Mice!  I hate mice!!!  We've been overrun with them, now that the fields behind us are being harvested.  I'm so thankful for our kitty.  We've caught a number inside the house, between her and the mousetraps.  She's caught tons of mice, voles, shrews, etc. outside too.  Good kitty!!! :)

The chickens are doing well.  We had an injured chick, and she's finally re-integrated with the rest of the flock.  All the chickens have been merged, too, and after a day or so of bullying, they now play nicely together.  The little ones stick together, but I've seen the bigger ones joining them without pecking. 

I love my farm life.  It is busy, but so very peaceful here.  The change of seasons is so neat.  I love being tied to the earth.  This weekend is going to be nice and Indian summery again.  I'll get out there and plant the last of the garlic for the season, and maybe burn the garden scraps.  I have to plan where I want the new garden planted.  I just don't see that I'm going to have enough room for next year!  I need to start now so I can spray Roundup on the area and have it rot down nicely over the winter.  The chemicals don't stay in the soil, and it gives the soil a good head start for the season.  I don't think I'd have enough compost to do the more organic way of spreading newsprint over the soil and then piling compost on top.  I think I'll need to also help dh with winterizing the goats' shelter and finding a dry place to put the hay for the girls.

Tomorrow, we're having a Bible study at some friends' house.  It's Indian night, and we're doing a lot of the cooking.  I have that to do tomorrow, too.  We're making chicken tikka masala, chana masala, raita, naan (maybe), idli, rice, and coconut-cilantro chutney.  I wanted to do more, but needed to simplify.  Sunday, we're having lunch with other friends, then possibly going to yet another friend's house while we're in the neighborhood.  Whew!  Busy, busy!!!  It's good, though.  I am looking forward to so much Christian fellowship.  It seems like it comes in waves, so I'll treasure these days for the times when fellowship is lean.

We've been enjoying the Indian summer lately.  It has been so nice.  Even when it rains, usually some part of the day is salvageable for outside work/play.

We've gotten the garlic and shallots in the garden for next summer's crop.  The garden is mostly cleaned up, excepting things that are winter crops, biennials that will go to seed next summer, or stuff that was too green to pull and put in the compost just yet.  I'm already looking forward to next year's garden.  I think DH is going to have to plow me up another garden patch.  I don't know that I have enough space if I get all the seeds I want.  I also need a greenhouse, and that is causing quite a problem...  Do I buy one from ShelterLogic?  The goat shelter we bought from them has stood up to a beating in the 9 months we've had it.  Still going strong, except the elastic ties that hold the door open, and those are easily replaced.  Do I try to make a free-standing one out of conduit or PVC plus 6mil plastic?  Do I make a lean-to on the south side of the house, since the hose bib is right there, too, and it's close to the house?  These things all need to get resolved before January because I'm going to be starting seeds then, and I know that my current setup doesn't work for that.  I have no place for grow lights or propagation mats or even the flats that I want to start my seeds in.

The two big goats are officially bred.  I can't wait to have kids in March!  We also have to get our kidding supply list together and look to get it in March.  The two doelings will be bred probably in 3 weeks, which will be exciting too.  Those kids will come mid-April.  We're in the process of drying off the two big girls.  They are giving so little milk, but each drop is precious right now.  I milk every other day at noon and only get a little over a quart from each doe.  It's just enough to not buy milk, but I will be buying milk when we go to the store next Monday.  I don't think they'll last to our trip after that.

The baby is growing by leaps and bounds.  He hums while nursing or when he's eating something he likes.  It is funny because he's humming his version of the "Good Eats" theme song.  He's cutting a new tooth, too, so he has a very wet face most of the time between the drool and the snot. 

School is going well.  I'm hoping we can get into a good routine and stay there.  It seems like every time we get into one, something happens to mess it up.  I really hate that.  My struggling reader seems to have turned a corner.  I think he just needs more practice to build confidence that he can, indeed, read.  My new reader is immensely pleased with himself because he can read 2 K-level readers now.  We're going to work on the third one tomorrow.  I can't wait to see if he can do it.  I bet he can! :)  The preschooler is also learning phonics, and he can't wait to see which cards I introduce tomorrow, too.  He is learning his letter sounds along with the Kindergartener.  He's also learning to write his name and numbers.  I think he's making a good start, too.

Well, that's enough rambling for this Wednesday!

So, today, I am making a crockpot meal for supper, which is not common for me.  However, I don't really feel like using my oven for that, since I also have to bake bread today.  The meal is from a friend, called French Country Chicken.  I put my own spin on it, merging it with a dish we had brought to us after one of our boys was born.  Recipe to follow.  It called for skinless chicken pieces, but whole chickens are so much more economical to buy, and I can get a 2-pack at Costco that is pretty decent.  So, a whole chicken went into the cart.  After I got the veggies prepped and into the crockpot, I went to work on the chicken.  I cut it up all by myself!!  And, I ended up skinning it, though that wasn't completely planned until it happened. 

Now, I could've gotten my camera out and tried to figure out how to do pictures and get them posted correctly.  Instead, I decided to turn to my good friend, YouTube...   Okay, actually, I remembered a Good Eats episode called Fry Hard 2 that I had watched recently and searched YouTube for it.  It shows an excellent way to cut up a whole chicken in minutes with little effort.  Sounded good, and I was eager to try it out.  The whole clip is excellent, but starting at about 3:30, it goes through how to dissect a chicken properly and with ease, if you want to skip to the good stuff.  After doing that, it was a cinch to skin it, so I did.  It's healthier for my dearest hubby, and I just threw all the scraps into the stew pot to make stock for tomorrow's lunch (homemade chicken and noodles, anyone?).  Without further ado, here's the clip.

Now, here's the recipe for my version of French Country Chicken

3 md potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1" dice

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" (I actually used 4 because we like carrots)

8 oz mushrooms, either sliced or quartered

1 large onion, diced

2 ribs of celery, sliced 1/4"

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp kosher salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence (or poultry seasoning + rosemary if you can't find the herbes)

1/3 c dry white wine or chicken broth

Place all the veggies into the bottom of a roasting pan or a crockpot liner.  Toss with olive oil and salt to taste.  Lay 4-6 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken (here's where I used my cut up chicken, but I might've also used leg quarters from the store here too) on top of the veggies.  Sprinkle with 3/4 tsp kosher salt and approx 1 Tbsp Herbes de Provence.  Pour your liquid over top.

If cooking in the oven, cover and place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 1 hour, or until chicken is done and veggies are tender.  If cooking in a crockpot, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or until chicken is done and veggies are tender.

Lastly, and most importantly!  ENJOY!

Today is baby J's first birthday.  He is so sweet and cute!  He has really enjoyed having us sing "Happy Birthday" to him. 

Happy Birthday, Baby J!!!  And many many many more!

I just love fall weather.  It is a welcome break from the heat and humidity of summer.  Don't get me wrong, I like summer when I'm in it - all the great garden produce that grows because of the weather.  However, I'm a fall girl myself.  I love to make soups, and fall is when we eat them a lot.

Just tonight, we had an Italian Vegetable soup, using some of the leftovers of summer's bounty, with homemade breadsticks.  Tomorrow's lunch is going to be miso soup and sushi salad.  Sunday is going to be jambalaya.  As you can tell, we like a variety of soups.

It's been rainy and breezy lately, too.  It really smells like fall outside, that sweet smell of decomposing leaves.  It's very enjoyable when doing the chores.  The baby is very cuddly in his winter clothes.  I think it affects his attitude, as he will sit and snuggle much longer than in the summer.

I harvested the winter squash yesterday during a break in the rain.  I feel some pumpkin muffins coming on soon.

Until next time!

I recently signed up for this.  I just ordered my first book, of hopefully many!  I'm going with a Ted Dekker book, Green.  It sounds really interesting.  I'll post more updates as I get on with things.  :)

I have been making this hot cocoa mix for a year or so now.  It is so tasty, and very economical.  I got the original recipe from a magazine - Good Housekeeping, I think.  I have, however, modified it, because I found it didn't need the chocolate the original called for.  Without further ado, here it is.

Hot Cocoa Mix (makes 18 servings)

1 1/2 c your favorite unsweetened cocoa (Hershey's Special Dark, Ghiradelli, Saco)

1 1/4 c sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Mix together well.  Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 6 months (I've actually used it far beyond that). 

Variations: Mocha - add 1/3 c instant coffee granules

Mexican Spice - add 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp cayenne

Vanilla - add 1/2 vanilla bean (pod and seeds) that you've pulverized in a food processor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To make hot cocoa - Mix 3 Tbsp of mix with 1 c milk.  Microwave on high for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.  You may also make stovetop in the traditional style, simply adding 3 Tbsp mix per cup of milk used.

Things got quite busy on the farm there for a while.  Lots of canning going on - green beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and red pepper-tomato soup base.  Oh, and also some chicken stock, which means that we butchered 2 of our extra roosters.  That was quite an experience, but not as distasteful as I thought it would be.  I'm grateful that the guys are learning where our food comes from, how to treat our animals properly, and that it requires work to eat.  And, in the middle of August, school started again.  It started out well.  Then, we hit some snags, but are looking forward to getting back on track again next week.  One big snag was that my husband had his gallbladder out this week.  He is doing really well now, and he seems to be feeling better, except for the surgery sites.

An update on the goats with mastitis...  The one goat still has icky tasting milk.  However, the good thing is that the chickens really like her milk, and they make good eggs, so I guess it's not hurting them.  They're about done for the year anyway.  Their production has decreased to half, probably because it is breeding season.  In fact, they should go to get bred next weekend and come back within about 2-3 weeks. 

We're getting 26 eggs per day now.  It's hard using them all up or selling them, but I did give 20 dozen to a local Christian-run food pantry.  If I can't get rid of them all, at least they're going somewhere they are really appreciated.  Did I mention that we also have 32 chicks?  11 Barred Rocks (10 girls, 1 boy), 11 Buff Orpingtons (same breakdown as above), and 10 Splash Cochins (straight run & I can't tell sex on them yet).  In the spring, we'll probably be at farmer's markets selling our eggs and goat milk soap.

Garden is winding down for the season.  I have some garlic coming, some leeks in the ground doing well, and some winter brassicas that would be great if the chickens didn't consider them a delicacy.  I think the recent rain will help the peas, so maybe we'll get some more peas this fall.  I am a little disappointed in the garden, but part of it was that it had no protection from marauding animals like little chickies who love tomatoes, green beans, chard, broccoli, cabbage, corn, squash, etc. 

I am really wanting to blog more, so I keep trying to make it back here periodically in order to update, even if it is just a short one.  Life is full, but right now, it is mostly a happy full.  :)  I am starting a Facebook Bible study, so I may post about it here, too...

Boy, things are really busy around here!  I have so much going on.

Treating both milking does for mastitis, which involves injections twice a day, and up until this morning, intramammary infusion.  I hate it that it hurts the girls, but hopefully it will get them both on the road to healthiness and we'll be able to have sweet milk from both by next Friday.

The garden is very bountiful.  Right now, the peas and turnips just finished up.  I also pulled all the beets.  That allows a little more space for fall plantings, so it's right on time.  :)  I also have lettuce that has continued to bear well, even though it was only one planting.  The spinach is finished, but I let it go to seed, so I should harvest some of that soon for fall planting.  The chard is big and beautiful.  T and I weeded the chard and the lettuce yesterday, and they sure look great.  Today, we need to clear out the pea and turnip patches that I sprayed Round-up on yesterday.  That will get them ready to plant either tomorrow or the next day.  I also have another area that needs planted, and I'm going to put in some Kandy Korn in it.  I know it's a little late, but I'm thinking that some fresh corn on the cob for the baby's birthday would be great. 

The boys need to muck the chickens out (again!), and I'm going to use it to expand my garden, hopefully in a weed-free manner.  I'm going to put down 2-3 layers of newsprint, then put the chicken muck over that.  By next spring, it will be nice and composted down, ready to plant.  I bought some artichoke seeds the other day, and I think I'll keep them for next spring, where I can put them in the expanded bed.  I'm trying to follow John Seymour's idea of 6 beds in your garden.  2 are permanent - one is for rhubarb, artichokes, and asparagus, the other for fruits.  The other 4 are rotated - legumes, roots, brassicas, and miscellaneous.  It seems like a really good idea, especially because it rotates everything out in 4 year cycles, so diseases are not as able to affect your plants.

Well, enough of that.  I need to get out into the garden while the weather is nice!!

A lot has happened in the last year since posting.  We've had another baby boy.  That makes 5, if you're counting.  His name is Judah, and he was born in October.  It was a real lesson in trusting God to have him, but he is definitely a blessing to us.  Such a happy baby.  Very content 95% of the time, and never terribly demanding.

Then, in December, on our anniversary actually, we moved.  We went from 2900 sq ft in the suburbs to 1100 sq ft in the country.  However, we aren't focusing on what we gave up.  We gained so much more than losing the space and a few other niceties that I do miss but not in comparison to what we have.  So, what do we have?  Nearly 2 acres on a minor state road.  A rolling landscape.  Some trees, 2 of which are definitely apple (not sure about some others), several mulberry trees, and a screen of pines along the road for privacy.  We now have 4 Alpine dairy goats; two are milking now and 2 are doelings.  We have 33 Golden Comet chickens.  28 are pullets and 5 are roosters.  When the adolescent hormones kick in, we'll cut the rooster population down to 2.  We got them April 1, so we should see some eggs in August, I think, but September at the latest.  We are considering getting 2 weanling llamas, a gelding and a sweet female.  That should be enough for our 2 acres, because we also have a huge garden and want to have some space for the boys to run.

Being back in the country is very healing for me.  I hope to come back here and post more.  Reading a friend's blog has inspired me.  I love hearing her update about her life on the farm and her sweet little ones.  I also want to share lots of things that Facebook just doesn't cut it for me.  It seems so self-absorbed over there.  Here, I don't care if anyone reads it, but I can chronicle every little detail in minutia if I want to, and I can go back and re-read.  Lots of thoughts floating around in my little head too...  A sermon I heard by MacArthur last night on government (and how glad I am to be working on a land use variance request, instead of disobeying the civil law that doesn't make sense to me).  The delight of finding black raspberries with the boys along the creek.  The wonder of an 8 month old's pincer grasp.  Marvelling at my garden abundance.  My funny goats.  My new love affair with my crockpot.  I can make French toast overnight and yogurt from our goats' milk (overnight too) in addition to my normal standards of refried beans, pork carnitas, and crockpot roasted chicken (the secret is to keep it off the floor of the crockpot with foil balls).  Right now, life is going well.  God has provided so much in the last few months - some healing for my (and my guys') heart(s), financial prosperity in this lean time (we're putting most of it in being able to self-sustain if needed), 3 new hobbies (cheesemaking, spinning, and soapmaking), contentment...  In the words of one of my favorite country songs - "a little bit of chicken fried."

I am incredibly busy, so I need to cut it short today.  I still have to do some school, clean up the kitchen, bake brownies for my MIL's birthday tonight, and maybe try to get in a batch of frozen yogurt (yes, it's homemade yogurt).  Oh, and I need to get a batch of 30-minute mozzarella started too.

Well, it's been a loooong time since I blogged.  Between losing our 4th baby and life and homeschooling, I haven't had time or inclination to blog.  I'm not even sure if I should or not.  I do struggle with having relevant things to say.  I don't want to just yammer on to myself, kwim?

However, an update...

I am pregnant again.  With our 5th child.  If the baby cooperates, we'll be finding out what it is in exactly 1 week.  At this point, I'll just stick with a healthy baby that the Lord lets us raise, although a little pink to offset 4 blues would be nice. ;)  So far, the pregnancy has gone extremely well.  I usually have a lot of energy and relatively few discomforts.  I'm feeling lots of movement, especially during homeschool time.  :D 

For homeschooling, we're getting ready to start the 2nd quarter of Sonlight's Core 1.  DS will be about 1 semester behind his peers, come fall, but we're really not worried - that's why we homeschool, eh?  It's going well, and he is progressing nicely.

All the Garden boys are growing and growing up.  I can't believe that our sweetest little one is 3!!  He is so talkative and imaginative lately.  It is so fun to spy on him when he is playing.

I've been sewing some maternity items, and I've started a couple of blankets for the new baby.  It started out as an act of hope and faith, but now I can't decide which one, and I guess if we find out gender next Thursday, that will determine which one gets finished. ;)  One is out of a superwash wool in peach and terracotta.  The other is a pinwheel blanket out of a variegated cotton - peach, brown, and cream.  I'm trying to stay neutral, but you can tell that the neutrals do have a little more of a "girl" flavor.  If it's a boy, I'll finish the peach/terracotta blanket and crochet a boyish trim in brown.

Can't think of much else, and I must be off to finish supper.  I have to take a meal to a family from our church, so I need to get hopping!

Haven't been here in so long.  I was thinking of letting the blog go, but I just can't do it yet...

I'm 25 weeks pregnant now.  Baby is moving, growing, and all those good things.  We are blessed to have another healthy baby boy growing inside.  I am praying lots for patience and endurance, though.  The discomforts of pregnancy have hit earlier this time, and it takes a lot of patience not to blow up like I used to. 

I can't remember if I posted about having appendicitis at 13 weeks.  It was pretty scary, and really painful.  Fortunately, my appendix was removed before it ruptured, and the recovery wasn't as long as it could've been.  I still have to take care about overdoing it, but I've been back to "near normal" for quite some time, so I'm sure that this is where it's going to stay until after David is born.

If anyone is still reading, please comment and let me know how you're doing!  I don't remember the last time I was back here!!

I have a confession to make.  I really love watching Biggest Loser on NBC.  I don't normally waste my time watching much TV anymore, unless it's to rest on the couch while the boys watch PBS Kids or a movie with the family.  However, the one show that we watch regularly is Biggest Loser.  See, DH needs to lose a little weight and I think seeing the successes of people much bigger than him really helps keep him motivated.  And for me, I love seeing how some of these people come on to change their health for the better, usually for their family's sake.  For example.  Ken from the Red Team was voted off tonight (a decision I think Red Team will come to regret), but to see how much weight he has lost since he was eliminated is nothing short of amazing.  He lost more at home than at the ranch, and even helped his wife lose 50 pounds.  The pictures they showed of them look great!!!  It's stories like these that really warm your heart.

One contestant that we've been watching fondly is Bobby from the Blue Team.  Bobby reminds us so much of DH's childhood friend, Troy.  Their personalities are similar, and they look like they could be cousins at the least.  And Marty looks like a ringer for Troy when he was much younger, and also seems to have a nice personality.  These men have made amazing strides in their weight loss goals, not to mention the other men on the Blue Team, Eric and Brian.  So, our favorite team is the Blue Team where the men are in it to be healthier for their families, and they truly are a team.

So, that was my confession.  I really like to watch Biggest Loser, and my favorite team is the Blue Team because it is full of men who seem to have really sweet personalities and love their families enough to leave them for 3+ months to try to lose weight and get healthy.  I can't wait until next week!

Well, after a long hiatus, I'm back.  We've had company, been sick, and started a remodeling project here, so not a lot of time to get online and blog.  Fortunately, the visit was nice, we're starting to get better, and the remodeling is going pretty well, IMO.  But, tonight, I needed an easy supper.  It doesn't get any easier than breakfast for supper.  Sometimes, it's really easy, but I did feel like cooking, so we made DH's favorite - biscuits and gravy.  Some of you might recall that DH cannot have dairy, but there is a way to make excellent biscuits and gravy with nary a drop of milk.  Here's my method.

Brown a pound of your favorite sausage in a pan.  Meanwhile, preheat your oven.  My biscuit "recipe" (aka, the Bisquick box) recommends 450, which takes a while with my oven.  So, after the sausage browns, I let it hang out while I mix up the Bisquick.  I use unsweetened soymilk or rice milk in place of the milk.  After I get my biscuits ready to go, I turn my attention back to the sausage.  Transfer your sausage to a bowl, and have it ready by your stove.  Then, if you need a little more fat in your pan, add Earth Balance (dairy free margarine) and melt it.  Also add flour and mix well.  I eyeball it, so no real measurements for this gal.  When the flour and margarine are well mixed and have cooked a bit, add unsweetened soymilk.  I think I use about 3 cups for a pound of browned sausage.  Whisk the flour and milk together really well (my secret for no lumps) and bring to boil, stirring constantly.  When it is thick, add your sausage and reheat.  By this time, your biscuits should be close to done, because the oven gets done preheating sometime during your gravy making stage.

When your biscuits are done and your gravy is made, put it together for a fairly quick and very simple breakfast for supper - dairy free, even! :)

I'm not sure what the temp is now, but it was in the 30s this morning, with a wind chill of 21.  It's a blustery fall day that one would normally find in mid-November rather than October.

However, it is a good day for snuggling up with the kiddos and making all sorts of yummy comfort food.  Tonight we're having crockpot BBQ Beef (beef roast seared on all sides, then placed in the crockpot and drowned in BBQ sauce, shredded when cooked through), probably some baked Hubbard squash, broccoli, and homemade rolls.  I can't wait!!!  Tomorrow is supposed to be just as chilly and windy as today, so we're going to have some white chicken chili tomorrow, and my mouth is watering for that, too!

Enjoy your fall day and spend some time snuggling the ones you love!

Well, this week is going to be short and sweet.

National Association of Nouthetic Counselors

This is a fabulous organization that trains biblical counselors.  Whether you're dealing with a particular sin that has you down & you need some help or accountability or if your marriage needs some help, a NANC-certified counselor is sure to get you on track, and in a biblical manner.  A counselor uses the entirety of Scripture to counsel you (and help you learn to self-counsel), along with select other materials.  Even in the marital counseling, focus in on your role, your sin, and what you should be doing.  Don't worry, no one walks out of a session being the bad guy - your spouse gets it just as much (sometimes more!) than you do.

I heartily recommend going through some NANC-based counseling for every believer.

This summer, I discovered this fun little grain (seed, actually, but it's used as a grain) called quinoa (Keen-wa).  There aren't a lot of recipes out there for it, and I was stumped, but found a couple of really good recipes that I absolutely love.  One caveat is that quinoa is covered with some very bitter saponins that must be removed or you won't like the quinoa very well at all.  Many recipes say to rinse it well under running water in a fine sieve.  I don't like to do this, as it is messy and takes a long time.  Instead, I usually choose to roast the quinoa, which has always worked for me, and it's much easier.  After it is done roasting, I transfer it to a bowl until I'm ready for it again.

Since becoming pregnant, this little wonder grain has really been high on the cravings list, so I've been making my tried and trues a lot.  I'm getting ready to branch out and make up my own recipe, so I'll let you know how it goes after I try it.  Until then, I'd like to give you my two favorites.  One has a southwestern flair, and I found the recipe on the Internet.  The other one is, well, I guess French or something, and I got it out of the Body + Soul magazine.  I have adapted the recipes to suit my tastes, so they aren't the originals, but fairly close.

Rio Grande Quinoa Salad

3 T lemon juice

3 T olive oil

3 T cilantro, minced

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 C corn (I use frozen kernels)

1/2 C quinoa

1/2 t cumin seeds

1 C cooked black beans

1 md tomato, diced

3 T red onion (sometimes I use scallions instead)

Whisk together first 5 ingredients; set aside.

In a small saucepan, toast quinoa and cumin seeds until fragrant.  Add 1 cup of water and the corn.  Bring to boil, cover, and simmer until tender, approx 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes.  Fluff the quinoa and allow to cool slightly.  In a bowl, combine the quinoa, black beans, tomato, and onion.  Pour in dressing and gently toss to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

*As a side note, this is good warm, too, when you're too impatient to wait for it to chill.

Summer Quinoa Salad

1/2 c quinoa

4 tsp olive oil

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-in chunks

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1/8 t red pepper flakes

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 md zucchini, quartered and sliced 1/2-in thick

1 lg celery stalk, sliced

1/4 cup dry roasted pignolis (original recipe calls for toasted slivered almonds)

Toast quinoa in pan.  Set aside in bowl and return pan to heat.  Add 2 tsp olive oil and sautee yellow pepper, garlic, scallions, and red pepper flakes approximately 5 minutes.  Stir in quinoa, thyme, 1 c water, salt, zucchini, and celery.  Bring to boil, cover, reduce to simmer.  Cook approx 10 minutes until tender but not mushy.  Add pignolis and remaining 2 tsp oil.  Adjust seasonings to taste.  May squeeze 1 lime for extra zing.

This is excellent both warm and cold.  Serving suggestion is to chill, but we like it warm with roasted chicken.

Yes, it would be appropriate for me to break my long blogging fast with a WFMW.  It seems that it's all I get done these days, if I can get on to blog at all.

Anyway, I'm combining this with the announcement that there will be another Garden baby come sometime during May 2007.  We've broken with tradition here, so maybe it will even be a girl to completely smash the tradition.  Our other children's birth month/year are as follows:  1/01, 2/03, 3/05. 

Anyway, the morning sickness, er all-the-time sickness.  It's not so bad this time, but I have to really stay on top of things.  First of all, I am never hungry.  Seriously.  I have to eat, eat, eat, eat.  Secondly, I can't get too full or it makes it worse.  Then, I jump from miserably full to starving in a few seconds & don't allow time to prepare.  Thirdly, avocadoes; 'nuff said.  For some reason, avocadoes have helped me so much, especially on a big salad dressed with honey mustard dressing.  I've been having these nearly daily for about a week and I've had less issues with nausea than ever before.  I've also weaned the baby, um, toddler, which helps too, as I don't need quite as many calories now & don't have to quite as frequently.

When I'm not eating my salad, here's a short list of what has helped:

a splash of lemon juice in my water

nuts (kept the bathroom for those midnight munchies)

crackers with nut butter

goat cheese spread on crackers or veggies

hummus with whole wheat pitas

Altoids (ginger preferred, but peppermint also okay)

Pregnancy tea, lightly sweetened

These are working for me, and I'm immensely grateful!

My tip this week is my laundry detergent.  I have a pretty severe sensitivity to any artificial fragrance.  I get a nasty migraine, a runny nose, and sometimes an asthma attack, so I pretty much avoid anything scented.  The exception to this is if it is scented with essential oils.  This limits me often to the more expensive "organic" or "health-food-store" type products - lotions, soaps, shampoos, shaving cream, etc.  For laundry, I could use the "free and clear" versions of many soaps, and I do sometimes.  However, I also cloth diaper, so sometimes these products are a little harsh on delicate skin or they don't clean as well as I'd like.  Fortunately for me, I tried Bi-O-Kleen laundry powder when it was on sale at the health food store.  Normally I prefer the ease of liquid (and it does come in a liquid version), but Bi-O-Kleen powder is awesome & I don't mind its powderiness.

Bi-O-Kleen is a bit expensive, but when you figure in that one whole box will last a family of 5 at least 4-6+ months, it turns out to be not so bad a deal.  It smells freshly citrusy, which is nice, and a little bit goes a long way.  Not to mention that it is super environmentally friendly.  With the rage being "environmental consciousness," you can wash you clothes and feel a wee bit of pride that you're doing your part, and that your clothes are clean.  It is the first "environmentally friendly" laundry detergent I've found that works really well.  At least it works for me.

I was making breakfast for my 9 month old Bubba.  He was sitting in front of the TV playing while the news was on.  I was still working and waiting for my MIL to come so I could go to work.

As I went to change the channel to Sesame Street for the baby, they broke in with shots of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center.  A cold feeling sunk into the pit of my stomach, and I wondered who would play such a cruel trick by interrupting programming with that.  I quickly realized that it wasn't a trick, and it was heartbreakingly real.  I continued to watch in horror as the second plane hit, and MIL let herself in and joined me to see if what she had been hearing on the radio was true.

My hubby called to see if we had heard anything, as that was the buzz of his co-workers who were just finishing their commute.  We cried and prayed together, and then I left for work.  The atmosphere at the office was oddly quiet.  I worked for an HMO, and my cubicle was near the call center, which was usually quite noisy.  I could hear muffled sniffles from the call center staff and enrollment representatives.  I was completely numb with shock, and tried to do my work as best I could.  My hands were shaking so badly, though, that I pulled up a prayer service on the Internet and joined in with them.

I went home for lunch and hugged my baby close and enjoyed his nursing, grieving for the babies who lost their mamas and mamas who lost their babies that day.  I also thought of the scripture passage that talks about how much better it would be for those who were childless in "those days" - it was definitely one of "those days." and although I am and always will be grateful for my children, I can understand what the scripture means.

Going back to work was one of the hardest things I've done, as I didn't want to leave my baby and his tender snuggles.  I did finish the day out a little more successfully than the morning and came home to my family.  HOH and I just cuddled with baby Bubba on the couch and watched the news with shock, learning about the Pentagon and PA crashes as well.  Shortly after dinner, we heard the terrible sound of a jet going overhead.  Terrible because all air traffic had been grounded for the time being, and we knew that sound didn't belong in the sky.  As we rushed out, we caught sight of the underbelly and realized it was AirForce One, which was making a fueling stop nearby.  FIL called to ask us if we had heard/seen it, since they lived in the path as well.

In the five years that have come since September 11, 2001, my life has grown and changed, through the grace of God.  I'm so immensely grateful for his blessings.  It is with great sadness, though, that I remember that others were not so fortunate as I.  Somehow, in God's plan, this all worked out just perfectly.  I will never understand it, but now I can be at peace about it because I've realized that God is truly in control; He is just and wise beyond my finite understanding; and He watches over His people with a tenderness that I can't even begin to imitate.

In closing, I'd like to share the gorgeous lyrics of a Michael Card song.

The Tears of the World

Lyrics by Michael Card

(From A Sacred Sorrow, NavPress, February 2005)

In any split second

There is enough pain in the world

To overwhelm every gentle heart combined.

The world’s pain is as vast as the ocean.

The sorrow of the world is as deep as the sea.

Could the ocean really be the sum of the tears if the world?

Warm

Salty waves of grief

A tidal force of sorrow

 

That ebbs and flows as inwardly the world groans while outwardly its poor passengers cry out to a God whose eyes are dry.

When Jesus appeared there was a tear in His eye that was as old as the world.

It was not His own. It was the world’s tear.

 

And when even a single one of those tears would course down His unshaven cheek and disappear into His beard, it was as if a black breaker full of the world’s tears was exhausting itself upon the clean sands of the shore of His Father’s invisible compassion.

 

Jesus wept the tears of the world.

How is it my eyes are dry?

Or only wet with my own tears?

 

For the tiniest speck of one of the millions of seconds of my life has there ever been the smallest drop of one of the world’s tears in my eyes?

 

When they see me, does the world see a man of sorrows?

 

Or do they see a false pretended joy that they could never know because I have never known it myself? Could never know it while holding so dear my own comforts.

 

Grant me, O Lord an acquaintance with such tears that the world has wept.

 

Surely the presence of such a great grief in my life would displace my small sadnesses, my petty anger, my selfish sorrows.

 

O red-eyed Jesus, turn my tears into the worlds tears.

And awaken in the deepest part of my falsely satisfied soul