Finally! Something she will EAT!

Too funny!

I have been trying to get little J to eat food for months now. She has hated everything I have tried to feed her. Liquids, mashed, soft, melt-ables -you name it and she would gag when you put it in her mouth.
For her birthday she mashed her whole specially-made chocolate mocha cake but refused to eat a single bite!

Imagine my surprise when I see this ^...

I had placed her in the pack-n-play while I worked in the kitchen. In her hand I knew there was a small, bite-size piece of Hersheys chocolate that she was playing with. It was sealed and she was happy with it so I let her keep it.

She sat there playing quietly for a while. A loooong while. I was curious what was keeping so happy so went over to check on her. Yes, I did laugh -and am still laughing- at finding her covered in chocolate and still munching on the piece of chocolate! The wrapper pieces both sitting on the bottom of the pack-n-play and e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. in it covered in little chocolate hand prints! She was so happy and eating it so well I almost didnt take it from her.

Little J is definitely her Mamas girl... Chocolate is her first food and judging by the way she is now searching everywhere for the rest of it, its her favorite ones too!

I would be lying if I said I hadnt been a bit frustrated that she refused to eat any and all foods up until now.  There was a lingering 'wonder' in the back of my head if maybe there was a swallowing or tongue problem that we were going to have to deal with.  Needless to say... I no longer have such concerns (and do know they were silly to begin with)!

~sent via mobil posting~

Saturday snippits

The past 3 weeks we have been battling a slow-moving virus of some kind.  It was incredibly bizarre in its progression as with 4 out of the 6 of us affected, it started with 24 hours of vomiting and high fevers followed by 24 hours of 'nothing' before a nasty, croupy cough started -and stayed.  Oldest daughter was the first to get it more than 3 weeks ago and she just stopped coughing a day or so ago.  Daddy was the last to get it starting last weekend and it still battling the cough.  (Do I dare mention that I never did get sick with this one?)

(A note- This has served to confirm and reinforce two things in our opinion:  Homeopathy truly works. and High doses of Vitamin C will indeed speed healing and prevent an illness from getting really bad.)

Needless to say, since our 'rule' is that we dont go out among others when we are sick and possibly spreading germs to others, we have been cooped up for a while again!  You would think that in that time we would have accomplished a lot around the house but that has not been the case.  That means that today -the first day that everyone has all felt 'well' is a busy one -for us anyway.

Daddy and the oldest son are finishing the chicken plucker (butchering coming in about 3 weeks!) and moving the meat birds into their new pen -our garden.  That should take most of the day.

The middle three have rooms to clean and get back in order as well as the fresh air to enjoy and let heal them further.

I am catching up on ironing, mending and then getting a much-needed haircut!

Of course, it is the fall and it is Saturday so that means that there will be LOTS of football on the TV as a background to our whole afternoon and evening.   Go Tigers (Clemson of course)! Go Aggies (surprise!)!  Go Bama! and Go Gators (gasp)!  Yes, we are a varied family when it comes to our football teams.  :-)  We ALL love College Football season though.  A lot.

Tomorrow I believe that most of us will be at church!!  I was more than a little disappointed that this virus has hit our family during the Missions Conference at our church.  I was even more disappointed that even Dale was not well enough to attend the Allistair Begg message last night.  So being able to return to even our normal worship and fellowship times will be wonderful!

On My Table...

This end table just never stays cleaned off. It sits between the two living room chairs right next to 'my' chair.

On it are always the books and magazines I am currently reading. My Bible and Homeopathy book are always there these days. Every one of them has a 'place' they belong but they rarely stay there long.

Right now the Children and I are studying The Attributes Of God by Tozer. Deeeeeep and yet so simple -though it is taking a bit of my creativity to explain things on their level. I am so thankful for that though as in order for me to explain it, *I* must first understand it.

Vision Forum and Frontier Coop catalogs are there for a while now, too. I love browsing them and dreaming a bit!

Missing from the table -it was in Ashlyns hands- is our current read-a-loud 'Schools Out'. A fun read this one is -about a young Amish girl and her summer adventures (misadventures!). I think 'Teddys Button' will be next but that is on my Kindle.  (It just happens to be free on Amazon for Kindle and Kindle reading apps right now!)

Now to do some of that reading...

“There comes a time when you have to stand up and shout:

This is me...! I look the way I look, think the way I think, feel the way I feel, love the way I love! I am a whole complex package. Take me... or leave me. Accept me - or walk away! Do not try to make me feel like less of a person, just because I don't fit your idea of who I should be and don't try to change me to fit your mold...”

Copyright © 2000 Stacey Charter

Blog Title and Description

I am having a hard time deciding on a title for this blog and its description.  Anyone care to offer some ideas?   :-)

I would love a quote that talks about not fitting in a box for the description.  Hey, Carmen... got any that you think would fit?

Butterscotch and Baked Oatmeal Recipes

I posted this on my 'food' blog but decided to post it here as well.  My sister asked for it and I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded I had already written it out!  ;-)

A note on the 'Butterscotch Oatmeal' recipe: We have started playing with this basic recipe and LOVE it.  Our current favorite is to add an apple -peeled and diced into small pieces- with the oats the night before and then adding about 1 tsp of cinnamon to the final cooking the next morning.  Super yummy.  Then one time I added some canned pumpkin (about 1/4c) and some pumpkin pie spice (maybe 1/2tsp) to the leftovers and made a pumpkin pie flavored baked oatmeal!

They are both very versatile and very forgiving.  Oh, and even better, very healthy!

Butterscotch Oatmeal

Ingredients:

2 cups Oats -Old Fashioned, Rolled

4 cups Milk/Water (I prefer 2c whole milk and 2c water)

1/4 cup 'Acid' -lemon juice, raw vinegar, cultured buttermilk, kombucha, yogurt, or kefir

1/4 cup Natural Sweetener (raw cane sugar is our fav but honey or maple syrup is good too)

2 teas Molasses

2 Eggs

1 teas Vanilla

Directions:

The night before: Mix in med to large pot the oats, 2 cups of liquid (1c milk and 1c water), and the 'Acid'. Cover and leave on the counter to soak overnight -at least 8 hours.

In the morning: Add the remaining 2 cups liquid (1c milk and 1c water), sweetener and molasses. Stir well and heat over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Turn down to simmer and cook about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a heat-proof bowl. Temper the eggs (add a little of the hot oatmeal at a time and stir quickly until the eggs are as hot as the oatmeal) and then add to the pot -stirring quickly and well to prevent eggs clumping.

Remove from heat, add vanilla.

Yummy with nuts, fresh fruit and/or cream!

Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

Leftover Oatmeal

Eggs

Milk

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and pour into a buttered baking dish. Can be baked immediately or refrigerated and baked later.

Bake 350* for about 30 minutes -until center is set.

What I do:

Let the oatmeal cool and then add 1-2 eggs and just enough milk to make it slightly runny and creamy and mix well. Sometimes I add fresh or dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries, apples, peaches, etc). Sometimes I add a touch of cinnamon, allspice or other spice (I love the 5-spice Chinese blend). You can also add a touch of pumpkin puree instead of the milk for a yummy variation.

I love this recipe as it spreads out 2 cups of oats for two breakfasts for all of the children!

A note on the 'Acid'.

Oats (and all grains) are coated with an enzyme that inhibits our bodies from digesting them properly. This same enzyme/acid protects the seed/grain while it is waiting to be germinated. When you soak the oats/grain in an acid as I mentioned, it breaks down the enzyme/acid and allows our bodies to fully digest and benefit from all the nutrients in them. This is why grains were almost always fermented by our ancestors -not only does it preserve the grains but it makes them much more healthy! If you want to learn more, here is one article to get you started: http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/be-kind-to-your-grains

Todays open webpages

A friend did this a while ago and I thought it was neat to see the different things that she was reading through the day.  (I have to confess an ulterier motive though, I -or Dale-often close out the browser before I get a chance to read them.  Or the day simply slips away with no time to read them. This way maybe even I will get to finish them all!)

http://www.challies.com/articles/spying-out-the-land
(Hmm.  I know I waste a lot of time and am trying to be more diligent in the ways I spend my time.  Good reminder.)

http://articles.boston.com/2012-10-07/business/34294288_1_raw-milk-happy-cows-

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/08/morning-bell-we-cant-give-up-on-afghanistan/

http://bringbirthhome.com/attachment-parenting/attachment-parenting-rules/
(This one ^ is a good example of how I dont fit the mold.  I consider myself an 'Attachment Parenting' kinda gal.  There are many of these 'rules' that I do NOT agree with.  See, never try to put me in a box, I will usually find a way to not fit. :-)  )

http://www.albertmohler.com/2012/10/08/john-turner-interview/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlbertMohlerThinkingInPublic+%28AlbertMohler.com+%E2%80%93+Thinking+in+Public%29&utm_content=FaceBook
(Very interesting interview!  I am always fascinated to learn what people believe but even more so by WHY they believe what they believe.  Learned quite a bit I didnt know in this interview.)

http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/10/proposition-37-controversy-update-separating-the-wheat-from-the-chaff-new-organic-heroes-step-forward-no-longer-awol/
(Good article. Frustrating about the divide and lies -see the next link too.  Like the chart included here listing the companies that are truly organic/sustainable and those that just give lip service.  Yet again I am confused why people dont seem to care about where their food comes from and how it is produced.  How can anyone NOT want to know if their food source is GMO?)

http://www.naturalnews.com/037467_Whole_Foods_marketing_fraud_GMO.html
(Sad the way we have to even be careful of even 'Organic' producers now.)

http://www.countrysideorganics.com/home.php?cat=12
(Ordering chicken feed but the price keeps going up.  Need to see if there are people who want to split a pallet with us...?)

http://drtenpenny.com/vaccine-court-judgements-for-flu-shot-injuries/
(AMAZING the number of cases that have been won by those injured by vaccines.  I have seen several lists and this one is the most informative as it has lots of detail.  Needless to say, the courts almost always side with the vaccine-injured party.  Does that make anyone wonder about the vaccines...?)

Keeping The End Goal In Mind

Starting a Monday after a weekend with sick little ones and seeing this as my greeting to the kitchen is not my favorite thing.

I tend to be a bit on the neat-freak and germaphobe side. This kind of thing usually irritates me to the point of anger but this morning, I feel surprisingly fine with it. How can I expect my children to learn patience, understanding, and 'going with the flow' if they see me flip out over the littlest things?

So while I did feel my blood pressure rise when I saw this, I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes (ok so Im still working on it!) and turned around. Instead of being angry I chose to focus on the positive -that my days are flexible and changeable -even the busy Mondays.

Yet another attempt at blogging

I have had many (way too many!) blogs over the years.  In them I have always tried to stick to a single theme or topic but the thing is, I just dont fit any single model of any single theme or topic!  My interests (the focus of them anyway) and life is constantly changing.  

This time I am just going to let the whole blog go along with the ebb and flow of my life. 
Sometimes I will post a lot and others, not so frequently.  
Sometimes I will post about food, or my family, or health and nutrition, or pregnancy and childbirth, or homeschooling, or... well, you get the point.  

The point is, I like a lot of different things and am passionate about a lot of different things but I can not be described or understood my simply picking any one of them.  

This blog will be as much for my own personal journal and memory-recording as anything else.  I have found that if I dont write about it, I forget it way too quickly.  With 5 children, an amazing husband, and a blessed life, there is just too much I dont want to forget to trust my memory alone.  

So, if you want to learn about me, my thoughts and interest, come along for the ride.  Who knows where it will take us or what we will learn along the way!