Meal Management

One of the hardest things to change in this adventure of natural living is, by far, food. That seems like such an integral part of trying to be more "crunchy" and it totally is! But, for a family that had gotten in the habit of eating Hamburger Helper or some other prepackaged processed stuff multiple time a week, it's really freaking hard! I'm just trying to be real, y'all. (You know I'm getting real when I say "y'all," y'all.) Things have gotten kind of rough around here! Anybody that has worked full time and come home to a toddler screaming "HUNGEE! HUNGEE!" as soon as they walk in the door knows where I'm coming from here. Heck, a lot of you stay at home mamas probably know where I'm coming from too! Life is busy!

I remember when Little Miss started eating solid food. I was so particular about what I gave her! All organic. Nothing processed. But somewhere along the way I got a little more lax, and a little more lax, and a little more, and a little more until we ended up here. Big backslide, right? Well, a big portion of this journey is to learn that every happens with time. There are no quick fixes, and there's also no changing the past. I can't take all of that processed junk back out of our bodies. The best that I can do is let go of the guilt that surrounds our eating habits and start making a change.

We're talking baby steps here. We won't be all organic and GMO free in a matter of months, or maybe years, or maybe even ever! But I'm going to start with making home cooked meals a much bigger priority. Once the habit is set, I have no doubt that it will be much easier to plug in more and more wholesome choices.

Pray for me in this. My sanity is begging for it!

Devotions With My Toddler

Near the end of the year I decided I needed to be more intentional about sharing the gospel with my little one. We have missed gathering with our church quite a bit recently due to illness and holidays, and, I’ll be honest, I don’t have my Bible out around her much at home. I don’t have my Bible out enough at home, period, but I’m afraid of it being torn to shreds if allowed within reach of the raging cyclone that is my sweet 21 month old.

For Christmas I gave Evelyn a copy of Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids along with the promise that we would read it together every night. I realize we're only a couple of weeks into the new year, but so far we haven't done too bad!

Now let me tell you what it’s like to do a devotion with a toddler:

Day 1: We kissed Daddy goodnight and went into her bedroom. But the light was on! The light is usually off by this time. Change in routine #1. I told her it was time to read our book, so, instead of snuggling up for our bedtime nursing session, I sat her on my lap and prepared to read. Change in routine #2. These are short devotions; a couple paragraphs at most, but Little E got very squirmy and antsy by the end of it. When we finished the devotion, I quickly looked up and read the corresponding scripture verses on my phone and then put the book on her bookshelf and it was back to our normal routine.

Day 2: Kissed Daddy goodnight and into the bedroom we go. The light was on again! I told Evelyn it was time to read our book and she started shouting “No! No! No!” Gee, that made me feel great. We wrestled through it, but didn’t read the scripture verses this time. I asked her to put the book back on the shelf this time. She liked that part and made sure it was standing up so that she could see the birdie on the front.

We continued that way for another night or two, but the wrestling seemed totally counterproductive. I was afraid that I might be making time with Lord something she dreads each day. I have to remember that she is not quite 2 years old. She’s her own little person who is exploring her independence, and doesn’t yet have the ability to understand the importance of spending time communing with her Heavenly Father. 

And then I felt like I was looking in a mirror! How often do I choose to do something else instead of delving into the Word? I haven’t fully grasped my need to draw myself close to Him either, but He meets me where I am. I need to extend that same grace to my daughter and meet her where she is. And where she is is all over the place! She’s a rambunctious toddler who doesn’t want to sit still!

For the last several nights, after goodnight kisses with Daddy, I have been asking Evelyn to bring me our book. She loves to help, so this suits her well. I read while she explores her room. She’s not necessarily focusing on what I’m reading, but at least she’s hearing it and I’m setting up the habit of having this time with God each evening. We’ve also added a short bedtime prayer once we turn off the lights and settle into our chair. I keep it short, just a sentence or two, because anything too long makes her get antsy and start fussing, but she will usually fold her hands and try to close her eyes and at the end she’ll giggle and say “ay-meem!” This has become a very sweet time for us and memories that I will certainly treasure. 

There have been a couple of nights where we waited too late for bedtime and she threw a fit at the mere mention of reading our book, so we've missed a couple of nights of reading but have still said our little prayer and then made up our missed readings later on. There have been a few nights where I've been tired and just wanted to get her in bed as quickly as possible because the dishes or laundry are waiting for me, but so far I have no allowed my own desires to to thwart our goal. I'm trying to shape a little heart here. The dishes can wait.

Crunchy Thoughts

When trying to decide on a name for this blog, I struggled to find something that would really encompass what I'm hoping to convey. I wanted to something that would incorporate the fact that I work full time, that I'm a mother and a wife, that I have a desire to make healthier and more natural choices for my family, and that I am a Christian. But trying to to find a name that described EVERYTHING I hope this blog was pretty much impossible without it also being a mile long. In the end, I feel like "Reclaiming Crunchy" is a fun and quirky name that loosely ties everything together.

At the same time, I was a little hesitant to include the term "crunchy." It's a word used to describe a whole host of ideas and values, but it's also sometimes used as a somewhat derogatory label. As I want this blog to reflect POSITIVITY, I thought I would take a minute to talk about what I mean when I say I want to be "crunchier" and also my motivation for doing so.

It is highly unlikely that I will ever go off the grid and grow/raise all of my own food (though the thought is tempting sometimes!). My desire is simply to try to eliminate unnecessary additives, and discover the best way for my family to the benefits of the amazing creation that God provided us.

I've had to be very careful in examining my motivations in wanting this more natural life. On the surface I would not hesitate to say that I just want to create a happy and healthy home, but, if I'm totally honest with myself, some of the things that I've wanted to attempt have been motivated more by peer pressure. Not that anyone in particular has actually tried to pressure me into things, but, let's face it, being "crunchy" is pretty en vogue right now! I would absolutely be lying if I said I didn't feel just a little bit cooler when I go out of my way to make a natural choice.

Because of my prideful nature, I've had to examine and re-examine my heart in pursuing certain lifestyle changes and also in pursuing this blog. My idea of crunchy may not end up going as far as someone else's, and that's totally ok! At the end of the day, not every natural choice will work for us for one reason or another. I'm exciting to see which options do and where this journey takes us!

New Year, New Blog!

Welcome to the Reclaiming Crunchy blog! I’m thrilled you’ve decided to stop by. I’m a full-time working wife and mama to one vivacious little toddler with too much to do and too little time! Since becoming pregnant with my daughter I have tried to educate myself about a more natural way of life. While I’m not particularly unhealthy, I’ve never been super health conscious. Once I realize I was going to be bringing another little being into the world, however, I decided it was time to make a change! I scoured the internet for tips and I found TONS of really cool ways to minimize processed/chemical/GMO things in my home, but one major issue I found with a lot of these awesome ideas was that they seemed super time consuming and labor intensive! Not to mention, a little pricey. I’m all for a little hard work, but I’m also out of the house 10 hours a day during the week and my time at home is very precious to me.

My plan with this blog is to document my family’s journey to a healthier and more naturally based way of life, one baby step at a time! Along with physical health, I will also be focusing on my spiritual journey as well. My physical body means nothing without the breath of Life from my Creator, and I will be searching first for Him in my study and rediscovery of His glorious creation.

So here are the type of posts you may see as I attempt to reclaim some of that crunchy lifestyle with limited time and a tight budget!

· Recipes and meal planning
· Experiments with Essential Oils
· My ideas on natural birth and parenting
· Reviews of natural/organic products
· Personal musings on my spiritual walk
· Updates on my awesome family
· Attempts at fun crafty projects
· And so much more!

Basically, just be prepared for anything and everything! I hope that I am able to find and share simple solutions with other overwhelmed mamas and papas (and single folks and those without littles). And I’d love your input too!