Life at Fertility Farm . . . ur I mean, Goodness Grows

Way back eight years ago we bought this farm.  In January of 2003, we started 9 months of demolishing and rebuilding the farmhouse.  During that time, we would spend evenings here working.  When we were thirsty, we drank the water from our well.  On the days that I would finish my job before Erik, I would come over and walk the property - explore the woods and throw sticks for the dogs.  One late summer day on a walk, I encountered our now beloved neighbor, Donna.  She gave me some history about the farmsteads surrounding ours and the low down on how many children were born at each place.  The farm she now lives on belonged to her husbands family.  Dan was one of I believe 15 children.  She and Dan had five children even though they didn't buy and build a house on the property until their children were all grown.  Up the road a bit lived another family that had a dozen children, and so the stories went on.  I had recently found out I was pregnant and Donna said, "Be careful . . . there's something in the water around here."

Since purchasing this house and drinking the water, I've conceived four children.  Three are alive and well, and the fourth is, as we joke around here, still incubating.

Since we started our goat production herd, we've had about a 99% success rate with our breeding program.  (For all you non-farm folk, for an operation that relies soley on ONE billy to get the job done, that's high).

Our most recent fertility success story is that of our beloved Chloe.

As many of you may be readers know, Chloe went into labor Tuesday night and gave birth to SIX wonderfully healthy and robust puppies.  I was always under the impression that there typically was a runt in every litter.  Not so.  Each of these puppies is as roly poly as the next.

"Tubby" is the name we've affectionately given the first born.  He is almost completely white with a brown head and a brown spot on his shoulders and another just at the spot where his spine and tail meet. He is our most vocal pup and cries anytime he is separated from his mother or litter mates.

Notice in this picture you cannot find Tubby.  That's because his favorite place to sleep is under his Mama's leg.  If you lift Chloe's leg up, you'll find him tucked up under there.  Funny dog.

The only other one's we've really identified w/ a name are "Brownie" (well, because he is all brown) 

And we know this one was our last born because it was interesting that our first born and last born were so similarly colored (minus one spot).

The other three are typical in terms of markings - brown heads, white collar, brown backs & tails with white tips.

Although we've discovered something different about this one than all of the rest.

This is "Dot."  She's our only girl.

Six babies and only one female in the litter.

They're all pretty cute though - and the best is watching how they cuddle up with each other when Mama Chloe needs to take a break.

ALL six of the puppies are for sale.  If you are interested in one, please contact us.  We also highly recommend that you do some research on Border Collies if you are not familiar with the breed.  Do your research and then decide if the breed would match your lifestyle and your family dynamic.  They are a high energy, high maintenance breed.  They are super intelligent, super loving and all around good dogs, but if they are not living a particular lifestyle, their intelligence and EXTREME work ethic will get the better of even the most loving of owners.  Remember, these dogs are bred to be herders, and that instinct does not go away just because they are not living on a farm.  They will herd small children, birds, and to their demise, tires.  I've heard countless stories of Borders "herding" the tires on the family car with a fatality or traumatic injury the result.  Even our Chloe, who has ample exercise and "working" time, will attempt to herd the tires of our quad.

I don't mean to scare away potential owners, but I feel it is my duty to warn you about the nature of the breed because I love the breed so much.

Puppies will be ready for visitors in about 10 more days or so.

Small Farmers Part 1 - The Chicken Chronicles.

I've been going a little stir crazy lately, waiting for our Border Collie, Chloe, to give birth.  Even now, she sits to my right in the superyard we borrowed from our friends to serve as the whelping box/nursery. I have been doing my normal household chores, but nothing seems to be distracting me enough. I've been doing lots of online reading on a variety of topics from "how to tell if a dog is in labor" to "complications that can occur in dog labor." So today I decided to shift focus away from dogs and whelping to doing some research on farming, small farmers, local producers and buying/selling local and got inspired to talk a little bit about the subject and to explain a little bit about where we are coming from as small farming meat producers.


Special Alert:  while writing this, Chloe went into labor!  I tried to complete and publish this post, but I could not find it in me.  It was too exciting to watch her.  I'll do another post on that adventure!

I'm probably not saying anything new here, I mean, for years we've been hearing about the trends towards buying food and products that are free range, organic, cage free, hormone free, etc. I've said in previous posts that I support the efforts of people to find and purchase these items, but buying products from a grocery store with those stamps on them for our family is not as important as buying your food products locally. By no means am I an expert in this field, I mean, we've only been "small farmers" for about four years now, but in those four years, I've managed to form some opinions, which I can share.

DISCLOSURE: the following comments are the opinion of the author and are a compilation of conclusions I have come to after MINOR research into the small farm business. Please do not interpret my OPINIONS as fact nor should you take my OPINION as an endorsement for anything in particular. If you are interested in the facts, please do your own research and perhaps check out this NPR interview.

NPR interview with Vilsack about ‘Know your famer, know your food’

Opinion 1: Buying organic, free range, etc., is great, BUT buying local (and from small farmers) is more important. My opinions are based heavily on the meat production market. I know a little bit about produce/crop production but not as much as I do about meat production/farming. I know that the biggest concern of consumers in regards to buying produce/crops in terms of the choice to buy organic is the use of pesticides and other chemicals that are sprayed onto fruits and vegetables and how those chemicals remain on the skins of the fruit produced. Obviously ingesting harmful chemicals is not something we want to do. And we don't want to feed animals that we are to consume products that have been grown with these chemicals. A friend of mine, who is much more educated regarding most of these matters has written several posts regarding sustainable living - from organic gardening to sustainable building, she's a plethora of knowledge and I've learned so much from her posts alone. I'd like to give a shout out to "Grace" a pseudonym she goes by to protect the privacy of her children (how excited am I that I get to use the word pseudonym!?  My childhood obsession with "Nancy Drew" is paying off!)  and her blog, Life Under A Blue Roof and include this link to a post she wrote on buying organic which addresses why buying organic produce is healthier on so many levels.  She also offers a great system for thinking about and implementing organics into your life - which you can also apply to the meat production industry.

http://lifeunderablueroof.blogspot.com/2010/01/sss-1-buy-organic.html

For the most part, the food you purchase from the grocery store is typically grown on a mega farm or feed lot of some sort. When I say "mega farm" I don't necessarily mean in terms of acreage - I'm talking in product. I guess the new term out there for these farms is "factory farm" which implies that an unnaturally large number of animals are maintained on these farms. Whether the farm is here in the USA or in another country, large farms typically have larger problems with their crop or livestock. The number one problem these factory farms have is disposal of animal waste.  Now, I know that everyone needs to and deserves to make a living, but my personal opinion is that the factory farm is not the best, healthiest, or easiest way to farm.  Additionally, factory farms require less workers, less skill, and when you boil it all down, the meat appears to be much cheaper than locally grown, but the true cost is never truly revealed because as taxpayers, we pay for government subsidies to these farms and we must cover the costs of pollution produced by them. 

Unnaturally large numbers of animals are kept on such farms.  They are kept in close confinement in order to restrict movement allowing for maximum calorie intake and minimal calorie burn.  They are fed unnecessary high calorie diets in order to promote fast growth.  High calorie diets in animals result in high fat foods for consumers.  Sure, in a processing plant, meat can be de-fatted, but from experience, I can tell you it is far easier to start the butchering process with an animal that is leaner.  Additionally, these animals are usually confined indoors with minimal room for normal animal behaviors and limited access to sunlight and fresh air (both which are needed in order for the body to absorb and maintain proper vitamin levels).

For instance, a hen laying chicken facility can house up to 30,00 - 82,000 chickens on one farm.







For a meat chicken farm, they can maintain up to 125, 000 chickens.  Numbers are based on the manure processing/treatment facilities of the factory farm.

Many of you know that Erik and I have been raising layers (hens that lay eggs) for their eggs since we bought our farm.  We also have been raising meat chickens for our home consumption.  We've done this for about 3 years now and through trial and error have learned valuable lessons.  Our first experience in raising meat chickens was good, but we followed the advice of an article based on production from a factory farm.  We kept 25 chickens penned into a section of our barn about 4 feet square.  We offered feed to them 24 hours a day.  We did not buy organic or locally produced feed.  They were limited in movement and had no exposure to the outdoors.  The idea behind this was to promote maximum growth in fewer days.  The chickens we raised were even genetically bred to pack on the pounds in six to eight weeks.  Confined to such a small space, these chickens grew to be quite large and as a result, they also lost their ability to walk - their tiny bones could not support their weight. If we did not butcher them by 10 weeks, they would  be worthless. They also became aggressive with each other - crowded for space, they fought for every spare inch they could get.  Finally, they were dirty.  Unable to walk and move, they were covered in their own excrement.  Gross.  When we butchered them, they were very fatty.  When I cooked them, I spent a long time cutting away fat, which actually left adequate meat- but it was a pain.

The second time we raised meat chickens, we kept them confined to a similar size space, but changed our feeding schedule.  We heard about feeding them for 12 hours and then taking the feed away to help eliminate the amount of fat the chickens produced.  This system did produce less fatty chickens, but the results were still the same in terms of them being dirty and not having any exposure to the outdoors.

This third round, we raised the chickens in confinement, however, we gave them a larger area in which to live.  Erik basically fenced in one area of our hoop-house barn, which receives a lot of sunlight due to the 5 foot wide barn door being open.  We fed them locally grown (about two miles away), locally milled (ground up) feed and were surprised when the eight week mark came and went without the chickens showing signs that they needed to be butchered because they could not support their own weight.  In fact, because we raised these chickens over the summer, we ended up going about 12 weeks or so before we had them butchered and they did well.  We even somehow missed a chicken and he is still alive living with our laying hens to this day.  He's almost six months old - that's like 500 years in a meat chickens lifespan!  We eat our home grown chicken about once a week (if not more).  I find this batch of chicken to be the most flavorful, likely because the feed we are offering is a better feed.  Additionally, it is less fatty.  This is important because although the first year we did chickens, we butchered them ourselves, the last few times we've found local people to do the butchering for us.  Costs go up when the butcher has a lot of extra fat to remove.  Also, when we get the chickens home, I take a few and cut them down myself into portions for meals that require individual chicken pieces.  For us, the cost of about $2 per chicken to have someone else butcher it is worth the cost so we don't have to deal with the time consuming (and let's face it, gross) process of doing it ourselves.

We also feel justified in doing this because we are supporting another local business in their efforts to make a living.  After all, that is part of sustainable farming - utilizing the time, effort, talent, knowledge and skill of other small local farmers so that you ALL profit.

This is a lot of information to put out and to digest, so I'm going to end the post for now.  There is so much more I want to say about factory farming, the use of pharmaceuticals, and what we can do to improve the lives of small farmers, that I'll do a series based on this initial post.

I hope you enjoyed it and that you heed my disclaimer and do your own research so that you can make your own informed decisions about the food you eat and the farmers that you support.  Most people don't want to think about where their food is coming form - hence the popularity of the prepackaged, fast frozen products we can buy at the grocery store.  But there are consequences both economically, environmentally, and let's face it, physically to our health if we don't consider the farming practices behind the food that graces our table.

Some book links from Amazon.com that have been helpful.

Grammie

My Grammie's birthday was yesterday. I meant to post this yesterday, but I got busy and distracted - and well, to be honest, I really had to think about what I should write.  She has been an influence on my life like no other and there isn't a day that I don't think about her.  She passed away unexpectedly shortly before my first wedding anniversary.  It was probably the most painful experience of my life so far.   Grammie was a lovely and classy lady.  She was raised in a different time and was the quintessential homemaker.  Although I've never watched the show, the images of January Jones as the housewife in Mad Men make me think of her.  The black and white photos we have of Grammie from the 50's and 60's are her dressed impeccably, posing with her children or her friends.  She wore the beautiful housedresses, pedal pushers and keds, etc., just like all the images of the women of those days.  I think the only time she ever dressed down was pool side.  Typically, every Friday, she would wash her hair in the morning, then she would set her hair in pink foam rollers and sit in the sun and let her hair dry.  As long as I can remember, this was her summer ritual.  I can still see her sitting back in one of the white patio chairs, feet propped up on a second chair, wearing a coral or yellow, or royal blue simple spaghetti strap tank suit, her hair in pink rollers, reading glasses on and a Harlequin Romance in her hands.  When we would get to the pool, she would dip her chin down, her eyebrows would raise and her big blue eyes peek out over her glasses.

  "Well, hello, Angel!"  she would exclaim - as if she hadn't just seen us the day before and like we didn't live 300 yards from her.  She was always happy to see us and she never cared that we just popped into her house whenever we felt like it.  

Grammie and Papa were very much in love, but they also had their ups and downs.   But they always forgave each other and got back to life how they liked it.  My most vivid memories of being with my grandparents are summer time memories or our vacations to Florida.  No doubt because I had nothing else going on in my life at those times and it is when I was with them most.   My Papa has his own business, and I remember going into the house at 11 each morning to get Papa's lunch ready. Papa has always had a garden and at night, after supper (promptly on the table at 5:30) he would go out to the garden and tend to it.  He would bring in fresh lettuce and if in season, tomatoes and other vegetables for a salad.  Grammie would use those ingredients to make a BIG salad for him the next day.  Usually topped with some Bacos - do they still make those? and slices of hard boiled egg and tomato.  He always ate a sweet and sour dressing that my Grammie bought from a local restaurant - The Dutch Pantry - or he would just use oil and vinegar dictated by his Italian roots.   They were very happy together and had a complicated and easy relationship.  They were the perfect compliment to each other.  He always said something along the lines of "No one else on the earth could compare. . .  unless Sophia Loren showed up at my door - then I might have some choices to make."

This photo is of me with them at their 25th Wedding Anniversary Party.  I was pretty young here - maybe going on four, and I don't remember much about the party.  I just remember that anytime we went to the Country Club with them (or any restaurant for that matter) Shirley Temples were at our fingertips within seconds.  I'm pretty sure that Shirley Temples were on the menu for that special day as well.

I know that a lot of my memories are tainted by the rose colored glasses that grandchildren typically have in regards to their grandparents.  I know that she had flaws and made mistakes, but there is so much about my Grammie that I remember and hope to emulate.  Her husband and family always came first.  She loved us all fiercely and wanted only the best for all of us.  She may not have always gone about it in the best way, but her heart was in the right place.  

To me, Grammie was soft pink kisses that stained your cheeks, a whiff of Chantilly Lace perfume, Harlequin Romance novels and stacks of VHS recordings of soap operas.  She was a lover of everything shiney and sparkely, diamonds, real or fake, big clip on earrings, a collection purses and shoes that required their own zipcode, but most importantly, she was LOVE.  She was our protector and encourager, a lady that went after what she wanted and taught us to never settle.  

Most importantly, no matter who was around, how busy she was, or what the circumstance, she made me feel like I was the most important thing to her because I was her First Angel Baby.

Seriously, There's Something Wrong With Me!

I know that everyone has their individual fashion woes. I'm sure that each individual feels that their particular fashion problem is the worst problem in fashion.

I beg to disagree with you all for I truly have The worst fashion problem in the world!
ALAS is the not-so-medical term for my condition. What is ALAS? Abnormally Long Arms Syndrome. It is a devastating fashion disease. The only symptom, abnormally long arms, is unfortunately incurable. A few years ago, I thought the Fashion industry had become sympathetic to the condition because three quarter length sleeves became the rage.

However, I soon discovered that once again, the designers were just making fashion statements, just as they refuse to acknowledge that Plus Size women want to dress in fashionable, well made clothing instead of velour housecoats,

elastic waisted, tapered leg, polyester dress pants in putrid shades of pastels,and T-shirts with Looney Tunes, Winnie the Pooh, or other ridiculously juvenile characters screen printed on them.  They were ignoring the plights of the many (or one person) suffering from ALAS. How do I know they were ignoring my condition? Because the trend of three quarter length coats became popular in our fashion, but the elbow length glove did not enter the fashion scene until just this past year - from what I can tell in the fashion epicenter of Western PA.

For now I will focus on ALAS as it is in the winter that I suffer most from this syndrome. Here is what a normal winter coat should look like on a person. Most of you won't need the illustration as you probably already have normal length arms so you know what it looks like. The cuff of the coat sleeve reaches the wrist and possibly hangs slightly below.Here is what a smartly dressed, normal length armed woman would look like out and about in the winter. See how the cuff of her coat arm adequately covers the wrist and leaves no exposed skin?

This is a picture of my arm outside the other day as I scraped the snow off the roof of my mini van.

Is that not ridiculous? I have a good 5 inches of arm exposed to the elements!

You suggest I just buy longer gloves. Easier said than done, my friends. My fingers are also unusually long, so finding gloves to fit are also difficult. My only consolation is that my fingers are skinny, so at least mens gloves are somewhat too big for my hands. Still, mens gloves are made short as well and since I'm not wearing a man's parka, the 5 inches of forearm are still exposed to the elements.

I was so excited this fall - Old Navy was selling the most adorable 3/4 length sleeve coat - but I had to pass it over because I could not find gloves that would cover my abnormal wing-span to make the coat look fashionable and care for me in the elements.  I can't even rely on long sleeved shirts to span the difference because long sleeve shirts are still about 2 inches short on my abnormally long arms.  

I wish Opera gloves would come back into style, but I have a feeling that those gloves were made for someone with delicate and dainty hands. I do not have delicate and dainty hands.

There you have it folks - my horrible disfigurement of ALAS and how I struggle to keep the five inches of skin on my forearms from suffering hypothermia.  Short of learning to knit or crochet, I'm not sure how I will ever remedy my situation.  Ski gloves can be helpful, but they are bulky and not very attractive accessories for dress coats.  There is no Abnormally Long Arms section of the department store and custom made gloves are outrageously expensive.

Feel my pain, won't you?  And try not to laugh at my disfigurement the next time you see me or someone like me.  We know we look ridiculous, we did look in the mirror and we are aware that our gloves do not meet our sleeves.  It is not a deliberate fashion faux paux.  It is a cruel twist of genetic fate. I have a dream that one day my daughter will be able to wear long sleeves with pride and freedom.

Then I will buy her all the adorable coats I wish I could have had.  

Time goes by so . . .not slowly (part deux)

I can't believe how fast a month has flown!

In the last month we've done A LOT!

We headed out to the PA State Farm Show in Harrisburg, PA.  Overall it was a good time.  I admit I ran out of patience easier on this trip.  It all goes back to discussing expectations with your spouse.  My expectation was that since we were going to be there for three FULL days, we wouldn't have to spend ALL day there.  Erik's expectation was that since we were going to be there three full days, we would spend EVERY WAKING MINUTE THERE! 

I tired of it quickly and I think the children did too a little, but we made it through, learned from the Boer Goat judging and watched some awesome PA Preferred cooking demonstrations.  I've now added a Mushroom Bisque to my cooking arsenal and if I do say so myself, it is awesome.  A big thanks to chef Andrew Little,  Executive Chef at Sheppard Mansion, Hanover, PA for providing the recipe and demonstrating it.  I cooked the bisque this past weekend for my family for Walker's birthday and plan to cook it again on the 13th for a Valentine's Day supper I'm hosting for a few friends.

We did manage to make the trip to Hershey World (per my request) and the kids really seemed to get into the "How Chocolate is Made" show.  Here's my attempt at taking a group photo of us on the tour.

We've been busy with a lot of the little things that make life go so fast. Pretty much every Monday night, Erik takes the kids to the YMCA for open swim. When I don't have a mountain of laundry to get put away, I usually join them. We take turns swimming laps in the pool and have the kids chase us. I'm not sure who is more tired when the evening is over, the parents or the kids. I'm also not sure which is more tiring: swimming laps or giving the kids showers and dressing them.

We had a doctors appointment this month AND had our first (and probably only) sonogram this past Monday. Here are the sonogram pictures. They're not super great - I don't know if it is the imaging center that we use, the technician, or if our babies are just too squirmy, but we've never gotten a good profile picture. You can tell that these are profile pictures, but they aren't as clear as others I've seen.




The other night at supper, we were talking about the Super Bowl and Walker told us that he was going to wear his new football helmet that his Aunt Lara got him for Christmas. Maggie, not to be outdone, said she was going to dress up like a cheerleader, but needed those "fings." As she told us this, she began waving her arms around and flapping them like a chicken. I was confused and asked "what are you talking about?" and Walker interjected with, "Momma, she's talking about CHEER BOMBS" After further investigation, I realized that Cheer bombs are pom poms.

Finally, in preparation for the future, we are getting a whelping box ready for our Border Collie, Chloe. We are expecting Chloe to have puppies sometime next weekend. Her estimated dates are between February 12 and 16th. That's going to be pretty exciting for us. The kids are so anxious for them to arrive. We aren't going to be keeping any of the pups from this litter, unless of course, for some reason they don't sell. I'm sure they will be adorable and I can't wait to see how many she has.

Hello Baby

Hello Baby.  I am your Momma.  Your Daddy and I affectionately refer to you as "Jenerik."  We have called all of our babies by this name during your growth in my womb.  It started with Walker because that year, it was very popular for parents to combine their names to create a name for their baby.  So we combined our names and this is what we came up with.

People constantly want to know if you are a boy or a girl - and they usually ask me, "Do you know what you are having?"  and I tell them, "A baby."

 I feel like I've been neglecting you the last 18 1/2 weeks, but I talk to you and about you every day.

I explain to your big brother, Walker, that despite the fact that he says he will "bust you in the face" if you are a girl, he will love you and find you adorable.  If, however, you are a girl, I will be sure to provide you with the appropriate head gear for your first month home.  I'm pretty sure he won't bust you in the face, but I can't be certain.  This boy is in the big K now and his loyalties are a changin'.  We find it ironic that he says he doesn't want a sister because all of his short life, his friends have ALL been girls.  Even now, when we ask him who he plays with at school, he says, "Lindsey and Lauren."  Twin girls!

I tell your big sister, Maggie, she will be a big helper to me when you join our family.  She's been practicing her mommy skills on her baby dolls and her baby brother daily.  I even caught her trying to change Will's diaper the other day.  It's great she's trying so hard to be helpful, but she'll be an even bigger help if she would learn to do onesie snaps all by herself.   She keeps dressing and undressing her babies and requires my help to finish the job.  I told her I won't have the time to dress you and her babies all day, every day.  It would be really helpful if she could just learn to dress everyone.

I try to talk about you to Will, but truthfully, he doesn't even care.  All he cares about is lifting up my shirt, exposing my growing belly, and blowing raspberries on it.  He laughs and shouts, "Fat baby bewl wee!"  Then blows more raspberries. It's his life's joy.  

I tell your Daddy how happy I am that we decided to add to our family and that yes, things are going to change, but they will be a good change and we will adapt to a family of six quickly.  Sure, we may need to invest in a bus to get places requiring any luggage, but we're Schwalm's and your dad will use his McGyver like skills to rig up whatever we need.  I tell friends and strangers that pregnancy is treating me well (except for the constant swelling of my nasal passages) and that no, I don't feel sick, haven't had any morning sickness, and other than my pants getting tighter and tighter, everything is great.  Some people respond happily to that information, others look a little disgusted.  Either way, it is the truth and I'm proud of it.  Daddy says I was built to be barefoot and pregnant.  I tell him he's lucky we don't live in a different time period or you probably wouldn't be our LAST baby - we'd just be getting started.  

Then Daddy says, "Don't be getting any ideas.  You said four.  ONLY four!" 

The next 22 weeks are going to be long - but the reward is going to be worth the wait.

The first three sure were - and I know you'll be no different!

Can't wait to meet you!

Love,
Momma

The Great Debate

There comes a day in every mother and daughter's relationship when they must have a discussion. It is a matter of infinite importance and its aftereffects can be monumental. It is of great risk, but also great reward if it is done correctly.

That issue? Hair.

Maggie's hair has grown quite long and we are approaching a crossroads. It is still in that state where when it is cared for and groomed, it looks beautiful. She has the hair I long for - straight, thick, and takes curl.  Even when it hasn't been washed in a few days (or a week) it is healthy, shiny, and pretty - you can just brush it and it looks beautiful.   I refer to it as Breck hair.  However, it is starting to require more and more care. Gone are the days of once a day brushings and let it go. If I don't brush it as soon as she wakes up and put it in some sort of style, pig tails, pony tail, etc., it gets wild and unruly and ugly.  We have to use leave in conditioner or a spray detangler to get a comb through it after it's washed, and let's not get into the rats nests we deal with in the morning.  Needless to say,  I now understand why women in pioneer times wore their hair in braids to bed and wore a bedcap.

But, I am able to do so much with it in its current state.  I can curl it, put it in cute long pony tails, French braids and decorate it with all kinds of bows and barrettes. It's to the point now, where I think if I let it grow a few more inches, what we cut off could qualify to be sent to Locks of Love, a charity that collects hair to make wigs for children undergoing medical treatments that cause them to lose their hair.  But, it would take another six months at least to grow it to the ten inch length that is required.  Shorter hair is accepted, but it is not as desirable as the 10" lengths.

When Maggie was just two, I took the bull by the horns and cut off all of the wispy baby hair she had straggling down her back leaving a cute little bob. It fell just to the bottom of her ears and was adorable. I was looking back at those pictures today and debating about what to do.

Here's her hair the summer after I cut it, over a year and a half ago.  The front is a little messy, but the back - oh, the back.  How cute is that little flip?

And as it grew out just a bit in the Fall and last winter, I had was still able to put it in pig tails and hair bows.
I was always able to pull her hair to the side and put a little bow in it.

I love this photo - she reminds me of the character Darby, on the Playhouse Disney show, My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

But then, I guess length of hair has nothing to do with how cute it looks.

In my defense, I do believe this was taken AFTER a nap.

Last February, my niece, Taylor, got this adorable wedge bob.  It is super cute, and Maggie has said since then she wanted to get her hair cut like that.  I'm not sure if I want to go for the wedge for Maggie.

Hair now:

Straight

Curly

Potential hair if we do a bob:

The great debate remains.  What to do?

I'd love to hear from you.

Seriously . . .  tell me what to do.  I can't make the decision myself.  This is one area where I am indecisive.  I can't help it.  I have horrible pictures to prove what the wrong haircut can do.  Thankfully, they are at my moms house and I cannot post them here.  What a relief.  But trust me  they are horrendous.  Let's just say the "pixie" cut was not an attractive look for a chubby, early developing girl.  No matter how much pink you wear, you know people are wondering if you are a boy.

See why I am so conflicted about what to do?

Help me.  Please!

Happy Birthday To My One and Only

Today is my better half's birthday. I won't divulge his age, even though he's not embarrassed by it. I'll just say that he is two years older than me.Erik and I had a whirlwind romance. We met the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2000, were "pre-engaged" by Valentines day of 2001, officially engaged by June of 2001 and our wedding was December 29, 2001.

Let me say that in general I do not believe in nor am I a fan of pre-engagement. I think it is silly. Why would you promise to get engaged to someone - just get engaged. So, in my mind, we were engaged by Valentine's day. That Valentine's Day we didn't do anything special. Erik was doing snow removal way back then and was usually up early in the morning, helped deliver food at his brother's restaurant and very tired by the end of the day. I worked full time, so I wasn't available during the day to do anything so he had just come to my townhouse that night and we cooked and hung out.

At some point in the night, Erik brought out a ring he had purchased in Israel. It was a silver ring and in Hebrew, the ring was engraved with a verse from the Bible, "I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine" - Song of Solomon 6:3. He told me that he purchased the ring with the intention of giving it to the girl he intended to marry someday. Sweet, right? Ten months later we were married. It feels like it's been a whirlwind eight years too. Happy Birthday, Honey. Hope all your dreams come true!

New Years resolutions

I'm not really very good at keeping New Years resolutions.  I like to pretend that I am by setting goals and devising a plan, but usually something happens along the way and I either don't start working towards the goal at all or I start working towards it and I don't finish the project.

It is a cold, frigid, blustery, single digit day here in Western PA so I decided to work on one of my goals for the New Year.  My first goal for 2010 is to cook a meal every single night.  During the month of December, Erik and I get very lax about eating out.  With shopping, preparation for our open house, Christmas Eve, and traveling to my hometown, preparing meals falls to the wayside.  The kids live on PB&J, mac n cheese, spaghetti and ravioli.  Erik and I eat whatever is left over in the fridge.  In fact, we are still eating some left overs from our parties and gatherings.

We've all gotten tired of eating this way, so it is time to get on a real meal plan.

My mother in law got me a beautiful cast iron enameled dutch oven, so I broke it out today to make chili.  After getting all the ingredients into the dutch oven, I sat down to devise a meal plan for the coming weeks.  My goal was to plan meals up to Valentine's day.  I don't really plan breakfast or lunch because those things are relatively easy to throw together.  My kids usually eat oatmeal, cereal, eggs, pancakes, etc. Breakfast is ALWAYS the easiest meal at our house.  Lunch is sometimes trickier with juggling Walker's appetite and his Kindergarten schedule.  Walker is (and has always been) a late sleeper and he doesn't really like to eat breakfast right away.  The other two are early risers and wake me up each morning by saying, "Morning, Momma.  I'm hungry."  Overall, lunch is easy compared to supper.

Over the last few days, I have been collecting meal ideas on a note pad.  (This photo was taken after I had already started crossing off my list).

Basically I did this by first writing down all of the main courses I could think of.  Then, I asked Erik and the children to fill in with their opinion on their favorite meals to eat.  From that list, I then filled in my weekly meal planner (a small note pad that I found at Michael's last summer, but previously I just used one of the many free calendars we get in the New Year).

After I got the main courses in, I go back and fill in my side dishes.  I am not very creative about side dishes.  I'm basically a two  item kind of chef.  You have the main dish, usually a meat, pasta or fish, and then a side, which is usually just a vegetable.  I'm not creative that way and I don't really like to experiment with side dishes.  I am a "Plain Jane" in terms of food.  I don't like to take away from the true flavor of the food I am serving.  I'm not really much of a casserole person either - I like things plain.  I'm sure to some people this seems boring, but it makes meal time a lot easier.  Erik jokes about the fact that pretty much the only seasoning I use is garlic salt.  I have recently managed to expand my seasoning use, but I like to keep it simple.

The one thing I had to plan for specifically is that getting vegetables into my children has become a challenge.  Walker actually does very well with plain veggies on his plate, but the younger two often refuse to eat them.  A year ago, I really got into a philosophy of cooking loosely called "deceptively delicious."

Jessica Seinfeld, wife of the famous comedian, Jerry, wrote a cookbook of that title offering recipes in which she added 1/4 -1/2 cup of pureed vegetables or fruit to a recipe to enhance the nutrient content. In the book she also discusses whole foods, fresh produce, etc.  It is a nice little cook book.  My only complaint is that it doesn't really break down what produce works best for items not discussed in the cook book.  For example, besides the recipes in her book, what other foods can you hide beets in easily?  She lists all the fruits and vegetables she regularly purees and adds to her recipes, but I would have liked it if she also listed what foods the flavor profile works with.  I guess it is pretty easy to figure out on your own, but I like to have someone else test it before I go for it.   My only other complaint is that she has several recipes for "kid" foods as main dishes for the family meal - dishes like chicken nuggets - things I don't really see as acceptable for our family meal time.  I feel it is important to expose our children to "adult" meals and once our children started eating solids, they ate whatever we were eating.  I am not a short order chef and I do not make two entrees at each meal.  What I cook is what is available.  If you choose not to eat it, that's fine, but if you get hungry later, fruit is pretty much your only option.

So, what does my meal plan look like?

January 3-9:

3 -  Chili loaded w/ black beans, kidney beans and veggies.

4 - Alice Springs Chicken (I found the recipe for this meal online because this is one of Erik's favorite meals at The Outback Steakhouse and the 4th is his birthday) with Caesar Salad (Erik's favorite) and mixed

5 - Chicken Salads - Tuesdays are easy nights!  Erik and I usually eat alone because we have Youth Group this night and the children eat at my in-laws house.  This is when we get to eat stuff the kids normally don't eat.  If I was making a salad for a different night, I usually just keep some chicken set aside for the little two.

6 - BBQ Pulled Pork.  We'll either eat this on whole wheat buns or just by itself with green beans and a salad.

7- Slow cooked roast beef with potatoes and carrots (a lot of people call it pot roast).

8 -  Beef and Chicken Fajitas with corn and Spanish rice.  I'll use left over chicken and roast beef from the previous meals to make this.

9 -  Beef Vegetable soup.  I have a batch of this frozen in the freezer from earlier this fall.  I'll serve it with some crusty bread - yum-O!

10 - Ribs.  We got kind of tired of ribs after our cook off this summer, but it's time to start practicing again!  I'll probably serve Baked Beans and Coleslaw with this.

11 - Spaghetti with meat sauce and veggies

12 - We'll be eating whatever is left over from the previous week.  We're leaving the 13th for Harrisburg and the PA State Farm Show, so the next 5 days we'll be combining eating out with my plan for saving money by bringing food to make lunch and avoid the food court temptation at the Farm Show.  Trust me, we'd love to eat all of our meals at the concessions - the various food councils - beef, pork, poultry, etc., all have exceptional food booths providing delicious meals, but, like all concessions, they are a bit on the pricey side, so I try to bring sandwiches for our main lunch then allow for a concession treat.  One of our favorite is the fried mozzarella cubes - I look forward to those every year!  Another way to save money is that we get our hotel online through hotwire.com and choose a hotel that provides breakfast.  We're able to eat a great breakfast and usually I can take some yogurt and fruit from the breakfast buffet for snacking at the farm show.  Another great trick is to take some plastic spoons and those little single servings of peanut butter that they provide at the breakfast buffet.  My kids love to just eat peanut butter on a spoon - this way takes a little longer because they have to dig the peanut butter out of those little cups.

Anyway, this meal plan goes on and on - I was actually even able to plan through February 27th!

A couple other tips that I'll share that have helped me with meal planning:

1) if you have a lot of cookbooks, go through the cook books searching for recipes your family would enjoy.  In a journal or notebook, divide the book into sections - appetizers, soups and salads, main entrees, side dishes, desserts.  As you find a recipe your family would enjoy, instead of recopying the recipe onto a card, in the notebook under the appropriate section, record the title of the recipe, the name of the recipe and the page number the recipe is on.  You only have to go through a cook book once to see if there are any good recipes.  I've done this for myself in a small journal:

2) If I have a great recipe I found from the internet or have gotten from someone else, I put the recipe card into photo albums.  It makes it easy to find and you can leave the card in the plastic cover so you don't spill on it!  I have one large album I use for recipes I make a lot/recipes I know are tried and true family favorites.  I also have several small photo albums that I use.  Each one is labeled for different purposes. One book  is for cookies and desserts, one for recipes I've been given that I'm meaning to try.  I also have books specific to birthday parties or holidays.  Those are filled with both recipes and craft and game ideas.

Whenever possible, I try to buy and serve whole foods.  We do still enjoy our processed foods too - blue box macaroni and cheese and the like, but while I'm not perfect at it, compared to a lot of America, I'm cooking healthier than most.  Additionally, we have the advantage and privilege to have two freezers full of home grown or locally grown beef, poultry and pork.  I'm not even going to go into it in this post, but if you want to improve your health, your community and the world, start investigating local farms and purchasing "freezer meats."  There are several farmers I know of just in the South Butler area that offer beef for sale.  My brother in law raises and sells pork this way as well.  We have been raising our own poultry for three years now.  Yes, purchasing meat this way can be more expensive, but the health benefits are more than worth it.  There is a lot of controversy whether you should be buying organic or not, but for now, I think it is more important to buy locally.  Small local farmers do not have the need for antibiotics, growth hormones, etc., that mega farm feed lots do.  The cows are born in healthier environments, raised in healthier environments and are treated better.  Same goes with chickens, turkeys and hogs. I do not have a garden and I do not "put up" my own vegetables.  I am not a dedicated gardener and year after year my vegetable garden falls to the weeds.  However, I have discovered that during peak seasons, my favorite local produce market, Ambrose's, has a wide variety of produce available for purchase in bulk and the prices are so reasonable it makes it silly to have a garden of my own.  I just buy, blanch and freeze locally raised beans, corn and whatever else is looking good.  I'm also a fan of the frozen produce at the grocery store.  The prices are reasonable and most products are flash frozen within 24 hours of being picked, so in the winter, buying frozen vegetables are really the best way to get the bang for your buck.

Hopefully this inspires or helps any of you wanting to get your meal strategy in place for the New Year.

More Bethany House publishing

If you follow my blog, you know that I've been participating in a program through Bethany House Publishing where they send me free books and I read them and post reviews. This last batch was all historical fiction.

The first book is Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin.

Harriet opens the book lying on a cot in a jail cell, reflecting on the irony of her arrest. Through reflection (flashbacks) she tells the stories of the women in her life. Her grandmother, Grandma Bebe, her mother and through them, her own story. The stories begin in 1848 and cover such important issues of slavery, war, prohibition, and women's suffrage. Each character plays a vital role in Harriet's life and how she has developed into the young woman she is today. Harriet is struggling with her life. She looks at the lives of her mother and grandmother and feels she has nothing important to offer the world. Her grandmother defies every traditional woman's role for the time, and her mother spent the majority of her life conforming to those roles. Harriet struggles with understanding how to grow into the woman she is meant to be based on the strong influences of her grandmother and mother.

The stories are very engaging and as a woman, daughter and mother, I related to the individual stories of each woman and their relationships with each other.  I highly recommend this book.

The second book to review is The Silent Gift by Michael Landon and Cindy Kelley.  I enjoyed this book but I felt the plot had too many twists and turns, too much drama and not enough story development between Mary Sinclair and her son, Jack.  Some of the events just seemed too unrealistic and far fetched to make the story believable.  It is overall a sweet story and will keep you entertained and interested.

Mary's son Jack is labeled a "deaf mute" in the book, but it was my impression that today, he would be considered autistic.  The year is 1938 - the end of the Great Depression and Mary's husband, Jerry, has been struggling to make ends meet for many months.  Mary does her best to keep things together, but Jerry is not content making meager wages and continues to search for "something better." Mary soon discovers that Jerry has found "something better" in the arms of another woman, and the business trip he has told Mary about, is actually a trip to get a quickie divorce.  He has emptied his bank accounts and Mary realizes she is going to be left penniless and helpless.  She manages to take the money Jerry has liquidated and she and Jack make their get away.

Just as soon as Mary thinks she has gotten away and gets set up in a new city, she loses the money she stole from her husband and is left penniless.  At the Salvation Army, Mary learns that Jack has a gift.  He is able to meet with a person and give them a "prediction" so to speak.  These predictions come in the form of numbers that are associated to the book, chapter, and verse in the Bible.  Jack becomes notorious for his "predictions" and through a series of coincidences, he and Mary are recognized by con artist who both befriends them and exploits them.  Unexpectedly, Jerry shows up and claims custody of Jack, devastating Mary.  She is prisoned and Jack manages to escape from Jerry and is placed in a mental health institution.  Mary eventually is released from prison and she continues her desperate search for her son.  Just when she gives up hope, an unexpected ally comes to her aide and by chance, they eventually find Jack and the Mother and Son are reunited.

The third book to review is A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling.  This book is the first in the series Home to Blessing.  It is apparent very early on in the book that the characters and location are written about in another series.  Snelling does a good job of making you feel familiar with the characters, but you do get the sense that you are missing something from not reading the previous books.

A Measure of Mercy focuses on the life of Astrid Bjorklund as she completes her medical training under the instruction of her sister in law, Elizabeth.  She is faced with the choice of remaining in her home town of Blessing, North Dakota, or traveling to Chicago to formalize her training at the Alfred Morganstein Hospital for Women and Children.  She eventually decides to make the trip to Chicago, much to the dismay of Joshua Landsverk, who has returned to Blessing in the hopes of being remembered by Astrid and perhaps courting her.

The story of a young woman training to be a doctor is interesting and Astrid's struggle to make a choice based on God's calling is dynamic.  She is relatable in that she struggles greatly with knowing and understanding what God is telling her.  She tries to turn to her mother, a faithful example, but feels that she must be lacking something because of her mother's unfailing faith.  On top of her struggles with medical school, Astrid struggles with the thought that she is being called to become a medical missionary in Africa.  In the meantime, Joshua struggles with attempting to have a long distance relationship with Astrid, made even harder by the fact that Astrid is not aware of his intentions towards her.

Overall, this is a very interesting story and left me anticipating the next installment.  In the meantime, I will definitely be reading the previous series about Blessing.

The fourth and final book to review is part of another series (Diamond of the Rockies).  The Rose Legacy follows Carina Maria DiGratia as she leaves her home in Sonoma and travels to the legendary Crystal Colorado.  She leaves behind a doting Italian family, her culture, and betrayal by her sister in an attempt to show them all that she is just fine and will make a new life for herself in beautiful Crystal.  A series of unfortunate events leave Carina, a victim of false advertising, with no money, no assets, abandoned in a corrupt mining town.  An unscrupulous lawyer, Berkley Beck, befriends Carina, telling her that he is her only hope.  As Carina works for him as his secretary, she uncovers the web of lies he has told.  She struggles with trusting anyone, but finds that for some reason, she instinctively trusts Quillan Shepard, the freighter that sends her wagon full of her most precious belongings to their destruction over the mountainside.  Carina wants to hate Quillan, but finds that he is the only person she can truly rely on.  In the midst of a town full of corruption, greed, and lacking God, Carina struggles with her faith and uncovers the beautiful love story of Quillan's parents.  The end of the book is left with a bit of a cliff hangar leaving you anticipating the next book in the series.  While I struggled sometimes with what seemed like inconsequential details, the story was engaging and was a great combination of romance, faith and historical drama.

Happy reading everyone!