Look at what I got to do...

No, I didn't have another girl. I just got to take pictures of someone else's teeny little one! In May I did maternity pics for Mama and now it was 5 day old Baby Girl's turn.

It's amazing how quickly you forget how small a newborn is. It only took a moment after scooping up this litttle one for it all to come flooding back. I was just there a little over a year ago, watching my own brand new little flower unfolding in those early days.

  Motherhood holds so many wonders. My favorite has to be watching that new personality emerge, and it starts so early. There are traits that seem to be constant, even from the womb, and those that appear so suddenly you sometimes wonder who this new little person is. So precious and amazing. I hope that even long after my child bearing years are behind me I'll always be able find the wonder and the miracle in new life. With new life comes new hope.

This Moment

{this moment inspired by Soule Mama} - A Friday ritual. 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.

Happy Weekend to you!

Wool: I'm in love!

Today a small pair of longies were rolled up and converted to shorts

 We started cloth diapering on baby #5. Intimidated by just the thought of extra laundry and overwhelmed with all of the cloth diapering options every time I did consider it, I never seriously investigated the option. (Yes, here comes the "until.") Until...chickling #5 had such sensitive skin and we had tried every brand of disposables unsuccessfully and it seemed by the best option. I did hours and hours of research, finally settling on what I thought was the best option for us. The rashes cleared and #5 eventually transitioned nicely from a cloth bum to the potty trained, panty-wearing little girl of today. And me? Turns out I wasn't traumatized by the extra laundry (it really isn't that much) and I found myself a CD addict mourning the lost time I could have spent doing it with girlies # 1-4.

Yes, those are my woolies line drying on our trampoline enclosure. I snapped this pic as I ran out to save them from the sudden rain storm.

  Last fall a friend introduced me to wool covers, pre-folds, and flats, the simplest and cheapest of all diapering options, and I'm in love! In fact I became so enamored that i told my husband I wanted a sheep. Being the loving, supportive guy he is, he actually went on Craigs List and looked for sheep! They didn't have any listed, but as a side note you can find virtually any other farm animal for sale there.

Why wool? It's naturally water repellant, slightly absorbant, naturally anti-bacterial, and is breathable. Not to mention adorable. I bought one cover and have made, and continue to make, the rest. In November I cleaned both of our area Goodwills out of 100% wool sweaters. Two were converted to pants, or "longies," one into a "skirty", and one into a simple soaker. I've recently been trying my hand at knitting and am almost done with my first soaker from scratch. We're finding ways to meet all fashion possibilities and having so much fun doing it.  

A little note about night time: I was worried about leaving little Maya in a pre-fold over night. Wouldn't the constant contact with moisture wreak havoc on an already sensitive bum? With a regular cover, yes it did, but my wool is another story. Thanks to the breathability, moisture can more easily evaporate. In fact, the other day I changed what at first sight seemed like a dry over night diaper. Upon closer inspection I realized it had pee in it, but it had actually dried over night, leaving my little one's bum nice and dry.

I'll say it one more time. I'm in love.

What's on Your Plate?

 After a morning of chores and bread-making, the girls and I settled down, with our various knitting and crocheting projects in hand, to watch a movie from our new favorite genre: food documentaries. The flick of the day was "What's on Your Plate?" I can't describe it any better Netflix's description, so here goes:

  "Aimed at children and adults, this entertaining documentary from activist Catherine Gund follows her daughter, Sadie, and her best friend, Safiyah, as the two 11-year-olds spend a year investigating the politics of food in America. The intrepid tweens interview farmers, school officials, chefs and ordinary folks to find out how food is grown and how agriculture can be transformed in order to improve both nutrition and profit."

 So what did we learn? Simply put:

• To eat more locally grown foods. Why? Because we're not only cutting down on how far our food has to be transported but we're also supporting our local farmers.
• To eat more whole, natural foods. 
• Children's health in our country is seriously declining thanks to our eating habits.
• And finally... deep down inside I really feel a need to grow things! One step at a time, though. We're dealing with our first year of gardening one day at a time in this drought stricken region.

Photo courtesy of Bella and her camera

 So, the home school mom came out of summer hibernation for a little while. Inspired by Sadie and Safiyah's actions, one chickling pulled out the world map, one gathered the produce in the kitchen, and 2 others had paper and art supplies on hand to draw small "portraits" of the produce. We read the little stickers on our fruit and found out that our bananas came from Costa Rica, our grapes from Mexico, our apples from Washington, peaches from South Carolina, and the blueberries simply were labeled "U.S." We used the little ones' pictures of the fruit and placed them on the countries of origin respectively. Most of these places are quite a long way from Alabama, we discovered, and yet all of these things are grown right here within a few hours of us. Hmmm....

 So, in the end, why did I love this movie? It spoke to me and the girls and made us more aware. We pinpointed things we can change and now have a goal.

Want to learn more? http://www.whatsonyourplateproject.org/

A Retreat to the Shore

A few weeks ago we spent the weekend at the beach on a "family retreat" with our fellow family practice residents and their families. I grew up just minutes from a beautiful beach but have never had the opportunity to actually stay on site. I tried it, and I like it!

  There's something mesmerizing about the whole atmosphere. I'd go to take a peak out the window of our condo and then find myself still standing there 5 minutes later just taking it all in: the pattern of the waves breaking, the sea gulls who seemed to be floating on a blanket of unseen wind, the endless horizon. The more time I take to notice the vast intricacies of nature the more amazed I become at this world. I find it intriguing  that I can still discover new things that captivate me and awaken a childlike interest that seems to have been asleep. This is when I excitedly call my girls over to share my findings and am usually tickled to see them light up with amazement too.

  We arrived on a Friday evening in time for dinner and to settle in and prepare for the full day ahead of us. Saturday morning I was up with the sun and found ways to busy myself until the family awoke. I think poor J.T. was looking forward to a restful morning, but those hopes were dashed by a busy mama and six little chattering girls rushing about and excitedly getting ready to start our day.

  We were at breakfast by 7:30 and on the beach by 8:15 ready to start our morning of sea shell collecting, wave jumping, and sand castle building. We spent the day in the sun and then enjoyed dinner on the beach.

I do have to say that the highlight of the trip came Sunday morning. We were heading out early, but I had promised the girls one last walk out onto the beach before leaving. As we gazed out over the water I saw it. First one, then another and so on. A pod of dolphins were crossing the horizon not far from shore. Once again the giddiness surfaced, and we stared in amazement as they leaped from the water, occasionally stopping and playing with each other. As I stood there with my girls, I took note that this was one of "those" moments. The ones you'll never forget and the ones you'll pull back to mind as you look back over the ups and downs of parenting. For that moment we were sharing a feeling, a love, an excitement. Their faces were glowing and so was mine. That familiar moment of parenting re-surfaced. The one where you know, not just feel or believe,  how blessed you are to know and love these little ones. You take a mental picture, hoping never to forget any detail, because you also know how fleeting these moments are.