Nature's Nurture

Hello dear friends!

Just a quick post today letting you know about the Top 25 Eco-Friendly Moms contest on Circle of Moms. As of writing this, Nature’s Nurture is in the #8 spot, thanks to our wonderful friends and followers. Thank you so much for your continued support and please remember to continue to vote for Nature’s Nurture everyday!

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Ok, I’m a terrible bloggy friend, I know…

A few weeks ago (oh gosh, it was exactly a month ago!), my dear friend Susie at Earning My Cape presented me with the honor of the Sunshine Award! I was so honored and was so not expecting it, either!

Well, we were on vacation in Florida during that time, so I put off writing about it for a while. And then a while turned into a week, and a week turned into a month. But that’s not the crazy part. The crazy part is that a few days ago, another dear friend, Diane at Mamal Diane, also presented me with another Sunshine Award!

Am I blessed or what? I have such great bloggy friends So before I get into the award part, I’d like to prominently feature both of these wonderful ladies here, so you can have a chance to check out their blogs:

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Wow, I can hardly believe it, but Nature’s Nurture has been honoured with its second blog award! Less than a month ago, I received my first award (the Liebster), and over this past weekend, the Kreativ Blogger Award was given to me for my post on the homemade cooking spray. That cooking spray post is like the gift that keeps on giving – I had no idea it would take off so fast (at last count, it’s at 65k pins on Pinterest!), and I definitely didn’t expect to get an award for it…a very nice surprise, indeed

A huge thank you to Sara from At Home With Mrs. Hampton for passing on this adorable award Please do check out her blog – such a cute, crafty site!

So now, there are a few rules for this award. First, I have to share 7 interesting facts about myself. Arghh, I’ve never been good at this game – remember the first day of school each year when the teacher asked everyone to give their name and share an interesting fact about themselves? I HATED that – just hated it! But alas, it’s come back to haunt me as an adult, so I must oblige Here goes:

1. Before becoming a stay-at-home mama, I was an elementary school teacher…And because of my experiences as an elementary school teacher, I’m now leaning more towards homeschooling Baby Y and our future children, God-willing. I truly believe schooling starts at home, and to dump my kids at school for 8 hours a day, only to sit at a desk with 25 other children all day, just isn’t what I consider a conducive learning environment. The public school system is drained of resources, and because of this, good, hardworking teachers cannot do their jobs properly – so I’m taking our children’s education into my own hands, so to speak. (Sorry for the mini-rant; I tend to do that when it comes to the topic of education )
2. I had a 100% natural, unmedicated birth last year and it was the best experience of my life! The power of the female body is truly astounding and I’m so thankful that God allowed me to physically, mentally, and emotionally experience every aspect of Baby Y’s delivery. Midwives, birth centers, home births, etc. – these are a few of my favorite things
3. I’m a hoarder in recovery. Yes, ever since I was very young, I held on to EVERYTHING! Which would have been ok if we didn’t move around a lot when I was growing up – I was always the one with way too many boxes on moving day LOL. This of course carried into my married life, and finally, before our big move up to Canada about 4 years ago, Mr. B helped me purge my stash of “stuff” and I haven’t looked back since The urge is still there, of course; I just know how to control it better now
4. We’re Americans living in Canada! After a summer weekend trip to Toronto 4 years ago, Mr. B and I decided we were in love with the city, packed up our things (sans my stash of “stuff”) and moved up to Canada 6 months later! It was the best decision we’ve ever made as a married couple and we wouldn’t trade it for anything. The “City Within A Park” really lives up to its name, with enough green space to keep us urban-dwellers happy
5. I wear a headscarf – or a hijab in Arabic. Why? Well, it’s more of an ensemble, complete with long sleeves and long pants – I just cover what I believe needs to be covered. It’s a form of modesty, really. So, that means….*gasp* I’m a Muslim?! Yes, I’m a Muslim – don’t worry, I won’t bite If you have any questions, please feel free to ask – I enjoy talking about my faith. And if you want to learn more about the hijab, you can check out a great explanation my good friend, Nourhan, wrote here.
6. Mr. B and I are saving up for our dream house, which, contrary to popular belief, is NOT a million dollar mansion with 24 rooms, 3 pools, and a kick-ass home theater LOL. No, our dreams are very simple – a small home on an acreage with lots of room to grow our own food, raise animals, and just enjoy the quiet, simple life with our family.
7. Mr. B is a web-developer, and has taken it upon himself to impart his unimaginable wealth of knowledge on me; so I know way more than is necessary about creating websites, working with code, and just a whole bunch of geeky, techy stuff. We work from home, creating websites for small businesses and non-profit organizations. Anyone need a website? Haha, just kidding…sort of

Next, I have to choose 7 other bloggers to give this award to, so here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Accidental Housewife – Mrs. Accident is such a funny, witty Aussie mama blogging about her adventures in accidental housewifery. Did you know housewives are superheroes? I didn’t either, until I read this post
2. The Old-Fashioned Housewife – Nicole has become one of my blogger besties. A Canadian who’s into all things vintage – seriously, ALL things vintage – it’s pure awesome. She also whips up some yummy stuff in the kitchen
3. Mental Chew – Val blogs about all things food and gardening. She shares amazing pics of her garden’s progress, yummy real food recipes, and weekly dinner menus. Check out the latest pics of her beautifully inspiring garden!
4. The Cooking Actress – Yep, you read that right. Cooking. Actress. Kayle is an actress who blogs about food. Simple as that. Umm, Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cookies? I’m so there…
5. The Kitchen’s Garden - Remember our dream house? Well, Cecilia is living the dream! I especially love her post on growing good grass for grass-fed cows and sheep – I never even thought about the importance of that until now!
6. Our Homemade Happiness - Kendra is a new bloggy friend I made over this past weekend. She shares my passion for making homemade cleaners and beauty products, so you can guess why I just love her site. I can’t wait to try her lime and salt rust remover!
7. Miss Anthropist’s Kitchen – My love for everything homemade also includes food, and any way I can make homemade grocery staples to cut out processed foods is a huge plus – pita bread, tortillas, and gold fish crackers are just a few of Nourhan’s awesome creations.

Here are the rules for those nominated by me:

1. Copy the Kreativ Blogger Award logo and place it in your post.
2. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog. It would be rude if you didn’t. Seriously.
3. List 7 things about you that people might find interesting.
4. Nominate 7 other bloggers for their own Kreativ Blogger Award.
5. Leave a comment on the blogs you nominate to let them know about the award.

And finally, thanks to my wonderful readers for subscribing, following, liking, commenting, etc. This blog wouldn’t be here without you! Now go check out those blogs and tell them I sent you!

P.S. Don’t forget about our new blog hop and carnival, Tiny Tip Tuesdays, starting tomorrow! See you then!

[tssig]

Yay, I just received my very first blog award! I never win awards, so I was really excited and honoured when my friend, Mrs. A at The Accidental Housewife passed it on to me – Thanks Mrs. A!

Now what is a Liebster?

Well it is recognition given by bloggers to other up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 subscribers. The award is meant to acknowledge that the blog is inspiring, motivating or a fun read — in other words, it’s worth checking out! (Liebster is the German word for “beloved” or “dearest.”)

Now the rules are simple, and keeps the fun going:

• Thank your Liebster Blog award presenter on your blog and link back to them
• Copy and paste the blog award on your blog
• Present the Liebster Blog award to 3-5 other blogs of 200 followers or fewer that you feel deserve recognition
• Let your selected bloggers know they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog

So my selections for this award are (in random order):

• Where the Wild Things Are (A new, young mom who’s into green living)
• Crafty Crunchy Mama (She’s an awesome source for natural parenting tips)
• Momma On A Mission (She really is on a mission – for healthy, natural living!)
• You Can Make That (Simple, frugal, homemade recipes – what’s not to love?)

Please take a moment to check out these wonderful blogs from young, natural-minded mamas! I’ve learned a few things from them and hope you will too.