Xavier's Homebirth

This is a little late I know, since my baby is now just over 1 year old. But, everybody loves a good birth story, right!
So here's mine (my most recent that is):

and just for fun, here's my favorite pregnancy photo
Shepard and I are both showing off our bellies

I started having mild contractions early in the day on Oct.2. They were really sporadic and didn't last long, but I was still excited and had the feeling my little one would be coming soon!

Around 7 or 8pm my husband and I took our older son to my mom's to stay the night there since I was starting to have stronger contractions and knew it would be that night.

I sat around waiting for things to get stronger for a couple hours (drank my super strong raspberry leaf tea. It tasted horrible, but I managed to swallow about a cup and a half)

Around 11 or 11:30 I decided to get into the birth pool 'cause I was bored and wanted labor to start. And, that it did! The contractions started getting stronger and closer together right away, and kept progressing. I had David time them when I was really feeling things happening, and they were 5 minutes apart, so I told him to call my midwife. He did, and she was on her way.

here I am about an hour before he was born. Can you believe I'm still smiling!?

Right before my midwife got there I started feeling like my body needed to push. So I did. I was so surprised at how fast it was all happening! When she got there she talked me through the contractions, 2 I think. Then, when she was in my kitchen getting supplies ready I felt his head coming down. I told David, who was sitting beside the birth pool, holding my hand. And, with a look of shock he yelled to her.

Even with how intense I appeared David still thought I was kind of exaggerating, since I was pushing for a couple hours with our first son. But not this time!
So, I pushed my tiny guy out and my midwife placed him on my chest.

Here we are right after he was born

My sweet Xavier was born at 1:08am, and I actually got some sleep that night!

This was an awesome birth experience. I was in active labor for only about 2 hours.

And, I have to mention that I attribute much of the ease of this birth with the herbs I used during pregnancy, labor and after the baby was born. I drank lots of raspberry leaf/nettle tea during the last 3 months of my pregnancy, during labor, and after. And used Blue and Black Cohosh the day that I went into labor (one is known to soften the cervix, the other is known to begin labor, and that they did!)

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed, was the book that really helped me.

Free shipping on Everything in my shop all this week!

And, I've listed lots of new items!

Fall is Coming....

Living here in the Central Valley of California the weather is still telling me it's Summer, with the cloudless sunny days and balmy nights.
But, I've switched over to Autumn mode. It may have been the pumpkin display at my local grocery store that got me excited and ready for the new season. But, I'm ready to throw on a cozy scarf and hat.



Autumn is one of my favorite times of year (a close second to Spring).
I'll be adding new things to my shop in the weeks to come that are inspired by this season of vibrant colors and rich fragrances.

Not to mention, for some reason I've got this urge to make spice cakes and pumpkin muffins...

I've been Published!

This month's issue of Belle Armoire magazine features an article written by myself! I'm so excited to be in this stylish magazine. If you'd like tio read my article and get the basic pattern for my crocheted crowns pick up a copy at your local craft or book store.

Those are my crowns and slippers

Back to Mt Shasta

It's the end of Summer and just the right time for a mini vacation. So, on a whim, David and I decided to head for the hills (or the Mountains that is). We packed up the kids and whatever we could fit in the car and drove to Mt. Shasta. If you've read my blog before you'll remember my affinity for this little town and it's looming Mountain. And, it didn't disappoint on this trip.

We visited a few of the local points of interest. There are so many beautiful places around the area it was hard to chose which to go to.

Castle lake was an 8 mile drive up into the mountains and was so beautiful and serene.
It is known as a 'true alpine lake'.
We took a short hike beside the lake on a rocky trail. And, the boys played in the crystal clear water. It was so quiet and peaceful.

We also went to lake Siskiyou, here's the boys enjoying the water there.

It was a great few days. I loved spending time in nature with my family, and breathing in the fresh air!

Adventures in Wet Felting

I've taken the plunge! After admiring and reading about wet felting for what seems like ages now I've finally given it a go. And I must say I'm impressed with myself. Either I'm some kind of amazingly crafty lady who can master any medium in no time, or wet felting is a pretty simple craft. Well, maybe it's a little of each!

I'm way too new at this to start giving tutorials, but here's a few pictures of how I created a leaf pouch (which isn't finished yet, btw)

Here's my fibers all laid out, ready to be wet down:












Here's the leaf starting to come together:













And, here's a picture of all the felting I did today, including the leaf in the above pictures:













So, I'm pretty excited about this wet felting experience. I've got lots and lots of ideas for things to felt up! There's just not enough time in the day!