Country Road ~ Carolina Soul

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Enchanted Childhood Preschool: H is for...

Hearts

and Hair!

We love trying new things in preschool/ This week is was blood oranges!

I have to admit I called them RED oranges.

I wasn't sure if the children would try them if I called the "blood oranges"!

Some classroom fun!

She loves the Metal Insets... really takes her time doing them correctly!

Every Thursday, the children help clean their classroom...

to be ready for the new week coming up!

Each week I join several linky parties! What a fun way to share and learn!

Natural Living Monday, Hey Mom, Look What I Did!, Montessori Monday, Made by Little Hands, Homemade Mondays, Mama Moments Monday {Link Up}, The Gathering Spot, Little Wonders' Days, Mom's Monday Mingle, Mommy Moments, Frugal, Crafty Home, Hip Homeschool Hop, Mom's Library, Tuesday Tots, The Tuesday Baby Link-Up, Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}, Tuned in Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, TOO Cute Tuesday, Open Call Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Tuned in Tuesday, Kids in the Kitchen, It's Playtime, We Made That Linky, What I Learned Wednesday, Kids Co-Op, Artsy Play Wednesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Adorned From Above, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Kids Crafts, Link and Learn, Thrifty Thursday, Hearts for Home, needle and thREAD,Made U Look, Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers, Natural Living Link-Up, Small Footprint Friday, Our Days Homeschool Link-Up, For the Kids Friday, FarmGirl Friday Blog Hop, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday, Read. Explore. Learn., Creative Learning on Friday, Preschool and Kindergarten Corner,Friday's Nature Table, The Friday Baby Shower, TGIF Linky Party, Family Fun Friday, Creative Friday,Friday Flair Link Party, Shine on Fridays, Friday Favs, Outdoor Play Party, Do Something Crafty,Weekend Whatever, Saturday Show and Tell, Tot School Gathering Place, Sharing Saturday, Share It Saturday, Country Kids, Link and Learn, Show and Share Saturday,Stress Free Sunday, The Sunday Showcase, The Sunday Parenting Party, The Homesteaders' Blog Hop, Making Boys Men, Made with Love,Raising Memories

Friday, January 17, 2014

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual, inspired by SouleMama, 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.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

A Nourishing New Year

I have not been as present in this space as I would have liked to have been. I could easily excuse it by saying that I have just been busy with life and that is very much true... But it is not the main reason I have been more absent than not. Truth is, I have been focusing on healing some health issues. See, in the summer of 2012, I had Squirrely. Her birth changed me in so many ways for the better. I was on top of the world.

A few months later, Papa took a job an hour away, working 12 hour swing shifts. While him working that much was never really part of the plan, we really couldn't turn down the money he would make because it could fund dreams we never thought could come true... And so began my imminent downward spiral... It took me way too many months of basically single parenting (except I did have a little help due to living next door to Mama) while still working at our daycare and doing all the house work and animal care to realize that I could, in fact, not do it all... Or even much at all...

By summer, I was tired all the time. My house was only clean on days that Papa was home to help. Even then, it was not up to my normal standards. And just when I thought I could maybe just maybe do just enough to get by in order to survive, in May we had a surprise pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage... Then in early August, we had another miscarriage... After that I hit an all time low that lasted for over 3 months. I started to depend on caffeine or sugar (that I had not needed or even frequented them before) to get me through the day. My mind was in a constant fog. My ability to plan out or accomplish even the simplest of tasks had seemingly disappeared. I could not sleep at night even though I was dog tired. I gained weight even when I thought I was eating less. By October, I was questioning EVERYTHING. Alas, I had no idea what was wrong with me.

Finally by the grace of God, in November I found a link on a facebook page that I "liked" (I wish that I could remember what one it was so I could thank them, but like I said, I was in a constant fog). Something about healing hormonal imbalances... I followed the link. It lead me to another link... And another... And another... And there it was. Everything that was wrong with me in one diagnosis. Adrenal Fatigue. I took an online test and it turned out, my case was actually quite severe. I was so relived to finally have an answer, and I began researching how to heal.

That is what I have been doing for the past few months. I started taking all kinds of vitamins and supplements and making myself get back to eating healthy. I went to bed earlier and basically let go of a lot of stressful things in my life (including the guilt I felt for falling apart in the first place). I am feeling better. Much more like my old self again. I am keeping up with my new habits, though I think Adrenal Fatigue is one of those things that can creep back up on a person if they are not careful.

My word this year is Nourish. I will try to remember it in everything I do. There have also been some crazy amazing changes going on around here. I am not going to get into it now, but I will say that those dreams we have been working so hard for are coming true... And it nourishes my soul.