Simple Pleasure #1

Making my children laugh.

There's nothing that can brighten my day faster than hearing a full bellied laugh come out of my little ones. I love goofing around with the kids and being silly just so they will laugh just a little more. It's contagious... and good for my soul.

Simple Pleasures

One of my all time favorite songs is Simple Gifts. It's an old Shaker song that sings about simple gifts in life. I'm sure at some point you have heard the song and may even know the lyrics:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come out right.

I find myself getting lost in the doldrums of everyday life. I'm the kind of person who doesn't generally find joy in cleaning my house or folding laundry. But, this morning, while doing the dishes I started humming this song to myself and to my son who was helping me. Then I started realizing that every day is filled with simple gifts, or simple pleasures, that make the days enjoyable and make life worth living.

So in the spirit of recognizing and truly appreciating the simple pleasures in my life, I'd like to start sharing with you some of the little joys that break up the monotony of my "every day" living. And in return I would love to hear about some of the simple pleasures in yours.

Contraction Counter

The internet was an amazing resource for my third pregnancy. I was able to refresh my memory on coping mechanisms for labor and learn all sorts of new things like the benefits of red raspberry leaf tea in making contractions more efficient and more manageable.

One of the most amazing things I found online was this wonderfully simple contraction counter. The instructions are in the link, but basically when your contraction starts you click on start and when it's over you click on stop and with that information, the counter will calculate how long each contraction is and how much time was in between each contraction. Then, if or when you're ready to go to the hospital/birthing center, you can print out the chart and take it with you.

But my absolute favorite part about this counter: there's nothing to download and it's free!

Here's the link:
http://www.patatamonkey.com/entries/2005/10/need_to_time_co.html

Let me know if you use it and what you think!

Yoda: my journey into needle felting

So I picked up a needle felting kit from an estate sale a couple days back and decided that, since I had a good amount of random bits of fiber, it would be fun to pull out the kit and give it a go. I've always loved the felted figurines I've seen, like this one from Beneath The Rowan Tree, and I'm the kind of person who has to try it herself... just to say I did... so I decided I was going to make a felted figurine. This is what I came up with. He's a bit on the fuzzy side because he's not fully felted, but I like how he turned out!

Upcoming Events and Stockings

Over the next month I'm working on getting the store up and going again. There have been some slight changes that I think only I will notice but the biggest change is that the price of YYMH spots has gone down. As I've been getting faster at tunisian, it takes me less time to finish a pair (though I'm keeping the 3 week buffer so I can spend more time with the family) of woolies and so I pass that savings on to you.

Soft opening is July 1st with two YYMH spots opening up for August. I'm changing things around a little so I can focus specifically on offering more YYMH spots and more in-stock woolies. We'll be having a grand opening in August with some instock sets, a lotto, and a HC$ auction. More to come on that.

It's nice to be getting the hook out and creating again :)

WAHM Stimulus Package: banding together to help

The current economy has made it tough on everyone to not only purchase the luxury items we want but even the basic items we need. People who want to support work at home moms and dads by purchasing beautifully crafted toys, pottery, diapers, lotions, cleaners, accessories... the list goes on and on... are being forced to make the decision between spending the extra money on these items or purchasing lesser cost items from big brand stores to save money.

The WAHP (work at home parent) community is dedicated to providing these quality hand made items for you and right now, as part of that commitment, we are banding together to offer our wares with discounts to help you, the customer, be able to continue providing unique and lovingly made goodies for your family in these stressful times.

Living Water Boutique will be offering our own WAHM Stimulus Package. Everything listed below will be applied to your order from Living Water Boutique:

~ use the code "blog" to receive 15% off your entire order (including custom orders)
~ free first class shipping to anywhere
~ YYMH slots will be reduced by an additional 20%

We all hope and pray that the economy picks back up and the struggles that so many are facing right now will soon be just a memory but until then, these discounts will be in place.

A fun site for the kids...

I found this site through Stumble Upon. It's a very simple page that contains a colorful interactive alphabet -- click on a letter and that letter will turn into something amazing. What I love about this page is that it makes the alphabet fun and there are no links on the page that will take your kids to another site. I hope you enjoy it as much as I... I mean... my kids do. http://www.bemboszoo.com/Bembo.swf

The Glorious Grapefruit

Recently I ran across an article in a magazine about the wonderful health benefits that can be found in a citrus known as the grapefruit. Normally, when I see or hear the word "grapefruit" it brings to mind a tart, sour, all-around bad taste in my mouth that came from my first and (up untill recently) only encounter with the grapefruit. After that experience, I decided that no matter how "good" it was for me, there was no way I was going to go through the torture of finishing one just to up my Vitamin C intake. Now fast forward to the article. At the time of this writing I am 7 months pregnant and healthy eating seems even more important now. So I figured, if it is that all around good for me, I might as well give it a second chance. After all, I'm always telling my kids to do the same.


A little Grapefruit background

The grapefruit is part of the citrus family and is thusly named because the fruit grows in clusters like grapes. Originally found in the West Indies, it is now largely grown in Florida, California and Texas. Grapefruits are in season from winter through early spring, though they are typically available year round. They can be seeded or seedless and are either pink, red or white.


Nutrition Facts: What makes the Grapefruit so special?

Our friend the grapefruit has a healthy dosing of Vitamin C (about 64% of your daily value in just one half) which is both an antioxidant and a cold fighter. But in that same serving of grapefruit, you will also get about 5% of your daily potassium (an electrolyte that aids in proper kidney function), and 28% of your Vitamin A (aiding in vision and overall immunity), at only a mere 52 calories. Now keep in mind that the pink and red grapefruits contain more vitamins than the whites. The pink and red variety also contain lycopene, a proven antioxidant.

To see the full nutritional data of the grapefruit visit (this is an off site link):
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1905/2


What to look for when purchasing a grapefruit

You want to be looking for grapefruits that are heavy for their size and that don't have any soft spots or blemishes. You can store the grapefruit in the fridge or on the counter if you will be eating it in the next couple of days.


I have my grapefruit... now what?

After I had purchased my beautiful Texas Red grapefruit I took it home and stared at it for a bit. The only way I knew how to eat a grapefruit was to cut it in half and go at it with a spoon. There had to be a better way...but I couldn't figure one out, so I grabbed a thin edged spoon from the drawer and dug in. To prep, I sliced the grapefruit in half and sprinkled a little bit of sugar on top. I quickly learned that there is a sweet part and a bitter part of the fruit, and if I avoided the bitter part, my grapefruit experience was dramatically improved. What is this bitter part you ask? It's the white membrane that separates the individual wedges. This membrane is much tougher than the membranes of an orange and with a paring knife, grapefruit knife or thin edged spoon, you can eat around (or cut out) the membrane. With my trusty spoon I dug out the individual "wells" of red grapefruit flesh and avoided the membrane all together. I must admit it was a wonderful experience, nothing like my original memories.

Well, after my "grapefruit experiment," I decided to find out what else I could do with this wonderful fruit.


Here are some recepies I had fallen upon in my searchings:

Grapefruit Sorbets:

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet by far the easiest, especially if you don't have an icecream maker
Pink Grapefruit Sorbet with Strawberries on the fancy side but you can't go wrong with strawberries
Grapefruit Sorbet simple and delicious, omit the mint if you like

Grapefruit with your salad:

Spinach and Pink Grapefruit Salad with raspberries and walnuts
Baby-Greens Salad with Grapefruit
Arugula and Grapefruit Salad very simply, very tasty
Fruit Salad with Grapefruit-Poppy Seed Dressing this is actually a green salad

Grapefruit as a salad:

Grapefruit and Avocado this is one of many recepies for this type of salad
Thai Pink Grapefruit Salad can you say... yum!
Grapefruit Ambrosia one of many different ambrosia recepies
Mango, Orange, Grapefruit, Avocado, and Pistachio Salad

Other Yummy Recepies:

Grapefruit Chiffon Loaf Cake
Broiled Grapefruit you can omit the wine if you want. Also, sprinkling a little shredded coconut on top makes for a nice treat.
Grapefruit Pie
Cinnamon Honey Grapefruit
Grapefruit Juice Smoothie

What about Grapefruit Juice?

Another form of the grapefruit that people have come to know and love is grapefruit juice. It packs pretty much the same nutritional punch as the actual fruit but in liquid form. Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice can be used in place of other citrus juices in recipies and to prevent the discoloration of other fruits. It can also be used in marinades, salad dressings, and all sorts of mixed drinks (both alcoholic and non).

A Warning About Grapefruits and Medications

Despite all the wonderful health benefits of grapefruits, there are major health risks if you mix grapefruits with certain medications. Grapefruits have been proven to magnify the effects of some medications to dangerous and possibly even fatal levels. With that in mind, if you are taking any medications, please talk to your doctor and/or pharmacist about possible drug interactions before you try out the grapefruit. Beter safe than sorry.

So what are you waiting for?

Will the grapefruit become your new best friend, a favorite food that acts as a magical cure-all for your worst ailments? Probably not. But in my humble opinion I believe it's time to give this underappreciated fruit a second chance. Who knows? This time around, your adult tastebuds just might like it.

Refference Links:
Image by א (Aleph), http://commons.wikimedia.org/
http://www.bellybytes.com/foodfacts/grapefruit_facts.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050124010803.htm
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artgrapefruit.html

Quick and Easy DIY Hot Rice Pack

So I've been slowly collecting things to put in my birthing kit and one thing I knew I wanted this time around was a hot pack. I've seen WAHM made packs sold at Christmas boutiques and online but I needed one that I knew was going to make it to me intime for labor and delivery (which could be any day now) so I went about making one for myself.

After working out a rough pattern, collecting the supplies and sewing, filling, and warming, my husband quickly confiscated my first pack and call it his own. Considering it was pink with little pink daisies on it, I figured he would maybe want one a little more... masucline... so I made a more detailed pattern and took pictures while I made his so I could share how easy it was with all of you!

This will make a 6"x11" warm pack that stays warm for about a half hour or longer. I find that heating mine 1.5 minutes in our small, low watt, microwave is just right for me but hubby, who is a bit more cold blooded than me, heats his for at least 2 min. I suggest starting at 1 min and working your way up in the beginning.


What you need:

• 1 - 12"x12.5" piece of 100% cotton cloth (I purchased a fat quarter for quilting and cut it down)


• 2lbs of white medium to long grain white rice (the cheaper the better... it's not for eating)


• sewing machine, coordinating thread, and straight pins


• optional items: 1 cup of your choice of dried herbs (I used german camomile only for hubby's and 1/2c of lavender and 1/2c of camomile for mine) and funnel
  

How to make your hot pack:

1. gather all supplies and mix your rice with your herbs
   
   
   
   

2. fold your fabric in half, right sides together, hamburger style (12" side touching the other 12" side), pin down the long side and one of the short sides
   
   
   
   

3. Using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew along 12" side, backstitching a couple times at the beginning, turn and continue along short side till you reach the end. Backstitch a couple times there too. Make sure one end of your bag is not sewn shut.
   
   
   
   

4. repeat step 3, sewing along the stitches you just made (I do this just to reinforce the stitch because I really don't want a rice mess everywhere because a stitch decided to give out)
   
   
   
   

5. turn bag right side out.
   
   
   
   

6. fill with rice/herb mixture (this is where the funnel comes in handy)
   
   
   
   

7. turn about 3/4 of an inch of the raw (open) end into the bag and pin shut.
   
   
   
   

8. sew closed using a 1/2" seam allowance and backstitching a couple times at the beginning and end. Make sure to keep the rice/herb mixture out of the way of your needle.
   
   
   
   

9. sew another line along that same edge using a 1/4" seam allowance and backstitching at the beginning and end.
   
   
   
   

10. trim all the little ends and voila! you have your very own hot pack ready to be used
    
    
    

Oh and just as a side note: hubby's 100% camomile bag smells a bit like instant apple/cinnamon oatmeal.

The Christmas Stocking...

While I'm on a break I'm in the process of revamping the Christmas stocking pattern. I will post the new pattern when I get it all worked out and will also update the ravelry link when it's ready.

Hello and Welcome

Hello there. Welcome to the Living Water Boutique blog. My name is Amie and I am the owner and craftswoman behind Living Water Boutique. At the moment this blog is "under construction." It is my hope that when it does launch, that this will be a place for me to share with you some of my interests like faith, health, family, and crafting and also a place to keep you updated on new products, giveaways and stockings from Living Water Boutique.

Blessings and I look forward to getting to know you!

Kick counting

While pregnant with my second little one, I was introduced to the idea of kick counting... and by introduced I mean I stumbled upon it while surfing the internet for baby info. I didn't quite understand what it meant or was used for untill this last pregnancy with number 3. Now, I'm no doctor by any means, but I found this information very interesting and, when discussed with my Midwife, it became very useful too.


What is "kick counting"?

Kick counting is keeping track of how often your baby moves over a certain period of time. This can include kicks, turns, twists, swishes, rolls, or jabs -- but not hiccups. An active baby means a healthy baby, and tracking your baby's movements is a simple but very effective way of knowing if your baby is doing well.

Why count kicks?

Healthy babies develop patterns of movement and activity while in the womb, and by learning these patterns, you become more aware of when your baby may deviate from the usual routine. Knowing these patterns keeps you more in tune with your little one and can alert you if the baby is straying significantly from his or her norm.

So how do I do it?

You will want to start charting around 28 weeks if you are not a high risk pregnancy. Start by observing when your baby seems to be the most active. Usually it will be after a meal or after exercise. I find that for some reason my baby is most active right before I go to sleep (go figure!) Find a time that you will be able to observe several of your baby's movements uniterupted. Get into a comfortable position, either laying on your left side or sitting with good back support. Record the time of the first movement and the time of the tenth movement. A healthy baby when most active will move 10 times in under 2 hours. Most babies will do this in under 30 minutes, but the process can last up to 3-4 hours.

If, after 2 hours have passed and your baby has not moved 10 times, wait a couple of hours and try again. A normal baby has normal sleep periods and you may have just been trying to chart during one of those periods. You can also try to wake baby up by drinking a glass of juice or cold water or by going for a 5 minute walk.

When should I contact my obstetrical provider?

1) If you have waited and tried again later and you still don't get 10 movements in 2 hours.

2) If you notice a significant decrease in movement over a few days. For example, over the course of 3 days, your baby goes from 10 movements in 30 minutes to 10 movements in 1.5 hours.

3) If you have any doubts or concerns, call your doctor. Your provider is there for your and your baby's health.

Kick Counting Charts

Here are a couple links to different kick counting charts:

Baby Kick Alliance
Baby 2 See
Mommy Guide




Reference Links:
http://www.acog.org/
http://www.baby2see.com/medical/kick_count.html
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/duringpregnancy/kickcounts.htm
http://babykickalliance.org/