2010 is just around the corner. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but I thought I'd try it this year.
1. Lose 20 pounds. Well, at least 15. Okay, I'll be happy with 10. Why did I look better 6 months post-partum than 19 months?
2. Get ready for my spring garden. I was a slacker last year. I want to start my seeds on time, prepare my soil, and keep weeds at bay. I like being able to walk outside and gather a salad. I don't like paying for organic veggies at the store.
3. Prepare for 1st grade. No, I'm not going back to school, but Olivia will be starting 1st grade. I'd like to get a schedule worked out and a general idea of what we'll study. I won't make detailed lesson plans for every day, but I think we both need a little structure.
4. Build a house. We've been planning to build a house for almost 7 years. I've got my fingers crossed that THIS will be the year.
5. Finish my house plans. See #4.
6. That's enough. If I can do #1-5, I'll be happy.
What's on your list?
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Reflections
During the holiday season, we tend to look back over the year that's ending and look forward to the one that's about to begin. We spend time with family. We count our blessings.
We're a family of four living on one income, but we pay off our credit cards every month. Our vehicles have 140K, 280K, and 320K miles on them, but they run (most of the time). Our mobile home shrinks a little more each year, but we've got a roof over our heads, hot water, air conditioning in the summer, and heat in the winter. We've got a fridge full of food and plenty of clothes in our closets. I'm relatively healthy, have a loving and faithful husband, healthy and happy children, and a caring family. I get to stay home with my kids, watch them grow, and help shape them into little people. I've even got a little extra money for hobbies (all I need is more time!).
I hope your life is even half as good as mine!
We're a family of four living on one income, but we pay off our credit cards every month. Our vehicles have 140K, 280K, and 320K miles on them, but they run (most of the time). Our mobile home shrinks a little more each year, but we've got a roof over our heads, hot water, air conditioning in the summer, and heat in the winter. We've got a fridge full of food and plenty of clothes in our closets. I'm relatively healthy, have a loving and faithful husband, healthy and happy children, and a caring family. I get to stay home with my kids, watch them grow, and help shape them into little people. I've even got a little extra money for hobbies (all I need is more time!).
I hope your life is even half as good as mine!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Dapper Diapers
I impressed a friend of mine the other day. I was looking at some pictures of his new baby on Facebook when I spied a cloth diaper peeking out of Baby's onesie. Here are the comments that followed:
Me: Is that a bumGenius I see??
Friend: Why yes it is. I'm surprised (a) that you know what they are and (b) you can tell from that picture.
What can I say? I'm a cloth diaper junkie. I always get excited when I find out someone uses cloth diapers. My husband wasn't surprised when I bragged about them to my pregnant dental hygienist. He used to kid me about spending so much time on DiaperSwappers. Several people have asked me "Why do you use cloth diapers? Why don't you just buy disposables?" Here's why (in no particular order):
1. Cloth diapers are cheaper over the long run. When you use disposables, you're literally throwing money away.
2. Cloth diapers are better for the environnment. According to one site "It is estimated that roughly 5 million tons of untreated waste and a total of 2 billion tons of urine, feces, plastic and paper are added to landfills annually. It takes around 80,000 pounds of plastic and over 200,000 trees a year to manufacture the disposable diapers for American babies alone. Although some disposables are said to be biodegradable; in order for these diapers to decompose, they must be exposed to air (oxygen) and sun. Since this is highly unlikely, it can take several hundred years for the decomposition of disposables to take place, with some of the plastic material never decomposing." Also, "when flushing solids from a cloth diaper down the toilet and washing the diapers in a washing machine, the contaminated, dirty water from both toilet and washing machine go into the sewer systems where they are properly treated at wastewater plants. This treated wastewater is much more environmentally friendly than dumping untreated soiled disposable diapers into a landfill."
3. Cloth diapers are healthier for Baby. Possible health hazards due to disposable diapers include toxic shock syndrome, allergic reactions, male infertility, asthma, urinary tract infections in baby girls, and immune system and hormone system impairment.
4. Cloth diapers lead to earlier potty training because the child feels wet. The chemicals in disposables absorb so much moisture that the child never feels wet.
5. Cloth diapers are so darn cute!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Desperate Housewives
I've never seen the show and don't know what it's about, but I wanted to borrow the title. A lot of people think we live lives of leisure. You know - lounging on the couch with a good book, munching on bonbons, sipping champagne - that kind of thing. Well, maybe some do. But most of us are also stay-at-home moms. Our days are filled with changing diapers, kid-wrangling, cleaning, grocery shopping, refereeing, cooking, washing little hands and faces, laundry, cleaning, giving piggy-back rides, picking up toys, reading books, and cleaning. (Yes, there’s a lot of cleaning.)
Sometimes I get to escape for a little while. Once in a while I walk to the mailbox by myself. I get my teeth cleaned twice a year (20 minutes each way with nothing but the radio making noise, a few moments to look at a magazine in peace). Occasionally I ask my mother-in-law to babysit while I get groceries (no kids crawling in and out of buggies, no shoes getting kicked off in WalMart, nobody asking me to buy something on every aisle). When the kids are asleep, I might curl up with Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh (ignore the laundry, forget the dishes, no 18-month-old crying because his ball rolled under the couch, no 5-year-old asking me what M-a-d-a-g-a-s-c-a-r spells). When I’m really lucky, I get to go on a date with my husband!
Most days I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I would love to lounge on the couch with a good book, munching on bonbons, sipping champagne (actually, lounge on the couch with a good book, a bag of chocolate chips, and a glass of milk), but I’ve got laundry to cook, supper to bathe, kids to fold. You know what I mean.
Sometimes I get to escape for a little while. Once in a while I walk to the mailbox by myself. I get my teeth cleaned twice a year (20 minutes each way with nothing but the radio making noise, a few moments to look at a magazine in peace). Occasionally I ask my mother-in-law to babysit while I get groceries (no kids crawling in and out of buggies, no shoes getting kicked off in WalMart, nobody asking me to buy something on every aisle). When the kids are asleep, I might curl up with Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh (ignore the laundry, forget the dishes, no 18-month-old crying because his ball rolled under the couch, no 5-year-old asking me what M-a-d-a-g-a-s-c-a-r spells). When I’m really lucky, I get to go on a date with my husband!
Most days I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I would love to lounge on the couch with a good book, munching on bonbons, sipping champagne (actually, lounge on the couch with a good book, a bag of chocolate chips, and a glass of milk), but I’ve got laundry to cook, supper to bathe, kids to fold. You know what I mean.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Where's the Beef?
Probably not at my house. We have some property out in the boonies where we hunt deer and trap wild hogs. I'm so used to eating venison and wild pork that beef tastes funny to me. (I use venison and pork for burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, spaghetti, steaks, sausage,...) Once in a while I'll buy some ribeyes if they're on sale. I also buy chicken, but I make sure it's just chicken. It's sad to have to read the ingredient list on a package of drumsticks.
By harvesting our own meat, we don't have to worry about the animals being cooped up in feed lots and/or shot up with growth hormones. The deer and hogs graze and forage on natural food, roaming wherever they want. We field dress and butcher the meat ourselves, so we know exactly how the meat was handled from start to finish. We're not buying meat that has been trucked into town from halfway across the country. And if you've ever witnessed the destruction hogs cause, you'll know we're doing landowners a favor by eliminating some of them.
While it's a lot of work to process a deer or hog, we like having quality meat for our family. An added bonus is our children learn about self-sufficiency (and anatomy!).
By harvesting our own meat, we don't have to worry about the animals being cooped up in feed lots and/or shot up with growth hormones. The deer and hogs graze and forage on natural food, roaming wherever they want. We field dress and butcher the meat ourselves, so we know exactly how the meat was handled from start to finish. We're not buying meat that has been trucked into town from halfway across the country. And if you've ever witnessed the destruction hogs cause, you'll know we're doing landowners a favor by eliminating some of them.
While it's a lot of work to process a deer or hog, we like having quality meat for our family. An added bonus is our children learn about self-sufficiency (and anatomy!).
Monday, November 23, 2009
Gobble, Gobble!
It's almost Turkey Day. I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes with you that would be great on your Thanksgiving menu.
Cranberry Relish
(Traditional cranberry sauce is too tart for me to eat more than about a spoonful. This relish is neither too tart nor too sweet. It's good warm or cold. It's also great on toast.)
4 cups fresh cranberries, cleaned
2 cups chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped seedless golden raisins
1 tablespoon orange rind
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup brown sugar
Combine all ingredients except sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes until cranberries have popped and are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar. Cool. Store covered.
Pumpkin Cake Roll
(An alternative to pumpkin pie, this is delicious.)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
1 teaspooon lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
confectioners' sugar
Filling:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Line a greased jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs for 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar; beat for 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and lemon-colored. Stir in the pumpkin and lemon juice. Combine the dry ingredients; fold into the pumpkin mixture. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off parchment paper. Roll up the cake in a towel jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cool completely on a wire rack. In a mixing bowl, combine the filling ingredients; beat until smooth. Unroll cake; spread evenly with filling to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up again. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting. Refrigerate leftovers.
Herbed Cheese Ring
(If you're bored with plain ol' rolls, try this. It looks more complicated than it is.)
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil, and rosemary, crushed
Filling:
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Topping:
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, oil, honey, egg, salt, whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and herbs; beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Roll one portion into a 15”x10” rectangle. Combine filling ingredients; sprinkle half over dough. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. With a sharp knife, cut 1/2” slashes at 2” intervals. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush each ring with egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds and Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.
Cranberry Relish
(Traditional cranberry sauce is too tart for me to eat more than about a spoonful. This relish is neither too tart nor too sweet. It's good warm or cold. It's also great on toast.)
4 cups fresh cranberries, cleaned
2 cups chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped seedless golden raisins
1 tablespoon orange rind
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup brown sugar
Combine all ingredients except sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes until cranberries have popped and are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar. Cool. Store covered.
Pumpkin Cake Roll
(An alternative to pumpkin pie, this is delicious.)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
1 teaspooon lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
confectioners' sugar
Filling:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Line a greased jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs for 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar; beat for 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and lemon-colored. Stir in the pumpkin and lemon juice. Combine the dry ingredients; fold into the pumpkin mixture. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off parchment paper. Roll up the cake in a towel jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cool completely on a wire rack. In a mixing bowl, combine the filling ingredients; beat until smooth. Unroll cake; spread evenly with filling to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up again. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting. Refrigerate leftovers.
Herbed Cheese Ring
(If you're bored with plain ol' rolls, try this. It looks more complicated than it is.)
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil, and rosemary, crushed
Filling:
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Topping:
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, oil, honey, egg, salt, whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and herbs; beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Roll one portion into a 15”x10” rectangle. Combine filling ingredients; sprinkle half over dough. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. With a sharp knife, cut 1/2” slashes at 2” intervals. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush each ring with egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds and Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Better Things to Do
TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book. ~Author Unknown
In Beverley Hills, they don't throw their garbage away - they make it into television shows. ~Woody Allen
Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home. ~David Frost
If the television craze continues with the present level of programs, we are destined to have a nation of morons. ~Daniel Marsh, 1950
It's been years since we had a tv. We didn't watch it much when we did have it. Just a movie once in a while. When our daughter was little we got rid of it. We didn't want to raise a couch potato. Watching television is mind-numbing, certainly not something children need to be subjected to for hours at a time. Everyone knows that children are sponges, soaking up everything they're exposed to. Their little brains and bodies are still developing. Kids need to be learning, exploring, exercising, using their imaginations, and spending quality time with their families. For better or worse, these little people will grow up to be mothers, fathers, teachers, doctors, librarians, bankers, dentists, and presidents. What kind will they be?
Here are a few things to think about...How can a child be healthy when he spends hour after hour parked in front of the tv? How will he learn to interact with people when his best friend is a piece of furniture? How can he make a worthwhile contribution to society when he needs a celebrity to tell him what kind of toothpaste to buy? There are other questions I could ask, but do I need to?
- Read a book. My husband and I love to read. My daughter loves to read, too, and my son is learning to appreciate books (he's only 18 months old and doesn't yet have the attention span to sit through a whole book). The library has a wealth of information to offer you.
- Go outside. Look for caterpillars, chase butterflies, dig in the dirt, swing, "poison" armadillos. Olivia makes "armadillo poison" by mixing dirt, grass, green onions, rosemary, and peppermint (I've told her she'll have to find a substitute for my green onions). Sit in the hammock with a book and soak up some Vitamin D.
- Play games. Olivia likes to play Go Fish, Old Maid, and Checkers. I can't wait for her and Jesse to learn to play 42. It's my favorite game. It'll be so nice for the four of us to huddle around a card table playing 42, sipping hot chocolate, when it's too cold to go outside.
- Plant a garden. Good exercise, good food, good education for the kids.
- Make something. Sew, knit, crochet, draw, work with wood, paint. Be creative. It's satisfying to spend time working on a project and have something to show for your effort.
- Go somewhere. Go to a library, museum, zoo, or arboretum. Take a picnic lunch.
- Learn to play an instrument. My husband and I used to play music a lot before we had kids. I hope music will be something we can enjoy as a family when the kids get bigger (we don't seem to have time for it right now). By the way, people who play music tend to be better at math.
- Cook from scratch. It'll take a little more time than opening a box, but it's worth it. This is time you can spend with your children and the food will taste better and be more nutritious. It's hard to beat a loaf of homemade bread fresh from the oven.
- Perform random acts of kindness. This is something I need to work on myself. Take a meal to a sick friend. Help an elderly person with housework or yardwork. Volunteer at the library. Let your kids see you do something good simply because it's good. Let them be involved so they'll learn about charity and unselfishness.
In Beverley Hills, they don't throw their garbage away - they make it into television shows. ~Woody Allen
Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home. ~David Frost
If the television craze continues with the present level of programs, we are destined to have a nation of morons. ~Daniel Marsh, 1950
It's been years since we had a tv. We didn't watch it much when we did have it. Just a movie once in a while. When our daughter was little we got rid of it. We didn't want to raise a couch potato. Watching television is mind-numbing, certainly not something children need to be subjected to for hours at a time. Everyone knows that children are sponges, soaking up everything they're exposed to. Their little brains and bodies are still developing. Kids need to be learning, exploring, exercising, using their imaginations, and spending quality time with their families. For better or worse, these little people will grow up to be mothers, fathers, teachers, doctors, librarians, bankers, dentists, and presidents. What kind will they be?
Here are a few things to think about...How can a child be healthy when he spends hour after hour parked in front of the tv? How will he learn to interact with people when his best friend is a piece of furniture? How can he make a worthwhile contribution to society when he needs a celebrity to tell him what kind of toothpaste to buy? There are other questions I could ask, but do I need to?
- Read a book. My husband and I love to read. My daughter loves to read, too, and my son is learning to appreciate books (he's only 18 months old and doesn't yet have the attention span to sit through a whole book). The library has a wealth of information to offer you.
- Go outside. Look for caterpillars, chase butterflies, dig in the dirt, swing, "poison" armadillos. Olivia makes "armadillo poison" by mixing dirt, grass, green onions, rosemary, and peppermint (I've told her she'll have to find a substitute for my green onions). Sit in the hammock with a book and soak up some Vitamin D.
- Play games. Olivia likes to play Go Fish, Old Maid, and Checkers. I can't wait for her and Jesse to learn to play 42. It's my favorite game. It'll be so nice for the four of us to huddle around a card table playing 42, sipping hot chocolate, when it's too cold to go outside.
- Plant a garden. Good exercise, good food, good education for the kids.
- Make something. Sew, knit, crochet, draw, work with wood, paint. Be creative. It's satisfying to spend time working on a project and have something to show for your effort.
- Go somewhere. Go to a library, museum, zoo, or arboretum. Take a picnic lunch.
- Learn to play an instrument. My husband and I used to play music a lot before we had kids. I hope music will be something we can enjoy as a family when the kids get bigger (we don't seem to have time for it right now). By the way, people who play music tend to be better at math.
- Cook from scratch. It'll take a little more time than opening a box, but it's worth it. This is time you can spend with your children and the food will taste better and be more nutritious. It's hard to beat a loaf of homemade bread fresh from the oven.
- Perform random acts of kindness. This is something I need to work on myself. Take a meal to a sick friend. Help an elderly person with housework or yardwork. Volunteer at the library. Let your kids see you do something good simply because it's good. Let them be involved so they'll learn about charity and unselfishness.
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