Homestead Mama

Homemade Toothpaste

2012-02-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do this for SO long! For awhile I had a hard time finding a recipe that seemed simple, yet not gross. I also tried straight baking soda for awhile. It's ok, but kinda salty tasting, and was a little harsh on my gums.

I have known for a long time that toothpaste is filled with horrible chemicals that we should not be ingesting, but just haven't gotten around to getting it out of my house (what took me so long??). Even the healthy brands have ingredients I

A) can't pronounce, and

B) have no idea what it is.

Usually if A or B is true, I avoid it like the plague. Chances are it's bad for me. And I don't want to put bad-for-me-things in my body. Just trying to reduce the toxic load here, Folks. Reduce the toxic load.

Most toothpaste also contains fluoride, a poisonous waste byproduct that is known to cause damage to our brains. You may choose to believe your dentist that unless you ingest fluoride, your teeth are going to crumble and fall out. I don't buy that though. I believe the bad faaaaaar outweighs the good when it comes to fluoride. If there is any good to begin with.

Did you know that toothpaste is technically a "cosmetic" according to the FDA? Therefore, since it's not considered to be something that will go inside your body, the standards are very low, and there's a lot more toxicity than you'd think. I for one watch my kids swallow that stuff like it's candy! And I get horrified at the thought of those nasty chemicals making their way through their little bodies. Yuck.

So, the other day I had this uber awesome day of being ever so productive.

(Don't ask my kids what they did...

...Um...something had to give, OK?

It was my focused attention on my kids.

And well, they watched a couple videos.)

Anyway...I made lotion (post coming soon on that one), and toothpaste. Here's my recipe. I adapted it from a couple other ones I found online.

3 Tablespoons coconut oil

3 Tablespoons baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon green stevia powder (not pictured above). The white stuff is processed, and not good for you.

About 20 drops of Spearmint Essential Oils (or another flavor you prefer).

I melted my coconut oil in my double boiler. If yours is soft enough, just use it soft. If it's winter, and your coconut oil is hard, melt it over the stove, not in a microwave. Microwaving things changes the molecular structure, and it's then not good for you to consume.

Once your coconut oil is soft enough, mix it with the rest of the ingredients.

I stored mine in this little 4 oz Mason jar I got at a garage sale last summer. This is a picture from before I put the stevia in.

Here's a pic from after I put it in

The taste wasn't that great before the stevia. The stevia makes it slightly sweet, and you taste less of the baking soda. The Hot Contractor is forever ruined over coconut oil (I used to have him take it by the spoonful because he loved it, and we were trying it on him for medicinal purposes.). He now hates it. Sad.

I, however, think it's great! I'm totally going to keep using it (as long as my gums don't mind...I'm hoping that with other ingredients than just baking soda, it won't be an issue anymore). I'm also going to let my kids ingest it until their little hearts are content. Plus, it's actually really good for them! Coconut oil is such a great oil for us to consume in large quantities. And baking soda helps balance the pH of the body, so I say, "eat away, my children, eat away!"

Cloth Diapering

2012-01-29T12:09:00.000-08:00

I've had a few people ask me over the years my advice on cloth diapering. Although I am no expert, and honestly, a bit rusty as it's been five years since I really researched the topic, I am happy to share. Recently a friend on Facebook asked me to help out her friend, so instead of re-writing my thoughts, I figured I'd compile them here, and direct future questioners here. =)

There are lots of options when it comes to Cloth Diapering (CDing). There are pre-folds, which are kind of the "old fashioned" way of doing diapers. You fold the cloth up and put a cover over it. These are the cheapest way to go, but also the most work, I think.

There's also All-In-Ones (AIO). These are basically the convenience of disposables, since they're just one unit. There's no folding or stuffing. I've had AIOs before, and the biggest downside to these is they take FOR-E-VER to dry! For this reason alone, I don't recommend them. Unless you enjoy running your dryer twice, just to dry one load.

There are also Hybrid Diapers, like G-Diapers, where they're re-usable covers, with disposable, biodegradable inserts to put inside. If you're out to save the planet, these might be for you. But if your goal is to be frugal, these are not it! The liners cost more than disposables, and you still have to buy the expensive covers. I'm not a fan of this option. I just use disposables when I need disposables, and do cloth the rest of the time.

And then there's Pocket Diapers. My favorite. Not as much work as pre-folds, and sill dry relatively quickly (unlike AIOs). They are diapers with a "pocket" in them that you stuff with an insert. I have hemp inserts, and they are awesome! Hemp absorbs FOUR TIMES it's weight in liquid, so they hold a lot before they leak. I've tried terry cloth/cotton inserts, and I.hate.them. They don't last 30 minutes before they're leaky. What's the point of cloth diapers if they're not going to work? I've know a few moms who only tried cotton or terry cloth inserts, and ended up giving up on cloth diapers because they were so frustrating. I believe they've now replaced many of the hemp ones with bamboo inserts. I don't know much about bamboo's absorbency, but only that it's really eco-friendly because it grows so quickly, and is easily reproducible.

I personally used to use Happy Heiney s pocket diapers. They used to come in Small, Medium, and Large (I believe now they come in One Size). But then, my kids get so big, that even the size Large become too small for them by the age of two. So, I was forced to buy more cloth diapers. I figured I better find something that would last, since I was buying them for the second time. I did some research, and found Blueberry Diapers to be ones that fit larger kids. I buy the One-Size (OS) Blueberry diapers. They're expensive up front, but after three kids and years of use, we've saved thousands of dollars.

I should explain sizing, I suppose. You can go with a brand that comes in Small, Medium, and Large, and buy a set of diapers for each stage of your baby (which gets expensive, but the fit is a lot more precise), or you can buy OS diapers, which grow with your child. They snap up smaller when they're little, and expand as they grow. The only downside to this is that they're really bulky on newborns. Even on my 10.5 lb newborns, I don't prefer to use OS diapers until they're older. I still have my set of small Happy Heineys that I use for the newborn stage. Once they grow out of those, I put them in my Blueberry OS diapers.

How many diapers do you need?
I think for the newborn stage, you are changing diapers so frequently, that you need a lot. I have 24 small Happy Heineys that I use early on. Once they're bigger, you don't change them as frequently, and you can use less. Since I often have two kids in diapers at once, I own eighteen of the Blueberry OS diapers.

I wash my diapers every other day or every two days. I keep them in a wet bag until it's time to wash. If there are solids, I scrape them out into the toilet, then put them in the wet bag. I'm not anal about getting off every bit of solid...just the big bits (sorry for the TMI!). Then I wash them on hot with some diaper-safe detergent. There are lots out there. Most "free and clear" ones are not good to use on your diapers. You don't want anything that will coat your diapers, and make them not absorb as much (especially fabric softener). I always add a little baking soda and vinegar to my loads (like a small amount...a couple tablespoons of each). Vinegar is a natural water-softener, and baking soda keeps things white. Together, they're a great team in the laundry. I actually use them in every load of laundry I do.

If you ever do get some build up on your cloth diapers, you can always strip them, and they'll start absorbing better, and won't stink.

Well, I think that's it! Hope that helps you all. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I'll try to answer them. Again, I'm rusty, and no expert, but I'm happy to help a Cloth Diaper Newbie!

Chicken Harvesting

2012-01-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today we processed all our hens, and our one remaining rooster. We figured, we got these chickens for free (on Freecycle), and have spent a fortune on Organic, Corn-free, Soy-free Feed, and have received less than a dozen eggs from the Lovely Ladies in the last two months. We figured they've probably passed their prime, and won't likely pick up production that much once the weather warms up. Buuuuut, since we know they are healthy...why not make dinners out of them?!?!

So we did just that. This was the third or fourth time in the last two months that we've processed chickens. People kept giving us their homegrown/ free-range roosters, which we gladly received. Needless to say, we've got the process down to a science.

The Hot Contractor and The Princess did all the outside work, while I did all the inside work (and took care of The Brothers).

Here's The Princess, helping Dad

She'd help catch them. A few got out of the coop. Those ones were captured with the .22 riffle.

Once they caught them, The Hot Contractor would cut off their heads. The Princess would assist him with the scissors, etc.

This is where he'd remove their innards and de-feather them.

He dipped them in our big canning crock with hot water (on our camping stove) to remove the feathers.

Then he'd bring them in the house to me.

I'd dump them in the sink, wash and separate livers, hearts, necks, and feet. Then I'd wash the birds, and put one bird in a Ziplock, with one neck and two feet (to be used to make bone broth after we eat the chicken).

Then Little Brother helped me spread out the hearts and livers on a cookie sheet, and we stuck them in the freezer. We're going to be cutting them up into pill-size pieces, and taking them daily. Liver (from a healthy, pastured animal) is probably THE most amazingly healthful food one can consume. We want those benefits, and since our liver pills are gone, we need to replenish our supply.

I haven't get decided what I'm going to do with the chicken hearts yet. We may cook them in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce. I've never eaten chicken hearts, but I know they're good for us, and I hate wasting things, so I'm sure we'll find something to do with them!

Here's a pic of Little Brother. He was too cold to be outside for long, but he loved watching the action (especially the .22 action!) from the window.

It was a good, productive day. And now we have twelve more chickens in our freezer. Between the chickens and the deer, we won't need to buy meat for...like...forever!

Note to Self:

2011-12-26T20:09:00.001-08:00

When letting your eleven-month-old "air dry", don't get distracted. It might lead to him pooping all over your floor, then walking in it. And then your dog might decide to help by eating it.

Note to Self #2: Don't ever, EVER let your dog lick you.

Fire Making

2011-12-23T09:13:00.001-08:00

Here's my Hot Little Hunter making fire...his latest endeavor. He actually got it going! It was pretty cool to watch. He was just rubbing wood together, and voila...fire!

Mean, Mean Rooster

2011-12-20T00:32:00.000-08:00

{ I copied and pasted this from my Facebook status from a couple weeks ago because I want it to be forever imprinted in our family history.}

After chasing both The Princess and Little Brother, our huge, white rooster lost his life today. The Hot Contractor heard poor, little, 2yo Little Brother screaming bloody murder outside. He looked out the window, and saw the horror. Grabbed his gun, and told the kids to stay inside. Just as he was about to do the deed, he heard The Princess banging on the window. He turned around to her yelling, "ARE WE GOING TO EAT HIM FOR DINNER?!?!" He smiled and nodded, then shot the rooster, chopped off his head with an axe, de-feathered him, and stuck him in the freezer. I love my husband!

Oh, Deer!

2011-12-17T22:21:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago, the Hot Contractor shot a deer outside our front door. It was a very exciting, much-anticipated night, as he'd been trying to get a deer for the entire two month deer hunting season that was one day from closing. Here's how it all happened...

We were sitting at the dinner table, about to start eating, when The Hot Contractor had to pee. Instead of using the toilet, like a civilized person, my Hot Little Hunter (I'm considering changing his name to this) decided to go outside to relieve himself. Of course! That's what you do when you're a hunter...always on the lookout! As he was out there, he could hear a deer out in the brush (the sun had just set, so visibility was bad). He came in and grabbed his .30-06 which was mounted above the door (just like Charles Ingalls). Not more than five minutes later, we heard the shot. He'd shot a doe. A big doe.

He spent a couple hours hanging her outside that night, and we left her for a couple days. Then he skinned and processed her. Here are some pics I took of that.

The head (I know, gross, huh?).

Another "head shot".

Here's the Hot Hunter himself.

And the deer skin hanging on the back of our truck. Lovely, isn't it?

Then we had to process the meat. We made a bunch of it into jerky (which lasted like 3.5 days, it was SO GOOD!), saved some steaks and roasts in the freezer, and made the rest into ground meat. We have this handy dandy meat grinder attachment for our Kitchen Aid, which has come in handy a couple times now (the first being when we processed our 500 lbs of beef last year). Here's a pic of him and The Princess, hard at work.

{Please note the pink sparkly princess dress. I love that she's grinding meat while wearing this.}

And now we have a freezer full of organic, grass-fed venison to last us all winter. And it cost us $15.30 (for the deer tag). Love it! Thank you, Hot Hunter!

Dilly Cucumbers

2011-09-03T07:59:00.001-07:00

I made my first batch of fermented cucumbers this week. I was really skeptical they would taste good, but they do! They're so yummy! Here's a pic.

DIY Dog Grooming

2011-09-01T15:47:00.001-07:00

We decided to start grooming Sugar ourselves. So, we bought a little dog grooming kit on Amazon, and went for it! First, The Princess and I watched in instructional video that came with it. Then, she asked to do the grooming. ;) I let her start by washing Sugar in the sink. Here she is.

Then we put Sugar on the table. Mommy did the hard parts, and The Princess cut out knots, and used the clippers on the easy parts.

The Princess felt *very* important. The whole time, she was talking about how we were Sugar's dog groomers, not her owners. Sugar was at our "dog grooming salon". I love her little imagination.

Zion National Park

2011-05-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

*Note: this one took me a little while to finish and post, so the dates are a bit off. We left Zion today, so this was written about three days ago.

We arrived at Zion National Park four days ago. We've been having a great time hiking, swimming, relaxing...it's been wonderful.

Last night we decided to take a little bike ride around the campground. Usually the kids ride their bikes while The Hot Contractor and I help them, carry the baby, and walk Sugar. But this time I decided to put Little Brother in our little baby seat on the front of my bike, and take him for a *real* ride. We had a blast, and you could hear a good amount of "wheeee!" going on.

As I pulled into our campsite, I tried to go around a log and a rock, and park the bike by the tree where we'd been keeping it. As I started going through the grass, I realized it was really tall, and I was quickly losing momentum. I wanted to put my foot down to get stability, but I looked, and there was the rock. Since the seat where Little Brother was was in front of me, it was hard to quickly get off, and I ended up taking a spill (and bringing poor Little Brother with me!). I felt two pops in my ankle as I hit the ground. And I couldn't move my ankle, the bike that was on top of me, or help Hysterical Little Brother get out of the seat he was in. The Hot Contractor came running over with the baby in his arms, trying to help one of us, but realizing he only had one arm to do so. The Princess was about 20 feet behind us, and started sobbing when she realized Mommy was hurt. It was a pretty intense moment.

An elderly couple staying in the campsite next to us came over to help. We'd made friends with them, and they took Little Brother and The Princess to their motor home for band-aids, teddy bears, and comfort. The man got me ice, and he and The Hot Contractor helped me get into the trailer so I could nurse Crying Little Brother.

I thought at first my ankle was surely broken. But after I calmed down and reassessed, I thought maybe it was just a bad sprain. Nevertheless, I haven't put any weight on it since.

Today we decided to go into town and look for some veggie oil and do our laundry. We noticed a sign for a farmer's market. There were 20 minutes until it closed, so we quickly hunted it down. I stayed in the car, and The Hot Contractor went to look at all four tables that were there. There was a table where someone was selling homemade goat milk soaps. I had told The Hot Contractor to look for some raw milk, so he thought the goat milk soap people might be good ones to ask. They told us about a family that was there who has a CSA, and has goat milk shares. They happened to have three quarts of fresh, raw, goat milk. Now, I've tried goat milk a few times, and it's always tasted pretty "goaty" to me. But this milk...The Hot Contractor told me at first that it was cow milk, and I believed him. It was so good! We had a little illegal transaction, and obtained the contraband...Um, for our dog....believe it or not, it is illegal to buy raw milk for human consumption in many states, including Utah. You can, however, buy alcohol, cigarettes, and high fructose corn syrup galore, in all 50 states. There's our government for you...keeping us safe and healthy. Safe from that horribly healing and nurturing food called raw milk.

We also got some pastured chicken eggs, which we were very happy about. Those are legal to purchase, by the way.

Then we went around to get some veggie oil. We've become a little discouraged as we've looked in some cities. It seems like everybody already has their "guy" who gets their oil. But we've discovered that the smaller towns are much easier to find used veggie oil in. And today we scored about 60 gallons! We didn't get about 100 gallons more that was available because we didn't have the room for it. We keep calculating the cost savings, considering a gallon of diesel fuel is about $5/ gallon right now. That's like $300 we saved in one afternoon!

After we found the fuel, and the farmer's market, we decided to take the kids out for some ice cream. We were sitting outside the little ice cream shop/ cafe, and this little lady that worked inside saw The Hot Contractor piggyback me to the table, and saw me unwrap the ace bandage from my ankle. She asked The Contractor what happened, and then proceeded to call all the local medical clinics to find out their hours for us (unsolicited, mind you). She came out and gave us the rundown.

While she was talking, there was a man standing nearby listening. I hadn't noticed him, and he was the only person around besides us. After she left, he said, "Or, you could go to the local Foot and Ankle Institute". Then he started looking through his wallet for a business card. I asked him if he wasn't by chance a doctor who worked at said Institute? He smiled, and said he was.

A few minutes later, he came back and asked me if I'd like him to "save [me] a trip, and check it out now". I said "sure". How cool was he?!?!? I couldn't believe how kind he was! Here he was out with his wife and grandchildren getting ice cream, and he took the time to help me.

So, he did a little exam on my ankle, and unfortunately, told me he thought it might be broken. No visit saved, but I was thankful to know that it was serious enough to go get x-rays.

*Fast forward....now I'm finishing this post three days later.

Yesterday we went to that Foot and Ankle Institute, and got the ankle checked. Turns out it's not broken! It's`just a bad sprain. And instead of needing to be non-weight-bearing for six weeks (which would be the case if it was broken), he said it actually helps a sprained ankle to walk on it. Unless it hurts too bad, then I need to back off. I'm so thankful I don't have to be immobile for six weeks. I think it would get really old for The Hot Contractor to do all the cooking, cleaning, child carrying, oil gathering and filtering, and care for me for that long. Plus, that's pretty much through to the end of our travels. While I won't be going on any long hikes while we're traveling, I can at least go for walks and enjoy some physical activity with my family. I'm SO thankful for that. I have this cute little brace to wear, and I'm taking it easy when the ankle hurts. Oh, and no more bike riding through tall grass!

We're now on our way to Yellowstone....

Santa Barbara

2011-05-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

We had a blast in Santa Barbara. Had great connections with some old friends, accidentally ran into a really old friend who was running n the beach, saw an old friend we hadn't planned on seeing, and enjoyed spending time with an adopted Grandma for my kiddos.

We parked at my college friend's mom's house in Montecito. Michele's mom is Grandma age, but doesn't have grand kids yet (she obviously wants to though...and she's really good at being a Grandma!). My kids often chose hanging out with her in her house over being with mom or dad. Maybe it was the little hide-and-hunt games she played with them, or all the fun toys she was giving them, or the yummy food that she'd feed them. I'm sure it was a combination of all of it. Let's just say, I didn't mind taking a break from holding the baby, or having a peaceful moment while The Princess and Little Brother played in her house. Oh, and she also did all our laundry one day, and even folded it while we were out playing at the zoo. Charlotte, if you're reading this, you're totally adopted!

One fun thing that happened was when I saw my friend Jamie, who lives in LA, running with her husband on the beach. The Hot Contractor had gone into the little beach restaurant to ask for some veggie oil, while I stayed in the truck with the kids. Here comes Jamie and John running through the parking lot! We ended up talking about how we're embarking on a cross-country adventure, and running on veggie oil. Then Jamie says, "You know Dan runs his car on veggie oil? You should talk to him about it!" (Dan is a mutual friend of ours whom I've known since 1995). I happened to still have Dan's cell phone number in my phone, and gave him a call. Turns out his shop was about five minutes away from where we were, and he invited us over. While we were there, we told him about our leaking truck (The Hot Contractor had welded something before we left, but missed one tiny spot, and oil was dripping the whole way). So Dan welded it for us. Thanks, Dan!

While we were talking to Dan, he told us that he used to get his WVO (waste vegetable oil) at Westmont College (my Alma Matter). A couple days later, as we were having a horribly difficult time finding fuel for our truck, the thought crossed my mind to see if I could get some from Westmont. So, we drove up there, and visited the dining commons (DC). I think the lady working there was skeptical of me, and she told me to go to the administration building to ask for permission. (I couldn't figure out why I'd have to ask them, other than she maybe wanted them to verify that I actually was an alum?). So, I went straight to the Alumni Office, and told them my story. They were all OVER helping out an alum! Woo-hoo! They made phone calls for like ten minutes, trying to reach someone to tell them to give me as much oil as possible. Ha! We went back to the DC and filled up our tank with somewhere between 80 and 90 gallons. And that lady who told me to go to the alumi office? She was so sweet, she gave us all free lunch in the DC. I felt like a college student again. Except that I had three kids and a husband.

We're still running on that oil. What a LOOT! Thank you Westmont Sodexo, and thank you, Dan, for the idea!

"This Deserves a Blog Post!"

2011-05-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

*Note: I started this post three weeks ago, and am now just finishing it, so the dates may be confusing. Sorry.

About a week ago, we left Oroville, and made our way to Santa Barbara. We anticipated we'd make the seven hour drive in one or two days. We planned on pulling out sometime between 10 am and 12 noon the first day. At 5:00 pm, we finally pulled out (we've since discovered a pattern of grossly underestimating our time needed for departure. At this point, we plan on never being ready to leave before noon).

As we were cruising down the 5 freeway, we mapped out a Rest Stop where we could stop to sleep for the night. At about midnight, we knew we were just 20 miles away. We could make it! Keep those eyelids peeled!!

Then we lost a wheel.

No, not got a flat, like you're thinking. LOST A WHEEL!

Literally.

Yep.

Rolled right off the trailer, into the center of the freeway. The sparks The Hot Contractor saw in the side mirror told him something was wrong. He pulled over quickly.

He went to assess the situation, while I stayed in the truck with our three sleeping cherubs. He realized that the wheel was entirely gone (it was pitch black out, and we had no idea where it had gone). He then discovered that the bolts holding the hub on had completely broken. All five of them.

So, we called AAA for some "Roadside Assistance". We learned that our RV was not covered under our plan (which was not the story I got from the lady at the AAA office just weeks before, but I won't go into that here...). They told us they could recommend a mechanic that could help us. Mark was trying to fix it, but we were on the skinny little shoulder of this major highway, with semi trucks barreling by us. And the missing wheel was on the driver's side, so not so safe.

We called the recommended mechanic, and asked him to come help us. He later told me that the only reason he agreed to getting out of bed at O'-Dark-Thirty, was that he could hear The Hot Contractor talking to me while on the phone with him, so he knew there was a woman, and possibly children, who also needed to be rescued. If it were a single male, he would have left him to fend for himself. Thank goodness The Hot Contractor asked me a question while he was on the phone!

So, this nice man, Kevin came to rescue us. Oh, and the CHP came too. We called 9-1-1 at some point between realizing that AAA wouldn't help us, and hearing about Kevin. They came out to help us get to safety.

Kevin tried to find replacement bolts (we had an extra wheel) for our trailer. He spent until 2:30 am trying figure out something, and hunt for the bolts. But we were out of luck. We had to wait until the morning, when the auto parts store opened.

Kevin did, however, require payment for his services. One of us had to get in his tow truck with him, and drive about 20 minutes to his shop to pay with a credit card. I didn't want to sit on the side of the freeway alone with three kids at 2 am, so I told The Hot Contractor I'd rather he stay, and I go. Let's just say, I had the scariest ride of my life! Kevin drives an average speed of about 95mph. He smokes while he does it, and is obviously gluten intolerant, if you know what I mean. If you don't, then I won't go there right now, but it's gross.

So, we unhitched from the trailer, and left it on the side of I-5. We called the CHP, and told them we had no other option but to leave it there, and to please not tow it away. They told us "they couldn't guarantee anything", but they would make a note of it.

We then called all three motels that were at the nearest exit. The first two were completely booked up. The third one had only smoking rooms available, and one room with a king size mattress. I told them I'd take it!

At 3:00 am, we all snuggled into a big bed together. We even smuggled Sugar in with us. (Shhhhh....)

The next morning, Kevin fixed our wheel, and told us to come back to his shop so he could check a few other things. Thank God for Kevin!! He discovered that one of the brakes on the trailer was not working properly, and one of the wheels was not rotating like it should. It could have been bad if we would have tried to drive it that way! He showed The Hot Contractor how to check the wheels, which he has done diligently since then.

We finally made it to Santa Barbara (only two days behind schedule) the next day. The Hot Contractor kept saying along the way, "This deserves a blog post!". So, there you have it.

Clairification of Terms

2011-05-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so apparently there's been some confusion about how many trailers and RVs we're sporting. In my mind, it all makes sense, but then again, it's my life. So, for those of you living outside my mind, here goes:

The original "RV", the one we remodeled is a motor home. We no longer live in it, and we left it in CA. Here's a picture of that:

We moved into a 27' Travel Trailer (also technically an "RV"), and bought a diesel truck to pull it. We chose to do this so we could run on veggie oil, and avoid paying $5/ gallon of fuel our entire way across the country. Here's a picture of that:

We have that big black truck. The Hot Contractor converted it to run on vegetable oil. We get used oil from restaurants for free, and run on it. It's wonderful. We had a hard time finding it while we were still in CA (evidently lots of people in CA do the veggie oil thing, and all the restaurants seem to have "their guy" who comes and picks up their oil. But now that we're in Podunk Nowhere, we're not having a hard time AT ALL!). We sold all our other vehicles. Here's a picture of the truck:

Then there's another trailer. I think this might be where the confusion comes in. That flatbed that The Hot Contractor converted to a cargo trailer (it once was a travel trailer in it's past life, but we won't talk about that because that's just confusing!) is the other one. We left it in CA with all our stuff, and The Hot Contractor will drive out to pick it up in July. We did this because 1) we wanted to keep the trailer for The Hot Contractor's business, and 2) it was the most cost-efficient way to get all our stuff across the country....running on free fuel and not renting a vehicle to transport our stuff. It will mean being away from my darling husband for two.whole.weeks (sniff, sniff). Let's not talk about that.

Here's a picture of the flatbed-turned-cargo-trailer:

Before:

After:

OK, make sense? I hope so.

The Rig

2011-04-14T21:01:00.001-07:00

Per Brendan's request, here are some pics of the rig. Kind of Beverly Hillbillies style. But we've been known to sport a lot more hillbilly than this. This is pretty high-class for us. ;-)

The Once-A-Travel-Trailer-Turned-Flatbed-Turned-Cargo Trailer-Trailer. The Hot Contractor just finished building this a couple days ago. It has all our remaining possessions inside. I kinda think we should spray paint "U-Haul" on the side. What do you think? Too W.T.?

Here's what it looked like as a flatbed trailer.

Here's The Beast

The veggie kit just arrived today, so The Hot Contractor will begin installing it tomorrow. I'm not gonna show you a picture of the tailgate. That's because the other day, when I went to the RV store, I was backing up, and backed right into their big ol' sign out front. The guy working there came out laughing and said, "Haha...Everyone does that!". I wasn't laughing when I looked at the tailgate. Oh, well. The sign was fine, by the way.

Here's the Travel Trailer.

Home Sweet Home.

We're hoping to finish the veggie conversion, and some other essential repairs by next Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll then head down to Santa Barbara to visit some friends for a few days.

Liver.

2011-04-14T11:53:00.001-07:00

I've had this liver from our steer we butchered last year sitting in my fridge, not knowing what to do with it. We don't love the taste and texture of it, but we know what an amazing, healing, nourishing, sacred food it is, and didn't want to waste it.

So, last week, we were introduced to another family who is doing what we're doing...traveling the country. (All this random info really does apply to my liver story, I promise). They happen to be in the area while we're here, and our local Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader introduced us. She knew we had lots in common, and thought we might enjoy meeting each other. It didn't take us long to hit it off with these people (three days before they were leaving town). We tried to squeeze in as much time together as possible with our new friends. We became Facebook friends, and they read my blog.

The day after they read my blog, we were all hanging out at a park so our kids could roam while we talked. We told them of our liver quandary. Nate, the dad, said, "Why don't you encapsulate it!" (He had read my post about placenta encapsulation). I think he was joking, but maybe half serious too. Anyway, I realized what a brilliant idea he had!! Why hadn't I thought of that???

Needless to say, the liver chunks are in my dehydrator now. :-P

The Jesus Motor

2011-04-04T23:56:00.001-07:00

That's what The Hot Contractor likes to call the engine that's in this big ol' truck we bought. It's a 1998, 1-ton, GMC, duly, crew-cab, long-bed, diesel truck. It's a beast! We are going to convert it to veggie oil ASAP.

As I'm typing, we are on the road, traveling from Santa Cruz to Oroville. All our stuff is packed in The Hot Contractor's aunt's barn in Oroville. She needs the barn back, so we're going to pack our stuff on our flat bed trailer, to be picked up by The Hot Contractor once we settle somewhere.

(The story of the flatbed: The Hot Contractor was chopping down a tree for someone on Freecycle after we'd offered his chopping services in exchange for their firewood. They joked with him about taking their moldy old, nasty disgusting, 20-foot travel trailer off their property. He did. Then he spent two days tearing it apart with a hammer and a nail puller. He then built it into a beautiful, 20-foot, flat-bed trailer. Not only is he crafty, but he's oh-so-frugal too. My dream man. And now he's going to convert it into an 8' x 8' x 20' cargo trailer to haul our stuff across the country.)

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog...

This whole process of converting from the motor home to a truck and trailer was a bit more work than we planned on. Let's just say it's been a crazy month! But we made it! Whew! And we're finally on the road. Having this to look forward to has been motivation as we were feeling so overwhelmed.

The last three or four weeks, The Hot Contractor has spent many hours (usually from 10 pm to 2 am) researching veggie oil conversions and bio diesel processors. We went from wanting to convert the engine to veggie oil, to wanting to create a mobile bio diesel processing kit for the back of the truck, to now wanting to do veggie oil again. We've had to weigh the costs of time, space, money, availability, efficiency, and more. Since we plan on this fuel conversion being a permanent thing, we want to do it right and well. I'm so proud of The Hot Contractor for all the work (and time!) he has put into educating himself on this. He's now ready to install the veggie kit once it arrives.

One of the things that was so stressful about this process for us was when we took it to a bio diesel mechanic (who does the conversions). He evaluated our motor, and told The Hot Contractor that we need a new one. He said this one "might last 300 more miles." The compression test showed it was basically running on six out of the eight cylinders. We looked into buying a new engine, having one shipped across the country, buying another truck that had a usable engine, yada yada. None of these options were cheap, and all of them required us to stay in Santa Cruz longer than we wanted to. So, we decided to just go for it on this engine. We're gonna milk every last mile out of this thing! If it breaks down in the middle of the country, we'll deal with it then. We figure it will just add to the adventure. The Hot Contractor likes to call it "The Jesus Motor" because it was given the doomsday prognosis of "maybe going another 300 miles".

And that was 700 miles ago.

New Plans!

2011-03-10T08:13:00.001-08:00

For the last few weeks, The Hot Contractor and I have been watching gas prices rise, listening to some economists we follow predict that gas will reach $5/ gallon in the next few months, and crunching the numbers on our trip budget. It didn't all add up.

We decided to buy a travel trailer and a diesel truck which we can convert to veggie oil, and sell our motor home. I know, sad to say goodbye to her. After remodeling her, birthing my son in her, and enjoying her cute coziness, it is hard. But we will be ok. ;-)

So last weekend we got a travel trailer and moved into it. And this week we decided on a truck to buy, and are currently in Bakersfield, CA (AKA "the armpit" of California), picking up our new truck. The new travel trailer is not so cute, but it "has good bones" (as my Hot Contractor likes to say), and we are loving the layout (like the dining room table we can all sit down at). We may paint it and fix up a little at some point, but there's no time to do it now.

The Hot Contractor has been researching biodiesel conversion, and learning a ton. We're super excited about using vegetable oil from restaurants to fuel our vehicle.

This plan should allow us to not be held back by the rising fuel costs, and to have a little more play, and a lot less work while on the road. We always like that!

And for an added bonus, this truck holds all five of us (plus our dog Sugar), and will be a great work truck for The Hot Contractor once we get to our destination. We know someone who traveled the country in a converted motor home for months, and spent less than $200 on fuel. I think the fuel cost savings we are going to experience will be amazing.

Our current plan is to leave Santa Cruz in four weeks, go back to Oroville and pack up our belongings for a week, then head out. We will head to Idaho for a couple weeks, after visiting some friends in Southern California.

Can't wait!

Life and Death

2011-01-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't told but one person about this, but eight days ago, my dad passed away from Alzheimer's disease. I've known this day was coming for about eight years...when I first started realizing there was something going on with his memory. I've had a long time to prepare for this, and mourn. To be honest, I've barely cried, or felt much sorrow over his passing. And part of me feels like I should feel more sad. I've really been processing my feelings, and if it's ok to be ok with death. I think our culture has a fear of death. Other cultures accept it. Mourn, but accept it as a normal process of life. It's the circle closing. I want to be more like that.

My dad was 74 years old. It was his time. His turn. I feel completely different about my dad's death, than I did two years ago, with my 36-year-old brother's death. That felt so premature, and unnecessary. Especially since it was two people who chose to take Andy's life. It didn't feel like it should be his turn. I guess ultimately, God knows the number of our days, and knew Andy would die at 36 years old, at the hands of two criminals. But it still felt so hard to accept. I don't feel that way this time.

I think that's ok.

I know I did everything I could for my dad while he was alive. I have no regrets. I know he's at peace now, and I believe he's in a better place.

The irony about it all is that my brother died when Little Brother was two weeks old. And my dad died when Baby Brother was seven days old. This whole life/death juxtaposition is once again at the forefront of my mind. And it's ok. I'm thankful for life, and celebrating it. And am accepting that lives end, and death is the completion of that cycle. It really is ok.

Do-It-Yourself Placenta Encapsulation

2011-01-09T13:23:00.001-08:00

After encapsulating my placenta for Little Brother, and learning about the benefits of placenta encapsulation, I decided to do it again with Baby Brother's placenta. You can read more about the benefits of placenta encapsulation here. You can find someone in your area to encapsulate your placenta, and pay them a couple hundred dollars to do it for you. Or you can do it yourself. (It's really not that hard, and kinda fun.)

To start, you need
-a placenta that has been kept refrigerated since birth (preferably only a few days old), or frozen and defrosted prior to encapsulating.
-fresh, organic ginger root
-fresh, organic orange or lemon
-fresh, organic jalepeño
Wash and cut up all your ingredients.

Then wash your placenta to get the excess blood off. I did mine in the kitchen sink, in a bowl. Here it is still with the umbilical cord attached. Don't use soap! Just warm water is fine.

Then cut off the umbilical cord and the amniotic sac.

Boil the placenta in filtered water with your ingredients for at least 30 minutes. I boiled mine for over an hour.

It will really shrink up after boiling.

Then cut it into pieces not more than 1" thick.

Then you want to dry them. You can do this in your oven at the lowest setting overnight. Just place the pieces on a cookie sheet and bake. If you have a dehydrator, you can use that. I put mine in the dehydrator on the "meat" setting (155*). Then I left it overnight. Here it is in the morning.

Then I ground it up. You can do this in a coffee grinder. I used my Vita-Mix dry blender (the one used to grind flour). If you have something strong that grinds flour, that would work too. I'm pretty sure they would be too much on a standard blender (*says the girl who has killed four blenders*).
Before:

After:

You want it in a fine powder.

Then I got out my little capsule machine. You can find these at health food stores for less than $20. Mine takes size "00" gel caps, and I have some leftover from Little Brother's placenta, so I used those.

I opened each capsule, and put the long end into each hole on the base, and the short end into each hole on the top.

Then I poured my placenta powder over the base.

Then I used this little green card (it came with my machine) to smooth all the powder into the holes.

I then used the tamper to push the powder down into the capsules.

Then I filled them again, and smoothed the powder out with the green card.
I pressed the top onto the bottom, and here's what I got:

Here's The Princess (she was my helper), proud as can be at our accomplishment. :-)

The main reasons I like placenta encapsulation are:
- Ingesting placenta postpartum really helps (naturally) reduce postpartum depression.

- (I think this is the coolest one!) You can save your unused capsules (freeze them in your freezer) for menopause. They act as a natural hormone replacement therapy in menopause. And it's totally safe because it's your body's own hormones that you're using! I just think that is the coolest, and can't wait to use mine when I go through menopause.

I personally really noticed a difference in my postpartum disposition after doing this with Little Brother's placenta (I didn't know about this after The Princess' birth, so I didn't do it then). Even with my brother being murdered two weeks after Little Brother was born, I managed to not slip into a postpartum depression. Not that I wasn't deeply affected by my brother's death, but I truly believe in my already-vulnerable-state, it would have been much harder for me emotionally if I wasn't taking my placenta everyday.

There you go! Wasn't that fun?!?

The Birth of Baby Brother

2011-01-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

First, let me apologize to all of you whom I've lied to over the last nine months. It was such a hard thing to do, especially as a person who likes to share exciting things. Um...and tell the truth. But I learned quickly that I needed to keep my mouth shut about my plans for how I would birth Baby Brother. Even people I consider "crunchy" or "alternative" reacted to my news with fear. I realized that what I was planning to do was pretty far out of most American women's understanding of how to have a safe and peaceful birth.

I was planning an Unassisted Childbirth.

What is Unassisted Childbirth (UC), you ask? It's a home birth without a home birth midwife in attendance. Or any other medical professional for that matter.

You're probably thinking I'm crazy about now. Let me tell you how I got to this point.

I've wanted to have a home birth for a long time. Since before Little Brother was born. We couldn't afford it then, so we opted to birth at the birthing center where we'd had The Princess. It had been a pleasant experience (we joke that it's like staying at a five star hotel). I was able to have a natural birth with Little Brother, and felt like I had fulfilled my desire to know that I was capable of giving birth without medication.

This time around, we again interviewed all the home birth midwives in the county (all two of them), and were set on having a home birth. There was one midwife I could maybe see myself connecting with, and we began to consider hiring her. As I was weighing the financial cost, the mediocre connection I'd had with the midwife, and doing some research online on home births, I came across Unassisted Childbirth. I'd never heard of this! You mean people actually do this nowadays?!? In America?!?! At first, it freaked me out a bit. What if something went wrong? What if...the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck....what if I hemorrhage?...what if I tear?...

In order to have the safest possible birth for me and my baby, I must birth in a hospital, and submit the responsibility of my child's birth to the medical professionals who "know what they're doing", right?

And then I started researching.

I discovered that statistically, it is safer to birth a child at home than in a hospital. I also discovered that America has the second highest hospital birth infant mortality rate in the developed world. So, if I want to increase the chances of my child dying, I would birth in a hospital. This seems like it can't be true. But it is. Additionally, America has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world. That's not a statistic I want to join.

As The Hot Contractor and I started to read books on Unassisted Childbirth, and Emergency Childbirth in preparation, we felt this amazing feeling of empowerment. We were taking back the responsibility of our birth. Of my body. Of my child's entrance into the world. I was not going to be told to lay flat on my back (the most uncomfortable and WORST position to give birth in). I was not going to be told that my long labor had a medical term of "Failure to Progress", and that I therefore needed a C-section. Before medical intervention, women often had labors that lasted three or four days. They also were often pregnant for more than 40 weeks. Left to nature, forty-three or forty-four weeks is not an uncommon length of pregnancy. And I didn't want to be told that going past my due date required that I have an induction.

I wanted to trust myself. My body. God. He made my body capable of doing this. If not, then how did people for centuries get here? If so, then, why was I not trusting Him?

Birth itself is not inherently dangerous. How is it that God can create systems in our body that work so perfectly....the respiratory system, the digestive system. He can make it possible that a sperm and an egg can create a person, but had no good plan for how to get that person out? I just can't believe that.

Along the way in our journey to discover UC, The Hot Contractor and I started to feel like this was something that should be done with just us two present. This whole pregnancy began as an intimate expression of our love, and we wanted to finish it in that same intimate way....a culmination of the process we had been through over these last nine months. We also wanted the most peaceful experience for our child to be brought into the world. I didn't want strangers telling me what to do, or sweeping my child away to check him for something (most of which is entirely unnecessary). The more I learned, the more I wanted to be in control of my birth experience, and not submit myself, or my child, to unnecessary medical intervention.

I also learned that the reason so many women experience pain is because of things that intervene in our birth experiences. These can be internal (fear), or external (strangers present, a sterile hospital environment, medical interventions, etc.). I figured if I didn't put myself in an environment that was uncomfortable, but made the most peaceful, comfortable place possible, then at least I was eliminating the external factor. Now to work on the internal: fear. I'll be honest, I have had a lot of fear about childbirth in the past. I was terrified with my first pregnancy, not knowing what to expect. With my second pregnancy, I knew what to expect, but I was pretty afraid to do it naturally (which I was committed to after researching the effects of medicated births on an infant). I did it, but experienced a lot of pain (probably because of my high level of fear). This time, I wanted to let go of my fear. I wasn't naive enough to think that I would have a completely painless birth, but I did think I would manage it much better having less fear. And going in, I was pretty fearless. I knew that fear would make my body have a fight or flight reaction, and that blood would stop flowing to my uterus, which would, in turn, cause me to have pain. I didn't want that.

The Hot Contractor and I started watching UC birth videos on YouTube (I dare you to do it). This one made me completely convinced that this whole "pain free childbirth" thing was not made up! It's really possible! (Warning...there is nudity). We also let our kids watch the videos. The Princess became a bit obsessed with watching birth videos for about a month leading up to Baby Brother's birth. At one point, I asked her if she wanted to watch Baby Brother be born. She said she didn't.

So, ya, maybe people have gotten here for centuries, but also, "a lot more babies used to die"...one of the responses people reacted to our news with. But, as Laura Shanley writes about, there were reasons for this. Poverty is one of them....poor living conditions, lack of food. If a woman is not well-nourished, she will have a harder time giving birth. There is also documentation that there are many tribes around the world where women give birth painlessly, quickly, and without incident. In developed countries, 100 years ago, women were corseted from early adolescence. This caused them to have narrow pelvic bones, and therefore, pain in childbirth. All this to say that there were reasons that babies used to die more. And they aren't because we now have hospitals, and we didn't before.

Here are some fears/reactions/responses I heard from the few people I told about my UC early on. And here are the things I had learned that diminished my fears:

What if you tear?
Well, first of all, without a medical professional telling me when I have to push (which happened with my first two births, when I tore), I knew if I just let my body do what it needed to do, and push when I felt ready to push, I'd have a lot less chance of tearing. It turns out, during this birth, that's what I did. And I didn't tear. If I had torn, I learned that laying with my legs together (or just not opening them more than necessary) for a few days would heal any tears I had. I'm laying low, and being very sensitive to my body's signals. I never knew how dilated or progressed I was, and didn't care to learn how to check myself because I just wanted to pay attention to my body, and let it tell me when it was ready. And it worked!

What if the baby's cord is around the neck?
About 30% of babies are born with the cord around the neck (including Baby Brother). It is not a medical emergency, contrary to popular belief. Babies are getting their oxygen from the cord, but unless it is tied tightly around the neck (two or three times, or is an unusually short cord), it won't cut off the blood flow to the baby. Once the baby is out, it can be easily undone. And at that point, the baby starts breathing, and getting oxygen that way, so it's not important.

What if you hemorrhage?
I'll admit it, this was the thing I had the hardest time getting over my fear of. I knew that if I bled more than two cups, I should go to the hospital. But knowing what two cups of blood looked like was hard. I also knew that if I felt faint or dizzy, or passed out, that I should be taken to the hospital immediately. I armed myself with every natural anti-hemorrhaging tool possible. Herbs, homeopathy, eating a chunk of my placenta, breast feeding immediately after birth, not letting anyone pull on the placenta to get it out, but just letting it come out naturally... I still had a fear of leaving my children motherless. I prayed a lot about this, and really just had to let it go. People can hemorrhage and die for up to two weeks after they give birth. I know that I must just be really careful, give my body a break, and not push it too much. So far, so good. I'm still here. The only things they would have done at the hospital are give me a shot of Pitocin (which I tried to acquire unsuccessfully), or a blood transfusion. I decided that this risk was not worth going to a hospital or birthing center to give birth. Percentage-wise, hemorrhaging is not a high risk. And most women who die from hemorrhaging die after bleeding for hours...not minutes. If bleeding was an issue, we'd go in as soon as we knew, and do all we could to stop it. Plus, being in a hospital doesn't mean I wouldn't die anyway if I hemorrhaged. There's still a chance of that happening.

Plans

While we were still living in Oroville, The Hot Contractor and I planned to UC in the bedroom at the house we were at. We bought a large pool for birthing, and were set. Then we decided to hit the road in the RV before the birth, so that threw a little curve-ball into the situation. Plan-A was over. On to Plan B...

We decided to bring the pool with us, and set it up under the awning of the RV. We brought an outdoor rug for comfort on our feet, some twinkle lights to hang on the awning, a wood stove for heat and to boil water for the pool, a large stock of firewood. We were set! I mean, the property where we were planning on staying is a secluded, 25-acre wooded property. We'd be off in some corner of the property, birthing in private, right?

Then we arrived on Thanksgiving day. The landlord told us where he wanted us to park: right in front of his 84-year-old, blind mother's house. Like two feet from her bedroom window. Because her eyesight is lacking, her hearing is really good! I just couldn't subject this poor woman to my laboring moans. Surely she'd hear them, and I'm not sure how she'd react. So, we had to come up with Plan C.

My in-laws live about two miles from where we have the RV parked. They have a large bathtub in their master bedroom, and we thought this might be a good option. So, we let them in on our secret plan to UC, and asked if we could birth at their house. They were really supportive, and open to the idea. So, Plan C was a go!

Then a few days later, they started feeling nervous that their landlord might find out and evict them. They've had some issues with their landlord, and didn't want to push the envelope. We understood. So, we moved on to Plan D.

We decided to have our birth at a resort just a few miles from where we're staying. It's a beautiful, beachfront resort with spa suites that have huge, two-person tubs. Oh, and ocean views. I went and toured the spa suites, and was SO excited about giving birth there! I'd read a few stories online of other mamas who'd birthed in hotels when they couldn't, or didn't want to birth at home. And if this hotel was booked the night I went into labor, I had three other ones in line that had large tubs. (Did I mention that birthing in water was very important to me? I believe it's God's epidural, being in water. I did it with Little Brother's birth, and felt sooo much better laboring that way).

Then, I went into labor on New Years Eve. We called all the hotels on our list, and every.single.one. of them was sold out. Darnit! What was I going to do? We thought about our options at this point. The RV, or the birthing center. After going through this whole process over the last nine months, there was just no way I could bring myself to going to the birthing center. So, the RV it was!

Baby Brother's Arrival

I woke up from contractions at about 1:00 in the morning on January 1st (1-1-11). I waited until I was sure I was in labor, then got up to tell The Hot Contractor. He was still up watching movies (poor guy didn't get any sleep that night), and I told him I was pretty sure I was in labor. He called his mom to come over and sleep with the kids. Then he got the bed ready with plastic under the sheet, then towels, and puppy pads on top. I labored around while doing things between contractions...lighting candles, getting my herbs and homeopathy out and ready...etc. Here's me laboring.

Ya, not my most glamorous moment, but this is real life.

The kids and grandma woke up about 6:00. Things were starting to get more intense for me. Little Brother was really wanting mama snuggles (typical morning thing), so I leaned on their loft with each contraction, and held hands with kiddos between contractions. I was really surprised that they were not phased by my laboring moans. I really thought they'd be scared, or cry, or want mommy. Nothing of the sort. They watched, and asked Daddy why I was making those noises. We told them that I wasn't hurt, and that it was how Baby Brother was coming out. They were so excited to meet their Baby Brother!

Sometime in the seven o'clock hour, I got on the bed, on all fours. This was the best position to be in when I birthed Little Brother, so I thought it'd be great. It wasn't. I tried lots of different positions, and just went with what felt the most comfortable. Sometimes that was laying on my left side with my leg up in the air. Sometimes it was standing up and leaning hard on my left hip. Not sure why it felt better on the left, other than there was more room on my left side. Baby Brother had been on my right side my whole pregnancy, and I thought maybe he still was. I was in transition for about 45 minutes. Eventually, I felt like I needed to get on my hands and knees. So I did. I started feeling the urge to push, so I went with it. The whole time, I was really working on letting go of my fears. My mantra was that "God made my body to do this. My body knows how to do this. I was created to do this." I knew I could do this. It definitely wasn't pain free, but before I hit transition, it was pretty painless. It was intense, but not painful. Transition,on the other hand, was painful.

Once I started pushing, it was only five or ten minutes before Baby Brother was out. I remember asking The Hot Contractor if he could see anything, and he said "no". Then, at the next contraction, he said, "you totally just opened up!" The Princess was standing on his right, and Little Brother was on his left. All three of them were eagerly awaiting the first glimpse of our newest family member. One more contraction, and The Hot Contractor said, "I see his head!" I went with the urge to push (I remembered reading in the Unassisted Childbirth book to "do nothing", and your body will do what it needs to do...so I kept telling myself to "do nothing".). My body pushed hard, and his head popped out. The Hot Contractor (my AMAZING midhusband) was talking to me, telling me what he could see, that Baby Brother was ok, that his head was out, but his chin was still in there a little. My body pushed again, and his head came out all the way. A couple more pushes, and his body slid out, into his Daddy's arms. The Princess, Little Brother, and The Hot Contractor held him there while I turned over to lay down and hold him. A few minutes later, the placenta came out, and we were all in Newborn Heaven.

Here's The Princess holding him, just a few minutes old.

Here's the little angel.

The Princess didn't want to get out of bed. She literally stayed in bed with me and Baby Brother almost all day. It was so sweet. She cried when it was Mommy's turn to hold Baby Brother because she didn't want to give him up.

Little Brother touching "baby".

I am so thankful that we ended up with Plan E. Looking back, I see that it was the best plan all along. My kids got to be there delivering their brother. We labored listening to rain by candlelight, eating yummy food, drinking tea...in the comfort of our own home (um, RV). I didn't need the water (although, it would have been nice, I'm sure). My kids weren't freaked out by watching (something I was really worried about), and Baby Brother entered the world without a glitch, completely naturally and safely. I'm sure he sensed the peace that his family had when he was born, and hopefully (despite the difficult descent, I'm sure), was at peace too.

Welcome Baby Brother! Named after my brother who died in 2009.
Born on 1/1/11 at 8:22 am.
10 lb, 7 oz (we bought a baby scale on eBay so that we could weigh him...I know you were wondering how we knew how much he weighed).
22" long.

And congratulations if you read this whole blog! Whew!

(For a cool documentary on hospital and home births in America, check out The Business of Being Born. It was done by Ricky Lake.)

Before & After RV Remodel

2010-12-19T18:00:00.000-08:00

Finally getting around to posting our before and after pictures of the RV remodel. Here goes!

Kitchen:

Here's the Family Shrine, and the refrigerator with chalkboard paint. The kids love doing art work on the fridge.

Bath:

Trying to show my favorite vintage hook I got, and the crown molding my hubby put in the bathroom.

Living Room:

See those beautiful glass windows above the chairs? We didn't know what to do about those. Then, we had an idea to paint them with chalkboard paint! They were covered nicely, and they're so useful. We write notes to each other, or our To Do list, or Grocery List, or meal planning on them. I love them now! My "after" picture didn't turn out for those...will have to post that later.

My Hot Contractor, working hard. Cute and happy.

Loft/Kids' Room

This is after The Hot Contractor tore it apart and rebuilt it.

Happy kids in their loft. They love it! We have their toys and books around the edges, and their bed in the middle.

Bedroom:

My kids, helping the Hot Contractor work on things.

There's no "before" for this shot, but this is our "office".

I wanted to show the crown molding my Hot Contractor put up. This is the view from laying on the bed.

Here's the outside of the RV in process. The Hot Contractor rebuilt the loft over the cab because the outside wall had come off. There were some pretty amazing things underneath that loft....like three ant colonies!

He also took off all the windows for painting and repairing the walls. He had to remove many of the inner walls as he discovered more and more dry rot as he began taking things apart. I'm just glad we discovered it, and that it's gone. Plus, with all the walls torn out, it was a good reason to do new texture and paint.

"Cheese!"

Just before we left for our adventure. Yes, I'm hugely pregnant. I think this was at 34 weeks.

Here's us driving away. I'm driving the RV, pulling The Hot Contractor's tool trailer with The Princess in the cab of the RV. The Hot Contractor is driving his truck, hauling his flat bed trailer with my car on top, and he has Little Brother with him. We looked like something out of Beverly Hillbilly's traveling down the road.

Shameless Plug:

Now that you've seen what my talented hubby can do, may I ask that you keep him in mind for projects you or your friends might have coming up? We will be traveling the country, so we may be coming to a neighborhood (or RV campground) near you! We would love to meet people, explore new places, and be able to make some sort of income while we do it. For more about what The Hot Contractor can do, or to see pictures of past projects, you can check out his website here. Thanks, friends!

Update On Our Plans

2010-11-28T13:28:00.001-08:00

Since it's been more than two months since I posted about out adventure, I figured it was time for an update.

We decided mid-September to move into the RV pre-baby, rather than try to do it with a newborn. The thought of packing up and moving while pregnant was also a little daunting, but I think it was the better option of the two. Considering this has been my easiest pregnancy so far, I was feeling up for it.

So, we began the remodel. First, The Hot Contractor rebuilt the area over the cab. It was all dry rotted, and he even found three ant colonies living under the loft bed! He rebuilt it, and now it's water proofed.

Then he tackled the dry rot in the other areas of the RV. He ended up replacing/rebuilding almost all the other walls, as he kept discovering more dry rot with each removal. It took a little longer than we planned. Once all the walls were done, he repainted them (and the cabinets). We chucked the gold cabinet hardware, and put on our oil rubbed bronze ones. I plan to do a before and after post, and I don't have my "before" pics handy right now, but here's a little sneak peek of the "after".

We also decided to paint the fridge and the gold laced mirror cabinet doors with chalkboard paint. They're super fun! The kids draw on the fridge whenever they have an artistic itch, and we use the freezer part for our grocery list. We've been using the other three (previously gold-laced ones) for our to-do list. Here's a sneak peek.

You'll notice our family shrine here too. :-)

Here's how the bedroom turned out.

The Hot Contractor and I both sewed new curtains. He did most of it, as he worries I might destroy them. Again, justified worry.

Without going into too much detail, we became very stressed as the Mad-Rush-to-Finish-Before-Thanksgiving arrived. We loaded up Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and hit the road! Somehow we made it. It was probably those days working from 7am-11pm for the two weeks prior. Ugh. It was hard, but it's over.

I left Oroville before The Hot Contractor because he had more things to load, and I needed to get to Sacramento to buy our refurbished washer/dryer before they closed. The Princess and I were in the RV, towing The Hot Contractor's work trailer loaded with all his tools. Unbeknownst to us, the ball on the hitch was a little too high, and every time I touched the breaks, I would skid. Sometimes not even stop. It was the scariest drive of my life! We made it (miraculously) to Sacramento 15 minutes before they closed. I told The Hot Contractor how scared I was driving. I thought the brakes had gone out, but he checked everything he could think of, and found nothing wrong with the brakes. He had the thought about the ball on the hitch being too high, and the weight of his trailer lifting the back tires on the RV when I braked. He lowered the ball, and it fixed the problem. I love that he's so knowledgeable, and that he can figure out stuff like this! I felt so safe and protected by him, knowing he wouldn't let us get on the road again until he was sure it was safe. We ended up spending the night in Sacramento, parked in the driveway of the RV salvage place. We left early Thanksgiving morning, and made it to Santa Cruz only a couple hours after we told my in-laws we would be there. I was full of gratitude. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Herb Drying

2010-10-03T17:33:00.001-07:00

We decided this year, that we would dry our herbs instead of letting them die in our garden. I sent The Princess out with her preschool scissors to cut the herbs off the stems. Here's the little cutie.

We brought them in and washed them; thyme, oregano and basil.

Then The Princess put them on the food dehydrator trays. Here's thyme.

Sparse, I know. Then there's oregano.

We had a couple trays of oregano. I put them in this order because I figured the tiny thyme might fall through the cracks onto the bottom tray. Oregano would be less likely, and basil very unlikely. I figured they wouldn't get too mixed together this way. Here's basil.

We had basil coming out our ears!

I turned the dehydrator on to 95 degrees. I'll leave it all night, and check them in the morning. From what I read, it shouldn't even take that long, but I'd rather be safe, than have moisture (and eventually mold) in my herbs.

Crockpot Soap

2010-10-02T22:33:00.001-07:00

I made soap today for the first time. I was a little intimidated. Mostly because I was using lye, and everything I read online scared the bageebeez out of me! Especially being pregnant, I wanted to do this with the utmost caution. So this is what my husband brought in for me to use.

It's a haz-mat face mask. Ok, I didn't really use it (I found some regular face masks around the house), but I thought it was cute that he wanted me to be *that* safe.

So, I read a little about making it in the crock-pot. It seemed easy, so I went for it. Here it is cooking.

Instead of using oils or fats I had bought from the store, I used some tallow I had rendered from the steer we just got (tallow is rendered fat from a cow, goat, or sheep). I had some tallow left over in my freezer from some goat fat someone gave me a while back, so I used that too. I figured it was a great way to use up the tallow, since I really don't like the taste or smell for cooking. Plus, it's free! The whole batch of soap (about 20 bars) cost me less than $2 to make. I bought some Lye, and used a few drops of essential oils (that I got on Freecycle, so I didn't really pay for those either). That's it!

In the end, it was way easier to make soap after actually doing it, than it was before trying it. Kinda like using cloth diapers for the first time, or making your own cleaning supplies: It's always harder before you do it. But once you try, you think, "What was I so afraid of? This is even better!"

Here's my final product.

I tried coloring it purple (to go with the lavender essential oils that I scented it with), but it didn't turn out too well. I definitely need to work on the coloring aspect. They might look like poop, but they smell like lavender!

The Hot Contractor tried it tonight and said it made nice suds and smelled good. That makes me happy. I was a little worried it would smell like stinky tallow.

Here She Is!

2010-09-13T15:45:00.001-07:00

The beauty.

Notice the duct tape on the loft over the cab. That was what our friends did to stop it from leaking last winter.

And here's my kids enjoying some sibling time on the front step. I thought it was precious that they just sat down together, and put their arms around each other. The Princess was asking Little Brother, "So, how was your day?" Precious.

Hittin' the Road!

2010-09-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a long time since I've blogged. What's new? But, I have a great reason to blog right now. I'm super duper excited about this adventure we're about to embark on. We're moving into an RV, and are going to explore the great U-S of A!

Here's how it all transpired:

We've wanted to leave California for a long time now, but for various reasons just haven't. Partly because we haven't known where we want to go. This summer, we took a family vacation to New Hampshire to check it out. We've done some research, and New Hampshire is rated as the "freest" state, and home of The Free State Project. Our little Libertarian hearts are longing for some of that freedom, so we've been mulling it over. It would be a big move, but we've got some adventure left in these spirits, so why not? We're planning on this being our final destination after our adventure, but we're also open to having our minds changed by our adventure.

A few weeks ago, some friends of ours gave us an RV that they no longer needed. Our other friends had given it to them. And some friends of theirs had given it to them. So, we're the latest recipients of this love, and are so grateful for this huge blessing! Traveling the country with our kids has always been a dream of ours. We've always said we wanted to do it for a year while homeschooling them, but since they're not quite school aged yet, that probably just means we'll have to do it again someday.

Since I'm currently with child (did I neglect to mention that here?), we are trying to figure out the timing of our move into the mansion. We're not sure if we should bust tail and get in there before the baby is born, or wait until a few months after he comes to move in. All just details, but stuff we're working through right now. The Hot Contractor has been getting more work in the Bay Area than he has here (which is pretty much none), so we're considering just movin' in and going down there for a while this Fall/Winter, and "practicing" living in it. I think it will be fun.

The cool part is that we took it camping last weekend (can I just pause here to tell you what glorious Camping Sleep this pregnant Mama had in that thing? Seriously. Camping Sleep and Pregnancy just don't go together well in my experience). While camping, we discovered all these things that are broken/need fixing on it. Like how the generator doesn't work, and the hydraulic system is broken, so we aren't able to level it. And how if it's not level, the fridge and freezer don't work. And how the water pump leaks, so whenever we use it (which is whenever we want to turn on water), it leaks a lot of our water, and we end up with an empty water tank in about a day. And the window coverings that don't exist. It might sound like I'm complaining, but really, these quirks excite me! Know why? Because we get to make it our own while we fix it! Woo-hoo!!!

When we first got it, the front door wouldn't close, so The Hot Contractor rebuilt the door. It took a few days, but it was well worth having some privacy when we went camping last weekend. We also decided to tear up the carpet, and put down laminate floors. We found some really fun stuff at Home Depot, and since it's a sprawling mansion of 29 feet, it cost us about $200 in flooring to replace it all. I also got a carpet remnant (shag, of course) at a carpet store for $35. We're going to cut it to size, and have a nice cushy carpet runner under our tootsies. Ahhh....how homey does that sound???

We're going to repaint the cabinets and walls eventually, and replace the oh-so-retro (but not in a good way) cabinet hardware with some cute oil-rubbed bronze knobs I got cheap on eBay. I'm going for a vintage country look. We bought some upholstery fabric, and are making cute curtains for the lodge (The Hot Contractor is doing that too. He's just a better seamstress than I am, and has a hard time letting me sew important things...because he's a little afraid I'll mess them up. Justifiably). A few of them ended up shorter than we wanted (width-wise), so I have an idea of adding some fun fringe or tassel fringe to the edges to extend them out a bit. I'm still looking for the prefect fringe, so let me know if you see any. ;-)

Another idea I had....since storage is an issue when you're living with five people in a 29-footer, I'm collecting vintage hooks to put on the walls all over the RV. Whenever I think of this, I imagine cute little hooks decorating spacious feet of wall space.

And then I go in there.

And I realize there aren't very many places to hang hooks because there is very little wall space. Even though I will be spatially challenged, I'm determined to succeed with my vintage hook decorating idea. I think it will be functional, yet cute. And that's what I'm going for.

One aspect of our adventure that is really challenging is laundry. If we're living in this thing full-time, I really don't want to be dragging three kids to a laundry mat every other day just to keep up on my laundry. I use cloth diapers, cloth napkins, cloth towels (instead of paper towels), and even more "cloth" stuff that I won't mention here. Some things I'm willing to give up, but some things I'm not (like cloth diapers), so I must find a way to do laundry in this RV. If I don't do one to two loads a day, I'm behind, and that's only with two kids! We came across this machine that washes and dries your clothes all at once, and is about 2'x2'x3'. We think we have a place for it in the RV (we'll lose one of our nice Lazy-Boy type chairs, but I think it will be worth it....especially since we'll add a counter top to it so we expand our kitchen counter space). It's about a $1,200 unit, and a little out of our budget for this "Design on a Dime" endeavor, but I called around to RV salvage places, and found a used/refurbished one for $600. Cool, huh? It's down in Sacramento, so we'll go check it out the next time we go that way. Maybe y'all should start calling me Frugal Mama, because I'm SO feeling it right now.

There's a lot of dry rot we're discovering, so The Hot Contractor is planning on tearing all of that out and replacing it. There's a little teensy bit of me that is afraid of what we will discover, but it's all a part of the adventure, eh? And again, we get to make it our own!!

There's the update. I think I need to start an RV blog. RVMama? What do you think? I definitely need to find some way to document our adventures. For now, Homesteadmama will have to suffice.

The Movers

2010-04-30T17:15:00.001-07:00

Our baby chicks graduated today. We moved them outside, into our smaller chicken tractor. They're a little nervous about this unknown territory, but we're confident in a few days, they'll feel right at home. Mmm...fresh, green grass.

Here's an up-close of the scared little things.

Here's their little nesting box.

The bees that came by a few days ago decided to stay. I really thought they'd make a short inspection, and find that the tree they were scouting out was sub-standard. But apparently not. They're staying. At least for now. I just hope they leave me some honey.

Spring Is In The Air!

2010-04-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated about what we are doing around the homestead, so I thought I'd give a little update.

The Hot Contractor and I have been going to the local Weston A Price Foundation chapter meetings, and have been learning a TON about why eating a traditional foods diet is so good for us. We are slowly making changes, and most of them have to do with our homestead. We've also met lots of amazing people, and found some awesome connections there. Annnnd....they have been offering classes on Urban Homesteading, Raising Poultry in Your Backyard, etc. In April we will go to the Heirloom Tomato class-can't wait!

After losing almost all our chickens to predators last winter, we were a little disheartened, and worried it might happen again if we use the same coop. Through the Poultry class, we learned that the most healthy way to let our chickens live is in chicken tractors. We have a small one that The Hot Contractor built when we moved here, but it isn't big enough to hold ten new laying hens (which we will get this week), and 25 meat chickens (which we will hatch soon). Here's our old chicken tractor.

There's our two remaining girls in there. Sniff, sniff.

So, The Hot Contractor has designed and built a new chicken tractor. We plan on it holding up to 24 chickens. We'll use a different coop for our meat chickens when they are big enough to be outside. Here's the tractor he's working on now.

I also thought I'd post a pic of our garden. We've been enjoying lots of greens from the garden. We have some cute little carrots growing too. Right now we are planting lots of things for our summer garden, and even have some potatoes growing.

Here's The Princess after picking some kale for dinner the other night.

Here's our mini greenhouse with our herb starts growing.

And here's our strawberry patch. I have high hopes of strawberry jam this summer, so I'm praying these things go OFF!

Yesterday the kids and I planted lots of seeds using a method I'd love to share. The Princess got poison oak in the process (bummer). I'll upload those pics soon, and share a little more about what we're doing (like getting raw milk, and a steer to slaughter.).

Homemade Cleaning Supplies

2010-03-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple friends recently ask me for my cleaning supply recipes. Instead of typing them out over and over, I figured this would be a great topic for a blog post! You need very few ingredients to make up all these concoctions. If you gather up these items, you can make almost everything I'm about to list:

Baking soda
White Vinegar
Your favorite Essential Oil
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Hydrogen Peroxide

So, here goes...

1) Multipurpose Cleaner/ Window Cleaner (for me, this is used for anything I would have used Windex on in the past):
Take a spray bottle (your emptied out Windex one will do just fine ;)) and fill it with:

1/2 vinegar
1/2 water
2-3 drops of your favorite Essential Oil (EO).

I use this for all my mirrors and glass in the house. Vinegar is also great for removing hard water stains---best to use straight vinegar when doing that. I use it on our shower door to get those yucky spots off. I also use the vinegar/water solution for wiping down the kids' toys, cleaning off the counter tops, a quick wipe down of the bathroom sink before guests come over...it's a great multipurpose cleaner! The EOs are not necessary, but they will make your cleaner smell better than vinegar! You can buy EOs at your local health food store, or online here. My favorite is a combination of Lavender and Tea Tree Oil. Sometimes it's nice to use a lemon or orange EO, or lemongrass, for cleaning supplies---there's just something fresh and clean about those scents.

2) Soft Scrub (I use it for everything I used to use Comet on---the stained kitchen sink, the dirty tub or shower, the bathroom sink, etc.)

Are you ready? It's a seriously hard mixture here.....it consists of......baking soda! I know, you probably are believing it as much as I did at first, but I promise if you try, you will watch things disappear right before your eyes! I just sprinkle it on dry, then wet a sponge and make a little paste. Then spread my paste all over whatever porcelain thing I'm trying to clean. It's like a magic eraser. If you have something really dirty, use a little vinegar. After the chemical reaction is over (it will fizz and bubble a lot--remember that from chemistry class?), you can spread it and scrub with it.

3) Toilet bowl cleaner (non-toxic, and about 1/10 of the price of commercial bowl cleaners)
I use the vinegar and baking soda mixture. I flush the toilet, then after the water drains from the bowl, shut off the water valve. With little water in the bowl, I pour some vinegar in, then a handful or so of baking soda. I then take the brush and swish it around. After about 20 minutes, I come back and brush it again, then turn the water back on. Sparking fresh!

4) Disinfectant
I fill a squirt bottle with:

1/2 vinegar
1/2 hydrogen peroxide

I've heard that this disinfectant is better than any commercial disinfectant you could buy. I use it for anything I want to get the germs off, especially my daughter's training potty after she uses it. Blech.

5) Furniture Polish (replacement for Pledge)
I've been using:

1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 drops essential oils.

I can't say I'm in love with this recipe. It will go rancid, so you have to use it up, or throw it out. You can keep it for a little while in the refrigerator, but I don't dust often enough to use it again when I do keep it in the fridge, so I usually dispose of the leftovers. The next time I dust, I'm going to try this new recipe I came across:

1:1 ratio of vinegar and olive oil
2-3 drops of EO (I really like using Lemongrass for my furniture polish. It's so fresh smelling!)

6) Laundry Detergent
1/2 cup soap flakes (like grate a bar of soap with a cheese grater)
1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup washing soda
1/4 cup Borax

This will yield like three loads of laundry (you use about 1/2 cup each load), so you would want to multiply it by a lot.

The laundry detergent is a bit of a labor of love because grating those bars of soap takes a long time! I've stopped doing it for now because I don't want to sit and grate like ten bars of soap. But, it is nice to use when I do make it.

Enjoy your clean, non-toxic house (for about 1/10th of the price of buying commercial cleaners!).

Natural Toiletries

2009-12-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

So, I'm forever on a quest to find natural, homemade ways to do away with store-bought, toxic, chemical-ridden household supplies. Cleaning supplies and toiletries are at the top of my list. Recently I've begun making some home-made toiletries that are super easy, and super cheap! And dare I say, even BETTER than the store bought stuff. I love sharing this stuff, and I love it when I have converts. So, if you become a convert, please do share.

1) Toothpaste: I've been using baking soda. Yep. That's it. I keep a jar of it on my bathroom counter because I use it for most of my homemade cleaning supplies, and also for shampoo for my husband (I'll get to that later). I wet my toothbrush, then dip it in the baking soda, and voila! Brusha brusha, and you've got yourself a nice, natural, whitening, halitosis-ending toothpaste! (I think this must have been the way they did it in the olden days, before Tom of Maine was around). I'll admit, the taste takes a bit of getting used to, but it's not that bad. And I like knowing I'm not putting anything unknown into my mouth, or ingesting it....especially that mind-altering stuff, fluoride.

2) Deodorant: OK, this one is fun! I recently read someone's recipe for deodorant, and made some myself. It's 1:1 ratio of distilled water (I used tap) and hydrogen peroxide. Plus about seven drops of Lavender Essential Oil (EO), and seven drops of Tea Tree Oil (TTO). The Lavender and TTO have antibacterial properties, so they are good to use on those stinky pits. Depending on the amount of liquid you are making, you'd want to adjust your drops of EOs up or down. They make it smell lovely. I put the ingredients in a spray bottle, and spray it on in the mornings.

Buuuut....I've been using the above recipe for a couple days, and I'm pretty stinky by the end of the day. So, I'll be changing my recipe to the concoction I mixed up tonight:

1/4 cup baking soda (that glorious thing I use in EVERYTHING. Ok, maybe not, but close.)
1/4 cup cornstarch
about 4 tablespoons coconut oil (maybe more, maybe less. Just adjust to the consistency you like)
Tea Tree and Lavender EOs

For those of you who don't know of the wonders of coconut oil, maybe I'll devote a blog to that someday soon, but in the meantime, here's a little factoid: it has a melting point of 76 degrees Fahrenheit. So, in my house right now, it's solid stuff. I had to heat it up to get it liquid to make my concoction.

I put it in a small mason jar, and have it on my counter to rub on my pitsos tomorrow morning. I'm really excited. (Is that weird?) I'll let you know how it goes. I'm just excited to not be putting another mind-altering substance into my body.....aluminum.

3) Lotion: Coconut Oil. Yep. That's it! (again). I've ditched the Lubriderm that I've been addicted to for over a decade, and tried this wonderful thing called Coconut Oil. I've been using it on my face as a facial moisturizer for a while (and loving it!), and I decided to start on my whole body. I filled a little jar I bought at Wal-mart for $1.97 with some coconut oil, and I keep it in the shower. I oil myself up after each shower, and feel soooo silky smooth. Plus, there's the added benefit of smelling all tropical. Like I just stepped off the plane from Hawaii. Yum. It also helps heal scars, and is good for mitigating eczema. It can be used as a personal lubricant (that's natural, and won't burn!), for yeast infections (is this TMI?), and even is used by some for weight loss! I know it sounds crazy, and very counter-intuitive, but it's true.

4) Anti-dandruff: Apple Cider Vinegar. I've been doing this one for a few months. Every time I start getting itchy scalp, I douse my head in some ACV, sleep with it on for one night, and the next morning the flakes are gone, the itching has ceased, and I'm back to normal. It's such a cheap, easy way to fix this issue that I do not enjoy having.

5) Shampoo and Conditioner: Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). So this is not one I'm doing myself, but I've gotten my hubby to do it. I fill up a plastic katsup bottle type thing I got at Wal-mart for $.97 with 2 tablespoons Baking Soda and 2 cups water. Shake it up, and pour it on. Hubby works it into his scalp. Then he rinses with the other ketchup bottle filled with ACV. One tip I've heard about is to not put the ACV directly on your scalp (unless you are doing the anti-dandruff thing mentioned above, and are going to wash your hair in the morning). It will make your scalp produce more oils, and you'll be a grease-ball all day. So, just rinse your hair with it. I'm no expert, and this homemade toiletry still needs some work and figuring out, but I thought I'd mention it, in case anyone wants to go "poo free".

If all of this sounds daunting to you, I completely understand. My husband and I talked for MONTHS about making our own cleaning supplies. We just felt like it was a big step. We also weren't sure it would work, and we kinda didn't know how to do it (well, we had recipes, but they required collecting empty bottles and such, so it was too much work). Once we decided to take that huge leap, and mix 1 part water with 1 part vinegar to make our all-purpose cleaner (Whew! Glad that's over!), we realized it is waaay easier than putting it on the shopping list, searching for it at the store, and bringing it home. Not only is is time-saving, but most of our homemade cleaners cost pennies compared to the dollars that we spent on commercial ones. The same is true with our homemade toiletries. So, I just want to say, "YOU CAN DO IT!" If this sounds at all fun or exciting to start making your own stuff, I encourage you to set aside 20 minutes to sit down, read the directions, find your empty containers, and get yourself set-up to do it. I think you'll be glad you did. We sure were.

Andrew Milton Pease

2009-11-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

** Warning: The content of this post might be sensitive to some, so read with caution.**

The above picture is of me and my big brother, circa 1977. Most of you know that my brother Andy passed away in February. He was 36 years old, a father to two awesome boys, and a husband of 15 years. He had just battled a three year bout with thyroid cancer, and had received the clean bill of health from the doctors just weeks before his death. He had been on the 12 year college plan, and was 2 units away from graduating from Humboldt State University. He and his wife had looked forward to his graduation for so long because it meant their hopes of a stable, family-supporting job was within reach. They had struggled financially for years, and this was the light at the end of the tunnel. They had planned to move out of their 600 square foot apartment this Fall, and into a roomier house. Their plans came to a screeching halt on the evening of February 6th, 2009.

Andy had just started a new job, working with kids with autism. This particular Friday night, he was taking one of the boys (Christopher) to the movies. He was teaching life skills--how to use your money to pay for things you want, etc., to this 15 year old boy. Christopher had decided he wanted to buy candy, not popcorn for his movie, and Andy was taking him to the grocery store to buy his candy, before going to the movie theater down the street to watch their movie.

(This past week, my family went up to Eureka so that my sister-in-law and I could meet with the DA who is acting on Andy's behalf. We learned more details about this case, some of which I will share here. If not for my own cathartic needs, for your curiosity.)

From about 5:30 pm to 6 pm that night, two men (John and James) went on a robbing spree, robbing six other people at knife point. They got a total of $3 from their victims, most of whom got away. While looking for more victims, they saw Andy and Christopher get out of Andy's car in the grocery store parking lot. They approached Andy, telling him to give up his money. I believe Andy wanted to protect this boy who was in his care, and he refused to let this man get past him. A fight between Andy and James (John was in the vehicle waiting) ensued while Christopher hid behind a car and watched. Andy was stabbed multiple times (about 13), and had defensive stab wounds on his right hand, indicating he was trying to keep the knife away from him. The man who stabbed him stabbed one fatal blow to his lower left ventricle in his heart. The detective told me that according to the coroner, even if that stab had happened on the bed in the Emergency room, with doctors all around him, there was no way to save a person at that point. The only way would have been if these people had chosen not to do this. I only wish.

After these men fled, they drove about 20 minutes south, to John's brother-in-law's mobile home. On their way, they were driving very dangerously, as they were inebriated and intoxicated. Multiple people witnessed their vehicle, and called the police to report them. One person saw them park at brother-in-law's house after hitting a curb. He took down their license plate number, and called the police. Since multiple robbery victims, and witnesses, had confirmed the license plate number, they knew these were their guys. The police arrived shortly thereafter, and arrested all three men, not knowing that the brother-in-law wasn't involved. He was later released.

There is a gag order on this case, so it has occurred to me that perhaps I shouldn't share all the information on the internet that the lawyers and detectives shared with us, but I will say that there is a ton of evidence against these men. From witnesses, to DNA evidence. There was even another man with autism in the parking lot who witnessed the fight between Andy and James, and gave a description of James to the investigator, down to the shoelaces he was wearing! Reminds me of Rainman, and I'm thankful for this man's stunning memory.

The men who did this have entered a plea bargain, and that is also something we discussed with the lawyers. While I don't know if I would ever feel that any penalty is enough for these men (unless they are able to give me back my brother), there are confines within our legal system that we must work within. The highest sentence that James (the killer) could get (with a first degree murder conviction) is Life in Prison Without Parole. He is offering 25 years to life, meaning he wouldn't be eligible for parole until he serves at least 25 years. Even then, he may never get out, but there is that possibility in 25 years. Unless we go to a trial, and leave this up to a jury (where anything could happen, even with excellent evidence), he will not get Life in Prison Without Parole. That is the hard part, but according to the lawyers, 25 to Life is still "pretty good".

The other guy, John, is pleaing guilty to all the robbery counts, is not pleaing First Degree Murder, but rather Manslaughter. His plea is to serve 19 years, at 85% (meaning he is eligible for parole after serving about 15 years). So, if he is good, he could be out in 15 years. This is the guy who has a wife and kids, even more victims in this heinous act. It just breaks my heart for all involved. Except maybe for James and John. I have little sympathy for them. My sister-in-law and I discussed our preferences in regards to the plea bargain with the attorneys. It is their decision ultimately, and they are determining what they will do.

And finally, some thoughts. I know as a Christian, that God calls me to forgive these men. To be honest though, I am having a hard time doing it. I want to. I really, really want to. But I'm just so sad, mad, and hurt for all these hurting people that were affected, that I just can't find it in me to forgive them. Not yet. I know that forgiveness is really for me, not for them, and I don't want to live with bitterness or anger in my heart. It will affect me if I do. Like a yucky cancer eating away at my spirit. I don't want that. But I'm not there yet. I can't let it go. Maybe after more time has passed? I hope so. It still feels so raw and new. I feel like it's only been a few weeks since I was woken up in the middle of the night by my little brother calling to tell me that our big brother had just been murdered. I had a two week old baby, and was feeling foggy to begin with, but tried to process the gravity of what was going on. I still feel like I'm in shock. I still think of him, and his last moments, and his poor kids, and his grieving wife, and that poor boy who watched him die every.single.day. Part of me feels like it is my way to honor Andy---to not forget him, and maybe even to not stop feeling sad. Perhaps there is a way I can honor him without holding on to the sadness over the manner of his death. Maybe I'll get there. Maybe I'll get a tattoo to memorialize him. I don't know.

Sometimes I wish, if he had to die, that he would have died of cancer. That would have been so much easier to deal with. The whole murder aspect of Andy's death just throws a wrench in the healing process for me, and I'm sure others too. It just feels so unfair. So unnecessary. So humanly chosen rather than divinely chosen. I know God knows the number of our days, and He knew long ago that Andy would only spend 36 years on this earth, but it just gets me that some other human being decided when, where, and how he would die. And it's not just Andy who was affected. There are two teenage boys without a dad who are grieving, a wife without her husband who doesn't know how to deal with her grief, two brothers and a sister who loved and miss their big brother, a mother and a father who outlived their child (which just seems so backward), a group home full of kids with autism who no longer have their counselor and mentor to guide them, aunts, uncles, in-laws, friends, neighbors...the list goes on and on. Not to mention these poor kids whose dad is in jail for "murder". I often wonder what they are going through. It's all just so unfair. As my nephew put it, "I just wish this didn't happen." I just wish this didn't happen.

Rest in peace, my big brother. I love you. I always will.

MIA

2009-11-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been a loooong time since I've blogged. Some of that is because 1) blogging stresses me out when I'm busy, and there are times when I just have to put it at the bottom of the priority list, and 2) I was spending every spare moment getting my new business up and running.

"What new business is this", you ask? I have been working on opening a Music Together center in my area. When I moved here last summer, and began looking for infant/toddler programs to take my kiddos to, I realized there was NOTHING to offer. So, I decided to bring it, and figured I would also benefit from drawing like-minded mamas to myself as potential friends. Well, after working on this for about three months, making a website (See the fruits of my labor here), spending lots of money, buying a whole lot of instruments, and doing some market research (should have done this part first), I realized that what I would need to charge to make up my costs (not even pay myself for my time), would be an amount that most people in this area could not afford. So, I've recently decided to put my plan on hold until either things change, or I find another way to operate that would not cost me so much money and unpaid time. So, here I am, back to the blog.

Another thing I've been doing is working on the homestead. We've prepared a large garden plot (about 30ft by 30ft), with raised beds and irrigation (photo below). We planted part of it a few weeks ago, and will plant more seeds this weekend. We've learned to spread out our planting so that things ripen at different times. If it all ripened at once, I might not be able to manage preserving/consuming it at that time. So, we will spread out the planting. We already have little saplings from the lettuces we planted! It's so fun to see them growing in their little row. I'm hoping the other things sprout up soon....I think their germination terms are longer, and that is why we aren't seeing them yet. At least I'm hoping that's why. It's the blind leading the blind around here when it comes to gardening. For all I know, we've killed things already! Here's the part of the plot that we will begin planting this weekend.

The chickens are doing well. We're down to 13 chickens, after once having 17. We ate two, and have lost three to predators. They keep getting out of the pen, and we keep trying different means of keeping them in, but are apparently not doing it correctly. At this point, we've clipped their wings, added more chicken wire, and put netting over the top of the pen. But they are figuring out how to get around the netting. Just yesterday, they were roosting in the oak tree above the pen. I couldn't believe it when I saw them up there! I thought chickens were dumb. Well, they are pretty dumb, but in this case, they're impressing me with their intellect. Here's a pic of the chickens. You can see that big branch over the pen. That is where they keep flying up and roosting. Silly girls.

Our next endeavor will either be goats or pigs. While we are super excited about adding either of these animals to our little homestead, we have learned with the chickens, that more mouths to feed costs money! And both goats and pigs eat a LOT! So, our plan is to start planting food that they would eat, build their shelters, feeders, and milking station (if it's goats), and then get the animals. We don't want to be eaten out of house and home, and are we really living sustainably if we are having to go out and buy their food? We should be growing it, so that is where we will start. Part of me just really wants to go out and buy a bunch of feed, and get the animals now, but I know that in the long run, it will be so much better if we can grow their food. And better for them too....we'll know exactly what is in their food, and thus our food, since we'll be eating their meat/dairy products/eggs.

And finally, I'm trying to learn what to do with all this stuff once it is grown so that we can maximize the benefit of all our hard work. Preserving is the way we've decided to go. I've purchased all the canning equipment I need, and lots of canning jars. A few weeks back, my girlfriend Joanna and I canned peaches. We used a recipe from the Ball Canning Cookbook that I have that included honey, cinnamon, all spice, and cloves. All I have to say is "yuuuuuuuum!" The peaches turned out sooo good. Now we just need to try to not eat it all afterwards so that we can have some later in the year to enjoy. Ok, we didn't eat all of them, but quite a few jars disappeared pretty quickly. The next thing I want to learn to do is tomatoes....stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, katsup, tomato juice. All those things I buy at Costco and use in my day-to-day cooking. I read recently that BPA has been found in many canned foods, and the aluminum I know is not good for us, so I really want to steer clear of using canned food from aluminum cans. But, I'm pretty sure I'll have to wait until next summer to do this, since tomatoes are hard to grow in the winter.

Weston A. Price Foundation Brochure

2009-09-17T21:13:00.001-07:00

http://www.westonaprice.org/brochures/wapfbrochure.html#guidelines

Another One Bites The Dust

2009-09-07T09:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Hot Contractor decided it was time for our Rhode Island Red hen to go. She's one of the first two we got on Freecycle, and ever since we ate her abusive rooster rapist boyfriend, she has been on edge! She is very aggressive, and pecks anyone who comes near her. To her credit, I think she is lonely. All the other hens stay in groups by breed, and age. And she has no one to hang out with: the other girls ignore her. I've been there before, and it's not a good feeling. I guess I'd be pissy too.
Buuuut...Hot Contractor got pecked one too many times trying to get her in her coop, or to reach in and change her food or water. He had it. He was on a mission. While I took the kids to Wal-Mart, he did the deed. I came home, and everything was cleaned up, and she was in the pressure cooker. He even made some yummy chicken soup out of some old stock we had in the fridge, and some veggies that needed to be eaten. It was great!
I spent the afternoon organizing our stuff in the barn. I got rat-proof bins at Wal-Mart, and went through and organized maternity clothes, little boy clothes, and girl clothes. I hate keeping all this stuff, and feeling like such a pack rat, but we don't know if we're done having kids, so we kinda need to keep it all. At least now it's organized, and the rats won't nest in it.
Another thing we did yesterday was end our use of paper towels. I've been telling Hot Contractor that as soon as my Viva stash (I do LOVE Viva paper towels, by the way) runs out, I'm not buying anymore paper towels. And we ran out. So I stocked up on cheap rags at Wal-Mart, and we will reach for those now when there is something we would typically use paper for. I think it might be a little bit of an adjustment, but eventually, I doubt we'll miss using paper towels. One less thing to buy, and one step closer to drastically reducing the items I purchase for our household.
After the kids were down, Hot Contractor folded about six loads of laundry I had done, and I worked on my Amish Friendship Bread. I made banana bread with it, and it is yuuuumy! I think I'm going to take a break from it after this bread is gone though. It's a lot to keep up with, along with my kefir, kombucha, and wanting to start sprouting my grains. The bread is the least healthy, so I've decided it can go. I've frozen two starter packs....one I can give away, and one to pull out when I'm ready to do it again.
I also worked on my kombucha last night. The tea had been fermenting for five days, which I've learned is the key to yummy kombucha. I've thrown out all the other batches I've made because they tasted disgusting! Way too vinegary. It's because I was leaving it to ferment for like ten days! Five days is perfect. It tastes just as good as the yummy stuff I used to buy at Whole Foods. But better because I made it myself. (Everything is always better when you make it yourself, don't ya think?). I added some strawberries, and sealed my big gallon mason jar, and put it in the fridge for a few days so it can develop it's fizz. I can't wait to have it in a few days! I'm hopeful it will be a success!

Bran, Flax, Zucchini Banana Muffins

2009-08-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I adapted from the back of a Bob's Red Mill package of flax seed meal.

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour (or any type of flour...I've used soy, whole wheat, whatever you have)
3/4 cup flax seed meal
3/4 cup oat bran. Once I didn't have oat bran, so I used oatmeal, and it was great. Other times, when I haven't had oat bran, I've added extra flour or flax seed meal to equal 3/4 cup.
1 cup brown sugar. I've used sucanat for this, and white sugar when I didn't have an alternative sweetener, or any brown sugar.
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

-Mix the above ingredients together in a large bowl

-Add these ingredients to the bowl:

1 1/2 cups shredded/pureed veggie (zucchini, carrots, or squash...whatever you have around. I once mistakenly put in a cucumber instead of a zucchini, and that didn't taste so hot. Don't try it.)
2 cups pureed fruit (apple and banana are what I've used)
1/2 cup raisins (optional). I've also substituted this for chocolate chips.
1 cup nuts, chopped (I use walnuts)

-Mix

-In a small bowl, combine:
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

-Pour liquid ingredients into large bowl with other ingredients
Stir until moistened. Do not over-mix.

-Fill muffin cups 3/4 full

-Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

-Yield 15 muffins

These muffins are SOOOOOO good, and so moist! And I eat them by the truckload because there's a lot of good stuff in them, and not much bad stuff (unless you put chocolate chips in). They will keep you nice and regular too!

Pledge. Oh How I Love Thee. Will I Ever Let You Go?

2009-08-15T14:32:00.001-07:00

I've been looking for a recipe for homemade furniture polish for some time, and have not been satisfied with what I've found. I tried olive oil, and really liked how shiny everything was for a few days, and then everything seemed to have this yucky, dull film all over. But today I may have found what I've been looking for. Here's what you need:

•Lemon Juice
•Olive Oil
•An empty spray bottle
•An essential oil that smells clean and fresh to you. I used Sweet Orange. Whatever EO you choose, use it sparingly, or not at all if you are pregnant. And remember it is mixing with lemon juice, so pick something complementary.
This cleaning product goes bad in a few days, so you will want to make only what you will use today, and throw out whatever is left over. That's the one downside...I like to make my cleaning products in large quantities, and have them on hand. But let's go with it anyway.
Here's the recipe. I doubled it because I had a lot of dusting to do, but I think it was too much. I should have just started with the regular recipe:
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2-3 drops of essential oils
Pour it in, shake it up, spray it on, and wipe it off with a cloth. Easy schmeasy!
Now I may be able to let go of Pledge. She's been one commercial product I haven't been able to break up with. But I think she might be out the door now.

New Friendships

2009-08-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I got some Amish Friendship Bread Starter from a nice lady on Freecycle. I'm super excited to bake some bread with this stuff in three more days. I'm learning all about it via my new Freecycle friend. Apparently you have to follow strict guidelines (ok, not THAT strict) for ten days....stirring some days (but only with a wooden spoon, no metal can touch this stuff). Then on certain days, you add a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, and a cup of milk. And this stuff just grows and grows. I think it's like kefir and kombucha...a live culture thingy that grows and grows, and is really good bacteria for you. I haven't read that yet, it's still to be confirmed, but that's my feeling anyway. hmmmm....

So, once I have it, I'm supposed to give two new starters to two friends of mine. Since I just moved here, it made me think..."Do I have two friends?" And guess what? I do! Let me tell you about them. I'm super excited about them, actually. One girl I met at a BBQ our first weekend here. Her name's Joanna. She has two girls, 4 & 6. The Princess is as big as her four year old, as an aside. She passed down some clothes and shoes for me, and they were too small. heehee. But I digress...

So, Joanna is a therapist for girls who struggle with eating disorders. She's a super intentional mama, and is constantly learning how to be a better parent. I love it! We have soooo much to talk about....all the things we're reading about in our parenting books, etc. It helps that she has a similar parenting philosophy of gentle discipline, too.

Then, there's Rachael. She's older, loves Jesus, practices Attachment Parenting and Gentle Discipline with her kids, 10 &14. She also is totally into natural healing and eating. She and I have shared natural remedies with each other, kefir recipes, and more. It's been really fun getting to know her. I got hooked up with her when I asked Mark's aunt for a pediatrician recommendation who would be open to Attachment Parenting. Since she didn't know who to recommend, she connected me with Rachael, who recommended a total AP pediatrician! Woo-hoo!

And my third friend is Christina. I met her in the cry room at church two weeks ago. She heard me say that it was my first time at the church, and she invited me to dinner at their house (which we did last night). She has two boys, 11& 8, and a surprise one year old daughter. She parents a little differently than I do, but she and I connect in other ways. Today she and her kids came over and she helped me sew. She also took some pictures of Little Brother (she couldn't get over seeing the fattest baby she'd ever seen). She's a photographer too. Oh, and a sign language interpreter, which is fun, since we do sign language with The Princess. Her family is raising chickens, and her boys loved climbing in our new chicken pen, and coop (ooops...forgot to blog about that).

So, now that I've journaled (sorry for the long post!), it's time to go. Christina invited me to a girls night out movie night with her girlfriends tonight. Gotta run!

Why we are doing this...

2009-08-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

For the past nine days, Mark's aunt (Willene), cousin (Lauren), and her son (his second cousin?...Garrett) have been staying here with us, in his aunt's house. We also live here with his cousin, Jim. It's a full house!

Today, we set aside the day to have a family "pow wow" about our future, and our life together. We've always wanted to live simply, and get away from the rat race that is so prevalent in our culture. But why now? What prompted us to do it now? Well, we think that there are very hard times ahead for our country (and our world), and we want to poise ourselves to be in a position where we are not only able to survive, but to help others we love. It turns out that all of the family members filling our house also feel this way (we already knew that though), and it's so exciting to be on this adventure together!

All day long, we've been sitting around the dining room table, or lounging on the living room floor, as we talk about how, and when, and what we can do to prepare. We all shared tidbits of information that we've learned that will help us, or that reinforce our feelings about what is coming. It has been such an inspirational time of sharing scripture, and prayers, and also of coming together, and talking about living in community with each other.

I am so lucky to have married into this family!

The Most Sparkly (and non-toxic) Toilet You've Ever Seen

2009-07-31T13:29:00.001-07:00

My new favorite natural cleaning recipe: vinegar and baking soda for cleaning your toilet bowl. Not only are those store bought toilet bowl cleaners filled with horrible chemicals, but they're expensive too! I've been thinking there has got to be a better way to get rid of that lovely ring around the toilet bowl. I recently came across this recipe using these two ingredients I now consider staples around my house.

Here's how i did it:

1) flush the toilet and turn off the water when the water is out of the bowl, before it fills up. It's fine if there is some water in there, but you want to have less than a full bowl worth.

2) pour in a splash of vinegar. I used about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup.

3) pour some baking soda in there and watch it fizz with the vinegar.

4) take your toilet bowl brush and scrub the bowl out.

5) leave it for about 20 minutes before flushing and turning the water back on.

There you go! Easy shmeasy, and totally non-toxic! Not to mention CHEAP! Now you can enjoy your sparkly clean toilet bowl. Have at it, ladies!

Our First Egg

2009-07-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

We got three more hens last night from some nice lady on Freecycle. These three are Buff Orphingtons, and they join our lone little Rhode Island Red, who lost her mate, the rooster, to our chicken soup for tonight's dinner. They've been figuring out their pecking order all day long. Blood has been drawn, and chickens can be found pacing back and forth in the coop, as they decide who is where in the order.
So, we got our first egg today! One of the new ladies left it in the nesting box this morning. I took The Princess down to get it out this afternoon, when she woke up from her nap. I let her hold the egg, knowing full well that it might not make it to the house alive. It didn't. It ended up all over both of us while The Princess cried from the fall she took while trying to walk up the rocky path oh-so-carefully. It was a memorable first egg. There will be more tomorrow! (hopefully).

Here goes...

2009-07-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

So, I've thought about blogging for a loooong time. Why haven't I done it? Partly because I don't know where in the world I will find the time. But partly because I'm a little afraid that nobody will want to read it, or that I'm not a good enough writer. But I've decided that I want to chronicle my kids' childhoods, to document our adventures in learning to homestead, and that I need to make the time because these reasons are important enough to do so. And if people read it, great. If they don't, then, well, that's great too.