Traveling with little ones April 19, 2009

You know it, I will spend more than 22 hours in a plane with a 4 years old, and no I am not insane!

In this post I will share with you some of my tips to travel smooth with small kids.

Since my daughter was born, I traveled with her at least twice a year by airplane, plus lots of car and train. We ‘ve been flying from Spain to Switzerland, to France, to England. From France to the USA and now we will fly from Phoenix to Paris with a stop in Dallas.

So, if you are planning to travel with your little one soon, these advices can be useful for you and your sanity!!

First of all, accept that children are children, and they have their limits. If you are tired, nervous or/and excited, imagine how would be your kid!

My top 5 rules for kids are:

• Keep them fed
• Keep them comfortable
• Keep them entertained
• Keep them rested
• Keep them healthy

So, in order to keep up with the rules, here are a few tips for you:

- Prepare some snacks and drinks for your little ones. Choose healthy snacks, avoid chocolate or sugary stuff that can make your kid sick. You must have plenty of water or juice to keep them hydrated, avoid of course chemicals or sodas.

- Dress your child comfortable. Make sure your kid is not stressed by the outfit, especially the belt, the socks/shoes; and pay attention to the temperature, there are a lot of changes when you travel (airplane/outside/airport, car/outside/AC…) so don’t over dress your kid nor don’t forget an additional jacket or blanket.

- Prepare some stuff for your kids to do. Don’t expect them to stay during several hours amazed by an airplane, they will be used to it 5 minutes after being in the air! So, what I have for my 4 years old is some play cards, flashcards, and I found at Wallmart some great little books with tons of stickers and activities for 3 $ each.
If you have a stop (like I do in Dallas), (if you have time) bring your kid to the play area. Most airports have those now and it is a great relief for kids. They will feel better after some playing and ready for the second half of your trip.The best I have ever seen was in Basel (Switzerland).

- Then, it is important for kids to have some rest. You sure know when a kid needs sleep, he/she will be very difficult to manage. Take a small blanket and a little pillow plus of course your kids favorite plush toy, so you can improvise a little “bed” even in an airport, or train station etc…

- Don’t travel with sick kids! I know, sometimes you don’t have the choice, so if you do travel with a sick kid, please keep your medicine next to you, take a complete outfit (trousers, socks, underwear,…) in your hand bag just in case of “accident”, take a plastic or paper bag (just in case too!!), and make sure your kid is well hydrated and  follow even more the other rules!

- Last but not least, keep safety as a high priority! Don’t let your child unattended even for half a minute! If you have a nervous kid or you don’t feel confident enough to do that efficiently, then attach your child to yourself. It sounds rude but it works! You can use a small scarf or rope that would be attached to your belt and your kids belt, you can also find one of those kinda belts that are made for children when they begin to walk (do you know what I mean?) Maybe you will not look as pretty as you wanted but at least your kid will be safe next to you.
If you really don’t like this idea or don’t need it, you should make a “tag” in form of necklace (a little paper/cardboard with a rope) where you will write the name of the kid, and your cell number on it. Tell your kid that he/she has to keep it always under his/her neck and show it to a grownup if he/she gets lost.

I noticed something that always works with my daughter: when she is tired or doesn’t want to do something or go somewhere I make it a game; kinda Dora the explorer and then she gets excited and do whatever I ask her. Think that travel is great, it is an enormous mind opening adventure for little ones, so we should try to make that a positive experience for them. Make it fun!

Now I am going to pack my stuff, and make sure for the 100th time that nothing is missing, (you know this feeling of “I know I am forgetting something”) and I will hopefully be in my plane to Dallas on Tuesday morning, then in my other plane to Paris, then in a bus to the train station, then in a train to Dijon, and then in my mother’s car to her home……………………………………………………………… I love traveling! Am I weird??? lol

Have a blessed day!

Voluntary simplicity April 10, 2009

Hey, here we are, for another hooked on fridays, and what I am hooked on today is voluntary simplicity!!

Have you ever heard about it? Maybe you do practice it already, or you would like some more info about it.

Well, I hope this post will be helpful anyway, and will help you understand and know better this movement.

‘Normal’ is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car, and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it. Ellen Goodman.

What is voluntary simplicity?

Simple living (voluntary simplicity) is a lifestyle characterized by minimizing the ‘more-is-better’ pursuit of wealth and consumption. Adherents may choose simple living for a variety of personal reasons, such as spirituality, health, increase in ‘quality time’ for family and friends, stress reduction, personal taste or frugality.

Others cite socio-political goals aligned with the anti-consumerist movement, including conservation, social justice and sustainable development.

According to Duane Elgin, “we can describe voluntary simplicity as a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct and conscious contact with living.“

Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice.

Voluntary simplicity means doing/having/living more with less–more time, meaning, joy, satisfaction, relationships, community; less money, material possessions, stress, competition, isolation. It doesn’t mean depriving yourself; it doesn’t mean buying “cheap” and always pinching pennies; it doesn’t mean poverty. It does mean wanting what you have, and finding joy in having less; and recovering the connection with other people and with the Earth that alone makes life really worthwhile.

Voluntary simplicity is a growing movement of people who have realized that happiness and fulfillment do not lie in having more money, or new and bigger things, but rather in the time with loved ones and connection with community. They are questioning the consumer society’s insistence that possessions, especially of the newest design and color, are the means of fulfillment, or that any material possession can possibly be “to die for.”

How to apply this to your life?

Yeah, you might think that all this sounds very nice but how could you apply it in your daily stressed/busy life? Well, there are a lot of things that you can do to go forward simplicity, you know, baby steps, that everybody can do.

Here are some advices of what you can do to improve your quality of life right now:

• each time you are about to buy something, ask yourself:

- Could I do this item myself cheaper/healthier/greener ?
- Do I really need this item? Will my life be affected if I don’t buy it?
- Could I find this item second hand/used/cheaper, or without packaging?

• try to buy food and groceries locally, at your farmers market for example.

• do not buy more decor items for holidays, try to decorate with the stuff you already have or some items you can do yourself frugally.

• do not feel obliged to buy presents for Valentine’s day/Christmas/Easter etc… You can do crafts/cards/homemade goodies, that will be even more appreciated than an impersonal store bought present.

• Avoid all kind of prepared meals, if you are not a great cook, learn! Good food is about experience, you have to try, and fail, until you can do it right.

• If you have a garden, try to plant some veggies.

• Are you an expecting mom?

- Don’t buy anything!! I know it is so tempting to go shopping for the new baby but you will receive lots of gifts, and you really do not need as much stuff as you think. Babies need their mom, almost nothing else.
- Inform yourself about the wonderful benefits of breastfeeding your child, you will be blessed!
- Consider using cloth diapers, you can find them by internet, in some stores, or even do them yourself!
- Teach your child to entertain himself! A baby does not need tons of colorful plastic toys to be happy and stimulated; in fact, I strongly encourage you to limit the collection of toys to a small amount and ban all battery-operated/plastic toys.
- Prefer neutral clothes for your baby, better than all pink or all blue, so you can keep them and reuse them for another baby.

• If you are like me a book lover, then you may prefer to go to your local library to borrow books better than buying pricey books.
• With your kids, prefer activities that are not related to a shopping/buying activity. For example, you may prefer going to visit a farm or to a natural park (almost free), better than to the theater which usually includes buying candies, popcorn, etc…  Teach your child that fun is not related to money.
• In general, always try to buy second hand/used items. Think about garage sales, thrift stores, craig’s lists etc. although the best to do is to limit your shopping. Simplicity is not only think “Can I have this cheaper?”, it is more a “Can I live without it?” kind of thinking!

Well, I hope you liked this entry and maybe you are feeling like applying some of my advices!

If you are looking for some more info about choosing voluntary simplicity, you would like to have a look at those websites I found for you:

- THE SIMPLE LIVING NETWORK

- GREAT RIVER EARTH INSTITUTE

- THE SIMPLICITY RESOURCE GUIDE

You can find also some great blogs in my blogroll, on the right side of this site.

In this week before Easter, this is my contribution to stay focused on the important things, and free ourselves from the secular consumerist way of life…

I wish you all a great, happy, and cross-centered Easter!

And if you want to see what people are hooked on this week, check it out on HOOKED ON HOUSES

Raising a princess… March 26, 2009

Today’s post is about my journey trying to raise my daughter properly. This includes a daily fight against advertising, other people, and myself!

It is not easy those days to raise a girl to become a godly woman, who respects herself and others, a true princess!

You know, my daughter is in the “princess stage”, she is a princess. She is always speaking about her growing up, getting married to a prince like Dad and they would have 4 children!

It is cute to listen to her!

Though, the other day, she was telling that to a woman that I know, and this woman was shocked.

She told me how she didn’t think that was  nice for my daughter to “make her think she would find a prince and get married to him“. You know, she began telling me how Walt Disney movies were bad, that girls should think about studying to have a carrier and be independent woman that would not need a man to live and take care for her.

A true feminist!

Obviously, I don’t agree with that. I will not enter in the “why” , it would be a really long post for you to read!
What I told this woman is that I like the fact that my daughter thinks she is a princess, and I will teach her that if she wants to find a prince some day, she should act like a princess.

Do you know what I mean?

I am constantly fighting the powerful advertising we can see everywhere promoting a violent independent woman, who is considered just for her body, and the (vulgar)  sexy way she is dressed.

This very same woman that I portrayed will then tell you in a pseudo-feminist pledge that it is all a lye, princes don’t exist anymore and she can’t find a single man that is kind, gentle, respectful etc… Basically, men are all mean and sexually obsessed…

Well, girls, be realistic, if you want a prince, act as a princess!
Snow white (my daughter’s favorite) was not dressed like a br*tz, she was not messing around while waiting for the prince of her dreams.
No, she was kind and gentle, she took good care of the house, cleaning and baking pies, and making sure all the dwarfs were Ok.

You know, I always use to say that one of the most important things in life is coherence. If you expect something, you have to act and think in the way that will allow you to get what you want.

Don’t expect in a man the qualities you don’t have yourself. If you don’t respect yourself, don’t expect a man to do so.

If you think your body is more important than your brain, don’t expect others to watch and value your brain! and on and on…

I found this interesting article from the American Psychological Association about the fact that girls are “sexualized” and how that affects their image of themselves etc… You can read it HERE.

Wow, I am apparently not the only one who thinks this bad image of women is wrong!

Well, my hope for today is that my daughter will grow up thinking she is a princess, and acting as a princess, and I am sure she will find some day a nice prince who will respect her and will see her as the princess of his heart.

Raising girls is not that easy those days but we have to be faithful and pray for our girls to grow in the grace of the Lord and find themselves to be daughters of the King, which means they are true princesses!

Have a nice day!

Ultimate blog party 2009 is on! March 24, 2009

I had to share that with you! How exciting is that!

Check out 5 Minutes for Mom to know more about this awesome blog party. They have a lot going on this week, with “real life” party, tons of blogs posting and partying, and of course tons of great prizes to win!

For first timer here, first I am so glad you are here! Thanks for visiting, I hope you are feeling comfortable in my “virtual home”. Take off your shoes and relax!

My name is Elodie, I am a French 24yo girl, happy mom to Cecilia (4 yo) and wife to Jose. I am currently living in Arizona, and began this blog 4 month ago to help me practicing  my English!

Feel free to browse my blog, here you will find recipes, posts about homeschooling, faith, homemaking, and more…

We also are in middle of an interesting series about Natural Healing, if you are interested check it out HERE.

I hope to see you soon around here!

And for my followers, thank you for being around, I hope you can win some of those fabulous prizes on the Ultimate Blog Party 2009!!

The list of prizes is HERE. Isn’t it awesome? What would you like to win?

Here are my favorites in order of preference:

- 1: a 100 $ gift certificate for either Pedal cars & retro or A rocking horse to love (I would love a doll house for Cecilia!)
- 7: a Ergo baby carrier valued at 163 $
- 2: a Sydney Andrews bracelet (I love her designs!)
- USC 35: a pouch style baby sling
- 71: flip flops for Mom and Daughter, aren’t they cute?
- INTL 31: ABC Bible memory verse songs from Sonbeams
- 83: a 25 $ gift card for EcostoreUSA
- 30: a 25 $ gift card for WeeBgreen
- 58: A Kitchen Aid artisan stand mixer valued at 349.99 $ !!!
- USC 45: a pair of shoes from Eleven Collection Spring/Summer ‘09, I love their shoes!!

I would also love 19, 21, 22, 46 (Target gift cards) or 47, an Amazon gift card.

But there is a lot more out there!

Go and check it out now! The party is on until March 27th.

My hubby is gone for two months! :( March 13, 2009

Yep, two days ago my dear husband went back to France. He will have to find a job and a house for us. We will be separate until April 22nd, when I will go to France with my daughter.

I am pretty sad, but also very confident. I am sure God will help us in these months to come!

My husband is a sailor, he is a yacht captain. I am sure he will find soon a good job in his field.

I am sorry I didn’t write those last days because I wanted to be full time with my daughter to help her go through this new situation.

She is doing very well, she prays each night for her dad to be safe and happy and for him to find a job and a house (with pink flowers in the garden!!) for us.

Well, it is a little hard but I married a sailor, that’s what I get!

So, I would really apreciate if you would include our family in your prayers, please pray the Lord to guide us, and help us make the right decisions in this new step of our lifes.

Thank you for your understanding!

New homeschooling resource page! February 27, 2009

I don’t know if you noticed that, but I am working on a new page, trying to put all my links and stuff about homeschooling all together!

You can see this new page called ” Homeschooling Resources“, by going to the top navigation bar.

It is still under construction, I will be adding more links and also some description of the links, but I hope this new page will be done by next week and will be a nice interesting one for all homeschooling moms out there!

If you have a link that you would like to share, please leave it in a comment!

Have a nice day!

Homeschooling and books update! February 27, 2009

Hi there! I will post some news about our progress homeschooling Cecilia.

She is 4 1/2, and in her first year of homeschooling, we don’t use any curriculum, just a lot of resource from the web.

I am so proud of my little girl! She has make a lot of progress in English, she can now speak it quite well.

That is amazing how children can learn so quick and easy!

So, we are currently reading those books, we enjoy them very much:

- Miracle Maker, a life of Jesus, retold and remembered by Mary Joslin

- My Perfect Pony by Gaby Goldsack

- Coleccion de cuentos/Story collection Winnie the Pooh Disney

-My Little Book About by Leap Frog, it is a little collection.
We have : The Birth of Jesus, The Miracles of Jesus, Jesus and the children, David and Goliath, The Miracle of Easter, Noah’s Ark, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Jonah and the Whale, Stories Jesus told, Poems and prayers, The Voyage of Paul,and Cecilia’s favorite: Joseph and the Coat of many colors.

I found all those books in the Goodwill store next to our home, for just pennies! It is a great way to have cheap books, we go there once a month to renew our collection!

I also will begin study some characters beginning of March, thanks to Bethany who shared this great link to Bill Gothard : Definitions of 49 Characters, it is a great resource for Christian homeschooling.

I think we will study two per week, and we will copy Bethany’s idea putting them on a wall.
But instead of pictures, I will try to find drawings that Cecilia could coloring. I am sure she will love that!

So, that is our news of homeschooling!

We basically read books, find stuff from internet, make bubbles, cook, bake, speak, sing, dance, ride bicycle, go to the playground, etc…

What a blessing it is to have my little girl at home and teach her hundreds of wonderful new things!

I think we can tell we are hooked on homeschooling!!

Wanna see what people are hooked on? Go to HOOKED ON HOUSES to find out!

And you, what are you hooked on? Leave a comment!

Wearing baby: How to? February 16, 2009

Here is a post I wanted to write a time ago but no time!

So, here we go, now I have some time, so I will write about baby wearing, how to, where to buy a babycarrier, etc.

I think first we should talk about why wearing your baby? Which are the benefits for you, and for baby?

I will use “10 reasons to wear your baby” by Laura Simeon. You can read more at Natural Child.

- Wearing a baby is convenient

- Wearing a baby promotes physical development

- Babies worn in slings are happier

- Baby wearing is healthy for you

- Toddlers appreciate the security of the sling

- Baby wearing helps you and your baby communicate with each other

- Slings are a bonding tool for father, grandfathers, and other caregivers

- Slings are a safe place for a child to be

- Slings are economical

- Baby wearing is fun!

I would add baby wearing is so practical for a busy mom! And it is a frugal alternative to pricey trolley, therefore it is ecological.

Now, if you are interested by baby wearing, I recommend this amazing site: The Baby Wearer.

They have all the information you need to make the right choice, and learn how to use a baby carrier, sling, etc…

I also have this video which is great to show you simply how to put on the wrap and how to wear safely your baby.

You can also watch this other video, it is from a very nice french website, but the technique showed doesn’t need understanding of french.Watch it HERE.

For the Spanish speaking people, a great site is MOWGLI .

Did you decide to give it try? Where to buy it?!
Here is a list of some websites who sell baby slings, wraps, carriers, etc…Note that I didn’t buy personally through these websites, this list is just to give you an idea of the different kind of baby carriers and the designs and prices available out there.
The choice is yours and so the responsibility!

- Peppermint
- Wrapnwear
- Attached to Baby
- Sleepywrap
- The Sling station

Know that you can also buy them at Amazon, on Craig’s lists, etc. for a better price maybe. You can also make your own if you have that ability (and a sewing machine!)…

If you (like me ), can not saw, you may like this link about how to make a no-sew baby wrap: HERE

I really recommend to future or new parents to consider baby wearing, it is so nice to feel your baby next to you, it is really great!  I can just find benefits to it.

I would love to read your experience of baby wearing, feel free to leave your comments!

This post was part of:

Go here for more Homemaker Mondays!

Breastfeeding stories! February 16, 2009

I just read this a few days ago, and I am so amazed not by the story but by the reaction in the media.

Salma Hayek breastfed someone else baby during a trip in Sierra Leone.

It is something perfectly natural for me, and I am sure for a lot of women in the world.

I want to share a story, well two stories, with you.

The first one is my grandmother’s. She was living in Casablanca, Morocco with my grand father and their 4 kids.

It was in 1943, my father wasn’t  born yet, and my grand father who had the Italian nationality, had to go hide in the mountains because Italy was next to Hitler during 2nd World War and it wasn’t a good thing to be italian those days.

My grand mother was pregnant, she found herself alone with 4 kids and another one in the way, and no husband nor incomes.

My father was born 10th May 1943, and as it was normal my grandmother breastfed him. This was a huge blessing, as she had a lot of milk, and she found out that other women in the neighbourhood had babies and no milk, and as it was in middle of the war, they could not go to take goat milk.

My grand mother, who was named Marie, opened a “business”, she breastfed my father and other 2 babies, for money. She did that during 2 years, until the end of the war, and that is the way she could provide for all the family.

It was a joke in my family to tell we were all alive thanks to my grandma’s breasts! But I love this story!

My grandma thought she wouldn’t have more baby when she get pregnant, and she was afraid to think how she would feed her family.

This is amazing how God provided, during those tough times, and how my father, just a baby, could somehow save his siblings from starving, just by being born!

At the end of the war, my grandfather could return with the family and they all went back to France where they lived happily.

OK, I said two stories! The second one is mine!

When my daughter was born, I naturally breastfed her, I think I had some of my grandmother’s genes for that .

Well, when my baby was like 4 months old, we went for a day in the beach, in Tarifa, the extreme south point of Spain, you can see the coast of Morocco in front.

We were spending a wonderful day, when all of a sudden, a tiny boat arrived just in the beach we were. It was a boat full of african illegal people.

They were like 40 persons, men, women and children, they cross the Gibraltar passage from Morocco to Spain.

There was a lot of people in the beach, and everybody went to help them. They were all starving, with hypothermia, dehydration,  and very tired. Everybody came to give them some food, water, beach towels to warm them, etc.

A few minutes later the red cross arrived and so the coast guards. This was surrealistic!

The case is that there was a tiny little baby crying, he was like one month old, and his mother didn’t have strength to feed him.

While the red cross people were taking care of the mother, I took the baby and I fed him. I could never forget the look of gratitude of this woman! And this little one, his black hand on my white breast!

It was amazing!

Once more, I think God provided, between the thousands miles of coast in Spain, this baby arrived in the exact place where I was. God made that a little starving baby could met a breast full of milk!

These stories are very special to me, I could never forget them, and I really think breastfeeding is a huge blessing that we have to use, and protect!

What do you think about this? Do you think it was a bad thing to breastfeed someone else baby?

Leave a comment!

This post was part of :

The white daisy January 9, 2009

“Érase una vez un niño muy despierto que tenía muuuuchas ganas de empezar a ir a la escuela. Era un niño soñador, por cada rincón iba descubriendo sus sensaciones más profundas. Y, por fin, llegó el gran día.

Entró en su clase, saludó a sus compañeros y se sentó en el sitio que le asignó la maestra. Entonces ésta les anunció que era hora de dibujar.

El niño se sintió increíblemente feliz, pues le encantaba dibujar. Tenía tanto que mostrar al mundo… que no sabía por dónde empezar.

Sacó sus pinturas y dibujó sobre el papel varios dragones de mil colores, con fuego, estrellas y magia. Cuando la maestra vio su dibujo le dijo que no podía dibujar eso, que tenía que dibujar flores. Entonces él apartó ese dibujo y comenzó a colorear flores. No le importó, las flores también le encantaban.

Pero cuando la maestra vio que dibujaba flores multicolores y de mil diversas formas, le dijo que sólo podía utilizar el color verde para el tallo y el blanco para los pétalos. Bien, entonces él apartó la hoja y en una nueva dibujó una margarita. Frunció el ceño, pero aun así le pareció preciosa.

Un buen día sus papás tuvieron que emprender la aventura migratoria y tuvo que cambiar de escuela.

El primer día entró con sigilo, se acomodó en el pupitre que le invitaron a habitar y esperó con prudencia. La maestra entonces propuso a los niños hacer un dibujo. Todos se alborotaron de alegría y comenzaron sus obras de arte. Pero él se quedó a la espera, con una quietud propia de la adultez, y se entretuvo ordenando los colores con parsimonia.

Cuando la maestra observó su actitud se le acercó y le preguntó la razón de su apatía, a lo que él respondió que no se trataba de apatía, sino que únicamente esperaba sus órdenes, pues no quería malgastar colores ni papel sin saber qué debía dibujar. La maestra le dijo que podía dibujar lo que quisiera.

Entonces el niño se quedó pensando durante un rato y, con el rostro repleto de indiferencia, dibujó una margarita”

That is a text I found in a blog I like, it is CRIANDO CREANDO, a site about attachment parenting in Spanish (from Mexico). They always post nice thoughts about this theme and I like to read their articles.

I wanted to share with you this text which illustrates perfectly the system in the public school, how the children have to enter in a “mold” and stay there quietly, how they have to learn that they have to think like the others and not by themselves, etc…

I will try to traduce this text in my best english so be indulgent!

“Once upon a time was a child who was very bright and he was so excited about his first day at school. He was a dreamer, everywhere he could discover deep sensations and feeling, everything was new and exciting. One day, was the day, he would go school!

He entered the classroom, said hi to the other children and sat down where the professor told him. Then the professor told it was time to draw! The child felt so happy, he loved drawing! He had so much to show to the world that he didn’t know how begin! He took his colors and drew various dragons with many colors and fire and stars and magic!

When the professor saw that she told him he couldn’t draw that, he had to draw flowers. The child put apart his drawing and began drawing flowers, after all he also loved flowers! But when the professor saw that he was drawing multicolor flowers with thousands shapes, she told him he had to use green for the stem and white for the petal.

OK, so he put apart his drawing and in a new paper he drew a daisy, he thought the flower was pretty though.

One day, his parents had to move to another city and he had to go to a new school.

The first day, he entered in the classroom, sat down at his place and waited quietly. The professor said it was time for drawing. All the kids were so happy but he was quietly putting order in his colors. When the professor noticed his attitude she asked him why he wasn’t as happy as the other children. He said he was happy but he was just waiting for her to say what he should draw, he didn’t want to waste colors and paper drawing something incorrect. The professor answered him he could draw anything he wanted.

The child was thinking for a moment and with indifference he finally drew a daisy.“

I hope you understood well my regular translation! I find this text quiet sad, but it is very true. How many children had their dreams litterally killed by an adult way of thinking?

That is one of the reasons I really love homeschooling and I try to let my daughter think as a child it is not that easy though, I often say things to her that are too “adult” and then I regret, but she is a strong little person and has a strong and very own personality that I try to respect even if sometimes we don’t agree one with the other…

The joy of motherhood!!