I’ve found that if you get into the habit, bed times can be pretty rough….. Laced with “I need more water!”, “Please read another book”, “Please sing ____ song”, “I need this light on, this light off”, “I’m not tired”, “Why didn’t we get to do this today?” wah wah wah

We recently went through a period of that, and what bothered me the most was my girls going to bed not thinking good and thankful thoughts – but rather negative and ungrateful thoughts. So, I decided to implement a new bed time habit, and it’s been working great!

Since, in my experience, our thought patterns follow our actions and/or words – I decided the girls needed some good songs to have memorized (or atleast very familiar with) to fall back on and remind them of goodness and truth. And they needed some good “mind filling” right before bedtime to direct their thoughts.

So, every Sunday I’ve picked a new song to sing them for an entire week. I print out the lyrics, explain some of the advanced vocabulary words as we go, and act it out for them! We end up singing it once or twice at night, and sometimes repeating verses. I used to sing them songs before bed and during the day, just not every single night, and not on-purpose. This teaching one song every week, on purpose, has made all the difference.

Since we’ve been doing this, there has been NO complaining words before bed – I’m amazed! Their vocabulary is also increasing, and they are learning. Here are two songs I’ve used successfully and the girls LOVE it!

Count Your Blessings
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprised you what the Lord hath done.

Chorus:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
(Chorus)

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings.
Wealth can never buy your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
(Chorus)

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
(Chorus)

Trust and Obey

When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word
What glory He sheds on our way
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

chorus:
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt nor a fear,
Not a sigh nor a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
(chorus)

But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
(chorus)

Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear only trust and obey.
(chorus)

Oh, and I am NOT a singer or talented in this area, if I can do it, anyone can. Seriously.

Do you have any great teaching songs? I’m looking for songs of all kind, not just hymns.

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I’ve been sitting around, wondering what to post about and the only thing that comes to my mind is: I want to go swimming.
So, that’s what I’ll write about. Swimming was my sport! From the age of 5 or 6 I was on the summer Country Club swim team and I still remember the 2 or 3 blue ribbons hanging on my wall. By the time I was 8 – I was swimming year round and competing at the Junior Olympics (called the J.O.’s) and getting into the finals. Super fun! I heavily competed through about age 13 or 14 – at which age it’s hard to be almost naked around peers. And once you are at that level you need to practice before school and after school…. and smell like chlorine all the time.

So – I decided it would be more fun to make money using swimming skills rather than racing other girls my age (and to be honest, I’ve never had much of a competitive drive. stubborn drive: yes, compete to win: no). I then got my lifeguard and swimming lesson certifications and started working. It’s the only real way I’ve made money so far – besides scholarships and working with my husband in our business. I lifeguarded, taught private lessons, taught million kid swimming lessons camps, adult classes, baby classes, water aerobics, and coached swim teams. I really like the pool! I can’t wait till my kids are grown up enough not to possibly drown, so I can have a big pool in my yard.

Did you know that drowning is second only to car accidents for children’s accidental death? I know of at least 3 families that have either lost little ones or had major brain damage because of almost drowning – and most of the time the child drowning is within 25 yards of other people? Here’s a very interesting article about recognizing the signs of drowning – the signs aren’t what is shown in the movies: Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

But, the reason swimming is so heavy on my mind is because I’ve started swimming again for exercise! It’s short lived because we will soon be away from the free babysitters who actually want to sit by the pool or pond and watch me and my bigger kids swim while holding my baby (these strange creatures are also known as grandparents). I’ve been going 3-4 times a week and been able to swim laps, jog in the water, tread water, and throw kids around in the pool. All good exercise! And I’ve noticed some weight loss and muscle toning once I added in the on purpose work out. So, if you need any sort of encouragement to get out there and swim (who cares if you have to redo your hair – just don’t do it that morning), read this article from Web MD – Swimming Is For Everyone Hope you are having as much fun as I am this summer!

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It was fine with me thinking it was unhealthy, I didn’t drink it. Then, a few years ago my husband started his own business and was working from home. He kept asking for coffee (he used to get it at his work)! So, we bought a coffee maker and I still had no desire for it. I thought it tasted like the instant coffee that my relatives drank.

We also have friends that are hardcore coffee drinkers. They get their beans whole and grind them fresh each time for their cups of java. While at their house I decided to finally try a cup and MUCH to my shock I enjoyed it.

The coffee I enjoyed was made with freshly ground beans, and loaded with sugar and cream. So, the sugar part wasn’t so great, but the cream was organic fresh cream (you know, the kind you skim off the top of a gallon jar). I think the key was freshly grinding the beans and drinking it right away. You know how most wheat bread is kind of gross? It’s because the ground flour goes rancid (the oils go bad). But man oh man, when you freshly grind those wheat berries and make cookies, muffins or bread – the difference is incredible – so yummy!

Wheat is healthy right? Wheat berries that are ground, stripped, chemically process, and stored are not healthy. The same is true for coffee beans (or berries). Those that are grown and picked without chemical processes, then roasted properly (without cheaper, chemical forms) and then ground before drinking are a whole different ball game than the heavily processed boxes you find at the grocery store.

Then there are all the additives that people buy to put in their java. White sugar is a no no. Ultra homogenized and pasteurized cream is also something that is not healthy. And here’s the worst one of all, the popular Coffee Mate with these ingredients: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sugar, dipotassium phosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium stearoly lactylate, polysorbate 50, gellan gum, sodium citrate, natural and artificial flavor, and beta-carotene color. Yuck!

But, what if you used honey, sucanat, raw sugar, a stevia sweetener, or no sweetener at all, then added a dollop of fresh, organic cream? My oh my, it’s the health difference of store bought white bread (with a million bad ingredients) and homemade freshly ground wheat bread.

There are also issues about coffee that make it unhealthy like some of the decaffeination process’. The most popular (and cheapest) method is the use of chemical solvents.  The process is usually performed on unroasted (green) beans, and starts with steaming of the beans. They are then rinsed with a solvent that extracts the caffeine while leaving the other essential chemicals in the coffee beans. The process is repeated anywhere from 8 to 12 times until it meets either the international standard of having removed 97% of the caffeine in the beans or the EU standard of having the beans 99.9% caffeine-free by mass.EU standard of having the beans 99.9% caffeine-free by mass. Coffee contains over 400 chemicals important to the taste and aroma of the final drink; it is, therefore, challenging to remove only caffeine while leaving the other chemicals at their original concentrations. Wikipedia

But some coffees are not decaffeinated that way, a complicated soaking process is used that is free of chemicals. 99.9% of the caffeine is said to be removed and you don’t have the chemical residue. Sounds like a better option doesn’t it?

Now onto the health benefits of coffee – which I found the most surprising! Coffee has extremely high levels of antioxidants, and is connected in the prevention of all sorts of diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Colon Cancers. I read this article from Web MD and was pretty impressed with all the listed benefits.

I still have one question about coffee that maybe you can help me with. There is a connection with inflammation and the use of coffee. Do you think its in connection to the healthier chemical free coffees? Or to the highly processed stuff? Or is it the coffee bean itself?

If you enjoy coffee and would like a place to buy the kind of healthy coffee I wrote about, try Cane Creek Coffee. It’s the only homebrewed coffee I’ve ever enjoyed and it’s natural, free of chemicals, and roasted the old fashioned way. You can even get a free sample – No Strings Attached. Tell ‘em I sent you!

Write in the comment section about the inflammation issue, and remember to ‘like’ my facebook page, where I update daily. I enjoy seeing you all there! Simply Kristen Facebook

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Even so – it describes our last two weeks. Living on the outskirts of Nashville, we were hit by the torrential rains and flooding. Since we (used) to live on the banks of Cane Creek we knew we had a chance of flooding. One year ago – exactly – a “100 Year Flood” hit and our house had about 4 inches of water come into it. We were not living there at the time – but at least we knew our house had the propensity to flood. Many in the area had no idea.

So, when the rains began and the creek started to rise my husband wisely removed us and our vehicles from the property (our house is a lot higher than where we park the vehicles). After we were settled into an out of town friend’s home (on a hill!) he went back and lifted everything off the floor and carried many things to the upstairs office. All the while thinking “Well, it probably won’t flood into the house, but just in case.”

The next day when he went to check on everything – but on the way stopping to rescue several families – he saw 6.5 feet of water in our downstairs!! He literally boated to our place and saw our couch floating in the living room.
After helping many others – and after the waters receded we were left with mud mud mud! I used to think of flooding as just water, clean water even, but flooding usually involves about 3 inches of muddy slime on everything also.

Just so you aren’t too worried about us, I’ll let you know that so so so many people have been incredibly generous with the their time and resources and we really are okay! We are staying with family in South Carolina and our place was cleaned out and whatever could be was salvaged. Since it was a rental we don’t have the issues of replacing and repairing the structure.

So, what is in the flood water besides mud? Mostly poo! Septic systems overwhelm and break, the cow field next to us was cleaned off, and the waters running from the cave (think bats) was also freshly scrubbed. That is a lot of poo – and a lot of bacteria – and a lot of other human made products that spill and shouldn’t become mixed with water that goes and touches everything and everyone. While our little kids were not at the clean-up for very long, it’s hard to keep their hands out of their mouth – or even clean them with no running water and the soap covered in sludge.

That gets to where charcoal helped us out big time!
So, onto the day when we were leaving to drive to SC. My almost five year old daughter began throwing up, and throwing up, and throwing up. This is my kiddo that uses her digestive system to eliminate! Anytime she is exposed to something her system doesn’t like – her gut gets rid of it. If a stomach virus, or bad food comes her way – we know it because she throws it all up. It’s a good method! And what a lot of bodies should do, rather than writhing in pain for days.

Even though we knew she’d be okay within 24 hours or so, we couldn’t drive like that, but didn’t really have anywhere else convenient to go. So, my friend mixed up activated charcoal in applesauce. My daughter was completely cured within 10 minutes. Completely. Going from puking and diarrhea every 10-20 minutes to begging to go outside and play is a HUGE improvement.

So, how does Activated Charcoal work?

Mayo Clinic says this:
Activated charcoal is used in the emergency treatment of certain kinds of poisoning. It helps prevent the poison from being absorbed from the stomach into the body. Sometimes, several doses of activated charcoal are needed to treat severe poisoning. Ordinarily, this medicine is not effective and should not be used in poisoning if corrosive agents such as alkalis (lye) and strong acids, iron, boric acid, lithium, petroleum products (e.g., cleaning fluid, coal oil, fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, paint thinner), or alcohols have been swallowed, since it will not prevent these poisons from being absorbed into the body.

Bulk Herb Store says this:
This powerful substance has been used as an effective anti-poison remedy for centuries. It works as an adsorbent of toxins in the digestive system, relieves gases, can eliminate fungi, viruses and bacteria, and may promote recovery from food poisoning. Preliminary research shows that regular high dosages may lower cholesterol and fat levels.

And I believe them both! Activated Charcoal proves in our nasty flood water case to be extremely effective in absorbing whatever toxic substance my daughter came into contact with. And what a blessing to NOT have to drive 10 hours with a sick child. I assume that activated charcoal would not have worked if the throwing up was caused by a true stomach virus, even so, I’ll try it again next time!

Thank you Activated Charcoal! I have found a new emergency remedy.

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At 5 days “overdue” – overdue is a strong word because the average pregnancy length is 38-42 weeks…. and the average first time mom (without induction) will deliver at 41 weeks and 1 day – BUT, anyways at 5 days overdue I woke up with contractions at about 3am. They felt very productive and continued to wake me up. So, I got up and walked around…. they kept going….. but never progressed in intensity. I got tired of that really fast and decided that I wasn’t into having a long drawn out labor like last time. So, I went to bed and ignored them. It worked – I slept until 7am! But, the mild productive contractions continued through out the day. My friend offered to go to Walmart with me to get out of the house (i.e. away from our little kids) and walk around for a while. We spent two hours in Walmart, something I had never done before.

While with Marie all day she was timing my contractions without me knowing. Driving home she started telling me when I was going to have my contraction – ha! Being on the stubborn side I thought “Nobody is going to tell me when I’m having a contraction.” So, the contractions stopped. HAHA!

The next day I went into my midwife’s office for a stress test. The baby looked fabulous, and my cervix was high and posterior, so labor did not seem imminent. The rest of the day there was no activity. Then, around 5pm he felt really really really low. I was using the restroom every 10-15 minutes and I thought “I cannot do this for the next couple of days.” At 7:00pm or so my sister-in-law called to see if I had had the baby yet, I talked to her for about 20 minutes and then said “Oh – I have to go, a contraction is coming.” Labor had begun.

Around 10:30pm we decided it was the real deal and time to head to the birth center. We had decided to ask for help from my friend Rochelle, if, we needed it. I was hoping to have my husband help me all the way, but he’s not very into birthing or laboring women – so he had to decide if he wanted to be my assistant (haha!). He said that “yes” he could do it, so we went to the birth center without her.

When Jared called the office line to tell the midwife to meet us at the birth center, we had to go through 2 or 3 phone people. They kept asking him hilarious questions like “Does your wife seem to be mentally stable?” We both cracked up laughing…. and thought “NO! She’s NOT right now!” Then they asked “Is the baby hanging out of the vagina?” And he about flipped out – he kept saying “No, I just need to speak to the midwife.” But, they had their list of questions they had to ask. So funny and ridiculous!

Having back labor on a 45 minute drive is not fun. I don’t know if you’ve ever had back labor before, but it is almost impossible to be in a sitting or lying position. All I wanted to do was lean over or stand up. I decided on the drive that I did not want anymore children. We arrived about 11:45pm – 5 minutes ahead of the midwife.

At the birth center there is a HUGE tub, so I immediately got in that and labored there for about 2 hours. It was nice because I could sit up and then when I felt a contraction coming I leaned over the edge of the tub. Seemed to take the edge off and support my body. But, at that point I was SOOO tired. I kept thinking about the clean, white sheets in the next room. What misery! I wanted to sleep so bad.

So, I asked for some Stadol to see if I could sleep. In my head, I was going to have another 2 or 3 day labor so I had to get some sleep in. The Stadol worked for me (again) and I was able to labor in the bed and sleep between the contractions. Only waking up during the peak. Oh, I forgot to tell you – these contractions were CLOSE and HARD. I had many many double peaking contractions. It was no more of this every 6-7 minutes and 45 seconds long like last time- it was every 2-3 minutes and I don’t even know how long. Didn’t have the mind to notice.

Anyways, so I took some Stadol about 1:30am and was able to sleep on and off for about 30 minutes. When I came out of it at 2am- it was with a bang! The midwife checked me and I was at 7cm dilated. So, she called the pediatric nurse to come. For the next 45 minutes I crawled up and down the hallways of the birth center. It was the only thing that felt right.

Suddenly my body did that push thing again and I couldn’t help but push. The midwife checked me again and I was at about 9.5cm (I think I remember her saying I had a small lip that I could just push through). My water broke during one of those early pushes. Very soon I screamed “He’s coming!” and they got stuff under me and ready for a delivery. After that he came out in about 3 pushes. I was on all fours, on the floor. Seemed right at the time! He was born at 3:00am sharp.

The pediatric nurse did not make it for the birth, but helped out a lot as soon as she got there. Ethan weighed 8’14 and was 21inches long – and he was perfect! I was exactly one week “late”.

Overall, my birth was healthy and happy and I am blessed with a son. My husband was supportive and my birth atmosphere was quiet and safe. My midwife was skilled and calm and I couldn’t ask for more. Birth centers and midwives are great!

And yes, there is something quite special about baby boys and their Momma’s. I hear it lasts until they get married

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Here are some things we’ve been up to:
- My husband was away working on a movie for 10 weeks! We’ve never done anything like before, and don’t plan to again *wink*. But it was a great experience and he’s proud of the work – and I got to have some good times with my girls before the baby was born…. which leads to my next “project”.
- Our first son, Ethan, was born! We are so thrilled to have a baby boy in the house, everyone just adores him! His birth was a great experience and I plan to tell you about all 3 of my birth experiences, because the first one was a catalyst that changed my whole world view – and not just the Mommy factor.
- The last big thing is that we moved to a new (to us) house. I’ve loved having a wood burning stove to keep us warm through the winter. I am usually cold ALL winter long, so it’s been great to go sit in the rocking chair next to the stove and get hot – even when it’s freezing outside. There have even been some days we had to open windows because the living room & kitchen got too warm. I couldn’t ask for more!

So, with all this time to think – I have a lot of great posts I want to share with you….. starting with birth & baby information (Go midwives!) and Thai Recipes (it’s all I want to eat!).

And if I were you, I’d want to see a photo of the new baby – WELL – I don’t have any on my computer at the moment, but I will post one soon! Along with a recipe for some homemade (safe and healthy) baby powder.

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We missed a 20 year high flood while out of town. Our garden was pounded, but our house is far enough from the creek and larger rivers to be safe (oh, and that photo is NOT our house). Horses were floating down the creeks and everyone said it was an exciting time (nobody was hurt though and all the cows & horses lived!).

Speaking of our garden……. I still have four things to plant: Squash, Pumpkins, Watermelons, & Beets. Even though it is high time to plant, we are late because of the enormous amounts of rain (and we should have planted before the rains started).

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Pole Beans, & Marigolds made it in on time.

Here is our lettuce & spinach patch. This has been my absolute FAVORITE!

What about Kristen’s Chickens?
You’ve probably been wondering if they are out of the house. Well the answer is YES…. They ARE…. and we never even had to chase loose chickens in our living room.

Last but not least: the fruit trees. We will have a lovely year of blueberry picking and peach pies. Look at the start of these yummy fruits!

Next few days I’ll be writing about “Killdeers Harassing Me In My Driveway”. Weird huh?

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My little girl is starting to grow up. She’s got chores and responsibilites that she does all by herself now. So, when I tell her “You’re growing up Emma!” she says things like “Does that mean I can get married now?” or “That means I don’t need to take naps like babies, right?” She may be big and an important member of the family now, but she has yet to outgrow her need for a nap- or find the need for a husband…. even though she is SURE she has found the one.

This winter we began to have nap problems. Her mind just would not slow down. I would put her down for a nap. Up and down Up and down she would go. Bathroom trips, banging on the wall, singing songs. I started to get frustrated! I felt like I was on the defense (not a good place for a parent to be) and was daily dealing with a new reason she could not settle down and rest.

So, I decided I can’t force her to sleep…. but I can give her clear rules of what TO do during her naps… Emma knows her letters and sounds, but being a pre-sign reader I figured I should use pictures and words to get the point across.
I got a black piece of construction paper (to represent sleep/night) and drew in white crayon, with corresponding pictures:

1. No Noise
2. Head On Pillow
3. Lay Still

We went over the rules so I knew she fully understood, and we taped the sign on the wall next to her bed. So sometimes, before nap I say something like “You don’t HAVE to sleep, but what are the things you must do?” She recites her rules, and after I am gone she has the visual reminder on the wall.
While I had to enforce the rules a few times – she wanted to see if I was serious …..We have found SLEEPING SUCCESS!

It’s amazing! She sleeps most of the time now- and mom and daughter are not grouchy in the evening due to lack of rest.

I’m already devising where I can post other instructions WITH visuals pictures to make our family life run smoother.

Linked over at Works For Me Wednesdays

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If you were like me, and weren’t quite sure what a mule is- read on!

Mule Facts:

• A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
• A Hinny, harder to come by, is the offspring of a female donkey and male horse.
• All  male mules are infertile.
• Most female mules are infertile.
• Mules are (pound for pound) stronger than horses and require less food.
• Farmers prefer mules because they can work harder & longer than either the donkey or the horse.
• Mules are very curious.
• Mules are a hybrid animal.
• Mules have a unique sound that is a combination of the horse’s whinny and the grunting of the wind-down of a bray. Most will start out -Whinee…..and end in “-aw ah aw”.

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The four of us!

Hi! I’m Kristen, wife to Jared, and mother to two little girls.

I NEVER thought I’d have a blog, let alone a VIDEO blog! I guess marrying an award winning Video Producer changed things for me. Oh- and never say never!

Simply Kristen is our journey to living natural, healthy, rural, and happy. I’m interested in learning the art of whole foods, animal husbandry, farming, making your own cheese, bread, yogurt and MUCH more. I’m not crafty at all, so if I can do it……I know you can.

Jared (the video guy) plans to chronicle our learning process with interviews from experts, my attempts, options for you city folk , and home projects with your children.

Keep checking in!

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