Awake

Song of Solomon 8:4 says, Do not awaken love until the time is right. Well it is too late... I just watched a beautiful video about home birth. This lead to watching another and another. I am in love. However, I am not pregnant. And with nursing, I may not be pregnant for a while. So I may not get the chance to have a home birth for quite some time. But I can't help myself. I crave the beauty that comes from those births. It is still strange to me, the difference between two buildings. In the hospital, with Bunny's birth, I was... Well, that story has already been told. Only two good things came out of that place. One was Bunny (of course she could have come out of a home birth too), the other was the determination (of both me and The Hubs) to never let it happen again. A hospital is for sick and/or injured people. I was neither. I did not belong there.

Home is where the heart is, where I never should have left, where I labored for days with relative ease and comfort, where I would walk, over and over, from my Mama's house, down the driveway, past my house, across the bridge, down my Grandparent's driveway, through their yard. Then I would either hop the creek to my house (Yeah, I hopped the creek while in labor), or walk through the field to Mama's again. Where the neighbor woman would pop out into the yard to ask how I was coming along. Where the sun was warm and the air was fresh. Where labor was just another part of life (not a medical condition). Where I was just me (not patent number whatever). I have always been a home body and I guess that rings true for giving birth as well.

I wish that I knew then what I know now, but life doesn't work like that. However, I am more awake than I have ever been. I have (hopefully) learned to listen to and understand my body, my heart, and my God. Someday (Lord willing), I will have a home birth. Like all good things, it is worth waiting for.

Organic

The Hubs and I made an organic dinner the other night!



Our completely organic dinner.

He actually made most of it...

Venison roast with potatoes, carrots, and green beans.

All my favorite foods...

Romaine lettuce.

Yummy!



Hmm... I don't think the letuce container is organic.



The Rhythm Of Childhood ~ Batteries Not Included

Part 2 ~ Open Ended Toys & Un-Toys

Open ended toys are toys that have no one purpose. They can be used for anything and everything that the mind imagines. Many of these toys can also be defined as un-toys. Un-toys are not really toys at all. They are the everyday things that children love to use for play. Some of my favorites would be playsilks and boxes. Others are dress-up (non descriptive), buttons, and baskets.

Open ended and un-toys are as diverse as the children who play with them. They can become capes, hats, houses, ships, or gold coins. They can turn child into a superhero, a daddy, a lion, or a pirate.

A Superhero and Benjamin Bunny!

A Pirate!

A whole band of Superheros!!

A lion in his den

Open ended and un-toys encourage a child to use his/her imagination while playing. They allow a child to be whatever they want to be or can think of, regardless of what toys they have around them.

One of the best things about open ended and un-toys is that it gives grown ups the ability to act fast and be creative when coming up with something to do.

Peek-a-Boo!!!

Click here to see the un-toy post (now a PDF!) on Are So Happy

Reflections Of An Almost Three Year Old Boy

"I have blue eyes!"

 

"I have lots of teeth!"

  

"I'm so cute!"



"I love Baby Bunny!"




"Hi!'

An Enchanted Childhood~ Daycare: Valentine Week!

A Collage of Valentine's Week

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. 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. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Here It Comes!

Winter has seemingly taken a vacation. "Forespring" is here in all its glory. The weather today is 65 and sunny... Wait, make that 66 and sunny! Though we all know that Winter will all too soon return, it won't be for long. Forespring gives us hope of a life beyond the wall of white flurries. A life of tee shirts and flip flops, of long walks and splashing in the creek, of green grass and bare feet. Forespring gives us a chance to rediscover the world outside our homes. It is like waking up after a long nap. It is like stretching muscles that you haven't used in a while. It is like falling in love all over again. And I say, It's alright!

The "B" Team

Boys
Buddies

Brayden and Brady
Born three months apart

Blood relatives .... distantly!

Big
Bad
Brilliant
Beautiful
Break Your Heart kinda
Boys!

Better believe we love them!

An Enchanted Childhood~ Daycare: February 7th-11th

We have been asked many times to write up our "lesson plans" so others could use them.  Honestly, we just spend a little time thinking about how we want the "school year" to look and go from there.  We wing-it a lot, doing impromptu things that add to our plans.  I am always amazed that anyone would think what we do is worthy of writing down for others to read, but here it goes!

This year, we are doing "Childhood Classics"--reading great children's books--you know, the kind every child should get to know, and then doing little activities to go with it.

Another week has come and gone.  The days are flying by, which is OK by us for the moment.  Spring can't get here soon enough!

This week we read two beautiful books, for our study of winter.  Monday and Tuesday, we read Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.  It is one of the most beautiful children's books I have seen.  In addition, it is a wonderful way to introduce children to classic poetry!

For CreativeTime, we used Qtips and painted snow "pointillism style", though many of the children ended up just using them as paintbrushes!

Tuesday, we painted some little winter figurines that I had bought (75% off)!!

We took a break on Wednesday to celebrate a daycare girl's 3rd birthday! And then back to our winter study with the book, The Tomten, for our reading on Thursday and Friday.  The children were excited to find out the Tomten is nocturnal, just like the animals they had been learning about!

Thursday, the children made snowmen, using various materials.

This is WHY the children love Hannah so much--she still plays!!

Friday, the children used food coloring markers (I am in love!) to decorate snowmen cookies! One to eat and one to take home.

**NOTE: Clicking on the title of each book will take you to Amazon, where you can see the book I am describing!