Weeding out Wheat - are you ready?

Weeding Out Wheat 

A Simple, Scientific, Faith- Based Guide By Luke & Trisha Gilkerson

I wasn't sure about this when I first signed up, I'm going to be honest. Giving up wheat... Really? But with all of this Gluten Free, I've been hearing, reading and partaking in for the past couple of years, I thought why not? Now is the chance to read a great faith based book that gets deep into the history of wheat. Plus goes over the change in wheat over the centuries and the examples of how not eating it can help you. 

It was just what I needed to really grasp if wheat could really change a persons health.   

 So let's get started...

I have been following Luke and Trisha on their blog Intoxicated on life for some time. So I knew that I loved and trusted what they had to say. In fact, they had me by page 3 when they said " And above all, we want to honor God with what we do, including what we put into our bodies." 

Learning about the differences in ancient wheat and the wheat we are served up today was really enlightening. I had never really thought about how much our grains our stripped of everything natural, to be put on the shelves at the grocery store. I mean I read ingredients, I try to buy natural whole grain organic bread, but does that mean it's really good for us. hmm. 

Did you know that "The New England Journal of Medicine reported there are 55 diseases that could potentially be caused by eating gluten, one of the proteins found in wheat." Other effects from wheat are Digestive problems, Migraines, Infertility, Miscarriages, Mood Disorders, Childhood Disorders, Joint Pain, and many more. They go over all of these in the book.

If that is not enough reason to try going wheat free, than I don't know what is. However, if you are looking for more details for instance what Gluten actually is, and what it is doing to your body. It's all in the book. 

"Does God Have A Diet Plan" was another one of my favorite chapters. It hit on the Kosher Diet, a Mediterranean kosher diet, and clean, vs. unclean. Lot's of beliefs and reasoning of the " ideal diet" given by the Maker Himself. 

What a wonderful read. Honestly, I could go on and on, aside from the above there is a FAQ chapter for your questions, a transition chapter, and they end it perfectly with a " No Wheat? What in the world do I eat?!" chapter.  

I have heard amazing results from some of my friends, and although we are at the beginning of our journey, I am looking forward to seeing how it effects our family in a positive way. 

I suggest you get your copy today. 

 Weeding Out Wheat paperback

Weeding Out Wheat Kindle

You can also enter to win a fabulous giveaway that Luke and Trisha Gilkerson are doing to honor the Launch of their new book. 

Head over to Intoxicated On Life Tuesday December 31st to enter.

Thanks for a great year

Slowing down for Christmas

The week of Christmas is here, and as a mom my goal is to relax and enjoy this time of year with my family. 

If you looked into our house this week, you will find us painting holiday houses, baking cookies, decorating gingerbread houses, and snuggled up reading Christmas books by the fire.   

 It is so much fun to just relax and watch them play, paint, create, and enjoy these days. 

 Visiting Santa 

The boys are bundled up because we went through a wonderful light tour on the bay before visiting Santa. 

The town Christmas tree. 

Yes our small town has a Christmas tree that we visit every year. It's beautiful.

 One of my favorite things to do this month is to read Christmas stories to the kids. 

I believe there is no such thing as having to many great books. (smile) 

I hope you have peace this holiday season. Take time to enjoy the little things and just relax.

Most importantly remember what children value most is time and treasures. 

The plastic toys come and go- Nature's Treasures are a precious gift that children will explore forever. 

All they need this holiday season is time to enjoy family and nature.   

Happy Holiday's

From Natural Beach Living

The Best Gift for a Child that Loves to play Kitchen

Most likely if you have a child between the ages of 2 and 10 you know that they love imitation play. 

My boys have always loved their kitchen sets. In fact, I don't think I'll ever not have one. We've been through 2 of the Step 2 Dream Kitchens , we are loving our Farmers Market, and I am so excited to say the children are getting an Elves & Angels Kitchen for Christmas. I can't wait.  

Since I have been having a blast making up their gift sets this year, I thought I would make up a Restaurant gift set to go with their new kitchen.
Every restaurant needs a sign, So I made this simple sign using the computer, added a few fun stickers and laminated it. I think B's Bistro works perfect for us, because all of our children have B names. You can come up with a fabulous name for your kids restaurant too.  

Every Restaurant needs menu's, so I printed these up- added prices (perfect for getting living math into the day), a few stickers, laminated it and I think they turned out great. Play food is a must for every restaurant. I like to go with Plan Toys wooden food, Melissa and Doug, and Hape- Playfully Delicious. I have found these to be our favorites.   

If you are going to make up a fabulous "Restaurant Gift Set", why not go all out. Add in some pretty linens. I think the children really enjoy the way it looks and feels, when you add in something special. 

This is my waiter, taking my order. (smile) You can use a small dry erase board, or add Guest Check pads to your gift set.  
At the end of our meal, I have to pay. You can't go wrong with the Hape cash register, the boys love their's. 

That is our Fabulous and Fun "Restaurant Gift Set", an invitation to play.
Perfect for every child that loves playing kitchen.

If you would like to see other gift set ideas, try our Library gift set and our Favorite Author gift set.

Have you put a gift set together this year for your children? I would love to hear about it.

Library Gift Set -- An Invitation to Play

I am a big fan of the library and thankfully so are my kids. Don't get me wrong, I can spend hours in the book store too, but the library is a special place to us. 

We visit the library on a weekly basis to browse the shelves, use the computer, and take classes. 

So a library gift set seemed like the perfect gift to put together for my boys. 

Little B loves to play library at home, he stacks all of the books up high. Then we spread them out and enjoy reading them together.

Well, I know now everything is done with a computer and scanner, but when I was growing up we had call numbers and cards that got stamped when we checked books out. Wow, that makes me sound really old. hehe!  

I decided that was exactly how I would put together a Library set for the kids. 

I purchased a basket full of books. If buying new isn't an option you can check out a thrift store, library sale, or a used book store for great deals. I also bought a pack of library card pouches, library cards, and a date stamper. I decided not to glue the pouches into our books, so that they can reuse them, but this is totally up to you. You could have a specific basket of books for library play that you bring out. 

What is the last thing our library needed? A sign, of course. I made the sign you see in the picture above, on the computer, added a few stickers and then laminated it. Viola!!! Gift set ready.
O, I can see it already, we'll be playing library everyday.

If you are interested in some of the books that you see here they are:
The Mouse series by Ellen Stoll Walsh
God Can You Hear Me
Pebble a story about belonging
A Pocketful of Kisses
I Love You As Much
Owen and Mzee
The Knot Fairy
Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne

I hope this helps you, when you are trying to think of a creative gift for your children.
If you would like to see other gift ideas, check out our Favorite Author gift set and The Ultimate Natural gift guide. I am sure you will find the perfect thing. 

The Perfect "Favorite Author" Gift Set for Children

Does your child have a favorite Author? It might be Dr Suess, or maybe it is Laura Numeroff, for my younger boys this year, it is Mo Willems. So I decided to put together a fun filled gift set full of Mo Willems books and Characters.   

Talk about promoting literacy among our children, what better way then to give them the books they LOVE so much, and a few fun items to go with.

For my boys, I picked out a few of their favorite characters to cuddle with. Elephant and Piggie were a must, The Pigeon to go with their new books, and of course Knuffle Bunnywas coming to our house too. I paired them with a handful of Mo Willems books that they didn't have yet, like Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and I'm a Frog. Now they are set for many more days of fun reading time.

You can easily do this for your kids too. Find an author that they really enjoy and put a little set together of fun things. You can even make a day of it and only eat food from the books. How fun is that? I just gave myself another idea, I'm going have a Mo Willems Day. YAY!!!

This doesn't have to be a gift for the holidays, you can gift a book package anytime and it's fabulous.

Promote literacy by making learning fun and exciting.

I am so excited with the gift sets I made up this year. I know that they will be used, loved, and cherished for a very long time.
 Have you made any fun gift sets for your children? 

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Winter Nature Table

O how I love the nature table. Each season (usually several times a season) I change our nature table to reflect the time of year. Celebrations, leaves changing colors, flowers blooming, and this time the winter months upon us. 

The nature table brings a sense of peace into our environment. It has a calming effect and is not only beautiful to look at, but it brings laughter and play to the children. 

In fact many famous educators such as Maria Montessori, Charlotte Mason, Rudolf Steiner(Waldorf), and Loris Malaguzzi (Reggio Emilia), believed in the importance in bringing nature and light into a child's learning environment. 

This season while walking we found wonderful things to bring inside for our table. Even in the winter I suggest taking at least a couple of nature walks a week. It is so good to get out into the fresh air, and it is wonderful to see everything glisten from the winter weather.

Some of the things we collected this week are holly leaves, bark that has fallen from a nearby tree, and pine cones. I've also added our beautiful felted winter family from Lavender and Ladybugs, and the sweet little hanging star from puddlefoot dolls.

I am a big fan of lighted houses, churches, miniature towns, and all of that goodness during the holiday season. So I try to add in a few that I know the kids enjoy. The cute Christmas tree gnome in the picture above was made by Naniheart. There you have our sweet, simple, and enjoyable winter nature table.

If you are looking for other ideas, I have a Nature Table Pinterest Board along with my Natural Beach Living Board where I pin a lot of great ideas to.
Do you have a nature table to share with us? Join me on facebook to share your pics, we would love to see them.

Visit Natural Beach Living's profile on Pinterest.

Toddler Sensory Play with Natural Playdoh

This season we seem to be having a lot of fun with sensory play. Sensory play is perfect for toddlers and preschool age children to explore, learn, and get their fine motor skills working. As you can see here Little Miss Bell is loving it.

So for today I set up a fabulous little playdoh center for Miss Bell. 

I used our homemade natural play doh (recipe at the bottom of the page) scented with peppermint extract, red and green pipe cleaners cut in half (it is a lot easier for little fingers to work with shorter items). I also had red and green pompoms, a holiday spreader(not sharp, of course), and some fun Candy Construction pieces for her to play with. Then I let her play and explore. 

A little play doh equals lot's of fun. 

Try to slow down this holiday season and take the time to enjoy sensory play with your little one's. It is so worth it. 

If you haven't seen our holiday treasure basket, you can check that out right here.

Playdoh recipe

2 cups flour

2 cups water

1 cup fine salt

1 Tbs. cream of tartar

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

*food coloring or *Kool-aid packets is optional (I did not use it)
I added a little bit of peppermint extract for the wonderful winter smell. It turned out fabulous.

Mix everything together in a pot over medium heat. It will go through a few stages from liquidy- to sticky- then into a ball form. If you would like to add color now is the time. (Knead a few drops or a packet into the dough until it is well blended. Let it cool and store it in an air tight container. 

Be sure to follow us on Pinterest, So much to see, in one great place. I love to pin :)

Santa's Toddler Treasure Basket (Holiday Link-up)

Baby Bell and I have been enjoying treasure baskets for a year now. In fact you can check out some of our other baskets here and here. I love watching her explore everything in the basket. She touches, shakes, look's at, and sometimes tastes everything she finds. Toddler's are so curious about everything, why not give them a safe basket to explore?

Santa's treasure basket is filled with Large white cotton balls (reminding us of snow), Felt cut-outs snowflakes(not the same as mine, but similar), Tree's, and Reindeer. I also wrapped a few popsicle sticks with pipe cleaners (I wrapped them so they are easier for little fingers to hold). Then I topped the basket off with several large jingle bells for shaking. 

She loved her treasure basket so much, she wanted to get in the basket.
If you have a toddler, I suggest putting a holiday treasure basket together for them. Then sit back and observe. It's so much fun seeing and hearing all of the smiles and giggles.
Happy Holiday's


 

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The Ultimate Natural Gift Guide

Natural, Organic, Eco friendly, Quality, isn't that what we want to surround our family with? I know it is what I want. I have filled this page with some of our favorite things. Remember it's not quantity that is important, it's quality. A child could spend hours, days, weeks, years, loving the same special toy. Make it a natural one.

I have selected things that enrich a child's day, that bring a sense of comfort to them, and allows them to use their imagination endlessly. I hope you find something on this list that your children can love as much as mine.

That little Earth pony up there is precious as can be and so is everything else at Woolies. Earth pony you should be under everyone's tree on Christmas morning. Don't you just love handmade toys?!? I do. 

Yuki the Owner of  Lavender and Ladybugs is a master of Waldorf creations. She makes unbelievable playscapes (mats), dolls, and animals. Truly one of a kind. 

The wooden stackers and toys shown above are from Bannor Toys, they specialize in Organic wood toys for all ages. They also will personalize, I love that. Thumbs up for Bannor Toys!

Every child should own a few playsilks, The possibilities for open ended imaginative play are endless. Beneath The Rowan Tree silks are made from Natural, renewable resources that will last for generations, and if not... they easily return to the earth. 

Wildflower Innocence shares her handcrafted dolls made with love and care. You will find the perfect dollhouse family, sweet fairies, elves, snow queens, and so many more amazing handcrafted creations. Choose your perfect bendy doll today. Wildflower Innocence.

Do your children love to dress up? Could they spend hours prancing about in the woods? I say, Let them. Pick up the perfect mask from Hunting Faeries today and let your children roam free :) Whether you have a sweet little ladybug, or a sly fox, you can easily find the perfect mask for you or your little one at Hunting Faeries.

Wouldn't you love to move those playstands into your house? The hours of play would make any child's day. Visit The Toymaker's Daughter to get your's today. 

One of my favorite reads right now is Imagine Childhood: Exploring the World through Nature, Imagination, and Play - 25 Projects that spark curiosity and adventure

How cute is this Sweet baby dear from fig and me. Specializing in dolls that nurture imaginative play, you can learn a lot more about the process and her philosophy here. 

Check out The Honest Company! You can get a free trial of their non-toxic, eco-friendly home and baby products at Honest.com. I gave them a try and I love it! 

Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer? Free Spirit Kids makes incredible sets of Montessori cards tucked into a gift bag. The pictures are amazing and the children love them. Visit Free Spirit Kids  and pick out a set today. We are loving all of the toddler cards at our house. If you would like to see Free Spirit Kids cards in action click here.

You might be wondering what all of those felt shapes are in that picture above. This is a button snake from It's The Small Things. Children can have fun learning their shapes, colors, and practical life skills with these little button snakes.  It's The Small Things offers Eco friendly felt and fabric, personalized party favors and other fun and educational items for children of all ages. My favorite thing, They are striving to be a ZERO waste store. Love that!!

Woodenful Toys makes the cutest wooden animals I have ever seen. Made of beautiful solid wood Birch, Polished by hand, painted using A.P. certified non toxic watercolors, and sealed with a beeswax and oil. Woodenful Toys are always welcome at my house. 

Do you love to decorate with signs and pictures? Meet Me Bye The Sea has the Best selection for the beach lover. You can also find her Original creations for the lover of all things beach at Baby Bye The Sea. I am a total sign lover, I fill my house with words and pictures that make me happy, you should too.

Looking for the perfect hat for the winter months head over to Maruma Kids. She aims to please with her knit clothes using eco friendly yarns in neutral colors. Beautiful! 

Explore, Learn, Grow together with Cake In The Morn. A homeschooling mom sharing her creations of Montessori toys, felt stories, flannel boards, and more. Visit her at Cake In The Morn. The wind streamers seen above will be in our stockings on Christmas morning.

Not sure if you want to cloth diaper but looking for the next best thing The Honest Company is it. They offer premium eco friendly disposable diapers in the cutest patterns. 

 O how I love all of the greatness from TheToymaker's Daughter, Julianne's Kitchen (shown above) and so many other amazing open ended toys for children can be found in her Etsy store. 

The perfect dollhouse for your family can be found at Elves & Angels, they are known for Heirloom Quality Wooden Toys that will last a lifetime. You can find other pictures of my children enjoying their dollhouse here. Elves & Angels has my vote for best of the best :)

If you are looking for High Quality, Hand Crafted toys visit The Toymaker's Daughter and Elves & Angels.

A child needs and craves natural toys, and what could be better than to provide them with a wonderful Waldorf doll for keeps.

These beautiful sweet dolls and many others can be found at Natural Waldorf Inspired Stores and from Mommas around the web. 

For the most amazing puzzles on Etsy visit Manzanita Kids, and don't be surprised when you find loads of other fun things to fill your cart with. 

Some other favorites for you to check out

Palumba inspired natural living. I drool over this entire catalog, You will be happy with anything that you purchase through them.

Bella Luna Waldorf toys, wooden toys and natural toys to nourish the senses and inspire the imagination. (Rocker Board above can be found at Bella Luna) along with much more.

Nova Natural Growing, playing, learning, wearing, living, natural and organic for the whole family.

The Honest Company All natural baby, family, and household products.

The Magic Onions Beautifully handmade treasures for the natural home.

Citrus Lane Looking for the perfect gift box of new items shipped monthly. Surprise a little one with their very own delivery from Citrus Lane.

Insiders Tip...Make sure you LIKE these businesses on facebook. They post specials and sales on occasion for facebook fans.

Looking for great children's books? Our favorite books of the year are

In Grandma's Attic

Red Sails To Capri

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Hard Luck 

Fancy Nancy

Magic Tree House

The Dot

You Are My Miracle

You can also find other top gift lists from us on
Top Toys for the Natural Child
 Top Ten Books of the Year
 The Best Gifts for a Montessori Toddler.

I hope you find some great treasures on this list. We did :)

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