K and A, that is. I just love watching them as they experience something new for the first time or as they learn to do something. Lately, A has been practicing standing up without holding on to anything. He will crawl up to me, Jason, or a piece of furniture (yes, I just compared myself and my husband to furniture!), stand there for a moment, and then let go. When he does, he gets a huge grin on his face and plops down on his butt. He is so proud of himself for doing that on his own. It’s so amazing to watch him. K has been experimenting with language and words lately. He has started singing along with us when we sing a few of his favorite songs. He is also using new words on a daily basis. Recently, he has started using “both” and “either.”

I have a friend, who I respect a lot, that said something once that really got me thinking. She said that she had read somewhere that every time you do something for a child, you take away his opportunity to learn it for himself. Now, there are something I obviously want to be a part of my child learning, but other things I want to stand back and let him discover the world on his own. The other thing that she had said that got me thinking was so often we as adults tell kids how to play with particular toys. Sometimes, we tend to get too caught up in the right way to play with something that we forget about letting the child decide what is the right way to play. For example, we have this little duck key chain that Jason’s friend, Harry, gave us. K played with it for a while, and then he got bored with it. That was until he found a new use for it. The duck isn’t just a duck. It has a little button on the side, and when you push it, a light turns on and it quacks. Well, of course, in the mind of a 2 year old, the duck became a camera! As someone who likes rules and likes to do things the “right” way, I never would have thought to tell him it could be used as a camera. He figured that out on his own, and he loves taking our pictures with his duck camera. Maybe he takes after his aunts who are photographers.

I think over the course of the next several months, I will probably be changing my blog topics up a little. When I was breastfeeding K frequently or when A was born and I was feeding both boys frequently, I felt like I had a lot more to say about nursing specifically. Now that they’re getting older, it’s just something that’s an every day part of our lives. It just is. I don’t think or worry about it too much. We’ve gotten over most of the hurdles and pitfalls. A is sleeping better, and K has kept up his 2 a day nursing routine for the past few weeks.

Some of the topics that I have become more interested in lately are healthy eating, green living, cooking, exercise, and expanding my reading repertoire. Maybe I’ll finish a book (without reading the ending ahead of time) and do a review of it. Who knows?

What are you reading? I’m always looking for a good book or a good recommendation. I start lots of books, and I finish a few. I will start anything that sounds even remotely interesting. I’m not limited to a certain genre, author, or storyline. I read Christian authors and non-Christian authors. I read fiction and nonfiction. I read as much as I can. I have always loved to read. As a child, my mom says that I taught myself to read around the time I was 4. Since then, I have almost always had at least one book in the process of being read.

Right now, I don’t have a nightstand, but I do have a reading list. Some of these I just started, and some I have been working on for a while.

The Breastfeeding Answer Book - Who doesn’t love a good several hundred page, spiral bound, informational book?

Reclaiming Nick - I read this review on 5 Minutes for Books, and I thought I should start at the beginning of the series instead of at the end.

Happiness Sold Separately - I got this book off freecycle. If someone’s giving a book away, it’s worth taking a chance, right?

I’m sure there are a few others, but these are the ones that get most of my time right now. How about you?

A while ago, I wrote about our new compost bin that Jason and his dad had made. I was a little skeptical that we would be able to fill it all up. Who throws that much food? Well, it’s pretty much full. We have some of our lawn clippings in there and some food with it, too. Jason goes out once in a while, and he moves it around and turns it. I guess he waters it, too.

When we first started the project, I thought it was just something fun to do. I also thought it would be nice to eventually have the compost for our garden. I didn’t realize until today when I was reading on 5 Minutes for Going Green (a fabulous blog, by the way), that composting has another benefit. Food that is thrown away is the largest component of landfill waste. When food is thrown away, it does not become compost. The conditions in the landfill are anaerobic (oxygen-free), and instead of becoming fabulous fertilizer, it breaks down to become methane gas. Methane gas is a greenhouse gas, and it is three times more potent than carbon dioxide. In an era where global warming has become an everyday conversation, it seems like composting is one small thing that the average person can do with little extra effort and expense.

The other day I received an e-mail telling me that my blog was listed along with 99 others as one of the top 100 women’s health blogs. I haven’t had a chance to look through the entire list yet, but I know that I’m always looking for new blogs to read. The list is divided into several sections: Nutrition and Special Diets, Exercise, Infertility, Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding, Weightloss, Health Challenges, Fit and Healthy Over 40, Physical Wellbeing, and Mental Wellbeing. Thanks for choosing me to be on this list!

Whoops! On Thursday night, Jason, the boys, and I were on our way home from a potluck to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. As we were in the car, Jason said, “Did you post anything on your blog about World Breastfeeding Week?” Um, no, whoops! I did not post anything about it. When I thought about it, I realized the reason I didn’t is because it was such a part of my life and my daily blog reading that I assumed everyone would know. Who doesn’t know that World Breastfeeding Week is August 1-7? Then I realized that until 2 years ago I had not heard of it.

So, I guess I need to consider this my chance to spread the word. Maybe next year, I will be able to announce it earlier and invite a few of you to a world breastfeeding week event!

I decided after trying all those lipsticks that I should probably post a picture of my normal lipstick. I think that when you see it, you’ll agree it looks fine. It’s nothing super obvious or flashy. it’s fine. That’s my problem with it, though. It’s just fine. I want something a little different and more exciting. Maybe raisinberry is it. I’ll have to think about it.

My usual look

Better late than never, right?

Yuck, yuck, yuck. Let’s just say that I couldn’t find a way to make this color work for me. I didn’t wear it out of the house. Lip gloss just didn’t do it. It was very obviously not me.

Pink Melon

Today’s lipstick is okay. I don’t feel like it’s the right shade for me, but I’m not ashamed to be seen wearing it either, so I guess that’s okay, too. I would not buy it for myself though. Oh, I forgot to add that I chose this color because my blush from Merle Normal is called Dusty Rose, so I thought they might go well together. I don’t think they do though.

Dusty Rose

This is my favorite so far. It’s not quite the right shade, but it’s fun, different, and oh-so-close! I think I might need to explore some of the colors that are like this one but just a little different.

Raisinberry