Nearly Here! Sorry For the Hiatus!

Well folks-Sorry the hiatus has taken much more than I intended! Getting ready for baby, decluttering our sweet little home, and lack of wireless internet at our house has culminated into well-the extended absence...which of course is no good for a blogger! I apologise! I am about 4 weeks-ish away from my due date already, and have nearly everything done and ready for baby. Amazing how simple preparing for the 2nd little one can get after you realise just how MUCH you don't really need;) Still-it is preparing for the new arrival that can still take some time. I have made some extra food items/ingredients/breakfast-y things to freeze and have almost become a pro at packing our little freezer. Ha. I have finally finished cutting out the material for my cloth inserts for my gdiapers, but I just need to serge them:D hopefully I can head over to my mother's house to accomplish this last task! My sweet mother and sister and friend Cinnamon are throwing me a blessingway/shower and I am so excited:D This little girl is surrounded by the love of her Heavenly Father, earthly father, and so many others that are praying for her entry into this realm. I am so excited! Homebirth here I come:)

Cloth Wipes and Upcoming Projects

Hello there in bloggerland! I thought I'd give an update with what I've been working on with my husband! More things on my "nesting list" are done, but more things have been added;)
We just recently made a trip to Zoom Baby Gear on NW Lombard in Portland, OR and purchased some GREAT fabric to make our own cloth inserts for our gDiapers!

If you live in the Portland/Vancouver area and have NOT visited this amazing woman's store yet, please do! She is a "diapering guru" and heavily encourages parents to strike out and make their own cloth diapering supplies, as well as carry an abundant selection of supplies herself from fabric, notions, instructions, and ready-made diapers and accessories. We spent $45 on 4yds of fabric to make about 45 inserts to start out with! We'll be making more, but that's all that we had moolah for so thanks, God for providing the funds for us to do this! (gdiapers makes great inserts, but they were $25-30 for 6 of them...you can imagine diapering 2 children and having to pay about 300 to 400 just for inserts to be able to diaper them both. YIKES! The three fabrics we chose are 1)2 yds of bamboo/cotton fleece blend 2) 1yd of hemp/cotton fleece blend 3)1 yd hemp/cotten blend sherpa (slightly thicker, looser weave than the hemp/cotton fleece, which is trimmer.)
With gDiapers, we only need 2 sizes (small and medium/large) so that works out nicely! My mom has a surger which she was blessed with from my Memaw in Texas. We have a sewing machine, but we figured it'd make the job more durable and easy using the surger instead of our regular sewing machine.
I cannot say how pleased we are with our gDiapers which have proved over and over to us their usefulness, durability, and cuteness!
We have been using them with Eoin since birth, and he is nearly 14 months, big boy, and just NOW growing out of his medium-sized g's! You can imagine washing them/velcro for over a year (and only running on 8 instead of the usual 12! ha.) the velcro was pretty worn out. Well I contacted gDiapers HQ which is based out of Portland, OR and Michelle from the gdiaper therapy department contacted me and said she could send me all of the velcro replacements for FREE! What a blessing that was! So, in preparation for getting these diapers ready for next wearer (coming in mid-November!) I have just finished removing all of the hook&loop velcro from the diapers and am now about to sew all of the new ones on!
Easy Peasy! I'll update with my progress when I've got some more time.
Also, I recently finished cutting out all of the fabric/fleece for my homemade cloth nursing pads. (the brilliant idea coming from my dear friend Lindsay over at www.passionatehomemaking.com) Those too will be going under the surger's needle when my mom and dad get back from visiting my brother and sister-in-law and their sweet boys stationed in Savannah, GA.
I almost forgot to mention! While at Zoom Baby Gear, the owner pulled out some scrap bins where there is just a bunch of leftover fabric, all of the natural variety and said they are the "freebie bins"! You can imagine just how elated I was because I wanted to make some cloth wipes! So I was able to snag a bunch of fleece, flannel, and sherpa blends all for free and cut them to perfect size for wipes! I brought them home, cut them up, and stuck them in a homemade solution of a bit of babywash, Burt's Bee's baby lotion, and water and put them in little plastic IKEA stackable tubs that I purchased @ 3 for $2.49! Brilliant!
Whew! So, that is what I've been up to lately! When the hubby gets home we'll be re-arranging our bedroom to accomodate our birthing tub and give us more space in general to move around in (at his suggestion;)...i promise we women are NOT the only ones who "nest". lol)
Here is a recent picture of Eoin napping his heart out!

Family/Pregnancy Photos

Hey all! Coming up on Bit of Earth...post on replacing the velcro on your GDiapers! (The company sent me all of the replacement velcro for FREE!) I am pressed for time at the moment getting ready for a wedding rehearsal I am singing in, but I thought I'd show you some LOVELY photos my friend Heidi Haden of Velvet Owl Photography did for our family!
Ten weeks to go until I am due with little Imogen^_^

Let Nesting Begin

My brain wouldn't sleep all night last night as I realised-after the midwife came for her visit-that I have only about 12 weeks until little Imogen will be entering the world outside the womb! Sure, I had my mental list of things to make/accomplish before she arrived, but good grief...3 months and now it's down to crunch time. (yes, the Firstborn mentality to schedule/plan projects in order to not have to rush to get it ALL done in the 11th hour.) So-just because I like writing lists, I might as well tell you what it is!

To-Do List Before Imogen's Homebirth:

*Sort through gender neutral/girl clothes I'd been saving
*Sort through clothes given to me by midwife's daughter
*Finish putting up organisation/pictures in Eoin/Imogen's bedroom.
*Start planning/saving a few meals for after the birth
*Make Nursing Pads (thank you, Lindsay for the post!)
*Gather supplies for and making cloth diaper G-Diaper Inserts. (It is a toss-up between hemp/bamboo at this point.) If you haven't heard of/seen G Diapers...they are phenomenal! We have been using them since Eoin's birth and have really loved how they have held up! For now we use prefolds, but are going to make inserts that are similar to what they sell on their website.
*Start/Finish Imogen's baby quilt
*Have a more concrete plan in place for a rough-sketch of how I'd like to handle early labour, etc. :)

Okay so there it is! I don't think it's too lofty^_^ I've gotten the first 2 done today. Micah will be helping with putting up pictures/organisation in their bedroom tomorrow morning! Woohoo!
My mom and I have also been thinking about shower-ideas...seeing as how this new one is a girl-and what we most need are just Gdiapers and their snap-in liners in all 3 sizes. We've basically got just about everything else, minus an odd thing here and there (like pants, skirts, leggings, socks, what-have-you). So we're thinking of maybe doing a "Cloth Diaper/Blessingway"-themed shower;) Any of you who know my awesome mom knows this is just right up her alley. She loves to throw a party, and throw it well:D So-just some ideas running through my head! Hope you all are well.

A Pause To Ponder-

The sky is attempting to spit out a bit of rain on this cloudy day-which makes me all the more excited for the coming of Autumn and the colours, life and richness it brings! So in honour of dreaming of England and of the Yorkshire Dales, I came across a wonderful poem that sums up one of the fondest of Yorkshire loves-Yorkshire Pudding:) (in my estimation tasted pretty good, albeit a bit "metallic" due to the...ahem...blood;) So enjoy and have a good chuckle or two-and if you can pronounce the Yorkshire broad accent, it'll make it all the more amusing!

Yorkshire Puddin (a monologue)

By R P Weston and Bert Lee 1940

Ay waitress, escuse me a minute , now listen,
I’m not finding fault but ere miss,
taties is gradeley – beef is reet
But wot kind of puddin is this

Wot, Yorkshire puddin, no – cum cum – CUM CUM
wot Yorkshire puddin tha say
It’s puddin I grant thee – its some sort of puddin,
It’s not Yorkshire puddin nay nay

Real Yorkshire puddin’s a poem in batter
To make one’s an art not a trade,
Now listen to me I’m going to tell thee
how first Yorkshire puddin were made

A young Angel on furlough from ‘eaven
Cum flying above Malham moor
and this Angel poor thing got a cramp in a wing
and cum down at old woman’s door

Old woman said “ee its an Angel,
I’m reet suprised to see thee
i’ve not met an Angel before but tha’s welcome
Cum in, ave a nice cup o tea

Angel said “ee thank thee kindly I will”
She had two or three cups o tea
three or four sally lunns, a couple of buns
Angels eat lightly tha see

T’old woman lookin at clock said by gum!
ee’s due back from fields is me Dan
Enjoy thee tea, tha must excuse me
I must make puddin for me old man

Then Angel said gimmee tha bowl
flour, watter, eggs, salt an all
I’ll show thee how we makes puddins in eaven
for Peter,Thomas and Paul

Old woman give er things
and Angel pushed back er wings and said “ush”
Then she tenderley tickled mixture wi spoon
like an artist would paint with a brush

Aye she mixed that puddin wth heavenly magic,
she played with spoon in dough
like Paderewski plays t’piano
or Kressler would twiddle is bow

An when she’d done she put it in t’oven
and said t’old woman ” goodbye”
And flew away leaving first Yorkshire puddin
that ever were made – and thats why

It melts in mouth like snow in sunshine
As light a a maiden’s first kiss;
As soft as the fluff on the breast of a dove
Not elephant’s leather like this!

It’s real yorkshire puddin that makes yorkshire lasses
so buxom and broad in t’ips
It’s real yorkshire puddin that makes yorkshire cricketers
win county championships

It’s real yorkshire puddin that gives me dreams
of a real paradise up above,
were at last trump, i’ll queue for a lump
of real yorkshire puddin I love

And there on a cloud away from t’crowd
In a real paradise not a dud un
I’ll do nowt for ever an ever
but gollop up real yorkshire puddin

Pomeroy House Scones

Happy Friday to all of you lovelies! I just made some scones this morning from a slightly-modified recipe from the Pomeroy House Tearoom, which sadly, is no longer open, but my sisters, mum and I used to go out there for their lovely tearoom and british foods and fare! So en lieu of the beautiful grey cloud cover today and cooler temperatures-sit down with some warm scones and jam, a good book, and a steaming cuppa tea.
(yeah yeah, I know the recipe isn't a "soaked" recipe (i.e. phytates broken down, but it IS a yummy little afternoon/morning indulgence and you can switch out regular unbleached flour for some spelt if you like! or use unbleached and add a TBSP or 2 of ground flaxseed!)

POMEROY HOUSE ENGLISH SCONES
*Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
*in a medium bowl, combine:
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
6 Tbsp. whole butter/raw butter, chilled
*cut in the butter chunks with a pastry cutter until chunks are no bigger than small peas.
*mix in all at once:
3/4 cup milk (raw or whole)
*mix with wooden spoon JUST until it starts sticking together and leaving the sides. don't overmix it or you'll get little round bricks when they come out of the oven.
*clump mixture together and gently dump out onto a lightly floured surface.
*press out and fold in half, repeating this for about 6-7 times (this gives it the "pastry-like" layers), then roll the dough out until about a 1/2 inch thick.
*using a small round biscuit cutter or a very small glass, dunk the edge in flour and press down. Repeat. DO NOT TWIST THE CUTTER! if you do this will seal the edges and they won't get all puffy and pastry-like!
*when you cut it all out, gently press together, fold twice, then press out again and keep on cutting out the scones until there isn't anything left.
*bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and it smells irresistible.
*serve with clotted cream, jam, marmalade, honey, or anything that sounds lovely to you at the moment!

So Many Things On the Mind-

Eoin on a family picnic day near the waterfront



We are getting settled into our cute little brick duplex. You should see my tomatoes and green beans...they're going insane with growth and produce! I have a few rogue tomato plants that decided to say "hello" and start growing as well-so I'm going to have to find some pots and more soil to plant them in...you know, the whole "don't waste the free food growing in your backyard" thing...I am SURE that is somewhere...written...said...who knows.
As far as the joint-garden effort at Mom and Dad's house-things are growing excellently! We just finished the raspberries and now the thornless blackberries are just about to start unloading their juicy amazingness on us. We've gotten alot of fingerling potatoes already and the pole beans FINALLY decided to perk up and start climbing after being overshadowed by the snap peas. I've been getting alot of great kale, which has managed to NOT bolt, and the basil, amazingly, is doing excellently! The heirloom tomatoes have an army of fruit on them...just waiting to ripen (the weather is VERY hot and dry this week, so I am thinking it will encourage them.) The Rainbow carrots have been doing awesomely as well! quite yummy, even the ones I thinned out I re-planted in a little experiment to see if I could continue growing them in better space--I am pleased to report they are THRIVING:D We're getting alot of yellow straightneck squash already and a bit of zucchini! Absolutely YUMMY roasted with some poached salmon;)
Our wee little family is growing more and more excited over the birth of our little girl coming up in November-we are naming her Imogen and wow...does she ever love to move within the womb! I had really missed that after Eoin was born, so it's nice to get to experience it all over again:)
I am excited and anticipating this upcoming year- (fall, winter, spring, so-on) to see what God will be doing in our little family. We are searching and discovering what intentional community and serving means-and where we fit into the body as such. It's a hard journey, but one we're really searching out and praying about. "Bloom Where You're Planted" the saying goes-but we are seeking to find where it is we are supposed to be planted, too! Wherever it is, we will thrive!
On a lesser note, I am once again gearing up to post little recipes I've been trying out! Maybe 1 a week or 2...I haven't decided yet. Something will be going down in that arena! I know I've said it/mentioned it several times before, but YES I am going to be more intentional about it!
For those of you in the Downtown Vancouver/surrounding Vancouver area, there is a local "Veggie Swap" going down on Saturdays from 9-11 a.m. at Marcell's Hemp and Latte House off of 31st and Columbia! It's a GREAT way to bring your urban gardening fruits/veggies/herbs and swap them for something else you're looking for. It's just starting out, but it would be a great way to connect and share the local bounty! (all of you squash and zucchini growers know exactly what I'm talking about here when we talk about abundance!) So if you can make it out, do so!
Have fun everyone-Drink ALOT of water...more water than normal...and thrive this week!

The Big Push for Midwives Campaign

Here is a great video-please take the time to watch and ponder. Get involved! Birth is natural-and something that God created. How will you respond?

Quiet Times and Anniversaries

I am here to post between washing and hanging up loads of laundry, but I just had to say what a wonderful day I had yesterday! It was me and my husband's 3rd anniversary, and we had such a lovely time! We dropped Eoin off at grandma and grandpa's house and headed over to the Pearl District in Portland and walked around. Had to get some spicy chocolate at Moonstruck Chocolate get some cinnamon and pistachio gelato at Aloto Gelato and drink in the nice warm weather. After that we headed over to Powell's Books and found a couple of great used books; Chronicles of Narnia all-in-one and Dr. Sear's Nutrition Book! We got out of there for 14 dollars:D
We were trying to decide between going to the Montage or Edgefield McMenamin's Black Rabbit Restaurant and in the end decided on Edgefield. So very Romantic! Micah had their Herb Roasted Chicken with grilled green beans and Yukon potatoes. I had their Pan-Crusted halibut with Garlic-Roasted greens sitting on a bed of truffle-infused risotto. It was surrounded by little mounds of grapefruit slices and avocado. Absolutely delectable! We then headed back over to Vancouver and went for dessert at Ice Cream Renaissance ...I had the St. Helens (homemade honey vanilla ice cream mountain with raspberry sauce, walnuts, and cocoa powder) and Micah had Dr. Chocolate. (everything chocolate...and I mean...EVERYTHING.) Then we headed over to pick up a very happy Eoin and went home. As you can see, we both just love walking around grazing around Portland and Vancouver:D. It was wonderful! If you ever get a chance to check any of these places out, definitely do so! Whether you enjoy crispy froglegs, mountains of icecream, spicy chocolate, or crusted halibut-these places are great finds and getaways...and the food, I assure you, is delectable!
Thank you, Micah for such an amazing marriage, for the wonderful passionate father that you are, and for being such an attentive and strong husband! I love you with every fiber of my being! Thank You, Lord, for all of these blessings!

Possibly the most important film you

Possibly the most important film you’ll ever see

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