Have you read the entire Bible? Would you like a plan to help you do it? The internet abounds with Bible Reading Schedules but here are just a few.
And here is a great article on actually doing it!
I have read through the Bible in the NIV once and I would like to do it again in the ESV.
Any other “unconventional” mom’s out there? What makes a mom conventional in the first place? Car seats carriers, strollers, bottles, 
cribs, rice cereal, epidurals, pacifiers…do all these things equal conventional? And slings, no artificial nipples, selective or no vaccinations, co-sleeping, water births, making your own babyfood, cloth diapers…do doing those things make you unconventional?And does conventional depend upon the others you live around and the people you share your life with?
I want to hear what you do that may be termed unconventional and what you do that is conventional. We all make lots of parenting choices and every mom does what is best for their family. Certainly my choices are not better than yours and vice versa…just different. So no defensive (or offensive!) comments, just what you do that is “the norm” and what you do that is different. :)
I have three types of cloth wipes I use with my cloth diapers. Two of the brands were shower gifts and one I purchased myself. Here are the three brands I have:
I really like these. I think the absorbancy is the best out of the three and the size is nice and big, although I personally prefer a little smaller. They have held up well over the months and I would purchase them again.
OsoCozy Flannel Baby Wipes
These were ordered from All Together Enterprises as a shower gift for me. These are actually probably my favorites. I love the absorbancy even though sometimes they absorb too much and I have to squeeze out some of the water. They are the perfect size out of the three for me. They aren’t holding up as well as the Imse Vimse wipes though. They are pilling a little bit. I would definitely buy these again.
Bum Genius
I like these the least of the three and would not buy them again. They don’t absorb well at all and some of them have gotten messed up in the washing machine and the corners roll up. I do like the size though.
What kind of cloth wipes do you use or do you make your own? I don’t need any right now but I’ll probably need some more at some point. I would probably order the first two but would be willing to try something new, too!
I have decided to ditch the toxic chemical cleaners in my home and replace them with something that won’t burn my nostrils when I use it! So, I want to use up what I have first but after that, no more! I know that plain old vinegar and baking soda can clean a whole host of things but what other natural things double as cleaners? And what about those so-called “green” cleaners in stores now? Is that just to get someone like me to buy it or are they legitimately non-chemically?? (Don’t make fun of me! I know it’s not a word!)
Is there a place online that caters to those like me that crave clean air AND a clean home?? Sounds like I need to start searching. Help a girl out and tell me how you clean your home without the toxins.
Every first and third Wednesday night, you will most likely find my husband, daughter and me at a Shepherding Group meeting. We started this every other Wednesday ritual back in 2004, the same year I was laid off, we bought our first home and my husband had started a new career.
It has been a huge blessing in both of our lives but maybe I should begin by telling you what a shepherding group is. Our large church breaks into smaller groups to get to know one another and share each other’s burdens. It is a unique opportunity for spiritual growth and practical application of the message we heard the Sunday before. We meet at our leaders house usually and share prayer requests and praises, pray, discuss the message our pastor preached the Sunday previous and end with food and fellowship.
As I said, we started in our group in 2004. The prayers and encouragement have meant so much to us over the years, especially during those times when life was very difficult. Knowing that in good times and in bad, there are a group of people praying for us and with us is a huge blessing in our lives. I always enjoy hearing what everyone took away from the message and the different perspectives. It always gives us something to think about and other ways to apply it in our lives.
We have forged some wonderful friendships over the years and we know God placed us with these people specifically to use them in our lives and us in theirs. How about you? Does your church offer shepherding groups or something similar? Are you involved in one? If not, I encourage you to become involved! I promise you will benefit greatly and God will use you in the lives of others, people you would normally maybe never have met. I would love to hear how God has used Shepherding Groups to bless you!
As the holiday season (quickly) approaches, I find myself thinking of food. And traveling. And eating food while traveling. But mostly just food.
More to the point, Thanksgiving food traditions. Every family’s got them. I remember hearing that some families had tossed salad as part of their Turkey Day line up. I was shocked! (I was sheltered as a young child from such travesties.) What a waste of plate space! But maybe it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the ranch dressing to you.
I also grew up expecting all Thanksgiving food to be made from scratch (with a few exceptions) so you can imagine my dismay when I discovered some families go to restaurants or buy frozen Mrs. Smith pumpkin pies.
I really need to be more open-minded when it comes to other people’s holiday eating customs. So, tell me, what are your holiday food traditions? I’ll share mine and promise to not recoil in horror, even if you prefer steak to the signature bird.
Turkey and gravy (cooked breast side down for a juicier fowl)
Ham (for the times my non-turkey-loving aunt and uncle came for dinner)
Stuffing in the bird
Oyster stuffing outside of the bird
Cranberry sauce (in the can, told you there were exceptions)
Mashed potatoes (with cheese, sour cream and chives mixed in)
Baked corn
Green bean casserole
Candied yams (or sweet potatoes)
Orange Jell-O salad or Strawberry pretzel salad
Yeast rolls (from a bakery in town)
Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
Pecan pie
Okay, I do have a confession to make though. In all of my consternation about holiday food traditions that differ from my own, I neglected to admit my family does have an unusual custom (or maybe not…you’ll have to let me know if your family does this, too.) We have appetizers on Thanksgiving around 11am normally (with the big shebang happening at 3:30pm typically). It is definitely something I have missed since getting married and not always being home for Thanksgiving. The actual appetizers differ from year to year but we generally rotate the same ones in and out. The favorites are shrimp dip with sesame breadsticks, spinach dip in a King’s Hawaiian bread bowl, olives, artichoke dip with triscuits and sausage balls. We ALWAYS have gingerale with sliced lime to drink.
I so love my cloth diapers! They are fantastic! I love the money they save me, the fact that chemicals aren’t up against Marcella’s skin, how cute she looks wearing them, how easy they are to use, etc. There are a million different types of cloth diapers out there, from the kind your mom most likely used to all-in-ones (AIO’s) that are all one piece and are as simple to use as a disposable. There are also tons of great websites out there that sell cloth diapers and accessories. I have been participating in The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt this month and have thoroughly enjoyed checking out the variety of work-at-home mom’s (WAHM) sites. I haven’t been through all of them yet but I thought I would highlight some of the ones that stood out to me and some of the really cool products they have to offer.
MA! motherhood with attitude -Not all of the sites on the hunt have cloth diapers (although 95% of them do) and this was one of them that did not. However, I loved their creative notecards and notepads! A portion of the profits from the site go to help women with postpartum depression so that’s cool, too!
MiniMe Baby Gear has a TON of stuff on it! They had some of the cutest little onesies (like the one on their home page) and some neat gift ideas like the Lollipop Blankets pictured below.
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Nanny Deprived – I thought this site was a great one. I like how they divide up their products in categories like “Mommy Chores” and “Mommy Rewards” Check out their retro housewife aprons and reusable sandwich bags.
Non Toxic Tots – The non-toxic nail polish on the home page got my attention and I love all of the wooden baby toys, too.
Otter Babies is home to the Otter Blotter diapers. They have some great All-in-Two (AI2) diapers that I had never seen before. Neat concept! They also had some diaper cover designs I liked like the one below.
Saturday with Mez has only one product, a book of the same title. You can actually view the book completely from the website. It is a picture book of a day in the life of a breastfeeding toddler. The authors (Mez’s parents) created the book when they were struck by the absence of breastfeeding in the baby book world.
There are a LOT more sites I have yet to go through so maybe I’ll feature more some other time but I hope you enjoy checking out the sites above as I did and maybe you’ll even see something you want to purchase!
This is a product we registered for and got at one of our baby showers and have just recently started using. Our daughter, Marcella, is 7 ( almost 8 ) months old and we started solids shortly after she turned 7 months old. We are using a baby-led approach (maybe I’ll talk about that next with a book review) so we offer her true solids, no purees.
The Rainforest Booster Seat in action. Marcella enjoys some green beans.
Anyway, we had been using the Bumbo
Check out this product demo.
That’s a good question. So glad you asked! ;)
Product Reviews – mostly baby stuff probably, but you never know what I might throw in
Parenting/Babies/Childbirth – um, obviously and this will tend toward the crunchy side
Christianity – what I’m learning, links to great messages, etc.
Book Reviews – fiction, non-fiction, parenting, childbirth, christianity, whatever else
Recipes/Food – I love recipes and food in general even if I don’t cook everyday
Daily life/Random – Sorry, but it’s my blog so I reserve the right to post about my boring life and any other random topic ;)
I plan on having guest writers from time to time as well because variety is the spice of life, right?
Anything else you want to hear about? Let me know! I can’t write about quantum physics but everything else is free game. ;)
Guest Post from 'A Little Bit of All of It': Green Spring Cleaning Tips
Guest Post from Julia of A Little Bit of All of It: Baby-led Weaning
The Benefits of Local, Raw Honey
What Is a CSA and Why Would I Want to Join One?
What's What Wednesday: Birth Planning-Part Three at Fine and Fair
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