Saturday, December 5, 2009

Little Treasures!

   My favorite thing about being a Mama has got to be the random, impromptu cuteness that is my baby! 
Something that Grace does on occasion just melts my heart - rather than kissing or hugging she places her forehead on mine and stares into my eyes with the warmest smile I have ever witnessed!  She knows just how to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!  

  Within the past several days she has been taking lots of steps and LOVING a walker that a friend gave to us.  I thought she didn't enjoy the walker a few months ago, but silly me, she just had no interest in walking back then!  Being there when she took her very first steps was mind-blowing (as her mother) the rush that a parent gets from seeing their child learn something new is one of the best feelings ever. 

What does your little one do to melt your heart? 

Thursday, December 3, 2009

SNOW!!!


We rarely get any snow in Dallas so I was delighted to wake up to flurries yesterday! There was just enough snow to cover the grass but we made the most of it! Here are my little snow angels, bundled up and enjoying the wonder that is white.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Let me sing the praises of Grapefruit Seed Extract!

I am thrilled to have found a natural healing supplement that cures a variety of aliments! Thank you midwife Amy! While nursing over the course of this past year, I've had several rounds of mastitis. Each time I took GSE and within days I was well. No nasty antibiotics needed! I took a variety of other supplements in conjunction with the GSE and I'd love to share the remedy. *please note, I'm a mom, not a Dr. or Midwife. Please consult with your own health care provider before taking these.

10 drops of GSE 3 times a day
Lots of:
vitamin C
garlic tablets
probiotics
fish oil
LOTS of water and fresh fruit/veggies
SLEEP, warm compresses, and LOTS of nursing

So once again I decided to give GSE a try last week when I came down with very sore throat and inflamed right tonsil. I gargled with water and 5 drops of GSE and then drank 10 drops mixed with juice. Saturday morning I was completely fine, no sore throat whatsoever. Love this stuff!!

Here's another little recipe for a fruit and veggie wash with GSE that will remove dirt and pesticides.

10-15 drops GSE
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
*I keep some in a little spray bottle by the sink and spray down my fruits and veggies with it, especially if they aren't organic. I let them soak a few minutes then rinse.

Mix gently or it will bubble over like a middle school science project!

You can find GSE at most natural food stores. It works wonders but it tastes terrible so pick up some tasty juice to pair with it. Cranberry or orange juice hides it well. Best wishes!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Awakening

Yesterday after watching my DVRed Dancing with the Stars (Go Kelley Osborne!), I stumbled across a very informative piece on the weather channel about locally grown foods. The minute I began to watch this something deep inside of me started to awaken. Inside my head I could I hear me saying “Yes this is exactly what I should be doing”, and that was accompanied with a goofy dance (but lets just stick to the awakening part for right now). The piece on the Weather Channel was about a lady and her family in Virginia who decided that they would only eat locally grown organic foods for a year and see whether they could sustain it. Their mission was really to see if it was possible to live off their as well as local grown farmers produce without being bullied by big corporation made foods in supermarkets in which they were successful.

For me the message behind this is to really and truly begin to “own my food”. I want my family to eat clean, pure, untainted foods. I feel fed up of being at the mercy of large corporations who destroy the food we eat by pumping it with all kinds of chemical based product in order to make it look better, and last longer. My family eats organic foods and has been doing so for a while. Today when I was making dinner I found that the Zucchini, Tomatoes, Avocado and Bell Pepper (all organic) were from Mexico. After watching this show and Food Inc I really want to support my local organic farmers, who produce high quality uncompromised foods. My husband and I want to support the local farmers who are trying so hard to grow good food. I don’t want my child to grow up in a world where all of the food industry is running on food made by large corporations who just want to make profit and sacrifice/compromise the heath of the nation. If we don t support local farms then over time they will disappear and we will be left at the mercy of god knows who, but I do know this; that person/group of people will not give a dime about our health.

To sum it up, as of tomorrow I will be trying to find local farmers markets to buy our produce from. I know that there is a Farmers Market in Mckinney, TX and Frisco, TX.
Let the games begin…

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

An Introduction

By simply typing some words on a blog, I know that I cannot convey the enthusiasm I have for this project.  The main reason I feel this way is because Alana & Uzma are also involved.  They are such dear friends to me that I STILL cannot believe how lucky I am not only to have met them, but to also call them friends.  The three of us have agreed that working on a blog together, as a group of three, is not something we ever thought we would (or could) do.  We will be blogging on a wide variety of subject matter.  Posts will run the gamut from - how our day went - childhood memories - great local places to buy groceries and SO MUCH more.  

I certainly have several high quality, excellent, wonderful AMAZING friends in the 'verse however, there are many things about Uzma and Alana (ALMA) that lead me to believe that the cosmos wanted us to meet,collaborate and inspire.   Although we are each unique we share many common threads.  For instance - we had due dates that were within one week!  We were PASSIONATE about having intimate, drug- free birth's at the Allen Birthing Center.   We share an avid interest in organic, healthy living and natural remedies. Alana and I both have male pug-dogs whom we cherish.   The first time the three of us were in a room together it was for a Bradley Childbirth Prep class.   It was one of the best classes I have ever taken, chock full of laughter along with some of the best information that an expecting mother can receive.

As friends we feel that we have so much love and knowledge to share with our communities.  We appreciate the efforts of health conscious beings and businesses and wish to return the love.

The name "Natural Gems" was inspired by our children: 
G.race --  E.aston -- M.lyes --- S.ubhaan
Without them we would have never met & obtained such divine insight into life!  Obviously, we cannot imagine an existence without our GEMS.

Subject matter will appear organically, and it will vary, according to our interests.   It is with great love that we share our lives with you & hope that we can help to heal our world.

Peace,
E.