Naturally Clean

I love to stay as "chemical free" as I can, in large part out of necessity due to multiple chemical sensitivities and severe allergic reactions. I use mineral makeup, mineral deodorant, wash my hair with baking soda and vinegar, buy homemade clay and tea tree oil soap from a friend, and do most of my household cleaning with natural products like baking soda and vinegar as well.
Today a friend posted these 74 Uses for Vinegar on Facebook. I was thrilled to find a few new tricks I didn't know yet. Natural cleaning typically saves money too! What are your favorite natural cleaning and personal care ideas? Please share!

Through Another Mother's Day

I always feel like I've survived an emotional marathon just getting through another Mother's Day. I guess it's one of the lasting emotional "scars" that infertility has left me as it's legacy. I am so very thankful to be a mom, but the journey here was brutal! I have three precious miracles here and I hug them fiercely as I blink back tears of gratitude.

Every Mother's Day I am reminded so very keenly that others are hurting and grieving still. Each year more and more of my friends are called to face MD without their own moms and my heart aches for them as well, though I'm thankful that the ache comes yet without personal understanding. I have at least three more precious babies who kissed my womb all too briefly before flying to Heaven. No one can ever "replace" another, so while I'm thankful beyond words for the three here, Mother's Day hurts for the three There too.

The ins, outs, ups, downs, joy and grief associated with motherhood play round and round in my mind, leaving me exhausted this time of year. So today I want to step away from all those swirling emotions and simply celebrate the gift of my own mom. Betty Camp has been selected as a top 5 finalist for the first ever "Fibromyalgia Mom of the Year" award for the way she has supported and encouraged me through decades of chronic illness, while enduring her own battle against Fibromyalgia.

Would you please join me in celebrating her selflessness by reading Mom's story and giving it a 5-star rating? Public vote is open through today, with the grand prize winner (competing for a $7,000 medical treatment package!) announced this coming Thursday, Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day. I would love to be able to give my mom the gift of this grand prize as a small gift of thanks of all she has sacrificed for me through the years.

Muddy Fun

Little J. loves that our sprinklers over spray into our sandbox. He spent the afternoon engineering a series of "bathtubs" for us.

He did want to be clear that we all understand, "The water is not edible to drink!"

We didn't quiet agree on the definition of "clean" as the result of a back yard bath.

We compromised by following the back yard tubs with an indoor shower at the end of the day. :)

Chickens Growing

It's been a months since we brought home our week old chicks. They sure have changed!!! We don't know for sure yet, but we are afraid we probably have at least one rooster in the mix, maybe as many as three. (We wouldn't mind, but our neighbors probably would, so if there's a boy amongst the sisters, he will have to get shipped off to a real farm.)

All five babies love to crawl up in my lap and snuggle down, but I don't have a picture of that (yet) because I can never get up to reach a camera with a lap full of poultry!

The End

Held

I'm very blessed to be part of a new project, a blogging community just for Christian women facing infertility or loss, along with those who love us. If you are journeying through emotional pain surrounding the growth of your family, or if you love someone who is, please come join us at Held, the brand new blogging arm of Hannah's Prayer Ministries.

Musical Genius?

Bad news: My 108 year old piano has had the ivory keys defaced.

Good news:
My 5-year-old can properly identify the A-G keys from one end of the piano to the other.

I didn't know he even knew the concept of a musical scale, much less the ability to properly identify (and mark) every key.

In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that one octave reads "A, D, C, D, E, F, G," but out of an entire 52 white keys, I'm chalking that up to classic 5-year-old reversal and still saying he correctly marked the entire keyboard.

Thank you for the 25 Facebook comments worth of helpful cleaning advice, especially the non-allergenic options that are safe for antique ivory, when this first happened last week.

I think I've decided to leave the piano as marked, as part of our family legacy. I'm posting these pictures at my Mom's request. ;)

School Resource

Posting this link to remind myself of a good resource when we hit studying the civil war in a couple of months!
150th anniversary