Ordering with buying clubs

What do you know, here's a little something crunchy for a change.

I am involved in four buying clubs. This may be dropping down to three soon because well, just because . . . something has to go.

The one I've been with for the longest is Azure Standard. A group of friends and I order from them once a month. This is where I buy a lot of organic grocery type items (ie: peanut butter, ketchup, pasta, snacks, 50 pound bags of rolled oats and wheat berries, etc). It depends on what you buy but for the most part their prices beat what I can get at my local co-op.

Then comes Frontier. I buy most of our vitamins and toiletries here (ie: Yummi Bears, deoderant, shampoo, Maggie's Organic, Yummy Earth lollipops). The prices are amazing! This is what my table looks like after I've opened all the boxes. It's so much fun to see all the products that other's order and recommend.

Next is our milk club. Since raw milk farmers are so harrassed I won't be giving out the name of our farm but I'll just say that I'm so grateful to this farm. They have had such a hard time of it and yet they still work hard to provide us with what they/we believe to be a healthy product. I won't go into the praises of raw milk here but if you'd like to you can read more about it at realmilk.com or at the Weston A. Price website. For the record we've been drinking it for about five years now without any problems and my dad has some good stories about growing up with it.

The final club (the one I'll probably be dropping out of . . . again) is the produce club. It's like going to an indoor farmer's market with all the fresh, organic produce. It's a wonderful resource but since I can get apples from Azure, carrots, romaine, and spinach from Costco during the winter months I'll probably be simplifying.

We're always open to new members with Azure and Frontier so if you'd like to order with us get in touch with me.

Gift giving crunchy style

Recently a friend gifted me with a stack of reusable cloth gift bags. I must admit that I have already put some to use around the house, and a few will be saved for Shortcake. I just know they will come in handy for carrying little dollies, animal friends, and other girly treasures.

The friend who gifted them to me has moved to New York. . . . New York. So very far away. A dream come true for her and her husband as they live off the land in their early retirement. They are wealthy in their knowledge of all things green and earthy . . . all things wonderfully crunchy. I'm happy for them . . . really. I'm just also sorry to have her so far away.

My happy birthday

I love the gifts EH gave me for my birthday this year. Okay yet again I had them listed on my Kaboodle but I'm tell'n ya' you can't go wrong that way. :)

My apron! I felt a little funny in it at first because I don't think I actually know anyone who wears these anymore. The General brings it to me whenever I'm in the kitchen and that has helped me get used to it (he likes to put things in the pocket and to point to the bow in back). Honestly now I could spend all day in it. I feel so industrious in it. It's well made and I love the fabric. I found it on Etsy at Terrace Hill. (Right so that's not me in the picture just a very cute shop model)

New potholders. Lovely even if they don't actually protect me from the heat of hot pans. I found them on Etsy at Tootsytwo.

And as for my birthday . . . well I'm now officially closer to 40 than 30. Babies must make you feel young because I sure don't feel THAT old.

Summer Sewing Project #1

Another sewing project born out of need. For all those books, toys (and yes the nuk that we haven't kicked yet) that fall between the wall and The General's little toddler bed I've sewn a long, narrow pillow (a bolster?) to stuff in the gap. Now no more digging out from behind the bed. Another bonus that I've found is that it wedges his blankets in tight so he comes uncovered less frequently in the night. If a kid sleeps better at night, momma sleeps better at 

night.

 

P.S. I knew that left over fabric cut off from Agent H's bed spread would come in handy someday. And the stuffing - recycled from old stuffed animals.

French Bread

Some time ago my husband bought me a long loaf pan for making french breads (I want to insert here now much I love Kaboodle - every member of our family has a wish list on there and it has made gift buying so easy!)

So here are the delicious results of my first attempt. I used half freshly ground whole wheat and half store-bought white flour. I doubled the batch so I could freeze some and pull it out throughout the month. Can I say how nice it is to be able to pull out home-baked goods from the freezer to add to meal times? It's been too long since I've felt like I could take on baking our breads again. I'm not saying I'll be doing this every week but it was a nice change from the store-bought variety.

French Bread

1 c plus 2 Tbsp water

2 tsp butter, softened

3 1/4 c flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast (or 2 3/4 tsp)

In your Kitchenaid bowl (I use my Bosch), dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the butter, sugar and salt and let sit for a few minutes. Add in the flour and mix/knead for about 5 minutes using your dough hook. Cover, and let rise until double. Then I remove the dough from the bowl and place into a greased bread pan or shape into little baguettes. Cover and let rise until double again.

Then bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Eating a rainbow

We're attempting to pack in a few more fruits and veggies into our diet. I know I tend to get in a rut and I just buy the same old, same old. So I did an online search and came up with this great chart. I laminated it, put it on the fridge, and the kids get to put their initial on it everytime they eat an appropriate item. For Agent E's sake I'm going to let him include dried fruit but I'm also hoping it will inspire him to try something new. We shall see . . .

Oh and while we're at it we're going to see if we can have some fun with these file folder games: Fruit or Vegetable and Medley Matchup.

Baby wipes

Here's a peak inside my night stand. It's filled with these amazing baby wipes that my mom made for me (okay yes there are some Seventh Generation in there too). She cut up an old sooooft chenille robe and backed them with the softest flannel. I'm telling you these things wipe up a baby's hinny lickety-split and in comfy-style. I just run them under some warm water and wipe. If you love them at first sight as I did but don't have the time (or grandma) to sew them up. Get them here and support this wonderful family of missionaries. It's where I discovered them.

Preparing for baby

We're sitting at week 37 and hoping for a post Christmas baby. Our doctor and doula are both either out of town or hosting a huge Christmas crowd and unavailable. If history has anything to say about it we'll probably be waiting for another couple of weeks. Babies seem to have their own way about things though. I keep telling myself that we'll have this baby when it's God's time and whenever that is it will be just right. Now for that to sink in. . .

The note of what to do and who to call "when the time comes" is taped up on the wall by the door.

Hospital bags are packed.

The big brother's sleep-over bags are packed.

The middle-of-the-night babysitter has been prepped.

Baby clothes and blankets are washed up.

Papa fixed the bassinet and it's moved into place.

The boys have been busy planning/making presents for the baby.

My head has been spinning on the logistics of where to have everyone sleep once the baby moves out of our room, how to arrange nap time locations, what van to get since 4 kids don't fit in the back of a small Saturn, and all the other millions of details that go along with a major family change. Again I see the need to just trust God that all these little details will work themselves out. That old song "Trust and obey, for there's no other way" is running through my mind.











New diapers for this little one! So exciting!! They are made of bamboo (a renewable/anti-bacterial material). I also ordered some new prefolds and some snappies to use instead of pins. We practiced putting a prefold with the snappie on a doll today. The General picked up the doll and said "HUG!". He is so tender towards babies! It will be such fun to see him be a big brother, he's always patting my tummy and saying "baby".












Agent E drew out a stuffed animal. I stitched over his drawing and then we sewed and stuffed it into a special "softie" puppy for baby. Agent H is hoping to have a special pillow sewn up in time.

Rocket Pops

These rocket pop molds have been on my wish list for a couple of years. I took the plunge and added them to my curriculum order on Amazon. Good ol' Amazon. I had some left over spinach smoothie so in the molds it went. The boys were very happy with the results. LBabe got a smaller ring pop version. That way his won't always end up in the dirt or melted. Happy kids. Happy mamma!

A Reusable snack bag

I received these reusable lunch bags for Christmas. I love using them! They are beautiful and functional. Always a good combination. We have used them for EH's lunches, snacks for the kids, and honestly I could very easily see them traveling from the food world into the home organization world that I love so dearly.

From Plum Creek Mercantile

Some day I plan to increase our stock by sewing some and once I can make them look good I'll send some to EH's sis who introduced them to me in the first place. Thank you!

Sleep tight crunchy style

It's gonna be a crunchy post today. Life is full of humorus kid happenings and homeschool but we still have some wholesome crunchy goodness going on behind the scenes.

As we tuck the little ones in for bed at night, 5 out of 7 of the nights you can be sure you will hear the infamous words "my leg hurts", "my throat hurts", "my tummy hurts", or I have bugs in my leg" (yes you read that right and no we don't have flees, last I checked).

My cure for a leg ache & buggy legs (AKA: dry/itchy skin): Massage said limb with yummy coconut lotion and prop up on stuffed animal.

My cure for hurting throat: It used to be a Ricola throat drop but felt uneasy about putting a kid to bed with something they could choke on SO I was pleased when I discovered Super Kids Throat Spray by Herbs for Kids. It's peppermint flavored throat relief and does the job nicely.

My cure for upset tummy: Minty Ginger by Herbs for Kids. Squeeze a dropper of this tonic into mouth and let the ginger do it's trick.

A little backrub, maybe a small sip of water, a whispered prayer and hopefully they will stay put till the sand man comes. Of course everyone has their own tricks, these are just what happen to work for us.

Sunflower fort

I loved the idea of growing a sunflower fort for the boys to hang out it. (Daring Book for Girls) Well, we tried but our sunflowers didn't do very well. I think we just really lack a good sunny spot for them to thrive. I do intend to try, try again. Next time I would like to plant hollyhocks around the base of the sunflowers to help fill in a bit. As you can see we did get a few beauties.

Summer's work

This year was a fresh new start to gardening. I moved our garden from the back of the house (just not enough sun) to the front yard where I can eek out about 7 hours of sun in one little 6x6 spot. Some cement blocks donated from my parents, landscape material, and about a 'zillion pounds of peat moss and manure and we had our first raised garden. I purchased my seedlings from a friend who is starting a planting, etc business. She uses heirloom/organic seeds and cares for them the way I would (that is if I didn't have a wanna-be green thumb that's mostly black)

The yield was tremendous! I dehydrated tomatoes off and on for weeks and the rest my mom canned for me.

I guess this was a pretty common picture for the summer. I have been working to beautify the entrance to our driveway for a few years. It's taken many years but I think I'm finally starting to like it. My dear secret sister from co-op gifted me transplants from her garden for my birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing them fill in over the next few years. What an amazing gift!

Norwex

Hey I'm actually following up on a post I said I'd write about later!

The cleaning products I used for spring cleaning are Norwex products. After a few months with them I still think they are awesome. Essentially they are microfiber cloths that you get wet with water and they will disinfect whatever you wipe with them. These are not the same ones that you find at Menards or Walmart. These have silver imbedded in them (not just coated, if that) and the silver is the key element that disinfects from all the yuckies!

Some of my favorites from their product line have got to be:

Spirinetts - One of the cheapest things in their catalog but they do an amazing job on soap scum in my bathtub and on burnt on rice in my pots (opps, ah opps, and oops again. I think I should look into getting a rice cooker)!

Kitchen cloth - I don't use these on my dishes but to disinfect my counters and the high chair tray. Think wiping up a raw egg spill or that left over "gooo" where the baby ate.

The microfiber cloth itself - wet with water and wipe down the doornobs and light switches, all the common touch spots when there are cold germs lurking. (I clean the bathroom with this too!)

The mop - hands down the best dry/wet mop ever. It sweeps up my crumbs, then I switch to the wet mop pad (I just run it under water) and wash the floors.

No buckets, no squeegies, no chemicals. Easy and fast! So many more products I like but I won't go into them now. I hosted a party and was amazed how much of their products I got for free. I didn't spend a dime other than on some treats to share and I received so much! After seeing the product at my party a friend of mine signed up to demonstrate it. If you're looking for more info I'd be happy to get you in contact with her. Here is her blog Green Choice Cleaning.

Hand Wash, Car Wash

In an effort to defeat the onslaught of cold and flu germs we invented the one, the only, HAND WASH CAR WASH! There is a member of our family (pictured) who is tired of washing his hands. Yes those would be socks dangling from his head . . . he does a wonderful puppy impression.

Operation instructions: insert one hand into each end of the car wash (box), the cleaner (Burt's Bees hand sanitizer) is sprayed in through one of the "windows" and the washee rubs and scrubs. Sparkling clean or at least . . . cleaner and there were no tears to be had.

The great giveaway is back

Feel like trying to win some stuff? Head on over to the Great Bloggy Giveaway where there are just about a thousand nice bloggers lining up to give you the chance to win cool stuff. In the past I have won some great stuff from this contest. Sometimes I just find great leads to things.

In last Spring's contest I found out about a great CD by Phil Joel called Deliberate Kids. The lyrics are scripture based or just sweet and placed to a grooving, very enjoyable beat! I ended up buying it on iTunes!

This time around I discovered that Natural Value makes plastic kitchen freezer bags made without PVC and plasticizer. While plastic bags may not be very "green", they are really useful for freezer cooking and baking.

My fingers are crossed to win a DYMO label maker, this teething necklace by Smart Mom and a nursing cover.

Strawberry picking

Cool breezes, quiet conversations among pickers, the warmth of the sun pressing against our backs and the sweetness of fresh strawberries.That was yesterday morning. My mom and I went strawberry picking at a local farm. I did some research on the farm and their website says they try to practice "green" farming and are moving in that direction more and more every year. Since strawberries are considered to be one of the crops most highly treated with pestisides, organic berries are very important to me. My freezer is now packed with strawberries ready for making our favorite smoothies. This afternoon I'm going to try preparing some freezer jam. I found a type of pectin, Pomona's Universal Pectin, that doesn't call for the huge amounts of sugar normally required, actually it said I could use honey so I'll try that. Don't you dare try using Splenda or I'll personally come and knock you upside the head! The why not is here.

The blueberries and raspberries are supposed to be ready in another week or so . . . if I still feel like moving (which isn't very often with 4 weeks to go till the babe's due) I hope to go load up on those too.

Bug Defense

Our backyard is mosquito infested. I'm not a big fan of bug spray cause once the kids are done outside and come inside I feel like they need a bath so they don't rub it off all over the inside of the house. However for those times when the swing set calls, we've found a great bug spray that actually works and it doesn't contain any DEET. The adult version has some parabens in it but the kids version doesn't. It's this Herbal Armor by All Terrain.

We're going to try out some non-toxic bug spray for the yard in hopes that that will help reduce the mosquito population (it smells very strongly of garlic!). I'll let you know how that goes. One other option that we've seriously considered and that we will probably follow through on is a bat house. Just saying that makes my skin want to crawl but EH insists that they are harmless and they could really help cut down the bug population. Since I really want us to be able to enjoy our backyard I'm willing to give it a shot.

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!

Why we've chosen not to

Next week will be little E's 1 year well-baby check. Our old pediatrician (who was used to our ways) has moved so now we've got to break in a new doctor and set of nurses with our choices in child health care. So since it's always a good idea to remember why you're doing things the way you are, the other night I decided to refresh myself on the reasons why we've chosen not to vaccinate our kids. I was again reminded of the reasons why I strongly oppose most vaccinations.

(Please note that I of course understand that this is a personal decision for each family - I have family and friends who have chosen both routes and I respect both. I also think I'm right, and I'd better otherwise I have no business doing what I'm doing.

* My first objection is to the amount of vaccines that are given to tiny infants: "Before reaching the age of two, he or she will have received 32 vaccinations . . . seven vaccines injected into a 13-pound, two-month old infant are equivalent to 70 doses in a 130 pound adult." It is said that a child can safely receive the recommended amount of vaccines; however they have not proven that it is safe for an infant.

* The CDC has not done any studies regarding the long-term side effects of vaccines - the only studies that have been done have been over the course of three to four weeks. Not exactly long-term.

* Some shots (I don't know which ones) contain aborted fetuses

* Mercury is used as a preservative in vaccines (mercury is being or has been linked to the increase in Alzheimer's and a slew of other immune system disorders). Aren't we all trying to stay away from fish that has high mercury levels?

* I think that the folks who research whether or not a vaccine is safe own stock in what they are testing and are therefore ready to approve poison (if they think they can get away with it) - I've read about legitimate circumstances where this is true (plus I think I'm a closet conspiracy theorist!)

What's more, why has there been an insane increase in the amount of neurological and immune system disorders in our nation's children? Why does one in every 68 American families have an autistic child (I know of four families with an autistic child). Other issues rarely seen prior to mandatory vaccination schedules: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and bowel disorders.

I will admit that vaccines may not be the one and only link to the above mentioned problems. I also think that many of the toxins in our medicine cabinets (acetaminophen, etc), preservatives and chemicals in our skin products, and the preservatives, pasteurization, pesticides, etc. that's in or been done to our food, and lack of sleep are contributing factors. When all these factors are pumped into our bodies - it's no wonder why we have weak immune systems and are so sick.

Did you know that doctors are actually the leading cause of death . . . the death rate goes down when doctors go on strike. In all fairness, I trust my doctors to have the best interest of my kids at heart, I just don't trust what they trust - their training and research sources.

By the way, did you know that the CDC has admitted that the flu vaccine doesn't actually work.

Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. Much of this information came from What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave with Deborah Mitchell and an article from the Mercola website (mercola.com) written by Donald W. Miller, Jr.