Great Home Birth Books for Kids Make Me Smile!

Traveling through the desert of SouthEast Utah, I had the delight to find a book embracing home birth. I adore kids books supporting home birth, breastfeeding and the natural, and this book made my heart sing (and my kids smile!)

As a child I read "A Chair for my Mother" by Vera B. Williams again and again, and have enjoyed reading it to my kids. I found the sequel, "A Chair for Always" a gorgeous depiction of the natural way families bring babies into their worlds when they choose to have a baby at home. Simple and beautifully illustrated, this is a book to give to a big sister, brother, cousin or friend who is having a close person birth at home.

Here's to happy, healthy babies, being born into warm and inviting homes.

And, here's to caring for our children in ways that nurture their souls and the great mother earth as well!

My Personal Divine Secrets emerge

I am in a phase of reading... this happens really quite seldom, now with little kids and my exhaustion at night (I am sure many parents can relate!)
However I picked up the first "Ya-Ya" book at a tag sale "Little Alters Everywhere" by Rebecca Wells, and fell in love.

I love books about women and for women. In her second book (made into a movie I saw years ago and can hardly remember)"Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" I came across this quote... I love it:

"... As she walked over Mother Earth, Sidda prayed: Stretch me wide so that the divine secrets that lie inside my mother, inside myself, inside the earth itself, will find room enough in me to bear fruit."

I loved this thought... and feel that we must consciously remember where we are from, to tap into the wonder and the connection that comes from the mother who carried us, and too, the Great Mother that now cradles us in her embrace.

So, in short, do I recommend these books?... well I am not finished reading them, but sure, if you like books about women in the deep south with too many issues to mention... I do!

Here's to a happy spring read!

Wearing Babies never Gets Old

This is a deight for me, to see women with their babies in slings. This woman, Alison with her sweet boy Sammy from Colorado Springs, called me when she was big and round and had in her mind a vision of carrying her baby when he arrived in this side of the world. Here he is! And I think they are beautiful, both mother and child. Thank you Alison.

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of helping a woman locally who has a special needs baby, learn how to wear her sling. He was a premature baby weighing approx. 1.5 lbs at birth, and here he was, a year later weighing 20 lbs, and she wanted to carry him. We were able to figure out a way for her to put him in the Maya Wrap, and comfortable place him so that he was able to see the world. What a delight for me to see happy mothers and babies slinging around.

Here's to another wonderful mother, choosing the best thing: carrying her baby.

Extended Breastfeeding

As my nursing days slowly come to a close with Scarlett (who will be three next month) this video came to me via email. It made me laugh until I cried. I hope it delights you as much as I did. And, encourages you to know, that if you are still nursing your toddler, there is hope... at least you aren't meeting their date!

HAPPY BREASTFEEDING!

At long last... a website for The Green Women Mercantile

I am delighted to share my website, a place to purchase my green goods, and to share with your friends where you got that beautiful baby sling! After many, many months with good intentions, it is finally here, much to my relief. Please visit my site and come back often.

In the spirit of blogging, I felt this picture would inspire some laughs... enjoy!

Visit my site: www.thegreenwomen.com

Celebrate End of Summer with Cake

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats."

Iris Murdoch, writer

What have you done to "treat" yourself
this summer?

As I age

"Parents are Strange for their Age" -Amanda Veil

Well, as my 29th birthday arrives, I imagine I may be strange for my age. My children think so anyway...

I wish to age gracefully as my mother, and as my grandmother... and I wish to do so with an ability to care for myself in a way my grandmother never was able.

As a woman, mother, and wife I am learning about the necessary job it is to make sure that the way I care for me is wholesome and complete. I hope my daughter is able to do grow and watch me caring for myself.

Here is a beautiful quote that my mother shared with me... this is important for all women to see:

"Do you love yourself enough to take care of your health,
To change a bad habit, to prevent disease?
Do you love yourself enough to be physically healthy and
To stay another few years with a good quality of life?
If you said "no" to either of these, you may want to search deeply for
the reason you feel you are not worth the effort."
-Donna DiMarco

As you read this... think about how you nurtured yourself today? This week? This month?

On my birthday, I wish each of you a happy day, one on which you make a choice to do something wonderful for you, wheter it is sitting with a cup of tea, scheduling a massage or an appointment with your dentist, make those choices to honor yourself and your body... after all... you only get one chance to treat yourself with the honor you deserve.

-Sierra