Break is Over....Hope to make 1 post a month at the very least!

After my short break away, and many requests from fans, I feel like I might be ready to share my life again through blogging! I'm sure many of you will rejoice at hearing those words. :)

I have not stopped journalling things that I do and I still take lots of pictures of each new project or craft I am working on. I do think I will have to just aim for one post a month because my internet access is very limited and with spring, summer, and fall on the way I will be busy with gardening, raising my son, and several fun projects we have lined up (plan to redo our kitchen/dining rooms and the laundry room this spring!).

I have had a lot of life changes going on recently. Good things for sure, but different for us. I'll just go through some of it as it comes to mind:

1. I've discovered a love for natural living! We are currently working through daily things and finding healthier, less toxic options. Maybe one day I'll share a post on some of the changes we've made.
2. We have been cleaning up our diet for at least 6 months now. Finding healthier, non-GMO options, even buying many USDA Organic foods. I think this has been a great change for us health wise though we will probably see better results once we change our diet completely... which brings us to the next point:
3. We are looking into doing a modified Paleo diet. I can't live without dairy (at least not at this point!) so we are going to buy raw milk from a local farmer and make our own cheeses and butter and things like that (well... over time that is! lol. can't do it all at once.)
4. I've been using essential oils for quite some time now, but just recently signed up through doTerra to receive wholesale prices on their oils. At this point I dont feel comfortable making that a business opportunity for me since I am not educated enough on using oils to give advice to people I barely know or dont know at all!
5. I am looking into becoming an Aromatherapist! Unfortunately thats super expensive... so it'll be awhile before I'm able to do that, but I am learning what I can through internet research and books in the meantime.
6. I have also become extremely passionate about breastfeeding in recent months! We made it to my original goal of 1 year and are still going strong at almost 14 months now. I am just so impressed that we have made it this far. I also donate 100oz weekly to another little boy who has many intolerance and does not do well on formula and his mom was unable to breastfeed. Donating is such an amazing thing in and of itself!
7. Along the lines of my new found breastfeeding passion... I took an admin position on a breastfeeding support group in January and have been able to help many moms there with what I know from my own experiences, and what I've been able to research through the internet on things I've not experienced. This has sparked another interest in me:
8. I'm currently working towards becoming a Le Lache League leader! I've not sent in a request yet since I haven't completed everything required, but I'm working through their list of requirements and hope to one day start a group in my area (which is sadly lacking in brestfeeding support!).
9. Future children? I was dead set against having more kids once Little Man was born. We had a really rough pregnancy and a rough delivery and healing took months longer than I had anticipated. I've had many conversations with my Doula friend over my fears of having more children. She has helped me work through a lot of that and I'm now considering that possibility. I know I'm not ready for that yet so it may be a ways down the road, but it is certainly in my thoughts.
10. With LM we have been using cloth diapers, babywearing, breastfeeding and now extended breastfeeding, we do not vaccinate, and it was actually hubby's idea to homeschool... turns out this style of natural parenting is labeled "crunchy". So I'm a crunchy mama! Who knew? lol. I've joined many crunchy mom groups on facebook and have learned so much about natural parenting and living. That has made a huge difference in our lives recently (the last 6+ months). I even started a local crunchy moms group on Facebook and have been able to connect with like minded mamas near me. (I have a post on 'what is a crunchy mama' that I posted back in September you can check out to learn more!)
11. I have been making crochet baby blankets for friends who have babies for several years now. I've been asked if I've ever considered selling them.... and I hadn't, but I think I will make up a few and put together an online shop and see where that goes. I love making them and they are perfect for babies/toddlers. LM loves the 2 I made him!
12. I have become passionate about vaccines lately as well. Anyone on my friends list on Facebook would know that! lol. I have done HOURS of research now. Just recently though I was transferring files to my external hard drive and lost probably 100 hours worth of vaccine research. I was, and still am, very upset to have lost all of that hard work. Fortunately I didn't lose everything, and I know where to go to find the information again, but it even with knowing where to find the information it will take me hours upon hours to make new files again.
13. When we moved to the country in 2013 one of my dreams was to get chickens. That dream is very close to coming true! A lady up the road a ways has organic chickens and is willing to show me her set up. I am planning to build a chicken house and get organic chickens of my own going in the near future as well! This may also be something that pays for itself as we live on a busy highway and could sell what we cant use.
14. Once I get chickens my new goal is to get a goat to have raw goatsmilk. Hubby is not completely on board with this idea, but we have time to convince him that this would be a worthwhile thing for us.
15. I do want honeybees of my own eventually as buying local raw honey has made a huge difference in my allergies the last few years (last year I was able to go almost the full spring and fall seasons without taking over the counter allergy medication which is a really huge deal for me!). Hubby brought of the valid concern of raising bees and children together. This might be a dream for the far future instead of the near future.
16. Last fall I created a wholesale account through Frontier Co-op. Through that I have been able to order a lot of organic products and spices I might not otherwise be able to afford. It has really been a good thing for our family! I am looking into a local food co-op to buy bulk organic foods like wheat berries and oats. I haven't signed up with them yet but probably will in the near future.
17. We have been planning our 3rd year garden. We ordered organic, non-gmo seeds this year and are looking for organic seed starter from a good company so we can get those babies growing. I have good hopes for this years garden since we have 2, rather rough, years under our belts now.

I'm sure I could come up with more, I always do! That gives you a glimpse of what is going on and what we are seeing for the immediate future. As I said, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to blog here, but I'll try to aim for once a month at the very least. Internet access is sketchy at best so I have to take it when I get it and thats never consistent. Hope to hear from you readers! ~Helen