We stand corrected

To follow-up on the previous post, Jillian today noted to Chayce that her eye was going down. Of course, Jillian meant the swelling in her eye, but Chayce started blinking and said, "no, Mommy, my eye goes down AND up!"

Then this evening we took the children "fishing," which means Zachary and Chayce threw mud in the air and rocks in the river while Jillian and I dodged the aerial attacks and saved Payge from herself (occasionally throwing a wormed hook in the river). By the time we left, they were quite dirty. I told Chayce she would have to shower so we could wash her head off. "Silly Daddy, you can't wash a head off, its attached to the neck!"

OK. Sorry Chayce. I'll try to be more precise. Which means I should clarify and state that the wormed hook was attached to fishing line which was on a pole with a reel, and the throwing was actually casting.

The Mosquito Strikes Again

We took this beautiful daughter of ours out to play. We walked through our beautiful neighborhood, watched bugs, and climbed trees. Unfortunately, we forgot the bug spray, and she reacts as badly as her mother to mosquitoes. When she woke up this morning, this is what we found. At least she was still smiling.

A Question Answered: part one.

I've been asked the same question quite a few times now, and I think it's time to write down an answer. This question ranges from "What is it that you do?" to "How do you do what you do, as a homemaker?" Every once in awhile, there is a "Did you grow up learning this?" So, first, I will answer the last question (D&C 88:59, ha ha).

Did I Grow Up Learning to be a HOME MAKER?

The short answer is, no. I did grow up doing chores, but came from a home where most chores were done on Saturday, as no one was home all week. I also grew up with high aspirations to be in the corporate world, and followed those dreams quite voraciously for some time, hence the degree in Human Resource Management with an emphasis on motivation. I always wanted to be a public speaker. I loved the idea of motivating other people to do what ever it was that they loved, or at least motivating them to love what it was they were doing. I worked for a short while for a company named Nightingale-Conant and being exposed to all those wonderful motivational speakers and authors really struck a chord with me. I loved it. LOVED IT. I then went off to college. I thought I wanted a degree in law (corporate law, maybe moving onto politics), but then changed my mind when I found out about the amazing program at the University of Idaho in Business Management.
While in school I worked for a great apartment complex as an assistant manager. I also had to clean those apartments, and learned a lot about cleaning FAST. We had 400 units of which most turned over each summer. We had other cleaners, but I was also the apartment inspector, so there was a lot to do. Now, this is getting boring, so I'll move on to the day I decided to stay home...

Zach was born in the September of my senior year, via emergency c-section (my thought process leads me to realize that I have not written down any of my birth stories, perhaps those will be my next posts...). It was a crazy time as I missed five weeks of school. I still finished that semester, unfortunately with all B's, which put me ONE point away from graduating with honors. In the big scheme of things, that wasn't as big of a deal as I thought, really. I graduated in May 2004 with a 7 month old cheering for me. I was tired! We had applied for graduate schools for Stephen, so I held off on applying for jobs until we'd figured out where we were going to live. Despite my rebellious nature, I am one who takes many matters to God in prayer, such as where to live, what job to take, etc. Staying home had never crossed my mind. One day, as I was talking to a prospective employer (AFLAC to be exact), and he asked me when I could come in to interview in person, I looked down at my son who was trying so hard to crawl forward (backwards had been achieved) and I realized I didn't want to miss his first steps, his first words, his first anything. My mouth opened, and a sentence that surprised even me came out, "I'm sorry, but something just came up. I'm completely unavailable." I called Stephen in tears. So began my journey.

So, What IS a Homemaker?

I went online, trying to find out what a homemaker does besides clean and watch a baby attempt to crawl all day. Really, I had no idea. I was previously of the opinion that my friends who stayed home were either vain or lazy. I have repented of that opinion, many times over, and if I ever said anything rude to you, and you're reading this, please except my apologies! The first thing I found that gave me hope was a website called "The New Homemaker". I took to heart her New Homemaker's Manifesto, which I will post here, along with the link to her site.

TNH Manifesto

"

ou may be wondering right about now, "What's so new about homemaking? It's as old as, well, homes." Absolutely. But look around.

Domestic skills that were once common are now rare. Don't believe me? If you're under the age of 40, bake a loaf of bread, or, if this mystifies you, sew a pretty blouse, knit a sweater--or fold a fitted sheet. Then show your friends. Chances are they'll make a huge fuss over your amazing ability, one that most women born before 1950 took completely for granted.

In a generation, we have lost hundreds, maybe thousands of years of domestic knowledge. Girls are raised now with no idea how to run a household; it's assumed they'll never have to. And besides, their own mothers probably don't know how to run a household themselves.

We had feminist mothers who didn't believe in domesticity. We had domestic grandmothers who didn't know about feminism. The former threw the baby out with the bathwater in their zest for self-realization. The latter were too busy scrubbing the bathtub to think about self-anything.

Why would anyone want to return to the home? Isn't it boring, self-sacrificing, old-fashioned? Those are the base assumptions of our culture. But our culture's unchallenged assumptions about both partners working, when examined, may turn out not to reflect your values, or even your best interests. These are assumptions we hear every day: You can't make it on one income. You'd be bored at home. Your career will suffer. Daycare is good for children. The schools are raising your children just fine.

I can refute each and every one of these assumptions easily and in detail, but I'll sum it up in one popular phrase: On your deathbed, as you look back over your life, would you really turn to your children and say, "Gee, I wish I'd spent more time at the office"?

Increasingly, something is just giving in people; they've had enough. One too many breastmilk pumping sessions in the toilet stall at work, one too many microwaved TV dinners, one too many requests from a wistful child for more of a parent's time--or worse, one too many reports of problems with a child from a teacher--and families start to reassess their priorities. (I'm not talking about single parents, most of whom are doing the best they can to keep body and soul together with little help or support.) More and more young families are looking around and realizing that much of what's wrong with American home life today is that NO ONE'S HOME.

Single-income families are the fastest-growing segment of the American population. In ever greater numbers, one of the family adults is choosing to stay home and keep house--to care for and even school children, to care for elderly relatives, to care for the partner working outside the home, to care for the surrounding community, and any combination of the above. That adult can be male or female, but is usually female. She's taking responsibility for her own family instead of expecting other people to do it, either for pay or by government mandate.

This much is true: Homemaking can be a lonely, thankless task, especially when you feel like you don't know what you're doing. And that's where TNH comes in. Our goal is to provide the resources, tools and support you need to create the home you want, with no condescension and no proselytizing.

Today's homemakers must take the best from what our foremothers have to offer us--both the independent thinkers and the shy housewives--and create something new, a homemaker who knows the value of her work, respects herself, and gets respect from the rest of the world. Every person who puts his or her family's best interests first, as people have for centuries, is now a rebel, reclaiming an America that might never have been except in our minds and hearts, but that deserves to be born.

Homemaking is a craft, an art; make it your job, because it's the most important job in the world. Study it. Improve yourself. Respect your work. It does get easier."

I made a lot of web friends on this site, but have since moved on. Not because I didn't love the site, but because I found more to do, to work on, and less time to do it in. Bored? At home? Please, make me bored, I'd love a boring day.

Difference in development

So, I'm often think about the similarities and differences in my kids. One thing I've noticed, that I didn't before, as I look over baby photos of Chayce is that she and her sister Payge DO look a lot alike. As Payge gets older, I notice more similarities, and I realize that Chayce, too, had chubby little cheeks. Cute! One big difference, though, is that Chayce was a very early talker, and so I suppose I expected all of my children to be. This video I just couldn't resist posting, is of Chayce saying "beautiful" for the first time, at the ripe old age of 17 months, the age Payge is right now.

First Science Experiment: Results

As you can see, the one on the left (which was kept in the dark) did sprout, but did not really grow. A few of the cress plants started to make it, but they never got green (which leads to a wonderful conversation about photosynthesis and chlorophyll). The yellow of the plants reminded me of how the farmers of white asparagus keep the dirt piled high around the shoots as they come up, to keep sunlight from hitting them. Anyhow, the conclusion? Plants grow best with water AND sunlight, not just warmth.

Another drawing.

OK, so I like these. And I win once in awhile. Might as well try. This one is for a $250 gift card to anywhere to get things to organize your kitchen cupboards and fill them if need be. Go to:
$5 Dinners.com

Best of luck!

Free Sewing Patterns

Just so you sewers out there know, for one week, there are free downloadable patterns at the Commercial Pattern Archive:
http://www.uri.edu/library/special_collections/COPA/login.php

Login using the name guest & password pattern.

Enjoy!

That's enough from you, Martha

We frequently let our children select their own video entertainment. We try to respect their choices, as long as they choose videos with appropriate content.* Recently, our older two have taken to choosing [insert full body shudder here] Martha Stewart cooking videos.

Now Zachary has started giving Jillian cooking advice, and its hard not to laugh when I hear from the other side of the house "That's enough from you, Martha."


* Notice that I do not say age appropriate content, just appropriate ;)

Making Yogurt--Too Easy Not To

I'm writing this post because I get LOTS of funny looks when I tell people I make our family's yogurt. But really, it's ridiculously easy, and you CAN get it nice and thick like at the store, and it will taste good (especially topped with my home made jam...).

I make 4 quarts at a time, because it's silly to me to make less, considering yogurt keeps well in the fridge for awhile, and it can be used in place of sour cream many times. In fact, we have not purchased sour cream in quite some time. To begin I take a gallon of milk minus a half quart and put it in a stainless steel pot. I use whole pasteurized milk, only because I don't have the money right now for whole raw milk. This recipe isn't cheaper if you are buying organic, and please, if you are wasting your money on organic milk please see the foot note to this post*.
Bring the milk to 112 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is raw milk, you will need to bring it to a boil and let it cool to 112 degrees. I don't use a thermometer. I stick my finger in. If I can still put my finger in, but it's not comfortable after about 20 seconds, it's just right. You can use a thermometer, if you want to.

In a small glass or stainless steel bowl, mix 1/2 C of already made yogurt (leftover from the last batch, or I like to purchase a single serving plain yogurt cup.) with a ladle full of the warm milk. Stir gently, then add the yogurt to the big pot. Stir well, but not briskly. A figure 8 stir pattern works well. NOTE: Plain is not the same as vanilla. Really. I don't add this to insult anyone's intelligence, it's just that there have been those that I've worked with on this that made this mistake. Please don't.
Pour this warm milk mixture into clean quart jars. You'll need 4 if you are using the whole gallon. Take those warm jars (that feel so good...warm glass in hand is kind of a pleasure, don't you think?)

Find a place to keep the milk warm for 4 to 8 hours. I use my dehydrator, kept at 112 degrees. If you don't have a big dehydrator like this one, you can use a cooler filled with hot water, or keep it in the oven with a pilot light on, or preheat the oven to a low temp and turn it off..., wrap it in a hot towel and set it on top of a radiator. Lots of ways. Just needs to stay warm. After four hours, test for taste and thickness. The longer it incubates, the tarter it will be. If you want it REALLY thick, like greek yogurt you can use
a handy tool like this one. It's a fine mesh seive over a container. Cheese cloth lining a colander can also be used.Pour it in, let it sit for a few hours. The longer it sits, the thicker it'll get in the fridge. If it's kept cold, it won't get tarter.

*Ahh, now for my footnote. You can ignore it if you wish, but let me make this argument given that my in-laws are dairy farmers who sell their milk to large milk\cheese companies, and my neighbor`s job was to test milk at farms on a regular basis, I feel I can make this statement with decent knowledge.

Organic milk has to meet three criteria: one, no RBGH is used. Did you know that ALL cows make their own RBGH and adding to their bodies doesn`t change what is coming out in the milk. You`re getting more milk out of the same cow with the same levels of rBGH. And Dale Bauman, a professor of animal science at Cornell University states that IGF-1 (an insulin-like growth factor that people are worried about being in milk of rBGH fed cattle) is slightly higher in rBGHtreated cows, but people make IGF-1 on a daily basis, and we would have to drink 95 quarts of milk a day to get the same amount of IGF-1 that is found in just one human`s saliva. And given that I had to take extra hormones in order to breast feed, and it didn`t change my milk quality enough to hurt my baby (it actually helped) I would say it is no biggie. The second criterion for milk to be branded organic is no anti-biotics, but given that I have been there for testing of these cows, and dropped samples off to my neighbor`s lab from other large producing dairies, I know that one thing that is being tested for is antibiotics in the milk, and most farmers will not leave a cow on their production line who is sick enough to be taking antibiotics in such an amount that it would come through their milk. My father-in-law in specific takes that cow and milks her separately until she is better, and then puts her back in the line-up after her milk no longer tests for antibiotics. Many, if not most farmers do this. There might be a few that don`t. Keep in mind, my father-in-law cannot be branded organic because he EVER gave his cow antibiotics. In essence, if you ever treat a cow with a medicine to help the cow, that cow has to be sold to a non-organic farmer or killed. Did you organic buyers know that? Third, grazing time. Many people assume that because the cows on the organic farm have access to a pasture that that is what they are eating, but it is not the case. If you really want grass fed cows milk (which really is better for you, a whole other post, but it has to do with vitamins and a special type of fat that fights cancers) you should be looking for raw, grass-fed cows milk, not organic at the grocery store. As soon as my budget allows, that is what we hope to be drinking, given we can find a dairy farmer who will sell to us under the FDA radar.

Starting Our Experiment.

Here goes the first real experiment of the school year. Cress seeds in petri dishes, one in a dark cupboard, one in a window, both well watered. The hypothesis? Plants need light to grow. Will we be right? Do they need light, or just warmth? Guess we'll see!!

Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary!!

Wow. 8 years. And it has flown by. I suppose the old saying is true, "Time flies when you're having fun."

(distr)action action

After seeing several recent abuses of the concept of affirmative (distr)action, I've decided to join in. Please donate to my new fund, the scholarship for individuals who are vertically challenged*, left-handed**, married***, parents****, and members of a minority Christian denomination deemed non-Christian by major Protestant organizations, or VCLHMPMMC fund (prounounced vickal-himpmick).

* At least two standard deviations below the mean. Those who cannot define standard deviation need not apply. Those who can derive a closed-form expression for the univariate standard deviation of a normally distributed variable using the method of moments will be given special consideration.
** Must be able to demonstrate writing with the left hand and use of the computer mouse with both hands. The handedness requirement will be waived for applicants who can type in Dvorak.
*** Currently married, not divorced or separated
**** At least one child must be under the age of two at the time of application. This ensures that the implicit requirement of sleep deprived is met.

The VCLHMPMMC does not discriminate on the basis of anything else, because we have discriminated enough already. Unless you can describe the difference between differential item functioning (DIF) and measurement non-invariance (nMI), which are technical definitions of discrimination. In that case, we'll discriminate in your favor.

Sunday Afternoon Hike

After dinner tonight, we set out to hike a trail not far from our house, that winds with the river, but takes us deep into the trees. We found acorns, and snake grass, and many wild flowers. We also saw two mother deer with fawns that still had white spots. So beautiful. But nothing tops the innocence of my four year old...
Daddy: "Look! These spiders look like daddy-long legs, but they are more red than the ones at our house."
Chayce: "Oh...they must be MOMMY-long legs."

Life Stauts Update

I realized that it's been awhile since I wrote down what we are up to with our everyday selves, not just the fun events, although that is the best part...
Some highlights:

• Stephen proposed his doctoral dissertation in April, the PhD should be in the bag by 2010. Whew!
• Zachary has embarked on the journey of doing first grade at home. So far, so good...I'm breaking us in easy, this week, we've only done math, next week we'll add grammar, by the beginning of September, we'll actually be covering everything. He likes it, but I'm struggling with Payge since she wants to eat the math manipulatives. I think my solution lies in a box of toys that only come out when we're doing math, so she has a special (and new) thing to look at during that time. Chayce works along side us, and counted to 30 today!
• I'm still working at the farm, and I love it! I mentioned to Stephen that when we do have to move, that the new house will have to have room to have a BIG kitchen garden.
  
• Due to this schooling thing being brought to a close in the next year, I've realized that I will need to mend some walls (due to home improvement gone awry--crayon fiends as well) and do some good old-fashioned cleaning in areas that I usually don't worry too much about. If you know of anyone who is starting a degree program at Notre Dame next year, let them know we'll be selling our wonderful home (future post to come). Sob, sob, sob. Can't I take my house with me?
• Chayce loves dance. I should repeat that--Chayce ADORES dance, and begs to take ballet. We're considering it, but I'm still weighing some advice I got from a great friend who is a professional ballerina about not letting kids take actual lessons til age 8.
• We all (children included) are weeping and wailing that our friends the Monsons are really never coming back again because their house sold. We're also happy for them.
• Silver beach, on Lake Michigan is about 30 minutes from our house (unless you get lost, like I did...today, which is weird, since I've been about six times now...) so we go regularly.
• Payge is growing!! She is 17 months now, and we'll be heading off to take her to nursery at church very soon. Thank heaven! As it is, she bangs on the door to get in, and doesn't understand why her peers are going in, and she has to stay out. I think we'll do well at the transition.

Hmmm, I think that's all for now. Enjoy what's left of summer!

My first attempt!

At making dill pickles. I usually do not like home canned dill pickles, as they are mushy and gross. But, I found a recipe that does not require a hot water bath (but requires a boiling hot brine), which users gave 5 stars to. I've read many testimonials (on the good side) on this recipe, so I halved it, made four quarts, and will tell you how they taste in about 2 months...

Meet the Veggies

The link is to a comic that is sad, true, and funny all at once.

Meet the Veggies

Chayce's 4th Birthday

After all of our touring, we decided to end our Sunday night on a high note as Chayce's 4th birthday was on Monday. We headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagra Falls, NY, and ordered their largest appetizer platter (hint, if you ever want to feed a family of five, this will do it, really).


The kids colored while we waited for food.








































Chayce got a surprise as the waitresses wished her a happy birthday, and presented her with her own sundae, which the rest of us watched her eat.













Payge indulged in the blue icecream Chayce picked out to go with her cake.


































This is the three tiered cake, complete with gummi butterflies.













Happy Birthday Chayce!!!

Palmyra, NY

Photos taken in Kirtland, OH

I have a lot of photos I want to post from this trip, mainly to show family all the fun things we got to see. Enjoy!

Thinking on a Quiet, Sunny Morning

So, we’ve been on vacation, and when you are on vacation (or should I say, when I am on vacation) there is more time to think about things that do not pertain to running a household. A little more time to get philosophical, to think about one’s own political stance, as basic needs—such as food and a clean place to stay are taken care of by helpful waiters, cooks, and friends who have prepared a place for you. Of course, it made me begin to ponder the lives of our forefathers who founded our country, and the time they had to merely ponder our existence.

While in the midst of this pondering, and because I was in cities with some very liberal laws and beliefs (of which drive our good friends absolutely mad at times, since they are conservative in nature), I thought about a few incongruencies in the belief system in question. Now, since I’m posting this for ALL the world to see (although there are times I hope all the world does not read this blog), I am open to correction. All I ask is that before blasting me with bitter correction, if you are one of my dear friends who falls into this incongruent category, that you would take time to think about what I am saying, as I thought about it for a long time before I decided to write it down.

My thought is this: there are three issues which are defended quite violently that do not seem to…shall we say…jive. These are belief that there is no creator, or the belief in evolution by chance (I must add here that I do believe in evolution, but that I believe that it was set into motion by a supreme being because the things that occurred in the creation process are too perfect, too accurate, for it to have all happened by chance), which would mean that there is definitely survival of the fittest (as stated by Darwin, whom evolutionists tend to believe); the belief that it is OK to abort a perfectly healthy fetus, due to it being an inconvenient time or circumstance, and the belief that people of the same gender should be married.

Here is why I say this (and let me also before I start, remind some of you that I realize that you are in a same-sex couple, and I am still your friend. I do not claim to know how you feel, I am just stating that there are beliefs that are held side-by-side that just do not make sense to me.). It seems to me, that if you believe that life evolved, then it should STILL be evolving. That shouldn’t really change. Remember, your offspring will be better than you IF we allow for survival of the fittest.

Let’s compare the first two ideas: evolution and abortion. If a person decides to abort their child for non-medical reasons, say poverty, for example, then that person is not really allowing for survival of the fittest to take place. It is very possible that the child that would have been born would take that adversity, and turn it into a strength. While reading a book by Earl Nightingale, he made the point that many rich men of his time (Rockefeller, Nightingale himself, Ford), came from very poor backgrounds, but learned from poverty how to over come and turn their trials into wealth. That is evolution if I ever saw it, as they improved upon a very sore trial and came out ahead. Their counterparts did not. No one knew while these men (and many others) were in the womb that they would be great financial leaders of our nation. Might I name a few others? Lincoln. Washington. I could even go on with a personal story. My mother, being single, supporting her own mother when I was conceived. It was very inconvenient, but she did not make the decision FOR ME that my life would be worthless, and look where I am today. My husband’s parents, having a farm that has never really prospered (God bless their souls), still had six wonderful children who are now very successful, and took what they learned of hard work and scraping by to climb to the top. I say, do not underestimate the value of a life in this world.

The last idea, that it should be considered normal for two people of the same gender to marry, seems odd when paired with the idea of evolution. It is physically impossible to them to reproduce, so there wouldn’t be the survival of anything. While I realize that the wording of a law banning people who cannot reproduce would also effect those who are heterosexual but unable to have children (so therefore I do not condone it) I do think that if you truly believe that we are an evolving people you should give some thought to what it means to evolve. And it cannot happen if there is no reproduction occurring. I realize that science can aid in that, but realize that even if science helps a homosexual couple have children, there still has to be the introduction of an opposite gender to make it work. Also, all medial intervention aside, reproduction would not be happening. Now, if a person wishes to claim that all beings are to be able to love whatever gender, and there should be no natural laws governing what is considered right, then please, do not, in the next breath tell me there is no creator and that we evolved here by chance. Because if we have existed for millions of years, and we are evolving only for reasons of survival, homosexuality would not be tolerated as an acceptable way of life.
My thought process must end here, for although I could continue, there is a diaper to change and a toddler to chase. Her survival skills are kicking in, and she is letting me know (in no uncertain terms) that I am to be the one to help.