Summertime Reading at the Library

Image by joanajo

Growing up, my summers entailed Vacation Bible School, swim lessons, and especially, the summer reading program at my local library.

Every writer should be a good reader, right? Well, there are no doubts what I was meant to become because I could have lived at the library.

Back then, my public library was in the same location, but most similarities end there. Instead of a spacious modern building chock full of computers and meeting rooms and more books than you could ever hope to read, the library was not much bigger than a house.

I still remember the joy I felt when entering on the front brick steps. Waving to Mrs. Whitehead and the other librarians as I walked past the circulation desk (they seemed to know all the kids in town) and making my way to the children's section in the back.

My mom and many other parents would just drop their kids off at the library and let us enjoy a few hours reading or making crafts while they ran errands. I would never encourage that now, and it shows just how much the world has changed in 20 years.

It’s amazing to think my mom felt safe leaving my siblings and me there, as those were the days before cell phones (well, there was that mobile phone device that rode around in a bag in the car). The library was a safe haven back then.

Today, children can participate in most reading programs without even leaving their homes. But, back then, instead of the computerized logging systems libraries offers today, each kid had a folder where he or she manually wrote in the name of the books they’d read, the authors’ names, the page numbers and the skill level. 

I remember relaxing on the pink wrap-around bench that sat under the bay window that held the paperbacks. I’d stretch out and enter the land of the Babysitter’s Club, the Boxcar Children or the Bobbsey Twins.

But perhaps my favorite section was the children’s biographies and autobiographies. They sat on a shelf to the left of the children’s entrance. There was a small air vent on the floor, and I would sometimes just sit next to the vent, cooling myself on a hot summer day and learning about anyone from Andrew Jackson to Amelia Earhart. 

I’ve always said real life is better than fiction, and I guess my journalistic leanings began in those days when I reveled in reading of the lives of men and women of old. 

I can still smell the pages of the books. That old, slightly musty library smell. Not exactly fragrant...but I loved it. 

When I moved back to my hometown two years ago, my mom encouraged me to stop back by my old favorite place on Main Street. I couldn’t believe how different the library had become, but I still get a little giddy every time I walk up those brick steps.

I can’t help but think how much those years spent reading there helped form the writer I’ve become.

It will still be years before my 3-year-old and baby will be able to read, but I’ve already signed them up for the family reading program this summer. Any book I read to them will be counted. Good reading starts when mommies and daddies read to their children.

I’m excited to see the excitement on their faces every time I say, “Let’s go to the library!”  

Perhaps some of their fondest childhood memories will be from the summer reading program, too.

What was YOUR favorite summertime activity as a kid? Are you re-living it now with your own kids? I'd love to hear from YOU!

*This story first appeared in the June 24, 2011 edition of the Mooresville Weekly.

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If you liked this post, you may also like my posts on Motherhood. 

Don't forget to enter the Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup Contest now through Friday, July 1!  

Homemade Disinfectant Wipes {Homemade Homemaking}

 

Every Wednesday I'll be posting on a monthly series. 

Last week, I introduced my "Healthy Homemakers" series. This week, I'm excited about the launch of "Homemade Homemaking"! 

On the 4th Wednesday of every month, I'll be posting on either a food staple or household item that we homemakers can make--from scratch! 

I spent most of the first 5 years of my marriage buying canned goods, jarred and boxed foods and cleaning supplies that can very easily be made at home. 

A few weeks ago, Emily at Live Renewed inspired me to make homemade disinfectant wipes. She wrote her post on it in September 2009. I had stumbled upon it months ago but kept putting it off, thinking making them would probably be long and complicated. 

Was I ever wrong!

Making these wipes was a PIECE OF CAKE!

I even had most of what I needed already in the house. In fact, the only thing I had to hunt down was castille soap. (If you are local, you can find it here, or anyone should be able to order it online here or find it at their local health food store.)

I've been using these for over a month now, and I must say--they are WONDERFUL. 

They don't create extra laundry because I just throw them in the wash with the other rags. I thought I might have to ring them out, but, no...they are ready right out of their container! 

I love these wipes because they:

1. Save my family money.

2. Are much healthier for my family than conventional cleaners.

3. Are great for God's creation!

Without further ado, here's June's "Homemade Homemaking" recipe for reusable disinfectant wipes: 

Supplies

• old baby wipes container (I used Huggies)
• white vinegar (found at Wal-Mart or Target)
• tea tree oil (found at a health food store, but cheapest at Wal-Mart or Target in the supplements section)
• lavender oil
• castile soap
• some of your hubby's old T-shirts
• water

  Instructions
  

• Cut up old T-shirts into squares (size doesn't matter)

• Put squares of cloth into wipes container
• Mix about a cup of water, a squirt of castille soap, 1/4 c. of vinegar, and 3-4 drops tea tree oil and 3-4 drops lavender
• Pour liquid mixture over cloth

Easy Peasy! 


Check out Emily's blog for more great natural cleaning recipes! 

Do YOU make any of your own natural cleaners? If so, please share your recipes! I'm so excited about cleaning more naturally--and more frugally! :)

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If you liked this post, you may also like my post on homemade lactation cookies. 

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Make Your Own Monday

31 Days to Clean Update: Dropping the Ball....

One of the reasons I named my blog The Humbled Homemaker is because I have felt so, well, HUMBLED in the area of homemaking. 

I told my husband last night: "I wasn't trained for this. I was trained to be a journalist. I was trained to be a writer. I was trained to speak Spanish."

But I wasn't trained to wash dishes and clothes and scrub toilets and potty training stains and spilled milk and spit-up from the carpet. I wasn't trained to keep the pantries and closets and cabinets and toy boxes organized. I wasn't trained to set sleep schedules and mend boo boos and tame tantrums.

My college education gave me a lot--but it didn't give me any of those things. 

But this was God's plan for me all along. 

Don't get me wrong. I always, always wanted children. Even though I married at 24, there was a time when I thought perhaps I never would marry, and I just didn't prepare myself for it.

My mom was a model homemaker. She has a huge servant's heart. And I realize now I was lazy. I barely did any chores, so I just didn't learn how to really keep house. 

Stephanie at Keeper of the Home wrote about this same topic the other day. And even though she wasn't prepared for this wonderful job of homemaking, she has decided to embrace it...and do all she can to prepare her daughters to not only hone their other talents but also to keep home.

I want to do the same with my girls. 

And it starts with my example.

But I dropped the ball this week. My goal of this blog is to be REAL. I am not the perfect homemaker. I am the humbled homemaker. 

And I think there are many others like me. We need to stop putting on fronts and encourage each other. 

After all, we are on the front lines of sacrificial work every day.

So, I'm admitting. I dropped the ball this week. As I look around my house right now, I see scattered toys, a stained carpet, unfolded laundry (from two days ago), a sink full of dirty dishes. 

Sure, I can blame it the fact that my daughter just had surgery. But there is always something. There will always be an excuse. 

So, I'm admitting I got off track with 31 Days to Clean. I didn't give up all together, but  I definitely let myself down.

But I have hopes to finish strong...with aspirations to take on this challenge again and again and again. 

Next week I'll be updating on week 4--and reviewing the book--AND hosting a giveaway!

I hope I can say I've made a comeback. 

Last night I prayed: "Lord, I surrender this whole homemaking thing to you. Please help me be a better homemaker. I can't do it without you."

It's what I should have prayed a long time ago.

How are YOU doing with 31 Days to Clean (if you're doing the challenge)? What are your biggest challenges as a homemaker? Do you feel you were trained for this job? How are you training your daughters? I'd love to hear from you in the comments! :)  

Do you enjoy reading The Humbled Homemaker?  Subscribe to receive posts via e-mail, here, and find me on Facebook, here.  

If you liked this post, you may also like my post on my 31 Days to Clean mission statement and Resolving to be a Better Mom . 

Check out 31 Days to Clean for yourself, here.

Don't forget to enter the Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup Contest now through Friday, July 1!

 

The First Year Breastfeeding Mini-Series: Why? & The Best Advice EVER!

Photo by Julie Montgomery

In case you missed last week's post on Lactation Cookies, I'd like to welcome you to my new mini series on breastfeeding. Each Monday this summer, I'll be posting on a topic related to nursing our little ones.

Breastfeeding is something I always knew I wanted to do, but I didn't really consider why I should nurse until my first daughter was born. 

There are many reasons to breastfeed, but this is why I choose to nourish my babies this way:

1. It's FREE. I know, I know...sounds like a selfish reason, right? But, really--it's God's free gift to us to be able to give our babies ALL they need--with NO cost involved! Breastfeeding definitely fits into my family's budget! 

2. It's HEALTHY. Later in this series I will delve into more of the health benefits. For now, check out the La Leche League website, which lists the many, many health benefits of breastfeeding (for both mommy and baby!).

3. It's a NATURAL WEIGHT-REDUCER. Breastfeeding burns an extra 200-500 calories per day! Now, I will say this was the only thing I needed to lose my baby weight the first time around. However, 8 months after my second daughter's birth, the pounds have not just melted off, and it's becoming obvious that I need to start exercising (which I should be doing anyway!). 

4. It's a bonding experience. Now, I will not be a breastfeeding nazi and say that formula-fed babies cannot be bonded to their mothers. That is simply not true (and, in my opinion, a very hateful assumption). However, breastfeeding does seem to make it easier because feeding our babies in general is a bonding experience, and it's hard to delegate breastfeeding to someone else! :) (Later in this series, we'll discuss ways daddies and other care givers can get involved!)

5. It's restful. If new mothers are breastfeeding, they have to take a break to nurse. It's next to impossible to walk around the house and do chores while nursing (although it can be done--once both mommy and baby get the hang of it). One of my favorite breastfeeding positions is lying down....it's SO restful and bonding!

Now....I'd like to share the BEST breastfeeding advice anyone ever gave me....

READY????

MAKE SMALL GOALS.

That's it? Yes, that's it. After reading multiple books and websites, consulting doctors, midwives, lactation consultants and friends over the past 3 1/2 years (counting my pregnancy with my 3-year-old), that is the best advice, and it was given to me by a former lactation consultant friend from my church.

I still remember our meeting over lunch a few weeks before I gave birth. 

"What are your goals?" she asked me. 

"I want to breastfeed for a year!" I eagerly exclaimed.

And although she knew it was absolutely feasible for me to do so, she told me: "Make SMALL goals. Otherwise, you may get frustrated and give up."

So I followed her advice. 

"Just give it 2 weeks," she said. "Then make a new goal from there."

So I started out with 2 weeks. (Which are the hardest 2 weeks, by the way!) I then set my goal for 1 month, then 2 months, then 6 months, then 1 year. 

And I never set an "end" time. 

But I exceeded my first goal by leaps and bounds. My 2-week goal turned into 22 months. That's right...I nursed my first daughter for almost 2 years. 

And it's because I followed the BEST ADVICE EVER. MAKE SMALL GOALS!

I'd LOVE to hear from YOU! 

In the comments, tell me why YOU breastfed and what was the best advice you were ever given?

Do you enjoy reading The Humbled Homemaker?  Subscribe to receive posts via e-mail, here, and find me on Facebook, here.  

If you liked this post, you may also like my post on Lactation Cookies. 

Looking for some healthy recipes while you are breastfeeding? Check out the e-book, Health Pregnancy Super Foods (affiliate link), which includes great recipes for a healthy breastfeeding experience as well!

Don't forget to enter the Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup Contest now through Friday, July 1!

Hosting an Orphan for the Summer

Beth Bleavins stood nervously in the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, waiting to lock eyes with a teenage girl whose heart was pounding just as hard. She had seen Vanda’s* picture, and she wanted to recognize the Latvian orphan in the sea of faces coming down the escalator to the baggage claim.

“I hadn’t learned too many Latvian words, so I was depending on God providing,” Bleavins said.

Bleavins, husband Kirk and 5-year-old daughter Alyssa have opened their home to Vanda as part of the New Horizons for Children, Inc. summer hosting program. New Horizons is a Christian-based, non-profit organization which brings school-aged, orphaned children from Eastern Europe to the United States twice a year to share American culture and--most importantly--the love of God and a family. 

The goal of the program is for the children to be exposed to a healthy family. Host families sometimes work with dentists and doctors to provide basic exams for the children while in the U.S., but New Horizons is not medically based.

New Horizons advertises mostly through churches, and host families either raise the money or pay themselves for the children’s traveling expenses, which include airfare, medical exams and visas. 

Hosting a child costs $2,500, which is comparable to the amount spent for one person to go on an overseas mission trip.

Although the program is not affiliated with an adoption agency, about 80 percent of the families that host ultimately adopt the children.

The Bleavins’ have seen their time hosting as well worth the sacrifices.

“It’s a big commitment of your heart, your time and finances, but the rewards are immeasurable and intangible treasures of the heart,” Beth Bleavins said.

During her stay, Vanda’s favorite activities have been swimming and kayaking. The family has also taken her to the beach and mountains during her stay.

“I feel a little tearful and full emotionally,” Bleavins said of her family’s time with Vanda coming to a close. “We’ve seen her connect with us so strongly. She loves us, and we love her, and it’s going to be hard to say good-bye.”

New Horizons will be seeking host families again during the Christmas season. For requirements and more information, visit their website at www.newhorizonsforchildren.org.

*A longer version of this story first appeared in The Herald Weekly Newspaper--one of the newspapers where I contribute.

Healthy Homemakers: Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup Review

I'm excited to launch the The Humbled Homemaker's newest monthly series, "Healthy Homemakers," with a review and giveaway of Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup!

Zarbee's sent me a sample of their syrup a few months ago, so I was able to try it out SEVERAL times this winter.

2011 was the year of the 100-day cough. Both of my girls came down with a virus (which I believe was RSV) accompanied by a hacking cough that lasted off and on all winter and into the spring. 

And Zarbee's came to my rescue! :) Unlike most over-the-counter cough medicines, which are not considered safe for children under age 4, anyone over 1 year can take Zarbee's. 

The biggest difference is the ingredients. When I did a comparison of other leading cough syrups, I found ingredients such as:

Dextromethorphan
Phenylephrine  
acesulfame K 
edetate disodium 
red #40    
propylene glycol   
and more....

Image by jeroenbeel

My thoughts on this were...YIKES! (To find out why, click on some of the links to the ingredients above!)


I feel much better giving my children Zarbee's, which primary ingredient is a blend of antioxidant-rich honeys and immune-boosting ingredients.* It's also 100% drug free!


After the 100-day cough, I can say it works. 

Unfortunately, my baby wasn't old enough to take Zarbee's this year. The result? My 3-year-old, who was able to take it, had a much more mild case of the cough--and got over it much, much quicker. (My baby ended up getting bronchitis and croup! Whew--I can't WAIT for her to be able to take Zarbee's next year!)


Even adults can take Zarbee's for an immunity boost. My husband and I made it through 2011 without catching the 100-day cough. There were a couple of times I felt a cold coming on, but I took some Zarbee's, and I never ended up getting a full-blown cold. 

Zarbee's comes in three flavors--cherry, grape, and lemon. I was able to try both the cherry and grape flavor because Zarbee's also sent me a few samples of their pre-dosed to go packets, along with a full bottle of syrup.  


My family preferred the grape flavor. We could detect the honey flavor in both. I wouldn't necessarily say I loved the taste, but it was much better tasting than typical cough syrups. 
 

Zarbee's can be purchased on their website, Amazon, drugstore.com, overstock drugstore, or at brick-and-mortar stores across the country. 


Be sure to check out their website and Facebook and Twitter pages. Zarbee's even has a live nurse to answer questions via Twitter! 


Zarbee's is graciously giving one of The Humbled Homemaker's readers a chance to win a full 4 oz. bottle of their all-natural cough syrup! 


There are several ways to enter this giveway:


1. REQUIRED ENTRY: Go to the Zarbee's website, and tell me one thing you've learned about the company.
2. 1 extra entry: like Zarbee's on Facebook
3. 1 extra entry: follow Zarbee's on Twitter
4. 2 extra entries: like The Humbled Homemaker on Facebook
5. 3 extra entries: sign up to receive The Humbled Homemaker via e-mail.


Click here to enter this contest! Winners will be announced Thursday, June 30! Invite your friends to enter! 


Do you enjoy reading The Humbled Homemaker?  Subscribe to receive posts via e-mail and find me on Facebook, here.  

*Zarbee's ingredients are: blend of buckwheat and other dark honeys, water, natural flavors, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), malic acid (natural fruit acid to boost immunity), zinc gluconate, tartaric acid

**I was not compensated in any way for this review, although I was given a bottle of Zarbee's to try. This review is my opinion. Others may have differing opinions. There are no affiliate links in this review.** 

New Monthly Series: Healthy Homemakers

Image by Kurhan

Earlier this week, I introduced a new weekly series, "The First Year," and I launched it with a mini series on breastfeeding with my post on lactation cookies. 


Today, I'm launching a new monthly serious--"Healthy Homemakers." 

If you've read my About page, you know I'm far, far, FAR from perfect. I've been SO humbled in the area of homemaking, but I know God has plans to teach me how to be a better wife, mother and homemaker. 


And I think striving to live a more healthy lifestyle--and providing ways to better my family's health--is one part of that. 


So, on the third Wednesday of each month, I'll be covering a topic related to health and wellness. From natural alternatives to children's medicines to supplements to exercise (oh--how I need help there!), we'll learn together how to be "Healthy Homemakers." 


Later today I'll be posting a review on Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup...and my readers will have the chance to win a free bottle! 


I'm excited to see what all I'll be learning through YOU in this series!


What health and wellness-related topics would you like to see The Humbled Homemaker cover?


Do you enjoy reading The Humbled Homemaker?  Subscribe to receive posts via e-mail, here, and find me on Facebook, here.  

10 Things I've Learned Since Graduation

Photo by fluffbreat

Caps and gowns. Speeches and tears. And let’s not forget the pomp and circumstance.

As graduation season is wrapping up, I’ve been thinking back to my own graduations—12 years ago for high school and 8 years ago for college.

Both of these days will forever stand out as highlights of my life. But as the years have gone on, I’ve realized the life lessons I’ve learned since both high school and college are perhaps the most important of all.

From the practical and mundane to the serious and sentimental, here are some things I’ve learned since graduation:

1.How to do laundry. That’s right—12 years ago I had absolutely no clue. My mom gave me a quick lesson before my parents moved me into the dorms, and I was on my own. Besides not washing my sheets my entire first semester (How was I to know how often to wash them?), I caught on pretty quickly. (No worries—my sheets get washed weekly now!)

2.How to cook. This has mostly come in the past 8 years. Even in college, I ate at the campus cafeteria. I started my cooking journey when I lived off campus my senior year. And I made a mean taco pie, spaghetti pizza pie and chicken pot pie. My husband wasn’t feeling the “pie” for dinner every night when we got married, so my recipe repertoire has expanded quite a bit.

3.To embrace each season of life—and to not waste time living in the past—or the future. Each life stage passes too quickly. I remember driving away from college with tears streaming down my face and thinking of all the wonderful memories I had made. Those memories are wonderful, but I’ve made even better ones since. For now, I’m reveling in rocking my baby to sleep and kissing my 3-year-old’s boo boos. 

4.Life won’t always turn out like you expected. Some of my dreams have come true. Some of my dreams have been shattered. God has used both to mold me into the person I have become.

5.Your heart might break, but your heart can heal—if you choose to forgive. 

6.Friends are not always friends forever, but there are a select few who will always be there for you no matter what. And those friendships come in all seasons of life. When I left college, I thought I’d never make another friend like the ones I had there. But some of my best friends today are ones I’ve met the past 8 years. I’ve found kindred spirits in co-workers, neighbors and especially in other moms.

7.The world is much bigger than Iredell County or even North Carolina. Since graduating from high school, I’ve lived with families in Costa Rica, translated for medical clinics in Peruvian villages, cooked on trash can lids in Puerto Rico, walked the Great Wall of China, trekked around Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, stood as a bridesmaid at my baby brother’s wedding in Argentina, befriended my Iraqi neighbor in Vancouver and moved back to my hometown. 

8.Being a wife and mom at age 30 is much harder but much more rewarding than traveling the world in my 20s. 

9.There are days more significant than graduation. The day my daddy walked me down the aisle to marry my husband, the day I found out I was expecting my first daughter—and my second, the days I met two of the most beautiful redheaded babies I’d ever seen (and felt I had known my whole life) after hours of intense labor: all these days have been much more memorable. 

10.No one will remember what you did in high school—or probably even college. But your babies will remember if they felt loved. And I need to show them how much I love them every day. This season, too, will pass all too quickly. And my little girls will be graduating themselves before I know it. 

*This story first appeared in the June 17, 2011 edition of the Mooresville Weekly.

Do you enjoy reading The Humbled Homemaker?  Subscribe to receive posts via e-mail, here, and find me on Facebook, here.  

Did you like this post? You might also enjoy Relay for Life Season: Faith & Cancer, Starting an action plan takes paper, ink & introspection, or Family Coach helps puts things into perspective.

The First Year Breastfeeding Mini-Series: Lactation Cookies

For the first post in the new "The First Year" breastfeeding mini-series, I thought it would be fun to write about my experience making lactation cookies this past weekend.

But what are lactation cookies? I didn't realize until after I posted on my Facebook page that I was baking them that some people actually thought these somehow involved a recipe using breastmilk!

NO WORRIES! These cookies are meant to foster healthy milk production...and it takes NO actual milk to make them!

Even though I breastfed my first daughter for almost 2 years and have breastfed my second for nearly 8 months, I had never even heard of lactation cookies until about a month ago. 

I received a Milkin' Cookies sample cookie in a swag bag at the All About Baby Charlotte expo. I honestly ate the cookie without even realizing it was supposed to help increase milk production!

Later, when I found out the premise behind the cookies is to provide a nutrient-dense snack full of galactogogues (ingredients like oats, flax seed and nutritional yeast that can help increase breast milk production), I wondered if I couldn't just make them myself. Sure, the pre-packaged cookies tasted great and are super convenient for busy moms, but they are outside of my family's budget. 

I scoured the internet and found tons of recipes for so-called lactation cookies. However, many of these recipes are chock-full of sugar and had just a little bit of galactogogues. 

I was disappointed, but I kept searching. I finally stumbled upon a recipe at Peaceful Parenting*. Although there are still things about this recipe I want to tweak (specifically, I'd like to convert the sugar to either honey or agave nectar), overall, I am extremely satisfied. 

These cookies tasted great (although not sweet enough for my husband!), and for those wondering, YES, I did see a very noticeable increase in my milk production within 24 hours! (It is recommended to eat 1-2 cookies per day. I liked these so much that I, um...ate quite a bit more over the weekend!)

I hope you all like this recipe as much as I did! (These are perfectly fine to give your children and hubbies! Don't worry--it won't make them produce milk! :) I actually fed these to my 3-year-old for breakfast. She LOVES them!


Major Milk Makin' galactagogue cookies
Recipe by Kathleen Major 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 3/4 c. rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c. almond butter or peanut butter (I used peanut because it's cheaper.)
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. whole ground flax seed
3 T brewer's yeast (found here, here, here or your local healthfood store)
1/3 c. water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 c. (12oz) chocolate chips (I recommend organic or chips made with non-GMO soy lethicin.)
1 c. chopped nuts of your choice (I left mine out since my husband is allergic to tree nuts.)

Directions:
Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.

In a large bowl, beat almond butter, butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, brewer's yeast, flax and water until creamy.

Mix in eggs.

Gradually beat in flour mixture. Mix in nuts and chocolate chips. Add oats slowly, mixing along the way. Place balls of dough onto greased baking sheets or baking stones.

Press down each ball lightly with a fork.

Bake 12 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Enjoy! 

Have you ever made lactation cookies?  Would you like to share your recipe?


*I have not read any more of the Peaceful Parenting's posts. Therefore, I can endorse this recipe, but I cannot endorse her blog.  

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