One Year Older & Wiser, Too!!

We've been blogging for a whole year now!! Exciting isn't it? Happy anniversary to us.
To celebrate, we want to give a gift to our readers. I pondered for awhile what that gift might be, but I decided that I'm going to give away FOUR jars of Geneva Springs' Dairy Maid Skin Cream.
Why? Well, mainly because I love the stuff, but also because I could not decide what variety to give away if I were to give away only one. So, I narrowed it down to four, because each variety has a different use, while the others they sell just smell good.
1 2 oz. jar of Unscented--because even those with allergies should be able to enjoy soft skin. There is NO added fragrance in this jar, while other "unscented" products can get away with putting a scent in that balances the yucky smell of their ingredients, Lucy at Geneva Springs just sticks to pure ingredients. I use this one on my kids--even the baby.
1 2 oz jar of Lavender--to relax you. It is the real oil, not just a fragrance.
1 2 oz jar of Peppy Mint--a blend of spearmint & peppermint. Did you know that it's recently been proven that putting mint oil on your temples during a headache can cure it? With the high concentration of mint in this blend, it works wonders for headaches. Also, great on feet and legs after a looooong day. I've even used it to calm my charlie horses.
1 2 oz jar of l'Orange Crush--This one has orange essential oil blended with a fragrance. It's so energizing and upbeat...it's my favorite. Definitely a pick-me-up after doing the dishes. Orange oil is also good for circulation.

So, what is this stuff? It's a cream that Lucy has been making for her family for the past 25 years, as they own a dairy and the wet-dry-wet-dry atmosphere is not good for skin. It causes cracking and bleeding, and this concoction has kept family hands crack free for years now. She's only been selling it for 5 years, and recently started adding the essential oils and other fragrances. And that's only because she happens to have five daughters now, who all wanted to smell just as good as they looked.

Oh, yes, the giveaway. To win this long-lasting four pack (because a little really does go a long way!), go to Geneva Springs' website, and tell me what your favorite product is. There's more than cream there now. She's got glycerin soaps, beeswax soaps, bath salts, and lip balms. She also does custom orders, so if you need your product to have no dye in it, she will do it (she uses cosmetic grade dyes though, so if you can wear make-up, it shouldn't bother your skin), or if you want a special essential oil mix, email her, and it can be done!

Learning a Little About Reproduction

I suppose that living on a farm, you can't avoid the basic life lessons. This lesson was AWESOME, though. Our AI (artificial insemination)vet came today, and flushed (took all the fertilized embryos from a favorite cow, which we'd fertilized with a favorite bull) a cow. We got ten good embryos. Exciting. The more exciting part was that Zach and I got to use the microscope to find the tiny embryos. It was fun to show him a cup of clear liquid (or what seems clear) and show him the embryos in it. Then, the vet put the embryos in tiny little straws (imagine a long version of a coffee stirring stick), and Zach and Grandpa T. and the vet went outside and picked some cows to impregnate. Zach was a little shocked when the vet's hand disappeared into the cow...quite a way, actually--that's why the gloves go up to the armpit! But, the learning experience was a good one. The vet then explained to Zach that even he was as small as those tiny embryos as one time. In fact, we learned that all mammals start out the same size, except horses and elephants--they're bigger.

One thing that sort of touches me is how valuable this tiny, invisible embryo of only a few days is. Yet, we allow abortion in humans up to 21 weeks. Crazy. To work in this field and see the vitality of the tiny cells, and to think that human cells are less valued by some. Honestly, it sickens me. To know that there are people that will PAY $3000 (yes, three-thousand) for an embryo that goes into a cow--and that in the same country it's OK to end a human life. Arrgh! Fortunately, the people who are working in this area (farming) are also the ones valuing human life. Perhaps we need to send everyone back to the farm for awhile.

SAVE HANDMADE!!!

Overview from Cool Mom Picks:
We're all for strengthening the safety standards of mass-produced toys, clothes, and accessories made in China, and banning toxins like phthalates and lead. But this year, congress passed the ill-conceived Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, a law which goes into effect in two months and will absolutely decimate the small toy manufacturers, independent artisans, and crafters who have already earned the public trust. The very same ones that we often feature here and in our yearly special edition gift guides.
With this act going into effect February 10 2009 so many people we love will be affected: Moms who sew beautiful handmade waldorf dolls out of home, artists who have spent decades hand-carving trucks and cars out of natural woods, that guy at the craft show who sold you the cute handmade puzzle--even larger US companies who employ local workers and have not once had any sort of safety issue will no longer be able to sell their goods. Not without investing tens of thousands of dollars into third-party testing and labeling, just to prove that toys that never had a single toxic chemical in them still don't have a single toxic chemical in them.
More...


I don't know about you, but I love to support local crafters! Especially ones that make beautiful children's toys & handmade clothing for my three little ones. Handmade just has so much more beauty, so much care, the detail, the love...oh, I could go on!

The law is good in theory, it bans all toys made with any lead or phthalates , but the third party testing required of all products would make it impossible for our local craftsmen/women (or Etsy sellers!) to stay afloat due to the large fees. There has to be a way to put this law on hold until an agreement can be made, to save handmade.

BEAUTIFUL!!

Oh, a chance to win a pretty dress for my little girl? Could I pass it up? N0-WAY!
http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2008/12/tree-lighting-wrap-frock-giveaway.html

Night Cap, Anyone?

Last night, after we had put Chayce to bed, we were pleasantly surprised at how quiet she was. (This is rare, we usually have to put her back to bed once or twice). After awhile, Stephen started to get suspicious, so he crept into the room she was sleeping in (not her own, which should have tipped us off-more details on that on another day), and quiety said, "Cha-ayce, are you asleep?" To which she popped up and declared, in a very guilty tone,
"Dad, I didn't eat ALL of the M&Ms, I just had one snack (while holding up four fingers)."
The look of feigned innocence on her face was enough to melt any parent's heart, so she was put back to bed, and we had a good chuckle outside the door.

12 Days of Christmas: Homeschool Style

OK, so there are 14 days on this one, but that's because we don't do math as homeschoolers...right? Kidding. We do. And lots of it. Anyhow, the below can be attributed to http://www.waldsfe.org/Humor/12days.htm

To the tune of "Twelve Days of Christmas".

On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"

On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don't like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!

On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me, where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? I think we can do this, if you will help us, can we join P.E. and we'll homeschool legally."

Pay Twice for Half!

Have you seen the NEW Welch's Aqua Juice? Ingredients: Juice, filtered water. Yes, it's 1/2 water, 1/2 juice, and costs $4 a bottle because it's "healthier" than straight juice. http://www.welchs.com/products/juices-and-drinks/livinglightly/aquajuice

I suppose I could just skip the step of watering my own juice down--hmmm, yeah, why buy a $2 bottle of juice and add water, when I can pay someone $2 to add the water for me? Yikes!

Jenks Music

We went to school with these guys, and think they are great!

Random Sampler

Mmmmm, remember the Whitman's chocolates random sampler? My grandmother always had an open one when we'd visit...I loved it. It still exists, and that is not what I'm posting about. Ha ha.

RS#1: Does anyone know how to tickle a fish? Chayce would like to know, and I'm all out of answers. Are fish even ticklish?

RS#2: Dads are stair climbing motivation. Stephen walked by while I was nursing Payge. She wailed when he did stop & say hi, so I told her, "Go get him if you're so upset about it!" and put her on the floor...not expecting her to go far...
She took off like lightining, and made it up 3 stairs before she calmed down. She's never practiced stairs before, so once she calmed down & realized she was 3 stairs higher than the ground, she panicked. I caught her. Whew.

RS#3: My kids ARE listening!
Last night, we had dinner at one of Stephen's professor's homes. It's monthly--we love it. Anyhow, last night there were crackers out, and Chayce was sitting on a barstool by the bowl. A couple (married, work at ND) were having a conversation near her, and eating handfuls of the little crackers. Chayce pipes up, "Hey! Slow down! My mommy says you'll fill up on those & not have room for a good dinner!" Heh, heh. They obliged, she was right they said, but we all chuckled about it later when she was out of earshot.

RS#4: I'm posting this so I never forget! Today was Zach's day to read the scripture & say opening prayer in Sharing Time at church. It all started well, until 1/2 way through verse 2 when he jumped down & ran to the bathroom. I should have had him check before hand. Good thing kids are so forgiving & it was quickly forgotten.

RS#5: Speaking of scriptures, on a more serious note, I'm so thankful for them! I'm also thankful for blogging technology, as writing out my thoughts has been so helpful in my reading. If you ever want to look deeper into my brain, feel free to stop on by Nursing The Soul.

Black Hole

Don't let the black hole of greed get you this holiday!