Life in Fife

Garden Planning!!

2012-01-11T11:02:00.001-05:00

In all of my reflection and looking forward that January inevitably brings for me, I have been thinking through my garden goals for 2012.

I started by looking back at my notes on last year (yes, I keep a garden journal). Last year I wanted to grow enough produce for our family and one share for a friend's family. I learned a lot from that.

I learned that I should have planned for the unexpected. I had a total crop failure of all 8 squash and pumpkin varieties planted. I had a terrible time trying to keep up with the squash bugs while using only organic methods to deter them (hand-picking thousands of bugs and scraping eggs from the bottom of leaves every day). I have learned a little more about the pest this season and will hopefully be able to stay on top of them this year. Having something ready to put in the spot that was suddenly empty would have been wise.

I learned that I need to figure out what I am doing wrong with root vegetables. I cannot get radishes or beets to set fruit at all. They have lots of lovely leaves and no bulb at all.

I learned that digging potatoes is a lot of fun and fresh from the ground potatoes are far superior to any at the store. They taste like they already have butter on them! I should have planted WAY more!!

I learned which things our family loves the most and how much we will actually eat of any given item. I learned that more of something that we love is a waste of space if we can't actually eat that much of it.

I learned that growing some of the food items that your family loves is a great way to save a little money. I also learned that my kids are more likely to eat food that they grew themselves!

So what does that mean for this year? Well, there is no CSA. My focus this year will be growing enough for our family and putting up as much as possible. I hope to stay on top of the pests and get rid of some things that either didn't work or didn't yield enough for the amount of space they took. I plan to continue composting because it has worked out beautifully!

I had planned on expanding the space again this year, but I need to have another year of working this space before I make that happen.

Here is the early plan for my space.

What ambitious plans do you have in the garden this year?

I am sharing today at The Thrifty Home.

2012-01-04T13:38:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about a verse of Scripture to take me through 2012. I think I have found the perfect one.

Every wise woman builds her house,

but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

Proverbs 14:1

Reflection on 2011

2012-01-03T11:34:00.001-05:00

I love looking back at the old year and seeing what was accomplished, what wasn't and planning some goals for the new year!

Last year was such an amazing year! I won't link to all my posts, but here is a recap.
-We figured out Theo's SPD issues and got him the therapy he needed.
-I talked about my postpartum depression and enjoyed Theo so much.
-I grew a winter garden, expanded my garden space, began using a 3 bin composting system and added a cold frame to my garden.
-I shared my garden's bounty weekly with a friend and periodically with Brandon's coworkers.
-We cleared a spot and built a chicken coop. We got day-old chicks and watched them grow into lovely hens and now eat eggs from our own flock! We added a rooster this year, too.
-We concentrated on living a rich life while trimming some of our excesses. We continued to live debt-free.
-We made the decision to homeschool Eden for Kindergarten and then did it!
-We celebrated 9 years of marriage, 5 years with Eden, 2 years with Theo and Brandon and I both turned (GASP!) 34.
-I made fig newtons. I am now seriously looking forward to summer!!!!
-I revamped the look of my blog... by myself!! ;)
-We hosted Cousin's Camp for the second year. One week later, we lived through an earthquake, a hurricane and a 20 hour power outage all in the same week.
-I learned to knit.
-I concentrated on feeding my family real, local, and in season.
-We nearly completed the kitchen. It is painted and half of the cabinetry is in.
-We also made the decision to begin looking for a church closer to home. This involves leaving the church we have been a part of for 25 years! Sad but necessary for our family.

This year I hope to:
-Complete the kitchen.
-Paint the rest of the interior of the house.
-Create a beautiful bedroom for us.
-Hatch some of our eggs.
-Raise a flock of meat chickens.
-Cultivate another great garden!
-Blog at least once per week.
-Take an anniversary vacation with Brandon (10 years in June).
-Find a new church home.

What do you hope to accomplish this year?

Another new addition!

2011-11-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

No, no, we aren't pregnant, so don't let that thought even cross your mind.

I have wanted a cold frame for quite some time. It is the logical next step on the gardening journey for me. A greenhouse would be wonderful, but the man is extremely hung up on aesthetics. Beautiful greenhouses exist, but are not something we have the budget for at this time. A low tunnel would be more than sufficient, but again, not aesthetically pleasing.

It was on the list last year. You know, "the list" that is ever growing, always being shuffled as time passes and some things become a bigger priority, as money comes available (or not). Somehow, the cold frame got shuffled to the bottom of the list. It was looking like it was going to get shuffled again this year, but then I went on Craigslist. Oh, how I love Craigslist! I found a lovely 9'X4' cold frame and bought it! We don't have to design plans around the windows we have, Brandon doesn't need to spend a weekend building it. It is sitting in the back yard waiting for me to dig out the bed (half done as of last night).

It needs 2 of the plexiglass windows replaced... easy peasy!

Cold frame will go here next to the garden.

I can't wait to get my spinach and lettuce moved in!

Introducing a New Roo

2011-11-06T18:49:00.000-05:00

I am proud to introduce you to Roofus. He is a 2 year old Blue Wheaten Ameracauna.

Roofus

We got him 2 weeks ago from a neighbor who was thinning their flock. He is a a handsome devil and he has fit right in with our girls. I don't know why I am amazed when animals do what they are supposed to do, but it gets me every time! It really was amazing to watch him assert himself in the flock, quickly establish himself as the dominant chicken and begin caring for the hens. He calls them over to feed when he finds good grub, he stands watch and keeps the hens together. I love him! <3

Such a showoff!

Henri popping in to say hello!

On a sad note, we have been faced with a tough decision. One of our hens (Buttercup) has attacked the kids several times. She began attacking me and after several weeks of trying to rehabilitate her, things were getting worse. Theo has started to be afraid of all of the chickens and the kids won't play outside without me right next to them!

We decided to try to re-home her. If we could find a suitable home for her, we wouldn't have to cull her (while we like chicken soup, Buttercup soup may not go over well). My neighbor (the one who gave us Roofus) offered to take her! So, she will be close enough to visit and far enough to not be a threat. Eden shed some tears, but she will be glad to not have to watch her back when she goes out to play.

Bye bye Buttercup.

Also, today is Eden's 5th birthday! We had a party for her last night. My beautiful big girl.

Please ignore the frosting hack-job... I told you I'm not a food blogger!!

A Food Blogger I Am Not

2011-10-13T12:12:00.001-04:00

Those of you who read on a regular basis know that I don't often blog about my skills in the kitchen. Not that I don't have any. I am competent. I am a from-scratch, simple-food kind of gal, but so many do the food blog thing so well that I rarely step foot into that arena. Some of the amazing food bloggers I read are Nourished Kitchen, 100 Days of Real Food, The Healthy Home Economist, Whole. New. Mom., Smitten Kitchen, and The Pioneer Woman.

I have been trying, however to overcome my disorganization in the kitchen. Difficult when your kitchen is still unfinished and this is what your "cabinets" look like.

We are hoping that our cabinet situation will be remedied before Christmas. The cabinet maker says "Maybe."

Anyway, I have tried without success to get better at the kitchen organizing. This week I attempted the impossible and cooked ahead for the week. I am also processing apples from our homeschool field trip to Johnson's Orchard in Bedford, VA. So, from the work yesterday, I ended up with 2 chicken pot pies (one for now, one to feed the freezer), 2 quarts of chicken stock, 2.5 quarts of venison lentil stew, 1 quart of lentil spread (think hummus), 1 apple pie, 3 quarts of apple butter and 3 quarts of apple sauce.

I still have a half a bushel of apples to process, but can I just say I am an apple butter ninja! I did it in the crock pot. I am not usually a fan of apple butter, but wow, this stuff is amazing! Can't wait to have shelves full of home canned yumminess!

Just because I don't think I can handle another blog post in the next day, here are a couple of pictures from our day of apple picking.

Theo's Mint Chocolate Chip Sweater

2011-10-03T09:46:00.001-04:00

I am very proud to say that I have completed my first human-sized sweater as a knitter!

I am usually really hard on myself when it comes to handcrafted items, but in spite of many mistakes (that I can see, but you probably can't) I am in LOVE! This is the cutest sweater EVER and on Theo... oh my word. I can't stand it!

Not the greatest shot, but catching him still is almost impossible. I take what I can get!

It reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream. That may be why I love it so much. Theo loves the pocket and practically refuses to take it off. Of course this makes me love him more! <3

Finished sweater!

I got the pattern from the book The Yarn Girl's Guide to Knits for Older Kids. I used Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool yarn in Nature's Brown for the body. For the pocket and stripes on the hood I used Bamboospun yarn in Limey.

I am participating in Just Something I Whipped Up over at The Girl Creative and the Sew Darn Crafty party at Sew Many Ways today.

Crafty, knitty homeschooling goodness!

2011-09-27T10:31:00.000-04:00

Boy have I been a slacker in the blog department lately. I would love to offer good excuses, but the truth is we have just been living life!

We have been homeschooling along, loving it most days, cutting out early on the other days, and learning a lot. Eden has been memorizing Bible verses and poetry, learning more about phonics, getting better at reading. She journals each week and this has become my favorite thing. Look at these precious entries! She draws the picture and dictates the story to me.

Journaling is not Eden's favorite. I have discovered that she has some pretty extreme perfectionist tendencies. She has a hard time drawing a picture that she thinks isn't perfect. We are working on tenacity. If the perfectionist in her gets frustrated, she wants to give up. As you can see, though, she draws pretty well for a four year old! I have challenged her to draw her picture on the chalkboard before she draws it in her journal. This seems to help her think it all through.

We have been having lots of crafty fun in school. We made salt dough a couple of weeks ago and made some really cute pumpkins. Even Theo got in on the fun. His pumpkins are the ones on the ends of the front row. ;)

On a different note, I have been learning to knit! I am really loving it. I always love hand knit things, but I have had some bad knitting experiences in the past. I really wanted to knit this precious sweater for Eden's doll, Sunshine Rose. Eden never plays with the doll. Theo plays with it a lot. I was planning to make this sweater for the baby and give it to Theo. Eden sobbed, protested, played with the doll for an hour, swore it was her favorite toy... She hasn't played with it since... Anyway, I made the sweater.

I was very pleased with how the sweater turned out. I may go ahead and just put the doll in Theo's room. Eden won't miss it.

What a week!

2011-08-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

Seriously, this has been the craziest week I have ever experienced. The wild ride started Tuesday, we had a 5.8 earthquake about 15 miles from our house. The earthquake was felt all up and down the east coast! We had a picture fall and some things from Eden's mantle were turned over, but other than that we had no damage (cousins who live closer to the center had much more damage). What we had was completely freaked out children. Since Tuesday's 5.8, we have had 16 (reported) aftershocks (ranging from 2.0 to 4.5). We haven't felt quite that many, but some folks have felt many more! We had 2 back to back last night, that made it hard for me to fall asleep.

While we are still dealing with the unsettling earthquake feelings, on Thursday, our power went out for 10 hours due to a tree falling on the power lines down the street. While the power was out, we had a severe thunderstorm with major wind! I don't know if I was still jumpy from the earthquake, but I took the kids and dogs to the center of the house away from windows to wait it out. We had a tree fall in the yard during that storm.

Saturday, Hurricane Irene came through and left some pretty major damage in the Richmond, VA area. We had big wind out here, and a few limbs down, but we never lost power. My parents in Mechanicsville, VA have been without power since Saturday afternoon.

On a lighter note, we got our first egg yesterday!

Sweet tiny egg!

The white eggs are wooden dummy eggs. The brown one is ours.

3 weeks in...

2011-08-17T17:17:00.000-04:00

We have one day left in our third week of homeschooling. So far it has been so much fun for me. I believe Eden is enjoying it, too.

We haven't started the Wee Folk Art curriculum yet (we will begin that the day after Labor Day). Right now I am sort of making it up as we go. We are reading Little House on the Prairie, so we have done a little bit of geography tracking their trip from the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisconsin to Independence, Kansas. We are doing a unit study on manners using the book Don't Slurp Your Soup by Lynn Gibbs.

I mentioned in my post on choosing curriculum that the Explode the Code A, B and C don't introduce the vowels. I also mentioned that we would do the vowels on our own. I have pieced together a week of lessons on each vowel using some worksheets that were given to me in the form of a large kindergarten workbook.

Saxon math is working out well. It doesn't seem much like math yet. There is lots of playing with manipulatives (or toys, as Eden sees it), which I love! We are also learning the calendar through daily repetition.

The workboxes are working out better than I could have hoped! Eden responds SO well to them. She loves anticipating what is next and it really keeps her on task. It has also been great for me to be able to plan. The workboxes keep me accountable and I know I have everything I need for the day when I have had to go through the lesson to put it in the workbox.

Praying we keep having good days and weeks!

Oh, and in other news, Theo has been peeing in the potty today! Only one accident so far!

What an Amazing Family I Have!

2011-08-14T21:32:00.000-04:00

We hosted our second annual Cousin's Camp this past weekend and a great time was had by all!

I mentioned in my last post that this whole thing was my Mama's idea and she really was the brains of the operation. She worked tirelessly on planning and preparation; delegating tasks, gathering supplies, writing lists and all those other things you Type A folks do. If she was the brains, I was the brawn! I got to make sure I had a clean house, plenty of toilet paper, a loaded first aid kit (my children had the only injuries this weekend, I think), and willing hands! An army of the family's grown-ups converged on our house Friday morning and got the children ready for the day.

We did fun and amazing things like dyeing t-shirts with indigo (the stuff they use to dye blue jeans).

My Mama "Cousin Becky" with a camper.

Just out of the indigo dye bath!

We played around all weekend with stilts that "Aunt Brenda" (she got to be an aunt because she is actually the only person who attended who wasn't at all related) brought.

"Aunt Brenda" and Theo

Eden on stilts

Cousin Kevin on stilts!

Even my 90 year old Mema took a turn on the stilts!

We went on a nature hike following the (mostly) dry creek bed. One of the children found a turtle shell, we collected rocks, we identified plants, animal homes and even scat!

Hiking!

Taking a break.

"Aunt Brenda" gave us a wonderful colonial medicine demonstration. She fixed many ailments and the children really got into the playacting (so did the dog).

Ali got her ear bandaged.

Doctor's tools

Friday night, some of the campers left, but most everyone stayed the night. We pitched our tents in the back yard, had a bonfire, roasted hotdogs and made s'mores.

Our tent and our home.

Misty Saturday morning.

We had breakfast before the others began to arrive. It was nice to have a few moments to sit and relax before the action began again.

We spent the day Saturday preparing for Saturday afternoon's feast. The children made brunswick stew, rolls, and ice cream and each family brought a side dish to share.

Peeling potatoes

Making rolls

We had an amazing weekend! It was a lot of hard work, the children had a lot of fun and we all earned a rest...

Daddy and Theo finally crashed!

I cant wait for next year!!!!!

Can I tell you about Cousin's Camp?

2011-08-09T11:54:00.001-04:00

As the older generation passes away, we are in danger of losing our connection to our more distant family members. This saddens me. I live in a home that has been in our family for so many years. I really do feel connected to the past here. I want to feel connected to those who are also a part of this house’s history and future. That sounds a little woo-woo, but I think distant family and genealogies are important. Scripture agrees, but that is another post entirely!

A few years ago, my mom, who does spinning demonstrations (often for kids and often in period costume), did a program for a group of kids attending “Cousin’s Camp.” A local grandmother invited all of her grandchildren (some of whom lived out of state) to stay at her house for a whole week during the summer. She had all sorts of fun things planned for them to do and see during the week. It was set up like a real camp, but all the campers were cousins and the camp director was grandma!

My Mama.

After that, my mom really wanted to have cousin’s camp. There were problems, though. We needed a proper venue. Her house wasn’t really a good place to hold a camp. We also needed cousins! My mom is a grandma, but she only has 2 grandkids and they are local, and they don’t have any first cousins! How do you start a Cousin’s Camp with no cousins? Well, I’ll tell you. You invite second cousins and fourth cousins and third cousins twice removed!

Last year when we moved to Hunter’s Grove, my mom (almost immediately) began talking about my hosting a version of Cousin’s Camp. Brandon and I love to have folks out to our place, so, we were on board. Mama did most of the planning and delegating. We chose to do 3 days of day camp with a family/ parents dinner on the last day (the kids were in charge of making dinner!). We tie-dyed t-shirts, had water balloon fights, made a family tree, had songs and stories, went on a nature hike and generally had a blast!

Cousins!

Exploring the woods.

The children bragged to their friends and asked to do it again next year. So, here we are just a few days away from Cousin’s Camp 2011! We have 12 children coming and lots of plans for a great time. This year we are only doing 2 days of camp, but we are camping out Friday night. I am really excited about this part. We are praying for good weather, safety and lots of fun. Of course, I will post pictures!

I had to fix my desk chair.

2011-08-03T13:18:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I stepped out of the school area for a minute and Theo stood on my desk chair to reach something. He went right through the seat! Admittedly, it was in bad shape. Kind-of like this one (its twin)...

They are really sturdy chairs and I love them because they are small. They fit perfectly in-between my dining chairs when I am seating 3 on a side of my dining table. The small size also makes it perfect for my tiny desk in our school area (which is in our living room).

So, I had to fix it and fast! I decided to use some fabric I had lying around and weave a new seat. As I dismantled the old seat, I came up with a plan. The end result is pretty cute, I think and it is very comfortable.

I am planning to do the other one ASAP... maybe I will do a tutorial! ;)

I thought I'd leave you with some pics of the chickens and their girl, Eden.

Those chickens love her!

Isabella is on top of the swing set. Pippi is the one on the ground.

She owns the place!

Blog Hopping!

2011-08-02T21:55:00.000-04:00

No big post today. Just checking out some other bloggers at the Wild Wednesday Blog Hop over at About a Mom.

Choosing Curriculum for Kindergarten

2011-08-01T10:23:00.002-04:00

We decided to homeschool Eden back around the first of the year. I was overwhelmed from the start. Homeschooling was never something I wanted to do, never something I believed I was cut out for. Actually, I was kind-of looking forward to getting rid of the kids for a few hours a day when they went to school. Sometimes, though, parents have to do what is best for their children. I mentioned Eden's November birthday as our main reason for making the decision to homeschool. She has always been precocious. Her best friends are all months older (and beginning Kindergarten this year). We recognized that she needed to be in school and learning, or when I did send her, she would be bored and in trouble all the time! So, we decided to homeschool. Just for Kindergarten. We will decide later what to do for first grade (and beyond).

I have been looking at curriculum for a solid 6 months. I decided early that I wanted to do something fun with a heavy emphasis on the seasons (something I am trying to focus on personally in our diet and wanting to let that flow into the rest of our lives). I am very drawn to Waldorf-type play, Montessori work and the Charlotte Mason "living books." Eden loves books and I want her to keep loving them!

I found a free Charlotte Mason curriculum that I really liked, but it doesn't officially begin until first grade and I wanted something more fun to add to it.

So, I started looking at homeschooler's blogs! Some were specifically homeschooling blogs, some were blogs of mamas who just happened to homeschool. When I realized that one of the crafty blogs I read (Wee Folk Art) is written by a homeschooler, I was super excited! She wrote a 3 term curriculum for her Kindergartener and offers it free on her website! It has the crafts, the books, and the emphasis on the seasons!

With this free curriculum, I still needed to find a program for Language Arts and Math. She suggested the Explode the Code books A, B and C for Language Arts. Eden is already reading, so I wasn't too picky about this. I decided to go with Explode the Code. Now that I have really looked it all over, I really like it! She needs to learn to write and we will focus on that part of the curriculum rather than the reading part. The way the curriculum is set up it will be simple to alter it in that way. My only complaint is that the vowels are not introduced until later (later, like not this year!)! Since we are already reading, we need vowels! I decided to introduce the vowels on my own before beginning the curriculum.

She leaves it completely up to you to choose a math curriculum. This is where I had the most trouble. I hate math. I am terrible at it. I want to challenge Eden and help her to love math. How do I accomplish that when I got my first F in 3rd grade math? I wanted to find something with a teacher's manual that gave actual teaching tips. Several of them had that, but I ended up choosing Saxon because it goes as far as to tell you what words to use and even what to do with your hands when you explain a concept! It builds on itself and has lots of review. It also uses a lot of manipulatives which I think will be good for Eden since she is so kinesthetic. Many of the others were worksheet based and Saxon is not. There isn't even a workbook, though there are some worksheets you can use in the back of the manual. I have read most of the teacher's manual (it is more than 500 pages) and I really like it. It isn't scary at all. It looks fun!

I am finally at the place where I am not feeling overwhelmed. We actually started kindergarten this morning! It went well and my eager little student devoured the material. I planned to start at 9, but she was so excited that we started at 8! It took about 2 hours to get through what I had planned and we were done by 10!

It has been a tough process and I feel a lot better now that it is over. Especially now that we have day one under our belts! If you have any specific questions I would love to share more!

Homeschool Workboxes

2011-07-29T09:18:00.001-04:00

So I haven't read the book. I know I am not doing it "right", but I was inspired by all of the workboxes I ran across in Google images when I googled it! They are wonderful and neat and organized and perfect for those of us who need to know up front what the day holds.

I knew right off that I wanted to try workboxes in our homeschool. I know they will work well for me. I think they will work well for Eden. Each subject in its own little box. All the supplies right there. An empty box when you are done. Yes, please!

I had been on the lookout for some inexpensive drawers or baskets to use, when I came across some of those cardboard magazine files in the dollar bins at Target. They are pretty and colorful and I think they will work great for our own version of workboxes!

I also found these little standing pockets to hold our subject cards.

How it will work is, each evening I will consult the lesson plans for the next day. Lets say we have Bible, Language Arts and Journaling on the agenda.

Oh, in case you are wondering, Pick a Stick is our version of activity sticks. Eden chooses a stick out of the jar and has to do the activity that is written on the stick (10 jumping jacks, jog around the house, swing for 10 minutes, etc.).

I will put the subject cards on my boxes and fill the boxes with all of the supplies needed to do the particular assignment. When Eden has completed each assignment, she will remove the subject card from the box and replace it in the pocket.

She will be able to clearly see how far she has come during the day, how far she has to go, how much work she needs to finish before she has a play break or a snack! The day seems manageable.

The boxes are numbered with a velcro square below the number. The velcro allows the subject cards to be removable. I laminated them (well, I actually just used clear contact paper) and put the other half of the velcro on them. I used my label maker <3 to insure that the subjects were easy to read (and just because I love an excuse to use the label maker).

On the flip side of the pockets that hold our subject cards, I made a calendar. Days of the week and Months of the year are something we will be learning this year.

It has been fun, but quite an overwhelming journey, this preparing for homeschooling. I hope to write soon about my experience choosing curriculum for this year. I can't believe I have a Kindergartener!!

I am participating in the Back to School Ideas Link Party at Somewhat Simple!

E-Readers and More!

2011-07-27T21:38:00.000-04:00

What do you think about e-readers? You know Kindle and Nook and such. Our local library system is going to be set up for checking out e-books soon and it got me thinking about them for a second.

I have been really resistant to the idea so far. I love books. I am someone you could probably classify as a bibliophile. The love really goes beyond a love of reading. I love books! I love the smell of paper and ink. I love breaking the binding of a new book. I love the turning of the pages. The sound of a crisp page as it passes my fingers. I could go on and on.

As I considered the e-reader, I thought about how helpful it could be to the homeschool family. Fewer books to store, fewer books to buy,

Wait a minute! What!? One of my big reasons for homeschooling is to justify/conceal my book habit! So, I guess that means I am officially anti-e-reader!

What do you think? Books or e-readers? Both have a place?

Falling asleep with a Nook wouldn't have been quite as good of a photo op.

In other news, we are going to be getting our kitchen cabinets soon! Bill Vick, Brandon's high school wood shop teacher, will be building them for us. He did our island last year and we love it. He will be building them from heart pine (the same as our floor). I am so excited that we will be able to move our pots and pans out of the rubbermaid bins! I will finally have a complete kitchen after over a year of living here!

Right Now I Am...

2011-07-27T18:04:00.000-04:00

Right now, I am...

:: feeling like I need a shower and a cup of coffee.

:: enjoying the momentary peace as my kids are outside (okay, that's over, Eden just bit Theo on the back of the arm. BRB).

:: loving the produce coming from our garden.

:: appreciating my husband for going to work every day so I can be at home.

:: remembering that I really needed to pick up some packing tape at the store last night.

:: thinking that I might like to see the Harry Potter movie on our date Friday night.

:: hearing Eden ask if I will tell Daddy about her biting Theo, and if I will let her hide while I tell him.

::smiling knowing exactly how she feels.

:: telling Daddy about the bite, I reckon.

:: wondering if I will ever feel like I have it together.

:: laughing at the chicken peeking in the dining room window!

:: holding my breath while Theo sits on the potty! The potty!

:: giggling at those horrible "Hail to the V" talking hand that is supposed to be a vulva commercials. If you haven't seen them Google it, seriously!

:: knowing that Brandon and I have a date Friday night is seriously getting me through the week.

:: wanting a personal chef and washer woman.

:: closing the computer. Done for the day!

Fig Newtons

2011-07-26T11:06:00.005-04:00

I have been making my own version of fig newtons the past couple of weeks! We have a lovely crop of figs coming ripe here at Hunter's Grove. They go bad SO fast that you have to pick and process in the same breath or the figs are good for nothing but the compost pile! I believe that's why all of the recipes I found for figs called for dried figs. Anyway, I didn't have dried figs, I had fresh ones and I had to make up my own recipe for the filling. It has turned out great each time and my husband says they are the best item in my baking repertoire!

It didn't occur to me to take a picture *before* we had eaten a bunch of them...

Full Disclosure: I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants cook/ baker, so this may or may not be exactly what happened in my kitchen.

Filling:
a bunch of fresh figs (I used 8, but there was more filling than I needed, so I froze the rest)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup honey (the second time I made these I was out of honey and used a few Tbs of blackstrap molasses instead- It was good both ways!)

I used the food processor to chop/mix until it was jam texture.

Cake: (this was a recipe I had for tea cakes)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 ounces butter, softened
1/2 cup + 2 T brown sugar, packed
1 T cream (I have used half and half, too)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Cream together the brown sugar and butter. Add the cream and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until a soft dough forms (be careful not to over-mix). Turn dough out onto a floured countertop and form a smooth ball. Let chill in fridge for 2-4 hours, or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Cut dough ball into 4 sections and keep the part you’re not using in the fridge. On a floured surface, roll out dough into a strip about 4 inches wide. Trim the rough edges and spoon some of your fig puree down the center of the rectangle, being sure to save room around all edges. Fold the outer edges of the rectangle in and pinch together to make a tube. I flattened the pinched part down and turned the tube over so the top of my newtons were pretty and smooth. Repeat with other pieces of dough.
Bake for twenty five minutes, until golden. Let cool before slicing into newtons.

So there you have it! I hope you can locate some fresh figs so you can try it! If not, I am sure you can find some other yummy fruit to fill them with!

Today, I am participating in the Hearth and Soul link-up over at A Moderate Life.

Play Dough and a Weekend Trip

2011-07-25T09:42:00.002-04:00

We went out of town this weekend. It was a fun time on a farm in spite of the heat. North Carolina is having the same extreme heat we are having here in VA. My dad came and stayed at our house with Amos (our hound who suffers from car sickness) and the chickens. He called me to say how much he enjoyed the chickens. They really are so much fun to watch and play with!

Play Dough Rainbow

Anyway, we had the chance to give the homemade play dough a workout. It held up wonderfully and the 9 kids who were staying at the farm house had fun with it! I will say that using Kool Aid to color and scent the dough is something I probably won't do again. The scent turned a bit rancid.

The recipe I used called for:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
2 Tbs oil
Food coloring
I cooked it over med heat until it turned into the right texture.

I have used several different kinds of pans to make the dough and a non-stick surface is absolutely the way to go. There was very little clean up with non-stick, and I like it when there is very little clean up!

So, about the farm weekend... We stayed in a tiny little farm house in the middle of acres and acres of cotton. We spent more time inside than we would have liked, but the heat was just too much. We did manage to get outside long enough to fit in some skeet shooting, blueberry picking and a tractor ride!

Charlie and the Tractor

Tractor Ride

I look like I belong, huh?

Fields of cotton in bloom. Lovely!

I'm participating in a Monday Link Up over at The Girl Creative! There is a lot of fun stuff posted over there! Go check it out!

What I should be doing...

2011-07-21T17:19:00.003-04:00

since we are going away for the weekend is packing, cleaning, writing a list or just about anything but crafting and blogging. But here I am. Crafting. Blogging.

It has been HOT here. Hot enough that we can't spend much time outside. Hot enough that we are stuck inside. Hot enough that it was extremely poor timing to try to drastically cut TV usage this week. But we are managing. Mama is still sane, the children are still breathing and we have some fun arts and crafts to show for it!

Eden's Glittery Hands

Theo's Glitter Hands

The kids did handprints in glitter on Monday. Boy does a little bit of sparkle make them happy! Me? Well I am learning to pretend that my floors are diamond-studded since I can't seem to manage getting all of the glitter up.

Homemade Play Dough

I have been making homemade play dough this week, too. We are headed to the store tonight for some essential supplies so hopefully I can crank out the rest of the rainbow in the morning! I colored (and scented) the dough with Koolaid!

Paint is always a big hit!

So I stumbled upon a blog that I am now in love with. I was looking for information on homeschooling Workboxes, so I am not sure how I ended up at Aunt Peaches' site, but what a happy accident! I just had to make a few coffee filter flowers!

My little bouquet!

3 of the individual flowers.

I soaked the filters in diluted craft paint and rinsed them. I dried them in the sun and used floral stems and floral tape to secure them. I think they are precious! I need more colors of paint! Must. Make. More.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T08:27:00.001-04:00

Garden Tour

Tuesday July 19th Harvest

The sunflowers were all volunteers!

Figs

Did you know that *this* is what a cotton blossom looked like?

Buttercup

Flowers on a hazy day.

More sunflowers!

More pretty sunflowers!

Pumpkin Patch!

Corn and Sunflowers

Chamomile and Basil

Almost ripe.

Mexico Midgets are the best!

Cilantro

Watermelon

Corn

Pole beans are growing up my corn stalks.

Volunteer acorn squash in the compost bin.

Crazy-wild volunteer tomatoes in the compost bin.

Is it still "wordless" if your photos have captions? ;)

I feel so nerdy!

2011-07-19T10:14:00.000-04:00

Did you notice? I have a new blog button! I made it myself! *Brag, brag, brag*

When I started this whole blogging thing years ago, I was slightly terrified. I have zero tech savvy. Brandon is the computer geek in the family. Not me. I have gradually learned more and more and actually had fun doing it!

Anyway, if you are interested, grab my button at the bottom of the page. If you need one for your own blog, go HERE. These directions are great!

Friends

2011-07-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

In the past several weeks I have had the chance to hang out with 4 different people who I have been friends with for many many years, but who I have been separated from by distance. It amazed me each time how easy it was to pick up where we left off and that 10, 20, 30 years later, this was still someone I would choose to have in my life!

What is it that makes friendship easy? I used to think it was having things in common, but that is not the case more often than not. I don't even have much in common with my jr. high self, much less the friends I made then. There are a few people I know who, on paper, should be perfect for an amazing friendship. When we get together, though, it doesn't work out that way. There are also those who I don't really have much in common with at all, but who I mesh with perfectly. What is that thing that makes it click? I have heard it referred to as "chemistry". Can someone tell me what that is?

Fo what it's worth, I do have friends that I choose to love even when it doesn't feel smooth. As I get older, it has been easier to let go of friendships that are superficial, but those that have been around a while are usually worth working through. I know some people who have issues that, for them, are friendship deal breakers. I haven't really encountered any of those, as I know Christ loves us where we are and I am striving to be more like Him.

Tell me, do you have any friends who have been and will be friends for life? What a blessing!

Woeful Neglect

2011-07-16T12:14:00.002-04:00

Wow. I have really let the summer get away from me. We have been having a grand time here at Hunter's Grove!

The work on the garden has slowed somewhat as we are now harvesting! We quickly realized that we need much more space for staples in the garden if we hope to put any up. We have plenty for eating, but not much to store.

The chickens are getting so big! They are a lot of fun to watch as they peck around the yard. No eggs yet, but we could be getting eggs within the next month or so!

Pippi

So, we have this sofa. It came with the house. It is VERY old (like hundreds of years old) and supposedly came from a tavern near Hadensville, VA. It has been here at Hunter's Grove for quite some time. I can't get rid of it... but, it is extremely uncomfortable and nobody wants to sit on it. We made a plan to move it upstairs to our bedroom "reading nook" and had saved some money for purchasing a new sofa. We chose a nice sofa (not the peacock blue velvet I had in mind, but nice anyway), and planned to purchase it ASAP. It was on backorder. Before it was available again, Ali (our 10 year old boxer) was bitten on the face by a copperhead. 2 nights in the animal hospital and the sofa money was gone. We brought the old sofa back down to the living room. Booooo!

But then... Mema swoops in to save the day! She called me and said, "I bought you a sofa from the Echo Shop (a thrift store in her building at Westminster Canturbury) for $50. I hope you like it." I wasn't sure what to think. Anything would be better than what we were sitting on currently, though. When Brandon brought it home I was thrilled! There int the back of his truck was a peacock blue velvet sofa!

New sofa!

Now that the sofa is done, we are concentrating all our financial efforts on the kitchen cabinets. We hoped to be able to install them before Christmas. Enter, Mema, once again! She unloaded the dishwasher the last time she was here and was so bothered by the Rubbermaid bins we are using right now instead of cabinets that she Is giving us some $ to complete the cabinet project ASAP!

Theo's therapy is going great! He is talking up a storm and it is so much fun to watch! He had a birthday last month. I can hardly believe he's 2! The crib is gone and he is in a big boy bed now! His sleeping is getting better, too!

Theo and Mater!

I have been working overtime on Theo's classic car quilt. It is looking really good and I am about 1/3 of the way done with quilting it.

Gearing up for Kindergarten in the fall. We have a designated school area and I have chosen curriculum (except math).

Okay, I think I am done dumping on you... I'll try to do better!

Boy are they getting big!

2011-06-06T11:29:00.000-04:00

The chicks are 8 weeks old today! They have been out of the house for about a month and we have been letting them out of the coop during the day. They love scratching around and foraging. I love seeing the chickens out in the yard. They are so much fun to watch! They are still small, but they look more like hens than chicks now.

Ruby and Amelia Bedilia

Buttercup

Exploring the yard!

Eating bugs, I hope!

The garden is coming along. We have made plans to expand it again next year! Right now we are harvesting new potatoes! Love having my little dirt-girl to help me in the garden!

Eden and the potatoes she dug!

Blogging "Superwoman" Expose

2011-05-11T11:22:00.001-04:00

This topic has been rolling around among the cobwebs in my mind for a while now. After reading Miriam's post this morning over at My Country Cupboard, I knew it was time!

Spend any amount of time reading mama blogs and you are bound to begin to feel inferior, inadequate, lazy, undisciplined and exhausted. How do they "do it all"? Your house is falling apart, your children are dirty and talking back, you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer (oh wait, that's me... BRB!), the laundry is overflowing, but you still haven't folded the 3 loads you did yesterday, the kitchen floor needs mopping, but it is covered in toys and those cloth grocery bags you haven't taken back to the car (buy hey, at least you remembered to use them!)... sound familiar?

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Let me tell you a secret about the bread-baking, organic-gardening, crafty, homeschooling, perfectly-decorated-and-always-clean-house, perfect-children, handsome-romantic-handy-husband, never-yells, gets-up-at-dawn, finishes-today-today, composts, recycles, always-looks-like-a-million-bucks, showers-daily SUPERWOMAN. She only exists in blogworld (and on Facebook)!

Allow me to spend the next few minutes teaching you to read between the lines of the Superwoman Blogpost...

Superwoman posts: I love spending the day in my garden!
Read: I love spending the parts of the day I wasn't feeding kids, changing poopy diapers or cleaning up dog puke in the garden!

Superwoman posts: The kids and I made this awesome dragonfly mobile from twigs and glitter today! (complete with photo that looks like a professional took it)
Read: It took all day, but I finally managed to get this stupid mobile made in spite of the children's interference! Now to find an e-how on getting glitter/glue out of dog fur. Oh crap, my camera batteries are dead. I'll just swipe the pic from the online tutorial...

Superwoman posts: Tonight for dinner, we had poached chicken breasts with blackberry cabernet sauce, homegrown salad with homemade blackberry vinaigrette dressing and fresh milled whole grain bread.
Read: I cooked all day and my kids ran amok. We will have discipline issues for days and I may never get the sharpie out of the rug.

Superwoman posts: We had our family portraits made today! They turned out SO great!
Read: After putting on every decent outfit in my closet and finding that only one fit, I had to choose different clothes for the entire rest of the family so we wouldn't clash. We were 30 minutes late for our appointment and one of the kids sat in a mud puddle in the parking lot of the photo studio. They took 700 photos and of those, only 5 were acceptable. My eyes are closed in 2 of them.

Does any of this sound familiar? Would any of us read the true life blog? I might, just to make myself feel better... Maybe I will post an "honest" post every now and then just to keep it real!

Reclaiming My Kitchen!

2011-05-10T10:53:00.001-04:00

My mom bought me this book to read to the kids...

It is the story of the Beanbuckets family. When the little boy Billy sneaks his favorite piglet into the house for the night, the other farm animals begin to join him! Before long, the family has to move into the barn! Sounds like someone is trying to tell me something. Mama isn't usually the passive-agressive sort...

Well, Mama, you will be pleased to know, the coop is finished and the chickens have been evicted from the kitchen!! I cleaned and mopped and we are smelling less and less like a barn! I went out this morning and found the girls happily scratching around. I had to take some photos for you!

One of the Golden Campines... I can't tell them apart anymore.

Sweet and friendly Isabella (Blue Andalusian).

The other Golden Campine, I think. ;)

Ruby Sue (Rhode Island Red) looking a little blurry as she runs past!

Golden Campine... still don't know which one.

Pippi (Welsummer)

How in the world did I get all 7 in the same picture?

Hungry chicks!

I love the ladder!

Inside of the henhouse.

Nesting boxes.

Egg-door where, one day, I will hopefully gather eggs from my very own hens!

I need to paint the siding and around the door, but other than that, it's DONE!

Back of the coop.

Happy chicks!

Next project is painting my kitchen! Stay tuned!

A Spring Garden Tour!

2011-05-05T10:51:00.004-04:00

"May and June. Soft syllables, gentle names for the two best months in the garden year: cool, misty mornings gently burned away with a warming spring sun, followed by breezy afternoons and chilly nights. The discussion of philosophy is over; it's time for work to begin."
- Peter Loewer

There has been much discussion of philosophy, for me, since last year's garden was planted. When we arrived here at Hunter's Grove in late April, I said that I wanted to grow tomatoes and if I could have them in the 2010 summer, I would be happy to wait until the following year for a "real" garden. Well, once I prepared a place for tomatoes, it was easy to add a little bit more space for corn, sunflowers, peppers, beans, cucumbers, and squash. I did, and our whole family ended up loving gardening and helping with all the heavy lifting.

This summer, I have some new learning under my belt. In studying Sustainable Agriculture, the concepts of 4-season harvesting and cover cropping have come home to my garden. No more letting the garden succumb to nature during the fall and winter months. No more wrestling it back into submission in the spring. The garden was working all winter! Cover crops of oats, winter rye and vetch held space and fed the soil of each garden bed while keeping weeds from growing! Now those cover crops are ready to harvest and will become mulch or will feed my compost pile!

Winter Rye and Hairy Vetch (in flower).

I also learned about crops that need to be planted in fall for a spring/ summer harvest. My onions are nearing harvest time and garlic should be around the Summer Solstice.

Onions blooming and garlic in the background.

One project that is high on the priority list for this summer is to complete the cold frame and get some low tunnels to extend the harvest. Even without the cold frame, I was able to overwinter carrots and lettuce with just mulch! The key to winter harvest is starting your plants in the summer.

This lettuce was overwintered with heavy leaf/ straw mulch. Compare it with the next photo of lettuce started in late February taken the same day.

Baby lettuce!

My garden space has more than doubled this season. I now have 12 3'x9' beds in rotation, for 324 sq. ft. of bed space.

These beds have butter beans, string beans, summer squash and cucumbers in them.

Peas.

I also have a 3'x6' space that will hopefully be the cold frame this winter.

Peas and carrots in the "cold frame".

I will also have a permanent herb bed for perennial (and some annual) herbs... as soon as I get the spinach out of there!

Spinach growing in the "herb bed".

So there it is so far. There will be more to come, I'm sure, as the season progresses! I can't wait!

Outdoor Chicks... Almost!

2011-05-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

The kids and I worked on the floor of the coop today. We built the coop on a hill, so the floor had to be filled in on the side where it sloped. When we finished, we brought the chicks out to play! They seemed to like it out there.

We hope to put the finishing touches on the coop this weekend and reclaim the breakfast nook for dining! The kitchen kind-of smells like a barn even though I am cleaning their bin daily. Can't wait for them to leave the nest!

Isabella is the most curious and friendly of the bunch.

They managed to uncover a worm and eat it!

I am amazed by their size in 3 short weeks!

Goldie.

I thought of another reason you should cultivate a garden. Because it is super convenient to send the girl out with a basket to pick a salad for dinner!

Eden picked our salad for dinner!

Top Ten Reasons YOU should Cultivate a Garden

2011-05-02T11:33:00.000-04:00

I have always been a great lover of lists. I love to write them, I love to read them, I love to save them, I love to mark things off of them and to combine several into one big list! I was thinking about all of the reasons that anyone with a chunk of land (or a pot on the patio) would (could, should) benefit from keeping a garden.

10. Your physical health. Tending a garden can provide you with a daily dose of exercise and vitamin D.
9. Your mental health. Research has proven that what my Mema always referred to as "Dirt Therapy" is real! Gardening is beneficial for your mental health!
8. Makes your world more beautiful. Even if you decide to only grow veggies, plants are pretty and have flowers before fruit. While veggie flowers aren't as showy as flowers grown specifically for their bloom, they can be lovely. The fruit itself is often beautiful and colorful. Plants grown for their leaves (lettuce, spinach and other greens) can be left to flower and you can save seed for next season!
7. For the children. They don't even need to be your children. Kids love a garden (ask me how I know)! Kids will find all sorts of ways to entertain themselves in a little patch of dirt. From digging, to finding bugs and worms, to planting a seed and watching it grow... Oh, and they will try (and love) things like Brussels Sprouts when they planted the seeds and watched them grow. Wouldn't you want to eat something that looked this cool as it grows?

6. Education. The funny thing about gardening is, the more you grow, the more you want to grow. You learn something (sometimes a lot) every season you tend a garden. When you have successes, you learn, when you fail, you learn even more! You learn that gardening is a lot like life...

5. Successes and failures connect us with our food and the farmers. When you discover that not everything grows well every season, you learn an appreciation for each potato you eat. Each stand at the Farmer's Market represents someone's hard work (BEWARE: you may feel the need to buy something from each farmer once you begin to really appreciate all of their hard work).

4. You can try unusual and heirloom varieties. This one is fun! Have you ever had a purple potato? A white radish? What about a red and green striped tomato? Grow an unusual variety this season. Often heirloom varieties have superior flavor to the mainstream varieties (that were often developed for storage and transport, not for flavor).

3. Your friends will love you for sharing your extras. You will always have an abundance of something. Everyone loves getting some free, homegrown produce!

2. You will have a baseline of knowledge when/ if you need it. You know, when the zombies attack, or Peak Oil causes food to be inaccessible, or when something happens to interrupt the food supply. Preparedness is essential. Those of us with experience growing food, saving seed, caring for the soil will have the tools to feed our own families and help others feed theirs. Did you know that monoculture (farms only growing one variety of one crop) threatens to collapse the entire food supply? Do you remember learning about the Great Irish Potato Famine? When a blight destroyed the potato crop, the people starved. What would happen if a blight affected corn in the US? Look on the boxes in your pantry. Are *any* of them free from corn? Do you eat animal products? Do you know what those animals eat? Unless you are seeking out organic, grass-fed animals, they are not eating what God intended them to eat. They eat corn. Just spend a minute pondering how much of our sustenance depends on corn.

1. You know what you are eating. You can be sure that your crops are free from pesticides, harmful bacteria, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), slave labor (yes, slavery is alive and well in the world). You know when your food was harvested, you were there! You are sure to be getting the freshest possible food, superior in taste, quality and nutrition!

So, there you have it. My top 10 reasons to garden. Can you think of others?

Some Spring Organizing

2011-04-16T09:27:00.003-04:00

It's been a big week here at Hunter's Grove. I have been cleaning and organizing like a mad woman. In anticipation of purchasing a new sofa, we moved our antique sofa to the "master" bedroom and created a little reading nook. It is lovely!

Reading nook in our bedroom.

Our 220 year old home has no closets, so, this week Brandon created a closet for me! It is at the top of
the stairs right outside our bedroom. I have 2 rows of closet rods, lots of rubbermaid bins and drawers a shoe rack and my label maker got a major workout!! All of my hanging clothes had been in a wardrobe that was in the living room. This new closet will go along way in reducing the "streak factor" in our house. ;)

Okay, so the shoes could be neater, but believe me, this is a HUGE improvement!

Another benefit of the new closet is that I will be able to get rid of the wardrobe! There is really not a good place for it and it had just been taking up space as I moved it all over the living room. I will be trading the wardrobe for a small desk my mom has. The desk will be a perfect addition to our new little homeschool area!

My start to organizing our homeschool area.

Have I told you I will be homeschooling Eden for kindergarten this year? We made the final decision a couple of weeks ago. For those of you who do not know my firstborn, she is a super-precocious 4 year old with a November birthday. She misses the school cutoff, but she *needs* to be doing school! She is reading and doing simple math completely on her own and it would really be a disservice to her to not keep her challenged. If we were to wait to send her to kindergarten until next year, she would be bored out of her mind and I fear that would cause my chatterbox to get into a lot of trouble! Anyway, homeschool it is! The Hunter's Grove Academy officially opens the day after Labor Day.

We are still really enjoying the chicks. They have tail feathers already! We had a chick fall prey to Amos our hound. Still not sure what happened other than he snatched a chick and killed it. She had no breaks in her skin or anything. It was very sad and I felt so guilty for letting him get her. The kids took it okay. Anyway, we are down to 7 chicks.

Yesterday I finally got a chance to get out in the garden for the whole day! With Mema's help, I got the potatoes in (I think we will have around 40 plants). I got another bed dug and planted cabbage, dill and radishes. My Mama planted flower bulbs and a bleeding heart in my shade-loving perennial bed. Brandon got the 3+ acres of grass cut and it looks fantastic. I had forgotten how beautiful our yard is in the "green" season!

It is raining today, so we are going to keep it pretty low-key. I may even try to catch a nap later!

The chicks are home!

2011-04-13T13:18:00.002-04:00

Our 8 little peeping balls of fluff are here! We set up the brooder Monday and the post office called around noon Tuesday to let us know they had come in. Brandon took off early and brought them home to us. What an exciting day!

Brooder

Peeping box!

Opening our box of chicks.

Theo and Isabella (Blue Andalusian)

Checking out the chicks!

Eden holding Amelia Bedelia (Plymouth Barred Rock)

Pippi (Welsummer)

Well, that's it for now. I am sure we'll have more to share soon!

The Chicks are at the Post Office!!

2011-04-12T12:35:00.001-04:00

I can't wait to get some photos of the little peeps! Brandon is coming home early from work and picking them up on his way. I didn't tell the kids. They will get the double surprise of Daddy coming home in the middle of the day and our chicks arriving!

SO EXCITED!!

Kids and Quilts and Coops and Plants and Life

2011-04-07T13:02:00.002-04:00

There is so much going on here that I don't know where to begin. I always hate those "I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long so let me tell you everything I did in the past month" posts. I'll try not to write one of those...

Progress has been steady on the coop. The chicks will be here next week and will be in the house for the first couple of weeks, so we still have a little time. We stopped by the feed store last week and looked at their chicks. Eden called Brandon and told him that the chicks were "so amazing I had a tear in my eye!" Needless to say, we are really excited!

Framing is done on the run.

Some other big news in the Rollogas house. We have decided to homeschool Eden for Kindergarten this fall. She has one of those cursed November birthdays. The state of Virginia won't allow her to go to kindergarten this fall. Anyone who has met Eden, though, will know that that isn't going to stop her from being precocious and learning everything she can anyway. So, we are jumping in with both feet and officially starting the Hunter's Grove Academy.

We are leaving future grades (and children) open to all the options. We will see how things go this fall. I have begun collecting items for our little homeschool corner of the living room, studying "methods", looking at curriculum, reading blogs and asking questions to anyone I meet who teaches their children at home.

Bargain Easel: retails for $100, purchased on Craigslist for $20!

Eden's Purple school desk!

The garden is growing like a champ, but I have no recent photos. I will do a garden post soon.

The other project I am working on is Theo's big boy room. I am making him a quilt and the room will have a classic car theme. I found some old galvanized gas cans that I plan to make lamps out of. The quilt will have car appliques.

Here are some photos of the finished appliques. We need some more rainy days so I can work on the quilt some more!

72 Buick GS

Model A Ford

1940 Ford Pickup

Old Gas Pump

1960 Corvette

VW Thing

VW Microbus

Living Richly, Not Excessively

2011-03-21T09:19:00.002-04:00

One of my goals in recent years has been to not live in excess, but to live a rich life.

What does this mean? I imagine it would mean different things to different people, but for me, right now, it means living life with an awareness of the present moment. Taking the time to notice and enjoy the seemingly small everyday things. Paying attention to the natural world and enjoying its rhythms. Spending time outdoors, enjoying the sunlight, rain, storms, flowers, snow, animals, the night sky, and all those things that are free that most of us ignore at a great cost to our spirits.

With this awareness of the moment, comes the need for an understanding that a whole life is made up of moments. Experiences, loves, learning opportunities, bad days and good... We are all being sculpted by these experiences and what we do with them is building character!

Living richly also, for me, means ridding myself of anything unnecessary, not beautiful, or which could be put to better use by somebody else. This can mean material possessions, but easily extends into the rest of life (my entertainment, my character traits, my attitudes). Ask, How does this enhance my life or the lives around me? A cluttered life full of "stuff" can cause you to miss the beauty around you.

To live richly, you don't have to be rich! As a stay at home mom and our family CFO, this is extremely important. I don't bring in any money. My job is to spend Brandon's hard earned money wisely. Insuring we have enough for today's needs (are they truly needs?) and buying experiences (quality ingredients for a delicious meal, flowers to plant in the yard, entertaining family and friends) rather than things (clothes, shoes, purses, appliances) has become important. I work to fill my days (our family's days) with good company, real food, great music.

As a mama in the midst of raising little ones, often I don't have the luxury of alone time. Living richly, though requires a little bit of it. It is important for me to enjoy my own company. I am the only person I know for a fact that will be with me from now until I die. Learning, being, accomplishing, and experiencing rather than getting, buying, and taking will go far to help me be a person I want to spend time with. Would you be your own friend? Sometimes I think I wouldn't like me very much.

Are you moving toward living richly? What does this mean to you?

It's coming, it's coming!!

2011-03-07T17:55:00.003-05:00

Back of the house. Chicken coop will be located on the right where the dead tree is in the photo.

Same area as the previous photo, but from the perspective of the back porch. We have cleared a lot of shrubbery (and have more to clear). The shrubs, trees and brush used to extend as far as the water spigot in the right of the photo. The dead tree is sitting in the location of our future chicken house!

Here is my new BEAUTIFUL 3-bin compost!

Each front slat is removable making it extremely easy to load, unload and turn.

With the Vernal Equinox just 2 weeks away, I am letting myself really get into the Spring planning! The garden plans have been coming along quite nicely for some time, the chicks have been ordered (and are scheduled to ship on April 11th) but I have been sitting on this Spring-cleaning, life-organization bug for a week or so now and I am ready!

I have gone through my Rollogas Family Home Operator's Procedures Manual and revamped! I have updated my Morning, Naptime and Before Bed Routines, as well as my Daily Tasks. If you are interested, you can also look at the "old" version of them (made while living at Davis Ave and pre-Theo) by checking out my posts from June 2009, entitled Adventures in Homemaking Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. I have also been working on some new pages for my Procedures Manual. The new pages will be Monthly, Semi-annual, and Annual tasks, so stay tuned!

What are you itching to do this Spring?

As per my usual, I will leave you with some garden photos. :)

Carrots.

Pea shoots.

A row of spinach seedlings.

Row of Tom Thumb lettuce.

Spring is coming!

2011-03-02T09:39:00.003-05:00

You may have heard that the groundhog predicted early spring. I don't normally put a lot of faith in what old Phil says, but it has seemed to be so. We had quite a few warm days in February. After a particularly cold winter (I didn't check the weather records, this is just my opinion) and being stuck inside so much, the warm sun is a welcome friend! We are back to spending entire days outside and my spirit is slowly recovering from its cabin fever.

We have been spending quite a bit of time in the garden. For those of you who don't know, I have sold a share of my garden produce this season to my friend Laura. I have been calling it my "1 person CSA". This fact has completely changed the way I am planning for the season. Since the shares begin on May 15th, that requires that I have produce to share by then! It has both complicated and simplified the process. It has complicated it, in that I had to be extremely careful in the varieties I chose to grow and in getting things started at exactly the proper time. It has simplified things in that the entire garden is planned down to the day. I know what tasks need to be done in the garden on any particular day.

Here are a few photos of things that are happening in the garden.

We have things growing windows in the kitchen and in the living room.

Brandon is working on a new 3 bin composting system for me.

Theo is also helping! ;)

The composter will have 3 sections. One for finished compost, one for cooking compost and one for adding new stuff. As the "cooking" section becomes cured and I use all of the finished material, the bins will rotate. The plans hare here if you are interested in building one for your own garden.

The peas are in and a few are up.

Lettuce, onions and garlic are doing well.

Some carrots actually overwintered. I am going to see what they do. They look good and healthy.

This entire bed is planted in 6 varieties of lettuce.

This will be an herb bed, but I have it planted in spinach right now.

I'll leave you with that, for now. There will be more to come!

Feedback from the PPD post!

2011-02-15T14:11:00.004-05:00

Wow. Just wow. Not only am I overwhelmed by the response to my Postpartum Depression post, I am blessed! So many of you shared your sympathy, shared your own stories and many of you shared your relief that a Christian could publicly admit to *GASP* taking antidepressants. Between the blog and comments on Facebook, I had 17 comments! Who knew I even had that many readers!

I am constantly surprised at how many of my own friends and acquaintances have experienced PPD. It makes it easy to believe that the prevalence of PPD is 5%-25%.

On the topic of Christians and depression, we have many examples of Godly, faithful people who struggled with depression.

Moses (Numbers 1:10-14 Moses heard the peopleweeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Moses said to the LORD, "Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,' to the landthat you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, 'Give us meat, that we may eat.' I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.).

Elijah (1 Kings 19:3-4 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.").

Job (Job 3- especially verses 3,11,20-26 3 "Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said,  'A man is conceived.' 11"Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? 20"Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, 21who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, 22who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? 23Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? 24For my sighing comes instead of my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. 25 For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. 26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes." Job 17:1 1 "My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me.).

David (Ps. 43:2-5 2For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?  Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to yourdwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.).
No one experienced more depression than David. Here are some more references to David’s depression. (Ps. 6,13,18,23,25,27,31,32,34, 37-40, 42-43, 46, 51,55,62-63, 69, 71, 73,77,84,86,90-91, 94-95, 103- 104, 107, 110, 116, 118, 121, 123-124, 130, 138, 139, 141-143, 146-147).

Jeremiah (Jer. 20:14 14Cursed be the day  on which I was born!  The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!).

Hannah (1 Sam. 1:8, 10 8And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.).

Nehemiah (Neh. 1:4 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before theGod of heaven. Neh. 2:1 1In the month of Nisan,in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.).

Jesus (Mat 26:38 Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.")

I feel that this is enough to "chew" on for one day, so I leave you with this verse from Habakkuk 3:17-19.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

GOD, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

28 days of Love... Or perhaps only 10 days.

2011-02-13T17:21:00.001-05:00

Wow! I officially give up on this 28 Days of Love thing. It seemed like a good idea, but I am having a terrible time keeping up, especially on weekends.

Today, after church, we got outside in the warm-ish weather! It was GREAT! We worked on gathering materials for the pea trellis, I started a wattle fence around my herb bed and the kids played on the compost pile.

28 Days of Love! Day 9 and 10.

2011-02-10T19:45:00.001-05:00

So I'm really not so great at doing this every day...

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

One picture, lots of loves!

Here, we have camping, little girls, friends, cool spring water and playing outside!

LOVE!

A Postpartum Depression Story.

2011-02-08T12:47:00.006-05:00

I have debated sharing this and have started this post several times. It has been sitting in my "drafts" for months now but I think I am ready. It is finally time for me to share my postpartum depression story.

Some of you know me personally and had no idea I was going through this. Guess what, I didn't even really know! My main reason for sharing this now is so my friends and family will know more about what to look for. Look for it in your friends, your family, and Mama's, look for it in yourself!

Read more »

28 Days of Love! Day 8.

2011-02-08T10:26:00.001-05:00

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

Today my love is the family pet. Pictured is 10 year old Ali and 4 year old Eden!

Photo by Chanin Gilman

2 in one day!

2011-02-07T19:37:00.002-05:00

It isn't often I get the chance to post twice in the same day, but I just had to share some pics of the stuff that's been coming out of my kitchen lately!

Theo helped me make brownies the other day. He enjoyed it! ;)

28 Days of Love! Day 7

2011-02-07T16:38:00.002-05:00

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

Posting here every day is so much more difficult on the weekends. It is not like I'm sitting around doing nothing, though. I got to finalize the garden plan, complete my seed order and my cabbage seeds are sprouting in the windowsill. I got to spend some time with a good friend who has just moved back to town, spend an afternoon antiquing with another friend and our 4 year old little girls (not for the faint of heart) and I bought a new book.

The new book is Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen. I had checked out Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions from the library several times and I know there is a lot of love for Sally out there, but this book seemed like the better choice for me. I honestly really don't like to cook and I couldn't justify buying 2 cookbooks at once. Forgotten Skills goes through a lot of fun topics like foraging, cooking game and preserving food. It is a really beautiful book with wonderful photos. It really appeals to the bibliophile in me!

So anyway, I am cooking Winter Squash Souffle tonight. Not from the new book, but from here at Nourished Kitchen.

My love for the day (yes, I am just going to skip yesterday) is kids who love tools!

My littles love helping out with our jobs around the house and that makes me happy!

Eden, age 2.

28 Days of Love! Day 4 and 5. blushes

2011-02-05T19:03:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a fun-filled day with little internet... So, I will post my pics for yesterday and today. These pics are the 2 really important men in my life Brandon and my Dad.

28 Days of Love! Day 3.

2011-02-03T09:48:00.000-05:00

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

Cleaning up after the kid's painting, I tossed their palette into the sink, ran a little water in it to keep the paint from drying in it and got busy doing something else. When I came back to finally wash it, this is what I found in the sink.

Rainbows = Love

Even when you find them in the bottom of the sink!

28 Days of Love! Day 2.

2011-02-02T16:29:00.003-05:00

Go check out My Country Cupboard for her 28 Days of Love!

I am at a season of my life where my world revolves around the 2 little blessings running around the house. In my opinion, nothing says love like children. Were it not for extreme love, nobody would do this parenthood thing. Pregnancy, birth, the disruption of our own agenda, the day to day tedium, the adjustment a couple must make... seriously, I could go on and on. The converse of this is the part where you get to give them birth, give them nourishment (physical, spiritual, mental), give them an environment in which to thrive, give them, well, yourself! Over and over you give yourself.
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28 Days of Love! Day 1.

2011-02-01T16:55:00.005-05:00

My friend Miriam over at My Country Cupboard is doing "28 Days of Love" for February. I think it is a pretty cute idea, so I am going to copy her! ;)

The rules are simple... post a photo each day in February that says "love" to you. I was already working on a post today, but I think this could fit nicely with my post!
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Some pics of life.

2011-01-30T19:06:00.002-05:00

We had a couple of nice (sunny and 50F) days here in Fife this weekend. It was super to spend some time outside and not be thinking the whole time about how much I want to go inside!

We do not live in an area that is really known for snow, but this winter, there have been only a few days where we did not have snow on the ground. The daytime temps have been such that the ground thaws. The result has been MUD. Mud is everywhere. The yard may never recover... Driving to our parking area has created terrible ruts and the few times we have driven around to the back of the house (usually when we are returning from the grocery store) has made a muddy mess of the side yard. I won't even begin to describe the yard by the back porch. Just imagine, 2 dogs, no grass, no gutters on the house and tons of precipitation. Gross!

In the garden...

2011-01-25T10:09:00.001-05:00

There isn't a lot going on in the garden right now. I have some onions and garlic in the ground and a little bit of lettuce that is struggling along. We chose to not finish the cold frame, so the lettuce has not been covered all winter. I'm wondering if it will take off when the days begin warming up...

I have, however, been making some seriously big plans! I told you about my one-member CSA. I have made an initial seed order. I still have 5 beds to dig before I can plant anything, though. I had to scrap a few of my ideas for the garden (like peanuts and popcorn) because they would occupy space I need for making sure I have produce available for a CSA share. May 15th (the first share date) is going to be here quickly, and in order to be sure I have something to harvest by then, I have to get things planted at the exact right time. So, I have been working on my garden calendar. I have been putting planting and harvest dates in, with the hopes that it will help me stay on track. I am using this really cool garden planning program to help me, as well.

Here is what my 2011 garden plan includes:
Spinach, peas, cabbage, carrots, onions, lettuce, potatoes, melons, bush beans, pole beans, sweet corn, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, brussels sprouts, winter squash, summer squash, pumpkins, garlic, radishes, kale, tomatillos and butterbeans. There will also be herbs: cilantro, sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, parsley, mint, oregano, and dill.

Oh, and I have decided to call my little business Farm Mama! I was thinking about trying out selling at the Goochland Farmer's Market this summer. The future of the market is up in the air right now, though, so we will see what happens with that.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-01-20T11:30:00.003-05:00

For today, Thursday, January 20, 2011
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When I grow up I want to be a farmer!

2011-01-19T12:16:00.002-05:00

Those of you who know me personally will know that I am in school. Well actually, I am not taking a class this semester, but plan to continue as finances allow (we are committed to living without debt). Anyway, I am studying Sustainable Agriculture at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. It is a great program and I am learning so much.
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Theo's OT

2011-01-18T10:22:00.002-05:00

I wrote an e-mail to a friend who had asked some questions about Theo and the reasons he is having Occupational Therapy. I realized it was a pretty coherent description of what is going on with him. Since I am really just learning about all of this, it has been difficult for me to explain fully to folks who ask. It is making so much sense to me the more I learn, though, so I'll try to explain it the best way I know how...

Finally figuring out the boy!

2011-01-18T10:19:00.004-05:00

Theo has been killing me slowly for 2 solid years now. I had a miserable pregnancy, a semi-violent fast birth, he cried 4-8 hours out of the day for the first 10 months (when he started walking he cried less, but still had a couple days a week of crying 2-4 hours), I was suffering from PPD that I dismissed for almost a year as sleep deprivation, and the child still (at 19 months old) doesn't sleep.

Some goings on

2011-01-18T09:58:00.001-05:00

Back in 2008, I made a 2nd birthday quilt for Eden. It was made especially for her big girl bed. Since Theo is 19 months old, I thought it was about time I started on his quilt! I am planning a classic car themed quilt. So far I have 3 appliques finished for it. We have a VW Microbus, a VW Thing and a 1940 Ford truck. I am currently working on a Model A. Still to come are a 1960 Corvette and a 1970 Buick GS. So far it has been really fun to work on.

This morning has been nice and quiet. We told Eden there would be no TV until her room was clean. She has chosen to not clean her room and just forfeit her TV time today. At first I was annoyed (because the state of her room is atrocious), but the kids are playing so sweetly that I just closed the door and we will get to her room later.

Hope your day is wonderful!

Working hard on breathing life into this neglected blog.

2011-01-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

I want this blog to be a reflection of my whole life. A glimpse into who I am as a woman, our family's successes and failures, our hopes and dreams and how we plan to achieve those.

I have recently read the 1932 journal of my great-great-great aunt. She lived here at Hunter's Grove and wrote nearly daily. She recorded things like the weather, radio programs she had enjoyed that day, the status of the animals, what was growing in the garden and wether or not anyone had visited. I hope to have the discipline to blog about topics of interest, but also to document the more mundane goings-on here at Hunter's Grove.

I am changing a few things here...

2011-01-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

Hopefully there will be good things to come... and maybe I will actually post now and then!!

The past couple of weeks...

2010-06-17T08:37:00.001-04:00

We finally closed on the house! I know everyone was relieved to finally be done with it.

It sure has been hot around here! We have still been spending a lot of time outdoors. The kids are loving their new swingset. Eden has learned how to pump on the swing, which freed up a lot of time for me to work while she is swinging!
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Thank a Soldier

2010-05-31T08:35:00.001-04:00

From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.
--Thomas Jefferson--

Anything is an improvement!

2010-05-30T12:46:00.001-04:00

I love the projects we are taking on around here! Mema tells a story about her nephew Nicky. When she and her family moved into their house in the country, folks came out to work. Nicky told his mom, "I like working out there. Any work you do is an improvement!"

Ticks

2010-05-27T10:31:00.001-04:00

We haven't even been outside this morning and I have pulled 2 (crawling, not biting) ticks off of Theo and 1 off of myself. Yesterday, I pulled 3 off of Eden (they were already biting) and one off of Theo!

I was thinking of waiting on the chickens until we were a bit more settled, but I think we need some form of tick control! So, I have been dreaming today. I know I don't want a large flock. I want 6-8 birds at most. I want a pretty egg basket. Well, not the actual basket, but the eggs in the basket. I want friendly breeds. I want good layers and possibly dual purpose breeds. I want a coop with a run. I plan to let the birds "free range" on a part time basis, but want them to be penned up when that is more convenient for me. So, this is what I have come up with...

A Glimpse of this Country Life

2010-05-25T09:26:00.001-04:00

We said goodbye to Davis Avenue on April 22nd. Brandon and I chose this house before we

were even engaged. We got engaged in the front yard, we spent 8 great years there.

Both of our babies came home there and we have a lot of memories wrapped up in these walls. Bittersweet (okay, mostly sweet).

Twisty-turny life!

2010-05-24T17:56:00.003-04:00

I have been neglecting the blog. Not because there is nothing to report (because there is),
but because I am a bit annoyed at the way things are going and I hate to sound
ungrateful!

Our house is SOLD! The new family who bought it closed on April 22nd. We moved out of
the Davis Ave house on the same day and into Hunter's Grove!

Read more »

A quick catch-up!

2010-04-08T08:52:00.000-04:00

I have been really neglecting the blog lately. I apologize and hope to do better, but I'm not making any promises! Great news, though...

We sold our house!

Right now we are jumping through government hoops to fulfill the requirements for our buyer's VA Loan. We are down to 2 weeks before closing and things are a little bit stressful and very busy! Theo and Eden have been "helping" a lot.

Yesterday we had 5 panes of glass in the house replaced. Today, a buried oil tank is coming out of the ground. It's setting us back a few pennies. There has been a steady hemorrhage of cash since we signed the contract to sell. Hoping it stops soon, so there is something left to put into our own "money pit" out at Hunter's Grove.

We have been making a little bit of progress out there, too.

We have been cleaning each week and have gotten the bathroom, family room, kitchen, dining room and spare bedroom done. Saturday morning we plan to finish the living room. Hopefully I will get out there one more time before moving day to work on the upstairs.

In all of our cleaning, we have made time to stop and enjoy ourselves, too.

We are so excited that we have been able to make a few purchases that are not for the Davis Ave house and those are fun! We bought a (used) riding lawnmower. Brandon hopes to give it a workout on Saturday! We also purchased an antique freestanding farm sink for our kitchen renovation!

We are looking forward to sharing more as our life changes this summer!

Under Contract!

2010-03-17T04:40:00.001-04:00

After 4 1/2 long months, we have a contract on our house! We made the deal yesterday and we are happy with the result. We certainly didn't get rich off of it, but we will be able to afford to do a couple of things at Hunter's Grove that really need to be done. Our closing is set for April 22nd!

In case you happened to look at the time stamp on this post and are wondering... caffeine + excitement = insomnia! ETA: I just looked and there is no time stamp on this template. I'll just tell you, it's 4:30 AM and I have been awake since 2am.

There is a lot to do in the next few weeks. I hope to find the time to share it all with you!!

Excalibur 3500

2010-03-02T18:26:00.001-05:00

I got a food dehydrator! I purchased the Excalibur 3500. It came via UPS yesterday andI tried it out for the first time today! I didn't have a lot on hand to dry, but I had to put something in it. I ended up doing 2 Gala apples and 2 Roma tomatoes.

I am amazed at the intensity of the flavors. The apples are so good. The tomatoes had to be put away quickly or I would have eaten them ALL! I think I will make bread with them.

I am going out to the store tonight to find some more stuff to dry!

PS: I forgot to take photos and by the time I remembered, I had already sampled quite a bit! ;)

My first Quail Cove Farms order!

2010-02-24T10:07:00.000-05:00

I called the lady who hosts the Quail Cove Farms pickup yesterday, to find out what time the truck usually arrives. She said it usually gets there around 5:30 am! Yipes! She said nobody is ever there to meet the truck and in the Summertime, folks bring a cooler by the day before for the cold stuff. I was glad that the pressure was off to meet the truck! I did get over there a little after 7am to pick up my order. It was simple; find your bags and take them home!

I ordered 3 dozen free range eggs, 5# of organic potatoes, 5# of organic carrots, 4 organic navel oranges, a bag of organic corn chips, 2.5# of butter and nearly 10# of free range turkey loaf. After shipping my total was $72! That would have been a good price for the turkey if that was all I got, but all together it was a wonderful deal!

I will likely continue to order from them, but I am looking forward to more local sources of these items as the Summer approaches.

Spring Fever

2010-02-23T10:08:00.001-05:00

The snow here has just about cleared. You may still see a bit in parking lots where the piles were as big as dump trucks, but other than that, we are just looking at soggy winter. We had a solid week of sun last week, and while the temperatures didn't get out of the 40's, it was still beautiful! I am suffering from Spring fever in a bad way and I am planning a garden I may not actually have.

Our house is still sitting here on the market. We lowered our price to $172,000 and we are still getting traffic through at least once a week. We still haven't had any offers, though, and I am getting tired. I know that so many folks have their houses on the market for much longer than 4 months these days, but it is really tough to always be ready for a showing. Living in a house from which you have emotionally detached while being a SAHM (stay at home mom) is much more difficult than I expected. I am feeling as if I am living in limbo. It makes me long for a "home" again. You know, kid's art on the fridge, family photos out for all to see...

As for the garden, I am planning as if we will be at Hunter's Grove in time for planting. So far I have the layout mapped out and flower seed chosen. I need to plan the veggie portion, but depending on when we can move, we may be at the mercy of others as to what seedlings I can find.

The food changes here in the Rollogas house are being made slowly. We have made the switch to organics (and local milk) at the store, but we are also still eating up the stockpile of food we already had. I placed my first order with Quail Cove Farms. It arrives tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that looks! We are using a portion of Brandon's bonus this year to join Agriberry CSA (an organic, local fruit/ berry CSA). I am really excited about that!! My copy of Food, Inc. is making the rounds among my friends and I am thrilled about all the changes everyone seems to be making! More folks eating real food means more access to real food (good old supply and demand)!

If you remember, this week, say a prayer for the sale of our house!

BOOOOO!

2010-02-10T09:31:00.002-05:00

Snowing here AGAIN!! Not a fan!

...and again

2010-02-06T10:10:00.000-05:00

Again, it is snowing. I am not usually one to complain about the weather. I usually take it as it comes, but boy am I ready for some sun and warmth! I think the sun is supposed to shine his beautiful face a bit tomorrow, but the high is supposed to be 32F and we are supposed to get more snow on Tuesday! The yard is so wet that you sink a couple of inches when walking even on the grass. We have standing water in the back yard (something that, I'm sure, impresses potential buyers). It is dreary and definitely having an impact on my personal morale.

Enough about the February funk. I wanted to update you a bit on the food stuff! I have been sharing my new knowledge with anyone who will listen and boy are people listening!! My copy of Food, Inc. is loaned out and I have a list of at least 7 people who want to borrow it! It is still available on Amazon for $9.99. If you purchase it, you can watch it instantly on your computer or download it to your on-demand device! If you have Netflix, you can watch it instantly on your computer.

Being pretty new to this journey, I am finding it easy to get off track by wandering the "organic" foods aisles. Is "organic" the point? Is an organic banana better if it is coming from Chile? What is worse, pesticides or oil dependance? It could be easy to get bogged down with those kinds of questions. I can see how it could be paralyzing. I think this has made me open my eyes and think about where my food is being grown and what are the growing conditions. Close to home = good! Less dependance on oil for transportation and a fresher product. Farmer's Markets = good! The close-to-home reasons apply and you have the advantage of meeting the people who are actually growing your food!

The changes in our shopping are going to be huge. We can't just buy the same things just the "organic" version. In addition to being cost-prohibitave, it is missing the point! The point is... is what I am eating actually food? Or is it some company's product that we have been conditioned to think of as food? Are the animals I am eating being treated like a creature not just created for human nourishment but created for God's glory? Are the plants I am eating organisms that occur in nature? Or are they a product, trademarked and owned by a "multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation"? Is that packaged food I am buying really food? How many ingredients does it have? How many can I pronounce? How many are naturally occurring?

This is an enlightening journey for me. Thanks for walking beside me!!

Cheese Crackers

2010-01-31T18:32:00.000-05:00

With this whole journey to eating real food, I have more than myself to consider. I am fortunate to have a son who, at 7 months, has been breastfed from day one and has only eaten a few fruits and vegetables (so, in other words, a clean slate) and a daughter who loves food and eats pretty much anything. I, however, have a husband who is very fond of junk-food.

After seeing Food, Inc. he is completely on board for the major changes ahead, but is a bit apprehensive of what this will look like in real life. I cook dinners from scratch, so these will be fairly simple to change. We will likely eat less poultry and meat, as free-range/ organic/ grass fed is expensive and it will be cost-prohibitive to eat daily. Currently we eat at least one meatless dinner meal per week, so eating a couple more meatless meals will only be a minor change.

Breakfast is another story. We currently eat free-range organic eggs and organic milk, so these will not be an added expense, but Eden and Brandon enjoy cereal. I am thinking homemade granola and milk may be a good substitute. I know there are also basic organic equivalents to the major cereals, so that would also be an option. I am also shopping around for fairly traded coffee.

A major concern for Brandon is, what will his work lunches look like? Right now, he is usually taking a sandwich with deli meat or PB&J (or sometimes he takes supper leftovers), crackers or chips, fruit, and some sort of dessert (often pudding). This will basically ALL have to change. Our current bread brand is better than some when you read the ingredient list, not organic, though. Deli meat may become a thing of the past, though I have found free-range local deli turkey loaf (not sliced) from Quail Cove Farms. Anyone know how to cut it? Peanut butter... #2 ingredient in our brand is HFCS (high fructose corn syrup... thanks Monsanto!). I'm not sure what to do here. I have never really loved peanut butter. My mom made ours and made it with no sweetener and you had to stir the oil in and I just always thought it was gross. I would be okay with stirring it if it had some sweetness. Maybe honey? Jelly/ jam is easy, I make it every year!

So this brings me to today's experiment! I made crackers! They were very simple to make and took no time. The family really liked them and I think I can play with adding different things to get some really great flavors! Here is the basic recipe:

2 cups flour (whole wheat if you want)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter
up to 1 cup milk

Combine salt and flour
Cut in butter
Add milk until doughy (not sticky)
Roll out PAPER THIN on a cookie sheet
Score and prick with a fork
Bake at 300F for 20 min

I added 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese and 1/4 tsp cayenne to mine and they are YUM!!

Okay, enough for now. Thanks for reading! :)

What I've learned so-far, and some stuff I knew already!

2010-01-31T09:48:00.008-05:00

I want to share a little bit about the resources I am finding for local and whole foods. This will be a continuing post as I keep hearing of other resources. I will share resources I already know and whenever possible I will provide a link. Find this post again on the right side bar. If you know of any sources I am missing, or if you find a broken link, let me know!!

Local Food Movement:

Local Harvest- Find farms, CSAs, farmer's markets and "local food" blogs.
Sustainable Table- Find out what the issues are, shopping guides and recipes.
Eat Well Guide- Find local foods, plan a trip, and see what foods are in season.
Pick Your Own- Find local farms to pick your own strawberries, pumpkins, apples and much more!

Grocery Stores:

Ellwood Thompson's Local Market- Locally owned, independent grocer, local, natural and organic foods.
Good Food's Grocery- Locally owned, independent grocer, local, natural and organic foods.
Whole Food's Market- Chain grocer, local, natural and organic foods.
Trader Joe's- Chain grocer, natural foods, bulk foods.

Co-ops:

Quail Cove Farms
Frontier
Fall Line Farms
Goochland Farmer's Market

Grass-Fed Beef:

Dragonfly Farms, Beaverdam, VA
Polyface Farms, Swoope, VA
Mount Vernon Farm, Sperryville, VA

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA):

Agriberry
Kruize Farms
Frog Bottom Farm

Here we go again!

2010-01-30T19:24:00.000-05:00

Well, once again it's snowing here in the Old Dominion. Here in our little corner of the world, we are looking at another 8-12". We have about 4" so far and it is coming down with great intensity!

I have been thinking a lot about food. We have been on this house journey that will hopefully end with us snuggled up on 10 acres in Goochland County, but this thought process has been forming for quite some time, and has only recently come to a head.

As a Christian I am constantly challenged by my believing friends to be a better follower of Christ, to live for Him, to lead my children ever closer to Him. I am often discouraged by many Christ-followers who turn a blind eye to matters of environmental impact, our personal responsibility of earth stewardship, the fact that a creator wants to see his creation cared for with utmost respect (how much more The Creator). I recently read a wonderful book entitled Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate. What an amazing believer's perspective on, what he calls, creation care. Recently some of my close friends are coming around to this perspective. We seem to meet with resistance to what many see as a politically liberal issue. Maybe it is traditionally a liberal issue, but let's not throw out the baby with the bath water!

Anyway, back to my point. I am a member of an online community of parents (Natural and Attachment Parents of Richmond) who challenge me in so many ways. While most of them do not share my faith, they do, overwhelmingly, seek to better themselves in ways that often convict me!

It was through this community that I was introduced to several great books. I started off reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This is an account of a family (from here in VA) who ate all local foods for a year. This got me thinking a lot about the fact that here in the US supermarkets, there are no seasons! I can have strawberries today if I want. How far did they travel to get to my supermarket? Well, pretty far, frankly.

The next book recommend that I picked up was Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It gets into the business and politics of agriculture, the processes of food production, and really brings to light our government's direct role the problem of obesity!

The final straw for me, though, was the film Food, Inc. If you haven't seen it, see it!! It will force you to think about your buying practices. As for me, I am done with Tyson, Perdue, Monsanto, and all the corporate animal and farmer abusers. We will be raising our food budget to reflect the choices we will be making. I am looking to join a natural foods co-op, when we move, we plan to grow a lot of our own food, we will commit to purchasing only free-range chicken, grass fed beef, and to treating our bodies as gently as we treat our earth.

I think I will probably be expanding on this as we get on a bit into this journey. Looking forward to growing!

They just keep coming!!!

2010-01-27T11:16:00.001-05:00

Last week they began arriving... The seed catalogs, that is. They have been conjuring up conflicting feelings in me! Excitement that planning season is upon us, despair that I cannot plan anything, hope that our house will sell soon enough that I can have a garden...

The thought of the season completely escaping without planting anything is terrible! So the question is... do I plan for a garden at Hunter's Grove, knowing full well that it may be wasted time and effort?

A tough week.

2010-01-25T15:52:00.000-05:00

Last week was pretty tough. I guess it makes sense that, when you begin the week putting man's best friend to sleep, the rest of the week might not be the best. Eden had a throw-up bug, Theo was teething and snotty, Ali moped around and was generally pitiful, I realized that I left my good frying pan and knife at the cabin when we went camping, and I had classes to teach. A few times during the week I was at the end of myself. A girl can only take so much.

Through all of this, though, God didn't change. He is still on the throne!! I really felt the prayers of my friends during the week as God dumped heaps of grace on our little family. His peace, (you know, the peace that passes understanding) was evident as I woke up mornings I had slept very little and had to clean up vomit, but was still able to smile. I praise the Lord for his care for us during the tough weeks and every day!

Mutton Top

2010-01-21T11:20:00.001-05:00

I mentioned in my post about Boomer that we went camping last weekend. It was a wonderful weekend. We kept it pretty low key and didn't do much hiking, but the girls managed to escape for a few hours for a bit of antiquing in Ruckersville. I came away with a cute tablecloth I may cut up for a dress or at least an applique!

Here are some photos from our trip.

The sunrise on Saturday morning was amazing.

What a blessing to start the day with this kind of beauty!

While we were glad to share one last camping trip with Boomer, it was hard to see him so frail and to know what awaited us on Monday morning.

It took 2 pictures to get a decent shot of everyone.

Okay, so this has nothing to do with camping, but I had to include it... Is he not the most adorable thing you have ever seen!?!?!?

Bye Good Buddy

2010-01-19T09:25:00.001-05:00

Our December was shadowed by our 5 year old dog Boomer's cancer diagnosis. He had always been a slim dog and I had noticed over a few weeks that he was looking downright skinny. When he began to refuse food, we knew something was wrong. He also became lethargic.

This dog has always been a bit of a maniac. Typical boxer hyperactivity, coupled with a serious guard-dog personality made for a loud, bouncy life for him! He loved to look out the front door and bark at anything that moved. He was soft and snuggly and a kissing machine. He and Ali were the greatest of friends.

When we first took him to the vet, they were not looking toward a diagnosis of cancer. With the loss of appetite and vomiting, they started off with other less sinister illnesses; parasites, giardia, "indiscriminate diet". When all of those proved to not be the problem (by this time he had lost about 20 pounds) we did more blood work that pointed toward cancer. Unfortunately, by this time we had exhausted our financial resources with trying to find out what was wrong and we were unable to afford to treat his cancer.

We gave him prednisone to bring down his calcium levels and for several weeks he seemed nearly normal. It was hard to wrap our hearts and minds around the fact that we would soon lose our good friend.

We went cabin camping this past weekend. On Friday, he still seemed like himself. By the time we got to the cabin and the evening came, he was not quite himself. Friday night, he began vomiting. Saturday and Sunday he went steadily downhill and by Sunday afternoon, he would walk if forced, but would lie down as soon as you stopped pushing him to walk. Brandon and I knew that the time had come.

Yesterday we sent Eden to play with her Grandaddy and the rest of us went to the vet. Brandon, Theo and Ali waited in the car while I took Boomer in. The vet was wonderful as I held and kissed Boomer until he passed. It was very peaceful and it was a bit of a relief to know we were doing the right thing for him. I brought Ali in to see him when he was gone. We wanted her to understand that he wasn't coming home so she wouldn't wait by the door for him.

He had a good quality of life right up until this past weekend, and it was wonderful that we got to take him camping one last time. He was a great dog and we are already missing him terribly.

Boomer

2/21/2004 - 1/18/2010

RIP Sweet Boy

Looking Back

2010-01-02T11:27:00.000-05:00

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." ~Benjamin Franklin

If you asked me before I really sat down to think about it, I would have said that my accomplishment for the year was just surviving! It was a tough one. I don't make New Year's Resolutions because life happens and often resolutions are not measurable and aren't practical for implementing over a year. I use the website 43 Things to track my goals and accomplishments. I challenge you to make some goals and see how many of them you work on this year! You can see my goals in the right sidebar...

I rang in the new year of 2009 as an extremely uncomfortable pregnant lady. I had tremendous amounts of pelvic pain from the weight of the baby and I consequently spent a lot of time with my wonderful chiropractor Dr Anna Madland. I gave birth to a baby who screamed 7 hours out of every day for 8 weeks, and forgot what a night of uninterrupted sleep was like. I lost 2 great aunts (Mema's only 2 living sisters) in about 6 months time. Our dog got cancer and we rang in 2010 with the probability of his death looming.

When I really looked back, though, I realized that we still had a pretty incredible year! We lived on a budget for the first time this year and paid off about a ton of debt! We no longer have school loans, credit card debt or car payments! We added a member to our family, and while he rocked the boat quite a bit, he is SUCH a joy!!! I learned to make yogurt, I sewed more (until the baby came) and we ended Eden's paci habit. We made an offer on a house (it was accepted) and began preparing for a move. We did some fierce de-cluttering, had a yard sale, donated lots of stuff to the Goodwill, re-did a bathroom, and put the house on the market. I did a lot of teaching and hope that I have been making a difference in the lives of women and families through birth education.

Looking forward, some of our family goals for the year are to finish paying off our debt (besides the mortgage), continuing to simplify our lives, save 3-6 months of living expenses, and several others! We are hoping for a new year of goals met. I hope yours are met, as well!

2010

2010-01-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T09:06:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We have had a wonderful Christmas so far, and what an amazing December!

Eden had a great time decorating the bottom 1/3 of our tree!

We got 10 inches of snow here at the house in Mechanicsville. Brandon and I decided to drive out to Hunter's Grove and check out the snow there! There was a whopping 16 inches of snow!

BEAUTIFUL!!

Theo- 6 months

Eden- 3 years

A bit more about Hunter's Grove.

2009-10-09T13:04:00.005-04:00

We have been working overtime to get this (Davis Ave) house ready to sell. We are in the home stretch with some painting and door-replacement left to do. I keep looking toward our future as I work and that helps make it go faster for me!

I have wanted to share some photos of the home we have a contract on. We are hoping for a quick sale of our house so we can move forward soon. As you will see there is much to be done in the "new" house!

These photos are of the exterior of Hunter's Grove. The home was built in 1790. It has been in our family for many years. I will have to confirm this with my mom, but I believe the house has been in our family since the 1810's.

The Driveway

Hunter's Grove

Back of House

Back Porch

Side Yard

Back Yard (looking toward the house)

Oak Tree

Family Cemetery

I will leave you with that for now. I have many more photos of the interior that I will post soon!

Time Marches On

2009-09-30T16:03:00.006-04:00

With all that is going on here, I have really needed to update the blog. It comes down to the simple fact that I haven't put blogging on my list! But here I am with the promise that I will do better!

Theo has hit the 3 month mark. He is over the colic and has been such a joy the past several weeks! What a sweet, smily boy!

On a different note, we made an offer on Hunter's Grove and the offer has been accepted! You may remember back in June when I posted about the possibility of purchasing a family property. Well, the ball is rolling and we hope to have our house on the market by November 1st! We are so excited and a little overwhelmed by all we have to do before we list our house! I will post some photos of the place soon!

Happenings...

2009-08-26T09:11:00.002-04:00

I have poison ivy.

I went with my parents (and Theo) out to Hunter's Grove on Sunday afternoon to walk around the property and look for potential building sites for them. They are considering moving, as well. I didn't see any poison ivy during our hike, but I have it on my legs. I don't have a lot of it, but it is itchy!

Theo has hit the 2 month mark! He is crying much less and I am finally really getting to enjoy him! I'll let you all know how big he is after his checkup on Monday.

We are working on house stuff. Brandon finally finished the front door project and we are moving on. This weekend is the upstairs bathroom! I am so excited to get this one done! I'll post pics next time!

I'm a Survivor...

2009-08-18T08:32:00.006-04:00

of Colic!!

Theo is a fussy baby... this is a gross understatement, but I have some readers who are not mamas yet and some who are expecting soon, and I don't want to scare them. Just suffice it to say, these have been difficult days. He seems to be over the worst of the crying, but we still have some rough days here and there. He is, however, the cutest little guy I have ever seen. He is very stoic and really makes you work for his smiles. They are worth it, though, so we all make complete fools of ourselves trying!

Theo (7 weeks) and Eden

A while back I mentioned that we were praying about selling our house and moving to Hunter's Grove (a family property in western Goochland). Well, we are still praying, but we are moving forward, pushing on the proverbial "doors". We are currently seeking pre-approval on a mortgage, we have hashed out every possible financial scenario (and some of them actually work), and we are meeting with a realtor to talk about our current house. Things seem to be moving forward, however slowly. I hope to keep you all up to date on the happenings!

They call me Mama!

2009-07-08T09:05:00.003-04:00

So, I am nearly 2 weeks into this Mama-of-two gig and so far, so good! The girl is still in love with "her" baby. The boy is getting fatter and sleeping a couple of hours at night. The house is still standing and not too messy (thanks in large part to my wonderful man), and, while I had been overdoing it a bit earlier in the week, I am feeling well-cared for and getting back into the swing of things.

There isn't much more wonderful than seeing your baby being loved by your other baby! I think Eden might love Theo to pieces! She kisses him and hugs him and wants to hold him constantly! She is so sweet to him and wants to fix whatever is wrong. She comes and tells me as soon as he cries and she tells him "Don't fret, baby!" My heart is so overwhelmed with these 2 kids! How blessed can a girl be?

Theo's Birth

2009-07-01T14:47:00.003-04:00

For what it's worth: after having a 5 hour labor and a 2.5 hour labor I am requesting a good 7-8 hours for the next one. Faster is not necessarily better in matters of bodily function (baby making and baby birthing, for example). This birth tried me in ways I can't explain and I know I haven't done the story justice because I am still reeling from the experience. Here is my best recollection (after talking with Brandon and watching the video)...

The Birth of Theodore Xenophon.
June 25, 2009 4:52 PM
8 pounds 10 ounces, 20 inches

I had a midwife appointment Monday morning (the 22nd). I was 39+weeks, and had already told the baby it was welcome to come any time. I was ready, the house was ready, and we were just waiting (uncomfortably, I might add). When I saw Nadene that morning, I decided to have her check me. I was not disappointed! My cervix was dilated 3cm (and she mentioned that she could easily stretch me to 4cm), it was 100% effaced and the baby was at 0 station. I was happy that my body had already done so much of the work of labor already. Nadene and I discussed that (especially with my history of a 5 hour labor with our daughter) this baby would likely come very fast, and to be prepared for that possibility. At my request, she swept my membranes and encouraged me to walk!

I had a pretty miserable day Tuesday. I was crampy and sore from the membrane sweep and had moments of regret for having her do it. Wednesday was great! I felt wonderful and got SO much done! We had the carpets and kitchen tile cleaned, I did some cooking and baking, I did a little bit of cleaning and had a great nap.

Brandon had the next day off and I told the baby that Thursday would be a great day to be born! That morning, we took Eden up to the playground at the elementary school to play while I walked laps at the track. I was determined to “walk the baby out” that day! I walked until I ran out of water. It was already SO hot outside. I went and hung out on the swings with Eden. I had heard that swinging could also help bring on labor, so I swung!

We went home and had some lunch, put Eden down for a nap and I went to take a nap myself. I was only in the bed for a few minutes when I had some menstrual-type cramps. I looked at the clock and noticed the time (2:20 pm). After a couple of “cramps” I realized that they were coming in waves and I went downstairs to get Brandon’s iPod. He had just put the Contraction Master App on it and I was excited to try it out. I went back upstairs to get back in the bed and time my “cramps.” They ended up being about 3 minutes apart and lasting between 45 and 60 seconds each.

I let Brandon know that this may be the start of something and gave up on the idea of a nap. My friend Julie was on her way to deliver my “birth bracelet” made with beads chosen by my friends. She had just gotten the final bead and put it on the bracelet in my front yard. I confessed to her that I was pretty sure I was in labor. I put on the bracelet and called my doula. She encouraged me to call Nadene and told me she would get her stuff together in case I needed her to come soon. I talked to Nadene and she said to come straight to L&D. Honestly, I was a little bit surprised that she wanted me to come in, but relieved to have some affirmation that labor may have actually begun. Within minutes, my labor began to intensify. I called my mom to come get Eden (who was still napping) and called Sara (our doula) to meet us at the house. Labor continued to gain intensity and I was vocalizing loudly through the contractions by the time my mom arrived. Not wanting Eden to hear me or see me (though I think she was well prepared), I went into the kitchen to have a contraction and ran back in to kiss her goodbye. My mom quickly got her out of there and I immediately felt “pushy.” I told Brandon that we could not wait for Sara and we needed to leave for the hospital now.

We called Sara on the way to the hospital and told her to meet us there instead of the house. It is only a mile and a half to the hospital from our house, but it was rough. I was not coping well with my contractions while belted into the car. I had the feeling that they were bigger than me. When we got to the hospital, and out of the car, I felt like I got a better handle on them and we made our way in. The loser they sent from the ER to “help” us up to L&D is lucky I was beyond exerting myself physically for anything other than getting the baby out, because he needed his teeth knocked out (or at least that is how I felt at the time). I declined the wheelchair and he told me I had no choice! Um, no, I will not sit in your wheelchair. I will walk. His response, “It’s going to take forever!” So? He then proceeded to time my contractions and announce to me how long they were lasting and how many minutes apart they were. He seemed very disapproving when a couple of them only lasted 30 seconds. His comment, “Well, they are only about 30 or 40 seconds.” As if they couldn’t possibly be “real” or effective.

We arrived on the L&D floor (ER guy’s teeth intact) and I had the biggest, hardest contraction with 2 peaks that lasted 2 ½ minutes (thanks ER guy). At that point, I was thinking that this had better be the really super-fast labor we were all expecting because I was feeling out of control. Brandon and Sara (who arrived at L&D about the same time as us) said it didn’t show on the outside, but I was not feeling like I was coping at all. During the few seconds I had on the downside of a contraction (because there was no time in between) I tried to re-gain focus on the baby and breathe and relax my jaw and shoulders and the next contraction would carry me away from any thought at all of anything. My mind was numb. At this point I was pushing with the peaks of the contractions.

Because I was pushing, Nadene had me get on the bed so she could check me. I was dilated 6cm, but she said when I pushed, I was 8cm. I had been fully effaced since my appointment the Monday prior, so Nadene encouraged me to push open my cervix. I got on my knees and had a few contractions. I do recall that the smell of imminent birth was strong. I also remember that Nadene was rubbing my feet and Sara was rubbing my back while Brandon was covering me in cold washcloths. The contrast of those things with the pain of the contractions was a special kind of bliss. Nadene had me move up the bed to get me more upright and let gravity help. I held the top of the bed frame (the back of the bed was upright) for leverage. At this point I still felt like I was going to be doing this for a while, but with the next push I felt the ring of fire and Nadene said that the baby’s head was almost out! So close! I panted through the next contraction because the burning was so intense. Brandon said that the baby’s head was halfway out for what seemed like forever and it looked “uncomfortable.” I thought that was funny… With the next contraction I pushed the baby’s head out and I was overwhelmed with excitement (partly to meet the baby, but mostly that the labor was done)! I pushed the baby out before that contraction was done. Brandon was obviously excited as he let me know (almost squealing) that it was a Theo! My first words were “I want him!” Nadene passed him to me between my legs. He was beautiful and I couldn’t stop kissing him! I kept saying “I am so glad that is over.”

Theodore Xenophon was born at 4:52pm after 2 hours and 32 minutes of labor (from my first “cramp” to holding him in my arms) and only 40 minutes after arriving at the hospital. He weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. Praise the Lord for His miracle of life and for blessing our family with Baby Theo!

It's a...

2009-07-01T09:33:00.005-04:00

BOY!!!

We welcomed our new baby boy into our hearts and arms on

Thursday, June 25th,2009 at 4:52pm.

He was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long.

His name is Theodore Xenophon (aka Baby Theo).

Stay tuned! Birth story to come!

7 Years Already?

2009-06-22T10:00:00.004-04:00

Today is our 7 year wedding anniversary! We are putting off our celebration for a few weeks as the new baby's arrival is looming, but we have big plans! We are going back to House Mountain Inn in Lexington, Va. We have been there a couple of times and LOVE it!

I can hardly believe that I was preparing to walk down the aisle (at 10:30 am- just 30 minutes from now!) 7 years ago today! It was a wonderful day, and every day since has been wonderful, as well! I love you sweetie and I'd do it all over again!

I'm going to whine now...

2009-06-15T08:09:00.003-04:00

So far, I have refrained from whining too much here on the blog. There are so many verses I could claim (and I do):

I Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Philippians 4:11-12 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

I am currently in the last couple of weeks of pregnancy. Eden was "late", so I expect I have longer than a couple of weeks, but a girl can hope, right?

The last month or so of pregnancy is traditionally a time where the discomfort level goes up as the baby gets heavier and sleep doesn't come easily and your back is killing you and you have leg cramps and walking from the car to the front door has you panting like you just rant the 100 yard dash and you have contractions all the time (that the medical community calls "false" labor- "false" my foot! I'm the one stopped here in my tracks in the middle of the store!). Then there is the need to pee. It is URGENT, but then you get there and you can only eek out a teaspoon! Yes, you feel better, but you realize you just ran/waddled to the bathroom for a teaspoon of pee and yes, that is all you bladder will hold. Then there is the swelling that happens in feet, legs and hands. This occurs because of increased blood volume (necessary to grow another person) and because the baby gets bigger there at the end and sits on the veins that carry blood from the lower extremities to the heart. This causes pooling of blood in the feet and legs (those puffy, sometimes painful, feet) and is the reason you will often see really pregnant women at church (or work or the grocery store) in bedroom slippers.

Well, I breezed through my pregnancy with Eden. While I did have some of those symptoms, they were insignificant in the light of the miracle that was happening inside me! The fact that God himself was "knitting" together a new little person for His glory right there inside my womb was not only amazing and beautiful, it was something that made me feel connected to women across time and culture! Anyone who has experienced pregnancy can probably relate to this. Truly, how lovely to be a woman! I had a beautiful natural birth with Eden and literally within minutes of pushing her out, said out loud that I couldn't wait to do it again!! I really meant it!

All of this to say, I feel like I have missed the miracle this time. I understand what a difficult pregnancy is like now. I understand what it is like to forget that God is working because of the physical trials that are ever-present. I understand the people who take drastic measures to control their family size or wait 10 years before having a second child after a difficult pregnancy.

I'm not really going to whine... my babe is healthy and wiggly and due to arrive really soon. Yes, I have had some physical trials this time, but praise the Lord !! I now have actual sympathy for others who are living their pregnancies on the edge of a breakdown. I now know the exact things that are NEVER appropriate to say to a pregnant woman (maybe I'll post on that one day). I have been there, I have lived it. I just want to let all of you know that now I "get" it.

The Rivah

2009-06-10T08:23:00.005-04:00

The view from the house (I can't remember the name of the creek)!

Eden and I had a wonderful couple of days Monday and Tuesday! We went to the river (or if you are from Central Virginia, the "Rivah")! We went with my mom (aka, Nanny) and her mom (aka, Mema). We stayed in a cousin's house in Reedville.

3 of the 4 generations (someone had to take the photo)!

We spent some time gardening, playing at the beach and reading old letters. The letters were correspondence to and from my Mema's great aunts Sally and Mary (this would make them my great, great, great aunts). Most of the letters were regarding the Ware family genealogy. Some were from folks looking for their own family history (many were seeking membership in the DAR- Daughter's of the American Revolution). We found lots of interesting documentation including copies of several wills that dated back to pre-Civil War era.

Eden watered the plants.

The Potomac River.

Eden loves the beach!