wordless wednesday! me and my daddy~ 1974

goods 4 girls!!

you may have seen the tv commercials from tampax and always about young girls in areas of africa that are often unable to attend school during their time of the month due to inadequate feminine hygiene supplies. apparently these big companies have offered their products to these girls. but, what if we instead supplied these young girls with reusable cloth pads~ pads they can wash and use, over and over and over. i recently came across the goods 4 girls organization and their goal is to do just that! through donations they hope to provide reusable menstrual supplies to these girls who would otherwise be using newspaper, rags, camel skin or nothing at all. providing disposible supplies to these communities causes additional burdens to their enviroment and living conditions.

want to donate? it is easy! visit the donation page of the goods 4 girls site and you will be given links to several shops that sell cloth pads as well as a pattern page for those who would like to sew cloth pads to give. as soon as i can wrangle an afternoon to sit at my machine i am going to sew some pads to donate.

want more enlightnment on this subject? read more about it at blogher.

BITTY!!

in the spirit of The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog asking "what's so funny about breastfeeding?" i thought i would share this little bit of breastfeeding hilarity! enjoy!

brother and sister...

i will always remember these days, when they are little and still love hugs and kisses. when they fit nicely in my lap for story time, one on each knee. when their faces light up when they see each other in the morning. when they seem to have a special language that only they can understand.

when they are the most important people to each other.

i will never forget these days, and i will not let them forget either~

a list...

a list... why haven't i thought of this before?? here is what i have been up too...

i cut my hair, again!

and after!

before...

i took a care package to my friend monique who slipped and broke her ankle earlier in the week. please stop by and wish her well!

i picked out fabric for my reversible emmeline apron. now, i just need to find time to cut and sew...

we decided to set up the crib in our bedroom so harper can sidecar next to our bed. he still co sleeps with us but i want to be able to lay him down for the 2 or 3 hours after he falls asleep until i am ready for bed. after a traumatizing first night (traumatizing for both harper and mama!) we went to the book store and bought a copy of "the no- cry sleep solution" i have been reading it every spare second and so far i love it! i will definitely keep you all posted on how it works for us. harper agrees that it was a very wise purchase!

esme' was having a shy day and did not want her photo taken at the book store coffee shop.

come on, can't a little girl enjoy her hot cocoa in peace without the paparazzi in her face??!!

and, mom victoriously sneaks one quick photo in before she can hide her face in her jacket!

one last thing, i will be stocking a few goodies at Majestic tomorrow!

a meme for me and my sweetie!

my blogging friend kim at prairie mama tagged me with this valentine meme and, slacker that i am, i am just now getting around to posting it!! so here it is, everything you ever wanted to know about tony and i!

How long have you been together? 10 years!
How long did you date? we dated for 1 year and were engaged for 1 year.
How old is he? 31
Who eats more? uh, he does!!
Who said “I love you” first? he did, after our first disagreement!
Who is taller? tony~ he is 5'8" and i am 5' 3" we are shorties :)
Who is smarter? definitely ME!
Who does the laundry? i do laundry for myself and the kids and he does his own laundry... he even irons!!
Who does the dishes? mainly me, or the big kids.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? me
Who pays the bills? tony does and i have to say i am just now kinda getting used to it. it is hard for an independant mama to let someone take care of such things!
Who mows the lawn? tony, i have major fears of the lawn mower!!
Who cooks dinner? we both cook~ lately i have cooking more.
Who is more stubborn? me again *sigh*
Who kissed who first? um, i think i kissed him!
Who asked who out? i really don't know!
Who proposed? tony did~ we were camping!
Who has more friends? me, but my friends love tony too!
Who has more siblings? me, i have 2 brothers and tony has one brother who passed away the year we were married.

culinary spunk!

how cute is this?!! i just got the pattern today. let the fabric hunting begin!

emmeline apron

JULIET, and other pretties!

this is juliet, knit in cotton ease. this was a super quick, fun knit. i may even knit another one in a different color, and a size smaller~ this one is a little bigger than i would like. i was shopping at target earlier this afternoon and saw some little cropped cardis very similar to this one... but not nearly as cute!

and, here are some long over due swap photos of a Magic Yarn Ball i put together for my friend heidi~ it was a valentine themed swap. i painted some superwash sock yarn in a fun spring colorway and some spinning fiber in very valentine-y colors. i included a sock pattern, some organic hot cocoa and raspberry syrup, and organic chocolate bar, some lip balm,

and some handmade stitch markers. the bottom set went into heidi's yarn ball and the cocktail set was made for another friend.

here is the yarn and goodies i received in the swap. this is peace fleece in the georgia rose colorway and will be knit into a new spring hand bag for me! and that chocolate bar is endangered species dark chocolate (fair trade!!) and is the best chocolate ever!! i have bought 2 or 3 more since i finished this one off...

babywearing bliss!

our first onbuhimo~ we are in love!

images of love...

roses from my sweetie

sweet sentiments from friends

teeny tiny shrinky dink messages

handmade valentines for mom!

wordless wednesday! say cheese!

big push for midwives~ part 2

i thought i would post an update to the big push for midwives campaign here in idaho.

on wednesday the House Health &Welfare committee held a closed "print hearing" where they agreed to print our bill. now it will go to the printer, be assigned a house number and be available for everyone in the world to see on the legislative website - http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/. next we will be given a hearing date with the House H&W committee where we provide testimony. when it passes out of the committee it will be heard and debated on the floor of the House of Representatives. once it passes the House we go through the same process on the Senate side.

we are on our way!!

amy at crunchy domestic goddesss wrote a wonderfully informative post last week in an effort to share this message and get the word out to as many people as possible. i encourage you to stop by and check out some of the great links she has provided!

i spent the weekend preparing a letter of support to send along to the House Health and Welfare committee. as i have mentioned in previous posts supporting midwifery and making sure it is always an option for myself and other women is very important to me. i want a midwife's care to be an option for my children, and my children's children, and long, long after that.

visit the big push for midwives to learn more about the big push and see what you can do to help! share your midwife assisted birth stories with anyone who will listen and encourage them to support midwives as an important option for moms and babies! harper's birth story can be read here and esme's birth story was printed in the summer '05 issue of compleat mother magazine. someday soon i will post it here as well.

here are a few photos from harper's amazing waterbirth at home~

your sister in birth, erika~ the inspired mama

"if you don't know your options you do not have any"~ diana korte

i am coming back to edit this post because i got to thinking that a lot of moms and families can probably benefit from hearing about my 2 hospital births too. i was very fortunate and had fairly natural, intervention free hospital births. i was not nearly as educated about my options back then nor did i have the wonderful support i was blessed with for my last two births. i will work on getting those birth stories written up, to the best of my memory!

a happy little painting!

Click here to create your own painting.

wordless wednesday! if i could only freeze time...

Yes We Can

super tuesday~ i am caucusing for obama. i, too, want change...

so busy!!

no new blog posts, i have been busy creating new goodies for the shop, for a swap, for the kiddos and for myself...

i hope to have photos of all my crafty adventures up this week... so stop back by very soon!

hi, i am erika....

and i am a baby carrier addict!! we live in a tea cup and my obsession with wraps and mei tais (along with my books, yarn, fabric... i know, i have a problem...) are taking over! i recently wore harper in a ring sling at a friend's house and we loved it. so i have of course decided that i must add one to my stash! i entered my name in a ring sling giveaway at de reviews, so fingers crossed!! i have my eye on this sling...

baby brothers rock...

so why not have a tee that tells everyone so! check out Polly Tod for the coolest baby and toddler shirts around!

we are having a hard time choosing between this one

and this one

hmmm, maybe we need both!

wanna free tee shirt from Polly Tod?? check this out!

wordless wednesday! a look back... proud big sisters!!

snow and cold! *sigh*

it is cold and snowing today. i have several projects lined up (sewing, yarn dyeing, and my knitting works in progress to name a few) but i want, no, i *need* to get out of this house! i think we will bundle up and go to the bookstore. we can easily spend half the day there looking at all the books and drinking coffee and hot cocoa. i have had my eye on these books:

Feeding the Whole Family

Pushed~ The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care

or, this one looks like a lot of fun!

Warm Fuzzies~ 30 Sweet Felted Projects

but, who knows~ there is a good chance i will get there and find another perfect book~ i will be sure to update on what i bring home! hmmm, but warm fuzzies do sound pretty darn good on a day like today... maybe that will be the one!

sweet esme' rose

i was awoken by the hall light shining on my face as she slowly pushed open our bedroom door. the clock said 4:30. and then she was standing next to me. "i had a bad dream, i am scared." i pulled the covers back inviting her in. she climbed into the bed and snuggled next to me. nearly five minutes went by and i was just drifting back into sleep when she whispered "i put socks on so my toenails wouldn't tickle you, mama."

no, my heart was tickled with love instead!

big push for midwives!

it is freezing cold outside but that didn't stop us from bundling up and going down to our capital building to support our local midwives. i ran out the door and forgot my camera so we had to take pictures of harper and esme' when we got home. they were warmer (and esme' was much happier) here at home anyway!

and, today is my birthday!! i can't think of a better way to spend my afternoon than supporting something very improtant to me and my family. i am very fortunate and blessed to have had births attended by midwives and my hope is that the women and families of Idaho will always have that option.

We, the residents of Idaho, want legilature to :

* Protect women and families’ personal freedoms to choose the maternity care provider that best fits ALL their needs

* To continue to recognize the profession of midwifery as a practical health provider option for pregnant women

* Provide voluntary licensure for midwives so they might continue to provide safe care and exceptional outcomes WITHOUT the fear of prosecution

* To recognize that obstetrics and midwifery are different models of care and to recognize midwifery as an autonomous profession capable of self-regulation

reflections...

this is a list of my 7 favorite posts from 2007. visit rachelle at magpie girl to read more inspiring lists from other small is beautiful bloggers. it was fun to take a peek back and relive these moments in my life. so here goes...

birth blessings ~ this necklace was and is so meaningful to me. i am blessed indeed!
welcoming harper corrigan! ~ my birth story
from belly to baby! ~ ahh, if i could only freeze time!
how did you grow up so fast? ~ a post for riley
october ~ transitioning to autumn
unexpected lessons ~ i am still trying to remind myself of this lesson on a daily basis.
what a lovely year! ~ reflections from 2007!

looking forward to the wonderful thoughts, experiences and just plain silliness that will gather here in 2008!

wordless wednesday! spring daydreams...

knitter's block...

i am still knitting away on harper's baby surprise jacket but it has been sooooo s-l-o-w! i don't know what my block on this project is. i am a little past the half way mark and the yarn is knitting up beautifully. it will make a great late winter/early spring jacket.... if i could just finish it!! it is one of those don't think, just knit patterns, so it is super simple. *sigh* i am going to just plug away at it and get it off the needles so i can cast on something exciting.

and the exciting knitting i speak of is this~ i have ordered enough peace fleece to knit myself this sweater.

and i have enough cotton ease to knit this~

yes, i am feeling some selfish knitting coming on...

wordless wednesday! celebrate breastfeeding!

visit beauty and the breast at the unassisted birth website for more beautiful breastfeeding images~