2012 is off to a busy start for our family.

Since my brain surgery, I have felt strongly called towards becoming a nurse, and I am starting to take the prerequisite classes this semester.

And I have a lot of paid freelance writing opportunities coming in at the moment.

And we’re resolving, among other things, to spend less time with technology and more quality time together as a family.

And to cook more healthy food from scratch.

And…lots of other things that mean less computer time. I may post occasionally as I feel inspired to or as I find time to, but I won’t be blogging regularly in the immediate future.

If you want to keep reading, you can catch me twice a month over at the Green Phone Booth, a blog where ordinary women collaborate to make more environmentally friendly choices.

There is just no way to prepare to wake up one day to severely blurred vision out of the blue and find out that there is something wrong with one’s brain. To expect that one has a rare occurrence of a brain tumor inside of one’s optic nerves – and a type of tumor that could burst at any moment to cause blindness or worse. To know how to process all of the different diagnoses of different doctors. To be told that there is but one neurosurgeon in the country who might be able save some of one’s sight. To plan for an operation that could leave one without sight or without life. To know what to pack for a trip of indefinite length and highly uncertain outcomes (with a two year old!).

There is also no way to prepare for the blessing of waking up after surgery to sight after being threatened with the reality of blindness or worse. The blessing of being discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital five days later – with sight – after being warned of the real possibility of weeks and months of institutional care, the real possibility of the need for a stay in a rehabilitation clinic to learn to live without sight. The blessings of love, help, support, and prayers poured on us by friends, family, and perfect strangers. The blessing of partially regained sight. The blessing of slow but steady healing and recovery. The blessing of going home. The blessing of independence. The blessing of witnessing a growing boy and the changing seasons with one’s own eyes. The blessing of new perspectives. The blessing of new friends, new ideas, new paths. We don’t claim to know exactly what the coming year will bring. But we do thank you for being part of the blessings poured into our lives this year, and we hope your coming year will be filled with hope and wonder at the world around us.

***

I would like to especially thank Jessie at Vanderbilt Wife, Amanda at OhAmanda, and Jill at The Diaper Diaries for rallying support from their readers that helped buy me some lovely, comfy pajamas for my time in the hospital and the long weeks of post-brain-surgery-lounging-and-groaning, some healthy post-surgery recovery food from Whole Foods, and even admission to a few Baltimore attractions for my sweet little boy. I am so humbled by the out pouring of support from so many moms like me, most of whom I have never even met.

I would also like to thank Betsy at Eco-novice – giving me Etsy credit at Green Mountain Wee Woolies to pick out a beautiful and fun felted castle toy to keep my son occupied while I was incapacitated.

And I want to thank Jessie at Vanderbilt Wife yet again for giving me Etsy credit at Twiggie Makes, Moxie Mandie, and Name That Thing.

Most of all, I would like to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers amidst our unexpected challenges this year.

Merry Christmas!

Welcome back to this year’s (scaled back because of a brain tumor – Kelly’s – and a baby – Betsy’s) Green Holidays collaboration between Kelly (miskellany) and Betsy (Eco-novice)!

Even though Christmas is only a few days away, it is not too late to give a green (and charitable!) gift.

Through the charity Kiva.org, I have been able to make several micro loans to help change someone’s life. I originally received some Kiva money as a Christmas gift several years ago and made two loans. As each loan is repaid, I am able to re-loan the money to others who are seeking to raise their families out of poverty through their own ingenuity.

Here are ten lives I have impacted through this simple, intangible Kiva gift:

1. a group of women starting a general store in Uganda

2. a group of women starting a used clothing store in Uganda

3. a man expanding his milk business in Azerbaijan

4. a group of women establishing a shoe store in the Dominican Republic

5. a man starting a general store in Kenya

6. a woman expanding her family farm in Samoa

7. a woman starting a weaving business in Cambodia

8. a woman expanding her poultry business in Kenya

9. a man starting a taxi business in Bolivia

10. a man expanding his cafe in Iraq

I am looking forward to when my son is old enough to help decide who to re-loan the money to, and we can find all of the countries on a map and learn more about them from library books!

Consider giving a Kiva gift – or another charitable gift – to one of your loved ones this Christmas!

What is your favorite charitable Christmas gift?

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

My Dear Simon,

Today you are two-and-a-half years old!

You love to read so much. We get out stacks and stacks of library books about boats, cars, trucks, trains, construction vehicles, and chickens. You are also really into Cars and Trucks and Things that Go and Mother Goose, both of which we own and you request frequently.

You’re currently extremely excited about Christmas. You are enjoying our advent activities and Christmas preparations. You love the Christmas tree, going to see Christmas lights, and learning the Christmas story. You told me the other day that, “There was a light all over the world on Jesus’s birthday!”

And speaking of saying cute things…you say the cutest things all the time. You are making all sorts of interesting pronouncements and asking tons of questions. You are also repeating everything we say.

The other day, you said, “There is a scary skeleton and a plain dinosaur in my room.”

Daddy asked, “What is a plain dinosaur?”

You said, “I made it up.”

Even more than going to the park or the museum or the library or the pool, you love to stay home and play by yourself in the playroom. You can spend over an hour entertaining yourself in an imaginative game with your trains and trucks with Mama sitting in the next room, and  you also like to play in the play kitchen or with your dress-ups. Lately you have wanted to play that Simon is the doctor and Mama is the nurse so that we can fix all the big boo boos together.

You have just been diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy. We are still figuring out new delicious things for you to eat, such as chocolate almond milk. We’re still struggling with some things. I think it will still be a long time before you’re ready for pizza exposure without being really upset that you can’t have any, for example. But soy cheese is just plain yucky. We’re packing your own food everywhere we go, and we don’t keep any dairy in the house at all.

One of our favorite rituals these days, besides family cuddles and bedtime stories, is telling each other how much we love each other.

Mama says, “I love you times ten thousand!”

Simon says, “I love you times a million!”

Mama says, “I love you times one hundred billion!”

Now that my son has been diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy, we have become a dairy-free household. We’re quickly learning the ropes of dairy-free cooking and baking. One thing I am on the lookout for is healthy dairy-free snacks that I can quickly throw together from scratch. Here’s a big success from my kitchen this week!

3/4 cup non-dairy spread

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 eggs

1/3 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together, then spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

For more delicious recipes, check out my guest post about meat-free holiday recipes today on The Green Phone Booth.

This post is linked to Things I Love Thursday.

Come celebrate your holidays a little greener with the help of Kelly and Betsy! Today, my green friend Betsy from Eco-novice is here to give you some ideas about excellent eco Etsy gifts for little ones. And she’s an expert on going green with little ones – she has three!

Still searching for the perfect gift for the little one in your life? Hoping to support artisans of handmade goods this year?  Look no further than Etsy, one of my favorite places to browse and shop.  Here are 10 ideas for gifts for kids to get you started.

Wooden Train

I’m a sucker for a little (or big) wooden vehicle.  My house is full of rolling wood cars, trucks, trains and animals. Click here to learn about more of my favorite wooden toy vehicles available from Etsy stores.

Wooden Eggs

There is a lot of great wooden play food on Etsy.  I love these large wooden eggs: they are simple, beautiful, and conducive to hours of open-ended play.  I gave my daughter a dozen of these eggs for her birthday and they have been a favorite toy ever since.

Felt Play Food

You can find almost any type of food, from sushi to sausage, made of felt on Etsy.  I like to think that having play versions of healthy foods will help my kids be more adventurous eaters.

Dinosaur Hand Puppet

You can find finger puppets, sock puppets, and other hand puppets crocheted, sewn and constructed from a variety of materials on Etsy.  Search for your child’s favorite animal, monster or character and enjoy hours of pretend play.

Cloth doll

Looking for a natural alternative to the ubiquitous plastic doll? There are many options for cloth and rag dolls on Etsy, in a variety of price ranges.  Many sellers will custom make a doll to your specifications, so that you can make your doll look like your child (or not at all like your child) if you want.

Name puzzle

What a fun way to help a child learn how to spell his or her name!  You can find more choices for personalized wooden puzzles here.

Toddler branch stacker

When you want to purchase a typical baby or toddler toy (such as a stacking toy), try looking on Etsy before hitting your local Target.  Often you can find something unique and wonderful that serves the same purpose as the usual plastic variety.

Transportation matching game

You can find all kinds of wooden games on Etsy.  I particularly like this memory game made of maple hardwood tiles with engraved images on one side.

Reusable Lunch Gear

Here is an item that is practical and fun!  Pick bags made of fabric with special appeal to your favorite child and he or she will love carrying food (and other items) around in them.  My kids love our reusable bags with vehicle and animal fabrics.  Read more about my favorite Etsy lunch gear picks here and here.

Toy organizer travel roll-up

This item is a gift to parents as well as kids, as it buys parents some quiet time in situations that aren’t very kid-friendly (doctors’ offices, waiting rooms, houses of friends without kids).  Read more about how and when we use these toy roll-ups in my household here and here.

If you’re still looking for green stocking stuffers, check out my guest post on Betsy’s blog today!

Click HERE to read the complete Green Holiday series.

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday and Works For Me Wednesday.

Mondaylentil-vegetable soup, blueberry-oat muffins (modified to be dairy free and have less sugar)

Tuesday – polenta with spinach, tomatoes, and pinto beans

Wednesday – pumpkin pancakes with cranberry-orange sauce

Thursday – veggie burgers, steamed broccoli, potato wedges

Friday – quinoa pilaf, spicy fried tofu, lima beans

Saturday - taking crackers, hummus, and dairy-free brownies to a Christmas party

Sunday – butternut squash soup, bread, and salad with friends

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.


{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

This year, I went dumpster diving for one of my son’s Christmas gifts!

Okay, so I don’t actually dive in dumpsters. But I absolutely do rescue things from people’s trash piles by the street. On trash pickup days in my neighborhood, I always keep my eyes peeled for treasures like wagons, soccer goals, and cozy coupe cars.


I paid $5 total for all five of my son’s play vehicles. One was a gift. One was a hand-me-down from a friend. One I rescued from a neighbor’s trash. One was $1 at a yard sale. One was $4 at a yard sale. I have also rescued two wagons from the trash.

Between yard sales, thrift stores, consignment sales, and trash piles, I rarely buy anything new for my son and his friends. This saves us a lot of money, and it is also much easier on the planet.

One day recently, I saw this in a neighbor’s trash pile:

Not very auspicious, I suppose. But I grabbed it, and I cut the existing net from the frame, since it was beyond repair. Then I found an extra clothesline in my laundry room and started tying pieces of clothesline:

Then I started tying clothesline the other way, forming a grid pattern:

Voila! Free DIY soccer goal as a gift for my son, using a soccer goal frame rescued from the trash and an extra clothesline that I had lying around.

What is your best thrift store or rubbish pile find?

For more green holiday ideas, visit my Green Holidays page for my collaborative series with Betsy from Eco-novice.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Things I Love Thursday.

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