Ultimate Mommy Favorites

                                 Dear Quin: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; 

                                  Before you were born I sanctified you. ( Jeremiah 1:4 NKJV )

My motherhood motto: Less is truly more. Don't over do it, and if you think you might be, you probably are. We tend to want our children have the world but we cause more stress than needed. All a baby really wants is kisses, a clean bum, and a boob.

 I have been thinking of making my "Favorite's List" for a while now and since a friend of mine asked me about cloth diapering today I decided to just make a list of  Go To brands I loved during all my pregnancies and motherhood of the baby stage. Here are a list of my tops: Hope this helps Paige, so happy for you!

Carriers & Strollers:

If you are a parent of just one child or pregnant and plan to have more please save your money save your time and buy ONE good expensive stroller. Over the course of 6 1/2 years I have owned 7 strollers, 3 jogging, 2 umbrella, 1 snap and go double, and 1 infant car seat/stroller combo. And 4 different car seats. If someone would have said this to us before I would have appreciated it.

" You will buy the snap and go, then realize the baby outgrew it. Then you'll get a double stroller then realize the wheels don't work well. Then you have two toddlers who are heavy in another stroller with a brake that is weird. And don't eve ask about an umbrella stroller with two plus kids, it doesn't work."

Best infant car seat with adaptable stroller:

                                                                  philandteds.com

Why we love Phil&Teds: It adapts from newborn seat all the way to holding a 50 lbs child. (Harp is 6 1/2 and is just now 50 lbs.) Also you can buy a $90 second seat when you have a second child and never have to get another stroller or car seat. Go to your friends and your local kids consignment for your other items and save up for this. It's worth every penny!


Favorite Baby Seat:

Bumbo-402-Baby-Seat-

Why we love Bumbo Seats:  This was an awesome gift we got from our friends Sharon, Scott and Stacia for Quin. She was able to see what was going on while I cooked or was playing with the other kids. LOVED it!

Favorite Baby Carrier:

  

mobywrap

Why we love Moby Wraps: This is a product we got off of Target.com but sparked my interest back in 2004 while in Africa. Moby's are just a more modern and sleek version of a basic baby wrap used all across the world. This is a very long piece of heavy and durable material that with a unique design can be formed to hold as much as a 30 pound child. Some days you'd find me playing with the older two in the yard with Q in her Moby only to see my friend next door gardening with her son in his Moby. They are very affordable considering you can use the daily and for many years. Tons of colors and in organic material, you can't go wrong!

Favorite online natural toy stores:

bellalunatoys

babynaturopathics

hazelnutkids

On Etsy:

OrganiLuxe

MamaMadeThem

MagnoliaNurseryDecor

Why we loves these shops: I have found endless well made products from Keptin Jr dolls, Ezri play food to handmade all natural products made from moms. I love supporting other moms who share the same passion to help keep our children safe while they grow with what they make. I have purchased many items from both Leah, Cheryl and Sam. All these women are great to work with! Everything I've bought from these stores have held up through 3 children in 6 years.



Favorite Toddler Car seat (12months - 4+ years):

                                                                   www.toysrus.com

Why we love Britax Marathon Car Seat: These are expensive, but we call these the lazyboys are baby seats. They are huge and comfortable, incredibly safe and you can be more conservative if you don't like the cow print. My friends Dee and Val both have the cow and love it. Remember you won't need this until his or her first birthday. So let this be their big present from the grandparents, it's there one and only car seat until they are too embarrassed to ride in one.


Best Cloth items:

Why we went Organic: The O word gets thrown out there all the time but the truth is organic is as basic as it gets. If you want an all cotton washcloth, buy organic. Your parents always say " look you, you turned out fine." But did we? There is this cancer and that cancer, this auto immune disease and that mental health problem. Just because you are not a vegetable doesn't mean you are fine.We did plenty of research and with each cild we grew a little wiser. There are so many pesticides and herbicides they put in are crops that those things are still left when we buy something on a hanger at the store. If it were so simple to wash them off then the rain would do all the work for us.  Here are my favorite cloth nursing pads, bedding, cloth diapers & wipes.


nursing pads

waterproof crib cover

Soy-Signature-Soft-Blanket

Marvels-One-Size-Diaper-Cover

FuzziBunz-One-Size-Cloth-Diaper

Nature-Babycare-Eco-Friendly-Diapers-disposable

For wipes, I was told a great tip of taking a soft bath towel and cutting it into squares. Wetting and using them as regular baby wipes. They work great and can be wash along with the cloth diapers. You will no doubt save a TON of money this way but also some earth for your baby too.


Look on Craigslist and Ebay! Craig and his list are your best friends while being a mom.

I am visual, so watch an ehow.com on cloth diapering. babycenter.com has great nursing videos too! If you are pregnant or are planning on getting pregnant read the UrbanHerbalist herself's blog: want-to-get-pregnant-detox-before-doing-it/ amazing truth! Knowledge is power people.

Pupukea Cottage Part 1

Aloha!

The property

When I'm on the phone I'm usually standing here, we get better signal outside : )

The Kitchen

Living Area

Boys Room 

                                                   

                                                                      Girls Room

                                                

                                                                            Master

                                 
                               
                                                                      Garden and Backyard

I had to add these of this evening because they are so stinking cute!

I think they approve! 

More to come soon, night everyone! 

Feeding Forgiveness

We've all felt the consequences of heartache. Sometimes it being from others decisions and sometimes from our own. And we can either feed the pain by ignoring it, telling ourselves we are fine or we can feed our freedom. We already have the right to freedom, it has been given to all of us but it is a choice to live in that freedom. Choosing freedom of the mind rather than being a slave to our own thoughts and actions.

I have recently been diagnosed with chronic dry eyes due to my lack of connective tissue layer to my eyeball. This is genetic and will be a lifelong battle. This can be brought on by strain to the nerves due to stress. I know what you're thinking, " Who cares a little dry eyes, some drops, your'e good right?" I wish. My particular case does not allow me to open my eyes after the tissue has been punctured to a certain point. Which could mean something so basic as me waking up to quickly and squinting my eyes. I have been mostly blind in my left eye for going on my 5th day. It is... awful, at times I feel like I'm a little crazy. And I'm so over walking in to things, asking for things, being thirsty but not wanting to bug Richard.

He has been taking care of our house, the kids, and me all while working from home this week. Pray for this man, he deserves it, and he's done it with such patience. It's a little annoying how calm he is, which is why he needs even more prayer since he has a wife who somehow finds his loveliness something to blog about in a cynical way.

This week I  have had to accept I can't be in control, I have to let the house get messy, I have to hear my kids brake things and go on. Keep napping, keep hugging on them while they ask me why I'm wearing a pirate patch. I have to keep thanking my sweet husband for allowing the dishes to stack up, the kids be mostly naked all day, and every meal consisting of applesauce. If my stress and lack of care for myself has caused me this pain then I have to counteract it by feeding myself and those around me with love and forgiveness.

Feeding my love for them can only help heal my frustration with my health, my control over our home,  my relationships with them all. I think it is so important to allow your children to see your hurt, weak, but also see it is not the end. We are not superhuman, only humans wanting super statuses. Now pass the applesauce!

It Goes Around And Round

Merriam Webster describes giving with these words: To make a present, to grant or bestow, yielding to another, to commit to. Giving is something we all try to attain but how often do we actually attain it? Honestly, not often enough. We make excuses about how we don't have the time to give to our friends, our family and ourselves. We put so much before a well balanced living.

I wrote this post because a lot of my friends have recently enjoyed the taste of motherhood or are soon to be. I want you to know this early on in motherhood, and I'll try to make this clear...Ehem...FIND AMAZING WOMEN FRIENDS WHO ARE ALSO AMAZING MOMS! Was that okay? Now here's why.

 Looking for friendships with likeminded people who want to grow together is key for me. I personally am nurturing by choice, and a bit of an analyst not so much by choice. In friendships I give, freely and happily. But I do enjoy the return.

I am learning as I get older, to learn more about the person or friend I invest in. To not nurture, invest, nurture, without checking to see if they are even the type of person who is investing in my growth. Or even invests in their own growth for that matter. I am learning. I'm more careful not to hang out with someone because they are my age or even have children my children's ages. 

My season in life is a huge role in the people I bond with the most. My friend Abbey also has three children all within five days or a month and a half of each of my kids ages. My friend Deena also has two children who are the same ages as my older children. All of us have been with our husbands since high school which for Abbey and I is 8 years and for Deena and Tim it's been over 15 years. Both these women have a huge burden for our earth and how it will be for our children. Both of these women proudly wear their Mother Badge and would die for their children.

These things shape us, how we look at life, who we are to others. I know these two women truly feel the weight of my responsibilities because they carry the same therefore we admire and love each other for it. So women who have just dipped your feet into motherhood and have more single friends or married friends with no children be advised, this transition can get tough.

I am praying more, therefore I am listening more. I sure love to talk but I grow more when I listen. This might surprise you but I love growing more than I do talking. I could accept recent fizzled friendships as a somber loss in my life book. But without them, I listen less and I don't appreciate the beautiful women in my life I do have.

To Deena: I love you sweet Dee, I continue to be amazed and so proud of your passion whether it be room mom slash neighborhood everything, 13 mile marathons, or just molding great people in your home or at work! You are such an inspiration for those around you.

To Abbey: I love you my Abbey for all the years we've shared. You are amazingly strong and sweetly patient. You are a constant tug on my heart stings, you are such a balanced being with sometimes nothing but chaos around you. and I treasure your phone calls every time!

My First Love

  

When someone says My First Love you automatically think of that dreamy crush you had from school.  Or your first real boyfriend/girlfriend for more than 2 months. And then there's the guy who lived down the street from you, who secretly called you his first love. And professes his love through a drunk call when he finds out you got engaged. (It happens)

But I'm not talking about that kind of first love. I'm talking about the kind of love you can first remember giving or even receiving. That person who is almost as much the embodiment of your childhood than even you are. This person could have been your best friend that you shared all your secrets with, your parent who was your comforter or your sibling who was there for it all.

My first love is my sister. Alyssa is a beautiful human being. She was put on this earth for many reasons and one of the first on her list was to change me. Before she was born I was a lovely nightgown wearing, curtsy picture posing 5 1/2 year old, only child. I was very much put on a pedestal. Because I had lost my birth mom at 6 months everyone seemed to unconsciously know I needed more than usual amount of attention. Little did they realize that this six month old baby had already been wired to demand that attention as soon as she could utter her first words.

I can remember going to pick up my mom and new sister at the hospital and having to bring my own baby doll to feel included. Blahhh! I am so pleased to how much a child's naturally selfish and inward view can change so dramatically. Since I have had children I have realized what a HUGE role Alyssa was in shaping me to be a mother, especially a young one. She is such a blessing to our family, she is all my children's favorite person. They look at her the same way I do. She is the sixth member of our family. I challenge you to reminisce on your first love and see what comes about from it. How has that person inspired you for the better? I have already had a friend who did that recently which probably partially motivated this post. I love you Roo (Alyssa's nickname).

A dedication to You

The many faces....

I think I have The Thrift Store Cravings

I said it wouldn't seep in this quickly. I said it wouldn't be a big deal, or that we'd even have the money. Tonight some ladies told me how they shop at some as well, my eyes kind of got a twinkle in them they haven't had in nearly 8 weeks. It was in fact The Thrift Store Cravings!!! AGHHHH! I have to be honest my immediate thoughts were " Are they good? Do you go in groups? Where are they? "

Found this little treasure in Google images! LOL, What does this even mean? Richard said it was too creepy for the blog, soooo here it is!







Soon enough I'm sure I'll get around to going. Corrine already wants to plan a day of Costco extravaganza and April is having us over for Taco Tuesday. So am I adjusting to our living situation? Yes! Is it going as smooth as I planned, no! If I could plan things and they go accordingly...it would be like butta! That kind of living is not what we chose and it is proven far worth it. Our furniture still isn't in, which makes my "disease" to enhance throughout the day with Richard working from home. But, big But here, I AM adjusting. I am getting over be not being in control, I am getting over people we paid being rude (might be southern expectations I'm pushing) I'm getting over we'd lived in other people houses and out of bags for almost two months.

Me today crying before 9 am " That wasn't something I planned for, I just want to be done with all this moving!"
R " I know it wasn't, I know but you know what? We're okay aren't we?"

With a couple more tears and a deep sigh to where I could let go of my pride, I chose the truth that we are all okay, aren't we. : )

Is this real life!?!?? Parenting is not for the weary

What I'm about to write you is not a joke. These events have really happened and because you are reading them at your desk or on your couch feel free to laugh, loudly. 

We have successfully arrived to our new city Haleiwa, Hi with plans for an easy breezy transition to our home, furniture, and cars. Well nothing goes as planned BUT we do have a home (move in on wednesday). YAY! We do have our furniture  (just in storage until our new landlord can move his furniture out) and we found out today our cars are at the port to be shipped on saturday. (we will be picking them up at the end of the month, only took you guys a week shy of two months to drive from Atlanta to Long Beach, California. Nice job!)

 Another item on my list was to have family pictures done... Keep in mind I have been successfully

(by this I mean no one has been injured to where we've visited the hospital) providing for the five of us for a month and a half with just 1 rolling bag, 3 backpacks, 1 diaper bag, a single stroller ( I packed the detachable second seat! WHY!!!) and a whole lot of creative thinking! 

Richard was in charge of 3 things before he left. Because he was going ahead and I was staying behind and flying with the kids (best interest of the children) he had to pack his two drawers of clothes, get his laptop bag, and bring our stroller. When I took him to the airport he had the rolling bag, the backpack, and the stroller. I couldn't have been more impressed. Only 1 week after arriving to find out that he had only packed his top drawer of clothes leaving him with a pair of raggy cargo shorts... We found this out 45 minutes before the photo shoot! Because he wasn't prepared and behind schedule with work he decided to act like I had plotted this so he would not have to take pictures. His exact words "Well, you can have it your way, I'm not coming." WHAAAAAAAAT! Is this real life??? (mine & my sisters favorite new line) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

We planned to meet my new friend Corrine, who is an extremely talented photographer. I was wanting to somewhat have my stuff together considering I would be seeing her more often than not. We drove up, to the wrong location. We re-routed and found the farm. Next thing I knew our son had gotten out of the car as he normally does, but now he was gone. No joke I was standing in a dirt parking lot with 4 cars and huge fields on either side of me, he had nowhere to hide! My sister called for him, nothing. I called for him, we all called for him all the while I am holding back tears and thinking " What the heck does this woman think of me? I've lost my son and I haven't even gotten out my third child." He was blissfully looking into the pond water. But after I sweetly shared with him he was in serious trouble he refused to take any pictures. 

Then the baby got tired and got offended... my dream slowly became my nightmare. By the end of it I was glad we took them, I wanted a glass of wine and some solidtude, then feeling guilty I wanted a glass of wine for dealing with it all! Oh, the drama of motherhood! Here are the three so far, I'm hoping we have more than three good ones, hahaha! 

Corrine gold - whatadayphotography.com

Independence in a new way

Evolving from their mother country our ancestors, mine being Nathaniel Adams from England came over because of religious persecution. England split into two parties conventional and unconventional. It was no surprise to me when reading of our family lineage on my dads side that I come from strong unconventional leaders. We have two men I am in related to John Adams the second president through our bloodline and Thomas Jefferson the third president, through the bloodline of Martha Wales his wife.

And on my mothers side we have unconventional French tight rope walkers so all and all, my DNA screams unconventional in the political and lifestyle sense. Which I fully embrace and love. I am thankful to be from this melting pot of ours we call The United States. This is where an immigrant with $12 dollars and his pocket and a family to feed can start a profitable business in 2 years. I am hopeful that this young "teenage country" will continue to look at what has worked for us and what has not.

I believe the United States gets a bad rap most of the time because we act a lot like a teenager. Fast to react, getting right in the middle of things and with honest intentions but because of our lack of experience we can cause more trouble than needed.

This year it was especially cool to celebrate living in the land of independence. The fireworks at night with the older two and Q slept at home with Nana. Parking then walking on a beach path to a field was definitely the first of many new ways to celebrate that we are looking forward to. But what I'm looking forward to the most is seeing how this beautiful place we now call home will grow and develop new leaders in this family.

"In matters of style, swim with the current;
In matters of principle, stand like a rock." Thomas Jefferson