It's good to be odd again

Yesterday I turned 33 - kind of weird seeing that in print. But, I love it. I would rather be an odd number than an even number any day. Don't ask why, just a weird quirk.

I think the age feels comfortable because I'm very happy with my life. I don't feel ackward as in school, flighty and giddy as in college, a new bride trying to figure out all that stuff, lost and confused in a church that just made me want to hide and cry, or like a new mom trying to have it all together.

I'm a wife and a mom - my little girl dream come true. I have a creative outlet through Etsy. Our church is starting to feel like "home". I have goals (besides making it through the next 2 months of pregnancy - have I mentioned lately that I'm not a fan of pregnancy, babies yes, pregnancy no) and I've seen some of them come to fruition.

Thanks for all the love I received from friends and family! I love you all!

Too conservative?

I just canceled my subscription to Cookie parenting magazine.

To me, the magazine was full of vanity. Yes it was mostly the fashion ads but there were so many and they were filled with such attitude, it was sad to me. I'm trying to raise our boys to be pure of heart and to look at women with respect. I've read (elsewhere) that even boys struggle with whether or not they measure up in terms of physical appearance.

Beyond the vanity were the articles. The one that comes to mind was an endorsement for women/moms to become involved in P*rn. (I don't think I can be googled but just in case, I'm not going to spell that out) Come on!! The article gave the impression that it was the norm and to be encouraged. I can't figure out how to express my anguish over the deciept that is poured into our lives.

So while part of me says I'm just being too conservative, the other part of me says I'm in a fight against the forces of . . . yes evil . . . in this world and if I error in parenting (which I will) I think I'd rather it be to be too conservative rather than too indulgent.

Geocaching

We did something so unbelievably cool! "Are you up for an adventure?" were the words of my friend JK, knowing that I've been a bit of a mess lately. Oh what the hey, sure! So after we (all of us plus her and her husband and youngest son - Agent H's good buddy who shall be referred to as Agent E) polished off most of the pizza we hit the road and went geocaching. I have no idea if I've even said that right cause I'm so unfamiliar with the lingo but it was a blast. They brought their GPS unit and the coordinates and off we went to go discover treasure hidden around a nearby lake. The kids brought back bouncy balls, PEZ dispensers, and toy police badges. We wondered down deer trails and were surrounded by raw, organic beauty.












Little E did a great job keeping up with us all. Most of the vegetation was at his eye level but he plunged ahead fearlessly. Time to go home and have some ice cream.

Garage Saleing 101

Have a very kind friend, give you all the left over boys clothes from her garage sale, pick you up a toddlers training bike for $1 and ride on train for a steal. No getting in and out of the car with tired cranky kids in tow or pouring over tables and tables of clothes. Later the boys surprise you with their enthusiasm over a fashion show. THANK YOU dear JK!

My Little Cubbie No More

Last Tuesday Agent H graduated from his first and only year as an AWANA cubbie. Of course it was the one night the entire year we forgot his vest. Later he told me he was so scared to be on stage to receive his bear award, but no one would have guessed it. He did such a good job on stage!

Swung to sleep

It was late afternoon and he'd been swinging for about 20 minutes - he just swung himself to sleep. His head kept lolling about trying to find someplace to rest and each time his head would jerk and loll he would instictively start pumping his legs to continue swinging. This post was from just under a year ago.

Spring is finally coming

Some pictures of us enjoying the spring that just doesn't want to come this year.

Train trip

A night away and all the trains he could shoot - my birthday gift to EH. I got a tip from one of EH's friends about this great place for train admirer's to visit. Agent H and Little E spent two full days with my parents so they also had a super special time too - thanks M&D! We wondered rail lines, lounged at crossings waiting for trains, chased trains in the car and parked to wait some more. We spent a lot of time just sitting together. Sometimes I sat in the car quilting, reading, and staying warm. The peace was nourishing.


More of EH's pictures are here.

Financial Peace Week #1

Last night EH and I watched our first online video session with Dave Ramsey. It was all about saving money. I really felt inspired that we can succeed in this. We've received lots of good financial advise by both of our parents so this really is not news to us. I think it's really about getting a plan, working together to make it happen, and holding each other accountable. I can't tell you the number of times EH and I have looked at each other and said "we should save for that" but somehow it didn't happen. Okay it's not that we don't save, we do. But our tax refund has frequently come to the rescue when the property taxes or home owner's insurance come due.

More to come as I hope to post somewhat weekly as a part of accountability.

Milk solution & the budget

We love our raw milk. It's thick and creamy and it's unspoiled by human intervention. It's also $3 for half a gallon and Little E can suck it down like a vacuum. This week I reduced our milk order and am going to start watering down our milk. This will lighten our grocery bill by $12 a month. If it goes well, I may reduce our order one more time for a total savings of $24 a month! While I could certainly get some slack by whole foods minded folks, I feel like this is our best option for now.

It seems all the basic recommendations that I read about in regards to cutting the budget just don't work for us -we've already done them. BUT, when it comes to the grocery bill, that is where I feel guilt. We eat probably about 80% organic, which does add up no matter how much I've read it's not supposed to or tried to convince myself it doesn't. I've gone into days of grocery remorse after reading a blog I frequent in which the writer spends $40 a week on groceries for her family of four. After confessing what I spend on groceries to a friend recently I wanted to eat my words and crawl into a dark hole somewhere. My one relief has been to hear Dave Ramsey state on his radio show that the average family spends $600 a month on groceries. Having learned my lesson I'm not going to say what I spend but I will say that it felt so very good to hear that average.

I would love to hear suggestions on how you slim down your budget. I should mention that I do sometimes make our own bread (as I feel I'm able), and beans are not an option as a member of our family gets seriously ill on them, and I'm involved in a whole foods buying club where I can purchase organic foods at a reduced price.

Oh, this is getting sooo long BUT - we've been on raw milk for a good three years now and I have had NO charley horses with this pregnancy! Huge for me as I usually wake up with them in the night while I'm pregnant! Maybe that means I'm getting really great calcium resource? Hopefully that doesn't change with the watering down. .

Experiment of the week

EH is very good at finding things on the net to watch with the boys. Just before bedtime I'll frequently find both boys piled on or around him watching some online informational program or other. Myth Busters and NASA related things frequently make the list. Apparently Robert Krampf has become a favorite of Agent H as the other day he surprised both EH and I by asking for him by name. This guy does a weekly science experiment that will put Agent H into giddy fits of giggles. Since EH has a natural interest for science/avionics/space etc. (which I severely lack) I'm thrilled that he can pass this on to the boys.

Note to self

Remember to wash off honey spout as Little E was found in a drunken sprawl sucking down the honey.

What I Won: 2

I also won (see below) The Dangerous Book for Boys from Frantically Simple! We've given this book away as a gift and I've thought I would love to own it as well. Agent H loves to study the naval flags and tell everyone about the naked pirate flag - ah yah, I'll just leave it at that then. . .

Heidi from Frantically Simple also mailed us some seed packets so we'll be planting a sunflower/hollyhock fort out back. It was fun to read Heidi's posts as we have a few things in common. For one thing, we both have fond memories of dirt hole forts. One summer my neighborhood buddies and I dug out a huge pit in a vacant lot. We carved shelves out of the walls and even scavenged old sheets of plywood to build a roof. It was cool down in the dirt and great place to lounge on hot summer days. EH has his own dirt hole fort memories - I think he even attempted a sleep over in it with his buddies.

Well thanks to Heidi for all the fun we're sure to have reading adventure stories and plotting dangerous activities!

What I Won: 1

Okay I know it's been awhile since the great Bloggy Giveaway has been done with but I never mentioned what I actually won, and I won some great stuff!

I was so very thrilled to win a copy of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover! from The Happy Housewife. EH picked up More Than Enough a few years back after hearing Dave on the radio and was really inspired by it. I polished off TMM in 4 days and now EH is reading it. Since finishing the book I've now checked out his revised Financial Peace University and workbook from the library and am learning even more about money management.

You would think that with my dad being a financial advisor and very wise in the area of finance some of it would have rubbed off. . . he has been a great resource over the years but I've got to say that it feels like I never "took ownership" of the information. So last night EH and I signed up to do Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University online class. Feel free to take pop-shots at us as we cut up our credit cards and attempt to pay cash for groceries and what not. It should be an adventure!

Thank you to The Happy Housewife for getting us started on this journey!

A day enjoyed!

True I had to forgo the luxury of a Mother's Day bath because I had nursery duty at church but the rest of today was grand.

EH and the boys took me out to Potbelly's for lunch (EH has teased that it's an appropriate place for a pregnant woman to go and Agent H now enjoys calling me Potbelly on occasion).

After lunch we hit the nature trails by our library (a lead from our neighbor-thanks!) and hiked till we found the perfect spot to share our chocolate chip cookies.

A round of naps for everyone and then I prepared fondue for dinner. A rare treat we really enjoy. I think Little E ate rice, Agent H ate pickles, I ate an abundance of mushrooms and chicken, and EH took care of the bison steak.

To top off the night I happened to hear the music of the Good Humor man up the street. Agent H has been saving his Valentine's Day money from Grandma for months for just this purpose, so he claimed a tweetie bird ice cream snack and even bought his brother a Dora ice cream.

Tonight the boys will spend their first night in their new bunk beds. EH and I worked like crazy to prepare the room for them this weekend but that's another story for another day - pictures to come. I hope everyone sleeps well.

Final Trimester is here!

We have entered the final stretch of the race and we're headed for the finish line! Our third trimester is now a reality!

I called our doula yesterday to she if she can join us at the finish line. Honestly I don't think EH will show up for the birth if she's not going to be there. We love her! I think she's half the reason why I've been able to endure natural childbirth twice and strive to do it again. After feeling like crap for 4 months, then the "dark/depressed" days that seem to be far too many for me during pregnancy, the birth is where I feel empowered, ready to get my body back and hold a dear baby skin to skin. I get all choked up just thinking about it - 3 more months seems too long.

Blueberry sauce

Waffles with homemade blueberry sauce! YUM! The boys and I couldn't get enough of this.

1 1/2 c blueberries
3 T honey
1/4 c orange juice
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Mix separately 1 T corn starch and 1/4 orange juice.
Stir into blueberry mixture and stir till thickened.

I think you can use Arrowroot as a substitute for corn starch (if you're trying to do GMO free food). I so rarely use corn starch I just haven't made the substitute yet.