September to Remember

What a lovely, lovely,  month. This was my kind of September, let me tell you.

Processing Corn

Every year I can remember, in our house (8 years, now), I have fought (and sometimes lost) the battle of "I refuse to fire up the pellet stove before October!" Instead (or in addition), I would break out the flannel sheets, the longjohn underwear, the sweaters.

Big Sister's Birthday Party

But not this year. It has been incredible. Only a handful of days that didn't hit 80 or even 90, beautiful sunshine, the garden continuing in bliss. Cool evenings perfect for outdoor birthday parties, kids playing with the calves through sunset, and eating at the picnic table.

The high today is supposed to be in the high 70s.

But...

Ready for the freezer

We have left the homestead for a week or so, and I think we have forfeited that last breath of summertime. *sniff sniff* We have gone to an area that never gets that much sunshine anyways, and it is damp and dreary (in comparison). I am missing my summertime, and lamenting that the day we return is only supposed to hit 58 degrees. Alas, why did we not plan this trip for next week? :)

Organique turns four!

If you are enjoying an Indian Summer where you are, do me a favor and really soak it up. Enjoy it and spend some time with it, and tell it how much I miss it.

"Baby" (?) turned 2 in August. And needed her face washed.

Whatever you do, don't waste it. :)

School Photos

I've taken a few 'school pictures' for friends and family, but my own are much less formal...

For example, this brother and sister:

Isn't he cute??!?

And then, we have ours:

How does she manage to look so angelic and innocent?!? I'm glad she has curly hair; I've never had her hair cut, but SHE has cut it a dozen times or so. You mostly can't tell...

Nothing like starting school with a giant bandage on your hand. At least a) she doesn't write yet and b) she's not left-handed anyway.

"Oh, this is a good book!"

"See?"

By the way, that Baby turned 2 a couple weeks ago (the day Hubby was in the hospital). I forgot it was her birthday for most of the day! She also started summer with DARK BROWN hair. *sigh* She's getting so big... :)

Confirmed Freakhood

We were at Costco the other day, after a full day of errands that I did NOT feel ready for (that holiday week just messed me up), and keeping the kids from climbing into or on the huge displays of everything was wearing on me. I was not thinking of the special joys my children bring, or of their uniqueness and purpose. The hassle was all I could see.

We accepted a few samples along the way (fewer for Little Artist and her dietary limitations), and came upon the dinosaur-shaped chicken nugget stand. The lady smiled at the girls and said, "I have your favorite thing right here! Chicken nuggets!"

Organique grinned at her the same way she had before the grandiose announcement, and I asked her, "have you ever had a chicken nugget, honey?"

"No," shaking her head, still grinning. The lady looked from her to me, with some astonishment. Big Sister spoke up, "oh yeah, I think I had these once." Shock registered on the sample-giver's face. I smiled and mentioned that we DO eat chicken, it's just usually shaped more like a chicken, and less like a dinosaur, since we raise them ourselves.... and the work involved to get it to nugget-stage just wouldn't be worth it. :) Her eyebrows rose a bit and she said she wouldn't know how to do that (raise and process chickens) at all. I smiled again and pointed to Big Sister and Little Artist. "It's not too hard. They can do the whole thing, on their own." The shock returned to the lady's expression, but it included a bit less of "horrified" than the earlier nugget-less revelation. I think she was amazed.

And I got a little reminder, in the midst of a hard day, that my girls are not wholly trouble and trial. They are pretty amazing, too. :) 


And the fact that I look with joy at my girls because they each can eviscerate an entire chicken on their own (several, actually), and identify all the pertinent parts... Well, that confirms that I'm a freak, I'm pretty sure. I look forward with both anticipation and trepidation to the day when our children look back on their childhood and realize just how bizarre we truly are... :)

Spring Signs

Well, I can't leave that last depressing post at the top. I'm hoping it is/was hormones, winter blues, kids cooped up for months...

Today Little Artist headed out to the van to search for her $3 used roller blades, but burst right back into the house.

"[Big Sister]! I hear the tweeting of summer birds!"

Big Sister hurried out with her and confirmed the song of the meadowlark has returned to us. Truly, that song is such a welcome gift, whether March or August. And so too is the excitement with which my six-year-old announces such a thing. :)

At six, I certainly wasn't tuned into the signs of the seasons like that. I'm grateful that my girls *are*. :)

Drowning

Last night I went to a monthly bible study for Moms. It's a varied group; many churches represented, several homeschoolers, and it's a lovely group. The venue changes, and last night we were able to switch last-minute: the neighbor of our intended hostess wasn't going to be able to make it since her husband was working late. She welcomed us to her home instead, so she could attend for the first time.

After the study, we enjoyed some pie and ice cream, and then took a tour of her older home. It's near where we first lived in town, but bigger (not BIG mind you, just bigger than our tiny 872 sf home), and beautifully remodeled/fixed up. Apparently there are still things they intend to do, but really it was breathtaking. Not because it was just *so fancy*, but because they have four children, the oldest of whom is 7. *I* have four children, and my oldest is nine.

I'm trying to be inspired. I really am. But it wars with discouragement, and I'm not sure which is winning today. Her carpet is soft, and new, and there are no apple cores to be found within its fibers. Her children's rooms are painted beautifully, and no one has taken a pen or marker or pencil or sharp utensil to them. Their beds have (coordinated!) blankets, and none of them were on the floor. Her converted attic loft/guest/storage area, for which she apologized, looks like any "after" photo I might take after a real effort at cleaning/organizing/decorating. How does she do it? How does anyone do it? Why can't I???

I sat with the kids today, and we held hands and prayed about this. I pointed out that I had vacuumed up all the cornmeal two days ago. Someone poured more on the floor of the schoolroom. I told them the miracle(s) that brought this house to us. I asked them if they gave someone a gift, if they would want that gift to be loved or not. I showed them the (pieces of) crayons I just picked up from all over the floor - for the second day in a row. The tape stuck to the floor in great, wasteful lengths. The bookshelf overturned in the bedroom. Who does this kind of thing?

I am not completely ignorant. I have not completely neglected the training of my children. But oh my gosh it sure looks that way. Where am I missing it here? Why the glaring, glaring difference between two otherwise similar households? I do not (seriously) require the jacuzzi tubs, or a fireplace in my bedroom suite, or glassed-in showers, or the stainless fridge-over-freezer. But oh, an apple-core-free carpet would be fantastic. A little order to rest in, without sacrificing three times over when the girls have five minutes to their own devices. Without abandoning sleep altogether, what can I do to close the gap??

Dietary Update

We finally decided to get a blood test done for Little Artist, after 4+ months of 'guessing.'

First, a recap:
Five weeks in saw incredible turnaround in her digestion, elimination, attitude, behavior, etc. Shortly thereafter I became less diligent at giving her digestive enzymes with each meal, and continued to have spurts of forgetfulness around the holidays and such. She lost some ground, however it was still vast improvement over her pre-diet conditions. The doctor advised me that he was using a different lab* for the same IgG antigen-whatever test, which was about half the price of the former lab (the former lab offers lots of 'support', the new lab just the results).

Early February we had an appointment and I requested the test. He also ordered a full gluten-panel to check for celiac disease.  She didn't enjoy having her blood drawn, but recovered from it quickly.  I'm not sure, however, if I've even yet recovered from taking four kids into a blood-draw lab and all that entails. :)

The good news:
She tested very low on the lab's gluten-test. She does NOT have celiac disease.
All of her food sensitivities are minor ones: +1s only. :)
Yeast and nuts are not reactive.

The bad news:
Gluten DID score as one of the sensitivities, as did rice (!), buckwheat, casein (a milk protein), coconut (ack!), tuna and other fish we never eat, green peppers, broccoli (she is even sad at that), cherries, and a few others.

I was wondering about the coconut; we give (gave) her coconut oil with nearly every meal in place of butter, and rice was obviously a common standby. I have made ghee for her today. I think. I'm SO GLAD that eggs are ok, and corn. I'm VERY SURPRISED that yeast is fine. She is thrilled with the prospect of pickles. :)

The doctor wants to see in in another month (sigh) after total and complete annihilation avoidance of the reactive foods, and I'm debating on canceling the appointment, what with the cost of everything going up, including his follow-up office visits.  I've found a website that sells the same fancy brand** of enzymes and other supplements the doc does, at lower prices, so I plan to switch and purchase her enzymes that way.  Hubby's too. It seems like enzymes are just a necessary part of her world, and I wonder at that. I sure wish decent ones weren't so expensive. :]

I'm glad to have concrete information, and I kindof wish we had gone this route from the beginning. Then again, she may have had more or more severe sensitivities before we eliminated so much from her diet, and maybe these reactive foods are the best-case scenario we can work with from here on out.




*The lab was Alletess in Massachusetts.
**Klaire products are super-mega-guaranteed to be free of common allergens and contaminants. Early efforts at purchasing them online were halted due to "must have a doctor's order" and I wasn't bold enough to ask for that order so I could undercut our doc. :)

Other Sewing

I spent a few pre-Christmas days chained to the sewing machine, with the door locked and myriad threats against intruders. :)

Here are a couple gifts I made:

Quilted Potholders

I made the above potholders for my mother-in-law. They are quite large (9 1/2" square, I think) and have two quilted layers, one with a cutout, so to be used as a mitt. The outer layer is cotton, the linings are muslin, and in between there are a couple layers of ugly canvas (shhh.. don't tell Mom) and a piece of old, weird blanket (ditto on the shhh). The binding is terrible. Please don't look closely, but for the love of Pete, do tell me if there is a Binding Alternative out there somewhere.

Christmas Slippers

I made Baby a couple pairs (wish I knew where they were) of baby slippers, and went ahead and monkeyed with the pattern to make her sisters each a pair (yes, there is a match to each of those in the photo).  I traced each girl's foot for sizing, and went from there.  However, Big Sister has already worn entirely through her polyester sherpa sole, so the idea obviously works best for the "under 25-lb" crowd. Something non-slip might also be in order; thankfully everyone around here seems to have sturdy bones...  I considered brushing a little rubber cement on the undersides, but we don't have any.  Can you buy non-stick fabric like you find on pajama feet?  That would be handy.

The girls were thrilled with their slippers.  I'm so glad they still think Mama making everything homemade is cool.  :)

A Little Late

I didn't make quilts for my first two girls.  There was a baby shower Big Sister, back when she was Only, and gifts were abundant.  My mom made one for Little Artist.  I've posted about Organique's, but Baby (who is hardly a Baby and really needs a bloggy-name!) didn't get one from Mama for a while.  

If my sewing room was clean, I might've found a flat spot to take a picture.

I decided a quilt would be her Christmas gift, and I'd make it larger than some of our other baby quilts.  I found some fabric on clearance (but of course) and "designed" (yes, consider that term very loosely used) her quilt.

Love my dots. :)

The top fabrics match, and are blue/cream/brown, with darling butterflies and coordinating spots.  You don't know how rare it is that I end up with coordinating fabrics.  This was very exciting to me. :)  If you look at the picture above, you can see that I don't trim the selvedge from the fabric. I'm cheap that way. Worse, I actually work to incorporate the darling little dots that show the colors used in the design.  Ah, it's getting out of control, really.  Quilts, baby's birthday dress, aprons...  I just can't bear to abandon them!

More dots.  Ill-matched backing.

The back is a nice quilter's cotton I picked up out of town (this stuff never makes it to the clearance racks locally).  It really doesn't match the top (it's pinkish instead of creamy), but the vintage look and feel of the roses makes up for it.  Maybe.  In any case, I used what I had, and it will work! :)  I also don't know the proper crib-size quilt apparently (the batting fit, but it was wider than the fabric.  Oh well, an opportunity to add in some dots...), as this is the second baby quilt on which I've had to widen the back. 

I used 80/20 cotton/poly batting, and I the weight and loft is just right for machine quilting.  I literally used every bit of the fabrics (I think I had 2 yards for the back, and 2 total for the front), and even "pieced" several pieces.  One corner square in fact is an entirely different fabric, mostly brown (less warm) with some muted blue flowers printed thereon.  I have decided that imperfections are character, and I embrace them now instead of letting them cause angst in my head, or stress in my pocketbook.  I'm not in love with the pre-packaged binding 'look' and 'feel,' but I AM in love with the pre-packaged binding 'time' and 'effort of application,' so there we are. :)  The center rectangle is quilted with 2"ish squares not-at-all-on-center, and you can see the meander quilting outside of that. As with Organique's quilt, Baby has her cursive name hidden among the machine stitches. 

 If there is opportunity for future Baby quilts, I will remember that it's best to get it done within a reasonable amount of time after their birth.  Reasonable being defined as "before said baby can walk up and push all the fancy stitching buttons on the machine, or turn it off entirely, while you're carefully trying to stitch decently."

Giving Thanks For...

...Stretch marks?

Mary Grace has a beautiful post up.

Amazon Again

UPDATE:  Amazon has pulled the title.  I have issued a 'thank you' email, and my hopes they will use better discretion in the future, in their decisions on where/how to profit. :)

Some time ago I had a purchasing problem with Amazon.  Within a year (!) it was resolved, more or less, and I went back to buying from them.

Today, however, I am rethinking that.

Raising Homemakers on facebook posted a link (not for young readers) to an article discussing Amazon's defense of a pedophile's "How-To Manual."  I am all for free-speech, but I certainly don't have to support it with MY dollars, if I don't like it.  This bothers me greatly, considering my new favorite treasure, and all my gift cards, but this is pretty disgusting.  I am hoping they pull the title soon, and put the FBI on the author's tail.

Here is my email, to jeff@amazon.com (Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos):

Mr. Bezos,

I am a longtime customer of amazon.com.  I have bought food, books, household products, electronics, and more.  I recently purchased a kindle, and have wishlists many pages long, full of your products.  I have a handful of gift cards I was just getting ready to redeem, and an order pending in my mind, if not yet on your system. :)

However, I am dismayed to learn of your company's defense of the title "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure."  As I understand it, this is a how-to guide for committing (and getting away with) serious illegal acts, the exploitation and injury of children.

I understand the free-speech debate.  As a borderline libertarian, I defend much of what I disagree with.  However, I don't think this falls under that heading.  Amazon.com should not profit from encouraging such acts.  Would you sell a how-to manual on kidnap and rape?  On blowing up airplanes, and getting past security?  On murder?  I sincerely hope you would not; those titles may exist, but I would hope you would be above such business.  

Please consider removing the title from your 'shelves.'  It would not hurt you to do so, and it would go a long way in securing future business from myself and other concerned buyers.

Sincerely,

EllaJac 

Per Raising Homemakers, you can also write to Amazon.Com P.O. Box 81226 Seattle, Wa. 98108-1226 

Or call 1-866-321-8851 reference ASIN#B0049U4CF6

Five-Week Diet Update

For Little Artist..

We saw the ND today.  He agrees with me that she's doing well on her diet.  Her belly is soft and squishy to the touch, her bowel movements are painless, frequent, and normal (can I just offer a Hallelujah here?!?), and while she is some stubborn and cranky at times, her overall attitude is amazingly improved, she is more cheerful and loving, happier.  Her behavior is therefore also better, and I begin to wonder if Organique is really begging me to change her diet drastically too.  :]

Doc advises 2 more months of the same (the half-life of IgG antibodies is 45 days), and in addition to the L-Glutamine and digestive enzyme, to give her a dose of fish oil once daily.  He says this will keep elimination on track too.

I do have teff in the house, but I haven't used it yet.  Maybe soon. :)  I've been lurking on GF blogs and printing out lots of recipes.  Mostly for things like pie and brownies.  :)  I've ordered or bought locally sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, GF hot breakfast cereal, quinoa (Hubby hates it though!) and coconut milk.

Little Artist misses some of the dairy items, but the 'feeling better' seems to compensate.  In fact, I think she feels pretty special to have "her" biscuits, soup, or cookies.  Poor middle child that she is. ;)

[much of what we eat as a family is diet-friendly, but sometimes expense, efficiency, and preference cause the rest of us to eat somewhat differently.]

I still hate it; hate being 'different' in yet another way (sunday school snacks, are you kidding me?), hate having to change my cooking so much, hate using more expensive ingredients, hate *never* eating out, even just a hamburger, hate the added thought/work that goes into eating anywhere outside the house (we are having a Thanksgiving potluck on Sunday, celebrating a full year as a fellowship "under new management," and cooking begins Friday).  But it is not all sacrifice, and the rewards are a tremendous blessing.  I love seeing my girl thriving, love, love, love it!  And I am so grateful to God for this answer, that it wasn't (isn't) some major health issue that would require surgery or medication or other harsh treatment.  He is good!

Lost And Found

You may remember that Big Sister got a hamster for her 9th birthday.

Or maybe I didn't write that post.

Let's back up a bit...  Big Sister turned 9 on the 6th of September.  She had been asking for some time for a pet hamster.  After some thought and prayer, we decided to grant her birthday wish.  I purchased the beast critter and a 'starter kit' - cage, feed, water bottle, etc - while in Town one evening for my regular errands.  A good friend agreed to critter-sit for a few days, and bring the little guy when she came for the party. Big Sister was thrilled, and she kept very good care of him, remembering to say a special 'good night' to him every evening before bed.  She named him Nutmeg.

Nine days later, my mom and her kids came for a visit.  They arrived shortly before bedtime, and the first thing Big Sister did was let the kids hold Nutmeg.  Then it was off to bed.  The 4-year-old boy, who, like Organique, almost never does as he is told, instead re-visited the hamster.  And left the cage open.  My mom saw some of what he did, I guess, but it didn't register, and so it wasn't until the morning, when Nutmeg was sought, that the gaping door of the cage was discovered.  The boy explained that a tiger had captured Nutmeg, and ate him outside.  While I was fairly certain that didn't happen, I was some worried that he'd fed him to the cat.

Many tears and prayers were offered on Nutmeg's behalf.  Before my mom left five days later, he'd been spotted in the kitchen.  She and Hubby tried to capture him, but he resisted strongly and they failed.  I used a canning jar and lid to fashion a trap (use a large knife to cut a * shape in the lid, bending the sharp points inward), but I left him too much room and he absconded with the bait (his feed) leaving little bits of hair on the pointy parts of the lid.

Hubby bought a live mouse trap, and we set that.  We also bought some dead mouse traps, because we were interested in ridding the house of the annual fall invasion.  We did NOT set those out, fearing the worst would happen to Nutmeg if we did.

Weeks passed and I was certain Nutmeg was gone.  We'd had (and lost) many hamsters over the years when I was young, and the longest any had gone missing (and turned up alive) was a week and a half or so.  I was upset that Big Sister had lost him so unjustly, and sad to hear her ask about him daily.

Then one morning Hubby reported seeing him!  He was back where his cage had been (on the pellet stove) and was trying to chew into the bag of feed.  When Hubby tried to catch him, he jumped into the lower shelves of the changing table and was gone.  We moved the traps, but still nothing for days.

Eventually he showed up again in the kitchen.  I began to wonder, should I be encouraged by the fact that Nutmeg had survived so long unattended, or completely depressed that my house has enough crumbs and debris to sustain life for such a creature.  I'm still really not sure...  I decided that our 'traps' weren't enough, and googled hamster-trapping ideas.  I set up some ramps/buckets/bait systems, using a gallon jar, a glass cookie jar, and a rubbermaid tote.  I mixed up peanut butter, oats, and raisins.  For a few days, nothing.  My dad recalled our finding a hamster (dead) inside a quart mason jar below the sink; he had fallen in and couldn't get out, and we didn't find him in time.  I began to think about lining up all my quart mason jars in a group in the kitchen, making several ramps, and putting bait everywhere, hoping he'd fall in among the sea of jars. :)  In the meantime, I knew he (or a mouse) was using the ramps.  I'd put one flake of peanut-buttery oatmeal at the top of each ramp, and each morning that was gone.  Since he was used to the system, I began thinking I needed something better than his inclination to 'jump' into the jar/bucket.  I decided on some thin cardboard (cut from a ziploc box or such), like a diving board or pirate-plank.  I attached a small strip of cardboard to the top few inches of ramp, and bent it slightly so it extended horizontally over the jar (secured VERY lightly with some double-sided tape at the bend of the cardboard).  I put my regular bit of bait on the ramp, and then more (balanced carefully!) on the plank.  The first night one trap was sprung (or it fell in on it's own weight) but there was no hamster.  The second night, he was captured!  And he was NOT pleased (nor was I, to see what he'd done to my cookie/kombucha jar).

That was a week or two ago, and I'm glad to say he has seemed to re-civilize.  He has not escaped (i.e. 'been turned loose') again, and I hope to keep it that way.  Big Sister is delighted, and I'm happy to have caught a few of the uninvited interlopers.  Not with the live trap.  :)

Organique Was Here

 My mom used to laugh when we passed a "Kilroy was here" mark.  In a frozen cabin with a group of handicapped adventurers, on a railroad overpass in the mountains, on a short brick wall near a school.  Those are the only places I actually recall the funny caricature, but it stuck with me because I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the humor was about, nor could she explain it.

We have a similar, if less funny, version of that in our house.  And it takes a practiced eye to really decode the "Organique was here" message.  See if you can figure it out:

Exterior latex primer, sliding glass door.

Ditto

New Decor in the Guest Room

A Closer Look

I especially love that last one.  Need some cinnamon?  No problem!  I hope you like paprika too.  You can probably put it through the sifter and remove the italian seasoning.  Actually I'm considering marketing this new cinnamonpaprikapoppycayennegarlicalum spice.  What do you think?

I don't have a picture of my suspiciously-rearranged jewelry boxes.  And considering I changed out my earrings (briefly, like for a day) in the neighborhood of 2007, it's not like I'd know if anything was missing, really.

But in our home, there is no graffiti of one peering over a wall.  The "Organique was here" messages abound, however.

Remedied!

One of the things that sets me apart from a lot of people in my family is my tendency to favor natural (even weird) remedies before pursuing allopathic medicine.  Sometimes, of course, there's not much choice.

The other day I tiptoed upstairs with my sleeping 14-month-old on my shoulder to lay her in her crib for a nap.  I have allowed horrific habits to develop, and am at their mercy until I get up the energy to wean her from needing to "nurse to sleep."  In any case, the drop went bad and she awoke with much travail.  I settled down to nurse her again, hoping (ha ha ha) the girls would sit tight and work on their schoolwork for a few more minutes.  They did not, of course, and shortly Little Artist came up to express concern over her big sister having "something like a nail poked into her knee."  Baby was sleeping at this point, so I put her in her crib (successfully) and hurried downstairs, mulling over the unlikelihood that Li'l Artist would confuse "sliver" with "nail" and that this probably wasn't a broken nail, and I hope it doesn't require surgery since health insurance isn't one of my current tools.

Big Sister was crouched low, the holey-knees of her jeans exposing her kneecaps and then some.  In one of her knees was... something.  "Something like a nail," in fact.  I say "something," because while the business end of it (the part poking through her skin and skidding around on the surface of her patella) was very nail-like.  The rest of it wasn't, much.  It looked like something that might've been attached to the bottom of a table leg.  Circular, metal, and protruding from the back side of it were two 'nail-like' appendages, maybe an inch long or more.  One of these was decidedly through the skin.  I tried gently to pull it out, but it wasn't cooperating, and Big Sister howled a lot at the attempt.  I assumed the inserted spike was like the other one (not barbed or anything), but it wasn't acting like it, and I didn't want to cause more trouble by helping. I called my husband at work, and he advised taking her to the local doc that saw Gi-gi last year, and that chided my husband for his lack of "eyebrows." I had the same thought, so I helped her to the van, and plucked the soundly-sleeping (doggone it) Baby from her crib, and loaded the rest up as well.  It's only about 2 miles away, so we got there and I walked Big Sister in (yes, she could walk), showed the receptionist, and was called back to the doctor by the time I'd finished filling out the medical history paperwork.

He injected some novocaine (or something), the sight of which, since she wouldn't lay down and doc wouldn't wait, caused her much anguish.  By the time I took her face in my hands to assure her the sting would be short-lived, doc had the wicked thing out with a pair of tweezers.

What followed was discussion about tetanus, punctuated with phrases like, "promise you this thing is covered in tetanus" and "guaranteed death sentence" and other gentle, compassionate utterances.  I told doc I didn't think she'd had the shot before (later, in reading, I changed my mind, as she did have the 'routine' shots for a few years early in life.  I didn't realize tetanus was part of that.), and asked what else was in it.  "What else?  Nothing else!  It's tetanus!"  "Well, what is it preserved with?"  I don't know that I got an answer, having to check on and/or retrieve the other girls at this point.  I asked if there was a 'safe window,' that is, could I look into things, and if I decide to give her the vaccine, would I be able to come the next day..  He said he wasn't terribly sure, tetanus being so rare in America anymore, but he figured that it was likely I'd have a day or two.**  I thanked him, and the receptionist said she'd bill us, and we were on our way home.

I'd like to say I knew what to do from that point, but I didn't.  I called some friends who are better versed than I in dealing with such things, and they recommended soaking her knee in hydrogen peroxide, really working it in to the spot, bandaging with antibiotic ointment.  Doc had already recommended epsom salts, so I thought I'd start with the peroxide.  

We did the peroxide, we did the epsom salts, we did the ointment and bandaid and I googled tetanus info.  Which wasn't very calming.  But I discovered that it's the T in DTAP, and I was fairly certain that sounded familiar from back in the day when I didn't ask so many doggone questions.  While getting a new vaccine is a huge, difficult decision with what I know (or rather, what no one seems to know) about vaccines, there's not a lot I can do about one that's already done, and at least I felt I could inform the doc of that.  This was a Thursday.

Friday morning came, and with it a puffy, red, painful area around the entry wound.  After watching Gi-gi's rapid infection (from a wound far less serious) last year, I didn't want to mess around with this, either.  We were still doing epsom salts, and I had her scratch at the spot to try to let in more peroxide (I really wished I could just inject some, not that it's recommended!).  I remembered my midwife recommending chewed plantain for Gi-gi's wound (which didn't work, or at least not enough), and I knew I had comfrey growing everywhere I didn't want it.  I googled a little more, discovering that comfrey is a great healing agent, but you want to apply it to a clean wound, and not knit the skin together over something infected.  Oops.  That wasn't going to work.  I found some plantain in the grass, and, in lieu of having her chew it (the girl was already balking at the soaking schedule, etc), I tried putting some leaves in the blender with some of her spit.  :)  I wrapped it on her knee with plastic wrap, simultaneously calling the doctor to see if he recommended antibiotics. He sure did, and told me to go to a pharmacy and have them call him. [My plan was to fill the prescription, but give the herb a chance to work.  I didn't want to be caught on a weekend with a serious infection, but wasn't going to give any antibiotics to her just then either.]  As it happened, the pharmacy didn't have the right size/dosage of pill, but they were open briefly Saturday morning and they'd have it by then.  I told them that was perfect, since I planned to treat her with spit and weeds from the lawn (okay, I wasn't quite that brave) for a day or two anyway.

It didn't change for the better by afternoon, and further research said to let the poultice dry, that the drawing-out would be enhanced.  Oops on the plastic wrap.  I ditched the blender too, chopping finely on the cutting board and mixing with spit in a bowl (I suppose there might be reason to have her chew and absorb some of the elements that way, but the enzymes would work on the plantain however the spit was introduced.  :)  When she had to be up and around, I used a bandaid to hold the leaves in place, and also as she slept.

By morning I was quite surprised to see NO sign of infection.  It didn't hurt.  No redness or swelling.  Hubby's second opinion concurred, and not only did I save the cost of the antibiotics, but I got to call and cancel the prescription and say that my organic, backwoods, voodoo-medicine worked!  In turn, he assured me he'd hold the prescription on the shelf for me "in case" I needed it early in the week. :)

We didn't need it, and the knee is healing nicely.  I DID take a picture on my cellphone, but I don't know how to get it from there to here.  You really didn't want to see it anyway.

Halloween

I just watched an interesting YouTube at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.  It's on the origins and history of Halloween, (most of which I'm familiar with) and then argues against Christians participating in the traditions.

I always have such a dilemma this time of year, more so as my kids get older and are more aware of the holiday.  Should it be something Christians take part in?

I grew up in a fairly secular home, and did the trick-or-treat thing.  My mom fondly remembered getting the best end of the deal as a Catholic - November 1 is All Saint's Day, and always a day off of school for the parochial students, so they got to stay up extra-late raking in the goodies.

As a parent, we've ignored the holiday altogether, save for explaining the sudden appearance of hellish decor at the grocery stores.

We've also gone to church-sponsored halloween-alternative Bible-maze things.

We've gone to smaller (our main church) Harvest (read: Candy and Cake Walk) Parties.

We've stayed home with root-beer floats and played games.

We've never sanctioned 'evil' or scary costumes - this was most easily done at our small church harvest party, where it wasn't advertised to the whole town, and we parents used collective discretion.  No witches, goblins, vampires and the like.  Raggedy Ann, princesses, etc.

Theologically, I've had both ends of the spectrum imposed upon me.  And I don't mean that to impugn anyone else.  I've just never found my own peace with the subject.

Children love to dress up, and the idea of a holiday with that specific tradition, well, that's a hard one to abandon, unless you have another day or time to enjoy the costume aspect (maybe that's what we need to do).  I've not had trouble staying away from the trick-or-treat tradition, since I'm not big on candy nor the   whole idea of begging/entitlement.  Worse, is the history:  Give me a treat (your money) or I'll play a trick (burn your house down).  :]

The comparative analogy mentioned in the YouTube video (the Nazi salute) is compelling.

What are your thoughts?  Do you celebrate it with all the cultural traditions, abandon it completely, or some pseudo-version that is less offensive to your faith?

Well, That's Just Teff!

Oh, this is not a post I ever wanted to write.  It's not a season (I hope it's only a season!) I ever wanted to live.  

But it's good for me, and good for Little Artist, so here we are.

I finally took Little Artist to the Naturopath last week to address some of her digestive issues.  She's always - always - had trouble in that department, and while we finally seemed to have conquered the Fear-Constipation-Fear cycle, there was more going on.  I started to notice a distinct difference in how she looked - like when you look at children who are built differently than your own, and the difference strikes you.  Well, it was like that, but she IS my own, so that made it extra-odd.  At least for me. When I see her upper arms, they are not shaped like her sisters' arms are - more thin, I guess, like those hungry kids you see in photos (not THAT hungry, obviously).  Her backbone sticks out in places like alligator-bumps.  Yet, her profile isn't slim.  Her belly is disproportionately big.  But if you try to 'pinch' a bit of fat, that's all you get - a TINY bit.  Not fat, but round, firm, and big.

The naturopath didn't do anything terribly invasive - no blood tests or anything - but he felt and tapped and listened, and told me that 90% of the time this kind of thing has to do with food allergies.  He wrote down the major ones he wanted us to avoid, and advised the use of a good digestive enzyme with each meal and a capsule of L-Glutamine daily.

The things to avoid:  Yeast, Nuts, Soy, Gluten, and Dairy.  Those last two are the killers.  Heh, well, they may indeed be killers to some extent, but avoiding them is hardest.  The soy we already mostly avoid, and nuts aren't hard to eliminate, but yeast is tricky (not just yeast-breads, but anything with vinegar), and gluten is really hard.  We love wheat around here (too much, probably), and if not wheat, then oats, and if not oats, barley, and... well, you get the idea. :)  Dairy is something I rely on daily as a lunchtime protein, and makes for frequent condiments to meals.  

We've been using other grains lately - rice is one we're fairly used to, and millet I've used on occasion.  I cooked up some amaranth the other evening (cooked like rice, with water) and it was very weird!  Millet puffs up and gets fluffy like rice, but amaranth... doesn't.  You can still see the individual grains, but it develops a clear, gelatinous goo...  It's so strange.  I found the smell to be odd, too, but we ate it, and again for breakfast the next day.  Hubby wondered later if there was any left (there wasn't, after that), and I was surprised that it was enjoyed to the extent it was.  I have read about it, and I believe it would grow well here, so there is a possibility I'd put it in the garden next year (it is known to cross with a certain weed we have, though, and I'm not sure about that!).  I've ordered some teff (another super-tiny grain I've never tried) from Azure, and it will be interesting to see how it cooks up and what else I can use it for.  Coconut flour is highly recommended - highly caloric, highly expensive too - but apparently it's usable in many baked goods as well as a thickener (like white sauce and gravy?).

She misses cheese, though, and I'm not sure what we can do about that.  :]

But it's for a season, and we're already seeing progress.  Her belly is much softer to the touch.  We're hopeful her body will heal, and these foods can at least become part of an occasional meal for her.  If not, we'll be grateful for a way to keep her well!

Three Already!

Yesterday I had this:

And I can't believe she's 3.  Little Organique:  The biggest at birth (9 lb 6 oz), the smallest thereafter.

9 months

Hard to believe.

2 years

Living up to her name "Delight," and challenging us as much as she delights.

2 1/2

What a blessing.

Almost 3

She's Nine.

Lord help me, where has the time gone???  It took me FOREVER to make it to 9 years old, how is it HER childhood is going by, warp-speed??  Officially, it's "half gone" at this point.  Oh. My. Goodness.

Her birthday was Monday, officially, but we had her 'party' Sunday afternoon.  It was different than most, as we invited a lot more people than usual, and her local grandparents/aunts/uncles were still on vacation or unable to make it.

Left to right:  Cousin, Organique, Big Sister

Even so, there were eighteen children represented, and about half that in adults.  It was so fun, and no one even complained about the 'oatmeal cake' she had requested.  We topped this one with stevia-sweetened whipped cream, though I might use a *bit* of sugar in it next time.  It wasn't bad, but Hubby didn't prefer it, and it was likely more noticeable to others' palates.

Big Sister is really growing up, though, and as every mother knows, it's bittersweet.  There is a loss - a loss of things 'little,' yet so much to gain, seeing her mature and finding little hints of the woman she will someday become.

Yikes.  I don't know if I'm up for it.  What a weighty responsibility is this parenthood!  Lord, equip me!  Fill in all the gaps I leave, for I know they are many.  Hold her close, and don't let go.

Blueberry Girl

Isn't there a book called "Strawberry Girl?"  This isn't her.

For some reason the Costco blueberries are... bloodier?  than azure blueberries.

She doesn't do laundry, so this didn't bother her at all.

In fact, I think she liked it.




**I didn't blog about it, but she turned 1!  And I still don't have a blogname for her!  The 15th was her birthday, and we celebrated with an oatmeal cake.  After celebrating my niece's birthday the day before.  After celebrating my friend's daughter's birthday the day before that.  I almost ate enough cake that weekend.  She took her first step at that first birthday party, and is WALKING now!  Yikes!

Behind Curtain #1...

What we NEED is an upright photographer.

But since that's obviously not available.... What do you suppose is behind this curtain?

I'll give you a hint:  It's a remodel.

Yes, a cheap, easy, unlikely one, which are the type we are wont to do around here.  I just saw someone's little closet-into-coat-tree remodel, hailing utmost frugality (and truly most of the 'big' stuff was free, acquired from elsewhere in their house), to the tune of *cough* $152.  Wow.  Mine is fairly more useful (to us, anyway), and I don't think it added up to that!

Forty or fifty dollars worth of wood and hardware (screws, a couple brackets), $36 of foam, $10 curtain rod and $6 shower-curtain hooks (those last two on clearance).  The fabric was from my stash, as were the little eyelets through which the hooks go.

It's my girls' new room makeover.  The wall you're looking at is about 11 feet long (you're only seeing the rightmost 6 feet or so) and consists (consisted) of two closets with sliding doors.  The wall that should've separated them was never built, so you could go into one closet and exit the other.  Hubby gave me permission to saw off the rightmost six feet of closet-rod and the shelf above, and when my dad was here over Independence Day weekend, he helped Hubby build this fabulous "closet bunkbed."

The beds are about six feet long, and two feet wide (27" wide to the front edge).  The middle one is about countertop-height, and the high one is about 64" or so from the floor (measuring to the bottom of the bunk).  I found "camping foam" on sale for MUCH cheaper than the high-density foam at JoAnn fabrics (even at 50% off).  One of them is actually a pretty dense foam, but both work.  I cut them from 30" wide to fit the shape of the beds and tucked them in.  The front rail you see is actually from a piece of 'fencing' wood.  Half-inch plywood makes up the platforms and the 'wall' you see at the head of the beds.  Organique's bed is on the floor; her crib mattress doesn't fill the whole space, but fits decently enough for her.  Big Sister climbs up and slithers in at the top of the former 'doorway,' and has plenty of headroom and space up there.

This means three girls only need a 2x6' space for sleeping, total!  The bunkbeds and toddler bed have been removed from the room, freeing up a LOT of space, obviously.  I am loving it, and am almost jealous of their fun little sleeping cubbies!

Of course, since this photo was taken, Organique played Tarzan on the curtains and they have yet to be repaired and replaced.  She also managed to roll the crib to the vicinity (when she wasn't busy using it as a battering ram to knock down the baby gates at the door) to crawl high and breach big Sister's bed, tearing down all her tacked-up coloring pages and pillaging the area.  Little Artist's bed is easier to get to (a few pillows/toys makes a good stepstool) and there is Crayola™ marker on the wall and doorframe at that level.  *sigh*  I'm praying that Organique will eventually civilize.  And I'm doing my best to help it along, I promise.

In the meantime, yes, we put our kids in the closet.  And they love it.  :)