labor day rest

 ¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,
       its builders labor in vain.
       Unless the LORD watches over the city,
       the watchmen stand guard in vain.
 ² In vain you rise early
       and stay up late,
       toiling for food to eat—
       for he grants sleep to those he loves.
 ³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
       children a reward from him.
 ⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
       are sons born in one's youth.
 ⁵ Blessed is the man
       whose quiver is full of them.
       They will not be put to shame
       when they contend with their enemies in the gate.  (Psalm 127)

ShoutLaughLove: (don't) eat it

being a mother means saying things i never imagined i'd hear myself say:

you can't sit on the couch with a bare bottom.

get your feet out of your brother's mouth.

don't put things in the toilet.

(i know there are far more ridiculous examples, but it is late and i am drawing a blank.  i hope you'll add other "mom-isms" in the comments.  i can't be the only one shaking my head at things which should go without saying and yet somehow don't.)

some days, much of my parental instruction has to do with policing appropriate food choices.  you gotta set up parameters; kids are like wild dogs and will put absolutely anything in their mouths:

we don't eat dog food.

we don't eat things we find on the floor. 

we don't eat things we find outside.

it all pretty much boils down to:  "don't eat anything mommy or daddy didn't give you recently."  (Lord knows that that last part is clutch--who knows how long those raisins have been collecting dust under the couch?)

i'm learning, however, that some rules were made to be broken--especially the "not eating things we find outside" one.

a perk of living in wide open spaces is the ability to eat some of the things we find, like blackberries, dandelion greens, or morels.  friends of ours are more ambitious gatherers; their family adventurously collected bushels of peaches and wild grapes this week.  their generosity meant sticky, juice-stained baby faces at dinner and hot peach crisp for dessert.

we also ate the most delicious marinated, grilled mushrooms that jim foraged.  (don't worry, he has a manual--they weren't poisonous.)  ohmygoodness, they were so good that we "ate them whole thing!"--even jim and dylan.  (that is one of dylan's holdover baby sayings that we can't bear to correct:)

to recap:
sometimes we eat things we find--just not so much from the bottom of the car.

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have a story to share?  read more here about the idea behind ShoutLaughLove and link up a post every tuesday.

<center><a href="http://www.somuchshoutingsomuchlaughter.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="so much shouting, so much laughter" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6y9yzdO9kAo/TBPNo8SbmcI/AAAAAAAABPA/JvodX6yUYGE/s800/ShoutLaughLove.jpg" /></a></center>

the waning days of summer: some favorites

it's still august, yet i type this wearing socks and a hoodie, with windows closed tightly against a decidedly autumn chill.

i know everyone loves fall, but i'm not ready!

camp just ended and already leaves are starting to crunch beneath our feet.  it's bonfire weather.  we aren't headed to the beach this year, so i'm not feeling panicked about the fact that our summer vacation is still three weeks away, but a few more warm days would be nice.

over at sortacrunchy, megan posted what she was into this month, and i liked the idea enough to follow suit:

on my nightstand:  after a months-long wait, i finally picked up the girl who kicked the hornet's nest at the library yesterday.  the first two were great and i'm excited to finish the triology.  i'm also reading barbara kingsolver's the poisonwood bible.  i've loved everything i've read of hers, and it is a goodie, too.

on tv:  i haven't been excited about tv in a long time (not that i haven't been watching--i just lowered my standards;)  but now i feel like there is some good stuff on again, especially glee and mad men.

on screen:  the best movie i've seen in a while is crazy heart, with jeff bridges and maggie gyllenhaal.  the music is excellent, too, and was written by t-bone burnette.

in my kitchen:  tomatoes, everywhere!  making this excellent balsamic-roasted sauce (scroll down for recipe) and whatever else we can think of.  i need to learn canning already--i can only make and freeze so much!

after months of camp cuisine, we're rediscovering the rhythms of cooking for ourselves.  we had friends over tonight for chicken curry and quinoa and enjoyed dinner on the deck.  so nice.

although obviously not for eating, i made deodorant and dishwasher detergent in my kitchen recently, which i will probably post about in the near future.

in my ears:  avett brothers and new arcade fire

new blog reads:

misty took a hiatus from blogging for a while and then created a new one, un vase fragile, so i shall call her "new" even though i've appreciated her voice for a while.  she is a writer--so raw and honest and beautiful.

hyacynth writes the loveliest posts over at undercover mother about faith, mothering, and life.  she is one of the hostesses of the bigger picture moment, which is introducing me to so many wonderful bloggers.

shauna is the thoughtful storyteller who writes so passionately about grace and at sojourner's hope.  she and her family serve as missionaries in kenya.

kara writes rockin granola, with the tagline "a little bit crunchy, a little bit rock'n'roll."  i'm always glad i clicked, and i'm looking forward to gleaning pre-school activity ideas from her.

on the horizon for september:  squeezing every last drop from the farmers' market.  having jim around more regularly, starting today!  taking the kids to idlewild for a few more spins around the carousal.  outside play.  MOPS and routines and seeing people again.  vacation!  and shallowly, the new fall tv schedule:)

what are you reading/watching/eating/looking forward to?

soooo....do you want to sponsor me?

i have no funny baby stories today.  no meditations, mom confessions, poems, recipes or DIY green tips.  nothing controversial or silly, either.

instead, i  have a bit of bloggy business to propose.

the Relevant Conference for christian women bloggers is happening october 21-24.  some great writers will be speaking, and women are coming from all over the US and canada.  when i read that it's being held right in pennsylvania, i felt like i couldn't miss the learning, community, and encouragement....if only i could come up with the money for the conference ($259) plus hotel.

i've shopped the sponsorship idea directly to companies and politely been turned down, but i'm not quite ready to give up yet.  i figured i'd take it to the interweb and see if anything bears fruit.  here's my proposal, in a nutshell:

Over 200 female bloggers (with combined readership in the hundred-thousands at least) will attend Relevant and network, and most are mothers:  the very people who make most household purchasing decisions.  My representing your company at Relevant would be a fantastic way for your business to target customers without having to send an employee.

I will promote your brand with ad space here and at {so much reviews} and in social media [twitter/facebook].  i could host a giveaway and promote your product at at the conference in creative ways we can brainstorm together  (distributing samples, your logo on my business card, wearing your product, etc.)

i'll bring my nursing baby with me, so an etsy shop or company that sells baby goods could be a great fit, but i am certainly open to representing any company at Relevant that shares my values.  (Check out my green review/PR page.)  if you are interested in sponsoring me or learning more about the conference, my site stats, etc.,  i would love to talk with you about partnering.

if you read this far and talk of blogging conferences is making your head spin, i promise to be back to my regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.  if you are planning to attend, please let me know--it would be great to *know* someone ahead of time:)

ShoutLaughLove: on the road

i grew up in the philadelphia suburbs, and my grandma lived in pittsburgh.  growing up, my family spent many a long car ride driving across pennsylvania, with my sister, brother and i poking, kicking and generally annoying the smack out of one another.  my parents used to say that if we ever made the six hour trip without fighting, we would all go to disney world.

we never did.

rather, we never took that family trip.  i know for a fact we eventually started ignoring liking  each other and grew out of the cross-state cage match on wheels, but i guess by that time the magic kingdom had lost its luster.

in the past 2+ weeks, i have spent nearly 20 hours in the car with james, criss-crossing pennsylvania twice.  these trips were not without fits of crying (his, not mine), but on the whole, they were markedly pleasant drives.  instead of traveling feeling like a chore or waste of time, it was the opposite.

all that time to myself was a rare gift.  just me, the (sometime sleeping) baby, and the open road.

time to think.  to be quiet.  to pray.

time to breathe in views of rolling hills and farm land.

time to sing loudly to 90s radio rock and much neglected cds (no i don't own an ipod), and who cares what travelers in the other lanes think?

uninterrupted hours of listening to npr (news, this american life, wait wait don't tell me, prairie home companion...my own little nerd heaven!)

i am a mother of two small children.  completing one load of laundry from start to finish can feel like an insurmountable task with all the distractions of an ordinary day.  life is chaotic.  quiet is rare.

who would have thought i'd find my happy place on the pennsylvania turnpike?

i know these moments are numbered.  soon enough our family of four will make the trek, and james and dylan will be the ones poking and kicking.  perhaps jim will be the one threatening to "pull this car over!"

for this brief moment in time, i will remember that 270-odd mile stretch of highway as the improbably lovely place in which God and quiet, public radio, sing-alongs, and time alone with my sweet babe coexist.  and i am grateful.

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have a story to share of life along the journey?  read more about the idea behind ShoutLaughLove here, and link up a post here every tuesday.

<center><a href="http://www.somuchshoutingsomuchlaughter.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="so much shouting, so much laughter" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6y9yzdO9kAo/TBPNo8SbmcI/AAAAAAAABPA/JvodX6yUYGE/s800/ShoutLaughLove.jpg" /></a></center>