Minimalist Holidays

Welcome to the January 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting:
Recovering from the Holidays

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about how their families get back to normal after the holidays are over.

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In my previous marriage, we both had divorced parents. This made for a mess come holiday season. Of course 2-3 households wanted us to come visit at 2 o'clock Christmas day. And at least 2 households had gatherings Christmas Eve. Its one thing when its just you and a partner, but add babies and then there is all this supposed obligation.

Now? I'm remarried to a man who is from Florida. (We're in Oklahoma.) I've never met my in-laws and don't actually expect to meet them. I used to think we'd travel there, but right now... I don't see it ever happening. Then my mother passed away and I wasn't in the habit of going to see the rest of her family. That leaves only one place we have to visit for the holiday.

Snack Shelf

I love the idea of having a snack cabinet / drawer / shelf for kids that they can access themselves. So once we got into our new kitchen, I put all the kid-friendly snack food stuff that we keep on hand on the bottom shelf of the pantry. Sasha can open doors now, so when she is hungry I can send her in there to see what looks good.

I've had an issue, though. Sasha loves to eat frozen peas. Every time I serve peas at dinner lately, she insists on having some frozen on the side. And I don't keep the fresh fruit in the pantry. Then there are the grapes in the fridge... So I had an idea.

Mamatography 2013 - Week 1

This post is part of the Mamatography 2013 Project with Diary of a First Child and Momma Jorje.

We are taking (at least) a photo a day to keep a record of our year. Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!

Day 1 - January 1

Dining Room Corner with Signing Time Poster

Mamatography - Week 52 PLUS

I'm posting this final 2012 edition of Mamatography early so I can get caught up and start on Mamatography 2013!

Day 358

(12/23/12)

I managed to get some Arnica on this when it was fresh.
The "egg" itself never bruised, but the bruising moved down to the eye.

Mamatography - Week 51

Day 351

(12/16/12)

10 minutes til 5, Sasha slipped and fell into the corner of a wall.
She cried, hard, for about 10 minutes - in which time we discovered a HUGE lump on her head, gathered up the babies, and darted out for the ER.

While she was still sad on the road, within 15 minutes of the initial bump,
she was chipper and excited about getting to see a doctor.

Mamatography 2013 Invitation

Are you up for a challenge? One that will take something from you every day, but give a whole lot back too? How about joining Diary of a First Child and I for a photography challenge in 2013 then? A photo a day of whatever your day involved.

Did nothing but laundry today? Photograph it:

Mamatography - Week 50

Day 344

(12/09/12)

Yes, he is napping with his head under the beanbag.