the home health kit

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from my daughter's school with all the forms I need to submit, lists of gear she'll need to keep her warm during outdoor play, and a lovingly written reminder to keep sick children at home.  

That last part really got me...  

I'm just not ready for cold and flu season.  Not even close.  I want to hang on to this blissful summer (it's been a healthy one, for the most part, for my children).  But I will endeavor to be an adult about this.  

This blog post from Rachel at LuSa Organics, one of our manufacturers, reminded me to begin putting together a home health kit.  The post focuses on whooping cough remedies, but a lot of the remedies are good for overall immune support.

Oh dear, I really am going to miss her...

Aviva Jill Romm's book also has a great list of herbs and remedies to have on hand.  I love this book and have consulted it many times.  I mean, a bag of heated salt as a remedy for nausea?  I never would have guessed.

Stay healthy this winter!

baby feet

I love baby feet.  Look at my profile, and you'll see.  I've already declared my love for them.  The way they turn in, as if in prayer.  Love. 

My son's feet at four months old.  Photo courtesy of Iris at Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life

During a family photo session, I asked the photographer to take a photo of my children's feet, side-by-side.  I needed a record for posterity. 

My son at nine weeks and daughter at age five.  Photo by Amanda Herzberger at Orchard Cove Photography

  
Have I convinced you about my love for baby feet?  What to do to protect these precious feet when the weather cools?!  I'm going to turn to Kina's organic lambskin booties.  Warm, breathable, butter soft...and slaughter-free.  And they stay on.  Really.  Booties, toddler slippers, and hats...now in stock at UrthChild.

And here's the proof that I truly love these booties.  

My son at nine weeks with my husband.  The little guy is wearing Kina booties in chocolate, and dressed in Kina's sister company NUI Organics.  This photo makes my heart sigh.  Photo by Amanda Herzberger at Orchard Cove Photography

recent book and movies

I am a huge Downton Abbey fan, and when I saw a review on NPR that billed The Uninvited Guests as the perfect read for Downton fans, I ran to the library to snag a copy.  I found it to be so strange, eerie, and grotesque -- like a modern fairy tale.  I stayed with it until the end, but I felt kind of icky as I was reading it.  Aside from Smudge (whose Great Undertaking was brilliant), the characters were not the kindest lot in the world.  Still, it was a good read, and like a good fairy tale, there was a happily ever after.

Another NPR recommendation was Pure.  I read this and then quickly developed mastitis.  I don't know if the two were related, but I think they were:  The book just depressed me.  To the author's credit, his writing is so vivid and his descriptions of pre-revolutionary France so precise, it was hard to remember I was actually in 2012 Connecticut USA.  The grim subject matter, the filth and foulness, all of it...Pure  became a bad feeling I couldn't shake off.  I understand why this book is critically acclaimed (and I believe it deserves the credit it has received), but it was simply not my cup of tea.

Thank goodness for the next book:  Growing a Farmer by Kurt Timmermeister.  I absolutely adore this book, as I do most books on farming.  But this one is different.  First, Timmermeister is so self-deprecating, so funny, I laughed out loud at the same farming mis-adventures I've read about in other books a dozen times before.  Second, I loved how he sees farming through the lens of business.  He had owned restaurants before he ventured into farming, so cash flow and balance sheets were wisely a part of his farming approach.  Even if you don't love farming or business, give this book a try.

 

Finally, a guilty pleasure.  When I was recovering from mastitis (the worst bout I've ever had!), I was browsing through Netflix.  I wanted something fun and not at all serious.  I settled on Strictly Ballroom, and don't regret the time I spent watching it for one second.  I had heard of the film before, but other than name recognition, I knew nothing about it.  What fun!  Outrageous costumes and make-up, ridiculous dancing sound effects that had me laughing out loud, and a sweet love story.  I loved how the movie pokes fun at the world of ballroom dancing, but at the same time, conveys the beauty and emotion of dancing.

store sale - 40% off select Kate Quinn Organics baby gowns

When I was pregnant with my first baby, 

my high school mate Ed gave me one piece of advice:  

Stock up on baby gowns!  

He was so right.  

Both my babies lived in baby gowns, sleepsacks, infant sacques...

whatever you want to call them.

For a limited time, select Kate Quinn Organics sleepsacks are 40% off.

Notice the elasticized bottom?  Keeps legs and feet covered, and makes diaper changes easy!

Baby boy or girl, both look oh-so-sweet.  Organic pointelle knits, sweater knits, whimsical prints.  Love.

sun tea

Just in time for the hot sun, 

one of my favorite blogs, Wilder Quarterly, had a great post about sun tea and 

various garden herbs you can use to make a healing drink.  

The other day, a headache hit me.

I remembered reading in Wilder's post that lemon balm is a headache remedy.  

Hauling myself off the sofa, I rambled with my daughter to our garden, 

and she happily plucked some lemon balm and placed it into a mason jar.  

We filled the jar with water and set it in a sunny spot to steep for a bit.  

The result?  Delicious tea and a headache soothed by either the magic of the herb 

or the feeling of creating a remedy from something we grew (or both).  

ready to take the leap

I've always been a little shy on the internet. 

Cables, wireless, social media have always seemed like a mystery to me. 

On the other hand, I've loved learning from others through their blogs. 

So, I'm finally ready to take the leap. 

Here's hoping UrthChild's blog will be a warm place for us 

to muse about life, health, food, babies, children, homes, gardens, 

farms, remedies, and so much more… 

 Here we go...