Taking a Sabbath

I’ve been reading this book lately about taking a Sabbath and it’s really got me thinking.  I don’t think I’ve ever taken a Sabbath.  Ever.

I’ve always looked at the Sabbath like one of those OT things we just don’t have to do anymore.  Jesus put a stop to that.  Or did He?

Jesus never actually contradicted taking a Sabbath.  He recognized it just like everyone else.  What he did was protest the legalism of it.  A Sabbath is a gift, and I think people often forget that as I have.  And while my Sabbath may include an enjoyable stroll in a park, someone who hates walking would find that tiresome work.  Hence, I think everyone’s Sabbath will look a little different.  Did God create a Sabbath because He needed to rest, or because He deserved to rest?  Or was it because He just wanted to rest?

Its amazing how in today’s society, no one “deserves” to rest.  Rest is considered watching TV…while cooking dinner, folding laundry, making tomorrow’s to-do list, and checking email.  We’re a society obsessed with multi-tasking, and then obsessed with labeling it as some sort of mental disorder when it takes over our lives…like when we can’t, say, sit still long enough to enjoy a meal without feeling compelled to write a blog about rest (oops).

So I’m planning out my first Sabbath, and yes, it needs to be planned.  Why?  Because in order to truly have a day of rest, especially a weekly one, a lot needs to be considered.  Do I have enough clean clothes to go without washing for a day?  How about food?  What do I consider work?  I don’t have a “job”, but I none-the-less do work everyday.  I can’t rest from taking care of my toddler, so what can I rest from?

My list that I’m abstaining from is the following:

• Anything having to do with stress or a “to-do” list.  This would include driving, because people driving around here stress me out.  It would also include shopping, because standing in line to check out with a toddler and spending money stresses me out.
• Cleaning House.
• Doing laundry.
• Exercise.
• Checking emails.
• Reading any books that would add to my “to-do” list.
• Contemplating the past or future too much, unless it is in a thankful manner.
• The slavery of criticizing my body, perfectionism, fear, possessions, anger, and finishing things.
• Over or under eating.
• Not giving my “servants” (aka…people who serve me…at stores, restaurants, etc) a day off.  Everyone deserves to rest.

So, what does one do on the Sabbath?  In the past, I’ve assumed one went to church.  While I find church delightful and the highlight of my week, I also drive there and volunteer there a lot, two things I would consider work.  Hence, my Sabbath (at least this week) will be the traditional Sabbath…starting Friday evening at sunset until Saturday evening at sunset.  And I will do the following on that day:

• Rest
• Thank God for the moment.
• Observe the beauty around me.
• An activity that I consider a joy to do, with no obligation to finish

It will probably take me all week to prepare my house, my heart, and my mind to take a full day of rest.  I will be freezing a crockpot meal or two, and perhaps will consider avoiding pudding altogether as to not have to clean up messes like this:

Days pass,

Years vanish,

And we walk sightless among miracles.

- Jewish Prayer

Happy Earth Day!!!

I just love Earth Day!  It’s such a wonderful day!  And a day that really should not be taken lightly!  The Earth is a beautiful, fun, exciting place, and of all the known universe there’s none like it!

So in celebration of Earth Day, I plan on spending a good bit of time in our RV Park’s community garden:

I recently donated my own garden to the community, since we’ll be moving RV parks soon and I can’t take it with me   I feel very good, however, knowing that all my hard work and love will be taken good care of!  I absolutely love community gardens!  They bring out the best in people, and really instill a sense of community that is often lost in today’s society.  And it’s so easy!  And it’s so easy to get children to eat veggies if they grow them!  Luckily for us, we happen to have 2 Bonnie (a GMO-free company) distributors in our RV park who were more than willing to donate about $300 worth of plants, soil, and plant food!  How awesome is that!  I even snagged me a lavender plant to take with me once we move (I LOVE me some lavender!).

If there’s one thing that I’m hoping to remember from today it’s this:

A bird’s nest at the park made completely out of “disposable” bags.  Though I try to bring my own bags grocery shopping, I often forget when going other places besides the grocery store.  Here’s my subtle reminder that disposable bags are anything but disposable, and this is where they end up.

Hope you treat your Earth good today!  She deserves it!

Check out how Earth Day came about and what you can do to help protect our most valuable resource here.

Milk Battles

Warning:  If the words “breast”, “milk”, “nipple”, or “feeding” offend you, turn away now!  I mean no offense!

However, if you are not offended….

14 months of breastfeeding and still going strong!

So I went against my basic instincts and instead succumbed to the fears of every first time mom, and ended up in the ER yesterday with LV.  Yes she’s fine.  Yes, I overreacted.  And yes, I even admitted that upon entry, but right now I’m finding myself extremely grateful to live in a country where I can go down the road and not have to offer my firstborn child in exchange for a few tests and reassurance that everything is fine with her.  She has….wait for it…a bug.  Go figure.  The doctor tried to console my ego by saying that she was slightly dehydrated, so it was good that I brought her in.  I’m pretty sure she was just trying to make me feel better….

Upon entering the ER, LV was in such a state of panic that the nurse couldn’t even get the clamp on her big toe to get her vitals….until I put her under the cover.  He was absolutely amazed, and made several comments on how men just don’t get that super power.

One of the first things the doctor said to me was how refreshing it was to see a mother still nursing past a year.  It was “a rare treat”.  Her saying that was also the one bright spot in my day that I’m actually doing something right….maybe…..

I never really thought about breastfeeding past a year.  I’ve never seen it done, and its totally taboo in our culture to see a mother breastfeeding, especially in public, especially without a cover, and especially a toddler or small child.  Well yesterday, in the midst of all sorts of poking and prodding tests, I found myself as that taboo mother, a toddler on my chest, for no less than 6 hours straight.  In fact they felt fine to let us go, being that every time they came in she was nursing.  They figured she was more than adequately hydrated.

I would never want to make any mother who couldn’t or didn’t breastfeed feel inadequate.  Sometimes it just doesn’t work.  That being said, I really hope the same consideration is extended to me as we enter into toddler years and as I continue to breastfeed.  I cannot imagine tackling a cold or flu without it.  Heck…I can’t imagine tackling a nap without it!

But as so many of my friends are popping out babies these days, I thought it best to extend a few words of wisdom I’ve learned in the area:

• It hurts.  At least at the beginning.  A lot of things I’ve read said that it doesn’t, but that was never my experience.  I’m very thankful LV never had an issue latching (I’ve read that initial latching issues are often caused by medications given during labor and delivery, fyi), but that little bloodsucker (literally) hurt very much, every few hours, for the first couple of weeks.  It was a solid month before I didn’t cringe every time I put her on.  Now?  Now I’m so adjusted that sometimes I don’t even realize she’s on.
• It takes several days to a week for your milk to come in.  Don’t panic.  Don’t go buying every lactation herb on the market.  It’ll happen.  Trust your body.  In the meantime, colostrum is super-duber awesome for getting out all that lovely meconium.
• You will go through engorgement, at least with with baby #1.  It doesn’t last long, and is the body’s way of figuring out how much milk is enough.  I was too preoccupied with if LV was getting enough or too much during this time to notice if it was painful or not, but I don’t recall that it was.  Then again, after 6 hours of pushing out Miss 76 percentile head, pain was felt on a whole new scale.
• Covers are great when you start out.  When you start nursing an older baby, however, that cover flies off before it’s even on.  Hence…if you have an issue with a mother breastfeeding in public without a cover, do everyone a favor and use your super power…look away!  She may not always be trying to make a statement.  Maybe she’s just trying to feed her kid.  I still try to use a cover whenever possible, but those times of “possible” are becoming more and more rare the older LV gets.  (On that note, I absolutely LOVE the new LUVs commercial.  Why is this important?  Because when you never see breastfeeding mothers in public and you find yourself at Target with a screaming baby and a cart full of groceries with no cover, its nice to know that at least one company out there is trying to make non-covered breastfeeding moms normal.  In Germany and most of Europe this is not even an issue.  Just saying…)
• Stick to it!  Especially in the beginning!  One of the perks of not having a hospital birth was that I didn’t have formula samples “just in case”.  I’m really, really glad for this because there were several times when I know I would’ve turned to that if they were right there.  But instead, I was lazy and decided to try one more day, one more week to feed before resorting to formula because I didn’t want to go to the store.  Pretty glad for my laziness.
• Seek help.  Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, but it doesn’t come naturally.  I was a formula baby, as were my parents.  Few people I knew at the time of birth breastfed.  In fact, I just now went to my first La Leche League meeting this past Monday.  Even 14 months later, I’m still in need of help…even more so now, since breastfeeding toddlers is such a rarity in our society.  Read books, articles, blogs.  I’m now “friends” with some of my favorite bloggers who breastfeed.  I leave comments and ask questions.  Ask and ask and don’t be afraid to use the words “breast”, “nipple”, “boob”…these are not curse words nor are they solely meant for sex, as is sometimes portrayed in our culture.  The awesome thing about seeking help is that everyone has a different story.   My story revolves around LV being on the small side.  Others in my group revolved around NICU babies, re-lactation, tandem nursing, and chunky monkeys.  Every story and situation is different.  Its important to seek help.  If it wasn’t for a friend of mine with experience and my midwife in the early days, LV would definitely have been a formula baby. Support is key, hence why I’m even bothering to write this post.

Remember that whole Time magazine thing last year with the mom breastfeeding?  Well I check in on her blog from time to time and I love what she wrote about the subject:

When I think of breastfeeding, I think of it like brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts are packed with nutrients that prevent against cancer, autoimmune, cardiovascular and metabolic issues. People who eat brussels sprouts have been shown to be healthier than the general population. There are some people who may be allergic to brussels sprouts, or for various reasons can’t work brussel sprouts into their diet.  Are these people going to get cancer, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic disorders if they don’t eat brussels sprouts? Of course not.  All it means is that brussels sprouts are good for you and should be added in if possible. If you won’t or can’t eat brussels sprouts, you certainly have other food and preventative measures to lower your chance of the listed diseases. That does not mean we should discredit the brussels sprouts or stop talking about the health benefits just because some people can’t or won’t eat them.

And by all means….

Meanwhile in our world…

Not a whole lot has been going on lately…at least nothing really worth blogging about.  I’ve been super-busy with a whole lot of little things like DMV paperwork, tax paperwork, spring cleaning, organizing, a sick baby, and working on the RV and my soon-to-launch website.  So while that’s all going on, here’s some fun pictures…

Swimming in the pool….trailer-park style!

 

My big girl brushing her teeth!

 

I love farm eggs! It’s like Easter every week!

 

Happy Hump Day!

 

Happy Easter!!

And HEEELLLLOOOOOO Facebook!  Oh how I have missed you, dear friends of mine!  Please excuse me for the next week or two while I stalk all your posts and catch up on engagements, baby announcements (Hello Miss Kindah!!!), moves, life changes, and all other things relevant and not.  Oh I’ve missed you!

While I’ve been gone I’ve had babies.  Actually, my babies had babies…

The cocoon….

Have you ever seen anything so cute that’s not fat or furry?  I named him Slimey.

The garden is really taking off too….

Pineapple Mint is growing like crazy!

Well, it was :/  No pest or drought or plague makes a crop suffer more than a toddler!

Playing in the dirt…

And I can’t help but post a few pics of the eggs I was able to score at my new favorite farm on Friday:

That little guy is the farm fresh, but don’t judge his size. According to most experts, he has almost double the nutrients and 1/2 the cholesterol as the big guy bought from Wally World.

I’ll let you figure out which beauty came from the farm

Happy Easter!!  Be Blessed!!

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!” – Luke 24:5