Looking for a Country Gentleman, but Found So Much More!

Preparing for baby girl has me crawling (figuratively of course)through every detail of her arrival. Maybe I fear her wrath should I accidentally expose her to dangers she’s not ready to handle. Like itchy skin caused by the hospitals standard use of disinfecting, cleaning agents followed by their petroleum-based use of Johnson and Johnson’s moisturizer for their care of infants. My radar was up and I was on the hunt for alternatives when up popped Christina’s Blog with the title of her blog post ” The Art of Soap Making“. A divine intervention for sure!! I found myself, via Christina’s post, in Lindy’s kitchen where I met Lindy as she cooked up soap in her kitchen, in her crock pot.

No factories, no foreign agents, no chemicals too foreign to enunciate, nothing artificial, she doesn’t even use synthetic fragrance. Just Lindy in her kitchen, with her crock pot and her pure soap making ingredients, simple,real, honest. What really got me was what Christina wrote about how the dog smells like a country gentleman. Who wouldn’t want that?

Since Tater’s last bout with fleas he’s/we’ve had to make do with him smelling like vinegar and dawn dish washing detergent – a tried and true formula for ridding fleas from your beloved pet, but not the best smelling. Now, I thought, he’s a good and faithful dog, he can even strike some pretty regal poses at times. Why shouldn’t he smell gentile and handsome-like, like a country gentleman would. Yes, I got side-tracked from my original soap quest for baby. But not for long. When I contacted Lindy I asked her if she had something she would recommend for baby and she did! My first order was 9 bars of soap.

3 country gentlemen, 1 for Cowboy, 1 for the Natives and 1 for Tater; 1 Vanilla Grapefruit; 1 Cantaloupe; 1 Ginger Lime; 1 American Honey; and 1 China Rain and

1- Plain Jane for Baby Girl. I’m not sure why she calls it Plain Jane, it’s anything but. The scent is soft, not overpowering, innocent and gentle. Perfect for my baby girl! The bar is packed and already it’s scenting our clothes with that “new baby” scent. As for the rest of the soaps – we’re loving them! They lather up thick, and come off clean without leaving any residue behind. What I really love most about them is the lingering scent it leaves on my skin. I read on Christina’s Post that it helped some people with eczema. 3/5 of us have extremely dry skin. Though it’s too soon to tell if we’ve found our panacea, I have noticed a softening in the Natives ‘crocodile skin’. My skin is extremely dry, especially this time of year, and I haven’t had to follow-up my showers with oil AND lotion. My skin is softer and we all smell fabulous! Great Post Christina. Thanks for introducing me to Lindy and her soaps. Lindy, thank you for these wonderful soaps! I do feel they’re made with exceptional care and love – exactly what I’d want to welcome our daughter with.

*If you’re interested in Lindy’s soaps you can find her at Sweet Harvest Homestead

OH Tater! He’s still smelling like vinegar and dawn soap.

I just can’t bring myself to use up one of these bars on him. He likes to dig in the dirt and rolls in the grass on sunny days. I don’t think he’d appreciate smelling like a country gentleman. Poor Tater Shrader. I hope he doesn’t mind.

* This is not an advertisement. Just my personal experience.

Ladies in Waiting

It’s not because my feet look like over stuffed sausages.

Nor is it the fact that I don’t trust my ankles to support my weight. I can’t even say it’s because I’ve outgrown all of my maternity clothes. My LG tee shirts are peek-a-boo shirts and my regular dresses are mini-dresses that expose my greatest of secreats – my men’s XL underwear!

36 Weeks

I like to wear them as pantaloons.

It’s not even because I have the bladder the size of an ant and that I sleep in 1-2 hour bursts because of it. Pregnancy is what it is and I try not to complain remembering that I’m blessed to be taking part of this miracle. But I’m through being pregnant. I’m only 3 weeks away from meeting this little girl and I’m more excited then ever to meet her! I’m dying to meet the little girl who kicks very elaborate paradiddles when she’s hungry. I’m anxious to see the little mermaid whose hair I saw floating in amniotic fluid.

I’m curious to see what a girl version of the Natives looks like.

I wonder if she’s as friendly in person as she appeared to be in our first sonogram picture meeting when she waved at me.

Yes, I am definitely through being pregnant. This little girl has us all captivated. Wondering. She’s even sent her ladies-in-waiting before her.

With every piece,

with every stitch,

our anticipation grows and we fall in love with her a little bit more as she gets a little bit closer to turning our world upside down. Until then her ladies wait

and I along with them.
Quietly,
patiently,
expectantly
ready to serve and adorn her Majesty.

Preemptive Strike

Rumor has it that as a baby I was a . . . . cry baby.

Eye witnesses who lived through my first days on earth will remember me as an inconsolable, finicky, miserable baby-blob of relentless wailing.  I so exasperated my parents that in their sleep deprivation they thought it was a good idea to make a recording of my cries of protest.  I think they might have made money from it by selling it to the military to be used as a torture device for prisoners of war.

Regardless, as the story goes, the only thing that would calm the raging beast they brought home bundled in baby blankets was a hammock.  My father set one up for me inside the apartment and in it I finally found the comfort and security I’d lost when I left my mother’s womb.

Now, 40 years later I know myself well enough to know that I don’t function when I’m sleep deprived.  I’m irritable, cranky, my mind is cloudy and I’m miserable.  I really, Really, REALLY would not make a good prisoner of war.  For some reason, I’m thinking baby girl is coming on the scene to punish me for what I put my parents through those early years.  Maybe because I was (I’m not now) high maintenance, I’m thinking she too will be high maintenance and that I’m ill-equipped to manage her, the Natives, school, the household – my life on zero sleep.  I’m really praying she has Cowboy’s temperament.  I’m really praying that she be a cooperative, cooing, gurgly, angel of a baby that will permit me at least five hours of sleep per night.  BUT in the chance that she is more like me then him we bought this -

A baby hammock! I’m feeling REALLY good about this.  My confidence rate is on the rise.  I feel like I’ve scored points.  Her first days on earth will be an easy transition from the security and comfort of my belly, to the security and comfort of her new home.  I know she’s going to love her baby hammock – I did!

What Would Ben Say?

I’m a die-hard researcher.  There is not one thing that I will buy with Cowboy’s hard-earned money that I won’t barter, negotiate, or research before one red cent leaves this house.  Cowboy sacrifices many of his life-hours to provide for our family.  Life-hours that we can’t get back and I’m not about to waste them carelessly or cause him unnatural distress to shorten his life span because of my lack of discipline.  I’d rather do without, or make do.  Not that I’m not susceptible to impulse buys,  I’m actually working on eradicating that vice,  I often hear Ben Franklin’s warning on various occasions when I’m out shopping –  but that’s another story.

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”
Benjamin Franklin

 Bringing home the bacon is hard work, yet keeping it is even harder.  I know that first hand.   Regardless, I consider it part of my responsibilities as the Engineer of Domestic Sciences so I don’t complain much and get my jollies over the bargains I hustle.

         Intact Butcher block solid kitchen table – FREE

Though to my chagrin I rarely encounter others of like mind.  I understand our profession is land-mined with unexpected twists and turns that can lead to frazzled decisions based on convenience.  I also understand that not everyone agrees on what’s research worthy to invest their time in.  BUT when I discover a like-minded individual, who has confronted the question (whatever that question may be), put in the research, sacrificed the sleep,  and come up with an answer to put their money behind it I know I’ve found gold in the answer and the person!

This past weekend I discovered such a person.  Not only did she do the research, come up with the results, tested to her satisfaction said results she also shared with me the proven product!  Cloth diapers have long intimidated me.  Not only was I having to deal with my own tortured memories of my mother’s handling of my little sisters stinky, leaky, nasty cloth diapers, I was also having to face the plethora of information available on cloth diapers.  Soooo many products to choose from, soooo many manufacturers, soooo many opinions  . . . the technology itself has changed from what was available 12 years ago (when I dared look into it for my first-born), to what’s available now.  All of it was brain-frying.  That she tackled the question was huge (and Brave), and that she shared the product with me is AWESOME!  These I can do.  These I can manage.  These are going to save us a boat load of money!

On a pricing scale $150 in cloth diapers will cover us from newborn – potty training vs. $800/* year in disposable from newborn to potty training.  Thanks to my kindred spirit, her research has added 72 hours of life/year to her Dear Uncle Cowboy. He thanks you, his family thanks you and good Old Ben Franklin would be proud of you!

Ben’s approving look

C.R.G – You will never know how much this means to me.  You’ve conquered that dragon for me.  Now I’m ready to forge forward with these starters – there’s no going back now!  I’m thrilled to know you’re there for future advice,  that you’re family and that I can trust your decision-making process.

* rough estimate, yet scale is on target.

Southern Winters

365/10

Brrrrrrr.  Beautiful Day today -  perfect day for a Native stick fight!

Heavenly Gifts

365/9

Somewhere in the southeastern sky, a little below Orion’s belt lies the star that Cowboy bought for me.  Years ago, early on in our courtship, Cowboy expressed his undying love and devotion to me by giving me my own star.  I’m still impressed by that gift.  His ingenuity, creativity and sincerity surpassed anyone/anything I could have imagined!  Now almost 20 years later he still knows how to make my heart melt.   But now,  how do his prodigy express their love and undying devotion to the woman they know as their mother?

They gave me the sun of course!  For my birthday this past year this is what they gave me.  Made be a local artist, I have it hanging in the front so it’s the first thing I see upon coming home.  These little guys have a way of making my heart melt, they sure are on the right track to being like their daddy.  I love being loved by these guys and the Natives do love me.

Southern Comfort

365/8

Today’s highlight is the southern gentility I’ve experience on a daily basis from complete strangers.  We’ve been here 8 years and it still surprises me.  Today I had a Dr.’s appointment.  I pulled in to a parking spot next to an elderly couple who had also just arrived.  I could tell they were watching me, so I looked up and they smiled at me.  I smiled back - it was almost like they were waiting for me to notice them so that they could smile at me.

Inside the Dr.’s office I had prepared a list of questions for my Dr.  Immediately upon coming into my examining room, he was already apologizing for his rudeness in keeping me waiting (it wasn’t long at all).  Once I told him I hadn’t noticed his delay since I was preparing a list of questions for him he immediately set aside his paperwork, sat down, crossed his legs and gave me his undivided attention .  He answered each and every question, as non-sensical as it may have seemed to him, thoroughly and to my satisfaction.  He didn’t make me feel stupid, rushed or unimportant.  He is absolutely worth his weight in gold!  He is like nobody I’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering from my home state.  I REALLY like my Dr. and that’s saying a lot for me since I have a general mistrust of Dr’s. (born from above mentioned home state experience).

  On my way out, I lost my car.  I had a giant air bubble in my brain and I didn’t understand why my car wasn’t where I parked it.  An elderly lady seated on a bench watching me giggled to herself and told me, “sweetie, it’ll be ok.  I’ve lost my car AND my husband somewhere in this parking lot!”  She didn’t seem worried, she was patiently sitting on the bench waiting for him to find her.

I finally found my car.  Two levels down from where I thought I’d left it.  And there they were, the elderly couple who greeted me with a smile upon my arrival, smiled and waved me farewell.