Ewephoria Knits, shout out some love!

There are some really wonderful people I've had the pleasure of purchasing from over the last several months; I'd like to do some shout outs so you can be introduced and hopefully fall in love with their work, too!

Today I'll be introducing you to Ewephoria Knits!

At some point I realized I wanted a car jacket for Annie- and it needed to be baby friendly wool. I'm a bit particular on patterns and it wasn't until last minute that I came across the Shluttli pattern. Then, being so close to the end, began a desperate hunt to find one in time!

In my Google search of the pattern I was blessed to come across a listing Kelly of Ewephoria Knits had in her Etsy shop. It wasn't quite the right size, though! On a whim I decided to ask her if she might be able to make another for me that could get to us in time. She didn't think she could get it to me before Annie's birth but at least it would be soon after. Even with getting to pick out my own yarn and buttons, Kelly managed to do both beautiful work and beat my prenatal clock!

 Is it not perfect? We've worn it almost every day now! Any time we go out, on it goes. It is such a breeze to get on her and I love how soft the wool is. We get compliments on it all the time. The knitting is just flawless. What I'd give to have one in *MY* size!

Kelly's Etsy shop is on vacation right now, but check out her feedback to see some of the things she has done in the past(and loads of other happy customers!). Also scroll through her photo albums on facebook for more delicious knits and yarns!

Thanks, Kelly, and all the other wonderful work at home people that make such beautiful things with love and care.

Wordless Wednesday- And Then There Were Three

Watch out! She's gettin' crafty...

I decided for Christmas I wanted to make Annie's gift from us. I did some google for ideas, thought a lot, drew it out on paper and then... waited until the last minute! Ha! And my machine jammed part way through, requiring a dear friend to come to my rescue with her Viking. Hello, like how am I supposed to go back to my dinky Kenmore after that?!

Without further ado, Annie's Christmas softbook:

Back page and Front page- I put a layer of fleece between each side to give it a soft form.

Homebirth: Why it's not for Me

*Gasp*

What is she saying?!

I know this may come as a shock to some. At least, it sort of was to me after all the glowing 'reviews' on homebirth. So let me explain why I've come to the conclusion it just isn't for me. Apologies for the ensuing novel! I kept trying to cut it back and gave up.

Here chick, chick, chick!

Well, so much for blogging about the ladies as they grew from chick to hen! I've got some pictures at least saved up to share that I hope you'll enjoy!

Cheep cheep! The day we got them(in the mail)

Introducing: Annie

Annie, 11-18-11, 2:30am, 8lb 8oz, 21in

We're 11 weeks out now from our birth and I think it's time to introduce my peanut and get her birth story down!

In my prenatal meetings with the midwives and doula, I told them this wasn't going to take long. That my labor would start at night, I'd estimated it at 4 hours, and if the Hypnobabies was working I wouldn't appear to be as in labor as I was. Check, check, and check.

Homebirths, chickens and a bushel of blueberries

I feel a little like a stranger on my own blog. It's been a long time since I've felt ready or wanting to put pen to paper! It's difficult to know where to even start as the past couple months feel like such a long journey.

Starting with some easy things I'll note and expand on via separate posts:

Chickens. Yes, we finally bit the bullet and should have baby chicks arriving next week about this time. Crazy? Of course! It's how we roll. We're starting with 6- 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes, 1 Rhode Island Red and 1 Black Australorp. Truly I'd be happy with 4 but am attempting to plan on beginner mistakes... though hoping that doesn't happen! We have the brooder pretty much ready, coop plans bought and now just need to get going on materials and coop constructions. It is exciting and seems like well timed now that it isn't so insanely hot anymore! Pictures to follow, of course!

Berries! The last few years I've gotten most of our berries from a combo of our own yard and my mom's. However I lost my strawberries and raspberries last year and had to start new this year. The strawberries did fine but didn't bear(normal, won't until next year). The raspberries for some reason just didn't make it. Odd, as for once we hardly flooded at all in the backyard! The two blueberries plant near the dead raspberries seem to be doing well, so I'm going to be adding 2-3 additional blueberries in that particular spot. Not one to give up, we'll be building a couple raised beds behind the new(to us) swingset this fall and putting raspberries there.
This is a lengthy prelude to what I really wanted to talk about, The Berry Patch! Because we didn't have our own I had to look elsewhere; found a lovely berry patch about 30 minutes away. We went 2 times and came back with literally 20 pounds of berries. I'm not exaggerating in the least. Most were blueberries but also got red and black raspberries. Not this weekend but the following I hope to get back there again for some blackberries, raspberries and more blueberries. We did jam, syrup and vinegar from the blueberries. The others I froze and have used either in muffins, pancakes or on granola and oatmeal. It really is so fun to go as a family and pick berries together. I highly recommend finding a local patch and doing just that very soon!

Last but certainly not least, homebirths. After much research and soul searching, we've decided to switch from our hospital midwives group to a local CNM and a homebirth. My first birth was the traditional hospital OB; second a hospital midwife. While the hospital midwife birth was hands down a better experience than my OB, there were still too many routine interventions that got in the way of the kind of birth I feel is best for us. It will cost more than a hospital birth. Money certainly isn't free-flowing here but it's a priority and we will make it work. At a later time I'll write more in-depth of how and why we arrived to this decision. I will say this, if you are pregnant, planning on becoming pregnant, please pick up Ina May Gaskin's, 'Guide to Childbirth' and Henci Goer's, 'The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth.' They are thus far the most informative books I've read on the process of birth.

May everyone be finally getting to enjoy beautiful weather!

Roundup and Birth Defects Study released

Did ya'll catch this study that was released by Earth Open Source?

Roundup and Birth Defects - Is the Public Being Kept in the Dark

It's a very thorough look at what's gone on in the European Union regarding experimentation and regulation. Right up there with the PCB fiasco pretty much.

More and more people are becoming aware of what's happened to our food source over the last few decades. The fox entered the hen house for sure and our regulatory agencies have long been bought out by corporations. In the age of so much readily available information and rapid communication, it's my hope that we can organize, demand and change.

Over the past several weeks(while I wasn't blogging) I tagged more GMO type articles to share with those of you that may be interested. Hopefully some you haven't seen. Knowledge is power! Decide for yourself.

Cancer cause or crop aid? Herbicide faces big test

US subsidizes Brazil's cotton to protect Monsanto's profits

Toxics in our kids' foods: Where is the FDA?

Scientists warn of link between dangerous pathogen and Monsanto's Roundup(***warning***sad picture of late term bovine spontaneous abortion)

(About the PCB situation I refer to) Monsanto Hid PCD Pollution for Decades

Health Scandal of the Decade- Monsanto's GMO Perversion of Food - I *really* like this one for explaining what's going on and why we should be concerned.

Thinking Ahead- Do I want to hire a Doula?

It's still crazy to think I'm almost half way through this pregnancy. I say crazy, because I know just how fast arrival time can sneak up on you after 2 full term pregnancies! Sure, the last couple weeks might drag but all in all, it really goes by so quickly.

There are a few things I've been mulling over regarding how we might want to proceed come The Big Day. One thing is a trying to determine if we'd like to hire a Doula. ERGOparent Magazine had a nice little post on Inviting a Doula to Your Birth that got me to think about all of this. Don't you just love the internet? I've never had a doula present before. We have been blessed to have our sister in law (an L&D nurse) with us for our previous births. And while I love her to death and we have the same end goal, we still have different ideas in how best to get there!

My husband is on board with how we'd like things to go(under ideal circumstances, of course). But the poor man turns into a deer in headlights when push comes to shove. Pun intended. We tried using Hypnobabies with the last pregnancy and really loved it. It really helped us feel more connected to the pregnancy rather than it just being me alone. It also helped us fall asleep every night in record time! In fact, we will begin going through the program a second time very soon using the Home Study course. However, again, everything we practiced for our son's birth flew out the window when he panicked. Poor guy!(Poor me) He needs almost as much support as I do!

There were also a couple of things that I believe may have gone differently had we a champion of sorts there to speak for us when I was otherwise occupied and my husband stunned speechless. For things like, demanding a wireless fetal monitor so I could walk- along with an IV thingy on wheels. Or at the end, being flipped on my back when I explicitly had noted I did NOT want to birth on my back. Just to have someone there able to keep their head about them for things like that would be really nice. That's where a Doula would hopefully come in. A Doula's purpose isn't to take over the role of the birth partner, but rather to help give a little direction when they don't know what to do to help.

Thinking about giving birth a 3rd time does in some ways scare me. It shouldn't. But it does. I know it's really important to get on top of those fears immediately so as to be better prepared and relaxed at the end. Giving birth is such an interesting mental process. If I can just get myself to a place where I feel safe and relaxed(as one can be while pushing 7+lbs out) then I know all will be well. Having someone experienced, on my same 'birth page' so to speak, would definitely aide that process.

So, I'm mulling. I do that a lot. I'm a muller. A very slow decision maker. But really this one is a no-brainer to me. The only hard part is figuring out which Doula to choose! (Oddly enough, despite our midwife shortage, we have an abundance of Doulas in our area. Go figure.)  I'll be considering how many births they have attended, what their philosophies are, their birth experiences, cost, etc.

And then I'll have to decide. Will let you know how that goes! I'm actually really excited about this. Whew for some rays of sunshine!

If you'd like to learn more about Doulas, please visit DONA International.

Sigh.

"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.

"So it is."

"And freezing."

"Is it?"

"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."

Winnie the Pooh and friends are Trademarks of Disney. Quotes are taken from Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne.

And so it seems things keep going. It's been horribly dry in our area for a long time and we needed rain desperately! Finally got some last night and today. But unfortunately with it came not one, not two, but three hail storms. The first was marble sized, the second pea and the third mixed with half-dollar pieces. We were totally mentally prepared for flooding. But hail? Not so much. 

I can see leaves everywhere but am afraid to look too closely. Haven't even put on my glasses for the day. I don't want to see what the damage is to my gardens. It sounds so trivial, but the gardens were about the only thing going right and a sort of brief escape for me while working in them. 

I know most things will bounce back eventually. Just really bummed and wanting to drown my sorrows in my crossword puzzle book and a carton of ice cream. Preferably Maggie Moo's dark chocolate with gummi bears and peppermint patties. 

At least tomorrow is Friday?