Christmas Dinner

I made a centerpiece for the Christmas table.  Just a simple arrangement of greenery in a vintage camping coffee pot.  This afternoon I am going shopping to purchase a new tablecloth.  My dining room doubles as our schoolroom which makes decorating and creating ambiance a bit of a challenge.  However, after some cleaning and rearranging I think I have it ready for feasting.  Looking forward to cooking and eating together around the table.

Dinner

Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Almond Green Beans

Wilted Spinach Salad

Yeast Rolls

Desserts

Chess Pie

Christmas Candy

Cookies

Long Cold Winter

"Ho, Mouse!" says Hare.

"Long time no see!"

So they pop white corn. 

And they brew black tea.

            -Bear Snores On

Pie for Dinner

I curled up on my bed with a blanket on Saturday afternoon and read the new Bon Appetit that came in the mail.  This issue featured some great savory pie recipes...great for winter comfort.  The pretty pictures inspired me to make a homemade chicken pot pie with the chicken breasts I thawed for dinner. Is there anything better than buttery flaky pie crust with creamy gravy and warm vegetables?  

I love working with a vinegar pie crust.  The dough is so forgiving and best when it has been refrigerated overnight.

Vinegar Crust 

2 1/2 cups unsifted flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup ice water

Combine flour and salt in a food processor and mix for just a second or two.  Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly with a few of the butter chunks still visible.  In a small bowl combine water and vinegar.  Pour liquid into the crumbly mixture a little at a time and pulse until all ingredients are moistened.

Form into a large ball and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for two hours.  Overnight is better.  Divide ball and roll two large pie crusts on a floured surface.  Before baking brush the crust with an egg wash.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.       

*The vinegar makes the crust tender and easy to work with by not allowing the gluten to over develop.

A Country Christmas

We celebrated the Butler Christmas at a ranch in Abilene. My sister-in-law's family invited us for a weekend in the country, and it was perfect.  I cannot remember when I have had a better time.  It was relaxing and hearty...good for the soul and senses.  Country folk really do have the most fun...especially if those country folk are from Texas!

Simple gifts...nothing extravagant.

Rustic ambiance. 

A warm and cozy bunkhouse.  My oldest brother Josh said, "This feels like church camp."

We gather in the kitchen.  Lots of great conversation.

Tamales and our parents!  Two of my favorite things.

Lots of cooking.

More cooking.

A porch swing.

Cheese and wine.

The best food.  Featuring a prime rib with horseradish sauce and au jus. 

Outdoor fun!  We also took a Christmas carol hayride underneath the Abilene starlit sky.

Four wheelin' on trails.  Throwing rocks in the pond.  Looking for wildlife.  Kickin'up dirt! 

A large covered porch for outdoor fun.

A spirited game of spoons!

Cousins are the best!

Amma brought a bag of Christmas books to read to the grands!

 Christmas dishes with red solo cups...what's more country than that?  

 The girls made blankets together!

The smiles come easy.

The dogs are in heaven.

Our Family Cookbook

The best recipes are the ones your mother made....the ones found on the family tree.  The other day I was perusing a cookbook that my Granny authored, and I was struck by it's prose and meditations.  It tells a story, as do all good cookbooks.  No fat grams, or calories, or nutrition facts...no, just good food made by hands and seasoned with the heart.

I love a good cookbook, but what I love more is knowing how to cook...I have a long line of matriarchs to thank for that...I think my husband and children join me in thanksgiving.

A good home cook can transform whatever is in the pantry into a feast, even if the ingredients are not the best money can buy. And resourcefulness and creativity are a home cook's pleasure...what makes cooking fun.  It is amazing what my mom could do with a whole chicken back when she did not have a whole lot of money to spend at the grocery store.  We used to tease her and say that she could make four meals for five with one bird. Funny story, but when I really think about the wonderful meals my mother cooked when we were poor as church mice...well, I just stand in awe.

 I made a pumpkin and buttermilk pie today.  As I cooked these family recipes, I reflected on my Granny...now in a nursing home.  She is a great cook...the best kind.  Below is the cookbook's dedication in her words,

...to Mama (Bertie Jayroe) for keeping the tradition of family meals and foods alive.  Mother's farsightedness and commitment created this multigenerational history of family eats.  It contains a personal family tree from which nurturing and incredible resourcefulness is found in the skill of the kitchen and pantry...few women of today manage to create lunches and dinners from scratch every day, including desserts. 

She (Mama) made the best chicken and dumplings.  Her famous (from scratch) blackberry cobbler was the best there ever was.  Daddy liked her cobbler the best of all.  The berries were hand picked by Daddy from his blackberry patch in the orchard.  Mama and Daddy raised there own chickens then.  One was caught, killed, and plucked for the chicken and dumplings.  All this required time, so my parents always rose early.  As her children, we are very fortunate to have smelled, tasted, and eaten so well.  But more so to have the values of a good home so deeply engraved.  Again, thanks Mama.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...may we offer true thanks for what the earth has given and human hands have made.   

Christ in Our Midst

Tonight I headed out to the art shed to look for a set of Logic books that I need for a class I am thinking about teaching in the spring.  When I opened the door to this small space I was aghast at it's condition.  My two oldest daughters use this space the most, and it was amazing to me that such little care is taken with all the very expensive art supplies in their room.  This space is intended to be an artist's retreat...a renovated plant shed fully furnished with oils, canvases, watercolors, chalks, charcoal, drawing pencils, instruction books, etc.  I left the little wreck of a room quite angry.  Before prayers I had a chat with the girls about caring for our home and respecting the things in it as objects of great value.  Because things do have value...and not just monetary value. They have value in themselves.

In a world that has gone spiritually mad it is often difficult to understand the material world...to value it in such a way that elevates it as holy.  And yes, I believe paint and pencils and books are holy things, along with everything else in the created world.  One of my favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle, sums it up quite nicely in her wonderful book Walking on Water, 

 “There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation.” (And if you love the subjects of art and faith this is a must read...a must purchase.)

When I first read that book in my early twenties it was like a butterfly effect in my life...a small change that created an earthquake later down the road.  And since, I have been utterly undone by the knowledge of the Incarnation and its implications.  A simple shift, yet so profound...no longer must the material world be subject to the murderous accusation of being evil, or worse, mundane. No longer must men decide if some thing is good...if some thing is evil.  Everything God created is good!

Christ became man, taking on flesh, showing that man can become by grace what Christ is by nature...we become the body of Christ.  Christ showed us that the material world is good, and real, and valuable.  It's all very deep, and I do not intend to get in over my head in theology.  But, at the same time I know that this knowledge, however limited and shallow, has changed my life. This knowledge can change one's entire inner posture and experience.  Because of Christ man has the power to redeem his world....to live the incarnation.  Every good work is essentially an incarnational work.  And what we would deem as bad works, or sin, have no material value because evil cannot create anything.

But, I am a common housewife...busy with so-called mundane tasks...tasks that go unnoticed and undervalued by a world that is high on ideological promises and rhetoric.  A world that believes ideas change the world, not home cooked meals and prayers before bed.  How can this common housewife be anything more than the one saddled with all the unpleasant necessaries...the stuff that has to be done so we can get on with the real business of the world?  Is my work really valuable...the work of my hands?  Is it incarnational...dirty diapers, really?  

And yet, here I am tonight thinking about art supplies and how they are holy and how if my children will value them it will grow in them a heart after God.  And how lately I have been in a modern mood...not really valuing things...and barely tolerating people.  A momentary lapse of heart...that's what it really is.

After I came in from the art shed I opened the altar cabinet doors, and I decided to take care of something valuable...something I have been neglecting...the liturgical supplies.  Incense has permeated the wood along with the earthy smell of beeswax.  It is a wonderful smell, and it did my heart good to touch the things in the cabinet, holy things.  I looked across my living room and an interesting thought crossed my mind...everything in this room is holy. This is the antidote for my modern mood...for my lack of enthusiasm.  Every thing and every person in this home has value...in and of itself.  And I am the keeper...the keeper at home...the keeper of home.

My work is holy.  And every thing I encounter in my day; the laundry, the crying, the dishes, the food, the neighbor, the phone call...every demand, every interruption, every failure, every trill of laughter is...

Christ in our midst.

Most days these kinds of thoughts do not pass through my mind. Most days I just get up and put my work boots on...one at a time.  But sometimes it is good to remember, especially when life begins to stretch me thin and and I feel like my work is drudgery.  Sometimes we keepers at home can get in a bad way.

Tomorrow I am going to help the girls make things right in the art shed.  I plan on cooking a nice dinner and finishing up the laundry.  I hope to steal away for a bit and finish my Journey to Nativity calendar.  There's always school that needs doin', and babies that need rockin', and dishes that need washin'.  And I am going to read this post again in the morning...and remind myself that all of this...this big life that wears me out...it's holy...it's valuable...it's incarnational.

It's Christ in our midst.

The Farmer

To all those farmers praying for rain...

Who make a living, or not, depending on forces out of their control...

To my brother, who as a child the farmers would call and say, "Ask Josh to pray for rain."  And it would.

To all the animals who search for food and shelter in this hard drought...

To men and women who leave clean and come home dirty...

To my grandfather, who died tragically doing what he loved...farming.

To those who fill my tummy from the work of their hands...

To God who established seed time and harvest, and who makes all things grow, and who knows best.

Thank you.  

Sweet Treats

Adalay and Caroline entered the two cakes below in our local 4-H project show in the family living division.  Addy's cake, the Lemon Pound, won Grand Champion.  Caroline's cake, the Sock It To Me, won Reserve Grand Champion.  Both cakes are delicious...perfect for any occasion. Enjoy the weekend!

Sock It To Me Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbls. brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbls milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup water

Preparation:

1. Take 2 Tbls. of the cake mix and mix with the cinnamon,brown sugar, and pecans; set aside.
2.  In large bowl, blend cake mix,sour cream,oil,water,eggs, and sugar. 
3. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Pour 2/3 of batter into greased and floured bundt pan. 
4. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture in the center of this and spread remaining batter evenly over this.
5.  Bake at 375° for 45-55 minutes. Cool in pan for 25 minutes. Remove from pan.
6. To make glaze; Blend powdered sugar and milk together to make a glaze. Drizzle over cake. 

Lemon Pound Cake 

recipe found at add a pinch

Ingredient

• 3 sticks butter (1½ cups)
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• For the Lemon Buttermilk Glaze
• 1½ cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare bundt or tube pan by coating with shortening or butter and flouring light. Set aside.
2. Let butter, cream cheese, and eggs come to room temperature.
3. Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add lemon juice and zest and combine well. Add flour and salt and vanilla.
4. Mix until just well-combined but do not over mix.
5. Pour into prepared bundt or tube pan.
6. Bake until golden brown and skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
7. As the cake is cooling, whisk together ingredients confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and buttermilk to make the glaze. Allow to sit until cake has fully cooled, then drizzle over top of lemon pound cake.

Bright Week

We made it!  That's what I keep thinking as I am cleaning out the fridge..all the leftover fasting dishes going to the scraps.  (We have a septic system which means no garbage disposal.)  I hope the neighborhood dogs like veggies in the scrap pile...hehe!

 I emptied containers of bean salad, coleslaw, a bit of refried beans, orzo pasta with artichokes and capers, and I was doing pretty good until I came upon a container of hummus.  The site of that evoked an emotional response.  I am sick of hummus!  And then a few minutes later I was half tempted to eat the last little bit for lunch.  I guess in a way it's hard for this to be over.  So much of Lent revolves around the kitchen, and an Orthodox kitchen is truly a spiritual place.  So much of the Christian faith is centered in the home.

And on that thought...

Lisa A shared a series of talks on her blog entitled  The Good Wife: Five Lectures on the Christian Ideal.
The first lecture is free, and the remaining are only $10 for the complete download.  Well worth the donation!

The Christian ideal of womanhood is beautiful.  I have been thinking this week about brightening up my home, and then I saw this over at OCN... 

BRIGHT WEEK- the week after Lent in which we continue to practice the spiritual values we gained over the last 40 days.

I thought, "What spiritual values did I gain over the last forty days?"  What values must I practice to brighten our lives...our home? I can think of several.

Patience

Humility that calms anger

Kindness

Less talking

and most of all...

Consistency

I hope your Bright Week is exceptional.  How are you recouping, feasting, and practicing?  

Our Bright Week has been good so far.

Monday we had steaks from the grill.  Tuesday we went to vespers at the hermitage and shared a meal with the small community that is forming there. (So excited about that.)  Today we went to the park, and I am grilling hamburgers for dinner.  Thursday I hope I can get in my garden and plant a few things.  Friday Addy is going to a homeschool prom party!  Caroline is spending the night with her best friend.  Slade, the littles, and I are having ice cream sundaes.  The weekend is full with piano recital practice and St. Thomas Sunday.  

What are your plans for Bright Week?  Anything special?

Glorify Him!

I am standing in my kitchen cooking up a storm.  The presents are all wrapped.  Kiddos are watching Christmas movies and singing Christmas carols.  The house smells amazing.  We made it!  We made it to Christmas Eve, and every year I am amazed.

After a lack luster first few weeks, I have found my Christmas spirit.  The days of humbug made me appreciate traditions.  When I was less than enthusiastic about the season I still had our family traditions to keep me from missing Christmas. And as we kept the traditions I slowly found my groove.

Mamas have this wonderful gift...we can make Christmas amazing for our families in the little things we do, in the smile we wear, in the tune we hum, in the giggles, and snuggles, and the sugary treats.  A mom has this energy, and it is infectious.  Food and festivities.  I love serving up scrumptious dishes with a side of I love you.

Christmas is a time of hospitality for me.  As I clean, shop, cook, wrap, and prepare I try to invite a spirit of comfort and warmth into our home.  I have found that the warmth comes from my heart and not in orchestrating a perfect Christmas.  I just love my family and friends.  

Christ is coming, along with friends and family.  We are family.  May our homes and hearts make a place for the Savior, and may we welcome everyone with warmth and joy.

Christ is Born...Glorify Him!

I glory in His presence, He has brought tidings of great comfort and joy.  Christ is in our midst  He is and ever shall be.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

On the Menu

Dinner

Honey Glazed Ham

Mashed Potatoes

Almond Green Beans
Salad 

Yeast Rolls

Tea

Desserts

Martha Washington Candies

Pecan Pralines

Almond Toffee

Craisin and White Chocolate Cookies

Ranger Cookies

Home Remedies

When I was growing up on the farm we did not have insurance, and the doctor did not come cheap.  My mom learned how to pray and trust home remedies for the minor ailments that bother, and I have taken up the tradition.  Although I have to say that sometimes when I have a stomach virus the last thing I want to take is Apple Cider Vinegar...yuck!  But, it does work...it's just torture getting it down.  I once heard a lady say that when she has a stomach virus she sprints until she breaks a sweat and the stomach bug vanishes.  Can you imagine?  I will take the vinegar, please.

As colder temperatures sneak up on us and we begin running our electric heat, the opportunity for pesky winter illnesses increases.  Today Elinor began a runny nose, and Samuel is congested as well.  It's time to evaluate and begin restocking the medicine cabinet with all my home remedies.  I had the thought run through my head yesterday, "What if we all get sick at once?"  With schoolwork, the holidays, Slade's CPA tests, nursing, extra-curricular activities, and all the in betweens that thought made me sort of loose my breath. Time to be proactive.

I hate to be sick, but even more I hate for my kiddos to be sick.  Last year during the holidays we had a round of the flu.  Sophia is still upset with me over that one.  How was I to know she could swallow a pill?  Most six year old kids can't.  After several Tamiflu meltdowns I finally tasted the stuff, Oh My, it made the hairs on my neck stand up.  She has since made me swear that if she ever has to take it again, I must get the pill.  That medicine is legit...all medicine should taste like Tamiflu.  If so kids would think twice about getting sick. ;)  

As I prepare for a season of health I am concentrating on prevention... the foundation first.

• Lots of water.
• Nutritious food.  Lots of garlic and meat broths.  Foods high in vitamin C.  Speaking of vitamin C, we tried an Ugli fruit this week.  The kids got a kick out of the name.
• Plenty of rest.
• Quiet and prayerful atmosphere in the home.
• Vitamins: D, C, and Zinc as supplements.  We like Emergen-C, it's yummy.
• Acidophilus: since a prominent part of the immune system is in the digestive tract this is good for overall health.
• Floradix: an iron supplement with herbs and good B vitamins. 
• Magnesium Oil Spray: helps reduce stress which weakens the immune system.  Here is a great resource for making your own. 
• Cutting back on mucus producing dairy products.
• When the sun is out, so are we.

If this defense lets an illness slip by I have an arsenal of home remedies to try:

• Apple Cider Vinegar- good for soar throats and stomach bugs.  In cases of a stomach bug  you should start taking the vinegar at the first sign of nausea/ virus and if you throw it up take some more until the vomiting stops. It causes the body to turn alkali, a condition that is not conducive for the virus to live in. It quits multiplying so even if you don't completely avoid the illness, it will be less severe. My kiddos and I have grown accustomed to taking vinegar straight up, like a shot.  I used to mix it with honey, but not anymore.  
• Neti pot-  sinus congestion, dry nasal passages from indoor heat, allergies.
• Throat Rag- Fold soft rag that is long enough to wrap around your neck into several layers. Drizzle oil over rag, judging how long of a strip will reach from ear to ear , and smear it all around,. It will probably take at least a couple of TBS.  Next smear on a good amount of Vicks Salve. Then drizzle about a TBS of turpentine down the center of the rag. Coat your neck with Vicks Salve making sure to get some on the sides and then pin the rag , messy side toward skin, around your neck. The oil and Vicks help coat the skin to protect it from the Turpentine because it could irritate or "burn" the skin.  This is good for severe soar throat or a cough. (Thanks mom for the detailed instructions, and corrections.)
• Whiskey tonic- heat up a little whiskey with honey and fresh lemon juice.  Good for a cough before bedtime.
• Vinegar and honey tonic- heat up a bit of vinegar and honey and sip to ease a cough or soar throat. 
• Tea Tree Oil- do you ever get dry skin soars on your scalp during the winter?  Rub a little tea tree oil on them.
• Epsom salt- put in a warm bath to sooth aching...another good source for magnesium.
• Blow dryer- set it to low heat and blow into an ear ache.
• Similason Ear Relief- this is great for ear aches.  I am not a fan of giving antibiotics for ear infections.
• Cool mist humidifier.

And last, but certainly not least:

    Holy Water and prayer.  Tonight at evening prayer we gave Elinor and Samuel holy water for it has received grace to heal illnesses. 

Our bodies are beautifully and wonderfully made.  May we all be good stewards and take good care.

How to Get Your Life Together In a Day

Sometimes I make things so complicated, and truly that is unnecessary.  I realize there are circumstances that require extreme measures, but my life is not one of them.  Why do I get so stressed and anxious...wound up like an eight day clock?  I suspect it is because I am tired, just plain tired.  Being tired is not a sign that my life is falling apart.  Maybe it is a sign that my life is good, that I have a full and wonderful life...so much to be thankful for.

However, when things start piling up, pressing in, and coming undone I know it is time to do something different, settle in and refocus...just tweak things a bit.  There is no need for me to take a magic eraser to my whole life or to go through everything with a fine toothed comb.  Just a gentle redirection is all that is needed.  Gentle, but thorough.  You see, the bones are good, the underneath is still in tact, the anchor is what holds this ship in times of crazy schedules and busy days.  In times past I would begin a complete overhaul when I felt this way, but I have learned that extreme makeovers are most often the acting out of obsessions.  You know...that running dialogue in your head that makes you feel thin and shaky, nervous and irritable.  We moms have to learn to be gentle, even with ourselves.  

A very dear friend asked me the other day if I believed that sometimes there are cases where a person who was once whole could now be broken, with no hope of being whole again.  I listened to the question and took my friend seriously. I told this friend that, yes, I think it is possible, and that she did not have to be whole.  As I have thought about our conversation I have come to the conclusion that we are all broken in some way, and that it is most likely that we always will be.  Being whole is not about being completely put together...there is a reason that all the King's horses and all the King's men could not put Humpty together again.  Life comes down on us, it presses us, it breaks us, and we fall apart.  Once we have been broken there is no way to be whole again...not the kind of whole that we desire.  Being whole often times means we do not want to suffer this life and its trials, we long for naivety and simplicity.  But, those who get out in the world and bare burdens, get hands dirty, work hard, walk with damaged people, befriend the unfriendly, and try to be a part of the world will always be broken..it is inevitable.  The only way I ever imagine that I can avoid this is by shutting the world and people out.  In the end, I would rather be broken.

And this can apply to practical areas of my life as well.  If I desire to be out in the world living and learning with my kids, if I value relationship over everything else, if I put people on the top of my priority list, well then other things suffer...my house, my laundry, my body, my put togetherness.  I always feel that my life is a little undone, a little unkept.  But, in a way this is intentional.  I have chosen other things, to me they are more important things.  When criticisms come, and they will, I must be prepared to OWN my own life and choices.  I must be rooted and grounded in my heart.  I must also be willing to be honest, truthful with myself most of all.  This is the way that I face my life head on and how I deal with brokenness.

Today, as I was dealing with all of the emotions and stress that obsessions cause I waited for the panic to pass.  I got still and a wonderful thought came to me.  It does not take much to Get Your Life Together, Mandy.  In fact I am confident that it only takes one day of gentle internal work to feel better. This is because I am not expecting too much from myself or anyone around me...we are all broken. It is easy to be gentle when I recognize this.  Here are a few things I am doing today to regain a sense of confidence and beauty...how I am getting it together.

I Am...

• Recognizing the dialogue in my head.  I am not trying to change it, just being aware of the Editor in Chief, the voice that keeps bossing me around, criticizing me.
• Writing this post to share my thoughts, getting them out in the open.
• Talking to my mom on the phone and enjoying our friendship.
• Putting on a fresh face and a nice outfit.
• Planning a trip to the pumpkin patch near our house.
• Lighting candles.
• Letting my kids be tired as well, we have been very busy.  No drill sergeant barking or correction.  
• Taking a survey of my pantry and planning the meals I want to cook this week.
• Doing a few loads of laundry.
• Taking care of a speeding ticket that I got a few months back.  I made it through my probation period, and a big stress is off. 
• Opening windows and doors to let the cool fresh breeze in.
• Drinking Ceylon Tea..a new favorite and a wonderful gift from my husband.
• Being quiet and just doing the next thing...gently walking through this house...room by room... accepting and being very thankful.
• Praying the prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner." Over, and over again.
• Accepting the financial stresses of a large family lifestyle and owning my spending choices.
• Letting my kids be who they are...not requiring that they be caught up, on target, or ahead. 
• Washing dishes in warm soapy water.
• Listening to sounds...a lawn mower, Mockingbirds, eggs boiling on the stove.  Just listen.
• Smelling the things cooking, the fresh autumn air, Samuel's little head, Elinor's sweaty puppy dog yumminess, out of the dryer laundry.
• Waiting for my husband to come home so I can give him a hug.

This is what my day is shaping up to be...a wonderful day, a blessed day, another day to be a mom, wife, daughter, friend. 

   

A Few Weekly Finds

On the Web...

100 Days of Real Food
I enjoyed perusing this website.  Although I may not always buy organic, and I do not stress about that much, I do like cooking real food. This website offers simple ideas and a few free meal plans.  I like simple.  I plan to use some of the recipes from here to plan my menu for next week.

T- Tapp
I recently saw this workout on a website I visit frequently.  The author of the blog struggles with sever Diastasis Recti, and she has found ways to put her body back together after seven pregnancies.  I also have this condition, although not as severe, and I am looking for ways to strengthen my abdomen and put my organs back in place.

I bought the Basic Workout Plus during a Deep Discounted Tuesday at half price.  It is a fifteen minute workout that promises to put my organs in place.  I hope it works.  My week has been crazy, and I have not started it yet.(I guess I could be doing the workout instead of blogging...couldn't I?) I plan to start this weekend when I have a little more time to myself.

Heritage History
This site is wonderful..it even has many stories you can read for free!  I have used it to supplement Caroline's history.  Take some time to explore this site.  The prices are reasonable as well!

At the Library  

This little picture book is perfect for a quiet time with a wee little.

Pond Babies by Cathryn Falwell 
As you can see, we have babies on the mind around here.

Baby-Led Breastfeeding 
You would think that by now I would be an expert at nursing...but I am not.  I do ok, but I have been struggling in the evening with frequent feedings and not producing enough during this batch feeding.  I picked this book up, and I have found many helpful reminders and some new things to try.  Yesterday afternoon I relaxed as I laid down with Samuel, tried new nursing positions, and enjoyed some skin to skin snuggle time as well.  Nursing is wonderful when I relax!



  A morning spent at the park and library after an orthodontist visit was just what we needed after an intense first three weeks of school.  My older girls are loving their online classes, but getting back into the school groove after a long summer has not been without its moments of drama. I cannot believe that September is almost come and gone!

Roasted Chicken & Cantaloupe Salsa

I roasted a chicken in my favorite dutch oven, and then I shredded it.  I planned on making chicken salad for later in the week, but that never materialized.  Today during our 4-H Food and Nutrition meeting the girls made this yummy Cantaloupe Salsa, and I decided to top the savory chicken with this refreshing garnish.  It was really yummy paired with a Dos Equis Lager.  Enjoy a last bit of summer harvest!   

Cantaloupe Salsa
 2.5 cups cantaloupe, finely diced (about 1/2 large cantaloupe)
 1 cup red onion, finely diced
 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced 
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
 juice of 1 lime salt to taste