tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158377912655460352023-11-15T10:02:42.030-08:00A Freshly Milled Lifefreshly milled grains, healthy cooking, yummy desserts, green living, feeding kids, life as a crunchy con mommy and navy wifeErinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-31734037902325795852011-04-09T08:08:00.000-07:002011-04-09T08:19:07.862-07:00Saturday morning is pancake morningIn the book "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" it is declared that Saturday morning is pancake morning. The bee of course takes all things literary as fact, so of course in our house Saturday morning is pancake morning.<br /><br />But the problem is pancakes aren't good for you. White flour, sugar, and fried up in some sort of grease. They are completely void of fiber, nutrients, and spike your blood sugar quickly. In little people blood sugar spikes are the things nightmares are made of. So I had to figure out a way to make pancakes that delivered protein as well as pancakey goodness that was supposed to be for Saturday mornings. This way I won't have to worry about blood sugar spikes and dips that make people lose control of their bodies and emotions! Two eggs and 1 cup of ricotta cheese gives this a lot of protein and balances out the straight carbs of regular pancakes. My kids eat them up and are getting a good dose of protein to help control their sugars and prevent behavior spikes. You can also add 2 T. peanut butter to this recipe and make peanut butter cookie pancakes<br /><br />Pancakes:<br /><br />1.5 c. whole wheat flour<br />1 1/2 c. whole raw milk<br />1 T. whey or 1 t. raw apple cider vinegar<br />3 T. butter melted and cooled<br />2 eggs`<br />1 c. ricotta cheese<br />3 T. baking powder (take care to find some without aluminum, Rumford is a good brand)<br />1 T. sucanat<br />1 t. salt<br /><br />Mix the flour, milk and whey or vinegar the night before. Cover and let it sit at room temperature all night. The next morning add the rest of the ingredients and fry in coconut oil. Top with maple syrup, berries, fruit compote. Never ever ever top it with nutella, pecans, and whipped cream. That defeats the entire point of a healthy breakfast. Trust me. You'll never want to stop eating that.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-44674106155020343382011-02-07T10:38:00.000-08:002011-02-07T10:46:21.356-08:00an updateThank you all for your concern.<br /><br />We are fine, though have had a rough go of it.<br /><br />I had severe pre-eclampsia and was on bedrest for three months. The ninja made an appearance when I was 35+5 weeks pregnant and is beautiful and healthy. Since we knew he was going to come early we were able to prepare his lungs with steroid shots. He breathed on his own from the beginning and didn't ever have to stay in the NICU. He was very small when he was born, but is nursing wonderfully and growing on schedule. He is catching up with his adjusted age nicely.<br /><br />His brother and sister are thrilled with him, and I'm so glad for them to have another sibling. They are doing wonderfully with him.<br /><br />We have had a rough couple of months. December was me recovering from a c-section and dealing with a preterm baby, and in January we were hit with the flu for myself and the bigger kids and the baby was hospitalized with RSV. <br /><br />However it seems we are all getting healthy again and looking forward to spring as a family of five.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-17262371209247956312010-08-27T17:05:00.000-07:002010-08-27T17:10:07.422-07:00Infertility sucksIt does. Even though I'm halfway through a healthy surprise pregnancy, infertility sucks.<br /><br />I don't fully believer I'm pregnant. I've seen the ultrasounds, heard the heartbeat, know the gender, and feel the jabs that are getting stronger by the day.<br /><br />And I don't believe I'm pregnant.<br /><br />I have lost the innocence of rejoicing in those first flutters of movement and being excited and thrilled over every little thing. I lost that because of the decade of loss that I had. <br /><br />Please don't misunderstand, I'm happy to be here, and to be pregnant. <br /><br />I fear for the loss of this little one in such a deep way, because it is all my body and spirit have ever known. The loss of my biological children. <br /><br />And even now, after the infertility cycle has seemingly been lifted for a brief moment, infertility still sucks. It has left a big deep gaping wound on my soul that I don't think will ever heal. It will just scab over, for a while, and then be ripped off again and again.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-91112704428159929752010-07-25T12:12:00.000-07:002010-07-25T12:38:01.499-07:00How I got hereI have PCOS, Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome. This is an endocrine disorder where your ovaries produce tons of cysts and your entire endocrine system is out of balance. It is closely tied to Insulin resistance and thyroid issues. PCOS is the leading cause of infertility in the nation, affecting almost 10% of women in the United States. It has some additional fun side effects to the infertility including male pattern facial hair, chest hair, a difficulty losing weight, some fun gastrointestinal side effects, and fatigue. My husband has very low sperm motility and those two things combined made doctors think it was pretty much impossible for us to conceive. And according to medical science it was.<br /><br />After we decided not to pursue any more fertility treatments, ever, I started to really concentrate on finding health for my body. I was specifically looking to cure, or at least calm the effects of, PCOS with my diet. After a lot of research as well as trial and error I discovered more things about my body and food tolerances/intolerances. First, like most women with PCOS, I am gluten sensitive. I am not intolerant nor do I have celiac. However gluten does tend to slow my digestion, give me gas, and destabilize my blood sugar. One of the first major dietary changes I made was to eliminate wheat and other glutens from my diet on a regular basis. I still milled my own grain, and my kids still eat fresh bread, but it wasn't working for my body anymore. I didn't look for hidden gluten, nor did I give up the occasional treat, but bread and gluten heavy products were no longer a part of my regular diet.<br /><br />And as soon as I made that change I started to drop weight.<br /><br />The next thing I looked at was fruits. Fruits are an incredibly healthy food, and should be a major part of the diets of most people. But I was experiencing major sugar highs and lows over even something simple like a nectarine. The first thing I did was eliminate fruit all together, and that wasn't my brightest day. I love fruit, and am much more likely to get my nutrients from fruit than veggies. So I started to make sure that my fruit intake was limited to only times when I was consuming protein too. For breakfast I'd have eggs with pesto and 1/4 of a grapefruit. No more stand alone fruit, but instead I would have my fruit with a balanced meal and I would eliminate the sugar highs and lows. Since I was not eating many grains it was important that I still get carbohydrates, but in a balanced way.<br /><br />I vastly increased my protein intake also. I was eating 80 or so grams of protein a day. Eggs for breakfast every single morning, and red meat for dinner every night, except a couple of days a week of fish. I do not like Chicken well, nor do I feel well when I eat it, so I don't. I think that most food aversions like this are indicators of foods that are and aren't good for us. <br /><br />The final dietary change I made was to drastically increase my intake of cruciferous vegetables. These are veggies from the cabbage family, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc... I would make sure that I had something from this family every day of the week. More often than not it was cole slaw, since I'm also a big fan of a high fat diet.<br /><br />Over the course of changing my diet I lost 20 lbs and started to ovulate on a more regular basis. My cycles were about 40 days in length. The longest I'd gone in the past without a cycle was almost three years. <br /><br />And that, is the story of how I started to ovulate based on dietary changes, and got pregnant very unexpectedly.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-82601465840571831172010-07-22T18:12:00.000-07:002010-07-22T18:17:54.495-07:0025 weeks25 weeks from now, give or take a week or two, someone new will be coming into our lives. <br /><br />I am pregnant. 15 weeks pregnant.<br /><br />After multiple miscarriages, and being told that we had a 1% chance of ever conceiving a baby, even with treatments I'm pregnant. No treatments. Total and complete shock. <br /><br />I think that extreme fatigue of the first trimester is a valid reason to avoid blogging.<br /><br />I have a ton of emotions ranging from fear to elation. I worry for my two children that they won't transition well. I worry also about their emotions related to their adoptions and navigating those waters. <br /><br />I do believe that a big part of my ability to get and maintain a pregnancy was finding out, by trial and error a diet that worked best for my body. I had recently lost quite a bit of weight because of my diet, and I believe this also factored into it.<br /><br />But more than anything God chose to open my womb.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-79516331603711656572010-07-13T18:56:00.000-07:002010-07-13T18:59:11.763-07:00I'm still hereI still mill my own flour. <br /><br />I still make my own breads, and dehydrate food and can for the winter. I'm knitting, and quilting and thinking about taking up sewing for my daughter.<br /><br />I've been absent for a while for a good reason, reasons. <br /><br />I'm not sure I'm ready to share yet. Perhaps after a week from Thursday I'll be ready to share in such a hugely public place.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-14048148286552504562010-03-12T17:13:00.000-08:002010-03-12T17:24:50.507-08:00Dehydrating vegetablesI'm growing broccoli this spring. Hopefully I'll get a bunch of it. I love broccoli. Well let me clarify. I detest vegetables, all vegetables. However of all the vegetables that I detest I can stomach broccoli. I'll seek it out. I like broccoli soup with chicken stock and lots of fresh pepper and onion and a little bit of cream.<br /><br />But I'm growing a lot of broccoli. I've got twenty plants right now. All going to arrive at the same time. And limited freezer space. So I was trying to think of some alternative ways to store said broccoli. I could make big batches of the soup and can it, and I'll probably do some of that. But I'll still have more broccoli.<br /><br />So I've decided to dehydrate my broccoli. I'll steam it for a few minutes, and then pack it into vacuum sealed jars. I'll reconstitute it for soups in the winter months. I'm really excited to see how this works!Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-18118062453764311762010-03-09T19:29:00.001-08:002010-03-09T19:48:15.460-08:00ArtThis was inspired by two wise women, Crystal and Rachel. Wisdom is awesome.<br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/images/monet" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn29/lianalianaliana/ClaudeMonetWaterLilyPond2.jpg" border="0" alt="claude monet Pictures, Images and Photos"/></a><br /><br />Three years ago I saw this amazing collection of Monet paintings. I remember weeping at seeing the beauty of those paintings up close and personal. I could see his brush strokes. The actual strokes where he his brush dipped in the paint and each individual bristle drew a small line in the paint. It was breathtaking. Absolutely amazing. I was so close to this genius that I could see the individual bristle marks. Incredible doesn't begin to describe it.<br /><br /><br />The bee has this amazing curly hair, and is so smart I can't stand it. Huck has this giant blue eyes and is the sweetest kindest little soul I've ever known. Those things about their person, about their personality are beautiful. The result of a God who created with love these little people and entrusted them to me. He has asked me and the sailor to help to mold and shape them into the people he wants them to become. <br /><br />Imagine again seeing a Monet painting in person. The beauty and delight of that simple painting.<br /><br />Now imagine hitting it. Imagine hitting it so you left a mark and marred the paint, or worse put a small hole in the canvas. <br /><br />Why would you mar a child like that? How on earth does hitting a beautiful child, something precious and beautiful and created, benefit anybody, most especially the child? They are lovingly created, by a God who adores us. And some choose to believe that the same God also calls us to hurt them.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-48245661374191367702010-02-22T19:09:00.000-08:002010-02-22T19:17:49.672-08:00my flu gardenMy sweet baby boy (whom I refuse to admit is almost two!) gets colds every other minute, and is one of those kids who is "always sick" We have and are going down the allergy/natural remedy path and it is frustrating, and expensive.<br /><br />So now, I've decided for sure to plant a cold and flu garden in the coming season. I think I'm going to use a raised bed, the rest of my garden is in ground, and use a children,s plastic swimming pool as my template for the size. I want to do a wagon wheel.<br /><br />I'm planning on planting specifically in the cold and flu garden; yarrow, echinacea, catnip, thyme, peppermint, and lavender. <br /><br />These plants, plus the garlic and rosemary in my regular garden are amazing sources of cold and flu prevention and treatment.<br /><br />I'm also planning on planting elderberries, but I won't get my plants till the fall, and they won't start to produce until the end of next summer, so I'm going to stock up on dried elderberries this summer so we have plenty of elderberry syrup this coming winter!Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-74263513543647781402010-02-15T19:16:00.000-08:002010-02-15T19:31:04.986-08:00CoffeeMore than half of the American public drink coffee. I drink coffee. I have ADD and caffeine is a huge part of my routine and keeps me off stronger levels of amphetamines to deal with my ADD. (I've GOT to do an ADD post eventually) Coffee helps me to function as a wife, mother, student, and woman. Not to mention be a productive member of society!<br /><br />But the choice of coffee is dreadfully important, and we as Americans have the lunary of making HUGE impacts on the coffee industry! We are the wealthiest nation in the world, and except for those among us who are living paycheck to paycheck or on government aid can make a difference.<br /><br />Fair trade coffee is something that is important. We can with our money put an end to the horrific practices of the big coffee companies and do our part to help end worldwide poverty! Please at least watch this trailer, and if you can afford to rent them watch the movie!<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1DePOBjunXU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1DePOBjunXU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-65375239496371074712010-02-11T19:51:00.000-08:002010-02-11T19:55:09.335-08:00TiredWe are tired of winter here. The thing is, I have always loved winter, but this year I'm finding it trying. The kids are tired of bundling up everytime we go out, and being sick, and all the junk you have associated with winter. I've let our diet go, and when the sailor is gone for days at a time, I far to often don't cook the way I want to, or the way that we are healthiest.<br /><br />I'm so looking forward to the ground being turned over in my garden again in a few weeks, and scattering those first few seeds and waiting on them to come up and reward us with their delightful flavors. <br /><br />Soon, soon. This season will be over. Spring is almost hereErinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-8060313270617032882010-01-17T17:26:00.000-08:002010-01-17T17:59:23.175-08:00My perfect dayI had a perfect day today. Really perfect.<br /><br />We woke up with the sunshine, and a sweet girl whispering "The sun woke up again today!"<br /><br />We had soaked oatmeal with raw honey, bananas and cinnamon for breakfast. Topped with coconut oil and raw heavy cream.<br /><br />We went to a new church that was small, only twenty people, but the teaching was amazing and the people were sweet.<br /><br />We came home and had quesidillas for lunch with cheese I made from raw milk, and tortillas I made from freshly milled wheat and spelt. Plus homemade salsa that I made last summer all from my garden.<br /><br />Then we had a kazoo concert. The bee has a particular love for The Beatles, especially "I am the Walrus" <br /><br />I put a roast in the oven.<br /><br />Huck took a nap. And the bee and I worked out, and the sailor went to lowes.<br /><br />We looked at paint colors when he returned.<br /><br />We colored for a while with some markers and made up stories to go with our drawings. <br /><br />We went into the backyard and looked at the first tiny shoots coming up in the asparagus patch on the side of the house, hoping that we get more than two this summer and picked a few weeds that are invading the strawberries. We checked the raspberries, and are worried they won't make it.<br /><br />We finished dinner. We had creamed spinach, roast, and mashed potatoes. The kids loved it all. The bee "helped" me cook, as she loves to cook.<br /><br />We then read books, nine books to be sure. Brushed our teeth, and then the sailor and I put the kids to bed. <br /><br />Then the sailor and I came downstairs and did some chores together and he decided to turn on the television to watch a TV show that he loves.<br /><br />We spent no money, we just spent time together.<br /><br />I cannot for the life of me think of a better day.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-32626430625651465862010-01-01T11:20:00.000-08:002010-01-01T11:39:08.310-08:00New year, new prep listsJan 1 isn't a huge deal in my world. I love the gentle flow of season into season and while I do love holidays, for some reason the new year has never been a huge deal for me. It is just another day. Of course this year I'm watching the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, but aside from that, not a lot going on.<br /><br />However it is a good time to make some lists and do some cleaning out of the old. January is typically a slow month around the house, and the time of year when everything is dormant. Nothing much grows, at least where I live. I usually find some yummy citrus and make a few batches of marmalade, but no more than that. <br /><br />But the lack of anything going on, gives us ample time to do stuff. I try to clean out my pantry in January. Anything that expires in six months or less I donate to a food pantry and buy replacements. I make lists of what I need to expand in the next year, and what I had to much of the year before. Last year I came across an amazing deal on canned corn, and bought far to much. Nobody in my house aside from me likes corn. If we aren't going to eat it, we shouldn't buy it.<br /><br />Here is my current pantry list that I need to buy ASAP:<br />Black beans #300<br />Wheat #200<br />Honey 15 gallons<br />Oatmeal #100<br />Dog Food #200<br /><br />This of course is just the beginning of my pantry, but these are the most important staples that I need to keep building. I'm also hoping to add some freeze dried meals to the pantry this year that stay good for 20 years. NO they aren't the healthiest or most delicious food, but they will keep you going.<br /><br />I am also pouring over my seed catalogs this month to get ready to place my spring order. Where I live, I can plant peas and broccoli at the end of next month! Of course this is an incredibly cold winter and the ground is frozen solid and covered with snow right now, so this year might be a little later than usual. I try and garden according to two things. What I can can, and what we will eat. Not to mention what will grow here ;) Last year I learned that corn does not fare well in a backyard garden here. It is just far to windy here, and we get hail. I was seriously depressed when my corn was hailed out last year. But tomatoes thrive! My tomatoes last year were amazing, and I got hundreds of pounds of tomatoes off my vines. I know that I have vine borers and that I need to use floating row covers to keep them from getting into pumpkins and other vining plants. My zucchini was lost early, so I'm hoping to remedy that this year. <br /><br />Currently I'm planning on growing in the backyard garden:<br />Early spring:<br />Peas<br />Spinach<br />Lettuce<br />Broccoli<br />Radish<br />Onions<br />Carrots<br />Potatoes (In a trash can)<br />Chard?<br />Cabbage<br /><br />Late Spring:<br />Green Beans<br />Black Beans<br />Tomatoes<br />Cantaloupe<br />Watermelon<br />Pumpkins<br />Zucchini<br />Butternut Squash<br />Cucumber<br /><br />Fall:<br />Lettuce<br />Peas?<br />Radishs<br />Garlic<br />Chard?<br /><br />I'm also going to try and lacto-ferment carrots, cabbage, and cucumbers this year in an attempt to preserve some food without canning. Not to mention that lacto-fermented food is amazing for your gut.<br /><br />I'm also working on updating the car kit and our bug out bags. In fact we are going to go buy a new hunting knife today for the car kit. Stay tunedErinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-85954373180526768892009-12-07T19:32:00.000-08:002009-12-07T19:34:50.296-08:00I long for snowI do. I love snow. I love the soft sound, the quiet. I love the way it looks, and the way it feels.<br /><br />But most of all, I long to see how the bee responds to the joys of snow in her fourth winter, and how Huck enjoys it in his second.<br /><br />My children are absolute joys to me. I can't wait to see their response to so many things.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-90026546904944933002009-12-07T12:01:00.000-08:002009-12-07T12:20:11.779-08:00AlcoholI love a good beer. Ambers are my favorite, and I like to discover local breweries and sample their beers. <br /><br />I like wine, but am not a wine snob. I'll drink two buck chuck with pleasure. <br /><br />I don't like hard liquor that well, but it is fun for cooking, and sometimes cocktails.<br /><br />But one of the things that we include in our food storage is whiskey and vodka. Now, we don't drink whiskey or vodka, though my husband does enjoy a bit of makers mark once in a while. <br /><br />IMO alcohol is essential for food storage and especially a TEOTWAWKI situation. Alcohol is incredibly useful, especially high proof alcohol. It can be used for cleaning wounds, knocking someone out if they need a splint put on or bones readjusted, making extracts and tinctures, and even currency.<br /><br />I store cheap whiskey and vodka. NO need to store high quality alcohol as the cheap stuff will do the job just as well.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-50858595627287854172009-12-01T07:51:00.000-08:002009-12-01T08:06:40.154-08:00Christmas and the meaning behind itI'm not a big "Keep Christ in Christmas" type of gal. I couldn't care much less if a retailer has up holiday signs rather than Christmas signs. I don't expect a secular world to live a Christian lifestyle, and have Christian principles. But in our home we aren't huge into the whole birthday of Jesus thing either. Christmas to me isn't about the birth of Messiah, that is what Sukkot (Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year) is all about. But the fact is that we wouldn't be celebrating Christmas if Jesus wasn't born, despite the fact that he wasn't born anywhere near the time of Christmas.<br /><br />What Christmas is though, to our family, is a time of giving and loving on as many people as we are blessed to do. I want my children to not only have fond memories of the gifts they get on Christmas morning, but also experience the thrill of giving and sharing with our friends, neighbors, and those who are less fortunate than us.<br /><br />One idea that I'm incorporating this year to pick a family and sponsor them for christmas without them knowing. We are going to drop off a small gift, food item, card or whatnot every day today through Christmas day. I know this family, they are friends of ours, and they are really struggling financially this year. I'm excited to have the bee help out making small things, and dropping them off. Teaching her that it really is more blessed to give than to receive.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-9712452555805640722009-11-29T18:48:00.000-08:002009-11-29T18:56:43.308-08:00Christmas and why my parenting is differentI love Christmas. Like really really really love it. I cannot wait until Christmas morning to see the looks of joy on the faces of my children as they come downstairs and see the lit tree, the presents and their bikes! <br /><br />I have so few good memories from my childhood, but Christmas was almost always one. I want my kids to have that joy, that magic, that complete delight that I did.<br /><br />My mother was not a good mother. She was just not. I'm not going into specifics publicly, but it wasn't a good childhood. I had absolutely no trust for her by the time I was four. <br /><br />The memories of Christmas is part of why I wanted to change the way I parented my children. Christmas was such a joy for me as a child, at least until I was about ten. It was a day when I wasn't scared, or angry, or sad, or lacking trust in my mother. It was a day that I knew that she could be counted on. And that is a wonderful thing.<br /><br />But it is so sad that there was only one or two days a year that I could feel that way about her. The fact that Christmas and my birthday were so hugely different than the rest of the year is not a good thing. I looked forward to those holidays with such a passion because they were safe days. I don't want my children to look forward to safe days, I want every day to be a safe day.<br /><br />So I comfort them when they cry, I don't scream at them, I don't hit them, I feed them healthy foods and wear them when they need some extra snuggles. Every child deserves those basics in life, to live a life where they trust their family.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-58656150080350250172009-11-21T04:32:00.000-08:002009-11-21T04:49:21.901-08:00Where will they goMy three year old is obsessed with being a doctor. She talks about it frequently. When people ask her what she is going to be when she grows up she always says a doctor. She loves to read the pages in her books about doctors, and asks what schools she has to go to to become a doctor. When she goes to the doctor she asks the doctor to look in her ears with the otoscope. <br /><br />Sometimes she'll also talk about when she is grown up and is a ballerina, or a farmer, or a mommy, or a dog. Yup. A dog.<br /><br />As we are looking on a new and unexpected phase of education for our kids next year, we are thinking about their future in different ways. Something we have always said is that we don't want them to be pushed toward college. There is an unhealthy push to get a college education in our country. Some people probably question that, but college is overrated. Not all children are cut out to go to college. Some kids aren't designed to do four years of post high school education and work in a cubicle, but that is where our American society is leading kids. <br /><br />I want my kids to have the freedom to go to college and excel if they choose. Even if they choose a major that doesn't seem to have a lot of job potential like art history, if they are passionate about that, they can make a wonderful life and career out of that. But I also want them to have the freedom to go to trade school, or start a business, or become an apprentice or go to ten years of college and medical school. <br /><br />I am sure at this point that God is calling us to send our kids to school. At least for a few years. Just like homeschooling families we say we will take it year by year. This might only be a season, and it might be a long term venture. Who knows. But there are a few more worries with sending my kids to school rather than keeping them home.<br /><br />The biggest worry I have is that my kids will feel forced and pressured into college. The school that we are sending them to has a 100% college matriculation rate. And the kids who go to this school don't go to east handkerchief state either. They go to tier one schools. I want to set up an environment in our family where they know college isn't the end all be all and there are other paths they might follow. I want to guide them toward their strengths and interests and callings, not push them toward college. <br /><br />How can my children still explore freedom when they are being tunneled toward college?<br /><br />And these big questions honestly make me wonder if school is going to last beyond the elementary years, and they will be homeschooled in high school. I know that is the opposite of most homeschooling worries. Many parents wonder if they can teach the upper division stuff, and don't worry about the lower division stuff. But not me. The elementary stuff does NOT interest me, and in fact I have never been sure if I could teach my littles the three Rs. But I have never worried from about sixth grade up. From that point on I was quite sure I'd be able to teach. <br /><br />It is going to be interesting to watch this unfold.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-60904012634521827122009-10-30T08:47:00.000-07:002009-10-30T08:59:15.301-07:00On letting babies cry it outBabies cry. Thats how they communicate. It sucks as a mother to hear your baby cry. Especially when you are over tired, frustrated, overwhelmed, and just want to sleep. I know how tempting it is to put your baby into their bed and "teach" them how to sleep, by letting them cry and cry and cry until they finally go to sleep, and repeat until they have been taught to sleep.<br /><br />But it is cruel. You might not want to think that or admit it, but it is. You are taking a tiny little baby, who trusts you. Who looks to you for everything they need, and teaching them that you cannot be trusted. That you won't be there when they need you. That they are alone and have to fend for themselves. You aren't teaching them how to sleep, you are teaching them how not to trust other people. <br /><br />I've heard from several people lately that your baby will try and manipulate you. Babies honestly think that when you leave the room you are gone. They don't know that two halves make a whole. They don't know how to say their names. How can they have the cognitive ability to manipulate. It just isn't possible. Testing boundaries is NOT manipulating. To assign such an intent to an infant, shows a major misunderstanding of babies. <br /><br />But think about it from your perspective as an adult. If you were alone, and tired and scared would you like to be left alone to scream yourself to sleep night after night?Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-19369240268418933602009-10-19T17:50:00.000-07:002009-10-19T17:53:33.486-07:00my fuzzi bunz are for sale!Well we have a new front loading washer and dryer and they just won't wash my diapers well enough for my liking. So sadly we aren't going to be cloth diapering anymore :( <br /><br />I'm selling 13 fuzzi bunz in gender neutral colors (though there are some dark blues and one pinkish) All are in great condition, and I have the inserts for all. I also have 5 hemp inserts that we used at night!<br /><br />I'm asking $140 for all of them. Please respond with your email if you are interested.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-29725910918785132752009-10-18T11:40:00.000-07:002009-10-18T11:48:25.896-07:00sauteed garbanzo beansThere is this amazing restaurant in Berkeley and Oakland California called Cesar. It is a tapas bar and an Alice Waters restaurant. If you are any sort of foodie you know who Alice Waters is.<br /><br />Every spring for a few weeks they have fresh garbanzo beans still in their shells fried with cumin and spices. They are amazingly fresh, and spicy, and yummy. When the bee was ten months old we ate there five days in a row, eating those wonderful beans and my ten month old could get those shells open herself to eat the inside of the bean. She loved them!<br /><br />She still does. Garbanzo beans are wonderful for so much more than just hummus. They are great in minestrone soup, and other multi bean soups. I even like to use them in chili sometimes because of their meaty texture. They don't ever fall apart when they are cooked. <br /><br />But one of our favorite quick and easy breakfasts is sauteed garbanzo beans. Sure it isn't a traditional breakfast item, but combined with a piece of whole wheat bread it makes a complete protein that keeps you from getting hungry in twenty minutes. <br /><br />2 cans garbanzo beans drained.<br />1 shallot<br />2 Tbsp cumin (or less to taste)<br />1 tsp chili powder<br />1 clove garlic<br />salt and pepper to taste<br />olive oil<br /><br />Mix all but the butter in a food processor until garbanzos and garlic are chopped fine. I sometimes add a tiny bit of olive oil to get the beans to hold together well and make patties. Form patties and fry in olive oil. They will fall apart a bit, and won't ever be firm patties, but it is still yummy. If you add eggs you could make a more firm patty. <br /><br />I like a LOT of cumin because it is just yummy and I want a big strong slightly spicy cuminey flavor.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-87680557140628464902009-10-09T03:49:00.000-07:002009-10-09T04:30:29.801-07:00Balancing two futuresI think our country is on its last legs. Honestly I do. I think our Dollar is in very big trouble, and will likely collapse within a few years, and that our country might not survive in the way we know it. More it will go from super power, to something more like Russia is today. So I prepare for that future.<br /><br />We store food, stock up on clothes for the kids several sizes in advance, and plan on chickens as soon as spring comes. We prepare for a future that I believe will very quickly in the future be very bleak.<br /><br />But I could be wrong. Perhaps our nation is on the road to recovery or at least maintaining the status quo. Perhaps things will continue to limp along in a nature very similar to where we are now. I can't dismiss that that is a valid option. So I go back to school, prepare my family and my kids for them to go to school and grow up and be responsible citizens of our nation.Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-57129699687370152632009-10-08T06:49:00.000-07:002009-10-08T07:04:05.705-07:00Flu seasonWell fall is in full swing here, and I'm starting to be able to breathe again. Though I know it is short lived as the Holidays are right around the corner. <br /><br />But fall also brings flu season and that is the topic of much news lately.<br /><br />We of course don't vaccinate against the flu. I understand that the flu can be deadly and that it is a serious illness, but I think the vaccine is more dangerous for my family than the actual flu. If we had someone in our home who was immunocompromised, we would absolutely vaccinate. But we are all healthy in our home and I don't see a reason to compromise our immune systems with a vaccine. <br /><br />But we aren't arrogant about the flu either, we do stay on top of things and do our best to remain healthy during the flu season, just as any other time of year. We have never suffered the same sicknesses that our friends do and I believe firmly it has to do with our diet and prevention.<br /><br />First and foremost I wash hands a lot. The bee also washes her hands regularly. But we do NOT use anti bacterial soaps. Those soaps breed super germs like MRSA and there is no need to use them. I do keep products like purell in my purse when we are out. I'm not thrilled with them, but I do think that sometimes it works well when we don't have good hand washing options.<br /><br />Secondly we eat healthy real living foods. We have green smoothies several days a week to make sure that we are getting a good amount of raw foods as well as lots of vitamin C and Iron. I often add cod liver oil to the smoothie, but honestly it does not taste that good. The Lemon flavor does the best and is the only one that my daughter will drink anymore. We also don't eat much sugar. That is a big one actually sugar is a immune depressant. <br /><br />My kids don't eat processed foods. I'm probably the only parent who doesn't send store bread and lunchables to the bees school. That isn't to say they have never had processed foods, they have. But it isn't very often. <br /><br />But there are a few other things that we do. Both kids take a multi vitamin and a vitamin D supplement every day. Vitamin D is huge in fighting the flu, especially the H1N1. We also take elderberry syrup every day. Elderberry syrup is great for building up an immune system, and some say more effective against the flu than tamiflu is. Vitamin C is best gotten from citrus fruits and veggies, but supplements are easy to find and usually easily eaten by kids. <br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XOYzWyFGkqM&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XOYzWyFGkqM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-80143545280429428612009-10-05T09:08:00.000-07:002009-10-05T09:14:47.098-07:00E-Mealz**This is NOT a paid endorsement, it is just something I've found that works wonderfully for us**<br /><br />If you aren't familiar with e-mealz you should be. I love it. It is a menu planning system, and they are just great! Our food budget has dropped dramatically since we started using it, and it is so much easier. <br /><br />What it is, is meal plans. It is also store specific and goes with the specials at a store during the week. It does use some processed foods, but I either substitute with homemade, or sometimes use the processed. It is healthy and kid friendly.<br /><br />But more than that it is cheap! It is only 1.95 a week. They offer vegetarian, low carb, weight watchers points, and other options. You can choose for a family of two or a family of four to six. Also you can choose the plan for Wal-mart, Ralphs, Publix, Aldi, or "any store" <br /><br />I really love it, and it has made our lives a bit easier right now. We are super busy right now and will be getting busier in January. This has worked really well for my family.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.e-mealz.com/amember/go.php?r=71414&i=b3"><img src="http://www.e-mealz.com/banners/banner-225x225d.gif" border=0 alt="SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH E-MEALZ MEAL PLANS" width=225 height=225></a>Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215837791265546035.post-5847738839427531342009-09-14T19:39:00.000-07:002009-09-14T19:41:10.574-07:00PorkAs I'm preparing for the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and doing a study on the sermon on the mount, I can honestly say I don't understand why people don't think that eating pork is okay. Or not following the law is okay. It truly doesn't make sense to me.<br /><br />All the while I'll admit I love bacon and crave it ;)Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11942415229259955664noreply@blogger.com5