http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog Natural Motherhood, Breastfeeding, Baby Wearing and Green Living. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:27:36 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Many families are in a situation where they're dealing with job loss or reduced income due to less work. For many, budgets are getting tighter and tighter. Even if the current economic situation hasn’t much affected you personally, you may still be taking proactive measures to be more frugal which is ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/falling-income-how-to-deal/ A couple of months ago I shared that one of my biggest regrets as a mom was allowing my son Julien to undergo oral surgery as a toddler. photo credit: Finizio I have found in this whole mothering gig that every time I ignore my strong instinct, I regret it. This is ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/no-benefit-to-filling-kids-cavities/ 4 days ago, a new person came into our lives. We walked outside to do who knows what, and she came running from across the street. She was beautiful. Gleaming blonde coat, perfect clean ears, even her paws looked pristine. But no collar and no (we were to find out later) microchip. Someone likely abandoned ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/let-me-tell-you-about-sally/ Did you see my recent post on cool food for hot times? Here are 3 more recipes for your dining pleasure. Enjoy! 3  No Cook Summer Recipes Tuna Salad (Tuna is full of essential fatty acids (Omega 3’s) which are good for your brain and heart, among other things.) Ingredients: 2 cans of tuna Juice ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/no-cook-summer-recipes/ http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ww-noodles/ photo credit: Sellers Patton Does a baby make it difficult to cultivate friendships? In my opinion, yes. At a time in a woman's life where she really needs other women, it's often quite isolating when you have a new infant. A reader wrote: "My biggest challenge is probably developing friendships and ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/babies-and-buddies-do-they-mix/ My guest this week is Dr. Richard Selznick of Shut Down Learner. He is  a psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist and author of The Shut-Down Learner:  Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child. Our topic today is the "high spatial learner", children who thrive with visual-spatial learning (the so called "Lego kid") but who ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/natural-moms-podcast-123/ photo credit: danya. This week's Ten on Tuesday asks what 10 items you would want to bring on a deserted island. Here goes: My kids. I don't know if that counts as 1, or 4. :-) My Bible. Lip balm. I'm sure I could make my own beauty products using whatever's lying around, but ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/tot-10-things-id-bring-on-a-deserted-island/ Summertime is here and we've spent nearly every day outside, often at the pool or just hanging out in the yard. The kids are getting as brown as nuts but noone has had even the slightest bit of red. We all hear how important it is to take precautionary measures to ensure ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/natural-sunscreens/ The other day the kids and I headed out to the park to enjoy the first really hot day of the season. As soon as it starts to heat up outside, I find my appetite waning for cooked and hot foods. I want watery, cold things. When it's summer it's too hot ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/cool-food-for-hot-times/ Shay tagged me with this blog meme. I'm supposed to list 6 "unimportant" things that make me happy. There are so many small things that make me happy. You could ask me this question every week and probably get different answers each time. For now, I'll choose a theme. How about summer? 6 Summer ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/6-unimportant-things-that-make-me-happy/ Holistic Moms Network is another amazing organization to help moms find their tribe. I interviewed Nancy Massotto, their executive director, a couple of years ago on the show.  That interview is no longer available but I highly recommend you find the group in your area if you want to find ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/pr-holistic-moms-network-announces-conference/ Yesterday for Wordless Wednesday I posted a picture of my daughter in our backyard. This picture was shot before we moved in. I had just her with me, the other kids were in school, and we were walking through the place with my landlord. She loves to pick dandelions. :-) I love ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/tmt-backyard/ I love living in an urban environment. But I've often said that I wouldn't mind living deep in the country, where I could have my own chickens and maybe even a cow! And of course the organic garden. This is a guest post from Melinda of Behind The Stall Door. It's ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/guest-post-living-the-rural-life/ photo credit: ivoryelephantphotography A reader named Rachel submitted this tip: "The best parenting tip I have is to pray! It gives me more strength to get through my day with patience, love, and creativity. It especially helps me to remember to discipline lovingly." Do you find that your spirituality or religious beliefs ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/pray-for-parenting/ http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ww-new-backyard/ Why we should be more like children: Reason #1,287 This morning 3 year old Sadie excitedly grabs my hand, pulling me out of my cozy chair where I was sipping my first (and unfinished) cup of hot coffee. "I wanna show you somfin!" We walk towards the kitchen where she has strategically placed ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/present/ Have you ever glanced at the ingredients of many ice creams lately? Some of them have little that resembles food in them - and yet we can all remember mom or grandma making homemade ice cream with a few simple ingredients. I remember my mom and dad cranking an old fashioned ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/make-your-own-ice-cream/ None of us wants to punish when we can prevent. When I got this article, I thought it had some great tips and decided to publish it here. Several of these points I've also written about, and I linked to those posts in the article. photo credit: hoyasmeg 12 Ways to ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/how-to-prevent-behavior-problems/ Breathing is so important. Do you know how to breathe? You know what I mean. Of course you know how to stay alive by  breathing, but I mean do you REALLY know how to breathe? photo credit: Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer Learning to breathe deeply is one of the most important things ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/breathe/ It's official. Summer is here. The kids are out of school. (If you're new here, I recently enrolled my kids in public school. They had been homeschooled all their lives.) I was pleased that when the school year ended, the kids were sent hom with assessments and even school books - as ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/summertime/ http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ww-gardening-is-hard-work/ I have a question for my wise and wonderful readers. Is it a no-no to make comments about a child's physical appearance? What if the comments are negative? What if they're positive? What if the child is male? What if the child is female? Does that make a difference (on either count)? I find myself telling my ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/commenting-on-others-appearance/ How do you say No to your children? I am not one of the parenting mindset that saying NO is inappropriate. I am a huge believer in boundaries. Not just as a parent, but in all relationships. Healthy boundaries are essential for healthy relationships, and saying NO is an important part of ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/vitamin-n/ photo credit: chadmagiera Moving. It seems to have taken over an entire month of my life. There was the packing, the moving, the unpacking. It exhausted me. I'm still not done unpacking. The thing about unpacking that takes so long? You don't really know where you want to put stuff until you've lived in a ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/unpacking/ I'm blessed with lots and lots of dark, thick, coarse, wavy, curly hair. Yeah, and the mane on my head isn't half bad either. Seriously though, being a hairy kind of gal can be a mixed bag. I just signed the kids up for swimming lessons, and bought a pool pass. ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/sugaring/ Two things I've learned about my phone in the last 48 hours. One: I don't have to enter apostrophies. How many apostrophies have I manually entered in a year's time? I have no clue but it boggles me. Two: I can blog from my phone. Take this post for instance. My mind ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/doh/ http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ww-he-aint-heavy/ Green Slime Smoothie What you need: 2 cups spinach 2 cups frozen strawberries 1 banana 2 tablespoons raw honey 1/2 cup ice What you do: Place the spinach in the freezer until frozen, at least 1 hour. Combine the spinach, strawberries, banana, honey, and ice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately. You can use other fruits your kids ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/green-slime-smoothie-for-kids/ A few months ago, I interviewed Melitsa Avila of Play-Activities about entertaining babies and toddlers without electronics. She shared with my listeners something called treasure baskets. I don't have a baby anymore, but I loved Melitsa's ideas. When my kids were babies, I always noted that they much preferred to play with ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/treasure-basket-play-giveaway/ photo credit: jolien_vallins If you’re concerned about the products and ingredients going on your baby’s skin, then the best solution is to create baby products right in your home.  It's fun to make natural baby stuff for your friends too. They make awesome baby shower gifts and are frugal and ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/make-your-own-natural-baby-products-at-home/ http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ww-pinky/ 3 year old Sadie came to me and asked me to "tie it" (the string on the back of her apron). Several minutes later, she came back to me (my feet up, seated at the couch, nursing a sore throat and a bad mood). She grabbed my hand. She led me to ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/she-does-dishes/ photo credit: woodleywonderworks There have been a few things that have surprised me about public school. As you know, I enrolled my 3 older kids into the local elementary school a few weeks ago. Not all of the things are bad. For instance, I'm surprised at how much they like school. Even though ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/things-ive-learned-about-public-school/ What if everything you thought you knew about postpartum fitness was wrong? This week my guest is Helene Byrne. She is a nationally recognized prenatal and postpartum fitness expert and founder of BeFit-Mom. Helene is the author of the award winning DVD "Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning" and the acclaimed ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/natural-moms-podcast-122/ It took a week but I'm finally back online today. My new house wasn't exactly wired for cable internet, so when the Comcast guy came, he had to arrange for an electrician to come and install a new cable outlet. Thank goodness for my Blackberry. I've at least been able to ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/back-online-finally/ International House of Pancakes wants you to know that there is still a couple of days left to enter their essay competition. Write something touching about your mom and you could win one of several $100 gift certificates to IHOP. Enter Here http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/last-minute-mom-essay-contest/ http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ww-picking-out-plants/ photo credit: rbmay Each woman experiences her menstrual cramps different from the next. For me, they're hardly noticeable. Although, when I was 12 and first started my period, I thought I was dying. Now that I've had babies, I hardly have cramps at all. (I actually find the cramps I ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ease-menstrual-cramps-naturally/ My guest this week is Bill Osmunson DDS, MPH, and Fluoride Action Network Spokesperson. Dr. Bill is a Dentist with 30 years experience. Though an early promoter of fluoride, he has become an outspoken opponent of the overuse of fluoride and urges parents to inform themselves of the risks. There are several ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/natural-moms-podcast-121/ photo credit: kasthor While I'm sure having the swine flu causes weight loss, I'm not referring to a new diet craze. I want to talk about how to avoid getting the swine flu with good diet. The same things that will prevent the swine flu are what prevent any illness: Hand Washing ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/the-swine-flu-diet/ It's Sunday. The kids are at their Dad's house. So I'm up early at our apartment - finishing up the packing in preparation for our move the following day. photo credit: extremeezine Then I get a phone call from my would-be landlord. Actually, I got a TEXT. Can you believe that? Breaking ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/living-out-of-a-suitcase/ Yes, it's true. I've been cheating on my blog by writing over at Schmoozins. Have you seen these posts? * I saw 500 Days of Summer at a film festival in Atlanta then wrote a review. I LOVED THIS MOVIE. The two stars were absolutely adorable (who can resist Zooey Deschanel? As an ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ive-been-cheating-on-my-blog/ Are you on Twitter yet? Why not? If you have a blog, Twitter is a great way to get new readers. It's just plain fun too. If you are on Twitter, follow me. Here are some of my favorite conversations on Twitter this past week. On Aspartame: just realized with horror that my ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/twitterific/ Remember my post about Ilana needing a time in after school? I think we have found the explanation for the fussy behavior, and the solution. I sat Ilana down and asked her why she was having such a hard time after school. "Are you hungry?" (No - they eat a snack when ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/afterschool-fussypants-problem-solved/ When Ilana comes home from school, she's in a horrible mood. Even after a snack and a little rest. (Plus, she takes a nap at school.) I'm sure it's because it's a transition time. Oldest handles this by hiding behind his Nintendo DS for half an hour. When he's done he's ready ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/time-in/ To see my Wordless Wednesday, you have to go here. (I'm stealing her WW.) http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/ww-1977/ SEO Your Mom Blog One of the most important tasks on your to-do list when you want to make money with your mom blog? Get lots of traffic. The more visitors you have, the better your affiliate commissions, sales of your own products, and the more you can charge for your private ads ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/seo-your-mom-blog/ I've been in a funk for weeks now. I don't really feel like talking about it. Or at least, not all the reasons for it.  I already said that I was sad about putting the kids in school (which is kind of like being sad when a baby weans herself ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/what-the-funk/ Don't get me wrong. I love shopping a good yard sale. In fact last Saturday I went to two yard sales in my neighborhood. At one I got an awesome original piece of artwork for $5,  and at another I got a huge stack of like new clothing for my 6 ... http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/yard-sales-are-depressing/