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I am going to have a little bit difficult time doing this. My question goes to, well, what should I do? Fiction? Spiritual? Children’s books? All three? I finally decided to do a children’s book this week.
Recently this book has come into my posession;
I love Usborne books. They books are SO nicely bound and fresh looking. So full of good information but keep the kids reading and reading! I am very interested in butterflies and nature (thank you Roger (for the clueless, time to watch Wives and Daughters from BBC)) and have found Emma to be of the same mind too. That’s my girl. So I bought this book.
It is so full of information, small snipets, more extensive, etc. that children CAN learn from and look forward to their next outting. I highly recommend this. I have picked up nature books here and there from yard sales, thrift shops, etc but I will say that this was WAY worth the money. The other books just had so little information that could commonly be applied as just common sense. I am learning from this book.
It does not ONLY go into details about insects but how the flowers or tree’s and such can benefit from the insects. Emma my 10month old baby loves to look at the pictures. I am not exaggerating.
This would be a GREAT gift. I am so so pleased I put the money out there. I have such a hard time buying new books. But this was worth every cent.
I have only one complaint about this book. I didn’t like the new book smell. 
Well this is very late in the day. So sorry. Its been a hectic day.
Today we did a little gardening. I am planning my fall garden and so far the vegetable plot will consist of,
~1 row of carrots (mini carrots are better for out here since it will either get to hot before they get long enough and will be biter or the frost will come and nip em again before they are long enough)
~ 2 rows of green beans
2 rows of peas (sugar snap and “normal”)
~ 1/2 row of spinach
~1/2 row of lettuce
~ 1/2 row of green onion with beets
1/2 row of squash
This is what has been planned so far for the veggies. List subject to change.
Today I concentrated on a small plot for some herbs and cosmos. It’s near the mailbox and I have been dying to work the soil there. At 7:30am this morning the temp. was already 92f and it was hard digging in the soil with a belly out to there and a child to watch, but we managed and here is the process;
1. First I had to pull the Bermuda or crab grass out. I didn’t get a before shot but this is what the plot next to it looks like. Just to give you an idea. Now, this took 1/2 hour to do because a) I am very allergic to the weed. I break out in hives. I hate wearing gloves. I love the feel of dirt and soil beneath my fingers so I don’t own a pair of gloves and find them a nuisance anyways when you are trying to work. THey are constantly falling off or doing something naughty. So It was all done by shovel and a spade and a small size rake.
2. I bought (yes I did! :O ) some top soil. Organic. I knew we would need our compost for the veggie plot and since that seemed more useful to me than a small hobby area I spent a whole $1.50 on some top soil. So here you have the weeded area and the top soil ready to go on.
3. This is now the soil worked in and wetted down. I wet my soil down before I do any plantin’. The reason for this is to get my soil even. Once the ground is wet and soaked down I will again work the soil to a more even setting. I like evenness.
Now I really can’t do much at this point and I have been outside an hour and the sweat is pouring all over me and babykins is ready for her morning nap. So I snap a few pics of my gardening/sodbustering partner and in we go;
Actually, we first went on a small 20 minute walk THEN she went to bed. I brought the camera with me and did manage to snap a few pictures for your pleasure;
Whats left of our flood. I think it makes our desert area look more authentic. LOL.
Wild Mint. I am going to figure out how to get some of that home!
Our street is famous for its flock of quail. I love it when the babies are out but never manage to get a picture before they leave the coop so to speak. I managed to snap this picture using our zoom feature but it still was dissapointing to be about 100 feet away and them already rushing away. But it made such a cute lil picture.
Our house at a first glance…
Once inside the gate…
And to the left… our famous garden.
You know, I have only been here about 2 years. My husband bought the house about 1-2 years before we were married. He got a job and bought a house when we became very serious in our courtin’ stage. And even then it was still 2 years before we got married… no it wasn’t exactly planned that way so we could have a nest egg. My dear husband wanted so badly to have the perfect home to bring his bride too. It was so sweet of him and he stressed about it so much that I reminded him that he needed to leave me a job for the home. I cant spend all day cleaning up after a meal we share in the morning and spend the rest of the day working on dinner. LOL. Poor guy wasn’t totally convinced that he shouldn’t ready the house. I felt like saying with Charlotte Lucas from Pride and Prejudice;
“I ask only a comfortable home…”
We came here to a deserted yard. We have made a compost bin and area. We have worked hard soil into a garden plot. We planted two peach tree’s that died. 1 ash tree that still lives and a sycamore tree that died. We are working on a drive way for the cars by lining the way with Michaelmas Daisies. All in all, we really have come very far! I could have done more during the 8 months of being a newly wed I totally admit. But once the children started coming while the process slowed, we ended up in the long run getting more done! It is amazing the way God works out even the small details in our life.
So, this has been your Tuesday report.
Today’s To-do list
Laundry- consiting of;
-
Wash
-
Hang on line/dry
-
Fold
-
Hang up
- Put away
Kitchen Duty- Consisting of
- Dishes washed
- Floor cleaned
- Fridge cleaned out
- Freezer defrosted
- stove and counters wiped
Livingroom-
- Floors vaccumed
- Table cleared
- couch cleared
- entry way swept
- piano dusted and cleared
Bedroom- Bed made and clothes off of floor
Dress a Day project
Package up packages
Car picked up (ie toys out and reusable bags in proper place)
Well, I’m worn out. Freezer and fridge and floor will have to be tomorrow’s project. How did you all do?
What’s on your do to list? Spend 5 minutes making a list that MUST get done today. Then write a list of what you would like to see get done. Tape it to your computer screen or wherever you like to “hideout” and get busy!
Ma Ingalls had a system for her days, we all know it;
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday.
But I have my own way of doing things;
Maidin’ Monday, where my friend and I challenge each other to get as much done as we can during that day. Clean and organize your life. We challenge others too to join us and start your week afresh.
Sodbusters Tuesday- Gardening day! I hope to “Teach” as well as share what I have learned about gardening in the Mojave desert as well as glean from the comments. It’s getting near fall planting (for us desert dwellers anyway) so it’ll be a lot of planning and preparing. Strap on your overalls and grab your straw hat!
Off the Shelf Wednesdays- I hope on this day to share some of the books I am reading and maybe some reviews. I enjoy books so much and I am always on the lookout for good reading material. Some will be children’s books, some can be spiritual, or it could be an ordinary fiction/non-fiction book. Whatever. I’ll grab it off the shelf and write it down.
Provident Thursdays- Here I hope to share all the thrifty idea’s I have gleaned. The budgeting ways I have done. Basically, frugality for the 21st century.
Cafe Friday- New recipes, living Gluten Free, and much more.
Craft Show Saturdays- Learn a new craft project each Saturday. Beginners and experts welcome!
Bloggin’ Sunday- I hope to share different blogs I frequent these days and why I love to read them.
So, I hope you all will join us. Maidin’ Monday up next!
I am going to try something for the month of August but I’ll start Monday since I like starting fresh on Mondays after a Day of Worship with our Lord.
So here is the thing; I am going to have certain days for specific things, for example;
A friend and I (Beccastoggs.com) are going to have Maidin’ Monday. We have a challenge every monday to get our butlers (or in the case our maidin’s) kicked into gear for some of the things that need to be done, ie vaccuming, deep cleaning and whatnot. Tuesdays maybe I’ll have it dedicated to gardening. And so on.
I am very excited about this because A) I am hoping it’ll help me be more consistent with my blog, bring new readers in, teach what I know to those that want to learn about certian things, and so forth.
Now where does the blog contest come in? Well! AT the end of August I am hoping that people will comment on if they liked the blog, what they learned or didn’t learn, what they didn’t like, if they will come more because of that, basically GIVE FEEDBACK!!! Yay! Winner will recieve something, I have a whole month to come up with something extrodinary GREAT! Maybe I’ll choose seven winners. One for each day. So share this blog with your friends and increase you chances of winning. Tell me who recommend you, and if you recommended anyone. I love feedback.
So, I am off for the weekend. And I’ll see you all Monday!
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday
Many people warn you the dangers of coupon shopping. Mostly because you actually can end up paying more for your purchases because most coupons are brand names over store prices. For the most part this is true, however for today I will be explaining why I choose Juicy Juice over store brands.
I tend to purchase juice for me and hubby and Emma will occasionaly get some. We have been trying to wean her off dairy so she has been getting more juice than I normally would give her. Gasp, a cup a day! (Baby size cup of course) So in my efforts to be more frugal I would purchase the store brand juice and delude it in some water. However it came to the point where it was actually the same cost to buy Juicy Juice with coupons (End up being .10 - .50 more than store brand a jar) and deluding that in water. It last so much longer because the Juicy Juice has a stronger juice taste. The store has been deluded enough. For normal drinking its fine and better cost but I like to dilude Emma’s in a lot of water. More than half and half. A typical bottle from the grocery store can last up to 1.5 weeks for us as a family. Juicy Juice because we will all delude it (and still have that great taste) last for 2.5-4 weeks.
Another reason I do Juicy Juice is because I have this thing about added sweeteners in my juice. Ok so both hubby and I have this thing. So when you look at the back of the bottles and compare prices and store brands and ingredients it boils down to two choices. Which will you choose?
Debate?
My Sister-in-law sent this to me and I thought it might be well to share with those that are trying to eat healthy. Some of it I could follow, some of it I don’t agree on but as a whole its an excellent chart.
Food Combining Chart
Source can be found here;
http://www.alderbrooke.com/images/chart.jpg
organizing frenzy
I had always assumed that here they were talking about carrying babies all day or making/kneading bread… I mean you earn muscles from doing that day after day. I have come to the conclusion that there is another way she does it as well. (she being the perfect Prov. 31 woman we all aspire to be). Anyway, she does this by making rice pudding.
That’s the rice pudding I made last night. A real treat for hubby and a workout for me. Being 100F here in town slaving over a hot stove is a lot of work. But it turned out ok, the verdict was cut the sugar by atleast half. Too sweet. I used this recipe.
After dinner I was able to finish my month late birthday gift for a dear friend in Scotland. I think she’ll like em. They are herb markers. I made three and stiffened em by fabric stiffener. It also worked as glue. They turned out so cute!
Have a wonderful weekend readers. Enjoy starting the week out by worshiping our Lord. 
I have a bookshelf right next to my computer. It should be filled with books like herbs, gardening, child rearing, a bible, a concordance, well you get the idea. However it’s also part of the kitchen counter therefore it has cookbooks, and children’s books on it. Oh yeah and SOME health books.
I always love it when people take pictures next to books. I read teh titles. So I thought i would just take a picture of the bookcase. Come on, you know you wanna see what books I have…
The bottom bookshelf is entirely children’s books. I am so proud of my small collection picked up from thrift stores, yard sales, and being a Usborne Consulant always helps develope that excellent taste in books.
Then there are the times we will pull out the special books and Emma and I will look them over. Today happened to be antique picture books. You know the kind that change pictures with the twist of the wrist.
I am so proud of myself. Today I *had* to condense our books. The shelf was just too full and overflowing. I managed to even make room for a few more. Duplicates left.
Sigh… our own personal library!
I am surrounded by fabric, lace, elastic, thread, and scraps everywhere. It’s not suppose to be in such a disarray. Why is it? I am not exactly sure. I have a tendency to get everything spic and span and then the week after it be a total dissaster again. It drives me nuts, bonkers, and every other term of frustration. I do still manage to stay on top of sewing one item daily. Yesterday it was 4 items. Slowly but surely my fabric stash is depleting. It’s so sad to see some of my favorites go. Knowing I’ll probably never use them again. I haven’t learned as my mother has, that pretty fabrics still tend to come into season so its ok to use up your fabric. There is always more. Solomon should have met a seamstress.. “To the making of fabrics… there is no end”.
Why on earth am I blogging about this? Cause I am motivating myself to have a clean and organized home someday…soon! I am now 20 weeks along. The time is racing by for this little one to come join us. I still would like to get my fabric stash to 1/4 of what it is now. Atleast. Ohhh boy. That’s a lot of work. I have been a very good girl and have not bought any of Walmart’s recent fabrics… which are to die for.
But I wonder, what does everyone have in their home that they are dying to clean out or reduce? Is it books? Clothes? clutter? Spend 10 minutes a day just sorting and it will begin to diminish. It is amazing to think of the stuff we are so blessed with that we never use.
Lets enjoy our time here on earth but remember not to hored stuff that we can’t take with us.
Obviously this is more a post for the ladies than the men but I think men, especially husbands will be able to benefit from this and support and encourage their wives as well.
Here goes;
This will be a hard post to write about. Why? Well for one thing I hate writting about touchy subjects or something so personal as breastfeeding. But with all the greif I have been getting about voicing my opinions on the subject I finally decided to use my freedom of speech right and blog what I have been wanting to say aloud forever. For those of you who know me personally, know that what I usually want to say in my head never comes out right in words. For another reason, I know I am not the only one out there that has felt like a looser because people have mentioned the lengths they went to breastfeed. So what should we do? Pat them on the back, say, Well done. Then move on. They DID do good, but what they did is not necessarily meant for anyone and everyone.
When Euphemia was born I had a horrible time trying to nurse. At first we thought I wasn’t holding her right… but after reviewing many pictures of the first day of life I can see that I was holding her right (maybe not getting her mouth wide enough opened) but that was not the issue.
I have always had breast problems to one degree or another. I can NEVER take cold showers. I need it as hot as I can stand. Usually when I am done the whole air is this thick fog, even in the summer. My hubby, likes hot water too but even he says, “Challice! Ouch!” Swimming has always been one of my favorite “sports”, if you will. But I have a hard time getting in and out. It just hurts!
So when Emma was born I knew that there would probably be some issues. But I was not prepared for the lengths I would go in order to breastfeed. Tears, Sweat (in Oct.) hand expressing, pumping, more tears, and just sheer pain. I have never enjoyed the thought of nursing. And I didn’t really enjoy nursing. But I knew that it was healthy and good for my baby and lets face it, I have to do a lot of things I just don’t like, one more thing won’t kill me.
Finally one side healed up fine. But the other side I spent 5 months pumping. I pumped every 3-4 hours just to be sure the milk supply would stay… although I needn’t have worried, I was pumping about 4-5oz everytime I pumped and Emma was only needing 2-3oz each feeding and that was on the other size. I went back and forth from nursing to bottle feeding (from the pumped milk). I did the nipple shield, I did every nipple cream anyone could recommend, including yogurt (in case it was a yeast infection). I did cloth pads, I did disposable pads. Finally after 5 months it healed enough to nurse her off of. I could do both sides now… but then I found out i was pregnant. I was able to keep the nursing up for about another month then the milk supply was pretty much gone and I had become so tender that I said, “Your done”.
I will not do the lengths I did with Emma with #2 muffin. With 2 children there is no way I will. I will give nursing about 2 months and if everything is running smoothly, WONDERFUL! if not, bottles are just fine. Emma managed to survive just fine and dandy with them. She is one healthy baby.
I am already getting some grief about my decision. I decided to mention it to a few people now because I knew that when I am nursing I could be bullied (for lack of a better word) about my decision and then being so emotionally and physically exhausted who knows what I would do. Let em warm up to the idea. But why am I getting grief? The main point is to get the child fed. We will being doing raw goats milk (next best thing to breastmilk) and I have a younger sister that had to be fed like that and she is the rosiest, brightest little thing you have ever known. Goats milk won’t kill em.
We all show love for our children one way or another. Some by going to extreme and amazing lengths to breastfeed. WAY TA GO ladies. I on the other-hand will not. I would not feel comfortable telling my child,
“Honey, I loved you so much that I would cry just knowing you wanted to nurse. I looked forward to the times I could just hold you. I hated nursing you but I knew it would be so healthy for you. I went through sweat and tears to nurse you. Can’t you feel my love?”
I would so much rather say,
“Honey, you know how much I love you. I knew you needed food so we fed froma bottle. I looked forward to the times I could just cuddle with you as you sucked from the bottle. Sure I had to get up 5 minutes before feeding time during the night so you could have some warm milk but I was then all the more awake to just see you dreamily suck away. It was such a special and wonderful time”.
We all have reasons for what we do. Perhaps I am being selfish in my reasons for bottle over breastfeeding. I know that children really don’t scar that easily… but why should she think that Mommy cries so much over this new baby? Children may not scar easily but they are bright cookies.
So, if you get grief over your decision to bottle feed over breastfeed just remember, the baby needs food. Get it in them. Sure you can research the best way to get it in them (we won’t be doing formula, whole nother topic right there), whether its formula, goats milk, donated breast-milk, whatever. Get the child fed. There are many support groups for the mother’s that go to all lengths to breastfeed. But we also need support. From our husbands, from our family and friends, knowing that we did what we could. We don’t need grief on how we failed. God created each one of us uniquely, where did He the Creator make a mistake? Thank God for your child, thank God for the woman that can breastfeed, feel happy for them, but don’t beat yourself against a brick wall for not being the “greatest mom”. Breastfeeding does not make you upper-class mom.
The grass withers, the flower fades but the word of our Lord shall stand forever…
Isaiah 40:8
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
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Well hello all!
It has been a very busy weekend. Wednesday my car battery died. So glad it was nothing major but never being in a car when the battery died (that I can remember) it was an intersesting experiance.
So thursday I spent the day running errands, using my mother’s car. It was a very hectic day to say the least… and I wasn’t even doing the grocerie shopping!
Friday morning at o’darkthirty we made our out-of-town trip. It took up all morning and the afternoon was spent cleaning out the house. That task alone involves many hours of organizing, re-arranging, purging, and sometimes selling. My husband just left to make a thrift store dump though. It’s always a good reminder of how blest we are.
What’s on the agenda for today? Sewing! Lot’s of sewing!
Oh, and I plan to make some fresh lemonade. Have you ever made lemonade? I haven’t but I found this recipe off of another blog I read. She takes wonderful pictures and it’s hard not to let your mouth water when you see that fresh lemonade picture…
Have a special and wonderful weekend!
Good morning readers, Some of you are so faithful at checking the blog daily and I have not been very good at keeping this up to date. Shame on me.
Today we started the morning out at 4am. Emma woke up to needing a bottle of goats milk and hubby got up, as did I for different purposes of course. What I didn’t realize is that he didn’t return to bed until about 1/2 hour later… Then I found him in the kitchen burning ants. Mint does NOT work. The ants here LOVE the mint. Sigh. Back to square one. Carpets to vaccum a floor to scrub, furniture to move and clean behind. Totes of stuff I have been trying to find homes for went out the door until I could calmly deal with it. All the while, my husband went quietly about, doing this and that to kill them. We use the Max Attraxx from Home depot to take care of them but it still takes a whole day and 2 bait traps. GAAAAAAAAAA.
I then set to making bacon, and eggs with onion and fresh parsley. Mmmm…
Emma wakes up, we feed her some of our fresh carrots and zuccini that have been through the blender. It is not long afterwards that we start hearing the grunts come from her. We all know what that means. But hubby and I calmly finishing eating and talking about what I will be doing today… mental checklist starts
Make coulottes and tiered skirts for friend
Daily exercise
Plan fall garden
Bottle up recycle items for this weekends trip
Do shopping list
D.A.D. (Dress A Day) Project
Scrub Kitchen
Scrub Bathroom
Divide and freeze chicken
Purify water (alkaline water)
House plants water
Bathroom scrub
And the list continues on but my brain closes up. So here I am at the computer. Break time.
Emma and I did our exercise. We left around 7:30am to go for a walk. By the time we had returned home though, 8:30am it was 100F outside. We both were sweating and needing lots of water.
My day then began. On the D.A.D. project I realized I had messed up the pattern and therefore would have to purchase more fabric (WAAAAAAAA) in order to finish this. Forget it. Lets tackle the cleaning for the ant project. That turned into a, “Lets keep Emma from playing with the ants” project. Fine. We’ll tackle the bedroom. Ahhh. Tranquility. Peacefulness. Wait, where did that basket of unfolded laundry come from? Has it truly been there since Monday??????
The women’s world of chaos is never fully at a rest.
While tidying up the livingroom I came across some of the recent item’s I purchased through our penny jar (the jar that collects pocket change). I found my next project…
Isn’t it CUTE?!? It’s actually NOT for #2 muffin but a baby gift. It’s crocheted so this is going to be a fun one to learn. ahem. It says, “easy” but most people that make these are experts so of course they think it’s easy. But I shall conquer! I have that stubborn Scot blood in me.
Have a wonderful day all you readers, tackle something today that you have been dying to get done but keep putting it off. Set the timer for 1 hour. What can you get done in that hour? Remember, it will go by fast.
I also wanted to add that I listed a few books for sale here.
Here is just one room that is just for books. Each room in our house has a bookcase of some sort but this is the actual study…
View from the doorway…
Looking towards the doorway…
Think we can read it all in a lifetime?
I’ll tear down in my next blog entry but before I do that I decided to post something how I would love to share MY american dream. We all heard what the american dream is, whatever you don’t have. So here we go… I would have…
Chickens! I have always longed for chickens…
David and I have talked about having 1 dozen. Why so many? Well we would use atleast 4 eggs a day. Then there is my in-laws to concider, my parents, and a few extra to sell (eggs I mean) $$ to help with the chicken feed. I already have a few of them named, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Mrs. Bennett
Then of course we would have the goats…
And no names like Sugar, buttermilk, and that, NO NO, we must have, Cheesecake, and cream cheese.
Then I must give hubby his horse.
Then we will move on to the farm land… and idea herb garden PATCH (not the complete thing mind you.. )
Patch of garden…
And then, the front porch, to sit and talk in the evening over a glass of lemonade. To watch the children play as you sit and do a bit of needlework…
I am not even going to begin on the inside… It’s what’s on the outside that counts right?
It is finished, horray! I think it makes a lovely dishcloth. How will I ever be able to use it????????
I am attempting the same pattern but trying for a doily.
I have been like a dry well in my spiritual life recently. I have been extra focused on the daily living and the coming baby that much has been neglected. Many have said that when you first turn your day over to God, He will give you the time you need to acomplish the important tasks. I dare not say taht I have not found this to be true but it still seems like there is more acomplished when I set aside that time only for the brief 5 minutes before bed. However, the sweet communication between a Friend so near and dear begins to fade like the day. Each task still comes up anew each day and my life seems less meaningful. I question my vocation, I question my purpose in life, I question life itself. Where is God? He has not left me… I have left Him. Does a bride leave her groom at the alter?
The road is long and weary. I cannot deny this fact. But God has not promised a sweet meadow and cushioned feet. Christian had fallen into that snare in Pilgrims Progress. The wonderful meadow proved to be death to all that enjoyed it. The snare of being too content, to well satisfied, but not satisfied.
So, I trudge along, knowing that I should get up earlier, make more time for Him that has given me all time, and my life. But the old same old story comes, You get up and see something out of place and put it away and then your whole day is filled with cleaning up messes and wiping dirty faces and counters.
I sing hymns to keep me going through the day. But I remember how much more meaningful those hymns meant when I would think of a particular one after reading a chapter in the Bible, or a devotion. Quite often I find myself humming, “One Thing’s Needful, Lord this Treasure”. I can hear that gentle rebuke, Martha, Martha.
So is what I am doing so unecessary? So pitiful? So unworthy of my attention? Not at all! Or as Paul said, God forbid! We are called to do this! We are called to scrub the dishes, wipe the faces, vaccum the carpets, do the errands, etc. But when it becomes a question of, “Why”? Or “Is there any purpose in life?” It is time to dust the cover of the tear stained, blood stained Bible and repent.
It is during these times that I remember,
Down the pilgrim road I have tread;
Forgetting my constant companion,
I knelt and said,
“God why hast Thou forsaken me?”
A peirced hand was on my shoulder
A voice I knew too well said to me;
“My friend, since when dist thy heart turn colder,
Or when did you forget who died for thee?”
“Tis not that I have left thee,
But the cares of the present time has thrust itself forth
But thou in thy worries hast forgotten Me,
And forgotten the Pilgrim course.”
Oh what faithful wounds from a Friend,
The reminder of Truth and constancy,
Our fellowship is now amend.
and blissful life for eternity.
I may have forgotten His constancy but He has always been there. I have taken His presence for granted. I cling to the old rugged cross wherein is inscribed,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteousness to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
