We have a baby!

Our son arrived on Wednesday, July 14 at 2:51pm!!! He was 7 lbs 10 oz and 20" long. I thought he would be a big baby, but he actually was smaller than his sister! I allowed the doctor to break my water and insisted on no pitocin to induce labor. He agreed. Thankfully, because my body went ahead and started contractions on its own. After about 8 hours of all natural labor (no pain meds!!) he was born. I almost got the labor and delivery that I had always wanted. I wished for all natural with no induction, no pain meds, no artificial anything. The only thing that was not natural was the doc breaking the water. That made me very happy! We are both doing well. He and I get about a 4 hour stretch of sleep every night. Daytime has been a different story though. He seems very fussy and gassy during the day. He just can't settle down. That is frustrating, but I know it will pass. Big sister is very proud and loves on him all the time. She has decided she is a big girl now and doesn't want diapers! I knew it had to be on her own terms. She is a very stubborn and strong-willed child. I know because she takes after me. (Sorry mom and dad!)

The weather has been hot and dry - typical July weather. Today's heat index is supposed to be over 100. Thank goodness for air conditioning! (yes I know I am spoiled by it!) Because of the heat, our electric bill has gone up alot. Plus they decided to raise our rates. grrr! Today I made a phone call to a guy who does wind and solar energy. He is coming over next week to tell us what we can do. He says our area is good for both kinds of energy. I hope it pans out and we can cut our line to the grid! I will try to give updates on that.

The zuchinni is nearly done. At least I am done with it! I have put 21 quart bags of it in the freezer. The pumpkins are turning orange and the tomatoes are bearing alot of green fruit right now. My mother in law has given us lots of sweet corn from their patch. That's about all I have done so far this year. I am already thinking about next years garden!!

Still waiting on a baby

I can't believe I have neglected this blog since March!! All I can say is that I haven't done much to blog about!
We are still anxiously awaiting the birth of our son. My due date was last week Wednesday. I am hoping he doesn't wait too much longer. The doctor said he will push the issue of an induced birth if he doesn't arrive by my appointment on Tuesday. We want a natural birth and don't want to feel pressured into an induction unless there is a very clear medical reason to do it. Our daughter was induced due to medical reasons, but it was not an enjoyable experience with all the IV's and monitors, etc. So I have been praying, praying and praying...
As far as the garden here, we didn't put out near as much this year. We do have 12 tomatoes, several zuchinni and pumpkin hills, 100' of potatoes, garlic, onion and herbs this year. I tried cucumbers again this year, but once again, they just don't seem to like our soil. Another blueberry plant died this year even though I was using special fertilizer for it. That leaves us with one blueberry plant. My reading tells me they need 2 for pollination. I am really reluctant to spend money on another when we have lost several now. Sigh.
We had way to much rain this spring, and we lost alot of our strawberries. I did manage to pick about 6 quarts, but the rest just turned to mush or the ants ate them up. We never had the ant problem before. Something else to research before next years crop gets ruined by them.
I have done some periodic canning since my last post. I have done some beef roast that is absolutely delicious! Canning beef was a first for me. I wish I had tried it sooner! I did some blackberry jelly, beef broth and carrots. Then I also dried the last of the onions and have about 2 quart jars full of dried onions! We still have lots and lots of home canned goods on our shelves from last years harvest. So glad we had such an abundance since I'm not gonna try to can that amount while nursing a newborn.
Even with saying that, I still didn't feel right about not growing our own food. So in April/May I stocked up on store bought goods just to be safe through the year. I will add to it come October like I usually do. I just don't feel right not having stored food. I am so glad my husband built those storage shelves in the basement!
Hopefully, the next time you see me here, I will have had my baby!

Bulk Canning Lids

I've been thinking about ordering some more canning lids for this next harvest, so here is the link to my post from last year.

Bulk Canning Lids

I have not ordered yet, so I can't say for sure what the prices are this year. I can update when I do order.

Anyone else know of a good place to buy bulk lids?

Stocking the Pantry via Deanna

I have been a fan of Our Plain and Simple Life for quite some time. Deanna does alot of stuff that I do, but does even more things that I would like to do. Recently, she posted about a Mega Shopping trip to stock her pantry for 6 months. That is something I have wanted to do for a long time, I just have a hard time knowing where to start. I think she may have gotten the ball rolling for me. She updated with this post on That shopping trip and That plan. I am anxious to read more about this! Thanks so much Deanna!!!

Sidenote: Deanna did this 6 month pantry stocking for 11 people on $1300!!!

Make Your Own...Skin care products

I am really trying to eliminate chemicals from our lives. I can't believe how much unnecessary junk is in personal care products! For more info visit Skin Deep.

Instead of listing one recipe, I have found several websites to help you find your own products to make!

www.passionatehomemaking.com

www.recipegoldmine.com

homemeadebeautyrecipes.homestead.com

www.csuzberry.com

Some of the above sites do offer where to buy products. One place I have had good luck in ordering from is Mountain Rose Herbs. They also go into great detail about each herb they sell. It's a great learning tool!

Anyone else have tips or good websites to visit?

Make Your Own...Deodorant

Deodorant. Nearly all of us use it - or else we should be and don't! :) But why put something on our skin that is potentially harmful? Have you ever looked on the label of your deodorant? Aluminum and propylene glycol are very common ingredients in deodorant. Aluminum is well known to cause problems. There are studies that indicate that aluminum may be part of the Alzheimer problem or even breast cancer. Propylene glycol is found in antifreeze! That alone is enough to deter me away from it! Check out these websites for more info on these ingredients or your favorite personal care products. Natural Health Information Centre and Skin Deep.

Now for a recipe to avoid all those unnecessary chemicals and it is far less expensive - a win-win situation to me!

Once again I cannot take full credit for the recipe. I got it from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking. It's only ingredients are coconut oil, baking soda and cornstarch. (You can find aluminum-free baking soda at most stores. Usually the Rumford brand is ok.) I saved an old solid deodorant container and washed it out real good and put the homemade stuff in it. I must say, I was skeptical at first, but it honestly works well! No odors, no sweaty pits! I am anxious to see how well it works this summer when I am working outdoors and REALLY sweating. That will be its true test for me. The only thing I have found that I didn't like, is that if your shirt is a bit snug in the armpit area, the coconut oil can leave a residue on your shirt. Not so attractive. Makes it look like your not wearing deodorant! But if you wear loose clothing, no worries! (side note: the residue does wash out - nothing permanent)

Give it a try - I dare you! :)

Make Your Own ... Dish Soap

Another project I tackled last month!

Found a good recipe for Old Fashioned Dish Soap at Laura Williams Musings blog.

After some research on the different bar soaps, I decided to use Octagon bar soap. Of course, I couldn't find it locally. So I ordered some from Soaps Gone Buy.

I must say, it was sooo easy to make and it works really well! The only thing about using soap like this, it does not suds up like the commercial dish soap does. Once you get over that, it is great!

I bought the Octagon for 99 cents and it made 1 gallon of dish soap - not too bad!

I did try to add essential oils to the soap, but it has enough of a scent to it I couldn't get it to change much. The scent was good, I just wanted orange smelling dish soap!

Now that I make my own laundry detergent and dish soap, I think it's time to learn to make my own bar soap for these recipes and for personal use! Maybe next winter...

Make Your Own...Pepperoni

Over the winter, there were a few things I had wanted to learn to make myself. Pepperoni being one of them. I found this great recipe at Tammy's Recipes - Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni. It is really good. I have used it on pizza and in pasta so far. It is also so simple to make. If you can make meatloaf, you can make pepperoni!
I was able to find all the ingredients locally except for the TenderQuick. I ordered that from Leener's. Leener's is an Ohio company that sells alot of cool make it yourself kits. On Tammy's website, there were several people who commented that they used regular salt instead of the TenderQuick. Sounds like it may be worth a try just to avoid the nitrates. Regardless, this pepperoni tastes like the real thing and you can make it so much cheaper and healthier than that store bought stuff!

2010 Garden Changes

Every year I keep a running list of what I want to change for the next years garden. Here is what I have compiled to far.

Need to grow more potatoes, corn and garlic
Grow less tomatoes
Try pickles again
Keep the amount of carrots about the same
Get a few more raspberry and blueberry plants started
Fill in the dead spots of the strawberry patch
No popcorn
Keep the amount of greenbeans the same
No peas needed
Do more herbs: mints, bay, cumin, echinacea
See if we can start some grapes or apples
Keep onions about the same
Do some landscaping in the front yard
Do less canning this year - I hate to do that, but with a newborn and a 2 year old in tow, I don't know how much I will be able to do this year. Thank goodness for the bumper crop of tomatoes last year!

Edited to add: We will not be doing potatoes in tires this year. They do grow well that way if they are kept well watered. We won't be doing it that way because I need to be able to handle the harvesting by myself. The tires are too large and heavy for my 5'1" petite frame to handle without injuring myself! I can't always count on my husband to be able to help me. Afterall, he works full time plus helps run his family's farm.

Updated - Finally!

I have finally updated the garden and food preservation lists to the right. Sorry for the long wait!

New Granny Miller sites

I have been a huge fan of Granny Miller. I was so saddened when she ended her blog last year. But alas! She is back!!!! She is such an inspiration for me!

http://smallholdersdaily.blogspot.com/

http://homesteadgardenandpantry.com/

http://americanhomecanning.com/

Yay for Granny!!!!

How time flies and things change!

I know, it's been a LONG time since I have been here! I truly have wanted to post again, but I had a few things tying me down. Like the post title says, things change! So here's some explaining...

First off, the main thing that has changed in my life and that was holding me back from posting is that I became pregnant again! As of today, I am 16 weeks along. The first trimester does not treat me well. I have had long bouts of morning sickness that stayed with me all day long. When you feel that nauseous for 2 1/2 months it puts a damper on any plans you may have. I have struggled just to get basic housework done, let alone any computer time! Also during that stomach-turning time, I endured several sinus infections, strep throat, a kidney infection not to mention numerous holiday gatherings. That being said, it has also been a very exhausting time for me!
The nausea is over (except when I smell meat cooking), but I am still very tired most days. What a challenging several months it has been! Enough of the complaining - the pregnancy is actually going well. I have seen my midwife twice now, and each time the baby's vitals are well as are mine. I can't complain about that!! She has figured my due date to be July 7.

Winter has been here in full force. Not much snow yet, but plenty of cold weather. Makes me glad to have some food stored away! Looks like I need to update my gardening and canning columns on the right to show what I really put up this past year! And that reminds me, Andy built some wonderful shelves in the basement for some of our food storage. Those shelves have been such a blessing already! They are large enough that I have taken stuff out of our living spaces and stored them there. The next plan is to extend the canning shelves that we already have. I can't wait to have all that storage space! We live in a smallish old farm house. Anyone who has ever lived in an older farmhouse knows that there is no storage space! The basement was under-utilized so now it will be a great benefit to our lives. I will have to post some pictures of the shelves.

The outdoor wood-burner is working great. It is keeping us warm while keeping the mess outdoors. Since we are not bringing wood into the basement to burn, we have had only one mouse in the basement so far. Prior years, we caught many more than that by now. So glad to be rid of them! The basement is far cooler that it was when the furnace was housed there, but it is still warm enough to line-dry the laundry down there. Another added benefit, is that the stored food will last much longer in the cooler basement.

This is all the time I have for right now. I need to nap! Please be patient as I try to get back into posting and updating this blog.