Next Best to Having My Own: day 16

In autumn, there are few places more idyllic than an apple orchard, and I've always dreamed of having one.  One of the first things I did when we built our house in Alaska was purchase baby apple trees.  We dug deep holes, enriched the soil with bone meal and all sorts of recommended goodies, then replaced the soil along with copious amounts of water and planted those little trees.   I had visions of the trees growing along with the children, and of all the lovely fruit the trees would yield.  I hauled buckets of compost tea to water them with.  I dutifully picked the blossoms off every tree the first and second years, though it took every ounce of my will power to do so.  "Your trees will never be good producers if you don't pick off the blossoms the first two years." the greenhouse lady told me.  "They need time for the root systems to become established."   Oh but I was anxious to start picking!  The following year, the trees blossomed once again, though not as much, and two little apples began to grow.  One got eaten by something when it was about the size of a large cherry.  The other was approaching the size of the smallest "schoolboy" apple you've seen, and then it rotted.

The following year, the trees did not blossom at all.  We decided to move a couple of them against a fence, where we thought they'd get more sun.  We carefully transplanted them, and once again we fortified the soil with all sorts of good stuff.  There they sat for a few years.  They didn't die, but they certainly didn't thrive.  A few years later, we moved them again.  I concocted chicken wire coverings to protect them over the winter from moose in this new location.  I watered them faithfully and fertilized them with fish fertilizer and bone meal.  They leafed out beautifully the following summer, but still didn't blossom.  One day upon returning from town, we noticed the crowns were bit off and bedraggled.  A moose had eaten them for his lunch salad, and he may as well have swallowed my hopes of my little orchard as well.  At that point, those pitiful trees had been in our yard for nearly 13 years.  Unless the new owner has removed them, they are still there today.

So despite my romantic dreams, this is my history with growing apples.  I share this just to give you some background--fruit trees are a big deal to me, and I am amazed when anyone can get them to grow and thrive and produce.  Which brings me to the subject at hand, which is, East Tennessee is amazing for growing apples.

On a lovely day this early fall, we took a drive up through the Smokies and into the countryside to a popular orchard.  We passed three or four others on the way there.

 

 The orchards here are large and grow many varieties of apples. They ripen at different times, which make the apple-picking season very lengthy.

 

There is nothing like the smell and the taste of fresh-from-the-tree apples...

....except maybe the smell of those apples cooking and being made into applesauce in your own little kitchen.

Applesauce is a staple in this family, and after having canned our own, we're wrecked from buying Tree Top forever.

A couple more things to love about this lovely orchard in the South?  It's a general produce market, full of wonderful melons, tomatoes, squash, and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. 

And the prices...ohhhh the prices.  $20 a bushel, Baby.  A bushel is one of the giant baskets pictured below.  That's a lot of apples for $20.  After regularly paying $2.79 per pound in Alaska for the one to three different varieties of organic apples available, this is something to love. 

They also have shelves and shelves full of preserves of all kinds, as well as our new friend here.

Very good, indeed.  Good to the last drop, in fact.

 More things for Alaska Girls to love about the South are a click away.

Stackin' 'Em Deep

"...another year over, a new one just begun."

With this year's Christmas over, and a new year about to begin, I've gotten into my annual planning, cleaning, goal-setting, and de-cluttering mode.  On my mind today--the fact that we are with thanksgiving, "expecting" once again--this time via paperwork and several airplanes.  This got me thinking, and smiling, about how different it is to be expecting at this stage of parenthood.

With our first baby, the whole, new, blessed World of Baby had opened up.  In addition to learning about pregnancy, we read all about new baby care and baby gear.  What things would we need?  We eagerly questioned seasoned parents, made lists, and went on shopping trips.  Cribs, highchairs, strollers, car seats, Boppy pillows, pumps, bibs, baby clothes--we needed it all, and obtaining the gear was definitely a focus in preparing for baby.

While expecting babies #2 and #3, the focus of preparation was quite different.  We had our stash of baby basics, and the name of the game was replacing what was worn-out, and finding a few, fun, new things.  With #2, we acquired a second crib, which also came in handy when #3 was coming along.  In each of these cases, we also needed to do some switching around of bedrooms, sending the newly-usurped, baby-now-toddler into a downstairs bedroom to open up the upstairs nursery for the newborn.  This, of course, was a fairly big deal...or at least it seemed like it back then.  As mama, I felt a little sadness over the toddler's deportation.  This was quickly abated by the satisfaction given to my nesting instinct, however! 

Those of you who have known us for awhile, probably know we thought we were "done" at that point.  (HA!  That is such a funny thought now!)  Three sons filled the three extra bedrooms in our home.  As baby #3 grew into a pre-schooler, I tearily cleaned out the nursery.  We sold the cribs; in fact, we gave away or sold nearly everything "baby."  We sent our preschooler downstairs to share bunk beds in a room with a brother, and enjoyed the novelty of a bedroom-turned-school room for some time.  Soon we packed all three of the boys into the same bedroom so that, wonder of wonders, we could have TWO extra rooms.  Right around that time, we received the gift of an unexpected blessing--son #4 growing inside, biding his time until joining in on the fun that is Boyland! 

With #4 on the way, we needed to re-acquire the baby stuff.  This time, however, we were pretty choosey about what we wanted to bring into the house.  It had to be necessary.  It had to be SMALL.  We did not want fifteen musical toys, nor did we want most of the baby bells & whistles.  There just wasn't room.  It became apparent that the three growing boys who shared a bedroom were packed in there fairly tight with all their stuff.  Also, bedtime was becoming...interesting....with all the goofiness and banging and clanging.  What was going on?  Were we lenient parents with undisciplined children?  No.  I've actually been coined a "tough mom" and just recently found out that the exuberant children are intentionally placed in my Vacation Bible School class.  The banging and clanging and never-going-to-sleeping was simply due to the Rule of Multiple Boys, which is--the more boys you have in a row, the louder and crazier and more competitive things become.  Quite simply, they always think someone else is going to be blamed for the deed.  BUT let us return to the case in point, which is baby preparation.  With baby #4 preparation was about basic baby needs, and rearranging for maximum space!

We serve an awesome God.  He gives gifts how and when He chooses, and I'm so glad He does.  Suddenly we found ourselves beginning our adoption process AND becoming pregnant with son #5!  Preparation for #5 became all about logistics.  How will we fit the boys in our van?  How will we fit all these rapidly growing boys in bedrooms?  We bought the smallest, most streamlined car seats we could find and stuffed them in every seat in the van.  We built another set of bunk beds.  We ditched the toddler bed and put a rail up on a bunk for the toddler.  We bought the smallest high chair we could find, because we're maxed-out for table places.  It's snug.  It's cozy.  It's home, and we love it.

Meanwhile...these boys keep growing.  They take up more space, their clothes and other belongings take up more space.  We keep a thrift/yard sale box handy for constant de-cluttering.  Our rule is, "It must be functional or fabulous!"  We've built shelving wherever there's room to house shelving.  We've even begun to hang things (literally hang things) from the ceiling, in some cases!  And I've got to tell you--that I LOVE the fact that there are so many people taking up so much space in here!  I love this life-filled house, where something interesting is always happening. 

But it's time for planning and preparation once again, and as we make preparations for baby #6, and possibly #7, it's all about making room!  We find ourselves with a toddler who is ready for a booster seat, but there's no room for another chair, and very little room for another place setting.  Definitely no room at the table for the next baby (or two!) on the way.  There's no room for a larger table, unless part of it hangs in the living room, which has its own space issues.  Transportation-wise, we're maxed out for van space, so we're stashing money for a replacement vehicle that will accomodate another one or two precious souls.

We're stackin' 'em deep, and bursting at the seams--and I'm SO thankful.  I hope that shines through and that my thoughts on our space issues don't sound complaintive.  I'm so incredibly thankful for the fullness of this home, and I'm thankful for every square inch (even on the ceiling, as it's proving to be somewhat useful!) we've got.  It's a heck of a lot more than most people on this planet have.  But I'll be honest...I'm also feeling.....squished.

There is a nagging insecurity of mine that I will dare to share.  I've found that throughout this adoption process I feel like there's a bit of a spotlight on every financial decision we make.  We've made no secret out of the fact that we feel called to do this adoption debt-free.  All $25,000 needs to come above our basic, family operational expenses.   We believe God can and will do this.  We've seen Him do it in the $10,000 we've laid-out so far.  He does it in a number of ways.  So far, we've seen Him provide through our fundraising efforts of yard sales and shirt sales.  We keep a strict budget and of course, part of that is allocated to our adoption expenses.  He has provided funds from friends we've known for years, new acquaintances, and perfect strangers.  We're thankful for every penny, as every penny is needed.  The insecurity I speak of comes from this--that we DO appreciate, beyond-words, all support we have and will receive.  With that, comes a sense of responsibility that suddenly the decisions we make may be perceived in a variety of ways.  So, as we've raised the possibility of building on to our home in order to provide some breathing room and a bit of space to stretch-out in, I find myself asking if this is wrong.  Where does this doubt come from?  And is it right to feel that way?  Is it wrong to feel that way? If we weren't in the adoption process, these questioning thoughts would never enter my mind.  We'd make whatever decision with as much wisdom as we could, and move on confidently.

I've talked a bit with a couple other adoptive families about this.  They have said they felt the same way about decision-making during the adoption process, right, wrong, or indifferent.  One person stated, "I even wondered if it was ok for us to have any fun."  I know that feeling--that feeling of wondering if someone will judge whether you are sacrificing enough or not.  The feeling of wondering if someone will judge you for taking your family for a dinner, or for buying a Kaladis.  Something tells me that it's not necessary to feel that way, yet it's not so simple to just not feel that way when you're in a constant state of fundraising. 

As with many of my posts, I get to this point, and wonder, why am I bothering to articulate this?  Perhaps you are wondering, too!  Well, like I said, it's an insecurity of mine, and maybe the real reason is just to work it out in my own mind using the written word.  Maybe, in this case, it's also to share with the general reader that there are so many, emotional facets to this adoption train. Admittedly, it may also be in some way to ease the conscience of this burden of doubt until I can be truly freed from it.

Bottom line is that we all must make our own decisions and our own sacrifices.  The extent of sacrifice is only truly known by the one who sacrifices, and by the One who sees.  I'm thankful for everything we have; it is all a gift from Him.  I'm thankful for being the recipient of others' sacrificial giving; we cannot do this alone.  I look for wisdom and guidance in all preparing, decision-making, planning, goal-setting, housecleaning, heartcleaning, decluttering, and expanding...and I also ask God to grant me peace in it all.

Peace be with you and yours in 2013!

At Risk of Turning Into a Food Blog (!)

Several people have asked me how to make homemade yogurt, and several times I've said, "I'll post about it."  Time to make good on that good intention!

I learned this crock pot recipe a little over a year ago, and have been making our yogurt every week since.  It's so delicious and economical, and it's SO easy to make.

I make a gallon at a time.  We're big yogurt-eaters, and go through that amount in about a week.  Before I began making yogurt, we would buy a "large," $6 container of organic yogurt every two weeks or so, for a treat.  We used up the large container in one sitting, and everyone was still asking if they could have more.  I used to buy vanilla-flavored.  Of course, any flavored yogurt contains sugar.

When I learned this recipe, I told my boys I was going to be making our yogurt, and that if they'd learn to adjust their taste buds to PLAIN yogurt, they would be able to eat it whenever they wanted.  Any non-restricted snack is a big deal for my hearty-eaters, and so they were eager to give it a try.  The first time they tried it, they definitely noticed the difference in taste from flavored to plain.  Motivated by the prospect of unlimited yogurt, they continued to try it.  It didn't take long at all for all of our taste buds to adjust.  We love it, and enjoy it often.  It does my mama-heart good to see my boys eating healthful, cultured food nearly every day. 

• Pour desired amount of milk into crock pot.  Use good-quality, WHOLE milk.  I like locally-produced Havermeister milk.
• Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours.
• Shut heat off and let sit covered for 3 hours.
• Take a cup of the heated milk and mix with 1/2 cup or so of your starter.  (Begin with a whole, organic, plain variety.  After that, you'll be able to use the end of your last batch for starter.)  
• Pour the mixture back into the crock pot, and mix in thoroughly.
• Cover crock pot and place a couple of thick towels over it to hold the heat in.
• Let sit 12 hours 

DONE!  Seriously, that's it.  Refrigerate and enjoy often.  As I mentioned, I make a gallon at a time.  A gallon of delicious, fresh yogurt costs us less than $6. 

This Time of Year

I'm so thankful God made seasons--times and seasons of the year and times and seasons of life.  This time leading into Thanksgiving is one of the best times of the year for me.  I love the crisp, fragrant, blustery (or even tempestuous, as it is at the moment!) days and how cozy it feels to be inside.  I can't help but smile as I see the all the lovely shades of brown in the form of mature, "pregnant" grasses dancing roadside and across fields.  I love the awe-inspiring sunsets and flickering candlelight.  And you know...just being honest....I really, really love the food!

Apples & Cider

Caramel

Pumpkins

Nuts & Seeds

and finally....POMEGRANATES!

What beautiful food!  I never tried a pomegranate until last year.  These fruits are surely a little taste of Heaven.  Perhaps I just don't get out much, but pomegranates cure a bit of the wanderlust I tend to experience this time of year.  There's something about them that seems so ancient, so exotic.  

I did a little research, and apparently there's a reason they seem that way.  Pomegranates were one of the first cultivated fruits, and have greatly impacted many civilizations for thousands of years.  Historically, they've been extremely symbolic in Middle and Near East, the Mediterranean, Asia, Europe, and North America.  Ancient Egypt revered pomegranates as symbols of afterlife, and there are numerous depictions of them on tomb walls.  They were required food in the pharaohs' residence, and had many other purposes as well.  Ancient Greece included pomegranates quite prominently in their myths.  The fruit came to signify a change of seasons.  

My favorite history of the pomegranate is the Biblical significance and Jewish tradition.  They are referenced in Exodus 28, Song of Solomon 7, and 1 Kings 7, among other places.  Tradition teaches that they symbolize righteousness, as they are said to contain 613 seeds, corresponding to 613 mitzvot (commandments) of the Torah.  It is said that pomegranates symbolize fruitfulness, knowledge, learning, and wisdom, and they are often enjoyed in celebrating Rosh Hashanah. 

In addition to being exotic, lovely and delicious, they're very healthful.  They're jam-packed with antioxidants, giving all those free-radicals a run for their money.  But the question remains, how do you eat them, and how do you do it without squirting yourself, your cat, your children, and your entire kitchen?

Let me share this wonderful trick with you (that was my original purpose of this post anyway, before I digressed...)  

• Wash the pomegranate and chop off the end, enough that you see the outer seeds inside.
• Cut through the outer peel only, beginning at the chopped end, all the way down the the other end.  I do this four times, quartering the fruit as I would do to peel an orange.  
• Place the pomegranate cut-end down in a bowl of very cold water for ten minutes or so.  
• Keeping the fruit submerged, break the fruit apart into quarters.  The seeds, called arils, will break easily out with your fingers under water and sink to the bottom of the bowl.  The white stuff will float to the top, and you can skim it off.  
• When you've loosened all the arils out of the peel, dump out the water and you've got yourself a lovely bowl full of pomegranate!  You can give them a final rinse in a colander, if you want, but I find that's not really necessary.  

Eat them plain, add them to salads, swirl a few into water or other drinks for flavor and color.  Enjoy, and give thanks to God for the creativity He used in designing our food!

Lovin' the Cloth!

I finally took the plunge into the Land O' Cloth Diapers when Keiki (#4) was around 18 months (? I think?) I was pretty much "sold" immediately, and wish I would've gone that route with all the boys. I remember having considered it with Spunky (#3.) However, thinking he was the last baby (HA!!) decided against it. I thought of it again when I was pregnant with Keiki, but again, thinking he was the last one (HA!!) talked myself out of investing in the endeavor. Finally, after listening to several friends sing the praises of cloth-diapering, I decided to give it a whirl, even though potty-training would be in the next year or so.

I went with Kawaii pocket diapers, as they seemed well-made for a relatively small investment. I l-o-v-e-d seeing our then-tot trotting around in those colorful, puffy pants!

It took a little research, talking with friends, and trial-and-error, but overall, the transition was smooth. It felt fantastic knowing it was healthier and so much more cost-effective than paper diapers. Keiki was a fairly early potty-trainer. So, when he was finished with his Kawaiis, I gave them a good stripping, and packed them away for Little Bro, who was soon to be born!

Now, as many of you know, we don't exactly make the teeniest of babies. However, apparently even our size newborns don't fit real well in regular-size Kawaiis. Rather than invest in the special smallest size, which we wouldn't be able to use for long, I've been waiting it out for Little Bro to grow into the regular size. I tried him in them at around 3 months, then again at 4 or 5 months, but they leaked. FINALLY, at 7 months, he's in 'em!

The only thing I have against my Kawaiis, is their velcro closure. The velcro has held up, in that the diapers still fasten splendidly. However, there are these little microsuede "laundry tabs" that are designed for the velcro to stick to in the wash. This is so that the diapers don't all stick to one another and/or cause damage to the covers during washing. The laundry tabs went ka-put after about 6 months of use SO I was wishing I'd have gone with the snap closures.

Because the velcro thing is sort of annoying, and...it's so fun to buy NEW things for NEW babies, I went ahead and bought a few new snap-closure diapers for Little Bro. LOVE these colors!!

I'm trying out a new brand, Thirsties. They have, of course, snap-closures, and instead of being a pocket diaper (where you stuff the pad into a pocket,) they are all-in-ones. This means there's no stuffing, and the absorbent pad is attached to the cover. It has this little tunnel underneath the pad so that water can get through to launder effectively. They do take a little longer to dry because of this.

In addition to buying these new diapers from Arctic Baby Bottoms (shameless plug,) I also decided to try some cloth wipes!

Isn't the owl print adorable? I decided to try these, because it's sort of annoying when you change a cloth diaper, pop it into the diaper pail, and then are stuck with the dirty wipes. With a paper diaper, you just wrap 'em up in the used diaper. With a cloth diaper, the wipes either sit (yucky) on the changing table until you're done, or they accidentally get thrown in your diaper pail and need to be removed later (yucky.)

I just started using the wipes this weekend. I made up a cleaning solution in a small spray bottle. When it's time for a wipe, I spritz the wipe before cleaning up Little Bro. I find that I need to use only 1 wipe instead of who-knows-how-many of the disposable wipes. I use a wipe, and toss it in the trusty diaper pail to be washed with the diapers. What I especially love, is that the cleaning solution works SO well, and is so gently on bums! Here's what's in it:

1 cup water
1/2 tsp oil (I used pure jojoba oil)
1 tsp baby shampoo (I used Burt's Bees)

Here's what's in our disposable wipes (eeoo!):
water, vitamin E, aloe vera gel, disodium cocoamphodiacetate, polysorbate 20, propylene glycol, disodium phosphate, disodium EDTA, polyhexamethylene biguanide HCL, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, lanolin PEG-75, citric acid

I will still use the disposable wipes when out and about.

What I've learned with laundering, is to run the diapers through on cold/cold with plain water for one cycle. This gets the majority of the nasty off. Then I run them through again with hot water and detergent. This disinfects, and scrubs/deep-cleans. The type of detergent you use is very important. You can check out how yours ranks here. They all go in my dryer for about 45 minutes. This dries the Kawaiis completely. The Thirsties will still be a little damp. I hang them up for a 1/2 hour or so, then turn them inside out (remember they have the tunnel thingy) for a few hours. I think I could dry them longer in the machine, but I want to be kind to them so they last a long while, 'cause let's face it--he won't be potty-training for awhile! (And I'm fine with that.)

Toilets and Other Hazzards

Being a mom of boys comes with its hazzards--the first of which to be addressed is: toilets. Had I known I'd share life with so many boys, we'd have gone the extra mile and had industrial-strength thrones installed. No toilet-in-a-box is going to do it for this household. Uh-uh, no way. I had never seen so many clogs in my life prior to living with so many boys. Seems to be a regular part of life in this home. It truly is amazing. So if it's "old news", what spurred this blog topic tonight? A few minutes ago, Eaglet came running upstairs yelling, "Mommy, Daddy! Something REALLY bad just happened!" (Tony puts down book, I quit writing e-mail...) "There was no toilet paper, and so I used..." (Right about now I knew this was going to be bad. Tony's and my horrified eyes met and locked...) "...the thingy and I forgot and I accidentally threw it in the toilet and now it's in the toilet and I can't get it out and how are we going to get it out?!" At this point I was seeking clarification as to what the "thingy" was. I decided not to draw things out, and just head down for an inspection. Tony chuckled deviously, apparently because I was on stage for this particular emergency. My response to him was to casually bring to his attention that the upstairs toilet was also clogged and needed tending to! Anyway, turned out Eaglet had decided to use the cardboard roll in lieu of grabbing a new roll of paper out of the bathroom closet. (?) Not quite as bad as I'd imagined. I had been thinking there was a nasty washcloth 1/2 way flushed down the bowl. Supermom was I....I retrieved the cardboard roll and deposited it into a recycled Wal-Mart bag...sealed it shut and wallah! Catastrophe averted. Those million-and-one bags really do come in handy. Eaglet and I gave a humble round of applause and we moved on with the evening. I'll have to address other hazzards in a different post...time to check on how my dear husband is getting along upstairs with the plunger...

Mission Accomplished!

Well, today is the tenth day, and I'm counting this a success...except for the fact that we haven't actually tried these babies yet. They look and smell how I remember them; however, so I'll just bask in the glow of potential success for awhile. Here are some more shots of the ordeal, along with the finished product! My little "helper"... The brew...
The apron... I only wear this for "important", nostalgic occasions. This apron was handed down to me from my Grandma Dorothy. My Grandpa bought it for her from a woman in France while he was serving during WWII. And last, but not least...SWEET PICKLES!

The Great Pickle Adventure

My Grandma Emma used to make some amazing, bright green, sweet pickles. As a little girl I would marvel at the rows of jars lining her cellar pantry, and take every opportunity to sample the goods. I can close my eyes and remember how warm it was in her kitchen as she worked on her canning, and how her kitchen smelled. Mostly missing her, but also her pickles, I decided to track down some pickling cucumbers at the farmer's market this summer. I got my grandma's hand-written "Crisp Dollar Pickles" recipe from my mom and I'm 5 days into the venture. These babies take a total of 10 days to create. I'll let you know about the final product, but here are a couple shots of the journey:

Confessions

I love homes, which in the summer time, are clean, fresh, neat and orderly. Having gone through the ritual of a spring cleaning, the windows are sparkling and furniture is polished. Unnecessary clutter has been disposed of, and surfaces are dust-free. Windows are open, and the fresh breezes of the season waft through the rooms. Seasonal decor is in place--crisp linens and vases of flowers tucked in various locations. The home is preserved in such a way throughout the summer months, as any resident children spend their hours outdoors, and toys lay still on shelving and in closets.

MY HOME IS NOT ONE OF THESE HOMES....except for the part about residents spending their hours outdoors. We live in the yard as much as possible, soaking up any bits of sun we're blessed to receive that day. We run, we walk, we play in the hose or kiddie pool. Resident children may or may not be clothed. We play with the dogs, birdwatch, bugwatch, garden and play in the dirt. We read, we sing, we practice violin outside on a rock. We run inside to grab a drink or some food....or when Mommy frantically notices the time and realized something needs to be done about supper. Dirt and grass clippings track in the house, and stay there for a disturbingly long time. It is difficult to see through the windows when the sun shines. When was the last time the bathroom was cleaned? I think there is a toilet somewhere in there underneath the mounds of swim trunks and dirt-encrusted clothing from yesterday (Sure...it was only from yesterday.) We do pause to clean up a hairball with a paper towel if the need arises. The rest of the cleaning supplies are....somewhere. Today I wiped the dust bunnies off the vacuum and went crazy. Morning sickness and first trimester fatigue beginning to wane, now is the time. As I was working away on the long-neglected stairs, Spunky leaned in and yelled above the din of the vacuum, "Do we have friends comin' up?" This of course, was his way of asking, "Do we have company coming over?" Of course. Why else would Mom be cleaning?! I had to laugh. It's all too true. So please, friends, stop by often. It's the only way anything will "get done" around here. And please be so kind as to not mention the sweat on my brow from my cleaning frenzy.

That's all for this edition of Confessions. Eaglet is yelling, "Mommy! I can't get out of the school room!" Seriously.

Mmmm...Gingerbread

We did it! We managed to create a gingerbread house before the ingredients were consumed. Any guesses on how long it will last?