Happy Birthday, Darling.

Cousins.

Come one, come all THIS FRIDAY evening.

Fall Pledge Drive: WPLN.

Yep. It's that time again.

You can tune in on the web here, or in the listening area, at 90.3 FM or 1430 AM for talk and world news. You can hear My Beloved Mister all week between 9 and 4 central on the AM side....

It's so easy to pledge. You can do so right here.

The softest dreamiest hope of hopes.

Doors and windows.

Well. It's been four years of transition and upheaval and reinvention and fight / make-up, strive for peace. Our internal conflicts are mirrored by external ones and it feels sometimes as if we can't catch a break.

We're not throwing in the towel. We'll have been wed for five years where it counts most and four (to the state) end of the month. We're keeping at it.

Our latest trial is also our latest opportunity. And while I'm not up to filling in the blanks just now, we're in the thick of it. IT.

We didn't need more stress, but we know somehow that this could be the door closing and the window opening that tumps most of the shit out and allows us to reinvent our life together into a thing more closely resembling our Truest Selves and Truest Dreams from when we were ambitious and soft and dreamy enough to hope the brightest hopes.

Subscriptions.

I have a new subscription service through Feedblitz (see top right!) For those of you formerly signed up through Bloglet, you know that it was only working very part-time, so my hope is that this new feature will keep you up to date if that's what you want. All but anonymous previous subscribers have been imported to the new system. Those of you who want to remain mysterious will need to re-up. And the rest of you good folks, if you're not using some service like bloglines or whatnot, why not go on ahead and sub to my Feedblitz? You'll receive a single email per day, which will include a link to the homepage and individual link(s) to new entries. Simple Simon, meet your pie-man.

Ally-oooop!!

Middle Tennessee Progressive Calendar.

You can find rather a lot of good stuff over on the Middle Tennessee Progressive calendar, including information about Nashville MAU weekly Mobilize the Mamas gatherings. (We're having consistently good turnout, and today was no exception; it even included lots of NashMAU families who are also homeschoolers and are currently doing a cooperative learning group on Friday mornings about immigrants and refugees. Since Centennial Park is hosting the Doctors Without Borders exhibit with the refugee camp in the middle of the city during this closing week, today's group expanded with their participation for a time.)We're so happy that a new family found us today via the Middle Tennessee Progressive Calendar. Right on!!

9:30a-11:30a
Mobilizing the Mamas

Nashville MAU (Mothers Acting Up) and cohorts will be meeting up for a weekly bring the family playdates-- an effort to socialize, enjoy play & mobilize the mamas (and daddies) by creating some valuable community building time for families. The more the merrier! This is a y'all come event. Bring snacks to share, water, suncreen, blanket, outdoor toys / chalk, a craft to work on.... The playground at Centennial thankfully provides some good shade cover. Children of all ages are welcome. Nursing friendly environment.

When: Fridays 9:30am-11:30 am
Where: Centennial Park Playground, near28th Ave. & Poston Ave. - see map

*In the event of inclement weather, we will gather at Borders Books & Music on West End, just across the street from the park.

Mamas (and daddies) grab a cuppa and the little ones' hands and come on, come on.... Bring questions, interesting newspaper articles, copies of "An Inconvenient Truth" to lend or share, and any other information to shed light on in the realm of raising our children, our consciousness and our collective voices for a better world. From these informal gatherings, we hope to get to know one another, create collective actions where appropriate, engage in community service as folks see fit and arrange some slightly more formalized family field trips (visits to our representatives, the state capitol, local schools, family farms, etc.) Bring your ideas!! Bring your friends. Bring lawn games and outdoor toys to share. Bring snacks or picnic lunch if you care to. (Both good play and community building are best fueled by snacks!)

You wouldn't know it to look at him.....

this angel faced wonder compelled his father to comment, in light of the body blows, bites, and ohhhhhhh so passionate embraces that came Mama Booty's way at bedtime last night: "Mothering is a contact sport."

Yep. Sure 'nuff.

ReHASH.

See hash recipe below. Fix with sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. Add more greens (tatsoi, this time.)

That was supper last night, and lunch today. Mmm.

Gimme, Gimme.

Ms. Booty Homemaker is looking for some tried & true recipes from friends and readers for the following:

1) Oatmeal bread and other good homemade varieties. I want to severely reduce store bought.

2) Breakfast Cookies. I'm wanting to create something the Mister can grab and eat on the run, but something healthful, too, that the babe & I can enjoy. I'm thinking granola'ish, but not so hard.

3) Chicken & sweet potato soup.


Have any to share? Please do.

MAU Mother Leadership Handbook / 2007 Calendar.

It's available now.

Within the pages of this amazing resource, you will find portraits of Mothers* Acting Up from all across the globe, from fancy high profile folk to downhome grassroots mamas like your very own Ms. Booty Homemaker.

I am so honored and humbled and thoroughly tickled to be in such esteemed company, and I urge you to get a copy or five or eleven for you, your mother, your best girlfriend, your daughter and that oh-so-cool co-worker or boss who'll dig it but good.

These handbooks will provide you with a plethora of knowledge with which to educate and arm yourself to keep it simple and act UP. Plus, they are very beautiful and oh so useful as a datebook, journal or desk calendar.

Player's choice, as my Mister says.

"Get it!," as my Ziggy says, to fill up Christmas stockings and care packages and open hearts / hands of the ones what you love, who want to join this movement of mothers to publicly and passionately advocate for the world's children.

*mothers and others, on stilts or off, who exercise protective care over someone smaller

Who are you?

Gentle Reader,

Won't you take the time to tell me who you are and how you found me?

Please and thank you.


be well.
MBH

Harvest Moon, Shine on Me.

October is my very most favorite month. The turning leaves, the chill in the air, really good cocoa while snuggled up reading with my man. I am heady with the abundance of harvest, of love, of closeness and family, and with the feeling that all things are possible.


October is also the month of My Beloved Mister's birthand of wandering backroads in search of a pumpkin farm. It is the time of year we fell in love, shared our first kiss, and a year later stood in a room with one another and some of our closest loved ones to say, "I do."

Last harvest season, we had a new babe and a housefull of revolving visitors. One weekend, we visited a farm out in Franklin. After carefully choosing the pumpkins, nursing in car and getting the newborn Ziggy all tucked into his car seat, Daddy Booty drove off with the pumpkins on top of the car. We ended up going elsewhere to pick up more pumpkins and produce.

Sign of the Times.

Ziggy has consistently been using the sign for "milk" to mean "nursing" or "mama's milk" since he was six months old. In the last three of those, he's gotten creative, using the sign to also mean "mama," "eat," "Look at me, I'm nursing," "Did you see me nursing a minute ago?," "I want to nurse when we get home," and "I like nursing." The latter of these messages the sign for milk with an ecstatic tooth bearing smile and kicky happy legs. He is especially sweet and funny upon completion of a nursing session when he grins giddily, cocks his head and looks at his father or grandmother or whomever is closeby to clutch his little fist in his most beloved sign, nearly coy, knowing that he is being funny. Ziggy does this in the car, in the bathtub, on the sofa, in the park or on the playground.... The other day, as we strolled home from an outing with the dog to a neighborhood arts fair, he turned to me and squeezed his hand with a smile. Clearly, he knew we were on the the move homeward and once we got there, he wanted to cozy in at the breast.

Nevermind that I know when he wants to nurse even without the sign, or that for some time he's been as likely to simply press against my bosom greedily, or lift my shirt. The sign for "milk" has become a doorway to larger communications.

And now, my verbal wonder says things like "Get it!" (about a black walnut, brought home from the park, which has rolled beyond his reach behind the rocking chair; about the ball he has seen his father throw for Bert the Dog....) Ziggy says, "Give me that!" and "That!"

Such demanding manner and imerative case usage is appropriate for his development. Even so, in the same way we model gentle touching and picking up after ourselves, we are working on signs and words for "please," "thank you," and "you're welcome." The first two of these come rather easily. He says an approximation of "thank you," and has begun in the last week to sign "please." I sign it to him when he asks for something, then sign it again on his body. Often, he thrills and delights us by making his version of the sign which looks like a little chest thump with open palm rather than making a circle. Very well, then. This "please" pleases him greatly, ear to ear smile of self-pride, which often is more rewarding for him than the bite of popcorn or out of reach toy he is after.

Harvest the Good Stuff.

Enough is the same as a feast.

So mote it be.

Open letter of thanks.

Dear Fairy Godmother,

Thank you for the kind note and the ten spot you sent for me to spend on "only" myself.

How clever of you to send it to the PO Box.

I still haven't decided what to treat myself with. Perhaps a bottle of Kiss My Face Peaceful Patchouli lotion, which I love love love for it's emollient and aromatherapeutic qualities. Or maybe a mama's morning or evening outto see a movie at the theatre. Or lunch out at Taste of India to meet a friend....

Thank you, whoever you are, kind person.


XX
--MBH

Register to Vote!!

This message reminder comes courtesy of friend Angel. I heartily concur and thank her for taking the time to send it out....

If you aren't, it's not too late!  The deadline
for voter registration for the upcoming November
midterm election is October 8th.

You can download the form here.

All voter registration forms must be postmarked
by October 8th in order to be eligible for the
November election.

I would also like to encourage you to forward
this to anyone you think needs to register,
or that could pass the message on to others.

Thank you!