I am truly grateful for all the comments. Thank you. I hope you’ll stick around.

P.S. Check back soon, in the next week or so I’m going to be posting about my first ever giveaway!

My Curse

I have a huge confession to make. I don’t do it on purpose. It’s completely by accident. I have not chosen to be like this. I am cursed.

I am told that I’m the kind of person who stands up for what I believe in. I’ve been admired for confronting things head on. People think that I’m brave for saying what’s on my mind. The truth is, peeps, I’m a weakling. I’m afraid. There are times when my nerves – frayed by the stress of my actions – keep me up at night, fill my head with vivid dreams and make me lose my appetite. There are times when I just want to kick myself and tell myself to shut the fuck up and get over it. But I can’t. I am cursed.

I cannot just let things go. I cannot let others win simply to appease them. I cannot let people get away with thinking that I can be intimidated; that they have broken me. When something is on my mind, I have to get it off. Otherwise it eats me up inside. It keeps me up at night and fills my head with vivid dreams. I am consumed by it. I have to do something. It is not a matter of rocking the boat, or needing to be right. I am not trying to be a shit disturber. I will self-destruct if I don’t deal with it. I am cursed.

I try to keep myself in check. I try to be friendly, but honest; nice, but honest; respectful, but honest. Sometimes, people just can’t handle it. People put on a brave face, pretend that nothing is wrong and ignore the truth. I am often misunderstood, some people perceive me as having ill-intentions and sometimes people see me as nothing more than a loud-mouth. I am what I am. I am cursed.

Photo by Rickydavid via Flickr.

Alias

I’ve never referred to my kids by their name on this blog. Why? Well, I’m not really sure to be honest. I think that if anyone really wanted to know the names of my kids, it probably wouldn’t be that difficult to find out. On the other hand, it’s fine for me to put myself out there on the web, but I feel slightly uncomfortable putting my kids out there – I guess I just don’t feel like it’s up to me. Because of this, I’ve always referred to them by something other than their real names: my son, my daughter, Son-O, Son-F, etc.

I find this a bit problematic too. When I talk about my kids here, do people understand which one I’m talking about? When they are reading a blog post, does it make sense? I guess people who know me get it, but I always feel a bit weird just calling them “my son” or “my daughter” or referring to them with an initial.

So, I’ve decided to use an alias for each of them; funny little nicknames that have been given to them by one of their siblings. Nobody would ever guess what their actual names are from these nicknames. Here they are:

• Yo-yo – This is my first born, a boy. He is 8 and is in grade 3.
• Faw-fee – This is number two, also a boy. He is 6 and is in Senior Kindergarten.
• See-see – My number three, another boy. He is 4, is in Junior Kindergarten and has multiple food allergies.
• Moonie – Last but not least, my daughter, who is 2.

I hope it will make it easier for me to write and easier for everyone to follow along.