Fun with Fire

The homeschooling honeymoon has worn off in our house. We started with enthusiastic interest for each new task and rapt attention to every topic I presented has faded into a mostly comfortable rhythm and routine where some days are better than others. The announcement of school time is met some days with resistance and requests for more time to play rather than a dash for the school room. We still have days where the girls can't wait to get started, but they are less frequent than when we began. I imagine this is normal whether your child is in public, private or home schooled. (And if it's not, I'm not sure I want you to tell me!) We push through the tough days and get our lessons accomplished, sometimes saving some work for the next day when minds and attitudes are refreshed. In the last week or so, boundaries have been tested, interest has been short, and truthfully, my patience has been thin. While I consider it a huge blessing to stay home with my kids and teach them, it is not always easy. I think we all needed a break and a reminder of some of those fun first days. We got just that yesterday. 

I had decided to take a break from our normal curriculum and do a couple of days on community helpers and safety. I gathered some books from the library and printed off some coloring pages, but other than that I wasn't quite sure what we were going to do. After the girls' gymnastics lessons, I decided to stop by our local fire station, and they were gracious enough to give us a personal tour. The girls had a blast looking at and climbing in the fire truck.



They were given junior firefighter hats and badges as well as coloring books and temporary tattoos. Cora, who is normally quite shy around adults and strangers, shocked me by asking several of her own questions. She was so interested in how the truck worked and what their job entailed.


 The girls were able to see the lights and our tour guide allowed Cora to sound the siren on the truck. When we had exhausted our questions and taken a few photos, it was time to go but neither of them were ready.

Once we got home, I made a huge bowl of popcorn (a favorite snack but something I usually save for after dinner or special movies) and we headed up to the school room. There we read some books on fire safety, including a cute narrative called No Dragons for Tea. The girls colored in the book from the fire station, worked on some early reading skills with a firefighter matching game (thank you Pinterest) and did some copy work with fire safety words.
 We did some role playing games where I set off the smoke detector and they pretended to crawl under the smoke to the door, check the doorknob for heat, stop, drop and roll when their clothes caught fire, and crawl outside then call 9-1-1. I'm pretty sure they would have done that repeatedly all day. 

When we were done inside, Cora "suited up" and we headed to the backyard where she took the hose and pretended to be a firefighter putting out our house fire. 

While we may not have accomplished as much work as we normally do, there was not one complaint or argument all day. The girls learned some important life skills, Cora came out of her shell asking her own questions to the firefighter, and most importantly we all had a lot of fun. It was exactly the "break" we all needed, and I am inspired to plan more fun days like this into our regular curriculum. 

Summer Pasta in the Fall

We all have those nights where we look in the fridge and pantry with a blank stare wondering what on earth to make for dinner. At times this can be stressful, but most days I love it because I get to be completely creative and come up with something new. Sometimes it's a big flop, but on nights like last night, it's a huge win. I often find the most random combination of ingredients can be amazing.

Summer Pasta
- 1 Cup diced butternut squash (my most recent obsession!)
- 1 Cup diced sweet potato
- 5 Cups raw mustard greens or spinach (OR 1 cup cooked)
- 3 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 in cubes
- 1 box pasta - I used a quinoa pasta, a great alternative for those who are gluten sensitive (like me)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3-5 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tsp of a really good Italian Seasoning plus a dash of coriander, chili pepper, paprika or whatever else strikes you
- Parmesan cheese to top (optional)

1. Toss butternut squash and sweet potato with 1 Tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until soft.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a pan then cook chicken, adding the Italian seasoning about halfway through.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions on the box.
4. Drain pasta and add the chicken.
5. In the same pan you cooked the chicken, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and garlic. After a couple of minutes, add your greens to cook them down.
6. Combine all ingredients and toss, adding extra olive oil as needed to moisten. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Fresh Baked Bread

It all started with an offer from my dear (no, really - she's wonderful!) mother-in-law for a hand me down bread machine. At the time, I was 8.5 months pregnant with Eden, chasing two year old Cora and could barely muster the energy to brush my teeth, much less produce a loaf of bread fit for The Little House on the Prairie. I politely declined. Fast forward about a year, and Austin and I start to really dig into what is in our food, who put it there (Monsanto anyone?), and how to best equip our bodies nutritionally for lifelong health. If you take a look at the back of a store bought loaf of bread, the list of ingredients will run long with some that are completely unpronounceable. Food Babe has a great article breaking down some of these ingredients found in popular commercial bread options. After seeing what was really hiding in our bread box, I was finally ready to give that bread machine a try. Two years later, I am still making 100% of the bread our family consumes and I've never looked back. Our journey ultimately brought us to start a large organic garden where we grow the majority of our produce, and raise free range organic chickens along with two Nigerian Dwarf goats who we would like to milk one day.

I'm now on my second hand me down bread machine and what I love about it, is it is so incredibly EASY. Really, it is. My favorite recipe takes me about 7 minutes (with a 5 year old "helper") to prep and get into the bread machine which works tirelessly for the next 3-4 hours to bake up the most delicious, fluffy and nutritious bread you will ever taste. All the ingredients are easily found in your local grocery store, and baking your own bread is also much CHEAPER than store bought. For an artisan style sandwich bread, you'll be shelling out about $4/loaf at the grocery store. I can make one at home for around $1.25, and it's completely chemical and preservative free. And really, you can't beat a kitchen that smells like a bakery for the rest of the day.

Here is my favorite basic sandwich bread recipe. Note that all bread machines are a little different and you may have to experiment a little bit until you get the perfect ratio of wet/dry ingredients.

1/3 cup honey (Or I use a sugar alternative - sucanat cut with honey)
1 1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil (go with coconut - you won't regret it)
3 tbsp dry milk
3 3/4 Cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp Gluten
2 tbsp ground flax seed (or whole flax seed for an awesome crunchy texture. Just know the whole seed won't be absorbed by your digestive system and you'll be missing the nutritional benefits)
2 tsp yeast

If you're not sure you can stick with it and therefore don't want to spring for a new bread maker, I would encourage you to send out a plea on Facebook to borrow one. You may be surprised to find a grandmother, aunt, friend or neighbor has one they're not using anymore and willing to lend out. I've also seen some bread makers in amazing shape for super cheap at Goodwill and similar thrift stores. Once you fall in love with making your own bread, consider also grinding your own fresh flour. (Don't look at me like that.) I'll have more on grinding your own flour later. For now, give baking your own bread a try. It really doesn't take that long, and is totally worth the time invested when you slice into that first warm fluffy loaf.

The Dirty on Natural Cleaning

A couple of years ago when we started our journey into a healthier lifestyle, one of the first areas I tackled was our cleaning products. I was never comfortable with bleach and other harsh chemical cleaners, and hated that I felt like I couldn't even clean or use them around my kids. One look at the ingredients and warnings on the back was enough to tell me that it wasn't a great option for us to be touching or inhaling. Once I watched the documentary Chemerical, I was ready to ditch the harsh cleaning products in favor of something more natural. Here is a rundown of my cleaning arsenal.

BAKING SODA:  I love this stuff. It's an excellent scouring agent, and I use it primarily in the kitchen and the bathroom. It's great in sinks, tubs, showers and toilets. It absorbs odor like no other and can be used for everything from whitening laundry to cleaning up spills on carpets and mattresses.

WHITE VINEGAR: This is my All-Purpose cleaner. It cleans just about anything. I use a 50/50 vinegar and water solution in a spray bottle to clean counter tops, windows, and just about all surfaces. It is extremely cheap and a great alternative to conventional All Purpose Cleaners.

TEA TREE OIL: This can be found online or at your local natural health store.Tea Tree Oil is a powerful, naturally derived antibacterial and antiseptic. I add 3-4 drops (it's a highly concentrated solution and is very powerful so start small.) to the toilet bowl with a little bit of baking soda and a few sprays of the vinegar solution. You can also make an antiseptic spray for killing bacteria and viruses with a mixture of 16 oz of water, 30-50 drops of tea tree oil and 3 tbsp of castile soap.

CASTILE SOAP: This works as a surfactant and is excellent at lifting away dirt and cutting grease. It is made from 100% pure olive oil, water and lye. Manufactures sometimes add essential oils for scent. A couple of years ago I was working with food dye for a birthday cake and ended up with bright pink hands. I tried washing with various types of soaps and scrub brushes with no luck. Enter Castile soap and it was gone in one washing. This is my powerhouse cleaner for tough stains and a little bit goes a long way. For mopping floors, I fill a bucket with water, a splash of white vinegar and about a teaspoon of Castile soap for squeaky clean, shiny hardwoods, tile and vinyl. You could also add a few drops of Tea Tree Oil for the antibacterial qualities.

MRS. MYERS COUNTER TOP SPRAY: This is my little commercial indulgence. :) It makes my granite counter tops shine like no other and the scents are so yummy - Basil, Lavender, Lemongrass, Honeysuckle, Pine, need I go on?

I would encourage you to take a look at your cleaning supplies and really study the ingredients. You may be surprised to find how many toxic, carcinogenic additives are in each bottle. I can clean my entire house with the first four ingredients above. It is much cheaper and safer than what you can find in the store and only takes a few extra minutes to mix up your own spray bottles.

Building a Legacy

Last night I had the privilege of attending a Celebration of Life for an inspirational woman in our church. She was a woman of deep faith, and her love for Christ radiated in everything she did. As each of her children and her husband stood before friends and family and gave heartfelt testimony to the incredible impact she made on their lives and the lives around her, I couldn't help but think about what legacy I will leave behind.

You see, we all have a legacy that will impact our family, friends and community long after we are gone. It's greater than a life insurance plan, an heirloom piece of furniture or the random collection of useless items in our junk drawer. (Don't judge - I know you have one too!) For some people, the legacy left by their parents and grandparents is a painful one. It's full of regrets, hurt and memories they wish to forget. For others, like this dear family who is grieving the loss of their matriarch, it's full of hope, faith and inspiration.

The family didn't speak about how clean she kept her house or all the things she accomplished in her career. They didn't reminisce over how she always had it all together, and lived a perfect, rosy life. The overwhelming sentiment was how well she LOVED. Her selflessness, her genuine care for each person in her family, her ability to make each person she met feel special, and her constant joy made a deep impact on those who knew her best. She took the time to really know and love each person individually. Although I didn't know her well personally, anyone who knows her family can see the beautiful legacy of love, faith and joy that she and her husband have woven into the lives of their children and grandchildren.

Legacy isn't created in a day. It's something that you build into each day through the big and the small moments of life. What do I want to leave behind for those I love? A deep, unwavering faith in God that is woven into every part of my life. I want to be remembered for loving well. I want to be remembered for loving my husband unconditionally, for serving others, for treating my children like gifts and not an inconvenience, for being full of peace, for encouraging friends and strangers alike, for always being up for an adventure, and for trying to keep the right perspective through the ups and downs of life. The Lord has a lot of work to do in me to make this a reality, but I pray that whenever the end of my life arrives, those dear to my heart can stand up and know without a doubt that I loved each of them deeply for exactly who they are. What will your legacy be?

White Chicken Chili

It's finally fall and when the boots, pumpkins and scarves come out, so does the Crockpot! I've already made my absolute favorite fall/winter Crockpot dish twice. It's quick, easy and doesn't have a long list of ingredients. It's perfectly paired with fresh baked bread, and the leftovers are delicious over tortilla chips as nachos.



Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 32 oz. carton of chicken broth
- 1 jar of your favorite salsa (GOOD salsa. Don't skimp here.)
- 5 cans of great northern beans
- 2 cups of shredded cheese

1. Place chicken breast, broth and salsa in the Crockpot and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

2. Use a fork to shred the chicken breast in the pot.

3. Add the beans and cook for another 3-4 hours. 

4. About 30 minutes prior to serving, add cheddar cheese and stir. Leave it in the Crockpot until all the cheese is melted. Enjoy! 

Fall Planting

Our summer crops are winding down and the garden always looks a little sad at this time of year. We are starting to transition into our fall crops. A couple of weeks ago, we got an absolutely beautiful Saturday morning, so we took advantage of the cooler weather to put the red and white cabbage plants into the ground. With most fall crop varieties, it is recommended to start them indoors 12 weeks before the first frost. For the southeast this is typically around the beginning of July. Last year we started all of our broccoli, kale, and cabbage indoors. This year we are going to experiment with direct seeding a few plants to compare.

Austin has put a tremendous amount of time into researching, planning for and cultivating our 2000 square foot organic garden. There is so much strategy that goes into crop rotation, soil composition, timing of planting and harvesting, and disease management. One area we wish hope improve on is succession planting, making sure we have a steady continued harvest. This year we will have 3-4 different rounds of plants started indoors and will set out later in the season. We grow everything in our garden from seed and either direct seed it or start it in our basement under fluorescent lighting. Using an organic potting mix for seedlings has greatly improved our germination rate and soil water retention vs. a general garden soil mix. Although a good potting mix will cover most of the nutrition for seedlings, it is also a good idea to feed them every 1-2 weeks with a good liquid fertilizer like kelp, fish emulsion, or a compost tea. Austin has gained a wealth of knowledge over the past couple of years and has put a ton of hard work into our food production. Here is a great resource he has used for starting seeds. I have mostly helped with harvesting, cooking and preserving the veggies, but this fall I am starting to step into helping him with some of the other responsibilities.


After we planted the cabbage yesterday, I helped him transfer some of our broccoli, Brussels sprout and kale seedlings into larger containers to allow them a little more time to grow under the fluorescent lights before they are ready for planting. Some of them had multiple seedlings in one container and had to be gently split without destroying the root balls. Fortunately plants in this the Brassica family respond well to root disturbance unlike crops in the squash/cucumber family. When transplanting them to their final resting place in the ground, we make sure to do it on a cool (preferably cloudy) day, either later in the evening or early morning. As far as depth goes it's a good idea to plant them up to the first set of "true" leaves. Since Brassica plants are heavy feeders we always mix in some rich compost into the planting bed and also roughly a 1/4 cup of dried poultry manure mixed into each planting hole.

These plants will stay under the fluorescent lights for another 3 weeks before making their way outdoors. Since these are cool weather crops, they have a difficult time adjusting to the remainder of summer's heat at season end. We have had good luck transitioning them outside for their last 3 weeks before going into the ground by leaving them in a shady area for 1-2 weeks and then slowly introducing them to the sun's rays (cloudy days are a good way to ease the transition). Don't panic if you left them out longer than you meant to and you come home to what looks like a tray of dead, wilted plants. Take them back to the safety of shade and give them a real good watering. Most likely they will perk back up over night (although "sun shock" like this can slow their overall growth down).

This year, our fall crops will include: 

- Green Beans

- One last planting of Snap Peas

- Red Cabbage

- White Cabbage

- Sweet Potatoes

- Kale

- Mustard Greens

- Broccoli

- Cauliflower

- Brussels Sprouts

- Swiss Chard

- Beets