The Cottage on the Hill

I've met two other women online who are due this summer just like me! Babies!! I'm so glad my online gals are excited for me. It's rather sad that those around me here aren't. It's not that they're not happy. Rather than the cheers and hugs I received after announcing my pregnancy with Baby Girl, I get, "Oh." Just a simple, "Oh." It's gotten so bad that I don't even want to tell anyone else I'm pregnant, especially a certain person who only days before I found out I am pregnant told me she hoped God would hold off pregnancy for me. I guess I just don't understand, especially in the Christian community, the neutral to negative attitudes towards pregnancy and babies. I'll admit, I wasn't aiming for pregnancy this early after giving birth, but every since we started "breeding re-enactors" hubby and I knew we'd take what we were given, when we were given them with such joy and thanksgiving. I received...

Hubby and I are so relieved! I have nausea! Things are looking up for this pregnancy! I'm also convinced that I'm having a boy. All signs point that way. As I go through my first trimester, I'll let you know how I feel because I'm fairly convinced that taking dietary measures are helping me feel better. I cut way back on refined sugars and white flour. I've cut back on carbs and eat loads of proteins (eggs, cheese, nuts, etc). I'm eating more veggies. I'm drinking kombucha, raw milk, and Bulk Herb Store's Pregnancy Tea. I'm taking a multi-vitamin, B6, Cod Liver Oil, and Folic Acid. My typical breakfast is two eggs, fruit and nuts. Lunch is usually a salad topped with feta cheese and cashews. Dinner is balanced. There are many benefits to Bulk Herb Store's Pregnancy Tea, but one unexpected benefit for me is that it quenches my unquenchable pregnancy thirst. I drink plenty of water when I'm pregnant, but I always have an unquenchable ...

I'm not one to leave Christmas decorations up past the New Year. When Christmas is over, it's over. So, down came the decorations and out went the tree in record time. I got everything neatly packed away, taped up and labeled just in case we move. If we don't, at least I'm all the more organized for next year. I did lots of cleaning and organizing today. I had to be creative with my exercise program, so I put in the new Sugarland cd and danced with the kiddos for 1/2 an hour. It feels good to see the house so "open" again. While I enjoyed the coziness of the garlands and the tree and all the little twinkly lights, it's always nice to take everything down. It makes the house look lighter and brighter. In preggy news, I'm still not sick nor am I feeling pregnant in any way. That's not good news. I'm not going to the doctor because they can't do anything anyway. In my second miscarriage, at 8 weeks an ultrasound showed the baby's...

Hubby and I agree that if he does secure a job southwards and we secure a house, then we're going to ask my little brother if he would like to come live with us and search for a better job for himself. *note to my sister---don't say anything yet to him!* Even though we're still in limbo and nothing is definate, I've started a box of stuff that'll go towards our moving sale. If everything falls through, at least I'll have a really great garage sale in 2009! I'm 6 weeks preggers and still no sign of morning sickness. While that's not completely alarming, the fact that I really don't feel pregnant is. I know it is early, but with my viable pregnancies, I was already feeling pregnant and sick by now. With my pregnancies that ended in miscarriage, I didn't feel pregnant and, in fact, felt great! I feel great, which isn't good. I've been through 2 miscarriages before. While they sadden me, I am comforted by the Lord and in knowing that m...

I had made so many plans and had so many dreams for 2009 and the coming years. They've all changed. I'm not upset. I'm just taken aback. Everything I scratched down in notebooks and in my mind needs to be tossed out and room made for even bigger plans. Right now, we're in limbo. We have to wait until after the first of the year. Candy, I think it would be so cool to be neighbors with you! However, hubby doesn't have a job possibility in Oklahoma, though he does in North Carolina. We just have to see if the company will hire him. The foreman wants hubby to work for him, but it's up the company. The company is a union company. Even though hubby is already in the same union, sometimes they have ridiculous and impossible hoops to jump through. One thing I am looking forward to if we do move is the massive cleaning and decluttering that'll go on while packing. Oh, and I have chosen a house already and we hope it's still on the market if hubby does g...

Hubby and I are seriously looking into moving out of the state we live in. In fact, many middle class, average American taxpayers are leaving this state. We're heavily taxed. Jobs aren't that great. The schools are horrible. Our politicians are massively corrupt and are planning on adding more taxes, fees, restrictions, regulations, etc. They don't strip away our personal freedoms outright....they just tax, fee and regulate them so much, we can't afford them! Moving is going to break my mother's heart. It is going to break mine as well. I love where we live. I'm surrounded by family I can see at any given moment. I have love, support, help and prayers at a moment's notice from people I trust whole-heartedly. Yet, at the same time I'm excited at the prospect of moving. The state hubby might have a job offer in has a VERY affordable housing market. We can get a 3-4 bedroom farmhouse on 2-5 acres of land for LESS than what we paid for our tiny 2-bedroom cot...

Yep, only 6 months post-partum, and I'm preggers! Hubby and I are happy, of course. I'm saying it's a boy. The only problem is I'm having very few symptoms, which in the past meant miscarriages for me. So, it's a one-day-at-a-time deal. I'm also wondering if my vast reduction in carbs, particularly refined ones, and my consumption of Vitamin B6-rich raw milk and my daily glass of kombucha are warding off symptoms. Only time will tell. I was sicker with my daughter than with my son, so that's an indicator that I'm having a boy.

Yep, we're not just snowed in, we're iced in! Thankfully, our power didn't go out and I had a blast plowing the driveway with hubby's 4-wheeler! Everything is all crystal-sparkly! I'd take the kiddos for a walk in the woods, but it's too dangerous. While plowing, several branches fell. When they pop off the trees while covered in ice, it sounds like a gun-shot going off. I didn't flinch the first time because I thought it was a gun-shot. (You know you're a country-gal when gun-shots don't bother you!) I've had people come up to me and tell me they can't believe I do my errands with my two children in tow. I don't think much of it. They're hardly apart from me! When the pediatrician asked if my daughter has separation anxiety, I couldn't answer because we're not apart. (When we are apart, she's with someone she's very familiar with, like Grandma or Daddy.) I'm just used to it. Sometimes, it is difficult...

It looks like I'm going to be snowed in for a couple of days. Of course, I don't mind at all. I'm looking forward to it! We already have our Christmas decorations up....except for our tree. That'll go up Saturday! The house looks so comforting when all the indoor Christmas lights are on. We just got word that our town is looking to heavily restrict and regulate the use of outdoor wood boilers. We have one and under the proposed regulations, the town would have the power to make us turn it off and get rid of it, if they so choose. We're attending a public hearing on the issue soon. Not only is this giving the local government too much power, but their reasons behind it are totally ridiculous. They say the environmental impact of these boilers is too heavy. Since when is burning wood an environmental hazzard!! God regulated nature itself to burn wood! Man has been burning wood since Adam and Eve needed it after eviction from the garden. They say it's the...

Hubby and I are actually considering raising quail! I'm excited! I have such a vision for our little bit of earth and raising quail certainly fits into that scheme. From what I understand, quail can't survive winters here, but they're usually bought as chicks in the spring and butchered in time for the holidays. Hubby expressed a desire to be able to work at the farm next door in order to spend more time with his family. The very same desire has been weighing heavily on my heart and mind recently, even more so than usual. Right now we cannot afford it financially. It would take a miracle. I'm stepping out in faith this Christmas season concerning it. How can we put our heads together and make this work?! My mind is swimming and I honestly feel as if someone is deep within my chest screaming, "Cry out to God!" Oh, if only the farm could at least pay him $20.00 an hour. We've gone through some tough and stressful times recently. I am in awe of God...

My computer crashed, so I won't be blogging as often as before.

Thanks to Candy at www.myblessedhome.blogspot.com for awarding me a blog award! I'll have to post it on my blog later. I'm short of time this evening. As Bubby would say, "Mom got a prize!" (He may only be 2 1/2, but I'm very rarely "mommy." Instead, I'm "Mom." At least he doesn't call me "Kate" anymore! It was rather disconcerting and funny to hear him say, "Hey, Kate!" when he wanted me.) I'm making Baby Girl's Christmas stocking. I made it a bit big, but it's still cute. I dug through my fabric boxes and found some red wool and vintage black velvet. I made a ladybug stocking since that's one of her nicknames. At Walmart, I found ladybug buttons, so I'm going to sew them onto her stocking. Samplers used to adorn quiet corners of houses with comforting or convicting phrases or verses. Nowadays, we have paste-on words for our walls or painted-on verses or shabby-chic signage to hang a...

Hubby cleaned out his stuff from the closet in the nursery, so I moved Baby Girl's dresser into the closet. This left a space in the nursery for a the next baby's cradle. (No, that's not a hint. I'm not preggers...yet.) To fill that space, I took the next baby's little dresser and put a lamp I got for $1.00 at a garage sale earlier this year on it. Then, I took my lady's arm chair out of the living room where it somehow became a magazine rack and put it in the empty corner. Now, I have a cozy space in the nursery where I can read books to my babies. Bubby loves it and he's not one to sit still through a book! Out in the living room, I set up Baby Girl's pack-n-play so she has a safe place to wiggle and have tummy time without worrying about a 45 pound dog running her over or a big brother playing too roughly. (And mommy doesn't have to worry about any of big brother's toys finding their into her hands.) Bubby hated his pack-n-play, but B...

FINALLY!!! Ever since we moved into our little cottage on the hill, I've been fighting the battle against soap scum and whatever else coated our bathtub and shower walls. I tried so many things and nothing could get rid of that nasty build-up and back down to the original shower and tub surface. A suggestion from an online acquaintence and a coupon for Ajax did the trick. I bought one of those plastic, no-scratch scouring pads for dishes and no-scratch Ajax and put in some oomph of my own and it WORKED!! Ok, calling all homeschoolers out there. Do any of you have a DVD of algebra I could borrow (I'll pay shipping.) A CD-Rom won't work...computer's too slow and sick. A VHS won't work...I don't have a VHS player. If so, please e-mail me at scottlass at juno dot com.

My wonderful, fantastic, handy, handsome hubby put in heating in the basement. He also did some major cleaning. The basement is warm, dry, smells so much better and there's space!! It is slowly turning into a livable, usable space, which is important to us because our house is so small. I read a question on another website about what the Biblical basis is for going "green." I found this odd because do we really need a Biblical basis for every tiny little thing we do in our lives? Is there a Biblical basis for playing volleyball, going fishing for pleasure, watching a Jane Austen movie, or planting a flower garden? Of course, what we do as Christians should reflect our walk with Christ. But, is there a Biblical basis for going "green?" In a round-about way, perhaps there is. After all, God made us stewards of His creation. A steward takes good care of his charge. Taking care of the environment by living more "green" certainly is good stewardsh...

Emergency Preparations have been on my mind lately. They're a reoccuring thought when one lives in the great Northeast. Winters can be unforgiving at times. I would love love love to find a small cast iron wood cookstove. My father found one at a garage sale for $25.00, but he didn't buy it and he didn't tell me until a few days later. AUGH!! I'd have put it in my basement so we could have heat and be able to cook should the power go out. A great source for emergency preparedness supplies is Sportsmans Guide. You can get stuff like MREs, camping equipment, battery-less radios and flashlights, etc.

November hasn't meant an ease-up in our difficulties, but we're happily plugging away. I've been working out every day this week. It's already paid off. I can get my engagement ring back on! That's no small feat. I was 105 lbs when I got engaged. I was skinny ! Granted, I'm not 105 lbs now. Add about 30 lbs to that and you've got me. :) I also feel stronger and more flexible. I'm actually amazed at how strong I've gotten just in this past year and just in these past 2 months! Even hubby has squeezed my bicepts and said that I'm getting "ripped." Tee hee. It's all that baby lifting! It isn't uncommon for me to have an infant on one hip and a 2 year old on the other! Motherhood...my own personal gym. Anyhoo, I've been doing The Firm, Yoga and Pilates (I recommend Denise Austin as she doesn't get into the religious part of Yoga), and my own strength training. Some times I'll mix it up with step aerobics,...

Hold fast fellow Christians. It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Thanks to all of you who kept us in your prayers. Here's an update on how things are going. Hubby is doing fine. We still don't know if he actually has Lyme Disease, but he's on antibiotics anyway, though they'd make great diet pills. Hubby says they make everything he eats taste terrible! Thanks to a very generous blessing we received, we were able to make our mortgage payment without worry. We feel a bit more stable. To help make ends meet I'm hoping to sell off some of my tea cup collection. While I enjoy these pieces, they have outstayed their usage. I need the shelf they are on for other things now that Baby Girl sits at the table with us. I'm making room on my hutch for use as a buffet for when we take meals rather than spreading out the service dishes on the table. Our dining table is rather small. We STILL have snow on the ground! Hubby will be turning on the outdoor wood boiler by Sunday so I won't have to be careful with the oil heat un...

I'm in Ezekiel now as I read the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. This stood out to me this morning: Ezekiel 2:9, 10; 3:1-3 KJV And when I looked, behold, a hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therin; And he spread it before me, and it was written within and without; and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Moreover, he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thous findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. The scroll was full of "lamentations and mournings" and yet when he ate it, it was "as honey for sweetness." It struck me that no matter how unpleasant God's Truth may be at times, no matter how hard His admonitions, trials, and even His wrath, it is still swee...

This past Sunday as I ushered my son out the door, he asked if we were going to the farm. I told him that we were going to church to worship Jesus. He responded, "Worship pizza?"

Ok, I admit....I've been fraught with worry about how the world is turning and our own financial struggles. Today's sermon really helped me cast off fears and doubts. The foundations are being laid for the rise of the anti-Christ. Many people become worried and fearful at the very thought. I do believe American must decline as a world power in order for prophecy to be fulfilled. I do believe it's going to get harder. But rather than being fearful like I was before, I'm actually excited. The last time the world quaked with the thunder of prophecies being fulfilled was during the time of Christ. I used to wonder at how amazing it must have been to live during Christ's walk on this earth. But we're living in the dress rehersals of His return!! I wrote yesterday how I was gun shy about the future, wondering what we're going to get hit with next in our run of "bad luck." Now, I'm peeking around the corner, looking to see what God has in sto...

First, our pressure tank AND well pump went at the same time. Then, hubby's truck needed repair. After that, hubby's chainsaw broke. Next, a tree fell on hubby's truck. Now, my truck is making funny noises when I turn the heater on. Finally (hopefully), hubby's being treated for Lyme Disease. We've gone from frustrated to angry to bitter to laughing insanely. *smirk* I will say that we're getting a bit gun shy about the future. We're wondering what's going to happen next!

A healthier home-made macaroni and cheese really doesn't take that much longer and isn't that much harder to make than the boxed version. Here's my recipe: Cook one 12-ounce box of whole wheat macaroni. Drain and set aside. In that same pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of white whole wheat flour, salt and pepper to taste and 1 cup of milk. Whisk until it's no longer clumpy and allow to cook, whisking occasionally until it's thick and bubbly. Reduce heat. Add 8 ounces shredded cheese, stirring in with a wooded spoon. Add 1/2 to 1 cup milk (just enough to make a thick cheese sauce) and continue stirring until all the cheese is melted. Remove from heat and add the macaroni. Blend well and serve. I like to try different cheeses. Tonight, I made this with 4 ounces New York Cheddar and 4 ounces of Monteray Jack. I also added in some cooked ground beef and onions. Yum! Hubby also loves Swiss mac and cheese, but I couldn't find any...

What happened to Better Homes and Gardens and Good Housekeeping. They really don't have much to do with their titles anymore, especially Good Housekeeping. Better Homes and Gardens caters to a more wealthy crowd and you need to live near several expensive specialty food stores in order to cook most of their recipes. Good Housekeeping is full of celebrity gossip and advice that seems to apply more to the modernist career woman rather than a woman who is a keeper of her home. Where are the ironing tips? Where are the decorating on a real budget (not $25,000 for a kitchen)? I don't get either of those magazines, though I sometimes receive previously read copies. I do get Cottage Living, which is quickly joining the ranks of other "home and garden" magazines where the average person can't afford to even think about such renovations and decorating. Besides, they're on this "subway tile" kick. To top it off, most of the time the "cottages"...

I'm having a rather productive sick day. Children and mommy have ANOTHER cold (grrrrr), so we're all in jammies. I hauled the computer upstairs and am cleaning out, catching up and I completed the newsletter I'm the editor of. I made a hearty rice, wild rice and root veggie chicken soup for lunch. Dinner will be pork.

I don't have much left in my monthly grocery budget, so I've come up with a budget menu for the next 12 days. The 30th and 31st of this month I've left open for the time being. Here's my budget menu: Today, Saturday the 18th: I was supposed to make Chicken Strata, but I forgot to buy cream of mushroom soup. Rather than wasting gas to buy a can, I'm going to make a Fricasse of Chicken instead and serve it over brown rice. Sunday 19th: hotdogs, homemade mac and cheese, steamed carrots from my garden. Monday: Pork (that's in my freezer), smashed root vegetables made from left over roasted root vegetables, baked apples from my dad's trees Tuesday: Drumsticks (that's in my freezer already), brown rice, squash from my trip to the farm. Wednesday 22nd: If I have any left over chicken I'll make buiscuts and gravy. If not, I'm going to make a soup from whatever veggies I have in the house, some barley in my pantry and the chicken stock I made from t...

Wow, this past week has been weird. It seemed every time we turned around something was breaking. First, hubby's truck needed calipers, roaters, brakes and a new steering column. Then, we lost our water pressure. Hubby replaced the faulty pump switch and the broken pressure tank only to find out that we STILL don't have water pressure. Tomorrow, the well guy is coming to pull up our well pump. I pray it's something simple and inexpensive. Next, hubby's chain saw broke. Thankfully, we still have our health, humor and most importantly our faith. I read in the paper a few months ago that there is a new local chapter of an organization called WOW (Women of Worth.) The article basically stated that to be a Woman of Worth, you had to have a career. Apparently, at-home moms aren't worth it enough to be a woman of worth. That's ok. I don't need a worldly hen house to tell me whether or not I'm worth anything. Who can find a virtuous woman for her pri...

I am seeking "A Thousand Ways to Please a Family" (subtitled "with Bettina's Best Recipes") by Louise Bennett Weaver. I'd love to add it to my collection.

We had our first frost this morning. As the leaves make quick changes to a variety of autumn hues, a bit of green arrived in the mail. My elderberry bushes arrived (as did my heirloom garlic). I was disappointed that the nursery was out of blueberries, but planting those elderberries in the crisp autumn noon-day erased my disappointment. I have credit at that nursery now that I can use later this winter when I order my spring plants. I haven't been online in a couple of days and it'll probably be hit and miss for a while. I'm just so busy! Plus, I'm trying to save money and running the computer requires energy. It is frustrating that every time I work very hard to save money, something comes up to eat that savings right up. I won't balk, though, because it is rather amazing that the Lord provides just enough when the goings get tough. I went to the grocery store yesterday because they often have day-old meats marked down. I was able to buy a steak for hubby...

Hubby appointed me chief financial officer of our home when we got married. Even before we were married he often had me do his finances for him. That's the way it goes in our household, but frankly, I'm not entirely comfortable with it. I feel I have too much "financial power." I feel like I'm the current US government, and my hubby is the typical hard-working American man....just coughing up his hard-earned cash to the institution and not knowing much about it otherwise. I've tried various budget books and budgeting systems, but I always fall behind and find that many budget books don't show full accountability. You just jot in a number under a title, but it could mean anything. Not only could hubby not figure it out if he asked to see the books, but I couldn't answer for anything or figure out why we overspent here and where the money went there. So now I've simplified and just have to add in a large amount of self-discipline. I just took ...

While reading through the newspaper yesterday, I saw an editorial written by a minister of a local church imploring the local school district to stop having "mandatory" marching band practice on Sundays during the typical hours of church services. Apparently, to be a part of this marching band, students are required to not only practice during school hours, after school hours, but also on Saturday and Sunday!! Now that school has begun, I rarely see my neighbor's daughters. They both play sports and are usually gone all day and often have games and tournaments all weekend. Some of these are hours away and some are overlapped so as soon as one game is done, they rush off 30 miles or so to the next one!! It's ridiculous! Even in my own church, I've heard people ask a parent, "Where's your son/daughter today? I hope they're not sick." And the parent answers, "No, they had [some school thing] today." (Now, 90% of the families with c...

The childhood song, "Great green globs of greasy, grimey, gopher guts, mutilated monkey meat, chopped up birdy feet..." is stuck in my head. The reason is because I'm getting big batch of chicken feet from a young lady who's butchering her chickens today. Chicken feet make a very rich, hearty, healthy broth. She's giving them to me for free since she was just going to throw them away. After getting the bear meat and now the chicken feet, I'm beginning to wonder what other free meat I can get. If I had the time to do my own butchering, I could get all the free wild rabbits and squirrels I wanted.

Hurray!! I finally found a local farm that's certified to sell raw milk! I'm going to try to make a trip there some time next week! Oh, all the wonderful, healthy things I can do with raw milk (the way God intended milk to be before man poisoned it with pasteurization and homogenization). Also, my Mama's Milk Tea came in from Bulk Herb Store today. It's really tasty. I don't even have to put any honey or sugar or stevia in it. I hope does it's job and increase my milk. I can't believe baby girl will be 4 months old tomorrow! According to Nourishing Traditions, she can start egg yolk feedings at 4 months old. I bought some organic, free range eggs from a local homeschooled young lady yesterday. I think some of my family is beginning to think I'm nuts with all this strange health food and against-mainstream baby care. I'm telling you, read Nourishing Traditions and it'll open your eyes to how literally sick and degenerative American childr...

Bubby isn't progressing as quickly as I'd like with the potty training. I've been using cloth diapers and cloth training pants while we're home. When we're out and at night, I put him in pull-ups. Thankfully, I found a large box of Huggies pull-ups at Big Lots for $24.00. I'm hoping they'll last him until he's fully trained! Baby Girl is in cloth diapers part-time, too. I've only made her three so far, and they're used up in half a day, but they work well, so I'll make her more. Things are just so expensive! I priced out what I'd need to make home-made formula and it's really expensive. The doctor's office gave me some free samples (enough for 3 or 4 days). That'll help. Oh, how I wish I could still nurse! The media is abuzz with this whole fiscal crisis and bailout. It's hard to avoid and hard to not worry about it. I know the Lord will provide for us, but it is very real that we may have to really cut back. O...

I've been invited to a mom's day out (kids welcome, of course) to the horse auction next month. I mentioned it to hubby, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to get a riding horse now. The farmer who owns the farm where we'd keep it doesn't believe his draught horses will appreciate another horse. The oldest mare doesn't take well to other horses, except for her offspring. On the other hand, a couple years ago, the farmer bought a pony for his grand-daughters. The pony can be ridden by small children, but it's also trained to be driven and can carry two adults. It's the sweetest pony, but the draught horses don't like it and the grand-daughters are losing interest. They're looking towards a horse they can ride. Soooooo.....the farmer already said that my children can have use of the pony when his grand-daughters lose interest. I would LOVE to make that little horse my own and learn to drive it. I've already made cutesy eyes at hu...

It is getting harder and harder to stick to a grocery budget. I'm also getting cheaper and cheaper. For example, yesterday I was at the local super Walmart buying some groceries. I wanted a loaf of italian bread for tonight's dinner. The loaf was nearly $4.00. It went back on the shelf and this morning, Bubby and I made a perfect sized loaf of delicious wheat italian bread....and I can pronounce the natural ingredients in it! I now make my own sour cream (so much tastier than the store bought stuff and easy, too....just put 8 ounces of heavy cream -not ultra-pasteurized- in a clean glass jar. Pour in at least a tablespoon of cultured buttermilk, cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. It'll thicken after 48 hours.) Bubby's been my little helper today. He not only helped me make italian bread and knead the sourdough and refresh the starter, but he also helped me wash the kitchen floor and dig another square for my 4-square herb garden.

Last night, I made no-commercial-pectin crabapple jelly. Yum! I can hardly wait until next year when I can preserve the bounty of my enlarged garden! Here's an update on my relactation. A few days ago, it just wasn't working. Nothing but a few drops would come out and my daughter would refuse to even try to nurse. Then, while working in the kitchen after dinner, I felt a let-down! So, I gathered up my pump and the newspaper, ran into the bedroom, bundled myself up on the bed and pumped away while reading the paper. When I was done, I had 2 1/2 ounces of milk in the bottle! It was like a little ray of hope that I could relactate! I felt so happy to give my daughter that milk! Then, last night when she woke for a feeding, I put her on and I had a let-down! In the morning, I had another one! I felt a bit heavy this noon-time and had a very slight let-down and managed an ounce by the pump. My daughter even attempted a feed and got a little mother's milk while in the...

The blessing for me came in the form of the foreleg (arm?) of a bear! Hubby came home with this huge hunk of meat loosely wrapped in plastic and shoved it into the freezer. "What is THAT!?" I asked him. "Bear," he says in typical lack-of-detail masculine fashion as he walked out the door. So, around dinner time, I pull out the huge hunk of meat and hubby and I start butchering it (thankfully, it wasn't frozen yet). A few probing questions later and I learned that a customer of the farm next door went hunting in Maine and got a bear. He gave hubby the roughly butchered foreleg for free. I never had bear before, so I cooked up a small piece and it was DELICIOUS! We got around 7 lbs. of beautiful meat off that forearm and all for free! Now, here's a blessing for you. This is what my pastor told the congregation yesterday, "You are a thought in the mind and heart of God!" Isn't that just breath-taking? God thought you up! God thinks of y...

More Woman-Talk Ahead.... There are a few more reasons why my milk failed: 1. I never bothered correcting a poor latch-on because it didn't hurt me and she seemed to be nursing well despite it. Both Bubby and Baby Girl have a slightly convex upper lip between nose and mouth. It's an endearing feature, but their upper lip would curve in rather than flanging outward during nursing. She often would "click" while nursing. Now I know that this was a BIG faux pas! 2. She was a fast nurser and I was glad of it. Most of my nursing sessions lasted under 5 minutes!! She would drink away the let-down, switch sides and need a burp and then sleep for 3 hours. I'd be happy and get up and go start another project. Not good...not good. 3. With Bubby, I LOVED the Baby Whisperer books. Now, I feel like they contributed to many issues, including nursing. The author is against letting a baby comfort-suckle mommy because it makes them too dependant blah blah blah. So, I had it in my h...

Warning...woman-talk ahead. Stephanie, thank you SO MUCH for your advice. I should print that out and keep it in my Home Management Binder for when I have baby #3. I did put your advice to work yesterday, but still nothing but a 1/2 an ounce of watery milk. But, it did get me to thinking and thinking HARD about what went wrong this time. I was doing so much right (exclusively nursing round the clock), so I was pretty shocked when I got my first post-partum period at 2 months. At 3 months, I had a huge hormonal shift that was like crashing into a brick wall. It seemed as soon as I hit that hormonal brick wall, my milk supply went down to nothing. So, I started feeding her more often, but she would still cry and fight. Quinoa, fenugreek, borage, eating enough food that I actually put on weight.....taking afternoons off for nursing and napping sessions. At 3 months I lost my let-down, too. I had a great let-down at the start. But once this hormonal shift occured, my let-down left. But I d...

Here are some more things I'd like to find to be rid of some plastics in my house: glass salad dressing bottle metal fans (there are some nice vintage-style ones out there) If my basement was dry enough, I'd love to get cedar boxes rather than plastic totes to store baby clothes in I really need to go through Bubby's toys and throw out the broken ones. This'll also be good in preparation for Christmas and then his birthday. He has such a large family and friends who consider us family that he gets so much! If hubby gets the new job he's looking at, we're going to get a new computer. I want a laptop. That'll eliminate a large amount of unsightly plastic around the house in the form of a monitor, keyboard and tower. It's a sad day because it's painfully obvious that breast-feeding is no more (at best, reduced to what little watery milk I can squeeze out by hand). After 3 days of my daughter literally beating my chest with her little fists, pulling...

Walmart has these really cute glass pumpkin containers in various sizes. I'm thinking of getting one for a cookie jar (rather than storing cookies in a plastic tupperware container) and maybe one for a cream cheese jar when I make homemade cream cheese rather than a plastic tub. I'm also using mason jars to transfer things in plastic bags like baking chips, hubby's candies, nuts, etc. While cleaning the bathtub today, I realized we can get rid of plastic net spongies and replace them with all-natural loofah. I can get a loofah at Big Lots for $1.00. I did keep a few plastic containers for leftovers. Like I said in my prelim. post, we can't get rid of all plastic and in some cases, plastic is better. For example, I do NOT recommend using glass, ceramic or stoneware for your shower stuff. Keep your shampoos, etc in plastic.

First of all, Candy, I even bought the most expensive kefir in the store thinking it was the best. It touted still having live active cultures in it. Maybe I'll try another brand. I'm just happy my kombucha from a store-bought bottle worked! I've got my second batch brewing right now. Also, I found out that if I use Brown Cow organic cream top yogurt as my starter for a new batch of yogurt and I put in just a little more than 1/4 of a cup, my yogurt comes out quite thick. I've had inconsistent results with Stoneyfield. Tiffany, I do know about quinoa and I have a fair amount in my cupboard, but I haven't eaten it in a while. So, I'll have to set out a batch for sprouting tonight. I also learned that herbs can only work for so long, so I've finished up the fenugreek and started using borage. www.bulkherbstore.com has a tea that's supposed to be great for Mother's Milk. I spent today at my parents' house while I waited for my grocery-gett...

First of all, here's a picture of Bubby's toddler bed. I made the quilt, the pillow and the pillowcase. It was pretty much my first time quilting (I've dabbled before, but never finished a project) and I rather enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to doing more quilting. It's been so busy lately with no signs of slowing down. Today, I went grocery shopping, picked a bowl full of wild cherries, made kombucha, sourdough starter, yogurt, whey and cream cheese, and catfish with brown rice cooked in turkey broth and grilled zucchini for dinner. I have a chance to sit down this evening while I have a load of laundry in and I'm waiting for my daughter's 9pm feeding. I finally bought Celtic Sea Salt and I'm hooked! I'm not a person who usually goes for salty things, but the flavor of Celtic Sea Salt is so good! It was a hard time finding multivitamins for Bubby. All the ones in Walmart had nasty stuff in them like aspartame and words I couldn't pronounce. T...

My dear mother has a copy of "We Survived and Thrived." It's a collection of essays/articles from "The Good Old Days" magazine about how people lived and loved living in the 1920's, 30's and 40's. It is so interesting to read how people made do back then. I envy that they could get a hold of flower sacks and make dresses out of them. I love how they could keep a sweet little house with bits and pieces. It's so refreshing to read that even if their house was weather worn and worse for wear, the mother at least kept it spotless. Then I think, "what in the world is our problem today!" If these people could live happily by the skin of their teeth, then why can't we? If these women could rise to the challenges of life back then and not only survive, but thrive, then why can't we? I plan on rising to the challenge, myself.

I got this from Stephanie's blog. Aprons--y/n If y, what does your fav. look like? Yes. Mine is a black and white vintage print with a bib front and a pocket. Baking--Favorite thing to bake? I bake a lot of cookies. Hubby likes them for his lunches. Clothes line?Yes. Donuts--Have you ever made them? Nope. Everyday--One homemaking thing you do every day? Dishes. I am the dishwasher. Freezer--Do you have a separate deep freezer? Yes, but it isn't hooked up. Garbage Disposer? Does the dog count? Handbook--What is your favorite homemaking resource? Hmmm...I like vintage books, my grandmother's house, my aunt's house, and Candy's blog. Ironing--Love it or Hate it? Or hate it but love the results? Hate it, rarely do it. Junk Drawer--y/n? Where is it? Yes, kitchen cabinet drawer. Kitchen--color and decorating scheme. A soft green with yellow trim. Kinda garden-themed. Love--what is your favorite part of homemaking? Having a comfy home to live in. Mop--y/n? Yes...

Finally, I'm making myself sit down and type about my Plastic Elimination Week. Plastic Elimination Week begins on September 8th, 2008. The purpose of this week is to reduce, replace and eliminate plastics in our homes. Whether your purpose is because you feel plastics are bad for our health, or bad for the evironment, or you want to reduce the use of oil-based products, or you just want to declutter or make things more pleasing to the eye, then please join me and spread the word on your own blogs and websites. Those joining are encouraged to make comments and suggestions on plastic elimination either here or own their own blogs. Participants are also encouraged to find ways to have the plastics they are discarding recycled or reused rather than just tossing them in the trash, which defeats part of the purpose of this week. Throughout that week, I'll be posting on how I've been reducing, replacing and eliminating plastics around the house. I'll post ideas on how you...

Woah, have I been busy! This past week just flew by, but it was a good week. We had family to visit in the first part of the week. Then, I had cleaning and projects to do along with a rest period to keep my milk supply up. Wednesday, I spent all day shopping and running errands. Thursday, I took my Dad and Bubby and BabyGirl to the local zoo. Friday, we went to the farm next door and Bubby played for 4 solid hours! In the evenings, we walked back to the farm to watch Daddy work on the bins and silos, getting them ready for the harvest season. This morning, I opened up my fridge and heard rustling. In the back, a plastic bag was moving. Hubby and I were invited to a lobster shindig last night, but I couldn't go....had to get the kiddos to bed. So, I sent hubby and he returned with 3 live lobsters. I recognized the blessing, but really wasn't thrilled. So, before 9 am this morning, I hauled up my stock pot, put it on the burner on my grill and got the water boiling. ...

Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. ~Hoosier Farmer (Taken from www.homeliving.blogspot.com ) I sometimes tease that the only way I'll have clean floors is when I teach my family to hover. :) I clean my floors nearly every day because my hubby is a boot-wearing man. I can always tell when he's been home and what he did because I can follow the dirt and mud-clump trail around the house. You may be insisting that I simply can't be all sunshine and smiles over this. To be honest, it is a challenge of grace to be a cheerful wife when I'm mopping floors again and again. I admit that two days ago I felt a bit down when I loving placed fresh bath rugs on a sparkling bathroom floor only to have big, muddy footprints, dirt clumps and sand all over it within half an hour. You may think my husband's horrible for not taking his boots off. But, you need to remember a few thing...

My sister-in-law has been giving me extra catalogs of homeschooling stuff. It is all a bit overwhelming as I look through them. So, this winter I plan to finally read Well-Trained Mind and start working on curriculum ideas. I've also just purchased The Way They Learn by Cynthia Ulrich. My SIL says it'll help me understand how best to teach my son. He's obviously not a child who would do well under a public school setting. He's very hands-on. I can see him doing well under unschooling conditions. This winter, I also hope to go through my fabric supply and just sew sew sew. What I can't use for myself I'll put on Etsy. I'm also spreading the word that I'm hosting a Plastic Elimination Week starting September 8th. I'll post more about it, later, but please consider spreading the word through your own blog about it. I'd like to get as many people involved as possible. I think it'll be fun and interesting. As for the sickies, Bubby is ...

I have no clue why Bubby and I both get colds in August, but we do and we're fighting colds now. Bubby's on the mend, and I'm just starting. I've been taking large, but safe doses of vitamin C and cod liver oil. I've been drinking plenty. I've also been taking in extra kefir. Hopefully I can kill this virus and be well soon. Mostly, I hope Baby Girl doesn't get a cold.

I took the day off yesterday and nursing is back on track. Here's what I did. In the morning, I nursed every 2 hours instead of every 3 to help build up my milk supply. In the afternoon when Bubby went down for his nap, I curled up on the sofa with Baby Girl and just let her nurse and sleep as she pleased while I watched two shows (The Fanny Crosby Story and A Midwife's Tale...both are good but the latter had nudity in it that I was completely unaware of). In the evening, she nursed every 2 hours as usual. Stress is what did it. They always say don't upset a pregnant woman, but that should extend to nursing moms as well. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to this, though. Not only do I have so much to do, but I want to do so much. I mean, even on my "day off" I scrubbed floors, did laundry, sewed a quilt, made a peach pie, cooked dinner on the grill, harvested from the garden, scrubbed the bathtub, paid the bills, organized a grocery list, walked the do...

Summer days shouldn't be gloomy. It just isn't right. Yet, today is a gloomy day. I'm a bit glad, though, because it helps give me a day off. With it being rainy, I don't have to work in my garden or hang clothes out to dry. I kind of need a day off because I need to work on my milk supply. My poor daughter ended up gulping down 2 ounces of formula last night. I was feeding her every hour in the evening, but it was obvious very little was coming out of me. In between feedings, I hand-extracted milk (I do have an electric pump, but I get better results by hand) and I got very little (less than an ounce) and it was really watery. The poor dear was so very very hungry. So, I caved and gave her formula, but spent a good portion of the night hand-extracting to make sure I keep making milk. And I put her on to nurse at our usual nursing times. I'm not sure why my milk is wasting away. I nurse on demand around the clock. I don't pump. I eat a varied, healt...

Hubby paid me such a charming compliment yesterday and I don't even think he knew it. It was the evening and we were resting in the living room. The house was cluttered and untidied from a very busy weekend. I looked around while nursing our sweet daughter and said, "I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. It's amazing how messy this house gets in one weekend." (I promise, it wasn't complaining.) Hubby sprung up from his chair and said with so much emphasis and excitement, "But, Honey, you don't understand. This house is lived in!" (We had a previous discussion about how people today are so busy chasing that dollar that they buy these expensive houses they can't afford, then work so much that they're only home to pick up their mail and go to bed.) I suddenly felt a weight off my shoulders. My husband doesn't mind if things get untidied or worn out because it means we are living in our home and loving it. Of course, that's no e...

Here's one of the reasons I'm so busy! I'm a do-it-yourselfer and I'm currently making a unique seating area in the basement play room. As I said before, lightening ruined our TV upstairs and we can't afford a new one just now. So, using some stuff around the house and discounted fabrics at JoAnn's, I'm making a nice love-seat opposite our downstairs TV. I'm starting with storage bins of baby clothes. That's the base of the loveseat. On top of that is a sheet of plywood leftover from a project hubby did this spring. The plywood is being painted a farm and construction scene on one side and then another scene on the other side for Bubby's train sets. The plywood also acts as the base for the seating, which will be outdoor canvas pillows. I bought a few yards of outdoor canvas marked down at JoAnn and the rest will come from some sail cloth I've had laying around for years. To cover the bins, I have outdoor canvas that I'm going to ...

I improved the inner view of my kitchen window at least with two lovely flower pots I got on clearance at Walmart. My son decided to harvest tomatoes that weren't ripe yet, so I have them in the window hoping they'll ripen up so as not to waste them.

When I recovered from yesterday's stress, I was in such a good mood and had energy, again. I've come to the conclusion that it's ok to have a good cry and even a small pity party, so long as you have the discipline to get up when your done and get on with your life with even more strength. To do this, your good cry needs some good prayer with it, too. I had a good night's sleep and was able to get out before 7 am this morning and pull up a big patch of weeds at the end of the garden. I'm thinking today's project might be looking into improving the play area down stairs. Now that our TV upstairs has been broken, the TV in the basement is getting more use. (We can't bring the basement TV upstairs because it's HUGE and it doesn't fit in our TV armoire.) If it doesn't rain, I'm going to get outside and do more garden work. When I was in Scotland, my host's house had a lovely garden. It was neat because their beds were down about 2 or 3...

It's been so busy this summer and I'm starting to feel the weight of it. There's just so much to do and so much getting piled on top of it. I can't seem to keep things straight any more. Even my efforts to keep things straight are just an added effort I have to find time for. I'm always multi-tasking. I blog when I'm on the computer for something else that I'm waiting to download, for example. Things have really come down around me recently and I've tried to keep my chin up, but the stress has murdered me physically and worn on me emotionally. It was the last straw last night when we arrived home from visiting my ailing FIL and found that the dog peed on the bed. I could have sworn I shut the door to the bedroom before I left! It was already after bedtime and I was stripping the bed and doing laundry and redressing the bed. Then, my daughter decided not to fall asleep and when she finally did, my son woke up screaming from a bad dream. I didn...

Julie at http://www.keepersathome.blogspot.com/ had this, so I copied it and Tag, you're it. 1. Who is your man? The Dashing Gentleman Above 2. How long have you been together? 8 years total, 6 years married. 3. How long dated? A year and a day...then we got engaged. 4. How old is your man? 34 5. Who eats more? Not sure. 6. Who said "I love you" first? He did. 7. Who is taller? Him 8. Who sings better? Me 9. Who is smarter? He's got more common sense and "street smarts." I've got more book smarts. 10. Whose temper is worse? His, but I'm a close second at times. 11. Who does the laundry? Me. 12. Who takes out the garbage? Me. 13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me. 14. Who pays the bills? He makes the money, I write the checks. 15. Who is better with the computer? Me. 16. Who mows the lawn? Him. 17. Who cooks dinner? Me. 18. Who drives when you are together? Mostly me, because we take my truck. 19. Who pays when you go out? Him. 20. Who is m...

I enjoy being productive and I look forward to a productive week. I'm considering doing away with my 1/2 an hour of exercise in the morning this week in favor of getting chores done so I have time to take my little 'uns outside and get some yardwork done. There's so much to do in the garden and I want to start landscaping and turning beds for next year's plantings. I'm sure all that heavy work will suffice for exercise. :) Other plans for this week includes going through ALL of my son's toys and organizing them. I'd also like to pull up all the boxed books in the basement and find homes for them as well. I'm also considering turning the smaller walk-in closet into the re-enacting closet...but I'd have to find a home for the coats living in there now. I'm also going to try my hand at beet kvass. My neighbor gave me a bunch of beets from her garden. Those are my main projects for the week on top of my regular tasks and working on Bubby's q...

This line from the movie, "Little Women" popped into my head today: Laurie: "What do they do all day." (possibly paraphrased and in reference to the Little Women next door.) I always have a smile at this scene because his tutor gives him some silly line which basically means he hasn't the faintest idea. Then, I began thinking of all that Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy did: They made their own clothing. They kept the home spotless. They worked and did charity efforts. They tended the gardens. They educated themselves. They indulged in their own hobbies. They played and imagined. They took care of each other. They did so much! I bet they rarely, if ever, flopped into a chair and moaned, "I'm bored." They accomplished so much and were never idle. Spare moments were spent enjoying nature in a refreshing walk or scribbling away stories, or playing music, or painting, or enjoying children or reading. No TV's. No sterios. No video games....just pure activ...