Interview with Integrative Mom~ A new member of our Blessed Nest team

         We are more then thrilled to introduce to you, Holly Shore from Integrative Mom. Holly is joining our team here at the Blessed Nest Perch as a monthly contributor in the category of holistic nutrition & lifestyle information. 

 Holly is a baby wearing, breastfeeding, organic loving, green building living, attachment parenting, slow/ waldorf inspired/holistic/integrative mom. WOW...she  is also an inspiration. Coming from the "no guilt" angle that we do here at the perch; we are excited to gain from her wisdom, teaching without the feeling of being lesser then!  Holly is so kind and simply passionate about all that she has become. We need more women who mentor us through blogging as she does.

Thank you Holly for teaching and gently  guiding us into a natural, holistic lifestyle which is better for Mom, baby and the planet!

        Holly,  your site Integrative Mom provides relevant and targeted holistic nutrition and lifestyle information to moms giving them the resources, recommendations, and encouragement needed to take responsibility for their health and the health of their families.

Please join us as we chat....enjoy my interview with Intergrative Mom~

  <Donna~Blessed Nest> 1.   How did you become so knowledgeable about holistic nutrition?

<Holly Intergrative Mom> I have been interested in it my whole life- growing up, my dad instilled in us that anything we need for healing can be found in nature, and my Hawaiian-Chinese grandmother was an avid reader and researcher on health and nutrition and passed her knowledge on to me when I spent my summers visiting her in Hawaii. Looking back, this makes me realize that parents have a huge impact on their children's future choices and lifestyle habits- and should offer encouragement to those who wonder if their "healthy" efforts matter!  After years of devouring every book about holistic living I could get my hands on, I trained to become a Holistic Health Counselor in New York City in 2005.

<Donna~Blessed Nest> 2.  You're passionate about breastfeeding. What is the one most important tip you would give to a new mom about nursing her baby. 

<Holly Intergrative Mom> The most important tip I want to give new moms about breastfeeding is to get support in the beginning.  We think it's supposed to be this innate knowledge, that we will just instinctively know what to do and it will be easy.  For some people it is, but for most of us, it's difficult and we have very real issues and don't know what we're doing.  Don't give up- it is the most important thing you can do for your child's health.

  <Donna~Blessed Nest> 3.  You are a work at home mom. How do you find a work-life balance?   

<Holly Intergrative Mom> We are practicing attachment parenting, which makes a work-life balance even more challenging!  But there are creative ways to make things happen, and the majority of my writing has been done while my baby naps on my lap, as I type with one hand on my laptop.  Ok fine, all of my writing has been done this way!  I also continually remind myself that he's only "this age" once, and I won't sacrifice quality moments with him to finish a post, or answer emails.  My readers can wait- and since they're moms, I know they understand.

  <Donna~Blessed Nest> 4.  Motherhood is full of ups and downs. What is the most challenging aspect of being a mom and the most joyful aspect? 

<Holly Intergrative Mom>  When  my son was 3 months old a friend asked me how my life had changed since having him- i found this question to be ridiculous!  There was not one thing the same in my life.  I really had no idea how hard it would be- my sister says if anyone could get it across to you how hard it would be, no one would ever have children!  but the craziest part about the whole thing is that it's been the absolute most incredible experience of my entire life- so you have this juxtaposition of hardest and most amazing and wonderful thing ever.  I don't think I was prepared for how it truly is a more than 24 hour a day job. That being said, every second of every day is a joy upon joys.  Watching the light bulb go off in his head when he learns or connects something new, hearing him say mommy, seeing his smile.  Even when life doesn't go the way I think it should, I take one look at my child and think, "This precious being is  such a gift-How can I ever have a bad day when I'm surrounded by true love?"

Love to the moon and back,

,

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Eating well~ Lawrence, KS~ Blessed Nest Studio

I'm always encouraged by other blog mom's who are making an effort to choose healthy meals for their families. On our recent visit to Lawrence, KS to see Heather at our Blessed Nest Studio;I ate so well! Heather gave my husband and I a treat and watched the girls one night so we could go out on the town. While Heather snuggled with our girls giving them knitting lessons, we ventured out to charming downtown Lawrence!   The restaurants in Lawrence are unique and I would say 90% of them buy from local farmers! We ate at the best burger place in town. The Free State Brewing Company! We had  a  Brewery Burger~ It was delicious!   I love meat but eat it rarely. I just can't stomach the meat in our markets and we don't really have a farmers market where they sell fresh organic meat. So today I ventured out and made a homemade Black Bean Veggie Burger. It was YUMMY Here is the recipe I enjoyed! Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers found via All Recipes

Rated: Submitted By: LAURENMU Photo By: baskerville_gal Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 35 Minutes Servings: 4

"Spiced up with chili sauce, cumin, garlic and chili powder, these quick and easy black bean burgers will make you forget all about frozen, packaged veggie burgers. They're great on the grill or baked in the oven."

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 onion, cut into wedges 3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 egg 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1.	If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2.	In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3.	In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4.	In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5.	Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6.	If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2009 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/28/2009

 

 

homemade deodorant: check it off my list

Today Jill is Blissfully domestic

So, maybe not everyone would be as excited as I am to say that I have made my own deodorant. It's been on my mind for months now every since I read this post over at Angry Chicken. I knew that I just had to try my hand at melting shea and cocoa butters and mixing in some amazing essential oils to create my very own, aluminum-free, perfume-free underarm cream.

 I took Amy's advice and held a I'm Not a Dirty Hippie Party and split the supplies with a friend. It has to be a good friend. You can't just invite anyone over to make jars of cream that you know full well will be used on your underarms. Plus, since the jars apparently last for months, you will be smelling exactly like your friend well into the Fall.

We had a lovely afternoon mixing and measuring while our five children ran around enjoying the cool breeze of yet another cloudy June day. The process was simple and involved lots of melting, stirring and sniffing (a highly scientific process that is used to gauge the perfect ratio of essential oils to butters). In the end, it was a perfect mixture of grapefruit, lavender and peppermint that gave our deodorant it's signature quality (this is my favorite blend of essential oils and I have been using it since last year to make my own room spray).

Today was day one of using my homemade deodorant and so far, so good. I will be sure to keep you all posted as to how it is holding up in a few weeks. That is for those of you who care enough to read about my thrilling experience with my homemade deodorant.

Find Jill blogging at Home Grown Life

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for  Baby Bootie and Blessed Nest!

 Love, to the moon and back

A home for our Nest

We are so excited to announce our permanent home for Blessed Nest! We have been looking and waiting for the perfect studio and home office for Heather and Blessed Nest production! Last year we came close to purchasing a old bank building right off route 66. All though this sounds glamorous, the building needed a lot of work! In the end, we are glad it didn't work out. We've always had the vision of working with stay at home moms, Grandmas and Aunties. We will be hiring a few new seamstresses who can work from home and sew! We don't see the need to spend money on a large production facility. We would rather hire women who have the freedom to work from home and be with their children.

Now that I've given you a bit of background of our journey; would you like to know where we landed? Lawrence,Kansas is the new home for Blessed Nest! Heather LOVES it. Can you believe she even sees a little bit of Brooklyn in this little city!

Heather and her puppy, Murphey go for a walk every night...Heather has been in awe of what she has seen....a baby wearing bluegrass band! That's right. Heather had the privilege of speaking with this sweet group!

Baby wearing & bluegrass at the farmer's market... KS might be heaven

Meet The Prairie Acre....

Walking home from the library, Heather passed the most spectacular community garden she had ever seen!

And another night in the park, walking distance from the Blessed Nest studio! Well worth the wait. We now have the perfect Nesting spot!

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for  Baby Bootie and Blessed Nest!

Love you to the moon and back