She made my day!

So after my last post, I was walking throught the mall with my best friend feeding Smiley. A lady who was working in a jewelry store stopped me and told me I was wonderful. :) She told me stories about nursing her two children and told me to keep doing what I'm doing and not be ashamed. She repeated to me over and over again, "You're wonderful. You're wonderful."

Thank you random jewelry store lady. You made my day. As a matter of fact, you made my week!

The Quiet Roar of the Breastfeeding Mamas

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in a dentist office waiting room with my mom and two kids. Smiley was hungry, so I fed him. I did not have one inch of skin showing, but a woman sitting next to us asked me if I had a blanket or anything to cover up with because her son (who was sitting next to her watching TV) was a teenager. Now believe me, I had a list of wonderfully snarky comments to say to her:

"Well I guess by now he should know what they're for."
"Sure. Here's the blanket. You can cover his head up with it if you like"

And so on. But I didn't say any of them. I simply said, "No."

I think that "No" is one of the most powerful words there is, and it is enough. There is no reason for me to make a snarky comment, no need to explain myself, and ABSOLUTELY no need for me to cover up. "No" is full of grace, but got my point across powerfully.

Am I sometimes uncomfortable nursing in public? Yes. But for every time I do it, I pray that another young mother sees me and gets the courage to do so as well. Or a not-yet-mama sees breastfeeding as beautiful. Or a child sees that it is normal. I hope that someone is encouraged by me.

It makes me sad that people think a nursing baby should be covered up. If I had been feeding him a bottle no one would be offended. But I refuse to give up what is best for my baby because of someone else's discomfort.

I will continue to nurse in public uncovered, and if you are a breastfeeding mama reading this I want to encourage you to do so as well. You make a difference toward making people more comfortable with nursing, toward normalizing it. If you personally do not nurse, make it easy on other mamas. Smile at them. Talk to them about their babies if they seem open to it. Just please do not ask them to cover up. Every step we take toward normalizing nursing encourages it in mamas who have not yet decided to nurse.

Preparing for the new baby

Image: handmaidenbymaria

We are well on our way to preparing for the new baby. I realized suddenly that we have just over a month left to get ready... and we were not even started yet! It's harder to get ready for your second child, because you are so busy taking care of the first one! I haven't really had a lot of time to celebrate the fact that we are going to have a new little one, what with hubby's new job, a big move, and a sweet little girl to take care of.

So yesterday I cleared out some room in Doodlebug's cabinet and washed and folded all the tiny little baby clothes we've been given or had saved. I got them all sorted by size and the very tiniest are ready and waiting in the cabinet for our baby boy to come home. It was so strange to think that Doodlebug used to be that size! We will need to do some remodeling in the RV so we can fit a chest of drawers before winter (winter clothes take up more space), but for now there is room.

There is so much left to do, and I seem to be in a fit of nesting. It has been very hot here, so I'm trying to get things done during the heat of the day when we have to be inside under the A/C anyway. I still need to preregister for the hospital and pack a bag for myself, as well as a bag of special toys for Doodlebug (she will be in the delivery room with us most of the time). If anyone has any recommendations for an AWESOME toy for a two year old that's pretty quiet I would appreciate them.

I've been trying to keep up with my blog and pre-write some posts, but obviously I'll be pretty silent for most of the month of May. I still have April, though!

A New Path

So remember those big changes I mentioned in my homestead update? Time to get them all out.

First and foremost, we're going to have another baby! I am due in May, and we are very excited. Doodlebug is going to be a great big sister. I don't think she really understands what is going on, but it's so cute to watch her feed and kiss her "babies".

Also, we will be moving soon. I am having a little trouble adjusting to this one, as neither of us has seen the town we will be moving to, and I've never lived this far from my family of origin. Plus, when we moved here I really thought that this would be our forever home. But, hubby got offered a job and it is a great opportunity for us.  We will be making a scouting trip soon, and I really hope it is nice there. I am determined to be content no matter where we go, so I am going to make the best of it. Even if we end up in an apartment, I will still be homesteading. It's more of a mindset to be as self-sufficient and live as sustainably as possible, and you can do that anywhere.

So there you go. Big changes coming for our family. Keep us in your prayers, please.

Aspects of literacy in very young children

Photo credit: emilywjones

This is part two of a two part series on literacy in very young children. If you missed it, be sure to see part one here.


There are many aspects of reading that we, as adults, take for granted, but we should not overlook their importance in the learning of young children. Here are a few:



1. Repetition- Children learn by repetition (as do adults, of course). It may seem boring to you to read the same book over and over, but to a child it is comforting. They pick up something new from the book every time. I quite often will sit and read the same book to Doodlebug six or seven times *in a row* before she gets bored with it and goes to pick another book. Don't try to force them to move on. Read the same book repetitiously knowing you are encouraging your child to learn.


2. Rhyme and Rhythm- Children love rhyme and rhythm. We as adults appreciate (or at least recognize) more subtle patterns of words, but very young children need something a little more obvious. A young child can recognize that "cat" and "rat" sound alike, even if they cannot understand why. Books that sound like music are also fun. We often sing our books rather than "read" them.



3. Character- It is important to fully develop the characters in eve the most simplistic children's story. Give the characters voices. Make animal sounds. Talk animatedly. This draws very young children into the story (Oh! Mommy's excited! Maybe I should be too!), and helps to distinguish one picture from another as characters.



4. Illustrations- Give young children time to look at the pictures. For older children who are actively learning to read, it is okay for them to guess what the words say by looking at the pictures. This teaches children to use context clues, an important skill they will need later in life.

Five Ways to Give Children a love for reading

 Photo credit: emilywjones

I believe that reading to very young children is of the utmost importance, but most articles I have read have focused on teaching an older child to read. I want to focus on the importance of reading in VERY young children (as in babies and toddlers). This will be the beginning of a two-part series on Literacy for very young children.


1. Read to them. A lot. Read children's books. Read adult's books. Read fiction. Read non-fiction. Read magazines. Read newspapers. Read cereal boxes. Just read. Out loud and often.


2. Give children access to a variety of materials. Doodlebug is only 18 months old, but she has constant access to children's books and supervised access to other materials. If I am reading a magazine and she wants to look at it, I let her. I let her hold it, point at pictures, and turn pages until she starts tearing it up. Then it gets put away until later and she can look at a board book, instead.


3. Listen to books on CD. They are still absorbing the words, enjoying the story, and building vocabulary by listening.


4. Let your kids see you reading. Not just on the computer (speaking to myself here). My brother and I always saw my mom reading, and we wanted to do it, too.


5. Go to the library. It was one of my favorite places as a child. We would explore the different sections and find new literary loves. My mom always had us pick a classic off the shelf before any others.

How do you encourage love of reading in your kids?

Stepping Away From the Computer

I have been making an effort to step away from the computer more. Too often I would put Doodlebug in front of the TV so I could have a "break"; aka computer time. No more. It's not like I was using the computer an unholy amount, but that I needed to step back and invest that time in real life.

A week or so ago I purposed to only use the computer when Doodlebug was asleep. Not only that, but I would have Bible-reading time before I got on the computer. I thought that there was no way I would have time to do everything I wanted to do online in just the short time that is naptime, especially if I had to read my Bible first. I thought I would have to cut some things out.

But I haven't. As I have used my time to invest in my family, God has multiplied my "me time". I have been able to (somewhat) maintain my blog, keep up on my reading and forums, as well as get some other things done. Yesterday I was able to take a nap in peace, knowing that I didn't have to get on the computer. I would "catch up" later.

Doodlebug is definitely more important to me. Do I still sometimes want to sneak a peak at the computer to see if someone left a comment on my blog or something? Of course. But it goes off when she wakes up from nap and no matter what it's not coming back on. I don't miss it, and I wouldn't trade those moments with her for anything in the world.

In the end, I just have to remember this: I don't want my daughter to grow up and remember my face glowing in the light of the laptop. I want my daughter to remember my face glowing with the light of life.

Keeping Cool When It's Hot Out

It has been hot hot hot here lately. We are big on going outside and making sure that Doodlebug spends lots of time in nature, but it's been too dang hot lately. I really don't want her to spend all day sitting in front of the TV. So I thought I'd compile a list of ways to keep cool when it's super duper hot out (I'm talking 110 degrees kind of hot).

~Go out early. I don't worry about the chores or anything else until we've had some outside time. We have breakfast and then head straight out to take advantage of the cool time.

~Stretch your time with water. It starts getting warm and we fill the baby pool. I can sit with my feet in the pool and relax while Doodlebug plays, and she can stay outside longer. (Don't forget to water your plants with it when you're done!)

When it's time to come inside:

~Bring out the "special" toys. You know? The electronic ones you hide because you don't want to hear them. Sometimes this helps us to get by without the TV. We also rotate our toys, so now is a good time rotate some new toys out of storage.

~Get out of the house. Go to the library, the children's museum, etc. I'm sure you can come up with a list of places in your town. Just go somewhere with air conditioning.

~Go somewhere novel. And I mean in the house this time. For us this means opening up the guestroom for play. It's a whole new world for her to explore.

~Play with them. Rather than trying to accomplish a bunch of stuff, why not take a break and enjoy your kiddos? Build a fort with pillows and blankets, play with blocks, have a tickle fight... anything to enjoy each other and keep them happy.

How do you keep your kids happy when it's too hot out to play?