It's finally here, the time to begin officially schooling. We begin after labor day, and I must say I have mixed emotions. While I see this as a new stage of life, I FOUGHT HARD to protect the early years. For the last six years, our focus has been to enjoy the calm, quiet, simplicity of the little years. We had minimal obligations, lots of time exploring, playing, and just being. I saw as incredibly important not to skip or rush these last few years. I will forever cherish the last six years. Honestly, I'm grieving a bit over the loss of this stage as we welcome the next. There is so much pressure to rush kids on, begin schooling, worksheets, activities, and learn those letters by age three. It is quite difficult, and at times a bit monotonous, to live life slow and simple. We said "no" to a lot, but we can never go back to these days once they are over. There is still time for activities, schooling, classes, and sports, so we chose to wait and savor the first six years at home. I had several goals driving our approach to the early years. I wanted the boys to learn to play on their own and not need to be entertained by going out. I wanted them to develop a love for home. I wanted them to see the blessings God gave them in their own backyard, before showing them what else is out there. They needed to learn to hear quiet, to see the same old stuff, so they could learn to push past the boredom and into creativity. If I wanted them to sit still, I needed to make an atmosphere that naturally required it. If it wanted them to think on their own, I needed to let them have time to problem solve and create in their own ways. All though this was all very intentional, it mostly happened by removing things that hindered these goals. We didn't sign up for sports or activities. We did't allow any technology. We filled our home with books upon books. The yard looks like a junk heap of toys. There are three different "construction sites" in the yard where rocks and bricks have been laid, culverts dug, gates hung, bridges built, and grass planted. My home doesn't look like a magazine at all. There's a bug house with caterpillars on the table, drawings plastered all over the fridge, a forever dirt ring in the bathtub, and Legos regularly found in the washer, but its been a good six years. We didn't do school last year. Is it finally ok to now admit that? I know, who has a almost seven year old in kindergarten these days? (Gasp!) Despite the fact his dad and I weren't worried, everyone else seemed deeply concerned. I saw very quickly that Danny was going to get a lot of flack for NOT doing school. I could've argued how Finnish kids have great test scores despite their late start, that both my husband and I have Master's in Early Childhood Education, and legally our son wasn't required to start yet, but honestly mommy picking the fight would have just put Danny in the crossfire. I had to realize that if we were really bucking the system, we were going to be challenged. Danny already had a pretty bad attitude about school, and any extra attention and questions about it didn't help. I wrestled with what was the right call. I did not want to allow others to pressure my decisions, or make a choice against what was best, just to "fit in better." Yet, I also didn't want my child bombarded with the disapproval he was experiencing, because I was on some soapbox. It was my choice, not his, but people were directing their questions and concerns to him instead of me, something I did not expect. I decided it wasn't fair to make him carry that burden. The questions were making his hatred of school worse, so I found a way around it. I ordered some curriculum, so I could tell people what we had bought for school, and I just left out that we weren't really using it yet. I told Danny we were doing some school until his attitude changed, and he could answer adults questions respectfully. We did a little letter and number practice and read books, but this time I called it "school." We had a big first day of school kick off, so he could honestly say, "Yes, we started school." Danny finally saw school was no different than what we regularly do, and I worked with him on how to explain to others about what he was enjoying. We never cracked open that curriculum. He wasn't ready, and I was at peace waiting. It was a blessing to get one more quiet year. Our goal last year was to simply change Danny's poor attitude about school. This year he's excited to start. It's amazing what a lot of prayer and giving him time to develop on his own can do. Hindsight, I can see we definitely made the right call. This year he is ready. Last year he was not. Had I tried to start last year, we would have had a year of frustration, and possibly burnt ourselves out before we really started. I would have felt guilty starting him too soon and giving into the peer pressure of keeping up. Who knows if he or I would have ever gotten our feet back under us. Seven years ago, God gave him that late birthday. God knew, before I did, that Danny was going to need an extra year before starting. His plan was already in place for the child from day one, having it all in control, before I knew anything about homeschool start dates. Had Danny been born a few weeks earlier, he would have been required by law to start last year, and it would have been brutal. So this year, we will start kindergarten and in two weeks he will be seven. In the United States that's almost unheard of and definitely frowned upon. No, he's not reading yet and he hasn't taken a test yet, but he's going to be ok! He got six wonderful years to soak in the skills he needed. The child can reason and problem solve better than a lot of adults. He can sit still and not need constant entertainment. He knows what it means to have responsibilities and follow through. He's extremely reliable and can pull his weight already on the farm. His work ethic is shockingly good, and despite not reading, he can make decent sense of directions and books. He somehow has basic math facts memorized, despite not knowing anything about written equations, and he understands many of the concepts from just living life on the farm. Danny has learned plenty in the last six years, we just didn't call it "school." I think everyone would agree that skipping Elementary school and throwing eight year olds directly in middle school isn't a good idea. They need the elementary stage first. We know they aren't ready for such a jump. Each stage builds upon the previous. Nothing, including children, stands well on a shaky foundation. Elementary isn't any less valuable than the other grades, but for some reason we don't see the value anymore in the little years. Kids need those years to make elementary successful, and the amount of time needed depends on the need for each kid. In my opinion, it is not elementary that builds a foundation, but the early years. Proper schooling is when we begin building up, so those foundations are laid before schooling. Danny is now required by law to start school. This year we can't go back. The little years are over and a new season has begun. I am so thankful I didn't give away any of those years too soon.
0 Comments
Chimichurri is a great sauce for added flavor to meats, eggs or soups. It is a great herbal powerhouse, loaded with parsley, cilantro, olive oil, garlic, and apple cider vinegar, and is something I especially want on the boys plates throughout winter. This is a spice my kids can tolerate, since the spice comes mostly from all the garlic. I like to have a few condiments on hand to change up our more frequent meals to avoid them getting boring. Chicken with balsamic vinegar one night and chimichurri the next really makes it feel like it is a completely new meal instead of leftovers. The vibrant green also makes me feel so good seeing it on my plate in the middle of winter. My plan is to try to keep some parsley and cilantro on hand in the greenhouse next winter so we can always have the ingredients on hand.
When we moved into our house, we painted the cabinets mint, and updated the hardware, sink and lighting, but that was kind of the extent of phase one. Slowly appliances have been replaced, but we knew the counters needed a complete overhaul. However, the budget was tight, we weren't sure what we wanted. There was also the uncertainty of not knowing what can of worms we were opening by digging into a real renovation. A few months ago, I convinced Danny to simply swap the counters for real butcher block. Our counters were tongue and grove boards made to look like butcher block, and coffee grounds and spills had been falling between the cracks in the boards ever since we moved in. Nothing was level anymore, and the polyurethane sealer was pealing up making the counters impossible to clean. I told Danny if he could just build me a basic table with a butcher block counter on top and a hole cut for the sink, I could be content. He finally agreed, and that very night the faucet started making a weird sound. Within a week, it went from creaking, to very hard to turn on, to too lose, to completely broken and we had to use a screwdriver to turn it on and off. After a week of the screwdriver getting harder and harder to use, we just began shutting the water off at the shutoff valve under the sink. The dishwasher had already been broken for about a month, so losing my working sink wasn't easy. Now we clearly needed to address the kitchen issues and there was no turning back. Thanks to the shortages and supply chain issues, what we thought would be a 2 week minor annoyance, was a little over 6 weeks of no sink and dishwasher. By the time everything arrived, I really didn't care what it would look like, as long as things got fixed. My kids' allergies make it impossible for us to eat out, so no matter how tidy we tried to be, there were still 3 meals each day that had to be prepared in the house. Danny was convinced he could have the whole thing up in running within a day, and he managed to do exactly that on my birthday. He built the table a week in advance and had it waiting in the laundry room. I emptied the cabinets and little Danny helped remove all the hardware, that way when Saturday morning came, demo could immediately start. We knew the cabinets had water damage, so there was no salvaging them, and I was a bit worried about what we would find underneath. In removal of the cabinets a giant hole was uncovered in the floor. Danny was a bit annoyed, but I was just thankful there was nothing like a raccoon nest uncovered. I knew there would be a set back, but this honestly seemed pretty mild. We did find out why there was such a cold draft coming in under the sink. However, that draft is probably why the crawl space and cabinets weren't filled with mold from the water damage, so I thank God for that draft. Danny ran to the store to get some boards to run over the hole, and agreed that come summer, we probably need to just rip out the laminate floor. I've always hated the yellow laminate, so I was trying to keep my excitement down. One thing I insisted on was centering the kitchen. It was all off and wonky, weirdly getting more and more off center as you got towards the oven wall. Everything got a good 4-6 inch adjustment to the left, and now my oven actually sits appropriately under the upper cabinets. In moving things over, I also gained enough space to the right to have some decent storage. Danny added a table leg and leftover piece of butcher block to fill in the space. I approved running the wood grain in the wrong direction for the corner piece. We could have purchased an entire second piece of butcher block for the corner, but that just seemed wasteful for something that may be a temporary fix. It doesn't bother me, and an old farmhouse tends to have weird quirks where people made due when the budget was tight. This wouldn't be the first weird thing in the house. Below is a photo of how far off center the oven was. It used to be over to the white paint. When something is that off center, it is pretty noticable. We sealed the counter with a non-toxic food based butcher block sealer, that way we can cut right on top. We went with a sealer from Green Building Supply, which is also where I get all of our paint. There are no toxins or mineral oil, and it gives the counters a warm honey glow. Yes the counters will mark and stain, but to me that shows a kitchen is well loved and used well. Despite this being dishwasher number five, we finally purchased our first one. All the others were free rejects from friends and family. We didn't mind used or mismatched, but the last one eventually conked out on us. We weren't thrilled about the price of a new one, but we figured it was about time we had to buy our own. Our last one, although very new, didn't really clean the dishes well. I used to tell everyone to think of it as a sanitation machine and the dishes had to be completely spotless going in. My mom and sister both love their dishwashers, so I knew what I wanted. The new machine is very quiet, and the buttons are hidden on top away from curious fingers. It has a stainless steel interior, and most importantly, it has THREE racks. There is so much more space inside! Our model also has a delay time, which is something we use regularly. The previous machine taught us to clean well and use minimal dishes, so the new machine is benefitting of our learned habits. I used to run our old machine every time I left the house and over night. My brother in law got us a great deal on a Ferguson faucet, and despite it not coming in the color I wanted, I love the look. I wanted the lacquered brass look, but I also refused to give up my copper sink. Since the sink already had a predrilled hole, I was limited on my selection of faucets. Unfortunately, everything that would work was $2000+, so I let go of the brass and went with a chrome. Although chrome wouldn't have been traditionally the finish in the home, I stuck with a simple Georgian style shape and I honestly really like it. That gooseneck will be wonderful for hanging cheese to drain. I'm probably the only one who has searched for faucets based on their cheese draining ability, but those are the fun things you get to think about when you take so many years to plan a kitchen. I ordered some commercial restaurant shelving for underneath, and two cheap rugs to hide the weird floor boards. Baby loves to dig dirt out of the cracks in the floor, so I knew I needed something to hide the temptation from those little fingers. I just overlapped the rugs to get them to fit and chose to embrace the imperfection. No one is really looking under there except for the baby. By the end of the day, I had a working sink and dishwasher. I feel like it all seems like such an improvement, even with the exposed pipes and disposal. I'm going to skirt the table so everything will eventually be hidden and we're going to place a second oven to the left. So yes, now there is exposed plaster, old wallpaper remnants, a weird floor under the cabinets, and exposed old wall color, but I am so giddy over the update. To be honest, I'm super impressed with Danny's skills, the precision and detail he put into the work. Home projects are fun, but you can expose everyone to a lot of toxins in the process, and it always leaves me a bit uneasy. Danny was so clean in how he did the whole process, even I was shocked. He mounted the disposal switch back underneath for me, something I hadn't even realized would be an issue, and really took time to think of every detail. When we bought this house we both knew nothing about home maintenance. It is really fun to see how far he's come and what he has learned to do over the years.
Cabbage slaw is one of our favorite staples to have on hand. We eat it with chips as a snack, on top of eggs, soup, or as a quick veggie side for dinner. It is one of the few ways I can get veggies into my kids and it is the secret to dressing up a simple meal when I'm too lazy to cook a bunch of sides. I make a big batch weekly and store it in the fridge.
While making it to taste is kind of annoying when you have no idea what it is supposed to taste like, it really is the best way to prepare this. Add all the ingredients and then adjust. If it is too tangy, add more coconut aminos. If it is too sweet, try more apple cider vinegar or lime juice. I don't always make this with broccoli stalks, but if I have them on hand, I shred them and toss them in. We use coconut aminos over soy sauce, due to allergies, and it makes a great soy substitute. Soy is saltier and not as sweet, so I'd recommend trying a good coconut aminos in this recipe. Liquid aminos is not the same thing and will leave you disappointed, but most stores carry a true coconut amino option. I prefer mine without salt, however if you purchase one with with salt, omit the added salt from the recipe. Its February 21 and boy did we get a taste of spring today! We had warm sunny weather, the greenhouse was a rocking 80+ degrees, and we got our first seeds started. Of course, spring around the corner also means mud season is around the corner and the boys made sure to remind me what that would look like. They spent the day outside digging and slopping through the mud. A muddy canal was created and Benjy had a good two inches of mud on his boots. He fell once and needed new clothes, they had a picnic, and we went for a walk and collected a wagon of kindling. Boys and mud seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. Baby absolutely loves the greenhouse and squealed when he realized he got to play in the wood chips. I learned my lesson and this time he did NOT wear his bear coat. He was much cleaner coming out than last time and no one really needs much of a coat when its 88 degrees. This little boy spent his first months of life sleeping in the shade of the garden, smacking sunflowers and watching the songbirds flit in and out. It must feel like home for him to be back outside, sharing my attention with some plants. No longer is he a passive observer. Now, he's stealing my seed trays, flicking his fingers through the dirt, throwing wood chips, and waving old corn husks like little flags. By summer he will be sampling what is growing out there and chasing butterflies with his brothers. It kind of blows my mind. Gardening is a skill your are always learning in and never mastering and I quite love it. Last year I learned that the soil and container size greatly affect my seedlings health. I also learned those little plants are more resilient than we give them credit. I learned I could keep more alive than I gave myself credit for. Despite having a baby right at planting time, none of my seedlings died. I hardened them off perfectly fine and I kept them alive all season in the garden. I honestly expected to come home from the hospital with everything dead or the garden going to the weeds and never producing much. I learned about intercropping. I learned the benefit of using the greenhouse. I learned the value of compost and that birds in the garden are better at reducing the bug population than I am. I learned slugs are turds who can destroy baby plants and squash bugs can wipe out whole healthy vines. I learned my kids are great helpers but also harvest a lot when I'm not ready. I learned I feel better in the garden and that I don't need nearly all of the tomato plants I grew. More potatoes, less tomatoes. More carrots, no brussels sprouts. There's something about always learning that I just love. Today we planted cilantro, blush onions and red carpet onions from Johnny's. There are still shallots, lettuce, and thyme to plant, but we only had so much soil. I love MIGardeners method of planting onions. Basically you sew them extremely densely, throwing out all the spacing rules, and then transplant it in the garden and just separate out all the little plants. This saves so much space for starting seeds and is something special you can do with the alliums. I did this last year and it worked wonderfully. I spaced them out in clumps of three, following Charles Dowding's method and a few of the little babies are still in the pantry, showing spring is very close. Rain, snow, mud, repeat. That will be life for the next few months. I've ordered some rain overalls for the boys to hopefully make mud season more tolerable for my home and washing machine. I keep checking the mail because these things can't come soon enough! Spring is coming, the first redwing blackbirds are back, lambs will be here soon, and garden season is right around the corner.
We have been making lots of granola around here and I don't know why we haven't done it sooner. We pour milk overtop and have our own homemade cereal that everyone loves. While I know a lack of a recipe is super annoying when you are brand new to cooking, but really the best way to do this, is by just tossing a bunch of ingredients together in a bowl and cooking until crispy. We've made chocolate peanut butter, maple vanilla, pumpkin cinnamon and various other combinations. While there's a lot of flexibility, to ensure I get something that tastes great, there are a few lose rules I try to follow.
Granola makes a great snack and stops me from snacking on chocolate chips or something else I really don't need. We crumble it in apple sauce, kefir, or pour milk over it like cereal. Cereal is my weakness and I've so missed it the last several years as we've transitioned to healthier eating. I also don't like to cook breakfast real early, much to my children's chagrin, so having a quick easy breakfast option is wonderful. We will start off with granola and milk and then have a brunch of eggs later. I cook up a big batch each week and toss it in a jar. Typically I make a minimum of 6 cups of oats, although I could easily double it if I had another baking pan.
Our friends and family know we don't watch TV. We don't own one, the kids only get shows when someone is sick, and we really keep technology away from our kids in general. To us this is normal, but sometimes we forget how extremely abnormal it truly is. Our kids know nothing different, and as parents we've adjusted and really forget at times what the norm is. It isn't until someone new hears we don't allow screen time, that brings us back to reality and how weird we really are. So what do we do in the morning? How do we get ready? What do the kids do? Don't they wake up whining? The answer: We basically enjoy time together as a family Mornings start with Danny waking up first, doing chores, making a fire, and getting ready and getting some work done before everyone wakes up, if he's working from home. He kindly brings me a cappuccino and wakes me up at the time he would typically head in to work. Baby usually gets up with me and we head down and snuggle up on the couch by the fire. The other boys come down, hopefully a little later. More often than not, they're already up, e waiting for the approval to come down, and they snuggle up by the fire too. Everyone just spends time watching the sunrise, chatting and snuggling up under the wool blankets and enjoying the wood stove. I'll admit, I'm the one who struggles the most at waking up. I wish it wasn't such a struggle for me not to be a grumpy tired bear in the morning, but I definitely have to remind myself I DON'T want my boys remembering mom greeting them with a grumpy face each morning. Unfortunately, I have to get the daily mental pep talk from myself, but the wake up time with coffee on the couch helps me ease into the day myself. Since, I'm not the most motivated person in the morning, the boys know I will agree to a pre-breakfast of bananas and peanut butter or apples and dates. They'll then run and get their plates and dish up their first snacks of the day. I don't care to eat breakfast until nine or ten so their first breakfast gets them going until I basically make brunch. This all may sound fake, but its normal life for us. The boys all like their morning snuggles. They've never known anything different. Come summer the fireplace is replaced by sitting out on the patio, usually with their own cappuccinos. I don't play music and never was one that can handle morning shows. Our days start as slow, quiet and snuggly as I can make them. And let's face it, I'll happily give up some "Me time" if it means there's no annoying kid shows running in the background.
So what do you guys eat?! A common question we get asked when someone hears of all the intolerances my kids have. At first glance it seems like we’re extremely limited, no dairy, gluten, sugar, preservatives, dyes, additives...did I forget anything?! The reality is we actually aren’t that restricted, but most kitchens don’t have the right ingredients that allow my kids bellies to not get sick. We have dairy, lots of dairy, but it’s all raw and unpasteurized. We eat gluten, but only Einkorn and it’s typically sourdough. I never use active dry yeast. We eat sugar, but it’s honey, maple syrup, maple sugar, or coconut sugar. We eat preservatives, good old non-iodized salt, and we aren’t scared of our sodium levels. The chemical, non-foods don’t make it, but we actually don’t miss out on much, we have just learned to source better options that don’t leave us with crying, crampy, rashy kids. The thing is, it’s pretty easy to be all free of the stuff listed above and still not be getting the most nutritious diet. While gluten, sugar, and dairy free options are all the rave, it doesn’t mean a product is still providing good nutrition and not adding to gut irritation. It took time, trial and error, and lots of reading to find what works for our family. Having a very sensitive child prevented cutting corners and finding processed food alternatives. It was a headache but also a blessing, especially now being on the other side, with symptoms, doctors visits, and sick children being a thing of the past. When you start the journey it seems exhausting, hopeless, never ending, and completely blind. Doctors don’t know much other than prescribing medicines these days, unless you’ve managed track down rarity. We were told so many conflicting things, blamed, guilted, shamed, ridiculed, or just told to give up. Some cared, many didn’t, and the ones that did care were at a loss. Those days seem a long time ago. We don’t plan to go back to our old ways of eating, it wasn't really food to begin with. We take our health seriously. Almost to the extreme, although a typical doctor or nurse would probably argue differently, and most people would be shocked how we live. We have fat, salt, eggs, meat, and eat our veggies right out of the garden not bothering to wash off every speck of dirt. BreakfastEggs with meat and veggie
Special Treats
LunchLunch doesn't get much planning. Its whatever is easy and preferably not what we had for breakfast.
DinnerThe key to varying up dinner in my opinion is having sauces and sides to easily swap around. There are decent bottled sauces but they're also super easy to make. First I'll list the typcial dinner entree options:
SidesSides can be super simple and its always a good idea to keep some easy ones on hand
SaucesA good sauce makes all the difference. Some are bottled and easy, others need a little more effort but I'm not one to spend hours on a sauce. We will have one or two homemade sauces in the house which typically get added to more than one meal. A sweeter sauce like a cranberry may be added to pancakes or toast. Chimmichurri on eggs or soup. If someone in the house isn't quite excited over a prepared meal, having a sauce or two available usually can adjust the flavor to meet something more to their liking. To buy:
SnacksI think snacks are where people really feel the kicker of eating healthy. Most snacks are trash and we'd all probably be better off adjusting our snacking but habits are hard to break. My kids snack plenty and sometimes a good snack keeps the peace in the house. We go through a jar of peanut butter a week around here
SweetsI make a sweet usually once a month, and I'll be honest, the key word here is MAKE. Since the boys can't have cane sugar, everything must be homemade. I've found how to make almost everything we'd want, except for a few things like croissants. When we first changed from cane sugar, I remember thinking stuff definitely didn't taste as sweet, but now I prefer the lighter sweetness and typically cut the sweetener in each recipe by at least half. We've noticed that even when others make sweets using sweeteners the boys can have, Danny and I are overwhelmed by the amount of sugar. Our sweet tooth has really become less. The good news is your body does adjust! You slowly need less sugar and your tastebuds learn to recognize smaller and smaller amounts of sweetness and you're perfectly content with it.
Below is a list of our favorites, but again these all are made from scratch. We just use coconut sugar in place of white sugar, einkorn flour instead of regular flour, and raw milk instead of pasteurized
The idea of farm life can have a romantic, simple beauty to some, especially if one hasn’t actually seen all it can entail. Life on the farm can be very simple, and can have an old world, romanticized feel, but one must also embrace what comes with it. Hard work, losing animals, scooping poop, and a whole lot of mud comes with the territory. Here on the homestead, we see the not so glamorous side of life on a farm, and while we wouldn’t trade it for the world, I do wonder at times how many people could truly handle all the insanity. Sometimes I wonder if I can. The morning started with a bath for the toddler, who piddled out of his diaper before it got changed. Not really the ideal way to start a day, but it could have been worse. There were no sheets to wash, and the boys were happy to play in the bath. Bananas and peanut butter were eaten as a breakfast placeholder, while I tried to drink my cappuccino, still a bit tired from the restless night of sleep of being kicked by one baby from the inside and one on the outside by another child, whom snuck into our bed in the middle of the night. Eventually scrambled eggs and chimichurri were cooked up. Little noses were turned up at the plates of warm food, leaving it to "eat later" when the eggs were cold and slightly dried out. The daily vitamins were passed out, lemon cold liver oil for one, non-lemon for the other, iron chewables, immunity honey, tummy honey, all while the boys hopped hopefully up and down for cappuccinos. Cappuccinos were served, the grocery order placed, library books reserved, laundry folded, the painters tape removed, and the front room set back in order. The sun was shining and the house got a bit hot, so the windows were opened for some fresh air to blow through. There is just something uplifting about open windows. The outdoors began calling, and Elmer and Danny were out searching for puddles. Eventually Benjy joined, and they had a grand time filling the watering can in one puddle, dumping into the dump truck, and then driving a full load of muddy water over to the oil tank to dump to create yet another mud puddle. They got sticks and went fishing in the puddles, while Elmer waded, pawing at the water, carrying mushy clumps of grass in his mouth. The rattling of vehicle wheels went up and down the sidewalk and slushed through the snow on the patio leaving a thick trail of mud behind. I reminded myself I taught them that there's no such thing as bad weather. They take it to heart. For all the snow complainers out there, nothing is worse than mud season. I can toss my kids in a snow bank, bundle them up in layers, insist it's never too cold to go outside, and not bat an eye at any of it...but mud season causes an internal struggle. The boys love it. They play even longer, fight less, and could be perfectly content with mud season as the only season. However, I don't think I need to explain why, to a mom, mud season isn't enjoyable. I cringed as I saw the play going on, prayed they'd someday realize how blessed they are to have a mom that put up with all of this, and resumed cleaning my windows, while I had the weather for it. Eventually the hunger got the best of them, and they came in hoping to get out of eating their old eggs. After finally gulping down the cold yellow piles they "saved," they ate some pecans, put in a request for scones, and were off to playing with their toys. Squeals quickly started as they saw the rain pelting down outside, gleefully yelling, “We’re getting more puddles!” I rushed to close up the open windows and let in the already sopping dog. The rain flooded the already soggy yard, increasing puddle sizes as it melted the piles of lingering snow. Yes, they were getting more puddles. A delivery truck arrived with a surprise treat from my mom, a brand new snow plow. They took turns plowing toys, until they decided it MUST go outside. Then the mud play continued with now bigger puddles than before. Berry scones were popped in the oven and sourdough prepared to make bread and bagels tomorrow. The kitchen was scrubbed, book club was missed, and the mud trail got thicker. After seeing the state of the mud and not wanting it in the car, a call to Daddy to pick up the groceries saved us a big headache and mess. Scones and cappuccinos were enjoyed, the extras tucked away, and then a mass clean up of "just one clean room PLEASE" began. I chopped up veggies for dinner, having to get creative not having onions and garlic. Thai basil chicken it was, because there was leftover chicken, and rice is easy. The boys cleaned, I chopped, cooked, cleaned, and continuously reminded them to stay focused as they sang Happy Birthday to the toys they discovered under the couch. JUST ONE ROOM! It’s all I’m asking. For my sanity we need one room cleaned because you've completely destroyed outside. They actually did it! One room cleaned before Daddy was home with groceries. They scampered to help put away sweet potatoes, onions, apples, and garlic, always an enjoyable task. Dinner was served, candles lit, and the stories of the day began, filling in Daddy of their many adventures. Only one complaint uttered, no one ate like a goat or nodded off at the table, and it was a nice enjoyable family dinner. The boys were excused, and the play began again, this time hopping on their moose with a bucket on their head and laughing. Chore time came and they scampered to don their muddy gear, not wanting to miss unloading the truck full of wood or feeding their sheep and goats. The logs were brought through the puddles to the window, and the cauldron filled for tomorrow’s heat. The boys spending half the time asking Dad questions and the other half mewing like kittens. Then it’s teeth brushing, no baths, because the system is overwhelmed with water, reading Farmer Small and off to bed. Technically we fit four in a twin bed, because I count for two, but random legos must be moved first, lambs and chickens and bears collected, pillows fluffed, kisses given, and then bedtime snuggles and songs. Finally, the calm sinks over the house. Only God knowing how long it will last. Barking dogs, waking toddlers, baby kicking, and restless leg syndrome all take their turns at messing with a peaceful nights sleep. At some point, the sun will rise tomorrow and we will do much of it all again. With snow still melting, and more rain coming, the mud is here to stay for a while. This is part of life on a farm. Mud in your house, on your animals, sucking to your boots, vehicles, wheelbarrow, and whatever else must venture into it.
Benjy says, “it’s not dirty mud, it’s dry mud,” solid toddler reasoning for why he doesn’t need his feet washed in the sink for the third time. The days are busy. Busy with nothing. Simply busy with just running a home amidst life with muddy boys and dogs. While it is simple, it isn't empty. It is messy, it is exhausting, frustrating, and so ridiculous I can't help but smile at the mess I've put myself in. Sometimes things become such a disaster they're suddenly somehow hilarious. After the seed companies sold out of seeds last year, we made sure to order early and our seeds are here! Despite ordering the first week of January, the onions and broccoli I wanted were sold out. To get everything I wanted I had to order from 4 different companies, but I did get everything on my list, including onions and potatoes. This year we’re again expanding the garden with the goals of trying to use intercropping to utilize our space, better store and preserve our harvest, get a strong fall garden planted, and continuing with the no-dig method. (Oh, and there’s a baby due end of March and I’m already battling some early labor signs at 28 weeks.) Needless to say, we’ll see how this all goes. At this point I feel like we understand being flexible and letting go of things when they are unrealistic. How much can one really control in growing or a garden or when having a baby?! Gardens, like babies, have unexpected variables that can turn even the best made plans pointless, but I will enjoy the distraction of garden planning as I’m stuck laying low for the next few months. The challenge really comes when baby arrives. While I’m down for a few weeks, can the boys in the house keep the baby plants alive? Only time will tell. Thankfully the two Dannys are both a little more schedule oriented and can keep up on a task list. Benjy was still “weeding” my sprouts last time we grew something, so we’ll see how many plants survive. Like a super classy person, I trash picked some lights to expand our indoor growing area. Now we’ve got the extra growing space I needed, and I can expand my crazy plant lady status. I learned so many lessons last year attempting to grow from seed, like how all those little potted cells lead to bigger potted plant that need even more room. I also learned about how germination typically requires heat over light, with a few exceptions, and a cold basement can really cause problems. Hardening off wasn’t as difficult as I imagined and most of our plants not only survived but grew better and produced more than any store bought plant. The homesteaders said use seeds, the hobby gardeners said don’t waste your time. I guess we officially fall into the homesteader category because I’m completely sold on starting from seed. For the size of garden we have it’s the best economical option, my plants were healthier, and I could get the exact varieties I wanted for plant health, climate needs, and flavor. Boy is there a difference in flavor among varieties! We already know our garlic harvest for 2021 is a complete bust. I ordered from a different but reliable source this year and nothing sprouted except the three cloves I seed saved. This is a huge frustration but the company kindly refunded my money without any question. Although we won’t have a garlic harvest, now there’s extra space for more veggies and I can always buy garlic from the farmers market. I also learned my lesson about ordering seed. My last purchase of garlic was from a little Ohio farm and was wonderful, but I couldn’t remember the name and I was too lazy to try to figure it out. I’ll make sure to take the time come fall to locate the farm and place my order with them for next year. I can’t wait to be back in a jungle of green, with the warm sun on my back again. We saved some seeds from last year and had some seeds left over from our previous purchase, so not all of these are new, but here is a list of the varieties were planting this year: Amaranth - Love lies a bleeding from Bakers Creek. This is mostly for the flowers, but the leaves can be used like spinach so we’re hoping it will be a successful multipurpose and plant, as I didn’t really take advantage of growing salad greens last year. Basil - Cinnamon, Genovese, Cardinal from Bakers Creek. We make a lot of Thai basil in the summer and the cinnamon was my favorite for it. The Genovese is for pizzas, pesto, and carpese salads, and the plants provide insect control and spicy smelling flowers for the house, so I can never have enough. We’re trying the cardinal this year mostly because of its blooms, but I will work it’s way into plenty of dishes as well. Beans - Kabouli Black Garbanzo, Painted Lady Runner, Cherokee Trail of Tears from Bakers Creek. The garbanzo are the only new variety we’re trying, hopefully for some homemade hummus. Bok Choy - Baby Milk from Bakers Creek We love bok choy and it may be one of our top favorite vegetables. We use it weekly, so hopefully we can have some success growing it. Broccoli - Purple sprouting broccoli from Migardener. This is a new variety for us. It’s supposed to produce more side sprouts and is to be a little easier to grow. Brussel Sprouts - Long Island improved from Bakers Creek. These were left over from last year. We didn’t get any sprouts last year, but I believe it was error on my part so we’re trying again. Cabbage - Red Kablois from Bakers Creek. We grew this last year and had seeds left over. It is a beautiful variety and was pretty hardy. Carrots - Longue Rouge Sang, Kuroda, Amarillo We are still trying to find the right variety for us so we’re trying a few. Cilantro - Slow bolt. We have this variety from so many different sources because cilantro is the one thing I always need more of. Soups, eggs, slaw, salsa, and chimichurri, almost all our meals include a bit of cilantro. I’ll grow this in any shady spot and sprinkled among the cool weather crops. It doesn’t do well in our heat but loves being tucked in the shade of larger plants. Corn - Striped Japonica, Glass Gem, Stowells Evergreen The first two are decorative. I lined the patio with the Japonica and loved it’s beautiful leaves. The boys must grow their glass get every year and the Stowells was a great sweet corn for us last year, super tall and productive so we’re using it again. Cucumbers - Chicago Pickling, Sour Gherkin, Tokyo Green from Bakers Creek. The first two we grew last year and I greatly preferred the Chicago pickling over other varieties friends grew. We did struggle with them dying out in the strong heat, so we’re trying the Tokyo green as a back up and hoping to succession plant the others to make up for any loss throughout the season. Ground Cherry - Aunt Molly’s from Bakers Creek We’re yet to have success with this, but we still have a few seed left over. I think it would be a hit for the boys if we can get some to grow. Lettuce - Bronze Beauty from Bakers Creek. This is a new plant for us. Usually we eat cabbage over lettuce but it’s nice to have salad greens available. Onions - Yellow of Parma and Ruby Red from Seed Savers. We use at least an onion a day. The goal is to to grow as many as possible so we can store up a years supply. I’m hoping to intercrop the onions to get the most of our growing space, but we’ll see if it affects the growth at all. Oregano - Wild Zatar from Bakers Creek I really was shocked at the difference of flavor with my home grown oregano. The flavor was so much richer and I was bummed out when our supply ran out in December. I realized we needed much more so I had fresh and dried available. This is a new variety but I’m hoping it does just as well as what I’ve grown before. Peas - Carouby De Maussane from Bakers Creek We had leftovers from last year despite growing a spring and fall crop so we’re using them again. Peppers - Nadapeno and Etuida from Bakers Creek. Nadapeno is a spice free jalapeño we’re trying for the first time, and we’re giving the etuidas another chance. We had no germination last year but I failed to used heat, so user error. Potatoes - We couldn’t get potatoes last year so I ordered early! They’ll all arrive closer to their plant date. Since I feel like growing potatoes is foreign to me, I opted to buy small amounts of a few varieties to see what our family likes best. Pumpkin - Rouge Vif D’Etampes Beautiful Cinderella red pumpkins because it’s not a garden without a few pumpkins growing. Spinach - Strawberry spinach from Bakers Creek. This is a repeat from last year. Thyme - Wild Thyme from Bakers Creek. I love thyme but I’ve never started it from seed. Usually I pick some up from our local nursery, but for the amount I want it would save money if I can grow from seed. This is a creeping variety that I hopes spreads all over. Tomatillo - Amarylla from Bakers Creek This is a new plant in the garden, but we enjoy tomatillo salsa and soup so hopefully they do well! Tomatoes - German Pink, Sunrise Bumblebee, San Marzano Lungo No.2, Hungarian heart from Bakers Creek. The first two are repeats from last year. I loved the flavor of the German pink. The second two are trials with the San Marzano being highly recommended for paste. Vining Plants - Birdhouse gourd, Jack be little pumpkin, Blue butterfly pea, Lemon Drop watermelon, Wilson’s Sweet watermelon from Bakers Creek. Along with our cucumbers, we have other vining plants we’ll be growing on our arches over our main path. Most are for fun and to help provide shade to the cooler weather for plants. Flowers: Balsalm - Peppermint Stick from Bakers Creek Cockscomb - Indiana Giant Cosmos - Candyfloss Red Nasturtium - Alaska Red Shades, cherry rose jewel, tall trailing mix. We had such a problem with cabbage moths that I’m desperate to save our brassicas. I read herbs and nasturtiums planted throughout are the trick so I ordered several varieties. We have only used nasturtiums as flowers in the house but I hope to branch out and use them in the kitchen this year as well. I ordered the Bloody Mary variety last year and loved it but it wasn’t offered this year. Unfortunately I didn’t save seeds, but now I understand the importance and that there isn’t always a guarantee the seeds will be available. Poppy - Hens and Chickens, strawberry fields, Falling in Love. I’m yet to have success with poppies but I love them so much. Hopefully this will be the year. Marigold - Bambino, Linnaeus Burning Embers, Kilimanjaro White. I used to hate marigolds. The smelly, stubby plants left me not impressed, but then I grew some from seed to repel pests and couldn’t believe the difference. Tall, 2-3 foot plants covered with large bright pom poms of yellow completely changed my opinion. Now I must have tall marigolds in my garden and I can’t believe all the varieties available, compared to the puny little orange and yellow plants at the store. I’m save my own seed but also purchased some new varieties. I really am excited for the white ones! Hyssop - Korean from Bakers Creek. My mom had hyssop last year and the bees loved it. The blooms lasted all season and I’m always looking for more herbal and medical plants to add to the garden. Chamomile - German I have a little chamomile plant that comes back each year but I’d love more to use for teas and herbal remedies. I’m hoping to have this dancing all through the gardens. Borage Another medicinal plant I’m going to try. We had a packet of seeds so why not try it. Dahlia - Giant Hybrid Mix from Johnnys Seeds Ive never tried dahlia seeds but I’m hoping to get some beautiful flowers this way for a cheaper price. Morning Glory - Flying Saucers Morning glories have been my favorite ever since I was a little girl, and this variety claims to make very large blooms. What I grew last year didn’t bloom until days before our first frost so I’m hoping this gets growing faster. Snapdragon - Tall Deluxe Mix from Bakers Creek I’ve grown these the last three years and love them! They’re such powerhouses blooming through frosts and summer heat. I still have some that are yet to die despite the snow, and may just overwinter. The bees just love them and I love decorating the house with the blooms. I don’t bother staking them either. The curves of the blooms give an added whimsy and I’m not selling these so I let them grow as they please. The vision in my mind for the gardens always has me pushing my limits, but growing from seed has been the answer to how to better affordably get all I want. I’d love to see the house side of the property filled with winding garden paths and places to hide away and feel like you are in another place. I’d love to have blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry bushes scattered throughout, arches of flowering vines, and climbing roses hugging the house.
Certain areas I have the vision for, it’s just the know how and budget to pull it off. Other areas slightly baffle me with what to do with them, but all of it I want to be for everyone’s enjoyment. I want flowers and plants for the birds and bees and butterflies. I want places for the boys to play and explore and snack. I don’t want my garden to be mom’s untouchable place where extreme perfection and unrealistic expectations destroy the joy of it for all other living things. It should be a source of joy for me and my family, a blessing to the critters that visit, and a reminder of all the beautiful things God has given us. So if a new baby means the garden ends up overgrown with weeds and providing more mud pies than berry pies, that’s ok too, as long as it was a source of joy. For this reason the garden paths have been widened, for toy vehicles to drive down, extra plants will be planted to make up for the crushed ones that will inevitably happen, and toxic plants have no place here, no matter how beautiful they may be, at least until we’re out of the snacking toddler stage. |
About The KelleysThe Choosing Home PodcastCategories
All
Archives
September 2022
|