mamaroots

clover love

Thank you so much to everyone of your fantastic support of the bluebird project- more listings coming tonight. It is time for Herbal Roots love!

This upcoming month Kristine from Herbal Roots has put together another great month- this time Red Clover! If you would like a chance to win a copy of next month's zine just leave a comment between now and Wednesday at midnight and I will draw a winner and e-mail you a copy.

Bonus entry points for following me and Kristine at our facebook fan pages:

mamaroots

Herbal Roots Zine

And while you are at it you and fly on over to Kristine's Herbal Roots home page where she is giving away a mamaroots wood Finch!

Have a good memorial day and good luck!

rebuilding bluebird

Jasper and I worked together to make our pattern for our bluebird- the official bird of our state- our symbol of hope for our community neighbors as they rebuild their lives, their homes, their worlds.  I have cried so much this week for this town torn apart.  I am also so impressed with everyone in this state I am so proud to call home.

Even in the midst of being in another round of tornado warnings- 2 more towns hit yesterday in Missouri, everywhere we are able to find ways to help.  The boy's school is doing a fundraiser, and there are food drives, shoe drives, a beautiful midwife giving free care, and so many other ways Missourians are coming together for Joplin.  The lines have been out the door at the blood centers for donations.

I listed the first batch of bluebirds tonight and they have all sold- thank you ever so much!  As soon as I have these ready  to ship I will be listing another batch.  Thank you so much for your help with the project.  The boys and I will be working on these throughout the summer as we see on the news each night that this is long term devastation.  

I will keep you posted to our progress in raising funds.  With love from the heartland-

counting blessings

I am sure most of you have heard the news of the horrible tornado that hit my home state last night.  I am holding peace and prayers for those  who have been affected.  Even though my community is about 170 miles away from the town that was hit- the sky was the most errie shade of green I have seen here in a while.  

I was actually at work in a basement location counting for our annual inventory when we heard the news. I am counting my blessings in my own life and hold space for all those who lost loved ones.  I believe they are saying it may be the single deadliest tornado since the 50's- my heart is sad tonight.

they're coming . . .

We are watching and they are coming!  Our 13 year cicadas are just getting started here in the midwest. I found a couple in the yard today and they are so much more tiny that the annual cicadas.  Our eyes and ears will be in anticipation!

It is the prime suspect on our learning list this week.  Silas' first question is wondering if they have ears! Looks like we will be tracking down the insect field guide tonight!  Hope you enjoy the inspiration for this new bug- never would have thought about making cicadas for the shop if it had not been for their return this year!

How about in your neck of the woods?  Any cicada reports?

make a little sunshine

Sometimes when it rains for 3 days and the temp drops below 60 degress you just have to make your own spot of sunshine.  Today that meant breaking out a bag of lemons and making some fresh squeezed lemonade.  Silas did most of the squeezing, spilt the first batch of juice all over himself, started over and all said and done we have a lovely batch of lemonade- cheered us up a bit and went great with taco salads with dinner!

Our recipe- about 1 cup or so fresh squeezed juice, 1/2 cold water, about 3/4 cup sugar and fresh mint- yep it worked.  Now how about a little of the real sunshine for tomorrow.

recipe for life

Hello all- sorry the posts have been lighter the past week, I have taken a little bit of a breather from the shop and did some spring cleaning/re-decorating at The Womb Room this past week.  It started actually on Mother's Day afternoon.  The boys and I worked together cleaning, moving, etc . . . something just felt right giving a good cleaning to the space that I have created to serve the mamas in my community and circle.  

So tonight as I am brewing a couple jars of ice tea on the hot afternoon for me and the boys I thought I would share a good basic recipe for creating a mama activism center.

1- Healthy amount of space-  Having a dedicated space really is helpful.  You might check around in your community to see what you can find.  I have the fortune of using the top of a house that is owned by my doctor.  It really fits our need.  Having a dedicated space allows you as the host to create a nest of comfort for mamas to come and relax in outside of their everyday world- house, work, etc.  The space I have has a library, a giving tub for items people want to share, a kitchen area, and a main gathering room.

2-spinkle of art- I love combining beautiful art and fabric in the space.  Art that empowers us as mothers and women.  I have a leaning towards red- hence the redecorating in the main gathering room!

3-dash of books- the lending library is stocked with all empowering books that are hard to find at the library.  These do not all have to be new books- try finding them used when you can.  

Mix these all together well with programming surrounding sharing real experiences as women, as mothers.  The space respects each other's privacy by creating a safe place to talk.  Because I am so craft oriented there is usually some crafting of some sort happening.  Other activities include activism, blessingways, ceremony work, and general tribe building.  Almost always potluck style food and drink are shared and I ask for a donation when the space is used.

Don't be afraid to have some basic ground rules, don't be afraid to ask for help, start small and watch it blossom.  Social networking sites really help you stay in touch, Facebook Fan Pages and Yahoo Groups are great ways to create events and share the information.  

I will be taking some new pictures this week to share of the updated space, but even if you don't have that magical space, there is pure magic just in women gathering.  I hope that you are able to continue to build your tribe around you!

This week we are crafting with Kombucha and learning all about brewing this great elixir!  For my local mamas- I am getting things arranged to have 1 day a week set hours that The Womb Room will be open- keep you posted!

mama

ahh for the love of breakfast in bed, pipe cleaner flowers, and a whole coupon book to redeem!  Happy Mother's Day all!

tin for ten

Yep the official gift for 10 year wedding anniversaries- tin.  I decided to take an old tin can and add it to the back of my bike last Saturday as we rode around the corner to this beautiful old house Bed and Breakfast that we stayed at on our wedding night 10 years ago.  We then rode to have dinner at this awesome restaurant that our friends own.  It use to be a bar and yep that was were we decided to get married.  

My goodness- old house, bikes, clawfoot tubes, and yummy food- pretty wonderful way to celebrate our 10 year anniversary that is official today.  Now I am ready for some margaritas tonight!

Thanks to my amazing friend Amy for taking our pictures, she is truly fantastic both as a friend and as a photographer- any of you local folks should check her out!  And if you are local this is the best Bed and Breakfast in town- treat yourselves!

Of course big shout of thanks to my amazing partner, my best friend, my love- my hubby!

bear hugs!

This is my first brief review of many of the e-readers flooding the market right now.  As some of you may know, while the boys are in school I work at a local bookstore as a book buyer.  I actually have done it for quite a few years now, before I even had my kiddos.  One of my first loves- books.  From the time I sat in my mamas lap reading at a very young age to college when it made the most sense to get my degree in English- literature to now working at a bookstore and honestly struggling with some of the biggest changes our industry has had in ages.

So recently I attempted to read my first book on a e-reader- the Nook.  I thought I should familiarize myself with the new reading technology.  Honestly I could not do it.  I might be old school, but I ended up going back to the paper format with a huge ahhhhh as I turned the pages.

So adults- make your pick, e-book or paper I am thrilled that you are reading.  I am not sure that the e-readers have any less of a carbon footprint than the paper used in books.  But here is my soapbox moment- I am really saddened at the thought of children being read their books by an electronic device- yikes!  I am worried about children not being held and feeling their parent's strong shoulders behind them as they read, as they feel the pages, as they see the brilliant art- no wires, just a book.  There are some studies also being done that are looking at how we learn comparing electronic reading and traditional books and what they are initially finding is that we are more inclined to learn more from paper books.

So in honor of Children's Book Week give your kiddo a big giant bear hug and let them curl up in your lap with a book- I know you won't regret it!  We are particularly enjoying this new version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Gerda Muller.  It has a slight gypsy caravan element for Goldilocks, beautiful pictures and very gentle bears that help teach Goldilocks manners before she catches back up with her traveling troupe.  I recommend it!

Read and extra book or two this week- what are some of you new favorites?

Happy May Day!

Welcome be thou- faire, fresshe May- Geoffrey Chaucer

Hoping your May Day brought you some secret flower joy!  I celebrated my upcoming 10 year wedding anniversary with my best friend, my love, my hubby last night and then enjoyed making some secret May Day deliveries on my way out to my folks to get my fellas picked up!

This year some little pixies begged to be made, and I loved re-purposing some lovely burlap that I had received from my secret St. Nicholas a couple years ago- they worked great for the cones this year!  Top it off with some seeds and of course Pixie Sticks- took me 3 stores to track those down!

Enjoy and happy May!  There are a few more pictures here, including years past, so fun to remember the fun of sneaking up to the doors!