Becoming Crunchier...

DId you know that store-bought toothpaste with FLouride is chock full of neurotoxins?? Yep, it is! Did you know that several of the food colorings you can get at your grocery store have been banned in other countries? Yupper.

Well, we're finding this out too. Along with these important tidbits of info we're also finding out that nitrates, dyes, "flavorings", etc can be responsible for odd behaviors in children and adults!! So we're going the Feindgold way. Do I have the book yet? Not in my fingers as yet, but wokring on that. We are going through everything and gradually cleaning out our kitchen. Gradual for me anyway... which is pretty fast for others.

As of today we have 3 flavors of homemade toothpaste. Kid tested and approved. We've chucked the food colorings. I'm currently cleaning out my cabinets and ridding the house of MSG. DO you know how bad that is?? Look it up, aweful stuff.

It'll take a month or MORE, but we'll get it. And I'll post here any behavior improvements. Our 7 yr old DS, 4 yr old DD, and 13 yr old DS could use all the help they can get. 13 yr old DS has Aspergers which improves everytime we do this sort of thing. 7 yr old DS has RAD and developmental delays, and emotional issues. And little Miss L1 is just hyper and craving yogurt, cheese, and sugar all the time... I just KNOW something's not right there. The others, if they are having challenges, they are too subtle for me to detect, and I'll post any changes I observe.

DId you know that COconut oil cures THrush on mommy's nipples? ANd in the diaper areas too? Crunchy. Crunchy. More and more home remedies with results that surpass those found when using scripts given by the doctor. YAY! Love my midwife friend with her herbal remedy store. Fab!! Just FAB!

We've got lettuce, maters, peppers, and corn coming up in the garden. YAY! One day, when things don't die so predictably for me, I'll want a larger garden. But getting more and more crunchy as the months pass.

Long time - no post...

And not much time now. Two things I wanted to post:

1- If you have a milk goat AND a baby. Get a Maya Wrap!! Carry baby while milking to goat!! YAY!

2- We're leaving for Nauvoo in the morning. Gonna enjoy Pioneer Days and a Temple Visit for the 4 yr old's bday! She's soooo excited!


Thank you to our friends for lending us you house!!!

One day when I have a little more tie, I'll post more about the happenings on our homestead. Keep up the food storage and emergency prep! We'll be back soon :)

Sewing...

A moment away from emergency prep...

When we moved out here I had NO IDEA how to sew... now I make coats, dresses, pants, et cetera. Nothing fancy mind you. Just cute and practical... a lot of it Home on the Prairie - ish.

Recently, through a friend I found an super cute pattern on Etsy. Yup, I'm a copy cta, my friend made it first. My friend is also much more clever regarding colors and such. *wink* But I wanted to show off my next sewing project...created by dearmykids - dmkeasywear (is what you look for on Etsy)

So go here and check it out!!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62648718/stylish-kids-double-breasted-coat-age-1?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_search_query=dmkeasywear&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

When it's finally done, because remember I have 7 kids and not a whole lot of time to do this sort of thing, I'll post a pic of the finished product!

Long time no post...

Sorry been busy at the homestead. So back to storage... got a fantastic deal on rice 2 weeks ago, so we now have 210 lbs of it in various places. Ground 50 lbs for flour. FABULOUS!

This week there was a sale on strawberries and mushrooms - so some got frozen and some canned. So satisfying to go into the basement and see at least 3 mths of food storage down there. We're doing a great job of staying in our budget and getting prepared for anything!!

Snow Day...

Well, it's snowing so... we are working on organizing the school room! In preperation of beginning again after taking a semester off! So let's get to it, right?

The kids enjoyed organizing the file folder games, the puzzles, books, and so on! Fun morning. Now for lunch. PNB with pear honey sandwiches, apples, and popcorn, while listeing to an audio book equals happy kids! YAY!

The Art closet is waiting.... ho hum.

Jane Austen and LDS chicks....

http://www.ldsliving.com/story/63666-why-jane-austen-appeals-to-lds-women

Baby-

Well, I told my hubby no matter when she came, he was getting a baby for Valentine's Day/Anniversary gift. 2 days after the "I love Us" (HallMark)Day, the baby came. And it was glorious.

On Monday, according to the last menstrual cycle we were 43 weeka long with the baby. After much prayer Tuesday, I went to the chiropractor, as since Sunday I had been experiencing excruciating pain. The Chiropractor, Crystal, found my hips terribly misaligned. After my 45 minute appt, I stood up and experienced WONDERFUL pain FREE movement! I expressed my gratitude several times, while enjoying the fact that standing was no longer painful. On my way out the door I decided I could have the baby now that I could move freely - well, as freely as most women this far pregnant.

Wednesday, I woke up feeling that we should break my water, or at least strip my membranes. Well, my family doctor, who used to be an OB and is trained for such things, is no longer licensed to. My friend, a midwife, is out of town. So after errand running, I was still on a high about being able to move so painfree, I met Hubby at home. He stripped my membranes, having the same *feeling* about it as I did. We prayed. And half an hour later I was in labor and running myself a bath.

2 1/2 hours of labor. That was it. And it was wonderful. Hubby managed to feed the children dinner, and keep them occupied while still being there for me. He was amazing, as he always is. He offered water, ice, hotter water for the bath, and so support verbal and physical support for me during this time. He had his hands perfectly placed to catch our daughter as she came into the world. She tried breathing right away! He brought the children in, gave me everything I needed while we nursed for a while, delaying the cord clamping.

The girls were mezmerized, the boys looked and left, not knowing how to interpret this little naked purple things as their new sister. Our eldest stayed to help. Handing us towels, blankets, items out of the birthing bag we had prepared together, and so on. She thought it was fabulous. She asked many questions and was amazed at this miracle of birth.

Eventually we clamped and cut the cord, storing the placenta for processing into capsules later. While DH and DD dressed the baby, I showered. When I came out I found that DH had tucked everyone into bed and the baby was ready to nurse again. DH made me dinner, then went out to milk the cow. By this time it was very late... who is not impressed with DH yet??

When he came back in to take a shower, he scrubbed the bathroom clean (as is his usual practice after a birth at our house) then took a shower. He tucked the baby and myself into bed before climbing in himself and falling alseep before his head hit the pillow.

There were no complications of any kind. No tearing, or pain that could not be dealt with with the bath water. The baby showed her lusty set of lungs right off, needed no suctioning, or resucitation. The delayed cord clamping allowed her to gain the blood from the placenta. She is very healthy, nursing often and greedily. She is also a very calm little girl.

This was the most blessed experience I have ever had birthing a baby. Much of it is very personal and spiritual and find I cannot share all the reasons here. But I am so very grateful to my Heavenly Father and my husband for making this possible.