More Bible stuff

It is truly a blessing in finding the Facebook page Christians Against Pagan Holidays. I learn something new almost everyday. Yes, we do all still have our own opinions about certain things, but in the end, we all have the same belief systems running through our heads.

Recently the Apocrypha was brought up. I had run across it quite a few times in the past year or 2 and even felt compelled to buy the King James Version of it about a year ago, but yet, I never felt the need to read it, so there it sat until today on my dusty bookshelf. I made myself sit down and relax with my feet up and start at the beginning of the book. What I read astounded me, so I had to go to the internet to see if what I was reading was true. I went to Wikipedia and behold! There was my answer. Did you know that "All King James Bibles published before 1666 included the Apocrypha."?
I am really sad that people took upon themselves to mold and create a Bible they wanted, which is what we now call the "English Bible". I feel as if I've been lied to.

So now, if any of you would like to go on a new journey with me and start reading the Apocrypha and have discussions, I would love to hear from you. Even a comment would be greatly appreciated.

On another note. I did post a question to them, hoping that I was wrong, but alas... Birthdays are pagan. Upon more research candles on a cake originate from celebrating the moon goddess and Germans originally started the presents and decorations for birthdays. The only birthdays mentioned in the Bible ended horribly. Something to think about...

OK, one more thing. If any of you did get to read the blog I posted in my last blog, I would love to have comments on that also. The more I started researching and talking to my daughter about those verses found in that blog, and the more this is discussed on Facebook, the clearer things seem to become. Someone on Facebook also posted that the only thing Jesus told us to do to remember him was communion; not celebrate his death/ressurection, not celebrate his birth... Even today another person said that if Christmas was Christian, everyone would be against it...

Sharing a blog

This blog was recommended for me to read from the "Christians Against Pagan Holidays" page I have friended on Facebook. I read it and am very pleased with how much detail there is. It is a 10 part blog and has SO much information in it. More things consistently come to light, thanks to reading the Bible on my own and being part of this group. So, I encourage all of you to pray that God opens your mind before you sit down to read this blog.

http://therealtemple.blogspot.com/2008/11/dagon-connection.html?m=1

Eric started it!

Ha! I'm sure that is something that his parents heard a lot when he was growing up. But really, I can't take all the credit of how our lives have been gradually changing in recent years. He is truly amazing to me. Even though I don't like to admit it, he has more common sense than anyone I've ever known.

When we started dating, Eric told me he couldn't understand why I felt the need to wear or even buy make-up. When we got married, once he found out how much make-up cost, he really put a hold on it, even though I already didn't wear it unless we were going someplace special, like a wedding, family get together, or funeral. Why do people feel the need to look like a clown everytime they step out of the house?

After the birth of our daughter, he saw exactly why breastfeeding is best, why we didn't vaccinate, why we don't go to doctors... Breastfeeding is free, vaccinated children are always sick, and doctors lie and pressure you into things you don't want (believe me, I've worked for doctors and I know what they do and say behind parents' backs).

After the birth of our son, the reason to never go to the hospital got even more clear. Birth is natural and does not require someone with a degree. The way we were treated during the birth of Tabitha vs. Grady was night and day. Also, the way we were treated during my first miscarriage was horrific, but if you keep up with my blog, you already know that.

He was never really into holidays and celebrations anyway, but after researching and realizing that most holidays were all about the money and hyped commercialism and Christmas was more about lying to your children and feeling guilt into buying things you can't really afford, we stopped them all together. All the specific days (Mother's Day, Father's Day...) are more out of guilt than anything, if you really think about it... Again, I've already blogged about holidays and high expectations.

We also stopped all birthday parties. We do buy a few gifts and have a cake with no candles, but that is it. Eric (and everyone else) couldn't stand being around me the few times we did have a party for the kids. I am a perfectionist, and therefore need everything to run smoothly or I freak out. I would run myself ragged to ensure everything was going smoothly. I inherently got that from my Mom.

So, all in all, to everyone that thinks that I am brainwashing my husband, maybe you didn't really know him in the first place...

Please, don't feel sorry!

OK, just a warning... here I go again!

I am so tired of people telling me that they feel sorry for my children because we do not do what main stream America and society tell us that we "should" be doing with our children. My children are very happy and close to us and each other. I have never seen siblings this close and I pray they will always be like this. Eric and I restrict what they do because we feel that if they are not introduced to anything we do not do or believe in, they will have a better life.
For example, if they are not around people drinking alcohol or using curse words, they will not have a tendency to do that, or at least have a conviction not to do so. We have already had to deal with smoking, since Eric's dad and quite a few neighbors do. We tell them it is an absolutely disgusting habit and that there are many health risks to those who do it.   We do not sugar coat anything we tell them. We are very honest with them.  
I have already blogged about how holidays are not celebrated in our house, and that we do celebrate the Holy Days that are in the Bible.
We have also recently banned the children from being around our neighbors. I let the children be around the neighbors this summer and it was a big mistake. I was falling to the voice of everyone else that told me that the kids needed this type of interaction.
The truth is, they didn't. I had more behavioral problems and outside stress than I could have imagined. I became the yard that all the neighborhood kids came to and no one would respect my rules or authority, so it was abruptly ended and until we have the trees down and fence up, my children will be in our fenced area playing as they should have been in the whole time. As most would assume, the neighbor children use curse words and it seemed all the little ones wanted to play were "doctor" and guns, which neither are allowed in our household. No one seems to correct their language and actions, since none of them are at home with their parents, and are always looked after by someone else... Don't get me wrong, I understand some families choose to work, but these children never see their parents, they are there from dawn to dusk and see their parents MAYBE right before bed. That is not a way to raise a child. Children need their parents. Especially if they are not being guided on the right path and are fed junk food constantly. Why have children if you cannot spend quality time with them? Most of the time I would I hear that they are constantly shuffled from this or that activity. I imagine it is so the parents don't really have to deal with them. It's just exhausting listening to the things that they "have" to do on a weekly basis. People say let kids be kids. This is not letting kids be kids. Kids being kids means to let them play and enjoy nature and learn about the world through their own explorations. Not someone reading it from a book and them never getting 1st hand experience on how to grow something in a garden and what birds and insects look like and act like. I have learned so much more since I started homeschooling Tabitha than I ever did in the prison they call Public School. Think about it. You send your child to a secured building where, for 8 hours a day, they are told what to do and where to go and what to eat. They are given very little time to use their imagination and in no way can have "social skills", since they are not allowed to talk unless spoken to and are in a sardine can with only kids their own age. Most public school children don't know how to talk to anyone except someone their own age. I can attest to that! I was made to go to private and public school. I never talked to adults unless I was forced to and would ignore the elderly because I was afraid of them. My children will go to anyone and start a conversation, because they have not been forced into a box that tells them they have to communicate with mostly kids their age.
Another thing I have encountered is that people think I have my children in gymnastics to meet other children. NOT the case. They are there to become confident in their own body skills and learn other ways to exercise and keep fit. The other kids are just a little plus that they can have conversations with as long as they are doing what they are there for in the first place.
I could go on and on, but I feel I need to stop before I really get into a tizzy.

Please understand that this is what works for our family. Everyone has their own philosophy, but I like to try and keep my life as simple as possible.

"It's OK..."

The title of this post seems to be calm, but let me assure you it is not.

You know when you are in the company of someone and you tell your child not to do something? Why is it that others feel compelled to say "It's OK with me if he/she does that."? Isn't that basically telling the child not to listen to your parents, even though they have said otherwise?

This just really irks me when this happens, to the point that the next person who says it to my kids will be getting an earful.

A little bit of everything

Wow! Has it really been almost 2 months since I've blogged about something? I guess morning sickness will do that to you! Yes, I am around 16 weeks along and have had the hardest pregnancy I've ever had so far, but am blessed I have made it this far this time.

I am very thankful to have so many midwife friends who helped me through these past few months. They had me taking 100mg of Vitamin C and 50mcg of Vitamin K at the same time 3 times a day. Also I was told to eat pickles, since they are a good source of potassium and sodium. I couldn't believe how well these simple things things helped me, instead of having to go to a doctor and have drugs prescribed. Also if I forgot to take the vitamins (only happened 2 times) I could tell a huge difference.

I finally have felt well enough this past week to get out of the house, which we took full advantage of since Eric was on vacation. We stayed home, but did local activities. This past weekend we stayed at the lake to visit with Eric's parents and also plan the menu for the upcoming Jaime's wedding reception. On Wednesday, we went on a picnic at McKinley Monument and then Thursday, we went to the Stark County Fair.  Friday, we surprised the kids with going to Phineas and Ferb Live at Canton Civic Center after spending most of the day cleaning and getting a huge bag of corn parboiled, cut off the cob and in the freezer for winter. Saturday, I started getting my garden in order. I harvested all of my sunflowers, found about 1/2lb of ground cherries, picked some of my pickle cucumbers and made refrigerator pickles with dill and garlic from the garden, picked about 1/2lb of cherry tomatoes, and about 1lb of Roma tomatoes. The Romas, I have been slowly harvesting, peeling them, and saving them in a 2 gallon Ziploc in the freezer until I have enough to try and make sauce with them. I am very sceptical that I am going to get enough to do anything substantial with, since the drought this year really took a toll on most of my garden. Sunday, I decided to finally get the fall sewing started. I am planning on copying all the patterns and cutting out all the material before I start sewing, so that I can sort everything into same colors. That way I won't have to change thread so often. The sewing machine thread isn't that hard to change, but the thread on the serger can be a headache at times. I did get a slip for Tabitha finished that is Hanna Andersson inspired. I used a tank top pattern that I already had and added an eyelet skirt to it.

Today's plan is relaxing and getting more sewing done.

A few weeks ago I over did it, but got quite a bit canning done. I made applesauce, pearsauce, peach butter, peach slices, peach puree', and peach jam. It was a lot of work, but now we are pretty much set with peaches and pearsauce for the winter. We will be going back to the orchard in about a month to get more apples to make more applesauce and have an abundance of apples to make into pies and fresh eating for most of the winter.

Well, that is all I can think of right now. I hope all of my readers have a blessed day!

 

Update 7/12

Well, the garden is growing... slowly. With this drought we are having I have not been able to use the rain barrels like we intended, so the plants are getting city water, which is not really that good for them. The zucchini, all the herbs, blackberries, and cherry type tomatoes are doing great. The larger tomatoes are getting blossom rot, the onions are not bulbing correctly, the green beans are stunted and drying on the plant... I could name more, but I'll stop there. The only other thing that seems to growing wonderfully are the weeds and with this heat, I just haven't felt well enough to get out there and get this chore done. I am praying that we get more rain in the next few weeks so that I can at least have a decent harvest of my Cherokee tomatoes. I have been dreaming of a home grown BLT ever since I plated them outside.

I have also been saving seed the past few weeks. I currently have snap peas, snow peas, cilantro, marigold, and carrot. I will be harvesting lettuce, parsley, pickling cucumber, and onion in the next few weeks. I am hoping that by the end of growing season, I will have enough seed saved that I will not have to buy any seed for the next year, since I do still have some seed left (they give you so many seed of some things that I don't think I could ever use them all!).

I also have been taking cuttings of my hydrangeas and other herbs. The hydrangeas I have been growing to plant at the shop. I already planted 4 and decided that more would be a good thing. It will probably take 1-2 years to see any flowers on them, but at least there will be greenage.  The herbs, I currently only have rosemary, but before long, I need to get my sage, thyme, and oregano done, so if anyone comes to our house and would like some of their own, I can just give it to them. It really is wonderful to be able to go pick your own fresh herbs and not have to pay an arm and a leg at the grocery store for just a sprig of this or that!

Gardens update 6/2012

I thought I would let everyone know that my gardens are doing well. I have been praying for more rain so that our rain barrels would fill up and we would not have to use our city water from the house. Everything seems to be either in bloom or going to be in bloom the next week or so. I should have some zucchini in the next week to harvest, the ground cherries are producing nicely, I have a few cherry size tomatoes ripening and the others are starting to put out flowers, the onions and leeks are growing nicely, the carrots are making sure there is no room for weed growth, and the beets have nice leaves, but no sign of large roots yet. The peas are now being dried for future seed and the garlic and shallots were harvested this past weekend.

Zucchini

Celery

Tomatoes, borage, corn, ... ...

Kale, nasturtiums, peppers, lettuce (going to seed)

Peas (going to seed), beets, green beans, carrots (going to seed)

Have to share a recipe!

No one can touch my granola! It is the best ever! Here is the recipe (it changes every time I make it, but today's tops all others...) - I usually half or quarter this, but I know I have friends and family with lots of children that read this blog, so here we go.

8 c rolled oats
1 1/2 c raw wheat germ
1 1/2 c raw oat bran
1 c shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c organic brown sugar
1/4 c maple syrup (from Monroe Orchard - local)
3/4 c honey (from Ebeehoney.com - local)
1 c coconut oil (from TropicalTraditions.com)
1 1/2 tbs cinnamon
1 1/2 tbs pure vanilla extract (I make mine from Madagascar beans)
1 c raw sunflower seeds
1 c raw pumpkin seeds
1 c sultan raisins
1 c Thompson's raisins
1/2 c raw almonds
Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment or silpats.
In a large bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, oat bran, and coconut and stir to combine.
In a small pan combine salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, coconut oil, cinnamon, and vanilla. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and continuously stir to dissolve everything.
Pour over the contents of large bowl and mix thoroughly.
Spread mixture evenly on baking sheets.
Bake until crispy and toasted, stirring once half way through, for approximately 20 minutes.
Cool, then break apart and stir in raw seeds and raisins.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

If you wanted to make this chocolate granola, add 2 more tbs of maple syrup and 3 tbs of cocoa powder. Add the cocoa in with the liquids to cook.

You can substitute any seed/ nut/ raisin for any other seed/ nut/ dried fruit you prefer. The original recipe actually calls for up to 3 c of seeds and/or nuts and 2 c of dried fruit. I have made it with cranberries and diced dried apples before also. Every time I seem to top my previous mixture.

I eat this as a snack and even as a yummy cereal. I usually only make this recipe for me (1/4 batch), then make a 1/2 batch of each plain (no seeds, nuts, or raisins) and plain chocolate for Eric and the kids.

We are blessed to live so close to a health food store that we can just walk a short distance and get most of these raw items.

My Garden

I thought I would update everything and give everyone a complete list of EVERYTHING I am growing this year, now that almost everything has been planted.

In the raised beds and containers...

New Zealand spinach

Dwarf Sugar snow pea

Super Sugar snap peas

Blue Lake green bean

Ace beet

Bulls Blood beet

Scarlet Nantes carrot

Cosmic Purple carrot

Tendersweet carrot

Lettuce mix

Red onion

Copra onion

Walla Walla onion

Anaheim Chili  pepper

Early Jalapeno

Fish hot pepper

Red Ruffled sweet pepper

Bronze fennel

Borage

Cherokee tomato

Black cherry tomato

Yellow Pear tomato

Red Pear tomato

American Flag leek

Ground cherry

Boston Pickling cucumber

Evesham Special brussels sprouts

Vates Blue Curled kale

Miniature Bell Pepper- Red

Orange Sun bell pepper

Jersey Giant asparagus

Victoria rhubarb

Red Chesnok garlic

Music garlic

Shallot

Oregano

Thyme

Sage

Red Rubin basil

Rosemary

Moss Curled parsley

Cilantro

German chamomile

Chocolate mint

Spearmint

Bouquet dill

In the large garden...

Bi-color Delectable corn

Silver Queen corn

Borage

Cherokee tomato

Black Cherry tomato

Roma tomato

Sungold tomato

Sweet Italian basil

Red Rubin Basil

Loofa

Red Giant celery

Green Pascal celery

DiCicco broccoli

Black zucchini

Black Diamond eggplant

Mystery plant (either pumpkin or watermelon…)

PHEW!! I am tired just typing all of this out. I am praying for a wonderful harvest this year.

The peas have already started, Grady and I eat them right off of the vines. The shallots and garlic should be ready to dig and dry soon also.

This is such a learning experience for my whole family. It just feels so good to be self sufficient during the summer and fall months.

Gardening and "sew" much more

Since the last post, things have been a whirlwind around here! Most things are now in the new garden and the raised beds around the house. I also made a new wardrobe for Grady, made a couple essentials for Tabitha, made Eric some night pants, and me a few new skirts and peasant shirts. I also made all of us modest swimwear.

The swimwear was quite a bit of work, but so worth it. We went to Fallsview Waterpark for Tabitha's birthday and it was so nice not to have skin showing all over the place. As you can see, the boys match and the girls match.

 Besides all of this, I have been making soap and solid lotion. I have had a few people interested in purchasing soap from me and also my Sister-in-law got married this past weekend and thought I would make a small bath and body gift for her. I now have over 40 different recipes for soap and 20 plus recipes for solid lotions, solid perfumes, etc. I am trying out all new recipes and even recalculated a recipe to fit into the new soap boxes that Eric made for me. The soap boxes hold
10.5 lbs of soap, which sounds like a lot, but it works out to be approximately 30  5oz bars. This is a good thing, since I may be making soap, using goat milk (and maybe even raw cow milk) for the Simon Organic Family Farm to sell to their customers at the Canton Farmer's Market, the CSA, and fellow herdsharers.

One of the 2 lotions bars I have made so far has Monoi butter in it. It is a flower from Hawaii. It smells so good, but it has to be kept in a cool spot or it will melt... I am storing in the basement right now until I can figure out where else I can put it, or when I can sell some. I'd put it in the fridge, but I really don't want to smell flowers everytime I open the door...

I also (in my spare time, lol) I have made stevia extract, chocolate peppermint extract, and spearmint extract. Not sure what I will use the mints with just yet, but the stevia will be used to make natural lip balm, since Tabitha seems to want something for her lips all the time and I thought I could give/sell it to people also.

So anyway, if anyone would like to purchase anything I am making (soap, solid lotion, solid perfume...), please contact me through email so I can let you know what is available for purchase. If I need to, I can set up an EBay auction to ship.

Lots of stuff

Well, after 3 days of intense work, we now have everything ready to go in the garden!









There was so much to do this past weekend that I have wiped myself out and need a little bit of rest. Let me give you a list of what got accomplished this weekend.

On Friday I weeded the strawberry beds, planted cucumbers, more carrots, and sunflowers, broke up the dirt around the other house's porch so I can plant echinacea flowers when the seed gets here, broke up the dirt around the tree where the swing is so I can plant trumpet vines, and transplanted a misc plant that is growing from last year (either pumpkin or watermellon).

On Saturday I went to Restore down the street and picked up some bricks to make a border for the flower bed I am putting around the porch at the house next door, planted Gladiola bulbs in the flower bed, mostly fenced in the new garden, went to TSC and got a large brim hat for me (since I don't like sunscreen), went to Gymboree since it decided to rain the rest of the day and got Tabitha a sun hat and a few misc things for both children, since I had the Gymbucks coupon and a gift card (which didn't cost me a cent!), got the window boxes we bought filled with dirt and planted them with my winter harvest of carrots so I can put them infront of the new window in the storage room (ie. new greenhouse), worked a little in my growing room, and worked some more on the modest swimwear I am making for us.

The tomato fence

On Sunday it was very nice (80's) outside, so we got even more done. I finished my homemade scarecrow, got the 8'x25' tomato trellis in the new garden, finished the fence, weeded the tomato bed from last year, transplanted some Borage that came up from last year, got the wood from the base of the tree next door in the fire pit, and worked some more on the swimwear.

I'm not sure that was EVERYTHING, but that is most of it. Of course I had to have time to still rest a little and nurse Grady while he napped, but otherwise, I tried to keep busy and the kids helped too. Grady got a tape measure at Home Depot the other night, so he helps every second he can when we needed something to be measured. Oterwise he goes around just measuring misc things around the house and yard.

My wonderful husband helped me with some of the big things above, but when he wasn't helping me, he was either doing some other misc things that needed done around here (dishes...), helped watch and play with the children, and made FABULOUS meals for us (as always). When Eric cooks, it usually isn't anything boring. For example; lunch on Sunday he made (from scratch) fettuccini alfredo with mushrooms and garlic bread sticks and for dinner we had hamburgers with rosemary potato and sweet potato fries in the oven.

Eric always amazes me at what he comes up with! Even in the garden, he created a metal hook out of left over fence clips, so that the tomato fence would have support at the top. The clips slipped easily into the top of the conduit and hold up the top of the poultry netting. Even for the "gate" to  the garden, he took the same hooks so it could be opened and closed and attached them... somehow. I'm not sure how he did it, I just know it works! God has definitely given him a special gift!

Eric's homemade post clip hook.

Eric's homemade gate for the garden fence.

April garden update

I wanted to share something exciting. I now have a 25'x25' inground garden!! This is in addition to the raised beds that I already have. This is such a blessing. My Brother-in-law owns the house next to ours and since no one ever uses the huge side yard next to it, he is allowing us to put a garden there.

As soon as Eric told me he said yes, that we could dig the garden, wheels started turning in my head. I knew we had to till the yard, and Eric wasn't thrilled that he would have to do it, so I went to Craigslist and I found a local fire fighter that had an ad that said he tills with his big tractor, so I contacted him. He came the next day and it literally took him 10 minutes to go over the area 5 times to get the dirt nice and light! AND it cost less than us renting a tiller.

An hour later I had the garden plotted/roped off and it is now ready to be fenced (to keep those dang squirrels away!) and planted.

I knew almost immediately what I wanted to plant there, were the things that did not grow well in my raised beds last year, since we have limited sun around our house. I will be planting organic Silver Queen corn, organic Delectable bi-color corn, DiCicco broccoli, Roma tomatoes, Black zucchini, and sunflowers. Thank God that more Roma tomatoes came up in my growing room than I had originally anticipated, so all I had to start this week was the broccoli and the zucchini. Also a few weeks ago on Facebook, the Frugal Farmers page posted a few helpful hints on planting corn, such as taping your shoe so you know how far to plant each seed and also use a 5' PVC pipe to put the seed down, so you don't have to keep bending over. There is a wealth of information out there and I feel so blessed to learn something new almost everyday.

On my garden graph there is still a 4'x20' space that I want to plant new and interesting things in. I am thinking I am going to go to the Simon Organic Farm Plant Sale in a month and hopefully get Copenhagen Market cabbage, Prize Choi bok choi, Butternut Brown Cotton, Sungold cherry tomato, and Jubilee tomato to grow.

On a side note, I have also listed on Craigslist that the trees on that piece of property need to be taken down. If someone wants to take them down, they get all the wood. I have already had 1 person contact me, so hopefully, they take all the trees, because I would like to start a few fruit trees, so we can be that much closer to not have to rely on food provided by the grocery stores. I have already selected what I would like to grow. These are all dwarf sized so I can have many varieties in the space we have. Harglow Apricot, Redhaven Peach, Empire Apple, Pink Lady Apple, Gala Apple, Bartlett Pear, and Moonglow Pear.  Eventually I'd like to have a variety of grapes, gooseberries, roses and blueberries also, but that will be a few years from now.

Phew! I think I have my work cut out for me this summer. What do you think?

Passover

If some of don't know, Passover begins at sundown tonight, which means that we are beginning a week of not eating any leaven. Leaven is yeast, baking soda, etc. Anything that makes something rise in baking or cooking.

I have spent all day baking. My children helped me and were actually fighting over who got to put the next ingredient in the various recipes next! We made UL fruit bread, UL pound cake, and UL shortbread cookies, so hopefully we are set for the week on a breakfast bread and desserts.

I cannot wait until tonight's Passover dinner. I have ground lamb with feta, garlic, salt and pepper marinating in the fridge, so I can make lamb/feta patties to put on top of parsley rice (remember no leaven in, so no burger buns!), then I have broccoli to steam, and I made the charoset this morning, which is also marinating in the fridge. For dessert, I am planning the pound cake topped with strawberries, vanilla ice cream on the side and whipped cream on top. So now you can see why I can't wait!

I am planning many casseroles for this week and also  pasta dishes. For breakfasts, there is always the normal eggs, sausage/bacon and orange juice, or I also have an UL baked oatmeal, that we actually eat periodically throughout the year. So you can see, it really isn't that hard to go without leavened products for 8 days.

Are any f my blog followers also celebrating Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits? If so please comment on what your Passover dinner consisted of.

YouTube

I thought I would really quick let everyone know that I am making videos on YouTube now, here. The first is an instructional series on how to set up a serger to sew modest swimwear.

On another note, Eric is making videos on YouTube also for J.R. Luxury Bath (where he works), here. He takes before and after video of the remodeling jobs he does.

I have also set up a Facebook page, here,  for them. So far we have 4 "likes"... I have quite a bit more work to do on the page, but what is up is a good start.  I am hoping that now that the business has internet workings that we will see something wonderful come to fruition.

I was thinking... PLANTS FOR ALL!

I was thinking tonight... If anyone would like me to start some vegetable plants for any of my friends or family's garden, I would be happy to, since I am already doing it for myself. I would just need to be compensated for the supplies, which would be minimal. Also, all of these seeds come from organic stock and I use organic soil after the plants have started to grow. I start them in the Jiffy peat disks.

The seeds that I have are as follows:
Lavender
Basil, Red Rubin
Basil, Purple
Parsley, curly
Fennel, Bronze (herb, not a bulb)
Beet, Bull's Blood
Beet, Red Ace
Brussels Sprout, Franklin
Kale, Vates Blue Curled
Zucchini, Black
Spinach, New Zealand
Spinach, Giant Noble
Broccoli, De Cicco
Pepper, Medium-Hot
Pepper, Jalapeno
Pepper, Orange Sun (bell)
Pepper, California Wonder Red (bell)
Tomato, Roma
Tomato, Black Cherry
Ground Cherry

I also have the following herbs that I can root for you:
Oregano
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Spearmint
Chocolate Mint

Please email me or call me if you are interested.

2012 garden

I wonder how many of my blog readers have started their gardens already like I have? With this wonderful weather we are experiencing in Northeast Ohio, I have been outside as much as possible and have already planted all of my early spring vegetables. I have Sweet Peas, Snow Peas, Snap Peas, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, 3 types of Carrots, Lettuce, 2 types of Beets, and Chives out.

In the basement about 6 weeks ago Eric went around the house and found misc things to make a growing room in our basement so that I could get my starters started. In the basement I have Red Rubin Basil, Purple Basil, Kale, Dill, Cilantro, Chamomile, Fennel, 3 types of Tomatoes, 4 types of Peppers, and Lavender.

Yesterday I also transplanted the Sage and Parsley that survived the winter in the garden to 15" pots, so they can be protected better next winter.

I did try to get onions to grow from seed again this year, but it did not work again. I even started them in November!! So in addition to Onion seedling, I bought Rhubarb crowns and Leek seedlings, since I can't seem to get those seeds to do anything either.

My go to seed and seedling website is https://www.naturalgardening.com

I am also looking forward to the organic plant sale, by the farm where we buy our milk, eggs, beef, chicken, and soon pork. http://www.simonorganics.com/products-plant.php

I am praying for a wonderful 2012 harvest, since I am only focusing mainly on the things that did well in my garden last year.

Going Paperless Somemore

First off, it's amazing how time just flies! I would love to be on here everyday putting my thoughts into something that others can either agree with or argue, but I just don't have the time with everything I do around here to keep my homestead going.

I blogged quite a while ago about going paperless, at least I think I did! We have been reducing the use of disposable paper towels with cotton muslin paper towels that I sewed up last year.

Now it is time to dive into another area of paper waste. The bathroom. Yes, I am going there! Eric and I figure, if I can cloth diaper a baby, use cloth diaper wipes, and even use cloth menstrual pads, then we should be able to do the same with wet wipes. This was actually Eric's idea in the first place. I was quite honestly appauled at the thought, but as I thought about it, it did make sense.

So, in between all of my spring planting, spring cleaning, homeschooling, and home projects we have going on, I will be in my sewing room making flannel wipes and a couple wet bags for their storage.

Don't worry if any of you plan on coming over to our home for a visit. We will still have toilet paper for your use...

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home: Ask Your Husband

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home: Ask Your Husband: There is a freedom that God has given us as women. That freedom is the umbrella of authority that He has placed before us to protect us.


I am blessed that I do this already most of the time. I just need to work on doing this ALL the time. God has proved this to me quite recently!

Another blog giveaway

Check out this blog to win a free copy of  Raising Maidens of Virtue, by Stacy McDonald. http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2012/03/raising-maidens-of-virtue-expanded-and.html

Let the comments on Facebook begin...

I figured that what I am going to get off of my chest will be the beginning of many major discussions on Facebook once I publish this, so I figured I would out right put it as the title. Please understand, this is Eric and my point of view. If we didn't have this point of view, I really don't see why we would have children. This post is rough to say the least, but I am tired of keeping my mouth shut and just nodding politely...

I truly can not understand why people want to have children, just to hand them off to someone else to raise them. God has given you this precious little person to keep in your care and it seems quite a few people don't really care what happens after they are born. Sure everyone loves their children, but I just don't see it. How can you love someone so much, yet hardly ever see them. Quite a few parents seem to hand off the baby earlier and earlier.

It seems all around me I keep hearing about someone having a baby, then as soon as the birth is over with, they need to have THEIR life back right away. They need to go "socialize" and get out with their friends. They can't wait to get back to work. They have to have a babysitter right away so they can be alone. Then they complain about having to get up with the baby at night. Don't people realize that babies aren't supposed to sleep more than 2-4 hours at a time for at least the first year? It helps prevent SIDS. Maybe people need to do their research BEFORE they get pregnant, so they know exactly what to expect life to be like after baby is here. And yes, life changes. Nothing will really be the same. Nothing will be spontaneous anymore. You cannot make a baby fit into a cetain life style, you must be the one who has flexiblilty and goes with the flow.

I also keep hearing people talk about how terribly their kids act. If you and your husband are not the only people raising your children, then I guess you can have others to blame for their attitude problems, etc... You can not expect children to keep the values you hold if you are not raising your children yourself. If they go to daycare, do you really think the workers have time to instill values (even if they are parallel to your own) into your child when they are chasing around 3 or 4 other kids of the same age, since every worker has more than 1 child to care for. It's most likely enough for them that your child is getting fed and going to the bathroom and has some kind of playtime. The older groups are trained to be "good" so that when they get into the system schools, they are compliant. Their days are filled with "things to learn". Most of the stuff they get the kids to "learn" in preschool is just fluff, to get the parents to ooohh and ahhh over.

I could write all night long, but I need to stop, so my blood pressure can somewhat normalize.

A wonderful blog about "socialization"

http://ladyofvirtue.blogspot.com/2012/02/homeschooling-socialization.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FECgH+%28Large+Family+Mothering%29

peaceful parenting: Natural Weaning

peaceful parenting: Natural Weaning: Excerpted with permission from the excellent book, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler , by Norma Jane Bumgarner and published by La Leche Leagu...

Lotus Birthing

I have posted MY "Do's and Don'ts" of pregnancy, I will give light to another area of childbirth that many people have never heard of. That is lotus birthing.

Sure you have heard of water birthing, but that benefits the mother, while lotus birthing benefits the baby.

Recently there have been many articles and studies done around the world confirming that physicians and even midwives are clamping the umbilical cord too soon. Some clamp before the baby is even entire born, which deprives the baby of all of it's blood supply and some studies are thinking it is leading to brain damage. Up to 60% of babies blood is transferred to the placenta to ease birthing the child and there is also blood stored in the placenta that the baby doesn't use during the pregnancy which is stored for after birth, hence where the name for the placenta came from, The Afterbirth. Lotus Birth encourages postpartum/babymoon and slows down the whole afterbirth process and gives mother and baby the opportunity to have time to continue to bond without interruption.
I know we have done delayed cord clamping with Tabitha, we waited about 3-5 minutes, and Grady, we waited about 10 minutes. If we are blessed again, I would like the baby to be able to have all of the blood and nutrients available by keeping the cord uncut for as little as 6 hours (partial lotus) up to when the cord naturally falls off (full lotus birth).

This route is definitely not for everyone, I wanted to do this with Grady, but Eric has been really squeamish about the placenta in general, so I just dropped the subject all together last time. After much research and discussion, he told me I could do whatever I feel needs done, when the time comes, since I am the one constantly researching birthing statistics and reading everything I can to further my birthing education.

Why have a lotus birth? It just seems more natural! If you cut the cord, you are most likely instructed to wipe it down with rubbing alcohol at every diaper change to help avoid infection, right? Also it seems more natural that your baby has been with it's placenta for the past 9 months, so it should naturally fall off instead of us cutting it away like it never meant anything.

Equipment for a Lotus Birth

- A large bowl to birth the placenta in.
- A large sieve to strain the placenta for the fist 24 hours.
- A terry cloth square or other absorbent fabric to use as a placenta cloth.
- Sea salt, dried flowers, dried herbs or essential oils.
- A placenta bag.

A placenta cloth is used to wrap a baby's placenta during a Lotus Birth. It can be made of any breathable fabric, but I think terry would be best. It is about 19" x 19".

The placenta bag is to help carry the placenta along with the baby, so you do not have to be stuck in one spot for days. It must be large enough to contain the fresh placenta. It needs to be made from breathable fabric. It usually measures 10" for the bottom and 6 - 8" for the side height and has a drawstring closure so that you can tie it loosely and also double knot it to make handles.

Some of the herbs you can use for helping the placenta dry are Chamomile Leaves, Echinacea Flowers, Echinacea Root, Echinacea leaves, Golden Seal Root, Lavender Flowers, Marshmallow Root, Rosemary Leaves, Sage Leaves, Witch Hazel Leaf, Uva Ursi, Yarrow Flowers. In addition to these, you also use sea salt. (Yes, it does seem as though you are marinating it...)

I have made template placenta bags and placenta cloths, just to see if I could do it. The ones I found online are so expensive. I would be pleased to make a placenta bag and placenta cloths for anyone who would like these. If there are enough people who ask this, I may also start making my own herb mix too.

If there are any midwives or other birth professionals who read this and have a client who would like to lotus birth, you can contact me if they are interested in buying a placenta kit. I will happily make it for them! The costs will vary depending on the type of cloth.

Here are some things I took from Joyous Birth website

How to have a Lotus Birth

The placenta is kept level with the baby or higher (usually in a bowl or sieve) until the Wharton's Jelly has completely solidified, and all vessels have closed. If at that time, the mother decides she does not want a lotus birth, the cord could be cut without the need for clamping or tying off the cord.
If she wishes to continue with the lotus birth, the placenta is gently washed to remove blood clots and put back in the sieve/bowl and left to air. (Be nice, use warm water to wash it!) The placenta is best left to air for the first 24 hours, but it can also be wrapped in a cloth nappy whenever the mother desires.

Some people salt the placenta with sea salt to help the drying out process (after the first 24 hours). The nappy is changed once every 1-2 days and the placenta resalted until the cord falls away. DO NOT put anything on the cord or the part near the bellybutton. It is not necessary, just leave it alone! You may get some sticky stuff weeping from around the base of the cord, just wipe the dried bits off your baby's skin gently with a damp cloth.  Also, some mothers make a 'placenta bag' to put the nappy and placenta inside, and carry it around with the baby. Other mothers make keepsake decorative clay bowls to keep their placenta in!

Dealing with Baby & Placenta:

The cord will dry out pretty quickly, so careful how you position it! You can get it to dry in a certain position so its convenient when you change the baby's nappy or clothes. I had mine dry with a kink to the side, at where the cord came out of the nappy. Don't do this right at the bellybutton, you will have difficulty changing nappies! Don't worry about flexibility - you will notice that the cord can rotate at the bellybutton. As long as you're careful, it will rotate easily as you move the placenta around.
To carry the placenta and baby, put the placenta on the baby's tummy. Treat it with respect and care same as you would with your baby! In bed, just place it next to the baby. You may find yourself getting impatient with the extra burden of the placenta but remember this! The first days are supposed to be a SLOW time spent with your family, getting to know the newest addition!
Take it easy for this first week and just enjoy being a mother! Let visitors know this so they don't stay for long or better still, ban visitors until you are ready. Let your baby get used to your smells, daddy's smells and any brother/sister smells before you introduce him/her to visitors. Also this way you won't get any "comments" from visitors about the cord or placenta!
The cord will fall off quickest if you leave it all open to the air as much as you can! My daughter pulled her cord off at around 6 or 7 days I think, it was completely dried by day 5 but she seemed to be rather attached to it! I also noticed that she'd get upset if DH (husband) changed the placenta nappy, maybe she thought he'd run off with it haha.

Does the placenta smell?

Some people have asked me about the smells. What smell!? I have not once noticed a bad or meaty smell from the placenta or cord at all. (I live in the hot and humid Wet Tropics of QLD too!) I have noticed a salty smell - from the sea salt, and because I sprinkled my placenta with lavender, there was this wonderful soft lavender smell from the placenta nappy. I have heard others say their placenta smells like their baby, and I found this to be true in the first 24 hours before I did anything with the placenta.

Other Information: It takes a lotus cord about 3 - 7 days to fall away compared to the 5 - 15 days it takes for a cut cord stub to fall off/heal. There is no need to worry about infection or hygiene in a lotus birth as there is NO wound. The lotus cord will fall off quicker than a cut cord stub which is an open wound, and needs to heal, dry out and fall off. Open wounds also run a chance of getting infected!!

It is said that when the placenta is left intact, the baby is sensitive to having the cord and/or placenta touched. Even if the baby is sleeping and the placenta is touched it can startle the baby (this is reported even after the child and placenta are a few days old). Also, the baby may be particular to who touches his/her placenta!

After the Lotus Birth:

The placenta can be stored in the freezer in a labelled container, buried under a favourite tree in the garden, or even planted in a pot with a favourite tree or plant, so you can keep it with you even if you move house!
If you do bury/plant the placenta, don't plant anything in the same spot for one year as the placenta is so rich in nutrients that it can sometimes kill anything planted before a year is allowed to pass. Plant a tree, flower or plant in the same spot and the placenta will nourish its growth!

Taken from http://www.naturalparenting.com.au/flex/lotus-birth-a-gentle-beginning/363/1
Physiological benefits of delayed cord cutting include:

- More maternal antibodies received by infant.

- The baby receives full benefits from the placental blood including platelets that clot the blood, plasma (proteins of the blood), white cells to fight infections, red cells that have iron and carry oxygen to all cells, stem cells that replace worn out cells, hormones and enzymes and iron reserves.

- Less Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), especially in premature infants.

- Less chance of infant brain damage (i.e., cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, autism).

- Higher infant blood pressure.

- Less need for blood transfusions for premature infants.

- Less chance of organ damage from schema in premature babies.

- Improved infant renal (kidney) function.

Some reasons parents choose a Lotus Birth include:

- Improved breastfeeding success rate.

- Possible faster healing of the umbilicus.

- To avoid unnecessary risk of cord infection.

- Because the parents don’t want to cut the cord, preferring a completely natural intervention-free birth.

- No need to worry about clamping or cutting the cord.

- Respect for the baby and placenta as a unit.

- Encourages maximum mother/baby bonding.

- Facilitates baby mooning by limiting visitors (many will prefer to wait until the cord separates).

- To promote mother/baby attachment, less passing around of the baby.

- To allow the most gradual and peaceful transition into this world for the baby.

- Baby is kept very still, the environment kept very quiet and mother gets maximum rest.

Here are a few websites on lotus birth. Please keep in mind that I do not believe in the "earthy/religious" aspects that a lot of these websites seem to associate with lotus (ie... nature worship). I am for the aspect that this is a normal 4th stage of labor.

http://www.lotusfertility.com/Lotus_Birth.html

http://www.naturalparenting.com.au/flex/lotus-birth-a-gentle-beginning/363/1

http://www.lotusbirthcampaign.org/what-is-lotus-birth.html

MY do's and don'ts of pregnancy

I thought I would share some of MY do's and don'ts for pregnancy. (Updated 9/11/12)

DO'S
- Take folic acid at least a month before becoming pregnant. I take 800 mcg a day. Stop this once you start taking the prenatal vitamins.
- Take a vegan whole foods prenatal vitamin (Rainbow Light Prenatal One).
- Take a prenatal fish oil (only because I do not get to eat a lot of fish, since Eric doesn't really like it).
- Take a probiotic (50 Billion Vaginal support) the entire pregnancy to help with digestion and boosting your natural bodily flora. I have also found out that  L. Rhamnosus will prevent growth of GBS, which most MD's will test you for at the end of your pregnancy. (If you are positive for GBS, it leads to many interventions and problems even with breastfeeding.)
- I am also taking a colostrum supplement to boost my immune system. The only way to get this, that I know of is through a Naturopath. I have never seen it in a regular supplement store.
- Eat dried papaya and dried pineapple to help with nausea, if that doesn't work, there are always unsalted pretzels. OR take 100mg of Vitamin C and 50 mcg of Vitamin K together 3 times a day.
- Start eating the Brewer Diet!
- Start doing pelvic rocks and squats before bed every night. Skip the kegels.
- Rest as much as possible.
- Try not to stress out about every little thing... easier said than done.
- Drink lots of water.
- Drink Red Raspberry Leaf Tea everyday after week 16, this will help hydrate you as well as give you natural vitamins and minerals.
- Stay at home and eat. Restaurant food is so full of preservatives and artificial colors, it's disgusting.
- Keep the sweets to a minimum.
- Get an excercise ball. It will help when your hips are aching in the middle of the night, as well as during labor.
- If you can afford it, get a monthly prenatal massage starting in the 2nd trimester, or better yet just have your husband watch YouTube for prenatal massage techniques and get this pregnancy massage pillow! ( Then your older kids can "help" too.) If you do go, make very sure they know you are pregnant, because there could be essential oils that they use that could be very dangerous for your baby.
- Seriously take a look at how you plan to birth your baby. Home birth is wonderful!
- Consider a midwife instead of an OB. Midwives are trained in normal birth, whereas OB's are trained surgeons looking for something wrong with you. Most OB's have never seen a woman birthing unless they were hooked up to wires and laying on their backs. Gravity is your friend...
- Consider waterbirth.
- Limit your caffeine intake.This includes chocolate, coffee, tea...
- Take a Bradley Method or Esali birthing class.
- Read, read, read, and read some more! Especially if you are planning on nursing. Don't expect the nurses or even your doctor to know what to do...
- Have support lined up, so you know where to go or call if you have any problems breastfeeding.
- Eat real whole foods, preferrably organic.
- Avoid anything with MSG, nitrates, nitrites, and fake sugars.

***- If you use all natural products, please make sure they do not contain calendula, neem, tea tree, lavender, basil, clary sage, cedarwood, cypress, fennel, jasmine, lemongrass, marjoram, myrrh, origanum, parsley, peppermint, rose, rosemary, thyme, arnica, barberry, bee balm, black walnut, blessed thistle, catnip, chapparal, chicory, colsfoot, comfrey, ephedra, fenugreek, gentian horehound, horsetail, ipecac, juniper berries, lobelia, oregon grape root, rhubarb root, uva ursi, yarrow, angelica, black cohosh (may be used in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy), blue cohosh (may be used in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy), cotton root, elecampane, lovage, osha, tansy, turmeric, borage, damiana, dong quai, licorice, sarsparilla, siberian ginseng, rue, golden seal, juniper, autumn rocus, mistletoe, bearberry, pennyroyal, poke root, southernwood, wormwood, mugwort, tansy, nutmeg, cotton root,  male fern, thuja, beth root, feverfew, and sage. Some of the above are safe to use in cooking (sage, rosemary, basil, thyme, marjoram, parsley, and nutmeg) but otherwise avoid them.

- Sleep on your side with lots of pillows for support. Arrange the pillows correctly especially if you are co-sleeping still.
- Consider safe co-sleeping.
- If at all possible, decide to stay at home with your children. They deserve to be with their parents, not strangers.

DON'TS
- Eat raw fish or meat (I don't in the first place, but most fish have so much mercury content and have possible dangerous parasites, and are possibly not handled correctly, if you really like it, you can just wait the short 8 months until you can have it again).
- Drink any amount of alcohol.
- Smoke, or be around anyone who smokes.
- Take ANY medication. If you have a headache, go lay down. If you have heartburn, eliminate what you just ate out of your diet for a couple weeks (or months), drink some soda water with a splash of lime juice, or even eat some papaya or pineapple. If you are in to homeopathy, you could take Carbo Veg 30 or Pulastilla 30.
- Diet. Dieting will only harm you and your baby, because your body needs real food to get the right nutrients to sustain your pregnancy. Your body will gain the necessary weight it needs and then as you breastfeed the weight will come off naturally. (Just in time to get pregnant again, LOL)
-Take hot baths or showers.
- Take being a parent lightly. It is a blessing given to YOU and your spouse, take responsibility of what you are given.

An interesting website:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18828217/Dos-and-Donts-During-Pregnancy