The Space Between

For the past 48 hours, my family has gathered around our matriarch as she transitions from this life to the next. My grandmother is 95 years old, and we have always been extremely close. I can vividly remember many nights spent at her house, not because my parents needed a babysitter, but because I loved spending time with her. Even though she has always been a lot older than my friends' grandparents, she has always been wildly funny and full of life. She was always dressed to the nines in the latest styles with beautiful skin and makeup that was put on just so. I remember feeling great pride in the fact that she was my grandma (and I still do).

She was a woman before her time. Even though she had a strong desire to attend college, it was not acceptable in her family for a woman to do so. She fulfilled her yearning for knowledge by being an avid reader and lifelong learner. Stacks of library books were always present in her bedroom. She moved to San Francisco in her twenties and worked at the Sir Francis Drake hotel. She lived the single life, and from the stories she told, she had a large time doing so! She moved back to Memphis and met and married my grandfather at age 30 (1945). But not before dancing at the Peabody with lots of handsome soldiers as they returned from WWII. She gave birth to my aunt in '46 and did not have my mother until age 40 (quite unusual in that day and time).

And now, after five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, she is nearing the end of her time with us. She is in that space between here and there. As her physical body proceeds through the stages of natural death, her spirit too is beginning to pull away from this earthly body. I have said everything that I need to say (not that anything was ever unsaid between us), and I am at peace. It is difficult, but I know she has not lived fully in the last year or so which has made her ready for the next part of this journey that each of our souls are on. I always wanted her to get to see me become a mother myself, and now that is a reality. I cannot ask for anything more.

I love you now and always, Grandma. May your passage be peaceful. Please say hi to my dad for me!




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{this moment}

Sleeping at Grandma's 

{this moment inspired by soulemama}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Mommy Time

Last year for my birthday, I was looking for something different to do to celebrate.  I came across GoGirl Paint Parties run by a local artist, Lisa Dick.  She holds them at her husband's restaurant, Buckley's Lunchbox, in the evening.  So, last year, I reserved her for a private party, and it was a blast!  For $40 a person, she provides the canvases, paints, and instruction.  You don't have to have any experience painting!

Back in high school, I really enjoyed art and took several classes.  Since then, I have never picked it back up for some reason (Sean even bought me an easel, canvases, and paints a couple of years ago).  After my birthday I promised myself I would take time to paint.  Then, you guessed it- life got in the way!  I haven't picked up a paintbrush since then, until last night, that is.  My friend Terry has been attending parties regularly and urged me to go.  I went last night, and it was so much fun!  There is something so rewarding about starting with a blank canvas and getting this:

So, I have recommitted myself to making time to do this thing I enjoy so much!  How do you make time to do things you enjoy?

Easy cooking idea

For a couple of months now, we have been buying whole, organic chickens from Costco for $10-$11 for two. I looked online and found out you can literally just take the bag of innards out and set it in a crockpot on low for eight hours. This means that as I sit here typing this at my Mom's house, my family's dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow is at home cooking with no work on my part! When I get home, I will steam some broccoli, and voilá, we have a low-cost, nutritious, weight watchers friendly dinner.

Now, here comes the kicker. After I pull all the meat off the bones, I just throw them back in the crock pot with a little celery, onion, garlic, and carrot, cover with water and set on low overnight. Now, the five dollar chicken has just made two meals and about four quarts of homemade, organic chicken stock!

You don't have to do anything special to the chicken, but you can get creative if you want. Today, I stuffed the cavity with fresh dill from Saturday's CSA and rubbed an olive oil and herb mixture under the skin. I sprinkled some Cavender's on top and left the house. I have stuffed the cavity with orange slices, onion, and garlic in the past, and that was a delicious combo.

Does anyone have any low-cost, no fuss, nutritious recipes to share?

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Elimination Communication

I just caught my first baby poop in the potty! Haha...only a mommy could be so excited about poop. Grayton was pretty excited too, he was grinning from ear to ear as I held him over the potty. I read a lot about EC before I was pregnant and during my pregnancy, but once he came I was too overwhelmed with the usual new mommy stuff to even think about infant potty learning. However, in the last week or so, it has been very obvious when G is trying to poop because he is having to work at it a bit since the intro of solid foods. Suddenly I remembered some of the diaper free concepts and thought, why not try?

Tonight, I read his cues, and he peed and pooped in the potty! I don't have any specific goal on mind, but as a cloth diaperin' mama, the fewer poopy diapers, the better! Plus, if I were him, I wouldn't want to sit in my own
poop. If I can help him with that, then I will.

If you want to read more about elimination communication, you should check out www.diaperfreebaby.org!




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Powerful Illustration...

I just came across a story on another mom's blog (read it here).

Really powerful...

This is a decision every parent of a son faces.  It is very personal, and I hold no judgment towards friends and family who choose differently than we did for G.